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Abstract Host immune dysregulation involves in the initiation and development of osteosarcoma (OS). However, the exact role of immune cells in OS remains unknown. We aimed to distinguish the molecular subtypes and establish a prognostic model in OS patients based on immunocyte infiltration. The gene expression profile and corresponding clinical feature of OS patients were obtained from TARGET and GSE21257 datasets. MCP-counter and univariate Cox regression analyses were applied to identify immune cell infiltration-related molecular subgroups. Functional enrichment analysis and immunocyte infiltration analysis were performed between two subgroups. Furthermore, Cox regression and LASSO analyses were performed to establish the prognostic model for the prediction of prognosis and metastasis in OS patients. The subgroup with low infiltration of monocytic lineage (ML) was related to bad prognosis in OS patients. 435 DEGs were screened between the two subgroups. Functional enrichment analysis revealed these DEGs were involved in immune- and inflammation-related pathways. Three important genes (including TERT, CCDC26, and IL2RA) were identified to establish the prognostic model. The risk model had good prognostic performance for the prediction of metastasis and overall survival in OS patients. A novel stratification system was established based on ML-related signature. The risk model could predict the metastasis and prognosis in OS patients. Our findings offered a novel sight for the prognosis and development of OS.

The second most prevalent retinal vascular disease after diabetic retinopathy(DR)is retinal vein occlusion(RVO). Ocular biomarkers, including disorganization of retinal inner layers(DRIL), paracentral acute middle maculopathy(PAMM), prominent middle limiting membrane(p-MLM), hyperreflective foci(HRF), subretinal fluid(SRF), ellipsoid zone(EZ), external limiting membrane(ELM), superficial capillary plexus(SCP), and deep capillary plexus(DCP), etc., are indicators or signs derived from auxiliary examinations that can anticipate the onset and progression of diseases as well as the final visual outcome, according to research published in recent years. In our study, we evaluated the ocular biomarkers of RVO in the hopes that these markers would offer a multifaceted picture of the onset and development of RVO, assist in determining the prognosis of RVO, provide a more thorough understanding of the disease and avoid the severe vision impairment of RVO.

Increased tau acetylation at K274 and K281 has been observed in the brains of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and animal models, and mitochondrial dysfunction are noticeable and early features of AD. However, the effect of acetylated tau on mitochondria has been unclear until now. Here, we constructed three type of tau forms, acetylated tau mutant by mutating its K274/K281 into Glutamine (TauKQ) to mimic disease-associated lysine acetylation, the non-acetylation tau mutant by mutating its K274/K281 into Arginine (TauKR) and the wild-type human full-length tau (TauWT). By overexpression of these tau forms in vivo and in vitro, we found that, TauKQ induced more severe cognitive deficits with neuronal loss, dendritic plasticity damage and mitochondrial dysfunctions than TauWT. Unlike TauWT induced mitochondria fusion, TauKQ not only induced mitochondria fission by decreasing mitofusion proteins, but also inhibited mitochondrial biogenesis via reduction of PGC-1a/Nrf1/Tfam levels. TauKR had no significant difference in the cognitive and mitochondrial abnormalities compared with TauWT. Treatment with BGP-15 rescued impaired learning and memory by attenuation of mitochondrial dysfunction, neuronal loss and dendritic complexity damage, which caused by TauKQ. Our data suggested that, acetylation at K274/281 was an important post translational modification site for tau neurotoxicity, and BGP-15 is a potential therapeutic drug for AD.

This paper develops a modular modeling and efficient formulation of launch dynamics with marching fire (LDMF) using a mixed formulation of the transfer matrix method for multibody systems (MSTMM) and Newton-Euler formulation. Taking a ground-borne multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), the focus is on the launching subsystem comprising the rocket, flexible tube, and tube tail. The launching subsystem is treated as a coupled rigid-flexible multibody system, where the rocket and tube tail are treated as rigid bodies while the flexible tube as a beam with large motion. Firstly, the tube and tube tail can be elegantly handled by the MSTMM, a computationally efficient order-N formulation. Then, the equation of motion of the in-bore rocket with relative kinematics w.r.t. the tube using the Newton-Euler method is derived. Finally, the rocket, tube, and tube tail dynamics are coupled, yielding the equation of motion of the launching subsystem that can be regarded as a building block and further integrated with other subsystems. The deduced dynamics equation of the launching subsystem is not limited to ground-borne MLRS but also fits for tanks, self-propelled artilleries, and other air-borne and naval-borne weapons undergoing large motion. Numerical simulation results of LDMF are given and partially verified by the experiment.

Track tension is a major factor influencing the reliability of a track. In order to reduce the risk of track peel-off, it is necessary to keep track tension constant. However, it is difficult to measure the dynamic tension during off-road operation. Based on the analysis of the relation and external forces depending on free body diagrams of the idler, idler arm, road wheel and road arm, a theoretical estimation model of track tension is built. Comparing estimation results with multibody dynamics simulation results, the rationality of track tension monitor is validated. By the aid of this monitor, a track tension control system is designed, which includes a self-tuning proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller based on radial basis function neural network, an electro-hydraulic servo system and an idler arm. The tightness of track can be adjusted by turning the idler arm. Simulation results of the vehicle starting process indicate that the controller can reach different expected tensions quickly and accurately. Compared with a traditional PID controller, the proposed controller has a stronger anti-disturbance ability by amending control parameters online.

In this paper, a novel launch dynamics measurement system based on the photoelectric sensor pair is built. The actual muzzle time (i.e. a time duration that originates from the initial movement to the rocket’s departure from the muzzle) and the muzzle velocity are measured. Compared with the classical methods, the actual muzzle time is obtained by eliminating the ignition delay. The comparative analysis method is proposed with numerical simulations established by the transfer matrix method for multibody systems. The experiment results indicate that the proposed measurement system can effectively measure the actual muzzle time and reduce the error of classical methods, which match well with the simulation results showing the launch dynamics model is reliable and helpful for further analysis and design of the MLRS.

Silicon (Si) can increase plant resistance against bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum and enhance plant immune response. However, whether Si alleviates soil-borne disease stress through altering soil microbial community component and diversity is not clear. In this study, effects of Si application under R. solanacearum inoculation with or without plant on soil bacterial and fungal communities were investigated through high-throughput pyrosequencing technique. The results showed that Si addition significantly reduced bacterial wilt incidence. However, Si did not reduce the amount of R. solanacearum in rhizosphere soil. Principal components analysis showed that soil microbial community composition was strongly influenced by Si addition. Total 63.7% bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and 43.8% fungal OTUs were regulated by Si addition regardless of the presence of tomato plants, indicating the independent effects of Si on soil microbial community. Si-added soil harbored a lower abundance of Fusarium, Pseudomonas, and Faecalibacterium. Our finding further demonstrated that exogenous Si could significantly influence soil microbial community component, and this may provide additional insight into the mechanism of Si-enhanced plant resistance against soil-borne pathogens.

Apple stem pitting virus (ASPV) is an important causal agent of pear diseases. Nowadays, the infection status and molecular characteristics of the virus in old pear trees have never been investigated. In this study, we provide the first complete genome sequence of an ASPV isolate LYC from an over 300-year-old tree of a local Pyrus bretschneideri cultivar ‘Chili’ specifically grown at Laiyang area in China. ASPV-LYC possesses a chimeric genome consisting of 9 273 nucleotides excluding a poly(A) tail at its 3’ end and harboring a recombination region in its open reading frame (ORF1) with Aurora-1 and KL9 identified as the major and minor parents. Western blot analysis with antisera against recombinant coat proteins (CPs) of three ASPV isolates from pear indicates that ASPV-LYC is serologically related to these ASPV isolates, but with differential activities. Further biological tests on indicator plants of Pyronia veitchii show that ASPV-LYC can induce serious leaf and stem symptoms as other ASPV isolates. The results provide an important information for understanding molecular evolution of ASPV and suggest a need to prevent dissemination of the isolate among pear trees.

Abstract Background Neurological disorders are an economic and public health burden which requires efficient and adequate medical resources. Currently, little is known about the status of the quality of neurological care services available in China. As neurological primary care is mostly provided at the county hospital level, investigation of this geographical level is required. The aim of this study is to evaluate currently available neurology care services in Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomerations in east China. Methods A multi-site, county-level hospital-based observational survey was conducted in east China from January 2017 to December 2017. A questionnaire was made to assess hospital and the departmental patient care capabilities, human resources and technical capacity in neurology departments. Results Of 228 hospitals across the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomerations, 217 documents were returned. Of these, 22 were excluded due to invalid hospital information or duplicate submission. Overall, most hospitals have neurology departments (162, 83.1%) while less than half of the hospitals have a stroke center (80, 41.0%) and neurology emergency department (46, 23.6%). Among 162 hospitals with neurology department, 5 were excluded due to inadequate sharing, leaving 157 hospitals for analysis. About 84.1% of these neurology departments can administer intravenous thrombolysis while about one third of them has the ability to perform arterial thrombectomy (36.9%). In addition, 46.2% of hospitals can carry out computed tomography angiography (CTA) in emergency room. Tertiary care hospitals are much more equipped with modern medical resources compared to the secondary hospitals. In four administrative regions, the neurology services are better in more economically advanced regions. Conclusions Neurological care services need to be enhanced at the county-level hospitals to improve health care delivery.

Abstract Background & Aims Although the prognosis of patients with occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (OBI) is usually benign, a small portion may undergo cirrhosis and subsequently hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We studied the mechanism of life-long Integration of virus DNA into OBI host’s genome, of which may induce hepatocyte transformation. Methods We applied HBV capture sequencing on single cells from an OBI patient who, developed multiple HCC tumors and underwent liver resection in May 2013 at Tongji Hospital in China. Despite with the undetectable virus DNA in serum, we determined the pattern of viral integration in tumor cells and adjacent non-tumor cells and obtained the details of the viral arrangement in host genome, and furthermore the HBV integrated region in cancer genome. Results HBV captured sequencing of tissues and individual cells revealed that samples from multiple tumors shared two viral integration sites that could affect three host genes, including CSMD2 on chr1 and MED30/EXT1 on chr8. Whole genome sequencing further indicated one hybrid chromosome formed by HBV integrations between chr1 and chr8 that was shared by multiple tumors. Additional 50 poorly differentiated liver tumors and the paired adjacent non-tumors were evaluated and functional studies suggested up-regulated EXT1 expression promoted HCC growth. We further observed that the most somatic mutations within the tumor cell genome were common among the multiple tumors, suggesting that HBV associated, multifocal HCC is monoclonal in origin. Conclusion Through analyzing the HBV integration sites in multifocal HCC, our data suggested that the tumor cells were monoclonal in origin and formed in the absence of active viral replication, whereas the affected host genes may subsequently contribute to carcinogenesis.

Image-based rendering is important both in the field of computer graphics and computer vision, and it is also widely used in virtual reality technology. For more than two decades, people have done a lot of work on the research of image-based rendering, and these methods can be divided into two categories according to whether the geometric information of the scene is utilized. According to this classification, we introduce some classical methods and representative methods proposed in recent years. We also compare and analyze the basic principles, advantages and disadvantages of different methods. Finally, some suggestions are given for research directions on image-based rendering techniques in the future. Keywords: Image-based rendering, Virtual reality, Image interpolation, Panorama

AIM: To observe the clinical efficacy of intravitreal injection of ranibizumab combined with retinal laser photocoagulation for macular edema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion(BRVO).METHODS: A total of 47 cases(47 eyes)of patients diagnosed of macular edema secondary to BRVO by fundus examination, fundus fluorescein angiography(FFA)and optical coherence tomography(OCT)were included who were admitted to our hospital from August 2013 to March 2016. All patients were divided into two groups randomly, 47 of them finished the follow up. observation group composed of 25 patients(25 eyes)who underwent ranibizumab injection and after 2wk they received retinal laser photocoagulation for blocking venous reflux area, and control group consisting of 22 cases(22 eyes)were given intravitreal injection of ranibizumab alone. The best corrected visual acuity(BCVA), intraocular pressure(IOP), central macular retinal thickness(CMT)and the incidence of complications of patients from two groups were compared at the first month after the treatment. RESULTS: Observation group and control group's BCVA and CMT were significantly different at 1mo after treatment compared with before treatment(PP>0.05). The BCVA at 1mo after treatment were not different between the two groups(P>0.05), the CMT were significantly different(PCONCLUSION: The clinical effect of ranibizumab injection combined with laser photocoagulation for blocking venous reflux area has advantages when compared with ranibizumab injection alone in the treatment of branch retinal vein occlusion, and laser photocoagulation does not stimulate macula with higher security.

Crop growth and yield depend on canopy light interception (LI). To identify a low-cost and relatively efficient index for measuring LI, several color attributes of red-green-blue (RGB), hue-saturation-intensity (HSI), hue-saturation-value (HSV) color models and the component values of color attributes in the RGB color model were investigated using digital images at six cotton plant population densities in 2012–2014. The results showed that the LI values followed downward quadratic curves after planting. The red (R), green (G) and blue (B) values varied greatly over the years, in accordance with Cai's research demonstrating that the RGB model is affected by outside light. Quadratic curves were fit to these color attributes at six plant population densities. Additionally, linear regressions of LI on every color attribute revealed that the hue (H) values in HSI and HSV were significantly linearly correlated with LI with a determination coefficient (R2)≥0.89 and a root mean square error (RMSE)=0.05. Thus, the H values in the HSI and HSV models could be used to measure LI, and this hypothesis was validated. The H values are new indexes for quantitatively estimating the LI of heterogeneous crop canopies, which will provide a theoretical basis for optimizing the crop canopy structure. However, further research should be conducted in other crops and under other growing and environmental conditions to verify this finding.

Yield and fiber quality of cotton even varies within locules in a boll, but it is not clear how yield components and quality parameters are altered across seed positions of a locule (SPL). A field experiment was arranged in a split plot design with transgenic insect resistant Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) cotton hybrid cultivar CRI75 and conventional cultivar SCRC28 as the main plots, and three plant densities (15 000, 51 000 and 87 000 plants ha−1) as the subplots in 2012 and 2013 at Anyang, Henan Province, China. Cotton was hand harvested by node and fruiting position, and then seeds of the first fruiting position bolls from nodes 6–10 were separated by SPL. The effects of plant density on lint yield, fiber quality, especially across SPL were determined. It was showed that plant densities of 51 000 and 87 000 plants ha−1 increased lint yield by 61.3 and 65.3% in 2012 and 17.8 and 15.5% in 2013 relative to low plant density (15 000 plants ha−1), however, no significant difference was observed between 51 000 and 87 000 plants ha−1. The number of bolls (boll density) increased while boll weight decreased as plant density raised, and no significant changes occured in lint percentage in 2013 but increased with plant density in 2012. The number of bolls in upper nodes and distal fruiting positions, the number of seeds per boll, seed area (SA) and seed vigor index increased with decreasing plant density. Seed area was found to be greater from the base to the middle compared to the apex of a locule. Mote frequency (MF) increased as plant density increased, and fiber quality was the best at the middle of the locule regardless of plant density. As the number of fibers per seed area is genetically determined, adjusting plant density to produce more seeds and greater seed area can be a potentially promising alternative to improve lint yield in cotton. These findings might be of great importantance to cotton breeding and filed management.

Background: Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) is a globally acceptable standardization for multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI) in prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis. The American College of Radiology revised the PI-RADS to address the limitations of version 1 in December 2014. This study aimed to determine whether the PI-RADS version 2 (PI-RADS v2) scoring system improves the diagnostic accuracy of mp-MRI of the prostate compared with PI-RADS v1. Methods: This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board. A total of 401 consecutive patients, with clinically suspicious PCa undergoing 3.0 T mp-MRI (T2-weighted imaging + diffusion-weighted imaging + DCE) before transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy between June 2013 and July 2015, were included in the study. All patients were scored using the 5-point PI-RADS scoring system based on either PI-RADS v1 or v2. Receiver operating characteristics were calculated for statistical analysis. Sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy were compared using McNemar′s test. Results: PCa was present in 150 of 401 (37.41%) patients. When we pooled data from both peripheral zone (PZ) and transition zone (TZ), the areas under the curve were 0.889 for PI-RADS v1 and 0.942 for v2 (P = 0.0001). Maximal accuracy was achieved with a score threshold of 4. At this threshold, in the PZ, similar sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were achieved with v1 and v2 (all P > 0.05). In the TZ, sensitivity was higher for v2 than for v1 (96.36% vs. 76.36%, P = 0.003), specificity was similar for v2 and v1 (90.24% vs. 84.15%, P = 0.227), and accuracy was higher for v2 than for v1 (92.70% vs. 81.02%, P = 0.002). Conclusions: Both v1 and v2 showed good diagnostic performance for the detection of PCa. However, in the TZ, the performance was better with v2 than with v1.

In the original publication of this article [1], Fig. 6 is wrong and the updated figure is shown below.

Objective The present study aims to find a convenient, rapid, and stable method to establish bladder tumor in mice.Methods Female Balb/C-nu-nu nude mice (or female T739 mice) were narcotized by sodium pentobarbital at a dosage of 60 mg/kg. The stylet of the 24# venous retention needles was bent in a 5° to 7° angle at a distance of 15 mm from the needlepoint to form a circle with 2.61 mm to 3.66 mm radius when the stylet is rotated. The pipe casing was lubricated with liquid paraffin, and inserted into the bladder cavity. The drift angle stylet was inserted into the pipe casing slowly, rotated for five times, and then pulled out. A cell suspension (0.1 mL) of approximately 1×106 T24 cells (or BTT cells) was then injected immediately.Results A total of 60 T739 mice and 60 Balb/C-nu-nu nude mice were inoculated with BTT cells and T24 cells, respectively. The bladder tumor incidence and the average survival time of the tumor-bearing mice were 100% and (26.69±9.24) d and 100% and (34.59±9.8) d for the T739 mice and Balb/C-nu-nu nude mice, respectively.Conclusions Using the drift angle stylet to injure the mucous membrane of the urinary bladder can establish a stable bladder transplantable tumor model in mice.

In the title compound, {[Cu(C6H2N2O4)(C3H7NO)]·H2O}n, the Cu(II) atom is coordinated by an N,O-bidentate pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxylate (pzdc) dianion, two O atoms from two other pzdc anions and one O atom from the dimethlyformamide ligand, forming a distorted square-pyramidal CuNO4 geometry. The polymeric character of the structure is established by the formation of layers parallel to (100) via bridging pzdc ligands. O—H...O hydrogen bonding between water molecules and uncoordinated carboxylate O atoms leads to additional stabilization of the structure.

In the title compound, [Ni(C8H3NO6)(C12H10N2)(H2O)]n, the NiII atom is octahedrally coordinated by two cis N atoms from two different 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene (bpe) ligands, two O atoms from one chelating carboxyl group of the 5-nitroisophthalic acid (nip) ligand, one O atom from another monodentate nip ligand and one O atom from a water molecule, forming a three-dimensional network structure. Intermolecular O—H...O hydrogen bonding stabilizes this arrangement. The asymmetric unit of the structure contains one NiII atom, one water molecule, one nip ligand and two half-molecules of the bpe ligand with an inversion centre at the mid-point of the central C=C bond.