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To explore the effect of lupus nephritis (LN) on graft survival in renal transplant patients. Literature search was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE and Scopus database for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), cohort, and case-control studies. The target population of interest was adult patients (aged >18 years) with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and no history of previous renal transplants. Primary outcomes of interest were graft survival and patient survival. Pooled effect estimates were calculated using random-effects models and reported as hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). A total of 15 studies were included. Compared to patients with ESRD due to other causes, patients with LN undergoing kidney transplant had lower patient survival rate (HR 1.15, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.31; N = 15, I2=34.3%) and worse graft survival (HR 1.06, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.11; N = 16, I2=0.0%), especially when studies with deceased donor were pooled together. Studies with a larger sample size (>200) showed that LN was strongly associated with lower graft and patient survival rates. Elevated risk of mortality in LN patients was detected in case-control studies, but not RCTs. On the other hand, RCTs, but not case-control studies, showed an increased risk of poor graft survival in LN patients. The findings suggest that the presence of LN might have a negative impact on both the graft survival and the overall patient survival of post-transplant ESRD patients. Further studies that account for factors such as study methodology, donor characteristics, and sample size are needed to reach definitive conclusions. Renal transplant patients with LN should undergo regular follow-up examinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Place recognition plays a crucial role in tasks such as loop closure detection and re-localization in robotic navigation. As a high-level representation within scenes, semantics enables models to effectively distinguish geometrically similar places, therefore enhancing their robustness to environmental changes. Unlike most existing semantic-based LiDAR place recognition (LPR) methods that adopt a multi-stage and relatively segregated data-processing and storage pipeline, we propose a novel end-to-end LPR model guided by semantic information—SG-LPR. This model introduces a semantic segmentation auxiliary task to guide the model in autonomously capturing high-level semantic information from the scene, implicitly integrating these features into the main LPR task, thus providing a unified framework of "segmentation-while-describing" and avoiding additional intermediate data-processing and storage steps. Moreover, the semantic segmentation auxiliary task operates only during model training, therefore not adding any time overhead during the testing phase. The model also combines the advantages of Swin Transformer and U-Net to address the shortcomings of current semantic-based LPR methods in capturing global contextual information and extracting fine-grained features. Extensive experiments conducted on multiple sequences from the KITTI and NCLT datasets validate the effectiveness, robustness, and generalization ability of our proposed method. Our approach achieves notable performance improvements over state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the predictive value of circulating lymphocyte subsets and inflammatory indexes in response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NCRT) in patients with rectal mucinous adenocarcinomas (MACs). Methods: Rectal MAC patients who underwent NCRT and curative resection at Fujian Medical University Union Hospital's Department of Colorectal Surgery between 2016 and 2020 were included in the study. Patients were categorized into good and poor response groups based on their pathological response to NCRT. An independent risk factor‐based nomogram model was constructed by utilizing multivariate logistic regression analysis. Additionally, the extreme gradient boosting (XGB) algorithm was applied to build a machine learning (ML)‐based predictive model. Feature importance was quantified using the Shapley additive explanations method. Results: Out of the 283 participants involved in this research, 190 (67.1%) experienced an unfavorable outcome. To identify the independent risk factors, logistic regression analysis was performed, considering variables such as tumor length, pretreatment clinical T stage, PNI, and Th/Tc ratio. Subsequently, a nomogram model was constructed, achieving a C‐index of 0.756. The ML model exhibited higher prediction accuracy than the nomogram model, achieving an AUROC of 0.824 in the training set and 0.762 in the tuning set. The top five important parameters of the ML model were identified as the Th/Tc ratio, neutrophil to lymphocyte, Th lymphocytes, Gross type, and T lymphocytes. Conclusion: Radiochemotherapy sensitivity is markedly influenced by systemic inflammation and lymphocyte‐mediated immune responses in rectal MAC patients. Our ML model integrating clinical characteristics, circulating lymphocyte subsets, and inflammatory indexes is a potential assessment tool that can provide a reference for individualized treatment for rectal MAC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of multi-component photothermal agents has attracted increasing attention due to their potential applications in energy conversion, medical treatments, etc. Herein, a dumbbell shaped PbS-Te heterostructure was prepared via a one-pot microwave-assisted decomposition of lead dimethyl dithiocarbamate and tellurium diethyl dithiocarbamate. The as-obtained PbS-Te hybrids exhibit excellent photothermal stability and strong optical absorption over a broad wavelength range spanning from ultraviolet to near-infrared, where the photothermal conversion efficiency could reach as high as 12.1%. Such promising photothermal performance demonstrates the advantages of one-pot synthesis that results in more intimate contacts among individual components. Key words: one-pot synthesis, dumbbell shaped microstructure, PbS-Te, photothermal conversion. Le developpement d'agents photothermiques multicomposants suscite un interet grandissant en raison des eventuelles applications de ces agents dans la conversion energetique, les traitements medicaux, etc. Dans le cadre des presents travaux, nous avons prepare une heterostructure de PbS-Te en forme d'haltere en une etape par decomposition assistee par micro-ondes du dimethyldithiocarbamate de plomb et du diethyldithiocarbamate de tellure. Les structures hybrides de PbS-Te obtenues telles quelles presentent une excellente stabilite photothermique et une forte absorption optique sur une vaste plage de longueurs d'onde allant de l'ultraviolet au proche infrarouge, ou l'efficacite de la conversion photothermique peut atteindre 12,1 %. Une performance photothermique aussi prometteuse met en evidence les avantages de la synthese monotope qui se traduit par des contacts plus intimes entre les differents composants. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles : synthese monotope, microstructure en forme d'haltere, PbS-Te, conversion photothermique., Introduction The study of photothermal substances has attracted increasing attention in the last two decades, driven by their applications in energy conversion, medical treatments, etc. For examples, photo-thermal therapy for [...]

Electrochromic technology that enables modulation of a material's optical properties by application of an applied voltage is utilized in smart windows. However, avoiding water absorption by lithium salt in the electrolyte necessitates complex encapsulated device assemblies that must be constructed under strict atmosphere conditions and are largely unrepairable. Herein, a lithium‐salt‐free, hydrophobic, solid‐state poly(ionic liquid) electrolyte based on strong C─F bonds that exhibits low polarizability, low moisture absorption, and a wide electrochemical window, allowing the fabrication of unencapsulated electrochromic devices with outstanding long‐term cycling and environmental stability are presented. Intimate contact between the electrolyte and the electrode is achieved through integrated in situ polymerization, providing an interface with multiple molecular interactions that impart robust adhesion, efficient ion transport, and excellent stability. To demonstrate the potential of this electrolyte for cost‐effective electrochromic smart windows, low‐cost (≈110 USD m−2), unencapsulated, removable, electrochromic "window tint film" with customizable dimensions and shapes are fabricated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]