Ultrasound elastography predicts anticoagulation in lower extremity deep vein thrombosis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate predictors of anticoagulation efficacy in deep venous thrombosis (DVT) by ultrasound elastography (UE). METHODS: The basic clinical, laboratory and ultrasound treatment data of fifty-eight patients with DVT were collected and analyzed. Then the results of ultrasound after 3-month anticoagulation treatment were compared among different groups. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent risk factors that affected anticoagulation efficacy. The predictive efficacy of each independent risk factor was accessed by drawing operating characteristic (ROC) curves. RESULTS: According to the regression analysis, the elastic modulus (OR = 0.631, P = 0.001) and strain rate ratio (OR = 0.332, P = 0.006) were identified as independent risk factors for the effectiveness of anticoagulation therapy in patients with DVT. According to the ROC curves, elastic modulus and strain rate ratio could predict effective anticoagulation therapy for DVT, and the optimal threshold values were 22.10 kPa and 1.80 respectively. The corresponding AUC values were 0.879 and 0.854, with a sensitivity of 71.4% and 59.5%, a specificity of 93.7%, and a Youden index of 65.1% and 62.7%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The elastic modulus (≤22.10 kPa) or strain rate ratio (≤1.80) of the thrombus were independent predictors for the effectiveness of anticoagulation therapy.

siRNA Silencing of FpVtg Induces Ovarian Cell Apoptosis in Redtail Prawn, Fenneropenaeus penicillatus.

Inadequate gonadal maturation and poor spawning performance increasingly threaten the sustainability of shrimp aquaculture. Unraveling the mechanisms regulating ovarian development and maturation hence is critical to address industry challenges. Vitellogenin (Vtg), a precursor of yolk protein found in the hepatopancreas and ovary of shrimp, plays a key role in facilitating shrimp's oocyte maturation and embryonic development after oviposition. This study found that FpVtg was specifically expressed in F. penicillatus hepatopancreas and ovary. FpVtg was localized predominantly in the oocyte cytoplasm and distributed uniformly in the hepatopancreas tissue. Silencing FpVtg led to apoptosis in both hepatopancreas and ovary tissues. Furthermore, FpVtg depletion upregulated the expression of ovarian peritrophin 1, ovarian peritrophin 2, serine proteinase inhibitor 6, and juvenile hormone esterase-like carboxylesterase 1, while downregulated that of vitellogenin, delta-9 desaturase, and insulin-like receptor. KEGG pathway analysis implicated such as PI3K-AKT signaling, RNA transport, ECM-receptor interaction, hippo signaling, oocyte meiosis, and apoptosis were enriched and involved in ovarian development. These findings have provided insights into the FpVtg's reproductive role and the associated regulatory genes and pathways in F. penicillatus. This knowledge can contribute to establishing strategies to improve the breeding and aquaculture production of F. penicillatus by elucidating its vitellogenesis regulation in redtail prawn and other penaeid species. Further characterization of the implicated pathways and genes will clarify the intricacies underlying ovarian maturation.

Investigating the Impact of the Community of Inquiry Presence on Online Learning Satisfaction: A Chinese College Student Perspective.

Purpose: This study investigated how teaching, social, and cognitive presence within the community of inquiry (CoI) framework impacts Chinese college students' online learning satisfaction through self-regulated learning and emotional states. Methods: A total of 2608 Chinese college students from 112 universities completed a 38-item Likert scale survey measuring teaching, social and cognitive presence, self-regulated learning, emotional states, and online learning satisfaction after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted on December 7, 2022. The study examined the influence of teaching, social, and cognitive presence on online learning satisfaction, mediated by self-regulated learning and moderated by emotional states using SmartPLS. It also analyzed demographic differences using multi-group analysis in the model. Results: The results indicated a significant positive relationship between a) self-regulated learning and online learning satisfaction, b) teaching presence, cognitive presence, and self-regulated learning, but no relationship between social presence and self-regulated learning. Additionally, self-regulated learning partially mediated the relationship between teaching and cognitive presence and online learning satisfaction. In contrast, self-regulated learning did not mediate the association between social presence and online learning satisfaction. Positive emotional states moderated the relationship between self-regulated learning and online learning satisfaction. Implications: The study advances the knowledge of these factors influencing online learners' satisfaction, which can help create efficient programs and regulations for students, teachers, and policymakers.

Preparation of Mn-Fe Oxide by a Hydrolysis-Driven Redox Method and Its Application in Formaldehyde Oxidation.

Homogeneous distribution of Mn-Fe oxides (xMn1Fe) with different Mn/Fe ratios was synthesized by a hydrolysis-driven redox method, and their catalytic activities in HCHO oxidation were investigated. The results showed that HCHO conversion was significantly improved after doping iron due to the synergistic effect between manganese and iron. The 5Mn1Fe catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic activity, achieving >90% HCHO conversion at 80 °C and nearly 100% conversion at 100 °C. The physicochemical properties of catalysts were characterized by BET, XRD, H2-TPR, O2-TPD, and XPS techniques. Experimental results revealed that the introduction of Fe into MnO x resulted in a large surface area, a high ratio of Mn4+, abundant lattice oxygen species and oxygen vacancy, and uniform distribution of Mn and Fe, thus facilitating the oxidation of HCHO to CO2 and H2O.

A Real-Time, Automatic, and Dynamic Scheduling and Control System for PET Patients Based on Wearable Sensors.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is one of the commonly used scanning techniques. Medical staff manually calculate the estimated scan time for each PET device. However, the number of PET scanning devices is small, the number of patients is large, and there are many changes including rescanning requirements, which makes it very error-prone, puts pressure on staff, and causes trouble for patients and their families. Although previous studies proposed algorithms for specific inspections, there is currently no research on improving the PET process. This paper proposes a real-time automatic scheduling and control system for PET patients with wearable sensors. The system can automatically schedule, estimate and instantly update the time of various tasks, and automatically allocate beds and announce schedule information in real time. We implemented this system, collected time data of 200 actual patients, and put these data into the implementation program for simulation and comparison. The average time difference between manual and automatic scheduling was 7.32 min, and it could reduce the average examination time of 82% of patients by 6.14 ± 4.61 min. This convinces us the system is correct and can improve time efficiency, while avoiding human error and staff pressure, and avoiding trouble for patients and their families.