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Obtaining accurate cultivated land distribution data is crucial for sustainable agricultural development. The current cultivated land extraction studies mainly analyze crops on a regular shape and a small block scale. Aiming at the problem of fragmentation of plots in complexly shaped cultivated land leads to variable scales and blurred edges and the difficulty of extracting the context information by kernel convolution operation of the CNN-based model. We propose a complexly shaped farmland extraction network considering multi-scale features and edge priors (MFEPNet). Specifically, we design a context cross-attention fusion module to couple the local-global features extracted by the two-terminal path CNN-transformer network, which obtains more accurate cultivated land plot representations. This paper constructs the relation maps through a multi-scale feature reconstruction module to realize multi-scale information compensates by combining the gated weight parameter based on information entropy. Additionally, we design a texture-enhanced edge module, which uses the attention mechanism to fuse the edge information of texture feature extraction and the reconstructed feature map to enhance the edge features. In general, the network effectively reduces the influence of variable scale, blurred edges, and limited global field of view. The novel model proposed in this paper is compared with classical deep learning models such as UNet, DeeplabV3 +, DANet, PSPNet, RefineNet, SegNet, ACFNet, and OCRNet on the regular and irregular farmland datasets divided by IFLYTEK and Netherlands datasets. The experimental results show that MFEPNet achieves 92.40 % and 91.65 % MIoU on regular and irregular farmland datasets, which is better than the benchmark experimental model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well accepted that biodiversity and ecosystem functions are strongly shaped by environmental conditions; however, relatively little is known about how they depend on the mineralogical assemblage of local environments, especially in mines. This study aims to reveal the diversity characteristics of the fungal community in the surface of granite lithium ores and their weathering products sampled from the Yifeng lithium mines in Jiangxi Province, eastern China. According to the analysis of internal transcribed spacer1 (ITS1) high-throughput sequencing, significant differences in fungal community diversity on the surface of lithium ores and their weathering products have been revealed. The operational taxonomic unit (OTU) of the ore surface and its weathering products ranged from 280 to 624, which may depend on the mineral composition as well as the degree of weathering. The community composition of each sample was significantly different at the phylum level, especially between the weathering products in Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Although Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the dominant fungal communities in all samples, each sample has its own distinctive fungi. The trophic modes of the fungi were more complex than that of the bacteria. 10 different fungal trophic modes and 25 dominant functional fungal groups were disclosed, and the saprophytic community was found to be the dominant group. These fungi could accelerate the decomposition of environmental organic matter in the environment by producing hydrolases and oxidases. Chytridiomycota with the function of producing and regulating secondary metabolites were the representative fungi in all samples. Our findings would provide theoretical basis and research clues for understanding the relationship between weathering of granite lithium and fungal communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is a malignant tumor originating from epidermal or appendageal keratinocytes, with a rising incidence in recent years. Understanding the molecular mechanism driving its development is crucial. This study aims to investigate whether miR-34a-5p is involved in the pathogenesis of cSCC by targeting Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6).The expression levels of miR-34a-5p and SIRT6 were determined in 15 cSCC tissue specimens, 15 normal tissue specimens and cultured cells via real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Pearson’s correlation analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship between miR-34a-5p and SIRT6 expression levels in cSCC tissues. A431 and SCL-1 cells were transfected with miR-34a-5p mimic, negative control or miR-34a-5p mimic together with recombinant plasmids containing SIRT6 gene. Cell counting kit-8, clone formation assay, wound healing assay, and flow cytometry were employed to assess the effects of these transfections on proliferation, migration, and apoptosis, respectively. The interaction between miR-34a-5p and SIRT6 was characterized using a dual-luciferase reporter assay.MiR-34a-5p expression was down-regulated in cSCC tissues significantly, while the SIRT6 expression was the opposite. A negative correlation was observed between the expression of miR-34a-5p and SIRT6 in cSCC tissues. Furthermore, overexpression of miR-34a-5p led to a significant reduction in the proliferation and migration abilities of A431 and SCL-1 cells, accompanied by an increase in apoptosis levels and a decrease in SIRT6 expression levels. MiR-34a-5p was identified as a direct target of SIRT6. Importantly, overexpression of SIRT6 effectively counteracted the inhibitory effect mediated by miR-34a-5p in cSCC cells.Our findings suggest that miR-34a-5p functions as a tumor suppressor in cSCC cells by targeting SIRT6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) can accelerate wound healing, reduce scar formation, and inhibit hypertrophic scar (HTS). ADSCs can secrete a large amount of CCL5, and CCL5 has been proved to be pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic. CXCL12 (SDF-1) is a key chemokine that promotes stem cell migration and survival. Therefore, this study selected normal skin and HTS conditioned medium to simulate different microenvironments, and analyzed the effects of different microenvironments on the expression of CCL5 and CXCL12 in human ADSCs (hADSCs). Materials and methods: hADSCs with silenced expression of CCL5 and CXCL12 were co-cultured with hypertrophic scar fibroblasts to verify the effects of CCL5 and CXCL12 in hADSCs on the proliferation ability of hypertrophic scar fibroblasts. A mouse model of hypertrophic scar was established to further confirm the effect of CCL5 and CXCL12 in hADSCs on hypertrophic scar formation. Results: CCL5 level was found to be significantly high in hADSCs cultured in HTS conditioned medium. CXCL12 in HTS group was prominently lowly expressed compared with the normal group. Inhibition of CCL5 in hADSCs enhanced the effects of untreated hADSCs on proliferation of HTS fibroblasts while CXCL12 knockdown exerted the opposite function. Inhibition of CCL5 in hADSCs increased the percentage of HTS fibroblasts in the G0/G1 phase while down-regulation of CXCL12 decreased those. Meanwhile, the down-regulated levels of fibroblast markers including collagen I, collagen III, and α-SMA induced by CCL5 knockdown were significantly up-regulated by CXCL12 inhibition. hADSCs alleviate the HTS of mice through CCL5 and CXCL12. Conclusion: In summary, our results demonstrated that hADSCs efficiently cured HTS by suppressing proliferation of HTS fibroblasts, which may be related to the inhibition of CXCL12 and elevation of CCL5 in hADSCs, suggesting that hADSCs may provide an alternative therapeutic approach for the treatment of HTS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environmental behavior of microplastics (MPs) has attracted global attention. Research has confirmed that MPs can strongly absorb almost every kind of pollutant and can serve as vectors for pollutant transport. In this research, the sorption isotherms of six organic pollutants with different structure on four virgin plastic particles with different crystallinity were determined. Results indicated that the hydrophobicity (KOW) of organic pollutants and the crystallinity of MPs were the two key factors that affected the sorption process of organic pollutants on MPs. Strong correlations were observed between KOW and the partition coefficient. Hydrophobic partition was one of the major mechanisms regardless of the type of organic chemical (hydrophobic, polar, or dissociable). What is more, the influence of the crystallinity of MPs on the sorption process increased with increasing hydrophobicity of the chemical. Combining this result with analyzing the related literature on the effect of crystallinity, it was concluded that the effect of crystallinity on the sorption of chemicals with strong hydrophobicity was obvious, whereas this effect was negligible for chemicals with weak hydrophobicity. The influence of the crystallinity of MPs on sorption could even exceed the influence of MPs type, so crystallinity should be considered carefully when discussing the sorption capacity of MPs. This study enhances the understanding of the sorption of organic pollutants by MPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The industrial applications of commercial pure titanium (CP-Ti) are significantly limited due to the strength-ductility trade-off in metallic materials. The strategy of heterostructured materials has been proposed to design microstructures for desired strength and ductility. To improve the mechanical properties of CP-Ti, a heterostructured rod, consisting of ultrafine fibrous grains and recrystallized grains, was produced by rotary swaging and subsequent annealing. The heterostructured Ti exhibits a high tensile strength of 636 MPa, simultaneously sustaining a high ductility of 11.9%, its tensile toughness is three times that of the swaged sample. The superior mechanical properties are attributed to the significant hetero-deformation induced (HDI) hardening in heterostructured Ti. It is found that the HDI hardening is induced by the interactions between geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs) and hetero-interfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caffeine is one of the most popular consumed psychostimulants that mitigates several neurodegenerative diseases. Nevertheless, the roles and molecular mechanisms of caffeine in HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) remain largely unclear. Transactivator of transcription (Tat) is a major contributor to the neuropathogenesis of HAND in the central nervous system. In the present study, we determined that caffeine (100 µM) treatment significantly ameliorated Tat-induced decreased astrocytic viability, oxidative stress, inflammatory response and excessive glutamate and ATP release, thereby protecting neurons from apoptosis. Subsequently, SIRT3 was demonstrated to display neuroprotective effects against Tat during caffeine treatment. In addition, Tat downregulated SIRT3 expression via activation of EGR1 signaling, which was reversed by caffeine treatment in astrocytes. Overexpression of EGR1 entirely abolished the neuroprotective effects of caffeine against Tat. Furthermore, counteracting Tat or caffeine-induced differential expression of SIRT3 abrogated the neuroprotection of caffeine against Tat-triggered astrocytic dysfunction and neuronal apoptosis. Taken together, our study establishes that caffeine ameliorates astrocytes-mediated Tat neurotoxicity by targeting EGR1/SIRT3 signaling pathway. Our findings highlight the beneficial effects of caffeine on Tat-induced astrocytic dysfunction and neuronal death and propose that caffeine might be a novel therapeutic drug for relief of HAND. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a mucopolysaccharide alternately linked by glucuronic acid and n-Acetylglucosamine as disaccharide units. This study prepared HA derivative (DA-HA) by modifying sodium hyaluronate with dopamine (DA). DA-HA had unique surface activity. By optimizing the reaction conditions systematically, DA-HA could prepare the emulsion with uniform droplets successfully. When n (COOH) /n (EDC) /n (NHS) was 1/2/4, n (HA) /n (DA) was 1/5, the reaction pH was 5.5, and the molecular weight of HA was 1350 KDa, the emulsion particles were relatively uniform. The chemical structure of DA-HA was characterized, and the results showed that DA was grafted on the HA chain through the amide bond. In addition, the effect of formula composition on the emulsifying performance of DA-HA was studied. The particle size of emulsion decreased as the concentration of DA-HA increased. When the oil-water ratio was 4/6 or 5/5, the emulsion droplets were small and uniform. When the aqueous phase was in an acidic or weakly alkaline condition, the particle size of the emulsion was smaller. The introduction of high salinity will destroy the stability of the emulsion. Meanwhile, DA-HA also had good moisturizing property and biosafety, which greatly expanded the application of HA in cosmetics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the screening and predicting functions of obesity- and lipid-related indices for type 2 diabetes (T2D) in middle-aged and elderly Chinese, as well as the ideal predicted cut-off value. This study's data comes from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). A cross-sectional study design was used to investigate the relationship of T2D and 13 obesity- and lipid-related indices, including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist–height ratio (WHtR), visceral adiposity index (VAI), a body shape index (ABSI), body roundness index (BRI), lipid accumulation product (LAP), conicity index (CI), Chinese visceral adiposity index (CVAI), triglyceride- glucose index (TyG index) and its correlation index (TyG-BMI, TyG-WC, TyG-WHtR). The unadjusted and adjusted correlations between 13 indices and T2D were assessed using binary logistic regression analysis. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to determine the usefulness of anthropometric indices for screening for T2D and determining their cut‑off value, sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC). The study comprised 9488 people aged 45 years or above in total, of whom 4354 (45.89%) were males and 5134 (54.11%) were females. Among them were 716 male cases of T2D (16.44%) and 870 female cases of T2D (16.95%). A total of 13 obesity- and lipid-related indices were independently associated with T2D risk after adjusted for confounding factors (P < 0.05). According to ROC analysis, the TyG index was the best predictor of T2D among males (AUC = 0.780, 95% CI 0.761, 0.799) and females (AUC = 0.782, 95% CI 0.764, 0.799). The AUC values of the 13 indicators were higher than 0.5, indicating that they have predictive values for T2D in middle-aged and elderly Chinese. The 13 obesity- and lipid-related indices can predict the risk of T2D in middle‑aged and elderly Chinese. Among 13 indicators, the TyG index is the best predictor of T2D in both males and females. TyG-WC, TyG-BMI, TyG-WHtR, LAP, and CVAI all outperformed BMI, WC, and WHtR in predicting T2D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reasonable design of cathode-electrolyte interface (CEI) with high electrochemical stability and high ionic conductivity is crucial for improving the electrochemical performance of cathode materials. Herein, lithium difluoro(oxalate)borate (LiDFOB) is used as an efficient electrolyte additive to form a robust, dense, and conductive CEI on LiFePO4 cathode, which significantly enhances the rate capability and cycling stability. Specifically, the introduction of LiDFOB promotes the formation of a fluoride (F)- and boron (B)-rich CEI, effectively enhancing ion transport kinetics. Simultaneously, the generated CEI exhibits excellent stability, efficiently suppressing the continuous decomposition of the electrolyte and structural damage of LiFePO4 cathode over prolonged cycling. Consequently, the LiFePO4 cathode with LiDFOB additive exhibits a highly reversible capacity of 133.4 mAh g−1 at 0.5 C and an excellent capacity retention of 94.4% over 400 cycles, which is superior to LiFePO4 without additive (only 66.1% capacity retention). This work confirms the promising potential of LiDFOB as a multifunctional electrolyte additive and provides new insights for constructing high-performance CEI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaborative Representation (CR) models have been successfully employed for Hyperspectral Images (HSIs) classification because of the effectiveness and simplicity. However, when dealing with high-dimensional and noisy HSIs data, CR models which try to seek an approximation of each testing sample by a linear combination of training/dictionary data with different regularizators in Euclidean space could be ineffective. Although there are some variants of CR adopt various distance measurements like Mahalanobis distance or subdictionary data to address these issues, the performance of these models could be compromised due to the inaccurate distance calculation between the testing and dictionary/subdictionary data. In order to further improve the performance of CR models, we propose three novel CR models for HSIs classification. Firstly, Metric-learning based CR (MCR) adopts metric learning method to adaptively learn the correlation between the spectral bands from HSIs data which leads to more accurate distance measurement in CR. Then, Local-enhancement based CR (LCR) tries to enhance the contribution of the neighbor training samples and impose penalty over the non-neighbor training samples of each testing sample in the regularization term of CR models, leading to effective local structures representation. Finally, Metric-learning and Local-enhancement based CR (MLCR) is proposed to combine MCR with LCR, which could provide better classification accuracy. To further consider the spatial information in CR, the Metric-learning and Local-enhancement based Spatial-aware CR (MLSaCR) is also developed. The experimental results on three HSIs datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed models where the novel models outperform the classical and state-of-the-art CR models for HSIs classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a promising candidate for the next generation energy storage system, rechargeable lithium-oxygen batteries (LOBs) still face substantial challenges caused by insulating discharge products that preclude their practical application. Exploring highly efficient cathode catalysts capable of facilitating formation/decomposition of discharge products is considered as an essential approach towards high performance LOBs. Herein, Pd decorated Te nanowires (Pd@Te NWs) were synthesized as advanced catalyst in LOBs to maximize Pd utilization and achieve synergistic effect, in which Pd clusters were uniformly grown on Te substrate though regulating the Pd:Te ratio. Meanwhile, Pd@Te nanowires assembled into an interpenetrating network-like structure by vacuum filtration and employed as flexible cathode, enabling LOBs achieved an ultralong 190 cycles stability and a superior specific capacity of 3.35 mAh·cm−2. Experimental studies and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal the excellent catalytic ability of Pd@Te and synergistic catalytic mechanism of Pd and Te, in which uniform electron distribution, extensive electron exchange, and large adsorption distance between Pd cluster and discharge products promote homogeneous adsorption/desorption of discharge products, while the high adsorption energy of Te substrate for Li species reduces the initial dynamical energy barrier during discharging process. The current work provides viable strategy to design composite catalysts for flexible cathode of LOBs with synergistic catalytic effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have related single essential metal elements (EMEs) to sleep quality among older adults, however, the association of the EME mixture with sleep quality remained poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between single EMEs and the EME mixture and sleep quality in older adults living in Chinese communities. This study consisted of 3957 older adults aged 60 years or over. Urinary concentrations of cobalt (Co), vanadium (V), selenium (Se), molybdenum (Mo), strontium (Sr), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) were detected using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Sleep quality was evaluated using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The associations of single EMEs and EME mixture with sleep quality were assessed using logistic regression and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) models, respectively. Adjusted single-element logistic regression models showed that Mo (OR = 0.927, 95%CI:0.867–0.990), Sr (OR = 0.927, 95%CI:0.864–0.994), and Mg (OR = 0.934, 95%CI:0.873–0.997) were negatively related to poor sleep quality. BKMR models exhibited similar results. Also, higher levels of the EME mixture in urine were inversely related to the odds of poor sleep quality after adjustment for covariates, and Mo had the largest conditional posterior inclusion probability (condPIP) value in the mixture. Mo, Sr, and Mg were negatively related to poor sleep quality, separately and as the mixture. The EME mixture in urine was associated with decreased odds of poor sleep quality in older adults, and Mo was the greatest contributor within the mixture. Additional cohort research is warranted to clarify the relationship of multiple EMEs with sleep quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most experiments into colloidal transport and retention in lab-scale columns are performed in the up-flow mode of liquid movement in order to minimize air entrapment, but ignore the effects both of gravity and of the complex actual hydro-geological regime. In contrast, this study evaluated the roles of gravitational force and liquid flow direction on the transport of two types of colloid (2-μm-diameter microplastic and silica microspheres) through sand columns arranged in various orientations. Analysis of breakthrough curves, transport modeling, calculations of the contact efficiency, DLVO interaction energy, and particle settling velocities were combined to quantify the effect of gravity on each flow regime. Both types of microsphere were observed to experience frequent collisions with sand surfaces, and attachment to matrix particles with energies corresponding to the secondary minimum of DLVO energy contributed to their retention. Due to the larger collector efficiency elicited by greater material density and gravity, a higher retention of SiO2 than PS microspheres was observed under the same flow conditions, and the average attachment coefficient of the former was 4.77 times higher than the latter. Greater deposition was observed under upward mode operation versus that under downward mode. The average attachment coefficient under upward mode was approximately 2.0 times that found under downward mode, for both types of microsphere. The calculation of settling velocity and effective particle velocity verified that the deposition of two microspheres was affected by gravity, and it had a greater influence on the transport of SiO2 than on the PS microspheres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alkaline soils pose an increasing problem for agriculture worldwide, but using stress-tolerant plants as green manure can improve marginal land. Here, we show that the legume Sesbania cannabina is very tolerant to alkaline conditions and, when used as a green manure, substantially improves alkaline soil. To understand genome evolution and the mechanisms of stress tolerance in this allotetraploid legume, we generated the first telomere-to-telomere genome assembly of S. cannabina spanning ∼2,087 Mb. The assembly included all centromeric regions, which contain centromeric satellite repeats, and complete chromosome ends with telomeric characteristics. Further genome analysis distinguished A and B subgenomes, which diverged approximately 7.9 million years ago. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that the chromosome homoeologs underwent large-scale inversion events (>10 Mb) and a significant, transposon-driven size expansion of the chromosome 5A homoeolog. We further identified four specific alkali-induced phosphate transporter genes in S. cannabina; these may function in alkali tolerance by relieving the deficiency in available phosphorus in alkaline soil. Our work highlights the significance of S. cannabina as a green tool to improve marginal lands and sheds light on subgenome evolution and adaptation to alkaline soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: TNF-α processing inhibitor-1 (TAPI-1) is a known metalloproteinase inhibitor with potential anti-inflammatory effects. However, its anti-cancer effects on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) have not been uncovered. Aim: In the present study, the effects of TAPI-1 on ESCC cell viability, migration, invasion, and cisplatin resistance and the underlying molecular mechanisms were investigated in TE-1 and Eca109 cells. Methods: To this end, TE-1 and Eca109 cells were exposed to TAPI-1 for indicated time intervals. Cell viability was assessed using cell counting kit-8 assay and apoptosis was evaluated using flow cytometry assay. Migration and invasion were assessed using Transwell assays. Gene expressions were analyzed using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The activation of NF-κB signaling pathway was elucidated via Western blot and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. Results: We observed that higher doses (10, 20 μM) of TAPI-1 inhibited ESCC cell viability, while a lower dose (5 μM) of TAPI-1 inhibited ESCC cell migration and invasion and enhanced the chemosensitivity of ESCC cells to cisplatin. Moreover, TAPI-1 suppressed the activation of NF-κB signaling and the target genes expression in the stage of transcription initiation. Furthermore, blocking NF-κB signaling in advance could abolish all the effects of TAPI-1 on ESCC cells. Conclusion: Overall, these results indicated that TAPI-1 impairs ESCC cell viability, migration, and invasion and facilitates cisplatin-induced apoptosis via suppression of NF-κB signaling pathway. TAPI-1 may serve as a potential adjuvant agent with cisplatin for ESCC therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxocarbons (CnOn, n=3, 4, 5, 6, ...) are a series of compounds that are only composed of carbonyl groups. The highly electrophilic carbon atoms in CnOn make their poor stability toward H2O, and thus the synthesis of CnOn is very challenging. Here an oxidation-dehydration method is developed to successfully synthesize C4O4 and C5O5. The combination of nuclear magnetic resonance (13C NMR, 1H NMR), mass spectra, and infrared spectra unambiguously proves the exact chemical structure of C4O4 and C5O5. When used as a cathode material in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), C5O5 could deliver a high discharge capacity of 698 mAh g-1 (corresponding to an energy density of 1,256 Wh kg-1C5O5). Furthermore, ex-situ infrared spectra and density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that the carbonyl groups are redox active sites during discharge and charge processes. This work paves the way to achieve the synthesis and battery application of oxocarbons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Federated learning carries out cooperative training without local data sharing; the obtained global model performs generally better than independent local models. Benefiting from the free data sharing, federated learning preserves the privacy of local users. However, the performance of the global model might be degraded if diverse clients hold non-IID training data. This is because the different distributions of local data lead to weight divergence of local models. In this paper, we introduce a novel teacher–student framework to alleviate the negative impact of non-IID data. On the one hand, we maintain the advantage of the federated learning on the privacy-preserving, and on the other hand, we take the advantage of the centralized learning on the accuracy. We use unlabeled data and global models as teachers to generate a pseudo-labeled dataset, which can significantly improve the performance of the global model. At the same time, the global model as a teacher provides more accurate pseudo-labels. In addition, we perform a model rollback to mitigate the impact of latent noise labels and data imbalance in the pseudo-labeled dataset. Extensive experiments have verified that our teacher ensemble performs a more robust training. The empirical study verifies that the reliance on the centralized pseudo-labeled data enables the global model almost immune to non-IID data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an azo dye pigment, Lithol Rubin BCA is frequently utilized in the cosmetics industry. It cannot, however, be dispersed and remains stable in aqueous media because of its high surface energy. This essay will investigate how a dispersant affects the stability of Lithol Rubin BCA's dispersion in water and find a practical solution. In this study, the influence of solvent on the dispersibility of Lithol Rubin BCA and changes in the molecular structure of Lithol Rubin BCA at various pH levels were examined. The optimal dispersion pH and solvent were then chosen. Lastly, with the addition of various surfactants or cationic polymers, the variations in the dispersion stability of the Lithol Rubin BCA dispersion were extensively studied. The experimental findings demonstrated that the red-shift and conjugation range of Lithol Rubin BCA's molecular structure increased in an acidic solution. The Lithol Rubin BCA powder particles were substantially smaller after being exposed to ethanol, and the dispersant's absorbance increased. By spatial resistance, the addition of a nonionic surfactant may be able to reduce the rate of particle aggregation. Electrostatic repulsion was used to prevent particle collisions by adding an anionic surfactant. In addition to not enhancing Lithol Rubin BCA's dispersion, cationic surfactant significantly accelerated settling. Yet, by possible spatial resistance and electrostatic repulsion, cationic polymerization could effectively improve the dispersion stability of Lithol Rubin BCA in aqueous medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of adding Brevibacillus laterosporus (B. laterosporus) PBC01 to aquarium water on water quality, including Aeromonas spp. counts, growth performance, digestive enzyme activities, and antioxidant activity of the crucian carp Carassius auratus. One hundred and twenty healthy crucian carp (13.56 ± 0.2 g) were reared for 56 days in four different treatments with three replications, as the control group (clean water) and three test groups with PBC01 at levels 5 × 103 CFU/ml, 5 × 104 CFU/ml, and 5 × 105 CFU/ml added to the rearing water. As a result, B. laterosporus in rearing water can lower the concentrations of nitrogen and the number of Aeromonas spp. to varying degrees. As the B. laterosporus concentration increased, the effect became more significant. Crucian carp reared in water supplemented with B. laterosporus showed marked growth performance in comparison with the control group. In addition, rearing water supplemented with B. laterosporus improved antioxidant status in the serum and liver of crucian carp, and increased the intestinal digestive enzyme activity. In conclusion, certain amounts of B. laterosporus PBC01 used as a probiotic supplement in the aquarium water can promote crucian carp growth and improve the health status of these fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was focused on evaluating the effects of Bacillus methylotrophicus SY200 in broiler production. A total of 120 healthy 7-day-old broiler chicks were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments, which included basal diet supplemented with 0%, 0.10%, 0.25%, or 0.50% (w/w) B. methylotrophicus SY200 preparation (1.0 × 109 cfu/g), regarded as negative control group (NC), low-dose group (BML), medium-dose group (BMM), and high-dose group (BMH), respectively. Each treatment was fed the corresponding experimental diet for 35 days. Results showed that dietary supplementation of B. methylotrophicus SY200 could improve broiler weight gain, especially the finisher phase. Further studies suggested that a certain amount of B. methylotrophicus SY200 enhanced the broiler antioxidant status and improved the morphological development of jejunum. Besides, dietary supplementation of B. methylotrophicus SY200 especially in 0.50% levels significantly increased the relative weight of immune organs and Newcastle disease virus antibody titer, similarly, increased mRNA expression levels of claudin-1, claudin-3, zonula occluden-1, and zonula occluden-2 were observed in the jejunum of BMM group. Moreover, B. methylotrophicus SY200 also showed beneficial effects in improving broilers microbiota homeostasis by increasing the number of beneficial bacteria. Conclusively, B. methylotrophicus SY200 could effectively improve the antioxidant status, modulate the intestinal structure, enhance the intestinal mucosal barrier function, and regulate the immune function of broilers, which finally improves the performance of the chicken in the finisher period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NOTCH receptors are relevant to multiple neurodegenerative diseases. However, the roles and mechanisms of NOTCH receptors in HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) remain largely unclear. Transactivator of transcription (Tat) induces oxidative stress and inflammatory response in astrocytes, thereby leading to neuronal apoptosis in the central nervous system. We determined that NOTCH3 expression was upregulated during subtype B or C Tat expression in HEB astroglial cells. Moreover, bioinformatics analysis of the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset revealed that NOTCH3 mRNA expression in the frontal cortex tissues of HIV encephalitis patients was higher than that of HIV control patients. Of note, subtype B Tat, rather than subtype C Tat, interacted with the extracellular domain of the NOTCH3 receptor, thus activating NOTCH3 signaling. Downregulation of NOTCH3 attenuated subtype B Tat-induced oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species generation. In addition, we demonstrated that NOTCH3 signaling facilitated subtype B Tat-activated NF-κB signaling pathway, thereby mediating pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α production. Furthermore, downregulation of NOTCH3 in HEB astroglial cells protected SH-SY5Y neuronal cells from astrocyte-mediated subtype B Tat neurotoxicity. Taken together, our study clarifies the potential role of NOTCH3 in subtype B Tat-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory response in astrocytes, which could be a novel therapeutic target for the relief of HAND. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) is a reader of histone acetylation and is associated with a variety of diseases. Aim: To investigate the expression level of BRD4 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), its prognostic value and its relationship with immune infiltration. Methods: The study included 94 ESCC patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and 179 ESCC patients from Affiliated Hospital 2 of Nantong University. The expression levels of proteins in tissue microarray were detected by immunohistochemistry. The prognostic factors were analyzed by Kaplan–Meier curve and univariate and multivariate cox regression. The ESTIMATE website was used to calculate the stromal, immune and ESTIMATE score. CIBERSORT was used to calculate the abundance of immune infiltrates. Spearman and Phi coefficient were used for correlation analysis. The TIDE algorithm was used to predict treatment response to immune checkpoint blockade. Results: BRD4 is up-regulated in ESCC, and high BRD4 expression level is associated with poor prognosis and adverse clinicopathological features. In addition, the monocyte count, systemic inflammatory-immunologic index, platelet-lymphocyte ratio, and monocyte-lymphocyte ratio in the BRD4 high expression level group were higher than in the low expression level group. Finally, we found that BRD4 expression level correlated with immune infiltration and that it was inversely correlated with infiltration of CD8 + T cells. Higher TIDE scores in the BRD4 high expression group than in the low expression group. Conclusion: BRD4 is associated with poor prognosis and immune infiltration in ESCC, and may be a potential biomarker for prognosis and immunotherapy application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging studies have shown that environmental contaminants were related to decreased handgrip strength. Nevertheless, no prior research has investigated the relationship of exposure to environmental antibiotics with grip strength. Thus, we explored the relationship between urinary antibiotic burden and grip strength among the elderly in China. This study consisted of 451 men and 539 women from the baseline survey of a cohort study. Commonly used antibiotics for humans and animals were detected in 990 urine samples through a biomonitoring method. Grip strength was measured by an electronic dynamometer. We examined the associations of antibiotic exposure with low grip strength (LGS), grip strength, and grip strength index, respectively. Results suggested that 34.9% of participants developed LGS, and 93.0% of individuals were exposed to 1–10 antibiotics. Among women, oxytetracycline (Quartile 2: odds ratio: 2.97, 95% confidence interval: 1.36–6.50), florfenicol (Quartile 3: 2.60 [1.28–5.27]), fluoroquinolones (Quartile 4: 1.88 [1.07–3.30]), and chloramphenicols (Quartile 3: 2.73 [1.35–5.51]) could enhance LGS risk. Among men, ofloxacin (Quartile 2: 3.32 [1.45–7.59]) increased LGS risk, whereas tetracycline (Quartile 2: 0.31 [0.11–0.88]) was implicated in reduced LGS risk. In participants < 70 years, ofloxacin (Quartile 2: 3.00 [1.40–6.42]) could increase LGS risk. For participants who were 70 years of age or older, veterinary antibiotics (Quartile 3: 1.73 [1.02–2.94]) were linked to a 73% increased risk of LGS. Our findings suggested that antibiotics mainly pertained to LGS, and there were gender and age disparities in associations between antibiotic exposure and muscle strength indicators in the elderly Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the application effect of antimicrobial peptides Gal-13 (AMP Gal-13) instead of antibiotic feed additives, 90 7-day-old Ross 308 broilers were randomly divided into 3 groups. Group A was fed a basic diet as the control, and Groups B and C were supplemented with AMP Gal-13 (100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg, respectively). After a 35-day feeding experiment, the weight and average daily gain (ADG) of the broilers in Group B were significantly higher than those of the broilers in Group A. The Enterococcus sp. and Escherichia coli counts in the ileum and cecum in Group A were significantly higher than those in Groups B and C, while the Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and Bifidobacterium sp. counts were significantly lower. The amylase activity of the jejunum in Group B was significantly higher than that in Group A. The villus length (VL): crypt depth (CD) ratios of the jejunum and ileum in Group B were significantly higher than those in Group A. The glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities in the liver and serum in Groups B and C were significantly higher than those in Group A, while the malondialdehyde (MDA) activity was significantly lower. The titers of Newcastle disease virus (NDV)–specific antibodies were elevated significantly in Group B at the age of 42 days. Additionally, the weights of the spleen and thymus were significantly increased. The expression levels of Il-2, Il-6, Tgf-β4, Tnf-α, and Mif in the spleen in Groups B and C were significantly downregulated to different degrees; Il-4 expression in Group B was significantly upregulated, while Ifn-γ expression in Group C was significantly upregulated. The results suggested that adding AMP Gal-13 to the diet could improve intestinal digestion, the antioxidant capacity, and immune function, ultimately promoting the growth of broilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A disintegrin and metalloproteinases (ADAMs) are involved in multiple neurodegenerative diseases. However, the roles and mechanisms of ADAMs in HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) remain unclear. Transactivator of transcription (Tat) induces inflammatory response in astrocytes, thereby leading to neuronal apoptosis in the central nervous system. In this study, we determined that ADAM17 expression was upregulated during soluble Tat stimulus in HEB astroglial cells. Inhibition of ADAM17 suppressed Tat-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines production and rescued the astrocytes-derived conditioned media (ACM)-mediated SH-SY5Y neural cells apoptosis. Moreover, ADAM17 mediated Tat-triggered inflammatory response in a NF-κB-dependent manner. Conversely, Tat induced ADAM17 expression via NF-κB signaling pathway. In addition, pharmacological inhibition of NF-κB signaling inhibited Tat-induced inflammatory response, which could be rescued by overexpression of ADAM17. Taken together, our study clarifies the potential role of the ADAM17/NF-κB feedback loop in Tat-induced inflammatory response in astrocytes and the ACM-mediated neuronal death, which could be a novel therapeutic target for relief of HAND. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) is one of the most common diseases, causing high maternal morbidity and mortality. However, the correlation of gut microbiota in PIH has not been reported. Our aim was to characterize the intestinal microbiota of patients with PIH compared with healthy people. We analyzed and compared the gut microbiota communities in the feces of 28 PIH patients with pregnancy(not pre-pregnancy) body mass index (including height and weight)-matched healthy controls using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and then investigate the relationships among gut microbiota, cytokines, and PIH. Compared with the healthy group, microbial α diversity was lower in the PIH group, but not statistically significant different. At the phylum level, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria exhibited obvious differences between the PIH and control groups. LEfSe analysis found 33 differentially abundant taxa between the two groups. The production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in PIH serum or placenta tissues was higher than that of the control group. In addition to alterations in gut microbiota composition, we also found that the Bac_Prevotellaceae, Pre_Prevotella bacteria were positively correlated with NLRP3 level, but negatively correlated with Bac_Bacteroidaceae, Bac_Bacteroides. PIH patients had gut microbiota dysbiosis and increased NLRP3 levels, which will lead to a better understanding of the relationship between the gut microbiota and PIH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A heterogeneous structure of multi-scale ferrite and granular or short rod cementite was obtained by warm-rolled pseudo-eutectoid microstructure, and the recrystallization of deformed ferrite and the dissolution and precipitation of cementite were controlled by subsequent short-time annealing treatment. The results show that the ferrite grains of annealed samples with different deformation extent distributed in the multiscale laminar structure, and the grain size trans from nanoscale to micron-scale. With the increase of deformation, the recrystallization ratio increases. The annealing sample with deformation of 84 pct obtains the optimal microstructure of multi-scale lamellar ferrite cementite that effectively improves the strain-strengthening ability, and realizes the optimal combination of strength and plasticity. The accumulation of more GNDs in a gradient distribution at the heterogeneous interface provides good strain reinforcement with the highest boundary density, which helps to provide additional strength and plasticity. The multi-stage regulation of ferrite recrystallization and cementite distribution after annealing provides good elongation to achieve a combination of HDI mechanism, fine grain strengthening, and Orowan strengthening mechanism. Various models were used to fit the true stress–true strain, and the Voce-Kocks model accurately described the stress–strain of plain medium carbon steel with a heterogeneous laminar structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The safe operating voltage and low volume variation of Li3VO4 (LVO) make it an ideal anode material for lithium (Li)-ion batteries. However, the insufficient understanding of the inner storage mechanism hinders the design of LVO-based electrodes. Herein, we investigate, for the first time, the Li-ion storage activity in LVO via Cl doping. Moreover, N-doped C coating was simultaneously achieved in the Cl doping process, resulting in synergistically improved reaction kinetics. As a result, the as-prepared Cl-doped Li3VO4 coated with N-doped C (Cl-LVO@NC) electrodes deliver a discharge capacity of 884.1 mAh/g after 200 cycles at 0.2 A/g, which is the highest among all of the LVO-based electrodes. The Cl-LVO@NC electrodes also exhibit high-capacity retention of 331.1 mAh/g at 8.0 A/g and full capacity recovery after 5 periods of rate testing over 400 cycles. After 5000 cycles at 4.0 A/g, the discharge capacity can be maintained at 423.2 mAh/g, which is superior to most LVO-based electrodes. The Li-ion storage activity in LVO via Cl doping and significant improvement in the high-rate Li-ion storage reported in this work can be used as references for the design of advanced LVO-based electrodes for high-power applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neutrophils are dynamic with their phenotype and function shaped by the microenvironment, such as the N1 antitumor and N2 pro-tumor states within the tumor microenvironment (TME), but its regulation remains undefined. Here we examine TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling in tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) patients. Smad3 activation in N2 TANs is negatively correlate with the N1 population and patient survival. In experimental lung carcinoma, TANs switch from a predominant N2 state in wild-type mice to an N1 state in Smad3-KO mice which associate with enhanced neutrophil infiltration and tumor regression. Neutrophil depletion abrogates the N1 anticancer phenotype in Smad3-KO mice, while adoptive transfer of Smad3-KO neutrophils reproduces this protective effect in wild-type mice. Single-cell analysis uncovers a TAN subset showing a mature N1 phenotype in Smad3-KO TME, whereas wild-type TANs mainly retain an immature N2 state due to Smad3. Mechanistically, TME-induced Smad3 target genes related to cell fate determination to preserve the N2 state of TAN. Importantly, genetic deletion and pharmaceutical inhibition of Smad3 enhance the anticancer capacity of neutrophils against NSCLC via promoting their N1 maturation. Thus, our work suggests that Smad3 signaling in neutrophils may represent a therapeutic target for cancer immunotherapy. TGF-β stimulated tumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) can exert pro-tumoral functions. Here the authors show that Smad3 activation in TANs is associated with an N2-like polarization state and poor outcome in patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma and that Smad3 targeting reprograms TANs to an antitumor state suppressing tumor growth in preclinical lung cancer models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we provide a streaming algorithm for the problem of maximizing the sum of a supermodular function and a nonnegative monotone diminishing return submodular (MDR-submodular) function with a knapsack constraint on the integer lattice. Inspired by the SIEVE-STREAMING algorithm, we present a two-pass streaming algorithm by using the threshold technique. Then, we improve the two-pass streaming algorithm to one-pass and further reduce its space complexity. The proposed algorithms are proved to have polynomial time and space complexity, and a performance guarantee dependent on the curvature of the supermodular function. Finally, we carry out numerical experiments to verify the performance of the algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multi-pulse orbits and global dynamics of a fluid-conveying functionally graded cylindrical shell with piezoelectric layer are investigated by applying the energy-phase method. In the case of 1:2 internal resonance and 1/2 subharmonic resonance, the averaged equations for amplitudes and phases of thermal modes are considered. Some coordinate transformations are used to obtain the near-integrable standard forms. The energy-phase method is applied to prove the existence of Shilnikov-type multi-pulse jumping orbits homoclinic to a slow manifold in the perturbed phase space. The pulse sequences and homoclinic trees that depict the repeated bifurcations of the multi-pulse solutions are exhibited for both the Hamilton and dissipative perturbation. The results show that the pulse numbers start to decrease and the homoclinic trees gradually break up as the dissipation factor is increased. The research may reveal the mechanism how energy flow between high-frequency mode and low-frequency mode. Numerical simulations are also performed to discuss the influence of fluid damping, structure damping, and external excitation parameters on chaotic behaviors for the cylindrical shell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embedded retaining walls equipped with ground heat exchangers is one kind of energy geostructures, harvesting the shallow ground energy for heating and cooling buildings. However, past investigations mainly focus on the thermal assessment of energy walls, but pay limited attention to mechanical wall behavior and associated ground response. At present, there is no standard preliminary code for assessing the long-term mechanical performance of energy walls. In this study, a comprehensive literature review is conducted to summarize the existing studies on the long-term mechanical behavior of both conventional retaining walls and thermo-active ones, respectively. The review identifies three most critical mechanical factors for energy walls (i.e., horizontal wall movement, ground settlement, and basement heave), while their permissible values can be referred to standard preliminary design criteria of conventional retaining walls in the short-term and limited long-term field measurements. For elaborating the application of design criteria, a parametric study is implemented to evaluate the long-term mechanical performance of energy walls in stiff clay under various thermal conditions, including the influence of thermal solicitations, station temperature and asymmetrical operation mode. The vivid assessing results show that the thermal-induced mechanical movements due to geothermal operation may cause unfavorable serviceability issues (e.g., cracks), but are unlikely to bring critical damages to the structural performance. The identified critical mechanical factors and evaluation of thermal influences in this study provide some guidance for the mechanical assessment of long-term energy wall behavior, particularly in the light of limited field measurements and demonstration cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the capacitated correlation clustering problem with penalties (CCorCwP), which is a new generalization of the correlation clustering problem. In this problem, we are given a complete graph, each edge is either positive or negative. Moreover, there is an upper bound on the number of vertices in each cluster, and each vertex has a penalty cost. The goal is to penalize some vertices and select a clustering of the remain vertices, so as to minimize the sum of the number of positive cut edges, the number of negative non-cut edges and the penalty costs. In this paper we present an integer programming, linear programming relaxation and two polynomial time algorithms for the CCorCwP. Given parameter δ ∈ (0 , 4 / 9 ] , the first algorithm is a 8 / (4 - 5 δ) , 8 / δ -bi-criteria approximation algorithm for the CCorCPwP, which means that the number of vertices in each cluster does not exceed 8 / (4 - 5 δ) times the upper bound, and the output objective function value of the algorithm does not exceed 8 / δ times the optimal value. The second one is based on above bi-criteria approximation, and we prove that the second algorithm can achieve a constant approximation ratio for some special instances of the CCorCwP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different from many previous theoretical studies, this paper explores the regulatory mechanism of the spike and wave discharges (SWDs) in the reticular thalamic nucleus (TRN) by a dynamic computational model. We observe that the SWDs appears in the TRN by changing the coupling weights and delays in the thalamocortical circuit. The abundant poly-spikes wave discharges is also induced when the delay increases to large enough. These discharges can be inhibited by tuning the inhibitory output from the basal ganglia to the thalamus. The mechanisms of these waves can be explained in this model together with simulation results, which are different from the mechanisms in the cortex. The TRN is an important target in treating epilepsy, and the results may be a theoretical evidence for experimental study in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Psychological symptoms are increasingly being noted in patients with chronic diseases. Currently, little evidence is available on the mental health of patients with overlap syndrome (OVS, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease plus obstructive sleep apnea). This study aimed to describe the prevalence and identify influencing factors of anxiety and depression in patients with OVS. Methods: We recruited patients admitted for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from July 2018 to July 2019 who also underwent polysomnography tests to assess obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). COPD patients who had an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥ 5/h were defined as OVS. COPD patients who had an AHI < 5/h were identified as pure COPD. Questionnaires were administered to evaluate depression and anxiety in all subjects. We compared the differences in scores between patients with OVS and pure COPD. Results: Two hundred and fifty-two patients were included, 180 (71%) patients had OVS, while only 72 patients had pure COPD. In the OVS group, 54% of the patients had depression, and 77% of the patients had anxiety. We found that patients with OVS had higher anxiety (8.00 (4.00, 10.00) vs. 6.00 (3.00, 9.00), p = 0.018) and depression (8.00 (4.00, 10.00) vs. 5.50 (2.25, 10.00), p = 0.022) scores than patients with pure COPD. A higher proportion of patients with hypertension (41% vs. 21%) and coronary heart disease (14% vs. 4%) were found in the OVS group. Chest pain, COPD Assessment Test (CAT) score, and OVS were independent risk factors for depression (P<0.05). A positive correlation was shown between anxiety and depression (r=0.638, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Anxiety and depression were more severe in patients with OVS than in patients with pure COPD. More attention should be paid to the mental health of OVS patients. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov; URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov. NO.: NCT 03182309. Registered on June 9, 2017; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03182309?term=NCT+03182309&draw=2&rank=1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using structure prediction software based on particle swarm optimization algorithm, we have discovered a new atmospheric superconductor BeB2C, and the electron–phonon Wannier (EPW) software was used to calculate the superconducting critical temperature, the obtained Tc = 30.3 K, when the effective Coulomb shielding constant and the Ep-ph constant are set to 0.16 and 0.8036 respectively. At the same time, first-principles calculation method was used to study the energy bands and density of states of the material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LiVO3 has long been investigated as a cathode material of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Although it possesses a high specific capacity (above 250 mAh g−1), the limited operation voltage of about 2.5 V is a critical restriction for the energy/power density. Here, we report a structured LiVO3 anode by utilizing cattail as a bio-template. The cattail was used to avoid the agglomeration of LiVO3 particles and was removed by high-temperature treatment. When employed as anode materials, the as-prepared LiVO3 exhibits a high specific capacity of 633.9 mAh g−1, enhanced rate capability from 0.2 to 4.0 A g−1 over 610 cycles with high capacity recovery, and long cycling stability of 443.1 mAh g−1 capacity retention after 1200 cycles at 2.0 A g−1. The excellent electrochemical performance and low cost of bio-template endow structured LiVO3 as a highly promising anode material for LIBs. Bio-template synthesize of LVO-500 anode materials present much superior lithium storage performance than the contrastive LVO-450 and LVO-550 anode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the spherical k-means problem with outliers, an extension of the k-means problem. In this clustering problem, all sample points are on the unit sphere. Given two integers k and z, we can ignore at most z points (outliers) and need to find at most k cluster centers on the unit sphere and assign remaining points to these centers to minimize the k-means objective. It has been proved that any algorithm with a bounded approximation ratio cannot return a feasible solution for this problem. Our contribution is to present a local search bi-criteria approximation algorithm for the spherical k-means problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are gender differences in obesity and related metabolic diseases, but the mechanism of these differences has not been elucidated. Gut microbiota has been recently recognized as a pivotal determinant of obesity and related diseases. The aim of the present study was to investigate sex differences in gut microbiota and its metabolites in an obesity rat model induced by prolonged high-fat-diet (HFD) feeding. In this study, male and female Sprague–Dawley rats were fed normal chow or HFD for 16 weeks (n = 8 for each group). We found that comparing with male rats on HFD (MHFD), female rats on HFD (FHFD) gained more body weight percentage, while had lower body weight gain efficiency and less severity of hepatic steatosis. HFD induced decreased taxon diversity and richness of gut microbiota, and FHFD group had even lower diversity than MHFD group. Among key genera, HFD induced increased Bilophila in male rats but not in female rats. Compared with the MHFD group, FHFD group possessed increases of Akkermansia and Murimonas, and decreases of Acetanaerobacterium, Bacteroides, Bilophila, Blautia and Romboutsia. The levels of total SCFAs in colon contents were increased in tendency in HFD-fed rats of both sexes. FHFD group had increased propionate and decreased ratio of acetate to propionate and butyrate than MHFD group. For MCFAs, HFD induced increases in undecanoic acid and lauric acid in female rats but not in males. In conclusion, HFD induced sex-related alterations in gut microbiome and short/medium-chain fatty acids in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spherical k-means clustering as a known NP-hard variant of the k-means problem has broad applications in data mining. In contrast to k-means, it aims to partition a collection of given data distributed on a spherical surface into k sets so as to minimize the within-cluster sum of cosine dissimilarity. In the paper, we introduce spherical k-means clustering with penalties and give a 2 max { 2 , M } (1 + M) (ln k + 2) -approximation algorithm. Moreover, we prove that when against spherical k-means clustering with penalties but on separable instances, our algorithm is with an approximation ratio 2 max { 3 , M + 1 } with high probability, where M is the ratio of the maximal and the minimal penalty cost of the given data set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the uniform capacitated k-means problem (UC-k-means), an extension of the classical k-means problem (k-means) in machine learning. In the UC-k-means, we are given a set D of n points in d-dimensional space and an integer k. Every point in the d-dimensional space has an uniform capacity which is an upper bound on the number of points in D that can be connected to this point. Every two-point pair in the space has an associated connecting cost, which is equal to the square of the distance between these two points. We want to find at most k points in the space as centers and connect every point in D to some center without violating the capacity constraint, such that the total connecting costs is minimized. Based on the technique of local search, we present a bi-criteria approximation algorithm, which has a constant approximation guarantee and violates the cardinality constraint within a constant factor, for the UC-k-means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although antibiotic exposure in the general population has been well documented by a biomonitoring approach, epidemiologic data on the relationships between urinary antibiotic burden in the elderly with blood pressure (BP) are still lacking. The current study revealed thirty-four antibiotics in urine specimens from 990 elderly patients in Lu'an City, China, with detection frequencies ranging from 0.2 to 35.5%. Among the elderly, the prevalence of hypertension was 72.0%, and 12 antibiotics were detected in more than 10% of individuals with hypertension. The elderly with hypertension had the maximum daily exposure (5450.45 μg/kg/day) to fluoroquinolones (FQs). Multiple linear regression analyses revealed significant associations of BP and pulse pressure (PP) with exposure to specific antibiotics. The estimated β values (95% confidence interval) of associations with systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the right arm were 4.42 (1.15, 7.69) for FQs, 4.26 (0.52, 8.01) for the preferred as human antibiotics (PHAs), and 3.48 (0.20, 6.77) for the mixtures (FQs + tetracyclines [TCs] (tertile 3 vs. tertile 1)), respectively. Increased concentrations of TCs were associated with decreased diastolic BP (DBP; tertile 3: −1.75 [−3.39, −0.12]) for the right arm. Higher levels of FQs (tertile 3: 4.28 [1.02, 7.54]), PHAs (tertile 3: 4.25 [0.49, 8.01]), and FQs + TCs (tertile 3: 3.99 [0.71, 7.26]) were associated with increased SBP, and an increase in DBP for FQs (tertile 3: 1.82 [0.22, 3.42]) was shown in the left arm. Also, higher urinary concentrations of FQs (tertile 3: 3.18 [0.53, 5.82]), PHAs (tertile 3: 3.42 [0.40, 6.45]), and FQs + TCs (tertile 3: 3.06 [0.40, 5.72]) were related to increased PP, whereas a decline in PP for TCs (tertile 2: −2.93 [−5.60, −0.25]) in the right arm. And increased concentrations of penicillin V (tertile 3: 5.31 [1.53, 9.10]) and FQs + TCs (tertile 3: 2.84 [0.19, 5.49]) were related to higher PP in the left arm. By utilizing restricted cubic splines, our current study revealed a potential nonlinear dose-response association between FQ exposure and hypertension risk. In conclusion, this investigation is the first to present antibiotic exposure using a biomonitoring approach, and informs understanding of impacts of antibiotic residues, as emerging hazardous pollutants, on the hypertension risk in the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was the aim of this study to determine whether abdominal massage reverses high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance compared with RSV treatment. A total of sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly placed in one of four groups:the non-fat diet (NFD), the high-fat diet (HFD), the HFD with abdominal massage (HFD+ AM), and the HFD plus resveratrol (HFD+ RSV). For eight weeks, rats were fed high-fat diets to create insulin resistance, followed by six weeks of either AM or RSV. Molecular mechanisms of adipogenesis and cytokine production in rats with high-fat diets were investigated. The model rat adipose tissue showed significant improvements in obesity, glucose intolerance, and the accumulation of lipid in the body [the total cholesterol level (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)], metabolic effects of glucose [The fasting blood glucose (FBG), Fasting insulin levels (FINS)], inflammatory status [interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, C-reactive protein (CRP)], and macrophage polarization after AM or RSV treatment. Further, AM increased SIRT1/NF-κB signaling in rat adipose tissue. Accordingly, in rat adipose tissue, our results indicate that AM regulates the secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, blood sugar levels, and related signaling pathways, contributing to improvement of IR, which may serves as a new therapeutic approach for the treatment for IR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies examined the connection between antibiotic exposure in urine and dysglycemia risk (including prediabetes and diabetes) in the elderly were limited. Multiple linear regression, binary logistic regression, restricted cubic splines (RCS), and stratified analysis were applied to analyze the relationship between antibiotic exposure and dysglycemia risk. We observed that sulfaclozine exposure 0.07 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.01–0.23) significantly increased fasting blood glucose (FBG) level. By mechanism, usage, and antimicrobial action, sulfonamides 0.08 (95% CI: 0.06–0.36), veterinary antibiotics (VA) 0.07 (95% CI: 0.01–0.30), or bacteriostatic antibiotics 0.07 (95% CI: 0.02–0.29) significantly increased FBG level. Additionally, sulfaclozine exposure 1.54 (95% CI: 1.02–2.33) resulted in a higher dysglycemia risk, while doxycycline exposure 0.53 (95% CI: 0.30–0.95) resulted in a lower dysglycemia risk. By mechanism, usage, and antimicrobial action, sulfonamides 1.44 (95% CI: 1.02–2.04), VA 1.68 (95% CI: 1.21–2.35), or bacteriostatic antibiotics 1.40 (95% CI: 1.02–1.93) exposure had a higher dysglycemia risk. Taken together, exposure to sulfonamides, VA, especially sulfaclozine, was correlated with a higher dysglycemia risk in the elderly. Exposure to bacteriostatic antibiotics was associated with a higher dysglycemia risk in the female. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Upland rice is a distinct ecotype that grows in aerobic environments and tolerates drought stress. However, the genetic basis of its drought resistance is unclear. Here, using an integrative approach combining a genome-wide association study with analyses of introgression lines and transcriptomic profiles, we identify a gene, DROUGHT1 (DROT1), encoding a COBRA-like protein that confers drought resistance in rice. DROT1 is specifically expressed in vascular bundles and is directly repressed by ERF3 and activated by ERF71, both drought-responsive transcription factors. DROT1 improves drought resistance by adjusting cell wall structure by increasing cellulose content and maintaining cellulose crystallinity. A C-to-T single-nucleotide variation in the promoter increases DROT1 expression and drought resistance in upland rice. The potential elite haplotype of DROT1 in upland rice could originate in wild rice (O. rufipogon) and may be beneficial for breeding upland rice varieties. Genetic basis of the drought tolerance of upland rice is unclear. Here, the authors report the cloning of a COBRA-like protein encoding gene DROT1 and reveal that it is repressed by ERF3 and activated by ERF71 to help control the balance between growth and drought tolerance in upland rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) has become a cosmopolitan species due to its widespread introduction as game or domesticated fish. Here a high-quality chromosome-level reference genome of M. salmoides was produced by combining Illumina paired-end sequencing, PacBio single molecule sequencing technique (SMRT) and High-through chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) technologies. Ultimately, the genome was assembled into 844.88 Mb with a contig N50 of 15.68 Mb and scaffold N50 length of 35.77 Mb. About 99.9% assembly genome sequences (844.00 Mb) could be anchored to 23 chromosomes, and 98.03% assembly genome sequences could be ordered and directed. The genome contained 38.19% repeat sequences and 2693 noncoding RNAs. A total of 26,370 protein-coding genes from 3415 gene families were predicted, of which 97.69% were functionally annotated. The high-quality genome assembly will be a fundamental resource to study and understand how M. salmoides adapt to novel and changing environments around the world, and also be expected to contribute to the genetic breeding and other research. Measurement(s) genome assemble Technology Type(s) Illumina paired-end sequencing, PacBio single molecule sequencing technique (SMRT) and High-through chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) technologies Sample Characteristic - Organism Micropterus floridanus [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]