Search

Recently, blue-emitting phosphors have attracted great interest due to their application in full-spectrum white light illumination.

Recently, blue-emitting phosphors have attracted great interest due to their application in full-spectrum white light illumination. In this paper, a novel blue-emitting MgAl

Background: Abnormal genome-wide methylation during embryogenesis is associated with neural tube defects (NTDs) at birth. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) may be promising biomarkers for nervous system-related diseases. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the role of lncRNAs with aberrant methylation in the pathogenesis of NTDs.Methods: Pregnant mice were given retinoic acid (dissolved in corn oil, 50 mg/kg) to build the NTDs model by gavage. After collecting brain tissues, reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) and lncRNAs sequencing were conducted. Differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) and mRNAs (DEGs) between NTDs and control group were screened, and then integrated with RRBS data to obtain genes with aberrant methylation, followed by functional enrichment analysis. Subsequently, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network were constructed. Finally, qRT-PCR was applied to determine the expression levels of identified hub lncRNAs.Results: A total of 8 DElncRNAs as well as 213 DEGs with aberrant methylation between NTD group and normal group were screened. By bioinformatics analysis, several hub lncRNAs including Gm15521, Gm4681, Gm13974 and Gm40638, were identified. Function analysis showed these genes were mainly enriched in axon guidance pathway. The qRT-PCR assay revealed that the expression level of Gm15521, Gm4681 and Gm13974 in the NTDs group was significantly lower than those in the control group.Conclusion: The study screened DElncRNAs with aberrant methylation in the NTDs and the identified genes could be potential biomarkers for prenatal diagnosis of NTDs. These findings will provide a reference for further study on the regulatory mechanism of non-coding RNAs in the NTDs.

The paper investigated the effects of Allicin on the changes of activities of PPARα and PPARγ signaling pathways, and the relations with the subsequent myocardial cell hypertrophy, apoptosis, myocardial interstitial remodeling, RAAS activation and heart failure. The heart obtained from the 1-day-old Wistar suckling rats was isolated and cultured in an ordinary medium. After adding AngII and AngII+ of different concentrations respectively, the conditions of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, apoptosis and interstitial remodeling were observed. AngII activated the re-expression of β-MHC in cardiomyocytes, which increased the area of cardiomyocytes, indicating that myocardial hypertrophy had occurred, and the model of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy was successfully established. Compared with the control group, after being treated with different concentrations of Allicin for 24 h, the AngII-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy was significantly reversed, α-MHC expression increased, β-MHC expression decreased, and α/β-MHC ratio obviously increased. Allicin inhibited AngII-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis, decreased Fas/FasL protein expression, increased Bcl-2 protein expression, and decreased Bax protein expression. The Bcl-2/Bax ratio increased significantly. PPARα and PPARγ signaling pathways are involved in the inhibition of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Allicin-activated PPARα and PPARγ pathways can reverse cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, inhibit cardiomyocyte apoptosis, and alter expressions of Bcl-2/Bax and Fas/Fas-L in apoptosis-related gene.

Mullite–cordierite ceramic saggar is a necessary consumable material used in the synthesis process of LiCoO2 that is easily eroded during application. In our study, we systematically investigated the characteristics and surface corrosion behavior of waste saggar samples. We divided the cross sections of waste saggar into the attached layer, hardened layer, permeability layer, and matrix layer. Then, we examined the high-temperature solid-state reactions between saggar powder and lithium carbonate or cobalt oxide to identify erosion reactants correlating with an increase in the number of recycled saggars. The results of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometric analysis (TOF-SIMS) prove that the maximum erosion penetration of lithium can reach 2 mm. However, our morphology and elemental distribution analysis results show that the erosion penetration of cobalt was only 200 μm. When enough lithium carbonate reacted, lithium aluminate and lithium silicate were the main phases. Our X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT) analysis results show that the change in phase volume before and after the reaction, including the generation of oxygen and carbon dioxide gas, led to the internal crack expansion of the material–saggar interface. Our results can contribute to improving saggar and upgrading waste saggar utilization technology.

Background: Currently, there is no validated multivariate model to predict probability of coronary artery spasm (CAS) in patients with acute chest pain. Methods: A total of 976 consecutive patients with acute chest pain were enrolled. Patients were divided into two groups based on the presence of significant CAS. To adjust potential confounders, a multivariable analysis was performed and a clinical diagnostic score system for CAS was utilized for score derivation. Results: Multivariable analysis model selected 6 predictors for CAS. The integer score was assigned to each predictors: angina at rest alone (10 points), positive of hyperventilation test (8 points), allergies (3 points), asthma, ST-segment elevation and myocardial bridge (2 points each). We showed that the clinical diagnostic score system had accuracy in predicting CAS, as measured by the area under the curve (AUC), which was 0.952–0.966. The cut-off baseline value for the clinical diagnostic score system was set to 11–12 points with specificity of 91.0–93.3% and sensitivity of 90.7–92.9%, respectively. Conclusion: A clinical diagnostic score system was derived and validated as an accurate tool for estimating the pretest probability of CAS in patients with acute chest pain. Keywords: Acute chest pain, Coronary artery spasm, Clinical diagnostic score system

Background Heart failure (HF) is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity. The PARACHUTE device is designed to partition for left ventricular (LV) apical aneurysm post extensive anterior myocardial infarction (MI). However, the long-term prognosis of the PARACHUTE device post-implantation is unclear. Methods From November 2015 to April 2017, six subjects with New York Heart Association Classes II, III and IV ischemic HF, LV ejection fraction between (LVEF) 15 and 40%; and LV anterior apical aneurysm were enrolled in our center. The cumulative event rates for MI, hospitalization, and mortality were documented. Further assessment of LVEF, LV end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD), and estimated pulmonary artery pressure were determined by echocardiography core laboratory. For quantitative data comparison, paired t-test was employed. Results Device implantation was successful in all six enrolled subjects, and acute device association adverse events were not observed. At 4.6 ± 1.7 years follow-up, major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) were found in 50% patients, and the survival rate was 86.7%. We observed that the LVEF was significantly elevated after deployment (46.00 ± 6.00% vs. 35.83 ± 1.47%, P = 0.009). Besides, the LVEDD elevated after MI (51.17 ± 3.71 vs. 62.83 ± 3.25, P Conclusion The PARACHUTE device is an alternative therapy for patients with severe LV maladaptive remodeling. However, the device seems to increase the HF ratio. Trial registration NCT02240940

Purpose To compare the clinical outcomes after thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) with a bare stent to those after TEVAR alone in patients with complicated acute type B aortic dissection (cATBAD). Materials and Methods A prospective, randomized trial was conducted at 2 medical centers in China between 2010 and 2013. Patients with cATBAD were randomly assigned to receive TEVAR with a bare stent (n=42) or TEVAR only (n=42). Patients were scheduled to undergo computed tomography angiography at 3, 6, and 12 months and then annually to 5 years. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality at 5 years; secondary outcomes were a composite of complications (endoleak, stent-graft–induced new entry, aortic rupture, and secondary intervention) and aortic remodeling at 1 and 5 years. Results All-cause death occurred in 1 (2.4%) patient in the TEVAR with bare stent group (lung cancer) and 5 patients (11.9%) in the TEVAR group (4 aorta-related) during the 5-year follow-up (log-rank p=0.025). The 1- and 5-year rates of complications and secondary interventions did not differ between the groups. Patients in the TEVAR with bare stent group had higher increases in the thoracic true lumen diameter (19.7±3.6 vs 17.0±6.2 mm, p=0.018) and abdominal true lumen diameter (13.7±4.8 vs 7.2±6.1 mm, pConclusion The addition of a distal bare stent to a thoracic stent-graft during TEVAR was associated with significantly improved long-term survival in cATBAD patients vs TEVAR only, likely due to the prevention of true lumen collapse and improvement of complete false lumen thrombosis of the dissected aorta.

Natural gas load forecasting is very crucial for effective accurate function of pipeline networks. To ensure a balanced network operation and provide confident gas supply with minimum cost, precise forecasting is necessary. In this study, the Support Vector Machines (SVM) is employed to propose a new load forecasting method. To improve the prediction capability, facilitate the hardware implementation, and provide a straightforward interpretability, the sigmoid kernel in SVM is combined with the fuzzy logic approach. Moreover, the Genetic Algorithms (GA) approach is employed to calculate the optimal values of the SVM parameters. A data set containing two years load values is applied to the SVM based prediction model to predict the corresponding values for the next 31days. According to the short-term load predicted values for the city natural gas, the proposed SVM with fuzzy sigmoid kernel gives superior prediction capability compared with the neural network. Moreover, the average CPU execution time is considerably decreased in favor of hardware implementation for load forecasting.

There is no clear consensus on the potential efficacy and indications for sympathectomy to prevent recurrence of vasospasm in patients with refractory coronary artery spasm (CAS).To compare the clinical outcomes of sympathectomy with those of conventional treatment in patients with refractory CAS.Patients with refractory CAS were randomly assigned to sympathectomy group (n = 37) or conventional treatment group (n = 42). The primary end point was a composite of major adverse cardiac event (MACE) episodes (including cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, unstable angina, heart failure, and life-threatening arrhythmia), and the secondary end point was death from any cause within 24 months after randomization.During the follow-up period of 24 months, the incidence of MACE in the sympathectomy and conventional treatment groups was 16.22 and 61.90%, respectively (P = 0.0001). All-cause death as the secondary end point occurred in zero and six (14.29%) patients, respectively (P = 0.0272). The Kaplan-Meier curve for MACE and all-cause death showed a significant between-group difference (log-rank test, P = 0.0013 and 0.0176, respectively).Compared with conventional treatment, sympathectomy significantly reduced the composite end point of MACE episodes and death from any cause in patients with refractory CAS by effectively preventing recurrence of vasospasm.

BACKGROUND We aimed to explore how chemokine-like receptor 1 (CMKLR1) influences the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). MATERIAL AND METHODS Normal VSMCs, negative control VSMCs interfered by CMKLR1 gene, and VSMCs with stable knockdown of CMKLR1 gene were divided into the control group, PDGF group, negative-shRNA group, and CMKLR1-shRNA group. Both cell number counting and BrdU incorporation assays were employed to investigate the proliferation status of VSMCs. Transwell migration assay was used to measure the migration status of VSMCs. Inflammation markers, including cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, and chemokines MCP-1 in VSMCs, were detected by real-time quantitative RT-PCR. Western blotting assay was used to detect protein expressions of the MAPK pathway in VSMCs. RESULTS The number of VSMCs and the OD value of BrdU in PDGF group were significantly higher than those in the control group (both P

To assess the relationship between visit-to-visit blood pressure (BP) variability (BPV) and vascular endothelial function in a cohort of elderly hypertensive patients.A total of 174 elderly patients with essential hypertension were included in the study. The participants had their office BP measured during the 12-month follow-up. Right brachial artery diameter was assessed at rest, during reactive hyperemia (flow-mediated dilation, FMD), and after nitroglycerin administration (nitroglycerin-mediated dilation, NMD). The participants were divided into two groups according to FMD% or FMD/NMD ratio. The correlations between BPV and endothelial function were analyzed by univariate analysis and multiple linear regression analysis.The participants classified as having a decreased endothelial function according to FMD/NMD ratio had significantly lower FMD% and higher BPV and NMD% (P0.05). The percentage of CCBs use in normal endothelial function group was significantly higher than that in decreased endothelial function group (79.55% vs 63.95%, P0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed a significant negative association between FMD/NMD ratio and BPV, and this association remained significant after adjustment for age, body mass index, and mean BP levels.FMD/NMD ratio is a better marker of endothelial function than FMD, and an increased visit-to-visit variability of BP is associated with a decreased endothelial function.

Applying the principle in which new information should be used fully and modeling method of grey system for the problem of lower precision as well as lower adaptability in non-equidistant multivariable MGM(1,n)model, a non-equidistant multivariable new information MGM(1,n) model was put forward which was taken the mth component as the initialization. As the background value is an important factor affecting the precision of grey system model, based on index characteristic of grey model, the characteristic of integral and new information principle, the new information background value in non-equidistant multivariable new information MGM(1,n) was researched and the discrete function with non-homogeneous exponential law was used to fit the accumulated sequence and the formula of new information background value was given. This new non-equidistant multivariable MGM(1,n) model can be used in equidistance & non-equidistance modeling and has the characteristic of high precision as well as high adaptability. Examples validate the practicability and reliability of the proposed mode l . DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/telkomnika.v12i6.4822

Based on the exponential trait of grey model and the definition of integral, reconstructing of GM(1, 1) model, a kind of non-equidistant optimum new information grey model GM(1, 1) with optimizing the parameter of the background value function and modifying nth component as the initial value of response solution to line-drawing data processing in computer aided design was proposed, the method of precision inspection was introduced. Then, using quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (QPSO), constructing dynamic penalty function, the programming was authorized with MATLAB7.6 language. An example was given, the results were compared with the results based other grey models, respectively. The method can be used for model establishing on equal interval, as well as on noninterval. Moreover, GM(1,1) model's fitting precision and prediction is advanced and the scope of application is enlarged. The model is simple and practical, and has a generalizing value in the field of CAD.

Based on grey system theory, a new kind of nonequidistant optimum grey model GM(1,1) with optimizing modified the first components taken as initial value of response function of grey differential equation and reconstructing the background value function to obtain the approximately expressions of parameters of the background value function was proposed, the method of precision inspection was introduced. On the basis of GuoTao algorithm, an elite multi-parent crossover evolutionary optimization algorithm was proposed by introducing the elite-preservation strategy and constructing dynamic penalty function, the elite multi-parent crossover evolutionary optimization algorithm (EMPCOA) program EMPCOA1.0 was developed with Matlab. The example was given. The method can be used for model establishing on equal interval, as well as on non-interval. Moreover, GM(1,1) model's fitting precision and prediction is advanced and the scope of application is enlarged. The model is simple and practical, and has a generalizing value in metal cutting data process.

Covering a vast territory, the Chinese economy shows considerable diversity across different regions. Following the central Chinese government’s implementation of its ‘economic reform and open door’ policy, the South Coast and East Coast regions of China have experienced more development than the central and western regions. In 2002, the eastern, central and western regions of China showed per capita GDP of 13,335 yuan, 6,978 yuan and 5,388 yuan, respectively. By contrast, Shanghai’s per capita GDP is the highest in China, at 33,285 yuan — 10 times the level of the lowest-income region in China, Guizhou. The disparities between the regional economies of China are not only illustrated by the different levels of economic development, but are also reflected in differences in natural resources, industrial structure, human resources, and so on. With regard to natural resource distribution, coal, oil, natural gas, metal ore and agricultural resources are mainly distributed throughout the central and western regions of China, while the resources of the sea are obviously concentrated in the coastal areas, which are also dominated by a number of manufacturing industries. This has produced a particular spatial linkage in the Chinese economy: coal, oil, natural gas, metal ore and agricultural resources flow from the central and western regions to the coastal region, while manufactured products flow from the coastal region to the central and western regions. This will focus on the linkage between the regions in China at the beginning of the twenty-first century, and will use an Input-Output analysis to carry this out.

Objectives Angiogenic gene therapy and cell-based therapy for peripheral arterial disease (PAD) have been studied intensively currently. This study aimed to investigate a new strategy whether combining mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transplantation with ex vivo human hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) gene transfer was more therapeutically efficient than the MSCs therapy alone in a rat model of hindlimb ischaemia. Methods One-week after establishing hindlimb ischaemia models, Sprague-Dawley rats were randomised to receive HGF gene-modified MSCs transplantation (HGF-MSC group), untreated MSCs transplantation (MSC group), or PBS injection (PBS group), respectively. Results Three-weeks after injection, angiogenesis was significantly induced by both MSCs and HGF-MSCs transplantation, and capillary density was the highest in the HGF-MSC group. The number of transplanted cell-derived endothelial cells was greater in HGF-MSC group than in MSC group after 1 week treatment. The expression of angiogenic cytokines such as HGF and VEGF in local ischaemic muscles was more abundant in HGF-MSC group than in the other two groups. In vitro, the conditioned media obtained from HGF-MSCs cultures presented proproliferative and promigratory effects on endothelial cells. Conclusions HGF gene-modified MSCs transplantation therapy may induce more potent angiogenesis than the MSCs therapy alone. Engraftment of MSCs combined with angiogenic gene delivery maybe a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of severe PAD.