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Fritillaria crassicaulis S. C. Chen is a precious traditional Chinese medicine, but the number of populations has declined rapidly due to overexploitation. An artificial rapid propagation system was established to screen the suitable plant regeneration method and to explore the efficient propagation method, useful for propagation technology or for further research and development of F. crassicaulis. This study selected scale as the experimental material, set Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium as the basic medium, and optimized the types and proportions of plant growth regulator (PGR) suitable for callus induction, bulblet differentiation and proliferation, and plant regeneration by means of single-factor, full-factorial, and L9 (3)4 orthogonal experiments. Results demonstrate that in the experiment with single exogenous PGR, the high concentration of 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA) was significantly better than kinetin (KT) to induce bulblets, 2, 4-dichloroacetic acid (2, 4-D) had a significant effect on callus induction, and a higher concentration of naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) was beneficial to the occurrence and growth of bulbs, but the rooting effect promoted by indole butyric acid (IBA) was preferable to that by NAA. In MS medium with 0.5 mg/L 2, 4-D and 1.5 mg/L 6-BA, a large number of yellowish-green compact calli could be induced from the scales with the calli induction frequency at 93.3%, and about 11.4% materials directly differentiated bulblets. In the subsequent orthogonal experiment, after the scales were cultured in MS medium with 2.0 mg/L 6-BA, 0.5 mg/L 2, 4-D, and 0.1 mg/L NAA for 20 days, the small yellow and white globular protuberances formed near the incision, but no callus appeared, and many protuberances appeared on the surface of the scales. After 60 days, the protuberances at the incision developed into bulblets directly, while protuberances on the surface of the scales developed into few bulblets but crowded "leaf spines," which gradually died and disappeared in the later culture; the proliferation coefficient was ~6.30 then. Experimental results indicate that the optimal rooting medium for bulblets was 1/2MS medium with 2.0 mg/L IBA and 1.0 mg/L activated carbon (AC), with the rooting rate at 95.6%. This study identifies bulblet regeneration of F. crassicaulis, and an efficient direct organogenesis method was established: regenerated bulblets could be induced from scales in one step, so a large number of regenerated plants with the same genotype could be obtained in a short time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under normal circumstances, gastric mucosa only exists within the stomach. However, in certain situations, gastric mucosal tissue may undergo ectopia, commonly occurring in the esophagus and intestine, with rare occurrences within the stomach itself. A comprehensive literature review was performed to understand the distinct characteristics of ectopic gastric mucosa (EGM) in the stomach and investigate a rare incident of this disease, providing an in-depth analysis of the clinical, histopathologic, and differential diagnostic findings. The case was a 47-year-old man with acid reflux, heartburn, abdominal distension, and diarrhea (5-10 times daily) for >10 years. A gastroscope indicated a submucosal protuberance lesion in the gastric body that felt hard with biopsy forceps. A well-defined nodule under the mucosal muscle was revealed microscopically, composed of epithelial elements and no atypia. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated similar EGM expression patterns compared with normal gastric mucosa. The present case report highlights the importance of accurate EGM diagnosis and understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let X be a finitistic space with the mod 2 cohomology of the product space of a projective space and a 4-sphere. Assume that X admits a free involution. In this paper we study the mod 2 cohomology algebra of the quotient of X by the action of the free involution and derive some consequences regarding the existence of Z2-equivariant maps between such X and an n-sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the introduction of a new chrysanthemum cultivar named 'Donglin Zikui', highlighting its superior cold resistance and distinct floral characteristics, making it ideal for ornamental use during colder seasons. Topics include the origin of the cultivar through artificial hybridization, its morphological description compared to a control species, cultivation techniques, and its habit and application, emphasizing its suitability for various planting conditions.

We study distributed multiagent optimization over graphs. We consider the minimization of F + G subject to convex constraints, where F is the smooth strongly convex sum of the agent's losses and G is a nonsmooth convex function. We build on the SONATA algorithm: the algorithm employs the use of surrogate objective functions in the agents' subproblems (thus going beyond linearization, such as proximal-gradient) coupled with a perturbed consensus mechanism that aims to locally track the gradient of F. SONATA achieves precision ε > 0 on the objective value in O(Κg log (1/ε)) gradient computations at each node and O(Κ9(1 -- ρ)-1/2 log (1/&#949)) communication steps, where Κg is the condition number of F and ρ characterizes the connectivity of the network. This is the first linear rate result for distributed composite optimization; it also improves on existing (nonaccelerated) schemes just minimizing F, whose rate depends on much larger quantities than Κg. When the loss functions of the agents are similar, due to statistical data similarity or otherwise, SONATA employing high-order surrogates achieves precision ε > O((β/µ) log (1/ε)) iterations and O((β/µ)(1 -- ρ)-1/2 log (1ε)) communication steps, where β measures the degree of similarity of agents' losses and µ is the strong convexity constant of F. Therefore, when β/µ < Κg, the use of high-order surrogates yields provably faster rates than those achievable by first-order models; this is without exchanging any Hessian matrix over the network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated how different environmental cue and the proficiency of body motion influenced detour learning behaviour and cue preference in cue conflict situations. Domestic chicks were trained to detour around an obstacle and follow a fixed route to rejoin with their partners. When the environmental cue was red versus blue vertical stripes, the chicks learned the detour task quicker, and as the number of training trials after route acquisition increased, they switched their preference from the environmental cue to a body-motion cue in the cue conflict test. On the other hand, when the environmental cue was vertical versus horizontal blue stripes, the chicks learned the detour task slower and showed a dependence on the body-motion cue regardless of the number of training trials performed after route acquisition. When the environmental cue was removed, most chicks could still successfully detour according to the specific route on which they had been trained. Furthermore, a significant difference in detour latency was found between chicks using the environmental cue and chicks using the body-motion cue, suggesting separate neuronal circuits responsible for processing the two types of information. Our results demonstrated that young domestic chicks could use both environmental cue and body-motion cues to memorize the route during the detour learning task; however, the detour route preference could be dynamically modulated by difference of the environmental cue and the number of training trials they received. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic, progressive, and irreversible interstitial lung disease. Transforming growth factor-b1 (TGF-β1) plays a major role in lung fibroblast cell differentiation to myofibroblast cells and production of extracellular matrix, which are hallmarks of pulmonary fibrosis. G protein-coupled receptor kinase-2 (GRK2) has been shown to play controversial roles in TGF-β1-induced signal transduction in different cell types; however, the role of GRK2 in TGF-β1-induced activation of lung fibroblast cells and development of pulmonary fibrosis has not been revealed. In this study, we found that GRK2 levels were increased in lungs and isolated fibroblast cells in a murine model of pulmonary fibrosis, as well as TGF-β1-treated lung fibroblasts. GRK2 levels were not changed in lungs in the injury phase of pulmonary fibrosis. Posttreatment with GRK2 inhibitor reduced extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation in lungs in bleomycin-challenged mice, suggesting that GRK2 activation contributes to the progressive phase of pulmonary fibrosis. Inhibition or downregulation of GRK2 attenuates fibronectin, collagen, and α-smooth muscle actin expression in TGF-b1-induced lung fibroblast cells or myofibroblast cells isolated from patients with pulmonary fibrosis. Furthermore, we showed that GRK2 regulates Smad3 expression, indicating that inhibition of GRK2 attenuates ECM accumulation through downregulation of Smad3 expression. This study reveals that GRK2 is a therapeutic target in treating pulmonary fibrosis and inhibition of GRK2 dampens pulmonary fibrosis by suppression of Smad3 expression, eventually attenuating TGF-β1 signal pathway and ECM accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal runaway is a major safety concern hindering the large-scale application of Ni-rich lithium ion batteries. In this paper, the thermal runaway behaviors of lithium ion batteries with LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 and LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode materials are investigated using accelerating rate calorimetry. The onset temperature of thermal runaway for the battery with LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode is 20°C lower than that with LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode, demonstrating that battery thermal runaway is highly correlated with cathode chemistry. In situ X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetry tests further reveal that the LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 exhibits more severe structural change and oxygen generation compared to LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2, leading to worsen of battery thermal runaway behavior. Based on the correlation between cathode thermal stability and battery thermal runaway, an approach by changing cathode morphology from polycrystal to single crystal is proposed to mitigate the thermal runaway of battery with LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 cathode. The single crystal LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 can reduce cationic distribution and enhance cathode thermal stability, and thus improve the safety performance of large format Ni-rich battery by postponing thermal runaway by 13°C and reducing temperature rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prochlorococcus are the most abundant photosynthetic organisms in the modern ocean. A massive DNA loss event occurred in their early evolutionary history, leading to highly reduced genomes in nearly all lineages, as well as enhanced efficiency in both nutrient uptake and light absorption. The environmental landscape that shaped this ancient genome reduction, however, remained unknown. Through careful molecular clock analyses, we established that this Prochlorococcus genome reduction occurred during the Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth climate catastrophe. The lethally low temperature and exceedingly dim light during the Snowball Earth event would have inhibited Prochlorococcus growth and proliferation, and caused severe population bottlenecks. These bottlenecks are recorded as an excess of deleterious mutations accumulated across genomic regions and inherited by descendant lineages. Prochlorococcus adaptation to extreme environmental conditions during Snowball Earth intervals can be inferred by tracing the evolutionary paths of genes that encode key metabolic potential. Key metabolic innovation includes modified lipopolysaccharide structure, strengthened peptidoglycan biosynthesis, the replacement of a sophisticated circadian clock with an hourglass-like mechanism that resets daily for dim light adaption and the adoption of ammonia diffusion as an efficient membrane transporter-independent mode of nitrogen acquisition. In this way, the Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth event may have altered the physiological characters of Prochlorococcus, shaping their ecologically vital role as the most abundant primary producers in the modern oceans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South Asian summer monsoon (SASM) is one of the most crucial climate components in boreal summer. The future potential changes in the SASM have great importance for climate change adaption and policy setting in this populous region. To understand the SASM changes and their link with the global warming of 1.58-58C above the preindustrial level, we investigate the changes in the SASM circulation and precipitation based on a large-ensemble simulation conducted with Canadian Earth System Model version 2 (CanESM2). With the global mean surface temperature (GMST) increase, the large-ensemble mean of SASM circulation is projected to weaken almost linearly while the precipitation and precipitable water are projected to enhance quasi-linearly. A double anticyclone along the tropical Indian Ocean is a major anomalous circulation pattern for each additional degree of warming and is responsible for the weakening of the lower-level westerlies. The decreased upper-level land-sea thermal contrast (TCupper) is the main thermal driver for the weakening of the SASM circulation while the lower-level thermal contrast contributes little. The nonlinearly decreased TCupper is mainly related to the temperature response to the increased CO2 forcing and convection-induced latent heat release in the tropics. The increase in the SASMprecipitation is mainly due to the quasilinearly increased positive contribution of the thermodynamic component, while the dynamic component has a negative impact. Both horizontal moisture advection and moisture convergence contribute to the precipitation increase, and moisture convergence plays a dominant role. These results provide new insight that the SASM changes can be roughly scaled by the GMST changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid biopsy through the detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has potential advantages in cancer monitoring and prediction. However, most previous studies in this area were performed with a few hotspot genes, single time point detection, or insufficient sequencing depth. In this study, we performed targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) with a customized panel in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients. Fifty-four plasma samples were taken before chemotherapy and after the third course of treatment for detection and analysis. Paired lymphocytes were also included to eliminate clonal hematopoiesis (CH)-related alternatives. A total of 1182 nonsynonymous mutations in 419 genes were identified. More ctDNA mutations were detected in patients with tumors > 3 cm (p = 0.035) and HER2(-) patients (p = 0.029). For a single gene, the distribution of ctDNA mutations was also correlated with clinical characteristics. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that HER2 status was significantly associated with mutation burden (OR 0.02, 95% CI 0-0.62, p = 0.025). The profiles of ctDNA mutations exhibited marked discrepancies between two time points, and baseline ctDNA was more sensitive and specific than that after chemotherapy. Finally, elevated ctDNA mutation level was positively correlated with poor survival (p < 0.001). Mutations in ctDNA could serve as a potential biomarker for the evaluation, prediction, and clinical management guidance of MBC patients with chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the IPCC Fifth Assessment Working Group I report assessed observed changes in extreme precipitation on the basis of both absolute and percentile-based extreme indices, human influence on extreme precipitation has rarely been evaluated on the basis of percentile-based extreme indices. Here we conduct a formal detection and attribution analysis on changes in four percentile-based precipitation extreme indices. The indices include annual precipitation totals from days with precipitation exceeding the 99th and 95th percentiles of wet-day precipitation in 1961-90 (R99p and R95p) and their contributions to annual total precipitation (R99pTOT and R95pTOT). We compare these indices from a set of newly compiled observations during 1951-2014 with simulations from models participating in phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6). We show that most land areas with observations experienced increases in these extreme indices with global warming during the historical period 1951-2014. The new CMIP6 models are able to reproduce these overall increases, although with considerable over- or underestimations in some regions. An optimal fingerprinting analysis reveals detectable anthropogenic signals in the observations of these indices averaged over the globe and over most continents. Furthermore, signals of greenhouse gases can be separately detected, taking other forcing into account, over the globe and over Asia in these indices except for R95p. In contrast, signals of anthropogenic aerosols and natural forcings cannot be detected in any of these indices at either global or continental scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Huntingtin interacting protein 1 (HIP1) is overexpressed in several human malignancies. However, the biological function of HIP1 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and its effect on the prognosis of patients remain unclear. The present study aimed to investigate HIP1 expression in ESCC via immunohistochemistry, reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blot analyses. The association between HIP1 expression and the clinicopathological characteristics of 173 patients with ESCC was statistically analyzed. The effect of HIP1 expression on patient prognosis was assessed via Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses. Lentivirus-delivered RNA interfering technique was used to overexpress and downregulate HIP1 expression in ESCC cell lines. The results demonstrated that HIP1 expression was significantly higher in ESCC tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues, and HIP1 expression was associated with histological differentiation, tumor-node-metastasis stage and lymph node metastasis. Furthermore, the overall survival time of patients with high HIP1 expression was significantly shorter than those with low HIP1 expression. Cellular mobility demonstrated that overexpressing HIP1 increased ESCC proliferation, migration and invasion, whereas silencing HIP1 decreased ESCC proliferation, migration and invasion. Furthermore, overexpressing HIP1 induced ESCC cells to enter the S and G2 phases from the G1 phase, whereas HIP1 knockdown arrested the cell cycle in the G1 phase. Taken together, the results of the present study suggest that HIP1 is associated with proliferation and metastatic behaviors in ESCC, and thus may be used as a potential prognostic indicator for patients with ESCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been shown that cyclooxygenase (COX)-2-dependent activation of renal (pro)renin receptor (PRR) contributes to angiotensin II (ANG II)-induced hypertension. However, less is known about the involvement of this mechanism in ANG II-independent hypertension. The goal of the present study was to test whether or not COX-2-dependent upregulation of PRR serves as a universal mechanism contributing to ANG II-dependent and -independent hypertension. Here, we examined the association between renal COX-2 and PRR during deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertension in rats. By immunoblot analysis and immunofluorescence, renal protein expression of PRR was remarkably upregulated by DOCA-salt treatment. Surprisingly, this upregulation of renal PRR expression was unaffected by a COX-2 inhibitor, celecoxib. To address the role of renal PRR to the pathogenesis of DOCA-salt hypertension, a decoy PRR inhibitor, PRO20, was infused to the renal medulla of uninephrectomized Sprague-Dawley rats for 14 days. Radiotelemetry demonstrated effective attenuation of DOCA-salt hypertension by intramedullary infusion of a PRR inhibitor, PRO20. In parallel, DOCA-salt-induced hypertrophy in the heart and kidney as well as proteinuria were improved, accompanied with blunted polydipsia and polyuria. In contrast, intravenous infusion of PRO20 was less effective in attenuating DOCA-salt hypertension and cardiorenal injury. Together, these results suggest that COX-2-independent activation of renal PRR contributes to DOCA-salt hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substitution of Sb with Sn was achieved in ferrimagnetic antiperovskite Mn3SbN. The experimental results indicate that with an increase in Sn concentration, the magnetization continuously decreases and the crystal structure of Mn3Sb1-xSnxN changes from tetragonal to cubic phase at around x of 0.8. In the doping series, step-like anomaly in the isothermal magnetization was found and this behavior was highlighted at x = 0.4. The anomaly could be attributed to the magnetic frustration, resulting from competition between the multiple spin configurations in the antiperovskite lattice. Meantime, Hc of 18 kOe was observed at x=03, which is probably the highest among those of manganese antiperovskite materials reported so far. With increasing Sn content, the abrupt change of resistivity and the sharp peak of heat capacity in Mn3SbN were gradually weakened. The crystal structure refinements indicate the weakened change at the magnetic transition is close related to the change of c/a ratio variation from tetragonal to cubic with Sn content. The results derived from this study indicate that the behavior of Mn3Sb1-xSnxN could potentially enhance its scientific and technical applications, such as spin torque transfer and hard magnets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a physico-mathematical model for determining the heat transfer parameters between viscous gasdynamic flotations and cooled gas turbine blades made using the technology of composite permeable membranes (CPM). The mathematical model includes equations of dynamic and thermal boundary layers taking into account injection, three-dimensional transient heat conduction in CPM cooled frames, complex hydraulic flow and cooling inside the channels of a cooled blade with air taken from the power plant compressor. A complex problem was solved to determine the thermal state of microrocket engines, where a method was proposed for immersing a multiply-connected domain in a region of the simplest form. A new economical, absolutely stable method is proposed for numerically solving of spatial nonstationary heat transfer problems in multiply-connected domains. The results obtained showed greater cooling efficiency at lower cooling medium costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the article is to analyze the characteristics of aircraft, including aircraft of the Boeing and Airbus families, as well as to highlight the factors affecting the flight range depending on the dimension of the main aircraft. The possibilities of competition with Boeing and Airbus were considered and options for solving this problem were proposed. Formulas were used to identify the economic excellence of the aircraft and an analysis was made of the distribution of flights and major airports around the globe. A graphical model for the search for the rational appearance of the aerodynamic balancing scheme of long-range aircraft was presented. Among them were Boeing 747-400, Airbus A380-800 and VHI-5, the characteristics of which correspond to three specific zones of flight range. Conclusions were drawn about the dependence of the mass of the aircraft on the flight range, a scheme was determined according to which the dimension is the smallest, and a relationship was established between the duration of the flight and the fatigue of passengers and their impact on the requirements for comfort and ergonomics of a passenger seat depending on the duration of the flight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies Dictionary Learning problems wherein the learning task is distributed over a multi-agent network, modeled as a time-varying directed graph. This formulation is relevant, for instance, in Big Data scenarios where massive amounts of data are collected/ stored in different locations (e.g., sensors, clouds) and aggregating and/or processing all data in a fusion center might be inefficient or unfeasible, due to resource limitations, communication overheads or privacy issues. We develop a unified decentralized algorithmic framework for this class of nonconvex problems, which is proved to converge to stationary solutions at a sublinear rate. The new method hinges on Successive Convex Approximation techniques, coupled with a decentralized tracking mechanism aiming at locally estimating the gradient of the smooth part of the sum-utility. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first provably convergent decentralized algorithm for Dictionary Learning and, more generally, bi-convex problems over (time-varying) (di)graphs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A kind of cylinder sand mold was designed to investigate the heat-transfer-coefficients (HTCs) between aluminum alloy and organic/inorganic binder bonded sand mold during the solidification processes. Temperature during the solidification process was recorded and input into the simulation software. The inverse model of MAGMA was used to calculate the HTC based on the actual temperature. Results show that the temperature of the inorganic sand mold increased faster than the organic sand mold; while the temperature of the casting part with the inorganic sand mold decreased faster. The optimal HTCs between Al and the organic/inorganic sand mold are confirmed to be 300 to 700 and 1000 to 1800 W·m-2·K-1, respectively, along with the change of solid-liquid phase line. The simulated temperature curves show the same trend as the measured ones. The maximum deviation between the two temperature curves are 17.32 °C and 18.77 °C for castings by inorganic and organic sand molds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Previous finding suggests that children growing up under chronic stress tend to experience earlier sexual maturity. The present study aims to examine polygenic risk by experience interaction in predicting pubertal timing, as well as provide insight regarding the relevance of two G × E paradigms. Design and methods: Data were analyzed from a 3-year prospective puberty cohort in Anhui Province, China. Breast Tanner stage and testicular volume (TV) of 997 children were annually assessed. The polygenic risk score (PRS) was computed based on 17 SNPs for early pubertal timing. Hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) were assessed in the first 3 cm hair segment as a biological marker of chronic stress. Results: Comparing with participants under moderate levels of stress as measured by HCC, the puberty-accelerating effects of chronic stress were only observed among girls with moderate (1.7 months earlier, P = 0.007) and low genetic susceptibility (2.2 months earlier, P < 0.001) and among boys with high genetic susceptibility (2.0 months earlier, P = 0.005). Polygenic differences (PRSs) in age at thelarche was most prominent in those with low levels of stress by HCC (9.06, 9.36 and 9.53 years for high, moderate and low PRS, respectively; F = 105.06, P < 0.0001), while polygenic differences in age at TV ≥4 mL was strongest in those under chronic stress (10.91, 11.06 and 11.17 years for high, moderate and low PRS, respectively; F = 100.48, P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Chronic stress predicts earlier age at pubertal onset in a sex-specific and genetic background-dependent manner. The bioecological G × E model for girls and diathesis stress model for boys in pubertal timing warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By the counterpoise geometry optimization at the level of CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ, the asymmetrical linear structures with all the real frequencies were obtained for the triatomic cations of (ABA)+ type: Ne3+, (He–Ne–He)+, (Ar–Ne–Ar)+, (Ar–He–Ar)+, (He–O–He)+, and (Ar–O–Ar)+. The validity of this optimization method is confirmed by comparing with the method of the potential-energy surface for the calculations of Ne3+ and (He–Ne–He)+. Using the molecular-orbital theory, it is found that the interaction within the triatomic cations is dominated by the contribution from the first two atoms while the contribution from the third atom is small. This result is justified as a direct consequence of forming an asymmetrical linear structure. Specifically, four types of interaction within the triatomic cations are identified: three-electron σ-type hemibond, three-electron π-type hemibond, two-electron σ bond, and the attraction between cation and atoms. For Ne3+, (He–Ne–He)+, and (He–O–He)+ clusters, it is shown that the electron correlation effect supports the asymmetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The privacy problem of facial recognition technology is that commercial companies obtain people’s facial information without the consent of individuals and use facial information to infringe on the privacy of individuals. The importance of human privacy in facial recognition technology is reflected through facial ethics, which requires others to perform corresponding obligations to individuals, such as oral care. Through the analysis of the privacy issues of facial recognition technology, it is found that the two elements of “without personal informed” and “without personal consent” together form the basis for commercial companies to violate personal privacy. The principle of informed consent includes the principle of informed and the principle of consent, which is derived from the principle of informed consent in medical ethics. This paper improves the principles of informed consent in medicine and ethics to better address facial recognition privacy issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A greenhouse field experiment involving tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) was performed using different nitrogen (N) management regimes: sole application of differing rates of chemical N fertilizer (SC) (SC treatments: N0, N1, N2, and N3) and combined application of manure and chemical N fertilizer (MC) (MC treatments: MN0, MN1, MN2, and MN3). These were used to understand the relationship between comprehensive fruit composition, yield, and N fractions (soil mineral N; soil soluble organic N; soil microbial biomass N, and soil fixed ammonium) under greenhouse conditions. The results showed that the MC treatments significantly increased vitamin C and soluble sugar content compared with SC treatments. In addition, the MN2 treatment produced a high yield and had a positive effect on fruit composition. The N3 (563 kg N/ha) and MN3 (796 kg N/ha) treatments resulted in a high loss of N below the root zone (0-30 cm), consequently reducing N use efficiency. Soil mineral N, soil soluble organic N, and soil fixed ammonium tended to be higher during the first fruiting period, whereas soil microbial biomass N tended to be higher during the second fruiting period. MC treatments significantly increased the N fraction in the 0- to 30-cm soil layer; N fractions tended to be higher with the MN2 treatment. According to an optimum regression equation, soil fixed ammonium during the first fruiting period and soil microbial biomass N during the second fruiting period had a more significant influence on tomato yield and fruit composition. Overall, application MC at an appropriate rate (MN2: 608 kg N/ha) is a promising approach to achieving high yields and optimum taste, and it offers a more sustainable fertilizer management strategy compared with chemical N fertilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the college students who hold China's future hope have presented different degrees of psychological health problems. The psychological health education is the most direct way to improve the psychological quality of college students, so it is necessary and urgent to strengthen the psychological quality and self-regulation ability of college students and enhance the psychological health education of college students. Based on the techniques and methods of Cognitive Linguistics Rehabilitation Theory and the actual situation of college students, this paper puts forward a set of cognitive counselling program with popularity. The data analysis of cognitive experiment reveals that cognitive psychotherapy plays a positive role in guiding and improving the psychological health education of college students, and has certain reference and guiding significance to the psychological health education of college students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copalyl diphosphate synthase 1 (SmCPS1) is the first committed enzyme in tanshinone biosynthesis. The promoter region plays an important role in the transcriptional regulation of genes. Mutations in the promoter region may affect gene expression, resulting in changes in the amount of metabolites. In this study, we investigated the SmCPS1 gene promoter region together with the 388 bp downstream from the translation start site and the content of tanshinones of 12 different genotypes of Salvia miltiorrhiza. The cis-elements of SmCPS1 promoter were predicted and analysed by the Plant Transcriptional Regulatory Map database. We found (1) a different correlation between the polymorphism in the promoter region and the contents of tanshinones; (2) functional polymorphic loci - four tandem repeat variations, three indels and five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in five cis-elements, three SNPs in exons and two SNPs in introns; (3) the correlation coefficient was higher when only functional (informative) polymorphic loci were considered. These findings have laid the foundation for further exploring the interspecific variation of S. miltiorrhiza and its relationship with the contents of tanshinones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a reliable and efficient analytical model to calculate the shielding effectiveness (SE) of a rectangular enclosure with wire penetration under plane wave illumination over frequency range of 0 to 2.5GHz. The wire is equivalent to monopole antenna, and the four-element lumped-parameter equivalent circuit for monopole antenna is established to represent the coupling process between electric field and the wire. Based on dynamic Green function, the approximate solution of the electric field distribution in the enclosure excited by the internal wire is derived, and Bethe's theory is used to calculate the approximate solution of the electric field distribution in the enclosure excited by the aperture when the aperture size is not negligible. Several cases are presented to verify the validity of the model. The effects of the length of the wire inside and outside the enclosure, wire penetration and observation point position as well as incident direction of plane wave on the SE are discussed in detail. Simulation result of the proposed model are in good agreement with that of the transmission line matrix (TLM) method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acquisition of ecologically relevant genes is common among ocean bacteria, but whether it has a major impact on genome evolution in marine environments remains unknown. Here, we analyzed the core genomes of 16 phylogenetically diverse and ecologically relevant bacterioplankton lineages, each consisting of up to five genomes varying at the strain level. Statistical approaches identified from each lineage up to ~50 loci showing anomalously high divergence at synonymous sites, which is best explained by recombination with distantly related organisms. The enriched gene categories in these outlier loci match well with the characteristics previously identified as the key phenotypes of these lineages. Examples are antibiotic synthesis and detoxification in Phaeobacter inhibens, exopolysaccharide production in Alteromonas macleodii, hydrocarbon degradation in Marinobacter hydrocarbonoclasticus, and cold adaptation in Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis. Intriguingly, the outlier loci feature polysaccharide catabolism in Cellulophaga baltica but not in Cellulophaga lytica, consistent with their primary habitat preferences in macroalgae and beach sands, respectively. Likewise, analysis of Prochlorococcus showed that photosynthesis-related genes listed in the outlier loci are found only in the high-light-adapted ecotype and not in the low-light adapted ecotype. These observations strongly suggest that recombination with distant relatives is a key mechanism driving the ecological diversification among marine bacterial lineages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Downregulation of aquaporins (AQPs) in obstructive kidney disease has been well demonstrated with elusive mechanisms. Our previous study indicated that mitochondrial dysfunction played a crucial role in this process. However, it is still uncertain how mitochondrial dysfunction affected the AQPs in obstructive kidney disease. This study investigated the role of mitochondria-derived oxidative stress in mediating obstruction-induced downregulation of AQPs. After unilateral ureteral obstruction for 7 days, renal superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2; mitochondria-specific SOD) was reduced by 85%. Meanwhile, AQP1, AQP2, AQP3, and AQP4 were remarkably downregulated as determined by Western blotting and/or quantitative real-time PCR. Administration of the SOD2 mimic manganese (III) tetrakis(4-benzoic acid)porphyrin chloride (MnTBAP) significantly attenuated AQP2 downregulation in line with complete blockade of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances elevation, whereas the reduction of AQP1, AQP3, and AQP4 was not affected. The cyclooxygenase (COX)-2/prostaglandin (PG) E2 pathway has been well documented as a contributor of AQP reduction in obstructed kidney; thus, we detected the levels of COX-1/2 and microsomal prostaglandin E synthase 1 (mPGES-1) in kidney and PGE2 secretion in urine. Significantly, MnTBAP partially suppressed the elevation of COX-2, mPGES-1, and PGE2. Moreover, a marked decrease of V2 receptor was significantly restored after MnTBAP treatment. However, the fibrotic response and renal tubular damage were unaffected by MnTBAP in obstructed kidneys. Collectively, these findings suggested an important role of mitochondrial oxidative stress in mediating AQP2 downregulation in obstructed kidney, possibly via modulating the COX-2/mPGES-1/PGE2/V2 receptor pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The negative thermal expansion (NTE) and structural evolution of antiperovskite compounds Mn3Ga1-xGexN (0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) were systematically investigated. Our results indicate the crystal structure of Mn3Ga1-xGexN changes from cubic (C) to tetragonal (T4) with increasing Ge content by X-ray diffraction (XRD).The negative thermal expansion from x = 0 (operation-temperature range ΔT = 20 K) to x = 0.4 (ΔT = 60 K) becomes broad and shifts to higher temperature, and then it became positive from x = 0.5 in Mn3Ga1-xGexN. Typically, Mn3Ga0.5Ge0.5N shows low thermal expansion behavior between 300 and 450 K (ΔT = 150 K), and thermal expansion coefficient α is estimated to be 2 × 10-6 K-1. Furthermore, variable temperature XRD was measured to reveal the origin of NTE. The cubic I - cubic II phases coexistence (x = 0.2) and cubic I - tetragonal coexistence (x = 0.5, 0.6) was observed at low temperature. The tunable NTE is highly valuable for practical applications in precision devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the guidance of combination of traditional Chinese medicine chemistry (CTCMC), this study describes the preparation of a phenolic acid/dipeptide/borneol hybrid consisting of phenolic acid and a bornyl moiety connected to the dipeptide N-terminal and C-terminal respectively. It also evaluates their angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory and synergistic antihypertensive activities. Briefly, a series of novel 2-hydroxypyrrolobenzodiazepine-5,11-dione analogues were prepared and investigated for their ability to inhibit ACE. The influence of the phenolic acid and bornyl moiety on subsite selectivity is also demonstrated. Among all the new compounds, two compounds--7a and 7g--reveal good inhibition potency in in vitro ACE-inhibitory tests. Interestingly, favorable binding results in molecular docking studies also supported the in vitro results. Additionally, the bioassay showed that oral administration of the two compounds displayed high and long-lasting antihypertensive activity both in acute antihypertensive tests and in therapeutic antihypertensive tests by non-invasive blood pressure measurements in spontaneously hypertensive rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Baylisascaris schroederi, a roundworm parasite of giant pandas, badly affects the health of its hosts. Diagnosis of this disease currently depends mainly on sedimentation floatation and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) methods to detect the eggs. However, neither of these methods is suitable for diagnosis of early-stage panda baylisascariasis and no information on early diagnosis of this disease is available so far. Therefore, to develop an effective serologic diagnostic method, this study produced recombinant glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and thioredoxin peroxidase (Tpx) proteins from B. schroederi using a prokaryotic expression system. We determined the immunological characteristics of these proteins and their location in the parasite. Indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were established to detect B. schroederi infection in giant pandas based on GAPDH and Tpx respectively. The open reading frame of the GAPDH gene (1083 bp) encoded a 39 kDa protein, while the predicted molecular weight of Tpx (588 bp) was 21.6 kDa. Western-blotting analysis revealed that both recombinant proteins could be recognized with positive serum of pandas infected with B. schroederi. Immunohistochemical staining showed that the endogenous GAPDH of B. schroederi was widely distributed in the worm while Tpx was mainly localized in the muscle, eggs, gut wall, uterus wall and hypodermis. Serological tests showed that the GAPDH-based indirect ELISA had a sensitivity of 95.83% and specificity of 100%, while the test using Tpx as the antigen had sensitivity of 75% and specificity of 91.7%. Thus, B. schroederi Tpx is unsuitable as a diagnostic antigen for baylisascariasis, but B. schroederi GAPDH is a good candidate diagnostic antigen for B. schroederi in pandas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigate the multiple attribute decision making problems to evaluate the high-tech industry competitiveness of science and technology parks with the fuzzy number intuitionistic fuzzy information. We first introduce some operations on the fuzzy number intuitionistic fuzzy sets. Then, we further develop the induced fuzzy number intuitionistic fuzzy Hamacher ordered weighted geometric (IFNIFHOWG) operator based on the induced OWG (IOWG) operator. Then, we apply the IFNIFHOWG to deal with multiple attribute decision making with the fuzzy number intuitionistic fuzzy information. Finally an illustrative example for evaluating the high-tech industry competitiveness of science and technology parks has been given to show the developed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Camera calibration is a crucial problem in many applications, such as 3D reconstruction, structure from motion, object tracking and face alignment. Numerous methods have been proposed to solve the above problem with good performance in the last few decades. However, few methods are targeted at joint calibration of multi-sensors (more than four devices), which normally is a practical issue in the real-time systems. In this paper, we propose a novel method and a corresponding workflow framework to simultaneously calibrate relative poses of a Kinect and three external cameras. By optimizing the final cost function and adding corresponding weights to the external cameras in different locations, an effective joint calibration of multiple devices is constructed. Furthermore, the method is tested in a practical platform, and experiment results show that the proposed joint calibration method can achieve a satisfactory performance in a project real-time system and its accuracy is higher than the manufacturer’s calibration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thioflavin T (ThT) is widely used as a fluorescent probe for amyloid fibril detection. Yet the exact kinetic mechanism of ThT binding onto amyloid fibril remains elusive. Previously reported kinetic studies using ThT-fluorescence-detected kinetic design suggested two completely different ThT-binding mechanisms. In one study, a multistep sequential binding mechanism onto a single ThT-binding site was suggested. In another study, a one-step parallel binding mechanism onto multiple ThT-binding sites was suggested. The discrepancy is likely due to the incapability of ThT-fluorescence-detected kinetic design to differentiate the two above-mentioned mechanisms. Considering the weakness of the ThT-fluorescence-detected approach, we investigated the ThT-binding mechanism onto the amyloid fibril of hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) using a new approach, ThT-absorbance-detected kinetic design. Our new results suggest that ThT binds to HEWL fibril through the one-step parallel binding mechanism. We hope our work can offer some new insights into the interactions between dye molecules and amyloid fibrils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Early pubertal timing is linked with a range of adverse health outcomes later. Given recent trends of earlier pubertal maturation, there is growing interest in the factors influencing pubertal timing. Socioeconomic disadvantage has been previously linked with reproductive strategies later in life. In this study, we aim to determine the association between cumulative social disadvantages in early life and early puberty in a population-based birth cohort. METHODS: Data are from the B (baby) cohort of The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Children (n = 5107) were aged 0 to 1 years when recruited in 2004 and 10 to 11 years (n = 3764) at Wave 6 in 2015. Household socioeconomic position (SEP) and neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage were collected at all 6 waves. Trajectories of disadvantage were identified through latent class models. Early puberty at Wave 6 was assessed from parental reports using an adaptation of the Pubertal Development Scale. RESULTS: Cumulative exposure to extremely unfavorable household SEP in boys independently predicted a fourfold increase (odds ratio = 4.22, 95% confidence interval 2.27-7.86) in the rate of early puberty. In girls, the increase was twofold (odds ratio = 1.96, 95% confidence interval 1.08-3.56). We found no effect from neighborhood disadvantage once family SEP was taken into account. CONCLUSIONS: Cumulative exposure to household socioeconomic disadvantage in early life predicts earlier pubertal timing in both boys and girls. This may represent 1 mechanism underpinning associations between early life disadvantage and poor health in later life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hole cold expansion and bolt clamping force are usually applied to improve the fatigue performance of bolted joints. In order to investigate the effects of hole cold expansion and bolt clamping force and reveal the mechanism of these two factors on the fatigue damage of bolted joint, a continuum damage mechanics (CDM) based approach in conjunction with the finite element method is used. The damage-coupled Voyiadjis plasticity constitutive model is used to represent the material behavior, which is implemented by user material subroutine in abaqus. The elasticity and plasticity damage evolutions of the material are described by the stress-based and plastic-strain-based equations, respectively. The fatigue damage of joint is calculated using ABAQUS cycle by cycle. The fatigue lives of double-lap bolted joints with and without clamping force at different levels of hole cold expansion are all obtained. The characteristics of fatigue damage corresponding to the different conditions are presented to unfold the influencing mechanism of these two factors. The predicted fatigue lives and crack initiation locations are in good agreement with the experimental results available in the literature. The beneficial effects of hole cold expansion and bolt clamping force on the fatigue behavior of bolted joint are presented in this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current study, the low-velocity impact response of hybrid-laminated composites based on the twill woven fabrics was investigated experimentally. The following five different types of carbon–aramid/epoxy hybrid laminates were produced and tested, (a) two types of interply hybrid, (b) two types of sandwich-like interply hybrid, and (c) intraply hybrid. Non-hybrid carbon and aramid twill woven laminates were also tested for comparison. The effects of the hybrid structure on the impact properties such as the peak load, the ductility index, and damage area were discussed. The impact damage resistances of specimens were evaluated by comparing damage images taken from both the impacted and the non-impacted surface. The damage and failure mechanisms were analyzed from the impact damage morphologies using ultrasonic C-scan and three-coordinate measuring device. Under the same impact energies, the interply hybrid laminates with carbon fabric on the impact surface have higher impact damage resistance. It can be concluded that placing of high stiffness carbon fabric at highly stressed regions as reinforcement would result in enhanced properties, and the damage tolerance performance of composites with interply hybrid structure are better than those of other hybrid composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The elliptic potential Korteweg-de Vries lattice system is a multi-component extension of the lattice potential Korteweg-de Vries equation, whose soliton solutions are associated with an elliptic Cauchy kernel (i.e., a Cauchy kernel on the torus). In this paper we generalize the class of solutions by allowing the spectral parameter to be a full matrix obeying a matrix version of the equation of the elliptic curve, and for the Cauchy matrix to be a solution of a Sylvester type matrix equation subject to this matrix elliptic curve equation. The construction involves solving the matrix elliptic curve equation by using Toeplitz matrix techniques, and analysing the solution of the Sylvester equation in terms of Jordan normal forms. Furthermore, we consider the continuum limit system associated with the elliptic potential Korteweg-de Vries system, and analyse the dynamics of the soliton solutions, which reveals some new features of the elliptic system in comparison to the non-elliptic case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gliomas are malignant primary brain tumors with poor prognosis. Recently, research was indicative of a tight connection between tumor malignancy and genetic alterations. Here, we propose an oncogenic implication of transforming acidic coiled-coil-containing protein 3 (TACC3) in gliomas. By comprehensively analyzing the Chinese glioma genome atlas (CGGA) and publicly available data, we demonstrated that TACC3 were overexpressed along with glioma grade and served as an independent negative prognostic biomarker for glioma patients. Functions' annotations and gene sets' enrichment analysis suggested that TACC3 may participate in cell cycle, DNA repair, epithelium-mesenchymal transition and other tumor-related biological processes and molecular pathways. Patients with high TACC3 expression showed CD133+ stem cell properties, glioma plasticity and shorter overall survival time under chemo-/radio-therapy. Additionally, a TACC3 associated the miRNA-mRNA network was constructed based on in silico prediction and expression pattern, which provide a foundation for further detection of TACC3-miRNA-mRNA axis function. Collectively, our observations identify TACC3 as an oncogene of tumor malignancy, as well as a prognostic and motoring biomarker for glioma patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which examines the human influence on the extreme summer temperature events in western China on June 12 to August 10, 2015. The study used the optimal fingerprinting method for the analysis of daily maximum (TXx), and daily minimum (TNx) temperatures. Results show the increase in the probability of the event due to the anthropogenic forcing (ANT) and combination of natural variability of the climate system and human emission of greenhouse gases.

Objective: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrinopathies affecting 5-7% of reproductive age women worldwide. The aim of our study was to explore the PCOS-related single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associations between common genetic variants and PCOS risk in a Han Chinese women population. Methods: In this case-control study, 285 Chinese Han women aged 28.50±6.858 years with PCOS and 299 controls of a mean age of 32.66±7.018 years were compared. We selected recently published genome-wide association studies (GWAS) which identified several genetic loci in PCOS. All the SNPs were genotyped by Sequenom Mass-ARRAY technology. Associations between the gene and the risk of PCOS were tested using various genetic models by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and Plink. Results: We found that rs705702 in the RAB5B/SUOX was associated with PCOS (odds ratio=1.42; 95% confidence interval=1.08-1.87, p=0.011) and increased the PCOS risk. The genotypic model analysis also showed that rs705702 was associated with PCOS risk. Conclusion: Our results suggest that SNPs rs705702 in gene RAB5B/SUOX was associated with PCOS in Han Chinese women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Policy makers require information regarding performance of different primary care delivery models in managing hypertension, which can be helpful for better hypertension management. This study aims to compare continuity of care among hypertensive patients between Direct Management (DM) Model of community health centers (CHCs) in Wuhan and Loose Collaboration (LC) Model in Nanjing. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted. Four CHCs in each city were randomly selected as study settings. 386 patients in Nanjing and 396 in Wuhan completed face-to-face interview surveys and were included in the final analysis. The relational continuity and coordination continuity (including both information continuity and management continuity) were measured and analyzed. Binary or multinomial logistic regression models were used for comparison between the two cities. Results: Participants from Nanjing had better relational continuity with primary care providers as compared with those from Wuhan, including more likely to be familiar with a CHC physician (OR = 2.762; 95%CI: 1.878 to 4.061), taken care of by the same CHC physician (OR = 1.846; 95%CI: 1.262 to 2.700), and known well by a CHC physician (OR = 1.762; 95%CI: 1.206 to 2.572). Multinomial logistic regression analyses showed there were significant differences between the two cities in reported frequency of communications between hospital and CHC physicians (P = 0.001), whether hospital and CHC physicians gave same treatment suggestions (P = 0.016), as well as how treatment strategy was formulated (P < 0.001). Participants in Wuhan were less likely than those in Nanjing to consider there was continuum regarding health services provided by hospital and CHC physicians (OR = 3.932; 95%CI: 2.394 to 6.459). Conclusions: Our study shows that continuity of care is better for LC Model in Nanjing than DM Model in Wuhan. Our study suggests there is room for improvement regarding relational and information continuity in both cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obstructive kidney disease is a common complication in the clinic. Downregulation of aquaporins (AQPs) in obstructed kidneys has been thought as a key factor leading to the polyuria and impairment of urine-concentrating capability after the release of kidney obstruction. The present study was to investigate the role of mitochondrial complex-1 in modulating AQPs in obstructive nephropathy. Following 7-day unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO), AQP1, AQP2, AQP3, and vasopressin 2 (V2) receptor were remarkably reduced as determined by qRT-PCR and/or Western blotting. Notably, inhibition of mitochondrial complex-1 by rotenone markedly reversed the downregulation of AQP1, AQP2, AQP3, and V2. In contrast, AQP4 was not affected by kidney obstruction or rotenone treatment. In a separate study, rotenone also attenuated AQPs' downregulation after 48-h UUO. To study the potential mechanisms in mediating the rotenone effects on AQPs, we examined the regulation of the COX-2/microsomal prostaglandin E synthase (mPGES)-1/PGE2/EP pathway and found that COX-2, mPGES-1, and renal PGE2 content were all significantly elevated in obstructive kidneys, which was not affected by rotenone treatment. For EP receptors, EP2 and EP4 but not EP1 and EP3 were upregulated in obstructive kidneys. Importantly, rotenone strikingly suppressed EP1 and EP4 but not EP2 and EP3 receptors. However, treatment of EP1 antagonist SC-51322 could not affect AQPs' reduction in obstructed kidneys. Collectively, these findings suggested an important role of mitochondrial dysfunction in modulating AQPs and V2 receptor in obstructive nephropathy possibly via prostaglandin-independent mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dopamine receptor 2 (DR2) expressions on B cells from Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients has been found to be negatively correlated with disease activity and can potentially predict the response to treatment. This study aimed to investigate the role of B cell DR2 expression on bone remodeling in RA.Methods: Patients with RA (n = 14) or osteoarthritis (OA; n = 12), and healthy controls (n = 12) were recruited for this study. Dopamine receptor (DR) 2 expression was assessed using flow cytometry. Pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleuin(IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-17, and tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α, and bone turnovers, including osteocalcin (OC),serum procollagen type I N propeptide (PINP), C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (β-CTX), collagen type I cross-linked telopeptide (ICTP), as well as matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) and osteoprotegerin (OPG) were measured by electrochemiluminescence, chemiluminescence, or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. DR2 expression on synovial B cells from 4 RA patients and 3 OA patients was detected by immunofluorescence.Results: There were more DR2(+)CD19(+) B cells in synovial tissues from RA patients than in those from OA patients. The frequency of peripheral B cells that expressed DR2 was positively correlated with plasma TNF-α level. Levels of ICTP and MMP-3 were significantly higher, and OPG were lower in RA patients compared to those in the OA group and healthy controls (all P < 0.05).Conclusion: The frequency of B cells that expressed DR2 showed a correlation with levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α. DR2(+)CD19(+) B cells in synovial tissues might have a role in bone metabolism and TNF-α production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Group of companies, a number of members work together to produce some kind of products and share the benefit, which may lead to an issue on the transfer price of intermediate product. The formulation of internal transfer price, in fact, is also a manifestation form of the distribution of income within the group. This article uses cooperative game theory establishing the profit allocation model of group, introduces Shapley value method and modifies the value in consideration of the importance of member companies. Based on the members sharing benefits calculated by the modified Shapley value method, consider the processing cost of each member of the unit itself and determine the internal transfer price of intermediate product. The validity and rationality of this method are proved by the examples. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A2BAR (A2B adenosine receptor) has been implicated in several physiological conditions, such as allergic or inflammatory disorders, vasodilation, cell growth and epithelial electrolyte secretion. For mediating the protein—protein interactions of A2BAR, the receptor's C-terminus is recognized to be crucial. In the present study, we unexpectedly found that two point mutations in the A2BAR C-terminus (F297A and R298A) drastically impaired the expression of A2BAR protein by accelerating its degradation. Thus we tested the hypothesis that these two point mutations disrupt A2BAR's interaction with a protein essential for A2BAR stability. Our results show that both mutations disrupted the interaction of A2BAR with actinin-1, an actin-associated protein. Furthermore, actinin-1 binding stabilized the global and cell-surface expression of A2BAR. By contrast, actinin-4, another non-muscle actinin isoform, did not bind to A2BAR. Thus our findings reveal a previously unidentified regulatory mechanism of A2BAR abundance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]