A novel method for vegetable and fruit classification based on using diffusion maps and machine learning.

Vegetable and fruit classification can help all links of agricultural product circulation to better carry out inventory management, logistics planning and supply chain coordination, and improve the efficiency and response speed of the supply chain. However, the current classification of vegetables and fruits mainly relies on manual classification, which inevitably introduces the influence of human subjective factors, resulting in errors and misjudgments in the classification of vegetables and fruits. In response to this serious problem, this research proposes an efficient and reproducible novel model to classify multiple vegetables and fruits using handcrafted features. In the proposed model, preprocessing operations such as Gaussian filtering, grayscale and binarization are performed on the pictures of vegetables and fruits to improve the quality of the pictures; statistical texture features representing vegetable and fruit categories, wavelet transform features and shape features are extracted from the preprocessed images; the feature dimension reduction method of diffusion maps is used to reduce the redundant information of the combined features composed of statistical texture features, wavelet transform features and shape features; five effective machine learning methods were used to classify the types of vegetables and fruits. In this research, the proposed method was rigorously verified experimentally and the results show that the SVM classifier achieves 96.25% classification accuracy of vegetables and fruits, which proves that the proposed method is helpful to improve the quality and management level of vegetables and fruits, and provide strong support for agricultural production and supply chain.

CO Intermediate-Assisted Dynamic Cu Sintering During Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction on Cu-N-C Catalysts.

The electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (eCO2RR) to multicarbon products has been widely recognized for Cu-based catalysts. However, the structural changes in Cu-based catalysts during the eCO2RR pose challenges to achieving an in-depth understanding of the structure-activity relationship, thereby limiting catalyst development. Herein, we employ constant-potential density functional theory calculations to investigate the sintering process of Cu single atoms of Cu-N-C single-atom catalysts into clusters under eCO2RR conditions. Systematic constant-potential ab initio molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the leaching of Cu-(CO)x moieties and subsequent agglomeration into clusters can be facilitated by synergistic adsorption of H and eCO2RR intermediates (e.g., CO). Increasing the Cu2+ concentration or the applied potential can efficiently suppress Cu sintering. Both microkinetic simulations and experimental results further confirm that sintered Cu clusters play a crucial role in generating C2 products. These findings provide significant insights into the dynamic evolution of Cu-based catalysts and the origin of their activity toward C2 products during the eCO2RR.

MoS2 Hollow Multishelled Nanospheres Doped Fe Single Atoms Capable of Fast Phase Transformation for Fast-charging Na-ion Batteries.

Low Na+ and electron diffusion kinetics severely restrain the rate capability of MoS2 as anode for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Slow phase transitions between 2H and 1T, and from NaxMoS2 to Mo and Na2S as well as the volume change during cycling, induce a poor cycling stability. Herein, an original Fe single atom doped MoS2 hollow multishelled structure (HoMS) is designed for the first time to address the above challenges. The Fe single atom in MoS2 promotes the electron transfer, companying with shortened charge diffusion path from unique HoMS, thereby achieving excellent rate capability. The strong adsorption with Na+ and self-catalysis of Fe single atom facilitates the reversible conversion between 2H and 1T, and from NaxMoS2 to Mo and Na2S. Moreover, the buffering effect of HoMS on volume change during cycling improves the cyclic stability. Consequently, the Fe single atom doped MoS2 quadruple-shelled sphere exhibits a high specific capacity of 213.3 mAh g-1 at an ultrahigh current density of 30 A g-1, which is superior to previously-reported results. Even at 5 A g-1, 259.4 mAh g-1 (83.68 %) was reserved after 500 cycles. Such elaborate catalytic site decorated HoMS is also promising to realize other "fast-charging" high-energy-density rechargeable batteries.

Effects of the Species and Growth Stage on the Antioxidant and Antifungal Capacities, Polyphenol Contents, and Volatile Profiles of Bamboo Leaves.

Bamboo leaves contain high concentrations of various biologically active compounds, such as polyphenols and volatiles, making them attractive as raw resources for antioxidant additives in the food industry. Here, we investigated the total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) of four bamboo leaf extracts from two species (Phyllostachys edulis and Chimonocalamus delicatus) at two growth stages (first and second years). Antioxidant capacity was determined based on the radical-scavenging capacity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS+). We also assessed the antifungal capacity based on mycelial growth inhibition of Colletotrichum musae (C. musae), Botrytis cinerea (B. cinereain), and Alternaria alternata (A. alternata). Pearson's correlation coefficients showed that the TPC was significantly (p < 0.01) negatively correlated with the half-maximal inhibitory concentrations against DPPH and ABTS+, whereas the TFC was positively correlated with C. musae and B. cinereain growth inhibition, which suggest that TPC and TFC might be the major contributors to the antioxidant and antifungal capacities of bamboo leaves, respectively. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of bamboo leaves were also analyzed using gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry. The VOCs included twenty-four aldehydes, eleven alcohols, four furans, seven esters, fifteen terpenes, three ketones, one pyrazine, and thirty unidentified compounds. Principal component analysis, partial least squares discriminant analysis, and hierarchical cluster analysis were performed to assess the differences in the volatile profiles of the four bamboo leaf samples, from which 23 discriminatory VOCs with variable importance in the projection values > 1 were screened, and part of them were impacted by species or growth stage. These findings provide a theoretical foundation for the use of bamboo leaves.

Selective internal radiation therapy with yttrium-90 resin microspheres followed by anatomical hepatectomy: A potential curative strategy in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

About 80% of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients are in advanced stages and ineligible for curative surgery. Palliative treatments just maintained limited survival, thus an effective downstaging therapy is badly needed. Here we report an initially unresectable patient who underwent radical hepatectomy after successful downstaging with selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT). A 34-year-old man was diagnosed with China Liver Cancer Staging (CNLC) IIIa HCC. Due to insufficient future liver remnant and vascular involvement, the patient was suggested to be unresectable. SIRT with yttrium-90 resin microspheres was given. At three months post-SIRT, a complete response was achieved. The tumor was downstaged to CNLC Ia stage. The patient underwent anatomical hepatectomy 5 months after SIRT. Histopathological examination of the resected specimen showed 4% viable tumor cells inside a necrotic mass. To our knowledge, this is the first case who underwent SIRT with yttrium-90 resin microspheres in China mainland. The success of the downstaging in this case renders a possible cure to be achieved in an initially unresectable patient. In addition, the nearly complete tumor necrosis in the resected specimen indicates a good prognosis post-surgery. This is the first case who underwent SIRT with yttrium-90 resin microspheres in China mainland. SIRT followed by anatomical hepatectomy is a potentially curative strategy for unresectable HCC, which deserves a confirmative trial in the future.

Symptom profiles and related factors among patients with advanced cancer: A latent profile analysis.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate symptom subgroups and associated influencing factors in patients with advanced cancer. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, involving 416 patients with advanced cancer. The study examined five symptoms: fatigue, pain, sleep impairment, anxiety, and depression. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was utilized to classify symptom subgroups. A multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore factors associated with the identified symptom subgroups. Results: The analysis revealed three distinct subgroups among the participants: "all low" (58.2%), characterized by normal symptoms except for moderate sleep quality; "all moderate" (35.1%), exhibiting normal symptoms except for poor sleep quality and fatigue; and "all high" (6.7%), experiencing normal pain, moderate depression, moderate anxiety, poor sleep quality, and fatigue. Malnutrition risk, cancer diagnosis, and cancer survivorship duration were found to be associated with a more severe symptom burden. Conclusions: Patients in the "all high" subgroup faced an increased risk of malnutrition and a longer cancer survivorship duration. Additionally, patients in the "all moderate" subgroup were distinguished by having a breast cancer diagnosis. These findings have significant implications for allocating medical resources and implementing person-centered symptom management strategies.

Branch distribution pattern and anticoagulant activity of a fucosylated chondroitin sulfate from Phyllophorella kohkutiensis.

Fucosylated chondroitin sulfate (FCS) extracted from Phyllophorella kohkutiensis (PkFCS) is composed of d-GalNAc, d-GlcA, l-Fuc and -SO42-. According to the defined structures revealed by NMR spectra of the branches released by mild acid hydrolysis and oligosaccharides generated by ß-eliminative depolymerization, the backbone of PkFCS is CS-E, and the branch types attached to C-3 of d-GlcA include l-Fuc2S4S, l-Fuc3S4S, l-Fuc4S, and the disaccharide α-d-GalNAc-1,2-α-l-Fuc3S4S with the ratio of 43:13:22:22. Notably, novel heptasaccharide and hendecasaccharide were identified that are branched with continuous distribution of the disaccharide. The structural sequences of the oligosaccharides indicate that three unique structural motifs are present in the entire PkFCS polymer, including a motif branched with randomly distributed different sulfated l-Fuc units, a motif containing regular l-Fuc2S4S branches and a motif enriched in α-d-GalNAc-1,2-α-l-Fuc3S4S. This is the first report about the distribution pattern of diverse branches in natural FCS. Natural PkFCS exhibited potent anticoagulant activity on APTT prolonging and anti-iXase activity. Regarding the structurally defined oligosaccharides with sulfated fucosyl side chains, octasaccharide (Pk4b) is the minimum fragment responsible for its anticoagulant activity correlated with anti-iXase. However, further glycosyl modification with a non-sulfated d-GalNAc at the C-2 position of l-Fuc3S4S could significantly decrease the anticoagulant and anti-iXase activity.

Establishment of a nomogram for predicting functional constipation among children in China: Using the Rome IV criteria.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Childhood functional constipation (FC) is gradually becoming an emerging public health problem. This study aimed to develop a personalized nomogram for the prediction of incident FC among Chinese children, and the diagnosis of FC was based on the Rome IV criteria. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted from Nov. 2020 to Jan. 2021 among children residing in Anhui province, China. An electronic questionnaire regarding the general demographic and clinical characteristics of all children was completed by their primary caregivers. The multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to identify risk factors for FC. Moreover, a nomogram was constructed for FC based on the risk factors identified from the multivariate analysis. RESULTS: In this study, a total of 901 electronic questionnaires were collected, of which 832 (92.3%) questionnaires were properly completed and included in the final analysis. The prevalence of FC among Chinese children was 11.3% based on the Rome IV criteria. After controlling for potential confounding factors, the multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that inadequate sleep, picky eating, and positive family history of FC were identified as key risk factors of FC. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the nomogram was 0.694 (95 %CI: 0.6412-0.7459). Further, a calibration curve drawn illustrated that the predicted probabilities reasonably approximately the actual prevalence of FC in this population. CONCLUSION: Inadequate sleep, picky eating, and positive family history of FC were identified as risk factors of FC. An easy-to-use nomogram was constructed based on these three significant factors. Besides, this nomogram was validated to have acceptable discrimination and calibration capabilities. Hence, this nomogram may enable clinical professionals to predict the risk of FC among Chinese children and further provide optimized disease prevention and intervention for this population.

Crystalline/amorphous composite interface of CoP@Ni/Fe-P as a boosted electrocatalyst for full water splitting.

Heterojunction materials have become good candidates for electrocatalysts thanks to their unique physicochemical merits. Herein, a crystalline-amorphous CoP@Ni/Fe-P heterojunction is constructed for whole water splitting. Originating from the strong electronic reaction at the amorphous-crystal interfaces, the electron density of Co, Ni, Fe and P is adjusted, which will optimize the adsorption and desorption energy of intermediates for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and lower the kinetic barrier. The CoP@Ni/Fe-P heterojunction displays overpotentials of 125 and 250 mV to drive a current density of 10 mA cm-2 in 1 M KOH. In addition, the whole water splitting performance requires a cell voltage of 1.56 V to deliver 10 mA cm-2 and shows good stability. This work provides a way to design and prepare transition-metal-based materials with good electrocatalytic activity by constructing a crystalline and amorphous heterojunction.

Extraction and characterisation of pigment from Yanzhiguo [Prunus napaulensis (Ser.) Steud.].

Yanzhiguo [Prunus napaulensis (Ser.) Steud] belongs to Rosaceae family and is consumed as wild fruit, pulp and juice. However, its potential for extracting natural pigment has not yet been explored. Herein, the components in the fresh Yanzhiguo pulp were preliminarily analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. And, the optimal pre-treatment conditions were established for further extraction of Yanzhiguo pigment based on the a* value. Then, by combining the data from single-factor experiments and response surface methodology, the optimal extraction process was established as: 35% EtOH, a liquid-solid ratio of 200:1 mL g-1, an extraction time of 65 min, and an extraction temperature of 100 °C. Moreover, it was found that the a* value and yield had high fitness except when extracted into ethanol (EtOH) with different concentrations. Meanwhile, our result demonstrated Yanzhiguo pigment had high stability in general environments with carmine (a synthetic pigment) as control, except for extreme environments such as direct (hot) sunlight, high temperature (75 °C) and strong alkaline (pH ≥ 11). Also, Yanzhiguo pigment exhibited good antioxidant activity. Our results contribute to more information on Yanzhiguo pigment and promote its application by providing efficient extraction technology.

A qualitative research exploring the experiences of patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors for advanced lung cancer.

PURPOSES: In patients with advanced lung cancer, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) dramatically extended survival. We aimed to investigate the experiences of patients with advanced lung cancer who are receiving ICIs, with a focus on perceptions and sentiments on ICIs, to inform future research and clinical care. METHODS: Patients were recruited from January to July 2022 at Tianjin Medical University Hospital Cancer Institute & Hospital. The method of purposive sampling was used. Patients with stage IV lung cancer who were taking ICIs as a single therapy were recruited. Data were gathered using semi-structured and face-to-face interview. An inductive approach to analysis was used. RESULTS: Of the 42 eligible patients, 27 were invited, 20 agreed to participate, and ultimately 17 patients completed the interview. A total of 5 themes were extracted: suffered from adverse effects but generally tolerable; focus on survival, hope, and expectation; uncertainty about durability of response and the future; poor knowledge and attitude of ICIs; and financial stress and guilt over family. CONCLUSION: These findings make an important contribution to healthcare professionals' understanding of what it is like to be a patient with advanced lung cancer who is receiving ICIs. In general, the experience of immunotherapy is different from that of chemotherapy; financial and family pressures and uncertainty issues are likely to be heavier in this population. Oncology specialist nurses should provide tailored education to improve the patient's knowledge of immunotherapy, especially to improve risk awareness of immune-related adverse events and objective prognosis expectations.

Controllable Regulation of Ag2 S Quantum-Dot-Mediated Protein Nanoassemblies for Imaging-Guided Synergistic PDT/PTT/Chemotherapy against Hypoxic Tumor.

The combination of phototherapy and chemotherapy holds great potential for cancer treatment, while hypoxia in tumor as well as unexpected drug release largely restricts anticancer therapy. Inspired by the natural intelligence, herein, for the first time, a "bottom-up" protein self-assembly strategy mediated by near-infrared (NIR) quantum dots (QDs) with multicharged electrostatic interactions is presented to develop a tumor microenvironment (TME)-responsive theranostic nanoplatform for imaging-guided synergistic photodynamic therapy (PDT)/photothermal therapy (PTT)/chemotherapy. Catalase (CAT) possesses diverse surface charge distribution under different pH conditions. After modification by chlorin e6 (Ce6), the formulated CAT-Ce6 with patchy negative charges can be assembled with NIR Ag2 S QDs by regulating their electrostatic interactions, allowing for effective incorporation of specific anticancer drug oxaliplatin (Oxa). Such Ag2 S@CAT-Ce6@Oxa nanosystems are able to visualize nanoparticle (NP) accumulation to guide subsequent phototherapy, together with significant alleviation of tumor hypoxia to further enhance PDT. Moreover, the acidic TME triggers controllable disassembly through weakening the CAT surface charge to disrupt electrostatic interactions, allowing for sustained drug release. Both in vitro and in vivo results demonstrate remarkable inhibition of colorectal tumor growth with a synergistic effect. Overall, this multicharged electrostatic protein self-assembly strategy provides a versatile platform for realizing TME-specific theranostics with high efficiency and safety, promising for clinical translation.

Clinical Trials in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Therapy: A Comprehensive Analysis of Trials Registered in Global Clinical Databases.

Background: With the disappointing results associated with the use of cardiac myosin inhibitors in the treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the development of new therapies in clinical trials for HCM has rapidly increased. We assessed the characteristics of therapeutic intervention in HCM registered on ClinicalTrials.gov and the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP). Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive study of clinical trials for therapeutic intervention in HCM registered on ClinicalTrials.gov and ICTRP. Results: This study analyzed 137 registered trials. Regarding study designs of these trials, 77.37% were purpose of treatment, 59.12% were randomized, 50.36% were parallel assignment, 45.26% were performed with masking, 48.18% recruited less than 50 participants, and 27.74% were Phase 2 trials. In total, 67 trials were new drug trials, of which 35 drugs were tested in these trials, and 13 trials involved treatment with mavacamten. Of these 67 clinical drug trials, 44.78% of trials involved the study of amines, and 16.42% involved 1-ring heterocyclic compounds. Regarding the NCI Thesaurus Tree, 23.81% of trials involved myosin inhibitors, 23.81% of trials involved drugs belonging to agents affecting the cardiovascular system, and 20.63% were involved in testing cation channel blockers. The drug-target network showed that myosin-7, potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily h member 2, beta-1 adrenergic receptor, carnitine o-palmitoyltransferase 1, and liver isoform were the most targeted pathways of the clinical trials analyzed in the drug-target network. Conclusion: The number of clinical trials investigating therapeutic interventions for HCM has increased in recent years. Ultimately, recent HCM therapeutic clinical trials generally did not incorporate either randomized controlled trials or masking and were small studies recruiting fewer than 50 participants. Although recent research has focused on targeting myosin-7, the molecular signaling mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of HCM have the potential to elucidate novel target pathways.

Lewis Acid-Induced Reversible Disproportionation of TEMPO Enables Aqueous Aluminum Radical Batteries.

Nitroxide radicals, such as 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidyl-1-oxy (TEMPO), are typical organic electrode materials featuring high redox potentials and fast electrochemical kinetics and have been widely used as cathode materials in multivalent metal-ion batteries. However, TEMPO and its derivatives have not been used in emerging rechargeable aluminum-ion batteries (AIBs) due to the known disproportionation and possible degradation of nitroxide radicals in acidic conditions. In this study, the (electro)chemical behavior of TEMPO is examined in organic and aqueous Lewis acid electrolytes. Through in situ (electro)chemical characterizations and theoretical computation, we reveal for the first time an irreversible disproportionation of TEMPO in organic Al(OTf)3 electrolytes that can be steered to a reversible process when switching to an aqueous media. In the latter case, a fast hydrolysis and ligand exchange between [Al(OTf)3TEMPO]- anion and water enable the overall reversible electrochemical redox reaction of TEMPO. These findings lead to the first design of radical polymer aqueous AIBs that are fire-retardant and air-stable, delivering a stable voltage output of 1.25 V and a capacity of 110 mAh g-1 over 800 cycles with 0.028% loss per cycle. This work demonstrates the promise of using nonconjugated organic electroactive materials for cost-effective and safe AIBs that currently rely on conjugated organic molecules.

Dietary host-associated Bacillus subtilis supplementation improves intestinal microbiota, health and disease resistance in Chinese perch (Sinipercachuatsi).

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of a host-associated Bacillus subtilis 1-C-7 as a probiotic for Chinese perch (Siniperca chuatsi). Four test diets were formulated to contain graded levels of B. subtilis 1-C-7 at 0 (CY), 0.85 × 108 (Y1), 0.95 × 109 (Y2) and 0.91 × 1010 (Y3) CFU/kg diet. The test fish with initial weight 30.0 ± 1.2 g were fed the 4 test diets with 3 replicates in an indoor water-flow aquaculture system with 12 net cages (40 fish/cage) for 10 wk. At the conclusion of the feeding trial, the probiotic effects of B. subtilis on Chinese perch were analyzed based on growth performance, serum biochemical indices, histologic morphology of liver and gut, gut microbiota and the resistance to Aeromonas hydrophila. The results showed that the percentage of weight gain had no significant change in the Y1 and Y2 groups (P > 0.05) but decreased in the Y3 group compared to that in the CY group (P < 0.05). The fish in the Y3 group displayed the highest activity of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) among these 4 groups (P < 0.05). The fish in the CY group had the highest value of malondialdehyde in the liver (P < 0.05) and showed severe nuclear migration and vacuolization of hepatocytes. The morphology indicated that all test fish had poor intestinal health. However, the fish in the Y1 group had a relatively normal intestinal histologic structure. The mid gut microbial diversity analysis showed that dietary B. subtilis supplementation increased the abundance of probiotics such as Tenericutes and Bacteroides, whereas it reduced the abundance of pernicious bacteria such as Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Thermophilia and Spirochaetes. The challenge test showed that dietary B. subtilis supplementation increased the resistance to A. hydrophila in Chinese perch. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of 0.85 × 108 CFU/kg B. subtilis 1-C-7 could improve the intestinal microbiota, intestinal health and disease resistance in Chinese perch, but more or excessive supplementation could reduce growth performance and have negative effects on health.

miR-92a-1-5p enriched prostate cancer extracellular vesicles regulate osteoclast function via MAPK1 and FoxO1.

BACKGROUND: We have previously reported that extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from osteoblastic, osteoclastic and mixed prostate cancer cells promote osteoclast differentiation and inhibit osteoblast differentiation via transferring miR-92a-1-5p. In the present study, we focused on engineering miR-92a-1-5p into EVs and determining any therapeutic roles and mechanisms of the engineered EVs. METHODS: A stable prostate cancer cell line (MDA PCa 2b) overexpressing miR-92a-1-5p was constructed by lentivirus, and EVs were isolated by ultracentrifugation. The overexpression of miR-92a-1-5p in both cells and EVs was tested using qPCR. Osteoclast function was evaluated by Trap staining, mRNA expression of osteoclastic markers ctsk and trap, immunolabeling of CTSK and TRAP and microCT using either in vitro and in vivo assays. Target gene of miR-92a-1-5p was proved by a dual-luciferase reporter assay system. siRNAs were designed and used for transient expression in order to determine the role of downstream genes on osteoclast differentiation. RESULTS: Stable overexpression cells of miRNA-92a-5p was associated with EVs upregulating this microRNA, as confirmed by qPCR. Further, miR-92a-1-5p enriched EVs promote osteoclast differentiation in vitro by reducing MAPK1 and FoxO1 expression, associated with increased osteoclast function as shown by TRAP staining and mRNA expression of osteoclast functional genes. siRNA targeting MAPK1 or FoxO1 resulted in similar increase in osteoclast function. In vivo, the miR-92a-1-5p enriched EVs given via i.v. injection promote osteolysis, which was associated with reduction of MAPK1 and FoxO1 expression in bone marrow. CONCLUSION: These experiments suggest that miR-92a-1-5p enriched EVs regulate osteoclast function via reduction of MAPK1 and FoxO1.

SFTSV infection is associated with transient overproliferation of monoclonal lambda-type plasma cells.

The impairment of antibody-mediated immunity is a major factor associated with fatal cases of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS). By collating the clinical diagnosis reports of 30 SFTS cases, we discovered the overproliferation of monoclonal plasma cells (MCP cells, CD38+cLambda+cKappa-) in bone marrow, which has only been reported previously in multiple myeloma. The ratio of CD38+cLambda+ versus CD38+cKappa+ in SFTS cases with MCP cells was significantly higher than that in normal cases. MCP cells presented transient expression in the bone marrow, which was distinctly different from multiple myeloma. Moreover, the SFTS patients with MCP cells had higher clinical severity. Further, the overproliferation of MCP cells was also observed in SFTS virus (SFTSV)-infected mice with lethal infectious doses. Together, SFTSV infection induces transient overproliferation of monoclonal lambda-type plasma cells, which have important implications for the study of SFTSV pathogenesis, prognosis, and the rational development of therapeutics.

CT-based COPD identification using multiple instance learning with two-stage attention.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, COPD remains underdiagnosed globally. Spirometry is currently the primary tool for diagnosing COPD, but it has unneglected difficulties in detecting mild COPD. Chest computed tomography (CT) has been validated for COPD diagnosis and quantification. Whereas many CT-based deep learning approaches have been developed to identify COPD, it remains challenging to characterize CT-based pathological alternations of COPD which are multidimensional and highly spatially heterogeneous, and the diagnosis performance still needs to be improved. METHODS: A multiple instance learning (MIL) with two-stage attention (TSA-MIL) is proposed to identify COPD using CT images. Based on transfer learning, a Resnet-50 model pre-trained on natural images is used to extract multicomponent and multidimensional features of COPD abnormalities, in which a pseudo-color method is designed to transfer single-channel CT slices to RGB-like three channels and meanwhile increase the richness of feature representations. To generate more robust attention score for each instance, a two-stage attention module is utilized with the first stage aiming at discovering the key instance while the second stage correcting the attention score for each instance by calculating its average relative distance to the key instances; besides, an instance-level clustering over feature domain is exploited to further improve feature separability and therefore facilitate the subsequent attention module. CT scans, spirometry and demographic data of a total of 800 participants were collected from a large public hospital, with 720 and 80 participants used for model development and evaluation, respectively. In addition, data of 260 participants from another large hospital were also collected for external validation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The proposed TSA-MIL approach outperforms not only most of the advanced MIL models, but also other up-to-date COPD identification methods, with an accuracy of 0.9200 and an area under curve (AUC) of 0.9544 on the test set, and with an accuracy of 0.8115 and an AUC of 0.8737 on the external validation set without multicenter effect reduction, which is clinically acceptable. Therefore, this approach is promising to be a powerful tool for COPD diagnosis in clinical practice.

Reversible Transformation and Distribution Determination of Diverse Pt Single-Atom Species.

In single-atom catalysts (SACs), the complexity of the support anchoring sites creates a vast diversity of single-atom species with varied coordination environments. To date, the quantitative distribution of these diverse single-atom species in a given SAC has remained elusive. Recently, CeO2-supported metal SACs have been extensively studied by modulating their local environments via numerous synthetic strategies. However, owing to the absence of a quantitative description, unraveling the site-specific reactivity and regulating their transformation remain challenging. Here, we show that two distinct Pt/CeO2 SACs can be reversibly generated by oxidative and nonoxidative dispersions, which contain varied Pt1On-Ceδ+ single-atom species despite similar Pt charge states and coordination numbers. By means of Raman spectroscopy and computational studies, we semiquantitatively reveal the distribution of diverse Pt1On-Ceδ+ species in each specific SACs. Remarkably, the minority species of Pt1O4-Ce3+-Ov accounting for only 14.2% affords the highest site-specific reactivity for low-temperature CO oxidation among the other abundant counterparts, i.e., Pt1O4-Ce4+ and Pt1O6-Ce4+. The second nearest oxygen vacancy (Ov) not only acts synergistically with the nearby active metal sites to lower the reaction barrier but also facilitates the dynamic transformation from six-coordinated to four-coordinated sites during cyclic nonoxidative and oxidative dispersions. This work elucidates the quantitative distribution and dynamic transformation of varied single-atom species in a given SAC, offering a more intrinsic descriptor and quantitative measure to depict the inhomogeneity of SACs.

Amphiphilic chitosan/carboxymethyl gellan gum composite films enriched with mustard essential oil for mango preservation.

In this paper, amphiphilic chitosan and carboxymethyl modified gellan gum were synthesized to develop an active edible fresh-keeping material. The optimal weight ratio of CMCS-g-CA/CMGG was determined as 5:2 through the characterization of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), mechanical and barrier properties of the composite films. In addition, the water vapor permeability and oxygen permeability of CMCS-g-CA/CMGG composite films incorporated with mustard essential oil were all declined, and the antibacterial property of the composite film solutions against E. coli, S. aureus and Bacillus anthracis was distinctly improved with the increase of mustard essential oil (MEO) dosage. Furthermore, the CMCS-g-CA/CMGG + 2.0 µL/mL MEO composite film exhibited an effective preservation on mango fruits during 20 days of storage based on the characterization of surface appearance and quality indexes of fruits. Hence, the multifunctional CMCA-g-CA/CMGG/MEO composite films can be served as a prospective eco-friendly packaging material for fruit preservation.