Search

Abstract Background Prostate cancer (PCa) is definitively diagnosed by systematic prostate biopsy (SBx) with 13 cores. This method, however, can increase the risk of urinary retention, infection and bleeding due to the excessive number of biopsy cores. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 622 patients who underwent SBx with prostate multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) from two centers between January 2014 to June 2022. The MRI data were collected to manually segment Regions of Interest (ROI) of the tumor layer by layer. ROI reconstructions were fused to form outline of the volume of interest (VOI), which were exported and applied to subsequent extraction of radiomics features. The t-tests, Mann-Whitney U-tests and chi-squared tests were performed to evaluate the significance of features. The logistic regression was used for calculating the PCa risk score (PCS). The PCS model was trained to optimize the SBx core number, utilizing both mpMRI radiomics and clinical features. Results The predicted number of SBx cores was determined by PCS model. Optimal core numbers of SBx for PCS subgroups 1–5 were calculated as 13, 10, 8, 6, and 6, respectively. Accuracies of predicted core numbers were high: 100%, 95.8%, 91.7%, 90.6%, and 92.7% for PCS subgroups 1–5. Optimized SBx reduced core rate by 41.9%. Leakage rates for PCa and clinically significant PCa were 8.2% and 3.4%, respectively. The optimized SBx also demonstrated high accuracy on the validation set. Conclusion The optimization PCS model described in this study could therefore effectively reduce the number of systematic biopsy cores obtained from patients with high PCS, especially for biopsy cores far away from suspicious lesions. This method can enhance patient experience without reducing tumor detection rate.

Abstract Rock burst is a difficult and urgent problem during the construction process of underground engineering in a zone with high surrounding rock pressure. Pressure relief blasting is one of the most effective methods for solving the problem. An in-situ blasting test was carried out in a tunnel under excavation, and the geology stress (geo-stress) of the surrounding rock was tested before and after the pressure relief blasting. The experimental results will be effective for further study of the law of pressure relief blasting and rock-burst prediction. An explicit stress analytic function is also employed to analyze the stress distribution of the tunnel surrounding rock after pressure relief blasting based on the propagation of the blasting stress wave. Furthermore, the stress attenuation coefficient and the variation of the geo-stress distribution of surrounding rock under the pressure relief blasting were discussed in detail with the in-situ blasting test data. Highlights. The main contribution of this paper is focused on: 1. This study measures the in-situ geo-stress of surrounding rock in the ‘Sang zhu ling’ tunnel, both before and after the pressure relief blasting. This data is crucial for ensuring the safety resilience of urban infrastructure. 2. A two-dimensional explicit equation of stress attenuation was derived based on the characteristics of stress propagation, providing a more accurate analytical tool for engineers and researchers, 3. The traditionally obtained stress attenuation coefficient is shown to require modification through further in-situ experiments. Future studies will refine this coefficient, contributing to the development of more reliable methods for safeguarding urban lifelines. These contributions align with the journal’s focus on advancing urban science and engineering by promoting innovative, data-driven solutions for urban safety.

Real-time safety monitoring on construction sites is essential for ensuring worker safety, but traditional detection methods face challenges in dynamic environments with moving objects, occlusions, and complex conditions. To address these limitations, we propose GS-LinYOLOv10, an improved model based on YOLOv10, specifically designed for drone-based safety monitoring. The GSConv module introduces a lightweight feature extraction mechanism, reducing computational complexity without compromising detection accuracy. The Linformer-based attention mechanism efficiently captures global context, addressing challenges in dynamic and complex environments. The model integrates IoT sensor data for real-time feedback, incorporates the GSConv module for lightweight feature extraction, and utilizes a Linformer-based attention mechanism to efficiently capture global context. These innovations reduce computational complexity while significantly improving detection accuracy. Experimental results show that GS-LinYOLOv10 achieves a precision of 91.2% and a mean average precision (mAP) of 89.4%, outperforming existing models. The integration of IoT sensors allows the drone system to dynamically adjust its monitoring focus, improving adaptability to changing environments and enhancing hazard detection. This research provides an advanced, drone-based IoT-enhanced solution for real-time construction site safety monitoring, offering a more effective and efficient approach to safety management.

Abstract Dynamic tracking of spinal instrumentation could facilitate real-time evaluation of hardware integrity and in so doing alert patients/clinicians of potential failure(s). Critically, no method yet exists to continually monitor the integrity of spinal hardware and by proxy the process of spinal arthrodesis; as such hardware failures are often not appreciated until clinical symptoms manifest. Accordingly, herein, we report on the development and engineering of a bio-adhesive metal detector array (BioMDA), a potential wearable solution for real-time, non-invasive positional analyses of osseous implants within the spine. The electromagnetic coupling mechanism and intimate interfacial adhesion enable the precise sensing of the metallic implants position without the use of radiation. The customized decoupling models developed facilitate the precise determination of the horizontal and vertical positions of the implants with incredible levels of accuracy (e.g.,

Natural gas is an emerging and reliable energy source in transition to a low-carbon economy. The natural gas transportation pipeline network systems are crucial when transporting natural gas from the production endpoints to processing or consuming endpoints. Optimizing the operational efficiency of compressor stations within pipeline networks is an effective way to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions during transportation. This paper proposes an optimization framework for natural gas transportation pipeline networks based on deep reinforcement learning (DRL). The mathematical simulation model is derived from mass balance, hydrodynamics principles of gas flow, and compressor characteristics. The optimization control problem in steady state is formulated into a one-step Markov decision process (MDP) and solved by DRL. The decision variables are selected as the discharge ratio of each compressor. By the comprehensive comparison with dynamic programming (DP) and genetic algorithm (GA) in three typical element topologies (a linear topology with gun-barrel structure, a linear topology with branch structure, and a tree topology), the proposed method can obtain 4.60% lower power consumption than GA, and the time consumption is reduced by 97.5% compared with DP. The proposed framework could be further utilized for future large-scale network optimization practices.

Rubble stone masonry is a long-standing construction. However, its binding material and mud mortar exhibit shortcomings, including low tensile and shear strength and poor water resistance. To overcome these limitations, researchers have initiated investigations into modifying mud mortar, specifically focusing on the influence of natural materials on their performance. This study used straw (0–1 wt%) and starch (0–7 wt%) as modifiers for mud mortar. The modified mortar underwent compression, straight shear, split tensile, water immersion, and abrasion tests to investigate its mechanical properties and water resistance. Additionally, electron microscope scanning was employed to reveal the modification mechanism of mud mortar at the microstructural level. The study results showed that 0.5 wt% straw/ 5 wt% starch was the optimal blended mortar. In contrast, for compressive strength, tensile strength, cohesion, and water absorption capacity, starch was better than straw, and for internal friction angle and abrasion resistance, straw was better than starch. The modification mechanisms of both were bridging and gelling effects, respectively. Lastly, finite element numerical simulations were employed in this study to analyze how modified mud mortar influences the shear performance of rubble stone masonry walls. The results demonstrated that adding both straw and starch substantially enhanced the shear strength and ductility of the walls. Specifically, the additions of 0.5 wt% straw and 5 wt% starch increased the shear strength by 18.12 % and 9.1 % and the ductility by 8.48 % and 0.83 %, respectively. This study significantly advances low-carbon, green buildings, and sustainable development.

Abstract Olfaction feedback systems could be utilized to stimulate human emotion, increase alertness, provide clinical therapy, and establish immersive virtual environments. Currently, the reported olfaction feedback technologies still face a host of formidable challenges, including human perceivable delay in odor manipulation, unwieldy dimensions, and limited number of odor supplies. Herein, we report a general strategy to solve these problems, which associates with a wearable, high-performance olfactory interface based on miniaturized odor generators (OGs) with advanced artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. The OGs serve as the core technology of the intelligent olfactory interface, which exhibit milestone advances in millisecond-level response time, milliwatt-scale power consumption, and the miniaturized size. Empowered by robust AI algorithms, the olfactory interface shows its great potentials in latency-free mixed reality (MR) and fast olfaction enhancement, thereby establishing a bridge between electronics and users for broad applications ranging from entertainment, to education, to medical treatment, and to human machine interfaces.

【Objective】Fresh-cut Chinese water chestnut (CWC) is prone to yellowing during storage, seriously affecting its appearance quality and commercial value. The study aims to find an effective method for inhibiting the yellowing of freshcut CWC and delaying quality deterioration during storage.【Method】Fresh-cut CWC were soaked in rice bran extracts to study the inhibitory effects of rice bran extracts on yellowing by measuring the color, total flavonoids content, enzyme activity, and expression changes of structural genes and transcription factors related to flavonoid metabolism.【Result】The rice bran extracts treatment significantly inhibited the increase of b* value (20.62 at 6 d of storage, significantly lower than the control) and the decrease of L* value (maintaining at 70 or above at 6 d of storage) of fresh-cut CWC during storage. Correspondingly, the rice bran extracts treatment significantly inhibited the increase in total flavonoids content, while the flavonoid content in control group increased to 0.377 mg/g at 6 days of storage, which was 2.96 times that of 0 d. In the control group, the polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity decreased first and then increased in the later stage of storage, while the PPO activity in the rice bran extracts treatment group was significantly lower than that in the control group from 2 to 6 days of storage. The activity of PAL (phenylalanine ammonia lyase) in the control group rapidly increased throughout the entire storage process, and finally reaching 71.03 U/g at 6 d, which was three times that of 0 d. However, the rice bran extracts treatment significantly inhibited the increase of PAL activity. The quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that rice bran extracts treatment effectively inhibited the expression of key structural genes in flavonoid synthesis pathway, including CwPAL, CwC4H, CwCHI and CwCHS. The expression of CwMYB12 and CwMYC2 transcription factors related to flavonoid synthesis were both significantly suppressed by rice bran extracts treatment.【Conclusion】Rice bran extracts can effectively delay the yellowing of fresh-cut water chestnut during storage, and has a significant inhibitory effect on the accumulation of flavonoids and flavonoid metabolism. These results provide a basis for further elucidating the molecular mechanism of CWC yellowing, and provide references for the preservation and color protection treatment of fresh-cut CWC.

Abstract The rapid diagnosis of respiratory virus infection through breath and blow remains challenging. Here we develop a wireless, battery-free, multifunctional pathogenic infection diagnosis system (PIDS) for diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 infection and symptom severity by blow and breath within 110 s and 350 s, respectively. The accuracies reach to 100% and 92% for evaluating the infection and symptom severity of 42 participants, respectively. PIDS realizes simultaneous gaseous sample collection, biomarker identification, abnormal physical signs recording and machine learning analysis. We transform PIDS into other miniaturized wearable or portable electronic platforms that may widen the diagnostic modes at home, outdoors and public places. Collectively, we demonstrate a general-purpose technology for rapidly diagnosing respiratory pathogenic infection by breath and blow, alleviating the technical bottleneck of saliva and nasopharyngeal secretions. PIDS may serve as a complementary diagnostic tool for other point-of-care techniques and guide the symptomatic treatment of viral infections.

The reinforcement of concrete columns with steel tubes is a convenient and economical technique in civil engineering. To investigate the mechanical behavior of short circular concrete columns strengthened with grouting-filled steel tubes under eccentric compressive loads, five specimens with different eccentricities were tested in the present work. Finite element simulations were carried out in ABAQUS software to analyze the mechanical behavior of the reinforced columns. A parametric study was performed to evaluate the influences on the SRF, RCR, P-M, and P/Pu-M/Mu curves of the reinforced columns. The results showed that increasing the yield strength and thickness of the steel tube improved the performance of the reinforced columns. The ultimate load-carrying capacities of the specimens determined by the codes were compared with those determined by the proposed formulas. The results also showed that the ultimate load-carrying capacities of the specimens determined by the proposed formulas were more accurate.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) serve as a reference point in the global policy-making process, with their quantitative evaluation at various scales integrating spatial planning still under exploration. Major Function Oriented Zone (MFOZ) planning in China emerges as an innovative strategy, focusing on ecosystem services to achieve sustainable development. This study takes MFOZ planning as an example, and assesses SDG implementation within the MFOZ framework, focusing on 288 cities. Then, this study analyzes the zoning types of SDG realization status through cluster analysis. Based on this, we explore the influencing factors of the SDGs from the perspective of socioeconomic and environmental characteristics, and ecosystem services, and propose target strategies. The research found that there are four zoning types according to the SDG realization status, including mixed-oriented with high consumption and output (24.3%), non-agriculture-oriented with low consumption and high output (12.5%), agriculture-oriented with low consumption and output (55.9%), and agriculture-oriented with high consumption and output (7.3%) cities. Most cities do not demonstrate high efficiency in resource consumption output, and the realization status of SDGs urgently needs to improve. Socio-economic development during urbanization challenges SDGs, while the traditional environmental measures have limited effects. Ecosystem services could help improve SDGs, including GDP growth rate, and reduce water resource development intensity and carbon emissions. Focusing solely on numerical values of SDGs, such as water efficiency, may harm ecosystem services and go against sustainable development. This research underscores the necessity of adapting SDG strategies to the unique contexts of cities and has practical significance for enabling more targeted and effective strategies for SDG implementation, integrating spatial planning, and aligning local efforts with global sustainability aspirations.

To study the effects of different storage temperatures (25, 15, 4 ℃) after harvest on the sugar components and related enzyme activities of "Shixia" longan fruits. The longan pulp soluble solid content (SSC), the content of three main sugars and the changes in the activities of sugar metabolism-related enzymes were measured. Principal component analysis and load factor analysis were performed on samples at different storage temperatures and various periods, and the correlation analysis of each index was performed. The results showed that the SSC of longan stored at 25 ℃ decreased the fastest, from 23.5% to 22.0% after 8 days of storage, and the sucrose content decreased the fastest, but the glucose and fructose content showed an upward trend; both 15℃ and 4 ℃ could effectively delay SSC. The decrease in SSC of longan stored at 4 ℃ was slower and the sucrose and glucose content decreased the slowest, but the decrease in fructose content was faster than 15 ℃. The acid invertase (AI), neutral invertase (NI) and sucrose synthase (SS) activities of longan pulp stored at different temperatures all increase with the storage time, the amplitude and speed of the increase was the fastest at 25 °C, at 15 °C was secondly, and the 4 ℃ rise was the most gentle, indicating that low temperature significantly inhibited the increase in the activity of sucrose metabolizing enzymes. Correlation analysis showed that the sucrose content of longan stored at different temperatures had a very significant positive correlation with SSC, indicating that SSC could reflect the sucrose content to a certain extent; the sucrose content had a significant positive correlation with the glucose content, and it also had significant negative correlation with AI, NI, and SS. It was inferred that glucose and fructose were degraded from sucrose; glucose content and fructose content were extremely significantly positively correlated, but the two decline patterns in 15 ℃ and 4 ℃ storage fruits were inconsistent, suggesting that the consumption of the two was different. The above results indicate that low temperature could significantly inhibit the increase of sugar metabolism and related enzyme activities in longan fruit, thereby slowing down the decomposition of sugar during storage and prolonging the storage time. Among them, the storage effect at 4 ℃ was the best.

Microfluidic devices or systems to generate recirculating flow are increasingly utilized in the fields of chemistry, biomedicine, biology, with bottlenecks in integration and miniaturization needed a breakthrough. Here, a concept for a highly integrated valve-less piezoelectric micropump generating recirculating flow (VPMGRF) is proposed, simultaneously realizing innovation in theory and method. Based on fluid inertiaand energy dissipation of vortexes, a novel double-loop tube was designed to achieve fluid flow in different directions along various paths, with the flow characteristics at different cross-sectional areas explored through computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Afterwards, as valve bodies, the double-loop tubes were connected with a piezoelectric-actuated chamber to constitute the VPMGRF, which was followed by establishing a theoretical model of the vibration, fluid dynamics, and net flow rate. Eventually, experimental results showed that VPMGRFs could generate internal recirculating flow and had a pump effect. The maximum net flow rate reached 5.19 mL/min at 8 Hz, corresponding to a vibrator amplitude of 35 μm and an output pressure amplitude of 4.27 kPa. Furthermore, the larger the characteristic length of the cross section, the greater the amplitude of the vibrators, the larger the amplitude of output pressure, and the slower the flow rate.

PurposeTo establish an individualized prostate biopsy model that reduces unnecessary biopsy cores based on multiparameter MRI (mpMRI).Materials and MethodsThis retrospective, non-inferiority dual-center study retrospectively included 609 patients from the Changhai Hospital from June 2017 to November 2020 and 431 patients from the Fujian Union Hospital between 2014 and 2019. Clinical, radiological, and pathological data were analyzed. Data from the Changhai Hospital were used for modeling by calculating the patients’ disease risk scores. Data from the Fujian Union Hospital were used for external verification.ResultsBased on the data of 609 patients from the Changhai Hospital, we divided the patients evenly into five layers according to the disease risk score. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was analyzed. Twelve-core systemic biopsy (12-SBx) was used as the reference standard. The SBx cores from each layer were reduced to 9, 6, 5, 4, and 4. The data of 279 patients with benign pathological results from the Fujian Union Hospital were incorporated into the model. No patients were in the first layer. The accuracies of the models for the other layers were 88, 96.43, 94.87, and 94.59%. The accuracy of each layer would be increased to 96, 100, 100, and 97.30% if the diagnosis of non-clinically significant prostate cancer was excluded.ConclusionsIn this study, we established an individualized biopsy model using data from a dual center. The results showed great accuracy of the model, indicating its future clinical application.

Background: Current mainstream treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) has a disadvantage in delayed onset of efficacy, making detection of early signatures predicative of the long-term treatment efficacy urgent.Methods: MDD patients were scored with HAMD-24 and serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels were measured at different times in two independent trials: a single-arm observation of Yueju pill, a clinically approved traditional multiherbal medicine, and a two-arm random placebo-controlled trial for Yueju vs escitalopram. The ratio of the BDNF level to HAMD-24 score, or neuroplasticity index (NI), and its derived parameters were used for correlation analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.Results: On both the early (4th) and final (28th) days, Yueju and escitalopram significantly reduced HAMD-24 scores, compared to baselines, but only Yueju increased BDNF at both times. For either Yueju or escitalopram treatment, NI, but not BDNF, at baseline was correlated to NIs at the early or final treatment day. NI at early time was significantly correlated to early NI enhancement from the baseline for both Yueju and escitalopram, and to final NI enhancement from the baseline for Yueju in both trials. ROC analysis supported the predictability of Yueju’s final treatment efficacy from early NI enhancement.Limitations: The small sample size and 28 days of treatment time may lead to the impossibility of ROC analysis of escitalopram.Conclusion: Early NI enhancement is useful for prediction of long-term efficacy of Yueju and presumably some other antidepressants.Clinical Trial Registration: [www.ClinicalTrials.gov], identifier [ChiCTR1900021114].

Abstract Background OTUB1 (ovarian tumor domain protease domain-containing ubiquitin aldehyde-binding proteins)-mediated deubiquitination of FOXM1 (Forkhead box M1) participates in carcinogenesis of various tumors. We aim to investigate the effect and mechanism of OTUB1/FOXM1 on RCC (renal cell carcinoma) progression. Expression levels of OTUB1 in RCC tissues and cell lines were examined by qRT-PCR (quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction) and immunohistochemistry. Cell proliferation was measured with CCK8 (Cell Counting Kit-8) and colony formation assays. Wound healing and transwell assays were used to determine cell migration and invasion, respectively. The effect of OTUB1 on FOXM1 ubiquitination was examined by Immunoprecipitation. Western blot was used to uncover the underlying mechanism. In vivo subcutaneous xenotransplanted tumor model combined with immunohistochemistry and western blot were used to examine the tumorigenic function of OTUB1. Results OTUB1 was up-regulated in RCC tissues and cell lines, and was associated with poor prognosis of RCC patients. Knockdown of OTUB1 inhibited cell viability and proliferation, as well as migration and invasion of RCC cells. Mechanistically, knockdown of OTUB1 down-regulated FOXM1 expression by promoting its ubiquitination. Down-regulation of FOXM1 inhibited ECT2 (epithelial cell transforming 2)-mediated Rho signaling. Moreover, the inhibition of RCC progression caused by OTUB1 knockdown was reversed by FOXM1 over-expression. In vivo subcutaneous xenotransplanted tumor model also revealed that knockdown of OTUB1 could suppress in vivo RCC growth via down-regulation of FOXM1-mediated ECT2 expression. Conclusions OTUB1-mediated deubiquitination of FOXM1 up-regulates ECT-2 to promote tumor progression in RCC, providing a new potential therapeutic target for RCC treatment.

Pectolinarin and linarin are two major flavone O-glycosides of Cirsium japonicum, which has been used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine. Pharmacological research on pectolinarin and linarin is meaningful and necessary. Here, a process for the purification of pectolinarin and linarin from C. japonicum was established using macroporous resin enrichment followed by prep-HPLC separation. The results show the purity of pectolinarin and linarin reached 97.39% and 96.65%, respectively. The in vitro bioactivities result shows the ORAC values of pectolinarin and linarin are 4543 and 1441 µmol TE/g, respectively, meanwhile their inhibition rate of BSA-MGO-derived AGEs is 63.58% and 19.31% at 2 mg/mL, which is 56.03% and 30.73% in the BSA-fructose system, respectively. The COX-2 inhibition rate at 50 µg/mL of linarin and pectolinarin reached 55.35% and 40.40%, respectively. Furthermore, the in vivo bioassay combining of histopathologic evaluation and biochemical analysis of liver glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, serum creatinine and TNF-α show pectolinarin can alleviate lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute liver and kidney injury in mice. Metabolomics analysis shows that pectolinarin attenuates LPS-challenged liver and kidney stress through regulating the arachidonic acid metabolism and glutathione synthesis pathways. Collectively, our work presents a solid process for pectolinarin and linarin purification and has discovered a promising natural therapeutic agent—pectolinarin.

Separation and clonal culture and growth kinetics analysis of target cells in a mixed population is critical for pathological research, disease diagnosis, and cell therapy. However, long-term culture with time-lapse imaging of the isolated cells for clonal analysis is still challenging. This paper reports a microfluidic device with four-level filtration channels and a pneumatic microvalve for size sorting and in situ clonal culture of single cells. The valve was on top of the filtration channels and used to direct fluid flow by membrane deformation during separation and long-term culture to avoid shear-induced cell deformation. Numerical simulations were performed to evaluate the influence of device parameters affecting the pressure drop across the filtration channels. Then, a droplet model was employed to evaluate the impact of cell viscosity, cell size, and channel width on the pressure drop inducing cell deformation. Experiments showed that filtration channels with a width of 7, 10, 13, or 17 μm successfully sorted K562 cells into four different size ranges at low driving pressure. The maximum efficiency of separating K562 cells from media and whole blood was 98.6% and 89.7%, respectively. Finally, the trapped single cells were cultured in situ for 4–7 days with time-lapse imaging to obtain the lineage trees and growth curves. Then, the time to the first division, variation of cell size before and after division, and cell fusion were investigated. This proved that cells at the G1 and G2 phases were of significantly distinct sizes. The microfluidic device for size sorting and clonal expansion will be of tremendous application potential in single-cell studies.

ObjectiveTo reduce unnecessary prostate biopsies, we designed a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based nomogram prediction model of prostate maximum sectional area (PA) and investigated its zone area for diagnosing prostate cancer (PCa).MethodsMRI was administered to 691 consecutive patients before prostate biopsies from January 2012 to January 2020. PA, central gland sectional area (CGA), and peripheral zone sectional area (PZA) were measured on axial T2-weighted prostate MRI. Multivariate logistic regression analysis and area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were performed to evaluate and integrate the predictors of PCa. Based on multivariate logistic regression coefficients after excluding combinations of collinear variables, three models and nomograms were generated and intercompared by Delong test, calibration curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA).ResultsThe positive rate of PCa was 46.74% (323/691). Multivariate analysis revealed that age, PSA, MRI, transCGA, coroPZA, transPA, and transPAI (transverse PZA-to-CGA ratio) were independent predictors of PCa. Compared with no PCa patients, transCGA (AUC = 0.801) was significantly lower and transPAI (AUC = 0.749) was significantly higher in PCa patients. Both of them have a significantly higher AUC than PSA (AUC = 0.714) and PV (AUC = 0.725). Our best predictive model included the factors age, PSA, MRI, transCGA, and coroPZA with the AUC of 0.918 for predicting PCa status. Based on this predictive model, a novel nomogram for predicting PCa was conducted and internally validated (C-index = 0.913).ConclusionsWe found the potential clinical utility of transCGA and transPAI in predicting PCa. Then, we firstly built the nomogram based on PA and its zone area to evaluate its diagnostic efficacy for PCa, which could reduce unnecessary prostate biopsies.

The cell elasticity has attracted extensive research interests since it not only provides new insights into cell biology but also is an emerging mechanical marker for the diagnosis of some diseases. This paper reports the method for the precise measurement of mechanical properties of single cells deformed to a large extent using a novel microfluidic system integrated with a pressure feedback system and small particle separation unit. The particle separation system was employed to avoid the blockage of the cell deformation channel to enhance the measurement throughput. This system is of remarkable application potential in the precise evaluation of cell mechanical properties. In brief, this paper reports: • The manufacturing of the chip using standard soft lithography; • The methods to deform single cells in a microchannel and measure the relevant pressure drop using a pressure sensor connecting to the microfluidic chip; • Calculation of the mechanical properties including stiffness and fluidity of each cell based on a power-law rheology model describing the viscoelastic behaviors of cells; • Automatic and real-time measurement of the mechanical properties using video processing software.

Studies have shown that the valveless piezoelectric pump with streamline flow tubes (VPPSFTs) can increase the flow rate while reducing the vortex, which has a broad application prospect and conforms to the huge potential demand in the fields of medical treatment, sanitation, and health care. The flow runner of the VPPSFT was designed as two segments with a smooth transition between the hyperbola segment and the arc segment. However, the effect of the radius of the arc segment on pump performance is not clear. Therefore, three groups of VPPSFT with arc segments of different curvature radii were designed in this study, and the influence of curvature radius of arc segment on the pump performance was explored. On the basis of the theoretical analysis of fluid continuity and conservation of energy, the structure of VPPSFT was designed, the experimental test was carried out, and the finite element simulation software was used for numerical analysis. The results show that the output performance increases with the increase in the radius of the arc segment, and the maximum flow rate was 116.78 mL/min. The amplitude and the flow rate are almost the same trend as the frequency. This study improves the performance of the valveless piezoelectric pump and provides reference for the structure design of VPPSFT.

Imitating the structure of the venous valve and its characteristics of passive opening and closing with changes in heart pressure, a piezoelectric pump with flexible valves (PPFV) was designed. Firstly, the structure and the working principle of the PPFV were introduced. Then, the flexible valve, the main functional component of the pump, was analyzed theoretically. Finally, an experimental prototype was manufactured and its performance was tested. The research proves that the PPFV can achieve a smooth transition between valved and valveless by only changing the driving signal of the piezoelectric (PZT) vibrator. The results demonstrate that when the driving voltage is 100 V and the frequency is 25 Hz, the experimental flow rate of the PPFV is about 119.61 mL/min, and the output pressure is about 6.16 kPa. This kind of pump can realize the reciprocal conversion of a large flow rate, high output pressure, and a small flow rate, low output pressure under the electronic control signal. Therefore, it can be utilized for fluid transport and pressure transmission at both the macro-level and the micro-level, which belongs to the macro–micro combined component.

Prostate biopsies are frequently performed to screen for prostate cancer (PCa) with complications such as infections and bleeding. To reduce unnecessary biopsies, here we designed an improved predictive model of MRI-based prostate volume and associated zone-adjusted prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentrations for diagnosing PCa and risk stratification. Multiparametric MRI administered to 422 consecutive patients before initial transrectal ultrasonography-guided 13-core prostate biopsies from January 2012 to March 2018 at Fujian Medical University Union Hospital. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses and determination of the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed to evaluate and integrate the predictors of PCa and high-risk prostate cancer (HR-PCa). The detection rates of PCa was 43.84% (185/422). And the detection rates of HR-PCa was 71.35% (132/185) in PCa patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that prostate volume(PV), PSA density(PSAD), transitional zone volume(TZV), PSA density of the transitional zone(PSADTZ), and MR were independent predictors of PCa and HR-PCa. PSA, peripheral zone volume(PZV) and PSA density of the peripheral zone(PSADPZ) were independent predictors of PCa but not HR-PCa. The AUC of our best predictive model including PSA + PV + PSAD + MR + TZV or PSA + PV + PSAD + MR + PZV was 0.906 for PCa. The AUC of the best predictive model of PV + PSAD + MR + TZV was 0.893 for HR-PCa. In conclusion, our results will likely improve the detection rate of prostate cancer, avoiding unnecessary prostate biopsies, and for evaluating risk stratification.

This paper proposes a reflective fiber mercury ion sensor based on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) principle and chitosan (CS)/polyacrylic acid (PAA) multilayer sensitive film. By optimizing the coating parameters of the gold film, the refractive index (RI) sensitivity of the reflective SPR sensor is demonstrated to be 2110.33 nm/RIU. Then, a multi-layer CS/PAA film is fixed on the surface of the gold film as a mercury ion sensitive film to form a reflective SPR fiber mercury ion sensor. Experimental results demonstrate that the sensor can be used to detect different concentrations of mercury ions with a high sensitivity of 0.5586 nm/μM and good specificity and repeatability. Therefore, the reflective SPR fiber mercury ion sensor shows great promise for future applications of environmental monitoring and drinking water safety.