A Near-Infrared Imaging System for Robotic Venous Blood Collection.

Venous blood collection is a widely used medical diagnostic technique, and with rapid advancements in robotics, robotic venous blood collection has the potential to replace traditional manual methods. The success of this robotic approach is heavily dependent on the quality of vein imaging. In this paper, we develop a vein imaging device based on the simulation analysis of vein imaging parameters and propose a U-Net+ResNet18 neural network for vein image segmentation.

Experimental study on migration characteristics of LNAPL in the aquitard under pumping conditions.

Research on the migration behaviors of contaminants in the aquitard has been deficient for an extended period. Clay is commonly employed as an impermeable layer or barrier to stop the migration of contaminants. However, under certain conditions, the clay layer may exhibit permeability to water, thereby allowing contaminants to infiltrate and potentially contaminate adjacent aquifers.

Interleg coordination in free-walking bug Erthesina fullo (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae).

Insects can adapt their walking patterns to complex and varied environments and retain the ability to walk even after significant changes in their physical attributes, such as amputation. Although the interleg coordination of intact insects has been widely described in previous studies, the adaptive walking patterns in free-walking insects with amputation of 1 or more legs are still unclear. The pentatomid bug Erthesina fullo exhibits a tripod gait, when walking freely on horizontal substrates, like many other insects.

Investigating the Mechanical Performance of Bionic Wings Based on the Flapping Kinematics of Beetle Hindwings.

The beetle, of the order Coleoptera, possesses outstanding flight capabilities. After completing flight, they can fold their hindwings under the elytra and swiftly unfold them again when they take off. This sophisticated hindwing structure is a result of biological evolution, showcasing the strong environmental adaptability of this species.

Research on machine learning forecasting and early warning model for rainfall-induced landslides in Yunnan province.

Landslides are highly destructive geological disasters that pose a serious threat to the safety of people's lives and property. In this study, historical records of landslides in Yunnan Province, along with eight underlying factors of landslide (elevation, slope, aspect, lithology, land cover type, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), soil type, and average annual precipitation (AAP)), as well as historical rainfall and current rainfall data were utilized. Firstly, we analyzed the sensitivity of each underlying factor in the study area using the frequency ratio (FR) method and obtained a landslide susceptibility map (LSM).

Reproductive toxicology of environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals in women: a cohort study protocol.

Epidemiological evidence over the last few decades has consistently shown that exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is associated with adverse reproductive health outcomes, including male and female infertility, poor-pregnancy outcomes, and increased risk of diseases in childhood and beyond. To investigate the effects of EDCs and lifestyle on all aspects of reproduction (including early oocyte development, fertilization, embryo development, embryo implantation, abortion, and preterm birth). We performed this cohort study on patients receiving fertilization (IVF) treatment.

A cascade nanosystem with "Triple-Linkage" effect for enhanced photothermal and activatable metal ion therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Due to the limitations of single-model tumor therapeutic strategies, multimodal combination therapy have become a more favorable option to enhance efficacy by compensating for its deficiencies. However, in nanomaterial-based multimodal therapeutics for tumors, exploiting synergistic interactions and cascade relationships of materials to achieve more effective treatments is still a great challenge. Based on this, we constructed a nanoplatform with a "triple-linkage" effect by cleverly integrating polydopamine (PDA), silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), and glucose oxidase (GOx) to realize enhanced photothermal therapy (PTT) and activatable metal ion therapy (MIT) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment.

Optimal ICSI timing on immature oocytes for low prognosis patients under the POSEIDON classification.

Background: The optimal timing of performing ICSI on immature oocytes for POSEIDON patients is still unknown to get better early embryonic development outcomes. The purpose of this study was to implore the most appropriate time to carry out ICSI on in vitro maturation GV and MI oocytes for POSEIDON patients.

Methods: Two hundred thirty-nine immature oocytes from 163 POSEIDON patients were prospectively performed ICSI at different timings: P-ICSI (ICSI was performed on in vitro matured oocytes 4-6 h after the first polar body extrusion, N = 81), R-ICSI (ICSI was performed on in vitro matured oocytes less than 4 h after the first polar body extrusion, N = 80), and E-ICSI (ICSI was performed on in vitro matured oocytes the next day after oocytes retrieval, N = 78).

Visibility forecast in Jiangsu province based on the GCN-GRU model.

Low visibility weather easily leads to traffic accidents, posing threats to human life and property. To accurately forecast visibility, we conduct an empirical study focusing on Jiangsu Province. Firstly, we collect the monitoring data from meteorological stations and environmental stations for 2017-2018.

25-Hydroxycholesterol regulates lysosome AMP kinase activation and metabolic reprogramming to educate immunosuppressive macrophages.

Macrophages are critical to turn noninflamed "cold tumors" into inflamed "hot tumors". Emerging evidence indicates abnormal cholesterol metabolites in the tumor microenvironment (TME) with unclear function. Here, we uncovered the inducible expression of cholesterol-25-hydroxylase (Ch25h) by interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) via the transcription factor STAT6, causing 25-hydroxycholesterol (25HC) accumulation.

Design of composite puncture blood collection system and research on puncture force.

Venous blood collection testing is one of the most commonly used medical diagnostic methods. Compared with conventional venous blood collection, robotic collection can reduce needle-stick injuries, medical staff workload, and infection risk; allow doctor-patient isolation; and improve collection reliability. Existing venous blood collection robots use rigid puncture needles, which can easily puncture the lower wall of blood vessels, causing vessel damage and collection failure.

Asiatic acid cyclodextrin inclusion micro-cocrystal for insoluble drug delivery and acute lung injury therapy enhancement.

Background: Acute lung injury (ALI) is a fatal respiratory disease caused by overreactive immune reactions (e.g., SARS-CoV-2 infection), with a high mortality rate.

An amphibian-derived cathelicidin accelerates cutaneous wound healing through its main regulatory effect on phagocytes.

Cathelicidins are an important family of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) involved in the innate immunity in vertebrates. The mammalian cathelicidins have been well characterized, but the relationship between structure and function in amphibian cathelicidins is still not well understood. In this study, a novel 29-residue cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (BugaCATH) was identified from the skin of Bufo gargarizans.

Autologous non-invasively derived stem cells mitochondria transfer shows therapeutic advantages in human embryo quality rescue.

Background: The decline in the quantity and quality of mitochondria are closely associated with infertility, particularly in advanced maternal age. Transferring autologous mitochondria into the oocytes of infertile females represents an innovative and viable strategy for treating infertility, with no concerns regarding ethical considerations. As the donor cells of mitochondria, stem cells have biological advantages but research and evidence in this area are quite scarce.

Effect of growth hormone administration on ameliorating pregnancy outcome in women with advanced maternal age and exploration of its optimized utilization.

Background: Age-related fertility decay is a great challenge for clinicians. Growth hormone (GH) supplementation has been studied as an adjuvant since late 1980s. However, it has not come to a consensus on the GH administration due to the ambiguous efficacy among studies with different enrolled population and dosage regime.

A combined clinical and specific genes' model to predict live birth for in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer patients.

Background: We aimed to develop an accurate model to predict live birth for patients receiving in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) treatment.

Methods: This is a prospective nested case-control study. Women aged between 18 and 38 years, whose body mass index (BMI) were between the range of 18.

Rearrangement of 2-(benzofuran-2-yl)-3-phenylpyridines photoinduced 6π-electrocyclization.

By photoinduced 6π-electrocyclization of 2-(benzofuran-2-yl)-3-phenylpyridine derivatives 1, a method for the synthesis of -dihydrobenzo[]quinolines 2, -dihydrobenzo[]quinolines 3 and 8b-methyl-1,8b-dihydrobenzo[]quinolines 4 was developed. Irradiation of 2-(benzofuran-2-yl)-3-phenylpyridine 1 in acetone-HO (5 : 1, v/v) with a 313 nm UV lamp under an argon atmosphere at room temperature successfully yielded 2, which was further converted into 3 at elevated temperature (200 °C) in glycerol. However, irradiating 2-(3-methylbenzofuran-2-yl)-3-phenylpyridines 1 in CHCl with a 254 nm UV lamp gave 4 in good yields.

Cyclodextrin-Coordinated Liposome-in-Gel for Transcutaneous Quercetin Delivery for Psoriasis Treatment.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that is difficult to treat. Quercetin (QT) is a dietary flavonoid known for its anti-inflammatory effects and safe use in humans. However, the topical application of quercetin for psoriasis treatment presents a significant challenge due to its poor water solubility and low stability in semisolid preparations, where it tends to recrystallize.

Oral pectin/oligochitosan microspheres for colon-specific controlled release of quercetin to treat inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, life quality-reducing disease with no cures available yet. To develop an effective medication suitable for long-term use is an urgent but unmet need. Quercetin (QT) is a natural dietary flavonoid with good safety and multifaceted pharmacological activities against inflammation.

Repeated Cross-Scale Structure-Induced Feature Fusion Network for 2D Hand Pose Estimation.

Recently, the use of convolutional neural networks for hand pose estimation from RGB images has dramatically improved. However, self-occluded keypoint inference in hand pose estimation is still a challenging task. We argue that these occluded keypoints cannot be readily recognized directly from traditional appearance features, and sufficient contextual information among the keypoints is especially needed to induce feature learning.

An Aerial-Wall Robotic Insect That Can Land, Climb, and Take Off from Vertical Surfaces.

Insects that can perform flapping-wing flight, climb on a wall, and switch smoothly between the 2 locomotion regimes provide us with excellent biomimetic models. However, very few biomimetic robots can perform complex locomotion tasks that combine the 2 abilities of climbing and flying. Here, we describe an aerial-wall amphibious robot that is self-contained for flying and climbing, and that can seamlessly move between the air and wall.

A Glucose Metabolic Intervention Nanoplatform for Enhanced Chemodynamic Therapy and Sensitized Photothermal Therapy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Traditional treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) still lack effectiveness. Recently, the combined mode of chemodynamic therapy (CDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) has shown great potential against HCC. However, insufficient Fenton reaction rates and hyperthermia-induced heat shock responses greatly impair their efficiency, hindering their further clinical application.

Structure and spectral properties of Dy doped CaYAlO single crystal.

A 2 at.% Dy: CaYAlO single crystal was grown successfully. The electronic structures of Ca/Y mixed sites in CaYAlO were investigated using first-principles based on density functional theory.