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Abstract Background The early diagnosis and treatment of Heliobacter pylori (H.pylori) gastrointestinal infection provide significant benefits to patients. We constructed a convolutional neural network (CNN) model based on an endoscopic system to diagnose H. pylori infection, and then examined the potential benefit of this model to endoscopists in their diagnosis of H. pylori infection. Materials and methods A CNN neural network system for endoscopic diagnosis of H.pylori infection was established by collecting 7377 endoscopic images from 639 patients. The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were determined. Then, a randomized controlled study was used to compare the accuracy of diagnosis of H. pylori infection by endoscopists who were assisted or unassisted by this CNN model. Results The deep CNN model for diagnosis of H. pylori infection had an accuracy of 89.6%, a sensitivity of 90.9%, and a specificity of 88.9%. Relative to the group of endoscopists unassisted by AI, the AI-assisted group had better accuracy (92.8% [194/209; 95%CI: 89.3%, 96.4%] vs. 75.6% [158/209; 95%CI: 69.7%, 81.5%]), sensitivity (91.8% [67/73; 95%CI: 85.3%, 98.2%] vs. 78.6% [44/56; 95%CI: 67.5%, 89.7%]), and specificity (93.4% [127/136; 95%CI: 89.2%, 97.6%] vs. 74.5% [114/153; 95%CI: 67.5%, 81.5%]). All of these differences were statistically significant (P

We have previously reported that the expression of miR-34c-5p was up-regulated during acupuncture treatment in the setting of a cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury (CIRI), indicating that miR-34c-5p plays an important role in healing from a CIRI-induced brain injury. This study sought to evaluate the effects of acupuncture on miR-34c-5p expression and autophagy in the forward and reverse directions using a rat focal cerebral ischemia/reperfusion model. After 120 minutes of middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion, rats were treated with acupuncture at the ''Dazhui'' (DU20), ''Baihui'' (DU26) and ''Renzhong'' (DU14) points. Neurologic function deficit score, cerebral infarct area ratio, neuronal apoptosis and miR-34c-5p expression were evaluated 72 hr after treatment. The autophagy agonist RAPA and the antagonist 3MA were used to evaluate the neuro protective effects of autophagy-mediated acupuncture. We found that acupuncture treatment improved autophagy in the brain tissue of CIRI rats. Acupuncture reversed the negative effects of 3MA on CIRI, and acupuncture combined with RAPA further enhanced autophagy. We also found that acupuncture could increase miR-34c-5p expression in hippocampal neurons after ischemia/reperfusion. Acupuncture and a miR-34c agomir were able to enhance autophagy, improve neurologic deficits, and reduce the cerebral infarct area ratio and apoptosis rate by promoting the expression of miR-34c-5p. Silencing miR-34c resulted in a significantly reduced activating effect of acupuncture on autophagy and increased apoptosis, neurologic deficit symptoms, and cerebral infarct area ratio. This confirms that acupuncture can upregulate miR-34c-5p expression, which is beneficial in the treatment of CIRI.

Abstract Purpose This study investigated and compared the effects of Gd enhancement on brain tumours with a half-dose of contrast medium at 5.0 T and with a full dose at 3.0 T. Methods Twelve subjects diagnosed with brain tumours were included in this study and underwent MRI after contrast agent injection at 3.0 T (full dose) or 5.0 T (half dose) with a 3D T1-weighted gradient echo sequence. The postcontrast images were compared by two independent neuroradiologists in terms of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and subjective image quality score on a ten-point Likert scale. Quantitative indices and subjective quality ratings were compared with paired Student's t tests, and interreader agreement was assessed with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results A total of 16 enhanced tumour lesions were detected. The SNR was significantly greater at 5.0 T than at 3.0 T in grey matter, white matter and enhanced lesions (p

Abstract Background Systemic inflammation-immune dysregulation and brain abnormalities are believed to contribute to the pathogenesis of bipolar disorder (BD). However, the connections between peripheral inflammation and the brain, especially the interactions between different BD subtypes and episodes, remain to be elucidated. Therefore, we conducted the present study to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complex association between peripheral inflammation and neuroimaging findings in patients with bipolar spectrum disorders. Methods This systematic review was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) database (CRD42023447044) and conducted according to the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, and Study Design (PICOS) framework. Online literature databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Library) were searched for studies that simultaneously investigated both peripheral inflammation-related factors and magnetic resonance neurography of BD patients up to July 01, 2023. Then, we analysed the correlations between peripheral inflammation and neuroimaging, as well as the variation trends and the shared and specific patterns of these correlations according to different clinical dimensions. Results In total, 34 publications ultimately met the inclusion criteria for this systematic review, with 2993 subjects included. Among all patterns of interaction between peripheral inflammation and neuroimaging, the most common pattern was a positive relationship between elevated inflammation levels and decreased neuroimaging measurements. The brain regions most susceptible to inflammatory activation were the anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala, prefrontal cortex, striatum, hippocampus, orbitofrontal cortex, parahippocampal gyrus, postcentral gyrus, and posterior cingulate cortex. Limitations The small sample size, insufficiently explicit categorization of BD subtypes and episodes, and heterogeneity of the research methods limited further implementation of quantitative data synthesis. Conclusions Disturbed interactions between peripheral inflammation and the brain play a critical role in BD, and these interactions exhibit certain commonalities and differences across various clinical dimensions of BD. Our study further confirmed that the fronto-limbic-striatal system may be the central neural substrate in BD patients.

Abstract Background Uncovering the functional relevance underlying verbal declarative memory (VDM) genome-wide association study (GWAS) results may facilitate the development of interventions to reduce age-related memory decline and dementia. Methods We performed multi-omics and pathway enrichment analyses of paragraph (PAR-dr) and word list (WL-dr) delayed recall GWAS from 29,076 older non-demented individuals of European descent. We assessed the relationship between single-variant associations and expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) in 44 tissues and methylation quantitative trait loci (meQTLs) in the hippocampus. We determined the relationship between gene associations and transcript levels in 53 tissues, annotation as immune genes, and regulation by transcription factors (TFs) and microRNAs. To identify significant pathways, gene set enrichment was tested in each cohort and meta-analyzed across cohorts. Analyses of differential expression in brain tissues were conducted for pathway component genes. Results The single-variant associations of VDM showed significant linkage disequilibrium (LD) with eQTLs across all tissues and meQTLs within the hippocampus. Stronger WL-dr gene associations correlated with reduced expression in four brain tissues, including the hippocampus. More robust PAR-dr and/or WL-dr gene associations were intricately linked with immunity and were influenced by 31 TFs and 2 microRNAs. Six pathways, including type I diabetes, exhibited significant associations with both PAR-dr and WL-dr. These pathways included fifteen MHC genes intricately linked to VDM performance, showing diverse expression patterns based on cognitive status in brain tissues. Conclusions VDM genetic associations influence expression regulation via eQTLs and meQTLs. The involvement of TFs, microRNAs, MHC genes, and immune-related pathways contributes to VDM performance in older individuals.

Abstract Compared with the space on the ground, if there is a fire in the urban complex underground space, the loss will be greatly harmful. In addition, the complex underground space is usually connected with other large space areas and densely populated. Once a fire occurs in the complex underground space, it will cause huge property losses and casualties. In order to reduce the risk of fire, it is necessary to deeply understand the development rules and characteristics of fire in the complex underground space of the city. This article has mainly carried on the following work: (I) A particularly complex model of the multi‐storey subway station was built. On this basis, three groups of comparative experiments were conducted to study the effects of fire power, fire location and smoke control system on fire development, and the conclusion that fire location is the most important factor for fire development was obtained; (II) In order to explore the entire space fire and the local space fire, CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) is used to build a large‐size fire model and a small‐size fire model respectively; (III) Multiple detector data as temperature slices were built, and it is expected to make full use of the simulation data to deduce the important index of fire location in the early stage of fire. All of the works in this paper will provide reference experimental data for the prevention and firefighting of a sudden fire in the complex underground space.

BackgroundNumerous studies have examined the association between obesity and age at menarche (AAM), with most focusing on traditional obesity indicators such as body mass index. However, there are limited studies that explored the connection between body fat distribution and AAM, as well as a scarcity of Mendelian randomization (MR) studies.MethodsIn this study, we conducted a two-sample MR study to evaluate the causal effects of eight body fat distribution indicators on AAM. Inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was used for primary analysis, while supplementary approaches such as MR-Egger and weighted median were also utilized. Considering that the eight exposures were highly correlated, we performed an MR Bayesian model averaging (MR-BMA) analysis to prioritize the effect of major exposure on AAM. A series of sensitivity analyses were also performed.ResultsFrom a range of 82–105 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were utilized as genetic instrumental variables for each of the exposure factors. After Bonferroni correction, we found that whole body fat mass (β: −0.17; 95% CI: −0.24, −0.11), left leg fat percentage (β: −0.14; 95% CI: −0.21, −0.07), left leg fat mass (β: −0.20; 95% CI: −0.27, −0.12), left arm fat percentage (β: −0.18; 95% CI: −0.26, −0.11) and left arm fat mass (β: −0.18; 95%CI: −0.26, −0.10) were associated with decreased AAM using random effects IVW method. And the beta coefficients for all MR evaluation methods exhibited consistent trends. MR-BMA method validated that left arm fat percentage plays a dominant role in AAM.ConclusionsOur MR study suggested that body fat has broad impacts on AAM. Obtaining more information on body measurements would greatly enhance our comprehension of pubertal development.

Luteolin is a potent anti-colorectal cancer chemical. However, its effectiveness is hindered by its poor solubility in water and fat, and it is easy to degrade by gastrointestinal enzymes. In this study, a nano-composite carrier, NH2-MIL-101(Fe)@GO (MG), based on aminated MIL-101(Fe) and graphene oxide (GO) was developed and evaluated. This carrier co-delivered luteolin and matrine, while marine was used to balance the pH for the nano-preparation. The loading capacities for luteolin and matrine were approximately 9.8% and 14.1%, respectively. Luteolin's release at pH = 5 was significantly higher than at pH = 7.4, indicating it had an acidic pH response release characteristic. Compared to MOF and GO alone, MG and NH2-MIL-101(Fe)@GO@Drugs (MGD) enhanced anti-cancer activity by inhibiting tumor cell migration, increasing ROS generation, and upregulating the expression of Caspase-3 and Caspase-9. In conclusion, this study contributes new ideas and methods to the treatment strategy of multi-component anti-colorectal cancer therapy. It also advances drug delivery systems and supports the development of more effective and targeted treatment approaches for colorectal cancer.

Abstract To explore the stability and repeatability of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) of normal pancreas with different field of views (FOV) on 5.0 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. Twenty healthy subjects underwent two sessions of large FOV (lFOV) and reduced FOV (rFOV) DWI sequence scanning. Two radiologists measured the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the pancreatic head, body, and tail on DWI images, simultaneously, using a 5-point scale, evaluate the artifacts and image quality. One radiologist re-measured the ADC on DWI images again after a 4-week interval. The test-retest repeatability of two scan sessions were also evaluated. Intra-observer and inter-observer at lFOV and rFOV, the ADC values were not significantly different (P > 0.05), intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and coefficient of variations were excellence (ICCs 0.85–0.99, CVs

Dynamic monitoring and prediction of ecosystem service value (ESV) under land utilization change is of great significance to maintaining regional ecological security. In order to enrich the study of ESV changes in plateau region by using the improved equivalent factor method of unit area value, the western Sichuan Plateau was taken as the research object. In this paper, given the land use data of the western Sichuan Plateau in 2000, 2010 and 2020, efforts have been made to construct the suitability image collection of the study area and to amend the CA-Markov model as to predict the land use pattern in 2030. In addition, the improved ESV evaluation model was constructed to study the spatial and temporal dynamic variation features of ESV. The results showed that: Woodland and grassland are the main types of land utilization in the study area. There are frequent interchanges between various land utilization types. The overall reduction of ESV, decrease of 3.4917 × 109 yuan/a, mainly due to the conversion of woodland to other land types. The high-value areas of ESV in the study area are closely tied to rivers. Two areas with high ESV value were formed in the study area. The findings of the study enriched the research system of land use and ecosystem service value in the plateau region, provided basic data for the construction of regional ecological security pattern, and enhanced regional sustainable development.

The spatial and frontal QRS-T angles are electrocardiographic (ECG) predictors for arrhythmia. This work used genetic analyses to identify associated loci and pathways, and explore their relationships with other ECG traits and cardiovascular disease.

Graph neural networks (GNNs) is applied successfully in many graph tasks, but there still exists a limitation that many of GNNs model do not consider uncertainty quantification of its output predictions. For uncertainty quantification, there are mainly two types of methods which are frequentist and Bayesian. But both methods need to sampling to gradually approximate the real distribution, in contrast, evidential deep learning formulates learning as an evidence acquisition process, which could get uncertainty quantification by placing evidential priors over the original Gaussian likelihood function and training the NN to infer the hyperparameters of the evidential distribution without sampling. So evidential deep learning (EDL) has its own advantage in measuring uncertainty. We apply it with diffusion convolutional recurrent neural network (DCRNN), and do the experiment in spatiotemporal forecasting task in a real-world traffic dataset. And we choose mean interval scores (MIS), a good metric for uncertainty quantification. We summarized the advantages of each method.

Summary: Background: Identifying novel epigenetic signatures associated with serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) may improve our understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying asthma and IgE-mediated diseases. Methods: We performed an epigenome-wide association study using whole blood from Framingham Heart Study (FHS; n = 3,471, 46% females) participants and validated results using the Childhood Asthma Management Program (CAMP; n = 674, 39% females) and the Genetic Epidemiology of Asthma in Costa Rica Study (CRA; n = 787, 41% females). Using the closest gene to each IgE-associated CpG, we highlighted biologically plausible pathways underlying IgE regulation and analyzed the transcription patterns linked to IgE-associated CpGs (expression quantitative trait methylation loci; eQTMs). Using prior UK Biobank summary data from genome-wide association studies of asthma and allergy, we performed Mendelian randomization (MR) for causal inference testing using the IgE-associated CpGs from FHS with methylation quantitative trait loci (mQTLs) as instrumental variables. Findings: We identified 490 statistically significant differentially methylated CpGs associated with IgE in FHS, of which 193 (39.3%) replicated in CAMP and CRA (FDR < 0.05). Gene ontology analysis revealed enrichment in pathways related to transcription factor binding, asthma, and other immunological processes. eQTM analysis identified 124 cis-eQTMs for 106 expressed genes (FDR < 0.05). MR in combination with drug-target analysis revealed CTSB and USP20 as putatively causal regulators of IgE levels (Bonferroni adjusted P

The QT interval is a heritable electrocardiographic measure associated with arrhythmia risk when prolonged. Here, the authors used a series of genetic analyses to identify genetic loci, pathways, therapeutic targets, and relationships with cardiovascular disease.

Abstract Soil ionisation has an important influence on impulse characteristics of grounding conductor. This paper introduced improvements to an existing soil ionisation model considering the influence of electric field on the change of soil resistivity, while soil resistivity is not directly dependent on soil electric field. The validity of improved soil ionisation model was verified by surge response of vertical conductor in uniform soil and horizontally stratified soil. Furthermore, the impulse experiment was carried out on horizontal conductor in soil with finite volumes. Based on experimental configuration, the corresponding calculation model was built, and calculated results were in good agreement with experimental results.

Abstract Background Childhood obesity has important effects on the onset and development of puberty. Although a number of studies have confirmed the relationship between obesity and precocious puberty, little is known about the pleiotropic genes of obesity and precocious puberty and the interaction between genes and environment. There are four objectives: (1) to analyze the incidence of precocious puberty in the general population in China; (2) to verify the direct effect of obesity on children’s precocious puberty using a variety of methods; (3) to verify the effect of obesity and its risk gene polymorphism on precocious puberty in a prospective cohort study; and (4) to analyze the interaction effect of genes and environment on pubertal development. Methods We will conduct a multi-center prospective cohort study in three cities, which are selected in southern, central, and northern China, respectively. Primary schools in these cities will be selected by a stratified cluster random sampling method. Primary school students from grade 1 to grade 3 (6 to 10 years old) will be selected for the cohort with extensive baseline data collection, including assessment of pubertal development, family demographic information, early development, sleep pattern, dietary pattern, and physical activity. Participants will be followed up for at least three years, and long-term follow-up will depend on future funding. Discussion The findings of this multicenter prospective population-based cohort study may expand previous related puberty development research as well as provide important information on the mechanism of early puberty. Targeted interventions can also be developed to improve adolescent health problems related to puberty development based on the available evidence. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04113070 , prospectively registered on October 2, 2019.

IntroductionThe robo-pigeon using homing pigeons as a motion carrier has great potential in search and rescue operations due to its superior weight-bearing capacity and sustained flight capabilities. However, before deploying such robo-pigeons, it is necessary to establish a safe, stable, and long-term effective neuro-electrical stimulation interface and quantify the motion responses to various stimuli.MethodsIn this study, we investigated the effects of stimulation variables such as stimulation frequency (SF), stimulation duration (SD), and inter-stimulus interval (ISI) on the turning flight control of robo-pigeons outdoors, and evaluated the efficiency and accuracy of turning flight behavior accordingly.ResultsThe results showed that the turning angle can be significantly controlled by appropriately increasing SF and SD. Increasing ISI can significantly control the turning radius of robotic pigeons. The success rate of turning flight control decreases significantly when the stimulation parameters exceed SF > 100 Hz or SD > 5 s. Thus, the robo-pigeon's turning angle from 15 to 55° and turning radius from 25 to 135 m could be controlled in a graded manner by selecting varying stimulus variables.DiscussionThese findings can be used to optimize the stimulation strategy of robo-pigeons to achieve precise control of their turning flight behavior outdoors. The results also suggest that robo-pigeons have potential for use in search and rescue operations where precise control of flight behavior is required.

Background and purposePatients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis, even without stroke, are at high risk for cognitive impairment, and the neuroanatomical basis remains unclear. Using a novel edge-centric structural connectivity (eSC) analysis from individualized single-subject cortical thickness networks, we aimed to examine eSC and network measures in severe (> 70%) asymptomatic carotid stenosis (SACS).MethodsTwenty-four SACS patients and 24 demographically- and comorbidities-matched controls were included, and structural MRI and multidomain cognitive data were acquired. Individual eSC was estimated via the Manhattan distances of pairwise cortical thickness histograms.ResultsIn the eSC analysis, SACS patients showed longer interhemispheric but shorter intrahemispheric Manhattan distances seeding from left lateral temporal regions; in network analysis the SACS patients had a decreased system segregation paralleling with white matter hyperintensity burden and recall memory. Further network-based statistic analysis identified several eSC and subgraph features centred around the Perisylvian regions that predicted silent lesion load and cognitive tests.ConclusionWe conclude that SACS exhibits abnormal eSC and a less-optimized trade-off between physical cost and network segregation, providing a reference and perspective for identifying high-risk individuals.

Background: A high-dose proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-amoxicillin dual therapy has been investigated for treatment of patients with Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori ) infection. Currently, the efficacy of this dual therapy remains inconclusive, with controversial findings from various single-center clinical trials. Objectives: To assess the efficacy and safety of high-dose dual therapy (HDDT) compared with the bismuth-containing quadruple therapy (BQT) in treatment-naive patients with H. pylori infection. Design: A multicenter, open-label, randomized controlled clinical trial. Methods: Three hundred and forty treatment-naïve patients with H. pylori infection were prospectively recruited from seven participating hospitals. The enrolled patients were randomized into one of two treatment groups: the HDDT group (esomeprazole, 20 mg four times daily; amoxicillin, 750 mg four times daily) and the BQT group (esomeprazole, 20 mg, twice daily; bismuth potassium citrate, 600 mg, twice daily; amoxicillin, 1 g, twice daily; metronidazole, 400 mg, four times daily). The primary outcome was eradication rate, and secondary outcomes were safety and patient compliance. Results: The eradication rates in the HDDT group versus the BQT group were 86.47% versus 87.06% on intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis, 91.88% versus 92.50% on modified ITT (MITT) analysis, and 91.77% versus 93.04% on per-protocol (PP) analysis, with no significant differences between the two groups. The patient compliance rates in the HDDT group versus the BQT group were 97.02% versus 95.86%, and no significant difference was found between the two groups. Notably, the HDDT group exhibited significantly lower incidence in the drug-induced adverse events (AEs) compared to the BQT group (16.67% versus 47.94%). Conclusion: HDDT is equally efficacious in eradicating H. pylori infection and resulted in good patient compliance and safety compared with BQT. These findings provide evidence in support of HDDT as a first-line treatment for H. pylori infection. Registration: This clinical trial was registered at The Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (trial registration number: ChiCTR2000039096).

Background: Although the Maastricht VI/Florence consensus report recommended high-dose proton pump inhibitor–amoxicillin dual therapy as possible rescue therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection, clinical evidence of its efficacy was lacking. Objectives: To compare the efficacy, safety, patient compliance, and cost between high-dose dual therapy (HDDT) and culture-based susceptibility-guided therapy (CB-SGT) as a rescue regimen for H. pylori infection. Design: A single-center, open-label, randomized controlled clinical trial. Methods: In all, 146 patients with a history of eradication failure were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive HDDT or CB-SGT. HDDT consisted of esomeprazole 20 mg and amoxicillin 750 mg, both given four times per day (qid). CB-SGT consisted of esomeprazole 20 mg twice daily (bid), amoxicillin 1000 mg bid plus clarithromycin 500 mg bid, metronidazole 400 mg bid, or levofloxacin 500 mg daily (qd) for sensitive patients, in that order. For patients with triple resistance, a bismuth-containing regimen with a high dose of metronidazole was chosen, including esomeprazole 20 mg bid, bismuth 220 mg bid, amoxicillin 1000 mg bid, and metronidazole 400 mg qid. All regimens were given for 14 days. Results: The eradication H. pylori rates achieved with HDDT in the intention-to-treat (ITT), per-protocol, and modified ITT analyses were all 84.9% [62/73, 95% confidence interval (CI): 76.5–93.9%], compared with 83.6% (61/73, 95% CI: 74.9–92.3%), 84.7% (61/72, 95% CI: 76.2–93.2%), and 84.7% (61/72, 95% CI: 76.2–93.2%) with CB-SGT, respectively. For patients with CYP2C19 polymorphisms of intermediate/poor metabolizers, the eradication rates of HDDT and CB-SGT were 90.70% (39/43, 95% CI: 77.86–97.41%) and 84.21% (32/38, 95% CI: 68.75–93.98%), respectively. The difference between groups was 6.49% (95% CI: −8.00% to 20.97%), and the non-inferiority p value was 0.0128. For patients with a treatment interval of more than 3 months, the eradication rates of the two regimens reached 88.71% (95% CI: 78.11–95.34%) and 71.97% (95% CI: 70.02–90.64%). The difference between groups was 6.74% (95% CI: −5.71% to 19.20%), with a non-inferiority p value of 0.0042. Patient adherence was high in both groups. The HDDT had a lower cost and rate of side effects ( p

Animal robots have remarkable advantages over traditional mechatronic ones in terms of energy supply, self-orientation, and natural concealment and can provide remarkable theoretical and practical values for scientific investigation, community service, military detection and other fields. Given these features, animal robots have become high-profile research objects and have recently attracted extensive attention. Herein, we have defined animal robots, reviewed the main types of animal robots, and discussed the potential developing directions. We have also detailed the mechanisms underlying the regulation of animal robots and introduced key methods for manipulating them. We have further proposed several application prospects for different types of animal robots. Finally, we have presented research directions for their further improvement.