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Abstract Space exploration has become a major focus in the field of technology, with gear transmissions in aerospace equipment playing a crucial role. In the extreme environment of space, gear transmissions face challenges like large temperature differentials, deformation and maintenance difficulties, which will severely impact transmission accuracy and service life. To meet the growing demands for high-performance gear transmissions with high transmission efficiency and error adaptability in the aerospace field, this paper proposes a novel curve-surface conjugate internal gear drive consisting of an involute internal gear and a curve-surface gear. The fundamental theory of curve-surface conjugation is introduced, and the construction method for curve-surface gear based on a selected contact path and meshing tube is presented. The analysis models including induced curvature, sliding ratio and tooth contact analysis with errors (ETCA) are simulated to evaluate the meshing characteristics. Additionally, prototypes are manufactured and experimental setups are established to validate the transmission performance. These results indicate that as the rotational speed increases, the transmission efficiency of the curve-surface conjugate internal gear drive improves, which is contrary to the trend observed in involute gear drives. And the transmission efficiency of the curve-surface conjugate internal gear drive surpasses that of the involute gear drive at higher rotational speeds. Moreover, this novel gear drive exhibits excellent error adaptability, maintaining intact contact paths and high transmission efficiency even in the presence of assembly errors. This study provides new ideas for the design and manufacture of high-performance gear transmissions from the perspective of spatial geometric elements.

Abstract Macrophage metabolism dysregulation, which is exacerbated by persistent stimulation in infectious and inflammatory diseases, such as diabetic infectious bone defects (DIBD), eventually leads to the failure of bone repair. Here, we have developed an injectable, macrophage-modulated GAPDH-Silence drug delivery system. This microsphere comprises chondroitin sulfate methacrylate (CM) and methacrylated gelatin (GM), while the dimethyl fumarate (DMF)-loaded liposome (D-lip) is encapsulated within the microsphere (CM@GM), named D-lip/CM@GM. Triggered by the over-expressed collagenase in DIBD, the microspheres degrade and release the encapsulated D-lip. D-lip could modulate metabolism by inhibiting GAPDH, which suppresses the over-activation of glycolysis, thus preventing the inflammatory response of macrophages in vitro. While beneficial for macrophages, D-lip/CM@GM is harmful to bacteria. GAPDH, while crucial for glycolysis of staphylococcal species (S. aureus), can be effectively countered by D-lip/CM@GM. We are utilizing existing drugs in innovative ways to target central metabolism for effective eradication of bacteria. In the DIBD model, our results confirmed that the D-lip/CM@GM enhanced bacteria clearance and reprogrammed dysregulated metabolism, thereby significantly improving bone regeneration. In conclusion, this GAPDH-Silence microsphere system may provide a viable strategy to promote diabetic infection bone regeneration.

Abstract Climate changes significantly impact greenhouse gas emissions from wetland soil. Specifically, wetland soil may be exposed to oxygen (O2) during droughts, or to sulfate (SO4 2-) as a result of sea level rise. How these stressors – separately and together – impact microbial food webs driving carbon cycling in the wetlands is still not understood. To investigate this, we integrated geochemical analysis, proteogenomics, and stoichiometric modeling to characterize the impact of elevated SO4 2- and O2 levels on microbial methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The results uncovered the adaptive responses of this community to changes in SO4 2- and O2 availability and identified altered microbial guilds and metabolic processes driving CH4 and CO2 emissions. Elevated SO4 2- reduced CH4 emissions, with hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis more suppressed than acetoclastic. Elevated O2 shifted the greenhouse gas emissions from CH4 to CO2. The metabolic effects of combined SO4 2- and O2 exposures on CH4 and CO2 emissions were similar to those of O2 exposure alone. The reduction in CH4 emission by increased SO4 2- and O2 was much greater than the concomitant increase in CO2 emission. Thus, greater SO4 2- and O2 exposure in wetlands is expected to reduce the aggregate warming effect of CH4 and CO2. Metaproteomics and stoichiometric modeling revealed a unique subnetwork involving carbon metabolism that converts lactate and SO4 2- to produce acetate, H2S, and CO2 when SO4 2- is elevated under oxic conditions. This study provides greater quantitative resolution of key metabolic processes necessary for the prediction of CH4 and CO2 emissions from wetlands under future climate scenarios.

A field-programmable photonic gate array is an integrated optical chip that combines electrical control and optical processing, enabling real-time reconfiguration of the optical path through software programming. While most current optical processors rely on Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI)-based architectures, those based on micro-disk resonators (MDRs) offer unique characteristics, including high integration and wavelength correlation, providing new ideas for programmable photonic chip architectures. In this paper, a scalable asymmetric MZI-assisted field-programmable micro-ring array (AMZI-FPRA) processor is proposed with a cell area of only 85 × 42 µm2. This design not only has high wavelength selectivity but also possesses dual adjustable wavelengths and coupling coefficients compared with traditional MDRs. By extending the cell into a 2 × 2 AMZI-FPRA using a two-dimensional square mesh approach, it is experimentally demonstrated that different optical path topologies can be realized with a compact footprint, including bandpass bandstop filtering, optical temporal differentiation, microwave delay, wavelength-division multiplexing/demultiplexing, and optical add-drop multiplexing. Increasing the array scale will enable more versatile and high-performance microwave photonic signal processing tasks. The scheme will be a promising candidate at the present time for reconfigurable programmable photonic signal processors due to its wide reconfigurability, on-chip integration, complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor-compatibility, and low power consumption.

Abstract Systemic inflammation has been implicated in the pathobiology of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Here, we examine the association of upstream mediators of inflammation as ascertained by fatty-acid derived eicosanoid and eicosanoid-related metabolites with HFpEF status and exercise manifestations of HFpEF. Among 510 participants with chronic dyspnea and preserved LVEF who underwent invasive cardiopulmonary exercise testing, we find that 70 of 890 eicosanoid and related metabolites are associated with HFpEF status, including 17 named and 53 putative eicosanoids (FDR q-value

In this study, Yunnan arabica coffee beans were selected as the research object, and the extraction process of coffee melanoidins were optimized. Filter membrane fractionation of 100, 50 and 30 kDa were used to characterize the structure of coffee melanoidins of different molecular weight segments based on molecular morphology and spectroscopy characteristics. The results showed that the optimal extraction conditions were as follows: Solid-liquid ratio 1:16 (g/mL), extraction temperature 80 ℃, extraction time 60 min. The results of gel permeation chromatography showed that the coffee melanoidins tight spherical structure in the solution, and the molecular weight were mainly 4.56×104 and 2.94×104 Da, accounting for 72.5% and 27.5%. X-ray diffraction showed that the coffee melanoidins were amorphous and had weak crystallization. The analysis of micromorphological characteristics showed that the coffee melanoidins without fractionation treatment were irregularly agglomerated spherical with rough surface and pores. After fractionation treatment, the polymerization structure disappeared and showed irregular flake and long strip shape. The degree of black-brown and the content of basic components decreased with the decrease of molecular weight. The UV-Vis spectra showed that different molecular weight components had weak absorption peaks at 285 and 320 nm. Fourier infrared spectroscopy showed that there might be carboxyl, hydroxyl, amino and methyl groups. The 3D-EEMs had λex=400 nm，λem=480~490 nm, indicated that coffee melanoidins concentrate had aromatic ring, heterocycle and rigid structure. Through the optimization of extraction, fractionation and structure characterization of coffee melanoidins, it would provide certain data support for further research on the formation, transformation and basic structure of Yunnan arabica coffee melanoidins.

In order to solve the security problems caused by collusion of malicious vehicles in the open Internet of vehicles environment, a collusion node detection method based on fuzzy evaluation density clustering was designed.The method realized vehicle reputation update through subjective recommendation trust, objective data trust and historical reputation.Two rounds malicious node detection method was designed to detect malicious vehicles, in the first round, fuzzy comprehensive evaluation was used to screen out a single malicious vehicle node, and in the second round, the conspiracy malicious vehicle nodes were searched by the improved density clustering method according to a single malicious vehicle node to ensure the sustainable development of network environment security.Experimental results show that the proposed method has a high recognition rate for malicious vehicles, and when the proportion of malicious vehicles reaches 30%, the detection accuracy can still remain above 90%.At the same time, under the proportion of different malicious vehicles, the detection recall rate and detection F value still remain higher value, indicating that the proposed method has a high stability.For the change of total vehicle nodes, the performance evaluation index shows a small fluctuation and remain within the range from 80% to 100%.

Infected bone defects (IBDs) remains a challenging problem for orthopedists. Clinically, routine management for IBDs has two stages: debridement and systematic antibiotics administration to control infection, and secondary grafting to repair bone defects. Whereas the efficacy is not satisfactory, because the overuse of antibiotics may lead to systemic toxicity, and the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria, as well as the secondary surgery would cause additional trauma and economic burden to the patients. Therefore, it is imperative to develop a novel scaffold for one-stage repair of IBDs. In this study, vancomycin (Van) was encapsulated into poly(lactic co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres through the double emulsion method, which were then loaded into the additively-manufactured porous tantalum (AM-Ta) through gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel to produce the composite Ta/GelMA hydrogel (Gel)/PLGA/vancomycin(Van) scaffolds for repairing IBDs. Physiochemical characterization of the newly-developed scaffold indicated that the releasing duration of Van was over 2 weeks. Biological experiments indicated good biocompatibility of the composite scaffold, as well as bacteriostasis and osteointegration properties, which showed great potential for clinical application. The construction of this novel scaffold would provide new sight into the development of orthopaedic implants, shedding a novel light on the treatment of IBDs.

Background: Lung cancer is the primary cause of cancer-related deaths, with one of the highest incidence and mortality rates of all malignant tumors. Dysregulated expression of DEPDC1B has been reported to occur in various tumor types. However, the functional implications of this alteration in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the role and clinical significance of DEPDC1B in LUAD. Methods: The expression of DEPDC1B in LUAD and its relationship with prognosis were systematically evaluated in several publically available datasets. The effects of DEPDC1B knockdown on the proliferation and motility of LUAD cells were assessed using the JULI Stage Real-time Cell History Recorder, while the effect of knockdown on the cell cycle was studied by flow cytometry. Furthermore, RNA-Sequencing (RNA-Seq) analysis was conducted to identify the downstream target genes and pathways regulated by DEPDC1B. Correlations between the expression of DEPDC1B and immune cell infiltration, immunotherapy resistance, and chemoresistance were also examined. Additionally, molecular biological methods were used to explore the regulatory mechanism of B-Myb on DEPDC1B expression. Results: DEPDC1B was found to be upregulated in LUAD patients and this was associated with poor clinical outcomes. Knockdown of DEPDC1B inhibited cell growth, migration and motility, as well as cell cycle progression. Knockdown also resulted in the down-regulation of several downstream genes, including NID1, FN1, and EGFR, as well as the inactivation of multiple critical pathways, such as the ERK and PI3K-AKT pathways. Analysis of the tumor immuno-environment in LUAD revealed that high DEPDC1B expression was associated with an abundance of activated CD4+ memory T cells, M0 macrophages, M1 macrophages, and CD8+ T cells. Moreover, these tumors responded poorly to immunotherapy. Analysis of chemo-drug sensitivity showed that LUADs with high DEPDC1B expression were more responsive to frontline chemotherapeutic drugs such as Vinorelbine, Cisplatin, and Etoposide. Additionally, mechanistic investigations revealed that DEPDC1B is a direct target gene of B-Myb, and that its knockdown attenuated the proliferation and motility effects of B-Myb. Conclusions: In summary, our findings indicate that DEPDC1B is a critical regulator during the malignant progression of LUAD. DEPDC1B could therefore be a promising prognostic marker and therapeutic target in LUAD diagnosis and treatment.

Load-capacity has always been one of the performances that is paid much attention to in the development of bevel gear transmission applications. Consequently, the mathematical model of novel bevel gear with high load-capacity based on geometric elements is proposed in this paper, which could be applied to the aviation, aerospace and other fields. In parallel, the design principle and design method of the novel bevel gear are introduced in detail. Subsequently, the conditions for tooth surface continuity and non-interference are derived. Furthermore, the model of novel bevel gear is established. Finally, the load-bearing characteristics are analyzed, revealing that an increase in the number of contact points could significantly enhance the load capacity of the bevel gear pairs. When the load torque applied to bevel gear II is 100 Nm, the contact pressure endured by the bevel gear pair with five-point contact is decreased by 41.37% compared to the bevel gear pair with single-point contact. When the number of contact points is the same, increasing the distance between the contact points could also reduce the contact stress. This provides strong theoretical support for the application of the bevel gear based on the geometric elements.

Background Premature and early menopause are independently associated with greater risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, mechanisms linking age of menopause with CVD remain poorly characterized. Methods and Results We measured 71 circulating CVD protein biomarkers in 1565 postmenopausal women enrolled in the FHS (Framingham Heart Study). We examined the association of early menopause with biomarkers and tested whether early menopause modified the association of biomarkers with incident cardiovascular outcomes (heart failure, major CVD, and all‐cause death) using multivariable‐adjusted linear regression and Cox models, respectively. Among 1565 postmenopausal women included (mean age 62 years), 395 (25%) had a history of early menopause. Of 71 biomarkers examined, we identified 7 biomarkers that were significantly associated with early menopause, of which 5 were higher in women with early menopause including adrenomedullin and resistin, and 2 were higher in women without early menopause including insulin growth factor‐1 and CNTN1 (contactin‐1) (Benjamini‐Hochberg adjusted P

Abstract The short‐circuit fault current of the urban rail transit systems is hard to interrupt due to the high amplitude and the high rising rate. The existing air DC circuit breakers applied in the rail transit DC traction system are difficult to interrupt the short‐circuit fault current quickly and reliably, and cannot meet the increasing demand of the system capacity. The objective of this paper is to design a novel DC combined apparatus including a DC fuse module and an artificial zero crossing module series‐connected to solve the problem of rapid isolation of short‐circuit fault current in DC traction systems. The DC fuse module consists of a DC fuse and a transfer switch with additional auxiliary coils. Experimental results show that the DC combined apparatus can interrupt the rated current, overload current, and short‐circuit current effectively within 6 ms. It can interrupt a 20 kA overload current within 5.12 ms, and the interrupting time of a prospective short‐circuit current of 100 kA is less than 5.08 ms. The designed DC combined apparatus has the full range of current interrupting capacity and has the advantages of low on‐state loss and low cost, which can significantly improve the reliability and stability of rail transit systems.

ABSTRACT Complex interactions exist among microorganisms in a community to carry out ecological processes and adapt to changing environments. Here, we constructed a quad-culture consisting of a cellulolytic bacterium (Ruminiclostridium cellulolyticum), a hydrogenotrophic methanogen (Methanospirillum hungatei), an acetoclastic methanogen (Methanosaeta concilii), and a sulfate-reducing bacterium (Desulfovibrio vulgaris). The four microorganisms in the quad-culture cooperated via cross-feeding to produce methane using cellulose as the only carbon source and electron donor. The community metabolism of the quad-culture was compared with those of the R. cellulolyticum-containing tri-cultures, bi-cultures, and mono-culture. Methane production was higher in the quad-culture than the sum of the increases in the tri-cultures, which was attributed to a positive synergy of four species. In contrast, cellulose degradation by the quad-culture was lower than the additive effects of the tri-cultures which represented a negative synergy. The community metabolism of the quad-culture was compared between a control condition and a treatment condition with sulfate addition using metaproteomics and metabolic profiling. Sulfate addition enhanced sulfate reduction and decreased methane and CO2 productions. The cross-feeding fluxes in the quad-culture in the two conditions were modeled using a community stoichiometric model. Sulfate addition strengthened metabolic handoffs from R. cellulolyticum to M. concilii and D. vulgaris and intensified substrate competition between M. hungatei and D. vulgaris. Overall, this study uncovered emergent properties of higher-order microbial interactions using a four-species synthetic community. IMPORTANCE A synthetic community was designed using four microbial species that together performed distinct key metabolic processes in the anaerobic degradation of cellulose to methane and CO2. The microorganisms exhibited expected interactions, such as cross-feeding of acetate from a cellulolytic bacterium to an acetoclastic methanogen and competition of H2 between a sulfate reducing bacterium and a hydrogenotrophic methanogen. This validated our rational design of the interactions between microorganisms based on their metabolic roles. More interestingly, we also found positive and negative synergies as emergent properties of high-order microbial interactions among three or more microorganisms in cocultures. These microbial interactions can be quantitatively measured by adding and removing specific members. A community stoichiometric model was constructed to represent the fluxes in the community metabolic network. This study paved the way toward a more predictive understanding of the impact of environmental perturbations on microbial interactions sustaining geochemically significant processes in natural systems.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are able to act as movable aerial base stations to enhance wireless coverage for edge users with poor ground communication quality. However, in urban environments, the link between UAVs and ground users can be blocked by obstacles, especially when complicated terrestrial infrastructures increase the probability of non-line-of-sight (NLoS) links. In this paper, in order to improve the average throughput, we propose a multi-UAV multicast system, where a multi-agent reinforcement learning method is utilized to help UAVs determine the optimal altitude and trajectory. Intelligent reflective surfaces (IRSs) are also employed to reflect signals to solve the blocking problem. Furthermore, since the UAV’s onboard power is limited, this paper aims to minimize the UAVs’ energy consumption and maximize the transmission rate for edge users by jointly optimizing the UAVs’ 3D trajectory and transmit power. Firstly, we deduce the channel capacity of ground users in different multicast groups. Subsequently, the K-medoids algorithm is utilized for the multicast grouping problem of edge users based on transmission rate requirements. Then, we employ the Multi-Agent Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (MADDPG) algorithm to learn an optimal solution and eliminate the non-stationarity of multi-agent training. Finally, the simulation results show that the proposed system can increase the average throughput by 14% approximately compared to the non-grouping system, and the MADDPG algorithm can achieve a 20% improvement in reducing the energy consumption of UAVs compared to traditional deep reinforcement learning (DRL) methods.

A TM-mode-pass polarization rotator and power divider with an arbitrary beam-splitting ratio constructed by an adiabatic taper, a spatial mode order convertor and a multi-mode interferometer (MMI) is proposed on the silicon-on insulator (SOI) platform. Both arbitrary power splitting and polarization selection-rotation can be realized in this single device. The measurements show that a continuously adjustable beam-splitting ratio from 1:99 to 99:1 within a 33.2 mW power consumption from 1520–1580 nm has been realized for the proposed device.

Background A parental history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) confers greater risk of future CVD among offspring. Whether the presence of parental modifiable risk factors contribute to or modify CVD risk in offspring is unclear. Methods and Results We studied 6278 parent–child trios in the multigenerational longitudinal Framingham Heart Study. We assessed parental history of CVD and modifiable risk factors (smoking, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and hyperlipidemia). Multivariable Cox models were used to evaluate the association of parental history and future CVD among offspring. Among 6278 individuals (mean age 45±11 years), 44% had at least 1 parent with history of CVD. Over a median follow‐up of 15 years, 353 major CVD events occurred among offspring. Parental history of CVD conferred 1.7‐fold increased hazard of future CVD (hazard ratio [HR], 1.71 [95% CI, 1.33–2.21]). Parental obesity and smoking status were associated with higher hazard of future CVD (obesity: HR, 1.32 [95% CI, 1.06–1.64]; smoking: HR, 1.34 [95% CI, 1.07–1.68], attenuated after adjusting for offspring smoking status). By contrast, parental history of hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia were not associated with future CVD in offspring (P>0.05 for all). Furthermore, parental risk factors did not modify the association of parental CVD history on future offspring CVD risk. Conclusions Parental history of obesity and smoking were associated with a higher hazard of future CVD in offspring. By contrast, other parental modifiable risk factors did not alter offspring CVD risk. In addition to parental CVD, the presence of parental obesity should prompt a focus on disease prevention.

Physical exercise has been widely identified as a supplementary therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD). Evaluating changes in motor function over long-term periods of exercise and comparing efficacy of various exercise types will enable a better understanding of the effects of exercise on PD. In the current study, a total of 109 studies that covered 14 types of exercise were included in the analyses, enrolling 4,631 PD patients. The results of meta-regression revealed that chronic exercise delays the progression of PD motor symptoms, mobility, and balance decline deterioration, whereas for the non-exercise PD groups, motor function progressively decline. Results from network meta-analyses suggest that dancing is the optimal exercise for general motor symptoms of PD. Furthermore, Nordic walking is the most efficient exercise to mobility and balance performance. The results from network meta-analyses also suggest that Qigong may have specific benefit in improving hand function. The findings of the current study provide further evidence that chronic exercise preserves the progression of motor function decline in PD and suggest that dancing, yoga, multimodal training, Nordic walking, aquatic training, exercise gaming, and Qigong are effective PD exercises.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=276264, identifier: CRD42021276264.

Rationale & Objective: Anemia management in patients treated with maintenance dialysis remains a challenge. We sought to update information in this area by evaluating the association between hemoglobin and various outcome and utilization measures using data-rich Medicare sources. Study Design: Observational cohort study using data from the Consolidated Renal Operations in a Web-enabled Network and Medicare claims. Setting & Participants: We studied 371,250 prevalent patients treated with hemodialysis, covering 3,326,072 patient-months in 2019. Exposure: Monthly patient hemoglobin concentrations. Outcomes: We examined several outcomes, including mortality, all-cause hospitalization, cause-specific hospitalization, and emergency department utilization in the month following the exposure measurement. Analytical Approach: For each monthly observation period, we calculated unadjusted and adjusted (for demographics and comorbid condition) hazard ratios using Cox regression. Results: The hemoglobin concentration was 11.5 g/dL. All-cause hospitalization, cause-specific hospitalization (including cardiovascular, infection, and several subcategories including coronavirus disease 2019 hospitalization), and emergency department utilization were inversely associated with hemoglobin concentration, with risk reduction stabilizing at hemoglobin levels of approximately 11.5-12 g/dL and higher. Limitations: As with prior observational studies, the observed associations are not necessarily causal. Conclusions: In a large US hemodialysis population, there were better clinical outcomes at higher hemoglobin concentrations over short exposure and follow-up periods, consistent with other observational studies that generally used longer exposure and follow-up times. Mortality risk increased at hemoglobin concentrations >11.5 g/dL, consistent with findings from erythropoiesis-stimulating agent clinical trials. The apparently beneficial short-term effects associated with higher hemoglobin concentrations suggest that hemoglobin measurements capture unmeasured elements of patient risk.

3D printing of ceramic materials has gained tremendous attention in recent years due to its high efficiency and competitive prices in the fabrication of advanced ceramics with complex geometric structures. The application of 3D printing for the precision construction of ceramic membranes has demonstrated great promise in enhancing their separation efficiency and expanding their usage scenarios. This review provides an overview of 3D-printed ceramic membranes from different materials and technologies. It covers the research progress of 3D printing for both dense and porous ceramic membranes. Moreover, the challenges of 3D printing technology faced by ceramic membranes are discussed, and potential development directions are prospected.

IntroductionThe classification and management of pulmonary hypertension (PH) is challenging due to clinical heterogeneity of patients. We sought to identify distinct multimorbid phenogroups of patients with PH that are at particularly high-risk for adverse events.MethodsA hospital-based cohort of patients referred for right heart catheterization between 2005-2016 with PH were included. Key exclusion criteria were shock, cardiac arrest, cardiac transplant, or valvular surgery. K-prototypes was used to cluster patients into phenogroups based on 12 clinical covariates.ResultsAmong 5208 patients with mean age 64±12 years, 39% women, we identified 5 distinct multimorbid PH phenogroups with similar hemodynamic measures yet differing clinical outcomes: (1) "young men with obesity", (2) "women with hypertension", (3) "men with overweight", (4) "men with cardiometabolic and cardiovascular disease", and (5) "men with structural heart disease and atrial fibrillation." Over a median follow-up of 6.3 years, we observed 2182 deaths and 2002 major cardiovascular events (MACE). In age- and sex-adjusted analyses, phenogroups 4 and 5 had higher risk of MACE (HR 1.68, 95% CI 1.41-2.00 and HR 1.52, 95% CI 1.24-1.87, respectively, compared to the lowest risk phenogroup 1). Phenogroup 4 had the highest risk of mortality (HR 1.26, 95% CI 1.04-1.52, relative to phenogroup 1).ConclusionsCluster-based analyses identify patients with PH and specific comorbid cardiometabolic and cardiovascular disease burden that are at highest risk for adverse clinical outcomes. Interestingly, cardiopulmonary hemodynamics were similar across phenogroups, highlighting the importance of multimorbidity on clinical trajectory. Further studies are needed to better understand comorbid heterogeneity among patients with PH.

ObjectiveTo investigate the correlation of trends in lipid profiles from first to second trimester with trends in insulin indices and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).MethodsSecondary analysis of an ongoing prospective cohort study was conducted on 1234 pregnant women in a single center. Lipid profiles, glucose metabolism and insulin indices were collected in the first and second trimesters. Trends in lipid profiles were divided into four subgroups: low-to-low, high-to-high, high-to-low and low-to-high group. Insulin indices including homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index were calculated to evaluate insulin resistance (IR). Trends in insulin indices were described as: no IR, persistent IR, first-trimester IR alone and second-trimester IR alone. Pearson correlation analysis and multivariate logistic regression were performed to assess the associations of lipid profiles subgroups with insulin indices and GDM.ResultsFirst- and second-trimester total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were strongly correlated to first- and second-trimester insulin indices. Only TG had a sustained correlation with glucose metabolism indices. High-to-high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) was an independent risk factor for GDM. High-to-high TG and high-to-low TG groups were independent risk factors for persistent IR. High-to-high TG and low-to-high TG groups were independent risk factors for second-trimester IR alone.ConclusionTG has a sustained correlation with insulin indices and glucose metabolism indices. Persistently high TG is an independent risk factor for persistent IR and second-trimester IR alone. Regardless of whether pregnant women have first-trimester IR, lower TG levels help reduce the risk for persistent IR or subsequent development of IR. These results highlight the benefit of lowering TG levels in early and middle pregnancy to prevent the development of IR.

BackgroundYang-ge dancing is a culturally specific exercise in which people are required to perform motor skills in coordination with rhythmic music. As an integrated exercise with both physical (decelerating the progression of aged-related motor function degeneration) and mental benefits, it has gained great popularity in China, especially among middle-aged and older adults. It remains largely unknown whether Yang-ge dancing (YG) can effectively improve main symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD), while conventional exercise rehabilitation program has been recommended in the hospital setting. To this end, this study aimed to investigate the comparative effects of exercise therapy on motor function of PD patients.Materials and methodsA sample of 51 PD patients were randomly assigned to Yang-ge dancing, conventional exercise, or conventional exercise with music. Participants in each group performed 60 min per session, five sessions per week of interventions for 4 weeks. All the participants were assessed using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale—motor examination, Berg balance test, timed up and go test, and Purdue pegboard test. Motor performances were examined before and after intervention.ResultsAll the three groups were benefited from exercise. Compared to conventional exercise, the Yang-ge dancing and conventional exercise with music had additional positive effects in mobility with reference to baseline.In addition, compared to the two conventional exercise groups (either with/without music), the Yang-ge dancing further enhanced manual dexterity.ConclusionExercise with rhythmic auditory stimulation optimized mobility in PD, while YG dance specifically contributed to improvement in manual dexterity.Clinical trial registeration[https://clinicaltrials.gov/], identifier [ChiCTR2200061252].

This study investigates the sealing performance of a combined sealing structure under extremely high and low temperature conditions, considering potential issues like high-temperature aging and low-temperature brittle fracture, which can lead to sealing failure. EPDM rubber underwent uniaxial compression tests at high, low, and normal temperatures, then the sealing performance under extreme working conditions was compared with that under normal temperature conditions. Additionally, the influences of gasket parameters and gas pressure on the sealing performance were analyzed. The result shows that compared with the normal temperature conditions, the maximum von Mises stress is reduced by 65% and the effective sealing length and the maximum contact pressure is reduced by 40% under the high temperature conditions, while the maximum von Mises stress is increased by 7 times and the maximum contact pressure is increased by a remarkable 7 times under the low temperature conditions. In the range of 10–100 MPa, the increase in gas pressure aggravates the O-ring stress concentration and improves the sealing performance relatively. When the thickness of gasket is 0.85–1.05 mm, the stress concentration of the O-ring is lighter and the sealing performance is better.

Abstract Aims/Introduction The association between plasma irisin and glucose levels in the general population is controversial, and few studies have longitudinally detected this correlation. We aimed to examine whether irisin in pregnancy was associated with postpartum glucose levels among Chinese women and explore the modifiable factors. Materials and Methods We carried out a prospective cohort study in Guangzhou, China, during 2017 and 2018, and 453 pregnant women (20–28 weeks) were enrolled. Plasma irisin levels in pregnancy were tested. At 6–8 weeks after delivery, 93 women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) underwent a 75‐g oral glucose tolerance test, and the other 360 women had a fasting blood glucose (FBG) test. Multivariable linear, quantile and logistic regressions were carried out. Results The mean plasma irisin in mid‐pregnancy was 13.73 ng/mL. We observed a significantly negative association between mid‐pregnancy irisin and postpartum FBG (β: −0.056 ± 0.024). However, quantile regression showed the association was only significant in high percentiles of FBG levels (P50 to P95), and the magnitude showed an increasing trend. Higher baseline irisin was also associated with a lower risk of postpartum impaired fasting glucose (relative risk 0.563, 95% confidence interval 0.384–0.825). Furthermore, we found significant interactions between irisin and predominant breast‐feeding on FBG and impaired fasting glucose (both Pinteraction

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common chronic, autoimmune-mediated inflammatory and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system. The treatment of MS has enormous progress with disease-modifying drugs, but the complexity of the disease course and the clinical symptoms of MS requires personalized treatment and disease management, including non-pharmacological treatment. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a painless and non-invasive brain stimulation technique, which has been widely used in neurological diseases. In this review, we mainly focus on the progress of physiological assessment and treatment of TMS in MS.

Abstract Ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC) is one of the main service categories in the fifth-generation communication systems, which lays the foundation for emerging data-exploring video applications with strict end-to-end latency requirement. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) enabled radio access network (UAV-RAN) is an effective architecture to improve the wireless coverage. Combining wireless caching with UAV-RAN is one of the key driving forces to reduce the burden of wireless traffic, provide resilient coverage and reduce the delay in heterogeneous URLLC networks. In this paper, a collaborative caching strategy is proposed for UAV-RANs. First, a scalable video coding (SVC)-based video library is presented to provide users with videos of different perceptual qualities, and the popularity of different definition videos is also analyzed. Then, we propose a heterogeneous network where UAVs within a distance from based station (BS) can be provided with error-free data and UAVs at several stop points can provide data service to users while BS can offer all users data service. Next, an SVC-based two-tier cooperative caching model is proposed, where BS and UAVs store different video encoded files on the basis of caching matrix. Finally, the energy consumption of UAV and the caching hit probability (CHPro) are analyzed, and the optimal caching matrix is obtained via the maximization of CHPro. The maximization problem is proved to be NP hard, and we propose a two-step solution based on the simulated annealing algorithm. Considering URLLC, the average service delay is also analyzed and proved that the proposed strategy is efficient in reducing delay. Simulation results demonstrate that the collaborative caching strategy is more suitable for the UAV-RANs with a skew video popularity library and an ultra-dense user distribution. Compared with other contrasting schemes, the proposed collaborative caching strategy can achieve quasi-optimal performance.

Abstract Background Circular RNAs (circRNAs) has emerged as vital regulator involved in various diseases. In this study, we identified and investigated the potential circRNAs involved in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods High-throughput sequencing was used to collect the plasma circRNAs expression profiles of GDM patients. Quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to measure the expressions of circ_0008285 and circ_0001173 in the plasma specimens. The Pearson’s correlation test was employed to assess the correlation between 2 circRNAs expression and the clinicopathologic data. Two circRNAs expression was verified in high glucose (HG)-induced HTR-8/SVneo cells. MTS, transwell assay was used to evaluate the effects of circ_0008285 expression on HG-induced HTR-8/SVneo cells. The network of circ_0008285 was constructed using cytocape. Results In GDM patients, the expression of circ_0008285 was significantly upregulated, while that of circ_0001173 was decreased. Circ_0008285 was significantly correlated with the total cholesterol and LDL-C levels. Circ_0001173 was significantly correlated with glycated hemoglobin. HG promoted the proliferation, invasion, and migration in HTR-8/SVneo cells, while the knockdown of circ_0008285 exerted reverse effects. In addition, network construction exhibited that circ_0008285 had 45 miRNA binding sites, which correlated with 444 mRNA. Conclusions circ_0008285 plays an important role and provides a clue for the usage of therapeutic targets in the development of GDM.

Headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) was used to study the effects of four kinds of probiotics on the volatile components of fermented coffee. The fingerprints showed that 51 compounds were confirmed and quantified, including 13 esters, 11 aldehydes, 9 alcohols, 6 ketones, 3 furans, 5 terpenes (hydrocarbons), 2 organic acids, 1 pyrazine, and 1 sulfur-containing compound. After fermenting, the aroma of the green beans increases while that of the roasted beans decreases. After roasting, the total amount of aroma components in coffee beans increased by 4.48–5.49 times. The aroma differences between fermented and untreated roasted beans were more significant than those between fermented and untreated green beans. HS-GC-IMS can distinguish the difference in coffee aroma, and each probiotic has a unique influence on the coffee aroma. Using probiotics to ferment coffee can significantly improve the aroma of coffee and provide certain application prospects for improving the quality of commercial coffee beans.

Abstract Aims/Introduction To evaluate whether the neonatal birthweight (NBW) is associated with early postpartum glucose intolerance in women with gestational diabetes mellitus. Materials and Methods A total of 1,113 women diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus who completed an oral glucose tolerance test at 6–9 weeks postpartum between 1 April 2014 and 8 January 2020 were included in this observational prospective cohort study. They were grouped by neonatal birthweight quartiles, and the odds ratios of postpartum glucose intolerance for different levels of neonatal birthweight were assessed. Results A lower NBW quartile was associated with an increased maternal risk of postpartum glucose intolerance after gestational diabetes mellitus. The adjusted odds ratios for maternal glucose intolerance were 1.69 (95% confidence interval 1.13–2.51) in the lowest NBW quartile (NBW 1,980–2,930 g) when compared with the highest NBW quartile (NBW 3,410–4,610 g). The association between lower NBW and maternal glucose intolerance was significantly stronger in women who delivered a girl. Additionally, NBW ≥3,100 g appears to be associated with a lower risk of maternal glucose intolerance postpartum. Conclusions Our findings suggest that low NBW is a previously unrecognized risk factor for maternal glucose intolerance after gestational diabetes in early postpartum in South China.

Virtual reality (VR) video services are becoming increasingly popular in Internet of Things (IoT) owing to its immersive experience. The realization of immersive experience relies on extremely large amount of data transmitted, restricting its application. To meet the transmission requirement of VR video services, this paper designs a user-centric network based on the mobile edge computing (MEC) framework, where the 2D/3D field of view (FOV) files can be cached and the projection process from 2D FOV to 3D FOV can be computed at the VR device or MEC servers collaboratively. Based on this, a cooperative caching and computing-offloading strategy is formulated as a decision matrix, and its optimal closed-form expression is obtained by minimizing the transmission requirement under the strict service time constraint to realize the trade-off between communication, caching and computing (3C trade-off). Besides, the effect of the transmission requirement on the network density is also analyzed to provide useful guidelines for network design. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method can achieve quasi-optimal performance compared with other contrasting schemes.

Limited by large transmission loss, the development of transverse electric (TE) mode silicon-on-insulator (SOI) based on-chip long length chirped grating waveguide faces many difficulties now. To overcome this problem, multi-mode waveguide with a measured transmission loss of 0.7 dB/cm is applied in this paper, and a chirped spiral Bragg grating waveguide (SBGW) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The length of the chirped SBGW reaches 2.7 cm, which is the longest SOI based grating reported so far. The total group delay is measured to be 628 ps, with a structure size of only 0.3 mm2 due to the application of spiral configuration. The slope of the linear dispersion is -27.7 ps/nm. This integrated chirped SBGW shows great compatibility with frequently used TE mode SOI devices and has great potential for applications in microwave photonics requiring dispersion control.

Organic peroxy radicals play a pivotal role in producing highly oxygenated organic molecules but the formation mechanisms remain elusive. Here, the authors show in-situ characterization of peroxy radicals and dimer structures in the gas-phase, using online tandem mass spectrometry analyses.

BackgroundPrior work from the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS) showed HCV prevalence in China in 2012–2015 being in the upper third and HCV incidence the 2nd highest among 15 different countries/regions investigated. The goal of the present investigation was to: (1) determine if HCV prevalence and incidence has changed, and (2) collect detailed data to understand how HCV is treated, monitored, and managed in Chinese HD facilities and non-dialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) clinics.Data and MethodsDetailed data for 1,700 randomly selected HD patients were reported by 39 randomly selected HD facilities from Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou participating in the DOPPS 7-China study from 2019 to 2021. The study site medical directors completed a survey regarding numerous aspects of HCV treatment and management in HD and ND-CKD patients.ResultsIn this 2019 to 2021 cohort, HCV prevalence was 7.4%, which was lower than the 14.8 and 11.5% HCV prevalence for the 2009–2011 and 2012–2015 cohorts, respectively. HCV incidence of 1.2 cases per 100 pt-yrs also was lower compared to the incidence of 2.1 for the 2012–2015 cohort. Although the great majority of study site medical directors indicated that all or nearly HCV+ patients should be treated for their HCV, very few HCV+ patients have been treated presumably due to substantial cost barriers for affording the new direct acting antivirals (DAAs). The randomly selected facilities in our DOPPS 7-China study appear to have excellent programs in place for frequent monitoring of patients and staff for HCV, education of staff, and referral of HCV cases to external infectious disease, gastroenterology, and liver disease specialists. Liver biopsies were not commonly performed in HCV+ HD patients. HCV genotyping also was rarely performed in participating units.ConclusionsOur study indicates a 50% decline in HCV prevalence and a >40% decline in HCV incidence in Chinese HD patients over the past 10–12 yrs. Chinese HD facilities and associated specialists appear to be well-equipped and organized for successfully treating and managing their HCV+ HD and CKD patients in order to achieve the WHO goal of eliminating HCV by 2030.

Abstract Background History of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and serum lipid abnormalities were associated with postpartum impaired glucose tolerance. To investigate the association between concentration of total cholesterol (TC), at the time of GDM diagnosis, and risk of postpartum glucose intolerance. Methods Women who were diagnosed GDM with a live singleton delivery between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2017 were included. Women were grouped based on the TC quartiles at the time of GDM diagnosis and had an OGTT at 6–12 weeks after delivery. The relationship between TC and the risk of postpartum glucose intolerance was assessed by COX regression. Results A total of 845 women were in the final analysis. Higher TC quartile at diagnosis of GDM was associated with a decreased risk of postpartum glucose intolerance. Women in the highest TC quartile (>7.0 mmol L− 1) had approximately only half-risk of any postpartum glucose intolerance, compared with women in the lowest TC quartile (

Taking the east slope at Lingquan open-pit mine as an example, the equation for determining the thickness of the insulation layer was deduced by adopting heat transfer theory. The field measurement and finite element method was used to research the insulation performance of polyurethane in the winter. The evolution law of slope temperature field under the conditions of insulation layer with or without insulation layer, different thickness, laying widths was analyzed. Through finite element method, the temperature evolution of slope covered by insulation layer with variable thickness and width at plates was analyzed. The results show that: the temperature variation of the insulation material measured by the field experiment and the finite element method is consistent; insulation layer effectively blocks the heat transmission from rock to the outside; as the thickness increases, the temperature increases nonlinearly, and the variability of which gradually decreases. There are differences in temperature variation at the slope top, surface, and toe, the temperature has an exponential relationship with width. The width of the insulation layer paved at plate effectively affects the temperature at the slope toe, the temperature tends to a fixed value with the width increasing.

ABSTRACT Rhodanobacter species dominate in the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) subsurface environments contaminated with acids, nitrate, metal radionuclides, and other heavy metals. To uncover the genomic features underlying adaptations to these mixed-waste environments and to guide genetic tool development, we sequenced the whole genomes of eight Rhodanobacter strains isolated from the ORR site. The genome sizes ranged from 3.9 to 4.2 Mb harboring 3,695 to 4,035 protein-coding genes and GC contents approximately 67%. Seven strains were classified as R. denitrificans and one strain, FW510-R12, as R. thiooxydans based on full length 16S rRNA sequences. According to gene annotation, the top two Cluster of Orthologous Groups (COGs) with high pan-genome expansion rates (Pan/Core gene ratio) were “replication, recombination and repair” and “defense mechanisms.” The denitrifying genes had high DNA homologies except the predicted protein structure variances in NosZ. In contrast, heavy metal resistance genes were diverse with between 7 to 34% of them were located in genomic islands, and these results suggested origins from horizontal gene transfer. Analysis of the methylation patterns in four strains revealed the unique 5mC methylation motifs. Most orthologs (78%) had ratios of nonsynonymous to synonymous substitutions (dN/dS) less than one when compared to the type strain 2APBS1, suggesting the prevalence of negative selection. Overall, the results provide evidence for the important roles of horizontal gene transfer and negative selection in genomic adaptation at the contaminated field site. The complex restriction-modification system genes and the unique methylation motifs in Rhodanobacter strains suggest the potential recalcitrance to genetic manipulation. IMPORTANCE Despite the dominance of Rhodanobacter species in the subsurface of the contaminated Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) site, very little is known about the mechanisms underlying their adaptions to the various stressors present at ORR. Recently, multiple Rhodanobacter strains have been isolated from the ORR groundwater samples from several wells with varying geochemical properties. Using Illumina, PacBio, and Oxford Nanopore sequencing platforms, we obtained the whole genome sequences of eight Rhodanobacter strains. Comparison of the whole genomes demonstrated the genetic diversity, and analysis of the long nanopore reads revealed the heterogeneity of methylation patterns in strains isolated from the same well. Although all strains contained a complete set of denitrifying genes, the predicted tertiary structures of NosZ differed. The sequence comparison results demonstrate the important roles of horizontal gene transfer and negative selection in adaptation. In addition, these strains may be recalcitrant to genetic manipulation due to the complex restriction-modification systems and methylations.

The internal pressure and temperature of type IV on-board hydrogen storage cylinders constantly change during the hydrogen fast-filling process. In this work, a 2D axisymmetric computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is established to study the temperature rise of hydrogen storage cylinders during the fast-filling process. The hydrogen filling rate, ambient temperature, volume, and hydrogen inlet temperature were investigated to evaluate their effects on temperature rise inside the cylinders. The effects of the inlet pressure rise and pre-cooling patterns on the temperature rise of large-volume type IV hydrogen storage cylinders are analyzed, and the optimal filling strategy is determined. The research results show that a greater filling rate causes a higher hydrogen temperature rise at the end. The ambient temperature increases linearly with the maximum hydrogen temperature and decreases linearly with the state of charge (SOC). As the volume increases, the temperature rise of the cylinder increases. Reducing the inlet hydrogen temperature helps control the temperature rise, and the hydrogen inlet pre-cooling temperature required for large-volume cylinders is lower. If the filling time remains unchanged, a high pressure rise rate should be avoided, and a linear pressure rise pattern is optimal. Reducing the initial cooling energy is key to optimizing the filling strategy.

Intelligent customer service system is timely, efficient, and accurate, which is more and more popular in grid electric power companies, and the amount of customer consultation is increasing day by day. It is infeasible for human customer service to answer these questions on time, so an automatic question-answering system is of great help to the grid electric power company. The customer queries from the grid electric power company customer service is very different from open-domain questions: the problems questioned by customer tend to be for a specific device or system within the enterprise operation problem. Most grid electric companies provide customers with a communication platform where customers can get guidance on using equipment and the business process. The comments from communication platforms are valuable resources for answering customer questions. In our work, we use three neural network models which excavate potential answers to customer queries from comments. One of the key challenges, however, is the difficulty of matching customer questions with comments. To solve this problem, we propose a method based on deep learning to find the comments related to customer questions to generate more accurate and reliable answers. Experiments can prove that our method performed well in the customer service of grid electric power company.

ObjectiveAs the high proportion of underweight pregnant women, omission of their weight gain and blood lipids management during gestation might lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study aimed to determine the relationship between lipid profile and risks for adverse pregnancy outcomes in pre-pregnancy underweight women.MethodsThis study was part of an ongoing cohort study including Chinese gravidas delivered from January 2015 to December 2016. Included subjects were grouped into underweight, normal-weight, and overweight by BMI before conception. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between lipid profiles during second trimester and adverse obstetric outcomes in each group. A subgroup analysis according to the gestational weight gain, in which subjects in each group were divided into above and within the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations, was performed.ResultsA total of 6, 223 women were included. The proportion of underweight (19.3%) was similar to that of overweight women (19.4%) in South China. Peripheral total cholesterol (TC) level in underweight women was significantly higher than that in overweight women (P

Fog computing is an extension of cloud computing, which emphasizes distributed computing and provides computing service closer to user equipments (UEs). However, due to the limited service coverage of fog computing nodes (FCNs), the moving users may be out of the coverage, which would cause the radio handover and execution results migration when the tasks are off-loaded to FCNs. Furthermore, extra cost, including energy consumption and latency, is generated and affects the revenue of UEs. Previous works rarely consider the mobility of UEs in fog computing networks. In this paper, a generic three-layer fog computing networks architecture is considered, and the mobility of UEs is characterized by the sojourn time in each coverage of FCNs, which follows the exponential distribution. To maximize the revenue of UEs, the off-loading decisions and computation resource allocation are jointly optimized to reduce the probability of migration. The problem is modeled as a mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem, which is NP-hard. The problem is divided into two parts: tasks off-loading and resource allocation. A Gini coefficient-based FCNs selection algorithm (GCFSA) is proposed to get a sub-optimal off-loading strategy, and a distributed resource optimization algorithm based on genetic algorithm (ROAGA) is implemented to solve the computation resource allocation problem. The proposed algorithms can handle the scenario of UEs' mobility in fog computing networks by significantly reducing the probability of migration. Simulations demonstrate that the proposed algorithms can achieve quasi-optimal revenue performance compared with other baseline algorithms.

The China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR) device is a milestone in the roadmap for the utilizing of fusion energy in China, whose final goal of plasma current is up to 10.02 MA. As the key system to generate a high enough voltage (20 kV) required for gas breakdown and plasma initiation, the Switch Network Unit (SNU) should have the ability to transfer 80 kA direct current by inserting resistor (0.25Ω ) to the superconducting coil circuit in 12 milliseconds. SNU topologies applied in other fusion devices are mostly based on the utilization of oscillation zero-point circuit, or combination of mechanical switch and semiconductor switch and so on, which bring stricter requirements for the components in the circuit and raise the cost due to the series and parallel connection of multiple devices if used in 80 kA/ 20 kV application. Based on the combination of solid-state switch (SSS) and auxiliary capacitor, this paper proposes a novel hybrid switch scheme. The SSS consists of insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT) group and thyristors group connected in series. The combination of added auxiliary capacitor and SSS can significantly reduce the number of series-connected IGBTs. This paper introduces the operation principle, design methods and simulation analysis of proposed scheme in detail. Coinciding with the analysis, the simulation results of SNU demonstrates the feasibility and reliability of the proposed scheme, which suggests its promising applications in fast switches with tens of kilovolts and hundreds of kilo-amperes.

In this paper, we investigate the allocation of resource in D2D-aided Fog computing system with multiple mobile user equipments (MUEs). We consider each MUE has a request for task from a task library and needs to make a decision on task performing with a selection of three processing modes which include local mode, fog offloading mode, and cloud offloading mode. Two scenarios are considered in this paper, which mean task caching and its optimization in off-peak time, task offloading, and its optimization in immediate time. In particular, task caching refers to cache the completed task application and its related data. In the first scenario, to maximize the average utility of MUEs, a task caching optimization problem is formulated with stochastic theory and is solved by a GA-based task caching algorithm. In the second scenario, to maximize the total utility of system, the task offloading and resource optimization problem is formulated as a mixed integer nonlinear programming problem (MINLP) with a joint consideration of the MUE allocation policy, task offloading policy, and computational resource allocation policy. Due to the nonconvex of the problem, we transform it into multi-MUEs association problem (MMAP) and mixed Fog/Cloud task offloading optimization problem (MFCOOP). The former problem is solved by a Gini coefficient-based MUEs allocation algorithm which can select the most proper MUEs who contribute more to the total utility. The task offloading optimization problem is proved as a potential game and solved by a distributed algorithm with Lagrange multiplier. At last, the simulations show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme with the comparison of other baseline schemes.

Abstract Aims/Introduction Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)19 has been shown to improve glycemic homeostasis and lipid metabolism in animal models. In humans, decreased FGF19 level has been described in diabetes. The present study aimed to investigate the expression of FGF19 in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) patients. Materials and Methods Samples for measurement were obtained from 20 women with GDM and 25 healthy controls. The messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and protein expression levels of FGF19, FGF21 and co‐receptor β‐klotho (KLB) in the placenta, rectus muscle and subcutaneous fat tissues were quantified by real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, western blot and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Results Women with GDM had significantly lower mRNA and protein expressions of FGF19 than control women in the placenta (mRNA 0.33 ± 0.05 vs 0.72 ± 0.09; protein 0.34 ± 0.13 vs 0.85 ± 0.20) and rectus muscle (mRNA 0.83 ± 0.11 vs 1.28 ± 0.19; protein 0.78 ± 0.24 vs 1.23 ± 0.39). However, there were no significant differences between GDM women and controls with respect to the expression levels of FGF21 and β‐klotho in the placenta and rectus muscle. There were almost no detectable FGF19 and FGF21 expressions in subcutaneous fat tissue. Furthermore, β‐klotho expression levels were not different between the GDM and control group in subcutaneous fat. Conclusions FGF19 expressions are decreased in the placenta and rectus muscle of women with GDM. This might contribute to the pathophysiology or development of GDM.

In order to accurately predict China’s future total energy consumption, this article constructs a random forest (RF)–sparrow search algorithm (SSA)–support vector regression machine (SVR)–kernel density estimation (KDE) model to forecast China’s future energy consumption in 2022–2030. It is explored whether China can reach the relevant target in 2030. This article begins by using a random forest model to screen for influences to be used as the input set for the model. Then, the sparrow search algorithm is applied to optimize the SVR to overcome the drawback of difficult parameter setting of SVR. Finally, the model SSA-SVR is applied to forecast the future total energy consumption in China. Then, interval forecasting was performed using kernel density estimation, which enhanced the predictive significance of the model. By comparing the prediction results and error values with those of RF-PSO-SVR, RF-SVR and RF-BP, it is demonstrated that the combined model proposed in the paper is more accurate. This will have even better accuracy for future predictions.

The KBQA (Knowledge-Based Question Answering) system is an essential part of the smart customer service system. KBQA is a type of QA (Question Answering) system based on KB (Knowledge Base). It aims to automatically answer natural language questions by retrieving structured data stored in the knowledge base. Generally, when a KBQA system receives the user’s query, it first needs to recognize topic entities of the query, such as name, location, organization, etc. This process is the NER (Named Entity Recognition). In this paper, we use the Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory-Conditional Random Field (Bi-LSTM-CRF) model and introduce the SoftLexicon method for a Chinese NER task. At the same time, according to the analysis of the characteristics of application scenario, we propose a fuzzy matching module based on the combination of multiple methods. This module can efficiently modify the error recognition results, which can further improve the performance of entity recognition. We combine the NER model and the fuzzy matching module into an NER system. To explore the availability of the system in some specific fields, such as a power grid field, we utilize the power grid-related original data collected by the Hebei Electric Power Company to improve our system according to the characteristics of data in the power grid field. We innovatively make the dataset and high-frequency word lexicon in the power grid field, which makes our proposed NER system perform better in recognizing entities in the field of power grid. We used the cross-validation method for validation. The experimental results show that the F1-score of the improved NER model on the power grid dataset reaches 92.43%. After processing the recognition results by using the fuzzy matching module, about 99% of the entities in the test set can be correctly recognized. It proves that the proposed NER system can achieve excellent performance in the application scenario of a power grid. The results of this work will also fill the gap in the research of intelligent customer-service-related technologies in the power grid field in China.

Background: Previously, we found that amplification of chromosome 17q24.1-24.2 is associated with lymph node metastasis, tumour size, and lymphovascular invasion in invasive ductal carcinoma. A gene within this amplicon, CACNG4, an L-type voltage-gated calcium channel gamma subunit, is elevated in breast cancers with poor prognosis. Calcium homeostasis is achieved by maintaining low intracellular calcium levels. Altering calcium influx/efflux mechanisms allows tumour cells to maintain homeostasis despite high serum calcium levels often associated with advanced cancer (hypercalcemia) and aberrant calcium signaling. Methods: In vitro 2-D and 3-D assays, and intracellular calcium influx assays were utilized to measure tumourigenic activity in response to altered CANCG4 levels and calcium channel blockers. A chick-CAM model and mouse model for metastasis confirmed these results in vivo. Findings: CACNG4 alters cell motility in vitro, induces malignant transformation in 3-dimensional culture, and increases lung-specific metastasis in vivo. CACNG4 functions by closing the channel pore, inhibiting calcium influx, and altering calcium signaling events involving key survival and metastatic pathway genes (AKT2, HDAC3, RASA1 and PKCζ). Interpretation: CACNG4 may promote homeostasis, thus increasing the survival and metastatic ability of tumour cells in breast cancer. Our findings suggest an underlying pathway for tumour growth and dissemination regulated by CACNG4 that is significant with respect to developing treatments that target these channels in tumours with aberrant calcium signaling. Funding: Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Ontario; Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Keywords: Breast cancer metastasis, Gamma subunits, L-type channels, Voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs)

Objective. The reported incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) after gestational diabetes (GDM) varies widely. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to define the incidence rate of T2DM among women with a history of GDM and to examine what might modulate the rate. Research Design and Methods. We searched PubMed and Embase for terms related to T2DM after GDM up to January 2019. Large cohort studies with sample size ≥300 and follow-up duration of at least one year were included. Data from selected studies were extracted, and meta-analysis was performed using the random-effects model. Subgroups analyses were based on the sample size of gestational diabetes, geographic region, maternal age, body-mass index, diagnostic criteria, and duration of follow-up. Results. Twenty-eight studies involving 170,139 women with GDM and 34,627 incident cases of T2DM were identified. The pooled incidence of T2DM after GDM was 26.20 (95% CI, 23.31 to 29.10) per 1000 person-years. Women from Asia and those with older age and higher body mass index seem to experience higher risk of developing T2DM. The incidence rate of T2DM was lowest when applying IADPSG (7.16 per 1000 person-years) to diagnose GDM. The risk of developing T2DM after GDM increased linearly with the duration of follow-up. The increments per year of follow-up were estimated at 9.6‰. The estimated risks for T2DM were 19.72% at 10 years, 29.36% at 20 years, 39.00% at 30 years, 48.64% at 40 years, and 58.27% at 50 years, respectively. Conclusions. The findings of very high incidence of T2DM after GDM add an important insight into the trajectory of the development of T2DM in the long-term postpartum periods, which could provide evidence for consultant and might motivate more women with GDM to screen for T2DM. This trial is registered with PROSPERO identifier CRD42019128980.

Abstract Background Appropriate classification of obesity is vital for risk assessment and complication prevention during pregnancy. We aimed to explore which pre-pregnancy BMI cut-offs of obesity, either BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 as recommended by the WHO for Asians or BMI ≥ 28 kg/m2 as suggested by the Working Group on Obesity in China (WGOC), best predicts the risk of adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 11,494 medical records for live singleton deliveries in a tertiary center in Guangzhou, China, between January 2013 and December 2016. The primary outcomes included maternal obesity prevalence, adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. Data were analyzed using the Chi-square test, logistic regression, and diagnostics tests. Results Among the study population, 824 (7.2%) were obese according to the WHO criteria for Asian populations, and this would be reduced to 198 (1.7%) based on the criteria of WGOC. Obesity-related adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes were gestational diabetes mellitus, preeclampsia, cesarean section, and large for gestational age (P < 0.05). Compared to the WGOC criterion, the WHO for Asians criterion had a higher Youden index in our assessment of its predictive value in identifying risk of obesity-related adverse outcomes for Chinese pregnant women. Women in the BMI range of 25 to 28 kg/m2 are at high risks for adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes, which were similar to women with BMI ≥ 28 kg/m2. Conclusions A lower pre-pregnancy BMI cutoff at 25 kg/m2 for defining obesity may be appropriate for pregnant women in South China. If WGOC standards are applied to pregnant Chinese populations, a significant proportion of at-risk patients may be missed.