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Zhao-Ji Meng,* Jiang-Hua Wu,* Mei Zhou, Sheng-Wen Sun, Shuai-Ying Miao, Hong-Li Han, Long Chen, Xian-Zhi XiongDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430022, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workBackground: The temporally dynamic changes of CD25 and Foxp3 expression in CD4+ T cells are initiated by T cell receptor (TCR) signals strength or frequency. There is a deficiency of peripheral markers for assessing COPD activity, and the current study was conducted to explore whether peripheral CD4+ T cell populations based on CD25 and Foxp3 expression could serve as an indicator for COPD inflammatory activity.Methods: The distribution and phenotypic characteristics of CD4+CD25±Foxp3± T cells from peripheral blood in different populations were determined by flow cytometry. The model for the differentiation of CD4+ T cells populations by CD25 and Foxp3 expression was explored in vitro.Results: The frequencies of peripheral CD4+CD25+Foxp3− T cells and CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells were increased in AECOPD patients, whereas the frequency of CD4+CD25−Foxp3+ T cells was increased in SCOPD patients without receiving systemic treatment. Phenotypic analysis revealed that CD4+CD25+Foxp3− T cells, CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells and CD4+CD25−Foxp3+ T cells had received antigenic stimulation and resembled central memory or effector memory T cells. The differentiation of CD4+ T cells populations by CD25 and Foxp3 expression was dictated by TCR signals. The paired study indicated that the frequencies of CD4+CD25+Foxp3− T cells, CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells and CD4+CD25− Foxp3+ T cells were decreased while the frequency of CD4+CD25−Foxp3− T cells were increased in the same patients from AECOPD to convalescence.Conclusions: Collectively, we propose that the dynamic changes of CD4+ T cell populations by CD25 and Foxp3 expression could function as potential biomarkers for reflecting inflammatory activity in COPD.Keywords: COPD, CD4+ T cell subsets, inflammation, peripheral biomarkers

TE (TE) can potentially enhance the economic output of technological innovation, and thus promote sustainable economic growth (SEG). However, the TE-SEG relationship has been mainly analyzed subjectively through empirical analysis. This paper puts forward a novel strategy that automatically predict and validate the promoting effect of TE on SEG. Firstly, a multi-level analytical model of TE was constructed to automatically select the optimal sample subset from the original data, and eliminate noise and redundant data. Next, a multivariate linear regression model was adopted to analyze the TG-SEG relationship intelligently and intuitively. Finally, the proposed strategy was verified through experiments on the SEG data collected from 31 Chinese cities. The experimental results confirm that our strategy can effectively and reliably reflect the promoting effect of TE on SEG.

Background Ulcerative colitis (UC), also known as chronic nonspecific UC, is an inflammatory bowel disease characterized by diffuse colonic mucosal inflammation. The incidence and prevalence of UC have risen markedly, and the disease seriously affects the quality of life of patients, and poses a great burden on the world health care infrastructure and economy. Case summary We present a 60-year-old man who had ulcerative colitis for more than 10 years, with recurrent abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea with mucopurulent stool. The treatments with sulfasalazine, mesalazine, and traditional Chinese medicine were not effective, and herbs-partitioned moxibustion (HPM) was then applied at "Zhongwan" (RN12), "Tianshu"(ST25), and "Qihai" (RN6) once a day for about 30 min, 3 times per week, for 6 mo.His main clinical symptoms of abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea with mucopurulent stool gradually improved, and the mucosa had nearly healed, as observed under endoscopy by the 6th mo. The patient's condition was alleviated without relapsing during the subsequent 3-mo follow-up period. HPM showed a significant effect in the treatment of ulcerative colitis in this case, and the effect would help the patient to maintain remission for at least 3 mo. Conclusion A series of symptoms of this UC patient significantly improved with the treatment of HPM.

Background Panax ginseng is a well-known medicinal herb that is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine for treating various diseases. Ginsenoside Rg3 (Rg3) is thought to be one of the most important active ingredients of Panax ginseng. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the beneficial effects of Rg3 has been elusive. Methods In the mouse heart injury model induced by isoproterenol (ISO), we used brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and caspase-3 ELISA kits to test myocardium injury. To test whether Rg3 protects myocardial injury through AMPK mediated autophagy, we used specific AMPK inhibitor in combination with Rg3. NLRP3 inflammasome related molecules such as NLRP3, ASC and caspase-1 were measured by western-blot following Rg3 treatment. Results We found that Rg3 significantly reduced ISO induced myocardial injury indicated by the downregulation of serum BNP and LDH. In addition, we showed that the improvement of myocardial injury by Rg3 was associated with enhanced expression of autophagy related protein and activation of AMPK downstream signaling pathway. Conclusions We observed that inhibition of AMPK significantly reversed the myocardial protective effect of Rg3, which is associated with a decrease of Rg3 induced autophagy. These together suggested that Rg3 may improve myocardial injury during MI through AMPK mediated autophagy. Our study also provides important translational evidence for using Rg3 in treating myocardial infarction (MI).

Smart contracts (SCs) run on the distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform and can implement agreements between participants without a trusted third party. This paper uses the DLT and SC techniques to build distributed applications composed of existing services. In practice, there are many functionally-equivalent services on the Internet. To beat their competitors, the service providers usually offer flexible QoS and use dynamic pricing strategies. Moreover, the service providers can change at runtime, e.g., they may encounter problems so that their QoS drops suddenly. This makes achieving the optimization goal at runtime (e.g., the maximization of the utility) more difficult. To address this problem, first, this paper proposes an SC-based negotiation framework. The SCs can ensure that the transactions are automatically and reliably performed as agreed upon between the service requesters and providers. The DLTs can provide the reliable data of the requests and responses of the service requesters and providers to the SCs. In addition, the SCs can identify the troubled service providers, and find other service providers to replace them at runtime. Second, this paper proposes a Bayesian Nash equilibrium (BNE) of the service providers. In the BNE, the cost-efficient service providers offer the high QoS the service requester asks for and report their costs truthfully. This BNE enables the selection of the cost-efficient service providers and the achievement of the (near) maximization of the service requesters’ utility. This paper implements the proposed negotiation framework on a DLT platform called Hyperledger Fabric. The experiment results demonstrate that the proposed approach outperforms the existing approaches and can adapt to the changes of the service providers.

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

Objective. To investigate the immune regulation mechanism of herb-partitioned moxibustion in rats with Crohn’s disease (CD) focusing on autophagy. Methods. Rats were randomly divided into normal (N) group, CD model (M) group, CD model with herb-partitioned moxibustion (MM) group, normal with herb-partitioned moxibustion (NM) group, CD model with mesalazine (western medicine, Med ) group, and normal saline (NS) group, with 10 rats in each group. The CD model rats were prepared by trinitrobenzene sulphonic expect for the N group and NM group. After the CD rats model were established, the rats in the MM and NM groups were treated with herb-partitioned moxibustion at Tianshu (ST25) and Qihai (CV6) acupoints once daily for 7 days, and rats in the Med and NS groups were respectively treated with mesalazine enteric coated tablet and normal saline once daily for 7 days. After intervention, hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe the histological changes of colon; RNA sequencing was used to observe the changes in autophagy- and immune-associated gene expression profiles. In addition, autophagy- and immune-associated cytokines and signaling pathways in CD rats were also screened. Results. HPM significantly increased the body weight of CD rats (PP Nod2, Irgm genes as well as the receptor of immune-associated Il12b, Il22 (Il12rb1, Il22ra2) genes in the colon of CD rats. HPM also changed the enrichment levels of differentially expressed genes in the human T-cell leukemia virus type-1 infection pathway, the Epstein-Barr virus infection pathway, and the cell adhesion molecule pathway. In addition, the expression levels of Nod2, Irgm, IL-12b, and IL-22 mRNA were increased (all P< 0.01) in the M group compared to the N group, while the expression levels of Nod2, Irgm, IL-12b, and IL-22 mRNA were decreased (P P Conclusion. Herb-partitioned moxibustion may effectively attenuate intestinal inflammation and promote the repair of colon mucosal injury of CD rats through the regulation of autophagy- and immune-associated gene expression and signaling pathways.

A unified understanding of the nature of computation-based education experiment is formed based on education experiment and computational experiment. Through a perspective analysis of the research paradigm of computation-based education experiment, the components of computation-based education experiment are identified, which are computer, network architecture, operating system, high-level programming language, intermediate data processing, external interface, and computational thinking. Their respective features are also described. The forces driving the change of these components are analyzed from two aspects: the change of educational research needs and the development of informatization. Finally, the specific changes of each component are introduced and the nature of change is summarized.

The role of RNA m5C (5-methylcytosine) and RNA m5C methyltransferases (RCMTs, including NSUN1, NSUN2, NSUN3, NSUN4, NSUN5, NSUN6, NSUN7 and TRDMT1) in human cancers remains largely unknown. In this study, GEPIA2 was used to compare the expression of RCMTs in human cancers and that in associated normal tissues, and to analyze the prognosis value of NSUN5 expression. UALCAN was used to compare the methylation level of NSUN5 promoter in human cancers and that in associated normal tissues. LinkedOmics was used perform BPs (biological processes), CCs (cellular components), MFs (molecular functions) and KEGG pathways analyses of NSUN5-correlated genes in each cancer one by one. We found that six RCMTs (NSUN1-NSUN5 and TRDMT1), especially NSUN5, were generally upregulated in human cancers, that the hypomethylation of NSUN5 promoter may be responsible for its upregulation, and that overexpressed NSUN5 predicted poorer prognosis and was positively correlated with translation in human cancers. The function of NSUN5 in human cancers and its mechanism need to be validated by biological experiments.

Objective. To explore whether the effect of electroacupuncture (EA) on visceral hypersensitivity (VH) in rats with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is related to the changes of astrocyte activation in the medial thalamus (MT) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).Method. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the normal control (NC) group, model control (MC) group, electroacupuncture (EA) group, and fluorocitrate (FCA) group. A model of visceral hypersensitivity was established by neonatal colorectal irritation. In the EA group, needles were inserted into the skin at the Tianshu (ST25) and Shangjuxu (ST37) acupoints, once a day for 7 days. The FCA group received intrathecal injection of FCA on the 1st, 4th, and 7th days. Visceral hypersensitivity was evaluated by the abdominal withdrawal reflex (AWR), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) mRNA and protein levels in the MT and ACC were detected by real-time PCR, immunohistochemistry, and western blots.Results. The AWR score in the MC group was significantly higher than in the NC group, and EA and FCA reduced the AWR score of VH rats. GFAP mRNA and protein levels in the MT and ACC of rats in the MC group were significantly increased compared with the NC group. After either electroacupuncture or fluorocitrate, GFAP mRNA and protein levels in the MT and ACC were both clearly reduced.Conclusion. Electroacupuncture alleviates IBS visceral hypersensitivity by inhibiting the activation of astrocytes in the MT and ACC.

Program mutation is the process of generating syntactic variations of a base program and analyzing them by comparison with the base; this process is meaningful only to the extent that the mutants are semantically distinct from the base program, but that is not always the case. Two programs may be syntactically distinct yet semantically equivalent. The problem of identifying and weeding out equivalent mutants has eluded researchers for a long time. In this chapter we argue that researchers ought to abandon the overly ambitious goal of determining whether a program and its mutant are equivalent, and focus instead on the more modest, but sufficient, goal of estimating the number of equivalent mutants that a program is prone to generate.

Definitions and descriptions of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) vary between Western and Eastern types, and alcoholism and hepatitis B virus (HBV) are, respectively, the main etiologies. To determine whether there are unified diagnostic criteria and common treatment programs for different etiologies of ACLF, a multicenter prospective cohort with the same inclusion criteria and disease indicators as those used in the European Consortium Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure in Cirrhosis Study is urgently needed in Asia, where the prevalence of HBV is high. A multicenter prospective cohort of 2,600 patients was designed, drawing from 14 nationwide liver centers from tertiary university hospitals in China, and 2,600 hospitalized patients with chronic liver disease (both cirrhotic and noncirrhotic) of various etiologies with acute decompensation or acute hepatic injury were continuously recruited from January 2015 to December 2016. Data were collected during hospitalization, and follow-ups were performed once a month, with plans to follow all patients until 36 months after hospital discharge. Of these patients, 1,859 (71.5%) had HBV-related disease, 1,833 had cirrhotic disease, and 767 had noncirrhotic disease. The numbers and proportions of enrolled patients from each participating center and the baseline characteristics of the patients with or without cirrhosis are presented.

Background Trovafloxacin is a broad-spectrum antibiotic, recently identified as an inhibitor of pannexin-1 (Panx1) channels. Panx1 channels are important conduits for the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) release from live and dying cells that enhances the inflammatory response of immune cells. Elevated extracellular levels ATP released upon injury activate purinergic pathways in inflammatory cells that promote migration, proliferation, phagocytosis, and apoptotic signals. Here, we tested whether trovafloxacin administration attenuates the neuroinflammatory response and improves outcomes after brain trauma. Methods The murine controlled cortical impact (CCI) model was used to determine whether in vivo delivery of trovafloxacin has anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective actions after brain trauma. Locomotor deficit was assessed using the rotarod test. Levels of tissue damage markers and inflammation were measured using western blot, qPCR, and immunofluorescence. In vitro assays were used to evaluate whether trovafloxacin blocks ATP release and cell migration in a chemotactic-stimulated microglia cell line. Results Trovafloxacin treatment of CCI-injured mice significantly reduced tissue damage markers and improved locomotor deficits. In addition, trovafloxacin treatment significantly reduced mRNA levels of several pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α), which correlates with an overall reduction in the accumulation of inflammatory cell types (neutrophils, microglia/macrophages, and astroglia) at the injury zone. To determine whether trovafloxacin exerted these effects by direct action on immune cells, we evaluated its effect on ATP release and cell migration using a chemotactic-stimulated microglial cell line. We found that trovafloxacin significantly inhibited both ATP release and migration of these cells. Conclusion Our results show that trovafloxacin administration has pronounced anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects following brain injury. These findings lay the foundation for future studies to directly test a role for Panx1 channels in pathological inflammation following brain trauma. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12974-018-1069-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background and aim The microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles of the terminal ileum, sigmoid colon, and rectal mucosa of adult patients with active Crohn's disease (CD) have been previously reported. The purpose of this study was to identify dysregulated miRNAs in the mucosa of the ascending colon. Methods Biopsy tissue samples were taken from the mucosae of inflammatory (iCD) or noninflammatory (niCD) areas of the ascending colons of adult patients with active CD. miRNA and mRNA expression profiles were detected using microarray analyses. miRNAs and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) demonstrating significant differences were validated via quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Luciferase reporter genes were used to measure two miRNAs inhibition of potential target genes in human 293T cells in vitro. Results Compared with the healthy control group, the ascending colon miRNA expression profiles revealed that 43 miRNAs were significantly upregulated and 35 were downregulated in the iCD group. The mRNA expression profiles indicated that 3370 transcripts were significantly differentially expressed in the ascending colon, with 2169 upregulated and 1201 downregulated mRNAs in the iCD group, and only 20 miRNAs demonstrated significant differential expression in the niCD group. In contrast, nearly 100 miRNAs significantly varied between the iCD and niCD groups. Finally, luciferase reporter gene assays showed that hsa-miR-16-1 directly regulated the human C10orf54 gene and that they were negatively correlated. Conclusions Our results indicated that the differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs were related to immune inflammation and intestinal flora. The data provide preliminary evidence that the occurrence of CD involves the inhibition of C10orf54 expression by hsa-miR-16-1.

The aim of this paper is to optimize the thermal performance (system output energy, thermal efficiency, and heat loss of cavity absorber) of parabolic trough solar collector (PTC) systems in order to improve its thermal performance, based on the genetic algorithm-back propagation (GA-BP) neural network model. There are a number of undefined problems, fuzzy or incomplete information and a complex thermal performance of the PTC systems. Therefore, the thermal performance prediction of the PTC systems based on GA-BP neural network model was developed. Subsequently, the metrics performances have been adopted to comprehensively understand the algorithm and evaluate the prediction accuracy. Results revealed that the GA-BP neural network model can be successfully used to predict the complex nonlinear relationship between the input variables and thermal performance of the PTC systems. The cosine effect has a great influence on the thermal performance; thereby the geometrical structure of the PTC systems w...

It is currently accepted that the neural transduction pathways of gastrointestinal (GI) visceral pain include the peripheral and central pathways. Existing research on the neurological mechanism of electroacupuncture (EA) in the treatment of GI visceral pain has primarily been concerned with the regulation of relevant transduction pathways. The generation of pain involves a series of processes, including energy transduction of stimulatory signals in the sensory nerve endings (signal transduction), subsequent conduction in primary afferent nerve fibers of dorsal root ganglia, and transmission to spinal dorsal horn neurons, the ascending transmission of sensory signals in the central nervous system, and the processing of sensory signals in the cerebral cortex. Numerous peripheral neurotransmitters, neuropeptides, and cytokines participate in the analgesic process of EA in visceral pain. Although EA has excellent efficacy in the treatment of GI visceral pain, the pathogenesis of the disease and the analgesic mechanism of the treatment have not been elucidated. In recent years, research has examined the pathogenesis of GI visceral pain and its influencing factors and has explored the neural transduction pathways of this disease.

Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is a common and serious complication in patients with cirrhosis. However, little is known about PVT in patients with cirrhosis and acute decompensation (AD). We investigated the prevalence and clinical significance of PVT in nonmalignant patients with cirrhosis and AD.We performed a retrospective study of 2 cohorts of patients with acute exacerbation of chronic liver disease who participated in the Chinese AcuTe on CHronic LIver FailurE study, established by the Chinese Chronic Liver Failure Consortium, from January 2015 through December 2016 (n = 2600 patients) and July 2018 through January 2019 (n = 1370 patients). We analyzed data on the prevalence, clinical manifestations, and risk factors of PVT from 2826 patients with cirrhosis, with and without AD.The prevalence of PVT in patients with cirrhosis and AD was 9.36%, which was significantly higher than in patients with cirrhosis without AD (5.24%) (P = .04). Among patients with cirrhosis and AD, 63.37% developed PVT recently (the first detected PVT with no indication of chronic PVT). Compared with patients without PVT, a significantly higher proportion of patients with PVT had variceal bleeding (47.33% vs 19.63%; P.001) and patients with PVT had a significantly higher median serum level of D-dimer (2.07 vs 1.25; P.001). Splenectomy and endoscopic sclerotherapy were independent risk factors for PVT in patients with cirrhosis and AD. The 1-year mortality rate did not differ significantly between patients with vs without PVT.In an analysis of data from 2826 patients with cirrhosis, a significantly higher proportion of those with AD had PVT than those without AD. PVT was associated with increased variceal bleeding, which would increase the risk for AD. Strategies are needed to prevent PVT in patients with cirrhosis, through regular screening, to reduce portal hypertension. ClinicalTrials.gov no: NCT02457637 and NCT03641872.

The use of Bisphenol A (BPA) has widely been replaced in consumer products by analogs BPB, BPE, BPF, BPS, and BPAF. Recent studies have linked these substitutes to similar adverse health outcomes as BPA, including disruption of endocrine pathways in animal and human studies. We designed a novel MS method, developed specifically for this study, to capture the most relevant BPA alternatives, BPB, BPE, BPF, BPS, BPAF and 4-NP in human blood and urine to quantify potential in utero exposures. To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore in utero exposure to these BPA analogs and the first U.S. study to test for BPA in maternal/fetal pairs. The method was run on 30 paired maternal urine and fetal cord blood samples from mothers undergoing elective Caesarean sections. 90% of mothers and 77% of babies tested positive for at least one BP analog. 83% of mothers tested positive for BPAF, 60% for BPS, 57% for BPB, 17% for BPF and 7% for BPA. 57% of babies tested positive for BPAF and 50% for BPF. BPA and BPB were detected in one cord blood sample each. BPS was not detected in cord blood. BPE was not detected in any fetal cord blood or maternal urine samples. These findings demonstrate the pervasiveness of some BP analogs in pregnant women and their babies at birth.

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.

Crohn’s disease may cause excessive damage and repair in the intestinal epithelium due to its chronic relapsing intestinal inflammation. These factors may initiate the TGF-β 1-Smad pathway to activate the transcription factor of Snail, and the Snail-mediated pathway promotes the transformation of intestinal epithelial cells to mesenchymal cells, leading to intestinal fibrosis. Acupuncture and moxibustion have been demonstrated to prevent intestinal fibrosis in Crohn’s disease. However, it is not clear whether acupuncture and moxibustion can inhibit intestinal epithelial mesenchymal transformation in Crohn’s disease by affecting the TGF-β 1-Smad-Snail pathway. This study indicated that abnormal increased expressions of TGFβ1, TβR2, Smad3, and Snail were significantly downregulated by herbs-partitioned moxibustion at Tianshu (ST25) and Qihai (RN6) and acupuncture at Zusanli (ST36) and Shangjuxu (ST37). In addition, protein and mRNA levels of E-cadherin, the epithelial cell marker, were significantly increased. Protein and mRNA levels of fibronectin, the mesenchymal cell marker, were decreased in the intestinal tissue. Moreover, the number of mesenchymal cells in the intestinal mucosa can be reversely transformed to intestinal epithelial cells. Therefore, herbs-partitioned moxibustion combined with acupuncture can prevent intestinal epithelial mesenchymal transition by inhibiting abnormal expression of TGFβ1, TβR2, Smad3, and Snail in the TGF-β1-Smad-Snail pathway in Crohn’s disease.

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).

Abnormal pain processing in the central nervous system may be related to abdominal pain in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in resting-state brain activity in patients with CD in remission and its relationship with the presence of abdominal pain. Twenty-five patients with CD and with abdominal pain, 25 patients with CD and without abdominal pain, and 32 healthy subjects were scanned using a 3.0-T functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) was used to assess resting-state brain activity. Daily pain scores were collected 1 week before functional magnetic resonance imaging. We found that patients with abdominal pain exhibited lower ReHo values in the insula, middle cingulate cortex (MCC), and supplementary motor area and higher ReHo values in the temporal pole. In contrast, patients without abdominal pain exhibited lower ReHo values in the hippocampal/parahippocampal cortex and higher ReHo values in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (all P < 0.05, corrected). The ReHo values of the insula and MCC were significantly negatively correlated with daily pain scores for patients with abdominal pain (r = -0.53, P = 0.008 and r = -0.61, P = 0.002, respectively). These findings suggest that resting-state brain activities are different between remissive patients with CD with and without abdominal pain and that abnormal activities in insula and MCC are closely related to the severity of abdominal pain.

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

Wool waste is the main by-product of the textile industry, which causes environmental problems. Therefore, the recycling of wool waste is of increasing concern and is an important tool for environmental protection and resource-efficient utilization. In this study, an eco-friendly process ensuring complete recycling of wool waste was developed using glutathione as a reducing agent. First, the main component keratin, which is an important source of renewable biomaterial, was extracted. Keratin products were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and circular dichroism spectroscopy. The results indicated that glutathione treatment could cause approximately 65% weight dissolution in wool, and keratins with molecular weights of 26, 44, and 66 kDa could be obtained. Furthermore, the residues were collected and prepared as sponges. These sponges showed an excellent adsorption capacity for cationic dye methylene blue (MB). In conclusion, sustainable wool waste recycling coupled with the cleaner production of keratins and a new adsorbent was achieved; this method can turn “waste” into “wealth” and solve the environmental pressures caused by waste. To our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate the usefulness of glutathione in an ecofriendly process for the extraction of keratin from wool.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by hyperandrogenism and follicular arrest. These two characteristics may result from an imbalance between anti-Müllerian hormone and follicle stimulating hormone. Electroacupuncture is effective in improving hyperandrogenism and follicular arrest in PCOS; however, the mechanism is not sufficiently clear. This study aimed to elucidate whether electroacupuncture in PCOS is exerted by regulating an imbalance of anti-Müllerian hormone and follicle stimulating hormone. In this study, a rat model of polycystic ovary syndrome was treated with low-frequency electroacupuncture at acupoints (CV-3 and CV-4). To observe the mechanism of electroacupuncture in PCOS, we first observed the estrous cycle. We then observed ovarian morphology by hematoxylin-eosin staining and evaluated levels of testosterone, estradiol, P450arom, follicle stimulating hormone and its receptor, and anti-Müllerian hormone and its receptor by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, western blotting, double immunofluorescence assay and real-time PCR. Our results showed that in 80% of rats in the electroacupuncture acupoints group, their estrous cycle recovered, ovarian morphology significantly improved, testosterone level significantly decreased, and levels of estradiol and P450arom significantly increased in peripheral serum after 14 consecutive days of treatment (P

Asphalt concrete is a typical multiphase discrete random medium, which is composed of aggregate, asphalt mortar and air with different volume fraction. Aggregate, asphalt mortar and air usually have different sizes, shapes, dielectric properties, and distribute randomly in space. This paper is based on random medium theory, (1) we measured the dielectric constants of the asphalt concrete samples, and computed the statistical characteristics (such as mean values, standard deviations) of spatial random distribution of dielectric constants and the volume fraction of each component; (2) we calculated the autocorrelation function of asphalt concrete based on Wiener-Khintchine theorem, and extracted its characteristic parameters (such as autocorrelation length, autocorrelation angle), and then classified the type of random media; (3) we developed the modeling algorithm of multiphase discrete random medium under quantization constrain, and constructed multiphase discrete random medium model based on intermixed elliptic autocorrelation function. Additionally, we studied the propagation characteristics of ground penetrating radar wave in multiphase discrete random medium model and compared the model with homogeneous medium model and continuous random medium model using numerical simulation. The calculated results show that the autocorrelation functions of a large number of asphalt concrete sections are approximate to ellipsoidal autocorrelation functions, which provide the foundation for using random medium theory to describe asphalt concrete. The multiphase discrete random medium model not only describes the statistical characteristics of spatial random distribution of asphalt concrete, but also describe the volume fractions of its compositions. For multiphase discrete random medium model and continuous random medium model, ground penetrating radar wave has strong scattering phenomenon. Random and disorderly scattering waves overlie and interfere with each other, which resulting random perturbations and noise in received waves. The reflected waves from anomalous body are with distortion and discontinuity and reduce the signal to noise ratio and resolution of ground penetrating radar data. When multiphase discrete random medium model and continuous random medium model have the same given model parameters, ground penetrating radar waves have stronger scattering in continuous random medium model. The study reveals that the multiphase discrete random medium model can describe asphalt concrete more comprehensive and precise than homogeneous medium model and continuous random medium model. The multiphase discrete random medium model also provides a new way for studying similar media or materials. The radar profile is more consistent with the field measured data, and more conducive to guide the interpretation of the ground penetrating radar profile 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

Objective.To compare the impacts of electroacupuncture (EA) and mild moxibustion (Mox) on patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).Method.Eighty-two IBS patients were randomly allocated into EA group (n=41) and Mox group (n=41) and received corresponding interventions for four weeks. Before and after the treatment, the Visual Analogue Scale for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (VAS-IBS) was used to evaluate the gastrointestinal symptoms and mental well-being; and the expression of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT), 5-HT3receptor (5-HT3R), and 5-HT4receptor (5-HT4R) in sigmoid mucosal tissue were detected.Results. Both EA and Mox can radically improve the total VAS-IBS score (P<0.05), and EA was found to be more effective in ameliorating the symptom of constipation, while Mox was found to be more effective in ameliorating the symptom of diarrhoea. The abnormal expressions of 5-HT, 5-HT3R, and 5-HT4R in both groups were significantly improved after the treatments (allP<0.05), and EA was superior to Mox in regulating the abnormally decreased 5-HT4R expression in IBS patients with constipation (P<0.05).Conclusion. Electroacupuncture and mild moxibustion were both effective in improving IBS symptoms and modulate abnormal expressions of 5-HT, 5-HT3R, and 5-HT4R in the colonic tissue.

Objective.This study explored the mechanism of herb-partitioned moxibustion (HM) on dextran sulfate sodium- (DSS-) induced ulcerative colitis (UC) from the miRNA perspective.Methods.Rats were randomly divided into 3 groups [normal control (NC) group, UC model (UC) group, and herb-partitioned moxibustion (UCHM) group]. The UC and UCHM groups were administered 4% DSS for 7 days. The UCHM group received HM at the Tianshu (bilateral, ST25). The effect of HM on UC was observed and the miRNA expression profile in the colon tissues was analyzed.Results.Compared with the UC group, the body weights were significantly higher in the UCHM group on day 14 (P<0.001); the macroscopic colon injury scores and microscopic histopathology scores in the UCHM group decreased (P<0.05); and there were 15 differentially expressed miRNAs in the UCHM group. The changes in miR-184 and miR-490-5p expression levels on the UC were reversed by HM intervention. Validation using qRT-PCR showed that two miRNAs expression trend was consistent with the sequencing results.Conclusion.HM at ST25 might regulate miR-184 and miR-490-5p expression, act on the transcription of their target genes to regulate inflammatory signaling pathways, and attenuate inflammation and tissue injury in the colons of rats with DSS-induced UC.

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

Image content based retrieval is an important research area with application to digital libraries and multimedia databases. Its image characterization and similarity measure must closely follow perceptual characteristics. In this work, a new image retrieval method is proposed by combining color features and texture features based on Dempster-Shafer (D-S) theory. In this proposed method, Multi-color features included color histogram, color moment and color correlogram are used for color analysis, and gabor wavelet features is employed for texture analysis. Then these features are modeled as a mass function in evidence theory, and color and texture detection results are fused at decision-making level. The experimental results show that the proposed method takes advantage of the respective merits of color and texture features and therefore improves retrieval accuracy and reduces recognition error rate.

A 7.8m/s vertical drop simulate of a full composite fuselage section was conducted with energy-absorbing floor to evaluate the crashworthiness features of the fuselage section and to predict its dynamic response to dummies in future. The 1.52m diameter fuselage section consists of a high strength upper fuselage frame, one stiff structural floor and an energy-absorbing subfloor constructed of Rohacell foam blocks. The experimental data from literature [6] were analyzed and correlated with predictions from an impact simulation developed using the nonlinear explicit transient dynamic computer code MSC.Dytran. The simulated average acceleration did not exceed 13g, by contrast with experimental results, whose relative error is less than 11%. The numerical simulation results agree with experiments well.

The paper discussed the minimum level of passenger demand which could make intercity railway project social profitability in China. The analysis of the costs and benefits linked to other alternative transport modes has been taken into account. The results show that the intercity railway studied is socially profitable with a demand of 4.07 million passengers and a social discount rate of 7%, and the conclusion also applies to other intercity railways in China with similar line conditions and regional economic level.

This paper probes into the properties common virus in computer lab, such as damage effect, communication mechanism and self-protection mechanism, and carries out the important referring materials for Systemic antivirus program of lab based on Restore & Protect Technology.

The impact of low level dust on the thyroid function of workers chronically exposed to ammonium perchlorate (AP) is uncertain and controversial. The aim of this study was to examine whether workers in China with long-term (>3 years) occupational exposure to low levels of AP dust had affected thyroid homeostasis. Mean occupational exposures to AP dust ranged from 0.43 to 1.17 mg/m3. Geometric means of post-shift urinary perchlorate levels were 20.5 µg/L for those exposed and 12.8 µg/L for the controls. No significant differences were found for thyroid function parameters of FT3, FT4, or log TSH or for TPO prevalence or thyroglobulin levels. Additionally, no differences in findings were observed for complete blood count (CBC), serum biochemical profile, or pulmonary function test. Median urinary iodine levels of 172 and 184 µg/L showed that the workers had sufficient iodine intake. This study found no effect on thyroid function from long term, low-level documented exposure to ammonium perchlorate. It is the first study to report both thyroid status parameters and urinary perchlorate, a biomarker of internal perchlorate exposure, in occupationally exposed workers in China.

Background: Diffuse pulmonary ossification (DPO) is a rare disease characterized by bone tissue formation in the lung. DPO can be classified into idiopathic pulmonary ossification (IPO) and secondary pulmonary ossification. Cases with no identified etiology are classified as IPO. Variants of dishevelled associated activator of morphogenesis 2 ( DAAM2 ) have been reported to be involved in the bone-resorption of osteoclasts. Methods: Whole exome sequencing (WES) was used on samples from a patient with IPO and his healthy parents. The effects of all variants were determined using functional predictors (PolyPhen-2, SIFT, FATHMM and MutationTaster); variants existing only in the patient were further screened compared with his healthy parents. Results: Forty deleterious variants, including 25 single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and 15 insertions and deletions (indels), were identified by WES. Finally, DAAM2 (c.G2960T:p.R987L) was screened by pathway analysis. Conclusions: We identified a novel variant of DAAM2 (c.G2960T:p.R987L) that might participate in the disease process of IPO.

Diaphragmatic plication by minimally invasive surgery is thought to allow for a quick recovery and has been performed on small children. Here, we report our experience with different plication procedures to discuss how to choose among these different plication procedures in endoscopic surgery for pediatric patients with diaphragmatic eventration.We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 27 pediatric patients (21 boys, 6 girls; median age: 12.7 months, range 2 months-3 years) admitted to our hospital between November 2008 and July 2013. Three different plication procedures were used: the "reefing the mainsail" technique (8 patients), "invaginating the diaphragmatic dome" technique (10 patients), and "pleating" technique (9 patients). Indications included ventilator dependency (7.41 %), respiratory distress (22.22 %), chronic lung lobe collapse (11.11 %), persistent atelectasis with recurrent pneumonias (18.52 %), and asymptomatic severe eventration (40.74 %).Descending distance of diaphragm after surgery ranged from 1 to 4.5 intercostal spaces (mean distance: 2.65 intercostal spaces). All patients recovered well postoperatively, except for one patient with a pneumothorax. Two patients who required respiratory support before the operation no longer required it within 7 d after surgery. Follow-up ranged from 1 to 35 months. Clinical results were satisfactory with obvious improvement in symptoms and a slight re-elevation within a distance of one intercostal space.For pediatric patients with diaphragmatic eventration, different endoscopic surgeries and plication procedures all yielded satisfactory results. We believe that the choice of one procedure over the other depends only on the surgeon's experience.

Traditional INS/GPS integrated system would degrade sharply when GPS outages, a new method is proposed in this paper, which is a NN(Neural Network) aided KF (Kalman Filter) integration method.The structure of the method was shown summarily, the NN and KF design flow was discussed briefly, test experimentations have been done to prove the availability of the proposed method. Primary test results have shown that the proposed method can reduce the navigation solution during GPS outages, by about 70%, in comparison with INS stand alone results in GPS outage of 60 seconds.

The media access control (MAC) protocol based on fixed slot allocation has low throughput and high delay in high load wireless mesh network. In order to improve the performance of wireless mesh network, we propose a scalable adaptive time division multiple access (TDMA) slot allocation algorithm based on the existing fixed TDMA. The algorithm uses the network structure of clustering and builds a more optimized frame structure, cluster head dynamically allocates time slot according to the packet number of the cluster member sent and the priority level, at the same time taking into account the situation of nodes joining and leaving to improve the scalability of the network The simulation results on OPNET network simulation platform show that the algorithm is superior to fixed TDMA algorithm in both throughput and delay.

We present the case of a 6-month-old boy who was referred to us with the chief complaint of intermittent painless gross hematuria. Computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen showed a partially calcified soft-tissue mass that was located in the lower pole of the right kidney and extended into the collecting system. Consequently, a partial nephrectomy was performed. The resected specimen showed that the tumor was partially calcified and occupied the renal pelvis. The histological findings suggested a diagnosis of ossifying renal tumor of infancy (ORTI), only 16 cases of which have been reported in the literature. The pathogenesis of this condition has not been well established. ORTI should be considered in the differential diagnosis for infants with gross hematuria and a calcified mass in the pelvicalyceal system.

This paper is concerned with the simultaneous fault detection and control problem for Ito-type stochastic time-delay systems. A full-order dynamic output feedback controller is designed to achieve the desired control and detection objectives. The main contributions of this paper are as follows: 1 for stochastic time-delay systems, the controller design with multiple objectives can be addressed by employing the multiple Lyapunov functions approach, 2 the dynamic output feedback controller synthesis conditions described by linear matrix inequalities LMIs are derived and 3 within the proposed fault detection and control framework, a better integrated control and detection performance can be obtained. Some numerical examples including the comparison results are presented to show the advantages of the proposed method.

Anonymous location data from cellular phone networks sheds light on how people move around on a large scale.

Hong-Xia Chen,1,2,* Li-Bing Wu,3,* Zhong-Ji Meng1 1Institute of Biomedicine, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, Hubei Province, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Environmental, Agricultural, & Occupational Health, College of Public Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA; 3Department of Nuclear Medicine, Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, Hubei Province, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work. Abstract: This study investigated the possible correlation between blood biochemical profiles and bone mineral density (BMD) in the Chinese Han population. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using participants randomly selected from the Health Screening Center of Taihe Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, which included a total of 285 individuals, varied in ages from 31years to 63years. The height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) of each subject were measured, as well as fasting blood glucose (FBG), triglycerides, total cholesterol, blood uric acid (UA), blood urea nitrogen, and blood creatinine. We evaluated BMD at the wrist (grams per centimeter square) using a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan. The mean ages of female and male groups were 45.32±8.24years and 46.76±9.01years, respectively. The mean age of the study population was 46.14±8.79years, which is similar to the general population. The mean BMI values were 22.08±2.38kg/m2 and 24.50±2.67kg/m2 in the female and male population, respectively, representing a statistically significant difference (P