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A 52-year-old man with newly diagnosed gastric neuroendocrine tumor (NET) underwent 68Ga-NODAGA-JR11 and 68Ga-DOTATATE imaging. 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT showed no 68Ga-DOTATATE uptake in the lesion, where 68Ga-NODAGA-JR11 showed intense uptake. The patient subsequently received endoscopic submucosal dissection and en bloc resection of the lesion, which was pathologically confirmed as gastric NET (G2). The positive findings of 68Ga-NODAGA-JR11 in the current case highlighted that 68Ga-NODAGA-JR11 PET/CT may be a promising molecular imaging technique for the detection of NETs with high sensitivity.

A 43-year-old woman with history of papillary thyroid cancer status post total thyroidectomy and neck dissection and multiple radioiodine therapy developed dyspnea and cough. CT scan of the chest showed left pleural thickening and pleural effusion. The pathology from pleural biopsy demonstrated the metastases from papillary thyroid cancer. 68Ga-fibroblast activation protein inhibitor PET/CT showed inhomogeneously increased uptake of fibroblast activation protein inhibitor in the thickened pleura.

The idea of morphing a helicopter blade by using compliant structures promises augmented capabilities in terms of manoeuvrability and fuel efficiency. To achieve morphing, compliant structures work by elastically deforming to achieve the desired response, and therefore actuation must work against the inherent structural stiffness in addition to external loads. Passive Energy Balancing has previously addressed this problem for quasistatic loads, by adding negative stiffness elements in parallel with the structural stiffness, so that stiffness is reduced almost to zero and lighter actuators may be used. This work extends this idea to the case of dynamic actuation, where negative stiffness is optimally used to reduce the natural frequency of a morphing blade, so that it may resonate at the desired actuation frequency. A negative stiffness mechanism in parallel with the structural stiffness can be used to tailor the natural frequency of a morphing blade system. Furthermore, the negative stiffness mechanism introduces nonlinearity that has some benefits in stabilising the resonant response amplitude compared to a linear resonance, and is also shown to be beneficial to achieve a weight efficient mechanism. A spiral pulley negative stiffness mechanism has previously addressed this problem for quasistatic loads and is extended here to achieve linear frequency tailoring and nonlinear frequency tailoring, respectively. The equivalent stiffness of the extended spring used in the rotating system has been investigated. Resonant morphing strategies exploiting dynamic tailoring have been studied showing encouraging preliminary results.

Hurricanes commonly disturb and damage tropical forests. Hurricane frequency and intensity are predicted to change under the changing climate. The short-term impacts of hurricane disturbances to tropical forests have been widely studied, but the long-term impacts are rarely investigated. Modeling is critical to investigate the potential response of forests to future disturbances, particularly if the nature of the disturbances is changing with climate. Unfortunately, existing models of forest dynamics are not presently able to account for hurricane disturbances. Therefore, we implement the Hurricane Disturbance in the Ecosystem Demography model (ED2) (ED2-HuDi). The hurricane disturbance includes hurricane-induced immediate mortality and subsequent recovery modules. The parameterizations are based on observations at the Bisley Experimental Watersheds (BEW) in the Luquillo Experimental Forest in Puerto Rico. We add one new plant functional type (PFT) to the model – Palm, as palms cannot be categorized into one of the current existing PFTs and are known to be an abundant component of tropical forests worldwide. The model is calibrated with observations at BEW using the generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation (GLUE) approach. The optimal simulation obtained from GLUE has a mean relative error of −21 %, −12 %, and −15 % for stem density, basal area, and aboveground biomass, respectively. The optimal simulation also agrees well with the observation in terms of PFT composition (+1 %, −8 %, −2 %, and +9 % differences in the percentages of “Early”, “Mid”, “Late”, and “Palm” PFTs, respectively) and size structure of the forest (+0.8 % differences in the percentage of large stems). Lastly, using the optimal parameter set, we study the impact of forest initial condition on the recovery of the forest from a single hurricane disturbance. The results indicate that, compared to a no-hurricane scenario, a single hurricane disturbance has little impact on forest structure (+1 % change in the percentage of large stems) and composition ( % change in the percentage of each of the four PFTs) but leads to 5 % higher aboveground biomass after 80 years of succession. The assumption of a less severe hurricane disturbance leads to a 4 % increase in aboveground biomass.

Purpose This study aimed to compare the diagnostic performance of [68Ga]Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 and [18F]-FDG PET/CT in the primary and metastatic lesions of gastric cancer. Methods Fifty-six patients with histologically proven gastric carcinomas were enrolled in this study. Each patient underwent both [18F]-FDG and [68Ga]Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT within one week. Activity of tracer accumulation in lesions were assessed by maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and TBR (lesions SUVmax/ ascending aorta SUVmean). Histological work-up including immunohistochemical staining for FAP served as a standard of reference. Results [68Ga]Ga-FAPI PET/CT is superior in detecting primary tumors both in patient-based (100% [45/45] vs. 97.8% [44/45]) and lesion-based analyses (97.8% [45/46] vs. 95.7% [44/46]), showing higher SUVmax (10.25 vs. 8.13, P = 0.004) and TBR (11.63 vs. 5.83, P < 0.001), compared with [18F]-FDG PET/CT. The specificity and positive predictive value of [68Ga]Ga-FAPI were significantly higher than that of [18F]-FDG (100.0% vs. 97.7%, P < 0.001; 100.0% vs. 57.1%, P = 0.001) in determining the lymph node (LN) metastases. [68Ga]Ga-FAPI PET/CT was superior to [18F]-FDG PET/CT in N-staging (47.1% [8/17] vs. 23.5% [4/17]), and in evaluation for LN, peritoneum and bone metastases. [68Ga]Ga-FAPI PET/CT detected positive recurrent lesions in all patients and showed more positive lesions and clearer tumor delineation. Two patients underwent follow-up [68Ga]Ga-FAPI PET/CT scans after chemotherapy, which both showed remission. Conclusions [68Ga]Ga-FAPI PET/CT can better detect primary gastric cancer and metastatic lesions in peritoneum, abdominal LNs and bone, showing high usefulness in guiding N staging. Furthermore, [68Ga]Ga-FAPI PET/CT provides more information for patients with recurrence detection and also has great potential in monitoring response to treatment.

Background Pneumonia is a common complication of influenza and closely related to mortality in influenza patients. The present study examines cytokines as predictors of the prognosis of influenza-associated pneumonia. Methods This study included 101 inpatients with influenza (64 pneumonia and 37 non-pneumonia patients). 48 cytokines were detected in the serum samples of the patients and the clinical characteristics were analyzed. The correlation between them was analyzed to identify predictive biomarkers for the prognosis of influenza-associated pneumonia. Results Seventeen patients had poor prognosis and developed pneumonia. Among patients with influenza-associated pneumonia, the levels of 8 cytokines were significantly higher in those who had a poor prognosis: interleukin-6 (IL-6), interferon-γ (IFN-γ), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), monocyte colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), monocyte chemoattractant protein-3, Interleukin-2 receptor subunit alpha and Hepatocyte growth factor. Correlation analysis showed that the IL-6, G-CSF, M-CSF, IFN-γ, and MCP-1 levels had positive correlations with the severity of pneumonia. IL-6 and G-CSF showed a strong and positive correlation with poor prognosis in influenza-associated pneumonia patients. The combined effect of the two cytokines resulted in the largest area (0.926) under the receiver-operating characteristic curve. Conclusion The results indicate that the probability of poor prognosis in influenza patients with pneumonia is significantly increased. IL-6, G-CSF, M-CSF, IFN-γ, and MCP-1 levels had a positive correlation with the severity of pneumonia. Importantly, IL-6 and G-CSF were identified as significant predictors of the severity of influenza-associated pneumonia.

In the field of space mechanical lubrication, to improve the reliability and life of space lubrication, solid lubricating film-liquid lubricant composite lubrication has been used in recent years. This lubrication method can improve the durability of sliding friction mating surfaces, reduce equipment wear, and extend the service life of motion mechanisms. However, due to unstable factors such as volatilization and creeping of liquid lubricants in microgravity and ultra-high-vacuum environments, the solid lubricating film wears out after long-term use and produces wear debris and other unfavorable factors. To solve the above problems, this study proposes a novel composite lubrication system constituting a MoS

BackgroudEarly diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has not been clinically resolved, which has been causing more death in patients with HCC. HCC is also a systemic disease related to disorders of blood homeostasis, and the association of red blood cells (RBCs) and HCC tumorigenesis is still elusive. This study explored the protein characteristics of RBCs at the progressive pathological stages comparing with healthy individuals, including liver cirrhosis (LC) and established HCC, to fully understand the tumorigenesis of HCC from a different view and identify potentially novel diagnostic biomarkers for HCC in RBCs.MethodsData independent acquisition (DIA) proteomic analyses were performed with 72 clinical RBCs samples from a cohort of subjects including HCC, LC and healthy controls. Bioinformatics analysis was conducted for significantly differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) through the whole process of tumorigenesis to characterize the clinical relevanve of RBCs and tumorigenesis in HCC. The highly potential tumorigenesis-associated molecular biomarkers were evaluated with clinical samples by parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) technology.ResultsWe observed that red blood cells number dynamically changes during the tumorigenesis of HCC, and LC is a developmental stage more closely approaching HCC based on the protein expresson profiles in RBCs. The expression of hemoglobin (HbA, HbF) in erythroid cells also dynamically alters during the whole process of HCC tumorigenesis, suggesting immature erythroid cells exist in peripheral blood of HCC patients and erythropoiesis in the patients starts to be influenced with the occurance of LC. We observed that the autophagy pathway is disturbed in RBCs with the onset of LC and maintained during the tumorigenesis of HCC. Oxytocin pathway and GnRH pathway are disturbed and first identified during the development of LC into HCC. SMIM1, ANXA7, HBA1 and HBE1 that are significantly altered during tumorigenesis were verified as promising biomarkers for HCC early diagnosis.ConclusionsThis study underlied the clinical relevance of the proteins in RBCs and the tumorigenesis of HCC, and provided the potential biomarkers for early diagnosis in HCC from a new perspective. Our results provided a novel strategy with RBCs for HCC early diagnosis, which will improve the translational research and application in diagnosis of HCC.

A novel passive twist morphing concept is examined for helicopter blades. The concept is demonstrated using a thin-walled rectangular composite beam created with symmetric layup to obtain bend-twist property. The twist of a rotor blade is proposed to be actuated though a movable mass at the blade tip which is able to provide a range of lagwise bending moment during rotation as a result of the centrifugal force. First a set of static bending test is performed which provides detailed characterisation of the deformation and strain distribution of the composite beam subjected to a number of bending loads. The results of the experiment fully verify numerical predictions including finite element approach (FE) and beam cross sectional analysis. A series of simulations are then conducted using the verified numerical model to demonstrate how the desired twist can be effectively achieved by manipulating the size and location of the mass.

To evaluate the potential value of [Thirty-six treatment-naïve patients with OSCC who underwent 2-[Thirty-seven primary lesions of 36 patients were accurately detected by both [[• [

A 78-year-old man with a newly diagnosed gastric adenocarcinoma underwent 18F-FDG and 68Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT before treatment. Both 18F-FDG and 68Ga-FAPI-04 PET/CT demonstrated intense radioactivity in the gastric cancer. However, the benign Schmorl node in the inferior endplate of the T5 vertebrae showed increased uptake of 68Ga-FAPI-04, which was not FDG avid. Two months after radical gastrectomy of the gastric cancer (pT1aN0M0, IA), a follow-up CT showed that the Schmorl node in T5 vertebrae remained unchanged.

Introduction: Given the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the consequent global healthcare crisis, there is an urgent need to better understand risk factors for symptom deterioration and mortality among patients with COVID-19. This systematic review aimed to meet the need by determining the predictive value of chronic diseases for COVID-19 severity and mortality.Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Complete to identify studies published between December 1, 2019, and December 31, 2020. Two hundred and seventeen observational studies from 26 countries involving 624,986 patients were included. We assessed the risk of bias of the included studies and performed a cumulative meta-analysis.Results: We found that among COVID-19 patients, hypertension was a very common condition and was associated with higher severity, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and mortality. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was the strongest predictor for COVID-19 severity, admission to ICU, and mortality, while asthma was associated with a reduced risk of COVID-19 mortality. Patients with obesity were at a higher risk of experiencing severe symptoms of COVID-19 rather than mortality. Patients with cerebrovascular disease, chronic liver disease, chronic renal disease, or cancer were more likely to become severe COVID-19 cases and had a greater probability of mortality.Conclusions: COVID-19 patients with chronic diseases were more likely to experience severe symptoms and ICU admission and faced a higher risk of mortality. Aggressive strategies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic should target patients with chronic diseases as a priority.

PurposeThis prospective trial aimed to evaluate the safety, dosimetry, biodistribution, and diagnostic efficacy of a novel theranostic probe 68Ga-DOTA-DiPSMA. Also, we have performed the first comparison with 68Ga-PSMA-11 in prostate cancer (PCa) patients.MethodsFive healthy volunteers and ten PCa patients with a previous clinical 68Ga-PSMA-11 PET/CT were injected with an intravenous bolus of 68Ga-DOTA-DiPSMA with a dose of 1.85MBq/kg. Healthy volunteers received serial whole-body PET scans from the time of injection up to 60 min post-injection, with a second PET/CT scanning at 120 min post-injection. In PCa patients, low-dose CT scan, whole-body PET was performed with 2 min per bed position in 40 min post-injection. In addition, 68Ga-PSMA-11 scanning was performed on PCa patients within 10 days under the same acquisition procedure. Absorbed organ doses and effective doses were calculated using OLINDA/EXM. Normal organ uptake and tumor lesion uptake (SUVmax) were measured. A lesion-by-lesion analysis was performed.Results 68Ga-DOTA-DiPSMA administration was safe and well-tolerated. The kidneys received the highest absorbed dose (114.46 ± 29.28 uSv/MBq), followed by the urinary bladder wall (100.82 ± 46.22 uSv/MBq) in accordance with the expected PSMA renal excretion of the tracer. The mean effective dose was 19.46 ± 1.73 μSv/MBq. The SUVmax of 68Ga-PSMA-11 and 68Ga-DOTA-DiPSMA PET/CT for PCa lesions, bone metastases, and lymph node metastases were 11.2 ± 10.76 vs. 4.41 ± 2.72, 7.6 ± 1.58 vs. 2.95 ± 1.11 and 4.86 ± 1.94 vs. 3.26 ± 1.2, respectively.ConclusionInjection of 68Ga-DOTA-DiPSMA is safe and associated with low absorbed and effective doses. Compared to 68Ga-PSMA-11, 68Ga-DOTA-DiPSMA shows comparable pharmacokinetics and detection ability in PCa patients that warrant further head-to-head comparison. Low non-specific uptake in salivary glands and kidneys of 68Ga-DOTA-DiPSMA indicates potential radioligand therapy (RLT) application when labeled with 177Lu, 90Y, or 225Ac.

Background Retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) has been proposed to play a role in the pathophysiology of coronary artery disease (CAD), but previous findings on the association of RBP4 levels with CAD are inconsistent. Methods A meta-analysis based on observational studies was conducted to evaluate the association between circulating RBP4 levels and CAD. Databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Google Scholar and ClinicalTrials.gov database were searched for eligible studies published up to 12 July 2021. Standard mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the inverse variance heterogeneity (IVhet) and random-effects model for data with moderate and high heterogeneity (I2 > 30%) and data with low heterogeneity were analysed using a fixed-effects model (I2 ≤ 30%). Moreover, a bias-adjusted quality-effects model was generated, and the prediction interval was also calculated under the random-effects model. Results Two nested case-control studies, one cohort study and twelve case–control studies with a total of 7111 participants were included. Circulating RBP4 levels in patients with CAD were comparable to those in the controls under the IVhet model (SMD: 0.25, 95% CI: − 0.29-0.79, I2: 96.00%). The quality-effects model produced consistent results. However, the association turned to be significant under the random-effect model (SMD: 0.46, 95% CI: 0.17–0.75, I2: 96.00%), whereas the 95% predictive interval (PI) included null values (95% PI: − 0.82-1.74). Subgroup analyses illustrated a positive relationship between CAD and RBP4 levels in patients with complications (SMD: 1.34, 95% CI: 0.38–2.29, I2: 96.00%). The meta-regression analysis revealed that the mean BMI of patients (P = 0.03) and complication status (P = 0.01) influenced the variation in SMD. Conclusions There was low-quality evidence that patients with CAD exhibited similar circulating RBP4 levels compared with controls, and high inter-study heterogeneity was also observed. Thus, RBP4 might not be a potential risk factor for CAD. Comparisons among different subtypes of RBP4 with larger sample size are needed in the future.

Purpose: To evaluate the surgical outcomes of pediatric congenital blepharoptosis with poor Bell’s phenomenon (BP) treated with modified levator muscle complex suspension.Methods: Forty-two pediatric congenital blepharoptosis patients with poor BP were treated with modified levator muscle complex suspension, and their major surgical outcomes such as marginal reflex distance1 (MRD1), palpebral fissure height (PFH), and postoperative lagophthalmos were retrospectively reviewed. Results: The mean follow-up was 10.28±9.89 months (range: 3-32 Months). Surgical success was achieved in 54 (87.1%) of 62 eyelids at the final visit, including excellent results in 46 (74.2%) eyelids, good results in 8 (12.9%) eyelids, and poor results in 8 (12.9%) eyelids, respectively. The postoperative PFH of affected eyes (7.97±1.47 mm) was significantly improved compared with that before surgery (3.58±1.31 mm). The mean MRD1 was improved from -1.48±1.36 mm before surgery to 2.94±1.46 mm after surgery. The postoperative MRD1 was ≥ 3 mm in 46 eyelids and < 3 mm in 16 eyelids. The mean lagophthalmos was 1.42±1.20 mm 3 months after surgery. All of the patients presented complete blink postoperatively. Postoperative complications were rarely observed during follow-up. No patient had exposure keratitis, but blepharoptosis recurred in 6 patients (8 eyelids). All patients had satisfactory eyelid symmetry and contour. No complications were observed until the last visit.Conclusions: The modified method results complete blink, mild and quick recovery of lagophthalmos, flexible eyelid motility, stable ocular surface, and it is simple to perform with few complications and a low recurrence rate at 12.9%, which is worth to wide application on poor bell’s phenomenon blepharoptosis.

PURPOSE: To demonstrate the marginal corneal vascular remodelling using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) after pterygium surgery. METHODS: Twenty-two eyes of 19 patients (8 males, 11 females; age, 58.68 ± 0.34 years) with primary grade-T3 nasal pterygium were enroled in this study. The eyes underwent excision of the pterygium followed by a free limbal-conjunctival autograft. OCTA was performed in the nasal limbal area before surgery and at 10 days, 1 month, and 3 months after surgery. The scans were analyzed in terms of postoperative vascular remodelling of the autograft and marginal corneal vascular arcades (MCAs). RESULTS: Preoperatively, the pterygium presented as abnormal centripetal vascular growth in OCTA scans. The conjunctival vessel density in the nasal quadrant was 29.26% ± 1.00%, 15.80% ± 0.83%, 19.80% ± 0.88%, and 20.26% ± 0.89% before and 10 days, 1 month, and 3 months, respectively, after surgery (F = 1.55, P

Aim To investigate the count of circulating tissue factor-positive (TF+) procoagulant microparticles (MPs) in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Methods This case-control study included patients with T1DM and age and sex-matched healthy volunteers. The counts of phosphatidylserine-positive (PS+) MPs and TF+PS+MPs and the subgroups derived from different cell types were measured in the peripheral blood sample of the two groups using multicolor flow cytometric assay. We compared the counts of each MP between groups as well as the ratio of the TF+PS+MPs and PS+MPs (TF+PS+MPs/PS+MPs). Results We recruited 36 patients with T1DM and 36 matched healthy controls. Compared with healthy volunteers, PS+MPs, TF+PS+MPs and TF+PS+MPs/PS+MPs were elevated in patients with T1DM (PS+MPs: 1078.5 ± 158.08 vs 686.84 ± 122.04/μL, P

We collected ambient PM10 and PM2.5 samples from six sites in Tian’jin, China, from February to March 2016 and then analyzed their chemical compositions and identified the emission sources using the positive matrix factorization model. The mean concentrations of the PM10 and PM2.5 were 98 and 71 µg m–3, respectively, with a mean PM2.5/PM10 ratio of 0.67. The average concentrations of the combined SO42–, NO3–, and NH4+ were 19.9–23.4 µg m–3, accounting for 72.4–77.1% of the total measured ions. The concentrations and percentages were significantly higher for NO3– and OC than for other species. The SO42–/NO3– ratio showed a decreasing tendency as the PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations increased, implying a strong influence from mobile sources. The mean OC/EC ratios for PM10 and PM2.5 were 3.1 and 3.2, respectively, with small spatial differences. The most abundant elements were crustal, accounting for 73.2–84.2% of the total detected elemental mass, and mainly enriched in the PM10. The optimal number of factors for PM2.5 and PM10 was selected via PMF analysis: the decrease in the Q/Qexcept values of these two fractions lessened when choosing six instead of five factors, indicating that five factors may be optimal. All the factors were mapped in bootstrap (BS) for 100% of the runs, and no swaps occurred with the displacement of factor elements (DISP) for five factors. Secondary inorganic aerosol, coal combustion, crustal dust, vehicle exhaust, and biomass burning contributed 28–30%, 20–21%, 18–21%, 17–20%, and 4%, respectively. Secondary inorganic aerosol displayed less spatial heterogeneity than the other sources in its contributions. Backward trajectory and PSCF analysis showed that air masses affecting Tian’jin mainly originated in the northwest during the heating period, and northeastern He’nan, southwestern Shan’dong, Bei’jing, and Tian’jin itself were major potential source areas.

This study aimed to explore the effect exerted by oxidative stress on apoptosis-inducing factors (AIF)-mediated apoptosis and bovine muscle tenderness during postmortem aging. We investigated the reactive oxygen species (ROS) content, mitochondrial membrane permeability, AIF expression level, nucleus apoptosis, shear force, myofibril fragmentation index, pH, and energy level. According to the results, a rise in ROS content was accompanied by the rise in mitochondrial membrane permeability from 6 to 72 hr. In the meantime, the AIF expression in mitochondria was downregulated significantly within 72 hr. However, samples treated with N-acetylcysteine had significantly lower ROS content (6 to 72 hr) and mitochondrial membrane permeability (12 to 72 hr) than the control group. Moreover, during postmortem aging, the variations in AIF levels in mitochondria were closely associated with meat tenderization and nucleus apoptosis. These findings demonstrated that oxidative stress induced by ROS significantly promoted AIF release from mitochondria by enhancing the mitochondrial membrane permeability, and the released AIF mediated nucleus apoptosis that further enhanced bovine muscle tenderness. Besides, results suggest that in the early stage, the environmental factors (ATP content and pH) significantly decreased (0 to 72 hr), whereas ROS-induced oxidative stress had no significant effect on environmental factors. These observations further suggested that during postmortem aging, the decrease of pH and ATP consumption are required by AIF release. We conclude that ROS-induced oxidative stress and internal environment are vital for meat tenderization through the regulation of AIF-mediated apoptosis pathway. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: ROS-induced oxidative stress contributes to bovine muscle tenderization by promoting cell apoptosis. It is likely to lay a theoretical foundation for developing innovative tenderization techniques by altering the internal oxidation environment of postmortem muscles.

Background Shunxinzufang decoction is tutors, empirical formula and has been used in Chinese patients of HFpEF for several years. The aim of this study was to make into sustained release granules and select the best formula for the preparation of Shunxin sustained release granules and to evaluate its in vivo and in vitro drug release behavior. Methods Response surface methodology and Center composite design were applied to screen the optimal formula of Shunxin sustained release granules. HPLC was used to detect indicative ingredients—paeoniflorin, calycosin-7-glucoside and ferulic acid in Shunxin sustained release granules. The in vitro sustained release character of indicative ingredients was investigated in simulated digestive fluids. In-vivo process of active components was studied through pharmacokinetics. Results The optimal formula of Shunxin sustained release granules consisted of 35% shunxinzufang extract and 65% HPMC/starch (HPMC/starch ratio = 2:1). Three indicative components can be separated well under selected HPLC conditions. Compared with Shunxinzufang extract, the active components of Shunxin sustained release granules have obvious sustained-release character and improved bioavailability. Conclusion Shunxin sustained release granules has obvious sustained-release character and improved bioavailability.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a new technology rapidly developed in various fields in recent years. With the continuous application of the IoT technology in production and life, the network security problem of IoT is increasingly prominent. In order to meet the challenges brought by the development of IoT technology, this paper focuses on network security situational awareness. The network security situation awareness is basic of IoT network security. Situation prediction of network security is a kind of time series forecasting problem in essence. So it is necessary to construct a modification function that is suitable for time series data to revise the kernel function of traditional support vector machine (SVM). An improved network security situation awareness model for IoT is proposed in this paper. The sequence kernel support vector machine is obtained and the particle swarm optimization (PSO) method is used to optimize related parameters. It proves that the method is feasible by collecting the boundary data of a university campus IoT network. Finally, a comparison with the PSO-SVM is made to prove the effectiveness of this method in improving the accuracy of network security situation prediction of IoT. The experimental results show that PSO-time series kernel support vector machine is better than the PSO-Gauss kernel support vector machine in network security situation prediction. The application of the Hadoop platform also enhances the efficiency of data processing.

This paper focuses on the effect of repeated loading and unloading conditions on cement sheaths during staged fracturing. Triaxial compression and cyclic loading/unloading tests were designed for cement at room temperature and elevated temperatures of 95 °C and 130 °C. Based on the mechanical characteristics of cyclic loading and unloading, in the staged fracturing simulation process, numerical simulation of the cement sheath in both shallow and deep formations was performed. The following observations were made. (1) The elastic modulus of the cement was high at room temperature but lower under 95 °C and 130 °C. However, the deformation performance was greatly improved at higher temperatures, showing significant mechanical properties of an elastoplastic material. (2) In the cyclic loading test, the residual strain of the cement increased as the number of cycles at room temperature increased, and the unloading secant modulus was larger than that of the initial loading segment. The cement cumulative residual strain was larger under a higher temperature, and there was a significant “rebound hysteresis” in the unloading curve; the unloading secant modulus value also increased. The numerical simulation of staged fracturing produced the following conclusions. (1) The cement sheath in the shallow formation undergoing fracturing was at risk of circumferential tensile failure, and the severity of tensile failure increased with an increasing number of fracturing stages. (2) The cement sheath in the deep formation was at risk of plastic failure under compression, and the cement sheath gradually entered the plastic yield state as the number of fracturing stages increased.

A new strategy for preparing Raney nickel catalyst was proposed, which could significantly improve the catalytic activity of the catalyst in the methanation of syngas to substitute natural gas in a continuous flow microreactor. The new preparation strategy includes a hydrochloric acid solution quenching process interpolated between two alkali leaching steps. Raney Ni III catalyst showed the best activity with a CO conversion of almost 100% and a CH4 selectivity of 98% at 548 K under 1.0 MPa with the molar ratio of 3H2:1CO and a gas hourly space velocity of 10000 h−1. The catalysts were characterized by N2 adsorption–desorption, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and temperature-programmed desorption of hydrogen. The results of systematic characterization and catalytic activity evaluation show that the formation of 3Ni(OH)2·2H2O in the catalyst is beneficial to the adsorption and activation of hydrogen and the C=O bond, which greatly improves the activity of Raney nickel III in methanation of syngas. Meanwhile, high specific surface area leads to more active sites on the catalyst surface, which is also conducive to the improvement in catalyst activity.

AIM: To conduct a systematic review and Meta-analysis of the published literature to evaluate the pooled prevalence rate of amblyopia in patients with congenital ptosis. METHODS: We searched the PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, and Chongqing VIP databases for studies reporting the prevalence of amblyopia in patients with congenital ptosis. The reference lists of relevant studies were scanned. Heterogeneity of effect sizes across studies was tested. We calculated prevalence ratios to compare prevalence estimates for different causes of amblyopia in patients with congenital ptosis, as well as for different geographical regions, year of publication and sample size in subgroup analyses. A systematic review and Meta-analysis were performed. RESULTS: We identified 29 eligible surveys with a total population of 2436. Prevalence rates of amblyopia ranged from 13.8% to 69%. We noted substantial heterogeneity in prevalence estimates for amblyopia in congenital ptosis (Cochran's χ(2) significant at P

Purpose: Facial paralysis (FP) leads to diverse periocular complications which threats visual acuity and affects corneal nerve functionally and morphologically. This study aims to summarize the clinical ophthalmic outcomes, corneal sensation, and morphological alterations of subbasal nerve and dendritic cells (DCs) in patients with facial paralysis.Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of 48 consecutive patients with facial paralysis at one tertiary hospital. Forty-eight healthy participants were enrolled as controls. The images of corneal nerves and epithelial DCs were detected by in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM). Each patient received thorough ophthalmic examination, tear film function tests, corneal fluorescence staining and Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometry test. Clinical and morphologic data were compared with controls.Results: Forty patients (83.3%) showed corneal injuries from punctate epithelial defects to corneal ulcers and scars. Visual impairment and eyelid malposition were observed. Corneal sensitivity remarkably decreased (25.1 ± 23.8 mm) in the affected eyes and was correlated to diminished subbasal nerve density (P = .019, r = 0.387). Numbers of corneal main nerve trunks and branches were significantly reduced (P < .0001) while DCs were increased (P < .0001) in patients with FP when compared with controls. Nerve fiber density showed inverse association with DC density (P = .019, r = -0.389).Conclusions: Ocular complications including corneal erosions, loss of corneal sensation, visual impairment and eyelid malposition have largely affected patients with facial paralysis. Morphological changes of diminished corneal subbasal nerve and increased DCs were detected by IVCM. Corneal epithelial defect, corneal opacity, corneal sensation, dendritic cell density are factors associated with corneal subbasal nerve density. Patients with FP are suggested to have complete ophthalmic evaluation and early instruction on ocular prevention.

The density functional theory method is employed to systematically explore the mechanism of syngas methanation on the Ni4/MCM-41 catalyst surface. The calculation results show that the optimal pathway of CH4 formation is CO + H → CHO + H → CH2O + H → CH3O → CH3 + H → CH4 with the rate-determining step of CH3O direct dissociation. Because the activation energy for the direct dissociation of CH3O species is much lower than that for the CH3OH formation (198.6 vs 264.8 kJ mol−1), there is almost no by-product CH3OH that appeared in the products of the syngas methanation over the Ni4/MCM-41 catalyst. Compared with other conventional nickel-based methanation catalysts, Ni4/MCM-41 catalyst is an excellent methanation catalyst with high selectivity of CH4.

Two oil-soluble ionic liquids N, N-trimethyl-N-hexadecyl ammonium bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (NP-16))and 1,2-bis-N, N-dimethyl-N-cetylammonium bis (2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (NP-16-2-16) have been synthesized and investigated as a potential friction reduction and anti-wear lubricant additive with anti-corrosion properties. The results indicate that the addition of 1.0 wt % NP-16 into PAO10 can significantly reduce friction coefficient and improve its anti-wear performance under RT and 100 °C. The performance is obviously better than that of traditional additives ZDDP and tricresyl phosphate. PAO10 + 1.0 wt % NP-16 even outperformed the PAO10 with about 40% lower friction and 2 orders of magnitude less wear. The analysis results of SEM, EDS and XPS show that an FePO4 or nitrogen-containing tribofilm is formed on the friction interface when NP-16 and NP-16-2-16 are selected as additives, which play a key role in reducing friction and wear.

Both magnetic flux leakage (MFL) and magnetic field distortion (MFD) techniques are promising methods for surface defect detection in ferromagnetic components. The two techniques are based on different physical principles. However, their defect sizing and shape reconstruction abilities are seldom comparatively explored. In this study, finite element simulations and experiments were performed to achieve magnetic scanning imaging of a defective plate with both MFD and MFL techniques. First, the curves of voltage extracted from the lines crossing the center of cylindrical-hole defect (CHD) were used to evaluate the performance of several feature parameters in sizing the diameter and the depth of CHD. Second, the profiles of the normalized magnetic scanning imaging results were analyzed with a threshold plane to evaluate the abilities of MFD and MFL on reconstructing the shape of 8-shaped and cross-type through wall defects. Under the condition that the Hall device for measuring both the normal component of MFL and MFD has same lift-off distance as 1 mm, the MFD technique showed the advantages in defect shape reconstruction at the cost of available detection depth as compared with MFL techniques.

The objective of this study was to investigate the mechanism underlying lysosome-mediated apoptosis, the cross-talk between the lysosomes and mitochondria, and the effect of the pathway on bovine longissimus muscle tenderness during 7 d post-mortem aging through the observation and analysis of longissimus dorsi (LD) muscles of six crossbred cattle. Results showed that an elevated reactive oxygen species level ( P0.05) can damage lysosomal membrane stability ( P0.05) through accumulating redox-active iron of bovine muscle during post-mortem aging. In addition, the activities of cathepsins B and D increased with post-mortem aging ( P0.05). Moreover, cathepsin B and D activated Bid and Bax in the mitochondria ( P0.05). Activated Bid and Bax triggered mitochondrial membrane permeability ( P0.05) and further activated caspase-9 and caspase-3 ( P0.05), leading to apoptosis. Ultimately, the tenderness of bovine muscle was improved during post-mortem aging ( P0.05). Importantly, cathepsin D plays a crucial role in the lysosomal-mitochondrial apoptotic pathway and tenderness in post-mortem muscle. These findings provide new insights into the apoptotic pathway of bovine muscle during post-mortem aging.

The effect of microchip-pulsed electric field (MPEF) and high temperature short time sterilization (HTST) technologies on microbiological, physicochemical properties and flavor of freshly squeezed blueberry juice were compared. Under the MPEF treatment at 350 V, total plate count, total yeast and molds were completely inactivated, meanwhile, Vitamin C, anthocyanin, total phenols, titratable acid and color had no significantly changes. During storage of 30 days at 4 °C, Vitamin C decreased by 11.52% and 26.78% after MPEF and HTST treatments, all treated juices showed to be microbiologically safe, whereas MPEF can protect nutritionally related properties and color of blueberry juice samples more efficiently. Besides, relatively small changes of juice in odor, taste and volatile compounds concentration was observed by MPEF treatment. Hence, application of MPEF may be an ideal alternative treatment to HTST processing in order to ensure longer shelf life, higher functional and nutritional values of blueberry juice.

With the rapid development of urbanization, the demarcation of the urban development boundary (UDB) is of great practical significance to curb the disorderly spread of urban land, avoid losing control of urban development space, and build a barrier to green development space. In this paper, we propose a method to support the demarcation of the UDB by combining the Maxent model and the cellular automata (CA) model. This approach comprehensively considers the relationship between urban construction suitability, neighborhood effect, spatial constraint, and random interference based on a spatio-temporal dynamic simulation. This contributes to the analysis of the driving mechanism and distribution pattern of urban expansion. According to the principle of scale expansion and centralization, the simulation result is modified to demarcate the UDB. The following conclusions are drawn: the Maxent-CA model can intuitively reflect the driving mechanism and accurately simulate urban expansion in specific cities, which contributes to demarcating the UDB. Considering that this method fully embodies the principle of combining top-down and bottom-up approaches in the demarcation of UDB, we argue that the Maxent-CA model is of vital importance for the sustainable development of the living environment and is of great reference value for territorial spatial planning.

The fact that depression and anxiety are highly prevalent and often co-occur has been well documented. The present study hypothesized that loneliness and interpersonal trust mediate the relationship between depression and social anxiety, with self-esteem playing a moderating role.1021 college students completed the interpersonal trust scale (ITS), self-rating depression scale (SDS), UCLA loneliness scale, self-esteem scale (SES), and social avoidance and distress (SAD) scale. And descriptive statistical analysis and correlation analysis, structural equation model analysis were conducted.1) The correlations between depression, loneliness, interpersonal trust, self-esteem and social avoidance were all statistically significant. 2) Loneliness and interpersonal trust mediated the relationship between depression and social avoidance. 3) Self-esteem moderated the relationship between interpersonal trust and social avoidance. Specifically, compared with individuals who had high self-esteem, social avoidance in those with low self-esteem individuals was more susceptible to the effects of interpersonal trust.First, the questionnaire data may be influenced by social approval. Second, most of the participants were college students. Finally, the causal relationship between the variables could not be inferred.The results indicated that loneliness and interpersonal trust played mediating roles between depression and social avoidance, and the relationship between interpersonal trust and social avoidance was moderated by self-esteem. It provides a new way to explain the mechanism of depression, and a new perspective for the clinical intervention of depression, that is, from the perspective of their self-experience and self-esteem.

This study aimed to evaluate the value of [Twenty-six patients with newly or previously diagnosed CNSL who underwent [Of 26 patients, 18 were newly diagnosed with a total of 23 lesions, 4 had recurrent with 4 lesions, and 4 underwent a mid-term treatment assessment after 4 cycles of chemotherapy (3 achieved complete response (CR), 1 experienced progressive disease (PD) with a total of 8 lesions). Thirty-five lesions were all clearly detected with favorable contrast by [CXCR4-directed PET/CT using [

Flowering is an important phenophase of plant species, however, knowledge about the regulatory mechanism controlling flowering cues in loquat is limited. To identify candidate genes regulating flowering time in loquat, we used RNA-Seq technology to conduct a comparative transcriptome analysis of differentiating apical buds collected from the early-flowering variety ‘Baiyu’ and the late-flowering variety ‘Huoju’. A total of 28,842 differentially expressed transcripts (DETs) were identified. Of these, 42 DETs controlled flowering time while 17 other DETs were associated with the ABA signaling pathway. Compared with those in ‘Huoju’, EjFT, EjFY, EjFLK, and EjCAL1-like were significantly upregulated in ‘Baiyu’. Moreover, transcripts of the ABA 8′-hydroxylases (EjABH2, EjABH4, and EjABH4-like2), the ABA receptors (EjPYL4/8), and the bZIP transcription factor EjABI5-like were upregulated in ‘Baiyu’ compared with ‘Huoju’. Hence, they might regulate loquat flowering time. There was no significant difference between ‘Baiyu’ and ‘Huoju’ in terms of IAA content. However, the ABA content was about ten-fold higher in the apical buds of ‘Baiyu’ than in those of ‘Huoju’. The ABA:IAA ratio sharply rose and attained a peak during bud differentiation. Thus, ABA is vital in regulating floral bud formation in loquat. The results of the present study help clarify gene transcription during loquat flowering.

The objective of the study was to characterize benign lesions showing increasedWe retrospectively reviewed 182 patients with suspected various cancers who were performedA total of 185 primary malignant tumors were detected by FAPI PET/CT with the median SUVBenign lesions with increasedNIH ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04499365).

This article proposed a novel friction stir rivet welding process to join aluminum alloy 6061-T6 sheets in lap configuration with threaded rivet employed. The material flow behavior and temperature distribution of FSRW process are analysed using Simufact Forming 15.0 software, and joints have been obtained on the modified CNC machine with 1200rpm rotational speed and 10s dwell time. Rotational speed and dwell time are important factors which affecting mechanical properties of FSRWed joints. The welding heat input is determined by the rotation speed, while the heat time of plasticized materials is controlled by dwell time during FSRW process. In order to obtain FSRWed joints with excellent mechanical properties, welding heat input is taken as measurement standard, and the reasonable range of rotational speed and dwell time have been investigated by numerical simulation and statistics. The macroscopic morphology of 3 mm and 4 mm thick aluminum alloy 6061-T6 FSRWed joint we obtained shares uniform characteristic with the numerical simulation forming appearance whose upper surface tests smooth but exists “flash”, and stir zone, heat affected zone, thermo-mechanically affected zone and base metal four distinct zones can be observed in transverse section. The results of numerical simulation and experimental study show that the potential process we proposed takes advantages of solid-state welding and riveting technology. Not only metallurgical bonding can be obtained between upper and lower sheets, but also mechanical properties will be strengthened by riveting.

Aluminum alloy and steel composite structures are increasingly and widely used in the automotive industry and other fields owing to their advantages of light weight and high comprehensive performance. The high-quality joining of aluminum alloy and steel has become the research focus in China and overseas. The current study proposes a probeless friction stir extrusion joining (P-FSEJ) process to avoid intermetallic compounds, reduce wear of tools, and obtain a spot joint without keyhole defects. Strong mechanical interlock is formed after that the plasticized aluminum alloy (AA) 6061-T6 is extruded into the prefabricated threaded hole of a Q235 steel plate in the P-FSEJ process. Three distinct zones in the typical symmetrical “basin-shaped” P-FSEJed joint are observed. In addition to the rotation speed, the diameter of the threaded hole is also specifically used to study the influence on the mechanical properties of the joint. When the rotation speed is 1200 rpm, the maximum tensile-shear loads of the M6 and M7 threaded hole joints are 2882.93 N and 3344.74 N, respectively, while the M8 threaded hole joint is 4139.58 N at rotation speed of 1000 rpm. Two typical fracture failure modes of the P-FSEJed joints, namely, rivet shear and rivet pullout-shear fractures, are obtained under tensile-shear loading. Lastly, the P-FSEJed joints with mode “P” fracture failure generally have high strength and energy absorption capability.

Cervical cancer is a global health challenge in women. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is a recent prospect for alternative cervical cancer treatments. This study investigated the efficacy of NACT against resectable cervical cancer based on the medium and long-term survival of patients with the disease. We searched through PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO and Cochrane Library for relevant reports published by June 2020. The primary outcomes were 3-year and 5-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of patients with resectable cervical cancer. Overall, 22 publications encompassing 5627 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. We found NACT not to affect both 3-year PFS and OS as well as 5-year PFS of patients with resectable cervical cancer. However, NACT significantly improves the 5-year OS of patients with resectable cervical cancer (HR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.73–0.94, p = 0.013). Subgroup analysis (RCTs, non-RCTs, NACT + surgery + AT vs. surgery + AT, NACT + surgery + AT vs. CCRT/RT/CRT) further revealed NACT had no significant effect on 5-year PFS of patients with resectable cervical cancer, converse to the 5-year OS subgroup analysis, which validated the beneficial effect of NACT in patients with resectable cervical cancer. In addition, the effect of NACT was most significant in the non-RCTs subgroup (p = 0.012). NACT may improve the long-term prognosis of patients with resectable cervical cancer. However, further large-scale multicenter studies are needed to validate this finding.

Liver fibrosis (LF) is a continuous wound healing process caused by numerous chronic hepatic diseases and poses a major threat to human health. Activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) is a critical event in the development of hepatic fibrosis. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that are involved in HSC activation, participate in the development of LF and are likely to be therapeutic targets for LF. In the present review, the cellular signaling pathways of LF with respect to HSCs were discussed. In particular, this present review highlighted the current knowledge on the role of lncRNAs in activating or inhibiting LF, revealing lncRNAs that are likely to be biomarkers or therapeutic targets for LF. Additional studies should be performed to elucidate the potential of lncRNAs in the diagnosis and prognosis of LF and to provide novel therapeutic approaches for the reversion of LF.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to explore the effect of congenital ptosis on the visual function of patients and observe the improvement in visual function after the correction of ptosis at different surgical times. METHODS We performed a retrospective study of 265 patients (346 eyes) with congenital ptosis at the same hospital. Each patient underwent an ophthalmic examination, including optometry and measurement of the affected palpebral fissure height and upper eyelid margin reflex distance. Preoperative clinical and morphologic data were compared with postoperative data. RESULTS The refractive error of the patient population was significantly different from that of the general population (P < 0.01). The rates of strabismus and amblyopia were 12.45% and 36.98%, respectively, in the ptosis patients, both of which are higher than the rates in the general population (P < 0.01), especially for unilaterally affected patients and patients with the optical axis covered. The refractive error of patients younger than 5 years was improved postoperatively (P < 0.05). The number of cases of amblyopia and strabismus was reduced, as was the percentage of cases of with-the-rule astigmatism (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Congenital ptosis can result in refractive error, strabismus, and amblyopia, which could seriously impair the visual function of patients. The impairment is more pronounced in unilaterally affected patients. Surgery is conducive to the recovery of visual function, especially in patients younger than 5 years. Satisfactory curative effects can be obtained before the age of 3 years; thus, unilaterally affected patients, severely affected patients, and patients with impaired visual function should undergo surgery as soon as possible.