Mutual learning with memory for semi-supervised pest detection.

Effectively monitoring pest-infested areas by computer vision is essential in precision agriculture in order to minimize yield losses and create early scientific preventative solutions. However, the scale variation, complex background, and dense distribution of pests bring challenges to accurate detection when utilizing vision technology. Simultaneously, supervised learning-based object detection heavily depends on abundant labeled data, which poses practical difficulties. To overcome these obstacles, in this paper, we put forward innovative semi-supervised pest detection, PestTeacher. The framework effectively mitigates the issues of confirmation bias and instability among detection results across different iterations. To address the issue of leakage caused by the weak features of pests, we propose the Spatial-aware Multi-Resolution Feature Extraction (SMFE) module. Furthermore, we introduce a Region Proposal Network (RPN) module with a cascading architecture. This module is specifically designed to generate higher-quality anchors, which are crucial for accurate object detection. We evaluated the performance of our method on two datasets: the corn borer dataset and the Pest24 dataset. The corn borer dataset encompasses data from various corn growth cycles, while the Pest24 dataset is a large-scale, multi-pest image dataset consisting of 24 classes and 25k images. Experimental results demonstrate that the enhanced model achieves approximately 80% effectiveness with only 20% of the training set supervised in both the corn borer dataset and Pest24 dataset. Compared to the baseline model SoftTeacher, our model improves mAP @0.5 (mean Average Precision) at 7.3 compared to that of SoftTeacher at 4.6. This method offers theoretical research and technical references for automated pest identification and management.

Cone-beam CT evaluation of post-extraction alveolar bone changes at the maxillary incisor sites in an East Asian population: A cross-sectional study.

Objective: Understanding the characteristics of alveolar bone resorption in an East Asian population after maxillary incisor extraction and providing a reference for implant treatment plans. Study design: Cone-beam computerized tomography (CBCT) data of 125 East Asian patients with unilateral extraction of maxillary incisors for 3 months were collected. The alveolar bone width and height in the extraction sites were measured and compared with the corresponding contralateral sites. Results: The differences in alveolar bone width between the extraction site and contralateral site were as follows: 4.11 mm, 2.68 mm, and 2.09 mm (3 mm, 5 mm, 7 mm apical from CEJ of the contralateral tooth). Data are expressed as the median. The horizontal resorption ratio of alveolar bone was 49.94 %, 31.5 %, and 24.46 %. The difference in alveolar bone height was 0.78 mm. The vertical resorption ratio was 7.78 %. The resorption did not differ significantly between sexes and was not significantly affected by tooth positions. Conclusions: In the studied East Asian population, significant horizontal and vertical alveolar bone resorption occurs after natural healing of maxillary incisor extraction for 3 months. The closer to the alveolar ridge crest, the more significant the horizontal resorption, resulting in an "inverted triangle" shape residual alveolar bone.

Enhanced anaerobic digestion performance and sludge filterability by membrane microaeration for anaerobic membrane bioreactor application.

Slow dissolution/hydrolysis of insoluble/macromolecular organics and poor sludge filterability restrict the application potential of anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR). Bubble-free membrane microaeration was firstly proposed to overcome these obstacles in this study. The batch anaerobic digestion tests feeding insoluble starch and soluble peptone with and without microaeration showed that microaeration led to a 65.7-144.8% increase in methane production and increased critical flux of microfiltration membrane via driving the formation of large sludge flocs and the resultant improvement of sludge settleability. The metagenomic and bioinformatic analyses showed that microaeration significantly enriched the functional genes and bacteria for polysaccharide and protein hydrolysis, microaeration showed little negative effects on the functional genes involved in anaerobic metabolisms, and substrate transfer from starch to peptone significantly affected the functional genes and microbial community. This study demonstrates the dual synergism of microaeration to enhance the dissolution/hydrolysis/acidification of insoluble/macromolecular organics and sludge filterability for AnMBR application.

Correlation of Gut Microbiota with Children Obesity and Weight Loss.

Children obesity is a serious public health problem drawing much attention around the world. Recent research indicated that gut microbiota plays a vital role in children obesity, and disturbed gut microbiota is a prominent characteristic of obese children. Diet and exercise are efficient intervention for weight loss in obesity children, however, how the gut microbiota is modulated which remains largely unknown. To characterize the feature of gut microbiota in obese children and explore the effect of dietary and exercise on gut microbiota in simple obese children, 107 healthy children and 86 obese children were recruited, and among of the obese children 39 received the dietary-exercise combined weight loss intervention (DEI). The gut microbiota composition was detected by the 16S amplicon sequencing method. The gut microbiota composition was significantly different between obese children and the healthy cohort, and DEI significantly reduced the body weight and ameliorated the gut microbiota dysbiosis. After DEI, the abundance of the Akkermansia muciniphila was increased, while the abundance of the Sutterella genus was decreased in simple obese children. Our results may provide theoretical reference for future personalized obesity interventions based on gut microbiota. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12088-023-01088-3.

Landscape and the immune patterns of cuproptosis in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Oral squamous cell carcinoma is an increasingly prevalent cancer type characterized by high incidence and mortality rates. Its early detection is challenging, primarily because of the absence of early molecular markers. Cuproptosis is a novel regulatory mechanism of cell death with implications in various cancers. In this study, we aimed to study cuproptosis-related genes in oral squamous cell carcinoma to identify their prognostic value. METHODS: By analyzing genomic, bulk RNA-seq, and single-cell RNA-seq data, we investigated 13 cuproptosis-related genes in The Cancer Genome Atlas-Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma dataset and Gene Expression Omnibus repository (GSE172577). RESULTS: ATP7A, ATP7B, and DLST were the most frequently mutated genes, with nine of our studied genes associated with overall survival. Single-cell analysis was conducted to identify cuproptosis-related tumor cells in oral squamous cell carcinoma, which revealed two distinct patterns based on the expression of cuproptosis-related genes. These patterns exhibit differences in genetic alterations and tumor immune microenvironment. Finally, we developed a cuproptosis index using a random forest algorithm based on cuproptosis pattern-related genes in which higher levels were linked to poorer prognosis. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying oral squamous cell carcinoma-associated cuproptosis.

Carbon emission reduction effect of renewable energy technology innovation: a nonlinear investigation from China's city level.

There has always been controversy over how renewable energy technologies can play a role in reducing carbon emissions. Based on the energy patent data and the economic data of 244 prefecture-level cities from 2007 to 2017 in China, we explore the carbon reduction effect of renewable energy technology and its mechanism from the perspective of energy production, conservation, and management. The two-way fixed effect, instrumental variable, spatial Durbin, and mediation effect models are employed to explore empirical results. We found that (1) the impact of renewable energy technologies on carbon emissions is nonlinear, with an inverted U shape. However, this inverted U-shaped relationship only exists locally in cities and there are uncertainties in adjacent cities, which indicates that cross-regional cooperation in renewable energy technology needs to be improved. (2) The mechanism analysis shows that industrial agglomeration and energy consumption scale are the channels that renewable energy technologies affect carbon emissions. Thus, the implicit carbon emissions generated by industrial agglomeration and the failure to green upgrade energy consumption are the main reasons for the inverted U-shaped relationship. (3) The carbon reduction effect of renewable energy technologies of conservation type takes effect first, and renewable energy technologies of production type do not reduce carbon emissions in non-eastern cities, which means that non-eastern cities are likely to become pollution havens. This study provides evidence for renewable energy technologies to achieve efficient carbon emission reduction and cross-regional technical cooperation.

Finite element analysis of maxillary first molar with mesial-occlusal-distal-palatal defect restored with different post-and-core strategies.

Purpose: To explore which restoration strategy generates the most favorable stress distribution in an endodontically-treated maxillary first molar with mesial-occlusal-distal-palatal defect. Methods: Models with one post in palatal canal (PP), each post in palatal and distobuccal canals (PDP), each post in palatal and mesiobuccal canals (PMP), and each post in all canals (PDMP) were established for an endodontically-treated maxillary first molar with mesial-occlusal-distal-palatal defect either with fiber-reinforced composite (FRC) post or gold alloy cast (GAC) post. A 400-N vertical force and a 225-N lateral force were respectively applied. The Mohr-Coulomb stress ratio (σMC ratio) in the residual tooth structure (RTS), the resin cement, and the crowns, the tensile stress (σt) and compressive stress (σc) in the FRC posts, the von-Mises stress ratio (σvM ratio) in the GAC post-and-cores, and the σt and shear stress (σs) at the adhesive interfaces were calculated using finite element analysis. Results: FRC posts generated lower σMC ratio than GAC posts in the RTS (0.3274-0.3643 vs. 0.3399-0.4118). Among the FRC post groups, the PDMP group got the lowest σs at the dentin-post interface (14.92 MPa) and the abutment-crown interface (8.242 MPa) under vertical loading, as well as the lowest σMC ratio in the RTS (0.3381) and the lowest σs at the dentin-post interface (38.00 MPa) under lateral loading. Conclusions: From the point of stress distribution, placing FRC posts in the palatal, distobuccal, and mesiobuccal canals is the optimal strategy in restoring a severely damaged maxillary first molar, provided that lateral occlusal force is reduced.

Experimental Study of Thermal and Fire Reaction Properties of Glass Fiber/Bismaleimide Composites for Aeronautic Application.

Thermal behavior and fire reaction properties of aerial glass fiber (GF)/bismaleimide (BMI) composites were tested using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), thermogravimetric coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR), cone calorimeter, limiting oxygen index, and smoke density chamber. The results showed that the pyrolysis process was one stage in a nitrogen atmosphere with the prominent volatile components of CO2, H2O, CH4, NOx, and SO2. The release of heat and smoke increased with the increase in heat flux, while the time required to reach hazardous conditions decreased. The limiting oxygen index decreased monotonically from 47.8% to 39.0% with increasing experimental temperature. The maximum specific optical density within 20 min in the non-flaming mode was greater than that in the flaming mode. According to the four kinds of fire hazard assessment indicators, the greater the heat flux, the higher the fire hazard, for the contribution of more decomposed components. The calculations of two indices confirmed that the smoke release in the early stage of fire was more negative under flaming mode. This work can provide a comprehensive understanding of the thermal and fire characteristics of GF/BMI composites used for aircraft.

Childhood pneumonia in Beijing: Associations and interactions among selected demographic and environmental factors.

Among infectious diseases, pneumonia is the greatest cause of mortality in children less than 5 years old. Approximately 27% of Beijing's 3-8 year-old children have had pneumonia at least once. The sole reservoir of pneumonia pathogens is the human nasopharynx. We investigated associations and interactions among two kinds of environmental risk factors: i) airborne pathogens, namely closed bedroom window and shared bedroom and ii) pollutants, namely traffic pollution and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). We evaluated breastfeeding's (BF) protective value against childhood pneumonia. The database consists of responses to a questionnaire in a cross-sectional study. Crude and adjusted Odds Ratios were assessed independently for each risk factor. Combinations of the studied risk factors were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression. Risk factors were evaluated for interactions on the additive scale using the metrics Relative Excess Risk due to Interaction (RERI), Attributable Proportion (AP) and Synergy Index (S). All independent risk factors were significant for children's pneumonia. We also found evidence of possible synergistic interaction between pairs of risk factors that was stronger when one of the risk factors was a closed bedroom window. Remarkably, window opening was associated with reduced risk of pneumonia for children living near heavy traffic pollution. Longer duration BF was more protective than shorter, and exclusive BF was more protective than partial BF against childhood pneumonia. In conclusion, low ventilation (closed bedroom windows), shared bedroom, ETS, and traffic exposure were associated with increased risk of pneumonia. Exclusive BF for more than six months had the greatest protective value against pneumonia.

Exosomes from Cyclic Stretched Periodontal Ligament Cells Induced Periodontal Inflammation through miR-9-5p/SIRT1/NF-κB Signaling Pathway.

Abundant evidence demonstrates that mechanical stress could induce an inflammatory response in periodontal tissue, but the precise mechanism remains unclear. In the past few years, periodontal ligament cells (PDLCs), as the most force-sensitive cells, have been investigated in depth as local immune cells, associated with activation of inflammasomes and secretion of inflammatory cytokines in response to mechanical stimuli. However, this study innovatively inspected the effect of PDLCs on the other immune cells after stretch loading to reveal the detailed mechanism by which mechanical stimuli initiate immunoreaction in periodontium. In the present study, we found that cyclic stretch could stimulate human PDLCs to secret exosomes and that these exosomes could further induce the increase of phagocytic cells in the periodontium in Sprague-Dawley rats and the M1 polarization of the cultured macrophages (including the mouse macrophage cell line RAW264.7 and the bone marrow-derived macrophages from C57BL/6 mice). Furthermore, the exosomal miR-9-5p was detected to be overexpressed after mechanical stimuli in both in vivo and in vitro experiments and could trigger M1 polarization via the SIRT1/NF-κB signaling pathway in the cultured macrophages. In summary, this study revealed that PDLCs could transmit the mechanobiological signals to immune cells by releasing exosomes and simultaneously enhance periodontal inflammation through the miR-9-5p/SIRT1/NF-κB pathway. We hope that our research can improve understanding of force-related periodontal inflammatory diseases and lead to new targets for treatment.

Risk connectedness between crude oil, gold and exchange rates in China: Implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study examined the risk connectedness and its asymmetry between oil, gold, and foreign exchange under the realized volatility, spillover index framework, and high-frequency data during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was found that: (1) At the beginning of the pandemic outbreak, the total volatility spillover in the system declined, which may indicate that the pandemic cuts the trading activities in the financial markets by inhibiting personnel mobility, then, the spillover experienced a short-term sharp rise due to panic. (2) The exchange rate had a significant risk connectedness with gold and international crude oil, but a restrict connectedness with domestic crude oil after the outbreak. These variations of risk transmission caused by the pandemic emerged later than the outbreak, reflecting a certain lag. (3) The impact of the pandemic on the asymmetric risk connectedness between oil, gold and the exchange rate was limited, and the risk transfer resulting from bad news was dominant during the sample period; however, gold was less affected by bad news than the oil and exchange rates. These findings suggested that the establishment of Chinese crude oil futures could restrain volatility spillovers from the exchange rate; the foreign exchange reserve structure should be optimized. Gold has been proved to have a hedging function with the crude oil, and its proportion in foreign exchange reserves should be appropriately increased.

Comparison and verification of two deep learning models for the detection of chest CT rib fractures.

BACKGROUND: A high false-positive rate remains a technical glitch hindering the broad spectrum of application of deep-learning-based diagnostic tools in routine radiological practice from assisting in diagnosing rib fractures. PURPOSE: To examine the performance of two versions of deep-learning-based software tools in aiding radiologists in diagnosing rib fractures on chest computed tomography (CT) images. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In total, 123 patients (708 rib fractures) were included in this retrospective study. Two groups of radiologists with different experience levels retrospectively reviewed images for rib fractures in the concurrent mode aided with RibFrac-High Sensitivity (HS) and RibFrac-High Precision (HP). We compared their diagnostic performance against the reference standard in terms of sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV). RESULTS: On a per-patient basis, RibFrac-HS exhibited a higher sensitivity compared with RibFrac-HP (mean difference=0.051, 95% CI=0.012-0.090; P = 0.011), whereas the latter significantly outperformed the former in terms of the PPV (mean difference=0.273, 95% CI=0.238-0.308; P < 0.0001). The use of RibFrac-HP significantly improved the junior and the senior groups' sensitivities respectively by 0.058 (95% CI=0.033-0.083; P < 0.0001) and 0.058 (95% CI=0.034-0.081; P < 0.0001), and decreased the diagnosis time by 206 s (95% CI=191-220; P < 0.0001) and 79 s (95% CI=67-92; P < 0.0001), respectively, when compared to no software assistance. CONCLUSION: The sensitivity and efficiency of radiologists in identifying rib fractures can be improved by using RibFrac-HS and/or RibFrac-HP. With an added module for false-positive suppression, RibFrac-HP maintains the sensitivity and increases the PPV in fracture detection compared to Rib-Frac-HS.

Development and Validation of a Nomogram Model Based on Hematological Indicators for Predicting the Prognosis of Diffused Gliomas.

Background: Diffused gliomas are aggressive malignant brain tumors. Various hematological factors have been proven to predict the prognosis of patients with gliomas. The aim of this study is to integrate these hematological markers and develop a comprehensive system for predicting the prognosis of patients with gliomas. Method: This retrospective study included 723 patients pathologically diagnosed with diffused gliomas. Hematological indicators were collected preoperatively, including neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), albumin globulin ratio (AGR), platelet distribution width (PDW), red blood cell distribution width (RDW), fibrinogen (FIB), and prognostic nutritional index (PNI). Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox was applied to screen the hematological indicators for a better prediction of patients' prognosis and to build an inflammation-nutrition score. A nomogram model was developed to predict the overall survival (OS), which included age, tumor grade, IDH-1 mutations, and inflammation-nutrition score. Result: Patients were randomly divided into a primary cohort (n = 509) and a validation cohort (n = 214). There was no difference in age and IDH-1 mutation frequency between the cohorts. In the primary cohort, NLR, LMR, AGR, FIB, and PNI were selected to build an inflammation nutrition score. Patients with a high-risk inflammation-nutrition score had a short median OS of 17.40 months compared with 27.43 months in the low-risk group [HR 2.54; 95% CI (1.91-3.37); p < 0.001]. Moreover, age, tumor grade, IDH-1 mutations, and inflammation-nutrition score were independent prognostic factors in the multivariate analysis and thus were included in the nomogram model. The nomogram model showed a high prediction value with a Harrell's concordance index (C-index) of 0.75 [95% CI (0.72-0.77)]. The validation cohort supported these results. Conclusion: The prognostic nomogram model provided a high prognostic predictive power for patients with gliomas.

Analysis of the Rehabilitation Efficacy and Nutritional Status of Patients After Endoscopic Radical Thyroidectomy by Fast Track Surgery Based on Nutritional Support.

Objective: To investigate and analyze the effect of fast track surgery (FTS) based on nutritional support on the improvement of rehabilitation efficacy and nutritional status of patients after radical lumpectomy for thyroid cancer. Methods: Eighty-six patients admitted to our hospital for radical lumpectomy for thyroid cancer between April 2018 and April 2021 were selected, of which 40 patients admitted between April 2018 and April 2019 were included in the control group with conventional perioperative care. Forty-six patients admitted between May 2019 and April 2021 were included in the trial group with FTS care based on nutritional support. The two groups of patients were compared in terms of postoperative feeding time, length of stay, time out of bed, VAS scores, albumin (ALB), total protein (TP) and prealbumin (PA) levels, negative emotions [Mental Health Test Questionnaire (DCL-90)], quality of life [General Quality of Life Inventory (GQOLI-74)] and complication rates. Results: The patients in the trial group had shorter feeding time, hospitalization time and time out of bed than the control group (P < 0.05). After the intervention, ALB, TP and PA levels were higher in the trial group than in the control group vs. preoperatively (P < 0.05); VAS scores in the trial group were lower than VAS scores in the control group during the same period (P < 0.05). The postoperative DCL-90 scores of the trial group were lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05); the GQOLI-74 scores and total scores of the trial group were higher than those of the control group at the 3-month postoperative follow-up (P < 0.05). The overall incidence of complications such as hoarseness, choking on water, hand and foot numbness, wound infection, and hypocalemia was lower in the trial group than in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The implementation of FTS care based on nutritional support for patients after endoscopic radical thyroidectomyr can effectively improve the postoperative recovery and reduce their pain level, as well as help improve their nutritional status, negative emotions and improve their quality of life, which is worth promoting.

Group-Based Trajectory Modeling to Identify Factors Influencing the Development of Myopia in Patients Receiving Orthokeratology.

Purpose: To analyze the factors influencing the progression of myopia in adolescents receiving orthokeratology. Methods: This prospective cohort study collected the data of 378 myopia patients receiving orthokeratology. The follow-up time was 12 months ranging from December 2015 to December 2019. The group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM) was used to identify similar developmental trajectories in the levels of uncorrected visual acuity and changes of axial length elongation. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore the influencing factors of myopia development in patients wearing orthokeratology. Results: There was no factor having effect on visual acuity (left) and visual acuity (right) in different trajectories (all P>0.05). The corneal curvature K1 (left) (OR=0.382, 95% CI: 0.188-0.776), corneal curvature K2 (left) (OR=0.362, 95% CI: 0.187-0.699), degree of spherical refraction (left) (OR=0.139, 95% CI: 0.082-0.235) and spherical equivalent (left) (OR=7.276, 95% CI: 3.724-14.215) were factors associated with the changes of axial length elongation (left). The corneal curvature K1 (right) (OR=0.260, 95% CI: 0.116-0.585), corneal curvature K2 (left) (OR=0.272, 95% CI: 0.121-0.610) and degree of spherical refraction (right) (OR=0.129, 95% CI: 0.068-0.244) were correlated with the changes of axial length elongation (right). All P<0.05. Conclusion: Orthokeratology is a promising method for controlling the progression of myopia. The corneal curvature, degree of spherical refraction and spherical equivalent were factors influencing the changes of axial length elongation in myopia patients wearing orthokeratology. The findings might give a reference for the application of orthokeratology in clinic.

Finite element analysis of maxillary first molar with a 4-wall defect and 1.5-mm-high ferrule restored with fiber-reinforced composite resin posts and resin core: The number and placement of the posts.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Whether fiber-reinforced composite (FRC) posts should be inserted in root canals to restore teeth with multiple roots remains unclear. PURPOSE: The purpose of this finite element analysis (FEA) study was to determine the optimal use of FRC posts in an endodontically treated maxillary first molar with a 4-wall defect and 1.5-mm-high ferrule. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eight different models of a maxillary first molar were established: no post (NP), post in palatal root (P), post in distobuccal root (DB), post in mesiobuccal root (MB), posts in palatal root and distobuccal root (P+DB), posts in palatal root and mesiobuccal root (P+MB), posts in 2 buccal roots (DB+MB), and posts in all roots (P+DB+MB). Two types of loading were applied: a force of 800 N parallel to the long axis of the tooth to simulate the vertical masticatory force and another force of 225 N at 45 degrees to the long axis of the tooth to simulate the lateral masticatory force. The equivalent stresses on the external surfaces of the tooth tissue, the internal surfaces of the root canals and in the posts, as well as the maximal shear stresses on the post-core interface and the core-dentin interface, were calculated with FEA. RESULTS: All the models showed similar maximal equivalent stress values on the external surfaces of the tooth tissue, and stress concentrations were found at the cervical and furcation area. On the internal surfaces of root canals, an increase of equivalent stress at the middle third of the canals with posts and a decrease at the cervical third were observed. Under vertical loading, the P+DB+MB group showed the largest equivalent stress in the post (76.45 MPa in the palatal post), the DB+MB group showed the largest shear stress on the post-core interface (19.02 MPa), and the MB group showed the largest shear stress on the core-dentin interface (12.07 MPa). Under lateral loading, the P+DB+MB group showed the largest equivalent stress in the post (60.11 MPa in the mesiobuccal post) and the largest shear stress on the post-core interface (13.48 MPa) and the DB group showed the largest shear stress on the core-dentin interface (21.03 MPa). CONCLUSIONS: One post in the palatal canal was found to be appropriate for the FRC post and resin core restoration of a maxillary first molar with a 4-wall defect and 1.5-mm-high ferrule. An additional post in the mesiobuccal canal could help disperse lateral occlusal force and improve retention of the restoration.

The Microbiome of Meibomian Gland Secretions from Patients with Internal Hordeolum Treated with Hypochlorous Acid Eyelid Wipes.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of our experiment were to compare the microorganisms in meibomian gland secretions from patients with internal hordeolum before and after treatment using hypochlorous acid eyelid wipes, to elucidate the mechanism underlying hypochlorous acid eyelid wipe treatment of internal hordeolum. METHODS: This was a prospective, matched-pair study. A total of eight patients with internal hordeolum who attended the ophthalmology clinic of our hospital from April to August 2020 were included. Meibomian gland secretions were collected from subjects before treatment (Group A) and from patients cured after eyelid cleaning with hypochlorous acid eyelid wipes for 7 days (Group B). Samples were submitted to 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing, and the resulting data were analyzed to compare the differences in the structure and composition of meibomian gland secretion microbial flora before and after treatment of internal hordeolum. RESULTS: A total of 2127 operational taxonomic units were obtained from the two groups of samples, and there was no significant difference in alpha diversity before and after eyelid cleaning. At the phylum level, there was no significant difference between the two groups. The predominant phyla in Group A included the following: Firmicutes (32.78% ± 20.16%), Proteobacteria (26.73% ± 7.49%), Acidobacteria (10.58% ± 11.45%), Bacteroidetes (9.05% ± 6.63%), Actinobacteria (8.48% ±1.77%), and Chloroflexi (3.15% ± 3.12%), while those in Group B were the following: Proteobacteria (31.86% ± 9.69%), Firmicutes (29.07% ± 24.20%), Acidobacteria (11.33% ± 7.53%), Actinobacteria (7.10% ± 1.98%), Bacteroidetes (5.39% ± 5.17%), and Chloroflexi (3.89% ± 3.67%). Starting from the class level, significant differences in microbial communities were detected before and after eyelid cleaning (P < 0.05). Linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis showed the core flora in Group A microbiome comprising Actinobacteria, Staphylococcus, Staphylococcaceae, Staphylococcus aureus, Ruminococcacea UCg-014, Ruminococcacea-UCG-014, Halomonadaceae, Neisseria, Methylobacterium, Frankiales, and Neisseria sicca, while those in Group B microbial were Streptococcus sp., Blautia, Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum, Subdoligranulum, Subdoligranulum variabile, Faecalibacterium, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. CONCLUSION: Eyelid cleaning with hypochlorous acid eyelid wipes does not change the biodiversity in the meibomian gland secretions of patients with internal hordeolum. Hypochlorous acid eyelid wipes may affect the internal hordeolum through broad-spectrum antibacterial action to effectively reduce the relative abundance of symbiotic pathogens, such as Staphylococcus, Neisseria, Actinomycetes, and Ruminococcus and increase that of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and other symbiotic probiotics with anti-inflammatory effects.

Interaction between arteriosclerosis and the APOE4 gene in cognitive decline in older adults: a cross-sectional study in rural minority areas in western China.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have confirmed that the apolipoprotein E4 allele (APOE4) gene and arteriosclerosis (AS) have a combined effect on the occurrence of cognitive function impairment, and dyslipidaemia levels are significantly correlated with APOE4 levels and AS. Few studies have focused on the combined effect of the APOE4 gene and AS on cognitive function. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of APOE4 gene and AS acting together on cognitive function through dyslipidaemia levels, which could provide certain scientific research value for future studies. METHODS: A multi-stage cluster sampling method was used to investigate older adults aged 60 years and above in rural areas of Guizhou, China. The demographic sociological characteristics were collected, and laboratory tests, blood lipid measurements, and physical examinations were performed. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was used to determine cognitive function. Analysis of variance with two-factor factorial design was used to analyse the interaction between the APOE4 gene and AS on cognitive function and its domains. RESULTS: A total of 549 elderly subjects were eligible for this study. The result of the factorial design analysis revealed there was a significant interaction between the APOE4 gene and AS in terms of attention and numeracy (F = 6.878, P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: The combination of the APOE4 gene and AS leads to a decrease in the level of attention and numeracy domains, and certain attention should be focused on such populations in the future.

Perceived uncertainty stress and its predictors among residents in China during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The prevalence of and risk factors for uncertainty stress among residents during the COVID-19 pandemic remain unclear. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted to explore and identify the risk factors for high perceived uncertainty stress among the general public in China during the COVID-19 outbreak. Information about the respondents' socioeconomic characteristics, knowledge of and attitudes towards COVID-19, perceived uncertainty stress, social capital, anxiety, and depressive symptoms was collected and analysed. Among the 1205 respondents, 45.3% (546) reported a high level of uncertainty stress. Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that anxiety (ß=3.871,P<0.001) and depression symptoms (ß=2.458, P<0.001), family residence (in towns or rural areas) (ß=0.947, P<0.001), lack of support for local epidemic control strategies (ß=1.253, P<0.001), worry about the pandemic (ß=1.191, P<0.001), and symptoms of weakness among family members (ß=1.525, P=0.002) were positively associated with perceived uncertainty stress. Cognitive social capital (ß=-0.883, P<0.001) and social networks (ß=-0.726, P<0.001) were negatively, but social participation (ß=0.714, P<0.001) was positively associated with perceived uncertainty stress. Our findings identify factors associated with a higher level of uncertainty stress and should be helpful in the consideration of effective policies and interventions for uncertainty stress during the initial phases of public health emergencies.

The application of individualized abutment-crown integrated provisional restoration in optimizing the peri-implant soft tissue contour in the esthetic zone.

OBJECTIVE: This article introduced a modified method to fabricate an individualized abutment-crown integrated provisional restoration for single-tooth implant restoration in the esthetic zone, which created a satisfactory peri-implant soft tissue architecture. CLINICAL CONSIDERATIONS: Three months after the implant placement, the individualized abutment-crown integrated provisional restoration was designed and fabricated in the laboratory, by referring to the profile of natural contra-lateral tooth digitally, and seated on the implant afterwards. The peri-implant soft tissue architecture was evaluated and the Pink Esthetic Score (PES) was recorded. The provisional restoration stayed on the implant for 3 months until the individualized definitive ceramic abutment and crown were fixed on the implant. CONCLUSIONS: This protocol provided an alternative solution for shaping the peri-implant soft tissue morphology in the esthetic zone by using an individualized abutment-crown integrated provisional restoration and showed promising effect on the esthetics of anterior single-tooth implant restoration. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The individualized abutment-crown integrated provisional restoration whose emergence profile mirroring that of the natural contra-lateral tooth, was designed with the help of computer-aided design-manufacture (CAD/CAM). It may help shaping the peri-implant soft tissue in the esthetic zone with merits of saving amount of hand labor of technicians as well as clinicians, and reducing the visits of patients.