Preparation and Load-Bearing Capacity of Lattice Cell Warren Truss Slot Resin-Stiffener-Reinforced Foam Sandwich Material.

This study optimized and proposed a Warren truss slot-hole structure with a double-sided, square shallow slot and vertical and horizontal corrugated symmetry, achieved with inclined holes based on the stability and a good bearing capacity of an inclined strut truss structure. The tetrahedral truss lattice cells were obverse and reverse-staggered in the central core of the structure. Compared with the double-sided, square shallow groove cylindrical straight hole, the resin consumption of the Warren truss slot holes was similar to that of a vacuum-assisted resin infusion; however, the external flat compression force of the Warren truss slot holes on the resin stiffener structure doubled, and its bending contact force increased by approximately 1.5 times. Furthermore, the resulting Warren truss-slotted resin structure exhibited a late failure time. Compared with the double-sided, square shallow groove cylindrical straight hole foam-core sandwich composite, the Warren truss slot resin-stiffener-reinforced sandwich composite exhibited an increase of 4.7 kN in the flat compression load, an improvement of ~40% in flat compressive strength performance, an increase of ~0.58 kN in the bending load, and an improvement of ~60% in the bending strength, demonstrating its better bearing strength performance.

Effects of Citrus Fiber on the Gel Properties of Mutton Myofibrillar Protein.

This work investigated the effects of different additions of water-soluble citrus fiber (SCF) and water-insoluble citrus fiber (ICF) on the gel properties of the mutton myofibrillar protein (MP). The key parameters of water-holding capacity (WHC), rheological properties, and microstructure were evaluated. The addition of 2.5-10% of SCF and ICF significantly improved (p < 0.05) the WHC and gel strength of mutton MP gel. The rheological results showed that the viscoelasticity of MP with 5% SCF was the best, and the T2 relaxation time of the gel was significantly shortened. SEM results showed SCF reduced the number of pores in the MP gel, forming a more compact network structure. ICF stabilized the MP gel network structure as a filler after water absorption and expansion. However, the gel lost moisture under the action of strong external force (freeze-drying), which left large pores. These data confirmed that SCF and ICF could effectively improve the gel properties of meat products.

Factors influencing parents' willingness to vaccinate their preschool children against COVID-19: Results from the mixed-method study in China.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known about parental hesitancy to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for preschool children who are the potential vaccinated population in the future. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to explore the factors influencing Chinese parents' decision to vaccinate their children aged 3-6 years old against COVID-19. In July 2021, we conducted semi-structured interviews (n = 19) and a cross-sectional survey (n = 2605) with parents of kindergarten children in an urban-rural combination pilot area in China. According to the qualitative study, most parents were hesitant to vaccinate their children with the COVID-19 vaccine. In the quantitative study, we found that three-fifths of 2605 participants were unwilling to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. Furthermore, the main predictors of parents' intention to vaccinate their children were fathers, lower level of education, and positive attitudes toward vaccination. Based on our findings, targeted health education techniques may be able to boost childhood COVID-19 immunization rates.

Automated detection of cancer cells in effusion specimens by DNA karyometry.

BACKGROUND: The average sensitivity of conventional cytology for the identification of cancer cells in effusion specimens is only approximately 58%. DNA image cytometry (DNA-ICM), which exploits the DNA content of morphologically suspicious nuclei measured on digital images, has a sensitivity of up to 91% for the detection of cancer cells. However, when performed manually, to our knowledge to date, an expert needs approximately 60 minutes for the analysis of a single slide. METHODS: In the current study, the authors present a novel method of supervised machine learning for the automated identification of morphologically suspicious mesothelial and epithelial nuclei in Feulgen-stained effusion specimens. The authors compared this with manual DNA-ICM and a gold standard cytological diagnosis for 121 cases. Furthermore, the authors retrospectively analyzed whether the amount of morphometrically abnormal mesothelial or epithelial nuclei detected by the digital classifier could be used as an additional diagnostic marker. RESULTS: The presented semiautomated DNA karyometric solution identified more diagnostically relevant abnormal nuclei compared with manual DNA-ICM, which led to a higher sensitivity (76.4% vs 68.5%) at a specificity of 100%. The ratio between digitally abnormal and all mesothelial nuclei was found to identify cancer cell-positive slides at 100% sensitivity and 70% specificity. The time effort for an expert therefore is reduced to the verification of a few nuclei with exceeding DNA content, which to our knowledge can be accomplished within 5 minutes. CONCLUSIONS: The authors have created and validated a computer-assisted bimodal karyometric approach for which both nuclear morphology and DNA are quantified from a Feulgen-stained slide. DNA karyometry thus increases the diagnostic accuracy and reduces the workload of an expert when compared with manual DNA-ICM.

Automated quantification of DNA aneuploidy by image cytometry as an adjunct for the cytologic diagnosis of malignant effusion.

DNA aneuploidy is a cancer biomarker, which may have a potential diagnostic value in body effusion specimen. DNA aneuploidy is determined by measuring the DNA content of tested cells and comparing them with diploid cells (2c). In order to assess the value of automated DNA image cytometry (DNA-ICM) in the cytologic diagnosis of effusion, we measured DNA ploidy using an automated DNA-ICM analysis system in 126 consecutive effusion specimens and followed the cases for histologic diagnosis. Half of each effusion specimen was used to prepare cytologic smears for conventional cytologic diagnosis, while the other half was used to prepare a monolayer slide stained by Feulgen stain for automated ICM. By using Youden index, we found that 4 cells exceeding 2.5c is the optimal cut off value for aneuploidy, which has a sensitivity of 88.3% and specificity of 100% for diagnosis of malignant effusion. We also found that the DNA aneuploidy thresholds used for other types of cytologic specimens cannot be used in the diagnosis of effusion specimens. Our study demonstrated that automated DNA image cytometry is a simple, practical and cost-effective method for adjunct diagnosis of malignant effusion.