Comparing levonorgestrel intrauterine system versus hysteroscopic resection in patients with postmenstrual spotting related to a niche in the caesarean scar (MIHYS NICHE trial) : Protocol of a randomised controlled trial

Funding This work was supported by National Key Research and Development Programme (2018YFC1002102), Research Project of Shanghai Health and Fitness Commission (201940012,20184Y0344)),Shanghai Municipal Key Clinical Specialty (shslczdzk01802), Medical Engineering Cross Funds from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (YG2017QN38, ZH2018QNA36, YG2021ZD31), Medical innovation research project of the 2020 'Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan' of Shanghai Science and Technology Commission (20Y11907700), and Clinical Science and Technology Innovation Project of Shanghai Hospital Development Center(SHDC22020216).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Rapid exploration with multi-rotors: A frontier selection method for high speed flight

Exploring and mapping previously unknown environments while avoiding collisions with obstacles is a fundamental task for autonomous robots. In scenarios where this needs to be done rapidly, multi-rotors are a good choice for the task, as they can cover ground at potentially very high velocities. Flying at high velocities, however, implies the ability to rapidly plan trajectories and to react to new information quickly. In this paper, we propose an extension to classical frontier -based exploration that facilitates exploration at high speeds. The extension consists of a reactive mode in which the multi-rotor rapidly selects a goal frontier from its field of view. The goal frontier is selected in a way that minimizes the change in velocity necessary to reach it. While this approach can increase the total path length, it significantly reduces the exploration time, since the multi-rotor can fly at consistently higher speeds

Intratumoral microbiome impacts immune infiltrates in tumor microenvironment and predicts prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients

BackgroundDifferent intratumoral microbiotaexist in different tumors and play a crucial function in carcinogenesis. However, whether they impact clinical outcomes in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and their mechanism remain unclear.Methods16S rDNA amplicon sequencing was performed on surgically resected samples from 98 ESCC patients to analyze intratumoral microbiome abundance and composition. Multiplex fluorescent immunohistochemistry staining was used to profile the phenotypes of immune infiltrates in the tumor microenvironment (TME).ResultsPatients with higher intratumoral Shannon index had significantly worse surgical outcomes. When patients were divided into short-term survivors and long-term survivors based on the median survival time, both intratumoral alpha-diversity and beta-diversity were found to be significantly inconsistent, and the relative abundance of Lactobacillus and Leptotrichia emerged as the two microorganisms that probably influenced the survival of ESCC patients. Only Lactobacillus in ESCC was validated to significantly worsen patients’ prognoses and to be positively correlated with the Shannon index. Multivariate analysis revealed that the intratumoral Shannon index, the relative abundance of Lactobacillus, and the pathologic tumor–node–metastasis (pTNM) stage were independently associated with patients’ overall survival. Furthermore, the relative abundance of both Lactobacillus and Shannon index was positively correlated with the proportions of PD-L1+ epithelial cells (ECs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). The Shannon index was negatively correlated with the proportions of natural killer (NK) cells in the TME.ConclusionsA high abundance of intratumoral Lactobacillus and bacterial alpha-diversity was associated with the formation of the immunosuppressive TME and predicted poor long-term survival in ESCC patients

Geographical Distribution and Risk Association of Human Papillomavirus Genotype 52–Variant Lineages

Human papillomavirus (HPV) genotype 52 is commonly found in Asian cases of cervical cancer but is rare elsewhere. Analysis of 611 isolates collected worldwide revealed a remarkable geographical distribution, with lineage B predominating in Asia (89.0% vs 0%–5.5% ; Pcorrected < .001), whereas lineage A predominated in Africa, the Americas, and Europe. We propose that the name “Asian lineage” be used to denote lineage B, to signify this feature. Preliminary analysis suggested a higher disease risk for lineage B, although ethnogeographical confounders could not be excluded. Further studies are warranted to verify whether the reported high attribution of disease to HPV52 in Asia is due to the high prevalence of lineage B

From the Modern Girl to Traditional Chinese Landscapes: Lang Jingshan's Art Photography in Republican Shanghai (1911-1949)

This thesis aims to explore the various stages of Lang Jingshan's photography from the modern girls, cityscapes to his well-known composite photographs during Republican Shanghai. Photographs that he submitted to popular magazines before the 1940s were often neglected in the media when one tries to tell a story about Lang. Thus, I will reveal his experiments in various photography styles, genres, and show that he was a complex artist who was not only an advocate for Chinese culture. The first section of the works I discuss is his portrays of modern Shanghai women published in popular magazines. These artworks celebrated modernity in Shanghai and exposed Lang's role as a trendy photographer. The second group of photographs is of scenes of the city, which Lang Jingshan focused on portraying modernity in Republican Shanghai to popular media. The third and last group of photographs is typical examples of Lang's composite photographs exhibited in western art salons that resembled traditional Chinese paintings. These aspects of his style not only showed the process of his photography development but also that he was conscious of the art scene during the Republican period and that he tailored each style with different audiences in mind

Academic and Social Experiences of Chinese International Undergraduate Students at a Canadian University

The number of international students studying in Canadian universities continues to rise as a direct consequence of the internationalization of higher education in Canada. International students bring financial, cultural, and academic benefits to Canadian universities. Among all the international students pursuing higher education in Canada, Chinese international students take up a large portion and have become an important population group within the Canadian university community. Although Chinese international students have made tremendous contributions to Canadian universities, they also face many challenges when adjusting to their new environment. This study investigates the academic and social experiences of Chinese international undergraduate students through examining their transition process at one university in western Canada. The study is informed by Bourdieu’s capital theory. Specifically, this study employs a qualitative case study as the methodology and relied on semi-structured interviews as the method. Data for the study were collected from interviews with 10 Chinese international undergraduate students. This study reveals that Chinese international undergraduate students were motivated by different factors to study in Canada; additionally, they encountered various language, academic and social challenges, but each adopted creative coping strategies such as mobilizing their digital social capital to overcome these challenges. This study also suggests that it is important for university instructors, staff and local students to value international students’ cultural capital and their multilingual capital. Insights of the study can inform university policymakers, instructors, and staff to provide a better environment and appropriate support for international students

From the Modern Girl to Traditional Chinese Landscapes: Lang Jingshan's Art Photography in Republican Shanghai (1911-1949)

This thesis aims to explore the various stages of Lang Jingshan's photography from the modern girls, cityscapes to his well-known composite photographs during Republican Shanghai. Photographs that he submitted to popular magazines before the 1940s were often neglected in the media when one tries to tell a story about Lang. Thus, I will reveal his experiments in various photography styles, genres, and show that he was a complex artist who was not only an advocate for Chinese culture. The first section of the works I discuss is his portrays of modern Shanghai women published in popular magazines. These artworks celebrated modernity in Shanghai and exposed Lang's role as a trendy photographer. The second group of photographs is of scenes of the city, which Lang Jingshan focused on portraying modernity in Republican Shanghai to popular media. The third and last group of photographs is typical examples of Lang's composite photographs exhibited in western art salons that resembled traditional Chinese paintings. These aspects of his style not only showed the process of his photography development but also that he was conscious of the art scene during the Republican period and that he tailored each style with different audiences in mind

Lessons from Global Financial Crisis : Human Capital and Business Activities among Nascent Women Entrepreneurs in China

This study aims to investigate the effect of the crisis on entrepreneurial activities and how it can be relieved. Specifically, we explore how the positive effects of the human capital (self-confidence, opportunity alertness, and risk willingness) on startup activities are changed after the global financial crisis. Additionally, we explore how knowing an entrepreneur boosts up these relationships. We applied data from the Global EntrepreneurshipMonitor (GEM) about prospective women entrepreneurs in China in 2006-2007 (precrisis time) and 2009-2010 (postcrisis time). Results show a sharp drop in effect size of self-confidence and opportunity recognition upon women’s entrepreneurial actions; however, the global financial crisis nullified the effect of fear of failure on potential women entrepreneurs’ business activities. Furthermore, knowing an entrepreneur has no significant moderating effect. Theoretical and practical implications and directions for future research are discussed

When Cognitive Proximity Leads to Higher Evaluation Decision Quality : A Study of Public Funding Allocation

Project expert evaluation is the backbone of public funding allocation. A slight change in score can push a proposal below or above a funding line. Academic researchers have discovered many factors that may affect evaluation decision quality, yet the subject of cognitive proximity towards decision quality has not been considered thoroughly. Using 923 observations of the 2017 Beijing Innofund data, the study finds that cognitive proximity has an inverted “U-shape” relation to decision-making quality. Moreover, two contextual factors, evaluation experience and evaluation efforts, exert moderation effects on the inverted U shape. These findings fill the gaps in the current research on cognition-based perspective by specifying the mechanism of cognitive proximity in the evaluation field and contributing to improving decision-making quality by selecting appropriate evaluators. Theoretical contributions and policy implications have been discussed