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In this paper we introduce a new procedure for spatial sampling design. It is found in previous studies (Zhu and Stein in J Agric Biol Environ Stat 11:24–44, 2006) that the optimal sampling design for spatial prediction with estimated parameters is nearly regular with a few clustered points. The pattern is similar to a generalization of the Neyman–Scott (GNS) process (Yau and Loh in Statistica Sinica 22:1717–1736, 2012) which allows for regularity in the parent process. This motivates the use of a realization of the GNS process as sampling design points. This method translates the high-dimensional optimization problem of selecting sampling sites into a low-dimensional optimization problem of searching for the optimal parameter sets in the GNS process. Simulation studies indicate that the proposed sampling design algorithm is more computationally efficient than traditional methods while achieving similar minimization of the criterion functions. While the traditional methods become computationally infeasible for sample size larger than a hundred, the proposed algorithm is applicable to a size as large as $$n=1024$$ . A real data example of finding the optimal spatial design for predicting sea surface temperature in the Pacific Ocean is also considered.

To observe whether the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on improving sex hormone disorders and follicle development is by decreasing the expression of anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) in rats with experimental polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Forty rats were randomly divided into four groups, a normal group (NG), a model group (MG), an EA at acupoints group (EAAG), and an EA at non-acupoints group (EANAG), with 10 rats in each group. The rats in the EAAG and EANAG were intervened by EA treatment for consecutive 14 d. Zhongji (CV 3) and Guanyuan (CV 4) were selected as the acupoints in the EAAG, and the tip of the tail and 1 cm up from the tail tip were selected as the non-acupoints in the EANAG. After treatment, the histomorphological changes of the ovary, the levels of aromatase P450 (P450arom), testosterone and estradiol in the ovarian tissues, and the expressions of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and AMH were observed. After treatment, compared with the MG and EANAG, the expression of AMH decreased (P

In this paper, a new viscoelastic constitutive model is proposed based on fractional-order differential theory, replacing the Newtonian dashpot of the classical Kelvin-Voigt model with the Abel dashpot. The analytic solutions for the fractional-order three-element model and classical three-element model are presented. The results estimated by the fractionalorder three-element model correlate better with experimental data than those of the classical three-element model. The parameters of the fractional-order three-element model were further optimized using the nonlinear least squares method. The proposed fractional-order three element model was able to accurately describe the viscoelastic dynamic mechanical properties of soil during vibratory compaction.

In this paper, we provide a common generalization to the well-known Erdos–Ko–Rado Theorem, Frankl–Wilson Theorem, Alon–Babai–Suzuki Theorem, and Snevily Theorem on set systems with L-intersections. As a consequence, we derive a result which strengthens substantially the well-known theorem on set systems with k-wise L-intersections by Furedi and Sudakov [J. Combin. Theory, Ser. A, 105, 143–159 (2004)]. We will also derive similar results on L-intersecting families of subspaces of an n-dimensional vector space over a finite field F q , where q is a prime power.

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by continuous flow limitation and the immune system including macrophages and regulatory T lymphocytes (Tregs) is involved in COPD pathogenesis. In our previous study, we investigated that TGF-β/BAMBI pathway was associated with COPD by regulating the balance of Th17/Treg. However, the role of bone morphogenetic protein and activin membrane-bound inhibitor (BAMBI), a pseudoreceptor of TGF-β signalling pathway, in regulating the immune system of COPD patients has not been fully studied. Hence, we speculate that the pseudoreceptor BAMBI may play roles in the regulation of M2 macrophages to induce the differentiation of CD4+ naïve T cells into Tregs and influence the immune response in COPD. Methods Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from healthy nonsmokers (n = 12), healthy smokers (n = 10) and COPD patients (n = 20). Naïve CD4+ T cells and monocytes-induced macrophages were used for coculture assays. The phenotypic characteristics of macrophages and Tregs were determined by flow cytometry. The expression levels of BAMBI and the TGF-β/Smad pathway members in M2 macrophages were measured by a Western blot analysis. The monocyte-derived macrophages were stimulated with cigarette smoke extract (CSE, concentration of 0.02%) to simulate the smoking process in humans. pCMV-BAMBI was transfected into monocyte-derived M2 macrophages for subsequent co-culture assays and signalling pathway analysis. Results Our results showed that M2 macrophages could induce the differentiation of Tregs through the TGF-β/Smad signalling pathway. In addition, monocyte-derived macrophages from COPD patients highly expressed BAMBI, and had a low capacity to induce Tregs differentiation. The expression of BAMBI and the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1%) were negatively correlated in COPD. Furthermore, overexpression of BAMBI promoted the conversion of M2 macrophages to M1 macrophages via the TGF-β/Smad pathway. Conclusions We demonstrated that BAMBI could promote the polarization process of M2 macrophages to M1 macrophages via the TGF-β/Smad signalling pathway and that overexpression of BAMBI could decrease the ability of M2 macrophages to induce Treg differentiation. These findings may provide a potential mechanism by which blocking BAMBI could improve immune function to regulate COPD inflammatory conditions.

To categorize and summarize the clinical and mechanism studies of the past 30 years on the treatment of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) with moxibustion, moxibustion plus medication, and acupuncture plus medication, etc., and to analyze the current problems. The clinical and laboratory studies related to the treatment of HT with acupuncture-moxibustion therapies published before June 2015 were retrieved from MEDLINE, Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Academic Journal Full-text Database (Wanfang) and Chongqing VIP Database (CQVIP). Moxibustion, moxibustion plus medication, and acupuncture plus medication can produce certain therapeutic effects in treating HT. The research on the treatment of HT with acupuncture-moxibustion therapies is rather limited in the amount and content. In the future, standardization should be fortified, specific moxibustion research needs deepening, and the action mechanism of moxibustion should be emphasized.

Objective To investigate the influence of moxibustion products on mitochondrial transmembrane potential (MTP) and mRNA expression of Bax/Bcl-2 in alveolar type II epithelial A549 cells, and to further explore influence of moxibustion products on the oxidative damage of A549 cells.

Objective To observe the effect of moxibustion on learning and memory abilities, corticosterone and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in subacute aging rats.

Objective To evaluate and compare electroacupunctures (EA) with different parameters and moxibustion at different temperatures influencing the activation of mast cells (MC) in Tianshu (ST 25) regions of visceral hyperalgesia model rats.

Objective To observe the clinical effect and syndrome scores improvements of herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion (HPM) and ginger-partitioned moxibustion (GPM) in treating ulcerative colitis (UC).

To investigate the efficacy and mechanisms of moxibustion-based treatment of chronic gastritis (CG), and to provide an objective basis for treating CG using moxibustion. A total of 61 CG patients were divided into an herbal cake-partitioned moxibustion group and a mild-warm moxibustion group. In both treatment groups, bilateral Tianshu (ST 25), Zhongwan (CV 12) and Qihai (CV 6) were selected for moxibustion. Before and after treatment, all the enrolled patients’ gastrointestinal disease-related traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome scores and visual analog scale (VAS) scores were measured, and the changes in the serum levels of the brain-gut peptides ghrelin, somatostatin (SS) and motilin (MTL) were observed. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in the clinical efficacy rate (P>0.05). After treatment, the gastrointestinal disease-related TCM syndrome scores and VAS scores were reduced to varying extents in both groups, the intra-group differences were statistically significant (all P

Background Mixed models are a useful tool for evaluating the association between an outcome variable and genetic variables from a family-based genetic study, taking into account the kinship coefficients. When there are ultrahigh dimensional genetic variables (ie, p ≫ n), it is challenging to fit any mixed effect model. Methods We propose a two-stage strategy, screening genetic variables in the first stage and then fitting the mixed effect model in the second stage to those variables that survive the screening. For the screening stage, we can use the sure independence screening (SIS) procedure, which fits the mixed effect model to one genetic variable at a time. Because the SIS procedure may fail to identify those marginally unimportant but jointly important genetic variables, we propose a joint screening (JS) procedure that screens all the genetic variables simultaneously. We evaluate the performance of the proposed JS procedure via a simulation study and an application to the GAW20 data. Results We perform the proposed JS procedure on the GAW20 representative simulated data set (n = 680 participant(s) and p = 463,995 CpG cytosine-phosphate-guanine [CpG] sites) and select the top d = ⌊n/ log(n)⌋ variables. Then we fit the mixed model using these top variables. Under significance level, 5%, 43 CpG sites are found to be significant. Some diagnostic analyses based on the residuals show the fitted mixed model is appropriate. Conclusions Although the GAW20 data set is ultrahigh dimensional and family-based having within group variances, we were successful in performing subset selection using a two-step strategy that is computationally simple and easy to understand.

Identifying homogeneous subgroups of variables can be challenging in high dimensional data analysis with highly correlated predictors. The generalized fused lasso has been proposed to simultaneously select correlated variables and identify them as predictive clusters (grouping property). In this article, we study properties of the generalized fused lasso. First, we present a geometric interpretation of the generalized fused lasso along with discussion of its persistency. Second, we analytically show its grouping property. Third, we give comprehensive simulation studies to compare our version of the generalized fused lasso with other existing methods and show that the proposed method outperforms other variable selection methods in terms of prediction error and parsimony. We describe two applications of our method in soil science and near infrared spectroscopy studies. These examples having vastly different data types demonstrate the flexibility of the methodology particularly for high-dimensional data.

To compare the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) and moxibustion therapies on patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (D-IBS). A total of 60 D-IBS patients were randomly allocated to the EA group (30 cases) and moxibustion group (30 cases). Before and after treatment, the gastrointestinal symptoms and psychological symptoms were scored by Visual Analogue Scale, Bristol Stool Form Scale, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA), and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD); the expressions of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), 5-HT3 receptor (5-HT3R), and 5-HT4 receptor (5-HT4R) in the sigmoid mucosal tissue were measured by immunohistochemical staining. Additionally, the effects on the functional brain areas of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), insular cortex (IC) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) were observed by functional magnetic resonance imaging. Compared with before treatment, both EA and moxibustion groups reported significant improvements in abdominal pain and abdominal bloating after treatment (P

The relatively low cost of lands along with a privileged location near an urban center attracted industry to the Meadowlands of New Jersey and the absence of regulations resulted in vast amounts of industrial waste emitted into the air and dumped to nearby estuaries and marshlands. Hurricane Sandy created an unprecedented sea surge that overtopped berms and tide gates and extensively flooded approximately 22.8 km2 of a low lying basin that includes Berry’s Creek, a tributary to the Hackensack River and well known for its legacy of high levels of contamination. The sea surge connected Berry’s Creek with eastern creeks that flow into the Hackensack River for several tidal cycles. The objectives of this study were to establish a baseline for organic pollutants and heavy metals post Superstorm Sandy, determine whether contaminants from highly contaminated areas moved to the eastern creeks during the surge and measure contaminant gradients around tide gates. Cadmium, mercury and chromium were the most abundant contaminants in sediments, and pollutants responsible for the highest ecological risk were Hg and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Concentrations of PCBs were higher in the western creeks and contrary to metals did not show concentration gradients from either side of tide gates. Massive export of contaminants from western to eastern creeks due to the surge was not apparent. The abundance of heavy metals in the vicinity of tide gates shows that they play a role in their distribution across the estuary.

Neuroblastoma is an embryonic neoplasm originating from the neural crest with cellular heterogeneity as one of its oncobiological characteristics. This study was undertaken to determine whether human neuroblastoma contains stem cell-like cells. Twenty patients with neuroblastoma who have been treated in our hospital since January 2005 were divided into pre-operative chemotherapy (10 patients) and non-chemotherapy (10) groups. Tumor specimens of the patients were taken and paraffin sections were made. The expressions of stem cell markers CD133, ABCG2, CD117 and nestin were immunohistochemically detected in the specimens. Neuroblastoma cells were stained with Hoechst 33342 and PI. The side population (SP) cells were analyzed by the fluorescence-activated cell sorter. The disparity drug resistance to cisplatin (DDP) of SP and non-SP cells was measured with MTT colorimetric assay. The oncogenicity of SP and non-SP cells was identified in nude mice. There was no significant difference in the expression intensity of CD117 and nestin between the two groups of specimens (P>0.05). There was a significant difference between the two groups in terms of the expression intensity of CD133 and ABCG2 (P