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This paper proposes a time- and event-triggered hybrid scheduling for remote state estimation with limited communication resources. A smart sensor observes a physical process and decides whether to send the local state estimate to a remote estimator via a wireless communication channel; the estimator computes the state estimate of the process according to the received data packets and the known scheduling mechanism. Based on the existing optimal time-triggered scheduling, we employ a stochastic event trigger to save precious communication chances and further improve the estimation performance. The minimum mean-squared error (MMSE) state estimate is derived since the Gaussian property is preserved. The estimation performance upper bound and communication rate are analyzed. The main results are illustrated by numerical examples.

Ionic liquids (ILs) have a wide range of applications, owing to their negligible vapor pressure, high electrical conductivity, and low melting point. However, the thermal hazards of ILs and their mixtures are also non-negligible. In this study, the thermal hazards of various binary imidazolium ionic liquids (BIIL) mixtures were investigated. The effects of parent salt components and molar ratios on the thermal decomposition temperature (Td) and flashpoint temperature (Tf) are investigated. It is found that both Td and Tf increase as the proportion of highly thermally stable components in BIIL mixtures increases. Furthermore, the decomposition process of BIIL mixtures can be divided into two stages. For most molar ratios, the Tf of the BIIL mixtures is in the first stage of thermal decomposition. When the proportion of highly thermally stable components is relatively high, Tf is in the second stage of thermal decomposition. The flammability is attributed to the produced combustible gases during the thermal decomposition process. This work would be reasonably expected to provide some guidance for the safety design and application of IL mixtures for engineering.

Introduction The current clinical management of pulmonary nodules relies heavily on CT follow‐up, without early intervention. This retrospective study investigated the efficacy of OM‐85, a standardized lysate of human respiratory bacteria, in the treatment of high‐risk pulmonary nodules detected by computed tomography (CT) in patients with chronic bronchitis. Methods This study included 72 patients (93 enrolled nodules) who underwent treatment with OM‐85 and a matched control group of 90 patients (111 control nodules). The primary endpoint included reduced size of high‐risk ground glass nodules based on thin‐layer CT scans during follow‐up. Flow cytometry, multiplex immunofluorescence (mIF) analysis, and scRNA‐seq data were employed to determine differences in the immune cell subsets between the treatment and control groups. Results Oral OM‐85 treatment significantly reduced lung nodule diameter (p = 0.031), the risk probability of malignancy (p = 0.003), and the likelihood of clinical disease progression (p = 0.0091). The effects of OM‐85 treatment were more pronounced in older patients (> 65‐year‐old) (p = 0.029) and those with longer follow‐up cycles (> 200 days) (p = 0.011). The peripheral blood samples showed a significantly higher proportion of natural killer (NK) cells in the treatment group. Furthermore, mIF staining of the pulmonary nodules and scRNA‐seq data demonstrated a higher percentage of NK cells in the treatment group compared with the control group (p = 0.0003). Conclusion OM‐85 reduced the size of high‐risk pulmonary nodules and decreased the risk of malignant probability and disease progression in patients with chronic bronchitis by increasing the proportion of NK cells. Therefore, OM‐85 is a potential drug for the treatment of high‐risk pulmonary nodules in patients with chronic bronchitis. OM‐85 reduced the size of high‐risk pulmonary nodules and decreased the risk of malignant probability and disease progression by increasing the proportion of NK cells. Therefore, OM‐85 may be a potential agent for the treatment of high‐risk pulmonary nodules.

Objective To investigate the relationship between icariin and the osteoblastic differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and the signal pathway involved. Methods We applied a universally accepted calcification model of VSMCs induced by β glycerophosphate. Then the VSMCs calcification was observed by treatment with icariin and/or inhibitors of estrogen receptors (ERs) and p38‐mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling. Results Icariin inhibited osteoblastic differentiation and mineralization of VSMCs due to decreased ALP activity and Runx2 expression. Further study demonstrated that icariin exerted this suppression effect through activating p38‐MAPK but not extracellular‐regulated kinase, JNK or Akt. An inhibitor of p38‐MAPK partially reversed the inhibitory effects of icariin on osteoblastic differentiation. Interestingly, treatment of VSMCs with an ER antagonist ICI182780 and a selective ERα receptor antagonist PPT attenuated icariin‐mediated inhibition effect of VSMCs calcification, associated with suppression of p38‐MAPK phosphorylation. Conclusions Icariin inhibited the osteoblastic differentiation of VSMCs, and that the inhibitory effects were mediated by p38‐MAPK pathways through ERα. Icariin exerted suppression of calcification of vascular smooth muscle cells through activating p38 MAPK. Blockage of estrogen receptor (ER) α impairs the suppression effect by icariin vis p38 MAPK.

Tert-butyl peroxy-3,5,5-trimethylhexanoate (TBPTMH), a liquid ester organic peroxide, is commonly used as an initiator for polymerization reactions. During the production process, TBPTMH may be exposed to acids and alkali, which may have different effects on its thermal hazard, so it is necessary to carry out a study on the thermal hazard of TBPTMH mixed with acids and alkali. In this paper, the effects of H2SO4 and NaOH on the thermal decomposition of TBPTMH were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and adiabatic calorimetry (Phi-TEC II). The “kinetic triple factors” were calculated by thermodynamic analysis. The results show that the three Ea are 132.49, 116.36, and 118.24 kJ/mol, respectively; thus, the addition of H2SO4 and NaOH increased the thermal hazard of TBPTMH. In addition, the characteristic parameters (time to maximum rate under adiabatic conditions, self-accelerated decomposition temperature) of its thermal decomposition were determined, and the control temperature (45, 40, and 40 °C) of TBPTMH under the action of acid-alkali were further received. This work is expected to provide some guidance for the safe storage, handling, production, and transportation of TBPTMH in the process industry.

A quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) study is performed to predict the auto-ignition temperatures (AITs) of binary liquid mixtures based on their molecular structures. The Simplex Representation of Molecular Structure (SiRMS) methodology was employed to describe the structure characteristics of a series of 132 binary miscible liquid mixtures. The most rigorous “compounds out” strategy was employed to divide the dataset into the training set and test set. The genetic algorithm (GA) combined with multiple linear regression (MLR) was used to select the best subset of SiRMS descriptors, which significantly contributes to the AITs of binary liquid mixtures. The result is a multilinear model with six parameters. Various strategies were employed to validate the developed model, and the results showed that the model has satisfactory robustness and predictivity. Furthermore, the applicability domain (AD) of the model was defined. The developed model could be considered as a new way to reliably predict the AITs of existing or new binary miscible liquid mixtures, belonging to its AD.

Background: Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) increases the risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), which might be related to insulin resistance (IR). We aimed to explore the association between the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, a reliable indicator of IR, and VDD in patients with T2DM. Methods: There were 1034 participants with T2DM enrolled in the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. The TyG index was calculated as ln (fasting triglyceride (TG, mg/dL) × fasting blood glucose (mg/dL)/2). VDD was defined as 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level <50 nmol/L. Results: Correlation analysis showed a negative association between the TyG index and 25(OH)D level. After adjustments for clinical and laboratory parameters, it was revealed that when taking the Q1 quartile of TyG index as a reference, an increasing trend of VDD prevalence was presented in the other three groups divided by TyG index quartiles, where the OR (95% CI) was 1.708 (1.132–2.576) for Q2, 2.041 (1.315–3.169) for Q3, and 2.543 (1.520–4.253) for Q4 (all p < 0.05). Conclusions: Patients with higher TyG index were more likely to have an increased risk of VDD in T2DM population, which may be related to IR.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging regulators of vascular diseases, yet their role in diabetic vascular calcification/aging remains poorly understood. In this study, we identified a down-expressed lncRNA SNHG1 in high glucose (HG)-induced vascular smooth muscle cells (HA-VSMCs), which induced excessive autophagy and promoted HA-VSMCs calcification/senescence. Overexpression of SNHG1 alleviated HG-induced HA-VSMCs calcification/senescence. The molecular mechanisms of SNHG1 in HA-VSMCs calcification/senescence were explored by RNA pull-down, RNA immunoprecipitation, RNA stability assay, luciferase reporter assay, immunoprecipitation and Western blot assays. In one mechanism, SNHG1 directly interacted with Bhlhe40 mRNA 3′-untranslated region and increased Bhlhe40 mRNA stability and expression. In another mechanism, SNHG1 enhanced Bhlhe40 protein SUMOylation by serving as a scaffold to facilitate the binding of SUMO E3 ligase PIAS3 and Bhlhe40 protein, resulting in increased nuclear translocation of Bhlhe40 protein. Moreover, Bhlhe40 suppressed the expression of Atg10, which is involved in the process of autophagosome formation. Collectively, the protective effect of SNHG1 on HG-induced HA-VSMCs calcification/senescence is accomplished by stabilizing Bhlhe40 mRNA and promoting the nuclear translocation of Bhlhe40 protein. Our study could provide a novel approach for diabetic vascular calcification/aging.

We are pleased to see that Mahat and Rathore [...]