A transverse ledge climbing robot inspired by athletic locomotion is a customized robot aiming to travel through horizontal ledges in vertical walls. Due to the safety issue and complex configurations in graspable ledges such as horizontal, inclined ledges, and gaps between ledges, existing well-known vision-based navigation methods suffering from occlusion problems may not be applicable to this special kind of application. This study develops a force feedback-based motion planning strategy for the robot to explore and make feasible grasping actions as it continuously travels through reachable ledges. A contact force detection algorithm developed using a momentum observer approach is implemented to estimate the contact force between the robot’s exploring hand and the ledge. Then, to minimize the detection errors due to dynamic model uncertainties and noises, a time-varying threshold is integrated. When the estimated contact force exceeds the threshold value, the robot control system feeds the estimated force into the admittance controller to revise the joint motion trajectories for a smooth transition. To handle the scenario of gaps between ledges, several ledge-searching algorithms are developed to allow the robot to grasp the next target ledge and safely overcome the gap transition. The effectiveness of the proposed motion planning and searching strategy has been justified by simulation, where the four-link transverse climbing robot successfully navigates through a set of obstacle scenarios modeled to approximate the actual environment. The performance of the developed grasping ledge searching methods for various obstacle characteristics has been evaluated.

Bacterial infection risk in work environments has been extensively reported for healthcare workers, while this risk is rarely researched in other occupations. This study aimed to identify occupational environments in Taiwan’s agricultural and healthcare industries with elevated bacterial infection risks by comparing risks for general bacterial infections and pneumonia. Using labour and health insurance claim data from 3.3 million workers (January 2004–December 2020), a retrospective cohort was constructed to estimate occupational infection risks with Cox regression and the Anderson-Gill extension. Significantly elevated hazard ratios were found for workers in vegetable growing, crop cultivation service, mushroom growing, flower growing, and fruit growing, ranging from 1.13 to 1.39 for general bacterial infections and 1.68 to 3.06 for pneumonia infections. In afforestation and the inland fishing industry, pneumonia risk was significantly elevated with, respectively, 1.87 and 1.21. In the healthcare section, especially workers in residential care services and residential care services for elderly stand out regarding their pneumonia risk, with significant hazard ratios of 3.49 and 1.75. The methods used in this study were proven to be effective in identification of occupation environments at risk and can be used in other settings. These findings call for prioritization of bacterial infection prevention by occupation.

Introduction: Late-life depression (LLD) is associated with cognitive deficit with risk of future dementia. By examining the entropy of the spontaneous brain activity, we aimed to understand the neural mechanism pertaining to cognitive decline in LLD.

Methods: We collected MRI scans in older adults with LLD (n = 32), mild cognitive impairment [MCI (n = 25)] and normal cognitive function [NC, (n = 47)]. Multiscale entropy analysis (MSE) was applied to resting-state fMRI data. Under the scale factor (tau) 1 and 2, reliable separation of fMRI data and noise was achieved. We calculated the brain entropy in 90 brain regions based on automated anatomical atlas (AAL). Due to exploratory nature of this study, we presented data of group-wise comparison in brain entropy between LLD vs. NC, MCI vs. NC, and LLD and MCD with a p-value below 0.001.

Results: The mean Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of LLD and MCI was 27.9 and 25.6. Under tau 2, we found higher brain entropy of LLD in left globus pallidus than MCI (p = 0.002) and NC (p = 0,009). Higher brain entropy of LLD than NC was also found in left frontal superior gyrus, left middle superior gyrus, left amygdala and left inferior parietal gyrus. The only brain region with higher brain entropy in MCI than control was left posterior cingulum (p-value = 0.015). Under tau 1, higher brain entropy was also found in LLD than in MCI in right orbital part of medial frontal gyrus and left globus pallidus (p-value = 0.007 and 0.005).

Conclusions: Our result is consistent with prior hypothesis where higher brain entropy was found during early aging process as compensation. We found such phenomenon particular in left globus pallidus in LLD, which could be served as a discriminative brain region. Being a key region in reward system, we hypothesis such region may be associated with apathy and with unique pathway of cognitive decline in LLD. We will undertake subsequent analysis longitudinally in this cohort

Key words: resting-state fMRI, Late-life depression, Brain entropy, globus pallidus, cognitive decline

Purple nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus L.) is one of the world’s resilient upland weeds, primarily spreading through its tubers. Its emergence in rice (Oryza sativa L.) fields has been increasing, likely due to changing paddy-farming practices. This study aimed to investigate how C. rotundus, an upland weed, can withstand soil flooding and become a problematic weed in rice fields. The first comparative analysis focused on the survival and recovery characteristics of growing and mature tubers of C. rotundus exposed to soil-flooding conditions. Notably, mature tubers exhibited significant survival and recovery abilities in these environments. Based on this observation, further investigation was carried out to explore the morphological structure, nonstructural carbohydrates, and respiratory mechanisms of mature tubers in response to prolonged soil flooding. Over time, the mature tubers did not form aerenchyma but instead gradually accumulated lignified sclerenchymal fibers, with lignin content also increasing. After 90 d, the lignified sclerenchymal fibers and lignin contents were 4.0 and 1.1 times higher than those in the no soil-flooding treatment. Concurrently, soluble sugar content decreased while starch content increased, providing energy storage, and alcohol dehydrogenase activity rose to support anaerobic respiration via alcohol fermentation. These results indicated that mature tubers survived in soil-flooding conditions by adopting a low-oxygen quiescence strategy, which involves morphological adaptations through the development of lignified sclerenchymal fibers, increased starch reserves for energy storage, and enhanced anaerobic respiration. This mechanism likely underpins the flooding tolerance of mature C. rotundus tubers, allowing them to endure unfavorable conditions and subsequently germinate and grow once flooding subsides. This study provides a preliminary explanation of the mechanism by which mature tubers of C. rotundus from the upland areas confer flooding tolerance, shedding light on the reasons behind this weed’s increasing presence in rice fields.

Cross-linguistic interactions are the hallmark of bilingual development. Theoretical perspectives highlight the key role of cross-linguistic distances and language structure in literacy development. Despite the strong theoretical assumptions, the impact of such bilingualism factors in heritage-language speakers remains elusive given high variability in children's heritage-language experiences. A longitudinal inquiry of heritage-language learners of structurally distinct languages – Spanish–English and Chinese–English bilinguals (N = 181, Mage = 7.57, measured 1.5 years apart) aimed to fill this gap. Spanish–English bilinguals showed stronger associations between morphological awareness skills across their two languages, across time, likely reflecting cross-linguistic similarities in vocabulary and lexical morphology between Spanish and English. Chinese–English bilinguals, however, showed stronger associations between morphological and word reading skills in English, likely reflecting the critical role of morphology in spoken and written Chinese word structure. The findings inform theories of literacy by uncovering the mechanisms by which bilingualism factors influence child literacy development.

Injection of CaCl2 and Na2SiO3 solutions into clay suspensions during electroosmosis often improves the cohesive strength of clays near the anode and cathode, whereas the cohesive strength of clays between the electrodes remains weak. Although the main improvement mechanism for the cohesive strength of clays near the cathode was demonstrated to be a pozzolanic reaction (formation of calcium silicate hydrate cement), the mechanism of improved cohesive strength near the anode is still not understood. The objective of the present study was to investigate the mechanism for the improvement of cohesive strength near the anode and, thus, make it possible to determine a way to enhance the range in improvement using kaolinite as the test clay. The test was performed by first injecting CaCl2 solution during electroosmosis until the optimum volume of CaCl2 was attained. This was followed by treatment with Na2SiO3 solution for different lengths of time. The results indicate that the anode region after treatment was acidic (pH = 4) because the electrolysis of water causes acidification near the anode. As Na2SiO3 solution was injected through the anode, the mechanism of cohesive strength improvement of the treated clay near the anode was attributed to the silicic acid polymerization effect provided by the Na2SiO3 solution. The silicic acid may link the clay particles together to form a gel network in a low pH environment. The clay gel network structure developed rigidity as the water content was reduced. In addition, as the volume of injected Na2SiO3 solution was increased, the cohesive strength near the anode also increased.

Objectives: Central-line–associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) has been the leading cause of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting. Previous studies have shown that a care bundle is effective in reducing CLABSI rates; however, the data on long-term sustainability and cost savings of bundled care are limited. Methods: From January 2011 to December 2020, a prospective surveillance was performed to monitor CLABSI at a university hospital in northern Taiwan. To reduce the CLABSI rate, a hospital-wide bundled care program for CLABSI prevention was implemented in 2013. We evaluated the long-term effect of the care bundle on CLABSI incidence and length of stay in the ICU. Results: During the study period, the overall CLABSI incidence decreased from 8.22 per 1,000 catheter days before the care bundle was implemented to 6.33 per 1,000 catheter days in 2020 (P for trend <.01). The most common pathogens causing CLABSI were gut organisms (1,420 of 2,363, 60.1%), followed by environmental organisms (734 of 2,363, 31.1%) and skin organisms (177 of 2,363, 7.5%). The decreasing trend was statistically significant in the incidence of CLABSI caused by skin organisms (P for trend < .01), but not in the incidence of CLABSI caused by environmental organisms (P for trend = .86) or gut organisms (P for trend = .06). In the multivariable analysis, implementation of this care bundle was independently associated with a decrease in the CLABSI rate (RR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.66–0.88). Compared with patients without CLABSI, patients with CLABSI had a longer average ICU length of stay (27 vs 17 days). Conclusions: A sustainable reduction in the incidence of CLABSI caused by common commensals could be achieved through a cost-saving bundled care program.

Words’ morphemic structure and their orthographic representations vary across languages. How do bilingual experiences with structurally distinct languages influence children's morphological processes for word reading? Focusing on English literacy in monolinguals and bilinguals (N = 350, ages 5–9), we first revealed unique contributions of derivational (friend-li-est) and compound (girl-friend) morphology to early word reading. We then examined mechanisms of bilingual transfer in matched samples of Spanish–English and Chinese–English dual first language learners. Results revealed a principled cross-linguistic interaction between language group (Spanish vs. Chinese bilinguals) and type of morphological awareness. Specifically, bilinguals’ proficiency with the type of morphology that was less characteristic of their home language explained greater variance in their English literacy. These findings showcase the powerful effects of bilingualism on word reading processes in children who have similar reading proficiency but different language experiences, thereby advancing theoretical perspectives on literacy across diverse learners.

The household registration (hukou) system has been widely recognized as a key contributory factor to social inequality and tensions in China yet it remains intact despite a series of institutional reforms. What explains the resilience of the system? In this study, we address this puzzle by drawing on policy documents, statistical data and interviews. We argue that the hukou system remains because it is used to protect the beneficiaries of welfare provision and to ensure pivotal groups continue to offer political support. We find that owing to the reforms, a formidable barrier has been erected between the guarded cities and other regions to protect healthcare and education resources from inbound migrant workers. Consequently, the institutional reforms of the hukou system serve as a political contrivance for the survival of the Chinese party-state regime. The findings contribute to emerging literature on China's political control by elaborating political elites’ subtle tactics through various institutions at central and local levels. We expect the new “Great Wall” established under Xi's administration to be an even stronger barrier than before for migrants during the current pandemic and in the future.

The extent of intertidal flats in the Yellow Sea region has declined significantly in the past few decades, resulting in severe population declines in several waterbird species. The Yellow Sea region holds the primary stopover sites for many shorebirds during their migration to and from northern breeding grounds. However, the functional roles of these sites in shorebirds’ stopover ecology remain poorly understood. Through field surveys between July and November 2015, we investigated the stopover and moult schedules of migratory shorebirds along the southern Jiangsu coast, eastern China during their southbound migration, with a focus on the ‘Critically Endangered’ Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea and ‘Endangered’ Nordmann’s Greenshank Tringa guttifer. Long-term count data indicate that both species regularly occur in globally important number in southern Jiangsu coast, constituting 16.67–49.34% and 64.0–80.67% of their global population estimates respectively, and it is highly likely that most adults undergo their primary moult during this southbound migration stopover. Our results show that Spoon-billed Sandpiper and Nordmann’s Greenshank staged for an extended period of time (66 and 84 days, respectively) to complete their primary moult. On average, Spoon-billed Sandpipers and Nordmann’s Greenshanks started moulting primary feathers on 8 August ± 4.52 and 27 July ± 1.56 days respectively, and their moult durations were 72.58 ± 9.08 and 65.09 ± 2.40 days. In addition, some individuals of several other shorebird species including the ‘Endangered’ Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris, ‘Near Threatened’ Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica, ‘Near Threatened’ Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata and Greater Sand Plover Charadrius leschenaultii also underwent primary moult. Our work highlights the importance of the southern Jiangsu region as the primary moulting ground for these species, reinforcing that conservation of shorebird habitat including both intertidal flats and supratidal roosting sites in this region is critical to safeguard the future of some highly threatened shorebird species.

This study aimed to describe outcomes in four women aged 28–34 years with central cytoplasmic granulation (CCG) of the oocytes who underwent in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) using gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist to replace human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) as a trigger of final oocyte maturation. The initial ICSI procedure showed that all four women had CCG of the ooplasm and poor quality embryos. Subsequent ICSI used an antagonist protocol with a GnRH agonist trigger replacing the agonist protocol, plus hCG triggered ovulation. Ooplasm and embryo quality were improved in all four patients. All four became pregnant and gave birth to live infants. This study provides GnRH agonist triggering that may improve ooplasm granularity and embryo quality.

Much effort has been devoted to improving the efficiency of animal cloning. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of BRG1 contained in Xenopus egg extracts on the development of cloned mouse embryos. The results showed that mouse NIH/3T3 cells were able to express pluripotent genes after treatment with egg extracts, indicating that the egg extracts contained reprogramming factors. After co-injection of Xenopus egg extracts and single mouse cumulus cells into enucleated mouse oocytes, statistically higher pronucleus formation and development rates were observed in the egg Extract− co-injected group compared with those in the no egg extract-injected (NT) group (38–66% vs 18–34%, P<0.001). Removal of BRG1 protein from Xenopus egg extracts was conducted, and the BRG1-depleted extracts were co-injected with single donor cells into recipient oocytes. The results showed that the percentages of pronucleus formation were significantly higher in both BRG1-depleted and BRG1-intact groups than that in the nuclear transfer (NT) group (94, 64% vs 50%, P<0.05). Furthermore, percentages in the BRG1-depleted group were even higher than in the BRG1-intact group (94% vs 64%). More confined expression of Oct4 in the inner cell mass (ICM) was observed in the blastocyst derived from the egg extract-injected groups. However, Nanog expression was more contracted in the ICM of cloned blastocysts in the BRG1-depleted group than in the BGR1-intact group. Based on the present study, BRG1 might not play an essential role in reprogramming, but the factors enhancing pronucleus formation and development of cloned mouse embryos are contained in Xenopus egg extracts.

This study proposes two multimodal frameworks to classify pathological voice samples by combining acoustic signals and medical records. In the first framework, acoustic signals are transformed into static supervectors via Gaussian mixture models; then, a deep neural network (DNN) combines the supervectors with the medical record and classifies the voice signals. In the second framework, both acoustic features and medical data are processed through first-stage DNNs individually; then, a second-stage DNN combines the outputs of the first-stage DNNs and performs classification. Voice samples were recorded in a specific voice clinic of a tertiary teaching hospital, including three common categories of vocal diseases, i.e. glottic neoplasm, phonotraumatic lesions, and vocal paralysis. Experimental results demonstrated that the proposed framework yields significant accuracy and unweighted average recall (UAR) improvements of 2.02–10.32% and 2.48–17.31%, respectively, compared with systems that use only acoustic signals or medical records. The proposed algorithm also provides higher accuracy and UAR than traditional feature-based and model-based combination methods.

Studies have suggested that maternal PUFA status during pregnancy may influence early childhood allergic diseases, although findings are inconsistent. We examined the relationship between maternal PUFA status and risk of allergic diseases in early childhood in an Asian cohort. Maternal plasma samples from the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes mother–offspring cohort were assayed at 26–28 weeks of gestation for relative abundance of PUFA. Offspring (n 960) were followed up from 3 weeks to 18 months of age, and clinical outcomes of potential allergic diseases (rhinitis, eczema and wheezing) were assessed by repeated questionnaires. Skin prick testing (SPT) was also performed at the age of 18 months. Any allergic disease with positive SPT was defined as having any one of the clinical outcomes plus a positive SPT. The prevalence of a positive SPT, rhinitis, eczema, wheezing and any allergic disease with positive SPT was 14·1 % (103/728), 26·5 % (214/808), 17·6 % (147/833), 10·9 % (94/859) and 9·4 % (62/657), respectively. After adjustment for confounders, maternal total n-3, n-6 PUFA status and the n-6:n-3 PUFA ratio were not significantly associated with offspring rhinitis, eczema, wheezing, a positive SPT and having any allergic disease with positive SPT in the offspring (P>0·01 for all). A weak trend of higher maternal n-3 PUFA being associated with higher risk of allergic diseases with positive SPT in offspring was observed. These findings do not support the hypothesis that the risk of early childhood allergic diseases is modified by variation in maternal n-3 and n-6 PUFA status during pregnancy in an Asian population.

Results regarding the effects of methylphenidate and atomoxetine on executive functions were inconsistent and no study has directly compared the efficacy of these two medications in improving executive functions in adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We conducted an 8–10 wk, open-label, head-to-head, randomized clinical trial involving adults with a clinical diagnosis of ADHD confirmed by psychiatric interview. The two treatment arms were immediate-release methylphenidate (IR-methylphenidate) (n = 31) and atomoxetine once daily (n = 32). Executive functions were assessed by the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB), including spatial working memory, spatial span, intra-extra dimensional set shifts, rapid visual information processing and Stockings of Cambridge (SOC). In addition to the symptom assessments at baseline (week 0), visit 2 (week 4–5) and visit 3 (week 8–10), they received CANTAB assessments at baseline and visit 3 (60.4 ± 6.3 d). Compared to baseline, adults treated with atomoxetine showed significant improvement in spatial working memory, spatial short-term memory, sustained attention and spatial planning at visit 3; adults treated with IR-methylphenidate showed significant improvement in spatial working memory at visit 3. Comparing the magnitude of improvement in executive functions between these two medications, the effect was generally similar for the two groups, although atomoxetine might have significantly greater efficacy than IR-methylphenidate in terms of improving spatial planning (SOC). Our results provide evidence to support that both IR-methylphenidate and atomoxetine improved various executive functions in adults with ADHD with greater improvement in atomoxetine than IR-methylphenidate in spatial planning.