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Turbulent flow widely exists in the aerospace field, and it is still challenging to realise the accurate prediction in the numerical simulation. To realise the high-fidelity numerical simulation of compressible turbulent flow, a high-order accurate self-adaptive turbulence eddy simulation (SATES) method is developed on the PHengLEI-HyOrder open-source solver, combining with the high-order accurate weighted compact nonlinear schemes (WCNS). The compressible flow in the subsonic and transonic is numerically simulated, including some typical cases, such as subsonic flow past a circular cylinder and flow past a square cylinder, high-lift configuration DLR-F11, transonic flow around a circular cylinder. The results predicted by the current high-order accurate SATES are in good agreement with the available experimental and numerical data. The present numerical method can also accurately capture the interactions between shock waves and turbulence while accurately simulating flow separation, shear layer instability and large-scale vortex shedding. The results obtained show that the current high-order accurate SATES simulations based on PHengLEI-HyOrder solver can accurately simulate complex turbulent flows with high reliability.
This study explores lexical borrowing and loanword nativization from a neuro-cognitive perspective testing bi-dialectal speakers of Standard Chinese and Shanghainese Chinese. We created holistic and morpheme-based cross-dialectal loanwords for auditory sentence processing and compared them with Shanghainese-specific words, code-switches, and pre-existing etymologically related words. Participants rated their acceptance of each word, indicating Shanghainese-specific lexical nativeness. GAM analysis of EEG signals revealed that reduced acceptance correlated with frontal positive shifts in ERPs. Holistic loanwords triggered P300-like shifts associated with form-mismatch, whereas morpheme-based loanwords produced LPC-like shifts, suggesting sentence-level re-analysis, and N400-like early frontal negative shifts, indicating lexical integration challenges. Our results indicate that both lexical acceptance and adaptation strategies are pivotal in the cognitive integration of loanwords, revealing distinct neuropsychological stages and pathways in loanword nativization.
This study aimed to demonstrate the utilization value of 1PN embryos. The 1PN zygotes collected from December 2021 to September 2022 were included in this study. The embryo development, the pronuclear characteristics, and the genetic constitutions were investigated. The overall blastocyst formation and good-quality blastocyst rates in 1PN zygotes were 22.94 and 16.24%, significantly lower than those of 2PN zygotes (63.25 and 50.23%, respectively, P = 0.000). The pronuclear characteristics were found to be correlated with the developmental potential. When comparing 1PN zygotes that developed into blastocysts to those that arrested, the former exhibited a significantly larger area (749.49 ± 142.77 vs. 634.00 ± 119.05, P = 0.000), a longer diameter of pronuclear (29.81 ± 3.08 vs. 27.30 ± 3.00, P = 0.000), and a greater number of nucleolar precursor body (NPB) (11.56 ± 3.84 vs. 7.19 ± 2.73, P = 0.000). Among the tested embryos, the diploidy euploidy rate was significantly higher in blastocysts in comparison with the arrested embryos (66.67 vs. 11.76%, P = 0.000), which was also significantly higher in IVF-1PN blastocysts than in ICSI-1PN blastocysts (75.44 vs. 25.00%, P = 0.001). However, the pronuclear characteristics were not found to be linked to the chromosomal ploidy once they formed blastocysts.
In summary, while the developmental potential of 1PN zygotes is reduced, our study shows that, in addition to the reported pronuclear area and diameter, the number of NPB is also associated with their developmental potential. The 1PN blastocysts exhibit a high diploidy euploidy rate, are recommend to be clinically used post genetic testing, especially for patients who do not have other 2PN embryos available.
In contemporary neuroimaging studies, it has been observed that patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) exhibit aberrant spontaneous neural activity, commonly quantified through the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF). However, the substantial individual heterogeneity among patients poses a challenge to reaching a unified conclusion.
Methods
To address this variability, our study adopts a novel framework to parse individualized ALFF abnormalities. We hypothesize that individualized ALFF abnormalities can be portrayed as a unique linear combination of shared differential factors. Our study involved two large multi-center datasets, comprising 2424 patients with MDD and 2183 healthy controls. In patients, individualized ALFF abnormalities were derived through normative modeling and further deconstructed into differential factors using non-negative matrix factorization.
Results
Two positive and two negative factors were identified. These factors were closely linked to clinical characteristics and explained group-level ALFF abnormalities in the two datasets. Moreover, these factors exhibited distinct associations with the distribution of neurotransmitter receptors/transporters, transcriptional profiles of inflammation-related genes, and connectome-informed epicenters, underscoring their neurobiological relevance. Additionally, factor compositions facilitated the identification of four distinct depressive subtypes, each characterized by unique abnormal ALFF patterns and clinical features. Importantly, these findings were successfully replicated in another dataset with different acquisition equipment, protocols, preprocessing strategies, and medication statuses, validating their robustness and generalizability.
Conclusions
This research identifies shared differential factors underlying individual spontaneous neural activity abnormalities in MDD and contributes novel insights into the heterogeneity of spontaneous neural activity abnormalities in MDD.
Human alveolar echinococcosis is a hard-to-treat and largely untreated parasitic disease with high associated health care costs. The current antiparasitic treatment for alveolar echinococcosis relies exclusively on albendazole, which does not act parasiticidally and can induce severe adverse effects. Alternative, and most importantly, improved treatment options are urgently required. A drug repurposing strategy identified the approved antimalarial pyronaridine as a promising candidate against Echinococcus multilocularis infections. Following a 30-day oral regimen (80 mg kg−1 day−1), pyronaridine achieved an excellent therapeutic outcome in a clinically relevant hepatic alveolar echinococcosis murine model, showing a significant reduction in both metacestode size (72.0%) and counts (85.2%) compared to unmedicated infected mice, which revealed significantly more potent anti-echinococcal potency than albendazole treatment at an equal dose (metacestode size: 42.3%; counts: 4.1%). The strong parasiticidal activity of pyronaridine was further confirmed by the destructive damage to metacestode tissues observed morphologically. In addition, a screening campaign combined with computational similarity searching against an approved drug library led to the identification of pirenzepine, a gastric acid-inhibiting drug, exhibiting potent parasiticidal activity against protoscoleces and in vitro cultured small cysts, which warranted further in vivo investigation as a promising anti-echinococcal lead compound. Pyronaridine has a known drug profile and a long track record of safety, and its repurposing could translate rapidly to clinical use for human patients with alveolar echinococcosis as an alternative or salvage treatment.
As a required sample preparation method for 14C graphite, the Zn-Fe reduction method has been widely used in various laboratories. However, there is still insufficient research to improve the efficiency of graphite synthesis, reduce modern carbon contamination, and test other condition methodologies at Guangxi Normal University (GXNU). In this work, the experimental parameters, such as the reduction temperature, reaction time, reagent dose, Fe powder pretreatment, and other factors, in the Zn-Fe flame sealing reduction method for 14C graphite samples were explored and determined. The background induced by the sample preparation process was (2.06 ± 0.55) × 10–15, while the 12C– beam current were better than 40μA. The results provide essential instructions for preparing 14C graphite of ∼1 mg at the GXNU lab and technical support for the development of 14C dating and tracing, contributing to biology and environmental science.
A new vacuum line to extract CO2 from carbonate and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in water was established at Guangxi Normal University. The vacuum line consisted of two main components: a CO2 bubble circulation region and a CO2 purification collection region, both of which were made of quartz glass and metal pipelines. To validate its reliability, a series of carbonate samples were prepared using this system. The total recovery rate of CO2 extraction and graphitization exceeded 80%. Furthermore, the carbon content in calcium carbonate exhibited a linear relationship with the CO2 pressure within the system, demonstrating its stability and reliability. The system was also employed to prepare and analyze various samples, including calcium carbonate blanks, foraminiferal, shell, groundwater, and subsurface oil-water samples. The accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) results indicated that the average beam current for 12C- in the samples exceeded 40 μA. Additionally, the contamination introduced during the liquid sample preparation process was approximately (1.77 ± 0.57) × 10−14. Overall, the graphitized preparation system for carbonate and DIC in water exhibited high efficiency and recovery, meeting the requirements for samples dating back to approximately 30,000 years.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous, non-coding RNAs, which are functional in a variety of biological processes through post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. However, the role of miRNAs in the interaction between Bacillus thuringiensis and insects remains unclear. In this study, small RNA libraries were constructed for B. thuringiensis-infected (Bt) and uninfected (CK) Spodoptera exigua larvae (treated with double-distilled water) using Illumina sequencing. Utilising the miRDeep2 and Randfold, a total of 233 known and 726 novel miRNAs were identified, among which 16 up-regulated and 34 down-regulated differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs were identified compared to the CK. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis revealed that potential target genes of DE miRNAs were associated with ABC transporters, fatty acid metabolism and MAPK signalling pathway which are related to the development, reproduction and immunity. Moreover, two miRNA core genes, SeDicer1 and SeAgo1 were identified. The phylogenetic tree showed that lepidopteran Dicer1 clustered into one branch, with SeDicer1 in the position closest to Spodoptera litura Dicer1. A similar phylogenetic relationship was observed in the Ago1 protein. Expression of SeDicer1 increased at 72 h post infection (hpi) with B. thuringiensis; however, expression of SeDicer1 and SeAgo1 decreased at 96 hpi. The RNAi results showed that the knockdown of SeDicer1 directly caused the down-regulation of miRNAs and promoted the mortality of S. exigua infected by B. thuringiensis GS57. In conclusion, our study is crucial to understand the relationship between miRNAs and various biological processes caused by B. thuringiensis infection, and develop an integrated pest management strategy for S. exigua via miRNAs.
This study proposes a novel super-resolution (or SR) framework for generating high-resolution turbulent boundary layer (TBL) flow from low-resolution inputs. The framework combines a super-resolution generative adversarial neural network (SRGAN) with down-sampling modules (DMs), integrating the residual of the continuity equation into the loss function. The DMs selectively filter out components with excessive energy dissipation in low-resolution fields prior to the super-resolution process. The framework iteratively applies the SRGAN and DM procedure to fully capture the energy cascade of multi-scale flow structures, collectively termed the SRGAN-based energy cascade reconstruction framework (EC-SRGAN). Despite being trained solely on turbulent channel flow data (via ‘zero-shot transfer’), EC-SRGAN exhibits remarkable generalization in predicting TBL small-scale velocity fields, accurately reproducing wavenumber spectra compared to direct numerical simulation (DNS) results. Furthermore, a super-resolution core is trained at a specific super-resolution ratio. By leveraging this pretrained super-resolution core, EC-SRGAN efficiently reconstructs TBL fields at multiple super-resolution ratios from various levels of low-resolution inputs, showcasing strong flexibility. By learning turbulent scale invariance, EC-SRGAN demonstrates robustness across different TBL datasets. These results underscore the potential of EC-SRGAN for generating and predicting wall turbulence with high flexibility, offering promising applications in addressing diverse TBL-related challenges.
The potential threshold for dietary energy intake (DEI) that might prevent protein-energy wasting (PEW) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) is uncertain. The subjects were non-dialysis CKD patients aged ≥ 14 years who were hospitalised from September 2019 to July 2022. PEW was measured by subjective global assessment. DEI and dietary protein intake (DPI) were obtained by 3-d diet recalls. Patients were divided into adequate DEI group and inadequate DEI group according to DEI ≥ 30 or < 30 kcal/kg/d. Logistic regression analysis and restricted cubic spline were used in this study. We enrolled 409 patients, with 53·8 % had hypertension and 18·6 % had diabetes. The DEI and DPI were 27·63 (sd 5·79) kcal/kg/d and 1·00 (0·90, 1·20) g/kg/d, respectively. 69·2 % of participants are in the inadequate DEI group. Malnutrition occurred in 18·6 % of patients. Comparing with patients in the adequate DEI group, those in the inadequate DEI group had significantly lower total lymphocyte count, serum cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol and a higher prevalence of PEW. For every 1 kcal/kg/d increase in DEI, the incidence of PEW was reduced by 12·0 % (OR: 0·880, 95 % CI: 0·830, 0·933, P < 0·001). There was a nonlinear curve relationship between DEI and PEW (overall P < 0·001), and DEI ≥ 27·6 kcal/kg/d may have a preventive effect on PEW in CKD. Low DPI was also significantly associated with malnutrition, but not when DEI was adequate. Decreased energy intake may be a more important factor of PEW in CKD than protein intake.
The absorption and distribution of radiocarbon-labeled urea at the ultratrace level were investigated with a 14C-AMS biotracer method. The radiopharmaceutical concentrations in the plasma, heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, stomach, brain, bladder, muscle, testis, and fat of rats after oral administration of 14C urea at ultratrace doses were determined by AMS, and the concentration-time curves in plasma and tissues and pharmacokinetic distribution data were obtained. This study provides an analytical method for the pharmacokinetic parameters and tissue distribution of exogenous urea in rats at ultratrace doses and explores the feasibility of evaluation and long-term tracking of ultratrace doses of drugs with AMS.
Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is a large group of mycobacteria other than the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and Mycobacterium leprae. Epidemiological investigations have found that the incidence of NTM infections is increasing in China, and it is naturally resistant to many antibiotics. Therefore, studies of NTM species in clinical isolates are useful for understanding the epidemiology of NTM infections. The present study aimed to investigate the incidence of NTM infections and types of NTM species. Of the 420 samples collected, 285 were positive for M. tuberculosis, 62 samples were negative, and the remaining 73 samples contained NTM, including 35 (8.3%) only NTM and 38 (9%) mixed (M. tuberculosis and NTM). The most prevalent NTM species were Mycobacterium intracellulare (30.1%), followed by Mycobacterium abscessus (15%) and M. triviale (12%). M. gordonae infection was detected in 9.5% of total NTM-positive cases. Moreover, this study reports the presence of Mycobacterium nonchromogenicum infection and a high prevalence of M. triviale for the first time in Henan. M. intracellulare is the most prevalent, accompanied by some emerging NTM species, including M. nonchromogenicum and a high prevalence of M. triviale in Henan Province. Monitoring NTM transmission and epidemiology could enhance mycobacteriosis management in future.
This paper retrospectively analysed the prevalence of macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MRMP) in some parts of China. Between January 2013 and December 2019, we collected 4,145 respiratory samples, including pharyngeal swabs and alveolar lavage fluid. The highest PCR-positive rate of M. pneumoniae was 74.5% in Beijing, the highest resistance rate was 100% in Shanghai, and Gansu was the lowest with 20%. The highest PCR-positive rate of M. pneumoniae was 74.5% in 2013, and the highest MRMP was 97.4% in 2019; the PCR-positive rate of M. pneumoniae for adults in Beijing was 17.9% and the MRMP was 10.48%. Among the children diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), the PCR-positive and macrolide-resistant rates of M. pneumoniae were both higher in the severe ones. A2063G in domain V of 23S rRNA was the major macrolide-resistant mutation, accounting for more than 90%. The MIC values of all MRMP to erythromycin and azithromycin were ≥ 64 μg/ml, and the MICs of tetracycline and levofloxacin were ≤ 0.5 μg/ml and ≤ 1 μg/ml, respectively. The macrolide resistance varied in different regions and years. Among inpatients, the macrolide-resistant rate was higher in severe pneumonia. A2063G was the common mutation, and we found no resistance to tetracycline and levofloxacin.
The comorbidity between schizophrenia (SCZ) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) observed in epidemiological studies is partially attributed to genetic overlap, but the magnitude of shared genetic components and the causality relationship between them remains unclear.
Methods
By leveraging large-scale genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics for SCZ, IBD, ulcerative colitis (UC), and Crohn's disease (CD), we conducted a comprehensive genetic pleiotropic analysis to uncover shared loci, genes, or biological processes between SCZ and each of IBD, UC, and CD, independently. Univariable and multivariable Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses were applied to assess the causality across these two disorders.
Results
SCZ genetically correlated with IBD (rg = 0.14, p = 3.65 × 10−9), UC (rg = 0.15, p = 4.88 × 10−8), and CD (rg = 0.12, p = 2.27 × 10−6), all surpassed the Bonferroni correction. Cross-trait meta-analysis identified 64, 52, and 66 significantly independent loci associated with SCZ and IBD, UC, and CD, respectively. Follow-up gene-based analysis found 11 novel pleiotropic genes (KAT5, RABEP1, ELP5, CSNK1G1, etc) in all joint phenotypes. Co-expression and pathway enrichment analysis illustrated those novel genes were mainly involved in core immune-related signal transduction and cerebral disorder-related pathways. In univariable MR, genetic predisposition to SCZ was associated with an increased risk of IBD (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.07–1.15, p = 1.85 × 10−6). Multivariable MR indicated a causal effect of genetic liability to SCZ on IBD risk independent of Actinobacteria (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.06–1.16, p = 1.34 × 10−6) or BMI (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.04–1.18, p = 1.84 × 10−3).
Conclusions
We confirmed a shared genetic basis, pleiotropic loci/genes, and causal relationship between SCZ and IBD, providing novel insights into the biological mechanism and therapeutic targets underlying these two disorders.
This paper presents an algorithm for solving the inverse dynamics of a parallel manipulator (PM) with offset universal joints (RR–joints) via the Newton–Euler method. The PM with RR–joints increase the joint stiffness and enlarge the workspace but introduces additional joint parameters and constraint torques, rendering the dynamics more complex. Unlike existing studies on PMs with RR–joints, which emphasize the kinematics and joint performance, this paper studies the dynamical model. First, an iterative algorithm is established through a rigid body velocity transformation, which calculates the input parameters of the link velocity and acceleration. A linear system of equations in matrix form is then established for the entire PM through the Newton–Euler method. By using the generalized minimal residual method (GMRES) to solve the equation system, all the forces and torques on the joints can be obtained, from which the required actuation force can be derived. This method is validated through numerical simulations using the automatic dynamic analysis of multibody systems software. The proposed method is suitable for establishing the dynamic model of complex PMs with redundant or hybrid structures.
This paper is concerned with the problem of collision-free path planning for manipulators in multi-obstacle scenarios. Aiming at overcoming the deficiencies of existing algorithms in excessive time consumption and poor expansion quality, a path planning algorithm named Fast Bi-directional Rapidly-exploring Random Tree (FBi-RRT) with novel heuristic node expansion is proposed, which includes a selective-expansion strategy and a vertical-exploration strategy. The selective-expansion strategy is designed to guide the selection of the nearest-neighbor node to avoid the repeated expansion failure, thereby shortening the overall planning time. Also, the vertical-exploration strategy is developed to regulate the expansion direction of the collision nodes to escape from the obstacle space with less blindness, thus improving the expansion quality and further reducing time cost. Compared with previous planning algorithms, FBi-RRT can generate a feasible path for manipulators in a drastically shorter time. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed heuristic node expansion, FBi-RRT is conducted on a 6-DOF manipulator and tested in five scenarios. The experimental results demonstrate that FBi-RRT outperforms the existing methods in time consumption and expansion quality.
This study assesses the difference in professional attitudes among medical students, both before and after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and identifies the determinants closely associated with it, while providing precise and scientific evidence for implementing precision education on such professional attitudes.
Methods:
A pre-post-like study was conducted among medical students in 31 provinces in mainland China, from March 23, to April 19, 2021.
Results:
The proportion of medical students whose professional attitudes were disturbed after the COVID-19 pandemic, was significantly lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic (χ2 = 15.6216; P < 0.0001). Compared with the “undisturbed -undisturbed” group, the “undisturbed-disturbed” group showed that there was a 1.664-fold risk of professional attitudes disturbed as grade increased, 3.269-fold risk when others suggested they choose a medical career rather than their own desire, and 7.557-fold risk for students with COVID-19 in their family, relatives, or friends; while the “disturbed-undisturbed” group showed that students with internship experience for professional attitudes strengthened was 2.933-fold than those without internship experience.
Conclusions:
The professional attitudes of medical students have been strengthened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results provide evidence of the importance of education on professional attitudes among medical students during public health emergencies.
The Jinying gold deposit is located in southern Jilin Province in northeast China and is representative of the large Early Cretaceous gold deposits in this area. To better understand ore genesis of this deposit, a multi-isotope integrated analysis of U–Pb–Rb–Sr–He–Ar–S has been carried out. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) dating of zircons from the granodiorite porphyry and dioritic porphyrite in the study area yields ages of 172.1 ± 1.2 Ma and 122.5 ± 0.8 Ma, suggesting that corresponding intrusion occurred in the Middle Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous. Rb–Sr dating of the pyrite yields an isochron age of 120 ± 3 Ma, suggesting that gold mineralization occurred in the Early Cretaceous. The fluid inclusions in pyrite yield 3He/4He ratios clustered within a small range from 0.08 to 0.13 Ra, 40Ar/36Ar ratios between 331.6 and 351.3, and mantle He in the range of 1.0–1.6%, indicating that the ore-forming fluids originated from a mixed crustal and mantle source. The in situ S isotopic values of pyrite vary between + 0.1 ‰ and + 2.8 ‰, suggesting that the ore-related sulphur came from the deep magmatic source. Combined with the geological history of the study area, it can be concluded that the gold mineralization was possibly related to the extensional setting associated with the rollback of the Palaeo-Pacific Plate.
In this paper, we first give a necessary and sufficient condition for a factor code with an unambiguous symbol to admit a subshift of finite type restricted to which it is one-to-one and onto. We then give a necessary and sufficient condition for the standard factor code on a spoke graph to admit a subshift of finite type restricted to which it is finite-to-one and onto. We also conjecture that for such a code, the finite-to-one and onto property is equivalent to the existence of a stationary Markov chain that achieves the capacity of the corresponding deterministic channel.
This paper studies an M/M/1 retrial queue with negative customers, passive breakdown, and delayed repairs. Assume that the breakdown behavior of the server during idle periods is different from that during busy periods. Passive breakdowns may occur when the server is idle, due to the lack of monitoring of the server during idle periods. When the passive breakdown occurs, the server does not get repaired immediately and enters a delayed repair phase. Negative customers arrive during the busy period, which will cause the server to break down and remove the serving customers. Under steady-state conditions, we obtain explicit expressions of the probability generating functions for the steady-state distribution, together with some important performance measures for the system. In addition, we present some numerical examples to illustrate the effects of some system parameters on important performance measures and the cost function. Finally, based on the reward-cost structure, we discuss Nash equilibrium and socially optimal strategy and numerically analyze the influence of system parameters on optimal strategies and optimal social benefits.