BACKGROUND Neuroendocrine tumors(NETs)are rare malignancies arising from the diffuse neuroendocrine system,often in the gastroenteropancreatic(GEP)tract.GEP-NETs,primarily involving the intestines(50%)and pancreas(30%...BACKGROUND Neuroendocrine tumors(NETs)are rare malignancies arising from the diffuse neuroendocrine system,often in the gastroenteropancreatic(GEP)tract.GEP-NETs,primarily involving the intestines(50%)and pancreas(30%),may occa-sionally secrete hormones,causing syndromes.Diagnosis relies on markers like chromogranin A,synaptophysin,and Ki-67,along with imaging modalities.Ri-sing NETs incidence is attributed to advancements in diagnostic modalities,parti-cularly endoscopic ultrasonography(EUS).EUS demonstrates high accuracy in detecting small lesions,assessing tumor depth,and identifying locoregional lymph nodes.Despite its proven diagnostic utility,there is limited data on EUS's role in evaluating GEP-NETs in resource-constrained settings like Pakistan.AIM To evaluate the diagnostic role of EUS in characterizing GEP-NETs based on clinical,histopathological,tumor grading,and site-specific differences.METHODS This single-center retrospective descriptive study was conducted at Aga Khan University Hospital,Karachi,a tertiary care hospital,from January 2021 to December 2023.Fourteen adult patients(≥18 years)with suspected NETs who underwent EUS and were diagnosed via histopathology were included.Data on demographics,clinical features,radiological findings,and histopathological characteristics were collected.Descriptive analysis was performed using SPSS version 23,with descriptive statistics expressed as means±SD for continuous variables and frequencies/percentages for categorical data.RESULTS A total of 14 adult GEP-NETs patients who underwent EUS were included,with a mean age of 52±14 years and the majority being male(71.4%).Common clinical presentations included weight loss(85.7%)and abdominal pain(78.6%).Computed tomography scans were performed in 92.9%of cases,with pancreatic masses detected in 42.9%of patients.EUS-guided fine needle biopsy(FNB)had a 100%diagnostic yield.The pancreas was the most common tumor site(57.1%).Histopathology revealed 78.6%of cases as well-differentiated NETs with 42.9%being grade II.Metastases were seen in 57.1%of patients,with the liver being the most common site.Surgical interventions were performed in 28.6%of patients,and all patients were alive at the time of study analysis.CONCLUSION EUS,with accurate imaging and effective EUS-FNB,is the gold standard for GEP-NET diagnosis,aiding tumor assessment and prognosis.Larger studies are needed to validate its impact on management outcomes.展开更多
Pancreatic cysts are mostly incidental findings on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging scans,with few patients presenting with abdominal pain or other symptoms.The accurate diagnosis of cysts is importan...Pancreatic cysts are mostly incidental findings on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging scans,with few patients presenting with abdominal pain or other symptoms.The accurate diagnosis of cysts is important as management depends on the type(neoplastic or non-neoplastic).Cross-sectional imaging is fast being replaced with endoscopic ultrasound(EUS)and various techniques based on that such as EUS-guided fine needle aspiration,EUS-guided needle confocal laser endomicroscopy,EUS-through-the-needle biopsy,and contrast-enhanced EUS.Clinical studies have reported varying diagnostic and adverse event rates with these modalities.In addition,American,European,and Kyoto guidelines for the diagnosis and management of pancreatic cysts have provided different recommendations.In this editorial,we elaborate on the clinical guidelines,recent studies,and comparison of different endoscopic methods for the diagnosis of pancreatic cysts.展开更多
Powdery mildew negatively impacts wheat yield and quality.Emmer wheat(Triticum dicoccum),an ancestral species of common wheat,is a gene donor for wheat improvement.Cultivated emmer accession H1-707 exhibited all-stage...Powdery mildew negatively impacts wheat yield and quality.Emmer wheat(Triticum dicoccum),an ancestral species of common wheat,is a gene donor for wheat improvement.Cultivated emmer accession H1-707 exhibited all-stage resistance to powdery mildew over consecutive years.Genetic analysis of H1-707 at the seedling stage revealed a dominant monogenic inheritance pattern,and the underlying gene was designated Pm71.By employing bulked segregant exome sequencing(BSE-Seq)and using 2000 F2:3 families,Pm71 was fine mapped to a 336-kb interval on chromosome arm 6AS by referencing to the durum cv.Svevo RefSeq 1.0.Collinearity analysis revealed high homology in the candidate interval between Svevo and six Triticum species.Among six high-confidence genes annotated within this interval,TRITD6Av1G005050 encoding a GDSL esterase/lipase was identified as a key candidate for Pm71.展开更多
The introduction of wireless capsule endoscopy has brought a revolutionary change in the diagnostic procedures for gastrointestinal disorders.Biopsy,an essential procedure for disease diagnosis,has been integrated int...The introduction of wireless capsule endoscopy has brought a revolutionary change in the diagnostic procedures for gastrointestinal disorders.Biopsy,an essential procedure for disease diagnosis,has been integrated into robotic capsule endoscopy to augment diagnostic capabilities.In this study,we propose a magnetically driven biopsy robot based on a Kresling origami.Considering the bistable properties of Krelsing origami and the elasticity of the creases,a foldable structure of the robot with constant force characteristics is designed.The folding motion of the structure is used to deploy the needle into the target tissue.The robot is capable of performing rolling motion under the control of an external magnetic drive system,and a fine needle biopsy technique is used to collect deep tissue samples.We also conduct in vitro rolling experiments and sampling experiments on apple tissues and pork tissues,which verify the performance of the robot.展开更多
A new adsorbent was successfully prepared by hydrothermal treatment and chemical activation through coal gasification fine slag(CGFS)and blue algae(BA)as raw materials and used for CO_(2)capture.The CO_(2)chemisorptio...A new adsorbent was successfully prepared by hydrothermal treatment and chemical activation through coal gasification fine slag(CGFS)and blue algae(BA)as raw materials and used for CO_(2)capture.The CO_(2)chemisorption capacity of the adsorbent was further enhanced by taking advantage of the nitrogenous bases contained in the BA.In the hydrothermal process,the addition of BA significantly increased the content of pyrrole nitrogen in the adsorbent.In the activation process,pyrrole nitrogen gradually changed into pyridine nitrogen and graphite nitrogen.Increased BA addition result in a higher specific surface area and microporosity of the adsorbent.The CO_(2)adsorption performance test proved that the CGFS-50%-CA sample has the strongest CO_(2)adsorption capacity at low temperature,up to 15.59 cm^(3)/g,which is mainly through physical adsorption,and the CGFS-10%-CA sample has the strongest CO_(2)adsorption capacity at high temperature,up to 7.31 cm^(3)/g,which is mainly through chemical adsorption.CO_(2)uptake of the CGFS-10%-CA sample was well maintained after 10 cycles,with regeneration efficiencies above 99%.The results indicate that the novel adsorbents with coexistence of physical and chemical adsorption have great potential for CO_(2)adsorption applications.展开更多
Hanyu Xu 1,Xuedan Song 1,*,Qing Zhang 1,Chang Yu 1,Jieshan Qiu 1,2,*1 Liaoning Key Lab for Energy Materials and Chemical Engineering,State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals,School of Chemical Engineering,Dalian Univers...Hanyu Xu 1,Xuedan Song 1,*,Qing Zhang 1,Chang Yu 1,Jieshan Qiu 1,2,*1 Liaoning Key Lab for Energy Materials and Chemical Engineering,State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals,School of Chemical Engineering,Dalian University of Technology,Dalian 116024,Liaoning Province,China.展开更多
Lithium aluminosilicate(LAS) glass-ceramics with a few gas bubbles were prepared when SnO2, V2O5 and CeO2 were used as fining agents. The effect of the complex fining agent on the crystallization, phase compositions a...Lithium aluminosilicate(LAS) glass-ceramics with a few gas bubbles were prepared when SnO2, V2O5 and CeO2 were used as fining agents. The effect of the complex fining agent on the crystallization, phase compositions and microstructure of LAS glass–ceramics was investigated by differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The results show that the introduction of fining agents promotes the crystallization at a lower temperature and has little effect on the compositions of main crystalline phase and microstructure when the crystalline phase remains β-quartz. The special colors of LAS glass-ceramics can be obtained by controlling the crystallization temperature and the amounts of V2O5 and CeO2. The complex fining agent is an environmentally friendly alternative to toxic As2O3 and can be also used as a colorant for colored LAS glass-ceramics.展开更多
Fine particulate matter(particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5μm or less;PM2.5)causes millions of premature deaths globally1,but not all particles are equally harmful2-4.Current air-pollution control strategies,pr...Fine particulate matter(particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5μm or less;PM2.5)causes millions of premature deaths globally1,but not all particles are equally harmful2-4.Current air-pollution control strategies,prioritizing PM2.5 mass reduction,have provided considerable health benefits but further refinements based on differences in the toxicity of various emission sources may provide greater benefits5-7.Here we integrated field measurements with air-quality modelling to assess the unequal toxicities of PM2.5 from various anthropogenic sources.展开更多
This study embarks on an explorative investigation into the effects of typical concentrations and varying particle sizes of fine grits(FG,the involatile portion of suspended solids)and fine debris(FD,the volatile yet ...This study embarks on an explorative investigation into the effects of typical concentrations and varying particle sizes of fine grits(FG,the involatile portion of suspended solids)and fine debris(FD,the volatile yet unbiodegradable fraction of suspended solids)within the influent on themixed liquor volatile suspended solids(MLVSS)/mixed liquor suspended solids(MLSS)ratio of an activated sludge system.Through meticulous experimentation,it was discerned that the addition of FG or FD,the particle size of FG,and the concentration of FD bore no substantial impact on the pollutant removal efficiency(denoted by the removal rate of COD and ammonia nitrogen)under constant operational conditions.However,a notable decrease in the MLVSS/MLSS ratio was observed with a typical FG concentration of 20 mg/L,with smaller FG particle sizes exacerbating this reduction.Additionally,variations in FD concentrations influenced both MLSS andMLVSS/MLSS ratios;a higher FD concentration led to an increased MLSS and a reduced MLVSS/MLSS ratio,indicating FD accumulation in the system.A predictive model for MLVSS/MLSS was constructed based on quality balance calculations,offering a tool for foreseeing the MLVSS/MLSS ratio under stable long-term influent conditions of FG and FD.This model,validated using data from the BXH wastewater treatment plant(WWTP),showcased remarkable accuracy.展开更多
Cattle carcass traits are economically important in the beef industry.In the present study,we identified 184 significant genes and 822 alternative genes for 7 carcass traits using genome-wide association studies(GWAS)...Cattle carcass traits are economically important in the beef industry.In the present study,we identified 184 significant genes and 822 alternative genes for 7 carcass traits using genome-wide association studies(GWAS)in 1,566 Huaxi beef cattle.We then identified 5,860 unique cis-genes and 734 trans-genes in 227 longissimus dorsi muscle(LDM)samples to better understand the genetic regulation of gene expression.Our integration study of the GWAS and cis-eQTL analysis detected 13 variants regulating 12 identical genes,in which one variant was also detected in fine-mapping analysis.Moreover,using a transcriptome-wide association study(TWAS),we identified 4 genes(TTC30B,HMGA1,PRKD3 and FXN)that were significantly related to carcass chest depth(CCD),carcass length(CL),carcass weight(CW)and dressing percentage(DP).This study identified variants and genes that may be useful for understanding the molecular mechanism of carcass traits in beef cattle.展开更多
Rubbery waste at the end of the cycle often constitutes a threat for the environment because of their encumbrance and low biodeterioration.The purpose of the research presented is to develop the rubber fine powder as ...Rubbery waste at the end of the cycle often constitutes a threat for the environment because of their encumbrance and low biodeterioration.The purpose of the research presented is to develop the rubber fine powder as a pavement.It is interested primarily in the behavior of two types of bitumen 40/50 modified by the addition of two varieties of rubber fine powders of different grading,resulting from the crushing of the rubbery products intended for the clothes industry of soles of shoes.The objective of the experimentation is to study the influence of the added polymer on the physical properties of the ordinary road bitumen with the incorporation of the fine powder.The experimental approach is carried out using the two tests of characterization of the bitumen i.e.the softening point test and the penetration test which remain the most used to define and classify the road bitumen.It will be noted however,that the experimental investigation which is based on several tests according to the type and the content of fine powders,leads on a whole of interesting correlations.展开更多
Melon is a globally cultivated horticultural crop with a predominantly hybrid commercial seed market in China.Seedling morphology,particularly hypocotyl color,is a valuable trait for rapid F1 hybrid seed purity assess...Melon is a globally cultivated horticultural crop with a predominantly hybrid commercial seed market in China.Seedling morphology,particularly hypocotyl color,is a valuable trait for rapid F1 hybrid seed purity assessment.While green hypocotyls are common,white hypocotyls are rare in melon germplasm.This study identified a mutant with white hypocotyl but green leaves from the heavy ion beam mutant library.Genetic analysis revealed that a single recessive gene controlled the white hypocotyl,designated CmGhc1.A single-base deletion in the fifth exon of CmGhc1 led to a truncated CmGhc1 lacking the HTH-MYB DNA binding domain,likely affecting its transcriptional activity.CmGhc1 was localized in the nucleus,and yeast two-hybrid analysis and a dual-LUC assay demonstrated it as a transcription repressor.Furthermore,a KASP marker(hc1)was developed and verified as a functional marker for breeding white hypocotyl germplasms in melon.RNA-seq data revealed that CmGhc1 significantly affected the transcription of genes related to chlorophyll metabolism and photosynthesis in hypocotyl.In summary,these findings contribute to our understanding of chloroplast biogenesis and provide a valuable tool for melon breeding.展开更多
Peanut is a globally significant oil crop and economic resource,notable for its kernel containing over 50%oil content.White testa peanuts are highly valued for their superior nutritional profile,minimal pigmentation,a...Peanut is a globally significant oil crop and economic resource,notable for its kernel containing over 50%oil content.White testa peanuts are highly valued for their superior nutritional profile,minimal pigmentation,and superior oil clarity.Identification of genes controlling white testa color is crucial for advancing breeding programs and understanding the genetic mechanisms involved.A genetic mapping study was performed in peanut to identify genes controlling white testa color,a trait associated with desirable end-use quality traits in this oilseed crop.In an F_(2)population generated from a cross of a white-testa with a pink-testa cultivar,two recessive quantitative-trait loci controlling white testa were identified and finemapped to A02 and B02 chromosomes.Two homologous genes,Arahy.MP3D3D and Arahy.26781N,encoding bHLH transcriptional factors,were identified as candidates for the two loci.Reduced expression of these two genes likely suppresses anthocyanin biosynthesis.展开更多
Fine debris is an important component of natural debris flows.Previous studies focused primarily on the clay minerals found in the fines,and non-clay minerals were often neglected.The effects of mineralogy of fines on...Fine debris is an important component of natural debris flows.Previous studies focused primarily on the clay minerals found in the fines,and non-clay minerals were often neglected.The effects of mineralogy of fines on debris-mass slurrying and flow behaviors of the resultant slurries are examined herein.The fines(≤0.04 mm)in the<5 mm fraction of the Dongyuege Creek debris-flow deposit is replaced with five other mineral powders with the same maximum particle size.Four types of separate and sequential experiments related to debris slurrying and slurry behaviors are carried out with the prepared clastic materials.The obtained slurrying index ranging from 0.08 to 0.18 shows that non-clay minerals also can function as the fine fractions of debris-flow materials,so long as the requirement of grain size distribution is met.Equidimensional,non-clay minerals making up fines of debris flows can increase the upper solid concentration limits of slurrying(with a maximum of 0.692)and peak values of relative excess water pressure(measured maximum mean peak value is 0.99),leading to higher momentum and higher competence,and thereby more destructive catastrophe.The sediments with platy non-clay mineral-dominated fines have potential for mobilizing into small-to medium-size debris flows with a relatively small competence.Clay minerals in the fines may indeed enhance the liquefaction potential of debris masses by expanding the difference between upper and lower solid concentration limits of slurrying(0.413 and 0.238,respectively,for pure kaolinite),but they significantly suppress the momentum,competence,and destructive power of potential debris flows by lowering upper solid concentration limit of slurrying of debris masses.Alpine catchments rich in non-clay minerals,notably those releasing dolomite into loose sediments,may be more prone to threatening and destructive debris flows.The basin producing clay minerals should be more susceptible to lowmagnitude/high-frequency debris flows with less devastating consequences.展开更多
The mineral composition of the sinter affects the quality of cold-bonded briquettes(CBB),which are prepared from returned sinter fines and serve as a cleaner blast furnace charge.Pulverization rate,compressive strengt...The mineral composition of the sinter affects the quality of cold-bonded briquettes(CBB),which are prepared from returned sinter fines and serve as a cleaner blast furnace charge.Pulverization rate,compressive strength,reduction disintegration index(RDI)and compressive strength after reduction experiment were tested to analyze the experimental parameters of CBB under the influence of different basicities and sintering time.The results show that when the basicity of CBB is increased from 0.5 to 1.5,the pulverization rate increases,and performance indexes such as compressive strength,RDI,and compressive strength exhibit a decreasing trend.When the basicity is increased from 1.5 to 3.0,all the aforementioned performance indexes are improved.When the sintering time is extended from 0 to 8 h,the properties mentioned above are improved.The results of X-ray diffraction,microstructure,and thermodynamic calculations confirm that the hematite in the mineral composition of CBB tends to convert into calcium ferrite,which leads to the increased compressive strength of CBB.The reasonable basicity and sintering time during sinter preparation not only form the desired mineral composition but also improve the properties of the CBB.展开更多
Soybean seed isoflavones are a type of secondary metabolites that can provide health and nutrition benefits for humans. In our previous study, a stable quantitative trait locus(QTL) qIF05-1 controlling the seed isofla...Soybean seed isoflavones are a type of secondary metabolites that can provide health and nutrition benefits for humans. In our previous study, a stable quantitative trait locus(QTL) qIF05-1 controlling the seed isoflavone content in soybean was detected on chromosome(Chr.) 05 in a recombinant inbred line(RIL) population from a cross of Huachun 2×Wayao. In this study, the parental lines were re-sequenced using the Illumina Solexa System with deep coverage. A total of 63,099 polymorphic long insertions and deletions(InDels)(≥15 bp)were identified between the parents Huachun 2 and Wayao. The InDels were unevenly distributed on 20chromosomes of soybean, varying from 1,826 in Chr. 12 to 4,544 in Chr. 18. A total of 10,002 long InDels(15.85% of total) were located in genic regions, including 1,139 large-effect long InDels which resulted in truncated or elongated protein sequences. In the qIF05-1 region, 68 long InDels were detected between the two parents. Using a progeny recombination experiment and genotype analysis, the qIF05-1 locus was mapped into a 102.2 kb genomic region, and this region contained 12 genes. By RNA-seq data analysis, genome sequence comparison and functional validation through ectopic expression in Arabidopsis thaliana, Glyma.05G208300(described as GmEGL3), which is a basic helix-loop-helix(bHLH) transcription factor in plants, emerged as the most likely confirmed gene in qIF05-1. These long InDels can be used as a type of complementary genetic method for QTL fine mapping, and they can facilitate genetic studies and molecular-assisted selection breeding in soybean.展开更多
Although fine equiaxed structure benefits both strength and ductility in titanium alloys,it is often considered incompatible with high toughness,for its insufficient ability to deflect propagating cracks compared to c...Although fine equiaxed structure benefits both strength and ductility in titanium alloys,it is often considered incompatible with high toughness,for its insufficient ability to deflect propagating cracks compared to coarse lamellar structure.This work reports an excellent combination of standard Charpy impact toughness(∼100 J)and yield strength(∼820 MPa)in a powder metallurgy titanium alloy with fine equiaxed structure(∼1.5μm),wherein the β matrix exists as equiaxed nodules and fine ligaments for globularization of α grains.The impact curve divided with the“compliance changing rate”(CCR)method indicates that the energy consumed by crack propagation is dominant(∼82%)during the impact process.Fractographic and structural examinations indicate that multiple micro-voids nucleation near boundaries between fine β ligaments and α grains mitigates local stress concentration,and that coordinated deformation between equiaxed β nodules and α grains hinders crack propagation,which together enable the excellent combination of yield strength and impact toughness.Our work provides a new pathway for designing impact-resistant titanium alloys.展开更多
This paper aims to develop a nonrigid registration method of preoperative and intraoperative thoracoabdominal CT images in computer-assisted interventional surgeries for accurate tumor localization and tissue visualiz...This paper aims to develop a nonrigid registration method of preoperative and intraoperative thoracoabdominal CT images in computer-assisted interventional surgeries for accurate tumor localization and tissue visualization enhancement.However,fine structure registration of complex thoracoabdominal organs and large deformation registration caused by respiratory motion is challenging.To deal with this problem,we propose a 3D multi-scale attention VoxelMorph(MAVoxelMorph)registration network.To alleviate the large deformation problem,a multi-scale axial attention mechanism is utilized by using a residual dilated pyramid pooling for multi-scale feature extraction,and position-aware axial attention for long-distance dependencies between pixels capture.To further improve the large deformation and fine structure registration results,a multi-scale context channel attention mechanism is employed utilizing content information via adjacent encoding layers.Our method was evaluated on four public lung datasets(DIR-Lab dataset,Creatis dataset,Learn2Reg dataset,OASIS dataset)and a local dataset.Results proved that the proposed method achieved better registration performance than current state-of-the-art methods,especially in handling the registration of large deformations and fine structures.It also proved to be fast in 3D image registration,using about 1.5 s,and faster than most methods.Qualitative and quantitative assessments proved that the proposed MA-VoxelMorph has the potential to realize precise and fast tumor localization in clinical interventional surgeries.展开更多
Gas channeling in fractures during CO_(2) injection into the deep coal seam seriously reduces the CO_(2) storage efficiency after the development of coalbed methane.The generation and migration of coal fines causes bl...Gas channeling in fractures during CO_(2) injection into the deep coal seam seriously reduces the CO_(2) storage efficiency after the development of coalbed methane.The generation and migration of coal fines causes blockages in the fractures in the stage of drainage and gas production,reducing the gas channeling effect of injected CO_(2) caused by the heterogeneity of the coal seam.To explore the impact of coal fines within coal seam fractures on the efficacy of CO_(2) storage,experiments on the production stage and CO_(2) injection for storage were conducted on coal combinations containing propped fractures,fractures,and matrix.The CO_(2) storage characteristics of coal at the constraint of coal fines,as well as the influence of multiple rounds of intermittent CO_(2) injection and different injection parameters on the CO_(2) storage effect,were analyzed.The research results show that blockage by coal fines increases the resistance to fluid flow in the fractures by 71.2%.The CO_(2) storage capacity and storage potential of coal with coal fines are 6.5 cm^(3)/g and 8.8%higher than those of coal without coal fines,while the CO_(2) storage capacity of fractured coal under the influence of coal fines has the largest increase of 9.4 cm^(3)/g.The CO_(2) storage of coal containing coal fines is significantly higher(6.6%)than that of the coal without coal fines.The CO_(2) storage effect of the coal with coal fines is improved with the increase in injection rate,whereas the CO_(2) storage effect of the coal without coal fines decreases significantly(by 7.8%).Multiple rounds of intermittent injection increases the CO_(2) storage volume of coal by 20.4%(with coal fines)and 17.1%(without coal fines).The presence of coal fines in fractures also slows down the downward trend of CO_(2) storage fraction after multiple rounds of CO_(2) injection.The blockage in fractures significantly increases the CO_(2) injection time and difficulty,but can increase the CO_(2) storage fraction by 4.7%-17.1%,and the storage volume by 1.9%-14%,increasing the feasibility of CO_(2) storage in fractured coal seams that have previously been exploited for methane production.The multiple rounds of intermittent CO_(2) injection and shut-in periods has shown potential for greater CO_(2) storage and injection efficiency.展开更多
文摘BACKGROUND Neuroendocrine tumors(NETs)are rare malignancies arising from the diffuse neuroendocrine system,often in the gastroenteropancreatic(GEP)tract.GEP-NETs,primarily involving the intestines(50%)and pancreas(30%),may occa-sionally secrete hormones,causing syndromes.Diagnosis relies on markers like chromogranin A,synaptophysin,and Ki-67,along with imaging modalities.Ri-sing NETs incidence is attributed to advancements in diagnostic modalities,parti-cularly endoscopic ultrasonography(EUS).EUS demonstrates high accuracy in detecting small lesions,assessing tumor depth,and identifying locoregional lymph nodes.Despite its proven diagnostic utility,there is limited data on EUS's role in evaluating GEP-NETs in resource-constrained settings like Pakistan.AIM To evaluate the diagnostic role of EUS in characterizing GEP-NETs based on clinical,histopathological,tumor grading,and site-specific differences.METHODS This single-center retrospective descriptive study was conducted at Aga Khan University Hospital,Karachi,a tertiary care hospital,from January 2021 to December 2023.Fourteen adult patients(≥18 years)with suspected NETs who underwent EUS and were diagnosed via histopathology were included.Data on demographics,clinical features,radiological findings,and histopathological characteristics were collected.Descriptive analysis was performed using SPSS version 23,with descriptive statistics expressed as means±SD for continuous variables and frequencies/percentages for categorical data.RESULTS A total of 14 adult GEP-NETs patients who underwent EUS were included,with a mean age of 52±14 years and the majority being male(71.4%).Common clinical presentations included weight loss(85.7%)and abdominal pain(78.6%).Computed tomography scans were performed in 92.9%of cases,with pancreatic masses detected in 42.9%of patients.EUS-guided fine needle biopsy(FNB)had a 100%diagnostic yield.The pancreas was the most common tumor site(57.1%).Histopathology revealed 78.6%of cases as well-differentiated NETs with 42.9%being grade II.Metastases were seen in 57.1%of patients,with the liver being the most common site.Surgical interventions were performed in 28.6%of patients,and all patients were alive at the time of study analysis.CONCLUSION EUS,with accurate imaging and effective EUS-FNB,is the gold standard for GEP-NET diagnosis,aiding tumor assessment and prognosis.Larger studies are needed to validate its impact on management outcomes.
文摘Pancreatic cysts are mostly incidental findings on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging scans,with few patients presenting with abdominal pain or other symptoms.The accurate diagnosis of cysts is important as management depends on the type(neoplastic or non-neoplastic).Cross-sectional imaging is fast being replaced with endoscopic ultrasound(EUS)and various techniques based on that such as EUS-guided fine needle aspiration,EUS-guided needle confocal laser endomicroscopy,EUS-through-the-needle biopsy,and contrast-enhanced EUS.Clinical studies have reported varying diagnostic and adverse event rates with these modalities.In addition,American,European,and Kyoto guidelines for the diagnosis and management of pancreatic cysts have provided different recommendations.In this editorial,we elaborate on the clinical guidelines,recent studies,and comparison of different endoscopic methods for the diagnosis of pancreatic cysts.
基金financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(32301800,32301923 and 32072053)Wheat Industrial Technology System of Shandong Province(SDAIT-01-01)Key Research and Development Project of Shandong Province(2022LZG002-4,2023LZGC009-4-4).
文摘Powdery mildew negatively impacts wheat yield and quality.Emmer wheat(Triticum dicoccum),an ancestral species of common wheat,is a gene donor for wheat improvement.Cultivated emmer accession H1-707 exhibited all-stage resistance to powdery mildew over consecutive years.Genetic analysis of H1-707 at the seedling stage revealed a dominant monogenic inheritance pattern,and the underlying gene was designated Pm71.By employing bulked segregant exome sequencing(BSE-Seq)and using 2000 F2:3 families,Pm71 was fine mapped to a 336-kb interval on chromosome arm 6AS by referencing to the durum cv.Svevo RefSeq 1.0.Collinearity analysis revealed high homology in the candidate interval between Svevo and six Triticum species.Among six high-confidence genes annotated within this interval,TRITD6Av1G005050 encoding a GDSL esterase/lipase was identified as a key candidate for Pm71.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.51805047 and 52175003)the Outstanding Youth Program of Hunan Education Department(Grant No.23B0335)the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province(Grant Nos.2023JJ30021 and 2023JJ50077).
文摘The introduction of wireless capsule endoscopy has brought a revolutionary change in the diagnostic procedures for gastrointestinal disorders.Biopsy,an essential procedure for disease diagnosis,has been integrated into robotic capsule endoscopy to augment diagnostic capabilities.In this study,we propose a magnetically driven biopsy robot based on a Kresling origami.Considering the bistable properties of Krelsing origami and the elasticity of the creases,a foldable structure of the robot with constant force characteristics is designed.The folding motion of the structure is used to deploy the needle into the target tissue.The robot is capable of performing rolling motion under the control of an external magnetic drive system,and a fine needle biopsy technique is used to collect deep tissue samples.We also conduct in vitro rolling experiments and sampling experiments on apple tissues and pork tissues,which verify the performance of the robot.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(22168032)the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2023YFC3904302,2023YFB4103500)the Key Projects of Ning Dong Energy and Chemical Industry Base(2023NDKJXMLX022).
文摘A new adsorbent was successfully prepared by hydrothermal treatment and chemical activation through coal gasification fine slag(CGFS)and blue algae(BA)as raw materials and used for CO_(2)capture.The CO_(2)chemisorption capacity of the adsorbent was further enhanced by taking advantage of the nitrogenous bases contained in the BA.In the hydrothermal process,the addition of BA significantly increased the content of pyrrole nitrogen in the adsorbent.In the activation process,pyrrole nitrogen gradually changed into pyridine nitrogen and graphite nitrogen.Increased BA addition result in a higher specific surface area and microporosity of the adsorbent.The CO_(2)adsorption performance test proved that the CGFS-50%-CA sample has the strongest CO_(2)adsorption capacity at low temperature,up to 15.59 cm^(3)/g,which is mainly through physical adsorption,and the CGFS-10%-CA sample has the strongest CO_(2)adsorption capacity at high temperature,up to 7.31 cm^(3)/g,which is mainly through chemical adsorption.CO_(2)uptake of the CGFS-10%-CA sample was well maintained after 10 cycles,with regeneration efficiencies above 99%.The results indicate that the novel adsorbents with coexistence of physical and chemical adsorption have great potential for CO_(2)adsorption applications.
文摘Hanyu Xu 1,Xuedan Song 1,*,Qing Zhang 1,Chang Yu 1,Jieshan Qiu 1,2,*1 Liaoning Key Lab for Energy Materials and Chemical Engineering,State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals,School of Chemical Engineering,Dalian University of Technology,Dalian 116024,Liaoning Province,China.
基金supported by the Key Technologies R&D Program of China (No.2013BAE03B01)
文摘Lithium aluminosilicate(LAS) glass-ceramics with a few gas bubbles were prepared when SnO2, V2O5 and CeO2 were used as fining agents. The effect of the complex fining agent on the crystallization, phase compositions and microstructure of LAS glass–ceramics was investigated by differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The results show that the introduction of fining agents promotes the crystallization at a lower temperature and has little effect on the compositions of main crystalline phase and microstructure when the crystalline phase remains β-quartz. The special colors of LAS glass-ceramics can be obtained by controlling the crystallization temperature and the amounts of V2O5 and CeO2. The complex fining agent is an environmentally friendly alternative to toxic As2O3 and can be also used as a colorant for colored LAS glass-ceramics.
文摘Fine particulate matter(particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5μm or less;PM2.5)causes millions of premature deaths globally1,but not all particles are equally harmful2-4.Current air-pollution control strategies,prioritizing PM2.5 mass reduction,have provided considerable health benefits but further refinements based on differences in the toxicity of various emission sources may provide greater benefits5-7.Here we integrated field measurements with air-quality modelling to assess the unequal toxicities of PM2.5 from various anthropogenic sources.
基金supported by the National Special Project for Science and Technology on Water Pollution Control and Management(No.2017ZX07102-003)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities,and the Research Funds of Renmin University of China(No.2020030257).
文摘This study embarks on an explorative investigation into the effects of typical concentrations and varying particle sizes of fine grits(FG,the involatile portion of suspended solids)and fine debris(FD,the volatile yet unbiodegradable fraction of suspended solids)within the influent on themixed liquor volatile suspended solids(MLVSS)/mixed liquor suspended solids(MLSS)ratio of an activated sludge system.Through meticulous experimentation,it was discerned that the addition of FG or FD,the particle size of FG,and the concentration of FD bore no substantial impact on the pollutant removal efficiency(denoted by the removal rate of COD and ammonia nitrogen)under constant operational conditions.However,a notable decrease in the MLVSS/MLSS ratio was observed with a typical FG concentration of 20 mg/L,with smaller FG particle sizes exacerbating this reduction.Additionally,variations in FD concentrations influenced both MLSS andMLVSS/MLSS ratios;a higher FD concentration led to an increased MLSS and a reduced MLVSS/MLSS ratio,indicating FD accumulation in the system.A predictive model for MLVSS/MLSS was constructed based on quality balance calculations,offering a tool for foreseeing the MLVSS/MLSS ratio under stable long-term influent conditions of FG and FD.This model,validated using data from the BXH wastewater treatment plant(WWTP),showcased remarkable accuracy.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32372833 and 32202652)the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program in the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences(ASTIP-IAS03 and CAASZDRW202102)+1 种基金the Program of National Beef Cattle and Yak Industrial Technology System,China(CARS-37)the Science and Technology Project of Inner Mongolia Autonomus Region,China(2020GG0210)。
文摘Cattle carcass traits are economically important in the beef industry.In the present study,we identified 184 significant genes and 822 alternative genes for 7 carcass traits using genome-wide association studies(GWAS)in 1,566 Huaxi beef cattle.We then identified 5,860 unique cis-genes and 734 trans-genes in 227 longissimus dorsi muscle(LDM)samples to better understand the genetic regulation of gene expression.Our integration study of the GWAS and cis-eQTL analysis detected 13 variants regulating 12 identical genes,in which one variant was also detected in fine-mapping analysis.Moreover,using a transcriptome-wide association study(TWAS),we identified 4 genes(TTC30B,HMGA1,PRKD3 and FXN)that were significantly related to carcass chest depth(CCD),carcass length(CL),carcass weight(CW)and dressing percentage(DP).This study identified variants and genes that may be useful for understanding the molecular mechanism of carcass traits in beef cattle.
文摘Rubbery waste at the end of the cycle often constitutes a threat for the environment because of their encumbrance and low biodeterioration.The purpose of the research presented is to develop the rubber fine powder as a pavement.It is interested primarily in the behavior of two types of bitumen 40/50 modified by the addition of two varieties of rubber fine powders of different grading,resulting from the crushing of the rubbery products intended for the clothes industry of soles of shoes.The objective of the experimentation is to study the influence of the added polymer on the physical properties of the ordinary road bitumen with the incorporation of the fine powder.The experimental approach is carried out using the two tests of characterization of the bitumen i.e.the softening point test and the penetration test which remain the most used to define and classify the road bitumen.It will be noted however,that the experimental investigation which is based on several tests according to the type and the content of fine powders,leads on a whole of interesting correlations.
基金financially supported by the grants from the earmarked fund for Xinjiang Agriculture Research System,China(XJARS-06)the Key Research and Development Task Special Project of Xinjiang,China(2022B02002-3)+1 种基金the Tianshan Talent Training Program,China(2023TSYCLJ0015)the Key Research and Development Program of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,China(2023B02017).
文摘Melon is a globally cultivated horticultural crop with a predominantly hybrid commercial seed market in China.Seedling morphology,particularly hypocotyl color,is a valuable trait for rapid F1 hybrid seed purity assessment.While green hypocotyls are common,white hypocotyls are rare in melon germplasm.This study identified a mutant with white hypocotyl but green leaves from the heavy ion beam mutant library.Genetic analysis revealed that a single recessive gene controlled the white hypocotyl,designated CmGhc1.A single-base deletion in the fifth exon of CmGhc1 led to a truncated CmGhc1 lacking the HTH-MYB DNA binding domain,likely affecting its transcriptional activity.CmGhc1 was localized in the nucleus,and yeast two-hybrid analysis and a dual-LUC assay demonstrated it as a transcription repressor.Furthermore,a KASP marker(hc1)was developed and verified as a functional marker for breeding white hypocotyl germplasms in melon.RNA-seq data revealed that CmGhc1 significantly affected the transcription of genes related to chlorophyll metabolism and photosynthesis in hypocotyl.In summary,these findings contribute to our understanding of chloroplast biogenesis and provide a valuable tool for melon breeding.
基金supported by the Key Research and Development Program of China(2022YFD1200400)National Natural Science Foundation of China(32472041)+2 种基金the Project of the Development for High-quality Seed Industry of Hubei Province(HBZY2023B003)Key Research and Development Program of Hubei Province(2021BBA077)Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences(2024-2060299-089-031)。
文摘Peanut is a globally significant oil crop and economic resource,notable for its kernel containing over 50%oil content.White testa peanuts are highly valued for their superior nutritional profile,minimal pigmentation,and superior oil clarity.Identification of genes controlling white testa color is crucial for advancing breeding programs and understanding the genetic mechanisms involved.A genetic mapping study was performed in peanut to identify genes controlling white testa color,a trait associated with desirable end-use quality traits in this oilseed crop.In an F_(2)population generated from a cross of a white-testa with a pink-testa cultivar,two recessive quantitative-trait loci controlling white testa were identified and finemapped to A02 and B02 chromosomes.Two homologous genes,Arahy.MP3D3D and Arahy.26781N,encoding bHLH transcriptional factors,were identified as candidates for the two loci.Reduced expression of these two genes likely suppresses anthocyanin biosynthesis.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41931294)the National Natural Science Foundation of China-Yunnan Joint Fund(U1502232,U1033601)。
文摘Fine debris is an important component of natural debris flows.Previous studies focused primarily on the clay minerals found in the fines,and non-clay minerals were often neglected.The effects of mineralogy of fines on debris-mass slurrying and flow behaviors of the resultant slurries are examined herein.The fines(≤0.04 mm)in the<5 mm fraction of the Dongyuege Creek debris-flow deposit is replaced with five other mineral powders with the same maximum particle size.Four types of separate and sequential experiments related to debris slurrying and slurry behaviors are carried out with the prepared clastic materials.The obtained slurrying index ranging from 0.08 to 0.18 shows that non-clay minerals also can function as the fine fractions of debris-flow materials,so long as the requirement of grain size distribution is met.Equidimensional,non-clay minerals making up fines of debris flows can increase the upper solid concentration limits of slurrying(with a maximum of 0.692)and peak values of relative excess water pressure(measured maximum mean peak value is 0.99),leading to higher momentum and higher competence,and thereby more destructive catastrophe.The sediments with platy non-clay mineral-dominated fines have potential for mobilizing into small-to medium-size debris flows with a relatively small competence.Clay minerals in the fines may indeed enhance the liquefaction potential of debris masses by expanding the difference between upper and lower solid concentration limits of slurrying(0.413 and 0.238,respectively,for pure kaolinite),but they significantly suppress the momentum,competence,and destructive power of potential debris flows by lowering upper solid concentration limit of slurrying of debris masses.Alpine catchments rich in non-clay minerals,notably those releasing dolomite into loose sediments,may be more prone to threatening and destructive debris flows.The basin producing clay minerals should be more susceptible to lowmagnitude/high-frequency debris flows with less devastating consequences.
基金supported by Distinguished Professor(Tracking Plan)of Oriental Scholars of Shanghai Universities(Grant No.GZ2020013)National 111 Project(The Program of Introducing Talents of Discipline to University)(Grant No.Dl7002)+1 种基金Independent Research Project of State Key Laboratory of Advanced Special Steel Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Ferrometallurgy and Shanghai University(Grant No.SKLASS 2022-Z011)Additionally,the authors are appreciative of the funding from the Academy of Finland with Grant No.349833.
文摘The mineral composition of the sinter affects the quality of cold-bonded briquettes(CBB),which are prepared from returned sinter fines and serve as a cleaner blast furnace charge.Pulverization rate,compressive strength,reduction disintegration index(RDI)and compressive strength after reduction experiment were tested to analyze the experimental parameters of CBB under the influence of different basicities and sintering time.The results show that when the basicity of CBB is increased from 0.5 to 1.5,the pulverization rate increases,and performance indexes such as compressive strength,RDI,and compressive strength exhibit a decreasing trend.When the basicity is increased from 1.5 to 3.0,all the aforementioned performance indexes are improved.When the sintering time is extended from 0 to 8 h,the properties mentioned above are improved.The results of X-ray diffraction,microstructure,and thermodynamic calculations confirm that the hematite in the mineral composition of CBB tends to convert into calcium ferrite,which leads to the increased compressive strength of CBB.The reasonable basicity and sintering time during sinter preparation not only form the desired mineral composition but also improve the properties of the CBB.
基金supported by the China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA(CARS-04-PS12)the Research and Development Program in the Key-Areas of Guangdong Province,China(2020B020220008)the Guangdong Agricultural Research System,China(2023KJ136-03).
文摘Soybean seed isoflavones are a type of secondary metabolites that can provide health and nutrition benefits for humans. In our previous study, a stable quantitative trait locus(QTL) qIF05-1 controlling the seed isoflavone content in soybean was detected on chromosome(Chr.) 05 in a recombinant inbred line(RIL) population from a cross of Huachun 2×Wayao. In this study, the parental lines were re-sequenced using the Illumina Solexa System with deep coverage. A total of 63,099 polymorphic long insertions and deletions(InDels)(≥15 bp)were identified between the parents Huachun 2 and Wayao. The InDels were unevenly distributed on 20chromosomes of soybean, varying from 1,826 in Chr. 12 to 4,544 in Chr. 18. A total of 10,002 long InDels(15.85% of total) were located in genic regions, including 1,139 large-effect long InDels which resulted in truncated or elongated protein sequences. In the qIF05-1 region, 68 long InDels were detected between the two parents. Using a progeny recombination experiment and genotype analysis, the qIF05-1 locus was mapped into a 102.2 kb genomic region, and this region contained 12 genes. By RNA-seq data analysis, genome sequence comparison and functional validation through ectopic expression in Arabidopsis thaliana, Glyma.05G208300(described as GmEGL3), which is a basic helix-loop-helix(bHLH) transcription factor in plants, emerged as the most likely confirmed gene in qIF05-1. These long InDels can be used as a type of complementary genetic method for QTL fine mapping, and they can facilitate genetic studies and molecular-assisted selection breeding in soybean.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52371156).
文摘Although fine equiaxed structure benefits both strength and ductility in titanium alloys,it is often considered incompatible with high toughness,for its insufficient ability to deflect propagating cracks compared to coarse lamellar structure.This work reports an excellent combination of standard Charpy impact toughness(∼100 J)and yield strength(∼820 MPa)in a powder metallurgy titanium alloy with fine equiaxed structure(∼1.5μm),wherein the β matrix exists as equiaxed nodules and fine ligaments for globularization of α grains.The impact curve divided with the“compliance changing rate”(CCR)method indicates that the energy consumed by crack propagation is dominant(∼82%)during the impact process.Fractographic and structural examinations indicate that multiple micro-voids nucleation near boundaries between fine β ligaments and α grains mitigates local stress concentration,and that coordinated deformation between equiaxed β nodules and α grains hinders crack propagation,which together enable the excellent combination of yield strength and impact toughness.Our work provides a new pathway for designing impact-resistant titanium alloys.
基金supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China[62301374]Hubei Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China[2022CFB804]+2 种基金Hubei Provincial Education Research Project[B2022057]the Youths Science Foundation of Wuhan Institute of Technology[K202240]the 15th Graduate Education Innovation Fund of Wuhan Institute of Technology[CX2023295].
文摘This paper aims to develop a nonrigid registration method of preoperative and intraoperative thoracoabdominal CT images in computer-assisted interventional surgeries for accurate tumor localization and tissue visualization enhancement.However,fine structure registration of complex thoracoabdominal organs and large deformation registration caused by respiratory motion is challenging.To deal with this problem,we propose a 3D multi-scale attention VoxelMorph(MAVoxelMorph)registration network.To alleviate the large deformation problem,a multi-scale axial attention mechanism is utilized by using a residual dilated pyramid pooling for multi-scale feature extraction,and position-aware axial attention for long-distance dependencies between pixels capture.To further improve the large deformation and fine structure registration results,a multi-scale context channel attention mechanism is employed utilizing content information via adjacent encoding layers.Our method was evaluated on four public lung datasets(DIR-Lab dataset,Creatis dataset,Learn2Reg dataset,OASIS dataset)and a local dataset.Results proved that the proposed method achieved better registration performance than current state-of-the-art methods,especially in handling the registration of large deformations and fine structures.It also proved to be fast in 3D image registration,using about 1.5 s,and faster than most methods.Qualitative and quantitative assessments proved that the proposed MA-VoxelMorph has the potential to realize precise and fast tumor localization in clinical interventional surgeries.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(52104048,42272198)。
文摘Gas channeling in fractures during CO_(2) injection into the deep coal seam seriously reduces the CO_(2) storage efficiency after the development of coalbed methane.The generation and migration of coal fines causes blockages in the fractures in the stage of drainage and gas production,reducing the gas channeling effect of injected CO_(2) caused by the heterogeneity of the coal seam.To explore the impact of coal fines within coal seam fractures on the efficacy of CO_(2) storage,experiments on the production stage and CO_(2) injection for storage were conducted on coal combinations containing propped fractures,fractures,and matrix.The CO_(2) storage characteristics of coal at the constraint of coal fines,as well as the influence of multiple rounds of intermittent CO_(2) injection and different injection parameters on the CO_(2) storage effect,were analyzed.The research results show that blockage by coal fines increases the resistance to fluid flow in the fractures by 71.2%.The CO_(2) storage capacity and storage potential of coal with coal fines are 6.5 cm^(3)/g and 8.8%higher than those of coal without coal fines,while the CO_(2) storage capacity of fractured coal under the influence of coal fines has the largest increase of 9.4 cm^(3)/g.The CO_(2) storage of coal containing coal fines is significantly higher(6.6%)than that of the coal without coal fines.The CO_(2) storage effect of the coal with coal fines is improved with the increase in injection rate,whereas the CO_(2) storage effect of the coal without coal fines decreases significantly(by 7.8%).Multiple rounds of intermittent injection increases the CO_(2) storage volume of coal by 20.4%(with coal fines)and 17.1%(without coal fines).The presence of coal fines in fractures also slows down the downward trend of CO_(2) storage fraction after multiple rounds of CO_(2) injection.The blockage in fractures significantly increases the CO_(2) injection time and difficulty,but can increase the CO_(2) storage fraction by 4.7%-17.1%,and the storage volume by 1.9%-14%,increasing the feasibility of CO_(2) storage in fractured coal seams that have previously been exploited for methane production.The multiple rounds of intermittent CO_(2) injection and shut-in periods has shown potential for greater CO_(2) storage and injection efficiency.
