Decoding ecosystem heterogeneity and transcriptional regulation characteristics of multi-subtype renal cell carcinoma.

Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is characterized by its heterogeneity and the complexity of its tumor microenvironment. This study addresses the need to understand RCC at a cellular level, with a focus on its three main subtypes: clear cell (ccRCC), chromophobe (chRCC), and papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC). Objective: This study aims to comprehensively characterize the cellular diversity and intercellular communication networks of RCC subtypes using scRNA-seq technology. By focusing on macrophages and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), we seek to reveal their functional states, developmental trajectories, and signaling pathways. Methodology: We utilized single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data from various kidney cancer subtypes. Advanced analytical techniques, including Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP) and Reactome Gene Set Variation Analysis (ReactomeGSA), were employed to assess cellular heterogeneity and pathway activities. The developmental dynamics of macrophages were studied using CytoTRACE, and cell-to-cell communication was analyzed to identify subtype-specific interaction networks. Results: Our comprehensive analysis revealed significant cellular diversity within RCC. Distinct macrophage and CAF subpopulations were identified, each exhibiting unique gene expression profiles and pathway activities. Notably, ccRCC showed prominent bidirectional communication between macrophages and CAFs, while chRCC and pRCC displayed disrupted signaling pathways. Metabolic pathway analysis reflected the adaptability of macrophages and CAFs to the tumor microenvironment, and the MIF signaling pathway was identified as a key mediator of cellular interactions. Conclusion: The study highlights the cellular heterogeneity and the intricate communication networks within RCC subtypes, underscoring the complexity of the tumor microenvironment. Our findings suggest that targeting specific cellular interactions and pathways may offer new avenues for therapeutic intervention in RCC. The unique macrophage and CAF profiles across RCC subtypes provide valuable insights for the development of personalized and targeted treatment strategies.

Parenting style and young children's executive function mediate the relationship between parenting stress and parenting quality in two-child families.

This study explored the relationship between parenting stress, parenting style, parenting quality, and young children's executive function. In total, 243 firstborns aged 2-9 years old (SD = 3.82) and their parents from two-child families in Beijing participated in the study, which used executive function tasks and parenting questionnaires. The results found that (1) parenting stress negatively predicted parenting quality; (2) parenting style partially mediated the relationship between parenting stress and parenting quality; (3) children's executive function partially mediated the relationship between parenting stress and parenting quality; and (4) the spoiled, democratic, permissive, and authoritarian parenting styles each play a chain mediating role with young children's executive function between parenting stress and parenting quality. Taken together, these findings provide implications for scientific parenting of children with different psychological characteristics (such as executive function) in multiple-child families under Parenting stress.

Operant Conditioning Neuromorphic Circuit With Addictiveness and Time Memory for Automatic Learning.

Most operant conditioning circuits predominantly focus on simple feedback process, few studies consider the intricacies of feedback outcomes and the uncertainty of feedback time. This paper proposes a neuromorphic circuit based on operant conditioning with addictiveness and time memory for automatic learning. The circuit is mainly composed of hunger output module, neuron module, excitement output module, memristor-based decision module, and memory and feedback generation module. In the circuit, the process of output excitement and addiction in stochastic feedback is achieved. The memory of interval between the two rewards is formed. The circuit can adapt to complex scenarios with these functions. In addition, hunger and satiety are introduced to realize the interaction between biological behavior and exploration desire, which enables the circuit to continuously reshape its memories and actions. The process of operant conditioning theory for automatic learning is accomplished. The study of operant conditioning can serve as a reference for more intelligent brain-inspired neural systems.

The improved stratified transformer for organ segmentation of Arabidopsis.

Segmenting plant organs is a crucial step in extracting plant phenotypes. Despite the advancements in point-based neural networks, the field of plant point cloud segmentation suffers from a lack of adequate datasets. In this study, we addressed this issue by generating Arabidopsis models using L-system and proposing the surface-weighted sampling method. This approach enables automated point sampling and annotation, resulting in fully annotated point clouds. To create the Arabidopsis dataset, we employed Voxel Centroid Sampling and Random Sampling as point cloud downsampling methods, effectively reducing the number of points. To enhance the efficiency of semantic segmentation in plant point clouds, we introduced the Plant Stratified Transformer. This network is an improved version of the Stratified Transformer, incorporating the Fast Downsample Layer. Our improved network underwent training and testing on our dataset, and we compared its performance with PointNet++, PAConv, and the original Stratified Transformer network. For semantic segmentation, our improved network achieved mean Precision, Recall, F1-score and IoU of 84.20, 83.03, 83.61 and 73.11%, respectively. It outperformed PointNet++ and PAConv and performed similarly to the original network. Regarding efficiency, the training time and inference time were 714.3 and 597.9 ms, respectively, which were reduced by 320.9 and 271.8 ms, respectively, compared to the original network. The improved network significantly accelerated the speed of feeding point clouds into the network while maintaining segmentation performance. We demonstrated the potential of virtual plants and deep learning methods in rapidly extracting plant phenotypes, contributing to the advancement of plant phenotype research.

Pruning and quantization algorithm with applications in memristor-based convolutional neural network.

The human brain's ultra-low power consumption and highly parallel computational capabilities can be accomplished by memristor-based convolutional neural networks. However, with the rapid development of memristor-based convolutional neural networks in various fields, more complex applications and heavier computations lead to the need for a large number of memristors, which makes power consumption increase significantly and the network model larger. To mitigate this problem, this paper proposes an SBT-memristor-based convolutional neural network architecture and a hybrid optimization method combining pruning and quantization. Firstly, SBT-memristor-based convolutional neural network is constructed by using the good thresholding property of the SBT memristor. The memristive in-memory computing unit, activation unit and max-pooling unit are designed. Then, the hybrid optimization method combining pruning and quantization is used to improve the SBT-memristor-based convolutional neural network architecture. This hybrid method can simplify the memristor-based neural network and represent the weights at the memristive synapses better. Finally, the results show that the SBT-memristor-based convolutional neural network reduces a large number of memristors, decreases the power consumption and compresses the network model at the expense of a little precision loss. The SBT-memristor-based convolutional neural network obtains faster recognition speed and lower power consumption in MNIST recognition. It provides new insights for the complex application of convolutional neural networks.

CRP­1 promotes the malignant behavior of hepatocellular carcinoma cells via activating epithelial­mesenchymal transition and Wnt/ß­catenin signaling.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide. It has been reported that cysteine rich protein 1 (CRP-1) is dysregulated in several types of human cancer; however, its role in HCC is poorly understood. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the role of CRP-1 in HCC. Western blotting and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR results showed that CRP-1 was upregulated in HCC cell lines. Furthermore, for in vitro experiments, CRP-1 was knocked down and overexpressed in the HCC cell lines Hep 3B2.1-7 and BEL-7405, respectively. c-Myc and proliferating cell nuclear antigen upregulation, and cleaved caspase 3 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase downregulation suggested that CRP-1 silencing could inhibit the proliferation and colony-forming ability of HCC cells, and induce apoptosis. In addition, CRP-1 overexpression promoted the malignant behavior of HCC cells and induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), as verified by E-cadherin downregulation, and N-cadherin and vimentin upregulation. Additionally, CRP-1 overexpression promoted the nuclear translocation of ß-catenin, and activated the expression of cyclin D1 and matrix metalloproteinase-7. Furthermore, inhibition of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling, following cell treatment with XAV-939, an inhibitor of the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway, abrogated the effects of CRP-1 on enhancing the proliferation and migration of HCC cells. These findings indicated that the regulatory effect of CRP-1 on HCC cells could be mediated by the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway. Overall, CRP-1 could promote the proliferation and migration of HCC cell lines, partially via promoting EMT and activating the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

Different methods of vaginal preparation before cesarean delivery to prevent postoperative infection: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Precesarean vaginal antisepsis can benefit pregnant women with ruptured membranes. However, in the general population, recent trials have shown mixed results in reducing postoperative infections. This study aimed to systematically review clinical trials and summarize the most suitable vaginal preparations for cesarean delivery in preventing postoperative infection. DATA SOURCES: We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, SinoMed databases, and the ClinicalTrials.gov clinical trials registry for randomized controlled trials and conference presentations (past 20 years, 2003-2022). Reference lists of previous meta-analyses were searched manually. In addition, we conducted subgroup analysis on the basis of whether the studies were conducted in developed or developing countries, whether the membranes were ruptured, and whether patients were in labor. STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: We included randomized controlled trials comparing vaginal preparation methods for the prevention of postcesarean infection with each other or with negative controls. METHODS: Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed the risk of bias and the certainty of the evidence. The effectiveness of prevention strategies was assessed by frequentist-based network meta-analysis models. The outcomes were endometritis, postoperative fever, and wound infection. RESULTS: A total of 23 trials including 10,026 cesarean delivery patients were included in this study. Vaginal preparation methods included 19 iodine-based disinfectants (1%, 5%, and 10% povidone-iodine; 0.4% and 0.5% iodophor) and 4 guanidine-based disinfectants (0.05% and 0.20% chlorhexidine acetate; 1% and 4% chlorhexidine gluconate). Overall, vaginal preparation significantly reduced the risks of endometritis (3.4% vs 8.1%; risk ratio, 0.41 [0.32-0.52]), postoperative fever (7.1% vs 11.4%; risk ratio, 0.58 [0.45-0.74]), and wound infection (4.1% vs 5.4%; risk ratio, 0.73 [0.59-0.90]). With regard to disinfectant type, iodine-based disinfectants (risk ratio, 0.45 [0.35-0.57]) and guanidine-based disinfectants (risk ratio, 0.22 [0.12-0.40]) significantly reduced the risk of endometritis, and iodine-based disinfectants reduced the risk of postoperative fever (risk ratio, 0.58 [0.44-0.77]) and wound infection (risk ratio, 0.75 [0.60-0.94]). With regard to disinfectant concentration, 1% povidone-iodine was most likely to simultaneously reduce the risks of endometritis, postoperative fever, and wound infection. CONCLUSION: Preoperative vaginal preparation can significantly reduce the risk of postcesarean infectious diseases (endometritis, postoperative fever, and wound infection); 1% povidone-iodine has particularly outstanding effects.

RC Bridge Oscillation Memristor Chaotic Circuit for Electrical and Electronic Technology Extended Simulation Experiment.

The fourth basic circuit component, the memristor, has been proposed for a long time, but it is not mentioned in the experiment teaching system of Electrical and Electronic Technology. In this paper, an RC bridge oscillation chaotic circuit based on memristor is designed to solve this problem. The dynamical behavior of the circuit system is analyzed using Lyapunov exponents spectrum, bifurcation diagram, phase portrait and Poincaré map. A series of complex dynamical behaviors such as symmetric single-scroll coexistence, asymmetrical single-scroll coexistence, symmetric double-scroll coexistence and asymmetrical limit-cycle coexistence exist in the circuit system. This research plays a critical role in enriching students' knowledge and improving the experiment teaching system of Electrical and Electronic Technology.

N4-Vacancy-Functionalized Carbon for High-Rate Li-Ion Storage.

Although heteroatom doping and pore management separately influence the Li+ adsorption and Li+ diffusion properties, respectively, merging their functions into a single unit is intriguing and has not been fully investigated. Herein, we have successfully incorporated both heteroatom doping and pore management within the same functional unit of N4-vacancy motifs, which is realized via acid etching of formamide-derived Zn-N4-functionalized carbon materials (Zn1NC). The N4-vacancy-rich porous carbon (V-NC) renders multiple merits: (1) a high N content of 13.94 atom % for large Li-storage capacity, (2) edged unsaturated N sites favoring highly efficient Li+ adsorption and desolvation, and (3) a shortening of the Li+ diffusion length through N4 vacancy, thereby enhancing the Li-storage kinetics and high-rate performance. This work serves as an inspiration for the creation of heteroatom-edged porous structures with controllable pore sizes for high-rate alkali-ion battery applications.

Parental psychological control and adolescent social problems: The mediating effect of emotion regulation.

This study aimed to investigate relationships among parental psychological control, adolescent emotion regulation, and social problems in China. In total, 1,145 adolescents aged 12-15 years participated in the study, which used the Parental Psychological Control Scale, Adolescent Problem Behavior Scale, and Emotion Regulation Scale. The results indicated the following: (1) Compared with only-child teens, adolescents in multi-child families had significant social problems; (2) parental psychological control significantly predicted adolescents' social problems; (3) there was a partially mediating effect of adolescents' emotion regulation between parental psychological control and adolescents' social problems.

The mediating effect of parenting style on the relationship between first-born children's temperament and psychological adaptation.

Chinese first-born children need to learn how to get along with their siblings after the implementation of the universal two-child policy in 2016. We investigated the relationships between temperament, parenting style, and psychological adjustment among firstborns. The current study employed a questionnaire survey conducted in four regions in China. A total of 524 Chinese two-child families participated in the study; the firstborns were between 3 and 8 years old and their younger siblings were between 1 month and 5 years old. The results indicated that (1) children's temperament subscales were significantly related to parenting style subscales and psychological adaptation. Moreover, the parenting style subscales were significantly related to psychological adaptation, and (2) authoritarian parenting partially mediated the relationship between approach or withdrawal and psychological adjustment.

Sibling Jealousy and Temperament: The Mediating Effect of Emotion Regulation in China During COVID-19 Pandemic.

This study aimed to examine first-born children's sibling jealousy and explore the relationships among first-born children's sibling jealousy, temperament, and emotion regulation in China during COVID-19 pandemic. The research hypotheses of this study are empirically examined through online and offline surveys. A sample of 304 two-child families from China participated in the study; the first-born children were aged between 1.17 and 7 years. The results indicated the following: (1) the older the first-born children and the greater the age difference between siblings, the lower the sibling jealousy. (2) Difficult temperament of first-born children could predict sibling jealousy significantly and positively, and emotion regulation could predict sibling jealousy negatively. (3) There was a partially mediating effect of emotion regulation between temperament and sibling jealousy. Compared with intermediate temperament, first-born children with difficult temperament had weaker emotion regulation and higher sibling jealousy. Overall, findings have important implications for psychological interventions for families of first-born children with difficult temperament.

Assessing Mothers' Parenting Stress: Differences Between One- and Two-Child Families in China.

This study aimed to investigate mothers' parenting stress and explore its relationship with associated demographic variables in two-child families involving preschool children. A sample of 621 two-child families and a comparison group of 319 one-child families from China participated in the study; the children were aged between 3 and 7. The results showed that (1) mothers of two-child families had higher parenting stress than those of one-child families; (2) within the two-child families, demographic variables, such as birth order, gender combination, and the age gap were found to have significant effects on maternal stress levels; and (3) in two-child families, families with an income of less than 3000 yuan had significantly higher maternal stress than families with an income of more than 6000 yuan.

Multistability in a physical memristor-based modified Chua's circuit.

A physical Sr0.95Ba0.05TiO3 memristor-based modified Chua's circuit is proposed, which is studied in this paper by means of both theoretical analysis and numerical simulations. The stability of this memristor-based modified Chua's circuit is analyzed. A systematic investigation of the dynamic behaviors and their dependence on the initial states and circuit parameters is performed, presenting the Lyapunov exponents spectra, bifurcation diagrams, phase diagrams, and Poincaré maps. The circuit emerges multiple dynamic behaviors, including stable points, periodic cycles, chaos, and some transient chaos. Specifically, the system has multistability, i.e., coexisting periods and coexisting chaotic attractors with the change of initial states and circuit parameters. This study is conducive to the subsequent design and analysis of memristor-based circuits for potential practical applications.

Complex Dynamics in a Memcapacitor-Based Circuit.

In this paper, a new memcapacitor model and its corresponding circuit emulator are proposed, based on which, a chaotic oscillator is designed and the system dynamic characteristics are investigated, both analytically and experimentally. Extreme multistability and coexisting attractors are observed in this complex system. The basins of attraction, multistability, bifurcations, Lyapunov exponents, and initial-condition-triggered similar bifurcation are analyzed. Finally, the memcapacitor-based chaotic oscillator is realized via circuit implementation with experimental results presented.

A physical SBT-memristor-based Chua's circuit and its complex dynamics.

SBT memristor is a physical memristor built on Sr0.95Ba0.05TiO3 nanometer film, described by a deterministic flux-controlled mathematical model. A new physical SBT-memristor-based Chua's circuit is presented in this paper, using the memristor to replace the Chua diode to connect with a negative conductance in parallel. The circuit can be well modeled by a fourth-order nonlinear system in the voltage-current domain and a third-order nonlinear system in the flux-charge domain, respectively. The dependences of the circuit stability on both the initial state value of the SBT memristor and the linear resistance in the circuit are analyzed theoretically, verified by numerical simulations, which shows that the circuit system has complex dynamics with multiple behaviors, including sink, periodic cycle, limit cycle, chaos, and some complicated transient dynamical behaviors. The new findings shed light on future research on the physical realization of the SBT-memristor-based Chua's circuit and other similar devices.

[Research and Implementation of Wood Species Recognition System with Wood Near Infrared Spectral Reflection Features].

This paper proposes a novel wood species recognition scheme based on the spectral reflection features of wood surface, aiming to address the following three issues in terms of the noise filtering, feature selection and radian's optimal design . First, noises occur in some bands of wood spectral reflection curve so that these noisy bands should be deleted. Second, the wood spectral band is 350~2 500 nm, which is a 2 150D vector with a spectral sampling interval of 1 nm. Therefore, both noise filtering and feature selection should be performed to wood spectral data. In this paper, to simultaneously and efficiently solve the two problems of feature selection and noise filtering, both a feature selection procedure and a noise filtering procedure are performed by solving the eigenvalues of dispersion matrix. This scheme is novel and produces a good outcome. Third, to make the spectral reflection curves picked up by the spectral instrument have the best pattern recognition information; an optimal design is performed for the indoor radian's mounting height. The genetic algorithm is used to solve the optimal radian's height so that the spectral reflection curves have the best classification information for wood species. Therefore, the optimal design scheme for the radian's mounting height can improve the pattern classification accuracy of the wood species to some extents, which is novel with excellent executive feasibility. Many experiments made with our developed software system on the five ordinary wood species in northeast region of China (i.e., including Betula platyphylla, Populus davidiana, Pinus Sylvestris, Picea jezoensis, Larix gmelinii) are performed for approximately 105 times. It indicates that the overall recognition rate reaches to a good recognition accuracy of 95% for five wood species with an ideal recognition velocity. The selected feature wavelengths by using of our feature selection algorithm based on dispersion matrix are mainly in the near infrared band.

[Population characterization of Balantidium coli from pigs using ITS1-5.8S rRNA-ITS2 sequence].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the species and genotypes of Balantidium isolated from pigs in Henan province, China. METHODS: Scatoscopy and the modified DMEM media were used to isolate trophozoites of Balantidium from pig feces. The ITS1-5.8S rRNA-ITS2-based molecular marker method, Acridine orange staining ( AO) and microscopic observation were used to determine the population characteristics among different isolates of B. coli from various pigs farms. RESULTS: We isolated 15 isolates from the pigs at diagnosis in the Animal Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology from the pig farms of the 8 counties or cities of the west of Henan province in total, and all of them belong to the same species B. coli. MJ-2 and SX-1 isolates were genotype A of B. coli, and the remaining 13 isolates were genotype B. Trophozoites of MJ-2 and SX-1 were bigger, moved more slowly and lower density in feces and in vitro culture than other 13 isolates, while structures of their nuclei were not different. CONCLUSION: Both genotype A and B of B. coli are present in the pig farms of the west of Henan province, China, and genotype B is the determinant population in pigs farms. These findings could provide an important implication for the effective control of balantidiosis of human and other hosts.

Screening of personality disorders among chinese college students by Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4+.

Four thousand eight hundred and eleven students were sampled from 26 universities in 21 cities of China and evaluated using the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4+(PDQ-4+). Results showed that male students obtained significantly higher scores than female students on paranoid, schizotypal, antisocial, narcissistic, passive-aggressive, and depressive personality disorder scales, and lower scores on the borderline scale. Students from rural areas scored higher than those from urban areas on the schizoid, schizotypal, narcissistic, avoidant, compulsive-obsessive, passive-aggressive, and depressive personality disorder scales, and lower on the paranoid and dependent scales. Singleton students obtained significantly higher scores than nonsingletons on paranoid, antisocial and dependent scales, and lower on schizoid, avoidant, compulsive-obsessive, passive-aggressive, depressive scales. Students from single-parent families scored significantly higher on the schizotypal scales; and students from foster families scored significantly higher on the antisocial, passive-aggressive, and depressive scales. Students from poor families scored significantly higher than those from average or wealthy families on schizoid, schizotyal, antisocial, borderline, narcissistic, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive, passive-aggressive, and depressive personality disorders. The results suggest that low family income, low social status, and parental style contribute to the development of personality disorders.