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This comprehensive review articulates critical insights into the nexus of environmental stressors and their health impacts across diverse species, underscoring significant findings that reveal profound effects on both wildlife and human health systems. Central to our examination is the role of pollutants, climate variables, and pathogens in contributing to complex disease dynamics and physiological disruptions, with particular emphasis on immune and endocrine functions. This research brings to light emerging evidence on the severe implications of environmental pressures on a variety of taxa, including predatory mammals, raptorial birds, seabirds, fish, and humans, which are pivotal as indicators of broader ecosystem health and stability. We delve into the nuanced interplay between environmental degradation and zoonotic diseases, highlighting novel intersections that pose significant risks to biodiversity and human populations. The review critically evaluates current methodologies and advances in understanding the morphological, histopathological, and biochemical responses of these organisms to environmental stressors. We discuss the implications of our findings for conservation strategies, advocating for a more integrated approach that incorporates the dynamics of zoonoses and pollution control. This synthesis not only contributes to the academic discourse but also aims to influence policy by aligning with the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. It underscores the urgent need for sustainable interactions between humans and their environments, which are critical for preserving biodiversity and ensuring global health security. By presenting a detailed analysis of the interdependencies between environmental stressors and biological health, this review highlights significant gaps in current research and provides a foundation for future studies aimed at mitigating these pressing issues. Our study is significant as it proposes integrative and actionable strategies to address the challenges at the intersection of environmental change and public health, marking a crucial step forward in planetary health science.

BackgroundWork-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) seriously affect work efficiency and quality of life of nurses. Currently, there are significant differences in the published studies on WMSDs in nurses. ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate the prevalence of WMSDs among nurses in the mainland of China and analyze its main influencing factors. MethodsEight databases (CNKI, Wanfang data, VIP, SinoMed, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Embase) were selected for searching literature reporting prevalence and influencing factors of WMSDs among clinical nurses in China from inception to December 31, 2022. The literature was included according to a pre-set criteria of inclusion and exclusion. The quality of cross-sectional studies was assessed using the criteria recommended by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and the extracted data were analyzed by Stata 15.0 software. A random effect model or a fixed effect model was selected to calculate combined effects based on heterogeneity of included studies. ResultsA total of 19 studies were included in this meta-analysis, including 14 studies published in Chinese and 5 in English, involving 17852 nurses in total. The estimated prevalence rate of WMSDs since work among clinical nurses in China was 85.5% (95%CI: 79.8%, 91.1%), the estimated annual prevalence rate was 81.0% (95%CI: 75.2%, 86.8%), and the estimated weekly prevalence rate was 65.0% (95%CI: 48.5%, 81.5%). The results of subgroup analysis showed that the prevalence rate of WMSDs among nurses in specific departments of emergency, ICU, and midwifery was 88.6% (95%CI: 82.6%, 94.6%), higher than that among nurses in general departments [79.0% (95%CI: 72.5%, 85.5%)]. The reported prevalence of WMSDs from 2018 to 2022 was 82.2% (95%CI: 75.0%, 89.4%), which was higher than that from 2004 to 2017 [76.8% (95%CI: 67.2%, 86.4%)]. Age >40 years (OR=2.34, 95%CI: 1.69, 3.24), length of service >10 years (OR=2.12, 95%CI: 1.43, 3.15), obesity (OR=2.73, 95%CI: 1.56, 4.77), night shift (OR=2.03, 95%CI: 1.81, 2.28), lifting heavy objects (OR=3.80, 95%CI: 1.79, 8.07), rest during work (OR=0.49, 95%CI: 0.30, 0.83), and bending (OR=3.47, 95%CI: 2.37, 5.08) were influencing factors of WMSDs in nurses. ConclusionThe prevalence rate of WMSDs among Chinese nurses is high, and it is increasing year by year. Nurses in specific departments such as emergency, ICU, and midwifery show higher prevalence rates than those in general departments. Age > 40 years, length of service >10 years, obesity, night shifts, lifting heavy objects, and bending are risk factors for WMSDs among nurses, while rest during work is a protective factor. Therefore, early prevention actions should be taken targeting the above factors, such as increasing auxiliary assistance facilities and improving work patterns, so as to reduce the risk of WMSDs.

Shrinkage cracking of concrete is one of the main problems affecting the durability of high-strength concrete. One of the main measures to solve this problem is to use expansion agents to compensate for the shrinkage of concrete. But on the other hand, excess expansion, while compensating for shrinkage, is likely to have a detrimental effect on mechanical properties of concrete. Especially for bridge decks and airport pavement with high requirements for impact resistance, toughness, and crack resistance, the use of expansion agents alone cannot meet the performance requirements. In this study, the mechanical properties and autogenous shrinkage of concrete were studied when MgO expansion agent (MEA) and steel fiber were used simultaneously. The results showed that the expansion produced by MEA increased the porosity while compensating for the shrinkage of concrete. Compared with plain concrete, the porosity increased by 4.4% when MEA was incorporated alone. After MEA and steel fiber were used simultaneously, the steel fiber constrained the expansion of MEA through the adhesive friction between fiber and matrix, which made the interface transition zone (ITZ) between cement paste and fiber densified. In this way, the shrinkage of concrete was avoided without reducing the mechanical properties. Especially when 8% MEA and 1% steel fiber were used simultaneously, the compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of concrete were increased by 20.6% and 65.0% respectively, and the porosity was decreased by 20.9%. The expansion of concrete at 410d when used simultaneously was 371 × 10−6, which was 20.7% lower than that of MEA alone, avoiding the possible adverse effects of excessive expansion of MEA. The research results have guiding significance for improving the crack resistance and impact resistance of concrete.

Abstract Background Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) has emerged as a prognostic factor for mortality in various diseases. Up to now, few studies have focused on the prognostic value of RDW in patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). This retrospective cohort study aimed to investigate the impact of RDW and RDW/albumin (ALB) ratio on all-cause mortality in patients with DFUs. Methods This study included 860 patients with DFUs in a tertiary academic hospital. The associations of RDW and RDW/ALB with all-cause mortality were assessed by multivariable cox regression analyses. The pairwise comparisons of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were performed to compare the predictive performance of RDW and RDW/ALB ratio. Harrell’s concordance index, integrated discrimination improvement, and net reclassification improvement were used to estimate the improvements in risk discrimination. Results Patients with high RDW and RDW/ALB had lower overall survival rates (all P

Fungal endophytes are harboured in the leaves of every individual plant host and contribute to plant health, leaf senescence, and early decomposition. In grasslands, fungal endophytes and their hosts often coexist with large herbivores. However, the influence of grazing by large herbivores on foliar fungal endophyte communities remains largely unexplored. We conducted a long-term (18 yr) grazing experiment to explore the effects of grazing on the community composition and diversity of the foliar fungal endophytes of two perennial grassland species (i.e., Artemisia capillaris and Stipa bungeana) across one growing season. Grazing significantly increased the mean fungal alpha diversity of A. capillaris in the early season. In contrast, grazing significantly reduced the mean fungal alpha diversity of endophytic fungi of S. bungeana in the late season. Grazing, growing season, and their interactions concurrently structured the community composition of the foliar fungal endophytes of both plant species. However, growing season consistently outperformed grazing and environmental factors in shaping the community composition and diversity of both plant species. Overall, our findings demonstrate that the foliar endophytic fungal community diversity and composition differed in response to grazing between A. capillaris and S. bungeana during one growing season. The focus on this difference will enhance our understanding of grazing’s impact on ecological systems and improve land management practices in grazing regions. This variation in the effects of leaf nutrients and plant community characteristics on foliar endophytic fungal community diversity and composition may have a pronounced impact on plant health and plant–fungal interactions.

It is still a difficult problem to determine the sliding surface of a rock slope quickly and accurately because the efficiency and accuracy cannot be met at the same time in traditional searching methods. The limit equilibrium method is widely accepted in the stability analysis of rock slopes. The planar shear sliding model of a rock slope is adopted to characterize the position of the potential sliding surface by the inclination of the sliding surface; the analytical solution of the potential sliding surface of a multistage rock slope under the condition of limit equilibrium is derived based on the extreme value method, and its accuracy is verified combined with the Sau Mau Ping slope in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the system stability of the Dayingpanshan slope in Yibi, Sichuan Province with multiple steps in a highway is analysed. The results show that the slope potential sliding surface inclination determined by this method is in agreement with the practical sliding inclination of the Sau Mau Ping slope. In practical engineering applications, the dip angles of the sliding surface obtained by using the Cuckoo search method and simulated annealing method in Slide software are 38.0° and 37.0°, respectively, and the dip angle obtained by the analytical method in this paper is 34.8°.The Janbu method, Morgenstern-Price method and Sarma method are selected to calculate the corresponding stability coefficients, the results are approximately 1.04. The stability coefficient obtained in this paper is 1.15. The results obtained by this method are basically accurate. Through parameter sensitivity analysis, it is found that with the increase in cohesion, the inclination angle of the slope slip surface decreases, and the stability coefficient also increases. When the internal friction angle increases, the slope slip surface inclination and stability coefficient also increase.

BackgroundTo systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of sublingual immunotherapy for allergic rhinitis (AR) and provide evidence for clinical treatment.MethodsA literature search was performed on the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang database, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Embase database. Data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of sublingual immunotherapy for AR were screened and extracted from the establishment of those databases to November 2022. Subsequently, a network meta-analysis was performed using a statistical software R 4.2.ResultsTotally 22 RCTs that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria and screened from 1,164 literature were included. A total of 4,941 AR patients were involved in the 22 trials, as well as five interventions including placebo, pharmacotherapy, subcutaneous immunotherapy_dust mite, sublingual immunotherapy_dust mite, and sublingual immunotherapy_ grass mix plus pollen extract. The results of network meta-analysis showed that, based on symptom scores after different interventions for AR, the most effective treatments for AR were in order as follows: sublingual immunotherapy_dust mite, subcutaneous immunotherapy_dust mite, sublingual immunotherapy_ grass mix plus pollen extract, placebo, and pharmacotherapy. Importantly, sublingual immunotherapy had fewer adverse reactions and higher safety.ConclusionSublingual immunotherapy_dust mite for AR has the best efficacy, whereas traditional medicine has the worst. More high-quality studies with a large sample and multiple centers are needed to verify this conclusion in the future, so as to further provide more reliable evidence-based medical evidence for the clinical treatment options of AR patients.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between gestational weight gain (GWG) and adverse neonatal outcomes in women who conceived using assisted reproductive technology (ART).MethodsThe National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) 2019-2021 provided data for this retrospective cohort study. Adverse neonatal outcomes included premature birth, small for gestational age (SGA), large for gestational age (LGA), macrosomia, low birth weight (LBW), and other abnormal conditions. Any adverse outcome was defined as at least one of the above six outcomes. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was employed to evaluate the associations between GWG and different outcomes, after adjusting for confounding factors. These associations were further assessed in subgroups of maternal age at delivery, paternal age at delivery, preconception body mass index (BMI), gestational age, maternal race, parity, gestational diabetes, and gestational hypertension.ResultsTotally 108201 women were included, with 22282 in the insufficient GWG group, 38034 in the sufficient GWG group, and 47885 in the excessive GWG group. Women with insufficient GWG [odds ratios (OR) = 1.11, 95%CI: 1.07-1.16, PConclusionInsufficient GWG and excessive GWG were associated with increased risks of any adverse outcome than sufficient GWG in women who conceived with ART, indicating the applicability of recommended GWG by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in this population.

Background and Aims. Arterial stiffness and sarcopenia are commonly seen in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and both are age-related diseases. However, few studies have addressed the causal relationship between age, arterial stiffness, and sarcopenia, especially in patients with T2DM. This study is aimed at investigating the relationship among age, arterial stiffness, and sarcopenia in patients with T2DM. Methods and Results. This cross-sectional study enrolled 557 inpatients with diabetes at the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, China, between June 2020 and July 2021. Patients who were diagnosed with T2DM and underwent examination of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, handgrip strength, 6-meter walk speed, and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV, a recognized indicator of arterial stiffness) were enrolled. A total of 447 patients were included. A dose-dependent relationship was found between age and sarcopenia. We also found a dose-dependent relationship between age and baPWV. Similarly, significant dose-dependent relationships were found across baPWV tertiles with higher prevalence of sarcopenia. Then, a mediation analysis was performed to explore the mediation effect of arterial stiffness on age-associated sarcopenia. We found that the prevalence of sarcopenia increased by 0.0115 (95% CI, 0.0028–0.0239) per 1 year increase in age by the mediation effect of baPWV and that the direct effect of aging on sarcopenia was 0.0441 (95% CI, 0.0101–0.0909) per 1 year older. baPWV mediated 20.5% of the positive relationship between increased age and the prevalence of sarcopenia. Conclusions. Elevated baPWV partially mediates the association of age and sarcopenia among patients with T2DM.

In the past 20 years, the global economy has undergone tremendous changes with rapid industrialization and urbanization. Cultivated land is an important spatial carrier for human production and life, and its use pattern also changes with socioeconomic development. Natural, economic, social, and policy factors jointly drive the cultivated land use transition (CLUT). However, the spatiotemporal pattern and evolution characteristics of the CLUT at the national scale have not yet been clarified in China. Factors that play a leading role in the transition are also unclear. To this end, this paper explores the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of the CLUT at a national scale and analyzes the main drivers and spatial differentiation rules of the transition based on relevant data from 31 provincial units on the Chinese mainland from 2000 to 2019. The results show that: (1) The CLUT in China from 2000 to 2019 had obvious stage characteristics. (2) The coordination degree of the CLUT was enhanced overall. Areas with a higher degree of coordination presented a spatial distribution pattern of small agglomeration and large dispersion, while low-level areas were distributed in spots. (3) Different drivers had various effects on the CLUT. The topography played an inhibitory role in the transition, and its influence showed obvious differences between the east and west regions. The effect of the construction land demand index shifted from inhibition to promotion, while the effects of the gross agricultural economic output and the total power of agricultural machinery in the transition were insignificant.

Different types of buildings in different climate zones have their own design specifications and specific user populations. Generally speaking, these populations have similar sensory feedbacks in their perception of environmental thermal comfort. Existing thermal comfort models do not incorporate personal thermal comfort models for specific populations. In terms of an algorithm, the existing work constructs machine learning models based on an established human thermal comfort database with variables such as indoor temperature, clothing insulation, et al., and has achieved satisfactory classification results. More importantly, such thermal comfort models often lack scientific interpretability. Therefore, this study selected a specific population as the research object, adopted the 0-order Takagi–Sugeno–Kang (TSK) fuzzy classifier as the base training unit, and constructed a shared feature-guided new TSK fuzzy classification algorithm with extra feature compensation (SFG-TFC) to explore the perception features of the population in the thermal environment of buildings and to improve the classification performance and interpretability of the model. First, the shared features of subdatasets collected in different time periods were extracted. Second, the extra features of each subdataset were independently trained, and the rule outputs corresponding to the key shared features were reprojected into the corresponding fuzzy classifiers. This strategy not only highlights the guiding role of shared features but also considers the important compensation effect of extra features; thereby, improving the classification performance of the entire classification model. Finally, the least learning machine (LLM) was used to solve the parameters of the “then” part of each basic training unit, and these output weights were integrated to enhance the generalization performance of the model. The experimental results demonstrate that SFG-TFC has better classification performance and interpretability than the classic nonfuzzy algorithms support vector machine (SVM) and deep belief network (DBN), the 0-order TSK, and the multilevel optimization and fuzzy approximation algorithm QI-TSK.

Abstract Background Roxadustat has been shown effective in treating patients with anemia due to chronic kidney disease. However, its long-term effect on clinical outcomes and socioeconomic burden and safety remains unclear. Methods/Design This is a multicenter, prospective, longitudinal observational cohort study assessing if Roxadustat improves prognosis in dialysis patients. Primary outcomes will be major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), defined as composites of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, cerebral infarction, hospitalization because of heart failure; all-cause mortality, and annual economic costs in two years. The data will be collected via Research electronic data capture (REDCap) based database as well as software-based dialysis registry of Sichuan province. The primary outcomes for the ROAD study participants will be compared with those in the dialysis registry cohort. Data at baseline and study follow up will also be compared to assess the association between Roxadustat and long-term clinical outcomes. Discussion The main objective of this study is to the assess long-term association of Roxadustat on MACE, all-cause mortality, socio-economic burden, safety in dialysis patients, which will provide guidance for designing further large randomized controlled trials to investigate this clinic question. Study registration The study has been registered in Chinese Clinical Trials Registry (ROAD, ROxadustat in treating Anemia in Dialysis patients, registration number ChiCTR1900025765) and provincial observational cohort database (Renal disEAse observational CoHort database, REACH, ChiCTR1900024926), registered 07 September 2019, http://www.chictr.org.cn .

Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most commonmalignancy. Exsome plays a significant role in the elucidation of signal transduction pathways between hepatoma cells, angiogenesis and early diagnosis of HCC. Exosomes are small vesicular structures that mediate interaction between different types of cells, and contain a variety of components (including DNA, RNA, and proteins). Numerous studies have shown that these substances in exosomes are involved in growth, metastasis and angiogenesis in liver cancer, and then inhibited the growth of liver cancer by blocking the signaling pathway of liver cancer cells. In addition, the exosomal substances could also be used as markers for screening early liver cancer. In this review, we summarized to reveal the significance of exosomes in the occurrence, development, diagnosis and treatment of HCC, which in turn might help us to further elucidate the mechanism of exosomes in HCC, and promote the use of exosomes in the clinical diagnosis and treatment of HCC.

Background: Allergic rhinitis and vasomotor rhinitis are harassing numerous patients and their risk factors have not been well investigated. Here, we try to identify their risk factors and distinguish these 2 diseases. Methods: A two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study was implemented to discover the risk factors of allergic and vasomotor rhinitis. Based on previous studies, we selected 15 potential risk factors and the genome-wide summary statistics were extracted from the non-FinnGen consortium. The genome-wide summary statistics of rhinitis were obtained from the FinnGen consortium. Both univariable MR and multivariable MR analyses were performed to identify the causal risk factors. The Cochrane's Q value was calculated to appraise the heterogeneity. MR-Egger intercept and MR-RPESSO were utilized to appraise the pleiotropy. Results: In the univariable model, the number of cigarettes per day can decrease the risk of allergic rhinitis (IVW OR = 0.29[0.18, 0.47], p-value = 2.70 × 10−7) while increasing the risk of vasomotor rhinitis (IVW OR = 1.30[1.04, 1.62], p-value = 0.022). Besides, no other risk factors could affect the risk of either allergic or vasomotor rhinitis. After adjusting for age of smoking initiation and alcohol intake, the cigarettes per day could still decrease the risk of allergic rhinitis (IVW OR = 4.66 × 10−3 [1.99 × 10−4, 0.11], p-value = 0.003) while not affecting the risk of vasomotor rhinitis (IVW OR = 0.92[0.44, 1.96], p-value = 0.834). Conclusion: Smoking can affect the risk of allergic and vasomotor rhinitis differently where it decreases the risk of allergic rhinitis and increases the risk of vasomotor rhinitis.

Objective. To assess the effect of the third-order mechanics of a new ribbonwise bracket–archwire combination using an orthodontic torque simulator. Material and Methods. An orthodontic torque simulator was used to measure the third-order moment of a maxillary central incisor as it changed from a neutral position to a 40° rotation in 1° increment. A new ribbonwise bracket (Xinya, China) was compared with a conventional ligation bracket (American Orthodontic, U.S.A.). The effects of different archwire sizes (i.e., 0.017″ × 0.025″ and 0.019″ × 0.025″) and materials (i.e., nickel-titanium, titanium-molybdenum alloy, and stainless steel) were analyzed. Paired sample t-tests were conducted to compare the moments between the two bracket types corresponding to each of the archwires. The effects of the stiffness of the bracket–archwire complexes were also assessed. Results. Statistically significant differences (P=0.05) between the moments from the two brackets were found. The ribbonwise bracket–archwire complex generated larger moments when the rotation angle was lower than 30°. The ribbonwise brackets produced moments that could reach a threshold of 5 Nmm more quickly as the angle was increased. The higher the stiffness of the complex, the larger the moment. Conclusion. The ribbonwise bracket–archwire complex reached the moment threshold limits earlier than the conventional complex. When the rotation angle is less than 30°, the ribbonwise bracket–archwire complex generated a greater torque moment in comparison with the conventional complex.

BackgroundDespite much improvement in the treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), childhood ALLs with MLL-rearrangement (MLL-r) still have inferior dismal prognosis. Thus, defining mechanisms underlying MLL-r ALL maintenance is critical for developing effective therapy.MethodsGSE13159 and GSE28497 were selected via the Oncomine website. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between MLL-r ALLs and normal samples were identified by R software. Next, functional enrichment analysis of these DEGs were carried out by Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), and Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING). Then, the key hub genes and modules were identified by Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA). Therapeutically Applicable Research to Generate Effective Treatments (TARGET) ALL (Phase I) of UCSC Xena analysis, qPCR, and Kaplan-Meier analysis were conducted for validating the expression of key hub genes from bone marrow cells of childhood ALL patients or ALL cell lines.ResultsA total of 1,045 DEGs were identified from GSE13159 and GSE28497. Through GO, KEGG, GSEA, and STRING analysis, we demonstrated that MLL-r ALLs were upregulating “nucleosome assembly” and “B cell receptor signal pathway” genes or proteins. WGCNA analysis found 18 gene modules using hierarchical clustering between MLL-r ALLs and normal. The Venn diagram was used to filter the 98 hub genes found in the key module with the 1,045 DEGs. We identified 18 hub genes from this process, 9 of which were found to be correlated with MLL-r status, using the UCSC Xena analysis. By using qPCR, we validated these 9 hub key genes to be upregulated in the MLL-r ALLs (RS4;11 and SEM) compared to the non-MLL-r ALL (RCH-ACV) cell lines. Three of these genes, BCL11A, GLT8D1 and NCBP2, were shown to be increased in MLL-r ALL patient bone marrows compared to the non-MLL-r ALL patient. Finally, Kaplan–Meier analysis indicated that childhood ALL patients with high BCL11A expression had significantly poor overall survival.ConclusionThese findings suggest that upregulated BCL11A gene expression in childhood ALLs may lead to MLL-r ALL development and BCL11A represents a new potential therapeutic target for childhood MLL-r ALL.

The personal thermal comfort model is used to design and control the thermal environment and predict the thermal comfort responses of individuals rather than reflect the average response of the population. Previous individual thermal comfort models were mainly focused on a single material environment. However, the channels for individual thermal comfort were various in real life. Therefore, a new personal thermal comfort evaluation method is constructed by means of a reliable decision-based fuzzy classification model from two views. In this study, a two-view thermal comfort fuzzy classification model was constructed using the interpretable zero-order Takagi–Sugeno–Kang (TSK) fuzzy classifier as the basic training subblock, and it is the first time an optimized machine learning algorithm to study the interpretable thermal comfort model is used. The relevant information (including basic information, sampling conditions, physiological parameters, physical environment, environmental perception, and self-assessment parameters) was obtained from 157 subjects in experimental chambers with two different materials. This proposed method has the following features: (1) The training samples in the input layer contain the feature data under experimental conditions with two different materials. The training models constructed from the training samples under these two conditions complement and restrict each other and improve the accuracy of the whole model training. (2) In the rule layer of the training unit, interpretable fuzzy rules are designed to solve the existing layers with the design of short rules. The output of the intermediate layer of the fuzzy classifier and the fuzzy rules are difficult to explain, which is problematic. (3) Better decision-making knowledge information is obtained in both the rule layer of the single-view training model and in the two-view fusion model. In addition, the feature mapping space is generated according to the degree of contribution of the decision-making information from the two single training views, which not only preserves the feature information of the source training samples to a large extent but also improves the training accuracy of the model and enhances the generalization performance of the training model. Experimental results indicated that TMV-TSK-FC has better classification performance and generalization performance than several related state-of-the-art non-fuzzy classifiers applied in this study. Significantly, compared with the single view fuzzy classifier, the training accuracies and testing accuracies of TMV-TSK-FC are improved by 3–11% and 2–9%, respectively. In addition, the experimental results also showed good semantic interpretability of TMV-TSK-FC.

With the development of shallow surface mineral resources in metal mines, it is gradually turning to the stage of deep mining. According to the current mining depth and the average annual depth, during the period of “14th Five-Year Plan,” one-third of the underground metal mines will reach or exceed the mining depth of 1,000 m, with the deepest being 2,000 m. In the stage of deep mining, mines will face the conditions of high stress, high temperature, high well depth, and strong mining disturbance, which will greatly increase the difficulty of large-scale deep mining. Among them, the high ground stress environment is the principal problem of many technical problems in deep mining. The selection of mining method has become a prerequisite for solving the problem of efficient and safe mining of deep deposits. In this paper, the vague set theory was introduced into the selection of mining methods and a vague set model for deep unloading mining schemes was established. Taking the Jinchuan No. 2 mining area as the engineering background, four unloading schemes for deep mining were proposed, and the Vague set model was used for optimization. It is concluded that the mining approach with large-section unloading is the optimal unloading mining plan. The application shows that it has the advantages of high unloading efficiency, large production capacity, and low loss index. It has been fully promoted in the deep mining of the mining area. It is feasible and effective to use the vague set theory in the selection of deep unloading mining schemes, which provides a proper approach in the selection of deep unloading mining schemes.

Graphic design is an important part of the design field today. In this era of information explosion, designs that can deliver information faster and more accurately are bound to gain popularity among the public. In this paper, we propose a fast decomposition algorithm image processing method based on a new transform of the wavelet transform, which mainly addresses the problems of large computation of feature points and long-time consumption of traditional image processing algorithms. Firstly, the second-order decomposition of the image is performed by wavelet function to obtain the low-frequency components of the image, and the wavelet gradient vector is used to extract feature points from the overlapping regions of the low-frequency image so that the transformation parameters of feature points can be obtained quickly under the low-frequency image to guide the feature point extraction under the high-frequency image; on this basis, an improved algorithm of image processing based on the fast decomposition algorithm of two-dimensional wavelet transform with planar design is proposed. Using the properties of one-way matching and directional consistency of feature point constraints, the mismatched point pairs are effectively eliminated to improve the feature point matching accuracy and real-time performance. Finally, the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method are verified by two sets of experiments.

Lespedeza davurica (Laxm.) is highly important for reducing soil erosion and maintaining the distinctive natural scenery of semiarid grasslands in northwest China. In this study, a pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of drought (20% water-holding capacity) on biomass and its allocation, root characteristics, plant hormones, and soil microbial communities and nutrients after L. davurica was grown in a greenhouse. Drought reduced the total biomass of L. davurica but increased the root:shoot biomass ratio. In addition, drought altered the composition and structure of microbial communities by limiting the mobility of nutrients in non-rhizosphere soils. In particular, drought increased the relative abundances of Basidiomycota, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Coprinellus, Humicola and Rubrobacter, which were closely positively related to the soil organic carbon, pH, available phosphorus, ammonia nitrogen (N) and nitrate N under drought conditions. Furthermore, soil fungi could play a more potentially significant role than that of bacteria in the response of L. davurica to drought. Consequently, our study uncovered the effects of drought on the growth of L. davurica by altering soil microbial communities and/or soil nutrients, thus providing new insights for forage production and natural grassland restoration on the Loess Plateau of China.

Precast construction technologies have several advantages in industrialized production, such as quality control and energy conservation. However, the joint interface slippage between the precast components causes detrimental effect on the mechanical properties, such as dowel shear stress on the connecting steel bars, which strictly restricts the development of assembly technology in aseismic structure. In order to eliminate the horizontal slippage along the assemble joint and optimize the mechanical performance of horizontal joint connections, a new reinforced tenon joint precast shear wall is proposed in this paper. Finite element numerical simulations are conducted on three reinforced tenon joint specimens and a reference specimen to understand the mechanical properties of the reinforced tenon and boundary confinement components of shear wall. The load-displacement curves, the equivalent plastic strain distribution diagram, and the concrete damage distribution diagram are obtained. It is found that the boundary components provide bending strength and the reinforced tenon can reduce the harmful influence of dowel-action shear stress on longitudinal connecting reinforcements. Therefore, the bending and shearing forces are separated at the joint interface. Based on the numerical simulation results and the calculation theory of normal section bearing capacity, the theoretical calculation bending capacity formula of reinforced tenon precast shear wall is established. The obtained calculation results are in good agreement with the simulation results and can accurately reflect the bending capacity of the jointed interface.

Compensation for shrinkages with three kinds of lightly burnt MgO expansive agent (LBMEA) is used in a reinforced concrete wall poured in the summer. Influences of the internal temperature history on the expansion of concrete and the microstructure of cement paste containing LBMEA were investigated. The results showed that LBMEA exhibited significant expansion around the end of the fall temperature stage; then, the expansion rate declined obviously, and concrete containing LBMEA with low hydration reactivity (140 s and 220 s) showed larger expansion than LBMEA with high hydration reactivity (60 s). Microstructural analysis indicated that brucite preferentially forms in the pores in cement paste containing LBMEA with high reactivity, but brucite mainly grows on the surface of the MgO particles in cement paste containing LBMEA with low reactivity during the early age. Paste containing LBMEA with low reactivity showed a larger volume of single brucite crystal than LBMEA with high reactivity, which further led to larger expansion in the latter than the former. The results revealed the expansion process of LBMEA and can help engineers select suitable LBMEA for application to actual engineering.

Background/Aim: Surgery and chemotherapy treatments of human laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HLSCC) may fail due to metastasis, in which epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays an important role. TRPP2, a nonselective cation channel, is expressed in various cell types and participates in many biological processes. Here, we show that TRPP2 enhanced metastasis by regulating EMT. Methods: We used immunohistochemistry, western blotting, Ca2+ imaging, transwell and wound healing assays to investigate TRPP2 expression levels in HLSCC tissue, and the role of TRPP2 in invasion and metastasis of a human laryngocarcinoma cell line (Hep2 cell). Results: We found that TRPP2 protein expression levels were significantly increased in HLSCC tissue; higher TRPP2 levels were associated with decreased patient survival time and degree of differentiation and advanced clinical stage. Knockdown of TRPP2 by transfection with TRPP2 siRNA markedly suppressed ATP-induced Ca2+ release, wound healing, and cell invasion in Hep2 cells. Moreover, TRPP2 siRNA significantly decreased vimentin expression but increased E-cadherin expression in Hep2 cells. In the EMT signalling pathway, TRPP2 siRNA significantly decreased Smad4, STAT3, SNAIL, SLUG and TWIST expression in Hep2 cells. Conclusion: We revealed a previously unknown function of TRPP2 in cancer development and a TRPP2-dependent mechanism underlying laryngocarcinoma cell invasion and metastasis. Our results suggest that TRPP2 may be used as a biomarker for evaluating patient prognosis and as a novel therapeutic target in HLSCC.

To improve the chloride diffusion resistance and durability of concrete, a new kind of steel fiber reinforced MgO concrete (SFRMC) was made by adding steel fiber and MgO to concrete simultaneously. With steel fiber for load bearing and expansion limiting, MgO as the expander, SFRMC has both the advantages of fiber reinforced concrete and expansion concrete. The influence of steel fiber and MgO on the strength and chloride diffusion resistance of concrete was evaluated by splitting tensile test and chloride diffusion test. Mercury intrusion porosimeter (MIP) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to study the microstructure of SFRMC. The results showed that the combined action of steel fiber and MgO reduced the porosity of concrete and the chloride diffusion coefficient (CDC), which could not be achieved by steel fiber and MgO separately. In the free state, the expansion energy produced by the hydration of MgO made the concrete expand outwards. However, under the constraint of steel fiber, the expansion energy was used to tension the fiber, resulting in self-stress. In this way, compared to reference concrete RC, the tensile strength of SFRMC-1, SFRMC-2, and SFRMC-3 increased by 3.1%, 61.3%, and 64.5%, CDC decreased by 8.8%, 36.7%, and 33.1%, and the porosity decreased by 6.2%, 18.4%, and 20.6%, respectively. In addition, the SEM observations demonstrated that the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) between fiber and matrix was denser in SFRMC, which contributed to reduce the diffusion of chloride ions in the concrete.

Alpha-fetoprotein is an effective biomarker as an aid in hepatocellular carcinoma detection in many countries. However, alpha-fetoprotein has its limitations, especially in early hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis. Protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II is another biomarker that is used for hepatocellular carcinoma detection. The aim of this study is to compare the diagnostic performance of alpha-fetoprotein and protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II alone and in combination to explore improving biomarker performance as an aid in early hepatocellular carcinoma detection. In this study a total of 582 serum samples including 132 hepatocellular carcinoma patients, 250 non-hepatocellular carcinoma patients, and 200 healthy volunteers were collected. Alpha-fetoprotein and protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II levels were measured by both chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay on LUMIPULSE platform and by chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay on ARCHITECT platform. Receiver operation characteristic curve analyses were performed for each biomarker and in combination. The results showed that Alpha-fetoprotein and protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II in combination have shown higher area under the curve compared to alpha-fetoprotein alone for diagnosis in whole patients (0.906 vs 0.870) in hepatocellular carcinoma early-stage patients (0.809 vs 0.77) and in hepatitis B virus–related hepatocellular carcinoma patients (0.851 vs 0.788) with ARCHITECT platform. Protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II showed higher area under the curve than alpha-fetoprotein for diagnosis of hepatitis B virus–related hepatocellular carcinoma patients (0.901 vs 0.788).We conclude that Combining alpha-fetoprotein and protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II may improve the diagnostic value for early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma. Protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II performs better than alpha-fetoprotein in diagnosis of hepatitis B virus–related hepatocellular carcinoma patients.