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Recent studies have revealed that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are closely linked to several human diseases, providing new opportunities for their use in detection and therapy. Many graph propagation and similarity fusion approaches can be used for predicting potential lncRNA–disease associations. However, existing similarity fusion approaches suffer from noise and self-similarity loss in the fusion process. To address these problems, a new prediction approach, termed SSMF-BLNP, based on organically combining selective similarity matrix fusion (SSMF) and bidirectional linear neighborhood label propagation (BLNP), is proposed in this paper to predict lncRNA–disease associations. In SSMF, self-similarity networks of lncRNAs and diseases are obtained by selective preprocessing and nonlinear iterative fusion. The fusion process assigns weights to each initial similarity network and introduces a unit matrix that can reduce noise and compensate for the loss of self-similarity. In BLNP, the initial lncRNA–disease associations are employed in both lncRNA and disease directions as label information for linear neighborhood label propagation. The propagation was then performed on the self-similarity network obtained from SSMF to derive the scoring matrix for predicting the relationships between lncRNAs and diseases. Experimental results showed that SSMF-BLNP performed better than seven other state of-the-art approaches. Furthermore, a case study demonstrated up to 100% and 80% accuracy in 10 lncRNAs associated with hepatocellular carcinoma and 10 lncRNAs associated with renal cell carcinoma, respectively. The source code and datasets used in this paper are available at: https://github.com/RuiBingo/SSMF-BLNP.

A porous organic polymer (POL-xantphos) was synthesized and employed as a heterogeneous ligand for nickel catalyzed highly regio- and stereo-selective 1,3-diyne hydrosilylation. A broad range of unsymmetrical and symmetrical 1,3-diynes can react with primary and secondary silanes to yield the corresponding silyl-functionalized 1,3-enynes. Owing to the confinement effect of the microporous structure, the selectivity of POL-xantphos greatly increased compared with that of the monomeric xantphos ligand. This is the first report on the use of a porous organic polymer as a regioselective and efficient heterogeneous ligand in 1,3-diyne hydrosilylation. The Earth-abundant base-metal catalyst, coordinated with a recyclable heterogeneous porous organic polymer, shows good prospects for industrial applications.

Background: Cytidine deaminase (CDA) polymorphisms may affect the response to gemcitabine/cisplatin chemotherapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study is designed to investigate the associations of CDA-79A>C and 208G>A polymorphisms and gemcitabine/cisplatin chemotherapy effectiveness in Xinjiang Uyghur and Han patients. Methods: This prospective cohort study enrolled consecutive patients with stage IIIb/IV NSCLC administered gemcitabine/cisplatin chemotherapy at the First Affiliated Hospital, Medical College of Shihezi University and the First People’s Hospital, Kashgar Region. CDA-A79C and CDA-G208A polymorphisms were detected by direct sequencing. Progression-free survival was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method. Associations of A79C and G208A polymorphisms with treatment effectiveness and progression-free survival were analyzed using logistic regression and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Subgroup analyses based on ethnicity were performed. Results: The study enrolled 120 patients. A79C and G208A polymorphisms followed the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The frequencies of the AA, AC, and CC genotypes and the A and C alleles of A79C were 52.2%, 29.9%, 17.9%, 67.2%, and 32.8%, respectively, in Han patients and 75.4%, 18.9%, 5.7%, 84.9%, and 5.1%, respectively, in Uyghur patients. Uyghur patients had lower frequencies of A79C-AC/CC genotypes, A79C-C allele, G208A-GA genotype, and G208A-A allele ( PConclusion: For Uyghur and Han ethnic groups, A79C and G208A polymorphisms can be used as a promising biomarker for the chemotherapy efficacy and prognosis of NSCLC.

In this particular experiment, a chain of conductive polymer graphene/polypyrrole (Gr/PPy) and BiPO4—or (Gr/PPy)–BiPO4—materials were prepared and used as moisture-sensitive materials. The structure and morphology of the conductive polymer (Gr/PPy)–BiPO4 materials were analyzed using an X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Moreover, properties such as hysteresis loop, impedance, sensing response, and response and recovery time were calculated and evaluated using an inductance–capacitance–resistance analyzer. The data expressed that PPy/BiPO4, as prepared in this study, exhibited excellent sensing properties, with impedance changing by only a few orders of range. Furthermore, the response time and time of recovery were 340 s and 60 s, respectively, and negligible humidity hysteresis occurred at different relative humidities. Therefore, conductive PPy/BiPO4, as prepared in the present study, is an excellent candidate for application in humidity sensors.

Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) is among the most important and highly contagious pathogens that cause enteric or systemic infections in domestic and nondomestic carnivores. However, the spillover of CPV-2 to noncarnivores is rarely mentioned. Taiwanese pangolins (

In this paper, we propose a compact hardware architecture which can support HOG, HOF, MBHx and MBHy feature extraction in real-time. To achieve low-cost hardware, we first design a hardware-oriented algorithm. In addition to simplification of complicated numeric computation, we also modify the computation of the gradient at boundary to reduce on-chip buffers. The architecture is highly parallel in order to fully reuse input data and to achieve high throughput. Other features of our architecture include a four-bank memory composed of four SRAMs, a 2-cycle weighted binning, and a 2-port memory for histogram collection. The final specification can support HOG, HOF, MBHx, and MBHy feature extraction with a throughput of 65 fps in full-HD videos operating at 215 MHz, consuming only 57.6 kB on-chip memory and a gate count of 411k.

It has been proposed that the inflammatory response of monocytes/macrophages induced by oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) is a key event in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. MicroRNA-155 (miR-155) is an important regulator of the immune system and has been shown to be involved in acute inflammatory response. However, the function of miR-155 in oxLDL-stimulated inflammation and atherosclerosis remains unclear. Here, we show that the exposure of human THP-1 macrophages to oxLDL led to a marked up-regulation of miR-155 in a dose-dependent manner. Silencing of endogenous miR-155 in THP-1 cells using locked nucleic acid-modified antisense oligonucleotides significantly enhanced oxLDL-induced lipid uptake, up-regulated the expression of scavenger receptors (lectinlike oxidized LDL receptor-1, cluster of differentiation 36 [CD36], and CD68), and promoted the release of several cytokines including interleukin (IL)-6, -8, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α). Luciferase reporter assay showed that targeting miR-155 promoted nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) nuclear translocation and potentiated the NF-κB-driven transcription activity. Moreover, miR-155 knockdown resulted in a marked increase in the protein amount of myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MyD88), an important adapter protein used by Toll-like receptors to activate the NF-κB pathway. Our data demonstrate that miR-155 serves as a negative feedback regulator in oxLDL-stimulated THP-1 inflammatory responses and lipid uptake and thus might have potential therapeutic implications in atherosclerosis.

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the factors related to outcome regarding in–intensive care unit (ICU) cardiac arrest (IICA) in a university hospital. Patients and Methods Adult nontraumatic ICU patients who sustained IICA were prospectively enrolled. Several patient and event-related variables, as well as outcomes, were recorded and summarized based on the revised Utstein-style template. Results A total of 202 episodes of IICA happened during the study period. Return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) was achieved in 127 patients (62.9%), whereas the overall survival-to-discharge rate was 15.3% (31 patients). In univariate analysis, a shorter duration of resuscitation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF) as initial arrest rhythm represented better outcomes. Independent predictors of survival to hospital discharge were VT/VF as the initial rhythm (odds ratio [OR], 3.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.50-9.67; P = .005), lower Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score (OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.87-0.98, P = .008), and shorter resuscitation durations (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.87-0.96, P Conclusion Shorter resuscitation duration and initial VT/VF are predictors for both ROSC and hospital survival, whereas lower Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scores predict the latter.

We report here a clinical and molecular study on a case suffer from severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) due to a new type of bunyavirus, named SFTS bunyavirus (SFTSV), in Zhejiang Province China. The key clinical features of this patient include fever, lymphocytopenia and thrombocytopenia. We carried out a serological and molecular investigation in the indicated case and on relatives with close contact. The SFTSV infection was confirmed through amplification of viral genetic material using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from the patient's serum, but not relatives with close contact. Subsequently direct sequence of PCR product demonstrated a homology of 94-96% in the nucleotide sequence compared to a reference sequence previously reported, in which the majority of patients originated from an epidemic area of Central and Northeast China. Our results suggest that SFTSV can occur in a non-epidemic area due to a similar strain of SFTSV that apparently affect the blood system, implying the importance of dissecting the pathogenesis of SFTS as well as mode of infection.

To investigate the clinical significance of the expression of serum differential protein in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) related liver fibrosis.One hundred and ten CHB patients confirmed by liver biopsies were enrolled, 83 for modeling and 27 for verification. According to Ishak staging, 55 patients in the modeling group were with significant liver fibrosis ( F is more than or equal to 3 ) and 28 patients with normal/mild liver fibrosis ( F0-F2 ). While that in the verification group were 15 ( F is more than or equal to 3 ) and 12 ( F0-F2 ), respectively. MALDI-TOF-MS/MS was used to detect serum proteins and the spectrum for each sample was analyzed in FlexAnalysis3.0 to produce the spectrum of differential proteins. The results were compared with clinicopathologic diagnosis and the diagnosis model based on genetic algorithm was established and evaluated.There were 15 proteins differentially expressed in significant liver fibrosis group and normal/mild fibrosis group ( P value is less than 0.01), in which the differences on proteins 2081.73 m/z and 1944.41 m/z were the most significant. Based on these two proteins, the coordinate system was set up and the diagnosis model based on genetic algorithm was established by six characteristic peaks. After detecting 12 cases of normal/mild liver fibrosis and 15 cases of significant liver fibrosis, the results showed that the diagnostic model could identify significant fibrosis ( F is more than or equal to 3 ) and normal/mild liver fibrosis ( F0-F2 ) at 100% recognition, 94.14% prediction and 100% accuracy.Serum differential proteins examination can be used for early prediction of CHB related fibrosis. The study provides the basis for non-invasive diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis according to identifying the potential differences of the serum samples from patients with HBV related fibrosis.

To investigate the relationship between the genotypes of hepatitis B virus and the clinical and liver pathological features of patients with chronic hepatitis in the Zhoushan Islands.One hundred eighty HBV DNA positive chronic hepatitis patients with HBV markers were enrolled in this study. They were at least second generation Zhoushan Island residents. One hundred forty-seven of them were males and 33 were females with an average age of 39.0+/-11.3. Among the 180 patients, 17 had ASC, 57 had mild CHB, 48 moderate CHB, 9 severe CHB, 6 SHB, 39 LC, and 4 had HCC. The genotypes of their serum HBV were detected by using PCR integrated with Tagman MGB probe technology, and their serum HBV markers, HBV DNA and liver functions were also examined. Out of 180 patients, 129 accepted a liver biopsy. A pathological evaluation was then performed.HBVs of genotype C, 135 cases (75.0%), of B, 40 cases (22.2%), and of B+C, 5 cases (2.8%) were found among these 180 patients. No genotype A or D HBV were found. The proportions of genotype C virus were 7/17, 86/114, 34/39, 6/6 in ASC, CHB, LC and SHB patients. In the hepatocellular carcinoma patients, there were 2 each of genotype B and C. Among the 99 patients with genotype C HBV, 84 cases (84.8%) showed moderate and severe inflammation histologically in their livers and among the 30 patients with B, 7 cases (23.3%) showed moderate to severe inflammation in their livers (z = 6.47, P less than 0.01). The proportion of genotype C HBV was significantly different from that of genotype B HBV in those that showed moderate and severe (S3-4) liver fibrosis. In patients infected with genotype C HBV who had moderate and severe liver pathological changes, their clinical manifestations reflected better the histological alterations of their livers.Genotypes C, B and B+C HBV were found in CHB patients in the Zhoushan Islands of China, and type C was the predominant one. The liver pathological damage level of genotype C HBV infected patients is more serious than that of genotype B.

The mucosal surface of intestine is continuously exposed to both potential pathogens and beneficial commensal microorganisms. Recent findings suggest that intestinal epithelial cells, which once considered as a simple physical barrier, are a crucial cell lineage necessary for maintaining intestinal immune homeostasis. Therefore, establishing a stable and reliable intestinal epithelial cell line for future research on the mucosal immune system is necessary. In the present study, we established a porcine intestinal epithelial cell line (ZYM-SIEC02) by introducing the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene into small intestinal epithelial cells derived from a neonatal, unsuckled piglet. Morphological analysis revealed a homogeneous cobblestone-like morphology of the epithelial cell sheets. Ultrastructural indicated the presence of microvilli, tight junctions, and a glandular configuration typical of the small intestine. Furthermore, ZYM-SIEC02 cells expressed epithelial cell-specific markers including cytokeratin 18, pan-cytokeratin, sucrase-isomaltase, E-cadherin and ZO-1. Immortalized ZYM-SIEC02 cells remained diploid and were not transformed. In addition, we also examined the host cell response to Salmonella and LPS and verified the enhanced expression of mRNAs encoding IL-8 and TNF-α by infection with Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium). Results showed that IL-8 protein expression were upregulated following Salmonella invasion. TLR4, TLR6 and IL-6 mRNA expression were upregulated following stimulation with LPS, ZYM-SIEC02 cells were hyporeponsive to LPS with respect to IL-8 mRNA expression and secretion. TNFα mRNA levels were significantly decreased after LPS stimulation and TNF-α secretion were not detected challenged with S. Typhimurium neither nor LPS. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that ZYM-SIEC02 cells retained the morphological and functional characteristics typical of primary swine intestinal epithelial cells and thus provide a relevant in vitro model system for future studies on porcine small intestinal pathogen-host cell interactions.