An intelligent decision support approach for quantified assessment of innovation ability via an improved BP neural network.

In today's competitive and changing social environment, innovation and entrepreneurial ability have become important factors for the successful development of college students. However, relying solely on traditional evaluation methods and indicators cannot comprehensively and accurately evaluate the innovation and entrepreneurial potential and ability of college students. Therefore, developing a comprehensive evaluation model is urgently needed. To address this issue, this article introduces machine learning methods to explore the learning ability of subjective evaluation processes and proposes an intelligent decision support method for quantitatively evaluating innovation capabilities using an improved BP (Back Propagation) neural network. This article first introduces the current research status of evaluating the innovation and entrepreneurship ability of college students, and based on previous research, it has been found that inconsistent evaluation standards are one of the important issues at present. Then, based on different BP models and combined with the actual situation of college student innovation and entrepreneurship evaluation, we selected an appropriate input layer setting for the BP neural network and improved the setting of the middle layer (hidden layer). The identification of output nodes was also optimized by combining the current situation. Subsequently, the conversion function, initial value and threshold were determined. Finally, evaluation indicators were determined and an improved BP model was established which was validated using examples. The research results indicate that the improved BP neural network model has a low error rate, strong generalization ability and ideal prediction effect which can be effectively used to analyze problems related to intelligent evaluation of innovation ability.

The East Asian gut microbiome is distinct from colocalized White subjects and connected to metabolic health.

East Asians (EAs) experience worse metabolic health outcomes compared to other ethnic groups at lower body mass indices; however, the potential role of the gut microbiota in contributing to these health disparities remains unknown. We conducted a multi-omic study of 46 lean and obese East Asian and White participants living in the San Francisco Bay Area, revealing marked differences between ethnic groups in bacterial richness and community structure. White individuals were enriched for the mucin-degrading Akkermansia muciniphila. East Asian subjects had increased levels of multiple bacterial phyla, fermentative pathways detected by metagenomics, and the short-chain fatty acid end-products acetate, propionate, and isobutyrate. Differences in the gut microbiota between the East Asian and White subjects could not be explained by dietary intake, were more pronounced in lean individuals, and were associated with current geographical location. Microbiome transplantations into germ-free mice demonstrated stable diet- and host genotype-independent differences between the gut microbiotas of East Asian and White individuals that differentially impact host body composition. Taken together, our findings add to the growing body of literature describing microbiome variations between ethnicities and provide a starting point for defining the mechanisms through which the microbiome may shape disparate health outcomes in East Asians.

The community of microbes living in the human gut varies based on where a person lives, in part because of differences in diets but also due to factors still incompletely understood. In turn, this 'microbiome' may have wide-ranging effects on health and diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Many scientists want to understand how differences in the microbiome emerge between people, and whether this may explain why certain diseases are more common in specific populations. Self-identified race or ethnicity can be a useful tool in that effort, as it can serve as a proxy for cultural habits (such as diets) or genetic information. In the United States, self-identified East Asian Americans often have worse 'metabolic health' (e.g. levels of sugar or certain fat molecules in the blood) at a lower weight than those identifying as White. Ang, Alba, Upadhyay et al. investigated whether this health disparity was linked to variation in the gut microbiome. Samples were collected from 46 lean and obese individuals living in the San Francisco Bay Area who identified as White or East Asian. The analyses showed that while the gut microbiome of White participants changed in association with obesity, the microbiomes of East Asian participants were distinct from their White counterparts even at normal weight, with features mirroring what was seen in White individuals in the context of obesity. Although these differences were connected to people's current address, they were not attributable to dietary differences. Ang, Alba, Upadhyay et al. then transplanted the microbiome of the participants into genetically identical mice with microbe-free guts. The differences between the gut microbiomes of White and East Asian participants persisted in recipient animals. When fed the same diet, the mice also gained different amounts of weight depending on the ethnic identity of the microbial donor. These results show that self-identified ethnicity may be an important variable to consider in microbiome studies, alongside other factors such as geography. Ultimately, this research may help to design better, more personalized treatments for an array of conditions.

Residue behaviors and risk assessment of flonicamid and its metabolites in the cabbage field ecosystem.

Flonicamid, a novel selective systemic pesticide, can effectively control a broad range of insect pests. However, the dissipation behaviors and the terminal residues of flonicamid and its metabolites in some crops and soils remain unclear. Herein, an easy, sensitive and reliable method using a modified QuEChERS extraction coupled with LC-MS/MS for the simultaneous analysis of flonicamid and its metabolites in cabbage and soil was developed. Based on this method, the dissipation behaviors of flonicamid and its metabolites as well as their persistence in cabbage and soil during harvest were investigated. Flonicamid degraded rapidly, and the half-lives of flonicamid only and total residues (the sum of flonicamid and its metabolites) were 1.49-4.59 and 1.97-4.99 days in cabbage, and 2.12-7.97 and 2.04-7.62 days in soil, respectively. When 50% flonicamid WG was sprayed once or twice at the recommended dose and 1.5-fold the recommended dose, the highest residues of total flonicamid in cabbage and soil from different pre-harvest intervals (3, 7 and 14 days) were 0.070 and 0.054 mg kg-1, respectively. The risk quotient (RQ) of flonicamid based on the consumption data from China was below 16.84%, indicating that the use of flonicamid is non-hazardous to humans. These results could not only guide the safe and responsible use of flonicamid in agriculture but also help the Chinese government establish the maximum residue level (MRL) for flonicamid in cabbage.

Residue behavior and risk assessment of thifluzamide in the maize field ecosystem.

In the present work, the dissipation kinetics and final residue levels of thifluzamide in the maize field ecosystem were investigated. Using a modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) extraction combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric detection (LC-MS/MS), a rapid, sensitive, efficient, and reliable method for extraction and quantitative analysis of thifluzamide residues in maize grain, maize plant, and soil was developed. Satisfactory recoveries of 78.7-97.0% were achieved with relative standard deviations (RSDs) in the range of 1.6 to 8.2%. The limits of detection (LODs) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.002-0.005 and 0.010 mg kg-1, respectively. The dissipation kinetics of thifluzamide in maize plant was well fitted by the first-order kinetic model with short half-lives of 0.19-0.22 days, while thifluzamide degraded slowly in soil with half-lives of 4.56-15.85 days. The final residues in maize grain, maize plant, and soil samples collected at the milk stage and the physiological maturity stage were no more than 0.010, 0.807, and 0.278 mg kg-1, respectively. Given that no maximum residue limit (MRL) for thifluzamide in maize has been established, the safety of this fungicide application was estimated by a dietary risk assessment. The hazard quotient was 0.03%, which was substantially less than 1, indicating that the long-term risk induced by the thifluzamide application on maize at the recommended dose is negligible. These results help governments to develop regulations for the safe use of thifluzamide.

Micelle System Based on Molecular Economy Principle for Overcoming Multidrug Resistance and Inhibiting Metastasis.

The high mortality of cancer is mainly attributed to multidrug resistance (MDR) and metastasis. A simple micelle system was constructed here to codeliver doxorubicin (DOX), adjudin (ADD), and nitric oxide (NO) for overcoming MDR and inhibiting metastasis. It was devised based on the "molecular economy" principle as the micelle system was easy to fabricate and exhibited high drug loading efficiency, and importantly, each component of the micelles would exert one or more active functions. DOX acted as the main cell killing agent supplemented with ADD, NO, and d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS). MDR was overcome by synergistic effects of mitochondria inhibition agents, TPGS and ADD. A TPGS-based NO donor can be used as a drug carrier, and it can release NO to enhance drug accumulation and penetration in tumor, resulting in a positive cycle of drug delivery. This DOX-ADD conjugate self-assembly system demonstrated controlled drug release, increased cellular uptake and cytotoxicity, enhanced accumulation at tumor site, and improved in vivo metastasis inhibition of breast cancer. The micelles can fully take advantage of the functions of each component, and they provide a potential strategy for nanomedicine design and clinical cancer treatment.

[Optimization ofPig-aGene Mutation in Rats and Assessment of Time-dependent and Dose-response Relationship of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea].

OBJECTIVES: To optimize the method of Pig-a mutation assay, and to explore the time-dependent and dose-response relationship of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU). METHODS: Thirty rats were randomly assigned to 5 groups: treated with PBS (control group)or different doses of ENU (10, 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg) for 3 d by oral gavage. Blood samples were collected at 0 d, 15 d, 30 d, 45 d, 60 d, 75 d and 90 d. After enrichment, erythrocytes were incubated with Anti-CD59-APC and SYTO 13 nucleic acid dye solution. Mutant phenotype erythrocytes (RBCCD59-) and mutant phenotype reticulocytes (RETCD59-) were measured by flow cytometry to analyze mutant frequencies, and the RET percentage was determined as well. RESULTS: The RBCCD59- mutation frequency in 4 ENU groups were significantly increased in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The RETCD59- mutation frequency increased to a stable high level with a slight fluctuation, and decreased at 45 d , with the peak values observed at 30 d. The RETCD59- mutation frequency showed a dose-dependent trend in 4 ENU groups. The RET percentage in all 5 groups declined at 30 d, to a stable low level thereafter, but the trends showed no significant differences by time or group. CONCLUSIONS: The optimized in vivo Pig-a mutation assay could detecte the mutagen, such as ENU, induces mutation in RBC in a time- and dose-dependent manner.

Herbal medicines and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is characterized by excessive fat accumulation in the liver of patients who consume little or no alcohol, becomes increasingly common with rapid economic development. Long-term excess fat accumulation leads to NAFLD and represents a global health problem with no effective therapeutic approach. NAFLD is considered to be a series of complex, multifaceted pathological processes involving oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and metabolism. Over the past decades, herbal medicines have garnered growing attention as potential therapeutic agents to prevent and treat NAFLD, due to their high efficacy and low risk of side effects. In this review, we evaluate the use of herbal medicines (including traditional Chinese herbal formulas, crude extracts from medicinal plants, and pure natural products) to treat NAFLD. These herbal medicines are natural resources that can inform innovative drug research and the development of treatments for NAFLD in the future.

[Construction and assessment of short-hairpin RNA eukaryotic expression vector targeting TGF-beta1 labeled by GFP].

AIM: To construct short hairpin RNA (shRNA) eukaryotic expression vectors targeting TGF-beta1 for further research on the effects of TGF-beta1 on vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. METHODS: Three pairs of siRNA target sequences coding from the mRNA of TGF-beta1 gene were designed and three pairs of nucleotides were synthesized. After annealing, the double-strand DNA products were ligated into the pEN_mH1c entry vector, and in turn into the shRNA eukaryotic expression vector pDS_hpEy labled by GFP through the LR recombination reaction. After sequencing successfully, the three resulting TGF-beta1 shRNA expression vectors were transfected into the mouse fibroblast cell line (NIH/3T3), and then cell clones stably expressing TGF-beta1 shRNA were screened. Reverse Transcript-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression. RESULTS: RT-PCR and Western blot showed that one of the TGF-beta1 shRNA expression vectors pDS_Tc downregulated TGF-pl mRNA and protein expression markedly in NIH/3T3 cells. CONCLUSION: ShRNA eukaryotic expression vectors targeting TGF-beta1 are successfully constructed which can be used for further investigation on the mechanism through which TGF-beta1 regulates vasculogenesis and angiogenesis.