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The content of task T6.3 is described as follows: UKON provides an interface for the insilico models to manage the dataflow between the models and the visualization interface. This task is undertaken in cooperation with WP5 (model development) and implementation of the visual tools on the final simulation framework will be undertaken in WP7, as part of the platform integration. The visualization tools proposed for the in-silico models will enable a visualization of the reliability of predictive data. Each calculated model introduces uncertainty to a certain degree. Experts in the medical field cannot fully rely on these results, which is communicated effectively by an uncertainty score produced by the prediction algorithms. The uncertainty score reflects the model uncertainty by comparing the predictions with the outcomes of the large-scale database. UKON will design a general uncertainty score, which will be added to the models as a further measure for the reliability of the prediction. In order to check if the user-driven exploration interface is tailored to the users’ needs, we provide several design prototypes during the project to ensure the appropriateness of visual encodings. Recurring feedback sessions with experts are needed to confirm our design decisions for the visual tools, as well as to ensure that the domain experts are in line., {"references":["[1] Keim, Daniel, Kohlhammer, Jörn, and Ellis, Geoffrey. \"Mastering the Information Age: Solving Problems with Visual Analytics, Eurographics Association.\" (2010).","[2] Sacha, Dominik, et al. \"Knowledge generation model for visual analytics.\" IEEE transactions on visualization and computer graphics 20.12 (2014): 1604-1613.","[3] Marco Tulio Ribeiro, Sameer Singh, and Carlos Guestrin. \"Why Should I Trust You?\": Explaining the Predictions of Any Classifier. In Proceedings of the 22nd ACM SIGKDD International Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, (2016), 1135–1144.","[4] U. Schlegel, D. L. Vo, D. A. Keim, D. Seebacher: \"TS-MULE: Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations for Time Series Forecast Models\". European Advances in Interpretable Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AIMLAI) (2021)","[5] U. Schlegel, D. A. Keim: \"Time Series Model Attribution Visualizations as Explanations\". Workshop on Trust and Expertise in Visual Analytics (TREX) at IEEE Visualization Conference (VIS) (2021)","[6] Hüllermeier, E., Waegeman, W. \"Aleatoric and epistemic uncertainty in machine learning: an introduction to concepts and methods\". Machine Learning 110, 457–506 (2021).","[7] McInnes, Leland, John Healy, and James Melville. \"Umap: Uniform manifold approximation and projection for dimension reduction.\" arXiv preprint arXiv:1802.03426 (2018).","[8] Bonneau, G. P., Hege, H. C., Johnson, C. R., Oliveira, M. M., Potter, K., Rheingans, P., & Schultz, T. \"Overview and state-of-the-art of uncertainty visualization\". In Scientific Visualization (2014)","[9] Hullman, J., Qiao, X., Correll, M., Kale, A., & Kay, M. \"In pursuit of error: A survey of uncertainty visualization evaluation\". IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, (2018): 25(1).","[10] MacEachren, A. M. \"Visual Analytics and Uncertainty: It's Not About the Data\". In E. Bertini & J. C. Roberts (Reds), EuroVis Workshop on Visual Analytics (EuroVA) (2015)","[11] Sacha, Dominik, et al. \"The role of uncertainty, awareness, and trust in visual analytics.\" IEEE transactions on visualization and computer graphics 22.1 (2015): 240-249.","[12] S. M. Lundberg and S.-I. Lee, \"A Unified Approach to Interpreting Model Predictions,\" in Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 30, I. Guyon, U. V. Luxburg, S. Bengio, H. Wallach, R. Fergus, S. Vishwanathan, and R. Garnett, Eds. Curran Associates, Inc., (2017): 4765–4774."]}

Main conclusion Cucurbita argyrosperma domestication affected plant defence by downregulating the cucurbitacin synthesis-associated genes. However, tissue-specific suppression of defences made the cultivars less attractive to co-evolved herbivores Diabrotica balteata and Acalymma spp. Abstract Plant domestication reduces the levels of defensive compounds, increasing susceptibility to insects. In squash, the reduction of cucurbitacins has independently occurred several times during domestication. The mechanisms underlying these changes and their consequences for insect herbivores remain unknown. We investigated how Cucurbita argyrosperma domestication has affected plant chemical defence and the interactions with two herbivores, the generalist Diabrotica balteata and the specialist Acalymma spp. Cucurbitacin levels and associated genes in roots and cotyledons in three wild and four domesticated varieties were analysed. Domesticated varieties contained virtually no cucurbitacins in roots and very low amounts in cotyledons. Contrastingly, cucurbitacin synthesis-associated genes were highly expressed in the roots of wild populations. Larvae of both insects strongly preferred to feed on the roots of wild squash, negatively affecting the generalist’s performance but not that of the specialist. Our findings illustrate that domestication results in tissue-specific suppression of chemical defence, making cultivars less attractive to co-evolved herbivores. In the case of squash, this may be driven by the unique role of cucurbitacins in stimulating feeding in chrysomelid beetles.

Pure CeO2 nanocatalysts fabricated by different methods are obtained and the impact of surface oxygen species on their CO oxidation is compared and evaluated.

The strength aspect of clay soil is a critical concern in practical engineering design. Electroosmosis (EO) has been adopted as a foundation treatment technology in some projects to increase the strength of soft clay. In order to widen the understanding on shear strength performance of EO-treated soil, the behavior of EO-treated soft clay using electrokinetic geosynthetics (EKG) as electrodes under the effect of water immersion was evaluated and compared with that of vacuum preloading (VP) treated soft clay under similar conditions. The main finding was that the EO-treated soil when immersed in water offered more resistance to the change in average water content than VP-treated soil. The average shear strength of EO-treated soil fell by 36.6% during 4 extra days of immersion. When the immersion time was extended to 10 days, the average shear strength fell by 65.4%. In contrast, the immersion time had little influence on the shear strength of VP-treated soil. Hence, if EO-treated soft clays are to be subjected to short-term water immersion, the shear strength of the treated foundations should be reappraised to ensure the safety of the engineering projects.

International audience; The purpose of this work is to present a patient-specific (PS) modeling approach for simulating percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) endovascular treatment and assessing the balloon sizing influence on short-term outcomes in peripheral arteries, i.e. without stent implantation. Two 3D PS stenosed femoral artery models, one with a dominant calcified atherosclerosis while the other with a lipidic plaque, were generated from pre-operative computed tomography angiography images. Elastoplastic constitutive laws were implemented within the plaque and artery models. Implicit finite element method (FEM) was used to simulate the balloon inflation and deflation for different sizings. Besides vessel strains, results were mainly evaluated in terms of the elastic recoil ratio (ERR) and lumen gain ratio (LGR) attained immediately after PTA. Higher LGR values were shown within the stenosed region of the lipidic patient. Simulated results also showed a direct and quantified correlation between balloon sizing and LGR and ERR for both patients after PTA, with a more significant influence on the lumen gain. The max principal strain values in the outer arterial wall increased at higher balloon sizes during inflation as well, with higher rates of increase when the plaque was calcified. Results show that our model could serve in finding a compromise for each stenosis type: maximizing the achieved lumen gain after PTA, but at the same time without damaging the arterial tissue. The proposed methodology can serve as a step toward a clinical decision support system to improve angioplasty balloon sizing selection prior to the surgery.

Aim To investigate the expression of formyl peptide receptor 2 (FPR2) in maternal blood, umbilical blood, and placenta of patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and to analyze the changes of other pro‐inflammatory cytokines in blood, including interleukin 33 (IL‐33), IL‐1β, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF‐α), and C‐reactive protein (CRP), so as to reveal the pathogenesis of GDM. Methods FPR2, IL‐33, IL‐1β, T TNF‐α, and CRP in maternal blood and umbilical cord blood of 50 pregnant women with GDM and 30 normal pregnant women were analyzed by ELISA method to explore the correlation between inflammatory factors and blood glucose. The expression of FPR2 in placental tissues was analyzed by PCR and immunohistochemistry. Results The expression of FPR2 in maternal blood of gestational diabetes patients was significantly higher than that of normal pregnant women, and other inflammatory factors IL‐33 and IL‐1β in maternal blood were also significantly increased. The expression of FPR2 in umbilical cord blood of gestational diabetes was higher than that of normal pregnant women, but the difference was not significant. Other inflammatory factors IL‐33, IL‐1β, and CRP in umbilical cord blood were also significantly increased. The expression of FPR2mRNA and protein in placental tissues of gestational diabetes was significantly higher than that of normal pregnant women. Conclusions The level of FPR2, IL‐33, and IL‐1β in maternal blood was related to the pathogenesis of GDM and these inflammatory factors could be used as special candidate direction of marks for the prevention, clinical treatment and drug design of GDM, laying a new theoretical foundation for the treatment of GDM.

Countless studies have demonstrated that Circular RNAs (circRNAs) exert vital effects in regulating tumorigenesis of various cancers. CircRNA ZNF609 (circ-ZNF609) has been reported as an oncogene in various human cancers. Nevertheless, its regulating effect in cervical cancer (CC) remains to be further explored. RT-qPCR was adopted to measure circ-ZNF609, miR-197-3p and E2F6 levels. CC cell proliferation, migration and invasion were analyzed via CCK-8 and transwell assays. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was adopted to confirm the interaction between miR-197-3p and circ-ZNF609 or E2F6. In the present study, it was found that circ-ZNF609 was elevated in CC tissues and cell lines, and circ-ZNF609 deletion repressed cell viability, migration and invasion in CC. Moreover, circ-ZNF609 was identified to negatively regulate miR-197-3p expression in CC cells. The inhibition of miR-197-3p abrogated the inhibitory effect on CC cell proliferation, migration and invasion induced by circ-ZNF609 knockdown. Additionally, we further demonstrated that circ-ZNF609 upregulated E2F6 by interacting with miR-197-3p. Finally, rescue assays indicated that E2F6 overexpression upended the suppression of CC progression induced by circ-ZNF609 deletion. In conclusion, circ-ZNF609 promoted CC progression through modulating the miR-197-3p/E2F6 axis as an oncogene. This finding offers a unique insight into CC molecular mechanism and suggests a potential target for CC therapy., Graphical abstract

Background Angiogenesis is a significant factor for the cure of ischemia diseases. We found that human umbilical cord vein perivascular stem cells (UCV-PSCs) and umbilical cord artery perivascular stem cells (UCA-PSCs) have markers of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and multidifferentiation abilities similar to Wharton’s jelly mesenchymal stem cells (WJ-MSCs). Moreover, UCA-PSCs and UCV-PSCs have stronger angiogenesis ability and cell migration ability than WJ-MSCs, for which the regulatory mechanism remains unclear. Results The western blot data showed that, compared with that in WJ-MSCs, the expression of specific protein 1 (Sp1) and CD146 in UCV-PSCs and UCA-PSCs was upregulated, suggesting that Sp1 and CD146 may have an important role in angiogenesis in cell populations. By searching the GenBank promoter database, the binding site of Sp1 was found in the promoter of CD146. A proposed mechanism for angiogenesis is that Sp1 induces the UCA-PSCs angiogenesis process by activating the expression of CD146, which activates the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. The β-catenin, GSK3β and p-GSK3β expression was upregulated in UCA-PSCs overexpressing CD146 and decreased in UCA-PSCs in which CD146 was silenced. Conclusion Our data demonstrated Sp1 activates the protein expression of CD146 in UCA-PSCs via the Wnt/β-catenin pathway mediating angiogenesis. These findings offer new ideas and strategies for the treatment of ischemic diseases.

Left heart disease is the main cause of clinical pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Common types of left heart disease that result in PAH include heart failure, left ventricular systolic dysfunction, left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and valvular disease. It is currently believed that mechanical pressure caused by high pulmonary venous pressure is the main cause of myocardial infarction (MI) in individuals with ischemic cardiomyopathy and left ventricular systolic dysfunction. In the presence of decreased cardiac function, vascular remodeling of pulmonary vessels in response to long‑term stimulation by high pressure in turn leads to exacerbation of PAH. However, the underlying pathological mechanisms remain unclear. Elucidating the association between the development of MI and PAH may lead to a better understanding of potential risk factors and better disease treatment. In this article, the pathophysiological effects of multiple systems in individuals with MI and PAH were reviewed in order to provide a general perspective on various potential interactions between cardiomyocytes and pulmonary vascular cells.

Pharmacokinetic (PK) models are used to extract physiological information from dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) sequences. Some of the most common models employed in clinical practice, such as the standard Tofts model (STM) or the extended Tofts model (ETM), do not account for passive delivery of contrast agent (CA) through diffusion. In this work, we introduce a diffusive term based on the concept of effective diffusivity into a finite element (FE) implementation of the ETM formulation, obtaining a new formulation for the diffusion-corrected ETM (D-ETM). A gradient-based optimization algorithm is developed to characterize the vascular properties of the tumour from the CA concentration curves obtained from imaging clinical data. To test the potential of our approach, several theoretical distributions of CA concentration are generated on a benchmark problem and a real tumour geometry. The vascular properties used to generate these distributions are estimated from an inverse analysis based on both the ETM and the D-ETM approaches. The outcome of these analyses shows the limitations of the ETM to retrieve accurate parameters in the presence of diffusion. The ETM returns smoothed distributions of vascular properties, reaching unphysical values in some of them, while the D-ETM accurately depicted the heterogeneity of KTrans, v$$_{e}$$ e and v$$_{p}$$ p distributions (mean absolute relative difference (ARD) of 16%, 15% and 9%, respectively, for the real geometry case) keeping all their values within their physiological ranges, outperforming the ETM.

Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is a threat to human reproductive health worldwide. CircPUM1 has been reported to participate in the pathogenesis of various diseases. However, there has been no report on its association with RSA yet. In this study, gene expressions were examined by RT-qPCR. Protein levels of JUNB and cleaved caspases-3 were detected by Western blotting. ELISA was used to detect TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8 levels. Cell viability, migration, invasion, and apoapsis were analyzed using CCK-8, transwell, and flow cytometry assays. The association between miR-30a-5p and circPUM1 or JUNB was identified by bioinformatics analysis, dual-luciferase reporter assay, and RIP assay. Herein, we found circPUM1 was significantly downregulated in RSA placental samples. CircPUM1 knockdown induced decreased proliferation, migration, and invasion, but increased apoptosis, pro-apoptotic protein (cleaved caspases-3) level, and proinflammatory factor (TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-8) secretion in trophoblast cells. Furthermore, we confirmed that circPUM1 was a sponge for miR-30a-5p, and JUNB was directly targeted by miR-30a-5p. It was demonstrated that miR-30a-5p inhibition could reverse trophoblast cell dysfunction and inflammation induced by circPUM1 knockdown. In addition, we found that JUNB expression was negatively modulated by miR-30a-5p and positively regulated by circPUM1. Moreover, circPUM1 inhibition exacerbated dysfunction and inflammation in trophoblast cells via targeting JUNB. To sum up, our study indicated that circPUM1 could impair RSA occurrence and development by facilitating trophoblast cellular processes and protecting against inflammation via the miR-30a-5p/JUNB axis, providing a new target for the improvement of RSA diagnosis and treatment.

Tibial plateau fractures correspond to articular injuries. It represents 1.03% of all bone fractures in general population and 8% in the elderly population. The most frequent tibial plateau fractur...

Background Surgical site infection (SSI) is a common postoperative complication. We aimed to analyze the potential risk factors of SSI in patients with endometrial carcinoma. Methods Patients with endometrial carcinoma who underwent surgery treatment in our hospital from Sept 1, 2018 to August 31, 2020 were included. We retrospectively compared the characteristics of SSI and no SSI patients, and logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the risk factors of SSI in patients with endometrial carcinoma. Results A total of 318 postoperative patients with endometrial carcinoma were included. The incidence of SSI in patients with endometrial carcinoma was 14.47 %. There were significant differences on the FIGO stage, type of surgery, durations of drainage, postoperative serum albumin and postoperative blood sugar (all p 0.05). FIGO stage IV (HR3.405, 95 %CI 2.132–5.625), open surgery (HR2.692, 95 %CI 1.178–3.454), durations of drainage ≥ 7 d (HR2.414,95 %CI 1.125–2.392), postoperative serum albumin Conclusions Measures including reasonable control of serum albumin and blood glucose levels, minimally invasive surgery as much as possible, timely assessment of drainage and early removal of the tube may be beneficial to reduce the postoperative SSI in in patients with endometrial carcinoma.

International audience; In this work we propose a generic modeling approach for simulating percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) endovascular treatment, and evaluating the influence of balloon design, plaque composition, and balloon sizing on acute post-procedural outcomes right after PTA, without stent implantation. Clinically-used PTA balloons were classified into two categories according to their compliance characteristics, and were modeled correspondingly. Self-defined elastoplastic constitutive laws were implemented within the plaque and artery models, after calibration based on experimental and clinical data. Finite element method (FEM) implicit solver was used to simulate balloon inflation and deflation. Besides balloon profile at max inflation, results are mainly assessed in terms of the elastic recoil ratio (ERR) and lumen gain ratio (LGR) obtained immediately after PTA. No variations in ERR nor LGR values were detected when the balloon design changed, despite the differences observed in their profile at max inflation. Moreover, LGR and ERR inversely varied with the augmentation of calcification level within the plaque (-11% vs. +4% respectively, from fully lipidic to fully calcified plaque). Furthermore, results showed a direct correlation between balloon sizing and LGR and ERR, with noticeably higher rates of change for LGR (+18% and +2% for LGR and ERR respectively for a calcified plaque and a balloon pressure increasing from 10 to 14 atm). However a larger LGR comes with a higher risk of arterial rupture. This proposed methodology opens the way for evaluation of angioplasty balloon selections towards clinical procedure optimization.

Background: Ovarian cancer (OC) is one lethal gynecologic cancer, with a 5-year survival rate approximately 47% and localized stage diagnosis of 15%. Circular RNAs are promising biomarkers for malignancies. Methods: CiRS-7 expression was confirmed in 40 paired OC and normal adjacent tissues from 40 OC patients with different TNM stages, lymph node metastasis status and overall survival rate, also 5 different OC cell lines by qRT-PCR. Effects of ciRS-7 silence on OC cell phenotypes were determined in OC cells and Xenograft mouse model. StarBase was used to predict binding sites between ciRS-7 and micRNAs. Pearson correlation analysis and RNA-immunoprecipitation assay were used to determine the association between genes. Point mutation and rescue experiments were applied for molecular mechanism investigation. Results: CiRS-7 expression was significantly higher in OC cells and tissues, which was significantly associated with the TNM stages, lymph node metastasis status and overall survival rate in OC patients. CiRS-7 silence inhibited OC cell growth and metastasis. CiRS-7 sponged miR-641 to up-regulate ZEB1 and MDM2 expression in OC development. Conclusion: CiRS-7 serves as a competing endogenous RNA of miR-641 that promoted cell growth and metastasis in OC, via regulating ZEB1 and MDM2-mediated EMT. High ciRS-7 expression was a poor prognosis of TNM stages, lymph node metastasis status and overall survival rate in OC patients. Targeting ciRS-7/miR-641/ZEB1 or ciRS-7/miR-641/MDM2 axis may be a novel diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic strategy for OC.

Insect desaturases are known to play an important role in chemical communication between individuals. However, their roles in insect growth, development and fecundity, and in regulating interactions of insects with plants, remain largely unknown. In this study, we explored the functions of Nlug-desatA2, a desaturase gene of the brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stål). The RNA interference-based knockdown of Nlug-desatA2 decreased the ratio of monounsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids, and the level of fatty acids and triglycerides in BPH. Nlug-desatA2-knockdown also reduced the food intake, body mass and fecundity of female BPH adults, and led to abdomen atrophy and ovarian agenesis. Nlug-desatA2-knockdown suppressed the transcription of TOR (target of rapamycin), Lpp (Lipophorin) and AKHR (adipokinetic hormone receptor) in female adults. Moreover, the corrected survival rate of BPH with Nlug-desatA2-knockdown fed an artificial diet was higher than the survival rate of those fed on rice plants. Higher levels of salicylic acid in rice infested by Nlug-desatA2-knockdown female BPH adults than in rice infested by control BPH may be the reason. These findings demonstrate that Nlug-desatA2 has an essential role in lipid metabolism and is involved in the food intake, survival, development and fecundity of BPH. In addition, this gene is likely involved in regulating the responses of rice to BPH infestation.

PURPOSE Cervical cancer is one of the most fatal diseases among women in under-developed countries. To improve cervical cancer treatment, discovery of new targets is needed. In this study, we investigated the expression of NUP210, miR-22, and Fas in cervical cancer tissues and their functions in cell cycle regulation. MATERIALS AND METHODS We detected and compared the expression levels of NUP210, miR-22, and Fas in cervical cancer tissues with paired normal tissues using immunohistochemistry, Western blot, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. NUP210 was knocked down in HeLa cells via lentivirus, followed by cell cycle and proliferation analysis. Using a luciferase reporter assay, we explored the link between miR-22 and NUP210. We overexpressed miR-22 in HeLa cells and analyzed cell cycle and proliferation function. We then overexpressed miR-22 in NUP210 knockdown cells to explore the connection between Fas and miR-22-NUP210 signaling. RESULTS We found that NUP210 was overexpressed in cervical cancer patients. Knocking down NUP210 restored cell apoptosis and proliferation. We confirmed miR-22 as a regulator of NUP210 and verified that miR-22 was inhibited in cervical cancer development. We also found that restoring miR-22 expression could induce cell apoptosis. Finally, we found that miR-22-regulated expression of NUP210 could alter Fas expression and, in turn, elicit cell cycle arrest and proliferation. CONCLUSION miR-22 in cervical cancer is downregulated, resulting in NUP210 overexpression and inhibition of Fas-induced cell apoptosis.

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) plays an important role in the development of human malignant tumours. Recently, an increasing number of lncRNAs have been identified and investigated in a variety of tumours. However, the expression pattern and biological function of lncRNAs in cervical cancer still remain largely unexplored. Differentially expressed lncRNAs in cervical cancer and para-carcinoma tissues were identified by screening using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and candidate lncRNAs were verified by quantitative real-time PCR. We found that lncRNAC5orf66-AS1 was significantly upregulated in cervical cancer tissues and cells. Over-expression of C5orf66-AS1 promoted the proliferation of cervical cancer cells, while downregulation of C5orf66-AS1 promoted the apoptosis of cervical cancer cells. C5orf66-AS1 was identified as the sponge of miR-637 by RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and luciferase reporter assays. Exogenous miR-637 and RING1 interventions could reverse the proliferation ability mediated by C5orf66-AS1 in cervical cancer cells. In vivo experiments also confirmed that downregulation of C5orf66-AS1 inhibited the tumour growth. LncRNA C5orf66-AS1, as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA), regulated the effect of RING1 on the proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle of cervical cancer cells through adsorbing miR-637. Taken together, our findings provided a new theoretical and experimental basis for investigating the pathogenesis and exploring effective therapeutic targets for cervical cancer.

Background Intake of ω-3 PUFAs have been demonstrated to have positive effects on pregnancy outcome, whose receptor, GPR120, regulates several cellular functions including differentiation, metabolism and immune reaction. However, whether GPR120 is involved in decidualization and pregnancy remains unknown. Methods Decidua tissue from women with normal pregnancy and spontaneous abortion were collected to determine the expression profile of GPR120. Abortion mouse models and artificially induced deciduoma in mice were established to evaluate the effect of GPR120 on pregnancy outcome and in vivo decidualization. HESCs and primary DSCs were used to explore the roles of GPR120 in decidualization and mechanisms involved. Findings We found that GPR120 functioned to promote decidualization by upregulating glucose uptake and pentose-phosphate pathway (PPP) of human endometrial stromal cells. Firstly, the expression of GPR120 in decidua of spontaneous abortion was downregulated compared to normal decidua. Lack of GPR120 predisposed mice to LPS or RU486 induced abortion. Decidualization was augmented by GPR120 via improving GLUT1-mediated glucose uptake and G6PD- mediated PPP. FOXO1 was upregulated by GPR120 via activation of ERK1/2 and AMPK signaling and increased the expression of GLUT1. Furthermore, the expression of chemokines and cytokines in decidual stromal cells was enhanced by GPR120. Lastly, GPR120 agonist ameliorated LPS-induced abortion in the mice. Interpretation GPR120 plays significant roles in decidualization and the maintenance of pregnancy, which might be a potential target for diagnosis and treatment of spontaneous abortion. Fund Ministry of Science and Technology of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Program of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality.

The brown planthopper (BPH) Nilaparvata lugens is one of the most destructive insect pests on rice (Oryza sativa) in Asia. After landing on plants, BPH rapidly accesses plant phloem and sucks the phloem sap through unknown mechanisms. We discovered a salivary endo-β-1,4-glucanase (NlEG1) that has endoglucanase activity with a maximal activity at pH 6 at 37°C and is secreted into rice plants by BPH NlEG1 is highly expressed in the salivary glands and midgut. Silencing NlEG1 decreases the capacity of BPH to reach the phloem and reduces its food intake, mass, survival, and fecundity on rice plants. By contrast, NlEG1 silencing had only a small effect on the survival rate of BPH raised on artificial diet. Moreover, NlEG1 secreted by BPH did not elicit the production of the defense-related signal molecules salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, and jasmonoyl-isoleucine in rice, although wounding plus the application of the recombination protein NlEG1 did slightly enhance the levels of jasmonic acid and jasmonoyl-isoleucine in plants compared with the corresponding controls. These data suggest that NlEG1 enables the BPH's stylet to reach the phloem by degrading celluloses in plant cell walls, thereby functioning as an effector that overcomes the plant cell wall defense in rice.

Desaturases are essentially required for unsaturated fatty acid (UFA) biosynthesis. We identified 10 genes encoding putative desaturases in the transcriptome database of the brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens. These include eight First Desaturase family genes, one cytochrome b5 fused desaturase gene (Nlug-Cytb5r) and one Sphingolipid Desaturase gene (Nlug-ifc). Transcript level profiling revealed significant variation in the expression patterns of these genes across tissues and developmental stages, which occur in a gene-specific manner. Interestingly, their expression was also modulated by the insect food source: the mRNA levels of Nlug-desatC and Nlug-Cytb5r were down-regulated, but the expression level of Nlug-desatA1-b and Nlug-desatA1-c were elevated in the BPH fed on the resistant rice variety Babawee as compared to the non-resistant variety Taichun Native 1 (TN1). Silencing Nlug-desatA1-b, Nlug-desatA1-c, or Nlug-Ifc reduced fatty acid composition and abundance in female BPH 1-d-old-adults compared to controls. Whereas, single knockdown of all ten desaturase genes significantly increased mortality of BPH nymphs compared with controls. Of the ten desaturase genes, knockdown of Nlug-desatA1-b and Nlug-desatA2 caused the highest mortality in BPH (91% and 97%, respectively). Our findings offer a base for expression and functional characterization of newly identified desaturase genes in BPH, and may contribute to RNA interference-based pest management strategies.

The expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFLT-1) in the serum of patients with pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) syndrome and its effects on the foetus was explored. A total of 105 cases of PIH pregnant women admitted to The First People's Hospital of Changzhou from March 2015 to February 2018 were divided into 3 groups according to the severity of the patients condition. Group A (n=35) was hypertension complicating pregnancy, group B (n=46) was mild preeclampsia and group C (n=24) was severe preeclampsia. In addition, 35 healthy pregnant women were selected as the control group. VEGF and sFLT-1 levels in serum were detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, and the correlations between levels of VEGF and sFLT-1, neonatal weight and Apgar score were analyzed. Compared with group A, the level of serum VEGF was lower, while the level of sFLT-1 was higher in groups B and C (P

Rationale Pituitary tumor apoplexy (PTA) is a rare clinical syndrome which requires urgent diagnosis and treatment due to its life-threatening consequences. Management of undiagnosed pituitary tumor before pregnancy is a problem during pregnancy. Patient concerns We reported a case with PTA which was not diagnosed before pregnancy presenting with vomiting associated with hyponatremia during the third trimester. After supplying the sodium the patient presented with dysarthria and hemiplegia. Diagnoses MRI examination showed PTA accompanied with extrapontine myelinolysis (EPM). Interventions The patient was given hydrocortisone according to the symptoms gradually to taper off dose, at the same times oral levothyroxine therapy (25μg/day) was given. Outcomes The patient delivered a healthy baby via cesarean section at hospital at 38 + 1 week of gestation. We performed MRI examination regularly and the tumor regressed significantly 8 months postpartum. Lessons We reported a case as PTA associated with EPM. Headache during pregnancy is often nonspecific, so careful medical history inquiry is very important.

For a long time, anaerobic digestion (AD) is considered to be one of the most promising methods to solve the problem of solid waste recycling. The addition of zero-valent iron (ZVI) in AD system is proved to be of great improvement. In this review, we reviewed the principle of ZVI in AD process and the mechanism studied at present. Then, the applications of ZVI in various solid waste AD system, such as sludge, manure, and food waste (FW), were thoroughly reviewed. In particular, some important factors for ZVI performances were carefully addressed, including pretreatment method, particle size and addition amount. Most studies reported that the proper amount of ZVI has a good effect on microbial activity, that is, the control of a certain dosage of ZVI has a positive effect, mainly manifested in better long-term stability of the digester, such as greater substrate degradation, lower volatile fatty acids (VFAs) concentration and higher microbial abundance and methane production. However, due to the great variance of the AD operation and digestion substrates, there are still many challenges when designing an efficient and cost-effective AD system for practical solid waste recycling. Therefore, further studies are acquired for better utilize ZVI to enhance AD performances according to different conditions.

Summary This paper describes a selective mass scaling method which is designed for the analysis of wave propagation problems in nearly incompressible materials. The incompressibility of materials leads to a high value of the compressional wave speed, which makes the time step extremely small in explicit time integration method. The proposed selective mass scaling method selects the eigenfrequencies related to volumetric deformation modes to decrease them, while it keeps the shear eigenmodes unchanged. This makes the time step no longer limited by the compressional wave speed but by the shear wave speed. A significant reduction of CPU time is obtained with a good accuracy for transient problems in small strains on free or largely prestressed media. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Background/aim: We sought to determine what factors cardiovascular complications (CVCs) correlate with in cancer patients with acute postoperative hypertension (APH) and to define when and how aggressively to treat this disorder in the present study. Materials and methods: A retrospective observational study of cancer patients with postoperative hypertension at a single intensive care unit between July 2007 and June 2013 was conducted. The outcome of interest was the incidence of a CVC. Results: There were 1162 patients enrolled, of which 92 (7.9%) experienced one or more CVCs. Preexisting hypertension (OR 38.3, 95% CI 3.2-457.4, P = 0.004) and choice of vasodilator (OR 6.5, 95% CI 2.3-18.6, P = 0.000) were predictors of a CVC. Cardiovascular complications were less likely to occur if pain was relieved efficiently during the postoperative period (OR 15.9, 95% CI 1.9-130.1, P = 0.01). Furthermore, there were increased CVCs among patients with postoperative hypertensive crises compared to those with stage 1 or stage 2 hypertension with the treatment threshold for systolic blood pressure (OR 5.7, 95% CI 2.0-16.5, P = 0.001) or diastolic blood pressure (OR 6.0, 95% CI 1.8-20.3, P = 0.004). Conclusion: To reduce CVCs, APH may be defined and managed as a hypertensive crisis in cancer patients.

Insect desaturases are known to play an important role in chemical communication between individuals. However, their roles in insect growth, development and fecundity, and in regulating interactions of insects with plants, remain largely unknown. In this study, we explored the functions of Nlug-desatA2, a desaturase gene of the brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (St&aring, l). The RNA interference-based knockdown of Nlug-desatA2 decreased the ratio of monounsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids, and the level of fatty acids and triglycerides in BPH. Nlug-desatA2-knockdown also reduced the food intake, body mass and fecundity of female BPH adults, and led to abdomen atrophy and ovarian agenesis. Nlug-desatA2-knockdown suppressed the transcription of TOR (target of rapamycin), Lpp (Lipophorin) and AKHR (adipokinetic hormone receptor) in female adults. Moreover, the corrected survival rate of BPH with Nlug-desatA2-knockdown fed an artificial diet was higher than the survival rate of those fed on rice plants. Higher levels of salicylic acid in rice infested by Nlug-desatA2-knockdown female BPH adults than in rice infested by control BPH may be the reason. These findings demonstrate that Nlug-desatA2 has an essential role in lipid metabolism and is involved in the food intake, survival, development and fecundity of BPH. In addition, this gene is likely involved in regulating the responses of rice to BPH infestation.

This article deals with the development of a multiaxial “plasticity” criterion for the simulation of the macroscopic behavior of light closed-cell foams. The paper proposes a numerical methodology for the determination of the mechanical macroscopic properties given the geometry of the cells (whose walls are assumed to be thin) and the properties of the bulk material. The focus is on foams with relative densities ranging from 0.0526 to 0.1525. The bulk material is assumed to be isotropic with perfectly plastic behavior. We consider tetrakaidecahedron cells having three planes of symmetry in three orthogonal directions. As expected for a material having a cubic symmetry, one observes that the elastic homogenized material is fully described by three parameters ( E ∗ , ν ∗ , G ∗ ) and not only two as for the isotropic bulk material ( E , ν ). We propose a formula which, starting from only a knowledge of the two elastic properties and density of the bulk material, leads to the three macroscopic elastic properties of the thin-wall regular tetrakaidecahedral foam. Their yield and failure strengths in tension, compression and shear are also calculated. Two types of macroscopic behavior can be clearly identified. The first type characterizes foams made of a high-yield-strength bulk material: the foam’s macroscopic behavior is determined mainly by buckling of the cell walls. The second type applies when the bulk material has a low yield strength. In that case, yielding of the cell walls is the main failure mechanism. A loading surface of the Wang and Pan form is proposed for all these cases, both in the early nonlinear stage and at ultimate failure. Lastly the effect of irregularity of the geometries on the load surface is presented for the two previous extreme cases. It is observed that these irregularities play a crucial role in tensile case for the lightest foams having the highest yield strength. It is interesting to note that such a loading surface also leads to a good approximation of the “yield” strength obtained experimentally for both open-cell foams Combaz et al. (2010, 2011) and closed-cell foams Wang and Pan (2006).

The brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), a major pest of rice in Asia, is able to successfully puncture sieve tubes in rice with its piercing stylet and then to ingest phloem sap. How BPH manages to continuously feed on rice remains unclear. Here, we cloned the gene NlSEF1, which is highly expressed in the salivary glands of BPH. The NlSEF1 protein has EF-hand Ca2+-binding activity and can be secreted into rice plants when BPH feed. Infestation of rice by BPH nymphs whose NlSEF1 was knocked down elicited higher levels of Ca2+ and H2O2 but not jasmonic acid, jasmonoyl-isoleucine (JA-Ile) and SA in rice than did infestation by control nymphs; Consistently, wounding plus the recombination protein NlSEF1 suppressed the production of H2O2 in rice. Bioassays revealed that NlSEF1-knockdown BPH nymphs had a higher mortality rate and lower feeding capacity on rice than control nymphs. These results indicate that the salivary protein in BPH, NlSEF1, functions as an effector and plays important roles in interactions between BPH and rice by mediating the plant’s defense responses.

Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in female reproductive system and most OC cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage with the overall 5-year survival rate below 40%. The function of CD247 enhances T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) signaling cascade and it is necessary for assembling of the TCR/CD3 complex on the surface of T lymphocytes. It is well established that defective CD247 function leads to impaired activation of T cells upon engagement of the TCR. Flow cytometry was used to examine the difference of CD247+ T lymphocyte between the OC and ovarian cyst, immunohistochemistry analysis was used to investigate the correlation between CD247 expression and clinicopathologic features of epithelial OC patients. Our study showed that the expression of CD247 in peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with OC is decreased compared with ovarian cyst patients and the expression of CD247 in tumor infiltrating lymphocytes with cancer tissue is decreased compared with adjacent tissues. We showed that abnormal expression of CD247 was related with differentiation and classification in OC. Our findings suggested that CD247-targeted treatment could be used as a potential therapeutic strategy for OC.

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS), initially known as “fast track surgery” (FTS) or “enhanced recovery protocol” (ERP), was originally pioneered in Denmark by Professor Henrik Kehlet, a professor from the University of Copenhagen. Today, this approach has been widely applied in surgery, anesthesia, nursing, and many other professional fields, achieving remarkable results.

Rationale Patients with situs inversus totalis (SIT) and complete atrioventricular (AV) block are extremely rare, and only few cases have been reported up to now. Due to the rarity of such condition and its anatomical complexity, we reported this case as a reference for obstetricians, providing valuable insights into potential clinical treatment. Patient concerns We reported a case of 30-year-old patient with complete AV block, and her heart rate was only about 45 beats per minute. Diagnoses The patient was diagnosed with term delivery with SIT and complete AV block. Interventions A temporary pacemaker (TPM) was implanted before cesarean section (CS) because of complete AV block. Outcomes CS was performed successfully after the implantation of a TPM. The heart rate remained stable, and the 24-hour blood loss was limited. Lessons This study presents a complex heart disease case which needed more frequent antenatal examination and restriction of physical activity. To reduce the risk of pregnancy, basic disease needed to be cured before pregnancy. Our findings could provide guidance for future clinical studies.

To study the effects of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on the level of procalcitonin (PCT) in maternal blood and umbilical cord blood in late-pregnant women. We retrospectively analyzed 37 pregnant women in late pregnancy who had GDM and compared with those of 97 age-matched normal glucose-tolerant (NGT) pregnant women. The PCT level was converted to a value with normal distribution (LG-PCT) by taking the logarithm of each value to the base 10 (log10). The body mass index (BMI) before delivery, family history of diabetes mellitus (DM), and postpartum blood loss within 24 hours were markedly higher in GDM group than in NGT group, while the gestational age was smaller in GDM group than in NGT group. The maternal blood LG-PCT was significantly higher in GDM group than in NGT group, while the umbilical cord blood LG-PCT was not significantly different between the 2 groups. Multivariate analysis showed that family history of DM, gestational age, and maternal blood LG-PCT were independent risk factors of GDM after adjusting for BMI and postpartum blood loss within 24 hours. GDM increases the baseline level of maternal blood PCT but has little effect on umbilical cord blood PCT.

Rationale About 60,0000 people are involved in traffic accident each year in China and spinal cord injury (SCI) often occurs. Pregnant women with paraplegia is rare, and they face higher risk during pregnancy and childbirth. Patient concerns We report a case of a 35-year-old patient with SCI, who had vaginal forceps delivery at 38 weeks and 5 days of gestation. Diagnoses The patient was diagnosed with term pregnancy with traumatic tetraplegia. Interventions A vaginal forceps delivery was performed at 38 weeks and 5 days of gestation. Outcomes A vaginal forceps delivery of the patient was smooth. After delivery the patient recovered quickly, her vaginal blood was less, blood pressure was favoring. Lessons This study presents a case with traumatic tetraplegia during pregnancy. We suggest that regular prenatal care is necessary.