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Background Acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) induces uncontrolled and self-amplified pulmonary inflammation, and has high morbidity and mortality rates in critically ill patients. In recent years, many bioactive ingredients extracted from herbs have been reported to effectively ameliorate ALI/ARDS via different mechanisms. Ferroptosis, categorized as regulated necrosis, is more immunogenic than apoptosis and contributes to the progression of ALI. In this study, we examined the impact of panaxydol (PX), isolated from the roots of Panax ginseng, on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI in mice. Methods In vivo, the role of PX on LPS-induced ALI in mice was tested by determination of LPS-induced pulmonary inflammation, pulmonary edema and ferroptosis. In vitro, BEAS-2B cells were used to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which PX functions via determination of inflammation, ferroptosis and their relationship. Results Administration of PX protected mice against LPS-induced ALI, including significantly ameliorated lung pathological changes, and decreased the extent of lung edema, inflammation, and ferroptosis. In vitro, PX inhibited LPS-induced ferroptosis and inflammation in bronchial epithelial cell line BEAS-2B cells. The relationship between ferroptosis and inflammation was investigated. The results showed that ferroptosis mediated inflammation in LPS-treated BEAS-2B cells, and PX might ameliorate LPS-induced inflammation via inhibiting ferroptosis. Meanwhile, PX could upregulate Keap1-Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, and selective inhibition of Keap1-Nrf2/HO-1 pathway significantly abolished the anti-ferroptotic and anti-inflammatory functions of PX in LPS-treated cells. Conclusion PX attenuates ferroptosis against LPS-induced ALI via Keap1-Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, and is a promising novel therapeutic candidate for ALI.

This paper studies the distributed fixed-time formation tracking problem of multiple nonholonomic wheeled mobile robots system over directed fixed and switching topologies. Through a classical nonlinear transformation, the formation control problem is transformed into a consensus problem. New control protocols based on a distributed observer are proposed. The directed communication topology between multiple nonholonomic wheeled mobile robots is considered. Some sufficient conditions of multiple robots achieving the desired formation shape are given. All follower robots can form the desired formation shape within a fixed settling time and make the leader in the geometric center of the formation. By adopting graph theory and fixed-time stability theory, an upper bound of settling time that is independent of the system’s initial states is obtained. Finally, two examples are presented to illustrate the correctness of the main results.

Conclusion The finite-time bearing-only formation problem of first-order MASs under pinning control has been discussed in this study. Considering the situation of tracking moving formation in finite time, the validity of the pinning controller is verified by Lyapunov stability theory and numerical simulations. Besides, using the time-varying function with certain properties, a finite-time control mechanism is proposed for the preset formation stabilization time and the smooth bounded controller. Our results extend the finite-time bearing-only formation studies based on the timevarying function from stationary to tracking formation. In practice, MASs may be described by nonlinear dynamics and the communication topology may be directed. Thus, it will be investigated in future work.

This paper studies the fixed-time coordinated tracking problem of second-order nonlinear multi-agent systems with unknown disturbances. Based on the fixed-time distributed observer, a non-singular terminal sliding mode protocol is proposed, which could avoid singularity and achieve exact convergence. By using graph theory and Lyapunov stability method, sufficient conditions and the upper bound of setting time for fixed-time coordinated tracking are obtained. Numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness of theoretical results.

This paper studies the finite-time consensus of leader-following multi-agent systems with multiple time delays over time-varying topology. The finite-time consensus protocol based on the agents’ states and the communication topology is designed. By adopting the algebraic graph theory, Lyapunov stability theory and pinning control method, some sufficient conditions for the finite-time consensus are given. It is proved that the system can reach consensus in a finite time both over the connected and disconnected topology. Moreover, the upper bound of the convergence time is given. Several simulations are presented to verify the effectiveness of the adopted method.

Background Toll-like receptors (TLRs) may be involved in the natural history of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. In our study, we aimed to investigate the association of TLR4 (rs10116253, rs1927911, rs10759931) and TLR9 (rs187084, rs352140) gene polymorphisms with cervical persistent high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) infection, as well as multiple HR-HPV infections. Methods A total of 269 study subjects were enrolled and grouped by retrospectively analyzing the HR-HPV testing results and other clinical data of 2647 gynecological outpatients from Jingzhou Hospital Affiliated to Yangtze University. We conducted a case–control study to compare the role of TLR4/TLR9 gene polymorphisms between HR-HPV transient and persistent infections, as well as between HR-HPV single and multiple infections. HR-HPV genotypes were detected using Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP) was used to determine TLR4 and TLR9 gene polymorphisms. Analyses of the different outcome variables (HR-HPV infection status and time for HR-HPV clearance) with respect to TLR4/TLR9 polymorphisms were carried out. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association of TLR4/TLR9 genotypes and alleles with HR-HPV infection status. The Kaplan–Meier method with the log-rank test was used to analyze the relationship between TLR4/TLR9 genotypes and the time for HR-HPV clearance. Results The mutant genotypes of TLR9 rs187084 and rs352140 were associated with persistent (rs187084: CT and CT+CC; rs352140: CT and CT+TT) and multiple (rs187084: CT and CT+CC; rs352140: CT+TT) (all P  < 0.05) HR-HPV infection. However, no association was found between TLR4 polymorphisms and HR-HPV infection status. Kaplan–Meier time to HR-HPV clearance analysis demonstrated that women carrying rs187084 and rs352140 mutant genotypes take longer duration to clear HR-HPV infection compared with wild-type genotype carriers ( P 1 = 0.012; P 2 = 0.031). Conclusion Our results suggested that TLR9 polymorphisms, but not TLR4 , were associated with cervical persistent and multiple HR-HPV infections, which could be useful as a potential predictor of HR-HPV infection status.

Background Seasonal influenza can circulate in parallel with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in winter. In the context of COVID-19 pandemic, the risk of co-infection and the burden it poses on healthcare system calls for timely influenza vaccination among pregnant women, who are the priority population recommended for vaccination. We aimed to evaluate the acceptance of influenza vaccination and associated factors among pregnant women during COVID-19 pandemic, provide evidence to improve influenza vaccination among pregnant women, help reduce the risk of infection and alleviate the burden of healthcare system for co-infected patients. Methods We conducted a multi-center cross-sectional study among pregnant women in China. Sociodemographic characteristics, health status, knowledge on influenza, attitude towards vaccination, and health beliefs were collected. Locally weighted scatterplot smoothing regression analysis was used to evaluate the trends in the acceptance of influenza vaccine. Logistic regression was applied to identify factors associated with vaccination acceptance. Results The total acceptance rate was 76.5% (95%CI: 74.8–78.1%) among 2568 pregnant women enrolled. Only 8.3% of the participants had a history of seasonal influenza vaccination. In the logistic regression model, factors associated with the acceptance of influenza vaccine were western region, history of influenza vaccination, high knowledge of influenza infection and vaccination, high level of perceived susceptibility, perceived benefit, cues to action and low level of perceived barriers. Among 23.5% of the participants who had vaccine hesitancy, 48.0% of them were worried about side effect, 35.6% of them lacked confidence of vaccine safety. Conclusions Our findings highlighted that tailored strategies and publicity for influenza vaccination in the context of COVID-19 pandemic are warranted to reduce pregnant women’s concerns, improve their knowledge, expand vaccine uptake and alleviate pressure for healthcare system.

Background: Women with hyperglycemia in pregnancy (HIP) have an increased risk of delivering large-for-gestational-age (LGA) infants, a condition associated with both short- and long-term adverse outcomes for mothers and offspring. The identification of women with HIP at high risk of LGA using routinely available clinical indicators could help optimize antenatal management. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 675 women diagnosed with HIP who delivered at Anhui Maternal and Child Health Hospital in Hefei, China, between January 2017 and December 2019. Maternal demographic characteristics and biochemical parameters measured at 25–29+6 weeks of gestation were extracted from medical records. LGA was defined as birthweight above the 90th percentile for gestational age and sex, according to the INTERGROWTH-21st international newborn standards. Candidate predictors were selected based on clinical relevance and correlation analysis. A multivariable logistic regression model with stepwise selection was used to develop a prediction model for LGA, followed by the construction of a nomogram. Internal validation was performed using 1000 bootstrap resamples. Discrimination, calibration, and clinical utility were assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), Brier score, Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test, calibration plots, and decision curve analysis (DCA). Results: Among the 675 women with HIP, 113 (16.7%) delivered LGA infants. The final multivariable model retained 8 predictors: maternal height, serum albumin, lactate dehydrogenase, triglycerides, total cholesterol, blood urea nitrogen, homocysteine, and fasting plasma glucose. The model showed acceptable discrimination, with an AUC of 0.7333 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.6856–0.7810) in the original dataset and an optimism-corrected AUC of 0.7132 after 1000 bootstrap resamples. Calibration was acceptable (Brier score 0.1260; Hosmer-Lemeshow p = 0.0644), and DCA indicated a net clinical benefit of using the model across a wide range of threshold probabilities. Conclusions: We developed and internally validated a simple mid-pregnancy prediction model to estimate the risk of LGA in infants born to women with HIP. This nomogram, based on routinely available clinical and biochemical indicators, may help clinicians identify high-risk women in mid-pregnancy, thus facilitating individualized antenatal management. However, external validation in independent populations is required before broader clinical implementation.

To describe the metabolic characteristics of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and assess their effects on perinatal outcomes. A two-center nested case‒control study was designed, including 192 pregnant women with GDM and 191 pregnant women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT). Serum glucose and insulin concentrations based upon the 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) were measured. Several indices were calculated to describe the metabolic characteristics of the subjects. The relationship between glucose metabolism parameters and pregnancy outcomes was evaluated using stepwise linear regression and binary logistic regression. Compared with the NGT group, the GDM group showed significantly higher fasting and postprandial glucose parameters but significantly lower fasting and postprandial insulin responses. Meanwhile, the GDM group had significantly lower HOMA-β, DI and ISI but comparable HOMA-IR. The IFG subgroup showed significantly lower FINS/FPG only, while the IGT and IFSG subgroups showed deficiency in both fasting and postprandial insulin response. The IFSG subgroup had the highest glucose parameters and the lowest insulin parameters, as well as significantly lower ISI and HOMA-β than the NGT group. FPG had a significant effect on infants' birth weight, and 1hPG and FINS/FPG had a significant effect on delivery gestational age. AUC-INS, IGI and DI were related to premature delivery risk after adjusting for confounders. The IFG subgroup of GDM was 2.319 times more likely to be subject to cesarean section than the NGT group. FPG, FINS/FPG, AUC-GLU, AUC-INS/AUC-GLU and HOMA-β were related to macrosomia risk. Beta cell dysfunction rather than insulin resistance determines the occurrence of GDM in the central Chinese population. Women with predominant insulin secretion defects had a similar risk of adverse perinatal outcomes to women with NGT. Our study provided a basis for the selection of glucose metabolism monitoring indicators useful for the prevention of adverse perinatal outcomes.

Because of the complexity of the environment, the dynamics of agents in the same system may be different. That is, the dynamics of some agents may be first ordered, and the others may be second ordered, even high ordered. In addition, the network topologies of systems are always varying over time. Because of these facts, this paper studies the consensus problem of the mixed-order multiagent networks over the jointly connected topologies. By adopting the impulse control technique, some control protocols are proposed based on the information of the agents themselves and their neighbors. Several simulation results are given to verify the correctness of the theoretical results.