Search

Abstract Over 700 syndromes associated with hearing loss (HL) have been identified. Labyrinthine aplasia, microtia, and microdontia (LAMM syndrome, OMIM: 610706) is a rare HL syndrome characterized by congenital sensorineural HL, labyrinthine aplasia, type I microtia and microdontia, which is caused by biallelic variants in the FGF3 gene. Using Whole-exome sequencing (WES), we identified a novel missense FGF3 variant (c.137G > C, p. Arg46Pro (NM_005247.4) in three unrelated Uyghur ethnic families. This variant is classified as a variant of uncertain significance according to ACMG guidelines, with the applied criteria of PM3, PM2_Supporting, PP3 and PP4. Patients from the three families revealed variable clinical features. We found a novel phenotype, sparse hair, in one of the proband. Our findings expanded the variant and phenotype spectrum of LAMM syndrome and provided new insights to the diagnose and pathogenesis investigation of the disease.

Abstract A novel algorithm, stretchedNMF, is introduced for non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), accounting for signal stretching along the independent variable’s axis. It addresses signal variability caused by stretching, proving beneficial for analyzing data such as powder diffraction at varying temperatures. This approach provides a more meaningful decomposition, particularly when the component signals resemble those from chemical components in the sample. The stretchedNMF model introduces a stretching factor to accommodate signal expansion, solved using discretization and Block Coordinate Descent algorithms. Initial experimental results indicate that the stretchedNMF model outperforms conventional NMF for datasets exhibiting such expansion. An enhanced version, sparse-stretchedNMF, optimized for powder diffraction data from crystalline materials, leverages signal sparsity for accurate extraction, especially with small stretches. Experimental results showcase its effectiveness in analyzing diffraction data, including success in real-time chemical reaction experiments.

Abstract Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) has gained increasing attention owing to its crucial role in reducing radiation exposure in patients. However, LDCT-reconstructed images often suffer from significant noise and artifacts, negatively impacting the radiologists’ ability to accurately diagnose. To address this issue, many studies have focused on denoising LDCT images using deep learning (DL) methods. However, these DL-based denoising methods have been hindered by the highly variable feature distribution of LDCT data from different imaging sources, which adversely affects the performance of current denoising models. In this study, we propose a parallel processing model, the multi-encoder deep feature transformation network (MDFTN), which is designed to enhance the performance of LDCT imaging for multisource data. Unlike traditional network structures, which rely on continual learning to process multitask data, the approach can simultaneously handle LDCT images within a unified framework from various imaging sources. The proposed MDFTN consists of multiple encoders and decoders along with a deep feature transformation module (DFTM). During forward propagation in network training, each encoder extracts diverse features from its respective data source in parallel and the DFTM compresses these features into a shared feature space. Subsequently, each decoder performs an inverse operation for multisource loss estimation. Through collaborative training, the proposed MDFTN leverages the complementary advantages of multisource data distribution to enhance its adaptability and generalization. Numerous experiments were conducted on two public datasets and one local dataset, which demonstrated that the proposed network model can simultaneously process multisource data while effectively suppressing noise and preserving fine structures. The source code is available at https://github.com/123456789ey/MDFTN .

Background: Previous research showed that plant-based diets were correlated with male-productive health, but evidence regarding the association of this diet with teratozoospermia remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association between plant-based diets and teratozoospermia odds. Methods: We conducted a case-control study involving 146 patients with teratozoospermia and 581 healthy controls in the infertility clinics of the Center for Reproductive Medicine during June and December 2020. To evaluate dietary data for the included participants, a validated food frequency questionnaire was utilized. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the development of teratozoospermia related to the plant-based diets were employed using unconditional logistic regression. Results: Higher adherence to the overall plant-based diet index (PDI) was inversely associated with the odds of teratozoospermia (OR T3 vs. T1 = 0.56; 95 % CI = 0.33–0.94). Additionally, greater adherence to the healthful PDI (hPDI) was correlated with a lower odds of teratozoospermia (OR T3 vs. T1 = 0.56; 95 % CI = 0.34–0.90), whereas the null association of unhealthful PDI (uPDI) with teratozoospermia was observed (OR T3 vs. T1 = 1.15; 95 % CI = 0.70–1.91). Interestingly, uPDI was positively associated with the odds of teratozoospermia among men with age

Summary: Here, we present a protocol for conducting bibliometric analysis in biomedicine using CiteSpace and VOSviewer. We describe the steps for extracting data from Web of Science, data cleaning, and preprocessing. We then detail procedures for identifying research trends and collaboration networks by visualizing data with CiteSpace; mapping co-authorship, co-citation, and keyword co-occurrence using VOSviewer; and analyzing highly cited literature to identify key publications and trends. Finally, we outline techniques for interpreting the visualizations to draw meaningful conclusions about the research landscape.For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Li et al.1 : Publisher’s note: Undertaking any experimental protocol requires adherence to local institutional guidelines for laboratory safety and ethics.

In recent years, extensive research on dynamic precipitation has led to a growing interest in exploring how deformation affects microstructure and mechanical properties. In this study, the response of microstructure and performance to cold pre-strain and the early aging stage in the Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy was investigated using a combination of modelling and experimental approaches. A Kampmann-Wagner based numerical framework was developed and applied to the Al–Zn–Mg–Cu alloy. The deformation or quenching induced dislocations and vacancies, their dynamics and acceleration on the diffusivities of solute atoms, and the competition between homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation were considered in the framework. The effect of the different pre-strain levels (0%–10%) on the evolution of vacancies, dislocations, precipitation kinetics and hardening are given in detail. The results suggest that the acceleration of precipitation kinetics and hardening during the aging process following pre-strain is primarily attributed to the overall increase in diffusivity resulting from deformation-induced dislocations, rather than vacancies. The simulation framework developed in the current work effectively captures the evolution of microstructure and mechanical properties, which has significant practical implications for materials manufacturing.

Abstract Background During laparoscopic left hemicolectomy procedures, a previously overlooked consistently thick blood vessel within the gastrocolic ligament near the splenic hilum may contribute to post-operative bleeding complications. The purpose of this study was to investigate the identification and management of the previously overlooked blood vessel. Methods This is a retrospective descriptive study of patients undergoing laparoscopic left colectomy for splenic fexure cancer conducted at a national gastrointestinal surgery centre in China. Consecutive patients with splenic fexure cancer who underwent laparoscopic left colectomy using our“five-step process”(n = 34) between January 2021 and July 2023 were included. Results The vessels can be effectively exposed using the aforementioned “five-step process.” It was observed that the overlooked vessels consistently present in all patients were identified as the omental branch of the left gastroepiploic artery and vein. Conclusion We have identified the origin of previously overlooked blood vessels and recommended a safe method for their management. This may offer advantages to colorectal surgeons performing laparoscopic left colectomy for splenic flexure cancer

Abstract Background Extrachromosomal circular DNAs (eccDNAs) have been reported to play a key role in the occurrence and development of various diseases. However, the characterization and role of eccDNAs in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) remain unclear. Methods In the discovery cohort, we first explored eccDNA expression profiles by Circle-sequencing analysis. The candidate eccDNAs were validated by routine polymerase chain reaction (PCR), TOPO-TA cloning and Sanger sequencing. In the validation cohort, 30 patients with PAH and 10 healthy controls were recruited for qPCR amplification to detect the candidate eccDNAs. Datas at the baseline were collected, including clinical background, biochemical variables, echocardiography and hemodynamic factors. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to investigate the diagnostic effect of the eccDNA. Results We identified a total of 21,741 eccDNAs in plasma samples of 3 IPAH patients and 3 individuals in good health, and the expression frequency, GC content, length distribution, and genome distribution of the eccDNAs were thoroughly characterized and analyzed. In the validation cohort, 687 eccDNAs were differentially expressed in patients with IPAH compared with healthy controls (screening threshold: |FC|≥2 and P

Abstract Understanding microstructural evolution occupies a central position in the discipline of materials science and engineering. As stated by Carter et al., microstructural evolution involves complex, coupled, and often nonlinear processes even the description of the dynamics for isolated microstructural evolution processes can be quite complicated. It would be desirable to enrich the microstructural evolution theory by introducing a powerful mathematical tool, which could enable describing and predicting the rich intertwining phenomena such as diffusive or displacive phase transformation, grain growth, generation, or annihilation of defects (vacancy, dislocations, etc.) in a straightforward manner. There have been continuing efforts along this front, and I will restrict myself to the issues in the development and application of the thermodynamic variational principle. Although being reviewed by various authors recently, we hope to redraw attentions to some valuable papers and provide our understanding and viewpoints. It is our opinion that the most appealing feature about the principle is the nature that it could give approximate solutions with tunable accuracy. The other feature is its role as a basic principle in deriving the new models. It is hoped that this paper could promote the development and application of the variational principle even further in materials science.

University faculties are duty-bound to shoulder the functions of both teaching and doing scientific research, but they have been repeatedly criticized for emphasizing research over teaching. The current study analyzes the imbalance between teaching and scientific research in faculty evaluation system from three aspects through both quality study and quantity study: the evaluation subject, the weights difference in promotion, and the prediction of salary. Based on that, the influential effects of unbalanced evaluation system on long-term development of education has been explored. The current study also puts forward the moderating effect of the sense of belonging to colleges and universities. The result shows organizational belonging can significantly weaken the negative effects of the unbalanced evaluation system on education. Based on this, this paper makes further suggestions on the construction of university faculties’ evaluation system and the promotion of their sense of belonging.

Technique: We describe improvements to the previously proposed “U-tied anastomosis” with the aim of broadening its indications, especially in left hemicolectomy. After bowel mobilization and vascular ligation, the proximal and distal colon were aligned in a U-shape using a ligature. An anastomosis was constructed using a linear stapler through the common enterotomies. Following resection of the bowel using laparoscopic coagulation shears, the common opening was closed using 3-0 barbed sutures. Results: Eight consecutive patients underwent colectomy using the U-tied semi-manual technique between May and July 2023. In all cases, the U-tied procedures were completed using one cartridge and two sutures. No complications or mortality were observed after one month of follow-up. Conclusions: The U-tied semi-manual anastomosis is a straightforward and effective method for intracorporeal anastomosis. The simplified reconstruction technique of U-tied series, together with the minimization of technique variability, results in consistent outcomes when performed by surgeons with different levels of experience. The streamlined process enhances the homogeneity of the intracorporeal anastomosis while reducing cartridge use.

Motivated by some variational problems from a nonlocal model of mechanics, this work presents a set of sufficient conditions that guarantee a compact inclusion in the function space of $ L^{p} $ vector fields defined on a domain $ \Omega $ that is either a bounded domain in $ \mathbb{R}^{d} $ or $ \mathbb{R}^{d} $ itself. The criteria are nonlocal and are given with respect to nonlocal interaction kernels that may not be necessarily radially symmetric. Moreover, these criteria for vector fields are also different from those given for scalar fields in that the conditions are based on nonlocal interactions involving only parts of the components of the vector fields. The $ L^{p} $ compactness criteria are utilized in demonstrating the convergence of minimizers of parameterized nonlocal energy functionals.

BackgroundReduced brain volume, impaired cognition, and possibly a range of psychoneurological disorders have been reported in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); however, no underlying cause has been specified. Here, Mendelian randomization (MR) was employed to determine the causative NAFLD effects on cortical structure.MethodsWe used pooled-level data from FinnGen’s published genome-wide association study (GWAS) of NAFLD (1908 cases and 340,591 healthy controls), as well as published GWAS with NAFLD activity score (NAS) and fibrosis stage-associated SNPs as genetic tools, in addition to the Enigma Consortium data from 51,665 patients, were used to assess genetic susceptibility in relation to changes with cortical thickness (TH) and surface area (SA). A main estimate was made by means of inverse variance weighted (IVW), while heterogeneity and pleiotropy were detected using MR-Egger, weighted median, and MR Pleiotropy RESidual Sum and Outlier to perform a two-sample MR analysis.ResultsAt the global level, NAFLD reduced SA (beta = −586.72 mm2, se = 217.73, p = 0.007) and several changes in the cortical structure of the cerebral gyrus were found, with no detectable pleiotropy.ConclusionNAFLD causally affects cortical structures, which supports the presence of an intricate liver–brain axis.

Objective: To establish a method to detect four genes: qnrS, aac(6')-Ib-cr, oqxA, oqxB, among the plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes carried by foodborne Salmonella by applying a novel liquid-phase chip technique. Methods: For the four PMQR genes carried by foodborne Salmonella: qnrS, aac(6')-Ib-cr, oqxA, and oqxB, corresponding primers and microspheres were designed, and liquid-phase microarray technology was used to perform specificity experiments on seven standard strains. Reproducibility and sensitivity experiments were performed on four foodborne Salmonella strains containing one PMQR gene each. 71 quinolone resistant Salmonella strains from foodborne risk monitoring were tested, and a comparison experiment with ordinary PCR was carried out. Results: A method for the detection of four PMQR genes, qnrS, aac(6')-Ib-cr, oqxA and oqxB, in foodborne Salmonella was successfully established by liquid-phase microarray technology. The LOD (limit of detection) of qnrS, aac(6')-Ib-cr, oqxA and oqxB were 5, 25, 10 and 10 CFU/mL respectively. The median fluorescence values (MFI) of all positive determinations were ≥5 times those of the negative control group. The coefficients of variation (CV) of the repeatability experiments were less than 5%. In the specificity experiments, all quinolone resistant Salmonella strains were detected, and no cross-reactivity with other non-target bacteria was observed. The detection rate of qnrS, aac(6')-Ib-cr, oqxA and oqxB were 29.6% (21/71), 35.2% (25/71), 28.2% (20/71), 23.9% (17/71) respectively. The coincidence rate between the liquid chip technology and PCR was 100%. Conclusion: The experimentally established liquid-phase chip technique for the detection of foodborne Salmonella plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes qnrS, aac(6')-Ib-cr, oqxA and oqxB is characterized by high sensitivity, good specificity, stability, and accurate results, which can provide technical support for the detection of foodborne Salmonella PMQR genes and the monitoring of drug resistance.

The microstructure evolution of GH4742 superalloy under the coupling action of hot deformation and heat treatment was studied by isothermal compression and then solvus heat treatment (SHT), with particular attention focused on the interaction mechanism between γ′ precipitates and dynamic recrystallization (DRX) grains. The deformation of material below the γ′ solvus temperature (1020–1050 °C) by DRX was retarded because of the strong pinning effect of γ′ precipitates. At a strain of 0.6 and all strain rates (0.01–1 s−1), a necklace-like microstructure formed with fine DRXed grains (∼2 μm) and a small DRXed fraction (

The main aim of this study was to utilize remote sensing data to establish regression models through machine learning to predict locust density in the upcoming year. First, a dataset for monitoring grassland locust density was constructed based on meteorological data and multi-source remote sensing data in the study area. Subsequently, an SVR (support vector regression) model, BP neural network regression model, random forest regression model, BP neural network regression model with the PCA (principal component analysis), and deep belief network regression model were built on the dataset. The experimental results show that the random forest regression model had the best prediction performance among the five models. Specifically, the model achieved a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.9685 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.0144 on the test set, which were the optimal values achieved among all the models tested. Finally, the locust density in the study area for 2023 was predicted and, by comparing the predicted results with actual measured data, it was found that the prediction accuracy was high. This is of great significance for local grassland ecological management, disaster warning, scientific decision-making support, scientific research progress, and sustainable agricultural development.

Abstract Background Pulmonary sclerosing pneumocytoma (PSP) is an uncommon benign neoplasm originated from pneumocyte and PSP with malignant transformation is extremely rare. Case presentation We report a case of PSP of a 65-year-old male patient presented as a lobulated mass in the upper lobe of the left lung, in which part of the stromal round cells transformed to spindle cells with sarcomatoid features and showed no specific differentiation. The patient underwent partial lobectomy without further treatment. No recurrence and metastasis was found after eight month’s follow up. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first case of PSP with sarcomatoid malignant transformation devoid of differentiation. Our case adds the evidence in that a subset of PSP bear malignant potential and more studies are needed in order to determine the treatment and prognosis to such patients.

Abstract Background Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease (PVOD) is a rare, progressive, and oft-fatal condition of pulmonary arterial hypertension that is typically difficult to diagnose and treat. However, with the development of next-generation sequencing technology, an increasing number of patients with PVOD are being diagnosed. Methods Initially, we used whole exome sequencing (WES) to identify the proband as a rare compound heterozygous mutation of EIF2AK4 in PVOD. Subsequently, the parents of patient underwent EIF2AK4 screening by Sanger sequencing. Results In this study, we describe the family tree of a patient with PVOD with a rare compound heterozygous EIF2AK4 mutation. Moreover, we identified a new EIF2AK4 mutation, c.2236_2237insAAGTCCTTCT, in exon 12 of the proband and his mother. This frameshift mutation led to premature termination of the coding protein sequence and widespread loss of protein function, which promoted the development of PVOD. Conclusions Our results expand our understanding of the EIF2AK4 mutation spectrum in patients with PVOD, as well as highlight the clinical applicability of WES.

Tumor heterogeneity dominates tumor biological behavior and shapes the tumor microenvironment. However, the mechanisms of tumor genetic features modulate immunity response were not clearly clarified. Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) exert distinct immune functions in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) based on the inducible phenotype. FOXO family members sense changes in the extracellular or intracellular environment by activating a series of signaling pathways. FOXO1, a transcription factor that a common suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma, correlated with a better tumor biological behavior in HCC through shaping macrophages anti-tumour response. Here, we found that human HCC tissue microarray (TMA) slides were employed to showed tumor derived FOXO1 negatively related with distribution of protumour macrophages. This phenomenon was confirmed in mouse xenograft model and in vitro. HCC-derived FOXO1 inhibits tumorigenesis not only by targeting tumor cells but also by synchronizing with re-educated macrophages. These effects may be partially dependent on FOXO1 transcriptionally modulates IRF-1/nitrio oxide (NO) axis in exerting effects in macrophages and decreasing IL-6 releasing from macrophages in tumor microenvironment indirectly. This feedback suppressed the progression of HCC by inactivation of IL-6/STAT3 in HCC. It implicates the potential role of FOXO1 in the therapeutic effects for modulating immune response by targeting macrophages.

Abstract Hearing loss is the most common sensory neural disorder in humans, and according to a WHO estimation, 5.5% (466 million) of people worldwide have disabling hearing loss. In this study, a Chinese family with prelingual sensorineural hearing loss was investigated. The affected individuals showed moderately severe hearing loss at all frequencies. Using target genome enrichment and high-throughput sequencing, the homozygous variant c.2372del; p.(Ser791fs) was identified in PDZD7. This variant lies in exon 15 of PDZD7 and results in a frame shift followed by an early stop codon. It is classified as pathogenic according to the ACMG/AMP guidelines and ClinGen specifications. Our study expands the pathogenic variant spectrum of PDZD7 and strengthens the clinical importance of this gene in patients with moderately severe hearing loss.

Background: Because it has been reported that racemic ketamine had a local anesthetic-sparing effect when used for epidural analgesia this would suggest the likelihood of a potential advantage (less pruritus) over opioid drugs. Esketamine has greater analgesic efficacy than racemic ketamine, but the optimum dosage regimen for epidural use is undetermined. The aim of this study was to determine the ED90 of epidural esketamine when coadministered with 0.075% ropivacaine for labor analgesia.Methods: A total of 65 laboring nulliparous patients were enrolled in this study from 16 March 2022 to 15 October 2022. The patients were randomly assigned to receive 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 or 1.0 mg/mL esketamine with 0.075% ropivacaine epidurally. An effective response to the epidural loading dose was defined as numerical rating scale pain score ≤3 at 30 min after the end of the epidural loading dose (10 mL of the ropivacaine 0.075% solution with the added esketamine). The ED90 of epidural esketamine coadministered with 0.075% ropivacaine with 95% confidence intervals for labor analgesia was determined using probit regression. Secondary outcomes and side effects were recorded.Results: The estimated value of ED90 with 95% CIs for epidural esketamine with 0.075% ropivacaine was 0.983 (0.704–2.468) mg/mL. The characteristics of sensory and motor block, consumption of ropivacaine per hour, duration of first or second stage, Apgar scores did not differ among the five groups. The incidence of mild dizziness in Group esketamine 1.0 mg/mL was significantly higher than that in other groups (p < 0.05). No statistical differences were found in other side effects among groups.Conclusion: The ED90 value of epidural esketamine coadministered with 0.075% ropivacaine for labor analgesia in nulliparous parturients was about 1.0 mg/mL. Furthermore, our results suggested that epidural esketamine would cause dose-dependent mild dizziness especially at doses up to 1.0 mg/mL. As a single epidural additive, esketamine may not be suitable for labor analgesia. Future studies may investigate the appropriate dosage of esketamine at slightly higher concentrations of local anesthetics or larger initial volume of analgesia, or explore other potential advantages of esketamine.Clinical Trial Registration: (https://www.chictr.org.cn/bin/project/edit?pid=159764), identifier (ChiCTR2200057662).

Although there are lots of researches about the application of FRP composites on the external bonding and reinforcement of timber structures, they are mostly aimed at Carbon FRP, which has a large difference in mechanical properties and inconsistent deformation with timber. Meanwhile, research about the interface between timber and Flax Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FFRP) with similar properties with timber is limited; hence, relevant models have not been established yet. Similar to linear elastic FRP confined timber structure, the failure of FFRP-timber structure interface is a process in which the interfacial stress is gradually transferred from the loaded end to the free end, and the interfacial stress transfer area, that is an effective bond length of the FFRP-timber interface. In order to study the interfacial stress transfer characteristics between FFRP and timber structure, based on the existing CFRP-timber structure interface bonding theory and mechanism, a single lap shear test is used to conduct a systematic study on bonding length and width are studied to optimized the application of FFRP. The bond-slip behavior is studied and fitted to provide theory support for the application of FFRP in the restoration of ancient timber structures.

As an emerging concept of a system's ability to resist disasters, transportation system resilience (TSR) has attracted the attention of scholars. In this study, a bibliometric analysis of 303 academic publications from the Web of Science related to TSR is presented to portray the intellectual landscape by visualizing the evolution of the collaboration network, the co-citation network, and keywords co-occurrence. The results showed that the number of publications in the field of TSR exploded after 2014 and attracted multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary attention from all over the world. Collaborative efforts among authors in this field tend to confine in small groups, and a large-scale collaborative network has yet to be established. This study also identifies the influential journals, institutions, scholars, and literature and summarizes the hot research topics and future research directions. In addition, it offers valuable references for researchers interested in TSR, and put forward recommendations on the emphasis and orientations of future studies.

The biodiversity of litter can regulate carbon and nutrient cycling during mixed decomposition. It is common knowledge that the decomposition rates of mixed litters frequently deviate from those predicted for these component litter species. However, the direction and magnitude of the nonadditive effects on the degradation of mixed litters remain difficult to predict. Previous studies have reported that the different carbon fractions of leaf litters responded to litter mixture differently, which may help to explain the ambiguous nonadditive effect of diversity on bulk litter decomposition. Therefore, we conducted decomposition experiments on 32 litter mixtures from seven common tree species to test the responses of different carbon fractions to litter diversity in subtropical forests. We found that the overall mass loss of the mixed litter was faster than that estimated from single species. The relative mixing effects (RMEs) of different carbon fractions exhibited different patterns to litter diversity and were driven by different aspects of litter functional dissimilarity. Soluble carbon fractions decomposed more slowly than expected from single species, while lignin fractions decayed more quickly. Moreover, we found that the RMEs of bulk litter decomposition may be determined by the lignin fraction decomposition. Our findings further support that distinguishing the response of different carbon fractions to litter diversity is important for elucidating the nonadditive effects of total litter decomposition.

Nickel silicides (NiSi) are renowned for their ability to withstand high temperatures and resist oxidation and corrosion in challenging environments. As a result, these alloys have garnered interest for potential applications in turbine blades and underwater settings. However, their high brittleness is a constant obstacle that hinders their use in producing larger parts. A literature review has revealed that incorporating trace amounts of transition metals can enhance the ductility of silicides. Consequently, the present study aims to create NiSi-based powders with the addition of titanium (Ti), boron (B), cobalt (Co), molybdenum (Mo), and vanadium (V) for Additive Manufacturing (AM) through the process of gas atomization. The study comprehensively assesses the microstructure, phase composition, thermal properties, and surface morphology of the produced powder particles, specifically NiSi11.9Co3.4, NiSi10.15V4.85, NiSi11.2Mo1.8, and Ni-Si10.78Ti1.84B0.1. Commonly used analytical techniques (SEM, EDS, XRD, DSC, and laser diffraction) are used to identify the alloy configuration that offers optimal characteristics for AM applications. The results show spherical particles within the size range of 20–63 μm, and only isolated satellites were observed to exist in the produced powders, securing their smooth flow during AM processing.

Abstract Background Autoantibodies targeting node of Ranvier proteins are rarely reported in China. Case presentation We present the case of a 66-year-old Chinese man who concomitantly developed chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy with anti-contactin-associated protein 1 antibody and bile duct hamartomas in liver, which are rarely reported in China. The man presented with chronic progressive sensory and motor symptoms, bilateral periphery facial paralysis, and protein–cell dissociation of cerebrospinal fluid. Nerve conduction study indicated demyelinating neuropathy. Enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the liver showed diffuse intrahepatic lesions, which were considered as bile duct hamartomas in the liver. He was suspected as having chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and treated with intravenous immunoglobulin and prednisone. However, his condition got worse. One month later, he was diagnosed with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy associated with anti-contactin-associated protein 1 antibody. He received high-dose methylprednisolone, followed by standard plasma exchange and rituximab therapy. His sensory and motor manifestations were significantly improved at 1 year of follow-up. Conclusions This case reminds clinicians to be aware of antiparanodal antibodies, which are associated with specific phenotypes and therapeutic response.

IntroductionSolitary metachronous small bowel metastasis from renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is rare. In contrast to idiopathic intussusception frequently occurring in children, adult intussusception is fairly uncommon and usually indicates a malignancy.Case presentationWe presented an 84-year-old man with small bowel intussusception and obstruction due to a solitary metachronous metastasis from RCC. Computed tomography with intravenous contrast revealed small bowel obstruction and a 4 × 4 cm intraluminal soft-tissue mass with moderate enhancement. During urgent exploratory laparotomy, a pedunculated tumor of the distal ileum was found to be the lead point of intussusception. Hence, reduction of the intestinal invagination and segmental resection of the ileum with functional end-to-end anastomosis were performed. Histological examination finally confirmed the diagnosis. The postoperative recovery was uneventful. The patient was discharged without any complications on postoperative day 6.ConclusionThe case report highlights the rarity of solitary metachronous small bowel metastases from RCC and suggests that life-long follow-up of RCC patients is critical due to its unpredictable behavior and the possibility of a long period of dormancy. Complete surgical resection remains the mainstay treatment for such patients.

An in-depth and integral understanding of the microstructural evolution during thermomechanical process (TMP) is of great significance to optimize the manufactural process for high-quality components via additive manufacturing. The solidified microstructure model of Inconel 718 alloy fabricated via laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) is established by multiphase field model firstly. Furthermore, the microstructural evolution during homogenization process is simulated and optimized in this study. Phase field simulation results show that the concentration gradient of Nb along the radius of the cellular substructure decreases from the initial 1.217 wt% to 0.001 wt%, and 67% area fraction of the Laves phase dissolves at the homogenization time of 0.5 h, which have achieved the homogenization purpose. The experimental results show that the average grain size decreases from 9.4 μm to 5.9 μm at the homogenization time from 1.5 h (the standard AMS 5383) to 0.5 h, which resulted in the increase of yield strength and tensile strength of the aged alloy by 14% and 6%, respectively. This research can provide guidance and reference for the microstructural control as well as the TMP parameters design of the additive manufactured alloys.

Unsteady flow structures unrelated to rotating frequency in the turbine wheel space cavity has been observed and reported in a number of recent rim sealing investigations. These flow structures are relatively large in scale and have a significant influence on the sealing effectiveness prediction. As a result, it is important to capture these flow structures in numerical simulation. Small computation sectors, due to the circumferential symmetry assumption, have been proved to fail to capture these flow structures. This paper aims to find a minimum computation sector size that can capture these flow structures, at the same time save computation resources and shorten the convergence process for a simple axial rim seal. Four different sector model (10, 20, 30, 180-degree) are set into simulation using RANS and URANS method. The steady and unsteady simulation results are compared. By comparison, the 20-degree sector model is considered appropriate to conduct successive investigations. Then the 20-degree model is set into unsteady simulation under four different sealing flow rates cw=0(non-sealing flow case), cw=2500, cw=5000, cw=10000). It was found that due to the large-scale flow structure, a staggering pressure distribution is found in the cavity. Increasing the sealing flow rate diminishes these structures and stabilizes the flow in the wheel space cavity. The staggering pressure distribution causes the sealing effectiveness to show an abnormal variation trend. Unsteady pressure oscillation waves at two different circumferential positions are subjected to cross-correlation analysis, by which the rotating speed and number of the flow structure could be calculated.

Rotating holes are widely used in jet engine internal air systems as an important kind of throttling element. The flow characteristics of rotating holes are of great importance in the design of the internal air system. This paper aims to investigate the influence of pumping effect on the flow characteristics of axial rotating holes. Pumping effect refers to the flow phenomenon induced by a rotating plate which characterized by a radial outflow. There are altogether two types of holes considered in the paper: round hole and square hole. A 1/25 (14.4-degree) sector model is used to carry out the numerical investigation using the commercial software ANSYS CFX. In the simulation, the SST turbulent model is used. Meanwhile, a non-rotating method using the relative frame of reference is used. In the non-rotating method, an initial incidence angle is given at the inlet instead of setting the plate to be rotating, thus the pumping effect induced by the rotating plate can be eliminated. The non-rotating method results are compared with the conventional reference frame results to investigate the influence of pumping effect. The results show that due to the influence of the pumping effect-induced radial outflow, the theoretical two-dimensional incidence angle becomes three-dimensional, which has negative effects on the hole discharge coefficient. At the same time, due to a larger circumferential length, square holes will undermine the pumping effect, thus has a higher discharge coefficient than the round holes.

Abstract Water quality is critical for egg production and animal health in commercial layer housing systems. To investigate microbial contamination in nipple drinking system in layer houses, the bacterial abundance and communities in water pipes and V-troughs on different tiers (e.g., 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th tiers) of a layer house with 8 overlapping cage tiers were determined using qRT-PCR and 16S rRNA sequencing. The water bacterial abundance (i.e., genome 16S rDNA copy number, WBCN) in water pipes and V-troughs did not significantly differ among tiers, but they were 46.77 to 1905.46 times higher in V-troughs than that in water pipes (P

BackgroundThe intake of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) has increased rapidly in recent years. Evidence has suggested that UPFs has adverse effects on several health outcomes. This study aimed to first evaluate the association between the intake of UPFs and asthenozoospermia odds.MethodsA hospital-based case-control study including 549 cases and 581 controls was performed in the infertility clinics of Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University from June 2020 to December 2020. Dietary intake was assessed using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Food items were categorized by the NOVA classification system based on the degree of processing. Semen parameters were analyzed according to the World Health Organization guidelines.ResultsThe highest tertile of UPFs intake (% of total energy intake) was positively associated with the odds of asthenozoospermia (odds ratio [OR] = 1.53; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.12, 2.10; P for trend < 0.05), compared with the lowest tertile. Similar patterns were also found in subgroup analyses among participants with age ≥32 years (OR = 1.58; 95% CI: 1.04, 2.40), BMI ≥ 24 kg/m2 (OR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.04, 2.22), ever cigarette smoking (OR = 1.78; 95% CI: 1.14, 2.79), and ever alcohol drinking (OR = 1.65; 95% CI: 1.01, 2.72), and in sensitivity analyses by using absolute amount (g/day) to calculate the intake of UPFs.ConclusionHigher consumption of UPFs was positively associated with the odds of asthenozoospermia. More studies are needed to confirm our findings.

ObjectiveStroke patients often suffer from hand dysfunction or loss of tactile perception, which in turn interferes with hand rehabilitation. Tactile-enhanced multi-sensory feedback rehabilitation is an approach worth considering, but its effectiveness has not been well studied. By using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to analyze the causal activity patterns in the sensorimotor cortex, the present study aims to investigate the cortical hemodynamic effects of hand rehabilitation training when tactile stimulation is applied, and to provide a basis for rehabilitation program development.MethodsA vibrotactile enhanced pneumatically actuated hand rehabilitation device was tested on the less-preferred hand of 14 healthy right-handed subjects. The training tasks consisted of move hand and observe video (MO), move hand and vibration stimulation (MV), move hand, observe video, and vibration stimulation (MOV), and a contrast resting task. Region of interest (ROI), a laterality index (LI), and causal brain network analysis methods were used to explore the brain’s cortical blood flow response to a multi-sensory feedback rehabilitation task from multiple perspectives.Results(1) A more pronounced contralateral activation in the right-brain region occurred under the MOV stimulation. Rehabilitation tasks containing vibrotactile enhancement (MV and MOV) had significantly more oxyhemoglobin than the MO task at 5 s after the task starts, indicating faster contralateral activation in sensorimotor brain regions. (2) Five significant lateralized channel connections were generated under the MV and MOV tasks (p < 0.05), one significant lateralized channel connection was generated by the MO task, and the Rest were not, showing that MV and MOV caused stronger lateralization activation. (3) We investigated all thresholds of granger causality (GC) resulting in consistent relative numbers of effect connections. MV elicited stronger causal interactions between the left and right cerebral hemispheres, and at the GC threshold of 0.4, there were 13 causal network connection pairs for MV, 7 for MO, and 9 for MOV.ConclusionVibrotactile cutaneous stimulation as a tactile enhancement can produce a stronger stimulation of the brain’s sensorimotor brain areas, promoting the establishment of neural pathways, and causing a richer effect between the left and right cerebral hemispheres. The combination of kinesthetic, vibrotactile, and visual stimulation can achieve a more prominent training efficiency from the perspective of functional cerebral hemodynamics.

Sleep has been related to a variety of health outcomes. However, no association between sleep and asthenozoospermia has been reported. The aim of this study is to first investigate the relationship between sleep status and asthenozoospermia risk. A case-control study, including 540 asthenozoospermia cases and 579 controls, was performed from June 2020 to December 2020 in the infertility clinic from Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University. Data on sleep status were collected by Pittsburgh sleep quality index questionnaires and asthenozoospermia was diagnosed based on the World Health Organization guidelines. Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was calculated by logistic regression analysis to assess the aforementioned association. Results of this study demonstrated that compared with total sleep duration of 8–9 h/day, < 8 h/day was related to asthenozoospermia risk (OR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.05–1.99); compared to good sleep quality, poor sleep quality was associated with asthenozoospermia risk (OR: 1.35; 95% CI: 1.04–1.77). There were multiplicative model interaction effects between sleep quality and tea drinking (p = 0.04), rotating night shift work (p < 0.01) on asthenozoospermia risk. However, we failed to detect any associations between night sleep duration, daytime napping duration, night bedtime, wake-up time, sleep pattern and asthenozoospermia risk. In conclusion, short total sleep duration and poor sleep quality might be related to asthenozoospermia risk. Further well-designed prospective studies are warranted to confirm our findings.

In this paper, based on the finite element method, the stresses of the radius and ulna are analyzed at different flexion angles of the elbow when playing tennis. The finite element model is presented for the elbow position with flexion angles of 0°, 25°, 60°, and 80° according to the normal human arm bone. In this model, the whole arm with metacarpals, radius, ulna, humerus and scapula is considered. The calculation is simplified by setting the scapula and metacarpals as rigid bodies and using Tie binding constraints between the humerus and the radius and ulna. This model is discretized using the 10-node second-order tetrahedral element (C3D10). This model contains 109,765 nodes and 68,075 elements. The hitting forces applied to the metacarpal bone are 100 N and 300 N, respectively. The numerical results show that the highest principal stresses are at the points of 1/4 of the radius, the elbow joint, and the points of 1/10 of the ulna. The results of the maximum principal stress show that the external pressures are more pronounced as the elbow flexion angle increases and that the magnitude of the hitting force does not affect the principal stress distribution pattern. Elbow injuries to the radius can be reduced by using a stroke with less elbow flexion, and it is advisable to wear a reinforced arm cuff on the dorsal 1/4 of the hand, a radial/dorsal hand wrist, and an elbow guard to prevent radial ulnar injuries.

ObjectiveWe aimed to examine associations of diet quality scores, including the dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH), alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), and Chinese Healthy Eating Index (CHEI) with asthenoteratozoospermia risk in China.MethodsAmong 254 cases and 633 controls in a hospital-based case–control study in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China, DASH, AHEI, and CHEI were calculated using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Asthenotetrazoospermia was evaluated according to World Health Organization guidelines. Unconditional multiple logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between quality diet scores and asthenoteratozoospermia risk.ResultsWe found that the CHEI score was inversely associated with asthenoteratozoospermia risk, with ORs of 0.59 (95% CI 0.39, 0.88) and 0.59 (95% CI 0.39, 0.88) for the 2nd and 3rd tertiles vs. the 1st tertile, respectively (P trend < 0.05). In addition, our data indicated that each standard deviation increase in CHEI, AHEI-2010, and DASH score was associated with 19, 13, and 17% decreased risk of asthenoteratozoospermia, respectively.ConclusionOur findings suggest that higher adherence to the CHEI, AHEI-2010, and DASH diet quality scores may reduce the risk of asthenoteratozoospermia, especially for younger participants.

Abstract Background Ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) induces cytokines, and up-regulates inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), interferon regulatory factor-1(IRF1) and p53 up-regulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA), which contribute to cell death and tissue injury. However, the mechanisms that I/R induces IRF1-PUMA through iNOS/NO is still unknown. Methods Ischemia was induced by occluding structures in the portal triad (hepatic artery, portal vein, and bile duct) to the left and median liver lobes for 60 min, and reperfusion was initiated by removal of the clamp. Induction of iNOS, IRF1 and PUMA in response to I/R were analyzed. I/R induced IRF1 and PUMA expression were compared between iNOS wild-type and iNOS knockout (KO) mice. Human iNOS gene transfected-cells were used to determine iNOS/NO signals targeting IRF1. To test whether HDAC2 was involved in the mediation of iNOS/NO-induced IRF1 transcriptional activities and its target gene (PUMA and p21) expression, NO donors were used in vitro and in vivo. Results IRF1 nuclear translocation and PUMA transcription elevation were markedly induced following I/R in the liver of iNOS wild-type mice compared with that in knock-out mice. Furthermore, I/R induced hepatic HDAC2 expression and activation, and decreased H3AcK9 expression in iNOS wild-type mice, but not in the knock-out mice. Mechanistically, over-expression of human iNOS gene increased IRF1 transcriptional activity and PUMA expression, while iNOS inhibitor L-NIL reversed these effects. Cytokine-induced PUMA through IRF1 was p53 dependent. IRF1 and p53 synergistically up-regulated PUMA expression. iNOS/NO-induced HDAC2 mediated histone H3 deacetylation and promoted IRF1 transcriptional activity. Moreover, treating the cells with romidepsin, an HDAC1/2 inhibitor decreased NO-induced IRF1 and PUMA expression. Conclusions This study demonstrates a novel mechanism that iNOS/NO is required for IRF1/PUMA signaling through a positive-feedback loop between iNOS and IRF1, in which HDAC2-mediated histone modification is involved to up-regulate IRF1 in response to I/R in mice.

Abstract Background Undifferentiated carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells (UC-OGC) is an extremely uncommon pancreatic neoplasm that comprises less than 1% of all exocrine pancreatic tumors. To date, cases and data from whole-exome sequencing (WES) analysis have been reported by specific studies. We report a case of pancreatic UC-OGC with a literature review, and provide novel insights into the molecular characteristics of this tumor entity. Case presentation A 31-year-old male presented with intermittent abdominal pain for several months, and positron emission tomography (PET) showed isolated high metabolic nodules during the pancreatic uncinate process that were likely to be malignant disease. Pathological examination after radical excision revealed UC-OGC associated with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma at the head of the pancreas. The disease recurred 7.4 months after radical surgery. The KRAS p.G12D (c.35G > A) and somatic BRCA2 p.R2896C (c.8686C > T) mutations were detected by subsequent WES analysis. The patient showed no response to platinum-based systemic chemotherapy, and his condition quickly worsened. He finally died, with an overall survival of 1 year. Conclusions As an extremely uncommon tumor entity, UC-OGC is really a unique variant of conventional pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma due to its similarities, as shown by genomic WES analysis. Clinical examination and molecular analysis by WES could further indicate potential treatment strategies for UC-OGC.

Background: Joint effusion is a significant cause of disability worldwide. Practical assessment and diagnosis can avoid the secondary damage caused by the effusion. Nowadays, bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) is an emerging tool to differentiate biological tissue characteristics between normal and illness conditions. Objective: This paper aims to verify the feasibility of the five-section BIS method in evaluating joint effusion in rats. Methods: The joint effusion usually locates near the articular cavity in the form of ion solution. The joint effusion will significantly change the low-frequency bioimpedance of limbs, which reflected in the change of extracellular water (ECW) impedance. The five-section impedance model is designed depending on the body structure of the rat, and the trunk and limbs are equivalent to five impedance area. According to the Cole model, the impedance values at direct current and infinite frequency are calculated by using curve fitting, and the impedance of extracellular and intracellular water (ICW) can be obtained. The impedance of limbs and soma can be calculated by solving the impedance model equations. The measurement results of healthy limbs are used to assess the sick degree of the effusion joint. In the experiment, the saline solution has been injected into the left lower limb joint as the joint effusion. Results: The low-frequency impedance has a significant increase after the knee injection. By comparing the impedance of healthy limbs and the effusion limb, the impedance change of the effusion limb is more significant than the healthy limb. The impedance relative change parameter K is used to evaluate the degree of effusion. Conclusion: The experiment results show that the sectional bioimpedance spectroscopy could evaluate joint effusion. The rat five-section model can provide a reference for the diagnose, and this method reduces the difficulty in the equipment popularization.

The iterative algorithms of computed tomography (CT) reconstruction derived from the dictionary learning (DL) regularization have been developed to make high quality recovery from the under-sampled data acquired by a low dose protocol. However, when they are applied to noisy data with low sampling rate, streaking artifacts and bias tends to appear in early iteration results. Since the dictionary is over-complete, the artifacts and bias can also be represented well by the dictionary, resulting in the reservation of these unexpected structures in the final image. We proposed a smoothed L0 norm-constraint dictionary learning (SL0-DL) algorithm to deal with these unexpected structures. For the proposed algorithm, we introduce smoothed-L0 norm regularization to the objective function. In each iteration process, the intermediate image generated by the DL representation will be smoothed using SL0 norm, and then the smoothed image is used to update the output of this iteration. The raw data from both the numerical simulation and actual CT acquisition are used to test the performances of the proposed SL0-DL method. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method performs better than other competing algorithms with better noise and artifacts suppression performance while preserving image texture details. And the results show a significant improvement in the quality of the reconstructed image, which demonstrates that the proposed algorithm is really effective.

The effects of four different-sized cages—huge (HC), large (LC), medium (MC), and small (SC) cages—on the productive performance, serum biochemical indices, and caecal microbiota composition of Roman laying hens were investigated. At 44 weeks of age, a total of 450 hens were selected and allocated to the four groups, with six replicates each. Equal stocking density (0.054 m2 per bird) was maintained among the four groups throughout the experiment, and number of birds/cage changed for each treatment. After 2 weeks of preliminary trial, the formal experiment was performed from 46 to 60 weeks of age. The laying rate and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were determined daily, antibody titres were measured every 3 weeks, and serum biochemical parameters and caecal microbiota composition were analysed at 60 weeks of age. Compared to HC and SC, the higher laying rate and lower FCR in MC and LC indicated positive effects on egg production and feed efficiency, while SC showed the highest body weight gain (p < 0.05). With increasing cage size, the serum triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol (T-CH) levels were reduced, and serum glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity improved, where birds raised in HCs had the lowest serum TG and T-CH and the highest GSH-Px activity. Twenty-nine different phyla and 301 different genera were detected in the caecal microbiota of birds in the four groups. Methanobrevibacter was significantly higher in the SC than in the other groups (p < 0.05). Faecalibacterium was most abundant in the MC compared with the other groups (p < 0.05) and was significantly positively correlated with serum GSH-Px concentration (R = 0.214, p = 0.0017). Lactobacillus was significantly less abundant in the LC and MC than in the HC and SC groups (p < 0.05) and was significantly positively correlated with body weight (R = 0.350, p = 0.0009) but negatively correlated with laying rate and FCR. In conclusion, MC were superior to HC and LC in improving feed conversion efficiency and caecal microflora composition compared to the SC. An appropriate increase in cage size is beneficial to laying hen production and health.

Abstract Background Magnetic induction tomography (MIT) is a tomographic imaging technique, which has potential applications in security, industry, and medicine. Typically, sensors form a closed structure around the object. However, the measurement cannot be achieved using a closed sensor array in the process of severe brain trauma nursing and the neurosurgery operation. Results The new sector sensor array magnetic induction tomography (SMIT) system is developed to realize real-time monitoring in the treatment of the brain. The functions of the drive coil and the sensor coil are separated in this system. The detection sensitivity of the imaging region boundary is analyzed through simulation. The sensor array locates on the high detection-sensitivity area, and the low sensitivity detection area is reserved for operation and clinical equipment. The sensor array received the energy of the signal accounts for reach 90% of the total energy. The integrity measuring data are obtained using a rotating scan in the system. In the experiment, we analyze the effects that system parameters have on the quality of imaging, for example, the scan step size, the number of sensors, the coverage angle of the sensor array and the scan angle. The experiment result provides a reference for the SMIT system design under a particular condition. In the complete measurement, the SMIT system reconstructs the images of center goal and margin goal, and the actual images have high peak signal-to-noise ratio. Conclusions The SMIT system can rebuild the conductivity distribution of the imaging region using incomplete space. In rotation measurement, the system provides a working place for clinical care. The flexible design of the system based on the experiment result makes the different treatment for brain injury own matched SMIT equipment.

Background: Researches on the association of dairy products consumption with Oligo-astheno-teratozoospermia (OAT) risk has been limited and controversial. Therefore, we aim to explore the aforementioned association among Chinese men.Methods: A hospital-based case-control study was conducted in men consisting of 106 cases of OAT and 581 controls. Intakes of dairy products and their related nutrients were collected using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire and semen quality was analyzed according to the World Health Organization guidelines. The daily intake of dairy products and their related nutrients was categorized into three groups with the lowest tertile serving as the reference category. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of association between dairy intake and OTA risk were calculated by the multivariable logistic regression models.Results: No significant association was found between total dairy (OR T3vs.T1 =1.53, 95% CI: 0.85–2.78), protein (OR T3vs.T1 =1.51, 95% CI: 0.84–2.75), or calcium (OR T3vs.T1 = 1.46, 95% CI: 0.81–2.66) and the OAT risk in the main findings. However, we observed a statistically significant positive association of dairy fat intake with OAT risk (OR T3vs.T1 =1.93, 95% CI: 1.06–3.58). The findings were consistent with the main results when we carried out subgroup analysis stratified by body mass index.Conclusion: A significant positive association was found between dairy fat intake and the risk of OAT. Further large-scale prospective studies are required to confirm this finding.

The rapid development of energy consumption and carbon emissions in the construction industry poses an enormous and negative challenge for China’s energy and environment. While maintaining moderate economic growth, it is particularly important to realize energy conservation and carbon reduction. Carbon tax policy, a direct tool to reduce carbon emissions, can effectively alleviate the environmental issues caused by construction activities. However, relying solely on a single method is insufficient to handle the complicated circumstances of China’s construction industry. This study explores the influence of carbon tax on the construction industry through adjustments to tax rates via developing a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model. Then, it analyzes how the carbon tax affects the economic and environmental variables by designing scenarios for recycling tax revenue and improved energy efficiency. The results indicate that the carbon tax rate of 40 RMB/t-CO2 is the most appropriate. At this tax level, the negative impacts of energy demand and emissions reduction on macroeconomy and construction industry are minimized. It was also determined that carbon tax revenue recycling to households and sectoral investment will realize the “weak double dividend” effect on the construction industry. Furthermore, improving energy efficiency in the construction industry will demonstrate the additional advantages of carbon tax. This study serves as a theoretical foundation for the Chinese government to develop various energy strategies to achieve low-carbon development in the construction industry.

Background: Evidence of an association between dairy product and main related dairy nutrient intake, and the asthenozoospermia risk have been limited and controversial.Methods: A hospital-based case-control study including 549 men with asthenozoospermia and 581 normozoospermic controls was carried out in the infertility clinics of Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University between June, 2020 and December, 2020. Dietary intake was assessed with a validated food frequency questionnaire. According to the World Health Organization guidelines, semen parameters were collected through masturbation and were measured with WLJY9000 instrument and flow cytometry. The daily intake of dairy products and related nutrients was categorized into three groups according to control distribution, and the lowest tertile was used as the reference category. An unconditional multiple logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for asthenozoospermia risk.Results: After adjustment for potential confounders, we found no statistically significant associations between the intake of total dairy products and asthenozoospermia risk (ORT3vs.T1 = 1.19, 95%CI = 0.85–1.67). Additionally, we generated null findings regarding the main related nutrients from dairy, including protein (ORT3vs.T1 = 1.19, 95%CI = 0.85–1.68), fat (ORT3vs.T1 = 1.28, 95%CI = 0.91–1.80), calcium (ORT3vs.T1 = 1.20, 95%CI = 0.85–1.68), saturated fatty acids (ORT3vs.T1 = 1.30, 95%CI = 0.92–1.83), and phosphorous (ORT3vs.T1 = 1.18, 95%CI = 0.84–1.67), and the asthenozoospermia risk. Of note, after stratification by body mass index (BMI), and the saturated fatty acids consumption from dairy was significantly associated with a higher asthenozoospermia risk (ORT3vs.T1 = 1.76, 95%CI = 1.01–3.09) among participants with a BMI below 25 kg/m2.Conclusion: This study provided limited evidence of an association between the intake of total dairy products and the main related dairy nutrients including protein, fat, calcium, saturated fatty acids, and phosphorus, and the asthenozoospermia risk. Further studies are warranted to confirm our findings in the future.

Because a cardiac function signal cannot reflect cardiac health in all directions, we propose a classification method using ECG and PCG signals based on BiLSTM-GoogLeNet-DS. The electrocardiogram (ECG) and phonocardiogram (PCG) signals used as research objects were collected synchronously. Firstly, the obtained ECG and PCG signals were filtered, and then the ECG and PCG signals were fused and classified by using a bi-directional long short-term memory network (BiLSTM). After that, the time-frequency processing was performed on the filtered ECG and PCG signals to obtain the time-frequency diagram of each signal; the one-dimensional signal was changed into a two-dimensional image signal, and the size of each image signal was adjusted to input the improved GoogLeNet network for classification. Then we obtained the two-channel classification results. The three-channel classification results, combined with the classification results of the above BiLSTM network, were finally obtained. The classification results of these three channels were used to make a decision via the fusion strategy of the improved D-S theory. Finally, we obtained the classification results. Taking 70% of the signals in the database as training data and 30% as test data, the obtained classification accuracy was 96.13%, the sensitivity was 98.48%, the specificity was 90.8%, and the F1 score was 97.24%. From the experimental results, the method proposed in this paper obtained high classification accuracy, and the classification effect was better than a cardiac function signal, which makes up for the low accuracy of the cardiac function signal for judging cardiac disease.