A Failure Risk-Aware Multi-Hop Routing Protocol in LPWANs Using Deep Q-Network.

Multi-hop routing over low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs) has emerged as a promising technology for extending network coverage. However, existing protocols face high transmission disruption risks due to factors such as dynamic topology driven by stochastic events, dynamic link quality, and coverage holes induced by imbalanced energy consumption. To address this issue, we propose a failure risk-aware deep Q-network-based multi-hop routing (FRDR) protocol, aiming to reduce transmission disruption probability.

Optimizing Peptide-Conjugated Lipid Nanoparticles for Efficient siRNA Delivery across the Blood-Brain Barrier and Treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a WHO grade 4 glioma and the most common malignant primary brain tumor. Addressing the clinical management of GBM presents an exceptionally daunting and intricate challenge, particularly in overcoming the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to deliver effective therapies to the brain. Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems have exhibited considerable promise in tackling this aggressive brain cancer.

Correlation between lipid metabolism levels and pregnancy outcomes.

Objective: To establish the reference interval for the serum lipid index in pregnant women and to explore the relationship between lipid metabolism levels and pregnancy outcomes.

Design And Methods: Data were derived from 446 pregnancy women and 317 healthy non-pregnant women. Serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1), apolipoprotein B (ApoB), lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)], and hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were measured in both groups.

Arsenic distribution and speciation in deposited coal mine dust.

This study investigates arsenic (As) species, sources, and transformation patterns in deposited coal mine dust (DCMD) from three coal mines-QSY, MHJ, and SCC-in the Ningdong Coalfield, China. While the parent coals have low As levels, the DCMD shows significant enrichment, with concentrations 137 to 345 times higher. The mineral composition of the DCMD reflects that of the parent coals but includes secondary minerals such as gypsum and various trace elements, including As.

Fabrication of Flexible and Re-entrant Liquid-Superrepellent Surface Using Proximity and PNIPAM-Assisted Soft Lithography.

The nature-inspired flexible and re-entrant liquid-superrepellent surface has attracted significant attention due to its excellent superomniphobic performance against low-surface-tension liquids. Although conventional photolithography and molding methods offer the advantage of large-area manufacturing, they often involve multiple double-sided alignment and exposure steps, resulting in complex procedures with long processing cycles. In this study, we proposed a straightforward single-exposure ultraviolet proximity lithography method for re-entrant liquid-superrepellent surface fabrication using a photomask with a coaxial circular aperture and ring.

Label-free active single-cell encapsulation enabled by microvalve-based on-demand droplet generation and real-time image processing.

Droplet microfluidics-based single-cell encapsulation is a critical technology that enables large-scale parallel single-cell analysis by capturing and processing thousands of individual cells. As the efficiency of passive single-cell encapsulation is limited by Poisson distribution, active single-cell encapsulation has been developed to theoretically ensure that each droplet contains one cell. However, existing active single-cell encapsulation technologies still face issues related to fluorescence labeling and low throughput.

Prognostic Factors in Philadelphia Chromosome-Positive Acute Myeloid Leukemia Using Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization.

Background: Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute myeloid leukemia (Ph+ AML) is a rare leukemia subtype first classified by the World Health Organization in 2016. The incidence of Ph+ AML is approximately 0.5 - 3%, and its prognosis is poor.

Diagnostic value of random urine protein/creatinine ratio for preeclampsia.

Objective: The 24-h urine protein remains the gold standard to diagnose proteinuria in suspected preeclamptic patients. However, this test is time consuming and sometimes inaccurate. In this study, we aimed to analyse the correlation between the random urine protein/creatinine ratio (UPCR) and 24-h urine protein and to explore the clinical value of UPCR in the diagnosis of preeclampsia.

A high-precision automated liquid pipetting device with an interchangeable tip.

Liquid handling is a necessary act to deal with liquid samples from scientific labs to industry. However, existing pipetting devices suffer from inaccuracy and low precision when dealing with submicroliter liquids, which significantly affect their applications in low-volume quantitation. In this article, we present an automated liquid pipetting device that can aspirate liquid from microplates and dispense nanoliter droplets with high precision.

Droplet Printing Enabled by Cavity Collapse Ejection.

The behavior of cavity collapse in liquids is of fundamental importance in natural and industrial applications. It is still challenging to use the phenomenon of cavity collapse ejection in on-demand droplet printing technology. In this study, we investigate the cavity collapse ejection phenomenon in the submillimeter to millimeter scale and demonstrate that the cavity capillary energy is a critical factor affecting the state of the generated jet.

Real-time fluorescence imaging flow cytometry enabled by motion deblurring and deep learning algorithms.

Fluorescence imaging flow cytometry (IFC) has been demonstrated as a crucial biomedical technique for analyzing specific cell subpopulations from heterogeneous cellular populations. However, the high-speed flow of fluorescent cells leads to motion blur in cell images, making it challenging to identify cell types from the raw images. In this study, we present a real-time single-cell imaging and classification system based on a fluorescence microscope and deep learning algorithm, which is able to directly identify cell types from motion-blur images.

Application of Air-Coupled Ground Penetrating Radar Based on F-K Filtering and BP Migration in High-Speed Railway Tunnel Detection.

As the number and length of high-speed railway tunnels increase in China, implicit defects such as insufficient lining thicknesses, voids, and poor compaction have become increasingly common, posing a serious threat to train operation safety. It is, therefore, imperative to conduct a comprehensive census of the defects within the tunnel linings. In response to this problem, this study proposes a high-speed railway tunnel detection method based on vehicle-mounted air-coupled GPR.

Additional endoscopic treatments for patients with positive lateral margins after endoscopic resection of early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

There are currently no well-established treatment strategies for early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) for patients with only positive lateral margin (LM+) following endoscopic resection (ER). The present study aimed to find a treatment strategy for patients with early ESCC with non-curative resection (non-CR) and only LM+ following ER. In total, 511 patients with early ESCC treated at the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University (Shijiazhuang, China) with ER were retrospectively analyzed, 41 of which (8%) were patients with only LM+ after non-CR.

An Improved Q-Learning-Based Sensor-Scheduling Algorithm for Multi-Target Tracking.

Target tracking is an essential issue in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Compared with single-target tracking, how to guarantee the performance of multi-target tracking is more challenging because the system needs to balance the tracking resource for each target according to different target properties and network status. However, the balance of tracking task allocation is rarely considered in those prior sensor-scheduling algorithms, which may result in the degradation of tracking accuracy for some targets and additional system energy consumption.

An Energy-Efficient Clustering Method for Target Tracking Based on Tracking Anchors in Wireless Sensor Networks.

As a key technology in wireless sensor networks (WSNs), target tracking plays an essential role in many applications. To improve energy efficiency, clustering is widely used in tracking to organize the network to achieve data fusion and reduce communication costs. Many existing studies make dynamic adjustments based on static clusters to track moving targets.

Highly Uniform Droplet Generation Enabled by Microfluidic Impact Printing and Its Application in Lyophilized Microbeads Preparation.

Goal: Research on droplet generation technology with a large volume range and high uniformity has great significance in biomedical engineering.

Methods: We explored the influence of both the liquid level height in the reservoir and the flow resistance distribution on the droplet volumes besides the nozzle size for the microfluidic impact printing (MIP) method. Finally, this droplet generation technology is applied to the preparation of lyophilized microbeads with high uniformity in volume.

Associated risk factor analysis and the prognostic impact of positive resection margins after endoscopic resection in early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Endoscopic resection for early esophageal cancer has a risk of residual margins. The risk these residual margins pose have not been fully evaluated. The present study aimed to investigate the associated risk factors and prognosis of residual margins following the endoscopic resection of early esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Polymorphisms of Cytochromes P450 and Glutathione S-Transferases Synergistically Modulate Risk for Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Environmental substances such as pesticides are well-known in link with Parkinson's disease (PD) risk. Enzymes including cytochromes P450 (CYPs), esterases and glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are responsible for the xenobiotic metabolism and may functionally compensate each other for subtypes in the same class. We hypothesize that the genetic effects of each class modulate PD risk stronger in a synergistic way than individually.

Chemical Speciation and Leaching Behavior of Hazardous Trace Elements in Coal Combustion Products from Coal-Fired Power Stations in China.

This paper reports on the chemical speciation and leaching behavior of a selected group of hazardous trace pollutants in lignite and lignite-petcoke blend co-combustion products from three power stations in China. The evaluation of speciation results showed that, during combustion, oxidizable elements, mainly As and Mo, bound to organic matter and sulfides in coals were mostly transferred to easily water-soluble forms or to slightly acidic states in the ashes. This manner was the most readily bioavailable condition for such an environment.

Effect of dietary pattern on pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus and its clinical significance.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common obstetric disease among pregnant women. This study aimed to explore the effect of dietary pattern management to reduce the incidence of GDM. Here, we, retrospectively, analyzed the influence of dietary patterns on the occurrence of GDM and the correlation between dietary patterns and intestinal microbiome distribution and inflammation in pregnant women.

Hepatic Steatosis: CT-Based Prevalence in Adults in China and the United States and Associations With Age, Sex, and Body Mass Index.

Calibrated CT fat fraction (FF) measurements derived from un-enhanced abdominal CT reliably reflect liver fat content, allowing large-scale population-level investigations of steatosis prevalence and associations. The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of hepatic steatosis, as assessed by calibrated CT measurements, between population-based Chinese and U.S.

A low-cost self-dispersing method of droplet array generation enabled by a simple reusable mask for bioanalysis and bioassays.

Discontinuous dewetting is an attractive technique that can produce droplet array of specific volume, geometry and at predefined location on a substrate. Droplet array has great potential in bioanalysis such as high-throughput live cell screening, digital PCR, and drug candidates. Here, we propose a self-dispersing droplet array generation method, which has advantages of low cost, simple operation, and easy large-area production ability.

Label-free single-cell isolation enabled by microfluidic impact printing and real-time cellular recognition.

Analysis of cellular components at the single-cell level is important to reveal cellular heterogeneity. However, current technologies to isolate individual cells are either label-based or have low performance. Here, we present a novel technique by integrating real-time cellular recognition and microfluidic impact printing (MIP) to isolate single cells with high efficiency and high throughput in a label-free manner.