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Circulating n-3 PUFA, which integrate endogenous and exogenous n-3 PUFA, can be better used to investigate the relationship between n-3 PUFA and disease. However, studies examining the associations between circulating n-3 PUFA and colorectal cancer (CRC) risk were limited, and the results remained inconclusive. This case–control study aimed to examine the association between serum n-3 PUFA and CRC risk in Chinese population. A total of 680 CRC cases and 680 sex- and age-matched (5-year interval) controls were included. Fatty acids were assayed by GC. OR and 95 % CI were calculated using multivariable logistic regression after adjustment for potential confounders. Higher level of serum α-linolenic acid (ALA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), DHA, long-chain n-3 PUFA and total n-3 PUFA were associated with lower odds of CRC. The adjusted OR and 95 % CI were 0·34 (0·24, 0·49, Pfor trend < 0·001) for ALA, 0·57 (0·40, 0·80, Pfor trend < 0·001) for DPA, 0·48 (0·34, 0·68, Pfor trend < 0·001) for DHA, 0·39 (0·27, 0·56, Pfor trend < 0·001) for long-chain n-3 PUFA and 0·31 (0·22, 0·45, Pfor trend < 0·001) for total n-3 PUFA comparing the highest with the lowest quartile. However, there was no statistically significant association between EPA and odds of CRC. Analysis stratified by sex showed that ALA, DHA, long-chain n-3 PUFA and total n-3 PUFA were inversely associated with odds of CRC in both sexes. This study indicated that serum ALA, DPA, DHA, long-chain n-3 PUFA and total n-3 PUFA were inversely associated with odds of having CRC in Chinese population.

Osteoporosis occurs in astronauts after long-term space flight owing to the lack of gravity. The mechanical microenvironment of osteocytes in load-bearing bone are changed during resistance exercise, which prevents massive bone loss in the human body. A cylindrical fluid-structure coupling finite element model for osteons with a two-stage pore structure (i.e., Haversian canal, lacunar-canalicular system) was established with the software COMSOL. In the Earth's gravity field and in microgravity, considering the effects of pulsating pressure of arterioles, a comparative study was performed on the changes in hydrodynamic microenvironment of osteocytes during human body high-intensity exercise at different frequencies (defined as causing bone to produce 3000 με) and the body is at rest. Positive and negative liquid pressure (with respect to one atmosphere pressure) alternately acted on osteocytes during human exercising, but only positive pressure acted on osteocytes during human resting. The variation range of liquid pressure acted on osteocytes during human exercising was significantly higher than that during resting. The liquid flow velocity around osteocytes during body exercise was about four orders of magnitude higher than that during resting. In microgravity, moderate physical exercise can obviously improve the hydrodynamic microenvironment of osteocytes in load-bearing bone, which could compensate for the lack of mechanical stimulation to osteocytes caused by the lack of gravity, thereby promoting the normal physiological function of osteocytes. To a certain extent, these results revealed the biomechanical mechanism by which exercise has an effect in fighting osteoporosis in astronauts.

Plant-based diets are associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer, but the risk might differ by the quality of plant-based diets. This study aimed to investigate the association between different types of plant-based dietary patterns and colorectal cancer risk in the Chinese population. We conducted a case-control study with 2799 eligible colorectal cancer cases and 2799 sex- and age-matched controls in Guangzhou, China. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to collect dietary data, from which we derived plant-based diet indices, including the plant-based diet index (PDI), the healthy PDI (hPDI), and the unhealthy PDI (uPDI). The PDI, hPDI, and uPDI assess the adherence to overall, healthy, and unhealthy plant-based dietary patterns, respectively. The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for colorectal cancer risk were estimated using unconditional logistic regression models. Higher adherence to the PDI, particularly the hPDI, was associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer, whereas greater adherence to the uPDI was associated with a higher risk of colorectal cancer. Compared with the lowest quintile, the adjusted ORs in the highest quintile were 0.79 (95% CI: 0.66-0.95) for the PDI, 0.45 (95% CI: 0.38-0.55) for the hPDI, and 1.45 (95% CI: 1.18-1.78) for the hPDI, respectively. In stratified analysis, the inverse association between the PDI and colorectal cancer risk was not observed in women, and the positive association between the uPDI and colorectal cancer risk was not observed in men. In conclusion, these results support recommendations that shifting to a healthy plant-based dietary pattern is important for the prevention of colorectal cancer, particularly in the Chinese population that habitually consumes plant foods.

Summary Background The use of magnetically controlled capsules for gastroscopy is in the early stages of clinical adoption. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a fully automated magnetically controlled capsule endoscopy (FAMCE) system in clinical practice for gastroscopy and small bowel examination. Methods We did a prospective, comparative study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of FAMCE. Patients from two hospitals in Chongqing, China were consecutively enrolled. Eligible participants were aged 18–80 years with suspected gastric pathology and no previous surgery. Participants underwent FAMCE for screening of gastric lesions, then conventional transoral gastroscopy 2 h later, and stomach examination results were compared. The primary outcome was the rate of complete detection of gastric anatomy landmarks (cardia, fundus, body, angulus, antrum, and pylorus) by FAMCE. Secondary outcomes were the time required for gastric completion by FAMCE, the rate of detection of gastric lesions by FAMCE compared with conventional transoral gastroscopy, and the rate of complete small bowel examination. Adverse events were also evaluated. The study was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2000040507. Findings Between May 12 and Aug 17, 2020, 114 patients (mean age 44·0 years [IQR 34·0–55·0]; 63 [55%] female) were enrolled. The rate of complete detection of gastric anatomical structures by FAMCE was 100% (95% CI 99·3–100·0). The concordance between FAMCE and conventional transoral gastroscopy was 99·61% (99·45–99·78). The mean completion time of a gastroscopy with FAMCE was 19·17 min (SD 1·43; median 19·00, IQR 19·00–20·00), compared with 5·21 min (2·00; 5·18, 3·68–6·45) for conventional transoral gastroscopy. In 114 enrolled patients, 214 lesions were detected by FAMCE and conventional transoral gastroscopy. Of those, 193 were detected by both modalities. FAMCE missed five pathologies (four cases of gastritis and one polyp), whereas conventional transoral gastroscopy missed 16 pathologies (12 cases of gastritis, one polyp, one fundal xanthoma, and two antral erosions). FAMCE was able to provide a complete small bowel examination for all 114 patients and detected intestinal lesions in 50 (44%) patients. During the study, two (2%) patients experienced adverse events. No serious adverse events were recorded, and there was no evidence of capsule retention. Interpretation The performance of FAMCE is similar to conventional transoral gastroscopy in completion of gastric examination and lesion detection. Furthermore, it can provide a complete small bowel examination. Therefore, FAMCE could be effective method for examination of the gastrointestinal tract. Funding Chinese National Key Research and Development Program.

Mixed cryoglobulinemia refers to the serum presence of a variety of cryoglobulins, which are defined as immunoglobulins that precipitate at temperatures of < 37°C. The most common cause of mixed cryoglobulinemia is hepatitis C virus (HCV), while other infections, including hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HIV infections, and lymphoproliferative and autoimmune disorders have also been associated with the disease. We reported a rare case of type II–III mixed cryoglobulinemia caused by alcoholic cirrhosis. We need to increase the awareness of and facilitate the early identification of mixed cryoglobulinemia in our clinical study when encountering a patient with liver cirrhosis combined with renal impairment so that treatment can begin early to improve the success rate of therapy and reduce the fatality rate in a potentially life-saving therapy.

We have examined the spatial distributions of polymer chains in blend films of weakly segregated polystyrene-block-poly(methyl methacrylate) [P(S-b-MMA)] and deuterated polystyrene (dPS). By fine-tuning the composition (ϕPS+dPS = 63.8 vol %) of the total PS/dPS component and annealing temperature (230 and 270 °C), P(S-b-MMA)/dPS blend films mainly form perforated layers with a parallel orientation (hereafter PLs//). The distributions of dPS in PLs// were probed by grazing-incidence small-angle neutron scattering (GISANS) and time-of-flight neutron reflectivity (ToF-NR). GISANS and ToF-NR results offer evidence that dPS chains preferentially locate at the free surface and within the PS layers for blend films that were annealed at 230 °C. Upon annealing at 270 °C, dPS chains distribute within PS layers and perforated PMMA layers. Nevertheless, dPS chains still retain a surface preference for thin films. In contrast, such surface segregation of dPS chains is prohibited for thick films when annealed at 270 °C.

CD45+CD71+ erythroid cells generated through splenic extramedullary erythropoiesis have recently been found to suppress anti-infection and tumor immunity in neonates and adults with malignances. However, their role in tumor microenvironment has not been investigated. In the present study, we found that the number of CD45+CD71+ erythroid cells was significantly elevated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues compared to that in paratumor region and circulation. Additionally, they were more abundant in HCC tissues compared to some immune suppressive cells as well as CD45-CD71+ erythroid cells. CD45+CD71+ erythroid cells suppressed T cells through generation of reactive oxygen species, IL-10, and TGF-β in a paracrine and cell-cell contact manner, and their suppressive effect was stronger than that of myeloid-derived suppressor cells. The abundance of CD45+CD71+ erythroid cells in tumor tissue, as illustrated via immunofluorescence, predicted disease-free survival and overall survival, and its prognostic value was better than that of Cancer of the Liver Italian Program score. This study demonstrated that accumulation of intratumoral CD45+CD71+ erythroid cells in HCC tissues could play a superior immunosuppressive role in tumor microenvironment and may serve as a valuable biomarker to predict recurrence of HCC.

The stability of reservoir bank slopes is critical to the engineering operation’s safety. Due to the complexity of geological conditions, the monitoring mode based on deformation monitoring data cannot directly respond to the structural damage stability state, whereas anther mode based on structural calculation is time-consuming and lacks real-time capabilities. To that end, this paper proposes a method for fast prediction of the safety state of reservoir bank rock slope based on the physical significance of time-dependent deformation and rock creep at monitoring points, with the safety coefficient and reliability obtained by numerical calculation as the dependent variables and the slope deformation monitoring sequence as the independent variable, based on full verification of the rationality of numerical calculation. The model can be used to forecast the stability and reliability coefficients of reservoir bank slopes online using deformation data from the field. The application verification of the left bank slope of the Dagangshan arch dam reveals that the average and maximum error of slope stability safety coefficient prediction is within 5% for 90 and 180 days and the average and maximum error of reliability index prediction is within 10%, which meet the engineering requirements and can provide a new way for rapid prediction of slope engineering safety.

Functional magnetic Fe3O4@PPy microspheres were prepared and characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM, and magnetometer, and the adsorption of Hg(II) onto Fe3O4@PPy was investigated. The results showed that the adsorption of Hg(II) onto Fe3O4@PPy dramatically increases within 5 min and reaches adsorption equilibrium at 200 min. The adsorption of Hg(II) increases with pH increased, and a removal efficiency (RE) of 90.5% was obtained at pH 7.2. The isotherm studies revealed that the adsorption of Hg(II) onto the Fe3O4@PPy fits well with the Langmuir isotherm model, and the calculated qm value of 232.56 mg/g. The adsorption process of Hg(II) onto the Fe3O4@PPy is well-fitted by the pseudo-second-order model with a high correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.999. The thermodynamic coefficients (ΔH°, ΔS°, and ΔG°) were calculated from the temperature-dependent adsorption isotherms and illustrated that the adsorption of Hg(II) on the Fe3O4@PPy was spontaneous and endothermic. Different desorption agents were used to recover Hg(II) adsorbed onto Fe3O4@PPy, and a satisfactory recovery percentage of 93.0% was obtained by using 0.1 M HCl and 0.05 M NaCl. HIGHLIGHTS Amino-functional magnetic Fe3O4@PPy microspheres were prepared and characterized.; The Hg(II) can be adsorbed by Fe3O4@PPy effectively.; The used Fe3O4@PPy could be regenerated by two-component desorbent of HCl and NaCl.

While excavated discharge channels are often used for the emergency treatment of landslide-dammed lakes, the erosion of the discharge channel of a landslide dam is complex and rarely monitored on site. This work presents a quantitative monitoring method based on three-dimensional terrestrial laser scanning technology (TLS) for analyzing the erosion of a landslide dam discharge channel and then applies this method to evaluate the emergency engineering treatment of the 2018 Baige landslide-dammed lake in 2019. The proposed method uses TLS technology to accurately track the dynamic evolution of the discharge channel and to quantify the lateral erosion. Moreover, qualitatively analysis for vertical erosion is conducted based on the difference between actual and hypothetic river elevation. The results indicate that erosion processes of landslide deposition fluctuate as the results of flow discharge variations. Damage to the covering layer consisting of large particles is considered to be the main cause of this phenomenon. According to the relationship between erosion intensity (EI) and flow velocity, an empirical formula is deduced for erosion analysis. The key parameter in this formula is determined by the variation rate of discharge, the flow velocity, the composition of riverbank and the flow field distribution.

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) causes permanent neurological sequelae, but the underlying mechanism needs to be further clarified. Here, we show that inhibition of metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1) with negative allosteric modulator JNJ16259685 improves long-term neurobehavioral outcomes in an endovascular perforation model of SAH. JNJ16259685 improves cerebrovascular dysfunction through attenuation of cerebral blood flow (CBF) reduction, cerebral vasoconstrictio, and microthrombosis formation in a rat SAH model. Moreover, JNJ16259685 reduces experimental SAH-induced long-term neuronal damage through alleviation of neuronal death and degeneration. Mechanically, JNJ16259685 maintains phosphorylation of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) and vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) and decreases apoptosis-related factors Bax, active caspase-9, and active caspase-3 following experimental SAH. Altogether, our results suggest JNJ16259685 improves long-term functional impairment through neurovascular protection.

Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) is an important complication after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). Early identification of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers is helpful for warning of impending DCI. This study assessed whether early high CSF glutamate levels can be observed in aSAH patients who later developed DCI. In this prospective clinical study, patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus or aSAH were enrolled. We found that the early CSF levels of glutamate were significantly elevated in aSAH patients compared to patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus. There was a significant difference in early CSF levels of glutamate between aSAH patients without DCI and with DCI. The early CSF levels of glutamate are significantly related to the Hunt and Hess grade, the World Federation of Neurological Surgeons (WFNS) grade, and the modified Fisher score on admission and occurrence of DCI in aSAH patients. Preliminary evidence of this study suggests that early high CSF glutamate levels are correlated with DCI in aSAH patients.

There is an increasing demand for effective noninvasive diagnosis against common pulmonary diseases, which are rising sharply due to the serious air pollution. Human neutrophil elastase (HNE), a typical protease highly involved in pulmonary inflammatory diseases and lung cancer, is a potential predictor for disease progression. Currently, few of the HNE-targeting probes are applicable in vivo due to the limitation in sensitivity and biocompatibility. Herein, we reported the achievement of in vitro detection and in vivo imaging of HNE by incorporating the HNE-specific peptide substrate, quantum dots (QDs), and organic dyes into the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) system. The refined nanoprobe, termed QDP, could specifically measure the HNE with excellent sensitivity of 7.15 pM in aqueous solution and successfully image the endogenous and exogenous HNE in living cells. In addition, this nanoprobe enabled HNE imaging in mouse models of lung cancer and acute lung injury, and the HNE activity at high temporal and spatial resolution was continuously monitored. Most importantly, QDP successfully discriminated the serums of patients with lung diseases from those of the healthy controls based on the HNE activity determination. Overall, this study demonstrates the advantages of a FRET-system-based nanoprobe in imaging performance and provides an applicable tool for in vivo HNE detection and pulmonary disease diagnosis.

Heilaohu, the roots of Kadsura coccinea, has been used in Tujia ethnomedicine to treat rheumatic arthritis (RA). Heilaohuacid G (1), a new 3,4-seco-lanostane type triterpenoid isolated from the ethanol extract of Heilaohu, whose structure was determined using HR-ESI-MS data, NMR spectroscopic analyses, and ECD calculations. In this study, our purpose is to elucidate the mechanisms of Heilaohuacid G in the treatment of RA by inhibited proliferation of rheumatoid arthritis-fibroblastoid synovial (RA-FLS) cells and inhibited the inflammatory reactions in LPS-induced RA-FLS and RAW 264.7 cell lines via inhibiting NF-κB pathway. The biological activity screening experiments indicated that Heilaohuacid G significantly inhibited proliferation of RA-FLS cells with IC

This study aimed to investigate the potential factors associated with adherence to colonoscopy among participants who were preliminarily screened positive in a community-based colorectal cancer screening program in China.This study analyzed data from 1219 out of 6971 community residents who were identified as positive cases by the well-validated high-risk factor questionnaire (HRFQ) or fecal immunochemical test (FIT) in the preliminary screening stage for colorectal neoplasms. Patients showing adherence to colonoscopy were defined as those who received positive results in a preliminary screening for colorectal neoplasms and later received a colonoscopy examination as required. The associations of social-demographic factors, lifestyle behaviors, history of diabetes, body mass index (BMI), and risk factors in the HRFQ with adherence to colonoscopy were evaluated using logistic regression models.Among 1219 participants who preliminarily screened positive, the top five risk factors reported by the participants were chronic constipation (25.9%), hematochezia (23.5%), family history of CRC in first-degree relatives (22.1%), chronic diarrhea (21.8%), and history of polyps (16.6%). Around 14.2% of participants who preliminarily screened positive reported three or more risk factors, and the proportion was 26.2% among participants who were positive according to both HRFQ and FIT. Among all participants who were preliminarily screened positive, the multivariable results showed that those who were married (OR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.12, 2.25, p = 0.01), had chronic diarrhea (OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.78, p = 0.047), and had a positive FIT (OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.21, 2.10, p 0.001 for patients who were negative according to HRFQ but positive according to FIT; OR = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.33, 2.78, p = 0.002 for patients who were positive for both HRFQ and FIT) were more likely to adhere to colonoscopy, while participants with a history of cancer (OR: 0.50, 95% CI: 0.31, 0.79, p = 0.003) were less likely to adhere to colonoscopy. The results among participants who were tested positive according to only HRFQ were similar to those among all participants who were tested positive according to HRFQ or FIT. However, among participants who were tested positive according to only FIT, we only found that those who were married (OR = 2.52, 95% CI: 1.08, 5.90, p = 0.033) had a higher odds of adhering to colonoscopy, while those with a history of diabetes (OR = 0.35, 95% CI: 0.13, 0.96, p = 0.042) were less likely to adhere to colonoscopy.Our findings provide evidence supporting the development of tailored interventional strategies that aim to improve adherence to colonoscopy for individuals with a high risk of colorectal neoplasms. Both barriers and facilitators associated with adherence to colonoscopy should be considered in supportive systems and health policies. However, further well-designed prospective studies are warranted to confirm our findings.

Translational reprogramming is part of the unfolded protein response (UPR) during endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, which acts to the advantage of cancer growth and development in different stress conditions, but the mechanism of ER stress-related translational reprogramming in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) progression remains unclear. Here, we identified that Krüppel-like factor 16 (KLF16) can promote CRC progression and stress tolerance through translational reprogramming. The expression of KLF16 was upregulated in CRC tissues and associated with poor prognosis for CRC patients. We found that ER stress inducers can recruit KLF16 to the nucleolus and increase its interaction with two essential proteins for nucleolar homeostasis: nucleophosmin1 (NPM1) and fibrillarin (FBL). Moreover, knockdown of KLF16 can dysregulate nucleolar homeostasis in CRC cells. Translation-reporter system and polysome profiling assays further showed that KLF16 can effectively promote cap-independent translation of ATF4, which can enhance ER-phagy and the proliferation of CRC cells. Overall, our study unveils a previously unrecognized role for KLF16 as an ER stress regulator through mediating translational reprogramming to enhance the stress tolerance of CRC cells and provides a potential therapeutic vulnerability.

We have examined the spatial distributions of polymer chains in blend films of weakly segregated polystyrene

Five new glycosides including mimenghuasu A and B (

Universal stress proteins (Usps) exist ubiquitously in bacteria and other organisms. Usps play an important role in adaptation of bacteria to a variety of environmental stresses. There is increasing evidence that Usps facilitate pathogens to adapt host environment and are involved in pathogenicity. Edwardsiella piscicida (formerly included in E. tarda) is a severe fish pathogen and infects various important economic fish including tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). In E. piscicida, a number of systems and factors that are involved in stress resistance and pathogenesis were identified. However, the function of Usps in E. piscicida is totally unknown. In this study, we examined the expressions of 13 usp genes in E. piscicida and found that most of these usp genes were up-regulated expression under high temperature, oxidative stress, acid stress, and host serum stress. Particularly, among these usp genes, usp13, exhibited dramatically high expression level upon several stress conditions. To investigate the biological role of usp13, a markerless usp13 in-frame mutant strain, TX01Δusp13, was constructed. Compared to the wild type TX01, TX01Δusp13 exhibited markedly compromised tolerance to high temperature, hydrogen peroxide, and low pH. Deletion of usp13 significantly retarded bacterial biofilm growth and decreased resistance against serum killing. Pathogenicity analysis showed that the inactivation of usp13 significantly impaired the ability of E. piscicida to invade into host cell and infect host tissue. Introduction of a trans-expressed usp13 gene restored the lost virulence of TX01Δusp13. In support of these results, host immune response induced by TX01 and TX01Δusp13 was examined, and the results showed reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in TX01Δusp13-infected macrophages were significantly higher than those in TX01-infected cells. The expression level of several cytokines (IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α, and CC2) in TX01Δusp13-infected fish was significantly higher than that in TX01-infected fish. These results suggested that the deletion of usp13 attenuated the ability of bacteria to overcome the host immune response to pathogen infection. Taken together, our study indicated Usp13 of E. piscicida was not only important participant in adversity resistance, but also was essential for E. piscicida pathogenicity and contributed to block host immune response to pathogen infection.

The surface characteristics of sub-bituminous coal have been determined in the presence of nonylphenol ethoxylate with 9 ethylene oxide groups (NP-9). The surface characterization techniques of zet...

Supplemental material, Supplementary Material 1, for A New Brominated Norsesquiterpene Glycoside From the Rhizomes of Acorus tatarinowii Schott by Zhi-You Hao, Gang Ni, Dong Liang, Yan-Fei Liu, Chun-Lei Zhang, Yan Wang, Qing-Jian Zhang, Ruo-Yun Chen and De-Quan Yu in Natural Product Communications

CD45

The prevalence of Lynch syndrome (LS) varies significantly in different populations, suggesting that ethnic features might play an important role. We enrolled 3330 consecutive Chinese patients who had surgical resection for newly diagnosed colorectal cancer. Universal screening for LS was implemented, including immunohistochemistry for mismatch repair (MMR) proteins, BRAFV600E mutation test and germline sequencing. Among the 3250 eligible patients, MMR protein deficiency (dMMR) was detected in 330 (10.2%) patients. Ninety-three patients (2.9%) were diagnosed with LS. Nine (9.7%) patients with LS fulfilled Amsterdam criteria II and 76 (81.7%) met the revised Bethesda guidelines. Only 15 (9.7%) patients with absence of MLH1 on IHC had BRAFV600E mutation. One third (33/99) of the MMR gene mutations have not been reported previously. The age of onset indicates risk of LS in patients with dMMR tumors. For patients older than 65 years, only 2 patients (5.7%) fulfilling revised Bethesda guidelines were diagnosed with LS. Selective sequencing of all cases with dMMR diagnosed at or below age 65 years and only of those dMMR cases older than 65 years who fulfill revised Bethesda guidelines results in 8.2% fewer cases requiring germline testing without missing any LS diagnoses. While the prevalence of LS in Chinese patients is similar to that of Western populations, the spectrum of constitutional mutations and frequency of BRAFV600E mutation is different. Patients older than 65 years who do not meet the revised Bethesda guidelines have a low risk of LS, suggesting germline sequencing might not be necessary in this population.

The intestinal microbiota plays crucial roles in the nutrition uptake and metabolism in a herbivorous fish, the grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). Based on the 16S rRNA amplicon data, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the two predominant phyla along the intestine; bacterial richness and Shannon diversity index were higher in the middle-intestine than in the fore- and hind-intestine of the grass carp. A significant reduction in Halomonas and Shewanella number was observed in the middle- and hind-intestine as compared with that in the fore intestine; in contrast, a higher relative abundance of Bacteroides, Erysipelotrichaceae, and Cetobacterium was observed in the hind-intestine than in the fore- and middle-intestine. Microbiota located in the fore-, middle-, and hind-intestine formed a unique ecological network model of interspecific interactions. The dominant intestinal microbiota was a major component of the network, and many operational taxonomic units from the dominant microbiota served as connectors and module hubs in the network, which contributed to the homeostasis of the intestinal microbiota. Competitive interactions predominated in the microbial community in the fore- and middle-intestine, whereas cooperative interactions were dominant in the hind-intestine. Predicted function analysis (PICRUSt) showed that microbial function composition significantly changed along the intestine. In the nutrition metabolism, the carbohydrate metabolism functions of the microbiota were increased along the intestine, but the opposite trend was detected in lipid metabolism. The microbiota in the middle-intestine played a more important role in amino acid and energy metabolism, while the hind-intestine was the main site for fiber fermentation, where the predominant positive interactions of microbiota could enhance the ability of the grass carp to obtain more nutrients and energy from plants. Generally, our results suggested that the microbial competition significantly varied along the intestine, as well as the microbial function composition, and complex interspecific interactions promoted the carbohydrate fermentation of intestinal microbiota of grass carp.

Spatially distinct, self-sustained oscillations in artificial neural networks are fundamental to information encoding, storage, and processing in these systems. Here, we develop a method to induce a large variety of self-sustained oscillatory patterns in artificial neural networks and a controlling strategy to switch between different patterns. The basic principle is that, given a complex network, one can find a set of nodes-the minimum feedback vertex set (mFVS), whose removal or inhibition will result in a tree-like network without any loop structure. Reintroducing a few or even a single mFVS node into the tree-like artificial neural network can recover one or a few of the loops and lead to self-sustained oscillation patterns based on these loops. Reactivating various mFVS nodes or their combinations can then generate a large number of distinct neuronal firing patterns with a broad distribution of the oscillation period. When the system is near a critical state, chaos can arise, providing a natural platform for pattern switching with remarkable flexibility. With mFVS guided control, complex networks of artificial neurons can thus be exploited as potential prototypes for local, analog type of processing paradigms.

Rural development degree (RDD) evaluation is a very valuable guidance for rural sustainable development. Earlier studies of RDD evaluatons more focusd on establishing index system, analysing spatial–temporal evolving patterns and functional differentiations. Weighting assignment (WA) method selection is a vital step for rural development degree (RDD) evaluation, but impacts of different WA methods on indicator weight determination and RDD evaluation were not well clarified. This study therefore employed three dominant WA methods, covering equal weight method, entropy method and mean square error method, along with a developed RDD evaluation index system to compare the differences of indicator weights and uncertainties of RDD evaluation. The results indicated that the spatial patterns of three WA-based RDD maps had great differences although using the same evaluation indicators. The RDD types with the largest proportion generated from different WA methods were also spatially various. Spatial distributions of RDD generated by various WA methods regions performed largely differences in central, northeastern and southwestern China. Our analyses found that the differences from industrial prosperity dimension and ecology livability dimension owing to utilizing different WA methods were largely responsible for the RDD spatial distributions in this study. This study gave some potential suggestions for WA method selection in RDD evaluation according to the data characteristics, WA method principles and application requirements. Among them, entropy method was suitable for indicator data with great dispersion degree and mean square error method would be better describe indicator differences with large indicator number. Besides, this study also underlined that WA-derived uncertainties should be paid more attentions in rural development and rural revitalization evaluation.

The majority of colorectal cancers (CRCs) are hormone‑dependent. Thus, endocrine therapy has become an attractive strategy to treat CRC. The aim of the present study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of combined tamoxifen (TAM) plus β‑estradiol (E2) treatment on human DLD‑1 CRC cells. The human DLD‑1 CRC cell line was treated with different concentrations of TAM, β‑estradiol, or a combination of these two agents. Cell viability was assessed using an MTT assay, while apoptosis was detected using flow cytometry analysis. Alterations in the RNA and protein levels of the apoptosis‑associated factors cyclin D1 and survivin were measured in the treated DLD‑1 cells using semi‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction (sqPCR) and western blot analyses. Alterations in cellular migration ability were monitored using a Transwell migration assay. Treatment with TAM, β‑estradiol and TAM plus β‑estradiol inhibited DLD‑1 cell viability. The flow cytometry results revealed that these drugs promoted cell apoptosis, and the Transwell migration assay results indicated that the reduction in cell migration was greater in the TAM+E2 treatment group when compared with each treatment alone. sqPCR and western blot analysis results demonstrated that TAM, E2 and a combination of the two affected survivin expression based on the drug concentration and the treatment duration; however, they demonstrated no significant effect on cyclin D1 expression. In conclusion, treatment of DLD‑1 cells with TAM, β‑estradiol, or a combination of these two drugs, inhibited cell viability and migration, promoted cell apoptosis, and reduced the mRNA and protein expression levels of survivin in a dose‑ and time‑dependent manner. These results provide novel experimental basis for hormonal adjuvant therapy for the treatment of CRC.

In recent years, the application of impulsive semi-dynamic system in state-dependent feed-back control has attracted extensive attention, but most models only discuss their special cases without delving into their complex dynamics. Therefore, we establish the wild and sterile mosquito system with integrated mosquito control, and use the Poincare map method to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the model dynamics. First, the main properties of Poincare map such as monotonicity, continuous differentiability, extremum and fixed point are discussed. Second, we prove the existence and stability of boundary periodic solution and study the influence of its parameters on the system. Then the ex-istence and global stability of the order-1 periodic solution and the existence condition of the order-k (k > 1) periodic solution are analyzed. Finally, our conclusion is verified by numerical analysis. The results show that the population density of wild mosquitoes can be controlled below the threshold by integrated mosquito control.

We present a novel donation game model to investigate the impact of reputation on the evolution of tag-mediated altruistic behaviors, in which the donors need to simultaneously take the information of a recipient’s reputation and tag into account when making decisions. In detail, each individual can be randomly endowed with a tunable reputation value and a fixed tag at the initial stage, the donor’s reputation will be adaptively varied by the adjustment increment R g according to the action at each game round. In addition, another tunable parameter ω is used to control the strategy spreading ability of the individual with lower reputation. Through extensive simulations, the results indicate that the combination of reputation and tag greatly promotes the evolution of altruistic behaviors within the structured population. When other parameters are fixed, the smaller the value of ω is, the more obvious the advantage of dominant strategy becomes. It is also found that the reputation threshold has a decisive effect on the dominant strategy within the population. The current results suggest that the reputation contributes significantly to the evolution of cooperation in the population with the green beard effect, we hope our work can provide some valuable clues for exploring the altruistic behaviors in the future.

A new brominated norsesquiterpene glycoside, acoruside (1), has been isolated from the rhizomes of Acorus tatarinowii Schott, together with 8 known compounds (2-9). Their structures were elucidated mainly based on 1-dimensional (1D) and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. The absolute configuration of compound 1 was determined by comparing its experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism spectra. The in vitro tests indicated that at 10 µM, compounds 2, 3, and 4 aggravated serum deprivation injuries of PC12 cells, compound 2 aggravated rotenone-induced injuries of PC12 cells, and compounds 3 and 4 aggravated the oxygen-glucose deprivation-induced injuries of PC12 cells.

In order to search for valuable relationships to control major hazards in Z coal mine, correlation between potential accidents and major hazards are studied. Analysing 4641 data of potential accidents recorded in past two years, ICTCLAS(Chinese Lexical Analysis System) and Pareto rule are used to extract high-frequency keywords, and association rule algorithm is used for mining relationships. The study suggests that some potential accidents and hazards have certain relationships, which can guide the hazards management, improve the potential accidents’ prevention and controllability.

Conventional mechanical vibration platform vibrates not only in the direction of back and forth but also in the direction of up and down. Vibrations in both directions are achieved by two mechanisms, respectively. Three-dimensional vibration cannot be realized. In this paper, the servo motor, the gear drive mechanism, and the parallel four-bar linkage mechanism are combined with the NC system. And a type of program-controlled three-dimensional vibration platform is designed. The platform can vibrate in three directions, such as the directions of up and down, left and right, back and forth. The parametric adjustment of amplitude and frequency in three directions can be realized. The vibration platform is suitable for high-speed and light-load three-dimensional vibration. Compared with the existing mechanical vibration platform, the designed vibration platform overcomes some deficiencies to realize three-dimensional vibration with variable frequency and amplitude.

To avoid the influence of column vibration on machining precision, it is necessary to simulate the stiffness characteristics of the columns for CNC grinding machine, and to optimize the structure of the column by using sensitivity method. Based on structural characteristics of the grinding machine and structural characteristics of the columns, a finite element model is established to simulate and calculate the first-four models of the columns. In order to optimize the structure of the column, a sensitivity analysis is made to calculate the sensitivity of natural frequencies and mass of the column to each panel and ribbed plate. Considering a weighting factor and taking integrated natural frequency of the column as an optimization objective, the mass of the column as a constraint, an optimization equation is established. By a quadratic programming method, the parameter optimization of the column is got as follows: the mass decreased by 4%, integrated natural frequency increased by 2%. Dynamic stiffness of the column has been optimized by harmonic response analysis, the results showed that the largest column in the Z resonance peak reduced by 8.44%.

In view of the current welding industry, there is no automated programming tool for the welding path of square battery cover. According to differential geometry theory, the principle of nonlinear error is analyzed. Then a simplified model for nonlinear error is established. Based on these, an efficient algorithm based on nonlinear error is proposed. According to the proposed algorithm, two instantiation of the algorithm are presented. Therefore, the proposed algorithm is simple, reliable, and efficient. It adapts to the requirement of two mainstream spuare battery covers perfectly.

In the wood engraving industry, the double swing motor spindle or the double rotation motor spindle is often used as the spindle of five-axis wood engraving machine to achieve three-dimensional sculpture. However, the rough and motor spindle may interfere with each other during machining. Hence, many small regions of rough cannot be machined. To solve this problem, an anthropomorphic double-swing-head mechanism is designed. Instead of motor spindle, the designed mechanism is used as spindle of five-axis wood engraving machine. The level of automation and machining scope of the machine are improved. The workload of subsequent artificial modification is reduced. Then, the machining efficiency and quality of wood products are enhanced, and their production costs are reduced.

In order to realize special trapezoidal thread production more quickly and simply, a new processing method is presented. Based on the shape analysis of the spiral curve, spiral surface discrete algorithm is discussed. Spiral surface is discretized in to numerous tiny straight segments, and consequently the trapezoidal thread machining can be accomplished by just using G01. Simulation and experiment results show that this processing method is feasible and with high production efficiency.

To avoid the influence of column vibration on machining precision, it is necessary to simulate the stiffness characteristics of the columns for CNC grinding machine, and to optimize the structure of the column by using sensitivity method. Based on structural characteristics of the grinding machine and structural characteristics of the columns, a finite element model is established to simulate and calculate the first-four models of the columns. In order to optimize the structure of the column, a sensitivity analysis is made to calculate the sensitivity of natural frequencies and mass of the column to each panel and ribbed plate. Considering a weighting factor and taking integrated natural frequency of the column as an optimization objective, the mass of the column as a constraint, an optimization equation is established. By a quadratic programming method, the parameter optimization of the column is got as follows: the mass decreased by 4%, integrated natural frequency increased by 2%. Dynamic stiffness of the column has been optimized by harmonic response analysis, the results showed that the largest column in the Z resonance peak reduced by 8.44%.

The traditional fixed pitch error compensation method exists some defects, such as sampling points are not comprehensive and the necessary compensation points are easy to miss. Faced with these problems, this paper presented a new pitch error compensation method based on the open numerical control system. With this method, the traditional measurement points were serried, and more pitch error data were measured. Then calculated the error data with the cubic spline interpolation computation method, and the compensation location and value were obtained according to the accuracy requirement. The pitch error compensation was completed when the data inputted into the open numerical control system with a defined format.

(S)-1-Phenyl-1,2-ethanediol (PED) is a vital chiral block in specialty chemical industries. The biotransformation of 2-hydroxyacetophenone (2-HAP) to (S)-PED was conducted successfully catalyzed with BL21(DE3)(pETDuet-gst-mut-accr-gdh) which harboring a carbonyl reductase mutant (mut-AcCR). The catalytic activity of the biocatalyst was 15.9 times higher than the recombinant cells harboring original AcCR. 250 mM 2-HAP was reduced, under optimal conditions, and the yield and space-time yield were 95.2 % and 1.89 M/d in the buffer system. Then C4MIMI·PF6 was chosen to be the second phase to improve the catalytic efficiency, and the substrate concentration was increased to 450 mM in the C4MIMI·PF6/buffer system. After a reaction duration of 3 h, the product yield was over 92 %, and the space-time yield increased to 2.88 M/d which was 1.52 folds higher than that in the buffer system. Also, the product e.e. was over 99 % consistently. Overall, the preparative scale reduction of 2-HAP (450 mM) in C4MIMI·PF6/buffer system was conducted with promising result. The developed effective C4MIMI·PF6/buffer system of asymmetric reduction catalyzed by BL21(DE3)(pETDuet-gst-mut-accr-gdh) will promote the preparation of the enantiomeric pureity chiral alcohol at industrial scale.

In this study, the montmorillonite was modified by the ionic liquid 1-hexadecyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (C16mimCl) and then characterized by the XRD, FTIR, BET, SEM and TGA. The loading characteristics and mechanisms of ionic liquids on montmorillonite were studied. The results show that C16mimCl was successfully intercalated in the montmorillonite interlayer or adsorbed on its surface. With the increase of the dosage of C16mimCl, the amount of C16mimCl loaded on montmorillonite also increased. After the dosage exceeds 3.0 CEC, the loading amount reached a stable value. The loading increased firstly and then decreased with the increase of pH. Ca2+ has different effects on the loading process at different dosage of C16mimCl. The modification process conforms to the Langmuir model and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and the adsorption capacity decreases with increasing temperature. Thermodynamic studies have shown that the modification is a spontaneous entropy increase and exothermic process. Molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) was used to construct modified montmorillonite models with C16mimCl loadings of 0.5, 1.0 and 3.0 CEC. Based on the simulation results, the arrangement of C16mimCl in montmorillonite and the modification mechanism are revealed. This study can provide new ideas for the synthesis of organic montmorillonite and its application in pollutant removal.

Ecological corridors provide essential routes for biological migration, which would promote species exchange among different habitats. The construction of corridors is beneficial to alle-viate the damages caused by the fragmentation of landscapes due to the acceleration of urbanization, with significance to biodiversity conservation. In this study, we located the ecological sources with the results of ecological sensitivity evaluation and ecosystem service value analysis in Changli County based on its land use status in 2015. Then, we produced the potential corridors with the minimal cumulative resistance model (MCR) and the minimum cost path method, and identified the key corridors with the gravity model. We put forward the ecological corridor system including four important corridors and two general corridors to underpin the scientific knowledge for the ecological corridor construction project and biodiversity conservation. The results showed that the ecological sensitivity of this area was relatively moderate and ecosystem services value was relatively low. Both the ecological sensitivity and ecosystem services were lower in the middle area but higher in around areas. The ecological sources were mainly distributed in the northern Jieshi Mountain Scenic Area, the eastern coastal state-owned forest farm and the western water source conservation area, which were highly coincident with the nature reserves determined by Ecological Environment Construction and Protection Planning (2011-2030) in the study area. The total length of the corridors was 112.66 km, within which the length of important ones was 47.61 km and that of general ones was 65.05 km. The best width of the corridors was around 30 to 60 m. The ecological corridors and ecological sources constituted an annular closed area, which would effectively promote species migration and the exchange of material and energy.生态廊道的作用在于提供生物迁徙的路径、促进不同栖息地之间的物种交流.廊道的构建能够减轻因城市化速度加快导致景观破碎化带来的危害,对生物多样性的保护具有十分重要的意义.本文以昌黎县为研究区,以2015年土地利用现状为基础,采用生态敏感性评价和生态系统服务价值分析的综合结果确定生态源地,然后基于最小累积阻力模型(MCR)和最小成本路径方法生成潜在廊道,根据重力模型对关键廊道进行识别,最终得到研究区包括4条重要廊道和2条一般廊道在内的生态廊道体系,旨在促进昌黎县生态廊道建设工程的科学实施和保护生物多样性.结果表明:研究区生态敏感性总体一般,生态系统服务价值总体较差,两者均呈现出四周高于中间的特点.生态源地主要分布在北部碣石山风景区、东部滨海国有林场和西部水源保护地这3个区域,与研究区生态环境建设与保护规划(2011—2030年)确定的自然保护区高度吻合.研究区生态廊道总长112.66 km,其中,重要廊道47.61 km,一般廊道65.05 km,廊道的最佳宽度范围为30～60 m,生态廊道与生态源地大致构成了一个环形闭合区域,能够有效促进生物物种的迁徙和物质能量的交流.