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Background. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is recognized as a chronic inflammatory disease featured by pathological synovial inflammation. Currently, the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms of RA remain unclear. In the study, we attempted to explore the underlying mechanisms of RA and provide potential targets for the therapy of RA via bioinformatics analysis. Methods. We downloaded four microarray datasets (GSE77298, GSE55235, GSE12021, and GSE55457) from the GEO database. Firstly, GSE77298 and GSE55457 were identified DEGs by the “limma” and “sva” packages of R software. Then, we performed GO, KEGG, and GSEA enrichment analyses to further analyze the function of DEGs. Hub genes were screened using LASSO analysis and SVM-RFE analysis. To further explore the differences of the expression of hub genes in healthy control and RA patient synovial tissues, we calculated the ROC curves and AUC. The expression levels of hub genes were verified in synovial tissues of normal and RA rats by qRT-PCR and western blot. Furthermore, the CIBERSORTx was implemented to assess the differences of infiltration in 22 immune cells between normal and RA synovial tissues. We explored the association between hub genes and infiltrating immune cells. Results. CRTAM, CXCL13, and LRRC15 were identified as RA’s potential hub genes by machine learning and LASSO algorithms. In addition, we verified the expression levels of three hub genes in the synovial tissue of normal and RA rats by PCR and western blot. Moreover, immune cell infiltration analysis showed that plasma cells, T follicular helper cells, M0 macrophages, M1 macrophages, and gamma delta T cells may be engaged in the development and progression of RA. Conclusions. In brief, our study identified and validated that three hub genes CRTAM, CXCL13, and LRRC15 might involve in the pathological development of RA, which could provide novel perspectives for the diagnosis and treatment with RA.

A new flavonoid angelioue (1) together with five known compounds cuminatanol (2), myricetin (3), epigallocatechin (4), taxifolin (5) and dihydromyricetin (6) was isolated from the callus extract of

Background: Cisplatin, a chemotherapeutic agent, is widely used in the treatment of malignant tumors. Nephrotoxicity, especially acute kidney injury (AKI), is the most common and severe adverse reaction of cisplatin. Resveratrol and ginsenoside Rg1, two natural products, have been found to have renal protective effects. However, the effects and the mechanisms in cisplatin-induced AKI need further investigation. Methods: The mouse models of cisplatin-induced AKI and several treatment groups were established. Male C57BL/6 mice were divided into five groups: saline control group, cisplatin injury group, resveratrol treatment group, Rg1 treatment group, resveratrol and Rg1 combined treatment group. Serological analysis of serum urea nitrogen was aimed to reflect the function of kidney, and histological analysis of renal tissue sections was aimed to assess the damage of proximal convoluted tubules. The expression levels of autophagy-related proteins Beclin 1 and LC3 were detected by western blotting and qRT-PCR respectively. Results: The renal function was improved and renal damage was alleviated in Rg1 and resveratrol alone or combined treatment groups compared with the cisplatin injury group. For the mechanism, treatment with Rg1 and resveratrol alone or in combination decreased the expressions of Beclin 1 both at protein and mRNA levels, decreased LC3II/I protein levels, indicating that autophagy was inhibited by treatment with Rg1 and resveratrol alone or in combination. Conclusion: Resveratrol and Rg1 alleviated the kidney damage caused by cisplatin, and reduced autophagy was involved in the renoprotective effects of resveratrol and Rg1 against cisplatin-induced AKI. This study may provide new evidence to alleviate cisplatin-induced AKI.

Objective: The clinical symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have significant circadian rhythms, with morning stiffness and joint pain. Moxibustion is effective in the treatment of RA, while the underlying therapeutic mechanisms remain limited. Thus, we explored whether moxibustion could adjust the circadian rhythm of RA by modulating the core clock genes CLOCK and BMAL1 at the molecular level. Methods: 144 Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: control group (group A), model group (group B), 7-9 am moxibustion treatment group (group C), and 5-7 pm moxibustion treatment group (group D). Each group was divided into 6 time points (0 am, 4 am, 8 am, 12 N, 6 pm, and 8 pm) with an equal number of rats at each time point. Except for group A, all rats were injected with Freund’s Complete Adjuvant (FCA) 0.15 ml on the right foot pad to establish the RA model. The rats of the two moxibustion treatment groups were respectively subjected to moxibustion at 7-9 am and 5-7 pm. After 3 weeks of treatment, the tissues were collected at 6 time points during the next 24 hours. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to test the mRNA expression of CLOCK and BMAL1 in the hypothalamus and synovial tissues. CLOCK and BMAL1 protein expression in synovial tissues were detected with western blot. Results: Compared to group A, group B showed significantly down-regulated expression levels of CLOCK and BMLA1 at synovial tissue (P < 0.05), while no statistically significant difference was found in the hypothalamus (P > 0.05). The expression levels of CLOCK and BMLA1 were up-regulated in the moxibustion treatment groups in different tissues, especially in synovial tissue (P < 0.05) compared to group B. Nevertheless, no difference was observed between groups C and D (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Moxibustion could treat RA by modulating clock core genes CLOCK and BMAL1 to regulate the circadian rhythm. However, there was no significant difference between the 7-9 am moxibustion treatment group and the 5-7 pm moxibustion treatment group. This study provides a basis for research on moxibustion in the treatment of RA.

Current experiment was designed to check the effect of dietary supplementation of ramie powder on the growth performance, carcass and meat qualities and antioxidative capacity of Linwu ducks. A total of 312 ducks at 21-day-age were equally divided into 4 groups, fed with control diet, control diet supplemented of 3, 6, or 12% ramie powder, respectively. The results showed that dietary supplementation of 6 and 12% ramie powder increased the final weight and daily body weight gain (P < 0.05), and dietary supplementation of 6% ramie improved the cooking loss of the leg meat 45-mins-postmortem compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Moreover, dietary supplementation of 6% ramie powder promoted the antioxidative capacity of the ducks by increasing the serum activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione (P < 0.05), as well as the mRNA expressions of glutathione peroxidase 1 in the breast meat and superoxide dismutase 1 in the leg meat (P < 0.05). This experiment demonstrated that dietary supplementation of ramie powder showed beneficial efficacy on the growth performance of Linwu ducks. It corroborated the potential of dietary ramie being used as poultry feed ingredient and suggested that 6% was the proper supplementation rate of ramie powder in Linwu ducks’ feed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of ramie (0, 3, 6, and 9%) included in diets on production performance, antioxidative capacity, serum biochemical indices, and intestinal development of laying hens. A total of 432 Lohmann commercial laying hens were randomly allotted to one of four dietary treatments and fed for 6 weeks. The results showed that the inclusion of ramie had no negative effects on laying performance, and increased (quadratic, P < 0.05) the laying rate with the highest value in the 6% ramie group. However, ramie content in the diet up to 9% reduced the apparent metabolic energy, dry matter, and organic matter apparent digestibility of laying hens compared with those in the 3% ramie group. The content of high-density lipoprotein (HDL-C) in serum was increased (P < 0.05), but the activity of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) was decreased (P < 0.05) by dietary ramie supplementation. As the dietary ramie level increased, the activity of serum glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) was increased quadratically (P < 0.05). Compared with control, 3% ramie group significantly increased (P < 0.01) liver total superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. Meanwhile, the addition of 3∼6% ramie powder increased (P < 0.05) villus height of jejunum and villus height/crypt depth (V/C) of ileum, which reflected the intestinal promotional effect of ramie powder. In conclusion, ramie in a diet of less than 9% might protect the liver and improve the antioxidative capacity with no detrimental impacts on the laying hens. Moreover, it could promote the intestinal mucosal structure and have a positive impact on the intestine health of the laying hens.

Background: Nephrotoxicity, especially acute kidney injury (AKI), is the main dose-limiting toxicity of cisplatin. Although recent studies showed that curcumin prevented cisplatin-induced AKI effectively, further studies to understand the mechanism are required. Methods: We established an AKI mouse model. Male C57BL/6 mice were assigned to three groups: saline group (control), cisplatin group (CP), and curcumin + cisplatin group (CP + Cur). The CP group received a single intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of cisplatin, while the control group received saline. The CP + Cur group received i.p. curcumin three days before cisplatin injection and curcumin administered for another three days until the day before euthanization. Renal injury was assessed by serological and histological analysis. Western blotting and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to detect the phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), and microRNA (miR)-181a expression in the renal tissues. Bioinformatics prediction and western blotting methods validated the targets of miR-181a in vitro. Results: Curcumin treatment alleviated cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity as validated by the blood urea nitrogen (BUN) values, and histological analysis of kidneys. At the molecular level, curcumin treatment decreased miR-181a expression level, which was induced by cisplatin and restored the in vivo expression of PTEN, which was suppressed by cisplatin. We verified the direct regulation of PTEN by miR-181a in cultured human embryonic kidney 293T cells. Conclusions: We showed the involvement of miR-181a/PTEN axis in the renoprotective effect of curcumin against cisplatin-induced AKI, and provide new evidence on the ability of curcumin to alleviate cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity.

Current experiment was designed to check the effect of dietary supplementation of ramie powder on the growth performance, carcass and meat qualities and antioxidative capacity of

In this research, a simple electrochemical sensor (c-MWCNTs/Nafion/GCE) was prepared by carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotube, perfluorosulfonic acid polymer and glassy carbon electrode using drop coating method, and based on the obvious sensitization effect on the redox peak current of diethylstilbestrol (DES) in the presence of Co2+, a new electrochemical sensing method for the determination of DES in water was established. In a buffered solution of 0.2 mol l−1 NaH2PO4-Na2HPO4 at pH = 7.0, differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was used when the Co2+ concentration was 20 μmol l−1. Under the optimized conditions of −0.2 ∼ −0.4 V (vs SCE), −0.2 V enrichment potential, and 120 s enrichment time, the concentration of DES showed a good linear relationship with the peak current over the range of 0.3 to 90 μmol l−1, and the detection limit(S/N = 3) was 0.01 μmol l−1. The actual water sample was detected, and the recovery was between 89.17% and 101.23%. This method had the characteristics of simple operation, low analysis cost and fast analysis speed, and had the potential application value of detecting DES in environmental water.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a mixture of mono-glycerides of butyric-, capric-, and caprylic acid (MMG) on the growth performance, intestinal morphology, and cecal microflora of broilers. A total of 960 male Arbor Acre broilers were offered basal diets with or without Chlortetracycline additive (CA) at 500 g/t, and MMG at 3,000, 1,000, or 650 g/t, with 8 replicates of 20 birds per treatment. The results confirmed 500 g/t CA with/without 1,000 g/t MMG increased the average daily weight gain (ADG) of birds compared to the control group 1 during the 42-d experimental period (P < 0.05). Comparing to the control group 1, 500 g/t CA with either 650 g or 1,000 g/t MMG or 1,000 g MMG alone increased the ADG of birds during the late growth stage (22–42 d) (P < 0.05). On d 42, the serum triglyceride levels were higher (P < 0.05) in groups supplemented with CA and CA + 1,000 g/t MMG comparing to the control group; while urea nitrogen level was higher in the control group comparing to the rest of treatment groups Compared to the control group 1, 1,000 g/t MMG alone without CA decreased the abundance of Faecalibacterium and Bacteroides but increased the abundance of Escherichia/Shiegella. About 500 g/t CA alone treatment group had higher abundance of Lactobacillus comparing to the rest of groups. In conclusion, dietary supplement with MMG showed beneficial efficacy on the growth and intestinal function of broilers, demonstrating the potential value of MMG to poultry industry. In terms of dosage, the current trial shows that 3,000 g/t (1–21 d) and 1,000 g/t (22–42 d) MMG without CA was the appropriate dietary supplemented rate for broilers. And the mixed use of 500 g/t CA and 1,000 g/t MMG was benefit for broilers at 22 to 42 d.

Background Noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is one of the most commonly employed clinical measures for screening of fetal aneuploidy. Fetal Fraction (ff) has been demonstrated to be one of the key factors affecting the performance of NIPT. Accurate quantification of ff plays vital role in NIPT. Methods In this study, we present a new approach, the accurate Quantification of Fetal Fraction with Shallow‐Coverage sequencing of maternal plasma DNA (FF‐QuantSC), for the estimation of ff in NIPT. The method employs neural network model and utilizes differential genomic patterns between fetal and maternal genomes to quantify ff. Results Our results show that the predicted ff by FF‐QuantSC exhibit high correlation with the Y chromosome–based method on male pregnancies, and achieves the highest accuracy compared with other ff estimation approaches. We also demonstrate that the model generates statistically similar results on both male and female pregnancies. Conclusion FF‐QuantSC achieves high accuracy in ff quantification. The method is suitable for application in both male and female pregnancies. Since the method does not require additional information upon NIPT routines, it can be easily incorporated into current NIPT settings without causing extra costs. We believe that FF‐QuantSC shall provide valuable additions to NIPT., Differential distribution between maternal and fetal genomes, potential information to be exploited by a neural network model for the prediction of fetal fraction.

The ability of chemical tools to effectively detect malignancy in frozen sections removed from patients during surgery is important for the timely determination of the subsequent surgical program. However, current clinical methods for tissue imaging rely on dye-based staining or antibody-based techniques, which are sluggish and complicated. Methods: Here, we have developed a 2D material-based supramolecular imaging probe for the simple, rapid yet precise diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The 2D probe is constructed through supramolecular self-assembly between a water soluble, fluorescent peptide ligand that selectively targets glypican-3 (GPC-3, a specific cell-surface biomarker for HCC) and 2D molybdenum disulfide that acts as a fluorescence quencher as well as imaging enhancer. Results: We show that the 2D imaging probe developed with minimal background fluorescence can sensitively and selectively image cells overexpressing GPC-3 over a range of control cells expressing other membrane proteins. Importantly, we demonstrate that the 2D probe is capable of rapidly (signal became readable within 1 min) imaging HCC tissues over para-carcinoma regions in frozen sections derived from HCC patients; the results are in accordance with those obtained using traditional clinical staining methods. Conclusion: Compared to conventional staining methods, which are laborious (e.g., over 30 min is needed for antibody-based immunosorbent assays) and complex (e.g., diagnosis is based on discrimination of the nucleus morphology of cancer cells from that of normal cells), our probe, with its simplicity and quickness, might become a promising candidate for tumor-section staining as well as fluorescence imaging-guided surgery.

Nili-Ravi buffalo (Bubalus bubalis Linnaeus, 1758 breed Nili-Ravi, NRB) is a famous water buffalo breed in the world. It is the first time that the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the NRB was reported. The total length of the mtDNA is 16,356 bp, It contains the typical structure, including 22 transfer RNA genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes, and 1 non-coding control region (D-loop region). The overall composition of the mtDNA was estimated to be 33.11% for A, 26.45% for T, 26.55% for C, and 13.89% for G. Phylogenetic analyses using neighbor-joining (N-J) computational algorithms showed that the analyzed 18 Ruminantia species are divided into four major clades: Bovidae, Cervidae, Giraffidae, and Atilocapridae. In addition, our work confirmed that NRB has a close genetic relationship with B. bubalis isolate India 4.

Fuzhong buffalo (Bubalus bubalis Linnaeus, 1758 breed Fuzhong, FB) is one of the famous indigenous breeds of buffalo in China. It is the first time that the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of the FB was reported. The total length of the mtDNA is 16,363 bp, It contains the typical structure, including 22 transfer RNA genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, 13 protein-coding genes and one non-coding control region (D-loop region). The overall composition of the mtDNA was estimated to be 32.98% for A, 26.34% for T, 26.70% for C and 13.98% for G. Phylogenetic analyses using N-J computational algorithms showed that the analyzed 19 ruminantia species are divided into four major clades: Bovidae, Cervidae, Giraffidae and Atilocapridae. In addition, our work confirmed that FB and Murrah buffalo (MB) have a close genetic relationship with fellow tribal members Nili-Ravi buffalo and Mediterranean buffalo. Meanwhile, we also found that FB and MB have a highly similar genetic relationship.

Based on Buckley-Leverett theory of water flooding in non-piston way, fractional flow equation, Welge average water saturation equation and the relative permeability curve, a new relationship between water cut and recovery efficiency and the corresponding water drive characteristic curve are derived making use of the general solution of ordinary differential equation formula with the initial condition. The ratio of oil-water relative permeability follows the power function in the process of derivation. It is different from the previous derived methods of water displacing curves to consider the effect of water-free oil production period on water drive type curve in this paper. The practical application in K oilfield indicates that the method is rational and effective.

Self-assembly of a flexible tricarboxylate ligand (H3L) and cobalt salt under hydrothermal conditions yields an unprecedented two-dimensional (2D) nanoscaled quadruple-layer networks [Co4(HL)3(μ3-OH)2(H2O)2]·5H2O (1) (H3L = (3,5-dicarboxyl-phenyl)-(4-(2′-carboxyl-phenyl)-benzyl)ether). The structure of compound 1 was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and further characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectrum, and thermogravimetric analysis. Compound 1 represents the first 2D nanoscaled multiple-layer architecture constructed from octanuclear cobalt cluster building blocks. Furthermore, the adjacent sidearm-containing 2D quadruple-layer motifs are interdigitated in a mutual relationship to form a 3D supramolecular framework. In addition, the magnetic properties of compound 1 have been studied by measuring its magnetic susceptibility in the temperature range of 2–300 K, indicating the existence of antiferromagnetic coupling within the octanuclear cobalt cluster.

This paper simulated the microvibration response of a micro-electronic workshop by using the finite element analysis software Sap2000. Based on the measured vibration signals as input data at the base, the displacement and velocity curves at some typical points on the work platform of a micro-electronic workshop under uniform and multipoint excitation were obtained. The results show that displacement responses at nodes of beams or in the direction of lower stiffness under multipoint excitation are much greater than those under uniform excitation, while there are no marked difference in the peak values of velocities.

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin films doped with both Phosphor and Nitrogen are deposited by ratio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). The effect of gas flow rate of ammonia (FrNH3) on the composition, microstructure and optical properties of the films has been investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and ellipsometric spectra, respectively. The results show that with the increase of FrNH3, Si-N bonds appear while the short-range order deteriorate in the films. Besides, the optical properties of N-doped n-type a-Si:H thin films can be easily controlled in a PECVD system.

The development and characteristic of agricultural sustainability indicators system (SI(subscript s)), at home and abroad, was reviewed. It was pointed out that the existing domestic methods of sustainability evaluation can not be accepted by foreign scholars, and their scientific basis is inadequate. The experience and shortcomings of the previous studies on the indicators selection and evaluation methods were analyzed, also with the significance for practice. Finally, a new SI(subscript s), for agriculture development evaluation was proposed, together with the corresponding calculation and evaluation methods. The farmer development index indicator was proposed to embody the viewpoint that the development of people is the ultimate aim; the dynamic weight calculation method was designed to reflect the various significance of the different indicators when their values were changing; and new indicators integrate methods were also explored.

What is the connotation and the extension of the productivity concept and how to calculate it are the core problems in evaluating an agricultural-production process. The attributes of agricultural production processes have changed greatly in the last 100 years, and the methods to describe and measure the productivity failed to keep in pace with the production processes, resulting in a totally vague, incomplete evaluation of the production processes. Sometimes the serious problem of pollution is ignored in the race to shortdated money making, thus leading to a blooming and flooding pollution; sometimes the great ecological benefits are ignored and the corresponding production processes suffer drastically from “economic deficit”. With the old agricultural productivity indices, no prediction can be made of the ultimate effects of agroecosytem on mankind-pollution or welfare. A new concept, agricultural productivity on ecosystem scale (APES) and the related indices are defined here to solve these problems. Emergy and exergy are introduced to help the measurement of the indices. Emergy is the memory of energy, which can be used to measure the total cost, including natural capital and social capital. APES of the agroecosystem is the aggregated contributions of all components to mankind and its habitat in uniformed dimensions, it may be expressed in material, energy, information, organization, pollution and damage, etc., positive or negative, and are calculated based on exergy methods. And a related index agroecological coupling degree (ACD) shows sustainability.

Natural organic matter (NOM) in a filtered river water from a water treatment plant was isolated and fractionated into six types of fractions. The aim of the work is to investigate the formation of the low molecular weight (LMW) oxidation by-products (i.e. aldehydes, ketones and ketoacids) after ferric hydroxide-catalyzed ozonation of individual NOM fractions. Results showed that catalytic ozonation could improve the reduction of the dissolved organic matter (DOC) and specific UV absorbance (SUVA) at 254 nm compared with ozonation alone. However, catalytic ozonation with ferric hydroxide could not produce less LMW oxidation by-products than ozonation. Hydrophobic neutral (HON) produced much higher yields of the LMW oxidation by-products than other fractions both during catalytic ozonation and ozonation alone, while the basic NOM fractions formed relatively lower productions of these by-products. Like the case of ozonation alone, the predominant contributors for the yields of aldehydes and ketoacids formed in catalytic ozonation were formaldehyde and pyruvic acid, respectively. Among these NOM fractions, HON produced the highest yields of the formaldehyde and pyruvic acid after catalytic ozonation. The yield of formaldehyde from HON was up to 71.6% of the total aldehydes and ketones, and the pyruvic acid concentration of HON was 78.6 microg/mg after catalytic ozonation. In addition, NOM fractions became more biodegradable after catalytic ozonation, because the percent of total LMW by-products carbon in the final DOC after catalytic ozonation was higher than ozonation alone.

CSCW (computer supported cooperative work) means a group of people cooperate to finish the same task with the help of computers. Under such a working environment, a safety mechanism is vital important to ensure unwanted information leakage. At present the encryption algorithms widely used in CSCW system are inefficient, and can't realize the real-time communication model satisfactorily. DES and ECC are both widely recognized data encryption algorithms, which have already been applied to CSCW security system, but each has his own strengths and weaknesses. DES is efficient but its key is easily revealed; the key of ECC is well managed, but the process efficiency is lower than DES. This paper puts forward a combined encryption algorithm based on 3DES and ECC to improve the performance of the CSCW system encryption. It is proved that the algorithm is feasible and effective.