Data from the Fermi-LAT reveal two large gamma-ray bubbles, extending 50? above and below the Galactic center (GC), with a width of about 40? in longitude. The gamma-ray emission associated with ...these bubbles has a significantly harder spectrum (dN/dE ~ E --2) than the inverse Compton emission from electrons in the Galactic disk, or the gamma rays produced by the decay of pions from proton-interstellar medium collisions. There is no significant spatial variation in the spectrum or gamma-ray intensity within the bubbles, or between the north and south bubbles. The bubbles are spatially correlated with the hard-spectrum microwave excess known as the WMAP haze; the edges of the bubbles also line up with features in the ROSAT X-ray maps at 1.5-2 keV. We argue that these Galactic gamma-ray bubbles were most likely created by some large episode of energy injection in the GC, such as past accretion events onto the central massive black hole, or a nuclear starburst in the last ~10 Myr. Dark matter annihilation/decay seems unlikely to generate all the features of the bubbles and the associated signals in WMAP and ROSAT; the bubbles must be understood in order to use measurements of the diffuse gamma-ray emission in the inner Galaxy as a probe of dark matter physics. Study of the origin and evolution of the bubbles also has the potential to improve our understanding of recent energetic events in the inner Galaxy and the high-latitude cosmic ray population.
This paper utilizes virtual reality technology to enhance players’ skills and tactical awareness in a soccer training system. The article first designs a soccer training system incorporating virtual ...reality technology, which contains key technologies such as common stance representation of soccer actions, stance solving algorithm and fusion Hausdorff Pearson algorithm. Then, the effect of virtual reality technology on soccer training was analyzed, including the impact on overall performance and players’ tactical awareness, and finally, a comparative analysis of the experimental and control groups was conducted. The results showed that the overall performance of the experimental group in the post-test was 22.08±6.37, and the overall performance of the control group in the post-test was 16.82±5.21. Regarding offensive passing and awareness of running without the ball, there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups at P<0.05. Regarding co-defense complementary and convergence awareness from offense to defense, there was a highly significant difference between the experimental and control groups, with p0.01.
Objectives
To develop radiomics-based nomograms for preoperative microvascular invasion (MVI) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) prediction in patients with solitary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) ≤ ...5 cm.
Methods
Between March 2012 and September 2019, 356 patients with pathologically confirmed solitary HCC ≤ 5 cm who underwent preoperative gadoxetate disodium–enhanced MRI were retrospectively enrolled. MVI was graded as M0, M1, or M2 according to the number and distribution of invaded vessels. Radiomics features were extracted from DWI, arterial, portal venous, and hepatobiliary phase images in regions of the entire tumor, peritumoral area ≤ 10 mm, and randomly selected liver tissue. Multivariate analysis identified the independent predictors for MVI and RFS, with nomogram visualized the ultimately predictive models.
Results
Elevated alpha-fetoprotein, total bilirubin and radiomics values, peritumoral enhancement, and incomplete or absent capsule enhancement were independent risk factors for MVI. The AUCs of MVI nomogram reached 0.920 (95% CI: 0.861–0.979) using random forest and 0.879 (95% CI: 0.820–0.938) using logistic regression analysis in validation cohort (
n
= 106). With the 5-year RFS rate of 68.4%, the median RFS of MVI-positive (M2 and M1) and MVI-negative (M0) patients were 30.5 (11.9 and 40.9) and > 96.9 months (
p
< 0.001), respectively. Age, histologic MVI, alkaline phosphatase, and alanine aminotransferase independently predicted recurrence, yielding AUC of 0.654 (95% CI: 0.538–0.769,
n
= 99) in RFS validation cohort. Instead of histologic MVI, the preoperatively predicted MVI by MVI nomogram using random forest achieved comparable accuracy in MVI stratification and RFS prediction.
Conclusions
Preoperative radiomics-based nomogram using random forest is a potential biomarker of MVI and RFS prediction for solitary HCC ≤ 5 cm.
Key Points
•
The radiomics score was the predominant independent predictor of MVI which was the primary independent risk factor for postoperative recurrence.
•
The radiomics-based nomogram using either random forest or logistic regression analysis has obtained the best preoperative prediction of MVI in HCC patients so far.
•
As an excellent substitute for the invasive histologic MVI, the preoperatively predicted MVI by MVI nomogram using random forest (MVI-RF) achieved comparable accuracy in MVI stratification and outcome, reinforcing the radiologic understanding of HCC angioinvasion and progression.
Pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) density is a biomarker of vessel inflammation, which is supposed to be increased in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, whether the coronary ...inflammation revealed by this novel index could be alleviated after evolocumab treatment in T2DM remains unknown.
From January 2020 to December 2022, consecutive T2DM patients with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ≥ 70 mg/dL on maximally tolerated statin and taking evolocumab were prospectively included. In addition, patients with T2DM who were taking statin alone were recruited as control group. The eligible patients underwent baseline and follow-up coronary CT angiography with an interval of 48-week. To render patients with evolocumab as comparable to those controls, a propensity-score matching design was used to select the matched pairs with a 1:1 ratio. Obstructive lesion was defined as the extent of coronary artery stenosis ≥ 50%; the numbers inside the brackets were interquartile ranges.
A total of 170 T2DM patients with stable chest pain were included (mean age 64 ± 10.6 range 40-85 years; 131 men). Among those patients, 85 were in evolocumab group and 85 were in control group. During follow-up, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level (2.02 1.26, 2.78 vs. 3.34 2.53, 4.14, p < 0.001), and lipoprotein(a) (12.1 5.6, 21.8 vs. 18.9 13.2, 27.2, p = 0.002) were reduced after evolocumab treatment. The prevalence of obstructive lesions and high-risk plaque features were significantly decreased (p < 0.05 for all). Furthermore, the calcified plaque volume were significantly increased (188.3 115.7, 361.0 vs. 129.3 59.5, 238.3, p = 0.015), while the noncalcified plaque volume and necrotic volume were diminished (107.5 40.6, 180.6 vs. 125.0 65.3, 269.7, p = 0.038; 0 0, 4.7 vs. 0 0, 13.4, p < 0.001, respectively). In addition, PCAT density of right coronary artery was significantly attenuated in evolocumab group (- 85.0 - 89.0, - 82.0 vs. - 79.0 - 83.5, - 74.0, p < 0.001). The change in the calcified plaque volume inversely correlated with achieved LDL-C level (r = - 0.31, p < 0.001) and lipoprotein(a) level (r = - 0.33, p < 0.001). Both the changes of noncalcified plaque volume and necrotic volume were positively correlated with achieved LDL-C level and Lp(a) (p < 0.001 for all). However, the change of PCAT
density only positively correlated with achieved lipoprotein(a) level (r = 0.51, p < 0.001). Causal mediation analysis revealed Lp(a) level mediated 69.8% (p < 0.001) for the relationship between evolocumab and changes of PCAT
.
In patients with T2DM, evolocumab is an effective therapy to decrease noncalcified plaque volume necrotic volume, and increase calcified plaque volume. Furthermore, evolocumab could attenuate PCAT density, at least in part, via the reduction of lipoprotein(a).
The translation of unparalleled efficiency from the lab-scale devices to practical-scale flexible modules affords a huge performance loss for flexible perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The degradation ...is attributed to the brittleness and discrepancy of perovskite crystal growth upon different substrates. Inspired by robust crystallization and flexible structure of vertebrae, herein, we employ a conductive and glued polymer between indium tin oxide and perovskite layers, which simultaneously facilitates oriented crystallization of perovskite and sticks the devices. With the results of experimental characterizations and theoretical simulations, this bionic interface layer accurately controls the crystallization and acts as an adhesive. The flexible PSCs achieve the power conversion efficiencies of 19.87% and 17.55% at effective areas of 1.01 cm
and 31.20 cm
respectively, retaining over 85% of original efficiency after 7000 narrow bending cycles with negligible angular dependence. Finally, the modules are assembled into a wearable solar-power source, enabling the upscaling of flexible electronics.
Morphea is an autoimmune disease characterized by skin sclerosis. According to the disease progression, morphea can be divided into inflammatory, sclerotic, and atrophic stages. Dermoscopy and ...high‐frequency ultrasound (HF‐US) have been applied in the noninvasive evaluation of many inflammatory diseases, but studies on the skin imaging features of the different stages of morphea are limited. To analyze the dermoscopic and HF‐US features of the different stages of morphea and explore their auxiliary value in staging the disease, we followed 34 patients with histopathology‐confirmed morphea between April 2018 and July 2021 who underwent dermoscopy and 50 and 20 MHz HF‐US. Fisher's exact test was used to assess the differences in dermoscopic and HF‐US features among patients with different stages of morphea. Seven patients were classified as the inflammatory stage, 20 as the sclerotic stage, and seven as the atrophic stage by histopathology. The most common dermoscopic features of inflammatory lesions were red structureless areas (100%) and linear curved vessels (85.7%). White clouds and shiny white streaks could be seen in 100% and 90% of sclerotic lesions, respectively. Among atrophic lesions, pigmentary structures (100%) and red structureless areas (85.7%) were the main features. In the HF‐US examination, inflammatory lesions showed hypoechogenicity around the appendages (85.7%), a hypoechogenic dermis (71.4%), and an unclear boundary between the dermis and the subcutaneous fat (71.4%). Among lesions of the sclerotic stage, the main HF‐US characteristics included a hyperechogenic dermis (85.0%), acoustic attenuation of the dermis (70.0%), and an unclear boundary between the dermis and the subcutaneous fat (85.0%). All atrophic lesions showed a hyperechogenic dermis, and 28.6% showed an unclear boundary between the dermis and the subcutaneous fat. Dermoscopy and HF‐US can reveal the characteristic features of the different stages of morphea and show good correspondence with the histopathology. Dermoscopy and HF‐US can provide important information for the staging of morphea.
Although accretion onto supermassive black holes in other galaxies is seen to produce powerful jets in X-ray and radio, no convincing detection has ever been made of a kpc-scale jet in the Milky Way. ...The recently discovered pair of 10 kpc tall gamma-ray bubbles in our Galaxy may be signs of earlier jet activity from the central black hole. In this paper, we identify a gamma-ray cocoon feature in the southern bubble, a jet-like feature along the cocoon's axis of symmetry, and another directly opposite the Galactic center in the north. Both the cocoon and jet-like feature have a hard spectrum with spectral index ~-2 from 1 to 100 GeV, with a cocoon total luminosity of (5.5 + or - 0.45) x 10 super(35) and luminosity of the jet-like feature of (1.8 + or - 0.35) x 10 super(35) erg s super(-1) at 1-100 GeV. If confirmed, these jets are the first resolved gamma-ray jets ever seen.
Respiratory tract viral infection caused by viruses or bacteria is one of the most common diseases in human worldwide, while those caused by emerging viruses, such as the novel coronavirus, 2019‐nCoV ...that caused the pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China most recently, have posed great threats to global public health. Identification of the causative viral pathogens of respiratory tract viral infections is important to select an appropriate treatment, save people's lives, stop the epidemics, and avoid unnecessary use of antibiotics. Conventional diagnostic tests, such as the assays for rapid detection of antiviral antibodies or viral antigens, are widely used in many clinical laboratories. With the development of modern technologies, new diagnostic strategies, including multiplex nucleic acid amplification and microarray‐based assays, are emerging. This review summarizes currently available and novel emerging diagnostic methods for the detection of common respiratory viruses, such as influenza virus, human respiratory syncytial virus, coronavirus, human adenovirus, and human rhinovirus. Multiplex assays for simultaneous detection of multiple respiratory viruses are also described. It is anticipated that such data will assist researchers and clinicians to develop appropriate diagnostic strategies for timely and effective detection of respiratory virus infections.
Research Highlights
Respiratory tract viral infection including 2019‐nCoV poses great threats worldwide. Currently available and novel emerging diagnostic methods are summarized for several common respiratory viruses, including influenza virus, human respiratory syncytial virus, coronavirus, human adenovirus and human rhinovirus. Multiplex assays for simultaneous detection of multiple respiratory viruses are also described. This review is aimed to assist researchers and clinicians to develop timely and effective diagnostic strategies to detect respiratory virus infections.
Abstract
As a sodium superionic conductor, Mn‐rich phosphate of Na
3.4
Mn
1.2
Ti
0.8
(PO
4
)
3
is considered as one of the promising cathodes for sodium‐ion batteries owing to its good thermodynamic ...stability and high working voltage. However, Na
3.4
Mn
1.2
Ti
0.8
(PO
4
)
3
is faced with low electronic conductivity, poor cycling stability and complex phase transition caused by multi‐electron transfers, which limits its practical application. Herein, an anion‐regulated strategy is proposed to optimize the Mn‐rich Na
3.4
Mn
1.2
Ti
0.8
(PO
4
)
3
phosphate cathode. After introducing F anions into the lattice, the rate performance is improved from 60.5 to 72.8 mAh g
−1
at 20 C. Ascribed to unique structure design, the reaction kinetics of Na
3.4
Mn
1.2
Ti
0.8
(PO
4
)
3
are significantly improved, as demonstrated by cyclic voltammetry at varied scan rates and galvanostatic intermittent titration technique. The generated M‐F bond inhibits Jahn–Teller effect with an improved cycle stability (85.8 mAh g
−1
after 1000 cycles at 5 C with 94.3% capacity retention). Interestingly, reaction mechanism of Na
3.4
Mn
1.2
Ti
0.8
(PO
4
)
3
with the complex two‐phase and solid solution reactions changes to the whole solid solution reaction after fluorine substitution, and leads to a smaller volume change of 5.41% during reaction processes, which is verified by in situ X‐ray diffraction. This anion regulation strategy provides a new method for designing the high‐performance phosphate cathode materials of sodium‐ion batteries.
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