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1.
Rev Sci Instrum ; 95(6)2024 Jun 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38836718

ABSTRACT

In light of the limitations of the current piezoelectric energy harvesters and the demand for self-power supply in wireless sensor nodes, a novel positive feedback piezoelectric energy harvester based on nonlinear magnetic coupling is proposed. The operational characteristics of this energy harvester are investigated from three perspectives: theory, simulation, and experiment. First, a nonlinear electromechanical coupling mathematical model that describes the dynamic response of the energy harvester system is established by combining the Hamilton variational principle with the piezoelectric theory. This provides a theoretical foundation for subsequent research. Second, finite element method simulations are employed to optimize the structural parameters of the energy harvester and study the impact of nonlinear magnetic force on its output performance. Finally, an experimental prototype is fabricated and an experimental test system is constructed to validate the designed positive feedback piezoelectric energy harvester. The results demonstrate that changes in the longitudinal beam angle have minimal effect on energy capture efficiency. By appropriately increasing the bending surface length, reducing initial magnetic moment, and augmenting mass block weight, wider working frequency bands and higher power generation capacity can be achieved when vibrating in low-energy orbits. The experimental findings align closely with theoretical design values and contribute to advancing broadband multi-directional piezoelectric energy harvesting technology in order to provide high-performance vibration-based power solutions for wireless applications.

2.
Sci Rep ; 14(1): 13042, 2024 06 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38844625

ABSTRACT

Colon cancer (CC) is a highly malignant tumor with a high incidence and poor prognosis. This study aimed to explore the function and molecular mechanisms of activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) in CC. The expression levels of ATF4, GCN2, and ASNS in CC tissues were measured using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), clone formation, transwell, and flow cytometry assays were conducted to assess cell viability, clonogenicity, migration, invasion, cell cycle, and apoptosis, respectively, in the ATF4 knockdown and overexpression SW480 cell lines. The effect of ATF4 on the expression of GCN2 and ASNS was detected using RT-qPCR, Chip-qPCR, and western blotting. ATF4, GCN2, and ASNS were expressed at low levels in CC tissues, and all had a significant negative correlation with tumor diameter. ATF4 knockdown promoted cell proliferation, invasion, and S-phase cell cycle and inhibited apoptosis in SW480 cells. In contrast, ATF4 overexpression had the opposite effect. Furthermore, ATF4 overexpression enhanced ATF4 binding to the ASNS promoter region. ATF4 knockdown significantly inhibited the expression of p-GCN2 and ASNS, whereas ATF4 overexpression significantly upregulated their expression. ATF4 inhibited CC cell viability, clone formation ability, migration, and invasion and promoted apoptosis, possibly by regulating the expression of p-GCN2 and ASNS. Our study provides a novel potential therapeutic target for the treatment of CC.


Subject(s)
Activating Transcription Factor 4 , Apoptosis , Cell Movement , Cell Proliferation , Colonic Neoplasms , Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic , Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases , Up-Regulation , Humans , Activating Transcription Factor 4/metabolism , Activating Transcription Factor 4/genetics , Colonic Neoplasms/genetics , Colonic Neoplasms/pathology , Colonic Neoplasms/metabolism , Cell Line, Tumor , Cell Proliferation/genetics , Apoptosis/genetics , Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases/metabolism , Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases/genetics , Cell Movement/genetics , Male , Female , Middle Aged
3.
Eur J Neurosci ; 2024 May 02.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38697919

ABSTRACT

Microglia are endogenous immune cells in the brain, and their pyroptosis and phenotype dichotomy are proved to play roles in neurodegenerative diseases. We investigated whether and how hypoxia affected pyroptosis and phenotype polarization in mouse microglia. Primary mouse microglia and BV2 microglia were exposed to hypoxia. Pyroptosis and M1/M2 phenotype were assessed by measuring gasdermin D truncation and M1/M2 surface marker expression. Mechanisms including purinergic ionotropic receptor (P2XR), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) and NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome were investigated. We reported hypoxia (90% N2, 5% O2 and 5% CO2) induced pyroptosis and promoted M1 phenotype polarization in primary mouse microglia and BV2 microglia, and the effect appeared after 6 h exposure. Although hypoxia (90% N2, 5% O2 and 5% CO2, 6 h) had no effect on P2X1R and P2X7R expression, it increased P2X4R expression and decreased PGC-1α expression. Interestingly, blockade of P2X4R or P2X7R abolished hypoxia-modulated PGC-1α expression, pyroptosis and M1 polarization. PGC-1α overexpression or overactivation alleviated hypoxia-induced pyroptosis and M1 polarization, while PGC-1α knockdown or deactivation promoted pyroptosis and M1 polarization under normoxic situation. Further, hypoxia induced NLRP3 expression and activated caspase-1 and induced the phosphorylation of NF-κB and reduced the phosphorylation of STAT3/6. NLRP3 inhibitor and caspase-1 inhibitor abolished hypoxia-induced pyroptosis, while NF-κB inhibitor and STAT phosphorylation inducer ameliorated hypoxia-induced M1 polarization. In addition, NF-κB activator and STAT3/6 inhibitor caused microglia M1 polarization under normoxic situation. We concluded in cultured mouse microglia, hypoxia may induce pyroptosis via P2XR/PGC-1α/NLRP3/caspase-1 pathway and trigger M1 polarization through P2XR/PGC-1α/NF-κB/STAT3/6 pathway.

4.
Neural Netw ; 176: 106340, 2024 Apr 25.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38713967

ABSTRACT

Vision transformers have achieved remarkable success in computer vision tasks by using multi-head self-attention modules to capture long-range dependencies within images. However, the high inference computation cost poses a new challenge. Several methods have been proposed to address this problem, mainly by slimming patches. In the inference stage, these methods classify patches into two classes, one to keep and the other to discard in multiple layers. This approach results in additional computation at every layer where patches are discarded, which hinders inference acceleration. In this study, we tackle the patch slimming problem from a different perspective by proposing a life regression module that determines the lifespan of each image patch in one go. During inference, the patch is discarded once the current layer index exceeds its life. Our proposed method avoids additional computation and parameters in multiple layers to enhance inference speed while maintaining competitive performance. Additionally, our approach1 requires fewer training epochs than other patch slimming methods.

5.
Heliyon ; 10(9): e30009, 2024 May 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38737242

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Dementia is marked by a steady decline or worsening in cognitive abilities, affecting memory, logic, and social competencies. While many studies suggest a potential link between the amount of sleep and dementia risk, the outcomes are not yet consistent. This research delved into the relationship between sleep length and bedtime on cognitive abilities using an extensive dataset from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) from 2014 to 2020. Methods: Data from 175,702 observations were collected, including cognitive function test data from 22,848 participants. Various cognitive tests were used to assess cognitive function. Restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were used for data analysis. Results: The optimal sleep duration for cognitive function was found to be 6-7 h, and the optimal bedtime was generally between 22:00-23:00. Longitudinal analysis revealed that sleep duration four years prior had a significant impact on current cognitive function. After accounting for various factors, those who slept for 7-8 h and over 8 h displayed lower cognitive function scores. Conversely, individuals sleeping less than 6 h had higher scores on the Vocabulary Test. Bedtime before 22:00 was associated with lower scores on the Vocabulary Test and Mathematical Test. Subgroup analyses based on age, gender, and urban residence showed variations in optimal sleep duration for different populations. Propensity Score Matching (PSM) analysis supported the findings. Conclusions: Maintaining a sleep duration of 6-7 h and a regular bedtime between 22:00-23:00 is important for optimizing cognitive performance.

6.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl ; : e202404603, 2024 May 20.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38764411

ABSTRACT

Polymers may suffer from sudden mechanical damages during long-term use under various harsh operating environments. Rapid and real-time self-healing will extend their service life, which is particularly attractive in the context of circular economy. In this work, a lignin cluster polymerization strategy (LCPS) was designed to prepare a series of lignin functionalized polyolefin composites with excellent mechanical properties through nickel catalyzed copolymerization of ethylene and lignin cluster monomers. These composites can also achieve rapid self-healing within 30 seconds under a variety of extreme usage environments (underwater, seawater, extremely low temperatures as low as -60 °C, organic solvents, acid alkali solvents, etc.), which is of great significance for real-time self-healing of sudden mechanical damage. More importantly, the dynamic cross-linking network within these composites enable great re-processability and amazing sealing performances.

7.
Oral Oncol ; 153: 106828, 2024 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38714114

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Current guidelines recommend universal PET/CT screening for metastases staging in newly diagnosed nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) despite the low rate of synchronous distant metastasis (SDM). The study aims to achieve individualized screening recommendations of NPC based on the risk of SDM. METHODS AND MATERIALS: 18 pre-treatment peripheral blood indicators was retrospectively collected from 2271 primary NPC patients. A peripheral blood risk score (PBRS) was constructed by indicators associated with SDM on least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression. The PBRS-based distant metastases (PBDM) model was developed from features selected by logistic regression analyses in the training cohort and then validated in the validation cohort. Receiver operator characteristic curve analysis, calibration curves, and decision curve analysis were applied to evaluate PBDM model performance. RESULTS: Pre-treatment Epstein-Barr viral DNA copy number, percentage of total lymphocytes, serum lactate dehydrogenase level, and monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio were most strongly associated with SDM in NPC and used to construct the PBRS. Sex (male), T stage (T3-4), N stage (N2-3), and PBRS (≥1.076) were identified as independent risk factors for SDM and applied in the PBDM model, which showed good performance. Through the model, patients in the training cohort were stratified into low-, medium-, and high-risk groups. Individualized screening recommendations were then developed for patients with differing risk levels. CONCLUSION: The PBDM model offers individualized recommendations for applying PET/CT for metastases staging in NPC, allowing more targeted screening of patients with greater risk of SDM compared with current recommendations.


Subject(s)
Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma , Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography , Humans , Male , Female , Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma/diagnostic imaging , Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma/pathology , Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma/diagnosis , Middle Aged , Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography/methods , Adult , Retrospective Studies , Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging , Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/pathology , Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/diagnosis , Aged , Neoplasm Metastasis , Risk Factors , Young Adult , Precision Medicine/methods
9.
Cytokine ; 180: 156643, 2024 May 30.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38820838

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Observational studies have reported that circulating cytokines are associated with sarcopenia. However, the causal relationship between circulating cytokines and sarcopenia has not been elucidated. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the causal relationship between circulating cytokines and sarcopenia with genetic data using Mendelian randomization (MR). METHODS: Two-sample bidirectional MR analysis was performed to investigate the causal relationship in individuals of European ancestry. The publicly available genome-wide association study statistics were used to select the key eligible single nucleotide polymorphisms significantly associated with circulating cytokines. Multiple MR analysis approaches, including inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, weighted median method (WMM), and MR-Pleiotropy residual Sum and Outlier (MR-PRESSO) methods, were used for the analysis. Sarcopenia-related traits were appendicular lean mass (ALM) and grip strength. RESULTS: This study demonstrated the causal effect of genetically predicted circulating interleukin interleukin-16 (IL16) levels on both ALM [odds ratio (OR) = 0.990, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.980-1.000, P = 0.049] and grip strength (OR = 0.971, 95% CI: 0.948-0.995, P = 0.020]. Additionally, C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10), interleukin-1beta (IL1B), and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) were correlated with ALM, while vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin-12 (IL12), and interleukin-15 (IL15) were correlated with grip strength. The results of MR-Egger, weighted median, weighted mode, and simple mode methods were consistent with the IVW estimates. Sensitivity analysis revealed that horizontal pleiotropy did not bias the causal estimates. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that inflammatory cytokines exert a significant causal effect on sarcopenia and provide promising leads for the development of novel therapeutic targets for the disease. By evaluating the role of circulating cytokines in the pathologic condition via a genetic epidemiological approach, our study made contributions to a further investigation of underlying mechanisms of sarcopenia.

10.
BMC Womens Health ; 24(1): 308, 2024 May 23.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38783282

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Cervical mullerian adenosarcoma is a rare uterine sarcoma, especially in young women. Its pathological features are low-grade malignant tumors with bidirectional differentiation, and the degree of malignancy is similar to that of low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma. This paper reports the case of a young asexual patient who has been closely followed up after tumor resection and has not had any recurrences. CASE PRESENTATION: A 20-year-old, young asexual woman was diagnosed with cervical mullerian adenosarcoma with sarcomatous overgrowth (MASO). Cervical tumor resection was performed after admission, and the resection margin was negative. After the operation, she refused to undergo secondary surgery due to fertility requirements and did not receive adjuvant treatment. The patient was closely followed up after the operation and has not yet relapsed. CONCLUSION: A young woman with cervical MASO did not receive adjuvant treatment after cervical tumor resection. For women with fertility requirements, close follow-ups should be conducted after the operation to guard against tumor recurrence and radical tumor resection should be performed as early as possible after the patient no longer requires their fertility.


Subject(s)
Adenosarcoma , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms , Uterine Neoplasms , Humans , Female , Adenosarcoma/surgery , Adenosarcoma/pathology , Adenosarcoma/diagnosis , Young Adult , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/surgery , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/pathology , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/diagnosis , Uterine Neoplasms/surgery , Uterine Neoplasms/pathology , Uterine Neoplasms/complications , Uterine Neoplasms/diagnosis , Sexual Behavior
11.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces ; 16(21): 27523-27531, 2024 May 29.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38745497

ABSTRACT

The pursuit of high-performance electronic devices has driven the research focus toward 2D semiconductors with high electron mobility and suitable band gaps. Previous studies have demonstrated that quasi-2D Bi2O2Se (BOSe) has remarkable physical properties and is a promising candidate for further exploration. Building upon this foundation, the present work introduces a novel concept for achieving nonvolatile and reversible control of BOSe's electronic properties. The approach involves the epitaxial integration of a ferroelectric PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 (PZT) layer to modify BOSe's band alignment. Within the BOSe/PZT heteroepitaxy, through two opposite ferroelectric polarization states of the PZT layer, we can tune the Fermi level in the BOSe layer. Consequently, this controlled modulation of the electronic structure provides a pathway to manipulate the electrical properties of the BOSe layer and the corresponding devices.

12.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38613688

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To report the prevalence data for total corneal astigmatism (TCA) in cataract patients. METHODS: The authors retrospectively collected and analyzed the preoperative biometric data of the patients who underwent cataract surgery in the Department of Ophthalmology, Peking University Third Hospital, from January 2019 to May 2023. RESULTS: The mean age of the 10817 patients was 71 ± 10 years; the male/female ratio was 4653/6164. The mean TCA obtained by the IOLMaster 700 (Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Jena, Germany), the Abulafia-Koch (AK) formula, and the Barrett toric calculator was 1.11 ± 0.81 diopter (D), 1.13 ± 0.75 D, and 1.12 ± 0.74 D respectively, which was significantly greater than the mean standard keratometric (K) astigmatism (0.99 ± 0.75 D) obtained by IOLMaster 700. Against-the-rule (ATR) astigmatism was dominant in all the TCA measurements, and its proportion increased with age. TCA measurements by different methods exhibit high variability, with a total of 1574 (8.9%) data sets from 1016 (9.4%) patients showing a difference larger than 0.5 D in at least one pair of TCA measurements. CONCLUSION: The use of TCA rather than K astigmatism significantly influenced the choice of intraocular lenses (IOLs) as more patients would be candidates for toric IOLs. It was essential to carefully compare and select TCA obtained with multiple methods for optimal postoperative visual quality.

13.
Endocrine ; 2024 Apr 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38558373

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is a common malignancy whose incidence is three times greater in females than in males. The prognosis of ageing patients is poor. This research was designed to construct models to predict the overall survival of elderly female patients with PTC. METHODS: We developed prediction models based on the random survival forest (RSF) algorithm and traditional Cox regression. The data of 4539 patients were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Twelve variables were analysed to establish the models. The C-index and the Brier score were selected to evaluate the discriminatory ability of the models. Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were also drawn to evaluate the accuracy of the models. The clinical benefits of the two models were compared on the basis of the DCA curve. In addition, the Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) plot was used to visualize the contribution of the variables in the RSF model. RESULTS: The C-index of the RSF model was 0.811, which was greater than that of the Cox model (0.781). According to the Brier score and the area under the ROC curve (AUC), the RSF model performed better than the Cox model. On the basis of the DCA curve, the RSF model demonstrated fair clinical benefit. The SHAP plot showed that age was the most important variable contributing to the outcome of PTC in elderly female patients. CONCLUSIONS: The RSF model we developed performed better than the Cox model and might be valuable for clinical practice.

14.
Nat Commun ; 15(1): 3217, 2024 Apr 15.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38622141

ABSTRACT

Commonly-used ether and carbonate electrolytes show distinct advantages in active lithium-metal anode and high-voltage cathode, respectively. While these complementary characteristics hold promise for energy-dense lithium metal batteries, such synergy cannot be realized solely through physical blending. Herein, a linear functionalized solvent, bis(2-methoxyethyl) carbonate (BMC), is conceived by intramolecularly hybridizing ethers and carbonates. The integration of the electron-donating ether group with the electron-withdrawing carbonate group can rationalizes the charge distribution, imparting BMC with notable oxidative/reductive stability and relatively weak solvation ability. Furthermore, BMC also offers advantages including the ability to slightly dissolve LiNO3, excellent thermostability and nonflammability. Consequently, the optimized BMC-based electrolyte, even with typical concentrations in the single solvent, demonstrates high-voltage tolerance (4.4 V) and impressive Li plating/stripping Coulombic efficiency (99.4%). Moreover, it fulfills practical lithium metal batteries with satisfactory cycling performance and exceptional tolerance towards thermal/mechanical abuse, showcasing its suitability for safe high-energy lithium metal batteries.

15.
BMC Med Genomics ; 17(1): 87, 2024 Apr 16.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38627703

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to screen the differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs (DELncRNAs) related to the regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in hypospadias in mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes (MSC-Exons) and explore the potential mechanism of these lncRNAs for the EMT in hypospadias. METHODS: In this study, the microarray data related to MSC-Exos and hypospadias were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Besides, the lncRNAs highly expressed in MSC-Exos and the differentially expressed mRNAs and lncRNAs in children with hypospadias were screened, respectively. In addition, the lncRNAs enriched in MSC-Exos and differentially expressed lncRNAs in hypospadias were intersected to obtain the final DElncRNAs. Moreover, the co-expression interaction pairs of differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs were analyzed to construct a Competing Endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network. Finally, the candidate lncRNAs in exosomes were subjected to in vitro cell function verification. RESULTS: In this study, a total of 4 lncRNAs were obtained from the microarray data analysis. Further, a ceRNA regulatory network of MSC-Exo-derived lncRNAs related to the regulation of EMT in hypospadias was constructed, including 4 lncRNAs, 2 mRNAs, and 6 miRNAs. The cell function verification results indicated that the exosomes secreted by MSCs may transport HLA complex group 18 (HCG18) into target cells, which promoted the proliferation, migration, and EMT of these cells. CONCLUSION: MSC-Exo-derived lncRNA HCG18 can enter target cells, and it may be involved in the regulation of EMT in hypospadias through the ceRNA network.


Subject(s)
Hypospadias , MicroRNAs , RNA, Long Noncoding , Male , Child , Humans , RNA, Long Noncoding/genetics , RNA, Long Noncoding/metabolism , MicroRNAs/genetics , Signal Transduction , RNA, Messenger/genetics , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition/genetics , Gene Regulatory Networks
16.
Phys Chem Chem Phys ; 26(15): 12133-12141, 2024 Apr 17.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38587498

ABSTRACT

Highly efficient nano piezoelectric devices and nanomedical sensors are in great demand for high-performance piezoelectric materials. In this work, we propose new asymmetric XMoGeY2 (X = S, Se, Te; Y = N, P, As) monolayers with excellent piezoelectric properties, dynamic stability and flexible elastic properties. The piezoelectric coefficients (d11) of XMoGeY2 monolayers range from 2.92 to 8.19 pm V-1. Among them, TeMoGeAs2 exhibits the highest piezoelectric coefficient (d11 = 8.19 pm V-1), which is 2.2 times higher than that of common 2D piezoelectric materials such as 2H-MoS2 (d11 = 3.73 pm V-1). Furthermore, all XMoGeY2 monolayers demonstrate flexible elastic properties ranging from 96.23 to 253.70 N m-1. Notably, TeMoGeAs2 has a Young's modulus of 96.23 N m-1, which is only one-third of that of graphene (336 N m-1). The significant piezoelectric coefficients of XMoGeY2 monolayers can be attributed to their asymmetric structures and flexible elastic properties. This study provides valuable insights into the potential applications of XMoGeY2 monolayers in nano piezoelectric devices and nanomedical sensors.

17.
Environ Pollut ; 350: 123960, 2024 Jun 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38608853

ABSTRACT

Nanoplastics pollution is a growing environmental problem worldwide. Recent research has demonstrated the toxic effects of nanoplastics on various marine organisms. However, the influences of nanoplastics on marine nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, a critical nitrogen source in the ocean, remained unknown. Here, we report that nanoplastics exposure significantly reduced growth, photosynthetic, and nitrogen fixation rates of Crocosphaera watsonii (a major marine nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium). Transcriptomic analysis revealed that nanoplastics might harm C. watsonii via downregulation of photosynthetic pathways and DNA damage repair genes, while genes for respiration, cell damage, nitrogen limitation, and iron (and phosphorus) scavenging were upregulated. The number and size of starch grains and electron-dense vacuoles increased significantly after nanoplastics exposure, suggesting that C. watsonii allocated more resources to storage instead of growth under stress. We propose that nanoplastics can damage the cell (e.g., DNA, cell membrane, and membrane-bound transporters), inhibit nitrogen and carbon fixation, and hence lead to nutrient limitation and impaired growth. Our findings suggest the possibility that nanoplastics pollution could reduce the new nitrogen input and hence affect the productivity in the ocean. The impact of nanoplastics on marine nitrogen fixation and productivity should be considered when predicting the ecosystem response and biogeochemical cycling in the changing ocean.


Subject(s)
Cyanobacteria , Nitrogen Fixation , Nitrogen Fixation/drug effects , Cyanobacteria/drug effects , Cyanobacteria/metabolism , Cyanobacteria/growth & development , Nitrogen/metabolism , Water Pollutants, Chemical/toxicity , Photosynthesis/drug effects , Seawater/chemistry
18.
Sensors (Basel) ; 24(7)2024 Mar 22.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38610257

ABSTRACT

Images obtained in an unfavorable environment may be affected by haze or fog, leading to fuzzy image details, low contrast, and loss of important information. Recently, significant progress has been achieved in the realm of image dehazing, largely due to the adoption of deep learning techniques. Owing to the lack of modules specifically designed to learn the unique characteristics of haze, existing deep neural network-based methods are impractical for processing images containing haze. In addition, most networks primarily focus on learning clear image information while disregarding potential features in hazy images. To address these limitations, we propose an innovative method called contrastive multiscale transformer for image dehazing (CMT-Net). This method uses the multiscale transformer to enable the network to learn global hazy features at multiple scales. Furthermore, we introduce feature combination attention and a haze-aware module to enhance the network's ability to handle varying concentrations of haze by assigning more weight to regions containing haze. Finally, we design a multistage contrastive learning loss incorporating different positive and negative samples at various stages to guide the network's learning process to restore real and non-hazy images. The experimental findings demonstrate that CMT-Net provides exceptional performance on established datasets and exhibits superior visual outcomes.

19.
Am J Hum Biol ; : e24073, 2024 Mar 29.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38549543

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The spatial distribution of Chinese surnames is diverse and provides rich information about the evolution of human society. This study aims to propose several indices to quantify the spatial distribution characteristics of Chinese common surnames and to explore how these distributions are related to historical evolution. METHODS: This study uses data from China's ID information system covering 1.28 billion people across 362 cities. Based on the location quotient, several new concepts, such as "moderately concentrated cities" and "highly concentrated cities," are defined. Then indices such as range, ununiformity and spatial autocorrelation are proposed and calculated to analyze the spatial characteristics of Chinese common surnames. RESULTS: A significant correlation is observed between the commonness of a surname and its spatial characteristics: the more common the surname, the wider its spatial range, the lower the ununiformity, and the higher the autocorrelation coefficient. These patterns reflect the complex interplay of historical, geographical, and cultural factors influencing surname spatial distribution. CONCLUSIONS: The spatial distribution of Chinese surnames is intricately linked to their historical evolution. Most common surnames, often with deeper historical roots, exhibit wider distributions and lower ununiformity, whereas less common surnames show higher concentrations in specific areas. These quantitative results provide a comprehensive understanding of the evolutionary characteristics of Chinese surnames.

20.
J Neurosurg ; : 1-9, 2024 Mar 29.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38552238

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Psammomatous meningiomas (PMs) are a rare histological subtype of meningioma but are rather frequent in spinal meningiomas. The authors aimed to analyze the incidence, clinical features, molecular alterations, long-term outcomes, and prognostic factors of PMs. METHODS: In total, 151 patients with PMs were included in this study. Clinical characteristics, molecular alterations, and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed in PMs. Clinical characteristics were compared between PMs and other WHO grade 1 meningiomas. Targeted sequencing of meningioma-relevant genes was performed to determine the molecular alterations in PMs. RESULTS: PMs accounted for 1.34% of all meningiomas. Clinically, spinal location (p < 0.001) and female predominance (p < 0.001) were statistically significant in PMs when compared with the other grade 1 subtypes. Radiologically, calcification was frequently found in PMs (88.24%). Genetically, NF2 was the most frequently mutated gene in PMs (59.7%), followed by TRAF7 and AKT1. Ten patients experienced recurrence during the long-term follow-up. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that age (p = 0.009), extent of resection (p < 0.001), Ki-67 index (p = 0.007), and NF2 status (p < 0.001) were independent prognostic factors in the cohort of PMs. Interestingly, NF2 mutation was detected in all (48/48) spinal PMs (SPMs) but in only 38.46% (35/91) of cranial PMs (CPMs), revealing a significant difference (p < 0.001). The mean Ki-67 index (p = 0.044) and proportion of PMs with PR-positive expression (p = 0.048) were significantly higher in SPMs than in CPMs. The frequent NF2 mutations are associated with spinal location predominance and worse PFS in PMs. CONCLUSIONS: Female sex and spinal location predominance were statistically significant in PMs. NF2 mutation was an independent predictor for worse PFS of PMs. Of note, NF2 mutation was detected in all SPMs but in only 38.46% of CPMs, revealing a significant difference.

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