Hypoglossal nerve delineation in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients may reduce the radiation dose and damage to the nerve.

This study aims to establish a delineation guideline for the contouring of the hypoglossal nerve by dividing the nerve into different segments, and to test the possibility of a radiation dose reduction to the hypoglossal nerve in NPC patients receiving radiotherapy. Twenty NPC patients were selected arbitrarily. The hypoglossal nerves were delineated using anatomic landmarks and divided into the cisternal, intracanalicular, carotid, and transverse segments. The tumor coverage by radiation and dose-volume parameters of the nerve with and without various dose constraints to the hypoglossal nerve were compared. The hypoglossal nerve, which is invisible on CT images, can be delineated accurately with the assistance of several anatomic landmarks. Without a dose constraint to the hypoglossal nerve, the carotid space, intracanalicular, and transverse segments had high radiation dose-volumes. The dose-volume to the nerve, however, can be reduced when the nerve was defined and a dose constraint was given. The delineation of the hypoglossal nerve with its different segments is feasible. The carotid space, intracanalicular, and transverse segments received the highest dose, where the nerve damage was most likely located. The dose to the nerve can be reduced to less than 70 Gy using the intensity-modulated radiotherapy technique.

Significance-based multi-scale method for network community detection and its application in disease-gene prediction.

Community detection in complex networks is an important issue in network science. Several statistical measures have been proposed and widely applied to detecting the communities in various complex networks. However, due to the lack of flexibility resolution, some of them have to encounter the resolution limit and thus are not compatible with multi-scale structures of complex networks. In this paper, we investigated a statistical measure of interest for community detection, Significance [Sci. Rep. 3 (2013) 2930], and analyzed its critical behaviors based on the theoretical derivation of critical number of communities and the phase diagram in community-partition transition. It was revealed that Significance exhibits far higher resolution than the traditional Modularity when the intra- and inter-link densities of communities are obviously different. Following the critical analysis, we developed a multi-resolution version of Significance for identifying communities in the multi-scale networks. Experimental tests in several typical networks have been performed and confirmed that the generalized Significance can be competent for the multi-scale communities detection. Moreover, it can effectively relax the first- and second-type resolution limits. Finally, we displayed an important potential application of the multi-scale Significance in computational biology: disease-gene identification, showing that extracting information from the perspective of multi-scale module mining is helpful for disease gene prediction.

Effect of Three Training Systems on Grapes in a Wet Region of China: Yield, Incidence of Disease and Anthocyanin Compositions of Vitis vinifera cv. Cabernet Sauvignon.

Grapevine training systems determine the suitability for grape varieties in a specific growing region. We evaluated the influence of three training systems, Single Guyot (SG), Spur-pruned Vertical Shoot-Positioned (VSP), and Four-Arm Kniffin (4AK), on the performance of grapes and vines of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cabernet Sauvignon in the 2012 and 2013 growing seasons in a wet region of central China. 4AK was the most productive system in comparison to SG and VSP. SG and VSP had lower disease infections of leaves and berries, especially in the mid- and final stage of berry ripening. Three training systems had no impact on berry maturity. PLS-DA (Partial Least Squares-Discriminant) analysis showed that the relatively dry vintage could well discriminate three training systems, but the wet vintage was not. A wet vintage of 2013 had more accumulation of 3'5'-substituted and acylated anthocyanins, including malvidin-3-O-(6-O-acetyl)-glucoside, malvidin-3-O-glucoside, and petunidin-3-O-(cis-6-O-coumaryl)-glucoside, etc. With regard to the effect of training systems, 4AK grapes had the lowest concentrations of total anthocyanins and individual anthocyanins, SG and VSP differed according to the different vintages, and showed highest concentration of total individual anthocyanins in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Generally, VSP benefited the most, contributing to significantly highest levels of total individual anthocyanins, and major anthocyanin, including malvidin-3-O-glucoside and malvidin-3-O-(6-O-acetyl)-glucoside, and the grapes obtained from VSP presented significantly highest proportion of 3'5'-substituted anthocyanins. With regard to the ratios of 3'5'/3'-substituted, methoxylated/non-methoxylated and acylated/non-acylated anthocyanins, the significantly higher levels were also shown in VSP system. In summary, VSP was the best training system for Cabernet Sauvignon to accumulate relatively stable individual anthocyanins in this wet region of China and potentially in other rainy regions.

[Expression of a human single-chain Fv antibody against HBsAg in Pichia pastoris].

To express and secrete native HBscFv (anti-HBsAg single-chain Fv) in P. pastoris, HBscFv was amplified from plasmid pGEM-HBscFv, and then sub-cloned into expression vector pPICZalphaA. The resulting plasmid pPIC-HBscFv was linearized and transformed into P. pastoris GS115. The recombinant Pichia strains, identified by direct PCR and Zeocin-resistant screening of Pichia transformants, were cultured and induced with methanol. It was found that recombinant HBscFv, lead by alpha-factor, could be secreted into the culture supernatant to a level of 80mg/L. The bioactivity of Pichia produced HBscFv was confirmed by indirect ELISA, which also suggested that the bioactivity of HBscFv in the culture supernatant reached its peak in 72h and decreased in the late-stage of the induction. PAS staining suggests that HBscFv produced by yeast is poorly glycosylated or none-glycosylated protein.