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Abstract Objectives Improved breast cancer (BC) outcomes highlight the importance of secondary primary cancers (SPCs) on survivor prognosis. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential genetic association between primary BC and ovarian cancer (OC), laying the groundwork for the development of preventive strategies for SPC-OC following BC surgery. Methods This study aimed to assess the connection between BC and OC using a two sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach, exclusively employing aggregate level data from publicly available genome wide association studies (GWASs). Finally, the Genetic Risk Scores (GRS) method was used for secondary analysis to verify the results robustness further. Results The IVW method revealed a genetic correlation between Overall BC and ER + BC with Serous borderline tumors, while ER-BC exhibited genetic correlation with Mucinous borderline tumors and high-grade serous ovarian cancer. The findings from the GRS method aligned with those of the primary analysis, reinforcing the study's robustness. Conclusion Our MR Study identifies an association between BC and OC, highlighting the importance of increased vigilance in clinical practice for individuals with a history of BC. Timely intervention and treatment measures should be taken when necessary.

Abstract Objective To evaluate the effect of the contrast-enhancement-boost (CE-boost) postprocessing technique on improving the image quality of obese patients in computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) compared to hybrid iterative reconstruction (HIR) and model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) algorithms. Methods This prospective study was conducted on 100 patients who underwent CTPA for suspected pulmonary embolism. Non-obese patients with a body mass index (BMI) under 25 were designated as group 1, while obese patients (group 2) had a BMI exceeding 25. The CE-boost images were generated by subtracting non-contrast HIR images from contrast-enhanced HIR images to improve the visibility of pulmonary arteries further. The CT value, image noise, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were quantitatively assessed. Two chest radiologists independently reviewed the CT images (5, best; 1, worst) across three subjective characteristics including diagnostic confidence, subjective image noise, and vascular contrast. The Friedman test and Dunn-Bonferroni correction were used for statistical analysis. Results The CE-boost had significantly higher CT values than HIR and MBIR in both groups (all p

Background and objective: The multi-targets and multi-components of Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) coincide with the complex pathogenesis of depression. Zhi-Zi-Hou-Pu Decoction (ZZHPD) has been approved in clinical medication with good antidepression effects for centuries, while the mechanisms under the iceberg haven't been addressed systematically. This study explored its inner active ingredients - potent pharmacological mechanism - DDI to explore more comprehensively and deeply understanding of the complicated TCM in treatment. Methods: This research utilized network pharmacology combined with molecular docking to identify pharmacological targets and molecular interactions between ZZHPD and depression. Verification of major active compounds was conducted through UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS and assays on LPS-induced neuroblastoma cells. Additionally, the DDIMDL model, a deep learning-based approach, was used to predict DDIs, focusing on serum concentration, metabolism, effectiveness, and adverse reactions. Results: The antidepressant mechanisms of ZZHPD involve the serotonergic synapse, neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, and dopaminergic synapse signaling pathways. Eighteen active compounds were identified, with honokiol and eriocitrin significantly modulating neuronal inflammation and promoting differentiation of neuroimmune cells through genes like COMT, PI3KCA, PTPN11, and MAPK1. DDI predictions indicated that eriocitrin's serum concentration increases when combined with hesperidin, while hesperetin's metabolism decreases with certain flavonoids. These findings provide crucial insights into the nervous system's effectiveness and potential cardiovascular or nervous system adverse reactions from core compound combinations. Conclusions: This study provides insights into the TCM interpretation, drug compatibility or combined medication for further clinical application or potential drug pairs with a cost-effective method of integrated network pharmacology and deep learning.

BackgroundTelemedicine has demonstrated efficacy as a supplement to traditional in-person care when treating certain diseases. Nevertheless, more investigation is needed to comprehensively assess its potential as an alternative to in-person care and its influence on access to care. The successful treatment of short stature relies on timely and regular intervention, particularly in rural and economically disadvantaged regions where the disease is more prevalent. ObjectiveThis study evaluated the clinical outcomes, health-seeking behaviors, and cost of telemedicine integrated into care for children with short stature in China. MethodsOur study involved 1241 individuals diagnosed with short stature at the pediatric outpatient clinic of Peking University Third Hospital between 2012 and 2023. Patients were divided into in-person care (IPC; 1183 patients receiving only in-person care) and telemedicine integrated care (TIC; 58 patients receiving both in-person and virtual care) groups. For both groups, the initial 71.43% (average of 58 percentages, with each percentage representing the ratio of patients in the treatment group) of visits were categorized into the pretelemedicine phase. We used propensity score matching to select individuals with similar baseline conditions. We used 7 variables such as age, gender, and medical insurance for the 1:5 closest neighbor match. Eventually, 115 patients in the IPC group and 54 patients in the TIC group were selected. The primary clinical outcome was the change in the standard height percentage. Health-seeking behavior was described by visit intervals in the pre- and post-telemedicine phases. The cost analysis compared costs both between different groups and between different visit modalities of the TIC group in the post-telemedicine phase. ResultsIn terms of clinical effectiveness, we demonstrated that the increase in height among the TIC group (ΔzTIC=0.74) was more substantial than that for the IPC group (ΔzIPC=0.51, P=.01; paired t test), while no unfavorable changes in other endpoints such as BMI or insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) levels were observed. As for health-seeking behaviors, the results showed that, during the post-telemedicine phase, the IPC group had a visit interval of 71.08 (IQR 50.75-90.73) days, significantly longer than the prior period (51.25 [IQR 34.75-82.00] days, P

Technological innovation through various pathways is crucial for achieving carbon neutrality and peak carbon emissions. The Innovative City Pilot (ICP) initiative, a key effort to promote national innovation, has garnered increasing attention. However, most studies have not examined the effects of ICP on carbon emissions through diverse digital technologies. Using city-level data from 2000 to 2022, we constructed a staggered difference-in-differences (DID) model to analyze changes in carbon emissions before and after the ICP period in both ICP and non-ICP areas. The carbon emission reduction pathway of the ICP influences various forms of digital technology, which then empower local green product innovation, market-oriented innovation, and industrial innovation. The impact of ICP emission reduction through digital technology is more significant in western, first- and second-tier, sub-provincial, populous, and coastal cities. In conclusion, policymakers should tailor policies according to the action pathways of digital technology and specific city characteristics. We outline the specific pathways of green product innovation, market-oriented innovation, and industrial innovation enabled by digital technologies and provide policy recommendations for the sustainable development of China.

BackgroundThis study aimed to observe the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on cognitive function and thyroid hormone levels in early older stroke patients with low thyroid hormone levels, and to investigate the correlation between the changes in thyroid hormone levels and the improvements in cognitive function after stroke.MethodsForty older stroke patients who met the inclusion criteria were recruited and randomized into a magnetic-stimulation group (rTMS group) and a sham-stimulation group (Sham group). The rTMS group received low-frequency true stimulation and the Sham group received low-frequency sham stimulation. Patients’ cognitive scores, activity of daily living(ADL) scores, and their levels of triiodothyronine (T3), free triiodothyronine (FT3), thyroxin (T4), free thyroxine (FT4), and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were assessed before the intervention, after the 4-week intervention, and after an additional 4 weeks of follow-up; Repeated measurement analysis of variance was used to compare the changes of each index in the two groups at different times and the correlations between patiens’ cognitive function scores and their changing hormone levels were subsequently investigated.ResultsThirty-one patients were included in this study: 16 patients in rTMS group and 15 patients in the Sham group. Repeated-measures ANOVA showed that patients’ T3,FT3 and TSH levels tended to increase at 4-week intervention and at the follow up (p

An edible film using gellan gum, black rice anthocyanins, and titanium dioxide as raw materials were prepared. The effect of edible film on blueberries coating preservation was investigated. Firstly, scanning electron microscopy revealed that there were no obvious cracks or delamination in the cross sections of the gellan gum film (GG), gellan gum, and black rice anthocyanin, composite film (GG-BRA), and gellan gum, black rice anthocyanin, and titanium dioxide composite film (GG-BRA-TiO2). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy further showed that gellan gum was interacted with black rice anthocyanin and titanium dioxide through non covalent bond. The antibacterial experiment indicated that the GG-BRA-TiO2 composite film had a good antibacterial activity, in which size of the antibacterial circle for Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli and bread's yeast were 4.14, 2.77 and 3.55 (mm), respectively. Secondly, the composite film was used for the preservation of blueberries. The results showed that the GG-BRA and GG-BRA-TiO2 coating groups could slow down the rate of physicochemical properties changes during blueberry fruit storage. Among them, the preservation effect of GG-BRA-TiO2 composite film was better than that of GG-BRA composite film. After 10 days of storage, the weight loss rate, hardness, anthocyanins, total phenols, and the activity of polyphenol oxidase were decreased by 1.56%, 23.69%, 18.44%, 12.71%, and 14.00% compared to the control group, respectively. Therefore, GG-BRA-TiO2 composite film showed good water resistance and antibacterial properties and could be used as a promising coating and preservation material in food packaging.

Abstract Baicalein is a natural flavonoid abundant in various foods and dietary plants, including Tuber aestivum and Oroxylum indicum. In this study, we investigated the role of baicalein in enhancing the insulin‐sensitizing effect of metformin in mice with prediabetes. Baicalein, when combined with 25% of normal‐dose metformin, achieved a diabetes‐reversion rate of 80%, which was 1.86‐fold that of normal‐dose metformin. Mechanistically, baicalein enhanced the insulin‐sensitizing effect of metformin on lipid metabolism by inhibiting de novo lipogenesis through the AMP‐activated protein kinase/SREBP‐1c/FASN pathway and by inducing fatty‐acid β‐oxidation through the upregulation of ACSL1, CPT1A, EHHADH, and acyl‐CoA dehydrogenases (ACADL/ACADM/ACADS). Meanwhile, baicalein enhanced the insulin‐sensitizing effect of metformin via the modulation of the gut microenvironment by enriching probiotics, especially Akkermansia by 53.4‐fold, depleting opportunistic pathogens, and strengthening the intestinal barrier. The improved gut microenvironment led to the alleviation of chronic endotoxemia, as evidenced by decreased levels of lipopolysaccharide and proinflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, baicalein enhanced the effect of metformin on decreasing the circulating level of branched‐chain amino acids (BCAAs), which further improved insulin sensitivity by normalizing the mTORC1/p70S6K/IRS1 signaling pathway and de novo lipogenesis. Moreover, the role of baicalein in enhancing the insulin‐sensitizing effect of metformin was verified by an oleic acid‐induced steatosis model and a BCAA‐induced insulin resistance model in hepatocytes. Our study laid a theoretical foundation for developing baicalein into a dietary supplement for diabetes prevention. The diverse mechanisms of food‐derived flavonoids can be applied in the development of dietary supplements to enhance the efficacy of oral hyperglycemic agents currently used in clinics.

The thermal behavior of the cladding layer and the flow behavior of the molten pool significantly affect the geometry, temperature distribution and microstructure of the cladding track, thus affecting the mechanical properties of the cladding. Based on the interaction between the laser and powders, a calculation method of the cross-sectional area of the cladding track is proposed. The droplet energy method and the moving grid method are first combined to establish the surface growth model of the cladding track, to calculate the geometry of the cladding track. Then, the temperature field and flow field of the cladding track are studied. The driving forces of the molten pool flow including shear viscosity, gravity, buoyancy, surface tension at the gas-liquid boundary and pressure between liquids are considered to carry out the dynamics study of the molten pool. According to the force condition of the infinitesimal in the molten pool, the dynamic rules and boundary rules of the molten pool are established, so as to solve the flow field of the molten pool. In addition, the calculated geometry of the cladding track is compared with the experimental result to verify the accuracy of the model, and the microhardness of the cladding track is measured. The results show that the relative error between the simulation and the experiment is less than 6%, and the microhardness of the cladding layer is significantly improved. This work can provide a method for studying the morphology, temperature field, and flow field of laser cladding.

Abstract Background 99mTc radiolabeled nanobody NM-02 (99mTc-NM-02) is a novel single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) probe with a high affinity and specificity for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). In this study, a clinical imaging trial was conducted to investigate the relationship between 99mTc-NM-02 uptake and HER2 expression in patients with breast cancer. Methods Thirty patients with pathologically confirmed breast cancer were recruited and imaged with both 99mTc-NM-02 SPECT/computed tomography (CT) and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/CT. According to the treatment conditions before recruitment, patients were divided into two groups, the newly diagnosed group (n = 24) and the treated group (n = 6). The maximal standard uptake value (SUVmax) of 18F-FDG and SUVmax and mean SUV (SUVmean) of 99mTc-NM-02 in the lesions were determined to analyze the relationship with HER2 expression. Results No meaningful relationship was observed between 18F-FDG uptake and HER2 expression in 30 patients with breast cancer. 99mTc-NM-02 uptake was positively correlated with HER2 expression in the newly diagnosed group, but no correlation was observed in the treated group. 99mTc-NM-02 uptake in HER2-positive lesions was lower in those with effective HER2-targeted therapy compared with the newly diagnosed group. 99mTc-NM-02 SPECT/CT detected brain and bone metastases of breast cancer with a different imaging pattern from 18F-FDG PET/CT. 99mTc-NM-02 showed no non-specific uptake in inflamed tissues and revealed intra- and intertumoral HER2 heterogeneity by SPECT/CT imaging in 9 of the 30 patients with breast cancer. Conclusions 99mTc-NM-02 SPECT/CT has the potential for visualizing whole-body HER2 overexpression in untreated patients, making it a promising method for HER2 assessment in patients with breast cancer. Trial registration NCT04674722, Date of registration: December 19, 2020.

Aim: Chemotherapy has been well shown to enhance life expectancy in patients with malignancy. However, conventional chemotherapy drugs, particularly cisplatin, are highly associated with nephrotoxicity, which limits therapeutic efficacy and impairs quality of life. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are proteases that play significant roles in diseases by influencing protein post-translational modification and gene expression. Agents that inhibit HDAC enzymes have been developed and approved by the FDA as anticancer drugs. It is worth noting that in certain preclinical studies with tumour cell lines, the integration of HDAC modulators and cisplatin not only exerts synergistic or additive tumour-killing effects but also alleviates cisplatin nephrotoxicity. The aim of this review is to discuss the role of HDACs in cisplatin nephrotoxicity.Methods: After searching in PubMed and Web of Science databases using ‘Histone deacetylase’, ‘nephrotoxicity’, ‘cisplatin’, and ‘onconpehrology’ as keywords, studies related was compiled and examined.Results: HDAC inhibitors exert renal protective effects by inhibiting inflammation, apoptosis, oxidative stress, and promoting autophagy; whereas sirtuins play a renal protective role by regulating lipid metabolism, inhibiting inflammation and apoptosis, and protecting mitochondrial biosynthesis and mitochondrial dynamics. These potential interactions provide clues concerning targets for molecular treatment.Conclusion: This review encapsulates the function and molecular mechanisms of HDACs in cisplatin nephrotoxicity, providing the current view by which HDACs induce different biological signaling in the regulation of chemotherapy-associated renal injury. More importantly, this review exhaustively elucidates that HDACs could be targeted to develop a new therapeutic strategy in treating cisplatin nephrotoxicity, which will extend the knowledge of the biological impact and clinical implications of HDACs.

Introduction: Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) patients with lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and higher proteinuria are at a higher risk for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and their prognosis is still unclear. We aim to develop and validate prognostic models in IgAN patients with CKD stage 3 or 4 and proteinuria≥1.0 g/d. Methods: Patients who came from Xijing Hospital, spanning December 2008 to January 2020 were divided into training and test cohorts randomly, with a ratio of 7:3, achieving ESKD and death as study endpoints. Created prediction models for IgAN patients based on 66 clinical and pathological characteristics using the random survival forests (RSF), survival support vector machine (SSVM), eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGboost), and Cox regression models. The concordance index (C-index), integrated Brier scores (IBS), net reclassification index (NRI), and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) were used to evaluate discrimination, calibration, and risk classification respectively. Results: A total of 263 patients were enrolled. The median follow-up time was 57.3 months, with 124 (47.1%) patients experiencing combined events. Age, blood urea nitrogen, serum uric acid, serum potassium, glomeruli sclerosis ratio, hemoglobin, and tubular atrophy/interstitial fibrosis were identified as risk factors. The RSF model predicted the prognosis with a C-index of 0.871 (0.842, 0.900) in training cohort and 0.810 (0.732, 0.888) in test cohort, which was higher than the models built by SSVM model (0.794 (0.753, 0.835) and 0.805 (0.731, 0.879) respectively), XGboost model (0.840 (0.797, 0.883) and 0.799 (0.723, 0.875) respectively) and Cox regression (0.776 (0.727, 0.825) and 0.793 (0.713, 0.873) respectively). NRI and IDI showed that the RSF model exhibited superior performance than the Cox model. Conclusion: Our model introduced seven risk factors that may be useful in predicting the progression of IgAN patients with CKD stage 3 or 4 and proteinuria ≥1.0g/d. The RSF model is applicable for identifying the progression of IgAN and has outperformed than SSVM, XGboost, and Cox models.

Atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM2.5) can harm various systems in the human body. Due to limitations in the current understanding of epidemiology and toxicology, the disease types and pathogenic mechanisms induced by PM2.5 in various human systems remain unclear. In this study, the disease types induced by PM2.5 in the respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and female and male urogenital systems have been investigated and the pathogenic mechanisms identified at molecular level. The results reveal that PM2.5 is highly likely to induce pulmonary emphysema, reperfusion injury, malignant thyroid neoplasm, ovarian endometriosis, and nephritis in each of the above systems respectively. The most important co-existing gene, cellular component, biological process, molecular function, and pathway in the five systems targeted by PM2.5 are Fos proto-oncogene (FOS), extracellular matrix, urogenital system development, extracellular matrix structural constituent conferring tensile strength, and ferroptosis respectively. Differentially expressed genes that are significantly and uniquely targeted by PM2.5 in each system are BTG2 (respiratory), BIRC5 (circulatory), NFE2L2 (endocrine), TBK1 (female urogenital) and STAT1 (male urogenital). Important disease-related cellular components, biological processes, and molecular functions are specifically induced by PM2.5. For example, response to wounding, blood vessel morphogenesis, body morphogenesis, negative regulation of response to endoplasmic reticulum stress, and response to type I interferon are the top uniquely existing biological processes in each system respectively. PM2.5 mainly acts on key disease-related pathways such as the PD-L1 expression and PD-1 checkpoint pathway in cancer (respiratory), cell cycle (circulatory), apoptosis (endocrine), antigen processing and presentation (female urogenital), and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction (male urogenital). This study provides a novel analysis strategy for elucidating PM2.5-related disease types and is an important supplement to epidemiological investigation. It clarifies the risks of PM2.5 exposure, elucidates the pathogenic mechanisms, and provides scientific support for promoting the precise prevention and treatment of PM2.5-related diseases.

PBX1 is a transcription factor that can promote the occurrence of various tumors and play a reg-ulatory role in tumor growth, metastasis, invasion, and drug resistance. Furthermore, a variant generated by fusion of E2A and PBX1, E2A-PBX1, has been found in 25% of patients with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Thus, PBX1 is a potential therapeutic target for many cancers. Here, we describe the structure of PBX1 and E2A-PBX1 as well as the molecular mecha-nisms whereby these proteins promote tumorigenesis to provide future research directions for developing new treatments. We show that PBX1 and E2A-PBX1 induce the development of highly malignant and difficult-to-treat solid and blood tumors. The development of specific drugs against their targets may be a good therapeutic strategy for PBX1-related cancers. Furthermore, we strongly recommend E2A-PBX1 as one of the genes for prenatal screening to reduce the incidence of childhood hematological malignancies.

IntroductionRoad cracks significantly shorten the service life of roads. Manual detection methods are inefficient and costly. The YOLOv5 model has made some progress in road crack detection. However, issues arise when deployed on edge computing devices. The main problem is that edge computing devices are directly connected to sensors. This results in the collection of noisy, poor-quality data. This problem adds computational burden to the model, potentially impacting its accuracy. To address these issues, this paper proposes a novel road crack detection algorithm named EMG-YOLO.MethodsFirst, an Efficient Decoupled Header is introduced in YOLOv5 to optimize the head structure. This approach separates the classification task from the localization task. Each task can then focus on learning its most relevant features. This significantly reduces the model’s computational resources and time. It also achieves faster convergence rates. Second, the IOU loss function in the model is upgraded to the MPDIOU loss function. This function works by minimizing the top-left and bottom-right point distances between the predicted bounding box and the actual labeled bounding box. The MPDIOU loss function addresses the complex computation and high computational burden of the current YOLOv5 model. Finally, the GCC3 module replaces the traditional convolution. It performs global context modeling with the input feature map to obtain global context information. This enhances the model’s detection capabilities on edge computing devices.ResultsExperimental results show that the improved model has better performance in all parameter indicators compared to current mainstream algorithms. The EMG-YOLO model improves the accuracy of the YOLOv5 model by 2.7%. The mAP (0.5) and mAP (0.9) are improved by 2.9% and 0.9%, respectively. The new algorithm also outperforms the YOLOv5 model in complex environments on edge computing devices.DiscussionThe EMG-YOLO algorithm proposed in this paper effectively addresses the issues of poor data quality and high computational burden on edge computing devices. This is achieved through optimizing the model head structure, upgrading the loss function, and introducing global context modeling. Experimental results demonstrate significant improvements in both accuracy and efficiency, especially in complex environments. Future research can further optimize this algorithm and explore more lightweight and efficient object detection models for edge computing devices.

Cadmium (Cd) is a widespread environmental toxicant that poses significant threat to public health. After intake, Cd is distributed throughout the body via blood and lymphatic circulation. However, the effect of Cd on lymphatic vessels has not been revealed. In this study, mice were exposed to 10 μM cadmium chloride through drinking water immediately after corneal alkali burn. In vivo analyses showed that Cd treatment enhances the alkali burn-induced corneal lymphangiogenesis, which is characterized by increased expression of lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor 1 (LYVE-1), prospero-related homeobox 1 (PROX-1) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 (VEGFR3). In vitro, the proliferation and migration of human dermal lymphatic endothelial cells (HDLECs) are increased by 1 μM Cd treatment, while inhibited by 10 μM Cd treatment. At a concentration of 1 μM, Cd specifically induces phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), but has no effect on the MAPK, AKT, or NF-κB signaling pathway. In the presence of the STAT3 inhibitor STATTIC, Cd fails to induce HDLECs proliferation and migration. In addition, Cd upregulates VEGFR3 expression and its gene promoter activity in a STAT3-dependent manner. Our study suggests that low-dose Cd promotes lymphangiogenesis through activation of the STAT3 signaling pathway.

BackgroundQuorum sensing (QS) research stands as a pivotal and multifaceted domain within microbiology, holding profound implications across various scientific disciplines. This bibliometric analysis seeks to offer an extensive overview of QS research, covering the period from 2004 to 2023. It aims to elucidate the hotspots, trends, and the evolving dynamics within this research domain.MethodsWe conducted an exhaustive review of the literature, employing meticulous data curation from the Science Citation Index Extension (SCI-E) within the Web of Science (WOS) database. Subsequently, our survey delves into evolving publication trends, the constellation of influential authors and institutions, key journals shaping the discourse, global collaborative networks, and thematic hotspots that define the QS research field.ResultsThe findings demonstrate a consistent and growing interest in QS research throughout the years, encompassing a substantial dataset of 4,849 analyzed articles. Journals such as Frontiers in Microbiology have emerged as significant contributor to the QS literature, highlighting the increasing recognition of QS's importance across various research fields. Influential research in the realm of QS often centers on microbial communication, biofilm formation, and the development of QS inhibitors. Notably, leading countries engaged in QS research include the United States, China, and India. Moreover, the analysis identifies research focal points spanning diverse domains, including pharmacological properties, genetics and metabolic pathways, as well as physiological and signal transduction mechanisms, reaffirming the multidisciplinary character of QS research.ConclusionThis bibliometric exploration provides a panoramic overview of the current state of QS research. The data portrays a consistent trend of expansion and advancement within this domain, signaling numerous prospects for forthcoming research and development. Scholars and stakeholders engaged in the QS field can harness these findings to navigate the evolving terrain with precision and speed, thereby enhancing our comprehension and utilization of QS in various scientific and clinical domains.

For bottom-up bone tissue engineering, microcarriers play crucial roles in serving as scaffolds that provide structural support and environmental cues for cell growth. Studies have demonstrated that the physicochemical properties of microcarriers, such as surface structure and chemistry, have significant effects on cell phenotype. However, current research on microcarriers has primarily focused on hydrogels or polymers, neglecting the exploration of hard materials that mimic the bone tissue environment. In this study, a new facile method to fabricate magnetic calcium phosphate (CaP)-based microcarriers were presented. By this method, magnetic calcium phosphate was obtained without changing the surface nanostructure of CaP microspheres. These magnetic CaP microspheres were utilized as cell-adhesive microcarriers, allowing for cell-guided assembly into spherical microtissue under a relatively low number of cells. However, when using CaP microspheres as microcarriers, only loose aggregates were observed. To enhance the biofunctionality of the magnetic CaP microcarriers, bisphosphonate-modified growth differentiation factor-5 (PGDF-5) were synthesized and selectively deposited onto the magnetic CaP surfaces. Coculture with preosteoblastic cells demonstrated that PGDF-5 modified microcarriers effectively improved cell osteogenic differentiation and angiogenesis, thereby facilitating the formation of highly stable cell spheroids. Collectively, all findings suggest that PGDF-5 modified magnetic CaP microcarriers hold great potential as tools for fabricating bottom-up tissue engineered bone-mimicking tissue.

Abstract The abnormal lipid and glucose metabolisms are linked to the metabolic disorders, tumorigenesis, and fibrotic diseases, which attracts the increasing attention to find out the key molecules involved in the lipid and glucose metabolism as the possible therapeutic targets on these diseases. A transcriptional factor Twist1 has been associated with not only the embryonic development, cancer, and fibrotic diseases, but also the regulation of lipid and glucose metabolism. In this review, we will discuss the roles and mechanisms of Twist1 in the obesity-associated white adipose tissue inflammation and insulin resistance, brown adipose tissue metabolism, fatty acid oxidation, and glucose metabolism in skeletal muscle to provide a rational perspective to consider Twist1 as a potential treatment target in clinic. Video Abstract

Abstract A potential application, quantum diode based on the adiabatic pumping between two specific left and right edge modes, is explored in a one-dimensional cyclically modulated circuit quantum electrodynamic dimer mapped successfully to the paradigmatic Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model. The quantum diode is characterized by the presence of nonreciprocity in transport, which describes the one-way transfer between excitations at both boundary resonators of the lattice. We find that the quality of the quantum diode defined by fidelity can be improved by increasing the modulation amplitude, i.e., the one-way excitation transfer process becomes more and more pronounced with the increase of the modulation amplitude. By further modifying the cyclical modulation and optimizing the control function, we also realize a much faster one-way excitation transfer to accelerate the nonreciprocal transport in the quantum diode, where almost a threefold reduction in time spent can be achieved. Our work provides a distinct idea and insight for the application of the quantum transport in topological systems.

Light field 3D display technology is considered a revolutionary technology to address the critical visual fatigue issues in the existing 3D displays. Tabletop light field 3D display provides a brand-new display form that satisfies multi-user shared viewing and collaborative works, and it is poised to become a potential alternative to the traditional wall and portable display forms. However, a large radial viewing angle and correct radial perspective and parallax are still out of reach for most current tabletop light field 3D displays due to the limited amount of spatial information. To address the viewing angle and perspective issues, a novel integral imaging-based tabletop light field 3D display with a simple flat-panel structure is proposed and developed by applying a compound lens array, two spliced 8K liquid crystal display panels, and a light shaping diffuser screen. The compound lens array is designed to be composed of multiple three-piece compound lens units by employing a reverse design scheme, which greatly extends the radial viewing angle in the case of a limited amount of spatial information and balances other important 3D display parameters. The proposed display has a radial viewing angle of 68.7° in a large display size of 43.5 inches, which is larger than the conventional tabletop light field 3D displays. The radial perspective and parallax are correct, and high-resolution 3D images can be reproduced in large radial viewing positions. We envision that this proposed display opens up possibility for redefining the display forms of consumer electronics.

The 3D morphology of the joint surface significantly influences the shear behavior of the jointrock. Constant normal load (CNL) direct shear tests with different shear displacement were conducted to understand the shear stress changing with joint roughness and damage degree during shear. The rough joint specimens were prepared using 3D scanning and printing techniques, and shear tests with different normal stresses and shear displacements were performed. Four different parameters and the damaged area quantitatively described by the image binarization and box dimension were calculated and compared to study the roughness evolution of joint surfaces. The experimental results demonstrated that the roughness parameter and shear stress decrease and approach constant values with increasing shear displacement. A JRC degradation model was presented based on regression analyses to evaluate the JRC values of rock joints under various displacements to replace it in the JRC–JCS model. Additionally, a new postshear behavior modeling was proposed for rock joints based on surface degradation characteristics under various initial joint roughness coefficients (JRC0) and normal stress. The stress–displacement curves resulting from the proposed modified model work well in predicting the postpeak stress–displacement curve, which can prove the effectiveness of the postpeak shear behavior modeling.

Introduction and backgroundIntimate partner violence (IPV) and child malnutrition are global public health issues. Assessing the association between IPV and child anthropometric failures (stunting, underweight, and wasting) in 29 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries can provide significant global health solutions. Some studies have found an association between IPV against women and child malnutrition, but the conclusions are inconsistent. The physical and psychological conditions, living environment, and rights of the mother may be involved.MethodsWe collected and analyzed the Demographic and Health Surveys data (2010–2021) of 29 SSA countries. The main exposure variables were various types of IPV, classified as physical, sexual, and emotional violence. The outcome was the child’s development index, which can be roughly divided into stunting, wasting, and underweight. An adjusted binary logistic regression model was used to test the relationship between IPV and children’s nutritional status.ResultsA total of 186,138 children under 5 years of age were included in the analysis; 50,113 (27.1%) of the children were stunted, 11,329 (6.1%) were wasted, and 39,459 (21.3%) were underweight in all regions. The child’s gender, age, duration of breastfeeding, complementary feeding, and vitamin A supplements intake in the past 6 months were associated with their nutritional status (p 0.05).ConclusionIPV is positively associated with child stunting in SSA countries. Sexual violence showed a strong positive correlation with stunting. Wasting was unexpectedly negatively associated with IPV. There was no clear correlation between underweight and violence.

Background: The incidence of concurrent immunoglobulin A nephropathy and membranous nephropathy (cIgAN/MN) is low and rarely reported, and the prognosis of patients with cIgAN/MN remains unclear. This study was designed to compare the clinical and prognostic characteristics of cIgAN/MN with IgAN and MN and to identify crucial factors influencing the outcomes of patients with cIgAN/MN. Methods: We included biopsy-proven cIgAN/MN patients between December 2012 and December 2020 at Xijing Hospital. In the same period, propensity score matching was employed to select an equal number of IgAN and MN patients according to the following criteria: age, sex, and follow-up time. The primary endpoint was defined as a composite of eGFR decline ≥30 %, end-stage renal disease, or death. The patient survival rate was examined using Kaplan–Meier survival curves. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis models were utilized to identify the risk factors affecting renal prognosis. Results: A total of 135 patients were finally included in this study and 35 (25.9 %) reached the primary endpoint. The median follow-up time of cIgAN/MN was 45.9 (24.0, 72.0) months. Compared to the IgAN group, the cIgAN/MN group exhibited a lower cumulative incidence rate of composite renal endpoints (P = 0.044), while no significant difference was found between MN and cIgAN/MN patients (P = 0.211). Univariate Cox analysis revealed that mean arterial pressure, serum potassium, blood urea nitrogen, serum IgA, segmental glomerulosclerosis (S1), and MN staging were associated with an increased risk of renal composite endpoints. The multivariate Cox regression analysis of clinical variables plus histological lesion scoring demonstrated that potassium (HR = 14.350, 95 % CI 2.637–78.090, P = 0.002), serum IgA (HR = 1.870, 95 % CI 1.109–3.153, P = 0.019), and S1 (HR = 11.965, 95 % CI 2.166–66.105, P = 0.004) were independent risk factors influencing renal outcomes in cIgAN/MN patients. Conclusion: The prognosis of cIgAN/MN patients may exhibit an intermediate pattern between IgAN and MN, leaning towards being more similar to MN in certain aspects. Within the cIgAN/MN cohort, potassium, and serum IgA may be more predictive of rapid progression of renal endpoints, and S1 may indicate a more aggressive disease course.

Background Emerging evidence suggests that gut microbiota dysbiosis may play a critical role in the development of lupus nephritis (LN). However, the specific characteristics of the gut microbiota in individuals with LN have not been fully clarified.Methods The PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases were systematically searched for clinical and animal studies related to the relationship between LN and gut microbiota from inception until October 1, 2023. A semiquantitative analysis was used to assess the changes in gut microbial profiles.Results A total of 15 clinical studies were selected for analysis, which included 138 LN patients, 441 systemic lupus erythematosus patients, and 1526 healthy controls (HCs). Five different types of LN mouse models were included in 5 animal studies. The alpha diversity was decreased in LN patients compared to HCs. A significant decrease in the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes (F/B) ratio is considered a hallmark of pathological conditions. Specifically, alterations in the abundance of the phylum Proteobacteria, genera Streptococcus and Lactobacillus, and species Ruminococcus gnavus and Lactobacillus reuteri may play a critical role in the pathogenesis of LN. Remarkably, the gut taxonomic chain Bacteroidetes-Bacteroides-Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron was enriched in LN patients, which could be a crucial characteristic of LN patients. The increased level of interleukin-6, imbalance of regulatory T cells and T helper 17 cells, and decreased level of the intestinal tight junction proteins zonula occludens-1 and claudin-1 also might be related to the pathogenesis of LN.Conclusions Specific changes in the abundance of gut microbiota such as decreased F/B ratio, and the level of inflammatory indicators, and markers of intestinal barrier dysfunction may play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of LN. These factors could be effective diagnostic and potential therapeutic targets for LN.

Abstract It is important to explore the effective approaches to prevent dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In this study, significantly decreased full-field electroretinograms wave amplitudes and disordered retina structures were detected in rat retinas of sodium iodate induced dry AMD model. Six a- and b-wave amplitudes and the antioxidant activities were significantly increased, and the outer nuclear layer thickness was significantly improved in the rat retinas treated with the combination of Lactobacillus fermentum NS9 (LF) and aronia anthocyanidin extract (AAE) compared with the model. The effects were much better than the treatment with AAE alone. The proteomics analysis showed the expressions of α-, β- and γ-crystallins were increased by 3–8 folds in AAE treated alone and by 6–11 folds in AAE + LF treatment compared with the model, which was further confirmed by immuno-blotting analysis. Analysis of gut microbial composition indicated that higher abundance of the genus Parasutterella and species P. excrementihominis was found in the AAE + LF treatment compared with the other groups. The results indicated that the combined treatment of AAE + LF is a potential way to prevent the retina degeneration which is significantly better than the AAE treated alone.

Deep neural networks (DNNs) are reshaping many fields due to their end-to-end ability to learn directly from data, leading to outstanding performance, especially in image processing. However, their training requires large image datasets while image preparation can be expensive/time-consuming. If the underlying behavior can be formulated as spatial-dependent, we propose that every pixel from every image can be considered as a different data source, thus enabling a truly large pixel-based dataset with millions of elements (‘position-dependent input’), even when obtained from a few images. The approach is applied to helium focused ion beam nanofabrication, where the cross-section of the helium-damaged region essentially resembles that of a lightbulb, while close inspection reveals the presence of (i) an outer defective region in direct contact with the bulk substrate and (ii) an inner amorphous region filled with helium bubbles of gradually increasing size. Interestingly, the amorphous phase may swell upwards to form a protruding mesa, depending on the beam energy and dose, a feature that has resisted modeling so far. Through dedicated experiments on both Si and SiC substrates, and careful image analysis (segmentation), we describe the transformations that take place in the defective and amorphous regions with increasing energy and dose, and use the outlined position-dependent input together with a simple DNN of 4 hidden layers and 16 neurons per layer to describe all damage features realistically, inherently demonstrating generative behavior. This is the first time that any model predicts swelling satisfactorily. Generalization is surprisingly smooth and accurate.

Methylglyoxal-induced ROS elevation is the primary cause of neuronal damage. Metformin is a traditional hypoglycemic drug that has been reported to be beneficial to the nervous system. In this study, flavonoids were found to enhance the protective effect of metformin when added at a molar concentration of 0.5%. The structure–activity relationship (SAR) analysis indicated that ortho- substitution in the B ring, and the absence of double bonds between the 2 and 3 position combined with the gallate substitution with R configuration at the 3 position in the C ring played crucial roles in the synergistic effects, which could be beneficial for designing a combination of the compounds. Additionally, the mechanism study revealed that a typical flavonoid, EGCG, enhanced ROS scavenging and anti-apoptotic ability via the BCL2/Bax/Cyto C/Caspase-3 pathway, and synergistically inhibited the expression of GSK-3β, BACE-1, and APP in PC-12 cells when used in combination with metformin. The dose of metformin used in the combination was only 1/4 of the conventional dose when used alone. These results suggested that ROS-mediated apoptosis and the pathways related to amyloid plaques (Aβ) formation can be the targets for the synergistic neuroprotective effects of flavonoids and metformin.

To comprehensively investigate the evolution of the stress field, a three-dimensional thermodynamic model of laser cladding was developed in this paper. By analyzing the physical process and constructing a mathematical model, the temperature transfer and stress distribution were calculated. The simulation examined the evolution and distribution of stress at various scanning speeds, discussing the interplay between the temperature field and the stress field during rapid heating and cooling. Residual stress was measured through X-ray diffraction in experiments, and the crack distribution within the cladding layer was observed. The findings indicated that the stress values calculated from the simulation model aligned well with the experimental results. By combining experimental data, we conducted a qualitative analysis of the distribution of residual stresses and the trends of crack initiation, leading to the proposal of an optimized processing scheme that significantly enhances the quality and reliability of the cladding layer.

Background and objectives: The mortality rate for people with brain injuries is increased when hypernatremia is present. Patients with severe hypernatremia, who have a significant short-term mortality rate, were shown to benefit from continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH), which has been indicated to be successful. Exploring the risk factors for short-term mortality in brain injury patients who underwent CVVH and had severe hypernatremia was the aim of the current study. Materials and methods: Retrospective screening was performed on patients with brain injuries who underwent CVVH at Xijing Hospital between 1 December 2010 and 31 December 2021 and who have a diagnosis of severe hypernatremia. The outcomes included 28-day patient mortality and hospital stay duration. The patient survival rate was examined using the Kaplan-Meier survival curve. To determine the risk factors for short-term death for patients, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis models were used. Results: Our current study included a total of 83 individuals. The included patients had a median age of 49 (IQR 35–59) years. Of the included patients, 58 patients (69.9 %) died within 28 days. The median length of hospital stay for the patient was 13 (IQR 7–21) days. The APACHE II score, SOFA score, GCS, PLT count, INR, stroke, mechanical ventilation, and vasopressor reliance were related to 28-day mortality according to the univariate Cox analysis. INR (HR = 1.004, 95 % Cl: 1.001–1.006, P = 0.008), stroke (HR = 1.971, 95 % Cl: 1.031–3.768, P = 0.04), mechanical ventilation (HR = 3.948, 95 % Cl: 1.090–14.294, P = 0.036), and vasopressor dependency (HR = 2.262, 95 % Cl: 1.099–4.655, P = 0.027) were independently associated with the risk of 28-day death rates, according to multivariate Cox regression analysis. Conclusions: Brain injuries who have severe hypernatremia requires CVVH, which has high short-term patient mortality. Mechanical ventilation, INR increase, stroke, and vasopressor dependence are independently associated with increased patient mortality risk.

IntroductionImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) produce dramatic tumor shrinkage and durable responses in many advanced malignancies, but their use is limited by the development of immune-related adverse events (IRAEs) that occur in up to 60% of patients and often affect endocrine organs. Concern for more severe IRAEs in patients with preexisting autoimmune diseases, including type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), has led to the exclusion of such individuals from clinical trials of ICI therapy. As a result, little is known about the safety and efficacy of ICI in this population. Here, we report safety and treatments outcomes in ICI-treated patients with preexisting T1DM.MethodsThis retrospective case-controlled study evaluated adult patients with T1DM who received ICI therapy for solid malignancies from 2015 to 2021 at four academic medical centers. Patients with prior ICI therapy, bone marrow transplantation, or pregnancy were excluded. We collected data on demographics, cancer diagnosis and treatment, IRAE incidence and severity, and diabetes management. Controls were matched 2:1 by age, sex, cancer diagnosis, and ICI therapy class.ResultsOf 12,142 cancer patients treated with ICI therapy, we identified 11 with a preexisting confirmed diagnosis of T1DM prior to starting ICI therapy. Mean age was 50.6 years, 63.6% were women, and most received anti-PD1/PDL1 monotherapy (10/11) compared with combination therapy (1/11). Grade 3/4 IRAEs were seen in 3/11 subjects with preexisting T1DM and were hepatitis, myositis, and myasthenia gravis. All three cases had interruption of ICI therapy and administration of adjunct therapies, including steroids, IVIG, or mycophenolate mofetil with resolution of the IRAE. The odds of all-grade IRAEs and of severe IRAEs were comparable between cases and controls matched for age, sex, cancer type, and ICI therapy [OR 0.83 (95% CI 0.2–3.56), p = 0.81, and OR 1.69 (0.31–9.36), p = 0.55, respectively]. Overall survival was not different between patients with T1DM and controls (p = 0.54). No patients had hospitalizations for diabetes-related complications during therapy.DiscussionThese data suggest that ICI monotherapy can successfully be used in patients with preexisting T1DM, with IRAE rates comparable with individuals without preexisting T1DM. Larger, prospective studies of these potentially life-saving ICI therapies that include patients with preexisting autoimmunity are warranted.

Primary cardiac myxofibrosarcoma is a rare form of cardiac malignant tumors. MFS usually involves the left atrium and presents as a unicentric or multicentric tumor mass. We reported on a 37-year-old female who presented with chest tightness and dyspnea for a month, dry cough, and occasionally having blood streak sputum for half a month. Echocardiography, cardiac computed tomography and cardiac positron emission tomography revealed multiple tumors in the heart. The right ventricle and right pulmonary artery were involved, with occlusion of the right pulmonary artery. Cardiac tumors were surgically resected and were consistent with low-grade MFS. No recurrence or metastasis occurred at 20 months of follow-up.

Post-treatment recurrence is a major difficulty in the treatment of lung cancer, one of the deadliest cancers worldwide. Minimal residual disease (MRD) as a "bridgehead" for the recurrence of solid tumors, is described as the presence of free circulating tumor cells or other tumor cell derivatives in the biological fluid of patients without any clinical cancer symptoms after the primary tumor treatment. China recently issued its first Consensus on the Detection and Clinical Application of MRD in Lung Cancer, aiming at improving the postoperative individualized treatment for lung cancer patients in accordance with the MRD status detected by the liquid biopsy. We reviewed the latest advances in the use of several most widely used body fluids (peripheral blood, urine, saliva, sputum and pleural effusion) in the detection of MRD in lung cancer, and discussed their values in guiding the precise treatment of MRD in lung cancer.

Abstract Objectives To validate a total-body PET-guided deep progressive learning reconstruction method (DPR) for low-dose 18F-FDG PET imaging. Methods List-mode data from the retrospective study (n = 26) were rebinned into short-duration scans and reconstructed with DPR. The standard uptake value (SUV) and tumor-to-liver ratio (TLR) in lesions and coefficient of variation (COV) in the liver in the DPR images were compared to the reference (OSEM images with full-duration data). In the prospective study, another 41 patients were injected with 1/3 of the activity based on the retrospective results. The DPR images (DPR_1/3(p)) were generated and compared with the reference (OSEM images with extended acquisition time). The SUV and COV were evaluated in three selected organs: liver, blood pool and muscle. Quantitative analyses were performed with lesion SUV and TLR, furthermore on small lesions (≤ 10 mm in diameter). Additionally, a 5-point Likert scale visual analysis was performed on the following perspectives: contrast, noise and diagnostic confidence. Results In the retrospective study, the DPR with one-third duration can maintain the image quality as the reference. In the prospective study, good agreement among the SUVs was observed in all selected organs. The quantitative results showed that there was no significant difference in COV between the DPR_1/3(p) group and the reference, while the visual analysis showed no significant differences in image contrast, noise and diagnostic confidence. The lesion SUVs and TLRs in the DPR_1/3(p) group were significantly enhanced compared with the reference, even for small lesions. Conclusions The proposed DPR method can reduce the administered activity of 18F-FDG by up to 2/3 in a real-world deployment while maintaining image quality.

Abstract Semiconductor heterojunction plays a pivotal role in photocatalysis. However, the construction of a heterojunction with a fine microstructure usually requires complex synthetic procedures. Herein, a pH-adjusted one-step method was employed to controllably synthesize Ag4V2O7/Ag3VO4 heterojunction with a well-tuned 0D/1D hierarchical structure for the first time. It is noteworthy that the ordered stacking of vanadium oxide tetrahedron $$(\rm{VO}_3^-)$$ ( V O 3 − ) guided by the pH value wisely realizes the in-situ growth of Ag4V2O7 nanoparticles on the surface of Ag3VO4 nanorods. Furthermore, comprehensive characterization and calculation decipher the electronic structures of Ag4V2O7 and Ag3VO4 and the formation of Z-scheme heterojunction, benefiting the visible light harvesting and carrier utilization. Such a new Ag4V2O7/Ag3VO4 heterojunction exhibits remarkable photocatalytic activity and excellent stability. Complete degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) can be achieved in 10 min by the Ag4V2O7/Ag3VO4 heterojunction under visible light irradiation, demonstrating an outstanding reaction rate of 0.35 min−1 that is up to 84-fold higher than those of other silver vanadates. More importantly, this integration of synthesis technology and heterojunction design, based on the intrinsic crystal and electronic structures, could be inspiring for developing novel heterostructured materials with advanced performance.

Abstract Structure self‐modification of graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C3N4) without the assistance of other species has attracted considerable attention. In this study, the structure vacancy defect modified diatomic‐layered g‐C3N4 nanosheet (VCN) is synthesized by thermal treatment of bulk g‐C3N4 in a quartz tube with vacuum atmosphere that will generate a pressure‐thermal dual driving force to boost the exfoliation and formation of structure vacancy for g‐C3N4. The as‐prepared VCN possesses a large specific surface area with a rich pore structure to provide more active centers for catalytic reactions. Furthermore, the as‐formed special defect level in VCN sample can generate a higher exciton density at photoexcitation stage. Meanwhile, the photogenerated charges will rapidly transfer to VCN surface due to the greatly shortened transfer path resulting from the ultrathin structure (≈1.5 nm), which corresponds to two graphite carbon nitride atomic layers. In addition, the defect level alleviates the drawback of enlarged bandgap caused by the quantum size effect of nano‐scaled g‐C3N4, resulting in a well visible‐light utilization. As a result, the VCN sample exhibits an excellent photocatalytic performance both in hydrogen production and photodegradation of typical antibiotics.

IntroductionIdiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (INPH) is a potentially reversible syndrome characterized by complex symptoms, difficulty in diagnosis and a lack of detailed clinical description, and it is difficult to distinguish from Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The objective of this study was to design a method for measuring the actual amount of hydrocephalus in patients with INPH and to evaluate INPH.MethodsAll subjects underwent a 3D T1-weighted MRI. Statistical parametric mapping 12 was used for preprocessing images, statistical analysis, and voxel-based morphometric gray matter (GM) volume, white matter (WM) volume, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volume analysis. The demographic and clinical characteristics of the groups were compared using a t-test for continuous variables and a chi-square test for categorical variables. Pearson’s correlation analysis and Bonferroni’s statistic-corrected one-way ANOVA were used to determine the relationship among demographic variables. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess the accuracy of the callosal angle (CA), WM ratio, and CSF ratio in distinguishing probable INPH from AD.ResultsThe study included 42 patients with INPH, 32 patients with AD, and 24 healthy control subjects (HCs). There were no differences among the three groups in basic characteristics except for Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). There was a correlation between the intracranial CSF ratio and CA. The WM ratio and CSF ratio in patients with INPH and AD were statistically different. Furthermore, the combination of CA, WM ratio, and CSF ratio had a greater differential diagnostic value between INPH and AD patients than CA alone.ConclusionINPH can be accurately assessed by measuring intracranial CSF ratio, and the addition of WM ratio and CSF ratio significantly improved the differential diagnostic value of probable INPH from AD compared to CA alone.

PurposeCompared with PET/CT or PET/MRI, SPECT/CT is cheaper and more readily accessible. This study was designed to investigate the efficacy of 99mTc-HYNIC-PSMA SPECT/CT in detecting primary tumors and metastases in patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer (PCa).MethodsA retrospective analysis of 31 patients with pathologically proven PCa was performed at Shanghai General Hospital from November 2020 to November 2021. Planar whole-body imaging was performed on all patients with a SPECT/CT scan of PSMA-positive regions 3–4 h after intravenous injection of 740 MBq 99mTc-HYNIC-PSMA. Positive PSMA uptake lesions were evaluated, and SUVmean and SUVmax were measured in each lesion. Associations between SPECT/CT parameters and clinicopathologic factors (tPSA and Gleason Score) were analyzed. The diagnostic capability of SPECT/CT parameters, tPSA, and GS in distant metastatic detection was evaluated by logistic regression.ResultsThe SUVmean and SUVmax of the high-risk stratification subgroups (tPSA>20 ng/ml, GS ≥8, and tPSA >20 ng/ml and GS≥8) were higher than those of the low-moderate risk stratification subgroups, with sensitivities of 92% and 92%, respectively. Neither SPECT/CT parameters (SUVmean, SUVmax) nor clinicopathologic factors (tPSA, GS) had high sensitivity (80%, 90%, 80%, and 90%, respectively, P

We propose a scheme to investigate and witness edge modes of general one-dimensional photonic trimers in a circuit quantum electrodynamic lattice. These in-gap edge modes are strictly and analytically solved and the criteria for their emergence are indicated respectively. Moreover, the energy spectrum of the system shows two different regimes characterized by a discrepancy in the number of edge modes. Specifically, while there are always a couple of edge modes only present at one single boundary in both the regimes, one of the regimes also shows another pair of edge modes localized on the opposite boundary. Furthermore, these edge modes are witnessed with the aid of continuous-time quantum walks and average photon number measurements. Our scheme provides a comprehensive method for studying the edge modes of matter.

Abstract Crocodiles are cultured in large numbers in Asia and other places in order to protect wild resources and meet the needs of human life. In this study, crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) meat proteins were extracted and hydrolyzed into peptides, their antioxidant peptides were isolated and purified by silica gel chromatography and identified by LC/MS. Crocodile meat proteins were optimally extracted with water and hydrolyzed by papain based on the degree of hydrolysis and antioxidant activity. The hydrolysates were fractionated by ultrafiltration into 3 kDa, 3–30 kDa, and ≥ 30 kDa fractions. The 3 kDa fraction showed most antioxidant activity of the hydrolysates. Its active peptides were separated by silica gel column chromatography and purified by silica gel TLC, based on TLC bio-autographic assays of the activity. Four highly active peptides were identified by LC/MS as SSLTIQFVEGQFVDSYDPTIENTFTK, VPPHIY, VAPEEHPVLLTEAPLNPK, and RNGLPGPIGPAG. The identified peptides were synthesized and showed 50% free radical scavenging activities at 1.0 mg/mL, equal or higher to ascorbic acid at 0.5 mg/mL, in both DPPH and ABTS assays. The results indicated that the 3 kDa hydrolyzed peptides of crocodile meat had high antioxidant activity and the active peptides can be effectively separated and purified by silica gel column chromatography and TLC.

Abstract Traffic accidents and derailed train-related incidents have occurred more often than ever in recent years, resulting in some economic damage and casualties. Reinforced concrete (RC) constructions often involve derailed train and vehicle accidents. Rarely are such side collisions studied in previous studies. To do this, high-fidelity simulation-based finite-element (FE) models are created in this paper to accurately simulate the collision of circular RC members with a derailed train. The reinforced concrete member structure is common in high-speed railway stations. The impact energy of the impact body is significant, causing structural member failure. It analyses the dynamic behavior of reinforced concrete members under unequal span impact loads. Numerical implementations of impact issues are discussed from the perspective of geometric, contact, and material properties. The reliability and precision of the ABAQUS code to solve impact issues are verified by comparing failure modes, impact, and deflection time history experimental outputs. By analysing the impact response characteristics, used the control variables to study the failure process and mode (including the characteristics of impact and reaction forces, deflection time history curve, impact force–deflection curve, and bearing reaction force–deflection curve). The reinforcement ratio, impact velocity, concrete strength, and slenderness ratio significantly affect shear crack pattern and development. Changes in impact velocity and slenderness ratio also affect member failure modes.

Abstract With the fast growth of high-speed rail in recent years, derailment has become the first hidden danger of high-speed rail transportation. The high-speed train passes near the station building. So the train may derail and hit the station building. Building a high-speed railway station usually uses a reinforced concrete structure. As a result of high impact energy on the impact body, the reinforced concrete (RC) member may fail; the impact point is near the member's foot; the structural member's constraint can be considered fixed support. This paper investigates the dynamic behavior of four types of circular reinforced concrete members under unequal lateral impact loads. The RC member's failure mechanism and dynamic response addressed the significance of unequal lateral impact load. The usual circular reinforced concrete members are used as the model to perform the drop-weight impact test. The specimens' crack pattern, failure mechanism, impact, deflection, and strain time–history curves are obtained. Findings show that between the impact point and the adjacent support, shear fractures occur that fail in shear mode. Shear cracks are based on impact velocity, longitudinal reinforcement ratio, and stirrup ratio. One type is more destructive to members and nodes. A shear fracture occurs when a longitudinal reinforcement fractures towards the closer support. The effects of impact velocity, longitudinal reinforcement ratio, and stirrup ratio on the dynamic impact response are studied. The experimental results may help improve structural member impact resistance. The critical section (right side) computed the static shear resistance using shear force, whereas the maximum external load resistance determines static bending moment resistance. Understanding how circular members fail to be subjected to unequal lateral impact loads provides insight into circular RC members' impact design and damage evaluation.

Coronary artery fistula (CAF) is a rare coronary anomaly defined as a communication between coronary artery and other heart chambers or vascular structures. In this case report, a 32-year-old woman with a giant left main coronary artery to the right atrium fistula with endocarditis was presented. CAF was diagnosed by transthoracic echocardiography and subsequently confirmed by cardiac computerized tomographic and coronary angiography. The patient received antibiotic treatment for infective endocarditis for 6 weeks preoperatively. The fistula was successfully treated with surgical repair. The patient is well now after 18 months of follow-up.

Background Aberrant expression of circular RNAs (circRNAs) contributes to the initiation and progression of pulmonary hypertension (PH). Hypoxia‐inducible factor (HIF) is a well‐known modulator of hypoxia‐induced PH. The role and underlying mechanism of circRNAs in the regulation of HIF expression remains elusive. Methods and Results We profiled pulmonary artery transcriptomes using RNA sequencing and screened circRNAs associated with hypoxia treatment. The expression of a novel circRNA, circ_chr11_67292179–67294612 (circ‐myh8), was increased by hypoxia in a time‐dependent manner. We evaluated the effects of circ‐myh8 overexpression by adeno‐associated virus or inhibition by short hairpin RNA on proliferation and cell cycling in mice and pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells. Overexpression of circ‐myh8 promotes PH under normoxia, and disruption of circ‐myh8 by short hairpin RNA mitigates PH in chronic hypoxic mice. Biologically, circ‐myh8 induces the proliferation and cell‐cycle progression of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, RNA pull‐down and RNA immunoprecipitation assays were used to examine the interaction of circRNAs with the binding protein KAT7 (lysine acetyltransferase 7). The acetylation level of lysine 5 of histone H4 in the transcriptional initiation region of HIF1α was determined by chromatin immunoprecipitation assay followed by reverse transcription‐quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Circ‐myh8 acts as a modular scaffold to recruit histone acetyltransferase KAT7 to the promoters of HIF1α, which elicits acetylation of lysine 5 of histone H4 in their promoters. Conclusions Our findings not only reveal the pivotal roles of circ‐myh8 in governing histone modification in anti‐PH treatment but also advocate triggering the circ‐myh8/KAT7/HIF1α pathway to combat PH.

BackgroundFlooding is a major stress factor impacting watermelon growth and production globally. Metabolites play a crucial role in coping with both biotic and abiotic stresses.MethodsIn this study, diploid (2X) and triploid (3X) watermelons were investigated to determine their flooding tolerance mechanisms by examining physiological, biochemical, and metabolic changes at different stages. Metabolite quantification was done using UPLC-ESI-MS/MS and a total of 682 metabolites were detected.ResultsThe results showed that 2X watermelon leaves had lower chlorophyll content and fresh weights compared to 3X. The activities of antioxidants, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT), were higher in 3X than in 2X. 3X watermelon leaves showed lower O2 production rates, MDA, and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels in response to flooding, while higher ethylene production was observed. 3X had higher levels of dehydrogenase activity (DHA) and ascorbic acid + dehydrogenase (AsA + DHA), but both 2X and 3X showed a significant decline in the AsA/DHA ratio at later stages of flooding. Among them, 4-guanidinobutyric acid (mws0567), an organic acid, may be a candidate metabolite responsible for flooding tolerance in watermelon and had higher expression levels in 3X watermelon, suggesting that triploid watermelon is more tolerant to flooding.ConclusionThis study provides insights into the response of 2X and 3X watermelon to flooding and the physiological, biochemical, and metabolic changes involved. It will serve as a foundation for future in-depth molecular and genetic studies on flooding response in watermelon.

Abstract Change detection (CD) is a fundamental problem that aims at detecting changed objects from two observations. Previous CNN‐based CD methods detect changes through multi‐scale deep convolutional features extracted from two images. However, we find that change always occurs in the ‘Query’ image for fixed cameras. This condition means that changes can be detected in advance from a single image with a coarse change. In this paper, we propose an efficient CD method to detect precise changes from the change image. First, a change image selector is designed to identify the image containing changes. Second, a coarse change prior map generator is proposed to generate coarse change prior to indicate the position of changes. Then, we introduce a simple multi‐scale CD module to refine the coarse change detection. As only one image is used in the multi‐scale CD module, our method is more efficient in training and testing than other compared methods. Numerous experiments have been conducted to analyse the effectiveness of the proposed method. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieves superior detection performance and higher speed than other compared CD methods.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which was caused by SARS-CoV-2, has had a significant effect on global public health, economies, and societies worldwide. Serum antibody testing is a critical method for the diagnosis of COVID-19 and can complement RT-PCR in the diagnosis of COVID-19 patients; however, the performance of rapid antibody assays in the clinical setting has not been established. Rapid antibody assays were evaluated by investigating 296 COVID-19-positive individuals and 542 negative individuals confirmed by clinical diagnosis. The clinical diagnostic results were used as controls to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), kappa, and 95% confidence interval (CI) of the rapid tests. IgM-positivity had a sensitivity of 86.1% and specificity of 99.1%. IgG-positivity had a sensitivity of 86.5% and specificity of 98.7%. The sensitivity of combined IgM- and IgG-positivity in clinically confirmed patients was 73.1% in the early stage (1-7 days after symptom onset) and reached 99% 15 days after symptom onset. The concordance between rapid antibody-positive tests and clinical diagnosis-positivity had a kappa value of 0.93. In addition, the false-positive rate of IgM and IgG combined nucleic acid detection was 30% in the early stage. The combined use of IgM and IgG could serve as a more suitable alternative detection method for patients with COVID-19. The rapid antibody test can be considered as an excellent supplementary approach for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in clinical application.

Abstract Purpose This study aimed to investigate the impact of a deep learning (DL)-based denoising method on the image quality and lesion detectability of 18F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET) images. Methods Fifty-two oncological patients undergoing an 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging with an acquisition of 180 s per bed position were retrospectively included. The list-mode data were rebinned into four datasets: 100% (reference), 75%, 50%, and 33.3% of the total counts, and then reconstructed by OSEM algorithm and post-processed with the DL and Gaussian filter (GS). The image quality was assessed using a 5-point Likert scale, and FDG-avid lesions were counted to measure lesion detectability. Standardized uptake values (SUVs) in livers and lesions, liver signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and target-to-background ratio (TBR) values were compared between the methods. Subgroup analyses compared TBRs after categorizing lesions based on parameters like lesion diameter, uptake or patient habitus. Results The DL method showed superior performance regarding image noise and inferior performance regarding lesion contrast in the qualitative assessment. More than 96.8% of the lesions were successfully identified in DL images. Excellent agreements on SUV in livers and lesions were found. The DL method significantly improved the liver SNR for count reduction down to 33.3% (p 10 mm or lesions in BMIs of > 25. For the 50% dataset, there was no significant difference between DL and reference images for TBR of lesion with > 15 mm or higher uptake than liver. Conclusions The developed DL method improved both liver SNR and lesion TBR indicating better image quality and lesion conspicuousness compared to GS method. Compared with the reference, it showed non-inferior image quality with reduced counts by 25–50% under various conditions.