Thermodynamic imaging calculation model on COVID-19 transmission and epidemic cities risk level assessment-data from Hubei in China.

Novel coronavirus pneumonia in 17 city (Hubei) provinces was analyzed by using the principle of thermodynamics. A thermodynamic imaging model of infectious diseases was established to calculate the cumulative superimposed density of epidemic in 17 cities (prefectures). An evaluation rule of urban risk grade is established and evaluates the COVID-19 risk of 17 cities. The results show that (1) the higher the superimposed density of urban epidemic, the more infected people. (2) In the incubation stage, the thermodynamic imaging shows a point distribution, random walk, and outward diffusion trend. In the initial stage, the color of thermodynamic imaging gradually deepened and the range gradually expanded. During the burst stage, the thermodynamic imaging color deepens rapidly and the scope expands rapidly. In the stable stage, the thermodynamic imaging color becomes darkest and the range is extended to the pole. (3) According to the situation of COVID-19 transmission in Hubei Province, the cumulative superimposed density of Wuhan epidemic is far more than 10,000, ranking as "highest-risk." Xiaogan and other 10 cities have a cumulative superimposed density within the range of [1000, 10,000], ranking as "high-risk." Shiyan and other 5 cities have accumulated superimposed density values within the range of [100, 1000], ranking as "medium-risk." Shennongjia cumulative superimposed density value is less than 100, and the level is "low-risk."

The critical role of the orbitofrontal cortex for regret in an economic decision-making task.

Regret affects decision-making behavior, which is mediated by a cognitive process known as counterfactual thinking in economic science. Several studies indicate that orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) plays a crucial role in decision-making behavior. However, the neural correlates of regret trait and the function of the OFC in decision-making remain unclear. In this study, we employed a typical monetary decision-making task, a modified 'Wheel of Fortune gamble' paradigm, to investigate decision-making behavior and its neural mechanism. We combined voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and task-evoked functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analyses to explore the neural substrates of regret trait. VBM analyses revealed that individual Regret Scale Score was negatively associated with the gray-matter volume (GMV) in the frontal and temporal areas, including the bilateral OFC. These results indicate that individuals with high regret trait have smaller GMV in these areas. Moreover, we found stronger task-evoked activation of the left OFC in high regret trait individuals during the decision-maker's choice (choose conditions) phase, whereas we did not find this relationship in computer-selected's (follow conditions) choice phase. Using generalized psychophysiological interactions (PPI) analysis, we further found that the functional connectivity of the left OFC to right inferior frontal gyrus and left cerebellum was stronger in the complete feedback choose condition (under regret theoretical framework) than partial feedback choose condition (under disappointment theoretical framework). These findings verify the critical role of the OFC in the decision-making, more importantly, provide novel insights into the morphological and functional substrates of individual regret trait.

Similarity/dissimilarity analysis of protein structures based on Markov random fields.

Protein Structure Similarity plays an important role in study on functional properties of proteins and evolutionary study. Many efficient methods have been proposed to advance protein structural comparison, but there are still some challenges in the contact strength definitions and similarity measures. In this work, we schemed out a new method to analyze the similarity/dissimilarity of the protein structures based on Markov random fields. We evaluated the proposed method with two experiments and compared it with the competing methods The results indicate that the proposed method exhibits a strong ability to detect the similarities/dissimilarities among the conformation of different cyclic peptides and protein structures. We also found that the alpha-C, oxygen O and N allow us to extract more conserved structures of the proteins, and Markov random fields with 2-point cliques (V) and orders 3 and 1 are more efficient in detecting the similarities/dissimilarities among different protein structures. This understanding can be used to design more powerful methods for similarities/dissimilarities analysis of different protein structures.

Decision tree analysis of traditional risk factors of carotid atherosclerosis and a cutpoint-based prevention strategy.

BACKGROUND: Reducing the exposure to risk factors for the prevention of cardio-cerebral vascular disease is a crucial issue. Few reports have described practical interventions for preventing cardiovascular disease in different genders and age groups, particularly detailed and specific cutpoint-based prevention strategies. METHODS: We collected the health examination data of 5822 subjects between 20 and 80 years of age. The administration of medical questionnaires and physical examinations and the measurement of blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and blood lipids [total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C)] were performed by physicians. Carotid ultrasound was performed to examine the carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), which was defined as carotid atherosclerosis when CIMT ≥0.9 mm. Decision tree analysis was used to screen for the most important risk factors for carotid atherosclerosis and to identify the relevant cutpoints. RESULTS: In the study population, the incidence of carotid atherosclerosis was 12.20% (men: 14.10%, women: 9.20%). The statistical analysis showed significant differences in carotid atherosclerosis incidence between different genders (P<0.0001) and age groups (P<0.001). The decision tree analysis showed that in men, the most important traditional risk factors for carotid atherosclerosis were TC (cutpoint [CP]: 6.31 mmol/L) between the ages of 20-40 and FPG (CP: 5.79 mmol/L) between the ages of 41-59. By comparison, LDL-C (CP: 4.27 mmol/L) became the major risk factor when FPG ≤5.79 mmol/L. FPG (CP: 5.52 mmol/L) and TG (CP: 1.51 mmol/L) were the most important traditional risk factors for women between 20-40 and 41-59 years of age, respectively. CONCLUSION: Traditional risk factors and relevant cutpoints were not identical in different genders and age groups. A specific gender and age group-based cutpoint strategy might contribute to preventing cardiovascular disease.