Resolving hidden pixels beyond the resolution limit of projection imaging by square aperture.

Projection imaging has been employed widely in many areas, such as x-ray radiography, due to its penetration power and ballistic geometry of their paths. However, its resolution limit remains a major challenge, caused by the conflict of source intensity and source size associated with image blurriness. A simple yet robust scheme has been proposed here to solve the problem. An unconventional square aperture, rather than the usual circular beam, is constructed, which allows for the straightforward deciphering of a blurred spot, to unravel hundreds originally hidden pixels. With numerical verification and experimental demonstration, our proposal is expected to benefit multiple disciplines, not limited to x-ray imaging.

Structural, Surface and Optical Studies of m- and c-Face AlN Crystals Grown by Physical Vapor Transport Method.

Bulk aluminum nitride (AlN) crystals with different polarities were grown by physical vapor transport (PVT). The structural, surface, and optical properties of m-plane and c-plane AlN crystals were comparatively studied by using high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HR-XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman spectroscopy. Temperature-dependent Raman measurements showed that the Raman shift and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the E2 (high) phonon mode of the m-plane AlN crystal were larger than those of the c-plane AlN crystal, which would be correlated with the residual stress and defects in the AlN samples, respectively. Moreover, the phonon lifetime of the Raman-active modes largely decayed and its line width gradually broadened with the increase in temperature. The phonon lifetime of the Raman TO-phonon mode was changed less than that of the LO-phonon mode with temperature in the two crystals. It should be noted that the influence of inhomogeneous impurity phonon scattering on the phonon lifetime and the contribution to the Raman shift came from thermal expansion at a higher temperature. In addition, the trend of stress with increasing 1000/temperature was similar for the two AlN samples. As the temperature increased from 80 K to ~870 K, there was a temperature at which the biaxial stress of the samples transformed from compressive to tensile stress, while their certain temperature was different.

Three-dimensional analysis of maxillary dentition during molar distalization with clear aligners under different movement designs: an in vitro experiment / 中华口腔医学杂志

Objective: To investigate the three-dimensional force in the maxillary dentition under different movement designs for molar distalization with clear aligners Methods: Three groups were designed: simultaneous movement group (simultaneous distalization of maxillary first and second molars), second molar movement group (distalization of maxillary second molars) and first molar movement group (distalization of maxillary first molars). Ten clear aligners were made in each group, and the displacement was designed to be 0.2 mm. A force sensing device was established to measure the three-dimensional force on the upper dentition with the clear aligner. The device contained a model of the maxillary dentition consisting of 14 teeth, each tooth connected to an individual sensor. After the clear aligner was fitted, the data of 14 sensors were collected and analyzed using computer analysis software. The moving teeth were taken as the target teeth, and the rest of the teeth were anchorage. The data of the three-dimensional force in the three groups in each tooth position were measured and compared. Results: The sagittal forces on the first and second molars in the simultaneous movement group were (5.61±0.94) and (5.81±1.08) N, respectively, which were significantly smaller than those of the target teeth in the same position in other groups (P<0.05). The second molars in the first molar movement group received a sagittal reaction force, which was (-6.73±1.99) N. The anterior teeth in the three groups were all subjected to sagittal reaction force, and the force value was in a range of (-3.33 to 0.46) N. In the coronal direction, the second premolars of the simultaneous movement group received the reaction force in the palatal direction, and the force value was (-2.17±1.06) N. The first molars in the second molar movement group were also subjected to palatal reaction force of (-1.99±0.70) N. The second molars and second premolars in the first molar movement group were also subjected to palatal reaction force, which were (-2.85±0.57) and (-1.85±0.74) N, respectively. Compared with the sagittal and coronal forces, the target teeth and anchorage teeth in the three groups were less stressed in the vertical direction. Conclusions: The first and second molars distalized simultaneously, the correction force in the sagittal direction was relatively small. When first molar was moved distally alone, a greater reaction force in the sagittal direction was exerted on the second molar. Buccal displacement of the adjacent anchorage teeth should be designed to counteract the palatal reaction force on the anchorage teeth as the molars moved distally.

The therapeutic effect of granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) on potential biochemical pregnancy in patients with unexplained repeated transplantation failure (RIF): a case series and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Biochemical pregnancy is a type of embryo transfer failure, patients with unexplained repeated implantation failure (RIF) also have higher biochemical pregnancy rate. Our study intends to evaluate the effect of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in patients with unexplained RIF with low hCG levels in early pregnancy. METHODS: Unexplained RIF patients with low hCG levels after embryo transfer were allocated. G-CSF were administrated from the ninth days after embryo transfer. Clinical pregnancy, miscarriage and live birth rates were evaluated. RESULTS: The clinical pregnancy and live birth rates were 52.5% and 30%. CONCLUSION: G-CSF is an effective treatment for potential biochemical pregnancy in unexplained RIF patients.

Repair effect of wogonoside on rat spinal cord injury / 解剖学报

[Abstract] Objective To assess the effect of wogonoside on the inflammation after rat spinal cord injury. Methods Rats (n = 95) were subjected to dorsal spinal cord transection at T

Moisture-Stable FAPbI3 Perovskite Achieved by Atomic Structure Negotiation.

Broad impact in the research community may be anticipated when a material's properties are capable of being manipulated artificially. Such a possibility has been explored here in the FAPbI3 perovskite structure of perovskite solar cells, which involves undesirable phase transition at working temperature, despite many attempts to resolve the issue. Essential steps have been taken here toward solving this problem by adopting an opposite strategy to incorporate the water molecules into the perovskite structure under the current materials framework by new structural physics maneuvering. The secondary bonding of the perovskite structure has been relocated, which altered the microstructure to remove the internal strain that caused the phase transition, resulting in not only a 10-fold enhancement in the moisture/structure stability but also a bandgap comparable to that of the favored α-FAPbI3. All this opens an unprecedented avenue in perovskite research, which will hopefully be of intrinsic interest to the broad materials research community as well.

Maternal high-fat-diet exposure is associated with elevated blood pressure and sustained increased leptin levels through epigenetic memory in offspring.

Maternal metabolism dysregulation during pregnancy predisposes offspring to major diseases, including hypertension, in later life, but the mechanism involved remains to be fully elucidated. A high-fat-diet (HFD) pregnant rat model was used to investigate whether excessive intrauterine lipid exposure was associated with elevated blood pressure in offspring and increased levels of leptin, an important biomarker and mediator of vascular dysfunction and hypertension. We found that gestational hyperlipidemia predisposed offspring to blood pressure elevation and sustained increases in leptin levels with no difference in body weight in the rat model. Increased leptin expression and leptin promoter hypomethylation were found in adipose tissues of HFD-exposed offspring. The treatment of mesenchymal stem cells with free fatty acids during adipogenic differentiation resulted in increased leptin expression, accompanied by leptin promoter hypomethylation. In addition, we also followed up 121 children to evaluate the association between maternal triglyceride levels and offspring blood pressure. Consistent with the animal study results, we observed elevated serum leptin levels and blood pressure in the offspring born to women with gestational hypertriglyceridemia. Our findings provide new insights that maternal hyperlipidemia is associated with elevated blood pressure in offspring and is associated with increases in leptin levels through epigenetic memory.

The effect of acupuncture on emotional disorders in patients with insomnia: A protocol for systemic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Insomnia with high incidence is usually accompanied by many other diseases, especially mental disorders with the under-diagnosis and under-treatment. Some studies demonstrated that acupuncture may be effective for emotional disorders accompanied by insomnia. The systematic review protocol is designed to guiding analysis the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for emotional disorders in patients with insomnia. METHODS: Seven databases, Cochrane central register of controlled trials, Medline, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature database, VIP database and Wanfang database, will be searched from initial to December 2020. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of acupuncture for insomnia with emotional disorders (depression and anxiety) outcomes, which were reported in Chinese or English, will be included. The primary outcome is the change of degree of anxiety and depression. Study selection, data extraction and assessment of the risk of bias will be performed independently by 2 or more reviewers. Available data will be synthesized and statistically analyzed in RevMan V.5.3. The model of fixed effects will be used for the pooled data when the heterogeneity tests show little or no statistical heterogeneity (I2 < 50%). The random-effects model will be taken with heterogeneous data (50% ≤ I2 < 75%). RESULTS: The effect of acupuncture on emotional disorders in patients with insomnia will be assessed on Hamilton anxiety Scale, Hamilton anxiety Scale, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Insomnia Severity Index, Self-rating Anxiety Scale, Self-rating Depressive Scale and the number of participants secede and the number of patients reported adverse events. CONCLUSION: the emotional disorders interaction with insomnia and the increase of risk on disease evolving and insomnia-related burden, it is so momentous to know that the role of insomnia treatment on comorbidities. We should concern about the management of emotional disorders when treat insomnia, and acupuncture treatment anxiety and depression caused by insomnia may be effective. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval is not be needed because the data will not contain individual patient data, and there are no concerns about privacy. The results of this meta-analysis will be disseminated through publication in a peer-reviewed academic journal or relevant conference. INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY2020100115.

Hysteresis and Instability Predicted in Moisture Degradation of Perovskite Solar Cells.

The degradation of the perovskite solar cell structure was expected recently to be reversible, which opened a new gate to the enhancement of the device lifetime by reversing the process. However, the kinetic details of the structural collapse and recovery are still missing, without which the perovskite reversibility cannot be further explored. Due to the experimental difficulty, a purposeful numerical model was conducted in this report, to simulate the water diffusion process in the perovskite structure in both directions. It was found that the moisture diffusion needs to be initiated by a certain level of structural imperfection and is non-Fickian, as assisted by the collapse of the perovskite into the 1D chains. The reversibility was verified by the back diffusion, but accompanied by hysteresis, stagnancy, and even surprising instability, which initiated the water flow under initial equilibrium, due possibly to the imbalance during the reconstruction of the perovskite lattice. These observations offer new insights to form strategies of improvement, for example, via the possible self-healing perovskite devices.

Achieving Nonenzymatic Blood Glucose Sensing by Uprooting Saturation.

The saturation of nonenzymatic blood glucose sensors at lower than normal blood glucose levels has blocked their practical applications. The mechanistic understanding of the saturation, however, has long been under debate. Employing cyclic voltammetry, amperometry, and FTIR with various electrolytes of varying concentrations, we were able to uproot the saturation cause. It was found to be related to the hydroxide ion concentration, which must be 11 times greater than that of the glucose concentration, contrary to the prior understanding. Together with the satisfactory sensitivity at high pH, nonenzymatic blood glucose sensing has finally been achieved, eliminating the usual problem of electrochemical current saturation as well as the need for enzyme found in the present technology.

Diminished verbal ability among children conceived through ART with exposure to high serum estradiol in utero.

PURPOSE: Higher serum estradiol levels occur in women undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) owing to ovarian stimulation. Here, we investigated the association between maternal serum estradiol levels and the intellectual development of offspring conceived with ART. METHODS: A total of 204 singletons born after fresh embryo transfer were recruited for this cohort study. Among them, 102 children were born from mothers with high serum estradiol levels (> 12,000 pmol/L) on the day that human chorionic gonadotropin was administered. Another 102 children, matched by gestational age and age of the children, were recruited as controls from mothers with low serum estradiol (≤ 12,000 pmol/L). The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence was used to evaluate the intellectual development of the children. RESULTS: Children from mothers with higher serum estradiol levels scored lower in the verbal intelligence quotient (IQ) tests and verbal comprehension than children whose mothers had lower estradiol levels. The main difference between the two groups was in verbal subtests including information, vocabulary, and sorting. Partial correlation analysis revealed that the logarithm of maternal serum estradiol level negatively correlated with verbal IQ, performance IQ, and full scale IQ. CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrate that a high maternal serum estradiol level may negatively associate the verbal ability of children conceived via ART.

Promoting Thermodynamic and Kinetic Stabilities of FA-based Perovskite by an in Situ Bilayer Structure.

The commonly employed formamidinium (FA)-containing perovskite solar cells (PSCs) exhibit a severe phase instability problem, thereby limiting their commercial applications. Here, both phase stability and energy efficiency of FA-based PSCs were improved by treating the perovskite surface with pyrrolidinium hydroiodide (PyI) salts, resulting in a 1D perovskite structure (PyPbI3), stacked on the original 3D perovskite. By employing in situ XRD measurements, we revealed that the temperature-dependent phase transition activation barrier was enhanced after forming the 1D/3D structure, resulting in a prolonged transition time by 30-40-fold. From the first-principle calculations, we found the thermodynamic energy difference between two phases reduced from -0.16 to -0.04 eV after the stacking of 1D PyPbI3, offering additional lifetime improvement. Moreover, the champion 1D/3D bilayer PSC exhibits a boosted power conversion efficiency of 19.62%, versus 18.21% of the control. Such 1D/3D bilayer structure may be employed in PSCs to enhance their phase stability and photovoltaic performance.

Multi-projection of unequal dimension optimal transport theory for Generative Adversary Networks.

As a major step forward in machine learning, generative adversarial networks (GANs) employ the Wasserstein distance as a metric between the generative distribution and target data distribution, and thus can be viewed as optimal transport (OT) problems to reflect the underlying geometry of the probability distribution. However, the unequal dimensions between the source random distribution and the target data, result in often instability in the training processes, and lack of diversity in the generative images. To resolve the challenges, we propose here a multiple-projection approach, to project the source and target probability measures into multiple different low-dimensional subspaces. Moreover, we show that the original problem can be transformed into a variant multi-marginal OT problem, and we provide the explicit properties of the solutions. In addition, we employ parameterized approximation for the objective, and study the corresponding differentiability and convergence properties, ensuring that the problem can indeed be computed.

Basonuclin 1 deficiency causes testicular premature aging: BNC1 cooperates with TAF7L to regulate spermatogenesis.

Basonuclin (BNC1) is expressed primarily in proliferative keratinocytes and gametogenic cells. However, its roles in spermatogenesis and testicular aging were not clear. Previously we discovered a heterozygous BNC1 truncation mutation in a premature ovarian insufficiency pedigree. In this study, we found that male mice carrying the truncation mutation exhibited progressively fertility loss and testicular premature aging. Genome-wide expression profiling and direct binding studies (by chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing) with BNC1 in mouse testis identified several spermatogenesis-specific gene promoters targeted by BNC1 including kelch-like family member 10 (Klhl10), testis expressed 14 (Tex14), and spermatogenesis and centriole associated 1 (Spatc1). Moreover, biochemical analysis showed that BNC1 was associated with TATA-box binding protein-associated factor 7 like (TAF7L), a germ cell-specific paralogue of the transcription factor IID subunit TAF7, both in vitro and in testis, suggesting that BNC1 might directly cooperate with TAF7L to regulate spermatogenesis. The truncation mutation disabled nuclear translocation of the BNC1/TAF7L complex, thus, disturbing expression of related genes and leading to testicular premature aging. Similarly, expressions of BNC1, TAF7L, Y-box-binding protein 2 (YBX2), outer dense fiber of sperm tails 1 (ODF1), and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, spermatogenic (GAPDHS) were significantly decreased in the testis of men with non-obstructive azoospermia. The present study adds to the understanding of the physiology of male reproductive aging and the mechanism of spermatogenic failure in infertile men.

Reversing Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Perovskite Degradation in Water via pH and Hydrogen Bonds.

The moisture instability of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells has been a major obstacle to the commercialization, calling for mechanistic understanding of the degradation process, which has been under debate. Here we present a surprising discovery that the degradation is actually reversible, via in situ observation of X-ray diffraction, supported by FTIR and SEM. To isolate the hydrogen bond effect, water was replaced by methanol during the in situ experiment, revealing the decomposition to be initiated by the breakdown of N-H-I hydrogen bonds. This is followed by the step of organic iodide hydrolyzing, which can be inhibited in the neutral environment, making the whole process reversible under variable pH.

Pyrrolidinium lead iodide from crystallography: a new perovskite with low bandgap and good water resistance.

The crystal structure of a new perovskite material, (C4H8NH2)PbI3 was determined and illustrated by single crystal X-ray diffraction. UV spectra, photoluminescence and XRD results show it is a promising alternative to hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites due to it's good water resistance and suitable bandgap.

Non-invasive blood glucose measurement of 95% certainty by pressure regulated Mid-IR.

To fight against diabetes mellitus, from which more than 400 million people suffer in the world, the patients have to puncture their fingers 4-5 times a day for the blood glucose level checks when using a glucometer, causing invasive pain and the risk of infection. Therefore, non-invasive method has been urged for blood glucose monitoring, among which the mid-infrared spectroscopy (Mid-IR) response of interstitial fluid was found to be promising. However, despite the prolonged effort, the accuracy still falls below the FDA's requirement. To break this barrier which lasted for almost three decades, we discovered the finger contact pressure playing a critical role during the measurement, where the Mid-IR reading could be affected significantly by a small change of the finger posture. In addition, the Mid-IR absorption level was also found to be highly associated with individual, revealing the necessity of adjusting the calibration correlation for each patient. By imposing a certain contact pressure monitored by a pressure transducer, we were able to achieve over 95% certainty from the Mid-IR measurement of glucose concentration and 100% comparability to the "true" glucose concentration for the first time, which was mainly attributed to the morphological change of finger tissue under pressure. The previous works resulted in only about 70% accuracy on average, barely hitting 80 + %, whereas ours reaches 95%, finally exceeding the requirement of FDA.

Comparative proteomic analysis of maternal peripheral plasma and umbilical venous plasma from normal and gestational diabetes mellitus pregnancies.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) increases many health risks in offspring. The study aims to investigate the underlying mechanism in fetal risk of GDM.We collected maternal peripheral plasma and umbilical venous plasma samples from 4 GDM and 4 control patients during their delivery at a university-based women's hospital. An isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation-labeled proteomics analysis was performed. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to confirm the change of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP). Bioinformatic analysis was performed with Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) software package.We identified 19 up-regulated proteins and 15 down-regulated proteins in GDM peripheral plasma, 29 up-regulated proteins and 69 down-regulated proteins in GDM umbilical venous plasma. CETP concentration was significantly lower in both GDM peripheral plasma and umbilical venous plasma. Upstream regulator analysis predicted follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) as the activated regulator of differentially expressed proteins.The protein profiles in both GDM peripheral plasma and umbilical venous plasma between normal and GDM patients were significantly different. The results indicated that CETP and FSH might associates with health problem of GDM offspring.

Predictive Value of Maternal Serum Biomarkers for Preeclampsia and Birth Weight: A Case-Control Study in Chinese Pregnant Women.

BACKGROUND: In clinical practice, abnormal biochemical changes often occur in women who eventually develop preeclampsia (PE). The study aims to investigate whether maternal serum biochemical markers in the early third trimester can predict PE and neonatal birth weight. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective case-control study was performed on 287 women who subsequently developed PE (mild = 139; severe = 148) and 143 healthy women. Fasting venous blood samples of all gravidas were drawn for routine biochemical markers screening in the early third trimester (28.49 ± 1.63 weeks). Appropriate statistical methods were selected for analysis with SPSS software. RESULTS: (1) The concentrations of plasma triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), and uric acid (UA) in the severe and mild subgroups of the PE group were significantly higher compared with the respective levels in the normal pregnancy groups (3.90 vs. 4.03 vs. 3.14 mmol/L; 3.41 vs. 3.33 vs. 2.89 mmol/L; 365.42 vs. 318.91 vs. 284.69 µmol/L; p < 0.0001). Serum calcium levels in PE group were significantly lower than those in control group (2.10 vs. 2.18 vs. 2.22 mmol/L; p < 0.0001). (2) By using the receiver operating characteristic curve to estimate the diagnosis rate of screening for PE of each marker, the highest sensitivity appeared by the combination of TG, total cholesterol (TC), LDL, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), LDL/HDL, UA, Ca2+, and homocysteine (HCY) (79%). The area under curve (AUC) of UA was 0.70, which was the highest among these eight markers, but the AUC of an eight-marker combination model (0.85) had a better diagnostic indication. (3) In PE, the maximum systolic/diastolic blood pressure was significantly positively correlated with serum UA (r = 0.212/0.205, p < 0.0001); and negatively correlated with serum total calcium (r = -0.193/-0.196, p = 0.001). The neonatal birth weight of PE group had a positive correlation with serum TG levels (r = 0.141, p = 0.017) and serum total calcium levels (r = 0.221, p < 0.0001), and a negative correlation with UA levels (r = -0.265, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The individual marker really performs terrible in predicting PE. Joint monitoring and evaluation of these parameters may improve the screening efficiency for the prediction of PE and poor fetal growth early.

Epidemiological characteristics and environmental risk factors of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in Wei River basin, China, 2005-2015 / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) in Wei River Basin from 2005 to 2015,and analyze the environmental factors that cause the differences of spatial distribution.Methods HFRS reported cases in Wei River Basin from 2005 to 2015 were collected form "National Disease Reporting Information System",and the epidemiological features of HFRS were analyzed.Boosted regression trees (BRT) model was applied to evaluate the environment factors on the geographical distribution of HFRS in Wei River basin at 5 km × 5 krn gird scale.Results The number of HFRS cases was 18 629,and the average annual incidence from 2005-2015 in Wei River basin was 7.24/100 000.The highest morbidity was 15.18/100 000 in 2012.The middle and lower reaches of Wei River basin had high incidence of HFRS,such as Xi'an,Weinan city.Patients' age was mainly between 16 to 60,and the largest morbidity occured in people over 60 years old.Boosted regression trees modle identified building land,farmland coverage percentage and altitude had higher contribution to the distribution of HFRS.Conclusions The epidemiological characteristics of HFRS changed significantly.Patients older than 60 years old were having the highest incidence rates.Environmental factors such as buildup land,farmland and altitude played important roles in the geographical distribution of HFRS in the Wei River basin.