Search

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common liver disorder characterized by hepatic steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis. Ganfule (GFL), a traditional Chinese medicine, has demonstrated therapeutic potential in the treatment of NAFLD but the mechanisms involved are not fully understood.To evaluate the biochemical mechanisms of GFL in treating NAFLD by examining its effects on biological networks, key therapeutic targets, histopathological changes and clinical implications. Methods: Chemical component screening, key target prediction, biological functional enrichment analysis, lipid profile localization analysis and complex network analysis were performed on GFL using multi-database mining, network analysis and molecular docking. An NAFLD rat model was then established and treated with different doses of GFL. Histopathological evaluation and western blotting were used to verify the expression levels of key target proteins in GFL-treated NAFLD rats. Results: Network analysis analysis identified 12 core targets, 12 core active ingredients and 7 core Chinese medicinal herbs in GFL potentially involved in the treatment of NAFLD. Biological functional enrichment analysis revealed the involvement of lipid metabolism, apoptosis and intracellular signaling pathways. Molecular docking confirmed a strong affinity between GFL's core compounds and certain target proteins. Histopathological examination of an NAFLD rat model showed reduced hepatocellular steatosis after GFL treatment. Western blotting revealed significant downregulation of PPARA and PPARD protein expression and upregulation of PIK3CG and PRKACA protein expression in NAFLD rats treated with lower doses of GFL. Conclusions: Our results suggest that GFL modulates key proteins involved in lipid metabolism and apoptosis pathways. GFL improved the histopathological features of NAFLD rats by regulating lipid metabolism as well as reducing hepatocyte apoptosis and hepatocellular steatosis. These findings offer insights into the biochemical mechanism of action of GFL and support its use in the treatment for NAFLD.

Background: Phthalates (PAEs) are endocrine-disrupting chemicals ubiquitously found in the environment. This study aimed to examine the association between exposure of PAEs and subfecundity in preconception couples. Methods: This is a nested case-control study based on preconception cohort. Preconception couples with intention to conceive were enrolled and followed up until a clinically confirmed pregnancy or 12 menstrual cycles of preparation for conception. A total of 107 couples with subfecundity- time to pregnancy (TTP) more than 12 menstrual cycles, and 144 couples ≤12 cycles were included in the analysis. The levels of PAE metabolites in one spot urine samples were detected and compared between the groups. The weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression model and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) model were used to examine the joint effects of couples’ exposure to PAEs on subfecundity. Results: Using the multivariate binary logistic regression model, compared to the lowest quartile of urinary ∑PAEs concentration group, both preconception females (aOR=2.42, 95% CI: 1.10–5.30, p=0.027) and males (aOR=2.99, 95% CI: 1.36–6.58, p=0.006) in the highest quartile group had an increased risk of subfecundity, and a dose-response relationship was observed between PAEs and the risk of subfecundity. The WQS analyses found that co-exposure to PAE mixture was a risk factor for subfecundity in preconception female (aOR=1.76, 95% CI: 1.38–2.26, p

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and carbon dioxide primarily originate from the combustion of fossil fuels and biomass. The implementation of the Chinese “double carbon strategy” is expected to impact the distribution of PAH emissions, consequently influencing the spatial distribution trend of PAHs in surface soil. Therefore, it is crucial to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of the Chinese “double carbon strategy” on soil PAH pollution for the purpose of “the reduction of pollution and carbon emissions”. This study utilized 15,088 individual PAH concentration data from 943 soil samples collected between 2003 and 2020 in China, in conjunction with PAH emissions at a 10 km resolution, for meta-analysis. The calculated PAH emissions in this study are in line with the global PAH emission inventory (PKU-PAH-2007), with a relative standard deviation at the provincial level of less than 25 %. Subsequently, a novel method was developed using emission density and Kow of PAHs to predict PAH concentrations in surface soil based on a least-squares regression model. Compared to other environmental models, the method established in this study significantly reduced the percent sample deviation to less than 70 %. Furthermore, energy consumption data for China were simulated based on the implementation plan of the “double carbon strategy” to project PAH emissions and soil PAH levels for the years 2030 and 2060. The predicted PAH emissions in China were estimated to decrease to 41,300 t in 2030 and 10,406.5 t in 2060 from 78,815 t in 2020. Moreover, the heavily contaminated areas of soil PAHs (i.e., total PAH concentrations in soil exceeding 1000 μg kg−1) were projected to decrease by 45 % and 82 % in 2030 and 2060, respectively, compared to levels in 2020. These findings suggest that the implementation of the “double carbon strategy” can fundamentally reduce the pollution of PAHs in surface soil of China.

Abstract Preeclampsia (PE) is considered as a disease of placental origin. However, the specific mechanism of placental abnormalities remains elusive. This study identified thrombospondin‐1 (THBS1) is downregulated in preeclamptic placentae and negatively correlated with blood pressure. Functional studies show that THBS1 knockdown inhibits proliferation, migration, and invasion and increases the cycle arrest and apoptosis rate of HTR8/SVneo cells. Importantly, THBS1 silencing induces necroptosis in HTR8/SVneo cells, accompanied by the release of damage‐associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). Necroptosis inhibitors necrostatin‐1 and GSK′872 restore the trophoblast survival while pan‐caspase inhibitor Z‐VAD‐FMK has no effect. Mechanistically, the results show that THBS1 interacts with transforming growth factor B‐activated kinase 1 (TAK1), which is a central modulator of necroptosis quiescence and affects its stability. Moreover, THBS1 silencing up‐regulates the expression of neuronal precursor cell‐expressed developmentally down‐regulated 4 (NEDD4), which acts as an E3 ligase of TAK1 and catalyzes K48‐linked ubiquitination of TAK1 in HTR8/SVneo cells. Besides, THBS1 attenuates PE phenotypes and improves the placental necroptosis in vivo. Taken together, the down‐regulation of THBS1 destabilizes TAK1 by activating NEDD4‐mediated, K48‐linked TAK1 ubiquitination and promotes necroptosis and DAMPs release in trophoblast cells, thus participating in the pathogenesis of PE.

Abstract Spinal cord injury (SCI) has no effective treatment modalities. It faces a significant global therapeutical challenge, given its features of poor axon regeneration, progressive local inflammation, and inefficient systemic drug delivery due to the blood–spinal cord barrier (BSCB). To address these challenges, a new nano complex that achieves targeted drug delivery to the damaged spinal cord is proposed, which contains a mesoporous silica nanoparticle core loaded with microRNA and a cloaking layer of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell membrane modified with rabies virus glycoprotein (RVG). The nano complex more readily crosses the damaged BSCB with its exosome‐resembling properties, including appropriate size and a low‐immunogenic cell membrane disguise and accumulates in the injury center because of RVG, where it releases abundant microRNAs to elicit axon sprouting and rehabilitate the inflammatory microenvironment. Culturing with nano complexes promotes axonal growth in neurons and M2 polarization in microglia. Furthermore, it showed that SCI mice treated with this nano complex by tail vein injection display significant improvement in axon regrowth, microenvironment regulation, and functional restoration. The efficacy and biocompatibility of the targeted delivery of microRNA by nano complexes demonstrate their immense potential as a noninvasive treatment for SCI.

Abstract Peptide and protein postmodification have gained significant attention due to their extensive impact on biomolecule engineering and drug discovery, of which cysteine‐specific modification strategies are prominent due to their inherent nucleophilicity and low abundance. Herein, the study introduces a novel approach utilizing multifunctional 5‐substituted 1,2,3‐triazine derivatives to achieve multifaceted bioconjugation targeting cysteine‐containing peptides and proteins. On the one hand, this represents an inaugural instance of employing 1,2,3‐triazine in biomolecular‐specific modification within a physiological solution. On the other hand, as a powerful combination of precision modification and biorthogonality, this strategy allows for the one‐pot dual‐orthogonal functionalization of biomolecules utilizing the aldehyde group generated simultaneously. 1,2,3‐Triazine derivatives with diverse functional groups allow conjugation to peptides or proteins, while bi‐triazines enable peptide cyclization and dimerization. The examination of the stability of bi‐triazines revealed their potential for reversible peptide modification. This work establishes a comprehensive platform for identifying cysteine‐selective modifications, providing new avenues for peptide‐based drug development, protein bioconjugation, and chemical biology research.

Abstract Diseases like obesity and intestinal inflammation diseases are accompanied by dysbiosis of the gut microbiota (DSGM), which leads to various complications, including systemic metabolic disorders. DSGM reportedly impairs the fertility of male mice; however, the regulatory mechanism is unclear. Exosomes are molecular mediators of intercellular communication, but the regulation of spermatogenesis by non‐reproductive tissue‐originated exosomes remains unknown. The present study shows that DSGM altered the miRNA expression profile of mouse circulating exosomes and impaired spermatogenesis. Moreover, the single‐cell sequencing results indicate that circulating exosomes from mice with DSGM impaired spermatogenesis, while circulating exosomes from wild mice improved spermatogenesis by promoting meiosis. Further study demonstrates that DSGM leads to abnormal upregulation of miR‐211‐5p in gut‐derived circulating exosomes, which inhibited the expression of meiosis‐specific with coiled‐coil domain (Meioc) in the testes and impaired spermatogenesis by disturbing meiosis process. In summary, this study defines the important role of gut‐derived exosomes in connecting the “gut‐testis” axis.

Background: In December 2015, the World Health Organization, the World Animal Health Organization, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations convened the International Congress on the elimination of rabies in Geneva. How to use epidemiological factors of post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent rabies has become the focus of attention. Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of 9772 patients with rabies in a four-year period in one hospital, to clarify the outbreak law of rabies and to explore the corresponding prevention and control strategies. Methods: The epidemiological data of rabies patients were collected from the infectious disease reporting information management system of the hospital from July 2018 to June 2022. The distributional characteristics of 13 influencing factors were analyzed using the chi-square test and linear regression. Results: There was a significant correlation between the number of wounds and age, and the numbers of female and male patients were close. People over the age of 44 were more likely to get bites or scratches on their lower extremity (P

As a local specialty of Tibet, Qingke baijiu (QB) is made from highland barley, and is referred to as the manufacturing process of light-aroma baijiu. Using highland barley in the Qu-making and the high-temperature stacking process of sauce-aroma baijiu results in a novel Qingke baijiu (NQB). This study analyzed two kinds of NQBs by GC-MS, GC×GC-MS, and GC-O-MS, and compared them with QB, light-aroma, strong-aroma, and sauce-aroma baijiu. A total of 346 volatile compounds and 60 aroma-active compounds were detected in NQB. There were 14 compounds with FD≥27 and OAVs ≥1. Although NQB and QB shared 39 volatile compounds, NQB has more than three times the overall concentration of volatile compounds than QB. In contrast to QB, NQB exhibited a richer flavor profile and a more intense fruity, floral, and acidic aroma. Meanwhile, the distilled grains and sorghum aroma were comparatively diminished.

Objective: The goal of the research is to investigate the link between serum potassium levels and death after 28 days in sepsis patients, utilizing an extensive sample of patients from the multi-center Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database. Current research on serum potassium levels and 28-day mortality in sepsis patients is questionable. This study adds to the growing body of evidence linking serum potassium levels to the 28-day possibility of death in patients with sepsis. Methods: We collected 349,08 patients with sepsis from the retrospective cohort MIMIC-IV database, using serum potassium level on the first day of admission to the intensive care unit as the exposure variable and mortality at 28 days as the outcome variable. And controlled for confounding characteristics including gender, age, ethnicity, and vital signs during admission. Results: Serum potassium has a U-shaped connection with 28-day mortality in patients suffering from sepsis. The turning point was 4.10 mmol/L (95 % confidence interval: 4.03 to 4.22). Serum potassium and 28-day mortality were negatively linked on the inflection point’s left side (OR: 0.72; 95 % CI: 0.63 to 0.83, P

Shallow purple soils (Entisols) were widely distributed in hilly areas of southwest China and were easily subjected to drought due to the weak soil water retention capacity, which largely reduced the crop productivity. However, the impact of solum thickness on ecological traits and water use strategies of crops remain poorly understood under the shallow Entisol environment. In this study, water use patterns and physiological adaptation of maize with different solum thicknesses were investigated to ascertain the optimum solum thickness based on an in-situ experiment. Isotopic (2H and 18O) tracing technique was used to investigate the water sources for maize growth in sloping croplands with solum of 20 cm (C1), 40 cm (C2), 60 cm (C3), 80 cm (C4), 100 cm (C5) thickness. The morphological and physiological characteristics were also discussed under different soil moisture regimes. The results showed the soil water storage capacity significantly increased with solum thickness. The isotopes of xylem water in shallow solum (≦40 cm) were more enriched, indicating more contributions from the bottom soil water, especially under dry regimes (62.3% for C1, 42.8% for C2, at Jul. 09). The water sources utilized by maize in the treatments with solum thickness greater than 60 cm were relatively evenly distributed throughout the soil profile (mean 19.3%, 19.6% and 17.6%, respectively, in the 0–10 cm, 10–20 cm, 20–40 cm soil layer), and the water niche breadth increased with the solum thickness. Maize in shallow solum (≦40 cm) had lower biomass and higher specific leaf area (SLA) to reduce transpiration rate and improved water use efficiency (WUEi) (highest for C1, P60 cm) had significantly higher yields than in shallower solum (P

Integration of new energy sources will continuously encroach upon the startup capacity of conventional units， reducing system’s rotational inertia and frequency regulation capabilities. This leads to accelerated frequency changes and increased fluctuation amplitudes. Therefore， it is imperative for new energy units to provide active inertia support. However， the dynamic characteristics of new energy units differ significantly from synchronous generators， making traditional swing equations inadequate to fully reflect the dynamic process of frequency response in new-type power systems after disturbances. Therefore， an inertia model for new-type power systems is established to accurately characterize the inertia response process of synchronous generators， grid-following inverters， and grid-forming inverters. A real-time inertia measurement method is proposed， which employs an improved polynomial curve fitting method （PCFM） and system identification method to accurately identify the system’s rotational inertia and regional inertia. Finally， through simulation， a quantitative assessment of the equivalent inertia of new-type power systems is conducted， and the effectiveness of the proposed measurement method and mathematical model is validated.

ObjectiveTo analyze the interannual fluctuation， seasonal fluctuation， habitat distribution and the correlation of the 3 monitoring indicators of Aedes albopictus in Yangpu District of Shanghai from 2017 to 2021， and to provide a scientific basis for A. albopictus control and rational use of the indicators.MethodsThe density surveillance data of A. albopictus recorded by Breteau index （BI）， Path index （PI） and the mosquito ovitrap index （MOI） from 2017 to 2021 in Yangpu District， Shanghai were compared. Microsoft Excel 2019 software was used for data summary and SPSS 25.0 software was used for statistical analysis.ResultsFrom 2017 to 2021， there were two months with BI>5， and the PI were all above the density control level of Class C， and there were nine months with MOI≥5. In 2017， BI was higher than in the other four years， with statistically significant differences （all P≤0.001）. MOI in 2017 and 2020 was higher than in 2019 （P=0.029， P=0.004） and 2021 （P=0.005， P=0.001）， with statistical significance. MOI for different types of habitats varied significantly， with a statistically significant difference （P=0.004）. A linear correlation was observed between BI and PI （r=0.462， P=0.010）.ConclusionBI， PI and MOI are used simultaneously to reflect the density of A. albopictus in Yangpu District of Shanghai. However， these three monitoring indicators show poor linear correlation. Comprehensively considering the scientific aspects of monitoring methods and seasonal fluctuations of indicators， it is suggested that MOI should be used as the main index to evaluate the density of A. albopictus. In the MOI， attention should be paid to factors such as the distribution of the habitats， the standardization of operating methods， and quality control， which are essential for enhancing the reliability of the MOI.

The security of underwater acoustic communication networks is an important guarantee for information sharing and cooperative operation of underwater communication. Existing technologies mainly study authentication protocol and data encryption, focusing on improving the security of the network but ignoring the efficiency and energy consumption of the network. To avoid network congestion caused by the above methods, this paper, inspired by research in mobile smart devices and other fields, proposed to integrate voiceprint authentication into the identity authentication system of underwater communication networks, and it designed a recognition method based on voiceprint features of communication payloads. This method used the attention mechanism and merged nonlinear cepstrum features and phase spectrum features to reduce the influence of complex marine environment noise. In addition, it identified the target through the AlexNet network. To verify the effectiveness of this method, this paper collected underwater acoustic communication signals, verified the difference and effectiveness of the proposed voiceprint feature recognition, and demonstrated the feasibility and reliability of the proposed method. The research in the paper provides a new idea for solving the identity authentication of underwater acoustic communication networks, which serves as a reference for enhancing security and realizing high-quality information sharing and high-efficiency cooperative control of underwater acoustic communication networks.

The American Fuzzy Lop (AFL) is a tool that automatically generates random data to expose vulnerabilities in software programs. However, it has some drawbacks, such as the lack of visibility in test case generation and suboptimal allocation of test case variation energy. To address these issues, we propose an enhanced fuzz testing approach based on the Program Control Flow Graph. Firstly, we construct the program control flow graph using a symbolic execution tool. The precise addresses of the assembly instructions are obtained using the IDA Pro reverse engineering tool. Secondly, the control flow graph is then optimized by adjusting for address jumps, and nodes without edges are considered difficult to reach within the program. A set of paths is then extracted by slicing the refined control flow graph, in which paths through these difficult nodes are marked with sensitive signals. Thirdly, the constraint solver then generates inputs capable of traversing each path within the set. Finally, these inputs are used as the initial seed for fuzz testing. In the testing process, the sensitive signal paths obtained during symbol execution serve as the benchmark for the fuzz testing energy allocation mechanism, and the seed passing through the sensitive signal path is endowed with higher variation energy to guide the seed variation and make the fuzz testing explore in the deeper level of the program. The experimental results show that the enhanced fuzz testing method based on the program control flow graph is more efficient than the original fuzz testing. On the Cyber Grand Challenge (CGC) test-set, this method finds 2.7 times more unique crashes compared to the original fuzz testing. In addition, our approach uncovers two more unique crashes than standard fuzz testing in two real-world programs.

[Objective] Cracking in the concrete of urban rail transit project underground station side-walls can pose a threat to the structural safety of metro stations. It is essential to analyze the causes of cracking in the concrete of USSW (underground station side-walls) and propose key technologies for controlling it. [Method] Low hydration rate and slightly expansive concrete is prepared by reducing cement usage and adding highly effective anti-cracking agents. Its impacts on structural mechanical properties, thermal insulation temperature rise, and volume deformation are compared before and after the composition optimization, which verifies the improvement of USSW concrete composition crack-resistance performance after optimization. Based on this, a finite element model simulation analysis is carried out on USSW concrete structures, and the influence of different wall thicknesses and segment lengths on crack-resistance safety factor is calculated. Thus, under the premises of satisfying crack-resistance safety factor, the optimal lengths of USSW segmented concrete-pouring for different seasons are determined. Finally, the temperature change law of typical segments in the experimental section of the underground station is monitored to propose temperature control indicators for side-wall concrete. [Result & Conclusion] The contraction of USSW concrete and the constraints on it are the main causes of cracking in USSW concrete. Key crack control measures include introducing highly effective anti-cracking agents to enhance concrete crack-resistance performance, optimizing the USSW segmented concrete-pouring lengths for different seasons to reduce concrete constraints, and strictly controlling concrete temperature indicators. Implementing these key crack control measures significantly reduce the number of cracks in the concrete of USSW.

Abstract Several observational studies have revealed an association between autoimmune diseases (AIDs) and colorectal cancer (CRC), although their causal association remained controversial. Therefore, our study used a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to verify the causal association between AIDs and CRC. We employed three common MR approaches, including inverse variance weighted (IVW), weighted median, and MR-Egger methods, to assess the causal association between type 1 diabetes (T1D), systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, celiac disease, and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and CRC. The reverse MR analysis was performed to assess the possibility of reverse causation. To evaluate the validity of the analysis, we also performed sensitivity analysis, such as the heterogeneity test, the horizontal pleiotropy test, and the leave-one-out sensitivity analysis, and validated the results in the validation cohort. Our results showed that genetically predicted T1D was nominally associated with a lower risk of CRC (IVW OR = 0.965, 95% CI = 0.939–0.992, P = 0.012). However, genetic susceptibility to psoriasis nominally increased the risk of CRC (IVW OR = 1.026, 95% CI = 1.002–1.050, P = 0.037). Genetically predicted PSC had a significant causal effect on the increasing risk of CRC (IVW OR = 1.038, 95% CI = 1.016–1.060, P = 5.85 × 10−4). Furthermore, the MR analysis between PSC and the CRC validation cohort indicated consistent results. We found no causal association between genetically predicted other five AIDs and CRC (P > 0.05). The results of reverse MR analysis showed that genetically predicted CRC had no causal effect on T1D, psoriasis, and PSC (P > 0.05). The sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the results of the MR analysis were reliable. Our findings help to understand the causal association between AIDs and CRC, which deserves further investigation.

Purpose: The aim was to determine the combined value of serological lipid metabolism and an orbital MRI quantitative parameter in predicting the effectiveness of glucocorticoid (GC) therapy in patients with thyroid eye disease (TED). Methods: This study retrospectively enrolled 46 patients with active and moderate-to-severe TED (GC-effective group, n = 29; GC-ineffective group, n = 17). Serological lipid metabolism, the orbital MRI-based minimum signal intensity ratio of extraocular muscles (EOM-SIRmin), as well as other clinical parameters before GC therapy were collected and compared between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were adopted to identify independent predictable variables and assess their predictive performances. Results: Compared to the GC-ineffective group, the GC-effective group showed lower serum total cholesterol levels (P = 0.006), lower serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (P = 0.019), higher EOM-SIRmin values (P = 0.005), and shorter disease durations (P = 0.017). Serum total cholesterol and EOM-SIRmin were found to be independent predictors of GC-effective TED through multivariate analysis (odds ratios = 0.253 and 2.036 per 0.1 units, respectively) (both P < 0.05). The integration of serum total cholesterol ≤4.8 mmol/L and EOM-SIRmin ≥ 1.12 had a better predictive efficacy (area under the curve, 0.834) than EOM-SIRmin alone, with a sensitivity of 75.9% and a specificity of 82.4% (P = 0.031). Conclusion: Serological lipid metabolism, combined with an orbital MRI-derived parameter, was a useful marker for predicting the effectiveness of GCs in patients with active and moderate-to-severe TED.

Abstract Dielectric metasurfaces, composed of planar arrays of subwavelength dielectric structures that collectively mimic the operation of conventional bulk optical elements, have revolutionized the field of optics by their potential in constructing high-efficiency and multi-functional optoelectronic systems on chip. The performance of a dielectric metasurface is largely determined by its constituent material, which is highly desired to have a high refractive index, low optical loss and wide bandgap, and at the same time, be fabrication friendly. Here, we present a new material platform based on tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) for implementing high-performance dielectric metasurface optics over the ultraviolet and visible spectral region. This wide-bandgap dielectric, exhibiting a high refractive index exceeding 2.1 and negligible extinction coefficient across a broad spectrum, can be easily deposited over large areas with good quality using straightforward physical vapor deposition, and patterned into high-aspect-ratio subwavelength nanostructures through commonly-available fluorine-gas-based reactive ion etching. We implement a series of high-efficiency ultraviolet and visible metasurfaces with representative light-field modulation functionalities including polarization-independent high-numerical-aperture lensing, spin-selective hologram projection, and vivid structural color generation, and the devices exhibit operational efficiencies up to 80%. Our work overcomes limitations faced by scalability of commonly-employed metasurface dielectrics and their operation into the visible and ultraviolet spectral range, and provides a novel route towards realization of high-performance, robust and foundry-manufacturable metasurface optics.

Purpose: We aimed to develop an artificial intelligence-based myopic maculopathy grading method using EfficientNet to overcome the delayed grading and diagnosis of different myopic maculopathy degrees. Methods: The cooperative hospital provided 4642 healthy and myopic maculopathy color fundus photographs, comprising the four degrees of myopic maculopathy and healthy fundi. The myopic maculopathy grading models were trained using EfficientNet-B0 to EfficientNet-B7 models. The diagnostic results were compared with those of the VGG16 and ResNet50 classification models. The leading evaluation indicators were sensitivity, specificity, F1 score, area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve area under curve (AUC), 95% confidence interval, kappa value, and accuracy. The ROC curves of the ten grading models were also compared. Results: We used 1199 color fundus photographs to evaluate the myopic maculopathy grading models. The size of the EfficientNet-B0 myopic maculopathy grading model was 15.6 MB, and it had the highest kappa value (88.32%) and accuracy (83.58%). The model's sensitivities to diagnose tessellated fundus (TF), diffuse chorioretinal atrophy (DCA), patchy chorioretinal atrophy (PCA), and macular atrophy (MA) were 96.86%, 75.98%, 64.67%, and 88.75%, respectively. The specificity was above 93%, and the AUCs were 0.992, 0.960, 0.964, and 0.989, respectively. Conclusion: The EfficientNet models were used to design grading diagnostic models for myopic maculopathy. Based on the collected fundus images, the models could diagnose a healthy fundus and four types of myopic maculopathy. The models might help ophthalmologists to make preliminary diagnoses of different degrees of myopic maculopathy.

As an important part of proliferation and discharge, crustaceans can effectively conserve and supplement fishery resources in natural waters. Based on the data of crustacean proliferation and release in Zhejiang Province from 2017 to 2021 and related literature, this paper systematically reviewed the annual variation trend of crustacean release type and quantity, release capital, and the spatial and quantitative distribution of release area and release specifications. The results show that: from 2017 to 2021, six species of crustacean proliferate in Zhejiang Province, including Penaeus japonicus, Portunus trituberculatus and Penaeus chinensis, etc.. A total of 5220, 455, 000 were released, and the investment was 33, 202, 000 yuan. Among them, the largest amount of release and investment was Japanese prawnaeus, the least amount of release was green crab, and the least amount of investment was Prawnaeus puerarii. The release area involved Wenzhou, Ningbo, Taizhou, Zhoushan and other cities, and the distribution of release was unbalanced between regions, and mainly concentrated in small and medium sizes. In this paper, some specific suggestions will be put forward on problems such as insufficient assessment of the effect of crustacean release species, poor release effect of some proliferating species, and few reserve species of crustacean release in the coastal waters of Zhejiang Province, so as to provide a basis for improving the scientific management of crustacean release species in the future.

Nowadays, numerous countries are facing the challenge of aging population. Additionally, the number of people with reduced mobility due to physical illness is increasing. In response to this issue, robots used for walking assistance and sit-to-stand (STS) transition have been introduced in nursing to assist these individuals with walking. Given the shared characteristics of these robots, this paper collectively refers to them as Walking Support Robots (WSR). Additionally, service robots with assisting functions have been included in the scope of this review. WSR are a crucial element of modern nursing assistants and have received significant research attention. Unlike passive walkers that require much user’s strength to move, WSR can autonomously perceive the state of the user and environment, and select appropriate control strategies to assist the user in maintaining balance and movement. This paper offers a comprehensive review of recent literature on WSR, encompassing an analysis of structure design, perception methods, control strategies and safety & comfort features. In conclusion, it summarizes the key findings, current challenges and discusses potential future research directions in this field.

Objective·To explore the role of advanced platelet-rich fibrin (A-PRF) in osteochondral regeneration.Methods·Bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and knee joint chondrocytes were obtained from New Zealand rabbits. A-PRF was obtained by low-speed centrifugation of the heart blood of rabbits. The histological structure of A-PRF was observed by an optical microscope. The release of growth factors in A-PRF was detected by ELISA, including platelet-derived growth factor, transforming growth factor-β, insulin-like growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor, epidermal growth factor and fibroblast growth factor. A-PRF's cytotoxicity and capability for promoting the proliferation of rabbit BMSCs were detected by live/dead double staining and MTT methods. The effect of A-PRF on the gene expression of type Ⅱ collagen, aggrecan, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and osteocalcin (OCN) in rabbit BMSCs was detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Transwell chambers were used to determine the effect of A-PRF on the migration ability of rabbit BMSCs and the chondrocytes. Rabbit knee osteochondral defect models were established, and 18 rabbits were randomly divided into 3 groups. The A-PRF group (n=6) was implanted with A-PRF in the defect, the A-PRF+BMSCs group (n=6) was implanted with rabbit BMSCs on A-PRF, and the control group (n=6) did not undergo implantation. The rabbits were sacrificed 12 weeks after surgery and the knee joint specimens were stained with hematoxylin-eosin (H-E), toluidine blue and safranin O/fast green. Based on the surface morphology and histology of the knee joints, the International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) scoring system was used for macroscopic and histological scoring.Results·A-PRF had a loose network structure and can slowly release growth factors. No cytotoxicity to rabbit BMSCs was observed after adding A-PRF, and the the capability for promoting the proliferation of rabbit BMSCs was significantly increased at 24, 48 and 72 h after adding A-PRF (all P

The adaptive optics system (AOS) incorporating a modulated pyramid wavefront sensor (PWFS) represents a key area of exploration in current research aimed at enhancing the capabilities of future extremely large astronomical telescopes. However, incorporating a conventional modulated PWFS into an AOS presents several challenges, including complex optical pathways, intricate alignment procedures, and issues related to deviation in the exit pupil image. This paper introduces a novel discrete modulated operation method for the pyramid wavefront sensor, while the sensor concept has been already presented in authors’ last paper, termed the DM-PWFS. The DM-PWFS integrates the modulation mirror with the pyramidal prism, reducing the number of conjugate planes in the system and significantly simplifying the optical pathways and alignment processes. Moreover, the M-PWFS replaces the traditional method of incident light modulation by modulating the center point of pyramidal prism, ensuring that the primary optical axis remains stationary during modulation and effectively eliminating the impact of pupil image deviation. The theoretical model and geometrical optical analysis explain the wavefront sensing principle of the DM-PWFS. Simulation analysis discusses the system parameters and dynamic performance of the DM-PWFS. Experimental results demonstrate that an AOS equipped with the DM-PWFS successfully corrects wavefront distortion, achieving a residual wavefront Root Mean Square (RMS) value of approximately 0.02λ and a focal plane image Strehl Ratio value of around 0.83.

In this work, a novel heterojunction composite Ag2S/KTaxNb1-xO3 was designed and synthesized through a combination of hydrothermal and precipitation procedures. The Ta/Nb ratio of the KTaxNb1-xO3 and the Ag2S content were optimized. The best 0.5% Ag2S/KTa0.5Nb0.5O3 (KTN) sample presents an enhanced photocatalytic performance in ammonia synthesis than KTN and Ag2S. Under simulated sunlight, the NH3 generation rate of 0.5% Ag2S/KTN reaches 2.0 times that of pure KTN. Under visible light, the reaction rate ratio of the two catalysts is 6.0. XRD, XPS, and TEM analysis revealed that Ag2S was intimately decorated on the KTN nanocubes surface, which promoted the electron transfer between the two semiconductors. The band structure investigation indicated that the Ag2S/KTN heterojunction established a type-II band alignment with intimate contact, thus realizing the effective transfer and separation of photogenerated carriers. The change in charge separation was considered as the main reason for the enhanced photocatalytic performance. Interestingly, the Ag2S/KTN composite exhibited higher NH3 generation performance under the combined action of ultrasonic vibration and simulated sunlight. The enhanced piezo-photocatalytic performance can be ascribed that the piezoelectric effect of KTN improved the bulk separation of charge carriers in KTN. This study not only provides a potential catalyst for photocatalytic nitrogen fixation but also shows new ideas for the design of highly efficient catalysts via semiconductor modification and external field coupling.

Building pattern recognition is important for understanding urban forms, automating map generalization, and visualizing 3D city models. However, current approaches based on object-independent methods have limitations in capturing all visually aware patterns due to the part-based nature of human vision. Moreover, these approaches also suffer from inefficiencies when applying proximity graph models. To address these limitations, we propose a framework that leverages multi-scale data and a knowledge graph, focusing on recognizing C-shaped building patterns. We first employ a specialized knowledge graph to represent the relationships between buildings within and across various scales. Subsequently, we convert the rules for C-shaped pattern recognition and enhancement into query conditions, where the enhancement refers to using patterns recognized at one scale to enhance pattern recognition at other scales. Finally, rule-based reasoning is applied within the constructed knowledge graph to recognize and enrich C-shaped building patterns. We verify the effectiveness of our method using multi-scale data with three levels of detail (LODs) collected from AMap, and our method achieves a higher recall rate of 26.4% for LOD1, 20.0% for LOD2, and 9.1% for LOD3 compared to existing methods with similar precision rates. We also achieve recognition efficiency improvements of 0.91, 1.37, and 9.35 times, respectively.

ABSTRACT Importance Central line‐associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) is one of the most serious complications of central venous access devices. Reducing the risk of CLABSI is of utmost significance in efforts to improve neonatal mortality rates and enhance long‐term prognosis. Objective To determine the dwell time and incidence of CLABSI of umbilical venous catheterization (UVC) for preterm infants in China. Methods Preterm infants with UVC admitted to 44 tertiary neonatal intensive care units in 24 provinces in China were enrolled. Study period was from November 2019 to August 2021. The end point of observations was 48 h after umbilical venous (UV) catheter removal. The primary outcomes were dwell time of UV catheter and UVC‐associated CLABSI. Data between infants with UV catheter dwell time ≤7 days and >7 days, and with birth weight (BW) ≤1000 g and >1000 g were compared. Results In total, 2172 neonates were enrolled (gestational age 30.0 ± 2.4 weeks, BW 1258.5 ± 392.8 g). The median UV catheter dwell time was 7 (6–10) days. The incidence of UVC‐associated CLABSI was 3.03/1000 UV catheter days. For infants with UV catheter dwell time ≤7 days and >7 days, the UVC‐associated CLABSI incidence was 3.71 and 2.65 per 1000 UV catheter days, respectively, P = 0.23. For infants with UVC dwell times of 3–6, 7–12, and 13–15 days, the UVC‐associated CLABSI rates were 0.14%, 0.68%, and 2.48% (P 1000 g (P = 0.60). Interpretation The median dwell time of UV catheter was 7 days, and the incidence of UVC‐associated CLABSI was 3.03/1000 catheter days in China. The daily risk of UVC‐associated CLABSI and other complications increased with the dwell time.

Abstract Background The association between air pollution and retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) has been demonstrated, but the pathogenic correlation is unknown. Damage to the outer blood–retinal barrier (oBRB), which consists of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and choriocapillaris, is crucial in the development of fundus diseases. Objectives To describe the effects of airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on the oBRB and disease susceptibilities. Methods A PM2.5-exposed mice model was established through the administration of eye drops containing PM2.5. Optical coherence tomography angiography, transmission electron microscope, RPE immunofluorescence staining and Western blotting were applied to study the oBRB changes. A co-culture model of ARPE-19 cells with stretching vascular endothelial cells was established to identify the role of choroidal vasodilatation in PM2.5-associated RPE damage. Results Acute exposure to PM2.5 resulted in choroidal vasodilatation, RPE tight junctions impairment, and ultimately an increased risk of retinal edema in mice. These manifestations are very similar to the pachychoroid disease represented by central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC). After continuous PM2.5 exposure, the damage to the RPE was gradually repaired, but AMD-related early retinal degenerative changes appeared under continuous choroidal inflammation. Conclusion This study reveals oBRB pathological changes under different exposure durations, providing a valuable reference for the prevention of PM2.5-related fundus diseases and public health policy formulation. Graphical abstract

Objective To investigate the postoperative relationship between cellular immune status and clinicopathological features in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) before 131I therapy. Methods We retrospectively included 155 patients with DTC who had undergone total thyroidectomy with neck lymph node dissection plus 131I treatment 1-3 months after the operation in our hospital from March 2018 to February 2019. Peripheral blood natural killer (NK) cells and T cell subsets (CD3+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and CD4/CD8 ratio) were measured 1 d before 131I therapy. Univariable analysis was used to compare the cellular immunity indicators between patients with different clinicopathological features. Results The level of peripheral blood CD4+ T cells in male patients was significantly lower than that in female patients (t=-2.120,P2 cm than in those with maximum tumor dia-meter ≤2 cm (z=2.595, -2.652,t=3.861,P2 cm, and M1 stage. Monitoring lymphocyte subsets can help guide interventions for patients from the immune perspective.

Based on the characteristics of the link structure and the rope pulley structure, a new reverse rope-pulley mechanism is proposed. The principle and motion characteristics of the new mechanism are introduced, and the structure of a three-knuckle manipulator with new mechanism for bag grabbing is designed. Firstly, the static analysis of the three-knuckle manipulator is carried out based on the method of equilibrium of plane forces. The accuracy of the static analysis is verified by Adams statics simulation, and the characteristic of higher force conversion rate is verified by the comparison and simulation with the link structure and rope pulley structure. Secondly, simplified modeling, kinematic envelope grasping simulation and static grasping contact force simulation are carried out for the three-knuckle manipulator. The mobile envelope grasping ability of the three-knuckle manipulator is shown by the simulation results. However, the disadvantage of uneven contact force distribution needs to be optimized for the current design.

Since the advent of Fourier Domain Mode-Locked (FDML) lasers, they have demonstrated outstanding performance in several fields. They achieve high-speed, narrow-linewidth laser output with the new mode-locking mechanism, which has been intensively researched in the past decades. Compared with conventional wavelength-scanning light sources, FDML lasers have successfully increased the scanning rate of frequency-sweeping lasers from kHz to MHz. They are widely used in optical coherence tomography, spectral analysis, microscopy, and microwave photonics. With the deepening research on FDML lasers, several performance metrics have been optimized and improved, offering superior performance for FDML laser-based applications. This paper reviews the principles and key performance indicators of FDML lasers, as well as the recent progress made in some important applications, and highlights further research directions for FDML lasers in the future.

Thieno[3,2-b]thiophenes are used as key components in optoelectronic materials, porous hydrogen-storage hosts, organic solar cells, and polymer semiconductors. A step-efficient synthetic protocol was proposed herein for obtaining multisubstituted thieno[3,2-b]thiophene and selenopheno[3,2-b]selenophenes in moderate to good yields via the bisulfur/biselenium cyclization of alkynyl diols with I2/Na2S2O3 or selenium. Using this strategy, substitution patterns were obtained for backbone modification in functional materials.

Composite robots often encounter difficulties due to changes in illumination, external disturbances, reflective surface effects, and cumulative errors. These challenges significantly hinder their capabilities in environmental perception and the accuracy and reliability of pose estimation. We propose a nonlinear optimization approach to overcome these issues to develop an integrated localization and navigation framework, IIVL-LM (IMU, Infrared, Vision, and LiDAR Fusion for Localization and Mapping). This framework achieves tightly coupled integration at the data level using inputs from an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit), an infrared camera, an RGB (Red, Green and Blue) camera, and LiDAR. We propose a real-time luminance calculation model and verify its conversion accuracy. Additionally, we designed a fast approximation method for the nonlinear weighted fusion of features from infrared and RGB frames based on luminance values. Finally, we optimize the VIO (Visual-Inertial Odometry) module in the R3LIVE++ (Robust, Real-time, Radiance Reconstruction with LiDAR-Inertial-Visual state Estimation) framework based on the infrared camera’s capability to acquire depth information. In a controlled study, using a simulated indoor rescue scenario dataset, the IIVL-LM system demonstrated significant performance enhancements in challenging luminance conditions, particularly in low-light environments. Specifically, the average RMSE ATE (Root Mean Square Error of absolute trajectory Error) improved by 23% to 39%, with reductions from 0.006 to 0.013. At the same time, we conducted comparative experiments using the publicly available TUM-VI (Technical University of Munich Visual-Inertial Dataset) without the infrared image input. It was found that no leading results were achieved, which verifies the importance of infrared image fusion. By maintaining the active engagement of at least three sensors at all times, the IIVL-LM system significantly boosts its robustness in both unknown and expansive environments while ensuring high precision. This enhancement is particularly critical for applications in complex environments, such as indoor rescue operations.

Artemisia ordosica polysaccharides (AOP) can promote animal growth, improve intestinal morphology, regulate immunity, and enhance antioxidant capacity. To investigate the antioxidant capacity of AOP, three experiments were conducted. (1) Different concentrations of AOP (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 μg/mL) and 1 µg/mL VA on peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) treated with/without lipopolysaccharides (LPS) were investigated to select the optimum concentration. The results showed that 150 μg/mL AOP had significant antioxidation activity. (2) The PBLs was randomly divided into eight treatments with six replicates, namely CON, AOP, LPS, ML385 (Nrf2 inhibitor), AOP + LPS, AOP + ML385, LPS + ML385 and LPS + ML385 + AOP. The results showed that under a normal condition or stress condition, AOP presented antioxidation activity via upregulating Nrf2/Keap1 pathway-related gene expression. (3) The PBLs was randomly divided into eight treatments with six replicates, namely CON, AOP, LPS, PDTC (NF-κB inhibitor), AOP + LPS, AOP + PDTC, LPS + PDTC and LPS + PDTC + AOP. The results showed that under a normal condition, AOP presented antioxidation activity via increasing TLR4/NF-κB pathway-related gene expression; under a stress condition, AOP alleviated oxidative damage caused by LPS via suppressing TLR4/NF-κB pathway-related gene expression.

This paper reviews recent biomechanical studies on heart valve flutter. The function of the heart valves is essential for maintaining effective blood circulation. Heart valve flutter is a kind of small vibration phenomenon like a flag fluttering in the wind, which is related to many factors such as a thrombus, valve calcification, regurgitation, and hemolysis and material fatigue. This vibration phenomenon is particularly prevalent in valve replacement patients. The biomechanical implications of flutter are profound and can lead to micro-trauma of valve tissue, accelerating its degeneration process and increasing the risk of thrombosis. We conducted a systematic review along with a critical appraisal of published studies on heart valve flutter. In this review, we summarize and analyze the existing literature; discuss the detection methods of frequency and amplitude of heart valve flutter, and its potential effects on valve function, such as thrombosis and valve degeneration; and discuss some possible ways to avoid flutter. These findings are important for optimizing valve design, diagnosing diseases, and developing treatment strategies.

This paper introduces an optimization method for multi-robot automated control welding based on a Particle Swarm Genetic Algorithm (PSGA), aiming to address issues such as high costs, large footprint, and excessive production cycles in multi-robot welding production lines. The method first constructs a multi-axis robotic kinematic model to provide constraint conditions. Then, the PSO (particle swarm optimization) algorithm, which integrates penalty functions into the fitness evaluation, is used to determine the optimal welding path by simulating collective behavior within a group. The GA (genetic algorithm) encodes the position of the welding robot bases into chromosomes to find the optimal layout for coordinated control of multiple robots. The entire process is optimized according to welding standards and requirements. Additionally, a comprehensive production line performance estimation model was used to quantitatively analyze the new scheme. The results show that the optimized production line’s balance rate increased by 10%, the balance loss rate decreased by 10%, the smoothness index increased by 37.8%, the space costs reduced by 44.4%, the equipment demand reduced by 41.1%, the labor demand reduced by 50%, the total costs reduced by 10%, and the average product cycle time was reduced by 5.07 s. Finally, we tested the algorithm in various complex scenarios and compared its performance against mainstream algorithms within the context of this study. The results demonstrated that the optimized production line significantly improved efficiency while maintaining safety standards.

A surprising “planar” thermal Hall effect, whereby the field is parallel to the current, has recently been observed in a few magnetic insulators; this effect has been attributed to exotic excitations such as Majorana fermions or chiral magnons. Here, we investigate the possibility of a planar thermal Hall effect in three different cuprate materials, in which the conventional thermal Hall conductivity κ_{xy} (with an out-of-plane field perpendicular to the current) is dominated by either electrons or phonons. Our measurements show that the planar κ_{xy} from electrons in cuprates is zero, as expected from the absence of a Lorentz force in the planar configuration. By contrast, we observe a sizable planar κ_{xy} in those samples where the thermal Hall response is due to phonons, even though it should, in principle, be forbidden by the high crystal symmetry. Our findings call for a careful reexamination of the mechanisms responsible for the phonon thermal Hall effect in insulators.

Radiative natural convection is of vital importance in the process of energy storage, power generation, and thermal storage technology. As the attenuation coefficients of many heat transfer media in these fields are high enough to be considered as optically thick media, like nanofluids or molten salts in concentrated solar power or phase change thermal storage, Rosseland approximation is commonly used. In this paper, we delve into the impact of thermal radiation on the Rayleigh-Bénard (RB) convection. Theoretical analysis has been conducted by modifying the Grossmann-Lohse (GL) model. Based on turbulent dissipation theory, the corresponding scaling laws in four main regimes are proposed. Direct numerical simulation (DNS) was also performed, revealing that radiation exerts a notable influence on both flow and heat transfer, particularly on the formation of large-scale circulation. By comparing with DNS results, it is found that due to the presence of radiation, the modified Nu scaling law in small Pr range of the GL model is more suitable for predicting the transport characteristics of optical thick media with large Pr. The maximum deviation between the results of DNS and prediction model is about 10%, suggesting the summarized scaling law can effectively predict the Nu of radiative RB convection.

Within the area of environmental perception, automatic navigation, object detection, and computer vision are crucial and demanding fields with many applications in modern industries, such as multi-target long-term visual tracking in automated production, defect detection, and driverless robotic vehicles. The performance of computer vision has greatly improved recently thanks to developments in deep learning algorithms and hardware computing capabilities, which have spawned the creation of a large number of related applications. At the same time, with the rapid increase in autonomous systems in the market, energy consumption has become an increasingly critical issue in computer vision and SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) algorithms. This paper presents the results of a detailed review of over 100 papers published over the course of two decades (1999–2024), with a primary focus on the technical advancement in computer vision. To elucidate the foundational principles, an examination of typical visual algorithms based on traditional correlation filtering was initially conducted. Subsequently, a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art advancements in deep learning-based computer vision techniques was compiled. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of conventional and novel algorithms was undertaken to discuss the future trends and directions of computer vision. Lastly, the feasibility of employing visual SLAM algorithms in the context of autonomous vehicles was explored. Additionally, in the context of intelligent robots for low-carbon, unmanned factories, we discussed model optimization techniques such as pruning and quantization, highlighting their importance in enhancing energy efficiency. We conducted a comprehensive comparison of the performance and energy consumption of various computer vision algorithms, with a detailed exploration of how to balance these factors and a discussion of potential future development trends.

The precise detection of liquid flow and viscosity is a crucial challenge in industrial processes and environmental monitoring due to the variety of liquid samples and the complex reflective properties of energetic liquids. Traditional methods often struggle to maintain accuracy under such conditions. This study addresses the complexity arising from sample diversity and the reflective properties of energetic liquids by introducing a novel model based on computer vision and deep learning. We propose the DBN-AGS-FLSS, an integrated deep learning model for high-precision, real-time liquid surface pointer detection. The model combines Deep Belief Networks (DBN), Feedback Least-Squares SVM classifiers (FLSS), and Adaptive Genetic Selectors (AGS). Enhanced by bilateral filtering and adaptive contrast enhancement algorithms, the model significantly improves image clarity and detection accuracy. The use of a feedback mechanism for reverse judgment dynamically optimizes model parameters, enhancing system accuracy and robustness. The model achieved an accuracy, precision, F1 score, and recall of 99.37%, 99.36%, 99.16%, and 99.36%, respectively, with an inference speed of only 1.5 ms/frame. Experimental results demonstrate the model’s superior performance across various complex detection scenarios, validating its practicality and reliability. This study opens new avenues for industrial applications, especially in real-time monitoring and automated systems, and provides valuable reference for future advancements in computer vision-based detection technologies.

When mineral resources are extracted using underground mining methods in hilly regions, landslides or slope failures can be induced frequently. In this study, slope collapse disasters in mountain mining areas were analyzed. The model test and numerical simulation of the slope impacted by repeated mining were carried out. The crack evolution and failure process were analyzed to reveal the instability mechanism. The results show that the rock mass would topple to the inside of the slope first, when the subsidence of overlying rock was induced by the mining of the upper coal seam. When repeated mining was performed in the lower coal seam, the mining induced macro-cracks that could connect with natural fissures, inducing the outward displacement of the slope. Then, the rock mass at the foot of the slope has to bear the upper load, which is also squeezed out by the collapsed rock mass, forming the potential slip zone. Finally, the instability is caused by the shear slip of the slope toe rock mass. Therefore, the instability evolution of the slope under underground repeated mining disturbance can be divided into four stages as follows: roof caving and overlaying rock subsidence, joint rock toppling, fracture penetration, and slope toe shearing and slope slipping.

Prosthetic heart valves (PHVs) are employed to replace the diseased native valve as a treatment of severe aortic valve disease. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of curvature of the belly curve on valve performance, so as to support a better comprehension of the relationship between valve design and its performance. Five PHV models with different curvatures of the belly curve were established. Iterative implicit fluid–structure interaction simulations were carried out, analyzing in detail the effect of belly curvature on the geometric orifice area (GOA), coaptation area (CA), regurgitant fraction (RF), leaflet kinematics and stress distribution on the leaflets. Overall, GOA and CA were negatively and positively related to the curvature of the belly curve, respectively. Nevertheless, an excessive increase in curvature can lead to incomplete sealing of free edges of the valve during its closure, which resulted in a decrease in CA and an increase in regurgitation. The moderate curvature of the belly curve contributed to reducing RF and fluttering frequency. Valves with small curvature experienced a significantly higher frequency of fluttering. Furthermore, all stress concentrations intensified with the increase in the curvature of the belly curve. The valve with moderate curvature of the belly curve strikes the best compromise between valve performance parameters, leaflet kinematics and mechanical stress. Considering the different effects of the curvature of belly curve on valve performance parameters, the PHV design with variable curvature of belly curve may be a direction towards valve performance optimization.

Building height is important information in disaster management and damage assessment. It is also a key parameter in studies such as population modeling and urbanization. Relatively few studies have been conducted on extracting building height in rural areas using imagery from China’s Gaofen-7 satellite (GF-7). In this study, we developed a method combining photogrammetry and deep learning to extract building height using GF-7 data in the rural area of Pingquan in northern China. The deep learning model DELaMa was proposed for digital surface model (DSM) editing based on the Large Mask Inpainting (LaMa) architecture. It not only preserves topographic details but also reasonably predicts the topography inside the building mask. The percentile value of the normalized digital surface model (nDSM) in the building footprint was taken as the building height. The extracted building heights in the study area are highly consistent with the reference building heights measured from the ICESat-2 LiDAR point cloud, with an R2 of 0.83, an MAE of 1.81 m and an RMSE of 2.13 m for all validation buildings. Overall, the proposed method in this paper helps to promote the use of satellite data in large-scale building height surveys, especially in rural areas.

The accuracy of long-term runoff models can be increased through the input of local weather variables and global climate indices. However, existing methods do not effectively extract important information from complex input factors across various temporal and spatial dimensions, thereby contributing to inaccurate predictions of long-term runoff. In this study, local–global–temporal attention mechanisms (LGTA) were proposed for capturing crucial information on global climate indices on monthly, annual, and interannual time scales. The graph attention network (GAT) was employed to extract geographical topological information of meteorological stations, based on remotely sensed elevation data. A long-term runoff prediction model was established based on long-short-term memory (LSTM) integrated with GAT and LGTA, referred to as GAT–LGTA–LSTM. The proposed model was compared to five comparative models (LGTA–LSTM, GAT–GTA–LSTM, GTA–LSTM, GAT–GA–LSTM, GA–LSTM). The models were applied to forecast the long-term runoff at Luning and Pingshan stations in China. The results indicated that the GAT–LGTA–LSTM model demonstrated the best forecasting performance among the comparative models. The Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) of GAT–LGTA–LSTM at the Luning and Pingshan stations reached 0.87 and 0.89, respectively. Compared to the GA–LSTM benchmark model, the GAT–LGTA–LSTM model demonstrated an average increase in NSE of 0.07, an average increase in Kling–Gupta Efficiency (KGE) of 0.08, and an average reduction in mean absolute percent error (MAPE) of 0.12. The excellent performance of the proposed model is attributed to the following: (1) local attention mechanism assigns a higher weight to key global climate indices at a monthly scale, enhancing the ability of global and temporal attention mechanisms to capture the critical information at annual and interannual scales and (2) the global attention mechanism integrated with GAT effectively extracts crucial temporal and spatial information from precipitation and remotely-sensed elevation data. Furthermore, attention visualization reveals that various global climate indices contribute differently to runoff predictions across distinct months. The global climate indices corresponding to specific seasons or months should be selected to forecast the respective monthly runoff.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease. The fruits of Illicium verum, which is a medicinal and edible resource, have been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties. Methods: In this study, we investigated the effects of I. verum extracts (IVEs) on human RA fibroblasts-like synoviocytes (RA-FLS) by using a sensitive and selective ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography with high-definition mass spectrometry (UPLC-HDMS) method. We subsequently analyzed the metabolites produced after the incubation of cultured RA-FLS with IVEs. Results: IVEs inhibited the proliferation and suppressed the migration of RA-FLS, and reduced the levels of inflammatory factors including TNF-α and IL-6. Twenty differential metabolites responsible for the effects of IVEs were screened and annotated based on the UPLC-HDMS data by using a cell metabolomics approach. Discussion: Our findings suggest that treating RA-FLS with IVEs can regulate lipid and amino acid metabolism, indicating that this extract has the potential to modify the metabolic pathways that cause inflammation in RA. Conclusions: This might lead to novel therapeutic strategies for managing patients with RA.

Abstract Background Chinese wheat mosaic virus (CWMV) often causes severe damage to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth and yield. It is well known that a successful infection in plants depends on a complex interaction between the host plant and the pathogen. Post-translational modification (PTM) of proteins is considered to be one of the main processes that decides the outcome of the plant-pathogen arms race during this interaction. Although numerous studies have investigated PTM in various organisms, there has been no large-scale phosphoproteomic analysis of virus-infected wheat plants. We therefore aimed to investigate the CWMV infection-induced phosphoproteomics changes in wheat by high-resolution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy (LC–MS/MS) using affinity-enriched peptides followed by comprehensive bioinformatics analysis. Results Through this study, a total of 4095 phosphorylation sites have been identified in 1968 proteins, and 11.6% of the phosphorylated proteins exhibited significant changes (PSPCs) in their phosphorylation levels upon CWMV infection. The result of Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis showed that most of the PSPCs were associated with photosynthesis, plant-pathogen interactions, and MAPK signaling pathways. The protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analysis result showed that these PSPCs were mainly participated in the regulation of biosynthesis and metabolism, protein kinase activities, and transcription factors. Furthermore, the phosphorylation levels of TaChi1 and TaP5CS, two plant immunity-related enzymes, were significantly changed upon CWMV infection, resulting in a significant decrease in CWMV accumulation in the infected plants. Conclusions Our results indicate that phosphorylation modification of protein plays a critical role in wheat resistance to CWMV infection. Upon CWMV infection, wheat plants will regulate the levels of extra- and intra-cellular signals and modifications of enzyme activities via protein phosphorylation. This novel information about the strategies used by wheat to resist CWMV infection will help researchers to breed new CWMV-resistant cultivars and to better understand the arms race between wheat and CWMV.

Abstract Early pressure injury (PI) progression is associated with multi-circulatory disorders and they interplay with each other, resulting in a lack of a satisfactory diagnostic method. We generated early PI and blanchable erythema hairless rat models. Transparent disc method and capillary refilling time test (CRTT) results were recorded with ultraviolet camera to capture the dynamics changes, and the blanching index and refilling index were set for comprehensive analysis. The deteriorated areas of early PI showed non-blanchable erythema (NBE) and an increase in erythema at 0.5 and 6 h with the transparent disc method. CRTT showed a marked refilling delay at 12 h. The comprehensive analysis of blanching index and refilling index showed a significant change in erythema from NBE at 0.5 h and ischemia progressing to hemorrhage at 18 h. There was also a marked difference in the deteriorating and improving areas within the same erythema. Pathological analysis showed inflammatory cell infiltration, with marked edema accompanied by increased hemorrhage and tissue necrosis. Furthermore, small arteries and veins with thrombosis and microthrombi were observed. Consistent ischemia after decompression and subsequent hemorrhage are important indicators, and comprehensive analysis can help increase the positive diagnosis rate over that for other circulatory disorders alone.

Abstract Polarization, one of the fundamental properties of light, is critical for certain imaging applications because it captures information from the scene that cannot directly be recorded by traditional intensity cameras. Currently, mainstream approaches for polarization imaging rely on strong dichroism of birefringent crystals or artificially fabricated structures that exhibit a high diattenuation typically exceeding 99%, which corresponds to a polarization extinction ratio (PER) >~100. This not only limits the transmission efficiency of light, but also makes them either offer narrow operational bandwidth or be non-responsive to the circular polarization. Here, we demonstrate a single-shot full-Stokes polarization camera incorporating a disordered metasurface array with weak dichroism. The diattenuation of the metasurface array is ~65%, which corresponds to a PER of ~2. Within the framework of compressed sensing, the proposed disordered metasurface array serves as an efficient sensing matrix. By incorporating a mask-aware reconstruction algorithm, the signal can be accurately recovered with a high probability. In our experiments, the proposed approach exhibits high-accuracy full-Stokes polarimetry and high-resolution real-time polarization imaging. Our demonstration highlights the potential of combining meta-optics with reconstruction algorithms as a promising approach for advanced imaging applications.