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Abstract. Background:. Although overnight fasting is recommended prior to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), the benefits and safety of high-carbohydrate fluid diet (CFD) intake 2 h before ERCP remain unclear. This study aimed to analyze whether high-CFD intake 2 h before ERCP can be safe and accelerate patients' recovery. Methods:. This prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial involved 15 tertiary ERCP centers. A total of 1330 patients were randomized into CFD group (n = 665) and fasting group (n = 665). The CFD group received 400 mL of maltodextrin orally 2 h before ERCP, while the control group abstained from food/water overnight (>6 h) before ERCP. All ERCP procedures were performed using deep sedation with intravenous propofol. The investigators were blinded but not the patients. The primary outcomes included postoperative fatigue and abdominal pain score, and the secondary outcomes included complications and changes in metabolic indicators. The outcomes were analyzed according to a modified intention-to-treat principle. Results:. The post-ERCP fatigue scores were significantly lower at 4 h (4.1 ± 2.6 vs. 4.8 ± 2.8, t = 4.23, P

The combination of the dipping effect and hydromechanical (H-M) coupling effect can easily lead to water inrush disasters in water-rich roadways with different dip angles in coal mines. Therefore, H-M coupling tests of bedded sandstones under identical osmotic pressure and various confining pressures were conducted. Then, the evolution curves of stress-strain, permeability and damage, macro- and mesoscopic failure characteristics were obtained. Subsequently, the mechanical behaviour was characterized, and finally the failure mechanism was revealed. The results showed that: (1) The failure of the sandstone with the bedding angle of 45° or 60° was the structure-dominant type, while that with the bedding angle of 0°, 30° or 90° was the force-dominant type. (2) When the bedding angle was in the range of (0°, 30°) or (45°, 90°), the confining pressure played a dominant role in influencing the peak strength. However, within β∈(30°, 45°), the bedding effect played a dominant role in the peak strength. (3) With the increase in bedding angle, the cohesion increased first, then decreased and finally increased, while the internal friction angle was the opposite. (4) When the bedding angle was 0° or 30°, the “water wedging” effect and the “bedding buckling” effect would lead to the forking or converging shear failure. When the bedding angle was 45° or 60°, the sliding friction effect would lead to the shear slipping failure. When the bedding angle was 90°, the combination of the “bedding buckling” effect and shear effect would lead to the mixed tension-shear failure. The above conclusions obtained are helpful for the prevention of water inrush disasters in water-rich roadways with different dips in coal mines.

Abstract GLP‐1 is a vital candidate for stimulating insulin secretion in a glucose‐dependent manner, reducing body weight and eliminating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with few side effects. Therefore, elevating GLP‐1 secretion and antagonizing the enzymatic cleavage by DPP4 are the main direction of GLP‐1‐based drug development. The present study implies that ferulic acid (FA) treatment increased the serum GLP‐1 level in diet‐induced obesity mice. The binding of FA to GLP‐1 effectively prevented the enzymatic cleavage of GLP‐1 by DPP4, which led to the effective elimination of hepatic cellular lipids by GLP‐1 in vitro. Furthermore, studies of fluorescence titration and molecular simulation showed that the combination ratio of FA and GLP‐1 was 1:1, and FA could enhance the stability of GLP‐1 through van der Waals force and electrostatic force binding to GLP‐1. In turn, it increased the level of endogenous GLP‐1. More importantly, data from mass spectrometry analysis revealed that FA bound to GLN‐17, ALA‐18, or ALA‐19 sites of GLP‐1 differently. In addition, after binding to FA, the α‐helix in GLP‐1 did not change significantly, and the biological activity of GLP‐1 was unaffected. These results highlight that FA‐rich food, such as millet and oats, is an excellent source of dietary intervention for metabolic disorders.

Abstract The anti-foreign tissue (transplant rejection) response, mediated by the immune system, has been the biggest obstacle to successful organ transplantation. There are still many enigmas regarding this process and some aspects of the underlying mechanisms driving the immune response against foreign tissues remain poorly understood. Here, we found that a large number of neutrophils and macrophages were attached to the graft during skin transplantation. Furthermore, both types of cells could autonomously adhere to and damage neonatal rat cardiomyocyte mass (NRCM) in vitro. We have demonstrated that Complement C3 and the receptor CR3 participated in neutrophils/macrophages-mediated adhesion and damage this foreign tissue (NRCM or skin grafts). We have provided direct evidence that the damage to these tissues occurs by a process referred to as trogocytosis, a damage mode that has never previously been reported to directly destroy grafts. We further demonstrated that this process can be regulated by NFAT, in particular, NFATc3. This study not only enriches an understanding of host-donor interaction in transplant rejection, but also provides new avenues for exploring the development of novel immunosuppressive drugs which prevent rejection during transplant therapy.

Abstract Schistosoma parasites, causing schistosomiasis, exhibit typical host specificity in host preference. Many mammals, including humans, are susceptible to infection, while the widely distributed rodent, Microtus fortis, exhibits natural anti-schistosome characteristics. The mechanisms of host susceptibility remain poorly understood. Comparison of schistosome infection in M. fortis with the infection in laboratory mice (highly sensitive to infection) offers a good model system to investigate these mechanisms and to gain an insight into host specificity. In this study, we showed that large numbers of leukocytes attach to the surface of human schistosomes in M. fortis but not in mice. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analyses revealed that macrophages might be involved in the cell adhesion, and we further demonstrated that M. fortis macrophages could be mediated to attach and kill schistosomula with dependence on Complement component 3 (C3) and Complement receptor 3 (CR3). Importantly, we provided direct evidence that M. fortis macrophages could destroy schistosomula by trogocytosis, a previously undescribed mode for killing helminths. This process was regulated by Ca2+/NFAT signaling. These findings not only elucidate a novel anti-schistosome mechanism in M. fortis but also provide a better understanding of host parasite interactions, host specificity and the potential generation of novel strategies for schistosomiasis control.

Ethylene is the main factor controlling fruit ripening of pear (Pyrus ussuriensis). Ethylene production rate is negatively correlated with fruit shelf life; therefore, it is important to decrease the ethylene levels for optimal fruit storage. Here, we observed that blue light treatment could inhibit ethylene production and promote the expression of ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (PuHY5), a basic leucine zipper domain (bZIP) transcription factor. The following studies showed that PuHY5 could bind to the promoter of ACC synthase 1 (PuACS1), a rate-limiting enzyme in ethylene biosynthesis, and inhibit its expression. For pears in which PuHY5 was silenced, the ethylene production and PuACS1 expression were much higher than those in the control fruit. These results demonstrated that blue light inhibited ethylene production through the induction of PuHY5 in pear. Our finding provides a new method for prolonging fruit shelf life.

A better mechanistic understanding of virus-host dependencies can help reveal vulnerabilities and identify opportunities for therapeutic intervention. Of particular interest are essential interactions that enable production of viral proteins, as those could target an early step in the virus lifecycle. Here, we use subcellular proteomics, ribosome profiling analyses and reporter assays to detect changes in protein synthesis dynamics during SARS-CoV-2 (CoV2) infection. We identify specific translation factors and molecular chaperones that are used by CoV2 to promote the synthesis and maturation of its own proteins. These can be targeted to inhibit infection, without major toxicity to the host. We also find that CoV2 non-structural protein 1 (Nsp1) cooperates with initiation factors EIF1 and 1A to selectively enhance translation of viral RNA. When EIF1/1A are depleted, more ribosomes initiate translation from a conserved upstream CUG start codon found in all genomic and subgenomic viral RNAs. This results in higher translation of an upstream open reading frame (uORF1) and lower translation of the main ORF, altering the stoichiometry of viral proteins and attenuating infection. Replacing the upstream CUG with AUG strongly inhibits translation of the main ORF independently of Nsp1, EIF1, or EIF1A. Taken together, our work describes multiple dependencies of CoV2 on host biosynthetic networks and proposes a model for dosage control of viral proteins through Nsp1-mediated control of translation start site selection.

Background. Distal malignant biliary obstruction (DMBO) can result in obstructive jaundice. Endoscopic ultrasound- (EUS-) guided biliary drainage (EUS-BD) has been an alternative for DMBO after failed ERCP. Aim. To compare the efficacy and safety between antegrade and transluminal approaches in patients with unresectable DMBO when ERCP failed. Methods. Patients with DMBO leading to obstructive jaundice after failed ERCP were enrolled in this study. We retrospectively evaluated the safety and efficacy between EUS-guided transluminal stenting (TLS group) and antegrade stenting (AGS group). Results. 82 patients were enrolled, of which 45 patients were in TLS group and 37 in AGS group. There were no statistical differences in the malignancy type, baseline common bile duct diameter, total bilirubin level, reason for EUS-BD, and history of biliary drainage between TLS and AGS groups. The technical success rate was statistically higher in TLS group than in AGS group (97.8 vs. 81.1%, P=0.031). There were no statistical differences in clinical success rate, procedure-related adverse events, stent migration rate, stent dysfunction rate, reintervention rate, and overall patient survival time between TLS and AGS groups. The median time to stent dysfunction or patient death in TLS and AGS groups was 53 and 81 days, respectively (P=0.017). Conclusions. Although AGS had a lower technical success rate than TLS, it was superior to TLS in stent patency in patients with DMBO.

Abstract Chemotherapy represents a major type of clinical treatment against colorectal cancer (CRC). Aberrant drug efflux mediated by transporters acts as a key approach for tumor cells to acquire chemotherapy resistance. Increasing evidence implies that tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) play a pivotal role in both tumorigenesis and drug resistance. Nevertheless, the specific mechanism through which TAMs regulate drug efflux remains elusive. Here, we discovered that TAMs endow CRC cells with resistance to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) treatment via a cell-cell interaction-mediated MRP1-dependent drug efflux process. Mechanistically, TAM-secreted C-C motif chemokine ligand 17 (CCL17) and CCL22, via membrane receptor CCR4, activated the PI3K/AKT pathway in CRC tumor cells. Specifically, phosphorylation of AKT inactivated IP3R and induced calcium aggregation in the ER, resulting in the activation of ATF6 and upregulation of GRP78. Accordingly, excessive GRP78 can interact with MRP1 and promote its translocation to the cell membrane, causing TAM-induced 5-FU efflux. Taken together, our results demonstrated that TAMs promote CRC chemotherapy resistance via elevating the expression of GRP78 to promote the membrane translocation of MRP1 and drug efflux, providing direct proof for TAM-induced drug resistance.

Continuous basalt fiber is an emerging high-performance foundational material that can be widely used in fields such as road construction, energy conservation and environmental protection, aerospace, military equipment, and marine ships. However, it is difficult for existing processing techniques to form continuous basalt architectures with three-dimensional (3D) complex shapes. In addition, the basalt fibers in the architectures are filled with polymers, which cannot fully utilize the performance of basalt fibers. Therefore, here, we report the fabrication of continuous basalt fibers with fireproof and thermal insulation performance through the combination of an Additive manufacturing (AM) manipulator, two-step precursor infiltration and pyrolysis (PIP) processes. Using SiOC ceramics to fill between continuous basalt fibers will help improve the architectures' fire and thermal insulation performance. The continuous basalt fibers coated with thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) were processed into 3D architectures under the action of the laser. Through the vacuum infiltration of the SiOC precursor and debinding process, TPU in the 3D architectures was removed. In order to reduce the structural defects generated by the first PIP process, the final part with fireproof and thermal insulation performance was fabricated through the second PIP process. We further demonstrated the final part with excellent fireproof and thermal insulation performance. The final part had a shell temperature of 788.8 ℃ and an internal temperature of about 50 ℃ under the flame spray gun for the 20 s. By replacing polymers with inorganic materials, our basalt architectures exhibit their potential applications in military, aviation, and civil fireproof and thermal insulation equipment.

Abstract Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a major staple food for more than one-third of the world’s population. Tiller number is an important agronomic trait in wheat, but only few related genes have been cloned. Here, we isolate a wheat mutant, tiller number1 (tn1), with much fewer tillers. We clone the TN1 gene via map-based cloning: TN1 encodes an ankyrin repeat protein with a transmembrane domain (ANK-TM). We show that a single amino acid substitution in the third conserved ankyrin repeat domain causes the decreased tiller number of tn1 mutant plants. Resequencing and haplotype analysis indicate that TN1 is conserved in wheat landraces and modern cultivars. Further, we reveal that the expression level of the abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthetic gene TaNCED3 and ABA content are significantly increased in the shoot base and tiller bud of the tn1 mutants; TN1 but not tn1 could inhibit the binding of TaPYL to TaPP2C via direct interaction with TaPYL. Taken together, we clone a key wheat tiller number regulatory gene TN1, which promotes tiller bud outgrowth probably through inhibiting ABA biosynthesis and signaling.

Abstract Flexible wearable sweat sensors allow continuous, real-time, noninvasive detection of sweat analytes, provide insight into human physiology at the molecular level, and have received significant attention for their promising applications in personalized health monitoring. Electrochemical sensors are the best choice for wearable sweat sensors due to their high performance, low cost, miniaturization, and wide applicability. Recent developments in soft microfluidics, multiplexed biosensing, energy harvesting devices, and materials have advanced the compatibility of wearable electrochemical sweat-sensing platforms. In this review, we summarize the potential of sweat for medical detection and methods for sweat stimulation and collection. This paper provides an overview of the components of wearable sweat sensors and recent developments in materials and power supply technologies and highlights some typical sensing platforms for different types of analytes. Finally, the paper ends with a discussion of the challenges and a view of the prospective development of this exciting field.

Triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) structures prepared by additive manufacturing (AM) have been widely used in aerospace and thermal management systems due to their functional advantages such as high specific strength and excellent heat transfer coefficient. However, lattices with uniform or simple gradients cannot match the regional diversity needs of functional advantages in service. This study proposed a field-driven AM data processing framework for dual functionally graded TPMS lattices. For unified data processing, mathematical functions, simulated outcomes, and geometric models were transformed into fields. I-WP and Diamond units were selected as the primitive and filling structures of Ti-6Al-4V lattices, respectively. According to the functional requirements, the gradient distribution design guided by the simulated stress field is completed through the proposed framework. The results illustrate that the field-driven dual graded lattices present superior compressive mechanical response. At almost equal volume fractions, their compressive strength is approximately 100% more than that of primitive lattices and 69% greater than that of dual uniform lattices. Furthermore, the dual lattices have larger specific surface areas than the primitive lattices, making them better at heat insulation and heat dissipation. This field-driven digital framework will show enormous potential in the matching design of functionally graded lattices.

Curcumin, the primary bioactive substance in turmeric, exhibits potential therapeutic effects on ulcerative colitis. However, its mechanism for regulating necroptosis in colitis has not been fully elucidated. In this study, the effect of curcumin on experimental colitis-induced necroptosis of intestinal epithelial cells was investigated, and its molecular mechanism was further explored. We found that curcumin blocked necroptosis in a dose-dependent manner by inhibiting the phosphorylation of RIP3 and MLKL instead of RIP1 in HT-29 cells. Co-Immunoprecipitation assay showed that curcumin weakened the interaction between RIP1 and RIP3, possibly due to the direct binding of curcumin to RIP3 as suggested by drug affinity responsive target stability analysis. In a classical in vivo model of TNF-α and pan-caspase inhibitor-induced necroptosis in C57BL/6 mice, curcumin potently inhibited systemic inflammatory responses initiated by the necroptosis signaling pathway. Then, using a dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis model in C57BL/6 mice, we found that curcumin inhibited the expression of p-RIP3 in the intestinal epithelium, reduced intestinal epithelial cells loss, improved the function of the intestinal tight junction barrier, and reduced local intestinal inflammation. Collectively, our findings suggest that curcumin is a potent targeted RIP3 inhibitor with anti-necroptotic and anti-inflammatory effects, maintains intestinal barrier function, and effectively alleviates colitis injury.

As a traditional and popular dietary supplement, lotus rhizome starch (LRS) has health benefits for its many nutritional components and is especially suitable for teenagers and seniors. In this paper, the approximate composition, apparent amylose content (AAC), and structural characteristics of five LRS samples from different regions were investigated, and their correlations with the physicochemical properties of granular and gelatinized LRS were revealed. LRS exhibited rod-shaped and ellipsoidal starch granules, with AAC ranging from 26.6% to 31.7%. LRS-3, from Fuzhou, Jiangxi Province, exhibited a deeper hydrogel color and contained more ash, with 302.6 mg/kg iron, and it could reach the pasting temperature of 62.6 °C. In comparison, LRS-5, from Baoshan, Yunnan Province, exhibited smoother granule surface, less fragmentation, and higher AAC, resulting in better swelling power and freeze-thaw stability. The resistant starch contents of LRS-3 and LRS-5 were the lowest (15.3%) and highest (69.7%), respectively. The enzymatic digestion performance of LRS was positively correlated with ash content and short- and long-term ordered structures but negatively correlated with AAC. Furthermore, the color and network firmness of gelatinized LRS was negatively correlated with its ash content, and the retrograde trend and freeze-thaw stability were more closely correlated with AAC and structural characteristics. These results revealed the physicochemical properties of LRS from different regions and suggested their advantages in appropriate applications as a hydrogel matrix.

One of the most significant transcription factors in plants, WRKYs, are crucial for plant growth and stress response. In this study, we analyzed the physicochemical properties, evolutionary relationships, conservation structure, and expression of the WRKY gene family in S. baicalensis. The WRKY family has highly conserved structural domains, which have been classified into three major categories, I, II, and III, based on the number of WRKY structural domains and zinc finger structural features. SbWRKYs of the same subgroup are functionally similar and essentially contain the same motif. Additionally, different drought stress situations resulted in varying levels of SbWRKYs expression, with the majority of these factors being up-regulated in moderate drought stress settings, and fewer of them were up-regulated under severe drought stress conditions. Under moderate drought stress, the expression of key enzymes increased, while under severe drought stress, the expression of key enzymes decreased. Mild drought stress resulted in a 26.42% increase in baicalin accumulation, while severe drought stress led to a 22.88% decrease. The protein interaction analysis of key enzyme genes and SbWRKYs revealed that the expression of key enzyme genes affected the expression of SbWRKYs. We screened nine SbWRKYs with a significant relationship with baicalin accumulation, and SbWRKY8 and SbWRKY16 showed the highest correlation with the baicalin content. These findings offer a theoretical framework for more research on the roles of SbWRKYs and show that SbWRKYs can respond to drought stress in S. baicalensis.

Abstract Background To explore the use of a digestive endoscopy professional online platform by domestic endoscopists and its application effect on endoscopists’ continuing medical education, analyse the related problems of continuing medical education using this method, and propose targeted improvement suggestions. Methods Based on the “Doctor’s Circle” app, a questionnaire was sent to all members who successfully registered on the Hebei Biliary and Pancreatic Endoscopy Diagnosis and Treatment Alliance online platform. The questionnaire was available for 30 days. The questionnaire survey results were collected and counted for a grouping comparison. Results By the deadline, 703 completed questionnaires had been received. After the registered doctors joined the platform, 469 (66.7%) experienced a significant influence on their own endoscopic operation ability level, and 354 (50.3%) felt a significant improvement in their ability to diagnose biliary- and pancreatic-related diseases. The application effect of the platform on members’ continuing medical education was affirmed by the vast majority of registered doctors. The clinical specialty of registered doctors, the length of time they joined the platform, the length of time they participated in the platform activities each time, and whether they played back course videos after the live broadcast of the course on the platform were the main factors affecting the application effect on continuing medical education (P

Abstract Correlation filters with convolutional neural network (CNN) features have been successfully applied to visual tracking owing to their impressive combined capability for object representation. Unfortunately, further performance improvement is limited due to unwanted boundary effects of the circular structure. In this work, through an in‐depth study of the features’ characteristics, the authors propose a novel tracking strategy to achieve simultaneous filter matching and regularization with CNN features when tracking is on the fly. With a feature decomposed transform matrix, a spatial semantic regularization is generated to reduce the boundary effect effectively during filter optimization. Before each output, the regularized filter is then back performed to match with the extracted features of a search region to find the optimum candidate. Specifically, the most important advantage of the proposed spatial semantic map is to initialize only in the first frame as all the other tracking strategies. Besides, the authors design a novel updating strategy to tackle the cases where the object is occluded or disappeared in the scene. At this time, the maximum of the map is small, even negative. A substantial experiment has been carried out on the popular benchmark tracking datasets; the reliable results have demonstrated that the authors’ method is able to outperform most of the state‐of‐the‐art tracking works in both accuracy and robustness.

Abstract It is beneficial to understand deeply the permeability properties of coal and rock for the stability control of mining engineering, underground engineering, oil and gas engineering, nuclear waste storage engineering, and so on. Therefore, new insights for the permeability properties of bedded coal and rock are summarized and proposed. (1) "Five guarantees" coring technology is worth for vigorous promotion and application. (2) The internal spatial fabric has the significant effect on the mechanical behavior evolution law of (bedded) coal and rock, but the effect is not dominant. (3) The permeability‐energy evolution models of (bedded) coal and rock should be constructed considering the idea of initial high in situ stress reduction, which is helpful for the energy visualization characterization of (bedded) coal and rock. Meanwhile, it can be combined with the structural evolution theory for in‐depth characterization and disclosure. (4) Researches on the permeability properties of (bedded) coal and rock under multi‐field or multi‐phase or phase‐field coupling conditions should be strengthened based on considering the initial damage produced and the distribution characteristics of in situ stress under the coring environment. (5) More accurate and scientific permeability evolution models of (bedded) coal and rock should be vigorously constructed based on the above insights.

Understanding the interaction of T-cell receptor (TCR) with major histocompatibility-peptide (MHC-peptide) complex is extremely important in human immunotherapy and vaccine development. However, due to the limited available data, the performance of existing models for predicting the interaction of T-cell receptors (TCR) with major histocompatibility-peptide complexes is still unsatisfactory. Deep learning models have been applied to prediction tasks in various fields and have achieved better results compared with other traditional models. In this study, we leverage the gMLP model combined with attention mechanism to predict the interaction of MHC-peptide and TCR. Experiments show that our model can predict TCR-peptide interactions accurately and can handle the problems caused by different TCR lengths. Moreover, we demonstrate that the models trained with paired CDR3β-chain and CDR3α-chain data are better than those trained with only CDR3β-chain or with CDR3α-chain data. We also demonstrate that the hybrid model has greater potential than the traditional convolutional neural network.

Gluten peptides from wheat enter the bloodstream and are excreted in urine but are yet to be chemically characterised. Here, the authors show by mass spectrometry that quantitative and qualitative differences in urinary peptides can be detected between healthy people and patients with celiac disease.

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a staple food crop that provides 20% of total human calorie consumption. Gene duplication has been considered to play an important role in evolution by providing new genetic resources. However, the evolutionary fates and biological functions of the duplicated genes in wheat remain to be elucidated. In this study, the resulting data showed that the duplicated genes evolved faster with shorter gene lengths, higher codon usage bias, lower expression levels, and higher tissue specificity when compared to non-duplicated genes. Our analysis further revealed functions of duplicated genes in various biological processes with significant enrichment to environmental stresses. In addition, duplicated genes derived from dispersed, proximal, tandem, transposed, and whole-genome duplication differed in abundance, evolutionary rate, gene compactness, expression pattern, and genetic diversity. Tandem and proximal duplicates experienced stronger selective pressure and showed a more compact gene structure with diverse expression profiles than other duplication modes. Moreover, genes derived from different duplication modes showed an asymmetrical evolutionary pattern for wheat A, B, and D subgenomes. Several candidate duplication hotspots associated with wheat domestication or polyploidization were characterized as potential targets for wheat molecular breeding. Our comprehensive analysis revealed the evolutionary trajectory of duplicated genes and laid the foundation for future functional studies on wheat.

Quantitative measuring of gravity erosion contributes to a better understanding of soil-mass failure occurrence and prediction. However, the measurement of gravity erosion requires the continuous monitoring of the objective terrain, due to its occurrence, usually within seconds, and combination with hydraulic erosion. The photogrammetric technique can quickly obtain terrain data and provide a new method for measuring gravity erosion. Based on a continuous high-overlapping image-acquisition equipment, a Structure-from-Motion-Multi-View-Stereo (SfM-MVS)-integrated workflow, and volume calculation, a new working methodology was established for measuring gravity erosion on steep granitic slopes in the laboratory. The results showed a good match between the digital point clouds derived from SfM-MVS-integrated workflow and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), achieving millimeter-scale accuracy. The mean distance between the point clouds derived from TLS and SfM-MVS was 1.13 mm, with a standard deviation of 0.93 mm. The relative errors among the volumes calculated by SfM-MVS and TLS or the conventional oven-drying method were all within 10%, with a maximum error of 9.3% and a minimum error of 0.2%. A total of 213 gravitational erosion events were measured in the laboratory by using the SfM-MVS method, further confirming its feasibility.

Bacteria play an important role in the formation of primary Common Bile Duct (CBD) stones. However, the composition and function of the microbiota of bile duct in patients with primary CBD stones remained to be explored. We utilized the 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing technology to analyze the microbial diversity and community composition of biliary and duodenal microbiota in 15 patients with primary CBD stones and 4 patients without biliary tract diseases. Alpha diversity analysis showed that the microbiota richness was similar in bile and intestinal fluid; Beta diversity analysis showed that there were differences in the composition between biliary microbiota and the duodenal microbiota, but the abundance of the main groups showed similarities. The composition of the biliary microbiota from gallstone patients was more complex, as was the duodenal microbiota. Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were the dominant bacteria at phylum level, accounting for at least 75% of the total reads in each subgroup. Pseudomonas and Escherichia−Shigella were the major genus among subgroups, but Escherichia-Shigella had increased abundance in duodenal microbiota with primary choledocholithiasis, which may play an important role in stone formation. It is noteworthy that Clostridiumsensu_stricto, Lachnospiraceae _UCG-008, Butyrivibrio and Roseburia which could produce short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), were significantly decreased in biliary microbiota with primary CBD stones (p

Recent reports on the selective laser melting (SLM) process under a vacuum or low ambient pressure have shown fewer defects and better surface quality of the as-printed products. Although the physical process of SLM in a vacuum has been investigated by high-speed imaging, the underlying mechanisms governing the heat transfer and molten flow are still not well understood. Herein, we first developed a mesoscopic model of SLM under variable ambient pressure based on our recent laser-welding studies. We simulated the transport phenomena of SLM 316L stainless steel powders under atmospheric and 100 Pa ambient pressure. For typical process parameters (laser power: 200 W; scanning speed: 2 m∙s−1; powder diameter: 27 μm), the average surface temperature of the cavity approached 2800 K under atmospheric pressure, while it came close to 2300 K under 100 Pa pressure. More vigorous fluid flow (average speed: 4 m∙s−1) was observed under 100 Pa ambient pressure, because the pressure difference between the evaporation-induced surface pressure and the ambient pressure was relatively larger and drives the flow under lower pressure. It was also shown that there are periodical ripple flows (period: 14 μs) affecting the surface roughness of the as-printed track. Moreover, the molten flow was shown to be laminar because the Reynolds number is less than 400 and is far below the critical value of turbulence; thus, the viscous dissipation is significant. It was demonstrated that under a vacuum or lower ambient pressure, the ripple flow can be dissipated more easily by the viscous effect because the trajectory length of the ripple is longer; thus, the surface quality of the tracks is improved. To summarize, our model elucidates the physical mechanisms of the interesting transport phenomena that have been observed in independent experimental studies of the SLM process under variable ambient pressure, which could be a powerful tool for optimizing the SLM process in the future.

Trichinella spiralis (T. spiralis) is a globally distributed food-borne parasite that can coexist with the host for a long time after infection. Trichinella-derived secretions can regulate the immune response and fibroblasts of the host, but the specific mechanisms involved are still unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of T. spiralis larvae-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) and their key miRNAs in the process of T. spiralis–host interaction. In this study, we found that the EVs of T. spiralis larvae, as well as miR-1-3p and let-7-5p, expressed in T. spiralis larvae-derived EVs, can promote the polarization of bone marrow macrophages to M2b type while inhibiting the activation of fibroblasts. These findings will contribute to further understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying T. spiralis–host interactions.

BackgroundPancreatic pseudocyst (PPC) with massive gastrointestinal bleeding is rare, especially in children. Inadvertent intraoperative examination and damage to the gastric mucosa and malformed blood vessels by the fluid content of PPC can lead to massive bleeding, which may endanger the patient's life.Case presentationHere, we present a case of an 8-year-old boy who was diagnosed with a massive gastrointestinal haemorrhage caused by PPC complicated with Dieulafoy's disease. At his first admission, his complaint was being hit to the stomach by the handlebar while riding bicycle 24 h before admission. After being hospitalized, he was diagnosed with pancreatic injury by abdominal CT. Conservative treatment lasted for 1 month in the Department of Pediatric Surgery. Then, a pancreatic pseudocyst was formed. Under the guidance of ultrasonic endoscopy, cyst puncture and drainage of pseudocysts through the gastric wall were performed. Unexplained hematemesis occurred 8 days after surgery. Emergency gastroscopy was performed, and abnormal submucosal vascular haemorrhage was found at the gastric fundus. Gastric Dieulafoy's disease was diagnosed. The boy underwent gastroscopic titanium clipping of abnormal arteries. He had no complications during the 3-month follow-up. Then, the patient returned to the hospital, and the stent was removed under endoscopy. No bleeding was found, and the patient was discharged. The patient recovered smoothly and was followed up for half a year without any complications, and hematological indicators were normal.ConclusionEndoscopic ultrasonography-guided gastric puncture and internal drainage of cysts is a safe and effective surgical method for the treatment of pancreatic pseudocysts. However, at the same time, it is necessary to thoroughly and carefully explore the stomach cavity to prevent adverse consequences caused by a missed diagnosis of gastric Dieulafoy's disease or other abnormal abnormalities.

Computational prediction to screen potential vaccine candidates has been proven to be a reliable way to provide guarantees for vaccine discovery in infectious diseases. As an important class of organisms causing infectious diseases, pathogenic eukaryotes (such as parasitic protozoans) have evolved the ability to colonize a wide range of hosts, including humans and animals; meanwhile, protective vaccines are urgently needed. Inspired by the immunological idea that pathogen-derived epitopes are able to mediate the CD8+ T-cell-related host adaptive immune response and with the available positive and negative CD8+ T-cell epitopes (TCEs), we proposed a novel predictor called CD8TCEI-EukPath to detect CD8+ TCEs of eukaryotic pathogens. Our method integrated multiple amino acid sequence-based hybrid features, employed a well-established feature selection technique, and eventually built an efficient machine learning classifier to differentiate CD8+ TCEs from non-CD8+ TCEs. Based on the feature selection results, 520 optimal hybrid features were used for modeling by utilizing the LightGBM algorithm. CD8TCEI-EukPath achieved impressive performance, with an accuracy of 79.255% in ten-fold cross-validation and an accuracy of 78.169% in the independent test. Collectively, CD8TCEI-EukPath will contribute to rapidly screening epitope-based vaccine candidates, particularly from large peptide-coding datasets. To conduct the prediction of CD8+ TCEs conveniently, an online web server is freely accessible (http://lab.malab.cn/∼hrs/CD8TCEI-EukPath/).

Abstract Background Wheat is one of the most widely planted crops worldwide. The heading date is important for wheat environmental adaptability, as it not only controls flowering time but also determines the yield component in terms of grain number per spike. Results In this research, homozygous genotypes with early and late heading dates derived from backcrossed progeny were selected to conduct RNA-Seq analysis at the double ridge stage (W2.0) and androgynous primordium differentiation stage (W3.5) of the leaf and apical meristem, respectively. In total, 18,352 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, many of which are strongly associated with wheat heading date genes. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis revealed that carbohydrate metabolism, trehalose metabolic process, photosynthesis, and light reaction are closely related to the flowering time regulation pathway. Based on MapMan metabolic analysis, the DEGs are mainly involved in the light reaction, hormone signaling, lipid metabolism, secondary metabolism, and nucleotide synthesis. In addition, 1,225 DEGs were annotated to 45 transcription factor gene families, including LFY, SBP, and MADS-box transcription factors closely related to flowering time. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) showed that 16, 336, 446, and 124 DEGs have biological connections with Vrn1-5 A, Vrn3-7B, Ppd-1D, and WSOC1, respectively. Furthermore, TraesCS2D02G181400 encodes a MADS-MIKC transcription factor and is co-expressed with Vrn1-5 A, which indicates that this gene may be related to flowering time. Conclusions RNA-Seq analysis provided transcriptome data for the wheat heading date at key flower development stages of double ridge (W2.0) and androgynous primordium differentiation (W3.5). Based on the DEGs identified, co-expression networks of key flowering time genes in Vrn1-5 A, Vrn3-7B, WSOC1, and Ppd-1D were established. Moreover, we discovered a potential candidate flowering time gene, TraesCS2D02G181400. Taken together, these results serve as a foundation for further study on the regulatory mechanism of the wheat heading date.

Bacterial cells actively change their size and shape in response to external environments. Here, Shi et al. explore how cells regulate their morphology during rapid environmental changes, showing that the characteristic dynamics of surface area-to-volume ratio are conserved across genetic and chemical perturbations, as well as across species and growth temperatures.

A miniature Fourier transform spectrometer is proposed using a thin-film lithium niobate electro-optical modulator instead of the conventional modulator made by titanium diffusion in lithium niobate. The modulator was fabricated by a contact lithography process, and its voltage-length and optical waveguide loss were 2.26 V·cm and 1.01 dB/cm, respectively. Based on the wavelength dispersion of the half-wave voltage of the fabricated modulator, the emission spectrum of the input signal was retrieved by Fourier transform processing of the interferogram, and the analysis of the experimental data of monochromatic light shows that the proposed miniaturized FTS can effectively identify the input signal wavelength.

Trogocytosis occurs when one cell contacts and quickly nibbles another cell and is characterized by contact between living cells and rapid transfer of membrane fragments with functional integrity. Many immune cells are involved in this process, such as T cells, B cells, NK cells, APCs. The transferred membrane molecules including MHC molecules, costimulatory molecules, receptors, antigens, etc. An increasing number of studies have shown that trogocytosis plays an important role in the immune system and the occurrence of relevant diseases. Thus, whether trogocytosis is a friend or foe of the immune system is puzzling, and the precise mechanism underlying it has not yet been fully elucidated. Here, we provide an integrated view of the acquired findings on the connections between trogocytosis and the immune system.

Anticancer peptide (ACP) is a class of anti-cancer peptide which can inhibit and kill tumor cells. Identification of ACPs is of great significance for the development of new anti-cancer drugs. However, most of computational methods make predictions based on machine learning using hand-crafted features. In this article, we propose a new graph learning based computational model, named ACP-GCN, to automatically and accurately predict ACPs based on graph convolution networks. In this model, we for the first time take the ACP prediction as a graph classification task, where each peptide sample is represented as a graph. The experimental results show that the proposed model outperforms most of state-of-the-art methods, demonstrating that the proposed method can effectively distinguish ACPs from non-ACPs. The excellent predictive ability will rapidly push forward their applications in cancer therapy.

Abstract In this paper, the basic components, nutrient composition, and processing characteristics of cassava flour were determined. In addition, the effects of xanthan gum and inulin on the pasting properties, microstructure, and thermal properties of cassava flour were studied. Biscuits were prepared using cassava flour as the main raw material and the optimal technology and formula for the biscuits were determined by single‐factor and orthogonal tests. The effects of xanthan gum and inulin on the quality of cassava flour short biscuits were also investigated, and volatile components in the biscuits were determined using electronic nose technique. The addition of xanthan gum improved the pasting properties and microstructure of cassava flour, and improved the taste and increased hardness and brittleness of the biscuits, making their quality similar to that of commercially available short biscuits. The addition of inulin inhibited the setback of starch and improved starch gelatinization. However, inulin was not suitable for processing of cassava flour biscuits as it decreased their hardness, brittleness, and taste. The optimal formula and baking conditions of cassava flour short biscuits were as follows: cassava flour 100 g, water 24 g, shortening 25 g, sugar 30 g, baking powder 0.6 g, salt 1 g, and egg 25 g; the surface fire and primer fire temperatures were 180°C, and the baking time was 9 min. In addition, although the main aroma volatile components present in cassava flour and low gluten wheat flour short biscuits were similar, the proportions of each component were different.

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed malignant tumor in women. Foxtail millet is an important cereal food and exhibits a wide range of nutrition. We previously extracted total polyphenols composed of 12 compounds from foxtail millet bran (named BPIS). In this study, we find that BPIS inhibits the proliferation of breast cancer cells by restraining the cellular membrane synthesis via suppressing the conversion of saturated fatty acids (SFA) to monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA). Mechanically, BPIS decreases the glucose regulated protein 78 (GRP78) level, which further inhibits the expression of SREBP-1 and downstream-target SCD1. Combining molecular docking, MTT screening and in vivo model, we ultimately identify that vitexin and syringic acid are the main active ingredients. Our data showed that the combination of vitexin and syringic acid suppress the proliferation of breast cancer cells, which support further study of BPIS as a new dietary assistant strategy to improve breast cancer.

Recent decades have witnessed the rapid progress of nanozymes and their high promising applications in catalysis and bioclinics. However, the comprehensive synthetic procedures and harsh synthetic conditions represent significant challenges for nanozymes. In this study, monodisperse, ultrasmall gold clusters with peroxidase-like activity were prepared via a simple and robust one-pot method. The reaction of clusters with H2O2 and 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) followed the Michaelis-Menton kinetics. In addition, in vitro experiments showed that the prepared clusters had good biocompatibility and cell imaging ability, indicating their future potential as multi-functional materials.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease and has become a growing public health concern worldwide. Polyphenols may improve high-fat diet (HFD)-related NAFLD. Our previous study found that ferulic acid (FA) and p-coumaric acid (p-CA) were the polyphenols with the highest content in foxtail millet. In this study, we investigated the mechanism underlying the impact of ferulic acid and p-coumaric acid (FA/p-CA) on non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD). The association of FA and p-CA with fatty liver was first analyzed by network pharmacology. Synergistic ameliorating of NAFLD by FA and p-CA was verified in oleic acid (OA) and palmitic acid (PA) (FFA)-treated hepatocytes. Meanwhile, FA/p-CA suppressed final body weight and TG content and improved liver dysfunction in HFD-induced NAFLD mice. Mechanistically, our data indicated that FA and p-CA bind to histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) to inhibit its expression. The results showed that peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARG), which is positively related to HDAC1, was inhibited by FA/p-CA, and further suppressed fatty acid binding protein (FABP) and fatty acid translocase (CD36). It suggests that FA/p-CA ameliorate NAFLD by inhibiting free fatty acid uptake via the HDAC1/PPARG axis, which may provide potential dietary supplements and drugs for prevention of NAFLD.

Polyphenol-rich foods are gaining popularity due to their potential beneficial effects in the prevention and treatment of cancer. Foxtail millet is one of the important functional foods, riches in a variety of biologically active substance. Our previous study showed that ferulic acid (FA) and p-coumaric acid (p-CA) are the main anticancer components of foxtail millet bran, and the two have a significant synergistic effect. In the present study, the clinical application potential of FA and p-CA (FA + p-CA) were evaluated in vivo and in vitro. The FA and p-CA target gene enrichment analysis discovered that FA + p-CA were associated with aerobic glycolysis. It was further shown that FA + p-CA remodel aerobic glycolysis by inhibiting the glycolysis-associated lncRNA 495810 and the glycolytic rate-limiting enzyme M2 type pyruvate kinase (PKM2). Moreover, PKM2 expression was positively correlated with lncRNA 495810. More interestingly, the exogenous expression of lncRNA 495810 eliminated the inhibitory effects of FA + p-CA on aerobic glycolysis. Collectively, FA + p-CA obstruct the aerobic glycolysis of colorectal cancer cells via the lncRNA 495810/PKM2 axis, which provides a nutrition intervention and treatment candidate for colorectal cancer.

Abstract Most inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients are unable to maintain a lifelong remission. Developing a novel therapeutic strategy is urgently needed. In this study, we adopt a new strategy to attenuate colitis using the Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 probiotic strain to express a schistosome immunoregulatory protein (Sj16) in the gastrointestinal tract. The genetically engineered Nissle 1917 (EcN‐Sj16) highly expressed Sj16 in the gastrointestinal tracts of dextran sulfate sodium‐induced colitis mice and significantly attenuated the clinical activity of colitis mice. Mechanistically, EcN‐Sj16 increased the intestinal microbiota diversity and selectively promoted the growth of Ruminococcaceae and therefore enhanced the butyrate production. Butyrate induced the expression of retinoic acid, which further attenuated the clinical activity of colitis mice by increasing Treg cells and decreasing Th17. Strikingly, retinoic acid inhibitor inhibited the therapeutic effects of EcN‐Sj16 in colitis mice. These findings suggest that EcN‐Sj16 represents a novel engineered probiotic that may be used to treat IBD.

Conceptualisation of geo-hydrological characteristic of erosive runoff are of particular importance and has been required in recent soil erosion control. This study aimed to explore the feasibility of applying hydrological attributes to characterize surface runoff pathways in the process of hillslope soil erosion due to rainfall. Combined with sub-millimeter high-resolution laser scanning and computer digital image processing method, three hydrological indicators (i.e., sinuosity, gradient and orientation) were used to investigate the changes of the surface runoff pathways on the slope of three typical southern red soils (i.e., shale (HS), and Quaternary red clay soils (HQ1 and HQ2) under simulated rainfall conditions). The results indicated no significant changes of sinuosity with a mean value of 1.19. After the rainfall with the intensity of 1 mm/min and 2 mm/min, the orientation and gradient changed dramatically. The greatest changes appeared at the first rainfall, which showed that the biggest increase of gradient was 26.78% and it tended to be close to the original slope of the test plot, while the orientation dropped by 5.60–31.44%. Compared with HS and HQ1, the runoff pathway characteristics of HQ2 changed more consistent. The rainfall intensities had a significant impact on the correlation between indicators. The determination coefficients sorting with surface roughness were orientation > graient > sinuosity. And they were significantly linearly related to runoff under 1 mm/min rainfall intensity, while had positive correlation with sediment under 2 mm/min rainfall intensity (p < 0.05). In conclusion, there were more remarkable relationships between orientation, gradient and slope erosion under 1 mm/min rainfall intensity. This provided an innovative idea, that is applying the orientation and gradient to the simulation and prediction model of the rainfall erosion process in the sloping farmland in the southern red soil area.

The hydrological and mechanical properties of granitic residual soils can be significantly altered by periodical wetting and drying (W-D) cycles. The soil structure degradation induced by W-D cycles can lead to soil mass failure and collapsing gully erosion in granitic hilly slopes in south China. However, limited attempts have been made at a comprehensive investigation of the effects of W-D cycles on the structure degradation of granitic residual soils, especially at the pedon scale. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the structural degradation of granite soils induced by W-D cycles and explore its potential influence on the development of collapsing gully erosion. The granitic soil properties, including hydraulic properties, shear strength, and disintegration characteristics, were performed after W-D cycles. The results indicated that the W-D cycles altered the soil pore structure, leading to variations in soil hydraulic properties. Specifically, with increasing alternate W-D cycles, the initial saturated water content and residual water content decreased, while the saturated hydraulic conductivity increased. Meanwhile, increasing W-D cycles contributed significantly to variations in cohesion and internal friction strength by decreasing the shear strength variables, especially the soil cohesion strength. Correspondingly, soil disintegration was increased during W-D cycles. Furthermore, most degradation of soil structure was recorded within the first two cycles of W-D. The obtained results indicate that the W-D cycles weaken soil structure, increase rainwater infiltration, decrease soil shear strength and disintegration resistance, and accelerate soil erosion. A vicious cycle of granitic slope failure induced by W-D cycles is eventually formed. This study provides useful information about the mechanism of soil mass failure and collapsing gully erosion in granitic hilly slopes.

As one of the most serious soil erosion areas in China, red sandstone erosion areas in southern China have been seriously affected by abundant annual rainfall. To understand the effects of AM fungi and different grass strips on soil erosion characteristics in red sandstone erosion areas in southern China, we selected Cynodon dactylon, Lotus corniculatus, Zoysia japonica, and Astragalus sinicus. Two treatments were carried out for each grass: AM was the soil in its original state, and CK was the soil in which the original AM fungi were eliminated. Taking CK treatment as the control group, any changes of runoff and sediment yield and nutrient loss under different grass strip conditions were measured. The total yield of runoff and sediment in the four grass strips under CK treatment was greater than that of AM. The runoff ammonium nitrogen loss concentration in AM treatment was smaller than in CK treatment under continuous scouring. The ammonium nitrogen loss concentration of sediment during continuous scouring showed a decreasing trend. Under AM treatment, the loss concentration of sediment ammonium nitrogen showed a decreasing trend compared with the CK treatment. The percentage of sediment particles >2 mm in the four grass strips was significantly larger for CK treatment than AM treatment (p < 0.05), and except for Cynodon dactylon, the percentage of sediment particles in the size range of 1–2 mm for other grass strips was significantly larger for CK treatment than for AM treatment (p < 0.05); the percentage of sediment particles at 0.02–0.25 mm was significantly smaller for CK treatment than for AM treatment (p < 0.05). The mean weight diameter (MWD) of sediments produced by the four grass strips under simulated scouring showed an overall increasing trend with increased scouring time. The mean weight diameter (MWD) of sediments produced under CK treatment was larger than that of AM treatment. The fractal dimension (D) of sediments showed a decreasing trend with increased scouring time. These results showed that AM fungi can promote the growth of plant roots, strengthen soil anchoring, protect large particle aggregates in soil under rainfall scouring, and reduce soil erosion and nutrient loss in red sandstone erosion areas in southern China. Cynodon dactylon and Zoysia japonica were more prominent than Lotus corniculatus and Astragalus sinicus in inhibiting soil erosion in red sandstone erosion areas.

All nucleated mammalian cells express major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins that present peptides on cell surfaces for immune surveillance. These MHC-presented peptides (pMHC) are necessary for directing T-cell responses against cells harboring non-self antigens derived from pathogens or from somatic mutations. Alterations in tumor-specific antigen repertoires — particularly novel MHC presentation of mutation-bearing peptides (neoantigens) — can be potent targets of anti-tumor immune responses. Here we employed an integrated genomic and proteomic antigen discovery strategy aimed at measuring how interferon gamma (IFN-γ) alters antigen presentation, using a human lymphoma cell line, GRANTA-519. IFN-γ treatment resulted in 126 differentially expressed proteins (2% of all quantified proteins), which included components of antigen presentation machinery and interferon signaling pathways, and MHC molecules themselves. In addition, several proteasome subunits were found to be modulated, consistent with previous reports of immunoproteasome induction by IFN-γ exposure. This finding suggests that a modest proteomic response to IFN-γ could create larger alteration to cells’ antigen/epitope repertoires. Accordingly, MHC immunoprecipitation followed by mass spectrometric analysis of eluted peptide repertoires revealed exclusive signatures of IFN-γ induction, with 951 unique peptides reproducibly presented by MHC-I and 582 presented by MHC-II. Furthermore, an additional set of pMHCs including several candidate neoantigens, distinguished control and the IFN-γ samples by their altered relative abundances. Accordingly, we developed a classification system to distinguish peptides which are differentially presented due to altered expression from novel peptides resulting from changes in antigen processing. Taken together, these data demonstrate that IFN-γ can re-shape antigen repertoires by identity and by abundance. Extending this approach to models with greater clinical relevance could help develop strategies by which immunopeptide repertoires are intentionally reshaped to improve endogenous or vaccine-induced anti-tumor immune responses and potentially anti-viral immune responses.

Three-dimensional ground penetrating radar (3D GPR) is a non-destructive examination technology for pavement distress detection, for which its horizontal plane images provide a unique perspective for the task. However, a 3D GPR collects thousands of horizontal plane images per kilometer of the investigated pavement. The existing detection methods using GPR images are time-consuming and risky for subjective judgment. To solve the problem, this study used deep learning methods and 3D GPR horizontal plane images to detect pavement structural distress, including cracks, repairs, voids, poor interlayer bonding, and mixture segregation. In this study, two deep learning methods, called CP-YOLOX and SViT, were used to achieve the aim. A dataset for anomalous waveform localization (3688 images) was first created by pre-processing 3D-GPR horizontal plane images. A CP-YOLOX model was then trained to localize anomalous waveforms. Five SViT models with different numbers of encoders were adopted to perform the classification of anomalous waveforms using the localization results from the CP-YOLOX model. The numerical experiment results showed that 3D GPR horizontal plane images have the potential to be an assistant for pavement structural distress detection. The CP-YOLOX model achieved 87.71% precision, 80.64% mAP, and 33.57 sheets/s detection speed in locating anomalous waveforms. The optimal SViT achieved 63.63%, 68.12%, and 75.57% classification accuracies for the 5-category, 4-category, and 3-category datasets, respectively. The proposed models outperformed other deep learning methods on distress detection using 3D GPR horizontal plane images. In the future, more radar images should be collected to improve the accuracy of SViT.

With the accumulation of data on 6mA modification sites, an increasing number of scholars have begun to focus on the identification of 6mA sites. Despite the recognized importance of 6mA sites, methods for their identification remain lacking, with most existing methods being aimed at their identification in individual species. In the present study, we aimed to develop an identification method suitable for multiple species. Based on previous research, we propose a method for 6mA site recognition. Our experiments prove that the proposed 6mA-Pred method is effective for identifying 6mA sites in genes from taxa such as rice, Mus musculus, and human. A series of experimental results show that 6mA-Pred is an excellent method. We provide the source code used in the study, which can be obtained from http://39.100.246.211:5004/6mA_Pred/.

The gastrointestinal microbiota is a multi-faceted system that is unraveling novel contributors to the development and progression of several diseases. Berberine has been used to treat obesity, diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, and metabolic diseases in China. There are also clinical trials regarding berberine use in cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and endocrine diseases. Berberine elicits clinical benefits at standard doses and has low toxicity. The mechanism underlying the role of berberine in lipid‐lowering and insulin resistance is incompletely understood, but one of the possible mechanisms is related to its effect on the gastrointestinal microbiota. An extensive search in electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Sciences, Science Direct) was used to identify the role of the gastrointestinal microbiota in the berberine treatment. The aim of this review was to summarize the pharmacologic effects of berberine on animals and humans by regulation of the gastrointestinal microbiota.

Infrared broadband absorbers are in great demand in various applications, such as integration into uncooled infrared detectors and microbolometers. In this thesis, we demonstrate and compare three different design methods: coupling multi-sized resonators, inlaying metallic structures in the dielectric layer and choosing laminated dielectric layers made of lossless and lossy materials. Due to their absorption mechanisms, we initially propose a W/ZnTe/W/Ge/W and an embedded Ti/Si/Ti absorber, both of which can achieve ultra-broadband absorption from 8 to 14 μm, with average absorptions of 88% and 92%. We further propose a Ti/Ge/Si3N4/Ti absorbers which can realise near-perfect absorption in the LWIR band, with average absorptions of 95% where all absorption curves exceed 90%. Our study provides the broadband LWIR absorbing structures in addition to providing new insight into the understanding of the interaction of propagating and localised surface plasmon resonances, with the prospect of expanding to other absorbing-structure designs from visible to THz regimes.

Respiration rate is an essential vital sign that requires monitoring under various conditions, including in strong electromagnetic environments such as in magnetic resonance imaging systems. To provide an electromagnetically-immune breath-sensing system, we propose an all-fiber-optic wearable breath sensor based on a fiber-tip microcantilever. The microcantilever was fabricated on a fiber-tip by two-photon polymerization microfabrication based on femtosecond laser, so that a micro Fabry–Pérot (FP) interferometer was formed between the microcantilever and the end-face of the fiber. The cavity length of the micro FP interferometer was reduced as a result of the bending of the microcantilever induced by breath airflow. The signal of breath rate was rebuilt by detecting power variations of the FP interferometer reflected light and applying dynamic thresholds. The breath sensor achieved a high sensitivity of 0.8 nm/(m/s) by detecting the reflection spectrum upon applied flow velocities from 0.53 to 5.31 m/s. This sensor was also shown to have excellent thermal stability as its cross-sensitivity of airflow with respect to the temperature response was only 0.095 (m/s)/°C. When mounted inside a wearable surgical mask, the sensor demonstrated the capability to detect various breath patterns, including normal, fast, random, and deep breaths. We anticipate the proposed wearable breath sensor could be a useful and reliable tool for respiration rate monitoring.