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The hydrolytic deamination of adenosine to inosine (A-to-I editing) in precursor mRNA induces variable gene products at the post-transcription level. How and to what extent A-to-I RNA editing diversifies transcriptome is not fully characterized in the evolution, and very little is known about the selective constraints that drive the evolution of RNA editing events. Here we present a study on A-to-I RNA editing, by generating a global profile of A-to-I editing for a phylogeny of seven Drosophila species, a model system spanning an evolutionary timeframe of approximately 45 million years. Of totally 9281 editing events identified, 5150 (55.5%) are located in the coding sequences (CDS) of 2734 genes. Phylogenetic analysis places these genes into 1,526 homologous families, about 5% of total gene families in the fly lineages. Based on conservation of the editing sites, the editing events in CDS are categorized into three distinct types, representing events on singleton genes (type I), and events not conserved (type II) or conserved (type III) within multi-gene families. While both type I and II events are subject to purifying selection, notably type III events are positively selected, and highly enriched in the components and functions of the nervous system. The tissue profiles are documented for three editing types, and their critical roles are further implicated by their shifting patterns during holometabolous development and in post-mating response. In conclusion, three A-to-I RNA editing types are found to have distinct evolutionary dynamics. It appears that nervous system functions are mainly tested to determine if an A-to-I editing is beneficial for an organism. The coding plasticity enabled by A-to-I editing creates a new class of binary variations, which is a superior alternative to maintain heterozygosity of expressed genes in a diploid mating system.

Primary duck hepatocytes (PDH) displays differential susceptibility to duck hepatitis B virus when maintained in the media supplemented with fetal bovine serum or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) which has been widely used for the maintenance of hepatocytes, and prolonging susceptibility to hepadnavirus. However the mechanism underlying maintenance of susceptibility to hepadnavirus by DMSO treatment remains unclear. In this study, a global transcriptome analysis of PDHs under different culture conditions was conducted for investigating the effects of DMSO on maintenance of susceptibility of PDH to DHBV in vitro. The 384 differential expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by comparisons between each library pair (PDHs cultured with or without DMSO or fresh isolated PDH). We analyzed canonical pathways in which the DEGs were enriched in Hepatic Fibrosis / Hepatic Stellate Cell Activation, Bile Acid Biosynthesis and Tight Junction signaling. After re-annotation against human genome data, the 384 DEGs were pooled together with proteins belonging to hepatitis B pathway to construct a protein-protein interaction network. The combination of decreased expression of liver-specific genes (CYP3A4, CYP1E1, CFI, RELN and GSTA1 et al) with increased expression of hepatocyte-dedifferentiation-associated genes (PLA2G4A and PLCG1) suggested that in vitro culture conditions results in the fading of hepatocyte phenotype in PDHs. The expression of seven DEGs associated with tight junction formation (JAM3, PPP2R2B, PRKAR1B, PPP2R2C, MAGI2, ACTA2 and ACTG2) was up-regulated after short-term culture in vitro, which was attenuated in the presence of DMSO. Those results could shed light on DHBV infection associated molecular events affected by DMSO.

At present, research on crane hoisting system are generally done in way of electrical system and in way of mechanical system, or done in way of simple link of electrical system and mechanical system, so it's difficult to establish an effective and precise mathematical model. For the problem, an electromechanical coupling mathematical model of crane hoisting system was built based on analyzing of relationships between all component parts of hoisting system of crane. The model avoids to neglect interrelationship between the electrical system model and mechanical system model through introducing electromagnetism torque and elastic coefficient of ropes as variables. Meanwhile, a simulation test was performed for the model with speed regulation method based on vector control and taking position of load movement as control variable. The simulation result showed that the model preferably reflectes work process of hoisting system of crane.

In one-shot color structured light systems, the color of stripe patterns are typically distorted with respect to color crosstalk, ambient light and the albedo of the scanned objects, leading to mismatch in the correspondence of color stripes between the projected and captured images. In this paper, an adaptive color calibration and Discrete Trend Transform algorithm are presented to achieve high-resolution 3D reconstructions. The adaptive color calibration, according to the relative albedo in RGB channels, can improve the accuracy of labeling stripe by alleviating the effect of albedo and ambient light while decoding the color. Furthermore, the Discrete Trend Transform in the M channel makes the color calibration an effective method for detecting weak stripes due to the uneven surfaces or reflectance characteristics of the scanned objects. With this approach, the presented system is suitable for scanning moving objects and generating high-resolution 3D reconstructions without the need of dark laboratory environments.

Relationship of all parts of crane hoisting system was analyzed and mathematic model of the system was established, so as to effectively unify moving states of motor and loads of the system. A controller of load position of crane hoisting system based on adaptive Backstepping strategy was designed on the basis of the model, which takes load position as a control variable. The simulation result showed that the controller not only has faster responding speed and smaller tracking error, but also restrains influence of load wave and parameter perturbation effectively with good robustness.

This paper focuses on developing a novel technique based on machine vision for detection of foreign substances in injections. Mechanical control yields spin/stop movement of injections which helps to cause relative movement between foreign substances in liquid and an ampoule bottle. Foreign substances are classified into two categories: subsiding-slowly object and subsiding-fast object. A sequence of frames are captured by a camera and used to recognize foreign substances. After image preprocessing like noise reduction and motion detection, two different methods, Moving-object Clustering (MC) and Frame Difference, are proposed to detect the two categories respectively. MC is operated to cluster subsiding-slowly foreign substances, based on the invariant features of those objects. Frame Difference is defined to calculate the difference between two frames due to the change of subsiding-fast objects. 200 ampoule samples filled with injection are tested and the experimental result indicates that the approach can detect the visible foreign substances effectively.

In view of problem of fracture of cylinder in strength test and type test for column cylinder, the paper put forward a scheme of crack monitoring of column cylinder based on acoustic emission technology. The scheme uses acoustic emission technology to capture, analyze, process and display elastic wave of crack produced in compression process of column, uses time difference location method to get position of acoustic emission source, and uses wavelet packet technology to process acoustic emission signal to improve location precision. The test result showed that it is feasible to use acoustic emission technology to produce and development and make risk analysis of crack and weld of column cylinder.

An orbital-selective technique, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, which could simultaneously probe the atomic structure and electronic properties, was employed to address the ‘bad metal’ behaviors, i.e., negligible electron thermal conductivity in the metallic phase of VO _2 . The measured electric field gradients at V sites by ^51 V NMR were found to evolve significantly in the pure metallic phase within the vicinity of structural phase transition temperatures, unexpected in a simple metal within this temperature region according to structural analysis by diffraction. This abnormal temperature-dependent local symmetry evolution can be well explained by a simple phenomenological model of orbital selective Mott transition in this multiorbital system.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:It has been shown that 3 days of 62 mg/kg/day deferoxamine infusion (maximum dose not to exceed 6000 mg/day) is safe and tolerated by intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of deferoxamine mesylate for edema resolution and hematoma absorption after ICH. METHODS:From February 2013 to May 2014, spontaneous ICH patients diagnosed by computed tomography (CT) within 18 hours of onset were evaluated. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: an experimental group and a control group. The treatment of the two groups was similar except that the experimental group received deferoxamine mesylate. Patients were evaluated by CT and neurology scale at the time of admission, and on the fourth, eighth, and fifteenth day (or at discharge) after admission. Patients were followed up for the first 30 days and clinical data of the two groups were compared. RESULTS:Forty-two patients completed 30 days of follow-up by May 2014; 21 cases in the experimental group and 21 cases in the control group. The control group's relative edema volume on the fifteenth day (or discharge) was 10.26 ± 17.54, which was higher than the experimental group (1.91 ± 1.94; P < 0.05). The control group's 1-8 day and 8-15 day relative hematoma absorption were greater than the experimental group (P < 0.05).The control group's relative edema volume on the fourth, eighth, and fifteenth day (or discharge) was higher than the experimental group (P < 0.05). Neurological scores between the two groups were not statistically different on the fifteenth day (or discharge) or on the thirtieth day. CONCLUSIONS:Deferoxamine mesylate may slow hematoma absorption and inhibit edema after ICH, although further investigation is required to form definitive conclusions. TRIAL REGISTRATION:Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR-TRC-14004979.

In order to respond to the variable state of traffic network in time, a distributed dynamic traffic assignment strategy is proposed which can improve the intelligent traffic management. The proposed dynamic assignment method is based on utility theory and is oriented to different levels of induced users. A distributed model based on the marginal utility is developed which combines the advantages of both decentralized paradigm and traveler preference, so as to provide efficient and robust dynamic traffic assignment solutions under uncertain network conditions. Then, the solution algorithm including subroute update and subroute calculation is proposed. To testify the effectiveness of the proposed model in optimizing traffic network operation and minimizing traveler’s cost on different induced levels, a sequence numerical experiment is conducted. In the experiment, there are two test environments: one is in different network load conditions and the other is in different deployment coverage of local agents. The numerical results show that the proposed model not only can improve the running efficiency of road network but also can significantly decrease the average travel time.

Tie2-expressing monocytes (TEMs) are found in various tumors, involved in forming tumor blood vessels and expressing several important proangiogenic factors. The goals of this study were to evaluate the value of TEMs in diagnosing and predicting the prognosis of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Flow cytometry was performed to identify and count TEMs in peripheral blood monocytes from HCC patients (n = 84) receiving hepatectomy, HBV cirrhotic patients (n = 21), benign tumors patients (n = 15) and healthy volunteers (n = 23). Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) levels in the plasma were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The distribution of TEMs in tumor tissue was observed by immunofluorescence staining. Then we determined the vascular area as a percentage of tumor area (vascular area/tumor area) by immunohistochemical staining. Finally the prognostic significance of TEMs and other clinicopathologic factors was evaluated.Percentage of TEMs in peripheral blood monocytes significantly increased in HCC patients compared with HBV cirrhotic patients and healthy donors (both P< 0.001). However there was no significance in benign liver tumor (P = 0.482). In addition, the percentage of circulating TEMs was positively correlated with plasma Ang-2 concentration (P

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in various biological processes and are closely associated with the development of cancer. In fact, aberrant expression of miRNAs has been implicated in numerous cancers. In cervical cancer, miR-203 levels are decreased, although the cause of this aberrant expression remains unclear. In this study, we investigate the molecular mechanisms regulating miR-203 gene transcription. We identify the miR-203 transcription start site by 5' rapid amplification of cDNA ends and subsequently identify the miR-203 promoter region. Promoter analysis revealed that IRF1, a transcription factor, regulates miR-203 transcription by binding to the miR-203 promoter. We also demonstrate that miR-203 targets the 3' untranslated region of BANF1, thus downregulating its expression, whereas miR-203 expression is driven by IRF1. MiR-203 is involved in cell cycle regulation and overexpression of miR-203 suppresses cervical cancer cell proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion. The inhibitory effect of miR-203 on the cancer cells is partially mediated by downregulating its target, BANF1, since knockdown of BANF1 also suppresses colony formation, migration and invasion.

Ischaemic stroke is caused by occlusive thrombi in the cerebral vasculature. Although tissue-plasminogen activator (tPA) can be administered as thrombolytic therapy, it has major limitations, which include disruption of the blood-brain barrier and an increased risk of bleeding. Treatments that prevent or limit such deleterious effects could be of major clinical importance. Activated protein C (APC) is a natural anticoagulant that regulates thrombin generation, but also confers endothelial cytoprotective effects and improved endothelial barrier function mediated through its cell signalling properties. In murine models of stroke, although APC can limit the deleterious effects of tPA due to its cell signalling function, its anticoagulant actions can further elevate the risk of bleeding. Thus, APC variants such as APC(5A), APC(Ca-ins) and APC(36-39) with reduced anticoagulant, but normal signalling function may have therapeutic benefit. Human and murine protein C (5A), (Ca-ins) and (36-39) variants were expressed and characterised. All protein C variants were secreted normally, but 5-20% of the protein C (Ca-ins) variants were secreted as disulphide-linked dimers. Thrombin generation assays suggested reductions in anticoagulant function of 50- to 57-fold for APC(36-39), 22- to 27-fold for APC(Ca-ins) and 14- to 17-fold for APC(5A). Interestingly, whereas human wt APC, APC(36-39) and APC(Ca-ins) were inhibited similarly by protein C inhibitor (t½ - 33 to 39 mins), APC(5A) was inactivated ~9-fold faster (t½ - 4 mins). Using the murine middle cerebral artery occlusion ischaemia/repurfusion injury model, in combination with tPA, APC(36-39), which cannot be enhanced by its cofactor protein S, significantly improved neurological scores, reduced cerebral infarct area by ~50% and reduced oedema ratio. APC(36-39) also significantly reduced bleeding in the brain induced by administration of tPA, whereas wt APC did not. If our data can be extrapolated to clinical settings, then APC(36-39) could represent a feasible adjunctive therapy for ischaemic stroke.

Our center's quality improvement optimization process on many occasions anecdotally suggested that oocyte assessments might enhance embryo assessment in predicting pregnancy chances with in vitro fertilization (IVF).To prospectively compare a morphologic oocyte grading system to standard day-3 morphologic embryo assessment.We prospectively investigated in a private academically-affiliated infertility center 94 consecutive IVF cycles based on 6 criteria for oocyte quality: morphology, cytoplasm, perivitelline space (PVS), zona pellucida (ZP), polar body (PB) and oocyte size, each assigned a value of -1 (worst), 0 (average) or +1 (best), so establishing an average total oocyte score (TOS). Embryo assessment utilized grade and cell numbers of each embryo on day-3 after oocyte retrieval. Clinical pregnancy was defined by presence of at least one intrauterine gestational sac.Standard IVF cycles in infertile women.Predictability of pregnancy based on oocyte and embryo-grading systems.Average age for all patients was 36.5 ± 7.3 years; mean oocyte yield was 7.97± 5.76; Patient specific total oocyte score (PTOS) was -1.05 ± 2.24. PTOS, adjusted for patient age, was directly related to odds of increased embryo cell numbers (OR 1.12, P = 0.025), embryo grade (OR 1.19, P < 0.001) and clinical pregnancy [OR 1.58 (95%CI 1.23 to 2.02), P < 0.001]. Restricting the analysis to day three embryos of high quality (8-cell/ good grades), TOS was still predictive of clinical pregnancy (OR 2.08 (95%CI 1.26 to 3.44, P = 0.004). Among the 69 patients with embryos of Grade 4 or better available for transfer 23 achieved Clinical Pregnancy. When the analysis was restricted to the 69 transfers with good quality embryos (≥ Grade 4) the Oocyte Scoring System (TOS) (AUC±SE 0.863±0.044, oocyte score) provided significantly greater predictive value for clinical pregnancy compared to the embryo grade alone (AUC 0.646 ± 0.072, embryo grade) p = 0.015.Oocyte-scoring, thus, provides useful clinical information especially in good prognosis patients with large numbers of high quality embryos. This finding appears of particular importance at a time when many IVF centers are committing sizable investments to closed incubation systems with time-lapse photography, which are exclusively meant to define embryo morphology.

The intensive up-conversion (UC) photoluminescence and temperature sensing behavior of Er3+-doped Bi7Ti4NbO21(BTN) ferroelectric ceramics prepared by a conventional solid-state reaction technique have been investigated. The X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscope analyses demonstrated that the Er3+-doped BTN ceramics are single phase and uniform flake-like structure. With the Er3+ ions doping, the intensive UC emission was observed without obviously changing the properties of ferroelectric. The optimal emission intensity was obtained when Er doping level was 15 mol.%. The temperature sensing behavior was studied by fluorescence intensity ratio (FIR) technique of two green UC emission bands, and the experimental data fitted very well with the function of temperature in a range of 133–573 K. It suggested that the Er3+-doped BTN ferroelectric ceramics are very good candidates for applications such as optical thermometry, electro-optical devices and bio-imaging ceramics.

Climatic variability can lead to large‐scale alterations in the hydrologic cycle, some of which can be characterized in terms of indices involving precipitation depth, duration and frequency. This study evaluated the spatiotemporal behavior of precipitation indices over the Kentucky River watershed for both the baseline period of 1986–2015 and late‐century time frame of 2070–2099. Historical precipitation data were collected from 16 weather stations in the watershed, while future rainfall time‐series were obtained from an ensemble of 10 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) global circulation models under two future emission pathways: Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5. Annual trends in seven precipitation indices were analyzed: total precipitation on wet days (PRCPTOT), maximum length (in days) of dry and wet periods (CDD and CWD, respectively), number of days with precipitation depth ≥20 mm (R20mm), maximum five‐day precipitation depth (RX5day), simple daily precipitation index (SDII) and standardized precipitation index (SPI, a measure of drought severity). Non‐parametric Mann–Kendall test results indicated significant trends for only ≈11% of the stationindex combinations, corresponding to generally increasing trends in PRCPTOT, CWD, R20mm and RX5day and negative trends for the others. Projected magnitudes for PRCPTOT, CDD, CWD, RX5day and SPI, indices associated with the macroweather regime, demonstrated general consistency with trends previously identified and indicated modest increases in PRCPTOT and CWD, slight decrease in CDD, mixed results for RX5day, and increased non‐drought years in the late century relative to the baseline period. Late‐century projections for the remaining indices (SDII, R20mm) demonstrated behavior counter to trends in the trends identified in the baseline period data, suggesting that these indices—which are more closely linked with the weather regime and daily GCM outputs—were relatively less robust.