Risk management often plays an important role in decision making un-der uncertainty.In quantitative risk management,assessing and optimizing risk metrics requires eficient computing techniques and reliable theoretical...Risk management often plays an important role in decision making un-der uncertainty.In quantitative risk management,assessing and optimizing risk metrics requires eficient computing techniques and reliable theoretical guarantees.In this pa-per,we introduce several topics on quantitative risk management and review some of the recent studies and advancements on the topics.We consider several risk metrics and study decision models that involve the metrics,with a main focus on the related com-puting techniques and theoretical properties.We show that stochastic optimization,as a powerful tool,can be leveraged to effectively address these problems.展开更多
Genome-wide association study（GWAS） can be used to identify genes that increase the risk of psychiatric diseases.However,much of the disease heritability is still unexplained,suggesting that there are genes to be di...Genome-wide association study（GWAS） can be used to identify genes that increase the risk of psychiatric diseases.However,much of the disease heritability is still unexplained,suggesting that there are genes to be discovered.Functional annotation of the genetic variants may increase the power of GWAS to identify disease genes,by providing prior information that can be used in Bayesian analysis or in reducing the number of tests.Expression quantitative trait loci（eQTLs） are genomic loci that regulate gene expression.Genetic mapping of eQTLs can help reveal novel functional effects of thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms（SNPs）.The present review mainly focused on the current knowledge on brain eQTL mapping,and discussed some major methodological issues and their possible solutions.The frequently ignored problems of batch effects,covariates,and multiple testing were emphasized,since they can lead to false positives and false negatives.The future application of eQTL data in GWAS analysis was also discussed.展开更多
Background： The temporal relationship between hepatitis B virus （HBV） mutations and hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） remains unclear. Methods： We conducted a meta-analysis including cohort and nested case-control ...Background： The temporal relationship between hepatitis B virus （HBV） mutations and hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） remains unclear. Methods： We conducted a meta-analysis including cohort and nested case-control studies to prospectively examine the HCC risk associated with common variants of HBV in the PreS, Enhancer Ⅱ, basal core promoter （BCP） and precore regions. Pertinent studies were identified by searching PubMed, Web of Science and the Chinese Biological Medicine databases through to November 2014. Study-specific risk estimates were combined using fixed or random effects models depending on whether significant heterogeneity was detected. Results： Twenty prospective studies were identified, which included 8 cohort and 12 nested case-control studies. There was an increased risk of HCC associated with any PreS mutations with a pooled relative risk （RR） of 3.82 [95% confidence interval （CI）： 2.59-5.61]. The pooled-RR for PreS deletion was 3.98 （95% CI： 2.28-6.95）, which was higher than that of PreS2 start codon mutation （pooled-RR=2.63, 95% CI： 1.30-5.34）. C1653T in Enhancer Ⅱ was significantly associated with HCC risk （pooled-RR=l.83; 95% CI： 1.21-2.76）. For mutations in BCP, statistically significant pooled-RRs of HCC were obtained for T1753V （pooled- RR=2.09; 95% CI： 1.49-2.94） and AI762T/G1764A double mutations （pooled-RR=3.11; 95% CI： 2.08- 4.64）. No statistically significant association with HCC risk was observed for G1896A in the precore region （pooled-RR=0.77; 95% CI： 0.47-1.26）. Conclusions： This study demonstrated that PreS mutations, C1653T, T1753V, and A1762T/G1764A, were associated with an increased risk of HCC. Clinical practices concerning the HCC risk prediction and diagnosis may wish to focus on patients with these mutations.展开更多
Real-Lime fluorescent quantitative PCR is a method for quantitative analysis of gene expression developed in recent years, which has been widely used in various fields such as basic scientific research, clinical diagn...Real-Lime fluorescent quantitative PCR is a method for quantitative analysis of gene expression developed in recent years, which has been widely used in various fields such as basic scientific research, clinical diagnosis, disease study, drug research and development since its appearance. It starts relatively late in study on plants, but has already been used for analysis of gene expression in plants and gene identification of exogenous genes. The principles or advantages and dis- advantages of real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR, or its potential problems and condition optimizations in tests were introduced in this study, and then the appli- cation and prospect of real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR in study on plants were also been discussed.展开更多
AIM： To identify and understand the regular distribution pattern for Salmonella enteritidis （S. enteritidis） in the internal organs of mice after an oral challenge over a 3 wk period. METHODS： Assays based on the ...AIM： To identify and understand the regular distribution pattern for Salmonella enteritidis （S. enteritidis） in the internal organs of mice after an oral challenge over a 3 wk period. METHODS： Assays based on the serovar-specific DNA sequence of S. enteritidis from GenBank, and a serovar-specific real-time, fluorescence-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction （FQ-PCR） were developed for the detection of S. enteritidis. We used this assay to detect genomic DNA of S. enteritidis in the blood and the internal organs, including heart, liver, spleen, kidney, pancreas, and gallbladder, from mice after oral challenge at different time points respectively.RESULTS： The results showed that the spleen was positive at 12 h post inoculation （PI）, and the blood was at 14 h PI. The organism was detected in the liver and heart at 16 h PI, the pancreas was positive at 20 h PI, and the final organs to show positive results were the kidney and gallbladder at 22 h PI. The copy number of S. enteritidis DNA in each tissue reached a peak at 24-36 h PI, with the liver and spleen containing high concentrations of S. enteritidis, whereas the blood, heart, kidney, pancreas, and gallbladder had low concentrations. S. enteritidis populations began to decrease and were not detectable at 3 d PI, but were still present up to 12 d PI in the gallbladder, 2 wk for the liver, and 3 wk for the spleen without causing apparent symptoms.CONCLUSION： The results provided significant data for understanding the life cycle of S. enteritidis in the internal organs, and showed that the liver and spleen may be the primary sites for setting itself up as a commensa over a long time after oral challenge. Interestingly, it may be the first time reported that the gallbladder is a site of carriage for S. enteritidis over a 12 d period. This study will help to understand the mechanisms of action of S. enteriCdis infection in vivo.展开更多
The antioxidant and gap junctional communication（GJC） activities of carotenoids are known to be the two main anticancer mechanisms.Quantitative structure-activity relationship（QSAR） models of the two activities we...The antioxidant and gap junctional communication（GJC） activities of carotenoids are known to be the two main anticancer mechanisms.Quantitative structure-activity relationship（QSAR） models of the two activities were developed using stepwise regression and multilayer perceptron neural network based on the calculated descriptors of quantum chemistry.The results showed that the significant molecular descriptor related to the antioxidant activity of carotenoids was the HOMO-LUMO energy gap（EHL） and the molecular descriptor related to the GJC was the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy（ELUMO）.The two models of antioxidant activity both showed good predictive power,but the predictive power of the neural network QSAR model of antioxidant activity was better.In addition,the two GJC models have similar,moderate predictive power.The possible mechanisms of antioxidant activity and GJC of carotenoids were discussed.展开更多
6 Atomic fragment types of organic compound have been defined, and the multilevel atom-pair frequency matrix has been constructed according to the occurrence number in pairs of atomic fragments with different bond len...6 Atomic fragment types of organic compound have been defined, and the multilevel atom-pair frequency matrix has been constructed according to the occurrence number in pairs of atomic fragments with different bond lengths in the molecule. On the basis of them, a novel molecular coding technique： characteristic atom-pair holographic code （CAHC）, is obtained. To some extent, this method exhibits a large number of benefits at the same time. For example, it can calculate 2D molecular topological descriptor easily, operate without difficulty and possess definite physicochemical meaning of 3D molecular structural characterization methods, and may fetch the complicated information of molecule, etc. Therefore, it is appropriate for the study on quantitative structure-property/activity relationship （QSPR/QSAR） of medicines and biological molecules. We attempt in this paper to utilize the method of CAHC to the quantitative prediction of reversed-phase liquid chromatogram （RPLC） retention data of 33 purine derivatives and 24 steroids. The fitting multiple correlation coefficient R2, cross-validated multiple correlation coefficient Q2 and predicted ability Q^2 pred over test set＇s samples of obtained partial least-square （PLS） regression model are respectively 0.990, 0.893 and 0.977, 0.897, 0.941.展开更多
The DNA content and morphometric features of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver cell dysplasia (LCD), including nuclear area, nuclear perimeter, nuclear maximum diameter and nuclear circle diameter, were quantit...The DNA content and morphometric features of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver cell dysplasia (LCD), including nuclear area, nuclear perimeter, nuclear maximum diameter and nuclear circle diameter, were quantitatively determined by means of image analysis technology. The results showed that in comparison with normal hepatocytes, LCD had a markedly increased DNA content and nuclear morphometric parameters, but the values were lower than those for HCC. LCD showed a slight increase in nuclear atypia represented by the nuclear irregular index, which was also less than HCC. The findings indicate that LCD may be a precaneerous lesion of HCC, to the cells in an abnormal proliferative state.展开更多
Ciprofioxacin, commonly used in India as an anti-microbial for prolonged use in chronic and non-specific indications, may affect the bioavailability of the drug. The drug prescribed is commonly taken with multivitamin...Ciprofioxacin, commonly used in India as an anti-microbial for prolonged use in chronic and non-specific indications, may affect the bioavailability of the drug. The drug prescribed is commonly taken with multivitamins, calcium and milk. A simple and reliable analytical methodology obtaining a correlation with in vivo urinary excretion studies using UV and HPLC and in vitro dissolution studies （IVIVC） has shown a significant increase in elimination rate of ciprofloxacin co-administered with multivitamins, calcium and milk. Appreciable IVlVC results proved that dissolution studies could serve as an alternative to in vivo bioavailability and also support bio-waivers.展开更多
A novel three-dimensional holographic vector of atomic interaction field（3D-HoVAIF） was used to describe the chemical structures of 23 benzoxazinone derivatives as antithrombotic drugs.Here a quantitative structure ...A novel three-dimensional holographic vector of atomic interaction field（3D-HoVAIF） was used to describe the chemical structures of 23 benzoxazinone derivatives as antithrombotic drugs.Here a quantitative structure activity relationship（QSAR） model was built by partial least-squares（PLS） regression.The estimation stability and prediction ability of the model were strictly analyzed by both internal and external validations.The correlation coefficients of established PLS model,leave-one-out（LOO） cross-validation,and predicted values versus experimental ones of external samples were R2=0.899,RCV2=0.854 and Qext2=0.868,respectively.These values indicated that the built PLS model had both favorable estimation stability and good prediction capabilities.Furthermore,the satisfactory results showed that 3D-HoVAIF could preferably express the information related to the biological activity of benzoxazinone derivatives.展开更多
Since 1980s,articles and works about vocabulary test have piled up one after another,but the methods of testing vocabulary effectively are of widespread controversy.There are two traditional methods in testing vocabul...Since 1980s,articles and works about vocabulary test have piled up one after another,but the methods of testing vocabulary effectively are of widespread controversy.There are two traditional methods in testing vocabulary:quantitative method and qualitative method.While quantitative research sets out from receptive vocabulary size and productive vocabulary size,qualitative research gives priorities to testing vocabulary knowledge in depth.After thirty years of study,achievements have been made in three aspects:the comparative maturity of quantitative research;the steady development of qualitative research and the growing popularity of comprehensive research.Despite the fact that current studies are limited in certain aspects,the trend in vocabulary testing is that context-dependent test are gradually taking place of context-independent test and corpus is widely applied in vocabulary test.展开更多
Pythium stalk rot(PSR)is a destructive disease of maize,severely affecting yield and grain quality.The identification of quantitative trait loci(QTL)or genes for resistance to PSR forms the basis of diseaseresistant h...Pythium stalk rot(PSR)is a destructive disease of maize,severely affecting yield and grain quality.The identification of quantitative trait loci(QTL)or genes for resistance to PSR forms the basis of diseaseresistant hybrids breeding.In this study,a major QTL,Resistance to Pythium stalk rot 1(RPSR1),was identified from a set of recombinant inbred lines derived from MS71 and POP.Using a recombinant progeny testing strategy,RPSR1 was fine-mapped in a 472 kb interval.Through candidate gene expression,gene knock-down and knock-out studies,a leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase gene,PEP RECEPTOR 2(ZmPEPR2),was assigned as a PSR resistance gene.These results provide insights into the genetic architecture of resistance to PSR in maize,which should facilitate breeding maize for resistance to stalk rot.展开更多
All-vanadium flow batteries(VFBs)are one of the most promising large-scale energy storage technologies.Conducting an operando quantitative analysis of the polarizations in VFBs under different conditions is essential ...All-vanadium flow batteries(VFBs)are one of the most promising large-scale energy storage technologies.Conducting an operando quantitative analysis of the polarizations in VFBs under different conditions is essential for developing high power density batteries.Here,we employ an operando decoupling method to quantitatively analyze the polarizations in each electrochemical and chemical reaction of VFBs under different catalytic conditions.Results show that the reduction reaction of V^(3+)presents the largest activation polarization,while the reduction reaction of VO_(2)^(+)primarily contributes to concentration polarizations due to the formation of the intermediate product V_(2)O_(3)^(3+).Additionally,it is found that the widely used electrode catalytic methods,incorporating oxygen functional groups and electrodepositing Bi,not only enhance the reaction kinetics but also exacerbate concentration polarizations simultaneously,especially during the discharge process.Specifically,in the battery with the high oxygen-containing electrodes,the negative side still accounts for the majority of activation loss(75.3%)at 200 mA cm^(-2),but it comes down to 36,9% after catalyzing the negative reactions with bismuth.This work provides an effective way to probe the limiting steps in flow batteries under various working conditions and offers insights for effectively enhancing battery performance for future developments.展开更多
Bone age assessment(BAA)aims to determine whether a child’s growth and development are normal concerning their chronological age.To predict bone age more accurately based on radiographs,and for the left-hand X-ray im...Bone age assessment(BAA)aims to determine whether a child’s growth and development are normal concerning their chronological age.To predict bone age more accurately based on radiographs,and for the left-hand X-ray images of different races model can have better adaptability,we propose a neural network in parallel with the quantitative features from the left-hand bone measurements for BAA.In this study,a lightweight feature extractor(LFE)is designed to obtain the featuremaps fromradiographs,and amodule called attention erasermodule(AEM)is proposed to capture the fine-grained features.Meanwhile,the dimensional information of the metacarpal parts in the radiographs is measured to enhance the model’s generalization capability across images fromdifferent races.Ourmodel is trained and validated on the RSNA,RHPE,and digital hand atlas datasets,which include images from various racial groups.The model achieves a mean absolute error(MAE)of 4.42 months on the RSNA dataset and 15.98 months on the RHPE dataset.Compared to ResNet50,InceptionV3,and several state-of-the-art methods,our proposed method shows statistically significant improvements(p<0.05),with a reduction in MAE by 0.2±0.02 years across different racial datasets.Furthermore,t-tests on the features also confirm the statistical significance of our approach(p<0.05).展开更多
Supercritical CO_(2)(SC-CO_(2))fracturing stands out a promising waterless stimulation technique in the development of unconventional resources.While numerous studies have delved into the inducedfracture mechanism of ...Supercritical CO_(2)(SC-CO_(2))fracturing stands out a promising waterless stimulation technique in the development of unconventional resources.While numerous studies have delved into the inducedfracture mechanism of SC-CO_(2),the small scale of rock samples and synthetic materials used in many studies have limited a comprehensive understanding of fracture propagation in unconventional formations.In this study,cubic tight sandstone samples with dimensions of 300 mm were employed to conduct SC-CO_(2)fractu ring experiments under true-triaxial stre ss conditions.The spatial morphology and quantitative attributes of fracture induced by water and SC-CO_(2)fracturing were compared,while the impact of in-situ stress on fracture propagation was also investigated.The results indicate that the SCCO_(2)fracturing takes approximately ten times longer than water fracturing.Furthermore,under identical stress condition,the breakdown pressure(BP)for SC-CO_(2)fracturing is nearly 25%lower than that for water fracturing.A quantitative analysis of fracture morphology reveals that water fracturing typically produces relatively simple fracture pattern,with the primary fracture distribution predominantly controlled by bedding planes.In contrast,SC-CO_(2)fracturing results in a more complex fracture morphology.As the differential of horizontal principal stress increases,the BP for SC-CO_(2)fractured rock exhibits a downward trend,and the induced fracture morphology becomes more simplified.Moreover,the presence of abnormal in-situ stress leads to a further increase in the BP for SC-CO_(2)fracturing,simultaneously enhancing the development of a more conductive fracture network.These findings provide critical insights into the efficiency and behavior of SC-CO_(2)fracturing in comparison to traditional water-based fracturing,offering valuable implication for its potential applications in unconventional reservoirs.展开更多
Quantitative detection of trace small-sized nanoplastics(<100 nm)remains a significant challenge in surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS).To tackle this issue,we developed a hydrophobic CuO@Ag nanowire substrate ...Quantitative detection of trace small-sized nanoplastics(<100 nm)remains a significant challenge in surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS).To tackle this issue,we developed a hydrophobic CuO@Ag nanowire substrate and introduced a multiplex-feature analysis strategy based on the coffee ring effect.This substrate not only offers high Raman enhancement but also exhibits a high probability of detection(POD),enabling rapid and accurate identification of 50 nm polystyrene nanoplastics over a broad concentration range(1–10−10 wt%).Importantly,experimental results reveal a strong correlation between the coffee ring formation and the concentration of nanoplastic dispersion.By incorporating Raman signal intensity,coffee ring diameter,and POD as combined features,we established a machine learning-based mapping between nanoplastic concentration and coffee ring characteristics,allowing precise predictions of dispersion concentration.The mean squared error of these predictions is remarkably low,ranging from 0.21 to 0.54,representing a 19 fold improvement in accuracy compared to traditional linear regression-based methods.This strategy effectively integrates SERS with wettability modification techniques,ensuring high sensitivity and fingerprinting capabilities,while addressing the limitations of Raman signal intensity in accurately reflecting concentration changes at ultra-low levels,providing a new idea for precise SERS measurements of nanoplastics.展开更多
BACKGROUND Gastrointestinal endoscopy has been widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.A great many of studies on gastrointestinal endoscopy have been done.AIM To analyze the characteri...BACKGROUND Gastrointestinal endoscopy has been widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.A great many of studies on gastrointestinal endoscopy have been done.AIM To analyze the characteristics of top 100 cited articles on gastrointestinal endoscopy.METHODS A bibliometric analysis was conducted.The publications and their features were extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection,Science Citation Index-Expanded database.Excel,Web of Science database and SPSS software were used to perform the statistical description and analysis.VOSviewer software and Map-Chart were responsible for the visualizations.RESULTS The top 100 cited articles were published between 1976 and 2022.The guidelines(52%)and clinical trials(37%)are the main article types,and average publication year of the guidelines is much later than that of the clinical trials(2015 vs 1998).Among the clinical trials,diagnostic study(27.0%),cohort study(21.6%),case series(13.5%)and cross-sectional study(10.8%)account for a large proportion.Average citations of different study types and designs of the enrolled studies are of no significant differences.Most of the 100 articles were published by European authors and recorded by the endoscopic journals(65%).Top journals in medicine,such as the Lancet,New England Journal of Medicine and JAMA,also reported studies in this field.The hot spots of involved diseases include neoplasm or cancer-related diseases,inflammatory diseases,obstructive diseases,gastrointestinal hemorrhage and ulcer.Endoscopic surgery,endoscopic therapy and stent placement are frequently studied.CONCLUSION Our research contributes to delineating the field and identifying the characteristics of the most highly cited articles.It is noteworthy that there is a significantly smaller number of clinical trials included compared to guidelines,indicating potential areas for future high-quality clinical trials.展开更多
Joanna Page is Director of CRASSH and Professor of Latin American Studies at the University of Cambridge.Her research interests are generally connected to the relationship between science and culture in Latin America....Joanna Page is Director of CRASSH and Professor of Latin American Studies at the University of Cambridge.Her research interests are generally connected to the relationship between science and culture in Latin America.She has also worked on questions of memory,modernity,capitalism,posthumanism,new materialism,decoloniality,ecology,and environmental thought.This interview covers three main aspects:the characteristics of science fiction texts in Latin America,the interdisciplinary research models at the intersection of science,literature,and art,and Latin America as a field of regional studies.Professor Page starts with Argentine science fiction novels and expands the discussion to include graphic novels in Latin America,outlining the panorama of science fiction and its indigenous features.The conversation delves into the literary and technological relationships within Latin American science fiction texts.Building upon this foundation,this interview explores the interdisciplinary research paradigms concerning the relationship between science and culture,aiming to contribute to regional studies by exploring new pathways for interdisciplinary,cross-regional,and trans-media research.展开更多
Mg-4.8Zn-0.8Y,Mg-18Zn-3Y,Mg-15Zn-5Y,Mg-30Zn-5Y and Mg-42Zn-7Y(wt%)alloys containing icosahedral quasicrystalline phases were prepared using the ordinary solidification method.The impact of Mg matrix porosity on the te...Mg-4.8Zn-0.8Y,Mg-18Zn-3Y,Mg-15Zn-5Y,Mg-30Zn-5Y and Mg-42Zn-7Y(wt%)alloys containing icosahedral quasicrystalline phases were prepared using the ordinary solidification method.The impact of Mg matrix porosity on the tensile strength and hardness of the alloys was studied.The porosity of the Mg matrix was quantitatively assessed using scanning electron microscope and Image-Pro Plus 6.0 software.Tensile tests were conducted at room temperature.Results show that the maximum tensile strength of the alloy is 175.56 MPa,with a corresponding Mg matrix porosity of 76.74%.Through fitting analysis,it is determined that the maximum tensile strength is achieved when the porosity of the Mg matrix is 64.87%.The microhardness test results indicate a gradual decrease in alloy hardness with increasing the porosity of Mg matrix.This study provides an effective quantitative analysis method for enhancing the mechanical properties of magnesium alloys.展开更多
This work established a quantitative method to access the shear stability of aerobic granular sludge(AGS)and validated its feasibility by using the mature AGS from a pilot-scale(50 tons/day)membrane bioreactor(MBR)for...This work established a quantitative method to access the shear stability of aerobic granular sludge(AGS)and validated its feasibility by using the mature AGS from a pilot-scale(50 tons/day)membrane bioreactor(MBR)for treating real municipal wastewater.The results showed that the changing rate( S)of the peak area(S)of granule size distribution(GSD)exhibited an exponential relationship(R^(2)≥0.76)with the shear time(y=a−b·c^(x)),which was a suitable indicative index to reflect the shear stability of different AGS samples.The limiting granule size(LGS)was defined and proposed to characterize the equilibrium size for AGS after being sheared for a period of time,whose value in terms of Dv50 showed high correlation(R^(2)=0.92)with the parameter a.The free Ca^(2+)(28.44-34.21 mg/L)in the influent specifically interacted with polysaccharides(PS)in the granule’s extracellular polymeric substance(EPS)as a nucleation site,thereby inducing the formation of Ca precipitation to enhance its Young’s modulus,while Ca^(2+) primarily interacted with PS in soluble metabolic product(SMP)during the initial granulation process.Furthermore,the Young’s modulus significantly affected the parameter a related to shear stability(R^(2)=0.99).Since the parameter a was more closely related(R^(2)=1.00)to S than that of the parameter b or c,the excellent correlation(R^(2)=0.99)between the parameter a and the wet density further verified the feasibility of this method.展开更多
文摘Risk management often plays an important role in decision making un-der uncertainty.In quantitative risk management,assessing and optimizing risk metrics requires eficient computing techniques and reliable theoretical guarantees.In this pa-per,we introduce several topics on quantitative risk management and review some of the recent studies and advancements on the topics.We consider several risk metrics and study decision models that involve the metrics,with a main focus on the related com-puting techniques and theoretical properties.We show that stochastic optimization,as a powerful tool,can be leveraged to effectively address these problems.
文摘Genome-wide association study（GWAS） can be used to identify genes that increase the risk of psychiatric diseases.However,much of the disease heritability is still unexplained,suggesting that there are genes to be discovered.Functional annotation of the genetic variants may increase the power of GWAS to identify disease genes,by providing prior information that can be used in Bayesian analysis or in reducing the number of tests.Expression quantitative trait loci（eQTLs） are genomic loci that regulate gene expression.Genetic mapping of eQTLs can help reveal novel functional effects of thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms（SNPs）.The present review mainly focused on the current knowledge on brain eQTL mapping,and discussed some major methodological issues and their possible solutions.The frequently ignored problems of batch effects,covariates,and multiple testing were emphasized,since they can lead to false positives and false negatives.The future application of eQTL data in GWAS analysis was also discussed.
基金supported by the fund of the National Key Basic Research Program "973 project" (2015CB554000)grants from the State Key Project Specialized for Infectious Diseases of China(2008ZX10002015 and 2012ZX10002008-002)
文摘Background： The temporal relationship between hepatitis B virus （HBV） mutations and hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） remains unclear. Methods： We conducted a meta-analysis including cohort and nested case-control studies to prospectively examine the HCC risk associated with common variants of HBV in the PreS, Enhancer Ⅱ, basal core promoter （BCP） and precore regions. Pertinent studies were identified by searching PubMed, Web of Science and the Chinese Biological Medicine databases through to November 2014. Study-specific risk estimates were combined using fixed or random effects models depending on whether significant heterogeneity was detected. Results： Twenty prospective studies were identified, which included 8 cohort and 12 nested case-control studies. There was an increased risk of HCC associated with any PreS mutations with a pooled relative risk （RR） of 3.82 [95% confidence interval （CI）： 2.59-5.61]. The pooled-RR for PreS deletion was 3.98 （95% CI： 2.28-6.95）, which was higher than that of PreS2 start codon mutation （pooled-RR=2.63, 95% CI： 1.30-5.34）. C1653T in Enhancer Ⅱ was significantly associated with HCC risk （pooled-RR=l.83; 95% CI： 1.21-2.76）. For mutations in BCP, statistically significant pooled-RRs of HCC were obtained for T1753V （pooled- RR=2.09; 95% CI： 1.49-2.94） and AI762T/G1764A double mutations （pooled-RR=3.11; 95% CI： 2.08- 4.64）. No statistically significant association with HCC risk was observed for G1896A in the precore region （pooled-RR=0.77; 95% CI： 0.47-1.26）. Conclusions： This study demonstrated that PreS mutations, C1653T, T1753V, and A1762T/G1764A, were associated with an increased risk of HCC. Clinical practices concerning the HCC risk prediction and diagnosis may wish to focus on patients with these mutations.
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China ( 30800885,30871726)
文摘Real-Lime fluorescent quantitative PCR is a method for quantitative analysis of gene expression developed in recent years, which has been widely used in various fields such as basic scientific research, clinical diagnosis, disease study, drug research and development since its appearance. It starts relatively late in study on plants, but has already been used for analysis of gene expression in plants and gene identification of exogenous genes. The principles or advantages and dis- advantages of real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR, or its potential problems and condition optimizations in tests were introduced in this study, and then the appli- cation and prospect of real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR in study on plants were also been discussed.
基金The National Key Technology R&D Program of China, No. 2004BA901A03National Scientific and Technical Support Program, No. 2007Z06-017+3 种基金The Cultivation Fund of the Key Scientific and Technical Innovation Project & Ministry of Education of China, No. 706050Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University, No. NCET-04-0906/NCET-06-0818Sichuan Province Basic Research Program, No. 04JY0290061/07JY029-017Program for Key DisciplinesConstruction of Sichuan Province No. SZD0418
文摘AIM： To identify and understand the regular distribution pattern for Salmonella enteritidis （S. enteritidis） in the internal organs of mice after an oral challenge over a 3 wk period. METHODS： Assays based on the serovar-specific DNA sequence of S. enteritidis from GenBank, and a serovar-specific real-time, fluorescence-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction （FQ-PCR） were developed for the detection of S. enteritidis. We used this assay to detect genomic DNA of S. enteritidis in the blood and the internal organs, including heart, liver, spleen, kidney, pancreas, and gallbladder, from mice after oral challenge at different time points respectively.RESULTS： The results showed that the spleen was positive at 12 h post inoculation （PI）, and the blood was at 14 h PI. The organism was detected in the liver and heart at 16 h PI, the pancreas was positive at 20 h PI, and the final organs to show positive results were the kidney and gallbladder at 22 h PI. The copy number of S. enteritidis DNA in each tissue reached a peak at 24-36 h PI, with the liver and spleen containing high concentrations of S. enteritidis, whereas the blood, heart, kidney, pancreas, and gallbladder had low concentrations. S. enteritidis populations began to decrease and were not detectable at 3 d PI, but were still present up to 12 d PI in the gallbladder, 2 wk for the liver, and 3 wk for the spleen without causing apparent symptoms.CONCLUSION： The results provided significant data for understanding the life cycle of S. enteritidis in the internal organs, and showed that the liver and spleen may be the primary sites for setting itself up as a commensa over a long time after oral challenge. Interestingly, it may be the first time reported that the gallbladder is a site of carriage for S. enteritidis over a 12 d period. This study will help to understand the mechanisms of action of S. enteriCdis infection in vivo.
基金Supported by the Chinese National Key Technologies R&D Program of 11th Five-year Plan (2006BAD27B06)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities and Education Foundation of Innovative Engineering Key Project of Education Department (707034)
文摘The antioxidant and gap junctional communication（GJC） activities of carotenoids are known to be the two main anticancer mechanisms.Quantitative structure-activity relationship（QSAR） models of the two activities were developed using stepwise regression and multilayer perceptron neural network based on the calculated descriptors of quantum chemistry.The results showed that the significant molecular descriptor related to the antioxidant activity of carotenoids was the HOMO-LUMO energy gap（EHL） and the molecular descriptor related to the GJC was the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy（ELUMO）.The two models of antioxidant activity both showed good predictive power,but the predictive power of the neural network QSAR model of antioxidant activity was better.In addition,the two GJC models have similar,moderate predictive power.The possible mechanisms of antioxidant activity and GJC of carotenoids were discussed.
基金This work was supported by the State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics Foundation (No. 05-12-1), Fok-Yingtung Educational Foundation (No. 98-7-6) and Chongqing University Innovation Foundation of Science and Technology ( No. 06-1-1)
文摘6 Atomic fragment types of organic compound have been defined, and the multilevel atom-pair frequency matrix has been constructed according to the occurrence number in pairs of atomic fragments with different bond lengths in the molecule. On the basis of them, a novel molecular coding technique： characteristic atom-pair holographic code （CAHC）, is obtained. To some extent, this method exhibits a large number of benefits at the same time. For example, it can calculate 2D molecular topological descriptor easily, operate without difficulty and possess definite physicochemical meaning of 3D molecular structural characterization methods, and may fetch the complicated information of molecule, etc. Therefore, it is appropriate for the study on quantitative structure-property/activity relationship （QSPR/QSAR） of medicines and biological molecules. We attempt in this paper to utilize the method of CAHC to the quantitative prediction of reversed-phase liquid chromatogram （RPLC） retention data of 33 purine derivatives and 24 steroids. The fitting multiple correlation coefficient R2, cross-validated multiple correlation coefficient Q2 and predicted ability Q^2 pred over test set＇s samples of obtained partial least-square （PLS） regression model are respectively 0.990, 0.893 and 0.977, 0.897, 0.941.
文摘The DNA content and morphometric features of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver cell dysplasia (LCD), including nuclear area, nuclear perimeter, nuclear maximum diameter and nuclear circle diameter, were quantitatively determined by means of image analysis technology. The results showed that in comparison with normal hepatocytes, LCD had a markedly increased DNA content and nuclear morphometric parameters, but the values were lower than those for HCC. LCD showed a slight increase in nuclear atypia represented by the nuclear irregular index, which was also less than HCC. The findings indicate that LCD may be a precaneerous lesion of HCC, to the cells in an abnormal proliferative state.
文摘Ciprofioxacin, commonly used in India as an anti-microbial for prolonged use in chronic and non-specific indications, may affect the bioavailability of the drug. The drug prescribed is commonly taken with multivitamins, calcium and milk. A simple and reliable analytical methodology obtaining a correlation with in vivo urinary excretion studies using UV and HPLC and in vitro dissolution studies （IVIVC） has shown a significant increase in elimination rate of ciprofloxacin co-administered with multivitamins, calcium and milk. Appreciable IVlVC results proved that dissolution studies could serve as an alternative to in vivo bioavailability and also support bio-waivers.
基金supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province (2009JQ2005)Foundation of Educational Commission of Shaanxi Province (09JK358) Graduate Innovation Fund of Shaanxi University of Science and Technology
文摘A novel three-dimensional holographic vector of atomic interaction field（3D-HoVAIF） was used to describe the chemical structures of 23 benzoxazinone derivatives as antithrombotic drugs.Here a quantitative structure activity relationship（QSAR） model was built by partial least-squares（PLS） regression.The estimation stability and prediction ability of the model were strictly analyzed by both internal and external validations.The correlation coefficients of established PLS model,leave-one-out（LOO） cross-validation,and predicted values versus experimental ones of external samples were R2=0.899,RCV2=0.854 and Qext2=0.868,respectively.These values indicated that the built PLS model had both favorable estimation stability and good prediction capabilities.Furthermore,the satisfactory results showed that 3D-HoVAIF could preferably express the information related to the biological activity of benzoxazinone derivatives.
文摘Since 1980s,articles and works about vocabulary test have piled up one after another,but the methods of testing vocabulary effectively are of widespread controversy.There are two traditional methods in testing vocabulary:quantitative method and qualitative method.While quantitative research sets out from receptive vocabulary size and productive vocabulary size,qualitative research gives priorities to testing vocabulary knowledge in depth.After thirty years of study,achievements have been made in three aspects:the comparative maturity of quantitative research;the steady development of qualitative research and the growing popularity of comprehensive research.Despite the fact that current studies are limited in certain aspects,the trend in vocabulary testing is that context-dependent test are gradually taking place of context-independent test and corpus is widely applied in vocabulary test.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(32302371 to Junbin Chen)the National Key Research and Development Program,Ministry of Science and Technology of China(2022YFD1201802 to Wangsheng Zhu)Research Program from State Key Laboratory of Maize Biobreeding(SKLMB2424 to Wangsheng Zhu).
文摘Pythium stalk rot(PSR)is a destructive disease of maize,severely affecting yield and grain quality.The identification of quantitative trait loci(QTL)or genes for resistance to PSR forms the basis of diseaseresistant hybrids breeding.In this study,a major QTL,Resistance to Pythium stalk rot 1(RPSR1),was identified from a set of recombinant inbred lines derived from MS71 and POP.Using a recombinant progeny testing strategy,RPSR1 was fine-mapped in a 472 kb interval.Through candidate gene expression,gene knock-down and knock-out studies,a leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase gene,PEP RECEPTOR 2(ZmPEPR2),was assigned as a PSR resistance gene.These results provide insights into the genetic architecture of resistance to PSR in maize,which should facilitate breeding maize for resistance to stalk rot.
基金supported by the Guangdong Major Project of Basic and Applied Basic Research(2023B0303000002)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52206089)+3 种基金the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation(2024A1515010288,2023B1515120005)the Natural Science Foundation of Shenzhen(JCYJ20230807093315033)the Shenzhen Engineering Research Center,Southern University of Science and Technology(No.XMHT20230208003)high level of special funds(G03034K001)。
文摘All-vanadium flow batteries(VFBs)are one of the most promising large-scale energy storage technologies.Conducting an operando quantitative analysis of the polarizations in VFBs under different conditions is essential for developing high power density batteries.Here,we employ an operando decoupling method to quantitatively analyze the polarizations in each electrochemical and chemical reaction of VFBs under different catalytic conditions.Results show that the reduction reaction of V^(3+)presents the largest activation polarization,while the reduction reaction of VO_(2)^(+)primarily contributes to concentration polarizations due to the formation of the intermediate product V_(2)O_(3)^(3+).Additionally,it is found that the widely used electrode catalytic methods,incorporating oxygen functional groups and electrodepositing Bi,not only enhance the reaction kinetics but also exacerbate concentration polarizations simultaneously,especially during the discharge process.Specifically,in the battery with the high oxygen-containing electrodes,the negative side still accounts for the majority of activation loss(75.3%)at 200 mA cm^(-2),but it comes down to 36,9% after catalyzing the negative reactions with bismuth.This work provides an effective way to probe the limiting steps in flow batteries under various working conditions and offers insights for effectively enhancing battery performance for future developments.
基金supported by the grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.72071019)grant from the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing(No.cstc2021jcyj-msxmX0185).
文摘Bone age assessment(BAA)aims to determine whether a child’s growth and development are normal concerning their chronological age.To predict bone age more accurately based on radiographs,and for the left-hand X-ray images of different races model can have better adaptability,we propose a neural network in parallel with the quantitative features from the left-hand bone measurements for BAA.In this study,a lightweight feature extractor(LFE)is designed to obtain the featuremaps fromradiographs,and amodule called attention erasermodule(AEM)is proposed to capture the fine-grained features.Meanwhile,the dimensional information of the metacarpal parts in the radiographs is measured to enhance the model’s generalization capability across images fromdifferent races.Ourmodel is trained and validated on the RSNA,RHPE,and digital hand atlas datasets,which include images from various racial groups.The model achieves a mean absolute error(MAE)of 4.42 months on the RSNA dataset and 15.98 months on the RHPE dataset.Compared to ResNet50,InceptionV3,and several state-of-the-art methods,our proposed method shows statistically significant improvements(p<0.05),with a reduction in MAE by 0.2±0.02 years across different racial datasets.Furthermore,t-tests on the features also confirm the statistical significance of our approach(p<0.05).
基金funded by the National Natural Scientific Foundation of China(Nos.52304008,52404038,52474043)the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation(No.2023MD734223)+1 种基金the Key Laboratory of Well Stability and Fluid&Rock Mechanics in Oil and Gas Reservoir of Shaanxi Province(No.23JS047)the Youth Talent Lifting Program of Xi'an Science and Technology Association(No.959202413078)。
文摘Supercritical CO_(2)(SC-CO_(2))fracturing stands out a promising waterless stimulation technique in the development of unconventional resources.While numerous studies have delved into the inducedfracture mechanism of SC-CO_(2),the small scale of rock samples and synthetic materials used in many studies have limited a comprehensive understanding of fracture propagation in unconventional formations.In this study,cubic tight sandstone samples with dimensions of 300 mm were employed to conduct SC-CO_(2)fractu ring experiments under true-triaxial stre ss conditions.The spatial morphology and quantitative attributes of fracture induced by water and SC-CO_(2)fracturing were compared,while the impact of in-situ stress on fracture propagation was also investigated.The results indicate that the SCCO_(2)fracturing takes approximately ten times longer than water fracturing.Furthermore,under identical stress condition,the breakdown pressure(BP)for SC-CO_(2)fracturing is nearly 25%lower than that for water fracturing.A quantitative analysis of fracture morphology reveals that water fracturing typically produces relatively simple fracture pattern,with the primary fracture distribution predominantly controlled by bedding planes.In contrast,SC-CO_(2)fracturing results in a more complex fracture morphology.As the differential of horizontal principal stress increases,the BP for SC-CO_(2)fractured rock exhibits a downward trend,and the induced fracture morphology becomes more simplified.Moreover,the presence of abnormal in-situ stress leads to a further increase in the BP for SC-CO_(2)fracturing,simultaneously enhancing the development of a more conductive fracture network.These findings provide critical insights into the efficiency and behavior of SC-CO_(2)fracturing in comparison to traditional water-based fracturing,offering valuable implication for its potential applications in unconventional reservoirs.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.12174229 and 22375117)Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province(No.ZR2022YQ02 and ZR2023MB149)Taishan Scholars Program of Shandong Province(No.tsqn202306152)for financial support.
文摘Quantitative detection of trace small-sized nanoplastics(<100 nm)remains a significant challenge in surface-enhanced Raman scattering(SERS).To tackle this issue,we developed a hydrophobic CuO@Ag nanowire substrate and introduced a multiplex-feature analysis strategy based on the coffee ring effect.This substrate not only offers high Raman enhancement but also exhibits a high probability of detection(POD),enabling rapid and accurate identification of 50 nm polystyrene nanoplastics over a broad concentration range(1–10−10 wt%).Importantly,experimental results reveal a strong correlation between the coffee ring formation and the concentration of nanoplastic dispersion.By incorporating Raman signal intensity,coffee ring diameter,and POD as combined features,we established a machine learning-based mapping between nanoplastic concentration and coffee ring characteristics,allowing precise predictions of dispersion concentration.The mean squared error of these predictions is remarkably low,ranging from 0.21 to 0.54,representing a 19 fold improvement in accuracy compared to traditional linear regression-based methods.This strategy effectively integrates SERS with wettability modification techniques,ensuring high sensitivity and fingerprinting capabilities,while addressing the limitations of Raman signal intensity in accurately reflecting concentration changes at ultra-low levels,providing a new idea for precise SERS measurements of nanoplastics.
文摘BACKGROUND Gastrointestinal endoscopy has been widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases.A great many of studies on gastrointestinal endoscopy have been done.AIM To analyze the characteristics of top 100 cited articles on gastrointestinal endoscopy.METHODS A bibliometric analysis was conducted.The publications and their features were extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection,Science Citation Index-Expanded database.Excel,Web of Science database and SPSS software were used to perform the statistical description and analysis.VOSviewer software and Map-Chart were responsible for the visualizations.RESULTS The top 100 cited articles were published between 1976 and 2022.The guidelines(52%)and clinical trials(37%)are the main article types,and average publication year of the guidelines is much later than that of the clinical trials(2015 vs 1998).Among the clinical trials,diagnostic study(27.0%),cohort study(21.6%),case series(13.5%)and cross-sectional study(10.8%)account for a large proportion.Average citations of different study types and designs of the enrolled studies are of no significant differences.Most of the 100 articles were published by European authors and recorded by the endoscopic journals(65%).Top journals in medicine,such as the Lancet,New England Journal of Medicine and JAMA,also reported studies in this field.The hot spots of involved diseases include neoplasm or cancer-related diseases,inflammatory diseases,obstructive diseases,gastrointestinal hemorrhage and ulcer.Endoscopic surgery,endoscopic therapy and stent placement are frequently studied.CONCLUSION Our research contributes to delineating the field and identifying the characteristics of the most highly cited articles.It is noteworthy that there is a significantly smaller number of clinical trials included compared to guidelines,indicating potential areas for future high-quality clinical trials.
基金“Cyborg Narratives and the Construction of 21^(st)Century Science Fiction Poetics”(22BZW175)sponsored by the National Social Science Fund of China。
文摘Joanna Page is Director of CRASSH and Professor of Latin American Studies at the University of Cambridge.Her research interests are generally connected to the relationship between science and culture in Latin America.She has also worked on questions of memory,modernity,capitalism,posthumanism,new materialism,decoloniality,ecology,and environmental thought.This interview covers three main aspects:the characteristics of science fiction texts in Latin America,the interdisciplinary research models at the intersection of science,literature,and art,and Latin America as a field of regional studies.Professor Page starts with Argentine science fiction novels and expands the discussion to include graphic novels in Latin America,outlining the panorama of science fiction and its indigenous features.The conversation delves into the literary and technological relationships within Latin American science fiction texts.Building upon this foundation,this interview explores the interdisciplinary research paradigms concerning the relationship between science and culture,aiming to contribute to regional studies by exploring new pathways for interdisciplinary,cross-regional,and trans-media research.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(12072166)Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Science and Technology Plan Project(2021GG0254)+2 种基金Supported by Key Laboratory of Infinite-Dimensional Hamiltonian System and Its Algorithm Application(Inner Mongolia Normal University),Ministry of Education(2023KFZD02)Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Applied Mathematics Center Independent Research Key Project(ZZYJZD2022002)Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Universities Basic Scientific Business Fee Research Project(JY20220075)。
文摘Mg-4.8Zn-0.8Y,Mg-18Zn-3Y,Mg-15Zn-5Y,Mg-30Zn-5Y and Mg-42Zn-7Y(wt%)alloys containing icosahedral quasicrystalline phases were prepared using the ordinary solidification method.The impact of Mg matrix porosity on the tensile strength and hardness of the alloys was studied.The porosity of the Mg matrix was quantitatively assessed using scanning electron microscope and Image-Pro Plus 6.0 software.Tensile tests were conducted at room temperature.Results show that the maximum tensile strength of the alloy is 175.56 MPa,with a corresponding Mg matrix porosity of 76.74%.Through fitting analysis,it is determined that the maximum tensile strength is achieved when the porosity of the Mg matrix is 64.87%.The microhardness test results indicate a gradual decrease in alloy hardness with increasing the porosity of Mg matrix.This study provides an effective quantitative analysis method for enhancing the mechanical properties of magnesium alloys.
基金supported by the Key Technologies Research and Development Program of Guangzhou (No.2023B03J1284)Guangdong Yuehai Water Investment Co.,Ltd. (No.CC80-QT01-2020-0010).
文摘This work established a quantitative method to access the shear stability of aerobic granular sludge(AGS)and validated its feasibility by using the mature AGS from a pilot-scale(50 tons/day)membrane bioreactor(MBR)for treating real municipal wastewater.The results showed that the changing rate( S)of the peak area(S)of granule size distribution(GSD)exhibited an exponential relationship(R^(2)≥0.76)with the shear time(y=a−b·c^(x)),which was a suitable indicative index to reflect the shear stability of different AGS samples.The limiting granule size(LGS)was defined and proposed to characterize the equilibrium size for AGS after being sheared for a period of time,whose value in terms of Dv50 showed high correlation(R^(2)=0.92)with the parameter a.The free Ca^(2+)(28.44-34.21 mg/L)in the influent specifically interacted with polysaccharides(PS)in the granule’s extracellular polymeric substance(EPS)as a nucleation site,thereby inducing the formation of Ca precipitation to enhance its Young’s modulus,while Ca^(2+) primarily interacted with PS in soluble metabolic product(SMP)during the initial granulation process.Furthermore,the Young’s modulus significantly affected the parameter a related to shear stability(R^(2)=0.99).Since the parameter a was more closely related(R^(2)=1.00)to S than that of the parameter b or c,the excellent correlation(R^(2)=0.99)between the parameter a and the wet density further verified the feasibility of this method.
