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Artificial intelligence has recently gained popularity across different medical fields to aid in the detection of diseases based on pathology samples or medical imaging findings. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a key assessment tool for patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). The role of machine learning and artificial intelligence to increase detection of brain abnormalities in TLE remains inconclusive. We used support vector machine (SV) and deep learning (DL) models based on region of interest (ROI-based) structural (n = 336) and diffusion (n = 863) brain MRI data from patients with TLE with (“lesional”) and without (“non-lesional”) radiographic features suggestive of underlying hippocampal sclerosis from the multinational (multi-center) ENIGMA-Epilepsy consortium. Our data showed that models to identify TLE performed better or similar (68–75%) compared to models to lateralize the side of TLE (56–73%, except structural-based) based on diffusion data with the opposite pattern seen for structural data (67–75% to diagnose vs. 83% to lateralize). In other aspects, structural and diffusion-based models showed similar classification accuracies. Our classification models for patients with hippocampal sclerosis were more accurate (68–76%) than models that stratified non-lesional patients (53–62%). Overall, SV and DL models performed similarly with several instances in which SV mildly outperformed DL. We discuss the relative performance of these models with ROI-level data and the implications for future applications of machine learning and artificial intelligence in epilepsy care.

Fractional-order Chua systems have drawn wide attention in view of rich dynamic characteristics, e.g., chaos and hyperchaos. How to generate chaotic series via encryption method in fractional-order Chua systems is a difficult point all the while. In this paper, we derive several encryption methods in fractional-order Chua systems to generate chaotic series. As one of the most direct application, image encryption is also discussed by the presented methods.

We previously showed that microRNA-182 (miR-182) might promote cell proliferation and migration in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). This study aimed to investigate circular RNAs (circRNAs) that interact with miR-182 and play important roles in TNBC. Thirty patients with TNBC were enrolled. One pair of tumor and adjacent tissue samples (control) were submitted for circRNA sequencing to establish the expression profile of circRNAs. Concomitantly, circRNAs aberrantly expressed between TNBC and control groups were identified, and these differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs) were subjected to Gene Ontology and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses, as well as prediction of interactions with miRNAs. The expression levels of 5 circRNAs interacting with miR-182 were validated using qRT-PCR. Associations between the expression of circUSP42 and clinicopathological features and prognosis were evaluated. A total of 825 upregulated and 1127 downregulated DEcircRNAs were identified between tumor and control groups. Upregulated DEcircRNAs were significantly involved in proteoglycans in cancer, and endocytosis. Downregulated DEcircRNAs were involved in the pathway of resistance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Prediction of circRNA-miRNA interactions showed that hsa_circ_0002032, chr6:131973682-132047340+, hsa_circ_0005982, hsa_circ_0007823 (circUSP42), and hsa_circ_0001777 might act as miRNA sponges for miR-182. qRT-PCR showed consistent results with circRNA sequencing data ( P < 0.05). Downregulation of circUSP42 was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis ( P = 0.005) and advanced clinical stage ( P = 0.032). Furthermore, Kaplan-Meier plots showed that low expression of circUSP42 was closely associated with poor outcome (log-rank test, P < 0.001). Our data suggested that dysregulation of circUSP42 might contribute to the development and progression of TNBC.

To study the sandstorm resistance design of civil structures and transportation infrastructures, the sandstorm flow fields with various grain concentrations were simulated by the windblown sand tunnel. The results show that the grain concentration profile presents an exponential decay form before the critical wind speed; as the test speed increases, the grain concentration decreases initially and increases afterwards with height, and the characteristic height of moving grain increases while the creep percentage decreases. Moving sand grains reduce wind speed and increase turbulence intensity, and the whole process is affected by grain concentration. The moving grain and the turbulence of the sandstorm flow field form a mutual feedback mechanism, which affects the wind-induced response and impact response to structures. The variation of kinetic energy with height is similar to that of total energy with height in the sandstorm flow fields. Specifically, the grain energy increases with increasing concentration and wind speed, but decreases initially and increases afterwards with height. Furthermore, the critical heights of the grain energy and concentration profile are both about 0.2 m, which has little impact on structures.

AIM: To study the relationship between optical coherence tomography angiography(OCTA)and eye axis in adolescents.METHODS: Prospective non-randomized clinical study. The clinical data of 33 cases(66 eyes)were collected and analyzed. All the subjects underwent naked vision, diopter, corrected visual acuity, axial measurement and OCT examination. SPSS 19.0 software was used to analyze the relationship between the results of OCTA and the eye axis.RESULTS: The mean axial length was(24.46±1.50)mm, the mean vascular density in macular area was(47.88±2.56)%, and the mean thickness of nerve fiber layer in macular area was(278.61±15.08)μm. The mean perioptic vessel density was(57.79±2.99)%, and the mean capillary density was(53.08±3.49)%. There was a negative correlation between the length of the eye axis and the thickness of the nerve fiber layer in the macular area(P=0.006), but there was no correlation between the axial length and the other results.CONCLUSION: There was a negative correlation between the thickness of nerve fiber layer in macular area and the eye axis, but there was no correlation between the blood vessel density and the eye axis in the detection of fundus OCTA in adolescents.

Windblown sand two-phase flow characteristics become an essential factor in evaluating the windblown sand load on infrastructures and civil structures. Based on the measured wind characteristics in arid desert regions, windblown sand flow fields with three kinds of sand beds are simulated in the wind tunnel, respectively. The results indicate that the characteristic saltation height of sand particles increases with the wind speed and particle size in the windblown sand flow field. As the sand concentration increases, the wind speed decreases, and the turbulence intensity increases. The concentration, energy, and impact pressure of sand particles increase with increasing wind speed and decrease exponentially with increasing height. At the same wind speed, the concentration, energy, and impact pressure of the coarse sand, fine sand, and mixed sand increases, in turn. Moreover, the variation of kinetic energy with height is similar to that of total energy with height and the proportion of potential energy to total energy is quite small.

The RANS (Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations) with CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulation method is used to analyze the head hump formation mechanism in the double-suction centrifugal pump under a part load condition. The purpose is to establish a clear connection between the head hump and the microcosmic flow field structure, and reveal the influence mechanism between them. It is found that the diffuser stall causes a change in the impeller capacity for work, and this is the most critical reason for hump formation. The change in the hydraulic loss of volute is also a reason for hump, and it is analyzed using the energy balance equation. The hump formation mechanism has not been fully revealed so far. This paper found the most critical flow structure inducing hump and revealed its inducing mechanism, and greatly promoted the understanding of hump formation. The impeller capacity for work is analyzed using torque and rotational speed directly, avoiding large error caused by the Euler head formula, greatly enhancing the accuracy of establishing the connection between the impeller capacity for work and the coherent structure in the flow field under a part load condition. When a pump is running in the hump area, a strong vibration and noise are prone to occur, endangering the pump safety and reliability, and even the pump start and the transition of different working conditions may be interrupted. Revealing the hump formation mechanism provides a key theoretical basis for suppressing hump. Hump problems are widespread in many kinds of pumps, causing a series of troubles and hazards. The analysis method in this paper also provides a reference for other pumps.

A primary cDNA library of Aspergillus niger H1 was constructed using the switching mechanism at the 5′ end of the RNA transcript (SMART) technique. A total of 169 clones exhibited halos when grown on tricalcium phosphate medium, and the H-46 clone displayed a clear halo. The full-length cDNA of the clone H-46 clone was 1 407 bp in length with a complete open reading frame (ORF) of 816 bp, and it encoded a protein that contained 272 amino acids. Multiple alignment analysis revealed a high degree of homology between the ORFs of the H-46 clone and the Bax inhibitor family (BI-1-like) proteins of other fungi. Acetic acid was secreted by Escherichia coli DH5α that express the BI-1-like gene. The level attained was 492.52 mg L−1, which was associated with the release of 0.212 mg mL−1 of soluble phosphate at 28 h. These results showed that the heterologous expression of BI-1-like genes in Eschericha coli DH5α increased the secretion of acetic acid by altering the membrane permeability and enhancing the solubility of phosphate (P).

AIM: To evaluate the ocular parameter changes following scleral buckling(SB)for rhegmatogenous retinal detachment(RRD). METHODS: This retrospective, non-randomized case-control study included 46 eyes of 23 patients who underwent SB for RRD. Best corrected visual acuity(BCVA), diopter, intraocular pressure(IOP), anterior chamber depth(ACD), the number of corneal endothelial cells, axial length and the degree of exophthalmos were evaluated in the operated eyes and the follow eyes postoperatively at 3mo. RESULTS: After SB surgery, retina reattachment was achieved without any obvious complications or adverse reactions in all follow-up patients. Among all parameters, the significant decrease in BCVA of 0.15(LogMAR BCVA, P=0.007), in anterior chamber depth(ACD)of 0.29mm(P=0.011)and increase in the degree of exophthalmos of 0.54mm(P=0.047)were observed; the surgery-induced changes for other parameters, including diopter, IOP, counts of endothelial cells and axial length, were not significantly different(P>0.05). CONCLUSION: SB is a good technique for repairing RRD. It brings SB-induced changes in ACD and the degree of exophthalmos.

In this work, a thin-film composite forward osmosis (FO) membrane was fabricated on polyethersulfone substrate by interfacial polymerization with naturally-available humic acid (HA) as a stable membrane additive in the support layer. Compared with the pristine polyethersulfone substrate, the incorporation of HA significantly altered the cross-section structure, increased average pore size and porosity of the substrate, leading to a thinner polyamide layer, further increasing the water flux (permeability). Specifically, the FO membrane showed a higher water flux (~20 L m−2 h−1) with the introduction of HA than the membrane synthesized without HA (~15 L m−2 h−1) in the FO mode with 2 M NaCl as draw solution. Moreover, the selectivity of the membrane was improved ~45% by dosing 0.8 wt% HA into the substrate, in comparation to the pristine membrane without HA doped. Besides, the average roughness of the polyamide layer was reduced by up to 68% when HA was present in the substrate, which mitigated the fouling potential. Thus, a slower flux decline ratio (~60%) was observed for the membrane modified with 0.8 wt% HA than the pristine membrane (~80%). Taken together, our findings shed light on using natural-available HA for effectively and efficiently modifying membrane substrate to simultaneously enhance the permeate-selectivity performance and the anti-fouling behavior in FO membrane process. The fundamental causes of these differences in membrane separation performance and fouling behavior are considered and related to the physical and chemical characteristics of support layer (i.e., porosity and pore size) and polyamide layer (i.e., active layer thickness and roughness) of membranes. Keywords: Thin-film composite membrane, Humic acid, Permeability, Selectivity, Anti-fouling

Sophoricoside, which is an isoflavone glycoside found in many plant species, has recently attracted attention because of its anti-fertility activity. One solvent-free form, two solvatomorphs and an amorphous phase of sophoricoside are reported for the first time. X-ray diffractometry, differential scanning calorimetry, thermal gravimetric analysis and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy were used to characterize the different forms. The results show that factors such as crystal symmetry, intermolecular arrangement, conformational flexibility, hydrogen-bonding interactions and solvent incorporation lead to different solid-state forms. An investigation of the transformations of the four forms showed that they can interconvert with each other under certain conditions. Amorphous phase and solvatomorphism were unstable but can improve the solubility of sophoricoside in water.