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Abstract Objective Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is a condition characterized by the localized or widespread dilation of one or more coronary arteries. The majority of CAE patients do not present with clinical symptoms, and the exact cause of CAE remains unclear. Therefore, a retrospective analysis was conducted to explore the potential causes of CAE. Methods This study was a retrospective analysis of patients who underwent coronary angiography at Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital between January 2017 and July 2022, of whom 679 patients were ultimately enrolled in the study. Among them, 260 patients were diagnosed with CAE, whereas 419 patients with normal coronary results composed the control group. Remnant cholesterol (RC) was calculated as total cholesterol (TC) minus high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) minus low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). The association between RC levels and the risk of CAE was assessed via multivariable logistic models. Results Out of the 679 patients who participated in this study, with an average age of 59.9 years, 38.3% were diagnosed with CAE. Patients with CAE had higher RC levels than did those without CAE (P = 0.001). A significant positive association was observed between RC levels and the risk of CAE, with a multivariable adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 1.950 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.163–3.270). There was a significant positive association between RC levels and the risk of CAE in both single-vessel and multivessel dilation cases, as well as in isolated CAE and dilation secondary to coronary atherosclerosis. According to the subgroup analyses, RC levels were positively associated with the risk of CAE in participants with hypertension (OR, 1.065; 95% CI, 1.034–1.098). Conclusion RC levels are positively correlated with CAE, implying that a focus on RC could be beneficial in CAE research.

Abstract Background Patients with chronic conditions need multiple medications daily to manage their condition. However, most patients have poor compliance, which affects the effectiveness of treatment. To address these challenges, we establish a medication reminder system for the intelligent generation of universal medication schedule (UMS) to remind patients with chronic diseases to take medication accurately and to improve safety of home medication. Methods To design medication time constraint with one drug (MTCOD) for each drug and medication time constraint with multi-drug (MTCMD) for each two drugs in order to better regulate the interval and time of patients’ medication. Establishment of a medication reminder system consisting of a cloud database of drug information, an operator terminal for medical staff and a patient terminal. Results The cloud database has a total of 153,916 pharmaceutical products, 496,708 drug interaction data, and 153,390 pharmaceutical product-ingredient pairs. The MTCOD data was 153,916, and the MTCMD data was 8,552,712. An intelligent UMS medication reminder system was constructed. The system can read the prescription information of patients and provide personalized medication guidance with medication timeline for chronic patients. At the same time, patients can query medication information and get remote pharmacy guidance in real time. Conclusions Overall, the medication reminder system provides intelligent medication reminders, automatic drug interaction identification, and monitoring system, which is helpful to monitor the entire process of treatment in patients with chronic diseases.

Abstract Objective To investigate the efficacy of 125I seed brachytherapy for non-central pelvic recurrence of cervical cancer after external beam radiotherapy, and to analyze the clinical influential factors. Methods Between June 2015 and April 2022, 32 patients with 41 lesions were treated with 125I seed brachytherapy. The seeds were implanted under the guidance of CT and/or 3D-printed template images at a median dose of 100 Gy (range, 80–120 Gy), and the local control rate (LCR) and survival rates were calculated. We used multivariate logistic regression to identify prognosis predictors, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to determine the optimal cut-off values. Results The median follow-up was 48.52 months (range, 4–86 months), and the 6-, 12-, and 24-month LCR was 88.0%, 63.2%, and 42.1%, respectively. The 1- and 2-year survival rates were 36% and 33%, respectively, and the median survival time was 13.26 months. No significant adverse events occurred. Multivariate regression analysis showed that tumor diameter, tumor stage, and LCR were independent factors influencing survival. ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the curve for tumor diameter and D90 were 0.765 and 0.542, respectively, with cut-off values of 5.3 cm and 108.5 Gy. Conclusions The present findings indicate that 125I seed brachytherapy is feasible for treating non-central pelvic recurrence of cervical cancer after external beam radiotherapy. Further, tumor diameter 108.5 Gy were associated with better efficacy.

The development of measurement matrices remains a pivotal focus within the domain of compressed sensing theory. This paper introduces an innovative methodology for the construction of a deterministic binary measurement matrix, harnessing the properties of chaotic sequences. This approach streamlines the process and only requires a fixed number of initial variables for matrix construction. The construction method of the measurement matrix is divided into two distinct stages. Initially, the matrix elements are extracted through gapless sampling of chaotic sequences. Recognizing the inherent correlation among chaotic sequence elements due to gapless sampling, this paper introduces a novel nonlinear binary transformation. This innovative approach effectively mitigates the correlation and concurrently addresses storage limitations. Thereafter, the entries are integrated into a Toeplitz matrix, leveraging its structured row and columnar properties to augment storage efficiency. In subsequent steps, the approach integrates the Householder transformation to generate an orthogonal basis, thereby enhancing the matrix’s performance. Additionally, an XOR operation is employed to optimize the distribution of entries across each column vector. The research substantiates that the resultant matrix exhibits low correlation, is facile in generation, and amenable to reconstruction. Comprehensive experimental data corroborate the efficacy of the constructed measurement matrix in processing both one-dimensional and two-dimensional signals. The matrix demonstrates a strong potential to meet the Restricted Isometry Property (RIP), thereby underscoring its substantial advantages across a myriad of considerations.

The utilization of renewable solar energy for the photocatalytic transformation of carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable chemical substances is considered an optimal strategy to simultaneously address climate challenges and tackle energy scarcity. Herein, we prepared heterojunction photocatalysts UiO-66-NH2/ZnIn2S4, which were successfully applied in the photocatalytic reduction of CO2. The yield of the main product CO, for the optimal UiO-66-NH2/ZnIn2S4-2 sample could reach up to 57 μmol g−1h−1 when converting CO2 under the visible light irradiation, which was approximately 3.35 and 2.71 times higher than that achieved by the individual UiO-66-NH2 and ZnIn2S4 samples, respectively. The better photocatalytic performance of the UiO-66-NH2/ZnIn2S4-2 composites can be attributed to its synergistic effect resulting from tight interfacial contacts, special charge transfer pathways and excellent CO2 adsorption capacity. Furthermore, the intimate contact between UiO-66-NH2 and flower-like ZnIn2S4 accelerates electron transmission while effectively suppressing the quenching of photogenerated carriers. This research provides vital knowledge for the rational design of heterostructures aimed at enhancing the efficiency of CO2 photocatalysis for solar fuel production.

Leak detection has significant implications for the long-term stable operation of water distribution networks (WDNs). This study presented a novel leak detection method by calculating the angular variance between a pressure vector and other vectors in the database, to evaluate the presence of an anomaly in a network. The top priority for this method was to establish a reliable dataset collected from the pressure sensors, which is generated by EPANET 2.2. Numerous node water demand data in normal conditions were generated by the Monte Carlo method, and leak conditions with various leak flows were simulated by creating leak holes in the pipes. Through learning the composite normal and abnormal data in a certain proportion, the angle-based outlier detection model was employed to identify abnormal events. This angle-based method was applied in an actual WDN and the identification performance for anomalies was compared with that of previous detection methods. The results indicated that the novel method proposed in this study could significantly improve the accuracy and efficiency of leak detection compared to the threshold-based and distance-based detection methods. HIGHLIGHTS The proposed method for leak detection in the WDN combines the hydraulic model with outlier detection.; Numerous normal and leak scenarios are simulated by the hydraulic model to calculate residuals.; A clustering algorithm is used to determine the optimal locations of pressure sensors.; The performance of the proposed method is compared with the distance-based method in the literature.;

Abstract Background Previous studies on the biomarkers of pathologic myopia choroidal neovascularization (pmCNV) development merely detected limited types of proteins and provide a meagre illustration of the underlying pathways. Hence, a landscape of protein changes in the aqueous humor (AH) of pmCNV patients is lacking. Here, to explore the potential mechanisms and biomarkers of pmCNV, we analyzed the clinical data and protein profile among atrophic (A) lesions, tractional lesions (T) and neovascular (N) lesions in myopic patients based on the ATN grading system for myopic maculopathy (MM). Results After investigating demographic data of our patients, a correlation was found between A and N lesions (R = 0.5753, P

Accurate comprehension of grassland fires is imperative for maintaining ecological stability. In this study, we propose a novel fire model that incorporates real-time meteorological conditions. Our methodology integrates key meteorological factors including relative humidity, temperature, degree of solidification of combustible materials, and wind speed. These factors are embedded into a comprehensive function that determines both the downwind and upwind spreading speeds of the fire. Additionally, the model accommodates fire spread in the absence of wind by incorporating the direction perpendicular to the wind, with wind speed set to zero. By precisely determining wind speed, the model enables real-time calculation of fire spread speeds in all directions. Under stable wind conditions, the fire spread area typically adopts an elliptical shape. Leveraging ellipse properties, we define the aspect ratio as a function related to wind speed. Consequently, with knowledge of the fire duration, the model accurately estimates the area of fire spread. Our findings demonstrate the effectiveness of this model in predicting and evaluating fires in the Hulunbuir Grassland. The model offers an innovative method for quantifying grassland fires, contributing significantly to the understanding and management of grassland ecosystems.

In this paper, the 1-D compressible non-isentropic Euler equations with the source term $ \beta\rho|u|^ \alpha u $ in a bounded domain are considered. First, we study the existence of steady flows which can keep the upstream supersonic or subsonic state. Then, by wave decomposition and uniform prior estimations, we prove the global existence and stability of smooth solutions under small perturbations around the steady supersonic flow. Moreover, we get that the smooth supersonic solution is a temporal periodic solution with the same period as the boundary, after a certain start-up time, once the boundary conditions are temporal periodic.

Abstract Gene expression profile data have high-dimensionality with a small number of samples. These data characteristics lead to a long training time and low performance in predictive model construction. To address this issue, the paper proposes a feature selection algorithm using non-dominant feature-guide search. The algorithm adopts a filtering framework based on feature sorting and search strategy to overcome the problems of long training time and poor performance. First, the feature pre-selection is completed according to the calculated feature category correlation. Second, a multi-objective optimization feature selection model is constructed. Non-dominant features are defined according to the Pareto dominance theory. Combined with the bidirectional search strategy, the Pareto dominance features under the current category maximum relevance feature are removed one by one. Finally, the optimal feature subset with maximum correlation and minimum redundancy is obtained. Experimental results on six gene expression data sets show that the algorithm is much better than Fisher score, maximum information coefficient, composition of feature relevancy, mini-batch K-means normalized mutual information feature inclusion, and max-Relevance and Min-Redundancy algorithms. Compared to feature selection method based on maximum information coefficient and approximate Markov blanket, the algorithm not only has high computational efficiency but also can obtain better classification capabilities in a smaller dimension.

Citrus, one of the most widely cultivated fruit crops in the world, relies on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) to absorb nutrients and water from soil. However, the molecular mechanism of AM symbiosis (AMS) in citrus in general have largely been understudied. Here, using a TMT labeling proteomic approach, we identified 365 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in roots of Poncirus trifoliata (a common citrus rootstock) upon Rhizophagus irregularis colonization as compared with uninoculated roots, of which 287 were up-regulated and 78 were down-regulated. GO analysis revealed that the DEPs were mainly involved in biological processes such as negative regulation of endopeptidase inhibitor activity, negative regulation of endopeptidase, one-carbon metabolic process and carbohydrate metabolic process. KEGG enrichment analysis indicated that the DEPs were mainly involved in regulating metabolic pathways such as fatty acid biosynthesis, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and carbon metabolism. Furthermore, 194 of the 365 DEPs were found to be associated with AMS-responsive genes by association analysis with our previous transcriptomes data, which highlighted the important roles of these proteins in AMS. One of the 194 DEPs, neutral ceramidase (PtNCER), was further chosen for function analysis via RNAi interfering its homologous gene MtNCER in a mycorrhizal model plant Medicago truncatula, which confirmed a positive role of NCER in AM establishment. Our results provided basic data and key candidate genes for genetic improvement of efficient nutrient uptake through AM establishment in citrus and other crops.

Background & Aims: The adipokine CTRP3 has anti-inflammatory effects in several nonintestinal disorders. Although serum CTRP3 is reduced in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), its function in IBD has not been established. Here, we elucidate the function of CTRP3 in intestinal inflammation. Methods: CTRP3 knockout (KO) and overexpressing transgenic (Tg) mice, along with their corresponding wild-type littermates, were treated with dextran sulfate sodium for 6–10 days. Colitis phenotypes and histologic data were analyzed. CTRP3-mediated signaling was examined in murine and human intestinal mucosa and mouse intestinal organoids derived from CTRP3 KO and Tg mice. Results: CTRP3 KO mice developed more severe colitis, whereas CTRP3 Tg mice developed less severe colitis than wild-type littermates. The deletion of CTRP3 correlated with decreased levels of Sirtuin-1 (SIRT1), a histone deacetylase, and increased levels of phosphorylated/acetylated NF-κB subunit p65 and proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6. Results from CTRP3 Tg mice were inverse to those from CTRP3 KO mice. The addition of SIRT1 activator resveratrol to KO intestinal organoids and SIRT1 inhibitor Ex-527 to Tg intestinal organoids suggest that SIRT1 is a downstream effector of CTRP3-related inflammatory changes. In patients with IBD, a similar CTRP3/SIRT1/NF-κB relationship was observed. Conclusions: CTRP3 expression levels correlate negatively with intestinal inflammation in acute mouse colitis models and patients with IBD. CTRP3 may attenuate intestinal inflammation via SIRT1/NF-κB signaling. The manipulation of CTRP3 signaling, including through the use of SIRT1 activators, may offer translational potential in the treatment of IBD.

RuO2 is a promising anode catalyst for proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers but suffers from poor catalytic stability. Here the authors present a rhenium-doped RuO2 with a unique dynamic electron accepting-donating that adaptively boosts activity and stability in acidic water oxidation.

In this article, we report the pathogenicity of a new strain of fungus, Rhizopus oryzae to honeybee larvae, isolated from the chalkbrood-diseased mummies of honeybee larvae and pupae collected from apiaries in China. Based on morphological observation and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region analyses, the isolated pathogenic fungus was identified as R. oryzae. Koch’s postulates were performed to determine the cause-and-effect pathogenicity of this isolate fungus. The in vitro pathogenicity of this virulent fungus in honeybees was tested by artificially inoculating worker larvae in the lab. The pathogenicity of this new fungus for honeybee larvae was both conidial-concentration and exposure-time dependent; its highly infectious and virulent effect against the larvae was observed at 1 × 105 conidia/larva in vitro after 96 h of challenge. Using probit regression analysis, the LT50 value against the larvae was 26.8 h at a conidial concentration of 1 × 105 conidia/larva, and the LC50 was 6.2 × 103 conidia/larva. These results indicate that the new isolate of R. oryzae has considerable pathogenicity in honeybee larvae. Additionally, this report suggests that pathogenic phytofungi may harm their associated pollinators. We recommend further research to quantify the levels, mechanisms, and pathways of the pathogenicity of this novel isolated pathogen for honeybee larvae at the colony level.

Objective: To examine whether joint management of cancer pain by physicians and pharmacists in clinics provides economic advantages from the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system.Methods: From February 2018 to March 2020, 100 patients who visited the joint cancer pain clinic at the Xiangya Hospital of Central South University were included. These patients were randomly assigned to either the control or intervention groups. The control group received regular outpatient services from a physician, while the intervention group received regular outpatient services from a physician and medication education provided by a pharmacist. The study considered various direct costs, including drug expenses, physician-pharmacist outpatient services, adverse event management, consultations, examinations, and readmissions. The outcome indicators considered were the cancer pain control rate and the reduction in pain scores. Decision tree modeling, single-factor sensitivity analysis, and probabilistic sensitivity analysis were performed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of joint physician-pharmacist outpatient services compared to physician-alone outpatient services.Results: The intervention group showed a significantly higher cancer pain control rate than the control group (0.69 vs. 0.39, p = 0.03). In the decision tree model, the intervention group had a significantly lower pain score than the control group (0.23 vs. 0.14). The cost per person in the intervention group was $165.39, while it was $191.1 per person in the control group. The univariate sensitivity analysis showed that the cost of self-management for patients in the control group was identified as the primary sensitivity factor. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis indicated that the joint clinic group had a favorable incremental cost-effectiveness compared to the physician clinic group. In addition, the probabilistic sensitivity analysis demonstrated an absolute advantage in the incremental cost-effectiveness of the joint clinic group over the outpatient physician group.Conclusion: The participation of pharmacists in joint cancer pain clinic services led to improved pain management for patients, demonstrating a clear advantage in terms of cost-effectiveness.

Abstract Obesity and diabetes are risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, the underlying mechanisms are yet to be elucidated. Adeno‐associated virus (AAV) frequently infects humans and has been widely used in gene therapy, but the risk of AAV infection such as HCC should be further evaluated. Here, we show that recombinant AAV injection caused liver injury, hepatic necroptosis, and HCC in db/db or high‐fat diet‐induced hyperglycemic and obese mice, but not in mice with only hyperglycemia or obesity. Prednisone administration or knockdown of Pebp1, highly expressed in db/db mice, alleviated hepatic injury and necroptosis induced by recombinant AAV in mice with diabetes and obesity. Inhibition of Pebp1 pathway also attenuated inflammation and necroptosis in vitro. Our findings show that AAV infection is a critical risk factor for HCC in patients with diabetes and obesity, and AAV gene therapy for these patients should be carefully evaluated. Both prednisone treatment and targeting Pebp1 pathway are promising strategies to alleviate inflammation and necroptosis that occurred in AAV gene therapy or related diseases.

Abstract Background Neutrophil infiltration accelerates the inflammatory response and is highly correlated to the development of acute lung injury (ALI). Budesonide (BUD) and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) both inhibit the inflammatory response to alleviate ALI, so we further investigated whether their combination is better for ALI. Methods In this study, we investigated the effect and mechanism of Combined BUD and NAC therapy on LPS-induced ALI. Rat ALI model and neutrophil abnormal activation model were established by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). BUD and NAC were treated alone or in combination, or cells were transfected with miR-196b-5p mimic or si-Socs3 to evaluate the efficacy and mechanism of BUD and NAC alone or in combination. Histopathological observation of lungs was performed by Hematoxylin Eosin (HE) staining. The quantity of neutrophils and inflammatory factors level in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were determined by Richter-Gimza complex stain and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbnent Assay (ELISA), respectively. ReverseTranscription-PolymeraseChainReaction (RT–qPCR) was utilized to assess miR-196b-5p and inflammatory factor mRNA levels. The expression level of Socs3 was detected by immunohistochemistry or Western Blot. Results BUD and NAC combined treatment had a better effect on neutrophil recruitment and inflammatory response in LPS-induced ALI than did BUD and NAC alone. Transfection of the miR-196b-5p mimic reversed the effect of combined BUD and NAC. In conclusion, the combination of BUD and NAC is a better treatment for ALI. Conclusions Combination therapy with BUD and NAC ameliorates LPS-induced ALI by attenuating neutrophil recruitment through the miR-196b-5p/Socs3 molecular axis.

Cilia project from cells to serve sensory functions, and ciliary disruption can result in multiple disorders known as ciliopathies. Here the authors show that the ciliopathy gene TCTN1 functions to regulate the ciliary transition zone and ectosome formation.

A miniaturized/portable dual-mode colorimetric analytical system was established for inorganic arsenic determination in honey and drinking water samples. Hydride generation (HG) was utilized as a sampling technique for this colorimetric system, because of its high generation efficiency and efficient matrix separation. AsH3 was generated via HG and then reacted with HAuCl4, gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) were formed on the paper sheet, leading the paper color changed from light yellow to dark blue, it could be readout by naked-eye (visual colorimetric mode) and a smartphone (RGB readout mode) simultaneously. The accuracy and potential application for field analysis were further confirmed by the analysis of two water samples, four honey samples and two certified reference water samples (BWB2440-2016 and GBW08650), good recoveries (90–116%) were obtained for those samples and their spiked samples.

Abstract A collaborative multi‐task learning framework is proposed for integrating 3D face alignment and head pose estimation using RGB and sparse depth with a frontal face constraint. Most previous works involve using dense depth images to exploit spatial information, but the acquisition of high‐resolution dense depth images is not always available due to the limitation of the image capture device. Besides, the existing multi‐task learning methods have the problem of insufficient learning since they have not bridged the semantic gap between both tasks. In this letter, integrating 3D face alignment and head pose estimation into a collaborative multi‐task learning framework is proposed, which is supervised by a frontal face constraint. In addition, sparse depth is incorporated into the network to provide additional facial geometrical information. A UV position map is generated to conduct face alignment, and a head pose vector is output to predict the head orientation. The performance on AFLW2000‐3D dataset is evaluated, and the minimum quantization errors are achieved for both tasks when compared with state‐of‐the‐art methods, demonstrating the superiority of the proposed method.

Due to high bond dissociation energies of C(sp2)–F bonds, using fluorinated compounds in C(sp2)–C(sp3) cross-coupling is difficult. Here the authors report a protocol for enantioselective C(sp2)–C(sp3) coupling of dienyl fluorides with aldimine esters, enabled by synergistic copper and palladium catalysis.

Emergence of drug resistance to chemotherapeutic agents is the principal obstacle towards curative cancer treatment in human cancer patients. It is in an urgent to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms to overcome the drug resistance. N6-Methyladenosine (m6A) RNA modification is the most abundant reversible RNA modification and has emerged in recent years to regulate gene expression in eukaryotes. Recent evidence has identified m6A is associated with cancer pathogenesis and drug resistance, contributing to the self-renewal and differentiation of cancer stem cell, tumor epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and tumor metastasis. Here we reviewed up-to-date knowledge of the relationship between m6A modulation and drug resistance. Furthermore, we illustrated the underlying mechanisms of m6A modulation in drug resistance. Lastly, we discussed the regulation of m6A modulation in EMT and cancer stem cells. Hence, it will help to provide significant therapeutic strategies to overcome drug resistance for cancer patients by changing m6A-related proteins via targeting cancer stem cells and EMT-phenotypic cells.

Abstract A 16‐year‐old girl developed severe acute periodontitis involving the maxillary central incisor and lateral incisor caused by elastic bands. Periodontal surgical interventions and orthodontic adjustment achieved good outcomes which were maintained for 7 years. This report demonstrates the criticality of correct diagnosis, early periodontal surgery, and interdisciplinary approach.

IntroductionAs a biomarker of depression, speech signal has attracted the interest of many researchers due to its characteristics of easy collection and non-invasive. However, subjects’ speech variation under different scenes and emotional stimuli, the insufficient amount of depression speech data for deep learning, and the variable length of speech frame-level features have an impact on the recognition performance.MethodsThe above problems, this study proposes a multi-task ensemble learning method based on speaker embeddings for depression classification. First, we extract the Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC), the Perceptual Linear Predictive Coefficients (PLP), and the Filter Bank (FBANK) from the out-domain dataset (CN-Celeb) and train the Resnet x-vector extractor, Time delay neural network (TDNN) x-vector extractor, and i-vector extractor. Then, we extract the corresponding speaker embeddings of fixed length from the depression speech database of the Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Wearable Computing. Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Random Forest (RF) are used to obtain the classification results of speaker embeddings in nine speech tasks. To make full use of the information of speech tasks with different scenes and emotions, we aggregate the classification results of nine tasks into new features and then obtain the final classification results by using Multilayer Perceptron (MLP). In order to take advantage of the complementary effects of different features, Resnet x-vectors based on different acoustic features are fused in the ensemble learning method.ResultsExperimental results demonstrate that (1) MFCC-based Resnet x-vectors perform best among the nine speaker embeddings for depression detection; (2) interview speech is better than picture descriptions speech, and neutral stimulus is the best among the three emotional valences in the depression recognition task; (3) our multi-task ensemble learning method with MFCC-based Resnet x-vectors can effectively identify depressed patients; (4) in all cases, the combination of MFCC-based Resnet x-vectors and PLP-based Resnet x-vectors in our ensemble learning method achieves the best results, outperforming other literature studies using the depression speech database.DiscussionOur multi-task ensemble learning method with MFCC-based Resnet x-vectors can fuse the depression related information of different stimuli effectively, which provides a new approach for depression detection. The limitation of this method is that speaker embeddings extractors were pre-trained on the out-domain dataset. We will consider using the augmented in-domain dataset for pre-training to improve the depression recognition performance further.

BackgroundA stent for patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) provides a requirement for a long-term antiplatelet therapy because of the high possibility of the development of stent thrombosis. It was against this background that both Cobra and Catania Polyzene-F (PzF) stents were designed to reduce the occurrence of stent thrombosis (ST). In this study, we review the safety and effectiveness of a PzF-nanocoated stent.MethodsThis systematic review with the title was registered in PROSPERO (No.398781). The inclusion criteria were including studies among patients with PzF-nanocoated coronary stents and reported target vessel failure (TVF) and ST as the outcomes, and the exclusion criteria were excluding reported patients who could not receive the adjunctive medical therapies or without the necessary endpoints. Reports about PzF-nanocoated stents were searched in PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science and other sources. Because of the existence of few reports and a lack of comparison groups, a single-arm meta-analysis was conducted in R software (v3.6.2), using a random-effects model with the generic inverse variance method. After a heterogeneity test, assessment of evidence quality was conducted by using GRADE software. A funnel plot Egger's test was performed to evaluate publication bias, and a sensitivity analysis was done to determine the robustness of the overall effects.ResultsSix studies of 1,768 subjects were included. The primary endpoint that pooled the TVF rate was 8.9% (95% CI 7.5%–10.2%), which comprised the pooled cardiac death (CD) rate (1.5%, 95% CI 0%–3%), myocardial infarction (MI) rate (2.7%, 95% CI 0.4%–5.1%), target vessel revascularization (TVR) (4.8%, 95% CI 2.4%–7.2%), or target lesion revascularization (TLR) (5.2%, 95% CI 4.2%–6.4%), while the secondary endpoint ST was 0.4% (95% CI 0.1%–0.9%). The funnel plots of TVF, CD, TVR, and TLR did not show any serious publication bias, and TVF, TVR, and TLR showed evidence of moderate quality in GRADE assessment. The sensitivity analysis showed that TVF, TLR, and ST exhibited good stability (I2 = 26.9%, 16.4%, and 35.5%, respectively), while the other endpoints showed moderate instability.ConclusionThese data indicated that the PzF-nanocoated coronary stents of the Cobra and Catania systems demonstrated good safety and efficacy in clinical application. However, the sample size of patients included in the reports was relatively small, and this meta-analysis will be updated if more studies are published in the future.Systematic Review Registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier: CRD42023398781

Abstract Direct conversion of low‐grade heat into electricity by thermal electrochemical cells is a promising strategy for energy generation. For stable heat‐to‐electricity conversion, maintaining a low‐grade heat induced temperature difference between the cell electrodes is essential. Here, a thermogalvanic cell consisting of a cellulose fiber‐based porous aerogel, a liquid electrolyte, a reduced graphene oxide light absorber, and carbon nanotube‐based electrodes is designed for low‐grade thermal energy harvesting and conversion. The low thermal conductivity of the porous cellulose aerogel enables limited heat transfer from the hot side to the cold side, and thermal energy management effectively reduces heat loss from the hot side to the environment. Thus, a sustainable temperature difference between the electrodes is maintained and a corresponding maximum power output of 6.94 mW m−2 is achieved under natural solar irradiation. The obtained thermal electrochemical cells are also integrated into an enclosed interfacial solar evaporation device to harvest the latent heat released from vapor condensation for electricity generation. In addition, the thermal electrochemical cells can be regenerated after 18 months of storage and show no performance degradation. This design thus offers a novel alternative strategy for practical low‐grade heat harvesting.

Abstract Background Coronally advanced flap combined with connective tissue graft is considered as the golden standard of root coverage. Although Miller class I recession is considered to get complete root coverage, there are some uncommon conditions in different cases. This case reported a maxillary lateral incisor with a gingival recession, a stillman’s cleft, a bony exostosis and a denture stomatitis. Case presentation A 27-year-old female with a gingival recession, a stillman’s cleft and a bony exostosis was treated by coronally advanced flap combined with connective tissue graft technique, and the complete coverage was achieved. Later a denture stomatitis occurred when an acrylic removable partial denture was used, however the gingival margin was not affected. The denture stomatitis disappeared when a new denture with casting palatal plane was produced. In this case of 3-year follow-up, the gingival contour remained stable and the outcome was satisfactory. Conclusion Coronally advanced flap combined with connective tissue graft technique is a classic manner to treat gingival recession especially for a long term stability, even when there is a gingival stillman’s cleft, a bony exostosis and a denture stomatitis.

Background & Aims: One of the features of ulcerative colitis (UC) is a defect in the protective mucus layer. This has been attributed to a reduced number of goblet cells (GCs). However, it is not known whether abnormal GC mucus secretion also contributes to the reduced mucus layer. Our aims were to investigate whether GC secretion was abnormal in UC and exists as a long-term effect of chronic inflammation. Methods: Colonoids were established from intestinal stem cells of healthy subjects (HS) and patients with UC. Colonoids were maintained as undifferentiated (UD) or induced to differentiate (DF) and studied as three-dimensional or monolayers on Transwell filters. Total RNA was extracted for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis. Carbachol and prostaglandin E2 mediated mucin stimulation was examined by MUC2 IF/confocal microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Results: Colonoids from UC patients can be propagated over many passages; however, they exhibit a reduced rate of growth and transepithelial electrical resistance compared with HS. Differentiated UC colonoid monolayers form a thin and non-continuous mucus layer. UC colonoids have increased expression of secretory lineage markers ATOH1 and SPDEF, along with MUC2 positive GCs, but failed to secrete mucin in response to the cholinergic agonist carbachol and prostaglandin E2, which caused increased secretion in HS. Exposure to tumor necrosis factor α (5 days) reduced the number of GCs, with a greater percentage decrease in UC colonoids compared with HS. Conclusions: Chronic inflammation in UC causes long-term changes in GCs, leading to abnormal mucus secretion. This continued defect in GC mucus secretion may contribute to the recurrence in UC.

Background/purpose: Patients with periodontal disease have higher dental fear levels, which may have negative effects on their clinical outcome during scaling and root planing (SRP). The present study used the new classification of periodontitis and validated questionnaires to assess the relationship among dental fear, SRP pain and periodontal status. Materials and methods: A total of 120 periodontitis patients were enrolled and staging according to the new classification of periodontitis. SRP was performed, and the visual analog scale (VAS) to assess pain was used with every patient after treatment. Questionnaires, including Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS), Dental Fear Survey (DFS), and short-form Dental Anxiety Inventory (S-DAI) were implemented from the first attendance and subsequent visits after 6 months. The patients were grouped by DAS scores. The statistical analysis was performed using T-test, chi-square, Pearson and Spearman correlative analysis. Results: Compared to pre-SRP treatment, the dental fear level on DFS was decreased in the posttreatment period for all periodontitis stages. There were no statistically significant differences in S-DAI and DAS between pretreatment and posttreatment periods in stage I and II; meanwhile, there were statistically differences in stage III and IV. The correlation among periodontitis stages, VAS and dental fear level was significant. The proportion of high periodontitis stages was increased in high dental fear group. Conclusion: SRP can reduce dental fear levels in all periodontitis stages, especially in stage III and IV. Correlations exist among periodontal status, dental fear and SRP pain. High dental fear is associated with poor periodontal status.

We evaluated an independently developed novel percutaneous implantable left ventricular assist device for resuscitation in a pig model of ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest. The model was established in 10 domestic pigs by blocking the anterior descending coronary artery with a balloon after anesthesia. With ventilator-assisted ventilation, the independently developed percutaneous implantable left ventricular assist device was inserted via the femoral artery to assist circulation. According to whether effective circulatory support was achieved, the pigs were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group was subjected to insertion of the assist device and received continuous circulatory support. The control group underwent insertion of the assist device; however, it did not start it within 15 minutes. For all animals, if successful rescue was achieved (sinus rhythm restoration within 15 minutes and maintenance for over 5 minutes), circulatory support was stopped, and the arterial blockage was removed. If sinus rhythm was not restored within 15 minutes, electric defibrillation, adrenaline injection, and removal of the arterial blockage were performed, and circulatory support was provided until sinus rhythm recovered. A determination of failed rescue was made when sinus rhythm was not restored after 1 hour. All successfully rescued animals were fed for 1 week. There were no significant differences in baseline data between the groups. All animals underwent successful novel left ventricular assist device implantation through the femoral artery. The rescue rate was significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group (80% vs. 0%, $P = 0.01$ ). All successfully rescued animals survived after 1 week of feeding, and no eating or movement abnormalities were observed. We conclude that this independently developed percutaneous implantable left ventricular assist device can be conveniently and rapidly implanted through the femoral artery and can maintain basic circulatory perfusion during resuscitation in an animal model of cardiac arrest.

Abstract Background Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) can be released when myocardial damage occurs. Methods Here, we used the methylated CpG tandem amplification and sequencing (MCTA-seq) method for analyzing dynamic changes in heart-derived DNA in plasma samples from myocardial infarction (MI) patients. Results We identified six CGCGCGG loci showing heart-specific hypermethylation patterns. MCTA-seq deconvolution analysis combining these loci detected heart-released cfDNA in MI patients at hospital admission, and showed that the prominently elevated total cfDNA level after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) was derived from both the heart and white blood cells. Furthermore, for the top marker CORO6, we developed a digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) assay that clearly detected heart damage signals in cfDNA of MI patients at hospital admission. Conclusions Our study provides insights into MI pathologies and developed a new ddPCR assay for detecting myocardial damage in clinical applications.

Forest tree species identification in the field of remote sensing has become an important research topic. Currently, few research methods combine global and local features, making it challenging to accurately handle the similarity between different categories. Moreover, using a single deep layer for feature extraction overlooks the unique feature information at intermediate levels. This paper proposes a remote sensing image forest tree species classification method based on the Multi-Scale Convolution and Multi-Level Fusion Network (MCMFN) architecture. In the MCMFN network, the Shallow Multi-Scale Convolution Attention Combination (SMCAC) module replaces the original 7 × 7 convolution at the first layer of ResNet-50. This module uses multi-scale convolution to capture different receptive fields, and combines it with the attention mechanism to effectively enhance the ability of shallow features and obtain richer feature information. Additionally, to make efficient use of intermediate and deep-level feature information, the Multi-layer Selection Feature Fusion (MSFF) module is employed to improve classification accuracy. Experimental results on the Aerial forest dataset demonstrate a classification accuracy of 91.03%. The comprehensive experiments indicate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed MCMFN network.

Background: The emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants calls for more data on SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine response. Aims: We aimed to assess the response to a third mRNA vaccine dose against SARS-CoV-2 in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. Methods: This was a single-center, observational prospective study of IBD patients who received a third mRNA vaccine dose against SARS-CoV-2. Antibody titers were taken post-third-dose at one and three months using the Roche Elecsys anti-SARS-CoV-2-S enzyme immunoassay. Titers less than 0.8 units/mL were considered negative according to the manufactures. Titers between 0.8 units/mL and 250 units/mL were considered non-neutralizing. Titers greater than 250 units/mL were considered neutralizing. Results: Eighty-three patients were included, all of whom had detectable antibodies at 3 months post-third dose. A total of 89% showed neutralizing and 11% non-neutralizing titers. Participants with non-neutralizing titers were more likely to be on systemic corticosteroids (p = 0.04). Two participants seroconverted from negative to positive, whereas 86% with non-neutralizing titers boosted to neutralizing levels. Only one participant with neutralizing titers after a third dose had a decrease to a non-neutralizing level within 3 months. Conclusions: Our findings support the ongoing recommendations for additional doses in immunocompromised individuals. However, longitudinal studies with a greater-sized patient population are needed.

In this paper, the yield behavior of closed-cell foams under multiaxial load conditions is investigated via finite element analysis on the representative volume element (RVE) scale by using the regular Kelvin of RVE and random models of RVE, respectively. Several different definitions of yield are considered in the study. By benchmarking the simulations with the experimental data in the literature, it is shown that the elastic energy criterion is shown to be suitable for the definition of the yield point of closed-cell foams under different stress states. Based on the micro-scale elastic energy, which can be readily obtained by numerical simulation, a general yield definition is proposed to determine the yield behavior of the closed-cell foam materials at macroscopic scales. To test the adaptability of this general yield definition, we analyze multiple random models with different relative densities and inner structures. The results indicate that this general yield definition method can be used for different models, even applied to continuum materials.

Low-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy with permanent iodine-125 is an important curative treatment for low-risk prostate cancer, and it has been demonstrated that brachytherapy with permanent seeds is an effective treatment. However, differences in prostate volume, spatial location, and gland deformation between images obtained in the pre-planning phase and those obtained during the implantation procedure affect accurate delivery of the pre-planned dose. Furthermore, the complicated procedure could be a burden to elderly patients, for example, the risks associated with general anesthesia. In addition, ultrasound images are not as clear as computed tomography (CT) images with regard to identifying the location of seeds. Therefore, a new method for guidance during the procedure is urgently needed. Here, we have described a new method for precise trans-perirectal insertion of radioactive iodine-125 seeds in patients with prostate cancer under the guidance of CT and a 3D-printed template. These are some of the advantages of this technique over the standard procedure for seed implantation in the prostate: It requires only local anesthesia, the pre-planning phase can be completed before the procedure, and the operation time is considerably shorter. This report describes trans-pararectal iodine-125 seed brachytherapy for prostate cancer under local anesthesia and the guidance of a 3D printed template in two elderly patients. The dose parameters determined in the preoperative planning phase were verified postoperatively and found to be consistent. Further, the procedure was completely successfully with no major complications in both cases, and the patients’ prostate-specific antigen levels were normal at the most recent follow-up conducted 50 months after the procedure. Therefore, this technique seems promising for prostate cancer brachytherapy, and its application needs to be researched and extended further in the future.

Genome engineering of Rhodococcus opacus PD630, an important microorganism used for the bioconversion of lignin, is currently dependent on inefficient homologous recombination. Although a CRISPR interference procedure for gene repression has previously been developed for R. opacus PD630, a CRISPR/Cas9 system for gene knockout has yet to be reported for the strain. In this study, we found that the cytotoxicity of Cas9 and the deficiency in pathways for repairing DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) were the major causes of the failure of conventional CRISPR/Cas9 technologies in R. opacus, even when augmented with the recombinases Che9c60 and Che9c61. We successfully developed an efficient single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) recombineering system coupled with CRISPR/Cas9 counter-selection, which facilitated rapid and scarless editing of the R. opacus genome. A two-plasmid system, comprising Cas9 driven by a weak Rhodococcus promoter Pniami, designed to prevent cytotoxicity, and a single-guide RNA (sgRNA) under the control of a strong constitutive promoter, was proven to be appropriate with respect to cleavage function. A novel recombinase, RrRecT derived from a Rhodococcus ruber prophage, was identified for the first time, which facilitated recombination of short ssDNA donors (40–80 nt) targeted to the lagging strand and enabled us to obtain a recombination efficiency up to 103-fold higher than that of endogenous pathways. Finally, by incorporating RrRecT and Cas9 into a single plasmid and then co-transforming cells with sgRNA plasmids and short ssDNA donors, we efficiently achieved gene disruption and base mutation in R. opacus, with editing efficiencies ranging from 22 % to 100 %. Simultaneous disruption of double genes was also confirmed, although at a lower efficiency. This effective genome editing tool will accelerate the engineering of R. opacus metabolism.

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the change of three-dimensional (3D) choroidal thickness (ChT), choroidal vessel volume (CVV), and choroidal vessel index (CVI) in young myopic adults using swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) and compare the difference of these indicators in different quadrants of the macula and optic disc.Methods: A total of 248 eye samples from 135 participants were used in this cross-sectional study. Each participant underwent detailed history taking and ocular examinations. Based on axial length (AL), patients were divided into the emmetropia (EM) group, mild-myopia (MIM) group, moderate-myopia (MOM) group, and high-myopia (HM) group. 6 mm × 6 mm (1,024 × 1024 B-scans) SS-OCTA scans were performed centered on the fovea and optic disc. 3D ChT, CVV, and CVI were measured based on a built-in deep learning algorithm. Differences in ChT, CVV, and CVI were analyzed in different regions and different myopic groups.Results: Significant reduction in the global CVV were found in the HM group (1.930 ± 0.865) in comparison with the EM (3.486 ± 0.992), MIM (3.238 ± 1.033), and MOM (2.589 ± 1.083) groups (p < 0.001). The global CVI was also lower in the HM group (0.258 ± 0.061) than in the EM (0.320 ± 0.055), MIM (0.320 ± 0.051), and MOM (0.286 ± 0.066) groups (p < 0.001). The ChT was thinner in eyes with HM (242.753 ± 65.641) than in eyes with EM (377.532 ± 80.593), MIM (348.367 ± 78.191), or MOM (300.197 ± 87.175) (p < 0.001). Compartmental analysis revealed that ChT, CVV, and CVI in the nasal quadrant of the macula and temporal and inferior quadrants of the optic disc were much lower than those in other quadrants (p < 0.05). Correlation analyses found that ChT, CVV, and CVI were negatively correlated with AL and spherical equivalence.Conclusion: 3D ChT, CVV, and CVI gradually decreased as the degree of myopia increased. The changes were more dramatic on the nasal side of the macula and the temporal and inferior sides of the optic disc. These findings demonstrated the 3D choroidal change and highlighted the papillo-macular bundle as a sensitive region in myopic development.

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare spindle cell tumor, benign or low-grade malignant, with an extremely low possibility of occurrence of malignant solitary fibrous tumor (MSFT). Surgery is an effective way for treating SFT, but it is often difficult to resect completely due to a large size, with a high recurrence rate and mortality rate after operation. Additionally, SFT is relatively resistant to chemotherapy, and there is a lack of effective systemic drug treatment. These lead to certain difficulties in the treatment of SFT. We report a case of a rare MSFT in the pelvic cavity. With a history of recurrence after two surgeries, this patient underwent surgical removal combined with 125I seed implantation at our hospital in the context that the tumor could not be completely removed because it was large and adhered to surrounding tissues; after up to 43 months of progression-free survival (PFS), the patient underwent 125I seed implantation alone, and achieved a complete remission, with a PFS up to 35 months. 125I seed implantation can be a safe and effective treatment option for unresectable MSFT as well as a potential solution to repeated local recurrence.

The UNUSUAL FLORAL ORGANS (UFO) gene is an essential regulatory factor of class B genes and plays a vital role in the process of inflorescence primordial and flower primordial development. The role of UFO genes in soybean was investigated to better understand the development of floral organs through gene cloning, expression analysis, and gene knockout. There are two copies of UFO genes in soybean and in situ hybridization, which have demonstrated similar expression patterns of the GmUFO1 and GmUFO2 genes in the flower primordium. The phenotypic observation of GmUFO1 knockout mutant lines (Gmufo1) showed an obvious alteration in the floral organ number and shape and mosaic organ formation. By contrast, GmUFO2 knockout mutant lines (Gmufo2) showed no obvious difference in the floral organs. However, the GmUFO1 and GmUFO2 double knockout lines (Gmufo1ufo2) showed more mosaic organs than the Gmufo1 lines, in addition to the alteration in the organ number and shape. Gene expression analysis also showed differences in the expression of major ABC function genes in the knockout lines. Based on the phenotypic and expression analysis, our results suggest the major role of GmUFO1 in the regulation of flower organ formation in soybeans and that GmUFO2 does not have any direct effect but might have an interaction role with GmUFO1 in the regulation of flower development. In conclusion, the present study identified UFO genes in soybean and improved our understanding of floral development, which could be useful for flower designs in hybrid soybean breeding.

Quantum dots (QDs) laser has become an important way to solve micro-application problems in many fields. However, single wavelength distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) has many limitations in practical applications, such as signal transmission. How to realize multiwavelength DBR lasing output simply is a challenge. To achieve a stable multi-wavelength quantum dots laser in the near-infrared region, the perovskite CsPbI3 QDs laser with DBR structure is developed in this paper. A tetragonal crystal structure with complete bonding information and no defect is explained by X-ray diffractions (XRD) and Raman spectrum. The cross-section morphology of the DBR laser and the surface morphology of QDs is measured by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM), respectively. An elliptical light propagation field and a double wavelength laser radiation are obtained from the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation. The output of the three wavelength lasers at 770 nm, 823 nm, and 873 nm is measured. The emission time of a DBR laser is about 2 h, and the average fluorescence quantum yield is 60%. The cavity length selection and energy level model are put in place to clearly see the working mechanism. All the results suggest that an effective and stable CsPbI3 quantum dots DBR laser is realized.

Abstract Background Unequal allocation of medical physician resource represents one of major problems in the current medical service management in China and many other countries. This study is designed to analyze the current distribution of physicians in 31 provincial administrative regions in China, to estimate the fairness of the distribution of physicians and provide a theoretical basis for the improvement of the allocation of physicians. Methods This study took physicians from 31 provincial administrative regions in China as the study objects, and the data were obtained from the China Health Statistics Yearbook 2019 and the official website of the National Bureau of Statistics of China. Calculation of the Gini coefficient (G) and the Theil index (T) were carried out by drawing the Lorenz curve. The fairness of present physician location in 31 provincial administrative regions in China was analyzed from the perspective of distribution by both population and service area. Results The Gini coefficients of medical physicians in China are 0.003 and 0.88 by population and by service area, respectively. This shows that the distribution of medical physicians is fair basing on population, and there is little difference in the number of physicians per 1000 population in different regions. However, the physician distribution basing on service area is highly unfair and shows a large gap in the number of physicians per square kilometer between different regions. In general, Beijing, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Tianjin are higher than the overall level of 31 provincial administrative regions. In addition, the number of medical physicians in Zhejiang, Shandong, Beijing and Jiangsu is over-provisioned. Conclusion Bridging the number of medical physicians in different regions is a key step to improve the equity of physicians’ resource allocation. Thus, findings from this study emphasize the need to take more measures to reduce physician quality differences between regions, balance and coordinate medical resources. This will increase the access of all citizens to quality medical services.

Background/purpose: In the immediate implantation of maxillary central incisors, the height of the alveolar bone is lost, and there is often a risk of bone fracture due to the thin buccal bone wall (BBW). The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of smoking, age, and root position in the alveolar bone on the BBW and the distance between the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ) and the facial bone crest (FBC) of Chinese maxillary central incisors. Materials and methods: The patients were divided by smoking, gender, age, and root sagittal position in the alveolar bone. BBW thickness was measured at the following sites: the 4 mm apical to the CEJ, the middle of the root, and the apex. The distance from the CEJ to the FBC was also evaluated. Results: Cone beam CT (CBCT) data for the maxillary central incisors of 645 patients (323 males and 322 females) were selected and analyzed. The CEJ-FBC distance in patients who smoked (2.79 ± 0.78 mm) was significantly greater than that of non-smokers (2.54 ± 0.69 mm). The BBW in subtype III (0.74 ± 0.43 mm, 0.81 ± 0.36 mm) was thinner than that in subtypes I and II at 4 mm apical to the CEJ and in the middle of the root, with a statistically significant difference (p

The main drawback of correlation filter scheme is that it can only predict translation of the object, ignoring the other affine transformations such as rotation, aspect ratio change, and scale change. This paper tries to address this problem by a two-step affine transformation prediction method. The first step is to predict coarse target translation by the correlation filter model with adaptive model update rate generation. Compared with fixed update rate in existing correlation filter based trackers, the presented method generates the update rate by Long Short-Term Memory model with inputs of historical target templates. The second step maps well-designed features to affine transformation parameters. The designed features contain the information of affine transformation which makes the learning of non-linear mapping function possible. The training samples for on-line filter model update are transformed to the same pose, and they help the learnt filter to represent the object better than non-aligned samples. The proposed network is trained from end to end and achieves competitive performance when comparing with state-of-the-arts trackers on four benchmarks, OTB100, UAV123, VOT2018, and VOT2020.

Objectives: Our study aimed to demonstrate the influence of left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction on the diagnostic performance of coronary computed tomography angiography-derived fractional flow reserve (CT-FFR). Methods: One hundred vessels from 90 patients were retrospectively analyzed. All patients underwent echocardiography, coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA), CT-FFR, invasive coronary angiography (ICA), and fractional flow reserve (FFR). The study population was divided into normal and dysfunction groups according to the LV diastolic function, and the diagnostic performance in both groups was assessed. Results: There was a good correlation between CT-FFR and FFR (R = 0.768 p < 0.001) on a per-vessel basis. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 82.3%, 81.8%, and 82%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 84.6%, 88.5%, and 87.2% in the normal group and 81%, 77.5%, and 78.7% in the dysfunction group, respectively. CT-FFR showed no statistically significant difference in the AUC in the normal group vs. the dysfunction group (AUC: 0.920 [95% CI 0.787–0.983] vs. 0.871 [95% CI 0.761–0.943], Z = 0.772 p = 0.440). However, there was still a good correlation between CT-FFR and FFR in the normal group (R = 0.767, p < 0.001) and dysfunction group (R = 0.767 p < 0.001). Conclusions: LV diastolic dysfunction had no effect on the diagnostic accuracy of CT-FFR. CT-FFR has good diagnostic performance in both LV diastolic dysfunction and the normal group and can be used as an effective tool for finding lesion-specific ischemia while screening for arterial disease in patients.

Tissue phenotypic plasticity facilitates rapid adaptation of organisms to biotic and/or abiotic pressure. The reproductive capacity of honey bee workers (Apis mellifera) is plastic and responsive to pheromones produced by broods and the queen. Egg laying workers (ELWs), which could reactivate their ovaries and lay haploid eggs upon queen lost, have been commonly discussed from many aspects. However, it remains unclear whether midgut homeostasis in ELWs is affected during plastic changes. Here, we found that the expression of nutrition- and autophagy-related genes was up-regulated in the midguts of ELWs, compared with that in nurse workers (NWs) by RNA-sequencing. Furthermore, the area and number of autophagosomes were increased, along with significantly increased cell death in the midguts of ELWs. Moreover, cell cycle progression in the midguts of ELWs was increased compared with that in NWs. Consistent with the up-regulation of nutrition-related genes, the body and midgut sizes, and the number of intestinal proliferation cells of larvae reared with royal jelly (RJ) obviously increased more than those reared without RJ in vitro. Finally, cell proliferation was dramatically suppressed in the midguts of ELWs when autophagy was inhibited. Altogether, our data suggested that autophagy was induced and required to sustain cell proliferation in ELWs’ midguts, thereby revealing the critical role of autophagy played in the intestines during phenotypic plasticity changes.

The combination of advanced radar sensor technology and smart grid has broad prospects. It is meaningful to monitor the respiration and heartbeat of grid employees under resting state through radar sensors to ensure that they are in a healthy working state. Ultra-wideband (UWB) radar sensor is suitable for this application because of its strong penetration ability, high range resolution and low average power consumption. However, due to weak heartbeat amplitude and measurement noise, the accurate measurement of the target heart rate is a challenge. In this paper, singular spectrum analysis (SSA) is proposed to reconstruct the eigenvalues of noisy vital signs to eliminate noise peaks around the heartbeat rate; combined with the variational modal decomposition (VMD), the target vital signs can be extracted with high accuracy. The experiment confirmed that the target vital sign information can be extracted with high accuracy from ten subjects at different distances, which can play an important role in short distance human detection and vital sign monitoring.

Microbial morphology engineering is a novel approach for cell factory to improve the titer of target product in bio-manufacture. Hyaluronic acid (HA), a valuable glycosaminoglycan polymerized by HA synthase (HAS), a membrane protein, is particularly selected as the model product to improve its single-cell HA-producing capacity via morphology engineering. DivIVA and FtsZ, the cell-elongation and cell division related protein, respectively, were both down/up dual regulated in C. glutamicum via weak promoter substitution or plasmid overexpression. Different from the natural short-rod shape, varied morphologies of engineered cells, i.e. small-ellipsoid-like (DivIVA-reduced), bulb-like (DivIVA-enhanced), long-rod (FtsZ-reduced) and dumbbell-like (FtsZ-enhanced), were observed. Applying these morphology-changed cells as hosts for HA production, the reduced expression of both DivIVA and FtsZ seriously inhibited normal cell growth; meanwhile, overexpression of DivIVA didn't show morphology changes, but overexpression of FtsZ surprisingly change the cell-shape into long and thick rod with remarkably enlarged single-cell surface area (more than 5.2-fold-increase). And finally, the single-cell HA-producing capacity of the FtsZ-overexpressed C. glutamicum was immensely improved by 13.5-folds. Flow cytometry analyses verified that the single-cell HAS amount on membrane was enhanced by 2.1 folds. This work is pretty valuable for high titer synthesis of diverse metabolic products with microbial cell factory.