The association between physical activity levels and quality of life in elderly lung cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in China: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the association between physical activity (PA) levels and quality of life (QOL) in elderly lung cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in China.

Methods: Two hundred eight elderly lung cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy were recruited by convenient sampling at two tertiary A hospitals in Guangxi from October 2023 to March 2024. The evaluation of PA Levels by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF) was conducted, and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung (FACT-L) was utilized to measure the QOL.

Predicting frailty in older patients with chronic pain using explainable machine learning: A cross-sectional study.

Frailty is common among older adults with chronic pain, and early identification is crucial in preventing adverse outcomes like falls, disability, and dementia. However, effective tools for identifying frailty in this population remain limited. This study aimed to explore frailty risk factors in older adults with chronic pain and to develop 9 machine learning models for frailty identification.

Enabling Energy-Efficient Deployment of Large Language Models on Memristor Crossbar: A Synergy of Large and Small.

Large language models (LLMs) have garnered substantial attention due to their promising applications in diverse domains. Nevertheless, the increasing size of LLMs comes with a significant surge in the computational requirements for training and deployment. Memristor crossbars have emerged as a promising solution, which demonstrated a small footprint and remarkably high energy efficiency in computer vision (CV) models.

Supportive care needs, quality of life and social support among elderly colorectal cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: a longitudinal study.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the changes in supportive care needs, quality of life and social support during different chemotherapy cycles among elderly colorectal cancer patients.

Methods: This prospective longitudinal study recruited 160 elderly colorectal cancer patients using convenience sampling at a hospital in Guangxi between August 2023 and April 2024. To assess supportive care needs, quality of life, and social support, we used a short form of the Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS-SF34), a Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-colorectal (FACT-C), and a perceived social support scale (PSSS) prior to chemotherapy, as well as after the first, third, and sixth cycles.

Holo-Stroke: Assessing for Immersive Stroke Care Through Stroke Hologram Teleportation.

Augmented reality enables the wearer to see both their physical environment and virtual objects. Holograms could allow 3D video of providers to be transmitted to distant sites, allowing patients to interact with virtual providers as if they are in the same physical space. Our aim was to determine if Tele-Stroke augmented with Holo-Stroke, compared with Tele-Stroke alone, could improve satisfaction and perception of immersion for the patient.

Attentional Bias, Pupillometry, and Spontaneous Blink Rate: Eye Characteristic Assessment Within a Translatable Nicotine Cue Virtual Reality Paradigm.

Background: Incentive salience processes are important for the development and maintenance of addiction. Eye characteristics such as gaze fixation time, pupil diameter, and spontaneous eyeblink rate (EBR) are theorized to reflect incentive salience and may serve as useful biomarkers. However, conventional cue exposure paradigms have limitations that may impede accurate assessment of these markers.

Immunization against inhibin DNA vaccine as an alternative therapeutic for improving follicle development and reproductive performance in beef cattle.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the potential role of immunization against INH on follicular development, serum reproductive hormone (FSH, E, and P) concentrations, and reproductive performance in beef cattle. A total of 196 non-lactating female beef cattle (4-5 years old) with identical calving records (3 records) were immunized with 0.5, 1.

Geriatric nutritional risk index as a predictor for postoperative complications in patients with solid cancers: a meta-analysis.

Background: The geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI) has been wildly used to predict the prognosis of patients with solid cancer, but it's value in postoperative complications remains unclear. The aim of our study was to systematically explore the value of the GNRI in postoperative complications in patients with solid cancer.

Method: The study conducted a systematic literature search using electronic databases to investigate the influence of the GNRI on postoperative complications in patients with solid cancer.

subsp. A6 attenuates hippocampal damage and memory impairments in an ADHD rat model.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is commonly accompanied by learning and memory deficits. This study aimed to demonstrate the effects of probiotic subsp. A6 (BAA6) on behaviour and memory function in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs).

Oxymatrine mitigates Aspergillus fumigatus keratitis by suppressing fungal activity and restricting pyroptosis.

Fungal keratitis (FK) is a refractory keratitis caused by excessive inflammation and fungal damage. Excessive inflammation can lead to tissue damage and corneal opacity, resulting in a poor prognosis for FK. Oxymatrine (OMT) is a natural alkaloid, which has rich pharmacological effects, such as antioxidant and anti-inflammation.

Evaluation of Gaze-to-Object Mapping Algorithms for Use in "Real-World" Translatable Neuropsychological Paradigms.

Objective: Eye-tracking technology is commonly used for identifying objects of visual attention. However, applying this technology to virtual reality (VR) applications is challenging. This report analyzes the performance of two gaze-to-object mapping (GTOM) algorithms applied to eye-gaze data acquired during a "real-world" VR cue-reactivity paradigm.

Association between ambient temperature, PM and tuberculosis in Northwest China.

   Existing evidence suggested that the risk of tuberculosis (TB) infection was associated to the variations in temperature and PM. A total of 9,111 cases of TB were reported in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China from 2013 to 2015 on a daily basis, and 57.2% of them were male.

High-speed and energy-efficient asynchronous carry look-ahead adder.

Addition is a fundamental computer arithmetic operation that is widely performed in microprocessors, digital signal processors, and application-specific processors. The design of a high-speed and energy-efficient adder is thus useful and important for practical applications. In this context, this paper presents the designs of novel asynchronous carry look-ahead adders (CLAs) viz.

Launching Your VR Neuroscience Laboratory.

The proliferation and refinement of affordable virtual reality (VR) technologies and wearable sensors have opened new frontiers in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience. This chapter offers a broad overview of VR for anyone interested in leveraging it as a research tool. In the first section, it examines the fundamental functionalities of VR and outlines important considerations that inform the development of immersive content that stimulates the senses.

C-reactive Protein/Albumin Ratio as a Prognostic Indicator in Posttraumatic Shock and Outcome of Multiple Trauma Patients.

Objective: C-reactive protein (CRP)/albumin ratio (CAR) is a new inflammation-based index for predicting the prognosis of various diseases. The CAR determined on admission may help to predict the prognostic value of multiple trauma patients.

Methods: A total of 264 adult patients with severe multiple trauma were included for the present retrospective study, together with the collection of relevant clinical and laboratory data.

Has China's Young Thousand Talents program been successful in recruiting and nurturing top-caliber scientists?

In this study, we examined China's Young Thousand Talents (YTT) program and evaluated its effectiveness in recruiting elite expatriate scientists and in nurturing the returnee scientists' productivity. We find that YTT scientists are generally of high caliber in research but, as a group, fall below the top category in pre-return productivity. We further find that YTT scientists are associated with a post-return publication gain across journal-quality tiers.

Nanophotonic reservoir computing for COVID-19 pandemic forecasting.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread worldwide in unprecedented speed, and diverse negative impacts have seriously endangered human society. Accurately forecasting the number of COVID-19 cases can help governments and public health organizations develop the right prevention strategies in advance to contain outbreaks. In this work, a long-term 6-month COVID-19 pandemic forecast in second half of 2021 and a short-term 30-day daily ahead COVID-19 forecast in December 2021 are successfully implemented via a novel nanophotonic reservoir computing based on silicon optomechanical oscillators with photonic crystal cavities, benefitting from its simpler learning algorithm, abundant nonlinear characteristics, and some unique advantages such as CMOS compatibility, fabrication cost, and monolithic integration.

Reduced Modular Segregation of White Matter Brain Networks in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Objective: Despite studies reporting alterations in the brain networks of patients with ADHD, alterations in the modularity of white matter (WM) networks are still unclear.

Method: Based on the results of module division by generalized Louvain algorithm, the modularity of ADHD was evaluated. The correlation between the modular changes of ADHD and its clinical characteristics was analyzed.

Using Virtual Reality to Induce and Assess Objective Correlates of Nicotine Craving: Paradigm Development Study.

Background: Craving is a clinically important phenotype for the development and maintenance of nicotine addiction. Virtual reality (VR) paradigms are successful in eliciting cue-induced subjective craving and may even elicit stronger craving than traditional picture-cue methods. However, few studies have leveraged the advances of this technology to improve the assessment of craving.

The effect of public health awareness and behaviors on the transmission dynamics of syphilis in Northwest China, 2006-2018, based on a multiple-stages mathematical model.

Syphilis, a sexually transmitted infectious disease caused by the bacterium treponema pallidum, has re-emerged as a global public health issue with an estimated 12 million people infected each year. Understanding the impacts of health awareness and behaviors on transmission dynamics of syphilis can help to establish optimal control strategy in different regions. In this paper, we develop a multiple-stage SIRS epidemic model taking into account the public health awareness and behaviors of syphilis.

Bideposited silver nanocolloid arrays with strong plasmon-induced birefringence for SERS application.

Silver nano-rod, nano-zigzag, nano-saw, and nano-particle arrays are fabricated with glancing angle bideposition. The structure-dependent anisotropic optical properties of those bideposited nanostructured arrays are measured and investigated. The equivalent birefringence values of nano-rod and nano-zigzag arrays are much larger than crystals found in nature and liquid crystal used in display products.

Silver Nanoplates for Colorimetric Determination of Xanthine in Human Plasma and in Fish Meat via Etching/Aggregation/Fusion Steps.

Silver nanoplates (AgP) were prepared and used in a colorimetric method for the evaluation of Xanthine (Xan) in blood plasma and fish meat. The detection mechanism for Xan was observed to occur via etching of AgP particles/aggregation/fusion steps, resulting in a color change from blue to grey. First, the basic Xan solution is adsorbed through partial substitution of capping molecules around the AgP with Xan, and then intermolecular hydrogen bonds form between AgP and AgP.

Solving Dynamic Multiobjective Problem via Autoencoding Evolutionary Search.

Dynamic multiobjective optimization problem (DMOP) denotes the multiobjective optimization problem, which contains objectives that may vary over time. Due to the widespread applications of DMOP existed in reality, DMOP has attracted much research attention in the last decade. In this article, we propose to solve DMOPs via an autoencoding evolutionary search.

Disrupted Rich Club Organization of Hemispheric White Matter Networks in Bipolar Disorder.

Neuroimaging studies suggest disrupted connections of the brain white matter (WM) network in bipolar disorder (BD). A group of highly interconnected high-density structures, termed the 'rich club,' represents an important network for brain functioning. Recent works have revealed abnormal rich club organization in brain networks in BD.