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Tick-borne diseases like Rickettsia, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia are widespread infectious zoonoses that threaten the health of both humans and animals worldwide. Ticks and their hosts, such as hedgehogs, can play a crucial role in transmitting tick-borne diseases and the cycle of Rickettsia. To investigate the presence and identity of Rickettsia in hedgehogs and hedgehog-attached ticks in Xuyi County, Southeast China, 114 ticks were collected from 45 hedgehogs captured totally. Via morphological and molecular methods, all these ticks were identified as two species: Haemaphysalis flava (110/114, 96.5%) and Haemaphysalis longicornis (4/114, 3.5%). Rickettsia spp. were genotypically characterized by PCR targeting rrs, gltA, ompA, ompB, and sca4 gene fragments. The prevalence of spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR) infection found in hedgehogs and ticks was 17.8% (8/45) and 78.1% (89/114), respectively. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that those Rickettsia spp. belong to two species: Rickettsia heilongjiangensis (R. heilongjiangensis XY-1) and a potential new species, Candidatus Rickettsia xuyiensis XY-2. The present study gave the first evidence of R. heilongjiangensis and Candidatus R. xuyiensis in ticks and hedgehogs of Southeast China. Our findings suggest that hedgehogs might be involved in the natural transmission cycle of Rickettsia species.

Understanding the electrochemical deposition of metal anodes is critical for high-energy rechargeable batteries, among which solid-state lithium metal batteries have attracted extensive interest. A long-standing open question is how electrochemically deposited lithium-ions at the interfaces with the solid-electrolytes crystalize into lithium metal. Here, using large-scale molecular dynamics simulations, we study and reveal the atomistic pathways and energy barriers of lithium crystallization at the solid interfaces. In contrast to the conventional understanding, lithium crystallization takes multi-step pathways mediated by interfacial lithium atoms with disordered and random-closed-packed configurations as intermediate steps, which give rise to the energy barrier of crystallization. This understanding of multi-step crystallization pathways extends the applicability of Ostwald’s step rule to interfacial atom states, and enables a rational strategy for lower-barrier crystallization by promoting favorable interfacial atom states as intermediate steps through interfacial engineering. Our findings open rationally guided avenues of interfacial engineering for facilitating the crystallization in metal electrodes for solid-state batteries and can be generally applicable for fast crystal growth.

Thermal error is one of the main sources of errors in CNC machine tools. The thermal error characteristics of CNC machine tools will change with changes in machine temperature and machine operating parameters. An excellent thermal error model should have good prediction accuracy and prediction robustness on the premise of high-precision fitting of thermal error. Based on the Leaderway-V450 CNC machine tool, 18 batches of thermal error measurement experiments are conducted in different periods and rotating speeds throughout the year. Moreover, the change in the thermal error law caused by the coupling of temperature change and spindle rotating speed change is studied. After an in-depth analysis of the ridge regression and state space algorithms, a robust state space model (RSSM) is proposed by combining the advantages of the ridge regression algorithm in eliminating collinearity between independent variables on model robustness and that of the state space algorithm in describing system internal structure and characteristics. RSSM is compared with the multiple linear regression model (MLRM), ridge regression model (RRM) and state space model (SSM). RSSM based on the algorithm fusion is proven to realise the comprehensive description of the relationship between the thermal error of machine tool, temperature increase of temperature sensitive point and spindle speed. Moreover, RSSM has superior model accuracy and prediction robustness under the influence of change in temperature and spindle speed. The mathematical model is ultimately used to accurately describe engineering phenomena and laws. In engineering application, different algorithm features should be extracted according to the laws of engineering objects to integrate them, thereby meeting the actual engineering laws, so that the established model can have sufficient prediction accuracy and also meet the engineering needs of robustness. This research systematically studied the realisation of the RRM and SSM algorithm fusion for the accurate and robust thermal error prediction of CNC machine tools, thereby providing important theoretical reference for the application of algorithm fusion in engineering.

Over the past decade, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) found in the bone marrow microenvironment have been considered to be important candidates in cellular therapy. However, the application of MSCs in clinical settings is limited by the difficulty and low efficiency associated with the separation of MSCs from the bone marrow. Therefore, distinct sources of MSCs have been extensively explored. Adipose-derived stromal cells (ASCs), a cell line similar to MSCs, have been identified as a promising source. ASCs have become increasingly popular in many fields, as they can be conveniently extracted from fat tissue. This review focuses on the properties of ASCs in hematopoietic regulation and the underlying mechanisms, as well as the current applications and future perspectives in ASC-based therapy.

Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1)(CA)19 and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3)-202A/C gene polymorphisms had been focused by many epidemiological studies recently, which were associated with common cancer risk including colorectal, breast, prostate, and lung cancer. However, the findings of epidemiological investigations are not coincident. We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of case–control studies, including studies nested in cohorts, of the association between IGF1(CA)19 and IGFBP-3-202A/C gene polymorphism and prostate, colorectal, premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancer. We identified 17 eligible studies (24 datasets), which included 9,744 cases and 11,332 controls. The result displays that individuals carrying (CA)19 allele had a subtly decreased risk of all cancer sites [OR(95 % CI) 0.92(0.87,0.97); 0.882(0.809,0.962); 0.902(0.849,0.958)] and postmenopausal breast cancer [OR(95 % CI) 0.893(0.832,0.959); 0.834(0.719,0.968); 0.862(0.776,0.958)] in allele contrast model, CA19/CA19 vs. non-CA19/non-CA19 model, and recessive genetic model. In subgroup analysis according to ethnicities, (CA)19 repeat polymorphism had an increased risk of common cancers in Asian [OR (95 % CI) of allele contrast model: 1.105(1.000,1.224); additive model: 1.103(0.844,1.441), 1.197(1.013,1.413); recessive model: 1.039(0.831,1.300); and dominant model: 1.191(1.030,1.376)]. On the other hand, IGFBP-3-202A/C gene polymorphism did not seem to be associated with all the cancer sites in any genetic model and ethnicity. In conclusion, the result of this meta-analysis indicates that the IGF1(CA)19 polymorphism is a candidate gene polymorphism for cancer susceptibility regardless of environmental factors, especially in Asian.

Umbilical cord blood-derived marrow stromal cells (UCB-MSCs) with high proliferation capacity and immunomodulatory properties are considered to be a good candidate for cell-based therapies. But until now, little work has been focused on the differentiation of UCB-MSCs. In this work, UCB-MSCs were demonstrated to be negative for CD34 and CD45 expression but positive for CD90 and CD105 expression. The gate values of UCB-MSCs for CD90 and CD105 were 99.3 and 98.6 %, respectively. Two weeks after treatment, the percentage of neuron-like cells differentiated from UCB-MSCs was increased to 84 ± 12 % in the experimental group [treated with olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs)-conditioned medium] and they were neuron-specific enolase positive; few neuron-like cells were found in the control group (without OECs-conditioned medium). Using whole-cell recording, sodium and potassium currents were recorded in UCB-MSCs after differentiation by OECs. Thus, human UCB-MSCs could be differentiated to neural cells by secreted secretion from OECs and exhibited electrophysiological properties similar to mature neurons after 2 weeks post-induction. These results imply that OECs can be used as a new strategy for stem cell differentiation and provide an alternative neurogenesis pathway for generating sufficient numbers of neural cells for cell therapy.

In this article, we study the belief propagation algorithms for solving the multiple probable configurations (MPC) problem over graphical models. Based on the loopy max-product methodology, we first develop an iterative belief propagation mechanism (IBPM), which aims to find the most probable configurations facing with the existence of multiple solutions. In applications ranging from low-density parity-check codes to combinatorial optimization one would like to find not just the best configurations but rather than the summary of all possible explanations. Not only can this problem be solved by our proposed loopy message-passing algorithm (LMPA), we also prove that, for tree factor graph models, this LMPA guarantees fast convergence. Moveover, we subsequently present a low-complexity approach to simplifying the message integration operation throughout the whole belief propagation circulation. Simulations built on various settings demonstrate that both IBPM and LMPA can accurately and rapidly approximate the MPC in acyclic graph with hundreds of variables.

A partition checkpoint strategy based on data segment priority is presented to meet the timing constraints of the data and the transaction in embedded real-time main memory database systems (ERTMMDBS) as well as to reduce the number of the transactions missing their deadlines and the recovery time. The partition checkpoint strategy takes into account the characteristics of the data and the transactions associated with it; moreover, it partitions the database according to the data segment priority and sets the corresponding checkpoint frequency to each partition for independent checkpoint operation. The simulation results show that the partition checkpoint strategy decreases the ratio of transactions missing their deadlines.

This study was to investigate the cytotoxic effects on pituitary adenoma cell lines GH3/MMQ/AtT20 induced by RGD-FasL and the underlying mechanism. Fas/DcR3 mRNAs were detected by RT-PCR and their surface expressions were measured by flow cytometry. Cytotoxicity exerted by RGD-FasL on tumor cells was measured with MTT assay and the induced apoptosis was determined by agarose gel electrophoresis. The cell cycle and apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry with PI staining. The expressions of caspase8/9/3, Bcl-2, RANKL and JNK2 were detected by Western blotting. Approximately 13.7% of GH3 cells, 25.5% of MMQ cells, 22.2% of AtT20 cells express Fas, while 23.9% of GH3 cells, 24.1% of MMQ cells, 4.6% of AtT20 cells express DcR3. The cytotoxic effects of FasL/RGD-FasL on tumor cells were all taken in a dose-dependent manner. Cell lines MMQ/AtT20 showed the same sensitivity to RGD-FasL as to FasL, while cell line GH3 was less sensitive to RGD-FasL. The cell cycle analysis indicated that RGD-FasL could inhibit cells in G0/G1 phase and G2/M phase. In MMQ and AtT20 cells treated with RGD-FasL, the AI was not significantly different from that treated with FasL, while in GH3 cells treated with RGD-FasL, the AI was lower than that treated with FasL. The expressions of caspase-8/9/3, RANKL and JNK2 were increased while that of Bcl-2 was decreased after treatment with RGD-FasL, suggesting that RGD-FasL induces apoptosis through caspase activation. We concluded that RGD-FasL could possibly be considered as a novel therapeutical candidate for the treatment of pituitary adenomas.

The preoperative diagnosis of cavernous sinus invasion remains difficult and controversial, and there are currently no reliable histological or molecular markers that predict pituitary tumour behaviour and response to treatment. We evaluated 45 patients with pituitary adenoma. The results have shown that the sensitivity of MRI for indicating cavernous sinus invasion in this prospective study was 60%, specificity 85%, positive predictive value 83.33%, negative predictive value 62.96%. Forty-five specimens of pituitary adenomas were analyzed for expression of F8, VEGF, Ki-67, c-myc, bcl-2, nm23 and MMP-9 immunoreactivity using immunoperoxidase staining. MVD was assessed using F8-related antigen. The results have shown that MVD of invasive pituitary adenomas was significantly higher than that of noninvasive (P < 0.001). There was an association between the invasion of pituitary adenomas and Ki-67 LI (P = 0.039) or the expression of VEGF (P < 0.001) and MMP-9 (P < 0.001). But c-myc LI and bcl-2 expression have no association with invasiveness of pituitary adenomas (P = 0.061 vs. P = 0.201). On the other hand, there is an inverse relationship between nm23 expression and tumor invasion (P < 0.001). In conclusion, parasellar extension of pituitary adenomas through the medial wall of the cavernous sinus diagnosed at surgery, can be determined by radiology with sensitive gadolinium-enhanced MRI. Although our study has shown that MVD and the expression of VEGF, Ki-67, nm23 and MMP-9 have associations with invasiveness of pituitary adenomas, they are lack of specificity. These markers can only provide some useful informations on the therapeutic strategy of pituitary adenomas.

The objective of this study was to confirm the biological role of p38γ in human gliomas. The expression profiles of p38γ and hTERT in human glioma samples were detected by Western Blot and immunohistochemistry. RNA interference was performed in U251 cells by p38γ silencing. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were assayed by CCK-8 and flow cytometric analysis, and then RNA and protein expression levels were measured by real-time RT-PCR and Western Blot, respectively. Telomerase activity assays and Caspase-3,-9 activation assays were also conducted. The results showed p38γ had a positive correlation with the glioma's malignancy grade and that the treatment of U251 cells with p38γ-siRNA inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis. Correspondingly, hTERT expression and telomerase activity were down regulated and Caspase-3 and -9 activities were elevated. In conclusion, p38γ may serve as an oncogenic factor promoting the growth and progression of gliomas and may become a useful therapeutic target.