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This paper mainly studies the sum-of-linear-ratios problems, which have important applications in finance, economy and computational vision. In this process, we first propose a new method to re-represent the original problem as an equivalent problem (EP). Secondly, by relaxing these constraints, a nonlinear relaxation subproblem is constructed for EP. In view of the special structure of the relaxation, it is reconstructed as a second-order cone programming (SOCP) problem, which is essentially a SOCP relaxation of EP. Thirdly, through the structural characteristics of the objective function of EP, a region reduction technique is designed to accelerate the termination of the algorithm as much as possible. By integrating the SOCP relaxation and acceleration strategy into the branch and bound framework, a new global optimization algorithm is developed. Further, the theoretical convergence and computational complexity of the algorithm are analyzed. Numerical experiment results reveal that the algorithm is effective and feasible.

Abstract Remora albescens, also known as white suckerfish, recognized for its distinctive suction-cup attachment behavior and medicinal significance. In this study, we produced a high-quality chromosome-level genome assembly of R. albescens through the integration of 23.87 Gb PacBio long reads, 64.54 Gb T7 short reads, and 88.63 Gb Hi-C data. Initially, we constructed a contig-level genome assembly totaling 605.30 Mb with a contig N50 of 23.12 Mb. Subsequently, employing Hi-C technology, approximately 99.68% (603.38 Mb) of the contig-level genome was successfully assigned to 23 pseudo-chromosomes. Through the integration of homologous-based predictions, ab initio predictions, and RNA-sequencing methods, we successfully identified a comprehensive set of 22,445 protein-coding genes. Notably, 96.36% (21,629 genes) of these were effectively annotated with functional information. The genome assembly achieved an estimated completeness of 98.1% according to BUSCO analysis. This work promotes the applicability of the R. albescens genome, laying a solid foundation for future investigations into genomics, biology, and medicinal importance within this species.

Abstract Holothuria scabra, a commercially valuable yet ecologically vulnerable tropical holothuroid, has experienced a severe decline in its wild populations, especially in China. Genomic resources are crucial for the development of effective genomic breeding projects and stock conservation strategies to restore these natural populations. Until now, a high-quality, chromosome-level reference genome for H. scabra has not been available. Here, we employed Oxford Nanopore and Hi-C sequencing technologies to assemble and annotate a high-quality, chromosome-level reference genome of H. scabra. The final genome comprised 31 scaffolds with a total length of 1.19 Gb and a scaffold N50 length of 53.52 Mb. Remarkably, 1,191.67 Mb (99.95%) of the sequences were anchored to 23 pseudo-chromosomes, with the longest one spanning 79.75 Mb. A total of 34,418 protein-coding genes were annotated in the final genome, with BUSCO analysis revealing 98.01% coverage of metazoa_odb10 genes, marking a significant improvement compared to the previous report. These chromosome-level sequences and annotations will provide an essential genomic basis for further investigation into molecular breeding and conservation management of H. scabra.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of mortality worldwide, and it is of utmost importance to accurately assess the risk of cardiovascular disease for prevention and intervention purposes. In recent years, machine learning has shown significant advancements in the field of cardiovascular disease risk prediction. In this context, we propose a novel framework known as CVD-OCSCatBoost, designed for the precise prediction of cardiovascular disease risk and the assessment of various risk factors. The framework utilizes Lasso regression for feature selection and incorporates an optimized category-boosting tree (CatBoost) model. Furthermore, we propose the opposition-based learning cuckoo search (OCS) algorithm. By integrating OCS with the CatBoost model, our objective is to develop OCSCatBoost, an enhanced classifier offering improved accuracy and efficiency in predicting CVD. Extensive comparisons with popular algorithms like the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm, the seagull optimization algorithm (SOA), the cuckoo search algorithm (CS), K-nearest-neighbor classification, decision tree, logistic regression, grid-search support vector machine (SVM), grid-search XGBoost, default CatBoost, and grid-search CatBoost validate the efficacy of the OCSCatBoost algorithm. The experimental results demonstrate that the OCSCatBoost model achieves superior performance compared to other models, with overall accuracy, recall, and AUC values of 73.67%, 72.17%, and 0.8024, respectively. These outcomes highlight the potential of CVD-OCSCatBoost for improving cardiovascular disease risk prediction.

As the proportion of renewable energy (RE) increases, the inertia and the primary frequency regulation (FR) capability of the power system decrease. Thus, ensuring frequency security in the scheduling model has become a new technical requirement in power systems with a high share of RE. Due to a shortage of conventional synchronous generators, the frequency support of multi-source converters has become an indispensable part of the system frequency resources, especially variable-speed wind turbine generation (WTG) and battery energy storage (BES). Quantitative expression of the FR capability of multi-source converters is necessary to construct frequen-cyconstrained scheduling model. However, the frequency support performance of these converter-interfaced devices is related to their working states, operation modes, and parameters, and the complex coupling of these factors has not been fully exploited in existing models. In this study, we propose an integrated frequency-constrained scheduling model considering the coordination of FR capabilities from multi-source converters. Switchable FR control strategies and variable FR parameters for WTG with or without reserved power are modeled, and multi-target allocation of BES capacity between tracking dispatch instruction and emergency FR is analyzed. Then, the variable FR capabilities of WTG and BES are embedded into the integrated frequency-constrained scheduling model. The nonlinear constraints for frequency security are precisely linearized through an improved iteration-based strategy. The effectiveness of the proposed model is verified in a modified IEEE 24-bus standard system. The results suggest that the coordinated participation of BES and WTG in FR can effectively reduce the cost of the scheduling model while meeting frequency security constraints.

The construction of high-quality genomes is fundamental for molecular studies of species. Currently, there are no published genome sequences within the Uranoscopidae family, and research on the genomic characteristics of this family is lacking. In this study, genomic analyses of seven species from the Uranoscopidae family which captured from the southeastern coast of China were conducted using next-generation sequencing technology. The results revealed that the genomic characteristics of the seven species are relatively similar. The genome sizes of the seven Uranoscopidae species ranged from 536.00 Mb to 652.49 Mb, with repeat sequence proportions between 20.09% and 36.64%, and heterozygosity levels ranging from 0.41% to 0.88%. The assembled draft genomes exhibited GC contents of these species ranging from approximately 42.14% to 43.53%. Furthermore, the mitochondrial sequences for the seven species were assembled, with sizes ranging from 14,966 to 18,446 bp. The evolutionary relationships between different species were depicted through the mapping of conserved genes, whole-genome variances and mitochondrial genome sequences. Besides, the historical effective population sizes of all species experienced rapid expansion after the Last Interglacial Period, with three species undergoing bottleneck effects. In conclusion, this study provides a reference for the subsequent construction of high-quality genomes for species within the Uranoscopidae family and offers a rich data resource for further evolutionary research.

Herpes zoster (HZ) induces significant pain and discomfort, which can seriously affect the quality of life of patients. At present, there is no specific treatment for HZ, and the mosteffective HZ control is vaccination. The main obstacle to developing an effective HZ vaccine is poorly induced cellular immune response. In this study, the IFN-α–gE–Fc fusion protein induced higher levels of humoral and cellular immunity compared to the unengineered gE antigen and higher levels of cellular immunity compared to the flagellin–gE–Fc fusion protein in a murine model. Compared with the marketed recombinant herpes zoster vaccine (Shingrix), IFN-α–gE–Fc can replace current used MPL adjuvant. At the same time, the immunogenicity of the IFN-α–gE–Fc + AQ was not weaker than that of the marketed recombinant zoster vaccine. The novel fusion protein provides a candidate entity for the development of a safe and effective novel HZ vaccine.

KRAS is a pathogenic gene frequently implicated in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, biopsy as a diagnostic method has practical limitations. Therefore, it is important to accurately determine the mutation status of the KRAS gene non-invasively by combining NSCLC CT images and genetic data for early diagnosis and subsequent targeted therapy of patients. This paper proposes a Semi-supervised Multimodal Multiscale Attention Model (S2MMAM). S2MMAM comprises a Supervised Multilevel Fusion Segmentation Network (SMF-SN) and a Semi-supervised Multimodal Fusion Classification Network (S2MF-CN). S2MMAM facilitates the execution of the classification task by transferring the useful information captured in SMF-SN to the S2MF-CN to improve the model prediction accuracy. In SMF-SN, we propose a Triple Attention-guided Feature Aggregation module for obtaining segmentation features that incorporate high-level semantic abstract features and low-level semantic detail features. Segmentation features provide pre-guidance and key information expansion for S2MF-CN. S2MF-CN shares the encoder and decoder parameters of SMF-SN, which enables S2MF-CN to obtain rich classification features. S2MF-CN uses the proposed Intra and Inter Mutual Guidance Attention Fusion (I2MGAF) module to first guide segmentation and classification feature fusion to extract hidden multi-scale contextual information. I2MGAF then guides the multidimensional fusion of genetic data and CT image data to compensate for the lack of information in single modality data. S2MMAM achieved 83.27% AUC and 81.67% accuracy in predicting KRAS gene mutation status in NSCLC. This method uses medical image CT and genetic data to effectively improve the accuracy of predicting KRAS gene mutation status in NSCLC.

Abstract Background The WHO grade and Ki-67 index are independent indices used to evaluate the malignant biological behavior of meningioma. This study aims to develop MRI-based machine learning models to predict the malignant biological behavior of meningioma from the perspective of the WHO grade, Ki-67 index, and their combination. Methods This multicenter, retrospective study included 313 meningioma patients, of which 70 were classified as high-grade (WHO II/III) and 243 as low-grade (WHO I). The Ki-67 expression was classified into low-expression (n = 216) and high-expression (n = 97) groups with a threshold of 5%. Among them, there were 128 patients with malignant biological behavior whose WHO grade or Ki-67 index increased either or both. Data from Center A and B are were utilized for model development, while data from Center C and D were used for external validation. Radiomic features were extracted from the maximum cross-sectional area (2D) region of Interest (ROI) and the whole tumor volume (3D) ROI using different paraments from the T1, T2-weighted, and T1 contrast-enhanced sequences (T1CE), followed by five independent feature selections and eight classifiers. 240 prediction models were constructed to predict the WHO grade, Ki-67 index and their combination respectively. Models were evaluated by cross-validation in training set (n = 224). Suitable models were chosen by comparing the cross-validation (CV) area under the curves (AUC) and their relative standard deviations (RSD). Clinical and radiological features were collected and analyzed; meaningful features were combined with radiomic features to establish the clinical-radiological-radiomic (CRR) models. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate those models in validation set. Radiomic models and CRR models were compared by Delong test. Results 1218 and 1781 radiomic features were extracted from 2D ROI and 3D ROI of each sequence. The selected grade, Ki-67 index and their combination radiomic models were T1CE-2D-LASSO-LR, T1CE-3D-LASSO-NB, and T1CE-2D-LASSO-LR, with cross-validated AUCs on the training set were 0.857, 0.798, and 0.888, the RSDs were 0.06, 0.09, and 0.05, the validation set AUCs were 0.829, 0.752, and 0.904, respectively. Heterogeneous enhancement was found to be associated with high grade and Ki-67 status, while surrounding invasion was associated with the high grade status, peritumoral edema and cerebrospinal fluid space surrounding tumor were correlated with the high Ki-67 status. The Delong test showed that these significant radiological features did not significantly improve the predictive performance. The AUCs for CRR models predicting grade, Ki-67 index, and their combination in the validation set were 0.821, 0.753, and 0.906, respectively. Conclusions This study demonstrated that MRI-based machine learning models could effectively predict the grade, Ki-67 index of meningioma. Models considering these two indices might be valuable for improving the predictive sensitivity and comprehensiveness of prediction of malignant biological behavior of meningioma.

Abstract Despite the proven virological advantages, there remains some controversy regarding whether first-line integrase strand transfer inhibitors (INSTIs)-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) contributes to reducing mortality of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in clinical practice. Here we report a retrospective study comparing all-cause mortality among PLHIV in China who were on different initial ART regimens (nevirapine, efavirenz, dolutegravir, lopinavir, and others [including darunavir, raltegravie, elvitegravir and rilpivirine]) between 2017 and 2019. A total of 41,018 individuals were included across China, representing 21.3% of newly reported HIV/AIDS cases collectively in the country during this period. Only the differences in all-cause mortality of PLHIV between the efavirenz group and the nevirapine group, the dolutegravir group and the nevirapine group, and the lopinavir group and the nevirapine group, were observed in China. After stratifying the cause of mortality, we found that the differences in mortality between initial ART regimens were mainly observed in AIDS-related mortality.

Abstract Background In 2003, China implemented free antiretroviral therapy (ART) for people living with HIV (PLHIV), establishing an eligibility threshold of CD4 50 (+ 7.8%, IRR = 1.078, 95% CI: 1.000–1.161; P = 0.046), heterosexual transmission (+ 12.4%, IRR = 1.124, 95% CI: 1.042–1.213; P = 0.002) and Southwestern China (+ 12.9%, IRR = 1.129, 95% CI: 1.055–1.208; P

The separation of a toluene/methanol/water ternary mixture is a difficult task due to the toluene/water and toluene/methanol azeotropes. In this article, low-energy pervaporation is proposed for the separation of the ternary azeotrope toluene–methanol–water. This work investigates the effects of feed temperature, feed flow rate, and vacuum on pervaporation and compares the energy consumption of pervaporation with that of distillation. The results showed that at the optimized flow rate of 50 L/h and a permeate side vacuum of 60 kPa at 50 °C, the water and methanol content in the permeate was about 63.2 wt.% and 36.8 wt.%, respectively, the water/ methanol separation factor was 24.04, the permeate flux was 510.7 g/m2·h, the water content in the feed out was reduced from 2.5 wt.% to less than 0.66 wt.%, and the dehydration of toluene methanol could be realized. Without taking into account the energy consumption of pumps and other power equipment, pervaporation requires an energy consumption of 43.53 kW·h to treat 1 ton of raw material, while the energy consumption of distillation to treat 1 ton of raw material is about 261.5 kW·h. Compared to the existing distillation process, the pervaporation process consumes much less energy (about one-sixth of the energy consumption of distillation). There is almost no effect on the surface morphology and chemical composition of the membrane before and after use. The method provides an effective reference for the dehydration of organic solvents from ternary mixtures containing toluene/methanol/water.

Abstract Background The evaluation of amblyopia treatment efficacy is essential for amblyopia prevention, control, and rehabilitation. Methods To evaluate the amblyopia treatment efficacy more precisely and quantitatively, this study recorded four visual function examination results, i.e., visual acuity, binocular rivalry balance point, perceptual eye position, and stereopsis before and after amblyopia treatment. Results We found that all these four results had a significant difference between before and after treatment, and the relationship between visual acuity improvement and the difference of BRBP, PEP, and stereoacuity cannot show a fitting correlation regarding the widely used index of visual acuity as the standard of treatment efficacy. By using the Criteria Importance Through Inter-criteria Correlation (CRITIC) method, a more comprehensive and quantitative index by coupling the selected four indexes with objective weights was obtained for further training efficacy representation, and the validation dataset also showed a good performance. Conclusions This study proved that our proposed coupling method based on different visual function examination results via the CRITIC algorithm is a potential means to quantify the amblyopia treatment efficacy.

NK-lysin is a component of natural killer cells and cytotoxic T lymphocytes, and it plays an important role in the innate immune response of aquatic animals against various pathogens. In this study, a 640 base pair full-length cDNA sequence of the NK-lysin gene from black sea bass (Centropristis striata) (CsNKl) was obtained and analyzed. Tissue distribution results showed that CsNKl was widely distributed in various tissues of C. striata, but a significantly high expression level was detected in the spleen. CsNKl also exhibited time-dependent expression in different tissues after challenge with Vibrio harveyi. Two antimicrobial peptides (CsNKl-26 and CsNKl-28) were predicted from CsNKl proteins, and they demonstrated bactericidal functions against a variety of bacteria. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed that CsNKl-26 and CsNKl-28 played their bactericidal roles using the classical alpha-helix antimicrobial peptide route. These results illustrate the immune functions of CsNKl against V. harveyi, and they can be applied to developing disease control methods for fish.

Abstract Ovarian cancer (OC) is a highly lethal gynecological malignancy, often diagnosed at advanced stages with limited treatment options. Here, we demonstrate that the antimicrobial peptide CS-piscidin significantly inhibits OC cell proliferation, colony formation, and induces cell death. Mechanistically, CS-piscidin causes cell necrosis by compromising the cell membrane. Furthermore, CS-piscidin can activate Receptor-interacting protein kinase 1 (RIPK1) and induce cell apoptosis by cleavage of PARP. To improve tumor targeting ability, we modified CS-piscidin by adding a short cyclic peptide, cyclo-RGDfk, to the C-terminus (CS-RGD) and a myristate to the N-terminus (Myr-CS-RGD). Our results show that while CS-RGD exhibits stronger anti-cancer activity than CS-piscidin, it also causes increased cytotoxicity. In contrast, Myr-CS-RGD significantly improves drug specificity by reducing CS-RGD toxicity in normal cells while retaining comparable antitumor activity by increasing peptide stability. In a syngeneic mouse tumor model, Myr-CS-RGD demonstrated superior anti-tumor activity compared to CS-piscidin and CS-RGD. Our findings suggest that CS-piscidin can suppress ovarian cancer via multiple cell death forms and that myristoylation modification is a promising strategy to enhance anti-cancer peptide performance. Graphical Abstract

The Golden Jackal Optimization (GJO) algorithm has found applications in various fields such as feature selection, image segmentation, mechanical engineering, and Internet of Things intrusion detection. However, the original GJO algorithm suffers from several limitations, including premature convergence, slow convergence speed, and low calculation accuracy. To address these shortcomings, we propose a hybrid Moth Flame Optimization (MFO) and GJO algorithm based on opposition learning (OMGJO), which combines opposition learning and spiral path search technology of MFO to enhance the algorithm’s performance and convergence speed. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, we compare it with 10 other meta-heuristic algorithms using 30 benchmark functions, and perform statistical tests on the results. The experimental outcomes demonstrate that the OMGJO algorithm offers highly competitive results. Compared to the traditional GJO algorithm and other optimization methods, the improved algorithm exhibits superior performance in terms of convergence speed and search efficiency. Additionally, when tested on various engineering problems, the algorithm demonstrates its competitiveness and adaptability in practical applications.

Insulation resistance is a vital factor in dry DC link capacitors (DCLCs), and crucially influences their voltage equalization and energy storage performance. However, at present, there is a lack of experimental observation on the insulation resistance characteristics of DCLCs in the presence of high temperatures and operating voltages. In the present study, the insulation resistance and conductivity of DCLCs are methodically analyzed. For this purpose, the corresponding test platform is appropriately fabricated, the insulation resistance measurement experiments are performed at various temperatures and operating voltages, and the factors affecting the insulation resistance and conductivity of the DCLC are carefully examined. The results reveal that the insulation resistance of the DCLC reduces exponentially with the growth in voltage and operating temperature. When the operating voltage becomes greater than 4480 V or the operating temperature reaches higher than 70 °C, the decline in insulation resistance slows down. The conductivity of metalized polypropylene film in the DCLC increases exponentially with increasing voltage and temperature. By increasing the operating voltage from 1960 V to 5600 V and the temperature from 20 °C to 90 °C, the DCLC’s insulation resistance exhibits a descending trend from 891.30 MΩ to 2.14 MΩ, while its conductivity grows from 3.49 × 10−16 S/m to 1.47 × 10−13 S/m. The results reveal that the key factors affecting the insulation resistance of the DCLC are the polypropylene film and the metal evaporated from the metal layer. This research is anticipated to provide a valuable reference for the further development of science and technology pertinent to the insulation resistance of DCLCs.

Li-rich manganese-based oxide (LRMO) cathode materials are considered to be one of the most promising candidates for next-generation lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) because of their high specific capacity (250 mAh g−1) and low cost. However, the inevitable irreversible structural transformation during cycling leads to large irreversible capacity loss, poor rate performance, energy decay, voltage decay, etc. Based on the recent research into LRMO for LIBs, this review highlights the research progress of LRMO in terms of crystal structure, charging/discharging mechanism investigations, and the prospects of the solution of current key problems. Meanwhile, this review summarizes the specific modification strategies and their merits and demerits, i.e., surface coating, elemental doping, micro/nano structural design, introduction of high entropy, etc. Further, the future development trend and business prospect of LRMO are presented and discussed, which may inspire researchers to create more opportunities and new ideas for the future development of LRMO for LIBs with high energy density and an extended lifespan.

Mechanical stress is a crucial factor affecting the life and insulation performance of DC-link capacitors (DCLCs). However, at present, there is a lack of long-term experimental observations on the effects of mechanical stress on the life and insulation performance of DCLCs. The element-winding process for DCLCs is carried out by winding metalized film on a reel and adjusting the various winding tensions and pressures according to performance requirements, usually with a winding tension coefficient (WTC) of kT = 1.5. The pull pressure of the winding machine on the film produces tension during the elements’ winding process, and the tension in the film grows after the heat-setting process. In this study, by adjusting the four tension coefficients of the elements in the winding process, which were 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, and 1.7, various winding tensions of the DCLC components were changed. Additionally, various heat-setting shrinkage tensions were appropriately generated by setting different heat-setting temperatures (HSTs). Relevant test platforms were established, and a life aging test, insulation resistance measurement, and withstand voltage test were performed on these DCLCs at different tension coefficients and HSTs. The obtained results reveal that the mechanical stress of DCLCs is affected by the parameters of the material itself, including the tension coefficient during the winding process and the HST. The winding tension affects the life of DCLCs, such that those with the highest tension (kT = 1.7) demonstrate the longest life at an HST of 105 °C, whereas samples with the lowest tension (kT = 1.4) exhibit the longest life at an HST of 110 °C. HSTs are capable of improving the lifetime of DCLCs. HSTs are also able to improve the withstand voltage capability of DCLCs, but the tension is not proportional to the withstand voltage capability of DCLCs. This research provides a suitable basis for further explorations of the life and insulation performance of DCLCs.

BackgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has significantly affected the global population, with People Living with HIV (PLWH) being particularly vulnerable due to their compromised immune systems. Although vaccination is a crucial preventative measure against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, little is understood about the willingness of PLWH to receive a second COVID-19 booster dose and the factors that may influence this decision. This study investigates the willingness of PLWH in China to receive a second COVID-19 booster dose and its influencing factors, comparing these with a group of healthy individuals.MethodsA multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted across five Chinese cities, namely, Beijing, Tianjin, Zhengzhou, Hohhot, and Harbin. Participants were recruited through five community-based organizations. Data were collected via participant self-administered questionnaires included demographic information, willingness to receive a second COVID-19 booster dose, and knowledge about HIV and COVID-19 vaccination. Factors influencing vaccination willingness were identified using multivariable logistic regression analyzes.ResultsA total of 156 PLWH and 151 healthy individuals were included in the study. After adjusting for potential confounders, it was found that PLWH demonstrated a lower willingness to receive a second COVID-19 booster dose compared to healthy individuals (77.6% vs. 88.7%, p = 0.009). Lower willingness was associated with HIV positive status (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]: 0.39, 95%CI: 0.20, 0.75), perceived barriers (AOR: 0.05, 95%CI: 0.01, 0.26), and perceived severity (AOR: 0.32, 95%CI: 0.12, 0.90).ConclusionPLWH in China demonstrated a lower willingness to receive a second COVID-19 booster dose compared to healthy individuals. The findings suggest that perceptions and understanding of the COVID-19 vaccination and its necessity for protection against SARS-CoV-2 could influence this willingness. Efforts should be made to strengthen and disseminate knowledge about HIV and COVID-19 vaccinations among this population. In addition, developing interventions and policies that target specific subgroups and address misconceptions about vaccination could be instrumental in improving vaccination rates among PLWH.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a typical perfluoroalkyl group compound, has received worldwide attention due to its significant environmental toxicity. Following regulatory bans on the production and emission of PFOA, concerns have been raised about the potential health risks and the safety of novel perfluoroalkyl analogues. HFPO-DA (trade name Gen-X) and HFPO-TA are two perfluoroalkyl analogues known to be bioaccumulative, whose level of toxicity and whether they are safe alternatives to PFOA remain unclear. In the following study, the physiological and metabolic effects of exposure to PFOA and its novel analogues were explored in zebrafish using 1/3 LC50 (PFOA 100 μM, Gen-X 200 μM, HFPO-TA 30 μM). At the same LC50 toxicological effect, exposure to PFOA and HFPO-TA resulted in abnormal phenotypes such as spinal curvature, pericardial edema and aberrant body length, while Gen-X was little changed. Metabolically, PFOA, HFPO-TA and Gen-X all significantly increased total cholesterol in exposed zebrafish with PFOA and HFPO-TA also increasing total triglyceride levels. Transcriptome analysis showed that the number of differentially expressed genes in PFOA, Gen-X, and HFPO-TA treated conditions compared to control groups were 527, 572, and 3, 933, respectively. KEGG and GO analysis of differentially expressed genes revealed pathways and functions related to lipid metabolism as well as significant activation of the peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor (PPARs) pathway. Furthermore, RT-qPCR analysis identified significant dysregulation in the downstream target genes of PPARα, which is responsible for lipid oxidative catabolism, and the SREBP pathway, which is responsible for lipid synthesis. In conclusion, both perfluoroalkyl analogues HFPO-TA and Gen-X exhibit significant physiological and metabolic toxicity to aquatic organisms and their environmental accumulation should be closely regulated.

Abstract Coal plays a crucial role in global economic development and remains the most common and widely distributed fossil fuel worldwide. As the world's largest developing country, China's mining and utilization of coal resources have contributed significantly to the country’s rapid economic growth. Inner Mongolia is an ecologically fragile arid and semi-arid area of China. The exploitation of opencast mining has seriously hindered the sustainable use of regional land and the residents' well-being. Using ENVI-based remote sensing images from 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020, this study employed a random forest algorithm to divide land utilization types into construction land, vegetation, cultivated land, bare land, and water areas and analyzed the characteristics of land use and ecosystem service value changes over the past 20 years. The results were as follows: (1) Construction land in the mining area changed minimally from 2000 to 2020; vegetation and water bodies showed a decreasing trend, whereas bare and cultivated lands showed an increasing trend. Bare land exhibited the largest change in area proportion and water bodies the smallest. (2) The total ecosystem service value of the mining area declined from 10.939 to 9.527 billion Yuan. Vegetation ecosystem service value was the highest, followed by cultivated land and water, with the bare land ecosystem service value the lowest. (3) On a spatial scale, the total ecosystem service value of the Shengli mining area decreased year by year, indicating that land use changes in the mining area do have an impact on ecosystem service value.

Abstract Background Previous studies have identified the carbohydrate epitope Galα1–3Galβ1–4GlcNAc-R (termed the α-galactosyl epitope), known as the α-Gal antigen as the primary xenoantigen recognized by the human immune system. The α-Gal antigen is regulated by galactosyltransferase (GGTA1), and α-Gal antigen-deficient mice have been widely used in xenoimmunological studies, as well as for the immunogenic risk evaluation of animal-derived medical devices. The objective of this study was to develop α-Gal antigen-deficient rabbits by GGTA1 gene editing with the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Results The mutation efficiency of GGTA1 gene-editing in rabbits was as high as 92.3% in F0 pups. Phenotype analysis showed that the α-Gal antigen expression in the major organs of F0 rabbits was decreased by more than 99.96% compared with that in wild-type (WT) rabbits, and the specific anti-Gal IgG and IgM antibody levels in F1 rabbits increased with increasing age, peaking at approximately 5 or 6 months. Further study showed that GGTA1 gene expression in F2-edited rabbits was dramatically reduced compared to that in WT rabbits. Conclusions α-Gal antigen-deficient rabbits were successfully generated by GGTA1 gene editing via the CRISPR/Cas9 system in this study. The feasibility of using these α-Gal antigen-deficient rabbits for the in situ implantation and residual immunogenic risk evaluation of animal tissue-derived medical devices was also preliminarily confirmed.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) comprises a group of complex neurodevelopmental features seen in many different forms due to variable causes. Highly impactful ASD-susceptibility genes are involved in pathways associated with brain development, chromatin remodeling, and transcription regulation. In this study, we investigate a proband with complex ASD. Whole genome sequencing revealed a novel de novo missense mutation of a highly conserved amino acid residue (NP_001289981.1:p.His516Gln; chr2:1917275; hg38) in the MYT1L neural transcription factor gene. In combination with in silico analysis on gene effect and pathogenicity, we described the proband’s phenotype and made comparisons with previously reported cases to explore the spectrum of clinical features in MYT1L single nucleotide variant (SNV) cases. The phenotype–genotype correlation showed a high degree of clinical similarity with previously reported cases of missense variants in MYT1L, indicating MYT1L as the causal gene for the observed phenotype in our proband. The variant was also predicted to be damaging according to multiple in silico pathogenicity predicting tools. This study expands the clinical description of SNVs on the MYT1L gene and provides insight into its contribution to ASD.

Psychrophilic Aeromonas salmonicida could not grow above 25°C and therefore thought unable to infect mammals and humans. In our previous study, a mesophilic A. salmonicida SRW-OG1 was isolated from Epinephelus coioides with furunculosis. Through the analysis of preliminary RNA-seq, it was found that the Zn2+ uptake related genes znuA, znuB and znuC might be involved in the virulence regulation of A. salmonicida SRW-OG1. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the effect of znuABC silencing on the virulence regulation of A. salmonicida SRW-OG1. The results showed that the growth of the znuA-RNAi, znuB-RNAi, and znuC-RNAi strains was severely restricted under the Fe2+ starvation, but surprisingly there was no significant difference under the Zn2+ restriction. In the absence of Zn2+ and Fe2+, the expression level of znuABC was significantly increased. The motility, biofilm formation, adhesion and hemolysis of the znuA-RNAi, znuB-RNAi, and znuC-RNAi strains were significantly reduced. We also detected the expression of znuABC under different growth periods, temperatures, pH, as well as Cu2+ and Pb2+ stresses. The results showed that znuABC was significantly up-regulated in the logarithmic phase and the decline phase of A. salmonicida. Interestingly, the trend of expression levels of the znuABC at 18, 28, and 37°C was reversed to another Zn2+ uptake related gene zupT. Taken together, these indicated that the znuABC was necessary for A. salmonicida SRW-OG1 pathogenicity and environmental adaptability, and was cross regulated by iron starvation, but it was not irreplaceable for A. salmonicida SRW-OG1 Zn2+ uptake in the host.

BackgroundPeople living with HIV (PLWH) are more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2. However, evidence on the immunogenicity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines in this population is insufficient. The objective of this study is to assess the immunogenicity and safety of the two-dose schedule of Sinovac CoronaVac for 6 months postvaccination in PLWH.MethodsWe conducted a multicenter prospective cohort study among PLWH and HIV-negative adults in China. Participants who received two doses of CoronaVac prior to the recruitment were allocated into two groups and followed up for 6 months. The neutralizing antibodies (nAbs), immunoglobulin G against the receptor-binding domain of the spike protein (S-IgG), and gamma-interferon (IFN-γ) were measured to assess the associations among CoronaVac immunogenicity and related factors. Adverse reactions were collected to evaluate the safety profile of vaccination.ResultsA total of 203 PLWH and 100 HIV-negative individuals were enrolled. A small portion of participants reported mild or moderate adverse reactions without serious adverse events. Median nAbs level in PLWH (31.96 IU/mL, IQR: 12.34-76.40) was lower than that in the control group (46.52 IU/mL, IQR: 29.08-77.30) at the 2-4 weeks postvaccination (P=0.002), and the same trend was presented for median S-IgG titer (37.09 vs. 60.02 IU/ml) (both P

The uncertainty of wind/photovoltaics (PV) power generation and load fluctuations highlight the urgent need for flexible yet stable power resources. With the increasing in the share of renewable energy, the fluctuation presents a trend toward the longer periods, larger amplitudes, and more drastic changes. Therefore, research on the long duration flexible resources planning for the scenarios of the ultra high share of renewable power system (UHRPS) has become the focus. In this work, the main structural and operating characteristics of UHRPS are introduced and analyzed, which is followed by the flexibility requirements and flexibility planning challenges of UHRPS scenarios. Then, the current research trends in flexibility planning schemes of renewable energy power systems are reviewed. Finally, the key problems and solutions for research on the long duration flexible resources planning of UHRPS are proposed.

Abstract Renewable‐dominant mixtures with hydrogeneration and variable renewable energies (VREs) have been the focus for decarbonization of power systems. Hydrogeneration with large reservoir becomes the main regulating source. The long‐term generation scheduling (LTGS) on monthly reservoir regulation for the approaching year becomes more significant because reserving adequate water storage is related to intramonth balance, considering that hydrogeneration has to supplement deficit energy of VRE generation. However, conventional LTGS method that is based on monthly averages overestimates the hydrogeneration's intramonth energy supporting capability, whereas rolling short‐term generation scheduling method cannot account the long‐term effect of reservoir regulation decisions. This paper proposes a new LTGS method accounting intramonth imbalance risk that the energy deficit of VRE generation exceeds the maximum supporting energy of hydrogeneration. Since intramonth imbalance risk is coupled with LTGS in an uncertain and implicit way, intramonth extreme scenarios are introduced based on distribution quantiles of natural inflow of reservoirs and VRE generation, and the probabilistic intramonth imbalance risk constraints can be transformed as the hydrogeneration must supplement energy deficit of VRE generation during the extreme scenarios. A case study is conducted on a Wind‐PV‐Hydro energy base of southwestern China. The proposed method is found able to improve the feasibility and reliability of LTGS compared to other LTGS methods. Moreover, the high calculation efficiency of conventional LTGS method is inherited.

Summary: Background: China implemented strict non-pharmaceutical interventions to contain COVID-19 at the early stage. We aimed to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on HIV care continuum in China. Methods: Aggregated data on HIV care continuum between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2020 were collected from centers for disease control and prevention at different levels and major infectious disease hospitals in various regions in China. We used interrupted time series analysis to characterize temporal trend in weekly numbers of HIV post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) prescriptions, HIV tests, HIV diagnoses, median time intervals between HIV diagnosis and antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation (time intervals, days), ART initiations, mean CD4+ T cell counts at ART initiation (CD4 counts, cells/μL), ART collections, and missed visits for ART collection, before and after the implementation of massive NPIs (23 January to 7 April 2020). We used Poisson segmented regression models to estimate the immediate and long-term impact of NPIs on these outcomes. Findings: A total of 16,780 PEP prescriptions, 1,101,686 HIV tests, 69,659 HIV diagnoses, 63,409 time intervals and ART initiations, 61,518 CD4 counts, 1,528,802 ART collections, and 6656 missed visits were recorded during the study period. The majority of outcomes occurred in males (55·3-87·4%), 21-50 year olds (51·7-90·5%), Southwestern China (38·2-82·0%) and heterosexual transmission (47·9-66·1%). NPIs was associated with 71·5% decrease in PEP prescriptions (IRR 0·285; 95% CI 0·192-0·423), 36·1% decrease in HIV tests (0·639, 0·497-0·822), 32·0% decrease in HIV diagnoses (0·680, 0·511-0·904), 59·3% increase in time intervals (1·593, 1·270-1·997) and 17·4% decrease in CD4 counts (0·826, 0·746-0·915) in the first week during NPIs. There was no marked change in the number of ART initiations, ART collections and missed visits during the NPIs. By the end of 2020, the number of HIV tests, HIV diagnoses, time intervals, ART initiations, and CD4 counts reached expected levels, but the number of PEP prescriptions (0·523, 0·394-0·696), ART collections (0·720, 0·595-0·872), and missed visits (0·137, 0·086-0·220) were still below expected levels. With the ease of restrictions, PEP prescriptions (slope change 1·024/week, 1·012-1·037), HIV tests (1·016/week, 1·008-1·026), and CD4 counts (1·005/week, 1·001-1·009) showed a significant increasing trend. Interpretation: HIV care continuum in China was affected by the COVID-19 NPIs at various levels. Preparedness and efforts to maintain the HIV care continuum during public health emergencies should leverage collaborations between stakeholders. Funding: Natural Science Foundation of China.

Molting is a key biological process in crustaceans, with impacts on their growth, development and reproduction. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) serve as bio-cargo carrying such as nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids which mediate intercellular communication and participate in various cell biological processes. In this study, we obtained hemocyte transcriptome data during the intermolt, premolt, and postmolt stages of the mud crab Scylla paramamosain. We analyzed the differentially expressed genes in the three stages of molt and identified a number of immune-related genes and structural cuticle genes. We then isolated and characterized the EVs from the hemolymph of S. paramamosain and sequenced their miRNA. In total, we characterized 89 EVs microRNAs (miRNAs) targeting 1447 genes that are potentially involved in the molting process of S. paramamosain. The EVs miRNAs mainly regulated the immune-related genes and affected the molting process by mediating ecdysone signaling and insulin signaling pathways during the mud crab molt cycle. This is the first study of EVs miRNAs and their interaction with mRNA to identify important candidate genes associated with, or regulating, the molting process. This study provides a better understanding of, and novel insights into, the molting cycle of crustaceans and offers baseline information for further studies in the mechanisms regulating molt.

Objectives To determine the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound (US), CT and their combination in detecting cervical lymph node metastasis (CLNM) in patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC).Methods Medline (via PubMed), Web of Science, Embase were searched to identify studies published till 5 December 2021 that used US and CT to detect CLNM in patients with PTC. The primary outcomes were sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic ORs in neck-level-based (lymph nodes are analysed by neck level) or patient-based (lymph nodes are analysed by patient) analysis. Secondary outcomes were sensitivity, specificity and DORs in the central and lateral compartments.Results Fourteen studies (6167 patients with 11 601 neck lymph nodes) met the inclusion criteria. Based on the neck-level-based analysis, the pooled sensitivity, specificity and DORs were 0.35 (95% CI 0.34 to 0.37), 0.95 (95% CI 0.94 to 0.95) and 13.94 (95% CI 9.34 to 20.82) for US, were 0.46 (95% CI 0.44 to 0.47), 0.88 (95% CI 0.87 to 0.89) and 7.24 (95% CI 5.46 to 9.62) for CT, were 0.51 (95% CI 0.49 to 0.52), 0.85 (95% CI 0.84 to 0.86), 6.01 (95% CI 3.84 to 9.40) for the combination of US and CT. In the patient-based analysis, the pooled estimates of sensitivity, specificity and DOR were 0.41 (95% CI 0.36 to 0.46), 0.92 (95% CI 0.89 to 0.94) and 7.56 (95% CI 4.08 to 14.01) for US, were 0.49 (0.44 to 0.54), 0.91 (0.89 to 0.94), 9.40 (5.79 to 15.27) for CT, and were 0.64 (95% CI 0.57 to 0.71), 0.83 (95% CI 0.77 to 0.88), 8.59 (95% CI 5.37 to 13.76) for the combination of US and CT.Discussion These findings suggest US, with a DOR almost twice that of CT in the neck-level-based analysis, was superior to CT in detecting CLNM in patients with PTC, especially in the lateral compartment. The combination of US and CT increased the sensitivity from 41%–49% for the individual modalities to 64% for combined modalities in the patient-based analysis.

Accurate traffic prediction is crucial to alleviating traffic congestion in cities. Existing physical sensor-based traffic data acquisition methods have high transmission costs, serious traffic information redundancy, and large calculation volumes for spatiotemporal data processing, thus making it difficult to ensure accuracy and real-time traffic prediction. With the increasing resolution of UAV imagery, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) imagery to obtain traffic information has become a hot spot. Still, analyzing and predicting traffic status after extracting traffic information is neglected. We develop a framework for traffic speed extraction and prediction based on UAV imagery processing, which consists of two parts: a traffic information extraction module based on UAV imagery recognition and a traffic speed prediction module based on deep learning. First, we use deep learning methods to automate the extraction of road information, implement vehicle recognition using convolutional neural networks and calculate the average speed of road sections based on panchromatic and multispectral image matching to construct a traffic prediction dataset. Then, we propose an attention-enhanced traffic speed prediction module that considers the spatiotemporal characteristics of traffic data and increases the weights of key roads by extracting important fine-grained spatiotemporal features twice to improve the prediction accuracy of the target roads. Finally, we validate the effectiveness of the proposed method on real data. Compared with the baseline algorithm, our algorithm achieves the best prediction performance regarding accuracy and stability.

With the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), IoT devices are increasingly being deployed in scenarios with large footprints, remote locations, and complex geographic environments. In these scenarios, base stations are usually not easily deployed and are easily destroyed, so unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based edge computing is a good solution. However, the UAV cannot accomplish the computing tasks and efficiently achieve better resource allocation considering the limited communication and computing resources of the UAV. In this paper, a multi-UAV-assisted mobile edge computing (MEC) system is considered where multiple UAVs cooperate to provide a service to IoT devices. We formulate an optimization function to minimize the energy consumption of a multi-UAV-assisted MEC system. The optimization function is a complex problem with non-convex and multivariate coupling. Thus, a joint UAV deployment and task scheduling optimization algorithm are designed to achieve optimal values of UAV numbers, the hovering position of each UAV, and the best strategy for offloading and resource allocation. Experimental results demonstrate that the algorithm has positive convergence performance and can accomplish more tasks under the constraint of delay compared to the two benchmark algorithms. The proposed algorithm can effectively reduce the system energy consumption compared to the two state-of-the-art algorithms.

BackgroundMany countries and organizations recommended people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) receive the COVID-19 vaccine. However, vaccine hesitancy still exists and becomes a barrier for promoting COVID-19 vaccination among PLWHA. ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate factors that contributed to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among PLWHA. MethodsThe study used a multicenter cross-sectional design and an online survey mode. We recruited PLWHA aged 18-65 years from 5 metropolitan cities in China between January 2021 and February 2021. Participants completed an online survey through Golden Data, a widely used encrypted web-based survey platform. Multiple linear regression models were used to assess the background characteristics in relation to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, and structural equation modeling was performed to assess the relationships among perceived benefits, perceived risks, self-efficacy, subjective norms, and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. ResultsAmong 1735 participants, 41.61% (722/1735) reported COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Older age, no other vaccinations in the past 3 years, and having chronic disease history were positively associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Structural equation modeling revealed a direct relationship of perceived benefits, perceived risks, and subjective norms with self-efficacy and vaccine hesitancy and an indirect relationship of perceived benefits, perceived risks, and subjective norms with vaccine hesitancy. Moreover, self-efficacy toward COVID-19 vaccination was low. PLWHA had concerns of HIV disclosure during COVID-19 vaccination. Family member support could have an impact on COVID-19 vaccination decision-making. ConclusionsCOVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was high among PLWHA in China. To reduce COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, programs and strategies should be adopted to eliminate the concerns for COVID-19 vaccination, disseminate accurate information on the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine, encourage family member support for COVID-19 vaccination, and improve PLWHA’s trust of medical professionals.

People living with HIV (PLWH), if infected with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), had an increased risk of mortality compared to people without HIV infection. They are considered as a priority group to receive COVID-19 vaccination. This cross-sectional online survey investigated the prevalence of and factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination uptake among 2740 PLWH aged 18–65 years in eight Chinese metropolitan cities between January and February 2021. As validated by requesting participants to send an image of receipt hiding personal identification, 6.2% of PLWH had taken up COVID-19 vaccination. Participants living in cities where individuals could make an appointment to receive COVID-19 vaccination reported significantly higher uptake than those living in cities without such allowance (11.0 vs. 2.9%, p < 0.001). Being a member of priority groups to receive vaccination, concerning about the side effects of COVID-19 vaccination and its interaction with HIV treatment, and exposing to information on the Internet/social media supporting PLWH to receive COVID-19 vaccination were significantly associated with COVID-19 vaccination uptake in both groups of participants. Receiving advice from the staff of community-based organizations supporting COVID-19 vaccination was associated with higher uptake among participants living in cities where individuals could make an appointment to receive such vaccination, while a shortage in COVID-19 vaccine supply was associated with a lower uptake among participants living in other cities. Our findings presented a snapshot of COVID-19 vaccination uptake among PLWH in the early phase of vaccine rollout in China. It provided a knowledge basis to formulate interventions promoting COVID-19 vaccination for PLWH.

ObjectivesMantle cell lymphoma (MCL) represents a group of highly heterogeneous tumors, leading to a poor prognosis. Early prognosis prediction may guide the choice of therapeutic regimen. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the potential application value of heterogeneity index (HI) in predicting the prognosis of MCL.MethodsA total of 83 patients with histologically proven MCL who underwent baseline fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) were retrospectively enrolled. The clinicopathologic index and PET/CT metabolic parameters containing maximum and mean standard uptake value (SUVmax and SUVmean), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), total lesion glycolysis (TLG), and HI were evaluated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to determine the optimal cutoff values of the parameters for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression were used to assess relationships between risk factors and recurrence. Kaplan–Meier plots were applied for survival analyses.ResultsIn univariate analyses, age [HR = 2.51, 95% CI = 1.20–5.24, p = 0.041 for body weight (BW)] and HI-BW (HR = 4.17, 95% CI = 1.00–17.38, p = 0.050) were significantly correlated with PFS. In multivariate analyses, age (HR = 2.61, 95% CI = 1.25–5.47, p = 0.011 for BW) and HI-BW (HR = 4.41, 95% CI = 1.06–18.41, p = 0.042) were independent predictors for PFS, but not for OS. B symptoms (HR = 5.00, 95% CI = 1.16–21.65, p = 0.031 for BW) were an independent prognostic factor for OS, but not for PFS. The other clinicopathologic index and PET/CT metabolic parameters were not related to outcome survival in MCL.ConclusionThe age and HI derived from baseline PET/CT parameters were significantly correlated with PFS in MCL patients.

Battery energy storage systems (BESSs) can provide instantaneous support for frequency regulation (FR) because of their fast response characteristics. However, purely pursuing a better FR effect calls for continually rapid cycles of BESSs, which shortens their lifetime and deteriorates the operational economy. To coordinate the lifespan savings and the FR effect, this paper presents a control strategy for the FR of BESSs based on fuzzy logic and hierarchical controllers. The fuzzy logic controller improves the effect of FR by adjusting the charging/discharging power of the BESS with a higher response speed and precision based on the area control error (ACE) signal and the change rate of ACE in a non-linear way. Hierarchical controllers effectively reduce the life loss by optimizing the depth of discharge, which ensures that the state of charge (SOC) of BESS is always in the optimal operating range, and the total FR cost is the lowest at this time. The proposed method can achieve the optimal balance between ACE reduction and operational economy of BESS. The effectiveness of the proposed strategy is verified in a two-area power system.

AbstractDespite decades of methods development for classifying relatives in genetic studies, pairwise relatedness methods’ recalls are above 90% only for first through third-degree relatives. The top-performing approaches, which leverage identity-by-descent segments, often use only kinship coefficients, while others, including estimation of recent shared ancestry (ERSA), use the number of segments relatives share. To quantify the potential for using segment numbers in relatedness inference, we leveraged information theory measures to analyze exact (i.e. produced by a simulator) identity-by-descent segments from simulated relatives. Over a range of settings, we found that the mutual information between the relatives’ degree of relatedness and a tuple of their kinship coefficient and segment number is on average 4.6% larger than between the degree and the kinship coefficient alone. We further evaluated identity-by-descent segment number utility by building a Bayes classifier to predict first through sixth-degree relationships using different feature sets. When trained and tested with exact segments, the inclusion of segment numbers improves the recall by between 0.28% and 3% for second through sixth-degree relatives. However, the recalls improve by less than 1.8% per degree when using inferred segments, suggesting limitations due to identity-by-descent detection accuracy. Last, we compared our Bayes classifier that includes segment numbers with both ERSA and IBIS and found comparable recalls, with the Bayes classifier and ERSA slightly outperforming each other across different degrees. Overall, this study shows that identity-by-descent segment numbers can improve relatedness inference, but errors from current SNP array-based detection methods yield dampened signals in practice.

Aim. Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) alters the liver blood supply and reduces portal pressure. This study was to investigate the changes and associations of the hepatic blood flow, liver volume, and portal pressure gradient (PPG) after TIPS in liver cirrhosis. Methods. Twenty-one patients with liver cirrhosis who received TIPS were recruited. The contrast CT images were used to assess the iodine density (ID) of liver parenchymal and liver volume. The ID of the liver parenchyma was used to reflect hepatic blood flow. We used a paired t-test and regression analysis to investigate the effect of TIPS on hepatic blood flow, liver volume, and PPG in individuals with cirrhosis and the factors that affect changes in liver volume. Results. After TIPS, there was a significant improvement in the ID of liver parenchyma at arterial phase (AP) and PPG in individuals with cirrhosis (P

Object: By retrospectively analyzing the energy spectrum of squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, small cell lung cancer (SCLC), and pulmonary metastases that underwent dual-layer detector spectral computed tomography (DLCT) 3-phase scan of the chest, we explored the value of a multiparameter energy spectrum in the assessment of pathological types of lung tumors. Methods: Cases of squamous cell carcinoma ( n = 20), adenocarcinoma ( n = 24), SCLC ( n = 26), and metastases ( n = 14) were collected. Then the largest cross-sectional area (LCA) of the lesion, computed tomography (CT) values in the plain scan phase, arterial and venous phases (HU, HUa, and HUv), iodine concentration, and effective atomic number in the arterial and venous phases (ICa, ICv, Zeff[a], and Zeff[v]) were measured and compared among the nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC), SCLC and metastases, and other 3 groups of SCLC, squamous cell carcinoma, and adenocarcinoma. Results: Only the LCA is statistically different among SCLC, NSCLC, and metastases ( P

The algorithm in this paper is called semantic information supplementary pyramid network(SIS-net). We choose Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) as its fundamental model. SIS-net's generator imitates the feature pyramid network (FPN) structure to recycle features spanning across multiple receptive scales to restore a sharp image. However, to solve the problem caused by the phenomenon of semantic dilution in the FPN network, we have innovatively designed a semantic information supplement (SIS) mechanism. SIS mechanism contains two essential components: semantic information storage box (info-box) and feature fusion expanding. In the process of feature fusion expanding, the semantic information features coming from the info-box is supplemented to make greater use of detailed clues. In addition, SIS-net uses the intermediate layer path to extract image features in a single time to obtain a multi-scale effect. The running speed of SIS-net has obvious advantages over other algorithms, and can basically complete real-time deblurring tasks. Extensive experiments show that our SIS-net achieves both qualitative and quantitative improvements against state-of-the-art methods. The code is available at https://github.com/yimingliu123/SIS-NET.

For the planning, operation and control of multiterminal voltage source converter (VSC) based high-voltage direct current (HVDC) (VSC-MTDC) systems, an accurate power flow formulation is a key starting point. Conventional power flow formulations assume the constant frequencies for all asynchronous AC systems. Therefore, a new feature about the complex coupling relations between AC frequencies, DC voltages and the exchanged power via VSC stations cannot be characterized if VSC-MTDC systems are required to provide cross-regional frequency responses. To address this issue, this paper proposes a comprehensive frequency-dependent power flow formulation. The proposed approach takes the frequencies of asynchronous AC systems as explicit variables, and investigates the novel bus models of the interlinking buses of VSC stations. The proposed approach accommodates different operation modes and frequency droop strategies of VSC stations, and considers the power losses of VSC stations. The effectiveness and generality of the developed approach are validated by a 6-terminal VSC-HVDC test system. The test system presents the characteristics of the coexistence of numerous VSC operation modes, the absence of slack buses in both AC and DC subsystems, and diversified grid configurations such as point-to-point integration of renewable energy sources and one AC system integrated with multiple VSC stations.

AIM: To make an electrophysiological demonstration of a possible jaw muscle afferents-oculomotor neural pathway that was proposed by our previous works on rats, which substantiates an early “release hypothesis” on pathogenesis of human Marcus Gunn Syndrome (MGS). METHODS: Extracellular unit discharge recording was applied and both orthodromic and spontaneous unitary firing were recorded in the oculomotor nucleus (III), and the complex of pre-oculomotor interstitial nucleus of Cajal and Darkschewitsch nucleus (INC/DN), following electric stimulation of the ipsilateral masseter nerve (MN) in rats. RESULTS: Extracellular orthodromic unit discharges, with latencies of 3.7±1.3 and 4.7±2.9ms, were recorded unilaterally in the III, and the INC/DN neurons, respectively. Spontaneous unit discharges were also recorded mostly in the INC/DN and less frequently in the III. Train stimulation could prompt either facilitation or inhibition on those spontaneous unit discharges. The inhibition pattern of train stimulation on the spontaneous discharging was rather different in the III and INC/DN. A slow inhibitory pattern in which spontaneous firing rate decreased further and further following repeated train stimulation was observed in the III. While, some high spontaneous firing rate units, responding promptly to the train stimuli with a short-term inhibition and recovered quickly when stimuli are off, were recorded in the INC/DN. However, orthodromic unit discharge was not recorded in the III and INC/DN in a considerable number of experiment animals. CONCLUSION: A residual neuronal circuit might exist in mammals for the primitive jaw-eyelid reflex observed in amphibians, which might not be well-developed in all experimental mammals in current study. Nonetheless, this pathway can be still considered as a neuroanatomic substrate for development of MGS in some cases among all MGS with different kind of etiology.

BackgroundHIV infection is a significant independent risk factor for both severe COVID-19 presentation at hospital admission and in-hospital mortality. Available information has suggested that people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) could benefit from COVID-19 vaccination. However, there is a dearth of evidence on willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccination among PLWHA. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccination among a national sample of PLWHA in China. MethodsThis cross-sectional online survey investigated factors associated with willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccination among PLWHA aged 18 to 65 years living in eight conveniently selected Chinese metropolitan cities between January and February 2021. Eight community-based organizations (CBOs) providing services to PLWHA facilitated the recruitment. Eligible PLWHA completed an online survey developed using a widely used encrypted web-based survey platform in China. We fitted a single logistic regression model to obtain adjusted odds ratios (aORs), which involved one of the independent variables of interest and all significant background variables. Path analysis was also used in the data analysis. ResultsOut of 10,845 PLWHA approached by the CBOs, 2740 completed the survey, and 170 had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. This analysis was performed among 2570 participants who had never received COVID-19 vaccination. Over half of the participants reported willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccination (1470/2570, 57.2%). Perceptions related to COVID-19 vaccination were significantly associated with willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccination, including positive attitudes (aOR 1.11, 95% CI 1.09-1.12; P

Aeromonas salmonicida, a psychrophilic bacterial pathogen, is widely distributed in marine freshwater, causing serious economic losses to major salmon farming areas in the world. At present, it is still one of the most important pathogens threatening salmon farming. Hcp (haemolysin-coregulated protein) is an effector protein in the type-VI secretion system (T6SS), which is secreted by T6SS and functions as its structural component. The results of our previous genomic sequencing showed that hcp existed in the mesophilic A. salmonicida SRW-OG1 isolated from naturally infected Epinephelus coioides. To further explore the role of Hcp in A. salmonicida SRW-OG1, we constructed an hcp-RNAi strain and verified its effect on the virulence of A. salmonicida. The results showed that compared with the wild strain, the hcp-RNAi strain suffered from different degrees of decreased adhesion, growth, biofilm formation, extracellular product secretion, and virulence. It was suggested that hcp may be an important virulence gene of A. salmonicida SRW-OG1.

Highly multiplexed imaging technology is a powerful tool to facilitate understanding the composition and interactions of cells in tumor microenvironments at subcellular resolution, which is crucial for both basic research and clinical applications. Imaging mass cytometry (IMC), a multiplex imaging method recently introduced, can measure up to 100 markers simultaneously in one tissue section by using a high-resolution laser with a mass cytometer. However, due to its high resolution and large number of channels, how to process and interpret the image data from IMC remains a key challenge to its further applications. Accurate and reliable single cell segmentation is the first and a critical step to process IMC image data. Unfortunately, existing segmentation pipelines either produce inaccurate cell segmentation results or require manual annotation, which is very time consuming. Here, we developed Dice-XMBD1, a Deep learnIng-based Cell sEgmentation algorithm for tissue multiplexed imaging data. In comparison with other state-of-the-art cell segmentation methods currently used for IMC images, Dice-XMBD generates more accurate single cell masks efficiently on IMC images produced with different nuclear, membrane, and cytoplasm markers. All codes and datasets are available at https://github.com/xmuyulab/Dice-XMBD.

Fish is considered as a supreme model for clarifying the evolution and regulatory mechanism of vertebrate immunity. However, the knowledge of distinct immune cell populations in fish is still limited, and further development of techniques advancing the identification of fish immune cell populations and their functions are required. Single cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) has provided a new approach for effective in-depth identification and characterization of cell subpopulations. Current approaches for scRNA-seq data analysis usually rely on comparison with a reference genome and hence are not suited for samples without any reference genome, which is currently very common in fish research. Here, we present an alternative, i.e. scRNA-seq data analysis with a full-length transcriptome as a reference, and evaluate this approach on samples from Epinephelus coioides-a teleost without any published genome. We show that it reconstructs well most of the present transcripts in the scRNA-seq data achieving a sensitivity equivalent to approaches relying on genome alignments of related species. Based on cell heterogeneity and known markers, we characterized four cell types: T cells, B cells, monocytes/macrophages (Mo/MΦ) and NCC (non-specific cytotoxic cells). Further analysis indicated the presence of two subsets of Mo/MΦ including M1 and M2 type, as well as four subsets in B cells, i.e. mature B cells, immature B cells, pre B cells and early-pre B cells. Our research will provide new clues for understanding biological characteristics, development and function of immune cell populations of teleost. Furthermore, our approach provides a reliable alternative for scRNA-seq data analysis in teleost for which no reference genome is currently available.