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Abstract Background The development of alternative carbon sources is important for reducing the cost of heterotrophic microalgae cultivation. Among cheap feedstocks, galactose is one of the most abundant sugars and can be easily obtained from many natural biomasses. However, it is generally difficult to be utilized by microalgae. In addition, the mechanism of its low utilization efficiency in heterotrophic cultivation is still unknown. Results Among seven tested carbon sources, only glucose and acetate could be efficiently utilized by C. sorokiniana in heterotrophic cultivation while there were no apparent signs of utilization of other carbohydrates, including galactose, in regular heterotrophic cultivation. However, galactose could be utilized in cultures with high inoculation sizes. This confirmed that C. sorokiniana has a complete pathway for transporting and assimilating galactose under dark conditions, but the rate of galactose utilization is quite low. In addition, the galactose utilization was greatly enhanced in mixotrophic cultures, which indicated that galactose utilization could be enhanced by additional pathways that can enhance cell growth. Based on above results, a mixed carbon source culture strategy was proposed to improve the utilization rate of galactose, and a significant synergistic effect on cell growth was achieved in cultures using a mixture of galactose and acetate. Conclusions This study indicated that the galactose metabolism pathway may not be inherently deficient in Chlorophyta. However, its utilization rate was too low to be detected in regular heterotrophic cultivation. Mixed carbon source culture strategy was confirmed effective to improve the utilization rate of galactose. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the utilization ability of difficultly utilized substrates in the heterotrophic cultivation of microalgae, which is of great significance for reducing the cost of heterotrophic cultivation of microalgae.

Abstract Background The growth and development of organism were dependent on the effect of genetic, environment, and their interaction. In recent decades, lots of candidate additive genetic markers and genes had been detected by using genome-widely association study (GWAS). However, restricted to computing power and practical tool, the interactive effect of markers and genes were not revealed clearly. And utilization of these interactive markers is difficult in the breeding and prediction, such as genome selection (GS). Results Through the Power-FDR curve, the GbyE algorithm can detect more significant genetic loci at different levels of genetic correlation and heritability, especially at low heritability levels. The additive effect of GbyE exhibits high significance on certain chromosomes, while the interactive effect detects more significant sites on other chromosomes, which were not detected in the first two parts. In prediction accuracy testing, in most cases of heritability and genetic correlation, the majority of prediction accuracy of GbyE is significantly higher than that of the mean method, regardless of whether the rrBLUP model or BGLR model is used for statistics. The GbyE algorithm improves the prediction accuracy of the three Bayesian models BRR, BayesA, and BayesLASSO using information from genetic by environmental interaction (G × E) and increases the prediction accuracy by 9.4%, 9.1%, and 11%, respectively, relative to the Mean value method. The GbyE algorithm is significantly superior to the mean method in the absence of a single environment, regardless of the combination of heritability and genetic correlation, especially in the case of high genetic correlation and heritability. Conclusions Therefore, this study constructed a new genotype design model program (GbyE) for GWAS and GS using Kronecker product. which was able to clearly estimate the additive and interactive effects separately. The results showed that GbyE can provide higher statistical power for the GWAS and more prediction accuracy of the GS models. In addition, GbyE gives varying degrees of improvement of prediction accuracy in three Bayesian models (BRR, BayesA, and BayesCpi). Whatever the phenotype were missed in the single environment or multiple environments, the GbyE also makes better prediction for inference population set. This study helps us understand the interactive relationship between genomic and environment in the complex traits. The GbyE source code is available at the GitHub website ( https://github.com/liu-xinrui/GbyE ).

Abstract Background Second ejaculation can influence sperm quality which may define the first-line treatment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a second ejaculation in decreasing the unexpected intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) rate by a propensity score-matched (PSM) analysis. Methods Patients who were projected to undergo IVF were included between January 2016 and November 2021 in this monocentric, retrospective analysis. 2782 patients included in the study, 143 and 2639 patients were non-randomized in the unexpected ICSI and IVF groups, respectively. One hundred fourteen patients with unexpected ICSI produced two semen samples on the day of ovum pick-up. After 1:4 PSM, we matched 61 patients in the second ejaculation IVF group to 238 patients in the conventional IVF group. Outcomes of sperm quality, fertilization rate, embryo quality, and pregnancy were compared. Results Second ejaculation significantly improved sperm concentration, progressive motility before and after sperm swim-up, total progressive motility sperm count after swim-up, and decreased sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF). Sixty-one of 114 (53.5%) unexpected ICSI couples had enough total progressive motility sperm for IVF with the second ejaculation. There were no differences in basic clinical characteristics between couples in second ejaculation IVF and matched-conventional IVF group. For the two groups, no differences were observed in IVF outcomes. However, a significant increase in good-quality blastocyst rate was observed for second-ejaculation IVF couples. Univariate and multivariate linear regression analysis also confirmed that the second ejaculation was an independent risk factor for the good quality blastocyst rate. Conclusion Second ejaculation could be an economical and secure alternative to get good quality sperm, and blastocyst and decrease the rate of unexpected ICSI. Multicenter studies should be conducted to confirm the potential advantages of using second ejaculation IVF in effectively reducing the rate of ICSI.

IntroductionAttempts to artificially activate unfertilized oocytes at 24 h post intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) have generally resulted in poor outcomes. This study aims to explore a new strategy for early judgement and rescue activation of unfertilized oocytes at 5 h post ICSI to avoid unexpected fertilization failure (UFF) or unexpected low fertilization (ULF) in ICSI cycles.MethodsFirstly, time-lapse data from 278 ICSI cycles were retrospectively analyzed to establish an indicator for fertilization failure prediction. Secondly, 14 UFF and 20 ULF cycles were enrolled for an observational study, early rescue oocyte activation (EROA) was performed on oocytes without post-ICSI Pb2 extrusion to investigate fertilization efficiency, embryo development and clinical outcomes.ResultsThe average time to Pb2 extrusion post-ICSI was 3.03±1.21 h, 95.54% of oocytes had extruded Pb2 before 5 h, and the sensitivity and specificity for monitoring Pb2 extrusion at 5 h by time-lapse imaging to predict fertilization were 99.59% and 99.78%, respectively. Early rescue activation of oocytes with no Pb2 extrusion resulted in acceptable fertilization and embryo developmental outcomes, in terms of the fertilization rate (75.00, 72.99%), 2PN fertilization rate (61.36, 56.93%), good-quality embryo rate (42.59, 50.00%), blastocyst formation rate (48.28, 46.03%), good-quality blastocyst rate (34.48, 33.33%), and oocyte utilization rate (36.36, 27.74%), for both UFF and ULF cycles. The clinical pregnancy, embryo implantation, and early miscarriage rates in the rescue oocyte activation group did not significantly differ from those in the Pb2 extrusion group. Fourteen unexpected fertilization failures and 20 low fertilization ICSI cycles were rescued and resulted in clinical pregnancy rates of 40.00% (4/10) and 57.14% (8/14), respectively. ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that monitoring Pb2 extrusion by time-lapse imaging can accurately predict fertilization outcomes, suggesting that early rescue oocyte activation at 5 h post ICSI is an effective strategy for avoiding unexpected fertilization failure and low fertilization in ICSI cycles.

Abstract Aim To analyze the changes of chronotypes in patients with depression before and after treatment, and explore the effects of different chronotypes on antidepressant treatment and the dimensions of common symptoms in patients with depression. Methods 180 patients with depression were selected from 10 tertiary psychiatric hospitals in Zhejiang province, according to the scores of morningness-eveningness questionnaire (MEQ), the patients were divided into three groups: early-type group, middle-type group and late-type group. The 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale anxiety Scale (HAMA), Snaith Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS), multidimensional fatigue inventory-20(MFI-20) and Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) were measured at baseline and at the end of the 2nd, 4th, 8th and 12th weeks, the variance analysis of repeated measures was used to analyze the change of each index in the study. The remission rate of depression at each time point was statistically analyzed. Results Of the 180 patients included in the study, 26 were lost to follow-up, and 154 were finally included in the analysis. At baseline, 14.93%, 56.5% and 28.57% of the subjects were diagnosed as middle-late type, middle-late type and early-late type respectively, the total scores of Shaps and MFI-20 in the early-type group were higher than those in the late-type group and the middle-type group (p 0.05) . Conclusion The disorder of chronotypes is common in patients with depression. The time effect of different time type on different symptom dimension of depression was affected, but the effect on remission rate of depression was not significant. To strengthen the management of biological chronotype rhythm in patients with depression may be of great significance in the treatment of depression.

Background: Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) plays a crucial role in the development of organ injury caused by sepsis. Therefore, it is highly important to devise strategies that specially target ER stress for the treatment of sepsis. Previous research has shown that priming chemokines can enhance the therapeutic effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). In this study, we aimed to investigate the function and mechanism of exosomes derived from MSCs that were pretreated with IL-1β (IB-exos) in the context of septic ER stress. Methods: Mouse bone MSCs were preconditioned with or without IL-1β and the supernatant was used for exosome extraction. In vitro sepsis cell mode was induced by treating HUVECs with LPS, while in vivo sepsis model was established through cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) operation in mice. Cell viability, apoptosis, motility, and tube formation were assessed using the EDU proliferation assay, flow cytometry analysis, migration assay, and tube formation assay, respectively. The molecular mechanism was investigated using ELISA, qRT-PCR, Western blot, and immunofluorescence staining. Results: Pretreatment with IL-1β enhanced the positive impact of MSC-exos on the viability, apoptosis, motility, and tube formation ability of HUVECs. The administration of LPS or CLP increased ER stress response, but this effect was blocked by the treatment of IB-exos. Additionally, IB-exos reversed the inhibitory effects of LPS or CLP on the expression levels of SIRT1 and ERK phosphorylation. Knockdown of SIRT1 counteracted the effects of IB-exos on HUVEC cellular function and ER stress. In a mouse model, the injection of IB-exos mitigated sepsis-induced lung injury by inhibiting ER stress response through the activation of SIRT1. Conclusion: IB-exos have been found to alleviate sepsis-induced lung injury via inhibiting ER stress through the SIRT1/ERK pathway. These findings indicated that IB-exos could potentially be used as a strategy to mitigate lung injury caused by sepsis.

BackgroundDoes short-interval second ejaculation improve sperm quality, embryo development and clinical outcomes for oligoasthenozoospermia males received intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment?MethodsAll enrolled male patients underwent short-interval secondary ejaculation on the day of oocyte retrieval, and 786 sibling MII oocytes from 67 cycles were equally divided into two groups based on whether the injected spermatozoons originated from the first or second ejaculation. Semen parameters, embryo development efficiency, morphokinetic parameters and clinical outcomes were compared between the two groups to assess the efficiency and clinical value of short-interval second ejaculation in ICSI cycles.ResultsShort-interval second ejaculation significantly improved sperm motility, normal morphological rate, and sperm DNA integrity both before and after sperm swim-up. The high-quality blastocyst rate (24.79% versus 14.67%), available blastocyst rate (57.56% versus 48.44%), and oocyte utilization rate (52.93% versus 45.29%) were significantly higher in the second ejaculation group (P0.05). Time-lapse analysis showed that morphokinetic time points after the 7-cell stage were earlier in the second ejaculation group but without a significant difference (P>0.05), and abnormal embryo cleavage patterns between the two groups were not significantly different (P>0.05).ConclusionsShort-interval second ejaculation significantly improves sperm quality in oligoasthenozoospermic males, and is beneficial for blastocyst formation efficiency in ICSI cycles. This study suggested a non-invasive and simple but effective strategy for improving ICSI treatment outcomes.

To precisely identify high voltage transmission line fittings and guide a line patrol robot in executing obstacle-crossing maneuvers tailored to diverse fittings, a real-time detection network based on deep learning DeblurGANv2 and YOLOv5 target detection algorithm was proposed. Addressing challenges inherent in the YOLOv5 algorithm, characterized by a substantial network model, high computational overhead, and diminished operational efficiency, a judicious lightweight refinement is undertaken to enhance the algorithm’s detection speed. The original network was improved by replacing CSPDarknet-53 with Shufflenetv2 and integrating an ECA module into Shufflenetv2, thereby enhancing the model’s focus on relevant features. Simultaneously, the DeblurGANv2 super-resolution reconstruction algorithm is employed to rectify the blurriness of the fittings’ images, resulting in the production of high-quality images and enhancing the accuracy of recognition. Experimental results obtained from self-created datasets demonstrate that the proposed method exhibits a reduction of 50.2% in parameter quantity and a decrease of 62.7% in weight file size when compared to the original YOLOv5 model. Additionally, the proposed method achieves a 1.3% increase in mAP@(0.5). The proposed method demonstrates successful detection of high voltage transmission line fittings, thereby ensuring the accuracy of fuzzy target detection.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a devastating mental illness that affects approximately 20% of the world’s population. It is a major disease that leads to disability and suicide, causing a severe burden among communities. Currently available medications for treating MDD target the monoaminergic systems. The most prescribed medications include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors. However, these medications have serious drawbacks, such as a delayed onset requiring weeks or months to reach efficacy and drug resistance, as one-third of patients are unresponsive to the medications. Therefore, it is imperative to develop novel therapies with rapid action, high efficacy and few adverse effects. The discovery of the rapid antidepressant effect of ketamine has triggered tremendous enthusiasm for studying new antidepressants that target the glutamatergic system in the central nervous system. Many agents that directly or indirectly modulate the glutamatergic system have been shown to provide rapid and lasting antidepressant action. Among these agents, ketamine, an antagonist of metabotropic glutamate 2/3 receptors, and scopolamine, an unspecific muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist, have been extensively studied. In this review, we discuss the clinical and preclinical evidence supporting the antidepressant efficacy of these agents and the current understanding of the underlying mechanisms.

Oil recovery is closely related to the sweep and displacement efficiencies in oil reservoirs. Therefore, several measures have been devised to enhance oil recovery based on these two factors. In heterogeneous heavy oil reservoirs, expansion of the swept volume of medium- and low-permeability layers is a suitable approach for enhancing oil recovery. However, the oil displacement efficiency is also an important factor. With regard to enhancing oil recovery, the selection of displacement agents will depend on whether the sweep efficiency or displacement efficiency is to be adjusted and on how these factors can be controlled to maximise the increase in oil recovery. In this study, the pixel method is used to distinguish between the sweep efficiency and displacement efficiency, and the joint effect of these factors is analysed. A heterogeneous microscopic model is used to conduct oil displacement experiments using polymer solutions with different viscosities and surfactant–polymer systems with similar viscosities and different interfacial tensions. The results indicate that under heterogeneous conditions, increasing the viscosity of the polymer solution leads to a slight expansion in the swept volume and an increase in the oil displacement efficiency in the low-permeability area; however, the overall sweep efficiency remains almost unchanged. There is a critical point for sweep efficiency: under the experimental conditions, when the oil viscosity is 305 mPa s, the critical viscosity of the polymer solution is 125 mPa s, and when the oil viscosity is 1050 mPa s, the critical value is 205 mPa s. When the viscosity of polymer solution reaches the critical value, for the surfactant–polymer system, a reduction in the oil–water interfacial tension has the same effect as a substantial increase in the polymer solution viscosity; moreover, the joint effect of the sweep efficiency and displacement efficiency can be enhanced. Therefore, for heterogeneous heavy oil reservoirs, the focus should be on improving oil displacement efficiency under certain sweep conditions rather than on expanding the swept volume. The findings of this study can help for better understanding of the selection of displacements agent in heterogeneous heavy oil reservoirs for enhanced oil recovery.

Abstract Background Synchronization of follicles is key to improving ovulation stimulation with the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist protocol. GnRH antagonist administration in the early follicular phase can quickly decrease gonadotrophin (Gn) levels and achieve downregulation before stimulation, which may improves synchronization. A previous small randomized controlled study (RCT) showed that pretreatment with a GnRH antagonist for 3 days before stimulation may increase oocyte retrieval but cannot increase the pregnancy rate. This study investigated whether the GnRH antagonist pretreatment protocol in ovulatory women can increase the synchronization of follicles and pregnancy outcomes compared with the conventional GnRH antagonist protocol. Methods This RCT included 136 normal ovulatory women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF)/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Both groups were treated with recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone (r-FSH) and a flexible GnRH antagonist protocol. The women were randomized into two equal groups with or without GnRH antagonist administration from day 2 of the menstrual cycle for 3 days before stimulation. Our primary outcome was the number of retrieved oocytes. Secondary outcomes included the pregnancy rate and live birth rate. Results Both groups had similar baseline characteristics. The number of retrieved oocytes in the study group was comparable to that in the control group (9.5 [8.0–13.0] vs. 11.0 [7.0–14.8], P = 0.469). There was no significant difference in the follicle size. The fertilization rate, number of good-quality embryos, implantation rate, pregnancy rate, ongoing pregnancy rate, live birth rate per embryonic transfer cycle, and miscarriage rate were similar between the two groups. Conclusion This large RCT analysed GnRH antagonist pretreatment with the GnRH antagonist protocol applied to normal ovulatory women undergoing IVF/ICSI. The number of retrieved oocytes and pregnancy outcomes did not significantly vary. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR1800019730 . Registered 26 November 2018.

Abstract Background Obsessive–compulsive and related disorders (OCRDs) are a group of intractable and chronic mental disorders. Trichotillomania (TTM) is a common type of OCRDs characterized by repetitive hair pulling, driven by escalating tension before the action and during the attempts to resist it. Binge eating disorder (BED) is a common type of eating disorder characterized by recurrent compulsive episodes of binge eating. Both have common psychological processes (tension or impulsion) and pathological manifestations (out of control), but the pathological mechanisms are still unclear and the current clinical treatments are often unsatisfactory for these two disorders. Case presentation A 25-year-old woman with TTM comorbid BED came to our hospital for treatment. She had accepted systematic cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and also monotherapy or multidrug therapy with sertraline, fluvoxamine, bupropion, risperidone in full dosage and duration for 2 years, but all of them did not work. We treated this case with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) as a synergist on the basis of recent treatment (fluvoxamine 150 mg/day and bupropion 300 mg/day). The pathological hair plucking behavior and binge eating symptoms were both significantly and rapidly improved, and the follow-up in next 14 weeks showed that the effect was still maintained. Conclusion To our knowledge, this may be the first case report of using NAC as a synergist to treat TTM comorbid BED successfully, which suggest that these two disorders may have a common pathophysiological mechanism. Moreover, NAC can be one choice as a synergistic treatment for OCRDs.

Psychological trauma in childhood can lead to post-traumatic disorder (PTSD) with protracted comorbid depression, which responds poorly to conventional antidepressants. Previous studies have shown that prazosin, an α1-adrenergic receptor antagonist, can help eliminate nightmares and improve sleep quality and suicidal ideation in PTSD patients. This case report presents that prazosin had a rapid antidepressant effect in a female adolescent PTSD patient with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Prazosin improved not only depression symptoms but also sleep quality, suicidal ideation, and cognitive function. Prazosin was well tolerated without obvious adverse effects. Our preliminary study suggests that further clinical trials are needed to determine the efficacy and safety of prazosin in treating PTSD patients with comorbid TRD.

Multilevel thresholding has important research value in image segmentation and can effectively solve region analysis problems of complex images. In this paper, Otsu and Kapur's entropy are adopted among thresholding segmentation methods. They are used as the objective functions. When the number of threshold increases, the time complexity increases exponentially. In order to overcome this drawback, a modified ant lion optimizer algorithm based on opposition-based learning (MALO) is proposed to determine the optimum threshold values by the maximization of the objective functions. By introducing the opposition-based learning strategy, the search accuracy and convergence performance are increased. In addition to IEEE CEC 2017 benchmark functions validation, 11 state-of-the-art algorithms are selected for comparison. A series of experiments are conducted to evaluate the segmentation performance of the algorithm. The evaluation metrics include: fitness value, peak signal-to-noise ratio, structural similarity index, feature similarity index, and computational time. The experimental data are analyzed and discussed in details. The experimental results significantly demonstrate that the proposed method is superior over others, which can be considered as a powerful and efficient thresholding technique.

This paper proposes a multi-threshold image segmentation method based on modified salp swarm algorithm (SSA). Multi-threshold image segmentation method has good segmentation effect, but the segmentation precision will be affected with the increase of threshold number. To avoid the above problem, the slap swarm optimization algorithm (SSA) is presented to choose the optimal parameters of the fitting function and we use levy flight to improve the SSA. The solutions are assessed using the Kapur's entropy, Otsu and Renyi entropy fitness function during the optimization operation. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated with several reference images and compared with different group algorithms. The results have been analyzed based on the best fitness values, peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR), and feature similarity index measures (FSIM). The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm outperformed other swarm algorithms.

Polymer flooding has been proved by many scholars for use in heavy oil reservoirs. However, due to mobility control effects and injectivity, selecting the appropriate solution viscosity is essential. It is difficult to form a deep understanding of the effect and mechanism of polymer flooding using conventional experimental methods with oil recovery as the reference standard, so it is necessary to conduct further study with the aid of simulation methods. In this study, a one-dimensional displacement mathematical model based on the Buckley–Leverett theory was established, and in the range of water–oil viscosity ratio from 0.1 to 0.6, the variation of water saturation along the flow caused by polymer solution was studied. The research results showed that under the action of a polymer solution, compared with water flooding, there was a decreasing region of water saturation along the flow due to oil phase accumulation. The larger the water–oil viscosity ratio, the larger the area of water saturation decline and the greater the degree of water saturation decline, resulting in a better the displacement effect. However, under the condition of oil–phase viscosity of 70 mPa·s, when the water–oil viscosity ratio reached 0.4, the range and degree of water saturation decline along the way no longer changed, all the crude oil that could be swept had been displaced, and the outlet end was close to producing only water, not oil; therefore, further increasing the water–oil viscosity ratio could not increase the oil recovery. At the same time, the increase in pressure had not changed, that is, the increase in pressure had not resulted in the same increase in oil recovery. When the viscosity of oil phase increased to 140 mPa·s, the same rule was displayed, the appropriate water–oil viscosity ratio was also 0.4. The paper analyzed the action mechanism of polymer solution through process description, and the results provided a clear selection method for selecting reasonable polymer solution concentration, as well as a reference for polymer solution range under different crude oil viscosity conditions.

To study the displacement law of polymer flooding in fluvial reservoirs, physical simulation cores are designed according to the characteristics of strong planar heterogeneity in such reservoir systems. Three different polymer solutions, namely, partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM), hydrophobically associating water-soluble polymer (AP-P4), and long-term shear retardant polymer (LSRP), are analyzed through oil displacement experiments. The results show that, in the simulated fluvial reservoir core model, the sweep efficiency of water flooding is about 80%, but the recovery is only about 20%, with poor oil displacement efficiency. The effects of HPAM and AP-P4 on improving sweep efficiency are poor, as they cannot effectively sweep the low- and medium-permeability areas on either side of the central core. The polymer LSRP, which has higher viscosity and better viscoelasticity, can effectively expand the sweep volume, with the sweep efficiency reaching 97.8%, but there is still the potential to greatly improve the oil displacement efficiency. The results indicate that, in fluvial reservoirs under the experimental conditions, expanding the sweep volume requires high-performance polymer solutions. The enhanced oil recovery method is required to obtain a greater oil displacement effect. The results provide a reference for the selection of displacement agents for the development of fluvial reservoirs.

To solve the dissolution problem of hydrophobically associating polymers during the application process, a rapid-dissolution device was developed and optimized. The relevant parameters of the device were simulated with a focus on the fluid-passing capacity, rotating speed, and device structure to study the dissolution effect using the Fluent software. The results indicated that under the condition that the fluid-passing capacity of a single rapid-dissolution device was 12 m3/h, the viscosity of the hydrophobically associating polymer solution allowed to pass through the device should not exceed 21 mPa s. When the rotating speed of the rotor was 1440 rpm, the polymer had uniform distribution when passing through the device and could achieve a good tensile dissolution effect. By installing a fan blade in the device, the retention problem of polymer swelling particles in the dissolution device was solved, and the dispersion and dissolution of the polymer are promoted. The rapid-dissolution device was suitable for the dissolution of hydrophobically associating polymers in the oil field and so as to promote the application of hydrophobically associating polymers.

In this study, Yb:YAG-nanocrystal-doped silica glass with high transmission and excellent spectral properties was successfully prepared using a modified sol–gel method. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), micro-Raman spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and high-resolution TEM (HR-TEM) analyses confirmed that the Yb:YAG nanocrystals, with their low content, homogeneous distribution, and small crystal size, directly crystallized into the silica glass network without annealing treatment. In contrast with conventional microcrystalline glass having large particles (>0.1 μm) and a large particle content, nanocrystalline glass with a homogeneous distribution and sizes of ~22 nm had higher optical transmittance and better spectral properties. Compared with Yb3+ doped silica glass without nanocrystals, the Yb:YAG-nanocrystal-doped silica glass had a 28% increase in absorption cross-section at 975 nm and a 172% enhanced emission cross-section at 1030 nm without any changes in the spectral pattern of the Yb3+ ions in the silica glass. Meanwhile, the Yb:YAG-doped silica glass with large size and high optical quality was easily prepared. Therefore, the Yb:YAG-nanocrystal-doped silica glass is expected to be a promising near-infrared laser material.

Compared with other inhaled anaesthetics, sevoflurane has a faster onset and offset, causes less irritation to the mucous membranes, and has a better safety profile. These characteristics warrant investigating the effect of sevoflurane in depression. In this Case Report, we describe that sevoflurane treatment was feasible and well tolerated by a patient with treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Sevoflurane had rapid and durable antidepressant effects, with few adverse effects. Moreover, the patient showed significant improvements in neurocognitive measurements. Our preliminary results suggest that further clinical trials are needed to determine the independent efficacy and safety of sevoflurane in patients with TRD.

A high phosphorus Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped silica (EYPS) fiber core glass was prepared using the sol-gel method combined with high-temperature sintering. The absorption spectra, emission spectra, and fluorescence decay curves were measured and compared in temperatures ranging from 300 to 480 K. Compared to 915 and 97x nm, the absorption cross-section at ~940 nm (~0.173 pm2) demonstrates a weaker temperature dependence. Hence, the 940 nm pump mechanism is favorable for achieving a high-power laser output at 1.5 μm. Additionally, the double-exponential fluorescence decay of Yb3+ ions and the emission intensity ratio of I1018nm/I1534nm were measured to evaluate the energy transfer efficiency from Yb3+ ions to Er3+ ions. Through the external heating and active quantum defect heating methods, the emission intensity ratios of I1018nm/I1534nm increase by 30.6% and 709.1%, respectively, from ~300 to ~480 K. The results indicate that the temperature rises significantly reduce the efficiency of the energy transfer from the Yb3+ to the Er3+ ions.

The glutamic acid biosensor and artificial neural network (GLU-ANN) was employed to monitor the hydrolysis of Alaska pollock protein for production of immunomodulatory peptides. The relative error of GLU-ANN was in the range of 0.23% to 2.81%. The target pollock hydrolysates (PFH) were prepared using GLU-ANN, which significantly enhanced humoral, cellular, and non-specific immunity in immunosuppressed mice, induced by hydrogenated cortisone (p

The characterization of a laser diode (LD)-pumped neodymium-doped silica glass (NDSG) laser is here described. The gain performance and wavefront distortion were measured, and the thermal toughness and uniformity distribution of the material were experimentally observed. At a pumping frequency of 1 Hz and energy 7.79 J, a small-signal gain of 1.16 was measured, and the wavefront distortion reached 2.67 λ (wavelength λ = 1053 nm). At a pumping frequency of 25 Hz with 194 W power, the NDSG was still not cracked, which is consistent with its high thermal shock parameter. However, the material uniformity was relatively poor. These results indicate good prospects for the application of NDSG lasers at high energy and high repetition frequency, but the gain performance, uniformity, and other aspects affected by the manufacturing process need to be improved.

We report on a passively Q-switched fiber laser with black phosphorus as saturable absorber. By employing the sol-gel fabricated large-mode-area Tm-doped fiber as gain medium, a high-energy Q-switched fiber laser has been demonstrated which delivers the maximum pulse energy of 11.72 μJ with the pulse width of 660 ns at the wavelength of 1954 nm. Our experimental results indicate that BP Q-switched large-mode-area Tm-doped fiber laser is an effective and reliable approach to generate high-energy pulses at 2 μm.

The intestinal mucosal barrier plays an important role in systemic immune functions. This study aimed to find the mechanism of peptide from Alaska Pollock (APP) on intestinal mucosal immunity in mice induced by cyclophosphamide (Cy). Cy-induced decreases of body weight and index of immune organ were significantly improved by APP as compared with Cy group (p < 0.05). APP could promote the secretion of SIgA and IgA on intestinal mucosa (p < 0.05) and mainly had an impact on the final differentiation of IgA+ B cell, thereby promoting the secretion of plasma cells, which can be corroborated by the increases of IL-6 and IL-10 (p < 0.05). APP with high immune activity was separated and two peptides were purified and identified as Gly−Val−Ile−Lys and Ala−Cys−Asn−Gly−Arg. Therefore, APP can be considered as beneficial ingredients to protect the intestinal barrier disruption induced by Cy.

Large-size 0.1 Yb2O3–1.0 Al2O3–98.9 SiO2 (mol%) core glass was prepared by the sol–gel method. Its optical properties were evaluated. Both large mode area double cladding fiber (LMA DCF) with core diameter of 48 µm and large mode area photonic crystal fiber (LMA PCF) with core diameter of 90 µm were prepared from this core glass. Transmission loss at 1200 nm is 0.41 dB/m. Refractive index fluctuation is less than 2 × 10−4. Pumped by 976 nm laser diode LD pigtailed with silica fiber (NA 0.22), the slope efficiency of 54% and “light-to-light” conversion efficiency of 51% were realized in large mode area double cladding fiber, and 81 W laser power with a slope efficiency of 70.8% was achieved in the corresponding large mode area photonic crystal fiber.