This research proposes an innovative, intelligent hand-assisted diagnostic system aiming to achieve a comprehensive assessment of hand function through information fusion technology. Based on the ...single-vision algorithm we designed, the system can perceive and analyze the morphology and motion posture of the patient’s hands in real time. This visual perception can provide an objective data foundation and capture the continuous changes in the patient’s hand movement, thereby providing more detailed information for the assessment and providing a scientific basis for subsequent treatment plans. By introducing medical knowledge graph technology, the system integrates and analyzes medical knowledge information and combines it with a voice question-answering system, allowing patients to communicate and obtain information effectively even with limited hand function. Voice question-answering, as a subjective and convenient interaction method, greatly improves the interactivity and communication efficiency between patients and the system. In conclusion, this system holds immense potential as a highly efficient and accurate hand-assisted assessment tool, delivering enhanced diagnostic services and rehabilitation support for patients.
The intestinal epithelium possesses a remarkable self-renewal ability, which is mediated by actively proliferating Lgr5
stem cells. Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signalling represents one major ...counterforce that limits the hyperproliferation of intestinal epithelium, but the exact mechanism remains elusive. Here we demonstrate that epithelial BMP signalling plays an indispensable role in restricting Lgr5
stem cell expansion to maintain intestinal homeostasis and prevent premalignant hyperproliferation on damage. Mechanistically, BMP inhibits stemness of Lgr5
stem cells through Smad-mediated transcriptional repression of a large number of stem cell signature genes, including Lgr5, and this effect is independent of Wnt/β-catenin signalling. Smad1/Smad4 recruits histone deacetylase HDAC1 to the promoters to repress transcription, and knockout of Smad4 abolishes the negative effects of BMP on stem cells. Our findings therefore demonstrate that epithelial BMP constrains the Lgr5
stem cell self-renewal via Smad-mediated repression of stem cell signature genes to ensure proper homeostatic renewal of intestinal epithelium.
Many key residues, which mediate the interaction between SARS-CoV2 spike glycoprotein (S protein) and human ACE2 receptor, have been reviewed using the SARS-CoV2 S spike protein with human ACE2 ...complex. The initial SARS-CoV2 S protein and ACE2 protein complex structure is formed by RBD structure of SARS-CoV2 S protein and ACE2 protein. However, the cryo-EM structure study targeting SARS-Cov S protein with human ACE2 complex has shown that there exist different binding conformations during the binding process facing ACE2 protein. It suggests the interaction between SARS-CoV2 S spike protein complex might have different binding conformations, which request full-length of SARS-CoV2 S protein complex in the structure-functional analysis. In this study, we built a full-length SARS-CoV2 S protein with human ACE2 complex by computational methods. Residues K31, H34, E35 in ACE2 protein were showed both in our full-length model and RBD structure model, which recognized as critical residues in previous studies. Surprisingly, ACE2 residues E564, R559, N556 were only found participating in the interaction of our full-length model, which suggested the full-length model has bigger binding interface. This finding was further supported by the interaction network of full-length model and RBD model. Meanwhile, the method bias was taken into consideration. Eventually, the MM-PBSA results showed the full-length model had a stronger binding free energy (almost 5-fold) than the RBD structure model of SARS-CoV2 S spike protein complex. In computational level, we present a stronger binding model containing a full-length structure of SARS-CoV2 S protein with ACE2 complex.
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•In this study, we built a full-length SARS-Cov-2 S protein with human ACE2 complex by computational methods, which might present the bigger binding info.•Residues K31, H34, E35 in ACE2 protein were showed as critical residues in previous studies in our full-length model and RBD structure model.•ACE2 residues E564, R559, N556 were found in the interaction of our full-length model.•The full-length model had a stronger binding free energy (almost 5-fold) than the RBD structure model.•In computational level, we present a stronger binding model containing a full-length structure of SARS-CoV-2 S protein with ACE2 complex.
Chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) can not only lead to depression-like behavior but also change the composition of the gut microbiome. Regulating the gut microbiome can have an antidepressant ...effect, but the mechanism by which it improves depressive symptoms is not clear. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are small molecular compounds produced by the fermentation of non-digestible carbohydrates. SFCAs are ubiquitous in intestinal endocrine and immune cells, making them important mediators of gut microbiome-regulated body functions. The balance between the pro- and anti-inflammatory microglia plays an important role in the occurrence and treatment of depression caused by chronic stress. Non-absorbable antibiotic rifaximin can regulate the structure of the gut microbiome. We hypothesized that rifaximin protects against stress-induced inflammation and depression-like behaviors by regulating the abundance of fecal microbial metabolites and the microglial functions.
We administered 150 mg/kg rifaximin intragastrically to rats exposed to CUMS for 4 weeks and investigated the composition of the fecal microbiome, the content of short-chain fatty acids in the serum and brain, the functional profiles of microglia and hippocampal neurogenesis.
Our results show that rifaximin ameliorated depressive-like behavior induced by CUMS, as reflected by sucrose preference, the open field test and the Morris water maze. Rifaximin increased the relative abundance of Ruminococcaceae and Lachnospiraceae, which were significantly positively correlated with the high level of butyrate in the brain. Rifaximin increased the content of anti-inflammatory factors released by microglia, and prevented the neurogenic abnormalities caused by CUMS.
These results suggest that rifaximin can regulate the inflammatory function of microglia and play a protective role in pubertal neurodevelopment during CUMS by regulating the gut microbiome and short-chain fatty acids.
Based on the definite therapeutic benefits, such as neuroprotective, cardioprotective, anticancer, anti-diabetic and so on, the Panax genus which contains many valuable plants, including ginseng ...(Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer), notoginseng (Panax notoginseng) and American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.), attracts research focus. Actually, the biological and pharmacological effects of the Panax genus are mainly attributed to the abundant ginsenosides. However, the low membrane permeability and the gastrointestinal tract influence seriously limit the absorption and bioavailability of ginsenosides. The acid or base hydrolysates of ginsenosides, 20 (R,S)-panaxadiol and 20 (R,S)-protopanaxadiol showed improved bioavailability and diverse pharmacological activities. Moreover, relative stable skeletons and active hydroxyl group at C-3 position and other reactive sites are suitable for structural modification to improve biological activities. In this review, the pharmacological activities of panaxadiol, protopanaxadiol and their structurally modified derivatives are comprehensively summarized.
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•Ginsenosides are important active components in Panax species.•Panaxadiol and protopanaxadiol are good triterpene saponin leads.•Their pharmacology and medicinal chemistry work is comprehensively summarized.
As one of the most devastating disasters to pine forests, pine wilt disease (PWD) has caused tremendous ecological and economic losses in China. An effective way to prevent large-scale PWD outbreaks ...is to detect and remove the damaged pine trees at the early stage of PWD infection. However, early infected pine trees do not show obvious changes in morphology or color in the visible wavelength range, making early detection of PWD tricky. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based hyperspectral imagery (HI) has great potential for early detection of PWD. However, the commonly used methods, such as the two-dimensional convolutional neural network (2D-CNN), fail to simultaneously extract and fully utilize the spatial and spectral information, whereas the three-dimensional convolutional neural network (3D-CNN) is able to collect this information from raw hyperspectral data. In this paper, we applied the residual block to 3D-CNN and constructed a 3D-Res CNN model, the performance of which was then compared with that of 3D-CNN, 2D-CNN, and 2D-Res CNN in identifying PWD-infected pine trees from the hyperspectral images. The 3D-Res CNN model outperformed the other models, achieving an overall accuracy (OA) of 88.11% and an accuracy of 72.86% for detecting early infected pine trees (EIPs). Using only 20% of the training samples, the OA and EIP accuracy of 3D-Res CNN can still achieve 81.06% and 51.97%, which is superior to the state-of-the-art method in the early detection of PWD based on hyperspectral images. Collectively, 3D-Res CNN was more accurate and effective in early detection of PWD. In conclusion, 3D-Res CNN is proposed for early detection of PWD in this paper, making the prediction and control of PWD more accurate and effective. This model can also be applied to detect pine trees damaged by other diseases or insect pests in the forest.
Within the last decade, soft robotics has attracted an increasing attention from both academia and industry. Although multiple literature reviews of the whole soft robotics field have been conducted, ...there still appears to be a lack of systematic investigation of the intellectual structure and evolution of this field considering the increasing amount of publications. This paper conducts a scientometric review of the progressively synthesized network derived from 10,504 bibliographic records using a topic search on soft robotics from 2010 to 2021 based on the Web of Science (WoS) core database. The results are presented from both the general data analysis of included papers (e.g., relevant journals, citation, h-index, year, institution, country, disciplines) and the specific data analysis corresponding to main disciplines and topics, and more importantly, emerging trends. CiteSpace, a data visualization software, which can construct the co-citation network maps and provide citation bursts, is used to explore the intellectual structures and emerging trends of the soft robotics field. In addition, this paper offers a demonstration of an effective analytical method for evaluating enormous publication citation and co-citation data. Findings of this review can be used as a reference for future research in soft robotics and relevant topics.
Significant grain refinement of AZ91 alloys was achieved by ceramic nanoparticle(NP)-induced growth control. Advanced characterization techniques including 3D tomography and in-situ observation were ...carried out to examine the microstructure evolution. The results show that the NPs are distributed in matrix in three ways, i.e. along the grain boundaries, inside the α-Mg grains and within the interior of β phases. The intergranular NPs that are distributed along the grain boundaries can form a multilayer of NPs covering the surface of α-Mg, greatly restricting the grain growth. A numerical model is proposed to predict the grain size, in which the solute concentration gradient at dendrite tip and the impingement of grains are recognized as two pivotal factors in modelling. It is demonstrated from the model prediction that a reduced growing rate of α-Mg can be obtained upon NP addition due to the lowered solute concentration gradient at dendrite tip, which could increase the nucleation events, accelerate the grain impingement and thus induce significant grain refinement. Given the chemically and thermally stability of ceramic NPs, which can avoid the intrinsic drawbacks of conventional inoculation, e.g. element poisoning, NP-induced growth control (NIGC) may provide a new avenue for grain refinement in magnesium alloys.
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•The addition of TiCN NPs can lead to a significant refinement of primary α-Mg and eutectic β-Mg17Al12 in AZ91 alloys.•The growth control induced by multilayer of NPs covering the surface of α-Mg could be the main refining mechanism.•NPs can reduce grain growth velocity, promote nucleation events andgrain impingement, inducing significant grain refinement.
This study aims to optimize the COVID-19 screening strategies under China's dynamic zero-case policy through cost-effectiveness analysis. A total of 9 screening strategies with different screening ...frequencies and combinations of detection methods were designed. A stochastic agent-based model was used to simulate the progress of the COVID-19 outbreak in scenario I (close contacts were promptly quarantined) and scenario II (close contacts were not promptly quarantined). The primary outcomes included the number of infections, number of close contacts, number of deaths, the duration of the epidemic, and duration of movement restriction. Net monetary benefit (NMB) and the incremental cost-benefit ratio were used to compare the cost-effectiveness of different screening strategies. The results indicated that under China's COVID-19 dynamic zero-case policy, high-frequency screening can help contain the spread of the epidemic, reduce the size and burden of the epidemic, and is cost-effective. Mass antigen testing is not cost-effective compared with mass nucleic acid testing in the same screening frequency. It would be more cost-effective to use AT as a supplemental screening tool when NAT capacity is insufficient or when outbreaks are spreading very rapidly.
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is considered as a novel second-messenger molecule associated with the modulation of various physiological and pathological processes. In the field of antitumor research, ...endogenous H2S induces angiogenesis, accelerates the cell cycle and inhibits apoptosis, which results in promoting oncogenesis eventually. Interestingly, high concentrations of exogenous H2S liberated from donors suppress the growth of various tumors via inducing cellular acidification and modulating several signaling pathways involved in cell cycle regulation, proliferation, apoptosis and metastasis. The selective release of certain concentrations of H2S from H2S donors in the target has been considered as an alternative tumor therapy strategy. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), an aggressive subtype with less than one year median survival time, is known to account for approximately 15–20% of all breast cancers. Due to the lack of approved targeted therapy, the clinical treatment of TNBC is still hindered by metastasis as well as recurrence. Significant efforts have been spent on developing novel treatments of TNBC, and remarkable progress in the control of TNBC by H2S donors and their derivatives have been made in recent years. This review summarizes various pathways involved in antitumor and anti-metastasis effects of H2S donors and their derivatives on TNBC, which provides novel insights for TNBC treatment.
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