Enzyme-linked electrochemical immunosensors have attracted considerable attention for the sensitive and selective detection of various targets in clinical diagnosis, food quality control, and environmental analysis. In order to improve the performances of conventional immunoassays, significant efforts have been made to couple enzyme-linked or nanozyme-based catalysis and redox cycling for signal amplification. The current review summarizes the recent advances in the development of enzyme- or nanozyme-based electrochemical immunosensors with redox cycling for signal amplification. The special features of redox cycling reactions and their synergistic functions in signal amplification are discussed. Additionally, the current challenges and future directions of enzyme- or nanozyme-based electrochemical immunosensors with redox cycling are addressed. Full article

Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a unique form of chronic pancreatitis with a multifactorial pathogenesis. Historically, it has been classified as type 1 and type 2, according to its clinical and histological features. The diagnosis of AIP is challenging and relies on a combination of clinical, histopathologic, serologic, and imaging characteristics. In the available guidelines, the imaging hallmarks of AIP are based on cross-sectional imaging and cholangiopancreatography retrograde endoscopic findings. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is generally used for pancreatic tissue acquisition to rule out pancreatic cancer and diagnose AIP with limited accuracy. Several papers reported the reliability of EUS for providing informative morphologic features of AIP. Nowadays, the improvement in the resolution of EUS conventional images and the development of new ancillary technologies have further increased the diagnostic yield of EUS: contrast-enhanced EUS and EUS elastography are non-invasive and real-time techniques that strongly support the diagnosis and management of pancreatic diseases. In this review article, we will present the role of conventional EUS and ancillary diagnostic techniques in the diagnosis of AIP to support clinicians and endosonographers in managing this condition. Full article

Background/Objective. This study aimed to compare complication rates between pylorus-preserving gastrectomy (PPG) and distal gastrectomy (DG) using Korean nationwide survey data and propensity score weighting (PSW). PPG preserves gastric function but may lead to more postoperative complications than DG. Methods and Results. We analyzed 9424 gastric cancer patients who underwent either DG (n = 9183) or PPG (n = 241). PSW balanced variables such as age, sex, TNM stage, comorbidities, ASA score, and surgical approach. Before PSW, 87.8% of DG patients and 87.1% of PPG patients had no complications (p = 0.053). Severe complications (Clavien–Dindo IIIa or higher) were more frequent in PPG (6.6%) than in DG (3.8%) (p = 0.039). After PSW, overall complication rates (p = 0.960) and severe complication rates (p = 0.574) were similar between groups. Incidence rates of anastomotic stricture and leakage were higher in PPG (2.9% and 1.7%) compared to DG (0.6% and 0.5%) (p = 0.001 and 0.036) before PSW, but these differences were not significant after PSW (p = 0.999 and 0.123). Conclusion. The PSW-adjusted analysis indicates no significant difference in overall and severe complication rates between PPG and DG in gastric cancer patients. Full article

The positioning error of the GPS method at close distances is relatively large, rendering it incapable of accurately guiding unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) back to the mother ship. Therefore, this study proposes a near-distance recovery method for USVs based on monocular vision. By deploying a monocular camera on the USV to identify artificial markers on the mother ship and subsequently leveraging the geometric relationships among these markers, precise distance and angle information can be extracted. This enables effective guidance for the USVs to return to the mother ship. The experimental results validate the effectiveness of this approach, with positioning distance errors of less than 40 mm within a 10 m range and positioning angle errors of less than 5 degrees within a range of ±60 degrees. Full article

Moving object detection is a vital research area that plays an essential role in intelligent transportation systems (ITSs) and various applications in computer vision. Recently, researchers have utilized convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to develop new techniques in object detection and recognition. However, with the increasing number of machine learning strategies used for object detection, there has been a growing need for large datasets with accurate ground truth used for the training, usually demanding their manual labeling. Moreover, most of these deep strategies are supervised and only applicable for specific scenes with large computational resources needed. Alternatively, other object detection techniques such as classical background subtraction need low computational resources and can be used with general scenes. In this paper, we propose a new a reliable semi-automatic method that combines a modified version of the detection-based CNN You Only Look Once V4 (YOLOv4) technique and background subtraction technique to perform an unsupervised object detection for surveillance videos. In this proposed strategy, background subtraction-based low-rank decomposition is applied firstly to extract the moving objects. Then, a clustering method is adopted to refine the background subtraction (BS) result. Finally, the refined results are used to fine-tune the modified YOLO v4 before using it in the detection and classification of objects. The main contribution of this work is a new detection framework that overcomes manual labeling and creates an automatic labeler that can replace manual labeling using motion information to supply labeled training data (background and foreground) directly from the detection video. Extensive experiments using real-world object monitoring benchmarks indicate that the suggested framework obtains a considerable increase in mAP compared to state-of-the-art results on both the CDnet 2014 and UA-DETRAC datasets. Full article

Research currently focuses on immersive technologies like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). However, there is limited exploration of their application in sustainable smart cities with Building Information Modeling (BIM), and there remains a lack of interdisciplinary integration within this domain aimed at fostering sustainable smart city development. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the development status of immersive technology and BIM in sustainable smart cities, identifying trends and research hotspots by employing a triangulation research method mixed with a quantitative method via bibliometric analysis and a qualitative method via content analysis to investigate the relationship between immersive technologies and BIM in sustainable smart cities. The results reveal a fragmented nature in the research on immersive technology and BIM in sustainable smart cities, with rapidly changing hotspots and new technologies following a cyclical pattern every 3 to 5 years. Two distinct cycles of growth were observed in the field over the last 10 years (2014–2023). The first cycle, from 2014 to 2017, represented modest growth, while the second cycle, from 2018 to 2022, showed rapid expansion, with the keywords AR, VR, MR, BIM, smart city, and smart city concept indicating the research hotspots. Immersive technologies and BIM, developed since 2017, have contributed to sustainable smart city construction. The emerging keywords AR, MR, and 360-degree VR have become research hotspots since 2021, particularly in collaborative construction. Future research trends include artificial intelligence, digitalization, AR, and MR, while building sustainability and intelligent construction have emerged as real-world applications. Additionally, this paper employs software tools to generate multidimensional knowledge maps to form a knowledge universe map at a “macro-knowledge” level followed by a “micro-knowledge” level comprising a standard knowledge system, such as lifecycle analysis, enhancing the objectivity and organization of the results and providing innovative references for future research. Full article

(1) Background/Objectives: Dexmedetomidine is a sedative for patients receiving invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) that previous single-site studies have found to be associated with improved survival in patients with COVID-19. The reported clinical benefits include dampened inflammatory response, reduced respiratory depression, reduced agitation and delirium, improved preservation of responsiveness and arousability, and improved hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction and ventilation-perfusion ratio. Whether improved mortality is evident in large, multi-site COVID-19 data is understudied. (2) Methods: The association between dexmedetomidine use and mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving IMV was assessed. This retrospective multi-center cohort study utilized patient data in the United States from health systems participating in the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) from 1 January 2020 to 3 November 2022. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality rate from the initiation of IMV. Propensity score matching adjusted for differences between the group with and without dexmedetomidine use. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) for 28-day mortality were calculated using multivariable Cox proportional hazards models with dexmedetomidine use as a time-varying covariate. (3) Results: Among the 16,357,749 patients screened, 3806 patients across 17 health systems met the study criteria. Mortality was lower with dexmedetomidine use (aHR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.73–0.90; p < 0.001). On subgroup analysis, mortality was lower with earlier dexmedetomidine use—initiated within the median of 3.5 days from the start of IMV—(aHR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.60–0.76; p < 0.001) as well as use prior to standard, widespread use of dexamethasone for patients on respiratory support (prior to 30 July 2020) (aHR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.42–0.69; p < 0.001). In a secondary model that was restricted to 576 patients across six health system sites with available PaO₂/FiO₂ data, mortality was not lower with dexmedetomidine use (aHR 0.95, 95% CI, 0.72–1.25; p = 0.73); however, on subgroup analysis, mortality was lower with dexmedetomidine use initiated earlier than the median dexmedetomidine start time after IMV (aHR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.53–0.98; p = 0.04) and use prior to 30 July 2020 (aHR, 0.22; 95% CI, 0.06–0.78; p = 0.02). (4) Conclusions: Dexmedetomidine use was associated with reduced mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving IMV, particularly when initiated earlier, rather than later, during the course of IMV as well as use prior to the standard, widespread usage of dexamethasone during respiratory support. These particular findings might suggest that the associated mortality benefit with dexmedetomidine use is tied to immunomodulation. However, further research including a large randomized controlled trial is warranted to evaluate the potential mortality benefit of DEX use in COVID-19 and evaluate the physiologic changes influenced by DEX that may enhance survival. Full article

This study analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of filtering algorithms for dynamic weighing signals. Highway road surface has road surface unevenness and other influencing factors. The body vibration of the vehicle driving process produces a certain amount of interference signals collected by the load cell to form noise signals. In addition, piezoelectric sensors and amplification circuits introduce a large amount of electrical noise. These noise signals are non-smooth, nonlinear, and have other characteristics. We study the filtering effects of moving average (MA), wavelet transform (WT), and variational mode decomposition (VMD) filtering algorithms on axle weight signals and evaluate the performance of the filtering algorithms through the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and Normalized Correlation Coefficient (NCC). The comprehensive analysis shows that the variational modal decomposition filtering algorithm is more advantageous for axial weight signal processing. The design of the axle weight signal noise filtering algorithm is of great significance for improving the accuracy of the overall dynamic weighing system of the vehicle. Full article

Due to its rapid progression to advanced stages and highly metastatic properties, gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most aggressive malignancies and the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The metastatic process includes local invasion, metastasis initiation, migration with colonisation at distant sites, and evasion of the immune response. Tumour growth involves the activation of inhibitory signals associated with the immune response, also known as immune checkpoints, including PD-1/PD-L1 (programmed death 1/programmed death ligand 1), CTLA-4 (cytotoxic T cell antigen 4), TIGIT (T cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains), and others. Immune checkpoint molecules (ICPMs) are proteins that modulate the innate and adaptive immune responses. While their expression is prominent on immune cells, mainly antigen-presenting cells (APC) and other types of cells, they are also expressed on tumour cells. The engagement of the receptor by the ligand is crucial for inhibiting or stimulating the immune cell, which is an extremely important aspect of cancer immunotherapy. This narrative review explores immunotherapy, focusing on ICPMs and immune checkpoint inhibitors in GC. We also summarise the current clinical trials that are evaluating ICPMs as a target for GC treatment. Full article

Background: Chiari malformation type 1 (CM-1) involves the cerebellar tonsils’ descent below the foramen magnum. In Chiari malformation type 1.5 (CM-1.5), both the cerebellar tonsils and the brainstem are herniated. Common symptoms include headaches and cervical pain, often associated with conditions like syringomyelia and hydrocephalus. Surgical treatment is not performed in asymptomatic patients, while the presence of syringomyelia represents an indication for surgery. Methods: This study retrospectively examined pediatric patients with CM-1 and CM-1.5 at Giannina Gaslini Hospital from 2006 to 2020, analyzing demographics, radiological findings, surgical interventions, and outcomes. Results: Out of 211 patients who underwent surgery, 83.9% were diagnosed with CM-1 and 16.1% with CM-1.5. Headaches were prevalent (69%) and cerebellar signs were noted in 29% of patients. Syringomyelia and hydrocephalus were present in 28.4% and 8% of cases, respectively. Intraoperative ultrasonography guided interventions, with 59.8% requiring bony and ligamentous decompression, and 27.1% undergoing duraplasty. Conclusions: The surgical treatment of CM-1/CM-1.5 involves posterior cranial fossa decompression. Choosing between bony decompression alone and its combination with duraplasty has always been controversial in the pediatric population. If we consider as surgical endpoint the restoration of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flux, intraoperative ultrasound may be a real-time helpful tool in orienting the surgical strategy, yet refinement with quantitative measures is needed. Full article

Background and aims. Clinically significant delayed bleeding (CSDB) may complicate endoscopic colorectal submucosal dissection (ESD). We aimed to assess the efficacy of preventive measures for CSDB. Methods. We assessed the results of a prospective registry of colorectal ESD for laterally spreading lesions. We evaluated the effect of clip closure and PuraStat application on the prevention of CSDB. Results. A total of 40 patients with 41 colorectal ESDs were included. ESD was successful in 38 lesions (92.7%), 35 with R0 resection (92.1%) and 33 with curative resection (86.8%). CSDB occurred in 3 of 38 lesions (7.9%, 95% CI [1.7–21.4%]), exclusively after rectal ESD (3 of 22 rectal lesions vs. 0 of 16 colonic lesions, p = 0.249). Clip closure was more frequently used after colonic ESD (12 of 16 colonic lesions vs. 2 of 22 rectal lesions, p < 0.001) and was not protective for CSDB in the univariate analysis, even though no events occurred after clip closure (0 of 14 lesions with clip closure vs. 3 of 24 lesions without, p = 0.283). PuraStat was more frequently applied after ESD for rectal lesions (16 of 22 rectal lesions vs. 2 of 16 colonic lesions, p < 0.001) and was not protective for CSDB, with all three events occurring after PuraStat application (3 of 18 lesions with PuraStat application vs. 0 of 20 lesions without, p = 0.097). Conclusions. CSDB occurred exclusively after rectal ESD, and no predictive factors were identified in the univariate analysis. Clip closure and PuraStat application were not protective for CSDB. Full article

In different areas of the heart, action potential waveforms differ due to differences in the expressions of sodium, calcium, and potassium channels. One of the characteristics of myocardial infarction (MI) is an imbalance in oxygen supply and demand, leading to ion imbalance. After MI, the regulation and expression levels of K⁺, Ca²⁺, and Na⁺ ion channels in cardiomyocytes are altered, which affects the regularity of cardiac rhythm and leads to myocardial injury. Myocardial fibroblasts are the main effector cells in the process of MI repair. The ion channels of myocardial fibroblasts play an important role in the process of MI. At the same time, a large number of ion channels are expressed in immune cells, which play an important role by regulating the in- and outflow of ions to complete intracellular signal transduction. Ion channels are widely distributed in a variety of cells and are attractive targets for drug development. This article reviews the changes in different ion channels after MI and the therapeutic drugs for these channels. We analyze the complex molecular mechanisms behind myocardial ion channel regulation and the challenges in ion channel drug therapy. Full article

Xanthine Oxidoreductase (XOR) is a ubiquitous, essential enzyme responsible for the terminal steps of purine catabolism, ultimately producing uric acid that is eliminated by the kidneys. XOR is also a physiological source of superoxide ion, hydrogen peroxide, and nitric oxide, which can function as second messengers in the activation of various physiological pathways, as well as contribute to the development and the progression of chronic conditions including kidney diseases, which are increasing in prevalence worldwide. XOR activity can promote oxidative distress, endothelial dysfunction, and inflammation through the biological effects of reactive oxygen species; nitric oxide and uric acid are the major products of XOR activity. However, the complex relationship of these reactions in disease settings has long been debated, and the environmental influences and genetics remain largely unknown. In this review, we give an overview of the biochemistry, biology, environmental, and current clinical impact of XOR in the kidney. Finally, we highlight recent genetic studies linking XOR and risk for kidney disease, igniting enthusiasm for future biomarker development and novel therapeutic approaches targeting XOR. Full article

Background/Objectives: Glomerulopathy is a term used to describe a broad spectrum of renal diseases, characterized by dysfunction of glomerular filtration barrier, especially of podocytes. Several podocyte-associated proteins have been found and proved their usefulness as urine markers of podocyte dysfunction. Two of them are nephrin (NEP) and prodocalyxin (PDC). This study aims to evaluate the association of podocyte damage, as it is demonstrated via the concentrations of urinary proteins, with clinical and histological data from patients with several types of glomerulonephritis. Methods: We measured urine levels of two podocyte-specific markers, NEP and PDC (corrected for urine creatinine levels), in patients with a wide range of glomerulopathies. Serum and urine parameters as well as histological parameters from renal biopsy were recorded. Results: In total, data from 37 patients with glomerulonephritis and 5 healthy controls were analyzed. PDC and NEP concentrations correlated between them and with serum creatinine levels (p = 0.001 and p = 0.013 respectively), and with histological lesions associated with chronicity index of renal cortex, such as severe interstitial fibrosis, severe tubular atrophy and hyalinosis (for PDC/NEP, all p < 0.05). In addition, the PDC and NEP demonstrated statistically significant correlations with interstitial inflammation (p = 0.018/p = 0.028). Regarding electron microscopy evaluation, PDC levels were correlated with distinct characteristics, such as fibrils and global podocyte foot process fusion, whereas the NEP/CR ratio was uniquely significantly associated with podocyte fusion only in non-immune-complex-mediated glomerulonephritis (p = 0.02). Among the other clinical and histological parameters included in our study, a strong correlation between proteinuria >3 g/24 h and diffuse fusion of podocyte foot processes (p = 0.016) was identified. Conclusions: Podocalyxin and nephrin concentrations in urine are markers of podocyte dysfunction, and in our study, they were associated both with serum creatinine and histological chronicity indices. Full article

Nanocellulose, a nanoscale derivative from renewable biomass sources, possesses remarkable colloidal properties in water, mechanical strength, and biocompatibility. It emerges as a promising bio-based dispersing agent for various nanomaterials in water. This mini-review explores the interaction between cellulose nanomaterials (nanocrystals or nanofibers) and water, elucidating how this may enable their potential as an eco-friendly dispersing agent. We explore the potential of nanocellulose derived from top-down processes, nanocrystals, and nanofibers for dispersing carbon nanomaterials, semiconducting oxide nanoparticles, and other nanomaterials in water. We also highlight its advantages over traditional methods by not only effectively dispersing those nanomaterials but also potentially eliminating the need for further chemical treatments or supporting stabilizers. This not only preserves the exceptional properties of nanomaterials in aqueous dispersion, but may even lead to the emergence of novel hybrid functionalities. Overall, this mini-review underscores the remarkable versatility of nanocellulose as a green dispersing agent for a variety of nanomaterials, inspiring further research to expand its potential to other nanomaterials and applications. Full article

The participation of citizens in creating urban green spaces is a promising approach to promoting health and wellbeing while facilitating the development of equitable cities more prepared for the challenges of climate change. This systematic review provides an overview of the current state of knowledge by synthesizing and summarizing scholarly articles reporting studies on the health effects of participation in green space creation. A review protocol was preregistered on PROSPERO (registration number CRD42023454363). Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched six databases for studies published since 2003. After screening 2676 records, we found 133 studies matching our inclusion criteria and summarized the findings on health effects in qualitative and quantitative research, differentiating between study types, population types, and intervention types. In addition, we explored secondary outcomes mentioned in the included articles. The majority of studies reported positive impacts of participatory green space creation on general, mental, and physical health. Moreover, many studies reported other personal and social benefits. The results of this review indicate that the participatory creation of urban green spaces represents a promising approach to promoting health and wellbeing. Nevertheless, further high-quality, quantitative research is required to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between participatory green space activities and health, particularly with regard to the benefits of specific intervention types and subpopulations. Full article

Background: To systematically review and meta-analyze the immunologic aspects and outcomes of various endothelial keratoplasty (EK) techniques, specifically comparing Descemet’s Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSAEK), Ultra-Thin Descemet’s Stripping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty (UT-DSAEK), and Descemet’s Membrane Endothelial Keratoplasty (DMEK). Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Main outcomes were the proportion of patients achieving a best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) of 20/20 at 6 months after keratoplasty, rejection rate one year after surgery, BSCVA at last follow up, and postoperative immunomodulating regimen. Results: A higher proportion of DMEK patients achieved a BSCVA of 20/20 after 6 months. UT-DSAEK and DMEK showed similar rejection rates with a lower risk of re-bubbling for UT-DSAEK (4% vs. 20%). Conclusions: DMEK showed faster visual recovery than UT-DSAEK but a similar rejection rate and long-term visual acuity. One-year postoperative slow tapering steroid regimen has a positive but not (yet) significant effect on rejection risk and visual outcomes. Full article

Seaweed, a diverse and abundant marine resource, holds promise as a renewable feedstock for bioplastics due to its polysaccharide-rich composition. This review explores different methods for extracting and processing seaweed polysaccharides, focusing on the production of alginate plastic materials. Seaweed emerges as a promising solution, due to its abundance, minimal environmental impact, and diverse industrial applications, such as feed and food, plant and soil nutrition, nutraceutical hydrocolloids, personal care, and bioplastics. Various manufacturing techniques, such as solvent casting, injection moulding, and extrusion, are discussed for producing seaweed-based bioplastics. Alginate, obtained mainly from brown seaweed, is particularly known for its gel-forming properties and presents versatile applications in many sectors (food, pharmaceutical, agriculture). This review further examines the current state of the bioplastics market, highlighting the growing demand for sustainable alternatives to conventional plastics. The integration of seaweed-derived bioplastics into mainstream markets presents opportunities for reducing plastic pollution and promoting sustainability in material production. Full article

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the leading cause of dementia worldwide, remains a challenge due to its complex origin and degenerative character. The need for accurate biomarkers and treatment targets hinders early identification and intervention. To fill this gap, we used a novel longitudinal proteome methodology to examine the temporal development of molecular alterations in the cortex of an intracerebroventricular streptozotocin (ICV-STZ)-induced AD mouse model for disease initiation and progression at one, three-, and six-weeks post-treatment. Week 1 revealed metabolic protein downregulation, such as Aldoa and Pgk1. Week 3 showed increased Synapsin-1, and week 6 showed cytoskeletal protein alterations like Vimentin. The biological pathways, upstream regulators, and functional effects of proteome alterations were dissected using advanced bioinformatics methods, including Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) and machine learning algorithms. We identified Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Synaptic Vesicle Pathway, and Neuroinflammation Signaling as disease-causing pathways. Huntington’s Disease Signaling and Synaptogenesis Signaling were stimulated while Glutamate Receptor and Calcium Signaling were repressed. IPA also found molecular connections between PPARGC1B and AGT, which are involved in myelination and possible neoplastic processes, and MTOR and AR, which imply mechanistic involvements beyond neurodegeneration. These results help us comprehend AD’s molecular foundation and demonstrate the promise of focused proteomic techniques to uncover new biomarkers and therapeutic targets for AD, enabling personalized medicine. Full article

Chinese cities are pursuing an energy transition to decouple energy-related carbon emissions (ERCEs) from economic growth. Despite numerous studies focusing on the factors influencing carbon emissions, few have quantitatively analyzed their respective contribution rates, thus leaving a gap in effectively guiding policies. This study took 16 cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) as the study area. The decoupling between ERCEs and economic growth was analyzed during 2000–2020, and the contribution rates of different factors were explored. The results showed that the total ERCEs increased from 413.40 million to 1265.86 million tons during 2000–2020, increasing by over three times. Coal and oil were the dominant energy sources in most cities, but natural gas consumption increased from 0.15% to 5.96%. Moreover, 14 cities showed a decoupling status, indicating a certain win–win situation between economic growth and ERCE reduction. Economic growth greatly increased ERCEs, with its contribution rate ranging from 114.65% to 493.27% during 2000–2020. On the contrary, energy structure and energy intensity both contributed to reducing ERCEs in most cities, and their maximum contribution rates reached −32.29% and −449.13%, respectively, which were the main forces for the win–win situation. Finally, carbon reduction proposals are put forward, which provide theoretical support for achieving the “Double Carbon” goal in the YRD. Full article

This article provides a detailed examination of voice quality in word-final vowels in Spanish. The experimental task involved the pronunciation of words in two prosodic contexts by native Spanish speakers from diverse dialects. A total of 400 vowels (10 participants × 10 words × 2 contexts × 2 repetitions) were analyzed acoustically in Praat. Waveforms and spectrograms were inspected visually for voice, creak, breathy voice, and devoicing cues. In addition, the relative amplitude difference between the first two harmonics (H1–H2) was obtained via FFT spectra. The findings reveal that while creaky voice is pervasive, breathy voice is also common, and devoicing occurs in 11% of tokens. We identify multiple phonation types (up to three) within the same vowel, of which modal voice followed by breathy voice was the most common combination. While creaky voice was more frequent overall for males, modal voice tended to be more common in females. In addition, creaky voice was significantly more common at the end of higher prosodic constituents. The analysis of spectral tilt shows that H1–H2 clearly distinguishes breathy voice from modal voice in both males and females, while H1–H2 values consistently discriminate creaky and modal voice in male participants only. Full article

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Colonoscopy is the primary method to prevent CRC. However, traditional polyp detection methods face problems such as low image resolution and the possibility of missing polyps. In recent years, deep learning techniques have been extensively employed in the detection of colorectal polyps. However, these algorithms have not yet addressed the issue of detection in low-resolution images. In this study, we propose a novel YOLO-SRPD model by integrating SRGAN and YOLO to address the issue of low-resolution colonoscopy images. Firstly, the SRGAN with integrated ACmix is used to convert low-resolution images to high-resolution images. The generated high-resolution images are then used as the training set for polyp detection. Then, the C3_Res2Net is integrated into the YOLOv5 backbone to enhance multiscale feature extraction. Finally, CBAM modules are added before the prediction head to enhance attention to polyp information. The experimental results indicate that YOLO-SRPD achieves a mean average precision (mAP) of 94.2% and a precision of 95.2%. Compared to the original model (YOLOv5), the average accuracy increased by 1.8% and the recall rate increased by 5.6%. These experimental results confirm that YOLO-SRPD can address the low-resolution problem during colorectal polyp detection and exhibit exceptional robustness. Full article