The Effect of Global Spinal Alignment on the Cervical Degeneration in Patients with Degenerative Lumbar Scoliosis.

PURPOSE: To elucidate the effect of global spinal alignment on the cervical degeneration in Patients with Degenerative Lumbar Scoliosis (DLS). METHODS: A total of 117 patients with DLS and 42 controls were analysed. DLS patients (study group) were categorized according to the SRS-Schwab classification. Patients with lumbar spinal stenosis were reviewed as a control group. Spinopelvic parameters were measured in cervical and full-length spine radiographs. Cervical degeneration was assessed using the Cervical Degeneration Index (CDI) scoring system. RESULTS: There were significant differences in C2-7 sagittal vertical axis, T1 Slope, thoracic kyphosis, Lumbar Lordosis (LL), and pelvic tilt between DLS and control groups. Although the DLS and control groups did not differ significantly with regard to CDI scores, a striking difference was noted when sagittal spinopelvic modifiers were considered individually. Patients with a Pelvic Incidence minus Lumbar Lordosis (PI-LL) modifier grade of ++ had significantly higher CDI scores than those with 0, and patients with a PI-LL or Sagittal Vertical Axis (SVA) modifier grade of ++ had significantly higher CDI scores than control group. Disk narrowing scores were highest in patients with a PI-LL modifier grades of ++ followed by those with +. Additionally, CDI scores were more associated with LL rather than cervical lordosis. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with DLS may be at greater risk of cervical spine degeneration, especially those with a PI-LL or SVA modifier grade of ++. Surgical strategy for DLS patients should be more carefully selected considering the restoration of LL.

In situ evolution of bulk-active γ-CoOOH with immobilized Gd dopants enabling efficient oxygen evolution electrocatalysis.

Promoting the in situ reconstruction of transition metal (TM)-based precatalysts into low-crystalline and well-modified TM (oxy)hydroxides (TMOxHy) during the alkaline oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for enhancing their catalytic performances. In this study, we incorporated gadolinium (Gd) into a cobalt hydroxide precatalyst, achieving a deep reconstruction into cobalt oxyhydroxide (γ-CoOOH) while retaining the incorporated Gd during the activation process of the alkaline OER. The unconventional non-leaching Gd dopants endow γ-CoOOH with reduced crystallinity, increasing the exposure of electrolyte-accessible Co atoms and enhancing its bulk activity. Furthermore, the modulation of the electronic structure of γ-CoOOH substantially boosts the intrinsic activity of the active Co sites. As a result, when supported on nickel foam, the catalyst exhibits remarkable alkaline OER performance, achieving a current density of 100 mA cm-2 at a low overpotential of approximately 327 mV. Notably, an ultrahigh current density of 1000 mA cm-2 is robustly maintained for 5 days, highlighting its immense potential for practical applications in large-scale hydrogen production.

Characteristic of Paraspinal Muscle Change in Coronal Sub-type of Degenerative Lumbar Scoliosis and its Potential Clinical Significance.

OBJECTIVE: Clarifying paraspinal muscle (PM) change in degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS) is positive to evaluate the progression of scoliosis. This research compares the characteristic of PM change among different coronal sub-types of DLS and explores its potential clinical significance. METHODS: A total of 84 DLS patients between June 2019 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were classified into three types based on the coronal balance distance (CBD): Type A, CBD <3 cm; Type B: C7 Plumb Line (C7PL) shifted to the concave side of the curve, and CBD >3 cm; Type C: C7PL shifted to the convex side of the curve, and CBD >3 cm. Fat infiltration rates in the multifidus (MS) and erector spinae (ES) at the apex of the main and fractional curves, and spinopelvic parameters were analyzed statistically. Pearson's or Spearman's correlation was applied to analyze the correlation between asymmetric degree of PM change and these parameters in three types. RESULTS: There were 62 cases with coronal sub-Type A, 6 cases with Type B, and 16 cases with Type C. Patients in Type B and C demonstrated higher fat infiltration in MS on the concave side of both the main and fractional curves when compared to those in Type A. The asymmetric degree of ES change was positively correlated with CBD at the apex of the main curve in Type B and at the apex of the fractional curve in Type C respectively, and that of MS was positively correlated with apical vertebral rotation, while negatively strong-correlated with pelvic incidence and sacral slope in Type C. CONCLUSION: PM fatty infiltration presented difference among varied coronal sub-types of DLS patients. The CBD in Type B and C patients was correlated with the asymmetric degree of ES change.

Correlation between Tregs and ICOS-induced M2 macrophages polarization in colorectal cancer progression.

Objective: To explore the mechanism by which Tregs promote the progression of colorectal cancer by inducing tumor-associated macrophages to polarize into M2 type via ICOS. Methods: Postoperative pathological tissues and clinical pathological data of 268 colorectal cancer patients who underwent initial surgery were collected. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to detect the expression levels of ICOS, CD163 (a marker for M2 macrophages), and Foxp3 (a marker for Tregs) in cancerous, adjacent non-tumorous, and normal tissues. The relationship of ICOS, M2 macrophages, and Tregs in CRC with clinical pathological characteristics and pre-surgical tumor markers (such as CEA and CA199) was explored. Results: The expression levels of M2 macrophages and Tregs increased with tumor progression, while ICOS expression showed a decreasing trend. Compared to adjacent and normal tissues, the expression levels of ICOS, M2 macrophages, and Tregs were higher in CRC tissues. The expression levels of M2 macrophages and Tregs were significantly positively correlated with tumor markers, while ICOS expression was significantly negatively correlated. Conclusion: Tumor-associated m2 macrophages induced by Tregs and ICOS participate in the dynamic balance of the colorectal cancer tumor microenvironment, and their interaction affects colorectal carcinogenesis and progression. High levels of ICOS are associated with better long-term survival rates.

AISOA-SSformer: An Effective Image Segmentation Method for Rice Leaf Disease Based on the Transformer Architecture.

Rice leaf diseases have an important impact on modern farming, threatening crop health and yield. Accurate semantic segmentation techniques are crucial for segmenting diseased leaf parts and assisting farmers in disease identification. However, the diversity of rice growing environments and the complexity of leaf diseases pose challenges. To address these issues, this study introduces an innovative semantic segmentation algorithm for rice leaf pests and diseases based on the Transformer architecture AISOA-SSformer. First, it features the sparse global-update perceptron for real-time parameter updating, enhancing model stability and accuracy in learning irregular leaf features. Second, the salient feature attention mechanism is introduced to separate and reorganize features using the spatial reconstruction module (SRM) and channel reconstruction module (CRM), focusing on salient feature extraction and reducing background interference. Additionally, the annealing-integrated sparrow optimization algorithm fine-tunes the sparrow algorithm, gradually reducing the stochastic search amplitude to minimize loss. This enhances the model's adaptability and robustness, particularly against fuzzy edge features. The experimental results show that AISOA-SSformer achieves an 83.1% MIoU, an 80.3% Dice coefficient, and a 76.5% recall on a homemade dataset, with a model size of only 14.71 million parameters. Compared with other popular algorithms, it demonstrates greater accuracy in rice leaf disease segmentation. This method effectively improves segmentation, providing valuable insights for modern plantation management. The data and code used in this study will be open sourced at https://github.com/ZhouGuoXiong/Rice-Leaf-Disease-Segmentation-Dataset-Code.

Heterogeneity of cerebral atrophic rate in mild cognitive impairment and its interactive association with proteins related to microglia activity on longitudinal cognitive changes.

BACKGROUND: Heterogeneity of cerebral atrophic rate commonly exists in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which may be associated with microglia-involved neuropathology and have an influence on cognitive outcomes. OBJECTIVE: We aim to explore the heterogeneity of cerebral atrophic rate among MCI and its association with plasma proteins related to microglia activity, with further investigation of their interaction effects on long-term cognition. SUBJECTS: A total of 630 MCI subjects in the ADNI database were included, of which 260 subjects were available with baseline data on plasma proteins. METHODS: Group-based multi-trajectory modeling (GBMT) was used to identify the latent classes with heterogeneous cerebral atrophic rates. Associations between latent classes and plasma proteins related to microglia activity were investigated with generalized linear models. Linear mixed effect models (LME) were implemented to explore the interaction effects between proteins related to microglia activity and identified latent classes on longitudinal cognitive changes. RESULTS: Two latent classes were identified and labeled as the slow-atrophy class and the fast-atrophy class. Associations were found between such heterogeneity of atrophic rates and plasma proteins related to microglia activity, especially AXL receptor tyrosine kinase (AXL), CD40 antigen (CD40), and tumor necrosis factor receptor-like 2 (TNF-R2). Interaction effects on longitudinal cognitive changes showed that higher CD40 was associated with faster cognitive decline in the slow-atrophy class and higher AXL or TNF-R2 was associated with slower cognitive decline in the fast-atrophy class. CONCLUSIONS: Heterogeneity of atrophic rates at the MCI stage is associated with several plasma proteins related to microglia activity, which show either protective or adverse effects on long-term cognition depending on the variability of atrophic rates.

Photoluminescence enhancement for blue-green emission in copper-alloyed lead-free cesium halide single crystals.

Recently, metal halides have received extensive attention because of the superior photophysical characteristics. Regardless of the superiority, the limited stability against heat and moisture and the toxicity problem of heavy lead metal are obstacles to the realization of wide range applications. In this case, it is necessary to develop eco-friendly alternatives, which could simultaneously maintain the excellent optoelectronic properties of lead materials. In this paper, the synthesis of lead-free one-dimensional Cs2AgBr3 and Cu(I)-alloyed Cs2AgBr3 single crystals (SCs) has been successfully realized. Experimental results demonstrated that the addition of applicable copper ions could greatly improve their luminescence intensity. A bright blue-green photoluminescence peaking at 510 nm was observed after incorporating Cu+ ions into Cs2AgBr3 SCs under UV irradiation. Theoretical calculation further proved that the incorporation of Cu+ could effectively modulate the materials' electronic band structure; the electronic states limited to the CuBr4 tetrahedron presented a strong localized property, which was beneficial to increase the photoluminescence efficiency. In addition, the SCs displayed favorable structure stability proofing moisture and oxygen under ambient conditions, proving that this material has good prospects for the development of optoelectronic fields.

Suppression of MyD88 disturbs gut microbiota and activates the NLR pathway and hence fails to ameliorate DSS-induced colitis.

Background: Myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) is the core adaptor for Toll-like receptors defending against microbial invasion and initiating a downstream immune response during microbiota-host interaction. However, the role of MyD88 in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease is controversial. This study aims to investigate the impact of MyD88 on intestinal inflammation and the underlying mechanism. Methods: MyD88 knockout (MyD88-/-) mice and the MyD88 inhibitor (TJ-M2010-5) were used to investigate the impact of MyD88 on acute dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis. Disease activity index, colon length, histological score, and inflammatory cytokines were examined to evaluate the severity of colitis. RNA transcriptome analysis and 16S rDNA sequencing were used to detect the potential mechanism. Results: In an acute DSS-colitis model, the severity of colitis was not alleviated in MyD88-/- mice and TJ-M2010-5-treated mice, despite significantly lower levels of NF-κB activation being exhibited compared to control mice. Meanwhile, 16S rDNA sequencing and RNA transcriptome analysis revealed a higher abundance of intestinal Proteobacteria and an up-regulation of the nucleotide oligomerization domain-like receptors (NLRs) signaling pathway in colitis mice following MyD88 suppression. Further blockade of the NLRs signaling pathway or elimination of gut microbiota with broad-spectrum antibiotics in DSS-induced colitis mice treated with TJ-M2010-5 ameliorated the disease severity, which was not improved solely by MyD88 inhibition. After treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics, downregulation of the NLR signaling pathway was observed. Conclusion: Our study suggests that the suppression of MyD88 might be associated with unfavorable changes in the composition of gut microbiota, leading to NLR-mediated immune activation and intestinal inflammation.

The modulation of task relevance on emotion-induced blindness depends on whether targets and distractors belong to the same category.

Previous research on emotion-induced blindness (EIB) argues emotional distractors capture attention in a bottom-up manner due to their physical and emotional salience. However, recent research has shown it is controversial whether EIB will be modulated by top-down factors. The present study further investigated whether the magnitude of EIB would be modulated by top-down factors, specifically the emotional relevance between tasks and distractors. Participants were divided into two groups having the same targets except for different task instructions. The orientation judgment group was asked to judge the orientation of the target (an emotionally irrelevant task), and the emotion judgment group was required to judge the emotional valence of the target (an emotionally relevant task). It was found the emotional relevance between tasks and distractors has no modulation on the magnitudes of EIB in two groups when targets and distractors are from different categories (Experiment 1), but a modulation when they are from the same category (Experiment 2). Consequently, we contend top-down task relevance modulates the EIB effect and distractors' priority is regulated by the emotional relevance between tasks and distractors. The current study holds attentional capture by stimulus-driven is unconditional in EIB, while attentional capture by goal-driven requires certain conditions.

Serum tumor marker and CT body composition scoring system predicts outcomes in colorectal cancer surgical patients.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prognostic value of preoperative body composition and serum tumor markers (STM) in patients undergoing surgical treatment for colorectal cancer (CRC) and to establish the prognostic score for patients with CRC. METHODS: This study enrolled 365 patients (training set 245, validation set 120) with CRC who underwent surgical resection. The predictive value of various body composition features and STM for determining CRC prognosis were compared. A novel index score based on the independent risk factors from Cox regression for CRC patients was established and evaluated for its usefulness. RESULTS: Multivariate Cox regression showed that low skeletal muscle radiodensity (SMD) (p = 0.020), low subcutaneous fat area (SFA) (p = 0.029), high carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) (p = 0.008), and high alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) (p = 0.039) were all independent prognostic factors for poor overall survival (OS). The multifactorial analysis indicated that high intermuscular fat area (IMFA) (p = 0.033) and high CEA (p = 0.009) were independent prognostic factors for poor disease-free survival (DFS). Based on these findings, two scoring systems for OS and DFS were established in the training datasets. CRC patients who scored higher on the new scoring systems had lower OS and DFS (both p < 0.001) as shown in the Kaplan-Meier survival curves in the training and validation datasets. CONCLUSION: In predicting the prognosis of CRC patients, SFA and SMD are superior to other body composition measurements. A scoring system based on body composition and STM can have prognostic value and clinical applicability. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: This scoring system, combining body composition and serum tumor markers, may help predict postoperative survival of CRC patients and help clinicians make well-informed decisions regarding the treatment of patients. KEY POINTS: Colorectal cancer prognosis can be related to body composition. High intermuscular fat area and CEA were independent prognostic factors for poor disease-free survival. This scoring system, based on body composition and tumor markers, can prognosticate for colorectal cancer patients.

New alkylamides from the pericarps of Zanthoxylum schinifolium.

The pericarps of Zanthoxylum schinifolium Sieb. et Zucc were called "green huajiao", which were used as traditional folk medicine and popular seasoning in China. In this study, twenty-seven alkylamides, including a rare alkylamide containing two amide groups (1), an alkylamide with a furan ring (5), six new alkylamide analogues (2-4, 6-8), together with nineteen known alkylamides (9-27) were isolated from green huajiao. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis, including 1D, 2D NMR, HRESIMS, and UV spectra. Furthermore, compounds 5, 18, 21, and 22 exhibited weak protective activity for corticosterone-induced PC12 cells damage.

Pongamol Alleviates Neuroinflammation and Promotes Autophagy in Alzheimer's Disease by Regulating the Akt/mTOR Signaling Pathway.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), one of the neurodegenerative disorders, is highly correlated with the abnormal hyperphosphorylation of Tau and aggregation of ß-amyloid (Aß). Oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and abnormal autophagy are key drivers of AD and how they contribute to neuropathology remains largely unknown. The flavonoid compound pongamol is reported to possess a variety of pharmacological activities, such as antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory. This study investigated the neuroprotective effect and its mechanisms of pongamol in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced BV2 cells, d-galactose/sodium nitrite/aluminum chloride (d-gal/NaNO2/AlCl3)-induced AD mice, and Caenorhabditis elegans models. Our research revealed that pongamol reduced the release of inflammatory factors IL-1ß, TNF-α, COX-2, and iNOS in LPS-induced BV2 cells. Pongamol also protected neurons and significantly restored memory function, inhibited Tau phosphorylation, downregulated Aß aggregation, and increased oxidoreductase activity in the hippocampus of AD mice. In addition, pongamol reversed the nuclear transfer of NF-κB and increased the levels of Beclin 1 and LC3 II/LC3 I. Most importantly, the anti-inflammatory and promoter autophagy effects of pongamol may be related to the regulation of the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. In summary, these results showed that pongamol has a potential neuroprotective effect, which greatly enriched the research on the pharmacological activity of pongamol for improving AD.

Exogenous Eugenol Alleviates Salt Stress in Tobacco Seedlings by Regulating the Antioxidant System and Hormone Signaling.

Salt stress seriously affects crop growth, leading to a decline in crop quality and yield. Application of exogenous substances to improve the salt tolerance of crops and promote their growth under salt stress has become a widespread and effective means. Eugenol is a small molecule of plant origin with medicinal properties such as antibacterial, antiviral, and antioxidant properties. In this study, tobacco seedlings were placed in Hoagland's solution containing NaCl in the presence or absence of eugenol, and physiological indices related to stress tolerance were measured along with transcriptome sequencing. The results showed that eugenol improved the growth of tobacco seedlings under salt stress. It promoted carbon and nitrogen metabolism, increased the activities of nitrate reductase (NR), sucrose synthase (SS), and glutamine synthetase (GS) by 31.03, 5.80, and 51.06%. It also activated the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant systems, reduced the accumulation of reactive oxygen species in the tobacco seedlings, and increased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) by 24.38%, 18.22%, 21.60%, and 28.8%, respectively. The content of glutathione (GSH) was increased by 29.49%, and the content of superoxide anion (O2-) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were reduced by 29.83 and 33.86%, respectively. Promoted osmoregulation, the content of Na+ decreased by 34.34, K+ increased by 41.25%, and starch and soluble sugar increased by 7.72% and 25.42%, respectively. It coordinated hormone signaling in seedlings; the content of abscisic acid (ABA) and gibberellic acid 3 (GA3) increased by 51.93% and 266.28%, respectively. The transcriptome data indicated that the differentially expressed genes were mainly enriched in phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, the MAPK signaling pathway, and phytohormone signal transduction pathways. The results of this study revealed the novel role of eugenol in regulating plant resistance and provided a reference for the use of exogenous substances to alleviate salt stress.

Large-Area Silicon Nitride Nanosieve for Enhanced Diffusion-Based Exosome Isolation.

Nanoporous membranes have a variety of applications, one of which is the size-selective separation of nanoparticles. In drug delivery, nanoporous membranes are becoming increasingly important for the isolation of exosomes, which are bio-nanoparticles. However, the low pore density and thickness of commercial membranes limit their efficiency. There have been many attempts to fabricate sub-micrometer thin membranes, but the limited surface area has restricted their practicality. In this study, large-area silicon nitride nanosieves for enhanced diffusion-based isolation of exosomes are presented. Notably, these nanosieves are scaled to sizes of up to 4-inch-wafers, a significant achievement in overcoming the fabrication challenges associated with such expansive areas. The method employs a 200 nm porous sieve (38.2% porosity) for exosome separation and a 50 nm sieve (10.7% porosity) for soluble protein removal. These 300 nm thick nanosieves outperform conventional polycarbonate membranes by being 50 times thinner, thereby increasing nanoparticle permeability. The method enables a 90% recovery rate of intact exosomes from human serum and a purity ratio of 3 × 107 particles/µg protein, 4.6 times higher than ultracentrifugation methods. The throughput of the method is up to 15 mL by increasing the size of the nanosieve, making it an ideal solution for large-scale exosome production for therapeutic purposes.

Chemical constituents with antioxidant activity from the branches and leaves of Hultholia mimosoides.

Four undescribed homoisoflavanoids (1-4), one homoflavonoid (5), ten dibenzoxocin derivatives (6a-10a and 6b-10b), one dibenzoxocin-derived phenolic compound (11), one diterpenoid (13), three aliphatic dicarboxylic acid derivatives (14-16), together with the known diterpenoid 12-O-ethylneocaesalpin B (12) were obtained from the branches and leaves of Hultholia mimosoides. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic techniques. Notably, each of the dibenzoxocins 6-10 existed as a pair of interconvertible atropisomers and the conformation for these compounds was clarified by NMR and ECD analyses. Protosappanin F (11) was a previously undescribed dibenzoxocin-derived compound in which one of the benzene rings was hydrogenated to a polyoxygenated cyclohexane ring and an ether linkage was established between C-6 and C-12a. The isolated polyphenols were tested for induction of quinone reductase and compounds 3 and 8 showed potent QR-inducing activity in Hepa-1c1c7 cells.

Cellular structure of dinosaur scales reveals retention of reptile-type skin during the evolutionary transition to feathers.

Fossil feathers have transformed our understanding of integumentary evolution in vertebrates. The evolution of feathers is associated with novel skin ultrastructures, but the fossil record of these changes is poor and thus the critical transition from scaled to feathered skin is poorly understood. Here we shed light on this issue using preserved skin in the non-avian feathered dinosaur Psittacosaurus. Skin in the non-feathered, scaled torso is three-dimensionally replicated in silica and preserves epidermal layers, corneocytes and melanosomes. The morphology of the preserved stratum corneum is consistent with an original composition rich in corneous beta proteins, rather than (alpha-) keratins as in the feathered skin of birds. The stratum corneum is relatively thin in the ventral torso compared to extant quadrupedal reptiles, reflecting a reduced demand for mechanical protection in an elevated bipedal stance. The distribution of the melanosomes in the fossil skin is consistent with melanin-based colouration in extant crocodilians. Collectively, the fossil evidence supports partitioning of skin development in Psittacosaurus: a reptile-type condition in non-feathered regions and an avian-like condition in feathered regions. Retention of reptile-type skin in non-feathered regions would have ensured essential skin functions during the early, experimental stages of feather evolution.

Structurally diverse alkaloids from the Buxus sinica and their cytotoxicity.

Extensive phytochemical study of the methanol extract of twigs and leaves of Buxus sinica resulted in the identification of forty-one Buxus alkaloids, including twenty undescribed ones, namely cyclobuxusinines A-I (1-7, 16 and 20), as well as secobuxusinines A-K (8-15 and 17-19). Their structures were delineated by detailed analysis using various spectroscopic techniques. cyclobuxusinines B (2) was the first Buxus alkaloid, whose CH3-18 was oxidized, implying the presence of special oxidative enzymes in this plant. Secobuxusinines C (10), D (11), and E (12), whose C-12 or C-19 have an OH group substitution, enriched the substituent pattern in Buxus alkaloid and suggested more structurally diverse alkaloids in the Buxus spp. In the assessment of their bioactivities, some of them exhibited significant cytotoxic effects on two human tumor ovarian cancer cell lines. Notably, compound 36 displayed more potent cytotoxic effect against ES2 and A2780 cell lines with the IC50 value of 1.33 µM and 0.48 µM, respectively.

High-Accuracy Tomato Leaf Disease Image-Text Retrieval Method Utilizing LAFANet.

Tomato leaf disease control in the field of smart agriculture urgently requires attention and reinforcement. This paper proposes a method called LAFANet for image-text retrieval, which integrates image and text information for joint analysis of multimodal data, helping agricultural practitioners to provide more comprehensive and in-depth diagnostic evidence to ensure the quality and yield of tomatoes. First, we focus on six common tomato leaf disease images and text descriptions, creating a Tomato Leaf Disease Image-Text Retrieval Dataset (TLDITRD), introducing image-text retrieval into the field of tomato leaf disease retrieval. Then, utilizing ViT and BERT models, we extract detailed image features and sequences of textual features, incorporating contextual information from image-text pairs. To address errors in image-text retrieval caused by complex backgrounds, we propose Learnable Fusion Attention (LFA) to amplify the fusion of textual and image features, thereby extracting substantial semantic insights from both modalities. To delve further into the semantic connections across various modalities, we propose a False Negative Elimination-Adversarial Negative Selection (FNE-ANS) approach. This method aims to identify adversarial negative instances that specifically target false negatives within the triplet function, thereby imposing constraints on the model. To bolster the model's capacity for generalization and precision, we propose Adversarial Regularization (AR). This approach involves incorporating adversarial perturbations during model training, thereby fortifying its resilience and adaptability to slight variations in input data. Experimental results show that, compared with existing ultramodern models, LAFANet outperformed existing models on TLDITRD dataset, with top1, top5, and top10 reaching 83.3% and 90.0%, and top1, top5, and top10 reaching 80.3%, 93.7%, and 96.3%. LAFANet offers fresh technical backing and algorithmic insights for the retrieval of tomato leaf disease through image-text correlation.

A Precise Framework for Rice Leaf Disease Image-Text Retrieval Using FHTW-Net.

Cross-modal retrieval for rice leaf diseases is crucial for prevention, providing agricultural experts with data-driven decision support to address disease threats and safeguard rice production. To overcome the limitations of current crop leaf disease retrieval frameworks, we focused on four common rice leaf diseases and established the first cross-modal rice leaf disease retrieval dataset (CRLDRD). We introduced cross-modal retrieval to the domain of rice leaf disease retrieval and introduced FHTW-Net, a framework for rice leaf disease image-text retrieval. To address the challenge of matching diverse image categories with complex text descriptions during the retrieval process, we initially employed ViT and BERT to extract fine-grained image and text feature sequences enriched with contextual information. Subsequently, two-way mixed self-attention (TMS) was introduced to enhance both image and text feature sequences, with the aim of uncovering important semantic information in both modalities. Then, we developed false-negative elimination-hard negative mining (FNE-HNM) strategy to facilitate in-depth exploration of semantic connections between different modalities. This strategy aids in selecting challenging negative samples for elimination to constrain the model within the triplet loss function. Finally, we introduced warm-up bat algorithm (WBA) for learning rate optimization, which improves the model's convergence speed and accuracy. Experimental results demonstrated that FHTW-Net outperforms state-of-the-art models. In image-to-text retrieval, it achieved R@1, R@5, and R@10 accuracies of 83.5%, 92%, and 94%, respectively, while in text-to-image retrieval, it achieved accuracies of 82.5%, 98%, and 98.5%, respectively. FHTW-Net offers advanced technical support and algorithmic guidance for cross-modal retrieval of rice leaf diseases.

Butylparaben induced zebrafish (Danio rerio) kidney injury by down-regulating the PI3K-AKT pathway.

Butylparaben, a common endocrine disruptor in the environment, is known to be toxic to the reproductive system, heart, and intestines, but its nephrotoxicity has rarely been reported. In order to study the nephrotoxicity and mechanism of butylparaben, we examined the acute and chronic effects on human embryonic kidney cells (HEK293T) and zebrafish. Additionally, we assessed the potential remedial effects of salidroside against butylparaben-induced nephrotoxicity. Our in vitro findings demonstrated oxidative stress and cytotoxicity to HEK293T cells caused by butylparaben. In the zebrafish model, the concentration of butylparaben exposure ranged from 0.5 to 15 µM. An assortment of experimental techniques was employed, including the assessment of kidney tissue morphology using Hematoxylin-Eosin staining, kidney function analysis via fluorescent dextran injection, and gene expression studies related to kidney injury, development, and function. Additionally, butylparaben caused lipid peroxidation in the kidney, thereby damaging glomeruli and renal tubules, which resulted from the downregulation of the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. Furthermore, salidroside ameliorated butylparaben-induced nephrotoxicity through the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. This study reveals the seldom-reported kidney toxicity of butylparaben and the protective effect of salidroside against toxicological reactions related to nephrotoxicity. It offers valuable insights into the risks to kidney health posed by environmental toxins.