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BackgroundVascular inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesis and development of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, studies on the association between elevated pentraxin-3 level and adverse outcomes in patients with ACS have yielded controversial results. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to assess the value of elevated pentraxin-3 level as an inflammatory marker for predicting adverse outcomes in patients with ACS.MethodsTwo authors systematically searched the articles indexed in PubMed, Embase, CNKI, Wanfang, and VIP databases up to March 31, 2021. Studies reporting the association of elevated pentraxin-3 level at the acute phase with cardiovascular mortality, all-cause mortality, or cardiac events (cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, revascularization, or heart failure) in patients with ACS were included.ResultsA total of 8,775 ACS patients from 12 studies were identified and analyzed. When compared the lowest pentraxin-3 level, ACS patients with the highest pentraxin-3 level conferred an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality [risk ratio (RR) 2.10; 95% CI 1.44–3.06], all-cause mortality (RR 1.99; 95% CI 1.46–2.71), and cardiac events (RR 1.74; 95% CI 1.32–2.29), even after adjustment for some important confounders. Subgroup analysis indicated that the association of elevated pentraxin-3 level with cardiac events appeared to be stronger in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients (RR 2.72; 95% CI 1.69–4.36) than in all patients with ACS (RR 1.59; 95% CI 1.10–2.29).ConclusionsElevated pentraxin-3 level is possibly an independent predictor of adverse outcomes in patients with ACS. Assessment of pentraxin-3 level at the acute phase can provide important information for early risk stratification of ACS.

Background: From previous studies, we found that there are more than 100 types of RNA modifications in RNA molecules. m6A methylation is the most common. The incidence rate of adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG) at home and abroad has increased faster than that of stomach cancer at other sites in recent years. Here, we systematically analyze the modification pattern of m6A mRNA in adenocarcinoma at the esophagogastric junction.Methods: m6A sequencing, RNA sequencing, and bioinformatics analysis were used to describe the m6A modification pattern in adenocarcinoma and normal tissues at the esophagogastric junction.Results: In AEG samples, a total of 4,775 new m6A peaks appeared, and 3,054 peaks disappeared. The unique m6A-related genes in AEG are related to cancer-related pathways. There are hypermethylated or hypomethylated m6A peaks in AEG in differentially expressed mRNA transcripts.Conclusion: This study preliminarily constructed the first m6A full transcriptome map of human AEG. This has a guiding role in revealing the mechanism of m6A-mediated gene expression regulation.

It is of great technological importance in the field of plasmonic color generation to establish and understand the relationship between optical responses and the reflectance of metallic nanoparticles. Previously, a series of indium nanoparticle ensembles were fabricated using electron beam evaporation and inspected using spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). The multi-oscillator Lorentz–Drude model demonstrated the optical responses of indium nanoparticles with different sizes and size distributions. The reflectance spectra and colorimetry characteristics of indium nanoparticles with unimodal and bimodal size distributions were interpreted based on the SE analysis. The trends of reflectance spectra were explained by the transfer matrix method. The effects of optical constants n and k of indium on the reflectance were demonstrated by mapping the reflectance contour lines on the n-k plane. Using oscillator decomposition, the influence of different electron behaviors in various indium structures on the reflectance spectra was revealed intuitively. The contribution of each oscillator on the colorimetry characteristics, including hue, lightness and saturation, were determined and discussed from the reflectance spectral analysis.

Osteosarcoma is a common malignant bone tumor with a propensity for drug resistance, recurrence, and metastasis. A growing number of studies have elucidated the dual role of pyroptosis in the development of cancer, which is a gasdermin-regulated novel inflammatory programmed cell death. However, the interaction between pyroptosis and the overall survival (OS) of osteosarcoma patients is poorly understood. This study aimed to construct a prognostic model based on pyroptosis-related genes to provide new insights into the prognosis of osteosarcoma patients. We identified 46 differentially expressed pyroptosis-associated genes between osteosarcoma tissues and normal control tissues. A total of six risk genes affecting the prognosis of osteosarcoma patients were screened to form a pyroptosis-related signature by univariate and LASSO regression analysis and verified using GSE21257 as a validation cohort. Combined with other clinical characteristics, including age, gender, and metastatic status, we found that the pyroptosis-related signature score, which we named “PRS-score,” was an independent prognostic factor for patients with osteosarcoma and that a low PRS-score indicated better OS and a lower risk of metastasis. The result of ssGSEA and ESTIMATE algorithms showed that a lower PRS-score indicated higher immune scores, higher levels of tumor infiltration by immune cells, more active immune function, and lower tumor purity. In summary, we developed and validated a pyroptosis-related signature for predicting the prognosis of osteosarcoma, which may contribute to early diagnosis and immunotherapy of osteosarcoma.

In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been applied in many fields owing to their mature flight control technology and easy-to-operate characteristics. No doubt, these UAV-related applications rely heavily on location information provided by the positioning system. Most UAVs nowadays use a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) to obtain location information. However, this outside-in 3rd party positioning system is particularly susceptible to environmental interference and cannot be used in indoor environments, which limits the application diversity of UAVs. To deal with this problem, in this paper, a stereo-based visual simultaneous localization and mapping technology (vSLAM) is applied. The presented vSLAM algorithm fuses onboard inertial measurement unit (IMU) information to further solve the navigation problem in an unknown environment without the use of a GNSS signal and provides reliable localization information. The overall visual positioning system is based on the stereo parallel tracking and mapping architecture (S-PTAM). However, experiments found that the feature-matching threshold has a significant impact on positioning accuracy. Selection of the threshold is based on the Hamming distance without any physical meaning, which makes the threshold quite difficult to set manually. Therefore, this work develops an online adaptive matching threshold according to the keyframe poses. Experiments show that the developed adaptive matching threshold improves positioning accuracy. Since the attitude calculation of the IMU is carried out based on the Mahony complementary filter, the difference between the measured acceleration and the gravity is used as the metric to online tune the gain value dynamically, which can improve the accuracy of attitude estimation under aggressive motions. Moreover, a static state detection algorithm based on the moving window method and measured acceleration is proposed as well to accurately calculate the conversion mechanism between the vSLAM system and the IMU information; this initialization mechanism can help IMU provide a better initial guess for the bundle adjustment algorithm (BA) in the tracking thread. Finally, a performance evaluation of the proposed algorithm is conducted by the popular EuRoC dataset. All the experimental results show that the developed online adaptive parameter tuning algorithm can effectively improve the vSLAM accuracy and robustness.

The accelerating growth of the public microbial genomic data imposes substantial burden on the research community that uses such resources. Building databases for non-redundant reference sequences from massive microbial genomic data based on clustering analysis is essential. However, existing clustering algorithms perform poorly on long genomic sequences. In this article, we present Gclust, a parallel program for clustering complete or draft genomic sequences, where clustering is accelerated with a novel parallelization strategy and a fast sequence comparison algorithm using sparse suffix arrays (SSAs). Moreover, genome identity measures between two sequences are calculated based on their maximal exact matches (MEMs). In this paper, we demonstrate the high speed and clustering quality of Gclust by examining four genome sequence datasets. Gclust is freely available for non-commercial use at https://github.com/niu-lab/gclust. We also introduce a web server for clustering user-uploaded genomes at http://niulab.scgrid.cn/gclust. Keywords: Microbial genome clustering, Parallelization, Sparse suffix array, Maximal exact match, Segment extension

Food-derived bioactive peptides have received considerable attention as low toxicity nutrient supplements with multiple physiological activities, such as antioxidant, antihypertensive and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study, a RAW 264.7 cell model and spontaneously hypertensive rats model were employed to investigate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory peptides Leu-Tyr (LY), Arg-Ala-Leu-Pro (RALP) and Gly-His-Ser (GHS). The results showed that in vitro, LY, RALP and GHS significantly inhibited the secretion of nitric oxide, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages. In vivo, LY, RALP and GHS inhibited the release of nitric oxide and the production of lipid peroxides and reactive oxygen species, and improved cell damage caused by oxidative stress in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Furthermore, LY, RALP, and GHS inhibited proinflammatory cytokines including interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α in plasma. Thus, LY, RALP and GHS can protect the body from oxidative and inflammatory damage.

A 2-month-old male infant presented with white colored stools 1 month after birth. There was no jaundice of the skin, mucous membrane, or sclera; his liver was enlarged (4 cm below the ribs), and his liver function tests showed slightly elevated total bilirubin (TB), direct bilirubin (DB), and total bile acid (TBA). An abdominal doppler ultrasound showed no signs of biliary atresia. Genetic testing revealed a CFTR hemizygous mutation site (c.223C>T) in exon 3 and exon 2–3 heterozygous deletion mutation. The infant's stool turned yellow after oral administration of pancreatic tablets. Finally, the infant was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF). Review of literature revealed five children (including the infant in this case study) with CF who presented with white stool. All five children had anemia, four had edema and hypoproteinemia, five had changes in stool color (it was pistachio-green color in two patients, pale colored in one, acholic stool in one, and white stool in one), two had cholestasis, one infant had delayed meconium discharge, and three children had delayed growth and hepatomegaly. Two children had an abnormal sweat test, one had a F508del compound heterozygous mutation, and one had three mutation sites (C.214G>G/A, P.A72T; C.650A>A/G, P.E217G, and C.3406G>G/A, P. A1136T), which was a compound heterozygous mutation. So, CF could be included in the differential diagnosis of infants with white stool. Genetic testing could confirm an early diagnosis of CF. Pancreatic replacement therapy has been shown to be beneficial for improving the digestive function.

BackgroundCurrent clinical evidence suggests that a well-planned physiotherapeutic scoliosis specific exercise (PSSE) program is effective for scoliosis regression.ObjectivesWe investigated the effect of curve patterns on Cobb angles with PSSE.MethodsThis was a non-randomized prospective clinical trial that recruited participants with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis between January and June 2017. Participants were grouped by curve pattern into major thoracic and major lumbar groups. An outpatient-based PSSE program was conducted with the following schedule of intensive exercise: ≥ 1 session of supervised PSSE per month and > 30min of home exercise 5 days/week in the first 6 months, after which exercise frequency was reduced to 1 session of supervised PSSE every three months and > 30min of home exercise 5 days/week until 2 years after study initiation. Radiographic Cobb angle progressions were identified at the 1, 1.5 and 2-year follow-ups. A mixed model analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to examine the differences in Cobb angles between groups at four testing time points. The two-tailed significance level was set to 0.05.ResultsIn total, 40 participants were recruited, including 22 with major thoracic curves (5 males and 17 females; mean age 13.5±1.8 years; Cobb angle 18-45 degrees) and 18 with major lumbar curves (7 males and 11 females; mean age 12.7±1.7 years; Cobb angle 15-48 degrees). Curve regressions, namely the reduction of Cobb angles between 7 to 10 degrees were noted in 9.1% of participants in the major thoracic group; reductions of 6 to 13 degrees were noted in 33.3% of participants in the major lumbar group at the 2-year follow-up. Repeated measurements revealed a significant time effect (F2.2,79.8 = 4.1, p = 0.02), but no group (F2.2,79.8 = 2.3, p = 0.1) or time × group (F1,37 = 0.97, p = 0.3) effects in reducing Cobb angles after 2 years of PSSE. A logistic regression analysis revealed that no correlation was observed between curve pattern and curve regression or stabilization (OR: 0.2, 95% CI: 0.31-1.1, p = 0.068) at the 2-year follow-up.ConclusionThis was the first study to investigate the long-term effects of PSSE in reducing Cobb angles on the basis of major curve location. No significant differences in correction were observed between major thoracic and major lumbar curves. A regression effect and no curve deterioration were noted in both groups at the 2-year follow-up.Trial registrationChiCTR1900028073.

Pulmonary fibrosis is a kind of interstitial lung disease with architectural remodeling of tissues and excessive matrix deposition. Apart from messenger RNA (mRNA), microRNA (miRNA), long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), and circular RNA (circRNA) could also play important roles in the regulatory processes of occurrence and progression of pulmonary fibrosis. In the present study, the pulmonary fibrosis model was administered with bleomycin. Whole transcriptome sequencing analysis was applied to investigate the expression profiles of mRNAs, lncRNAs, circRNAs, and miRNAs. After comparing bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis model lung samples and controls, 286 lncRNAs, 192 mRNAs, 605 circRNAs, and 32 miRNAs were found to be differentially expressed. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were performed to investigate the potential functions of these differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). The terms related to inflammatory response and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway were enriched, implying potential roles in regulatory process. In addition, two co-expression networks were also constructed to understand the internal regulating relationships of these mRNAs and ncRNAs. Our study provides a systematic perspective on the potential functions of these DE mRNAs and ncRNAs during PF process and could help pave the way for effective therapeutics for this devastating and complex disease.

Breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is a recently characterized T-cell malignancy that has raised significant patient safety concerns and led to worldwide impact on the implants used and clinical management of patients undergoing reconstructive or cosmetic breast surgery. Molecular signatures distinguishing BIA-ALCL from other ALCLs have not been fully elucidated and classification of BIA-ALCL as a WHO entity remains provisional. We performed RNA sequencing and gene set enrichment analysis comparing BIA-ALCLs to non-BIA-ALCLs and identified dramatic upregulation of hypoxia signaling genes including the hypoxia-associated biomarker CA9 (carbonic anyhydrase-9). Immunohistochemistry validated CA9 expression in all BIA-ALCLs, with only minimal expression in non-BIA-ALCLs. Growth induction in BIA-ALCL-derived cell lines cultured under hypoxic conditions was proportional to up-regulation of CA9 expression, and RNA sequencing demonstrated induction of the same gene signature observed in BIA-ALCL tissue samples compared to non-BIA-ALCLs. CA9 silencing blocked hypoxia-induced BIA-ALCL cell growth and cell cycle-associated gene expression, whereas CA9 overexpression in BIA-ALCL cells promoted growth in a xenograft mouse model. Furthermore, CA9 was secreted into BIA-ALCL cell line supernatants and was markedly elevated in human BIA-ALCL seroma samples. Finally, serum CA9 concentrations in mice bearing BIA-ALCL xenografts were significantly elevated compared to control serum. Together, these findings characterize BIA-ALCL as a hypoxia-associated neoplasm, likely attributable to the unique microenvironment in which it arises. These data support classification of BIA-ALCL as a distinct entity and uncover opportunities for investigating hypoxia-related proteins such as CA9 as novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets in this disease.

Considering the diversity of energy harvesting capability and spectrum sensing accuracy of SU,as well as dynamic channel quality,under the constraint of energy causality,the secondary network throughput maximization problem in single-hop cognitive radio networks with energy harvesting was studied.The transmission channel selection,transmission power control and transmission time allocation of SU were jointly optimized.Since the optimization problem was non-convex,by converting it into a series of convex optimization sub-problems,the optimize transmission power and transmission time algorithm (OPTA) was obtained.Compared with the existing resource allocation algorithms,such as,hybrid differential evolution algorithm (HDEA),optimized transmission algorithm (OTA),and random assignment channel algorithm (RA),the simulation results verify the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.For example,under the same maximum transmission power constraint,the throughput of the proposed OPTA scheme could increase by around 6%,37% and 50% than that of HDEA,OTA and RA schemes respectively.Under the same channel gain diversity,the throughput of the proposed OPTA scheme could increase by around 30%,60% and 94% than that of HDEA,OTA and RA schemes respectively.Under the same energy harvesting efficiency diversity,the throughput of the proposed OPTA scheme could increase by around 27%,50% and 92% than that of HDEA,OTA and RA schemes respectively.

Platelet transmission electron microscopy (PTEM) is considered the gold standard test for assessing distinct ultrastructural abnormalities in inherited platelet disorders (IPDs). Nevertheless, PTEM remains mainly a research tool due to the lack of standardized procedures, a validated dense granule (DG) count reference range, and standardized image interpretation criteria. The aim of this study was to standardize and validate PTEM as a clinical laboratory test. Based on previously established methods, we optimized and standardized preanalytical, analytical, and postanalytical procedures for both whole mount (WM) and thin section (TS) PTEM. Mean number of DG/platelet (plt), percentage of plts without DG, platelet count (PC), mean platelet volume (MPV), immature platelet fraction (IPF), and plt light transmission aggregometry analyses were measured on blood samples from 113 healthy donors. Quantile regression was used to estimate the reference range for DG/plt, and linear regression was used to assess the association of DG/plt with other plt measurements. All PTEM procedures were standardized using commercially available materials and reagents. DG interpretation criteria were established based on previous publications and expert consensus, and resulted in improved operator agreement. Mean DG/plt was stable for 2 days after blood sample collection. The median within patient coefficient of variation for mean DG/plt was 22.2%; the mean DG/plt reference range (mid-95th %) was 1.2–4.0. Mean DG/plt was associated with IPF (p = .01, R2 = 0.06) but not age, sex, PC, MPV, or plt maximum aggregation or primary slope of aggregation (p > .17, R2

Abstract Background Epidermolytic palmoplantar keratoderma (EPPK) is characterized by hyperkeratotic lesions on palms and soles. The disorder is caused by mutations of keratin 9 (KRT9) or KRT1 gene. Methods Epidermolytic palmoplantar keratoderma was diagnosed by physical examination and histopathological analysis in a five‐generation Chinese family. Mutation was screened by Sanger sequencing. The palmar expression of multiple cytokeratins were analyzed by tape‐stripping and Real‐time PCR. Literatures of EPPK with additional symptoms were reviewed. Results Affected family members showed diffuse palmoplantar keratosis, with knuckle pads, friction‐related lesions and a novel additional symptom of palmar constriction. A heterozygous mutation of c.T491C (p.L164P) of KRT9 was found within the helix initiation motif. The hydrophobic effect was decreased and the initiation of coiled‐coil conformation was delayed. The KRT16/KRT6 expression were significantly increased in the patients, especially on the right, indicating activation of stress‐response and wound‐healing cytokeratins. There were also increased KRT9/KRT2, unchanged KRT10/KRT1, and undetectable KRT14/KRT5 expression. The genetic and phenotypic heterogeneity of EPPK with additional symptoms were summarized by literature review. Conclusion The p.L164P mutation of KRT9 caused EPPK with a novel symptom of palmar constriction. The expression of multiple cytokeratins was altered in EPPK patients.

Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome (HPS) − characterized by the distinct clinical phenotypes of both oculocutaneous albinism and mild bleeding diathesis–is caused by mutations in genes that have crucial roles in the assembly of cellular organelles (skin melanosomes, platelet delta [dense] granules, lung lamellar bodies, and cytotoxic T-cell lymphocyte granules). Immunodeficiency, pulmonary fibrosis and granulomatous colitis are associated with some, but not all subtypes of HPS, with varying degrees of clinical severity. We describe a patient diagnosed with platelet dense granule storage pool deficiency (DG-SPD) at age 38 years after he presented with spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage. His mild oculocutaneous hypopigmentation was subtle. In the following 27 years, he did not develop severe bleeding nor pulmonary or gastrointestinal complications. A novel homozygous c.1960A>T; p.Lys654* mutation in the HPS-5 protein gene (HPS5) was identified through next generation sequencing, (NGS) which is consistent with the patient’s clinical and laboratory phenotypes. This case underscores the importance of recognizing the mild clinical phenotype of HPS-5 and utilization of both laboratory and molecular testing for diagnosis, prognostication, and surveillance for end organ damage in patients affected with HPS.

In order for peptides to exert physiological effects, intact transportation or absorption of their degradation fragments with bioactive potency is required. In this study, Caco-2 cell model was employed to investigate the stability of ACE- and renin-inhibitory peptides LY, RALP and TF during cellular absorption. Apparent permeability coefficient was 3.49, 0.32, and 0.94 × 10−6 cm/s for LY, RALP and TF, respectively. LY had the highest infiltration yield of 6.59%, compared to RALP (0.51%) and TF (2.44%) at 180 min. Peptides collected from the basolateral sides after 180 min had ACE-inhibitory levels of 33.03%, 14.22% and 14.33% with different initial concentrations for LY (2 mM), RALP (1 mM) and TF (3 mM), respectively. In contrast, renin-inhibitory activities were lower at 9.52% (LY) and 7.37% (RALP) while TF had no inhibition. Thus, dipeptides could be more easily absorbed for controlling hypertension and the fragments of RALP had potential antihypertensive properties.

Babesia microti, an intraerythrocytic parasite, is tickborne in nature. In contrast to transmission by blood transfusion, which has been well documented, transmission associated with solid organ transplantation has not been reported. We describe parasitologically confirmed cases of babesiosis diagnosed ≈8 weeks posttransplantation in 2 recipients of renal allografts from an organ donor who was multiply transfused on the day he died from traumatic injuries. The organ donor and recipients had no identified risk factors for tickborne infection. Antibodies against B. microti parasites were not detected by serologic testing of archived pretransplant specimens. However, 1 of the organ donor’s blood donors was seropositive when tested postdonation and had risk factors for tick exposure. The organ donor probably served as a conduit of Babesia parasites from the seropositive blood donor to both kidney recipients. Babesiosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of unexplained fever and hemolytic anemia after blood transfusion or organ transplantation.

AIM: To investigate the long-term clinical effect of modified frontalis tendon flap suspension in the treatment of severe blepharoptosis in children. METHODS: A total of 83 cases(114 eyes)of modified frontalis tendon flap suspension for children severe blepharoptosis correction were analyzed between January 2009 to December 2011 for the efficacy and complications of this surgery. Follow-up observation for 5a.RESULTS: In the fifth year after operation, there were 84 eyes(73.7%)with correction and satisfactory correction, 30 eyes(26.3%)were corrected, and the operation was satisfactory. Postoperative complications included 4 eyes(3.5%)of inverted eyelashes, of which 3 eyes were given suture traction at 1/3 interior of the gray line, 1wk later inverted eyelashes disappeared, 1 eye of secondary surgery. Conjunctival prolapse was in 2 eyes(1.8%), the application of corticosteroids eye drops, pressure bandage were used for 1wk and conjunctival prolapse disappeared. There was no recurrence of keratitis, eyelid ectropion, septum separation, eyelid angular deformity, hematoma formation, infection and other complications. Postoperative retrograde retrogression and lateral eyelid folds disappear were the most common problems of long-term follow-up. CONCLUSION: The study shows that this surgical technique is a satisfied method to treat severe blepharoptosis and predictable with few complications.

Information on the physicochemical variability in rapeseed oil from different varieties during each refining process is lacking. Our purpose was to investigate the physicochemical properties, micronutrients and oxidative stability of the oil extracted from the five varieties of rapeseeds during their different stages of refining process. Increase in the acid value, peroxide value and p-anisidine value were detected in the refining, while content of tocopherols, sterols, β-carotene and phenols, which are regarded as important nutritional compounds diminished. Moreover, the loss rate of total phytosterols of all oils during neutralization (9.23-7.3%) and deodorization (9.97-8.27%) were higher than that of degumming (3.01-0.87%) and bleaching (2.75-1.18%). Deodorization affected total tocopherols contents the most, followed by bleaching, neutralization and degumming. There was a remarkable reduction in total content of phenol, β-carotene and oxygen radical absorbance of all oils during refining. The accumulated information can be used in looking for the optimum condition to meet the basic requirements for oil and minimize micronutrients losses so as to increase their market value.

The time-domain substructure inverse matrix method has become a popular method to detect and diagnose problems regarding vehicle noise, vibration, and harshness, especially for those impulse excitations caused by roads. However, owning to its reliance on frequency response functions (FRFs), the approach is effective only for time-invariable linear or weak nonlinear systems. This limitation prevents this method from being applied to a typical vehicle suspension substructure, which shows different nonlinear characteristics under different wheel transient loads. In this study, operational excitation was considered as a key factor and applied to calculate dynamic time-varying FRFs to perform accurate time-domain transient vibration transfer path analysis (TPA). The core idea of this novel method is to divide whole coupled substructural relationships into two parts: one involved time-invariable components; normal FRFs could be obtained through tests directly. The other involved numerical computations of the time-domain operational loads matrix and FRFs matrix in static conditions. This method focused on determining dynamic FRFs affected by operational loads, especially the severe transient ones; these loads are difficult to be considered in other classical TPA approaches, such as operational path analysis with exogenous inputs (OPAX) and operational transfer path analysis (OTPA). Experimental results showed that this new approach could overcome the limitations of the traditional time-domain substructure TPA in terms of its strict requirements within time-invariable systems. This is because in the new method, time-varying FRFs were calculated and used, which could make the FRFs at the system level directly adapt to time-varying systems from time to time. In summary, the modified method extends TPA objects studied in time-invariable systems to time-varying systems and, thus, makes a methodology and application innovation compared to traditional the time-domain substructure TPA.

In this work, a new buffer layer material, a bismuth-indium (Bi-In) alloy, was utilized to improve the quality of large-area, laser-induced periodic ripple structures on silicon. Better-defined ripple structures and larger modification areas were obtained at different scanning speeds by pre-depositing a Bi-In film. The single-spot investigations indicated that ripple structures were much easier to form on silicon coated with the Bi-In film under laser fluences of 2.04 and 2.55 J/cm2 at a fixed pulse number of 200 in comparison with on bare silicon. A physical model in terms of the excellent thermal conductivity contributed by the free electrons in the Bi-In film homogenizing the thermal distribution caused by the laser irradiation in the early stage of the formation of laser-induced periodic surface structures was proposed to explain the above phenomena. The results show that the Bi-In film enabled a wider range of laser fluences to generate periodic structures and helped to form regular ripple structures on the silicon. In addition, the modulation effects of the laser fluence and pulse number on surface structures were studied experimentally and are discussed in detail.

Planetary gear train (PGT) is widely used in a variety of fields such as helicopters and aircraft engines. The failure of meshing gear often happens in the PGT due to the working condition of high speed, variable load, high-frequency excitation, assembly error etc. However, the causes of gear failure are still insufficiency, especially in the condition of high speed and high-frequency excitation. In this work, the engaging force between gear meshing pair of the PGT under high-frequency excitation is studied using the proposed position-correlated modal properties calculation method, which is established by incorporating the effect of meshing position and meshing phase difference of each contact pair into the free vibration model to study the modal properties of the PGT at different meshing positions. The corresponding engaging force responses based on the position-correlated modal properties are investigated. The simulation results show that the higher-order natural frequencies of the system are greatly affected by the meshing position. The peaks of engaging force occur at meshing positions where the natural frequencies are equal to the excitation frequency, which can be the potential cause of the gear damage.

This report shows the antioxidant effects of a hemp seed meal protein hydrolysate (HMH) in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Defatted hemp seed meal was hydrolyzed consecutively with pepsin and pancreatin to yield HMH, which was incorporated into rat feed as a source of antioxidant peptides. Young (8-week old) SHRs were divided into three groups (8 rats/group) and fed diets that contained 0.0%, 0.5% or 1.0% (w/w) HMH for eight weeks; half of the rats were sacrificed for blood collection. After a 4-week washout period, the remaining 20-week old SHRs were fed for an additional four weeks and sacrificed for blood collection. Plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and total peroxides (TPx) levels were determined. Results showed that plasma TAC, CAT and SOD levels decreased in the older 20-week old SHRs when compared to the young SHRs. The presence of HMH in the diets led to significant (p < 0.05) increases in plasma SOD and CAT levels in both young and adult SHR groups; these increases were accompanied by decreases in TPx levels. The results suggest that HMH contained antioxidant peptides that reduced the rate of lipid peroxidation in SHRs with enhanced antioxidant enzyme levels and total antioxidant capacity.

Nail patella syndrome (NPS) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by nail malformations, patellar apoplasia, or patellar hypoplasia. Mutations within the LMX1B gene are found in 85% of families with NPS; thus, this gene has been characterized as the causative gene of NPS. In this study, we identified a heterozygous microdeletion of the entire LMX1B gene using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) in a Chinese family with NPS. The determination of the deletion breakpoints by Illumina genome-wide DNA analysis beadchip showed that the deletion was located in chromosome 9q33.3 and spanned about 0.66 Mb in size. This heterozygous deletion provides strong evidence for haploinsufficiency as the pathogenic mechanism of NPS.

The aim of the present work was to verify whether adenoviral vector mediated ferritin over-expression in mesenchymal stem cells could be detected by 7T MRI device, and to explore the relationship between ferritin content and MRI signal intensities.A recombined adenoviral vector (rAdV) encoding ferritin heavy chain (FTH1) subunit was specially designed for the aim of infecting bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). Ferritin over-expression in BMSCs was determined by cell immunocytochemistry and the ferritin content in cells was determined by ELISA assay. BMSCs were subjected to cell viability, proliferation and multi-differentiation analyses as well as 7T MRI test using fast spin-echo pulse sequence. The R2 value andδR2 were calculated according to T2 mapping images.As was confirmed by cell immunocytochemistry and ELISA assay, rAdV mediated ferritin was over-expressed in BMSCs. Ferritin over-expression did not interfere with stem cell viability or pluripotent differentiation but slowed cell proliferation. The R2 value of BMSCs-FTH1 vs control BMSCs from 1-4 weeks was16.65±1.28 s-1 vs 13.99±0.80 s-1, (t = 3.94, p = 0.004), 15.63±1.37 s-1 vs 13.87±0.83 s-1 (t = 2.47, p = 0.039), 15.53±0.88 s-1 vs 14.25±0.53 s-1 (t = 2.80, p = 0.023) and 14.61±1.28 s-1 vs 13.69±1.03 s-1 (t = 1.25, p = 0.24), respectively. δR2 gradually decreased from 1-4 weeks and the difference between the groups had statistical significance (F = 12.45, p

The aim of this study was to identify and test efficacy of antioxidant and antihypertensive peptides present in hemp seed protein hydrolysate (HPH), which was produced through simulated gastrointestinal tract digestion of hemp seed proteins. Consecutive fractionation of HPH by reverse-phase HPLC followed by tandem mass spectrometry analysis of active peaks led to identification of 23 short-chain (⩽5 amino acids) peptides. At 0.5 mg/mL, Trp-Val-Tyr-Tyr (WVYY) and Pro-Ser-Leu-Pro-Ala (PSLPA) were the most active antioxidant peptides with 67% and 58% DPPH scavenging and metal chelation activity of 94% and 96%, respectively. WVYY and PSLPA showed maximum systolic blood pressure (SBP) reduction in spontaneously hypertensive rats by 34 (2 h) and 40 mmHg (4 h), respectively, after oral administration of 30 mg/kg body weight dose. Trp-Tyr-Thr (WYT) at 2 h, Ser-Val-Tyr-Thr (SVYT) at 6 h, and Ile-Pro-Ala-Gly-Val (IPAGV) at 4 h, each at 30 mg/kg body weight dose had maximum SBP reductions of 13, 24, and 36 mmHg, respectively.

Molecular imaging is developing fast towards multi-modality and simultaneous therapy. For molecular imaging, upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs), especially lanthanide-doped nanocrystals own obvious advantages such as low toxicity, large Stokes shifts, high resistance to photo-bleaching and photochemical degradation. Moreover, near infrared (NIR) excitation contributes to the auto-fluorescence minimization, a larger penetrating depth, and less harmfulness to cells compared with traditional ultraviolet (UV) excitation. On the other hand, the composites of UCNPs with biological target molecules exert superior performance, broadening their biological application scope from multi-modality imaging, to simultaneous drug delivery and targeted therapy. Herein, we review main advances of UCNPs applied to tumor multi-modality imaging and simultaneous therapy over the past few years, explore their application prospects, and discuss the concepts, issues, approaches, and challenges, with the aim of improving the application of UCNPs in biomedical imaging and therapy in near future.

Rapeseed protein isolate (RPI) was hydrolyzed with Alcalase followed by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) purification of bioactive peptides. The rapeseed protein hydrolysate (RPH) obtained after 4 h digestion with Alcalase had a degree of hydrolysis (DH) of ∼11%. Gel permeation chromatography separation showed high contents of low molecular weight peptides in the RPH when compared to the RPI. After preparative and analytical RP-HPLC separations, three peptides (LY, TF and RALP) were purified and amino acid sequence determined by tandem mass spectrometry. LY (IC50, 0.11 mM) was the most potent (p

In this study, rapeseed protein isolate was hydrolyzed with various proteases to obtain hydrolysates that were separated by membrane ultrafiltration into four molecular size fractions (

Prophages are regarded as one of the factors underlying bacterial virulence, genomic diversification, and fitness, and are ubiquitous in bacterial genomes. Information on Helicobacter sp. prophages remains scarce. In this study, sixteen prophages were identified and analyzed in detail. Eight of them are described for the first time. Based on a comparative genomic analysis, these sixteen prophages can be classified into four different clusters. Phylogenetic relationships of Cluster A Helicobacter prophages were investigated. Furthermore, genomes of Helicobacter prophages from Clusters B, C, and D were analyzed. Interestingly, some putative antibiotic resistance proteins and virulence factors were associated with Helicobacter prophages.

To solve the issue that new femtocells deployed in hierarchical networks would introduce a series of interference,a power self-configuration scheme was proposed.Various kinds of interference that femtocell base station might receive from other base stations were analyzed.Then an optimal power issue was formulized,as was able to maximize the femtocell system capacity on the condition guaranteeing the existing users'normal communication.And the optimal solution was also obtained with lagrange multiplier method.The simulation results show that the proposed scheme cuts down the transmit power of femtocell,increases the throughput and reduces interference for existing users,comparing with the scheme based on received signal strength.

Herein we report that the in vitro gene transcription-translation efficiency can be dramatically enhanced by gold nanoparticles of 5nm in diameter. The addition of less than or equal to 1.2 nM of gold nanoparticles of 5 nm in diameter into rapid-translation-system (RTS) reagents increased the transcription-translation efficiency up to 30% and shortened the reaction time to 4 h, with the same or higher translation yields. Gold nanoparticles did not decrease the yields’ bioactivity. The results show that gold nanoparticles of 5 nm may act as a bio-catalyst in the RTS reaction. This innovation has great potential in applications such as large-scale protein fabrication, gene transcription-translation regulation, and studies of structure and function of toxic protein.

Stem cells nanotechnology has emerged as a new exciting area, and holds great potential for research and development of stem cells as novel therapeutic platforms for genetic, traumatic, and degenerative medicine. Vital to the success of this technology are approaches that reproducibly facilitate in vivo cell tracking, expansion, differentiation, and transplantation. Herein we reported the effects of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots covered multi-walled carbon nanotubes (FMNTs) on mice embryonic stem cell line CCE cells. The FMNTs were prepared by plasma surface treatment and characterized by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), and incubated with murine ES CCE cells for 1 to 28 day.These ES cells were observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy, and were analyzed by real time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR), flow cytometry (FCM) and MTT method. Results showed that prepared FMNTs exhibited green fluorescent signal, could enter into ES cells in time-dependent means, more than 20 µg ml-1 FMNTs induced ES cells become smaller and smaller as the incubation time increased, and inhibited cell growth in dose-and time-dependent means, induced apoptosis of ES cells; conversely, 5 µg ml-1 FMNTs could markedly stimulate the expression of Sox1 and Hsp27, and inhibit expression of OCT4 in ES cells, FCM analysis showed that differentiation marker Flk-1 exhibited higher expression compared with control ES cells. In conclusion, high dose of FMNTs can inhibit proliferation of ES cells, low dose of FMNTs can improve the differentiation of ES cells, FMNTs can have potential applications in in vivo tracking, imaging and regulation of the proliferation and differentiation of ES cells.

Herein we exploit the molecular engineering capability to immobilize monolayer of polyamidoamine dendrimer on gold electrode, which exhibit enhanced charge transfer and biocompatibility. Polyamidoamine (PAMAM generation 5.0) dendrimers were used as template/stabilizers for gold nanoparticle growth, with Au@PAMAM nanoparticles serving as surface modifier to produce monolayer film. TEM, UV-vis spectroscopy, and AFM were used to characterize the formation of monolayer Au@PAMAM on gold surface. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) and Impedance measurements of Au@PAMAM modified gold electrodes demonstrate electrochemistry properties of modified electrode. Furthermore, Au@PAMAM coating can greatly increased the biocompatibility of gold electrode as determined by cell growth curves

A ultra-sensitive, highly specific, real-time polymerase chain reaction system based on mercaptoacetic acid-modified CdTe nanocrystals(mQDs) is reported. With the addition of 3 nm mQDs into the PCR reagent, the photoluminescent(PL) intensities of mQDs decreased gradually as the DNA templates and PCR cycles increased, in an approximate negative linear relation to the DNA concentration logarithm or cycles, the PL peaks exhibited red-shifts synchronously. Mg2+ ions decreased the PL intensity of mQDs in a dose-dependent means, and Taq DNA polymerase enhanced the PL intensity of mQDs in a dose-dependent means. Real-time PCR based on mQDs showed an increased sensitivity at least 103 fold higher than that based on SYBR Green I. The specificity of PCR was enhanced in the PCR reagent with less than 1.33mg/mL mQDs. The potential mechanism is also discussed. This novel PCR system based on mQDs has great potential in applications such as ultra-sensitive specific DNA or RNA detection, dynamic molecular imaging, and photoelectric biosensors.

It has been a challenging task to develop nontoxic nanoprobes for targeted-imaging and selective therapy of prostate cancer. Herein, fluorescent superparamagnetic nanoparticles with a diameter of 50 nm were conjugated with single-chain Fv antibody against γ-seminoprotein. The resultant nanoprobes showed highly selective targeting, fluorescent imaging, and magnetic resonance imaging. The cytotoxicity effects were investigated on the prostate cancer cells and solid tumors under in vitro alternating magnetic field irradiation. It was found that the as-prepared nanoprobes did not show signs of toxicity within the used maximal dosage. It was also observed that the tumors implanted in nude mice were significantly reduced in size and disappeared gradually due to thermal treatment. The lifespan of post-therapeutic mice loaded with prostate cancer was considerable prolonged. High-performance singlechain Fv antibody against γ-seminoprotein-conjugated fluorescent magnetic nanoparticles may have great potential in applications such early detection and localized thermal therapy of prostate cancer.

In the title compound, C13H11ClN4O3, the phenyl and pyrrolyl ring are linked by an acyl–hydrazone (R2C=N—N—CO—R) group, forming a slightly bent molecule: the dihedral angle subtended by the the phenyl and pyrrolyl rings is 8.46 (12)°. In the crystal, the three-dimensional supramolecular structure is assembled by N—H...O hydrogen bonding. Molecular sheets are formed parallel to (101) in a herringbone arrangement by weak van der Waals interactions; weak π–π [centroid–centroid phenyl–phenyl and pyrrolyl–pyrrolyl distances of 3.7816 (3) and 3.8946 (2) Å, respectively] interactions occur between neighbouring sheets.

Our previous study showed that three rapeseed protein-derived peptides (TF, LY and RALP) inhibited the in vitro activities of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and renin. Oral administration of these peptides to spontaneously hypertensive rats led to reductions in systolic blood pressure. In the present work, we examined the potential molecular mechanisms responsible for the ACE- and renin-inhibitory activities of these peptides. Enzyme inhibition kinetics showed competitive, non-competitive and mixed-type peptide-dependent inhibition of renin and ACE activities. Intrinsic fluorescence intensity data showed that LY and RALP have stronger binding effects on ACE molecule compared to that of TF. LY and RALP showed the highest inhibition of ACE and renin activities, respectively. Circular dichroism data showed that the inhibitory mechanism involved extensive peptide-dependent reductions in α-helix and β-sheet fractions of ACE and renin protein conformations. Molecular docking studies confirmed that the higher renin-inhibitory activity of RALP may be due to formation of several hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) with the enzyme's active site residues. The rapeseed peptides inhibited renin and ACE activities mostly through binding to enzyme active site or non-active sites and forming extensive H-bonds that distorted the normal configuration required for catalysis. Data presented from this work could enhance development of highly potent antihypertensive natural peptides or peptidomimetics.

Clonal eosinophilic disorders are rare among hematological malignancies. Most eosinophilia tends to be due to secondary causes such as infections, hypersensitivity conditions, drug reactions, and connective tissue disorders. The presence of a primary clonal eosinophilic disorder such as chronic eosinophilic leukemia—not otherwise specified (NOS) in the presence of a synchronous large cell lymphoma—is rare making the diagnosis challenging. We present a case of a 51-year-old female with the aforementioned presentation and demonstrate the extensive workup performed to identify the diagnosis.

The title compound, Li3.5Eu1.5(MoO4)4, was prepared by solid-state reactions. The fundamental building units of the structure are LiO4 polyhedra (site symmetry -1), distorted LiO6 polyhedra and MoO4 tetrahedra, which are further interconnected via corner-sharing O atoms. One site is occupied by both Li and Eu atoms in a substituent disordered manner (0.25:0.75), and the Li/Eu atoms are coordinated by eight O atoms in a distorted square-antiprismatic manner.

The epigenetic impact of DNA methylation in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is not completely understood. To elucidate its role we analyzed 120 patients with CML for methylation of promoter-associated CpG islands of 10 genes. Five genes were identified by DNA methylation screening in the K562 cell line and 3 genes in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms. The CDKN2B gene was selected for its frequent methylation in myeloid malignancies and ABL1 as the target of BCR-ABL translocation. Thirty patients were imatinib-naïve (mostly treated by interferon-alpha before the imatinib era), 30 were imatinib-responsive, 50 were imatinib-resistant, and 10 were imatinib-intolerant. We quantified DNA methylation by bisulfite pyrosequencing. The average number of methylated genes was 4.5 per patient in the chronic phase, increasing significantly to 6.2 in the accelerated and 6.4 in the blastic phase. Higher numbers of methylated genes were also observed in patients resistant or intolerant to imatinib. These patients also showed almost exclusive methylation of a putative transporter OSCP1. Abnormal methylation of a Src suppressor gene PDLIM4 was associated with shortened survival independently of CML stage and imatinib responsiveness. We conclude that aberrant DNA methylation is associated with CML progression and that DNA methylation could be a marker associated with imatinib resistance. Finally, DNA methylation of PDLIM4 may help identify a subset of CML patients that would benefit from treatment with Src/Abl inhibitors.

The DNA methylation inhibitor 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine (DAC) is approved for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), but resistance to DAC develops during treatment and mechanisms of resistance remain unknown. Therefore, we investigated mechanisms of primary and secondary resistance to DAC in MDS.We performed Quantitative Real-Time PCR to examine expression of genes related to DAC metabolism prior to therapy in 32 responders and non-responders with MDS as well as 14 patients who achieved a complete remission and subsequently relapsed while on therapy (secondary resistance). We then performed quantitative methylation analyses by bisulfite pyrosequencing of 10 genes as well as Methylated CpG Island Amplification Microarray (MCAM) analysis of global methylation in secondary resistance.Most genes showed no differences by response, but the CDA/DCK ratio was 3 fold higher in non-responders than responders (P