The fast detection of heart rate (HR) is challenging when using the noncontact continuous-wave (CW) Doppler radar. Applying the Fourier transform (FT) to the baseband signal analysis, the accuracy is ...degraded due to the insufficient frequency resolution if using less than 5-s time window to realize fast detection. Moreover, respiratory harmonic peak might be incorrectly picked as the heartbeat signal if its magnitude is larger than the heartbeat peak in frequency spectrum. In this paper, a wavelet-transform-based data-length-variation technique is proposed to realize the fast detection of HR. With this technique, HR can be extracted with 3-5-s data length, and the respiratory harmonics can be distinguished from heartbeat signals, because the frequency of wavelet harmonic is not as tolerant of the change of the data length as heartbeat in the wavelet frequency spectrum. The algorithm is verified by simulation using numerical computing tool and demonstrated by human tests utilizing a 5.8-GHz CW Doppler radar platform. Compared to the traditional frequency domain method using FT, the proposed technique reduces the average error of HR from 26.7% to 3.5% using 3-5-s length of data varied in the range of ±0.5 s.
Purpose/Significance Online reputation is an important regulating mechanism to maintain the order of online medical care. Through exploring the internal mechanism of online reputation feedback ...mechanism on doctor-patient interaction, this paper provided strategies for improving the supervision and management of online medical community. Method/Process The finite rational evolutionary game model between doctors and patients was constructed. The dynamic equation was calculated, the equilibrium and stability strategy was solved, and the Matlab software was used for simulation analysis to find out the key influencing factors and influencing paths of promoting doctor-patient online positive interaction. Result/Conclusion The results show that the degree to which negative evaluation behavior can alleviate patients' dissatisfaction, the cost of doctors' positive response, and the frustration of doctors' enthusiasm being depressed have a negative effect on doctor-patient interaction. The information gap reduced
China's smart home for elderly care emerged in 2008, and had went through four developmental stages which consists of seed stage, start-up stage, development stage and popularization stage.
The ...status quo and development of smart home for elderly care in China is reviewed, and suggestions are provided on how to further develop China's smart home for elderly care. The focus of China's policies on smart home for elderly care were different during those four developmental stages. Compared with Western countries, China's smart home for elderly care is a policy-driven product rather than technology-driven or demand-driven one. In addition, it is quasi-public goods rather than private goods. These unique characteristics of China's smart home for elderly care not only become the driving force of its rapid development, but also bring many challenges to its development, such as the insufficient demand, the disorderly development, and the waste of public and private resources.
Although great progress has been made in China's smart home care, much efforts are still needed to further advance its development. The technical standards for the elderly care services should be formulated as soon as possible and the existing public and private smart home for elderly care platforms should be combined. Enterprises involved in smart home care services should be encouraged to develop new technologies to reduce the cost of products and services provided by smart home for elderly care.
Agricultural products are pivotal to the national economy, and a comprehensive analysis of brand competitiveness significantly contributes to the support of agricultural structural adjustment and ...modernization. Focusing on the Yangtze River Delta region of China, this study develops an evaluation index system encompassing four dimensions: core brand competitiveness, brand management, market competitiveness, and innovation in branding. Utilizing a DEMATEL-ISM model, this research elucidates the intrinsic relationships among factors that influence brand competitiveness, resulting in a four-tier hierarchical model. The analysis delineates key factors at superficial, intermediate, and profound levels that influence brand competitiveness. Notably, regional production bases, along with innovations in brand technology and systems, emerge as profound influencers. Drawing on these findings, the study recommends strategies to enhance production foundations, accurately define development trajectories, spearhead technological innovation to foster collective reform efforts, and advocate for institutional advancements to bolster healthy brand growth.
Equivalent continuum models estimating the deformability of complexly fractured rock masses may incur significant discrepancies. This paper proposes an equivalent discrete fracture network (E-DFN) ...method to proficiently capture the non-continuous characteristics of rock masses while significantly reducing computational cost compared with traditional discrete fracture network (DFN) models. A significance index of individual fractures is defined to quantitatively evaluate their impact on the elastic modulus. Accumulative significance indices are then generated to define E-DFNs containing representative quantities of fractures. Numerical simulations are conducted with E-DFN models using UDEC (universal distinct element code). The relationship between elastic moduli of complexly fractured rocks and models with E-DFNs is established by an extrapolation function obtained through regression analyses based on an assumption of the marginal diminishing effect of modulus reduction. The proposed method is validated by stochastic DFNs with different geometric configurations. The results show that reasonable estimation with small errors is achieved by the extrapolation of density-reduced E-DFN models. The E-DFN method strikes a balance between result reliability and computational intensity.
•A significance index evaluates the fracture contribution to rock deformability.•An E-DFN model extracts most significant fractures from the original DFN model.•An extrapolation function is incorporated to project rock mechanical properties.
The complexity and high frequency of fractures in rock masses make discrete fracture network (DFN) models suffer from burdensome computational consumption when every fracture is explicitly simulated. ...Meanwhile, the uncertainty in the spatial distribution of fractures also leads to the unnecessary explicit simulation of small fractures to achieve more accurate results. In this study, an equivalent discontinuum analysis (EDA) method is proposed to deal with complexly fractured rock masses in the deep underground. An equivalent discrete fracture network (E-DFN) with simple geometric configurations is extracted based on a defined significance index of fractures. The influence of fractures that are neglected in E-DFNs is superposed on the remaining fractures by reassigning their material properties. Using the proposed EDA method, the anisotropy of the deformation modulus of the original DFN model is well represented by the E-DFN models. Compared with the equivalent continuum and discontinuum models, the E-DFN models with reassigned fracture properties have a better potential for maintaining stress variability and displacement discontinuity in rock masses.
•An EDA method is proposed to deal with complexly fractured rock mass.•E-DFN is extracted from DFN according to a fracture significance index.•The effect of insignificant fractures is compensated in E-DFN.•The E-DFN and DFN model share similar local and global characteristics.
A novel variant of SARS-CoV-2, the Delta variant of concern (VOC, also known as lineage B.1.617.2), is fast becoming the dominant strain globally. We reported the epidemiological, viral, and clinical ...characteristics of hospitalized patients infected with the Delta VOC during the local outbreak in Guangzhou, China.
We extracted the epidemiological and clinical information pertaining to the 159 cases infected with the Delta VOC across seven transmission generations between May 21 and June 18, 2021. The whole chain of the Delta VOC transmission was described. Kinetics of viral load and clinical characteristics were compared with a cohort of wild-type infection in 2020 admitted to the Guangzhou Eighth People's Hospital.
There were four transmission generations within the first ten days. The Delta VOC yielded a significantly shorter incubation period (4.0 vs. 6.0 days), higher viral load (20.6 vs. 34.0, cycle threshold of the ORF1a/b gene), and a longer duration of viral shedding in pharyngeal swab samples (14.0 vs. 8.0 days) compared with the wild-type strain. In cases with critical illness, the proportion of patients over the age of 60 was higher in the Delta VOC group than in the wild-type strain (100.0% vs. 69.2%, p = 0.03). The Delta VOC had a higher risk than wild-type infection in deterioration to critical status (hazards ratio 2.98 95%CI 1.29-6.86; p = 0.01).
Infection with the Delta VOC is characterized by markedly increased transmissibility, viral loads and risk of disease progression compared with the wild-type strain, calling for more intensive prevention and control measures to contain future outbreaks.
National Grand Program, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology, Guangzhou Laboratory
Assembly of the inflammasome has recently been identified to be a critical event in the initiation of inflammation. However, its role in bacterial killing remains unclear. Our study demonstrates that ...Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection induces the assembly of the NLRP3 inflammasome and the sequential secretion of caspase1 and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in human macrophages. More importantly, activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome reduces the killing of P. aeruginosa in human macrophages, without affecting the generation of antimicrobial peptides, reactive oxygen species, and nitric oxide. In addition, our results demonstrate that P. aeruginosa infection increases the amount of the LC3-II protein and triggers the formation of autophagosomes in human macrophages. The P. aeruginosa-induced autophagy was enhanced by overexpression of NLRP3, ASC, or caspase1 but was reduced by knockdown of these core molecules of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Treatment with IL-1β enhanced autophagy in human macrophages. More importantly, IL-1β decreased the macrophage-mediated killing of P. aeruginosa, whereas knockdown of ATG7 or Beclin1 restored the IL-1β-mediated suppression of bacterial killing. Collectively, our study explores a novel mechanism employed by P. aeruginosa to escape from phagocyte killing and may provide a better understanding of the interaction between P. aeruginosa and host immune cells, including macrophages.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a hard-to-eradicate intracellular pathogen that infects one-third of the global population. It can live within macrophages owning to its ability to arrest phagolysosome ...biogenesis. Autophagy has recently been identified as an effective way to control the intracellular mycobacteria by enhancing phagosome maturation. In the present study, we demonstrate a novel role of miR-155 in regulating the autophagy-mediated anti-mycobacterial response. Both in vivo and in vitro studies showed that miR-155 expression was significantly enhanced after mycobacterial infection. Forced expression of miR-155 accelerated the autophagic response in macrophages, thus promoting the maturation of mycobacterial phagosomes and decreasing the survival rate of intracellular mycobacteria, while transfection with miR-155 inhibitor increased mycobacterial survival. However, macrophage-mediated mycobacterial phagocytosis was not affected after miR-155 overexpression or inhibition. Furthermore, blocking autophagy with specific inhibitor 3-methyladenine or silencing of autophagy related gene 7 (Atg7) reduced the ability of miR-155 to promote autophagy and mycobacterial elimination. More importantly, our study demonstrated that miR-155 bound to the 3'-untranslated region of Ras homologue enriched in brain (Rheb), a negative regulator of autophagy, accelerated the process of autophagy and sequential killing of intracellular mycobacteria by suppressing Rheb expression. Our results reveal a novel role of miR-155 in regulating autophagy-mediated mycobacterial elimination by targeting Rheb, and provide potential targets for clinical treatment.
Low temperature is a major factor influencing the growth and development of Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) in cold winter and spring. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms enabling ...jujube to cope with different freezing stress conditions. To elucidate the freezing-related molecular mechanism, we conducted comparative transcriptome analysis between 'Dongzao' (low freezing tolerance cultivar) and 'Jinsixiaozao' (high freezing tolerance cultivar) using RNA-Seq.
More than 20,000 genes were detected at chilling (4 °C) and freezing (- 10 °C, - 20 °C, - 30 °C and - 40 °C) stress between the two cultivars. The numbers of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the two cultivars were 1831, 2030, 1993, 1845 and 2137 under the five treatments. Functional enrichment analysis suggested that the metabolic pathway, response to stimulus and catalytic activity were significantly enriched under stronger freezing stress. Among the DEGs, nine participated in the Ca
signal pathway, thirty-two were identified to participate in sucrose metabolism, and others were identified to participate in the regulation of ROS, plant hormones and antifreeze proteins. In addition, important transcription factors (WRKY, AP2/ERF, NAC and bZIP) participating in freezing stress were activated under different degrees of freezing stress.
Our research first provides a more comprehensive understanding of DEGs involved in freezing stress at the transcriptome level in two Z. jujuba cultivars with different freezing tolerances. These results may help to elucidate the molecular mechanism of freezing tolerance in jujube and also provides new insights and candidate genes for genetically enhancing freezing stress tolerance.
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