Reconstitution of Early Paclitaxel Biosynthetic Network.

Paclitaxel is an anticancer therapeutic produced by the yew tree. Over the last two decades, a significant bottleneck in the reconstitution of early paclitaxel biosynthesis has been the propensity of heterologously expressed pathway cytochromes P450, including taxadiene 5α-hydroxylase (T5αH), to form multiple products. This diverts metabolic flux away from the paclitaxel precursor, taxadien-5α-ol, thus previous attempts of reconstitution have not yielded sufficient material for characterization, regardless of the heterologous host. Here, we structurally characterized four new products of T5αH, many of which appear to be over-oxidation of the primary mono-oxidized products. By tuning the promoter strength for T5αH expression, levels of these proposed byproducts decrease with a concomitant increase in the accumulation of taxadien-5α-ol by four-fold. This engineered system enabled the reconstitution of a six step biosynthetic pathway to produce isolatable 5α,10ß-diacetoxy-taxadien-13α-ol. Furthermore, we showed that this pathway may function as a metabolic network rather than a linear pathway. The engineering of the paclitaxel biosynthetic network demonstrates that Taxus genes can coordinatively function for the biosynthetic production of key early stage paclitaxel intermediates and serves as a crucial platform for the discovery of the remaining biosynthetic genes.

Regional impact of aging population on carbon dioxide emissions in China: Evidence from panel threshold regression (PTR).

Carbon dioxide emission is a high-profile issue that can affect both the human economy and human existence, but few scholars have studied the relationship between these two. Therefore, this study constructs the panel threshold regression (PTR) based on the National Bureau of Statistics of China's panel data from 2002 to 2019 in 19 regions. One of the advantages of PTR is to leverage segmented functions, allowing for a more detailed analysis of the data. Besides, by introducing the idea of a threshold, PTR can effectively avoid structural changes in the data. The different between this study and other research is that this study divides 19 regions into two parts: Eastern China and Central China. Based on that, this study researches and compares the different influences of the aging population on carbon emissions in these two regions. The results show that although the Environment Kuznets Curve has been confirmed in both Eastern China and Central China, with the development of the economy, the carbon emissions will increase in Eastern China and decrease in Central China, respectively. In addition, the key factors affecting carbon emissions in Eastern China and Central China are trade dependence and urbanization rate separately. Hence, this study suggests that the regional governments in Eastern China may guide and encourage more international trading companies to move to Central China, and at the same time, the regional governments in Central China should issue more policies to attract these companies, such as: reducing land lease fees and building better transportation infrastructure. Apart from that, the governments in Central China should vigorously increase the rate of urbanization to reduce energy consumption and improve energy efficiency.

Efficacy of bioabsorbable dressing combined with antibacterial spray for treatment of third-degree burns.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of a bioabsorbable dressing in combination with antibacterial spray in treating third-degree burns. METHOD: Patients with third-degree burns in our hospital from February 2019 to February 2020 were enrolled and divided into an experimental group and a control group. In all patients, two wound repair surgeries were performed. During the first surgery, bioabsorbable dressing (PELNAC, Gunze Medical Equipment (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., China) was used for wound treatment. During the second surgery, autologous split-thickness skin graft was performed. For patients in the experimental group, bioabsorbable dressings (PELNAC) were uniformly applied with antibacterial spray during the operation and during postoperative dressing. For patients in the control group, antibacterial spray was not used. RESULTS: A total of 68 patients took part in the study (experimental group n=36; control group n=32). Infection rate in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group (2.8% versus 21.9%, respectively; p<0.05). The mean wound healing time in the experimental group was shorter by 3.2 days and the wound healing rate of the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group (p<0.05). Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) scores at specific postoperative time intervals were significantly reduced in the experimental group compared with those in the control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Bioabsorbable dressing combined with antibacterial spray could reduce infection rate, shorten wound healing time and reduce scar formation in repairing third-degree burns.

Cascading effects of seed-stem-individual spatial patterns along a grazing gradient.

Studying the seed trait-stem trait-individual spatial pattern system is helpful for understanding the developmental direction of plant dynamics and populations under grazing disturbance as well as the antagonistic relationship between animals and plants, but few systematic analyses of this spatial pattern system have been carried out. Kobresia humilis is the dominant species in alpine grasslands. We studied K. humilis seed traits and their relationship with K. humilis reproductive individuals, the relationship between reproductive and vegetative stems, and the weights and spatial patterns of reproductive and nonreproductive individuals under four grazing treatments: no grazing (control), light grazing, moderate grazing and heavy grazing. We explored the relationship among seed size and seed number with reproductive stems and vegetative stems along the grazing gradient and assessed the spatial pattern changes between reproductive and nonreproductive individuals. The results showed the following: (1) Seed size increased with increasing grazing intensity, and the coefficient of variation for seed size and seed number in the heavy grazing treatment was greater than 0.6. (2) The structural equation model showed that grazing treatment had a positive effect on seed number, seed size and reproductive stem number and a negative effect on reproductive stem weight. (3) Grazing treatment did not affect the resource allocation to reproductive stems and vegetative stems per unit length of reproductive K. humilis individuals. (4) Compared with the number of reproductive individuals in the no grazing treatment, the number in the heavy grazing treatment decreased significantly, and the negative correlation between reproductive individuals and nonreproductive individuals changed from a full-scale negative correlation to a small-scale negative correlation and a large-scale positive correlation. Our study showed that grazing could activate and change the resource allocation pattern of dominant species in a grassland and have significant positive effects on reproductive stem number, reproductive stem weight, seed number and seed size. Along a grazing intensity gradient, with the increase in distance between reproductive and nonreproductive individuals, the transformation of intraspecific relationships from a negative correlation to a positive correlation is an ecological strategy conducive to population survival.

Characteristics and antioxidant properties of Harpadon nehereus protein hydrolysate-xylose conjugates obtained from the Maillard reaction by ultrasound-assisted wet heating in a natural deep eutectic solvents system.

BACKGROUND: Harpadon nehereus is a high-protein marine fish. A valuable way to add value to H. nehereus is to convert it into protein hydrolysate. The Maillard reaction is an effective way to improve the functional properties of peptides and proteins, which are affected by many factors such as reactant concentration, water activity, pH, temperature, and heating time. However, the traditional Maillard reaction method is inefficient. The purpose of this study was therefore to explore the effect of the ultrasound-assisted wet heating method on the Maillard reaction of H. nehereus protein hydrolysate (HNPH) in a new-type green solvent - a natural hypereutectic solvent (NADES). RESULTS: Harpadon nehereus protein hydrolysate-xylose (Xy) conjugates were prepared via a Maillard reaction in a NADES system using an ultrasound-assisted wet heating method. The effects of different treatment conditions on the Maillard reaction were studied. The optimized glycation degree (DG) of HNPH-Xy conjugates was obtained with a water content of 10%, a reaction temperature of 80 °C, a reaction time of 35 min, and an ultrasonic power level of 300 W. Compared with HNPH, the structure of HNPH-Xy conjugates were significantly changed. Moreover, the functional properties and antioxidant activity of HNPH-Xy were all superior to the HNPH. CONCLUSIONS: An ultrasound-assisted wet-heating Maillard reaction between HNPH and Xy in the NADES system could be a promising way to improve the functional properties of HNPH. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effectiveness of massage therapy on anxiety and depression of COVID-19 convalescent: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Novel coronavirus pneumonia was first detected in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019. Its widespread infectivity and strong pathogenicity has posed a great threat to public health, seriously affecting social production and life. The disease caused by this virus has been officially named COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) by the World Health Organization (WHO). Tuina (massage) therapy is 1 of the widely employed complementary and alternative medicine interventions in the world. As a useful therapy implemented on human's skin, muscles and joints, tuina (massage) has unique advantages in the field of medicine. This systematic review and meta-analysis will summarize the current evidence of tuina (massage) used as an intervention for COVID-19. METHODS: We will search the following electronic databases for randomized controlled trials to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy in treating all patients recovering from COVID-19: Wanfang and Pubmed Database, china national knowledge infrastructure database, cochrane central register of controlled trials, cumulative index of nursing and allied health literature and excerpta medica database. Each database will be searched from inception to October 2022. The entire process will include study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment and meta-analyses. RESULTS: This proposed study will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy for patients recovering from COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: This proposed systematic review will evaluate the existing evidence on the effectiveness and safety of massage therapy for patients recovering from COVID-19.

Association between AhR in B cells and systemic lupus erythematosus with renal damage.

BACKGROUND: Renal damage is one of the typical clinical manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and few effective markers can be used to predict SLE with renal damage. Additionally, the relationship among AhR, B cells and SLE with renal damage is poorly understood. METHOD: A case-control study was performed, and the clinical and laboratory data were acquired from medical records. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the expression of AhR in B cells. RESULTS: Both the proportion of B cells in peripheral blood lymphocytes and AhR in B cells were significantly higher in SLE patients than in healthy controls. AhR in B cells was negatively correlated with complement 3 and 4 levels but was positively correlated with SLEDAI-2 K, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein and absolute lymphocyte count. Furthermore, more SLE patients suffered from renal damage and arthritis in the high-AhR B-cell group than in the low-AhR B-cell group. Interestingly, AhR in B cells was significantly increased in SLE with renal damage compared with SLE without renal damage, but no significant difference was observed between SLE with arthritis and SLE without arthritis. In addition, the area under the curve for AhR in B cells was 0.815, and its optimal cut-off level was 3.05 %, which provided a 83.3 % sensitivity and a 70.0 % specificity in predicting SLE with renal damage. CONCLUSION: AhR in B cells was correlated with SLE disease activity, and it may be a potential marker for predicting SLE with renal damage.

Dexmedetomidine combined with ropivacaine for erector spinae plane block after posterior lumbar spine surgery: a randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSE: Due to lumbar spinal surgery is frequently accompanied with moderate-to-severe postoperative pain, it is necessary to find an effective postoperative analgesia for patients with this surgery. This study aimed to observe the analgesic effect of dexmedetomidine combined with ropivacaine erector spinae plane block (ESPB) used in posterior lumbar spine surgery. METHODS: In this clinical trial, patients undergoing posterior lumbar spine surgery were recruited and randomly divided into two groups: intervention and control. The intervention group (Group E) received 0.375% ropivacaine with 1 µg/kg dexmedetomidine in a total of 20 ml for ESPB; the control group (Group C) received 20 ml ropivacaine 0.375% for ESPB. US-guided ESPB was performed preoperatively in all patients. Demographics, anesthesia time, surgery time, and ASA grade from the participants were recorded at baseline. The primary clinical outcome measures were 2-, 4-, 8-, 12-, 24-and 48-h visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores after surgery at rest and movement state. Other end points included opioid consumption, number of PCIA presses, flurbiprofen-axetil consumption, quality of recovery and pain management after surgery. RESULTS: One hundred twenty patients were enrolled in the study (mean [SD] ages: Group E, 54.77 [8.61] years old; Group C,56.40 [7.87] years old; P = 0.280). The mean anesthesia time was 152.55 (15.37) min in Group E and 152.60 (16.47) min in Group C (P = 0.986). Additionally, the surgery time was 141.70 (15.71) min in Group E compared to 141.48 (17.13) min in Group C (P = 0.943). In addition, we found that the VAS pain scores in the resting state during the postoperative period at 8-48 h were lower in Group E than in Group C. However, the VAS pain scores in the active state were lower in Group E at 12-48 h (P < 0.05). More importantly, the consumption of opioids and flurbiprofen-axetil after surgery was also lower in Group E (P < 0.05). Subsequently, we administered questionnaires on the quality of recovery and pain management after surgery that were positively correlated with the postoperative analgesic effect. It was worth affirming that the QoR-15 scores and APS-POQ-R questionnaire results were different between the two groups, further confirming that the combination of drugs not only could obtain an ideal analgesic effect but also had no obvious adverse reactions (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: All the findings suggested that dexmedetomidine could significantly relieve postoperative pain and reduce the consumption of opioids in patients undergoing posterior lumbar spine surgery without obvious adverse reactions as a local anesthetic adjuvant. Further studies with larger sample sizes and different drug dosages may be useful in understanding the potential clinical benefits of dexmedetomidine.

Preparation and Performance of Microencapsulated Sealing Material for Coal Mine Gas Drainage.

The performance of coal mine gas extraction borehole sealing material plays an essential role in the efficiency of gas extraction. Microcapsule technology was proposed to delay the expansion time of sealing materials to address the ineffective expansion of cement-based sealing materials in hydration. Based on conventional cement-based sealing materials, delayed-expansion microcapsules were prepared by phase separation with ethyl cellulose (EC) as the capsule wall material and montmorillonite (MMT) as the core material. A single-factor experiment showed that the delayed-expansion microcapsule had the best comprehensive effect when the EC content was 3%, the stirring rate was 400 rpm, the MMT content was 3.5%, and the core-wall ratio (CWR) was 10:3. Second, the slow release effect of the cement samples under the action of microcapsules is remarkable through physical tests. In addition, the triaxial compression test results show better mechanical properties of the delayed-expansion sealing materials. Then, nuclear magnetic resonance scanning was applied to the coal samples injected with different sealing materials. It was found that the proportions of macropores and mesopores in the total pore volume in the coal sample at 50 and 100 mm from the borehole wall decreased by 12.28 and 11.82%, respectively, indicating that the delayed-expansion sealing material has a better sealing effect.

Morphology changes of maxillary molar distalization by clear aligner therapy / Cambios de la morfología en la distalización de molares maxilares mediante terapia con alineadores transparentes

SUMMARY: To evaluate the skeletal, dento-alveolar and soft tissue morphology changes after maxillary molar distalization by clear aligner therapy and identify the significant efficacy of molar distalization,18 patients in conformity with the inclusion criteria were selected. Pre- and post-treatment Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) were examined to measure the angular and linear parameters. All subjects were completed non-extraction clear aligner treatment by distalizing molars. A paired-t test and independent-samples t-test were performed to observe the difference between before and after treatment and the difference between the first molar and second molar respectively. P-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Predicted movement rate was calculated by the formula: (actual movement(mm)/planned movement(mm)) x100%. Most variables of pre- and post-treatment showed no statistical difference(P<0.05), excepting SNA angle (P<0.05) and Upper lip/E-line linear (P<0.01) due to incisor retraction. The first and second molar revealed a translation movement without significant tipping and vertical movement. Clear aligners provided a high predictability (83.44 %) of distalization the maxillary first molar, and 85.14 % of the maxillary second molar. Clear aligners can effectively achieve distal displacement of molars.

RESUMEN: Se seleccionaron 18 pacientes, de acuerdo con los criterios de inclusión, para evaluar los cambios en la morfología esquelética, dentoalveolar y de los tejidos blandos después de la distalización de los molares maxilares, mediante la terapia con alineadores transparentes e así identificar la significativa eficacia de la distalización de los molares. Se examinó a través de tomografía computarizada de haz cónico (CBCT) antes y después del tratamiento para medir los parámetros angulares y lineales. Todos los sujetos completaron el tratamiento con alineadores transparentes sin extracción mediante la distalización de los molares. Se realizó una prueba t pareada y una prueba t de muestras independientes para observar la diferencia entre antes y después del tratamiento y la diferencia entre el primer molar y el segundo molar, respectivamente. Los valores de p<0,05 se consideraron estadísticamente significativos. La tasa de movimiento prevista se calculó mediante la fórmula: (movimiento real (mm)/movimiento planificado (mm)) x 100 %. La mayoría de las variables de pre y postratamiento no mostraron diferencia estadística (P<0,05), excepto el ángulo SNA (P<0,05) y el labio superior/línea E lineal (P<0,01) debido a la retracción del incisivo. El primer y segundo molar revelaron un movimiento de traslación sin inclinación significativa y movimiento vertical. Los alineadores transparentes proporcionaron una alta previsibilidad (83,44 %) de la distalización del primer molar superior y del 85,14 % del segundo molar superior. Los alineadores transparentes pueden lograr efectivamente el desplazamiento distal de los molares.

Psychometric Properties of the Self-Efficacy Scale among Undergraduate Students in Malaysia.

BACKGROUND: Self-efficacy (SE) is a person's belief in his or her own capability to perform and accomplish a task that could produce a favourable outcome, despite facing obstacles. This study aimed to confirm the validity and reliability of an SE scale among undergraduate students at the Health Campus of the Universiti Sains Malaysia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the undergraduate students using a self-administered questionnaire. After using a purposive sampling method, 562 students completed the questionnaire. Mplus 8 was employed to conduct the confirmatory factor analysis on the psychometric properties of Bandura's 18-item SE scale with three factors (internal feeling, competing demands and situational). Then, the composite reliability was calculated for each factor. RESULTS: Most of the students were Malay (73.3%) females (79.0%) who exercised 2.62 times a week for an average of 43.37 min per session. The final measurement model was obtained after removing six problematic items, and the model was deemed fit based on several indices [Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.067, Standardised Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) = 0.004, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.924]. The composite reliability values of the three factors were acceptable (0.65 to 0.84). CONCLUSION: The simplified 12-item SE scale with three factors displayed good fit indices with regard to the data, and they were considered to be acceptable for the current sample.

Effects of Oligosaccharides From Morinda officinalis on Gut Microbiota and Metabolome of APP/PS1 Transgenic Mice.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, lacks preclinical diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic drugs. Thus, earlier intervention in AD is a top priority. Studies have shown that the gut microbiota influences central nervous system disorders and that prebiotics can improve the cognition of hosts with AD, but these effects are not well understood. Preliminary research has shown that oligosaccharides from Morinda officinalis (OMO) are a useful prebiotic and cause substantial memory improvements in animal models of AD; however, the mechanism is still unclear. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate whether OMO are clinically effective in alleviating AD by improving gut microbiota. OMO were administered to APP/PS1 transgenic mice, and potential clinical biomarkers of AD were identified with metabolomics and bioinformatics. Behavioral experiments demonstrated that OMO significantly ameliorated the memory of the AD animal model. Histological changes indicated that OMO ameliorated brain tissue swelling and neuronal apoptosis and downregulated the expression of the intracellular AD marker Aß1-42. 16S rRNA sequencing analyses indicated that OMO maintained the diversity and stability of the microbial community. The data also indicated that OMO are an efficacious prebiotic in an animal model of AD, regulating the composition and metabolism of the gut microbiota. A serum metabolomics assay was performed using UHPLC-LTQ Orbitrap mass spectrometry to delineate the metabolic changes and potential early biomarkers in APP/PS1 transgenic mice. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that 14 metabolites were significantly upregulated, and 8 metabolites were downregulated in the model animals compared to the normal controls. Thus, key metabolites represent early indicators of the development of AD. Overall, we report a drug and signaling pathway with therapeutic potential, including proteins associated with cognitive deficits in normal mice or gene mutations that cause AD.

Statistical power comparisons at 3T and 7T with a GO / NOGO task.

The field of cognitive neuroscience is weighing evidence about whether to move from standard field strength to ultra-high field (UHF). The present study contributes to the evidence by comparing a cognitive neuroscience paradigm at 3 Tesla (3T) and 7 Tesla (7T). The goal was to test and demonstrate the practical effects of field strength on a standard GO/NOGO task using accessible preprocessing and analysis tools. Two independent matched healthy samples (N = 31 each) were analyzed at 3T and 7T. Results show gains at 7T in statistical strength, the detection of smaller effects and group-level power. With an increased availability of UHF scanners, these gains may be exploited by cognitive neuroscientists and other neuroimaging researchers to develop more efficient or comprehensive experimental designs and, given the same sample size, achieve greater statistical power at 7T.

[Application of infrared camera technique in investigation of wild animals as infectious source of schistosomiasis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the species and activities of wild animals infected with schistosome in hilly and mountain areas by using an infrared camera technique, so as to provide the evidence for the surveillance of schistosomiasis in these areas. METHODS: Six infrared cameras were selected and placed in 6 environments of the risk monitoring points of schistosomiasis in Shitai County in Anhui Province. The species and activities of the wild animals in the 6 environments were observed through the photographs and videos taken by the cameras. RESULTS: Through 5 day's monitoring, 3 wild mammals, such as voles, hares and wild boars, were found in 4 monitoring environments, of which voles were found at 2 environments with snails, and hares, wild boars and voles were found in 2 environments adjacent to environments with snails respectively. The monitoring showed that the vole activity was most frequent in the monitored environment. CONCLUSIONS: The use of infrared camera technique has a good effect in the investigation of wild animal infectious source of schistosomiasis, and it is also suitable for the monitoring work in other types of environments.

[Population dynamics and spatial distribution pattern of Aleuroglyphus ovatus].

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the population dynamics and spatial distribution of Aleuroglyphus ovatus in the flour warehouse, so as to provide the basic evidence for improving the sampling guidelines that are essential for effective pest monitoring and management. METHODS: The samples from flour warehouses of four localities were collected, examined and counted for A. ovatus in every month in Wuhu City. The dispersion pattern target, Iwao m*/x̅ regression analysis and Taylor power method were used for analyzing the spatial distribution pattern of A. ovatus in the flour warehouses. RESULTS: The peaks of population dynamics of A. ovatus were discovered in July and September, respectively. The indexes of dispersion were as follows：I > 0, CA > 0, m*/x̅ > 1. At the same time, the parameters in the equation of Iwao：m*=5.471+1.022 x̅ (r = 0.999) and Taylor： lgS2 = 0.697+1.111 lg x̅ (r = 0.987) showed that the spatial distribution pattern of A. ovatus was assembled. CONCLUSIONS: The peaks of population dynamics of A. ovatus in the flour warehouse are bimodal pattern, and the spatial distribution pattern of A. ovatus is assembled.

GRADE in Systematic Reviews of Acupuncture for Stroke Rehabilitation: Recommendations based on High-Quality Evidence.

Systematic reviews (SRs) of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated acupuncture's effectiveness in stroke rehabilitation. The current study reviews the quality of evidence in SRs of acupuncture in stroke rehabilitation, and rates the strength of recommendation for its use based on this evidence using the GRADE (grading of recommendations, assessment, development and evaluations) approach. A comprehensive literature search was performed using multiple databases (e.g., Medline, Embase) with advanced search strategies. Two authors independently selected articles, collected data, and assessed the methodological quality of each identified SR according to AMSTAR (a measurement tool to assess systematic reviews) and OQAQ (Oxman and Guyatt's overview quality assessment questionnaire). Outcomes related to stroke rehabilitation were evaluated. SRs of high methodological quality (AMSTAR score ≥9 and OQAQ score ≥7) were graded using GRADE. Ultimately, acupuncture yields benefits in stroke rehabilitation (neurological function improvement: RR = 1.34; swallowing improvement: RR = 1.61, 1.49, 1.07; disability: SMD = 0.49 or 0.07). Poor evidentiary quality and insufficient information about harm led to weak recommendations. In conclusion, acupuncture may improve stroke rehabilitation, as the GRADE approach indicated a weak recommendation for acupuncture's usage in this context.

Response inhibition of cigarette-related cues in male light smokers: behavioral evidence using a two-choice oddball paradigm.

Behavioral inhibitory control has been shown to play an important role in a variety of addictive behaviors. A number of studies involving the use of Go/NoGo and stop-signal paradigms have shown that smokers have reduced response inhibition for cigarette-related cues. However, it is not known whether male light smokers' response inhibition for cigarette-related cues is lower than that of non-smokers in the two-choice oddball paradigm. The objective of the current study was to provide further behavioral evidence of male light smokers' impaired response inhibition for cigarette-related cues, using the two-choice oddball paradigm. Sixty-two male students (31 smokers, 31 non-smokers), who were recruited via an advertisement, took part in this two-choice oddball experiment. Cigarette-related pictures (deviant stimuli) and pictures unrelated to cigarettes (standard stimuli) were used. Response inhibition for cigarette-related cues was measured by comparing accuracy (ACC) and reaction time (RT) for deviant and standard stimuli in the two groups of subjects. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that in all the participants, ACC was significantly lower for deviant stimuli than for standard stimuli. For deviant stimuli, the RTs were significantly longer for male light smokers than for male non-smokers; however, there was no significant difference in RTs for standard stimuli. Compared to male non-smokers, male light smokers seem to have a reduced ability to inhibit responses to cigarette-related cues.

Video tracking using learned hierarchical features.

In this paper, we propose an approach to learn hierarchical features for visual object tracking. First, we offline learn features robust to diverse motion patterns from auxiliary video sequences. The hierarchical features are learned via a two-layer convolutional neural network. Embedding the temporal slowness constraint in the stacked architecture makes the learned features robust to complicated motion transformations, which is important for visual object tracking. Then, given a target video sequence, we propose a domain adaptation module to online adapt the pre-learned features according to the specific target object. The adaptation is conducted in both layers of the deep feature learning module so as to include appearance information of the specific target object. As a result, the learned hierarchical features can be robust to both complicated motion transformations and appearance changes of target objects. We integrate our feature learning algorithm into three tracking methods. Experimental results demonstrate that significant improvement can be achieved using our learned hierarchical features, especially on video sequences with complicated motion transformations.

Genetic polymorphisms of TCF7L2 lack influence on risk of the polycystic ovary syndrome - a systemic analysis.

BACKGROUND: The results of previous researches that analyzed the association between genetic polymorphisms of transcription factor-7-like 2 (TCF7L2, rs7903146) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) were conflicting. Current systematic analysis was conducted to re-explore this association using updated materials. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The PubMed database was used for data collection and the final search was conducted on January 3, 2014. For TCF7L2 rs7903146, a non-significant slight increase in risk of PCOS development was observed under three genetic models (dominant model: OR=1.06, 95%CI: 0.93-1.21, p>0.05; recessive model: OR=1.12, 95%CI: 0.87-1.43, p> 0.05; homozygous model: OR=1.14, 95%CI: 0.87-1.47, p>0.05). In the subgroup analyses in Asian group, allele susceptibility of PCOS was calculated (allele model: OR=1.00, 95%CI: 0.74-1.35, p>0.05; dominant model: OR=0.98, 95%CI: 0.71-1.35, p>0.05; recessive model: OR=1.79, 95%CI: 0.33-9.84, p>0.05; homozygous model: OR=1.78, 95%CI: 0.32-9.80, p>0.05), the differences were again not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this systemic analysis suggest that the polymorphism of TCF7L2 rs7903146 may not be associated with the susceptibility to PCOS.

The TPO/c-MPL pathway in the bone marrow may protect leukemia cells from chemotherapy in AML Patients.

Accumulating evidence indicates that the interaction of human LSCs (leukemic stem cells) with the hematopoietic microenvironment, mediated by the thrombopoietin (TPO)/c-MPL pathway, may be an underlying mechanism for resistance to cell cycle-dependent cytotoxic chemotherapy. However, the role of TPO/c-MPL signaling in AML (acute myelogenous leukemia) chemotherapy resistance hasn't been fully understood. The c-MPL and TPO levels in different AML samples were measured by flow cytometry and ELISA. We also assessed the TPO levels in the osteoblasts derived from bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). The survival rate of an AML cell line that had been co-cultured with different BMSC-derived osteoblasts was measured to determine the IC50 of an AML chemotherapy drug daunorubicin (DNR). The levels of TPO/c-MPL in the initial and relapse AML patients were significantly higher than that in the control (P < 0.05). The osteoblasts derived from AML patients' BMSCs secreted more TPO than the osteoblasts derived from normal control BMSCs (P < 0.05). A strong positive correlation between the TPO level and c-MPL expression was found in the bone marrow mononuclear cells of the relapse AML patients. More importantly, the IC50 of DNR in the HEL + AML-derived osteoblasts was the highest among all co-culture systems. High level of TPO/c-MPL signaling may protect LSCs from chemotherapy in AML. The effects of inhibition of the TPO/c-MPL pathway on enhancing the chemotherapy sensitivity of AML cells, and on their downstream effector molecules that direct the interactions between patient-derived blasts and leukemia repopulating cells need to be further studied.