Search

BackgroundThe aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) rs671 (A) allele has been implicated in neurodegeneration, potentially through oxidative and inflammatory pathways. The study aims to investigate the effects of the ALDH2 rs671 (A) allele and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) on the clinical phenotypes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in male and female patients.MethodsClinical data and ALDH2 rs671 genotype of 143 ALS patients, including 85 males and 58 females, were collected from January 2018 to December 2022. All patients underwent assessment using the Chinese version of the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioral ALS Screen (ECAS). Complete blood count and metabolic profiles were measured. Clinical and laboratory parameters were compared between carriers and non-carriers of the rs671 (A) allele in males and females, respectively. The significant parameters and rs671 (A) Allele were included in multivariate linear regression models to identify potential contributors to motor and cognitive impairment. Mediation analysis was employed to evaluate any mediation effects.ResultsMale patients carrying rs671 (A) allele exhibited higher levels of hs-CRP than non-carriers (1.70 mg/L vs. 0.50 mg/L, p = 0.006). The rs671 (A) allele was identified as an independent risk factor for faster disease progression only in male patients (β = 0.274, 95% CI = 0.048−0.499, p = 0.018). The effect of the rs671 (A) allele on the executive function in male patients was fully mediated by hs-CRP (Indirect effect = −1.790, 95% CI = −4.555−−0.225). No effects of the rs671 (A) allele or hs-CRP were observed in female ALS patients. The effects of the ALDH2 rs671 (A) allele and the mediating role of hs-CRP in male patients remained significant in the sensitivity analyses.ConclusionThe ALDH2 rs671 (A) allele contributed to faster disease progression and hs-CRP mediated cognitive impairment in male ALS patients.

Attendance absences have a substantial impact on student's future physical and mental health as well as academic progress. Numerous personal, familial, and social issues are among the causes of student absences. Any kind of absence from school should be minimized. Extremely high rates of student absences may indicate the abrupt commencement of a serious school health crisis or public health crisis, such as the spread of tuberculosis or COVID-19, which provides school health professionals with an early warning. We take the extreme values in absence data as the object and attempt to apply the extreme value theory (EVT) to describe the distribution of extreme values. This study aims to predict extreme instances of student absences. School health professionals can take preventative measures to reduce future excessive absences, according to the predicted results. Five statistical distributions were applied to individually characterize the extreme values. Our findings suggest that EVT is a useful tool for predicting extreme student absences, thereby aiding preventative measures in public health.

Sichuan Province is the primary region of ratoon rice production in China. This review summarizes the research progress of theories and technologies relating to the efficient cultivation of high-yielding ratoon rice based on the following: (1) ratoon rice planting area in Sichuan can be divided into three climatic zones based on the thermal energy availability, i.e. highly suitable, suitable, and sub-suitable zones; (2) grain yield in the ratoon season in Sichuan is 1.80–3.90 ​t ​ha−1 lower than that in southeastern and central China. The lower ratoon season yield in Sichuan was associated with fewer panicles m−2 and spikelets panicle−1; (3) the effects of rice cultivars selection, optimal nitrogen fertilizer and water management, timely harvest of the main crop, suitable rice stubble height, and sheath blight control on improving the ratooning ability of rice cultivars were examined; (4) factors restricting ratoon rice production in Sichuan include unstable ratoon rice yields, lack of suitable rice cultivars as simplified cultivating for ratoon rice, lack of high-efficiency and specialized rice harvester for ratoon rice, large yield gap between demonstration area and farmer’ paddy fields, and rolling damage from mechanical harvesting of main crop; and (5) new ratoon rice technologies relating to future development trends in Sichuan are clarified, including simplified cultivation techniques, integration of agricultural machinery and agronomy techniques, screening high-efficiency and specialized rice harvester, and desirable traits for breeding rice cultivars with strong ratooning ability and suitable growth duration in ratoon rice system.

Highly sensitive and specific biomarker detection is of outstanding importance for the diagnosis and treatment of cancers. Herein, we developed robust photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensors with low background noise and high sensitivity based on a heterojunction, which can improve semiconductor photoelectric properties by limiting the recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and successfully widening the range of light absorption. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was used as a target model to examine the analytical performances of the designed PEC biosensors. ZnO/Cs3MnBr5 heterogeneous film with a uniform porous structure and large surface area enhanced electron transfer and biomolecule immobilization, and significantly increased the photocurrent response. Under the optimal conditions, the designed PEC biosensor exhibited a linear detection range of 0.01–500 ng/mL and a detection limit of 12 pg/mL. In addition, this PEC biosensor performed well when testing human serum samples and exhibited good repeatability, stability over time, and specificity, showing enormous potential for the detection of cancer markers in future biological and clinical research.

Abstract Background High levels of childhood trauma (CT) have been observed in adults with mental health problems. Herein, we investigated whether self-esteem (SE) and emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal (CR) and expressive suppression (ES)) affect the association between CT and mental health in adulthood, including depression and anxiety symptoms. Methods We performed a cross-sectional study of 6057 individuals (39.99% women, median age = 34 y), recruited across China via the internet, who completed the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Self-esteem Scale (SES), and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). Multivariate linear regression analysis and bias-corrected percentile bootstrap methodologies were used to assess the mediating effect of SE, and hierarchical regression analysis and subgroup approach were performed to examine the moderating effects of emotion regulation strategies. Results After controlling for age and sex, we found that (1) SE mediated the associations between CT and depression symptoms in adulthood (indirect effect = 0.05, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.04–0.05, 36.2% mediated), and CT and anxiety symptoms in adulthood (indirect effect = 0.03, 95% CI: 0.03–0.04, 32.0% mediated); (2) CR moderated the association between CT and SE; and (3) ES moderated the association between of CT and mental health in adulthood via SE, and such that both the CT-SE and SE-mental health pathways were stronger when ES is high rather than low, resulting the indirect effect was stronger for high ES than for low ES. Conclusions These findings suggested that SE plays a partially mediating role in the association between CT and mental health in adulthood. Furthermore, ES aggravated the negative effect of CT on mental health in adulthood via SE. Interventions such as emotional expression training may help reduce the detrimental effects of CT on mental health. Trial registration The study was registered on http://www.chictr.org.cn/index.aspx and the registration number was ChiCTR2200059155.

As a strong economic and populous province in China, Jiangsu is home to four endemic diseases. Despite efforts in the past decade, the prevention and control of these four endemic diseases are not uniform because of the different etiological chains and influencing factors of these diseases. Among the evaluation methodologies for endemic disease control, only one method is currently available for each disease. In this study, we selected 14 indicators to comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness of endemic disease control in Jiangsu between 2013 and 2022. We improved the method for calculating the weights of the indicators and established a fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model based on the weighted Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution model and a weighted grey relational analysis model. The results of the comprehensive evaluation showed that the progress of endemic disease control in Jiangsu was not always in line with our expectations of improvement, with the top five years of better control occurring in 2015, 2013, 2021, 2022, and 2014. The results of the sensitivity analysis confirm the reliability and accuracy of these findings. We discovered that measures such as the reform of the salt industry, use of thyroid ultrasound, and new water supply projects for residents in Jiangsu affected the progress of endemic disease prevention and control. The tracking of endemic disease status should consider the potential effects of changes in policies implemented in other industries on endemic disease prevention and control. Additionally, the results of this study provide a theoretical basis for enhancing prevention and control practices in other regions of China.

Profundizar la comprensión de los factores de riesgo y buscar predecir biomarcadores potenciales para el pronóstico de pacientes con reemplazo total de cadera es de gran importancia. Los estudios limitados se han centrado en la correlación entre la nhigh mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) y el pronóstico en pacientes con artroplastia total de cadera. Objetivo. Investigar el papel de la HMGB1 sérica y los factores inflamatorios en pacientes sometidos a artroplastia total de cadera. Método. Estudio prospectivo que incluyó 208 pacientes con artroplastia total de cadera que acudieron a nuestro hospital. Los niveles de puntuación de Harris, Fugl-Meyer, encuesta de salud de formato corto de 36 ítems (SF-36) e índice de calidad del sueño de Pittsburgh (PSQI) se determinaron 90 días después de la cirugía en dos grupos. Se realizó la curva característica operativa del receptor (ROC) para analizar el valor diagnóstico de HMGB1 y se utilizó un modelo de regresión logística para identificar el factor de riesgo para mal pronóstico de los pacientes con artroplastia total de cadera. Resultados. Las concentraciones séricas de HMGB1 y los factores inflamatorios aumentaron después de la cirugía en comparación con los valores iniciales. Se encontró una correlación positiva entre la HMGB1 y la proteína C reactiva 1 día después de la cirugía, y correlaciones positivas entre la HMGB1 y las interleucinas 1β y 6 a los 3 días de la cirugía. Conclusiones. La HMGB1 sérica se correlacionó con los factores inflamatorios y con el pronóstico de los pacientes con artroplastia total de cadera.

Orthodontic treatment was accompanied by the remodeling of cancellous bone in alveolar bone (CBAB), which manifested as the increase or decrease in bone mineral density (BMD). BMD is closely related to the mechanical properties of the alveolar bone. Therefore, the aim of this study was to quantify the effect of BMD on its viscoelastic behavior and to assess orthodontic forces at different BMDs. A total of nine CBAB samples were cut from the cervical, middle, and apical regions of the right mandible between canine, premolars, and molars. After scanning with micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). The BMD of samples was measured and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) was performed. Based on the fourth-order generalized Maxwell model, a viscoelastic constitutive model characterizing the BMD variation was constructed. The BMD exhibited variations within different regions of the CBAB. The storage modulus is positively correlated with BMD, and the loss modulus is negatively correlated with BMD.

Periodontal ligament (PDL) is mainly composed of collagen fiber bundles, and the content of collagen fiber is an important factor affecting the mechanical properties of PDL. Based on this, the purpose of this study is to explore the effect of the PDL collagen fiber content on its viscoelastic mechanical behavior. Transverse and longitudinal samples of different regions of PDL were obtained from the human maxilla. The fiber content at different regions of human PDL was quantitatively measured using image processing software, and a new viscoelastic constitutive model was constructed based on the fiber content. The nano-indentation experiment was carried out with a loading rate of 0.5 mN·s−1, a peak load of 3 mN, and a holding time of 200 s, and the model parameters were obtained through the experiment data. The results showed that with the increase of fiber content, the deformation resistance of PDL also increased, and compared with the neck and middle region, the compressive strain in the apical region of PDL was the largest. The range of reduced elastic modulus of human PDL was calculated to be 0.39~5.08 MPa. The results of the experimental data and the viscoelastic constitutive model fit well, indicating that the model can well describe the viscoelastic behavior of human PDL.

In this study, kelp juice, apple juice and sugar were used as the main raw materials, and Lactobacillus plantarum was applied as the fermentation strain, to develop a fermented kelp-apple compound juice beverage with excellent flavor and natural nutrition. Based on sensory scores, the process optimization of the compound fruit juice beverage was carried out through single factor experiments and orthogonal experiment design. The best formula and fermentation condition of the beverage were as follows: 1:2 volume ratio of kelp juice to apple juice, 3% sucrose addition, 8% Lactobacillus plantarum inoculation, fermentation time 24 hours and temperature 32 ℃. The result of antioxidant activity assay showed that the inhibition rate of DPPH free radical, ABTS+ free radical and total antioxidant capacity of fermented kelp-apple juice beverage were 73.20%, 36.05% and 0.774, respectively. On the whole, both kelp juice and apple juice showed certain antioxidant capacity. Fermentation improved the antioxidant capacity of kelp juice, but reduced the antioxidant capacity of apple juice. However, the fermentation of sole kelp juice had poor taste and flavor. The addition of apple juice and lactic acid produced by fermentation masked the fishy smell of kelp to a certain extent. On the other hand, the addition of kelp juice prevented decline of antioxidant capacity of sole apple juice fermentation. Fermentation of two juices could significantly improve the DPPH free radical scavenging capacity of beverage. This study solved the problem of fishy smell of kelp beverage, explored the antioxidant activity of kelp-apple juice beverage fermentation system, and would provide theoretical basis and practical guidance for the development of kelp-fruit juice beverage.

A novel hemicucurbituril-based macrocycle, alternately consisting of amidobenzene and 2-imidazolidione moieties was designed and synthesized. Based on the fragment coupling strategy, nitrobenzene-containing hemicucurbituril was firstly prepared facilely under alkaline environment, and reduction of the nitro groups produced the desired amidobenzene-containing hemicucurbituril. As an original fluorescent chemosensor, it exhibited strong interactions with Fe3+ over other metal cations. The experimental evidence of fluorescence spectra suggested that a 1:1 complex was formed between this macrocycle and Fe3+ with an association constant up to (2.1 ± 0.3) × 104 M−1. Meanwhile, this macrocycle showed no obvious or only slight enhancement of the fluorescence intensity with selected anions.

Lubricant has been well-recognized in reducing friction/wear resistance and subsequently facilitating the movement of objects. However, the so-called lubricant inclines to increase the transverse dynamic piercing resistant properties of laminar aluminum over a wide range of high-velocity from 60 m/s to 230 m/s. The underlying mechanism in the high-speed perforation process of laminar structural raises confusion about the traditional concept that the lubricant did not act in reducing the frictional effect. Lubricant, such as high vacuum grease, smeared on the thinner metal laminar show the ‘slippery but bulletproof’ behavior. A specially designed dynamic sliding experiment provides further evidence that the lubricants act as a strengthening factor under the lower normal load state, but have no significant effect under a heavy normal load during the sliding initiation stage. The lubricant film avoids direct metallic contacting, reducing the stress concentration, postponing the failure displacement, and increasing the dissipated energy. This abnormal lubricant phenomenon in terms of strengthening and toughening should be taken into consideration as the thickness of the anti-bullet protective structure has been decreasing. These findings provide physical insights into the evolution of friction and fracture for developing membrane-like protective structures.

The semiconductors, such as TiO2, CdS, ZnO, BiVO4, graphene, produce good applications in photocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production, and great progress have been made in the synthesis and modification of the materials. As a two-dimensional layered structure material, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), with the unique properties of high thermostability and chemical inertness, excellent semiconductive ability, affords good potential in photocatalytic hydrogen evolution. However, the related low efficiency of g-C3N4 with fast recombination rate of photogenerated charge carriers, limited visible-light absorption, and low surface area of prepared bulk g-C3N4, has called out the challenge issues to synthesize and modify novel g-C3N4-block photocatalyst. In this review, we have summarized several strategies to improve the photocatalytic performance of pristine g-C3N4 such as pH, morphology control, doping with metal or non-metal elements, metal deposition, constructing a heterojunction or homojunction, dye-sensitization, and so forth. The performances for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution and possible development of g-C3N4 materials are shared with the researchers interested in the relevant fields hereinto.

Abstract Simplified cultivation methods for rice production offer considerable social, economic, and environmental benefits. However, limited information is available on yield components of rice grown using simplified cultivation methods in a rice-ratoon rice cropping system. A field experiment using two hybrid and two inbred rice cultivars was conducted to compare four cultivation methods (conventional tillage and transplanting, CTTP; conventional tillage and direct seeding, CTDS; no-tillage and transplanting, NTTP; no-tillage and direct seeding, NTDS) in a rice-ratoon rice system from 2017 to 2020. Main season yields for CTDS and NTDS were higher than for CTTP by 6.1% and 2.8%, respectively; whereas ratoon season yields for CTDS and NTDS were equal to or higher than for CTTP. Annual grain yields for CTDS and NTDS were higher than for CTTP by 4.4% and 3.2%, respectively. The higher CTDS and NTDS yields were associated with higher panicle numbers per m2 and biomass production. Rice hybrids had higher yields than inbred cultivars by 15.8–19.3% for main season and by 15.6–19.4% for ratoon season, which was attributed to long growth duration, high grain weight and biomass production. Our results suggest that CTTP can be replaced by CTDS and NTDS to maintain high grain yields and save labor costs. Developing cultivars with high grain weight could be a feasible approach to achieve high rice yields in the rice-ratoon rice cropping system in southwest China.

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) have attracted a wide range of academic interest for their promising properties as structural materials, among which the equiatomic FeCrNiCoMn HEAs have been reported to possess a series of superior properties. However, one may have to change the alloy composition from the equiatomic composition to improve a specific material property. In this study, molecular dynamics simulation combined with machine learning methods was used to study the mechanical properties of non-equiatomic FeCrNiCoMn HEAs. A database describing the relationship between materials composition and mechanical properties was established based on a tensile test of 300 HEA single-crystal samples by MD simulation. We investigated and compared three ML models for the learning task of yield stress, including support vector machine (SVM), kernel-based extreme learning machine (KELM), and deep neural network (DNN). It was found that the DNN model outperformed others for the binary classification of yield stress. The elemental composition strategy was used to guide the design of polycrystal FeCrNiCoMn samples, and the accuracy of the DNN model was further verified by the polycrystal samples. We show in this contribution that computational study combined with machine learning method can provide instructive guidance for the design of high-strength HEA and accelerate the development of new alloy materials.

In this paper, a rotary-focusing device for the antiplane shear wave is constructed to control and guide elastic wave energy transmission in elastic membranes. The designed device can cloak the antiplane shear waves outside the device and has a rotary-focusing effect on the shear waves energy inside the device in a membrane. The multilayered isotropic material properties of the rotary-focusing device are derived based on the transformation and rotary medium method, and a rotation parameter to guide the propagating trajectories of the antiplane shear waves is introduced. The efficiency of the rotary-focusing device for the antiplane shear waves is verified. The stability of shear wave fields in a membrane with the rotary-focusing device is analyzed to study the performance of rotary-focusing. Numerical examples show that the constructed rotary-focusing device for antiplane shear waves can effectively rotate and focus the antiplane shear wave energy into the device for a wide range of exciting frequencies, which can enhance the antiplane shear energy. Therefore, this study can provide theoretical support for potential applications in the fields of energy harvesting and vibration control.

Chiral substances occur naturally in abiotic and living systems. The recognition and detection of chiral substances in the natural environment or their analysis and detection in biological systems are crucial. Chiral recognition is a research hotspot in clinical medicine, pharmacology, biochemistry, and other fields. Indeed, many researchers have developed various sensors with different functionalized materials for detecting and analyzing enantiomers. Supramolecular systems have important applications in the development of molecular recognition technologies, and the development of supramolecular chemistry is closely related to research on molecular devices. Therefore, this review summarizes the principle of chiral supramolecular sensors for the detection of enantiomers from the perspective of various sensor types, including optical, electrochemical, electrochemical luminescence, photoelectric, and supramolecular chemical sensors. This review also summarizes the relevant reports on chiral supramolecular sensors in the last five years. Finally, we highlight the prospects of supramolecular chiral sensors in future research.

Abstract Background ALS patients have changed peripheral immunity. It is unknown whether peripheral immunity is related to cognitive dysfunction in ALS patients. Objective To explore the relationship between the peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets and the cognitive status in ALS patients. Methods Among 81 ALS patients, we compared the demographic, clinical, and peripheral levels of total T lymphocyte, CD4+ T lymphocyte, CD8+ T lymphocyte, B lymphocyte, and NK cell between those with cognitive impairment (ALS-ci) and those without (ALS-nci). The cognitive status was evaluated via the Chinese version of the Edinburgh cognitive and behavioral screen (ECAS). Significant predictors of cognitive impairment in univariate logistic regression analysis were further examined using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results 39.5% of all ALS patients had cognitive impairment. The ALS-ci group had shorter education time, older age at both symptom onset and testing, longer disease duration, and lower levels of peripheral total, CD4+, and CD8+ T lymphocyte and B lymphocyte than the ALS-nci group. Frequency of behavioral impairment did not differ between the two groups. While parameters with significant differences identified by group comparison were also significant predictors of cognitive impairment in univariate logistic regression analysis except the level of B lymphocyte, only older age at testing, education time less than 9 years, and lower level of CD4+ T lymphocyte remained significant in multivariate logistic regression analysis. The predictive model combining these three parameters had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve value of 0.842 with a sensitivity of 90.6% and a specificity of 67.3%. Conclusion In Chinese ALS patients, blood CD4+ T lymphocyte might help evaluate cognitive impairment along with age and education level.

Summary: Bulk aluminum rarely forms deformation or annealing twins owing to its high stacking fault energy. We report a novel twinning mechanism mediated by dynamic recrystallization in 6N pure aluminum under high strain rate (∼1.3 × 104 s−1) impact at a cryogenic temperature (77 K). Discontinuous dynamic recrystallization occurs during rapid severe plastic deformation and generates inhomogeneous microstructures exhibiting low-angle and high-angle grain boundaries. Unexpectedly, Σ3 twin boundaries were able to develop during dynamic recrystallization. Although these recrystallization twins have similar morphology as that of annealing twins, their formation relies on deformation activation instead of thermal activation, which was suppressed by the cryogenic experiment. Besides, strong orientation dependence was observed for formation of these novel twins. Beyond annealing and deformation twin, deformation-activated recrystallization twin is a new path for pure aluminum twinning.

When the permanent magnet direct-drive wind power converter system is disturbed by the grid side and the motor side, the output voltage of the converter and the DC bus voltage will change suddenly, and the power quality of the grid will deteriorate. The nonlinear active disturbance rejection controller (NLADRC) is used in the grid-connected inverter control system. Because of its ability to estimate and compensate disturbances, it can effectively improve the system's anti-disturbance ability and tracking accuracy. However, NLADRC still has problems such as many parameters to be adjusted and unclear physical meaning. This article explores the influence of various parameters on the dynamic performance of the entire system, and summarizes the direction and law of parameter tuning. At the same time, the frequency domain analysis method is used to express the gain parameter in the expanded state observer in the form of bandwidth, which provides a basis for parameter adjustment in actual engineering. The control algorithm proposed in this article is applied to the 3MW permanent magnet direct-drive wind power experimental platform. The experimental results under various working conditions show that NLADRC can effectively improve the anti-interference performance of the grid-connected inverter.

Rice yield is greatly influenced by climatic factors and soil fertility in the location where it is grown, but information about the individual effects of climatic factors and soil fertility variables is difficult to distinguish because they are often not independent. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the effect of climatic factors on grain yield when soil fertility was not a confounding factor for explaining yield differences across two subtropical environments. Field and pot experiments with six rice cultivars were conducted in Deyang and Luzhou, Sichuan Province, China. We found that rice yield was higher in Deyang than in Luzhou by 7.0–16.8% for field experiments and by 57.6–87.4% for pot experiments. Biomass production rather than harvest index was responsible for the yield difference. Maximum and minimum temperatures and cumulative solar radiation (CSR) before heading (HD) were higher in Deyang than in Luzhou, whereas after HD, maximum and minimum temperatures were lower in Deyang than in Luzhou. Rice yield was more closely related to maximum and minimum temperatures and CSR before HD than to these parameters after HD. There was no difference in yield between soil types from Deyang and Luzhou within the same ecological condition. Thus, the yield difference between the two subtropical environments was mainly caused by the difference in climatic factors. The differences in biomass between Deyang and Luzhou were mostly due to variations in pre-heading crop growth rate (pre-CGR) and pre-heading radiation use efficiency (pre-RUE), which were induced by varying temperatures and CSR. We concluded that lower yield in Luzhou was associated with lower pre-CGR and pre-RUE. Our study suggests that developing rice cultivars with high pre-CGR and pre-RUE through a breeding program may also be a feasible approach to achieve high yield in subtropical environments.

Abstract Secondary headache, fever, and upper motor neuron signs following facial herpes zoster during childhood should alert clinicians to the possibility of central nervous system complications of varicella‐zoster virus infection.

Abstract Background Nitrous oxide has become a popular inhalant as abused substance by young Chinese people in recent years. It has been mainly associated with medical conditions including megaloblastic anemia and myeloneuropathy. Case presentation We report a case of a 25-year-old high school graduate who had been abusing nitrous oxide for twenty months. She had a history of peripheral neuropathy and subacute combined degeneration in between. The young woman presented with headache, motor aphasia and right arm paralysis of eight hours after intermittently consuming nitrous oxide for one week. D-dimer was increased (1.1 mg/ml). Blood vitamin B12, folate, homocysteine and beta-HCG levels were normal. Head CT showed hemorrhagic infarction and subarachnoid hemorrhage. MR angiography and venography were normal. Head MRI identified left frontal isolated cortical vein thrombosis. Her muscle strength and verbal fluency significantly improved after initiation of Low Molecular Weight Heparin and serial head MRI showed continuous reduction in the size of thrombus. Conclusions For the first time nitrous oxide use is found to be related to isolated cortical vein thrombosis. Public education regarding the potential consequences of abusing nitrous oxide especially in high-risk individuals is urgently needed.

In the permanent magnet direct drive wind power generation system, the direct current (DC) bus voltage signal of the converter is usually used as the feedback of the voltage outer loop. Because of the existence of random white noise and the measurement error when the sensor collects the DC bus voltage signal, it is necessary to filter the bus voltage signal through the first-order inertial link. The time constant of the first order inertial link is usually 10ms-15ms. In the traditional voltage external loop second-order active disturbance rejection controller (ADRC) system, the influence of the bus voltage filter is not considered in the design of ADRC, which results in the phase lag and amplitude offset between the feedback of the controller and the real bus voltage. This will make the performance of the system affected by the time constant of the first-order inertial link. In this paper, an improved ADRC considering the bus voltage filter is proposed. The filtered bus voltage is expanded into a new state variable. The voltage before the filter is estimated by using the fourth-order linear expansion state observer (LESO) and used as the feedback. The simulation results show that the improved ADRC system has better control performance.

Objective: Uric acid as an antioxidant plays an important role in neurodegenerative disease. Our objective is to investigate the relationship between plasma uric acid and cognitive impairment in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 124 ALS patients were screened by the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioral Screen (ECAS) and classified according to the revised Strong's criteria. Additionally, based on total ECAS cut-off score patients were categorized into those with cognitive impairment (ALS-cie) and those without cognitive impairment (ALS-ncie), and clinical data and uric acid level were compared between the two groups. Parameters with significant differences were further included in a multivariate linear regression analysis with ECAS score as a dependent variable. Hold-out validation was performed to evaluate the fitness of regression model.Results: Up to 60% of ALS patients showed cognitive or/and behavioral impairment. The ALS-cie group had lower education level (p < 0.001), older age at symptom onset (p = 0.001), older age at testing (p = 0.001), and lower plasma uric acid (p = 0.01). Multivariate analysis showed increased uric acid (β = 0.214, p = 0.01), lower age at testing (β = −0.378, p < 0.001), and higher education level (β = 0.424, p < 0.001) could predict higher ECAS score (F = 19.104, R2 = 0.381, p < 0.0001). Validation analysis showed that predicted ECAS score was significantly correlated with raw ECAS score in both the training set (rs = 0.621, p < 0.001) and the testing set (rs = 0.666, p < 0.001).Conclusions: Cognitive impairment was a common feature in our Chinese ALS patients. Plasma uric acid might help evaluate the risk of cognitive impairment in ALS patients when combined with education level and age at testing.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a new definition for the evidence of hepatic steatosis and metabolic dysfunctions. The specific role of the dietary factors in the development and progress of the disease are not well illuminated. Thus, we conducted this study on the associations between dietary quality assessed by five dietary quality indexes (Dietary Inflammatory Index, DII; Mediterranean diet, MED; Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension, DASH; Alternate Healthy Eating Index diet, AHEI; Healthy Eating Indices, HEI) and MAFLD phenotypes. This study was extracted from the latest NHANES 2017–2018 wave. Demographic information, health status, lifestyles, and dietary habits were reported in the questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression and multivariate ordinal logistic regression methods were applied to explore the associations between dietary quality indexes and MAFLD or MAFLD with liver fibrosis. The weighted prevalence of Non-MAFLD, MAFLD without fibrosis, and MAFLD with fibrosis were 47.05%, 36.67%, and 16.28%, respectively, at the cutoff value of a median Controlled Attenuation Parameter (CAP) 248 dB/m and a median Liver Stiffness Measurement (LSM) 6.3 kPa. When the diagnostic cutoff values of CAP changed to 285 dB/m, the weighted prevalence of Non-MAFLD, MAFLD without liver fibrosis, and MAFLD with fibrosis turned to 64.62%, 22.08%, and 13.30%, respectively. All five dietary quality indexes, including DII, HEI-2015, AHEI, DASH, and MED, were all significantly associated with MAFLD phenotypes. DII was positively associated with MAFLD phenotypes, while other four dietary quality indexes, including HEI-2015, AHEI, DASH, and MED, were significantly associated with lower risk of MAFLD phenotypes. MAFLD is becoming a threatening public health concern among adult Americans and dietary quality is markedly associated with MAFLD phenotypes.

Aim: Adropin (ADR) is a novel regulatory polypeptide and has important effects on energy metabolism in the heart. However, it is still unclear whether ADR can relieve ventricular remodeling in DCM. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the effect of ADR on myocardial fibrosis in DCM rats.Materials and Methods: Twenty Wistar rats were randomly assigned into four groups: healthy control group (CON), DCM model group (DCM), DCM model treated with ADR group (ADR) and DCM model treated with perindopril group (PER). Collagen volume fraction (CVF) and perivascular collagen area (PVCA) were calculated. Diastolic function was assessed by echocardiography. The mitochondrial membrane potential assay was conducted by Rhodamine 123 staining. The protein expression levels of Col I, Col III, Mitofusin-1, Mitofusin-2 and Drp1 were evaluated using western blot.Results: Compared to CON group, CVF, PVCA and the relative protein expression of Col I, Col III and Drp1 increased in DCM group. And the relative expression of Mitofusin-1 and Mitofusin-2 proteins decreased. During our investigations, CVF, PVCA and the relative protein expression of Col I, Col III and Drp1 decreased in ADR treated rats compared to DCM group. The diastolic function was elevated in ADR group. The fluorescence of Rhodamine 123 and the expression of Mitofusin-1 and Mitofusin-2 also increased in ADR group.Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that ADR could alleviate myocardial fibrosis and improve diastolic function in DCM rats. ADR may be a putative candidate for the treatment of DCM.

The no-tillage, direct-seeded (NTDS) rice cropping system has attracted considerable attention because of its social, economic, and environmental benefits. However, very limited research has been conducted on optimizing nitrogen (N) management practices to enhance grain yield and N use efficiency (NUE) of rice grown in NTDS. An N fertilization field experiment with two rice hybrids was conducted in 2020 and 2021; the experiment consisted of three N rates (180, 153, and 0 kg N ha−1; N180, N153, and N0, respectively) and two N-application ratios split among the basal, seedling (three-leaf stage), mid-tillering, and panicle initiation stages (50%, 0%, 30%, and 20% and 0%, 30%, 40%, and 30%; R1 and R2, respectively). Although the N rate was 15% lower in the N153 treatment than in the N180 treatment, grain yield for N153 was equal to or slightly higher than that for N180. N153 had a higher agronomic efficiency of applied N (AEN), partial factor productivity of applied N (PFPN), and recovery efficiency of applied N (REN) compared to N180 by 10.1–24.7%, 15.0–20.1%, and 1.8–12.6%, respectively. Grain yield, AEN, PFPN, and REN in R2 were higher than those in R1 by 0.8–4.6%, 2.4–19.7%, 0.7–4.6%, and 3.5–30.0%, respectively. The increase in grain yield was due to improvement in the sink size that resulted from larger panicles, higher biomass production at maturity, which was partially attributable to increased biomass accumulation after heading, and a higher harvest index. Our results suggest that it is feasible to simultaneously improve grain yield and NUE in hybrid rice under NTDS through delayed and reduced N application rate, and current breeding programs need to target large panicle size as a primary objective for NTDS rice.

In the process of orthodontic treatment, the remodeling of cancellous bone in alveolar bone (in this paper, cancellous bone in alveolar bone is abbreviated as CBAB) is key to promoting tooth movement. Studying the mechanical behavior of CBAB is helpful to predict the displacement of teeth and achieve the best effect of orthodontic treatment. Three CBAB samples were cut from alveolar bone around the root apex of human teeth. A uniaxial compression test was used to study the transient elastic properties of CBAB. A creep test was used to study the time-dependent viscoelastic properties of CBAB. Both tests were carried out at the loading rates of 0.02 mm/min, 0.1 mm/min and 0.5 mm/min. The results revealed that CBAB is a nonlinear viscoelastic and hyperelastic material. The stress–strain curve obtained from the uniaxial compression test could be divided into three stages: the collapse stage of the front section, the exponential stage of the middle section and the almost linear stage of the rear end. According to the strain–time curve obtained from the compression creep test, a trend of increasing strain over time was relatively obvious within the first 30 s. After 200 s, the curve gradually tended to plateau. Four hyperelastic models and three viscoelastic models were used to fit the test data. Finally, the fifth-order polynomial hyperelastic model (coefficient of determination “R2 > 0.999”) was used to describe the hyperelastic properties of CBAB, and the seven-parameter model of the generalized Kelvin modified model (“R2 > 0.98”) was used to describe the viscoelastic properties of CBAB.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is one of the most important causes of death in patients with diabetic mellitus. The effect of sacubitril/valsartan (Sac/Val) on cardiac remodeling in DCM remains unclear. The present raw data were analysed to assess the effect of Sac/Val-on cardiac remodeling and explore the mechanisms of Sac/Val-in protecting the myocardium in DCM rats. The data include the left ventricular/body mass index, IL-6 and TNF-α levels in myocardial tissue, the protein expression levels of phos-p38, Col Ⅰ and Col Ⅲ in myocardial tissue between pre- and post- Sac/Val-treatment in DCM rats. Compared to DCM rats, the degree of fibrosis and the protein expression of phos-p38, Col Ⅰ and Col Ⅲ reduced after the treatment of Sac/Val. These data may provide useful bases for future clinical research concerning the application of Sac/Val-in patients with DCM.

The maxillary sinus is a common anatomic limitation for orthodontic tooth movement. The effect of orthodontic forces on a particular anatomy can be studied using finite element analysis (FEA). Our study aimed to determine the effect of different tooth penetration depths into the maxillary sinus floor (MSF) on the orthodontic force system for bodily tooth movement. Using the cone-beam computed tomography of a patient with low MSF, we modeled the geometry of canine, premolar, and molar teeth with their periodontal ligaments and the alveolar bone surrounding them. The models were manually modified to simulate different root penetration depths. Thereafter, the center of resistance and stress distributions for teeth penetrating into the MS were determined using FEA. Moreover, the force systems for teeth with a low MSF to varying degree were evaluated based on the FEA results. During orthodontic tooth movement, the individual differences in the periodontal anatomy should be considered. The CR position decreases with the penetration depth, while the average hydrostatic stress in the PDL increases rapidly. In this paper, we present the correction coefficients of the orthodontic force and moment for a tooth penetrating into the MSF, which is necessary for personalized treatment planning.

This meta-analysis is conducted to assess the efficiency and safety of triple antiplatelet therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who have received coronary stents implantation. The risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs), target vessel revascularization (TVR), target lesion revascularization (TLR), myocardial infarction (MI) and bleeding events were evaluated in this meta-analysis. Eight randomized controlled trials incorporating 1700 participants were included. During a follow-up of 12 months after stents implantation, the risk of TVR, TLR and MACEs in Triple group were lower than that of Dual group. There was no significant difference in the comparison of stent thrombosis and bleeding events between the two groups. Triple antiplatelet therapy is effective in reducing adverse cardiovascular outcomes in T2DM patients after stents implantation, without increasing the risk of bleeding events. Advanced designed and large-scale trails are deserved in the future.

Studies concerning the mechanical properties of the human periodontal ligament under dynamic compression are rare. This study aimed to determine the viscoelastic properties of the human periodontal ligament under dynamic compressive loading. Ten human incisor specimens containing 5 maxillary central incisors and 5 maxillary lateral incisors were used in a dynamic mechanical analysis. Frequency sweep tests were performed under the selected frequencies between 0.05 Hz and 5 Hz with a compression amplitude that was 2% of the PDL's initial width. The compressive strain varied over a range of 4%-8% of the PDL's initial width. The storage modulus, ranging from 28.61 MPa to 250.21 MPa, increased with the increase in frequency. The loss modulus (from 6.00 MPa to 49.28 MPa) also increased with frequency from 0.05 Hz- 0.5 Hz but remained constant when the frequency was higher than 0.5 Hz. The tanδ showed a negative logarithmic correlation with frequency. The dynamic moduli and the loss tangent of the central incisor were higher than those of the lateral incisor. This study concluded that the human PDL exhibits viscoelastic behavior under compressive loadings within the range of the used frequency, 0.05 Hz- 5 Hz. The tooth position and testing frequency may have effects on the viscoelastic properties of PDL.

Abstract Uncovering energy absorption and surface effects of various penetrating velocities on laminar structures is essential for designing protective structures. In this study, both quasi-static and dynamic penetration tests were systematical conducted on the front surfaces of metal sheets coated with a graphene oxide (GO) solution and other media. The addition of a GO fluid film to the front impact surface aided in increasing the penetration strength, improving the failure extension and dissipating additional energy under a wide-range of indentation velocity, from 3.33 × 10−5 m/s to 4.42 m/s. The coated -surfaces improved the specific energy dissipation by approximately 15~40% relative to the dry-contact configuration for both single-layer and double-layer configurations, and specific energy dissipations of double-layer configurations were 20~30% higher than those of the single-layer configurations. This treatment provides a facile strategy in changing the contact state for improving the failure load and dissipate additional energy.

In order to improve the dynamic response speed and the steady-state performance of the DC side bus voltage of the wind power grid-connected inverter, a mathematical model of a typical three-phase voltage type PWM (Pulse Width Modulation, PWM) grid-connected inverter was established, and its traditional voltage-current double closed loop with proportional-integral control method was analyzed. Then a second-order linear active disturbance rejection controller that does not depend on system model information was designed to replace the traditional voltage outer loop proportional-integral controller, thus a new double closed-loop control structure was formed to control it. The frequency domain theory was used to analyze the convergence of the third-order linear extended state observer and the influence of the total disturbance on the performance of the third-order linear extended state observer. The parameter tuning scheme of the designed controller was given. Finally, the 1.5 MW direct-driven permanent magnet wind power generation system was built in the Matlab/Simulink software and the control effects of the two control modes under different working conditions are compared. The simulation results show that the control scheme designed in this paper is superior to the traditional proportional-integral controller which has good anti-interference characteristics and robustness. Especially it has a good stability effect on DC side bus voltage fluctuations.

The wind power grid-connected inverter system has nonlinear, strong coupling, and is susceptible to grid voltage fluctuations and nonlinear load effects. To achieve satisfactory control results, the voltage outer loop is controlled by an improved linear active disturbance rejection control (LADRC). LADRC has strong adaptability, robustness and operability. It can automatically detect and compensate for internal and external disturbances, and correct complex controlled objects to integrator series. The total perturbation differential signal is introduced in the traditional linear extended state observer (LESO), which improves the dynamic perturbation observation ability of LESO. The frequency response characteristics analysis shows that the new LADRC has better anti-interference performance. The effectiveness of the improved controller under multiple operating conditions is verified by simulation.

A novel well-dispersed Pd@HHSS catalyst was synthesized by reduction of Pd(OAc)2 immobilized on HHSS we reported. When the ratios of Pd/SiO2 were 5 : 100 and 10 : 100, the Pd nanoparticles size was about 5–10 nm. The Pd@HHSS catalyst (Pd/SiO2 = 10 : 100) showed high catalytic activity in Suzuki-reaction with yields of 91–99% and the catalyst is reusable after four successive cycles without obvious loss of catalytic activity.

Background: Fingolimod slows heart rate (HR) due to vagomimetic effects and might cause additional cardiovascular autonomic changes. While the time course of HR changes is well described, the extent and course of cardiovascular autonomic changes upon fingolimod initiation has not yet been evaluated. This study, therefore, intended to assess cardiovascular autonomic changes during the first 6 h after fingolimod initiation. Methods: In 21 patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), we recorded respiration (RESP), electrocardiographic RR interval (RRI), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BPsys, BPdia) at rest, before and 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 h after fingolimod initiation. We calculated parameters of total autonomic modulation [RRI standard deviation (RRI-SD), RRI coefficient of variation (RRI-CV), RRI-total powers], mainly sympathetic cardiac modulation [RRI low frequency (LF) powers], sympathetic BP modulation (BPsys-LF powers), parasympathetic modulation [square root of the mean squared difference of successive RRIs (RMSSD), RRI high frequency (HF) powers], sympatho-vagal cardiac balance (RRI-LF/HF ratios), and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS). We compared parameters between the eight measurements [analysis of variance (ANOVA) or Friedman test with post-hoc analysis; significance: p < 0.05]. Results: After fingolimod initiation, RESP, BPsys, and BPsys-LF powers remained unchanged while RRIs, RRI-CV, RRI-SD, RRI-total powers, RRI-LF powers, RMSSD, RRI-HF powers, and BRS increased after 1 h and rose to peak values occurring after 5, 1, 2, 2, 1, 4, 4, and 4 h, respectively. After 3 h, BPdia had decreased significantly and was lowest after 5 h. RRI-LF/HF ratios decreased to a nadir after 4 h. Conclusions: The increases in parasympathetic and overall cardiac autonomic modulation and in BRS seen with fingolimod initiation are theoretically beneficial for the MS patient’s cardiovascular system. However, long-term studies must show whether these effects persist or are attenuated (e.g. due to S1P1 receptor down-regulation upon continued fingolimod therapy).

To protect the workers exposed to industrial noise, prevent and control the occurrence of noise-induced hearing loss, and reduce the incidence of occupational noise-induced deafness, a method and its application example were presented to assess the risk of noise-induced hearing loss. Based on the data collected by occupational hygienic investigations and measurements, the consequences and probabilities of noise-induced hearing loss could be predicted by using the ISO 1999:2013(E) risk model when the appropriate frequency combinations of interest and fences have been chosen according to the need, and then the corresponding management measures should be taken. It shows that this method could be widely used in evaluations of occupational disease hazards in construction projects in China. It will provide the technical basis in aspect of hearing protection for enterprises, assessment organizations and administration to improve the occupational health management continuously, to give reasonable advices for enterprises to protect the workers’ hearing, and to supervise and inspect the industrial occupational health situations, respectively.

In current work, effects of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) on the interface chemistry and electrical properties of Gd-doped HfO2 (HGO)/Ge stack have been investigated systematically. It has been demonstrated that the presence of GeOx interfacial layer between HfGdO and Ge is unavoidable and appropriate annealing can improve metal-oxide-semiconductor device characteristics such as interface state density, accumulation capacitance, frequency dispersion, and leakage current. The involved leakage current conduction mechanisms for metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors based on sputtered HGO/Ge gate stacks with optimal annealed temperature also have been discussed in detail. As a result, the Al/HGO barrier height and the band offset of HGO/Ge gate stack have been determined precisely.

A wavelet-based finite element method (WFEM) is developed to calculate the elastic band structures of two-dimensional phononic crystals (2DPCs), which are composed of square lattices of solid cuboids in a solid matrix. In a unit cell, a new model of band-gap calculation of 2DPCs is constructed using plane elastomechanical elements based on a B-spline wavelet on the interval (BSWI). Substituting the periodic boundary conditions (BCs) and interface conditions, a linear eigenvalue problem dependent on the Bloch wave vector is derived. Numerical examples show that the proposed method performs well for band structure problems when compared with those calculated by traditional FEM. This study also illustrates that filling fractions, material parameters, and incline angles of a 2DPC structure can cause band-gap width and location changes.

Indentation as a method to characterize materials has a history of more than 117 years. However, to date, it is still the most popular way to measure the mechanical properties of various materials at microscale and nanoscale. This review summarizes the background and the basic principle of processing by indentation. It is demonstrated that indentation is an effective and efficient method to identify mechanical properties, such as hardness, Young’s modulus, etc., of materials at smaller scale, when the traditional tensile tests could not be applied. The review also describes indentation process via both experimental tests and numerical modelling in recent studies.

A new two-dimensional locally resonant phononic crystal with microcavity structure is proposed. The acoustic wave band gap characteristics of this new structure are studied using finite element method. At the same time, the corresponding displacement eigenmodes of the band edges of the lowest band gap and the transmission spectrum are calculated. The results proved that phononic crystals with microcavity structure exhibited complete band gaps in low-frequency range. The eigenfrequency of the lower edge of the first gap is lower than no microcavity structure. However, for no microcavity structure type of quadrilateral phononic crystal plate, the second band gap disappeared and the frequency range of the first band gap is relatively narrow. The main reason for appearing low-frequency band gaps is that the proposed phononic crystal introduced the local resonant microcavity structure. This study provides a good support for engineering application such as low-frequency vibration attenuation and noise control.

In order to provide the quantitative risk evaluation for 1,3-butadiene-expose, quantitative method using physiologically based pharmacokinetic model and dose-response model is applied to the carcinogenic risk evaluation for 1,3-butadiene-exposed workers. First, the internal dose of inhaled-1,3-butadiene in human beings is simulated by exposure related dose estimating model recommended by USEPA. Second, the internal dose is induced into calculating formula of carcinogenic risk. In order to determine the uncertainty of the cancer risk, Monte Carlo simulation is used to analyze the risk probability distribution. A large chemical enterprise in Tianjin is selected as the case study and carcinogenic risk evaluation for 1,3-butadiene-exposed workers is calculated. The results show that the cancer risk of 1,3-butadiene-exposed workers obviously exceeds 1×10-4 the maximum acceptable risk level. It is necessary to take relevant measures to reduce risk.

Nowadays, the acute and chronic adverse health effects caused by benzene exposure have attracted wide attention. In this paper, we evaluate the health risk based on the four-step method recommended by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). We present a method using the Monte Carlo Simulating Software (MCSim) to build a PBPK model to simulate the concentrations in target tissues of human in distribution forms. The internal dose will be used in the dose-response model to figure out the cancer risk. In the case of workers exposed to benzene in oil refinery workplace, we take the advantage of FLUENT software to simulate the external dose, treat the concentration data by SPSS, and compute the internal dose by MCSim software, so that the lifetime cancer risk range of exposed workers can be calculated if the benzene occupational exposure scenarios are complicated. This method will be used to provide the basis for the occupation health management of enterprises.

n this paper, occupational chemical poisons’ physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models are established to simulate metabolic processes in vivo based on exposure simulation software- exposure related dose estimating model (ERDEM). PBPK model establishing progress is described based on the development and utilization of ERDEM. As well known, benzene, 1, 3-butadiene and vinyl chloride are definitely carcinogenic to humans. The study on these carcinogens’ internal exposure has important significance to carcinogenic risk. Internal exposure of these three kinds of chemicals are simulated with parameters of PBPK model, organizations and organism from literature data, which proves ERDEM’s broad applicability. Simulation results are represented by different kinds of results forms such as toxicant concentration in blood changes over time, toxicant average concentration in blood, metabolite amount in target organ changes over time, toxicant concentration in exhaled air changes over time and so on. And the simulation results are verified by comparing with the experimental results in previous literature. The good consistency between simulation results and experimental date reflects that output results of ERDEM are reliable and can be characterized in various forms.