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The random matrix (RM) model is a typical extended object-modeling method that has been widely used in extended object tracking. However, existing RM-based filters usually assume that the measurements follow a Gaussian distribution, which may lead to a decrease in accuracy when the filter is applied to the lidar system. In this paper, a new observation model used to modify an RM smoother by considering the characteristics of 2D LiDAR data is proposed. Simulation results show that the proposed method achieves a better performance than the original RM tracker in a 2D lidar system.

The optical spectrum of mode-locked lasers can exhibit multiple peaks resulting from different mechanisms such as modulation instability, dispersive waves (DWs), and coupling between continuous waves (CWs) and DWs. The latter was recently reported in a mode-locked fiber laser. Here we show that besides the coupling between single-wavelength CW and DWs, dual-wavelength CWs can also couple with DWs giving rise to quite different spectral peaks in a mode-locked fiber laser. In particular, we find that the sidebands of one CW can couple with the other CW, leading to an enhancement of the CWs.

Different nutrient supply brings about changes in leaf stoichiometry, which may affect growth rate and primary production of plants. Invasion of alien plants is a severe threat to biodiversity and ecosystem worldwide. A pot experiment was conducted by using three stoloniferous alien plants Wedelia trilobata, Alternanther philoxeroides and Hydrocotyle vulgaris to investigate effects of nutrient supply on their leaf stoichiometry and relative growth rate. Different nitrogen or phosphorus supply was applied in the experiment (N1:1 mmol L-1, N2:4 mmol L-1, and N3:8 mmol L-1, P1:0.15 mmol L-1, P2:0.6 mmol L-1 and P3:1.2 mmol L-1). Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in leaves of the three alien plants significantly increased with increase of nitrogen supply. With increase of phosphorus supply, nitrogen or phosphorus concentration of leaf was complex among the three alien plants. N:P ratio in leaf of the three alien plants subjected to different levels of nutrient supply was various. A positive correlation between relative growth rate and N:P ratio of the leaf is observed in W. trilobata and A. philoxeroides suffering from N-limitation. A similar pattern was not observed in Hydrocotyle vulgaris. We tentatively concluded that correlations between relative growth rate and N: P ratio of the leaf could be affected by species as well as nutrient supply. It is suggested that human activities, invasive history, local abundance of species et al maybe play an important role in the invasion of alien plants as well as relative growth rate.

With the rapid increase in its incidence in the last decade, colorectal cancer (CRC) is becoming one of the most life-threatening cancers. Circular RNA PTK2 (circPTK2) has multiple functions in oncogenesis, including in CRC. However, it remains elusive if circPTK2 also plays an important role in CRC malignancy. The levels of circPTK2, miR-506-3p, and AKT serine/threonine kinase 2 (AKT2) were measured by qPCR. The protein level of AKT2 was evaluated by western blotting assay. The proliferation, migration, and invasion of CRC cancer cells were evaluated by MTT, colony formation, wound-healing, and transwell assays. The interaction between circPTK2 and miR-506-3p and between miR-506-3p and AKT2 mRNA were verified by dual-luciferase reporter assay. The expressions of circPTK2 and AKT2 were elevated in CRC cells, with a concomitant reduction of miR-506-3p. The knockdown of circPTK2 suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion of CRC cells. CircPTK2 targeted miR-506-3p and negatively regulated its expression. Furthermore, miR-506-3p overexpression suppressed the CRC progression by downregulating the AKT2 expression. AKT2 overexpression or miR-506-3p inhibition restored the suppression of growth and invasiveness of CRC cancer cells caused by circPTK2 silencing. The circPTK2/miR-506-3p/AKT2 axis plays a novel and essential role in promoting CRC progression, providing potential targets for CRC therapeutic modality.

Aim Chronic skin disease (CSD) often has devastating effects on the physiological, psychological and social aspects of patients, who must adapt to them. However, it is not clear how patients adapt, especially with regard to their psychosocial adaptation (PSA). This research explored a theoretical model of PSA among people with CSD. Design Following constructivist grounded theory methodology, a qualitative study was undertaken between August 2018 and June 2019. Methods Observation and semi‐structured interview were conducted with included participants (n=19). Data were iteratively coded and analyzed by constant comparison following the key stages of initial, focused, axial and theoretical coding until saturation was achieved. Results When individuals face the impacts of disease, they try to adjust to adapt it. The findings showed the core category (self‐cognitive) and the contributing categories (impacts of chronic skin disease, contextual factors, physiological experiences, psychological experiences, social experiences, and positive and negative psychosocial adaptations) of the PSA among people with CSD. The process of PSA among people with CSD was not linear throughout the disease and was instead entwined within a set of complexes (contextual factors‐experience) interactions. The consequences of PSA included positive and negative aspects. The theoretical model of PSA among people with CSD will provide us with information needed to develop accurate assessment and effective intervention strategies. Understanding that PSA among people with CSD is a complex, dynamic, and interactional process may provide evidence for further assessing and meeting the needs of people.

Fiber-optic Cherenkov radiation (FOCR) is a promising nonlinear process that is widely used for nonlinear wavelength conversion. In this study, an all-fiber 920-nm femtosecond pulse source is experimentally demonstrated by using Cherenkov radiation. The 4-nJ 150-fs 1550-nm amplified seed pulse source ensures highly efficient 920-nm pulse generation. Cherenkov radiation is stimulated by inputting the high-energy ultrashort pulse to a highly nonlinear fiber. The dispersion values of the highly nonlinear fiber (HNLF) are carefully chosen to generate CR pulses at 920 nm. The generated pulse has a 150-pJ single pulse energy and a 232-fs pulse duration. The typical 30-nm bandwidth can support a sub-50-fs transform-limited pulse duration. The pump current can be adjusted to tune the central wavelength of the pulse source over 905–930 nm. This very simple approach can generate 920-nm femtosecond pulses. The wavelength range is useful for a wide range of applications, such as two-photon microscopy (TPM) in bio-imaging and so on.

Aim To develop a questionnaire on the health behaviour of breast cancer women with adjuvant endocrine therapy and to test its reliability and validity. Design An instrument‐development study was applied that comprised three steps: conceptualization, item generation, content validity and field testing of the health behavior properties. Methods On the basis of literature review, the conceptual framework and initial items of each dimension of were designed. The questionnaire investigation was divided into two steps: pre‐experiment (group 1) and psychometrics evaluation (group 2). Correlation procedure and factor analysis were employed to rescreen the items. Reliability testing and validity testing were conducted to analyse the psychometric properties of questionnaire. Results Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded a five‐factor solution. Cronbach's α was 0.93, the sub‐semi‐reliability of the questionnaire was 0.79 and internal consistency coefficients was 0.70.

In the summer of 2019, field measurements of ozone (O

To explore the experience and feelings associated with the endocrine therapy treatment trajectory in women with breast cancer and what affects medication taking behaviour.Qualitative systematic review.Qualitative studies were extracted from PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO from inception of each database until February 2019.The systematic search method SPIDER (sample, phenomenon of interest, design, evaluation, research type) was used. Thematic synthesis of the qualitative data was used.A total of 478 were identified in the initial search. Only 17 articles met inclusion criteria and were included in this review. Five analytical themes and 17 descriptive subthemes were identified.The systematic review highlights knowledge, balancing the scales, self-efficacy and support influence medication taking behaviour to women with breast cancer.The medication taking behaviour of breast cancer women can be classified into four types: acceptance/persistence, bearing/suffering, hesitation/adjustment, refusing/abandoning. The four types can switch from one to another. Medication taking behaviour is affected by knowledge, balancing the scales, self-efficacy, and support. The medical institutions, communities, and families can gain knowledge of the treatment experiences of women to better understand medication taking behaviour and those at risk for non-adherence. Women wanted different types and amounts of information. Healthcare providers should be aware of patient preferences and take targeted interventions to help them receive treatment.目的: 探讨患有乳腺癌女性内分泌疗法治疗轨迹的相关经历和感受,以及影响服药行为的因素。 设计: 定性系统评估。 数据来源: 通过 PubMed、EMBASE、CINAHL、PsycINFO 进行检索(从数据库建立之初到2019年2月),提取相关文献展开定性研究。 评估方法: 采用系统搜索法SPIDER(样本、兴趣现象、设计、评价、研究类型)。定性数据采用专题综合法。 结果: 初步搜索中共确定478篇相关文章。只有17篇文章符合纳入标准,因此将它们纳入本次评估之中。最终确定了5项分析主题和17项描述性次级主题。 结论: 本项系统评估突出说明了个人认识,量表平衡、自我效能感和支持帮助可对患有乳腺癌女性服药行为产生影响。 影响: 患有乳腺癌女性的服药行为可分为四种类型:接受/坚持、承受/痛苦、犹豫/调整、拒绝/放弃。这四种类型之间会相互转换。服药行为受个人认识、量表平衡、自我效能感和支持帮助的影响。医疗机构、社区和家庭可通过获知女性的治疗经历,来更好地了解服药行为影响因素和可能出现不依从的情况。女性希望获取不同类型和数量的信息。医疗服务提供者应了解患者的偏好,并采取有针对性的干预措施,帮助他们接受治疗。.

Malignant arrhythmia is a fast cardiac arrhythmia that can lead to a hemodynamic abnormality within a short time, most of which is ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation (VF), which should be managed in time. Both organic and nonorganic cardiac diseases have the potential to cause malignant arrhythmia. We report a noteworthy case of malignant arrhythmia in a teenager during exercise. Transthoracic echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), electrophysiological study, magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, electroencephalography, chest X-ray, and blood tests were all normal. Twelve-lead electrocardiography showed incomplete right bundle branch block (IRBBB). Two heterozygous missense variants of the desmocollin-2 gene (DSC2, c.G2446A/p.V816M) and desmoplakin gene (DSP, c.G3620A/p.R1207K) were detected in the peripheral blood of this teenager and his father by genetic testing, which encoded a desmosomal protein that was related to arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC). In these two rare variants, DSC2 V816M has been reported but uncertain significance, whereas DSP R1207K is never reported. Therefore, the two site variants in DSC2 and DSP genes are likely to become a new research focus for diagnosis and treatment of ARVC in the future. Meanwhile, this report emphasizes that, in addition to a standard set of laboratory tests and examinations, genetic testing may be useful for analyzing the causes of malignant arrhythmia.

Background Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is the leading cause of death among men diagnosed with prostate cancer. Piperlongumine (PL) is a novel potential anticancer agent that has been demonstrated to exhibit anticancer efficacy against prostate cancer cells. However, the effects of PL on DNA damage and repair against CRPC have remained unclear. The aim of this study was to further explore the anticancer activity and mechanisms of action of PL against CRPC in terms of DNA damage and repair processes. Methods The effect of PL on CRPC was evaluated by MTT assay, long-term cell proliferation, reactive oxygen species assay, western blot assay, flow cytometry assay (annexin V/PI staining), β-gal staining assay and DAPI staining assay. The capacity of PL to inhibit the invasion and migration of CRPC cells was assessed by scratch-wound assay, cell adhesion assay, transwell assay and immunofluorescence (IF) assay. The effect of PL on DNA damage and repair was determined via IF assay and comet assay. Results The results showed that PL exhibited stronger anticancer activity against CRPC compared to that of taxol, cisplatin (DDP), doxorubicin (Dox), or 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), with fewer side effects in normal cells. Importantly, PL treatment significantly decreased cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix and inhibited the migration of CRPC cells through affecting the expression and distribution of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), leading to concentration-dependent inhibition of CRPC cell proliferation and concomitantly increased cell death. Moreover, PL treatment triggered persistent DNA damage and provoked strong DNA damage responses in CRPC cells. Conclusion Collectively, our findings demonstrate that PL potently inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion of CRPC cells and that these potent anticancer effects were potentially achieved via triggering persistent DNA damage in CRPC cells.

Background: The reviews on the risk factors with ARDS and the worse outcomes concluded lacking robust data of risk factors to prevent COVID-19 and identified an urgent need for large sample and high-quality research in this area, as well as the features of the ARDS.Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 333 COVID-19 inpatients at two hospitals in Hubei of China in 2020. The COVID-19-related ARDS was diagnosed according to the Berlin criteria. The outcomes were ARDS development and the intubation or in-hospital death. The cox proportional hazard ratio (HR) models were employed to determine the significant risk factors. Results: The median number of days from symptom onset to ARDS diagnosis was 11.0 (IQR, 8.0–13.0). Up to 84.1% COVID-19-related ARDS patients demonstrated multiple organ injuries. The mortality rates were 41.9% and 85.7% in moderate and severe ARDS. The survival patients on invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) had been intubated earlier since ARDS diagnosis than those who had not survived (5.5 median days, IQR 4.0-7.0 days versus 11.5 median days, IQR 6.0-14.0 days, P < 0.001). Males and all abnormal laboratory indices associated with the higher risk of ARDS (P0.05). The sensitivity analyses found that lymphocyte count of < 1000 per mm3 at hospital admission were still significantly associated with developing ARDS when adjusting for age and male gender (HR, 4.10; 95% CI, 2.40-7.10), and oxygenation index (OI) ratio < 150 were more likely to predict the intubation/death after age adjustment (HR, 2.50; 95% CI, 1.17-5.30). Conclusion: The SARS-CoV-2-caused ARDS was not the typical ARDS according to Berlin criteria. The alive patients with IMV had been intubated earlier since ARDS diagnosis than those who had not survived. We identified male gender and abnormal laboratory indices associated with the ARDS but were not linked with the intubation/death. Sensitivity analysis concluded lymphocyte count of < 1000 per mm3 could predict ARDS while OI ratio less than 150 could predict intubation/death.

Background: More evidence in understanding the heterogeneity of COVID-19-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and in improving strategy to increase the survival from the critical patients intubated is always needed. The study aimed to comprehensively explore the features of COVID-19-associated ARDS and the features and outcomes between the early and late intubation groups. Methods: This retrospective cohort included 65 adult COVID-19 inpatients with ARDS at two hospitals in Hubei, China. The ARDS in these patients was diagnosed according to the Berlin criteria. We defined intubation within 7 days of ARDS diagnosis as ‘early’ intubation and that performed from the eighth day as ‘late’ intubation based on literatures. The outcomes were invasive mechanical ventilation and in-hospital death. The log-binomial regression models were used to explore the risk factors and the Kaplan-Meier statistic was used to estimate the risk of mortality. Results: The median number of days from symptom onset to ARDS diagnosis was 11.0 (IQR, 8.0–13.0). Up to 84.1% COVID-19-related ARDS patients demonstrated multiple organ injuries. The mortality rates were 41.9% and 85.7% in moderate and severe ARDS. The early intubation and the late intubation had the differences in days from symptom onset/hospital admission/ARDS diagnosis to intubation (P = 0.023, P = 0.011, P < 0.001). Compared with the early-intubation group, the late-intubation group showed less severity at admission (median oxygenation index 159.0 95% CI 134.0-203.0 vs. 133.9 95% CI 98.3-183.2), but required more aggressive therapies (ICU 80% vs. 70%, CRRT 50% vs. 10%, prone-position 50% vs. 30%, and ECMO 50% vs. 10%) and had higher risk to die at hospital (RR, 3.18; 95% CI 1.98-5.12). Conclusion: The ARDS caused by COVID-19 was not typical ARDS due to prolonged onset time, multiple organ injuries, and higher mortalities. The late-intubation group showed less severity at admission but higher risk of in-hospital death than the early-intubation group.

BackgroundIntestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury has high morbidity and mortality. Gut microbiota is one of the potential key factors affecting intestinal I/R injury. Different populations exhibit different sensitivities to intestinal I/R injury, but whether this is related to differences in gut microbiota is unclear. Here, to elucidate the interaction between the gut microbiome and intestinal I/R injury, we conducted 16S rRNA gene sequencing and fecal microbiota transplantation experiment in an I/R mouse model. Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2)-deficient mice, interleukin-10 (IL-10)-deficient mice as well as the transwell co-culture system of small intestine organoids and macrophages were used to explore the potential mechanism of bacteria attenuating intestinal I/R injury.ResultsThe intestinal I/R-sensitive (Sen) and resistant (Res) mice were first defined according to different survival outcomes of mice suffering from intestinal I/R. Fecal microbiota composition and diversity prior to intestinal ischemia were different between in Sen and Res mice. The relative abundance of Lactobacillus murinus (L. murinus) at the species level was higher in Res mice than in Sen mice, and the fold change was the largest. Clinically, the abundance of L. murinus in preoperative feces of patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery was closely related to the degree of intestinal I/R injury after surgery. Treatment with L. murinus significantly prevented from intestinal I/R-induced intestinal injury and improved the survival of mice, which depends on the participation of macrophages. Further, in vivo and vitro experiments indicated that L. murinus promoted the release of IL-10 from M2 macrophages via activating TLR2 signaling to alleviate intestinal I/R injury. ConclusionGut microbiome is involved in the postoperative outcome of intestinal I/R. L. murinus promotes the release of IL-10 from M2 macrophages through TLR2 signaling to alleviate intestinal I/R injury, revealing a novel mechanism of intestinal I/R injury and new therapeutic strategy for clinical practice.

Additional file 14: Table S11. Gene sequences of 17 BCCP in herbaceous peony ‘Hangshao’ from tanscriptome database

Additional file 6: Figure S3. Functional distribution of GO-annotated DEGs for seeds of Paeonia lactiflora ‘Hangshao’

Additional file 9: Table S6. Number of DEGs for KEGG pathway annotation in Groups I, II and III

Additional file 2: Table S2. Quality metrics of transcripts of seeds of Paeonia lactiflora ‘Hangshao’

Additional file 4: Figure S2. Functional distribution of unigenes annotated for seeds of Paeonia lactiflora ‘Hangshao’

Additional file 5: Table S3. Number of DEGs for GO classification

Additional file 3: Figure S1. The length distribution of unigenes for seeds of Paeonia lactiflora ‘Hangshao’

Additional file 7: Table S4. Number of DEGs for KEGG annotation

Traditional orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transmitter is implemented by exploiting inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT), up-sampling, and low pass shaping filter (LPSF) modules, which occupy a large number of hardware resources and severely lower down the operation speed. To address these limitations, we propose a novel OFDM transmitter architecture, by which the aforementioned modules can be discarded and replaced with some simple switches. In the proposed architecture, direct digital synthesis (DDS) method is employed to generate digital sub-carriers and to transform OFDM data from frequency domain to time domain. Through some sophisticated simplifications, the proposed architecture can avoid using multipliers and remarkably save hardware resources. Finally, comparative experiments are carried out on field programmable gate array (FPGA) platform which demonstrates that our DDS-based architecture saves more than half of the hardware resources and doubles the achievable maximum frequency compared with traditional structure.

BACKGROUND Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with poor outcomes after noncardiac surgery. Whether pre-operative N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) predicts AKI after noncardiac surgery is unclear. OBJECTIVE To investigate the predictive role of pre-operative NT-proBNP on postoperative AKI. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, China. PATIENTS Adult patients who had a serum creatinine and NT-proBNP measurement within 30 pre-operative days and at least one serum creatinine measurement within 7 days after noncardiac surgery between February 2008 and May 2018 were identified. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary outcome was postoperative AKI, defined by the kidney disease: improving global outcomes creatinine criteria. RESULTS In all, 6.1% (444 of 7248) of patients developed AKI within 1 week after surgery. Pre-operative NT-proBNP was an independent predictor of AKI after adjustment for clinical variables (OR comparing top to bottom quintiles 2.29, 95% CI, 1.47 to 3.65, P

Background Oliguria is often viewed as a sign of renal hypoperfusion and an indicator for volume expansion during surgery. However, the prognostic association and the predictive utility of intraoperative oliguria for postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) are unclear. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study on patients undergoing major thoracic surgery in an academic hospital to assess the association of intraoperative oliguria with postoperative AKI and its predictive value. To contextualise our findings, we included our results in a meta-analysis of observational studies on the importance of oliguria during noncardiac surgery. Results In our cohort study, 3862 patients were included; 205 (5.3%) developed AKI after surgery. Intraoperative urine output of 0.3 ml kg−1 h−1 was the optimal threshold for oliguria in multivariable analysis. Patients with oliguria had an increased risk of AKI (adjusted odds ratio: 2.60; 95% confidence interval: 1.24–5.05). However, intraoperative oliguria had a sensitivity of 5.9%, specificity of 98%, positive likelihood ratio of 2.74, and negative likelihood ratio of 0.96, suggesting poor predictive ability. Moreover, it did not improve upon the predictive performance of a multivariable model, based on discrimination and reclassification indices. Our findings were generally consistent with the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis, including six additional studies. Conclusions Intraoperative oliguria has moderate association with, but poor predictive ability for, postoperative AKI. It remains of clinical interest as a risk factor potentially modifiable to interventions.