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Abstract Objective Given the high prevalence of hypertension among Chinese adults, this population is at a significantly increased risk of severe COVID-19 complications. The purpose of this study is to assess the willingness of Chinese hypertensive adults to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and to identify the diverse factors that shape their vaccination decisions. Methods Sampling was conducted utilizing multistage stratified random sampling, and ultimately, a total of 886 adult hypertensive patients from Luzhou City in Southwest China were included in this study. The questionnaire design was based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour and was used to investigate their willingness to be vaccinated with COVID-19. Structural equation modeling was employed for data analysis. Results The results showed that 75.6% of hypertensive individuals were willing to receive COVID-19 vaccination. The structural equation modeling revealed that Subjective Norms (path coefficient = 0.361, CR = 8.049, P

In this study, we propose a novel lightweight detection model for rebar counting, which is rectified mobilenet lightweight feature pyramid network based on YOLO (RM-LFPN-YOLO). The model incorporates a lightweight backbone network that integrates the coordinate attention (CA) mechanism, a lightweight feature pyramid network (LFPN), and a loss function that combines focal loss and efficient intersection over union (EIOU) loss, all meticulously designed to enhance the model’s performance. Experimental results demonstrate that our improved algorithm, with a mere 25.08M parameters, computes efficiently at 7.60G with an input size of 416 pixels. Additionally, it achieves an impressive average precision (AP) of 99.03% at an IOU of 0.5. The proposed lightweight model can be deployed on embedded devices and achieve efficient rebar detection and counting performance.

Abstract The poor efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR T) for solid tumors is due to insufficient CAR T cell tumor infiltration, in vivo expansion, persistence, and effector function, as well as exhaustion, intrinsic target antigen heterogeneity or antigen loss of target cancer cells, and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Here we describe a broadly applicable nongenetic approach that simultaneously addresses the multiple challenges of CAR T as a therapy for solid tumors. The approach reprograms CAR T cells by exposing them to stressed target cancer cells which have been exposed to the cell stress inducer disulfiram (DSF) and copper (Cu)(DSF/Cu) plus ionizing irradiation (IR). The reprogrammed CAR T cells acquire early memory-like characteristics, potent cytotoxicity, enhanced in vivo expansion, persistence, and decreased exhaustion. Tumors stressed by DSF/Cu and IR also reprogram and reverse the immunosuppressive TME in humanized mice. The reprogrammed CAR T cells, derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of healthy donors or metastatic female breast cancer patients, induce robust, sustained memory and curative anti-solid tumor responses in multiple xenograft mouse models, establishing proof of concept for empowering CAR T by stressing tumor as a promising therapy for solid tumors.

Abstract Background The trend in postoperative care for free flap patients is to deescalate from routine ICU admission into a specialty recovery unit. This study aims to investigate the predictive parameters in a routine perioperative clinical assessment that are expected to be directly correlated with prolonged ICU length of stay in at-risk patients who received oral reconstructive surgery for squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Methods All patients who underwent ablative surgery for OSCC with free flap reconstruction and were managed in the ICU were included in this study. The primary outcome was ICU-length of stay. Perioperative, operative and postoperative parameters were analyzed using single test ( t-test, ANOVA analysis, correlation coefficients, effect size) and multivariate regression test. The P-value was set as

The shape memory effect of Fe-Mn-Si based alloys could be significantly improved by thermo-mechanical treatments. In this work, the cast Fe-Mn-Si based alloy was hot forged, 20% cold rolled and solution treated, followed by annealing at 1073 K for different time on some specimens deformed by 10% at room temperature, and the effect of annealing time of thermo-mechanical treatments on the microstructures and shape memory effect of the Fe-Mn-Si based alloy was studied with the help of backscattered electron microanalysis (EBSD), RGM-4300 universal testing machine, differential four-terminal resistance method and bending method.Results show that the recovery strain of the solution-treated Fe-Mn-Si based alloy is 4.1%; when the annealing time of thermo-mechanical treatment is 10 min, the recovery strain is remarkably improved to 5.3%; As the annealing time of thermo-mechanical treatment is further prolonged, the recovery strain decreases; when the annealing time of thermo-mechanical treatments is 180 min, the recovery strain decreases to 4.9%. As the annealing time of thermo-mechanical treatments prolongs, the fraction of annealing twins increases, while the density of stacking faults decreases, which leads to the ability of facilitating stress-induced ε martensitic transformation and suppressing plastic glide weakening. This is the main reason why the recovery strain of the Fe-Mn-Si based alloy decreases with the annealing time of thermo-mechanical treatments prolonging.

Pedestrian detection has received considerable attention over the last few years because it can be combined with pedestrian tracking and re-identification in areas such as vehicle-assisted driving and intelligent video surveillance. Although existing pedestrian detection techniques have achieved excellent results, problems such as domain gaps lead to poor generalization performance in these techniques, thereby limiting its application and practical value. This study proposed a high-quality integration domain framework for pedestrian recognition. First, the source domains are produced as super-resolution training data. The HCycleGAN model uses super-resolution algorithms and a generative framework to generate high-quality intermediate domains. Second, a multi-source domain fusion scheme based on the NPIQE module is proposed to improve the generated framework’s quality and reduce overfitting of the dataset. It fuses images in three aspects: similarity, blurriness and unsupervised image quality score values. Finally, we use an anchor-free center and scale prediction model for pedestrian detection. The experimental dataset contained two common pedestrian detection datasets, Caltech and CityPersons. Cross-domain experimental results show that the framework can reduce cross-domain detection miss rate from CityPersons to Caltech by 6.3% and from Caltech to CityPersons by 4.4%. The training of CityPersons in Caltech achieves almost the same detection accuracy as that of the Caltech original domain. In conclusion, the framework presented in this study is effective for cross-domain pedestrian detection and can provide ideas and inspiration for future practical applications.

The fusion of camera and lidar plays an important role in the field of robotic perception. The accurate external parameter calibration is a necessary prerequisite for sensor fusion. Herein, an auxiliary calibration device with distinctive geometric features was designed to address the problems of low accuracy and poor robustness associated with external parameter calibrations of camera and lidar. Moreover, a coarse-to-fine two-stage calibration method was proposed for the external parameters of the camera and lidar. The first stage of the method is the extraction of multiple groups of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) lines corresponding to the edge of the calibration device from the image and lidar point cloud that yields a unique initial estimation of the external parameters. In the second stage, the 2D–3D center point of the sphere of the calibration device was detected, and the initial external parameters were further optimized using a nonlinear optimization method. The proposed method provides two different features that add stability against noise to the calibration system. Both simulated and actual experiments show that the method can yield high-precision external parameters without an initial value. Compared to state-of-the-art methods, our method has advantages in terms of accuracy. the calibration system has a certain degree of noise resistance and stability under different laser noise and vertical resolution.

Abstract Background China has experienced a continuous decreasing trend in the incidence of hepatitis A in recent years. Temporal trend analyses are helpful in exploring the reasons for the changing trend. Thus, this study aims to analyse the incidence trend of viral hepatitis A by region and age group in mainland China from 2004 to 2017 to evaluate the effectiveness of prevention and control measures. Methods Data on hepatitis A and population information were collected and analysed with a joinpoint regression model. Annual percentage changes (APCs) and average annual percentage changes (AAPCs) were estimated for the whole country and for each region and age group. Results From 2004 to 2017, the seasonality and periodicity of hepatitis A case numbers were obvious before 2008 but gradually diminished from 2008 to 2011 and disappeared from 2012–2017. The national incidence of hepatitis A (AAPC = − 12.1%) and the incidence rates for regions and age groups showed decreasing trends, with differences in the joinpoints and segments. Regarding regions, the hepatitis A incidence in the western region was always the highest among all regions, while a nonsignificant rebound was observed in the northeastern region from 2011 to 2017 (APC = 14.2%). Regarding age groups, the hepatitis A incidence showed the fastest decrease among children (AAPC = − 15.3%) and the slowest decrease among elderly individuals (AAPC = − 6.6%). Among all segments, the hepatitis A incidence among children had the largest APC value in 2007–2017, at − 20.4%. Conclusion The national annual incidence of hepatitis A continually declined from 2004 to 2017 and the gaps in hepatitis A incidence rates across different regions and age groups were greatly narrowed. Comprehensive hepatitis A prevention and control strategies, including the use of routine vaccination during childhood in mainland China, especially the implementation of the national Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in 2008, resulted in substantial progress from 2004 to 2017. However, gaps remain. Regular monitoring and analysis of hepatitis A epidemic data and prompt adjustment of hepatitis A prevention and control strategies focusing on children, elderly individuals and those living in certain regions are recommended.

IntroductionThe health and economic benefits of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination targeted at men who have sex with men (MSM) in developing settings have been rarely assessed. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of different HPV vaccination strategies among MSM in China.MethodsA Markov model was developed to simulate HPV transmission dynamics among a total of 30.73 million MSM in China. The corresponding natural history included 6 states: susceptible, infected with low-risk subtypes, high-risk subtypes, anogenital warts and anal cancer, and deaths from anal cancer. MSM were divided into three age groups with cut-off points of 27 and 45 years. Alternative vaccination strategies were built by allocating bivalent, quadrivalent, nine-valent, or no vaccine to each of the groups. We generated the prevented infections and deaths by vaccination compared with baseline (no vaccination) and calculated incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) to determine the optimal strategy.ResultsThe model showed that in 10 years, at baseline, the existing cases of anogenital warts would reach 5,464,225 (IQR, 4,685,708-6,174,175); that of anal cancer would reach 1,922.95 (1,716.56-2,119.93), resulting in 940.55 (732.27-1,141.87) deaths. Under 50% vaccination coverage among one age group, the prevented cases of anogenital warts were maximized with quadrivalent vaccines allocated to MSM aged 27-45 years; that of anal cancer were maximized when offering nine-valent vaccines to the same group. Under 50% vaccination coverage among all groups, the lowest ICER (34,098.09 USD/QALY, 31,146.54-37,062.88) was reached when only quadrivalent vaccines were provided. Based on this strategy, when the annual vaccination rate increased by 30%, the ICER (33,521.75 USD/QALY, 31,040.73-36,013.92) would fall below three times China’s per capita GDP. When the vaccine price decreased by 60%, the ICER was reduced to 7,344.44 USD/QALY (4,392.89-10,309.23), indicating good cost-effectiveness taking China’s per capita GDP as a threshold.ConclusionsHPV vaccination can effectively reduce the prevalence and mortality of related diseases among MSM in China, especially quadrivalent vaccines for anogenital warts and nine-valent vaccines for anal cancer. MSM aged 27-45 years were the optimal group for vaccination. Annual vaccination and appropriate adjustment of vaccine price are necessary to further improve the cost-effectiveness.

With the continuous development and popularization of sensor-fusion technology for mobile robots, the application of camera and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) fusion perception has become particularly important. Moreover, the calibration of extrinsic parameters between the camera and LiDAR is a crucial prerequisite for fusion. Although traditional target-based calibration methods have been widely adopted, their cumbersome operation and high costs necessitate the development of more efficient and flexible calibration methods. To address this problem, this study proposed a two-stage calibration method based on motion and edge matching. In the first stage, the preliminary estimation of the extrinsic parameters between the camera and LiDAR was performed by matching visual odometry and LiDAR odometry using a hand–eye target method. In the second stage, the calibration results from the first stage were further refined by matching the image edges and discontinuous depth point clouds. The calibration system was then tested in both simulated and actual environments. The experimental results showed that this method, which did not require specially structured targets, could achieve highly flexible and robust automated calibration. Compared to other advanced methods, the accuracy of the proposed method was higher.

Abstract Cytarabine (Ara-C) is the first-line drug for the treatment of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). However, resistance eventually develops, decreasing the efficacy of Ara-C in AML patients. The expression of SAMHD1, a deoxynucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) triphosphohydrolase, has been reported to be elevated in Ara-C-resistant AML patients and to play a crucial role in mediating Ara-C resistance in AML. However, the mechanism by which SAMHD1 is upregulated in resistant AML remains unknown. In this study, NONO interacted with and stabilized SAMHD1 by inhibiting DCAF1-mediated ubiquitination/degradation of SAMHD1. Overexpression of NONO increased SAMHD1 expression and reduced the sensitivity of AML cells to Ara-C, and downregulation of NONO had the opposite effects. In addition, the DNA-damaging agents DDP and adriamycin (ADM) reduced NONO/SAMHD1 expression and sensitized AML cells to Ara-C. More importantly, NONO was upregulated in Ara-C-resistant AML cells, resulting in increased SAMHD1 expression in resistant AML cells, and DDP and ADM treatment resensitized resistant AML cells to Ara-C. This study revealed the mechanism by which SAMHD1 is upregulated in Ara-C-resistant AML cells and provided novel therapeutic strategies for Ara-C-resistant AML.

Cancer cells downregulate surface expression of major histocompatibility complex I (MHC-I) for immune evasion. Here, the authors show that rapid mitochondrial fission activates the ER-stress response leading to reduced MHC-I complex formation and cell surface expression in solid cancer cells; moreover inhibition of mitochondrial fission increases the immune-mediated anticancer response in murine models.

Study region: Eight main basins at eastern China. Study focus: This study proposes a comprehensive framework using Shannon’s entropy-weighting method for assessing satellite precipitation data from spatial and temporal perspectives. First, three new spatial evaluation metrics, the false monitoring score (FMS), spatial coverage approximation (SCA), and precipitation spatial difference index (PSDI), were introduced based on spatial distribution differences of daily precipitation. Then, the error and performance of the five satellite precipitation datasets over eastern China were analyzed. New hydrological insights for the region: The spatial metrics, SCA, PSDI, and fraction skill score (FSS), provide an effective quantitative evaluation of the daily spatial distribution of precipitation. CMADS and MSWEP appear to be superior at reproducing the spatial distribution of precipitation. Except for CHIRPS, all other four datasets have a tendency to underestimate precipitation measurements in the study area. According to the evaluation, the latest version of MSWEP may be a suitable alternative for use in water and climate research due to its relatively high accuracy in eastern China. The spatial error analysis method utilized in this study can be transferred to evaluating other gridded precipitation products. Meanwhile, the spatial error indices are also acceptable as optimization targets for future satellite precipitation data production.

BackgroundWith the increasing effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy and shifting demographics, the problem of older people with HIV or AIDS is increasingly grim in China, and neglecting infection among them may cause more serious social problems, exacerbate the difficulty of controlling HIV or AIDS transmission, and increase the risk of death. ObjectiveWe investigated the variations in the trends of Chinese mortality by age, period, and cohort, from 1990 to 2019, to reveal the relationship between age, period, cohort, and HIV burden, as well as providing guidance for resource allocation to prevent HIV-related deaths in vulnerable target populations. MethodsWe extracted the HIV or AIDS mortality data from the Global Burden of Disease. The joinpoint regression model was applied to detect changes in HIV or AIDS trends. The age-period-cohort model was used to explore the age, period, and cohort effects. ResultsThe trends in age-standardized mortality rates in HIV or AIDS were increased in both genders, from 0.50 to 4.54/105 individuals for males, and from 0.19 to 1.43/105 individuals for females. Joinpoint regression model showed the average annual percentage change of age-standardized mortality rates was 7.0 for male and 6.4 for female individuals, showing an increasing trend. The age effect of male HIV or AIDS mortality showed a net increase of 0.59 (–0.21 to 0.38) from the ages 50-79 years. There is a gradual upward trend in the change in risk of death from HIV or AIDS for the period effect among the older population, lowest at ages 50-54 years (–0.80 for male and –0.78 for female individuals) and highest at ages 75-79 years (0.86 for male and 0.69 for female individuals). The variation of cohort effects was complex, but both genders had a nearly consistent tendency; people born in 1920-1929 had the lowest cohort effect, and those born in 1950-1954 had the highest values. ConclusionsOur study showed a marked rise in HIV mortality for both genders in China from 1990 to 2019. Aging is an important issue in current HIV prevention and control. There is an urgent need to promote HIV testing and health education. Our findings will help predict future HIV or AIDS mortality changes and identify age-specific priority populations for intervention.

BackgroundHIV self-testing (HIVST) holds great promise for expanding HIV testing. Nonetheless, large-scale data on HIVST behavior are scant. Millions of HIVST kits are sold through e-commerce platforms each year. ObjectiveThis study aims to analyze the spatiotemporal distribution of the HIVST kit–purchasing population (HIVSTKPP) in China. MethodsDeidentified transaction data were retrieved from a leading e-commerce platform in China. A joinpoint regression model was used to examine annual trends of the HIVSTKPP rates by calculating average annual percentage change. Bayesian spatiotemporal analysis was performed to locate hot spots with HIVSTKPP rates. Spatial autocorrelation analysis and space-time cluster analysis were conducted to identify clusters of HIVSTKPP. High-high clusters of HIVSTKPP can be identified by spatial autocorrelation analysis, and high-high clusters indicate that a region and its surrounding region jointly had a higher-than-average HIVSTKPP rate. Spatial regression analysis was used to elucidate the association between the number of HIV testing facilities, urbanization ratio (the proportion of urban population in the total population), and gross domestic product per capita and the HIVSTKPP. ResultsBetween January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2019, a total of 2.18 million anonymous persons in China placed 4.15 million orders and purchased 4.51 million HIVST kits on the web. In each of these 4 years, the observed monthly size of the HIVSTKPP peaked in December, the month of World AIDS Day. HIVSTKPP rates per 100,000 population significantly increased from 20.62 in 2016 to 64.82 in 2019 (average annual percentage change=48.2%; P

Abstract Background Peroxiredoxins (PRDXs) are an antioxidant enzymes protein family involved in several biological functions such as differentiation, cell growth. In addition, previous studies report that PRDXs play critical roles in the occurrence and development of carcinomas. However, few studies have conducted systematic analysis of PRDXs in cancers. Therefore, the present study sought to explore the molecular characteristics and potential clinical significance of PRDX family members in pan cancer and further validate the function of PRDX6 in bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA). Methods A comprehensive analysis of PRDXs in 33 types of cancer was performed based on the TCGA database. This involved an analysis of mRNA expression profiles, genetic alterations, methylation, prognostic values, potential biological pathways and target drugs. Moreover, both the gain and loss of function strategies were used to assess the importance and mechanism of PRDX6 in the cell cycle of BLCA. Result Analysis showed abnormal expression of PRDX1-6 in several types of cancer compared to normal tissues. Univariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis showed that expression levels of PRDX1, PRDX4 and PRDX6 were mostly associated with poor survival of OS, DSS and PFI, and PRDX2 and PRDX3 with favorable survival. In addition, the expression of PRDX genes were positively correlated with CNV and negatively with methylation. Moreover, analysis based on PharmacoDB dataset showed that the augmented levels of PRDX1, PRDX3 and PRDX6 were significantly correlated with EGFR/VEGFR inhibitor drugs. Furthermore, knocking down of PRDX6 inhibited growth of cancer cells through the JAK2-STAT3 in bladder cell lines. Conclusions PRDXs are potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for several carcinomas, especially for BLCA. In addition, PRDX6 could regulate proliferation of cancer cell via JAK2-STAT3 pathway and involve into the process of cell cycle in BLCA.

Abstract. Objective:. Emetine, an isoquinoline alkaloid that is enriched at high concentrations in the lung, has shown potent in vitro activity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The aim of this study was to better understand the effectiveness of low-dose emetine for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods:. In this real-world study, 63 patients with mild or common COVID-19 were recruited from Wuhan Fangcang Shelter Hospital and five COVID-19-designated hospitals in Anhui Province, China from February to March 2020. Thirty-nine patients from Wuhan Fangcang Shelter Hospital were assigned to a pragmatic randomized controlled clinical trial, and 24 patients from the 5 COVID-19-designated hospitals in Anhui Province underwent a real-world study. The medication course of emetine was less than 10 days. The main symptoms and adverse reactions of all patients were observed and recorded. The primary outcome measure was the time required for a negative SARS-CoV-2 RNA result or the negative result rate on day 10. Secondary outcomes included axillary temperature, transcutaneous oxygen saturation, and respiratory frequency recovery. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University on February 20, 2019 (approval No. PJ2020-03-19) and was registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry on February 20, 2019 (registration number: ChiCTR2000030022). Results:. The oxygen saturation values were higher in the treatment group than in the control group on the first day after enrollment for patients treated at Fangcang Shelter Hospital. The axillary body temperature, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation among patients in Fangcang Shelter Hospital were related to the time effect but not to the intervention measures. The respiratory rate and oxygen saturation of patients in the Anhui designated hospitals were related to the intervention measures but not to the time effect. The axillary body temperature of patients in Anhui designated hospitals was related to the time effect but not to the intervention measures. Conclusion:. Our preliminary study shows that low-dose emetine combined with basic conventional antiviral drugs improves clinical symptoms in patients with mild and common COVID-19 without apparent adverse effects, suggesting that moderately increased doses of emetine may have good potential for treatment and prevention of COVID-19.

BackgroundThe vastly increasing number of reported HIV and AIDS cases in Luzhou, China, in recent years, coupled with the city’s unique geographical location at the intersection of 4 provinces, makes it particularly important to conduct a spatiotemporal analysis of HIV and AIDS cases. ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to understand the spatiotemporal distribution of HIV and the factors influencing this distribution in Luzhou, China, from 2011 to 2020. MethodsData on the incidence of HIV and AIDS in Luzhou from 2011 to 2020 were obtained from the AIDS Information Management System of the Luzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention. ArcGIS was used to visualize the spatiotemporal distribution of HIV and AIDS cases. The Bayesian spatiotemporal model was used to investigate factors affecting the spatiotemporal distribution of HIV and AIDS, including the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, urbanization rate, number of hospital beds, population density, and road mileage. ResultsThe reported incidence of HIV and AIDS rose from 8.50 cases per 100,000 population in 2011 to 49.25 cases per 100,000 population in 2020—an increase of 578.87%. In the first 5 years, hotspots were concentrated in Jiangyang district, Longmatan district, and Luxian county. After 2016, Luzhou’s high HIV incidence areas gradually shifted eastward, with Hejiang county having the highest average prevalence rate (41.68 cases per 100,000 population) from 2011 to 2020, being 2.28 times higher than that in Gulin county (18.30 cases per 100,000), where cold spots were concentrated. The risk for the incidence of HIV and AIDS was associated with the urbanization rate, population density, and GDP per capita. For every 1% increase in the urbanization rate, the relative risk (RR) increases by 1.3%, while an increase of 100 people per square kilometer would increase the RR by 8.7%; for every 1000 Yuan (US $148.12) increase in GDP per capita, the RR decreases by 1.5%. ConclusionsIn Luzhou, current HIV and AIDS prevention and control efforts must be focused on the location of each district or county government; we suggest the region balance urban development and HIV and AIDS prevention. Moreover, more attention should be paid to economically disadvantaged areas.

Abstract Abnormal expression of long-noncoding RNA is involved in the tumorigenesis and progression of various cancers, but the potential molecular regulatory mechanisms are unclear. Microbial flora and chronic inflammation, such as periodontitis, which is associated with oral cancer, affect the occurrence and progression of tumors. Accordingly, we stimulated the tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) cell lines CAL27 and SCC15 with a low concentration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Porphyromonas gingivalis (P.g) for 6 days and then performed LncRNA sequencing on P.g-LPS-treated CAL27 cells and untreated CAL27 cells. LTSCCAT was upregulated in P.g-LPS-treated CAL27 cells compared with untreated CAL27 cells. LTSCCAT induced epithelial–mesenchymal transition and promoted the invasion and metastasis of TSCC in vitro and in vivo. LncRNA LTSCCAT was upregulated in TSCC patients with periodontitis and was correlated with metastasis and poor prognosis. We predicted through an online database and confirmed by dual-luciferase reporter assays that LTSCCAT is a competitive endogenous RNA for the regulation of miR-103a-2-5p. Another dual-luciferase reporter assay confirmed that miR-103a-2-5p has a binding site at the 3′-UTR of the histone methylation transferase SMYD3 and inhibits its translation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated that SMYD3 binds directly to the promoter region of TWIST1 and promotes its transcription, which is related to H3K4 trimethylation. The effect of pcDNA/LTSCCAT on expression was attenuated by miR-103a-2-5p mimics. The RF and SVM classifier predicts that LTSCCAT can bind to SMYD3, whereas the RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay confirms that it cannot. In addition, we predicted the combination of LTSCCAT and SMYD3 through software, but the RIP assay confirmed that LTSCCAT could not be combined with SMYD3. For the first time, we showed that periodontitis promotes the invasion and metastasis of TSCC and clarified the molecular mechanism of LTSCCAT to promote invasion and metastasis of TSCC, providing a potential therapeutic target for clinical treatment of TSCC.

Abstract The global pandemic of COVID-19 has attracted extensive drug searching interets for the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Although currently several of clinically used “old” drugs have been repurposed to this new disease for the urgent clinical investigation, there is still great demand for more effective therapies for the anti-infections. Here we report the discovery that an “old” drug Emetine could potently inhibit SARS-CoV-2 virus replication and displayed virus entry blocking effect in Vero cells at low dose. In addition, Emetine could significantly reduce the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced interleukin-6 (IL-6) protein level and moderately reduce the tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) protein level in the M1 polarized THP-1 macrophages. In vivo animal pharmacokinetics (PK) study revealed that Emetine was enriched in the lung tissue and had a long retention time (over 12 h). With 1 mg/kg single oral dose, the effective concentration of Emetine in lung was up to 1.8 μM (mice) and 1.6 μM (rats) at 12 h, which is over 200-fold higher than the EC50 of the drug. The potent in vitro antiviral replication efficacy and the high enrichment in target tissue, combining with the well documented safety profiles in human indicate that low dose of Emetine might be a potentially effective anti-SARS-CoV-2 infection therapy.

BackgroundGay apps are smartphone-based geosocial networking apps where many men who have sex with men (MSM) socialize and seek sex partners. Existing studies showed that gay app use is associated with greater odds of high-risk sexual behaviors and potentially more HIV infections. However, little is known about this behavior among young MSM. ObjectiveWe conducted this study to understand gay app use and its influencing factors among MSM attending university in China. MethodsFrom January to March 2019, participants were recruited from 4 regions with large populations of college students in China: Chongqing, Guangdong, Shandong, and Tianjin. The eligibility criteria were MSM aged 16 years or older, self-identified as a university student, and being HIV negative. A self-administered online structured questionnaire was used to collect data on sociodemographic information, sexual behaviors, gay app use, substance use, and HIV testing history. We performed multivariable log-binomial regression to assess correlates of seeking sex partners via gay apps. ResultsA total of 447 MSM attending university with an average age of 20.4 (SD 1.5) years were recruited. Almost all participants (439/447, 98.2%) reported gay app use at some point in their life, and 240/439 (53.7%) reported ever seeking sex partners via gay apps. Blued (428/439, 97.5%) was the most popular gay app. Higher proportions of sexual risk behaviors (including seeking sex partners via apps [P

ObjectiveTo investigate whether TCF7+ T cells constitute an important factor to improve the existing postoperative prediction model for patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.MethodTCF7+ T cells were detected in the tissues of 167 OSCC patients by multiplex immunofluorescence. The percentage of TCF7+ T cells was transformed into a dichotomous variable, combined with the clinicopathological data for the OSCC patients, and then subjected to univariate and multivariate analyses. The derived independent predictors were then incorporated into risk models to analyze their relationship with the prognosis of patients.ResultsThe high TCF7+ group had a better prognosis than the low TCF7+ group (OS: p

Objective To develop and validate a nomogram for predicting renal dysfunction in patients with simple renal cysts (SRCs). Methods We performed a multivariable logistic regression analysis of an in-hospital retrospective cohort of patients with SRCs in the Urology Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University. For prognostic model development, 386 patients with SRCs were enrolled from January 2016 to December 2018. External validation was performed in 46 patients with SRCs from January 2019 to April 2019. The primary outcome was renal dysfunction. Results Patients were divided into normal or abnormal estimated glomerular filtration rate groups (293 vs. 93) based on the cut-off value of 90 mL/minute/1.73 m 2 . Logistical regression analysis determined that age, haemoglobin, globulin, and creatinine might be associated with renal dysfunction, and a novel nomogram was established. Calibration curves showed that the true prediction rate was 77.42%, and decision curve analysis revealed that the nomogram was more effective with threshold probabilities ranging from 0.1 to 0.8. The area under the curves were 0.829, 0.752, and 0.888 in the overall training, internal, and external validation cohorts, respectively. Conclusions We established a nomogram to predict the probability of developing renal dysfunction in patients with SRCs.

BackgroundChimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-based immunotherapy has shown great potential for the treatment of both hematopoietic malignancies and solid tumors. Nevertheless, multiple obstacles still block the development of CAR-based immunotherapy in the clinical setting. In this study, we aimed to summarize the research landscape and highlight the front lines and trends of this field.MethodsLiterature published from 2001 to 2021 was searched in the Web of Science Core Collection database. Full records and cited references of all the documents were extracted and screened. Bibliometric analysis and visualization were conducted using CiteSpace, Microsoft Excel 2019, VOSviewer and R software.ResultsA total of 5981 articles and reviews were included. The publication and citation results exhibited increasing trends in the last 20 years. Frontiers in Immunology and Blood were the most productive and most co-cited journals, respectively. The United States was the country with the most productive organizations and publications in the comprehensive worldwide cooperation network, followed by China and Germany. June, C.H. published the most papers with the most citations, while Maude, S.L. ranked first among the co-cited authors. The hotspots in CAR-based therapy research were multiple myeloma, safety and toxicity, solid tumors, CAR-engineered immune cells beyond T cells, and gene editing.ConclusionCAR-based immunotherapy is a promising treatment for cancer patients, and there is an emerging movement toward using advanced gene modification technologies to overcome therapeutic challenges, especially in solid tumors, and to generate safer and more effective universal CAR-engineered cell products.

BACKGROUND By measuring the nitrogen content in plant fruits, the growth status of plants can be grasped and important information for improving the yield of high-quality fruits can be provided. At present, the traditional Kjeldahl method is used to determine nitrogen in plant fruits. The main steps are digestion, distillation and titration. The digestion time of traditional method is 90 minutes, and the titration and distillation time is 10-20 minutes. The determination process is complicated and produces errors, which is not suitable for the analysis of large amounts of plant fruits. OBJECTIVES To shorten the analysis and determination time of total nitrogen in plant fruit samples, improve work efficiency, avoid artificial errors, and solve the problems of sample splashing and white smoke escaping during digestion. METHODS A graphite digestion instrument was used for digestion. Concentrated sulfuric acid and a catalyst were added, the reflux plug was capped, and an automatic nitrogen determination instrument was used for analysis. RESULTS The sample did not splash and the white smoke did not escape. The digestion time was 50 minutes and the distillation time was 3 minutes. The reagent consumption was reduced by 2mL. The relative error and relative standard deviation were less than 5%. CONCLUSIONS The established method meets the needs of the laboratory to quickly and accurately detect total nitrogen in large amounts of plant samples. It has been applied in the detailed survey project of the China geological survey bidding project and the detailed investigation of the soil pollution status of agricultural land in Hebei Province.

Abstract Background HIV testing plays a central role in the combat against HIV. We aimed to determine if the availability of HIV self-testing (HIVST) would increase the frequency of testing among men who have sex with men (MSM) attending university in China. Methods A stepped wedge randomized controlled trial will be conducted in 4 provinces in China: Chongqing, Guangdong, Shandong, and Tianjin. Eligibility assessment will include (1) male, aged 16 years or older, (2) university student (technical diploma and undergraduate students), (3) MSM (sexual behaviors including mutual masturbation, oral sex, and anal sex), (4) HIV negative, and (5) willing to provide informed consent. Participants will be randomly allocated to HIV self-testing intervention with free HIVST kits in every 30 days according to the intervention waiting lists with a computer-generated randomized sequence. All participants will complete a self-administrated online questionnaire onsite at baseline and 12-month follow-up and complete an online questionnaire at 4- and 8-month. The primary outcome is the effect of HIVST on HIV testing frequency. Secondary outcomes include the change in sexual behaviors and HIV incidence. Discussion No previous study had measured the effect of social media based HIVST intervention on the change in HIV testing behaviors, sexual behaviors and incident HIV infection among MSM attending university in China. Findings from this study will provide evidence for further interventional practice promotions and prevention strategies scale-up, including HIV testing, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), and sexual partner serosorting. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR1900020645. Registered 11 January 2019.

This paper proposes a brand-new method to perform safety monitoring using images for steel coil marking industrial processes. The new safety monitoring method is developed with the aid of a new graph-regularized semi-supervised nonnegative matrix factorization (GSNMF) algorithm. Compared with the existing nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF)-like algorithms, GSNMF is developed in an all-new manner so that it not only can take advantage of images with known labels and images with unknown labels to train a model for monitoring purpose, but also can take advantage of graph theory to improve the monitoring performance. Because any two different samples are connected by an edge in a graph, thus graph theory is beneficial for GSNMF to measure the similarity between any two different samples and to assign the same labels for the samples with close connections between them. As a result, GSNMF is more capable of analyzing the samples with a complicated distribution than the existing NMF-like algorithms, theoretically. Finally, an experiment on a steel coil marking process is adopted to evaluate the superiorities of our proposed method over the existing methods.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) has a high metastatic rate, and its incidence and mortality are still rising. The aim of this study was to identify the key tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) affecting the distant metastasis and prognosis of patients with ccRCC and to construct a relevant prognostic panel to predict immunotherapy response. Based on ccRCC bulk RNA sequencing data, resting mast cells (RMCs) were screened and verified using the CIBERSORT algorithm, survival analysis, and expression analysis. Distant metastasis-associated genes were identified using single-cell RNA sequencing data. Subsequently, a three-gene (CFB, PPP1R18, and TOM1L1) panel with superior distant metastatic and prognostic performance was established and validated, which stratified patients into high- and low-risk groups. The high-risk group exhibited lower infiltration of RMCs, higher tumor mutation burden (TMB), and worse prognosis. Therapeutically, the high-risk group was more sensitive to anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 immunotherapy, whereas the low-risk group displayed a better response to anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy. Furthermore, two immune clusters revealing distinct immune, clinical, and prognosis heterogeneity were distinguished. Immunohistochemistry of ccRCC samples verified the expression patterns of the three key genes. Collectively, the prognostic panel based on RMCs is able to predict distant metastasis and immunotherapy response in patients with ccRCC, providing new insight for the treatment of advanced ccRCC.

Salt stress severely restricts the growth of plants and threatens the development of agriculture throughout the world. Worldwide studies have shown that exogenous melatonin (MT) can effectively improve the growth of plants under salt stress. Through a meta-analysis of 549 observations, this study first explored the effects of salt stress characteristics and MT application characteristics on MT regulated plant growth under salt stress. The results show that MT has a wide range of regulatory effects on plant growth indicators under salt stress, of which the regulatory effect on root indexes is the strongest, and this regulatory effect is not species-specific. The intensity of salt stress did not affect the positive effect of MT on plant growth, but the application effect of MT in soil was stronger than that in rooting medium. This meta-analysis also revealed that the foliar application of a concentration between 100–200 μM is the best condition for MT to enhance plant growth under salt stress. The results can inspire scientific research and practical production, while seeking the maximum improvement in plant salt tolerance under salt stress.

Abstract Prostate cancer (PCa), a severe health burden for males, accounts for the second frequent cancer and fifth tumor specific death cancer around the world. Several studies on tumor‐infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) have shown inconsistent and controversial results to PCa. We downloaded a gene expression matrix and clinical information from TCGA, and CIBERSORT was used to identify the proportion of TIICs. Wilcoxon's Sign Rank Test evaluated different gene expression levels in PCa and normal tissues. Kaplan‐Meier curves were used to evaluate the associations of TIICs and recurrence‐free survival (RFS). Finally, based on the preset P‐value of .05, the distribution of TIICs in 73 PCa tissues and 11 normal tissues was illustrated. Activated CD4+ T cells and M0 macrophages account for a high proportion in PCa tissues, while neutrophils and monocytes were found at a high density in normal tissues. Further results showed that the density of plasma cells, Treg cells and resting mast cells were associated with advanced PCa. Additionally, M2 macrophages affected the RFS of PCa patients, and AR was also involved. In the current study, we first evaluated the immune infiltration among PCa and revealed that M2 macrophages could predict the prognosis of PCa patients. Meanwhile, based on the LASSO regression analysis, we established a novel nomogram to assess the recurrence risk of PCa based on immune cell proportions and clinical features.

While nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) commonly presents lymphoid metastases, the enormous cervical metastasis causing dysphagia and limitation of neck motion is not a familiar symptom for most of NPC cases. We report a 23-year-old male with undifferentiated carcinoma of the nasopharynx, stage Ⅲ (T3N2M0), who had undergone aggressive surgical resection of bilateral huge cervical mass first followed by concurrent chemo-radiotherapy with cisplatin-based regimens. The postoperative clinical course was uneventful and follow-up, 2 years later, revealed no recurrence of primary lesion and neck metastases. We recommend that aggressive surgical resection may be considered when NPC patients significantly suffer clinical symptoms from a huge cervical metastasis.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are considered to be involved in the pathogenic initiation and progression of chronic nonbacterial prostatitis (CNP); however, the comprehensive expression profile of dysregulated miRNAs, relevant signaling pathways, and core machineries in CNP have not been fully elucidated. In the current research, CNP rat models were established through the intraprostatic injection of carrageenan into the prostate. Then, next-generation sequencing was performed to explore the miRNA expression profile in CNP. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) bioinformatical analyses were conducted to reveal the enriched biological processes, molecular functions, and cellular components and signaling pathways. As a result, 1224, 1039, and 1029 known miRNAs were annotated in prostate tissues from the blank control (BC), normal saline injection (NS), and carrageenan injection (CAR) groups (n = 3 for each group), respectively. Among them, 84 miRNAs (CAR vs BC) and 70 miRNAs (CAR vs NS) with significantly different expression levels were identified. Compared with previously reported miRNAs with altered expression in various inflammatory diseases, the majority of deregulated miRNAs in CNP, such as miR-146b-5p, miR-155-5p, miR-150-5p, and miR-139-5p, showed similar expression patterns. Moreover, bioinformatics analyses have enriched mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), endocytosis, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and forkhead box O (FoxO) signaling pathways. These pathways were all involved in immune response, which indicates the critical regulatory role of the immune system in CNP initiation and progression. Our investigation has presented a global view of the differentially expressed miRNAs and potential regulatory networks containing their target genes, which may be helpful for identifying the novel mechanisms of miRNAs in immune regulation and effective target-specific theragnosis for CNP.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is a common malignancy with high distant metastasis rate. Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) are reported to be upregulated or downregulated in multiple cancers and play a crucial role in the metastasis of tumors or prognosis. Therefore, the purpose of our study is to construct a prognostic signature for ccRCC based on distant metastasis-related lncRNAs and explore the involved potential competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) screened from the database of the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) were used to construct a co-expression network and identify the distant metastasis-related module by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Key genes with metastatic and prognostic significance were identified through rigorous screening, including survival analysis, correlation analysis, and expression analyses in stage, grade, and distant metastasis, and were verified in the data set of gene expression omnibus (GEO) and the database from gene expression profiling interactive analysis (GEPIA). The potential upstream miRNAs and lncRNAs were predicted via five online databases and LncBase. Here, we constructed a ceRNA network of key genes that are significantly associated with the distant metastasis and prognosis of patients with ccRCC. The distant metastasis-related lncRNAs were used to construct a risk score model through the univariate, least absolute shrinkage selection operator (LASSO), and multivariate Cox regression analyses, and the patients were divided into high- and low-risk groups according to the median of the risk score. The Kaplan–Meier survival analysis demonstrated that mortality was significantly higher in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group. Considering the other clinical phenotype, the Cox regression analyses indicated that the lncRNAs model could function as an independent prognostic factor. Quantitative real-time (qRT)-PCR in the tissues and cells of ccRCC verified the high-expression level of three lncRNAs. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed that the lncRNA prognostic signature was mainly enriched in autophagy- and immune-related pathways, indicating that the autophagy and immune functions may play an important role in the distant metastasis of ccRCC. In summary, the constructed distant metastasis-related lncRNA signature could independently predict prognosis in patients with ccRCC, and the related ceRNA network provided a new sight on the potential mechanism of distant metastasis and a promising therapeutic target for ccRCC.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and quickly spread throughout China and the rest of the world. Many mathematical models have been developed to understand and predict the infectiousness of COVID-19. We aim to summarize these models to inform efforts to manage the current outbreak.Methods: We searched PubMed, Web of science, EMBASE, bioRxiv, medRxiv, arXiv, Preprints, and National Knowledge Infrastructure (Chinese database) for relevant studies published between 1 December 2019 and 21 February 2020. References were screened for additional publications. Crucial indicators were extracted and analysed. We also built a mathematical model for the evolution of the epidemic in Wuhan that synthesised extracted indicators.Results: Fifty-two articles involving 75 mathematical or statistical models were included in our systematic review. The overall median basic reproduction number (R0) was 3.77 [interquartile range (IQR) 2.78–5.13], which dropped to a controlled reproduction number (Rc) of 1.88 (IQR 1.41–2.24) after city lockdown. The median incubation and infectious periods were 5.90 (IQR 4.78–6.25) and 9.94 (IQR 3.93–13.50) days, respectively. The median case-fatality rate (CFR) was 2.9% (IQR 2.3–5.4%). Our mathematical model showed that, in Wuhan, the peak time of infection is likely to be March 2020 with a median size of 98,333 infected cases (range 55,225–188,284). The earliest elimination of ongoing transmission is likely to be achieved around 7 May 2020.Conclusions: Our analysis found a sustained Rc and prolonged incubation/ infectious periods, suggesting COVID-19 is highly infectious. Although interventions in China have been effective in controlling secondary transmission, sustained global efforts are needed to contain an emerging pandemic. Alternative interventions can be explored using modelling studies to better inform policymaking as the outbreak continues.

Summary: Cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy has been shown to improve survival in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), but clinical biomarkers to predict chemosensitivity remain elusive. Here, we show the long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) LINC01011, which we termed cisplatin-sensitivity-associated lncRNA (CISAL), controls mitochondrial fission and cisplatin sensitivity by inhibiting BRCA1 transcription in tongue SCC (TSCC) models. Mechanistically, we found CISAL directly binds the BRCA1 promoter and forms an RNA-DNA triplex structure, sequestering BRCA1 transcription factor-GABPA away from the downstream regulatory binding region. Importantly, the clinical relevance of these findings is suggested by the significant association of CISAL and BRCA1 expression levels in TSCC tumors with neoadjuvant chemosensitivity and overall survival. We propose a new model where lncRNAs are tethered at gene promoter by RNA-DNA triplex formation, spatially sequestering transcription factors away from DNA-binding sites. Our study uncovers the potential of CISAL-BRCA1 signaling as a potential target to predict or improve chemosensitivity. : Biological Sciences; Molecular Biology; Cell Biology; Cancer Subject Areas: Biological Sciences, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Cancer

In order to calibrate radiation protection instruments and determine radiation dose, it is critical to establish an X-ray narrow-spectrum series recommended by the standard ISO 4037-1 which is published by the International Standardisation Organisation (ISO). By experiment, the qualities of filtered X radiation of narrow-spectrum series in the range from 60 to 300 kV were established. The differences of the first half-value layer (HVL1) and the second HVL (HVL2) between experimental results and the values given in the standard ISO 4037-1 were all within 5%. What is more, the Monte Carlo code EGSnrc was used to simulate the spectra of these radiation qualities, which showed a good agreement with these spectra given in the standard ISO 4037-1. The spectral resolution, mean energy and effective energy of these reference qualities can be obtained, which are all have good agreement with the given values.

Sucrose non-fermenting-1-related protein kinase 1 (SnRK1) plays an important role in plant carbohydrate metabolism and starch biosynthesis. The regulatory role of GmSnRK1 from soybean in regulating carbohydrate metabolism and starch accumulation has not been reported. In the present study, a gene encoding the SnRK1 protein, named GmSnRK1, was successfully isolated from soybean, and the functions of this gene were studied. Subcellular localisation analysis in onion epidermal cells indicated that GmSnRK1 protein was localised to the nucleus. The GmSnRK1 gene was introduced into Arabidopsis to obtain transgenic plants. Its overexpression significantly increased the starch content, as well as the sucrose, glucose and fructose content in the transgenic plants compared to the wild-type (WT). Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis showed that overexpression of GmSnRK1 up-regulated the genes involved in starch biosynthesis, including sucrose synthase (AtSUS), phosphoglucomutase (AtPGM), ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AtAGPase), granule-bound starch synthases (AtGBSS I and AtGBSS II), soluble starch synthases (AtSSS I, AtSSS II, AtSSS III and AtSSS IV) and starch branching enzymes (AtSBE I and AtSBE II) genes. In contrast, the expression of sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) gene was decreased in the transgenic plants. Meanwhile, the enzyme activity levels of the five starch biosynthetic enzymes (SUS, AGPase, GBSS, SSS and SBE) exhibited higher activities, while the SPS activity was decreased in the transgenic plants compared to WT. These results suggest that the manipulation of GmSnRK1 expression might be used for improving the starch content in engineered plants for biofuel production.

This study aims to validate our hypothesis that acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) may contribute to the symptom of pain in patients with chronic prostatitis (CP). We first established a CP rat model, then isolated the L5-S2 spinal dorsal horn neurons for further studies. ASIC1a was knocked down and its effects on the expression of neurogenic inflammation-related factors in the dorsal horn neurons of rat spinal cord were evaluated. The effect of ASIC1a on the Ca2+ ion concentration in the dorsal horn neurons of rat spinal cord was measured by the intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) intensity. The effect of ASIC1a on the p38/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway was also determined. ASIC1a was significantly upregulated in the CP rat model as compared with control rats. Acid-induced ASIC1a expression increased [Ca2+]i intensity in the dorsal horn neurons of rat spinal cord. ASIC1a also increased the levels of neurogenic inflammation-related factors and p-p38 expression in the acid-treated dorsal horn neurons. Notably, ASIC1a knockdown significantly decreased the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, the levels of p-p38 and pro-inflammatory cytokines in acid-treated dorsal horn neurons were significantly decreased in the presence of PcTx-1, BAPTA-AM, or SB203580. Our results showed that ASIC1a may contribute to the symptom of pain in patients with CP, at least partially, by regulating the p38/MAPK signaling pathway.

Abstract The prognostic value of miR-17-92 cluster high-expression in various tumors remains controversial. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis by searching literatures in PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China Biology Medicine disc, China National Knowledge Infrastructure to identify eligible studies. Eventually, we analyzed 36 articles that examined 17 tumor types from 4965 patients. Consequently, high-expression of miR-17-92 cluster in various tumors was associated with unfavorable overall survival in both univariate (HR = 2.05, 95%CI: 1.58–2.65, P

Objective: The proposal of the present study was to investigate whether the TP53 rs1042522 polymorphism confers susceptibility to prostate cancer (PCa), by performing an updated meta-analysis. Methods: Eligible publications investigating the association between the TP53 rs1042522 polymorphism and PCa susceptibility were selected from PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science. We used STATA 12.0 software to conduct the analyses. Odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated. Results: A total of 17 caseâcontrol studies were retrieved reporting a total of 2683 cases and 2981 controls. However, no significant association was uncovered between the TP53 rs1042522 polymorphism and PCa susceptibility in the overall population under the five genetic models. In the stratification analysis by source of control, an increased susceptibility to PCa was identified in the population-based (P-B) group (CG vs. GG: ORÂ =Â 1.48, 95% CI: 1.24â1.77, PÂ

The plastidic thioredoxin F-type (TrxF) protein plays a key role in plant carbohydrate metabolism. In this work, a gene encoding the TrxF protein, named StTrxF, was successfully isolated from potato and transformed into Arabidopsis thaliana to obtain transgenic plants. Constitutive expression of StTrxF significantly increased the starch accumulation in the transgenic plants. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that constitutive expression of StTrxF up-regulated the expression of the adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) small subunit (AtAGPase-S1 and AtAGPase-S2), AGPase large subunit (AtAGPase-L1 and AtAGPase-L2) and soluble starch synthases (AtSSS I, AtSSS II, AtSSS III and AtSSS IV) genes involved in starch biosynthesis in the transgenic A. thaliana plants. Meanwhile, enzymatic analyses indicated that the major enzymes (AGPase and SSS) involved in the starch biosynthesis exhibited higher activities in the transgenic plants compared to the wild-type. These results suggest that StTrxF may improve the starch content of A. thaliana by up-regulating the expression of the related genes and increasing the activities of the major enzymes involved in starch biosynthesis. The StTrxF gene may be applied for increasing starch accumulation of plants in the future.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) attending university are a high-risk population for human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and are a neglected population of HPV vaccination programs in China. To provide evidence for HPV vaccination policies, we conducted this study to examine the prevalence and factors associated with anal HPV infection among MSM attending university in China. A self-administered online questionnaire was conducted to collect information on social demographics and sexual behaviors. A self-collected rectal swab specimen was collected to test for 37 HPV types. A total of 426 participants were tested for HPV. The median age was 20 years. HPV prevalence was 37.5% for any type, 29.8% for nine-valent vaccine types, 24.6% for four-valent vaccine types, 11.5% for HPV-16/18, and 15.7% for HPV-6/11. Men enrolled in a technical diploma, living in Northern China, having more than two sex partners, being bottom or versatile in anal sex, and having a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing history were more likely to have positive anal HPV of any type. Our study found a high prevalence of anal HPV infection among MSM attending university in China, with HPV vaccine-preventable types being the most popular types in this group. Thus, our findings highlight the urgency of promoting HPV vaccination among teenage MSM.

In this article, for the first time, the optical flow and principal component analysis followed independent component analysis are combined for monitoring the motion process of robotic-arm-based system. Two kinds of optical flow, namely dense optical flow and sparse optical flow, extracted from each two successive frames of motion process in forms of video stream are used as the samples of motion-related variables of principal component analysis–independent component analysis algorithm. Relative work illustrates the effectiveness of principal component analysis–independent component analysis method for non-Gaussian process monitoring. The proposed dense optical flow–principal component analysis–independent component analysis and sparse optical flow–principal component analysis–independent component analysis algorithms use three-way array as their data which follows non-Gaussian distribution. Data unfolding, data normalization, and proper definition of the control limit are introduced. Based on dense optical flow–principal component analysis–independent component analysis and sparse optical flow–principal component analysis–independent component analysis algorithms, the corresponding motion process monitoring scheme is developed, and a case study of robotic-arm-based marking system is taken to evaluate the performance of these methods. The results demonstrate the capability and efficiency of the proposed methods.