A universal interface for plug-and-play assembly of stretchable devices.

Stretchable hybrid devices have enabled high-fidelity implantable1-3 and on-skin4-6 monitoring of physiological signals. These devices typically contain soft modules that match the mechanical requirements in humans7,8 and soft robots9,10, rigid modules containing Si-based microelectronics11,12 and protective encapsulation modules13,14. To make such a system mechanically compliant, the interconnects between the modules need to tolerate stress concentration that may limit their stretching and ultimately cause debonding failure15-17. Here, we report a universal interface that can reliably connect soft, rigid and encapsulation modules together to form robust and highly stretchable devices in a plug-and-play manner. The interface, consisting of interpenetrating polymer and metal nanostructures, connects modules by simply pressing without using pastes. Its formation is depicted by a biphasic network growth model. Soft-soft modules joined by this interface achieved 600% and 180% mechanical and electrical stretchability, respectively. Soft and rigid modules can also be electrically connected using the above interface. Encapsulation on soft modules with this interface is strongly adhesive with an interfacial toughness of 0.24 N mm-1. As a proof of concept, we use this interface to assemble stretchable devices for in vivo neuromodulation and on-skin electromyography, with high signal quality and mechanical resistance. We expect such a plug-and-play interface to simplify and accelerate the development of on-skin and implantable stretchable devices.

Coded Excitation for Ultrasonic Testing: A Review.

Originating in the early 20th century, ultrasonic testing has found increasingly extensive applications in medicine, industry, and materials science. Achieving both a high signal-to-noise ratio and high efficiency is crucial in ultrasonic testing. The former means an increase in imaging clarity as well as the detection depth, while the latter facilitates a faster refresh of the image. It is difficult to balance these two indicators with a conventional short pulse to excite the probe, so in general handling methods, these two factors have a trade-off. To solve the above problems, coded excitation (CE) can increase the pulse duration and offers great potential to improve the signal-to-noise ratio with equivalent or even higher efficiency. In this paper, we first review the fundamentals of CE, including signal modulation, signal transmission, signal reception, pulse compression, and optimization methods. Then, we introduce the application of CE in different areas of ultrasonic testing, with a focus on industrial bulk wave single-probe detection, industrial guided wave detection, industrial bulk wave phased array detection, and medical phased array imaging. Finally, we point out the advantages as well as a few future directions of CE.

Prognostic Significance of mRNA Expression RBBP8 or Its Methylation in Gliomas.

Retinoblastoma-binding protein 8 (RBBP8) affects the prognosis of patients with malignancies through various mechanisms. However, its function in gliomas is unknown. Our study explored the effects of RBBP8 on the prognosis of glioma patients, as well as its regulatory role in the glioma immune microenvironment. We used various bioinformatics methods to analyze the transcriptional profiles and methylation data of RBBP8 in gliomas from multiple databases. Our results showed that the mRNA and protein expression of RBBP8 in gliomas was higher than that in normal tissues and positively correlated with malignant clinical features such as age and WHO grade. A Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with high RBBP8 expression had a poor prognosis. Cox regression demonstrated that RBBP8 was an independent risk indicator and had good diagnostic value for the poor prognosis of glioma. Importantly, RBBP8 was positively correlated with many well-known immune checkpoints (e.g., CTLA4 and PDL-1). Finally, a gene set enrichment analysis revealed that RBBP8 was remarkably enriched in cancer-related pathways such as cell cycle, DNA replication and so on. In conclusion, this study is the first to elaborate on the value of RBBP8 in the pathological process of glioma for anti-tumor immunotherapy. In addition, the expression of RBBP8 and its methylation site, cg05513509, may provide potential targets for glioma therapy.

Burden and Trends of IBD in 5 Asian Countries From 1990 to 2019: A Comparison With the United States and the United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND: IBD is becoming a global health challenge, with substantial variations in incidence and death rates between Eastern and Western countries. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the burden and trends of IBD in 5 Asian countries, the United States, and the United Kingdom. DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study. SETTING: Data were obtained from Global Burden of Disease 2019 Study. PATIENTS: Patients with IBD were included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Incidence, death, and age-standardized rates of IBD were measured. RESULTS: The age-standardized incidence and rates of death from IBD gradually decreased worldwide from 1990 to 2019. The age-standardized incidence rate in the United States decreased from 1990 to 2000 and then increased gradually from 2000 to 2019; the age-standardized incidence rates in the United Kingdom, Mongolia, and China increased gradually from 1990 to 2019, whereas in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, it decreased from 1990 to 1995 and increased gradually from 1995 to 2019. The age-standardized death rate in the Republic of Korea exhibited a rising trend until 1995, fell significantly up to 2015, and then stabilized from 2015 to 2019. The age-standardized death rate in the United States showed a rising trend until 2007, and then decreased gradually from 2007 to 2019, whereas the rate in the United Kingdom showed a rising trend until 2010 and decreased from 2010 to 2019. The age-standardized death rates in China, Mongolia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and Japan decreased gradually from 1990 to 2019. The age-standardized incidence and death rates in the United States and United Kingdom in recent decades were higher than those in the 5 Asian countries. The peak age-standardized incidence rates in the 7 countries were among people of 20 to 60 years of age. The age-standardized death rates in all 7 countries exhibited rising trends with increasing age, with older individuals, particularly those aged ≥70 years, accounting for the most deaths. LIMITATIONS: Limitations of this study include data from different countries with different quality and accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: There have been large variations in the burdens and trends of IBD between 5 Asian countries, the United States, and the United Kingdom during the past 3 decades. These findings may help policymakers to make better public decisions and allocate appropriate resources. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/B996 . CARGA Y TENDENCIAS DE LA ENFERMEDAD INFLAMATORIA INTESTINAL EN CINCO PASES ASITICOS DESDE HASTA UNA COMPARACIN CON LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS Y EL REINO UNIDO: ANTECEDENTES:La enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal se está convirtiendo en un desafío en la salud mundial, con variaciones sustanciales en las tasas de incidencia y mortalidad entre los países orientales y occidentales.OBJETIVO:Investigar la carga y las tendencias de la enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal en cinco países asiáticos, EE. UU. y el Reino Unido.DISEÑO:Estudio transversal.ESCENARIO:Estudio de carga global de morbilidad 2019.PACIENTES:Enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal.PRINCIPALES MEDIDAS DE RESULTADO:Incidencia, muerte y tasas estandarizadas por edad de enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal.RESULTADOS:Las tasas de incidencia y muerte estandarizadas por edad de la enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal disminuyeron gradualmente en todo el mundo desde 1990 hasta 2019. La tasa de incidencia estandarizada por edad en los EE. UU. disminuyó de 1990 a 2000 y luego aumentó gradualmente de 2000 a 2019, las tasas en el Reino Unido, Mongolia y China aumentaron gradualmente de 1990 a 2019, mientras que la tasa en la República Popular Democrática de Corea disminuyó de 1990 a 1995 y aumentó gradualmente de 1990 a 2019. La tasa de mortalidad estandarizada por edad en la República de Corea exhibió un tendencia ascendente hasta 1995, cayó significativamente hasta 2015 y luego se estabilizó de 2015 a 2019. La tasa de mortalidad estandarizada por edad en los EE. UU. mostró una tendencia ascendente hasta 2007 y luego disminuyó gradualmente de 2007 a 2019, mientras que la tasa en el Reino Unido mostró una tendencia ascendente hasta 2010 y disminuyó de 2010 a 2019. Las tasas de mortalidad estandarizadas por edad en China, Mongolia, la República Popular Democrática de Corea y Japón disminuyeron gradualmente de 1990 a 2019. La tasa de incidencia estandarizada por edad y mortalidad en los EE. UU. y el Reino Unido en la última década fueron más altas que las de los cinco países asiáticos. Las tasas máximas de incidencia estandarizadas por edad en los siete países se dieron entre personas de 20 a 60 años. Las tasas de mortalidad estandarizadas por edad en los siete países exhibieron tendencias crecientes con el aumento de la edad, y las personas mayores, en particular las de ≥70 años, representaron la mayoría de las muertes.LIMITACIONES:Datos de diferentes países con diferente calidad y precisión.CONCLUSIONES:Ha habido grandes variaciones en las cargas y tendencias de la enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal entre cinco países asiáticos, EE. UU. y el Reino Unido durante las últimas tres décadas. Estos hallazgos pueden ayudar a los formuladores de políticas a tomar mejores decisiones públicas y asignar los recursos apropiados. Consulte Video Resumen en http://links.lww.com/DCR/B996 . (Traducción- Dr. Francisco M. Abarca-Rendon ).

A Novel Lipid Metabolism and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Related Risk Model for Predicting Immune Infiltration and Prognosis in Colorectal Cancer.

Lipid metabolism and endoplasmic reticulum stress exhibit crosstalk in various cancer types, which are closely associated with the progression of colorectal cancer (CRC). This study constructs a prognostic signature based on lipid metabolism and endoplasmic reticulum stress-related genes (LERGs) for CRC patients, aiming to predict the prognosis and immune response. RNA sequencing and clinical data from the TCGA and GEO databases were analyzed to identify differentially expressed LERGs with prognostic relevance using univariate Cox regression. Subsequently, a risk model was developed using the LASSO regression. CRC patients were stratified into low-risk and high-risk groups based on risk scores, with the high-risk cohort demonstrating a poorer clinical prognosis in multiple databases. The risk model showed robust correlations with clinical features, gene mutations, and treatment sensitivity. Significant differences in immune cell infiltration and the expression of immune-related factors were also detected between risk groups, and elevated scores of cytokines and failure factors were detected in single-cell RNA sequencing analysis. This research indicates that lipid metabolism and endoplasmic reticulum stress in CRC are correlated with tumor progression, an immunosuppressive landscape, and alterations of drug sensitivity. The developed risk model can serve as a powerful prognostic tool, offering critical insights for refining clinical management and optimizing treatment in CRC patients.

Construction of TiO2(B)/Anatase Heterophase Junctions via a Water-Induced Phase Transformation Strategy for Enhanced Photocatalytic Hydrogen Production.

The development of facile and green solution-phase routes toward the fabrication of TiO2-based heterophase junctions with a delicate control of phase and structure is a challenging task. Herein, we report a simple and convenient method to controllably fabricate TiO2(B)/anatase heterophase junctions, which was successfully realized by utilizing the ideal great solvent of water to treat the presynthesized TiO2(B) nanosheet precursor at a low temperature of 80 °C. On the basis of phase structure transformation and morphology evolution data, the formation of these TiO2(B)/anatase heterophase junctions was reasonably explained by a novel water-induced TiO2(B) → anatase phase transformation mechanism. Benefiting from the desirable structural and photoelectronic advantages of more exposed active sites, enhanced light absorbance, and promoted separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, the thus-transformed TiO2(B)/anatase heterophase junctions exhibit fascinating photocatalytic performance in water splitting. Specifically, with the help of Pt as a cocatalyst and methanol as a sacrificial agent, the H2 production rate of optimized TiO2(B)/anatase heterophase junction reaches 6.92 mmol·g-1·h-1, which is almost 7.1 and 2.1 times higher than those of the pristine TiO2(B) nanosheets and the final anatase nanocrystals. More interestingly, the TiO2(B)/anatase heterophase junction also delivers prominent activity toward pure water splitting to simultaneously produce H2 and H2O2, with evolution rates of up to 1.10 and 0.55 mmol·g-1·h-1, respectively. Our work may advance the facile green solvent-mediated synthesis of metal oxide-based heterophase junctions for applications in energy- and environmental-related areas.

Time-domain photoacoustic waveform analysis for glucose measurement.

Photoacoustic (PA) effect is the product of light-ultrasound interactions and its time-domain waveform contains rich information. Besides optical absorption, the PA waveform inherently consists of other mechanical and thermal properties of the sample. They also have correlation with the target composition but have not been utilized in conventional PA spectroscopy. In this article, we propose a new concept named time-domain photoacoustic waveform spectroscopy (tPAWS) for chemical component quantification. It employs multiple variables inherently contained in the PA waveform excited by a single wavelength laser to extract informative features. The demonstration of glucose measurement in human blood serum (HBS) shows superior sensitivity and accuracy enhancement, compared to conventional amplitude-based PA measurement and NIR spectroscopy. Thanks to the sensitivity and accuracy of tPAWS, multiple wavelength sources and complex instrumentation used in conventional spectroscopic sensing methods can be avoided. TPAWS, as a novel physics-inspired sensing method, shows great potential for complementing or surpassing the current spectroscopic methods as a new sensing technique for chemical analysis.

Visual geometry Group-UNet: Deep learning ultrasonic image reconstruction for curved parts.

Detecting small defects in curved parts through classical monostatic pulse-echo ultrasonic imaging is known to be a challenge. Hence, a robot-assisted ultrasonic testing system with the track-scan imaging method is studied to improve the detecting coverage and contrast of ultrasonic images. To further improve the image resolution, we propose a visual geometry group-UNet (VGG-UNet) deep learning network to optimize the ultrasonic images reconstructed by the track-scan imaging method. The VGG-UNet uses VGG to extract advanced information from ultrasonic images and takes advantage of UNet for small dataset segmentation. A comparison of the reconstructed images on the simulation dataset with ground truth reveals that the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity index measure (SSIM) can reach 39 dB and 0.99, respectively. Meanwhile, the trained network is also robust against the noise and environmental factors according to experimental results. The experiments indicate that the PSNR and SSIM can reach 32 dB and 0.99, respectively. The resolution of ultrasonic images reconstructed by track-scan imaging method is increased approximately 10 times. All the results verify that the proposed method can improve the resolution of reconstructed ultrasonic images with high computation efficiency.

Noninvasive Electromagnetic Wave Sensing of Glucose.

Diabetic patients need long-term and frequent glucose monitoring to assist in insulin intake. The current finger-prick devices are painful and costly, which places noninvasive glucose sensors in high demand. In this review paper, we list several advanced electromagnetic (EM)-wave-based technologies for noninvasive glucose measurement, including infrared (IR) spectroscopy, photoacoustic (PA) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence, optical coherence tomography (OCT), Terahertz (THz) spectroscopy, and microwave sensing. The development of each method is discussed regarding the fundamental principle, system setup, and experimental results. Despite the promising achievements that have been previously reported, no established product has obtained FDA approval or survived a marketing test. The limitations of, and prospects for, these techniques are presented at the end of this review.

Frequency domain synthetic aperture focusing technique for variable-diameter cylindrical components.

Ultrasonic non-destructive testing (UNDT) plays an important role in ensuring the quality of cylindrical components of equipment such as pipes and axles. As the acoustic beam width widens along propagation depths, the diffraction of acoustic wave becomes serious and the images of defects will be interfered with. To precisely evaluate the dimensions of defects and flaws concealed in components, the synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) is introduced to enhance the image resolutions. Conventional SAFTs have been successfully implemented for the ultrasonic imaging of normal cylinders, while solutions for complex ones, such as variable-diameter cylinders, are still lacking. To overcome this problem, a frequency-domain SAFT for variable-diameter cylindrical components is proposed. This algorithm is mainly based on acoustic field extrapolation, which is modified from cylindrical phase shift migration with the aid of split-step Fourier. After a series of extrapolations, a high-resolution ultrasound image can be reconstructed using a particular imaging condition. According to the experimental results, the proposed method yields low side lobes and high resolutions for flat transducers. Its attainable angular resolution relies on the transducer diameter D and scanning radius R and approximates D/(2R).

A blind deconvolution method for attenuative materials based on asymmetrical Gaussian model.

During propagation in attenuative materials, ultrasonic waves are distorted by frequency-dependent acoustic attenuation. As a result, reference signals for blind deconvolution in attenuative materials are asymmetrical and should be accurately estimated by considering attenuation. In this study, an asymmetrical Gaussian model is established to estimate the reference signals from these materials, and a blind deconvolution method based on this model is proposed. Based on the symmetrical Gaussian model, the asymmetrical one is formulated by adding an asymmetrical coefficient. Upon establishing the model, the reference signal for blind deconvolution is determined via maximum likelihood estimation, and the blind deconvolution is implemented with an orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm. To verify the feasibility of the established model, spectra of ultrasonic signals from attenuative polyethylene plates with different thicknesses are measured and estimated. The proposed blind deconvolution method is applied to the A-scan signal and B-scan image from attenuative materials. Results demonstrate that the proposed method is capable of separating overlapping echoes and therefore achieves a high temporal resolution.

[Influence of previous abdominopelvic surgery on gynecological laparoscopic operation].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of previous abdominopelvic surgery on gynecological laparoscopic operation. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 3 283 cases of gynecological diseases by laparoscopic operation patients in Peking University First Hospital from 2007 January to 2012 December, among them, 719 (21.90%) patients with previous abdominopelvic surgery history (study Group), 2 564 (78.10%)patients have no history of abdominopelvic surgery (control group). Study group 719 patients, previous operation times: one time in 525 cases, 194 cases were multiple; previous operation: 185 cases of gynecological surgery, 305 cases of obstetric surgery, 108 cases of general surgery, and 121 complex surgery (include at least two kinds of surgery); previous operative approach: 650 cases laparotomy and 69 cases laparoscopy. Compared two groups of patients with abdominopelvic adhesion and the gynecologic laparoscopic operation situation, analyzed the influence of previous abdominopelvic surgery on abdominopelvic adhesion on and gynecological laparoscopic operation. RESULTS: The incidence of abdominopelvic adhesion in the patients with previous abdominopelvic surgery was 51.2% (368/719), which was significantly higher than that of 8.2% (211/2 564)in patients without previous abdominopelvic surgery (P < 0.01). But the study group score (median 3) and the degree of abdominopelvic adhesion [mild 49.7% (183/368), moderate 36.1% (133/368), severe 14.1% (52 /368)] compared with the control group score (median 2) and degree [mild 55.0% (116/211), moderate 25.6% (54/211), and severe 19.4% (41/211)] were no statistical difference (P = 0.930, P = 0.684). Super-umbilical primary trocar site were chosen more common in patients with previous abdominopelvic surgery (23.1%, 166/719) was significantly higher than that in the control group (3.3% , 85/2 564;P < 0.01). And the rate of conversion to laparotomy was 0.6% (4/719) significantly more than the control groups (0.1%, 2/2 564; P = 0.023). Compared with other groups, patients with gynecological or complex surgery or multiple operation history presented more severe abdominopelvic adhesion both in the score and degree (P < 0.01). The rate of super-umbilical primary trocar site, hospitalization time, operation time and bleeding during operation in patients with multiple operation history were significantly higher than those with single operation history (P < 0.05); the rate of blood transfusion, postoperative complication and conversion to laparotomy showed no statistical difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The laparoscopic operation could be carried out successfully and safely in patients with a history of various abdominopelvic operations, but the conversion rate increases, for patients with a history of multiple operation because of pelvic adhesion increases the difficulty of the laparoscopic operation.

[Analysis of the complications of gynecological laparoscopic operation within 10 years].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate on the incidence of gynecological laparoscopic operation complications within ten years. METHODS: From January 2003 to December 2012, clinical data and the complications of 4 897 cases undergoing gynecological laparoscopic operation in First Hospital of Peking University were studied retrospectively. Those surgeries included 876 cases with hysterectomy, 662 cases with myoectomy, 3 266 cases with adnexa surgery, 93 cases of diagnostic laparoscopy operation. RESULTS: The complications occurred in 29 cases, the incidence rate was 0.59% ( 29/4 897). The Incidence rate in Hysterectomy group was 1.83% (16/876), which was significantly higher than 0.60% (4/662) in myoectomy group and 0.28% (9/3 266) in adnexa surgery group. Twenty nine cases of complications were 14 cases with organ injures (48%, 14/29), 5 cases with hemorrhage complications (17%, 5/29), 8 cases with infectious complications (28%, 8/29), 2 cases with incisional hernia (7%, 2/29). CONCLUSION: The major complication of gynecological laparoscopic operation complication was organs injuries, which was associated with difficulty and scope of the operation.

Potential Mechanism of Tibetan Medicine Liuwei Muxiang Pills against Colorectal Cancer: Network Pharmacology and Bioinformatics Analyses.

This study aimed to explore the mechanism through which Tibetan medicine Liuwei Muxiang (LWMX) pills acts against colorectal cancer (CRC). We firstly retrieved the active ingredients and the correlated targets of LWMX pills from public databases. The CRC-related targets were determined through bioinformatic analysis of a public CRC dataset. By computing the intersection of the drug-specific and disease-related targets, LWMX pill-CRC interaction networks were constructed using the protein-protein interaction (PPI) method and functional enrichment analysis. Subsequently, we determined the hub genes using machine learning tools and further verified their critical roles in CRC treatment via immune infiltration analysis and molecular docking studies. We identified 81 active ingredients in LWMX pills with 614 correlated targets, 1877 differentially expressed genes, and 9534 coexpression module genes related to CRC. A total of 5 target hub genes were identified among the 108 intersecting genes using machine learning algorithms. The immune infiltration analysis results suggested that LWMX pills could affect the CRC immune infiltration microenvironment by regulating the expression of the target hub genes. Finally, the molecular docking outcomes revealed stable binding affinity between all target hub proteins and the primary active ingredients of LWMX pills. Our findings illustrate the anti-CRC potential and the mechanism of action of LWMX pills and provide novel insights into multitarget medication for CRC treatment.

Preparation and Application of High Internal Phase Pickering Emulsion Gels Stabilized by Starch Nanocrystal/Tannic Acid Complex Particles.

Herein, the starch nanocrystal/tannic acid (ST) complex particles, which were prepared based on the hydrogen bond between starch nanocrystal (SNC) and tannic acid (TA), were successfully used to stabilize the HIPPE gels. The optimal TA concentration of the ST complex particles resulted in better water dispersibility, surface wettability, and interfacial activity as compared to SNC. The hydrogen bond responsible for the formation of ST complex particles and subsequent stable emulsions was demonstrated by varying the pH and ionic strength of the aqueous phase. Notably, the HIPPE gels stabilized via the ST complex particles can maintain long-term stability for up to three months. The HIPPEs stabilized via the ST complex particles all displayed gel-like features and had smaller droplets and denser droplet networks than the SNC-stabilized HIPPEs. The rheological behavior of HIPPE gels stabilized via the ST complex particles can be readily changed by tuning the mass ratio of SNC and TA as well as pH. Finally, the prepared HIPPE gels used to effectively protect encapsulated ß-carotene against high temperatures and ultraviolet radiation and its controllable release at room temperature were demonstrated. It is anticipated that the aforementioned findings will provide new perspectives on the preparation of Pickering emulsion for delivery systems.

Bioinspired handheld time-share driven robot with expandable DoFs.

Handheld robots offer accessible solutions with a short learning curve to enhance operator capabilities. However, their controllable degree-of-freedoms are limited due to scarce space for actuators. Inspired by muscle movements stimulated by nerves, we report a handheld time-share driven robot. It comprises several motion modules, all powered by a single motor. Shape memory alloy (SMA) wires, acting as "nerves", connect to motion modules, enabling the selection of the activated module. The robot contains a 202-gram motor base and a 0.8 cm diameter manipulator comprised of sequentially linked bending modules (BM). The manipulator can be tailored in length and integrated with various instruments in situ, facilitating non-invasive access and high-dexterous operation at remote surgical sites. The applicability was demonstrated in clinical scenarios, where a surgeon held the robot to conduct transluminal experiments on a human stomach model and an ex vivo porcine stomach. The time-share driven mechanism offers a pragmatic approach to build a multi-degree-of-freedom robot for broader applications.

Symbiotic combination of Akkermansia muciniphila and inosine alleviates alcohol-induced liver injury by modulating gut dysbiosis and immune responses.

Background: Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is exacerbated by disruptions in intestinal microecology and immune imbalances within the gut-liver axis. The present study assesses the therapeutic potential of combining Akkermansia muciniphila (A. muciniphila) with inosine in alleviating alcohol-induced liver injury. Methods: Male C57BL/6 mice, subjected to a Lieber-DeCarli diet with 5% alcohol for 4 weeks, served as the alcoholic liver injury model. Various analyzes, including quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), ELISA, immunochemistry, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and flow cytometry, were employed to evaluate liver injury parameters, intestinal barrier function, microbiota composition, and immune responses. Results: Compared to the model group, the A. muciniphila and inosine groups exhibited significantly decreased alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels, reduced hepatic fat deposition and neutrophil infiltration, alleviated oxidative stress and inflammation, and increased expression of intestinal tight junction proteins (Claudin-1, Occludin, and ZO-1). These effects were further pronounced in the A. muciniphila and inosine combination group compared to individual treatments. While alcohol feeding induced intestinal dysbiosis and gut barrier disruption, the combined treatment reduced the abundance of harmful bacteria (Oscillibacter, Escherichia/Shigella, and Alistipes) induced by alcohol consumption, promoting the growth of butyrate-producing bacteria (Akkermansia, Lactobacillus, and Clostridium IV). Flow cytometry revealed that alcohol consumption reduced T regulatory (Treg) populations while increasing those of T-helper (Th) 1 and Th17, which were restored by A. muciniphila combined with inosine treatment. Moreover, A. muciniphila and inosine combination increased the expression levels of intestinal CD39, CD73, and adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR) along with enhanced proportions of CD4+CD39+Treg and CD4+CD73+Treg cells in the liver and spleen. The A2AR antagonist KW6002, blocked the beneficial effects of the A. muciniphila and inosine combination on liver injury in ALD mice. Conclusion: This study reveals that the combination of A. muciniphila and inosine holds promise for ameliorating ALD by enhancing the gut ecosystem, improving intestinal barrier function, upregulating A2AR, CD73, and CD39 expression, modulating Treg cells functionality, and regulating the imbalance of Treg/Th17/Th1 cells, and these beneficial effects are partly A2AR-dependent.

Ultrasonic imaging through reverberation media.

Thin layered media like thermal barrier and corrosion resistant coating layers, are important components to protect and strengthen the base materials. Nevertheless, the non-destructive testing (NDT) of base materials under thin layer media are still strongly demanded. However, surface and reverberation waves propagating in the top thin layer deteriorate the ultrasonic imaging results of base materials. Particularly, they overwhelm the reflection waves of defects, making ultrasonic NDT of base materials a challenge. These waves are determined by the structural of testing objects and called structural noises. Here, a pre-process of ultrasonic total focusing method is proposed to remove the structural noises. The pre-process utilizes the different similarity characteristics of structural noises and defect signals in diagonal matrices to suppress the noises by principal component analysis. The experimental results show that it can effectively improve the SNR about 5-8 dB and reduce array performance indicators about 30-40%.

Adaptive enhancement of acoustic resolution photoacoustic microscopy imaging via deep CNN prior.

Acoustic resolution photoacoustic microscopy (AR-PAM) is a promising medical imaging modality that can be employed for deep bio-tissue imaging. However, its relatively low imaging resolution has greatly hindered its wide applications. Previous model-based or learning-based PAM enhancement algorithms either require design of complex handcrafted prior to achieve good performance or lack the interpretability and flexibility that can adapt to different degradation models. However, the degradation model of AR-PAM imaging is subject to both imaging depth and center frequency of ultrasound transducer, which varies in different imaging conditions and cannot be handled by a single neural network model. To address this limitation, an algorithm integrating both learning-based and model-based method is proposed here so that a single framework can deal with various distortion functions adaptively. The vasculature image statistics is implicitly learned by a deep convolutional neural network, which served as plug and play (PnP) prior. The trained network can be directly plugged into the model-based optimization framework for iterative AR-PAM image enhancement, which fitted for different degradation mechanisms. Based on physical model, the point spread function (PSF) kernels for various AR-PAM imaging situations are derived and used for the enhancement of simulation and in vivo AR-PAM images, which collectively proved the effectiveness of proposed method. Quantitatively, the PSNR and SSIM values have all achieve best performance with the proposed algorithm in all three simulation scenarios; The SNR and CNR values have also significantly raised from 6.34 and 5.79 to 35.37 and 29.66 respectively in an in vivo testing result with the proposed algorithm.

Exploring the risk factors of early sepsis after liver transplantation: development of a novel predictive model.

Background: Sepsis is a severe and common complication of liver transplantation (LT) with a high risk of mortality. However, effective tools for evaluating its risk factors are lacking. Therefore, this study identified the risk factors of early post-liver transplantation sepsis and established a nomogram. Methods: We analyzed the risk factors of post-liver transplantation sepsis in 195 patients. Patients with infection and a systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) score ≥ 2 were diagnosed with sepsis. The predictive indicators were screened with the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and collinearity analyses to develop a nomogram. The prediction performance of the new nomogram model, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, and Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS) was compared through assessment of the area under the curve (AUC), decision curve analysis (DCA), net reclassification index (NRI), and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI). Results: The nomogram was based on postoperative heart rate, creatinine concentration, PaO2/FiO2 ratio < 400 mmHg, blood glucose concentration, and international normalized ratio. The AUC of the nomogram, the SOFA score, and MEWS were 0.782 (95% confidence interval CI: 0.716-0.847), 0.649 (95% CI: 0.571-0.727), and 0.541 (95% CI: 0.469-0.614), respectively. The DCA curves showed that the net benefit rate of the nomogram was higher than that of the SOFA score and MEWS. The NRI and IDI tests revealed better predictive performance for the nomogram than SOFA score and MEWS. Conclusion: Heart rate, creatinine concentration, PaO2/FiO2, glucose concentration, and international normalized ratio should be monitored postoperatively for patients at risk of post-liver transplantation sepsis. The nomogram based on the aforementioned risk factors had a better predictive performance than SOFA score and MEWS.