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This paper reports the control method for the core power of the China initiative Accelerator Driven System (CiADS) facility. In the CiADS facility, an intense external neutron source provided by a proton accelerator coupled to a spallation target is used to drive a sub-critical reactor. Without any control rod inside the sub-critical reactor, the core power is controlled by adjusting the proton beam intensity. In order to continuously change the beam intensity, an adjustable aperture is considered to be used at the Low Energy Beam Transport (LEBT) line of the accelerator. The aperture size is adjusted based on the Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controllers, by comparing either the setting beam intensity or the setting core power with the measured value. To evaluate the proposed control method, a CiADS core model is built based on the point reactor kinetics model with six delayed neutron groups. The simulations based on the CiADS core model have indicated that the core power can be controlled stably by adjusting the aperture size. The response time in the adjustment of the core power depends mainly on the adjustment time of the beam intensity.

The core component of most anomaly detectors is a self-supervised model, tasked with modeling patterns included in training samples and detecting unexpected patterns as the anomalies in testing samples. To cope with normal patterns, this model is typically trained with reconstruction constraints. However, the model has the risk of overfitting to training samples and being sensitive to hard normal patterns in the inference phase, which results in irregular responses at normal frames. To address this problem, we formulate anomaly detection as a mutual supervision problem. Due to collaborative training, the complementary information of mutual learning can alleviate the aforementioned problem. Based on this motivation, a SIamese generative network (SIGnet), including two subnetworks with the same architecture, is proposed to simultaneously model the patterns of the forward and backward frames. During training, in addition to traditional constraints on improving the reconstruction performance, a bidirectional consistency loss based on the forward and backward views is designed as the regularization term to improve the generalization ability of the model. Moreover, we introduce a consistency-based evaluation criterion to achieve stable scores at the normal frames, which will benefit detecting anomalies with fluctuant scores in the inference phase. The results on several challenging benchmark data sets demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method.

Phase modulation (PM) techniques based on time modulated arrays (TMAs) are usually used to generate a steerable beam at the carrier frequency. However, the overall efficiency of TMAs constructed by conventional PM techniques vary significantly in the whole scanning space, resulting in abrupt fluctuations in array gain. Thus, this paper presents a geometric method to design the time modulated waveforms. According to the simulation results, TMAs constructed using the proposed approach have suppressed peak sideband levels (PSBLs) and stable overall efficiency.

A photo-assisted frequency conversion and self-interference cancellation approach is proposed and experimentally demonstrated for in-band full-duplex (IBFD) communication. Carrier suppressed single sidebands (CS-SSB) of the intermediate frequency (IF) signal and the local oscillator (LO) signal are simultaneously obtained through the X-DPMZM in a dual-polarization dual-parallel Mach-Zehnder (DP-DPMZM) modulator. A transmit signal with high purity is produced, and a shared LO optical sideband is also provided for the subsequent downconversion. The carrier suppressed double sideband (CS-DSB) modulation for the signal of interest (SOI) is achieved via the Y-DPMZM. The self-interference signal is suppressed by adjusting the bias voltage of its main MZM. An optical bandpass filter (OBPF) is combined to realize frequency downconversion. The experimental results show that the spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) is 102.6 dB/Hz2/3 for frequency upconversion, a cancellation depth of more than 50 dB for single-frequency self-interference cancellation (SIC), and more than 22 dB for wideband SIC. The proposed link has superiority in multifunctionality, including in-band transmission, reception, and self-interference cancellation, with a shared LO.

Summary Introduction To analyze the clinicopathological characteristics, immunohistochemistry, genotyping and prognosis of patients in the multicenter GIST data in Inner Mongolia, China. Methods Retrospective analysis was performed on GIST data from January 2013 to January 2018 in Inner Mongolia. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the clinical characteristics of GIST patients. The Chi-square test was performed on the modified NIH criteria by age distribution, and Kaplan-Merie method was used for survival analysis. Results A total of 804 patients were included in the GIST database in Inner Mongolia, with a male to female ratio of 1.1102:1. The most common location was the gastric (465). Mitotic count ≤5/50HPFs was found in 67.3 % patients. There were 276 patients with tumor diameter of 2–5 cm and 354 patients with tumor diameter of 5.1–10 cm.The modified NIH criteria was mainly of intermediate risk (210) and high risk (342). The recurrence and metastasis of patients were related to the tumor location, mitotic index, tumor size, and modified NIH criteria. All patients were followed up for 1–10 years, in which 63.1 % of them were followed up for at least three years. The 3-year survival rates of patients with modified NIH criteria of very low risk, low risk, intermediate risk, and high risk were 100 %, 100 %, 100 %, and 96.3 %, respectively. Conclusions The incidence of GIST in middle-aged and elder people in Inner Mongolia is high, and the long-term prognosis of patients after surgical treatment is good, which can objectively reflect the incidence, diagnosis and treatment of GIST in Inner Mongolia.

Debt-shared bank financing, as an innovative and collaborative financing scheme, allows the supplier to (partially) share the retailer’s bank loan obligation, including principal and interest. We study the operational and financial decisions of a chain with a supplier (Stackelberg leader) selling to a capital-constrained retailer via a debt-shared contract. We derive the equilibrium debt-shared coefficient, wholesale price, order quantity and bank’s interest rate with the retailer in different wealth regions. The very poor retailer always accepts debt-sharing and earns a profit, even if the supplier sets the wholesale price up to the retail price. The medium poor retailer might enter a supplier’s debt-sharing hole (a retailer’s wealth region) and acquire zero profit, by using debt-sharing with a wholesale price up to the retail price. For the medium poor retailer outside the hole or the medium rich retailer, the supplier offers either an optimal debt-shared bank financing contract or an optimal price-only contract at her benefit, mainly depending on the production cost and the retailer’s capital. Under debt-shared bank financing, both the supplier’s profit and the chain’s efficiency improve. The retailer might overstock when the production cost is high. Computational studies show the not very rich retailer’s profit is a bowl-shaped function of his capital and the bottom is the hole. The very poor retailer might earn a larger profit than under the optimal price-only contract. The supplier’s profit is unimodal and it achieves globally optimum in the hole (at the upper bound of the hole if production cost is low).

BACKGROUND Workers in fireworks production are mainly at risk for explosion injury. However, there are few reports on the consequences of methanol poisoning in fireworks laborers. CASE PRESENTATION We report on three patients with visual loss caused by inhalation exposure to high concentrations of methanol, who were engaged in the granulation process of the fireworks manufacturing industry. They presented with severe metabolic acidosis and visual impairments, accompanied by headache, chest tightness, shortness of breath, dizziness, and vomiting. All were diagnosed with acute methanol poisoning. One patient developed bilateral blindness and two patients improved after timely hemodialysis treatment. CONCLUSIONS These case reports emphasize the risk of methanol poisoning in the fireworks industry or other factories using commercial alcohol with high methanol content. Early hemodialysis intervention and metabolic acidosis correction are crucial for rescuing visual impairment caused by methanol exposure. Awareness and supervision of commercial alcohol use are indispensable for similar industrial processes.

The aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate the effects of retropharyngeal steroid use during operation on bony fusion and dysphagia rate after ACDF. We searched the electronic literature database of PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library published from January 1990 to February 2020. The size of each group, mean age, proportion of female patients, dysphagia events and fusion rate at one-year follow-up were extracted. RevMan 5.3 was used for the meta-analysis. A total of eight studies including six RCTs and two case–control studies met the inclusion criteria. This meta-analysis showed that retropharyngeal steroids could achieve significantly lower dysphagia rates (p

Tungsten diselenide (WSe2) possesses extraordinary electronic properties for applications in electronics, optoelectronics, and emerging exciton physics. The synthesis of monolayer WSe2 film is of topmost for device arrays and integrated circuits. The monolayer WSe2 film has yet been reported by thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) approach, and the nucleation mechanism remains unclear. Here, we report a pre-seeding strategy for finely regulating the nuclei density at an early stage and achieving a fully covered film after chemical vapor deposition growth. The underlying mechanism is heterogeneous nucleation from the pre-seeding tungsten oxide nanoparticles. At first, we optimized the precursor concentration for pre-seeding. Besides, we confirmed the superiority of the pre-seeding method, compared with three types of substrate pretreatments, including nontreatment, sonication in an organic solvent, and oxygen plasma. Eventually, the high-quality synthetic WSe2 monolayer film exhibits excellent device performance in field-effect transistors and photodetectors. We extracted thermodynamic activation energy from the nucleation and growth data. Our results may shed light on the wafer-scale production of homogeneous monolayer films of WSe2, other 2D materials, and their van der Waals heterostructures. Web of Science

BACKGROUND Hepatic tuberculosis (TB) is uncommon clinically. Because of a lack of specific signs, characteristic symptoms and clinical manifestations and because pathological samples are difficult to obtain, hepatic TB is easily missed or misdiagnosed. CASE SUMMARY A 62-year-old Chinese man presented with jaundice for 1 wk and no abnormal laboratory tests other than elevated bilirubin, aminotransferases and C-reactive protein. Computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen showed a mass in the left lobe of the liver and hepatic hilum with striped calcified foci. Mild enhancement was visible at the edges, along with extensive intrahepatic biliary ductal dilatation in the right lobe of the liver. In the arterial phase of both CT and magnetic resonance imaging, the main trunk and right branch of the portal artery were partially visualized. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) indicated that the left lobe of the liver and most of the bile ducts in the hilum were not visible. Pathological examination revealed coagulative necrosis, and granulomatous nodules were seen around areas of necrosis; therefore, TB was considered. CONCLUSION Hepatic tuberculosis is easily misdiagnosed or missed on imaging. Percutaneous puncture biopsy is the most useful tool for definitive diagnosis.

Phenols, which mainly come from coal direct liquefaction oil and coal tar of medium and low temperature pyrolysis, are important chemical raw materials. At present, the main method to separate phenols from oil in industry is alkali washing method, which needs to consume a lot of inorganic acid and alkali solutions and corrodes equipments. Meanwhile, this method produce a lot of wastewater containing phenols, which is difficult to treat and costs much. Therefore, it is necessary to develop new separation methods. In this work, the separation of phenol from oil mixtures was proposed by using mildronate (THP), Girard's Reagent T, and Girard's Reagent P. The results showed that the mentioned separation agents could form deep eutectic solvent (DES) with phenol and then separate phenol. The highest separation efficiency of phenol was 96.5% by THP, and the residual phenol content in oil was as low as 1.3 g/L; it was enough to finish separation in 10 min; the initial phenol content had no effect on the minimum residual phenol content (about 8.8 g/L) in oil after separation. An n-hexane washing method was used to remove the neutral oil entrained in DES. The results showed that the neutral oil to phenol mass ratio in DES was reduced to 0.04, which indicated that the purity of phenol product was greatly improved. THP was renewable and reused for 5 times, and its properties remained unchanged. Finally, FT-IR spectra showed that there was hydrogen bonds formed between THP and phenol.

Rib fracture is the most common injury in chest trauma. Most of patients with rib fractures were treated conservatively, but up to 50% of patients, especially those with combined injury such as flail chest, presented chronic pain or chest wall deformities, and more than 30% had long-term disabilities, unable to retain a full-time job. In the past two decades, surgery for rib fractures has achieving good outcomes. However, in clinic, there are still some problems including inconsistency in surgical indications and quality control in medical services. Before the year of 2018, there were 3 guidelines on the management of regional traumatic rib fractures were published at home and abroad, focusing on the guidance of the overall treatment decisions and plans; another clinical guideline about the surgical treatment of rib fractures lacks recent related progress in surgical treatment of rib fractures. The Chinese Society of Traumatology, Chinese Medical Association, and the Chinese College of Trauma Surgeons, Chinese Medical Doctor Association organized experts from cardiothoracic surgery, trauma surgery, acute care surgery, orthopedics and other disciplines to participate together, following the principle of evidence-based medicine and in line with the scientific nature and practicality, formulated the Chinese consensus for surgical treatment of traumatic rib fractures (STTRF 2021). This expert consensus put forward some clear, applicable, and graded recommendations from seven aspects: preoperative imaging evaluation, surgical indications, timing of surgery, surgical methods, rib fracture sites for surgical fixation, internal fixation method and material selection, treatment of combined injuries in rib fractures, in order to provide guidance and reference for surgical treatment of traumatic rib fractures.

The ring-speed ratio is a comprehensive dynamic index of floating ring bearing structure and operating parameters, which directly affects the dynamic behavior of the turbocharger rotor system. The cross stiffness of ring-speed ratio and floating ring bearing and the work of oil film force are analyzed. The influence of dynamic ring-speed ratio change on the vibration response of floating ring bearing was studied. The finite element model of the rotor-floating ring bearing system is constructed; its model parameters are verified through the measured critical rotor speed. Newmark integral method is used to analyze the nonlinear transient response. The results show that when the ring-speed ratio is between 0.18 and 0.24, the rotor is in a good operating state; when it increases from 0.24 to 0.36, the rotor vibration is dominated by frequency division, and the system will be less stable. The square of the ring-speed ratio is inversely proportional to the rotational speed of the journal where the subfrequency vibration occurs. It helps to know the nonlinear vibration by judging the journal speed when the rotor vibration occurs in subfrequency. The conclusion provides a reference for the mechanical dynamics design and intelligent management and maintenance of this kind of turbine rotors.

Chronic health problems, such as neurological conditions or long-lasting diseases, impair patients’ physical and mental functions with a subsequent reduction in overall quality of life. The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize how ballroom dance is being investigated as a rehabilitative method in individuals with neurological or medical diseases. A systematic literature search was conducted in databases including MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, and PubMed. Of 728 articles located and titles and abstracts screened, 12 studies were included in this review. Study groups included Parkinson’s disease (4 studies), multiple sclerosis (2), spinal cord injury (1), stroke (1), dementia (1), cancer (2), and diabetes (1). Ballroom dances utilized included a combination of smooth and rhythm dances. Results revealed that ballroom dance is effective in improving gait functions, balance, and quality of life among various populations living with chronic neurological or medical conditions. In addition, ballroom dance is safe and associated with a low attrition rate (7.7%). There is increasing evidence to support ballroom dance as a feasible and effective intervention for adults with chronic neurological disorders or medical diseases. Further large-scale, randomized controlled trials are needed to examine the mechanisms, effectiveness, retention, and safety of ballroom dance as a rehabilitative intervention.

The engineering of core-shell nanostructures provides a great potential to induce interfacial polarization relaxation and optimize impedance matching. Herein, core-shell-structured MHCS@MoS2 nanospheres are developed using hollow carbon (MHCS) and stacked MoS2 nanosheets. Heterostructures between cores and shells significantly boost the interface polarization effect and effectively reduce the electromagnetic wave (EMW) reflection caused by highly conductive MHCS. Thereby, efficient and broadband electromagnetic microwave absorption (EMA) performance can be achieved. Through controlling the thickness of MoS2 shells and the graphitization of MHCS cores, the effective absorption bandwidth (fE) of MHCS@MoS2 can reach 6.21 GHz at the thickness of only 2.1 mm. The nanodesigned core-shell-shaped MHCS@MoS2 nanospheres are demonstrated as a promising high-performance EMA material.

The performance of feature matching algorithms is well known to be one of the main Achilles heels of visual SLAM algorithms, and particularly for point-based visual SLAM. Which is prone to fail in low-textured ,enarios like man-made environments where points are insufficient. Yet, many environments in which, despite being low textured, can still reliably estimate line-based geometric primitives. The line-based structural features in the Manhattan world encode useful geometric information of parallelism, orthogonality, and coplanarity in the scene. By fully exploiting these structural features, we propose a novel monocular SLAM system merging feature points and structure lines, which can provide a more accurate estimation of camera poses. To integrate the structure lines into the framework of the system, we have made efforts in the detection, parameterization, feature fusion, and optimization modules of the structure lines. First, we used the consistency of the direction of the structure lines and the vanishing points to extract the structure lines. In the optimization module, we incorporated the error model of the structure lines into the nonlinear optimization framework, and proposed a new optimization strategy. Finally, a complete SLAM system based on points and structure lines is designed. With structure lines as a new observation, the robustness of the matching algorithm between consecutive frames in low-texture scenes is increased, ensuring continuous updating of the tracking thread when the feature points are lost. Secondly, the dominant directions of structure lines can provide global effective constraints to reduce the accumulated orientation errors and the position drift in consequence. Experiments in man-made environments have demonstrated that the proposed system outperforms existing state-of-the-art monocular SLAM systems in terms of accuracy and robustness.

As a typical fascinating microstructure, the core-shell structure provides abundant possibility for material design in various fields including nano-engineering. In addition, the popular MOF derivatives have been widely explored and recognized as the most potential candidates for functional materials, especially in the field of microwave absorption (MA). Combined with the advantages of their structure and function, it is expected to maximize the synergistic effect and achieve amazing MA performance. In this paper, a series of core-shell CF@C/Co composites were assembled by using lightweight and conductive CF as the core and cubic ZIF-67-derived C/Co with controllable structure and adjustable graphitization as the shell. The intrinsic relationships between shell structure, component content, graphitization degree, electromagnetic parameters and various microwave loss behaviors are analyzed. After properly adjusting the degree of graphitization on the basis of derivation of various C/Co shells, A3-600 with obvious multi-polarization effect were obtained. A3-600 achieves an effective absorption bandwidth of 6.25 GHz at 1.71 mm and the best reflection loss of −71.95 dB at 1.78 mm. This dual strategy of shell evolution design and graphitization control has been proved to be an effective method to coordinate electromagnetic matching and construct multi-polarization effect to enhance the performance of MA.

Soft and wet actuator systems have attracted great attention in some applications, such as assistive technologies for rehabilitation, training and regenerative biomedicines. Three-dimensional (3D) printing methods have realized the rapid fabrication of complex structures without the need for expensive dies or post processing. In this review, a comprehensive description is presented on stimuli-responsive hydrogels fabricated by light-responsive and extrusion-based 3D printing technologies. Mechanisms of actuations have been introduced based on stimuli types. As the most common method for 3D printed hydrogel actuators, direct-ink-writing has been discussed, including the two printing parameters of resolution and rheology. In addition, applications of 3D printed hydrogel actuators are presented followed by introductions of recent contributions on enhancing the toughness of 3D printed hydrogel and robust design tools, such as finite element analysis and artificial intelligence.

Studies have shown that diabetes is associated with the occurrence of neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive decline. However, there is currently no effective treatment for diabetes-induced cognitive dysfunction. The superior efficacy of liraglutide (LIRA) for cognitive impairment and numerous neurodegenerative diseases has been widely demonstrated. This study determined the effects of LIRA on diabetic cognitive impairment and on the levels of oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, iron metabolism and ferroptosis in the hippocampus. Mice were injected daily with liraglutide (200 μg/kg/d) for 5 weeks. LIRA could repair damaged neurons and synapses, and it increased the protein expression levels of PSD 95, SYN, and BDNF. Furthermore, LIRA significantly decreased oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation levels by downregulating the production of ROS and MDA and upregulating SOD and GSH-Px in the serum and hippocampus, and the upregulation of SOD2 expression was also proven. The decreased levels of TfR1 and the upregulation of FPN1 and FTH proteins observed in the LIRA-treated db/db group were shown to reduce iron overload in the hippocampus, whereas the increased expression of Mtft and decreased expression of Mfrn in the mitochondria indicated that mitochondrial iron overload was ameliorated. Finally, LIRA was shown to prevent ferroptosis in the hippocampus by elevating the expression of GPX4 and SLC7A11 and suppressing the excessive amount of ACSL4; simultaneously, the damage to the mitochondria observed by TEM was also repaired. For the first time, we proved in the T2DM model that ferroptosis occurs in the hippocampus, which may play a role in diabetic cognitive impairment. LIRA can reduce oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation and iron overload in diabetic cognitive disorders and further inhibit ferroptosis, thereby weakening the damage to hippocampal neurons and synaptic plasticity and ultimately restoring cognitive function.

Hypertension is the most common cardiovascular condition in clinical practice and a major risk factor for stroke and cardiovascular events. There are more than 270 million hypertension patients in China, and the prevalence of hypertension in the high-latitude cold areas is significantly higher than in the low-latitude warm areas. The unique epidemiological characteristics and risk factors of hypertension in the cold regions of China urge for establishment of the prevention and control system for targeted and more effective management of the condition.

Bamboo is a natural biomass material with excellent properties such as antibacterial and deodorising properties. With the concept of green ecology gaining popularity, bamboo is also being used in a wide range of industries in various forms. With reference to cotton, linen and other plant fibres commonly used in the textile industry today, bamboo is proposed to be made into spun and twisted bamboo fibre bundles through a twisting process and then made into textile bamboo yarns through a certain textile process. The process is divided into three steps: first, the bamboo is delignified, then the bamboo is thinned into bamboo fibre bundles, and finally, the bamboo is twisted into bamboo fibre bundles using home-made equipment. By comparing the chemical composition, mechanical strength and microstructure of the twisted bamboo fibre bundles with those of the original bamboo fibre bundles, the effect of the twisting treatment process on the properties of the bamboo fibre bundles was analysed. The experimental results showed that the tenacity, elongation at break and stiffness of the twisted bamboo fibre bundles were significantly improved compared to the original bamboo fibre bundles. In conclusion, the twisted bamboo fibre bundles have good tenacity and strength and are a potential new material for textile yarns.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has been identified as the key receptor of SARS coronavirus that plays a key role in the pathogenesis of SARS. It is known that ACE2 mRNA can be expressed in most organs. However, the protein expression of ACE2 is not clear yet. To explore the role of ACE2 as a precipitating factor in digestive organ damage in COVID-19, this study investigated the expression of ACE2 protein in the human liver, esophagus, stomach, and colon. The result showed that ACE2 can be expressed in the liver, esophagus, stomach, and colon, which suggests SARS-CoV-2 may enter the digestive system through ACE2 and cause liver damage and gastrointestinal damage. It is hoped that the result of the study will provide a new strategy for the prevention and treatment of digestive organ damage under COVID-19.

Purpose This paper aims to address the problem of uncertain product quality in digital light processing (DLP) three-dimensional (3D) printing, a scheme is proposed to qualitatively estimate whether a layer is printed with the qualified quality or not cured . Design/methodology/approach A thermochromic pigment whose color fades at 45°C is prepared as the indicator and it is mixed with the resin. A visual surveillance framework is proposed to monitor the visual variation in a period of the entire curing process. The exposure region is divided into 30 × 30 sub-regions; gray-level variation curves (curing curves) in all sub-regions are classified as normal or abnormal and a corresponding printing control strategy is designed to improve the percentage of qualified printed objects. Findings The temperature variation caused by the releasing reaction heat on the exposure surface is consistent in different regions under the homogenized light intensity. The temperature in depth begins to rise at different times. The temperature in the regions near the light source rises earlier, and that far from the light source rises later. Thus, the color of resin mixed with the thermochromic pigment fades gradually over a period of the entire solidification process. The color variation in the regions with defects of bubbles, insufficient material filling, etc., is much different from that in the normal curing regions. Originality/value A temperature-sensitive organic chromatic chemical pigment is prepared to present the visual variation over a period of the entire curing process. A novel 3D printing scheme with visual surveillance is proposed to monitor the layer-wise curing quality and to timely stop the possible unqualified printing resulted from bubbles, insufficient material filling, etc.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to establish a stylized model to solve the pricing strategy, resource allocation and consumer surplus problems of multichannel healthcare services. Design/methodology/approach This paper considers a two-stage decision model with different levels of consumers’ knowledge. Faced with physical problems, knowledgeable consumers can solve their problems by seeking online healthcare channels, while unknowledgeable consumers need to make a two-stage decision to try to solve their problems. Findings The effective diagnosis rate and the proportion of knowledgeable consumers positively impact the optimal pricing in online and offline channels. In addition, a higher proportion of knowledgeable consumers does not result in higher demand in the online and offline channels. Moreover, if service providers lower their prices a small amount, they will lose some profit, but the consumer surplus will be higher, which will encourage more consumers to access healthcare services. Research limitations/implications Knowledge levels are simplified into two categories. Also, the authors assume the resources of online and offline healthcare services are comparable. Originality/value This paper incorporates the knowledge level and misdiagnosis rate into the model framework to study the most effective pricing strategy for multichannel healthcare services.

The development of multifunctional electric device is of great significance for improving the integration dense of integrated circuits in the future. Herein, amorphous WO x -based memristor was fabricated and the mechanism of resistance switching was studied in detail. The device exhibited a stable coexistence of bipolar resistive switching (RS) and negative differential resistance (NDR) behaviors at room temperature, which could modulated by changing the annealing time at 300 °C. The optimal high-resistance state (HRS)/low-resistance state (LRS) resistance ratio of ~30 was obtained by postannealing in 100 min. However, both RS and NDR behaviors disappeared with the crystallization of amorphous films when the annealing time was 300 min. The Ohmic conduction mechanism should be responsible for the charge transport of LRS, while the HRS transmission was corporately dominated by the trap-controlled space charge limited conduction (SCLC) and Poole–Frenkel (P–F) emission. The change of trap levels modulated by postannealing was calculated and considered to be the reason for the change of RS and NDR behaviors. Raman spectroscopy provided evidence for the formation of strong W–O bonds, which contributed to the disappearance of RS and NDR behaviors.

Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by neuronal impairment and loss of function, and with the major shared histopathological hallmarks of misfolding and aggregation of specific proteins inside or outside cells. Some genetic and environmental factors contribute to the promotion of the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Currently, there are no effective treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. It has been revealed that bidirectional communication exists between the brain and the gut. The gut microbiota is a changeable and experience-dependent ecosystem and can be modified by genetic and environmental factors. The gut microbiota provides potential therapeutic targets that can be regulated as new interventions for neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we discuss genetic and environmental risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases, summarize the communication among the components of the microbiota-gut-brain axis, and discuss the treatment strategy of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). FMT is a promising treatment for neurodegenerative diseases, and restoration of the gut microbiota to a premorbid state is a novel goal for prevention and treatment strategies.

In this article, we present a low-cost microstrip phased-array antenna, which is composed of electronically reconfigurable elements. The p-i-n diodes’ integrated elements have various functions, such as tunable polarization characteristics and adjustable radiation phases. The high sidelobe level (SLL) due to the 2-bit phase shifter can be reduced by a randomly rotated (RR) array element. It is shown that the array can realize electronic beam-steering capabilities and keep −10 to −14 dB sidelobes without tapering. To verify the above theory, an eight-element linear array prototype working at 3 GHz was designed, fabricated, and tested. Numerical simulations and experimental results show that, by controlling the “ON” and “OFF” states of p-i-n diodes, the radiation beam can be controlled to steer in a circular polarization (CP) mode, wherein the scanning angle is up to ±45°. Furthermore, the principle of suppressing the vector scattering field by the opposite phasing cancellation method can achieve in-band radar cross section (RCS) reduction. Simulation results show that approximately 15 dB in-band RCS reduction can be realized for both bistatic and monostatic RCS reduction with an $8\times 8$ array.

Background Cardiac angiosarcoma is a rare but highly malignant cardiac tumor. It is characterized by poor prognosis, and current treatment approaches are not effective. Case presentation A 37-year-old female with 35 weeks pregnancy experienced chest tightness and shortness of breath for 1 month. She was diagnosed with primary cardiac angiosarcoma. Delivery of fetus was performed early to treat the mother. The patient underwent resection of the tumor then she was treated with chemotherapy. However, the tumor recurred 11 months after surgery. Conclusion Angiosarcoma is a highly malignant tumor explaining recurrence of the tumor recurred after surgery. Cardiac angiosarcoma should be treated through a comprehensive treatment plan, comprising surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy approaches.

Kun He,1,2,&ast; Chunke Dong,3,&ast; Hongyu Wei,2,&ast; Feng Yang,2 Haoning Ma,2 Xiangsheng Tang,2 Mingsheng Tan,2 Ping Yi2 1Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, 100029, People’s Republic of China; 3Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100010, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Ping Yi; Mingsheng Tan Email zryiping@163.com; zrtanms@163.comPurpose: Revision surgery for adjacent segment degeneration (ASD) commonly requires exposing and removing the original fixation. To minimize trauma and to reduce the operation time and blood loss, we introduced a minimally invasive lumbar revision technique using cortical bone trajectory (CBT) screws assisted by three-dimensional (3D)-printed navigation templates.Methods: From April 2017 to October 2019, 18 patients with ASD underwent revision surgery with CBT screws assisted by 3D-printed templates in our hospital. All surgical data, including the operation time, blood loss, and incision length, were recorded. We evaluated the clinical efficacy using the visual analog scale (VAS), the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score. X-ray and computed tomography (CT) scans were used to evaluate the stability of CBT screw fixation, the accuracy of screws, and the fusion rate.Results: The mean follow-up was 22.4± 4.7 months (12– 31 months). The VAS, ODI, and JOA scores were analyzed by SPSS 21.0 and showed significant improvement at 2 weeks and the last follow-up compared with preoperative data (P< 0.05). Seventy-six CBT screws were inserted with navigation templates; 2 screws were Grade B, and the other screws were Grade 0 or A. Changes in intervertebral height showed good stability of CBT screw fixation (P> 0.05). All the patients exhibited satisfactory fusion results.Conclusion: Revision surgery for ASD with CBT screws assisted by 3D-printed navigation templates has satisfactory clinical efficacy with the advantages of a short operation time, a small incision, and less blood loss.Keywords: adjacent segment degeneration, cortical bone trajectory, revision surgery, 3D printing, navigation template

Synthetic textile fibers have always had bright application prospects in the textile field due to their good physical properties, but their development has been restricted by the shortage of petrochemical resources. Here, inspired by the research on the preparation of cellulose nanofibers from natural wood, this research demonstrated a method of directly preparing wood textile fibers from natural wood. First, the natural wood was treated with a deep eutectic solvent (DES), and the treated wood had a highly porous structure and excellent flexibility so that it could be easily cut to separate the cellulose fiber bundles and then twisted into wood textile fibers. Then a series of structural analyses and performance tests of wood textile fiber were carried out, in which the results showed that this wood textile fiber has excellent weaving properties, tensile properties, elastic properties, and dyeability. Meanwhile, after a simple hydrophobic antibacterial treatment, the wood textile fiber could also show certain washing stability and antibacterial properties. The above-mentioned various properties of this wood textile fiber provide a great potential for its development in the textile field.

Background The pathological diagnosis and follow-up analysis of gastric mucosal biopsy have been paid much attention, and some scholars have proposed the pathological diagnosis of 12 kinds of lesions and accompanying pathological diagnosis, which is of great significance for the treatment of precision gastric diseases, the improvement of the early diagnosis rate of gastric cancer, and the reduction of missed diagnosis rate and misdiagnosis rate. Aim To perform a histopathological classification and follow-up analysis of chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG). Methods A total of 2248 CAG tissue samples were collected, and data of their clinical characteristics were also gathered. Based on these samples, the expression levels of Mucin 1 (MUC1), MUC2, MUC5AC, and MUC6 in CAG tissue were tested by immunohistochemical assay. Moreover, we followed these patients for up to four years. The difference between different stages of gastroscopic biopsy was observed. Results Through observation, it is believed that CAG should be divided into four types, simple type, hyperplasia type, intestinal metaplasia (IM) type, and intraepithelial neoplasia (IEN) type. Simple CAG accounted for 9.1% (205/2248), which was more common in elderly people over 60 years old. The main change was that the lamina propria glands were reduced in size and number. Hyperplastic CAG accounted for 29.1% (654/2248), mostly occurring between 40 and 60 years old. The main change was that the lamina propria glands were atrophy accompanied by glandular hyperplasia and slight expansion of the glands. IM CAG accounted for 50.4% (1132/2248), most of which increased with age, and were more common in those over 50 years. The atrophy of the lamina propria glands was accompanied by significant IM, and the mucus containing sialic acid or sulfate was distinguished according to the nature of the mucus. The IEN type CAG accounted for 11.4% (257/2248), which developed from the previous types, with severe gland atrophy and reduced mucus secretion, and is an important precancerous lesion. Conclusion The histological typing of CAG is convenient to understand the property of lesion, determine the follow-up time, and guide the clinical treatment.

Diabetes mellitus has been associated with elevated risk of colorectal cancer (CRC), although interaction between age and DM is unclear. We examined the relationship among DM, CRC and age.22,580 subjects aged ≥18 years were identified from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database collected between 1999-2016. To account for the complex, stratified, multistage probability sampling design in NHANES, SASv9.4 Procedure Survey Methodology was applied. Univariate analysis compared individual baseline characteristics between subjects with and without DM. Multivariate logistic regression model assessed association between DM and CRC, in which the model included factors with p0.05 in univariate analysis as covariates.Univariate analysis showed significant differences in age (p0.0001), race (p0.0001), smoking (p=0.0023) and body mass index (p0.0001) between No-DM and DM. Multivariate analysis revealed significant interaction between age and DM (p=0.0004). Subjects with DM aged 18-65 were more likely to experience CRC (OR=4.47, 95%CI=(1.33-15.07); p=0.0157) compared to those without DM. Subjects with DM aged65 were not at increased risk for CRC (OR=0.83, 95%CI=(0.43-1.59); p=0.5665) compared to those without DM.Age, DM, and interaction between age and DM are risk factors for CRC. Individuals with DM aged 18-65 years have a higher CRC risk.

Objective To examine the incidence and risk factors of in‐hospital prosthesis‐related complications (PRCs) following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) using a large‐scale national database. Methods A retrospective database analysis was performed based on Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2005–2014. Patients who underwent TKA were included. The recruited cases were divided into two groups according to the occurrence of PRCs. Patient demographics (age, sex, and race), hospital characteristics (type of admission and payer, and bedsize, teaching status, location, and region of hospital), length of stay (LOS), total charges during hospitalization, in‐hospital mortality, comorbidities, and perioperative complications were analyzed. Results A total of 1,227,244 TKAs were captured from the NIS database. There were 8484 cases of in‐hospital PRCs after TKA and the overall incidence was 0.69%, with a slight downward trend annually. Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) was the main category among PRCs (0.20%), followed by mechanical loosening (0.04%), dislocation (0.02%), and periprosthetic fracture (PPF) (0.01%). Patients suffered from in‐hospital PRCs were 3 years younger (64 years vs 67 years) and 6.51% more likely to be male (43.60% vs 37.09%) compared to the nonaffected population (P, The objective of this study was to examine the incidence and risk factors of in‐hospital prosthesis‐related complications (PRCs) after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) based on Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS). A relatively low incidence and several risk factors of in‐hospital PRCs after TKA were identified.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) combined with liver injury has become a very prominent clinical problem. Due to the lack of a clear definition of liver injury in patients with COVID-19, the different selection of evaluation parameters and statistical time points, there are the conflicting conclusions about the incidence rate in different studies. The mechanism of COVID-19 combined with liver injury is complicated, including the direct injury of liver cells caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 replication and liver injury caused by cytokines, ischemia and hypoxia, and drugs. In addition, underlying diseases, especially chronic liver disease, can aggravate COVID-19 liver injury. In the treatment of COVID-19 combined with liver injury, the primary and basic treatment is to treat the etiology and pathogenesis, followed by support, liver protection, and symptomatic treatment according to the clinical classification and severity of liver injury. This article evaluates the incidence, pathogenesis and prevention and treatment of COVID-19 combined with liver injury, and aims to provide countermeasures for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 combined with liver injury.

There is a lack of data regarding mid-term outcomes of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for refractory postcardiotomy cardiogenic shock (PCS). In this context, this research aimed to assess the mid-term survival and quality of life of PCS patients who receive ECMO by comparing them with cardiac surgery patients who do not receive ECMO. A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of patients who had undergone ECMO treatment after cardiac surgery from January 2013 to June 2017 in a tertiary hospital (n = 102); non-ECMO patients who had undergone cardiac surgery and were discharged successfully were selected as the control group (n = 102). Survival and mid-term quality of life were assessed and compared through the Short-Form 36 (SF-36). Both groups were followed up by telephone, and SF-36 scores were obtained from the surviving patients. The data were available for 89 patients (87.3%) and 88 patients (86.3%) in the ECMO group and the control group, respectively. After discharge, the control group outperformed the ECMO group in survival (93.1% vs. 82.4%; p = 0.013). No significant differences in complications, all-cause mortality, first readmission for any cause, or work condition between the ECMO group and the control group were observed. The SF-36 scores in general health (GH) and vitality (VT) were significantly lower among the ECMO survivors (p0.05). The results of this study indicate that ECMO can provide acceptable mid-term survival with good quality of life for patients with refractory cardiogenic shock.

Oxidative stress and neuroinflammatory response after the ischemic injury are important pathophysiologic mechanisms that cause brain tissue loss and neurological deficit. This study aims to observe the expression and role of carbonyl reductase 1 (CBR1), an NADPH-dependent oxidoreductase with specificity for carbonyl compounds such as 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), in the brain after ischemic injury and to investigate the influence of CBR1 on ischemia-induced neuroinflammation. CBR1 expresses in the neurons, astrocyte, and microglia in the normal brain. The expression of CBR1 decreased in the ischemic regions following cerebral ischemia, and also reduced in primary neurons after OGD (oxygen-glucose deprivation); however, the expression of CBR1 significantly increased in microglia in the ischemic penumbra. Furthermore, TAT-CBR1 fusion protein played neuroprotective effects in reducing the infarct volume and improving neurological outcomes after ischemic injury. Mechanistically, CBR1 decreased the levels of 4-HNE in the brain after stroke; it also modulated microglial polarization toward the M2 phenotype, which was well-known to confer neuroprotection after ischemic injury. Our results demonstrate that CBR1 provides neuroprotection against ischemic injury by reducing oxidative stress and neuroinflammation, making a promising agent for cerebral ischemia treatment.

A prominent security threat to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is to capture it by GPS spoofing, in which the attacker manipulates the GPS signal of the UAV to capture it. This paper introduces an anti-spoofing model to mitigate the impact of GPS spoofing attack on UAV mission security. In this model, linear regression (LR) is used to predict and model the optimal route of UAV to its destination. On this basis, a countermeasure mechanism is proposed to reduce the impact of GPS spoofing attack. Confrontation is based on the progressive detection mechanism of the model. In order to better ensure the flight security of UAV, the model provides more than one detection scheme for spoofing signal to improve the sensitivity of UAV to deception signal detection. For better proving the proposed LR anti-spoofing model, a dynamic Stackelberg game is formulated to simulate the interaction between GPS spoofer and UAV. In particular, for GPS spoofer, it is worth mentioning that for the scenario that the UAV is cheated by GPS spoofing signal in the mission environment of the designated route is simulated in the experiment. In particular, UAV with the LR anti-spoofing model, as the leader in this game, dynamically adjusts its response strategy according to the deception’s attack strategy when upon detection of GPS spoofer’s attack. The simulation results show that the method can effectively enhance the ability of UAV to resist GPS spoofing without increasing the hardware cost of the UAV and is easy to implement. Furthermore, we also try to use long short-term memory (LSTM) network in the trajectory prediction module of the model. The experimental results show that the LR anti-spoofing model proposed is far better than that of LSTM in terms of prediction accuracy.

Radiomics studies to predict lymph node (LN) metastasis has only focused on either primary tumor or LN alone. However, combining radiomics features from multiple sources may reflect multiple characteristic of the lesion thereby increasing the discriminative performance of the radiomic model. Therefore, the present study intends to evaluate the efficiency of integrative nomogram, created by combining clinical parameters and radiomics features extracted from gross tumor volume (GTV), peritumoral volume (PTV) and LN, for the preoperative prediction of LN metastasis in clinical cT1N0M0 adenocarcinoma. A primary cohort of 163 patients (training cohort, 113; and internal validation cohort, 50) and an external validation cohort of 53 patients with clinical stage cT1N0M0 were retrospectively included. Features were extracted from three regions of interests (ROIs): GTV; PTV (5.0 mm around the tumor) and LN on pre-operative contrast enhanced computed tomography (CT). LASSO logistic regression method was used to build radiomic signatures. Multivariable regression analysis was used to build a nomogram. The performance of the nomogram was assessed with respect to its calibration, discrimination, and clinical usefulness. The discriminative performance of nomogram was validated both internally and externally. The radiomic signatures using the features of GTV, PTV and LN showed a good ability in predicting LN metastasis with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.74 (95% CI 0.60–0.88), 0.72 (95% CI 0.57–0.87) and 0.64 (95% CI 0.48–0.80) respectively in external validation cohort. The integration of different signature together further increases the discriminatory ability: GTV + PTV (GPTV): AUC 0.75 (95% CI 0.61–0.89) and GPTV + LN: AUC 0.76 (95% CI 0.61–0.91) in external validation cohort. An integrative nomogram of clinical parameters and radiomic features demonstrated further increase in discriminatory ability with AUC of 0.79 (95% CI 0.66–0.93) in external validation cohort. The nomogram showed good calibration. Decision curve analysis demonstrated that the radiomic nomogram was clinically useful. The integration of information from clinical parameters along with CT radiomics information from GTV, PTV and LN was feasible and increases the predictive performance of the nomogram in predicting LN status in cT1N0M0 adenocarcinoma patients suggesting merit of information integration from multiple sources in building prediction model.

Liu Li,1,* Li Yang,1,* Feng Yang,2,* Xin-lan Zhao,1 Shengjiang Xue,3 Fang-hua Gong4 1No.2 Department of Endocrinology, Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410002, People’s Republic of China; 2No.2 Department of Pharmacy, Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital, the First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410002, People’s Republic of China; 3Ladder Molecular Biomedical Research Center, Guangzhou, 510800, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Nursing, Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital, the First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410002, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Shengjiang XueLadder Molecular Biomedical Research Center, No. 39 Zhanqian Road, Xinhua Street, Huadu District, Guangzhou, 510800, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail wsjiangzi@126.comFang-hua GongDepartment of Nursing, Hunan Provincial People’s Hospital, the First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan Normal University, No. 61 Jiefangxi Road, Furong District, Changsha, 410002, Hunan Province, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 0731-84762691Fax +86 0731-8329065Email gfhnurse@aliyun.comBackground: Ginkgo biloba extract 50 (GBE50) has a variety of pharmacological functions such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and maintenance of glucose and lipid metabolism homeostasis. However, the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of GBE50 on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remain unknown. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of GBE50 in NAFLD by using a high-fat diet (HFD) mice model.Methods: C57BL/6J mice were fed a HFD diet for 15 weeks and were given respectively 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg GBE50 daily by gavage from 3 to 15 weeks. After the administration, blood samples and liver tissues were collected for biochemical detection, histological measurement, immunohistochemistry and Western blot, respectively.Results: We found that GBE50 treatment could ameliorate insulin resistance (IR), glucose intolerance, lipid accumulation, hepatic steatosis and liver injury in HFD-fed mice. Further mechanism exploration discovered that the hepatoprotective effects of GBE50 on NAFLD may be related to the strengthening of IRS-1 signal activation and the weakening of NF-κB, Akt and endoplasmic reticulum stress signals activation.Conclusion: GBE50 is a potentially powerful therapeutic agent for the treatment of NAFLD.Keywords: Ginkgo biloba extract 50, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, insulin resistance, hepatic steatosis, inflammatory response, liver injury

BACKGROUND: Skeletal muscle strength can be impacted by various factors. However, the possible effects of different forms of exercises on the elderly’s muscle strength remain unknown. Furthermore, whether the level of physical activity influences the effects of an exercise-based training also remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the characteristics of fatigued quadriceps by continuous maximum knee extension movements among different male groups under different physical conditions. METHODS: A total of 36 male participants (24 elderly and 12 youth) were divided into three groups, namely, young male group, and two groups of elderly participants: physically active and physically inactive. All groups underwent two sets of fatigue procedures. They initially finished 30 isokinetic maximum knee extension contractions at 60∘/s. Three days later, they completed 50 isokinetic maximum knee extension at 180∘/s. Then, their muscle strength characteristics were assessed. RESULTS: During the 60∘/s fatigue test the total work of the dominant and non-dominant quadriceps in the two elderly groups was significantly lower than that of the young male group (p< 0.05). Moreover, the total work of dominant quadriceps in physically active elderly male group was significantly higher than physically inactive male group in the middle (71.1 ± 12.0 vs. 52.0 ± 18.5 J) and the last third (60.9 ± 8.6 vs. 44.4 ± 15.4 J, p< 0.05). During the 180∘/s fatigue test the total work of dominant and non-dominant quadriceps in young male group was significantly higher than their elderly counterparts (p< 0.05). Moreover, the total work of dominant quadriceps in physically active elderly male group was significantly higher than in the physically inactive male group in the first (48.9 ± 4.6 vs. 31.7 ± 6.3 J), the middle (41.2 ± 4.8 vs. 26.1 ± 3.5 J), and the last third (33.3 ± 7.0 vs. 20.3 ± 3.1 J, p< 0.05). CONCLUSION: Exercise is associated with improved function and fatigue resistance of the quadriceps in elderly people. Moreover, the implications of the bilateral quadriceps’ imbalance in this group may be of functional importance and should thus be clinically considered.

Background The mortality of acute ischemic stroke patients caused by vertebrobasilar artery occlusion (VBAO) is high and mechanical thrombectomy has gradually become a promising treatment for acute ischemic stroke. This study analyzed the efficacy of mechanical thrombectomy and the risk factors associated with poor outcomes in VBAO patients caused by severe local atherosclerotic stenosis. Methods This retrospective study enrolled patients with acute ischemic stroke caused by VBAO between March 1, 2016 and August 31, 2019. Patient demographic and clinical data were collected retrospectively. All enrolled patients were retrospectively interviewed for at least 3 months. Patients with a modified Rankin scale (mRS) score between 0 and 3 points were defined as having satisfactory outcomes while those with more than 3 points were defined as having unsatisfactory outcomes. In-hospital mortality, the rates of recanalization, and the rates of intracerebral hemorrhage were also recorded. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the risk factors of unsatisfactory outcomes in enrolled patients. Results A total of 65 patients were enrolled in this study with a median age 69.0 (63.0-78.0) years and 48 patients (73.8%) were male. Approximately 50% of patients had a mRS score of 0 or 1 point within 90 days after treatment with mechanical thrombectomy and 14 patients had a mRS score of 6 points. A total of 11 patients died in hospital. Out of the 65 patients, 7 required recanalization and 9 patients suffered from intracerebral hemorrhage. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that older age, lower baseline posterior circulation acute stroke prognosis early CT score (pcASPECTS), higher baseline National Institutes of Health stroke scale (NIHSS) score, and residual stenosis were independent risk factors of both unsatisfactory outcomes and mortality of VBAO patients. Conclusions This study confirmed the important role of mechanical thrombectomy in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke caused by VBAO and may provide some guidance for improving the prognosis of patients.