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Pilot spoofing attack (PSA) is a kind of active eavesdropping, which launches the identical training sequence to manipulate the channel estimation outcome during the pilot training phase. The newly proposed intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) system is vulnerable to the PSA because it relies on the pilot-assisted channel estimation methods to obtain channel statement information (CSI). To combat PSA in IRS-assisted systems, we consider two significant challenges: 1) channel distribution information (CDI) is uncertain, which will make the PSA detection methods based on the statistic feature (SF) invalid; 2) the noise is uncertain when detecting PSA in practical scenarios, which would impair the popular energy-based detectors. In this paper, we design a three-step training (TST) scheme. The effective detector could achieve reliable detection performance by examining the transmitter's received signal power levels when PSA occurs. The proposed method does not require the prior knowledge of noise variance and could obtain the CSI of both legitimate and illegitimate dyadic backscatter channels. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations are presented further to demonstrate the efficiency of our proposed TST scheme.

Background and Aims: Patients often undergo paracentesis prior to a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) procedure to improve respiratory mechanics. However, the effect of large volume paracentesis (LVP) on intraoperative hemodynamics and anesthetic management when it is performed immediately before the TIPS procedure is not well documented. Material and Methods: This is a retrospective study in patients undergoing the TIPS procedure between 2004 and 2017. Patients were divided into two groups based on the volume of preoperative paracentesis, namely, small volume paracentesis (SVP), defined as paracentesis volume less than 5 L and LVP, defined as paracentesis volume of at least 5 L. Patients' demographics and perioperative information were collected through chart review. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test, student's t-test, and Fisher's exact test were used when appropriate. Uni- and multivariate linear regression analyses were used to determine the predictive value of paracentesis volume in relation to intraoperative hemodynamics and management of hypotension. Results: Of 49 patients, 19 (39%) received LVP and the remainder received SVP. Baseline demographics were comparable between groups as were intraoperative hypotension and volume of infused crystalloid and colloid. However, vasopressor use (P = 0.02) and packed red blood cell transfusion (P = 0.01) were significantly higher in the large volume group. Paracentesis volume was an independent predictor of the phenylephrine dose (P = 0.0004), and of crystalloid (P = 0.05) and colloid (P = 0.009) volume administered after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, alcohol use, hemoglobin, and model for end-stage liver disease score. Conclusion: The anesthetic management of patients who undergo LVP just prior to a TIPS procedure may require larger doses of vasopressors and colloids to prevent intraoperative hemodynamic instability during the TIPS placement but may be as well tolerated as SVP.

Urban research is progressively moving towards fine-grained simulation and requires more granular and accurate geospatial data. In comparison to building footprints, roof structure lines (RSLs) are finer-grained elements of building roofs that provide a more sophisticated data reference. However, generating high-quality and up-to-date RSLs is arduous owing to the high expense of data sources (e.g., digital surface models and light detection and ranging data) and the low robustness of conventional image processing approaches. While the current combination of high-resolution satellite imagery and deep learning methods enables the automatic generation of RSLs, it also introduces two distinct challenges. First, the high diversity of roof sizes, forms, and spatial distribution complicates the extraction of essential RSL features from satellite imagery using general deep learning methods. Second, the significant class imbalance issue between foreground objects (i.e., RSLs) and background context in satellite imagery makes it difficult for deep learning methods to concentrate on RSL locations. To overcome these challenges and effectively delineate RSLs from satellite imagery, this study designs Deep Roof Refiner—an end-to-end and detail-oriented deep learning network and proposes a synthetic strategy to enhance the network’s performance. The effectiveness of the proposed network is verified by quantitative and qualitative experiments, with the optimal dataset scale F1-score and optimal image scale F1-score of 60.89% and 63.48%, respectively. The proposed network significantly outperforms state-of-the-art deep learning methods and associated conventional research. The results indicate that the delineated RSLs can serve as a reliable data source for some urban building-based studies.

In order to explore the determinants of vacant taxi drivers' customer-search behavior, this paper intends to calibrate a time-dependent Multinomial Logit (MNL) model by mining over 1.6 billion GPS records from about 8,400 taxis in Shanghai, China. First, based on the ordering points to identify the clustering structure (OPTICS) algorithm, the downtown area of Shanghai city is divided into 47 hotspots to identify the hot areas of customer delivery and searching. Then, by investigating a typical search delivery process of a vacant taxi, five candidate factors that may affect the customer-search behavior are summarized and defined. Using the maximum likelihood method, the significant factors are finally found. The results reveal that the relative passenger demand, the regional likelihood of pick-ups as well as the expected rate of return are the most significant factors influencing customer-search behavior. Although the impact of traffic situation (i.e., the en-route delay and traffic condition of the target hotspot) is not particularly significant, service providers and policymakers should still take full advantage of it to schedule taxi service and mitigate the traffic congestion caused by the circulation of vacant taxis. Besides, this paper also shows that the customer-search behavior of a vacant taxi driver varies with the time of day. Findings in this paper are expected to provide comprehensive insights about factors that should be considered in the future operation pattern of a taxi service system where human driver taxis and self-driving taxis are mixed.

The early detection and accurate histopathological diagnosis of gastric cancer are essential factors that can help increase the chances of successful treatment. Here, the authors report on a digital pathology tool achieving high performance on a real world test dataset and show that the system can aid pathologists in improving diagnostic accuracy.

Based on the Meteorological Information Comprehensive Analysis and Processing System Version 4 (MICAPS4),the R & D team of Hebei Meteorological Observatory independently designed and developed a set of disastrous weather case retrieval and training system. By the collation and preservation of historical disastrous weather cases and associated data,this system has not only realized the retrieval,analysis,training,collection,management of the weather cases and other functions,but also solved the accumulation and use of historical data. In additon,it has expanded historical data application function of the MICAPS system. This system can be used in such aspects as disastrous weather forecast and warning business,scientific research and forecaster training. It is highly portable and has a good prospect of popularization and application.

X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) is the form of dosage compensation in mammalian female cells to balance X-linked gene expression levels of the two sexes. Many diseases are related to XCI due to inactivation escape and skewing, and the symptoms and severity of these diseases also largely depend on the status of XCI. They can be divided into 3 types: X-linked diseases, diseases that are affected by XCI escape, and X-chromosome aneuploidy. Here, we review representative diseases in terms of their definition, symptoms, and XCI’s role in the pathogenesis of these diseases.

At present, the clinical diagnosis of and treatment methods for hepatic carcinoma still fail to fully meet the needs of patients. The integrated theranostic system, in which functional materials are used to load different active molecules, created a new developmental direction for the combination treatment of hepatic carcinoma, realizing the synchronization of diagnosis and treatment. In this study, polydopamine (PDA), which has the functions of self-assembly, encapsulation, photothermal conversion, and photoacoustic interaction, was used as the carrier material. The IR780, a near-infrared fluorescence imaging (NIFI), photoacoustic imaging (PAI), and photothermal therapy (PTT) agent, and paclitaxel (PTX), a broad-spectrum chemotherapy drug, were selected to build the NIF/PA dual-mode imaging and PTT/chemo synergistic theranostic nanoparticles (DIST NPs). The DIST NPs have a 103.4 ± 13.3 nm particle size, a weak negative charge on the surface, good colloidal stability, slow and controlled drug release, and high photothermal conversion ability. The experiments results showed that the DIST NPs have a long circulation in vivo, high bioavailability, high biocompatibility, and low effective dose. DIST NPs showed an excellent NIFI/PAI dual-mode imaging and significant synergistic antitumor effect in hepatic carcinoma models. DIST NPs met the initial design requirements. A set of fast and low-cost preparation methods was established. This study provides an experimental basis for the development of new clinical theranostic methods for hepatic carcinoma.

Saposhnikovia divaricata is a high-demand medicinal plant containing various bioactive metabolites (e.g., chromone). However, root rot disease leads to a dramatic reduction in the yield and quality of S. divaricata. The use of rhizospheric microorganisms is one of the best strategies for biological control. In this study, a total of 104 fungi isolated from the rhizospheric soil of S. divaricata plants were examined for their different antifungal properties. Subsequently, strain MR-57 was selected as a potential stock for biocontrol due to its broad-spectrum antagonistic activity against pathogens, including F. equiseti. Based on the analysis of morphological properties and rDNA internal transcribed spacers (ITSs), strain MR-57 was identified as Acrophialophora jodhpurensis (GenBank No. OK287150.1), a newly recorded species for China. In an in vitro antifungal assay, the culture filtrate of strain MR-57 significantly reduced the conidial germination rate and induced alterations in the mycelia morphology of F. equiseti, such as deformation and degradation. To assess the antifungal efficacy of MR-57 against root rot disease and the properties promoting the growth of S. divaricata, pot experiments were performed under natural outdoor conditions. The results indicated that co-inoculation with MR-57 delayed the occurrence of S. divaricata root rot and showed a control efficacy of 65.41% (p < 0.05) based on the measurement of suppressed disease lesions. Additionally, MR-57 successfully colonized and formed a stable population in the soil in which S. divaricata was grown, and it exhibited a consistently positive effect on the promotion of the growth of S. divaricata plants. In short, Acr. jodhpurensis MR-57 could be considered for the development of a potential biocontrol agent for the management of S. divaricata root rot caused by F. equiseti.

Thyroid dysfunction is associated with both vitamin D deficiency and iodine; however, it is unclear whether they interact. This study aimed to investigate whether and to what extent the interactions between vitamin D and iodine contribute to the risk of thyroid disorder. Participants (n = 4280) were chosen using multistage, stratified random sampling from Shanghai. Fasting blood was drawn for the 25(OH)D and thyroid parameter tests. Spot urine samples were gathered to test for urine iodine. To evaluate the interactive effects of vitamin D and iodine, crossover analysis was carried out. Pregnant women with a high urinary iodine concentration (UIC) and severe vitamin D deficiency had a significantly higher risk of thyrotropin receptor antibody (TrAb) positivity (odds ratio = 2.62, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.32, 5.22) in the first trimester. Severe vitamin D deficiency and high UIC interacted positively for the risk of TrAb positivity (relative excess risk due to interaction = 1.910, 95%CI: 0.054, 3.766; attributable proportion = 0.700, 95%CI: 0.367, 1.03). Severe vitamin D deficiency combined with excess iodine could increase the risk of TrAb positivity in pregnant women in the first trimester.

Accurate and timely access to building rooftop information is very important for urban management. The era of big data brings new opportunities for rooftop extraction based on deep learning and high-resolution satellite imagery. However, collecting representative datasets from such big data to train deep learning models efficiently is an essential problem that still needs to be explored. In this study, geospatial stratified and optimized sampling (GSOS) based on geographical priori information and optimization of sample spatial location distribution is proposed to acquire representative samples. Specifically, the study area is stratified based on land cover to divide the rooftop-dense stratum and the rooftop-sparse stratum. Within each stratum, an equal amount of samples is collected and their spatial locations are optimized. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy, several qualitive and quantitative experiments are conducted. As a result, compared with other common sampling approaches (e.g., random sampling, stratified random sampling, and optimized sampling), GSOS is superior in terms of the abundance and types of collected samples. Furthermore, two quantitative metrics, the F1-score and Intersection over Union (IoU), are reported for rooftop extraction based on deep learning methods and different sampling methods, in which the results based on GSOS are on average 9.88% and 13.20% higher than those based on the other sampling methods, respectively. Moreover, the proposed sampling strategy is able to obtain representative training samples for the task of building rooftop extractions and may serve as a viable method to alleviate the labour-intensive problem in the construction of rooftop benchmark datasets.

Deflection is a crucial indicator to reflect the operating condition of girder bridges, which can be used to evaluate structure condition and identify abnormal loading. The paper analyzed the deflection characteristics of long-span girder bridges based on the coupling vibration between stochastic traffic stream and bridge. First, the latest research advances were integrated to form an analytical model of the coupling vibration between stochastic traffic stream and bridge. Then, a generalized Pareto distribution model based on peaks-over-threshold theory was established to predict the extreme girder deflection. Next, a cellular automaton based microsimulation method was proposed to model the traffic loads on bridges, which utilized the intelligent driver car-following model and acceptance distance based lane-changing model. Finally, these theories were applied in the case study of a long-span prestressed concrete continuous girder bridge. It is discovered from the study that, under the coupling vibration between stochastic traffic stream and bridge, the predicted extreme deflection of the case bridge is far lower than the specified design value. Hence, a grading warning model was established and employed to the analysis of deflection monitoring data of the bridge, showing a wide potential prospect of application.

Objective To explore the potential mechanism which miR-527 targeting the heparan sulfate 6-O-endosulfatase (SULF2) regulates TGF-β/SMAD signaling pathway induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods 38 pairs of lung tumor biopsies and corresponding paracancerous biopsies were obtained from NSCLC patients with surgical resection, normal human bronchial epithelial BEAS-2B cells and five NSCLS cell lines were applied for our study. miR-527 and SULF2 expression were determined by qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. MiR-527 and SULF2 biological link were predicted by Targetscan.org and tested by dual luciferase. Cells proliferation and apoptosis were respectively detected by EDU staining and flow cytometry. Cells migration was examined by transwell and scratch-wound assay. Expression of proteins related to EMT and TGF-β/SMAD signaling pathway, such as E-cadherin, N-cadherin, p-Samd3 and p-Smad2, was detected by western blot. ResultsmiR-527 expression was decreased in lung tumor tissues and NSCLS cell lines, conversely, SULF2 expression was significantly increased. In addition, we found that miR-527 targeted 3'-untranslated regions (3'-UTR) of SULF2 and mediated its expression. Overexpression of miR-527 evidently suppressed NSCLC proliferation, invasion and EMT via TGF-β/SMAD signaling pathway. Moreover, the silence of SULF2 exhibited a similar effect. Conclusion miR-527 targeting SULF2 down-regulated SULF2 expression, concurrently, suppressed NSCLC epithelial-mesenchymal transition and invasion via inhibiting TGF-β/SMAD signaling pathway.

Purpose: Our study was conducted to evaluate and compare the accuracy of the refractive prediction determined by the calculation formulas for different intraocular lens (IOL) powers for high myopia. Methods: This study reviewed 217 eyes from 135 patients who had received cataract aspiration treatment and IOL implantation. The refractive mean numerical error (MNE) and mean absolute error (MAE) of the IOL power calculation formulas (SRK/T, Haigis, Holladay, Hoffer Q, and Barrett Universal II) were examined and compared. The MNE and MAE at different axial lengths (AL) were compared, and the percentage of every refractive error absolute value for each formula was calculated at ±0.25D, ±0.50D, ±1.00D, and ±2.00D. Results: In all, 98 patients were recruited into this study and 98 eyes of them were analyzed. We found that Barrett Universal II formula had the lowest MNE and MAE, SRK/T and Haigis formulas arrived at similar MNE and MAE, and the MNE and MAE calculated by Holladay and Hoffer Q formula were the highest. Barrett Universal II formulas have the lowest MAE among different AL patients, whereas it reached the highest percentage of refractive error absolute value within 0.5D in this study. The MAE of each formula is positively correlated with AL. Conclusion: Barrett Universal II formula rendered the lowest predictive error compared with SRK/T, Haigis, Holladay, and Hoffer Q formulas. Thus, Barrett Universal II formula may be regarded as a more reliable formula for high myopia.

Magnesium phosphate cement (MPC), as a new type of inorganic cementitious material, has the advantages of fast curing speed and high early strength. However, MPC still exhibits poor toughness similar to other cementitious materials. Coconut fiber (CF), a renewable plant fiber, was found to have the potential to improve the toughness of MPC in our previous research. As a result, further research should be completed to investigate the mechanical behaviors of MPC mixed with CF. This paper focused on the effect of CF volume dosage on MPC’s flexural performances. Flexural strength, load-deflection (L-D) relationship, fractural patterns, and flexural toughness were obtained by carrying out a three-point bending test. The results showed that flexural strength first increased and then decreased with increasing CF dosage, and the optimal CF dosage for flexural strength was 3%. Besides, it could be observed from the L-D relationship that the toughness increased continuously with increasing CF dosage. Additionally, the technique of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to analyze the microstructure of MPC mixed with different CF dosages.

During X chromosome inactivation, many chromatin changes occur on the future inactive X chromosome, including acquisition of a variety of repressive covalent histone modifications, heterochromatin protein associations, and DNA methylation of promoters. Here, we summarize trans-acting factors and cis elements that have been shown to be involved in the human inactive X chromosome organization and compaction.

A novel method is proposed based on the transmissibility concept and matrix regularization for indirectly measuring the structural responses. The inputs are some measured responses that are obtained via physical sensors. The outputs are the structural responses corresponding to some critical locations where no physical sensors are installed. Firstly, the transmissibility concept is introduced for expressing the relationship between the measured responses and the indirectly measured ones. Herein, a transmissibility matrix is formulated according to the theory of force identification under unknown initial conditions. Then, in order to reduce the size of the transmissibility matrix, structural responses are reshaped in a form of a matrix by using the concept of moving time windows. According to the matrix form of input-output relationship, indirect reconstruction of responses is boiled down to an optimization equation. Since inverse problem may be ill-conditioned, matrix regularization such as F-norm regularization is then recommended for improving the optimization problem. Herein, the penalty function is defined by using a weighted sum of two F-norm values, which correspond to the estimated responses of physical sensors and the ones of the concerned critical locations, respectively. Numerical simulations and experimental studies are finally carried out for verifying the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method. Some results show that the proposed method can be applied for indirectly measuring the responses with good robustness.

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) functions as a polypeptide hormone to regulate glucose and lipid metabolism, and its expression is regulated by cellular metabolic stress. Pyruvate is an important intermediate metabolite that acts as a key hub for cellular fuel metabolism. However, the effect of pyruvate on hepatic FGF21 expression and secretion remains unknown. Herein, we examined the gene expression and protein levels of FGF21 in human hepatoma HepG2 cells and mouse AML12 hepatocytes in vitro, as well as in mice in vivo. In HepG2 and AML12 cells, pyruvate at concentrations above 0.1 mM significantly increased FGF21 expression and secretion. The increase in cellular cAMP levels by adenylyl cyclase activation, phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibition and 8-Bromo-cAMP administration significantly restrained pyruvate-stimulated FGF21 expression. Pyruvate significantly increased PDE activities, reduced cAMP levels and decreased CREB phosphorylation. The inhibition of exchange protein directed activated by cAMP (Epac) and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) upregulated FGF21 expression, upon which pyruvate no longer increased FGF21 expression. The increase in plasma pyruvate levels in mice induced by the intraperitoneal injection of pyruvate significantly increased FGF21 gene expression and PDE activity with a reduction in cAMP levels and CREB phosphorylation in the mouse liver compared with the control. In conclusion, pyruvate activates PDEs to reduce cAMP and then inhibits the cAMP–Epac–CREB signaling pathway to upregulate FGF21 expression in hepatocytes.

Objectives The microscopic evaluation of slides has been gradually moving towards all digital in recent years, leading to the possibility for computer-aided diagnosis. It is worthwhile to know the similarities between deep learning models and pathologists before we put them into practical scenarios. The simple criteria of colorectal adenoma diagnosis make it to be a perfect testbed for this study.Design The deep learning model was trained by 177 accurately labelled training slides (156 with adenoma). The detailed labelling was performed on a self-developed annotation system based on iPad. We built the model based on DeepLab v2 with ResNet-34. The model performance was tested on 194 test slides and compared with five pathologists. Furthermore, the generalisation ability of the learning model was tested by extra 168 slides (111 with adenoma) collected from two other hospitals.Results The deep learning model achieved an area under the curve of 0.92 and obtained a slide-level accuracy of over 90% on slides from two other hospitals. The performance was on par with the performance of experienced pathologists, exceeding the average pathologist. By investigating the feature maps and cases misdiagnosed by the model, we found the concordance of thinking process in diagnosis between the deep learning model and pathologists.Conclusions The deep learning model for colorectal adenoma diagnosis is quite similar to pathologists. It is on-par with pathologists’ performance, makes similar mistakes and learns rational reasoning logics. Meanwhile, it obtains high accuracy on slides collected from different hospitals with significant staining configuration variations.

Abstract Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is more prevalent than esophageal adenocarcinoma in Asia, especially in China, where more than half of ESCC cases occur worldwide. Many studies have reported that the automatic detection of lymph node metastasis using semantic segmentation shows good performance in breast cancer and other adenocarcinomas. However, the detection of squamous cell carcinoma metastasis in hematoxylin‐eosin (H&E)‐stained slides has never been reported. We collected a training set of 110 esophageal lymph node slides with metastasis and 132 lymph node slides without metastasis. An iPad‐based annotation system was used to draw the contours of the cancer metastasis region. A DeepLab v3 model was trained to achieve the best fit with the training data. The learned model could estimate the probability of metastasis. To evaluate the effectiveness of the detection model of learned metastasis, we used another large cohort of clinical H&E‐stained esophageal lymph node slides containing 795 esophageal lymph nodes from 154 esophageal cancer patients. The basic authenticity label for each slide was confirmed by experienced pathologists. After filtering isolated noise in the prediction, we obtained an accuracy of 94%. Furthermore, we applied the learned model to throat and lung lymph node squamous cell carcinoma metastases and achieved the following promising results: an accuracy of 96.7% in throat cancer and an accuracy of 90% in lung cancer. In this work, we organized an annotated dataset of H&E‐stained esophageal lymph node and trained a deep neural network to detect lymph node metastasis in H&E‐stained slides of squamous cell carcinoma automatically. Moreover, it is possible to use this model to detect lymph nodes metastasis in squamous cell carcinoma from other organs. This study directly demonstrates the potential for determining the localization of squamous cell carcinoma metastases in lymph node and assisting in pathological diagnosis.

Temporal development of the human gut microbiome from infancy to childhood is driven by a variety of factors. We surveyed the fecal microbiome of 729 Chinese children aged 0–36 months, aiming to identify the age-specific patterns of microbiota succession, and evaluate the impact of birth mode, gender, geographical location, and gastrointestinal tract symptoms on the shaping of the gut microbiome. We demonstrated that phylogenetic diversity of the gut microbiome increased gradually over time, which was accompanied by an increase in Bacteroidetes and a reduction in Proteobacteria species. Analysis of community-wide phenotypes revealed a succession from aerobic bacteria and anaerobic bacteria to facultative anaerobes, and from Gram-negative to Gram-positive species during gut microbiota development in early childhood. The metabolic functions of the gut microbiome shifted tremendously alongside early physiological development, including an increase in alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism, and a reduction in glutathione, fatty acid, and tyrosine metabolism. During the first year of life, the Bacteroidetes phylum was less abundant in children born by casarean section compared with those delivered vaginally. The Enterococcaceae family, a group of facultative anaerobic microorganisms with pathogenic potential, was predominant in preterm infants. No measurable effect of maternal antibiotic exposure on gut microbiota development was found in the first 3 years of life. The relative abundances of Coriobacteriaceae and Streptococcaceae families, and Megasphaera genus were found to be higher in girls than in boys. Among the three first-tier Chinese cities, children born and fed in Beijing had a higher abundance of Enterococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae families, and Shenzhen children had a higher abundance of Fusobacteriaceae. The families Alcaligenaceae, Bacteroidaceae, and Porphyromonadaceae were more abundant in children with constipation, whereas the relative abundance of the Clostridium genus was higher in those with diarrhea.

Abstract Background The product of dosage compensation in female mammals is the inactive X chromosome (Xi). Xi facultative heterochromatin is organized into two different types, one of which is defined by histone H3 trimethylated at lysine 9 (H3K9me3). The rationale for this study was to assess SET domain bifurcated 1 (SETDB1) as a candidate for maintaining this repressive modification at the human Xi. Results Here, we show that loss of SETDB1 does not result in large-scale H3K9me3 changes at the Xi, but unexpectedly we observed striking decompaction of the Xi territory. Close examination revealed a 0.5 Mb region of the Xi that transitioned from H3K9me3 heterochromatin to euchromatin within the 3′ end of the IL1RAPL1 gene that is part of a common chromosome fragile site that is frequently deleted or rearranged in patients afflicted with intellectual disability and other neurological ailments. Centrally located within this interval is a powerful enhancer adjacent to an ERVL-MaLR element. In the absence of SETDB1, the enhancer is reactivated on the Xi coupled with bidirectional transcription from the ERVL-MaLR element. Xa deletion of the enhancer/ERVL-MaLR resulted in loss of full-length IL1RAPL1 transcript in cis, coupled with trans decompaction of the Xi chromosome territory, whereas Xi deletion increased detection of full-length IL1RAPL1 transcript in trans, but did not impact Xi compaction. Conclusions These data support a critical role for SETDB1 in maintaining the ERVL-MaLR element and adjacent enhancer in the 3′ end of the IL1RAPL1 gene in a silent state to facilitate Xi compaction.

Based on a conversational analysis (CA) of eight videoed EFL lessons from technology-enhanced primary classrooms in a rural suburb of a major city in China, this study examines the nature of technology-assisted practices and their influence on teacher-student interaction in the target language. The analysis revealed that the technology-assisted practices mainly served as an alternative presentation tool to meet a range of traditional pedagogical goals and facilitated minimal spontaneous language use among the students. The findings call for research to explore better pedagogical use of technology to promote students’ active language production to truly achieve educational equalization for rural students.

Background: Ginseng black spot disease resulting from Alternaria panax Whuetz is a common soil-borne disease, with an annual incidence rate higher than 20–30%. In this study, the bacterial strains with good antagonistic effect against A. panax are screened. Methods: A total of 285 bacterial strains isolated from ginseng rhizosphere soils were screened using the Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method and the Oxford cup plate assay. We analyzed the antifungal spectrum of SZ-22 by confronting incubation. To evaluate the efficacy of biocontrol against ginseng black spot and for growth promotion by SZ-22, we performed pot experiments in a plastic greenhouse. Taxonomic position of SZ-22 was identified using morphology, physiological, and biochemical characteristics, 16S ribosomal DNA, and gyrB sequences. Results: SZ-22 (which was identified as Brevundimonas terrae) showed the strongest inhibition rate against A. panax, which showed 83.70% inhibition, and it also provided broad-spectrum antifungal effects. The inhibition efficacies of the SZ-22 bacterial suspension against ginseng black spot reached 82.47% inhibition, which is significantly higher than that of the 25% suspension concentrate azoxystrobin fungicide treatment (p

With emphasis on long-span bridges, the dynamic responses of bridges without considering random traffic flows were found to be different from actual situations. The introduction of a random traffic flow model provides a new approach for the random analysis of bridge structure responses under vehicle loads. In this paper, the finite element and intelligent ant colony optimization-back propagation neural network (ACO-BPNN) models were used to study the dynamic responses of long-span bridges. The computational model was also validated by an experimental test. To confirm the validity of the proposed ACO-BPNN model after parameter selection, it was compared with the traditional back propagation neural network (BPNN) model and the genetic algorithm-back propagation neural network (GA-BPNN) model. BPNN, GA-BPNN, and ACO-BPNN adopt the same network topology structure to predict the dynamic responses of the long-span bridge. When the ACO-BPNN model conducted the iteration to the 130th generation, a training error of 0.009 was found to be smaller than the set critical error. In this manner, the computational accuracy was increased, and the optimized time was reduced. In addition, only 0.4 hours were spent in using the proposed ACO-BPNN model to predict the dynamic response of the long-span bridge. In the case of the same computer performance, it took 4.5 h to use the finite element model to predict the dynamic response of the long-span bridge. The advantage of the proposed ACO-BPNN model in predicting the performance of large-scale complex structures such as long-span bridges was clearly found.

Suffering from complex sideslip angles, path following control of an under actuated surface vehicle (USV) becomes significantly challenging and remains unresolved. In this paper, a finite-time observer based guidance and control (FOGC) scheme for path following of an USV with time-varying and large sideslip angles and unknown external disturbances is proposed. The salient features of the proposed FOGC scheme are as follows: 1) time-varying large sideslip angle is exactly estimated by a finite-time sideslip observer, and thereby contributing to the sideslip-tangent line-of-sight guidance law which significantly enhances the robustness of the guidance system to unknown sideslip angles which are significantly large and time-varying; 2) a finite-time disturbance observer (FDO) is devised to exactly observe unknown external disturbances, and thereby implementing FDO-based surge and heading robust tracking controllers, which possess remarkable tracking accuracy and precise disturbance rejection, simultaneously; and 3) by virtue of cascade analysis and Lyapunov approach, global asymptotic stability of the integrated guidance-control system is rigorously ensured. Simulation studies and comparisons are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed FOGC scheme.

Optical sensors with local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of noble metal (gold, silver, platinum) nanoparticles have received extensive attention due to their excellent detection performance. Here, we propose an LSPR fiber-optic sensor with a graphene oxide/triangular silver nanoparticle structure. Benefiting from the LSPR characteristics of the silver triangle nanoparticles, the use of triangular silver nanoparticles provides significant sensitivity enhancement. In order to highlight the enhancement of silver triangle nanoparticles, we chose the commonly used silver spherical nanoparticles as a comparison. We used the finite difference time domain method to model and calculate the local electric field and extinction efficiency for the two shapes of silver nanoparticles. The simulation results show that the local electric field intensity of triangular silver nanoparticles is 10 times that of spherical silver nanoparticles, and the extinction efficiency is 4 times that of spherical silver nanoparticles. In the experiment, a U-shaped LSPR fiber sensor with spherical and triangular silver nanoparticles was fabricated. The former has a refractive index sensitivity of 342.7 nm/RIU and the latter has a sensitivity of 1116.8 nm/RIU. Even if there is temperature interference during the detection process, the detection result will not produce a large error.

In recent years, free-floating bike-sharing systems (FFBSSs) have been considerably developed in China. As there is no requirement to construct bike stations, this system can substantially reduce the cost when compared to the traditional bike-sharing systems. However, FFBSSs have also become a critical cause of parking disorder, especially during the morning and evening rush hours. To address this issue, the local governments stipulated that FFBSSs are required to deploy virtual stations near public transit stations and major establishments. Therefore, the location assignment of virtual stations is sufficiently considered in the FFBSSs, which is required to solve the parking disorder and satisfy the user demand, simultaneously. The purpose of this study is to optimize the location assignment of virtual stations that can meet the growing demand of users by analyzing the usage data of their shared bikes. This optimization problem is generally formulated as a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model to maximize the user demand. As an alternative solution, this article proposes a clustering algorithm, which can solve this problem in real time. The experimental results demonstrate that the MILP model and the proposed method are superior to the K-means method. Our method not only provides a solution for maximizing the user demand but also gives an optimized design scheme of the FFBSSs that represents the characteristics of virtual stations.

Objective: To study the changes in urine metabolism in female water polo players before and after high-intensity training by using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and to explore the biometabolic characteristics of urine after training and competition. Methods: Twelve young female water polo players (except goalkeepers) from Shanxi Province were selected. A 4-week formal training was started after 1 week of acclimatization according to experimental requirements. Urine samples (5 mL) were collected before formal training, early morning after 4 weeks of training, and immediately after 4 weeks of training matches, and labeled as T1, T2, and T3, respectively. The samples were tested by LC-MS after pre-treatment. XCMS, SIMCA-P 14.1, and SPSS16.0 were used to process the data and identify differential metabolites. Results: On comparing the immediate post-competition period with the pre-training period (T3 vs. T1), 24 differential metabolites involved in 16 metabolic pathways were identified, among which niacin and niacinamide metabolism and purine metabolism were potential post-competition urinary metabolic pathways in the untrained state of the athletes. On comparing the immediate post-competition period with the post-training period (T3 vs. T2), 10 metabolites involved in three metabolic pathways were identified, among which niacin and niacinamide metabolism was a potential target urinary metabolic pathway for the athletes after training. Niacinamide, 1-methylnicotinamide, 2-pyridone, L-Gln, AMP, and Hx were involved in two metabolic pathways before and after the training. Conclusion: Differential changes in urine after water polo games are due to changes in the metabolic pathways of niacin and niacinamide.

The random traffic flow model which considers parameters of all the vehicles passing through the bridge, including arrival time, vehicle speed, vehicle type, vehicle weight, and horizontal position as well as the bridge deck roughness, is input into the vehicle-bridge coupling vibration program. In this way, vehicle-bridge coupling vibration responses with considering the random traffic flow can be numerically simulated. Experimental test is used to validate the numerical simulation, and they had the consistent changing trends. This result proves the reliability of the vehicle-bridge coupling model in this paper. However, the computational process of this method is complicated and proposes high requirements for computer performance and resources. Therefore, this paper considers using a more advanced intelligent method to predict vibration responses of the long-span bridge. The PSO-BP (particle swarm optimization-back propagation) neural network model is proposed to predict vibration responses of the long-span bridge. Predicted values and real values at each point basically have the consistent changing trends, and the maximum error is less than 10%. Hence, it is feasible to predict vibration responses of the long-span bridge using the PSO-BP neural network model. In order to verify advantages of the predicting model, it is compared with the BP neural network model and GA-BP neural network model. The PSO-BP neural network model converges to the set critical error after it is iterated to the 226th generation, while the other two neural network models are not converged. In addition, the relative error of predicted values using PSO-BP neural network is only 2.71%, which is obviously less than the predicted results of other two neural network models. We can find that the PSO-BP neural network model proposed by the paper in predicting vibration responses is highly efficient and accurate.

Background. To analyze the therapeutic effects of corneal debridement combined with intrastromal voriconazole in recalcitrant fungal keratitis. Methods. This is a retrospective study. Fourteen patients with recalcitrant fungal keratitis were treated by corneal debridement combined with intrastromal voriconazole (50 μg/0.1 ml). This paper reviews and analyzes the patients’ basic state, surgical intervention, medicinal treatment, and outcomes. Results. The mean sizes of infiltration and ulcer were (5.54 ± 1.32)mm and (3.46 ± 1.03)mm, respectively, and the mean depth was (315.43 ± 57.72)μm. Twelve of the patients had satellite lesion, and 2 suffered hypopyon. After intrastromal voriconazole, the size of infiltration decreased significantly to (4.32 ± 1.10)mm (P

Tumor suppressor PTEN controls genomic stability and inhibits tumorigenesis. The N-terminal phosphatase domain of PTEN antagonizes the PI3K/AKT pathway, but its C-terminal function is less defined. Here, we describe a knockin mouse model of a nonsense mutation that results in the deletion of the entire Pten C-terminal region, referred to as PtenΔC. Mice heterozygous for PtenΔC develop multiple spontaneous tumors, including cancers and B cell lymphoma. Heterozygous deletion of the Pten C-terminal domain also causes genomic instability and common fragile site rearrangement. We found that Pten C-terminal disruption induces p53 and its downstream targets. Simultaneous depletion of p53 promotes metastasis without influencing the initiation of tumors, suggesting that p53 mainly suppresses tumor progression. Our data highlight the essential role of the PTEN C terminus in the maintenance of genomic stability and suppression of tumorigenesis.

Real-time and accurate monitoring of dynamic deflection is of great significance for health monitoring and condition assessment of bridge structures. This paper proposes an improved step-type liquid level sensing system (LLSS) for dynamic deflection monitoring. Layout of straight-line-type pipeline is replaced by step-type pipeline in this improved deflection monitoring system, which can remove the interference of the inclination angle on the measurement accuracy and is applicable for dynamic deflection monitoring. Fluid dynamics are first analyzed to demonstrate that measurement accuracy is interfered with by the fluid velocity induced by structural vibration, and ANSYS-FLOTRAN is applied for analyzing the influence range caused by the turbulent flow. Finally, a step-type LLSS model is designed and experimented with to verify the influence of the three key parameters (initial displacement excitation, step height, and distance from the measurement point to the elbow) on the measurement accuracy, and the reasonable placement scheme for the measurement point is determined. The results show that the measurement accuracy mainly depends on the turbulent flow caused by step height. The measurement error gets smaller after about 1.0 m distance from the elbow. To ensure that the measurement error is less than 6%, the distance between the measurement point and the elbow should be larger than 1.0 m.

Special reed-leaf-like carbon nanostructures have been realized by using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) under the combined action of copper containing catalytic pyrolysis and ammonia (NH3) gas. The nucleation and growth mechanisms of CNLs based on growth parameters are discussed. The Raman spectra of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), CNLs and CNT-CNL composites were measured and found to be strongly influenced by the type of gas. Field emission (FE) properties of CNL-CNT composites were observed with a lower turn-on electric field of 0.73 V/µm, and a higher current density of 18.0 mA/cm2 at an electric field of 2.65 V/µm, which are superior to those of CNTs and flower-like CNLs. This is because there are more field emitters in CNLs inter-planted in CNTs. We consider that the unique FE stability of CNTs and defects in CNLs play a synergetic role on the improved FE properties.

Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer is one of the most important medicinal plants in Northeast China, and ginsenosides are the main active ingredients found in medicinal ginseng. The biosynthesis of ginsenosides is regulated by environmental factors and the expression of key enzyme genes. Therefore, in this experiment, ginseng in the leaf opened stage, the green fruit stage, the red fruit stage, and the root growth stage was used as the test material, and nine individual ginsenosides and total saponins (the sum of the individual saponins) were detected by HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography). There was a trend of synergistic increase and decrease, and saponin accumulation and transfer in different tissues. The expression of key enzyme genes in nine synthetic pathways was detected by real-time PCR, and the correlation between saponin content, gene expression, and ecological factors was analyzed. Correlation analysis showed that in root tissue, PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) and soil water potential had a greater impact on ginsenoside accumulation, while in leaf tissue, temperature and relative humidity had a greater impact on ginsenoside accumulation. The results provide a theoretical basis for elucidating the relationship between ecological factors and genetic factors and their impact on the quality of medicinal materials. The results also have guiding significance for realizing the quality of medicinal materials.

To extract statistic features of communication signal from compressive samples, such as cyclostationary property, full-scale signal reconstruction is not actually necessary or somehow expensive. However, direct reconstruction of cyclic feature may not be practical due to the relative high processing complexity. In this paper, we propose a new cyclic feature recovery approach based on the reconstruction of autocorrelation sequence from sub-Nyquist samples, which can reduce the computation complexity and memory consumption significantly, while the recovery performance remains well in the same compressive ratio. Through theoretical analyses and simulations, we conducted to show and verify our statements and conclusions.

The kinetics, thermodynamics, and isotherms during electrical removal of Cu2+ by carbon nanotube and carbon nanofiber (CNT-CNF) electrodes in CuCl2 solution were studied under different solution temperatures, initial Cu2+ concentrations, and applied voltages. The result shows that Langmuir isotherm can describe experimental data well, indicating monolayer adsorption, and higher Cu2+ removal and rate constant are achieved at higher voltage, lower initial Cu2+ concentration, and higher solution temperature. Meanwhile, the thermodynamics analyses indicate that the electrical removal of Cu2+ onto CNT-CNF electrodes is mainly driven by a physisorption process.

Heterogeneous wireless networks based on varieties of radio access technologies (RATs) and standards will coexist in the future. In order to exploit this potential multiaccess gain, it is required that different RATs are managed in a cooperative fashion. This paper proposes two advanced functional architecture supporting the functionalities of interworking between WiMAX and 3GPP networks as a specific case: Radio Control Server- (RCS-) and Access Point- (AP-) based centralized architectures. The key technologies supporting the interworking are then investigated, including proposing the Generic Link Layer (GLL) and researching the multiradio resource management (MRRM) mechanisms. This paper elaborates on these topics, and the corresponding solutions are proposed with preliminary results.

Accumulated evidence suggests that bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) are capable of regenerating damaged tissue. This study evaluated whether intravenously (noninvasively) administered, GFP-labeled BMSCs would migrate into damaged brain tissue and improve neurological function after a stroke. Wistar rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion. Twenty-four hours after injury, the rats received an IV injection of culture medium or BMSCs isolated from adult Wistar rats expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP). Two hours after injury and 1, 3, and 7 days after cell transplantation, neurological function was evaluated using a neurological severity scale. On day 7, the brain scar size was determined using tetrazolium chloride staining, and the implanted cells were identified using confocal microscopy. Immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate apoptosis and angiogenesis in the ischemic region, as well as the spatial distribution of the implanted BMSCs relative to the native neural cells. Implanted BMSCs migrated throughout the territory of the middle cerebral artery by 7 days after transplantation. Most implanted cells were located in the scar area and border zone of the ischemic region, and some expressed the neuronal marker NeuN. Rats receiving BMSC transplantation exhibited reduced scar size, limited apoptosis, and enhanced angiogenic factor expression and vascular density in the ischemic region relative to the control group, as well as significant improvements in the neurological severity scores. Intravenously administrated BMSCs facilitated the structural and functional recovery of neural tissue following ischemic injury, perhaps mediated by enhanced angiogenesis.