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Artificial intelligence (AI) has seen rapid advancements, establishing itself as a robust tool for fostering accessible teaching and learning environments. Nevertheless, the efficacy of these intelligent learning settings in bolstering the engagement and learning outcomes for students with hearing impairments warrants further investigation. This research leveraged Design-Based Research (DBR) to iteratively refine intelligent learning environments, while also adopting the Community of Inquiry (COI) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to assess classroom presence and perception among students with hearing impairments. The results revealed notable enhancements in teaching presence, cognitive presence, social presence, and overall perception within intelligent learning contexts for hearing-impaired students. Additionally, their understanding of abstract and ill-structured knowledge significantly improved. Such findings offer valuable insights for the design of inclusive teaching and learning environments in special education.

Abstract In recent years, the preservation and conservation of ancient cultural heritage necessitate the advancement of sophisticated non-destructive testing methodologies to minimize potential damage to artworks. Therefore, this study aims to develop an advanced method for detecting defects in ancient polyptychs using infrared thermography. The test subjects are two polyptych samples replicating a 14th-century artwork by Pietro Lorenzetti (1280/85–1348) with varied pigments and artificially induced defects. To address these challenges, an automatic defect detection model is proposed, integrating numerical simulation and image processing within the Faster R-CNN architecture, utilizing VGG16 as the backbone network for feature extraction. Meanwhile, the model innovatively incorporates the efficient channel attention mechanism after the feature extraction stage, which significantly improves the feature characterization performance of the model in identifying small defects in ancient polyptychs. During training, numerical simulation is utilized to augment the infrared thermal image dataset, ensuring the accuracy of subsequent experimental sample testing. Empirical results demonstrate a substantial improvement in detection performance, compared with the original Faster R-CNN model, with the average precision at the intersection over union = 0.5 increasing to 87.3% and the average precision for small objects improving to 54.8%. These results highlight the practicality and effectiveness of the model, marking a significant progress in defect detection capability, providing a strong technical guarantee for the continuous conservation of cultural heritage, and offering directions for future studies.

Abstract The mouse genome has a high degree of homology with the human genome, and its physiological, biochemical, and developmental regulation mechanisms are similar to those of humans; therefore, mice are widely used as experimental animals. However, it is undeniable that interspecies differences between humans and mice can lead to experimental errors. The differences in the immune system have become an important factor limiting current immunological research. The application of immunodeficient mice provides a possible solution to these problems. By transplanting human immune cells or tissues, such as peripheral blood mononuclear cells or hematopoietic stem cells, into immunodeficient mice, a human immune system can be reconstituted in the mouse body, and the engrafted immune cells can elicit human‐specific immune responses. Researchers have been actively exploring the development and differentiation conditions of host recipient animals and grafts in order to achieve better immune reconstitution. Through genetic engineering methods, immunodeficient mice can be further modified to provide a favorable developmental and differentiation microenvironment for the grafts. From initially only being able to reconstruct single T lymphocyte lineages, it is now possible to reconstruct lymphoid and myeloid cells, providing important research tools for immunology‐related studies. In this review, we compare the differences in immune systems of humans and mice, describe the development history of human immune reconstitution from the perspectives of immunodeficient mice and grafts, and discuss the latest advances in enhancing the efficiency of human immune cell reconstitution, aiming to provide important references for immunological related researches.

The nabla fractional-order uncertain difference equation with Caputo-type was analyzed in this article. To begin, the existence and uniqueness theorem of solutions for nabla Caputo uncertain difference equations with almost surely bounded uncertain variables was presented. Furthermore, the uncertainty distributions of the solutions for the proposed equations were obtained by establishing a connection between the solutions of equations and their α-paths based on new comparison theorems. Finally, an application of the uncertain difference equations in a logistic population model involving Allee effect was provided and examples were performed to demonstrate the validity of the theoretical results presented.

This paper proposes an optimisation model for an urban rail transit line timetable considering headway coordination between the mainline and the depot during the transition period. The model accounts for the tracking operation scenario of trains inserted from the depot onto the mainline and related train operation constraints. The optimisation objectives are the number of trains inserted, maximum train capacity rate and average headway deviation. Second-generation non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm is designed to solve the model. A case study shows that optimisation achieves a total of 25 trains inserted, a maximum train capacity rate of 0.975 and an average headway deviation of 9.5 s, resulting in significant improvements in train operations and passenger satisfaction. Compared with the current train timetable before optimisation, the average dwell time and the maximum train capacity rate at various stations have been reduced after optimisation. The proposed model and approach can be used for train timetabling optimisation and managing the operations of urban rail transit lines.

Ferroptosis is a type of programmed cell death driven by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation. The TNF-mediated biosynthesis of glutathione has been shown to protect synovial fibroblasts from ferroptosis in the hyperplastic synovium. Ferroptosis induction provides a novel therapeutic approach for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by reducing the population of synovial fibroblasts. The beginning and maintenance of synovitis in RA are significantly influenced by macrophages, as they generate cytokines that promote inflammation and contribute to the destruction of cartilage and bone. However, the vulnerability of macrophages to ferroptosis in RA remains unclear. In this study, we found that M2 macrophages are more vulnerable to ferroptosis than M1 macrophages in the environment of the arthritis synovium with a high level of iron, leading to an imbalance in the M1/M2 ratio. During ferroptosis, HMGB1 released by M2 macrophages interacts with TLR4 on M1 macrophages, which in turn triggers the activation of STAT3 signaling in M1 macrophages and contributes to the inflammatory response. Knockdown of TLR4 decreased the level of cytokines induced by HMGB1 in M1 macrophages. The ferroptosis inhibitor liproxstatin-1 (Lip-1) started at the presymptomatic stage in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model mice, and GPX4 overexpression in M2 macrophages at the onset of collagen antibody-induced arthritis (CAIA) protected M2 macrophages from ferroptotic cell death and significantly prevented the development of joint inflammation and destruction. Thus, our study demonstrated that M2 macrophages are vulnerable to ferroptosis in the microenvironment of the hyperplastic synovium and revealed that the HMGB1/TLR4/STAT3 axis is critical for the ability of ferroptotic M2 macrophages to contribute to the exacerbation of synovial inflammation in RA. Our findings provide novel insight into the progression and treatment of RA.

Background: Hepatic lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP-1) plays a central role in peripheral amyloid beta (Aβ) clearance, but its importance in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology is understudied. Our previous work showed that intragastric alcohol feeding to C57BL/6 J mice reduced hepatic LRP-1 expression which correlated with significant AD-relevant brain changes. Herein, we examined the role of hepatic LRP-1 in AD pathogenesis in APP/PS1 AD mice using two approaches to modulate hepatic LRP-1, intragastric alcohol feeding to model chronic heavy drinking shown by us to reduce hepatic LRP-1, and hepato-specific LRP-1 silencing. Methods: Eight-month-old male APP/PS1 mice were fed ethanol or control diet intragastrically for 5 weeks (n = 7–11/group). Brain and liver Aβ were assessed using immunoassays. Three important mechanisms of brain amyloidosis were investigated: hepatic LRP-1 (major peripheral Aβ regulator), blood-brain barrier (BBB) function (vascular Aβ regulator), and microglia (major brain Aβ regulator) using immunoassays. Spatial LRP-1 gene expression in the periportal versus pericentral hepatic regions was confirmed using NanoString GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler. Further, hepatic LRP-1 was silenced by injecting LRP-1 microRNA delivered by the adeno-associated virus 8 (AAV8) and the hepato-specific thyroxine-binding globulin (TBG) promoter to 4-month-old male APP/PS1 mice (n = 6). Control male APP/PS1 mice received control AAV8 (n = 6). Spatial memory and locomotion were assessed 12 weeks after LRP-1 silencing using Y-maze and open-field test, respectively, and brain and liver Aβ were measured. Results: Alcohol feeding reduced plaque-associated microglia in APP/PS1 mice brains and increased aggregated Aβ (p

Abstract Background Assessing mechanical properties of the respiratory system (Cst) during mechanical ventilation necessitates an end-inspiration flow of zero, which requires an end-inspiratory occlusion maneuver. This lung model study aimed to observe the effect of airflow obstruction on the accuracy of respiratory mechanical properties during pressure-controlled ventilation (PCV) by analyzing dynamic signals. Methods A Hamilton C3 ventilator was attached to a lung simulator that mimics lung mechanics in healthy, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) models. PCV and volume-controlled ventilation (VCV) were applied with tidal volume (VT) values of 5.0, 7.0, and 10.0 ml/kg. Performance characteristics and respiratory mechanics were assessed and were calibrated by virtual extrapolation using expiratory time constant (RCexp). Results During PCV ventilation, drive pressure (DP) was significantly increased in the ARDS model. Peak inspiratory flow (PIF) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) gradually declined with increasing severity of airflow obstruction, while DP, end-inspiration flow (EIF), and inspiratory cycling ratio (EIF/PIF%) increased. Similar estimated values of Crs and airway resistance (Raw) during PCV and VCV ventilation were obtained in healthy adult and mild obstructive models, and the calculated errors did not exceed 5%. An underestimation of Crs and an overestimation of Raw were observed in the severe obstruction model. Conclusion Using the modified dynamic signal analysis approach, respiratory system properties (Crs and Raw) could be accurately estimated in patients with non-severe airflow obstruction in the PCV mode.

Abstract Deep convolutional neural networks have made significant strides in the field of medical image segmentation. Although existing convolutional structures enhance performance by leveraging local image information, they often lose the interdependence information between contexts. Therefore, the article utilizes the multi-attention mechanism of the Transformer structure to more comprehensively express relationships between contexts and introduced the Transformer network architecture into the field of medical image segmentation. Most models based on this Transformer structure typically require large datasets for training. However, in the medical field, the limited size of datasets makes training models with the Transformer structure challenging. To address this, the article propose a Weighted Medical Transformer (WMT) model that imposes low requirements on dataset quantity. The weighting mechanism in the WMT model aims to improve the issue of inaccurate relative positional coding when dealing with small medical datasets. Additionally, a coarse-grained and fine-grained segmentation mechanism is introduced, focusing on both the detailed aspects within image blocks and the boundary information connecting blocks. Experimental results on a liver dataset demonstrate that the model achieves F1 and IoU scores of 88.48% and 79.41%, respectively. Results on the MoNuSeg dataset show comparable high F1 and IoU scores of 79.58% and 66.19%, respectively. The model’s accuracy surpasses that of U-Net++ and U-Net models. Compared to other models, this approach is applicable to scenarios with limited datasets, exhibiting high execution efficiency and accuracy.

The MILD combustion is a combustion mode that occurs in a moderate or extremely low oxygen environment, combining the advantages of high combustion heat utilization and very low NOx emissions, and is considered by the international combustion field to be one of the cleaner combustion technologies with great potential for application. Since the relevant research began around 1990, the technology for achieving a MILD combustion of gas fuels has been relatively mature, while the research on the MILD combustion mechanism and implementation conditions of solid fuels such as coal powder and biomass is still relatively lacking. Based on the high momentum oxidizer jet, internal recirculation is achieved, eliminating the need for external high-temperature preheating to establish MILD combustion, greatly expanding the application range of MILD combustion. This paper provides an overview of the basic characteristics of MILD powder fuel combustion from the aspects of particle dispersion, heating, ignition, combustion, and pollutants. Due to the uneven dispersion and reaction of particles, the MILD combustion process of carbon-based solid fuels such as coal powder is more complex than that of gas fuels. High speed jet MILD combustion not only increases ignition delay but also expands ignition and reaction zones, requiring systematic research on the characteristics and mechanisms of each combustion stage. This paper introduces the research achievements in the theoretical design and equipment development of solid fuel MILD combustion. It is recommended to improve the existing coal-fired boiler burner, adjust the process parameters to match the MILD combustion mode, increase the residence time of coke particles to improve combustion efficiency, improve combustion stability, and suppress various pollutant emissions, including fine particulate matter, through high-precision numerical simulation. Based on the overall approach of interconnected energy systems, the coupling research between MILD combustion and various new combustion technologies should be promoted, especially strengthening the research on the co-combustion characteristics of coal powder, biomass and hydrogen, ammonia and other combustible gases, and assisting in energy transformation. Exploring the characteristics of turbulent two-phase flow, turbulent interphase heat transfer, and turbulent chemical coupling in the powder MILD combustion is crucial for deepening the understanding of powder MILD combustion. It involves multivariate analysis and high-precision simulation, which will be the focus and difficulty of future research.

Protein post-translational modifications (PTMs) are at the heart status of cellular signaling events and broadly involved in tumor progression. CD147 is a tumor biomarker with various PTMs, promoting tumor metastasis and metabolism reprogramming. Nevertheless, the relationship between the PTMs of CD147 and apoptosis has not been reported. In our study, we produced a specific anti-CD147-K71 di-methylation (CD147-K71me2) antibody by immunizing with a di-methylated peptide and observed that the level of CD147-K71me2 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tissues were lower than that in NSCLC adjacent tissues. SETDB1 was identified as the methyltransferase catalyzing CD147 to generate CD147-K71me2. RNA-seq showed that FOSB was the most significant differentially expressed gene (DEG) between wild-type CD147 (CD147-WT) and K71-mutant CD147 (CD147-K71R) groups. Subsequently, we found that CD147-K71me2 promoted the expression of FOSB by enhancing the phosphorylation of p38, leading to tumor cell apoptosis. In vivo experiments showed that CD147-K71me2 significantly inhibited tumor progression by promoting cell apoptosis. Taken together, our findings indicate the inhibitory role of CD147-K71me2 in tumor progression from the perspective of post-translational modification, which is distinct from the pro-cancer function of CD147 itself, broadening our perspective on tumor-associated antigen CD147.

Introduction: Root dentin formation is an important process in tooth development. We tried to identify potential genes that regulate root dentin formation which could be potentially used for the regeneration and repair of defective or damaged dental roots.Methods: Tissues harvested from the labial and lingual sides of mouse incisors were used for microarray analysis. Gene ontology (GO) analysis of differentially expressed genes indicated the critical role of extracellular matrix in the discrepancy of dentin formation between root and crown, for which hemicentin-1 (Hmcn1) was selected as the target gene. Single-cell RNA sequencing analysis the expression pattern of Hmcn1 at different developmental stages in mouse molars. The spatiotemporal expression of HMCN1 in mouse incisors and molars was detected by immunohistochemical staining. The functions of HMCN1 in human dental pulp cells, including proliferation, differentiation and migration, were examined in vitro by CCK8 assay, BrdU assay, wound-healing assay, ALP staining and alizarin red staining, respectively.Results: It was showed that HMCN1 expression was more pronounced in papilla-pulp on the root than crown side in mouse incisors and molars. In vitro experiments presented inhibited dentinogenesis and migration after HMCN1-knockdown in human dental pulp cells, while there was no significant difference in proliferation between the HMCN1-knockdown group and control group.Discussion: These results indicated that HMCN1 plays an important role in dentinogenesis and migration of pulp cells, contributing to root dentin formation.

The main acne-causing bacteria are Propionibacterium acnes, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Quorum sensing, an important factor for bacterial survival, is closely associated with expression of bacterial virulence factors and biofilm formation. Although the quorum sensing types of Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis have been identified, the quorum sensing types of Propionibacterium acnes are still controversial. Plant-orginated quorum sensing inhibitors with few side effects have a greater potential in the treatment of acne. This article reviews the progress on the mechanisms by which plant-originated quorum sensing inhibitors inhibit pathogenic bacteria of acne.

Abstract Arginase, a manganese (Mn)-dependent enzyme, is indispensable for urea generation and ammonia disposal in the liver. The potential role of fructose in Mn and ammonia metabolism is undefined. Here we demonstrate that fructose overconsumption impairs hepatic Mn homeostasis and ammonia disposal in male mice. Fructose overexposure reduces liver Mn content as well as its activity of arginase and Mn-SOD, and impairs the clearance of blood ammonia under liver dysfunction. Mechanistically, fructose activates the Mn exporter Slc30a10 gene transcription in the liver in a ChREBP-dependent manner. Hepatic overexpression of Slc30a10 can mimic the effect of fructose on liver Mn content and ammonia disposal. Hepatocyte-specific deletion of Slc30a10 or ChREBP increases liver Mn contents and arginase activity, and abolishes their responsiveness to fructose. Collectively, our data establish a role of fructose in hepatic Mn and ammonia metabolism through ChREBP/Slc30a10 pathway, and postulate fructose dietary restriction for the prevention and treatment of hyperammonemia.

Abstract Background Mitochondrial dysfunction and lung cellular senescence are significant features involved in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Cigarette smoke (CS) stands as the primary contributing factor to COPD. This study examined mitochondrial dynamics, mitophagy and lung cellular senescence in COPD patients and investigated the effects of modulation of mitochondrial fusion [mitofusin2 (MFN2) and Optic atrophy 1 (OPA1)] on CS extract (CSE)-induced lung cellular senescence. Methods Senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) component mRNAs (IL-1β, IL-6, CXCL1 and CXCL8), mitochondrial morphology, mitophagy and mitochondria-related proteins (including phosphorylated-DRP1(p-DRP1), DRP1, MFF, MNF2, OPA1, PINK1, PARK2, SQSTM1/p62 and LC3b) and senescence-related proteins (including P16, H2A.X and Klotho) were measured in lung tissues or primary alveolar type II (ATII) cells of non-smokers, smokers and COPD patients. Alveolar epithelial (A549) cells were exposed to CSE with either pharmacologic inducer (leflunomide and BGP15) or genetic induction of MFN2 and OPA1 respectively. Results There were increases in mitochondrial number, and decreases in mitochondrial size and activity in lung tissues from COPD patients. SASP-related mRNAs, DRP1 phosphorylation, DRP1, MFF, PARK2, SQSTM1/p62, LC3B II/LC3B I, P16 and H2A.X protein levels were increased, while MFN2, OPA1, PINK1 and Klotho protein levels were decreased in lung tissues from COPD patients. Some similar results were identified in primary ATII cells of COPD patients. CSE induced increases in oxidative stress, SASP-related mRNAs, mitochondrial damage and dysfunction, mitophagy and cellular senescence in A549 cells, which were ameliorated by both pharmacological inducers and genetic overexpression of MFN2 and OPA1. Conclusions Impaired mitochondrial fusion, enhanced mitophagy and lung cellular senescence are observed in the lung of COPD patients. Up-regulation of MFN2 and OPA1 attenuates oxidative stress, mitophagy and lung cellular senescence, offering potential innovative therapeutic targets for COPD therapy. Graphical Abstract

In this paper, the finite-time projective synchronization (FTPS) problem of fractionalorder quaternion-valued fuzzy memristor neural networks (FOQVFMNNs) is studied. Through establishing a feedback controller with signed functions and an adaptive controller, sufficient conditions for FTPS for FOQVFMNNs are obtained. Furthermore, the synchronization establishment time is calculated. Finally, the practicability of the conclusions is verified by numerical simulations.

Abstract Prescribed fires (fires intentionally set for mitigation purposes) produce pollutants, which have negative effects on human and animal health. One of the pollutants produced from fires is fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The Flint Hills (FH) region of Kansas experiences extensive prescribed burning each spring (March‐May). Smoke from prescribed fires is often understudied due to a lack of monitoring in the rural regions where prescribed burning occurs, as well as the short duration and small size of the fires. Our goal was to attribute PM2.5 concentrations to the prescribed burning in the FH. To determine PM2.5 increases from local burning, we used low‐cost PM2.5 sensors (PurpleAir) and satellite observations. The FH were also affected by smoke transported from fires in other regions during 2022. We separated the transported smoke from smoke from fires in eastern Kansas. Based on data from the PurpleAir sensors, we found the 24‐hr median PM2.5 to increase by 3.0–5.3 μg m−3 (based on different estimates) on days impacted by smoke from fires in the eastern Kansas region compared to days unimpacted by smoke. The FH region was the most impacted by smoke PM2.5 compared to other regions of Kansas, as observed in satellite products and in situ measurements. Additionally, our study found that hourly PM2.5 estimates from a satellite‐derived product aligned with our ground‐based measurements. Satellite‐derived products are useful in rural areas like the FH, where monitors are scarce, providing important PM2.5 estimates.

The research into the efficacy of blended EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teaching at the collegiate level holds significant importance for comprehending and implementing this novel pedagogical approach on a larger scale within universities. Within this domain, scholars have primarily concentrated on feedback mechanisms and quality assurance, while comparatively neglecting the advancement of college students' foreign language proficiency and the individual variances in the acceptance and rewards of blended teaching across distinct language proficiency groups. In light of this, leveraging micro-data from a provincial normal university's blended college English teaching, this study employs R 3.6.1 and R Studio to implement multiple linear regression and conditional quantile models so as to assess the impact of blended teaching on different language proficiency groups across four dimensions: listening, reading, writing, and overall language proficiency. To mitigate endogenous system risk, students admitted to the same major are selected as samples and their data undergoes additional screening, excluding learners who failed the CET4 exam or did not participate in the CET6 exam. After employing purposive sampling techniques, a valid sample of 676 learners is established, comprising 363 learners in the experimental group for blended teaching intervention and 313 learners in the control group receiving traditional teaching. The study results indicates that the samples had random characteristics. The study findings suggest the following: (1) Blended teaching has a significant positive impact on enhancing the efficiency of English acquisition. (2) The effectiveness of blended teaching in improving learners' reading, listening, and writing skills follows a sequential decrease, exhibiting a downward trend as students' language ability increases. This indicates that blended teaching facilitates the acquisition of foundational language knowledge, however, its impact on more advanced language processing abilities is limited. (3) Blended teaching demonstrates a range effect, primarily benefiting learners at the intermediate level and below in terms of enhancing their language proficiency. Conversely, learners at the medium-high and high proficiency levels derive comparatively lesser benefits from this approach. This study introduces a new methodology by employing multiple linear regression and conditional quantile models to assess the impact of blended teaching. This methodology not only enables us to examine the overall impact of blended teaching, but also allows assessment of its effect on different proficiency groups, helping to identify its effectiveness on individual learners across four dimensions.

Abstract Background Cerebral microhemorrhages (CMH) are associated with stroke, cognitive decline, and normal aging. Our previous study shows that the interaction between oxidatively stressed red blood cells (RBC) and cerebral endothelium may underlie CMH development. However, the real-time examination of altered RBC–brain endothelial interactions in vivo, and their relationship with clearance of stalled RBC, microglial responses, and CMH development, has not been reported. Methods RBC were oxidatively stressed using tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BHP), fluorescently labeled and injected into adult Tie2-GFP mice. In vivo two-photon imaging and ex vivo confocal microscopy were used to evaluate the temporal profile of RBC–brain endothelial interactions associated with oxidatively stressed RBC. Their relationship with microglial activation and CMH was examined with post-mortem histology. Results Oxidatively stressed RBC stall significantly and rapidly in cerebral vessels in mice, accompanied by decreased blood flow velocity which recovers at 5 days. Post-mortem histology confirms significantly greater RBC–cerebral endothelial interactions and microglial activation at 24 h after t-BHP-treated RBC injection, which persist at 7 days. Furthermore, significant CMH develop in the absence of blood–brain barrier leakage after t-BHP-RBC injection. Conclusions Our in vivo and ex vivo findings show the stalling and clearance of oxidatively stressed RBC in cerebral capillaries, highlighting the significance of microglial responses and altered RBC–brain endothelial interactions in CMH development. Our study provides novel mechanistic insight into CMH associated with pathological conditions with increased RBC–brain endothelial interactions.

Our focus of this paper is on global Mittag-Leffler synchronization (GMLS) of the Caputo-type Inertial Cohen-Grossberg Neural Networks (ICGNNs) with discrete and distributed delays. This model takes into account the inertial term as well as the two types of delays, which greatly reduces the conservatism with respect to the model. A change of variables transforms the $ 2\beta $ order inertial frame into $ \beta $ order ordinary frame in order to deal with the effect of the inertial term. In the following steps, two novel types of delay controllers are designed for the purpose of reaching the GMLS. In conjunction with the novel controllers, utilizing differential mean-value theorem and inequality techniques, several criteria are derived to determine the GMLS of ICGNNs within the framework of Caputo-type derivative and calculus properties. At length, the feasibility of the results is further demonstrated by two simulation examples.

Abstract In recent years, the conservation and protection of ancient cultural heritage have received increasing attention, and non-destructive testing (NDT), which can minimize the damage done to the test subject, plays an integral role therein. For instance, NDT through active infrared thermal imaging can be applied to ancient polyptychs, which can realize accurate detection of damage and defects existing on the surface and interior of the polyptychs. In this study, infrared thermography is used for non-invasive investigation and evaluation of two polyptych samples with different pigments and artificial defects, but both reproduced based on a painting by Pietro Lorenzetti (1280/85–1348) using the typical tempera technique of the century. It is noted that, to avoid as far as possible secondary damages done to the ancient cultural heritages, repeated damage-detection experiments are rarely carried out on the test subjects. To that end, numerical simulation is used to reveal the heat transfer properties and temperature distributions, as to perform procedural verification and reduce the number of experiments that need to be conducted on actual samples. Technique-wise, to improve the observability of the experimental results, a total variation regularized low-rank tensor decomposition algorithm is implemented to reduce the background noise and improve the contrast of the images. Furthermore, the efficacy of image processing is quantified through the structural-similarity evaluation.

Developing a cleaner and more efficient combustion technology of pulverized coal is an important way to deal with the increasingly serious environmental pollution. Moderate or intense low-oxygen dilution (MILD) combustion of pulverized coal is regarded as a new combustion technology with great potential due to its advantages of reducing NOx emission and improving the uniformity of heat flux in the furnace. More importantly, the pulverized coal MILD technology combined with the oxy-fuel combustion technology will be an important path to reduce carbon emission in the process of coal utilization in the future. The history, characteristics and current research status of the MILD combustion of pulverized coal worldwide are summarized, and the key issues and research challenges of the MILD combustion technology of pulverized coal with a low preheating temperature are put forward. The MILD combustion technology of pulverized coal originates from that of gaseous fuels, which strengthen the entrainment of high-temperature flue gas and then dilute the reactants to make the flame become blurred or even invisible. Under the MILD conditions, the peak temperature in the combustion region is reduced and the uniformity of temperature distribution is improved, therefore significantly inhibiting the generation of thermal NOx and fuel NOx. The MILD combustion of pulverized coal can be realized by preheating air to high temperatures or increasing the jet velocity greatly, and the second way is more economical and feasible. However, the mechanisms and characteristics of the MILD combustion of pulverized coal under the condition of strong shear and turbulent mixing, when the jet velocity is as high as around 100 m/s, still need to be further investigated. Under the strong shear and entrainment of high-speed jets, the dispersion of coal particles, which is directly related to the achievement of the MILD combustion mode, is quite different from that in the conventional coal combustion. In addition, a strong turbulent mixing will affect the heating, devolatilization and char combustion of pulverized coal, therefore changing the ignition delay, the flame structure and the generation of pollutants. Based on the in-depth understanding of the above key issues and combined with the research on the MILD combustion of gaseous fuels, a systematic and accurate criterion for the MILD combustion of pulverized coal can be further developed, so as to better guide the application of the MILD combustion technology of pulverized coal.

Abstract Background Exposure to particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) is a risk factor for developing pulmonary diseases and the worsening of ongoing disease. Mitochondrial fission and fusion are essential processes underlying mitochondrial homeostasis in health and disease. We examined the role of mitochondrial fission and fusion in PM2.5-induced alveolar epithelial cell damage and lung injury. Key genes in these processes include dystrophin-related protein 1 (DRP1) and optic atrophy 1 (OPA1) respectively. Methods Alveolar epithelial (A549) cells were treated with PM2.5 (32 µg/ml) in the presence and absence of Mdivi-1 (10µM, a DRP1 inhibitor) or BGP-15 (10µM, an OPA1 activator). Results were validated using DRP1-knockdown (KD) and OPA1-overexpression (OE). Mice were injected intraperitoneally with Mdivi-1 (20 mg/kg), BGP-15 (20 mg/kg) or distilled water (control) one hour before intranasal instillation of PM2.5 (7.8 mg/kg) or distilled water for two consecutive days. Results PM2.5 exposure of A549 cells caused oxidative stress, enhanced inflammation, necroptosis, mitophagy and mitochondrial dysfunction indicated by abnormal mitochondrial morphology, decreased mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), reduced mitochondrial respiration and disrupted mitochondrial fission and fusion. Regulating mitochondrial fission and fusion pharmacologically using Mdivi-1 and BGP-15 and genetically using DRP1-KD and OPA1-OE prevented PM2.5-induced celluar damage in A549 cells. Mdivi-1 and BGP-15 attenuated PM2.5-induced acute lung injury in mice. Conclusion Increased mitochondrial fission and decreased mitochondrial fusion may underlie PM2.5-induced alveolar epithelial cell damage in vitro and lung injury in vivo.

Abstract Background Respiratory mechanics monitoring provides useful information for guiding mechanical ventilation, but many measuring methods are inappropriate for awake patients. This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of dynamic mechanics estimation using expiratory time constant (RCexp) calculation during noninvasive pressure support ventilation (PSV) with air leak in different lung models. Methods A Respironics V60 ventilator was connected to an active breathing simulator for modeling five profiles: normal adult, restrictive, mildly and severely obstructive, and mixed obstructive/restrictive. Inspiratory pressure support was adjusted to maintain tidal volumes (VT), achieving 5.0, 7.0, and 10.0 ml/kg body weight. PEEP was set at 5 cmH2O, and the back-up rate was 10 bpm. Measurements were conducted at system leaks of 25–28 L/min. RCexp was estimated from the ratio at 75% exhaled VT and flow rate, which was then used to determine respiratory system compliance (Crs) and airway resistance (Raw). Results In non-obstructive conditions (Raw ≤ 10 cmH2O/L/s), the Crs was overestimated in the PSV mode. Peak inspiratory and expiratory flow and VT increased with PS levels, as calculated Crs decreased. In passive breathing, the difference of Crs between different VT was no significant. Underestimations of inspiratory resistance and expiratory resistance were observed at VT of 5.0 ml/kg. The difference was minimal at VT of 7.0 ml/kg. During non-invasive PSV, the estimation of airway resistance with the RCexp method was accurately at VT of 7.0 ml/kg. Conclusions The difference between the calculated Crs and the preset value was influenced by the volume, status and inspiratory effort in spontaneously breathing.

IntroductionRemorins (REMs) are plant-specific membrane-associated proteins that play important roles in plant–pathogen interactions and environmental adaptations. Group I REMs are extensively involved in virus infection. However, little is known about the REM gene family in sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hyrid), the most important sugar and energy crop around world.MethodsComparative genomics were employed to analyze the REM gene family in Saccharum spontaneum. Transcriptomics or RT-qPCR were used to analyze their expression files in different development stages or tissues under different treatments. Yeast two hybrid, bimolecular fluorescence complementation and co-immunoprecipitation assays were applied to investigate the protein interaction.ResultsIn this study, 65 REMs were identified from Saccharum spontaneum genome and classified into six groups based on phylogenetic tree analysis. These REMs contain multiple cis-elements associated with growth, development, hormone and stress response. Expression profiling revealed that among different SsREMs with variable expression levels in different developmental stages or different tissues. A pair of alleles, ScREM1.5e-1/-2, were isolated from the sugarcane cultivar ROC22. ScREM1.5e-1/-2 were highly expressed in leaves, with the former expressed at significantly higher levels than the latter. Their expression was induced by treatment with H2O2, ABA, ethylene, brassinosteroid, SA or MeJA, and varied upon Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) infection. ScREM1.5e-1 was localized to the plasma membrane (PM), while ScREM1.5e-2 was localized to the cytoplasm or nucleus. ScREM1.5e-1/-2 can self-interact and interact with each other, and interact with VPgs from SCMV, Sorghum mosaic virus, or Sugarcane streak mosaic virus. The interactions with VPgs relocated ScREM1.5e-1 from the PM to the cytoplasm.DiscussionThese results reveal the origin, distribution and evolution of the REM gene family in sugarcane and may shed light on engineering sugarcane resistance against sugarcane mosaic pathogens.

PurposeThe need for adjuvant therapy (AT) following neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy (nICT) and surgery in esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) remains uncertain. This study aims to investigate whether AT offers additional benefits in terms of recurrence-free survival (RFS) for ESCC patients after nICT and surgery.MethodsRetrospective analysis was conducted between January 2019 and December 2022 from three centers. Eligible patients were divided into two groups: the AT group and the non-AT group. Survival analyses comparing different modalities of AT (including adjuvant chemotherapy and adjuvant chemoimmunotherapy) with non-AT were performed. The primary endpoint was RFS. Propensity score matching(PSM) was used to mitigate inter-group patient heterogeneity. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression analysis were employed for recurrence-free survival analysis.ResultsA total of 155 nICT patients were included, with 26 patients experiencing recurrence. According to Cox analysis, receipt of adjuvant therapy emerged as an independent risk factor(HR:2.621, 95%CI:[1.089,6.310], P=0.032), and there was statistically significant difference in the Kaplan-Meier survival curves between non-AT and receipt of AT in matched pairs (p=0.026). Stratified analysis revealed AT bring no survival benefit to patients with pathological complete response(p= 0.149) and residual tumor cell(p=0.062). Subgroup analysis showed no significant difference in recurrence-free survival between non-AT and adjuvant chemoimmunotherapy patients(P=0.108). However, patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy exhibited poorer recurrence survival compared to non-AT patients (p= 0.016).ConclusionIn terms of recurrence-free survival for ESCC patients after nICT and surgery, the necessity of adjuvant therapy especially the adjuvant chemotherapy, can be mitigated.

Echinatin is an active ingredient in licorice, a traditional Chinese medicine used in the treatment of inflammatory disorders. However, the protective effect and underlying mechanism of echinatin against acute lung injury (ALI) is still unclear. Herein, we aimed to explore echinatin-mediated anti-inflammatory effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated ALI and its molecular mechanisms in macrophages. In vitro, echinatin markedly decreased the levels of nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in LPS-stimulated murine MH-S alveolar macrophages and RAW264.7 macrophages by suppressing inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression. Furthermore, echinatin reduced LPS-induced mRNA expression and release of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-6 in RAW264.7 cells. Western blotting and CETSA showed that echinatin repressed LPS-induced activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathways through targeting transforming growth factor-beta-activated kinase 1 (TAK1). Furthermore, echinatin directly interacted with Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1) and activated the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway to enhance heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression. In vivo, echinatin ameliorated LPS-induced lung inflammatory injury, and reduced production of IL-1β and IL-6. These findings demonstrated that echinatin exerted anti-inflammatory effects in vitro and in vivo, via blocking the TAK1-MAPK/NF-κB pathway and activating the Keap1-Nrf2-HO-1 pathway.

Abstract Despite improvements in ambient air quality in the US in recent decades, many people still experience unhealthy levels of pollution. At present, national‐level alert‐day identification relies predominately on surface monitor networks and forecasters. Satellite‐based estimates of surface air quality have rapidly advanced and have the capability to inform exposure‐reducing actions to protect public health. At present, we lack a robust framework to quantify public health benefits of these advances in applications of satellite‐based atmospheric composition data. Here, we assess possible health benefits of using geostationary satellite data, over polar orbiting satellite data, for identifying particulate air quality alert days (24hr PM2.5 > 35 μg m−3) in 2020. We find the more extensive spatiotemporal coverage of geostationary satellite data leads to a 60% increase in identification of person‐alerts (alert days × population) in 2020 over polar‐orbiting satellite data. We apply pre‐existing estimates of PM2.5 exposure reduction by individual behavior modification and find these additional person‐alerts may lead to 1,200 (800–1,500) or 54% more averted PM2.5‐attributable premature deaths per year, if geostationary, instead of polar orbiting, satellite data alone are used to identify alert days. These health benefits have an associated economic value of 13 (8.8–17) billion dollars ($2019) per year. Our results highlight one of many potential applications of atmospheric composition data from geostationary satellites for improving public health. Identifying these applications has important implications for guiding use of current satellite data and planning future geostationary satellite missions.

Abstract Two dimensional (2D) hybrid metal halides (HMHs) usually exhibit free excitonic (FE) emission, and self‐trapped excitonic (STE) emission can also be achieved by adopting appropriate halogens and organic cations. Recently, significant efforts have been made to modulate and then clarify the transformation and connection between these two types of excitonic emissions in 2D HMHs. In this study, intriguing pressure‐tuned transitions between FE emission and STE emission are observed in 2D (C7H7N2)2PbCl4. In contrast, only FE emissions with tunable emission energies are observed in 2D (C7H7N2)2PbBr4 which possesses a similar structure with (C7H7N2)2PbCl4 under compression. Such distinct halide‐dependent optical responses under pressure are experimentally revealed to arise from the intricate interplay among several factors in these HMHs, including the stiffness of the structure, the Coulomb force between the organic cations and the inorganic octahedra, and the magnitude of inorganic octahedral distortion. These high‐pressure optical explorations can unravel the underlying interrelationship between the crystal structure and excitonic emission in 2D HMHs.

Pavements are critical components of highway assets, but accurately estimating their value can be challenging due to the lack of connection between valuation and long-term service performance degradation. To address this issue, the replacement cost and condition-based valuation methods were introduced using the Yunnan province highway in China as an example, which divided pavement into four performance states based on service stages. The rationality of maintenance decisions and the impact of preventive maintenance investment on life cycle assessments were also considered. The results indicate that there are issues of irrational allocation of maintenance funds of the highway in Yunnan province, and a higher proportion of preventive maintenance investment is required. Moreover, it is recommended to balance the maintenance funds for bridge and tunnel engineering in the following year, focusing on bridge engineering with a rapid decline in the newness rate. The implementation of preventive maintenance has a positive correlation with the replacement cost and newness rate of the road sections. Through comparison, it was found that the road surface renewal rate in 2019 was lower than that in 2018, and some highway management departments in certain regions need to adjust their preventive maintenance strategies. Overall, the condition-based pavement asset valuation method comprehensively considers each stage of pavement operation and can serve as an effective tool for evaluating pavement asset depreciation. This research finding can promote the sustainable development of road infrastructure.

The conclusion of "near-source accumulation" of tight oil is inferred based on the reservoir characte-ristics that crude oil is difficult to migrate laterally for a long distance in low-permeability reservoirs, yet there has been no direct geochemical evidence for a long time. Based on the analysis of the characteristics of source rocks and the source differences of oil in the near-source assemblage (Chang 6 member to Chang 81 sub-member) of the Tirassic Yanchang Formation in the Ordos Basin, this paper explores the geochemical basis of tight oil near-source accumulation and explains its cause. The results show that the crude oil in the near-source assemblage comes from the in-situ Chang 7 source rocks, and even the oil sources in the adjacent blocks are different. It is difficult for crude oil to undergo large-scale lateral migration in a tight reservoir. The biomarker compounds of Chang 7 source rocks in the Ordos Basin have significant differences in the plane and are distributed in a circularbelt along the sedimentary center. The oil source difference caused by the combination difference ofbiomarker compounds in different facies zones is the fundamental reason for the predecessors' discovery of "near-source accumulation" of tight oil. The "near-source accumulation" of tight oil has changed the previous view that oilsource correlation is a generalization of the whole basin and the source rocks of the same layer, and has important significance for the zoning and fine evaluation of different types of oil and gas resources in a single basin in the future.

Abstract The origins of composite tiles, one of the oldest forms of roofing, are still unclear. This study is based on a set of over 5000 clay tile fragments excavated from a single context in the Qiaocun site on the Chinese Loess Plateau, dated to ~ 2400–2200 BCE (Early Longshan Period). By combining morphological measurement statistics, 3D modeling, computer-based simulations, and reference to historical and archaeological records, we reconstruct the earliest known composite-tile roofing techniques and demonstrate that tile production was under a low-level standardization, with manual control forming a key agent during the roofing process. The quantitative study of the composite roof tiles from Qiaocun was then placed in its archaeological context and compared with other sites on the Loess Plateau. It was found that tile-roofed buildings were, by necessity, community projects. Such structures served as nodes in larger social communication networks; additionally, their appearance was linked to intensified social complexity in public affairs during the Longshan Period. The invention of clay tiles was associated with the inception of thick rammed-earth walls which had sufficient strength to serve as load-bearing structures for heavy tiled roofs. The roof tiles excavated from Qiaocun site indicate that the Loess Plateau was a key center for the origin and spread of composite tiles and related roofing and construction methods, suggesting a Longshan–Western Zhou tradition of roofing techniques in East Asia.

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of our revamped MIE-McKeown operation on postoperative gastrointestinal function recovery. Methods This revamped MIE-McKeown operation without removing azygos vein arch, bronchial artery and vagus nerve trunk and with the tubular stomach buried throughout esophageal bed and azygos arch, has been implemented from July 2020 to July 2021 by the same medical team of Gaozhou People's Hospital thoracic surgery for 13 times. Preoperative clinical data, main intraoperative indicators and postoperative complications were observed. Results All patients had esophageal malignant tumors at the level of middle and lower thoracic non-azygous venous arch, with preoperative clinical stage CT1-2N0M0 stage i-ii. V-vst test was performed on the 7th postoperative day, and 10 patients were found to have no loss of safety/efficacy. There were 2 cases with impaired efficacy and no impaired safety, 1 case with impaired safety. There were 1 cases of pulmonary infection, 1 cases of anastomotic fistula combined with pleural and gastric fistula, 2 cases of hoarseness, 2 cases of arrhythmia, 10 cases of swallowing function were grade i, 2 cases of swallowing function were grade iii, 1 case of swallowing function was grade iv in watian drinking water test one month after operation. Conclusions Merit of this revamped MIE-McKeown operation is well preserving the integrity of azygos arch of vagus nerve and bronchial artery, and it is technically safe and feasible. No postoperative mechanical obstruction of thoracostomach, huge thoracostomach and gastrointestinal dysfunction occurs.

The reliability of GIS (gas-insulated switchgear) circuit breakers significantly depends on the condition of the insulated pull rods, with micro-defects on their surface posing a potential risk for micro-discharges and breakdown incidents. Experimentally investigating these micro-discharges is challenging due to their minute nature. This study introduces a framework to examine the linkage between micro-defects and micro-discharges, coupled with numerical simulations of the micro-discharge process in insulated pull rods afflicted by surface infiltration flaws under operational conditions. Initially, samples containing micro-defects were sectioned via water jet cutting for microstructural analysis through white light interferometry. Subsequently, a two-dimensional axisymmetric model simulating positive corona discharge from a needle to a plate electrode was employed to derive the relationship between charged particle density and the electric field in SF6 and air. Building on these observations, a micro-discharge model specific to micro-defects was developed. Comparative analysis of micro-discharge behaviors in SF6 and air for identical defect types was conducted. This research framework elucidates the discharge dynamics of charged particles in SF6 and air during micro-discharge events, shedding light on the mechanisms underpinning micro-discharges triggered by insulation rod defects.

The objective of this paper is to tackle the issue of the degraded navigation accuracy of the inertial navigation system/global navigation satellite system (INS/GNSS) integrated navigation system in urban applications, especially under complex environments. This study utilizes historical state estimates and proposes a multi-step pseudo-measurement adaptive Kalman filter (MPKF) algorithm based on the filter performance evaluation. First, taking advantage of the independence between INS and GNSS, the enhanced second-order mutual difference (SOMD) algorithm is utilized for estimating the noise variance of the GNSS, which is decoupled from the estimate error of state and used as a module for filter performance evaluation. Then, the construction of the proposed method is presented, together with the analysis of the noise variance of multi-step pseudo-measurement. Ultimately, the efficacy of the MPKF is confirmed through a real-world vehicle experiment involving a tightly-coupled INS/GNSS integrated navigation application, demonstrating a noteworthy enhancement in navigation precision within densely wooded and built-up areas. Compared to the standard EKF and enhanced redundant measurement-based adaptive Kalman filter (ERMAKF), the proposed algorithm improves the positioning accuracy by 48% and 34%, velocity accuracy by 50% and 35%, and attitude accuracy by 38% and 48%, respectively, in the urban building segment.

Monoamine oxidase-B (MAO-B), as a principal metabolizing enzyme, plays important roles in the metabolism of catecholamines and xenobiotics in the central nervous system and peripheral tissues. Safinamide, the third-generation reversible MAO-B inhibitor, has potential to alleviate many neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and depression. Exposure to clinical psychotropic drugs often has adverse effects on fetuses. Currently, a variety of studies of safinamide focus on its curative effect and pharmacological effect, while its side effect of embryonic development is barely studied. In this study, we used zebrafish as a model to evaluate the embryonic developmental toxicity of safinamide. Our results revealed that higher concentrations (30 μM) of safinamide treatment caused a decrease in hatching rate and an increase in malformation and mortality in zebrafish larvae. Meanwhile, we observed that lower safinamide exposure (10 μM) increased the body length of zebrafish larvae and resulted in hyperactivity-like behaviors. In addition, an increased trend in dopamine (DA) level was found in 3.3 μM and 10 μM safinamide-exposed groups. Transcriptome analysis identified that safinamide exposure may disturb a variety of physiological processes such as neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction signaling pathway. In summary, our study reveals that safinamide may cause developmental defects in zebrafish larvae and provides insights into its toxic reactions in early develoment.

The influence of adaptive evolution on disease susceptibility has drawn attention; however, the extent of the influence, whether favored mutations also influence drug responses, and whether the associations between the three are population-specific remain unknown. Using a reported deep learning network to integrate seven statistical tests for detecting selection signals, we predicted favored mutations in the genomes of 17 human populations and integrated these favored mutations with reported GWAS sites and drug response-related variants into the database PopTradeOff (http://www.gaemons.net/PopFMIntro). The database also contains genome annotation information on the SNP, sequence, gene, and pathway levels. The preliminary data analyses suggest that substantial associations exist between adaptive evolution, disease susceptibility, and drug responses and that the associations are highly population-specific. The database may be valuable for disease studies, drug development, and personalized medicine.

BackgroundWork-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are one of the major occupational health problems in the world. Pharmaceutical industry is an important part of China's national economy. At present, there are few related studies reported at home and abroad. ObjectiveTo investigate the status and influencing factors of WMSDs in chemical pharmaceutical industry. MethodsA cross-sectional epidemiological survey was conducted among all workers from three chemical pharmaceutical enterprises in Guangzhou. The Musculoskeletal Disorders Questionnaire was used to collect information on demographic characteristics, symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders, types of work, work organization, and and work postures. Multiple logistic regression method was used to analyze the risk factors of WMSDs in chemical pharmaceutical workers. ResultsIn this study, 563 workers were selected as subjects. The total prevalence rate of WMSDs symptoms in the chemical pharmaceutical workers was 43.9% (247/563), and the leading body part-specific prevalence rate from high to low was 34.3% in the lower back, 24.3% in the upper back, 24.0% in the shoulders, and 23.8% in the neck. The prevalence rate of WMSDs symptoms in multiple body parts (30.0%) was 2.16 times higher than that in single body part (13.9%), and the prevalence rate of WMSDs symptoms in four body parts was the highest (11.4%). The results of multiple logistic regression analysis showed that age ≥50 years (reference age

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) has played an important role in clinical medicine for precise dosing. Currently, chromatographic technology and immunoassay detection are widely used in TDM and have met most of the needs of clinical drug therapy. However, some problems still exist in practical applications, such as complicated operation and the influence of endogenous substances. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) has been applied to detect the concentrations of small molecules, including pesticide residues in crops and antibiotics in milk, which indicates its potential for in vivo drug detection. In this study, a new SPR-based biosensor for detecting chloramphenicol (CAP) in blood samples was developed and validated using methodological verification, including precision, accuracy, matrix effect, and extraction recovery rate, and compared with the classic ultra-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (UPLC-UV) method. The detection range of SPR was 0.1–50 ng/mL and the limit of detection was 0.099 ± 0.023 ng/mL, which was lower than that of UPLC-UV. The intra-day and inter-day accuracies of SPR were 98%–114% and 110%–122%, which met the analysis requirement. The results show that the SPR biosensor is identical to UPLC-UV in the detection of CAP in rat blood samples; moreover, the SPR biosensor has better sensitivity. Therefore, the present study shows that SPR technology can be used for the detection of small molecules in the blood samples and has the potential to become a method for therapeutic drug monitoring.

This study evaluated the anti-inflammation effect of the three main short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) on Acinetobacter baumannii-induced THP-1 cells. The three main SCFAs could inhibit A. baumannii-stimulated THP-1 cell NF-κB pathway activity and the expressions of NLRP3 inflamma-some and GSDMD, and increase autophagy. The three main SCFAs, especially the sodium butyrate (NaB), had the effect of down-regulation of ROS and TLR-2 expression in THP-1 cells. NaB and sodium propionate (NaPc), but not sodium acetate (NaAc), dramatically suppressed IL-1β and IFN-γ expression. The results indicated that NaB and NaPc could significantly inhibit the inflammation of THP-1 cells induced by A. baumannii, and the inhibitory effect was in the order of NaB > NaPc > NaAC. NaB and NaPc may inhibit inflammation through TLR-2/NF-κB/ROS/NLRP3 signaling pathway.

Severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice serve as a critical model for human xenotransplantation studies, yet they often suffer from low engraftment rates and susceptibility to graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Moreover, certain SCID strains demonstrate ‘immune leakage’, underscoring the need for novel model development. Here, we introduce an SCID mouse model with a targeted disruption of the dclre1c gene, encoding Artemis, which is essential for V(D)J recombination and DNA repair during T cell receptor (TCR) and B cell receptor (BCR) assembly. Artemis deficiency precipitates a profound immunodeficiency syndrome, marked by radiosensitivity and compromised T and B lymphocyte functionality. Utilizing CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing, we generated dclre1c-deficient mice with an NOD genetic background. These mice exhibited a radiosensitive SCID phenotype, with pronounced DNA damage and defective thymic, splenic and lymph node development, culminating in reduced T and B lymphocyte populations. Notably, both cell lines and patient-derived tumor xenografts were successfully engrafted into these mice. Furthermore, the human immune system was effectively rebuilt following peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) transplantation. The dclre1c-knockout NOD mice described herein represent a promising addition to the armamentarium of models for xenotransplantation, offering a valuable platform for advancing human immunobiological research.

Aspect-level sentiment analysis is a task of identifying and understanding the sentiment polarity of specific aspects of a sentence. In recent years, significant progress has been made in aspect-level sentiment analysis models based on graph convolutional neural networks. However, existing models still have some shortcomings, such as aspect-level sentiment analysis models based on graph convolutional networks not making full use of the information of specific aspects in a sentence and ignoring the enhancement of the model by external general knowledge of sentiment. In order to solve these problems, this paper proposes a sentiment analysis model based on the Syntax-Aware and Graph Convolutional Network (SAGCN). The model first integrates aspect-specific features into contextual information, and second incorporates external sentiment knowledge to enhance the model’s ability to perceive sentiment information. Finally, a multi-head self-attention mechanism and Point-wise Convolutional Transformer (PCT) are applied to capture the semantic information of the sentence. The semantic and syntactic information of the sentences are considered together. Experimental results on three benchmark datasets show that the SAGCN model is able to achieve superior performance compared to the benchmark methods.

This paper investigates the finite time synchronization (Fin-TS) and fixed time synchronization (Fix-TS) issues on Caputo quaternion delayed neural networks (QDNNs) with uncertainty. A new Caputo fractional differential inequality is constructed, then Fix-TS settling time of the positive definite function is estimated, which is very convenient to derive Fix-TS condition to Caputo QDNNs. By designing the appropriate self feedback and adaptive controllers, the algebraic discriminant conditions to achieve Fin-TS and Fix-TS on Caputo QDNNs are proposed based on quaternion direct method, Lyapunov stability theory, extended Cauchy Schwartz inequality, Jensen inequality. Finally, the correctness and validity of the presented results under the different orders are verified by two numerical examples.

Correlation between objects is prone to occur coincidentally, and exploring correlation or association in most situations does not answer scientific questions rich in causality. Causal discovery (also called causal inference) infers causal interactions between objects from observational data. Reported causal discovery methods and single-cell datasets make applying causal discovery to single cells a promising direction. However, evaluating and choosing causal discovery methods and developing and performing proper workflow remain challenges. We report the workflow and platform CausalCell (http://www.gaemons.net/causalcell/causalDiscovery/) for performing single-cell causal discovery. The workflow/platform is developed upon benchmarking four kinds of causal discovery methods and is examined by analyzing multiple single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) datasets. Our results suggest that different situations need different methods and the constraint-based PC algorithm with kernel-based conditional independence tests work best in most situations. Related issues are discussed and tips for best practices are given. Inferred causal interactions in single cells provide valuable clues for investigating molecular interactions and gene regulations, identifying critical diagnostic and therapeutic targets, and designing experimental and clinical interventions.

ObjectiveThis paper aimed to evaluate the clinical value of performing an endoscopic total parathyroidectomy through anterior chest approach with autotransplantation (EACtPTx+AT) in treating secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) to summarize and share the clinical experience.Methods24 patients with SHPT were retrospectively analyzed:11 patients underwent open total parathyroidectomy with autotransplantation (OtPTx+AT Group) and 13 patients underwent endoscopic parathyroidectomy through anterior chest approach with autotransplantation (EACtPTx+AT Group). Comparing the two groups regarding the following factors: (1) operating conditions, such as the blood loss during the operation, the length of time spent on the operating table, the number of parathyroid glands removed, postoperative drainage volume and hospital stay. (2) clinical efficacy, parathyroid hormone (PTH) and serum calcium (Ca) levels. (3) postoperative complications.ResultsFirst, there were no significant differences in the number of parathyroid gland resection, operation time, intraoperative blood loss and hospital stay between the two groups. While there were significant differences in postoperative drainage volume between the two groups. Second, the two groups preoperative PTH and preoperative serum calcium decreased significantly compared with those of the two groups after surgery and there was a statistically significant difference. Thirdly, there was no postoperative bleeding, hoarseness or choking in the two groups and no conversion to open surgery case in EACtPTx+AT group.ConclusionEndoscopic treatment of SHPT using the anterior chest approach with forearm autotransplantation significantly improves clinical symptoms and lowers levels of PTH and serum calcium after the operation. The results confirm the operation’s safety and effectiveness.

BackgroundPatients undergoing conventional endoscopic thyroidectomy via the axillary approach, which is commonly used clinically, suffered from a range of postoperative complications. This study aimed to prevent postoperative complications and evaluate patients’ satisfaction with cosmetic outcomes in endoscopic thyroidectomy via the axillary with the use of “Elastic Stretch Cavity Building” System.MethodsIn this retrospective case series study, the clinical data of patients who were admitted to the Thyroid Surgery Department of Ningbo Medical Centre Lihuili Hospital between December 2020 and December 2021 for endoscopic thyroidectomy via the axillary approach under the “Elastic Stretch Cavity Building” System.ResultsA total of 67 patients were included, all surgeries were successfully completed. The operation time was 75.61 ± 13.67 minutes; the postoperative drainage volume was 109.97 ± 37.54 ml; the average postoperative hospital stay was 4 (2-6) days. There was no skin ecchymosis, effusion or infection, hypocalcemia, convulsions, upper extremity dyskinesia, and temporary hoarseness after the surgery. The patients were satisfied with the cosmetic effects, and the cosmetic score was 4 (3-4).ConclusionThe “Elastic Stretch Cavity Building” System in endoscopic thyroid surgery via the axillary approach might reduce the risks of complications and achieve satisfactory results with the cosmetic outcomes.

This article is devoted to discussing the problem of global Mittag-Leffler synchronization (GMLS) for the Caputo-type fractional-order fuzzy delayed inertial neural networks (FOFINNs). First of all, both inertial and fuzzy terms are taken into account in the system. For the sake of reducing the influence caused by the inertia term, the order reduction is achieved by the measure of variable substitution. The introduction of fuzzy terms can evade fuzziness or uncertainty as much as possible. Subsequently, a nonlinear delayed controller is designed to achieve GMLS. Utilizing the inequality techniques, Lyapunov’s direct method for functions and Razumikhin theorem, the criteria for interpreting the GMLS of FOFINNs are established. Particularly, two inferences are presented in two special cases. Additionally, the availability of the acquired results are further confirmed by simulations.