Search

Purpose: Automatic methods of analyzing of retinal vascular networks, such as retinal blood vessel detection, vascular network topology estimation, and arteries/veins classification are of great assistance to the ophthalmologist in terms of diagnosis and treatment of a wide spectrum of diseases. Methods: We propose a new framework for precisely segmenting retinal vasculatures, constructing retinal vascular network topology, and separating the arteries and veins. A nonlocal total variation inspired Retinex model is employed to remove the image intensity inhomogeneities and relatively poor contrast. For better generalizability and segmentation performance, a superpixel‐based line operator is proposed as to distinguish between lines and the edges, thus allowing more tolerance in the position of the respective contours. The concept of dominant sets clustering is adopted to estimate retinal vessel topology and classify the vessel network into arteries and veins. Results: The proposed segmentation method yields competitive results on three public data sets (STARE, DRIVE, and IOSTAR), and it has superior performance when compared with unsupervised segmentation methods, with accuracy of 0.954, 0.957, and 0.964, respectively. The topology estimation approach has been applied to five public databases (DRIVE,STARE, INSPIRE, IOSTAR, and VICAVR) and achieved high accuracy of 0.830, 0.910, 0.915, 0.928, and 0.889, respectively. The accuracies of arteries/veins classification based on the estimated vascular topology on three public databases (INSPIRE, DRIVE and VICAVR) are 0.90.9, 0.910, and 0.907, respectively. Conclusions: The experimental results show that the proposed framework has effectively addressed crossover problem, a bottleneck issue in segmentation and vascular topology reconstruction. The vascular topology information significantly improves the accuracy on arteries/veins classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to compare the clinical curative effect and acute radiation lung reactions between CyberKnife (CK) and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) treatment for inoperable stage I peripheral non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We retrospectively analyzed 68 patients with inoperable stage I peripheral NSCLC between 2012 and 2013 in our institution. The CK patients were treated with 42-60 Gy in three fractions, while the 3DCRT patients were treated with a total of 60 Gy, at 2 Gy per fraction. The patients were followed up and the clinical outcome was evaluated according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours. We assessed the presence of acute radiation pneumonitis and pulmonary function status by thoracic scan and pulmonary function tests following CK and 3DCRT treatment. The binary univariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that treatment method and forced expiratory volume in 1 sec?forced vital capacity (FEV1?FVC) prior to treatment (pre-FEV1?FVC) were the main factors affecting the risk of radiation pneumonitis. The analysis of these factors through multivariate logistic regression method demonstrated that treatment method for grade 1 and 2 [odds ratio (OR)=7.866 and 11.334, respectively) and pre-FEV1/FVC for grade 1, 2 and 3 (OR=5.062, 11.498 and 15.042, respectively) were significant factors affecting the risk of radiation pneumonitis (P<0.05). The 68 patients were divided into two subgroups using the threshold of pre-FEV1/FVC selected by the receiver operating characteristic curve. There were significant differences between the 3DCRT and CK treatment in both the pre-FEV1?FVC <68% and ≥68% subgroups for radiation pneumonitis (P=0.023 and 0.002, respectively). There was no statistically significant change in FVC, FEV1 and carbon monoxide diffusion capacity (DCLO) in the CK group, whereas there was a decrease in DCLO in the 3DCRT group. The complete remission rate was 40 vs. 34.2% at 1 year in the CK and 3DCRT groups, respectively. In conclusion, in this cohort of patients with inoperable stage I peripheral NSCLC, CK appears to be a safe and superior alternative to conventionally fractionated radiotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two six-wave mixing processes are achieved simultaneously in rubidium vapor and two channels are identified. Signal competition between the two channels is observed and phase matching conditions are analyzed for the two channels. The results show that the two six-wave mixing channels correspond to two parametric processes with weak coupling and, moreover, quantum interference and phase matching conditions primarily govern the signal competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The HOGG1 gene catalyzes the excision of modified bases and removal of DNA damage adducts. It may play an important role in the prevention of carcinogenesis. Ser326Cys polymorphism localizes in exon 7 of the hOGG1 gene. It takes the form of an amino acid substitution, from serine to cysteine, in codon 326. Several epidemiological association studies have been conducted on this polymorphism and its relationship with the risk of prostate cancer. However, results have been conflicting. To resolve this conflict, we conducted a meta-analysis on the association between this polymorphism and prostate cancer, taking into account race, country, sources of controls, and smoking status. A total of nine studies covering 2779 cases and 3484 controls were included in the current meta-analysis. Although no significant association was found between hOGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism and prostate cancer susceptibility in the pooled analysis, individuals with Ser/ Cys+Cys/Cys genotypes were found to have greater risk of prostate cancer if they were also smokers (OR = 2.66, 95% CI = 1.5824.47) rather than non-smokers (OR = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.1324.19), compared with those with Ser/Ser genotype. In conclusion, our meta-analysis demonstrates that hOGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism is a risk factor for prostate cancer in smokers. Further studies are needed to confirm this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) displays multiple biological activities, including mitogenic and angiogenic activity, and plays important roles in the etiology and progression of prostate cancer. Gly388Arg polymorphism in FGFR4 gene has been reported to be involved in prostate cancer incidence and aggressiveness in several studies. To derive a more precise estimation of the relationship, a meta-analysis was performed. Methods: Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated to assess the association. Results: The Arg388 allele increased prostate cancer risk compared with Gly388 allele (OR = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.07- 1.29). When stratified by race, there was a significantly increased prostate cancer risk in Asian and Caucasian populations. Moreover, prostate cancer patients with Arg/Arg genotype had a 1.34-fold increased risk of advanced prostate cancer (95% CI: 1.03-1.74) compared with those with Gly/Gly+Gly/Arg genotype. Conclusion: This meta-analysis showed the evidence that FGFR4 Gly388Arg polymorphism was associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer development and progression, suggesting that FGFR4 Gly388Arg polymorphism could be a marker for prostate cancer development and progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multi-objective optimisation of high-speed rail profile with small radius curve is studied in the paper. A multi-objective mathematical model for rail profile optimisation of high-speed railway is established. The CN60 rail profile is parameterised into a series of generalised functions of design variables. In order to guarantee the smoothness of the rail profile and meet the maximum grinding depth of rail in China, the constraints are employed. The wheel-rail vertical clearance and equivalent conicity of wheelset are taken as objective functions, and a rail wear prediction programme is compiled. Contact line method is employed to complete the detection algorithm of wheel-rail contact points. Finally, NSGA-II Algorithm is adopted to solve the Pareto-optimal front of the optimisation model. A set of solutions are retrieved from the Pareto optimal front solution as the optimised profile. The optimised rail profile and the original rail profile are matched with the LMA wheel profile (a certain worn type of wheel profiles for EMU in China) respectively. It is testified that the rail profile could effectively reduce the rail wear and improve curving performance. The new method proposed in this paper can provide some reference for the optimisation design of high-speed rail profile with small radius curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some species have evolved the ability to use the sense of hearing to modify existing vocalizations, or even create new ones, which enlarges their repertoires and results in complex communication systems. 1 This ability corresponds to various forms of vocal production learning that are all possessed by humans and independently displayed by distantly related vertebrates. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 Among mammals, a few species, including the Egyptian fruit bat, 8,9,10 would possess such vocal production learning abilities. 7 Yet the necessity of an intact auditory system for the development of the Egyptian fruit bat typical vocal repertoire has not been tested. Furthermore, a systematic causal examination of learned and innate aspects of the entire repertoire has never been performed in any vocal learner. Here we addressed these gaps by eliminating pups' sense of hearing at birth and assessing its effects on vocal production in adulthood. The deafening treatment enabled us to both causally test these bats' vocal learning ability and discern learned from innate aspects of their vocalizations. Leveraging wireless individual audio recordings from freely interacting adults, we show that a subset of the Egyptian fruit bat vocal repertoire necessitates auditory feedback. Intriguingly, these affected vocalizations belong to different acoustic groups in the vocal repertoire of males and females. These findings open the possibilities for targeted studies of the mammalian neural circuits that enable sexually dimorphic forms of vocal learning. [Display omitted] • Kanamycin treatment successfully suppresses hearing in Egyptian fruit bat pups • Some vocalizations are learned through the sense of hearing; the majority are innate • Males learn to control both the pitch and the frequency filtering of learned calls • Vocal production is sexually dimorphic in Egyptian fruit bats Elie et al. causally demonstrated which vocalizations of the Egyptian fruit bat vocal repertoire depend on an intact auditory system for their typical development. They also found that vocal production learning is sexually dimorphic in this bat species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study related to the remote modulation of Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) Gastric Cancer Low-Expressed Transcript (GCLET) by risk variant at 16p13 underlying genetic susceptibility to gastric cancer. It mentions that rs3850997 exerted an allele-specific long-range regulatory effect on GCLET by affecting the binding affinity of CCCTC-Binding Factor (CTCF).

Automated detection of vascular structures is of great importance in understanding the mechanism, diagnosis, and treatment of many vascular pathologies. However, automatic vascular detection continues to be an open issue because of difficulties posed by multiple factors, such as poor contrast, inhomogeneous backgrounds, anatomical variations, and the presence of noise during image acquisition. In this paper, we propose a novel 2-D/3-D symmetry filter to tackle these challenging issues for enhancing vessels from different imaging modalities. The proposed filter not only considers local phase features by using a quadrature filter to distinguish between lines and edges, but also uses the weighted geometric mean of the blurred and shifted responses of the quadrature filter, which allows more tolerance of vessels with irregular appearance. As a result, this filter shows a strong response to the vascular features under typical imaging conditions. Results based on eight publicly available datasets (six 2-D data sets, one 3-D data set, and one 3-D synthetic data set) demonstrate its superior performance to other state-of-the-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Highlights: [•] This is the first transcriptomic study in China evaluating the use of microarray technology to elucidate the cellular response to PM2.5. [•] We observed that different concentrations of PM2.5 had a distinct effect on the gene expression in HBE cells. [•] We identified many genes and pathways that altered significantly in HBE cells after PM2.5 exposures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem-based learning (PBL) is defined as a student-centered pedagogy which can provide learners more opportunities for application of knowledge acquired from basic science to the working situations than traditional lecture-based learning (LBL) method. In China, PBL is increasingly popular among preventive medicine educators, and multiple studies have investigated the effectiveness of PBL pedagogy in preventive medicine education. A pooled analysis based on 15 studies was performed to obtain an overall estimate of the effectiveness of PBL on learning outcomes of preventive medicine. Overall, PBL was associated with a significant increase in students' theoretical examination scores (SMD = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.41-0.83) than LBL. For the attitude- and skill-based outcomes, the pooled PBL effects were also significant among learning attitude (OR = 3.62, 95% CI = 2.40-5.16), problem solved skill (OR = 4.80, 95% CI = 2.01-11.46), self-directed learning skill (OR55.81, 95% CI53.11-10.85), and collaborative skill (OR54.21, 95% CI5 0.96-18.45). Sensitivity analysis showed that the exclusion of a single study did not influence the estimation. Our results suggest that PBL of preventive medicine education in China appears to be more effective than LBL in improving knowledge, attitude and skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human murine double minute 2 (MDM2) is known as an oncoprotein through inhibiting P53 transcriptional activity and mediating P53 ubiquitination. Therefore, the amplification of MDM2 may attenuate the P53 pathway and promote tumorigenesis. The SNP309 T>G polymorphism (rs2279744), which is located in the intronic promoter ofMDM2 gene, was reported to contribute to the increased level of MDM2 protein. In this hospital-based case-control study, which consisted of 573 cases and 588 controls, we evaluated the association between MDM2 SNP309 and the risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) in a Chinese population by using the TaqMan method to genotype the polymorphism.Wefound that theMDM2 SNP309 polymorphism was significantly associated with CRC risk. In addition, in our meta-analysis, we found a significant association betweenMDM2 SNP309 and CRC risk among Asians, which was consistent with our results. In conclusion, we demonstrated that theMDM2 SNP309 polymorphism increased the susceptibility of CRC in Asian populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ischemia-reperfusion induces renal tubule pyroptosis via the CHOPcaspase- 11 pathway. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 306: F75-F84, 2014; First published October 16, 2013; doi:10.1152/ajprenal.00117.2013.--The apoptotic or necrotic death of renal tubule epithelial cells is the main pathogenesis of renal ischemia-reperfusion-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). Pyroptosis is a programmed cell death pathway that depends on the activation of the caspase cascade and IL-1 cytokine family members. However, the role of pyroptosis in AKI induced by ischemia-reperfusion remains unclear. In this study, we found that the levels of the pyroptosis-related proteins, including caspase-1, caspase- 11, and IL-1β, were significantly increased after 6 h of renal ischemiareperfusion injury (IRI) and peaked at 12 h after IRI. Enhanced pyroptosis was accompanied by elevated renal structural and functional injury. Similarly, hypoxia-reoxygenation injury (HRI) also induced pyroptosis in renal tubule epithelial NRK-52E cells, which was characterized by increased pore formation and elevated lactate dehydrogenase release. In addition, obvious upregulation of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress biomarkers glucose-regulated protein 78 and C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP) preceded the incidence of pyroptosis in cells treated with IRI or HRI. Pretreatment with a low dose of tunicamycin, an inducer of ER stress, relieved IRI-induced pyroptosis and renal tissue injury. Silencing of CHOP by small interfering RNA significantly decreased HRI-induced pyroptosis of NRK-52E cells, as evidenced by reduced caspase-11 activity and IL-1β generation. Therefore, we conclude that pyroptosis of renal tubule epithelial cells is a key event during IRI and that CHOPcaspase- 11 triggered by overactivated ER stress may be an essential pathway involved in pyroptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to study the preparation of matrine liposome and its activity for resisting cells, to study the preparation of matrine liposome by orthogonal design, and to observe the inhibiting effect of matrine on glioma through MTT method, Flow Cytometer, and electron microscope. The results showed that we take the encapsulation efficiency as the index; the optimal preparation of matrine liposome is 100 mg of lecithin, 40 mg of cholesterol, phosphate buffered saline (PBS) with pH value 6.4, and 40 mg of matrine. The result of MTT testing is shown that the tested group with medium and high dosage (0.75,1.0,1.25 mg/L) of matrine has significant inhibiting rate to the growth of BT 325 cells. The A value in tested group with medium and high dosage is up to 0.19 ± 0.03. The methods of Flow Cytometer and electron microscope prove that matrine can inhibit the growth of BT 325 cells. Matrine is active in inhibiting brain glioma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

miRNAs play important roles in numerous cellular processes, including development, proliferation, apoptosis, and carcinogenesis. Because altered expression and function of miRNAs has been observed in bladder cancer, we investigated whether genetic variations in miRNAs are associated with bladder cancer risk and prognosis. Using bioinformatics tools, we selected five single-nucleotide polymorphisms located in miRNAs and used these to evaluate miRNA--disease associations in a two-stage model, consisting of 1,019 bladder cancer cases and 1,182 controls (683 cases and 728 controls in the training set and 336 cases and 454 controls in the test set). We found that miR-146a rs2910164 C allele was associated with significantly decreased risk of bladder cancer in both the training and test sets, as well as the combined set [OR = 0.80, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.71-0.90, P = 2.92 _ 10-4]. Furthermore, the rs2910164 GC/CC genotypes conferred a significantly reduced risk of recurrence, compared with the GG genotype (P = 0.016). Functional analysis revealed that miR-146a rs2910164 C allele inhibited cell proliferation and significantly downregulated expression of IRAK1 and TRAF6 in bladder cancer cells. Additional examination of 64 bladder cancer tissues showed that individuals carrying the C allele had increased expression levels of miR-146a compared with those carrying the G allele (P = 0.010). Taken together, our findings show that miR-146a rs2910164 plays an important role in the risk and recurrence of bladder cancer, suggesting it may represent a biomarker for risk prevention and therapeutic intervention. Further larger and prospective cohorts are needed to validate our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs to regulate cell differentiation, proliferation, development, and apoptosis. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs895819 is located at the terminal loop of pre-miR- 27a. Here, we aimed to investigate whether SNP rs895819 was associated with the development of renal cell cancer (RCC) in a Chinese population. Methods: In this case-control study, we recruited 594 RCC patients and 600 cancer-free controls with frequency matched by age and sex. We genotyped this polymorphism using the TaqMan assay and assessed the effect of this polymorphism on RCC survival. Logistic regression model was used to assess the genetic effects on the development of RCC and interactions between rs895819 polymorphism and risk factors. Results: Compared with AA homozygote, individuals carrying AG/GG genotypes had a statistically significant reduced susceptibility to RCC (adjusted OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.56-0.90). Furthermore, AG/GG genotypes were associated with reduced RCC susceptibility in localized clinical stage (adjusted OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.55-0.91), and similar effects were observed in well differentiated and poorly differentiated RCC (adjusted OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.55-0.93 for well differentiated, adjusted OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.28-0.93 for poorly differentiated). We also observed that rs895819 had multiplicative interactions with age and hypertension. However, the polymorphism did not influence the survival of RCC. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the pre-miR-27a rs895819 polymorphism can predict RCC risk in a Chinese population. Larger population-based prospective studies should be used to validate our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alcohol dehydrogenase 1C (ADH1C) is the key enzyme catalyze oxidation of alcohol to acetaldehyde, which plays vital roles in the etiology of various cancer. To date, studies investigated the association between a functional polymorphism in ADH1C, Ile350Val (rs698), and risk of cancer have shown inclusive results. Methods: A meta-analysis based on 35 case-control studies was performed to address this issue. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the association. The statistical heterogeneity across studies was examined with χ²-based Q-test. Results: Overall, no significant associations between ADH1C Ile350Val polymorphism and cancer risk were observed in any genetic models (P>0.05). In the stratified analyses, there was a significantly increased cancer risk among African (Val/Val vs. Ile/Ile OR = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.29-3.73, Pheterogeneity = 0.989; Ile/Val + Val/Val vs. Ile/Ile: OR = 1.79, 95%CI = 1.18-2.71, Pheterogeneity = 0.761; Val/Val vs. Ile/Val + Ile/Ile: OR = 1.92, 95% CI = 1.16-3.17, Pheterogeneity = 0.981) and Asian (Ile/Val vs. Ile/Ile: OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.32-1.90, Pheterogeneity = 0.375; Val/Val vs. Ile/Ile: OR = 3.84, 95% CI = 1.74-8.49, Pheterogeneity = 0.160; Ile/Val + Val/Val vs. Ile/Ile: OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 1.38-1.96, Pheterogeneity = 0.330; Val/Val vs. Ile/Val + Ile/Ile: OR = 3.54, 95% CI = 1.62-7.75, Pheterogeneity = 0.154) studies. Conclusions: The results indicate that ADH1C Ile350Val polymorphism may contribute to cancer risk among Africans and Asians. Additional comprehensive system analyses are required to validate this association combined with other related polymorphisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potentially functional polymorphism, rs763110 (−844C>T), in the promoter region of the FAS ligand (FASL) gene, has been implicated in cancer risk, but individually published studies show inconclusive results. To derive a more precise estimation of the association between the FASL rs763110 and risk of cancer, we performed a meta-analysis of 19 published studies that included 11 105 cancer cases and 11 372 controls. We used odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess the strength of the associations. Overall, the rs763110 CT and TT variant genotypes were associated with a significantly reduced cancer risk of all cancer types in different genetic models (homozygote comparison: OR=0.80, 95% CI: 0.68–0.95, Pheterogeneity=0.001; heterozygote comparison: OR=0.82, 95% CI: 0.72–0.95, Pheterogeneity<0.001; dominant model comparison: OR=0.82, 95% CI: 0.71–0.94, Pheterogeneity<0.001; and recessive model comparison: OR=0.88, 95% CI: 0.81–0.96, Pheterogeneity=0.074). In the stratified analyses, the risk remained for studies of the smoking-related cancers and Asian populations, or population-based studies in all the genetic models. Although some modest bias could not be eliminated, this meta-analysis suggests that the FASL rs763110 T allele has a possible protective effect on cancer risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is a multifunctional growth factor that plays important roles in many biological processes, whereas RUNX3 is a target of TGF-β-mediated tumor suppressor pathway. In humans, RUNX3 inactivation may lead to the cancer development, including bladder cancer. To determine whether the RUNX3 polymorphisms are associated with risk of bladder cancer, we conducted a case–control study of 368 bladder cancer patients and 368 cancer-free controls to assess the associations between the RUNX3 tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (tSNPs) and bladder cancer risk. In the single-locus analysis, we found a significantly increased risk of bladder cancer associated with the SNP7 rs760805 AA genotype (adjusted odds ratio = 1.97, 95% confidence interval = 1.44–2.69), compared with the AT/TT genotype. Haplotype-based association analysis revealed that the increased risk of bladder cancer was significantly associated with two haplotypes TATCCCAAAA (2.37, 1.16–4.83) and AGCTTGAGAG (2.70, 1.08–6.72) that included the rs760805 A allele. Multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) analysis identified a significant more than multiplicative interaction between the SNP7 rs760805 AA and smoking and an additive interaction between the SNP3 rs11249206 TT and smoking on bladder cancer risk. The SNP3 rs11249206, SNP5 rs1395621, SNP7 rs760805, SNP8 rs2236852 and the trichotomized cumulative smoking were the five factors best predicted by the MDR models. When the variables were combined and dichotomized and fitted into the MDR model, the subjects carrying the combined risk stratum had a significantly increased risk for bladder cancer (6.37, 4.57–8.87, P = 7.03 × 10−28). These results suggested that the genetic variants in RUNX3 may modulate the risk of bladder cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]