Basketball technique action recognition using 3D convolutional neural networks.

This research investigates the recognition of basketball techniques actions through the implementation of three-dimensional (3D) Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), aiming to enhance the accurate and automated identification of various actions in basketball games. Initially, basketball action sequences are extracted from publicly available basketball action datasets, followed by data preprocessing, including image sampling, data augmentation, and label processing. Subsequently, a novel action recognition model is proposed, combining 3D convolutions and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks to model temporal features and capture the spatiotemporal relationships and temporal information of actions. This facilitates the facilitating automatic learning of the spatiotemporal features associated with basketball actions. The model's performance and robustness are further improved through the adoption of optimization algorithms, such as adaptive learning rate adjustment and regularization. The efficacy of the proposed method is verified through experiments conducted on three publicly available basketball action datasets: NTURGB + D, Basketball-Action-Dataset, and B3D Dataset. The results indicate that this approach achieves outstanding performance in basketball technique action recognition tasks across different datasets compared to two common traditional methods. Specifically, when compared to the frame difference-based method, this model exhibits a significant accuracy improvement of 15.1%. When compared to the optical flow-based method, this model demonstrates a substantial accuracy improvement of 12.4%. Moreover, this method showcases strong robustness, accurately recognizing actions under diverse lighting conditions and scenes, achieving an average accuracy of 93.1%. The research demonstrates that the method reported here effectively captures the spatiotemporal relationships of basketball actions, thereby providing reliable technical assessment tools for basketball coaches and players.

Influenza virus uses mGluR2 as an endocytic receptor to enter cells.

Influenza virus infection is initiated by the attachment of the viral haemagglutinin (HA) protein to sialic acid receptors on the host cell surface. Most virus particles enter cells through clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME). However, it is unclear how viral binding signals are transmitted through the plasma membrane triggering CME. Here we found that metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 2 (mGluR2) and potassium calcium-activated channel subfamily M alpha 1 (KCa1.1) are involved in the initiation and completion of CME of influenza virus using an siRNA screen approach. Influenza virus HA directly interacted with mGluR2 and used it as an endocytic receptor to initiate CME. mGluR2 interacted and activated KCa1.1, leading to polymerization of F-actin, maturation of clathrin-coated pits and completion of the CME of influenza virus. Importantly, mGluR2-knockout mice were significantly more resistant to different influenza subtypes than the wild type. Therefore, blocking HA and mGluR2 interaction could be a promising host-directed antiviral strategy.

Influenza A virus infection disrupts the function of syncytiotrophoblast cells and contributes to adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Pregnancy heightens susceptibility to influenza A virus (IAV) infection, thereby increasing the risk of severe pneumonia and maternal mortality. It also raises the chances of adverse outcomes in offspring, such as fetal growth restriction, preterm birth, miscarriage, and stillbirth in offsprings. However, the underlying mechanisms behind these effects remain largely unknown. Syncytiotrophoblast cells, crucial in forming the placental barrier, nutrient exchange and hormone secretion, have not been extensively studied for their responses to IAV. In our experiment, we used Forskolin-treated BeWo cells to mimic syncytiotrophoblast cells in vitro, and infected them with H1N1, H5N1 and H7N9 virus stains. Our results showed that syncytiotrophoblast cells, with their higher intensity of sialic acid receptors, strongly support IAV infection and replication. Notably, high-dose viral infection and prolonged exposure resulted in a significant decrease in fusion index, as well as gene and protein expression levels associated with trophoblast differentiation, ß-human chorionic gonadotropin secretion, estrogen and progesterone biosynthesis, and nutrient transport. In pregnant BALB/c mice infected with the H1N1 virus, we observed significant decreases in trophoblast differentiation and hormone secretion gene expression levels. IAV infection also resulted in preterm labor, fetal growth restriction, and increased maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Our findings indicate that IAV infection in syncytiotrophoblastic cells can result in adverse pregnancy outcomes by altering trophoblast differentiation, suppressing of ß-hCG secretion, and disrupting placental barrier function.

Solitary eosinophilic granulocytic sarcoma in a dog.

A 6-year-old male golden retriever presented with swelling of the left upper eyelid of 2 months duration, which did not improve following a course of antibiotics. Routine serum biochemistry, complete blood count and diagnostic imaging identified no clinically significant abnormalities. The mass was surgically excised, and histopathologic examination was performed. Eosinophilic granulocytic sarcoma (GS) was diagnosed based on the results of histopathology and immunohistochemistry. This is the first report of GS affecting the eyelid of a dog.

VP2 mediates the release of the feline calicivirus RNA genome by puncturing the endosome membrane of infected cells.

Feline calicivirus (FCV) is one of the few members of the Caliciviridae family that grows well in cell lines and, therefore, serves as a surrogate to study the biology of other viruses in the family. Conley et al. (14) demonstrated that upon the receptor engagement to the capsid, FCV VP2 forms a portal-like assembly, which might provide a channel for RNA release. However, the process of calicivirus RNA release is not yet fully understood. Our findings suggest that the separation of the FCV capsid from its genome RNA (gRNA) occurs rapidly in the early endosomes of infected cells. Using a liposome model decorated with the FCV cell receptor fJAM-A, we demonstrate that FCV releases its gRNA into the liposomes by penetrating membranes under low pH conditions. Furthermore, we found that VP2, which is rich in hydrophobic residues at its N-terminus, functions as the pore-forming protein. When we substituted the VP2 N-terminal hydrophobic residues, the gRNA release efficacy of the FCV mutants decreased. In conclusion, our results suggest that in the acidic environment of early endosomes, FCV VP2 functions as the pore-forming protein to mediate gRNA release into the cytoplasm of infected cells. This provides insight into the mechanism of calicivirus genome release.IMPORTANCEResearch on the biology and pathogenicity of certain caliciviruses, such as Norovirus and Sapovirus, is hindered by the lack of easy-to-use cell culture system. Feline calicivirus (FCV), which grows effectively in cell lines, is used as a substitute. At present, there is limited understanding of the genome release mechanism in caliciviruses. Our findings suggest that FCV uses VP2 to pierce the endosome membrane for genome release and provide new insights into the calicivirus gRNA release mechanism.

Getah virus capsid protein undergoes co-condensation with viral genomic RNA to facilitate virion assembly.

Getah virus (GETV) belongs to the Alphavirus genus in the Togaviridae family and is a zoonotic arbovirus causing disease in both humans and animals. The capsid protein (CP) of GETV regulates the viral core assembly, but the mechanism underlying this process is poorly understood. In this study, we demonstrate that CP undergoes liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) with the GETV genome RNA (gRNA) in vitro and forms cytoplasmic puncta in cells. Two regions of GETV gRNA (nucleotides 1-4000 and 5000-8000) enhance CP droplet formation in vitro and the lysine-rich Link region of CP is essential for its phase separation. CP(K/R) mutant with all lysines in the Link region replaced by arginines exhibits improved LLPS versus wild type (WT) CP, but CP(K/E) mutant with lysines substituted by glutamic acids virtually loses condensation ability. Consistently, recombinant virus mutant with CP(K/R) possesses significantly higher gRNA binding affinity, virion assembly efficiency and infectivity than the virus with WT-CP. Overall, our findings provide new insights into the understanding of GETV assembly and development of new antiviral drugs against alphaviruses.

Avian ANP32A incorporated in avian influenza A virions promotes interspecies transmission by priming early viral replication in mammals.

Species-specific differences in acidic nuclear phosphoprotein 32 family member A (ANP32A) determine the restriction of avian-signature polymerase in mammalian cells. Mutations that evade this restriction, such as PB2-E627K, are frequently acquired when avian influenza A viruses jump from avian hosts to mammalian hosts. However, the mechanism underlying this adaptation process is still unclear. Here, we report that host factor ANP32 proteins can be incorporated into influenza viral particles through combination with the viral RNA polymerase (vPol) and then transferred into targeted cells where they support virus replication. The packaging of the ANP32 proteins into influenza viruses is dependent on their affinity with the vPol. Avian ANP32A (avANP32A) delivered by avian influenza A virions primes early viral replication in mammalian cells, thereby favoring the downstream interspecies transmission event by increasing the total amount of virus carrying adaptive mutations. Our study clarifies one role of avANP32A where it is used by avian influenza virus to help counteract the restriction barrier in mammals.

CeO2 -Based Frustrated Lewis Pairs via Defective Engineering: Formation Theory, Site Characterization, and Small Molecule Activation.

Activation of small molecules is considered to be a central concern in the theoretical investigation of environment- and energy-related catalytic conversions. Sub-nanostructured frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) have been an emerging research hotspot in recent years due to their advantages in small molecule activation. Although the progress of catalytic applications of FLPs is increasingly reported, the fundamental theories related to the structural formation, site regulation, and catalytic mechanism of FLPs have not yet been fully developed. Given this, it is attempted to demonstrate the underlying theory of FLPs formation, corresponding regulation methods, and its activation mechanism on small molecules using CeO2 as the representative metal oxide. Specifically, this paper presents three fundamental principles for constructing FLPs on CeO2 surfaces, and feasible engineering methods for the regulation of FLPs sites are presented. Furthermore, cases where typical small molecules (e.g., hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methane oxygen, etc.) are activated over FLPs are analyzed. Meanwhile, corresponding future challenges for the development of FLPs-centered theory are presented. The insights presented in this paper may contribute to the theories of FLPs, which can potentially provide inspiration for the development of broader environment- and energy-related catalysis involving small molecule activation.

Transition metal phosphides: synthesis nanoarchitectonics, catalytic properties, and biomass conversion applications.

Developing inexpensive and efficient catalysts for biomass hydrogenation or hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) is essential for efficient energy conversion. Transition metal phosphides (TMPs), with the merits of abundant active sites, unique physicochemical properties, tunable component structures, and excellent catalytic activities, are recognized as promising biomass hydrogenation or HDO catalytic materials. Nevertheless, the biomass hydrogenation or HDO catalytic applications of TMPs are still limited by various complexities and inherent performance bottlenecks, and thus their future development and utilization remain to be systematically sorted out and further explored. This review summarizes the current popular strategies for the preparation of TMPs. Subsequently, based on the structural and electronic properties of TMPs, the catalytic activity origins of TMPs in biomass hydrogenation or HDO is elucidated. Additionally, the application of TMPs in efficient biomass hydrogenation or HDO catalysis, as well as highly targeted multiscale strategies to enhance the catalytic performance of TMPs, are comprehensively described. Finally, large-scale amplification synthesis, rational construction of TMP-based catalysts and in-depth study of the catalytic mechanism are also mentioned as challenges and future directions in this research field. Expectedly, this review can provide professional and targeted guidance for the rational design and practical application of TMPs biomass hydrogenation or HDO catalysts.

Examining the psychometric properties of the Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (CART-Q) with basketball players in China and Spain.

The study examines the complex interactions between coaches and athletes in federative basketball in two different cultural contexts: China and Spain. The paper examines the interpersonal psychological dimensions from a direct viewpoint and a meta-perspective, drawing on the Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire (CART-Q) and guided by the 3Cs model (Closeness, Commitment, and Complementarity). The CART-Q was translated and modified for use in both nations' federative basketball organizational systems to guarantee cross-cultural applicability. Careful translation techniques were used to achieve semantic homogeneity between the Spanish and Chinese versions of the questionnaire, including talks with knowledgeable linguists. The translated versions improved response comparability and kept the same item numbers as the original 2012 instrument. Out of the 771 distributed questionnaires, 763 legitimate answers were gathered via online surveys conducted using secure platforms (Google Forms for Spain and Wenjuanxing for China). The research included a three-step mediation study using structural equation modeling, which allowed for a thorough investigation of the concurrent validity of the modified CART-Qs. The findings indisputably support the reliability and validity of the CART-Qs translated into Chinese and Spanish. The research shows small but significant cultural disparities in the comprehensive perspective of coach-athlete interactions. These results have extensive ramifications for the sport and highlight how crucial it is to consider cultural differences when coaching and developing athletes.

Bile duct hamartoma in a dog.

An 11-year-old female Collie presented with a significantly increased abdominal circumference. Computed tomography of the abdomen revealed that the left lateral lobe of the liver contained a large mass, which was excised via laparotomy. Histologically, many small, dilated, cystic luminal structures were anastomosed and connected to a net-like structure. Immunohistochemistry revealed cytokeratin 19-immunopositive areas, representing bile duct structures in the cystic lumen. Based on these results, the tumour was diagnosed as a bile duct hamartoma. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a bile duct hamartoma in a dog.

Reductive Amination of Levulinic Acid to Pyrrolidones: Key Step in Biomass Valorization towards Nitrogen-Containing Chemicals.

Nowadays, the field of biomass conversion is gradually moving towards an encouraging stage. The preparation of nitrogen-containing chemicals using various biomass resources instead of fossil resources do not only reduce carbon emissions, but also diversify the products of biomass conversion, thus increasing the economic competitiveness of biomass refining systems. Levulinic acid (LA) can be used as a promising intermediate in biomass conversion for further synthesis of pyrrolidone via reductive amination. However, there are still many critical issues to be solved. Particularly, the specific effects of catalysts on the performance of LA reductive amination have not been sufficiently revealed, and the potential impacts of key conditional factors have not been clearly elucidated. In view of this, this review attempts to provide theoretical insights through an in-depth interpretation of the above key issues. The contribution of catalysts to the reductive amination of LA as well as the catalyst structural preferences for improving catalytic performance are discussed. In addition, the role of key conditional factors is discussed. The insights presented in this review will contribute to the design of catalyst nanostructures and the rational configuration of green reaction conditions, which may provide inspiration to facilitate the nitrogen-related transformation of more biomass platform molecules.

Chitosan-based mussel-inspired hydrogel for rapid self-healing and high adhesion of tissue adhesion and wound dressings.

The hydrogel wound dressing with self-healing and adhesive property can provide better protection to the wound and prolong the service life of the material. Inspired by mussels, a high-adhesion, injectable, self-healing and antibacterial hydrogel was designed in this study. The lysine (Lys) and the catechol compound 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) were grafted onto chitosan (CS). The presence of catechol group endows the hydrogel strong adhesion and antioxidation. In the experiment of wound healing in vitro, the hydrogel can adhere to the wound surface and promote wound heal. In addition, it has been proved the hydrogel has good antibacterial properties against S. aureus and E. coli. The treatment of CLD hydrogel, the degree of wound inflammation was significantly alleviated. The levels of TNF-α, IL-1ß, IL-6 and TGF-ß1 were reduced from 39.8379 %, 31.6768 %, 32.1015 % and 38.4911 % to 18.5931 %, 12.2275 %, 13.0524 % and 16.9959 %, respectively. And the levels of PDGFD and CD31 were increased from 35.6054 %, 21.7394 % to 51.8555 %, 43.9326 %, respectively. These results indicated that the CLD hydrogel has a good ability to promote angiogenesis, thickening of skin and epithelial structures.

Stimulus-responsive starch-based nanocapsules for targeted delivery and antibacterial applications.

Polysaccharide materials have attracted a widespread interest in the biomedical materials field due to their non-toxic, biocompatible and biodegradable properties. In this research, starch was modified with chloroacetic acid, folic acid (FA) and thioglycolic acid and then starch-based nanocapsules loaded with curcumin (FA-RSNCs@CUR) were prepared by the convenient oxidation method. The nanocapsules were prepared with stable particle size distribution of 100 nm. In the drug release test simulating the tumor microenvironment in vitro, the cumulative CUR release rate at 12 h was 85.18 %. Due to FA and FA receptor mediation, it only took 4 h for FA-RSNCs@CUR to achieve internalization by HeLa cells. In addition, cytotoxicity confirmed that starch-based nanocapsules have good biocompatibility as well as protection of normal cells in vitro. And FA-RSNCs@CUR showed certain antibacterial properties in vitro. Therefore, FA-RSNCs@CUR has good potential for future applications in food preservation and wound dressing, and so on.

Metavirome Analysis Reveals a High Prevalence of Porcine Hemagglutination Encephalomyelitis Virus in Clinically Healthy Pigs in China.

Six swine coronaviruses (SCoVs), which include porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), porcine hemagglutination encephalomyelitis virus (PHEV), porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCV), swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV), and porcine delta coronavirus (PDCoV), have been reported as infecting and causing serious diseases in pigs. To investigate the genetic diversity and spatial distribution of SCoVs in clinically healthy pigs in China, we collected 6400 nasal swabs and 1245 serum samples from clinically healthy pigs at slaughterhouses in 13 provinces in 2017 and pooled them into 17 libraries by type and region for next-generation sequencing (NGS) and metavirome analyses. In total, we identified five species of SCoVs, including PEDV, PDCoV, PHEV, PRCV, and TGEV. Strikingly, PHEV was detected from all the samples in high abundance and its genome sequences accounted for 75.28% of all coronaviruses, while those belonging to TGEV (including PRCV), PEDV, and PDCoV were 20.4%, 2.66%, and 2.37%, respectively. The phylogenetic analysis showed that two lineages of PHEV have been circulating in pig populations in China. We also recognized two PRCVs which lack 672 nucleotides at the N-terminus of the S gene compared with that of TGEV. Together, we disclose preliminarily the genetic diversities of SCoVs in clinically healthy pigs in China and provide new insights into two SCoVs, PHEV and PRCV, that have been somewhat overlooked in previous studies in China.

Injectable chitosan-based self-healing supramolecular hydrogels with temperature and pH dual-responsivenesses.

In this study, a supramolecular hydrogel was fabricated with orotic acid (OA) modified chitosan (OACS) and 2,6-diaminopurine (DAP). The obtained OACS-DAP supramolecular hydrogels have dual responsiveness to temperature and pH. Phase transition experiments indicate this is a temperature-dependent thermoreversible supramolecular hydrogel. Rheological experiments proved the formation of the supramolecular hydrogel and its thixotropic properties. FTIR spectra confirmed that hydrogen bonds and π-π interactions are the main driving forces for OACS and DAP to form hydrogels through intermolecular self-assembly. XRD pattern confirmed the amorphous morphology of OACS-DAP hydrogels. The hydrogel has excellent electrical conductivity with a conductivity of 9.48 µ S·cm-1. And can achieve the precise release of gastrointestinal drugs. OACS-DAP hydrogel is expected to have better applications in the field of gastrointestinal drug release.

In situ structures of polymerase complex of mammalian reovirus illuminate RdRp activation and transcription regulation.

Mammalian reovirus (reovirus) is a multilayered, turreted member of Reoviridae characterized by transcription of dsRNA genome within the innermost capsid shell. Here, we present high-resolution in situ structures of reovirus transcriptase complex in an intact double-layered virion, and in the uncoated single-layered core particles in the unloaded, reloaded, pre-elongation, and elongation states, respectively, obtained by cryo-electron microscopy and sub-particle reconstructions. At the template entry of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), the RNA-loading region gets flexible after uncoating resulting in the unloading of terminal genomic RNA and inactivity of transcription. However, upon adding transcriptional substrates, the RNA-loading region is recovered leading the RNAs loaded again. The priming loop in RdRp was found to play a critical role in regulating transcription, which hinders the elongation of transcript in virion and triggers the rearrangement of RdRp C-terminal domain (CTD) during elongation, resulting in splitting of template-transcript hybrid and opening of transcript exit. With the integration of these structures, a transcriptional model of reovirus with five states is proposed. Our structures illuminate the RdRp activation and regulation of the multilayered turreted reovirus.

Spatio-temporal spread and evolution of influenza A (H7N9) viruses.

The influenza A (H7N9) virus has been seriously concerned for its potential to cause an influenza pandemic. To understand the spread and evolution process of the virus, a spatial and temporal Bayesian evolutionary analysis was conducted on 2,052 H7N9 viruses isolated during 2013 and 2018. It revealed that the H7N9 virus was probably emerged in a border area of Anhui Province in August 2012, approximately 6 months earlier than the first human case reported. Two major epicenters had been developed in the Yangtze River Delta and Peral River Delta regions by the end of 2013, and from where the viruses have also spread to other regions at an average speed of 6.57 km/d. At least 24 genotypes showing have been developed and each of them showed a distinct spatio-temporal distribution pattern. Furthermore, A random forest algorithm-based model has been developed to predict the occurrence risk of H7N9 virus. The model has a high overall forecasting precision (> 97%) and the monthly H7N9 occurrence risk for each county of China was predicted. These findings provide new insights for a comprehensive understanding of the origin, evolution, and occurrence risk of H7N9 virus. Moreover, our study also lays a theoretical basis for conducting risk-based surveillance and prevention of the disease.

Schiff Base Aggregation-Induced Emission Luminogens for Sensing Applications: A Review.

Fluorescence sensing can not only identify a target substrate qualitatively but also achieve the purpose of quantitative detection through the change of the fluorescence signal. It has the advantages of immense sensitivity, rapid response, and excellent selectivity. The proposed aggregation-induced emission (AIE) concept solves the problem of the fluorescence of traditional fluorescent molecules becoming weak or quenched in high concentration or aggregated state conditions. Schiff base fluorescent probes have the advantages of simple synthesis, low toxicity, and easy design. They are often used for the detection of various substances. In this review we cover late developments in Schiff base compounds with AIE characteristics working as fluorescence sensors.

Host Responses to Live-Attenuated ASFV (HLJ/18-7GD).

African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious and fatal disease caused by the African swine fever virus. Recently, the multigene family and CD2v gene-deleted ASF vaccine candidate HLJ/18-7GD was found to be safe and effective in laboratory and clinical trials. However, the immune-protective mechanisms underlying the effects of HLJ/18-7GD remain unclear. We assessed samples from pigs immunized with a single dose of 106 TCID50 HLJ/18-7GD. We found that pigs immunized with HLJ/18-7GD showed high levels of specific antibodies. T lymphocyte subsets (helper T cells (Th); cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL); double-positive T cells (DP-T cells)) were temporarily increased in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) after HLJ/18-7GD immunization. Once the HLJ/18-7GD-immunized pigs had been challenged with virulent HLJ/18, the percentage of Th, CTL, and DP-T cells increased significantly. PBMCs extracted from the pigs induced higher levels of CD8+ T cells after infection with the HLJ/18 strain in vitro. The levels of GM-CSF, IFN-γ, and TNF-α were upregulated at 7 days post-inoculation; this finding was contrary to the results obtained after HLJ/18 or HLJ/18ΔCD2v infection. The immune protection from HLJ/18-7GD resulted from many synergies, which could provide a theoretical basis for HLJ/18-7GD as a safe and effective ASF vaccine.