Vehicle Lane-Changing scenario generation using time-series generative adversarial networks with an Adaptative parameter optimization strategy.

Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) hold promise for enhancing transportation safety and efficiency. However, their large-scale deployment necessitates rigorous testing across diverse driving scenarios to ensure safety performance. In order to address two challenges of test scenario diversity and comprehensive evaluation, this study proposes a vehicle lane-changing scenario generation method based on a time-series generative adversarial network (TimeGAN) with an adaptive parameter optimization strategy (APOS). With just 13.3% of parameter combinations tested, we successfully trained a satisfactory TimeGAN and generate a substantial number of lane-changing scenarios. Then, the generated scenarios were evaluated for diversity, fidelity, and utility, demonstrating their effectiveness in capturing a wide range of driving situations. Furthermore, we employed a Lane-Changing Risk Index (LCRI) to identify the rare adversarial cases in scenarios. Compared to real scenarios, our approach generates 27 times more adversarial cases with 1.8 times higher average risk, highlighting its potential for uncovering critical safety vulnerabilities. This study paves the way for more comprehensive and effective CAV testing, ultimately contributing to safer and more reliable autonomous driving technologies.

Time-domain Vernier effect-based optical fiber sensor.

In this Letter, we demonstrate an easy-to-fabricate time-domain Vernier-effect-based sensor. An all-fiber variable optical delay line (VODL) is utilized to drive an OPD scan of two interferometers simultaneously, and fiber Bragg gratings are used to filter out two slightly detuned time-domain interferometric signals. Then two normalized interferograms with different spatial frequencies can be achieved and utilized to generate an envelope modulation, viz., a Vernier envelope, with enhanced sensitivity in comparison to the native state of the interferometers used. The sensitivity magnification factor of our structure can be regulated simply via altering the resonant wavelength difference of FBGs rather than optimizing the OPDs of the interferometers. The proposed sensor is independent of the precise and complicated fabrication procedures. The Vernier signal can be demodulated without a broadband light source and spectrometer. We argue that the proposed structure may inspire a new concept for constructing simple and cheap Vernier effect-based sensors that are well suited for practical applications.

Recent advances in spoilage mechanisms and preservation technologies in beef quality: A review.

Beef is a popular meat product that can spoil and lose quality during postharvest handling and storage. This review examines different preservation methods for beef, from conventional techniques like low-temperature preservation, irradiation, vacuum packing, and chemical preservatives, to novel approaches like bacteriocin, essential oil, and non-thermal technologies. It also discusses how these methods work and affect beef quality. The review shows that beef spoilage is mainly due to enzymatic and microbial activities that impact beef freshness, texture, and quality. Although traditional preservation methods can extend beef shelf life, they have some drawbacks and limitations. Therefore, innovative preservation methods have been created and tested to improve beef quality and safety. These methods have promising results and potential applications in the beef industry. However, more research is needed to overcome the challenges and barriers for their commercialization. This review gives a comprehensive and critical overview of the current and emerging preservation methods for beef and their implications for the beef supply chain.

Effectiveness of sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy screening on colorectal cancer incidence and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: We conducted a comprehensive analysis to compare colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy with standard care or fecal immunochemistry regarding colorectal cancer incidence and mortality risk. Methods: Until August 2023, literature from PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane was systematically reviewed. We examined the impact of colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy versus standard care on colorectal cancer outcomes, including incidence, cancer-specific mortality, and overall mortality. Results: Among 4,265 screened articles, data from seven randomized controlled trials (involving 663,319 participants) were analyzed. The intervention group (colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy) consisted of 258,938 participants, while the control group received standard care or fecal immunochemical testing, totaling 404,381 participants, with both groups having average colorectal cancer risk, without confounders. Pooled analyses indicated a 20% reduction in colorectal cancer incidence (RR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.77-0.83) and a 26% decrease in colorectal cancer mortality (RR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.69-0.80) in the intervention group compared to standard care. All-cause mortality remained unchanged (RR: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.99-1.07). Subgroup analysis favored sigmoidoscopy in reducing colorectal cancer morbidity and mortality. Conclusion: This meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials underscores the effectiveness of colonoscopy and, notably, sigmoidoscopy in reducing colorectal cancer incidence and mortality among average-risk populations. In comparison to fecal immunochemical testing, both colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy did not significantly impact colorectal cancer incidence and mortality in this population. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42023460007.

Fatigue at the wheel: A non-visual approach to truck driver fatigue detection by multi-feature fusion.

BACKGROUND: Monitoring of long-haul truck driver fatigue state has attracted considerable interest. Conventional fatigue driving detection methods based on the physiological and visual features are scarcely applicable, due to the intrusiveness, reliability, and cost-effectiveness concerns. METHODS: We elaborately developed a fatigue driving detection method by fusion of non-visual features derived from the customized wristbands, vehicle-mounted equipment, and trip logs. To capture the spatiotemporal information within the sequential data, the bidirectional long short-term memory network with attention mechanism was proposed to determine whether the truck driver was fatigued within a fine-grained episode of one minute. The model was validated using a natural driving dataset with nine truck drivers on real-world roads in Guiyang, China during June and July 2021. RESULTS: Our approach yielded 99.21 %, 84.44 %, 82.01 %, 99.63 %, and 83.21 % in accuracy, precision, recall, specificity, and F1-score, respectively. Compared with the mainstream visual-based methods, our approach outperformed particularly in terms of precision and recall. Photoplethysmogram stood out as the most important feature for truck driver fatigue state detection. Vehicle load, driving forward angle, cumulative driving time, midnight, and recent working hours were found to be positively associated with the probability of fatigue driving, while the galvanic skin response, vehicle acceleration, current time, and recent rest hours had a negative relationship. Specifically, truck drivers were more likely to fatigue when driving at 20-40 km/h, braking abruptly at 5-10 m/s2, with vehicle loads over 70 tons, and driving more than 100 min consecutively. CONCLUSIONS: Our study is among the first to harness the natural driving dataset to delve into the real-life fatigue pattern of long-haul truck drivers without disruptions on routine driving tasks. The proposed method holds pragmatic prospects by providing a privacy-preserving, robust, real-time, and non-intrusive technical pathway for truck driver fatigue monitoring.

Integrating visual large language model and reasoning chain for driver behavior analysis and risk assessment.

Driver behavior is a critical factor in driving safety, making the development of sophisticated distraction classification methods essential. Our study presents a Distracted Driving Classification (DDC) approach utilizing a visual Large Language Model (LLM), named the Distracted Driving Language Model (DDLM). The DDLM introduces whole-body human pose estimation to isolate and analyze key postural features-head, right hand, and left hand-for precise behavior classification and better interpretability. Recognizing the inherent limitations of LLMs, particularly their lack of logical reasoning abilities, we have integrated a reasoning chain framework within the DDLM, allowing it to generate clear, reasoned explanations for its assessments. Tailored specifically with relevant data, the DDLM demonstrates enhanced performance, providing detailed, context-aware evaluations of driver behaviors and corresponding risk levels. Notably outperforming standard models in both zero-shot and few-shot learning scenarios, as evidenced by tests on the 100-Driver dataset, the DDLM stands out as an advanced tool that promises significant contributions to driving safety by accurately detecting and analyzing driving distractions.

Design and assessment of a micro-nano positioning hexapod platform with flexure hinges for large aperture telescopes.

In order to compensate the optical system bias, which is caused by the change of elevation angle and thermal gradient during the optical alignment of the telescope, a novel high stiffness micro-nano positioning hexapod platform with flexure hinges is proposed in this paper. The novel flexure hinge has a mechanical limit, and its equivalent model is established and analyzed. In addition, in order to speed up the solution process, a novel simplified inverse kinematic model is developed based on the rigid body kinematic theory. Then, an effective rigid-flexible coupling simulation system is built to verify the correctness and applicability of the inverse kinematic model. Finally, a systematic experimental test method and a statistical-based data analysis theory are proposed. The experimental results show that the resolution and repeatability of translation and rotation and lateral stiffness are as follows: 0.3 mm and 0.5 arc sec, ± 0.5 µm and ±0.5 arc sec, 131.6N⋅µm-1 and 133.0N⋅µm-1. The proposed hexapod platform can be used to correct the optical system bias of large-aperture telescopes.

Extracellular matrix stiffness mediates uterine repair via the Rap1a/ARHGAP35/RhoA/F-actin/YAP axis.

The integrity of the structure and function of the endometrium is essential for the maintenance of fertility. However, the repair mechanisms of uterine injury remain largely unknown. Here, we showed that the disturbance of mechanical cue homeostasis occurs after uterine injury. Applying a multimodal approach, we identified YAP as a sensor of biophysical forces that drives endometrial regeneration. Through protein activation level analysis of the combinatorial space of mechanical force strength and of the presence of particular kinase inhibitors and gene silencing reagents, we demonstrated that mechanical cues related to extracellular matrix rigidity can turn off the Rap1a switch, leading to the inactivation of ARHGAP35and then induced activation of RhoA, which in turn depends on the polymerization of the agonist protein F-actin to activate YAP. Further study confirmed that mechanotransduction significantly accelerates remodeling of the uterus by promoting the proliferation of endometrial stromal cells in vitro and in vivo. These studies provide new insights into the dynamic regulatory mechanisms behind uterine remodeling and the function of mechanotransduction. Video Abstract.

Solar X-ray and EUV imager on board the FY-3E satellite.

The solar X-ray and Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (X-EUVI), developed by the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CIOMP), is the first space-based solar X-ray and Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) imager of China loaded on the Fengyun-3E (FY-3E) satellite supported by the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) for solar observation. Since started work on July 11, 2021, X-EUVI has obtained many solar images. The instrument employs an innovative dual-band design to monitor a much larger temperature range on the Sun, which covers 0.6-8.0 nm in the X-ray region with six channels and 19.5 nm in the EUV region. X-EUVI has a field of view of 42', an angular resolution of 2.5″ per pixel in the EUV band and an angular resolution of 4.1″ per pixel in the X-ray band. The instrument also includes an X-ray and EUV irradiance sensor (X-EUVS) with the same bands as its imaging optics, which measures the solar irradiance and regularly calibrates the solar images. The radiometric calibration of X-EUVS on the ground has been completed, with a calibration accuracy of 12%. X-EUVI is loaded on the FY-3E satellite and rotates relative to the Sun at a uniform rate. Flat-field calibration is conducted by utilizing successive rotation solar images. The agreement between preliminarily processed X-EUVI images and SDO/AIA and Hinode/XRT images indicates that X-EUVI and the data processing algorithm operate properly and that the data from X-EUVI can be applied to the space weather forecast system of CMA and scientific investigations on solar activity.

Crosstalk between Extracellular Matrix Stiffness and ROS Drives Endometrial Repair via the HIF-1α/YAP Axis during Menstruation.

Although the menstrual cycle driven by sex steroid hormones is an uncomplicated physiological process, it is important for female health, fertility and regenerative biology. However, our understanding of this unique type of tissue homeostasis remains unclear. Here, we examined the biological effects of mechanical force by evaluating the changing trend of extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness, and the results suggested that ECM stiffness was reduced and that breaking of mechanotransduction delayed endometrium repair in a mouse model of simulated menses. We constructed an ECM stiffness interference model in vitro to explain the mechanical force conduction mechanism during endometrial regeneration. We discovered that ECM stiffness increased the expression and nuclear transfer of YAP, which improved the creation of a microenvironment, in a manner that induced proliferation and angiogenesis for endometrial repair by activating YAP. In addition, we observed that physiological endometrial hypoxia occurs during the menstrual cycle and that the expression of HIF-1α was increased. Mechanistically, in addition to the classical F-actin/YAP pathway, we also found that the ROS/HIF-1α/YAP axis was involved in the transmission of mechanical signals. This study provides novel insights into the essential menstrual cycle and presents an effective, nonhormonal treatment for menstrual disorders.

Temperature-insensitive polarimetric vibration sensor.

Vibration measurement is a frequent measurement requirement in a number of areas. Optical vibration sensors have many advantages over electrical counterparts. A common approach is to optically detect the vibration induced mechanical movement of a cantilever. Nevertheless, their practical applications are hindered by the cross-sensitivity of temperature and dynamic instability of the mechanical structure, which lead to unreliable vibration measurements. Here, we demonstrate a temperature insensitive vibration sensor that involves an enclosed suspended cantilever integrated with a readout fiber, providing in-line measurement of vibration. The cantilever is fabricated from a highly birefringent photonic crystal fiber by chemical etching and fused to a single-polarization fiber. Mechanical vibration induced periodic bending of the cantilever can significantly modify the state of polarization of the light that propagates along the photonic crystal fiber. The single-polarization fiber finally converts the state of polarization fluctuation into the change of output optical power. Therefore, the vibration could be demodulated by monitoring the output power of the proposed structure. Due to the special design of the structure, the polarization fluctuation induced by a variation of the ambient temperature can be significantly suppressed. The sensor has a linear response over the frequency range of 5 Hz to 5 kHz with a maximum signal-to-noise ratio of 60 dB and is nearly temperature independent.

Miniature Fourier transform spectrometer based on a fiber-tip interferometer.

The miniaturization of spectrometers have attracted much attention owning to the demand for portable or in situ spectral analysis in a wide variety of fields, but it is a great challenge to push them into practical applications due to high cost, complicated configuration, and sensitivity to external disturbance. We report on a miniature Fourier transform (FT) spectrometer based on fiber-tip Fizeau interferometer. Hand pulling or any other types of force can be used to drive optical path difference (OPD) scan. Interferences are monitored as a function of time by two photodetectors, one is used to detect the whole interferogram while the other to measure single-wavelength interferogram. In this design, the instantaneous interference intensity as well as OPD can be obtained in an accurate way so that the exact spatial interferogram of the incident spectrum can be worked out. Consequently, the incident spectrum can be retrieved by FT method. A resolution of 7.69 cm-1 in the wavelength range of 1400 nm ∼ 1700 nm is achieved. Experimental results show that the performance of our device is comparable to the commercial benchtop spectrometer. Our device is independent of the complicated fabrication procedures, easy of usage, and cost effective. We envision that the proposed design will inspire a new concept for constructing simple and cheap spectrometers that is well suited for practical applications.

A miniature fiber-optic microphone based on plano-concave micro-interferometer.

The sensitive detection of sound waves is essential for a variety of applications. In this work, we propose a miniature diaphragm-free fiber-optic microphone based on a plano-concave optical micro-interferometer. A solid plano-concave micro-interferometer is formed at the end of a cleaved fiber by depositing a tiny volume of liquefied glass. Sound wave induced periodic variation of pressure can significantly modify the refractive index of the plano-concave glass due to the elasto-optic effect, and then, the phase difference between two interferometric beams will be remarkably changed accordingly. The interferometer finally converts the fluctuation of the phase difference into the change in the output optical power. Consequently, the sound wave can be demodulated by detecting the output power of the microphone. The experimental results show that the proposed microphone has the ability to detect sound waves in the whole audible range and almost omnidirectional. The noise-limited minimum detectable sound pressure is around 12 µPa/Hz. In addition, the human voice detection test shows that the performance of our microphone is competitive with the most advanced commercial device. The structure is stable without any movable mechanical parts, and the size is as small as 0.25 mm, which makes the proposed microphone an attractive alternative to the conventional one for sound wave detection.

Travel route safety estimation based on conflict simulation.

With the aim of providing travelers information about the safety levels of selectable routes, it is necessary to develop a method that can properly estimate the safety of alternative travel routes. This paper proposes a conflict-based approach for travel route safety estimation (TRSE). It is developed on the basis of the classical safety evaluation model where both the amount of exposure to safety risk and the risk under unit exposure are measured to estimate the route safety. A combination of a set of dynamic and static factors related to traffic flow characteristics and roadway features are selected to estimate conflict exposure and potential conflict risk. A route-based method is employed where two parallel estimations of conflict are conducted for both the component segments links and intersection turning links. Three machine learning models (i.e., random forest, k-nearest neighbor, and support vector machine) are tested in conflict risk estimation. A fuzzy reasoning process based on the fuzzy logic algorithm is employed to conduct the route safety estimation. The proposed TRSE is tested on a four-horizontal and six-vertical network extracted from a real road network in China. Conflict simulation results were obtained by Vissim and SSAM tools. The results illustrate the practicability and effectiveness of the proposed TRSE approach.

Effect of Carbonized Herba schizonepetae on the Bioavailability of Eight Active Components from Pulsatillae Decoction in its Particular Adsorption and Release Performance.

BACKGROUND: Carbonized herbal medicine has been used clinically for centuries in China; however, its influence on the bioavailability of compatible medicinal herbs is still unknown. OBJECTIVES: To explore the effect of a carbonized herbal medicine on the in vivo adsorption and release and absorption of other active pharmaceutical ingredients in a compound prescription. METHODS: The bioavailability of carbonized Herba schizonepetae (CHS) to eight active components (epiberberine, coptisine, palmatine, berberine, phellodendrine, aesculin, aesculetin, and anemoside B4) in the aqueous extract of Pulsatillae Decoction (PDAE) was evaluated by the in vitro adsorption and release and in vivo pharmacokinetics tests. Activated carbon (AC) was used as the control. RESULTS: In vitro experiment showed that the cumulative adsorption rates of CHS to the eight active components were 33.17%, 54.32%, 21.48%, 42.01%, 39.1%, 25.11%, 32.11%, and 23.08% which was characterized by copsitine > berberine > phellodendrine > epiperberine > aesculetin > anemoside B4 > palmatine., and they were significantly lower than those of AC. The stable release concentration in sequence was 3.23, 3.04, 3.32, 7.29, 3.17, 2.80, 1.45, and 3.81 µg/mL, which was characterized by berberine > anemoside B4 > palmatine > epiberberine > phellodendrine > coptisine > aesculin > aesculetin, and they were significantly higher than those of AC. The animal experiment indicated that the areas under the concentration-time curve (AUC0-∞) of epiberberine, berberine, aesculetin, and anemoside B4 in PDAE+CHS group were significantly higher than those in the PDAE and PDAE+AC groups, and the other four components in the PDAE+CHS group were lower than those in PDAE group but higher than those in PDAE+AC group. CONCLUSION: CHS could significantly improve the bioavailability of epiberberine, berberine, aesculetin, and anemoside B4 in Pulsatillae Decoction and has a sustained-release effect on berberine, aesculin, aesculetin, and anemoside B4.

The fowl adenovirus serotype 4 (FAdV-4) induce cellular pathway in chickens to produce interferon and antigen-presented molecules (MHCI/II).

FAdV-4 is the major strain of adenovirus that responsible for hydro-pericardial syndrome (HPS) in poultry. In this study, the virus's specific gene fragments were isolated from clinically suspected cases and amplified by PCR. Finally, after a viral infection to investigate the immune response of the host, the gene expression of MHC (major histo-compatible) molecules (MHCIα, MHCIIß), Ii (Invariant Chain) gene, inflammatory cytokines (IFN-ß, IFN-γ, and IL-1ß), and transcription factors (MDA5, STING, IRF7, and NF-kB) were detected by real-time PCR (fluorescence technology). The results of sequence comparison showed that the clinically isolated virus was 100% homologous to a virulent strain of avian adenovirus group C serotype 4 (FAdV-4), which were named AH-FAdV-4. The TCID50 and pathogenicity of the virus were determined that was 106.52/0.1 mL with a mortality rate of 100% in chickens and 0% in ducks. Furthermore, results showed that the expression level of MHCIα, MHCIIß, and Ii genes in chicken embryo kidney cells significantly (P < 0.01) upregulated (increased) after infection, which was 43, 5.2, and 2.5 times higher than the control group. With the addition of PDTC, an inhibitor of NF-kB, then the expression level of MHCIα, MHCIIß, and Ii was decreased significantly (P < 0.01) than the control group. The transcription levels of these genes were decreased 0.64, 0.27, and 0.26 respectively. Simultaneously, the expression levels of IFN-ß, IFN-γ, and IL-1ß were also significantly (P < 0.01) up-regulated (increased) 7.8, 22.7, and 5 times higher than the control group. It was found that up-regulation of STING and NF-κB pathways are directly involved in the regulation of inflammatory cytokines (IFN-ß, IFN-γ, and IL-1ß), MHC molecules (MHCIα, MHCIIß), and Ii gene. The results also showed that the gene regulation pathways consecutively increased the expression levels of MDA5, STING, IRF7, and NF-kB. It is conducted that the expression levels of cytokines, MHC molecules, and li gene were increased by STING and NF-kB pathways.

Black and Green Tea Supplements Ameliorate Male Infertility in a Murine Model of Obesity.

Obesity, a chronic metabolic disorder, can affect male reproductive function. As a functional beverage, tea has many biological activities and potential in the treatment of obesity. However, its effects on male reproductive damage induced by obesity are not yet clear. In this study, a murine model of obesity was established by feeding with high-fat diet (HF). A total of 24 male mice were divided into four groups: normal diet (control), HF, HF supplemented with 5% green tea powder (HF+G), and HF supplemented with 5% black tea powder (HF+B). The results showed that the HF + B significantly reduced the mouse body weight gain and testicular coefficient and lowered the serum insulin and leptin levels compared with the HF group. The sperm malformation rate of mice in the HF group had a significant increase when compared with the control group, the HF + B group had a significant decrease compared with the HF group, and no difference from the control group. The HF + G and HF + B significantly increased testosterone levels in serum compared with the HF group. The testosterone production-related gene cytochrome P450 family 11 subfamily a member (CYP11A1) and cytochrome p450 family 17 subfamily a member 1 (CYP17A1) expressions in testis were significantly increased in the HF + G group compared with HF group. In addition, the HF + G and HF + B abolished the effects of HF on superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde, and glutathione levels in testis and antioxidant-related gene expressions of XRCC1 and SOD1. Overall, our findings have provided evidence that black and green tea has a positive effect on reducing reproductive damage in a male murine model of obesity, and that black tea is more effective than green tea.

Spatial heterogeneity analysis of macro-level crashes using geographically weighted Poisson quantile regression.

In recent years, globally quantile-based model (e.g. quantile regression) and spatially conditional mean models (e.g. geographically weighted regression) have been widely and commonly employed in macro-level safety analysis. The former ones assume that the model coefficients are fixed over space, while the latter ones only represent the entire distribution of variable effects by a single concentrated trend. However, the influence of crash related factors on the distribution of crash frequency is observed to vary over space and across different quantiles. Therefore, a geographically weighted Poisson quantile regression (GWPQR) model is employed to investigate the spatial heterogeneity of variable effects crossing different quantiles. Five categories, including exposure, socio-economic, transportation, network and land use were selected to estimate the spatial effects on crash frequency. In the case study, vehicle related crashes collected in New York City were used to validate the predicted performance of the proposed models. The results show that the GWPQR outperforms the NB, QR and GWNBR for modeling the skewed distribution, reconstructing the crash distribution and capturing the unobserved spatial heterogeneity. Additionally, the significant coefficients are further used to classify all 21 variables into key, important and general parts. Then we discuss how these factors affects the regional crashes over space and distribution of crash frequency. This study confirms that the influencing factors have varying effects on different quantiles of distribution and on different regions, which could be helpful to provide support for making safety countermeasures and policies at urban regional level.

Protective effect of Polygonatum sibiricum against cadmium-induced testicular injury in mice through inhibiting oxidative stress and mitochondria-mediated apoptosis.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Polygonatum sibiricum (PS), the dried rhizome of the liliaceous plant including P. sibiricum Red., P. cyrtonema Hua. and P. kingianum Coll. et Hemsl., is a widely used Chinese herbal medicines. It was first published in "Special Records of Famous Doctors", in which is described to replenished Qi and nourish Yin, strengthening the spleen and nourishing the lungs and kidney. Based on the principle of kidney controlling the reproduction, kidney-tonifying therapy has traditionally been seen as most applicable to the treatment of infertility. The current investigation has focused on the protective effect of PS against cadmium-induced testicular injury in mice. AIM OF THE STUDY: To investigate the protective effect of PS against cadmium-induced testicular injury in mice via the TXNIP-NLRP3-Caspase-1 and CytC-Caspase-9-Caspase-3 pathways. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PS was processed into Polygonatum sibiricum aqueous extract (PSAE). A mouse testicular injury model was established by a single intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of cadmium chloride (CdCl2) (2.5 mg/kg b.w.), and the mice were treated intragastrically with PSAE (10 g/kg b.w.) once daily for 35 consecutive days. At the end of the experiment blood and testicular tissue samples were collected to analyze sperm survival rate and sperm deformity rate, serum testosterone T content, testicular oxidation related indicators levels (SOD, MDA, GSH, CAT) in testicular tissue, and histopathological changes of testicular tissues. The testicular cell cycle and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were measured by flow cytometry, the expression levels of thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP), nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3), Caspase-1, interleukin (IL)-1ß, Cyctochrome C (CytC), Caspase-3, and Caspase-9 mRNA in testicular tissue were detected by qRT-PCR and the protein expression levels of TXNIP, NLRP3, Caspase-1, CytC, Caspase-3, and Caspase-9 were detected by Western blot and immunohistochemical method. RESULTS: The results indicated that compared with the model group, PSAE brought testicular weight to a near-normal range, improved sperm survival rate and reduced sperm abnormality rate, elevated the level of testosterone, made the damaged testis tissue recover to near normal, reduced the level of ROS, and inhibited testicular cell apoptosis. Further study showed that PSAE significantly decreased the levels of relative genes and proteins in testicular cells, such as TXNIP, NLRP3, Caspase-1, IL-1ß, CytC, Caspase-3, and Caspase-9, which suggested that PSAE could regulate oxidative stress through the TXNIP-NLRP3-Caspase-1 signaling pathway, and inhibit apoptosis in the mitochondrial pathway via CytC-Caspase-9-Caspase-3 pathway. In summary, we have confirmed that PSAE exerted a powerful protective effect on CdCl2-induced testicular injury in mice through inhibiting oxidative stress and mitochondria-mediated apoptosis.

Revisiting freeway single tunnel crash characteristics analysis: A six-zone analytic approach.

Considerable studies have been conducted to investigate the tunnels' traffic safety. However, the entrance and exit parts of a tunnel are mostly considered symmetrical in previous studies, and the different lengths (long, medium, and short) of tunnels have not been separately studied. This study aims to investigate the characteristics of traffic crashes in freeway single tunnels by separately considering the entrance and exit of the tunnel as well as the different lengths of tunnels. A six-zone approach is proposed, and the data from 156 single tunnels in Hunan province, China, are applied for safety analysis. The crash rate, crash type, and contributing crash factors are compared between the conventional four-zone approach and the proposed method, and the three types of tunnels with different lengths are also compared for in-depth analysis. Results show that the proposed six-zone method provides a better understanding of the tunnels crash characteristics. The most crash-prone zones for long, medium, and short tunnels are the mid-zone, the entrance zone, and the access zone, respectively. Furthermore, at the tunnel entrance, drivers usually fail to maintain safe distance, which results in the high proportion of rear-end crashes, while at the tunnel exit, they do speeding and improper lane change that increases the risk of sideswipe, rollover, and collision with fixed objects. The study also discusses the crash occurrence mechanism for different types of tunnels. Findings of this study shed some light on the engineering and policy implications for improving traffic safety of the freeway tunnels.