Explore the vast range of titles available.

This paper investigates the evolution of the spatial distribution of archways in Chaozhou from 1762 to 1949, particularly with respect to the ways in which these archways have been integrated into and influenced the changing urban landscape over time. An investigation of three editions of historical local gazetteers reveals various changes in the number, type, and distribution of archways. On the basis of a literature review, archways can be subdivided into five types. The study reveals that archway types that exhibit a more public nature or have more positive social implications are typically characterised by larger scales, more intricate forms, and more advantageous locations. Furthermore, the clustering characteristics of such archways are distinct, and two patterns can be identified: the cluster on Big Street, which contains dozens of archways, strongly reinforces the urban main axis and represents the dominant landscape element, whereas the clusters on the subaxes, which contain several archways, normally act as affiliated landscape elements that emphasise the associated institutional buildings. Varying locations, densities, and types of archway clusters regulate the roles played by these features within the urban landscape over time. Furthermore, the number and location of different types of archways have evolved in response to broader sociopolitical transitions. This study reveals the functions and characteristics of archways in terms of their effects on both physical and sociocultural landscapes in traditional Chinese cities.

Lacustrine shale is characterized by rapid lithofacies transformation and compositional heterogeneity, which present challenges in shale oil sweet spot evaluation and distribution prediction and should be systematically studied. Field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), low-pressure adsorption isotherm analysis, mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), and triaxial compression testing were employed to comprehensively analyze the oil-bearing capacity, reservoir properties, fluidity, and frackability of different lithofacies. Via analyses of mineral composition, total organic carbon (TOC) content, and sedimentary structure, seven lithofacies were identified: organic-rich calcareous shale (L1), organic-rich laminated calcareous mudstone (L2), organic-rich laminated carbonate-bearing mudstone (L3), intermediate-organic laminated calcareous mudstone (L4), organic-poor laminated calcareous mudstone (L5), organic-poor thin-bedded calcareous mudstone (L6), and organic-rich laminated silty mudstone (L7). Considered together, the oil-bearing capacity, reservoir properties, fluidity, and frackability suggested that the L1 and L7 lithofacies were high-quality sweet spots, with satisfactory oil-bearing capacity (TOC>3.5%; S1>10 mgHC/grock), well-developed pores and microfractures, notable fluidity (as indicated by a high oil saturation index value), and suitable brittleness. The sweet spot distribution was predicted according to multiresolution graph-based clustering analysis of well logs. The results indicate that comprehensive research of the key factors for shale oil and lithofacies prediction can promote sweet spot prediction and enhance shale oil exploration.

The oral microbiota contains billions of microbial cells, which could contribute to diseases in many body sites. Challenged by eating, drinking, and dental hygiene on a daily basis, the oral microbiota is regarded as highly dynamic. Here, we report significant human genomic associations with the oral metagenome from more than 1915 individuals, for both the tongue dorsum (n = 2017) and saliva (n = 1915). We identified five genetic loci associated with oral microbiota at study-wide significance (p < 3.16 × 10−11). Four of the five associations were well replicated in an independent cohort of 1439 individuals: rs1196764 at APPL2 with Prevotella jejuni, Oribacterium uSGB 3339 and Solobacterium uSGB 315; rs3775944 at the serum uric acid transporter SLC2A9 with Oribacterium uSGB 1215, Oribacterium uSGB 489 and Lachnoanaerobaculum umeaense; rs4911713 near OR11H1 with species F0422 uSGB 392; and rs36186689 at LOC105371703 with Eggerthia. Further analyses confirmed 84% (386/455 for tongue dorsum) and 85% (391/466 for saliva) of host genome-microbiome associations including six genome-wide significant associations mutually validated between the two niches. As many of the oral microbiome-associated genetic variants lie near miRNA genes, we tentatively validated the potential of host miRNAs to modulate the growth of specific oral bacteria. Human genetics accounted for at least 10% of oral microbiome compositions between individuals. Machine learning models showed that polygenetic risk scores dominated over oral microbiome in predicting risk of dental diseases such as dental calculus and gingival bleeding. These findings indicate that human genetic differences are one explanation for a stable or recurrent oral microbiome in each individual.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease that has a significant impact on people’s lives. Early diagnosis is imperative since proper treatment stops the disease’s progression. With the rapid development of CAD techniques, there have been numerous applications of computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) techniques in the diagnosis of PD. In recent years, image fusion has been applied in various fields and is valuable in medical diagnosis. This paper mainly adopts a multi-focus image fusion method primarily based on deep convolutional neural networks to fuse magnetic resonance images (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) neural photographs into multi-modal images. Additionally, the study selected Alexnet, Densenet, ResNeSt, and Efficientnet neural networks to classify the single-modal MRI dataset and the multi-modal dataset. The test accuracy rates of the single-modal MRI dataset are 83.31%, 87.76%, 86.37%, and 86.44% on the Alexnet, Densenet, ResNeSt, and Efficientnet, respectively. Moreover, the test accuracy rates of the multi-modal fusion dataset on the Alexnet, Densenet, ResNeSt, and Efficientnet are 90.52%, 97.19%, 94.15%, and 93.39%. As per all four networks discussed above, it can be concluded that the test results for the multi-modal dataset are better than those for the single-modal MRI dataset. The experimental results showed that the multi-focus image fusion method according to deep learning can enhance the accuracy of PD image classification.

The gut microbiome has been established as a key environmental factor to health. Genetic influences on the gut microbiome have been reported, yet, doubts remain as to the significance of genetic associations. Here, we provide shotgun data for whole genome and whole metagenome from a Chinese cohort, identifying no <20% genetic contribution to the gut microbiota. Using common variants-, rare variants-, and copy number variations-based association analyses, we identified abundant signals associated with the gut microbiome especially in metabolic, neurological, and immunological functions. The controversial concept of enterotypes may have a genetic attribute, with the top two loci explaining 11% of the Prevotella–Bacteroides variances. Stratification according to gender led to the identification of differential associations in males and females. Our two-stage metagenome genome-wide association studies on a total of 1295 individuals unequivocally illustrates that neither microbiome nor GWAS studies could overlook one another in our quest for a better understanding of human health and diseases.

IntroductionThis study investigated the characteristics of double-seropositive myasthenia gravis (DSP-MG) in southern China for disease subtype classification.MethodsA case-control study was carried out in which the characteristics of DSP-MG patients (n = 17) were compared to those of muscle-specific tyrosine kinase antibody-positive (MuSK)-MG and acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive (AChR)-MG patients (n = 8 and 27, respectively). We also performed a literature review of DSP-MG patients.ResultsCompared to AChR-MG, DSP-MG had greater bulbar dysfunction (47.1% vs 18.6%, P = 0.04), higher incidence of myasthenia crisis (41.2% vs 14.8%, P = 0.04), more severe Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America classification at maximum worsening, greater autoantibody abnormalities (70.6% vs 33.3%, P = 0.015), greater need for immunosuppressant treatment (58.8% vs 3.7%, P < 0.001), and worse prognosis with less remission (11.8% vs 55.6%, P = 0.001). There were no differences between DSP-MG and MuSK-MG patients. DSP-MG described in published reports was comparable to MuSK-MG.DiscussionDSP-MG in southern China may be a subtype of MuSK-MG.

Abundant coal and oil shale resources are developed in the coal-bearing member of the Shimengou Formation (J2sh1) in the northern Qaidam Basin, NW China. A better understanding of the formation mechanism of these oil shales is of great significance for the exploration of potential unconventional oil and gas resources, and the co-development of coal and oil shale resources. In this study, the geochemistry of 16 samples from drilling cores was used to determine paleoclimate, paleosalinity, redox conditions, chemical weathering intensity, provenance, and tectonic setting. The results show that the geochemical characteristics of the samples are similar to the composition of the upper continental crust, with a warm and humid paleoclimate, a freshwater to brackish paleosalinity condition, a generally anoxic condition, and intense weathering during the Middle Jurassic. The provenance was mainly felsic igneous rocks, and the prevailing tectonic setting was passive margin. During the Middle Jurassic, the warm and humid climate, caused by the low paleolatitude and water vapor from the Tethys Ocean, made the provenance mainly from Hercynian intrusive rocks, which underwent intense weathering and entered the northern Qaidam Basin along with plant material. During water regression periods, abundant terrestrial plants formed coal, while during flooding periods, the increasing water depth and the input of nutrients from terrestrial debris promoted the development of lake algae. Algae and other lake organisms, as well as terrestrial plants, provided the material basis for the formation of organic matter. The anoxic preservation conditions enabled the preservation of organic matter, resulting in the formation of oil shale. This study helps to understand the formation mechanism of the J2sh1 oil shale and promotes the utilization of oil shale in the studied area.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) and premature ovarian failure (POF) are rare. MF and POF greatly affect patients’ health. Combined occurrence of MF and POF in young women can have serious consequences. We report two cases of MG with POF. Case 1 was a 20-year-old woman who presented with myasthenic crisis and menopause in September 2015 and November 2015, respectively. The patient’s estradiol and follicle-stimulating hormone levels were abnormal. She was administered plasmapheresis and methylprednisolone pulse therapy. She improved and was discharged with normal restoration of menstruation after 3 months. Case 2 was a 21-year-old woman who had right eyelid droop and double vision in June 2014. She presented with menstrual disorder and menopause in August 2014 and September 2014, respectively. Estradiol and follicle-stimulating hormone levels were abnormal. She underwent progesterone therapy. She was admitted to hospital again in March 2016 with a myasthenic crisis. She received methylprednisolone pulse therapy and underwent thymectomy, but menstruation was not restored. In conclusion, there is comorbidity of POF in MG, and there is a close relationship between these two diseases. MG may subsequently lead to development of POF, and timely immunotherapy for MG may normalize POF.

Orbit stability is a critical performance metric for modern synchrotron radiation facilities and colliders, necessitating effective orbit correction and slow orbit feedback systems. In recent years, innovative orbit feedback methods leveraging neural networks have been progressively implemented, demonstrating improved performance. BEPCII has also attempted to implement an orbit feedback system based on neural networks. Furthermore, we have noted that orbit stability is significantly affected by noises. To address the impact of noises, we introduced the Kalman filtering method into the orbit feedback system and combined it with the existing neural network framework, creating a dual neural network orbit feedback system. This innovative approach has led to further improvements in overall orbit stability.

Background Dendritic cells (DCs) in the thymus are involved in central tolerance formation, but they also have other functions in the thymus, such as pathogen recognition. The density changes of human thymic DCs have been hardly investigated. In this study, human thymus samples of various ages were collected for tissue sectioning and staining. The thymic cortex and medulla area as well as the densities of various subsets of thymic DCs were calculated. Results All common DC subsets were found in the human thymus of various ages. Most DCs had accumulated in the human thymic epithelial space, especially the medulla. We also found that the human thymic cortex had atrophied relatively faster than the medulla, which led to a gradual increase of the area ratio of the medulla to cortex with the increase of age. The densities of DC subsets in the human thymus showed various changes with increasing age, which contributed to the composition changes of DC subsets. The density of plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) in the human thymus had increased gradually with aging, which suggested that pDCs plays another essential role in the thymus in addition to central tolerance. Conclusions Inconsistent with the shrinking of the epithelial space in the thymus, the densities of DC subsets in the epithelial space of the thymus are maintained at a constant level with aging to preserve highly efficient autoreactive thymocyte screening. An increasing density of the thymic pDCs with aging implies an extra function of DCs in the thymus beyond central tolerance.