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The selection of high-quality sperms is critical to intracytoplasmic sperm injection, which accounts for 70–80% of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments. So far, sperm screening is usually performed manually by clinicians. However, the performance of manual screening is limited in its objectivity, consistency, and efficiency. To overcome these limitations, we have developed a fast and noninvasive three-stage method to characterize morphology of freely swimming human sperms in bright-field microscopy images using deep learning models. Specifically, we use an object detection model to identify sperm heads, a classification model to select in-focus images, and a segmentation model to extract geometry of sperm heads and vacuoles. The models achieve an F1-score of 0.951 in sperm head detection, a z-position estimation error within ±1.5 μm in in-focus image selection, and a Dice score of 0.948 in sperm head segmentation, respectively. Customized lightweight architectures are used for the models to achieve real-time analysis of 200 frames per second. Comprehensive morphological parameters are calculated from sperm head geometry extracted by image segmentation. Overall, our method provides a reliable and efficient tool to assist clinicians in selecting high-quality sperms for successful IVF. It also demonstrates the effectiveness of deep learning in real-time analysis of live bright-field microscopy images.
The association between executive dysfunction, brain dysconnectivity, and inflammation is a prominent feature across major psychiatric disorders (MPDs), schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder. A dimensional approach is warranted to delineate their mechanistic interplay across MPDs.
Methods
This single site study included a total of 1543 participants (1058 patients and 485 controls). In total, 1169 participants underwent diffusion tensor and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (745 patients and 379 controls completed the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test). Fractional anisotropy (FA) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) assessed structural and functional connectivity, respectively. Pro-inflammatory cytokine levels [interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α] were obtained in 325 participants using blood samples collected with 24 h of scanning. Group differences were determined for main measures, and correlation and mediation analyses and machine learning prediction modeling were performed.
Results
Executive deficits were associated with decreased FA, increased ReHo, and elevated IL-1β and IL-6 levels across MPDs, compared to controls. FA and ReHo alterations in fronto-limbic-striatal regions contributed to executive deficits. IL-1β mediated the association between FA and cognition, and IL-6 mediated the relationship between ReHo and cognition. Executive cognition was better predicted by both brain connectivity and cytokine measures than either one alone for FA-IL-1β and ReHo-IL-6.
Conclusions
Transdiagnostic associations among brain connectivity, inflammation, and executive cognition exist across MPDs, implicating common neurobiological substrates and mechanisms for executive deficits in MPDs. Further, inflammation-related brain dysconnectivity within fronto-limbic-striatal regions may represent a transdiagnostic dimension underlying executive dysfunction that could be leveraged to advance treatment.
The effects of early thiamine use on clinical outcomes in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) are unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between early thiamine administration and clinical outcomes in critically ill patients with AKI. The data of critically ill patients with AKI within 48 h after ICU admission were extracted from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC III) database. PSM was used to match patients early receiving thiamine treatment to those not early receiving thiamine treatment. The association between early thiamine use and in-hospital mortality due to AKI was determined using a logistic regression model. A total of 15 066 AKI patients were eligible for study inclusion. After propensity score matching (PSM), 734 pairs of patients who did and did not receive thiamine treatment in the early stage were established. Early thiamine use was associated with lower in-hospital mortality (OR 0·65; 95 % CI 0·49, 0·87; P < 0·001) and 90-d mortality (OR 0·58; 95 % CI 0·45, 0·74; P < 0·001), and it was also associated with the recovery of renal function (OR 1·26; 95 % CI 1·17, 1·36; P < 0·001). In the subgroup analysis, early thiamine administration was associated with lower in-hospital mortality in patients with stages 1 to 2 AKI. Early thiamine use was associated with improved short-term survival in critically ill patients with AKI. It was possible beneficial role in patients with stages 1 to 2 AKI according to the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes criteria.
Schizophrenia is considered a polygenic disorder. People with schizophrenia and those with genetic high risk of schizophrenia (GHR) have presented with similar neurodevelopmental deficits in hemispheric asymmetry. The potential associations between neurodevelopmental abnormalities and schizophrenia-related risk genes in both schizophrenia and those with GHR remains unclear.
Aims
To investigate the shared and specific alternations to the structural network in people with schizophrenia and those with GHR. And to identify an association between vulnerable structural network alternation and schizophrenia-related risk genes.
Method
A total of 97 participants with schizophrenia, 79 participants with GHR and 192 healthy controls, underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) scans at a single site. We used graph theory to characterise hemispheric and whole-brain structural network topological metrics. For 26 people in the schizophrenia group and 48 in the GHR group with DTI scans we also calculated their schizophrenia-related polygenic risk scores (SZ-PRSs). The correlations between alterations to the structural network and SZ-PRSs were calculated. Based on the identified genetic–neural association, bioinformatics enrichment was explored.
Results
There were significant hemispheric asymmetric deficits of nodal efficiency, global and local efficiency in the schizophrenia and GHR groups. Hemispheric asymmetric deficit of local efficiency was significantly positively correlated with SZ-PRSs in the schizophrenia and GHR groups. Bioinformatics enrichment analysis showed that these risk genes may be linked to signal transduction, neural development and neuron structure. The schizophrenia group showed a significant decrease in the whole-brain structural network.
Conclusions
The shared asymmetric deficits in people with schizophrenia and those with GHR, and the association between anomalous asymmetry and SZ-PRSs suggested a vulnerability imaging marker regulated by schizophrenia-related risk genes. Our findings provide new insights into asymmetry regulated by risk genes and provides a better understanding of the genetic–neural pathological underpinnings of schizophrenia.
Many emotional experiences such as anxiety and depression are influenced by negative affect (NA). NA has both trait and state features, which play different roles in physiological and mental health. Attending to NA common to various emotional experiences and their trait-state features might help deepen the understanding of the shared foundation of related emotional disorders.
Methods
The principal component of five measures was calculated to indicate individuals' NA level. Applying the connectivity-based correlation analysis, we first identified resting-state functional connectives (FCs) relating to NA in sample 1 (n = 367), which were validated through an independent sample (n = 232; sample 2). Next, based on the variability of FCs across large timescale, we further divided the NA-related FCs into high- and low-variability groups. Finally, FCs in different variability groups were separately applied to predict individuals' neuroticism level (which is assumed to be the core trait-related factor underlying NA), and the change of NA level (which represents the state-related fluctuation of NA).
Results
The low-variability FCs were primarily within the default mode network (DMN) and between the DMN and dorsal attention network/sensory system and significantly predicted trait rather than state NA. The high-variability FCs were primarily between the DMN and ventral attention network, the fronto-parietal network and DMN/sensory system, and significantly predicted the change of NA level.
Conclusions
The trait and state NA can be separately predicted by stable and variable spontaneous FCs with different attentional processes and emotion regulatory mechanisms, which could deepen our understanding of NA.
The nitrogen-decorated CeO2/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite (CeO2/N-rGO) was one-step synthesized by a facile hydrothermal technique and applied as counter electrode materials for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). For comparison, CeO2/rGO and rGO were also synthesized by adjusting corresponding reactants. It was found that the as-synthesized CeO2/N-rGO shows better electrocatalytic activity for triiodide/iodide reduction than that of pure rGO and CeO2/rGO, and a synergistic effect of nitrogen and CeO2 on the rGO sheets was observed. The photoelectric conversion efficiency of DSSCs based on CeO2/N-rGO counter electrode was 3.20%, which is higher than that of CeO2/rGO (2.45%) and rGO counter electrode (1.37%). Furthermore, the synergistic effect of nitrogen and CeO2 on the rGO sheets was also discussed in detail with different CeO2 amount levels. It is believed that this one-step synthetic method is a potential way to synthesize low-cost and efficient rGO-based multiple composited counter electrode materials to replace more expensive Pt.
Influenza is a major human respiratory pathogen. Due to the high levels of influenza-like illness (ILI) in Zhejiang, China, the control and prevention of influenza was challenging during the 2017–2018 season. To identify the clinical spectrum of illness related to influenza and characterise the circulating influenza virus strains during this period, the characteristics of ILI were studied. Viral sequencing and phylogenetic analyses were conducted to investigate the virus types, substitutions at the amino acid level and phylogenetic relationships between sequences. This study has shown that the 2017/18 influenza season was characterised by the co-circulation of influenza A (H1N1) pdm09, A (H3N2) and B viruses (both Yamagata and Victoria lineage). From week 36 of 2017 to week 12 of 2018, ILI cases accounted for 5.58% of the total number of outpatient and emergency patient visits at the surveillance sites. Several amino acid substitutions were detected. Vaccination mismatch may be a potential reason for the high percentage of ILI. Furthermore, it is likely that multiple viral introductions played a role in the endemic co-circulation of influenza in Zhejiang, China. More detailed information regarding the molecular epidemiology of influenza should be included in long-term influenza surveillance.
In the era of knowledge networking, the structure and production mode of knowledge are constantly changing. This article creatively introduces the knowledge mapping method in design research, and based on the perspective of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) to compile literature, uses word frequency analysis, co-word analysis, and citation analysis to construct knowledge graphs of design science. This study graphically shows the distribution and flow law of knowledge within design discipline and probes into the research frontier and evolution trend of Chinese design science.
Underground Nuclear Astrophysics in China (JUNA) will take the advantage of the ultra-low background in Jinping underground lab. High current accelerator with an ECR source and detectors were commissioned. JUNA plans to study directly a number of nuclear reactions important to hydrostatic stellar evolution at their relevant stellar energies. At the first period, JUNA aims at the direct measurements of 25Mg(p,γ)26 Al, 19F(p,α) 16 O, 13C(α, n) 16O and 12C(α,γ) 16O near the Gamow window. The current progress of JUNA will be given.
The effects of soluble fiber inclusion in gestation diets with varying fermentation characteristics (fermentation kinetics and short-chain fatty acids (SCFA)-profile) on lactational feed intake of sows and their piglet growth over two parities were investigated using an in vitro–in vivo methodology. After breeding, 90 multiparous Landrace sows were randomized to one of three experimental diets: the control (CON) diet, konjac flour (KF) diet or sugar beet pulp (SBP) diet. All diets had similar levels of net energy, CP, insoluble fiber and NDF, but KF and SBP diets had higher soluble fiber levels than the CON diet. During gestation, the sows were restrictively fed with three different diets, but during lactation, all the sows were similarly fed ad libitum. The three gestation diets were enzymatically hydrolyzed using pepsin and pancreatin, and enzymolyzed residues were used in in vitro fermentation. Gas and SCFA production were monitored during fermentation. After fermentation, enzymolyzed residues of KF or SBP diets resulted in higher final asymptotic gas volume than those of the CON diet. The enzymolyzed residues of KF diet were mainly part of rapidly fermented fractions, whereas those of SBP diet were mainly part of slowly fermented fractions. In addition, the acetic acid, butyric acid and total SCFA concentrations of enzymolyzed residues of KF diet were higher (P<0.01) than the control and SBP diets. In the in vivo studies, on day 90 of gestation, the KF diet sows had higher plasma SCFA concentration (P<0.05) at 4 h after feeding than the CON diet sows. Furthermore, the KF diet sows had lower plasma free fatty acid (FFA) concentration (P<0.01) at 4 h after feeding, and a lower value of homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-insulin resistance (P<0.05), but a higher value of HOMA-insulin sensitivity (P<0.01). The KF diet sows also consumed more feed during lactation (P<0.01) and weaned significantly heavier pigs (P<0.01) than the CON diet sows. The overall results showed that the high fermentation capacity KF diet contributed to an increased lactational feed intake and improved performance of piglets in the second reproductive cycle.
We investigated the boron isotopic composition in loess–paleosol sequences in five different profiles in the Chinese Loess Plateau. Three possible boron sources are identified: atmospheric input, carbonates, and weathered silicate rocks. Variations of [Sr], [B], δ11B and the magnetic susceptibility correlate well with the pedogenetic intensity in three out of the five studied profiles, where pedogenesis under a cold–dry climate indicates lower δ11B, lower [B], lower magnetic susceptibility and higher [Sr] values. Exceptions to the variations between the δ11B and other known proxies were observed in arenaceous soils and the Red Clay sequence: the former suggested that vertical redistribution probably occurred with the boron migration, and the latter indicated an unknown mechanism of susceptibility enhancement. A better correlation between the δ11B and magnetic susceptibility and the quantitative estimation of boron budget from each source confirms the influence of paleoenvironmental changes on boron geochemical cycle. Significant positive correlations in Sr/Ca vs. B/Ca and Mg/Ca vs. B/Ca reflect consistent enrichment behavior of those mobile elements into calcium carbonate. The preliminary results imply that boron isotopic compositions in soils can be a potential geochemical proxy to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental changes in loess–paleosol sequences.
To investigate the potential influence of dietary Se intake on mortality among Chinese populations.
Design
We prospectively evaluated all-cause, CVD and cancer mortality risks associated with dietary Se intake in participants of the Shanghai Women’s Health Study (SWHS) and the Shanghai Men’s Health study (SMHS). Dietary Se intake was assessed by validated FFQ during in-person interviews. Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % CI.
Setting
Urban city in China.
Subjects
Chinese adults (n 133 957).
Results
During an average follow-up of 13·90 years in the SWHS and 8·37 years in the SMHS, 5749 women and 4217 men died. The mean estimated dietary Se intake was 45·48 μg/d for women and 51·34 μg/d for men, respectively. Dietary Se intake was inversely associated with all-cause mortality and CVD mortality in both women and men, with respective HR for the highest compared with the lowest quintile being 0·79 (95 % CI 0·71, 0·88; Ptrend<0·0001) and 0·80 (95 % CI 0·66, 0·98; Ptrend=0·0268) for women, and 0·79 (95 % CI 0·70, 0·89; Ptrend=0·0001) and 0·66 (95 % CI 0·54, 0·82; Ptrend=0·0002) for men. No significant associations were observed for cancer mortality in both women and men. Results were similar in subgroup and sensitivity analyses.
Conclusions
Dietary Se intake was inversely associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in both sexes, but not cancer mortality.
Fossil isopod crustaceans in the suborder Phreatoicidea have a known stratigraphic range from the Carboniferous to the Jurassic. Until now, all Mesozoic records of this group were thought to occur in fresh water habitats. A new phreatoicidean isopod fossil of the Triassic Luoping marine fauna, Yunnan Province, China, is described. The new species, based on several exceptionally complete specimens, is assigned to the genus Protamphisopus Nicholls and the family Amphisopidae Nicholls. This Chinese record is the first report of a Mesozoic-age phreatoicidean isopod outside of Gondwanan terranes, requiring a revision of known biogeographic patterns of the Phreatoicidea. Whether this record is from a marine habitat or is the result of a secondary deposition is not certain. Sottyella Racheboef, Schram and Vidal from the Carboniferous (Stephanian) Lagerstätte of Montceaules-Mines that was assigned to this suborder may be a decapod. Therefore, it has no relationship to this new species.
High-pressure die-casting (HPDC) AZ91 tensile specimens were used to investigate characteristics of gas pores and their effects on mechanical properties of HPDC AZ91 magnesium (Mg) alloy. Combining the stereoscopic morphology of gas pores obtained from a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction technique with the experimental data from uniaxial tensile testing, we worked on finite element simulation to find the relationship between gas pores and the mechanical properties of HPDC AZ91 Mg alloy. Results indicate that the 2D metallography images have one-sidedness. Moreover, gas pores >100 µm in the center region have a remarkable negative influence on the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation. With an increase in the size of large gas pores in the center region, the UTS and elongation of the material decreases. In addition, the distribution of gas pores in the specimens and the areal fraction of gas pores >100 µm on cross sections can also affect the UTS and elongation to some extent.
The family Mixosauridae Baur, 1887 is a dominant group of Middle Triassic ichthyosaurs. Its generic composition has been controversial, but recent findings from southern China enabled Jiang et al. (2006) to recognize two monophyletic taxa within the clade, suggesting the presence of two genera within the family, namely Mixosaurus Baur, 1887 and Phalarodon Merriam, 1910. The latter genus, which was invalidated at one point (Nicholls et al., 1999; McGowan and Motani, 2003), was recently resurrected by Schmitz (2005) by validating its type species. Mixosaurus is Tethyan in distribution, whereas Phalarodon had been known mostly from North America and Spitsbergen, apart from a possible juvenile from Switzerland (Brinkmann, 1997, 1998). More recently, Jiang et al. (2003) reported a largely complete, yet poorly preserved skeleton as the first record of the genus Phalarodon from Asia and referred it to Phalarodon sp. However, important synapomorphies were not clearly identified, and evidence has since emerged that the specimen had been tampered with by farmers after it was collected. In the light of the cladistic analysis by Jiang et al. (2006), the referral of the specimen to the genus Phalarodon is questionable.
Mesoporous Fe3O4 nanoparticles coated with ZnO nanocrystals were successfully synthesized by a simple solution method at low temperature. The transmission electron microscopy analysis indicates that the mesoporous Fe3O4 nanoparticles are monodispersed with a mean diameter of 160 nm and the thickness of ZnO layer is 15 nm approximately. The porosity of the products was further substantiated by the nitrogen (N2) sorption measurement. The N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm curve can be identified as type IV, which is a characteristic of mesopores. Electromagnetic (EM) wave absorption properties of the as-prepared Fe3O4@ZnO mesoporous spheres-wax composites were investigated at a room temperature in the frequency range of 0.5∼18 GHz. Interestingly, the Fe3O4@ZnO mesoporous spheres exhibit an enhanced EM wave absorption due to the mesoporous structure. The multiple absorbing mechanisms result from the interface polarization induced by the special core/shell and mesoporous structures as well as dipole polarization of both Fe3O4 and ZnO. The results demonstrate that the Fe3O4@ZnO mesoporous spheres are attractive candidates for a new kind of EM wave absorption materials with wide absorption frequency band.
Dietary n-3 PUFA have been demonstrated to promote muscle growth in growing animals. In the present study, fractional protein synthesis rates (FSR) in the skeletal muscle of growing pigs fed a DHA-enriched (DE) diet (DE treatment) or a soyabean oil (SO) diet (SO treatment) were evaluated in the fed and feed-deprived states. Feeding-induced increases in muscle FSR, as well as the activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin and protein kinase B, were higher in the DE treatment as indicated by the positive interaction between diet and feeding. In the fed state, the activation of eIF4E-binding protein 1 in the skeletal muscle of pigs on the DE diet was higher than that in pigs on the SO diet (P <0·05). Feeding the DE diet increased muscle insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) expression (P <0·05) and insulin action (as demonstrated by increased insulin receptor (IR) phosphorylation, P <0·05), resulting in increased IR substrate 1 activation in the fed state. However, no difference in plasma IGF-1 concentration or hepatic IGF-1 expression between the two treatments was associated. The increased IGF-1 expression in the DE treatment was associated with increased mRNA expression of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 5A and decreased mRNA expression of protein tyrosine phosphatase, non-receptor type 3 in skeletal muscle. Moreover, mRNA expression of protein tyrosine phosphatase, non-receptor type 1 (PTPN1), the activation of PTPN1 and the activation of NF-κB in muscle were significantly lower in the DE treatment (P <0·05). The results of the present study suggest that feeding a DE diet increased feeding-induced muscle protein synthesis in growing pigs, and muscle IGF-1 expression and insulin action were involved in this action.
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the impact of a lifestyle intervention programme, combined with a daily low-glycaemic index meal replacement, on body-weight and glycaemic control in subjects with impaired glucose regulation (IGR). Subjects with IGR were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n 46) and a control group (n 42). Both groups received health counselling at baseline. The intervention group also received a daily meal replacement and intensive lifestyle intervention to promote healthy eating habits during the first 3 months of the study, and follow-up visits performed monthly until the end of the 1-year study. Outcome measurements included changes in plasma glucose, glycated Hb (HbA1c), plasma lipids, body weight, blood pressure and body composition (such as body fat mass and visceral fat area). The results showed that body-weight loss after 1 year was significant in the intervention group compared with the control group ( − 1·8 (sem 0·35) v.− 0·6 (sem 0·40) 2·5 kg, P< 0·05). The 2 h plasma glucose concentration decreased 1·24 mmol/l in the intervention group and increased 0·85 mmol/l in the control group (P< 0·05) compared with their baseline, respectively. A 5 kg body-weight loss at 1 year was associated with a decrease of 1·49 mmol/l in 2 h plasma glucose (P< 0·01). The incidence of normal glucose regulation (NGR) in the two groups was significantly different (P= 0·001). In conclusion, the combination of regular contact, lifestyle advice and meal replacement is beneficial in promoting IGR to NGR.
Circulating levels of leptin and adiponectin are closely associated with obesity. However, it is not known whether there are common shared genes or environment exerting influences on the levels of leptin, adiponectin, and BMI. We aimed to assess the relative contribution of genes and environment to adiponectin, leptin, and BMI individually as well as simultaneously to the three measures. Our subjects included a total of 228 twin/sibling pairs aged 12 to 18 (130 monozygotic twins, 68 dizygotic twins and 30 sibling pairs) were recruited from the middle schools. Multivariate analyses were applied to twin/sibling data using structural equation modeling. The results showed that intraclass correlations for adiponectin, leptin and BMI were higher in the MZ twins than those in the DZ/SP group. The relative contribution of genes to adiponectin (39%) was comparable to those of shared environment (40%). In contrast, leptin and BMI were influenced mostly by genes (74% and 89%, respectively). The multivariate genetic analyses showed that a latent factor underlying the three measures was identified, with BMI being equivalent to this latent factor. The BMI-dependent genetic factor explains only 15% and 34% of variation of adiponectin and leptin, respectively. These data indicate a differential contribution of genetic factors for the variation of adiponectin, leptin and BMI. More importantly, only a small portion of the genetic influences on adiponectin and leptin was attributed to BMI. Our findings provided more insight into the complex regulation of adiponectin and leptin in obesity.
Survivin is a novel member of the inhibitor of apoptosis gene family that bear baculoviral IAP repeats (BIRs), whose physiological roles in regulating meiotic cell cycle need to be determined. Confocal microscopy was employed to observe the localization of survivin in rat oocytes. At the germinal vesicle (GV) stage, survivin was mainly concentrated in the GV. At the prometaphase I (pro-MI) and metaphase I (MI) stage, survivin was mainly localized at the kinetochores, with a light staining detected on the chromosomes. After transition to anaphase I or telophase I stage, survivin migrated to the midbody, and signals on the kinetochores and chromosomes disappeared. At metaphase II (MII) stage, survivin became mainly localized at the kinetochores again. Microinjection of oocytes with anti-survivin antibodies at the beginning of the meiosis, thus blocking the normal function of survivin, resulted in abnormal spindle assembly, chromosome segregation and first polar body emission. These results suggest that survivin is involved in regulating the meiotic cell cycle in rat oocytes.