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In order to improve the visual navigation performance in complex environment, a robust visual navigation method for substation inspection robot is proposed in this paper. Based on the robustness of hexagonal cone model to light changes, this method can solve the squeezing problem of navigation path in complex environment and reduce the interference caused by external light factors. Based on HM preprocessed images, semantic segmentation is carried out with deep convolutional neural network to obtain global features, local features, and multiscale information of images, so as to effectively improve the network recognition accuracy. The results show that the images after HM color space transformation and grayscale reconstruction can compress the color space while preserving the edge details, which is beneficial to the semantic segmentation network for further scene road recognition. Because the original structure of the network is not adjusted and the corresponding preprocessing layer is added, the size of the network model is relatively increased, but the reasoning speed of the original network is significantly improved, which is 16.4% on average.

Sodium thiosulfate (STS) can be used to treat patients diagnosed with calciphylaxis, which is a rare life-threatening syndrome. However, our patients treated with the recommended STS regimen presented with serious adverse events, resulting in treatment withdrawal. Then an optimized STS regimen was used to increase the tolerance of patients to STS and improve treatment continuation. The curative effect of the new regimen is not yet definite. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the response to the use of the optimized STS regimen for the treatment of calciphylaxis in Chinese patients during the first three courses of treatment.Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were retrospectively collected on 31 calciphylaxis patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) or end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) treated with the optimized STS regimen. The primary outcome was a clinical improvement. The secondary outcomes included survival rate and adverse events.Twenty-five patients (over 80%) achieved clinical improvement considering improvement or nonspecific changes of skin lesions (80.65%) and pain relief (100%). Furthermore, 54.84% of patients did not experience any adverse events and none died from complications. During a median follow-up of 9 months (interquartile range 4‒19), 27 patients (87.10%) survived; additionally, 13 patients (41.94%) survived after a one-year follow-up period.The optimized STS regimen is relatively safe, associated with satisfactory outcomes, and well tolerated by patients for short to medium treatment duration. Hence, it is a promising approach for the treatment of patients diagnosed with calciphylaxis.

Background Exostosin-1 (EXT1) is associated with the spread and metastasis of cancer cells. In this study, we investigate the prognostic value and immunological relevance of EXT1 in various cancers.Methods The expression profiles and clinical data of 33 different cancers were collected. The differences of EXT1 expression between tumor and normal tissues were analyzed using a t-test and paired t-test. Univariate Cox regression analysis was performed, and survival curves were plotted to evaluate the prognostic value of EXT1. The molecular mechanisms of EXT1 were determined, and a drug sensitivity analysis was conducted. Finally, the expression and function of EXT1 was verified in endocervical adenocarcinoma (CESC) cells.Results The Cancer Genome Atlas and Genotype-Tissue Expression databases showed that EXT1 expression was higher in CESC, cholangiocarcinoma, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, esophageal carcinoma, kidney renal papillary cell carcinoma, liver hepatocellular carcinoma, lung squamous cell carcinoma, and stomach adenocarcinoma specimens than in normal specimens. Additionally, EXT1 expression correlated with survival time, including overall survival, disease-specific survival, disease-free interval, and progression-free interval, in multiple cancers. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that EXT1 is associated with immunity-, tumorigenesis-, and development-related pathways. Immunocorrelation analysis showed that EXT1 is related to the immune response, tumor microenvironment, and immunotherapeutic response in various cancers. Drug sensitivity analysis revealed that 152 drugs exhibited remarkably different sensitivities between the high- and low-EXT1 expression groups. Cell experiments showed that EXT1 expression was related to the proliferation, migration, and invasion of CESC tumor cells.Conclusion EXT1 is a potential target gene for immune infiltration and has prognostic value in multiple cancers; thus, it may provide new insights into cancer treatment.

The cooperation of Fe and Ce on V2O5–WO3/TiO2 improves the K and Pb resistance by promoting the redox and NOx adsorption ability.

Aim Imbalance of M1/M2 macrophages phenotype activation is a key point in diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Macrophages mainly exhibit M1 phenotype, which contributes to the inflammation and fibrosis in DKD. Studies indicate that autophagy plays an important role in M1/M2 activation. However, the mechanism of autophagy regulating macrophage M1/M2 phenotype in DKD is unknown. Thus, the aim of this study is to explore whether high glucose induced macrophage switch to M1 phenotype via down-regulating STAT-3-mediated autophagy. Methods DKD model rats were established in vivo by intraperitoneal injection of streptozocin (STZ). Rats were sacrificed at 18 weeks for histological and molecular analysis. RAW264.7 cells were cultured in vitro with 30mM glucose in the presence or absence of a STAT-3 activator (Colivelin) and an autophagy activator (Rapamycin). Meanwhile, M1 and M2 macrophage activation models were established as a control group. Immunofluorescence and Western Blot were used to detect the expression of autophagy-related proteins (LC3, Beclin-1), M1 markers (iNOS, TNF-α), and M2 markers (MR, Arg-1). Results In DKD, macrophages exhibited an M1 phenotype and showed less autophagy. Under high glucose conditions, RAW264.7 macrophages switched to the M1 phenotype. Autophagy was downregulated in high glucose induced M1 macrophages. Both the STAT-3 activator and the autophagy activator promoted the transition of glucose-induced M1 macrophages to M2 macrophages. Meanwhile, STAT-3 activation increased the expression of autophagy makers (LC3 and Beclin-1). However, autophagy activator had no effect on STAT-3 phosphorylation. Conclusion High glucose promotes macrophage switching to M1 phenotype via down-regulating STAT-3-mediated autophagy.

Poor sleep quality has been suggested as a risk factor of frailty. However, previous studies that evaluated the association between insomnia and frailty in older population showed inconsistent results. We performed a meta-analysis to comprehensively evaluate the association.Observational studies related to the aim of the meta-analysis were identified by search of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases. A random-effect model incorporating the potential between-study heterogeneity was used to pool the results.Twelve studies including 16,895 old people contributed to the meta-analysis. Pooled results suggested a significant association between insomnia and frailty in the older population (odds ratio [OR]: 1.95, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.52-2.41, p.001; IInsomnia is independently associated with frailty in the older population.

Background It has been well-documented that haplo-identical hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HID-HSCT) can provide outcomes comparable to conventional matched sibling donor (MSD) HSCT, however, little is known about the effects on quality of life (QoL) in long-term survivors. This study is to investigate the differences in longitudinal performance of QoL between HID and MSD HSCT using a comprehensive assessment system. Methods This prospective study enrolled consecutive patients who had received allogenic-HSCT (allo-HSCT) between January 2018 and December 2019 in our center. All patients were informed to complete QoL questionnaires including the Mos 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Bone Marrow Transplant (FACT-BMT, version 4), using an online applet, before transplantation and at scheduled time points after transplantation. The linear mixed-effects model was used to analyze the variation trend of different dimensions of both SF-36 and FACT-BMT with different follow-up times. Results Of the 425 participants, recipients of HID and MSD who survived more than 1 year (n = 230) were included in the final analysis of QoL (median age [range]: 36, [15, 66]). The 3 year overall survival (OS) of HID and MSD was 82.42% and 86.46%, respectively. QoL was assessed using both SF-36 and FACT-BMT and there was longitudinal recovery with clinical significance in the cohort. Compared to MSD-HSCT patients, HID-HSCT recipients demonstrated superior QoL performance in some subscales describing physical and mental wellness. Specifically, the difference in physical performance is more remarkable using FACT-BMT whereas that in mental wellness is more significant using SF36. In the subsequent stratified analysis, patients with a history of aGVHD or CMV reactivation demonstrated inferior QoL. Conclusions Long-term survivors of HID HSCT achieved better QoL in some sub-scales compared to MSD HSCT. In addition, SF-36 and FACT-BMT demonstrated different performance thus combination of both improved capacity of the evaluation system.

Nanozymes are commonly used in the construction of immunosensors, yet they are generally susceptible to pH condition, which greatly hindered their practical use. To break the limitation of pH conditions, polyethyleneimine-coated Prussian blue nanocubes (PBNCs@PEI) were synthesized as the pH-switchable nanozyme, which can show peroxidase-like and catalase-like activity in acidic and alkaline condition, respectively. Besides, the modification of PEI can largely improve the catalytic activity of PBNCs. Herein, the pH-switchable catalytic property of PBNCs@PEI was used to construct the dual-mode immunosensor for the detection of illegal additive, rosiglitazone. In acidic condition, PBNCs@PEI showed excellent peroxidase-like activity, which can trigger the colorimetric reaction of Au nanostars with TMB

Accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) in the brain is a central component of pathology in Alzheimer’s disease. A growing volume of evidence demonstrates close associations between periodontal pathogens including Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) and Treponema denticola (T. denticola) and AD. However, the effect and mechanisms of T. denticola on accumulation of Aβ remain to be unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that T. denticola was able to enter the brain and act directly on nerve cells resulting in intra- and extracellular Aβ1–40 and Aβ1–42 accumulation in the hippocampus of C57BL/6 mice by selectively activating both β-secretase and γ-secretase. Furthermore, both KMI1303, an inhibitor of β-secretase, as well as DAPT, an inhibitor of γ- secretase, were found to be able to inhibit the effect of T. denticola on Aβ accumulation in N2a neuronal cells. Overall, it is concluded that T. denticola increases the expression of Aβ1–42 and Aβ1–40 by its regulation on beta-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme-1 and presenilin 1.

Calciphylaxis, a rare disease mainly seen in patients with chronic kidney disease, is characterised by ischaemic skin damages and excruciating pain. Calciphylaxis has poor prognosis which often results in amputation and high mortality. Although guidelines for the management of calciphylaxis are not available, sodium thiosulfate has showed efficacy in many clinical reports. We report the case of a 64-year-old advanced calciphylaxis male patient who had two amputations due to intolerable pain manifested as deteriorating ulcer. After he was treated with intravenous sodium thiosulfate (STS), his pain was significantly relieved with a healing trend of the big wound. One more amputation for the remission of intractable pain was avoided. The treatment experience indicates that sodium thiosulfate is of great value in quick pain relief and reducing suffering of calciphylaxis patients. Keywords: Calciphylaxis, Calcific uremic arteriolopathy, Painful skin ulcer, Maintenance haemodialysis, Continuous....

BackgroundCalciphylaxis is a grievous life-threatening vascular disease that commonly affects dialysis population. This is the first epidemiological survey of calciphylaxis initiated in China.MethodsIn the cross-sectional survey, a stratified sampling method was used to select 24 dialysis centers in Jiangsu Province. The participants were all adult patients in each center who had been on hemodialysis for more than 6 months. Calciphylaxis patients were uniformly diagnosed based on characteristic skin lesions and histopathological features.ResultsA total of 3,867 hemodialysis patients (average age of 55.33 ± 13.89 years; 61.81% of males) were included. Forty eight cases were diagnosed with calciphylaxis, and prevalence was 1.24%. Among calciphylaxis patients, 33 cases were male, and the average age and median dialysis duration were 53.85 ± 15.17 years and 84.00 (48.00, 138.75) months, respectively. Skin biopsy was performed in 70.83% of calciphylaxis patients, and positive rate was 64.71%. Meanwhile, the positive rate of bone scintigraphy in the diagnosis of calciphylaxis was 62.5%. The prevalence of hyperparathyroidism in case group was as high as 72.92% with longer duration, and 42.86% had undergone parathyroidectomy. Multivariate analysis indicated that increased BMI, prolonged dialysis duration, warfarin therapy, hyperparathyroidism, diabetes, tumors, low serum albumin and high serum alkaline phosphatase levels were high-risk factors for calciphylaxis.ConclusionsThe prevalence of calciphylaxis in Chinese hemodialysis patients was 1.24% according to regional epidemiological survey, but its actual prevalence would be presumably far beyond present data. It's urgent to improve clinical understanding of calciphylaxis, and multifaceted diagnostic methods should be applied for early screening.

Ovarian cancer is the deadliest among all the gynecologic malignancies, and it is also a kind of highly metastatic disease. Transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) is a dominant driver of epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) and promotes the metastasis of tumor cells and therapy resistance. Tumor necrosis factor-α-induced protein 8 (TNFAIP8)-like 2 (TIPE2) is a negative regulator of innate and adaptive immunity. It also involves the occurrence and development of different tumors. However, the roles of TIPE2 in ovarian cancer and whether TIPE2 reverses TGF-β1-induced EMT in ovarian cancer cells remain unclear. The present study demonstrated that TIPE2 protein was significantly down-regulated in ovarian cancer tissues and related to tumor pathological types, patients’age, tumor differentiation degree, and FIGO stage of tumor. TIPE2 inhibited the metastasis and EMT of ovarian cancer cells by combining with Smad2 in vitro and intraperitoneal metastasis model and reversed TGF-β1-induced migration, invasion of ovarian cancer cells by targeting the Smad2-EMT signaling pathway. Moreover, we found that TIPE2 decreased the expression of TGF-β1 and TGF-β1 down-regulated the levels of TIPE2 in ovarian cancer cells. There is a negative relationship between TIPE2 and TGF-β1. In summary, our results suggest TIPE2 plays an important inhibitory role in the metastasis of ovarian cancer by affecting TGF-β1/Smad2/EMT signal pathway and acts as a potential target in the diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer.

Programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) is regarded as an important tumor suppressor that is lowly expressed or deleted in numerous human types of cancer, including ovarian and endometrial cancer. Tripartite motif‑containing 27 (TRIM27) is closely related to the occurrence and development of tumors and is highly expressed in numerous types of cancer such as ovarian and endometrial cancer. PDCD4 can be degraded through ubiquitination, while TRIM27 has the E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. However, whether TRIM27 may regulate the expression of PDCD4 by ubiquitination effect remains unclear. In the present study, the expression of PDCD4 and TRIM27 in different ovarian and endometrial cancer cell lines was detected by reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR (RT‑qPCR), western blotting and immunocytochemistry. The impact of TRIM27 overexpression and knockdown on PDCD4 expression and the effective mechanism of TRIM27 regulating PDCD4 expression were also investigated

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Warfarin is a common anticoagulant drug. How to effectively reduce vascular calcification induced by warfarin while ensuring its anticoagulant effect is an urgent problem to be solved. Previous studies have found that warfarin enhances the expression and activity of transglutaminase 2 (TG2) in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), which mediates communication between cells and extracellular matrix (ECM). Matrix vesicles (MVs) are the center of hydroxyapatite crystal precipitation, which is released to ECM and interacts with ECM protein to initiate mineralization and form calcification core. This study observed the role of the warfarin-TG2-MVs axis in vascular calcification by culturing VSMCs in vitro. METHOD VSMCs were cultured in normal or osteogenic medium (OM) and stimulated with 10 μm warfarin for 3–14 days. The expressions of SM22α, Runx2, ALP, OPN and OPG were detected by RT-PCR and western blot. Alizarin red and von Kossa staining were performed to evaluate calcification, and calcium content was determined. Meanwhile, the expression and activity of TG2 were detected. Differential centrifugation was used to extract MVs and evaluate their release. Type I collagen was coated in the culture dish to determine the calcification of MV-collagen. RESULTS Warfarin stimulation promoted transdifferentiation of VSMCs, and the expression of osteogenic factors Runx2, ALPL and OPN were increased, while the expression of SM22α and calcification inhibitor OPG were decreased. When using OM, the above trend was more obvious. Alizarin red and von Kossa staining were performed when the cells were cultured for 14 days. The results of calcium staining in the warfarin intervention group were all positive. Warfarin promoted the expression and activity of TG2, and it gradually increased with the extension of the intervention time. The same number of cells were cultured for 7 days under different stimuli, and the medium was changed every other day. Then, the supernatant was collected for differential centrifugation. The amount of MVs produced by the warfarin and OM groups was significantly higher than that of other groups, and the ability to mineralize of MVs in type I collagen was increased. CONCLUSION Warfarin increased the expression and activity of TG2, promoted the release of MVs from VSMCs, and further cross-linked ECM to aggravate vascular calcification.

Calciphylaxis, also known as calcific uremic arteriolopathy (CUA), is typically characterized by subcutaneous tissue calcification and excruciatingly painful cutaneous lesions with high mortality. It is critical for dermatologists to make early diagnosis and appropriate management, yet currently only 56% of calciphylaxis cases are correctly diagnosed by conventional histological stain1. Specially, the identification of subtle calcium deposits of subcutaneous can be challenging but is believed crucial for early diagnosis of calciphylaxis2. More sensitive calcification staining is in high demand. In this study, Fluo-3 AM was found to be a rapid, sensitive and reliable fluorescent probe for the detection of calcium deposits and could be a promising diagnostic tool for calciphylaxis.

Calcium uremic aortic disease (calciphylaxis) has long been considered as a rare, life-threatening small vessel disease. The diagnosis of calciphylaxis depends mainly on clinical symptoms and high risk factors, and skin biopsy can be used to confirm the diagnosis. However, noninvasive testing methods are still the focus of exploration currently. There is increasing evidence that bone scintigraphy is helpful in the diagnosis of calciphylaxis, especially for assessing the involvement of muscles and internal organs. Here, we describe a pathology-proven case of calciphylaxis case and the corresponding imaging findings on Tc-99 m MDP bone scan imaging.

BACKGROUND Varicose veins are common clinical entities. Foam sclerotherapy is a minimally invasive and simple procedure; however, the side effects, efficacy, and stability of sclerosing foam are not ideal. OBJECTIVE To summarize the current studies on sclerosing foam stability and promote foam sclerotherapy development. MATERIALS AND METHODS We reviewed the literature before June 2018 and included only representatives studies on sclerosing foam stability. We summarized the foam half-life time (FHT) of polidocanol (POL) under 17 preparation conditions and the FHT of sodium tetradecyl sulfate under 21 preparation conditions. The preparation conditions included various combinations of temperature, liquid-gas ratio, preparation method, etc. RESULTS: The FHT of POL varied between 40 and 4,000 seconds under different conditions. The FHT of sodium tetradecyl sulfate varied from 25.7 to 390 seconds. The higher the drug concentration, the lower the temperature required to increase foam stability. The addition of surfactant greatly increased foam stability. For different gas compositions, the FHT sequence was as follows: CO2 < CO2 + O2 < O2 < air. CONCLUSION Foam stability can be improved by changing the preparation conditions; therefore, the role of surfactants and predictive methods for FHT are worth investigating further.

Study question To describe lipidomic characteristics of offspring born to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS-off) women and assess the associations of clinical phenotypes changes with differential lipids. Summary answer PCOS-off showed specific changes in lipidomics and some differential lipids (e.g., phosphatidylcholines, lysophosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin) may be the potential markers of aberrant cardiometabolic health. What is known already Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most prevalent endocrine disorder characterized by ovulatory dysfunction, hyperandrogenism and polycystic ovarian morphology, affects about 8–13% of women of fertile age. Aberrant metabolic pathophysiological changes and increased pregnancy complications associated with PCOS predispose PCOS patients to have suboptimal intrauterine environments and that may produce a detrimental impact on the cardiometabolic health of their children. Study design, size, duration A total of 141 blood plasma samples from 70 children born to PCOS women (43 girls, 27 boys) and 71 healthy control children (44 girls, 27 boys) were obtained for lipidomics. Participants/materials, setting, methods Blood samples were centrifuged at 2000 rpm, 4 °C for 20 min, and the upper plasma was collected and used for lipid extraction. Then the waters ACQUITY UPLC I-Class system and The Xevo G2-S Q-TOF with an electrospray ionization (ESI) source (Waters, Manchester, UK) was used for chromatographic analysis and mass spectrometry analysis separately. Main results and the role of chance In total, 44 metabolites were found to be significantly altered in PCOS-off, including 8 up-regulated and 36 down-regulated metabolites. After stratified by sex, 44 metabolites were found to express differently in girls born to PCOS women (PCOS-g). 13 metabolites were up-regulated, and 31 metabolites were down-regulated, most of which belong to glycerolipids species. While 46 metabolites were found to express differently in boys born to PCOS women (PCOS-b) with 9 increased metabolites and 35 decreased ones, most of which were glycerophospholipids metabolites. Additionally, significant associations between metabolites changes and weight Z-score as well as high density lipoprotein level were found in PCOS-off. In PCOS-g, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein and high density lipoprotein level were found to be correlated with some metabolites, whereas in PCOS-b, thyroid stimulating hormone and high density lipoprotein were correlated with some lipids. Limitations, reasons for caution Other species of metabolites except lipids are not included in this study. Besides, some potential confounding maternal factors, such as smoking, drinking, breastfeeding etc. were not included due to the lack of data. Wider implications of the findings: The results had broadened our understanding of PCOS-off’s cardiometabolic status and emphasized monitor and special management in this susceptible group of population. Trial registration number Not applicable

Background and Aims Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have a predisposition to develop vascular calcification due to dysregulated homeostatic mechanisms. Macrophages can promote vascular calcification by releasing diverse extracellular vehicles including the newly found migrasomes (M-mig). Our previous research had found that M-mig provide nucleating foci for calcific mineral formation and initiating bone mineralization process. However, the specific mechanism by which M-mig influence the formation of vascular calcification remains incompletely understood. Method To study calcifying M-mig, we exposed M-mig to high Ca/P (Ca/P=3 mmol/L calcium/2 mmol/L phosphate) and/or with LPS for 1, 3, 5,7 days. The expression of M-mig surface integrin α5β1 was determined by fluorescence staining. To block the M-mig-integrin α5β1 mediated calcification, we modulated the expression of integrin α5 using siRNAs to produce M-migintegrin α5- or using 20 nM ATN-161 (small peptide antagonist of integrin α5β1) or integrin α5 antibody under high Ca/P stimulation. The stray mice artery co-cultivate with M-mig integrin α5- under high level Ca/P. Then the calcifying M-mig were assessed by TEM, Fluo-3 staining and calcium content assay. Results We discovered that Ca/P-stimulated macrophages released M-mig capable of mineralization. Amorphous calcium phosphate mineral deposit the surface or internal of M-mig. The M-mig exhibited increased Ca/P mineral content, implying aggregate larger calcifying M-mig that develop over time. Significantly, following a 7 days incubation with high level Ca/P, fiber tube and vesicle structure of M-mig showed rupture or fragmentation and the expression of M-mig surface integrin α5β1 increased. Pre-treatment with integrin α5β1 antagonist or block by integrin α5 antibody significantly reduced the calcifying M-mig formation. Further investigation showed that M-mig induced stray mice artery microcalcification while M-migintegrin α5- exhibited a reduce microcalcification. Conclusion Our finding revealed an association between microcalcification and integrin α5β1 signalling in the fiber tube and vesicle structure of M-mig and provide a new insight into vascular calcification in CKD.

Introduction Calciphylaxis is a rare but potentially fatal disease commonly occurred in dialysis patients. Despite some previous studies on risk factors for calciphylaxis, there is still a lack of data from Chinese population. Methods The retrospective matched case–control study about calciphylaxis was performed in Zhongda Hospital affiliated to Southeast University. The case group involved 20 hemodialysis patients who were newly diagnosed with calciphylaxis from October 2017 to December 2018. The 40 noncalciphylaxis patients undergoing dialysis with the same age and duration of dialysis were randomly selected as controls. Results Most of calciphylaxis patients were male and elderly, while overweight people were more susceptible to the disease. Although incidence of secondary hyperparathyroidism was higher in calciphylaxis patients, the differences in duration of elevated serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) and its highest value did not reach statistical significance compared with controls. No significant difference in warfarin therapy was discernible between two groups. The univariate regression analysis indicated that male, score of use of activated vitamin D and its analogues, corrected serum calcium level, serum phosphate, Ca × P product, iPTH, albumin, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) level were significantly associated with calciphylaxis. Elevated levels of serum phosphate (OR 4.584, p = 0.027) and ALP (OR 1.179, p = 0.036), decreased level of serum albumin (OR 1.330, p = 0.013) were independent risk factors after multivariate analysis. Conclusion This is the first report of risk factors associated with calciphylaxis in China. Increased levels of serum phosphate and ALP, decreased level of serum albumin were vital high-risk factors for calciphylaxis in Chinese hemodialysis population.

Accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) in the brain is a central component of pathology in Alzheimer’s disease. A growing number of evidences demonstrate close associations between periodontal pathogens including Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) and Treponema denticola (T. denticola) and AD. However, the effect and mechanisms of T. denticola on accumulation of Aβ remain to be unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that T. denticola was able to enter brain and act directly on nerve cells resulting in intra and extracellular Aβ1−40 and Aβ1−42 accumulation in the hippocampus of C57BL/6 mice by selectively activating both β-secretase and γ-secretase. Furthermore, both KMI1303, an inhibitor of β- secretase, as well as DAPT, an inhibitor of γ- secretase were found to be able to inhibit the effect of T. denticola on Aβ accumulation in N2a neuronal cells. Overall, it is concluded that T. denticola increases the expression of Aβ1−42 and Aβ1−40 by its regulation on beta-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme-1 and Presenilin 1.

Accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) in the brain is a central component of pathology in Alzheimer's disease. A growing volume of evidence demonstrates close associations between periodontal pathogens including Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) and Treponema denticola (T. denticola) and AD. However, the effect and mechanisms of T. denticola on accumulation of Aβ remain to be unclear. In this study, we demonstrated that T. denticola was able to enter the brain and act directly on nerve cells resulting in intra- and extracellular Aβ

Background and Aims Calciphylaxis (CUA) is a rare but potentially fatal disease that is commonly occurred in dialysis patients. Since there is no data based on Chinese population, the study is aimed to investigate risk factors of CUA in Chinese hemodialysis patients. Method We retrospectively evaluated medical records of 20 hemodialysis patients who were newly diagnosed with CUA by skin biopsy admitted to Zhongda Hospital Southeast University from Oct.2017 to Dec.2018. Non-CUA dialysis patients with the same age and duration of dialysis were randomly selected as controls (Ratio=1:2). Results Most of CUA patients were male (80%) and elderly (55%), while 50% had a body mass index higher than 24. The mean time interval since start of dialysis to CUA diagnosis was 114.65±81.32 months, and the median time from appearance of skin lesion to diagnosis was 6 (2, 15) months. The incidence of hyperparathyroidism was higher in patients with CUA (80% vs 62.5%), but the differences of duration of elevated serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) and its highest value were not significant compared with the controls. Warfarin therapy had no significant difference between two groups (15% vs 5%). Univariate logistic regression analysis indicated that male (OR 3.619, 95%CI 1.027-12.748), each 1 point increase in score of use of vitamin D and its analogues (OR 1.505, 1.029-2.201), each 1 mmol/L increase in corrected serum calcium level (OR 24.486, 1.570-381.873), each 1 mmol/L increase in serum phosphate level (OR 5.382, 1.767-16.389), each 1 pg/mL increase in iPTH level (OR 1.002, 1.000-1.003), each 1 g/L decline in serum albumin level (OR 1.181, 1.041-1.340), each 1 IU/L increase in serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) level (OR 1.005, 1.000-1.009) and each 1 mg/L increase in hypersensitive c-reactive protein level (OR 1.029, 1.000-1.059) were significantly associated with CUA. Serum phosphate, albumin and ALP were still significant risk factors after multivariate analysis. Conclusion This is the first report of risk factors of CUA based on Chinese population. The results show that high levels of serum phosphate and ALP, low level of serum albumin are independent risk factors of CUA in Chinese hemodialysis patients. Unlike previous research from western countries, warfarin therapy didn’t show an increased risk in this study, propably because of the low exposure rate of it in China.

Background and Aims Vascular calcification is an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality in patients with CKD. Macrophages play an important role in vascular calcification, which involve in the osteo-/chondrogenic transdifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Recent research shows SGK1 is a highly attractive candidate for developing VSMCs calcification. Previous studies indicated that TGFβ1 induces vascular calcification by regulating osteo-/chondrogenic transdifferentiation of VSMCs. This study focus on the effects of macrophages-derived SGK1 on VSMCs transdifferentiation via regulating TGFβ1 expression. Method Before induced into M2 phenotype with IL-4, RAW 264.7 cells were treated with SGK1 inhibitor EMD638683 for 24 hours to reduce SGK1 expression. The above cells were grouped as: M0, M2, M2+EMD to explore the expression of SGK1 and TGFβ1 by using western blot, qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence staining, respectively. The culture medium (CM) of the above group macrophages was collected. Then mouse aortic smooth muscle cells (MAoSMCs ) were cultured in these supernatants with normal medium or osteogenic medium (OM) with or without TGFβ1 receptor inhibitor SB-431542 for 3 weeks to explore the transdifferentiation and calcification of MOVAS by using western blot, RT-qPCR, immunofluorescence staining, calcium quantification, Alizarin Red and Von Kossa Staining. Results As Alizarin Red and Von Kossa Staining shown, MAoSMCs contained more calcium deposits in the M2-CM group compared with either in the group of NC nor M0-CM. Consistent with the above results, We also found that M2-CM promoted MAoSMCs transdifferentiation, which was characterized by markedly increase of expression of osteo-/chondrogenic markers (Runx2, ALPL, FGF23) and decrease of the MAoSMCs marker (SM22α). Exploring the mechanism of the above phenomenon we found the expression of SGK1 and TGFβ1 were significantly increased in M2 group compared with M0 group. Interestingly, both SGK1 inhibitor EMD638683 which reduced TGFβ1 expression in M2 and TGFβ1 receptor inhibitor SB-431542 could partially blocked MAoSMCs osteo-/chondrogenic transdifferentiation and calcification. Furthermore, recombinant mouse TGFβ1 Protein increased calcium content in MAoSMCs by using calcium quantification, Alizarin Red and Von Kossa Staining and promoted MAoSMCs osteo-/chondrogenic transdifferentiation, which was characterized by markedly increase of expression of osteo-/chondrogenic markers (Runx2, ALPL, FGF23) and decrease of the MAoSMCs marker (SM22α). Conclusion Our findings shed light M2 macrophages promotes MAoSMCs osteo-/chondrogenic transdifferentiation and calcification by up-regulating TGFβ1 expression.

Whether and how context plays a role in metaphor processing remains a controversial issue. One major theory on metaphor comprehension, the graded salience hypothesis (GSH) model, emphasizes salience as the key factor determining the precedence of semantic access. Using event-related potential technique, the present study examined Chinese metaphors to investigate whether the salient meaning is always processed first regardless of context. The experiment employed a Prime-Target-Probe paradigm. Three-character Chinese verb–object metaphors were used as the Target proceeded by one of the three contexts (the Prime): (1) metaphorical context priming the Target’s metaphorical meaning, (2) literal context priming the Target’s literal meaning, and (3) irrelevant context as the control condition. The Target was then followed by the Probe, which was always related to the Target (except in the filler condition). Forty participants were asked to judge whether the Target and the following Probe were semantically related. The N400 elicited by the Target showed no contextual effect. The N400 amplitude elicited by the Probe was smaller in the metaphorical priming condition compared with the literal priming condition, while the N400 in the irrelevant control condition was between the other two conditions, demonstrating a clear context effect. In addition, an unexpected P240 component also showed the similar graded pattern. Our results mostly support the GSH model, indicating that the salient meaning invariantly gets activated first before the activation of the nonsalient meaning at the lexical access stage. However, context does play a role in a parallel way either facilitating or suppressing this interpretation in the latter meaning integration stage.

Imbalance of M1/M2 macrophages phenotype activation is a key point in diabetic nephropathy (DN). Macrophages mainly exhibit M1 phenotype, which contributes to the inflammation and fibrosis in DN. Studies indicate that autophage plays an important role in M1/M2 activation. However, the effect of mitophage on M1/M2 macrophage phenotype transformation in DN is unknown. This study investigates the role of mitophage on macrophage polarization in DN. In vivo experiments show that macrophages are exhibited to M1 phenotype and display a lower level of mitophagy in the kidney of streptozocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Additionally, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression is positive correlated with the P62 expression, while negative correlated with LC3. Electronic microscope analysis shows mitochondria swelling, crista decrease and lysosome reduction in DN rats compared with NC rats. In vitro, RAW264.7 macrophages switch to M1 phenotype under high glucose conditions. Mitophagy is downregulated in such high glucose induced M1 macrophages. Furthermore, macrophages tend to switch to the M1 phenotype, expressing higher iNOS and TNF-α when impair mitophagy by 3-MA. Rapamycin, an activator of mitophagy, signifcantly blocks high-glucose induced M1 makers (iNOS and TNF-α) expression, meanwhile enhances M2 makers (MR and Arg-1) expression. These results demonstrate that mitophage participates in the regulation of M1/M2 macrophage phenotype in diabetic nephropathy.

Executive function (EF) refers to a set of cognitive abilities involved in self‐regulated behavior. Given the critical role of EF in cognition, strategies for improving EF have attracted intensive attention in recent years. Previous studies have explored the effects of abacus‐based mental calculation (AMC) training on several cognitive abilities. However, it remains unclear whether AMC training affects EF and its neural correlates. In this study, participants were randomly assigned to AMC or control groups upon starting primary school. The AMC group received 2 h AMC training every week, while the control group did not have any abacus experience. Neural activity during an EF task was examined using functional MRI for both groups in their 4(th) and 6(th) grades. Our results showed that the AMC group performed better and faster than the control group in both grades. They also had lower activation in the frontoparietal reigons than the control group in the 6(th) grade. From the 4(th) to the 6(th) grade, the AMC group showed activation decreases in the frontoparietal regions, while the control group exhibited an opposite pattern. Furthermore, voxel‐wise regression analyses revealed that better performance was associated with lower task‐relevant brain activity in the AMC group but associated with greater task‐relevant brain activity in the control group. These results suggest that long‐term AMC training, with calculation ability as its original target, may improve EF and enhance neural efficiency of the frontoparietal regions during development. Hum Brain Mapp 38:5234–5249, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

STUDY QUESTION Do changes in tumor necrosis factor-α-induced protein 8 (TNFAIP8)-like 2 (TIPE2) levels in endometrium of patients with adenomyosis alter the proliferation, migration and invasion ability of endometrial cells? SUMMARY ANSWER TIPE2 expression levels were low in eutopic and ectopic endometrium of adenomyosis patients, and TIPE2 inhibited the migration and invasion of endometrial cells, mainly by targeting β-catenin, to reverse the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Adenomyosis is a benign disease, but it has some pathophysiological characteristics similar to the malignant tumor. TIPE2 is a novel negative immune regulatory molecule, and it also participates in the development of malignant tumors. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION Control endometrium (n = 48 women with non-endometrial diseases) and eutopic/ectopic endometrium from patients with adenomyosis (n = 50), human endometrial cancer cell lines, and primary endometrial cells from the eutopic endometrium of adenomyosis patients were used in the study. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS The expression level of TIPE2 mRNA and protein in the eutopic/ectopic endometrial tissues of adenomyosis patients and control endometrium was determined by quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), western blot and immunohistochemistry. The effects of TIPE2 overexpression and knockdown on the proliferation, migration and invasion of endometrial cell lines and primary adenomyotic endometrial cells were determined using a cell counting kit-8, 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine assay, colony-forming assay, transwell migration assay and matrigel invasion assay. The expression of EMT-related markers and signal molecules was detected by western blot. The interaction between TIPE2 and β-catenin was detected by co-immunoprecipitation and laser confocal microscopy. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE The mRNA and protein expression levels of TIPE2 in the eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissues of adenomyosis patients were significantly downregulated compared with the control endometrium (P ˂ 0.01). TIPE2 could bind to β-catenin and inhibit the nuclear translocation of β-catenin, downregulate the expression of stromal cell markers, upregulate the expression of glandular epithelial cell markers, decrease the occurrence of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and suppress the migration and invasion of endometrial cells (P ˂ 0.01). LARGE SCALE DATA N/A. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION In this study, the experiments were performed only in eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissues, endometrial cancer cell lines and primary adenomyotic endometrial cells. A mouse model of adenomyosis will be constructed to detect the effects of TIPE2 in vivo. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS These results suggest that TIPE2 is involved in the development of adenomyosis, which provides a potential new diagnostic and therapeutic strategy for the treatment of adenomyosis. STUDY FUNDINGS/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This present study was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81471437, 81771554), Natural Science Foundation of Shandong (ZR2018MH013), Science and technology development plan provided by Health and Family Planning Committee in Shandong (2014-25). The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Solar energy powered sorption-based atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) is a novel strategy for obtaining fresh water in water-scarce regions. The major challenge is to design a cost-effective all-in-one solid bulk sorbent that can capture water from air, even when outdoor conditions are cool, dry, and with low-intensity nature sunlight. Here, we report a strategy comprising solution exchange and lyophilization for integrating a lithium chloride hygroscopic agent, a nanofibrillated cellulose hydrophilic skeleton and a graphene solar absorber, to exploit a solar-powered nanostructured biopolymer hygroscopic aerogel (NBHA) for AWH. The intrinsic porous bilayer structure with interconnected micron- and nano-scale channels of NBHA enables it readily absorb moisture (even at a low relative humidity of ~18%), has a high-water storage capacity, and requires little energy from natural sunlight for solar-driven light-to-vapor conversion. Liquid water was successfully harvested outdoors in natural sunlight of 0.10–0.56 kW m−2 using a facile device based on the NBHA. This work provides a convenient, effective, and practical solution for AWH, even in severe environmental conditions.

Programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4) has been identified as a tumor‑suppressor gene that inhibits neoplastic transformation, tumor progression, and protein translation. It has been reported that multiple factors participate in the regulation of PDCD4 mRNA and protein. The endometrium is regulated by changing concentrations of ovarian hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone, and shows periodical changes. However, whether ovarian hormones regulate PDCD4 expression remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the effect and mechanism of estrogen or progesterone on PDCD4 mRNA and protein expression in human endometrial cancer cells. The expression of PDCD4 mRNA and protein in Ishikawa and HEC‑1‑A cells was detected by quantitative real‑time PCR and western blot analysis. The signaling pathway‑related proteins were detected by western blot analysis. The results showed that PDCD4 mRNA levels exhibited no significant changes after treatment with estrogen or progesterone in both Ishikawa and HEC‑1‑A cell lines. Estrogen also had no obvious effect on PDCD4 protein expression. However, progesterone effectively decreased the expression of PDCD4 protein and the PI3K/AKT pathway may be involved in the downregulation of PDCD4 protein induced by progesterone. These results suggest that the downregulation of PDCD4 induced by progesterone affects the therapeutic efficacy of progesterone in human endometrial cancer or endometriosis, which may have important implications for progesterone treatment in the clinic.

This study examined whether there are neural markers of individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity and whether these differences are only manifest when performing a demanding WM task or at all levels of difficulty. Each subject’s WM capacity was estimated using a modified digit span task prior to participation in an N-back task that varied difficulty from 1- to 4-back. While performing the N-back task, subjects wore scalp electrodes that allowed measurement of both event-related potentials (ERP) and event-related synchronization and desynchronization (ERS/ERD). Those subjects classified as low WM were more affected by the higher cognitive demands (many more errors in the 4-back task and generally slower responses) than those classified as high WM. These behavioral differences between the two groups were also apparent in the neural markers. Specifically, low WM subjects, when compared with high WM subjects, produced smaller P300 amplitudes and theta ERS, as well as greater alpha ERD at the most difficult level. Importantly, the observed differences in electrophysiological responses between the two groups were also observed at the lowest difficulty level, not just when the task challenged WM capacity. In addition, P300 amplitudes and alpha ERD responses were found to correlate with individual WM capacities independent of the task difficulty. These results suggest that there are qualitative neural differences among individuals with different WM capacities when approaching cognitive operations. Individuals with high WM capacities may make more efficient use of neural resources to keep their attention focused on the task-relevant information when performing cognitive tasks.

Objective This article compares the effect of different surfactants on foam stability and determines the foam decay relationship, so that the suitability of surfactants in a clinical setting can be evaluated. Methods Five different surfactants were used to prepare sclerosing foam at room temperature using a liquid:gas ratio of 1:4 in vitro. Foam decay experiments were performed for each sample using a laboratory-made foaming apparatus, and the process was recorded using a video camera. The stability indices used included the drainage time, drainage rate, half-life, foam half-life volume, surfactant stability index, and foaming index. Results The sodium morrhuate foam was relatively more stable than the polidocanol foam, but exhibited weak foaming. After the addition of the surfactants, the foam half-life was less than 300 seconds. The effect of the surfactants on the stability of the sodium morrhuate foam was more pronounced. The surfactant stability indices could be arranged as follows: poloxamer 188 > Tween 80 > macrogol 4000 > propanediol > lecithin. However, the differences in the foaming indices were small. Conclusions Of the five surfactants tested, poloxamer 188 has best performance to enhance sclerosing foam stability. The addition of the surfactants improved the stability of the sclerosing foams. It was observed that the relationships between the foam half-life and the surfactant stability index and the surfactant concentration follow the power law.

Although the mysteries of its history and origin remain unsolved, worldwide cultivation and high-demand production for citrus fruit (genus Citrus in family Rutaceae) make it stand high among fruit crops. Growth of the citrus industry, including rapid development of the processing technology of frozen concentrated orange juice after World War II, has greatly expanded with international trade and steadily increased consumption of citrus fruits and their products during the past several decades. Characterized by the distinct aroma and delicious taste, citrus fruits have been recognized as an important food and integrated as part of our daily diet, playing key roles in supplying energy and nutrients and in health promotion. With low protein and very little fat content, citrus fruits supply mainly carbohydrates, such as sucrose, glucose, and fructose. Fresh citrus fruits are also a good source of dietary fiber, which is associated with gastrointestinal disease prevention and lowered circulating cholesterol. In addition to vitamin C, which is the most abundant nutrient, the fruits are a source of B vitamins (thiamin, pyridoxine, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, and folate), and contribute phytochemicals such as carotenoids, flavonoids, and limonoids. These biological constituents are of vital importance in human health improvement due to their antioxidant properties, ability to be converted to vitamin A (for example, β-cryptoxanthin), and purported protection from various chronic diseases.

Previous studies indicate that lying consumes cognitive resources, especially working memory (WM) resources. Considering the dual functions that WM might play in lying: holding the truth-related information and turning the truth into lies, the present study examined the relationship between the information storage and processing in the lie construction. To achieve that goal, a deception task based on the old/new recognition paradigm was designed, which could manipulate two levels of WM load (low-load task using 4 items and high-load task using 6 items) during the deception process. The analyses based on the amplitude of the contralateral delay activity (CDA), a proved index of the number of representations being held in WM, showed that the CDA amplitude was lower in the deception process than that in the truth telling process under the high-load condition. In contrast, under the low-load condition, no CDA difference was found between the deception and truth telling processes. Therefore, we deduced that the lie construction and information storage compete for WM resources; when the available WM resources cannot meet this cognitive demand, the WM resources occupied by the information storage would be consumed by the lie construction.

The laying hen has a natural ability to deposit carotenoids into its egg yolks, especially the xanthophyll carotenoid lutein that is used commercially as an egg colorant. Can this ability to deposit carotenoids be used to enrich egg yolk provitamin A value? After a 10-d carotenoid depletion period in hens (n = 24), the effects of a 20-d intervention with high-β-cryptoxanthin, high-β-carotene, or typical yellow maize on color and carotenoid profile were compared with the effects of a white maize diet (n = 6/treatment). Eggs were collected every other day and yolks were analyzed by using a portable colorimeter to define the color space and by using an HPLC to determine the carotenoid profile. The high-β-cryptoxanthin and yellow maize increased β-cryptoxanthin in the yolk (0.55 ± 0.08 to 4.20 ± 0.56 nmol/g and 0.55 ± 0.08 to 1.06 ± 0.12 nmol/g, respectively; P < 0.001). Provitamin A equivalents increased in eggs from hens fed high-β-cryptoxanthin maize (P < 0.001) but not the high-β-carotene maize. The color (L*, a*, and b*) assessment of the yolks showed an increase in the high-β-cryptoxanthin treatment for the red-green a* scale (P < 0.001) and a decrease for the light-dark L* scale (P < 0.001). No appreciable change was noted in the yellow-blue b* scale for the high-β-cryptoxanthin treatment; but significant changes were noted for the yellow (P = 0.002) and high-β-carotene maize (P = 0.005) treatments, which were most evident at the end of the washout period with white maize. β-Cryptoxanthin-biofortified maize is a potential vehicle to elevate provitamin A equivalents and to enhance the color of yolks. This could lead to a human health benefit if widely adopted.

In this paper, a servo system was built, based on the two-stage digital electro-hydraulic servo valve developed by us. Then mathematical model of this system was built. And we take computer simulation study on this system base on the self-adaptive fuzzy control algorithm. We take the computer simulation study base on Simulink of Matlab. It was proved that this system has good dynamic properties and is suitable to the application of project.