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Abstract The buried interface between the electron transport layer (ETL) and the perovskite layer plays a crucial role in enhancing the power conversion efficiency (PCE) and stability of n–i–p type perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In this study, the interface between the chemical bath deposited (CBD) titanium oxide (TiO2) ETL and the perovskite layer using multi‐functional potassium trifluoromethyl sulfonate (SK) is modified. Structural and elemental analyses reveal that the trifluoromethyl sulfonate serves as a crosslinker between the TiO2 and the perovskite layer, thus improving the adhesion of the perovskite to the TiO2 ETL through strong bonding of the ─CF3 and ─SO3− terminal groups. Furthermore, the multi‐functional modifiers reduced interface defects and suppressed carrier recombination in the PSCs. Consequently, devices with a champion PCE of 25.22% and a fill factor (FF) close to 85% is achieved, marking the highest PCE and FF observed for PSCs based on CBD TiO2. The unencapsulated device maintained 81.3% of its initial PCE after operating for 1000 h.

Abstract Drawing inspiration from the jumping mechanisms of insects (e.g., click beetles), bistable structures can convert slow deformations of soft actuating material into fast jumping motions (i.e., power amplification). However, bistable jumpers often encounter large energy barriers for energy release/re‐storage, posing a challenge in achieving multimodal (i.e., height/distance) and continuous jumps at the insect scale (body length under 20 mm). Here, a new offset‐buckling bistable design is introduced that features antisymmetric equilibrium states and tunable energy barriers. Leveraging this design, a Boundary Actuation Tunable Energy‐barrier (BATE) jumper (body length down to 15 mm) is developed, and transform BATE jumper from height‐jump mode (up to 12.7 body lengths) to distance‐jump mode (up to 20 body lengths). BATE jumpers can perform agile continuous jumping (within 300 ms for energy release/re‐storage times) and real‐time status detection is further demonstrated. This insect‐level performance of the proposed BATE jumper showcases its potential toward future applications in exploration, search, and rescue.

Quantitative photoacoustic tomography (qPAT) holds great potential in estimating chromophore concentrations, whereas the involved optical inverse problem, aiming to recover absorption coefficient distributions from photoacoustic images, remains challenging. To address this problem, we propose an extractor-attention-predictor network architecture (EAPNet), which employs a contracting–expanding structure to capture contextual information alongside a multilayer perceptron to enhance nonlinear modeling capability. A spatial attention module is introduced to facilitate the utilization of important information. We also use a balanced loss function to prevent network parameter updates from being biased towards specific regions. Our method obtains satisfactory quantitative metrics in simulated and real-world validations. Moreover, it demonstrates superior robustness to target properties and yields reliable results for targets with small size, deep location, or relatively low absorption intensity, indicating its broader applicability. The EAPNet, compared to the conventional UNet, exhibits improved efficiency, which significantly enhances performance while maintaining similar network size and computational complexity.

Abstract Background In this retrospective study, we aimed to evaluate the factors associated with the severity of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) bronchiolitis in children aged under 2 years who were admitted to the Children’s Hospital of Hebei between June 2018 and January 2019. Methods Sputum samples positive for RSV via multiplex PCR were subtyped using real-time PCR. Data collected included risk factors for disease severity, demographics, microbiology, and outcomes. Results Of the 82 children with RSV bronchiolitis, 79 were treated and discharged with improvement, while 3 died. All three patients had underlying medical conditions, including complex congenital heart disease and severe combined immunodeficiency. Further, disease severity was associated with preexisting underlying disease, fever duration, and bacterial co-infection, but not with the RSV subtype. Conclusions Our findings suggest that an appropriate therapeutic regimen should include the detection of bacterial co-infections and the identification of underlying diseases for the effective management of severe RSV bronchiolitis.

Background The association between soy isoflavones intake and cardiometabolic health remains inconclusive. We investigated the associations of urinary biomarkers of isoflavones including daidzein, glycitein, genistein, equol (a gut microbial metabolite of daidzein), and equol‐predicting microbial species with cardiometabolic risk markers. Methods and Results In a 1‐year study of 305 Chinese community‐dwelling adults aged ≥18 years, urinary isoflavones, fecal microbiota, blood pressure, blood glucose and lipids, and anthropometric data were measured twice, 1 year apart. Brachial‐ankle pulse wave velocity was also measured after 1 year. A linear mixed‐effects model was used to analyze repeated measurements. Logistic regression was used to calculate the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% CI for the associations for arterial stiffness. Each 1 μg/g creatinine increase in urinary equol concentrations was associated with 1.47%, 0.96%, and 3.32% decrease in triglycerides, plasma atherogenic index, and metabolic syndrome score, respectively (all P

To fully explore the potential low-carbon and economic advantages of a virtual power plant (VPP) that aggregates multiple distributed resources, the paper proposes a VPP scheduling model that considers the carbon emission flow (CEF) and demand response (DR), which is characterized by electro-carbon coupling and source-load interaction. First, the electric-carbon characteristics of each distributed resource under VPP are modeled, and the source-load electric-carbon coupling characteristic model is modeled through the CEF theory. On this basis, a load-side multi-type DR model is established to achieve the purpose of source-load synergy to reduce carbon emissions from VPP. To this end, a two-stage scheduling model of VPP considering the source-load electro-carbon coupling relationship is established, and the implementation of the model can reduce power generation costs, carbon emissions and promote clean energy, and the simulation results of the improved IEEE-14 node system verify the effectiveness of the proposed model.

Highlights The Ar plasma etching strategy was introduced to homogeneously distributed S-vacancies (VS) into the NiS2 nanosheets (NiS2-VS). Build the relationship between sulfur vacancy and H absorption and find that NiS2-VS 5.9% performs outstanding hydrogen evolution reaction performance and remarkable stability.

Abstract Objective: Inflammation plays a critical role in the progression of chronic liver diseases, and diet can modulate inflammation. Whether an inflammatory dietary pattern is associated with higher risk of hepatic steatosis or fibrosis remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the associations between inflammatory dietary pattern and the odds of hepatic steatosis and fibrosis. Design: In this nationwide cross-sectional study, diet was measured using two 24-h dietary recalls. Empirical dietary inflammatory pattern (EDIP) score was derived to assess the inflammatory potential of usual diet, which has been validated to highly predict inflammation markers in the study population. Controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) were derived from FibroScan to define steatosis and fibrosis, respectively. Setting: US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants: 4171 participants aged ≥18 years. Results: A total of 1436 participants were diagnosed with S1 steatosis (CAP ≥ 274 dB/m), 255 with advanced fibrosis (LSM ≥ 9·7 kPa). Compared with those in the lowest tertile of EDIP-adherence scores, participants in the highest tertile had 74 % higher odds of steatosis (OR: 1·74, 95 % CI (1·26, 2·41)). Such positive association persisted among never drinkers, or participants who were free of hepatitis B and/or C. Similarly, EDIP was positively associated with CAP in multivariate linear model (P < 0·001). We found a non-significant association of EDIP score with advanced fibrosis or LSM (P = 0·837). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a diet score that is associated with inflammatory markers is associated with hepatic steatosis. Reducing or avoiding pro-inflammatory diets intake might be an attractive strategy for fatty liver disease prevention.

The normal-pressure shale gas block in southeast Chongqing is located in the transitional zone of the basin margin and the extrabasinal fold area, which has the geological characteristics of complex structure, large stress difference and low pressure coefficient, which brings great challenges to improve the efficiency and production of engineering technology. Shallow surface fractures and caverns are developed in this area, with many thief zones, and long drilling and completion period. The structural stress changes quickly and the difference coefficient is large, so it is difficult to form complex fracture network. The lack of formation energy and low drainage efficiency affect the continuous and stable production of gas wells. Therefore, with the goal of "increasing quality, speed, efficiency and yield", key technologies are innovated and implemented, and the benefits of engineering processes are created constantly. With the aim to "speed up, improve efficiency and reduce cost" in drilling projects, the normal-pressure shale gas drilling and completion technology is formed, which focuses on well structure optimization and drilling with optimized parameters, and integrates equipment and tools. The mechanical drilling rate increases by 14.90% per year, the drilling and completion period decreases by 10.67%, and the drilling cost decreases by 7.64%, setting multiple new records in the same period. Focusing on increasing efficiency and reducing cost of fracturing projects, fracture complexity is improved through "moderately close cutting + temporary plugging and turning", effective multi-scale support of fracture network is promoted by "high-strength sand injection + sand-ceramic particle size combination", low-cost fracturing materials and cost-reduced equipment and tools are integrated and applied, forming the characteristic fracturing process and supporting facilities of "complex fracture network + economic materials + intelligent fracturing equipment". The final EUR of one kilometer per well was increased from 34 to 45 million cubic meters, and the cost decreased by 34.6%. With the goal of "fine management of the whole life cycle, delay of decline, and efficiency improvement by tapping the potential", the full-life cycle drainage and gas production technology system of mechanical drainage such as early selection of pipe string, mid-stage foam drainage + compressor depressurized mining, late-stage single pipe jet pump and heavy-duty pump + liner pipe has been established, and precise policies have been implemented in different areas, classification and stages, and the annual decline rate of old wells has been reduced by 2.1%. The production time rate of the whole field increased from 95.9% to 98.7%. Through the research on the whole process of engineering technology, it strongly supports the efficient development of normal-pressure shale gas in southeast Chongqing, and provides beneficial reference for the efficient exploitation of other normal-pressure shale gas.

Objective Previous studies have found satisfactory clinical results with the nano‐hydroxyapatite/polyamide 66 (n‐HA/PA66) cage to reconstruct the stability of anterior cervical column. However, studies evaluating the long‐term outcomes of the n‐HA/PA66 cage in multi‐level degenerative cervical myelopathy (MDCM) have not been reported. This study aims to compare the outcomes of corpectomy anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) hybrid procedures between the n‐HA/PA66 cage and titanium mesh cage (TMC) to treat MDCM. Methods After the screening for eligibility, this retrospective study involved 90 patients who underwent corpectomy ACDF hybrid (CACDFH) procedure from June 2013 to June 2018. The CACDFH procedure is the combination of ACDF and anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion (ACCF). According to the cage utilized, we categorized patients into a n‐HA/PA66 cage group and a TMC group. Then, stepwise propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to maintain comparable clinical data between groups. All the patients were followed up ≥4 years and the longest follow‐up time was 65.43 (±11.49) months. Cage subsidence, adjacent segment degeneration (ASD), segmental height (SH), segmental angle (SA), cervical lordosis (CL), and clinical data (visual analogue scale [VAS] and Japanese Orthopaedic Association [JOA] score) was evaluated preoperatively, at 1 week, and at the final surgery follow‐up. The independent student's t test and chi‐square test were applied to compare the differences between groups. Results Through PSM analysis, 25 patients from the n‐HA/PA66 group were matched to 25 patients in the TMC group. The occurrence of ASD was 16.0% (4/25) in the n‐HA/PA 66 group, which was significantly less than in the TMC group at 44.0% (11/25) (p = 0.031). Moreover, the cage subsidence rate was significantly higher in the TMC group as compared to the n‐HA/PA 66 group (40.0% vs. 12.0%, p = 0.024). But there was no significant difference in SH, SA, and CL at any time after surgery as determined through follow‐up. The VAS and JOA scores significantly improved in both groups at 3 months postoperative and at final follow‐up. However, there were no significant differences in the VAS and JOA score at any time between the two groups in preoperative (p > 0.05). Conclusion The n‐HA/PA66 cage is associated with lower rate of cage subsidence and ASD than the TMC in the treatment of MDCM. The n‐HA/PA66 cage could be superior to the TMC in corpectomy ACDF hybrid procedures.

Semi-macrosegregation in continuously cast blooms and its associated carbide banding defects in hot-rolled bars were investigated to explore the characteristics, evolution, and control methods in high-carbon chromium bearing steel. It was found that the semi-macrosegregation exists only in the central equiaxed crystal zone of the blooms, and C, Cr solute elements inside show typical spot-like positive segregation. Carbide banding appears as white bright bands along the rolling direction, composed of high number density M3C carbide particles, with a significant effect on the mechanical properties of the rolled products. The hereditary evolution from semi-macrosegregation to carbide banding was established by means of banded segregation. Morphologically, normal semi-macrosegregation and carbide-typed semi-macrosegregation are formed based on whether Cr-rich primary carbides are generated. These two types of semi-macrosegregation evolved into two kinds of carbide banding respectively, that is, dark bands and bright bands defined according to the ability to reflect light under OM. To alleviate the carbide banding defect in rolling products of high-carbon chromium bearing steel, the morphology and area ratio of equiaxed crystals in continuous cast blooms should be modified. It is observed that the equiaxed crystal ratio in the bloom can be decreased from 62.5 % to 28 % by increasing liquid steel superheat and inhibiting superheat dissipation in the mold through casting practices. Additionally, the morphology of equiaxed crystals is related to the as-cast solidification structure, and when the equiaxed crystal ratio is large, the equiaxed crystals turn out to be coarser ones with only cellular primary dendrite; when the columnar crystals are longer, however, the equiaxed crystals appear as a dendrite structure with fine secondary dendrites. As a result, semi-macrosegregation was improved obviously with the fine dendrite structure splitting the local residual liquid phase, leading to the decrease of the maximum width of carbide banding from 268.41 μm to 73.72 μm, and the increase of mechanical properties in the rolled bar of high-carbon chromium bearing steel.

Objective Although direct isthmic repair, such as PSVPH, did not affect the mobility of the fixed segment and adjacent segment, it has a relatively low rate of isthmic fusion compared with conventional fusion. The Isobar TTL dynamic internal fixation system has been widely used in clinical practice and has achieved satisfactory clinical results. However, the use of the Isobar TTL system in combination with direct isthmic repair for lumbar spondylolysis has rarely been reported. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical and radiologic outcomes between patients who underwent Isobar TTL system and PSVPH with direct repair of defect for lumbar spondylolysis. Methods Stepwise propensity score matching (PSM) for age and sex were performed to keep comparable clinical data between groups in this retrospective and matched‐pair case control study. A total of 50 patients diagnosed with lumbar spondylolysis underwent surgical implantation of the Isobar TTL group (n = 25) or PSVPH group (n = 25) from June 2009 to June 2016. Clinical outcomes were assessed using the Oswestry disability index (ODI), and visual analog score (VAS). Radiographic evaluations included range of motion (ROM) and the disc heights of stabilized segment and adjacent segment, adjacent segment degeneration (ASD) and bony fusion. Three‐dimensional reconstruction of lumbar CT scan was obtained to evaluate bone fusion of the isthmic at final follow‐up. The independent Student's t test and chi‐square test were applied to compare the differences between groups. Results A total of 25 patients from TTL group were matched to 25 patients in PSVPH group for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), defect side, spondylolisthesis meyerding, and follow‐up duration. The intervertebral space height (IH) of stabilized segment at postoperative 1 week and final follow‐up in the TTL group was higher than those in the PSVPH group, respectively (P = 0.030; P = 0.013). The ROM of stabilized segment at final follow‐up in the TTL group was significantly lower than that in the PSVPH group (P

Objective Cervical tuberculosis (CTB) readily causes local kyphosis, and its surgical strategy remains controversial. Although some previous studies suggested that the anterior approach could effectively treat CTB, patients in these studies only suffered mild to moderate kyphosis. Therefore, little is known about whether the anterior approach can achieve satisfactory outcomes in CTB patients with severe kyphosis. This study was performed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of preoperative skull traction combined with anterior surgery for the treatment of CTB patients with a severe kyphosis angle of more than 35°. Methods In this retrospective study, we enrolled 31 CTB patients with severe kyphosis who underwent preoperative skull traction combined with anterior surgery from April 2015 to January 2021. Patients were followed up for at least 2 years. Clinical data, such as operative time, blood loss, and postoperative hospital stay, were collected. The clinical outcomes included American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) spinal cord injury grade, Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, visual analog scale (VAS) score, and related complications. The radiological outcomes included the Cobb angle of cervical kyphosis at each time point and the bony fusion state. Clinical efficacy was evaluated by paired Student's t‐test, Mann–Whitney U‐test, and others. Results Six patients had involvement of one vertebra, 21 had involvement of two vertebrae, and four had involvement of three vertebrae. The most common level of vertebral involvement was C4‐5, whereas the most common apical vertebra of kyphosis was C4. The mean kyphosis angle was 46.1° ± 7.7° preoperatively, and the flexibility on dynamic extension‐flexion X‐rays and cervical MRI was 17.5% ± 7.8% and 43.6% ± 11.0%, respectively (p = 0.000). The kyphosis angle significantly decreased to 13.2° ± 3.2° after skull traction, and it further corrected to −6.1° ± 4.3° after surgery, which was well maintained at the final follow‐up with a mean Cobb angle of −5.4° ± 3.9°. The VAS and JOA scores showed significant improvement after surgery. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C‐reactive protein (CRP) levels normalized at 3 months after surgery. All patients achieved solid bone fusion, and no complications related to the instrumentation or recurrence were observed. Conclusion Preoperative skull traction combined with anterior debridement, autologous iliac bone grafting, and internal plate fixation can be an effective and safe surgical method for the treatment of cervical tuberculosis with severe kyphosis. Skull traction can improve the safety and success rate of subsequent anterior corrective surgery.

AGIs (agricultural geographical indicators) are effective quality signals that can improve market welfare, but few studies have investigated the impact of AGIs on economic development. To fill this gap, this paper explores the impact of AGIs on per capita GDP and its mechanisms, according to country-level data in China from 2000 to 2018. For every additional AGI in the country, GDP per capita increased by 0.2–0.4%. Our conclusion remained reliable after various robustness tests. These effects were more salient in western areas, the main grain-producing areas, and settled areas. AGIs related to aquatic environments, animal husbandry, and planting products promoted economic development most significantly. For these effects, encouraging an increase in agricultural value (improving the quantity and quality of products) and promoting the agglomeration of populations, capital, and enterprises in the agricultural sector were the main mechanisms.

Abstract Three basic deformation modes of an object (bending, twisting, and contraction/extension) along with their various combinations and delicate controls lead to diverse locomotion. As a result, seeking mechanisms to achieve simple to complex deformation modes in a controllable manner is a focal point in related engineering fields. Here, a pneumatic-driven, origami-based deformation unit that offers all-purpose deformation modes, namely, three decoupled basic motion types and four combinations of these three basic types, with seven distinct motion modes in total through one origami module, was created and precisely controlled through various pressurization schemes. These all-purpose origami-based modules can be readily assembled as needed, even during operation, which enables plug-and-play characteristics. These origami modules with all-purpose deformation modes offer unprecedented opportunities for soft robots in performing complex tasks, which were successfully demonstrated in this work.

Abstract The quantity and quality of edible agricultural products are critical for food security (quantity) and safety (quality). Supplying consumers with enough safe food is the key responsibility of food production firms. Still, this aim is not always guaranteed because of input capacity constraints and other limitations in the agricultural sector. A hybrid subsidy, a mix of quantity and quality subsidy, could help achieve food security and safety in a country its flexibility. However, the advantages of the hybrid have not been fully investigated. Thus, this paper designs a hybrid subsidy for edible agricultural products by considering cost uncertainties and input resource constraints. All conclusions are obtained by theoretical mathematical analysis. (1) equilibrium solutions under different conditions—cost uncertainties and input constraints—are obtained, and comparative analyses is offered. (2) the results show that the hybrid subsidy is convenient in the trade-off between food quantity and quality, which means a hybrid subsidy policy design is flexible and efficient for food security and safety. (3) cost uncertainties and input resource constraints have significant impacts on the efficiency of the hybrid subsidy. Findings show that the hybrid subsidy is ideal for supporting edible agricultural products. Additionally, we argue that cost uncertainties and input constraints should be considered when making policy efficiency evaluations. This study has a novel contribution to agricultural support policy design.

Objective There has been increasing concern about the importance of sagittal alignment in the evaluation and treatment of spinal scoliosis. However, recent studies have only focused on patients with mild to moderate scoliosis. To date, little is known about the sagittal alignment in patients with severe and rigid scoliosis (SRS). This study was performed to evaluate the sagittal alignment in patients with SRS, and to analyze how it was altered after corrective surgery. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, we included 58 patients with SRS who underwent surgery from January 2015 to April 2020. Preoperative and postoperative radiographs were reviewed, and the sagittal parameters mainly included thoracic kyphosis (TK), lumbar lordosis (LL), pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic tilt (PT), sacrum slope (SS), and sagittal vertical axis (SVA). The sagittal balance state was evaluated according to whether the PI minus the LL (PI‐LL) was less than 9°, and the patients were divided into thoracic hyperkyphosis and normal groups based on whether the TK exceeded 40°. The Student's t test, Pearson's test, and Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were used to compare related parameters between the different groups. Results The mean follow‐up duration was 2.8 years. Preoperatively, the mean PI was 43.6 ± 9.4°, and the mean LL was 65.2 ± 13.9°. Sixty‐nine percent of patients showed sagittal imbalance, and they showed larger TK and LL values and smaller PI and SVA values than those with sagittal balance. Additionally, most patients (44/58) presented with thoracic hyperkyphosis; this group had smaller PI and SVA values than the normal patients. Patients with syringomyelia‐associated scoliosis were more likely to present with thoracic hyperkyphosis. The TK and LL values were significantly decreased, and 45% of patients with preoperative sagittal imbalance recovered after surgery. These patients had a larger PI (46.4 ± 9.0° vs 38.3 ± 8.8°, P = 0.003) and a smaller TK (25.5 ± 5.2° vs 36.3 ± 8.0°, P = 0.000) at the final follow‐up. Conclusion Preoperative sagittal imbalance appears in the majority of SRS patients, accounting for approximately 69% of our cohort. Patients with small PI values or syringomyelia‐associated scoliosis were more likely to present with thoracic hyperkyphosis. Sagittal imbalance can generally be corrected by surgery, except in patients with a PI less than 39°. To achieve good postoperative sagittal alignment, we recommend controlling the TK to within 31°.

Soft grippers due to their highly compliant material and self-adaptive structures attract more attention to safe and versatile grasping tasks compared to traditional rigid grippers. However, those flexible characteristics limit the strength and the manipulation capacity of soft grippers. In this paper, we introduce a hybrid-driven gripper design utilizing origami finger structures, to offer adjustable finger stiffness and variable grasping range. This gripper is actuated via pneumatic and cables, which allows the origami structure to be controlled precisely for contraction and extension, thus achieving different finger lengths and stiffness by adjusting the cable lengths and the input pressure. A kinematic model of the origami finger is further developed, enabling precise control of its bending angle for effective grasping of diverse objects and facilitating in-hand manipulation. Our proposed design method enriches the field of soft grippers, offering a simple yet effective approach to achieve safe, powerful, and highly adaptive grasping and in-hand manipulation capabilities.

Background Oral tongue cancer is an extremely malignant tumor with high rate of lymphatic metastasis. Little is known about its invasion and metastasis mechanisms so far. Methods To clarify the main role of CCL2 in tongue cancer progression, we performed Transwell migration assay to confirm the effects of different concentrations of CCL2 on the migration and invasion of tongue cancer cells. Next, by siRNA interference of RhoA and Rac1 in LNMTca8113 cells, we are able to observe that these two molecules block the effect of CCL2 on cell migration and cytoskeleton reorganization by laser confocal microscopy. Moreover, the AKT phosphorylation level of PI3K downstream molecule under the action of CCL2 also be detected by qRT-PCR and western blot, so as to determine whether CCL2 affects the proliferation of LNMTca8113 cells through PI3K/AKT pathway. Finally, we analyzed the relationship between plasma CCL2 level and various clinicopathological parameters in patients with tongue cancer. Results: We found that tongue cancer cells treated with CCL2 migrate faster at first. CCL2 may enhance the invasion and migration of LNMTca8113 cells by activating RhoA and Rac1 to promote cytoskeleton reorganization. Promotion of LNMTca8113 migration induced by CCL2 was inhibited by silence of RhoA and Rac1. CCL2 could increase the phosphorylation of downstream Akt/PI3K signal and promoted the proliferation. Plasma concentration confirmed that the CCL2 level was closely related to the clinical stage of tongue cancer. Patients with lower CCL2 levels had a relatively longer progression-free survival and total survival time. Results After adding CCL2, the number of proliferation and migration of tongue cancer cells increased and the expression of RhoA and Rac1 rose up in LNMTca8113 cell line. The cytoskeleton reorganization was notable. Patients with higher serum levels of CCL2 had shorter progression-free survival than those with lower levels of CCL2 (P < 0.0001). Conclusions CCL2 promotes the invasion and metastasis of tongue cancer by PI3K/Akt pathway. The plasma level of CCL2 may predict prognosis of tongue cancer patients. CCL2 can serve as a potential therapeutic target for tongue cancer treatment.

Objective Both anterior and combined anterior and posterior approaches have been used to treat lumbosacral tuberculosis. However, long‐term follow‐up studies of each approach have not been conducted. We aimed to compare the long‐term clinical and radiographical outcomes between the two approaches. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, we included 49 patients with a minimum 6‐year follow‐up between January 2008 and March 2012. Twenty‐four patients underwent the anterior approach (anterior group), and 25 underwent the combined anterior and posterior approach (anterior–posterior group). Student's t test, Mann–Whitney U test, and Pearson's chi‐square test were used to compare the two groups regarding clinical data, such as visual analogue scale scores, Oswestry disability index scores and neurological status, and radiographical data, such as lumbosacral angle, lumbar lordosis, and L5‐S1 height. Furthermore, operative time, length of stay, and intraoperative and postoperative blood loss (IBL, PBL) were recorded. Results Both groups had satisfactory clinical and radiographical outcomes until the final follow‐up. All patients achieved bony fusion, and no group differences were found in any of the clinical indices. Both groups corrected and maintained the lumbosacral angle, lumbar lordosis, and L5‐S1 height. However, the operative time, length of stay, maximum Hb drop, IBL, and PBL of the anterior group (140.63 ± 24.73 min, 12.58 ± 2.45 days, 28.33 ± 9.70 g/L, 257.08 ± 110.47 ml, and 430.60 ± 158.27 ml, respectively) were significantly lower than those of the anterior–posterior group (423.60 ± 82.81 min, P

Being prepared by a liquid-phase reduction method, sulfur-modified nanoscale zero-valent iron (S-nZVI) was then coated with sodium alginate (SA) to form gel beads (SAS-nZVI) which are capable of removing Pb(II) from water. SAS-nZVI was characterized by SEM, EDS, FTIR, XRD, and BET, and its removal effect on Pb(II) in water, including the effects of pH, adsorbent dosage, shaking time, and initial concentration of lead, was also studied. The results demonstrated that the maximum removal efficiency of Pb(II) by SAS-nZVI was 97.89%, and the maximum uptake was 246.40 mg/g. In the Pb(II) removal behavior study, the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm model were found to fit the adsorption process well. SAS-nZVI was easier to recycle from the reaction system, and the removal efficiency of SAS-nZVI to Pb(II) in water was still able to reach 82.75% after five cycles. Therefore, this study suggests that SAS-nZVI has a high removal capacity for Pb(II) and great potential in water pollution treatment. HIGHLIGHTS The prepared SAS-nZVI nanocomposites not only reduce agglomeration, and improve oxidation resistance, but also show good dispersion.; SAS-nZVI is more easily separated from the reaction system, avoiding nZVI draining in practical applications, and causing secondary pollution.; SAS-nZVI has better cycle utilization. After five cycles, the Pb(II) removal rate was still 82.75%.;

Objective Postoperative ileus (POI) is a relatively common complication after spinal fusion surgery, which can lead to delayed recovery, prolonged length of stay and increased medical costs. However, little is known about the incidence and risk factors of POI after corrective surgery for patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). This study was performed to report the incidence of POI and identify the independent risk factors for POI after postoperative corrective surgery. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, A total of 318 patients with AIS who underwent corrective surgery from April 2015 to February 2021 were enrolled and divided into two groups: those with POI and those without POI. The Student's t test, Mann–Whitney U test, and Pearson's chi‐square test were used to compare the two groups regarding patient demographics and preoperative characteristics (age, sex and the major curve type), intraoperative and postoperative parameters (lowest instrumented vertebra [LIV], number of screws, and length of stay), radiographic parameters (T5–12 thoracic kyphosis [TK], T10–L2 thoracolumbar kyphosis and height [TLK and T10–L2 height], L1–S1 lumbar lordosis [LL], and L1–5 height). Then, a multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent risk factors for POI, and a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed to assess the predictive values of these risk factors. Results Forty‐two (13.2%) of 318 patients who developed POI following corrective surgery were identified. The group with POI had a significantly longer length of stay, more lumbar screws, higher proportions of a major lumbar curve and lumbar anterior screw breech, and a lower LIV. Among radiographic parameters, the mean lumbar Cobb angle at baseline, the changes in the lumbar Cobb angle, and T10–L2 and L1–5 height from before to after surgery were significantly larger in the group with POI than in the group without POI. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that large changes in T10–L2 (odds ratio [OR] =2.846, P = 0.007) and L1–5 height (OR = 31.294, p = 0.000) and lumbar anterior screw breech (OR = 5.561, P = 0.006) were independent risk factors for POI. The cutoff values for the changes in T10–L2 and L1–5 height were 1.885 cm and 1.195 cm, respectively. Conclusion In this study, we identified that large changes in T10–L2 and L1–5 height and lumbar anterior screw breech were independent risk factors for POI after corrective surgery. Improving the accuracy of pedicle screw placement might reduce the incidence of POI, and greater attention should be given to patients who are likely to have large changes in T10–L2 and L1–5 height after corrective surgery.

In order to clarify the densification process and quantitatively restore the porosity evolution of the Xu 3 Member sandstone reservoir in western Sichuan Depression, the diagenesis of the Xu 3 Member was system atically analyzed using thin sections, scanning electron microscope and fluid inclusion analysis. Meanwhile, the relationship between diagenesis and porosity evolution was discussed.Based on the study of formation burial history and thermal evolution history, a mathematical model of porosity evolution for the Xu 3 Member sandstone was established to clarify the densification process of sandstone reservoir using the principle of effect simulation, that is, the specific diagenesis was not simulated, but the comprehensive superposition results of various diagenesis were simulated through geological parameters.It found that lithic quartz sandstone and lithic sandstone were mainly developed in the Xu 3 Member, and sand stone underwent compaction, cementation, dissolution and others. Among them, compaction and cementation are the main destructive diagenesis and occur in the whole evolution process, while dissolution is the main constructive diagenesis and only occurs in a specific evolution stage with window characteristics.Based on the current observation of the relationship between porosity and depth of sandstone, the sandstone had undergone compaction and cementation, corrosion, and compaction and cementation after corrosion.As a result, the porosity evolution could be divided into three stages: normal compaction stage, pore increasing stage during corrosion andnormal compaction after corrosion.Furthermore, the porosity evolution could be divided into porosity decreasing model and porosity increasing model.These two models were superimposed on the three stages of porosity evolution, and a three-stage piecewise function characterized the porosity evolution was proposed.Using this function, the total porosity evolution simulation of sandstone reservoir could be realized.Simulation results found that the Xu 3 Member in western Sichuan Depression was dominated by early densification due to compaction and early cementation using the proposed quantitative model.

Transformer is widely used in medical image segmentation tasks due to its powerful ability to model global dependencies. However, most of the existing transformer-based methods are two-dimensional networks, which are only suitable for processing two-dimensional slices and ignore the linguistic association between different slices of the original volume image blocks. To solve this problem, we propose a novel segmentation framework by deeply exploring the respective characteristic of convolution, comprehensive attention mechanism, and transformer, and assembling them hierarchically to fully exploit their complementary advantages. Specifically, we first propose a novel volumetric transformer block to help extract features serially in the encoder and restore the feature map resolution to the original level in parallel in the decoder. It can not only obtain the information of the plane, but also make full use of the correlation information between different slices. Then the local multi-channel attention block is proposed to adaptively enhance the effective features of the encoder branch at the channel level, while suppressing the invalid features. Finally, the global multi-scale attention block with deep supervision is introduced to adaptively extract valid information at different scale levels while filtering out useless information. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our proposed method achieves promising performance on multi-organ CT and cardiac MR image segmentation.

Self-reconstruction is an efficient method to synthesize active electrocatalysts. Here, the authors demonstrate a bottom-up evolution route of electrochemically reducing Cs3Rh2I9 halide-perovskite clusters to prepare ultrafine Rh nanoparticles with multiply sites for alkaline hydrogen evolution.

Objective The nanohydroxyapatite/polyamide‐66 (n‐HA/PA66) cage is a novel bioactive nonmetal cage that is now used in some medical centers, while the polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cage is a typical device that has been widely used for decades with excellent clinical outcomes. This study was performed to compare the long‐term radiographic and clinical outcomes of these two different cages used in transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF). Methods In this retrospective and matched‐pair case control study, we included 200 patients who underwent TLIF from January 2010 to December 2014 with a minimum 7‐year follow‐up. One hundred patients who used n‐HA/PA66 cages were matched with 100 patients who used PEEK cages for age, sex, diagnosis, and fusion level. The independent student's t‐test and Pearson's chi‐square test were used to compare the two groups regarding radiographic (fusion status, cage subsidence rate, segmental angle [SA], and interbody space height [IH]) and clinical (Oswestry Disability Index [ODI], and Visual Analog Scale [VAS] for back and leg) parameters preoperatively, postoperatively, and at the final follow‐up. Results The n‐HA/PA66 and PEEK groups had similar fusion rates of bone inside and outside the cage at the final follow‐up (95.3% vs 91.8%, p = 0.181, 92.4% vs 90.1%, p = 0.435). The cage union ratios exposed to the upper and lower endplates of the n‐HA/PA66 group were significantly larger than those of the PEEK group (p

Abstract During the last decade lead halide perovskites have shown great potential for photovoltaic applications. However, the stability of perovskite solar cells still restricts commercialization, and lack of properly implemented unified stability testing and disseminating standards makes it difficult to compare historical stability data for evaluating promising routes towards better device stability. Here, we propose a single indicator to describe device stability that normalizes the stability results with respect to different environmental stress conditions which enables a direct comparison of different stability results. Based on this indicator and an open dataset of heterogeneous stability data of over 7000 devices, we have conducted a statistical analysis to assess the effect of different stability improvement strategies. This provides important insights for achieving more stable perovskite solar cells and we also provide suggestions for future directions in the perovskite solar cell field based on big data utilization.

In recent years, great breakthroughs have been achieved for the exploration in the Permian Qixia Formation of the Shuangyushi structure in the north and the Pingluoba structure in the south of the Western Depression of the Sichuan Basin (Chuanxi Depression), while the exploration of the same formation in the middle segment of the Chuanxi Depression has not been carried out. In order to accelerate the ultra-deep marine natural gas exploration of the Qixia Formation, based on a large number of outcrops around the middle segment of the Chuanxi Depression, combined with seismic and drilling data and previous research results, this study systematically combed the oil and gas geological conditions of the Qixia Formation and comprehensively analyzed its exploration potential. Results show that the Qixia Formation in the study area has comparable sedimentary background as the north and south segments of the Chuanxi Depression, and is a platform margin sedimentary facies with superior reservoir conditions. Moreover, the Qixia Formation in the study area is connected with the hydrocarbon generation center of the Cambrian Qiongzhusi Formation by source faults. The tight limestone and shale of Permian and the gypsolyte of Triassic can be potential excellent cap rocks. Therefore, the source-reservoir-cap assemblage of the Qixia Formation in this area is preferential for large-scale hydrocarbon accumulation.

Introduction In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of rs531564 and the underlying signaling pathways. Material and methods Five hundred and twenty-eight spinal cord injury (SCI) patients were genotyped for the analysis of the effect of rs531564 upon the miR-124 expression. Results By luciferase assays, we validated Bcl-2-like protein 11 (BIM) as a target gene of miR-124 with a negative regulatory relationship between them. We also observed that miR-124 suppressed cell viability and accelerated cell apoptosis. Conclusions rs531564 could affect the expression of BIM by reducing the expression of miR-124, and it could be a bio-marker for the length of recovery after SCI.

Polysaccharides are the essential active constituents of Radix Pueraria lobata. Numerous studies have shown that polysaccharides can play important roles in ulcerative colitis (UC). This study aimed to determine the protective effects of Radix Pueraria lobata polysaccharide (PPL) against UC. The pharmacological effects of PPL on the dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced UC mice, changes in gut microbiota and metabolism, and DSS-induced Caco-2 cell injury were assessed in this study. Both the PPL inhibited the DSS-induced inflammation both in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, PPL inhibited inflammation by decreasing the activation of p-PI3K. Knocking down the PI3K gene resulted in abolishing the inhibitory effects of PPL on mouses and Caco-2 cells. The study concluded that the effects of PPL were completely dependent on PI3K.

An intelligent logistics system is a production system based on the Internet of Things (IoT), and the logistics information of humans has a high degree of privacy. However, the current intelligent logistics system only protects the privacy of shippers and consignees, without any privacy protection for carriers, which will not only cause carriers’ privacy leakage but also indirectly or directly affect the logistics efficiency. It is particularly worth noting that solving this problem requires one to consider the balance between privacy protection and operational visibility. So, the local privacy protection algorithm ϵ-L_LDP for carriers’ multidimensional numerical sensitive data and ϵ-LT_LDP for carrier location sensitive data are proposed. For ϵ-L_LDP, firstly, a personalized and locally differentiated privacy budgeting approach is used. Then, the multidimensional data personalization perturbation mechanism algorithm L-PM is designed. Finally, the multidimensional data are perturbed using L-PM. For ϵ-LT_LDP, firstly, the location area is matrix-partitioned and quadtree indexed, and the location data are indexed according to the quadtree to obtain the geographic location code in which it is located. Secondly, the personalized random response perturbation algorithm L-RR for location trajectory data is also designed. Finally, the L-RR algorithm is used to implement the perturbation of geolocation-encoded data. Experiments are conducted using real and simulated datasets, the results show that the ϵ-L_LDP algorithm and ϵ-LT_LDP algorithm can better protect the privacy information of carriers and ensure the availability of carrier data during the logistics process. This effectively meets the balance between the privacy protection and operational visibility of the intelligent logistics system.

Summary: The cement industry is one of the largest contributors to global CO2 emissions, which has been paid more attention to the research on converting the CO2 released by the cement production process. It is extremely challenging to decarbonize the cement industry, as most CO2 emissions result from the calcination of limestone (CaCO3) into CaO and CO2. In this work, we demonstrate an in situ electrochemical process that transforms CaCO3 into portlandite (Ca(OH)2, a key Portland cement precursor) and valuable carbonaceous products, which integrates electrochemical water splitting and CO2 reduction reaction with the chemical decomposition of CaCO3. With different metal catalyst electrodes (like Au, Ag, In, Cu, and Cu nanowires electrodes), we have achieved various valuable carbonaceous products, such as CO, formate, methane, ethylene, and ethane during the electrochemical CO2 process. Our work demonstrates a proof of concept for green and sustainable cement production.

In this study, a method for determining the lead components in waste lead paste was proposed, using simulated and spent lead paste as research objects. To compare the effectiveness of different determining methods, we selected three methods for comparison and investigated the reasons for measurement deviation. The results indicate that the measurement deviation in the current method primarily stems from the following three factors: (1) Pb is soluble in an acetic acid solution under certain conditions; (2) Pb and PbO2 undergo redox reactions; and (3) hydrogen peroxide can undergo redox reactions with Pb. It is feasible to determine the lead content using the kinetic rules of Pb and PbO2 in the acetic acid-hydrogen peroxide system. The method of determination proposed in this paper is as follows. Firstly, lead dioxide is dissolved in hydrogen peroxide under acidic conditions. Subsequently, the concentration of lead dioxide is determined, and the quantity of hydrogen peroxide consumed is recorded. Then, a new sample is taken, and the lead oxide is dissolved in an acetic acid solution. The concentration of lead oxide is determined using the EDTA·2Na titration method. The residue of lead sulfate in the filtrate is dissolved in a sodium chloride solution, and its concentration is determined using the EDTA·2Na titration method. Based on the previously recorded volume of hydrogen peroxide, the remaining lead dioxide in the residue is dissolved in a mixture of acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide. The remaining lead dioxide is then removed from the new sample employing kinetic principles. Finally, the residual metallic lead in the sample is dissolved in a nitric acid solution, and its concentration is determined using the EDTA·2Na titration method.

Background and aimsDietary pattern rich in fiber is negatively associated with the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Meanwhile, obesity is a known predisposing factor for NAFLD. Nutrient-focused research can enhance the mechanistic understanding of dietary effects. We thus hypothesized that higher dietary fiber intake was associated with lower risk of NAFLD through the mediating role of obesity.MethodsIn this nationwide cross-sectional study, dietary fiber was surveyed using two 24-h recalls. NAFLD and clinically significant fibrosis (CSF) were determined by vibration-controlled transient elastography. Multivariable logistic and linear regression were applied to investigate the association of dietary fiber with NAFLD, CSF, and liver function parameters. We used counterfactual-based mediation analysis to estimate the direct and indirect effect of dietary fiber on NAFLD.ResultsOf the 3,974 participants, ~36.86% and 7.78% of participants were diagnosed with NAFLD and CSF. Compared with participants among the lowest tertile, the highest tertile of dietary fiber consumption was associated with lower odds of NAFLD (OR = 0.81; 95% CI: 0.66–0.98; Poverall = 0.019). Dietary fiber intake appeared to be linked with lower odds of CSF (ORTertile3vs.Tertile1 = 0.81; 95% CI: 0.58–1.14; Poverall = 0.107). Mediation analysis showed that obesity fully mediated the association of dietary fiber with NAFLD. Dietary fiber was associated with improved hepatic parameters.ConclusionsThe findings indicated that increasing dietary fiber intake could confer a greater benefit to protect against NAFLD. Translating these findings regarding dietary fiber into dietary advice might be an attractive strategy for NAFLD prevention.

Abstract Several circRNAs have been reported to be dysregulated in human endothelial cells through sponging miRNAs. Previous reports demonstrated that MPO not only contributed to the formation and rupture of cerebral aneurysm but was also correlated with the degenerative remodeling predisposition to saccular intracranial aneurysm wall rupture, although its underlying mechanisms remain to be explored. Microarray screening was performed to compare the differential expression of circRNAs in the endothelial cells collected from UIAs and RIAs patients. Luciferase assays were used to explore the regulatory relationship between circRNAs and miRNAs, and between miRNAs and their target genes. Microarray screening analysis found a batch of up-regulated circRNAs in the endothelial cells harvested from RIAs patients, including circRNA-0079586 and circRNA-RanGAP1. Luciferase assays revealed the suppressive role of miR-183-5p/miR-877-3p in the expression of circRNA-0079586/circRNA-RanGAP1/MPO. And the expression of circRNA-0079586 and circRNA-RanGAP1 was respectively suppressed by the overexpression of miR-183-5p and miR-877-3p. And both the transfection of miR-183-5p and miR-877-3p mimics suppressed the relative expression level of MPO mRNA. The expression of circRNA-0079586, circRNA-RanGAP1 and MPO was significantly activated in the endothelial cells collected from RIAs patients when compared with UIAs patients, whereas the expression of miR-183-5p and miR-877-3p was remarkably suppressed in the endothelial cells collected from RIAs patients when compared with UIAs patients. We further altered the expression of circRNA-0079586 and circRNA-RanGAP1 using siRNA and overexpression in HUVECS, and the expression of circRNA-0079586 and circRNA-RanGAP1 was significantly and negatively correlated with the expression of miR-183-5p and miR-877-3p, but positively correlated with the expression of MPO under different conditions. In this study, we established two MPO-modulating signaling pathways of circRNA_0079586/miR-183-5p/MPO and circRNA_RanGAP1/miR-877-3p/MPO. These two signaling pathways are involved in the pathogenesis of intracranial aneurysms rupture.

We investigated the anti-aging effects of velvet antler polypeptide on D-galactose (D-gal)-induced aging mice. D-gal-induced aging mice were established and randomly divided into five groups, the control, model, vitamin E (VE), velvet antler polypeptide low-dose and velvet antler polypeptide high-dose groups. The Morris water maze test was used to evaluate the learning and memory abilities of aging mice. Hippocampal neurons were observed via hematoxylin-eosin staining and transmission electron microscopy. Biochemical methods were used to detect the activities of superoxide dismutase, malonaldehyde and other enzymes and evaluate the influence of velvet antler polypeptide on the antioxidant capacity of aging mice. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and meristem technology, we assessed the effect of velvet antler polypeptide on aging mice’s intestinal flora and fatty acid metabolism. The experimental results showed that velvet antler polypeptide could significantly improve aging mice’s learning and cognitive abilities, increase the activities of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase in the serum decrease the malonaldehyde content. Intestinal microecological analysis showed that velvet antler polypeptide could significantly increase the beneficial bacterial genus Lactobacillus abundance. Western blot analysis further demonstrated that velvet antler polypeptide could promote fatty acid metabolism by activating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) and upregulating the expression of the downstream enzymes carnitine-palmitoyl transferase-1 A and acyl-CoA oxidase 1 while downregulating that of apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4), thereby reducing fatty acid accumulation and increasing adenosine-triphosphate (ATP) production. Therefore, velvet antler polypeptide improves the intestinal microecology and activates the PPARα/APOE4 pathway to regulate fatty acid metabolism.

Owing to the large cross-section and wide solidification-temperature zone, bloom castings of medium- and high-carbon steels are prone to severe central shrinkage and macrosegregation defects. Flow control technologies such as nozzle injection mode and electromagnetic stirring, together with the casting speed, play a key role in the as-cast macrostructure and macrosegregation distribution in bloom castings achieving soundness and compositional homogeneity of the final as-rolled products. Based on the production process of a medium-carbon-steel bloom casting and its heavy section bars, various flow control modes have been adopted in the casting production to study their effects on the semiproduct solidification structure and the carbon distribution across the bloom section and the following rolled bars. The conventional nozzle with a single straight port shows that the equiaxed crystal ratio in the casting process can only increase from 6.06% to 11.71% with the M-EMS intensity changes from 0 to 800 A, in which a shrinkage cavity and macrosegregation exist along the centerline on the strand casting. While the novel five-port nozzle has been adopted, the equiaxed crystal ratio can reach 23.1% even with the M-EMS power off, and the center cavity index drops down to grade 1.0 or below, meeting the requirement of microvoid flaw detection for the bar products. Additionally, the carbon segregation across the bloom cross-section is observed to resemble an M-shaped curve with a maximum carbon segregation index in the columnar to equiaxed transition zone instead of the popular center region. For the heavy section bars rolled from bloom casting, a similar carbon distribution pattern as the cast is observed after hot working but with an even higher centerline segregation index. Therefore, considering the special quality requirements for the subsequent hot processing, the macrostructure and pattern and intensity of macro-segregation should be regulated from the beginning of casting with a reasonable flow control mode as mentioned in the study.

Abstract Large current‐driven alkaline water splitting for large‐scale hydrogen production generally suffers from the sluggish charge transfer kinetics. Commercial noble‐metal catalysts are unstable in large‐current operation, while most non‐noble metal catalysts can only achieve high activity at low current densities 500 mA cm−2). Herein, a sulfide‐based metallic heterostructure is designed to meet the industrial demand by regulating the electronic structure of phase transition coupling with interfacial defects from Mo and Ni incorporation. The modulation of metallic Mo2S3 and in situ epitaxial growth of bifunctional Ni‐based catalyst to construct metallic heterostructure can facilitate the charge transfer for fast Volmer H and Heyrovsky H2 generation. The Mo2S3@NiMo3S4 electrolyzer requires an ultralow voltage of 1.672 V at a large current density of 1000 mA cm−2, with ≈100% retention over 100 h, outperforming the commercial RuO2||Pt/C, owing to the synergistic effect of the phase and interface electronic modulation. This work sheds light on the design of metallic heterostructure with an optimized interfacial electronic structure and abundant active sites for industrial water splitting.

PurposeTo investigate the values of a 3D-printed bolus ensuring the precise postmastectomy chest wall radiation therapy for breast cancer.Methods and materialsIn the preclinical study on the anthropomorphic phantom, the 3D-printed bolus was used for dosimetry and fitness evaluation. The dosimetric parameters of planning target volume (PTV) were assessed, including Dmin, Dmax, Dmean, D95%, homogeneity index (HI), conformity index (CI), and organs at risk (OARs). The absolute percentage differences (|%diff|) between the theory and fact skin dose were also estimated, and the follow-up was conducted for potential skin side effects.ResultsIn preclinical studies, a 3D-printed bolus can better ensure the radiation coverage of PTV (HI 0.05, CI 99.91%), the dose accuracy (|%diff| 0.99%), and skin fitness (mean air gap 1.01 mm). Of the 27 eligible patients, we evaluated the radiation dose parameter (median(min–max): Dmin 4967(4789–5099) cGy, Dmax 5447(5369–5589) cGy, Dmean 5236(5171–5323) cGy, D95% 5053(4936–5156) cGy, HI 0.07 (0.06–0.17), and CI 99.94% (97.41%–100%)) and assessed the dose of OARs (ipsilateral lung: Dmean 1341(1208–1385) cGy, V5 48.06%(39.75%–48.97%), V20 24.55%(21.58%–26.93%), V30 18.40%(15.96%–19.16%); heart: Dmean 339(138–640) cGy, V30 1.10%(0%–6.14%), V40 0.38%(0%–4.39%); spinal cord PRV: Dmax 639(389–898) cGy). The skin doses in vivo were Dtheory 208.85(203.16–212.53) cGy, Dfact 209.53(204.14–214.42) cGy, and |%diff| 1.77% (0.89–2.94%). Of the 360 patients enrolled in the skin side effect follow-up study (including the above 27 patients), grade 1 was the most common toxicity (321, 89.2%), some of which progressing to grade 2 or grade 3 (32, 8.9% or 7, 1.9%); the radiotherapy interruption rate was 1.1%.ConclusionA 3D-printed bolus can guarantee the precise radiation dose on skin surface, good fitness to skin, and controllable acute skin toxicity, which possesses a great clinical application value in postmastectomy chest call radiation therapy for breast cancer.

Research on the inversion of forest aboveground biomass based on airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data focuses on finding the relationship between the two, such as established linear or nonlinear models. However, these models may have poorer estimation accuracy for tree-components biomass and cannot guarantee the additivity of each component. Therefore, we aimed to develop an error-in-variable biomass model system that ensures both the compatibility of the individual tree component biomass with the diameter at breast height and the additivity of component biomass. The system we developed used the airborne LiDAR data and field-measured data of principis-rupprechtii (Larix gmelinii var.) trees, collected from north China. Our model system not only ensured the additivity of nonlinear biomass models, it also accounted for the impact of measurement errors. We first selected the airborne LiDAR-derived variable with the highest contribution to the biomass of each component and then developed an inversion model system with that variable as an independent variable and with the biomass of each component as the dependent variable using allometric functions. Moreover, two model estimation methods, two-stage error (TSEM) and nonlinear seemingly unrelated regression (NSUR) with one-step, two-step, and summation methods, were also applied, and their performances were compared. The results showed that both NSUR-one-step and TSEM-one-step led to similar parameter estimates and performance for a system, and the fitting accuracy of a model system was not very attractive. The variance function included in a model system reduced the heteroscedasticity effectively and improved the model accuracy. Overall, this study successfully combined the error-in-variable modeling with the airborne LiDAR data, proposed methods that can be used for the extension of component biomass from an individual tree to a stand and that might improve the estimation accuracy of carbon storage. A compatible model system can be further improved if various sources of error in the variables are identified, and their impacts on the system are effectively accounted for.

Hepatic steatosis can occur in lean individuals, while its metabolic and risk profiles remain unclear. We aimed to characterize the clinical and risk profiles of lean and non-lean steatosis. This cross-sectional study included 1610 patients with transient elastography-assessed steatosis. The metabolic and risk profiles were compared. Compared to their non-lean counterparts, lean subjects with steatosis had a lower degree of fibrosis (F0–F1: 91.9% vs. 80.9%), had a lower prevalence of diabetes (27.9% vs. 32.8%), dyslipidemia (54.7% vs. 60.2%) and hypertension (50.0% vs. 51.3%), and had higher levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol while lower fasting insulin and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (all p < 0.05). Of the 16 potential risk factors, being Hispanic was associated with higher odds of non-lean steatosis but not with lean steatosis (odds ratio (OR): 2.07 vs. 0.93), while excessive alcohol consumption had a different trend in the ratio (OR: 1.47 vs.6.65). Higher waist-to-hip ratio (OR: 7.48 vs. 2.45), and higher waist circumference (OR: 1.14 vs. 1.07) showed a stronger positive association with lean steatosis than with non-lean steatosis (all Pheterogeneity < 0.05). Although lean individuals with steatosis presented a healthier metabolic profile, both lean and non-lean steatosis had a significant proportion of metabolic derangements. In addition, the etiological heterogeneity between lean and non-lean steatosis may exist.

Abstract Background This article aims to understand the prevalence of hyperlipidemia and its related factors in Shanxi Province. On the basis of multivariate Logistic regression analysis to find out the influencing factors closely related to hyperlipidemia, the complex network connection between various variables was presented through Bayesian networks(BNs). Methods Logistic regression was used to screen for hyperlipidemia-related variables, and then the complex network connection between various variables was presented through BNs. Since some drawbacks stand out in the Max-Min Hill-Climbing (MMHC) hybrid algorithm, extra hybrid algorithms are proposed to construct the BN structure: MMPC-Tabu, Fast.iamb-Tabu and Inter.iamb-Tabu. To assess their performance, we made a comparison between these three hybrid algorithms with the widely used MMHC hybrid algorithm on randomly generated datasets. Afterwards, the optimized BN was determined to explore to study related factors for hyperlipidemia. We also make a comparison between the BN model with logistic regression model. Results The BN constructed by Inter.iamb-Tabu hybrid algorithm had the best fitting degree to the benchmark networks, and was used to construct the BN model of hyperlipidemia. Multivariate logistic regression analysis suggested that gender, smoking, central obesity, daily average salt intake, daily average oil intake, diabetes mellitus, hypertension and physical activity were associated with hyperlipidemia. BNs model of hyperlipidemia further showed that gender, BMI, and physical activity were directly related to the occurrence of hyperlipidemia, hyperlipidemia was directly related to the occurrence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension; the average daily salt intake, daily average oil consumption, smoking, and central obesity were indirectly related to hyperlipidemia. Conclusions The BN of hyperlipidemia constructed by the Inter.iamb-Tabu hybrid algorithm is more reasonable, and allows for the overall linking effect between factors and diseases, revealing the direct and indirect factors associated with hyperlipidemia and correlation between related variables, which can provide a new approach to the study of chronic diseases and their associated factors.

Purpose: Radiation-induced lung injury limits the implementation of radiotherapy plans and severely impairs the quality of life. Crocetin has the capability to protect against radiation. This study is aimed at estimate the preventive effect and mechanism of crocetin on acute radiation induced lung injury. Methods and Materials: In this study, we offer a strategy for radiation-induced lung injury by using crocetin, an extract of gardenia fruit. Histopathology, transcriptomics, flow cytometry, and other methods have served to examine the effect and mechanism of crocetin on acute radiation-induced lung injury. Results: Crocetin effectively alleviates radiation-induced alveolar wall thickening and alveolar destruction. The number of normal alveoli and lung structure of mice is well protected by the prevention of crocetin. It is found that crocetin inhibits necroptosis to achieve effective radioprotection by down regulating the Tnfrsf10b gene in vitro. Conclusion: Crocetin inhibits necroptosis through transcriptional regulation of the Tnfrsf10b gene, thereby preventing radiation-induced lung injury. This work may provide a new strategy for the prevention of lung radiation injury by the extract from Chinese herbal medicine.

Abstract Background Brucellosis is a major public health problem that seriously affects developing countries and could cause significant economic losses to the livestock industry and great harm to human health. Reasonable prediction of the incidence is of great significance in controlling brucellosis and taking preventive measures. Methods Our human brucellosis incidence data were extracted from Shanxi Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention. We used seasonal-trend decomposition using Loess (STL) and monthplot to analyse the seasonal characteristics of human brucellosis in Shanxi Province from 2007 to 2017. The autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model, a combined model of ARIMA and the back propagation neural network (ARIMA-BPNN), and a combined model of ARIMA and the Elman recurrent neural network (ARIMA-ERNN) were established separately to make predictions and identify the best model. Additionally, the mean squared error (MAE), mean absolute error (MSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) were used to evaluate the performance of the model. Results We observed that the time series of human brucellosis in Shanxi Province increased from 2007 to 2014 but decreased from 2015 to 2017. It had obvious seasonal characteristics, with the peak lasting from March to July every year. The best fitting and prediction effect was the ARIMA-ERNN model. Compared with those of the ARIMA model, the MAE, MSE and MAPE of the ARIMA-ERNN model decreased by 18.65, 31.48 and 64.35%, respectively, in fitting performance; in terms of prediction performance, the MAE, MSE and MAPE decreased by 60.19, 75.30 and 64.35%, respectively. Second, compared with those of ARIMA-BPNN, the MAE, MSE and MAPE of ARIMA-ERNN decreased by 9.60, 15.73 and 11.58%, respectively, in fitting performance; in terms of prediction performance, the MAE, MSE and MAPE decreased by 31.63, 45.79 and 29.59%, respectively. Conclusions The time series of human brucellosis in Shanxi Province from 2007 to 2017 showed obvious seasonal characteristics. The fitting and prediction performances of the ARIMA-ERNN model were better than those of the ARIMA-BPNN and ARIMA models. This will provide some theoretical support for the prediction of infectious diseases and will be beneficial to public health decision making.

Abstract The F-box genes, which form one of the largest gene families in plants, are vital for plant growth, development and stress response. However, F-box gene family in Sedum alfredii remains unknown. Comprehensive studies addressing their function responding to cadmium stress is still limited. In the present study, 193 members of the F-box gene (SaFbox) family were identified, which were classified into nine subfamilies. Most of the SaFboxs had highly conserved domain and motif. Various functionally related cis-elements involved in plant growth regulation, stress and hormone responses were located in the upstream regions of SaFbox genes. RNA-sequencing and co-expression network analysis revealed that the identified SaFbox genes would be involved in Cd stress. Expression analysis of 16 hub genes confirmed their transcription level in different tissues. Four hub genes (SaFbox40, SaFbox51, SaFbox136 and SaFbox170) were heterologously expressed in a Cd-sensitive yeast cell to assess their effects on Cd tolerance. The transgenic yeast cells carrying SaFbox40, SaFbox51, SaFbox136, or SaFbox170 were more sensitive and accumulated more cadmium under Cd stress than empty vector transformed control cells. Our results performed a comprehensive analysis of Fboxs in S. alfredii and identified their potential roles in Cd stress response.

Coal mine safety is crucial to the healthy and sustainable development of the coal industry, and coal mine flood is a major hidden danger of coal mine accidents. Therefore, the processing of coal mine water source data is of great significance to prevent mine water inrush accidents. In this experiment, the water source data were obtained by laser induced fluorescence technology with the assistance of laser. The water sample data information was preprocessed by standard normal variable transformation (SNV) and multiple scattering correction (MSC), and then the principal component analysis (PCA) was used to reduce the dimension of the data and ensure the information characteristics of the original data unchanged. In order to identify the water inrush type of coal mine water source, the sparrow search algorithm (SSA) is used to optimize the BP neural network in this study. This is because the SSA algorithm has the advantages of strong optimization ability and fast convergence rate compared with particle swarm optimization (PSO) and other optimization algorithms. Experiments show that under the premise of SNV pretreatment, the R2 of SSA-BP model is infinitely close to 1, MRE is 0.0017, RMSE is 0.0001, the R2 of PSO-BP model is 0.9995, MRE is 0.0026, RMSE is 0.0019, the R2 of BP model is 0.9983, MRE is 0.0140, RMSE is 0.0075. Therefore, SSA-BP model is more suitable for the classification of coal mine water sources.

Abstract Devices with variable stiffness are drawing more and more attention with the growing interests of human-robot interaction, wearable robotics, rehabilitation robotics, etc. In this paper, the authors report on the design, analysis and experiments of a stiffness variable passive compliant device whose structure is a combination of a reconfigurable elastic inner skeleton and an origami shell. The main concept of the reconfigurable skeleton is to have two elastic trapezoid four-bar linkages arranged in orthogonal. The stiffness variation generates from the passive deflection of the elastic limbs and is realized by actively switching the arrangement of the leaf springs and the passive joints in a fast, simple and straightforward manner. The kinetostatics and the compliance of the device are analyzed based on an efficient approach to the large deflection problem of the elastic links. A prototype is fabricated to conduct experiments for the assessment of the proposed concept. The results show that the prototype possesses relatively low stiffness under the compliant status and high stiffness under the stiff status with a status switching speed around 80 ms.