Reconstruction of transparent objects using phase shifting profilometry based on diffusion models.

Phase shifting profilometry is an important technique for reconstructing the three-dimensional (3D) geometry of objects with purely diffuse surfaces. However, it is challenging to measure the transparent objects due to the pattern aliasing caused by light refraction and multiple reflections inside the object. In this work, we analyze the aliasing fringe pattern formation for transparent objects and then, propose to learn the front surface light intensity distribution based on the formation principle by using the diffusion models for generating the non-aliased fringe patterns reflected from the front surface only. With the generated fringe patterns, the 3D shape of the transparent objects can be reconstructed via the conventional structured light. We show the feasibility and performance of the proposed method on the data of purely transparent objects that are not seen in the training stage. Moreover, we found it could be generalized to other cases with local-transparent and translucent objects, showing the potential capability of the diffusion based learnable framework in tackling the problems of transparent object reconstruction.

Characteristics of refractive development in children aged 4 months to 8 years in urban China: A retrospective screening analysis.

PURPOSE: To conduct a large retrospective study of screening refractive error in young children. METHODS: This retrospective study included children aged from 4 months to 8 years in Daxing District, Beijing, who underwent refractive examinations without cycloplegia. It included a cross-sectional assessment of refractive error screening for all children, and a longitudinal component for a subgroup with data available for two to five visits. RESULTS: A total of 14,987 children were included in the cross-sectional study. In the group <1 year of age, the percentage of children with a spherical equivalent (SE) >+2.00 D or with cylinder <-1.50 D was 15.25% and 33.24%, respectively. These were significantly higher than for the 1- to 4-year-old group (SE 8.1% higher, cylinder 13.2% higher) (χ2 = 53.57, p < 0.001; χ2 = 790.39, p < 0.001). Furthermore, 34.83% of children in the 0-year-old group had amblyopia risk factors (ARFs). In the 4-year-old group, boys had a significantly longer axial length (AL) than girls (differences in the right and left eyes were 0.53 and 0.56 mm, respectively; z = 5.48 p < 0.001, z = 5.80, p < 0.001). AL increased with age, while the AL difference between boys and girls remained stable at 4-8 years of age. The percentage of children aged 5-8 years with myopia in 2020-2021 was significantly higher than that in 2018-2019 (H = 12.44, p = 0.006). In the longitudinal study of 4406 children (up to 12-month follow-up), annual changes in SE were -0.27, -0.06, 0.19 and 0.13 D between 0 and 3 years, and -0.38, -0.58, -0.70 and -0.75 D between 5 and 8 years. CONCLUSIONS: Children's refractive error varied significantly from ages 4 months to 1 year, with a high proportion having ARFs. Children aged 5-8 years showed a trend towards myopia. The prevalence of myopia in the cross-sectional analysis in 2020-2021 was greater than in 2018-2019. Screening refraction changed minimally over a 12-month period for children aged 1-3 years, but became more myopic for children aged 5-8 years.

CD151-enriched migrasomes mediate hepatocellular carcinoma invasion by conditioning cancer cells and promoting angiogenesis.

BACKGROUND: The tetraspanin family plays a pivotal role in the genesis of migrasomes, and Tetraspanin CD151 is also implicated in neovascularization within tumorous contexts. Nevertheless, research pertaining to the involvement of CD151 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) neovascularization and its association with migrasomes remains inadequate. METHODS: To investigate the correlation between CD151 and migrasome marker TSPAN4 in liver cancer, we conducted database analysis using clinical data from HCC patients. Expression levels of CD151 were assessed in HCC tissues and correlated with patient survival outcomes. In vitro experiments were performed using HCC cell lines to evaluate the impact of CD151 expression on migrasome formation and cellular invasiveness. Cell lines with altered CD151 expression levels were utilized to study migrasome generation and in vitro invasion capabilities. Additionally, migrasome function was explored through cellular aggregation assays and phagocytosis studies. Subsequent VEGF level analysis and tissue chip experiments further confirmed the role of CD151 in mediating migrasome involvement in angiogenesis and cellular signal transduction. RESULTS: Our study revealed a significant correlation between CD151 expression and migrasome marker TSPAN4 in liver cancer, based on database analysis of clinical samples. High expression levels of CD151 were closely associated with poor survival outcomes in HCC patients. Experimentally, decreased CD151 expression led to reduced migrasome generation and diminished in vitro invasion capabilities, resulting in attenuated in vivo metastatic potential. Migrasomes were demonstrated to facilitate cellular aggregation and phagocytosis, thereby promoting cellular invasiveness. Furthermore, VEGF-enriched migrasomes were implicated in signaling and angiogenesis, accelerating HCC progression. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, our findings support the notion that elevated CD151 expression promotes migrasome formation, and migrasomes play a pivotal role in the invasiveness and angiogenesis of liver cancer cells, thereby facilitating HCC progression. This finding implies that migrasomes generated by elevated CD151 expression may constitute a promising high-priority target for anti-angiogenic therapy in HCC, offering crucial insights for the in-depth exploration of migrasome function and a renewed comprehension of the mechanism underlying liver cancer metastasis.

Causal Associations of Environmental Pollution and Cardiovascular Disease: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study.

Background: There is growing evidence that concentrations of environmental pollutants are previously associated with cardiovascular disease; however, it is unclear whether this association reflects a causal relationship. Methods: We utilized a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach to investigate how environmental pollution affects the likelihood of developing cardiovascular disease. We primarily employed the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method. Additionally, to ensure the robustness of our findings, we conducted several sensitivity analyses using alternative methodologies. These included maximum likelihood, MR-Egger regression, weighted median method and weighted model methods. Results: Inverse variance weighted estimates suggested that an SD increase in PM2.5 exposure increased the risk of heart failure (OR = 1.40, 95% CI 1.02-1.93, p = 0.0386). We found that an SD increase in PM10 exposure increased the risk of hypertension (OR = 1.45, 95% CI 1.02-2.05, p = 0.03598) and atrial fibrillation (OR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.03-1.94, p = 0.03461). Exposure to chemical or other fumes in a workplace was found to increase the risk of hypertension (OR = 3.08, 95% CI 1.40-6.78, p = 0.005218), coronary artery disease (OR = 1.81, 95% CI 1.00-3.26, p = 0.04861), coronary heart disease (OR = 3.15, 95% CI 1.21-8.16, p = 0.0183) and myocardial infarction (OR = 3.03, 95% CI 1.13-8.17, p = 0.02802). Conclusion: This study reveals the causal relationship between air pollutants and cardiovascular diseases, providing new insights into the protection of cardiovascular diseases.

Effect of γ-tACS on prefrontal hemodynamics in bipolar disorder: A functional near-infrared study.

OBJECTIVES: Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a potential therapeutic psychiatric tool that has been shown to modulate clinical symptoms and brain function by inducing brain oscillations. However, direct evidence on the effects of gamma-tACS (γ-tACS) on Bipolar I Disorder (BD-I) is limited. In the present study we used functional near-infrared spectroscopy to explore prefrontal hemodynamic changes in BD-I patients receiving combined γ-tACS intervention in addition to pharmacological treatment. METHODS: Only 39 male patients with BD-I in the acute manic phase were included, and they were randomly divided into an intervention group (n = 18) and a control group (n = 21). The intervention group received γ-tACS treatment on a weekday for a total of 10 sessions in the right prefrontal cortex and left prefrontal cortex. All participants were pretested (baseline) and posttested (2 weeks after) with questionnaires to assess clinical symptoms and cognitive abilities, and with functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to assess spontaneous cortical hemodynamic activities. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, the intervention group had greater increases in Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores, and greater decreases in Bech-Rafaelsen Mania Rating Scale (BRMS) scores. In the intervention group, functional connectivity (FC) was significantly greater in the left hemisphere. γ-tACS treatment resulted in a left hemispheric lateralization effect of resting state FC in BD-I patients, increasing the hemodynamic activity of the patient's left prefrontal cortex. CONCLUSIONS: γ-tACS can improve cognitive impairment and mood symptoms with BD-I patients in an acute manic episode by enhancing FC in the patients' left prefrontal cortex.

Analysis of critical states based on acoustic emission signals during progressive failure of wood.

The analysis of critical states during fracture of wood materials is crucial for wood building safety monitoring, wood processing, etc. In this paper, beech and camphor pine are selected as the research objects, and the acoustic emission signals during the fracture process of the specimens are analyzed by three-point bending load experiments. On the one hand, the critical state interval of a complex acoustic emission signal system is determined by selecting characteristic parameters in the natural time domain. On the other hand, an improved method of b_value analysis in the natural time domain is proposed based on the characteristics of the acoustic emission signal. The K-value, which represents the beginning of the critical state of a complex acoustic emission signal system, is further defined by the improved method of b_value in the natural time domain. For beech, the analysis of critical state time based on characteristic parameters can predict the "collapse" time 8.01 s in advance, while for camphor pines, 3.74 s in advance. K-value can be analyzed at least 3 s in advance of the system "crash" time for beech and 4 s in advance of the system "crash" time for camphor pine. The results show that compared with traditional time-domain acoustic emission signal analysis, natural time-domain acoustic emission signal analysis can discover more available feature information to characterize the state of the signal. Both the characteristic parameters and Natural_Time_b_value analysis in the natural time domain can effectively characterize the time when the complex acoustic emission signal system enters the critical state. Critical state analysis can provide new ideas for wood health monitoring and complex signal processing, etc.

Causal Associations of DNA Methylation and Cardiovascular Disease: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study.

Background: There is growing evidence that concentrations of DNA methylation are associated with cardiovascular disease; however, it is unclear whether this association reflects a causal relationship. Methods: We utilized a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach to investigate whether DNA methylation can affect the risk of developing cardiovascular disease in human life. We primarily performed the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method to analyze the causal effect of DNA methylation on multiple cardiovascular diseases. Additionally, to ensure the robustness of our findings, we conducted several sensitivity analyses using alternative methodologies. These analysis methods included maximum likelihood, MR-Egger regression, weighted median method, and weighted model methods. Results: Inverse variance weighted estimates suggested that an SD increase in DNA methylation Hannum age acceleration exposure increased the risk of cardiac arrhythmias (OR = 1.03, 95% CI 1.00-1.05, p = 0.0290) and atrial fibrillation (OR = 1.03, 95% CI 1.00-1.05, p = 0.0022). We also found that an SD increase in DNA methylation PhenoAge acceleration exposure increased the risk of heart failure (OR = 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.03, p = 0.0362). Exposure to DNA methylation-estimated granulocyte proportions was found to increase the risk of hypertension (OR = 1.00, 95% CI 1.00-1.0001, p = 0.0291). Exposure to DNA methylation-estimated plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 levels was found to increase the risk of heart failure (OR = 1.00, 95% CI 1.00-1.00, p = 0.0215). Conclusion: This study reveals a causal relationship between DNA methylation and CVD. Exposed to high levels of DNA methylation Hannum age acceleration inhabitants with an increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation. DNA methylation PhenoAge acceleration levels exposure levels were positively associated with the increased risk of developing heart failure. This has important implications for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Exploring the spiritual needs of patients with advanced cancer in China: a qualitative study.

This qualitative study aimed to gain a deep understanding of the spiritual needs of patients with advanced cancer. A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was conducted. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and subjected to thematic analysis. Two researchers coded the interviews independently in NVivo 12 plus and developed major themes and subthemes by inductive and constant comparison. This study was conducted in the inpatient ward of a tertiary cancer hospital in Hunan Province, Chinese Mainland. Eligible participants with advanced cancer were recruited using the purposive sampling method. The sample size was determined by data saturation. All interviews were conducted face-to-face individually from May 2021 to July 2021. A total of 13 patients with advanced cancer patients were interviewed. Six themes were identified, namely being treated as normal and independent individuals, receiving and giving love, seeking inner peace, connecting with spiritual sources, finding meaning and purpose, and preparing for death. Different categories of spiritual needs of patients with advanced cancer were identified in this study. Healthcare professionals need to develop interventions that aim to meet patients' spiritual needs.

A novel link between circPDE3B and ferroptosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma progression.

AIM: To unravel whether ferroptosis involves with the actions by circPDE3B-mediated facilitation of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) progression. METHODS: Human ESCC tissues and cell lines were prepared for the evaluation of ferroptosis. Cellular iron, ROS, GSH, and MDA levels were measured to assess ferroptosis. Flow cytometry was employed to analyze apoptosis and cell cycle. Subcellular fractionation and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were conducted to validate the localization of circPDE3B. RNA pull-down, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), and luciferase assay were subjected to identify the molecular mechanisms. Nude mouse xenograft model was carried out to evaluate the function of circPDE3B/SLC7A11/CBS in vivo. RESULTS: Increased circPDE3B in human ESCC specimens was positively correlated with ferroptosis-related molecules, SLC7A11 and CBS. Functionally, circPDE3B knockdown triggered ferroptosis, apoptosis, and cell cycle arrest in ESCC cells. Whereas, these effects were obviously blocked by miR-516b-5p inhibitor. Mechanistically, not only circPDE3B sponged miR-516b-5p to upregulate CBS, but also directly bound with HNRNPK to stabilize SLC7A11. In mice, depletion of circPDE3B restrained ESCC growth, while this was abolished by overexpression of CBS or SLC7A11. CONCLUSION: In summary, circPDE3B promotes ESCC progression by suppressing ferroptosis through recruiting HNRNPK/SLC7A11 and miR-516b-5p/CBS axes.

Kinematic target surface sensing based on improved deep optical flow tracking.

Reconstruction of moving target surfaces based on active image sensing techniques, such as phase-shifting profilometry, has attracted intensive research in recent years. The measurement error caused by object motion can be addressed successfully by tracking the object movement. However, it either requires high-cost color imaging equipment or is limited by the assumption of 2D translation movement. Therefore, this paper proposes what we believe to be a new method to reconstruct the kinematic object surfaces with any 2D movement sensed by affordable monochrome camera. An improved RAFT optical flow algorithm is proposed to track the object based on the object fringe pattern image directly. The feature points on the object are retrieved immune to the fringe pattern illumination. Then, the RANSAC algorithm and an iteration selection process are employed to select feature points with high quality optical flow. At last, the motion is described mathematically, and the dynamic object is reconstructed successfully. Experiments are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Curcumin inhibits the activity and induces apoptosis of activated hepatic stellate cell by suppressing autophagy.

Curcumin, a kind of natural compound, has been previously proven to inhibit the autophagy in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and induce their apoptosis. However, it is not clear whether the enhanced apoptosis of activated HSCs (aHSCs) caused by curcumin depends on autophagy inhibition. We aim to verify this hypothesis and explore the potential mechanisms in this study. Immortalized human HSC line LX-2 was used as an experimental specimen and pretreated with transforming growth factor ß1(TGF-ß1) for 24 h to activate it before drug application. The levels of autophagy, apoptosis, cell activity, lipid metabolism, and the activity of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signal pathway were evaluated by multiple methods, such as Western blotting, mcherry-EGFP-LC3B adenoviruses transfection, immunofluorescence, Nile Red staining, flow cytometry among others. Our results showed that rapamycin, an autophagy activator, could partly offset the effects of curcumin on autophagy and apoptosis of LX-2 cells, while 3-Methyladenine (3-MA), an autophagy inhibitor, could enhance these effects. Furthermore, curcumin could promote the activity of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signal pathway in LX-2 cells, while PI3K inhibitor could partly offset this effect and increase the autophagy level. Overall, we demonstrated that curcumin could inhibit the activity and promote LX-2 cells apoptosis by suppressing autophagy by activating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signal pathway. In addition, lipid recovery and energy deprivation due to autophagy inhibition may be the exact mechanism by which curcumin attenuates the pro-fibrotic activity of LX-2.

Preoperative Three-Dimensional Morphological Tumor Features Predict Microvascular Invasion in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The study was designed to evaluate microvascular invasion (MVI) using three-dimensional (3D) morphological indicators prior to surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included 156 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) at our hospital from 2017 to 2018. Through thin-layer CT scanning and 3D reconstruction, the tumor surface inclination angles can be quantitatively analyzed to determine the surface irregularity rate (SIR), which serves as a comprehensive assessment method for tumor irregularity based on preoperative 3D morphological evaluation. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to investigate the correlation with MVI. RESULTS: The SIR was related to MVI (OR: 10.667, P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the SIR was an independent risk factor for MVI. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) of prediction model composed of the morphological indicator SIR was 0.831 (95% confidence interval: 0.759-0.895). CONCLUSION: The preoperative 3D morphological indicator SIR of a tumor is an accurate predictor of MVI, providing a valuable tool in clinical decision-making.

[Spatial-temporal Variations and Pollution Assessment of Heavy Metals in Sediments of Qionghai Lake in Xichang City].

Based on the analysis of the total concentrations of 10 metals in the sediment core and total concentrations and chemical fractions of seven metals in the surface sediments of Qionghai Lake in Xichang City, Sichuan Province, the spatial-temporal characteristics of metal accumulation and pollution over the past century and the potential ecological risk of metals in surface sediments were studied. Before the 1970s, metal concentrations in the sediment core were stable. The total concentrations of Al, Fe, K, and Cr in the sediment core exhibited visible peaks in the 1970s, which were related to the enhanced input of fine-grained topsoil caused by increasing precipitation, lake reclamation, and deforestation. Since the 1990s, the total concentrations of Al, Fe, K, and Cr decreased with the reduced topsoil erosion, whereas the total concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn gradually increased or remained stable. The enrichment factor results showed that Cd, Pb, and Zn were the main contaminants, with Cd as the typical contaminant in the sediment core. The Cd contamination started in the 1960s and has remained at a moderate level since the 1990s. In the surface sediments, the total concentrations of Cd were higher in the northwest lake area, and no visible spatial concentration trends of the other metals were displayed. The bioavailable fractions of Cd, Pb, and Zn accounted for 95%, 63%, and 48% of the total metal concentrations on average. Among the bioavailable fractions, Cd was mainly in the acid-soluble fraction, and Pb and Zn were mainly in the reducible and oxidized fractions. The bioavailable fractions of the other metals were less than 27%. The results of total concentrations and bioavailable fractions of metals revealed that Pb and Zn in the surface sediments were slightly or moderately contaminated, and Cd was moderately contaminated on average. Cd contamination was at a severe level in the northwest lake area. The concentrations of anthropogenic Cd, Pb, and Zn in the surface sediments estimated from the total and bioavailable concentrations were comparable (P>0.05), indicating that anthropogenic metals primarily existed in bioavailable fractions in the sediment. Integrating the assessment results from sediment quality guidelines, potential ecological risk index, and chemical forms of metals, Cd in surface sediments may pose a high ecological risk, whereas the other metals has a low ecological risk.

Review of visual analytics methods for food safety risks.

With the availability of big data for food safety, more and more advanced data analysis methods are being applied to risk analysis and prewarning (RAPW). Visual analytics, which has emerged in recent years, integrates human and machine intelligence into the data analysis process in a visually interactive manner, helping researchers gain insights into large-scale data and providing new solutions for RAPW. This review presents the developments in visual analytics for food safety RAPW in the past decade. Firstly, the data sources, data characteristics, and analysis tasks in the food safety field are summarized. Then, data analysis methods for four types of analysis tasks: association analysis, risk assessment, risk prediction, and fraud identification, are reviewed. After that, the visualization and interaction techniques are reviewed for four types of characteristic data: multidimensional, hierarchical, associative, and spatial-temporal data. Finally, opportunities and challenges in this area are proposed, such as the visual analysis of multimodal food safety data, the application of artificial intelligence techniques in the visual analysis pipeline, etc.

Protective Effects of Different Molecular Weights of Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) Aqueous Extract on DSS-Induced Ulcerative Colitis in Mice.

Purslane, a common wild vegetable, contains active substances with various biological functions. However, its effects have been under-investigated in ulcerative colitis (UC). Therefore, this study investigated the therapeutic effects of purslane macromolecular (POEM) and small molecular extracts (POES) on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced UC in mice. Membrane separation was used to obtain extracts of different molecular weights, and their compositional differences were compared using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS). POEM contained more proteins and polysaccharides, whereas POES contained more organic acids and alkaloids. These differences in composition were directly responsible for the different degrees of remission of the alleviated UC in model mice. POEM may alleviate UC by regulating the antioxidant capacity and the gut microbiota, whereas the major alleviatory effect of POES was primarily related to the regulation of antioxidant capacity. The POEM and POES effects identified in this study provide a theoretical basis for the development of purslane as a functional food.

A comprehensive review of the relationship between autophagy and sorafenib-resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma: ferroptosis is noteworthy.

Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) bear a heavy burden of disease and economic burden but have fewer treatment options. Sorafenib, a multi-kinase inhibitor, is the only approved drug that can be used to limit the progression of inoperable or distant metastatic HCC. However, enhanced autophagy and other molecular mechanisms after sorafenib exposure further induce drug resistance in HCC patients. Sorafenib-associated autophagy also generates a series of biomarkers, which may represent that autophagy is a critical section of sorafenib-resistance in HCC. Furthermore, many classic signaling pathways have been found to be involved in sorafenib-associated autophagy, including the HIF/mTOR signaling pathway, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and sphingolipid signaling, among others. In turn, autophagy also provokes autophagic activity in components of the tumor microenvironment, including tumor cells and stem cells, further impacting sorafenib-resistance in HCC through a special autophagic cell death process called ferroptosis. In this review, we summarized the latest research progress and molecular mechanisms of sorafenib-resistance-associated autophagy in detail, providing new insights and ideas for unraveling the dilemma of sorafenib-resistance in HCC.

Health-Aware Food Recommendation Based on Knowledge Graph and Multi-Task Learning.

Current food recommender systems tend to prioritize either the user's dietary preferences or the healthiness of the food, without considering the importance of personalized health requirements. To address this issue, we propose a novel approach to healthy food recommendations that takes into account the user's personalized health requirements, in addition to their dietary preferences. Our work comprises three perspectives. Firstly, we propose a collaborative recipe knowledge graph (CRKG) with millions of triplets, containing user-recipe interactions, recipe-ingredient associations, and other food-related information. Secondly, we define a score-based method for evaluating the healthiness match between recipes and user preferences. Based on these two prior perspectives, we develop a novel health-aware food recommendation model (FKGM) using knowledge graph embedding and multi-task learning. FKGM employs a knowledge-aware attention graph convolutional neural network to capture the semantic associations between users and recipes on the collaborative knowledge graph and learns the user's requirements in both preference and health by fusing the losses of these two learning tasks. We conducted experiments to demonstrate that FKGM outperformed four competing baseline models in integrating users' dietary preferences and personalized health requirements in food recommendations and performed best on the health task.

Identification of key genes and signaling pathways associated with dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson's disease dementia using bioinformatics.

Objective: Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) are collectively known as Lewy body dementia (LBD). Considering the heterogeneous nature of LBD and the different constellations of symptoms with which patients can present, the exact molecular mechanism underlying the differences between these two isoforms is still unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the biomarkers and potential mechanisms that distinguish between PDD and DLB. Methods: The mRNA expression profile dataset of GSE150696 was acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between 12 DLB and 12 PDD were identified from Brodmann area 9 of human postmortem brains using GEO2R. A series of bioinformatics methods were applied to identify the potential signaling pathways involved, and a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to further investigate the relationship between gene co-expression and different LBD subtypes. Hub genes that are strongly associated with PDD and DLB were obtained from the intersection of DEGs and selected modules by WGCNA. Results: A total of 1,864 DEGs between PDD and DLB were filtered by the online analysis tool GEO2R. We found that the most significant GO- and KEGG-enriched terms are involved in the establishment of the vesicle localization and pathways of neurodegeneration-multiple diseases. Glycerolipid metabolism and viral myocarditis were enriched in the PDD group. A B-cell receptor signaling pathway and one carbon pool by folate correlated with DLB in the results obtained from the GSEA. We found several clusters of co-expressed genes which we designated by colors in our WGCNA analysis. Furthermore, we identified seven upregulated genes, namely, SNAP25, GRIN2A, GABRG2, GABRA1, GRIA1, SLC17A6, and SYN1, which are significantly correlated with PDD. Conclusion: The seven hub genes and the signaling pathways we identified may be involved in the heterogeneous pathogenesis of PDD and DLB.

Antagonizing EZH2 combined with vitamin D3 exerts a synergistic role in anti-fibrosis through bidirectional effects on hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Whether vitamin D3 (VD3) supplementation is associated with improved liver fibrosis is controversial. METHODS: Liver fibrosis models were treated with VD3, active VD (1,25-OH2 Vitamin D3), or collaboration with GSK126 (Ezh2 inhibitor), respectively. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) were co-cultured with hepatocytes and then stimulated with TGF-ß. Autophagy of hepatocytes was determined after the intervention of 1,25-OH2 Vitamin D3 and GSK126. Also, the active status of HSCs and the mechanism with 1,25-OH2 Vitamin D3 and GSK126 intervention were detected. RESULTS: 1,25-OH2 Vitamin D3, but not VD3, is involved in anti-fibrosis and partially improves liver function, which might be associated with related enzymes and receptors (especially CYP2R1), leading to decreased of its biotransformation. GSK126 plays a synergistic role in anti-fibrosis. The co-culture system showed increased hepatocyte autophagy after HSCs activation. Supplementation with 1,25-OH2 Vitamin D3 or combined GSK126 reduced these effects. Further studies showed that 1,25-OH2 Vitamin D3 promoted H3K27 methylation of DKK1 promoter through VDR/Ezh2 due to the weakening for HSCs inhibitory signal. CONCLUSIONS: VD3 bioactive form 1,25-OH2 Vitamin D3 is responsible for the anti-fibrosis, which might have bidirectional effects on HSCs by regulating histone modification. The inhibitor of Ezh2 plays a synergistic role in this process.

A Primal-Dual-Based Power Control Approach for Capacitated Edge Servers.

The intensity of radio waves decays rapidly with increasing propagation distance, and an edge server's antenna needs more power to form a larger signal coverage area. Therefore, the power of the edge server should be controlled to reduce energy consumption. In addition, edge servers with capacitated resources provide services for only a limited number of users to ensure the quality of service (QoS). We set the signal transmission power for the antenna of each edge server and formed a signal disk, ensuring that all users were covered by the edge server signal and minimizing the total power of the system. This scenario is a typical geometric set covering problem, and even simple cases without capacity limits are NP-hard problems. In this paper, we propose a primal-dual-based algorithm and obtain an m-approximation result. We compare our algorithm with two other algorithms through simulation experiments. The results show that our algorithm obtains a result close to the optimal value in polynomial time.