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Abstract The abounding variations in wild rice provided potential reservoirs of beneficial genes for rice breeding. Maintaining stable and high yields under environmental stresses is a long-standing goal of rice breeding but is challenging due to internal trade-off mechanisms. Here, we report wild rice GL12 W improves grain length and salt tolerance in both indica and japonica genetic backgrounds. GL12 W alters cell length by regulating grain size related genes including GS2, and positively regulates the salt tolerance related genes, such as NAC5, NCED3, under salt stresses. We find that a G/T variation in GL12 promoter determined its binding to coactivator GIF1 and transcription factor WRKY53. GIF1 promotes GL12 W expression in young panicle and WRKY53 represses GL12 W expression under salt stresses. The G/T variation also contributes to the divergence of indica and japonica subspecies. Our results provide useful resources for modern rice breeding and shed insights for understanding yield and salt tolerance trade-off mechanism.

Abstract Background The reference values of eNO have certain differences among people of different countries and races. We aimed to obtain the reference value of eNO in healthy children and adolescents (6–18 years old) in China and to explore the associations between the reference values with ages, gender, heights, BMI, and regions. Methods We measured FeNO50 levels in 5949 healthy Chinese children and adolescents, FeNO200 and CaNO levels in 658 participants from 16 provinces of 7 administrative areas in China aged 6–18. All persons were studied after obtaining informed consent from children and their parents. Results The mean FeNO50 of 5949 Chinese children and adolescents aged 6–18 years was 14.1 ppb, with a 95% confidence interval of 1-38.1 ppb. The mean FeNO200 of 658 persons was 6.9 ppb with a 95% upper confidence interval of 15.0 ppb, and the mean CaNO was 3.0 ppb with a 95% upper confidence interval of 11.2 ppb. In the 6–11 age group, age and height were correlated with the logarithm of FeNO50 (P 0.05). The logarithm of CaNO was correlated with gender (P

Abstract Background Some recent studies have shown that female subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is associated with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR). In this study, we aimed to investigate whether serum-free thyroxine (fT4) concentrations within the reference range are associated with ovarian reserve in women. Methods This cross-sectional study included 4933 infertile women with normal-range fT4 concentrations who received assisted reproductive technology treatment in our clinic. The data of women in different fT4 concentration tertiles (namely 12–15.33, 15.34–18.67, and 18.68–22 pmol/L) were compared with ovarian reserve markers, namely the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) concentration, the antral follicle count (AFC), and the number of aspirated oocytes. The primary outcomes were the AMH concentration and the risk of DOR, diagnosed as an AMH concentration

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) is a world cereal crop used in China for producing Baijiu, a distilled spirit. We report a telomere-to-telomere genome assembly of the Baijiu cultivar Hongyingzi, HYZ-T2T, using ultralong reads. The 10 chromosome pairs contained 33,462 genes, of which 93% were functionally annotated. The 20 telomeres and 10 centromeric regions on the HYZ-T2T chromosomes were predicted and two consecutive large inversions on chromosome 2 were characterized. A 65-gene reconstruction of the metabolic pathway of tannins, the flavor substances in Baijiu, was performed and may advance the breeding of sorghum cultivars for Baijiu production.

Abstract The development of hydroelectric projects has adversely affected the reproductive activities of downstream fish species. To facilitate the natural reproduction of fish and restore spawning grounds post‐dam construction, it is imperative to explore the ecological factors crucial for their reproduction. Currently, various research methods with different advantages and limitations are employed for this purpose. Using identified spawning locations and periods as clues, we quantitatively investigate the flow velocity, water depth, water temperature, and riverbed substrate required for spawning. The results are validated using habitat simulation methods, aiming to establish a more scientific approach to explore ecological factors affecting fish reproduction. This study provides a more scientific, systematic, and detailed report on the ecological factors required for the spawning of Gymnocypris eckloni: flow velocity ranging from 0.19 to 0.97 m/s, water depth from 0.28 to 1.12 m, water temperature between 11.4 and 15.2°C, and predominantly gravel substrate. The reliability of the results was verified in another spawning ground, with good verification results. This research provides crucial data for the bio‐mimetic reproductive technology of Gymnocypris eckloni and the restoration of spawning grounds for natural fish reproduction post‐dam construction. It addresses the lack of suitable ecological factor data for protective fish species in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. The method exhibits strong scientific, accurate, and implementable characteristics.

Introduction: Gastric cancer (GC)is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in China and immunotherapy emerging as a revolutionary treatment for GC recently. Tumor mutational burden (TMB) is a predictive biomarker of immunotherapy in multiple cancers. However, the prognostic significance and subtype of TMB in GC is not fully understood. Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the prognostic value of TMB in Chinese GC and further classify TMB-high GC (GCTMB-H) patients combing with mutational signatures. Methods: Genomic profiling of 435 cancer-gene panel was performed using 206 GC samples from Chinese people. Actionable genetic alterations were compared across all the samples to generate actionable subtyping. The prognostic value of TMB in Chinese GC was evaluated. Mutational signatures were analyzed on TMB-H subtype to stratify the prognosis of TMB. Transcriptomic analysis was applied to compare the distributed immunocytes among different subtypes. Results: 88.3% (182/206) of GC samples had at least one mutation, while 45.1% (93/206) had at least one somatic copy number alteration (SCNA). 29.6% (61/206) of GC samples were TMB-H, including 13 MSI-H and 48 MSS tumors. According to distinct genetic alteration profiles of 69 actionable genes, we classified GC samples into eight molecular subtypes, including TMB-H, ERBB2 amplified, ATM mutated, BRCA2 mutated, CDKN2A/B deleted, PI3KCA mutated, KRAS mutated, and less-mutated subtype. TMB-H subtype presented a remarkable immune-activated phenotype as determined by transcriptomic analysis that was further validated in the TCGA GC cohort. GCTMB-H patients exhibited significantly better survival (P = 0.047). But Signature 1-high GCTMB-H patients had relatively worse prognosis (P = 0.0209, HR = 2.571) than Signature 1-low GCTMB-H patients from Chinese GC cohort, also validated in TCGA GC cohort, presenting highly activated carbohydrate, fatty acid or lipid metabolism. Conclusion: The Signature 1-high GCTMB-H could be a marker of poor prognosis and is associated with metabolism disorder.

When water pipelines undergo scenarios such as valve closure or leakage, they often operate in a gas-liquid two-phase flow state, which can easily cause abnormal pressure fluctuations, exacerbating the destructiveness of water hammer and affecting the safe operation of the pipeline. To study the problem of abnormal fluctuations in complex water pipelines, this paper establishes a transient flow model for gas-containing pipelines, considering unsteady friction, and solves it using the discrete gas cavity model (DGCM). It also studies the influence of factors such as valve closing time, initial flow rate, gas content rate, leakage location, and leakage amount on the end-of-valve pressure. Furthermore, it locates the leakage position using a genetic algorithm-backpropagation neural network (GA-BP neural network). The results show that increasing the valve closing time, increasing the gas content rate, decreasing the initial flow rate, and increasing the leakage amount all reduce the pressure peak inside the pipeline. The model constructed using the GA-BP neural network effectively predicts the leakage location with a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 9.26%. The research results provide a reference for studies related to the safety protection of water conveyance projects.

To enhance the heat-transfer performance of scramjet engines, a numerical simulation was conducted on the heat-transfer process of RP-3 aviation kerosene under supercritical pressure within a horizontal micro-fine circular tube. The intrinsic mechanism of the heat-transfer process was analyzed, summarizing the impacts of mass flux, inlet temperature, and gravitational acceleration. Furthermore, four commonly used buoyancy criterion numbers were compared and evaluated. The results indicate that the heat-transfer process can be divided into five phases: heating inlet phase, normal heat-transfer phase, heat-transfer deterioration phase, heat-transfer enhancement phase, and high-temperature normal heat-transfer phase. The heating inlet phase is significantly influenced by the inlet temperature, while the heat-transfer deterioration is affected both by the thermal property variations of the aviation kerosene and the buoyancy effects. Lower mass flux and hypergravity conditions all exacerbate heat-transfer deterioration. Inlet temperature, however, does not affect the heat-transfer pattern. Among the criteria, Grq/Grth provides the best prediction of buoyancy effects in horizontal circular tubes.

Sulfoxides and sulfinamides play important roles in the pharmaceutical industry, organic synthesis and fine chemicals. This review will demonstrate that, under catalysis by transition metals, β-sulfinyl esters, as nucleophilic reagents, react with a variety of electrophilic reagents to produce sulfoxides and sulfinamides. The important prospect of the asymmetric catalytic synthesis of chiral sulfur-containing molecules in this field is described.

Endothelial dysfunction is a key proponent of pathophysiological process of traumatic brain injury (TBI). We previously demonstrated that extracellular vesicles (EVs) released from injured brains led to endothelial barrier disruption and vascular leakage. However, the molecular mechanisms of this EV-induced endothelial dysfunction (endotheliopathy) remain unclear. Here, we enriched plasma EVs from TBI patients (TEVs), and detected high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) exposure to 50.33 ± 10.17% of TEVs and the number of HMGB1+TEVs correlated with injury severity. We then investigated for the first time the impact of TEVs on endothelial function using adoptive transfer models. We found that TEVs induced dysfunction of cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells and mediated endothelial dysfunction in both normal and TBI mice, which were propagated through the HMGB1-activated receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE)/Cathepsin B signaling, and the resultant NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation and canonical caspase-1/gasdermin D (GSDMD)-dependent pyroptosis. Finally, von Willebrand factor (VWF) was detected on the surface of 77.01 ± 7.51% of HMGB1+TEVs. The TEV-mediated endotheliopathy was reversed by a polyclonal VWF antibody, indicating that VWF might serve a coupling factor that tethered TEVs to ECs, thus facilitating HMGB1-induced endotheliopathy. These results suggest that circulating EVs isolated from patients with TBI alone are sufficient to induce endothelial dysfunction and contribute to secondary brain injury that are dependent on immunologically active HMGB1 exposed on their surface. This finding provided new insight for the development of potential therapeutic targets and diagnostic biomarkers for TBI.

Background: Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a commonly occurring urological disorder in females, particularly among the elderly population. Females with SUI often experience significant stigma associated with their condition. This study aimed to investigate the current status of stigma among elderly females with SUI and analyze its heterogeneous subtypes. Methods: The Stigma Scale for Chronic Illness (SSCI) was used to survey 245 participants in two tertiary hospitals in Guangdong from November 2021 to September 2022. Latent profile analysis was employed to create a classification model, and variance and correlation analyses were conducted to assess the influencing factors. Results: A total of 245 elderly females with SUI participated in the survey. They had an average stigma score of 83.70 ± 13.88, consisting of self-stigma (48.64 ± 8.04) and perceived stigma (35.06 ± 6.80) scores. Latent profile analysis identified three distinct and comparable subtypes: the low-self-low-perceived group (14.69%), the high-self-medium-perceived group (49.38%), and the high-self-high-perceived group (35.91%). These subtypes exhibited statistically significant differences in all dimensions and the overall stigma score (p < 0.05) and were found to be correlated with the patient’s level of education, marital status, drinking habits, number of chronic illnesses, presence of diabetes, and frequency of urinary leakage (p < 0.05). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that elderly females with SUI face elevated levels of stigma, and it reveals distinct classification characteristics among them. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of providing specific support and attention to individuals with higher levels of education, increased fluid intake, marital status, severe urinary leakage, and diabetes.

Adenine acts as a growth promoter to promote the growth of the lactic acid bacteria (LAB), but the effect on the viability of freeze-dried strains has rarely been studied. In this study, adding 0.01 g/L of adenine to medium increased the growth and freeze-dried viability of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum LIP-1. Further research has found that L. plantarum LIP-1 synthesized large amounts of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by metabolizing adenine. Elevated intracellular ATP content caused feedback inhibition on the conversion pathway of pyruvate to lactic acid, while promoting the conversion of pyruvate to acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA). After a large accumulation of acetyl-CoA in the cells, there was sufficient substrate for the synthesis of cell membrane fatty acids. Elevated intracellular ATP content also activated the acyl-CoA thioesterase activity to catalyse the conversion of saturated fatty acids to unsaturated fatty acids, thereby improving the integrity of the cell membrane and reducing damage to the cell membrane during the freeze-drying process. Additionally, a reduction in the amount of pyruvate converted into lactate prevented the decrease in intracellular pH (pHin), which alleviated the degree of acid stress on the strain, resulting in less DNA damage and improved DNA stability. It is concluded that L. plantarum LIP-1 reduced the degree of cell membrane and DNA damage by metabolizing adenine and improved the freeze-dried viability of the strain.

Amino acids are often used as probiotic growth factors. Their addition to the growth medium is found to effectively enhance the resistance of the strain to adverse environments. In this research, we found that adding 0.05 g/L L-cysteine to culture medium improved the freeze-drying survival rate of the strain. We investigated the internal mechanism behind this phenomenon and found that the addition of L-cysteine can reduce DNA damage to bacterial cells during the freeze-drying process. In comparison to the control group without L-cysteine, the treatment group with the addition of 0.05 g/L of L-cysteine exhibited an up-regulation of the metC gene, leading to the metabolism of L-cysteine into pyruvate and NH3, which raised the intracellular pH, reduced DNA damage, and consequently enhanced the resistance of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum LIP-1 to freeze-drying.

Abstract Objective To establish the predicted value of pulmonary function determined by impulse oscillometry (IOS) in children (4–17 years old) in China. Methods A total of 6270 healthy children aged 4–17 years in China were included. The Master Screen IOS pulmonary function device (Jaeger Co, Germany) was used to detect the respiratory impedance (Zrs), resonant frequency (Fres), respiratory system resistance (Rrs) and respiratory system reactance (Xrs) at various oscillation frequencies, and the indices above were analysed. Stepwise multivariate regression was used to establish the regression equation of related parameters of IOS in different sexes, ages, height, and weight. Results The differences in the main IOS parameters between different age stages were statistically significant regardless of sex (P

ObjectivesTo obtain the normal values of fractional concentration of nasal nitric oxide in Chinese children aged 6–18 years, so as to provide reference for clinical diagnosis.Methods2,580 out of 3,200 children (1,359 males and 1,221 females), whom were included from 12 centers around China were taken tests, their height and weight were also recorded. Data were used to analyze the normal range and influencing factors of fractional concentration of nasal nitric oxide values.MeasurementsData was measured using the Nano Coulomb Breath Analyzer (Sunvou-CA2122, Wuxi, China), according to the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society (ATS/ERS) recommendations.Main ResultsWe calculated the normal range and prediction equation of fractional concentration of nasal nitric oxide values in Chinese children aged 6–18 years. The mean FnNO values of Chinese aged 6–18 yrs was 454.5 ± 176.2 ppb, and 95% of them were in the range of 134.5–844.0 ppb. The prediction rule of FnNO values for Chinese children aged 6–11 yrs was: FnNO = 298.881 + 17.974 × age. And for children aged 12–18 yrs was: FnNO = 579.222–30.332 × (male = 0, female = 1)—5.503 × age.ConclusionsSex and age were two significant predictors of FnNO values for Chinese children(aged 12–18 yrs). Hopefully this study can provide some reference value for clinical diagnosis in children.

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly aggressive subtype with a poor prognosis due to its high rates of proliferation and metastasis. Recently, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has been recognized as a novel gasotransmitter that plays a significant role in various pathological processes, including cancer. Here, we show that exogenous H2S inhibited TNBC cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion in vitro, and also decreased cancer malignances in the mouse model of TNBC. To investigate the underlying mechanisms of H2S's anti-cancer effects in TNBC, we performed transcriptome sequencing and bioinformatic analyses. 2121 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were revealed, and mainly enriched in cell cycle and DNA replication pathways. Further analysis revealed changes in alternative splicing after exogenous H2S treatment. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis was performed, which identified 458 interactions among 276 DEGs enriched in cell cycle and DNA replication pathways.We identified seven hub genes (MCM3, MCM4, MCM5, MCM6, CDC6, CDC45, and GINS2) through PPI network analysis, which were up-regulated in clinical human breast cancer but down-regulated after H2S treatment. Based on the hub genes selected, we developed a model predicting that exogenous H2S mainly exerts its anti-TNBC role by delaying DNA replication. Our findings suggest that exogenous H2S has potential as a therapeutic agent in TNBC and may exert its therapeutic potential through DNA replication and the cell cycle pathway.

Abstract Background Macrosomia is closely associated with poor maternal and fetal outcome. But there is short of studies on the risk of macrosomia in early pregnancy. The purpose of this study is to establish a nomogram for predicting macrosomia in the first trimester. Methods A case-control study involving 1549 pregnant women was performed. According to the birth weight of newborn, the subjects were divided into macrosomia group and non-macrosomia group. The risk factors for macrosomia in early pregnancy were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression. A nomogram was used to predict the risk of macrosomia. Results The prevalence of macrosomia was 6.13% (95/1549) in our hospital. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that prepregnancy overweight (OR: 2.13 95% CI: 1.18–3.83)/obesity (OR: 3.54, 95% CI: 1.56–8.04), multiparity (OR:1.88, 95% CI: 1.16–3.04), the history of macrosomia (OR: 36.97, 95% CI: 19.90–68.67), the history of GDM/DM (OR: 2.29, 95% CI: 1.31–3.98), the high levels of HbA1c (OR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.00–3.10) and TC (OR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.00–1.84) in the first trimester were the risk factors of macrosomia. The area under ROC (the receiver operating characteristic) curve of the nomogram model was 0.807 (95% CI: 0.755–0.859). The sensitivity and specificity of the model were 0.716 and 0.777, respectively. Conclusion The nomogram model provides an effective mothed for clinicians to predict macrosomia in the first trimester.

Background: Numerous studies have found that subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) may increase adverse pregnancy outcomes; however, the benefit of levothyroxine (LT4) treatment remains controversial. The 2017 guidelines of the American Thyroid Association weakly recommended LT4 therapy for serum antithyroi d peroxidase antibody (TPOAb)-negative women with thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations greater than the pregnancy-specific reference range and below 10.0 mU/L. Therefore, the primary goal of this study was to investigate the correlation between thyroid autoantibody-negative SCH with or without LT4 treatment and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Methods: We prospectively enrolled 1868 consecutive pregnant women. Finally, 1344 women were involved in the study according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Assays for TSH, free thyroxine (FT4), TPOAb, anti-thyroglobulin antibody, and laboratory indicators were performed. The participants were divided into the euthyroid (ET) group (n = 1250) and the SCH group(n = 94). The SCH group was further divided into LT4 group (n = 40) and non-LT4 group(n = 54). The laboratory indicators and pregnancy outcomes were evaluated during follow-ups. Results: Maternal age, BMI, parity, and the history of spontaneous abortion did not differ significantly between the ET group and the different SCH gr oups. There were no significant differences in lipid profile and homocysteine levels b etween ET and SCH group in the first and third trimester of pregnancy. After adjus ting the confounding factors, the non-LT4 group was a risk factor for spontaneous abortion (odds ratio: 3.141, 95% CI: 1.060–9.302). Survival analysis showed that the time of abortion was different between the ET group and SCH group (log-rank P = 0.042). The spontaneous abortion in SCH, especially in non-LT4, group mainly occurred in the first t rimester of pregnancy. Conclusions: Thyroid autoantibody negative-SCH seems to be associated with increased risk of spontaneous abortions during the first trimester of preg nancy. LT4 therapy in this patient population might be beneficial to reduce adverse pregnan cy outcomes.

Abstract Background PTEN is one of the most frequently mutated genes in human cancer. Although the roles of canonical PTEN protein and PTEN isoforms have been extensively explored, the current understanding of PTEN family members cannot fully illustrate the diversity of their roles in biological processes and tumor development. Notably, the function of noncoding RNAs arising from PTEN has been less elucidated. Methods We searched circBase and circInteractome to analyze the potential of PTEN for generating circRNAs. Then, Sanger sequencing, RNase R and Actinomycin D assays were used to verify the ring structure of circPTEN1. In situ hybridization and qRT-PCR were used to determine the level of circPTEN1 in peritumor and tumor tissues of colorectal cancer (CRC). Furthermore, functional experiments, including Transwell assay, 3D multicellular tumor spheroid invasion assay and metastasis models, were performed using circPTEN1 knockdown and overexpression cell lines in vitro and in vivo to investigate the effects of circPTEN1 on tumor metastasis in CRC. Mechanistically, luciferase reporter assay, fluorescence in situ hybridization, electrophoretic mobility shift assay, RNA immunoprecipitation, RNA pull-down and mass spectrometry were executed. Results We identified a circular RNA generated from the PTEN gene, designated circPTEN1, that is frequently downregulated in colorectal cancer, and decreased expression of circPTEN1 predicts poor survival. Low expression of circPTEN1 promotes metastasis in PDX models in vivo and accelerates cancer cell invasion in vitro, whereas overexpression of circPTEN1 reveals opposite roles. Mechanically, we found that circPTEN1 is capable of binding the MH2 domain of Smad4 to disrupt its physical interaction with Smad2/3, which reduces the formation and subsequent nucleus translocation of Smad complexes and consequently suppresses the expression of its downstream genes associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition upon TGF-β stimulation. Furthermore, we found that eIF4A3 suppresses the cyclization of circPTEN1 by directly binding to the circPTEN1 flanking region. Conclusions Our study uncovered a novel PTEN gene-generated circRNA with a tumor suppression function, and further revealed the mechanism of circPTEN1 in CRC metastasis mediated by TGF-β. The identification of circPTEN1 provides a new direction for PTEN investigation, and elucidation of circPTEN1/TGF-β/Smad signaling may pave the way for the development of a potential therapeutic strategy for the suppression of cancer progression.

Sauce-flavored Daqu exhibits different colors after being stacked and fermented at high temperatures. Heiqu (black Daqu, BQ) with outstanding functions is difficult to obtain because its formation mechanism is unclear. In this study, we compared the metabolites in different types of Daqu using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry to explore the formation process of BQ. We found that 251 differential metabolites were upregulated in BQ. Metabolic pathway analysis showed that “tyrosine metabolism” was enriched, and most metabolites in this pathway were differential metabolites upregulated in BQ. The tyrosine metabolic pathway is related to enzymatic browning and melanin production. In addition, the high-temperature and high-humidity fermentation environment of sauce-flavored Daqu promoted an increase in the melanoidin content via a typical Maillard reaction; thus, the melanoidin content in BQ was much higher than that in Huangqu and Baiqu. By strengthening the Maillard reaction precursor substances, amino acids, and reducing sugars, the content of Daqu melanoidin increased significantly after simulated fermentation. Therefore, the enzymatic browning product melanin and Maillard reaction product melanoidin are responsible for BQ formation. This study revealed the difference between BQ and other types of Daqu and provides theoretical guidance for controlling the formation of BQ and improving the quality of liquor.

In this paper, an improved distributed unscented Kalman particle filter (DUKPF) is proposed for the problem of tracking a single moving acoustic source in noisy and reverberant environments with distributed microphone networks. The conventional DUKPF employs the unscented Kalman filter (UKF) for its proposal of particle sampling, whereas the UKF incorporates one single observation from a certain localization function, which is vulnerable to noise or reverberation. To alleviate this problem, multiple observations are extracted from the localization function at each node and incorporated into the state update of the UKF via the probability data association (PDA) technique, yielding the PDA-UKF. Next, employing the PDA-UKF for the proposal of particle sampling, the improved DUKPF is further developed. Finally, the improved DUKPF is adapted for the acoustic source tracking problem, and a distributed acoustic source tracking method is presented. Simulation results reveal that the improved DUKPF achieved better tracking performance than the conventional DUKPF in different noisy and reverberant conditions.

ObjectivesApproximately 20~30% of all traffic accidents are caused by fatigue driving. However, limited practicability remains a barrier for the real application of available techniques to detect driving fatigue. Use of pupillary light reflex (PLR) may be potentially effective for driving fatigue detection.MethodsA 90 min monotonous simulated driving task was utilized to induce driving fatigue. During the task, PLR measurements were performed at baseline and at an interval of 30 min. Subjective rating scales, heart rate variability (HRV) were monitored simultaneously.ResultsThirty-two healthy volunteers in China participated in our study. Based on the results of subjective evaluation and behavioral performances, driving fatigue was verified to be successfully induced by a simulated driving task. Significant variations of PLR and HRV parameters were observed, which also showed significant relevance with the change in Karolinska Sleepiness Scale at several timepoints (|r| = 0.55 ~ 0.72, P < 0.001). Furthermore, PLR variations had excellent ability to detect driving fatigue with high sensitivity and specificity, of which maximum constriction velocity variations achieved a sensitivity of 85.00% and specificity of 72.34% for driving fatigue detection, vs. 82.50 and 78.72% with a combination of HRV variations, a nonsignificant difference (AUC = 0.835, 0.872, P > 0.05).ConclusionsPupillary light reflex variation may be a potential indicator in the detection of driving fatigue, achieving a comparative performance compared with the combination with heart rate variability. Further work may be involved in developing a commercialized driving fatigue detection system based on pupillary parameters.

Uterine Corpus Endometrial Carcinoma (UCEC), the most common gynecologic malignancy in developed countries, remains to be a major public health problem. Further studies are surely needed to elucidate the tumorigenesis of UCEC. Herein, intersecting 203 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified with the GSE17025, GSE63678, and The Cancer Genome Atlas-UCEC datasets. The Gene Ontology/Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes functional enrichment analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network were performed on those 203 DEGs. Intriguingly, 6 of the top 10 nodes in the PPI network were related to unfavorable prognosis, that is, ASPM, CDC20, DLGAP5, BUB1B, CDCA8, and NCAPG. The mRNA and protein expression levels of the 6 hub genes were elevated in UCEC tissues compared to normal tissues. Higher expression of the 6 hub genes was associated with poor prognostic clinicopathological characteristics. The receiver operating characteristic curve suggested the significant diagnostic ability of the 6 hub genes for UCEC. Then, underlying pathogeneses of UCEC including promoter methylation level, TP53 mutation status, genomic genetic variation, and immune cells infiltration were analyzed. The mRNA expression level of the 6 hub genes was also higher in cervical squamous cell carcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma, uterine carcinosarcoma, and ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma tissues than in corresponding normal tissues. In conclusion, ASPM, CDC20, DLGAP5, BUB1B, CDCA8, and NCAPG may be considered diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in UCEC.

The purpose of this paper is to study the existence of periodic solutions for the first-order nonlinear neutral differential equation on time scales. Burton–Krasnoselskii’s fixed point theorem will be sufficiently general for application to the considered equation. An example has been carried out to show our results. It should be pointed out that the problem of periodic solutions is one of the current hot topics in the study of dynamic equations, which contains rich symmetry ideas and methods.

Nano-ZnO/bamboo charcoal composites were prepared by precipitation with bamboo charcoal as support. Nano-ZnO/bamboo charcoal composites were characterized by XRD, SEM and EDS. Photocatalytic degradation processes of methyl orange were studied. The results indicate that the structure of nano-ZnO is of the wurtzite type and the grain size is about 19-54 nm. The best preparation temperature for these composites is 500℃. The composites have better photocatalytic degradation ability than pure ZnO under UV irradiation. Photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange with the composites obeys first-order kinetics, and the composites can be recycled.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.24.1.17397

The cross-flow rotating packed bed (RPB) has attracted wide attention in recent years because of its advantages of large gas capacity, low pressure drop and lack of flooding limitation. However, the complex structure of the packing makes it difficult to obtain the gas flow characteristics in the cross-flow RPB by experiments. In this study, the dry pressure drop in the cross-flow RPB was investigated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The packing was modeled by the porous media model and the rotation of the packing was simulated by the sliding mesh model. The simulation results obtained by three turbulence models were compared with experimental results, and the RNG k-ε model was found to best describe the turbulence behaviors in the cross-flow RPB. Then, the effects of gas flow rate and rotating speed on dry pressure drop in different parts of the cross-flow RPB were analyzed. The results of this study can provide important insights into the design and scale-up of cross-flow RPB.

Abstract Background Large-scale outbreaks of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) have re-emerged in China in recent years. However, little is known about the genetic diversity and molecular epidemiology of field strains of PED virus (PEDV) in China in 2016–2017. To address this issue, in this study, 116 diarrhea samples were collected from pig farms in 6 Chinese provinces in 2016–2017 and were detected using PCR for main porcine enteric pathogens, including PEDV, porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV), porcine transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) and porcine kobuvirus (PKV). In addition, the complete S genes from 11 representative PEDV strains were sequenced and analyzed. Results PCR detection showed that 52.6% (61/116) of these samples were positive for PEDV. Furthermore, sequencing results for the spike (S) genes from 11 of the epidemic PEDV strains showed 93–94% nucleotide identity and 92–93% amino acid identity with the classical CV777 strain. Compared with the CV777 vaccine strain, these strains had an insertion (A133), a deletion (G155), and a continuous 4-amino-acid insertion (56NNTN59) in the S1 region. Phylogenetic analysis based on the S gene indicated that the 11 assessed PEDV strains were genetically diverse and clustered into the G2 group. These results demonstrate that the epidemic strains of PEDV in China in 2016–2017 are mainly virulent strains that belong to the G2 group and genetically differ from the vaccine strain. Importantly, this is the first report that the samples collected in Hainan Province were positive for PEDV (59.2%, 25/42). Conclusions To our knowledge, this article presents the first report of a virulent PEDV strain isolated from Hainan Island, China. The results of this study will contribute to the understanding of the epidemiology and genetic characteristics of PEDV in China.

The inhomogeneous distribution of parallel pipe flow leads to difficulty in the efficient and reliable operation of fluid power equipment. In view of this, a new type of rectifier nozzle has been proposed in parallel pipelines. Numerical simulation and experimental studies were used to reveal the influence of the rectification nozzle on the flow distribution characteristics. The hydraulic characteristics of the parallel pipelines with and without rectifier nozzles were compared and analyzed. The effects of the temperature and inlet flow on the flow uniformity were studied. The results showed that the initial temperature had little effect on the flow distribution of parallel pipelines, and the flow rates of the branches were not much different. The inlet flow had great influence on the distribution characteristics of the parallel pipelines, but the rectifier nozzles changed the local resistance structure and pressure distribution at the shunt, thereby improving the non-uniformity of the flow distribution of the parallel pipelines, and the maximum difference between the two pipes was optimized from 28.89 t/h (20.3%) to 2.2 t/h (1.5%). The rectifying nozzle could distort the flow field of each branch during the split, making the distribution of flow rate and flow state more uniform and stable. At high inlet fluid temperatures, cavitation could occur under the pressure drop of the nozzle, and partial cavitation had little effect on the flow distribution.

Melody extraction is an important task in music information retrieval community and it is unresolved due to the complex nature of real-world recordings. In this paper, the melody extraction problem is addressed in the extreme learning machine (ELM) framework. More specifically, the input musical signal is first pre-processed to mimic the human auditory system. The music features are then constructed by constant-Q transform (CQT), and the concentration strategy is introduced to make use of contextual information. Afterwards, the rough melody pitches are determined by ELM network, according to its pre-trained parameters. Finally, the rough melody pitches are fine-tuned by the spectral peaks around the frame-wise rough pitches. The proposed method can extract melody from polyphonic music efficiently and effectively, where pitch estimation and voicing detection are conducted jointly. Some experiments have been conducted based on three publicly available datasets. The experimental results reveal that the proposed method achieves higher overall accuracies with very fast speed.

Magnolol (MG) is a kind of lignin isolated from Magnolia officinalis, which serves several different biological functions, such as antifungal, anticancer, antioxidant, and hepatoprotective functions. This study aimed to evaluate the protective effect of MG against oleic acid (OA)-induced hepatic steatosis and inflammatory damage in HepG2 cells and in a tyloxapol (Ty)-induced hyperlipidemia mouse model. Our findings indicated that MG can effectively inhibit OA-stimulated tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) secretion, reactive oxygen species generation, and triglyceride (TG) accumulation. Further study manifested that MG significantly suppressed OA-activated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathways and that these inflammatory responses can be negated by pretreatment with inhibitors of extracellular regulated protein kinase and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (U0126 and SP600125, respectively). In addition, MG dramatically upregulated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) translocation and reduced sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c (SREBP-1c) protein synthesis and excretion, both of which are dependent upon the phosphorylation of adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK), acetyl-CoA carboxylase, and AKT kinase (AKT). However, MG suspended the activation of PPARα expression and was thus blocked by pretreatment with LY294002 and compound c (specific inhibitors of AKT and AMPK). Furthermore, MG clearly alleviated serum TG and total cholesterol release; upregulated AKT, AMPK, and PPARα expression; suppressed SREBP-1c generation; and alleviated hepatic steatosis and dyslipidemia in Ty-induced hyperlipidemia mice. Taken together, these results suggest that MG exerts protective effects against steatosis, hyperlipidemia, and the underlying mechanism, which may be closely associated with AKT/AMPK/PPARα activation and MAPK/NF-κB/SREBP-1c inhibition.

Rapid global development has resulted in the widespread use of water pipelines in industrial and agricultural production and life. During water transportation and deployment, water pipes with different angles need to be positioned according to different geographical and topographical problems. Flowmaster simulation software was used to simulate the leakage process of pipelines with different angles. The transient characteristics of fluids in the pipeline were studied in detail. The influences of parameters, such as the bending coefficient R/D (R is the turning radius of pipe, D is the inner diameter of pipe), leakage position, and leakage aperture on the transient flow law of pipelines with and without leakage, were analyzed. The results show that the periodic decay of the upstream flow and pressure curve at the valve with and without leakage has an insignificant relationship with the bending coefficient R/D; however, the amplitude of the sudden position change is positively correlated with the magnitude of R/D. The leakage aperture is positively correlated with the leakage flow and negatively correlated with the pressure value at the leak location node. The farther the leak position is from the valve, the greater the amplitude of the valve end pressure and the upstream flow curve, and symmetric fluctuations occur.

Nano-TiO2 has always been one of the most important topics in the research of photocatalysts due to its special activity and stability. However, it has always been difficult to obtain nano-TiO2 with high dispersion, a small particle size and high photocatalytic activity. In this paper, nano-TiO2 powder was prepared by combining the high-gravity technique and direct precipitation method in an impinging stream-rotating packed bed (IS-RPB) reactor followed by Fe3+ in-situ doping. TiOSO4 and NH3·H2O solutions were cut into very small liquid microelements by high-speed rotating packing, and the mass transfer and microscopic mixing of the nucleation and growth processes of nano-TiO2 were strengthened in IS-RPB, which was beneficial to the continuous production of high quality nano-TiO2. Pure TiO2 and iron-doped nano-TiO2 (Fe-TiO2) were obtained in IS-RPB and were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS) and Brunauer−Emmett−Teller (BET) analysis, which found that pure TiO2 had a particle size of about 12.5 nm, good dispersibility and a complete anatase crystal at the rotating speed of packing of 800 rpm and calcination temperature of 500 °C. The addition of Fe3+ did not change the crystalline structure of TiO2. Iron was highly dispersed in TiO2 without the detection of aggregates and was found to exist in a positive trivalent form by XPS. With the increase of iron doping, the photoresponse range of TiO2 to visible light was broadened from 3.06 eV to 2.26 eV. The degradation efficiency of gaseous toluene by Fe-TiO2 under ultraviolet light was higher than that of pure TiO2 and commercial P25 due to Fe3+ effectively suppressing the recombination of TiO2 electrons and holes; the highest efficiency produced by 1.0% Fe-TiO2 was 95.7%.

The objective of this paper is to study systematically the bifurcation and control of a single-species fish population logistic model with the invasion of alien species based on the theory of singular system and bifurcation. It regards Spartina anglica as an invasive species, which invades the fisheries and aquaculture. Firstly, the stabilities of equilibria in this model are discussed. Moreover, the sufficient conditions for existence of the trans-critical bifurcation and the singularity induced bifurcation are obtained. Secondly, the state feedback controller is designed to eliminate the unexpected singularity induced bifurcation by combining harvested effort with the purification capacity. It obviously inhibits the switch of population and makes the system stable. Finally, the numerical simulation is proposed to show the practical significance of the bifurcation and control from the biological point of view.

To investigate the eccentric compression performance of cold-formed thin-walled steel-reconstituted bamboo (CTS-RB) composite columns, 14 specimens were tested under eccentric compression conditions. The parameters included section steel type, thickness of reconstituted bamboo (RB) plates, slenderness ratio, and eccentricity. The study analyzed the observed damage modes and eccentric compression performance of the specimens and investigated the bearing capacity and deformation capacity. It was indicated that the composite of RB and cold-formed thin-walled steel (CTS), connected by self-tapping screws and structural adhesive to form an integrated column, has produced acceptable results. The bearing capacity of the test specimen is influenced significantly by the eccentricity. On this basis, a finite element model is created that considers nonlinearities in material, geometry, and contact. The finite element calculations show good agreement with experimental results, with an error rate within 17 %, which validates the feasibility of using finite element methods. Moreover, the paper thoroughly examines the effects of slenderness ratio and eccentricity on the load carrying capacity of the composite column. This study presents the data fitting of the eccentricity coefficient and the slenderness ratio coefficient in the formulas of the yield and bending capacity of the composite columns, and the obtained theoretical calculations have an error of less than 16 % with the experiment, which is applicable to the prediction of the load bearing capacity of the composite columns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]