Hearing impairment is associated with cognitive decline, brain atrophy and tau pathology.

Hearing impairment was recently identified as the most prominent risk factor for dementia. However, the mechanisms underlying the link between hearing impairment and dementia are still unclear. We investigated the association of hearing performance with cognitive function, brain structure and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteins in cross-sectional, longitudinal, mediation and genetic association analyses across the UK Biobank (N = 165,550), the Chinese Alzheimer's Biomarker and Lifestyle (CABLE, N = 863) study, and the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI, N = 1770) database. Poor hearing performance was associated with worse cognitive function in the UK Biobank and in the CABLE study. Hearing impairment was significantly related to lower volume of temporal cortex, hippocampus, inferior parietal lobe, precuneus, etc., and to lower integrity of white matter (WM) tracts. Furthermore, a higher polygenic risk score (PRS) for hearing impairment was strongly associated with lower cognitive function, lower volume of gray matter, and lower integrity of WM tracts. Moreover, hearing impairment was correlated with a high level of CSF tau protein in the CABLE study and in the ADNI database. Finally, mediation analyses showed that brain atrophy and tau pathology partly mediated the association between hearing impairment and cognitive decline. Hearing impairment is associated with cognitive decline, brain atrophy and tau pathology, and hearing impairment may reflect the risk for cognitive decline and dementia as it is related to bran atrophy and tau accumulation in brain. However, it is necessary to assess the mechanism in future animal studies. A full list of funding bodies that supported this study can be found in the Acknowledgements section. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Shared Neural Basis Underlying Psychiatric Comorbidity

Recent studies proposed a general psychopathology factor underlying common comorbidities among psychiatric disorders. However, its neurobiological mechanisms and generalizability remain elusive. In this study, we used a large longitudinal neuroimaging cohort from adolescence to young adulthood (IMAGEN) to define a neuropsychopathological (NP) factor across externalizing and internalizing symptoms using multitask connectomes. We demonstrate that this NP factor might represent a unified, genetically determined, delayed development of the prefrontal cortex that further leads to poor executive function. We also show this NP factor to be reproducible in multiple developmental periods, from preadolescence to early adulthood, and generalizable to the resting-state connectome and clinical samples (the ADHD-200 Sample and the Stratify Project). In conclusion, we identify a reproducible and general neural basis underlying symptoms of multiple mental health disorders, bridging multidimensional evidence from behavioral, neuroimaging and genetic substrates. These findings may help to develop new therapeutic interventions for psychiatric comorbidities

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Research on a Fiber Corner Compensation Algorithm in a 3D Printing Layer of Continuous Fiber-Reinforced Composite Materials

Fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing technology for continuous fiber-reinforced composite (CFRC) printing has become a trend. This article is based on ‘independent extrusion’ FFF CFRC printing. The continuous fiber-reinforced filament (CFRF) printing solution is the contour offset method for obtaining executable g-code. When the CFRCF prints at the corner, it is found that the actual CFRC printing trajectory is inconsistent with the ideal laying trajectory. The causes of the error are analyzed, and an angle optimization algorithm is proposed. The corner optimization algorithm is verified by theoretical analysis and experimental analysis. From the experimental results, the corner optimization algorithm improves the 30° angle fit of CFRF printing by 90% and reliability has also been improved. When the printing length is 127,200 mm, there are 960 printing corners, and the failure rate is 0

Effect of Replacing Coke with Biomass Fuel on Sinter Properties and Pollutant Emissions

In the iron-ore-sintering process, the use of biomass charcoal instead of coke breeze can reduce the emission of flue gas pollutants and alleviate the energy crisis of fossil fuels. However, the direct application of biomass charcoal to iron ore sintering is bound to affect the sinter properties. The effects of biomass charcoal addition on the sintering ore properties and flue gas pollutants emission were studied through sintering cup and related performance test experiments. Meanwhile, the influence mechanism of biomass charcoal instead of coke breeze on iron ore sintering was expounded. The experimental results show that with an increase in biomass charcoal, the vertical sintering rate increased, the internal pore structure developed rapidly, and the pollutant emission decreased gradually. When the biomass charcoal content was less than 40%, the sinter strength and yield were stable and slightly improved with the increase in biomass charcoal. When the biomass charcoal content was higher than 40%, the metallurgical properties of sinter degraded sharply, making it difficult to meet the production requirements. The comprehensive effect of biomass charcoal on the sinter suggests that the suitable biomass charcoal addition was 40%; under this condition, the reduction in SO2 and NOx was 28.2% and 25.7%, respectively

Effect of Replacing Coke with Biomass Fuel on Sinter Properties and Pollutant Emissions

In the iron-ore-sintering process, the use of biomass charcoal instead of coke breeze can reduce the emission of flue gas pollutants and alleviate the energy crisis of fossil fuels. However, the direct application of biomass charcoal to iron ore sintering is bound to affect the sinter properties. The effects of biomass charcoal addition on the sintering ore properties and flue gas pollutants emission were studied through sintering cup and related performance test experiments. Meanwhile, the influence mechanism of biomass charcoal instead of coke breeze on iron ore sintering was expounded. The experimental results show that with an increase in biomass charcoal, the vertical sintering rate increased, the internal pore structure developed rapidly, and the pollutant emission decreased gradually. When the biomass charcoal content was less than 40%, the sinter strength and yield were stable and slightly improved with the increase in biomass charcoal. When the biomass charcoal content was higher than 40%, the metallurgical properties of sinter degraded sharply, making it difficult to meet the production requirements. The comprehensive effect of biomass charcoal on the sinter suggests that the suitable biomass charcoal addition was 40%; under this condition, the reduction in SO2 and NOx was 28.2% and 25.7%, respectively

A Thermal-Fluid-Solid Coupling Computation Model of Initiation Pressure Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Fracturing

With the characteristics of low fracturing pressure, little damage to the reservoirs, and assuming the role of carbon storage, supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) fracturing is suitable for the development of unconventional oil and gas resources. Based on the tensile failure mechanism of rocks, this paper establishes a thermal-fluid-solid coupling initiation pressure model for SC-CO2 fracturing. Using this model, the changes in formation temperature and pore pressure near a wellbore caused by invasion of CO2 into the formation are analyzed, as well as the impact of these changes on the tangential stress of reservoir rocks. The field data of SC-CO2 fracturing in a sandstone gas well are used to validate the reliability of the model. The results show that SC-CO2 fracturing can significantly reduce the initiation pressure, which decreases with the increase in fracturing fluid injection rate. The minimum value of tangential stress is located at the well wall, and the direction of tangential stress caused by formation temperature and pore pressure is opposite, with the former greater than the latter. The increase in Poisson’s ratio, the increase in elastic modulus and the decrease in bottom hole temperature can reduce the initial fracturing pressure of the reservoir. The computation model established in this paper provides an effective method for understanding the reservoir fracturing mechanism under the condition of SC-CO2 invasion