Associated factors of periodontitis and predicted study among young man in China: a population-based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Periodontitis represents the foremost oral condition in young men, strongly correlated with socioeconomic elements and oral health behaviors. This research aimed to assess the prevalence of periodontitis and associated associations with socio-demographics and oral health practices for subsequent Hazard Ratio (HR) estimation. METHODS: A total of 46,476 young men were recruited to the study between August 2022 and October 2023. A questionnaire on socio-demographic factors and oral health-related behaviors related to periodontitis was completed. The standard procedure was used for oral examination. Logistic regression and hazard ratios were used to estimate the influencing factors, whereas the nomogram was used to predict the risk of periodontitis in young men. RESULTS: A total of 46,476 young men were surveyed and completed the questionnaire. The overall prevalence of periodontitis among young men was 1.74%. Out of these, 1.7% had mild periodontitis and 0.6% had moderate periodontitis. Age and dental calculus were important factors in the periodontal health of young men. This nomogram, which includes 7 easily obtainable clinical characteristics routinely collected during periodontitis risk assessment, provides clinicians with a user-friendly tool to assess the risk of periodontal disease in young men. CONCLUSIONS: Regular dental prophylaxis is crucial for young men to maintain their gingival health and prevent the onset of periodontitis. Dental calculus plays a prominent role in this matter, as it serves as a significant contributing factor.

Comparative interleukins and chemokines analysis of mice mesenchymal stromal cells infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv and H37Ra.

Inflammatory pathways involving Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) play an important role in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection. H37Rv (Rv) is a standard virulent strain, however, H37Ra (Ra) is a strain with reduced virulence. Interleukins and chemokines production are known to promote inflammation resistance in mammalian cells and is recently reported to regulate mycobacterial immunopathogenesis via inflammatory responses. MSCs are very important cells during Mtb infection. However, the different expressions of interleukins and chemokines in the process of Mtb-infected MSCs between Ra and Rv remain unclear. We used the techniques of RNA-Seq, qRT-PCR, ELISA, and Western Blotting. We have shown that Rv infection significantly increased mRNA expressions of Mndal, Gdap10, Bmp2, and Lif, thereby increasing more differentiation of MSCs compared with Ra infection in MSCs. Further investigation into the possible mechanisms, we found that Rv infection enhanced more inflammatory response (Mmp10, Mmp3, and Ptgs2) through more activation of the TLR2-MAP3K1-JNK pathway than did Ra infection in MSCs. Further action showed that Rv infection enhanced more Il1α, Il6, Il33, Cxcl2, Ccl3, and Ackr3 production than did Ra infection. Rv infection showed more expressions of Mmp10, Mmp3, Ptgs2, Il1α, Il6, Il33, Cxcl2, Ccl3, and Ackr3 possibly through more active TLR2-MAP3K1-JNK pathway than did Ra infection in MSCs. MSCs may therefore be a new candidate for the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis.

A nonsense mutation in VHL causing Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome in a large Chinese family-a genetic study of familial neoplastic disease.

Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) syndrome is a multi-organ neoplastic disease characterized by highly vascular and cystic tumors in the central nervous system (CNS), retina, and visceral lesions, which are mainly caused by germline mutations in VHL. We aimed to detect novel mutations in VHL gene in families with VHL. Here, a large consanguineous four-generation family with variant phenotypes of VHL syndrome was recruited, and its molecular genetics were tested via Sanger sequencing. And various tools and databases were used to predict the variant pathogenicity, frequency, and protein function. Genetic investigation detected a c.351G > A nonsense mutation in VHL that altered the downstream reading frame and created a premature TGA stop signal, resulting in severely truncated pVHL (p.Trp117Ter). This mutation is absent from most public databases, and functional prediction bioinformatic tools demonstrated that this residue is conserved and that this variant is highly likely to be deleterious. The c.315G > A nonsense mutation in VHL is the causal mutation of this kindred that may lead to clear familial aggregation of VHL syndrome because of the dysfunction of the truncated pVHL.

Microsurgical treatment of lumbar paravertebral tumors via lateral retroperitoneal approach: operative technique and a series of 6 patients.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the surgical techniques and postoperative therapeutic effectiveness of microsurgical treatment of lumbar paravertebral tumors via lateral retroperitoneal approach. METHODS: The clinical data of 6 cases with lumbar paravertebral tumors treated by lateral retroperitoneal approach in the Neurosurgery department of Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University were analyzed retrospectively. The mean operation time, blood loss, incision length, length of hospital stay, and the resection rate of paravertebral tumors were collected, and the score of The Ability to Perform Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and incidence of postoperative complications was recorded. RESULTS: The operation time ranged from 56 to 181 min, with an average of (94.8 ± 48.3) minutes. The blood loss was between 5 and 100 ml, with an average of (31.7 ± 37.5) ml. The incision length was 6-7 cm, with an average of (6.7 ± 0.5) cm. The hospitalization length was between 5 and 11 days, with an average of (8.7 ± 2.6) days. The resection rate of paravertebral tumors was 100%. Postoperative pathological diagnosis results revealed 4 cases of schwannoma, 1 case of ganglioneuroma, and 1 case of malignant small round cell tumor. During the 3-month follow-up, there were no tumor recurrence, abdominal infection, incision infection, incisional hernia, or death, and there was no significant decrease in the ADL score compared with that before the operation. CONCLUSION: The surgical treatment of lumbar paravertebral tumors via the lateral retroperitoneal approach has the advantages of the short operation time, minimally invasive procedures, quick postoperative recovery, and fewer complications.

Recent Advances in Collaborative Scheduling of Computing Tasks in an Edge Computing Paradigm.

In edge computing, edge devices can offload their overloaded computing tasks to an edge server. This can give full play to an edge server's advantages in computing and storage, and efficiently execute computing tasks. However, if they together offload all the overloaded computing tasks to an edge server, it can be overloaded, thereby resulting in the high processing delay of many computing tasks and unexpectedly high energy consumption. On the other hand, the resources in idle edge devices may be wasted and resource-rich cloud centers may be underutilized. Therefore, it is essential to explore a computing task collaborative scheduling mechanism with an edge server, a cloud center and edge devices according to task characteristics, optimization objectives and system status. It can help one realize efficient collaborative scheduling and precise execution of all computing tasks. This work analyzes and summarizes the edge computing scenarios in an edge computing paradigm. It then classifies the computing tasks in edge computing scenarios. Next, it formulates the optimization problem of computation offloading for an edge computing system. According to the problem formulation, the collaborative scheduling methods of computing tasks are then reviewed. Finally, future research issues for advanced collaborative scheduling in the context of edge computing are indicated.

Realizing Target Detection in SAR Images Based on Multiscale Superpixel Fusion.

For target detection in complex scenes of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, the false alarms in the land areas are hard to eliminate, especially for the ones near the coastline. Focusing on the problem, an algorithm based on the fusion of multiscale superpixel segmentations is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the SAR images are partitioned by using different scales of superpixel segmentation. For the superpixels in each scale, the land-sea segmentation is achieved by judging their statistical properties. Then, the land-sea segmentation results obtained in each scale are combined with the result of the constant false alarm rate (CFAR) detector to eliminate the false alarms located on the land areas of the SAR image. In the end, to enhance the robustness of the proposed algorithm, the detection results obtained in different scales are fused together to realize the final target detection. Experimental results on real SAR images have verified the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Genetic insights into the evolution of genera with the eastern Asia-eastern North America floristic disjunction: a transcriptomics analysis.

PREMISE: Large disjunctions in species distributions provide excellent opportunities to study processes that shape biogeographic patterns. One such disjunction is the eastern Asia-eastern North America (EA-ENA) floristic disjunction. For many genera with this disjunction, species richness is greater in EA than in ENA; this pattern has been attributed, in part, to higher rates of molecular evolution and speciation in EA. Longer branch lengths have been found in some EA clades, relative to their ENA sister clades, suggesting that the EA lineages have evolved at a higher rate, possibly due to environmental heterogeneity, potentially contributing to the species richness anomaly. METHODS: To evaluate whether rates of molecular evolution are elevated in EA relative to ENA, we used transcriptomes from species in 11 genera displaying this disjunction. Rates of molecular evolution were estimated for up to 385 orthologous nuclear loci per genus. RESULTS: No statistically significant differences were identified in pairwise comparisons between EA and ENA sister species, suggesting equal rates of molecular evolution for both species; the data also suggest similar selection pressures in both regions. For larger genera, evidence likewise argues against more species-rich clades having higher molecular evolutionary rates, regardless of region. Our results suggest that genes across multiple gene ontology categories are evolving at similar rates under purifying selection in species in both regions. CONCLUSIONS: Our data support the hypothesis that greater species richness in EA than ENA is due to factors other than an overall increase in rates of molecular evolution in EA.

Electrospinning synthesis of amorphous NiMoO4/graphene dendritic nanofibers as excellent anodes for sodium ion batteries.

Metal molybdates have attracted considerable attention as promising anode materials for sodium ion batteries (SIBs) due to their high theoretical specific capacity and excellent electrochemical performance. However, their low rate capacity and rapid capacity attenuation hinder their application in SIBs. Here, amorphous NiMoO4/graphene nanofibers were prepared via an electrospinning method. The electrochemical performance of NiMoO4 was first reported as the anode for SIBs. Amazingly, the amorphous NiMoO4/graphene delivered an outstanding specific capacity of 260 mAh g-1 after 100 cycles at 100 mA g-1 at a potential range from 0.01-2.7 V and an excellent rate performance of 160 mAh g-1 at 1 A g-1. The superior electrochemical properties of amorphous NiMoO4 can be ascribed to its amorphous structure and reduced diffusion distance, and the strong synergy of NiMoO4 and graphene.

A Novel Gamma Distributed Random Variable (RV) Generation Method for Clutter Simulation with Non-Integral Shape Parameters.

Sea clutter simulation is a well-known research endeavour in radar detector analysis and design, and many approaches to it have been proposed in recent years, among which zero memory non-linear (ZMNL) and spherically invariant random process (SIRP) are the most two widely used methods for compound Gaussian distribution. However, the shape parameter of the compound Gaussian clutter model cannot be a non-integer nor non-semi-integer in the ZMNL method, and the computational complexity of the SIRP method is very high because of the complex non-linear operation. Although some improved methods have been proposed to solve the problem, the fitting degree of these methods is not high because of the introduction of Beta distribution. To overcome these disadvantages, a novel Gamma distributed random variable (RV) generation method for clutter simulation is proposed in this paper. In our method, Gamma RV with non-integral or non-semi-integral shape parameters is generated directly by multiplying an integral-shape-parameter Gamma RV with a Beta RV whose parameters are larger than 0.5, thus avoiding the deviation of simulation of Beta RV. A large number of simulation experimental results show that the proposed method not only can be used in the clutter simulation with a non-integer or non-semi-integer shape parameter value, but also has higher fitting degree than the existing methods.

Ground elevation accuracy verification of ICESat-2 data: a case study in Alaska, USA.

Accurate estimation of ground elevation on a large scale is essential and worthwhile in topography, geomorphology, and ecology. The Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) mission, launched in September 2018, offers an opportunity to obtain global elevation data over the earth's surface. This paper aimed to evaluate the performance of ICESat-2 data for ground elevation retrieval. To fulfill this objective, our study first tested the availability of existing noise removal and ground photon identification algorithms on ICESat-2 data. Second, the accuracy of ground elevation data retrieved from ICESat-2 data was validated using airborne LiDAR data. Finally, we explored the influence of various factors (e.g., the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), slope, vegetation height and vegetation cover) on the estimation accuracy of ground elevation over forest, tundra and bare land areas in interior Alaska. The results indicate that the existing noise removal and ground photon identification algorithms for simulated ICESat-2 data also work well for ICESat-2 data. The overall mean difference and RMSE values between the ground elevations retrieved from the ICESat-2 data and the airborne LiDAR-derived ground elevations are -0.61 m and 1.96 m, respectively. In forest, tundra and bare land scenarios, the mean differences are -0.64 m, -0.61 m and -0.59 m, with RMSE values of 1.89 m, 2.05 m, and 1.76 m, respectively. By analyzing the influence of four error factors on the elevation accuracy, we found that the slope is the most important factor affecting the accuracy of ICESat-2 elevation data. The elevation errors increase rapidly with increasing slope, especially when the slope is greater than 20°. The elevation errors decrease with increasing SNR, but this decrease varies little once the SNR is greater than 10. In forest and tundra areas, the errors in the ground elevation also increase with increasing vegetation height and the amount of vegetation cover.

Phase sensitivity evaluation and its application to phase shifting interferometry.

In quantitative phase imaging, sensitivity is a key measure of system reproducibility. Despite continuous experimental breakthroughs in achieving highly sensitive detection, in-depth studies of theoretical constraints on sensitivity are inadequate and comparisons between different techniques are difficult. In this paper, we introduce the method to evaluate the sensitivity of phase shifting interferometry which is a major category of quantitative phase imaging techniques. The method discusses in detail several key concepts of sensitivity evaluation, including a general three-level evaluation framework, a complete interference signal model, Cramér-Rao bound and algorithm sensitivity, algorithm and system efficiencies, as well as energy efficiency of an algorithm. In discussions of specific phase shifting algorithms, we focus on the shot noise-limited model. This simplified model not only reflects the rapid developments in modern detectors that are often dominated by shot noise, but also permits the calculation of theoretical sensitivities based on measured data, which is important in evaluating experimental performance. As examples, we study several common phase shifting interferometric techniques. The results of different techniques are compared to provide insights into algorithm optimization and energy efficiency of sensitivity. A normalized algorithm sensitivity table is also provided for readers to conveniently estimate their system's algorithm sensitivity and compare against experiments.

A Target Identification Method for the Millimeter Wave Seeker via Correlation Matching and Beam Pointing.

Target identification is a challenging task under land backgrounds for the millimeter wave (MMW) seeker, especially under complex backgrounds. Focusing on the problem, an effective method combining correlation matching and beam pointing is proposed in this paper. In the beginning, seeker scanning for target detection is conducted in two rounds, and target information of the detected targets is stored for correlation matching. Point or body feature judgment is implemented by using high resolution range profile (HRRP). Then, the error distribution zone is constructed with the beam pointing as the origin. In the end, we identify the target by searching the one which lies in the closest error distribution from the beam pointing center. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by using mooring test-fly and real flight data.

Phase sensitivity of off-axis digital holography.

In off-axis digital holography, the Fourier transform-based algorithm is commonly used for signal processing. Here, we derive the theoretical phase sensitivity of this algorithm, which can be calculated from a single 2D hologram. This algorithm sensitivity represents the best achievable sensitivity of a system using this algorithm. Our derivation treats the signal in its most general form, considering non-uniform illumination and the effect of sideband filtering. As a result, phase sensitivity varies spatially, determined by local signal-to-noise ratio. Sensitivity expressions for both shot noise and uniform noise models are given. These results are validated with simulations and experiments. Significantly, this theoretical sensitivity can serve as a baseline metric for assessing performance of a phase-imaging system, such as experimental sensitivity and hardware stability, which are critical for high-sensitivity quantitative phase imaging. In addition, the results are equally applicable to other interferometric techniques with similar interferogram patterns and signal processing algorithms.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of tricyclic pyrazolo[1,5-c][1,3]benzoxazin-5(5H)-one scaffolds as selective BuChE inhibitors.

Based on the structural analysis of tricyclic scaffolds as butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) inhibitors, a series of pyrazolo[1,5-c][1,3]benzoxazin-5(5H)-one derivatives were designed, synthesized and evaluated for their acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and BuChE inhibitory activity. Compounds with 5-carbonyl and 7- or/and 9-halogen substitutions showed potential BuChE inhibitory activity, among which compounds 6a, 6c and 6g showed the best BuChE inhibition (IC50 = 1.06, 1.63 and 1.63 µM, respectively). The structure-activity relationship showed that the 5-carbonyl and halogen substituents significantly influenced BuChE activity. Compounds 6a and 6g were found nontoxic, lipophilic and exhibited remarkable neuroprotective activity and mixed-type inhibition against BuChE (Ki = 7.46 and 3.09 µM, respectively). Docking studies revealed that compound 6a can be accommodated into BuChE via five hydrogen bonds, one Pi-Sigma interaction and three Pi-Alkyl interactions.

Galvanic displacement-induced codeposition of reduced-graphene-oxide/silver on alloy fibers for non-destructive SPME@SERS analysis of antibiotics.

This work describes the integration of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) by codeposition of a hybrid consisting of reduced graphene oxide and silver on silver-copper alloy fibers. The morphology and structure of the coating were characterized by a variety of microscopic and spectroscopic techniques that confirmed the hybrid structure of the material. A galvanic-displacement-induced process is assumed to be involved during the codeposition of the hybrid coating on the alloy. In this process, Ag(I) is reduced to Ag(0) by Cu(0), and the presence of conjugated domains in GO facilitates the long-range transfer of electrons from Cu to Ag+. Simultaneously, GO accepts electrons and is converted into RGO. The hybrid coating exhibits a high SERS enhancement factor and good spatial uniformity. The needle-like coated alloy fibers are shown to be a viable tool for non-destructive sampling and SERS-based determination of trace levels of the antibiotics sulfadiazine and sulfamethoxazole in a spiked tissue mimic. The SERS peaks at 1149 cm-1 for sulfadiazine and 1144 cm-1 for sulfamethoxazole are selected as the reference peaks in the quantitative analysis. The linear range is from 0.01 to 100 µg·cm-3. The detection limits are 1.9 ng·cm-3 for sulfadiazine and 4.4 ng·cm-3 for sulfamethoxazole. Graphical abstract Schematic presentation of I: Galvanic-displacement-induced reduction of graphene oxide (brown films) and Ag+ (purple dots) on silver-copper alloy; II: Codeposition of reduced-graphene-oxide (grey films)/Ag (blue stars) on alloy fiber; III: Non-destructive SPME of antibiotics from spiked tissue mimic; IV: SERS detection using Raman spectroscope.

SAR Target Configuration Recognition via Product Sparse Representation.

Sparse representation (SR) has been verified to be an effective tool for pattern recognition. Considering the multiplicative speckle noise in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, a product sparse representation (PSR) algorithm is proposed to achieve SAR target configuration recognition. To extract the essential characteristics of SAR images, the product model is utilized to describe SAR images. The advantages of sparse representation and the product model are combined to realize a more accurate sparse representation of the SAR image. Moreover, in order to weaken the influences of the speckle noise on recognition, the speckle noise of SAR images is modeled by the Gamma distribution, and the sparse vector of the SAR image is obtained from q statistical standpoint. Experiments are conducted on the moving and stationary target acquisition and recognition (MSTAR) database. The experimental results validate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed algorithm, which can achieve higher recognition rates than some of the state-of-the-art algorithms under different circumstances.

Sensitivity evaluation of quantitative phase imaging: a study of wavelength shifting interferometry.

Sensitivity is a critical figure of merit to quantify measurement performance in quantitative phase imaging. It is affected by various noise sources in the system and by signal processing algorithms. Here we propose a three-level framework for sensitivity evaluation, including the Cramér-Rao bound (CRB), algorithmic sensitivity, and experimental sensitivity. Comparing the first two determines the theoretical efficiency of an algorithm, while inspecting the gap between the latter two reveals system efficiency. As an example, we apply this framework to wavelength shifting interferometry, an important category of quantitative phase imaging techniques. In a shot-noise-limited regime, the CRB is derived, and the performance of a four-step Carré algorithm is studied in simulations and experiments. Importantly, the proposed procedure allows the algorithmic sensitivity to be conveniently estimated from a single set of measurement data, which serves as a basis for system efficiency evaluation.

Low-coherence wavelength shifting interferometry for high-speed quantitative phase imaging.

We propose low-coherence wavelength shifting interferometry and demonstrate its application to quantitative phase imaging of dynamic specimens. By shifting the source wavelength, multiple interferograms of the sample can be acquired at different spectral bands. A sample phase is thus encoded in the phase step between consecutive acquisitions. For the particular case of four-band imaging, we show that the phase can be extracted with a modified Carré algorithm. We describe signal demodulation in detail and discuss its implication on system implementation. A swept laser-based Mach-Zehnder interferometer is used to demonstrate the technique for real-time imaging of live sperm cells at 62.5 Hz. The dynamic dry mass of the sperm head is measured with a full-scale error of ±2%, validating the technique's capability for high-sensitivity, high-speed quantitative phase imaging.

Swept source digital holographic phase microscopy.

We propose a swept source-based digital holographic phase microscopy technique. By scanning source wavelength, a series of on-axis interferograms can be obtained for accurate determination of the sample phase using spectral domain interferometry. With these sample spectra, sources of undesirable interference artifacts, often significant in holographic systems, can be identified and avoided by placing the sample signal at a spectral frequency with a clean background. Pathlength sensitivity better than 0.3 nm can, thus, be achieved. The quantitative pathlength image of live sperm cells is obtained with clear identification of morphological features. In addition, the availability of sample spectrum also permits the retrieval of its spectroscopic information. The wavelength-dependent refractive indices of indocyanine green solution are obtained to demonstrate this capability.

A case report of chest wall desmoplastic small round cell tumor in children.

INTRODUCTION: Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is a rare sarcoma predominantly afflicting young males. CASE PRESENTATION: In this current report, a two-year-old boy was admitted to the hospital for the evaluation of a left chest wall mass. Imaging revealed the tumor's presence in the left chest, compressing lung tissue. Subsequently, histological analysis confirmed the DSRCT diagnosis following a biopsy. The patient underwent a comprehensive management strategy centered around surgery, successfully completing the entire treatment course without experiencing relapse during subsequent follow-up assessments. DISCUSSION: When chest wall tumors are inoperable upon initial diagnosis, a biopsy is essential to clarify the pathology and assist in the diagnostic process. If a patient is diagnosed with DRSCT and conventional chemotherapy fails with surgical resection still not feasible, timely adjustment of the chemotherapy regimen coupled with targeted drug administration can reduce the tumor, enable complete resection, and improve the overall prognosis. CONCLUSION: DSRCT is a rare malignancy associated with a generally poor prognosis. The administration of a combined treatment approach involving oral targeted medication (anlotinib), chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and aggressive surgical resection holds the potential to enhance the prognosis for pediatric patients with this condition.