(E)-N′-(3,4-Dichloro­benzyl­idene)nicotino­hydrazide monohydrate

In the title compound, C13H9Cl2N3O·H2O, the 3,4-dichloro­benzene ring is nearly coplanar with the pyridine ring, making a dihedral angle of 4.78 (8)°. Inter­molecular O—H⋯O, O—H⋯N, N—H⋯O and weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonding is present in the crystal structure

A deep transfer learning network for structural condition identification with limited real-world training data

Structural condition identification based on monitoring data is important for automatic civil infrastructure asset management. Nevertheless, the monitoring data is almost always insufficient, because the real-time monitoring data of a structure only reflects a limited number of structural conditions, while the number of possible structural conditions is infinite. With insufficient monitoring data, the identification performance may significantly degrade. This study aims to tackle this challenge by proposing a deep transfer learning (TL) approach for structural condition identification. It effectively integrates physics-based and data-driven methods, by generating various training data based on the calibrated finite element (FE) model, pretraining a deep learning (DL) network, and transferring its embedded knowledge to the real monitoring/testing domain. Its performance is demonstrated in a challenging case, vibration-based condition identification of steel frame structures with bolted connection damage. The results show that even though the training data are from a different domain and with different types of labels, intrinsic physics can be learned through the pretraining process, and the TL results can be clearly improved, with the identification accuracy increasing from 81.8% to 89.1%. The comparative studies show that SHMnet with three convolutional layers stands out as the pretraining DL architecture, with 21.8% and 25.5% higher identification accuracy values over the other two networks, VGGnet-16 and ResNet-18. The findings of this study advance the potential application of the proposed approach towards expert-level condition identification based on limited real-world training data

(E)-N′-(1,3-Benzodioxol-5-ylmethyl­ene)nicotinohydrazide monohydrate

In the title compound, C14H11N3O3·H2O, the planar [maximum deviation 0.135 (1) Å] 1,3-benzodioxole ring system is oriented at a dihedral angle of 13.93 (7)° with respect to the pyridine ring. Extensive inter­molecular N—H⋯O, O—H⋯O, O—H⋯N and weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonding is present in the crystal structure

Evaluation of Epimedium brevicornum Maxim extract for anti-osteoporosis activity in rats

Purpose: To evaluate the therapeutic effect of Epimedium brevicornum Maxim. extract (EBME) on ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in rats.Methods: The rats were divided into six experimental groups, viz, control (group 1) and five ovariectomy-induced (OVX) groups. The OVX groups include OVX-inducing agent only group (group 2), OVX with 17ß-estradiol (E2, 25 μg/kg/day, group 3), OVX with 60 mg EBME/kg body weight/day (group 4), OVX with 120 mg EBME/kg body weight/day (group 5) and OVX with 240 mg EBME/kg body weight/day (group 6). The treatment started for the OVX groups with a single weekly dose of OVX inducing agent for 4 weeks, followed by oral daily dose of E2 (group 3) or EBME (groups 4, 5 and 6) for another 16 weeks. Bone mineral density (BMD) of the 4th lumber vertebrae (4LV) and right femur of each rat was estimated. BMD determination was preceded by the measurement of the length of the femur and identification of diaphysis (center). Trabecular microarchitecture was assessed via three representative 4LV. The other parameters measured in this study were serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), urinary calcium (U-Ca), urinary phosphorus (U-P), urinary creatinine (U-SCr) and osteocalcin (OC) levels.Result: The results showed that the BMD decrease induced by OVX in 4LV and femur was significantly mitigated by high dose of EBME. EBME also protected the trabecular microarchitecture against OVXassociated deterioration, evidenced by decreased bone turnover marker levels in 4LV at high EBME dose. Trabecular number (Tb-N, 3.7 ± 0.2), trabecular thickness (Tb-Th, 0.082 ± 0.011), and trabecular spacing (Tb-Sp, 0.17 ± 0.01) of the highest dose EBME-treated OVX rats ’4LV were significantly (p < 0.05) different from the corresponding values of EBME-free OVX rats.Conclusion: The results reveal that administration of high doses of EBME lasting for 16 weeks not only protected against OVX-induced osteoporosis in rats but was also without the risk of endometrial hyperplasia. Thus, the extract may be a better alternative to other agents in current use for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis in elderly women. However, its efficacy and safety require further investigations.Keywords: Epimedium brevicornum Maxim., Postmenopausal osteoporosis, Ovariectomy, Bone mineral densit

Comparative Agreement Analysis of Differences in 1,5-Anhydroglucitol, Glycated Albumin, and Glycated Hemoglobin A1c Levels between Fasting and Postprandial States in Steamed Bread Meal Test

Background. Our previous study indicated that serum 1,5-anhydroglucitol (1,5-AG) levels slightly increased after a glucose load; therefore, this study was conducted to explore short-term changes in 1,5-AG levels after a steamed bread meal test (SBMT) and compare the agreement of 1,5-AG, glycated albumin (GA), and glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels between fasting and postprandial states after an SBMT. Methods. 104 participants were recruited and underwent a 100 g SBMT. Fasting, 30 min, and 120 min of 1,5-AG, GA, and HbA1c were measured. Results. Levels of 1,5-AG slightly increased from 30 to 120 min after an SBMT (P0.05), and Bland-Altman difference plot showed that 100% of data points for HbA1c30 and HbA1c120 fell within the limits of agreement; 94.2%, 96.2%, 95.2%, and 95.2% of data points for 1,5-AG30, 1,5-AG120, GA30, and GA120 fell within the limits of agreement, respectively. Conclusion. Agreement analyses indicated good stability of 1,5-AG, GA, and HbA1c levels after the SBMT. HbA1c had an optimal stability, which was superior to that of GA or 1,5-AG

Simple Security Proof of Mode-Pairing Quantum Key Distribution

Mode-pairing (MP) quantum key distribution (QKD) eliminates the requirements of phase locking and phase tracking compared with twin-field (TF) QKD while still surpassing the fundamental rate-distance limit of QKD. The complexity of the experimental implementation is reduced while the efficiency is also guaranteed. The security of MP-QKD is proved rigorously by examining the consistency of the states detailly between MP-QKD and the fixed-pairing scheme under all of Eve's possible interference, where the latter is equivalent to measurement-device-independent (MDI) QKD. Here we propose a simple and straightforward method to prove the information-theoretic security of MP-QKD. Specifically, an entanglement scheme for MP-QKD is proposed and its security is proved using entanglement purification. Then the security of MP-QKD can be guaranteed with the equivalence of the entanglement scheme and prepare-and-measure scheme for MP-QKD. With this approach, it is beneficial to analyze and understand the performance and security of MP-QKD. We explain why the pairing rounds in MP-QKD can be decoupled and determined by the measurement results announced by a third party, which is the key difference between MP-QKD and MDI-QKD. Moreover, we analyze the security of MP-QKD with the allowed optimal pairing strategy, which is significant for the secret key rate, under collective and coherent attacks

The value of total tumor diameter in unilateral multifocal papillary thyroid carcinoma: a propensity score matching analysis

BackgroundTumor multifocality is frequently observed in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). However, the maximum tumor diameter (MTD), currently utilized in various staging schemes, might not accurately indicate the level of aggressiveness exhibited by multifocal tumors. We aimed to investigate the relationship between total tumor diameter (TTD) and clinicopathological features of papillary thyroid carcinoma.MethodsRetrospective data analysis was done on 1936 individuals who underwent complete thyroidectomy for PTC. Patients were classified into subgroups according to unilateral multifocality, central lymph node metastasis (CLNM) and lateral lymph node metastasis (LLNM). The relationships of clinicopathological features among these groups were analyzed.ResultsUnilateral multifocality was observed in 117 patients. The clinicopathological features of the unilateral multifocal PTC were similar to the unifocal PTC with approximate TTD. The unilateral multifocality played no independent role in CLNM and LLNM. Moreover, the efficiency of TTD in predicting CLNM and LLNM was significantly higher than that of MTD.ConclusionIn the case of unilateral multifocal PTC, TTD is a more accurate indicator of the biological characteristics of the tumor than MTD

Colorimetric enantioselective recognition of chiral secondary alcohols <em>via</em> hydrogen bonding to a chiral metallocene containing chemosensor

China Scholarship Council (CSC); University of Bath; Natural Science Foundation of China [21050110426]; ECUSTAn operationally simple colorimetric method for enantioselective detection of chiral secondary alcohols via hydrogen bonding interactions using a chiral ferrocene derivative is reported

Colorimetric enantioselective recognition of chiral secondary alcohols via hydrogen bonding to a chiral metallocene containing chemosensor

China Scholarship Council (CSC); University of Bath; Natural Science Foundation of China [21050110426]; ECUSTAn operationally simple colorimetric method for enantioselective detection of chiral secondary alcohols via hydrogen bonding interactions using a chiral ferrocene derivative is reported