Whole-genome analysis of circulating influenza A virus (H3N2) strains in Shanghai, China from 2005 to 2023.

Seasonal influenza A virus subtype H3N2 (A/H3N2) circulates globally and has been linked to higher hospitalization rates and summer outbreaks in temperate regions. Here, A/H3N2 circulation in Shanghai, China was systematically studied using data and materials generated by the Shanghai influenza surveillance network from 2005 to 2023. Time-series analysis of incidence and subtyping data showed that A/H3N2 co-circulated with other (sub)types and dominated in multiple seasonal influenza peaks, preferentially in summer. Whole genomes of 528 representative strains were sequenced, and spatiotemporal phylodynamic analysis using these and GISAID-archived sequences demonstrated that in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, phylogenetically similar strains were circulating locally and elsewhere. However, clade 1a.1 (within 3C.2a.1b.2a), circulated in and only in Shanghai and domestically in 2022, while the sibling clade 2 predominated in other regions. Interestingly, clade 1a.1 was swiftly and completely replaced by clade 2, mostly 2a.3a.1, at the start of 2023. In hemagglutination inhibition and neutralization assays, sera from healthy donors collected in 2022 displayed higher or similar reactivity against 2a.3a.1 compared to 1a.1. By contrast, transcription and replication competence of 2a.3a.1 in MDCK cells was higher than 1a.1. These results indicated that instead of antigenicity differences enabling evasion of pre-existing immunity, higher replicative capability more likely contributed to 2a.3a.1 viruses achieving dominance in China. In addition to summarizing patterns of A/H3N2 local circulation in Shanghai, this work revealed an unusual episode in A/H3N2 global circulation and evolution dynamics in connection to the COVID-19 pandemic and explored possible mechanistic explanations.

GHG emission quantification and reduction pathway of subway shield tunnel engineering: a case study on Guangzhou Metro, China.

The shield method is a commonly used construction technique in subway tunnel engineering. However, studies on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions specifically in subway shield tunnel engineering are lacking. This study aims to investigate the GHG emission characteristics and GHG reduction pathways during the construction period of subway shield tunnels. Firstly, based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) method, a greenhouse gas (GHG) emission quantification model for the shield tunnel construction period was developed using a multi-level decomposition of construction. Then, the GHG emission level and intensity during the construction period of a case project are quantified, and its emission characteristics and GHG reduction potential points are assessed. Finally, a comprehensive path for GHG reduction in subway shield tunnel engineering is proposed. The research results indicate that constructing 1 km of subway shield tunnel can generate 19,294.28 t CO2eq. Among these, material production element dominates the emissions with a percentage of 89.05%, while transportation and mechanical construction elements contribute 1.81% and 9.14%, respectively. From the structure perspective, the main structure contributes 88.73% of total emissions, while the ancillary structure contributes 11.27%. Among them, the working shaft and tunnel segments are the main sources of emissions for the main structure, accounting for 23.65% and 65.08%, respectively. Connecting channel and end reinforcement are the main emission sources of the ancillary structures, accounting for 43.63% and 31.30%, respectively. These findings provide a scientific foundation for the environmentally friendly transformation of urban railway development regarding pursuing "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" strategic goals.

Unveiling the NIMBY effect in construction and demolition waste landfilling: Factors, paths, and solutions.

The construction and operation of the construction and demolition waste (C&DW) landfills often encounter significant opposition from nearby residents, which is called the "not in my backyard" (NIMBY) effect. However, little is known about the formation mechanism of the NIMBY effect in C&DW landfilling, so this research was conducted for this purpose. First, the influencing factors leading to the NIMBY effect were determined based on a literature review and questionnaire survey. Then, the interrelationship and influencing path of critical factors were revealed using expert interviews and Interpretative Structural Modelling. The results shown that 12 factors from four levels (including residents, society, government, and enterprises) caused the NIMBY effect in C&DW landfilling. These factors formed a complex network comprising 18 influencing paths. Notably, policy and responding measures as pivotal bottom-level factors that trigger the NIMBY effect by indirectly impacting residents' rights awareness and shaping public perception towards C&DW landfill operation enterprises through directly affecting personal interest, cognitive bias, distrust, disposal technology, management level, opinion leader, and other intermediate factors, ultimately triggering the NIMBY effect. Moreover, strategies for mitigating or resolving the NIMBY effect were proposed, such as protecting personal reasonable interests, understanding the potential risks of C&DW landfills rationally, reporting the C&DW landfills from an objective perspective, improving policies and promoting public participation, and enhancing supervision of the C&DW landfills. The study added new knowledge to the current public's NIMBY effect in C&DW landfilling. Meanwhile, it also provided a reference for formulating C&DW landfilling policies and selecting landfill sites.

Network pharmacology- and molecular docking-based exploration of the molecular mechanism underlying Jianpi Yiwei Recipe treatment of gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is widely used as an important complementary and alternative healthcare system for cancer treatment in Asian countries. Network pharmacology, which utilizes various database platforms and computer software to study the interactions between complex drug components in vivo, is particularly useful for studying the pharmacodynamic mechanisms of multi-pathway and multi-target Chinese medicines. AIM: To explore the potential targets and function of Jianpi Yiwei Recipe treatment of gastric cancer (GC) through network pharmacology and molecular docking. METHODS: Data on the components of Jianpi Yiwei Recipe (Radix Astragali, Radix Codonopsis, Agrimonia eupatoria, Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz., Poria cocos, stir-baked rhizoma dioscoreae, Amomum villosum Lour., fried Fructus Aurantii, pericarpium citri reticulatae, Rhizoma Pinelliae Preparata, and Radix Glycyrrhizae Preparata) were collected and screened by using the TCM systems pharmacology database and analysis platform (TCMSP). Then the targets of these compounds were predicted. GC-related targets were screened using the GeneCards database. Venn diagram was used to identify common targets. An active ingredient-core target interaction network and a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network were built. Moreover, we performed gene ontology (GO) functional annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses on the core targets and validated them by molecular docking. RESULTS: TCMSP screening revealed 11 active components and 184 targets, whereas GeneCards found 10118 disease-related targets, with 180 shared targets between them. Topology analysis of the PPI network identified 38 targets, including ATK1, TP53, and tumor necrosis factor, as key targets for the treatment of GC by Jianpi Yiwei Recipe. Quercetin, naringenin, luteolin, etc., may be the main active components of Jianpi Yiwei Recipe. GO enrichment analysis identified 2809, 1218, and 553 functions related to biological process, molecular function, and cellular component, respectively. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed 167 related pathways, mainly involved in cancer, endocrine resistance, and AGE-RAGE signaling in diabetic complication. Validation with molecular docking analysis showed docking of key active components with core targets. CONCLUSION: Jianpi Yiwei Recipe plays a therapeutic role in GC through multiple components, targets, and pathways. These findings form a basis for follow-up exploration of Jianpi Yiwei Recipe in the treatment of GC.

Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections in Shanghai, China: Surveillance from 2014 to 2023.

Soil-transmitted helminthiasis remains a notable health problem in developing countries. In 1990 in Shanghai, a city in eastern China, 47% of the population was affected. Due to a series of comprehensive approaches, the prevalence decreased to 0.5% in 2009. We collected 10-year surveillance data to assess the epidemic situation of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections in Shanghai. Stool samples and questionnaires from participants were collected. The Kato-Katz technique was used to detect infections with Ascaris lumbricoides, hookworm (Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus), and Trichuris trichiura. From 2014 to 2023, a total of 77,685 participants were screened for parasitic infections, and the overall prevalence of STH infections decreased from 0.1% to 0% in Shanghai. Of 77,685 participants, 25 (0.03%) were positive for intestinal helminths, with the most common parasite being A. lumbricoides (72.0%). Generally, elderly participants from rural areas with lower education levels were more likely to be infected with STHs. A total of 2,914 questionnaires were collected, and most respondents (72.6%) had good knowledge about the transmission routes of STHs. However, 12.3% of participants did not know the damage to health caused by STHs, and 19.3% had no idea of how to prevent infection. These data demonstrate the current state of STH infections in Shanghai. The results suggest that various comprehensive measures should be encouraged, continuously implemented, and strengthened accordingly so that STH elimination can be integrated into the Healthy China initiative by 2030.

Developing a regional scale construction and demolition waste landfill landslide risk rapid assessment approach.

In recent years, construction and demolition waste (CDW) landfills landslide accidents have occurred globally, with consequences varying due to surrounding environmental factors. Risk monitoring is crucial to mitigate these risks effectively. Existing studies mainly focus on improving risk assessment accuracy for individual landfills, lacking the ability to rapidly assess multiple landfills at a regional scale. This study proposes an innovative approach utilizing deep learning models to quickly locate suspected landfills and develop risk assessment models based on surrounding environmental factors. Shenzhen, China, with significant CDW disposal pressure, is chosen as the empirical research area. Empirical findings from this study include: (1) the identification of 52 suspected CDW landfills predominantly located at the administrative boundaries within Shenzhen, specifically in the Longgang, Guangming, and Bao'an districts; (2) landfills at the lower risk of landslides are typically found near the northern borders adjacent to cities like Huizhou and Dongguan; (3) landfills situated at the internal administrative junctions generally exhibit higher landslide risks; (4) about 70 % of these landfills are high-risk, mostly located in densely populated areas with substantial rainfall and complex topographies. This study advances landfill landslide risk assessments by integrating computer vision and environmental analysis, providing a robust method for governments to rapidly evaluate risks at CDW landfills regionally. The adaptable models can be customized for various urban and broadened to general landfills by adjusting specific indicators, enhancing environmental safety protocols and risk management strategies effectively.

Evaluating Seasonal Variations in Human Contact Patterns and Their Impact on the Transmission of Respiratory Infectious Diseases.

BACKGROUND: Human contact patterns are a key determinant driving the spread of respiratory infectious diseases. However, the relationship between contact patterns and seasonality as well as their possible association with the seasonality of respiratory diseases is yet to be clarified. METHODS: We investigated the association between temperature and human contact patterns using data collected through a cross-sectional diary-based contact survey in Shanghai, China, between December 24, 2017, and May 30, 2018. We then developed a compartmental model of influenza transmission informed by the derived seasonal trends in the number of contacts and validated it against A(H1N1)pdm09 influenza data collected in Shanghai during the same period. RESULTS: We identified a significant inverse relationship between the number of contacts and the seasonal temperature trend defined as a spline interpolation of temperature data (p = 0.003). We estimated an average of 16.4 (95% PrI: 15.1-17.5) contacts per day in December 2017 that increased to an average of 17.6 contacts (95% PrI: 16.5-19.3) in January 2018 and then declined to an average of 10.3 (95% PrI: 9.4-10.8) in May 2018. Estimates of influenza incidence obtained by the compartmental model comply with the observed epidemiological data. The reproduction number was estimated to increase from 1.24 (95% CI: 1.21-1.27) in December to a peak of 1.34 (95% CI: 1.31-1.37) in January. The estimated median infection attack rate at the end of the season was 27.4% (95% CI: 23.7-30.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support a relationship between temperature and contact patterns, which can contribute to deepen the understanding of the relationship between social interactions and the epidemiology of respiratory infectious diseases.

An evaluation model for city-scale construction and demolition waste management effectiveness: A case study in China.

The growing generation of construction and demolition waste (CDW) has emerged as a prominent challenge on global environmental agendas. However, the effectiveness of CDW management (CDWM) strategies varies among cities. Existing literature predominantly evaluates the effectiveness of CDWM at the project level, offering a localized perspective that fails to capture a city's comprehensive CDWM profile. This localized focus has certain limitations. To fill this gap in city-scale evaluations, this study introduces a novel model for assessing CDWM effectiveness at the municipal level. An empirical investigation was conducted across 11 cities within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to operationalize this model. The model defines five distinct levels of CDWM effectiveness. Findings indicate that Hong Kong consistently achieves the highest level (level I), while the majority of cities fall within levels III and IV. This pattern suggests that CDWM effectiveness in the GBA is moderately developed, with uneven progress in CDW management outcomes and supporting systems. Essentially, there is a lack of synchronous development of CDWM results and guarantee systems. The proposed evaluation model enriches existing CDWM research field and offers a framework that may inform future studies in other countries.

Motor Imagery Classification for Asynchronous EEG-Based Brain-Computer Interfaces.

Motor imagery (MI) based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) enable the direct control of external devices through the imagined movements of various body parts. Unlike previous systems that used fixed-length EEG trials for MI decoding, asynchronous BCIs aim to detect the user's MI without explicit triggers. They are challenging to implement, because the algorithm needs to first distinguish between resting-states and MI trials, and then classify the MI trials into the correct task, all without any triggers. This paper proposes a sliding window prescreening and classification (SWPC) approach for MI-based asynchronous BCIs, which consists of two modules: a prescreening module to screen MI trials out of the resting-state, and a classification module for MI classification. Both modules are trained with supervised learning followed by self-supervised learning, which refines the feature extractors. Within-subject and cross-subject asynchronous MI classifications on four different EEG datasets validated the effectiveness of SWPC, i.e., it always achieved the highest average classification accuracy, and outperformed the best state-of-the-art baseline on each dataset by about 2%.

Complete Plastid Genomes of Nine Species of Ranunculeae (Ranunculaceae) and Their Phylogenetic Inferences.

The tribe Ranunculeae, Ranunculaceae, comprising 19 genera widely distributed all over the world. Although a large number of Sanger sequencing-based molecular phylogenetic studies have been published, very few studies have been performed on using genomic data to infer phylogenetic relationships within Ranunculeae. In this study, the complete plastid genomes of nine species (eleven samples) from Ceratocephala, Halerpestes, and Ranunculus were de novo assembled using a next-generation sequencing method. Previously published plastomes of Oxygraphis and other related genera of the family were downloaded from GenBank for comparative analysis. The complete plastome of each Ranunculeae species has 112 genes in total, including 78 protein-coding genes, 30 transfer RNA genes, and four ribosomal RNA genes. The plastome structure of Ranunculeae samples is conserved in gene order and arrangement. There are no inverted repeat (IR) region expansions and only one IR contraction was found in the tested samples. This study also compared plastome sequences across all the samples in gene collinearity, codon usage, RNA editing sites, nucleotide variability, simple sequence repeats, and positive selection sites. Phylogeny of the available Ranunculeae species was inferred by the plastome data using maximum-likelihood and Bayesian inference methods, and data partitioning strategies were tested. The phylogenetic relationships were better resolved compared to previous studies based on Sanger sequencing methods, showing the potential value of the plastome data in inferring the phylogeny of the tribe.

Automatic identification of illegal construction and demolition waste landfills: A computer vision approach.

Dozens of landslide accidents are reported at construction and demolition waste (CDW) landfills worldwide every year. Those accidents could be avoided via timely inspection in which the identification of illegal CDW landfills at a large scale plays a critical role. Traditional field surveys are time-consuming, labor-intensive, which is not effective in large-scale detection of landfills. To address this issue, a methodology is proposed in this study for the automatic identification of CDW landfills in large-scale areas by utilizing semantic segmentation of remote sensing imagery. Deep learning is employed to achieve automatic identification and a case study is conducted to showcase the models. The results shown that: (1) The model proposed in this study can effectively identify CDW landfills, with an accuracy of 96.30 % and an IoU of 74.60 %. (2) DeepLabV3+ demonstrated superior performance over Pspnet and HRNet, though HRNet approached DeepLabV3+ in performance with appropriate optimizations. (3) Case study results indicate the potential existence of 52 CDW landfills in Shenzhen, includng 4 official landfills and 48 suspected illegal CDW landfills, mainly in Longhua, Guangming, and Baoan districts. The method proposed in this study provides an effective approache to identify large-scale illegal CDW landfills and has great significance for supervising CDW landfills.

Front-End Replication Dynamic Window (FRDW) for Online Motor Imagery Classification.

Motor imagery (MI) is a classical paradigm in electroencephalogram (EEG) based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Online accurate and fast decoding is very important to its successful applications. This paper proposes a simple yet effective front-end replication dynamic window (FRDW) algorithm for this purpose. Dynamic windows enable the classification based on a test EEG trial shorter than those used in training, improving the decision speed; front-end replication fills a short test EEG trial to the length used in training, improving the classification accuracy. Within-subject and cross-subject online MI classification experiments on three public datasets, with three different classifiers and three different data augmentation approaches, demonstrated that FRDW can significantly increase the information transfer rate in MI decoding. Additionally, FR can also be used in training data augmentation. FRDW helped win national champion of the China BCI Competition in 2022.

Stability and genetic insights of the co-existence of blaCTX-M-65, blaOXA-1, and mcr-1.1 harboring conjugative IncI2 plasmid isolated from a clinical extensively-drug resistant Escherichia coli ST744 in Shanghai.

Background: Co-existence of colistin, ß-lactam and carbapenem in multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae isolates poses a serious threat to public health. In this study, we investigated and characterized the co-occurrence of blaCTX-M-65, blaOXA-1, and mcr-1.1 strain isolated from a clinical extensively-drug-resistant Escherichia coli ST744 in Shanghai. Methods: Antimicrobial susceptibility test was carried out by agar dilution methods. Whole genome sequencing was conducted, and resistance genes, and sequence types of colistin in E. coli isolates were analyzed. Plasmid stability and amino acid mutations were assessed in E. coli isolates. Results: A colistin resistant E. coli ST744, named ECPX221, was identified out of 145 fecal samples collected. The strain carries a 60,168 IncI2 plasmid with the mcr-1.1 gene. The strain also has blaCTX-M-65, blaOXA-1, dfrA14, qnrS1, cmlA5, arr2, ampC, aph(4)-Ia, sul1, and aadA5 resistance genes. The plasmid pECPX221 was capable of conjugation with an efficiency of 2.6 × 10-2. Notably, 45% of the transconjugants were determined as mcr-1.1-harboring in the colistin-free environment after 60 generation of passage. No mutations occurred in pmrB, mgrB, and phoPQ gene in the mcr-1.1-harboring transconjugants. Bioinformatic analysis indicated pECPX221 shared highly similar backbone with the previously reported mcr-1.1-harboring pAH62-1, pMFDS1339.1, pSCZE4, and p2018-10-2CC. Furthermore, sequencing and phylogenetic analyses revealed a similarity between other MCR-1-homolog proteins, indicating that ECPX221 was colistin resistant. Conclusion: The stable transferable mcr-1.1-harboring plasmid found in the E. coli ST744 strain indicated the high risk to disseminate the extensively-drug-resistance phenotype among Enterobacteriaceae.

The rest-activity rhythm, genetic susceptibility and risk of type 2 diabetes: A prospective study in UK Biobank.

AIMS: This study aims to examine the association between the rest-activity rhythm (RAR) and the incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In total, 97 503 participants without diabetes in the UK Biobank cohort were recruited. Wearable accelerometry was used to monitor circadian behaviour. The parameters of RAR including inter-daily stability, intra-daily variability, relative amplitude (RA), most active continuous 10 h period (M10), and least active continuous 5 h period (L5) were calculated to evaluate the robustness and regularity of the RAR. The weighted polygenic risk score for T2D (T2D-PRS) was calculated. Cox proportion hazards models were used to evaluate the survival relationship and the joint and interaction effects of RAR parameters and T2D-PRS on the occurrence of T2D. RESULTS: During 692 257 person-years follow-ups, a total of 2434 participants were documented. After adjustment for potential confounders, compared with participants in the highest quartile of RA and M10, the participants in the lowest quartile had a greater risk of T2D (HRRA = 2.06, 95% CI: 1.76-2.41; HRM10 = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.19-1.49). Meanwhile, the highest quartile of L5 was related to a higher risk of T2D (HR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.55-2.24). The joint analysis showed that the high T2D-PRS with the lowest quartile of RA and M10, or highest quartile of L5 jointly increased the risk of T2D (HRRA = 4.46, 95% CI: 3.36-6.42; HRM10 = 3.15, 95% CI: 2.29-4.32; HRL5 = 3.09, 95% CI: 2.40-3.99). No modification effects of T2D-PRS on the association between the RAR parameters and risk of T2D were observed (p > .05). CONCLUSION: The unbalanced RAR are associated with a greater risk of T2D, which are independent of known risk factors of T2D.

Dysregulation of the microbiota-brain axis during long-term exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics in rats and the protective role of dihydrocaffeic acid.

Polystyrene nano-plastics (PS-NPs) can be accumulated in the food chain and can penetrate biological barriers to affect multiple physiological functions. However, the adverse effects of nano-plastics on mammals and the underlying mechanism still remain unknown. To fill the gaps, our study administrated low-dose PS-NPs (50 and 100 µg/L) for 24 consecutive weeks in rats. Behavioral and morphological evaluations were performed to assess the neurobehavoirs. A combined analysis of multiple omics was used to evaluate the dysfunctions of the gut-microbe-brain axis. After dihydrochalcone(NHDC) treatment in the PS-NPs rat model, the inflammation response and apoptosis process were assessed and proteomics was used to explore the underlying mechanism. Our results indicated that long-term exposure to low-dose PS-NPs could induce abnormal neurobehaviors and amygdaloid nucleus impairment, and stimulate inflammatory responses and apoptosis. Metagenomics results revealed that four microbial phyla including Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Defferibacteres, and Bacteroidetes changed significantly compared to the control. Targeted metabolomics analysis in the feces showed alteration of 122 metabolites induced by the PS-NPs exposure, among which the content of dihydrocaffeic acid was significantly associated with the different microbial genera and pivotal differential metabolites in the amygdaloid nucleus. And NHDC treatment significantly alleviated PS-NP-induced neuroinflammation and apoptosis and the cyclic adenosine monophosphate(cAMP)/protein kinase A(PKA)/phosphorylated cAMP-response element binding protein(p-CREB)/plasma membrane calcium-transporting ATPase 2(Atp2b2) signaling pathway was identified in the proteomics. In conclusion, long-term exposure to low-dose PS-NPs has adverse effects on emotion through the dysregulation of the gut-brain axis, and dihydrocaffeic acid can alleviate these effects via the cAMP/PKA/p-CREB/Atp2b2 signaling pathway.

Association of Urinary Nitrate With Diabetes Complication and Disease-Specific Mortality Among Adults With Hyperglycemia.

CONTEXT: The hyperglycemia condition disrupts metabolism of nitrate/nitrite and nitric oxide, and dietary nitrate intake can restore nitric oxide homeostasis. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine whether urinary nitrate is associated with diabetes complications and long-term survival among people with hyperglycemia. METHODS: A total of 6208 people with hyperglycemia who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2005 to 2014 were enrolled. Diabetes complications included congestive heart failure, coronary heart disease, angina, stroke, myocardial infarction, diabetic retinopathy, and nephropathy. Mortality was obtained from the National Death Index until 2015. Urinary nitrate was measured by ion chromatography coupled with electrospray tandem mass spectrometry, which was log-transformed and categorized into tertiles. Logistic regression models and Cox proportional hazards models were respectively performed to assess the association of urinary nitrate with the risk of diabetes complications and disease-specific mortalities. RESULTS: After adjustment for potential confounders, including urinary perchlorate and thiocyanate, compared with the participants in the lowest tertile of nitrate, the participants in the highest tertile had lower risks of congestive heart failure (odds ratio [OR] 0.41; 95% CI, 0.27-0.60) and diabetic nephropathy (OR 0.50; 95% CI, 0.41-0.62). Meanwhile, during a total follow-up period of 41 463 person-years, the participants in the highest tertile had lower mortality risk of all-cause (hazard ratio [HR] 0.78; 95% CI, 0.62-0.97), cardiovascular disease (CVD) (HR 0.56; 95% CI, 0.37-0.84), and diabetes (HR 0.47; 95% CI, 0.24-0.90), which showed dose-dependent linear relationships (P for nonlinearity > 0.05). Moreover, no association between nitrate and cancer mortality was observed (HR 1.13; 95% CI, 0.71-1.80). CONCLUSION: Higher urinary nitrate is associated with lower risk of congestive heart failure and diabetic nephropathy, and lower risk of all-cause, CVD, and diabetes mortalities. These findings indicate that inorganic nitrate supplementation can be considered as a supplementary treatment for people with hyperglycemia.

Small Data Least-Squares Transformation (sd-LST) for Fast Calibration of SSVEP-Based BCIs.

Steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) is one of the most popular brain-computer interface (BCI) paradigms, with high information transmission rate and signal-to-noise ratio. Many calibration-free and calibration-based approaches have been proposed to improve the performance of SSVEP-based BCIs. This paper considers a quick calibration scenario, where there are plenty of data from multiple source subjects, but only a small number of calibration trials from a subset of stimulus frequencies for the new subject. We propose small data least-squares transformation (sd-LST) to solve this problem. Experiments on three publicly available SSVEP datasets demonstrated that sd-LST outperformed several classical or state-of-the-art approaches, with only about 10 calibration trials for 40-target SSVEP-based BCI spellers.

The association of dietary spermidine with all-cause mortality and CVD mortality: The U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003 to 2014.

Background: Current studies on the protective effects of dietary spermidine (SPD) on cardiovascular disease (CVD) are mainly limited to animal studies, and the relationship between dietary SPD and CVD mortality remains inconclusive. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the association between dietary SPD intake and CVD and all-cause mortality. Methods: A total of 23,894 people enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2003 to 2014 were recruited for this study. The dietary intake of SPD from 11 specific food origins and total SPD was categorized into tertiles or quartiles. Cox proportional hazard regression models were developed to evaluate the association of SPD intake with CVD and all-cause mortalities. Results: Among the 23,894 participants, 2,365 deaths, including 736 deaths due to CVD, were documented. After adjustment for potential confounders, compared with participants in the lowest quartile, participants in the highest quartile of total SPD had a significantly lower risk of CVD mortality (HR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.51-0.91) and all-cause mortality (HR = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.60-0.82); participants in the highest tertiles or quartiles of vegetable-derived SPD, cereal-derived SPD, legume-derived SPD, nut-derived SPD, and cheese-derived SPD had a lower risk of CVD mortality (HR vegetable - derivedSPD = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.54-0.86; HR cereal - derivedSPD = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.57-0.97; HR legume - derivedSPD = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.52-0.88; HR nut - derivedSPD = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.53-0.80; HR cheese - derivedSPD = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.52-0.88) and all-cause mortality (HR vegetable - derivedSPD = 0.73, 95% CI: 0.64-0.84; HR cereal - derivedSPD = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.69-0.93; HR legume - derivedSPD = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.60-0.80;HR nut - derivedSPD = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.64-0.81; HR cheese - derivedSPD = 0.70, 95% CI: 0.61-0.81) than those in the lowest tertiles or quartiles. Moreover, subgroup analysis showed consistent associations among the people with hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Conclusion: Higher intake of dietary SPD is associated with decreased risk of CVD and all-cause mortality, and among specific food origin SPD, SPD derived from vegetables, cereals, legumes, nuts, and cheese was associated with reduced CVD and all-cause mortality.

Age-dependent and sex-dependent differences in mortality from influenza-associated cardiovascular diseases among older adults in Shanghai, China: a population-based study.

OBJECTIVES: Influenza epidemics lead to substantial morbidity and mortality among older adults. This study aimed to analyse and assess the age-specific and sex-specific differences in mortality rates for cardiovascular disease (CVD) associated with influenza in older adults. DESIGN: We obtained weekly data on mortality from CVD in adults≥60 years, categorised into five age groups. We used a quasi-Poisson model and adjusted for long-term and seasonal trends and absolute humidity as confounding factors. The male-to-female ratio (M/F ratio) was an indicator for assessing sex differences. SETTING: Shanghai, China. PARTICIPANT: We analysed 440 107 CVD deaths in adults aged ≥60 years, including 44 913 cases positive for influenza and 1 927 487 outpatient visits for influenza-like illness from 2010 to 2019. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age-specific and sex-specific excess CVD mortality rates in older adults for various combinations of CVDs and influenza viruses. RESULTS: Variations were observed in the excess mortality from CVD, ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke depending on the influenza types/subtypes in different age and sex categories. The ≥85 years group had the highest excess mortality rates per 100 000 persons for CVD, IHD and stroke, while influenza A (H3N2) virus accounted for the highest mortality from CVD, IHD and stroke in people aged ≥65 years. Older men had a significantly lower influenza-associated IHD mortality rate than women, with an M/F ratio of 0.77 (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Excess mortality rates for CVDs associated with influenza increased with age in older adults. The risk for influenza-associated IHD mortality was significantly higher in older women than men. Our findings will help implement targeted health strategies, including the promotion of influenza vaccination and early therapeutic intervention for the older population with CVD, to curb the influenza burden effectively.