Time domain turbo equalization based on vector approximate message passing for multiple-input multiple-output underwater acoustic communications.

This paper proposes a high-performance receiver for underwater acoustic communications based on time reversal processing for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. The receiver employs the vector approximate message passing (VAMP) algorithm as a soft equalizer in turbo equalization. By performing self-iteration between the inner soft slicer and the inner soft equalizer, the VAMP algorithm achieves near-optimal performance. Furthermore, an iterative channel-estimation-based soft successive interference cancellation method is incorporated to suppress co-channel interference in the MIMO system. Additionally, the introduction of passive time reversal technology can combine multiple channels into a single channel, which greatly reduces the computational complexity of the MIMO system, especially for large MIMO systems. The effectiveness of the proposed receiver is verified using experimental data collected in Songhua Lake, China in 2019. The results demonstrate that the proposed receiver significantly reduces the complexity of the traditional parallel-VAMP receiver without sacrificing performance and outperforms other receivers of the same type. Moreover, our experimental results also verify that the VAMP-turbo outperforms the generalized approximate message passing (GAMP)-turbo in terms of bit error rate and convergence performance.

Tenofovir Alafenamide for Pregnant Chinese Women With Active Chronic Hepatitis B: A Multicenter Prospective Study.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Data on long-term tenofovir alafenamide (TAF) therapy for pregnant women with active chronic hepatitis B (CHB) (immune clearance and reactivation phases, currently and previously diagnosed) and their infants are lacking. METHODS: Pregnant women with active CHB treated with TAF and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) were enrolled in this multicenter prospective study, and infants received immunoprophylaxis. The primary outcomes were rates of adverse (safety) events in pregnant women and defects in infants and fetuses. The secondary outcomes were virologic responses in pregnant women, infants' safety, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) status, and growth conditions. RESULTS: One hundred three and 104 pregnant women were enrolled and 102 and 104 infants were born in the TAF and TDF groups, respectively. In the TAF group, the mean age, gestational age, alanine aminotransferase level, and viral loads at treatment initiation were 29.3 years, 1.3 weeks, 122.2 U/L, and 5.1 log10 IU/mL, respectively. TAF was well-tolerated, and the most common adverse event was nausea (29.1%) during a mean of 2 years of treatment. Notably, 1 (1.0%) TAF-treated pregnant woman underwent induced abortion due to noncausal fetal cleft lip and palate. No infants in either group had birth defects. In the TAF group, the hepatitis B e antigen seroconversion rate was 20.7% at postpartum month 6, infants had normal growth parameters, and no infants were positive for HBsAg at 7 months. The TDF group had comparable safety and effectiveness profiles. CONCLUSIONS: TAF administered throughout or beginning in early pregnancy is generally safe and effective for pregnant women with active CHB and their infants.

Pyroptotic MAITs link microbial translocation with severity of alcohol-associated liver disease.

BACKGROUND: Mucosal-associated invariant T cells (MAITs) are markedly reduced in patients with alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD); however, the potential mechanism underlying MAITs' loss remains elusive. Hence, we aimed to explore what induced MAITs' loss and its clinical significance. METHODS: The characteristics of pyroptotic MAITs were evaluated in a cohort of patients with ALD, including 41 patients with alcohol-associated liver cirrhosis (ALC) and 21 patients with ALC complicated with severe alcoholic hepatitis (ALC + SAH). RESULTS: In patients with ALD, blood MAITs were significantly decreased, hyperactivated, and displayed enhanced cell death through pyroptosis. The frequencies of pyroptotic MAITs increased with disease severity in patients with ALC and patients with ALC + SAH. These frequencies were negatively associated with the frequencies of MAITs and positively correlated with the levels of MAITs' activation, plasma levels of intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (a marker of intestinal enterocyte damage), soluble CD14, lipopolysaccharide-binding protein, and peptidoglycan recognition proteins (surrogate markers of microbial translocation). Pyroptotic MAITs were also found in the liver of patients with ALD. Interestingly, MAITs underwent further activation and pyroptosis in vitro under stimulation by Escherichia coli or direct bilirubin. Notably, blocking IL-18 signaling reduced the activation and frequencies of pyroptotic MAITs. CONCLUSIONS: The loss of MAITs in patients with ALD is, at least in part, due to cell death from pyroptosis and is associated with the severity of ALD. Such increased pyroptosis may be affected by dysregulated inflammatory responses to intestinal microbial translocation or direct bilirubin.

Clinical Characteristics of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 Variant Infection After Non-mRNA-Based Vaccination in China.

Introduction: To date, little is known about the real-world protective role of Chinese inactivated and recombinant coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines under the background of the long-term "Dynamic Zero COVID-19 Case" (i.e., no infection source) in China, especially when facing the widespread Omicron severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant infection. Methods: In this prospective, single-center cohort study, the clinical characteristics of post-vaccination Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant infection were investigated in the initial largest outbreak of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant infection that occurred between the 8 January, 2022 and 29 January, 2022 in Anyang City, Henan Province, China. The primary endpoints were the rates of severe and critical diseases or death. The secondary endpoints were the SARS-CoV-2 shedding duration and length of hospitalization. Results: A total of 380 post-vaccination patients infected with the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant were enrolled. The median age was 18 (interquartile range [IQR] 17-35) years, 219 (57.6%) cases were female, and 247 (65.0%) cases were students. Before confirmation of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant infection, patients had 3 (IQR 2-4) days of dry cough (40.3%), nasal congestion (26.3%), and sore throat (26.3%). On admission, 294 (77.4%) cases had normal chest computerized tomography (CT) imaging. Additionally, only 5 (1.3%), 30 (7.9%), 4 (4/342, 1.2%), and 7 (7/379, 0.2%) patients had lymphocyte counts <800 per mm3, C-reactive protein levels >10 mg/L, lactate dehydrogenase levels ≥250 U/L, and D-dimer levels ≥0.5 mg/L on admission, respectively. During hospitalization, 308 (81.1%) and 72 (18.9%) were identified as mild and moderate cases, respectively, and no one progressed to severe and critical types, with a SARS-CoV-2 shedding period and length of hospital stay of 17 (IQR 12-22) and 19 (IQR 15-24) days, respectively. Conclusion: The current study found that approximately 80% of individuals infected with the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant were mild, approximately 20% of patients were moderate, and no severe, critical, or fatal cases were identified in a prospective cohort including 380 participants vaccinated with non-mRNA-based vaccines. Discussion: This study supports the consideration of policy adjustments and changes to prevent and control the Omicron-predominant COVID-19 in China and other regions with high SARS-CoV-2 vaccination rates.

[Changes of immunologic parameters in patients with simple bone metastases treated with 89SrCl2].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of (89)SrCl(2) (strontium-89 chloride) on immune functions in patients with simple bone metastases. METHODS: Twenty-five patients diagnosed as simple bone metastases with un-detectable primary tumors were treated with (89)SrCl(2). The CD4(+), CD8(+), CD4(+)/CD8(+) lymphocyte subsets were assessed before and after (89)SrCl(2) treatment. Twenty normal individuals served as controls. RESULTS: The CD4(+), CD8(+) and CD4(+)/CD8(+) in the control group were (38.83 +/- 8.95)%, (32.19 +/- 8.51)% and 1.29 +/- 0.47, respectively. In patients, they were (31.12 +/- 8.12)%, (41.75 +/- 10.91)% and 0.84 +/- 0.22 before treatment, and (36.21 +/- 8.71)%, (35.08 +/- 10.14)% and 1.19 +/- 0.27 after treatment, respectively (P < 0.05). The patients were divided into treatment effective and non-effective groups by pain score. Before treatment, the immunologic parameters in the two groups had no significant differences (P > 0.05). After treatment, the frequencies of CD4(+) and CD8(+) subsets, CD4(+) to CD8(+) ratios and the number of metastatic foci in the effective group were (37.81 +/- 5.18)%, (33.17 +/- 6.38)%, 1.33 +/- 0.31 and 6.64 +/- 3.11, respectively, while in the treatment non-effective group, they were (32.09 +/- 5.72)%, (39.99 +/- 5.38)%, 0.82 +/- 0.22 and 9.87 +/- 3.46, respectively (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The immune functions in patients with simple bone metastases are inhibited. Treatment with (89)SrCl(2) may improve their immunity to certain extent. The degree of recovery in the treatment effective patients was better than that in the treatment non-effective cases.

[Detection of gingipain K in the gingival crevicular fluid of orthodontic patients].

PURPOSE: To explore the correlation between gingipain K (Kgp) and inflammatory reaction of gum in the process of orthodontic treatment, and analyse the role of Kgp in the development of gingivitis during orthodontic treatment. METHODS: Totally 45 orthodontic healthy teenagers were randomly chosen for the study. The subgingival plaques were collected simultaneously before orthodontic treatment and 3 months after treatment. 16S rDNA PCR technique was used to detect Porphyromonas gingivalis (P.g) and Kgp. SPSS17.0 software package was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The detection rate of Kgp was 35.71% before orthodontic treatment and 67.86% after treatment. Positive correlation (P<0.05) was observed between Kgp and gingival inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: Fixed orthodontic appliances cause plaque accumulation, accordingly slight gingiva inflammation and the increament of P.gingivalis in the early stage.