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Viral inclusion bodies (IBs) commonly form during the replication of Ebola virus (EBOV) in infected cells, but their role in viral immune evasion has rarely been explored. Here, we found that interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3), but not TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) or IκB kinase epsilon (IKKε), was recruited and sequestered in viral IBs when the cells were infected by EBOV transcription- and replication-competent virus-like particles (trVLPs). Nucleoprotein/virion protein 35 (VP35)-induced IBs formation was critical for IRF3 recruitment and sequestration, probably through interaction with STING. Consequently, the association of TBK1 and IRF3, which plays a vital role in type I interferon (IFN-I) induction, was blocked by EBOV trVLPs infection. Additionally, IRF3 phosphorylation and nuclear translocation induced by Sendai virus or poly(I:C) stimulation were suppressed by EBOV trVLPs. Furthermore, downregulation of STING significantly attenuated VP35-induced IRF3 accumulation in IBs. Coexpression of the viral proteins by which IB-like structures formed was much more potent in antagonizing IFN-I than expression of the IFN-I antagonist VP35 alone. These results suggested a novel immune evasion mechanism by which EBOV evades host innate immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Instrumented indentation is a versatile method of extracting hyper-elastic material parameters, particularly useful for applications where stress-strain data are difficult to be in-situ measured. Because the analytical force-displacement relation is still unavailable for the indentation of hyper-elastic materials, identifying hyper-elastic parameters often requires an iterative optimization strategy that fits finite element simulations with experimental data. However, the optimization strategy is burdened by heavy computation and its prediction accuracy is greatly influenced by the choice of optimization algorithm. To address these challenges in this study, a bidirectional long short-term memory (BLSTM) neural network is presented that directly predicts hyper-elastic material parameters from indentation load-displacement data, focusing on Mooney-Rivlin hyper-elasticity as an example. To improve the predication accuracy, the condition numbers for the inverse identification of the hyper-elastic parameters are investigated. And, a normalization procedure is proposed to treat the input data, which can guarantee the BLSTM network is well-conditioned. During evaluation, the trained BLSTM network significantly outperforms the iterative optimization strategy using a genetic algorithm. Furthermore, the effect of the normalization procedure is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of the study was to investigatethe active ingredients and potential biochemicalmechanisms of Simiao Wan (SMW) in obesity-associated insulin resistance. Methods: An integrated network pharmacology method to screen the active compoundsand candidate targets, construct the protein-protein-interaction network, and ingredients-targets-pathways network was constructed for topological analysis to identify core targets and main ingredients. To find the possible signaling pathways, enrichment analysis was performed. Further, a model of insulin resistance in HL-7702 cells was established to verify the impact of SMW and the regulatory processes. Results: An overall of 63 active components and 151 candidate targets were obtained, in which flavonoids were the main ingredients. Enrichment analysis indicated that the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway was the potential pathway regulated by SMW in obesity-associated insulin resistance treatment. The result showed that SMW could significantly ameliorate insulin sensitivity, increase glucose synthesis and glucose utilization and reduce intracellular lipids accumulation in hepatocytes. Also, SMW inhibited diacylglycerols accumulation-induced PKCε activity and decreased its translocation to the membrane. Conclusion: SMW ameliorated obesity-associated insulin resistance through PKCε/IRS-1/PI3K/Akt signaling axis in hepatocytes, providing a new strategy for metabolic disease treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This work aimed to reveal the expression profiles of tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) in diabetes. Methods: Thirty-five diabetes patients and thirty-three controls were enrolled. The serum samples of 4 diabetes patients and 4 controls were subjected to tRF and tiRNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) Array analysis. Then quantitative PCR (qPCR) validation was performed on all the samples. Bioinformatics analyses were conducted to explore their functions. Results: We found 115 tsRNAs that significantly differed between the two groups. 3'tiR- 080-ProTGG(mt) was selected for further qPCR validation in all participants, and it was significantly decreased in diabetes patients compared with controls. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that 3'tiR-080-ProTGG(mt) may play regulatory roles via the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) signaling pathway in the pathogenesis and progression of diabetes. Conclusion: Hence, we report that circulating tsRNAs are dysregulated that could be involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments necessitates the diagnostic instrument to have multiple frames with a high spatial and temporal resolution for the two-dimensional detection of the hot spot at the implosion end of the ICF. The existing sampling two-dimensional imaging technology in the world has superior performance; however, its subsequent development requires a streak tube with large lateral magnification. In this work, an electron beam separation device was designed and developed for the first time. The device can be used without changing the structure of the streak tube. It can be combined directly with the corresponding device and matched with a special control circuit. Based on the original transverse magnification, 1.77 times the secondary amplification can be achieved, which is conducive to expanding the recording range of the technology. The experimental results showed that the static spatial resolution of the streak tube after the inclusion of the device can still reach 10 lp/mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ischemic cerebrovascular disease is a leading cause of death globally and is often exacerbated by cerebral ischemic/reperfusion injury (CIRI). The exact mechanisms underlying I/R injury are unclear. In this study, we aimed to determine the role of m6A-modified methylase complex methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) in cerebral ischemiareperfusion (I/R) injury. We found that m6A and METTL3 levels increased in OGD/RX-induced mouse astrocytescerebellar (MA-C) and the brain of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model mice. METTL3 siRNA treatment reduced OGD-RX-induced MAC cell viability and proliferation, which increased with METTL3 over-expression. Flow cytometry analysis showed that silencing METTL3 significantly enhanced OGD/RX-induced MAC apoptosis, which was significantly reduced with METTL3 up-regulation. In an MCAO model, METTL3 overexpression significantly reduced cerebral infarction area and decreased brain cell apoptosis, indicating that METTL3 OE treatment could ameliorate brain edema and injury. Thus, METTL3 could be used as a target to treat I/R injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We sought to investigate electroencephalographers' real-world behaviors and opinions concerning reading routine EEG (rEEG) with or without clinical information. An eight-question, anonymous, online survey targeted at electroencephalographers was disseminated on social media from the authors' personal accounts and emailed to authors' select colleagues. A total of 389 responses were included. Most respondents reported examining clinical information before describing rEEG findings. Nonetheless, only a minority of respondents believe that EEG analysis/description should be influenced by clinical information. We recommend reviewing clinical data only after an unbiased EEG read to prevent history bias and ensure generation of reliable electrodiagnostic information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Osteoporosis (OP) associated with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is common in older men and postmenopausal women, and it is important to find reliable and effective treatments for this disease to improve joint function and bone metabolism in this population. Objective. To clarify the clinical efficacy of glucosamine (GlcN) plus sodium hyaluronate (SH) for OP complicated by KOA (OP + KOA) and its influence on joint function and bone metabolic markers (BMMs). Methods. Admitted from July 2019 to July 2021, 126 patients with OP + KOA were selected, including 76 cases (observation group) treated with GlcN plus SH and 50 cases (control group) given GlcN alone. The pain, joint function, BMMs, and clinical efficacy were evaluated and compared. Pain and joint function assessments employed the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) plus Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale, respectively. BMMs mainly measured bone gla protein (BGP), serum tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase variant (TRACP)-5b, type I collagen cross-linked C-telopeptide (CTX-1), and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BALP). Results. Higher posttreatment VAS scores were determined in observation group as compared to control group; observation group showed lower WOMAC scores of joint function and higher Lysholm scores than control group; in terms of BMMs, TRACP-5b and CTX-1 were lower while BGP and BALP were higher in observation group; the curative effect was also higher in observation group. All the above differences were statistically significant. Conclusions. GlcN plus SH has definite clinical efficacy in the treatment of OP + KOA, which can not only significantly improve patients' joint function and bone metabolism but also relieve pain, with high clinical popularization value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of artificial intelligence (AI)–based algorithms for identifying the presence of interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) in routine (20‐min) electroencephalography (EEG) recordings. Methods: We evaluated two approaches: a fully automated one and a hybrid approach, where three human raters applied an operational IED definition to assess the automated detections grouped into clusters by the algorithms. We used three previously developed AI algorithms: Encevis, SpikeNet, and Persyst. The diagnostic gold standard (epilepsy or not) was derived from video‐EEG recordings of patients' habitual clinical episodes. We compared the algorithms with the gold standard at the recording level (epileptic or not). The independent validation data set (not used for training) consisted of 20‐min EEG recordings containing sharp transients (epileptiform or not) from 60 patients: 30 with epilepsy (with a total of 340 IEDs) and 30 with nonepileptic paroxysmal events. We compared sensitivity, specificity, overall accuracy, and the review time‐burden of the fully automated and hybrid approaches, with the conventional visual assessment of the whole recordings, based solely on unrestricted expert opinion. Results: For all three AI algorithms, the specificity of the fully automated approach was too low for clinical implementation (16.67%; 63.33%; 3.33%), despite the high sensitivity (96.67%; 66.67%; 100.00%). Using the hybrid approach significantly increased the specificity (93.33%; 96.67%; 96.67%) with good sensitivity (93.33%; 56.67%; 76.67%). The overall accuracy of the hybrid methods (93.33%; 76.67%; 86.67%) was similar to the conventional visual assessment of the whole recordings (83.33%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 71.48–91.70%; p >.5), yet the time‐burden of review was significantly lower (p <.001). Significance: The hybrid approach, where human raters apply the operational IED criteria to automated detections of AI‐based algorithms, has high specificity, good sensitivity, and overall accuracy similar to conventional EEG reading, with a significantly lower time‐burden. The hybrid approach is accurate and suitable for clinical implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The use of the emergency department (ED) has been increasing, and many visits occur for non-urgent conditions. A similar trend was found among adult visits to the ED for ocular conditions. In this study we analyzed the impact of sociodemographic factors, presentation timing, and the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric ED (PED) encounters for ophthalmologic conditions. It is important to identify the multifold factors associated with overutilization of the ED for non-urgent conditions. Caring for these patients in an outpatient clinical setting is safe and effective and could decrease ED crowding; it would also prevent delays in the care of other patients with more urgent medical problems and lower healthcare costs. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed electronic health records of PED ocular-related encounters at two children's hospitals before (January 2014-May 2018) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020-February 2021). Encounters were categorized based on the International Classification of Diseases codes into "emergent," "urgent," and non-urgent" groups. We analyzed associations between sociodemographic factors and degrees of visit urgency. We also compared visit frequencies, degrees of urgency, and diagnoses between pre-pandemic and pandemic data. Results: Pre-pandemic ocular-related PED encounters averaged 1,738 per year. There were highly significant sociodemographic associations with degrees of urgency in PED utilization. During the 12-month pandemic timeframe, encounter frequency contracted to 183. Emergent visits decreased from 21% to 11%, while the proportions of urgent and non-urgent encounters were mostly unchanged. The most common pre-pandemic urgent diagnosis was corneal abrasion (50%), while visual disturbance was most common during the pandemic (92%). During both time periods, eye trauma was the most frequent emergent encounter and conjunctivitis was the most common non-urgent encounter. Conclusion: Sociodemographic factors may be associated with different types of PED utilization for ocular conditions. Unnecessary visits constitute major inefficiency from a healthcare-systems standpoint. The marked decrease in PED utilization and differing proportions of ocular conditions encountered during the pandemic may reflect a decrease in incidence of many of those conditions by social distancing; these changes may also reflect altered parental decisions about seeking care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Row structures and close packed islands of fullerenes controlled by a stable molecular nanotemplate formed via rubrene on Au(111) have been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy. The fullerene rows are made up of short chains linked by two to four molecules at low fullerene coverage, while they consisted of dimers or trimers with the increase of the coverage and the assistance of further annealing. The close-packed islands of fullerene are described as a hexagonal cubic structure. The growth of the islands can overcome the hindrance of the terrace edges and expand from one terrace to the other without breaking their periodic structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earthquakes occur frequently in the 21st century and cause a large number of casualties; induced secondary geological disasters will cause more serious casualties. How to reasonably deal with the earthquake disaster to carry out emergency rescue work is becoming increasingly urgent; the ability level of earthquake disaster emergency rescue personnel is directly related to the follow-up relief effect. Based on this, aiming at the emergency rescue ability of nationalized railway management talents in high-intensity earthquake areas around the world, this paper will use the methods of analytic hierarchy process and fuzzy theory to construct an intelligent evaluation model of railway international earthquake emergency rescue personnel ability. In addition, this paper carries out a questionnaire survey of experts in related fields and model empirical research and puts forward optimization measures and suggestions for the personnel training of railway international earthquake emergency rescue in high-intensity seismic areas based on the results of model evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Bronchoscopy treatments of central airway obstruction (CAO) under general anesthesia are high-risky procedures, and posing a giant challenge to the anesthesiologists. We summarized and analyzed our clinical experience in patients with CAO undergoing flexible or rigid bronchoscopy, to estimate the safety of skeletal muscle relaxants application and the traditional Low-frequency ventilation. Methods: Clinical data of 375 patients with CAO who underwent urgent endoscopic treatments in general anesthesia from January 2016 to October 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. The use ratio of skeletal muscle relaxants, dose of skeletal muscle relaxants used, the incidence of perioperative adverse events, adequacy of ventilation and gas exchange, post-operative recovery between rigid bronchoscopy and flexible bronchoscopy therapy, and risk factors for postoperative ICU admission were evaluated. Results: Of the 375 patients with CAO, 204 patients were treated with flexible bronchoscopy and 171 patients were treated with rigid bronchoscopy. Muscle relaxants were used in 362 of 375 patients (including 313 cisatracurium, 45 rocuronium, 4 atracurium, and 13 unrecorded). The usage rate of muscle relaxants (96.5% in total) was very high in patients with CAO who underwent either flexible bronchoscopy (96.6%) or rigid bronchoscopy (96.5%) therapy. The dosage of skeletal muscle relaxants (Cisatracium) used was higher in rigid bronchoscopy compared with flexible bronchoscopy therapy (10.8 ± 3.8 VS 11.6 ± 3.6 mg, respectively, p < 0.05). No patient suffered the failure of ventilation, bronchospasm and intraoperative cough either in flexible or rigid bronchoscopy therapy. Hypoxemia was occurred in 13 patients (8 in flexible, 5 in rigid bronchoscopy) during the procedure, and reintubation after extubation happened in 2 patients with flexible bronchoscopy. Sufficient ventilation was successfully established using the traditional Low-frequency ventilation with no significant carbon dioxide accumulation and hypoxemia occurred both in flexible and rigid bronchoscopy group (p > 0.05). Three patients (1 in flexible and 2 in rigid) died, during the post-operative recovery, and the higher grade of American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and obvious dyspnea or orthopnea were the independent risk factors for postoperative ICU admission. Conclusion: The muscle relaxants and low-frequency traditional ventilation can be safely used both in flexible and rigid bronchoscopy treatments in patients with CAO. These results may provide strong clinical evidence for optimizing the anesthesia management of bronchoscopy for these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Inflammation response plays a significant role in tendon healing. • Cyclooxygenase promote tendon healing via macrophage polarization. • Polarized macrophages release Pla1a that promote tendon healing. • Tendon cells stimulated by Pla1a could regulate the expression of Etv1. • Etv1 embedded in nanoparticle/hydrogel system reduce tendon adhesion. Tendon injuries are often accompanied by limited self-healing and common complications, such as re-rupture and adhesion formation. In our previous studies, we discovered that inhibiting cyclooxygenases (COXs) through a sustainable nanoparticle/hydrogel released system prevented adhesion formation. Additionally, we observed a decrease in M1/M2 polarization in the microenvironment. To investigate the mechanism underlying M2 macrophage polarization, we developed a rat flexor tendon injury model and injected macrophages transfected with COX siRNAs. The results confirmed the positive effects of this treatment and identified important targets, namely phospholipase A1 member A (Pla1a) and ETS variant transcription factor 1 (Etv1). We conducted in vivo and in vitro studies based on Pla1a and Etv1. In the in vivo studies, Pla1a/nanoparticle/hydrogel treatment improved the ultimate strength of injured tendons and inhibited flexor tendon adhesion formation. In the in vitro studies, upregulation of Pla1a promoted tendon cell proliferation and suppressed cell apoptosis. Stimulation of Pla1a also downregulated the level of Etv1. Tendon cells transfected with Etv1 siRNAs demonstrated better cell viability and less cell apoptosis. Furthermore, adhesion formation was reduced by treatment with Etv1 siRNAs/nanoparticle/hydrogel. These findings suggest that COX siRNAs-regulated macrophages could enhance tendon healing via the Pla1a/Etv1 axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many States in the world such as China have no specific domestic laws providing for the crime of piracy, leading to the question whether these States have the competence to punish piracy as required by international law. This paper argues that the lack of a crime of piracy within a domestic legal system should not become an insurmountable obstacle for States to prosecute pirates. Prosecution of pirates without a crime of piracy is feasible in a State that has domestic criminal laws that deal with illicit activities similar to piracy by indicting perpetrators with other criminal offences. While it would be an ideal solution for that State to establish a specific crime of piracy in its domestic legal system, it is important to consider the difficulties in setting the definition of piracy and the degree of punishment appropriately, and realize that the major deficiencies in punishing pirates under other existing domestic crimes can be basically addressed within an existing domestic legal system. The main purpose of universal jurisdiction over piracy to punish criminals to the maximum extent and the changing situation of piracy also require States to always be ready to deal with piracy. Therefore, prosecuting pirates as another crime is a realistic compromise. Furthermore, for a State without a crime of piracy, it is more urgent for it to build up legal grounds for exercising universal jurisdiction over piracy and relevant procedural provisions on the exercise of extraterritorial jurisdiction over international crimes at sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are recruited and activated by solid tumors and play a role in tumor progression and metastasis. Here we show that MSCs promote metastasis in a panel of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. MSCs elicit transcriptional alterations in lung cancer cells leading to increased expression of factors implicated in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and secreted proteins including matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9). MSCs enhance secretion of enzymatically active MMP9 in a panel of lung adenocarcinoma cells. High expression of MMP9 is linked to low survival rates in lung adenocarcinoma patients. Notably, we found that ABL tyrosine kinases are activated in MSC-primed lung cancer cells and functional ABL kinases are required for MSC-induced MMP9 expression, secretion and proteolytic activity. Importantly, ABL kinases are required for MSC-induced NSCLC metastasis. These data reveal an actionable target for inhibiting MSC-induced metastatic activity of lung adenocarcinoma cells through disruption of an ABL kinase-MMP9 signaling axis activated in MSC-primed lung cancer cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dietary and gastrointestinal (GI) problems have been frequently reported in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the relative contributions of autism-linked traits to dietary and GI problems in children with ASD are poorly understood. This study firstly compared the dietary intake and GI symptoms between children with ASD and typically developing children (TDC), and then quantified the relative contributions of autism-linked traits to dietary intake, and relative contributions of autism-linked traits and dietary intake to GI symptoms within the ASD group. Methods: A sample of 121 children with ASD and 121 age-matched TDC were eligible for this study. The dietary intake indicators included food groups intakes, food variety, and diet quality. The autism-linked traits included ASD symptom severity, restricted repetitive behaviors (RRBs), sensory profiles, mealtime behaviors, and their subtypes. Linear mixed-effects models and mixed-effects logistic regression models were used to estimate the relative contributions. Results: Children with ASD had poorer diets with fewer vegetables/fruits, less variety of food, a higher degree of inadequate/unbalanced dietary intake, and more severe constipation/total GI symptoms than age-matched TDC. Within the ASD group, compulsive behavior (a subtype of RRBs) and taste/smell sensitivity were the only traits associated with lower vegetables and fruit consumption, respectively. Self-injurious behavior (a subtype of RRBs) was the only contributing trait to less variety of food. Limited variety (a subtype of mealtime behavior problems) and ASD symptom severity were the primary and secondary contributors to inadequate dietary intake, respectively. ASD symptom severity and limited variety were the primary and secondary contributors to unbalanced dietary intake, respectively. Notably, unbalanced dietary intake was a significant independent factor associated with constipation/total GI symptoms, and autism-linked traits manifested no contributions. Conclusions: ASD symptom severity and unbalanced diets were the most important contributors to unbalanced dietary intake and GI symptoms, respectively. Our findings highlight that ASD symptom severity and unbalanced diets could provide the largest benefits for the dietary and GI problems of ASD if they were targeted for early detection and optimal treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neuro-degenerative disease with a major manifestation of dementia. MicroRNAs were reported to regulate the transcript expression in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we investigated the roles of miR-138, a brain-enriched miRNA, in the AD cell model.Methods: The targets of miRNA-138 was predicted by bioinformatic analysis. The expression levels of DEK at both mRNA and protein levels were determined by qRT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. Luciferase assays were carried out to examine cell viabilities. Hoechst 33258 staining was used to detect cell apoptosis.Results: Our results demonstrated that the expression levels of miR-138 were increased in AD model, and DEK was a target of miR-138. Overexpression of miR-138 in SH-SY5Y cells obviously down-regulated the expression of DEK in SH-SY5Y cells, resulting in the inactivation of AKT and increased expression levels of proapoptotic caspase-3. MiR-138 mediated-suppression of DEK increased the susceptibility of cell apoptosis.Conclusions: MicroRNA-138 promotes cell apoptosis of SH-SY5Y by targeting DEK in SH-SY5Y AD cell model. The regulation of miR-138 may contribute to AD via down-regulation of the DEK/AKT pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the clinical characteristics of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and a concomitant hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, as well as the potential effects of HBV infection and antiviral therapy on prognosis. Methods: We conducted a retrospective chart review of all NPC patients from December 2010 to December 2014. After collecting medical records and conducting follow‐ups on patients, a total of 876 eligible NPC patients were included. For each patient, medical records were reviewed. Factors predictive of outcome were compared using the log‐rank test and Cox regression analysis. Results: Among the 876 participants, 106 (12.1%) patients were HBV‐infected patients. The hepatitis B surface antigen‐positive [HBsAg(+)] group had a lower CD4+ T cell count than the HBsAg(−) group (P =.048). Among patients with stage I/II NPC, 5‐year overall survival (OS), disease‐free survival (DFS), relapse‐free survival, and distant metastasis‐free survival (DMFS) of the HBsAg(+) group were 82.5%, 70.7%, 87.7%, and 76.6%, respectively, whereas those of the HBsAg(−) group were 91.4%, 86.0%, 93.8%, and 92.1%, respectively. Statistically significant differences in OS, DFS, and DMFS existed between both groups (P =.017,.018, and.004, respectively). The multivariate analysis indicated that HBsAg status and N stage are independent risk factors affecting OS, DFS, and DMFS of NPC patients. A statistically significant difference in 5‐year DMFS existed between the antivirus (90.0%) and no‐antivirus groups (70.0%) (P =.043). Conclusions: Hepatitis B virus infection is an independent risk factor for early stage NPC, which may be associated with its reduced immune functions compared to the HBsAg(−) group. Anti‐HBV treatment may improve the prognosis of HBV‐infected NPC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explored potential biomarkers and molecular mechanisms regarding multiple benefits after bariatric surgery. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) for subcutaneous adipose tissue (AT) after bariatric surgery were identified by analyzing two expression profiles from the GEO. Subsequently, enrichment analysis, GSEA, PPI network, and gene-microRNAs and gene-TFs networks were interrogated to identify hub genes and associated pathways. Co-expressed DEGs included one that was up-regulated and 22 that were down-regulated genes. The enrichment analyses indicated that down-regulated DEGs were significantly involved in inflammatory responses. GSEA provided comprehensive evidence that most genes enriched in pro-inflammation pathways, while gene-sets after surgery enriched in metabolism. We identified nine hub genes in the PPI network, most of which were validated as highly expressed and hypomethylated in obesity by Attie Lab Diabetes and DiseaseMeth databases, respectively. DGIdb was also applied to predict potential therapeutic agents that might reverse abnormally high hub gene expression. Bariatric surgery induces a significant shift from an obese pro-inflammatory state to an anti-inflammatory state, with improvement in adipocyte metabolic function - representing key mechanisms whereby AT function improves after bariatric surgery. Our study deepens a mechanistic understanding of the benefits of bariatric surgery and provides potential biomarkers or treatment targets for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We developed a deep learning algorithm to detect mesial temporal lobe epileptiform discharges on intracranial EEG. • Convolutional neural networks with simple architectures deliver excellent performance in detecting epileptiform discharges. • Quantification of intracranial epileptiform activity has many research and clinical applications. Develop a high-performing algorithm to detect mesial temporal lobe (mTL) epileptiform discharges on intracranial electrode recordings. An epileptologist annotated 13,959 epileptiform discharges from a dataset of intracranial EEG recordings from 46 epilepsy patients. Using this dataset, we trained a convolutional neural network (CNN) to recognize mTL epileptiform discharges from a single intracranial bipolar channel. The CNN outputs from multiple bipolar channel inputs were averaged to generate the final detector output. Algorithm performance was estimated using a nested 5-fold cross-validation. On the receiver-operating characteristic curve, our algorithm achieved an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.996 and a partial AUC (for specificity > 0.9) of 0.981. AUC on a precision-recall curve was 0.807. A sensitivity of 84% was attained at a false positive rate of 1 per minute. 35.9% of the false positive detections corresponded to epileptiform discharges that were missed during expert annotation. Using deep learning, we developed a high-performing, patient non-specific algorithm for detection of mTL epileptiform discharges on intracranial electrodes. Our algorithm has many potential applications for understanding the impact of mTL epileptiform discharges in epilepsy and on cognition, and for developing therapies to specifically reduce mTL epileptiform activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The QRS-T angle is a key ECG predictor for ventricular arrhythmia. Lead has a strong relation with cardiovascular diseases; however, no study has been conducted to investigate the association between lead exposure and QRS-T angle. Thus, we explored this association in a population-based representative sample: NHANES III. We used the standard 12-lead ECGs to calculate Spatial QRS-T angles. Blood lead concentration was measured using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry method. We conducted multivariate weighted logistic regression to adjust for impaired fasting glucose, hypertension, poverty index, age, race, and smoking status. We found that when the log of blood lead increased by one unit, the odds of an abnormal QRS-T angle increased by 34% among men and 4% among women. We suggest the use of QRS-T angle deviation among those who are exposed to lead to detect individuals at risk for adverse cardiovascular outcomes such as arrhythmias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new abietane diterpenoid, graciliflora A (1), was isolated from the aerial parts of Isodon lophanthoides var. graciliflorus. Its structure was elucidated by spectroscopic methods, including extensive 1D and 2D NMR analysis. Compound 1 exhibited good anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biocontrol strain Pseudomonas PA1201 produces pyoluteorin (Plt), which is an antimicrobial secondary metabolite. Plt represents a promising candidate pesticide due to its broad-spectrum antifungal and antibacterial activity. Although PA1201 contains a complete genetic cluster for Plt biosynthesis, it fails to produce detectable level of Plt when grown in media typically used for Pseudomonas strains. In this study, minimum medium (MM) was found to favor Plt biosynthesis. Using the medium M, which contains all the salts of MM medium except for mannitol, as a basal medium, we compared 10 carbon sources for their ability to promote Plt biosynthesis. Fructose, mannitol, and glycerol promoted Plt biosynthesis, with fructose being the most effective carbon source. Glucose or succinic acid had no significant effect on Plt biosynthesis, but effectively antagonized fructosedependent synthesis of Plt. Promoter-lacZ fusion reporter strains demonstrated that fructose acted through activation of the pltLABCDEFG (pltL) operon but had no effect on other genes of plt gene cluster; glucose or succinic acid antagonized fructose-dependent pltL induction. Mechanistically, fructose-mediated Plt synthesis involved carbon catabolism repression. The two-component system CbrA/CbrB and small RNA catabolite repression control Z (crcZ) were essential for fructose-induced Plt synthesis. The small RNA binding protein Hfq and Crc negatively regulated fructose-induced Plt. Taken together, this study provides a new model of fructosedependent Plt production in PA1201 that can help improve Plt yield by biosynthetic approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition metal--carbon--nitrogen (M--C--N) nanocrystals, such as hybrid-structure, heterostructure, and cluster or single metal atoms anchored on carbon--nitrogen skeleton, have attracted wide attention in various fields for their superior physicochemical properties. However, it remains a great challenge to synthesize those M--C--N nanocrystals on a large nanoscale for their intrinsic characteristics, which further limited their extensive application in different fields. In this minireview, we present an overview of those M--C--N nanostructures in terms of their synthetic methods, applications and relationship between structure and properties. In addition, this review will also provide some perspectives on the challenges and opportunities of those nanomaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at satisfying the requirement of laser three-dimensional imaging technology for miniaturization and large detection area streak tube, and also to resolve the potential problems of using spherical screen in existing streak tube, a mini streak tube with planar fluorescent screen was designed by using MATLAB software. After electronic trajectory tracking and image quality evaluation, the effective working diameter of the bellows cathode is 30 mm, the static limit spatial resolution of the edge is better than 42 lp/mm, the magnification is slightly greater than 1, the diameter of the tube is 50 mm, and the length is 126 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A transversely isotropic half space with surface effects subjected to axisymmetric loadings is investigated in terms of the Lekhnitskii formulism. Surface effects including residual surface stress and surface elasticity are introduced by using the Gurtin–Murdoch continuum model. With the aid of the Hankel transforms, solutions corresponding to several different axisymmetic loadings are derived and used to determine the influence of surface effects on contact stiffness in nanoindentations. Numerical results are provided to show the influence of surface effects and material anisotropy on the material behaviours. Meanwhile, the obtained analytical Green's functions for two special cases can be used as building blocks for further mixed boundary value problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Urothelial carcinoma associated 1 (UCA1), a novel long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) which is first discovered in 2006 in human bladder cancer and has become a hot spot in recent years. UCA1 has been demonstrated correlated with clinical outcomes in various cancers. However, the results from each study are insufficient and not completely consistent. Therefore, we perform a systematic meta-analysis to evaluate the value for a feasible biomarker for metastasis and prognosis of cancer. Methods: Relevant English literatures were searched in PubMed, Cochrane Library,Web of science, Embase databases and Chinese literatures were searched in Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure Wanfang from inception up to 17 April 2018. The pooled odds ratio (OR) and hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) using random/fixed-effect were used to identify the relationship between UCA1 and lymph node metastasis (LNM) or overall survival (OS) of cancer patients. Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were performed. The current meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 12.0 software. Results: A total of 3411 patients from 38 studies were finally included. Patients who with high UCA1 expression suffered from an increased risk of LNM (OR = 2.50; 95% CI: 1.93–3.25). UCA1 was also significantly associated with OS (HR = 2.05; 95% CI: 1.77–2.38). Subgroup analyses across several different variables also showed the similar results in LNM and OS of cancer patients. Conclusion: High expression of UCA1 was linked with poor clinical outcome. UCA1 can serve as a potential molecular marker for metastasis and prognosis in different types of cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A passive tactile sensor suitable for micro-fabrication is proposed. • Rigorous analytical model of tactile sensor and soft materials established. • The output model for the sensor is strictly linear. • Simulations and experiments are conducted to validate the sensor model. Abstract To rapidly determine the elastic modulus of soft materials, a novel passive tactile sensor with simple structure suitable to micro-fabrication is presented Although the sensor consisting of two elements of different stiffness is based on the conventional sensing principle, the compliant element is designed as a combination of a flexible spring and a rigid plate, instead of a bulk elastic body. This ensures the contact of the sensor and the measured object to be a four-part boundary value problem that can be analytically solved in an approximation sense. For a specific sensor, it is found that the elastic modulus can be completely determined by the spring stiffness and the force ratio between the total force acted on the sensor and the spring force. To validate the effectiveness of the sensor model, finite element analyses and experiments are conducted. The good agreement between the theoretical estimations, the finite element results and experimental values demonstrates the possibility and feasibility of integrating the miniature version of the sensor to the medical instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SenseWear Mini Armband, an accelerometer with multiple physiological sensors, could be a practical means to estimate energy expenditure (EE) of children and adolescents, but its validity reported for these age groups has not been consistent within the literature. EE of twenty-six healthy Chinese 12-year-old adolescents was measured simultaneously using both SenseWear Mini Armband (SWMA) and metabolic chamber (MC) during a 16-hour stay in a MC. SWMA systematically underestimated the adolescents' EE during sedentary behaviors, resting metabolic rate (RMR), basal metabolic rate (BMR), and total EE, with the absolute error rate ranging from 14.85% to 28.65%. The SWMA significantly underestimated EE compared with MC in Chinese adolescents. However, the amount of error can be reduced by applying correction equation proposed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the impact of the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) on overall survival (OS) and to explore the value of changes in the NLR and PLR with treatment as a response indicator. Methods: A total of 934 patients were eligible for retrospective analysis between 2008 and 2014. The pretreatment and post-treatment PLR and NLR in all patients were calculated based on complete blood counts. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to determine the associations of the PLR and NLR with OS. Results: The pretreatment NLR and PLR were correlated with different disease status and response to chemotherapy. Patients with lower NLR and PLR had a significantly better complete response (CR) rate to chemotherapy versus those with a higher NLR and PLR (p<0.001). The NLR and PLR were sustained in patients who obtained a CR compared with moderate or poor response patients. The lower NLR of pretreatment was independently associated with a favourable prognosis in whole patients with lung cancer (HR: 0.69, 95% CI, 0.55-0.85, p<0.001). In the patients under control after chemotherapy, the NLR of post-chemotherapy had a greater impact on survival, and the low NLR level maintained during chemotherapy was identified a predictor for favourable survival. PLR was not an independent prognostic indicator in the whole cohort or any subgroups. Conclusion: Our results suggested that NLR was well-connected with outcomes and response to chemotherapy in patients with lung cancer. As a response indicator, NLR may predict benefit from chemotherapy and improve patient selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Brassica rapa oxidosqualene cyclase Bra032185 makes 60% astertarone A (1) and 20 minor triterpenes (0.1–11%). Mechanistic analysis indicates the absence of an enol intermediate to generate the 4S epimer of 1, unless workup involves saponification. Bra032185 and its closest Arabidopsis thaliana homologue diverged markedly in product profiles over a short evolutionary distance, while developing opposite C18 configurations. Active-site residue comparison of Bra032185 with friedelin and shionone synthases suggests convergent evolution to 3-ketotriterpenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lysine succinylation is a newly discovered posttranslational modification with distinctive physical properties. However, to date rarely have studies reported effectors capable of interpreting this modification on histones. Following our previous study of SIRT5 as an eraser of succinyl-lysine (Ksuc), here we identified the GAS41 YEATS domain as a reader of Ksuc on histones. Biochemical studies showed that the GAS41 YEATS domain presents significant binding affinity toward H3K122suc upon a protonated histidine residue. Furthermore, cellular studies showed that GAS41 had prominent interaction with H3K122suc on histones and also demonstrated the coenrichment of GAS41 and H3K122suc on the p21 promoter. To investigate the binding mechanism, we solved the crystal structure of the YEATS domain of Yaf9, the GAS41 homolog, in complex with an H3K122suc peptide that demonstrated the presence of a salt bridge formed when a protonated histidine residue (His39) recognizes the carboxyl terminal of the succinyl group. We also solved the apo structure of GAS41 YEATS domain, in which the conserved His43 residue superimposes well with His39 in the Yaf9 structure. Our findings identified a reader of succinyl-lysine, and the binding mechanism will provide insight into the development of specific regulators targeting GAS41. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most segmented negative-sense RNA viruses employ a process termed cap snatching, during which they snatch capped RNA leaders from host cellular mRNAs and use the snatched leaders as primers for transcription, leading to the synthesis of viral mRNAs with 5= heterogeneous sequences (HSs). With traditional methods, only a few HSs can be determined, and identification of their donors is difficult. Here, the mRNA 5= ends of Rice stripe tenuivirus (RSV) and Rice grassy stunt tenuivirus (RGSV) and those of their host rice were determined by high-throughput sequencing. Millions of tenuiviral HSs were obtained, and a large number of them mapped to the 5= ends of corresponding host cellular mRNAs. Repeats of the dinucleotide AC, which are complementary to the U1G2 of the tenuiviral template 3=-U1G2U3G4UU UCG, were found to be prevalent at the 3= termini of tenuiviral HSs. Most of these ACs did not match host cellular mRNAs, supporting the idea that tenuiviruses use the prime-and-realign mechanism during cap snatching. We previously reported a greater tendency of RSV than RGSV to use the prime-and-realign mechanism in transcription with leaders cap snatched from a coinfecting reovirus. Besides confirming this observation in natural tenuiviral infections, the data here additionally reveal that RSV has a greater tendency to use this mechanism in transcribing genomic than in transcribing antigenomic templates. The data also suggest that tenuiviruses cap snatch host cellular mRNAs from translation- and photosynthesis-related genes, and capped RNA leaders snatched by tenuiviruses base pair with U1/U3 or G2/G4 of viral templates. These results provide unprecedented insights into the cap-snatching process of tenuiviruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planar partial-slip contact problem of a rigid indenter with flat end and an orthotropic elastic material is analytically and numerically investigated. In the analytical way, the coupled singular equations of this problem are reduced to a Fredholm integral equation with a regular kernel. The analytical solutions are derived in the forms of the Goodman’s and Spence’s approximations. In the numerical way, a linear complementarity formulation is developed by reformulating the governing equations are as coupled Volterra integral equations. And, a Newton-based optimization algorithm based on smoothing approximation is used to solve the problem. The validness of both the Goodman and Spence approximate solutions is verified by comparing with the numerical results for different orthotropic elastic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-linked inhibitors of apoptosis (XIAP) and second mitochondria-derived activator of caspase (Smac) have been widely reported to serve roles in the development of cervical carcinoma. The present study analyzed the associations between the expression levels of XIAP and Smac in normal cervical epithelium, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical carcinoma. Immunohistochemistry staining of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections was performed in order to analyze the expression levels of XIAP and Smac in 15 cases of normal cervical tissues, 69 cases of CIN and 76 cases of cervical carcinoma. All the tissue samples were confirmed by pathological diagnosis. The association of XIAP and Smac expression levels was analyzed using one-way analysis of variance, Á² tests and Spearman's ρ for the nonparametric bi-variant correlation analysis. Overall survival was determined using the log-rank test and Kaplan-Meier survival curves. The expression level of XIAP was increased in CIN and cervical carcinoma tissues compared with normal cervical tissues, whereas Smac demonstrated a converse expression pattern to XIAP in these tissues. The positive staining level of XIAP protein was increased in grade 3 CIN compared with that in grade 1-2 CIN, and was significantly higher in the less-differentiated tissue of cervical carcinoma compared with the well- or medium-differentiated tissues (P<0.05). The staining level was also significantly increased in cervical carcinoma with stage 2b-3 compared with tissues from stage 1-2a carcinoma (P<0.05). The expression levels of Smac were in opposition to these results. XIAP was associated with pelvic lymph node metastasis, whereas no association was identified with Smac expression. The expression level of XIAP was significantly and negatively associated with cell survival time in cervical carcinoma, whereas the expression level of Smac was significantly and positively associated with cell survival time in cervical carcinoma. Therefore, XIAP and Smac may participate in the development of cervical cancer. The expression levels of XIAP and Smac were significantly and inversely associated. This may be useful in early diagnosis, evaluation of surgery and chemotherapy and the prognosis of cervical carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of heat stress on heat shock protein (HSP) 70 expression and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and protein kinase (PK) B signalling during prostaglandin F (PGF)-induced luteal regression. During pseudopregnancy, rats were exposed to heat stress (HS, 40°C, 2 h) for 7 days and treated with PGF or physiological saline on Day 7; serum and ovaries were collected 0, 1, 2, 8 or 24 h after PGF treatment. The early inhibitory effect of PGF on progesterone was reduced in HS rats. HSP70 expression in response to PGF was significantly enhanced in HS rats. PGF-induced phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 was significantly greater in the HS group; however, HS rats exhibited elevated basal levels of phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, but not ERK1/2. PGF treatment increased expression of activating transcription factor (ATF) 3 at 2 h, which was inhibited by heat stress. Evaluating PKB signalling revealed that phosphorylation of p-Akt (Thr308 and Ser473) was reduced at 8 and 24 h after PGF treatment in both non-heat stress (NHS) and HS groups, but there were no significant differences between the HS and NHS groups at any of the time points. In conclusion, the present study provides further evidence that heat stress may enhance HSP70 and affect ERK1/2 and ATF3 expression, but not Akt activation, during PGF-induced luteal regression in pseudopregnant rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an eighth order combined compact finite difference scheme was presented. Through Fourier analysis and numerical tests, one can find that the scheme has spectral-like resolution, and proved to be an ideal class of schemes for the calculation of high order derivatives calculation of electrostatic field in image tube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolomics profiling provides comprehensive picture of the chemical composition in teas therefore may be used to assess tea quality objectively and reliably. In the present experiment, water and methanol extracts of green teas from China were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC–Q-TOF/MS) with the objectives to establish a model for quality prediction and to identify potential marker metabolites. The blindly evaluated sensory score of green teas was predicted with excellent power (R 2 = 0.87 and Q 2 = 0.82) and accuracy (RMSEP = 1.36) by a partial least-squares (PLS) regression model based on water extract. By contrast, methanol extract failed to reasonably predict the sensory scores. The levels in water extract of neotheaflavin, neotheaflavin 3-O-gallate, trigalloyl-β- d -glucopyranose, myricetin 3,3′-digalactoside, catechin-(4α → 8)-epigallocatechin and kaempferol were significantly larger whereas those of theogallin and gallocatechin were less in the low (score < 87) than in the high score (⩾90) group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In this era of oxaliplatin-based adjuvant therapy, the optimal sequence in which chemoradiotherapy should be administered for pathological stage N2 rectal cancer is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate this sequence.Methods: In the primary adjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (A-CRT) group (n = 71), postoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy was administered before adjuvant chemotherapy. In the primary adjuvant chemotherapy (A-CT) group (n = 43), postoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy was administered during or after adjuvant chemotherapy. Postoperative radiotherapy comprised 45-50.4 Gy in 25-28 fractions. Concurrent chemotherapy comprised two cycles of oral capecitabine (1,600 mg/m2) on days 1-14 and 22-35. Patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy with four or more cycles of XELOX (oxaliplatin plus capecitabine) or eight or more cycles of FOLFOX (fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin) were included.Results: Between June 2005 and December 2013, data for 114 qualified rectal cancer patients were analyzed. The percentages of patients in whom treatment failed in the A-CRT and A-CT groups were 33.8% and 16.3%, respectively (p = 0.042). More patients had distant metastases in the A-CRT group than in the A-CT group (32.4% vs. 14.3%, p = 0.028). Multivariate analysis indicated that the sequence in which chemoradiotherapy was administered (A-CT vs. A-CRT) was an independent prognostic factor for both estimated disease-free survival [hazard ratio (HR) 0.345, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.137-0.868, p = 0.024] and estimated distant metastasis-free survival (HR 0.366, 95% CI 0.143-0.938, p = 0.036).Conclusions: In pathological stage N2 rectal cancer patients, administering adjuvant chemotherapy before chemoradiotherapy led to a lower rate of treatment failure, especially with respect to distant metastasis. Adjuvant chemotherapy prescribed as early as possible might benefit this cohort of patients in this era of oxaliplatin-based adjuvant therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-translational modifications (PTMs) regulate numerous proteins and are important for many biological processes. Lysine 4-oxononanoyIation (4- ONylation) is a newly discovered histone PTM that prevents nucleosome assembly under oxidative stress. Whether there are cellular enzymes that remove 4-ONyl from histones remains unknown, which hampers the further investigation of the cellular function of this PTM. Here, we report that mammalian SIRT2 can remove 4- ONyl from histones and other proteins in live cells. A crystal structure of SIRT2 in complex with a 4-ONyl peptide reveals a lone pair--π interaction between Phel 19 and the ketone oxygen of the 4-ONyl group. This is the first time that a mechanism to reverse 4-ONyl lysine modification is reported and will help to understand the role of SIRT2 in oxidative stress responses and the function of 4-ONylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in plant growth and development. MiRNAs and their targets have been widely studied in model plants, but limited knowledge is available concerning this small RNA population and their targets in sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.). Results: In this study, a total of 145 known miRNAs belonging to 47 families and 78 novel miRNAs were identified during seed germination using high-throughput small RNA sequencing. Furthermore, some miRNA families which have not yet been reported in monocot or eudicot species were detected in N. nucifera, indicating that these miRNAs was divergence from monocots and core eudicots during evolution. Using degradome sequencing, 2580 targets were detected for all the miRNAs. GO (Gene Ontology) and KEGG pathway analyses showed that many target genes enriched in "regulation of transcription" and involved in "carbohydrate", "amino acid and energy metabolism". Nine miRNAs and three corresponding targets of them were further validated by quantitative RT-PCR. Conclusions: The results present here suggested that many miRNAs were involved in the regulation of seed germination of sacred lotus, providing a foundation for future studies of sacred lotus seed longevity. Comparative analysis of miRNAs from different plants also provided insight into the evolutionary gains and losses of miRNAs in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Unstructured data present in electronic health records (EHR) are a rich source of medical information; however, their abstraction is labor intensive. Automated EHR phenotyping (AEP) can reduce the need for manual chart review. We present an AEP model that is designed to automatically identify patients diagnosed with epilepsy. Methods: The ground truth for model training and evaluation was captured from a combination of structured questionnaires filled out by physicians for a subset of patients and manual chart review using customized software. Modeling features included indicators of the presence of keywords and phrases in unstructured clinical notes, prescriptions for antiseizure medications (ASMs), International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes for seizures and epilepsy, number of ASMs and epilepsy‐related ICD codes, age, and sex. Data were randomly divided into training (70%) and hold‐out testing (30%) sets, with distinct patients in each set. We trained regularized logistic regression and an extreme gradient boosting models. Model performance was measured using area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC) and area under the precision–recall curve (AUPRC), with 95% confidence intervals (CI) estimated via bootstrapping. Results: Our study cohort included 3903 adults drawn from outpatient departments of nine hospitals between February 2015 and June 2022 (mean age = 47 ± 18 years, 57% women, 82% White, 84% non‐Hispanic, 70% with epilepsy). The final models included 285 features, including 246 keywords and phrases captured from 8415 encounters. Both models achieved AUROC and AUPRC of 1 (95% CI =.99–1.00) in the hold‐out testing set. Significance: A machine learning‐based AEP approach accurately identifies patients with epilepsy from notes, ICD codes, and ASMs. This model can enable large‐scale epilepsy research using EHR databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the pathogenicity of Eimeria stiedai, sporulated oocysts were given orally to coccidian-free two-month-old New Zealand rabbits(1000 ± 20 g). After 30 days, blood samples from the rabbit hearts were collected for routine blood tests, liver functions and four characteristics of blood coagulation. Additionally, specimens of the liver, bile duct and duodenum were collected to observe the changes in pathology and ultrastructure. E. stiedai severely restricted the growth and development of rabbits. Blood tests showed that glutamine transferase (GGT) and serum cholinesterase (ChE) were significantly different from the non-infected controls. Other extremely significant differences were observed in the biochemical indices of routine blood tests, liver function and four blood coagulation characteristics, indicating that the liver functions were significantly affected. Staining showed that, compared with the negative control group, the liver, bile duct and duodenum contained significant numbers of lesions, and organs and cell structures suffered severe damage in ultrastructure, which greatly affecting bodily functions. E. stiedai -infected rabbits model was successfully established, which might provide a theoretical basis for research on the pathogenesis of rabbit coccidia, and the diagnosis and prevention of coccidiosis in rabbits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A solid-phase extraction (SPE) cleanup method was developed to purify the sample extracts for the analysis of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs). Monodisperse magnesium oxide (MgO) microspheres and basic alumina were used as SPE adsorbents. Important parameters of the SPE procedure were optimized, including the amount of basic alumina and the type and volume of the washing and elution solvents. The optimized SPE cleanup method exhibited excellent purification performance for the removal of organochlorinated compounds, lipid compounds, sulfur, and pigments. Additionally, it was found that the retention activities of congeners differed with the number and position of the chlorine substituents in PCNs. In this study, an analytical method based on a combination of accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) coupled with SPE cleanup and gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) is proposed for the analysis of PCNs and dl-PCBs in complex samples (sediment, pine needle, and scallop samples). The analytical method demonstrates good linearity, acceptable recovery (63-148%) and precision (relative standard deviations less than 26%). The limits of detection (LODs) of PCN and dl-PCB congeners were in the range of 0.6-19.1 pg g-1 and 0.4-8.6 pg g-1, respectively. The PCNs and dl-PCBs levels in these samples ranged from 0.16 to 3.07 ng g-1 dry weight (dw) and from undetectable to 0.07 ng g-1 dw, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) and dual polarization interferometry (DPI) were used to investigate fibrinogen (Fib) adsorption behavior on different surfaces by changing the pH value. Moreover, integrin adhesion to the adsorbed Fibs was studied using DPI. Qualitative and quantitative studies of platelet adhesion to the adsorbed Fibs were performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), and released lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay. Experimental results indicated that the conformation and orientation of the absorbed Fibs depended on surface property and pH cycling. For the hydrophilic surface, Fibs adsorbed at pH 7.4 and presented a αC-hidden orientation. As a result, no integrin adhesion was observed, and a small number of platelets were adhered because the αC-domains were hidden under the Fib molecule. By changing the rinsing solution pH from 7.4 to 3.2 and then back to 7.4, the adsorbed Fib orientation became αC-exposed via the transformation of Fib conformation during pH cycling. Therefore, integrin adhesion was more likely to occur, and more platelets were adhered and activated. For the hydrophobic surface, the adsorbed Fibs became more spread and stretched due to the strong interaction between the Fibs and surface. αC-exposed orientation remained unchanged when the rinsing solution pH changed from 7.4 to 3.2 and then back to 7.4. Therefore, a large number of integrins and platelets were adhered to the adsorbed Fibs, and almost all of the adhered platelets were activated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]