This study aims to investigate the association of lipid ratios with intracranial atherosclerotic stenosis (ICAS) in a Chinese population.
This cross-sectional study included 658 consecutive patients ...with ischemic stroke. Intracranial and extracranial arteries were evaluated for atherosclerotic stenosis using digital subtraction angiography or computed tomography angiography. Lipid ratios total cholesterol (TC)/high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TG)/HDL-C, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C)/HDL-C, non-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (non-HDL-C)/HDL-C, remnant cholesterol (RC)/HDL-C, apolipoprotein B (apo B)/apolipoprotein A-I (apo A-I), and apo B/HDL-C were calculated.
The TC/HDL-C, LDL-C/HDL-C, RC/HDL-C, non-HDL-C/HDL-C, apo B/HDL-C and apo B/apo A-I ratios (all P < 0.05) were significantly associated with ICAS but not with extracranial atherosclerotic stenosis after adjustment for confounding factors. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves analysis revealed that the apo B/apo A-I ratio had the largest area under the ROC curve (AUC) among lipid levels alone and for lipid ratios (AUC = 0.588). Lipid ratios had higher AUC values than those for lipid levels alone for the identification of ICAS.
The TC/HDL-C, LDL-C/HDL-C, RC/HDL-C, non-HDL-C/HDL-C apo B/HDL-C, and apo B/apo A-I ratios were significantly related to ICAS risk. Compared with the other variables tested, the apo B/apo A-I ratio appeared to be a better discriminator for identifying ICAS risk in stroke patients.
A novel linear-to-circular polarizer with a bandwidth of 88% is proposed in this article. It is the first attempt to propose a phase difference compensation method for circularly polarized (CP) ...bandwidth improvement. Based on this, a new integrated structure combining frequency-selective surface (FSS) and dielectric grating structures, named FSS inserted dielectric polarizer (FIDP), is proposed. By combining the monotonically increasing phase difference of the dielectric grating structures, with the monotonically decreasing phase difference of the FSS, the proposed polarizer achieves a 90° phase difference between two orthogonal <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">E </tex-math></inline-formula>-field components within a wide frequency range. At the same time, the magnitudes of the components are not reduced when the two <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">E </tex-math></inline-formula>-field components pass through the polarizer. Hence, CP conversion over a wide frequency range is achieved. For validation, three feeding horns operating in adjacent bands are designed as the feeds for the polarizer. The experimental results show that the proposed polarizer yields an operating bandwidth of 88%, ranging from 6.8 to 17.5 GHz. The thickness of the polarizer is <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">1.34~\lambda _{0} </tex-math></inline-formula>. The performance demonstrates that the proposed structure is a good candidate for X-band applications that require wideband CP wave radiation. It is fabricated by 3-D printing technology and PCB processes, which are low-cost and mature.
Abstract The High Altitude Detection of Astronomical Radiation (HADAR) is a novel wide-field Cherenkov Telescope. It is designed for gamma-ray astronomy in the energy range of 10 GeV to 100 TeV, with ...gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) being one of its primary research focuses. To assess its complementary capabilities, this study first presents the Crab sensitivity of HADAR. Then, to compare the sensitivity of GRBs, the observation time for all experiments is standardized to 100 s. To clearly demonstrate HADAR’s advantages, we estimate its observational results with a 221009A-like GRB. The study found that HADAR is capable of more comprehensively recording the bending and absorption of self-Compton radiation, which is expected to fill observational gaps in space- and ground-based experiments. We anticipate that this facility will ensure a large statistical GRB sample and advance our understanding of GRBs.
The Allium genus is cultivated globally as vegetables, condiments, or medicinal plants and is characterized by large genomes and strong pungency. However, the genome evolution and genomic basis ...underlying their unique flavor formation remain poorly understood. Herein, we report an 11.27-Gb chromosome-scale genome assembly for bunching onion (A. fistulosum). The uneven bursts of long-terminal repeats contribute to diversity in genome constituents, and dispersed duplication events largely account for gene expansion in Allium genomes. The extensive duplication and differentiation of alliinase and lachrymatory factor synthase manifest as important evolutionary events during flavor formation in Allium crops. Furthermore, differential selective preference for flavor-related genes likely lead to the variations in isoalliin content in bunching onions. Moreover, we reveal that China is the origin and domestication center for bunching onions. Our findings provide insights into Allium genome evolution, flavor formation and domestication history and enable future genome-assisted breeding of important traits in these crops.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) represents the most common type of clinical cardiac arrhythmia worldwide and contributes to substantial morbidity, mortality and socioeconomic burden. Aggregating evidence ...highlights the strong genetic basis of AF. In addition to chromosomal abnormalities, pathogenic mutations in over 50 genes have been causally linked to AF, of which the majority encode ion channels, cardiac structural proteins, transcription factors and gap junction channels. In the heart, gap junctions comprised of connexins (Cxs) form intercellular pathways responsible for electrical coupling and rapid coordinated action potential propagation between adjacent cardiomyocytes. Among the 21 isoforms of connexins already identified in the mammal genomes, 5 isoforms (Cx37, Cx40, Cx43, Cx45 and Cx46) are expressed in human heart. Abnormal electrical coupling between cardiomyocytes caused by structural remodeling of gap junction channels (alterations in connexin distribution and protein levels) has been associated with enhanced susceptibility to AF and recent studies have revealed multiple causative mutations or polymorphisms in 4 isoforms of connexins predisposing to AF. In this review, an overview of the genetics of AF is made, with a focus on the roles of mutant myocardial connexins and gap junctions in the pathogenesis of AF, to underscore the hypothesis that cardiac connexins are a major molecular target in the management of AF.
A millimeter-wave (mm-wave) high-gain antenna with bidirectional radiation is proposed in this paper. It is the first attempt to combine a folded transmitarray (FTA) and a Fabry-Perot Cavity (FPC) ...antenna to achieve bidirectional beams. By using this method, bidirectional radiation can be achieved while keeping a relative low profile when compared to traditional transmitarray antennas. The proposed antenna consists of a dual-polarized (DP) feeding source, a single-layered partially reflective surface (PRS) and a bottom metasurface. By adding metal grids on bottom surface of the PRS, it can partially reflect x-polarized electromagnetic wave (EM) and fully reflect y-polarized EM wave simultaneously. The bottom metasurface can also reflect x-polarized EM wave, and transmit y-polarized EM wave. Hence, for the DP feeding source, when the x-polarized wave is generated, forward radiation is realized by FPC effect. When the y-polarized wave is generated, backward radiation characteristic is achieved due to the FTA function. For validation, a prototype with a center frequency of 35 GHz is designed, fabricated and measured. The proposed antenna can achieve 18 dBi and 21 dBi in the bidirectional directions, respectively. The proposed design is a candidate for mm-wave long-distance wireless systems where require low-profile and high communication flexibility.
To address the challenges of low recognition accuracy, low robustness, and low detection efficiency in existing tunnel face joint and fissure recognition methods, we present a deep learning ...recognition segmentation algorithm called the mask region convolutional neural network (Mask R‐CNN) that is enhanced by an advanced Transformer attention mechanism and deformable convolution network (Mask R‐CNN‐TD). The Transformer attention mechanism improves the backbone network's ability to extract image features by focusing on important areas. A deformable convolutional network enables the network to more precisely conform to the morphological characteristics of joints and fissures on the tunnel face, thereby enhancing the accuracy of detection. Experimental results demonstrate that Mask R‐CNN‐TD achieves superior performance, compared to Mask R‐CNN series algorithms and other instance segmentation methods in terms of detection accuracy, with mean average precision scores of 70.5%, 70.8%, 53.2%, and 63.3% for detection box and mask segmentation at thresholds of 0.5 and 0.75, respectively. Based on the stable and efficient Mask R‐CNN‐TD model, we developed a mobile application called tunnel face detector to automatically detect tunnel faces on the construction site.
This article proposes a wideband differential fed circularly polarized (CP) antenna 48% overlapped bandwidth, which is the minimum value of axial ratio (AR) bandwidth, gain bandwidth, and impedance ...matching bandwidth with multiple beams radiation across V- and W-band enabled by a parabolic reflector, a long-slot radiator, and a wideband 3-D printed polarizer. The long-slot structure is an array consists with substrate integrated waveguide (SIW)-based open-slot elements (the vias besides a conventional SIW slot are moved to form an open slot), which yields wideband characteristics when compared with traditional slot array. Cooperating with wideband parabolic reflector and modified 3-D printed polarizer, it finally achieves 48% CP bandwidth. Finally, by setting multiple ports on the feeding network, multibeam radiation can be achieved. For validation, a multibeam CP antenna operating from 58 to 94.5 GHz with 20.5-dBic peak gain level and three radiation beams is fabricated and measured. Based on the authors' extensive research, the proposed antenna yields a superior bandwidth when compared with recently reported millimeter-wave (mm-wave) long-slot structures and high-gain CP antennas.
•Data-driven sensor placement strategy which requires only a few deployed sensors.•A novel recurrent Gaussian process regression method for mode shape reconstruction.•Greedy algorithm and cuckoo ...search algorithm to achieve globally optimal solution.•Homoscedastic and heteroscedastic models for modelling measurement noise.•Validation on a three-span continuous bridge model and a cable-stayed bridge.
Current Optimal Sensor Placement (OSP) strategies for bridges mostly rely on data from a finite element model rather than from the real structure due to high cost in placing massive sensors for data collection. For large-scale bridges, however, it is difficult to formulate a precise model and thus the OSP strategies building upon a finite element model inevitably suffer from modelling errors. Besides, the finite element model cannot account for real measurement noise. Premised on the fact that it is not expensive to make in-situ trial measurements with a few sensors on a target bridge before deploying a structural health monitoring (SHM) system on it, a data-driven OSP strategy is proposed in this study which aims at accurately reconstructing mode shapes (to facilitate vibration-based structural damage detection) by using only a few vibration sensors to be included in the SHM system. The proposed OSP strategy is also applicable for the upgrade of a long-term SHM system currently deployed on a bridge, by using historical data collected from the current SHM system. To precisely reconstruct mode shapes, a two-stage OSP strategy in terms of Recurrent Gaussian Process Regression (RGPR) is developed, and its performance is validated on a simulation model and a real bridge. In the first stage, the greedy algorithm is leveraged to temporarily deploy sensors on the structure and train accurate RGPR models using the collected data, which are used to afford spatially complete mode shape data for optimization later. Starting from a few sensors temporarily deployed on the bridge, a one-by-one sensor adding procedure is performed to configure increasing sensors until the target is achieved. In the second stage, Cuckoo Search (CS) algorithm is pursued to obtain the globally optimal sensor placement solution, from which the temporarily deployed sensors can be re-configured to the optimum positions. Both the best sensor quantity and positions are obtained by the proposed OSP strategy.
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) refers to a rare, progressive disorder that is characterized by occlusive pulmonary vascular remodeling, resulting in increased pulmonary arterial pressure, ...right-sided heart failure, and eventual death. Emerging evidence from genetic investigations of pediatric-onset PAH highlights the strong genetic basis underpinning PAH, and deleterious variants in multiple genes have been found to cause PAH. Nevertheless, PAH is of substantial genetic heterogeneity, and the genetic defects underlying PAH in the overwhelming majority of cases remain elusive. In this investigation, a consanguineous family suffering from PAH transmitted as an autosomal-dominant trait was identified. Through whole-exome sequencing and bioinformatic analyses as well as Sanger sequencing analyses of the PAH family, a novel heterozygous SOX17 mutation, NM_022454.4: c.379C>T; p. (Gln127*), was found to co-segregate with the disease in the family, with complete penetrance. The nonsense mutation was neither observed in 612 unrelated healthy volunteers nor retrieved in the population genetic databases encompassing the Genome Aggregation Database, the Exome Aggregation Consortium database, and the Single Nucleotide Polymorphism database. Biological analyses using a dual-luciferase reporter assay system revealed that the Gln127*-mutant SOX17 protein lost the ability to transcriptionally activate its target gene NOTCH1. Moreover, the Gln127*-mutant SOX17 protein exhibited no inhibitory effect on the function of CTNNB1-encode β-catenin, which is a key player in vascular morphogenesis. This research firstly links SOX17 loss-of-function mutation to familial PAH, which provides novel insight into the molecular pathogenesis of PAH, suggesting potential implications for genetic and prognostic risk evaluation as well as personalized prophylaxis of the family members affected with PAH.
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