Short-Term Effects of Phosphorus Application on Phosphorus Content in Soil and Dominant Species under Ungrazed and Grazed Conditions in the Tibetan Plateau

Phosphorus (P) availability in soils is an important indicator for health and growth in plants. The available phosphorus (AP) content of alpine meadow soil in northern China is low. Previous studies of alpine meadow have reported that soil nutrient levels have been significantly improved after a 9-year enclosure (Wu et al. 2010b) whereas continuous grazing over 19 years reduced total P (TP) by 25% in a Leymus chinensis steppe (Li 2001). Many studies have shown that the application of P fertilizer can improve dry matter production and forage quality in cultivated grasslands (Shi et al. 2007). However, the benefits of applying P fertiliser to alpine meadow in terms of increases in soil AP content and P concentrations in plants in both grazed and ungrazed meadows are less well known. The objective of this study was to investigate the short-term effects of P application on the AP content in top soil and total P content in the foliage of dominant meadow plant species

Design and synthesis of ERα agonists: Effectively reduce lipid accumulation

In recent years, the incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been increasing worldwide. Hepatic lipid deposition is a major feature of NAFLD, and insulin resistance is one of the most important causes of lipid deposition. Insulin resistance results in the disruption of lipid metabolism homeostasis characterized by increased lipogenesis and decreased lipolysis. Estrogen receptor α (ERα) has been widely reported to be closely related to lipid metabolism. Activating ERa may be a promising strategy to improve lipid metabolism. Here, we used computer-aided drug design technology to discover a highly active compound, YRL-03, which can effectively reduce lipid accumulation. Cellular experimental results showed that YRL-03 could effectively reduce lipid accumulation by targeting ERα, thereby achieving alleviation of insulin resistance. We believe this study provides meaningful guidance for future molecular development of drugs to prevent and treat NAFLD

In Situ SEM Torsion Test of Metallic Glass Microwires Based on Micro Robotic Manipulation

Microwires, such as metallic, semiconductor, and polymer microwires and carbon fibers, have stimulated great interest due to their importance in various structural and functional applications. Particularly, metallic glass (MG) microwires, because of their amorphous atoms arrangement, have some unique mechanical properties compared with traditional metals. Despite the fact that substantial research efforts have been made on the mechanical characterizations of metallic glass microwires under tension or flexural bending, the mechanical properties of microwires under torsional loading have not been well studied, mainly due to the experimental difficulties, such as the detection of torsion angle, quantitative measurement of the torsional load, and the alignment between the specimen and torque meter. In this work, we implemented the in situ SEM torsion tests of individual La50Al30Ni20 metallic glass (MG) microwires successfully based on a self-developed micro robotic mechanical testing system. Unprecedented details, such as the revolving vein-pattern along the torsion direction on MG microwires fracture surface, were revealed. Our platform could provide critical insights into understanding the deformation mechanisms of other microwires under torsional loading and can even be further used for robotic micromanufacturing

The Use of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Over the Past 10 Years [2013-2023]: a Citespace-Based Bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a common genetic cardiac disorder characterized by the hypertrophy of a segment of the myocardium. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has been widely used in the assessment of HCM. However, no bibliometric assessment has been conducted on the progress of research in this field. This study thus aimed to examine the current state of research into the application of CMR in HCM and the hotspots and trends that have emerged in this field over the past decade. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted on the Web of Science regarding CMR in the assessment of HCM. The databases were searched from 2013 to June 2023. CiteSpace is an application that can be used to characterize the underlying knowledge of the scientific literature in a given field. We used it to analyze the relationship between publication year and country, institution, journal, author, bibliography, and keywords in the field of CMR for the assessment of HCM. RESULTS: A total of 1,427 articles were included in the analysis. In the assessment of HCM, the findings from the past decade have consistently demonstrated a progressive rise in the quantity of articles pertaining to CMR. The country with the largest number of publications was the United States [310], and the institution with the greatest number of publications was the University College London [45]. The analysis of keywords revealed the diagnosis and management of HCM with CMR to be the current research focus and emerging trend within this academic field. CONCLUSIONS: This study used a novel approach to visually analyze the use of CMR in HCM assessment. The current research trajectory in CMR consists of the diagnosis and management of patients with HCM. Although most studies confirmed the indispensability of CMR in the assessment of HCM, larger-scale cohorts are still needed to more comprehensively evaluate the role of CMR in the differential diagnosis, pre- and post-treatment assessment, and long-term management of patients with HCM

Deep muscularis propria tumor invasion without lymph node metastasis as a unique subclassification of stage IB gastric cancer: a retrospective study

BACKGROUND: The prognosis difference based on the depth of tumor muscularis propria invasion in gastric cancer (GC) was still debated, and therapy strategy for stage IB GC patient required further investigation. METHODS: A total of 380 patients with pT2 GC after radical surgery were retrospectively analyzed, including 185 in superficial muscularis propria (sMP) group and 195 in deep muscularis propria (dMP) group. RESULTS: The overall survival (OS) was significantly better for patients in sMP group than for patients in dMP group (P = 0.007). In multivariate analysis, depth of tumor invasion, pN stage, age, primary location, positive expression of p53, elevated maximal LDH, elevated initial CA19-9 and AFP level were independent prognostic factors for OS. The sMP group had a significantly better OS than dMP group (P = 0.014) in pN0 stage. After further stratification, the survival outcomes were not significantly different between deep muscularis propria tumor invasion without lymph node metastasis (dMPN0) group (stage IB) and superficial muscularis propria tumor invasion with stage 1-2 lymph node metastasis (sMPN1-2) group (stage II) (P = 0.100). Patients with adjuvant chemotherapy had a statistically better survival than those without in dMPN0 group (P = 0.045) and dMPN0 patients with adjuvant chemotherapy had better OS than sMPN1-2 patients (P = 0.015). In addition, greater postoperative survival could be observed in sMPN0 patients than dMPN0 patients in p53-positive group (P = 0.002), and similar OS could be seen between dMPN0 patients with p53-positive and T2N1-2 patients (P = 0.872). CONCLUSION: As a unique subclassification of stage IB GC, appropriate adjuvant chemotherapy should be considered for patients with dMPN0 stage. In addition, positive expression of p53, elevated LDH could be potential factors in identifying the different prognoses for stage IB GC patients

Effectiveness of artificial intelligence-assisted ultrasound for breast cancer screening in Chinese women

Background and purpose: Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is increasingly being used in the medical field. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of artificial intelligence ultrasound system for identifying breast lesions in Chinese women and its role in breast cancer early detection. Methods: A prospective study was conducted on healthy women aged 35-74 years who came to Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center from August 2020 to December 2020 for breast ultrasonography. All the women were examined by AI-assisted ultrasound first, and then by conventional ultrasonography. We compared the differences between AI-assisted ultrasound and conventional ultrasonography in identifying breast lesions in Chinese women. One year later, we looked up the hospital medical history and Shanghai Cancer Registration Management System for the final diagnosis of breast cancer. Results: A total of 360 women were included in the study and received breast examinations using both AI-assisted ultrasound and conventional ultrasound. A total of 2 504 breast lesions were detected, of which, 2 217 were detected by AI-assisted ultrasound, with a lesion recognition rate of 88.5%. Conventional ultrasound identified 1 090 lesions, with a lesion recognition rate of 43.5%. Using conventional ultrasound as the standard, the sensitivity and specificity of AI-assisted ultrasound for Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) level 4 and above lesions were 93.3% (95% CI: 80.7-98.3) and 100.0% (95% CI: 99.5-100.0), respectively. During one-year follow-up, 10 patients were diagnosed with breast cancer, and 8 of whom were identified by both AI-assisted ultrasound and conventional B ultrasound. The sensitivity of AI-assisted ultrasound and conventional ultrasound for breast cancer was 80.0% (95% CI: 44.2-96.4), and the specificity was 88.6% (95% CI: 84.6-91.6). Conclusion: AI-assisted ultrasound has good identification ability for breast lesions in Chinese women. The recognition ability for high-risk breast lesions (BI-RADS 4A and above) and early breast cancer is equivalent to that of conventional ultrasound, which is suitable for breast cancer screening in large-scale community of women with general risk

Design of non-fragile state estimators for discrete time-delayed neural networks with parameter uncertainties

This paper is concerned with the problem of designing a non-fragile state estimator for a class of uncertain discrete-time neural networks with time-delays. The norm-bounded parameter uncertainties enter into all the system matrices, and the network output is of a general type that contains both linear and nonlinear parts. The additive variation of the estimator gain is taken into account that reflects the possible implementation error of the neuron state estimator. The aim of the addressed problem is to design a state estimator such that the estimation performance is non-fragile against the gain variations and also robust against the parameter uncertainties. Sufficient conditions are presented to guarantee the existence of the desired non-fragile state estimators by using the Lyapunov stability theory and the explicit expression of the desired estimators is given in terms of the solution to a linear matrix inequality. Finally, a numerical example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design approach

Mapping current trends and hotspots in myasthenia gravis from 2003 to 2022: a bibliometric analysis

IntroductionResearch on myasthenia gravis (MG) has undergone rapid development in recent years. This article aimed to elucidate the characteristics of MG publications over the past 20 years and analyze emerging trends using bibliometric methods.MethodsInformation on MG articles was obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection and stored in Excel for quantitative analyses. Bibliometric analyses were performed using CiteSpace and VOSviewer to visualize publications according to countries/regions, institutions, journals, and authors.ResultsA total of 3,610 publications were included in the analysis. The USA had the highest number of publications (NP) and H-index. Among the institutions, the University of Oxford had the highest NP, followed by the University of Toronto and Duke University. Close cooperation was observed among countries and institutions. The most productive author was Renato Mantegazza, followed by Jan J. Verschuuren, and Amelia Evoli. Muscle & Nerve published the most articles on MG, followed by the Journal of Neuroimmunology and Neuromuscular Disorders. The keyword with the highest strength is “neuromuscular transmission,” followed by “safety” and “rituximab.” Co-citation analysis includes 103 publications cited at least 65 times, categorized into four clusters. Additionally, 123 keywords cited more than 40 times were analyzed and divided into five clusters.ConclusionThis bibliometric analysis shows the framework of research over the past 20 years by mapping the scholarly contributions of various countries or regions, institutions, journals, and authors in MG. The analysis also explores future trends and prospective directions, emphasizing individualized treatment based on subtypes, novel immunotherapeutic approaches, and thymectomy