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The reclaimed water of municipal sewage plant after advanced treatment in a power plant is used as makeup of circulating water system. Due to the problems in the advanced treatment system of reclaimed water，such as the output of the mechanical acceleration clarification tank failing to reach the designed value，poor effluent quality，the sludge dewatering system failing to operate normally，the feeding blockage of the lime system，the widespread leakage of the dosing device and no chain control，etc.，the requirements for normal use of reclaimed water in the power plant can’t be met. After the diagnosis of the problems，the optimization scheme was put forward. The internal structure of the mechanical acceleration clarification tank and the bottom sludge discharge pipeline system were modified respectively to restore the processing capacity of the mechanical acceleration clarification tank and meet the requirements of the water required of the system. The sludge dewatering system was modified to restore the sludge dewatering unit. The lime dosing system was modified to improve the problems of lime dosing and material blockage then restored the stable operation of the lime system. After optimization and transformation，the output of the clarification tank was improved，and the effluent quality of the system was optimized，effectively ensuring the normal operation of the deep treatment system for recycled water and the safety of water use in the power plant.

Spectral collocation method, named linear barycentric rational interpolation collocation method (LBRICM), for convection-diffusion (C-D) equation with constant coefficient is considered. We change the discrete linear equations into the matrix equation. Different from the classical methods to solve the C-D equation, we solve the C-D equation with the time variable and space variable obtained at the same time. Furthermore, the convergence rate of the C-D equation by LBRICM is proved. Numerical examples are presented to test our analysis.

Abstract This systematic review examined the association between students’ digital cultural and social capital and their learning outcomes, focusing on the characteristics, related factors, and impact of their digital cultural and social capital. Through a literature search process using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, 21 studies were identified for inclusion in the review. We found that digital cultural and social capital provides a useful theoretical basis for understanding the underlying effects of the digital divide on student development. Results of the review allow us to propose operational definitions of digital cultural and social capital, as well as refine our conceptualization of these forms of capital, including their roles in the reproduction of educational inequalities. Lastly, strategies that could be implemented by schools, parents, and other stakeholders in educational systems to bolster students’ digital cultural and social capital are suggested.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) that play their roles in the regulation of physiological and pathological processes. Originally, it was assumed that miRNAs only modulate gene expression posttranscriptionally in the cytoplasm by inducing target mRNA degradation. However, with further research, evidence shows that mature miRNAs also exist in the cell nucleus, where they can impact gene transcription and ncRNA maturation in several ways. This review provides an overview of novel models of nuclear miRNA functions. Some of the models remain to be verified by experimental evidence, and more details of the miRNA regulation network remain to be discovered in the future.

Abstract A recent paper by Jiang et al. in BMC Bioinformatics presented guidelines on long-read sequencing settings for structural variation (SV) calling, and benchmarked the performance of various SV calling tools, including NanoVar. In their simulation-based benchmarking, NanoVar was shown to perform poorly compared to other tools, mostly due to low SV recall rates. To investigate the causes for NanoVar's poor performance, we regenerated the simulation datasets (3× to 20×) as specified by Jiang et al. and performed benchmarking for NanoVar and Sniffles. Our results did not reflect the findings described by Jiang et al. In our analysis, NanoVar displayed more than three times the F1 scores and recall rates as reported in Jiang et al. across all sequencing coverages, indicating a previous underestimation of its performance. We also observed that NanoVar outperformed Sniffles in calling SVs with genotype concordance by more than 0.13 in F1 scores, which is contrary to the trend reported by Jiang et al. Besides, we identified multiple detrimental errors encountered during the analysis which were not addressed by Jiang et al. We hope that this commentary clarifies NanoVar's validity as a long-read SV caller and provides assurance to its users and the scientific community.

The conventional approach for images encryption entails transforming a regular image into an encrypted image that resembles noise. However, this noise-like encrypted image is susceptible to drawing the attention of an attacker when transmitted through a public channel. Hence, there has been a recent surge in the interest of academics towards visually secure image encryption techniques. In a broad sense, encryption methods that include visual significance should prioritize four key elements: the resemblance between the cypher picture and the carrier image, the capacity for embedding, the attainment of good recovery quality, and resilience against many forms of attacks. To address the issues pertaining to inadequate visual security, limited resistance against attacks, and subpar quality of reconstructed images observed in contemporary image encryption and compression methodologies. This paper proposes a visually secure image encryption method based on improved semi-tensor product compressed sensing, two-way cross zigzag obfuscation, and IWT-HD-SVD embedding. Firstly, the plain image is sparsely represented in the Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) domain, and a two-way cross zigzag mismatch strategy is proposed to disarrange the coefficient vectors. Then the plain image is encrypted as a secret image by the improved semi-tensor product compression sensing technique. After that, IWT-HD-SVD embedding technique is proposed to embed the secret image into the carrier image to generate the final meaningful cryptographic image. This dramatically improves the visual security of the cryptographic image. Simulation results show that the quality of the decrypted image is approximately 36 dB and up to 44 dB. In addition, the cryptographic image is highly robust against common noise attacks of 0.05 %.

Event extraction is an essential task of natural language processing,and event detection is one of the critical steps of event extraction,whose goal is to detect the occurrence of events and classify them.Currently,Chinese event detection has problems of polysemous words and mismatches between words and triggers,which affect the accuracy of event detection models.We propose the event detection without triggers based on dual attention(EDWTDA),which skips the process of trigger word recognition and directly determines event types without trigger word tags.First,the ALBERT model is applied to improve the semantic representation ability of word embedding vectors.Second,we fusion local attention and event types to capture key semantic information and simulate hidden event triggers to solve the problem of mismatch between words and triggers.Third,the global attention is introduced to mine contextual information in documents to solve the problem of polysemous words.Further,the event detection task is converted into a binary classification task for solving multi-label problem.Finally,the focal loss function is used to address the sample imbalance after conversion.Experimental results on the ACE2005 Chinese corpus show that compared with the best baseline model JMCEE,the accuracy rate,recall rate,and F1-score of the proposed model increases by 3.40%,3.90% and 3.67%,respectively.

Previous studies have shown that recombinant Trichinella spiralis galectin (rTsgal) is characterized by a carbohydrate recognition domain sequence motif binding to beta-galactoside, and that rTsgal promotes larval invasion of intestinal epithelial cells. Galactomannan is an immunostimulatory polysaccharide composed of a mannan backbone with galactose residues. The aim of this study was to investigate whether galactomannan inhibits larval intrusion of intestinal epithelial cells and enhances antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), killing newborn larvae by polarizing macrophages to the M1 phenotype. The results showed that galactomannan specially binds to rTsgal, and abrogated rTsgal facilitation of larval invasion of intestinal epithelial cells. The results of qPCR, Western blotting, and flow cytometry showed that galactomannan and rTsgal activated macrophage M1 polarization, as demonstrated by high expression of iNOS (M1 marker) and M1 related genes (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α), and increased CD86+ macrophages. Galactomannan and rTsgal also increased NO production. The killing ability of macrophage-mediated ADCC on larvae was also significantly enhanced in galactomannan- and rTsgal-treated macrophages. The results demonstrated that Tsgal may be considered a potential vaccine target molecule against T. spiralis invasion, and galactomannan may be a novel adjuvant therapeutic agent and potential vaccine adjuvant against T. spiralis infection.

针对多模态医学图像融合方法融合质量差、计算效率低等问题。提出了一种基于联合双边滤波(JBF)与多阶局部区域能量(MLNE)的图像融合方法。该方法将输入图像分解成能量层和结构层, 对于能量层与结构层的融合分别提出了基于MLNE和局部区域L2范数取大值的融合方案, 融合能量层和结构层相加获得融合图像。1组不同模态的医学图像融合实验结果证明, 文中提出的方法在融合性能、计算效率、视觉评价等方面都优于其他的对比方法。

Abstract This study investigated the factors affecting adolescents’ well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspectives of their participation in digital activities, emotional regulation, self-regulated learning, and parental involvement. Using self-reported data from 932 pairs of adolescents and their parents, we performed multiple-group structural equation modeling, which revealed that self-efficacy in online learning during school suspension was a key factor influencing adolescents’ perceived worries after schools resumed. During school suspension, boys’ cognitive-emotional regulation played a protective role in their well-being, helping them to avoid cyberbullying incidents, while girls’ participation in leisure-oriented digital activities compromised their self-efficacy in online learning and led to cyberbullying incidents. Furthermore, improvement in parent–child relationships during school suspension encouraged adolescents to use more positive emotional regulation strategies, enhanced their self-efficacy in online learning, and reduced their leisure-time digital activities. The findings indicate that the effective regulation of adolescents’ online behaviors, emotions, and self-efficacy, especially when combined with an emotionally secure family relationship, can ensure adolescents’ well-being.

Objective: The study aimed to develop the vegetable value of common vetch （CV） and explore the effects of salt solution on phenolic accumulation and antioxidant activity in CV sprouts. Methods: The effects of NaCl stress and supplemental CaCl2 on free and combined phenolic accumulation in CV sprouts were analysed by UPLC in comparison with pea sprouts, soybean sprouts and mung bean sprouts. The changes of key enzyme activities and gene relative expression levels of PAL, C4H and 4CL, antioxidant enzyme activities and antioxidant activities were investigated under NaCl and CaCl2 treatments. Results: The total phenolics increased from （10.63±0.40） mg GAE/g DW to （15.76±0.36） mg GAE/g DW with the co-treatment of NaCl and CaCl2. Sixteen phenolic acids were detected in CV sprouts. The content of Rutin increased from （22.50±0.49） mg/kg DW to （57.38± 0.87） mg/kg DW with the co-treatment, which was 79.69, 260.82, 5.89 times of pea sprout, soybea sprout and mung bean sprout respectively. Na+ increased enzyme activities of PAL, 4CL and C4H by increasing their relative gene expression levels. However, the co-treatment increased enzyme activities but their relative gene expression levels decreased or didn't change significantly. Conclusion: The co-treatment of NaCl and CaCl2 can enrich the phenolic content and enhance its antioxidant activity of CV sprouts.

Highlights Novel formable porous functional biochar (LaFe/MB) was prepared for P removal. La/Fe oxide provides abundant sorption sites for P and almost no La/Fe leaching. LaFe/MB presented high compressive strength with high sorption capacity for P.

In the vector tracking loop(VTL) of the satellite navigation system, the signal faults caused by the abnormal atmospheric disturbances or other interferences may be distorted when outputted by the discriminators, due to the nonlinearities in the discriminators. This makes the large bias faults in strong noise environments hard to detect and then the navigation solution may be contaminated. A new signal fault detection algorithm for VTL in strong noise environments is proposed in this paper to deal with this issue. Firstly, the reason and effects of distortion that occurs on discriminator output are analyzed. Then a new code discriminator is designed for signal fault detection, which owns a wider positive correlation output range about the code tracking error thus improving the detection ability for large abrupt bias faults and drift faults in strong noise environments. Later a third-degree spherical-radial cubature rule is employed to estimate the test statistic and its variance matrix. Finally, comparison trials about abrupt faults and drift faults in different noise environments illustrate that the proposed algorithm maintains reliable detection ability about abrupt faults that are larger than 0.5 chips and can detect drift faults in 25~30 dBHz strong noise environments.

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of 18F-labeled PSMA PET/CT for regional lymph node metastasis in prostate cancer. Methods We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP and Wanfang database from January 1, 2000 to May 31, 2021 for the studies about the diagnosis of 18F-labeled PSMA PET/CT for regional lymph node metastasis and staging in prostate cancer. Two investigators screened literature, extracted relevant data and assessed the quality of the literature independently. The meta-analysis was performed using Meta-disc 1.4 and Stata 16.0 software. Results A total of 8 studies were finally included for the analysis, consisting of 754 prostate cancer patients and 2101 lymph nodes. The results of this meta-analysis showed pooled sensitivity, pooled specificity, pooled positive likelihood ratio, pooled negative likelihood ratio and diagnostic ratio were 0.82 (95%CI: 0.61-0.93), 0.98 (95%CI: 0.91-1.00), 45.7 (95%CI: 9.0-231.3), 0.18 (95%CI: 0.07-0.45) and 251 (95%CI: 34-1851), respectively. The area under the SROC curve was 0.97 (95%CI: 0.95-0.98). Conclusion 18F-labeled PSMA PET/CT has a high diagnostic value for regional lymph node metastasis in prostate cancer.

The landmarks encountered by a flight vehicle in its scene matching navigation are insufficient and distributed unevenly, thus being unable to effectively assist in its inertial navigation system (INS). Therefore, this paper proposes a novel algorithm for sea area landmark usability evaluation based on the probability model. The algorithm defines three types of sea area landmarks and gives their matching method and strategy. The visible range of each sea area landmark is determined according to its relative relations between each position and all landmarks in flight area, flight altitude, flight speed, camera field of view angle and INS drift error. The matching probability of different types of landmarks at different flight altitudes is calculated. Then the observable probability of each landmark is reckoned to give the probability cloud of the sea area landmark usability. The simulation results verify the effectiveness of the algorithm. The sea area landmark usability evaluation results can provide bases for INS to effectively utilize landmarks to perform route planning and realize long-time flight and high-precision navigation.

Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) is an important oilseed crop globally. However, its growth and production are significantly influenced by cold stress. To reveal the protective role of exogenous melatonin (MEL) in cold tolerance, rapeseed seedlings were pretreated with different concentrations of MEL before cold stress. The results indicated that the survival rate was increased significantly by the MEL pretreatment under cold stress. Seedlings pretreated with 0.01 g L−1 MEL were all survived and were used to analyze the physiological characteristics and the expression level of various genes related to cold tolerance. Under cold stress, exogenous MEL significantly increased the contents of proline, soluble sugar, and soluble protein; while the malondialdehyde content was decreased by exogenous MEL under cold stress. On the other hand, the activities of antioxidant defense enzymes such as catalase, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase were also significantly enhanced. The results also showed that MEL treatment significantly upregulated the expression of Cu-SOD, COR6.6 (cold-regulated), COR15, and CBFs (C-repeat binding factor) genes under cold stress. It was suggested exogenous MEL improved the content of osmotic regulatory substances to maintain the balance of cellular osmotic potential under cold stress and improved the scavenging capacity of reactive oxygen species by strengthening the activity of antioxidant enzymes and the cold-related genes expression.

Lignocellulose utilization has been gaining great attention worldwide due to its abundance, accessibility, renewability and recyclability. Destruction and dissociation of the cross-linked, hierarchical structure within cellulose hemicellulose and lignin is the key procedure during chemical utilization of lignocellulose. Of the pretreatments, biological treatment, which can effectively target the complex structures, is attractive due to its mild reaction conditions and environmentally friendly characteristics. Herein, we report a comprehensive review of the current biological pretreatments for lignocellulose dissociation and their corresponding degradation mechanisms. Firstly, we analyze the layered, hierarchical structure of cell wall, and the cross-linked network between cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, then highlight that the cracking of β-aryl ether is considered the key to lignin degradation because of its dominant position. Secondly, we explore the effect of biological pretreatments, such as fungi, bacteria, microbial consortium, and enzymes, on substrate structure and degradation efficiency. Additionally, combining biological pretreatment with other methods (chemical methods and catalytic materials) may reduce the time necessary for the whole process, which also help to strengthen the lignocellulose dissociation efficiency. Thirdly, we summarize the related applications of lignocellulose, such as fuel production, chemicals platform, and bio-pulping, which could effectively alleviate the energy pressure through bioconversion into high value-added products. Based on reviewing of current progress of lignocellulose pretreatment, the challenges and future prospects are emphasized. Genetic engineering and other technologies to modify strains or enzymes for improved biotransformation efficiency will be the focus of future research.

The mountain base elevation, which refers to the initial altitude of a mountain or the mountain altitudinal belt, is of great significance for the study of mountain altitudinal zonality and the mass elevation effect. However, a fast and efficient algorithm for the automatic extraction of a mountain base elevation is still lacking; therefore, a new method based on mountain structure modeling to calculate the mountain base elevation is proposed for the Qinling-Daba Mountains (QDM). The result shows that 1) the mountain structures in different catchments of the Qinling-Daba Mountains can be divided into six types, namely, pyramid, low-diamond, diamond, inverse pyramid, hourglass, and ellipsoid, and each type has a specific distribution law; 2) based on the mountain structure, the calculation result of the mountain base elevation in the Qinling-Daba Mountains ranges from 99 m to 3,979 m, being high in the west, north, and south and low in the east and middle, which is consistent with the overall terrain distribution of the Qinling-Daba Mountains; and 3) there is a good linear correlation between the mountain base elevation and the average altitude in the Qinling-Daba Mountains with R2 = 0.96 (p < 0.01), which also indicates that the mountain base elevation quantification algorithm works well in the mountain areas with a complex terrain.

ObjectiveTo assess the specificity of P50 auditory-evoked potential in schizophrenic patients with violent and aggressive behaviors， so as to provide objective biological markers for predicting violent behaviors of schizophrenic patients.MethodsA total of135 schizophrenic patients who met the diagnostic criteria of the International Classification of Diseases， tenth edition （ICD-10） were divided into aggressive group （n=70） and non-aggressive group （n=65） according to the assessment results of the Modified Overt Aggression Scale （MOAS）， meantime， another 60 healthy individuals matched for age and gender were set as healthy group. Then the P50 auditory-evoked potentials of all selected individuals were measured using EP/EMG system （MEB-9200， Nihon Kohden， Japan）.ResultsAmp S2 of the aggressive group was significantly higher than those of the non-aggressive group and healthy control group， with statistical differences ［（9.86±6.04）μV vs. （7.06±3.88）μV， P=0.004； （9.86±6.04）μV vs. （7.82±3.87）μV， P=0.031］. The proportion of S2/S1 ratio ≥0.5 was 72.88%， 43.86% and 30.00% in aggressive group， non-aggressive group and healthy group， which was the highest in aggressive group， with statistical differences （P

Contextualized in the prolonged period of COVID-19-related school suspension in Hong Kong, the present study unravels relationships among socioeconomic status (SES), parental involvement, and learning outcomes for a matched sample of 186 primary and 932 secondary school students and their parents who participated in the eCitizen Education 360 survey. Three-step latent profile analysis (LPA) revealed different types of parental involvement at home and in school. For the primary school sample, students’ SES did not predict membership in the parental involvement typology, but students whose parents provided more home monitoring and support had the highest level of online self-efficacy. As for the secondary student sample, students whose parents provided more home monitoring and support tended to have access to more home learning resources. Students whose parents provided home monitoring and support had the highest levels of online self-efficacy, acquisition of digital skills, and cognitive-emotional regulation, and were the least worried about school resumption. The study underscores complex patterns of parental involvement and identifies effective parental involvement practices that contribute to students’ home online learning during the school suspension.

Clean- and high-value recovery and reuse of the residue of biohydrogen production (biohydrogen slurry) is an urgent problem to be solved. In this study, sodium alginate (SA) gel was used to concentrate nutrients quickly in situ from biohydrogen slurry, which was prepared into gel microspheres (GMs), just like “capsule.” The immobilization and release efficiency of conventional and reverse spherification were investigated. Better immobilization and release efficiency were detected under the conventional spherification method. The effect of GM sizes and concentrations of SA and calcium chloride (CaCl2) was further studied in terms of sphericity factor, nutrient release, yield, encapsulation efficiency, and loading capacity. The best immobilization effect was obtained with a 1.6-mm syringe needle, 3.0 wt% SA, and 6 wt% CaCl2, in which the sphericity factor, nitrogen release, yield, nitrogen encapsulation efficiency, and nitrogen loading capacity reached to 0.047, 96.20, 77.68, 38.37, and 0.0476%, respectively. This process not only avoids environmental pollution from biohydrogen slurry but also uses them at a high value as a fertilizer to nourish the soil. The feasibility of “slurry capsule” preparation will realize the clean recovery and reuse of biohydrogen slurry, which provides a new idea for ecological protection and carbon neutral goals and has important significance for sustainable development.

Several articles have indicated that circular RNAs are involved in pathogenesis of human cancers. Nevertheless, the role of circ_0091579 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression remains to be revealed. Quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was carried out to examine the expression of circ_0091579 and miR-1287. The proliferation of HCC cells was determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Flow cytometry was performed to analyze cell cycle progression and apoptosis. Western blot assay was conducted to detect the protein expression of CyclinD1, Cleaved caspase3, and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 2 (PDK2). Cell glycolysis was evaluated by measuring the uptake of glucose, the production of lactate, and extracellular acidification rate. The target relationship between miR-1287 and circ_0091579 or PDK2 was verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay, RNA immunoprecipitation assay, and RNA-pull down assay. The enrichment of circ_0091579 was enhanced in HCC tissues (n = 77) and four HCC cell lines (HB611, Huh-7, MHCC97, and SNU423) compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues (n = 77) and normal human liver cell line THLE-2. Circ_0091579 mediated the promotion of proliferation and glycolysis and the suppression of apoptosis of HCC cells. MiR-1287 was a direct target of circ_0091579 in HCC cells. MiR-1287 knockdown reversed the effects caused by circ_0091579 interference on the functions of HCC cells. PDK2 could bind to miR-1287 in HCC cells. Circ_0091579 upregulated the enrichment of PDK2 by acting as a sponge of miR-1287 in HCC cells. The influence caused by circ_0091579 intervention on HCC cells was attenuated by overexpression of PDK2. Circ_0091579 interference impeded the progression of HCC in vivo. Circ_0091579 deteriorated HCC by promoting the proliferation and glycolytic metabolism and suppressing the apoptosis of HCC cells via miR-1287/PDK2 axis.

As a non-destructive detection method, an electronic nose can be used to assess the freshness of meats by collecting and analyzing their odor information. Deep learning can automatically extract features and uncover potential patterns in data, minimizing the influence of subjective factors such as selecting features artificially. A transfer-learning-based model was proposed for the electronic nose to detect the freshness of chicken breasts in this study. First, a 3D-printed electronic nose system is used to collect the odor data from chicken breast samples stored at 4 °C for 1–7 d. Then, three conversion to images methods are used to feed the recorded time series data into the convolutional neural network. Finally, the pre-trained AlexNet, GoogLeNet, and ResNet models are retrained in the last three layers while being compared to classic machine learning methods such as K Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Random Forest (RF), and Support Vector Machines (SVM). The final accuracy of ResNet is 99.70%, which is higher than the 94.33% correct rate of the popular machine learning model SVM. Therefore, the electronic nose combined with conversion to images shows great potential for using deep transfer learning methods for chicken freshness classification.

In China, Budd-Chiari syndrome has been transliterated into six names according to the pronunciation of the letters. To standardize and unify the Chinese names of the disease, multi-disciplinary experts suggest translating Budd-Chiari syndrome into hepatic vein inferior venal cava obstruction syndrome as its Chinese name after reaching a consensus through discussion.

Abstract We propose a dust‐event detection and tracking procedure based on air quality data from the ground monitoring network by detecting temporal and spatial change‐points in PM10 concentration. It supplements the existing remote sensing based approach with high temporal resolution and better weather adaptivity. Applications of the procedure on the labeled data showed its having high discriminating power for dust events, pollution events, and clean periods. Our study finds changing correlation patterns between PM10 and other air pollutants at the start of the dust events, which are utilized to enhance the discriminating power of the dust‐event detection procedure. The detection and tracking procedure allows the construction of transport networks of the dust‐events as well as the identification of the source regions and the transportation pattern, and assess the intensity and severity of the dust‐events in North China. Our analysis find the dust‐events contributed to 23.3%–34.6% for PM10 and 18.2–33.2% for PM2.5 in the source regions and 2.0%–7.3% and 0.8%–4.0%, respectively, in the down‐stream provinces in the spring season from 2015 to 2020.

Background A blood pressure (BP) of 130-139/80-89 mmHg has been defined as stage 1 hypertension by the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association High Blood Pressure Clinical Practice Guidelines. This study was conducted to assess the association of cardiovascular risk factors (CRFs) and newly defined stage 1 hypertension in China. Methods We analyzed the data of 84,489 adults with a BP of

Abstract The recent advent of third-generation sequencing technologies brings promise for better characterization of genomic structural variants by virtue of having longer reads. However, long-read applications are still constrained by their high sequencing error rates and low sequencing throughput. Here, we present NanoVar, an optimized structural variant caller utilizing low-depth (8X) whole-genome sequencing data generated by Oxford Nanopore Technologies. NanoVar exhibits higher structural variant calling accuracy when benchmarked against current tools using low-depth simulated datasets. In patient samples, we successfully validate structural variants characterized by NanoVar and uncover normal alternative sequences or alleles which are present in healthy individuals.

This study performed the calibration of QMG700 quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) against the ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) partial pressure standard. The research object was the sensitivity, noise level and minimum detectable partial pressure (MDPP) in the secondary electron multiplier (SEM) detector mode. This work was investigated in the SCAN and multiple ion detection (MID) operation modes, and scan speed and the dwell time were 50 ms/amu and 50 ms, respectively. The SEM voltage was changed in the range of (1100–3000) V. The experiment was carried out over the partial pressure range of 10−9 Pa to 10−7 Pa using He. The results demonstrated a significant correlation between the QMS metrological characteristics and its operation mode. This study was conducted according to the ISO TS 20175: 2018. The results showed a significant dependence between the metrological characteristics of QMS and its operation mode.

The air environment (e.g., high concentration of carbon dioxide) in a pig house will affect the health conditions and growth performance of the pigs, and the quality of pork as well. In order to reduce the cumulative concentration of carbon dioxide in the pig house, the prediction model was established by the deep learning method to predict the changes of the carbon dioxide cumulative concentration in a pig house. This model will also be used for the real-time monitoring and adjustment of the concentration of carbon dioxide of the pig house. The experiment was designed to collect environmental parameters (e.g., temperature, humidity, wind speed, and carbon dioxide concentration) data in the pig house for several months. The ensemble empirical mode decomposition–gated recurrent unit (EEMD–GRU) prediction model was established in the prediction of carbon dioxide concentration in the pig house. The results show that compared with the other models, the prediction accuracy of the EEMD–GRU model is the highest, and the root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), and r-squared (R2) of carbon dioxide concentration in autumn and winter are 123.2 ppm, 88.3 ppm, 3.2%, and 0.99, respectively. The RMSE, MAE, MAPE, and R2 for carbon dioxide concentration are 129.1 ppm, 93.2 ppm, 5.9%, and 0.76 in spring and summer. The prediction model proposed in this paper can effectively predict the concentration of carbon dioxide in the pig house and provide effective help for the precise control of the pig house environment.

The surface conditions of the two different T800 carbon fibers by the wetting (T800HB) and the dry jet-wetting spinning processes (T800SC) were characterized and analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS) and contacting-angle measuring instrument. The mechanical properties of their multifilaments, NOL rings and unidirectional laminates were evaluated by universal material testing machine. Results show that the surface of T800HB by wetting process is rougher, while the surface of T800SC by dry jet-wetting process is more chemical-active. Both chemical interaction and mechanical engagement between fiber and resin matrix result in the similar interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) of T800HB and T800SC. However, when the composite is damaged, the interfacial bonding of T800HB/resin seems tighter dominated by the mechanical engagement, leading to brittle fracture feature of T800HB reinforced composite, while T800SC reinforced composite exhibits ductile fracture feature with weaker interfacial bonding. In addition, the tensile strength of filament of T800SC is higher than that of T800HB. Accordingly, the tensile strength of NOL ring and unidirectional laminate composite of T800SC are higher than those of T800HB. Therefore, in combination of mechanical properties of carbon fibers by two kinds of spinning processes and their reinforced composites, as well as their fracture features, compared with T800HB, T800SC is more suitable to be the reinforcement of the composite fabricated by filament winding process.

Objective To investigate the effects of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) on the proliferation, invasion, migration and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of colon cancer HCT116 cells in hypoxic microenvironment. Methods The optimal AGEs concentration (200 μg/mL) and treatment time (48 h) for promoting the proliferation of HCT116 cells were determined through a screening test with CCK-8 assay and used in subsequent experiment. HCT116 cells were treated with AGEs, hypoxia, or their combination, and the cell cycle changes were detected using flow cytometry; the changes in the invasive and migration abilities of the cells in vitro were assessed using Transwell chamber invasion and migration assays. The expressions of HIF-1α, RAGE, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, vimentin and MMP2 proteins in the treated cells were determined with Western blotting. Results Compared with the blank control cells, HCT116 cells exposed to a hypoxic microenvironment showed an increased proliferative activity, but AGEs alone did not significantly affect the cell proliferation. The cells treated with AGEs, hypoxia, and their combination all exhibited enhanced invasion and migration abilities compared with the blank control cells. The results of Western blotting showed that the expression level of HIF-1α, which was low in HCT116 cells in normoxic condition, was increased significantly in a hypoxic condition, and increased further after exposure of the cells to both AGEs and hypoxia. The expression of RAGE was increased after AGEs exposure of the cells in both normal and hypoxic environments, and the increase was more prominent in a hypoxic condition. Exposure to AGEs, hypoxia, and both all resulted in increased expressions of MMP2, N-cadherin and vimentin but lowered expression of E-cadherin in the cells. Conclusion AGEs can further enhance the invasive and migration abilities but has little effect on the proliferation of HCT116 cells exposed to a hypoxic environment.

Abstract Background Low rectal cancer surgery without anus conservation needs permanent ileostomy or colostomy which seriously affects the quality of life of patients. Therefore, low rectal cancer surgery not only pays attention to the safety of surgical treatment but also to the anus conservation. Methods Sixty-seven patients suffering from low rectal cancer had undergone laparoscopic surgery which was analyzed through retrospective study. They were divided into the anus-conserving and non-anus-conserving groups. Thirty-five set of pelvic data was obtained from the preoperative CT and MRI images. After that, the discriminant function was obtained to predict the surgery methods for patients with low rectal carcinoma. Results Anal-conserving group discriminant function (F1) = − 33.698 + 6.045 × anal margin distance (cm) + 1.105 × T4; non-anus-conserving group discriminant function (F2) = − 14.125 + 3.138 × anal margin distance (cm) + 0.804 × T4. If F1 is greater than F2, then the case can be treated as the anus reservation while if F2 is greater than F1 the case cannot be treated anus reservation. The accuracy of the discriminant function was evaluated which was found to be 97%. Conclusion The discriminant function of pelvic data provides anatomical basis for the choice of surgical methods for low rectal cancer.

Objective: To explore heterosexual and homosexual behaviors, and influencing factors, in those unmarried out-of-school young people aged 15 to 24 years, so as to provide the basis on the education and service of sexual and reproductive health for those young people. Methods: The questionnaire survey form was anonymously filled out by 1 113 unmarried out-of-school young people on six target spots in urban and rural areas of six provinces by the computer assisted self-interview (CASI) system. Results: The incidences of hetero-or homo- sexual behaviors in the 15 to 18 years male group and the 19 to 24 years male group were significantly higher than those in female groups (P < 0.05). 7.14% of the first heterosexual behaviors in the 15 to 18 years female group were forced. Sexual safety precautions were used in 66.67% of males and 40.00% of females in the 15 to 18 years group, and in 58.82% of males and 49.11% of females in the 19 to 24 years group. About 30.00% of males reported that they had partners' pregnancies, and 30% of females reported that they had pregnancies. The incidence of multiple sexual partners in the 19 to 24 years male group was significantly higher than that in the age-matched female group (P < 0.01). On homosexual behaviors, the average age of the first homosexual behaviors in the 15 to 18 years group was about 14 years, 15.79% of males in the 19 to 24 years group were forced to have, and 46.15% of males and 33.33% females reported that they had more than two sexual partners. Multivariate analyses showed that watching pornographic materials and being older were common risk factors of heterosexual behaviors for males (OR, 3.51 and 3.81 respectively) and females (OR, 6.41 and 3.85 respectively). Compared with those factors approving premarital sexual behaviors, the attitudes rejecting premarital sexual behaviors from respondents themselves (OR = 0.18) and their parents (OR = 0.37), and the neutral attitude from friends (OR =0.47), were protective factors in males, while the options that the female respondents thought it being not good but acceptable (OR =0.14) or opposed (OR = 0.06), and that friends thought it being unacceptable (OR = 0.16) or unknown (OR = 0.21), were protective factors and the neutral attitude from parents was risk factor (OR = 12.56) in females. Conclusions: The incidences of heterosexual and homosexual behaviors, and unsafe sexual behaviors, in those unmarried out-of-school young people were high, which were positively related to the pornographic material and the open attitudes from respondents themselves, parents and friends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Based on kansei engineering theory, a yacht modeling design method based on brand image is proposed to improve the yacht company's brand recognition and competitiveness.Methods Firstly, representative samples and brand image vocabularies of yacht products are determined using the Delphi method and questionnaire investigation, and the mapping relationship between the product modeling space and the brand image space are built using the semantic differential method to get a representative sample of brand image evaluation data. Secondly, data analysis of the brand image evaluation results is conducted using SPSS statistical analysis to extract four words; "modern", "innovative", "safe" and "luxury" as the vocabulary mainly influencing yacht design brand image. Finally, the feasibility of these methods are verified through case practice.Results Through qualitative and quantitative analysis, the subjective feelings of users towards the brand image and the objective form of product modeling samples are obtained, so as to determine the product modeling space and brand image space, and explore potential opportunities in yacht modeling design. Conclusions Research into yacht brand image is helpful for designing, developing and optimizing yacht modeling and has guiding value for yacht companies to form a complete and unified brand image.

ICE-MAN is a modeling and analysis workbench for multi-modal studies, designed with neutron science in mind. It streamlines the workflow between different experimental techniques, computer modeling, and databases and reduces the time and learning curve needed to access them thus making a holistic approach to data interpretation more amenable and efficient.

Warm air supply is widely used to condition indoor environment in winter. It has been proved that stratum ventilation (SV), as a novel air distribution, has potentials to be applied for heating. The outlet location may affect indoor air quality (IAQ) due to interaction between thermal plumes from heat sources and room airflows. In this study, the effect of outlet location on IAQ for SV was investigated for 9 cases under heating mode. The outlets were located at the heights of 0.4 m on the same side wall as the inlet, 0.4, and 1.3 m on the opposite side wall, respectively. The concentration of carbon dioxide was measured in an experimental chamber with dimensions of 5850 mm(L) × 5057 mm(W) × 2554 mm(H). The average concentration of carbon dioxide and carbon dioxide removal efficiency (εCRE) were used as the evaluation indexes. The results showed that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the breathing zone with the outlet located on the same wall as the inlet was lower than those with the outlets located on the opposite side wall. At this scenario, εCRE was greater than one, showing a good ventilation performance.

The present study critically evaluates whether school leadership influences student learning homogenously regardless of school contexts. It examined relationships between four principal leadership variables (envisioning, instructional management, promoting professional development, empowerment) and two types of student outcomes (enjoyment in learning science, science achievement) in different school contexts [in terms of the availability of science resources, quality of science teachers, and school socioeconomic status (SES)]. The sample comprised 248,620 students and 9,370 principals in 35 developed countries who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015. Latent profile analysis (LPA) showed that schools operated in three types of school contexts with different levels of science resources, proportion of quality science teachers, and school SES. There were also differences in the pattern of leadership practices across the three types of school contexts. Three-level hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) showed that among the four leadership variables, only instructional management was positively associated with students’ enjoyment of science in schools with less science resources and quality science teachers. Therefore, instructional management had compensatory effects for students in less-endowed schools. In contrast, principal leadership related to envisioning, teacher professional development, and empowerment was not positively related to students’ science learning in all three school contexts.

当前中美经贸关系步入摩擦多发期，经贸关系已从中美关系的“压舱石”蜕变为“导火索”。美国政府频繁发起对华贸易争端，使用各种贸易救济工具为国内敏感产业提供保护，采取单边贸易措施提高在中美贸易谈判中的要价。面临美国的贸易单边主义政策和全球经济持续性放缓的趋势，如何提升中国在国际贸易投资领域的话语权和规则制定权？如何增强中国和广大发展中国家参与全球价值链分工的能力？本文从全球价值链重构视角，基于中国与立陶宛经贸投资合作的经验与证据，探析我国提升参与全球经济治理能力的产业政策选择与微观基础。研究发现美国为首的发达国家吸引国内外产业资本和生产要素向本国回流，提高了发达国家对外投资与技术合作的门槛，反而导致发展中国家之间寻求国际产能合作空间大为增加。若“一带一路”价值链整合得到实质性推进，中国与沿线国家将可能从嵌入欧美主导的全球价值链低端锁定状态，逐渐转换为互利共赢的高附加值环节的区域价值链形态。 【关键词】中美贸易冲突；区域价值链；国际产能合作；全球经济治理

Objective To screen out the miRNAs regulated by ΔNp63α in squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix and investigate their effect on the function of cervical cancer cells. Methods miRNA microarray was used to screen the miRNAs with significant difference in SiHa cells with overexpressed ΔNp63α and verified by qRT-PCR. The miRNAs with differential expression were validated by qRT-PCR in ME-180 cells with silenced ΔNp63α and the hsa-let-7b-3p was selected as the study object. The effect of hsa-let-7b-3p on the proliferation and apoptosis of SiHa cells was detected by growth curve, Western blot and flow cytometry after the transfection of hsa-let-7b-3p mimic into SiHa cells. Results (1) In SiHa cells with ΔNp63α overexpression, ten miRNAs consistent with the trend of qRT-PCR were screened out from the miRNAs with significant differences in the results of the microarray. (2) Five miRNAs that were consistent with the above change trends were screened out in ME-180 cells with silenced ΔNp63α. (3) Overexpression of hsa-let-7b-3p inhibited the proliferation of SiHa cells. (4) Overexpression of hsa-let-7b-3p promoted the apoptosis of SiHa cells. Conclusion In the cervical cancer cell line, the expression of miRNA hsa-let-7b-3p is positively correlated with the expression of ΔNp63α, and it can inhibit cell proliferation effectively. The mechanism may be related to the induction of cell cycle arrest and the promotion of apoptosis.

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) receptor subtype 1 (S1P1), a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR), regulates many biological activities of endothelial cells (ECs). In this report, we show that S1P1 receptors are present in the nuclei of ECs by using various biochemical and microscopic techniques such as cellular fractionation, immunogold labeling, and confocal microscopic analysis. Live cell imaging showed that plasma membrane S1P1 receptors are rapidly internalized and subsequently translocated to nuclear compartment upon S1P stimulation. Utilizing membrane biotinylation technique further supports the notion that nuclear S1P1 receptors were internalized from plasma membrane S1P1 after ligand treatment. Moreover, nuclear S1P1 is able to regulate the transcription of Cyr61 and CTGF, two growth factors functionally important in the regulation of vasculature. Collectively, these data suggest a novel S1P–S1P1 signaling axis present in the nuclear compartment of endothelial cells, which may regulate biological responses of endothelium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ZrC ceramics were prepared by mechanical axial compression of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis/single action pressing (SHS/SAP).The effects of pressure on microstructure and densification of the products,as well as the relationship between displacement/variation of the load curve and SHS reaction,were studied.The structure and properties of the products were investigated by XRD and SEM.In addition,the density was measured by the drain away liquid method.Meanwhile,universal testing machine was used to record the displacement and load curve alternations.The results indicate that products are mainly composed of ZrC phase,the process of exhaust are accelerated as the increasing of pressure as well,leading to the smaller size of porosity and crystal particles.Density manifested as an increasing pattern by the elevated pressure with no longer change at 80MPa.Due to the strong attenuation of pressure at the peak of temperature,the density of the production is only 65.7% in 120MPa.The end point of the SHS reaction and the plastic time of the products can be monitored by displacement and load curve.The results provide evidence for the application of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis/pseudo-hot isostatic pressing to further improve the density of ceramics.

Cometary tails visually manifest the solar wind and became an initial hint for its discovery. While the solar wind is being directly monitored with satellites, its time series before the space age has been controversially reconstructed with multiple proxies. Recently, archival reports of cometary plasma tails have been subjected to consideration to indirectly measure the solar wind but brought conclusion that no plasma tails had been reported prior to 1769 probably due to their brightness. However, historical records have occasionally reported comets with two tails even before 1769. These cases have been tentatively associated with visual reports of cometary plasma and dust tails. Therefore, we examined three such cases (C/1577 V1, 1P/837, and 1P/760), and compared the descriptions in historical records with calculated direction of their plasma tails. Our comparisons show that the records and calculations agree in these cases and plasma tails were visually recorded corresponding to these three great comets. These cases certify the capability of plasma tail observations with the unaided eye even before 1769, qualitatively imply their extreme brightness, proximities with the Sun and the Earth, relative enhancements of UV radiations, and interaction of cometary neutral atmosphere with solar wind plasma and magnetic field, while the lack of their detailed length or kink hinders us from their quantitative measuring. Further investigations will likely lead to the re-discovery of even more visual evidence of cometary plasma tails and, hence, improve our understanding on past space climate.