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Aim: We aim to identify the specific CD4+ T‐cell subtype influenced by brain‐to‐CLN signaling and explore their role during the acute phase of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Method: Cervical lymphadenectomy or cervical afferent lymphatic ligation was performed before TBI. Cytokine array and western blot were used to detect cytokines, while the motor function was assessed using mNss and rotarod test. CD4+ T‐cell subtypes in blood, brain, and CLNs were analyzed with Cytometry by time‐of‐flight analysis (CyTOF) or fluorescence‐activated cell sorting (FACS). Brain edema and volume changes were measured by 9.4T MRI. Neuronal apoptosis was evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase‐mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining. Results: Cervical lymphadenectomy and ligation of cervical lymphatic vessels resulted in a decreased infiltration of CD4+ T cells, specifically CD11b‐positive CD4+ T cells, within the affected region. The population of CD4+CD11b+ T cells increased in ligated CLNs, accompanied by a decrease in the average fluorescence intensity of sphingosine‐1‐phosphate receptor‐1 (S1PR1) on these cells. Administration of CD4+CD11b+ T cells sorted from CLNs into the lateral ventricle reversed the attenuated neurologic deficits, brain edema, and lesion volume following cervical lymphadenectomy. Conclusion: The infiltration of CD4+CD11b+ T cells exacerbates secondary brain damage in TBI, and this process is modulated by brain‐to‐CLN signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although rare, trans-kingdom infection features an interesting infection biology concept, in which highly versatile pathogenic attributes allow successful infections in evolutionarily highly divergent species. Corynespora cassiicola is a phytopathogenic fungus and occasionally causes human infections. Herein, we report a phaeohyphomycosis case caused by C. cassiicola. Given that sporadic reports may contribute to a lack of awareness of the transmission route, clinical manifestations, and diagnostic and clinical management, we systematically reviewed the cases reported thus far. Nine patients were identified and included in the pooled analysis, 88.9% (8/9) of whom were reported after 2010. All patients were from Asian, African, and Latin American countries, among whom 77.8% (7/9) were farmers or lived in areas with active agriculture. Exposed body parts were the major affected infection area, and clinical manifestations were mainly non-specific inflammatory reactions. Although biochemical and morphological examinations confirmed the presence of fungal infection, molecular analysis was used for the final diagnosis, with 77.8% (7/9) being identified by internal transcribed spacer sequencing. Whereas voriconazole, terbinafine, and AmB, either alone or in combination, resulted in successful infection resolution in most cases (5/9; 55.5%), those suffering from invasive facial infections and CARD9 deficiency showed poor outcomes. Our patient is the third case of invasive facial infection caused by C. cassiicola and was successfully treated with intravenous LAmB followed by oral voriconazole combined with topical antifungal irrigation. Molecular identification of fungus and prompt antifungal treatment is pivotal in the clinical success of patients suspected to have phaeohyphomycosis. Moreover, as evidenced by our data, itraconazole treatment is not recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

About 20% of world population suffer from acute urticaria at some stage in their lives. Recent studies showed coagulation dysfunction in chronic urticaria. The involvement of coagulation changes in acute urticaria remains unclear. Fifty-eight acute urticaria patients were enrolled in this study and divided into two groups (referred to throughout as infection-related and infection-unrelated acute urticaria). The routine laboratory parameters including coagulation tests between the two groups were compared. The correlation between coagulation tests and CRP at acute phase was also assessed. Dynamic change of routine coagulation test results at acute phase and resolving phase was compared. The potential performance of coagulation for infection indication was tested. We found d-dimer, fibrin degradation product (FDP), and fibrinogen (Fg) increased in the acute phase of infection-related acute urticaria patients. d-dimer, FDP, Fg, and APTT are positively correlated with CRP in the acute phase. d-dimer and FDP decreased in the resolving phase of infection-related acute urticaria patients. Higher d-dimer (> 0.48 mg/L) and FDP (> 3.84 mg/L) may indicate infection-related acute urticaria. In conclusion, in acute urticaria with low venous thromboembolism risk, d-dimer level and dynamic change can be potentially used for the infection-related clinical practice management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondria play essential roles in cancer cell adaptation to hypoxia, but the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Through mitochondrial proteomic profiling, we here find that the prolyl hydroxylase EglN1 (PHD2) accumulates on mitochondria under hypoxia. EglN1 substrate‐binding region in the β2β3 loop is responsible for its mitochondrial translocation and contributes to breast tumor growth. Furthermore, we identify AMP‐activated protein kinase alpha (AMPKα) as an EglN1 substrate on mitochondria. The EglN1‐AMPKα interaction is essential for their mutual mitochondrial translocation. After EglN1 prolyl‐hydroxylates AMPKα under normoxia, they rapidly dissociate following prolyl‐hydroxylation, leading to their immediate release from mitochondria. In contrast, hypoxia results in constant EglN1‐AMPKα interaction and their accumulation on mitochondria, leading to the formation of a Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase 2 (CaMKK2)‐EglN1‐AMPKα complex to activate AMPKα phosphorylation, ensuring metabolic homeostasis and breast tumor growth. Our findings identify EglN1 as an oxygen‐sensitive metabolic checkpoint signaling hypoxic stress to mitochondria through its β2β3 loop region, suggesting a potential therapeutic target for breast cancer. Synopsis: Mitochondria act as critical signaling hubs in cancer cells under hypoxic stress, but the molecular mechanisms involved remain poorly defined. This study identifies prolyl hydroxylase EglN1 (PHD2) as a mitochondrial oxygen sensor controlling AMPKα activation and cell metabolism under low oxygen conditions in mammary malignancies. EglN1 accumulates on mitochondria under hypoxia.EglN1 substrate‐binding β2β3 loop is required for mitochondrial translocation and breast cancer growth.EglN1 prolyl‐hydroxylates AMPKα on mitochondria.Hypoxia induces a EglN1‐CaMKK2‐AMPKα complex supporting AMPKα activation and cancer cell metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the use of abrocitinib, a Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, in the treatment of bullous pemphigoid (BP). BP is typically managed with minimal use of systemic glucocorticoids, but alternative treatments such as dupilumab and omalizumab have shown effectiveness. This letter presents two cases of BP successfully treated with abrocitinib, resulting in good therapeutic outcomes and a reduction in glucocorticoid dosage. Abrocitinib is a promising option for patients with refractory BP, but further long-term studies are needed to determine its effectiveness and safety. [Extracted from the article]

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disorder while adrenal hemorrhage could be its rare complication. Herein, we report the case of a 32-year-old unmarried woman with a history of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) who was hospitalized after complaints of upper abdominal pain, limb weakness, and loss of appetite for 2 weeks. Laboratory examination revealed hyponatremia, low plasma cortisol levels, increased adrenocorticotropic hormone levels, and a positive anticardiolipin antibody status. Furthermore, computed tomography (CT) revealed the presence of bilateral adrenal masses. Ultimately, based on dynamic changes in CT images, these masses were diagnosed as adrenal hemorrhage owing to APS. A computer-assisted literature search was conducted to identify cases of primary adrenal insufficiency associated with APS and/or SLE. The clinical features, laboratory examination, treatments, and outcomes of these cases were summarized. Our findings emphasize the importance of screening for adrenal insufficiency in patients with SLE or APS who present with abdominal complaints, asthenia, and hyponatremia. It is also recommended to test for APS all patients with adrenal hemorrhage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ischemic stroke (IS), a devastating condition characterized by intracranial artery stenosis and middle cerebral artery occlusion leading to insufficient oxygen supply to the brain, is a major cause of death and physical disability worldwide. Recent research has demonstrated the critical role of circular RNAs (circRNAs), a class of covalently enclosed noncoding RNAs that are widespread in eukaryotic cells, in regulating various physiological and pathophysiological cellular processes, including cell apoptosis, autophagy, synaptic plasticity, and neuroinflammation. In the past few years, circRNAs have attracted extensive attention in the field of IS research. This review summarizes the current understanding of the mechanisms underlying the involvement of circRNAs in IS development. A better understanding of circRNA-mediated pathogenic mechanisms in IS may pave the way for translating circRNA research into clinical practice, ultimately improving the clinical outcomes of IS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Midwives are at high risk of presenteeism, which may impact the quality of midwifery and maternal and infant health outcomes. However, no research has been conducted to investigate the relationship between workload, traumatic stress, psychological detachment, and presenteeism among midwives. This study, therefore, aimed at exploring the mediating effects of psychological detachment on workload, traumatic stress, and presenteeism among midwives. Method. A multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted among 547 midwives in Jiangsu Province. Participants completed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration task load index, traumatic stress impact subscale for midwives, psychological detachment scale, and Stanford presenteeism scale and provided sociodemographic information. The mediating effects of psychological detachment were assessed using Mplus. Results. The mean score of midwives' presenteeism was 17.09 ± 3.56. Presenteeism was positively associated with both workload and traumatic stress (both P < 0.01) and negatively associated with psychological detachment (P < 0.01) among midwives. Psychological detachment partially mediated the relationships between (a) workload and presenteeism (β = 0.005, P < 0.05) and (b) traumatic stress and presenteeism (β = 0.006, P < 0.05), with mediating effects of 11.90% and 10.00%, respectively. Conclusions. Presenteeism among midwives is at moderately high levels and requires attention from nursing managers. Psychological detachment is a mediating variable of the relationship between workload, traumatic stress, and presenteeism among midwives. Implications for Nursing Management. This study has implications for decreasing midwives' presenteeism in practical terms. Specifically, it is crucial that care managers attempt to adjust midwives' work patterns, reduce their workload, and provide organizational support for work-related traumatic stress. Moreover, our findings also indicate that psychological detachment is probably an essential element that is worthy of attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) is a common surgical procedure that is frequently associated with substantial postoperative pain. As part of multimodal analgesia, the erector spinae plane block (ESPB) and transmuscular quadratus lumborum block (TQLB) have been demonstrated to be effective. This study aimed to evaluate whether ESPB and TQLB reduce postoperative pain and opioid consumption after TLH. Methods: A total of 90 female patients undergoing TLH were randomized to receive either ESPB, TQLB, or no intervention before general anesthesia. All patients received a patient-controlled sufentanil analgesia postoperatively. Postoperative pain and sufentanil consumption were evaluated. The primary outcome was cumulative sufentanil consumption at 12 h postoperatively. Results: The cumulative sufentanil consumption at 12 h postoperatively was significantly lower in Group ESPB than in Group CON after Bonferroni correction (median [interquartile range], 0 [0, 4] μg vs. 6 [0, 10] μg; median difference = − 3; 95% confidence interval, − 6–0; P = 0.010). There were no significant differences between Group TQLB and CON (0 [0, 4] μg vs. 6 [0, 10] μg; P = 0.098) or between the two block groups (P = 1.000). When compared with Group CON, ESPB and TQLB persistently reduced pain scores until 6 and 4 h after surgery, respectively (P < 0.05). However, no significant differences were found in pain scores between the two block groups. Conclusions: ESPB and TQLB improved the quality of multimodal analgesia for TLH. ESPB may be more favorable due to the prolonged period of analgesia and decreased opioid consumption after TLH. Clinical Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2100048165, Registry URL: http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=129578. Date of registration: July 4, 2021. The patient enrollment began on July 12, 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apelin is a natural ligand for the G protein-coupled receptor APJ, and the apelin/APJ system is widely distributed in vivo. Among the apelin family, apelin-13 is the major apelin isoform in the central nervous system and cardiovascular system, and is involved in the regulation of various physiopathological mechanisms such as apoptosis, neuroinflammation, angiogenesis, and oxidative stress. Apelin is currently being extensively studied in the nervous system, and apelin-13 has been shown to be associated with the onset and progression of a variety of neurological disorders, including stroke, neurodegenerative diseases, epilepsy, spinal cord injury (SCI), and psychiatric diseases. This study summarizes the pathophysiological roles of apelin-13 in the development and progression of neurological related diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is distributed worldwide and causes significant losses in the poultry industry. In recent decades, lineages GI-19 and GI-7 have become the most prevalent IBV strains in China. However, the molecular evolution and phylodynamics of the lineage GI-7 IBV strains remain largely unknown. In this study, we identified 19 IBV strains from clinical samples from January 2021 to June 2022 in China, including 12 strains of GI-19, 3 strains of GI-7, and 1 strain each of GI-1, GI-9, GI-13, and GI-28. These results indicated that lineages GI-19 and GI-7 IBVs are still the most prevalent IBVs in China. Here, we investigated the evolution and transmission dynamics of lineage GI-7 IBVs. Our results revealed that the Taiwan province might be the origin of lineage GI-7 IBVs and that South China plays an important role in the spread of IBV. Furthermore, we found low codon usage bias of the S1 gene in lineage GI-7 IBVs. This allowed IBV to replicate in the host during evolution as a result of reduced competition, mainly driven by natural selection and mutational pressure, where the role of natural selection is more prominent. Collectively, our results reveal the genetic diversity and evolutionary dynamics of lineage GI-7 IBVs, which could assist in the prevention and control of viral infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To explore clinical outcomes of percutaneous stent implantation using volumetric criteria for unresectable malignant hilar biliary obstruction (MHBO). Additionally, aimed to identify the predictors of patients' survival. Methods: Seventy‐two patients who were initially diagnosed with MHBO between January 2013 to December 2019 in our center were retrospectively included. Patients were stratified according to the drainage achieved ≥50%, <50% of the total liver volume. Patients were divided into two groups: Group A (≥50% drainage), and Group B (<50% drainage). The main outcomes were evaluated in terms of relief of jaundice, effective drainage rate, and survival. Related factors that affect survival were analyzed. Results: 62.5% of the included patients reached effective biliary drainage. The successful drainage rate was significantly higher in Group B than in Group A (p < 0.001). The median overall survival (mOS) of included patients was 6.4 months. Patients who received drainage ≥50% of hepatic volume achieved longer mOS than those who received drainage <50% of hepatic volume (7.6 months vs. 3.9 months, respectively, p = 0. 011). Patients who received effective biliary drainage had longer mOS than those who received ineffective biliary drainage (10.8 months vs. 4.4 months, respectively, p < 0.001). Patients who received anticancer treatment had longer mOS than those who only received palliative therapy (8.7 months vs. 4.6 months, respectively, p = 0.014). In the multivariate analysis, KPS Score ≥ 80 (p = 0.037), ≥50% drainage achieved (p = 0.038), and effective biliary drainage (p = 0.036) were protective prognostic factors that affected patients' survival. Conclusion: Drainage achieved ≥50% of the total liver volume by percutaneous transhepatic biliary stenting seemed to have a higher effective drainage rate in MHBO patients. Effective biliary drainage may create chances for these patients to receive anticancer therapies that seem to provide survival benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic forecasting has been regarded as the basis for many intelligent transportation system (ITS) applications, including but not limited to trip planning, road traffic control, and vehicle routing. Various forecasting methods have been proposed in the literature, including statistical models, shallow machine learning models, and deep learning models. Recently, graph neural networks (GNNs) have emerged as state-of-the-art traffic forecasting solutions because they are well suited for traffic systems with graph structures. This survey aims to introduce the research progress on graph neural networks for traffic forecasting and the research trends observed from the most recent studies. Furthermore, this survey summarizes the latest open-source datasets and code resources for sharing with the research community. Finally, research challenges and opportunities are proposed to inspire follow-up research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic chronic wounds are not only accompanied by inflammation and ulcers but also cause amputation when they develop into severe diabetic foot. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been proven to ameliorate diabetic wound healing, however, the low survival rate of exogenous MSCs after transplantation into the highly proteolytic wound environment is a major obstacle to effective stem cell therapy. Herein, to improve the proliferation, differentiation, and anti-apoptosis ability of transplanted MSCs, we prepared Poly (lactic- co -glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles encapsulated with anti-inflammatory and angiogenic cytokine IL-8, then loaded the nanospheres on acellular dermal matrix to fabricate an efficient delivery medium (PLGA@IL-8/ADM) for exogenous MSCs. It was observed that, in the PLGA@IL-8-loaded ADM, MSCs presented significant proliferation and endothelial differentiation with a great survival rate. In addition, PLGA@IL-8/ADM laden with MSCs effectively induced the capillary construction, collagen deposition and wound healing in cutaneous wounds of streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. Further immunofluorescence analysis indicated that proangiogenic factors (VEGF and α-SMA) were upregulated in regenerated tissue. Overall, our findings indicated that PLGA@IL-8/ADM-MSCs was a potential therapeutic dressing that may contribute to the therapy of diabetic wounds and the PLGA@IL-8/ADM scaffold would be a novel delivery system for exogenous cells for tissue regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to further improve the early-warning effect of enterprise financial crisis management and reduce the occurrence of enterprise financial crisis, by taking listed companies as examples and combining the operating conditions of listed companies, a financial crisis early-warning indicator system was built from five aspects of profitability, debt-paying ability, development ability, operation ability, and cash flow ability. In addition, a financial management early-warning model based on the BP neural network algorithm was built. Through the experimental prediction, it is showed that the financial crisis early-warning model of listed companies based on the BP neural network algorithm for crisis prediction accuracy was more than 75%. The accuracy of the first three years of model prediction was 93.33% and 72.34%, respectively. The accuracy of model prediction in the first two years was 94.67% and 82.98%, respectively. In the first year, the accuracy rate increased to 100% and 89.36%. Compared with the prediction accuracy of the logistic model (50%), it is fully reflected that the financial early-warning model proposed in the research had a good crisis prediction ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a representative of shared mobility, bike sharing has become a green and convenient way to travel in cities in recent years. Bike usage prediction becomes more important for supporting efficient operation and management in bike share systems as the basis of inventory management and bike rebalancing. The essential of usage prediction in bike sharing systems is to model the spatial interactions of nearby stations, the temporal dependence of demands, and the impacts of environmental and societal factors. Deep learning has shown a great advantage of making a precise prediction for bike sharing usage. Recurrent neural networks capture the temporal dependence with the memory cell and gate mechanisms. Convolutional neural networks and graph neural networks learn spatial interactions of nearby stations with local convolutional operations defined for the grid-format and graph-format inputs respectively. In this survey, the latest studies about bike sharing usage prediction with deep learning are reviewed, with a classification for the prediction problems and models. Different applications based on bike usage prediction are discussed, both within and beyond bike share systems. Some research directions are pointed out to encourage future research. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first comprehensive survey that focuses on bike sharing usage prediction with deep learning techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought is a serious natural disaster that has a long duration and a wide range of influences. To decrease drought-induced losses, drought prediction is the basis of corresponding drought prevention and disaster reduction measures. While this problem has been studied in the literature, it remains unknown whether drought can be precisely predicted with machine learning models using weather data. To answer this question, a real-world public dataset is leveraged in this study, and different drought levels are predicted using the last 90 days of 18 meteorological indicators as the predictors. In a comprehensive approach, 16 machine learning models and 16 deep learning models are evaluated and compared. The results show that no single model can achieve the best performance for all evaluation metrics simultaneously, which indicates that the drought prediction problem is still challenging. As benchmarks for further studies, the code and results are publicly available in a GitHub repository. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to effectively address or eliminate the impact of CO2 emissions, it is crucial to conduct a CO2 emissions evolution analysis using a green investment model. Ecological innovation helps to limit carbon dioxide emissions, which is crucial to resource distribution and effectively summarizes the regularity and innovation of the process of limiting carbon dioxide emissions. Under the condition of fully grasping the principles of low-carbon city development and related policy protection, find a suitable low-carbon city development model. This paper analyzes the impact of ecological innovation and green investment on carbon dioxide emission limitations by building a data analysis model. The results of the case analysis show that the impact of the green investment scale on Chinese carbon dioxide emission restrictions is an inverted U-shaped relationship. The scale of green investment, economic competition, and marketization of capital allocation has a negative impact on Chinese carbon dioxide emissions, while green investment and ecological innovation have a positive effect on the green and low-carbon development of the Chinese economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reservoir water level fluctuation zone (WLFZ) is a new and fragile ecosystem that is gaining attention with the construction of large and medium-sized hydropower plants. Compared to the natural riparian zone, it has a greater drop in water level, longer inundation time, more intense impact from alternating wet and dry conditions, and a wider impact on ecological security. The Jinsha River basin is located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in China, and several world-class large-scale hydropower projects with dam heights over 100 m have been built, forming a large area of reservoir WLFZ, however, due to the short time since their construction, there are few related studies. In this paper, fixed sample plots were set up in the typical WLFZs of each large reservoir in the Jinsha River basin. In response to the problem of the precipitous terrain and poor accessibility of the Jinsha River basin, a combination of small UAV surveys and field research in July 2020 was used to draw vegetation cover maps and extract topographic data for each site, and quantitatively analyse the community composition, dominant species types, area, coverage, spatial distribution patterns and environmental factors of tolerant vegetation using spatial superposition analysis, neural network models, landscape pattern indices and typical correlation analysis. The results showed that the original drought-tolerant vegetation in the arid river valley WLFZ has evolved into amphibious herbaceous vegetation, with trees and shrubs disappearing and species composition tending to be simpler. 44 species of plants, mainly in the Asteraceae and Gramineae families, were extant, 61% of which were also reported in the Three Gorges Reservoir WLFZ. The water level variation showed convergence in the natural screening process of suitable species in the WLFZ. Moreover, even in the dry valley WLFZs, flood stress showed a more significant filtering effect on vegetation species than drought stress. The vegetation in the WLFZ showed an obvious band-like aggregated distribution along the water level elevation gradient, and the vegetation coverage along the flooding gradient is as follows: upper part of the WLFZ >> middle part > lower part, and mainly concentrated in the gentle area with slope less than 35°. Flooding stress, drought stress and soil substrate deficiency were the main limiting factors for vegetation recovery in the WLFZ. The vegetation restoration of the WLFZ should be adapted to local conditions, and the dominant role of native species should be emphasized. At the early stage of the restoration of the WLFZ, native species should be selected for artificial planting to accelerate the formation of vegetation cover, and gradually advance downwards along the gradient of water level elevation, while for areas of the WLFZ with slopes greater than 35° and large topographic relief, biological engineering measures should be used to help plant establishment, and after a certain stable cover has been formed, natural restoration should be the main focus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clinical characteristics of persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) vary according to patient age and inducing factors. We aimed to analyze the differences in the clinical characteristics of PPPD with different patient age groups and different etiologies. A total of 122 PPPD patients hospitalized in the vertigo ward of Nanjing Brain Hospital from December 2018 to July 2021 were enrolled. According to whether dizziness symptoms were secondary to organic diseases, PPPD patients were divided into the primary (p-) and secondary (s-) PPPD groups; subgroups were created according to age including youth group, middle-aged group, older adults group 1 and older adults 2. We collected detailed data from each patients, including scores on the Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), mental state and other clinical data. The ratio of males to females was 1:2. The prevalence of emotional disorders in the middle-aged group was the highest (67.57%) and that in the older adults groups was lower (48.08% in older adults group 1 and 8.70% in older adults group 2, P = 0.000). The proportion of p-PPPD patients with emotional disorders was significantly higher than that of s-PPPD patients (53.48% vs. 30.56%, P = 0.028). The average total DHI score in the middle-aged group was significantly higher than that in older adults group 2 (52.86 vs. 35.04, P = 0.032), and the Beck anxiety score in the middle-aged group was higher than that in older adults group 2 (38.89 vs. 27.65, P = 0.000). The middle-aged group had the highest proportion of women, the highest proportion of patients with emotional disorders and the highest vertigo score. The proportion of patients with emotional disorders and the vertigo scores were lower in the older adults groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software defined networking (SDN) has been proposed as an effective approach to improve network management efficiency and increase network intelligence in various networks. However, configuring and deploying suitable SDN functionalities is challenging. To overcome these obstacles in SDN network deployment, machine learning models have been introduced to monitor and predict the quality of service (QoS) in an SDN-enabled network. However, most existing studies are applicable only to deployed SDN networks with specific network topologies. In this study, a prediction-based SDN network configuration and deployment scheme is proposed for unseen network topologies before the actual deployment of SDN functionalities. In addition, a machine learning-based pre-deployment SDN performance prediction problem is formulated, and a neural network boosting regression model (i.e., NNBoost) is proposed as the solution. Numerical experiments demonstrate that NNBoost outperforms other machine learning algorithms, including deep learning methods, proposed in the literature, on datasets generated with both real-world and synthetic network topologies, compared with random forest (RF), AdaBoost, XGBoost, LightGBM, deep neural network (DNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM). It is found that NNBoost achieves lower root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) results for the maximum and mean values for the Round-Trip Time (RTT), Switch-to-Controller (S2C) traffic, and Controller-to-Controller (C2C) traffic. It is also found that by adding extra training data samples generated with synthetic network topologies, NNBoost achieves a better prediction performance on the test data samples for real-world network topologies. • A prediction-based SDN network configuration and deployment scheme is defined. • A ML-based pre-deployment SDN performance prediction problem is well-formulated. • A neural network boosting regression model is proposed as the solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new amphiphilic mono-6-β-cyclodextrin octadecylimine (6-β-CD-N-ODMA) copolymer was synthesized based on β-cyclodextrin and octadecylamine, which can self-assemble to form polymeric micelles. Drug-loaded micelles (a new drug carrier) were obtained using 6-β-CD-N-ODMA and paclitaxel (PTX) by the dialysis method. Orthogonal experiments were used to optimize the preparation method of the drug-loaded micelles. The drug-loading content of the carrier prepared by the optimized method was 1.97%. The physicochemical properties of blank micelles and drug-loaded micelles were evaluated by the fluorescence probe method, infrared spectra, dynamic light scattering, and scanning electron microscopy. The release properties of the carrier were investigated. The carrier has good pH sensitivity and the cumulative release rate after 96 h was 88% in PBS (pH = 5.0). The Ritger–Peppas equation is the optimal model for PTX released at pH 5.0, implying that the hydrolysis effect of 6-β-CD-N-ODMA is the main reason for PTX release. The results indicate that the developed carrier can increase the solubility of PTX and possess potential for increased clinical efficacy of PTX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a six-step hand hygiene technique. Although multiple studies have reported that this technique yields inadequate skin coverage outcomes, they have relied on manual labeling that provided low-resolution estimations of skin coverage outcomes. We have developed a computational system to precisely quantify hand hygiene outcomes and provide high-resolution skin coverage visualizations, thereby improving hygiene techniques. We identified frequently untreated areas located at the dorsal side of the hands around the abductor digiti minimi and the first dorsal interosseous. We also estimated that excluding Steps 3, 6R, and 6L from the six-step hand hygiene technique leads to cumulative coverage loss of less than 1%, indicating the potential redundancy of these steps. Our study demonstrates that the six-step hand hygiene technique could be improved to reduce the untreated areas and remove potentially redundant steps. Furthermore, our system can be used to computationally validate new proposed techniques, and help optimise hand hygiene procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: There is little evidence to support a correlation between abdominal surgery and acute cerebellar ataxia (ACA). We reviewed the records of children with ACA treated at our institution to analyze risk factors for ACA. Methods: Clinical data of 442 children with ACA treated at Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between November 2015 and June 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine risk factors for the occurrence and recurrence of ACA. Results: In total, 442 children with ACA were included in this study. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed age (p = 0.009), infection (p < 0.001), vaccination (p < 0.001), head trauma (p < 0.001), intussusception surgery (IS) (p < 0.001), operation for indirect inguinal hernia (p < 0.001), and operation for congenital gastrointestinal malformation (p < 0.001) were independent risk factors for ACA occurrence. Univariate analysis showed that only IS (p < 0.001) was associated with ACA recurrence. Conclusions: Surgeons should be aware that age, infection, vaccination, head trauma, and history of abdominal surgery are associated with ACA, while IS is a risk factor for ACA recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite–terrestrial integrated networks (STINs) have been proposed for B5G/6G mobile communication, and the increase in the computation and communication capacities of satellites opens the door for satellite edge computing in space. The requirements of privacy protection and communication efficiency lead to the inefficiency or deficiency of traditional learning approaches in STINs. This study incorporates federated learning and split learning paradigms with STINs and introduces a split-then-federated learning framework and federated split learning with long short-term memory to handle sequential data in STINs. A case study of electricity theft detection based on a real-world sequential power load dataset is utilized to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed solution. Numerical experiments show that the proposed FedSL-LSTM model is an effective federated learning solution and a competitive solution compared with centralized models in terms of classification performance evaluation metrics. • A split-then-federated learning framework in STINs is proposed for the first time. • A FedSL-LSTM model is proven effective for processing sequential data in STINs. • A case study of electricity theft detection with a real-world dataset is conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The biosynthesis and signal transduction pathway of SLs have been analyzed. • The interaction of SLs with other plant hormones such as abscisic acid (ABA) and salicylic acid (SA) plays an important role in plant response to drought stress. • Exogenous SLs can be utilized to mitigate drought stress, which may enhance plant output and quality. Phytohormones are essential for increasing plant resistance to environmental challenges, such as abiotic stress, which have a detrimental impact on plant production and threat to future food security. Strigolactones (SLs) regulate a variety of vegetative growth and development, and help plants respond to various abiotic stresses. This phytohormone controls root morphology, secondary growth, and shoot branching. Exogenous SLs can be utilized to mitigate adverse abiotic stresses, which may enhance plant output and quality. The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the biosynthesis of SLs as well as their signal transduction pathways, and the interaction of SLs with other phytohormones such as abscisic acid (ABA) and salicylic acid (SA) in plant systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ocean acidification is predicted to have significant implications for marine calcifying organisms. However, little is known about the physiological responses of Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas , to elevated partial pressure of atmospheric carbon dioxide (p CO2) under natural fluctuations associated with a farm environment. The present study evaluated the effect of two p CO2 levels (i.e. ambient ∼625 μatm and elevated ∼1432 μatm) on the physiological processes and growth of C. gigas in in situ mesocosms that simulated the farm environment. Oysters were exposed for 30 days over a sensitive period during their production cycle when they are first exposed to natural coastal conditions. Despite this being a well-known "bottleneck" in production, it remains understudied with respect to climate change. Results showed that elevated p CO2 levels decreased clearance rate, ingestion rate, absorption efficiency, and oxygen to nitrogen ratio, while increasing oxygen consumption and ammonia-N excretion rates. These physiological responses of oysters resulted in a reduction in energy available for growth (scope for growth). No mortality was observed in the control or elevated p CO2 treatments, indicating that although oyster may survive future coastal acidification, the allocation of energy towards production within aquaculture systems will decrease in the future, affecting the culture of these economically important marine bivalves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dysfunction in the osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) leads to bone loss/osteoporosis. The catenin beta interacting protein 1 (CTNNBIP1) is an inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, whose role in osteogenesis remains elusive. This study aimed to reveal the effects of miR-486–3p/CTNNBIP1 in osteogenesis. Bone marrow samples from healthy individuals and osteoporosis patients and mice with sham or ovariectomy (OVX) surgeries were collected. Levels of CTNNBIP1 and miR-486–3p were assessed. A dual-luciferase reporter assay was used to confirm the interactions between CTNNBIP1 and miR-486–3p. MiR-486–3p mimics/inhibitor or CTNNBIP1 overexpression lentiviruses were transfected to human BMSCs (hBMSCs) and an osteogenic assay was performed. Alizarin red S (ARS) and Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) intensity and expression of osteogenic genes Runx2, Alp, Cola1 and Bglap were measured. Key proteins in the Wnt/β-catenin pathway including active β-catenin, Bcl-2, and Cyclin D1 were assessed. CTNNBIP1 was upregulated while miR-486–3p was downregulated in osteoporosis patients and OVX mice. CTNNBIP1 was confirmed as a target of miR-486–3p. MiR-486–3p overexpression promoted, while miR-486–3p knockdown suppressed, osteogenic differentiation and Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Rescue experiments confirmed the negative effects of CTNNBIP1 overexpression on osteoblastic differentiation and that miR-486–3p mimics could reverse canonical Wnt signaling. This study demonstrated that miR-486–3p targets CTNNBIP1, thus activating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway to promote osteogenesis of BMSCs. [Display omitted] • miR-486–3p is a positive regulator in osteogenic differentiation. • miR-486–3p target the 3′UTR of CTNNBIP1 mRNA. • miR-486–3p/CTNNBIP1 axis regulates Wnt/β-catenin signaling to control osteogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic forecasting is an important research topic in intelligent transportation systems and smart cities. This Special Issue aims to collect the state-of-the-art results of applying neural networks for traffic forecasting. A collection of five papers are accepted and included in this Special Issue, covering the latest methods such as Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs), spatio-temporal attention-boosted autoencoder and Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL). [Extracted from the article]

The corresponding author explained that 10 mice were used in each group whilst performing liver ischemia/reperfusion experiments, but that two liver samples of the Ago-mir-NC group were damaged during embedding or sectioning, and as a result this group only contained 8 samples. Specifically, the Fig 6D Ago-mir-146a panel appeared similar to the Fig 6G Ago-mir-146a panel despite being used to represent different experimental conditions. They provided an updated Fig 6 with the correct Fig 6D Ago-mir-146a image obtained in the original experiment, as well as the individual level data underlying the published results (S1 File). [Extracted from the article]

With the development of a large number of tall dams and large cascade reservoir projects in the Lantsang River Basin, a large water level fluctuating zone (WLFZ) containing cascading reservoirs has formed. This newborn ecosystem is related to the sustainable development of hydropower projects, and has become a new problem to be studied urgently. Taking WLFZs in the Huangdeng, Xiaowan and Nuozhadu Reservoirs in the Lantsang River Basin as study areas, this study used multi-spectral remote-sensing field data obtained with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to ascertain the species types, coverage, distribution characteristics, dominant species and pioneer species of naturally restored vegetation. The considered data were subjected to UAV data processing, vegetation classification using multi-spectral images and a geographic information system (GIS) terrain-distribution analysis. Results show that: Polygonum Plebeium, Cynodon dactylon, Xanthium sibiricum, Ageratum conyzoides, Eleusine indica, Digitaria sanguinalis and Verbena officinalis are the dominant species of vegetation that could be naturally restored in the WLFZ; the vegetation coverage and the number of species are significantly positively correlated with the age and restoration periods of the WLFZ; the vegetation coverage of each study area increases at first, and then decreases, as a function of elevation; gentle slopes about 0–25°are more suitable for vegetation restoration. This study provides first-hand data on the natural restoration of vegetation in WLFZs, and gives a useful reference for its ecological restoration as a consequence of hydropower cascade development in the Lantsang River Basin. Finally, the study demonstrates that light UAV remote sensing is an attractive choice for investigating vegetation in reservoir WLFZs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Dam's cyclic water storage shapes banded spatial patterns of vegetation. • Coupling analysis of landscape evolution and ecological process. • In dry riparian areas, vegetation and bare patches form rainwater collection systems. • Retaining certain bare patches is crucial for riparian restoration in dry areas. Emerging and fragile ecosystems such as reservoir riparian zones are of increasing concern with the increasing number of damming projects worldwide. Current knowledge of riparian vegetation in reservoirs focuses on the individual and community level, with little understanding of spatial patterns and ecological processes at the landscape level. Here, we demonstrate the evolution process, evolution direction, and evolution mechanism of vegetation spatial patterns under persistent and periodic inundation disturbances in the reservoir riparian zone, through coupled analyses of landscape evolution and ecological processes, using continuous years of drone observation data in the riparian zones of two major reservoirs, Xiaowan and Nuozhadu of the Lancang River. We found that vegetation landscape evolution is driven by seed dispersal, environmental factors fluctuations, species tolerance differences, and competition for resource availability, showing a clear trend towards banded evolution. Ecological niche processes such as periodic wet-dry environmental filtering and interspecific competition dominated the formation of vegetation banding patches, and neutral processes of random seed dispersal dominated the areas where banding patches were formed. The water requirements of plants during the exposing period lead to a greater influence of environmental factors that are closely related to water, such as net rainfall, sunshine hours, groundwater storage, and soil moisture. Water redistribution between vegetated and bare ground patches is key to their formation and stability in the upper part of the riparian zone, where drought stress is severe, while in the lower part, vegetation is mainly affected by inundation stress during flooding periods. Therefore, riparian vegetation restoration is critical to maintain a certain area of bare ground patches for drought areas in the exposing period, in contrast to the emphasis on vegetation patch coverage. And it is possible to carry out spatial planning based on the development trend of the belt distribution, taking into account the flood and drought tolerance of the species as well as the fluctuating rhythms of the main factors, such as the rainfall, which is worth exploring further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has a conservative sex culture and does not include contraception as part of its sex education curriculum. As a result, young people tend to search for sex information online. How college students seek contraception information, by what means, and the factors affecting their information seeking are poorly understood. To better understand these issues, this study compares the Planned Risk Information-Seeking Model (PRISM) with an expanded model that incorporates device preference and differentiates between perceived severity and vulnerability. The expanded model was found to fit and explain the data better than PRISM. Results indicate that perceived vulnerability to unwanted pregnancy is related to information seeking while perceived severity is not. While perceived severity substantially influenced the affective response to unwanted pregnancy, the affective response was not related to information-seeking behaviour. Channel belief on the other hand proved to be a significant predictor of seeking contraception information online. Our findings also suggest that Chinese college students prefer using smartphones to seeking contraceptive information online. We discuss the implications of using this for providing online sex education on demand to young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scallop farming is the main economic activity in the northern parts of China, with a production that has increased quickly since the 1980s. In the present study, a bioenergetics growth model to the Yesso scallop, Patinopecten yessoensis, in the mariculture area of Zhangzidao Island was applied, based on dynamic energy budget (DEB) theory which describes energy flux variation through different compartments of the scallop body. Estimates of most DEB parameters were based on available physiological data or published information, and the two parameters, i.e., detritus contribution to food (αDet) and half-saturation constant for food (XK) were calibrated using datasets in this study. The model relied on two forcing variables: water temperature and food density expressed by different food quantifiers. The sets of data used to validate the model came from a growth experiment performed on P. yessoensis for bottom-sowing culture. The DEB model developed here for P. yessoensis was allowed to simulate growth and reproduction of the scallop in the growing area of the Zhangzidao Island. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. This study assesses the diagnostic performance of emergency single-balloon enteroscopy (SBE) for obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB) under general anesthesia versus conscious sedation. Study. The data of 102 OGIB in-patients from June 2015 to June 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. The diagnosis and detection rates and adverse events were calculated overall and in relation to age, gender, type of operation and anesthesia, bleeding type, different times of examination, and SBE route. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 24.0, and the diagnosis and detection rates were compared using the Chi-square test. Results. Among the 102 patients, 66 patients had positive findings, while 11 patients had suspected positive findings, and the diagnosis and detection rates were 64.7% and 75.5%, respectively. Ulcers (19.6%) and tumors (16.7%) were the most common causes of OGIB. There were no statistical differences in diagnosis and detection rates between the ages of ≥60 and <60 and between different genders. Patients with emergency SBE had higher diagnosis and detection rates (68.6% vs. 35.3%, P=0.023; 80.0% vs. 47.1%, P=0.016, respectively), when compared with nonemergency SBE patients. The diagnosis rate at 24 hours was higher than that at 2-7 days and one week (88.0% vs. 61.5%, P=0.030; 88.0% vs. 53.8%, P=0.007). For overt bleeding, the difference in diagnosis rates at 24 hours, 2-7 days, and one week was statistically significant (100.0% vs. 57.1%, P=0.006; 100.0% vs. 57.1%, P=0.006). For occult bleeding, the pairwise comparison revealed no statistical difference. Patients with general anesthesia had a higher detection rate, when compared to patients with conscious sedation (87.9% vs. 63.9%, P=0.004). In addition, adverse events under general anesthesia were lower, when compared to adverse events under conscious sedation (28.8% vs. 69.4%, P=0.020). There was no significant difference in adverse events at the different time points (P>0.05). Conclusion. Emergency SBE under general anesthesia achieves higher diagnosis and detection rates, and fewer adverse events under conscious sedation, when compared to nonemergency SBE, regardless of the route. For patients with overt bleeding, it is easier to find lesions by emergency SBE within 24 hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ria de Aveiro is an important coastal lagoon for wildlife in Portugal, where the production of bivalves reaches approximately 2700 tons annually. However, the illegal overfishing of bivalves is frequent in this lagoon, which causes critical changes in the ecosystem. In this study, using a developed food-web model (Ecopath model), the ecological carrying capacity (ECC) and maximum sustained yield (MSY) of the Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum were estimated, and the effects of further increases in clam biomass on other species were investigated. The results showed that 1) the current biomass and legal catch of R. philippinarum do not yet exceed the ECC (172.40 tons km−2) or the MSY (86.20 tons km−2 year−1) in Ria de Aveiro; 2) the harvested Manila clams of the MSY represent removing from the ecosystem ∼ 581 tons carbon (C) and ∼83 tons nitrogen (N) annually, with substantial ecological and economic implications; and 3) a further increase in the biomass levels of this species may cause the ecotrophic efficiency of other groups to become unrealistic, potentially leading to decreases in ecosystem transfer efficiency, biodiversity and health. The results here are expected to guide the sustainable development and management of bivalve aquaculture in Ria de Aveiro and the protection of the local environment. • The current catching of clams is below the maximum sustained yield in Ria de Aveiro. • The harvested clams represent removing ∼581 tons C and 83 tons N annually. • Increases in the clams biomass may cause a decline in ecosystem health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B Correction to: Neurochemical Research b https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-023-03935-7 In the original version of this article, unfortunately the affiliation details for Dr. Weiwei Jiang were wrongly published. The online version of the original article can be found at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-023-03935-7. Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. [Extracted from the article]

• This work is designed to provide registration for spine ultrasound and X-ray radiograph. • An improved FFD registration method based on mutual registration and hierarchical adaptive grid (MRHA-FFD) is first put forward in this paper. • The registration image quality is improved by introducing a Blur-aware Attention Network (BANet) • The feasibility of the registration for clinical spine imaging is verified through qualitative and quantitative evaluation indicators. Ultrasound is a promising imaging method for scoliosis evaluation because it is radiation free and provide real-time images. However, it cannot provide bony details because ultrasound cannot penetrate the bony structure. Therefore, registration of real-time ultrasound images with the previous X-ray radiograph can help physicians understand the spinal deformity of patients. In this study, an improved free-from deformation registration method based on mutual registration and hierarchical adaptive grid (MRHA-FFD) was developed. The method first performed registration grid preprocessing and then optimized control points and conducted mutual registration. Finally, a Blur-aware Attention Network was adopted for image deblurring. The performance of each step was verified by ablation experiments. Comparison experiment between the proposed method and traditional registration methods was also conducted. The qualitative and quantitative results suggested that MRHA-FFD is a promising approach for registering spine ultrasound image and X-ray radiograph. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physiological and biochemical responses in bivalves exposed to pollutants have proved a valuable tool to assess the health of organisms in aquatic ecosystems. The single and combined effects of mercury (Hg2+, 2 and 10 μg/L) and benzo[ a ]pyrene (BaP, 3 μg/L) on physiological and biochemical biomarkers in Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum were evaluated. Results showed that significant higher oxygen consumption (OR) and ammonia-N excretion rates (NR) together with significant lower ingestion rates (IR) were observed for the 10 μg/L Hg2+ or 3 μg/L BaP treatments compared to controls (P < 0.05). However, clam NR decreased significantly in response to the binary mixtures of 10 μg/L Hg2+ and 3 μg/L BaP (P < 0.05). Moreover, the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione-s-transferases (GSTs), glutathione (GSH), acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the hepatopancreas of clams were induced substantially, whereas glycogen (GLY) contents were suppressed dramatically after Hg2+ and BaP exposure. Additionally, the integrated biomarker response (IBR) values measured showed significant increases in combination treatments and they were much higher than that in the Hg2+ treatment. This study will provide further information on the defense mechanism in the Manila clam after exposure to marine pollutants and may help evaluate the quality of the aquatic environment. Unlabelled Image • The effects of Hg2+ and BaP on physiological and biochemical biomarkers in Ruditapes philippinarum were examined. • Significant higher OR and NR together with significant lower IR were observed for the Hg2+ and BaP treatments than controls. • SOD, CAT, GSTs, GSH, AChE and MDA levels in hepatopancreas were induced significantly, while GLY contents were suppressed. • IBR values measured in the hepatopancreas of clams showed significant increases in combination treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes boundary parallel-like index (BPI) to describe shape features for high-resolution remote sensing image classification. Parallel-like boundary is found to be a discriminating clue which can reveal the shape regularity of segmented objects. Therefore, multi-orientation distance projections were constructed to measure and quantify parallel-like information. The discriminating ability was tested using original and segmented ground objects, respectively. The proposed BPI showed better discrimination for both original and segmented data than for other shape features, especially for buildings. This was also confirmed by the considerably higher accuracy of BPI in building classification experiments of high-resolution remote sensing imagery. It suggests the proposed BPI is useful for building related applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are many advantages of a SMOF emulsion (SMOF-lipid), such as liver-protective properties and anti-inflammatory effects. The objective of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes of SMOF-lipid with medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) /long-chain triglycerides (LCT) in infants after intestinal surgery.Methods: This was a prospective, randomized study. Neonates receiving intravenous nutrient solution, including lipid emulsion after gastrointestinal surgery, were included in this study. The patients were randomly assigned to the SMOF-lipid or MCT/LCT groups. Infants who received intravenous lipid emulsion continuously for > 2 weeks were considered to have completed the study. Differences in weight gain, nutrition indices, alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), and direct bilirubin (DB), and inflammation cytokine markers (interleukin [IL]-6 and tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α) were measured.Results: The final sample included 160 infants. One hundred fourteen infants received intravenous SMOF-lipid (74) or MCT/LCT (86) > 2 weeks and 46 infants received intravenous SMOF-lipid (22) or MCT/LCT (24) > 4 weeks. There were no significant differences in weight gain, nutrition indices, inflammation cytokine markers, and sepsis between the groups at the end of 2 and 4 weeks; however, in the SMOF group, the ALT, AST, and DB levels were significantly lower than the MCT/LCT group at the end of 4 weeks.Conclusion: The mixture and balanced emulsion of SMOF-lipid was well-tolerated in infants who have undergone gastrointestinal surgery, and liver-protective properties were demonstrated following long-term venous nutrition, especially > 4 weeks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water temperature is generally considered to be a major factor affecting the physiological and biochemical activities of marine bivalves. Here, the physiological and biochemical responses of Yesso scallop, Patinopecten yessoensis, to acute water temperature changes in summer were studied. Scallops were transferred directly to a lower temperature (Tdec treatment) (from 23°C to 15°C) or to a higher temperature (Tdec treatment) (from 15°C to 23°C) for 72 h, respectively. Results showed that the oxygen consumption and ammonia-N excretion rates of P. yessoensis decreased significantly in the Tdec treatment but increased dramatically at 6 h in the Tdec treatment (P <0.05). In the T dec treatment, hepatopancreas antioxidant enzyme activities, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities, increased substantially within 72 h (P <0.05). However, a significant decrease in CAT activity was found at 12 h in the Tdec treatment (P <0.01). A significant enhancement of acid phosphatase (ACP) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content was detected when scallops were acutely exposed to a temperature of 15°C. The levels of Cu/Zn-SOD gene expression in their gills up-regulated significantly in response to acute temperature changes (P <0.01). These data suggest that acute temperature change affects physiological and biochemical functions, and improve our knowledge of P. yessoensis under conditions of thermal stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water temperature fluctuations are considered to be a major factor affecting the immune functions and metabolic processes of scallops. To better understand the immune defense mechanisms of Yesso scallop, Patinopecten yessoensis following exposure to water temperature fluctuations, transcriptomic profiles in the gills from high-frequency fluctuations (HF_G), low-frequency fluctuations (LF_G), and no fluctuations (NF_G) groups were obtained using HiSeq™ 2500 (Illumina). For HF_G, scallops were transferred directly between 18 and 8 °C every 4 h and for 10 fluctuations, while scallops in LF_G were transferred between 18 and 13 °C every 12 h, for a total of 4 fluctuations. A total of 442,922,590 clean reads were generated in 9 libraries and then assembled into 210,780 unigenes with an average length of 705 bp and an N50 of 1253 bp. Based on sequence similarity, 54,529 unigenes (25.87%) were annotated in at least one database. Comparative analysis revealed that 696 unigenes differentially expressed in temperature stressed groups compared with the control, including 229 unigenes between HF_G and NF_G, and 548 unigenes between LF_G and NF_G, respectively. Additionally, among these differentially expressed genes (DEGs), there were 41 immune-related unigenes and 16 protein metabolism-related unigenes. These results provide fundamental information on the molecular defense mechanisms in the Yesso scallop gills after exposure to water temperature fluctuations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxygen doped MoS 2 nanosheets were in-situ grown into the three-dimensional (3D) porous graphene frameworks (O-MoS 2 /G) through a facile hydrothermal method, and then used to coat the commercial PP separators for Li-S batteries. The relatively low hydrothermal temperature should be a key factor for achieving the O-doped MoS 2. The O dopants could expand and disturb interlayer structures of MoS 2 to produce abundant active edge sites for adsorption and catalytic conversion of polysulfides. Moreover, the basal planes of MoS 2 should be also activated by the O doping and exhibit enhanced chemical adsorption strength towards polysulfides for propelling electrochemical conversion. Owing to the synergistic effects of the 3D porous graphene frameworks and the inlaid O-MoS 2 nanosheets, the Li-S cells with high S areal loading cathodes and O-MoS 2 /G@PP separators exhibit excellent electrochemical performances with a high specific capacity of 1141 mAh g−1 at the 1st cycle at 0.1 C, reversible capacities of 772 mAh g−1 at the 50th cycle at 0.2 C and 583 mAh g−1 at the 100th cycle at 0.5 C. These encouraging results provide that the heteroatom doping should be a promising approach to improve the adsorption and catalytic activity of MoS 2 for propelling the polysulfide conversion in Li-S batteries. [Display omitted] • Doped MoS2 nanosheets were in-situ grown into the 3D porous graphene frameworks. • Low hydrothermal temperature should be a key factor for achieving the O-doped MoS2. • Dopants in the MoS2 could produce active edge sites for adsorption and catalysis. • The basal planes of MoS2 should be activated by the O doping. • Li-S cells with O-MoS2/G@PP separators exhibit excellent electrochemical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wide application of LiFePO (LFP) in high-power lithium-ion batteries is limited due to its two main drawbacks: poor electronic conductivity and low lithium-ion diffusivity, which can be greatly improved through a combination of reducing the LFP crystallites to nanoscale and introducing a conductive carbon coating layer. It is well accepted that the choice of carbon precursors has a significant impact on the ultimate lithium storage property of the LiFePO/carbon (LFP/C) composite. In this work, LFP/C core-shell composite nanospheres using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as carbon source (LFP/C-PVDF) were prepared and the electrochemical performances in lithium half cells were investigated. The electrochemical properties of LFP/C composite derived from glucose (LFP/C-GLU) and the bare LFP without carbon coating were also investigated for comparison. It was found that LFP/C-PVDF displayed a higher capacity, better rate capability and smaller polarization than its LFP/C-GLU and LFP counterparts, which could be ascribed to lower surface and charge-transfer impedances, and an enhanced lithium-ion diffusivity, as revealed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis. Our study demonstrates that PVDF is a facile and potential carbon precursor for LiFePO in high-performance lithium-ion battery application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water temperature is a significant environmental stressor that affects physiology and biochemical activities of bivalves. Here, temporal variations in physiological and biochemical parameters of Zhikong scallop, Chlamys farreri, under three water temperature treatments were investigated. For the first treatment, scallops were transferred from rearing temperature (15°C, control temperature) to 5, 10, 20 and 25°C, respectively. The second group of scallops was gradually acclimated to above experimental temperatures at a rate of 1-2°C day−1. The third group was transferred directly between 15 and 7°C every 12 h and for six times. Results showed that significantly higher oxygen consumption and ammonia-N excretion together with a significant lower ingestion rate was observed for the acute temperature change treatment compared to those in the equivalent gradual temperature variation treatment ( P < 0.05). In acute temperature change treatment, hepatopancreas antioxidant enzyme activities, that is, superoxide dismutase ( SOD) and catalase ( CAT), immune enzyme activities, that is, acid phosphatase ( ACP) and lysozyme ( LSZ), and heat-shock protein 70 gene ( Hsp70) expression levels of scallops increased substantially within 48 h. Significant increases in SOD, CAT, ACP and LSZ activities, and malondialdehyde content occurred under exposure to fluctuating temperatures ( P < 0.01). Gill and hepatopancreatic Hsp70 expression levels also increased significantly in response to water temperature fluctuations ( P < 0.05). The study provides basic knowledge about thermal stress in Zhikong scallop and may contribute to the management of scallop mortalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigating the interaction of groundwater and surface water is key to understanding the hyporheic processes. The vertical water fluxes through a streambed were determined using Darcian flux calculations and vertical sediment temperature profiles to assess the pattern and magnitude of groundwater/surface-water interaction in Beiluo River, China. Field measurements were taken in January 2015 at three different stream morphologies including a meander bend, an anabranching channel and a straight stream channel. Despite the differences of flux direction and magnitude, flux directions based on vertical temperature profiles are in good agreement with results from Darcian flux calculations at the anabranching channel, and the Kruskal-Wallis tests show no significant differences between the estimated upward fluxes based on the two methods at each site. Also, the upward fluxes based on the two methods show similar spatial distributions on the streambed, indicating (1) that higher water fluxes at the meander bend occur from the center of the channel towards the erosional bank, (2) that water fluxes at the anabranching channel are higher near the erosional bank and in the center of the channel, and (3) that in the straight channel, higher water fluxes appear from the center of the channel towards the depositional bank. It is noted that higher fluxes generally occur at certain locations with higher streambed vertical hydraulic conductivity ( K ) or where a higher vertical hydraulic gradient is observed. Moreover, differences of grain size, induced by stream morphology and contrasting erosional and depositional conditions, have significant effects on streambed K and water fluxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]