A hybrid butterfly algorithm in the optimal economic operation of microgrids.

With the increasing capacity of renewable energy generators, microgrid (MG) systems have experienced rapid development, and the optimal economic operation is one of the most important and challenging issues in the MG field. To reduce the overall generation cost of microgrids, a hybrid butterfly algorithm (HBOA) is proposed to address the optimal economic operation problem in MG systems. This algorithm uses adaptive switching thresholds to balance the global exploration capability and local exploitation capability of the algorithm. It introduces a diversity learning mechanism to enhance information exchange among populations to improve the algorithm's accuracy and proposes an elite-guided guidance strategy to accelerate the convergence speed of the algorithm. Numerical simulation experiments on 10 standard test functions validate that the HBOA algorithm has higher optimization accuracy and faster convergence speed. Simulation experiments are conducted on two operation modes of microgrids: Islanded and grid-connected, and compared with other algorithms. In islanded and grid-connected modes, HBOA can reduce operating costs by up to 11.7% and 17.7%, respectively. The experimental results confirm the applicability and superiority of the proposed algorithm for solving the optimal economic operation problem in microgrids.

Machine learning aided non-invasive diagnosis of coronary heart disease based on tongue features fusion.

BACKGROUND: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the first cause of death globally. Hypertension is considered to be the most important independent risk factor for CHD. Early and accurate diagnosis of CHD in patients with hypertension can plays a significant role in reducing the risk and harm of hypertension combined with CHD. OBJECTIVE: To propose a non-invasive method for early diagnosis of coronary heart disease according to tongue image features with the help of machine learning techniques. METHODS: We collected standard tongue images and extract features by Diagnosis Analysis System (TDAS) and ResNet-50. On the basis of these tongue features, a common machine learning method is used to customize the non-invasive CHD diagnosis algorithm based on tongue image. RESULTS: Based on feature fusion, our algorithm has good performance. The results showed that the XGBoost model with fused features had the best performance with accuracy of 0.869, the AUC of 0.957, the AUPR of 0.961, the precision of 0.926, the recall of 0.806, and the F1-score of 0.862. CONCLUSION: We provide a feasible, convenient, and non-invasive method for the diagnosis and large-scale screening of CHD. Tongue image information is a possible effective marker for the diagnosis of CHD.

A Method of Detecting Human Movement Intentions in Real Environments.

Accurate and timely movement intention detection can facilitate exoskeleton control during transitions between different locomotion modes. Detecting movement intentions in real environments remains a challenge due to unavoidable environmental uncertainties. False movement intention detection may also induce risks of falling and general danger for exoskeleton users. To this end, in this study, we developed a method for detecting human movement intentions in real environments. The proposed method is capable of online self-correcting by implementing a decision fusion layer. Gaze data from an eye tracker and inertial measurement unit (IMU) signals were fused at the feature extraction level and used to predict movement intentions using 2 different methods. Images from the scene camera embedded on the eye tracker were used to identify terrains using a convolutional neural network. The decision fusion was made based on the predicted movement intentions and identified terrains. Four able-bodied participants wearing the eye tracker and 7 IMU sensors took part in the experiments to complete the tasks of level ground walking, ramp ascending, ramp descending, stairs ascending, and stair descending. The recorded experimental data were used to test the feasibility of the proposed method. An overall accuracy of 93.4% was achieved when both feature fusion and decision fusion were used. Fusing gaze data with IMU signals improved the prediction accuracy.

An Integrated Eye-Tracking and Motion Capture System in Synchronized Gaze and Movement Analysis.

Integrating mobile eye-tracking and motion capture emerges as a promising approach in studying visual-motor coordination, due to its capability of expressing gaze data within the same laboratory-centered coordinate system as body movement data. In this paper, we proposed an integrated eye-tracking and motion capture system, which can record and analyze temporally and spatially synchronized gaze and motion data during dynamic movement. The accuracy of gaze measurement were evaluated on five participants while they were instructed to view fixed vision targets at different distances while standing still or walking towards the targets. Similar accuracy could be achieved in both static and dynamic conditions. To demonstrate the usability of the integrated system, several walking tasks were performed in three different pathways. Results revealed that participants tended to focus their gaze on the upcoming path, especially on the downward path, possibly for better navigation and planning. In a more complex pathway, coupled with more gaze time on the pathway, participants were also found having the longest step time and shortest step length, which led to the lowest walking speed. It was believed that the integration of eye-tracking and motion capture is a feasible and promising methodology quantifying visual-motor coordination in locomotion.

The causal relationship of depression, anxiety, and neuroticism with main indicators of sarcopenia: A Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: Observational studies have shown the relationship between sarcopenia and psychiatric disorders. However, due to the limitations of traditional research methods, the causal relationship between them has not been accurately concluded. At the same time, considering that sarcopenia is mainly manifested by low muscle strength and low muscle mass, we used Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis in this study to explore the causal relationship of anxiety, depression, and neuroticism with muscle strength and muscle mass, respectively. METHODS: Genetic variants associated with depression were obtained from FinnGen Biobank (Ncase = 33,812, Ncontrol = 271,380), those associated with anxiety were from FinnGen Biobank (Ncase = 21,519, Ncontrol = 307,558), and those associated with neuroticism, including 12 items, were from a large-scale genome-wide association study (N range: 366,301-375,913). Muscle strength was represented by the hand grip strength (HGS), and muscle mass was represented by the appendicular lean mass (ALM) and the body fat percentage. The inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method was used as the primary analysis method, and the Mendelian Randomization Egger (MR-Egger) and the weighted median were used as supplementary methods to test whether the three psychological factors were causally related to these two main indicators of sarcopenia severity. RESULTS: Depression and neuroticism had different degrees of causal influence on muscle mass and strength, which was statistically significant. Specifically, the depression predicted by genes was significantly associated with ALM (beta = -0.043, p = 0.027), low hand grip strength (LHGS, measured for people of 60 years and older) (odds ratio (OR) = 1.129 (1.019-1.251), p = 0.019), right HGS (beta = -0.050, p = 0.001), left HGS (beta = -0.06, p = 0.001), and body fat percentage (beta = 0.035, p = 0.0138). The neuroticism predicted by genes was significantly associated with ALM (beta = -0.073, p = 0.034), LHGS (OR = 1.222 (1.085-1.377), p = 0.001), right HGS (beta = -0.058, p = 0.000), left HGS (beta = -0.080, p < 0.000), and body fat percentage (beta = 0.063, p = 0.008). However, anxiety was only significantly associated with LHGS (OR = 1.215 (1.008-1.465), p = 0.041) but not significantly associated with ALM (beta = 0.033, p = 0.313), right HGS (beta = -0.008, p = 0.678), left HGS (beta = 0.007, p = 0.712), or body fat percentage (beta = 0.022, p = 0.559). CONCLUSION: This study supported the causal association of depression and neuroticism with muscle strength and mass, which are the two main indicators of sarcopenia. At the same time, there was no sufficient evidence for the causal relationship between anxiety and muscle strength or mass. The results of this study pointed to the need to intervene in the mental health of the elderly to prevent sarcopenia or reduce its severity.

Digitalization of prevention and treatment and the combination of western and Chinese medicine in management of acute heart failure.

Digitalization has emerged as a new trend in healthcare, with great potential and creating many unique opportunities, as well as many challenges. Cardiovascular disease is one of the major causes of disease-related morbidity and mortality worldwide, and the threat to life posed by acute heart failure is evident. In addition to traditional collegiate therapies, this article reviews the current status and subdisciplinary impact of digital healthcare at the level of combined Chinese and Western medical therapies. It also further discusses the prospects for the development of this approach, with the objective of developing an active role for digitalization in the combination of Western and Chinese medicine for the management of acute heart failure in order to support maintenance of cardiovascular health in the population.

Retrospective reports of perceived parental invalidation and borderline personality traits: The indirect effect of personality functioning.

This study examined the indirect effect via Criterion A (personality functioning) of the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) in the relationship between retrospective reports of perceived parental invalidation and borderline personality traits measured by Criterion B (pathological personality traits). A total of 3,019 college students completed self-report scales of the Chinese Invalidating Family Scale, Level of Personality Functioning Scale-Brief Form 2.0, and Personality Inventory for DSM-5. It was found that the indirect effect of personality functioning was significant for the association between levels of perceived overall-B = 0.52, 95% CI [0.47, 0.57], maternal-B = 0.83, [0.75, 0.91], and paternal-B = 0.97, [0.87, 1.08] invalidation, and BPD traits. The outcomes of the research suggested the critical role of personality functioning as a potential mediator in the pathological effect of perceived parental invalidation on the development of borderline personality disorder features. While the study is limited by the use of self-report measurement, retrospective responding, and cross-sectional design, significant implications on the biosocial model and AMPD were discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Effect of mindfulness on anxiety and depression in insomnia patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: As a common clinical symptom, insomnia has a high incidence of combined mental illness and it is also a risk factor for the development of depression, anxiety and suicide. As a new concept in the field of health in recent years, mindfulness therapy can improve insomnia, anxiety and depression, which is a new way to solve such diseases. Objective: This study aims to systematically evaluate the effects of mindfulness compared with conventional treatment on scores of the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) in people with insomnia and anxiety-depressive symptoms. Methods: Articles published before October 2022 were searched from seven databases and included in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate mindfulness therapy. The assessment tool of Cochrane bias risk was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the literature. The main outcome indicators were HAMD and HAMA scores, and the secondary outcome indicators were SDS and SAS scores. Results: Ten randomized controlled trials including 1,058 subjects were systematically evaluated and meta-analyzed in this study. In the main outcome indicators, there was a significant difference between mindfulness therapy and conventional treatment in reducing HAMD score (MD: -3.67, 95% CI: -5.22-2.11, p < 0.01) and HAMA score (MD: -3.23, 95% CI: -3.90-2.57, p < 0.01). In the secondary outcome indicators, mindfulness therapy also showed a significant difference in reducing SDS scores (MD: -6.49, 95% CI: -6.86-6.11, p < 0.01) and SAS scores (MD: -7.97, 95% CI: -9.68-6.27, p < 0.01) compared with conventional treatment. Conclusion: For the people with insomnia, anxiety and depression, the use of conventional treatment with the addition of 4-12 weeks of mindfulness treatment can significantly improve anxiety and depression symptoms of patients. This is a new diagnosis and treatment idea recommended for insomniacs with or without anxiety and depression symptoms. Due to the methodological defects in the included study and the limited sample size of this paper, more well-designed randomized controlled trials are needed for verification.

Genetic regulatory and biological implications of the 10q24.32 schizophrenia risk locus.

Genome-wide association studies have identified 10q24.32 as a robust schizophrenia risk locus. Here we identify a regulatory variant (rs10786700) that disrupts binding of transcription factors at 10q24.32. We independently confirmed the association between rs10786700 and schizophrenia in a large Chinese cohort (n = 11 547) and uncovered the biological mechanism underlying this association. We found that rs10786700 resides in a super-enhancer element that exhibits dynamic activity change during the development process and that the risk allele (C) of rs10786700 conferred significant lower enhancer activity through enhancing binding affinity to repressor element-1 silencing transcription factor (REST). CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing identified SUFU as a potential target gene by which rs10786700 might exert its risk effect on schizophrenia, as deletion of rs10786700 downregulated SUFU expression. We further investigated the role of Sufu in neurodevelopment and found that Sufu knockdown inhibited proliferation of neural stem cells and neurogenesis, affected molecular pathways (including neurodevelopment-related pathways, PI3K-Akt and ECM-receptor interaction signalling pathways) associated with schizophrenia and altered the density of dendritic spines. These results reveal that the functional risk single nucleotide polymorphism rs10786700 at 10q24.32 interacts with REST synergistically to regulate expression of SUFU, a novel schizophrenia risk gene which is involved in schizophrenia pathogenesis by affecting neurodevelopment and spine morphogenesis.

Joint Kinematics, Kinetics and Muscle Synergy Patterns During Transitions Between Locomotion Modes.

There is an increasing demand for accurately predicting human movement intentions. To be effective, predictions must be performed as early as possible in the preceding step, though precisely how early has been studied relatively little; how and when a person's movement patterns in a transition step deviate from those in the preceding step must be clearly defined. In this study, we collected motion kinematics, kinetics and electromyography data from 9 able-bodied participants during 7 locomotion modes. Twelve types of steps between the 7 locomotion modes were studied, including 5 continuous steps (taking another step in the same locomotion mode) and 7 transitions steps (taking a step from one locomotion mode into another). For each joint degree of freedom, joint angles, angular velocities, moments, and moment rates were compared between continuous steps and transition steps, and the relative timing during the transition step at which these parameters diverged from those of a continuous step, which we refer to as transition starting times, were identified using multiple analyses of variance. Muscle synergies were also extracted for each step, and we studied in which locomotion modes these synergies were common (task-shared) and in which modes they were specific (task-specific). The transition starting times varied among different transitions and joint degrees of freedom. Most transitions started in the swing phase of the transition step. These findings can be applied to determine the critical timing at which a powered assistive device must adapt its control to enable safe and comfortable support to a user.

Efficacy of acupuncture for hypertension in the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Hypertension has now developed into a major public health problem worldwide. Under the existing antihypertensive drug treatment paradigm, problems such as decreasing drug resistance and increasing drug side effects can occur for elderly patients. Acupuncture, a core technique in the non-pharmacological treatment of Chinese medicine, plays an important role in the treatment of elevated blood pressure. Objective: This study aimed to systematically evaluate the effect of acupuncture alone or in combination with antihypertensive drugs on the efficiency of reducing blood pressure and controlling blood pressure in elderly patients with hypertension. Methods: Articles of randomized controlled trials of acupuncture for hypertension in the elderly published before November 2022 were searched in 7 databases. The methodological quality of the literature was evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool. The primary outcome was the efficiency rate of blood pressure reduction, and the secondary outcome was the change in blood pressure after treatment. Results: This study conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 12 randomized controlled trials with a total of 1,466 subjects. Among the primary outcome-efficiency rate, acupuncture-only treatment (RR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.03-1.20, P < 0.01) and acupuncture combined with antihypertensive drug treatment (RR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.06-1.31, P < 0.01) were significantly different compared with drugs-only treatment. Among the secondary outcomes, SBP (MD: -4.85, 95% CI: -10.39 to -0.69, P = 0.09) and DBP (MD: -1.45, 95% CI: -5.35 to 2.45, P = 0.47) show no significant difference between acupuncture-only treatment and drug-only treatment. Compared to drugs-only treatment, acupuncture plus drugs has more significant efficiency in lowering SBP (MD: -9.81, 95% CI: -13.56 to -6.06, P < 0.01) and DBP (MD: -7.04, 95% CI: -10.83 to -3.24, P < 0.01). Conclusion: For elderly patients with hypertension, acupuncture-only treatment has the same efficiency and antihypertensive effect compared to drug therapy and acupuncture plus drugs outperforms drugs-only treatment. If the patients receive therapy with less frequency per week and longer duration, there will be a more obvious antihypertensive effect. Due to the methodological defects in the included study and the limited sample size of this paper, more well-designed randomized controlled trials are needed for verification. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022376407, PROSPERO (CRD42022376407).

Psychometrics of the Chinese Inventory of Personality Organization (IPO-CH).

The present study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese Inventory of Personality Organization (IPO-CH). The IPO-CH was administered to a sample of 336 Chinese undergraduates, and, among them, 125 participants completed the survey 2 months later. Results showed that the IPO-CH has adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .95) and test-retest reliability (r = .60). Exploratory factor analysis did not replicate the original five-factor model but suggested a four-factor model. The IPO-CH manifested good concurrent validity and convergent validity concerning the severity of the pathological personality disorder symptoms. Furthermore, the IPO-CH predicted participants' depression severity and life events evaluated 2 months later. Future research may need to evaluate its properties in Chinese clinical samples.

The schizophrenia-associated missense variant rs13107325 regulates dendritic spine density.

The missense variant rs13107325 (C/T, p.Ala391Thr) in SLC39A8 consistently showed robust association with schizophrenia in recent genome-wide association studies (GWASs), suggesting the potential pathogenicity of this non-synonymous risk variant. Nevertheless, how this missense variant confers schizophrenia risk remains unknown. Here we constructed a knock-in mouse model (by introducing a threonine at the 393th amino acid of mouse SLC39A8 (SLC39A8-p.393T), which corresponds to rs13107325 (p.Ala391Thr) of human SLC39A8) to explore the potential roles and biological effects of this missense variant in schizophrenia pathogenesis. We assessed multiple phenotypes and traits (associated with rs13107325) of the knock-in mice, including body and brain weight, concentrations of metal ions (including cadmium, zinc, manganese, and iron) transported by SLC39A8, blood lipids, proliferation and migration of neural stem cells (NSCs), cortical development, behaviors and cognition, transcriptome, dendritic spine density, and synaptic transmission. Many of the tested phenotypes did not show differences in SLC39A8-p.393T knock-in and wild-type mice. However, we found that zinc concentration in brain and blood of SLC39A8-p.393T knock-in mice was dysregulated compared with wild-types, validating the functionality of rs13107325. Further analysis indicated that cortical dendritic spine density of the SLC39A8-p.393T knock-in mice was significantly decreased compared with wild-types, indicating the important role of SLC39A8-p.393T in dendritic spine morphogenesis. These results indicated that SLC39A8-p.393T knock-in resulted in decreased dendritic spine density, thus mimicking the dendritic spine pathology observed in schizophrenia. Our study indicates that rs13107325 might confer schizophrenia risk by regulating zinc concentration and dendritic spine density, a featured characteristic that was frequently reported to be decreased in schizophrenia.

Regulatory Variant rs2535629 in ITIH3 Intron Confers Schizophrenia Risk By Regulating CTCF Binding and SFMBT1 Expression.

Genome-wide association studies have identified 3p21.1 as a robust risk locus for schizophrenia. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. Here a functional regulatory variant (rs2535629) is identified that disrupts CTCF binding at 3p21.1. It is confirmed that rs2535629 is also significantly associated with schizophrenia in Chinese population and the regulatory effect of rs2535629 is validated. Expression quantitative trait loci analysis indicates that rs2535629 is associated with the expression of three distal genes (GLT8D1, SFMBT1, and NEK4) in the human brain, and CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing confirmed the regulatory effect of rs2535629 on GLT8D1, SFMBT1, and NEK4. Interestingly, differential expression analysis of GLT8D1, SFMBT1, and NEK4 suggested that rs2535629 may confer schizophrenia risk by regulating SFMBT1 expression. It is further demonstrated that Sfmbt1 regulates neurodevelopment and dendritic spine density, two key pathological characteristics of schizophrenia. Transcriptome analysis also support the potential role of Sfmbt1 in schizophrenia pathogenesis. The study identifies rs2535629 as a plausibly causal regulatory variant at the 3p21.1 risk locus and demonstrates the regulatory mechanism and biological effect of this functional variant, indicating that this functional variant confers schizophrenia risk by altering CTCF binding and regulating expression of SFMBT1, a distal gene which plays important roles in neurodevelopment and synaptic morphogenesis.

Functional variant rs2270363 on 16p13.3 confers schizophrenia risk by regulating NMRAL1.

Recent genome-wide association studies have reported multiple schizophrenia risk loci, yet the functional variants and their roles in schizophrenia remain to be characterized. Here we identify a functional single nucleotide polymorphism (rs2270363: G>A) at the schizophrenia risk locus 16p13.3. rs2270363 lies in the E-box element of the promoter of NMRAL1 and disrupts binding of the basic helix-loop-helix leucine zipper family proteins, including USF1, MAX and MXI1. We validated the regulatory effects of rs2270363 using reporter gene assays and electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Besides, expression quantitative trait loci analysis showed that the risk allele (A) of rs2270363 was significantly associated with elevated NMRAL1 expression in the human brain. Transcription factors knockdown and CRISPR-Cas9-mediated editing further confirmed the regulatory effects of the genomic region containing rs2270363 on NMRAL1. Intriguingly, NMRAL1 was significantly downregulated in the brain of schizophrenia patients compared with healthy subjects, and knockdown of Nmral1 expression affected proliferation and differentiation of mouse neural stem cells, as well as genes and pathways associated with brain development and synaptic transmission. Of note, Nmral1 knockdown resulted in significant decrease of dendritic spine density, revealing the potential pathophysiological mechanisms of NMRAL1 in schizophrenia. Finally, we independently confirmed the association between rs2270363 and schizophrenia in the Chinese population and found that the risk allele of rs2270363 was the same in European and Chinese populations. These lines of evidence suggest that rs2270363 may confer schizophrenia risk by regulating NMRAL1, a gene whose expression dysregulation might be involved in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia by affecting neurodevelopment and synaptic plasticity.

Dexmedetomidine protects cardiomyocytes against hypoxia/reoxygenation injury via multiple mechanisms.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial infarction (MI) is a serious cardiovascular disease associated with myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. Dexmedetomidine (Dex), an α2-adrenoceptor agonist, has been reported to protect against I/R injury. We examined the cardioprotective effects of Dex on cardiomyocytes under hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) conditions and explored the underlying mechanisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A H/R model was established to mimic the MI injury. The CCK-8 assay was performed to measure cell viability. Cellular apoptosis was measured using the Annexin V fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-propidium iodide (PI) staining. The levels of interleukin (IL)-1α and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and the activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were measured using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured using the 2'-7' dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) staining assay. In addition, the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and caspase-3 were measured using a commercial kit. siRNA was used to silence Bcl-2, catalase, or STAT3. Western blotting was used to measure the change in the levels of proteins. RESULTS: Dex improved the cell viability and inhibited the inflammatory response in H9c2 cells exposed to H/R treatment. In addition, Dex inhibited apoptosis and alleviated the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and oxidative stress in H9c2 cells under the H/R treatment. Mechanism investigation showed that Dex inhibited the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis. Moreover, Dex enhanced the activation of the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway in H/R-treated H9c2 cells. CONCLUSION: Altogether, our findings suggested Dex as a promising therapeutic agent for myocardial I/R.

Regulatory variants at 2q33.1 confer schizophrenia risk by modulating distal gene TYW5 expression.

Genome-wide association studies have shown that genetic variants at 2q33.1 are strongly associated with schizophrenia. However, potential causal variants in this locus and their roles in schizophrenia remain unknown. Here, we identified two functional variants (rs796364 and rs281759) that disrupt CTCF, RAD21 and FOXP2 binding at 2q33.1. We systematically investigated the regulatory mechanisms of these two variants with serial experiments, including reporter gene assays and electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Intriguingly, these two single nucleotide polymorphisms physically interacted with TYW5 and showed the most significant associations with TYW5 expression in human brain. Consistently, CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing confirmed the regulatory effect of the two single nucleotide polymorphisms on TYW5 expression. Additionally, expression analysis indicated that TYW5 was significantly upregulated in brains of schizophrenia cases compared with controls, suggesting that rs796364 and rs281759 might confer schizophrenia risk by modulating TYW5 expression. We over-expressed TYW5 in mouse neural stem cells and rat primary neurons to mimic its upregulation in schizophrenia and found significant alterations in the proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells, as well as dendritic spine density following TYW5 overexpression, indicating its important roles in neurodevelopment and spine morphogenesis. Furthermore, we independently confirmed the association between rs796364 and schizophrenia in a Chinese cohort of 8202 subjects. Finally, transcriptome analysis revealed that TYW5 affected schizophrenia-associated pathways. These lines of evidence consistently revealed that rs796364 and rs281759 might contribute to schizophrenia risk by regulating the expression of TYW5, a gene whose expression dysregulation affects two important schizophrenia pathophysiological processes (i.e. neurodevelopment and dendritic spine formation).

Effect of CT-guided microwave ablation for non-small cell lung cancer combined with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the perioperative complications and safety of microwave ablation (MA) therapy for patient's non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) combined with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: A total of 28 patients with NSCLC combined with severe COPD in our center were analyzed for complications during MA therapy and post-treatment outcomes. RESULTS: All patients were successfully ablated by puncture, with a tumor efficiency of 85.7% and no death within 30 days. The tumor tissues showed hypodense changes, cavitation, and decreased CT values when the CT was reexamined 24 hours after surgery. A total of 24 patients showed different surgery-related complications, and were cured after targeted treatments. During the follow-up, the lung tumor disappeared, while the fibrous scars and foci as well as pulmonary cavity still remained. CT imaging examination showed there was no enhancement in the tissue after resection. CONCLUSION: In this study, we confirmed that the complications of NSCLC combined with severe COPD after MA were manageable, safe and effective.

Preparation of Graphene Oxide/Cellulose Composites with Microcrystalline Cellulose Acid Hydrolysis Using the Waste Acids Generated by the Hummers Method of Graphene Oxide Synthesis.

The Hummers method is the most commonly used method to prepare graphene oxide (GO). However, many waste acids remain in the raw reaction mixture after the completion of this reaction. The aim of this study was to reuse these waste acids efficiently. In this study, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was directly dissolved in the mixture after the high-temperature reaction of the Hummers method. The residual acid was used to hydrolyze MCC, and the graphene oxide/microcrystalline cellulose (GO/MCC) composites were prepared, while the acid was reused. The effects of MCC addition (0.5 g, 1.0 g, and 1.5 g in 20 mL) on the properties of the composites were discussed. The structure, composition, thermal stability, and hydrophobicity of GO/MCC composites were characterized and tested by SEM, XRD, FTIR, TG, and contact angle tests. The results showed that MCC could be acid hydrolyzed into micron and nano-scale cellulose by using the strong acidity of waste liquid after GO preparation, and it interacted with the prepared GO to form GO/MCC composites. When the addition amount of MCC was 1 g, the thermal stability of the composite was the highest due to the interaction between acid-hydrolyzed MCC and GO sheets. At the same time, the hydrophobic property of the GO/MCC composite is better than that of the GO film. The freeze-dried GO/MCC composites are more easily dispersed in water and have stronger stability.

Locomotion Mode Transition Prediction Based on Gait-Event Identification Using Wearable Sensors and Multilayer Perceptrons.

People walk on different types of terrain daily; for instance, level-ground walking, ramp and stair ascent and descent, and stepping over obstacles are common activities in daily life. Movement patterns change as people move from one terrain to another. The prediction of transitions between locomotion modes is important for developing assistive devices, such as exoskeletons, as the optimal assistive strategies may differ for different locomotion modes. The prediction of locomotion mode transitions is often accompanied by gait-event detection that provides important information during locomotion about critical events, such as foot contact (FC) and toe off (TO). In this study, we introduce a method to integrate locomotion mode prediction and gait-event identification into one machine learning framework, comprised of two multilayer perceptrons (MLP). Input features to the framework were from fused data from wearable sensors-specifically, electromyography sensors and inertial measurement units. The first MLP successfully identified FC and TO, FC events were identified accurately, and a small number of misclassifications only occurred near TO events. A small time difference (2.5 ms and -5.3 ms for FC and TO, respectively) was found between predicted and true gait events. The second MLP correctly identified walking, ramp ascent, and ramp descent transitions with the best aggregate accuracy of 96.3%, 90.1%, and 90.6%, respectively, with sufficient prediction time prior to the critical events. The models in this study demonstrate high accuracy in predicting transitions between different locomotion modes in the same side's mid- to late stance of the stride prior to the step into the new mode using data from EMG and IMU sensors. Our results may help assistive devices achieve smooth and seamless transitions in different locomotion modes for those with motor disorders.