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Semi-supervised instance segmentation algorithms are mainly divided into algorithms based on pseudo-label generation and algorithms based on transfer learning. The algorithms based on pseudo-label generation need to design a specific pseudo-label generation process, but the process is not scalable for different types of source tasks. The algorithms based on transfer learning that started late have relatively high scalability, but the algorithm research ideas are relatively simple. To expand the research on semi-supervised instance segmentation based on transfer learning, this paper proposes a feature transfer-based semi-supervised instance segmentation algorithm Feature Transfer Mask R-CNN (FT-Mask). The FT-Mask algorithm is more scalable than algorithms based on pseudo-label generation and can be used to transfer knowledge from different types of source tasks. Compared with other semi-supervised instance segmentation algorithms based on transfer learning, FT-Mask uses the feature transfer method to achieve semi-supervised instance segmentation for the first time. The experimental results show that the FT-Mask model improves the semi-supervised instance segmentation accuracy of the Mask R-CNN benchmark model through the semi-supervised learning process, and can achieve effective transfer learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the standard treatment for patients who have undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) following acute myocardial infarction (MI) involves dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) with a combination of aspirin and a potent P2Y12 receptor inhibitor. However, the potential benefits of aspirin were partially constrained by the intolerance of some patients. The safety and efficacy of indobufen, an alternative antiplatelet agents to aspirin, in patients with AMI after PCI are yet to be thoroughly investigated. This retrospective study was conducted at a single center and utilized propensity score matching. The enrollment spanned from January 2019 to June 2022, incorporating patients with AMI after PCI. The participants were categorized into two groups based on discharged prescriptions: the aspirin DAPT group and the indobufen DAPT group. The primary endpoint focused on net adverse clinical event (NACE), defined as a composite outcome, including cardiac death, recurrence of MI, definite or probable stent thrombosis (ST), target lesion revascularization (TLR), ischemic stroke and Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) criteria type 2, 3, or 5. All the patients underwent a one-year follow-up period. A total of 1451 patients were enrolled in this study, with 258 assigned to the indobufen DAPT group and 1193 to the aspirin DAPT group. Following 1:1 propensity score matching, 224 patients were retained in each group. In the indobufen DAPT group, 58 individuals (25.9%) experienced the primary endpoint within one year, compared to 52 individuals (23.2%) in the aspirin DAPT group (HR 1.128, 95% CI 0.776-1.639, p = .527). Specifically, no significant differences were observed in either the efficacy endpoint (MACCE, 20.1% vs. 14.7%, HR 1.392, 95% CI 0.893-2.170, p = .146) or the safety endpoint (BARC 2,3 or 5, 8.04% vs. 10.30%, HR 0.779, p = .427). These findings remained consistent at 1, 3, or 6 months. Additionally, the incidence of gastrointestinal symptoms were significantly lower in indobufen DAPT group compared to the aspirin DAPT group (7.1% vs. 14.3%, p = .022). Our research reveals that the efficacy and safety of indobufen are comparable to aspirin in Chinese patients with AMI following PCI. Given the potential advantages of indobufen in alleviating gastrointestinal symptoms, we propose it as a viable alternative for individuals intolerant to aspirin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent study had deepened our knowledge of the mitochondrial dynamics to classify mitochondrial fission into two types. To further clarify the relationship between the two distinct fission machinery and the four major adaptors of Drp1, we propose a model of mechanism elucidating the multiple functions of phospho-Drp1 with its adaptors during cell cycle and providing in-depth insights into the molecular basis and evolutionary implications in depth. The model highlights not only the clustering characteristics of different phospho-Drp1 with respective subsets of mitochondrial pro-fission adaptors but also the correlation, crosstalk and shifting between different clustering of phosphorylated Drp1-adaptors during different key fission situations. Particularly, phospho-Drp1 (Ser616) couples with Mff/MiD51 to exert mitochondrial division and phospho-Drp1 (Ser637) couples with MiD49/Fis1 to execute mitophagy in M-phase. We then apply the model to address the relationship of mitochondrial dynamics to Parkinson's disease (PD) and carcinogenesis. Our proposed model is indeed compatible with current research results and pathological observations, providing promising directions for future treatment design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) reverse transcriptase (RT) works in the life cycle of HIV and is one of the key targets for anti-HIV-1 drug development. Recently, a novel series of diarylpyrimidine derivatives (DAPYs) have been reported as potent HIV-1 non-nucleoside RT inhibitors (NNRTIs), and they exhibit potent antiviral activity. Here we explored the binding interaction patterns of a set of 2,4,5-trisubstituted pyrimidine derivatives using molecular docking, three-dimensional quantitative structure–activity relationships (3D-QSAR), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Molecular docking for exploring the mechanism of action of small molecule ligands with receptor proteins. Comparative molecular field (CoMFA q2 = 0.828, r2 = 0.988, r2pred = 0.981) and comparative molecular similarity index (CoMSIA q2 = 0.859, r2 = 0.968, r2pred = 0.980) were performed to build stable and reliable 3D-QSAR models. The contour plots revealed the relationship between structural features and inhibitory activities. Based on the molecular docking analysis and contour maps, some novel compounds with higher predicted activities were designed and further MD simulations and bind free energy calculations were performed. Our models results may provide an essential reference for the design and development of effective novel HIV-1 NNRTIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the apoptotic response of two glioblastoma cells, p53 wild type U87 and p53 mutated T98G, to doxorubicin, bortezomib, and vorinostat, which respectively target DNA, 26S proteasome and histone deacetylase, to clarify p53ʹs function in apoptosis. We demonstrated that doxorubicin induced apoptosis in U87 cells but not in T98G cells. The level of p53 was definitively correlated to the extent of DNA damage and apoptosis initiation. Dominant-negative p53 reduced p21 expression, but did not affect doxorubicin-induced apoptosis, so the transcriptional activity of p53 seemed not to participate in doxorubicin-induced apoptosis. However, p53 concentrated into the nucleus during heavy apoptosis. Bortezomib could induce apoptosis in U87 with high sensitivity and T98G cells with low sensitivity. In contrast, vorinostat promoted apoptosis in both U87 and T98G cells and reduced the basal level of p53 in U87 cells, indicating that p53 played no role in the vorinostat-induced apoptosis. To clearly define the role of p53 in bortezomib- and doxorubicin-induced apoptosis, we combined doxorubicin with bortezomib to treat U87 cells to assess this combination's effect on apoptosis and p53 status. Interestingly, the combination of doxorubicin with bortezomib engendered compound stress, resulting in a synergistic outcome for apoptosis in U87 cells. However, the amounts of p53 in the total count and in the nucleus were much lower with the combination than with doxorubicin alone, suggesting that p53 played no role in either the compound stress, doxorubicin-only or bortezomib-induced apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a novel gaseous transmitter, regulating a multitude of biological processes in the cardiovascular and other systems. However, it remains unclear whether it exerts any effect on arterial thrombosis. In this study, we examined the effect of H2S on ferric chloride (FeCl3)-induced thrombosis in the rat common carotid artery (CCA). The results revealed a decrease of the H2S-producing enzyme cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE) expression and H2S production that persisted until 48 h after FeCl3application. Intriguingly, administration with NaHS at appropriate regimen reduced the thrombus formation and enhanced the blood flow, accompanied with the alleviation of CSE and CD31 downregulation, and endothelial cell apoptosis in the rat CCA following FeCl3application. Moreover, the antithrombotic effect of H2S was also observed in Rose Bengal photochemical model in which the development of thrombosis is contributed by oxidative injury to the endothelium. Thein vitrostudy demonstrated that the mRNA and protein expression of CSE, as well as H2S production, was decreased in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-treated endothelial cells. Exogenous supplement of NaHS and CSE overexpression consistently alleviated the increase of cleaved caspase-3 and endothelial cell damage caused by H2O2. Taken together, our findings suggest that endogenous H2S generation in the endothelium may be impaired during arterial thrombosis and that modulation of H2S, either exogenous supplement or boost of endogenous production, may become a potential venue for arterial thrombosis therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The heavy metals in non-burnt bricks made from municipal solid waste (MSW) gasification slags with a modified European Bureau Community of Reference procedure were studied. Heavy metals were present in the form of oxidizable and residual fractions, which were stable and not easy to dissolve. The preparation process of non-burnt bricks displayed prominent solidification effect for some heavy metals in the gasification slag. The solidified rate for metals, such as As, Cd, Cr, Ni, and Zn reached 89.82%, 79.57%, 73.64%, 66.73%, and 88.05%, respectively. Moreover, the leaching concentrations of eight heavy metals were all below 8 mg/kg. On the basis of these observations, the risk of exposure to heavy metals in non-burnt bricks was evaluated using the solidification formula and the leaching concentration of heavy metals combined with the assessments of the Hakanson potential ecological risk and pollution ratio of secondary phase and primary phase. Results showed that the preparation of MSW gasification slag non-burnt bricks was not harmful to the environment, but attention is warranted for possible migration of heavy metal cadmium (Cd) in the long term, which may result in an impact on the ecological environment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Accurately and rapidly predicting the shrink mold shape of direct injection-expanded foam molding is an important and difficult task. This molding method is widely used by sports shoe sole manufacturers to create shock-resistant materials. Modifying the shrink mold shape using the numerical optimization method is crucial to rapidly obtaining the correct shrink mold size. This study uses a series of rectangle specimens to identify the relationship between the thermal heating of molding and the expansion ratio of ethylene vinyl acetate foam material and then uses this thermal expansion ratio to simulate expansion behavior. The experiments in this study also use the actual shoe sole type, which has the original three-dimensional (3D) shape, and use the proposed simulation method to obtain the simulation expansion shape. This study also develops an optimization algorithm based on 3D registration and the Newton–Raphson method to obtain the shrink mold shape. We also manufactured the shrink mold and obtained the shoe sole product to compare any discrepancies between the product and the original 3D shape. The results of this method meet the requirements of the shoe sole factory (i.e., achieve a difference of less than 3 mm). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly-crystal zinc oxide thin films with c-axis orientation have been successfully grown on the silicon substrate by r.f. magnetron sputtering technique. A systematic study has been made of the influence of substrate temperature on the film structural and optical properties. For SAW device applications, it is necessary for ZnO films to have c-axis oriented crystalline structure. Much lower FWHM values 0.24 &circle; is obtained under the substrate temperature at 100 &circle; C for gaining effective electromechanical coupling. Crystalline structures, stress, and surface morphology characteristics of the films were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy. Reflective Second Harmonic Generation was used to analyze the quality of the ZnO film, and the results from these ZnO films coincide with the X-ray pattern and SEM image. Optical transmittance measurements were carried out by UV-visible spectrophotometer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we report the complete mitochondrial genome of Bombyx mandarina strain Shenyang. The genome is 15,682 bp in length and contains a typically conserved 37 metazoan genes (13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes and an A + T-rich region). The A + T-rich region of B. mandarina Shenyang contains only one copy of the repeat element of a 126-bp as found in Chinese B. mandarina. A phylogenetic analysis provides a solid evidence that B. mandarina Shenyang belongs to Chinese B. mandarina, rather than Japanese B. mamdarina. The mitochondrial genome will provide useful information for the origin of the present day silkworm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]