Overall thermal sensation and comfort prediction with different model combinations: Cold and hot step-change environments in winter.

Currently, numerous thermal comfort models have been proposed; however, research on the combination of different models is lacking. This study aims to predict the overall thermal sensation (OTS*) and thermal comfort (OTC*) with different model combinations under hot and cold step changes. Three cold- and hot-shock processes are designed in the climate chamber. Accordingly, the skin temperature, thermal sensation, and thermal comfort votes of 16 participants are collected. The impacts of winter hot and cold step changes on subjective votes and skin temperatures are evaluated. Further, the OTS* and OTC* values are calculated, and their accuracy under different model combinations is analyzed. The results reveal that thermal sensation changes in human body exhibit distinct asymmetry under the cold and hot step-changes, except for the cycle of "15-30-15 °C" (I15). The parts farther from the core area become more asymmetrical after the step changes. The single models exhibit the highest accuracy in different model combinations. The combined form of a single model is recommended for thermal sensation or comfort prediction.

IL-10 enhances T cell survival and is associated with faster relapse in patients with inactive ulcerative colitis.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is characterized by a relapsing and remitting pattern. The remission phase may last weeks to years. It remains unclear what specific factors can cause the disease to exist the remission phase and enter an activated state. IL-10 is a cytokine best known for its anti-inflammatory roles. We hypothesized that IL-10 might have a role in suppressing disease flares in UC remission patients. Unexpectedly, we found that UC remission patients with higher serum IL-10 levels presented faster progression to disease flares. Subsequently, we found that exogenous IL-10 could significantly reduce the level of CD4 and CD8 T cell proliferation. On the other hand, IL-10 significantly elevated the viability of activated CD4 and CD8 T cells. Interestingly, it appeared that the IL-10-mediated pro-survival effects were more pronounced in CD8 T cells than in CD4 T cells and were able to promote the survival of activated T cells when administered prior to cell activation. To examine whether IL-10 in the serum of UC patients was able to enhance T cell survival, we separated UC remission patients into Low, Intermediate, and High groups based on the serum IL-10 level. The native serum from High IL-10 patients, but not the native serum from Low IL-10 patients, could significantly increase the viability of activated T cells. In conclusion, we demonstrated that high IL-10 level at the remission phase was associated with shorter duration of remission, possibly due to IL-10-mediated effects on T cell survival.

FABP7 promotes cell proliferation and survival in colon cancer through MEK/ERK signaling pathway.

Colon cancer (CC), one of the most frequently diagnosed malignancies deriving from the digestive system, has greatly threatened human health and life. Fatty acid binding protein 7 (FABP7), an intracellular protein with the tissue-specific expression pattern, has been reported to be implicated in diverse types of human tumors. However, the biological role of FABP7 in CC is still poorly understood. The current study aimed to investigate the role of FABP7 in CC and illuminate the potential molecular mechanisms. In this present study, we found that FABP7 was highly expressed in CC tissues and cell lines, suggesting the possible involvement of FABP7 in CC tumorigenesis. Moreover, functional investigations showed that FABP7-overexpression promoted CC cell proliferation, colony formation, cell cycle progression and inhibited cell apoptosis; on the contrary, FABP7 knockdown produced an inhibitory effects on CC cell proliferation and survival. Notably, FABP7 knockdown inhibited colon tumor growth in vivo. In addition, mechanistic investigations demonstrated that FABP7 exerted its promoting effects on CC cell proliferation and survival through activation of the MEK/ERK signaling pathway. Collectively, our data indicate that FABP7 may be used as a novel diagnostic bio-marker and a potential therapeutic target for CC.

Calycosin alleviates cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis by inhibiting the inflammatory response and oxidative stress via the p38 MAPK and NF-κB signal pathways in mice.

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common acute abdominal disease accompanied by systemic inflammatory response syndrome, and could even be complicated by multiple-organ damage. This study aimed to examine whether calycosin, an isoflavone isolated from Radix astragali with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, could protect against AP induced by cerulein. To this end, Balb/C mice were injected with cerulein (50 µg/kg) to establish the animal model of AP. Calycosin (25 and 50 mg/kg, p.o.) was administered 1 h prior to the first cerulein injection. After the last injection of cerulein, the mice were sacrificed and blood was obtained for cytokine analysis. The pancreas was removed for morphological examination, myeloperoxidase (MPO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) analyses, immunohistochemistry, and western blot analysis. Calycosin treatment reversed the increased serum levels of amylase and lipase, alleviated the pathological damage in the pancreas, and decreased the levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-1ß in mice with AP. Additionally, calycosin significantly reduced cerulein-induced pancreatic edema, inhibited MPO activity and increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and inhibited the expression of NF-κB/p65 and phosphorylation of the inhibitor of NF-κB (IκBα) and p38 MAPK. These results suggested that calycosin protects against AP by exerting anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative stress effects via the p38 MAPK and NF-κB signal pathways. Calycosin's benefits for AP patients need to be explored further.

A Method for Estimating the Polarimetric Scattering Matrix of Moving Target for Simultaneous Fully Polarimetric Radar.

To precisely obtain the polarimetric scattering matrix (PSM) of moving target, a measurement model for the simultaneous fully polarimetric radar is formulated. The calibration errors and isolation of the transmitted waveforms are considered. To address the decline in performance of the traditional PSM estimation methods when the target moves, a novel method with measurement selection is proposed. Numerical experiments are conducted to demonstrate and validate the superiority of the proposed method, especially for the PSM estimation of the target with non-uniform motion.

Algorithms for Designing Unimodular Sequences with High Doppler Tolerance for Simultaneous Fully Polarimetric Radar.

Simultaneous fully polarimetric radar uses orthogonal polarization channels to transmit a pair of signals, both of which must have good auto- and cross-correlation characteristics. In this paper, the design of sequences with good correlation properties and Doppler tolerance is investigated. New cyclic algorithms, namely, Cyclic Algorithm-Gradient I (CAGI) and Cyclic Algorithm-Gradient II (CAGII) are proposed to solve the optimization problem. Meanwhile, the sequences designed in this paper have ultra-low auto- and cross-correlation side-lobes in a specified lag interval. Numerical experiments are conducted to demonstrate and validate the superiority of the proposed cyclic algorithms, especially for the measurement of moving targets.