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This study aims at developing a dataset for determining the presence of carotid artery plaques in ultrasound images, composed of 1761 ultrasound images from 1165 participants. A deep learning architecture that combines bilinear convolutional neural networks with residual neural networks, known as the single-input BCNN-ResNet model, was utilized to aid clinical doctors in diagnosing plaques using carotid ultrasound images. Following training, internal validation, and external validation, the model yielded an ROC AUC of 0.99 (95% confidence interval: 0.91 to 0.84) in internal validation and 0.95 (95% confidence interval: 0.96 to 0.94) in external validation, surpassing the ResNet-34 network model, which achieved an AUC of 0.98 (95% confidence interval: 0.99 to 0.95) in internal validation and 0.94 (95% confidence interval: 0.95 to 0.92) in external validation. Consequently, the single-input BCNN-ResNet network model has shown remarkable diagnostic capabilities and offers an innovative solution for the automatic detection of carotid artery plaques.

BackgroundCarotid plaques are major risk factors for stroke. Carotid ultrasound can help to assess the risk and incidence rate of stroke. However, large-scale carotid artery screening is time-consuming and laborious, the diagnostic results inevitably involve the subjectivity of the diagnostician to a certain extent. Deep learning demonstrates the ability to solve the aforementioned challenges. Thus, we attempted to develop an automated algorithm to provide a more consistent and objective diagnostic method and to identify the presence and stability of carotid plaques using deep learning.MethodsA total of 3,860 ultrasound images from 1,339 participants who underwent carotid plaque assessment between January 2021 and March 2023 at the Shanghai Eighth People’s Hospital were divided into a 4:1 ratio for training and internal testing. The external test included 1,564 ultrasound images from 674 participants who underwent carotid plaque assessment between January 2022 and May 2023 at Xinhua Hospital affiliated with Dalian University. Deep learning algorithms, based on the fusion of a bilinear convolutional neural network with a residual neural network (BCNN-ResNet), were used for modeling to detect carotid plaques and assess plaque stability. We chose AUC as the main evaluation index, along with accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity as auxiliary evaluation indices.ResultsModeling for detecting carotid plaques involved training and internal testing on 1,291 ultrasound images, with 617 images showing plaques and 674 without plaques. The external test comprised 470 ultrasound images, including 321 images with plaques and 149 without. Modeling for assessing plaque stability involved training and internal testing on 764 ultrasound images, consisting of 494 images with unstable plaques and 270 with stable plaques. The external test was composed of 279 ultrasound images, including 197 images with unstable plaques and 82 with stable plaques. For the task of identifying the presence of carotid plaques, our model achieved an AUC of 0.989 (95% CI: 0.840, 0.998) with a sensitivity of 93.2% and a specificity of 99.21% on the internal test. On the external test, the AUC was 0.951 (95% CI: 0.962, 0.939) with a sensitivity of 95.3% and a specificity of 82.24%. For the task of identifying the stability of carotid plaques, our model achieved an AUC of 0.896 (95% CI: 0.865, 0.922) on the internal test with a sensitivity of 81.63% and a specificity of 87.27%. On the external test, the AUC was 0.854 (95% CI: 0.889, 0.830) with a sensitivity of 68.52% and a specificity of 89.49%.ConclusionDeep learning using BCNN-ResNet algorithms based on routine ultrasound images could be useful for detecting carotid plaques and assessing plaque instability.

Abstract. Background:. We have recently developed a new Coronary Artery Tree description and Lesion EvaluaTion (CatLet) angiographic scoring system. Our preliminary studies have demonstrated its superiority over the the Synergy between percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) score with respect to outcome predictions for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients. The current study hypothesized that the residual CatLet (rCatLet) score predicts clinical outcomes for AMI patients and that a combination with the three clinical variables (CVs)—age, creatinine, and ejection fraction, will enhance its predicting values. Methods:. The rCatLet score was calculated retrospectively in 308 consecutively enrolled patients with AMI. Primary endpoint, major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events (MACCE) including all-cause mortality, non-fatal AMI, transient ischemic attack/stroke, and ischemia-driven repeat revascularization, was stratified according to rCatLet score tertiles: rCatLet_low ≤3, rCatLet_mid 4-11, and rCatLet_top ≥12, respectively. Cross-validation confirmed a reasonably good agreement between the observed and predicted risks. Results:. Of 308 patients analyzed, the rates of MACCE, all-cause death, and cardiac death were 20.8%, 18.2%, and 15.3%, respectively. Kaplan-Meier curves for all endpoints showed increasing outcome events with the increasing tertiles of the rCatLet score, with P values

Abstract Background Heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) is largely underdiagnosed and undertreated in China where few patients achieved recommended target levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). We conducted the first randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial in Chinese patients with HeFH to assess the efficacy and safety of tafolecimab, a novel fully human proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) monoclonal antibody. Methods Patients diagnosed with HeFH by Simon Broome criteria and on a stable lipid-lowering therapy for at least 4 weeks were randomized 2:2:1:1 to receive subcutaneous tafolecimab 150 mg every 2 weeks (Q2W), tafolecimab 450 mg every 4 weeks (Q4W), placebo Q2W or placebo Q4W in the 12-week double-blind treatment period. After that, participants received open-label tafolecimab 150 mg Q2W or 450 mg Q4W for 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was the percent change from baseline to week 12 in LDL-C levels. Secondary endpoints included proportion of participants achieving ≥50% LDL-C reductions and proportion of participants with LDL-C

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) air-to-ground (AG) communication plays a critical role in the evolving space–air–ground integrated network of the upcoming sixth-generation cellular network (6G). The integration of massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems has become essential for ensuring optimal performing communication technologies. This article presents a novel dual-driven learning-based network for millimeter-wave (mm-wave) massive MIMO symbol detection of UAV AG communications. Our main contribution is that the proposed approach combines a data-driven symbol-correction network with a model-driven orthogonal approximate message passing network (OAMP-Net). Through joint training, the dual-driven network reduces symbol detection errors propagated through each iteration of the model-driven OAMP-Net. The numerical results demonstrate the superiority of the dual-driven detector over the conventional minimum mean square error (MMSE), orthogonal approximate message passing (OAMP), and OAMP-Net detectors at various noise powers and channel estimation errors. The dual-driven MIMO detector exhibits a 2–3 dB lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) requirement compared to the MMSE and OAMP-Net detectors to achieve a bit error rate (BER) of 1×10−2 when the channel estimation error is −30 dB. Moreover, the dual-driven MIMO detector exhibits an increased tolerance to channel estimation errors by 2–3 dB to achieve a BER of 1×10−3.

In this article, when 2≤p≤4, we establish the Cloc0,1-regularity of weak solutions to the degenerate parabolic p-Laplacian equation ∂tu=−∑i=16Xi*(|∇Hu|p−2Xiu) on the group SU(3) granted with horizontal vector fields X1, …, X6. Compared to the Heisenberg group, Hn, we obtained the optimal range of p; that is, 2≤p≤4.

Multiple-point geostatistics (MPS) has more advantages than two-point geostatistics in reproducing the continuity of geobodies in subsurface reservoir modeling. For fluvial reservoir modeling, the more continuous a channel, the more consistent it is with geological knowledge in general, and fluvial continuity is also of paramount importance when simulating fluid flow. Based on the pixel-based MPS algorithm Snesim, this study proposes a method that utilizes multiple search trees (MSTs) to enhance simulation continuity in 2D fluvial reservoir modeling. The objective of the MST method is to capture complete data events from a training image (TI), which aims to achieve enhanced continuity in fluvial reservoir sublayer modeling. By resorting to search neighborhoods based on their proximity to the central node of the data template, multiple data templates that correspond to the MSTs will be generated. Here, four data templates were generated by arranging the relative search neighborhood coordinates in ascending and descending order with respect to the central node. Parallel computing was tried for the construction of the search trees. This work calculated the conditional probability distribution function (CPDF) of the simulating nodes by averaging the CPDFs derived from the MSTs, and double retrieval was employed to filter out the search trees that possessed an inaccurate local CPDF for the simulating nodes. In addition, the connected component labeling (CCL) method was introduced to evaluate the simulation continuity in MPS. The results indicated that the MST method can enhance the simulation continuity of the Snesim algorithm by reproducing the fine connectivity of channel facies in 2D fluvial reservoir modeling.

In view of the classical Lucas-Washburn equation, which can only describe the spontaneous imbibition of single wetted capillary, a tilted composite capillary model with circular cross section, composed of different wettability capillary wall was established. The model can describe the spontaneous oil-water imbibition of water-wet capillary, oil-wet capillary and mixed wetting capillary. Through numerical solution of the model equation, it is found that the component content of the capillary walls, the capillary radius and the oil-water viscosity ratio have great effects on the spontaneous oil-water imbibition. Effects of capillary inclination angle and inertia force on spontaneous oil-water imbibition are related to the capillary scale. Effects of capillary inclination angle and inertia force can be ignored in small radius capillary, while effects of inclination angle and inertia force can not be ignored in large radius capillary.

Rabies is a lethal encephalitis caused by the rabies virus (RABV) with a fatality rate near 100% after the onset of clinical symptoms in humans and animals. Microglia are resident immune cells in the central nervous system. Few studies have been conducted on the functional role of microglia in RABV infection. Here, we performed a transcriptomic analysis of mRNA expression profiles in the microglia of mouse brains intracerebrally infected with RABV. We successfully isolated single microglial cells from the mouse brains. The survival rate of dissociated microglial cells was 81.91%–96.7%, and the purity was 88.3%. Transcriptomic analysis revealed 22,079 differentially expressed mRNAs identified in the microglia of mouse brains infected with RABV strains (rRC-HL, GX074, and CVS-24) of varying virulence at 4 and 7 days post-infection (dpi) compared to the control group. The numbers of DEGs versus the control at 4 and 7 dpi in mice infected with rRC-HL, GX074, and CVS-24 were 3622 and 4590, 265 and 4901, and 4079 and 6337. The GO enrichment analysis showed that response to stress, response to external stimulus, regulation of response to stimulus, and immune system process were abundant during RABV infection. The KEGG analysis indicated that the Tlr, Tnf, RIG-I, NOD, NF-κB, MAPK, and Jak-STAT signaling pathways were involved in RABV infection at both 4 and 7 dpi. However, some phagocytosis and cell signal transduction processes, such as endocytosis, p53, phospholipase D, and oxidative phosphorylation signaling pathways, were only expressed at 7 dpi. The involvement of the Tnf and Tlr signaling pathways prompted us to construct a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network of these pathways. The PPI revealed 8 DEGs, including Mmp9, Jun, Pik3r1, and Mapk12. Notably, Il-1b interacted with Tnf and Il-6 with combined scores of 0.973 and 0.981, respectively. RABV causes significant changes in mRNA expression profiles in the microglia in mice. 22,079 differentially expressed mRNAs were identified in the microglia of mice infected with RABV strains of varying virulence at 4 and 7 dpi. The DEGs were evaluated using GO, KEGG, and PPI network analysis. Many immune pathways were up-regulated in RABV-infected groups. The findings will help elucidate the microglial molecular mechanisms of cellular metabolism dysregulated by RABV and may provide important information for investigating RABV pathogenesis and therapeutic methods.

The aim is to explore the protective effects of Puerarin on radiation-induced vascular endothelial cell damage and its underlying mechanism. The apoptosis and DNA damage of Human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) exposed to radiation alone or in combination with glucose in the exposed group were significantly elevated ( P < .05) compared with those in the control group. The Puerarin-treated HUVECs showed significant reduction in the radiation-induced apoptosis and DNA damage ( P < .05). Furthermore, X-ray irradiation significantly increased the expression of miR-34a, which was reversed by pre-treatment with Puerarin. Placental Growth Factor (PLGF) was a target gene of miR-34a. The expression of PLGF in the peripheral blood of patients receiving radiotherapy significantly increased with an increase in the cumulative dose of radiation ( P < .05), after which it began to decrease at the fourth week ( P < .05) and then remained at a low level until the end of radiotherapy. Puerarin exerts a radioprotective effect by decreasing DNA damage and apoptosis through miR-34a-targeted PLGF.

Abstract Our previous studies demonstrated that matrine directly acts on the replication process of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). Matrine inhibits viral replication and is also associated with the NF-κB signalling pathway. These results suggest that matrine has antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects. However, the specific anti-inflammatory mechanism of matrine is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the anti-IL-1β mechanism of matrine, as IL-1β is a major inflammatory cytokine, in porcine alveolar macrophages (PAMs) stimulated with 4 μg PRRSV 5′-untranslated region (UTR) RNA and 1 μg/mL LPS. After 5′UTR RNA and LPS co-stimulation of PAMs for 12 h, the expression of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α was significantly increased. The results also showed that co-stimulation induced the expression of MyD88, and activated the NF-κB signalling pathway and NLRP3 inflammasome. Furthermore, matrine treatment downregulated MyD88, NLRP3 and caspase-1 expression, inhibited ASC speck formation, suppressed IκBα phosphorylation, and interfered with the translocation of NF-κB from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. These results suggest that matrine plays an important role in PAMs co-stimulated with PRRSV 5′UTR RNA and LPS via its effect on NF-κB and the NLRP3 inflammasome. These findings lay the foundation for the exploration of the clinical application of matrine in PRRSV disease.

Abstract Background Soil acidity (and associated Al toxicity) is a major factor limiting crop production worldwide and threatening global food security. Electrostatic layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly provides a convenient and versatile method to form an extracellular silica nanocoat, which possess the ability to protect cell from the damage of physical stress or toxic substances. In this work, we have tested a hypothesis that extracellular silica nanocoat formed by LBL self-assembly will protect root border cells (RBCs) and enhance their resistance to Al toxicity. Results Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to compare the properties of RBCs surface coated with nanoshells with those that were exposed to Al without coating. The accumulation of Al, reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, and the activity of mitochondria were detected by a laser-scanning confocal microscopy. We found that a crystal-like layer of silica nanoparticles on the surface of RBCs functions as an extracellular Al-proof coat by immobilizing Al in the apoplast and preventing its accumulation in the cytosol. The silica nanoshells on the RBCs had a positive impact on maintaining the integrity of the plasma and mitochondrial membranes, preventing ROS burst and ensuring higher mitochondria activity and cell viability under Al toxicity. Conclusions The study provides evidence that silica nanoshells confers RBCs Al resistance by restraining of Al in the silica-coat, suggesting that this method can be used an efficient tool to prevent multibillion-dollar losses caused by Al toxicity to agricultural crop production.

BackgroundMethyl Jasmonate (MeJA) could promote the opening of sorghum florets, but the molecular mechanism remains unclear.ObjectiveWe aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism of exogenous MeJA in promoting the opening of sorghum florets.MethodsHybrid sorghum Aikang-8 was selected as the test material in this study. Sorghum plants of uniform growth with approximately 20%-25% florets open were selected and treated with 0, 0.5 and 2.0 mmol/L of MeJA. Totally there were 27 samples with lodicules removed were obtained at different time points and used for the transcriptome analysis using the BGISEQ_500RS platform.ResultsThe results showed the sorghum florets opened earlier than the control after the treatment with exogenous MeJA, and the promotive effect increased along with the increase of exogenous MeJA concentration. The number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in plasma cells increased with the increase of MeJA concentration, whether up- or down-regulated, after the exogenous MeJA treatment. Besides, the number of metabolic pathways was also positively correlated with the concentration of MeJA. GO and KEGG analysis suggested the DEGs were mainly enriched in starch and sucrose metabolism-related pathways (i.e., LOC8063704, LOC8083539 and LOC8056206), plant hormone signal transduction pathways (i.e., LOC8084842, LOC8072010, and LOC8057408), energy metabolic pathway (i.e., LOC8076139) and the α-linolenic acid metabolic pathway (i.e., LOC8055636, LOC8057399, LOC8063048 and LOC110430730). Functional analysis of target genes showed that two genes named LOC-1 (LOC8063704) and LOC-2 (LOC8076139) could induce the earlier flowering of Arabidopsis thaliana.ConclusionThe results of this study suggest that exogenous MeJA treatments could induce the up- or down- regulation of genes related to starch and sucrose metabolism, -linolenic acid metabolism and plant hormone signal transduction pathways in the plasma cells of sorghum florets, thereby promoting the opening of sorghum florets.

To reduce the risk of queuing overflow on the urban minor road at the intersection under supersaturation where the capacity of the arterial and minor roads shows extreme disparity, reduce the adverse effects caused by long queues of vehicles on the minor road, and comprehensively balance the multiobjective requirements such as priority of the main road, queuing restrictions, and delay on the minor road, the minor road queue model at the end of red, a road remaining capacity model, and multiparameter coordinated signal control model were established, and a multiobjective genetic algorithm was used to optimize this solution. As an example, the multiparameter coordinated control strategy decreased the delay per vehicle by approximately 17% and the queue length by approximately 30%–50% on the minor road and slightly increased the delay per vehicle at the intersection and the length on the main road queue. This control strategy can make full use of the capacity of the main road to control the queue length on the minor road, effectively reduce the risk of minor road queue overflow blocking local road network traffic operation involved, and comprehensively balance the traffic demand between arterial and minor roads. It provides a reference control method for coping with the transfer of the main traffic contradiction under the oversaturated state of the road intersection with large disparity.

To improve driving safety on superhighways, longitudinal profile design parameters of a superhighway are calculated via force analysis while a car is driven on a slope. The calculations consider characteristics of drivers, cars, and roads. According to the vehicle type, design speed, and natural conditions, the maximum longitudinal slope of a superhighway is calculated and compared with those of an ordinary superhighway and high-speed railway. Based on analysis of the vehicle climbing performance, braking performance, and driver visual characteristics, the maximum and minimum slope lengths of a superhighway are calculated. By analyzing the elements of vertical curves, the minimum radius and minimum length of the vertical curves of a superhighway are calculated by considering factors such as mitigating the impact at the slope bottom, driving at night, and driving time along vertical curves. Analysis and calculation results show that when the maximum longitudinal slope is 2.50%, 2.25%, and 2.00%, the minimum slope length is 450 m, 400 m, and 350 m, respectively, and the minimum vertical curve length is 145 m, 130 m, and 115 m, respectively, and the superhighway travel requirements can be satisfied at speeds of 180 km/h, 160 km/h, and 140 km/h, respectively.

Background. Approximately 20–40% of recipients of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) do not respond to it based on the current patient selection criteria. The purpose of this study was to identify baseline parameters that can predict CRT response and to evaluate the effect of those predictive parameters on long-term prognosis. Methods. This was a retrospective, nonrandomized, noncontrolled cohort study. Patients who received CRT in our centre were divided into responders and nonresponders by the definition of CRT response (an increase in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of ≥5% and improvement of ≥1 New York Heart Association (NYHA) class from baseline to the 6-month follow-up). Results. Of the 101 patients, 68 were responders and 33 were nonresponders. Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD; OR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.81–0.95, P=0.001) and QRS duration (OR: 1.07, 95% CI: 1.04–1.10, P

Accumulating studies have shown that the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling pathway plays an essential role in mediating cellular entry of numerous viruses. In this study, we report that bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) productive infection in both the human lung carcinoma cell line A549 and bovine kidney (MDBK) cells leads to activation of EGFR, as demonstrated by the increased phosphorylation of EGFR at Tyr1068 (Y1068), which in turn plays important roles in virus infection. A time-of-addition assay supported that virus replication at post-entry stages was affected by the EGFR specific inhibitor Gefitinib. Interestingly, both phospholipase C-γ1 (PLC-γ1) and Akt, canonical downstream effectors of EGFR, were activated following virus infection in A549 cells, while Gefitinib could inhibit the activation of PLC-γ1 but not Akt. In addition, virus titers in A549 cells was inhibited by chemical inhibition of PLC-γ1, but not by the inhibition of Akt. However, the Akt specific inhibitor Ly294002 could significantly reduce the virus titer in MDBK cells. Taken together, our data suggest that PLC-γ1 is stimulated in part through EGFR for efficient replication in A549 cells, whereas Akt can be stimulated by virus infection independent of EGFR, and is not essential for virus productive infection, indicating that Akt modulates BoHV-1 replication in a cell type-dependent manner. This study provides novel insights on how BoHV-1 infection activates EGFR signaling transduction to facilitate virus replication.

Objective To investigate the prognostic effect of pre-diagnosis preserved vegetable consumption on oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in Yanting County, China. Methods This prospective cohort study enrolled consecutive patients with ESCC. The pre-diagnosis diet consumption data were collected using a food frequency questionnaire at baseline. Preserved vegetable consumption was categorized into two groups:

Saponins are natural compounds and possess the most promising anti-cancer function. Here, a saponin gleditsia saponin C (GSC), extracted from gleditsiae fructus abnormalis, could induce apoptosis of lung tumor cell line A549 via caspase dependent cascade and this effect could be prevented by the caspase inhibitors. In addition, GSC induced cell death companied with an increase ratio of Bax:Bcl-2 and inhibition of ERK and Akt signaling pathways. Meanwhile, GSC suppressed TNFα inducing NF-κB activation and increased the susceptibility of lung cancer cell to TNFα induced apoptosis. Furthermore, on mouse xenograft model, GSC significantly suppressed tumor growth and induced cancer cell apoptosis, which validated the anti-tumor effect of GSC. Based on these results, GSC might be a promising drug candidate of anti-lung cancer for its potential clinical applications.

Background: Noise from medical institutions such as hospitals usually exceeds the level recommended by the World Health Organization. This study aimed to explore the application effect of ward-noise reduction management combined with monitoring-training-planning (MTP) management mode in hospitalized patients with heart failure. Materials and Methods: Among the 168 research objects, 55 patients with heart failure receiving ward-noise reduction management combined with MTP management mode from April 2022 to March 2023 were included in group A, 52 patients with heart failure who underwent MTP management mode from March 2021 to March 2022 were selected as group B, and 61 patients who underwent routine management measures from March 2020 to February 2021 served as the control group. The vital signs, Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) scores, Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) scores, physical function indices, sleep quality score, and satisfaction degree of patients in the three groups were compared before and after management. Results: After 1 month of management, group A had lower heart rate, diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure, and respiratory rate compared to group B and the control group (P < 0.001). The SAS score, SDS score, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index score after management in group A were lower than those in group B and the control group (P < 0.001). Group A had a higher 6-Minute Walk Distance than group B and the control group (P < 0.001). Group A had a higher satisfaction degree after management compared to group B (P < 0.01) and the control group (P < 0.001). Group A had lower noise level than group B and the control group (P < 0.001), and there was no significant difference in noise level between group B and the control group (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Ward-noise reduction management combined with MTP management mode can reduce the noise level in the ward and improve the psychological state and sleep quality of patients with heart failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]