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Multiple myeloma (MM) is a serious health issue in hematological malignancies. Long non-coding RNA taurine-upregulated gene 1 (TUG1) has been reported to be highly expressed in the plasma of MM patients. However, the functions of TUG1 in MM tumorigenesis along with related molecular basis are still undefined. In this study, increased TUG1 and decreased microRNA-34a-5p (miR-34a-5p) levels in MM tissues and cells were measured by the real-time quantitative polymerase reaction assay. The expression of relative proteins was determined by the Western blot assay. TUG1 knockdown suppressed cell viability, induced cell cycle arrest and cell apoptosis in MM cells, as shown by Cell Counting Kit-8 and flow cytometry assays. Bioinformatics analysis, luciferase reporter assay, and RNA pull-down assay indicated that miR-34a-5p was a target of TUG1 and directly bound to notch receptor 1 (NOTCH1), and TUG1 regulated the NOTCH1 expression by targeting miR-34a-5p. The functions of miR-34a-5p were abrogated by TUG1 upregulation. Moreover, TUG1 loss impeded MM xenograft tumor growth in vivo by upregulating miR-34a-5p and downregulating NOTCH1. Furthermore, TUG1 depletion inhibited the expression of Hes-1, Survivin, and Bcl-2 protein in MM cells and xenograft tumors. TUG1 knockdown inhibited MM tumorigenesis by regulating the miR-34a-5p/NOTCH1 signaling pathway in vitro and in vivo, deepening our understanding of the TUG1 function in MM.

The major challenges for density maps estimation and accurate counting stem from the large-scale variations, serious occlusions, and perspective distortions. Existing methods generally suffer from the blurred density maps, which are caused by average convolution kernel, and the ineffective estimation across different crowd scenes. In this paper, we propose a multi-scale fusion conditional generative adversarial network (MFC-GAN) that can generate high-resolution and high-quality density maps. The fusion module of MFC-GAN is embedded in a multi-scale generator and discriminator architecture with a novel adversarial loss, which is designed to guide high-resolution density maps generation. In order to address the problem of scale variation, we further propose a bidirectional fusion module. It combines deep global semantic features and shallow local information by leveraging feature maps presented in different layers of the generator. Furthermore, in order to increase the effectiveness of the multi-scale fusion, we design a cross-attention fusion module, which weights the multi-scale fused feature and learns context-aware feature maps for generating high quality density maps. The experiments on four challenging datasets show the effectiveness, feasibility and robustness of the proposed MFC-GAN.

Natural odour compounds could be a potential alternative to synthetic herbicides. The odour compound of Periploca sepium Bunge, named 2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-benzaldehyde (HMB), is a herbicidal compound. However, its herbicidal mechanism is unclear. In this experiment, the physiological and biochemical indices, ultrastructure, and photosynthetic function of the leaves of Humulus scandens (Lour.) Merr. treated by HMB were assessed to elucidate the herbicidal mechanism. The results of physiological and biochemical indices are as follows: First, after 4 h of treatment with 2.5 and 5.0 mg/mL, the damage rates in the membrane permeation assay were 74.7% and 89.1%, respectively. Second, compared to the negative control group, multiple physiological and biochemical indices of the two treated groups were changed, including catalase content (-18.5 and -26.5 ng/mL), superoxide dismutase content (-27.4 and -56.6 ng/mL), peroxidase content (382.0 and 880.0 ng/mL), reactive oxygen species content (16.7 and 27.2 ng/mL), malondialdehyde content (8.9 and 25.2 nmol/g), and water potential values (0.2 and 0.3 MPa), except for the photosynthetic pigment contents (chlorophyll a, b, and carotene). Furthermore, the results of transmission electron microscopy showed that the organelles in the mesophyll tissue cells disappeared and severe plasmolysis led to cell atrophy after 4 h of treatment. There were fewer starch granules after 24 h of treatment, but there was no obvious abnormality in the upper and lower epidermal cells. The results of photosynthetic function showed that in the light response, the net photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr), stomatal conductance (Gs), and stomatal limitation value of the tested leaves were lower than those of the negative control group by 26.6 μmol·m

Aiming at the shortcomings of traditional medical device tracking and supervision mode, such as delayed feedback of medical device positioning information, poor visual tracking effect of medical device, and missing early warning of medical device working state supervision, a medical device visual tracking and supervision system based on wireless Local Area Network (LAN) real-time positioning system is developed. Introduction of wireless LAN real-time positioning system, using standard coding algorithm generating device object ID tags, with the only attribute based on RFID read-write terminal complete physical mapping of medical equipment and material ID label, we realize a real-time positioning and traceability of medical equipment, with the help of active warning algorithm based on depth of learning medical equipment working state supervision for early warning, with the help of indoor map generation and trajectory playback medical equipment to realize visualization back regulation. Choose equipment of hospital of Linyi Central Hospital for performance evaluation of the carrier, the evaluation model of engineering practice and clinical statistical analysis, the results show that the system has a complete real-time positioning, visible trace, abnormal warning function. In medical equipment real-time positioning information visual tracing feedback, abnormal state warning etc, medical equipment has obvious advantages.

The protein Klotho can significantly delay aging, so it has attracted widespread attention. Abnormal downregulation of Klotho has been detected in several aging-related diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, kidney injury, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), vascular disease, muscular dystrophy and diabetes. Conversely, many exogenous and endogenous factors, several drugs, lifestyle changes and genetic manipulations were reported to exert therapeutic effects through increasing Klotho expression. In recent years, Klotho has been identified as a potential autophagy regulator. How Klotho may contribute to reversing the effects of aging and disease became clearer when it was linked to autophagy, the process in which eukaryotic cells clear away dysfunctional proteins and damaged organelles: the abovementioned diseases involve abnormal autophagy. Interestingly, growing evidence indicates that Klotho plays a dual role as inducer or inhibitor of autophagy in different physiological or pathological conditions through its influence on IGF-1/PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, Beclin 1 expression and activity, as well as aldosterone level, which can help restore autophagy to beneficial levels. The present review examines the role of Klotho in regulating autophagy in Alzheimer’s disease, kidney injury, cancer, COPD, vascular disease, muscular dystrophy and diabetes. Targeting Klotho may provide a new perspective for preventing and treating aging-related diseases.

Due to the limitations of classical control strategies for underwater vehicles, the artificial intelligent control technologies have attracted more attention than ever, especially the Deep Reinforcement Learning. However, it is usually confusing to choose a proper Deep Reinforcement Learning algorithm and to configurate an effective reward function according to different autonomous underwater vehicle assignments. To solve the problem, this research explores three different missions that autonomous underwater vehicle might perform, with two Deep Reinforcement Learning algorithms and three reward functions adopted respectively. Deep Reinforcement Learning controllers take the attitude sensor information as input, the control signals of X-rudder blades as output. The simulation experiments results are compared and analyzed, which has an important reference value for the reward function setting and Deep Reinforcement Learning algorithm selection for different autonomous underwater vehicle control tasks.

Introduction: Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are essential for physiological homeostasis of the liver extracellular matrix (ECM). Excessive transdifferentiation of HSC from a quiescent to an activated phenotype contributes to disrupt this balance and can lead to liver fibrosis. Accumulating evidence has suggested that nuclear receptors (NRs) are involved in the regulation of HSC activation, proliferation, and function. Therefore, these NRs may be therapeutic targets to balance ECM homeostasis and inhibit HSC activation in liver fibrosis.Areas covered: In this review, the authors summarized the recent progress in the understanding of the regulatory role of NRs in HSCs and their potential as drug targets in liver fibrosis.Expert opinion: NRs are still potential therapy targets for inhibiting HSCs activation and liver fibrosis. However, the development of NRs agonists or antagonists to inhibit HSCs requires fully consideration of systemic effects.

In this paper, we use financial data of Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2020 to explore the relation between working capital financing structure and firm value under certain monetary policy and macro economy situation. We find that when monetary policy expands, the use of aggressive working capital financing structure is conducive to value maximization; when the macroeconomic situation is good, the aggressive working capital financing structure helps to improve firm value. Further study finds that monetary policy expansion urges firms to use more short-term debt to cut capital cost, and better macroeconomic situation can cut firm’s bankrupt cost to bring down working capital financing structure and improve firm value.

Depression is a common aspect of the modern lifestyle, and most patients are recalcitrant to the current antidepressants. Fingolimod (FTY720), a sphingosine analogue approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, has a significant neuroprotective effect on the central nervous system. The aim of this study was to determine the potential therapeutic effect of FTY720 on the behavior and cognitive function of rats exposed daily to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS), and elucidate the underlying mechanisms. The 42-day CUMS modeling induced depression-like behavior as indicated by the scores of sugar water preference, forced swimming, open field and Morris water maze tests. Mechanistically, CUMS caused significant damage to the hippocampal neurons, increased inflammation and oxidative stress, activated the NF-κB/NLRP3 axis, and skewed microglial polarization to the M1 phenotype. FTY720 not only alleviated neuronal damage and oxidative stress, but also improved the depression-like behavior and cognitive function of the rats. It also inhibited NF-κB activation and blocked NLRP3 inflammasome assembly by down-regulating NLRP3, ACS and caspase-1. Furthermore, FTY720 inhibited the microglial M1 polarization markers iNOS and CD16, and promoted the M2 markers Arg-1 and CD206. This in turn reduced the levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β, and increased that of IL-10 in the hippocampus. In conclusion, FTY720 protects hippocampal neurons from stress-induced damage and alleviates depressive symptoms by inhibiting neuroinflammation. Our study provides a theoretical basis for S1P receptor modulation in treating depression.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type of senile dementia. The anti-aging gene Klotho is reported to decline in the brain of AD patients and animals. However, the role of Klotho in the pr...

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a clonal malignant hematopoietic disorder that arises in a hematopoietic stem cell. Its characteristic cytogenetic abnormality is an abnormal chromosome 22 called the Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome. The BCR‐ABL1 fusion gene in this chromosome can encode a tyrosine protein kinase and is the molecular basis of CML pathogenesis. The tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) imatinib is the ‘gold standard’ therapy for the treatment of CML. However, around 30% of the patients develop imatinib resistance. In this report, we will illustrate a case of an adult female with acute transformation of CML whose imatinib resistance was reversed by nilotinib and has had a long‐term survival.

Cooperative communication is an effective method of improving the transmission performance for vehicular ad hoc networks. However, the rapid movement of vehicles leads to frequent changes in network topology and reduces the probability of successful data transmission on the medium access control (MAC) layer. In this paper, we propose an Optimal Cooperative Ad hoc MAC protocol (OCA-MAC) based on time division multiple access (TDMA). OCA-MAC utilizes multiple cooperative nodes to forward data, so as to improve the probability of successful data transmission. It chooses cooperative nodes according to direct successful transmission probability, communication range between potential helper node and destination node, and available time slot. Meanwhile, in order to avoid excessive transmission redundancy caused by multiple cooperative forwarding, the optimal number of cooperative forwarding nodes is obtained through analysis of a probabilistic model. Simulation results show that OCA-MAC improves the successful data transmission rate and reduces the number of transmission times and transmission delay compared to the multichannel TDMA MAC protocol (VeMAC) and the cooperative ad hoc MAC protocol (CAH-MAC).

In delay tolerant networks (DTNs), multiple-copy routing is often adopted to improve the probability of successful message delivery but causes more traffic loads. The excessive increase in multiple messages copies often exhausts the network resources and deteriorates its performance significantly. To solve this problem, a mobility similarity-based routing (SBR) algorithm is proposed in this paper. On one hand, destination similarity is used to help the message carrier node find the appropriate relay nodes with the higher opportunity to meet the destination node in order to improve the delivery ratio. On the other hand, carrier similarity is adopted to avoid sending the same copy to the nodes with mobility similarity so as to reduce the number of message copies. Furthermore, inspired by the law of diminishing marginal utility in economics, a buffer management scheme based on the message transmission status is proposed. Experimental results show that the proposed SBR routing algorithm combined with the buffer management scheme can improve the delivery ratio and has the lower overhead ratio compared to other routing algorithms.

The aim of this work was to develop kinetic models of the embedding rate during storage of fingered citron essential oil microcapsules and evaluate the performance of artificial neural network to predict the kinetic parameters. Release kinetics of microencapsulated (by β-cyclodextrin) fingered citron essential oil was investigated under a series of temperature levels (10, 25, 40, 55, 70, 85, and 100 °C). In addition, the model was trained using a back-propagation algorithm and one hidden layer artificial neural network (ANN) was employed. The results indicated that the optimal ANN model was developed when the optimal number of neurons in the hidden layer was 19. Additionally, the correlation coefficients between predicted k, t 1/2, or D-value and experimental values were greater than 0.9971 in all case. Thus, the overall results showed that ANN could be a potential tool for quick and accurate prediction of the kinetic parameters.

Message delivery is one of the challenging issues in opportunistic networks because of the short-lived connectivity environment. To deal with this issue, replication-based routing protocols inject a specific number of multiple message copies into the network to achieve the tradeoff between the delivery probability and overhead. However, in most of the current copy-limited routing algorithms, message copies would be premature to be distributed. In the case of high node density, a large number of message copies are limited to the small local area, which causes long delay and low delivery ratio. To address this problem, a node Density-based Adaptive Spray and Focus (DASF) routing algorithm is proposed in this paper. By estimating the node density of the current location, DASF could control the total number of message copies for allocation. Then it decides the proportion of message copies between encountered nodes according to the level of node activity. Simulation results show that the proposed DASF routing algorithm can improve delivery ratio and reduce the average message transmission delay when node density increases.

In view of the problems of using traditional monitoring method for SF6 gas leakage in electrical equipments, according to the photoacoustic spectrometry technology, the photoacoustic spectrometry experiment system is designed for detecting SF6 gas concentration. The generation of photoacoustic spectrum is presented, the photoacoustic technique is used to survey the photoacoustic characteristic of SF6 molecule at 10.6 μm wavelength, resonance frequency of PA cell is determined. The detection sensitivity can reach 0.12×10-9 under standard atmospheric pressure. The results show that the system could detect the SF6 gas concentration accurately and reliably, it has a lot of advantages and the widespread application value and prospect.