Effects of butylphthalide on cerebral vascular circulation, coagulation function, and neurological function in patients with acute severe ischemic stroke following intravenous thrombolysis: a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the effects of Butylphthalide on cerebral vascular circulation, coagulation function, and neurological function in patients with acute severe ischemic stroke following intravenous thrombolysis. METHODS: Clinical efficacy, cerebral vascular circulation indicators [anterior cerebral artery (ACA), middle cerebral artery (MCA), vertebral artery (VA) blood flow velocity], coagulation function indicators [prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time (TT), fibrinogen (FIB)], neurological function indicators [Activities of Daily Living (ADL) score. RESULTS: The total effective rate of treatment in the control group was 76.47%, while in the observation group, it was 96.08%, with the observation group showing a significantly higher total effective rate than the control group (p < 0.05). Before treatment, there was no significant difference in ACA, MCA, and VA blood flow velocity between the two groups (p > 0.05). However, after treatment, the ACA, MCA, and VA blood flow velocity in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05). Before treatment, there was no significant difference in PT, APTT, TT, and FIB levels between the two groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: In patients with acute severe ischemic stroke undergoing intravenous thrombolysis, the addition of Butylphthalide to the treatment regimen yields favorable clinical outcomes. Compared to Alteplase alone, the addition of Butylphthalide further improves cerebral vascular circulation and coagulation function, promoting the recovery and reconstruction of neurological function in patients. Importantly, the addition of Butylphthalide does not increase the risk of adverse reactions, making it a safe and ideal option for clinical application.

Assisted reproductive technology induces different secondary sex ratio: parental and embryonic impacts.

BACKGROUND: Assisted reproduction technology (ART) has advanced significantly, raising concerns regarding its impact on the secondary sex ratio (SSR), which is the sex ratio at birth in offspring. This study aimed to explore factors affecting SSR in singletons, singletons from twin gestation, and twins from twin gestation within the context of ART. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on data from 8335 births involving 6,223 couples undergoing ART. Binary logistic regression assessed relationships between parental and embryonic factors and SSR in singletons and singletons from twin gestation. Multinomial logistic regression models were utilized to identify factors influencing SSR in twins from twin gestation. RESULTS: Secondary infertility (OR = 1.164, 95% CI: 1.009-1.342), advanced paternal age (OR = 1.261, 95% CI: 1.038-1.534), and blastocyst embryo transfer (OR = 1.339, 95% CI: 1.030-1.742) were associated with an increased SSR, while frozen embryo transfer (FET) showed a negative association with SSR (OR = 0.738, 95% CI: 0.597-0.912) in singletons. A longer duration of gonadotropin (Gn) usage reduced SSR in singletons (OR = 0.961, 95% CI: 0.932-0.990) and singletons from twin gestation (OR = 0.906, 95% CI: 0.838-0.980). In singletons from twin gestation, male-induced infertility (OR = 2.208, 95% CI: 1.120-4.348) and higher Gn dosage (OR = 1.250, 95% CI: 1.010-1.548) were significantly associated with an increased SSR. Women aged > 35 years and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) were associated with lower SSR (OR = 0.539, 95% CI: 0.293-0.990 and OR = 0.331, 95% CI: 0.158-0.690, respectively). In twins from twin gestation, paternal age exceeded maternal age (OR = 0.682, 95% CI: 0.492-0.945) and higher Gn dosage (OR = 0.837, 95% CI: 0.715-0.980) were associated with a higher proportion of male twins. Cleavage stage transfer (OR = 1.754, 95% CI: 1.133-2.716) resulted in a higher percentage of boy-girl twins compared to blastocyst transfer. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the complex interplay of various factors in determining the SSR in ART, highlighting the importance of considering infertility type, paternal age, fertilization method, embryo transfer stage, and Gn use duration when assessing SSR. Nevertheless, further research with a large sample size is necessary to confirm and expand upon the findings of this study.

A Rust Extraction and Evaluation Method for Navigation Buoys Based on Improved U-Net and Hue, Saturation, and Value.

Abnormalities of navigation buoys include tilting, rusting, breaking, etc. Realizing automatic extraction and evaluation of rust on buoys is of great significance for maritime supervision. Severe rust may cause damage to the buoy itself. Therefore, a lightweight method based on machine vision is proposed for extracting and evaluating the rust of the buoy. The method integrates image segmentation and processing. Firstly, image segmentation technology is used to extract the metal part of the buoy based on an improved U-Net. Secondly, the RGB image is converted into an HSV image by preprocessing, and the transformation law of HSV channel color value is analyzed to obtain the best segmentation threshold and then the pixels of the rusted and the metal parts can be extracted. Finally, the rust ratio of the buoy is calculated to evaluate the rust level of the buoy. Results show that both the segmentation precision and recall are above 0.95, and the accuracy is nearly 1.00. Compared with the rust evaluation algorithm directly using the image processing method, the accuracy and processing speed of rust grade evaluation are greatly improved.

Qi Gong Wan ameliorates adipocyte hypertrophy and inflammation in adipose tissue in a PCOS mouse model through the Nrf2/HO-1/Cyp1b1 pathway: Integrating network pharmacology and experimental validation in vivo.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Initially recorded in Yifang Jijie (an ancient Chinese text), Qi Gong Wan (QGW) is used to treat obese women with infertility. QGW can help promote follicular development and maturation, regulate the balance of serum hormones between testosterone and estradiol, enhance endometrial receptivity, improve waist circumference, and ameliorate insulin resistance. It contains eight herbs: Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Makino (Banxia), Citrus maxima (Burm.) (Juhong), Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf. (Fuling), Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz (Baizhu), Cyperus rotundus L. (Xiangfu), Conioselinum anthriscoides 'Chuanxiong' (Chuanxiong), Massa Medicata Fermentata (Shenqu), and Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. ex DC. (Gancao). However, the underlying mechanism of how QGW affects women with PCOS remains unclear. AIM OF THE STUDY: QGW has been widely used to treat PCOS patients with obesity clinically. This study was designed to identify its chemical and pharmacological properties. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Network pharmacology was used to predict the active compounds, potential targets, and pathways of QGW. Female C57BL/6J mice were injected with letrozole and fed a high-fat diet to establish a PCOS-insulin resistance (PCOS-IR) model. Body weight, estrous cycles, ovarian pathology, and serum insulin resistance were measured. qRT-PCR was used to examine the inflammation-related and steroid hormone biosynthesis-related mRNA expression in adipose tissue. Western blotting was used to determine the protein levels of Nrf2, HO-1, and Cyp1b1 in adipose tissue. Molecular docking was used to reveal the key chemical compounds of QGW. RESULTS: Network pharmacology revealed a total of 91 active ingredients in QGW that were associated with 167 targets. QGW could potentially treat PCOS-IR via nitrogen metabolism, steroid hormone biosynthesis, and ovarian steroidogenesis pathways. In the PCOS-IR mouse model, we found that QGW decreased the mean diameter of adipocytes and the total adipocyte area. Furthermore, QGW was found to significantly lower the expression of inflammation-related genes including Tnfɑ and C4a/b and the steroid hormone biosynthesis-related gene Cyp1b1. QGW showed a tendency to improve cystic follicles, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR index in the PCOS-IR mouse model. Combining these findings with the results of KEGG analysis, we conclude that QGW promotes the Nrf2/HO-1/Cyp1b1 pathway to protect adipose tissue under conditions of PCOS. Molecular docking revealed that rutin, nicotiflorin, and baicalein may be the key chemical compounds of QGW through which it improves adipocyte hypertrophy and inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: QGW improved adipocyte hypertrophy and inflammation in the PCOS-IR mouse model by activating the Nrf2/HO-1/Cyp1b1 pathway to protect adipose tissue. Our work thus provides a new research avenue for the study of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of PCOS.

A somatic mutation-derived LncRNA signatures of genomic instability predicts the prognosis and tumor microenvironment immune characters in hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an aggressive carcinoma with genome instability. Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) have been functionally associated with genomic instability in cancers. However, the identification and prognostic value of lncRNAs related to genome instability have not been explored in hepatocellular carcinoma. In this study, we aim to identify a genomic instability-related lncRNA signature for predicting prognosis and the efficacy of immunotherapy in HCC patients. METHODS: According to the somatic mutation and transcript data of 364 patients with HCC, we determined differentially expressed genome instability-related lncRNAs (GInLncRNAs). Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analyses and Kyoto Encyclopedia of genes and genomes enrichment analyses revealed the potential functions of genes co-expressed with those lncRNAs involved in cancer development and immune function. We further determined a genome instability-related lncRNA signature (GInLncSig) through Cox regression analysis and LASSO regression analysis. Thereafter, we performed correlation analyses with mutations, clinical stratification analyses, and survival analyses to evaluate GInLncSig predictive function. Subsequently, we construct a nomogram model for prognostic assessments of patients with HCC. Finally, we performed Immunocytes infiltration analysis, gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) of immunity circle-associated pathways, and T cell-inflamed score to explore GInLncSig's potential value in guiding immunotherapy. RESULTS: We identified 11 independent prognosis-associated GInLncRNAs (AC002511.2, LINC00501, LINC02055, LINC02714, LINC01508, LOC105371967, RP11_96A15.1, RP11_305F18.1, RP11_342M1.3, RP11_432J24.3, U95743.1) to construct a GInLncSig. According to the risk score calculated by GInLncSig, the high-risk group was characterized by a higher somatic mutation count, significantly poorer clinical prognosis, higher T cell-inflamed score, and specific tumor immune infiltration status compared to the low-risk group. Furthermore, we constructed a nomogram model to improve the reliability and clinical utility of predicting the prognosis of patients with HCC. CONCLUSION: Our study established a reliable prognostic prediction signature that could be a tool for prognosis prediction and a promising predictive biomarker of immunotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Fall Detection for Shipboard Seafarers Based on Optimized BlazePose and LSTM.

Aiming to avoid personal injury caused by the failure of timely medical assistance following a fall by seafarer members working on ships, research on the detection of seafarer's falls and timely warnings to safety officers can reduce the loss and severe consequences of falls to seafarers. To improve the detection accuracy and real-time performance of the seafarer fall detection algorithm, a seafarer fall detection algorithm based on BlazePose-LSTM is proposed. This algorithm can automatically extract the human body key point information from the video image obtained by the vision sensor, analyze its internal data correlation characteristics, and realize the process from RGB camera image processing to seafarer fall detection. This fall detection algorithm extracts the human body key point information through the optimized BlazePose human body key point information extraction network. In this section, a new method for human bounding-box acquisition is proposed. In this study, a head detector based on the Vitruvian theory was used to replace the pre-trained SSD body detector in the BlazePose preheating module. Simultaneously, an offset vector is proposed to update the bounding box obtained. This method can reduce the frequency of repeated use of the head detection module. The algorithm then uses the long short-term memory neural network to detect seafarer falls. After extracting fall and related behavior data from the URFall public data set and FDD public data set to enrich the self-made data set, the experimental results show that the algorithm can achieve 100% accuracy and 98.5% specificity for the seafarer's falling behavior, indicating that the algorithm has reasonable practicability and strong generalization ability. The detection frame rate can reach 29 fps on a CPU, which can meet the effect of real-time detection. The proposed method can be deployed on common vision sensors.

Mining ship deficiency correlations from historical port state control (PSC) inspection data.

Early warning on the ship deficiency is crucial for enhancing maritime safety, improving maritime traffic efficiency, reducing ship fuel consumption, etc. Previous studies focused on the ship deficiency exploration by mining the relationships between the ship physical deficiencies and the port state control (PSC) inspection results with statistical models. Less attention was paid to discovering the correlation rules among various parent ship deficiencies and subcategories. To address the issue, we proposed an improved Apriori model to explore the intrinsic mutual correlations among the ship deficiencies from the PSC inspection dataset. Four typical ship property indicators (i.e., ship type, age, deadweight and gross tonnage) were introduced to analyze the correlations for the ship parent deficiency categories and subcategories. The findings of our research can provide basic guidelines for PSC inspections to improve the ship inspection efficiency and maritime safety.