Improved U-net network asphalt pavement crack detection method.

Road crack detection is one of the important parts of road safety detection. Aiming at the problems such as weak segmentation effect of basic U-Net on pavement crack, insufficient precision of crack contour segmentation, difficult to identify narrow crack and low segmentation accuracy, this paper proposes an improved U-net network pavement crack segmentation method. VGG16 and Up_Conv (Upsampling Convolution) modules are introduced as backbone network and feature enhancement network respectively, and the more abstract features in the image are extracted by using the Block depth separable convolution blocks, and the multi-scale features are captured and enhanced by higher level semantic information to improve the recognition accuracy of narrow cracks in the road surface. The improved network embedded the Ca(Channel Attention) attention mechanism in U-net's jump connection to enhance the crack portion to suppress background noise. At the same time, DG_Conv(Depthwise GSConv Convolution) module and UnetUp(Unet Upsampling) module are added in the decoding part to extract richer features through more convolutional layers in the network, so that the model pays more attention to the detailed part of the crack, so the segmentation accuracy can be improved. In order to verify the model's ability to detect cracks in complex backgrounds, experiments were carried out on CFD and Deepcrack datasets. The experimental results show that compared with the traditional U-net network F1-score and mIoU have increased by 13.6% and 9.9% respectively. Superior to advanced models such as U-net, Segnet and Linknet in accuracy and generalization ability, the improved model provides a new method for asphalt pavement crack detection. The model is more conducive to practical application and ground deployment, and can be applied in road maintenance projects.

Novel milestones for early esophageal carcinoma: From bench to bed.

Esophageal cancer (EC) is the seventh most common cancer worldwide, and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) accounts for the majority of cases of EC. To effectively diagnose and treat ESCC and improve patient prognosis, timely diagnosis in the initial phase of the illness is necessary. This article offers a detailed summary of the latest advancements and emerging technologies in the timely identification of ECs. Molecular biology and epigenetics approaches involve the use of molecular mechanisms combined with fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), high-throughput sequencing technology (next-generation sequencing), and digital PCR technology to study endogenous or exogenous biomolecular changes in the human body and provide a decision-making basis for the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of diseases. The investigation of the microbiome is a swiftly progressing area in human cancer research, and microorganisms with complex functions are potential components of the tumor microenvironment. The intratumoral microbiota was also found to be connected to tumor progression. The application of endoscopy as a crucial technique for the early identification of ESCC has been essential, and with ongoing advancements in technology, endoscopy has continuously improved. With the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the utilization of AI in the detection of gastrointestinal tumors has become increasingly prevalent. The implementation of AI can effectively resolve the discrepancies among observers, improve the detection rate, assist in predicting the depth of invasion and differentiation status, guide the pericancerous margins, and aid in a more accurate diagnosis of ESCC.

Enhancing academic self-efficacy on decreasing adolescents' unmonitored internet usage and depressive mood.

Unmonitored internet use and depression are difficulties that adolescents experience. Efforts to promote healthy adolescent development tend to focus on reducing these two risk outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine how three important school-related factors (teachers, peers, and academics) affect adolescents' levels of unmonitored internet use and depression. For this study, a cross-sectional data analysis was conducted. The sample included 9297 students who participated in two waves of the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed using LISREL 8.80 to analyze the data. Monte Carlo resampling was then performed using R to confirm the significance of the mediating effects. Teacher criticism and negative peers can increase unmonitored internet use and depression in adolescents, while academic stress can exacerbate depression. In contrast, teacher praise and positive peers can reduce those risk outcomes. Academic self-efficacy serves as a key mediator of the impacts of teachers, peers, and academics on adolescents' levels of unmonitored internet use and depression. We advocate that schools should establish a positive school climate, provide teacher feedback training and design physical activity programs to improve academic self-efficacy, thereby reducing the risk of unmonitored internet use and depression among adolescents, effectively preventing possible subsequent internet addiction and promoting the mental health of adolescents.

BMSCs alleviate liver cirrhosis by regulating Fstl1/Wnt/ß-Catenin signaling pathway.

Researchers have shown that bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) can alleviate the progression of liver cirrhosis; however, it is unclear how exactly BMSCs function to cure liver disease. In this study, we used bioinformatics methods to assess differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in liver cirrhosis and found a significantly upregulated gene, Fstl1, in liver cirrhosis. In vivo and in vitro experiments showed that compared with those in the disease model group, the mRNA, and protein expression levels of Fstl1 were significantly reduced after BMSCs treatment, and the ß-Catenin protein level was also significantly reduced after BMSCs treatment. Subsequently, we downregulated Fstl1 in activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and found that Wnt and ß-Catenin protein expression levels also decreased. Finally, we found that in BMSCs-treated activated HSCs, overexpression of Fstl1 reversed the inhibitory effect of BMSCs on the Wnt/ß-Catenin signaling pathway to a certain extent. In summary, our results show that BMSCs can inhibit Wnt/ß-Catenin signaling pathway activation by downregulating the protein expression level of Fstl1, thus alleviating cirrhosis. Therefore, targeted regulation of Fstl1 may provide a new therapeutic strategy for the progression of liver cirrhosis.

Promoting the well-being of rural elderly people for longevity among different birth generations: A healthy lifestyle perspective.

Background: Wellbeing may have a protective role in health maintenance. However, no specific study clarified the particular protective effect of the subjective wellbeing of rural elderly people on survival probability. Few studies have examined the effect of the lifestyle of rural elderly people on their subjective wellbeing from different perspectives. We investigated whether improving subjective wellbeing increased the probability of longevity of rural elderly people and the effects of lifestyle behaviors on the subjective wellbeing of rural elderly people in different birth generations. Materials and methods: Data were derived from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), which is an ongoing open cohort study that adopts a multistage, random clustered sampling process. We used the data of elderly people who were aged 65 or over during 2006-2015 for analysis. The Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test found that the survival probability of rural elderly people was significantly lower than urban elderly people. Based on a sample of rural elderly people, Cox regression and generalized estimating equations were performed as further analyses. Results: A total of 892 rural elderly people aged 65 or over were included in the sample in 2006. High subjective wellbeing was a protective factor against death. The subjective wellbeing of rural elderly people born in the 1940s/1930s/1908-1920s birth generations first decreased then increased. For rural elderly people born in the 1940s, there were significant positive effects of a preference for eating vegetables and walking/Tai Chi on subjective wellbeing. For rural elderly people born in the 1930s, preferences for eating vegetables, reading, and watching TV all had significant positive effects on subjective wellbeing. Rural elderly people born in the 1908-1920s who preferred watching TV had more subjective wellbeing. Conclusion: Improving subjective wellbeing extended the life span and reduced mortality risk in rural elderly people and may be achieved by the shaping of a healthy lifestyle, such as preferences for eating vegetables, walking/Tai Chi, and reading.

Depression and Life Satisfaction Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Mediation Effect of Functional Disability.

With increasing age, middle-aged and older persons face a series of physical and mental health problems. This study aimed to explore the latent relationships among age, functional disability, depression, and life satisfaction. The data were obtained from the Wave 2 (in 2013-2014) and Wave 3 (in 2015-2016) surveys of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. The analytic sample in the present study included 15,950 individuals aged 45 years and over. The participants answered the same questions concerning depression and life satisfaction in both study waves, and functional disability was measured based on the activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. Age was directly associated with functional disability, life satisfaction, and depression. Functional disability was positively correlated with depression and negatively correlated with life satisfaction. Functional disability strongly mediated the relationships among age, depression, and life satisfaction. Depression and life satisfaction were found to have enduring effects and effects on each other. Additionally, the model revealed a gender difference. Depression in middle-aged people should receive closer attention. Avoiding or improving functional disability may be an effective way to improve life satisfaction and reduce the level of depression in middle-aged and older persons. If prevention work successfully decreases depression, the life dissatisfaction of middle-aged and older people could be improved. Additionally, for the prevention of functional disability and depression and improvement in life satisfaction, gender differences need to be considered.