Insight into the crystal facet-dependent Cr(VI) reduction: A comparative study of pyrite {100} and {111} facets.

The migration and transformation of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) in the environment are regulated by pyrite (FeS2). However, variations in pyrite crystal facets influence the adsorption behavior and electron transfer between pyrite and Cr(VI), thereby impacting the Cr(VI) reduction performance. Herein, two naturally common facets of pyrite were synthesized hydrothermally to investigate the facet-dependent mechanisms of Cr(VI) reduction. The experimental results revealed that the {111} facet exhibited approximately 1.30-1.50 times higher efficiency in Cr(VI) reduction compared to the {100} facet. Surface analyses and electrochemical results indicated that {111} facet displayed a higher iron-sulfur oxidation level, which was affected by its superior electrochemical properties during the reaction with Cr(VI). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrated that the narrower band gap and lower work function on {111} facet were more favorable for the electron transfer between Fe(II) and Cr(VI). Furthermore, different adsorption configurations were observed on {100} and {111} surfaces due to the unique arrangements of Fe and S atoms. Specifically, O atoms in Cr2O72- directly bound with the S sites on {100} but the Fe sites on {111}. According to the density of states (DOS), the Fe site had better reactivity than the S site in the reaction, which appeared to be related to the fracture of S-S bonds. Additionally, the adsorption configuration of Cr2O72- on {111} surface showed a stronger adsorption energy and a more stable coordination mode, favoring subsequent Cr(VI) reduction process. These findings provide an in-depth analysis of facet-dependent mechanisms underlying Cr(VI) reduction behavior, offering new insights into studying environmental interactions between heavy metals and natural minerals.

Acupuncture for Meige syndrome: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Meige syndrome (MS) is a cranial dystonia disorder characterized by blepharospasm and oromandibular dystonia. Current treatments include botulinum toxin therapy, oral medications, and surgical interventions. Here, we present a case that the patient's symptoms improved significantly after treatment with acupuncture. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 72-year-old woman came to our acupuncture clinic with eyelid twitching and jaw muscle tension. She described being diagnosed with MS two years ago due to the same symptoms, and her symptoms gradually worsened over the past six months. After 4 weeks of acupuncture treatment, the patient's MS symptoms improved significantly. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture may be a potentially salvage treatment option for MS.

A reconfigurable and conformal liquid sensor for ambulatory cardiac monitoring.

The severe mismatch between solid bioelectronics and dynamic biological tissues has posed enduring challenges in the biomonitoring community. Here, we developed a reconfigurable liquid cardiac sensor capable of adapting to dynamic biological tissues, facilitating ambulatory cardiac monitoring unhindered by motion artifacts or interference from other biological activities. We employed an ultrahigh-resolution 3D scanning technique to capture tomographic images of the skin on the wrist. Then, we established a theoretical model to gain a deep understanding of the intricate interaction between our reconfigurable sensor and dynamic biological tissues. To properly elucidate the advantages of this sensor, we conducted cardiac monitoring alongside benchmarks such as the electrocardiogram. The liquid cardiac sensor was demonstrated to produce stable signals of high quality (23.1 dB) in ambulatory settings.

Neural effects of acupuncture on stroke patients with motor dysfunction: an activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis.

Background: Functional magnetic resonance imaging has been used in many studies to explore the neural mechanism of acupuncture in patients with post-stroke motor dysfunction. Inconsistent results have been found in these studies, however. This activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis was designed to quantitatively integrate changes in brain activity and the neurological effects of acupuncture on patients with motor dysfunction after stroke. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, China Science and Technology Journal Database, the China Biology Medicine, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform for literature from the establishment of the database until March 21, 2024. Research papers were selected, data extracted, and quality assessment was done independently by two researchers. The GingerALE software was used for meta-analysis, and Jackknife sensitivity analysis was employed to assess result robustness. Results: We ended up analyzing 14 studies that included 235 patients and 100 healthy people. ALE meta-analysis showed that Compared with healthy people, the enhanced brain region in poststroke patients with motor dysfunction was located in the left posterior lobe of the cerebellum, the left inferior frontal gyrus, and the left precuneus (p < 0.001). After acupuncture, the activated regions were mainly located in the left posterior lobe of the cerebellum, the right lentiform nucleus putamen, the right medial frontal gyrus, the right inferior frontal gyrus, the left precuneus, the right middle temporal gyrus, the left claustrum, the left cerebellar tonsil, the right superior marginal gyrus, the inactivated area is located in the right medial frontal gyrus the left precentral gyrus and the right precuneus (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Acupuncture can reestablish motor function by causing extensive changes in the brain function of patients with stroke, which may be the neurological effect of acupuncture therapy on stroke patients. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42024526263.

Linear positive association of metabolic score for insulin resistance with stroke risk among American adults: a cross-sectional analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey datasets.

BACKGROUND: Insulin Resistance (IR) is associated with stroke. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between metabolic score for insulin resistance (METS-IR) level, a new biomarker for assessing IR, and stroke. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999 to 2020 and included participants aged ≥ 20 years. All participants provided complete stroke and METS-IR related data. The study employed statistical techniques, including multivariate logistic regression analysis, restricted cubic splines (RCS), and stratified analyses to evaluate the relationship between the amounts of METS-IR and the risk of stroke. RESULTS: The study included 14,029 participants aged 20 years or older. The fully adjusted model revealed a statistically significant correlation between METS-IR and stroke (OR=1.21, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.46; P<0.05). Specifically, for every 10-unit increase in METS-IR, there was a 21% increase in the prevalence of stroke. The prevalence of stroke was 60% higher in the Q4 group compared to the Q1 group, as indicated by a significant association with METS-IR (OR=1.60, 95% CI: 1.01, 2.54; P<0.05). The RCS analysis revealed a strong linear correlation between METS-IR and the incidence of stroke (P<0.05). Subgroup analyses showed that gender, age, race, alcohol consumption, smoking, diabetes, and hypertension exhibited correlation with this positive association, and a significant interaction was observed in age (P for interaction < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study indicate that elevated METS-IR levels are strongly linked to a greater risk of stroke in adults.

The neural effects of acupuncture for stroke: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis based on fMRI.

Background: Stroke is one of the most common causes of death and is the main cause of persistent and acquired disability in adults worldwide. Acupuncture is recommended by the World Health Organization as an alternative and complementary strategy for stroke treatment. However, the mechanism of the neural effects of acupuncture on stroke is still lacking a uniform conclusion. The purpose of this study is to clarify the neural effects of acupuncture for stroke from the perspective of neuroimaging. Methods: Seven databases, including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, VIP Database, Wan-Fang Data, and Chinese Biomedical Database, will be searched comprehensively according to the search strategy. All of them will be retrieved from the date of database establishment to December 31, 2023. All randomized controlled trials and observational studies will be considered for inclusion. The risk of bias will be assessed by the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Functional imaging of the whole brain in the resting functional state will be the primary outcome. A meta-analysis of primary outcome will be performed using Seed-based D Mapping with Permutation of Subject Images software. The data will be synthesized using a random effects model. Meta-analysis of other clinical data will be performed using RevMan 5.3 software. Publication bias will be assessed through funnel plots. Reports will adhere to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Conclusion: This study will aggregate the results of independent studies to provide overall evidence for the neural effects of acupuncture for stroke. Clinical Trial Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=500306, Identifier CRD42024500306.

Causal association of menstrual reproductive factors on the risk of osteoarthritis: A univariate and multivariate Mendelian randomization study.

OBJECTIVE: Several observational studies have revealed a potential relationship between menstrual reproductive factors (MRF) and osteoarthritis (OA). However, the precise causal relationship remains elusive. This study performed Mendelian randomization (MR) to provide deeper insights into this relationship. METHODS: Utilizing summary statistics of genome-wide association studies (GWAS), we conducted univariate MR to estimate 2 menstrual factors (Age at menarche, AAM; Age at menopause, AMP) and 5 reproductive factors (Age at first live birth, AFB; Age at last live birth, ALB; Number of live births, NLB; Age first had sexual intercourse, AFSI; Age started oral contraceptive pill, ASOC) on OA (overall OA, OOA; knee OA, KOA and hip OA, HOA). The sample size of MRF ranged from 123846 to 406457, and the OA sample size range from 393873 to 484598. Inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was used as the primary MR analysis methods, and MR Egger, weighted median was performed as supplements. Sensitivity analysis was employed to test for heterogeneity and horizontal pleiotropy. Finally, multivariable MR was utilized to adjust for the influence of BMI on OA. RESULTS: After conducting multiple tests (P<0.0023) and adjusting for BMI, MR analysis indicated that a lower AFB will increase the risk of OOA (odds ratio [OR] = 0.97, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.95-0.99, P = 3.39×10-4) and KOA (OR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.47-0.78, P = 1.07×10-4). ALB (OR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.45-0.84, P = 2.06×10-3) and Age AFSI (OR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.53-0.82, P = 2.42×10-4) were negatively associated with KOA. In addition, our results showed that earlier AMP adversely affected HOA (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.01-1.23, P = 0.033), and earlier ASOC promote the development of OOA (OR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.95-1.00, P = 0.032) and KOA (OR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.40-0.84, P = 4.49×10-3). ALB (OR = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.96-1.00, P = 0.030) and AFSI (OR = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.97-0.99, P = 2.66×10-3) also showed a negative association with OOA but they all did not pass multiple tests. The effects of AAM and NLB on OA were insignificant after BMI correction. CONCLUSION: This research Certificates that Early AFB promotes the development of OOA, meanwhile early AFB, ALB, and AFSI are also risk factors of KOA. Reproductive factors, especially those related to birth, may have the greatest impact on KOA. It provides guidance for promoting women's appropriate age fertility and strengthening perinatal care.

Synthesizing Real-Time Ultrasound Images of Muscle Based on Biomechanical Simulation and Conditional Diffusion Network.

Quantitative muscle function analysis based on the ultrasound imaging, has been used for various applications, particularly with recent development of deep learning methods. The nature of speckle noises in ultrasound images poses challenges to accurate and reliable data annotation for supervised learning algorithms. To obtain a large and reliable dataset without manual scanning and labelling, we proposed a synthesizing pipeline to provide synthetic ultrasound datasets of muscle movement with an accurate ground truth, allowing augmenting, training, and evaluating models for different tasks. Our pipeline contained biomechanical simulation using finite element method, an algorithm for reconstructing sparse fascicles, and a diffusion network for ultrasound image generation. With the adjustment of a few parameters, the proposed pipeline can generate a large dataset of real-time ultrasound images with diversity in morphology and pattern. With 3,030 ultrasound images generated, we qualitatively and quantitatively verified that the synthetic images closely matched with the in-vivo images. In addition, we applied the synthetic dataset into different tasks of muscle analysis. Compared to trained on an unaugmented dataset, model trained on synthetic one had better cross-dataset performance, which demonstrates the feasibility of synthesizing pipeline to augment model training and avoid over-fitting. The results of the regression task show potentials under the conditions that the number of datasets or the accurate label are limited. The proposed synthesizing pipeline can not only be used for muscle-related study, but for other similar study and model development, where sequential images are needed for training.

ISG15 accelerates acute kidney injury and the subsequent AKI-to-CKD transition by promoting TGFßR1 ISGylation.

Rationale: Acute kidney injury (AKI) has substantial rates of mortality and morbidity, coupled with an absence of efficacious treatment options. AKI commonly transits into chronic kidney disease (CKD) and ultimately culminates in end-stage renal failure. The interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15) level was upregulated in the kidneys of mice injured by ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), cisplatin, or unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO), however, its role in AKI development and subsequent AKI-to-CKD transition remains unknown. Methods: Isg15 knockout (Isg15 KO) mice challenged with bilateral or unilateral IRI, cisplatin, or UUO were used to investigate its role in AKI. We established cellular models with overexpression or knockout of ISG15 and subjected them to hypoxia-reoxygenation, cisplatin, or transforming growth factor- ß1 (TGF-ß1) stimulation. Renal RNA-seq data obtained from AKI models sourced from public databases and our studies, were utilized to examine the expression profiles of ISG15 and its associated genes. Additionally, published single cell RNA-seq data from human kidney allograft biopsies and mouse IRI model were analyzed to investigate the expression patterns of ISG15 and the type I TGF-ß receptor (TGFßR1). Western blotting, qPCR, co-immunoprecipitation, and immunohistochemical staining assays were performed to validate our findings. Results: Alleviated pathological injury and renal function were observed in Isg15 KO mice with IRI-, cisplatin-, or UUO-induced AKI and the following AKI-to-CKD transition. In hypoxia-reoxygenation, cisplatin or TGF-ß1 treated HK-2 cells, knockout ISG15 reduced stimulus-induced cell fibrosis, while overexpression of ISG15 with modification capacity exacerbated cell fibrosis. Immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated that ISG15 promoted ISGylation of TGFßR1, and inhibited its ubiquitination. Moreover, knockout of TGFßR1 blocked ISG15's fibrosis-exacerbating effect in HK-2 cells, while overexpression of TGFßR1 abolished the renal protective effect of ISG15 knockout during IRI-induced kidney injury. Conclusions: ISG15 plays an important role in the development of AKI and subsequent AKI-to-CKD transition by promoting TGFßR1 ISGylation.

Efficacy of electrical stimulation for post-stroke motor dysfunction: A protocol for systematic review and network meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to analyze the efficacy and safety of different electrical stimulation treatments for post-stroke motor dysfunction, and to quantitatively analyze the advantages between them and their possible benefits for patients. METHODS: We will systematically search seven databases. All of them will be retrieved from inception to 15, April 2024. Two reviewers will evaluation the risk of bias in all included studies with the version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias assessment tool. Data synthesis will be performed using a random-effects model of network meta-analysis to compare the efficacy and safety of different electrical stimulation therapies. The surface under the cumulative ranking curve was used to indicate the possibility of the pros and cons of the intervention. The strength of evidence will be assessed by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation framework. DISCUSSION: This study will provide evidence that electrical stimulation therapy can effectively improve motor function in stroke patients and will also provide some valuable references for clinical decision-making and treatment guidelines. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration number: CRD42023459102.

The enhanced effect of key microorganisms in chromium contaminated soil in Cr(VI) reduction.

The escalating threat of Cr(VI) pollution to the environment and human health can be effectively controlled through microbial methods, which are promising, safe, and ecofriendly. To enhance Cr(VI) removal efficiency, scholars have been optimizing strains. However, synergies between in-situ soil particles and crucial microorganisms in soil have rarely been investigated. In this study, Cr(VI) was removed by collaborating with in-situ soil particles and key microorganisms in the soil. The results indicated that within 48 hours, the removal rate of Cr(VI) reached over 99% in the soils+microflora system, which was 45% higher than that of the microflora system alone. Factors such as Cr(VI) concentration, soil dosage, pH level, oxygen availability, and electron donors influenced the removal efficiency of Cr(VI) in the soils+microflora system. The cyclic experiments showed that soil particles effectively prevented chromium invasion on microflora, promoting the growth of crucial microorganisms. The addition of microflora can effectively regulate the composition of soil flora and enhance the efficiency of chromium reduction. Moreover, two strains each of Ochrobactrum sp. and Paenarthrobacter sp., exhibiting remarkable tolerance to Cr(VI), were successfully isolated from these soils, significantly enhancing the reduction capacity of the indigenous microflora towards Cr(VI). Additionally, 16S rRNA-PCR sequence analysis revealed that in-situ soil particles not only synergistically collaborated with the resident microflora for efficient removal of Cr(VI), but also facilitated the proliferation of key microbiota such as Ochrobactrum sp. and Paenarthrobacter sp. Remarkably, when exposed to an initial concentration of 50 mg/L Cr(VI), complete removal was achieved by Paenarthrobacter-2 within a time frame as short as 60 hours. This research found four novel highly efficient strains for reducing Cr(VI) and provides an innovative method for the synergistic interaction between indigenous soil microflora and soil particles to remove heavy metal ions from wastewater.

Pretreatment of chitin depolymerization by expansin-like protein to improve hydrolysis efficiency.

Chitin is a polysaccharide similar to cellulose that contains abundant hydrogen bonds. Expansin-like proteins disrupt hydrogen bond networks, causing cellulose to swell and accelerating its degradation. We examined the effects of pretreatment with two expansin-like proteins, CxEXL22 (Arthrobotrys sp. CX1) and HcEXL (Hahella chejuensis), on chitin depolymerisation and enzymatic degradation. The efficiency of chitin degradation increased more than two-fold after pretreatment with expansin-like proteins. Following pretreatment with expansin-like proteins, chitin had a lower crystallinity index, greater d-spacing and crystallite size, and weaker hydrogen bonds, and the loosened porous microfibrils were more exposed than in untreated chitin. The rupture characterisation of crystalline chitin indicated that expansin-like proteins loosened the hydrogen bonds of the chitin polysaccharide chains, causing significant depolymerisation to expose more porous structures and enhance chitin accessibility.

Cellular ATP redistribution achieved by deleting Tgparp improves lignocellulose utilization of Trichoderma under heat stress.

BACKGROUND: Thermotolerance is widely acknowledged as a pivotal factor for fungal survival across diverse habitats. Heat stress induces a cascade of disruptions in various life processes, especially in the acquisition of carbon sources, while the mechanisms by which filamentous fungi adapt to heat stress and maintain carbon sources are still not fully understood. RESULTS: Using Trichoderma guizhouense, a representative beneficial microorganism for plants, we discover that heat stress severely inhibits the lignocellulases secretion, affecting carbon source utilization efficiency. Proteomic results at different temperatures suggest that proteins involved in the poly ADP-ribosylation pathway (TgPARP and TgADPRase) may play pivotal roles in thermal adaptation and lignocellulose utilization. TgPARP is induced by heat stress, while the deletion of Tgparp significantly improves the lignocellulose utilization capacity and lignocellulases secretion in T. guizhouense. Simultaneously, the absence of Tgparp prevents the excessive depletion of ATP and NAD+, enhances the protective role of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and elevates the expression levels of the unfolded protein response (UPR)-related regulatory factor Tgire. Further investigations reveal that a stable MMP can establish energy homeostasis, allocating more ATP within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to reduce protein accumulation in the ER, thereby enhancing the lignocellulases secretion in T. guizhouense under heat stress. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these findings underscored the significance of Tgparp as pivotal regulators in lignocellulose utilization under heat stress and provided further insights into the molecular mechanism of filamentous fungi in utilizing lignocellulose.

Permanent fluidic magnets for liquid bioelectronics.

Brownian motion allows microscopically dispersed nanoparticles to be stable in ferrofluids, as well as causes magnetization relaxation and prohibits permanent magnetism. Here we decoupled the particle Brownian motion from colloidal stability to achieve a permanent fluidic magnet with high magnetization, flowability and reconfigurability. The key to create such permanent fluidic magnets is to maintain a stable magnetic colloidal fluid by using non-Brownian magnetic particles to self-assemble a three-dimensional oriented and ramified magnetic network structure in the carrier fluid. This structure has high coercivity and permanent magnetization, with long-term magnetization stability. We establish a scaling theory model to decipher the permanent fluid magnet formation criteria and formulate a general assembly guideline. Further, we develop injectable and retrievable permanent-fluidic-magnet-based liquid bioelectronics for highly sensitive, self-powered wireless cardiovascular monitoring. Overall, our findings highlight the potential of permanent fluidic magnets as an ultrasoft material for liquid devices and systems, from bioelectronics to robotics.

Secondary Phase Precipitation in Fe-22Mn-9Al-0.6C Low-Density Steel during Continuous Cooling Process.

Secondary phase precipitation in Fe-22Mn-9Al-0.6C low-density steel was investigated during a continuous cooling process with different cooling rates through a DIL805A thermal expansion dilatometer, and the changes in microstructures and hardness by different cooling rates were discussed. The results showed that the matrix of the Fe-22Mn-9Al-0.6C was composed of austenite and δ-ferrite; moreover, the secondary phases included κ-carbide, ß-Mn and DO3 at room temperature. The precipitation temperatures of 858 °C, 709 °C and 495 °C corresponded to the secondary phases B2, κ-carbide and ß-Mn, respectively, which were obtained from the thermal expansion curve by the tangent method. When the cooling rate was slow, it had enough time to accommodate C-poor and Al-rich regions in the austenite due to amplitude modulation decomposition. Furthermore, the Al enrichment promoted δ-ferrite formation. Meanwhile, the subsequent formation of κ-carbide and ß-Mn occurred through the continuous diffusion of C and Mn into austenite. In addition, the hardness of austenite was high at 0.03 °C/s due to the κ-carbide and ß-Mn production and C enrichment, and it was inversely proportional to the cooling rate. It can be concluded that the presence of κ-carbide, DO3 and ß-Mn produced at the austenitic/ferrite interface when the cooling rate was below 0.1 °C/s resulted in κ-carbide and ß-Mn precipitating hardly at cooling rates exceeding 0.1 °C/s, which provides a guideline for the industrial production of Fe-Mn-Al-C low-density steel in the design of the hot working process.

Efficacy of acupuncture and rehabilitation therapy on brain function activation area and neurological function in ischemic stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The probability of motor deficits after stroke is relatively high. At the same time many studies have reported that acupuncture and rehabilitation therapy have a significant effect on the treatment of stroke. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the clinical value of acupuncture and rehabilitation therapy on brain eloquent areas and neurological function in ischemic stroke. METHODS: Seven databases were electronically searched to screen randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of different intervention methods (acupuncture, rehabilitation) in the treatment of ischemic stroke. The search time is from January 1, 2000 to April 20, 2023, and the search languages are limited to Chinese and English. Two researchers independently screened literature and extracted data. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. RESULTS: A total of 17 randomized controlled studies were included, including 699 patients, with a maximum sample size of 144 cases and a minimum sample size of 11 cases. Among them, 3 studies reported the brain function in SM1 area. The effective rate of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group [relative risk (OR) = 3.24, 95%CI: 1.49 to 7.05, P < 0.05]. The FMA score of patients in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group [mean difference (MD) = 4.79, 95% CI: 3.86 to 5.71, P < 0.00001]. The NIHSS score of patients in the experimental group was lower than that in the control group [mean difference (MD) = -4.12, 95% CI: -6.99 to -1.26, P < 0.05].None of studies reported adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture rehabilitation for ischemic stroke can activate corresponding brain functional areas and improve neurological deficits. The therapeutic effect of acupuncture rehabilitation treatment is better than that of basic western medicine treatment, and it is more effective in improving neurological deficits. At the same time, clinical research needs to use high-quality randomized double-blind controlled trials with more detailed and larger sample designs, long-term efficacy evaluation and evidence-based research methods.

An attention-based approach for assessing the effectiveness of emotion-evoking in immersive environment.

Visual stimuli within an immersive virtual environment impact human perception and behavior in notably different ways compared to the real world. Previous studies have presented evidence indicating that individuals in various emotional states exhibit an unconscious attentional bias toward either positive or negative stimuli. However, whether these findings can be replicated within an immersive virtual environment remains uncertain. In this study, we devised an attention-based experiment to explore whether the correlation between participants' emotional states and the valence of visual stimuli influences their attentional bias. Participants (n=28) viewed 360-degree videos with varying valence levels (positive and negative) to evoke emotions. Subsequently, we utilized standard emotional human faces as stimuli to assess how the consistency in video valence and emotional faces affects reaction time (RT) in Go tasks and error rates in No-go tasks. We employed the Ex-Gaussian approach to analyze the RT data. The parameters-mu (µ), sigma (σ), and tau (τ)-were computed to denote response speed and attentional lapses, respectively. Our findings revealed a significant increase in tau (τ) when the valence of the video and emotional faces aligned. This suggests that the Go/No-go paradigm is effective in evaluating the impact of emotion-evoking stimuli within an immersive environment.

Sample size estimation in acupuncture imaging research. / æ ·æœ¬é‡ä¼°ç®—åœ¨é’ˆç¸å½±åƒå­¦ç ”ç©¶ä¸­çš„åº”ç”¨ä¸Žæ€è€ƒ.

The size of the sample significantly impacts the accuracy of research outcomes. While preliminary results have been achieved in acupuncture imaging research, sample size estimation is often subjective and arbitrary, leading to insufficient reliability of study results. This article reviews the current application of sample size estimation in acupuncture imaging research, and provides recommendations to address existing issues. It is suggested that future researches should include the sample sizes that meet statistical power based on the characteristics of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) protocols, with group sizes of 12 and 20-30 cases having become the "minimum requirement" for confirmatory studies and a common choice. Additionally, the adoption of adaptive design approaches, which dynamically adjust sample sizes based on accumulated data, can be considered. Furthermore, efforts should be made to establish an open platform for sharing acupuncture imaging data to enhance data accessibility, and consequently, improve the quality and overall impact of acupuncture imaging research.

A multimodal magnetoelastic artificial skin for underwater haptic sensing.

Future exploitation of marine resources in a sustainable and eco-friendly way requires autonomous underwater robotics with human-like perception. However, the development of such intelligent robots is now impeded by the lack of adequate underwater haptic sensing technology. Inspired by the populational coding strategy of the human tactile system, we harness the giant magnetoelasticity in soft polymer systems as an innovative platform technology to construct a multimodal underwater robotic skin for marine object recognition with intrinsic waterproofness and a simple configuration. The bioinspired magnetoelastic artificial skin enables multiplexed tactile modality in each single taxel and obtains an impressive classification rate of 95% in identifying seven types of marine creatures and marine litter. By introducing another degree of freedom in underwater haptic sensing, this work represents a milestone toward sustainable marine resource exploitation.