Industrial digital radiographic image denoising based on improved KBNet.

 Industrial digital radiography (DR) images are essential for industrial inspections, but they often suffer from strong scatter, cross-talk, electronic noise, and other factors that affect image quality. The presence of non-zero mean noise and neighborhood correlation loss in 1D array scanning poses significant challenges for denoising. To enhance the denoising process of industrial DR images and address the issues of low resolution and noise, we propose an improved KBNet (iKBNet) that incorporates lightweight modifications and introduces novel elements to the original KBNet.

Intergenerational support, activities of daily living, and the interaction on psychological distress in older adults.

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of intergenerational support and activities of daily living (ADL) on psychological distress in older adults, and to analyse the effects of the interaction between ADL and intergenerational support on psychological distress in older adults.

Methods: A probability sample of 1,065 older adults aged 60 and above was conducted in Xuzhou, China, from 18 June to 26 August 2023. ADL was assessed using the ADL scale combined with the Barthel Index; Intergenerational support was measured using the Intergenerational Support Scale; and psychological distress was measured using the Kessler 10 scale.

Prognostic prediction models for postoperative patients with stage I to III colorectal cancer based on machine learning.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is characterized by high heterogeneity, aggressiveness, and high morbidity and mortality rates. With machine learning (ML) algorithms, patient, tumor, and treatment features can be used to develop and validate models for predicting survival. In addition, important variables can be screened and different applications can be provided that could serve as vital references when making clinical decisions and potentially improving patient outcomes in clinical settings.

Multiple gating steps in pollination lock the species specificity.

In flowering plants, pollen grain must undergo a series of critical processes, including adhesion, hydration, and germination, which are dependent on the stigma, to develop a pollen tube. This pollen tube then penetrates the stigma to reach the internal tissues of pistil, facilitating the transport of non-motile sperm cells to the embryo sac for fertilization. However, the dry stigma, characterized by the absence of an exudate that typically envelops the wet stigma, functions as a multi-layered filter in adhesion, hydration, germination and penetration that permits the acceptance of compatible pollen or tubes while rejecting incompatible ones, thereby protecting the embryo sac from ineffective fertilization and maintaining species specificity.

MdMYB54 reduces disease severity caused by Fusarium solani in apple by modulating cell wall cellulose and pectate lyase-dependent defense.

The plant cell wall is the first barrier against pathogen invasion. Fusarium solani is the primary pathogen responsible for apple replant disease. In this study, we identified an MYB protein, MdMYB54, which interacts with the positive regulator of F.

CCN1 Promotes Mesenchymal Phenotype Transition Through Activating NF-κB Signaling Pathway Regulated by S100A8 in Glioma Stem Cells.

Background: The presence of glioma stem cells (GSCs) and the occurrence of mesenchymal phenotype transition contribute to the miserable prognosis of glioblastoma (GBM). Cellular communication network factor 1 (CCN1) is upregulated within various malignancies and associated with cancer development and progression, while the implications of CCN1 in the phenotype transition and tumorigenicity of GSCs remain unclear.

Methods: Data for bioinformatic analysis were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) databases.

Feasibility of Lobectomy in Selected Patients with Unilateral N1b Papillary Thyroid Cancer.

Background: Total thyroidectomy (TT) is usually recommended for unilateral papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) with lateral lymph node metastasis (LLNM), but no significant improvement in recurrence-free survival (RFS) is seen upon treatment. As an initial surgery, lobectomy may have advantages in appropriately selected unilateral PTC with ipsilateral LLNM.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the feasibility of lobectomy for selected unilateral PTC with ipsilateral LLNM.

Lanthanum hydroxide showed best application potential in La-based materials based on its stable phosphate adsorption properties in complex water environments.

Three lanthanum morphology materials encompassing all lanthanum composites were synthesized by the direct precipitation method, and their phosphate adsorption order was determined as La(CO) > La(OH) > LaO. Further comparison of the adsorption performance between La(CO) and La(OH) revealed that the former exhibited a twofold higher rate of adsorption compared to the latter. The presence of SO, HCO, Mg, and HA in the water led to a decrease in the phosphate adsorption of La(CO) and La(OH), while Ca enhances the adsorption of phosphoric acid by both materials.

Construction of Interlayered Single-Atom Active Sites on Bipyridine-Based 2D Conjugated Covalent-Organic Frameworks for Boosting the C Products of Electrochemical CO Reduction.

The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction (eCORR) shows great potential in the realization of carbon neutrality, which requires a dedicated catalyst design. To develop electrocatalysts that favor C products, herein, the synthetic protocol for engineering interlayered single-atom metal active sites on the bipyridine-linked 2D conjugated covalent-organic framework (2D -COF) has been developed by utilizing the interlayer π-π stacking. The resultant M@BTT-BPy-COF (where M = Cu, Ni, and Fe) provides fully exposed single-atom active sites with a suitable interdistance for catalyzing the key C-C coupling in the eCORR process.

Biocompatible chitin-based Janus hydrogel membranes for periodontal repair.

Periodontal defects caused by severe periodontitis are a widespread issue globally. Guided tissue regeneration (GTR) using barrier membranes for alveolar bone repair is a common clinical treatment. However, most commercially available collagen barrier membranes are expensive and lack the antibacterial properties essential for effective bone regeneration.

Roles of oral and gut microbiota in acute myocardial infarction.

Introduction: The significance of oral/gut microbiota in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has been increasingly appreciated. However, correlations between oral/gut microbiota and AMI parameter, as well as the key microbiota that may have a crucial function in this process, remain unclear.

Objectives: To investigate the composition and structure of oral and gut microbiota associated with AMI and explore the roles of specific bacterial species in the progression of AMI.

Is metadata of articles about COVID-19 enough for multilabel topic classification task?

The ever-increasing volume of COVID-19-related articles presents a significant challenge for the manual curation and multilabel topic classification of LitCovid. For this purpose, a novel multilabel topic classification framework is developed in this study, which considers both the correlation and imbalance of topic labels, while empowering the pretrained model. With the help of this framework, this study devotes to answering the following question: Do full texts, MeSH (Medical Subject Heading), and biological entities of articles about COVID-19 encode more discriminative information than metadata (title, abstract, keyword, and journal name)? From extensive experiments on our enriched version of the BC7-LitCovid corpus and Hallmarks of Cancer corpus, the following conclusions can be drawn.

Sex and Dominance Differences in the Relationship Between Childhood Trauma and Prosocial Behavior: The Roles of Meaning in Life and Resilience.

The impact of childhood trauma on adolescents' development is a key topic in social science. Much of the existing literature focuses on its negative consequences, with limited study on its effects on positive social functions, particularly prosocial behavior. This study aims to uncover the link between childhood trauma and prosocial behavior among Chinese adolescents, focusing on how meaning in life and resilience mediate this relationship and how sex and social dominance goals moderate these effects.

A novel approach to estimate land surface temperature from landsat top-of-atmosphere reflective and emissive data using transfer-learning neural network.

Land Surface Temperature (LST) is a crucial parameter in studies of urban heat islands, climate change, evapotranspiration, hydrological cycles, and vegetation monitoring. However, conventional satellite-based approaches for LST retrieval often require additional data like land surface emissivity (LSE). Meanwhile, traditional machine learning (ML) techniques face challenges in acquiring representative training data and leveraging data from varied sources effectively.

Machine learning-based phenogroups and prediction model in patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders to reveal distinct disease subsets associated with gas production.

Background And Objectives: Symptom-based subtyping for functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) has limited value in identifying underlying mechanisms and guiding therapeutic strategies. Small intestinal dysbiosis is implicated in the development of FGIDs. We tested if machine learning (ML) algorithms utilizing both gastrointestinal (GI) symptom characteristics and lactulose breath tests could provide distinct clusters.

High internal phase emulsion stabilized by soy protein isolate-Rutin complex: Rheological properties, bioaccessibility and in vitro release kinetics.

High internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) are promising carrier materials for encapsulating and delivering hydrophobic bioactive compounds. By strategically adjusting the composition, particle size, or charge of HIPEs, it is possible to enhance both their stability and the bioaccessibility of hydrophobic polyphenols encapsulated within them. In this study, different soy protein isolate (SPI)-rutin (SPI-R) complexes (formed under various preheating temperatures) were used to stabilize HIPEs, while the particle size, and charge of HIPEs was further adjusted through different homogenization rates.

Etamsylate-loaded hydrogel composed of carboxymethyl chitosan and oxidized tannic acid for improved wound healing.

Proper wound dressing is essential to facilitate skin wound healing, stop bleeding, and prevent infections. Herein, carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) was crosslinked with oxidized tannic acid (OTA) to form an adhesive and self-healing OTA/CMC hydrogel, and etamsylate was loaded to enhance the hemostatic effect of the hydrogel dressing. The resultant OTA/CMC/E hydrogel exhibited a spectrum of noteworthy attributes including excellent cell compatibility, high antioxidant activity, effective anti-bacterium, and excellent hemorrhage control.

Effect of stakeholder pressure on environmental performance: Do virtual CSR, green credit, environmental and social reputation matter?

In today's globalized and interconnected world, businesses operate within an interconnected network with various stakeholders. Among these stakeholders, the pressure from consumers, investors, regulators, and communities for corporations to adopt environmentally responsible practices has intensified significantly. Therefore, this study investigates the relationship between stakeholder pressure and environmental performance (EP) in Pakistan's manufacturing sector while examining the potential moderating roles of environmental reputation, social reputation, virtual CSR, and green credit.

Screening of broad-host expression promoters for shuttle expression vectors in non-conventional yeasts and bacteria.

Background: Non-conventional yeasts and bacteria gain significance in synthetic biology for their unique metabolic capabilities in converting low-cost renewable feedstocks into valuable products. Improving metabolic pathways and increasing bioproduct yields remain dependent on the strategically use of various promoters in these microbes. The development of broad-spectrum promoter libraries with varying strengths for different hosts is attractive for biosynthetic engineers.

Treatment of tetracycline in an aqueous solution with an iron-biochar/periodate system: Influencing factors and mechanisms.

In this study, a potassium ferrate (KFeO)-modified biochar (Fe-BC) was prepared and characterized. Afterwards, Fe-BC was applied to activated periodate (PI) to degrade tetracycline (TC), an antibiotic widely used in animal farming. The degradation effects of different systems on TC were compared and the influencing factors were investigated.

Sorbitol mediates age-dependent changes in apple plant growth strategy through gibberellin signaling.

Plants experience various age-dependent changes during juvenile to adult vegetative phase. However, the regulatory mechanisms orchestrating the changes remain largely unknown in apple (). This study showed that tissue-cultured apple plants at juvenile, transition, and adult phase exhibit age-dependent changes in their plant growth, photosynthetic performance, hormone levels, and carbon distribution.

The WUSCHEL-related homeobox transcription factor negatively regulates fruit spine morphogenesis in cucumber ( L.).

Cucumber ( L.) is a widely cultivated crop with rich germplasm resources, holding significant nutritional value. It also serves as an important model for studying epidermal cell fate and sex determination.