To analyze the difference in union and clinical outcomes between teriparatide (T) and teriparatide with vertebroplasty (V) treatment modalities in osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures ...(OVCFs).
Patients were divided into two groups (T and V: 87 and 92 patients with 105 fractures each). Radiological features (fracture type/grade, presence of fracture gap/intravertebral vacuum cleft (IVVC)/posterior vertebral wall fracture, change in compression rate (CR)/kyphotic angle (CA), and fusion status) were assessed with 3D-CT at 3 and 6 months. The outcome was divided into success or failure based on visual analog scale (<3), absence of percussion tenderness on the spinous process, and pain during motion. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify risk factors for nonunion and failed outcomes in each group.
The V group showed more favorable results than the T group at 3 months (CR>10%, 58% vs. 17%; CA>5°, 36% vs. 16%; union, 66% vs. 91%; successful outcome, 77% vs. 94%). At 6 months, no significant change was detected in CR and CA. A significant difference remained in union (89% vs. 100%) and successful outcomes (79% vs. 100%). The V group with age (>75 years) and initial CR (>40%) had more benefits than the T group in the subgroup analysis. In multivariate analysis for the T group, nonunion risk factors were hypertension (P = .0054) and fracture gap (P = .0075). IVVC (P = .047) was the sole risk factor for failure.
Teriparatide with subsequent vertebroplasty can be selected as the first-line treatment with better sequelae and outcomes in acute osteoporotic compression fractures.
In recent years unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have emerged as a popular and cost-effective technology to capture high spatial and temporal resolution remote sensing (RS) images for a wide range of ...precision agriculture applications, which can help reduce costs and environmental impacts by providing detailed agricultural information to optimize field practices. Furthermore, deep learning (DL) has been successfully applied in agricultural applications such as weed detection, crop pest and disease detection, etc. as an intelligent tool. However, most DL-based methods place high computation, memory and network demands on resources. Cloud computing can increase processing efficiency with high scalability and low cost, but results in high latency and great pressure on the network bandwidth. The emerging of edge intelligence, although still in the early stages, provides a promising solution for artificial intelligence (AI) applications on intelligent edge devices at the edge of the network close to data sources. These devices are with built-in processors enabling onboard analytics or AI (e.g., UAVs and Internet of Things gateways). Therefore, in this paper, a comprehensive survey on the latest developments of precision agriculture with UAV RS and edge intelligence is conducted for the first time. The major insights observed are as follows: (a) in terms of UAV systems, small or light, fixed-wing or industrial rotor-wing UAVs are widely used in precision agriculture; (b) sensors on UAVs can provide multi-source datasets, and there are only a few public UAV dataset for intelligent precision agriculture, mainly from RGB sensors and a few from multispectral and hyperspectral sensors; (c) DL-based UAV RS methods can be categorized into classification, object detection and segmentation tasks, and convolutional neural network and recurrent neural network are the mostly common used network architectures; (d) cloud computing is a common solution to UAV RS data processing, while edge computing brings the computing close to data sources; (e) edge intelligence is the convergence of artificial intelligence and edge computing, in which model compression especially parameter pruning and quantization is the most important and widely used technique at present, and typical edge resources include central processing units, graphics processing units and field programmable gate arrays.
The purpose of the present research was to explore the therapeutic impact of raw lacquer extract from Toxicodendron vernicifluum on colorectal cancer cells and to investigate the outcome of raw ...lacquer extract and ONC201 co-treatment on the activity of colorectal cancer cells.
The cells of HCT116 were treated with raw lacquer extract, ONC201, or co-treatment. Subsequently, MTT, trypan blue staining, colony formation, annexin V/propidium iodide staining, wound healing, and transwell assays were performed to assess the effects of raw lacquer extract, ONC201 and the synthesis effect of co-treatment on cell activity, survival, proliferation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion in HCT116 cells. Western blotting and immunostaining assay were also performed to detect the expressions of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand, death receptor-5, cleaved caspase-8, p-mTOR/mTOR, and p-S6K/S6K in cells.
The results showed that ONC201 and raw lacquer extract had effective anti-cancer effects on HCT116 cells. ONC201 and raw lacquer extract treatment on colorectal cancer cells inhibited cell viability and growth, as well as induced cell apoptosis and cell death of HCT116. The migration and invasion of HCT116 cells were also inhibited. Significantly, raw lacquer extract and ONC201 cotreatment further enhanced the anti-colorectal cancer cell activity in HCT116 cells. Western blotting and immunostaining assay showed that raw lacquer extract in combination with ONC201 induced tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand/death receptor-5 expression activation, inhibited the expression of cleaved caspase-8/procaspase-8, and reduced the expression of p-mTOR/mTOR and p-S6K/S6K.
These results indicated that raw lacquer extract in combination with ONC201 enhanced the inhibitory effects on colorectal cancer cell activity.
Diabetes mellitus (DM), a most common chronic disease, is featured with impaired endothelial function and bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO), while E3 ubiquitin ligase appears to alleviate ...endothelial dysfunction as a promising option for DM treatment. Herein, we aimed to determine whether E3 ubiquitin ligase casitas B-lineage lymphoma (Cbl) alleviates endothelial dysfunction in DM rats by JAK2/STAT4 pathway.
A rat model of DM was developed through intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin, followed by collection of aortic tissues to determine the expression of Cbl, JAK2, runt-related transcription factor 3 (Runx3) and STAT4. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured in high glucose (HG) condition to induce DM as an in vitro model. With gain- and loss-function method, we assessed the aberrantly expressed Cb1 on endothelial dysfunction, NO production and apoptosis of HUVECs.
Cbl was reduced in DM rat tissues and HG-induced HUVECs, where JAK2, Runx3 and STAT4 were elevated. It was found that overexpression of Cbl alleviated endothelial dysfunction by increasing NO production and restoring vasodilation and suppressing apoptosis of HUVECs. Mechanistically, Cb1 enhanced JAK2 ubiquitination and decreased JAK2 and STAT4 expression, where STAT4 improved Runx3 expression by regulating histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation level. Overexpression of JAK2 and STAT4, or Runx3 increased apoptosis of HUVECs, abrogating the effect of Cb1 on endothelial function.
In conclusion, Cbl alleviates endothelial dysfunction by inactivation of the JAK2/STAT4 pathway and inhibition of Runx3 expression in DM. These evidence might underlie novel Cbl-based treatment against DM in the future.
Background and aims Plant root placement is highly plastic in order to acquire patchily distributed nutrients and to ensure their survival, growth and reproduction. Considering the spatial extension ...of clonal organs, we selected two clonal plants (Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel. and Hierochloe glabra Trin.) to determine the spatio-temporal effects of environmental heterogeneity on belowground organs and newly-born ramets. Methods Small-scale and multi-patch heterogeneous environments were manipulated by creating four patches filled with different types of soil in a same pot. The four patches were composed of sandy soil, sandy loam, loam soil and humus soil, respectively. Ramet number, bud number, mean spacer length, rhizome length, and biomass allocation within each patch were measured to identify plant foraging responses. Results The preferential patch of L. chinensis was humus soil patch which was the highest in nutrient availability, whereas H. glabra preferred to place ramets in sandy loam and loam soil patches. When growing in homogeneous environments, both species randomly rooted their offspring ramets in the four compartments. In heterogeneous environments, foraging responses were detected in ramet placement, aboveground biomass and total rhizome length. However, there were no differences in bud number or belowground biomass among four types of patches in heterogeneous environments, which might suggest that there would be no inter-patch differences in seedling establishment in the next year. Conclusions Plants show selective allocation of offspring ramets to preferential patches in the presence of multi-patch environmental heterogeneity. Responses of H. glabra to multi-patch heterogeneity were faster than those of L. chinensis, demonstrating that the foraging patterns are species-specific. Clonal plants can rapidly respond to environmental heterogeneity, whereas foraging responses are potentially reversible over a longer temporal scale.
Obesity can lead to excessive lipid accumulation in non-adipose tissues, such as the liver and skeletal muscles, leading to ectopic lipid deposition and damaging target organ function through ...lipotoxicity. FGF-21 is a key factor in regulating lipid metabolism, so we aim to explore whether FGF-21 is involved in improving ectopic lipid deposition. We observed the characteristics of ectopic lipid deposition in the liver and skeletal muscles of obesity-resistant mice, detected the expression of FGF-21 and perilipin, and found that obesity-resistant mice showed a decrease in ectopic lipid deposition in the liver and skeletal muscles and increased expression of FGF-21. After inhibiting the expression of FGF-21, a more severe lipid deposition in liver cells and skeletal muscle cells was found. The results indicate that inhibiting FGF-21 can exacerbate ectopic lipid deposition via regulating lipid droplet synthesis and decomposition, as well as free fatty acid translocation and oxidation. In conclusion, FGF-21 is involved in improving ectopic lipid deposition caused by obesity in the liver and skeletal muscles.
Weak structural surface is one of the key factors controlling the stability of slopes. The stability of rock slopes is in general concerned with set of discontinuities. However, in soft rocks, ...failure can occur along surfaces approaching to a circular failure surface. To better understand the position of potential sliding surface, a new method called simplex-finite stochastic tracking method is proposed. This method basically divides sliding surface into two parts： one is described by smooth curve obtained by random searching, the other one is po｜yline formed by the weak structural surface. Single or multiple sliding surfaces can be considered, and consequently several types of combined sliding surfaces can be simu- lated. The paper will adopt the arc-polyline to simulate potential sliding surface and analyze the searching process of sliding surface. Accordingly, software for slope stability analysis using this method was developed and applied in real cases. The results show that, using simplex-finite stochastic tracking method, it is possible to locate the position of a potential sliding surface in the slope.
The distal lung (G14–G23), which are composed of alveoli and bronchi, are responsible for almost all gas exchange and micro- and nanoparticle deposition in the lungs. In the existing research using ...computational fluid dynamics, the geometric modeling accuracy of the bronchial bifurcation structure is given priority, and then the alveoli are attached to bronchi as discrete spherical crowns. This method ignores the correlation between alveoli. In fact, the alveoli have a tessellated distribution, and adjacent alveoli are connected by several alveolar pores. Due to the huge number of alveoli, this seemingly small difference will be greatly amplified, which may lead to a large deviation in the prediction of the overall flow. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to construct a two-dimensional distal lung model including the bronchi, acini, and alveolar pores by using the methods of regular hexagonal tessellational subdivision, fusion, and coordinate transformation. A moving boundary is introduced to simulate the process of airflow and particle deposition in the distal lung, and the effects of bronchial deformation, respiratory frequency, and alveolar pores are obtained. The results show that there are significant differences in intrapulmonary flow patterns with and without alveolar pores. Alveolar pores can establish bypass ventilation downstream of a blockage, thus providing a pathway for particles to enter the airways downstream of the blockage. Changing the respiratory frequency and the amplitude of bronchial deformation will change the relative velocity between particles and moving wall, which, in turn, will change the particle deposition efficiency in the distal lung. To summarize this study, a geometric modeling method for the distal lung with alveolar pores is established, and the important roles of detailed characteristics of the distal lung are revealed. The findings of this study provide a reasonable hydrodynamic mechanism for the prevention of related respiratory diseases.
Display omitted
•We built a tessellational geometrical model of the distal lung with alveolar pores.•Particle deposition when alveoli and bronchus deformation synchronously during breathing.•Respiratory frequency and bronchial deformation affect the deposition efficiency.•Reveal the mechanism of particles passing through alveolar pore.
Accurate and timely estimation of tropical cyclone (TC) wind radii is significant for characterizing wind structure, disaster prevention and mitigation, etc. The existing methods have not ...sufficiently considered and utilized multi-modal (i.e., multi-source heterogeneous) data for wind radii estimation. Meanwhile, complete modalities (i.e., all used modalities) can hardly be available simultaneously, especially in real-time monitoring scenarios, which restricts the applicability of multi-modal estimation models. It is challenging to maintain the accuracy of wind radii estimates when confronted with the issue of missing-modality. Therefore, to address these issues, this paper aims to achieve robust TC wind radii estimation under both conditions with complete modalities and missing-modality. We first present a multi-modal fusion network, MT-TCNet, for estimating TC wind radii under conditions with complete modalities. MT-TCNet benefits from multi-modal data including satellite infrared images, reanalysis wind fields, and the physical parameter maximum sustained wind speed (MSW). MSW, which reflects TC intensity, is incorporated to embed the implicit relationship between TC intensity and wind radii. It is capable of providing superior and robust wind radii estimates in scenarios without time constraints, and can be used to generate long-term historical results. Furthermore, this paper proposes MT-TCNet-Distill to alleviate the issue of missing-modality caused by delays in ERA5 reanalysis wind fields through generalized distillation and missing modality imputation. MT-TCNet-Distill broadens the applicability of MT-TCNet, which heavily relies on reanalysis data, enabling robust wind radii estimation in real-time scenarios. Comprehensive experiments demonstrate the superior performance of MT-TCNet and MT-TCNet-Distill compared to state-of-the-art methods.
PDF
