Spatiotemporal effects of meteorological conditions on global influenza peaks.

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have suggested that meteorological conditions such as temperature and absolute humidity are highly indicative of influenza outbreaks. However, the explanatory power of meteorological factors on the seasonal influenza peaks varied widely between countries at different latitudes. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to explore the modification effects of meteorological factors on the seasonal influenza peaks in multi-countries. METHODS: Data on influenza positive rate (IPR) were collected across 57 countries and data on meteorological factors were collected from ECMWF Reanalysis v5 (ERA5). We used linear regression and generalized additive models to investigate the spatiotemporal associations between meteorological conditions and influenza peaks in cold and warm seasons. RESULTS: Influenza peaks were significantly correlated with months with both lower and higher temperatures. In temperate countries, the average intensity of cold season peaks was stronger than that of warm season peaks. However, the average intensity of warm season peaks was stronfger than of cold season peaks in tropical countries. Temperature and specific humidity had synergistic effects on influenza peaks at different latitudes, stronger in temperate countries (cold season: R2=0.90; warm season: R2=0.84) and weaker in tropical countries (cold season: R2=0.64; warm season: R2=0.03). Furthermore, the effects could be divided into cold-dry and warm-humid modes. The temperature transition threshold between the two modes was 16.5-19.5 °C. During the transition from cold-dry mode to warm-humid mode, the average 2 m specific humidity increased by 2.15 times, illustrating that transporting a large amount of water vapor may compensate for the negative effect of rising temperatures on the spread of the influenza virus. CONCLUSION: Differences in the global influenza peaks were related to the synergistic influence of temperature and specific humidity. The global influenza peaks could be divided into cold-dry and warm-humid modes, and specific thresholds of meteorological conditions were needed for the transition of the two modes.

Characterization of copper binding to different molecular weight fractions of dissolved organic matter in surface water.

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a kind of substance with complex compositions and wide molecular weight distribution, which can strongly combine with various pollutants. Therefore, the binding characteristics of DOM and heavy metal pollutants can be studied specifically according to the binding characteristics of DOM and pollutants. In this study, DOM in surface water bodies was divided into three levels (MW < 1 kDa, 1 kDa < MW < 5 kDa, MW > 5 kDa) according to different molecular weights (MW). The binding properties were investigated by fluorescence spectrum analysis and complex model. Four components (C1-C4) were identified by PARAFAC. Among them, the contribution rate of protein-like components C1, C2 and C4 to the total fluorescence intensity reached more than 78%, and the log Ka values of low molecular weight components were the highest, which were 3.28, 3.14 and 3.47, respectively, indicating higher binding ability with Cu2+.With the decrease of molecular weight, the log Kb value increases, indicating that the complexation is more stable. The humic component C3 in high molecular weight has stronger binding stability with Cu2+, but the number of binding sites for C3 is 0.36, while that for C2 is 1.51, indicating that its binding sites and binding ability are relatively low. The results showed that the DOM ligand of Cu2+ in surface water showed a certain molecular weight dependence. In addition, different MW DOM lead to different pollution forms. Different properties of DOM ligand combined with Cu2+ were studied in order to control the migration, transformation, bioavailability, morphology and stability of heavy metal pollutants, and to provide theoretical support for the practical application management of surface water pollution control.

[Advancements in virtual screening techniques for study of enzyme inhibitor compounds].

Enzymes are closely associated with the onset and progression of numerous diseases, making enzymes a primary target in innovative drug development. However, the challenge remains in identifying compounds that exhibit potent inhibitory effects on the target enzymes. With the continuous expansion of the total number of natural products and increasing difficulty in isolating and enriching new compounds, traditional high-throughput screening methods are finding it increasingly challenging to meet the demands of new drug development. Virtual screening, characterized by its high efficiency and low cost, has gradually become an indispensable technology in drug development. It represents a prominent example of the integration of artificial intelligence with biopharmaceuticals and is an inevitable trend in the rapid development of innovative drug screening in the future. Therefore, this article primarily focused on systematically reviewing the recent applications of virtual screening technology in the development of enzyme inhibitors and explored the prospects and advantages of using this technology in developing new drugs, aiming to provide essential theoretical insights and references for the application of related technologies in the field of new drug development.

Small intestine duplication cyst with recurrent hematochezia: a case report and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Small intestine duplication cysts (SIDCs) are rare congenital anatomical abnormalities of the digestive tract and a rare cause of hematochezia. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe an adult female presented with recurrent hematochezia. The routine gastric endoscope and colonic endoscope showed no positive findings. Abdominal CT scan indicated intussusception due to the "doughnut" sign, but the patient had no typical symptoms. Two subsequent capsule endoscopes revealed a protruding lesion with bleeding in the distal ileum. Surgical resection was performed and revealed a case of SIDC measuring 6 * 2 cm located inside the ileum cavity. The patient remained symptom-free throughout a 7-year follow-up period. CONCLUSION: SIDCs located inside the enteric cavity can easily be misdiagnosed as intussusception by routine radiologic examinations.

Involvement of Bmal1 and circadian clock signaling in chondrogenic differentiation of ATDC5 cells by fluoride.

Skeletal fluorosis causes growth plate impairment and growth retardation during bone development. However, the mechanism of how fluoride impairs chondrocyte is unclear. To explore the effect of fluoride on chondrocyte differentiation and the regulation of circadian clock signaling pathway during chondrogenesis, we treated ATDC5 cells with fluoride and carried out a series of experiments. 10-3 M fluoride inhibited cell viability and significantly decreased the expression of Sox9 and Col2a1 (P < 0.05). Fluoride inhibited proteoglycan synthesis and decreased significantly the expression of Aggrecan, Ihh and Col10a1 (P < 0.05). Meanwhile, fluoride significantly inhibited the expression of Bmal1 and disrupted circadian clock signaling pathway (P < 0.05). Furthermore, fluoride disrupted the time-dependent expression of circadian clock molecules and stage-specific differentiation markers. Overexpression of Bmal1 by lentivirus reversed the adverse effects of fluoride on chondrogenesis. These results suggested that fluoride inhibited chondrocyte viability and delayed chondrocyte differentiation. Fluoride delayed chondrogenesis partly via interfering with Bmal1 and circadian clock signaling pathway. Nevertheless, the specific mechanism of circadian clock in fluoride-induced cartilage damage needs to be further studied.

Parallel Three-Branch Correlation Filters for Complex Marine Environmental Object Tracking Based on a Confidence Mechanism.

Marine object tracking is critical for search and rescue activities in the complex marine environment. However, the complex marine environment poses a huge challenge to the effect of tracking, such as the variability of light, the impact of sea waves, the occlusion of other ships, etc. Under these complex marine environmental factors, how to design an efficient dynamic visual tracker to make the results accurate, real time and robust is particularly important. The parallel three-branch correlation filters for complex marine environmental object tracking based on a confidence mechanism is proposed by us. The proposed tracker first detects the appearance change and position change of the object by constructing parallel three-branch correlation filters, which enhances the robustness of the correlation filter model. Through the weighted fusion of response maps, the center position of the object is accurately located. Secondly, the Gaussian-triangle joint distribution is used to replace the original Gaussian distribution in the training phase. Finally, a verification mechanism of confidence metric is embedded in the filter update section to analyze the tracking effect of the current frame, and to update the filter sample from verification result. Thus, a more accurate correlation filter is trained to prevent model drift and achieve a good tracking effect. We found that the effect of various interferences on the filter is effectively reduced by comparing with other trackers. The experiments prove that the proposed tracker can play an outstanding role in the complex marine environment.

Gray matter reduction related to decreased serum creatinine and increased triglyceride, Hemoglobin A1C, and low-density lipoprotein in subjects with obesity.

PURPOSE: Altered brain volume and metabolic variables have been found in subjects with obesity. However, the role of metabolic parameters in gray matter volume (GMV) has been poorly investigated. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the metabolic parameters and brain volume in subjects with obesity. METHODS: Thirty-seven subjects with obesity and 39 age and sex matched normal-weight controls were included in this study. Eighteen of the 37 participants who underwent sleeve gastrectomy were included in the longitudinal analysis. Blood samples and high-resolution 3T T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were collected. Metabolic parameters in plasma and GMV were measured. RESULTS: Multiple linear regression analysis showed that gray matter reduction in several cognition-related cortices including right angular gyrus, superior occipital cortex, superior parietal cortex, and cerebellum was related to decreased creatinine, as well as increased triglyceride, HbA1c, and low-density lipoprotein in plasma in subjects with obesity. Weight loss after the surgery induced significant recovery of altered metabolic parameters and decreased gray matter volume. Furthermore, changes in the four metabolic parameters before and after the surgery were associated with changes in gray matter volume. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the gray matter reduction is related to decreased creatinine as well as increased triglyceride, HbA1c, and low-density lipoprotein in plasma in subjects with obesity.

Comparison of the short-term and long-term outcomes of surgical treatment versus endoscopic treatment for early esophageal squamous cell neoplasia larger than 2 cm: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: NCCN Guidelines of esophageal cancer recommend that endoscopic therapy is considered "preferred" for patients with limited early-stage disease less than or equal to 2 cm. However, there is currently no definite evidence to support either endoscopic therapy or esophagectomy for early esophageal cancer larger than 2 cm. We aimed to explore the optimal treatment for this condition. METHODS: From January 2010 to June 2016, 116 patients with early esophageal neoplasia [high-grade dysplasia (HGD), lamina propria and muscularis mucosae (T1a) cancer, selected superficial submucosa (T1b) cancer without lymph node metastases] larger than 2 cm and treated either surgically or endoscopically were included. RESULTS: Endoscopic therapy was performed in 69 patients and esophagectomy in 47 patients, respectively. The median follow-up time was 43.8 months in the endoscopic cohort and 49.4 months in the surgical cohort. The overall survival was similar between the two cohorts (97.1% vs. 91.5%, P = 0.18). Survival without readmission for treatment-related complicates was also similar. Minor and severe procedure-related complications occurred more often in the surgical cohort than in the endoscopic cohort (63.8% vs. 43.5% and 8.5% vs. 0 respectively, P < 0.05 for both). Four patients in the endoscopic cohort had to undergo additional esophagectomy and were alive during follow-up. There were no procedure-related deaths in the endoscopic cohort, whereas two deaths occurred in the surgical cohort. Recurrence occurred in nine patients in the endoscopic group (13%): six with local recurrence, one with residual neoplasia and two with metachronous neoplasia. None of them died after repeated endoscopic treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Efficacy was similar between endoscopic therapy and esophagectomy in the treatment of early esophageal squamous cell neoplasia larger than 2 cm and endoscopic therapy was associated with fewer and manageable complications. We recommend endoscopic treatment should be preferred selected for early esophageal neoplasia larger than 2 cm.

Parallel Correlation Filters for Real-Time Visual Tracking.

Correlation filter-based methods have recently performed remarkably well in terms of accuracy and speed in the visual object tracking research field. However, most existing correlation filter-based methods are not robust to significant appearance changes in the target, especially when the target undergoes deformation, illumination variation, and rotation. In this paper, a novel parallel correlation filters (PCF) framework is proposed for real-time visual object tracking. Firstly, the proposed method constructs two parallel correlation filters, one for tracking the appearance changes in the target, and the other for tracking the translation of the target. Secondly, through weighted merging the response maps of these two parallel correlation filters, the proposed method accurately locates the center position of the target. Finally, in the training stage, a new reasonable distribution of the correlation output is proposed to replace the original Gaussian distribution to train more accurate correlation filters, which can prevent the model from drifting to achieve excellent tracking performance. The extensive qualitative and quantitative experiments on the common object tracking benchmarks OTB-2013 and OTB-2015 have demonstrated that the proposed PCF tracker outperforms most of the state-of-the-art trackers and achieves a high real-time tracking performance.

Eavesdropping and Jamming Selection Policy for Suspicious UAVs Based on Low Power Consumption over Fading Channels.

Traditional wireless security focuses on preventing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communications from suspicious eavesdropping and/or jamming attacks. However, there is a growing need for governments to keep malicious UAV communications under legitimate surveillance. This paper first investigates a new surveillance paradigm for monitoring suspicious UAV communications via jamming suspicious UAVs. Due to the power consumption limitation, the choice of eavesdropping and jamming will reflect the performance of the UAVs communication. Therefore, the paper analyses the UAV's eavesdropping and jamming models in different cases, and then proposes the model to optimize the data package in the constraints of lower power consumption, which can be solved by the proposed selection policy. The simulation results validate our proposed selection policy in terms of power consumption and eavesdropped packets. In different fading models, power consumption increases with time, regardless of distances, and our proposed policy performs better in Weibull fading channels in terms of eavesdropped packets.

Immunopeptidomic Profiling of HLA-A2-Positive Triple Negative Breast Cancer Identifies Potential Immunotherapy Target Antigens.

The recent development in immune checkpoint inhibitors and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells in the treatment of cancer has not only demonstrated the potency of utilizing T-cell reactivity for cancer therapy, but has also highlighted the need for developing new approaches to discover targets suitable for such novel therapeutics. Here we analyzed the immunopeptidomes of six HLA-A2-positive triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) samples by nano-ultra performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (nUPLC-MS2 ). Immunopeptidomic profiling identified a total of 19 675 peptides from tumor and adjacent normal tissue and 130 of the peptides were found to have higher abundance in tumor than in normal tissues. To determine potential therapeutic target proteins, we calculated the average tumor-associated cohort coverage (aTaCC) that represents the percentage coverage of each protein in this cohort by peptides that had higher tumoral abundance. Cofilin-1 (CFL-1), interleukin-32 (IL-32), proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), syntenin-1 (SDCBP), and ribophorin-2 (RPN-2) were found to have the highest aTaCC scores. We propose that these antigens could be evaluated further for their potential as targets in breast cancer immunotherapy and the small cohort immunopeptidomics analysis technique could be used in a wide spectrum of target discovery. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD009738.

Mercaptoethanol Protects the Aorta from Dissection by Inhibiting Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, and Extracellular Matrix Degeneration in a Mouse Model.

BACKGROUND The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of mercaptoethanol treatment on the expression of mediators of oxidative stress, inflammation, and extracellular matrix (ECM) degeneration in a mouse aortic dissection (AD) model. MATERIAL AND METHODS Twenty-four 8-month-old C57BL/6J mice were divided into three groups and studied for two weeks: 1) the aortic dissection (AD) Model group (N=8) underwent intraperitoneal injection of angiotensin II (Ang II) (5 ml/kg) three times every 24 h; 2) the mercaptoethanol Treated group (N=8) were given oral mercaptoethanol (2.5 mM); the Normal group (N=8) underwent intraperitoneal injection of noradrenaline (5 mg/kg) three times every 24 h. Sections of mouse aorta were prepared for histology with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining; immunohistochemistry was performed to detect levels of: nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (NFE2L2), nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), p65, superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1), glutamate cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9). Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) evaluated mRNA expression of SOD1, GCLC, TNF-α, IL-1ß, and MMP9. RESULTS Mercaptoethanol treatment inhibited Ang II-induced aortic dissection in AD mice, as shown histologically. Mercaptoethanol treatment reduced the expression levels of NFE2L2, NF-κB, p65, TNF-α, IL-1ß and increased the expression levels of SOD1, MMP9, and GCLC. CONCLUSIONS In an AD mouse model, mercaptoethanol treatment inhibited thoracic and abdominal aortic dissection and reduced aortic tissue expression of mediators of oxidative stress and inflammation and increased the activation of ECM signaling pathways.

Vasodilator-Stimulated Phosphoprotein: Regulators of Adipokines Resistin and Phenotype Conversion of Epicardial Adipocytes.

BACKGROUND Endothelial dysfunction plays a central part in the pathogenesis of coronary atherosclerosis. The adipokine resistin is one of the key players in endothelial cell dysfunction. In addition, the role of epicardial fat in coronary artery endothelial dysfunction is also emphasized. We investigated whether vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) is involved in resistin-related endothelial dysfunction and the phenotype conversion of epicardial adipocytes. MATERIAL AND METHODS Cell proliferation and migration were evaluated by MTT and Transwell chamber assay, respectively. Next, we took epicardial fat samples from patients with valvular heart disease and non- coronary artery disease. Gene expression was determined by reverse transcription- quantitative polymerase chain reaction and relative abundance of the protein by Western blotting. RESULTS Resistin induced endothelial proliferation and migration in a dose-dependent manner. Both resistin-induced cell proliferation and migration were effectively blocked by ablation of VASP. The brown adipose tissue-specific genes for uncoupling protein 1 (UCP-1) and PR-domain-missing16 (PRDM16) decreased, but the white adipose tissue-specific genes for resistin and RIP140 increased in VASP-deficient adipocytes compared with the LV-sicntr group. However, disruption of the Ras homolog gene family member A (RhoA) /Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) in VASP-deficient adipocytes with specific inhibitors inverted the adipocyte phenotype existing in VASP-deficient adipocytes. Furthermore, the expressions of proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and monocyte chemoattractantprotein-1 (MCP-1) in VASP-deficient adipocytes were markedly upregulated compared with the LV-sicntr group. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest a physiological role for VASP in coronary atherosclerosis through regulating adipokine resistin and phenotype conversion of epicardial adipose tissue.

Motion-Aware Correlation Filters for Online Visual Tracking.

The discriminative correlation filters-based methods struggle deal with the problem of fast motion and heavy occlusion, the problem can severely degrade the performance of trackers, ultimately leading to tracking failures. In this paper, a novel Motion-Aware Correlation Filters (MACF) framework is proposed for online visual object tracking, where a motion-aware strategy based on joint instantaneous motion estimation Kalman filters is integrated into the Discriminative Correlation Filters (DCFs). The proposed motion-aware strategy is used to predict the possible region and scale of the target in the current frame by utilizing the previous estimated 3D motion information. Obviously, this strategy can prevent model drift caused by fast motion. On the base of the predicted region and scale, the MACF detects the position and scale of the target by using the DCFs-based method in the current frame. Furthermore, an adaptive model updating strategy is proposed to address the problem of corrupted models caused by occlusions, where the learning rate is determined by the confidence of the response map. The extensive experiments on popular Object Tracking Benchmark OTB-100, OTB-50 and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) video have demonstrated that the proposed MACF tracker performs better than most of the state-of-the-art trackers and achieves a high real-time performance. In addition, the proposed approach can be integrated easily and flexibly into other visual tracking algorithms.

[Clinical application evaluation and revision suggestions of clinical practice guideline on traditional Chinese medicine therapy alone or combined with antibiotics for community acquired pneumonia].

To clarify the clinical application of the group standard (T/CACM 1035-2017) of the Chinese Society of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the clinical practice guideline on traditional chinese medicine therapy alone or combined with community acquired pneumonia, and to understand the clinical applicability of the Guideline. The clinical workers trained in terms of the Guideline in hospitals at all levels in China were selected as the research objects. A total of 494 questionnaires on application evaluation and 511 questionnaires on applicability evaluation were collected to construct the database of the post-effect evaluation of the Guideline. Excel software was used for statistical analysis. The overall evaluation of the Guideline was 92.31%, 91.06%, 87.45% respectively in efficacy, safety and economy. The Guideline was well used in clinical application, and 99.41% of the patients were willing to follow the recommended scheme. The agreed ratio in rationality evaluation was 97.98%, 92.37%, 94.53% and 92.71% in treatment rules, syndrome differentiation and classification, prevention of complications, and rehabilitation method. The effective rate of the prescriptions recommended in the Guideline was all above 65%. More than 80% of the prescriptions were Tanreqing Injection, Yinqiao Powder, Qingjin Huatan Decoction, Maxing Shigan Decoction, Shengmai San and Shashen Maidong Decoction. Adverse reactions, unknown active components and economy of Chinese patent medicines were the important factors affecting drug use and efficacy, providing a clinical basis for updating and revising the standard.

The D0 Ig-like domain plays a central role in the stronger binding of KIR3DL2 to B27 free H chain dimers.

We proposed that the killer cell Ig-like receptor KIR3DL2 binding more strongly to HLA-B27 (B27) ß2-microglobulin free H chain (FHC) dimers than other HLA-class I molecules regulates lymphocyte function in arthritis and infection. We compared the function of B27 FHC dimers with other class I H chains and identified contact residues in KIR3DL2. B27 FHC dimers interacted functionally with KIR3DL2 on NK and reporter cells more strongly than did other class I FHCs. Mutagenesis identified key residues in the D0 and other Ig-like domains that were shared and distinct from KIR3DL1 for KIR3DL2 binding to B27 and other class I FHCs. We modeled B27 dimer binding to KIR3DL2 and compared experimental mutagenesis data with computational "hot spot" predictions. Modeling predicts that the stronger binding of B27 dimers to KIR3DL2 is mediated by nonsymmetrical complementary contacts of the D0 and D1 domains with the α1, α2, and α3 domains of both B27 H chains. In contrast, the D2 domain primarily contacts residues in the α2 domain of one B27 H chain. These findings provide novel insights about the molecular basis of KIR3DL2 binding to B27 and other ligands and suggest an important role for KIR3DL2-B27 interactions in controlling the function of NK cells in B27(+) individuals.

[Literature study on prevention and treatment of community acquired pneumonia by traditional Chinese medicine].

Among the literatures of the prevention and treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) published in recent years, there were 16 kinds of classic prescription, including 52 RCTs about Maxingshigan Decoction, 21Chinese patent medicines. There are eight kinds of indications for the drug specification, among which the literatures of Tan Reqing injection accounted for the most about 136 RCTs; There were literatures about non-drug treatment, including： acupuncture, Chinese medicine paste, enema, Chinese medicine ionization, Chinese medicine fumigation, bamboo cans and so on. In this study, author has analysed the classic prescription, Chinese patent medicine and non-drug therapy referring to advantages and disadvantages of CAP, which could be used to treat virus infection instead of antibiotic therapy. Based on antibiotic therapy, Chinese medicine treatment could increase synergistic interaction while decrease the antibiotic side-effects. In addition, Chinese medicine could perform synergistic interaction in CAP every period, which resulted from classified analysis of basic studies about Chinese medicine treatment in CPA. This study is aimed to provides an important basis for clarifying the direction of scientific research.

[Methodological quality assessment of community-acquired pneumonia clinical practice guidelines in China based on AGREE â ¡ tool].

This study is aimed to identify and assess the methodological quality of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) clinical practice guidelines (CPG) in China by using AGREE Ⅱ tool. CNKI, SinoMed, Wanfang, and VIP Chinese databases from database establishment to March 2017 were searched by manual retrieval to collect all the clinical practice guidelines prepared by various associations or organizations, then AGREE Ⅱtool was used to assess them. Data in each CPG were analyzed in terms of six domains, including scope and purpose, participants, rigor, clarity and readability, applicability and editorial independence. A total of 4 CPGs were included. The results showed that the scope and purpose scored 45.8%; the clarity of expression scored 44.75%; the participants scored 31.9%; the rigor scored 18.98%; the applicability scored 7%; and finally the editorial independence scored 1%. It is concluded that the quality of applicability and the editorial independence should attained paid more attention in future development or updating of the guidelines. In addition to strengthening the compliance with international general principles, we should also pay attention to the characteristics of traditional Chinese medicine treatment, especially the related evidences as complementary and alternative treatment for western intervention measures.

Overexpression of ZIC5 promotes proliferation in non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has become the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. It is therefore urgent that we identify new molecular targets to help cure NSCLC patients. Here, we identified ZIC5 as a potential novel oncogene. METHODS: We detected the expression of ZIC5 in tumor and normal tissues of NSCLC patients using quantitative real-time PCR and explored its clinical appearance. We then knocked down ZIC5 to observe changes in NSCLC cell proliferation and metastasis. Nude mouse xenograft models were established to measure ZIC5's function in vivo. RESULTS: Our results revealed that ZIC5 was expressed at dramatically higher levels in NSCLC tumor tissues than in normal tissues. High levels of ZIC5 expression were associated with a higher primary tumor grade. ZIC5 expression was significantly inhibited by small interfering RNA. After silencing ZIC5, the metastatic capacity of NSCLC cells was clearly lower. Knocking down ZIC5 significantly inhibited the proliferation of NSCLC cells, causing the cell cycle to be arrested in G2 phase. Xenograft tumor models showed that knocking down ZIC5 also inhibited tumor growth in vivo. Q-PCR and western blot analysis revealed that ZIC5 expression was closely associated with CCNB1 and CDK1 complex expression, while other cell cycle-related genes showed no significant correlation with ZIC5. CONCLUSIONS: Our experiment show that ZIC5 is highly upregulated in NSCLC tumor tissues and suggest that ZIC5 may act as an oncogene by influencing CCNB1 and CDK1 complex expression. ZIC5 may therefore be a potential biomarker and therapeutic target for NSCLC patients.

Local Coverage Optimization Strategy Based on Voronoi for Directional Sensor Networks.

In this paper, we study the area coverage of directional sensor networks (DSNs) with random node distribution. The coverage of DSNs depends on the sensor's locations, the sensing radiuses, and the working directions, as well as the angle of view (AoV), which is challenging to analyze. We transform the network area coverage problem into cell coverage problems by exploiting the Voronoi diagram, which only needs to optimize local coverage for each cell in a decentralized way. To address the cell coverage problem, we propose three local coverage optimization algorithms to improve the cell coverage, namely Move Inside Cell Algorithm (MIC), Rotate Working Direction Algorithm (RWD) and Rotation based on boundary (RB), respectively. Extensive simulations are performed to prove the effectiveness of our proposed algorithms in terms of the coverage ratio.