CSFPre: Expressway key sections based on CEEMDAN-STSGCN-FCM during the holidays for traffic flow prediction.

The implementation of the toll free during holidays makes a large number of traffic jams on the expressway. Real-time and accurate holiday traffic flow forecasts can assist the traffic management department to guide the diversion and reduce the expressway's congestion. However, most of the current prediction methods focus on predicting traffic flow on ordinary working days or weekends. There are fewer studies for festivals and holidays traffic flow prediction, it is challenging to predict holiday traffic flow accurately because of its sudden and irregular characteristics. Therefore, we put forward a data-driven expressway traffic flow prediction model based on holidays. Firstly, Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) gantry data and toll data are preprocessed to realize data integrity and accuracy. Secondly, after Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise (CEEMDAN) processing, the preprocessed traffic flow is sorted into trend terms and random terms, and the spatial-temporal correlation and heterogeneity of each component are captured simultaneously using the Spatial-Temporal Synchronous Graph Convolutional Networks (STSGCN) model. Finally, the fluctuating traffic flow of holidays is predicted using Fluctuation Coefficient Method (FCM). Through experiments of real ETC gantry data and toll data in Fujian Province, this method is superior to all baseline methods and has achieved good results. It can provide reference for future public travel choices and further road network operation.

Modified Lamaze Breathing Reduces Abdominal Pain in Patients during Colonoscopy.

Objective: To study the effects of modified Lamaze breathing on abdominal pain experienced during colonoscopy. Methods: Eighty-five patients who underwent common colonoscopy at our hospital between March 2021 and May 2021 were selected and randomly divided into the Lamaze group (n = 40) and a control group (n = 45). Their basic clinical information was collected, and the bowel cleanliness, the time for the endoscope to reach the ileocecal junction, and the degree of abdominal pain of the two groups were compared. Results: No significant difference was observed in age, gender, bowel cleanliness, and time of endoscope to reach the ileocecal junction between the two groups. However, the degree of abdominal pain (anal region, descending sigmoid colon junction, splenic flexure, and hepatic flexure) was significantly lower in the Lamaze group compared with the control group. Conclusion: Modified Lamaze breathing demonstrated promising effectiveness in reducing abdominal pain during colonoscopy and improving the quality of the examination.

Traffic Safety Improvement via Optimizing Light Environment in Highway Tunnels.

Driving in tunnel areas depends more heavily on light conditions than that on open roadways. Traditional lighting systems in highway tunnels adjust lighting parameters only caring about outside light luminance, and focus is usually on energy conservation; however, little concern is about drivers' actual physical and psychological needs. How to leverage the enormous research progress of traffic safety, light environment, human factors engineering, and modern lighting sources to create an ideal tunnel light environment that aids with ensuring driving safety and lower interference effects caused by the change of light environment will greatly improve safety level and reduce adverse influence on drivers' visual health in a tunnel area. An intelligent lighting control system designed with multiple influence factors are systematically considered. Based on sensor data from outside natural light conditions, target lighting parameters are determined per each lighting zone requires; then, lighting commands will be transferred and parsed by adaptive lighting controllers and modules, eventually LED lighting properties are altered step by step. This system helps a lot with optimizing tunnel lighting quality and improving drivers' visual performance; as a result, it contributes to lower the fluctuation of drivers' workload and get a smooth traffic flow, and ultimately this technically ensures physical and mental health of drivers in a tunnel area.

Comparison of endoscopic radial incision and Savary-Gilliard's bougie dilation in efficacy on refractory esophagogastric anastomosis strictures.

BACKGROUND: Among patients with a benign stricture in the upper gastrointestinal tract, those with esophagogastric anastomosis stricture (EAS) due to complications after esophagectomy for esophageal carcinoma comprise the majority. Dilation is the primary surgical treatment for EAS, but its short-term effect is not remarkable and its long-term effect is worse. METHODS: We compared endoscopic radial incision (ERI) and Savary-Gilliard's bougie dilation (SGBD) for patients with refractory EAS, and evaluated overall efficacy and complications. Stooler's scale was used to grade the patients' dysphagia before surgery. The two groups were compared for the number of dilations or incisions, the degree of dilation of the EAS after surgery and postoperative complications, such as intraoperative bleeding (arteriopalmus bleeding requiring endoscopic intervention), postoperative bleeding (hematemesis, bloody stool or black stool), postoperative perforation (fistula formation confirmed by gastrointestinal radiography), and postoperative infection (including postoperative fever). RESULTS: The Exp group had 15 markedly effectively treated patients, 7 effectively treated patients, and 3 ineffectively treated patients, while the numbers of these patients in the Obs group were 5, 6, and 10, respectively. Thus, the Exp group had a significantly higher total effective rate than the Obs group (88.0% vs. 52.4%, P<0.05). Patients treated by ERI had higher overall therapeutic effect, better swallowing symptom grade, and lower incidence of complications. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, ERI is superior to SGBD in efficacy and safety for treating refractory EAS.

Genetic polymorphisms of RAGE and risk of ulcerative colitis in a Chinese population.

The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and its proinflammatory ligands are critically implicated in the pathological progression of ulcerative colitis (UC). Functional polymorphisms in the regulatory elements and/or ligand-binding regions of the RAGE gene affect the expression and function of RAGE and thus may increase susceptibility to UC. In this study, a total of 266 unrelated UC patients and 247 control subjects were analyzed for 3 RAGE single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (-429 T/C, -374 T/A, and G82S) using an improved small-amplicon high resolution melting curve (HRM) analysis assay. Serum levels of soluble RAGE (sRAGE) were determined by a double sandwich ELISA system. The genotypes, alleles and haplotypes were analyzed and compared between UC patients and control subjects. Three pairs of genotyping primers for three RAGE polymorphism loci (-429 T/C, -374 T/A, and G82S) were developed based on HRM. Significant differences in the allele distribution of the G82S polymorphism was found among UC cases and controls from a Chinese population. Carriers of the RAGE G82S variant genotype were at higher risk of UC (OR=2.594, 95% CI: 1.778-3.784, P<0.001) than homozygous wild-type individuals. Further analyses revealed that the 82 (GS+SS) variant genotype was associated with patients who have extended UC (OR=1.924, 95% CI: 1.163-3.181, P=0.010), and a family history of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (OR=1.923, 95% CI: 1.049-3.521, P=0.032). The polymorphisms -374 T/A and -429 T/C did not demonstrate any association with UC, but an association was found between the -374(TA+AA) variant genotypes and the serum sRAGE level (P=0.002). Moreover, haplotypes T/A/A and T/A/G showed significantly different frequencies between UC patients and controls (OR=3.337, 95% CI: 1.892-6.091, P=0.026; OR=0.530, 95% CI: 0.351-0.801, P=0.002). The present study developed novel primers based on HRM to provide preliminary evidence in a Chinese population that the RAGE polymorphism is involved in genetic susceptibility to UC and that the 82(GS+SS) genotype of G82S is a risk factor for UC. Furthermore, RAGE polymorphisms may be related to the location of UC as well as a family history of IBD in a Chinese population.

Upregulation of microRNA-126 in hepatic stellate cells may affect pathogenesis of liver fibrosis through the NF-κB pathway.

Hepatic fibrosis, which results from chronic liver disease, currently lacks effective treatment. MicroRNAs, a group of small noncoding RNA molecules, have been observed to play an essential role in liver diseases, including hepatic fibrosis. In this study, we described the regulation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) inhibitor alpha (IκBα) and its possible signaling pathway by miR-126 in human hepatic stellate cell (HSC) line LX-2. The 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of IκBα combined with miR-126 was analyzed by using a dual-luciferase reporter assay. Furthermore, the effects of miR-126 on IκBα mRNA and protein and NF-κB protein expression were assessed by real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot analysis in the human HSC LX-2 cell line transfected with miR-126 mimic or inhibitor. Moreover, to understand the molecular mechanism of miR-126 in promoting liver fibrosis through NF-κB signaling pathway, the NF-κB downstream signaling factors expression such as transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß1 and collagen I mRNA were detected by real-time qRT-PCR. We identified that IκBα is a potential target gene of miR-126, by directly targeting its 3'-UTR. Endogenous miR-126 and exogenous miR-126 mimic inhibited IκBα expression. Moreover, overexpression of miR-126 reduced total and the cytoplasm IκBα protein expression and increased total and cytoblast NF-κB protein expression of LX-2. Conversely, knockdown of miR-126 could inhibit NF-κB activation by upregulation of IκBα protein expression. Further, miR-126 promoted TNF-a-induced TGF-ß1 and collagen I mRNA expression in LX-2 cells. miR-126 may play an important role in hepatic fibrosis by downregulating the expression of IκBα partly through the NF-κB signaling pathway.

An adenosine A3 receptor agonist inhibits DSS-induced colitis in mice through modulation of the NF-κB signaling pathway.

The role of the adenosine A3 receptor (A3AR) in experimental colitis is controversial. The A3AR agonist N(6)-(3-iodobenzyl)adenosine-5'-N-methyluronamide (IB-MECA) has been shown to have a clinical benefit, although studies in A3AR-deficient mice suggest a pro-inflammatory role. However, there are no studies on the effect of 2-Cl-IB-MECA and the molecular mechanism of action of A3AR in murine colitis models in vivo. Is it the same as that observed in vitro? The interaction between 2-CL-IB-MECA and A3AR in a murine colitis model and the signaling pathways associated with this interaction remain unclear. Here we demonstrate a role for the NF-κB signaling pathway and its effect on modifying the activity of proinflammatory factors in A3AR-mediated biological processes. Our results demonstrated that A3AR activation possessed marked effects on experimental colitis through the NF-κB signaling pathway.