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Abstract Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs affecting the expression of target genes via translational repression or mRNA degradation mechanisms. With the increasing availability of mRNA and miRNA expression data, it might be possible to assess functional targets using the fact that a miRNA might down-regulate its target mRNAs. In this work we computed the correlation of expression profiles between miRNAs and target mRNAs using the NCI-60 expression data. The aim is to investigate whether the correlations between miRNA and mRNA expression profiles, either positive or negative, can be used to assist the identification of functional miRNA-mRNA relationships. Results Predicted miRNA-mRNA interactions were taken from TargetScan 4.1 and miRBase release 5. Pearson correlation coefficients between the miRNA and the mRNA expression profiles were computed using NCI-60 data. The correlation coefficients were then subject to the Benjamini and Hochberg correction. Our results show that the percentage of TargetScan-predicted miRNA-mRNA interactions having negative correlation in expression profiles is higher than that of miRBase-predicted pairs. Using the experimentally validated miRNA targets listed in TarBase, genes involved in mRNA degradation show more negative correlations between miRNA and mRNA expression profiles, comparing with genes involved in translational repression. Furthermore, correlation analysis for miRNAs and mRNAs transcribed from the same genes shows that correlations of expression profiles between intronic miRNAs and host genes tend to be positive. Finally we found that a target gene might be down-regulated by more than one miRNAs sharing the same seed region. Conclusion Our results suggest that expression profiles can be used in the computational identification of functional miRNA-target associations. One can expect a higher chance of finding negatively correlated expression profiles for TargetScan-predicted interactions than for miRBase-predicted ones. With limited experimentally validated miRNA-target interactions, expression profiles can only serve as a supplementary role in finding interactions between miRNAs and mRNAs.

Zero crossings or extrema of a wavelet transform constitute important signatures for signal analysis with the advantage of great simplicity. In this paper, we introduce a fast frequency-estimation method based on zero-crossing counting in the transform domain of a family of differential spline wavelets. The resolution and order of the vanishing moments of the chosen wavelets have a close relation with the frequency components of a signal. Theoretical results on estimating the highest and the lowest frequency components are derived, which are particularly useful for frequency estimation of harmonic signals. The results are illustrated with the help of several numerical examples. Finally, we discuss the connection of this approach with other frequency estimation methods, with the high-order level-crossing analysis in statistics, and with the scaling theorem in computer vision.

With the development of nuclear energy in China, the geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) is increasingly receiving national attention. Among them, the study of nuclide migration is an important and complex technical system, which requires continuous in-depth research. Under the decay heat, radiation, and groundwater effects of HLW, buffer materials generate complex coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes. The migration and diffusion of nuclides in buffer materials are controlled by the coupling effect of THMC. It is of great significance for the long-term safety of a HLW repository to study the long-term retarding effect of buffer material on nuclide strontium under the coupling effect of multiple factors. This study leverages the solving advantages of COMSOL Multiphysics 5.6, using a combination of the self-developed Mock-up experimental device as a geometric model and numerical simulations to study the multi-field coupling performance and radionuclide migration evolution characteristics of THMC buffer materials, which overcomes the difficulties due to the limitations of the experimental time and spatial scale. The simulation results can predict the migration range and distance variation of strontium in buffer materials at different time scales. In the initial stage, the migration and diffusion of nuclide in buffer materials are relatively slow, and the migration distance increases by about 0.03 m with time. In the mid-to-late stage, the migration distance increases by about 0.05 m over time; to ensure that, in 1000 years, core strontium does not penetrate the buffer material and migrate into the surrounding rock groundwater of the disposal facility, a buffer material thickness of 0.3 m needs to be set. The construction of THMC control equations for the migration and diffusion of nuclides in buffer materials under multi-field coupling conditions has been revealed, providing an important reference for a deeper understanding of the risk analysis of radionuclide contamination in disposal environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the effects of the nurse–manager dualistic intervention (NMDI) program on work engagement and job crafting of ICU burnout nurses. Background: Work engagement is crucial for nurses' job performance and quality of clinical care. Personal and work resources are important antecedents of work engagement. However, few intervention studies focused on improving nurses' personal and work resources to promote work engagement and job crafting of burnout nurses. Methods: This was a quasi‐experimental study. One hundred and two ICU nurses from two tertiary hospitals in Shandong Province were recruited. Forty‐two ICU nurses from one hospital were set as the intervention group and underwent NMDI. Sixty ICU nurses from the other hospital constituted the control group, which received routine occupational health guidance from the hospital. Demographic characteristics, burnout, work engagement, and job crafting were collected at baseline (T0), postintervention (T1), and 3‐month postintervention (T2). Results: Compared to baseline, both work engagement and job crafting scores increased in the intervention group at postintervention (T1). At postintervention (T1), work engagement and job crafting were significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (βworkengagement = 3.894, p = 0.016 and βjobcrafting = 6.104, p = 0.010), but the difference between the two groups was not significant at the 3‐month follow‐up (βworkengagement = 3.618, p = 0.066 and βjobcrafting = 3.554, p = 0.15). Conclusion: The NMDI program can significantly improve ICU burnout nurses' work engagement and job crafting. Nevertheless, the sustainability of these effects over time has been found to be limited, indicating that future research needs to explore and implement strategies to bolster the long‐term efficacy of this intervention. Implications for Nursing Management: Nurse managers are suggested to integrate the NMDI program into routine nursing management. Managers ought to prioritize appreciative and constructive dialog between themselves and nurses in order to support nurses in inquiring personal and work resources and encourage nurses to develop work plans to utilize resources. This will help to increase nurses' engagement and job crafting. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: ChiCTR2100047974 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: At present, the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is limited to single-site interventions. We investigated whether dual-site frontoparietal stimulation delivered using cortical-cortical paired associative stimulation (ccPAS) had stronger clinical efficacy than single-site stimulation in patients with GAD. Methods: We randomized 50 patients with GAD to 1 Hz rTMS (10 sessions) using 1 of the following protocols: single-site stimulation over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC; 1500 pulses per session); single-site stimulation over the right posterior parietal cortex (PPC; 1500 pulses per session); repetitive dual-site ccPAS (rds-ccPAS) over the right dlPFC and right PPC with 1500 pulses per session (rd-ccPAS-1500); or rds-ccPAS over the right dlPFC and right PPC with 750 pulses per session (rd-ccPAS-750). Both rds-ccPAS treatments used a between-site interval of 100 ms. Results: Clinical scores for anxiety, depression and insomnia were reduced in all 4 groups after treatment. We found greater improvements in anxiety symptoms in the rds-ccPAS-1500 group compared to the rds-ccPAS-750 and single-site groups. We found greater improvements in depression symptoms and insomnia in the rds-PAS-1500 group compared to the single-site groups. The rdsccPAS-1500 group also showed significant or trend- level improvements in anxiety symptoms and insomnia at 10-day and 1-month followup. More patients responded to treatment with rds-ccPAS-1500 than with single-site stimulation. The between-group differences in response rates persisted to the 3-month follow-up. Treatment using rds-ccPAS with a between-site interval of 100 ms induced a more significant improvement than the between-site interval of 50 ms we evaluated in a previous study. Limitations: These results need to be replicated in a larger sample using sham control and equal-pulse single-site stimulation. Conclusion: Frontoparietal rds-ccPAS may be a better treatment option for GAD., Introduction Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by excessive worry about everyday life matters. (1) Although various treatments are available for GAD, a considerable proportion of patients cannot obtain relief. [...]