Application of Vitreoscilla Hemoglobin as a Green and Efficient Biocatalyst for the Synthesis of Benzoxazoles in Water.

We report an efficient and eco-friendly method for the Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (VHb)-catalyzed synthesis of benzoxazoles in water at room temperature. tert-Butyl hydroperoxide and 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy were used as oxidant and radical scavenger, respectively. A total of 27 functionally diverse benzoxazoles were prepared in moderate to high yields (62 %-94 %) by the annulation reaction of phenols with amines in the presence of VHb in 1 h. Thus, this method is highly viable for practical applications. This work broadens the application of hemoglobin to organic synthesis.

Uniportal Thoracoscopic Complex Combined Seg-Sub-subsegmentectomy of RS9+10bii: Dual-Display Method and Combined Approaches (Trans-fissure and Trans-ligament).

BACKGROUND: Uniportal thoracoscopic lateral basal segmentectomy is the most technically challenging anatomic segmentectomy,1-3 especially when it involves combined subsegmentectomy or sub-subsegmentectomy. Therefore, there are very few reports detailing its technical aspect. PATIENT AND METHOD: In this multimedia article, we describe a very complex uniportal thoracoscopic combined seg-sub-subsegmentectomy of RS9+10bii through the oblique fissure approach and the inferior pulmonary ligament approach, following a single-direction strategy4,5 to advance the procedure, utilizing the stem-branch method3,6 for segmental/subsegmental/sub-subsegmental structure tracking, and employing dual-display method, which comprises the intravenous ICG injection method and the inflation/deflation method, to identify intersegmental and inter-seg-sub-subsegmental planes. RESULTS: The operation lasted 169 min, with approximately 20 mL of blood loss. The patient experienced an active hemothorax and two spontaneous pneumothoraxes on postoperative days 1, 4, and 19, respectively, all of which resolved promptly after treatment. Histopathological examination of the specimen documented invasive non-mucinous adenocarcinoma with negative surgical margins and lymph nodes. The staging was determined as pT1bN0M0, stage IA2. During the 14-month follow-up period, there were no signs of tumor recurrence or metastasis observed. The FVC, FEV1, and FEV1%pred decreased by 11.9%, 12.5%, and 12.8%, respectively, at postoperative month 6. CONCLUSIONS: Complex basal segmentectomies, which necessitate combined subsegmental or sub-subsegmental resections, such as RS9+10bii, are feasible using the dual-display and combined approaches method. This method simplifies the steps of the very complex combined subsegmentectomy, averting the need for extensive lung resection. In addition, when performing these combined segmentectomies, precise anatomical dissection is crucial to prevent complications such as minor bronchopleural fistulas.

PET/CT study of dopamine transporter (DAT) binding with the triple reuptake inhibitor toludesvenlafaxine in rats and humans.

PURPOSE: Toludesvenlafaxine is a recently developed antidepressant that belongs to the triple reuptake inhibitor class. Despite the in vitro evidence that toludesvenlafaxine inhibits the reuptake of serotonin (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA), there is no in vivo evidence that toludesvenlafaxine binds to DAT and increases DA level, a mechanism thought to contribute to its favorable clinical performance. METHODS: Positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) was used to examine the DAT binding capacity in healthy rats and human subjects and microdialysis was used to examine the striatal DA level in rats. [18F]FECNT and [11C]CFT were used as PET/CT radioactive tracer for rat and human studies, respectively. RESULTS: In rats, 9 mg/kg of toludesvenlafaxine hydrochloride (i.v.) followed by an infusion of 3 mg/kg via minipump led to the binding rate to striatum DAT at 3.7 - 32.41% and to hypothalamus DAT at 5.91 - 17.52% during the 45 min scanning period. 32 mg/kg oral administration with toludesvenlafaxine hydrochloride significantly increased the striatal DA level with the AUC0 - 180 min increased by 63.9%. In healthy volunteers, 160 mg daily toludesvenlafaxine hydrochloride sustained-release tablets for 4 days led to an average occupancy rates of DAT at 8.04% ± 7.75% and 8.09% ± 7.00%, respectively, in basal ganglion 6 h and 10 h postdose. CONCLUSION: These results represent the first to confirm the binding of toludesvenlafaxine to DAT in both rats and humans using PET/CT, and its elevation of brain DA level, which may help understand the unique pharmacological and functional effects of triple reuptake inhibitors such as toludesvenlafaxine. GOV IDENTIFIERS: NCT05905120. Registered 14 June 2023. (retrospectively registered).

Performance of [18F]FDG PET/CT versus FAPI PET/CT for lung cancer assessment: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: This article aims to compare the diagnostic performance of 18-fluorodeoxyglucose ([18F]FDG) PET/CT and fibroblast activating protein inhibitor (FAPI) PET/CT in the assessment of primary tumors, lymph nodes, and distant metastases in lung cancer patients. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted on the Cochrane Library, Embase, and PubMed/MEDLINE databases from inception until November 1, 2022. Included studies assessed the use of FAPI PET/CT and [18F]FDG PET/CT in patients with lung cancer. The Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) tool was used to evaluate the risk of bias. A random variable model was used to analyze the diagnostic tests of the two imaging modalities. RESULTS: The sensitivity of FAPI PET/CT in detecting primary lung cancer lesions was 0.98 (95% CI: 0.88-1.00), while the sensitivity of [18F]FDG PET/CT was 0.99 (95% CI: 0.74-1.00). For the detection of metastatic lesions (lymph node metastases and distant metastases), FAPI PET/CT had a sensitivity of 0.99 (95% CI: 0.90-1.00), while the sensitivity of [18F]FDG PET/CT was 0.77 (95% CI: 0.66-0.85). However, the specificity of the two imaging modalities could not be assessed due to the lack of sufficient information on pertinent true negatives. CONCLUSION: In the diagnosis of metastatic lung cancer lesions, FAPI PET/CT demonstrated a higher sensitivity compared to [18F]FDG PET/CT. Therefore, FAPI PET/CT may be considered an alternative imaging modality for the assessment of primary lung cancer tumors, lymph node metastases, and distant metastases. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: FAPI may be an alternative to [18F]FDG in the assessment of primary lung cancer tumors, lymph node metastases, and distant metastases, which plays a very important role in treatment. KEY POINTS: • This article is to compare the performance of [18F]FDG PET/CT with FAPI PET/CT in the assessment of primary tumors, lymph nodes, and distant metastases in lung cancer. • However, FAPI PET/CT has a higher sensitivity for the diagnostic assessment of metastatic lung cancer lesions.

Heptanuclear Cadmium Borovanadate Containing a Sandwich-Type Anionic Partial Structure {B20V12} as a Heterogeneous Photocatalyst for the Reduction of CO2 into CH4.

The novel heptanuclear cadmium borovanadate [Cd(en)3]{[Cd(H2O)(en)]6[B20V12O60(OH)2]}·8H2O (en = ethylenediamine) has been prepared under hydrothermal condition. It exhibits a 2D layered architecture that is built up from the [Cd(H2O)(en)]2+ coordination cations and new sandwich-type borovanadate anions [B20V12O60(OH)2]14- constructed by BO3, BO4, BO3(OH), and VO5 units. It features the first heptanuclear cadmium borovanadate containing the single valence of V4+ cations and unique B/V ratio (B/V = 20/12). Its thermal, magnetic, XPS, and optical properties have been systematically studied. The Eg (2.60 eV), EVB (1.69 eV), and ECB (-0.91 eV) were well determined by the UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectrum, UPS curve, and the formula ECB = EVB - Eg, respectively. The photocatalytic experiments revealed that the borovanadate could be selected as an effective and stable heterogeneous catalyst for the reduction of CO2 to CH4 by means of visible light (the amount for CH4 gas could reach 50.57 µmol·g-1·h-1 when the reaction time was 3 h). The recycling experiment and photocatalytic mechanism were also well investigated and established in detail.

Efficacy of rTMS in treating functional impairment in post-stroke patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Most stroke patients suffer from an imbalance in blood supply, which causes severe brain damage leading to functional deficits in motor, sensory, swallowing, cognitive, emotional, and speech functions. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is thought to restore functions impaired during the stroke process and improve the quality of life of stroke patients. However, the efficacy of rTMS in treating post-stroke function impairment varies significantly. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis of the number of patients with effective rTMS in treating post-stroke dysfunction. METHODS: The PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched. Screening and full-text review were performed by three investigators. Single-group rate meta-analysis was performed on the extracted data using a random variable model. Then subgroup analyses were performed at the levels of stroke acuity (acute, chronic, or subacute); post-stroke symptoms (including upper and lower limb motor function, dysphagia, depression, aphasia); rTMS stimulation site (affected side, unaffected side); and whether or not it was a combination therapy. RESULTS: We obtained 8955 search records, and finally 33 studies (2682 patients) were included in the meta-analysis. The overall analysis found that effective strength (ES) of rTMS was 0.53. In addition, we found that the ES of rTMS from acute/subacute/chronic post-stroke was 0.69, 0.45, and 0.52. We also found that the ES of rTMS using high-frequency stimulation was 0.56, while the ES of rTMS using low-frequency stimulation was 0.53. From post-stroke symptoms, we found that the ES of rTMS in sensory aspects, upper limb functional aspects, swallowing function, and aphasia was 0.50, 0.52, 0.51, and 0.54. And from the site of rTMS stimulation, we found that the ES of rTMS applied to the affected side was 0.51, while the ES applied to the unaffected side was 0.54. What's more, we found that the ES of rTMS applied alone was 0.53, while the ES of rTMS applied in conjunction with other therapeutic modalities was 0.53. CONCLUSIONS: By comparing the results of the data, we recommend rTMS as a treatment option for rehabilitation of functional impairment in patients after stroke. We also recommend that rehabilitation physicians or clinicians use combination therapy as one of the options for patients.

Effect of no eyeglasses sales on the quality of eye care: an experimental evidence from China.

BACKGROUND: Eye examinations and eyeglasses acquisition are typically integrated into a cohesive procedure in China. We conducted a randomized controlled trial using incognito standardized patient (SP) approach to evaluate the impact of separating eyeglasses sales on the accuracy of final prescription. METHODS: 52 SPs were trained to provide standardized responses during eye examinations, and undergoing refraction by a senior ophthalmologist at a national-level clinical center. SPs subsequently received eye examinations at 226 private optical shops and public hospitals in Shaanxi, northwestern China. The visits were randomly assigned to either control group, where SPs would typically purchase eyeglasses after refraction, or treatment group, where SPs made an advance declaration not to purchase eyeglasses prior to refraction. The dioptric difference between the final prescriptions provided by local refractionists and expert in the better-seeing eye was determined using the Vector Diopteric Distance method, and the completeness of exams was assessed against national standards. Multiple regressions were conducted to estimate the impact of no eyeglasses sales on the accuracy of the final prescription of local refractionists, as well as the completeness of examinations. RESULTS: Among 226 eye exams (73 in public hospitals, 153 in private optical shops), 133 (58.8%) were randomized to control group and 93 (41.2%) to no eyeglasses sales group. The inaccuracy rate of final prescriptions provided by local refractionists (≥ 1.0 D, experts' final prescription as the reference) was 25.6% in control group, while 36.6% in no-sale group (P = 0.077). The likelihood of providing inaccurate final prescriptions was significantly higher in no-sale group compared to control group (OR = 1.607; 95% CI: 1.030 to 2.508; P = 0.037). This was particularly evident in private optical shops (OR = 2.433; 95% CI: 1.386 to 4.309; P = 0.002). In terms of process quality, the no-sale group performed significantly less subjective refraction (OR = 0.488; 95% CI: 0.253 to 0.940; P = 0.032) and less testing SP's own eyeglasses (OR = 0.424; 95% CI: 0.201 to 0.897; P = 0.025). The duration of eye exams was 3.917 min shorter (95% CI: -6.798 to -1.036; P = 0.008) in no-sale group. CONCLUSIONS: Separating eyeglasses sales from optical care could lead to worse quality of eye care. Policy makers should carefully consider the role of economic incentives in healthcare reform.

The key to sustainability: In-depth investigation of environmental quality in G20 countries through the lens of renewable energy, economic complexity and geopolitical risk resilience.

The world is currently facing urgent climate and environmental issues, such as global warming, ecosystem collapse, and energy shortages. In this context, this study selected data from 2000 to 2021 and employed the Method of Moment Quantile Regression (MMQR) to thoroughly investigate the impact of renewable energy consumption, economic complexity, and geopolitical risks on the ecological footprint of the Group of Twenty (G20) countries. The results indicate that in countries with lower quantiles, renewable energy consumption significantly reduces the ecological footprint, whereas its effect is not prominent in countries with higher quantiles. Economic complexity has a negative impact on the ecological footprint, and this impact becomes stronger as the quantile of the ecological footprint rises. Additionally, economic complexity moderates the effect of renewable energy on the ecological footprint. Geopolitical risks facilitate the growth of the ecological footprint. Likewise, robustness tests such as DOLS, FMOLS, and quantile regression confirm these estimates in the same framework. This study has conducted a profound analysis of global environmental issues, offering innovative perspectives and recommendations for achieving goals related to sustainable energy utilization, mitigating climate change, and improving the ecological environment. The findings of this research will guide policymakers in G20 countries to adopt more effective environmental protection measures, thereby contributing to the construction of a sustainable future.

Wastewater treatment process enhancement based on multi-objective optimization and interpretable machine learning.

Optimization and control of wastewater treatment process (WTP) can contribute to cost reduction and efficiency. A wastewater treatment process multi-objective optimization (WTPMO) framework is proposed in this paper to provide suggestions for decision-making in setting parameters of WTP. Firstly, the prediction models based on Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) with Bayesian optimization (BO) are developed for predicting effluent water quality (EQ) and energy consumption (EC) for different influent quality and process parameter settings. Then, the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) algorithm is used to complement the interpretability of machine learning to quantitatively evaluate the impact of different features on the predicted targets. Finally, the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) with the Technique for Ordering Preferences on Similarity of Ideal Solutions (TOPSIS) is introduced to solve and make decisions on the multi-objective optimization problem. The WTPMO applicability is validated on Benchmark Simulation Model 1 (BSM1). The results show that BOXGB achieves accurate prediction for EQ and EC with R2 values of 0.923 and 0.965, respectively, indicating that BO can effectively select the model hyperparameters in XGB. Based on SHAP supplemented the interpretability of the model to fully explain how the influent water quality and decision variables affect the EQ and EC of the WTP. In addition, the optimized process parameters are determined based on NSGA-II and TOPSIS, and the EC optimization rate is 1.552% while guaranteeing water quality compliance. Overall, this research can effectively achieve the optimization of WTP, ensure that the effluent water quality meets the standards while reducing energy consumption, assist Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to achieve more intelligent and efficient operation and maintenance management, and provide strong support for environmental protection and sustainable development goals.

A novel framework for high resolution air quality index prediction with interpretable artificial intelligence and uncertainties estimation.

Accurate air quality index (AQI) prediction is essential in environmental monitoring and management. Given that previous studies neglect the importance of uncertainty estimation and the necessity of constraining the output during prediction, we proposed a new hybrid model, namely TMSSICX, to forecast the AQI of multiple cities. Firstly, time-varying filtered based empirical mode decomposition (TVFEMD) was adopted to decompose the AQI sequence into multiple internal mode functions (IMF) components. Secondly, multi-scale fuzzy entropy (MFE) was applied to evaluate the complexity of each IMF component and clustered them into high and low-frequency portions. In addition, the high-frequency portion was secondarily decomposed by successive variational mode decomposition (SVMD) to reduce volatility. Then, six air pollutant concentrations, namely CO, SO2, PM2.5, PM10, O3, and NO2, were used as inputs. The secondary decomposition and preliminary portion were employed as the outputs for the bidirectional long short-term memory network optimized by the snake optimization algorithm (SOABiLSTM) and improved Catboost (ICatboost), respectively. Furthermore, extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) was applied to ensemble each predicted sub-model to acquire the consequence. Ultimately, we introduced adaptive kernel density estimation (AKDE) for interval estimation. The empirical outcome indicated the TMSSICX model achieved the best performance among the other 23 models across all datasets. Moreover, implementing the XGBoost to ensemble each predicted sub-model led to an 8.73%, 8.94%, and 0.19% reduction in RMSE, compared to SVM. Additionally, by utilizing SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) to assess the impact of the six pollutant concentrations on AQI, the results reveal that PM2.5 and PM10 had the most notable positive effects on the long-term trend of AQI. We hope this model can provide guidance for air quality management.

Insights into the liver-eyes connections, from epidemiological, mechanical studies to clinical translation.

Maintenance of internal homeostasis is a sophisticated process, during which almost all organs get involved. Liver plays a central role in metabolism and involves in endocrine, immunity, detoxification and storage, and therefore it communicates with distant organs through such mechanisms to regulate pathophysiological processes. Dysfunctional liver is often accompanied by pathological phenotypes of distant organs, including the eyes. Many reviews have focused on crosstalk between the liver and gut, the liver and brain, the liver and heart, the liver and kidney, but with no attention paid to the liver and eyes. In this review, we summarized intimate connections between the liver and the eyes from three aspects. Epidemiologically, we suggest liver-related, potential, protective and risk factors for typical eye disease as well as eye indicators connected with liver status. For molecular mechanism aspect, we elaborate their inter-organ crosstalk from metabolism (glucose, lipid, proteins, vitamin, and mineral), detoxification (ammonia and bilirubin), and immunity (complement and inflammation regulation) aspect. In clinical application part, we emphasize the latest advances in utilizing the liver-eye axis in disease diagnosis and therapy, involving artificial intelligence-deep learning-based novel diagnostic tools for detecting liver disease and adeno-associated viral vector-based gene therapy method for curing blinding eye disease. We aim to focus on and provide novel insights into liver and eyes communications and help resolve existed clinically significant issues.

[68Ga]Ga-FAPI PET for the evaluation of digestive system tumors: systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Digestive system tumors are a group of tumors with high incidence in the world nowadays. The assessment of digestive system tumor metastasis by conventional imaging seems to be unsatisfactory. [68Ga]Ga-FAPI, which has emerged in recent years, seems to be able to evaluate digestive system tumor metastasis. We aimed to summarize the current evidence of [68Ga]Ga-FAPI PET/CT or PET/MR for the assessment of primary tumors, lymph node metastases, and distant metastases in digestive system tumors. Besides, we also aimed to perform a meta-analysis of the sensitivity of [68Ga]Ga-FAPI PET diagnosis to discriminate between digestive system tumors, primary lesions, and non-primary lesions (lymph node metastases and distant metastases). MATERIALS AND METHODS: PubMed, MEDLINE and Cochrane Library databases were searched from the beginning of the database build to August 12, 2022. All studies undergoing [68Ga]Ga-FAPI PET for the evaluation of digestive tumors were included in the screening and review. Screening and full text review was performed by 3 investigators and data extraction was performed by 2 investigators. Risk of bias was examined with the QUADAS-2 criteria. Diagnostic test meta-analysis was performed with a random-effects model. RESULTS: A total of 541 studies were retrieved. Finally, 22 studies were selected for the systematic review and 18 studies were included in the meta-analysis. In the 18 publications, a total of 524 patients with digestive system tumors, 459 primary tumor lesions of digestive system tumors, and 1921 metastatic lesions of digestive system tumors were included in the meta-analysis. Based on patients, the sensitivity of [68Ga]Ga-FAPI PET for the diagnosis of digestive system tumors was 0.98 (95% CI: 0.94-0.99). Based on lesions, the sensitivity of [68Ga]Ga-FAPI PET for the diagnostic evaluation of primary tumor lesions of the digestive system was 0.97 (95% CI: 0.93-0.99); the sensitivity of [68Ga]Ga-FAPI PET for the diagnostic evaluation of non-primary lesions (lymph node metastases and distant metastases) of the digestive system tumors was 0.94 (95% CI: 0.79-0.99). CONCLUSION: [68Ga]Ga-FAPI PET has high accuracy and its sensitivity is at a high level for the diagnostic evaluation of digestive system tumors. Clinicians, nuclear medicine physicians, and radiologists may consider using [68Ga]Ga-FAPI PET/CT or PET/MR in the evaluation of primary tumors, lymph node metastases, and distant metastases in digestive system tumors.

18F­FDG PET/CT based radiomics features improve prediction of prognosis: multiple machine learning algorithms and multimodality applications for multiple myeloma.

PURPOSE: Multiple myeloma (MM), the second most hematological malignancy, have been studied extensively in the prognosis of the clinical parameters, however there are only a few studies have discussed the role of dual modalities and multiple algorithms of 18F-FDG (18F-fluorodeoxyglucose) PET/CT based radiomics signatures for prognosis in MM patients. We hope to deeply mine the utility of raiomics data in the prognosis of MM. METHODS: We extensively explored the predictive ability and clinical decision-making ability of different combination image data of PET, CT, clinical parameters and six machine learning algorithms, Cox proportional hazards model (Cox), linear gradient boosting models based on Cox's partial likelihood (GB-Cox), Cox model by likelihood based boosting (CoxBoost), generalized boosted regression modelling (GBM), random forests for survival model (RFS) and support vector regression for censored data model (SVCR). And the model evaluation methods include Harrell concordance index, time dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA). RESULTS: We finally confirmed 5 PET based features, and 4 CT based features, as well as 6 clinical derived features significantly related to progression free survival (PFS) and we included them in the model construction. In various modalities combinations, RSF and GBM algorithms significantly improved the accuracy and clinical net benefit of predicting prognosis compared with other algorithms. For all combinations of various modalities based models, single-modality PET based prognostic models' performance was outperformed baseline clinical parameters based models, while the performance of models of PET and CT combined with clinical parameters was significantly improved in various algorithms. CONCLUSION: 18F­FDG PET/CT based radiomics models implemented with machine learning algorithms can significantly improve the clinical prediction of progress and increased clinical benefits providing prospects for clinical prognostic stratification for precision treatment as well as new research areas.

A water quality prediction model based on signal decomposition and ensemble deep learning techniques.

Accurate water quality predictions are critical for water resource protection, and dissolved oxygen (DO) reflects overall river water quality and ecosystem health. This study proposes a hybrid model based on the fusion of signal decomposition and deep learning for predicting river water quality. Initially, complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (CEEMDAN) is employed to split the internal series of DO into numerous internal mode functions (IMFs). Subsequently, we employed multi-scale fuzzy entropy (MFE) to compute the entropy values for each IMF component. Time-varying filtered empirical mode decomposition (TVFEMD) is used to further extract features in high-frequency subsequences after linearly aggregating the high-frequency sequences. Finally, support vector machine (SVM) and long short-term memory (LSTM) neural networks are used to predict low- and high-frequency subsequences. Moreover, by comparing it with single models, models based on 'single layer decomposition-prediction-ensemble' and combination models using different methods, the feasibility of the proposed model in predicting water quality data for the Xinlian section of Fuhe River and the Chucha section of Ganjiang River was verified. As a result, the combined prediction approach developed in this work has improved generalizability and prediction accuracy, and it may be used to forecast water quality in complicated waters.

Biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease in severe obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome in the Chinese population.

PURPOSE: Patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome are often accompanied by symptoms such as decreased cognitive function and daytime sleepiness, while cognitive function is often associated with biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, this study aims to explore the level of Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in the plasma of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome patients as well as the relationship between cognitive function and daytime sleepiness. METHODS: Between May and July 2019, 35 patients requiring hospitalization for severe obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome and 16 normal control patients were selected from West China Hospital. Alzheimer's disease biomarkers (Aß40, Aß42, t-tau, p-tau) in plasma were detected by ELISA in all 51 subjects. The differences in Alzheimer's disease biomarkers between the two groups were compared. In addition, a correlation analysis of disease-related indicators and univariate analysis of the risk factors of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome was conducted using the logistic regression model. RESULTS: The plasma levels of Alzheimer's disease biomarkers (Aß40, t-tau, p-tau) in patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome were significantly higher than those in the control group (29.24 ± 32.52, 13.18 ± 10.78, p = 0.049; 11.88 ± 7.05, 7.64 ± 4.17, p = 0.037; 26.31 ± 14.41, 17.34 ± 9.12, p = 0.027). Aß42, Aß40, t-tau, and p-tau were significantly negatively correlated with mean oxygen saturation, low oxygen saturation and Mini-Mental State examination scale scores, and positively correlated with oxygen desaturation index and Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores. T-tau and p-tau can be used as new risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome. CONCLUSION: Alzheimer's disease biomarkers in the plasma of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome patients are higher than those in the control group, and the mechanism of action may be related to sleep disorders and night hypoxia. The Alzheimer's disease biomarkers deposited in plasma may also cause the decline of patients' cognitive function, increased daytime sleepiness and accelerate the progression of obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome.

A Low-Cost Electromagnetic Docking Guidance System for Micro Autonomous Underwater Vehicles.

As important observational platforms for the Smart Ocean concept, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) that perform long-term observation in fleets are beneficial because they provide large-scale sampling data with a sufficient spatiotemporal resolution. Therefore, a large number of low-cost micro AUVs with docking capability for power recharge and data transmission are essential. This study designed a low-cost electromagnetic docking guidance (EMDG) system for micro AUVs. The EMDG system is composed of a transmitter coil located on the dock and a three-axial search coil magnetometer acting as a receiver. The search coil magnetometer was optimized for small sizes while maintaining sufficient sensitivity. The signal conditioning and processing subsystem was designed to calculate the deflection angle (ß) for docking guidance. Underwater docking tests showed that the system can detect the electromagnetic signal and successfully guide AUV docking. The AUV can still perform docking in extreme positions, which cannot be realized through normal optical or acoustic guidance. This study is the first to focus on the EM guidance system for low-cost micro AUVs. The search coil sensor in the AUV is inexpensive and compact so that the system can be equipped on a wide range of AUVs.