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Objectives: Dimeric pyruvate kinase (PK) M2 (PKM2) plays an important role in promoting the accumulation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α, mediating aberrant glycolysis and inducing fibrosis in diabetic kidney disease (DKD). The aimof thisworkwas to dissect a novel regulatory mechanism of Yin and Yang 1 (YY1) on lncRNA-ARAP1-AS2/ARAP1 to regulate EGFR/PKM2/HIF-1α pathway and glycolysis in DKD. Materials and methods: We used adeno-associated virus (AAV)-ARAP1 shRNA to knocked down ARAP1 in diabetic mice and overexpressed or knocked down YY1, ARAP1-AS2 and ARAP1 expression in human glomerular mesangial cells. Gene levels were assessed by Western blotting, RT-qPCR, immunofluorescence staining and immunohistochemistry. Molecular interactions were determined by RNA pull-down, co-immunoprecipitation, ubiquitination assay and dual-luciferase reporter analysis. Results: YY1, ARAP1-AS2, ARAP1, HIF-1α, glycolysis and fibrosis genes expressions were upregulated and ARAP1 knockdown could inhibit dimeric PKM2 expression and partly restore tetrameric PKM2 formation, while downregulate HIF-1α accumulation and aberrant glycolysis and fibrosis in in-vivo and in-vitro DKD models. ARAP1 knockdown attenuates renal injury and renal dysfunction in diabetic mice. ARAP1 maintains EGFR overactivation in-vivo and in-vitro DKD models. Mechanistically, YY1 transcriptionally upregulates ARAP1-AS2 and indirectly regulates ARAP1 and subsequently promotes EGFR activation, HIF-1α accumulation and aberrant glycolysis and fibrosis. Conclusion: Our results first highlight the role of the novel regulatory mechanism of YY1 on ARAP1-AS2 and ARAP1 in promoting aberrant glycolysis and fibrosis by EGFR/PKM2/HIF-1α pathway in DKD and provide potential therapeutic strategies for DKD treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to apply aMendelian randomization (MR) design to investigate the potential causal associations between the body mass index (BMI), body fat mass such as trunk fat mass and waist circumference (WC), and diabetic kidney disease (DKD). A two-sample MR study was conducted to obtain exposure and outcome data from previously published studies. The instrumental variables for BMI, trunk fat mass, and WC were selected from genome-wide association study datasets based on summary-level statistics. The random-effects inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method was used for the main analyses, and the weighted median and MR-Egger approaches were complementary. In total, three MR methods suggested that genetically predicted BMI, trunk fat mass, and WC were positively associated with DKD. Using IVW, we found evidence of causal relationships between BMI [odds ratio (OR) = 1.99; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.47-2.69; p = 7.89 × 10-6], trunk fatmass (OR = 1.80; 95% CI, 1.28-2.53; p = 6.84 × 10-4), WC (OR = 2.48; 95% CI, 1.40-4.42; p = 1.93 × 10-3), and DKD. MR-Egger and weighted median regression also showed directionally similar estimates. Both funnel plots andMR-Egger intercepts showed no directional pleiotropic effects involving the aforementioned variables and DKD. Our MR analysis supported the causal effect of BMI, trunk fat mass, and WC on DKD. Individuals can substantially reduce DKD risk by reducing body fat mass and modifying their body fat distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an automatic image synthesis method to transfer the style of an example image to a content image. When standard neural style transfer approaches are used, the textures and colours in different semantic regions of the style image are often applied inappropriately to the content image, ignoring its semantic layout and ruining the transfer result. In order to reduce or avoid such effects, we propose a novel method based on automatically segmenting the objects and extracting their soft semantic masks from the style and content images, in order to preserve the structure of the content image while having the style transferred. Each soft mask of the style image represents a specific part of the style image, corresponding to the soft mask of the content image with the same semantics. Both the soft masks and source images are provided as multichannel input to an augmented deep CNN framework for style transfer which incorporates a generative Markov random field model. The results on various images show that our method outperforms the most recent techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a novel adaptive gradient-based block compressive sensing (AGbBCS_SP) methodology for noisy image compression and reconstruction. The AGbBCS_SP approach splits an image into blocks by maximizing their sparsity, and reconstructs images by solving a convex optimization problem. In block compressive sensing, the commonly used square block shapes cannot always produce the best results. The main contribution of our paper is to provide an adaptive method for block shape selection, improving noisy image reconstruction performance. The proposed algorithm can adaptively achieve better results by using the sparsity of pixels to adaptively select block shape. Experimental results with different image sets demonstrate that our AGbBCS_SP method is able to achieve better performance, in terms of peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and computational cost, than several classical algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a novel method that can achieve better results in solder joint imagery compression and reconstruction. Wavelet packet decomposition is used to generate some frequency coefficients of images. The higher and lower frequency coefficients of the reconstruction signal are used separately to improve the reconstruction performance. A threshold that only relates to the higher frequency coefficients is defined to remove the noise in the reconstruction result in each iteration. A new control factor is further defined to control the threshold value. The control factor relates to the wavelet packet low-frequency coefficients and is updated by the wavelet packet low-frequency coefficients in each iteration. The experimental results reveal that the proposed algorithm is able to improve the performance in terms of peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity (SSIM) compared with classical algorithms in reconstruction of different types of solder joint images. When the sample rate is increased, the proposed method improves the reconstruction results and maintains low computational cost. The proposed algorithm can retain more image structure and achieve better results than some common methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper performs a Monte Carlo CLEAN (MC-CLEAN) spectral analysis with highresolution electrical image log data and interpret the high-resolution formation sequence by investigating the cycles in the sediments. Firstly, in order to perform a spectral analysis with high-resolution electrical image log data, the background conductivity log curve was extracted from the borehole image. Secondly, the MC-CLEAN spectrum analysis method was used to isolate all the peaks of the logging signal. Then the 95% significance level of the CLEAN spectrum was calculated to identify the true period of the formation by Monte Carlo simulation. Finally, the MC-CLEAN spectral analysis method was applied in the two shale intervals from Lower Pannonian interval of Vienna basin to identify the stratigraphic cycles. The analysis results showed that the identified cycles in the sedimentary record good matched the Milankovitch cycles. This paper provided a new approach of identifying stratigraphic cycles and interpreting high-resolution sequence stratigraphy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like micro-silica (MS), nano-silica (NS) can also be considered as a supplementary cementitious material for production of high-performance mortar and concrete. To investigate the influence of MS and NS on the fresh properties of mortar or the mortar phase of concrete, an experimental program encompassing mortar mixes with various water, cement, MS and NS contents was launched for undergoing flowability, cohesiveness and adhesiveness measurements. It was found that the NS added, albeit at much smaller dosage, has greater effects than the MS added on the fresh properties of mortar. More importantly, NS has negative effects on flowability, but positive effects on cohesiveness and adhesiveness. These results suggest that by enhancing the cohesiveness and adhesiveness, the addition of NS in conjunction with MS is a promising method for producing mortar with high adhesiveness requirement, as reflected by the results of the newly developed stone rod adhesion test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saruma henryi Oliv., the only representative of the monotypic genus Saruma Oliv. (Aristolochiaceae), is an endangered perennial herb endemic to China. It is a phylogenetically, ecologically, and medicinally important species. In the present study, inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were employed to investigate the genetic diversity and differentiation of 14 populations. A total of 16 selected primers yielded 175 bright and discernible bands, with an average of 10.94 per primer. POPGENE analysis showed that the genetic diversity was quite low at the population level ( h = 0.0447–0.1243; I = 0.0642–0.1853; PPB = 10.29–36.57%), but pretty high at the species level ( h = 0.2603; I = 0.3857; PPB = 73.71%). The hierarchical analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed a high level of genetic differentiation among populations (67.18% of total variance components, P < 0.001), in line with the gene differentiation coefficient ( GST = 0.6903) and the limited among-population gene flow ( Nm = 0.2243). Both Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) and UPGMA cluster analysis supported the grouping of all 14 populations into three geographic groups, among which there occurred a moderate level of genetic differentiation (33.18% of total variance components, P < 0.001) as shown by AMOVA analysis. In addition, Mantel test revealed a significant correlation between genetic and geographic distances among populations ( r = 0.7792, P = 0.001), indicating the role of geographic isolation in shaping its present population genetic structure. The present levels and patterns of genetic diversity of S. henryi were assumed to result largely from its breeding system, geographic isolation, clonal growth, its unique biological traits and evolutionary history. The high genetic differentiation among populations implies that the conservation efforts should aim to preserve all the extant populations of this endangered herb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to assess whether genetic polymorphisms in p53, glutathione S-transferase P1 ( GSTP1), GSTM1, excision repair cross complementing group 1 ( ERCC1) and X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 ( XRCC1) genes are associated with clinical outcome of gastric cancer patients treated with oxaliplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy. The genetic polymorphisms in p53, GSTP1, GSTM1 (null), ERCC1 and XRCC1 were determined in 102 gastric cancer patients treated with oxaliplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy using polymerase chain reaction-ligation detection reaction method. Among the five studied polymorphisms, p53 codon 72 Pro/Pro, GSTP1 codon 105 Ile/Ile, and XRCC1 codon 399 Gln/Gln + Arg/Gln were associated with poor relapse-free survival and overall survival ( P < 0.05); and the prognostic effect was retained in the Cox multivariate analysis. Combination analysis with the three polymorphisms using the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox multivariate analysis revealed that the relapse-free and overall survivals significantly increase with the number of favorable genotypes ( P < 0.05). No significant association was found between the GSTM1 (null) or the ERCC1 codon 118 genotypes and the clinical outcome ( P > 0.05). Testing for p53 Arg72Pro, GSTP1 Ile105Val, and XRCC1 Arg399Gln polymorphisms may allow identification of gastric cancer patients who will benefit from oxaliplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy. Selecting specific adjuvant treatments according to the individual genetic background may represent an innovative strategy that warrants prospective studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The polymorphism of p53 codon 72 (Arg72Pro) has been suggested to play an important role in many cancers and may influence the response to chemotherapy. Our aim was to investigate the association of p53 Arg72Pro polymorphism with the clinical outcome of gastric cancer patients treated with 5-FU-based adjuvant chemotherapy. The p53 codon 72 genotype was determined in blood samples from 110 Chinese patients with gastric cancer treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based adjuvant chemotherapy, using polymerase chain reaction-ligation detection reaction (PCR–LDR) method. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed that gastric cancer patients with Pro/Pro genotype had shorter relapse-free survival (χ2 = 10.632, P = 0.005) and overall survival (χ2 = 7.104, P = 0.029) than patients with other genotypes. Cox multivariate analysis showed that Pro/Pro genotype was associated with statistically significant reduced relapse-free survival (adjusted OR = 3.049, 95% CI: 1.363–6.819, P = 0.007) and overall survival (adjusted OR = 2.581, 95% CI: 1.052–6.330, P = 0.038). These results suggested that p53 codon 72 polymorphism appears to be an independent prognostic factor in gastric cancer patients treated with 5-FU-based adjuvant chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]