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Abstract Faults play a crucial role in shaping the formation and damage patterns of landslides in the mountainous region, particularly in Qinling-Daba (Qinba) area in China. On 6 October 2022, following a 4-day rainfall event totaling 221.5 mm, a landslide occurred in Hanwang Town, Shaanxi Province. The left boundary of the landslide coincided with a fault, which influence the formation and movement development of the landslide. To further understand and quantified the formation process and damage mechanism of the landslide, a comprehensive study was conducted, incorporating field investigations, local rainfall data, and various methods including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), numerical simulations, and laboratory test. The results indicate that fault dictate the formation of the Lijiaping landslide by influencing the mechanical strength of the rock mass and the catchment topography in the landslide area. Due to fault, the rock mass in the landslide area is high fragmentation, with a softening coefficient of about 0.52. Weathering resulted in numerous residual and slope sediments in the landslide area, providing ample material for the landslide. Meanwhile, the fault activity led to a wedge-shaped topography in the landslide area, with an average Terrain Wetness Index (TWI) of 3.43, significantly higher than the Hanwang Township average of 1.47. This creates a hydrogeological structure favorable for landslides. Numerical simulations revealed that the maximum velocity of the landslide reached 5.05 m/s and the maximum displacement was 53.18 m, both occurring in the central part of the landslide. These findings offer crucial scientific insights for understanding and preventing similar geological hazards.

Abstract Gaining a comprehensive understanding of the role played by the oral microbiome in moderate to severe plaque psoriasis and its potential implications for disease management and development holds significant importance. With the objective of exploring correlations between the oral microbiota and severe psoriasis, this study involved 72 severe psoriasis patients and 16 healthy individuals, whose clinical manifestations and living habits were carefully recorded. Cutting-edge techniques such as 16S rRNA gene sequencing and bioinformatics analysis were employed to compare the microbial flora, investigating dynamic changes among severe plaque psoriasis patients, psoriatic arthritis patients and healthy individuals. The findings revealed noteworthy patterns including increased levels of Aggregatibacter in the psoriatic arthritis group, accompanied by a decrease in the level of Prevotella. Moreover, the enrichment o Capnocytandophaga (P = 0.009), Campylobacter (P = 0.0022), and Acetobacter (P = 0.0292) was notably more substantial in the psoriasis group compared to the control group, whereas certain bacterial species such as Bacteroides (P = 0.0049), Muribaculaceae (P = 0.0048) demonstrated decreased enrichment. Additionally, the psoriatic arthritis group exhibited significantly higher levels of Ralstonia, Bifidobacterium and Micromonospora. Based on these findings, it can be inferred that individuals with lower levels of Prevotella and higher levels of Corynebacterium may be more susceptible to psoriasis exacerbation.

Abstract To improve the understanding of potential pathological mechanisms of macular edema (ME), we try to discover biomarker candidates related to ME caused by diabetic retinopathy (DR) and retinal vein occlusion (RVO) in spectral-domain optical coherence tomography images by means of deep learning (DL). 32 eyes of 26 subjects with non-proliferative DR (NPDR), 77 eyes of 61 subjects with proliferative DR (PDR), 120 eyes of 116 subjects with branch RVO (BRVO), and 17 eyes of 15 subjects with central RVO (CRVO) were collected. A DL model was implemented to guide biomarker candidate discovery. The disorganization of the retinal outer layers (DROL), i.e., the gray value of the retinal tissues between the external limiting membrane (ELM) and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), the disrupted and obscured rate of the ELM, ellipsoid zone (EZ), and RPE, was measured. In addition, the occurrence, number, volume, and projected area of hyperreflective foci (HRF) were recorded. ELM, EZ, and RPE are more likely to be obscured in RVO group and HRFs are observed more frequently in DR group (all P ≤ 0.001). In conclusion, the features of DROL and HRF can be possible biomarkers related to ME caused by DR and RVO in OCT modality.

Abstract Background Early and appropriate antibiotic treatment improves the clinical outcome of patients with sepsis. There is an urgent need for rapid identification (ID) and antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of bacteria that cause bloodstream infection (BSI). Rapid ID and AST can be achieved by short-term incubation on solid medium of positive blood cultures using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS) and the BD M50 system. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of rapid method compared to traditional method. Methods A total of 124 mono-microbial samples were collected. Positive blood culture samples were short-term incubated on blood agar plates and chocolate agar plates for 5 ∼ 7 h, and the rapid ID and AST were achieved through Zybio EXS2000 MS and BD M50 System, respectively. Results Compared with the traditional 24 h culture for ID, this rapid method can shorten the cultivation time to 5 ∼ 7 h. Accurate organism ID was achieved in 90.6% of Gram-positive bacteria (GP), 98.5% of Gram-negative bacteria (GN), and 100% of fungi. The AST resulted in the 98.5% essential agreement (EA) and 97.1% category agreements (CA) in NMIC-413, 99.4% EA and 98.9% CA in PMIC-92, 100% both EA and CA in SMIC-2. Besides, this method can be used for 67.2% (264/393) of culture bottles during routine work. The mean turn-around time (TAT) for obtaining final results by conventional method is approximately 72.6 ± 10.5 h, which is nearly 24 h longer than the rapid method. Conclusions The newly described method is expected to provide faster and reliable ID and AST results, making it an important tool for rapid management of blood cultures (BCs). In addition, this rapid method can be used to process most positive blood cultures, enabling patients to receive rapid and effective treatment.

Nasal myiasis is a nasal infestation caused by myiasis, a parasitic disease affecting the nasal cavity. It is a rare condition. The nasal cavity is in close proximity to the sinuses, eyes, and cranial cavity. If the fly larvae migrate into this location, it may result in significant complications. The prompt and appropriate removal of maggots and the administration of an efficacious treatment can effectively prevent further deterioration of the disease. In this case study, we present the case of a 55-year-old woman who was admitted to the intensive care unit with severe respiratory failure. On the fourth day following admission, the patient remained unconscious, and several white larvae emerged from the nasal cavity. Through identification, the larvae were determined to be Musca domestica larvae. Subsequently, saline irrigation was performed under nasal endoscopy, and anti-inflammatory therapy was administered to the patient to prevent intracranial infection. Following treatment, the patient’s symptoms were effectively managed, and the prognosis remained favorable until the 1-month follow-up. This case report presents a literature review of the reported cases of nasal myiasis caused by M. domestica and discusses the susceptibility factors and treatment modalities for nasal myiasis.

Abstract Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a major global health problem with few therapeutic options available so far. Accumulating evidence suggests that probiotics have beneficial effects on NAFLD by modulating gut microbiota. Bifidobacterium lactis Probio‐M8 (M8) is a new probiotic strain isolated from human breast milk. The aim of this study was to investigate whether M8 could protect against NAFLD in rats fed a high‐fat diet by modulating gut microbiota. In this study, rats were randomly distributed into four groups: normal diet (ND) group, normal diet plus M8 (ND+M8) group, high‐fat diet (HFD) group, and high‐fat diet plus M8 (HFD+M8) group. Ten weeks later, hepatic morphological changes and biochemical indicators were measured. 16S rDNA sequencing was applied to analyze the gut microbiota alterations. Our results showed that M8 administration effectively improved hepatic steatosis and liver damage in high‐fat diet‐fed rats. 16S rDNA analysis of gut microbiota indicated that M8 could modulate the gut microbiota composition, especially increasing Bifidobacterium and decreasing Bilophila, Lachnoclostridium, GCA‐900066225, and Phascolarctobacterium in high‐fat diet‐fed rats. In conclusion, our findings demonstrated that M8 could protect against NAFLD in rats fed a high‐fat diet, which may be attributed to the modulation of gut microbiota.

The geological hazards of landslides in Hanwang Town, Ziyang County, Ankang City, Shaanxi Province, have emerged. Yet, the current understanding of the spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of landslides in this area remains unclear. Combining the results of remote sensing interpretation and field investigation, seven influencing factors, namely, elevation, slope direction, slope gradient, distance from rivers, distance from faults, engineering geologic lithology, and distance from roads, are selected for the study. The distribution characteristics of landslides in each influencing factor and the influence of the resolution of the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) on the results are statistically and analytically analyzed. Furthermore, two high-risk landslides within the study area were subjected to comprehensive analysis, integrating the findings from drilling and other field investigations in order to examine their deformation mechanisms. Based on this analysis, the following conclusions were derived: (1) 34 landslides in the study area, mainly small earth landslides, with a distribution density of 0.42/km2, threatening 414 people and property of about 55.87 million Yuan. (2)The landslides in the study area easily occur in the

Abstract Background Gout pain seriously affects the quality of patients' life. There is still no effective treatment. The inflammatory response is the main mechanism of gout. Here, we found that ozone can reduce the inflammatory reaction in the joints of gouty mice and relieve gout pain, and we further explore its protective mechanism. Methods MSU was used to establish the gouty mice model. Nociception was assessed by Von Frey hairs. Cell signaling assays were performed by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. The mouse leukemia cells of monocyte macrophage line RAW264.7 were cultured to investigate the effects of ozone administration on macrophage. Results Ozone reduced inflammation, relieved gout pain and improved the paw mean intensity and duty cycle of the gouty mice. Ozone increased the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), induced suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) expression and inhibited metallopeptidase 9 (MMP9) expression. In vivo, ozone activated AMPK to induce Gas6 release, and upregulated MerTK/SOCS3 signaling pathway to reduce inflammation in mouse macrophage line RAW264.7. Inhibitors of AMPK and MerTK, respectively abolished the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of ozone in vivo and in vitro. Gas6 knockout cancelled the protectively effects of ozone on gout pain and the paw mean intensity and duty cycle of gouty mice. Additionally, the level of Gas6 and protein S in plasma of patients with hyperuricemia was significantly higher than that of healthy contrast group. Conclusion Ozone reduces inflammation and alleviates gout pain by activating AMPK to up-regulate Gas6/MerTK/SOCS3 signaling pathway.

Leonurine is a natural product unique to the Lamiaceae plant Leonurus japonicus Houtt., and it has attracted attention due to its anti-oxidative stress, anti-apoptosis, anti-fibrosis, and metabolic regulation properties. Also, it plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) through a variety of biological mechanisms, but its mechanism of action remains to be elucidated. Therefore, this study aims to preliminarily explore the mechanisms of action of leonurine in NAFLD. Mice were randomly divided into four groups: the normal control (NC) group, the Model (M) group, the leonurine treatment (LH) group, and the fenofibrate treatment (FB) group. The NAFLD model was induced by a high-fat high-sugar diet (HFHSD) for 12 weeks, and liver pathological changes and biochemical indices were observed after 12 weeks. Transcriptomic analysis results indicated that leonurine intervention reversed the high-fat high-sugar diet-induced changes in lipid metabolism-related genes such as stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (Scd1), Spermine Synthase (Sms), AP-1 Transcription Factor Subunit (Fos), Oxysterol Binding Protein Like 5 (Osbpl5), and FK506 binding protein 5 (Fkbp5) in liver tissues. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis results suggest that leonurine may exert its lipid-lowering effects through the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway. Liver lipidomic analysis showed that leonurine could alter the abundance of lipid molecules related to fatty acyl (FAs) and glycerophospholipids (GPs) such as TxB3, carnitine C12-OH, carnitine C18:1-OH, and LPC (20:3/0:0). Molecular biology experiments and molecular docking techniques verified that leonurine might improve hepatic lipid metabolism through the alpha-1A adrenergic receptor (ADRA1a)/AMPK/SCD1 axis. In summary, the present study explored the mechanism by which leonurine ameliorated NAFLD by inhibiting hepatic lipid synthesis via the ADRA1a/AMPK/SCD1 axis.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a critical stage in the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Tanshinone IIA (TIIA) is a tanshinone extracted from Salvia miltiorrhiza; due to its powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant biological activities, it is commonly used for treating cardiovascular and hepatic diseases. A NASH model was established by feeding mice a methionine and choline-deficient (MCD) diet. Liver surface microblood flow scanning, biochemical examination, histopathological examination, cytokine analysis through ELISA, lipidomic analysis, transcriptomic analysis, and Western blot analysis were used to evaluate the therapeutic effect and mechanism of TIIA on NASH. The results showed that TIIA effectively reduced lipid accumulation, fibrosis, and inflammation and alleviated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Lipidomic analysis revealed that TIIA normalized liver phospholipid metabolism in NASH mice. A KEGG analysis of the transcriptome revealed that TIIA exerted its effect by regulating the PPAR signalling pathway, protein processing in the ER, and the NOD-like receptor signalling pathway. These results suggest that TIIA alleviates NASH by activating the PPARα/FGF21 axis to negatively regulate the ER stress-induced unfolded protein response (UPR).

Tactile sensing has become indispensable for contact-rich dynamic robotic manipulation tasks. It provides robots with a better understanding of the physical environment, which is a vital supplement to robotic vision perception. Compared with other existing tactile sensors, vision-based tactile sensors (VBTSs) stand out for augmenting the tactile perception capabilities of robotic systems, owing to superior spatial resolution and cost-effectiveness. Despite their advantages, VBTS production faces challenges due to the lack of standardised manufacturing techniques and heavy reliance on manual labour. This limitation impedes scalability and widespread adoption. This paper introduces a rapid monolithic manufacturing technique and evaluates its performance quantitatively. We further develop and assess C-Sight, a novel VBTS sensor manufactured using this technique, focusing on its tactile reconstruction capabilities. Experimental results demonstrate that the monolithic manufacturing technique enhances VBTS production efficiency significantly. Also, the fabricated C-Sight sensor exhibits its reliable tactile perception and reconstruction capabilities, proofing the validity and feasibility of the monolithic manufacturing method.

Typical loess generally shows the property of strong seismic subsidence due to its special microstructure characteristics. Fuping County which is located in the connection zone of Weihe Basin and Ordos Platform possesses complex seismic tectonic settings, high seismic fortification intensity, and widely distributed loess strata. Consequently, the risk of loess seismic subsidence is relatively high for the loess site of the region. In this paper, the regions of Fuping City and Fuping-Yanliang new area were chosen as the study area. The technical methods, such as data collection, field investigation, laboratory test, and theoretical analysis, were adopted to determine the seismic geological conditions of the region. The ground motion parameters with different transcendental probability levels were obtained by adopting the probability analysis method of seismic risk. The seismic subsidence properties of loess from various landforms and strata were studied based on a large number of dynamic triaxial tests. On this basis, Evaluate the seismic subsidence of loess sites under strong earthquakes in Fuping County. Under the condition of a probability of exceeding 10% in 50 years, mild and moderate seismic subsidence areas in the study area are distributed in the Fuyuan and Weihe secondary terraces. Under the condition of a probability of exceeding 2% in 50 years, the mild and moderate loess seismic subsidence areas in the study area are mainly distributed in the third to fourth level terraces of the Shichuan River, the floating plateau, and the second level terraces of the Wei River. Severe seismic subsidence areas are mainly distributed in the second level terraces of the Weihe River, the third to fourth level terraces of the Shichuan River, and the floating plateau. Based on the seismic subsidence level, the loess seismic subsidence sub regions of the study area were given at the 10% and 2% probability of exceedance in 50 years. Attention should be paid to this part of potential earthquake geological disaster in the design of prevention and foundation.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the advanced stage of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is distinguished by the accumulation of fat in the liver, damage to liver cells, and inflammation. Chaihu Shugan powder (CSP), a renowned traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) blend extensively utilized in China to address liver disease, has demonstrated its efficacy in reducing lipid buildup and effectively combating inflammation. Hence, the primary objective of this research is to examine the impacts and possible mechanisms of CSP on NASH through assessments of liver histopathology, lipidomic analysis, and gene expression. To induce a mouse model of NASH, we employed a diet which deficient in methionine and choline, known as methionine–choline deficient (MCD) diet. Initially, we examined the impact of administering CSP to NASH mice by assessing the levels of serum and liver indicators. We found that CSP was able to reduce lipid buildup and inflammation in mice. In addition, a total of 1009 genes exhibited enrichment in both the autophagy and ferroptosis pathways. The liver protein levels of Adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase–mammalian target of rapamycin (AMPK–mTOR)-mediated autophagy and ferroptosis markers, such as p-AMPKα/AMPKα, p-mTOR/mTOR, Beclin-1, microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 gamma (LC3), p62 (sequestosome 1 [SQSTM1/p62]), Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1), nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf-2), ferritin heavy chain 1 (FTH1), and glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4), were restored by CSP. Furthermore, our findings indicated that the suppression of autophagy had a repressive impact on the occurrence of ferroptosis in the mouse model, indicating that autophagy activation likely plays a role in mediating ferroptosis in NASH.

BackgroundThere are many similarities in the clinical manifestations of human norovirus and SARS-CoV-2 infections, and nucleic acid detection is the gold standard for diagnosing both diseases. In order to expedite the identification of norovirus and SARS-CoV-2, a quantitative one-step triplex reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) method was designed in this paper.MethodsA one-step triplex RT-qPCR assay was developed for simultaneous detection and differentiation of human norovirus GI (NoV-GI), GII (NoV-GII) and SARS-CoV-2 from fecal specimens.ResultsThe triplex RT-qPCR assay had high detection reproducibility (CV

BackgroundTo evaluate risk factors and further develop prediction models for intraocular pressure elevation (IOP) after vitreoretinal surgery with silicone oil tamponade to support clinical management.MethodsA retrospective study analyzed 1,061 eyes of 1,061 consecutive patients that presented to the Jiangsu Province Hospital between December 2015 and December 2020, the IOP was measured from the preoperative visit and at the 1-week, 1-month, 3-month, and 6-month visits, and the final postoperative visit before silicone oil removal. Four machine learning methods were used to carried out the prediction of IOP elevation: Decision Tree, Logistic Regression, Random Forest, and Gradient-Boosted Decision Trees (GBDT) based on features including demographic and clinical characteristics, preoperative factors and surgical factors. Predictors were selected based on the p-value of the univariate analysis.ResultsElevated intraocular pressure developed in 26.01% of the eyes postoperatively. Elevated intraocular pressure primarily occurred within 1–2 weeks after surgery. Additionally, the majority of IOP values were distributed around 25–40 mmHg. GBDT utilizing features with p-values less than 0.5 from the hypothesis testing demonstrated the best predictive performance for 0.7944 in accuracy. The analysis revealed that age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, myopia, retinal detachment, lens status and biological parameters have predictive value.ConclusionAge, sex, hypertension, diabetes, myopia, retinal detachment, lens status and biological parameters have influence on postoperative intraocular pressure elevation for patients with silicone oil tamponade after pars plana vitrectomy. The prediction model showed promising accuracy for the occurrence of IOP elevation. This may have some reference significance for reducing the incidence of high intraocular pressure after pars plana vitrectomy combined with silicone oil filling.

Abstract Background Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a serious side effect of chemotherapy with poorly understood mechanisms and few treatments. High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1)-induced neuroinflammation is the main cause of CIPN. Here, we aimed to illustrate the role of the macrophage scavenger receptor A1 (SR-A1) in HMGB1 clearance and CIPN resolution. Methods Oxaliplatin (L-OHP) was used to establish a CIPN model. Recombinant HMGB1 (rHMGB1) (his tag) was used to evaluate the phagocytosis of HMGB1 by macrophages. Results In the clinic, HMGB1 expression and MMP-9 activity were increased in the plasma of patients with CIPN. Plasma HMGB1 expression was positively correlated with the cumulative dose of L-OHP and the visual analog scale. In vitro, engulfment and degradation of rHMGB1 increased and inflammatory factor expression decreased after AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation. Neutralizing antibodies, inhibitors, or knockout of SR-A1 abolished the effects of AMPK activation on rHMGB1 engulfment. In vivo, AMPK activation increased SR-A1 expression in the dorsal root ganglion, decreased plasma HMGB1 expression and MMP-9 activity, and attenuated CIPN, which was abolished by AMPK inhibition or SR-A1 knockout in the CIPN mice model. Conclusion Activation of the AMPK/SR-A1 axis alleviated CIPN by increasing macrophage-mediated HMGB1 engulfment and degradation. Therefore, promoting HMGB1 clearance may be a potential treatment strategy for CIPN. Video abstract

The anthropogenic climate crisis results in the gradual loss of tree species in locations where they were previously able to grow. This leads to increasing workloads and requirements for foresters and arborists as they are forced to restructure their forests and city parks. The advancements in computer vision (CV)—especially in supervised deep learning (DL)—can help cope with these new tasks. However, they rely on large, carefully annotated datasets to produce good and generalizable models. This paper presents BAMFORESTS: a dataset with 27,160 individually delineated tree crowns in 105 ha of very-high-resolution UAV imagery gathered with two different sensors from two drones. BAMFORESTS covers four areas of coniferous, mixed, and deciduous forests and city parks. The labels contain instance segmentations of individual trees, and the proposed splits are balanced by tree species and vitality. Furthermore, the dataset contains the corrected digital surface model (DSM), representing tree heights. BAMFORESTS is annotated in the COCO format and is especially suited for training deep neural networks (DNNs) to solve instance segmentation tasks. BAMFORESTS was created in the BaKIM project and is freely available under the CC BY 4.0 license.

Accurate estimation of above-ground biomass (AGB) in forested areas is essential for studying forest ecological functions, surface carbon cycling, and global carbon balance. Over the past decade, models that harness the distinct features of multi-source remote sensing observations for estimating AGB have gained significant popularity. It is worth exploring the differences in model performance by using simple and fused data. Additionally, quantitative estimation of the impact of high-cost laser point clouds on satellite imagery of varying costs remains largely unexplored. To address these challenges, model performance and cost must be considered comprehensively. We propose a comprehensive assessment based on three perspectives (i.e., performance, potential and limitations) for four typical AGB-estimation models. First, different variables are extracted from the multi-source and multi-resolution data. Subsequently, the performance of four regression methods is tested for AGB estimation with diverse indicator combinations. Experimental results prove that the combination of multi-source data provides a highly accurate AGB regression model. The proposed regression and variables rating approaches can flexibly integrate other data sources for modeling. Furthermore, the data cost is discussed against the AGB model performance. Our study demonstrates the potential of using low-cost satellite data to provide a rough AGB estimation for larger areas, which can allow different remote sensing data to meet different needs of forest management decisions.

IntroductionCaries are at the forefront of childhood diseases. Although childhood caries is usually not life-threatening, it can affect children's dental–maxillofacial development and mental health and place significant financial and psychological burdens on parents. As the focus of childhood dental caries shifts to early diagnosis and prevention rather than restorative dentistry alone, screening children at a high risk of dental caries is urgent. Appropriate caries prevention measures and treatment sequences can effectively reduce the occurrence and development of dental caries in children.CaseWe report the case of a 7-year-old boy presenting with a high risk of dental caries involving multiple primary teeth and premature eruption of the permanent teeth. We shifted the caries status of the child from high to moderate likelihood. At the 9-month post-treatment follow-up, the patient had no new dental caries, and the length and width of the dental arch were effectively maintained.ConclusionOral health education, dental plaque removal in a regular basis, and fluoride application contribute to caries management.

Opioids, such as morphine, are the most potent drugs used to treat pain. Long-term use results in high tolerance to morphine. High mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) has been shown to participate in neuropathic or inflammatory pain, but its role in morphine tolerance is unclear. In this study, we established rat and mouse models of morphine tolerance by intrathecal injection of morphine for 7 consecutive days. We found that morphine induced rat spinal cord neurons to release a large amount of HMGB1. HMGB1 regulated nuclear factor κB p65 phosphorylation and interleukin-1β production by increasing Toll-like receptor 4 receptor expression in microglia, thereby inducing morphine tolerance. Glycyrrhizin, an HMGB1 inhibitor, markedly attenuated chronic morphine tolerance in the mouse model. Finally, compound C (adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase inhibitor) and zinc protoporphyrin (heme oxygenase-1 inhibitor) alleviated the morphine-induced release of HMGB1 and reduced nuclear factor κB p65 phosphorylation and interleukin-1β production in a mouse model of morphine tolerance and an SH-SY5Y cell model of morphine tolerance, and alleviated morphine tolerance in the mouse model. These findings suggest that morphine induces HMGB1 release via the adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase/heme oxygenase-1 signaling pathway, and that inhibiting this signaling pathway can effectively reduce morphine tolerance.

Abstract Cognitive impairment is a prevalent neurological disorder that burdens families and the healthcare system. Current conventional therapies for cognitive impairment, such as cholinesterase inhibitors and N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonists, are unable to completely stop or reverse the progression of the disease. Also, these medicines may cause serious problems with the digestive system, cardiovascular system, and sleep. Clinically, stimulation of acupoints has the potential to ameliorate the common symptoms of a variety of cognitive disorders, such as memory deficit, language dysfunction, executive dysfunction, reduced ability to live independently, etc. There are common acupoint stimulation mechanisms for treating various types of cognitive impairment, but few systematic analyses of the underlying mechanisms in this domain have been performed. This study comprehensively reviewed the basic research from the last 20 years and found that acupoint stimulation can effectively improve the spatial learning and memory of animals. The common mechanism may be that acupoint stimulation protects hippocampal neurons by preventing apoptosis and scavenging toxic proteins. Additionally, acupoint stimulation has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, promoting neural regeneration, regulating synaptic plasticity, and normalizing neural circuits by restoring brain functional activity and connectivity. Acupoint stimulation also inhibits the production of amyloid β-peptide and the phosphorylation of Tau protein, suggesting that it may protect neurons by promoting correct protein folding and regulating the degradation of toxic proteins via the autophagy-lysosomal pathway. However, the benefits of acupoint stimulation still need to be further explored in more high-quality studies in the future.

Loess is a typical soil with collapsibility featured with strength reduction under wetting and disasters induced by disturbance. Recognizing the mechanism of loess collapse is urgent demand for solving geological disasters and engineering problems. This paper reviews the achievements related to collapsible mechanism in micro-level, and summarizes the research progress. The Malan loess in Yan’an New District is taken as an example, and the collapsible mechanism is analyzed and discussed. The results show that (1) loess microstructure feature can answer the question of “how loess collapse”, while components, properties and bonding modes of cementations as well as forces among particles can explain “why loess collapse”. (2) The pores larger than 23 μm provide main space for collapse of the Malan loess in Yan’an New District, and the hydration swelling of clay cementation is one of the main causes for particle movement and collapse. (3) However, research on collapse mechanism is still unclear, some collapse behavior cannot be fully explained. The research interests related to collapsible mechanism are also suggested in this study. It is considered that microstructure characterization in 3D space is the basis of loess microstructure research. Dynamic observation of microstructure with high resolution under loading and wetting, and detail investigation of the components and properties of cementations as well as the bonding modes, are effective ways to interpret “how loess collapse” and “why loess collapse”. (4) The database of various types of loess containing all micro information should be established to definite the influence of single factor on collapse behavior, via mathematical analysis and artificial intelligence. The theoretical model involving major factors should be simultaneously established to predict collapse behavior under different conditions. This work will be of great theoretical and practical significance to interpret loess collapse mechanism and establish quantitative relationship between micro factors and macro behaviors.

Mineral types form the basis for studying the structural stability of loess, and identifying mineral types at the microscopic scale has always been a difficult task. Identifying mineral types at the microscopic scale is very helpful in understanding the differential role that different minerals play in the structural stability of loess, and it can also clarify the specific mineral changes that occur during the process of humidification and dehumidification. Using an innovative energy spectrum superposition method, this article combines backscattered electron imaging and X-ray energy spectrum analysis results to achieve direct identification of the eight main minerals in loess, including quartz, illite, and chlorite, within SEM images. The mineral identification results provide a basis for statistical analysis of mineral water sensitivity and morphological changes under wetting conditions. The results demonstrate that chlorite and hematite, which account for no more than 23% of the loess composition, play a crucial role in binding. Furthermore, these minerals exhibit significant hydrolysis phenomena. Particularly, the intense decomposition of chlorite leads to the displacement of non-binding quartz and feldspar particles, thereby altering the pore structure of loess. These findings are of great significance in understanding the multi-level collapsibility of loess.

Working remotely at least some of the time has long been seen as promoting a better integration of work and care obligations, even though prepandemic research is mixed as to the extent to which parents benefit emotionally from remote work. We exploit dual social experiments in schooling and work spawned by the COVID-19 pandemic to understand any stress-reducing effects of working from home under different school-closing state policy contexts. The pandemic led to an unprecedented shift to (and subsequent away from) remote and hybrid work but also to the implementation of various containment policies, most notably school closures driving a shift to remote learning that were put into effect to different degrees across U.S. states. Drawing on parents’ data from a U.S. nationally representative panel survey of workers who spent at least some time working from home since the pandemic onset, we use mixed-effects models to examine whether and in what ways cross-state and over-time variations in school closure policies shape any stress-reducing impacts of remote/hybrid work. Results show that when schools were not mandated to close, remote/hybrid work largely reduces parents’—especially mothers’—stress. However, an opposite pattern emerges in the face of closing mandates. These patterns are especially pronounced among white mothers and are not observed among nonparents.

Abstract Background Exosomes are recognized as effective platforms for targeted delivery for their high physicochemical stability and biocompatibility. However, most of the exosomes are inevitably and rapidly cleared by mononuclear phagocytic system (MPS) during cancer therapy. How to engineer exosome to enhance the delivery efficiency is being intensively explored. In this study, we have constructed mPEG2000-TK-CP05 decorated exosomes as effective delivery platforms to achieve enhanced photodynamic/chemical cancer therapy. Results Exosomes were coated with CP05-TK-mPEG2000, in which CP05 is a peptide with high affinity to exosomal CD63 and TK could be cleaved by ROS. The resulted exosomes, namely stealth Exo, were electroporated to load RB (photosensitizer Rose Bengal) and Dox (Doxorubicin). We verified that the Stealth Exo@RB (Stealth Exo additionally loaded with RB) could escape MPS while accumulate in the tumor region efficiently in the xenograft model when laser irradiation conducted locally. Additionally, we revealed that the Stealth Exo serves as an efficient platform for Dox delivery. Dox, together with the RB mediated photodynamic therapy induce tumor cell damage synergistically in the tumor region. Moreover, the proposed switchable stealth exosomes minimized the dose of toxic Dox and thus allowed robust tumor immune response. Conclusions Our results indicated that the proposed Stealth Exo greatly improves both the accessibility and efficiency of drug delivery, with minimal chemical or genetic engineering. The proposed Stealth Exo serve as a promising and powerful drug delivery nanoplatform in cancer treatment.

This paper proposes a joint design method to optimize the transmit waveforms and receive filter bank in Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) structure ensuring spectral compatibility with the surrounding communication service network. Considering the signal-dependent clutter interference, under the constraints of transmission energy, waveform similarity and spectrum compatibility, the formulated optimization problem of the output Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR) maximization is NP-hard. Toward this end, an auxiliary variable is first introduced to modify the original problem, and then a primal-dual algorithm based on the Alternating Block Successive Upper-bound Minimization (ABSUM) method is developed to deal with the resulting problem. Furthermore, an interior point method is used to handle the quadratic programming problem involved in each update procedure of the devised ABSUM method. Finally, numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method over state-of-the-art methods in terms of the optimized SINR, beampattern, computational complexity and ambiguity properties.

In this study, under the Peak-to-Average Power Ratio (PAPR), energy, and binary (for antenna position selection) constraints, we proposed an antenna position selection and beam scanning method for colocated Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) radar system using the min-max beampattern amplitude matching criterion. In our design, antenna positions and a set of probing waveforms were jointly determined to match a set of beampattern masks, and hence realize the beam scan. The resultant problem was large-scale, nonconvex, nonsmooth, and typical nondeterministic hard, because of the PAPR and nonconvex binary constraints, and the max and modulus operations in the objective function. To address these issues, we first transformed the min-max problem into the Iterative weighted Least Squares (ILS) problem using the Lawson algorithm, replaced the nonsmooth nonconvex objective function with the convex majorization function, and finally applied the alternating direction method of multipliers to solve the majorized ILS problem. Finally, several numerical examples were given to show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

Objectives: This study aims to explore the influence of COVID-19 on undergraduate students’ academic performance, social life, and mental health during the pandemic’s early stage, and evaluate potential correlates of stress, anxiety, and depression in relation to COVID-19.Methods: Participant data was collected as part of a survey that consisted of demographic questions, a DASS-21 questionnaire, and an open-ended question. The final sample consisted of 1077 full-time students in the United States.Results: 19%, 20%, and 28% of participants met the cutoff for “severe” and “extremely severe” levels of stress, anxiety, and depression according to DASS-21. During COVID-19, a significant increase in hours of sleep, and decrease in hours spent on extracurriculars and studying were observed. While talking to family was significantly associated with stress, anxiety, and depression, engaging in hobbies was only associated with depression.Conclusion: With the continued spread of COVID-19, it is critical for universities to adapt to the mental health needs of their students. Future institutional advancements should create treatment programs to ensure better academic and social outcomes.

The Load Disaggregation (LD) is an optimizing problem. The actual operation states of the appliances would not serve as an optimal solution for a single-objective function, due to various noises as well as frequency interferences from the adjacent systems. In this paper, the LD model with a multi-objective function combines the appliance features at both macro and micro levels. This model contributes a good representation of the appliances from several viewpoints. Recognizing numerous appliances is carried out through five objective functions using apparent, active, and reactive powers, currents, and harmonics as the loads characteristic. The suggested problem is solved utilizing Moth-Flame Optimization (MFO) algorithm with several objectives for LD. Besides, it prevents tuning the weighted parameters and does not ignore the conflict among the objectives. In addition, the Factorial Hidden Markov Model (FHMM) is used to define the allowable modes of the appliances for the next second. It could be resorted to an objective–rank project to cope with the restraint on the number of appliances functioning concurrently. The efficiency of the suggested method for LD is shown by experimental outcomes and is compared with other methods. The results of various combinations of appliances features are evaluated by various evaluation metrics. It is presented that in more features, the results are more accurate. The results show that the accuracy of the proposed method is at least 20 % more than others.

Ischemic stroke is common in the elderly, and is one of the main causes of long-term disability worldwide. After ischemic stroke, spontaneous recovery and functional reconstruction take place. These processes are possible thanks to neuroplasticity, which involves neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, and angiogenesis. However, the repair of ischemic damage is not complete, and neurological deficits develop eventually. The WHO recommends acupuncture as an alternative and complementary method for the treatment of stroke. Moreover, clinical and experimental evidence has documented the potential of acupuncture to ameliorate ischemic stroke-induced neurological deficits, particularly sequelae such as dyskinesia, spasticity, cognitive impairment, and dysphagia. These effects are related to the ability of acupuncture to promote spontaneous neuroplasticity after ischemic stroke. Specifically, acupuncture can stimulate neurogenesis, activate axonal regeneration and sprouting, and improve the structure and function of synapses. These processes modify the neural network and function of the damaged brain area, producing the improvement of various skills and adaptability. Astrocytes and microglia may be involved in the regulation of neuroplasticity by acupuncture, such as by the production and release of a variety of neurotrophic factors, including brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF). Moreover, the evidence presented indicates that acupuncture promotes neuroplasticity by modulating the functional reconstruction of the whole brain after ischemia. Therefore, the promotion of neuroplasticity is expected to become a new target for acupuncture in the treatment of neurological deficits after ischemic stroke, and research into the mechanisms responsible for these actions will be of significant clinical value.

Abstract Acupuncture is used in the treatment of a variety of inflammatory conditions and diseases. However, the mechanisms of its anti-inflammatory action are complex and have not been systematically investigated. Macrophages are key components of the innate immune system, thus, balancing the M1/M2 macrophage ratio and modulating cytokine levels in the inflammatory environment may be desirable therapeutic goals. Evidence has shown that acupuncture has anti-inflammatory actions that affect multiple body systems, including the immune, locomotory, endocrine, nervous, digestive, and respiratory systems, by downregulating pro-inflammatory M1 and upregulating anti-inflammatory M2 macrophages, as well as by modulating associated cytokine secretion. Macrophage polarization is controlled by the interlocking pathways of extrinsic factors, the local tissue microenvironment, and the neural-endocrine-immune systems. It has been suggested that polarization of T lymphocytes and cytokine secretions resulting in modulation of the autonomic nervous system and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, may be upstream mechanisms of acupuncture-induced macrophage polarization. We further propose that macrophage polarization could be the principal pathway involved in acupuncture immune regulation and provide the scientific basis for the clinical application of acupuncture in inflammatory conditions.

Abstract Background Pathogenic variants of G-protein coupled receptor 143 (GPR143) gene often leads to ocular albinism type I (OA1) characterized by nystagmus, iris and fundus hypopigmentation, and foveal hypoplasia. In this study, we identified a novel hemizygous nonsense mutation in GPR143 that caused an atypical manifestation of OA1. Case presentation We reported a large Chinese family in which all affected individuals are afflicted with poor visual acuity and foveal hypoplasia without signs of nystagmus. Fundus examination of patients showed an absent foveal reflex and mild hypopigmentation. The fourth grade of foveal hypoplasia and the reduced area of blocked fluorescence at foveal region was detected in OCT. OCTA imaging showed the absence of foveal avascular zone. In addition, the amplitude of multifocal ERG was reduced in the central ring. Gene sequencing results revealed a novel hemizygous mutation (c.939G > A) in GPR143 gene, which triggered p.W313X. However, no iris depigmentation and nystagmus were observed among both patients and carriers. Conclusions In this study, we reported a novel nonsense mutation of GPR143 in a large family with poor visual acuity and isolated foveal hypoplasia without nystagmus, which further expanded the genetic mutation spectrum of GPR143.

Heavy metal ions, one of the major pollutants in the environment, exhibit non-degradable and bio-chain accumulation characteristics, seriously damage the environment, and threaten human health. Traditional heavy metal ion detection methods often require complex and expensive instruments, professional operation, tedious sample preparation, high requirements for laboratory conditions, and operator professionalism, and they cannot be widely used in the field for real-time and rapid detection. Therefore, developing portable, highly sensitive, selective, and economical sensors is necessary for the detection of toxic metal ions in the field. This paper presents portable sensing based on optical and electrochemical methods for the in situ detection of trace heavy metal ions. Progress in research on portable sensor devices based on fluorescence, colorimetric, portable surface Raman enhancement, plasmon resonance, and various electrical parameter analysis principles is highlighted, and the characteristics of the detection limits, linear detection ranges, and stability of the various sensing methods are analyzed. Accordingly, this review provides a reference for the design of portable heavy metal ion sensing.

Based on Web of Science database, 1240 papers retrieved from journals of shallow landslides from 1999-2019 were taken as samples, and CiteSpace was used to conduct bibliometric and visual analysis on the national / institutional, discipline / journal and high-frequency keywords in this field. The results show that: international cooperation in shallow landslides research is very common, and Italy occupies the core position in shallow landslides research. Both Italy National Research Council and Chinese Academy of Sciences play an important role in this field. GEOMORPHOLOGY and LANDSLIDES are representative journals of shallow landslide research. Hybrid model is the hot topic in the field of shallow landslide research.

Electric utilities deploy Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR) and Volt-VAR Optimization (VVO) programs to reduce energy consumption and peak demand by lowering the voltage on the distribution system. These programs offer a cost-effective way to improve system-wide energy efficiency and to provide benefits to customers. This paper focuses on conducting a comprehensive study, modeling, simulation, and comparison to identify the sensitivity of various CVR Measurement and Verification (M&V) methodologies to various data anomaly issues. A major challenge in evaluating the results of CVR M&V methodologies is the lack of benchmark load consumption measurement when CVR is active. Therefore, a benchmark test system is created in this paper to allow access to pre-CVR measurements and enable analyses on the impact of various data anomaly issues. This benchmark is created based on real utility data (considered as pre-CVR data), and through a detailed ZIP load modeling and post-CVR data generation. The studies show that a time-varying ZIP load model, accompanied by a constrained and bounded Sequential Least-Squares Quadratic Programming (SLSQP) method for parameter identification, is suitable for precise load modeling. In this paper, SCADA data is used as it shows higher accuracy in load modeling compared to its corresponding AMI data. Consequently, the sensitivity of multiple commonly used CVR M&V methodologies, including regression-based, comparison-based, and constant CVR factor, against data anomaly issues is examined using this benchmark system. The simulation results advocate that regardless of the methodologies utilized, data anomaly issues cause divergence of the results from their original values, however, with various degrees of sensitivity.

The ongoing efforts in grid modernization, which is accompanied by upgrading distribution grids through employment of advanced distribution grid technologies, further provide the necessary tools to employ Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR) and Volt-VAR Optimization (VVO) programs and ensure that the system is operating continuously at an optimized voltage. This paper provides an overview of CVR/VVO deployments by several electric utilities within the U.S. The paper looks at three major areas: (i) type of the initiative, including pilot, plan, program, study, and test case; (ii) year(s) of the application; and (iii) methodology used for CVR factor assessment. When available, a more detailed discussion on the initiative is provided. Based on the studied cases, it is concluded that majority of utilities use either a regression-based or a comparison-based method. The day-on/day-off approach is common within both methods in which CVR is applied every other day to generate CVR-on and CVR-off data that can be used for comparison and model fitting.

PurposeHepatitis B (HBV)-infected hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common cancers, and it has high incidence and mortality rates worldwide. The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma has been increasing in recent years, and existing treatment modalities do not significantly improve prognosis. Therefore, it is important to find a biomarker that can accurately predict prognosis.MethodsThis study was analyzed using the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and validated by the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) database. The STRING database was used to construct a gene co-expression network and visualize its functional clustering using Cytoscape. A prognostic signature model was constructed to observe high and low risk with prognosis, and independent prognostic factors for HBV-infected hepatocellular carcinoma were identified by Cox regression analysis. The independent prognostic factors were then analyzed for expression and survival, and their pathway enrichment was analyzed using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA).Results805 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained by differential analysis. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) showed that DEGs were mostly clustered in functional modules, such as cellular matrix response, cell differentiation, and tissue development. Prognostic characterization models showed that the high-risk group was associated with poor prognosis, while Cox regression analysis identified ASF1B as the only independent prognostic factor. As verified by expression and prognosis, ASF1B was highly expressed in HBV-infected hepatocellular carcinoma and led to a poor prognosis. GSEA showed that high ASF1B expression was involved in cell cycle-related signaling pathways.ConclusionBioinformatic analysis identified ASF1B as an independent prognostic factor in HBV-infected hepatocellular carcinoma, and its high expression led to a poor prognosis. Furthermore, it may promote hepatocellular carcinoma progression by affecting cell cycle-related signaling pathways.

Background. This study aimed to investigate the effect of limited foot and ankle mobility on the lateral stability of gait through the observation of the mediolateral margin of stability and related kinematic parameters. Methods. Thirty young, healthy participants walked at a fixed gait velocity on a level surface. Participants achieved different degrees of restricted mobility by wearing soft-soled shoes (S), an ankle-foot orthosis with unrestricted dorsiflexion-plantarflexion activity only (A), and an ankle-foot orthosis with unrestricted dorsiflexion-plantarflexion and adjustable horizontal rotation of the foot (OU/OR). Furthermore, the spatiotemporal parameters, mediolateral margin of stability, center of pressure, angle of the fore and hind foot relative to the tibia, and correlation coefficients of the factors were analyzed. Regression analysis was also performed. Results. At right heel strike, group A had a significantly lower mediolateral margin of stability than group S and group OU. Meanwhile, forefoot adduction (0.2

The shoulder line is fundamental to geomorphic evolution and erosion monitoring research on the Loess Plateau, which represents the boundary between positive terrain (intergully) and negative terrain (inner gully). The existing extraction methods mainly suffer the problems of unclear geological significance, poor landform application, and low efficiency of algorithms. This paper proposes a new loess shoulder line automatic extraction method, in which topographic feature points (ridge and valley points) were used as endpoints to generate continuous profiles, and two parameters, analysis operator size (L) and filter threshold (σ), were created for shoulder point extraction from each profile. This method can be applied to complex landforms such as the continuous shoulder lines of terraces and extracts. Herein, three typical areas on the Dongzhi Plateau were selected to assess the performance of the method, and a digital elevation model (DEM) with a resolution of 5 m was used as source data. The accuracy assessment index was the Euclidean distance offset percentage (EDOP), and the original evaluation method was improved based on Structure from Motion–Multiview Stereo (SfM-MVS) technology. The experimental results showed that the average accuracy of the proposed method in the three test areas reached 89.3%, which is higher than that of the multidirectional hill-shading and P-N methods. Via testing in different areas, it could be concluded that the extraction efficiency was less affected by the area of the test region, and the approach exhibited a suitable robustness. Simultaneously, the optimal values of parameters L and σ were examined. This study increases the possibility of accurate shoulder line extraction in the large area of the Loess Plateau.

Abstract Background Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is frequently used in gastrointestinal cancers (GIC), and pathological, radiological, and tumor marker responses are assessed during and after NAC. Aim To evaluate the relationship between pathologic, radiologic, tumor marker responses and recurrence‐free survival (RFS), overall survival (OS), adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) decisions, and the impact of changing to a different AC regimen after poor response to NAC. Methods and results Medical records of GIC patients treated with NAC at Mount Sinai between 1/2012 and 12/2018 were reviewed. One hundred fifty‐six patients (58.3% male, mean age 63 years) were identified. Primary tumor sites were: 43 (27.7%) pancreas, 62 (39.7%) gastroesophageal, and 51 (32.7%) colorectal. After NAC, 31 (19.9%) patients had favorable pathologic response (FPR; defined as College of American Pathologists [CAP] score 0–1). Of 107 patients with radiological data, 59 (55.1%) had an objective response, and of 113 patients with tumor marker data, 61 (54.0%) had a ≥50% reduction post NAC. FPR, but not radiographic or serological responses, was associated with improved RFS (HR 0.28; 95% CI 0.11–0.72) and OS (HR 0.13; 95% CI 0.2–0.94). Changing to a different AC regimen from initial NAC, among all patients and specifically among those with unfavorable pathological response (UPR; defined as CAP score 2–3) after NAC, was not associated with improved RFS or OS. Conclusions GIC patients with FPR after NAC experienced significant improvements in RFS and OS. Patients with UPR did not benefit from changing AC. Prospective studies to better understand the role of pathological response in AC decisions and outcomes in GIC patients are needed.

The seismic response is generally amplified significantly near the fault zone due to the influence of discontinuous interfaces and weak-broken geotechnical structures, which imposes a severe geologic hazard risk on the engineering crossing the fault. The Hanjiang to Weihe River Project (phase II) crosses many high seismic intensity regions and intersects with eight large-scale regional active faults. Seismic fortification of the pipelines across the fault zone is significant for the design and construction of the project. A large-scale vibration table test was adopted to investigate the seismic response and fault influences. The responses of accelerations, dynamic stresses, strains, and water pressures were obtained. The results show that the dynamic responses were amplified significantly by the fault zone and the hanging wall. The influence range of fault on acceleration response is approximately four times the fault width. The acceleration amplification ratio in the fault zone generally exceeds 1.35, even reaching 1.8, and the hanging wall amplification ratio is approximately 1.2. The dynamic soil pressure primarily depends on the acceleration distribution and is apparently influenced by pipeline location and model inhomogeneity. The pipeline is bent slightly along the axial direction, accompanied by expansion and shrinkage in the radial direction. The maximum tensile and compressive strains appear at the lower and upper pipeline boundaries near the middle section, respectively. Massive y-direction cracks developed in the soil, accompanied by slight seismic subsidence. The research findings could provide reasonable parameters for the seismic design and construction of the project.

Roadside trees are an important component of the urban ecosystem, and extracting their location based on a point cloud obtained through mobile laser scanning (MLS) is essential for the urban ecology, but remains challenging because of heavy occlusions, disturbance due to tree stake systems, and overlaps between furniture on the street and the crowns of trees. To overcome these limitations, this study proposes a confidence-guided method to extract roadside trees. First, pole-like objects are extracted from among the roadside objects, and the confidence with which they can be assumed to be tree trunks is estimated to guide the order of segmentation. Second, the optimized min-cut algorithm is applied to extract the trees by combining the constraints on confidence-based guidance and allometric growth. Third, the morphological parameters and living vegetation volume (LVV) are estimated at the level of individual trees. Finally, the proposed method was verified on four challenging datasets with different point densities, species of tree, planting densities, and occlusions. The results show that it is robust and effective, with a precision of 88.5% and recall of 92%, and is a useful tool for ecological assessment based on the LVV of urban streets.

The rainfall-induced landslide early warning model (LEWM) is an important means to mitigate property loss and casualties, but the conventional discriminant matrix-based LEWM (DLEWM) leaves room for subjectivity and limits warning accuracy. Additionally, it is important to employ appropriate indicators to evaluate warning model performance. In this study, a new method for calculating the spatiotemporal probability of rainfall-induced landslides based on a Bayesian approach is proposed, and a probabilistic-based LEWM (PLEWM) at the regional scale is developed. The method involves four steps: landslide spatial probability modeling, landslide temporal probability modeling, coupling of spatial and temporal probability models, and the conversion method from the spatiotemporal probability index to warning levels. Each step follows the law of probability and is tested with real data. At the same time, we propose the idea of using economic indicators to evaluate the performance of the multilevel LEWM and reflect its significant and unique aspects. The proposed PLEWM and the conventional DLEWM are used to conduct simulate warnings for the study area day-by-day in the rainy season (July-September) from 2016 to 2020. The results show that the areas of the 2nd-, 3rd-, and 4th-level warning zones issued by the PLEWM account for 60.23%, 45.99%, and 43.98% of those of the DLEWM, respectively. The investment in issuing warning information and the losses caused by landslides account for 54.54% and 59.06% of those of the DLEWM, respectively. Moreover, under extreme rainfall conditions, the correct warning rate of the PLEWM is much higher than that of the DLEWM.

The Richards equation has high plasticity and compatibility. Compared with other curve equations, it has higher applicability and accuracy in describing S-shaped curves. It can describe the changes in the initial growth stage, rapid growth stage, and stable growth stage of organisms well and reflect the slow-fast-slow change characteristics of growth. In this paper, the Richards model is introduced into the settlement deformation prediction of loess-filled foundation. Taking a high-loess fill site in northern Shaanxi Province as an example, continuous settlement deformation monitoring is carried out for the filling during the project operation period, and the settlement characteristics of a loess-filled foundation are studied using the monitoring results. It is considered that the settlement deformation curve of a loess-filled foundation has similar characteristics; that is, its deformation increases slowly in the early stage, rapidly in the middle stage, and is basically stable at a fixed value in the later stage. Its cumulative deformation time history curve is a smooth S-shaped curve, and the cumulative settlement increases with time and tends to converge. Analysis shows that the time history curves of cumulative settlement, the settlement deformation rate, and the acceleration of loess foundation filling are highly consistent with the Richards model. Compared with the modified exponential model and hyperbolic model, the predicted results are closer to the measured results; that is, the Richards growth model can be used to predict the settlement deformation of a fill foundation.

Inflammatory pain is caused by peripheral tissue injury and inflammation. Inflammation leads to peripheral sensitization, which may further cause central sensitization, resulting in chronic pain and progressive functional disability. Neuroimmune crosstalk plays an essential role in the development and maintenance of inflammatory pain. Studies in recent years have shown that acupuncture can exert anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects by regulating peripheral (i.e., involving local acupoints and inflamed regions) and central neuroimmune interactions. At the local acupoints, acupuncture can activate the TRPV1 and TRPV2 channels of mast cells, thereby promoting degranulation and the release of histamine, adenosine, and other immune mediators, which interact with receptors on nerve endings and initiate neuroimmune regulation. At sites of inflammation, acupuncture enables the recruitment of immune cells, causing the release of opioid peptides, while also exerting direct analgesic effects via nerve endings. Furthermore, acupuncture promotes the balance of immune cells and regulates the release of inflammatory factors, thereby reducing the stimulation of nociceptive receptors in peripheral organs. Acupuncture also alleviates peripheral neurogenic inflammation by inhibiting the release of substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide from the dorsal root ganglia. At the central nervous system level, acupuncture inhibits the crosstalk between glial cells and neurons by inhibiting the p38 MAPK, ERK, and JNK signaling pathways and regulating the release of inflammatory mediators. It also reduces the excitability of the pain pathway by reducing the release of excitatory neurotransmitters and promoting the release of inhibitory neurotransmitters from neurons and glial cells. In conclusion, the regulation of neuroimmune crosstalk at the peripheral and central levels mediates the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects of acupuncture on inflammatory pain in an integrated manner. These findings provide novel insights enabling the clinical application of acupuncture in the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Abstract Electric power grids are critical infrastructure for delivering energy from generation stations to load centers. To maximize utilization of assets, it is desirable to increase the power transferred over transmission systems. Reliable protection of transmission systems is essential for safeguarding the integrity and reliability of the power grid. Distance protection is the most widely used scheme for protecting transmission lines. Most existing protection systems use local measurements to make a decision while pilot protection is used in some circumstances. Distance protection may fail under stressed operating conditions, which could lead to cascading faults. This paper proposes a system integrity protection scheme by utilizing wide area measurements. The scheme partitions the system into subnetworks or protection zones and employs current measurements to derive a fault identification vector indicating the faulted zone. Then the fault location is pinpointed based on wide area measurements and network data. The proposed method is able to deal with multiple, simultaneous faults, and is applicable to both transposed and untransposed lines. Evaluation studies based on simulation studies are presented.

AIM: To evaluate the safety, quality and prospects of day-case cataract surgery performed in a Jiangsu public tertiary hospital METHODS: The general and clinical data for patients who underwent day-case cataract surgery between August 1, 2014 and December 31, 2016 at this hospital were collected. The incidences of intraoperative and postoperative complications, preoperative and postoperative best-corrected visual acuities (BCVAs), delayed discharge rate, rate of unplanned re-admission to hospital, and patient satisfaction were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 4151 patients received cataract phacoemulsification surgery to correct age-related, congenital, traumatic, or complicated cataracts. Of these, age-related cataracts were the most frequently occurring. Patient age ranged from 18 to 101y and the vast majority of patients were between 60 and 80 years old. Of the 4151 patients, 64.73% (2687/4151) had a systemic disease. The number of patients increased over the years, with the average number of patients per month being 90.4, 124.83, and 183.42 in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively. The average preoperative BCVA was 0.102±0.057 and average postoperative BCVAs at 1d, 1wk, and 1mo post-surgery were 0.453±0.264, 0.657±0.285, and 0.734±0.244, respectively. For intraoperative complications, 4.12% (171/4151) had posterior capsule rupture, 0.79% (33/4151) had iris or ciliary body injury, and 0.048% (2/4151) had suprachoroidal hemorrhage. For postoperative complications, 4.38% (182/4151) had cornea edema, 7.78% (323/4151) had intraocular hypertension, 0.096% (4/4151) had IOL toxicity syndrome, 0.28% (12/4151) had retained lens cortex, and 0.048% (2/4151) had hyphema. The delayed discharge rate was 0.82% (44/4151) and the unplanned re-admission to the hospital was 0 (0/4151). The patient satisfaction rate was 91.42% (3795/4151). CONCLUSION: Day-case cataract surgery is safe and effective with good prospects for development.

Neurosensory retinal detachment (NRD) is a separation of the neurosensory retina from the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) because of the subretinal fluid that can result in significant vision loss. The detachment of the neurosensory retina is known to alter the topology as well as the intensity continuity of the retinal layers. This nature of NRD makes the layer segmentation of NRD affected eyes difficult. In this paper, we presented a fully automated three-dimensional (3D) method to segment the retinal layers and NRD associated subretinal fluid from a spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) image. The proposed method has three phases, including a prior information model; an NRD associated subretinal fluid segmentation; and layer segmentation. The graph search and graph cut techniques were employed to segment the retinal layers and NRD associated sub-retinal fluid, respectively. To reduce the computational cost of graph-based optimization, the `divide and merge' approach was introduced. The experiment shows that while maintaining the segmentation accuracy, the `divide and merge' approach considerably decreases the computational cost. Our method was evaluated on 20 SD-OCT cubes diagnosed with NRD, and the results were compared with the manual segmentation results from experts. The layer evaluation showed an overall absolute surface position difference of 6.34 ± 2.6μm, which is comparable with the inter-expert variability of 6.39 ± 5.9 μm. The segmentation result of the NRD associated sub-retinal fluid was assessed in terms of the dice coefficient and achieved means of 90.78% and 92.04% in comparison to two experts.

The aim of this study is to provide a landslide susceptibility map of the Xunyang District of a mountainous terrain, at the southern part of the Qin-Ba Mountain Region, which has been highly exposed to widely distributed shallow landslides over the past few decades. The Weight of Evidence (WoE) method was adopted in this research considering both the presence of a certain landslide causative factor class and the absence of remaining classes, which was used for determining a clearly spatial correlation between a landslide occurrence and the causative factors. Intrinsic factors, including geomorphological factors, geological factors, and river flow networks, and external factors of anthropogenic engineering activities in terms of density of road network were all considered and involved in the Geological Information System (GIS) environment for reconstructing the thematic layers of factor dataset. Significant assumptions prior to the analysis were emphasized to ensure conditional independence between each pair of factors for this bivariate statistical approach. In addition, a detailed landslide inventory map was constructed through field investigation and a remote sensing interpretation process at a scale of 1:50000. The thematic layers and landslide map were overlapped to obtain a spatial statistical relationship by using the frequency ratio method. At last, the validation process for the derived susceptibility map was conducted by applying the ROC curve, indicating that more than 90% of the landslides were in categories of high and moderate susceptibility zones. The causative factor classes, including the slope angles ranging from 20 to 40°, strong weathered and fractured strata, and road network density were identified to considerably influence the landslide distribution in the study area. The results have proven to be significantly meaningful for landslide hazard risk mitigation and land use management for the local authorities responsible for these fields.