Mismatch Rate Research Articles

Long-term outcomes of heart re-transplantation from HCV-viremic donors based on UNOS registry

Abstract Background The use of hepatitis C virus (HCV) viremic donors increased the heart donor pool, and reduced waitlist time and mortality among first-time single-organ heart transplant (HT) candidates without compromising their post-transplant survival. The outcomes of heart re-transplantation (re-HT) with the use of HCV-viremic donor grafts have not been investigated. Methods Using the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) Registry we analyzed all adult patients who underwent single-organ heart re-HT in the United States between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2022. HCV-viremic donors were defined by a positive nucleic acid amplification test (NAT+). Graft survival rates between HCV-viremic and HCV-non-viremic donor graft recipients were compared using a log rank test. Results During the study period, of 18,259 HTs performed, 427 (2.3%) constituted single-organ heart re-transplantations. Recipients of NAT+ grafts (n=19) compared to NAT- grafts (n=408) were more often male (84.2% vs 61.3%, p=0.04). Otherwise, there were no significant differences between the two groups in age, ethnicity, BMI, blood type, history of diabetes rates or stroke, creatinine or bilirubin levels, reason for re-HT, hemodynamics, use of mechanical circulatory support, and waitlist time. Ischemic time, frequency of female donors, HLA, ABO, CMV mismatch rates, and calculated panel reactive antibodies levels were comparable across the two groups. There were no significant differences in demographics or comorbidities rates between HCV-viremic and HCV-non-viremic donors apart from the cause of death. Among the donors of HCV-viremic grafts brain anoxia was reported more often (89.5%) than among HCV-non-viremic donors (40%), p <0.01. Rates of acute rejection treated in the first year after re-HT were comparable across the two groups. Over a mean follow-up of 3.0±2.1 and 3.3±1.8 years after re-HT from NAT- and NAT+ organ donors, respectively, graft survival rate at 1 year was 82% vs. 95% (p=0.3) and at 3 years 79% vs. 89%, respectively (p=0.6) (Figure). Conclusion Graft survival rates at 1 and 3 years post-heart re-HT in adult recipients of HCV-viremic donor grafts were comparable to those of recipients of HCV-non-viremic donor grafts. The current study provides compelling preliminary evidence that HCV-viremic donors constitute a viable donor pool for patients in need of heart re-transplantation.

Visible light infrared matching algorithm based on improved SuperPoint and linear converter

In order to solve the problems of high difficulty and mismatch rate in heterogeneous image matching of visible light and infrared images, a deep learning matching algorithm based on improved SuperPoint and linear transformer is proposed. The algorithm first introduces the idea of feature pyramid to construct a feature description branch based on the SuperPoint network structure, and trains it based on the hinge loss function, so as to better learn the multi-scale deep features of visible light and infrared images and increase the similarity of image point pair descriptors with the same name; in the feature matching module, the linear transformer is used to improve the SuperGlue matching algorithm and aggregate features to improve matching performance. The proposed algorithm is experimentally verified on multiple data sets. The results show that compared with the existing algorithms, the algorithm achieves better matching results and improves the matching accuracy.

Three-Year Outcomes Following TAVR in Younger (

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is an alternative to surgery in patients with severe aortic stenosis, but data are limited on younger, low-risk patients. This analysis compares outcomes in low-surgical-risk patients aged <75 years receiving TAVR versus surgery. The Evolut Low Risk Trial randomized 1414 low-risk patients to treatment with a supra-annular, self-expanding TAVR or surgery. We compared rates of all-cause mortality or disabling stroke, associated clinical outcomes, and bioprosthetic valve performance at 3 years between TAVR and surgery patients aged <75 years. In patients <75 years, 352 were randomized to TAVR and 351 to surgery. Mean age was 69.1±4.0 years (minimum 51 and maximum 74); Society of Thoracic Surgeons Predicted Risk of Mortality was 1.7±0.6%. At 3 years, all-cause mortality or disabling stroke for TAVR was 5.7% and 8.0% for surgery (P=0.241). Although there was no difference between TAVR and surgery in all-cause mortality, the incidence of disabling stroke was lower with TAVR (0.6%) than surgery (2.9%; P=0.019), while surgery was associated with a lower incidence of pacemaker implantation (7.1%) compared with TAVR (21.0%; P<0.001). Valve reintervention rates (TAVR 1.5%, surgery 1.5%, P=0.962) were low in both groups. Valve performance was significantly better with TAVR than surgery with lower mean aortic gradients (P<0.001) and lower rates of severe prosthesis-patient mismatch (P<0.001). Rates of valve thrombosis and endocarditis were similar between groups. There were no significant differences in rates of residual ≥moderate paravalvular regurgitation. Low-risk patients <75 years treated with supra-annular, self-expanding TAVR had comparable 3-year all-cause mortality and lower disabling stroke compared with patients treated with surgery. There was significantly better valve performance in patients treated with TAVR. URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT02701283.

Augmenting Prognostication: Utilizing Activity Trackers to Enhance Survival Prediction in Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Introduction/BackgroundPrognostication by Performance Status (PS) assessment is a fundamental element of treatment decisions and clinical trial design in oncology, but it is limited by subjectivity and potential miscommunication between patient, physician, and family. Activity tracker offers the potential to collect a broad range of patient-generated data to supplement the assessment of PS. Patients and MethodsPatients with metastatic NSCLC (mNSCLC) participated in a single institute, prospective, observational feasibility study conducted at Huntsman Cancer Institute. Patients were given a Fitbit® activity tracker, which collects their steps taken, distance moved, heart rate, and activity intensity. At baseline, PS was assessed by physicians and patients, and demographics and clinical data were collected. We defined novel indices of health: Heart rate Activity zone Mismatch (HAM) and excessive Sedentary Heart Rate (eSHR). We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for age, sex, and treatment line to estimate and test the prognostic ability of clinical and fitness metrics on overall survival (OS). Each prognostic model was evaluated using Harrell's concordance index (C-index). ResultsFifty-five patients with mNSCLC were enrolled. The median OS was 10.4 months (95% CI: 7.2, 15.2). PS-physician (HR=2.0; p<0.001) and Fitbit® metrics were associated with OS, including daily total steps (1,000-steps) (HR=0.8; p=0.004), HAM (HR=2; p=0.02), eSHR (HR=0.3; p=0.001). The prognostic model that includes PS-physician was associated with the best concordance (C-index=0.75), followed by daily total distance (C-index=0.74) and steps (C-index=0.73) ConclusionsTracker-based measures were prognostic of survival in mNSCLC and may be useful as a supplement or alternative to PS in practice and clinical trials. Micro AbstractPerformance status (PS) is the foundation for clinical trial eligibility and the basis for treatment decisions in thoracic oncology, but it is limited by subjectivity and potential miscommunication between patient, physician, and family. Activity trackers offer a collection of a broad range of patient-generated data that can be used to supplement PS in clinical trials and practice while minimizing subjectivity.

Effect of various interlayers in NiTi to TC4 dissimilar joints by magnetic pulse welding

Magnetic pulse welding (MPW) has gained wide attention recently. In this paper, the connection of NiTi/TC4 dissimilar materials was achieved by adding pure Al, Cu, and Ni interlayers using MPW technology, and microstructure characterization and mechanical property tests were conducted to evaluate the joints. The results show that the atomic diffusion in the welding process plays a key role in the interface formation process. The interfacial morphology of joints consists of wavy and flat interfaces, and the mechanical interlocking of the wavy interface gives the joints excellent mechanical properties. The joints with the pure Al interlayer have the best mechanical properties, and the tensile shear force is 2.168 kN; the fracture forms of joints with different interlayers are all ductile fractures. In addition, the calculation results of the edge-to-edge crystal matching model show that the side with the high interface mismatch rate is where the joint failure problem occurs frequently.

GenoTriplo: A SNP genotype calling method for triploids.

Triploidy is very useful in both aquaculture and some cultivated plants as the induced sterility helps to enhance growth and product quality, as well as acting as a barrier against the contamination of wild populations by escapees. To use genetic information from triploids for academic or breeding purposes, an efficient and robust method to genotype triploids is needed. We developed such a method for genotype calling from SNP arrays, and we implemented it in the R package named GenoTriplo. Our method requires no prior information on cluster positions and remains unaffected by shifted luminescence signals. The method relies on starting the clustering algorithm with an initial higher number of groups than expected from the ploidy level of the samples, followed by merging groups that are too close to each other to be considered as distinct genotypes. Accurate classification of SNPs is achieved through multiple thresholds of quality controls. We compared the performance of GenoTriplo with that of fitPoly, the only published method for triploid SNP genotyping with a free software access. This was assessed by comparing the genotypes generated by both methods for a dataset of 1232 triploid rainbow trout genotyped for 38,033 SNPs. The two methods were consistent for 89% of the genotypes, but for 26% of the SNPs, they exhibited a discrepancy in the number of different genotypes identified. For these SNPs, GenoTriplo had >95% concordance with fitPoly when fitPoly genotyped better. On the contrary, when GenoTriplo genotyped better, fitPoly had less than 50% concordance with GenoTriplo. GenoTriplo was more robust with less genotyping errors. It is also efficient at identifying low-frequency genotypes in the sample set. Finally, we assessed parentage assignment based on GenoTriplo genotyping and observed significant differences in mismatch rates between the best and second-best couples, indicating high confidence in the results. GenoTriplo could also be used to genotype diploids as well as individuals with higher ploidy level by adjusting a few input parameters.

Full-Length Immune Repertoire Reconstruction and Profiling at the Transcriptome Level Using Long-Read Sequencing.

Due to the diversity of the immune repertoire (IR), reconstructing full-length IR using traditional short-read sequencing has proven challenging. A full-length IR sequencing (FLIRseq) work flow was developed with linear rolling circle amplification and nanopore sequencing. Its accuracy and quantification ability were verified by plasmid mixtures and commercial B-cell receptor/T-cell receptor sequencing (BCR/TCR-seq) based on short reads. IRs in tissues and the peripheral blood from 8 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, 3 patients with allergic diseases, 4 patients with psoriasis, and 5 patients with prostate cancer were analyzed using FLIRseq. FLIRseq reads had lower mismatch rates and gap rates, and higher identify rates than nanopore reads (all P < 2.2 × -16). The relative quantification of components by FLIRseq was consistent with the actual quantification (P > 0.05). FLIRseq had superiority over BCR/TCR-seq, providing the long complementarity-determining region 3, B-cell isotype, and the rarely used V gene sequence. FLIRseq observed an increase in clonotype diversity (P < 0.05) and a decrease in the percentage of abnormal BCRs/TCRs in patients with leukemia in remission. For patients with allergic diseases or psoriasis, FLIRseq provided direct insights into V(D)J recombination and specific immunoglobulin classes. Compared with that in prostate cancer tissues, the full-length V segment of the biased T-cell receptor β chain from lymphocytes in psoriatic tissues showed a more consistent AlphaFold2-predicted protein structure (P < 0.05). FLIRseq enables unbiased and comprehensive analyses of direct V(D)J recombination and immunoglobulin classes, thereby contributing to characterizing pathogenic mechanisms, monitoring minimal residual disease, and customizing adoptive cell therapy.

Mental health disparities in people living with human immunodeficiency virus: A cross-sectional study on physician-patient concordance and treatment regimens.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) can profoundly affect the mental health of the people living with HIV (PLWH), with higher rates of anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances. The disparities in neuropsychological problems evaluated by physicians and self-assessed by patients are still unknown. A total of 5000 PLWH and 500 physicians from 167 hospitals were enrolled in this cross-sectional study from September 2022 to February 2023. 4-Item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-4) was used for the evaluation of depressive issues and anxiety issues by PLWH. Each physician assessed 10 PLWH under their care for the presence of depressive or anxiety issues. The primary outcomes of this study are the concordance rates on the depressive issues and anxiety issues evaluation between physicians and PLWH. The Cohen's kappa test was used to assess the agreement between physicians and PLWH. The concordance rate for the evaluation of depressive issues is 73.84% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 72.60-75.04%), and it is significantly different from the expected rate of 80% (P<0.001). Similarly, the concordance rate for the evaluation of anxiety issues is 71.74% (95% CI: 70.47-72.97%), which is significantly different from the expected rate of 80% as per the null hypothesis (P<0.001). The overestimation rate by physicians on depressive issues is 12.20% (95% CI: 11.32-13.14%), and for anxiety issues is 12.76% (95% CI: 11.86-13.71%). The mismatch rate for depressive issues is 26.16% (95% CI: 24.96-27.40%), and for anxiety issues is 28.26% (95% CI: 27.02-29.53%). The underestimation rate by physicians on depressive issues is 13.96% (95% CI: 13.03-14.95%), and for anxiety issues is 15.50% (95% CI: 14.52-16.53%). For the treatment regiments, PLWH sustained on innovative treatment regimen (IR) related to a lower prevalence of depressive issues (odds ratio [OR]=0.71, 95% CI: 0.59-0.87, P=0.003) and a lower prevalence of anxiety issues (OR=0.63, 95% CI: 0.52-0.76, P<0.001). PLWH switch from conventional treatment regimen (CR) to IR also related to a lower prevalence of depressive issues (OR=0.79, 95% CI: 0.64-0.98) and a lower prevalence of anxiety issues (OR=0.81, 95% CI: 0.67-0.99). Nearly one in three PLWH had their condition misjudged by their physicians. The findings underscore the need for improved communication and standardized assessment protocols in the care of PLWH, especially during the acute phase of HIV infection.

A control strategy considering buildings’ thermal characteristics to mitigate heat supply-demand mismatches in district heating systems

In district heating systems (DHS), periodic heat supply-demand mismatches (HSDM) exacerbate issues such as thermal imbalance and hydraulic instability. To mitigate these issues, this paper proposes a supply water temperature correction strategy for heating stations that considers building's thermal characteristics. Firstly, buildings are classified into energy-saving levels based on comprehensive thermal characteristic Bc and heat load index. Secondly, simulation models are developed for buildings with different thermal characteristics, and response of indoor temperature to supply-demand mismatch rates was analyzed. Then, after determining the regulation sequence and supply water temperature of heating stations, a balanced control strategy is formulated for HSDM conditions. Finally, the proposed strategy was applied to a practical combined heat and power system (CHPS) in severe cold regions. The results showed that the studied heating stations were classified into 4 types. After regulation of both insufficient and excessive heating conditions, the indoor temperature guarantee rate increased by over 20 %; the ranges of thermal imbalance degree and hydraulic imbalance degree were reduced by more than 0.09 and 0.22, respectively; the SD of supply water pressure and supply-return pressure difference were reduced by over 0.17 and 0.11, respectively. The strategy provides a reference for global balanced control of DHS under similar HSDM conditions.

A Low Mismatch Current Charge Pump Applied to Phase-Locked Loops.

This paper presents a charge pump circuit with a wide output range and low current mismatch applied to phase-locked loops. In this designed structure, T-shaped analog switches are adopted to suppress the non-ideal effects of clock feedthrough, switching time mismatch, and charge injection. A source follower and current splitting circuits are proposed to improve the matching accuracy of the charging and discharging currents and reduce the current mismatch rate. A rail-to-rail high-gain amplifier with a negative feedback connection is introduced to suppress the charge-sharing effect of the charge pump. A cascode current mirror with a high output impedance is used to provide the charge and discharge currents for the charge pump, which not only improves the current accuracy of the charge pump but also increases the output voltage range. The proposed charge pump is designed and simulated based on a 65 nm CMOS process. The results show that when the power supply voltage is 1.2 V, the output current of the charge pump is 100 μA, the output voltage is in the range of 0.2~1 V, and the maximum current mismatch rate and current variation rate are only 0.21% and 1.4%, respectively.

Unravelling reference bias in ancient DNA datasets.

The alignment of sequencing reads is a critical step in the characterization of ancient genomes. However, reference bias and spurious mappings pose a significant challenge, particularly as cutting-edge wet lab methods generate datasets that push the boundaries of alignment tools. Reference bias occurs when reference alleles are favoured over alternative alleles during mapping, whereas spurious mappings stem from either contamination or when endogenous reads fail to align to their correct position. Previous work has shown that these phenomena are correlated with read length but a more thorough investigation of reference bias and spurious mappings for ancient DNA has been lacking. Here, we use a range of empirical and simulated palaeogenomic datasets to investigate the impacts of mapping tools, quality thresholds, and reference genome on mismatch rates across read lengths. For these analyses, we introduce AMBER, a new bioinformatics tool for assessing the quality of ancient DNA mapping directly from BAM-files and informing on reference bias, read length cut-offs and reference selection. AMBER rapidly and simultaneously computes the sequence read mapping bias in the form of the mismatch rates per read length, cytosine deamination profiles at both CpG and non-CpG sites, fragment length distributions, and genomic breadth and depth of coverage. Using AMBER, we find that mapping algorithms and quality threshold choices dictate reference bias and rates of spurious alignment at different read lengths in a predictable manner, suggesting that optimized mapping parameters for each read length will be a key step in alleviating reference bias and spurious mappings. AMBER is available for noncommercial use on GitHub (https://github.com/tvandervalk/AMBER.git). Scripts used to generate and analyse simulated datasets are available on Github (https://github.com/sdolenz/refbias_scripts).

Lattice Matching and Microstructure of the Aromatic Amide Fatty Acid Salts Nucleating Agent on the Crystallization Behavior of Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate.

To solve the decrease in the crystallization, mechanical and thermal properties of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) during mechanical recycling, the aromatic amide fatty acid salt nucleating agents Na-4-ClBeAmBe, Na-4-ClBeAmGl and Na-4-ClAcAmBe were synthesized and the rPET/nucleating agent blend was prepared by melting blending. The molecular structure, the thermal stability, the microstructure and the crystal structure of the nucleating agent were characterized in detail. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) result indicated that the addition of the nucleating agent improved the crystallization temperature and accelerated the crystallization rate of the rPET. The nucleation efficiencies (NE) of the Na-4-ClBeAmBe, Na-4-ClBeAmGl and Na-4-ClAcAmBe were increased by 87.2%, 87.3% and 41.7% compared with rPET which indicated that Na-4-ClBeAmBe and Na-4-ClBeAmGl, with their long-strip microstructures, were more conducive to promoting the nucleation of rPET. The equilibrium melting points (Tm0) of rPET/Na-4-ClBeAmBe, rPET/Na-4-ClBeAmGl and rPET/Na-4-ClAcAmBe were increased by 11.7 °C, 18.6 °C and 1.9 °C compared with rPET, which illustrated that the lower mismatch rate between rPET and Na-4-ClBeAmGl (0.8% in b-axis) caused Na-4-ClBeAmGl to be the most capable in inducing the epitaxial crystallization and orient growth along the b-axis direction of the rPET. The small angle X-ray diffraction (SAXS) result proved this conclusion. Meanwhile, the addition of Na-4-ClBeAmGl caused the clearest increase in the rPET of its flexural strength and heat-distortion temperature (HDT) at 20.4% and 46.7%.

Outcomes of transfemoral TAVR using two new-generation devices in patients with horizontal aorta.

Challenging anatomies and comorbidities have impact on success in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). There is controversy whether the extent of the aortic angle (AA) has an impact on procedural outcomes. Matched comparative outcome data of new generation transcatheter heart valves (THVs) in horizontal aorta (HA) are scarce. A total of 1582 patients with severe native aortic stenosis (AS) treated with the SAPIEN3 Ultra (Ultra; n = 526) or ACURATE Neo2 (Neo2; n = 1056) THVs from January 2017 to January 2023 were analyzed. Patients with non-horizontal aortas (AA < 51.7°, n = 841) were excluded. The population was matched by 1-to-1 nearest-neighbor matching (Ultra, n = 246; Neo2, n = 246). Clinical and procedural outcome were evaluated according to VARC-3 recommendations. Technical success (93.1% vs. 94.7%, p = 0.572) was high after Ultra and Neo2. Device success (80.5% vs. 89.8%, p = 0.05) was inferior with Ultra. Neo2 reveals superior hemodynamic properties with lower rate of severe prosthesis patient mismatch (12.0% vs. 3.7%, p = 0.001) and elevated gradients ( 20 mmHg: 11.9% vs. 1.7%, p < 0.001). Ultra showed a lower rate of relevant paravalvular regurgitation ( mild paravalvular regurgitation or Valve-in-Valve due to paravalvular regurgitation: 0.0% vs. 3.7%, p = 0.004). The rate of procedural bailout maneuvers (0.8% vs. 0.4%, p = 1.000) and thirty-day all-cause mortality (1.3% vs. 2.2%, p = 0.496) was similar. Transfemoral TAVR in patients with severe aortic stenosis and HA, using the balloon expandable Sapien3 Ultra and self-expanding ACURATE Neo2 prosthesis, is feasible and safe. Therefore, valve selection between these platforms should be made irrespective of the aortic angle by a team experienced with both valves based on their specific advantages. Large, randomized trials in this sub-group of patients would be necessary to compare long term outcomes.

A new practical physical layer secret key generation in the presence of an untrusted relay

Physical layer secret key generation (SKG) has recently been introduced as a lightweight and efficient solution for sixth-generation (6G) networks. In this area, schemes based on local random generators are used for high-rate key generation. One of these schemes is random phase injection, where channel probe signals with random phases are exchanged between communication parties (source and destination). This paper proposes an SKG scheme in the presence of an untrusted relay, which helps the SKG process while cannot extract the secret key. To make the scheme operational, for the first time, the channel probe signals are considered discrete random phase based on M-PSK signals and a multi-bit quantizer is used in the reception. In addition, to reduce the key error rate, quantization with guard bands (GB) is used for key extraction. For such a scenario, we derive expressions for key agreement rate, key mismatch rate (KMR), key discarding rate (KDR) and key generation rate (KGR). Additionally, for the first time, this work examines the context of geometric secrecy for the proposed discrete phase key generation scheme for both direct and relaying scenarios. Through simulations, several engineering insights are presented to enhance the quality of the proposed SKG and its security.

NIPT-PG: empowering non-invasive prenatal testing to learn from population genomics through an incremental pan-genomic approach.

Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is a quite popular approach for detecting fetal genomic aneuploidies. However, due to the limitations on sequencing read length and coverage, NIPT suffers a bottleneck on further improving performance and conducting earlier detection. The errors mainly come from reference biases and population polymorphism. To break this bottleneck, we proposed NIPT-PG, which enables the NIPT algorithm to learn from population data. A pan-genome model is introduced to incorporate variant and polymorphic loci information from tested population. Subsequently, we proposed a sequence-to-graph alignment method, which considers the read mis-match rates during the mapping process, and an indexing method using hash indexing and adjacency lists to accelerate the read alignment process. Finally, by integrating multi-source aligned read and polymorphic sites across the pan-genome, NIPT-PG obtains a more accurate z-score, thereby improving the accuracy of chromosomal aneuploidy detection. We tested NIPT-PG on two simulated datasets and 745 real-world cell-free DNA sequencing data sets from pregnant women. Results demonstrate that NIPT-PG outperforms the standard z-score test. Furthermore, combining experimental and theoretical analyses, we demonstrate the probably approximately correct learnability of NIPT-PG. In summary, NIPT-PG provides a new perspective for fetal chromosomal aneuploidies detection. NIPT-PG may have broad applications in clinical testing, and its detection results can serve as a reference for false positive samples approaching the critical threshold.

Origin and Nucleation Kinetics of Transcrystalline Layer in Bamboo fiber@nano‐TiO2/Polypropylene Composite

AbstractHerein origin and nucleation kinetics of transcrystalline layer (TCL) in bamboo fiber deposited with nano‐TiO2 (BF@TiO2)/polypropylene (PP) composite is studied. Firstly, the surface morphology, roughness, and energy, as well as crystalline structure (e. g., crystal face indices (hkl)) of BF@TiO2 are analyzed to clarify the origin of TCL in the composite. Subsequently, the nucleation kinetics of TCL in BF@TiO2/PP composite at different crystallization temperatures (Tc) are investigated through polarized optical microscopy. The results find that the surface roughness and energy of BF@TiO2 increase by 47.55 % and 2.41 % compared with untreated BF, respectively. Interestingly, the mismatch rates (MRs) of hkl(BF) vs. hkl(PP) are &gt;320 %. In comparison, the MRs of (101)(BF@TiO2)TiO2 vs. (hkl)(PP) are dramatically decreased to &lt;25 %, suggesting a similar crystal plane between BF@TiO2 and PP matrix. These results indicate that the TCL formation in the composite is more facile in BF@TiO2 than in the untreated BF. During isothermal crystallization, the nucleation and spherulite growth rates decrease as the Tc increases. The interface free energy difference (▵σ) between BF@TiO2 and PP is calculated based on the heterogeneous nucleation theory. The ▵σ is 1.54±0.11 J cm−2, highlighting that the BF@TiO2 strongly induces the PP nucleation.

Enhanced ac4C detection in RNA via chemical reduction and cDNA synthesis with modified dNTPs.

The functional analysis of epitranscriptomic modifications in RNA is constrained by a lack of methods that accurately capture their locations and levels. We previously demonstrated that the RNA modification N4-acetylcytidine (ac4C) can be mapped at base resolution through sodium borohydride reduction to tetrahydroacetylcytidine (tetrahydro-ac4C), followed by cDNA synthesis to misincorporate adenosine opposite reduced ac4C sites, culminating in C:T mismatches at acetylated cytidines (RedaC:T). However, this process is relatively inefficient, resulting in <20% C:T mismatches at a fully modified ac4C site in 18S rRNA. Considering that ac4C locations in other substrates including mRNA are unlikely to reach full penetrance, this method is not ideal for comprehensive mapping. Here, we introduce "RetraC:T" (reduction to tetrahydro-ac4C and reverse transcription with amino-dATP to induce C:T mismatches) as a method with enhanced ability to detect ac4C in cellular RNA. In brief, RNA is reduced through NaBH4 or the closely related reagent sodium cyanoborohydride (NaCNBH3) followed by cDNA synthesis in the presence of a modified DNA nucleotide, 2-amino-dATP, that preferentially binds to tetrahydro-ac4C. Incorporation of the modified dNTP substantially improved C:T mismatch rates, reaching stoichiometric detection of ac4C in 18S rRNA. Importantly, 2-amino-dATP did not result in truncated cDNA products nor increase mismatches at other locations. Thus, modified dNTPs are introduced as a new addition to the toolbox for detecting ac4C at base resolution.

An Autonomous Navigation Method for Planetary Rover Based on Multi-modal Fusion and Multi-factor Graph Optimization

Planetary surface is a complex unstructured environment with strong light, strong shadows, weak textures and numerous obstacles. There is no GPS signal support and satellite networking support on the planetary surface. The limited computer and sensor capabilities of planetary rover have a significant gap from the ground autonomous driving configuration, which presents a great challenge to the autonomous navigation methods of planetary rover. Extreme lighting conditions will increase the camera mismatching rate, and poor texture will increase the lidar matching error, which will reduce the estimation accuracy. Moreover, camera and lidar produce great motion distortion in the rugged terrain and bumpy environment, which leads to a large increase in the cumulative error of odometer. Camera and lidar are not suitable as the main sensor of SLAM algorithm in unstructured environment because they are sensitive to the change of environment. Therefore, an autonomous navigation method for planetary rover based on multi-modal fusion and multi-factor graph optimization is presented in this paper. The IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) odometer node is added to the lidar odometer and visual odometer thread, and the IMU is taken as the central node to build a multi-factor graph optimization model. A multi-factor graph optimization model and a strong adaptive constraint strategy with reasonable weights are constructed. The pose estimation of other sensors is used to constrain IMU bias, meanwhile historical rut tracking, obstacle contour matching and skyline feature matching are introduced. Finally, motion prediction is achieved in the IMU odometer node. Simulation results and field tests show that this method can effectively cope with the unstructured environment on planetary surface, which achieves adaptive and robust autonomous navigation of planetary rover.

A dense matching method for remote sensing images fused with CPS denoising

Dense matching of remote sensing images is crucial for 3D reconstruction. This study proposes an enhanced dense matching method employing the CPS image denoising algorithm, aiming to boost the SGM algorithm's accuracy and efficiency in remote sensing image matching. The stereo image pair's quality is evaluated using the PSNR index, and a decision-making criterion based on the CPS algorithm is incorporated to determine the need for denoising. Preprocessing steps, including image cropping and pixel coordinate transformation, significantly reduce computational requirements. An epipolar line model, minimizing the disparity between two pixels, is used for calculations. This model is employed to construct an epipolar image, enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of the process. The study conducted experimental validation and analysis of the mismatch rate, running time, and denoising effect of the algorithm using the Middlebury 2021 stereo datasets. Additionally, the matching results of the World-View3 satellite stereo image pairs were visualized and analyzed. The experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm reduces the average mismatch rate by 13.1% and increases the running speed by about 3 to 4 times compared to the SGBM algorithm. Specifically, the denoising effect reduces the mismatch rate of the reconstructed image by an average of 8.97%. The results indicate that the CPS method effectively addresses dense matching challenges in the presence of image blur and noise, thereby improving the operational efficiency and accuracy of the dense matching algorithm.

Magnetic Localization Method for Vehicles Based on Transformer

Magnetic positioning is a promising technique for vehicles in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-denied scenarios. Traditional magnetic positioning methods resolve the position coordinates by calculating the similarity between the measured sequence and the sequence generated from the magnetic database with criteria such as the Mean Absolute Difference (MAD), PRODuct correlation (PROD), etc., which usually suffer from a high mismatch rate. To solve this problem, we propose a novel magnetic localization method for vehicles based on Transformer. In this paper, we cast the magnetic localization problem as a regression task, in which a neural network is trained by equidistant sequences to predict the current position. In addition, by adopting Transformer to perform magnetic localization of vehicles for the first time, magnetic features are extracted, and positional relationships are explored to guarantee positioning accuracy. The experimental results show that the proposed method can greatly improve the magnetic positioning accuracy, with an average improvement of approximately 2 m.