异氟烷麻醉对小鼠自发肌电及TUS/TMAS诱发肌电的影响

经颅超声刺激(TUS)和经颅磁声耦合刺激(TMAS)调控运动皮层效果明显,但受限于清醒状态动物难以束缚,已有研究大多在麻醉状态下进行,对麻醉减弱调控效果的分析集中于中枢神经系统。本研究记录了异氟烷麻醉下24只小鼠的肢体自发肌电和TUS/TMAS诱发肌电,定量分析了麻醉对自发肌电和诱发肌电发放率、潜伏期、时长和幅值的影响。结果显示,随着异氟烷输出浓度从0.40%增加至0.75%,每周期内小鼠自发肌电频次减少约50%,肌电发放时长变短,呈抑制状态;TUS/TMAS诱发肌电的成功率分别降低约50%和70%、潜伏期均延长约0.1 s、时长分别缩短约0.3和0.5 s,表明TUS/TMAS对运动皮层的调控效果随麻醉程度的加深而减弱。肢体自发和诱发肌电在发放率和时长上存在关联性特征,提示麻醉状态下小鼠自发肌电抑制状态可能是刺激效果减弱的影响因素之一。

肠道菌群代谢物TMAO与非酒精性脂肪性肝病的关系

目的检测NAFLD患者血清氧化三甲胺(TMAO)及其前体代谢物水平,及肠道中直肠真杆菌、多形拟杆菌、乳酸杆菌和双歧杆菌的表达量,探讨肠道菌群代谢物TMAO在NAFLD病程进展中的作用。方法随机选取118例受试者,分为NAFLD组86例和健康对照组32例,采用高效液相色谱串联质谱法检测受试者血清中TMAO及其前体代谢物的水平,qRT-PCR法检测粪便中目标细菌DNA的表达量。结果NAFLD患者血清TMAO、三甲胺(TMA)及胆碱水平明显升高(P<0.05),肝脏脂肪含量与TMAO的水平具有正相关性(P<0.05);NAFLD患者粪便中乳酸杆菌、直肠真杆菌表达量增加(P<0.05),双歧杆菌、多形拟杆菌表达量减少(P<0.05);血清TMAO水平与粪便中直肠真杆菌的数量呈正相关(r=0.280,P<0.05),与双歧杆菌的数量呈负相关(r=-0.332,P<0.05)。结论血清TMAO水平与NAFLD的严重程度呈正相关,NAFLD患者肠道菌群结构失衡,且与TMAO存在关联,推断肠道菌群可能通过代谢生成TMAO在NAFLD病程进展中起重要作用。

茱萸丸调控TMA/FMO3/TMAO通路促进胆固醇逆向转运抗动脉粥样硬化

目的旨在研究茱萸丸对动脉粥样硬化(atherosclerosis,AS)形成的影响及其相关机制。方法采用高脂饲料喂养雄性载脂蛋白E基因敲除(ApoE^(-/-))小鼠诱导动脉粥样硬化模型,造模周期为12周。造模成功的47只ApoE^(-/-)小鼠随机分成5组,即模型组10只,茱萸丸低、中、高剂量组各9只,阿托伐他汀钙组10只,以同周龄雄性C57BL/6J小鼠10只作为空白组。空白组与模型组予等体积无菌蒸馏水灌胃,茱萸丸低、中、高剂量组分别给予130.54、261.08、522.16 mg·kg^(-1)灌胃,阿托伐他汀钙组10.40 mg·kg^(-1)灌胃,每日1次,各组小鼠共灌胃12周。给药结束后,采用苏木精-伊红(HE)染色观测主动脉及肝脏病理变化;酶联免疫吸附测定法(ELISA)检测血清中氧化型低密度脂蛋白(ox-LDL)、单核细胞趋化蛋-1(MCP-1)、血管细胞黏附分-1(VCAM-1)、细胞间黏附分子-1(ICAM-1)水平;生化法检测肝脏总胆固醇(TC)、三酰甘油(TG)、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇(LDL-C)水平;超高效液相色谱-质谱联用技术(UHPLC-MS/MS)检测血浆三甲胺(TMA)、氧化三甲胺(TMAO)含量;免疫荧光法检测小鼠肝脏中二甲基苯胺单加氧酶3(FMO3)蛋白的表达水平;实时荧光定量聚合酶链式反应(real-time PCR)检测肝脏FMO3、腺苷三磷酸结合盒转运蛋白A1(ABCA1)、B族Ⅰ型清道夫受体(SR-B1)、ATP结合盒转运子G5抗体(ABCG5)、三磷酸腺苷结合盒转运体G8(ABCG8)和细胞色素P4507A1(CYP7A1)mRNA表达水平。结果与空白组比较,模型组小鼠HE染色可见主动脉内膜大面积增厚,肝脏脂肪变性及炎性浸润严重;血清中ox-LDL、MCP-1、VCAM-1、ICAM-1升高;肝脏TC、TG、LDL-C升高;血浆中TMA、TMAO水平升高;以及肝脏中FMO3 mRNA与蛋白表达水平升高,ABCA1、SR-B1、ABCG5、ABCG8、CYP7A1 mRNA表达水平升高(P<0.01)。与模型组比较,茱萸丸低、中、高剂量组及阿托伐他汀钙组HE染色随着茱萸丸浓度的增加,斑块富集区域逐渐缩小,肝脏脂肪变性及炎性浸润降低;血清中ox-LDL、MCP-1、VCAM-1、ICAM-1降低;肝脏TC、TG、LDL-C降低;血浆中TMA、TMAO水平降低;以及肝脏中FMO3 mRNA与蛋白表达水平降低,ABCA1、SR-B1、ABCG5、ABCG8、CYP7A1 mRNA表达水平降低(P<0.01或P<0.05)。结论茱萸丸对小鼠动脉粥样硬化斑块具有较好的治疗作用,其机制可能与调节TMA/FMO3/TMAO脂代谢通路,促进胆固醇的逆向转运和分解有关。

两种测量方法在房颤患者左心耳封堵术前评估中的Bland-Altman一致性评价

目的 探讨左心耳(LAA)相关测量参数在基于心脏计算机断层扫描成像(cardiac computed tomography angiography, CCTA)的自动分割测量与手动测量方法的一致性。方法 回顾性收集2016年12月1日~2020年3月31日在解放军总医院心血管医学部接受CCTA检查的非瓣膜性房颤患者168例。以专业医师的手动测量结果作为金标准,使用Bland-Atman统计方法分别对使用Anythink β软件自动测量的左心耳开口平面周长、最长径、最短径,左心耳容积,开口平面与轴断面、矢状面、冠状面的夹角等参数进行一致性分析。结果 左心耳自动测量与手动测量中开口的周长、最长径、最短径的一致性评价组内相关系数(ICC)值分别为0.93、0.854、0.935(P<0.01)。Bland-Altman分析显示左心耳自动测量开口平面周长、最长径、最短径,左心耳容积,开口平面与轴断面、矢状面、冠状面的夹角与手动测量值的差值超出95%一致性限范围的点数均<10%,一致性良好。结论 基于CCTA的左心耳自动分割测量方法可以自动完成LAA形态的识别和相关参数的测量,高效准确,可重复性高,可将其作为一种左心耳封堵术(LAAO)术前评估的测量工具。

Screening biomarkers for spinal cord injury using weighted gene co-expression network analysis and machine learning

Immune changes and inflammatory responses have been identified as central events in the pathological process of spinal co rd injury.They can greatly affect nerve regeneration and functional recovery.However,there is still limited understanding of the peripheral immune inflammato ry response in spinal cord inju ry.In this study.we obtained microRNA expression profiles from the peripheral blood of patients with spinal co rd injury using high-throughput sequencing.We also obtained the mRNA expression profile of spinal cord injury patients from the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)database(GSE151371).We identified 54 differentially expressed microRNAs and 1656 diffe rentially expressed genes using bioinformatics approaches.Functional enrichment analysis revealed that various common immune and inflammation-related signaling pathways,such as neutrophil extracellular trap formation pathway,T cell receptor signaling pathway,and nuclear factor-κB signal pathway,we re abnormally activated or inhibited in spinal cord inju ry patient samples.We applied an integrated strategy that combines weighted gene co-expression network analysis,LASSO logistic regression,and SVM-RFE algorithm and identified three biomarke rs associated with spinal cord injury:ANO10,BST1,and ZFP36L2.We verified the expression levels and diagnostic perfo rmance of these three genes in the original training dataset and clinical samples through the receiver operating characteristic curve.Quantitative polymerase chain reaction results showed that ANO20 and BST1 mRNA levels were increased and ZFP36L2 mRNA was decreased in the peripheral blood of spinal cord injury patients.We also constructed a small RNA-mRNA interaction network using Cytoscape.Additionally,we evaluated the proportion of 22 types of immune cells in the peripheral blood of spinal co rd injury patients using the CIBERSORT tool.The proportions of naive B cells,plasma cells,monocytes,and neutrophils were increased while the proportions of memory B cells,CD8^(+)T cells,resting natural killer cells,resting dendritic cells,and eosinophils were markedly decreased in spinal cord injury patients increased compared with healthy subjects,and ANO10,BST1 and ZFP26L2we re closely related to the proportion of certain immune cell types.The findings from this study provide new directions for the development of treatment strategies related to immune inflammation in spinal co rd inju ry and suggest that ANO10,BST2,and ZFP36L2 are potential biomarkers for spinal cord injury.The study was registe red in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry(registration No.ChiCTR2200066985,December 12,2022).

Social-ecological perspective on the suicidal behaviour factors of early adolescents in China:a network analysis

Background In early adolescence,youth are highly prone to suicidal behaviours.Identifying modifiable risk factors during this critical phase is a priority to inform effective suicide prevention strategies.Aims To explore the risk and protective factors of suicidal behaviours(ie,suicidal ideation,plans and attempts)in early adolescence in China using a social-ecological perspective.Methods Using data from the cross-sectional project‘Healthy and Risky Behaviours Among Middle School Students in Anhui Province,China',stratified random cluster sampling was used to select 5724 middle school students who had completed self-report questionnaires in November 2020.Network analysis was employed to examine the correlates of suicidal ideation,plans and attempts at four levels,namely individual(sex,academic performance,serious physical llness/disability,history of self-harm,depression,impulsivity,sleep problems,resilience),family(family economic status,relationship with mother,relationship with father,family violence,childhood abuse,parental mental illness),school(relationship with teachers,relationship with classmates,school-bullying victimisation and perpetration)and social(social support,satisfaction with society).Results In total,37.9%,19.0%and 5.5%of the students reported suicidal ideation,plans and attempts in the past 6 months,respectively.The estimated network revealed that suicidal ideation,plans and attempts were collectively associated with a history of self-harm,sleep problems,childhood abuse,school bullying and victimisation.Centrality analysis indicated that the most influential nodes in the network were history of self-harm and childhood abuse.Notably,the network also showed unique correlates of suicidal ideation(sex,weight=0.60;impulsivity,weight=0.24;family violence,weight=0.17;relationship with teachers,weight=-0.03;school-bullying perpetration,weight=0.22),suicidal plans(social support,weight=-0.15)and suicidal attempts(relationship with mother,weight=-0.10;parental mental llness,weight=0.61).Conclusions This study identified the correlates of suicidal ideation,plans and attempts,and provided practical implications for suicide prevention for young adolescents in China.Firstly,this study highlighted the importance of joint interventions across multiple departments.Secondly,the common risk factors of suicidal ideation,plans and attempts were elucidated.Thirdly,this study proposed target interventions to address the unique influencing factors of suicidal ideation,plans and attempts.

Advances in microfluidic-based DNA methylation analysis

DNA methylation has been extensively investigated in recent years,not least because of its known relationship with various diseases.Progress in analytical methods can greatly increase the relevance of DNA methylation studies to both clinical medicine and scientific research.Microflu-idic chips are excellent carriers for molecular analysis,and their use can provide improvements from multiple aspects.On-chip molecular analysis has received extensive attention owing to its advantages of portability,high throughput,low cost,and high efficiency.In recent years,the use of novel microfluidic chips for DNA methylation analysis has been widely reported and has shown obvious superiority to conventional methods.In this review,wefirst focus on DNA methylation and its applications.Then,we discuss advanced microfluidic-based methods for DNA methylation analysis and describe the great progress that has been made in recent years.Finally,we summarize the advantages that microfluidic technology brings to DNA methylation analysis and describe several challenges and perspectives for on-chip DNA methylation analysis.This review should help researchers improve their understanding and make progress in developing microfluidic-based methods for DNA methylation analysis.

A Review on Sources,Extractions and Analysis Methods of a Sustainable Biomaterial:Tannins

Condensed and hydrolysable tannins are non-toxic natural polyphenols that are a commercial commodity industrialized for tanning hides to obtain leather and for a growing number of other industrial applications mainly to substitute petroleum-based products.They are a definite class of sustainable materials of the forestry industry.They have been in operation for hundreds of years to manufacture leather and now for a growing number of applications in a variety of other industries,such as wood adhesives,metal coating,pharmaceutical/medical applications and several others.This review presents the main sources,either already or potentially commercial of this forestry by-materials,their industrial and laboratory extraction systems,their systems of analysis with their advantages and drawbacks,be these methods so simple to even appear primitive but nonetheless of proven effectiveness,or very modern and instrumental.It constitutes a basic but essential summary of what is necessary to know of these sustainable materials.In doing so,the review highlights some of the main challenges that remain to be addressed to deliver the quality and economics of tannin supply necessary to fulfill the industrial production requirements for some materials-based uses.

Lagrangian coherent structure analysis on transport of Acetes chinensis along coast of Lianyungang,China

Spatial heterogeneity or“patchiness”of plankton distributions in the ocean has always been an attractive and challenging scientific issue to oceanographers.We focused on the accumulation and dynamic mechanism of the Acetes chinensis in the Lianyungang nearshore licensed fishing area.The Lagrangian frame approaches including the Lagrangian coherent structures theory,Lagrangian residual current,and Lagrangian particle-tracking model were applied to find the transport pathways and aggregation characteristics of Acetes chinensis.There exist some material transport pathways for Acetes chinensis passing through the licensed fishing area,and Acetes chinensis is easy to accumulate in the licensed fishing area.The main mechanism forming this distribution pattern is the local circulation induced by the nonlinear interaction of topography and tidal flow.Both the Lagrangian coherent structure analysis and the particle trajectory tracking indicate that Acetes chinensis in the licensed fishing area come from the nearshore estuary.This work contributed to the adjustment of licensed fishing area and the efficient utilization of fishery resources.

Iron and ferritin effects on intensive care unit mortality:A metaanalysis

BACKGROUND The effect of serum iron or ferritin parameters on mortality among critically ill patients is not well characterized.AIM To determine the association between serum iron or ferritin parameters and mortality among critically ill patients.METHODS Web of Science,Embase,PubMed,and Cochrane Library databases were searched for studies on serum iron or ferritin parameters and mortality among critically ill patients.Two reviewers independently assessed,selected,and abstracted data from studies reporting on serum iron or ferritin parameters and mortality among critically ill patients.Data on serum iron or ferritin levels,mortality,and demographics were extracted.RESULTS Nineteen studies comprising 125490 patients were eligible for inclusion.We observed a slight negative effect of serum ferritin on mortality in the United States population[relative risk(RR)1.002;95%CI:1.002-1.004].In patients with sepsis,serum iron had a significant negative effect on mortality(RR=1.567;95%CI:1.208-1.925).CONCLUSION This systematic review presents evidence of a negative correlation between serum iron levels and mortality among patients with sepsis.Furthermore,it reveals a minor yet adverse impact of serum ferritin on mortality among the United States population.

Telomerase-related advances in hepatocellular carcinoma:A bibliometric and visual analysis

BACKGROUND As a critical early event in hepatocellular carcinogenesis,telomerase activation might be a promising and critical biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)patients,and its function in the genesis and treatment of HCC has gained much attention over the past two decades.AIM To perform a bibliometric analysis to systematically assess the current state of research on HCC-related telomerase.METHODS The Web of Science Core Collection and PubMed were systematically searched to retrieve publications pertaining to HCC/telomerase limited to“articles”and“reviews”published in English.A total of 873 relevant publications related to HCC and telomerase were identified.We employed the Bibliometrix package in R to extract and analyze the fundamental information of the publications,such as the trends in the publications,citation counts,most prolific or influential writers,and most popular journals;to screen for keywords occurring at high frequency;and to draw collaboration and cluster analysis charts on the basis of coauthorship and co-occurrences.VOSviewer was utilized to compile and visualize the bibliometric data.RESULTS A surge of 51 publications on HCC/telomerase research occurred in 2016,the most productive year from 1996 to 2023,accompanied by the peak citation count recorded in 2016.Up to December 2023,35226 citations were made to all publications,an average of 46.6 citations to each paper.The United States received the most citations(n=13531),followed by China(n=7427)and Japan(n=5754).In terms of national cooperation,China presented the highest centrality,its strongest bonds being to the United States and Japan.Among the 20 academic institutions with the most publications,ten came from China and the rest of Asia,though the University of Paris Cité,Public Assistance-Hospitals of Paris,and the National Institute of Health and Medical Research(INSERM)were the most prolific.As for individual contributions,Hisatomi H,Kaneko S,and Ide T were the three most prolific authors.Kaneko S ranked first by H-index,G-index,and overall publication count,while Zucman-Rossi J ranked first in citation count.The five most popular journals were the World Journal of Gastroenterology,Hepatology,Journal of Hepatology,Oncotarget,and Oncogene,while Nature Genetics,Hepatology,and Nature Reviews Disease Primers had the most citations.We extracted 2293 keywords from the publications,120 of which appeared more than ten times.The most frequent were HCC,telomerase and human telomerase reverse transcriptase(hTERT).Keywords such as mutational landscape,TERT promoter mutations,landscape,risk,and prognosis were among the most common issues in this field in the last three years and may be topics for research in the coming years.CONCLUSION Our bibliometric analysis provides a comprehensive overview of HCC/telomerase research and insights into promising upcoming research.

Micro segment analysis of supercritical methane thermal-hydraulic performance and pseudo-boiling in a PCHE straight channel

The printed circuit heat exchanger(PCHE) is receiving wide attention as a new kind of compact heat exchanger and is considered as a promising vaporizer in the LNG process. In this paper, a PCHE straight channel in the length of 500 mm is established, with a semicircular cross section in a diameter of 1.2 mm.Numerical simulation is employed to investigate the flow and heat transfer performance of supercritical methane in the channel. The pseudo-boiling theory is adopted and the liquid-like, two-phase-like, and vapor-like regimes are divided for supercritical methane to analyze the heat transfer and flow features.The results are presented in micro segment to show the local convective heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop. It shows that the convective heat transfer coefficient in segments along the channel has a significant peak feature near the pseudo-critical point and a heat transfer deterioration when the average fluid temperature in the segment is higher than the pseudo-critical point. The reason is explained with the generation of vapor-like film near the channel wall that the peak feature related to a nucleateboiling-like state and heat transfer deterioration related to a film-boiling-like state. The effects of parameters, including mass flow rate, pressure, and wall heat flux on flow and heat transfer were analyzed.In calculating of the averaged heat transfer coefficient of the whole channel, the traditional method shows significant deviation and the micro segment weighted average method is adopted. The pressure drop can mainly be affected by the mass flux and pressure and little affected by the wall heat flux. The peak of the convective heat transfer coefficient can only form at high mass flux, low wall heat flux, and near critical pressure, in which condition the nucleate-boiling-like state is easier to appear. Moreover,heat transfer deterioration will always appear, since the supercritical flow will finally develop into a filmboiling-like state. So heat transfer deterioration should be taken seriously in the design and safe operation of vaporizer PCHE. The study of this work clarified the local heat transfer and flow feature of supercritical methane in microchannel and contributed to the deep understanding of supercritical methane flow of the vaporization process in PCHE.

Semi-analytical solution for drained expansion analysis of a hollow cylinder of critical state soils

The expansion of a thick-walled hollow cylinder in soil is of non-self-similar nature that the stress/deformation paths are not the same for different soil material points.As a result,this problem cannot be solved by the common self-similar-based similarity techniques.This paper proposes a novel,exact solution for rigorous drained expansion analysis of a hollow cylinder of critical state soils.Considering stress-dependent elastic moduli of soils,new analytical stress and displacement solutions for the nonself-similar problem are developed taking the small strain assumption in the elastic zone.In the plastic zone,the cavity expansion response is formulated into a set of first-order partial differential equations(PDEs)with the combination use of Eulerian and Lagrangian descriptions,and a novel solution algorithm is developed to efficiently solve this complex boundary value problem.The solution is presented in a general form and thus can be useful for a wide range of soils.With the new solution,the non-self-similar nature induced by the finite outer boundary is clearly demonstrated and highlighted,which is found to be greatly different to the behaviour of cavity expansion in infinite soil mass.The present solution may serve as a benchmark for verifying the performance of advanced numerical techniques with critical state soil models and be used to capture the finite boundary effect for pressuremeter tests in small-sized calibration chambers.

Identification of cell surface markers for acute myeloid leukemia prognosis based on multi-model analysis

Given the extremely high inter-patient heterogeneity of acute myeloid leukemia(AML),the identification of biomarkers for prognostic assessment and therapeutic guidance is critical.Cell surface markers(CSMs)have been shown to play an important role in AML leukemogenesis and progression.In the current study,we evaluated the prognostic potential of all human CSMs in 130 AML patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)based on differential gene expression analysis and univariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis.By using multi-model analysis,including Adaptive LASSO regression,LASSO regression,and Elastic Net,we constructed a 9-CSMs prognostic model for risk stratification of the AML patients.The predictive value of the 9-CSMs risk score was further validated at the transcriptome and proteome levels.Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed that the risk score was an independent prognostic factor for the AML patients.The AML patients with high 9-CSMs risk scores had a shorter overall and event-free survival time than those with low scores.Notably,single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis indicated that patients with high 9-CSMs risk scores exhibited chemotherapy resistance.Furthermore,PI3K inhibitors were identified as potential treatments for these high-risk patients.In conclusion,we constructed a 9-CSMs prognostic model that served as an independent prognostic factor for the survival of AML patients and held the potential for guiding drug therapy.

Causal Analysis Between Rice Growth and Cadmium Accumulation and Transfer under Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Inoculation

Cadmium(Cd)contamination in rice has been a serious threat to human health.To investigate the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF)on the Cd translocation in rice,a controlled pot experiment was conducted.The results indicated that AMF significantly increased rice biomass,with an increase of up to 40.0%,particularly in root biomass by up to 68.4%.Notably,the number of prominent rice individuals also increased,and their plasticity was enhanced following AMF inoculation.AMF led to an increase in the net photosynthetic rate and antioxidant enzyme activity of rice.In the AMF treatment group,the Cd concentration in the rice roots was significantly higher(19.1%‒68.0%)compared with that in the control group.Conversely,the Cd concentration in the rice seeds was lower in the AMF treatment group,indicating that AMF facilitated the sequestration of Cd in rice roots and reduced Cd accumulation in the seeds.Path coefficients varied across different treatments,suggesting that AMF inoculation reduced the direct impact of soil Cd concentration on the total Cd accumulation in seeds.The translocation of Cd was consistently associated with simultaneous growth dilution and compensatory accumulation as a result of mycorrhizal effects.Our study quantitatively analyzed this process through path analysis and clarified the causal relationship between rice growth and Cd transfer under the influence of AMF.

Perception of dental appearance and aesthetic analysis among patients,laypersons and dentists

BACKGROUND Current concepts of beauty are increasingly subjective,influenced by the viewpoints of others.The aim of the study was to evaluate divergences in the perception of dental appearance and smile esthetics among patients,laypersons and dental practitioners.The study goals were to evaluate the influence of age,sex,education and dental specialty on the participants’judgment and to identify the values of different esthetic criteria.Patients sample included 50 patients who responded to a dental appearance questionnaire(DAQ).Two frontal photographs were taken,one during a smile and one with retracted lips.Laypersons and dentists were asked to evaluate both photographs using a Linear Scale from(0-10),where 0 represent(absolutely unaesthetic)and 10 represent(absolutely aesthetic).One-way analysis of variance(ANOVA)and t-test analysis were measured for each group.Most patients in the sample expressed satisfaction with most aspects of their smiles and dental appearance.Among laypersons(including 488 participants),47 pictures“with lips”out of 50 had higher mean aesthetic scores compared to pictures“without lips”.Among the dentist sample,90 dentists’perception towards the esthetic smile and dental appearance for photos“with lips”and“without lips”were the same for 23 out of 50 patients.Perception of smile aesthetics differed between patients,laypersons and dentists.Several factors can contribute to shape the perception of smile aesthetic.AIM To compare the perception of dental aesthetic among patients,laypersons,and professional dentists,to evaluate the impact of age,sex,educational background,and income on the judgments made by laypersons,to assess the variations in experience,specialty,age,and sex on professional dentists’judgment,and to evaluate the role of lips,skin shade and tooth shade in different participants’judgments.METHODS Patients sample included 50 patients who responded to DAQ.Two frontal photographs were taken:one during a smile and one with retracted lips.Laypersons and dentists were asked to evaluate both photographs using a Linear Scale from(0-10),where 0 represent(absolutely unaesthetic)and 10 represent(absolutely aesthetic).One-way ANOVA and t-test analysis were measured for each group.RESULTS Most patients in the sample expressed satisfaction with most aspects of their smiles and dental appearance.Among laypersons(including 488 participants),47 pictures“with lips”out of 50 had higher mean aesthetic scores compared to pictures“without lips”.Whereas among the dentist sample,90 dentists’perception towards the esthetic smile and dental appearance for photos“with lips”and“without lips”were the same for 23 out of 50 patients.Perception of smile aesthetics differed between patients,laypersons and dentists.CONCLUSION Several factors can contribute to shape the perception of smile aesthetic.

Model reduction of fractional impedance spectra for time–frequency analysis of batteries, fuel cells, and supercapacitors

Joint time–frequency analysis is an emerging method for interpreting the underlying physics in fuel cells,batteries,and supercapacitors.To increase the reliability of time–frequency analysis,a theoretical correlation between frequency-domain stationary analysis and time-domain transient analysis is urgently required.The present work formularizes a thorough model reduction of fractional impedance spectra for electrochemical energy devices involving not only the model reduction from fractional-order models to integer-order models and from high-to low-order RC circuits but also insight into the evolution of the characteristic time constants during the whole reduction process.The following work has been carried out:(i)the model-reduction theory is addressed for typical Warburg elements and RC circuits based on the continued fraction expansion theory and the response error minimization technique,respectively;(ii)the order effect on the model reduction of typical Warburg elements is quantitatively evaluated by time–frequency analysis;(iii)the results of time–frequency analysis are confirmed to be useful to determine the reduction order in terms of the kinetic information needed to be captured;and(iv)the results of time–frequency analysis are validated for the model reduction of fractional impedance spectra for lithium-ion batteries,supercapacitors,and solid oxide fuel cells.In turn,the numerical validation has demonstrated the powerful function of the joint time–frequency analysis.The thorough model reduction of fractional impedance spectra addressed in the present work not only clarifies the relationship between time-domain transient analysis and frequency-domain stationary analysis but also enhances the reliability of the joint time–frequency analysis for electrochemical energy devices.

Metagenomic analysis revealing the metabolic role of microbial communities in the free amino acid biosynthesis of Monascus rice vinegar during fermentation

Free amino acid(FAA)is the important component of vinegar that infl uences quality perception and consumer acceptance.FAA is one of the major metabolites produced by microorganisms;however,the microbial metabolic network on FAA biosynthesis remains unclear.Through metagenomic analysis,this work aimed to elucidate the roles of microbes in FAA biosynthesis during Monascus rice vinegar fermentation.Taxonomic profiles from functional analyses showed 14 dominant genera with high contributions to the metabolism pathways.The metabolic network for FAA biosynthesis was then constructed,and the microbial distribution in different metabolic pathways was illuminated.The results revealed that 5 functional genera were closely involved in FAA biosynthesis.This study illuminated the metabolic roles of microorganisms in FAA biosynthesis and provided crucial insights into the functional attributes of microbiota in vinegar fermentation.

Application of Isogeometric Analysis Method in Three-Dimensional Gear Contact Analysis

Gears are pivotal in mechanical drives,and gear contact analysis is a typically difficult problem to solve.Emerging isogeometric analysis(IGA)methods have developed new ideas to solve this problem.In this paper,a threedimensional body parametric gear model of IGA is established,and a theoretical formula is derived to realize single-tooth contact analysis.Results were benchmarked against those obtained from commercial software utilizing the finite element analysis(FEA)method to validate the accuracy of our approach.Our findings indicate that the IGA-based contact algorithmsuccessfullymet theHertz contact test.When juxtaposed with the FEA approach,the IGAmethod demonstrated fewer node degrees of freedomand reduced computational units,all whilemaintaining comparable accuracy.Notably,the IGA method appeared to exhibit consistency in analysis accuracy irrespective of computational unit density,and also significantlymitigated non-physical oscillations in contact stress across the tooth width.This underscores the prowess of IGA in contact analysis.In conclusion,IGA emerges as a potent tool for addressing contact analysis challenges and holds significant promise for 3D gear modeling,simulation,and optimization of various mechanical components.

Bibliometric analysis of microphthalmos and anophthalmos over 20 years:from 2004 to 2023

AIM:To conduct a bibliometric analysis of studies on microphthalmos and anophthalmos(M/A),explore research hotspots,and provide information on future research interests in this field to benefit clinicians and researchers.METHODS:Totally 751 publications related to M/A from the year 2004 to 2023 were collected from the Web of Science Core Collection database.These publications consist of both original and review articles,that are composed in English.The contributions of different countries,institutions,journals,and authors were analyzed,and network analysis was conducted by using Microsoft Excel 2021,VOSviewer,and R Studio to visualize research hotspots.RESULTS:Among all publications included,the highest number of publications came from USA(218,29.03%).China followed with 99 publications(13.18%),and England with 86 publications(11.45%).The publications from the USA had the highest frequency of citations,with 16699 citations,and the highest H-index of 49.The American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A(43,5.73%)published the largest number of papers,and the University of London had the most publications(41,5.46%).The genetic and molecular mechanisms of M/A were still unclear and the clinical intervention for M/A had gained a lot of attention as an emerging area of interest.CONCLUSION:Data have been gathered on the yearly count of published materials and citations,as well as the rise in publication trends,the efficiency of regions or countries,authors,journals,and organizations,along with the high-cited publications in M/A.The recent trend of research has shifted from genetic mechanisms to different clinical phenotypes and corresponding clinical interventions,which can give direction to future research.