We present a 3D reconstruction method using brightness and camera motion estimation for registering local colon structure in colonoscopy. The proposed method is based on reverse projection from 2D fold contours to 3D space, motion estimation from 3D reconstructed points between neighboring frames, and model registration to reconstruct the fold structure. On the synthetic colon, the average percentages of the reconstructed depth error and circumference error are about 14.2% and 15.2%, respectively. The accuracy is enough for the navigation and control in capsule robot. This work demonstrates that the proposed method is superior to the methods using single-frame-based brightness intensity.

This study focuses on the process of the circulation deposition in the Richtmyer–Meshkov instability (RMI). The growth rate of circulation and its sources are theoretically and numerically studied to reveal the physical mechanism of the viscosity in the circulation deposition process. We derive a predicting model of the circulation rate for RMI. More importantly, all the contributing sources are separately predicted. Particularly, the viscous source, which previously lacked theoretical or numerical investigations, is efficiently predicted. The RMI problems in a large range of initial conditions are simulated with the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method to verify our predicting model and further reveal the circulation deposition mechanism. The DSMC simulations provide reliable quantification of the circulation deposition (especially viscous contribution) for RMI due to its molecular nature. Our model predicts the circulation rate, baroclinic and viscous sources accurately for all the cases in comparison with the simulations. A new physical insight into the mechanism of viscosity in RMI is provided. Unlike the previous understandings that nearly all circulation deposition in RMI comes from the baroclinic source, this study reveals the hidden positive contribution of the viscous source, especially for high Mach number conditions (up to 11 % of total circulation rate). For RMI, the large viscosity gradient inside the shock waves plays a crucial role in the circulation deposition even under high Reynolds number conditions. Our study also provides exciting opportunities to further understand the viscous contribution to the vorticity dynamics in the reshocked RMI and shock wave–turbulence interactions.

Phase-resolved wave simulation and direct numerical simulation of turbulence are performed to investigate the surface wave effects on the energy transfer in overlying turbulent flow. The JONSWAP spectrum is used to initialize a broadband wave field. The nonlinear wave field is simulated using a high-order spectral method, and the resultant wave surface provides the bottom boundary conditions for direct numerical simulation of the overlying turbulent flow. Two wave ages of $c_{p}/u_{\ast }=2$ and 25 are considered, corresponding to slow and fast wave fields, respectively, where $c_{p}$ denotes the celerity of the peak wave and $u_{\ast }$ denotes the friction velocity. The energy transfer of turbulent motions in the presence of surface waves is investigated through the spectral analysis of the two-point correlation transport equation. It is found that the production term has an extra peak at the dominant wavelength scale in the vicinity of the surface, and the energy transported to the surface via viscous and spatial turbulent transport is enhanced in the region of $y^{+}<10$ . The presence of surface waves results in an inverse turbulent energy cascade in the near-surface region, where small-scale wave-related motions transfer energy back to the dominant wavelength scale. Pressure-related terms reflecting the spatial and inter-component energy transfer are strongly dependent on the wave age. Furthermore, triadic interaction analysis reveals that the energy influx at the dominant wavelength scale is due to the contribution of the neighbouring streamwise turbulent motions, and those at the harmonic wavelength scales contribute the most.

Natural convection in porous media is a fundamental process for the long-term storage of CO2 in deep saline aquifers. Typically, details of mass transfer in porous media are inferred from the numerical solution of the volume-averaged Darcy–Oberbeck–Boussinesq (DOB) equations, even though these equations do not account for the microscopic properties of a porous medium. According to the DOB equations, natural convection in a porous medium is uniquely determined by the Rayleigh number. However, in contrast with experiments, DOB simulations yield a linear scaling of the Sherwood number with the Rayleigh number ( $Ra$ ) for high values of $Ra$ ( $Ra\gg 1300$ ). Here, we perform direct numerical simulations (DNS), fully resolving the flow field within the pores. We show that the boundary layer thickness is determined by the pore size instead of the Rayleigh number, as previously assumed. The mega- and proto-plume sizes increase with the pore size. Our DNS results exhibit a nonlinear scaling of the Sherwood number at high porosity, and for the same Rayleigh number, higher Sherwood numbers are predicted by DNS at lower porosities. It can be concluded that the scaling of the Sherwood number depends on the porosity and the pore-scale parameters, which is consistent with experimental studies.

We aimed to evaluate the relationship of plasma Mg with the risk of new-onset hyperuricaemia and examine any possible effect modifiers in hypertensive patients. This is a post hoc analysis of the Uric acid (UA) Sub-study of the China Stroke Primary Prevention Trial (CSPPT). A total of 1685 participants were included in the present study. The main outcome was new-onset hyperuricaemia defined as a UA concentration ≥417 μmol/l in men or ≥357 μmol/l in women. The secondary outcome was a change in UA concentration defined as UA at the exit visit minus that at baseline. During a median follow-up duration of 4·3 years, new-onset hyperuricaemia occurred in 290 (17·2 %) participants. There was a significantly inverse relation of plasma Mg with the risk of new-onset hyperuricaemia (per sd increment; OR 0·85; 95 % CI 0·74, 0·99) and change in UA levels (per sd increment; β −3·96 μmol/l; 95 % CI −7·14, −0·79). Consistently, when plasma Mg was analysed as tertiles, a significantly lower risk of new-onset hyperuricaemia (OR 0·67; 95 % CI 0·48, 0·95) and less increase in UA levels (β −8·35 μmol/l; 95 % CI −16·12, −0·58) were found among participants in tertile 3 (≥885·5 μmol/l) compared with those in tertile 1 (<818·9 μmol/l). Similar trends were found in males and females. Higher plasma Mg levels were associated with a decreased risk of new-onset hyperuricaemia in hypertensive adults.

Flax seed meal (FSM) is rich in various nutrients, especially CP and energy, and can be used as animal protein feed. In animal husbandry production, it is a long-term goal to replace soybean meal (SBM) in animal feed with other plant protein feed. However, studies on the effects of replacing SBM with FSM in fattening sheep are limited. The aim of this experiment was to study the effects of replacing a portion of SBM with FSM on nutrient digestibility, rumen microbial protein synthesis and growth performance in sheep. Thirty-six Dorper × Small Thin-Tailed crossbred rams (BW = 40.4 ± 1.73 kg, mean ± SD) were randomly assigned into four groups. The dietary treatments (forage/concentrate, 45 : 55) were isocaloric according to the nutrient requirements of rams. Soybean meal was replaced with FSM at different levels (DM basis): (1) 18% SBM (18SBM), (2) 12% SBM and 6% FSM (6FSM), (3) 6% SBM and 12% FSM (12FSM) and (4) 18% FSM (18FSM). The rams were fed in individual pens for 60 days, with the first 10 days for adaptation to diets, and then the digestibility of nutrients was determined. There was no significant difference in DM intake, but quadratic (P < 0.001) effects on the average daily gain and feed efficiency were detected, with the highest values in the 6FSM and 12FSM groups. For DM and NDF digestibility, quadratic effects were observed with the higher values in the 6FSM and 12FSM groups, but the digestibility of CP linearly decreased with the increase in FSM in the diet (P = 0.043). There was a quadratic (P < 0.001) effect of FSM inclusion rate on the estimated microbial CP yield. However, the values of intestinally absorbable dietary protein decreased linearly (P < 0.001). For the supply of metabolisable protein, both the linear (P = 0.001) and quadratic (P = 0.044) effects were observed with the lowest value in the 18FSM group. Overall, the results indicated that SBM can be effectively replaced by FSM in the diets of fattening sheep and the optimal proportion was 12.0% under the conditions of this experiment.

A novel photocatalyst Tm3+/Yb3+–co-doped bismuth molybdate (Bi2MoO6) were synthesized via the hydrothermal method. The samples were characterized through X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra, and photoluminescence. XPS characterization confirmed the doped rare earth elements. Analysis of the optical properties explained the up-conversion process and its effect on the photocatalytic performance. The as-synthesized samples were employed to decompose Rhodamine B to value its photocatalytic activities under visible light irradiation. The doped samples showed an enhanced photocatalytic activity compared with the bare Bi2MoO6. When the ratio of Tm3+ and Yb3+ was 0.5:5, the degradation efficiency was the highest of 96.1% within 25 min, which was higher than that (74.9%) of pure Bi2MoO6. Moreover, the photocatalytic mechanism of improving the photocatalytic properties was discussed. Besides, the sample showed a super stability in photocatalytic activity. A novel catalyst for industrial pollutant degradation was proposed.

To explore whether different polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) concentrations affect the results of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), a prospective study was conducted for 194 couples undergoing 210 ICSI therapy cycles. These cycles were divided into three groups (10, 7 and 5% groups) using the corresponding concentration of PVP for sperm immobilization. The main outcome measures were analyzed. Results indicated that, with a decrease in PVP concentrations, all of the main outcome measures increased. In particular, the high-quality cleavage embryo rate in the 7% group was significantly lower than in the 5% group (P < 0.01), and the cleavage, high-quality cleavage embryo, and high-quality blastocyst rates in the 5% group were significantly higher than those in the 10% group (all P < 0.001). For high-/intermediate-quality semen, all of the main outcome measures were significantly increased with 5% PVP. For the poor-quality semen, only the high-quality cleavage embryo and high-quality blastocyst rates were significantly higher in the 5% group. Therefore, lowering PVP concentrations greatly promoted the development of embryos in ICSI cycles, with an optimal concentration of 5% for ICSI.

We fabricated a van der Waals heterostructure of WS2–ReSe2 and studied its charge-transfer properties. Monolayers of WS2 and ReSe2 were obtained by mechanical exfoliation and chemical vapor deposition, respectively. The heterostructure sample was fabricated by transferring the WS2 monolayer on top of ReSe2 by a dry transfer process. Photoluminescence quenching was observed in the heterostructure, indicating efficient interlayer charge transfer. Transient absorption measurements show that holes can efficiently transfer from WS2 to ReSe2 on an ultrafast timescale. Meanwhile, electron transfer from ReSe2 to WS2 was also observed. The charge-transfer properties show that monolayers of ReSe2 and WS2 form a type-II band alignment, instead of type-I as predicted by theory. The type-II alignment is further confirmed by the observation of extended photocarrier lifetimes in the heterostructure. These results provide useful information for developing van der Waals heterostructure involving ReSe2 for novel electronic and optoelectronic applications and introduce ReSe2 to the family of two-dimensional materials to construct van der Waals heterostructures.

Epidemiological data for Toxoplasma gondii regarding malignancy have gained increasing attention; however, the information about T. gondii infection among children with malignant lymphoma (ML) in China is unclear. Therefore, 314 children with lymphoma and 314 healthy children, age- and gender-matched, were recruited to estimate the seroprevalence of T. gondii in the participants and identify the risk factors of infection. Blood samples from all participants were collected and examined for T. gondii IgG and IgM antibodies using ELISA. The results showed that the overall seroprevalence of T. gondii antibodies (including IgG and/or IgM) in ML patients and healthy controls was 19.8% and 9.9%, respectively. Contact with the cats, consumption of oysters and history of chemotherapy were estimated to be the risk factors for T. gondii infection in children with lymphoma by multivariable logistic regression analysis, whereas in healthy children, contact with cats and consumption of oysters were the risk factors. Moreover, among various histological types of lymphoma, individuals with NK/T-cell lymphoma, B-small lymphocytic lymphoma, marginal zone B-lymphoma and Hodgkin's lymphoma had a higher seroprevalence than healthy controls (P < 0.05). These findings indicated the high prevalence of T. gondii infection in children with lymphoma, and hence, efforts should be performed to evaluate the effect of the infection further in lymphoma patients.

A nanoparticle-based drug delivery system is first established by mesoporous silica encapsulating amino acid–intercalated layered double hydroxide (LDH) to construct nanocomposites AA-LDH@MS. The amino acids including phenylalanine (Phe) and histidine (His) with aromatic groups are intercalated into LDH as the cores Phe-LDH and His-LDH. These nanocomposites AA-LDH@MS display multispaces of the interlayer spaces of LDH and porous channels of mesoporous silica to load drugs. Moreover, amino acid molecules provide the interaction sites to improve effectively loading amounts of drugs. 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is used as the cargo molecules to observe the delivery in vitro. The results indicate that the maximum loading amounts of drugs are up to 392 mg/g at 60 °C for 12 h in the nanocomposite Phe-LDH@MS. All the nanocomposites exhibit the sustained release of 5-FU at pH 4 and pH 7.4. The Korsmeyer–Peppas model is used to fit the kinetic plot of the drug release in vitro, which concludes that 5-FU release from AA-LDH@MS belongs to Fickian diffusion.

This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics, risk factors and outcomes of adult patients with candidaemia caused by C. albicans vs. non-albicans Candida spp. (NAC). All adult hospitalised cases of candidaemia (2012–2017) at a tertiary hospital in Shenyang were included in the retrospective study, and a total of 180 episodes were analysed. C. parapsilosis was the most frequently isolated species (38.3%), followed by C. albicans (35.6%), C. glabrata (13.9%), C. tropicalis (10%) and others (2.2%). As initial antifungal therapy, 75.0%, 3.9%, 5.6% and 2.2% of patients received fluconazole, caspofungin, micafungin and voriconazole, respectively. Multivariate analyses revealed that total parenteral nutrition was associated with an increased risk of NAC bloodstream infections (BSI) (OR 2.535, 95% CI (1.066–6.026)) vs. C. albicans BSI. Additionally, the presence of a urinary catheter was associated with an increased risk of C. albicans BSI (OR 2.295 (1.129–4.666)) vs. NAC BSI. Moreover, ICU stay (OR 4.013 (1.476–10.906)), renal failure (OR 3.24 (1.084–9.683)), thrombocytopaenia (OR 7.171 (2.152–23.892)) and C. albicans (OR 3.629 (1.352–9.743)) were independent risk factors for candidaemia-related 30-day mortality, while recent cancer surgery was associated with reduced mortality risk (OR 26.479 (2.550–274.918)). All these factors may provide useful information to select initial empirical antifungal agents.

We aimed to investigate the association between plasma retinol and incident cancer among Chinese hypertensive adults. We conducted a nested case–control study, including 231 patients with incident cancer and 231 matched controls during a median 4·5-year follow-up of the China Stroke Primary Prevention Trial. There was a significant, inverse association between retinol levels and digestive system cancer (per 10 μg/dl increases: OR 0·79; 95 % CI 0·69, 0·91). When compared with participants in the first quartile of retinol (< 52·3 μg/dl), a significantly lower cancer risk was found in participants in quartile 2–4 ( ≥ 52·3 μg/dl: OR 0·31; 95 % CI 0·13, 0·71). However, there was a U-shaped association between retinol levels and non-digestive system cancers where the risk of cancers decreased (although not significantly) with each increment of plasma retinol (per 10 μg/dl increases: OR 0·89; 95 % CI 0·60, 1·31) in participants with retinol < 68·2 μg/dl, and then increased significantly with retinol (per 10 μg/dl increase: OR 1·65; 95 % CI 1·12, 2·44) in participants with retinol ≥ 68·2 μg/dl. In conclusion, there was a significant inverse dose–response association between plasma retinol and the risk of digestive system cancers. However, a U-shaped association was observed between plasma retinol and the risk of non-digestive cancers (with a turning point approximately 68·2 μg/dl).

The production of abstract engravings is considered an indicator of modern human cognition and a means for the long-term recording and transmission of information. This article reports the discovery of two engraved bones from the Lingjing site in Henan Province, China, dated to 105–125 kya. The carefully engraved nature of the incisions, made on weathered rib fragments, precludes the possibility of unintentional or utilitarian origins. Residue analysis demonstrates the presence of ochre within the incised lines on one specimen. This research provides the first evidence for the deliberate use of ochred engravings for symbolic purposes by East Asian Late Pleistocene hominins.