Placement Distance of Exit Advance Guide Sign on an Eight-Lane Expressway Considering Lane Changing Behaviour in China

The reasonable placement of the advance guide signs (AGSs) is important in improving driving efficiency and safety when exiting an expressway. By analysing the lane-changing process when approaching an exit on new two-way eight-lane expressways, we modified the tradi-tional AGS model lane-change distance formula. To this end, a field experiment was designed to explore the lane-change traversal time at the free flow condition (LOS 1). Considering the limitations of the experimental equip-ment, lane change distance at the worst levels of service was explored using VISSIM simulation. The results show that the eight-lane changing distance based on modified theoretical calculations, revealed a minor difference with VISSIM simulation in free flow condition. Further-more, placement distance at the worst levels of service are discussed. Then placement distance of all-level AGSs is recommended to be 3 km, 2 km, 1.2 km, and 0.8 km, considering the driver\u27s short-term memory attenuation calculation formula. Determining the two-way eight-lane AGS placement distance from the perspective of LOS can provide a basis on which to supplement the existing stan-dards and references for the AGS placement distance af-ter the expressway expansion in China

Mechanisms of Stress Tolerance in Xerophyte \u3cem\u3eZygophyllum xanthoxylum\u3c/em\u3e and Their Application in Genetic Improvement of Legume Forages

Xerophytes, naturally growing in desert areas, have evolved multiple protective mechanisms to survive and grow well in harsh environments. Zygophyllum xanthoxylum, a succulent xerophyte with excellent adaptability to adverse arid environments and a fodder shrub with high palatability and nutrient value, colonizes arid areas in China and Mongolia. In this study, we found that Z. xanthoxylum grew better responding to salt condition with a typical feature for halophytes and became more tolerant to drought in the presence of moderate salinity (50 mM NaCl); 50 mM NaCl alleviated deleterious impacts of drought on the growth of Z. xanthoxylum by improving the relative water content, inducing a significant drop in leaf water potential and, concomitantly, increasing leaf turgor pressure and chlorophyll concentrations resulting in an enhancement of overall plant photosynthetic activity. Subsequently, co-expression of genes encoding the tonoplast Na+/H+ antiporter (ZxNHX) and H+-PPase (ZxVP1-1) which involve in leaf Na+ accumulation under stress condition by compartmentalizing Na+ into vacuoles in Z. xanthoxylum significantly improved both drought and salt tolerance in legume forages, Lotus corniculatus L. and Medicago sativa L

FINER: Flexible spectral-bias tuning in Implicit NEural Representation by Variable-periodic Activation Functions

Implicit Neural Representation (INR), which utilizes a neural network to map coordinate inputs to corresponding attributes, is causing a revolution in the field of signal processing. However, current INR techniques suffer from a restricted capability to tune their supported frequency set, resulting in imperfect performance when representing complex signals with multiple frequencies. We have identified that this frequency-related problem can be greatly alleviated by introducing variable-periodic activation functions, for which we propose FINER. By initializing the bias of the neural network within different ranges, sub-functions with various frequencies in the variable-periodic function are selected for activation. Consequently, the supported frequency set of FINER can be flexibly tuned, leading to improved performance in signal representation. We demonstrate the capabilities of FINER in the contexts of 2D image fitting, 3D signed distance field representation, and 5D neural radiance fields optimization, and we show that it outperforms existing INRs.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure

HPV Infection in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Its Relationship to the Prognosis of Patients in Northern China

Purpose. Human papillomavirus (HPV) as a risk factor for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has previously been studied, but importance of HPV status in ESCC for prognosis is less clear. Methods. A total of 105 specimens with ESCC were tested by in situ hybridization for HPV 16/18 and immunohistochemistry for p16 expression. The 5-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival were calculated in relation to these markers and the Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine the hazard ratio (HR) of variables in univariate and multivariate analysis. Results. HPV was detected in 27.6% (29) of the 105 patients with ESCC, and all positive cases were HPV-16. Twenty-five (86.2%) of the 29 HPV-positive tumors were stained positive for p16. HPV infected patients had better 5-year rates of OS (65.9% versus 43.4% among patients with HPV-negative tumors; P = 0.002 by the log-rank test) and had a 63% reduction in the risk of death (adjusted HR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.16 to 0.82, and P = 0.01). Conclusions. HPV infection may be one of many factors contributing to the development of ESCC and tumor HPV status is an independent prognostic factor for survival among patients with ESCC

Structural Reliability Based Dynamic Positioning of Turret-Moored FPSOs in Extreme Seas

FPSO is widely used during the deep-sea oil and gas exploration operations, for which it is an effective way to keep their position by means of positioning mooring (PM) technology to ensure the long-term reliability of operations, even in extreme seas. Here, a kind of dynamic positioning (DP) controller in terms of structural reliability is presented for the single-point turret-moored FPSOs. Firstly, the mathematical model of the moored FPSO in terms of kinematics and dynamics is established. Secondly, the catenary method is applied to analyze the mooring line dynamics, and mathematical model of one single mooring line is set up based on the catenary equation. Thereafter, mathematical model for the whole turret mooring system is established. Thirdly, a structural reliability index is defined to evaluate the breaking strength of each mooring line. At the same time, control constraints are also considered to design a state feedback controller using the backstepping technique. Finally, a series of simulation tests are carried out for a certain turret-moored FPSO with eight mooring lines. It is shown in the simulation results that the moored FPSO can keep its position well in extreme seas. Besides, the FPSO mooring line tension is reduced effectively to ensure mooring lines safety to a large extent in harsh sea environment

A comprehensive preimplantation genetic testing approach for SEA-type α-thalassemia by fluorescent gap-polymerase chain reaction combined with haplotype analysis

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and necessity of using fluorescence Gap-polymerase chain reaction combined with haplotype analysis in preimplantation genetic testing for SEA-type α-thalassemia.Methods: A total of 26 preimplantation genetic testing biopsy cycles were performed in 25 families from June 2021 to February 2022. All couples were carriers of SEA-type α-thalassemia. Fluorescent Gap-polymerase chain reaction was used for detecting fragment deletion. Subsequently, according to the results of polymerase chain reaction, reference embryos were identified to establish haplotype using single nucleotide polymorphism array, and aneuploidy was screened simultaneously. In cases wherein the polymerase chain reaction results were inconsistent with the haplotype results, the reasons were investigated, either by retest of the biopsied samples or rebiopsy of the embryo.Results: Among the 172 embryos, 162 had consistent results when tested using both methods, resulting in a consistency rate of 94.2%. Conversely, 10 embryos had inconsistent results, mainly due to chromosome 16 aneuploidy (n = 7), allele dropout in Gap-polymerase chain reaction (n = 2), or incorrect haplotype due to poor sample amplification quality (n = 1). The clinical pregnancy rate of each frozen-thawed embryo transfer was 57.7% (15/26). Six families underwent prenatal diagnosis, which confirmed the results of preimplantation genetic testing.Conclusion: Fluorescent Gap-polymerase chain reaction combined with haplotype analysis is feasible and necessary for SEA-type α-thalassemia preimplantation genetic testing

Diet-Related Metabolites Associated with Cognitive Decline Revealed by Untargeted Metabolomics in a Prospective Cohort

Scope: Untargeted metabolomics may reveal preventive targets in cognitive aging, including within the food metabolome. Methods and results: A case-control study nested in the prospective Three-City study includes participants aged &65 years and initially free of dementia. A total of 209 cases of cognitive decline and 209 controls (matched for age, gen- der, education) with slower cognitive decline over up to 12 years are contrasted. Using untargeted metabolomics and bootstrap-enhanced penalized regression, a baseline serum signature of 22 metabolites associated with subsequent cognitive decline is identified. The signature includes three coffee metabolites, a biomarker of citrus intake, a cocoa metabolite, two metabolites putatively derived from fish and wine, three medium-chain acylcarnitines, glycodeoxycholic acid, lysoPC(18:3), trimethyllysine, glucose, cortisol, creatinine, and arginine. Adding the 22 metabolites to a reference predictive model for cognitive decline (conditioned on age, gender, education and including ApoE-ε4, diabetes, BMI, and number of medications) substantially increases the predictive performance: cross-validated Area Under the Receiver Operating Curve = 75% [95% CI 70-80%] compared to 62% [95% CI 56-67%]. Conclusions: The untargeted metabolomics study supports a protective role of specific foods (e.g., coffee, cocoa, fish) and various alterations in the endogenous metabolism responsive to diet in cognitive aging

Early signature in the blood lipidome associated with subsequent cognitive decline in the elderly: A case-control analysis nested within the Three-City cohort study

Background Brain lipid metabolism appears critical for cognitive aging, but whether alterations in the lipidome relate to cognitive decline remains unclear at the system level. Methods We studied participants from the Three-City study, a multicentric cohort of older persons, free of dementia at time of blood sampling, and who provided repeated measures of cognition over 12 subsequent years. We measured 189 serum lipids from 13 lipid classes using shotgun lipidomics in a case-control sample on cognitive decline (matched on age, sex and level of education) nested within the Bordeaux study center (discovery, n = 418). Associations with cognitive decline were investigated using bootstrapped penalized regression, and tested for validation in the Dijon study center (validation, n = 314). Findings Among 17 lipids identified in the discovery stage, lower levels of the triglyceride TAG50:5, and of four membrane lipids (sphingomyelin SM40:2,2, phosphatidylethanolamine PE38:5(18:1/20:4), ether-phosphatidylethanolamine PEO34:3(16:1/18:2), and ether-phosphatidylcholine PCO34:1(16:1/18:0)), and higher levels of PCO32:0(16:0/16:0), were associated with greater odds of cognitive decline, and replicated in our validation sample. Interpretation These findings indicate that in the blood lipidome of non-demented older persons, a specific profile of lipids involved in membrane fluidity, myelination, and lipid rafts, is associated with subsequent cognitive decline. Funding The complete list of funders is available at the end of the manuscript, in the Acknowledgement section