Search

We present a large catalogue of molecular clouds with accurate distance estimates in the Southern sky. Based on the three-dimensional dust extinction map and the best-fitting extinction and distance information of over 17 million stars presented in Guo et al. (2021, ApJ, 906, 47), we have identified 250 dust/molecular clouds in the Southern sky using a hierarchical structure identification algorithm. Amongst these are 71 clouds located at high Galactic latitudes (b < −10°). We have estimated the distances to the clouds by fitting the extinction versus distance profiles of the lines of sight overlapping with the clouds, using a simple Gaussian dust distribution model. The typical uncertainties of the distances are less than 7 per cent. We also provide the physical properties of the individual clouds, including the linear radius, mass and surface mass density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Screening Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) clones with efficient calcium utilization is an effective strategy to maintain soil fertility and improve their productivity and adaptability to nutrient stress habitats. The calcium content of 17-year-old Chinese fir progenies was measured, and calcium accumulation, distribution, and utilization efficiency were compared to select clones that had high calcium utilization efficiency (CaUE). Significant differences in calcium content and accumulation were observed in different vegetative organs and clones. The highest average calcium content and accumulation were in needles, and the lowest averages were in stems and dead branches. Clone M43 had the highest total calcium accumulation, whereas clone M37 had the lowest. Among the tested clones, the CaUE of the whole tree for M23, M37, and M25 was significantly high, whereas that for M43 was the lowest. The CaUE of stems was the highest in M23 and lowest in M17. Thus, calcium content and accumulation in the vegetative organs are important factors affecting the CaUE of whole trees and stems of different Chinese fir clones. Considering the comprehensive CaUE and bioaccumulation in whole trees and stems, M23, M25, and M10 were clones with high CaUE that should be used in future studies on high-yield plantations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weldability of Ti3Al-Nb alloy to 301L stainless steel is very poor due to the brittle Ti-Fe intermetallics and weld cracking. In this work V/Cu was used as composite interlayers to prevent the formation of these brittle phases when Ti3Al-Nb alloy was welded to 301L stainless steel with a Nd:YAG laser. The laser beam was focused on the Cu interlayer centreline for reducing fusion ratio of Ti3Al-Nb and weld Ti content. The presence of these composite interlayers and this process ensure that crack free welds were obtained. The V/Cu composite interlayers helped to reduce Ti-Fe intermetallics, promote the formation of Cu based and V-based solid solutions, and hence improve weld microstructure, cracking susceptibility and joint properties. The average tensile strength of the joint was 218 ±13 MPa and the joint fracture occurred at Ti3Al/weld interface zone with the highest hardness of 707 HV. The Al-Cu-Ti, Cu-Ti intermetallics were the main factor of affecting the mechanical properties of Ti3Al-Nb alloy and stainless steel laser-welded joint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of low dietary protein sources on the gut microbiota in finishing pigs. Thirty-six Duroc × Landrace × Large White finishing barrows were randomly allocated to four equal groups. Soybean meal (SBM) as a protein source is a control group and had a general protein level of 15% (SBM15). The pigs fed soybean meal (SBM11), soybean-cottonseedcorn germ meal (SCCM11), and cottonseed-corn germ meal (CCM11) were offered low protein (11%) diets. The results showed that the ileum and feces microbiota of the SCCM11 group were significantly increased compared to the SBM15 group (P<0.05). At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria phyla was significantly increased in the ileum microbiota of the SCCM11 group compared to the SBM15 group (P<0.05). At the genus level, the abundance of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium showed a significant increase in the ileum microbiota of the SCCM11 group (P<0.05). The abundance of Ruminococcaceae, Phascolarctobacterium was significantly increased in the feces microbiota of the SCCM11 group than the other three groups (P<0.05). These results indicated that the SCCM11 group with added crystalline amino acid may modulate intestinal microbiota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of miR-182 in patients with fracture of tibial plateau (FTP) and its effects on osteoblasts and fracture healing. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The patients with fracture of tibial plateau treated in our hospital and healthy subjects who received physical examination from January 2017 to January 2018 were collected. The expression of miR-182 in the serum was detected. The osteoblasts from SD rats were cultured and transfected with miR-182, anti-miR-182, miR-NC or anti-miR-NC using transfection reagent LipofectamineTM 2000. The proliferation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, calcification and osteogenic gene expression of osteoblasts were detected. The rat models with fracture of tibial plateau were divided into control group, fracture group, fracture+ miR-182 group, and fracture+anti-miR-182 group. The levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF) and transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) in serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Compared with the controls, the expression of miR-182 in serum was significantly elevated in patients with fracture of tibial plateau. Overexpression of miR-182 inhibited the proliferation of osteoblasts, while the knockdown of miR-182 increased the proliferation. MiR-182 could decrease the ALP activity of osteoblasts, while anti-miR-182 increased the ALP activity. Osteoblast calcification ability was significantly decreased by overexpression of miR-182. Knockdown of miR-182 increased the calcification ability of osteoblasts and the expression of osteogenic genes. MiR-182 could inhibit the expression of osteogenic genes. The levels of VEGF, EGF and TGFβ in the fracture group were higher than those in the control group, while the levels in the fracture+miR-182 group were higher than those in the fracture group. The levels of VEGF, EGF and TGFβ in the anti-miR-182 group were lower than those in the fracture group. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-182 is elevated in patients with fracture of tibial plateau, which can inhibit the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts and affect the fracture healing. The knockdown of miR-182 might be a new method for treating fracture healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Depletion of islet β cells plays a crucial role in the onset of diabetes mellitus. Cell autophagy, as a self-healing process, contributes to maintaining metabolic homeostasis and can protect islet β cells from apoptosis upon starvation or high glucose stress. However, the underlying regulatory network of the autophagic process in islet β cells has not been fully explored. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Murine β-TC3 cells treated with different concentrations of glucose, and wild-type or the Ser484 mutant human cell division cycle gene 14A (hCDC14A) was transfected. Cell viability, proliferation and autophagy as well as islet secretion were studied. The mTOR and AMPK signaling pathways were investigated by western blots. Zipper-interacting protein kinase was studied using mass spectrometry and immunoprecipitation. RESULTS: Overexpression of wild-type hCDC14A, but not the Ser484 mutant hCDC14A, promoted cell viability, proliferation and autophagy accompanied by enhanced islet secretion and reduced cell apoptosis via mTOR pathway inhibition as well AMPK pathway activation in β-TC3 cells and vice versa. Furthermore, Zipper-interacting protein kinase (ZIPK), also known as DAPK3, was found to interact with hCDC14A primarily for Ser484 phosphorylation, and ZIPK knockdown could affect the phosphorylation of hCDC14A and weaken cell death or cell cycle modulation. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our results may provide new insight into the role of hCDC14A in the autophagy of islet β cells and suggest the potential therapeutic value of hCDC14A phosphorylation in the prevention and treatment of diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to compare the differences of degenerative characteristics of medial, lateral regions, femoral, patellar, and tibia parts of the knee joint in the early-stage of knee osteoarthritis (OA). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 66 patients with early stage knee OA and 22 healthy volunteers who have no knee-related clinical symptoms were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. T2 mapping and 3D dual-echo images were acquired with a 3.0T MR scanner. The degenerative changes of the articular cartilage were quantified by a T2 mapping and cartilage thicknesses analysis. Any structural changes were conducted using the Whole Organ Magnetic Resonance Imaging Score (WORMS). RESULTS: In patients with knee OA, the thicknesses of medial cartilages were significantly thinner than lateral ones (2.13 mm vs. 2.34 mm, p<0.0001), but with higher T2 values (40.38 ms vs. 38.4 ms, p<0.0001) and WORMS scores (12.12 vs. 0.47, p=0.004). No significant differences were observed between medial and lateral cartilage in the healthy volunteers. The T2 values of the femoral (p<0.001) and patellar (p=0.012) cartilages of OA patients were higher than that of the healthy controls. Within OA group, the T2 values of femoral (p<0.0001) and patellar (p<0.0001) cartilages were higher than tibial ones. Moreover, the WORMS scores of femoral (p=0.001) and patellar (p<0.0001) cartilages were higher than that of the tibial ones. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the medial compartment and patellofemoral knee joint degenerate more severely in patients with early-stage knee OA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been found to exert specific functions in the progression of ovarian cancer (OC), except for lncRNA-OIP5-AS1. In this study, we aim at exploring the molecular mechanisms of OIP5-AS1 in OC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The expression levels of OIP5-AS1, miR-324-3p, and NFIB in OC tissues and OC cell lines were explored by qRT-PCR assay. The OC cell vitality was examined by CCK-8 and transwell assay. The protein expression level of NFIB was measured by Western blot analysis. The correlation between OIP5-AS1, miR-324-3p, and NFIB was appraised by Dual-Luciferase reporter assay. RESULTS: OIP5-AS1 and NFIB were validated to be upregulated in both OC tissues and OC cell lines. Inversely, miR-324-3p downregulation was found in OC tissues and OC cell lines. Functionally, OIP5-AS1 knockdown and miR-324-3p overexpression restrained SKOV3 cell viability, invasion, and migration. Our results verified that OIP5-AS1 inhibited the expression of miR-324-3p in OC. Moreover, miR-324-3p directly targets NFIB. Besides that, NFIB silencing restrained the progression of SKOV3 cells. CONCLUSIONS: The present study clarified that OIP5-AS1 accelerated OC progression by sponging miR-324-3p and upregulating NFIB. OIP5-AS1 can be a possible therapeutic target for the treatment of OC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ECG anomaly detection plays an important role in clinical medicine. So far, a number of ECG recognition technologies have emerged in this field, but most often suffer from slow training and instability. Considering that the Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm have the advantages of fast learning speed and strong generalization ability, this paper integrates multiple independent PSO-ELM model and proposes a novel ensemble learning framework termed as E-PSO-ELM to realize ECG signals recognition. More specifically, the individual PSO-ELM adopts the input weight and hidden layer deviation of ELM as the particles in the PSO algorithm, and takes the root mean square error of ELM training sample as the adaptive value of the particles, so as to enhance the stability of the network and realize high ECG recognition rate. The simulation results on MIT-BIH Arrhythmia Database show that E-PSO-ELM has a high classification accuracy rate of 98.23%. In addition, compared with other algorithms, the stability of E-PSO-ELM is more prominent, which can reduce the probability of operating errors. Therefore, E-PSO-ELM has a high practical value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression of LINC00472 in osteoporotic issues of patients, ovariectomized (OVX) mice and mice bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), its effect on osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs and its mechanism. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The expression of LINC00472 and miR-300 in osteoporosis patients (n=55), ovariectomized (OVX) mice (n=10) and mice BMSCs (n=3) was detected by RT-qPCR and the correlation between the expression of miR-300 and LINC00472 was analyzed. After transferring sh-LINC00472 and overexpression LINC00472 plasmids into mice BMSCs, the expression of ALP, Bglap, OPN, Runx2 was detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot, which were related with osteogenic differentiation. In addition, Luciferase activity was used to detect whether miR-300 combined with LINC00472 and FGFR2 in mice BMSCs directly. Finally, Western blot (WB) was used to detect the change of FGFR2 protein expression by miR-300 inhibitor and sh-LINC00472. RESULTS: We found there was a negative correlation between the expression of miR-300 and LINC00472 in osteoporosis patients, bone tissues of OVX mice and mice BMSCs. The expression of LINC00472 in mice BMSCs was gradually increased with osteogenic differentiation. Transferring overexpression plasmid of LINC00472 into BMSCs, the expression of ALP, Bglap, OPN, Runx2 was increased both in mRNA and protein levels. Transferring sh-LINC00472 to BMSCs, the results were the opposite. Luciferase results showed that miR-300 could directly bind to LINC00472 and FGFR2 in mice BMSCs. What's more, RT-qPCR and WB results showed that transferring sh-LINC00472 could decrease the expression of FGFR2 mRNA and protein, while miR-300 inhibitor could recover this tendency. CONCLUSIONS: According to these results, this study revealed the previously neglected LINC00472/miR-300/FGFR2 regulatory axis for the regulation of osteogenic differentiation in osteoporosis, which may be a potential target for the treatment of osteoporosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]