Major Impacts of Widespread Structural Variation on Gene Expression and Crop Improvement in Tomato.

Structural variants (SVs) underlie important crop improvement and domestication traits. However, resolving the extent, diversity, and quantitative impact of SVs has been challenging. We used long-read nanopore sequencing to capture 238,490 SVs in 100 diverse tomato lines. This panSV genome, along with 14 new reference assemblies, revealed large-scale intermixing of diverse genotypes, as well as thousands of SVs intersecting genes and cis-regulatory regions. Hundreds of SV-gene pairs exhibit subtle and significant expression changes, which could broadly influence quantitative trait variation. By combining quantitative genetics with genome editing, we show how multiple SVs that changed gene dosage and expression levels modified fruit flavor, size, and production. In the last example, higher order epistasis among four SVs affecting three related transcription factors allowed introduction of an important harvesting trait in modern tomato. Our findings highlight the underexplored role of SVs in genotype-to-phenotype relationships and their widespread importance and utility in crop improvement.

Reciprocal Regulation of the TOR Kinase and ABA Receptor Balances Plant Growth and Stress Response.

As sessile organisms, plants must adapt to variations in the environment. Environmental stress triggers various responses, including growth inhibition, mediated by the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA). The mechanisms that integrate stress responses with growth are poorly understood. Here, we discovered that the Target of Rapamycin (TOR) kinase phosphorylates PYL ABA receptors at a conserved serine residue to prevent activation of the stress response in unstressed plants. This phosphorylation disrupts PYL association with ABA and with PP2C phosphatase effectors, leading to inactivation of SnRK2 kinases. Under stress, ABA-activated SnRK2s phosphorylate Raptor, a component of the TOR complex, triggering TOR complex dissociation and inhibition. Thus, TOR signaling represses ABA signaling and stress responses in unstressed conditions, whereas ABA signaling represses TOR signaling and growth during times of stress. Plants utilize this conserved phospho-regulatory feedback mechanism to optimize the balance of growth and stress responses.

Chemical and Structural Engineering of Gelatin-Based Delivery Systems for Therapeutic Applications: A Review.

As a biodegradable and biocompatible protein derived from collagen, gelatin has been extensively exploited as a fundamental component of biological scaffolds and drug delivery systems for precise medicine. The easily engineered gelatin holds great promise in formulating various delivery systems to protect and enhance the efficacy of drugs for improving the safety and effectiveness of numerous pharmaceuticals. The remarkable biocompatibility and adjustable mechanical properties of gelatin permit the construction of active 3D scaffolds to accelerate the regeneration of injured tissues and organs. In this Review, we delve into diverse strategies for fabricating and functionalizing gelatin-based structures, which are applicable to gene and drug delivery as well as tissue engineering. We emphasized the advantages of various gelatin derivatives, including methacryloyl gelatin, polyethylene glycol-modified gelatin, thiolated gelatin, and alendronate-modified gelatin. These derivatives exhibit excellent physicochemical and biological properties, allowing the fabrication of tailor-made structures for biomedical applications. Additionally, we explored the latest developments in the modulation of their physicochemical properties by combining additive materials and manufacturing platforms, outlining the design of multifunctional gelatin-based micro-, nano-, and macrostructures. While discussing the current limitations, we also addressed the challenges that need to be overcome for clinical translation, including high manufacturing costs, limited application scenarios, and potential immunogenicity. This Review provides insight into how the structural and chemical engineering of gelatin can be leveraged to pave the way for significant advancements in biomedical applications and the improvement of patient outcomes.

Effluent quality prediction of the sewage treatment based on a hybrid neural network model: Comparison and application.

The accurate prediction and assessment of effluent quality in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are paramount for the efficacy of sewage treatment processes. Neural network models have exhibited promise in enhancing prediction accuracy by simulating and analyzing diverse influent parameters. In this study, a back propagation neural network hybrid model based on a tent chaotic map and sparrow search algorithm (Tent_BP_SSA) was developed to predict the effluent quality of sewage treatment processes. The prediction performance of the propose hybrid model was compared with traditional neural network models using five performance indicators (MAE, RMSE, SSE, MAPE and R2). Specifically, in comparison with the prior Tent_BP_SSA, Tent_BP_SSA2 demonstrated notable enhancements, with the R2 increasing from 0.9512 to 0.9672, while MAE, RMSE, SSE, and MAPE decreased by 9.62%, 18.84%, 24.80%, and 47.10%, respectively. These indicators collectively affirm that the utilization of higher-order input parameters ensures improved accuracy of the Tent_BP_SSA2 hybrid model in predicting effluent quality. Moreover, the Tent_BP_SSA2 model exhibited robust prediction ability (R2 of 0.9246) when applied to assess the effluent quality of an actual sewage treatment plant. The incorporation of integrated models comprising the sparrow search optimizing algorithm, tent chaotic mapping, and higher-order magnitude decomposition of input parameters has demonstrated the capacity to enhance the accuracy of effluent quality prediction. This study illuminates novel perspectives on the prediction of effluent quality and the assessment of effluent warnings in WWTPs.

[Liver impairment status toward workers exposed to vinyl chloride under different techniques].

OBJECTIVE: To analyse potential differences towards liver impairment status on vinyl chloride monomer(VCM) exposed population from technique under acetylene hydrochlorination to the one of ethylene oxychlorination respectively and to explore the possible reasons, which will pave the way for occupational health promotion in terms of hazard reduction. METHODS: a cross-sectional study was initiated between June and September in 2022 towards 2 groups of VCM exposed population from the facility of acetylene hydrochlorination(n=78) and the one of ethylene oxychlorination(n=69) in a PVC petrochemical complex enterprise(abbreviation of H) in Tianjin City. The demographic information concerning age, gender, messages on occupational history, field investigation were inquired through questionnaire interview. Then, venous blood(4 mL/person) and urine(10-50 mL/person) were collected during the physical exam phase and indices of 8-hydroxy-2 deoxyguanosine(8-OHdG) in blood and thiodiglycolic acid(TDGA) in urine were detected through ELISA and solid phase extraction-ion chromatography respectively. RESULTS: The 2 groups of population were matched well in terms of average age distribution and gender composition ratio, with significant differences on population composition ratio were found on variables of working years, alcohol consumption and daily sleeping duration(P<0.01 or P<0.05). It was found that the average content of TDGA in acetylene hydrochlorination group was(0.81±0.05)mg/L while the content in ethylene oxychlorination group reached to(0.83±0.06)mg/L, noteworthy differences were only found among 6 posts in the acetylene hydrochlorination group and 5 others in the ethylene oxychlorination group after classification for specific posts, however, the average concentration of 8-OHdG in acetylene hydrochlorination group(122(78.3, 168.8) µg/m~3) was different from the one in ethylene oxychlorination group(101.7(79.6, 149.7) µg/m~3)(Z=6.82, P<0.05). Moreover, a series of positive correlations in moderate intensity between 8-OHdG concentration and TDGA content were observed among posts of polymerization cleaners(r=0.53), aggregation operators(r=0.47), maintenance repairers(r=0.45), sampling operators(r=0.41) in acetylene hydrochlorination group(P<0.05) and posts of cracking reactants(r=0.64), DCS operators(r=0.51), oxychlorination operators(r=0.50) and chemical loaders(r=0.44) in ethylene oxychlorination group(P<0.05). Liver function indices such as content on ALT(χ~2=15.41, P<0.01), AST(χ~2=9.95, P<0.01) and ALP(χ~2=3.79, P<0.01) were different in the 2 groups population with statistical significance, then proportions on population composition ratio that exceeded normal ranges of indices on ALT, AST, AST/ALT ratio, ALP and Alb/Glb ratio were higher in acetylene hydrochlorination group than ones in ethylene oxychlorination group with great significance(P<0.05), so as to the abnormalities in liver B altrosonography test between groups(χ~2=17.33, P<0.01). Binary logistic regression model indicated that 8-OHdG concentration in blood that exceed 90 µg/m~3, TDGA content in urine that exceed 0.60 mg/L, working years that were over 10a, alcohol consumption, sleeping duration less than 6 h per day and male workers were potential risky factors for liver impairment(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The degree on liver impairment status was higher in acetylene hydrochlorination group than ones in in ethylene oxychlorination group under the same PVC factory, which might be associated with the oxidative stress injury induced from the combination of higher VCM concentration at workplaces, longer cumulative exposure time, longer working years, alcohol consumption habits and sleep shortage caused by shift work patterns.

COVID-19 imaging, where do we go from here? Bibliometric analysis of medical imaging in COVID-19.

OBJECTIVES: We conducted a systematic and comprehensive bibliometric analysis of COVID-19-related medical imaging to determine the current status and indicate possible future directions. METHODS: This research provides an analysis of Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) indexed articles on COVID-19 and medical imaging published between 1 January 2020 and 30 June 2022, using the search terms "COVID-19" and medical imaging terms (such as "X-ray" or "CT"). Publications based solely on COVID-19 themes or medical image themes were excluded. CiteSpace was used to identify the predominant topics and generate a visual map of countries, institutions, authors, and keyword networks. RESULTS: The search included 4444 publications. The journal with the most publications was European Radiology, and the most co-cited journal was Radiology. China was the most frequently cited country in terms of co-authorship, with the Huazhong University of Science and Technology being the institution contributing with the highest number of relevant co-authorships. Research trends and leading topics included: assessment of initial COVID-19-related clinical imaging features, differential diagnosis using artificial intelligence (AI) technology and model interpretability, diagnosis systems construction, COVID-19 vaccination, complications, and predicting prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: This bibliometric analysis of COVID-19-related medical imaging helps clarify the current research situation and developmental trends. Subsequent trends in COVID-19 imaging are likely to shift from lung structure to function, from lung tissue to other related organs, and from COVID-19 to the impact of COVID-19 on the diagnosis and treatment of other diseases. Key Points • We conducted a systematic and comprehensive bibliometric analysis of COVID-19-related medical imaging from 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2022. • Research trends and leading topics included assessment of initial COVID-19-related clinical imaging features, differential diagnosis using AI technology and model interpretability, diagnosis systems construction, COVID-19 vaccination, complications, and predicting prognosis. • Future trends in COVID-19-related imaging are likely to involve a shift from lung structure to function, from lung tissue to other related organs, and from COVID-19 to the impact of COVID-19 on the diagnosis and treatment of other diseases.

The methyl-CpG-binding protein MBD7 facilitates active DNA demethylation to limit DNA hyper-methylation and transcriptional gene silencing.

DNA methylation is a conserved epigenetic mark that plays important roles in plant and vertebrate development, genome stability, and gene regulation. Canonical Methyl-CpG-binding domain (MBD) proteins are important interpreters of DNA methylation that recognize methylated CG sites and recruit chromatin remodelers, histone deacetylases, and histone methyltransferases to repress transcription. Here, we show that Arabidopsis MBD7 and Increased DNA Methylation 3 (IDM3) are anti-silencing factors that prevent gene repression and DNA hypermethylation. MBD7 preferentially binds to highly methylated, CG-dense regions and physically associates with other anti-silencing factors, including the histone acetyltransferase IDM1 and the alpha-crystallin domain proteins IDM2 and IDM3. IDM1 and IDM2 were previously shown to facilitate active DNA demethylation by the 5-methylcytosine DNA glycosylase/lyase ROS1. Thus, MBD7 tethers the IDM proteins to methylated DNA, which enables the function of DNA demethylases that in turn limit DNA methylation and prevent transcriptional gene silencing.

Breathing cluster in complex neuron-astrocyte networks.

Brain activities are featured by spatially distributed neural clusters of coherent firings and a spontaneous slow switching of the clusters between the coherent and incoherent states. Evidences from recent in vivo experiments suggest that astrocytes, a type of glial cell regarded previously as providing only structural and metabolic supports to neurons, participate actively in brain functions by regulating the neural firing activities, yet the underlying mechanism remains unknown. Here, introducing astrocyte as a reservoir of the glutamate released from the neuron synapses, we propose the model of the complex neuron-astrocyte network, and investigate the roles of astrocytes in regulating the cluster synchronization behaviors of networked chaotic neurons. It is found that a specific set of neurons on the network are synchronized and form a cluster, while the remaining neurons are kept as desynchronized. Moreover, during the course of network evolution, the cluster is switching between the synchrony and asynchrony states in an intermittent fashion, henceforth the phenomenon of "breathing cluster." By the method of symmetry-based analysis, we conduct a theoretical investigation on the synchronizability of the cluster. It is revealed that the contents of the cluster are determined by the network symmetry, while the breathing of the cluster is attributed to the interplay between the neural network and the astrocyte. The phenomenon of breathing cluster is demonstrated in different network models, including networks with different sizes, nodal dynamics, and coupling functions. The findings shed light on the cellular mechanism of astrocytes in regulating neural activities and give insights into the state-switching of the neocortex.

CST: Complex Sparse Transformer for Low-SNR Speech Enhancement.

Speech enhancement tasks for audio with a low SNR are challenging. Existing speech enhancement methods are mainly designed for high SNR audio, and they usually use RNNs to model audio sequence features, which causes the model to be unable to learn long-distance dependencies, thus limiting its performance in low-SNR speech enhancement tasks. We design a complex transformer module with sparse attention to overcome this problem. Different from the traditional transformer model, this model is extended to effectively model complex domain sequences, using the sparse attention mask balance model's attention to long-distance and nearby relations, introducing the pre-layer positional embedding module to enhance the model's perception of position information, adding the channel attention module to enable the model to dynamically adjust the weight distribution between channels according to the input audio. The experimental results show that, in the low-SNR speech enhancement tests, our models have noticeable performance improvements in speech quality and intelligibility, respectively.

Plasma amino acids by age and gender in Hangzhou, Eastern China.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Amino acids (AAs) are crucial nutrients and fundamental building blocks of organisms that can be utilized to assess nutritional status and detect diseases. However, insufficient information has been reported on plasma AA in the Eastern Chinese population. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: 1859 persons who underwent physical examination in our hospital from January to December 2020 were enrolled. Plasma AA levels were determined by ultra-performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS.), and the effects of age and sex on 19 plasma AA profiles were analyzed. The Python language was used for data analysis and graphic visualization. RESULTS: Plasma arginine, proline, threonine, as-paragine, phenylalanine, and glycine in males, and plasma lysine, leucine, proline, valine, isoleucine, alanine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, and hydroxyproline levels in females increased with age. The 2-aminobutyric acid and serine levels in both sexes, and isoleucine, valine, leucine, and histidine levels in males decreased with age. Glycine level was higher in females than in males, and other 17 AAs except arginine and aspartate were higher in males than in females. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicated that plasma AA levels can reflect the nutritional status and dietary structure of the population, with high obesity rate and high incidence of chronic diseases in eastern China. Age has certain effects on plasma AA levels, especially compared with sex.

High performance C-A-S-H seeds from fly ash-carbide slag for activating lithium slag towards a low carbon binder.

In this work, one-step synthesis of high-performance C-A-S-H (calcium alumina silicate hydrate) seeds from low-calcium fly ash (FA) and carbide slag (CS) by 7 days of mechanochemical mixing was proposed and used to activate lithium slag (LS) cement. The results showed that the seeding effect of C-A-S-H seeds was increased with the increasing Ca/Si (i.e. from 1.0 to 1.5), i.e. the mortar compressive strength of 1 day and 28 days were increased by 67% and 29% with the addition of 1.0% C-A-S-H nano-seeds at Ca/Si = 1.5 in the presence of polycarboxylate superplasticizer (PCE), respectively. Moreover, the chloride resistance of lithium slag cement was improved significantly, i.e. the electric flux was decreased by more than 30% than that of plain lithium slag cement mortar. The performance difference of various C-A-S-H seeds is mainly attributed to their high proportion and polymerization degree, more stretch and three-dimensional foil-like morphology at high Ca/Si. This study provides guidance for obtaining low-cost and high-performance C-A-S-H seeds from wastes and the highly efficient utilization of LS as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) in the future.

Modeling and optimizing of an actual municipal sewage plant: A comparison of diverse multi-objective optimization methods.

The activated sludge process of an actual municipal sewage treatment plant was systematically modeled, calibrated, and verified in this study. Identified multi-objective optimization (MOO) methods were employed to optimize the process parameters of the validated model, and the optimal MOO algorithm was obtained by comparing Pareto solution sets. The optimization model consisted of three key evaluation indicators (objective functions), which are the average effluent quality (AEQ), overall cost index (OCI), and total volume (TV) of the biochemical tank, along with 12 more process parameters (decision variables). Three optimization algorithms, i.e., adaptive non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm III (ANSGA-III), non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II), and particle swarm algorithm (PSO), were adopted using MATLAB. The comparison of these algorithms demonstrated that the ANSGA-III algorithm had better Pareto solution sets under the triple objective optimization, and the effluent quality of COD, TN, NH4+-N, and TP after optimization decreased by 2.22, 0.47, 0.13, and 0.02 mg/L, respectively. Additionally, the simulated AEQ was reduced by 13% compared to the original effluent, and the OCI and TV decreased from 21,023 kWh d-1 and 17,065 m3 to 20,226 kWh d-1 and 16,530 m3, respectively. The reported ANSGA-III algorithm and the proposed multi-objective method have a promising ability for energy conservation, emission reduction, and upgrading of municipal sewage treatment plants.

Principles of extramural health care for chronic wounds in China.

Development of extramural health care for chronic wounds is still in its infancy in China, and thus it is urgent and vital to establish a correct concept and practicable principles. The authors reviewed recent domestic and international literature and summarized the following treatment procedures and principles for extramural health care of chronic wounds. (1) The patient needs to do self-assessment of the wound by using available simple methods; (2) The patient consults with professional physicians or nurses on wound care to define the severity and etiology of the non-healing wound; (3) Professionals evaluate the existing treatment strategies; (4) Etiological treatments are given by professionals; (5) Patients buy needed dressings via the more convenient ways from pharmacies, e-commerce platform or others; (6) Professionals provide a standardized and reasonable therapeutic plan based on the patient's wound conditions; (7) Both professionals and the patient pay attention to complications to prevent adverse outcomes; (8) Professionals strengthen the public education on wound care and integrated rehabilitation. This review expected to provide new perspectives on the therapeutic strategies for chronic wounds in an extramural setting.

[Improvement of protective facilities in vinyl chloride units on liver injury status of occupational exposed group].

OBJECTIVE: To comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness of improvement of protective facilities in a vinyl chloride monomer(VCM) on promotion toward health status of occupational exposed group and safety production at poly-vinyl chloride(PVC) by comparing the liver function indicators and inspection result before and after the improvement, and to analyze the possible influential factors. METHODS: The information collection concerning facilities improvement in 2013 and 2016, identification toward critical controlling points, data or detection result from occupational on-site survey and physical examination were originated in July 2020, and 227 VCM exposed workers and 179 others without chemical reagents exposure history from production factory with calcium carbide process in Tianjin City were selected as objects. The effectiveness toward improvement of protective facilities in critical controlling points that occupational exposed workers usually involve in were evaluated through comparison toward VCM concentration result, thiodiglycolic acid(TDGA) content in urine, indicators on liver function and biochemistry and liver ultrasound. At the mean time, both binary Logistic regression analysis was used to screen the possible factors that contributed to abnormal symptoms and single dependent variable general linear regression model was used to find out the mutual interaction among influential factors. RESULTS: Prior to improvement on protective facilities, the C_(TWA)of VCM exposed by all 8 positions in G had exceeded 1 to 2 folds of occupational exposure limit(OEL=10 mg/m~3) and the position of synthetic operator and field sampling man were ones exposed to 1, 2-DCE with the range from 50% to 1 OEL, others hazard factors were found to meet relative OELs. Next, the content of TDGA in urine of exposed group was found to correlate strongly to the average concentration of VCM(r=0.79, P<0.05), and result of TDGA content, alanine aminotransferase(ALT), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase(GGT) and abnormal rate toward liver ultrasound test in exposed group were much higher than ones in control group with significant differences(P<0.05 or P<0.001). By contrast, after the improvement, the exposure level toward all identified hazard factors were declined to meet OEL levels with significant differences in TDGA content, and result of ALT, GGT and abnormal rates toward symptoms in liver ultrasound test such as liver calcification with thickened liver echo, peripheral fibrosis of the liver, multiple hepatic cysts were markedly lower than ones before improvement and still were higher than ones in control group(P<0.05 or P<0.001). Further, parameters of gender, length of employment, weekly contact time, VCM exposed level, TDGA content were all important contributing factors to abnormal symptoms in liver ultrasound test before and after improvement on protective facilities(P<0.05 or P<0.001), in which a significant interaction effect between gender and length of employment(F=4.028, P=0.044), weekly contact time and TDGA content(F=2.183, P=0.046) in urine were found in contribution analysis to abnormal symptoms in liver ultrasound test(P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The improvement measure carried out in VCM facilities by this PVC production factories with calcium carbide process effectively reduced the ambient concentration of hazard factors mainly led by VCM, but workers might still be at risk of liver injury even under VCM exposure at relative lower level, which may referred to factors of long weekly contact time, long length of employment and high fat diet.

Advances in surgical treatment of hidradenitis suppurative. / åŒ–è„“æ€§æ±—è ºç‚Žå¤–ç§‘æ²»ç–—ç ”ç©¶è¿›å±•.

Hidradenitis suppurative is a chronic, refractory and recurrent dermatological disease. The disease should be managed by targeted surgical intervention on the basis of medical treatment. Currently, the surgical treatment methods include local treatments like incision and drainage, unroofing, laser therapy, intense pulsed light therapy, photodynamic therapy, as well as complete lesion resection such as skin-tissue saving excision with electrosurgical peeling and extended excision. The clearance range, therapeutic effect, postoperative complications, and recurrence risk vary among the different treatment methods. Local treatments cause less damage, but have high recurrence rates, and are mainly for mild to moderate hidradenitis suppurative patients. Complete lesion resections have relatively low recurrence rates, but may bring more surgical injuries, and postoperative reconstructions are needed, which are mainly for moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurative patients. In this article, the surgical treatment principles and various surgical treatment methods of hidradenitis suppurative are reviewed, to provide a reference for the diagnosis and treatment of this disease in clinical practice.

18F-Alfatide II for the evaluation of axillary lymph nodes in breast cancer patients: comparison with 18F-FDG.

PURPOSE: 18F-Alfatide II has been translated into clinical use and been proven to have good performance in identifying breast cancer. In this study, we investigated 18F-Alfatide II for evaluation of axillary lymph nodes (ALN) in breast cancer patients and compared the performance with 18F-FDG. METHODS: A total of 44 female patients with clinically suspected breast cancer were enrolled and underwent 18F-Alfatide II and 18F-FDG PET/CT within a week. Tracer uptakes in ALN were evaluated by visual analysis, semi-quantitative analysis with maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), mean standardized uptake value (SUVmean), and SUVmax ratio of target/non-target (T/NT). RESULTS: Among 44 patients, 37 patients were pathologically diagnosed with breast cancer with metastatic (17 cases) or non-metastatic (20 cases) ALN. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of visual analysis were 70.6%, 90%, 81.1%, 85.7%, and 78.3% for 18F-Alfatide II, 64.7%, 90%, 78.4%, 84.6%, and 75% for 18F-FDG, respectively. By combining 18F-Alfatide II and 18F-FDG, the sensitivity significantly increased to 82.4%, the specificity was 85%, the accuracy increased to 83.8%, the PPV was 82.4%, and the NPV significantly increased to 85.0%. Three cases of luminal B subtype were false negative for both 18F-Alfatide II and 18F-FDG. The other 2 false negative cases of 18F-Alfatide II were triple-negative subtype and 3 false negative cases of 18F-FDG were luminal B subtype too. The AUCs of three semi-quantitative parameters (SUVmax, SUVmean, T/NT) for 18F-Alfatide II were between 0.8 and 0.9, whereas those for 18F-FDG were more than 0.9. 18F-Alfatide II T/NT had the highest Youden index (76.5%), specificity (100%), accuracy (89.2%), and PPV (100%) among these semi-quantitative parameters. 18F-Alfatide II uptake as well as 18F-FDG uptake in metastatic axillary lymph nodes (MALN) was significantly higher than that in benign axillary lymph nodes (BALN). Both 18F-Alfatide II and 18F-FDG did not show difference in primary tumor uptake irrespective of ALN status. CONCLUSION: 18F-Alfatide II can be used in breast cancer patients to detect metastatic ALN, however, like 18F-FDG, with high specificity but relatively low sensitivity. The combination of 18F-Alfatide II and 18F-FDG can significantly improve sensitivity and NPV. 18F-Alfatide II T/NT may serve as the most important semi-quantitative parameter to evaluate ALN.

Use of the Braden Scale to Predict Injury Severity in Mass Burn Casualties.

BACKGROUND Mass burn casualties impose an enormous burden on triage systems. The triage capacity of the Braden Scale for detecting injury severity has not been evaluated in mass burn casualties. MATERIAL AND METHODS The New Injury Severity Score (NISS) was used to dichotomize the injury severity of patients. The Braden Scale and other potentially indicative measurement tools were evaluated using univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression. The relationships between the Braden Scale and other continuous variables with injury severity were further explored by correlation analysis and fitted with regression models. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to validate triage capacity and compare prognostic accuracy. RESULTS A total of 160 hospitalized patients were included in our study; 37 were severely injured, and 123 were not. Injury severity was independently associated with the Numerical Rating Scale (adjusted OR, 1.816; 95% CI, 1.035-3.187) and Braden Scale (adjusted OR, 0.693; 95% CI, 0.564-0.851). The ROC curve of the fitted quadratic model of the Braden Scale was 0.896 (0.840-0.953), and the cut-off value was 17. The sensitivity was 81.08% (64.29-91.44%) and the specificity was 82.93% (74.85-88.89%). Comparison of ROC curves demonstrated an infinitesimal difference between the Braden Scale and NISS for predicting 30-day hospital discharge (Z=0.291, P=0.771) and Intensive Care Unit admission (Z=2.016, P=0.044). CONCLUSIONS The Braden Scale is a suitable triage tool for predicting injury severity and forecasting disability-related outcomes in patients affected by mass burn casualty incidents.

Histone acetylation recruits the SWR1 complex to regulate active DNA demethylation in Arabidopsis.

Active DNA demethylation is critical for controlling the DNA methylomes in plants and mammals. However, little is known about how DNA demethylases are recruited to target loci, and the involvement of chromatin marks in this process. Here, we identify 2 components of the SWR1 chromatin-remodeling complex, PIE1 and ARP6, as required for ROS1-mediated DNA demethylation, and discover 2 SWR1-associated bromodomain-containing proteins, AtMBD9 and nuclear protein X1 (NPX1). AtMBD9 and NPX1 recognize histone acetylation marks established by increased DNA methylation 1 (IDM1), a known regulator of DNA demethylation, redundantly facilitating H2A.Z deposition at IDM1 target loci. We show that at some genomic regions, H2A.Z and DNA methylation marks coexist, and H2A.Z physically interacts with ROS1 to regulate DNA demethylation and antisilencing. Our results unveil a mechanism through which DNA demethylases can be recruited to specific target loci exhibiting particular histone marks, providing a conceptual framework to understand how chromatin marks regulate DNA demethylation.

Anticipating measure synchronization in coupled Hamiltonian systems with machine learning.

A model-free approach is proposed for anticipating the occurrence of measure synchronization in coupled Hamiltonian systems. Specifically, by the technique of parameter-aware reservoir computing in machine learning, we demonstrate that the machine trained by the time series of coupled Hamiltonian systems at a handful of coupling parameters is able to predict accurately not only the critical coupling for the occurrence of measure synchronization, but also the variation of the system order parameters around the transition point. The capability of the model-free technique in anticipating measure synchronization is exemplified in Hamiltonian systems of two coupled oscillators and also in a Hamiltonian system of three globally coupled oscillators where partial synchronization arises. The studies pave a way to the model-free, data-driven analysis of measure synchronization in large-size Hamiltonian systems.

Cluster synchronization induced by manifold deformation.

Pinning control of cluster synchronization in a globally connected network of chaotic oscillators is studied. It is found in simulations that when the pinning strength exceeds a critical value, the oscillators are synchronized into two different clusters, one formed by the pinned oscillators and the other one formed by the unpinned oscillators. The numerical results are analyzed by the generalized method of master stability function (MSF), in which it is shown that whereas the method is able to predict the synchronization behaviors of the pinned oscillators, it fails to predict the synchronization behaviors of the unpinned oscillators. By checking the trajectories of the oscillators in the phase space, it is found that the failure is attributed to the deformed synchronization manifold of the unpinned oscillators, which is clearly deviated from that of isolated oscillator under strong pinnings. A similar phenomenon is also observed in the pinning control of cluster synchronization in a complex network of symmetric structures and in the self-organized cluster synchronization of networked neural oscillators. The findings are important complements to the generalized MSF method and provide an alternative approach to the manipulation of synchronization behaviors in complex network systems.