Task sub-type states decoding via group deep bidirectional recurrent neural network.

Decoding brain states under different cognitive tasks from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data has attracted great attention in the neuroimaging filed. However, the well-known temporal dependency in fMRI sequences has not been fully exploited in existing studies, due to the limited temporal-modeling capacity of the backbone machine learning algorithms and rigid training sample organization strategies upon which the brain decoding methods are built. To address these limitations, we propose a novel method for fine-grain brain state decoding, namely, group deep bidirectional recurrent neural network (Group-DBRNN) model. We first propose a training sample organization strategy that consists of a group-task sample generation module and a multiple-scale random fragment strategy (MRFS) module to collect training samples that contain rich task-relevant brain activity contrast (i.e., the comparison of neural activity patterns between different tasks) and maintain the temporal dependency. We then develop a novel decoding model by replacing the unidirectional RNNs that are widely used in existing brain state decoding studies with bidirectional stacked RNNs to better capture the temporal dependency, and by introducing a multi-task interaction layer (MTIL) module to effectively model the task-relevant brain activity contrast. Our experimental results on the Human Connectome Project task fMRI dataset (7 tasks consisting of 23 task sub-type states) show that the proposed model achieves an average decoding accuracy of 94.7% over the 23 fine-grain sub-type states. Meanwhile, our extensive interpretations of the intermediate features learned in the proposed model via visualizations and quantitative assessments of their discriminability and inter-subject alignment evidence that the proposed model can effectively capture the temporal dependency and task-relevant contrast.

A Europium Metal-Organic Framework and Its Polymer Composite Membrane as Switch-Off Fluorescence Sensors for Antibiotic Detection in Lake Water.

The detection of antibiotic residues is of great significance in monitoring their overuse in healthcare, livestock and poultry farming, and agricultural production. Herein, EuCl3 and 4,4'-dicarboxyl-diphenoxyethene (H2DPOE) ionothermally reacted in 1-methyl-3-butylimidazolium chloride to give a europium metal-organic framework (Eu-DPOE). Eu-DPOE shows different fluorescence quenching rates for sensing eight antibiotics under different excitation wavelengths. Eu-DPOE displays a fast response, high selectivity, and sensitivity in antibiotic detection by fluorescence quenching. Eu-DPOE can sensitively detect TCs (tetracyclines), NOR (norfloxacin), NFT (furazolidone), ODZ (ornidazole), SDZ (sulfadiazine), and CHL (chloramphenicol) with limits of detection below 0.5 µmol/L. It provides a convenient and rapid tool for sensing antibiotics in aqueous solution. The detection mechanism is a competition absorption between DPOE2- and antibiotics with the supports from powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), UV-vis spectra, and fluorescence lifetime. With a composite membrane of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) matrix loading Eu-DPOE (Eu-DPOE@PVDF), Eu-DPOE@PVDF exhibits a visual fluorescence response to NOR under a 254 nm UV lamp and NFT and CTC under 365 nm. Eu-DPOE@PVDF is applied in the quantitative detection of CTC, NOR, and NFT in lake water with recovery rates ranging from 88.37 to 113.8%. Totally, fluorescence-quenched Eu-DPOE@PVDF exhibits a fast response, high selectivity, and sensitivity in sensing CTC, NOR, and NFT.

Dynamic topography analysis of the cornea and its application to the diagnosis of keratoconus.

PROPOSE: To establish a dynamic topography analysis method which simulates the dynamic biomechanical response of the cornea and reveals the variations of such response within the corneal surface, and thereafter to propose and clinically evaluate new parameters for the definite diagnosis of keratoconus. METHODS: 58 normal (Normal) and 56 keratoconus (KC) subjects were retrospectively included. Personalized corneal air-puff model was established using corneal topography data by Pentacam for each subject, and the dynamic deformation under air-puff loading was simulated using finite element method, which then enabled calculations of corneal biomechanical parameters of the entire corneal surface along any meridian. Variations in these parameters across different meridians and between different groups were explored by two-way repeated measurement analysis of variance. New dynamic topography parameters were proposed as the range of the calculated biomechanical parameters within the entire corneal surface, and the AUC of ROC curve was used to compare the diagnostic efficiency of newly proposed and existing parameters. RESULTS: Corneal biomechanical parameters measured in different meridians varied significantly which were more pronounced in KC group due to its irregularity in corneal morphology. Considering such between-meridian variations thus led to improved diagnostic efficiency of KC as presented by the proposed dynamic topography parameter rIR with an AUC of 0.992 (sensitivity: 91.1%, specificity: 100%), significantly better than the current topography and biomechanical parameters. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis of keratoconus may be affected by the significant variations of corneal biomechanical parameters due to corneal morphology irregularity. By considering such variations, the current study established the dynamic topography analysis process which benefits from the high accuracy of (static) corneal topography measurement while improving its diagnosis capacity. The proposed dynamic topography parameters, especially the rIR parameter, showed comparable or better diagnostic efficiency for KC than existing topography and biomechanical parameters, which can be of great clinical significance for clinics without access to instrument for biomechanical evaluations.

Tim-1+ B cells suppress T cell interferon-gamma production and promote Foxp3 expression, but have impaired regulatory function in coronary artery disease.

Atherosclerosis and its associated coronary artery disease (CAD) represent another chronic low-grade inflammatory disorder. Regulatory B cells (Bregs) possess essential functions in maintaining peripheral tolerance and inhibiting pathogenic inflammation through IL-10. Here, we investigated one subset of Bregs, Tim-1+ B cell, and its role in atherosclerosis and CAD patients. In healthy individuals, IL-10-producing B cells were predominantly found in the Tim-1+ B cells. Upon stimulation of the B cell receptor (BCR) and Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR-9) by anti-BCR antibodies and CpG, respectively, the Tim-1+ B cells could further upregulate IL-10 expression. In contrast, the Tim-1+ B cells were present at normal frequency in CAD patients, but showed impaired capacity to upregulate IL-10 with or without BCR + CpG stimulation. The stimulated Tim-1+ B cells from healthy individuals also suppressed expression of interferon gamma (IFN-γ), an atherogenic cytokine in T cells, in an IL-10-dependent fashion, and strongly promoted the expression of Foxp3 in naive CD4+ CD45RO- T cells. In contrast, the Tim-1+ B cells from CAD patients were unable to suppress IFN-γ secretion, and only minimally increased the expression of Foxp3 in naive CD4+ CD45RO- T cells. Despite this, the frequency of Tim-1+ B cells in the atherosclerotic lesions from CAD patients was inversely correlated with the frequency of IFN-γ-expressing T cells. Together, these results demonstrated that CAD patients presented an inflammatory disorder in regulatory B cells, which could be used as a therapeutic target.

[Effects of ulinastatin on cardiac function and myocardial p38MAPK in rats with septic shock].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of different doses of ulinastatin (UTI) on the cardiac function and myocardial expression of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) in septic rats. METHODS: Forty male SD rats were randomized equally into 5 groups, namely the control group (group A), sham-operated group (group B), sepsis group (group C), low-dose UTI group (group D), and high-dose UTI group (group E). Rat models of sepsis were established by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), At 24 h after successful modeling, the left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) and fractional shortening (LVFS) were evaluated, and the myocardium of the left ventricle was sampled to examine the expression of the expressions of p38MAPK and p-p38MAPK using Western blotting. RESULTS: In groups A, B, C, D, and E, the LVEF was (77.13∓3.76)%, (76.88∓3.64)%, (56.13∓4.16)%, (55.00∓3.12)%, and (66.50∓3.46)%, and the LVFS was (43.50∓3.70)%, (44.00∓3.38)%, (28.13∓1.81)%, (26.13∓2.70)%, and (38.00∓2.07)%, respectively. Compared with group B at 24 h after CLP, LVEF and LVFS were markedly lowered in the groups C, D and E (P=0.000, 0.000 and 0.002), but showed no significant differences between groups C and D (P=0.541 and 0.166); LVEF and LVFS were significantly lower in group E than in groups C and D (P=0.000 and 0.000). The p-p38/p38 ratio was similar between groups C and D (0.79∓0.12 vs 0.75∓0.12, P=0.682), but both significantly higher than that in group B (0.28∓0.15, P=0.001); the ratio in group E was significantly lower than that in group C (P=0.001), but similar with that in group B (P=0.972). CONCLUSION: High-dose UTI can inhibit p38 phosphorylation, which may be the mechanism for its effect of myocardial protection in septic rat.

[Transvaginal sonography and transabdominal sonography in the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy in the fallopian tubal: a comparative study in 38 cases].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the accuracy of transvaginal sonography (TVS) and transabdominal sonography (TAS) in the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy occurring in the fallopian tubal. METHODS: Thirty-eight patients with ectopic pregnancy in the fallopian tube were examined by TAS with moderately filled bladder, followed by reexamination with TVS with the bladder emptied. The manifestations in the 2 imaging examinations were compared. RESULTS: TVS showed masses in 38, gestations in 23, heart beat in 10, pelvis fluid in 16 and circular blood signal in 25 cases respectively, while TAS identified masses in 30, gestations in 13, heart beat in 5, pelvis fluid in 14 and circular blood flow signal in 13 cases. CONCLUSION: TVS may offer an earlier, clearer and more exact diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy in the fallopian tube than TAS is capable of.