A new contribution to the raptorial ciliate genus Lacrymaria (Protista: Ciliophora): a brief review and comprehensive descriptions of two new species from Changjiang Estuary

Ciliates serve as excellent indicators for water quality monitoring. However, their utilization is hindered by various taxonomic confusions. The ciliate genus Lacrymaria Bory de Saint-Vincent, 1824 is commonly found in different aquatic habitats, but its taxonomy has been sparsely investigated using state-of-the-art methods. This study investigated two new Lacrymaria species from Nanhui Wetland, Shanghai, China, using living observation, protargol staining, and molecular phylogeny methods. Lacrymaria songi sp. nov. is 180–340 × 20–25 μm in size and possesses 12–16 somatic kineties, 1 terminal contractile vacuole, 2 macronuclear nodules, and 2 types of rod-shaped extrusomes. Lacrymaria dragescoi sp. nov. is distinguished from its congeners by its cell size of 210–400 × 25–35 μm, 14–17 somatic kineties, 1 terminal contractile vacuole, 1 macronucleus, and 2 types of rod-shaped extrusomes. Phylogenetic analyses based on SSU rRNA gene sequences indicate that Lacrymariidae is monophyletic but Lacrymaria is not. Additionally, a brief review of the genus Lacrymaria is provided in this study. We suggest that L. bulbosa Alekperov, 1984, L. lanceolata Kahl, 1930, and L. ovata Burkovsky, 1970 be removed from the genus and propose Phialina lanceolata nov. comb. and Phialina ovata nov. comb. for the latter two.ZooBank registration: Present work: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:CDFB1EBD-80BD-4533-B391-CEE89F62EDC4 Lacrymaria songi sp. nov.: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:417E7C2D-DAEC-4711-90BB-64AB3CD2F7D5 Lacrymaria dragescoi sp. nov.: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:8778D6B0-1F2E-473C-BE19-3F685391A40D

FusionFormer: A Multi-sensory Fusion in Bird's-Eye-View and Temporal Consistent Transformer for 3D Objection

Multi-sensor modal fusion has demonstrated strong advantages in 3D object detection tasks. However, existing methods that fuse multi-modal features through a simple channel concatenation require transformation features into bird's eye view space and may lose the information on Z-axis thus leads to inferior performance. To this end, we propose FusionFormer, an end-to-end multi-modal fusion framework that leverages transformers to fuse multi-modal features and obtain fused BEV features. And based on the flexible adaptability of FusionFormer to the input modality representation, we propose a depth prediction branch that can be added to the framework to improve detection performance in camera-based detection tasks. In addition, we propose a plug-and-play temporal fusion module based on transformers that can fuse historical frame BEV features for more stable and reliable detection results. We evaluate our method on the nuScenes dataset and achieve 72.6% mAP and 75.1% NDS for 3D object detection tasks, outperforming state-of-the-art methods

Processes and sources identification of intermittent karst water inrush in Xiakou Tunnel

The investigation and prevention of karst water inrush is a difficult problem in tunnel construction. The Xiakou Tunnel has a long history of karst water inrush.To identify the source of intermittent water inrush and explore the controlling effect of karst water system to the process of water inrush, the hydrogeological survey, hydrological and hydrogeochemical methods were used to identify the sources and processes of water inrush. The results show that, there is a groundwater divide at the area of Mengjialing, and the groundwater in the northern and southern area discharge into Xianglongdong and Xiakoudong, respectively. In the events of concentrated water inrush, the total amount of event water inrush has a significant linear positive correlation with the rainfall event, and the hydrogeochemical composition of the water inrush is very similar to that of the four blind drainage ditches, which indicates that all these water inrushes and blind drainage ditches come from the karst water in the northern part of the tunnel. During the stable drainage period, the karst water in the northern part of the tunnel is mainly discharged through the blind drainage ditch on the north of the right tunnel, while the groundwater of other three blind drainage ditches come from the fissure water in clastic rock.The concentrated water inrush point is located on the surface of saturated zone in the karst water system of Xiakou. The heavy rainfall events made the upper part of tunnel to be filled with karst water.The water inrush was caused by intercepting the fast flow in karst channel, and small part of base flow was mixed into the water inrush. In the study of karst water inrush, the comprehensive utilization of multi-technical methods and multi-information verifications can improve the accuracy in the source identification of water inrush

Activation of the TGF-β Pathway Enhances the Efficacy of Platinum-Based Chemotherapy in Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients

Background. Platinum-based chemotherapy is the first choice of treatment for patients diagnosed with small lung cell cancer (SCLC). However, many patients exhibit resistance to it. Therefore, it is imperative to further investigate a prognostic biomarker indicating sensitivity to this therapy. Methods. We collected and performed RNA sequencing on 45 SCLC samples from the Zhujiang Hospital (Local-SCLC). In addition, we used a public cohort from George et al. as a validation cohort (George-SCLC). The transforming growth factor β signaling pathway (TGFB) activation status was determined according to the related ssGSEA score. We analyzed immune cell ratios, pathway activation scores, and immune-related genes in SCLC patients to further elucidate the potential mechanisms. Results. A high activation status of the TGFB pathway was associated with improved prognosis in SCLC patients receiving platinum-based chemotherapy (Local-SCLC: HR=0.0238, (95% CI, 0.13-0.84), p=0.0238; George-SCLC: HR=0.0315, (95% CI, 0.28-0.98), p=0.0315). Immune infiltration analysis showed that the TGFB-HIGH group had more M1 macrophages and Th1 cells, whilst fewer M2 macrophages, Th2 cells, and Treg cells were found in the Local-SCLC cohort. Mechanistic analysis showed that the TGBF-HIGH group was upregulated in STING-mediated immunity, apoptosis, and cell cycle arrest, as well as being downregulated in the process of DNA damage repair. Conclusions. SCLC patients exhibiting a high activation status of the TGFB pathway demonstrate an improved prognosis with platinum-based chemotherapy. The potential underlying mechanism may be related to antitumor immune enhancement and DNA damage repair inhibition

Mutations in the DNA polymerase binding pathway affect the immune microenvironment of patients with small‐cell lung cancer and enhance the efficacy of platinum‐based chemotherapy

Abstract Background Small‐cell lung cancer (SCLC) is characterized by its high malignancy and is associated with a poor prognosis. In the early stages of the disease, platinum‐based chemotherapy is the recommended first‐line treatment and has demonstrated efficacy. However, SCLC is prone to recurrence and is generally resistant to chemotherapy in its later stages. Methods Here, we collected samples from SCLC patients who received platinum‐based chemotherapy, performed genomic and transcriptomic analyses, and validated our results with publicly available data. Results SCLC patients with DNA polymerase binding pathway mutations had an improved prognosis after platinum chemotherapy compared with patients without such mutations. Patients in the mutant (MT) group had higher infiltration of T cells, B cells, and M1 macrophages compared with patients without DNA polymerase binding pathway mutations. Conclusions DNA polymerase binding pathway mutations can be used as prognostic markers for platinum‐based chemotherapy in SCLC

The effect of blended task-oriented flipped classroom on the core competencies of undergraduate nursing students: a quasi-experimental study

Abstract Background The flipped classroom (FC) method is becoming increasingly popular in China's nursing education. It is an important breakthrough improvement in the quality of learning in nursing education reforms. Purpose This study aimed to determine the effects of blended task-oriented flipped classroom (TFC) on nursing students undertaking the Fundamentals of Nursing course. Methods A pre-and post-test quasi-experimental design was adopted. This study was conducted in the Autumn semester, 2021 academic year in a Chinese university. Using cluster sampling technique, this study enrolled second-year undergraduate nursing students from six classess who were studying Fundamentals of Nursing course. A blended TFC was developed and implemented with three classes (experimental group: n = 152). In-class traditional lectures were applied to the other three classes (control group: n = 151). The Self-Directed Learning Instrument, Problem-Solving Inventory, and California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory were used to evaluate students’ learning outcomes, and final examinations were conducted at the end of after course. In addition, students in the flipped classroom group were required to answer five open-ended questions concerning their flipped classroom learning experiences. Results Students in the experimental group showed significant improvement in academic performance compared to those in the control group (p = 0.001). Considering total scale and factors, students in the experimental grouped recorded significantly higher scores in self-directed learning ability, problem-solving skills, and critical thinking ability compared to those in the control group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, improved abilities and skills such as team cooperation, communication, presentation, identifying /solving clinical problems, and accountability were reported. Conclusion A blended TFC teaching approach positively impacted students' core competencies and improved learning outcomes in the Fundamentals of Nursing course