Graphics processing unit (GPU) aided wavefront-based autofocusing in microscopy

Based on the wavefront sensing and propagation, the wavefront-based autofocus approach is proposed for potentially adopted in rapid autofocusing since it can precisely locate the focal plane but only requiring much fewer multi-focal image captures. However, due to the much time spent in serial numerical calculation and analysis, this method fails to improve the autofocusing efficiency as expected. In order to further accelerate the autofocusing speed, we improve this method by adopting the parallel computing in the numerical wavefront propagation and focal analysis procedures based on the graphics processing unit (GPU). Proved by experiments relying on our self-built system, the time consuming for autofocusing can be drastically reduced within 1 s, besides, it can guarantee extremely high focal determination accuracy in various sample cases, indicating that the GPU aided wavefront-based method can be future adopted in commercial microscopes for precise and rapid autofocusing

Impact on the fates of fertilizer Nitrogen of Different soil managements on black soil farmland

The use efficiency of fertilizer N decreased gradually during the grain production in black soil region in northeast China. Through a ten-year long experiment on wheat, corn and soybean, the evaluation on soil capacity of keeping and supplying N under three different soil management patterns using 15N have been conducted. The results showed there was no significant difference between the three management patterns in wheat removal of soil N, while the removal of fertilizer differed significantly; the residual rate of fertilizer was 12.84%,15.28% and17.51% respectively in pattern Ⅰ, pattern Ⅱ and pattern Ⅲ, and the loss rates of fertilizer in the three patterns were 57.93%, 49.49% and 42.07% respectively. Under the patternⅠmanagement, soil N removal by corn was less. There were no significant differences on the soil N removal between pattern Ⅱand pattern Ⅲ. The loss ratios were 54.19%, 46.61% and 39.94% in patternⅠ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ respectively. The order of utilizing N efficiency of soybean was pattern Ⅲ>pattern Ⅱ>pattern Ⅰ. The use efficiency of fertilizer N of wheat, corn and soybean were 29.93%, 32.01 and 26.85% respectively under the fertilization and rotation conditions (patternⅠ), 35.23%, 37.22% and 31.25% respectively under the management of fertilizer plus organic manure (Pattern Ⅱ) and 40.42%, 41.98% and 39.55% respectively under the management of intercrop of corn and sweet clover in which the sweet clover were returned to the field (Pattern Ⅲ)

Pharmacological Properties of the Medical Maggot: A Novel Therapy Overview

In the last decade, maggot has been hailed as the miraculous “medicinal maggot” for its diverse properties, including antimicrobial, antibiofilm, anti-inflammatory, and wound healing activities. The fact that maggots show so many beneficial properties has increased the interest in these tiny larvae dramatically. Whilst there is relatively abundant clinical evidence to demonstrate the success of maggots as debridement agents, not so much emphasis has been placed on the basic science evidence, which was a combination of physical and biochemical actions. This review differs from those earlier works in that it is undertaken to provide an update of the latest scientific basis published on maggot, particularly active ingredients within maggot excretions/secretions (ES). Further investigations should focus on the isolation, identification, recombination, transgenosis, and mass production of the beneficial molecules within maggots

Efficacy of breast reconstruction for N2‐3M0 stage female breast cancer on breast cancer‐specific survival: A population‐based propensity score analysis

Abstract Background The efficacy of breast reconstruction for patients with N2‐3M0 stage female breast cancer (FBC) remained unclear due to the lack of randomized clinical trials. This retrospective study aimed to explore the efficacy of breast reconstruction for patients with N2‐3M0 stage FBC. Methods Two thousand five hundred forty‐five subjects with FBC staged by N2‐3M0 from 2010 to 2016 were retrieved from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Generalized boosted model (GBM) and propensity score matching (PSM) analyses and multivariable Cox analyses were employed to assess the clinical prognostic effect of postmastectomy reconstruction for patients with N2‐3M0 stage FBC in breast cancer‐specific survival (BCSS). Results Totally, 1784 candidates underwent mastectomy alone (mastectomy group), and 761 candidates underwent postmastectomy reconstruction (PMbR group), with 418 breast‐specific deaths after a median follow‐up time of 57 months (ranging from 7 to 227 months). BCSS in the mastectomy group showed no statistical difference from that in the PMbR group in the PSM cohort (HR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.70–1.25, p = 0.400) and GBM cohort (HR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.56–1.01, p = 0.057). In the multivariate analyses, there was no difference in the effect of PMbR and mastectomy on BCSS in the original cohort (HR = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.66–1.09, p = 0.197), PSM cohort (HR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.64–1.15, p = 0.310), and GBM cohort (HR = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.61–1.17, p = 0.298). Triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC) was a detrimental factor affecting BCSS for patients in the PMbR group. Conclusions Our study demonstrated that PMbR is an oncologically safe surgical treatment and can be widely recommended in clinics for females with non‐TNBC staged by T0‐3N2‐3M0