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Mountain biodiversity is of great importance to biogeography and ecology. However, it is unclear what ecological and evolutionary processes best explain the generation and maintenance of its high levels of species diversity. In this study, we determined which of six common hypotheses (e.g., climate hypotheses, habitat heterogeneity hypothesis and island biogeography theory) best explain global patterns of species diversity in Rhododendron. We found that Rhododendron diversity patterns were most strongly explained by proxies of island biogeography theory (i.e., mountain area) and habitat heterogeneity (i.e., elevation range). When we examined other relationships important to island biogeography theory, we found that the planimetric area and the volume of mountains were positively correlated with the Rhododendron diversity, whereas the ‘mountains-to-mainland’ distance was negatively correlated with Rhododendron diversity and shared species. Our findings demonstrate that Rhododendron diversity can be explained by island biogeography theory and habitat heterogeneity, and mountains can be regarded as islands which supported island biogeography theory.

Abstract Behçet’s disease (BD) is a multifaceted autoimmune disorder affecting multiple organ systems. Vascular complications, such as venous thromboembolism (VTE), are highly prevalent, affecting around 50% of individuals diagnosed with BD. This study aimed to identify potential biomarkers for VTE in BD patients. Three microarray datasets (GSE209567, GSE48000, GSE19151) were retrieved for analysis. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with VTE in BD were identified using the Limma package and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Subsequently, potential diagnostic genes were explored through protein–protein interaction (PPI) network analysis and machine learning algorithms. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and a nomogram were constructed to evaluate the diagnostic performance for VTE in BD patients. Furthermore, immune cell infiltration analyses and single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) were performed to investigate potential underlying mechanisms. Finally, the efficacy of listed drugs was assessed based on the identified signature genes. The limma package and WGCNA identified 117 DEGs related to VTE in BD. A PPI network analysis then selected 23 candidate hub genes. Four DEGs (E2F1, GATA3, HDAC5, and MSH2) were identified by intersecting gene sets from three machine learning algorithms. ROC analysis and nomogram construction demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy for these four genes (AUC: 0.816, 95% CI: 0.723–0.909). Immune cell infiltration analysis revealed a positive correlation between dysregulated immune cells and the four hub genes. ssGSEA provided insights into potential mechanisms underlying VTE development and progression in BD patients. Additionally, therapeutic agent screening identified potential drugs targeting the four hub genes. This study employed a systematic approach to identify four potential hub genes (E2F1, GATA3, HDAC5, and MSH2) and construct a nomogram for VTE diagnosis in BD. Immune cell infiltration analysis revealed dysregulation, suggesting potential macrophage involvement in VTE development. ssGSEA provided insights into potential mechanisms underlying BD-induced VTE, and potential therapeutic agents were identified.

Abstract Lactobacillus species have excellent abilities to reduce intestinal inflammation and enhance gut barrier function. This study elucidated the potential mechanisms through which Lactobacillus mitigates lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced intestinal injury from the perspective of macrophage–intestinal epithelial cell interactions. Lactobacillus intervention improved the histopathological score; elevated ZO-1 and Occludin protein production; reduced CD16+ cell numbers; diminished IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α levels; decreased inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression; increased CD163+ cell numbers; elevated IL-10 concentration; and increased arginase-1 (Arg1) expression in LPS-challenged piglets. Lactobacillus pretreatment also altered the colonic microbiota, thereby increasing the butyric acid concentration and GPR43 expression in the LPS-challenged piglets. Compared with those in the LPS group, sodium butyrate (SB) pretreatment decreased IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α secretion and iNOS expression but increased IL-10 secretion and Arg1 expression in macrophages. The SB-pretreated macrophages reduced the protein expression of TLR4, MyD88, and phosphorylated NF-κB p65 but increased the protein expression of ZO-1 and Occludin in intestinal epithelial cells. Moreover, GLPG0974 blocked the beneficial effects of SB on macrophages and intestinal epithelial cells. This study demonstrated that Lactobacillus improves intestinal barrier function by regulating the macrophage phenotype through the control of butyric acid and GPR43 levels to further control inflammation.

Abstract Gut microbiota can regulate the metabolic and immunological aspects of ischemic stroke and modulate the treatment effects. The present study aimed to identify specific changes in gut microbiota in patients with large vessel occlusion (LVO) ischemic stroke and assess the potential association between gut microbiota and clinical features of ischemic stroke. A total of 63 CSVD patients, 64 cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) patients, and 36 matching normal controls (NCs) were included in this study. The fecal samples were collected for all participants and analyzed for gut microbiota using 16S rRNA gene sequencing technology. The abundances of five gut microbiota, including genera Bifidobacterium, Butyricimonas, Blautia, and Dorea and species Bifidobacterium_longum, showed significant changes with high specificity in the LVO patients as compared to the NCs and CSVD patients. In LVO patients, the genera Bifidobacterium and Blautia and species Bifidobacterium_longum were significantly correlated with the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores at the admission and discharge of the patients. Serum triglyceride levels could significantly affect the association of the abundance of genus Bifidobacterium and species Bifidobacterium_longum with the NIHSS scores at admission and modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at discharge in LVO patients. The identification of five gut microbiota with high specificity were identified in the early stage of LVO stroke, which contributed to performed an effective clinical management for LVO ischemic stroke.

ABSTRACT Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is an innovative and promising treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which is related to the capability of FMT to supply functional microorganisms to improve recipient gut health. Numerous studies have highlighted considerable variability in the efficacy of FMT interventions for IBD. Several factors, including the composition of the donor microorganisms, significantly affect the efficacy of FMT in the treatment of IBD. Consequently, identifying the functional microorganisms in the donor is crucial for enhancing the efficacy of FMT. To explore potential common anti-inflammatory bacteria with therapeutic implications for IBD, germ-free (GF) BALB/c mice were pre-colonized with fecal microbiota obtained from diverse donors, including Macaca fascicularis (MCC_FMT), Bama miniature pigs (BP_FMT), beagle dogs (BD_FMT), and C57BL/6 J mice (Mice_FMT). Subsequently, mice were treated with dextran sodium sulfate (DSS). As expected, the symptoms of colitis were alleviated by MCC_FMT, BP_FMT, BD_FMT, and Mice_FMT, as demonstrated by the prevention of an elevated disease activity index in mice. Additionally, the utilization of distinct donors protected the intestinal barrier and contributed to the regulation of cytokine homeostasis. Metagenomic sequencing data showed that the microbial community structure and dominant species were significantly different among the four groups, which may be linked to variations in the anti-inflammatory efficacy observed in the respective groups. Notably, Lactobacillus reuteri and Flavonifractor plautii were consistently present in all four groups. L. reuteri exhibited a significant negative correlation with IL-1β, and animal studies further confirmed its efficacy in alleviating IBD, suggesting the presence of common functional bacteria across different donors that exert anti-inflammatory effects. This study provides essential foundational data for the potential clinical applications of FMT.IMPORTANCEDespite variations in efficacy observed among donors, numerous studies have underscored the potential of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for managing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), indicating the presence of shared anti-IBD bacterial species. In the present study, the collective anti-inflammatory efficacy observed across all four donor groups prompted the identification of two common bacterial species using metagenomics. A significant negative correlation between Lactobacillus reuteri and IL-1β was revealed. Furthermore, mice gavaged with L. reuteri successfully managed the colitis challenge induced by dextran sodium sulfate (DSS), suggesting that L. reuteri may act as an efficacious bacterium mediating shared anti-inflammatory effects among variable donors. This finding highlights the utilization of variable donors to screen FMT core bacteria, which may be a novel strategy for developing FMT applications.

The Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone (GBGEZ) and Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) have rich wetlands. However, long-term maps with detailed wetland types in these two regions are scarce, and studies on the driving forces of wetland changes are insufficient. To this end, our study produced long-term wetland maps to explore wetland dynamics and their driving forces. From 1990 to 2020, the mangrove, tidal flat, coastal shallow water and reservoir had similar change trends in two metropolitan areas. For the GBGEZ between 1990 and 2020, serious wetland degradation, slight wetland degradation, obvious wetland restoration and slight wetland restoration had areas of 569.23 km2, 426.89 km2, 274.83 km2 and 375.78 km2, respectively; for the GBA, the four change types had areas of 986.80 km2, 1854.63 km2, 547.34 km2 and 2183.57 km2, respectively. Overall, wetland degradation in the GBA were significantly larger than that in the GBGEZ. Sample-based analysis indicated that wetland changes in the GBGEZ and GBA mainly attributed to direct drivers, with the GBA suffering more from the influence of these direct drivers. Specifically, over 90 % of slight wetland degradations and 89 % of slight wetland restorations were affected by direct drivers (e.g. aquaculture). Serious wetland degradations were most affected by direct drivers (e.g. land reclamation) from 1990 to 2010 and by indirect drivers from 2010 to 2020 (e.g. water shrinkage). For obvious wetland restorations, most of them in GBGEZ were affected by indirect factors (e.g. water expansion) while in GBA were affected by direct factors (e.g. new reservoir). Overall, our study could offer valuable information to support wetland protection and urban sustainable development.

Abstract Background Fractures heal through a process that involves angiogenesis and osteogenesis but may also lead to non-union or delayed healing. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) have been reported to play a pivotal role in bone formation and vascular regeneration and the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) as being an important regulator of osteogenesis. Herein, we aim to determine the potential mediation of BMSCs by p75NTR in bone healing. Methods Rat BMSCs were identified by flow cytometry (FCM) to detect cell cycle and surface markers. Then transfection of si/oe-p75NTR was performed in BMSCs, followed by Alizarin red staining to detect osteogenic differentiation of cells, immunofluorescence double staining was performed to detect the expression of p75NTR and sortilin, co-immunoprecipitation (CO-IP) was conducted to analyze the interaction between p75NTR and sortilin, and EdU staining and cell scratch assay to assess the proliferation and migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The expression of HIF-1α, VEGF, and apoptosis-related proteins were also detected. In addition, a rat fracture healing model was constructed, and BMSCs-si-p75NTR were injected, following which the fracture condition was observed using micro-CT imaging, and the expression of platelet/endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (CD31) was assessed. Results The results showed that BMSCs were successfully isolated, p75NTR inhibited apoptosis and the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, while si-p75NTR led to a decrease in sortilin expression in BMSCs, increased proliferation and migration in HUVECs, and upregulation of HIF-1α and VEGF expression. In addition, an interaction was observed between p75NTR and sortilin. The knockdown of p75NTR was found to reduce the severity of fracture in rats and increase the expression of CD31 and osteogenesis-related proteins. Conclusion Silencing p75NTR effectively modulates BMSCs to promote osteogenic differentiation and angiogenesis, offering a novel perspective for improving fracture healing.

Accurate and reliable mangrove datasets are essential for the protection and management of mangrove ecosystems. Therefore, the evaluation of the current mangrove datasets and understanding the differences among them are critical. This study takes the Guangxi Beibu Gulf (GBG) and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) as the study areas and analyzes the agreement and accuracy of eight mangrove datasets from 2000 to 2020 using area comparison, spatial agreement analysis, and absolute accuracy evaluation. The results show that; 1) significant differences exist in mangrove area and spatial distribution among the different mangrove datasets, with the percentage of high agreement areas ranging from 10% to 42%. 2) The overall accuracy of the evaluated mangrove datasets ranges from 56.2% to 95.6%, and the classification accuracy of mangrove datasets in inland areas is lower than the overall level. 3) There are regional differences in the quality of mangrove datasets, with the agreement and accuracy of mangrove datasets in the GBG being greater than those in the GBA. 4) Fine-scale mangrove mapping based on high-resolution remote sensing images, such as Sentinel, and global mangrove mapping based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud platform should be emphasized in the future. The findings of this study can provide guidance for data users to select appropriate mangrove datasets and a reference for future mangrove mapping research.

ABSTRACTIt is crucial to mangrove management by understanding its conservation efforts. This study proposed a spatiotemporal analysis model to evaluate mangrove changes in the Guangxi Beibu Gulf (GBG) and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), focusing on past, present, and future dynamics. The analysis covered mangrove loss, stability, and gain from 1990 to 2020 and provided projections for 2020 to 2035 across multiple scenarios. Then further assessed the efficacy of past mangrove conservation with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the prospective conservation potential with the Global Mangrove Alliance Goal (GMAG) indicators. Findings indicate that by 2020, the GBG and GBA had 81.65 km² and 40.92 km² of mangroves, respectively, with increases of 31.51% and 164.09% since 1990. Projected expansions are anticipated under all three scenarios during 2020- 2035, with the highest growth projected under the trend continuation scenario, followed by ecological restoration and protection, and economic development. While mangrove protection in these regions met SDG targets 6.6.1 and 14.5.1 from 2015 to 2020, the 80% conservation milestone set by GMAG for 2030 was not achieved, necessitating the establishment of nature reserves. The study offers novel insights for sustainable governance of mangrove forests at local, regional, and global levels.

ABSTRACTMapping detailed wetland types can offer useful information for wetland management and protection, which can strongly support the Global Biodiversity Framework. Many studies have conducted wetland classification at regional, national, and global scale, whereas fine-resolution wetland mapping with detailed wetland types is still challenging. To address this issue, we developed an integration of pixel- and object-based algorithms with knowledge (POK) by combining pixel-based random forest and an object-based hierarchical decision tree. Taking the Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone (GBGEZ) and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) as our study areas, we produced wetland maps with 10 wetland types and 6 non-wetland types using Landsat-8 time series. In addition, to comprehensively evaluate the accuracy of our wetland classification, we implemented accuracy validation based on test samples and data inter-comparison based on existing datasets, respectively. The results indicate that the overall accuracy of our wetland map was 91.6% ±1.2%. For wetland types, agricultural pond, coastal shallow water, floodplain, mangrove, reservoir, river, and tidal flat achieved good accuracies, with both user accuracy and producer accuracy exceeding 88.0%. For non-wetland types, most accuracies were greater than 72.0%. By comparison with existing datasets, it was found that our wetland map had good consistencies with the China Ecosystem-type Classification Dataset (CECD) land use dataset, MC_LASAC mangrove dataset, and Tidal Wetlands in East Asia (TWEA) tidal flat dataset. In 2020, the wetland area was 4,198.8 km2 in the GBGEZ and 10,932.2 km2 in the GBA. The main wetland types in the two coastal urban agglomerations were agricultural ponds, coastal shallow waters, mangroves, reservoirs, rivers, and tidal flats. Our study successfully mapped detailed wetland types in the GBGEZ and GBA, serving the Global Biodiversity Framework of Convention on Biological Diversity.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the clinical effects of Orff music therapy on children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) from the perspectives of parents, evaluators, and therapists.Methods93 children with ASD aged 3–6 years participated in the study. They were divided into an observation group (n = 48) receiving comprehensive rehabilitation intervention including Orff music therapy, and a control group (n = 45) receiving only comprehensive rehabilitation intervention. The Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), and Psycho-educational Profile-3rd edition (PEP-3) were used for assessments before and after the intervention.ResultsThere were no significant demographic differences between the two groups. Both groups showed significant improvements in Sensory, Relating, Language, CVP, EL, RL, VMI, AE, SR, and CARS scores at T1, T2, and T3 (T1 vs. T2, T2 vs. T3, T1 vs. T3) (all p

The unique advantage of optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy (OR-PAM) is its ability to achieve high-resolution microvascular imaging without exogenous agents. This ability has excellent potential in the study of tissue microcirculation. However, tracing and monitoring microvascular morphology and hemodynamics in tissues is challenging because the segmentation of microvascular in OR-PAM images is complex due to the high density, structure complexity, and low contrast of vascular structures. Various microvasculature extraction techniques have been developed over the years but have many limitations: they cannot consider both thick and thin blood vessel segmentation simultaneously, they cannot address incompleteness and discontinuity in microvasculature, there is a lack of open-access datasets for DL-based algorithms. We have developed a novel segmentation approach to extract vascularity in OR-PAM images using a deep learning network incorporating a weak signal attention mechanism and multi-scale perception (WSA-MP-Net) model. The proposed WSA network focuses on weak and tiny vessels, while the MP module extracts features from different vessel sizes. In addition, Hessian-matrix enhancement is incorporated into the pre-and post-processing of the input and output data of the network to enhance vessel continuity. We constructed normal vessel (NV-ORPAM, 660 data pairs) and tumor vessel (TV-ORPAM, 1168 data pairs) datasets to verify the performance of the proposed method. We developed a semi-automatic annotation algorithm to obtain the ground truth for our network optimization. We applied our optimized model successfully to monitor glioma angiogenesis in mouse brains, thus demonstrating the feasibility and excellent generalization ability of our model. Compared to previous works, our proposed WSA-MP-Net extracts a significant number of microvascular while maintaining vessel continuity and signal fidelity. In quantitative analysis, the indicator values of our method improved by about 1.3% to 25.9%. We believe our proposed approach provides a promising way to extract a complete and continuous microvascular network of OR-PAM and enables its use in many microvascular-related biological studies and medical diagnoses.

Abstract Introduction This trial aimed to compare the efficacy and safety between biosimilar QL1207 and the reference aflibercept for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). Methods This randomized, double-blind, phase 3 trial was conducted at 35 centers in China. Patients aged ≥ 50 years old with untreated subfoveal choroidal neovascularization secondary to nAMD and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) letter score of 73–34 were eligible. Patients were randomly assigned to receive intravitreous injections of QL1207 or aflibercept 2 mg (0.05 ml) in the study eye every 4 weeks for the first 3 months, followed by 2 mg every 8 weeks until week 48, stratified by baseline BCVA ≥ or

Rapid global urbanization and its progress have profoundly affected urban vegetation. The ecological quality of urban vegetation is a vital indicator of regional ecological stability and health. A comprehensive assessment of the coupling coordination and coercive relationship between urbanization and the vegetation ecological quality is essential for promoting sustainable regional green development. Using the rapidly urbanizing Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) urban agglomeration in China as an example, this study evaluates the vegetation quality condition and the level of urbanization and explores the dynamic relationship between vegetation ecological quality and urbanization processes. This study introduces the vegetation ecological quality index (VEQI) based on net primary productivity (NPP) and fractional vegetation cover (FVC), as well as the comprehensive urbanization index (CUI) derived from gross domestic production (GDP), population density, and nighttime lighting data. The coupling coordination and Tapio decoupling models are employed to assess the degree of coupling coordination and the decoupling relationship between the VEQI and CUI across different periods. The results showed that (1) from 2000 to 2020, the VEQI in the GBA showed a significant increase, accompanied by continuous urbanization, particularly evident with the high CUI values in central areas; (2) the coupling coordination degree (CCD) exhibits high values and significant change slopes in the central GBA, indicating dynamic interactions between urbanization and vegetation ecological quality; (3) the decoupling states between the VEQI and CUI are dominated by weak decoupling (WD), strong decoupling (SD), expansive negative decoupling (END), and expansive coupling (EC), suggesting improvements in the relationship between urbanization and vegetation ecological quality; (4) the coordinated development level of the VEQI and CUI in the study area shows improvement, and their decoupling relationship displays a positive trend. Nevertheless, it remains crucial to address the impact of urbanization pressure on vegetation ecological quality and to implement proactive measures in response. The results of this study provide theoretical support for mesoscale development planning, monitoring vegetation ecological conditions, and formulating environmental policies.

To investigate the quantitative relationship between the pyrolysis characteristics and chemical components of tobacco materials, various machine learning methods were used to establish a quantitative analysis model of tobacco. The model relates the thermal weight loss rate to 19 chemical components, and identifies the characteristic temperature intervals of the pyrolysis process that significantly relate to the chemical components. The results showed that: 1) Among various machine learning methods, partial least squares (PLS), support vector regression (SVR) and Gaussian process regression (GPR) demonstrated superior regression performance on thermogravimetric data and chemical components. 2) The PLS model showed the best performance on fitting and prediction effects, and has good generalization ability to predict the 19 chemical components. For most components, the determination coefficients R2 are above 0.85. While the performance of SVR and GPR models was comparable, the R2 for most chemical components were below 0.75. 3) The significant temperature intervals for various chemical components were different, and most of the affected temperature intervals were within 130°C–400°C. The results can provide a reference for the materials selection of cigarette and reveal the possible interactions of various chemical components of tobacco materials in the pyrolysis process.

Abstract Background In the new International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) classification of seizure types, generalized seizures such as absence seizures (ASs) may originate from a focal point and rapidly spread to the bilaterally distributed brain network. Increasing evidence from animal and clinical studies has indicated that focal changes may occur prior to ASs; however, the relationship of ASs with epileptogenic lesions remains unclear. Methods We retrospectively collected and analyzed the clinical, imaging, and electrophysiological data of 16 patients who had ASs and structural lesions with seizure-free outcomes after lesion resection. Results In semiology analysis, nine patients displayed focal onset; only two patients showed simple ASs, and seizure types other than ASs were observed in the remaining patients. On ictal electroencephalography (EEG), four patients showed bilateral synchronous symmetric 3 Hz generalized spike-wave discharges (GSWDs), and the remaining patients showed bilateral 1.5–2.5 Hz GSWDs. Moreover, most patients (13/16, 81.3%) exhibited focal features in addition to ASs, while interictal EEG was the same in 12 patients. Furthermore, on stereoelectroencephalogram (SEEG), 2/5 patients showed focal discharges before bilateral burst GSWDs. Additionally, all patients had structural lesions on imaging. In four typical AS patients, the lesions were located in deep brain regions. Notably, in 9 patients (9/16, 56%), the lesions were located in the posterior cortex. All patients underwent lesion resection and had seizure-free outcomes during follow-up, and intelligence quotient (IQ) also improved by 10.71 ± 3.90 one year after surgery. Conclusions Patients with lesion-related epilepsy may present with ASs that have a focal onset and are associated with good surgical outcomes.

Abstract The diarrheal disease causes high mortality, especially in children and young animals. The gut microbiome is strongly associated with diarrheal disease, and some specific strains of bacteria have demonstrated antidiarrheal effects. However, the antidiarrheal mechanisms of probiotic strains have not been elucidated. Here, we used neonatal piglets as a translational model and found that gut microbiota dysbiosis observed in diarrheal piglets was mainly characterized by a deficiency of Lactobacillus, an abundance of Escherichia coli, and enriched lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis. Limosilactobacillus mucosae and Limosilactobacillus reuteri were a signature bacterium that differentiated healthy and diarrheal piglets. Germ-free (GF) mice transplanted with fecal microbiota from diarrheal piglets reproduced diarrheal disease symptoms. Administration of Limosilactobacillus mucosae but not Limosilactobacillus reuteri alleviated diarrheal disease symptoms induced by fecal microbiota of diarrheal piglets and by ETEC K88 challenge. Notably, Limosilactobacillus mucosae-derived extracellular vesicles alleviated diarrheal disease symptoms caused by ETEC K88 by regulating macrophage phenotypes. Macrophage elimination experiments demonstrated that the extracellular vesicles alleviated diarrheal disease symptoms in a macrophage-dependent manner. Our findings provide insights into the pathogenesis of diarrheal disease from the perspective of intestinal microbiota and the development of probiotic-based antidiarrheal therapeutic strategies.

BackgroundEpilepsy is associated with a significant global burden of disease, affecting over 50 million people worldwide. The specific aim of this study is to compare the burden of epilepsy in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with the global burden, and to analyze the epidemiological trends of epilepsy, the relationship between the burden of epilepsy and social demographic index (SDI), and the relative contributions of epidemiological factors.MethodsThis is a retrospective population-based study, data were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study in 2019. We employed Joinpoint software and the age-period-cohort (APC) model to analyze epilepsy’s epidemiological trends. Health inequality analysis was conducted to investigate the impact of SDI on epilepsy burden. Decomposition analysis was performed to examine the relative contributions of age, population, and epidemiological changes to epilepsy.ResultsBetween 1990 and 2019, the incidence rate in the PRC increased by 45%, significantly surpassing the global incidence of epilepsy. However, Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY) decreased notably, and the proportion of Years of Life Lost (YLL) decreased from 62.73 to 39.03%. Concerning incidence, the period Rate Ratio (RR) in the PRC initially increased and then decreased, while the cohort RR in the PRC and globally exhibited a consistent upward trend. In terms of mortality, period RR and cohort RR in the PRC displayed a gradual decrease, with mortality starting higher but eventually falling below the global mortality. The net drifts of incidence were greater than 0, whereas the net drifts of mortality were less than 0, both were lower in the PRC than at the global level. Decomposition analysis indicated that the changes of incidence and mortality in the PRC were mainly attributed to epidemiological changes. Additionally, global disparities in epilepsy decreased, with the burden concentrating in low SDI countries.ConclusionThe incidence of epilepsy in the PRC rose during the 30-year study period, while epilepsy mortality decreased. The improved survival rate in the PRC is predominantly attributable to epidemiological changes. The burden of epilepsy in the PRC predominantly affects males, children, and the elderly, Chinese government should focus on specific populations.

Obtaining high-precision soil organic matter (SOM) spatial distribution information is of great significance for applications such as precision agriculture. But in the current hyperspectral SOM inversion work, soil moisture greatly influences the representation of the sensitive information of SOM on the spectrum. Therefore, a Kubelka-Munk theory based spectral correction model for soil moisture removal is proposed to improve the spectral sensitivity of SOM. Firstly, the soil moisture content was obtained by the use of a Kubelka-Munk based physical soil moisture model and an unmixing method. Then, the spectral correction model for soil moisture removal was implemented based on the quantitative description of the Beer-Lambert law. The results show that the proposed spectral correction model for soil moisture removal can significantly enhance the expression of the sensitive spectral features of SOM, especially for the short-wave infrared range. After moisture removal, the imaging spectral data were used for inversion, using the sensitive band at 0.69 μm and a support vector machine regression (SVR) modeling method. The Kubelka-Munk moisture removal model for soil moisture removal can improve the accuracy of SOM inversion by at least 22% comparing with the 0.69 μm original spectral inversion model, with R2 of 0.42. Moreover, the proposed model can also improve the accuracy of SOM inversion by 19% for the SVR statistical regression method, with R2 of 0.69. Finally, the SOM distribution maps based on sensitive band model and SVR regression method were analyzed. Findings show that the two methods have high consistency, but the statistical method obtains better details of the SOM spatial distribution, due to its higher accuracy.

The building extraction method of remote sensing images that uses deep learning algorithms can solve the problems of low efficiency and poor effect of traditional methods during feature extraction. Although some semantic segmentation networks proposed recently can achieve good segmentation performance in extracting buildings, their huge parameters and large amount of calculation lead to great obstacles in practical application. Therefore, we propose a lightweight network (named LRAD-Net) for building extraction from remote sensing images. LRAD-Net can be divided into two stages: encoding and decoding. In the encoding stage, the lightweight RegNet network with 600 million flop (600 MF) is finally selected as our feature extraction backbone net though lots of experimental comparisons. Then, a multiscale depthwise separable atrous spatial pyramid pooling structure is proposed to extract more comprehensive and important details of buildings. In the decoding stage, the squeeze-and-excitation attention mechanism is applied innovatively to redistribute the channel weights before fusing feature maps with low-level details and high-level semantics, thus can enrich the local and global information of the buildings. What's more, a lightweight residual block with polarized self-attention is proposed, it can incorporate features extracted from the space of maps and different channels with a small number of parameters, and improve the accuracy of recovering building boundary. In order to verify the effectiveness and robustness of proposed LRAD-Net, we conduct experiments on a self-annotated UAV dataset with higher resolution and three public datasets (the WHU aerial image dataset, the WHU satellite image dataset and the Inria aerial image dataset). Compared with several representative networks, LRAD-Net can extract more details of building, and has smaller number of parameters, faster computing speed, stronger generalization ability, which can improve the training speed of the network without affecting the building extraction effect and accuracy.

Recommender systems are widely used in e-commerce, movies, music, social media, and other fields because of their personalized recommendation functions. The recommendation algorithm is used to capture user preferences, item characteristics, and the items that users are interested in are recommended to users. Matrix factorization is widely used in collaborative filtering algorithms because of its simplicity and efficiency. However, the simple dot-product method cannot establish a nonlinear relationship between user latent features and item latent features or make full use of their personalized information. The model of a neural network combined with an attention mechanism can effectively establish a nonlinear relationship between the potential features of users and items and improve the recommendation accuracy of the model. However, it is difficult for the general attention mechanism algorithm to solve the problem of attention interaction when the number of features between the users and items is not the same. To solve the above problems, this paper proposes an attention interaction matrix factorization (AIMF) model. The AIMF model adopts a symmetric structure using MLP calculation. This structure can simultaneously extract the nonlinear features of user latent features and item latent features, thus reducing the computation time of the model. In addition, an improved attention algorithm named slide-attention is included in the model. The algorithm uses the sliding query method to obtain the user’s attention to the latent features of the item and solves the interaction problem among different dimensions of the user, and the latent features of the item.

Introduction: Mental disorders are considered to be the most significant threat to public health. Mitigation effects of urban green spaces have been widely documented. However, the conclusions are inconsistent because of the representativeness of the original data.Method: We measured the mental perception of urban green spaces using geospatial big data instead of field observation or questionnaire data. Street view data were applied to calculate urban green space characteristics in three dimensions.Results: The positive mental perception percentage around the chosen urban parks increased as the buffer diameter decreased. The temporal variations of positive mental perceptions around the selected urban parks exhibited an obvious peak-trough shape. The spatial associations between the positive mental perception percentage and urban green space characteristics varied geographically. The spatial associations became less similar as the spatial buffer diameter decreased. At the same spatial scale level, the green view played a dominant role in the spatial distribution of positive mental perceptions.Discussion: Shrinking the deviations of urban green space characteristics and increasing the mean and maximum values of urban green space characteristics will favor the improvement of public mental health. This study provides a reference for explaining ecological scientific questions using spatiotemporal big data. It also provides insights into the mechanisms underlying the relationship between ecological processes and public health.

Metropolitan regions usually encounter sustainability difficulties such as overexploitation of resources, severe land scarcity, and ecological degradation, resulting in the progressive collapse of ecological networks (ENs). It is therefore essential to strengthen the construction and protection of ENs by integrating various resources, improving the quality of the urban ecological environment and creating a favourable living environment. Using the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as a case study, in this paper, the ecological resistance indicator system that balances natural condition and human disturbance is rebuilt. In doing so, a construction scheme (applicable to highly urbanised areas) is established to simulate ENs at a more precise scale. Moreover, a local evaluation model of ENs is proposed and the spatial patterns of multiple indicators are fully summarised. The findings show that the ENs of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area exhibit apparent spatial disparity. Disturbance through human activities seriously affects the spatial pattern of ENs, leading to structural imbalance and quality impairment of ecological corridors. Based on our assessment, the construction of complementary ecological corridors in the “two green belts” planning of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will improve structural problems. The findings of this paper can provide a reference to the harmonisation of urban development and ecological protection, by guiding the scientific management of ecological spaces in highly urbanised regions.

Abstract Background Syndactyly (SD) refers to a deformity caused by the fusion and limb differentiation disorder of soft tissues and/or skeletons to varying extents between adjacent fingers (toes). The main features of this disease are phenotypic heterogeneity and genetic heterogeneity. In this study, we examined four generations of a Chinese Mongolian with different phenotypes of syndactylia and analysed and identified the pathogenic genetic variants of SD by exon sequencing. Methods The clinical phenotypes of patients were analysed, and the hands and feet were examined by X-ray. The pedigree was drawn, and the family data were analysed. Peripheral blood was collected from the family members, and genomic DNA was extracted. The candidate genes of SD were identified by exon sequencing, and the mutation sites of the captured candidate genes were amplified by PCR and verified by Sanger sequencing. Results The family has congenital syndactyly, which is an autosomal dominant disease. At present, this condition has been passed down for 4 generations and was identified in 9 patients, including 4 males and 5 females. Five patients, I2, II4, III5, III,7 and III10, had unilateral syndactyly, and four patients, III16, IV3, IV6 and IV7, had bilateral finger syndactyly. All of their toes were unaffected. The proband and the other patients in this family had a c.917G > A (p.R306Q) mutation, which is located at position 917 of the second exon of the HOXD13 gene. This mutation results in a change in the amino acid at position 306, in which arginine is changed to glutamine. This mutation cosegregates in unaffected individuals and affected patients in this family. Moreover, 201 Mongolian genome databases and a thousand human genome databases were referenced to further confirm that the pathogenic genetic variant that causes syndactyly in this family is found in HOXD13. Conclusion This study found that the mutation site of the pathogenic gene in this family was HOXD13, c.917G > A (p.R306Q). The phenotype of the family member III12 was normal, but this member was also a carrier of the pathogenic genetic variant. This indicates that the disease of this family has incomplete penetrance characteristics. Our results further enrich the expression profile of the HOXD13 gene.

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is an emerging and effective therapy for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Previous studies have reported that compared with FMT, whole intestinal microbiota transplantation (WIMT) can more precisely replicate the community structure and reduce the inflammatory response of the host. However, it remains unclear whether WIMT is more effective in alleviating IBD. To examine the efficacy of WIMT and FMT in the intervention of IBD, GF (Germ-free) BALB/c mice were pre-colonized with whole intestinal microbiota or fecal microbiota before being treated with dextran sodium sulfate (DSS). As expected, the symptoms of colitis were alleviated by both WIMT and FMT, as demonstrated by the prevention of body weight loss and decreased the Disease activity index and histological scores in mice. However, WIMT’s anti-inflammatory effect was superior to that of FMT. In addition, the inflammatory markers myeloperoxidase (MPO) and eosinophil peroxidase were dramatically downregulated by WIMT and FMT. Furthermore, the use of two different types of donors facilitated the regulation of cytokine homeostasis in colitis mice; the level of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1β in the WIMT group was significantly lower than that in the FMT group, while the level of the anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 was significantly higher than that in the FMT group. Both groups showed enhanced expression of occludin to protect the intestinal barrier in comparison with the DSS group, and the WIMT group demonstrated considerably increased levels of ZO-1. The sequencing results showed that the WIMT group was highly enriched in Bifidobacterium, whereas the FMT group was significantly enriched in Lactobacillus and Ochrobactrum. Correlation analysis revealed that Bifidobacterium was negatively correlated with TNF-α, whereas Ochrobactrum was positively correlated with MPO and negatively correlated with IL-10, which might be related to different efficacies. Functional prediction using PICRUSt2 revealed that the FMT group was considerably enriched in the L-arginine biosynthesis I and L-arginine biosynthesis IV pathway, whereas the WIMT group was enriched in the L-lysine fermentation to acetate and butanoate pathway. In conclusion, the symptoms of colitis were subsided to varying degrees by the two different types of donors, with the WIMT group being more effective than the FMT group. This study provides new information on clinical interventions for IBD.

Background: Primary liver cancer, around 75%–85% are hepatocellular carcinoma in China, is the fourth most common malignancy and the second leading cause of tumor-related death, thereby posing a significant threat to the life and health of the Chinese people. Summary: Since the publication of Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Primary Liver Cancer in China in June 2017, which were updated by the National Health Commission in December 2019, additional high-quality evidence has emerged from researchers worldwide regarding the diagnosis, staging, and treatment of liver cancer, that requires the guidelines to be updated again. The new edition (2022 Edition) was written by more than 100 experts in the field of liver cancer in China, which not only reflects the real-world situation in China, but also may re-shape the nationwide diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer. Key Messages: The new guideline aims to encourage the implementation of evidence-based practice, and improve the national average five-year survival rate for patients with liver cancer, as proposed in the "Health China 2030 Blueprint."

Ecosystems provide multiple benefits that humans depend on for survival. However, humans severely affect ecosystems through urban sprawl and pollution, and ecosystem functions are therefore constrained. In order to explore the evolution of the human-ecosystem relationship and changes in ecological conditions in highly urbanized areas, this study takes the Pearl River Delta Urban Agglomeration (PRDUA) as the study area, and the ecosystem service values (ESV) and the human footprint (HF) index during 2000–2020 were evaluated. We also employed the four-quadrant model and coupling index to reveal the synergistic relationship and interaction intensity between ESV and HF. Results showed: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the core area of PRDUA exhibited low ESV and high HF, while the peripheral area presented high ESV and low HF. Temporally, over 46% of the PRDUA took on high and very high levels of HF during 2000–2020. ESV declined by over 9% in all 9 cities in the PRDUA. (2) Most of the PRDUA areas were in Quadrants II and IV, and the proportion of these two quadrants increased by 4.4% and 4.5% during 2000–2020, respectively. This indicates that the urbanization process is still ongoing in the PRDUA. The area in Quadrant IV had the lowest coupling index of 0.678 on average during 2000–2020, indicating that the interaction intensity between HF and ESV was significantly lower than in the other areas. (3) The relationship between HF and the coupling index showed an inverted U-shaped curve. This indicates that during urbanization, as human activity intensity grows, the intensity of human-ecosystem interaction increases and then turns down when it reaches a certain threshold. By revealing the changes in the human-ecosystem relationship in a highly urbanized area, this study provides theoretical guidance for ecological regulation and planning in such areas.

Wetlands have suffered from considerable degradation due to anthropogenic and natural disturbances in recent decades. Although some advancements have been made, effective methods that can produce large-scale wetland maps with detailed categories are still lacking due to the diversity and complexity of wetland ecosystems. To address this issue, we developed a novel algorithm for detailed wetland types classification integrating k-fold random forest and hierarchical decision tree, and so named two-step classification algorithm. Firstly, the phenology-based features were composited based on time series Sentinel-1/2 images, and the k-fold random forest was used to extract five rough wetland types in Google Earth Engine platform. Secondly, the hierarchical decision tree designed based on geometric features was used to separate the rough wetland types into fourteen detailed types. Application of the two-step classification method in Northern, Central and Southern Asia (NCSA) resulted in a continental-scale wetland map with an overall accuracy of 90.0 ± 0.5%. Wetland types, including inland marsh, lake, river, coastal swamp, estuarine water, lagoon, shallow marine water, reservoir, canal/channel and agricultural pond, had good accuracy with both UA and PA over 77%. The remaining wetland types had moderate accuracy, with both UA and PA over 58%. As we calculated, total wetland areas of NCSA were 1,375,489.27 km2. Among the fourteen wetland categories, the inland marsh had the largest area (544,584.38 km2) and was primarily distributed in subarctic and humid continental climates, while the canal/channel had the smallest area (1,651.57 km2) and was primarily scattered in desert, semiarid and humid subtropical climates. The lake and floodplain shared generally large areas with value of 392,413.55 km2 and 173,255.71 km2 respectively, which were typically distributed across desert and semiarid climates. This study successfully mapped continental-scale wetlands with detailed categories at a 10-m spatial resolution, which can provide valuable information for the management of wetland ecosystems and facilitate the implementation of wetland-related sustainable development goals.

ObjectivesThis meta-analysis evaluated and compared the efficacy and safety of noninvasive high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (NHFOV) and nasal intermittent positive-pressure ventilation (NIPPV) for preterm newborns after extubation.MethodsWe searched the PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, CNKI, Wanfang and VIP databases from inception to August 28, 2022. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated and compared the efficacy and safety of NHFOV and NIPPV in newborns were included in the review and meta-analysis, which followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) reporting guidelines.ResultsEight studies involving 1,603 patients were included. Compared with NIPPV, NHFOV could reduce the reintubation rates (RR = 0.68, 95% CI 0.53, 0.86, P = 0.002). Subgroup analysis showed that the significant difference was found in reintubation rates within 72 h (RR = 0.48, 95% CI 0.32, 0.73, P = 0.0005). NHFOV also could decrease the duration of non-invasive ventilation (standard mean difference (SMD) = −1.52, 95% CI −2.58, −0.45, P = 0.005). However, all included studies had a high risk of bias, and the overall quality of the evidence of the outcomes was low or very low.ConclusionIn our study, compared with NIPPV, NHFOV seems to reduce the reintubation rates without increasing adverse outcomes. Nevertheless, definite recommendations cannot be made based on the quality of the published evidence.

Wetland carbon storage plays an essential role in the global carbon cycle. However, in recent decades, intensive human activities and rapid urbanization have reduced wetland C stocks in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA). Long-term assessment of carbon storage in the wetland ecosystems of the GBA is needed for promoting regional sustainable development. Therefore, we proposed a framework integrating the integrated valuation of ecosystem services and tradeoffs (InVEST) model and water inundation frequency, which was retrieved via multiple index water detection rule based on Google Earth Engine platform, to estimate yearly carbon storage in wetlands across the GBA at a 30-m spatial resolution during 1995–2020. The incorporation of water inundation frequency in estimating carbon storage in wetlands presents features of long time series and higher temporal frequency. The results showed that: first, the carbon storage of wetlands estimated by the InVEST model decreased from 33.38 to 16.64 Tg·C between 1995 and 2020 in the GBA, mainly owning to the loss of paddy fields. Second, there is a significant exponentially decreasing relationship between water inundation frequency and carbon storage density within the potential wetland extent, with the R2 reaching 0.998, which denotes huge potential for estimating wetland carbon storage; third, annual wetland carbon storage estimated were divided into three main stages: a rapidly increasing period (1995–2004), a falling period (2005–2013), and a slightly fluctuating period (2015–2020). This research may provide references for supporting decision-making in implementing wetland-related sustainable development and carbon-neutrality policies in the GBA.

Studying the structure of polycentric cities can promote a better understanding of urban development and contribute to urban planning. In this study, we identified polycentric cities in China and evaluated the urban centre development level of polycentric cities from new data and method. We used Luojia-1A night-time light (NTL) data, combined with the concept of natural cities (NCs), to identify urban centres and thus identify polycentric cities in China. In addition, we used the urban centre development index (UCDI) to quantify the urban centre development level (UCDL) that represents the overall urban centre development level within a polycentric city. The polycentric cities in China are characterized by the spatial distribution pattern of a larger number in the east and fewer in the west. There are a large number of polycentric cities in eastern China, and the closer to the coastal areas, the more polycentric cities there are. The distribution of UCDL in China’s polycentric cities is characterized by significant spatial heterogeneity. UCDLs are generally smaller in polycentric cities in western China. In addition, polycentric cities in northeastern China have smaller UCDL. Polycentric cities with high UCDL are concentrated in the central and coastal regions of China.

Previous studies found that Poria cocos polysaccharides (PCPs) significantly enhanced the antioxidant activity in piglet intestines while increasing the abundance of Lactobacillus. However, the relationship between Lactobacillus and antioxidant activity has yet to be verified, and the mode of action needs further investigation. Six Lactobacillus strains isolated from the intestines of neonatal piglets fed with PCPs were studied to investigate the relationship between Lactobacillus and intestinal oxidative stress. The results showed that three of them alleviated intestinal oxidative stress and protected the intestinal barrier. Subsequently, we extracted the extracellular vesicles (EVs) of these three Lactobacillus strains to verify their intestinal protection mode of action. We found that these EVs exerted an excellent antioxidant effect and intestinal barrier protection and could directly improve intestinal microbial composition. Our findings suggested that the EVs of the three Lactobacillus strains could enhance antioxidant activity by improving the physical intestinal barrier and remodeling gut microbiota. Unlike probiotics, which should be pre-colonized, EVs can act directly on the intestines. This study provides new ideas for the subsequent development of products to protect intestinal health.

Monitoring agricultural abandonment is essential in understanding the effects on the environment and food security. Polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) is an efficient approach for the monitoring of large-scale agricultural land cover in cloudy and rainy areas. However, previous studies have not taken advantage of the valuable phase information and not fully utilized the spatiotemporal features of farmland parcels, which has seriously limited the abandoned land identification accuracy. In this study, we developed a new method for the mapping of abandoned land based on the spatiotemporal features from PolSAR Single Look Complex (SLC) images via deep learning methods. First, backscattering coefficients (σ0VV, σ0VH) were derived, and the polarimetric parameters (entropy, anisotropy and mean alpha angle) were obtained based on Cloude–Pottier polarimetric decomposition. Then, the VGG16 deep convolutional network was innovatively used to extract spatial features from both the backscattering coefficients and polarimetric parameters. Next, the separability index was calculated to select the most effective spatial features. Finally, LSTM classifications were conducted based on the time series of backscattering features, the polarimetric parameters, the extracted spatial features and their combinations. The results showed that the introduction of multitemporal polarimetric parameters and spatial features both led to an improvement in the abandoned land identification accuracy. The combination of backscattering features, polarimetric parameters and spatial features yielded the best performance in identifying abandoned land, with producer’s accuracy of 88.29% and user’s accuracy of 84.03%. This study demonstrated the potential of polarimetric parameters and validated the effectiveness of spatiotemporal features in abandoned land identification. It provided a practical method for the production of a highly reliable abandoned land mapping in cloudy and rainy areas.

Based on the up-floating incident of the basement in a high-rise residential building, the finite element (FE) model of the up-floating destruction region is established to investigate the damage mechanism. The stress states and the deformations of the basement structure are obtained under complex loads including water buoyancy forces, vehicle loads and construction loads. To assess the extent of damage, a novel damage indicator is defined based on two levels: the cracking bending moments and the yield bending moment. The first-level cracking bending moment, second-level cracking bending moment and the yield bending moment can be determined using the section stratification method. By comparing the maximum bending moment of the component with its corresponding cracking moment, one can determine whether the cracks have occurred and assess their severity. Meanwhile, the antifloating failure model is constructed to analyze the mechanism of the up-floating destruction. Finally, a detailed reinforcement treatment plan of ‘decompression first and then reinforcement’ is presented to reinforce and repair the damaged basement structure. The mechanism analysis of the up-floating destruction and the comprehensive reinforcement treatments ensure the simulation of the life cycle of emergence, development and treatment to ensure structural safety.

Abstract Background Workplace heat exposure can cause a series of heat-related illnesses and injuries. Protecting workers especially those undertake work outdoors from the risk of heat strain is a great challenge for many workplaces in China under the context of climate change. The aim of this study is to investigate the perceptions and adaptation behaviors of heat exposure among construction workers and to provide evidence for the development of targeted heat adaptation strategies nationally and internationally. Methods In 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional online questionnaire survey via WeChat Survey Star in China, using a purposive snowball sampling approach. A total of 326 construction workers submitted completed questionnaires. The perceptions of workplace heat exposure were measured using seven indicators: concerns over high temperature, perception of high temperature injury, attitudes towards both heat-related training and regulations, adjustment of working habits during heat, heat prevention measures in the workplace, and reduction of work efficiency. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to identify the factors significantly associated with workers’ heat perceptions and behavioral responses. Results 33.3% of the respondents were moderately or very concerned about heat exposure in the workplace. Less than half of the workers (43.8%) were worried about heat-related injuries. Workers who have either experienced work-related injuries (OR = 1.30, 95% CI 1.03–1.62) or witnessed injuries to others during high temperatures (OR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.02–1.27) were more concerned about heat exposure compared to other workers. Most respondents (63.5%) stated that their work efficiency declined during extremely hot weather. The factors significantly associated with a reduction of work efficiency included undertaking physically demanding jobs (OR = 1.28, 95% CI 1.07–1.54) and witnessing other workers’ injuries during high temperatures (OR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.11–1.43). More than half of the workers were willing to adjust their work habits to adapt to the impact of high temperatures (81.6%). The internet was the most common method to obtain heat prevention information (44.7%), and the most frequently used heat prevention measure was the provision of cool drinking water (64.8%). Conclusions Chinese construction workers lack heat risk awareness and are not well prepared for the likely increasing heat exposure in the workplace due to global warming. Therefore, there is a need to improve their awareness of heat-related injuries, strengthen high temperature related education and training, and update the current heat prevention policies to ensure compliance and implementation.

Podocytes form a key component of the glomerular filtration barrier. Damage to podocytes is referred to as “podocyte disease.” There are many causes of podocyte injury, including primary injury, secondary injury, and gene mutations. Primary podocytosis mostly manifests as nephrotic syndrome. At present, first-line treatment is based on glucocorticoid administration combined with immunosuppressive therapy, but some patients still progress to end-stage renal disease. In Asia, especially in China, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) still plays an important role in the treatment of kidney diseases. This study summarizes the potential mechanism of TCM and its active components in protecting podocytes, such as repairing podocyte injury, inhibiting podocyte proliferation, reducing podocyte apoptosis and excretion, maintaining podocyte skeleton structure, and upregulating podocyte-related protein expression. At the same time, the clinical efficacy of TCM in the treatment of primary podocytosis (including idiopathic membranous nephropathy, minimal change disease, and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis) is summarized to support the development of new treatment strategies for primary podocytosis.

Wetlands are formed by the interaction between terrestrial and aquatic systems and are of substantial importance in the study of global environmental change. However, the global wetland area is rapidly declining, and wetlands are experiencing environmental stress caused by human activities. Existing methods neither consider thought-out human pressure factors nor depict the spatial variation in wetland risks in detail. Therefore, constructing a wetland damage index (WDI) that characterizes the destruction and risk of wetlands is necessary. In this study, we constructed a WDI based on wetland area variation, human pressure, and a remote sensing-based ecological index and used it to analyze the wetland damage conditions of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). The results demonstrated the following: (1) The wetland area in the GBA decreased by 12.13% between 2000 and 2020. Wetlands are often found on the west bank of the Pearl River, whereas inner-city wetlands are scarce. Ponds and rivers on the west bank are also hotspots of wetland loss. Additionally, many wetlands in peripheral cities of the GBA have been restored; (2) the WDI is indicative of wetland evolution. In the case of small grid units (2.5–10.0 km), the correlation between the WDI and the landscape indices decreased, showing the former’s ability to account for human pressures and environmental ecology conditions that landscape indices fail to consider. The WDI can be used to distinguish the extent of damage to various types of wetlands. In general, the probability of subsequent wetland loss is greater in places with high WDI than in places with low WDI, and vice versa; and (3) the WDI can adapt to various data and different research scales. However, the policies of local authorities must be considered in practical applications because these factors can directly affect the disappearance or survival of wetlands. The WDI is an indicator of wetland destruction and risk for most wetlands that are neither designated as nature reserves nor benefit from environmental protection measures.

Unlike general large-scale projects, major science and technology projects (MSTPs) are strategically positioned to meet national needs, reflecting the forward-looking direction of science and technology development. The correctness of decision making for MSTPs is crucial for the long-term development and strategic interests of the country. To measure decision complexity accurately, we propose a graph-based approach that utilizes information entropy theory. This approach provides decision makers with a theoretical foundation for effectively managing decision complexity.

Köhler illumination is the most used method for evenly illuminating a sample in bright-field microscopy. However, Köhler illumination cannot provide optimum contrast and high resolution simultaneously. The image contrast for Köhler illumination can be enhanced at the expense of lateral resolution. In this paper, we discuss the main causes of contrast loss with Köhler illumination by simulating unsymmetrical interference, incoherent superposition, and modulation transfer function. We present a method to increase the image contrast by combining the annular oblique illumination with normalization and blind deconvolution. With the progress of optoelectronic devices, the greater advantages of annular oblique illumination will become apparent. The experimental results achieved by using LED annular oblique illumination prove the feasibility of the proposed method.

Pituitary abscess is a rare disease with a high preoperative misdiagnosis rate. Magnetic resonance imaging is the primary method for confirming pituitary abscesses before surgery. We reported magnetic resonance imaging findings of four cases of pituitary abscess (three males and one female) aged from 33 to 72 years old. All four cases underwent transnasal sphenoid surgery and had a good prognosis. The findings on magnetic resonance imaging were analyzed. Three cases showed ring enhancement of the capsule wall. Four cases showed thickened pituitary stalk, with the diameter of the lower end larger than that of the upper end. The position of the pituitary stalk where it was inserted into the upper edge of the pituitary was located at the middle and posterior 1/3 junction of the upper edge of the pituitary two cases were with the enhancement of the dura mater at the bottom of the temporal lobe. Two cases were with the enhancement of the dura mater of the petroclival region, and one case was with the enhancement of the cavernous sinus. There are few articles concerning abnormal magnetic resonance imaging around the sellar region of pituitary abscess. The findings of the four cases in this article suggest that the pituitary abscess has characteristic abnormal magnetic resonance imaging of the sellar region and its surroundings.

Abstract. Intestinal infectious diseases refer to the inflammatory changes in the intestinal tract caused by pathogens (including bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, or parasites) or their toxic products. A large number of microorganisms colonize the intestinal tract of healthy people, which together with the intestinal epithelium constitute the biological barrier of the intestinal tract to resist infectious diseases. As an “invisible organ,” the intestinal flora is closely related to human nutrition metabolism and intestinal infections. A variety of intestinal flora participates in the nutritional metabolism of amino acids, and the small molecular substances produced by the amino acid metabolism through the intestinal flora can enhance intestinal immunity and resist bacterial infections. In turn, amino acids can also regulate the composition of the intestinal flora, maintain the steady-state of the intestinal flora, protect the intestinal barrier, and inhibit colonization by pathogenic bacteria. As a model animal with a clear microbial background, germ-free (GF) animals can clarify the mechanisms of interactions between intestinal microbes and amino acid metabolism in intestinal infections by combining genetic engineering technology and multi-omics studies. This article reviews related researches on the involvement of intestinal microbes in host amino acid metabolism and resistance to intestinal infections and discusses the advantages of GF animal models for studying the underlying mechanisms. The GF animal model is helpful to further study the intervention effects of amino acid metabolism of targeted intestinal flora on intestinal infections.

Intelligent operation is the core business of the intelligent pipeline network system, and the assistant decision system is the backbone supporting the intelligent operation of pipeline. Based on the top-level design and overall framework of the former PetroChina Pipeline Co. Ltd. for intelligent pipeline network, the intelligent operation and development scheme was piloted on China-Myanmar Crude Oil Pipeline based on its characteristics of large terrain undulation, complex geological conditions and the sensitive surrounding environment. By analyzing the construction framework and practice of intelligent pipeline of the former PetroChina Pipeline Co. Ltd. and foreign countries, the development scheme of assistant decision system, comprising operation management, safety control and full life cycle integrity management, was put forward based on the building of IoT sharing system, digital restoration system and cloud data center. Definitely, the development difficulties were analyzed and the technical route of overall planning and step-by-step implementation was discussed, to achieve the connotation goals of the intelligent operation of pipeline including real-time autonomous optimization of pipeline operation management, controllable safety prediction and early warning, and high intelligence of full life cycle integrity management.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) includes visceral obesity, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. The prevalence of MetS is 20-25%, which is an important risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD). MetS causes effects on renal pathophysiology, including glomerular hyperfiltration, RAAS, microalbuminuria, profibrotic factors and podocyte injury. This review compares several criteria of MetS and analyzes their differences. MetS and the pathogenesis of CKD includes insulin resistance, obesity, dyslipidemia, inflammation, oxidative stress, and endothelial dysfunction. The intervention of MetS-related renal damage is the focus of this article and includes controlling body weight, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipidemia, requiring all components to meet the criteria. In addition, interventions such as endoplasmic reticulum stress, oxidative stress, gut microbiota, body metabolism, appetite inhibition, podocyte apoptosis, and mesenchymal stem cells are reviewed.

PurposeTo observe the application value of gastroenterography combined with CT in the evaluation of short-term efficacy and prognosis in patients with esophageal cancer radiotherapy.MethodsFrom January 2013 to December 2020, the clinical data of 207 patients with esophageal cancer treated by radiotherapy in our hospital were collected retrospectively. All patients received gastroenterography and CT examination before and after radiotherapy, and the patients were followed-up for 1 year, and the evaluation value of their short-term efficacy and prognosis was observed.ResultsAfter radiotherapy, the length diameter, short diameter, and volume of the lymph node were lower than those before radiotherapy (p < 0.05), but the maximum tube wall thickness had no significant difference (p > 0.05). The length diameter, short diameter, and volume of the lymph node, and the maximum tube wall thickness in the good efficacy group and the good prognosis group were lower, and the objective response rate in the good prognosis group was higher (p < 0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) of the length diameter, short diameter, and volume of the lymph node to evaluate the short-term efficacy of patients with esophageal cancer was 0.738, 0.705, and 0.748, respectively, and the AUC to evaluate the prognosis of patients with esophageal cancer was 0.751, 0.776, and 0.791, respectively.ConclusionGastroenterography combined with CT has a good application value in the evaluation of short-term efficacy and prognosis in patients with esophageal cancer radiotherapy.

Purpose: This study aimed to report the ocular features, surgical methods, and surgical outcomes of a patient with morning glory syndrome(MGS) complicated with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment(RRD) Observations: The patient was a 38-year-old Chinese woman with congenital cataract in her left eye and an artificial eye in her right eye. Ocular examination confirmed MGS complicated with RD in the left eye and revealed a retinal hole in the temporal margin of the optic disc. The retina successfully reattached after pars plana vitrectomy(PPV), silicone oil tamponade and laser photocoagulation, but the hole did not close and occurred obvious contractile movement. The retina did not detach again during the follow-up period. One and a half years later, silicone oil removal combined with internal limiting membrane and hyaloid or glial remnant plugging, autologous blood covering and C3F8 filling were performed, and the retinal hole was finally closed. Conclusions and importance: This case is the first to report contractile movement of the retinal hole in a patient with MGS complicated with RD, and the hole was closed by internal limiting membrane tamponade combined with autologous blood coverage.

An understanding of the driving factors of urban heat islands could improve the urban thermal environment and provide planning strategies for sustainable urban/regional development. We selected Guangdong province in China as a case area, which covers 21 cities and more than 110 million people. We used multitemporal remote sensing data from multiple sources and socioeconomic statistical data to analyze the effects of various drivers of surface urban heat islands (SUHIs). The tested drivers include urban agglomeration, physical indicators (e.g., vegetation and built-up indices), and socioeconomic indicators (e.g., population, gross domestic production, and nightlight intensity). The results show that physical indicators are determinants of daytime SUHIs whereas socioeconomic indicators are determinants of nighttime SUHIs, which indicates that daytime and nighttime SUHIs have different causal mechanisms in this region. Moreover, the results reveal that the influence of urban agglomeration on urban surface temperature is more significant at nighttime than in daytime, which implies that the warming effect of urban agglomeration is stronger at night. Together, the results indicate that joint control of urban size, urbanization level, and socioeconomic activities is crucial to alleviate SUHIs and safeguard sustainable development in this region.

The Sentinel-2B offers high spatial resolution optical imagery from 13 bands in the visible, near infrared, and short-wave infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum, providing enhanced continuity to monitoring global terrestrial surfaces and coastal waters. In this article, its radiometry calibration is evaluated using 37 clear-sky observations in 2018 from the four sites of radiometric calibration network for assuring data quality. However, since the single calibration results acquired under different surface and atmospheric conditions have different biases and different uncertainties, it is difficult to determine which calibration sample is much more trustable. In view of this, by assuming that the calibration samples are independent of each other, a state-of-the-art reference value is derived by combining 37 calibration samples using a weighted average method, which has much lower uncertainty and approaches the “true” value. The reference value also could be used to compare each calibration result. The result shows that the reference value of the relative difference between the simulated and observed top-of-atmosphere reflectance is 4.29%, 4.95%, 4.54%, 5.34%, respectively, for bands 2, 3, 4, and 8, and the corresponding uncertainty is 1.09%, 1.10%, 1.10%, and 1.12%, respectively; the degree of equivalence for each sample is calculated by comparing each calibration result with the reference value. It is worth noting that the degrees of equivalence are lower than 5%, and the four samples on July 9, July 13, October 4, and October 11 perform worse than the other sample.

In global greening, biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions and their influencing factors have been considered due to their significant roles in the biosphere and atmosphere. Many studies have reported relationships of BVOC emissions with environmental factors and plant ecophysiology. However, the direct and indirect effects of environmental factors on BVOC emissions remain unclear, and the causal relationships between plant ecophysiology and BVOC emissions are ambiguous. We measured the isoprene and monoterpene emissions from dominant greening plants using a dynamic enclosure system and quantified the interactions of environment–-plant and ecophysiology–BVOC emissions using a path analysis model. We found that isoprene emission was directly affected by photosynthetic rate, and indirectly affected by photosynthetically active radiation and air temperature (Tair). Monoterpene emissions were directly affected by atmospheric pressure, relative air humidity and specific leaf weight, and indirectly affected by Tair.

The regions near the Tropic of Cancer are a latitudinal geographical zone with typical climatic, topographic, and human landscape features. It is necessary to explore the region’s net primary productivity (NPP) dynamics as it combines complex topography, various vegetation types, and intense human activities. The study sets the transect near the Tropic of Cancer (TCT) and uses the Carnegie–Ames–Stanford (CASA) model to estimate the NPP from 2000 to 2020. After using the RESTREND method, the paper calculates and compares the relative contributions of climate variability and anthropogenic activities to NPP changes. Finally, the geographical detector (Geodetector) model is applied to evaluate how anthropogenic and natural factors affect spatial distribution patterns and NPP changes. The results indicated that the average annual NPP is 820.39 gC·m−2·yr−1 during the 21 years. In addition, when the NPP varies, it increases over the entire study area, with a slope of 4.81 gC·m−2·yr−1, particularly in the western region. Across the entire research area, 63.39% and 77.44% of the total pixels positively contribute to climate variability and human activities in NPP, with a contribution of 0.90 and 3.91 gC·m−2·yr−1, respectively. Within the western, central, and eastern regions, anthropogenic activities have a stronger impact on NPP than climate variability, particularly pronounced in the eastern region. Furthermore, vegetation cover is the dominant factor in the spatial patterns and NPP trends across the TCT and the three regions. In contrast, climate factors are shown to be less influential in NPP distribution than in the western region. The results also demonstrated that the effect of population density and the GDP on NPP gradually rises. Two-factor interaction is much larger than any individual factor, with the dominant interaction factor being vegetation cover with climatic factors. Lastly, the findings revealed that anthropogenic activities positively promote NPP accumulation across the TCT, thus highlighting the importance of human activity-led ecological restoration and ecological protection measures that contribute to regional carbon sequestration and carbon balance.

How to enhance the bioavailability and prolong the residence time of drugs in the eye present the major barriers to traditional eye delivery. Nanotechnology has been widely used in ocular drug delivery systems because of its advantages of minimizing adverse reactions, decreasing the frequency of administration, prolonging the release time, and improving the bioavailability of the drug in the eye. As natural product-based nanostructured systems, bioinspired nanostructured systems have presented as less toxic, easy to prepare, and cost-effective and have potential application value in the field of nanotechnology. A systematic classification of bioinspired nanostructured systems based on their inspiration source and formulation and their brief applications in disease are presented here. A review of recent research progress of the bioinspired nanostructured systems for the treatment of the anterior and posterior segment of ocular disorders is then presented in detail. Finally, current challenges and future directions with regard to manufacturing bioinspired nanomaterials are provided.