Depletion of tilmicosin residue in Gushi chickens following oral administration via drinking water.

This study aimed to examine the depletion of tilmicosin residues in Gushi chickens following the administration at a concentration of 75 mg/L in their drinking water for three consecutive days. Plasma, liver, kidney, lung, muscle, and skin + fat samples were collected from 6 chickens at 6 h, 1, 3, 5, and 7 days after the treatment. Tilmicosin concentrations in the samples were determined using a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. The findings revealed that the highest tilmicosin residues were detected in the liver, followed by the kidney, lung, skin + fat, muscle, and plasma. Notably, at 7 days post-treatment, no drug residue was detected in all samples except for the liver and kidney. The non-compartmental model was employed to calculate relevant pharmacokinetic parameters. The elimination half-lives (t1/2λz ) of tilmicosin were as follows, ranked from long to short: skin + fat (45.42 h), liver (44.17 h), kidney (40.06 h), plasma (37.64 h), lung (31.39 h), and muscle (30.05 h). Considering the current residue depletion and the maximum residue limits (MRLs) set by Chinese regulatory authorities, the withdrawal times for tilmicosin were estimated as 18.91, 10.81, and 8.58 days in the kidney, liver, and skin + fat, respectively. A rounded-up value of 19 days was selected as the conclusive withdrawal time. Furthermore, based on the observed tilmicosin concentrations in plasma and lung, combined with previously reported minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values against Mycoplasma gallisepticum, the current dosing regimen was deemed adequate for treating Mycoplasma gallisepticum infections in Gushi chickens.

Pharmacokinetics of Danofloxacin in Gushi Chickens after Single Oral and Intravenous Administration.

This study aimed to determine the pharmacokinetics of danofloxacin in Gushi chickens after a single oral (PO) and intravenous (IV) dose at 5 mg/kg body weight (BW). Thirty-two Gushi chickens, aged 20 weeks, were selected and divided into two groups at random, with each group consisting of 16 chickens, evenly distributed between males and females. Following danofloxacin administration, blood samples were taken at predetermined time intervals and the plasma was separated. The concentrations of danofloxacin in plasma were quantified by HPLC with a fluorescence detector. Then the concentrations versus time data were subjected to non-compartmental analysis (NCA) using Phoenix software (version: 8.1.0). After administering danofloxacin orally at a dose of 5 mg/kg BW to Gushi chickens, our results demonstrated that the peak concentration reached 0.53 µg/mL at 4 h. The half-life of absorption (t1/2ka) was determined to be 2.37 ± 1.60 h, and the bioavailability (F) was calculated as 40.12 ± 15.83%. For both oral and intravenous administration, the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC0-∞) was determined to be 4.72 ± 1.86 and 11.76 ± 3.25 h·µg/mL, respectively. The corresponding elimination half-life (t1/2λz) was measured as 11.24 ± 3.90 and 10.17 ± 3.72 h. Moreover, the mean residence time (MRT) was calculated as 10.20 ± 2.47 and 7.05 ± 1.97 h for these respective routes. Based on the calculated AUC/MIC ratio values, it can be inferred that the 5 mg/kg BW dosage of danofloxacin, whether administered orally or intravenously, is expected to effectively treat Escherichia coli and Pasteurella multocida infections in Gushi chickens.

Maternal weight, blood lipids, and the offspring weight trajectories during infancy and early childhood in twin pregnancies.

BACKGROUND: The intrauterine environment has a profound and long-lasting influence on the health of the offspring. However, its impact on the postnatal catch-up growth of twin children remains unclarified. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the maternal factors in pregnancy associated with twin offspring growth. METHODS: This study included 3142 live twin children born to 1571 mothers from the Beijing Birth Cohort Study conducted from 2016 to 2021 in Beijing, China. Original and corrected weight-for-age standard deviation scores of the twin offspring from birth to 36 months of age were calculated according to the World Health Organization Child Growth Standards. The corresponding weight trajectories were identified by the latent trajectory model. Maternal factors in pregnancy associated with the weight trajectories of the twin offspring were examined after adjustment for potential confounders. RESULTS: Five weight trajectories of the twin children were identified, with 4.9% (154/3142) exhibiting insufficient catch-up growth, 30.6% (961/3142), and 46.8% (1469/3142) showing adequate catch-up growth from different birth weights, and 15.0% (472/3142) and 2.7% (86/3142) showing various degrees of excessive catch-up growth. Maternal short stature [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.691, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.563-0.848, P = 0.0004] and lower total gestational weight gain (GWG) (adjusted OR = 0.774, 95% CI = 0.616-0.972, P = 0.03) were associated with insufficient catch-up growth of the offspring. Maternal stature (adjusted OR = 1.331, 95% CI = 1.168-1.518, P < 0.001), higher pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) (adjusted OR = 1.230, 95% CI = 1.090-1.387, P < 0.001), total GWG (adjusted OR = 1.207, 95% CI = 1.068-1.364, P = 0.002), GWG rate (adjusted OR = 1.165, 95% CI = 1.027-1.321, P = 0.02), total cholesterol (TC) (adjusted OR = 1.150, 95% CI = 1.018-1.300, P = 0.03) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) (adjusted OR = 1.177, 95% CI = 1.041-1.330) in early pregnancy were associated with excessive growth of the offspring. The pattern of weight trajectories was similar between monochorionic and dichorionic twins. Maternal height, pre-pregnancy BMI, GWG, TC and LDL-C in early pregnancy were positively associated with excess growth in dichorionic twins, yet a similar association was observed only between maternal height and postnatal growth in monochorionic twins. CONCLUSION: This study identified the effect of maternal stature, weight status, and blood lipid profiles during pregnancy on postnatal weight trajectories of the twin offspring, thereby providing a basis for twin pregnancy management to improve the long-term health of the offspring.

Research on the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats genotyping of Yersinia pestis in the natural plague foci of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai / 中国热带医学

@#Abstract: Objective　To investigate the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) genotypes and regional distribution of Yersinia pestis strains in the natural plague foci of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai Province (referred to as "Hainan prefecture") and provide a scientific basis for plague prevention and control in this area. Methods　A total of 36 representative Yersinia pestis strains, which were isolated from different host animals and insect vectors from 1954 to 2009 in Hainan Prefecture, were selected as experimental subjects. The DNAs were extracted using the traditional sodium dodecyl sulfate decomposition and phenol-chloroform method. Three pairs of CRISPR primers (YPa, Ypb, YPc) were used for PCR amplification, sequencing and analysis of the DNA of the tested strains, respectively, as a means to identify the CRISPR genotypes of Yersinia pestis in Hainan Prefecture. Results　A total of 17 spacers were observed among 36 strains of Yersinia pestis, including 9 of YPa, 5 of YPb and 3 of YPc. All strains were divided into 5 CRISPR gene clusters (Cb2, Cb4 ', Ca7, Ca7 ', Ca35 ') and 6 genotypes (G1, G9, G22, G22-A1 ', G26-A1 ', G26-A1 'A4 -). The G26-a1 ' was the main genotype, which was distributed in Gonghe, Guide and Xinghai County, and the G22 is the second type, which was distributed in Gonghe and Guide County. Conclusions　The genetic polymorphism of CRISPR loci of Yersinia pestis strains in Hainan was high, and the regional distribution characteristics of Yersinia pestis strains with different genotypes were significant.

[Emission Characterstics of VOCs and n-alkanes from Diesel Forklifts].

Non-road diesel vehicle exhaust is an important emission source that affects air quality in China, yet knowledge regarding its chemical composition and potential influence factors remains limited. Six typical forklifts were selected to study the effect of diesel particulate filters (DPF) on the emission characteristics of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and n-alkanes using online monitoring of gaseous components combined with offline analysis. The results showed that oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs), olefins, alkanes, aromatic hydrocarbons, and halogenated hydrocarbons accounted for 26%-37%, 16%-36%, 19%-22%, 13%-21%, and 4%-7% of the measured VOCs in forklift exhaust, respectively. The VOCs emission factors of low-power and high-power forklifts were(2.47±0.33)g·kg-1 and (1.48±0.24)g·kg-1, respectively. The forklift exhaust emission factors of total VOCs without and with DPF were(1.94±0.58)g·kg-1and (2.08±0.79)g·kg-1, respectively. Our results showed that DDF exerted minor impact on VOCs emission. However, it is worth noting that DPF can efficiently remove some types of OVOCs components. For example, the emission factors of acetaldehyde and acetone of the forklifts with DPF were reduced by 19% and 26%, respectively, compared to that of those without DPF. The carbon numbers of n-alkane fractions showed a bimodal distribution of C7-C17 and C24-C31, respectively, with C15 being the dominant peak carbon. The average emission factors of n-alkanes were (115±34) mg·kg-1 (without DPF) and (53.7±19)mg·kg-1 (with DPF), respectively, with a decrease of 53%, indicating that DPF can effectively reduce the emission of n-alkane in the exhaust of forklifts. Our results can provide scientific support for the precise control of non-road construction machinery exhaust emissions and the further improvement of regional air quality.

Suppressing of Power Line Artifact From Electroencephalogram Measurements Using Sparsity in Frequency Domain.

Electroencephalogram (EEG) plays an important role in brain disease diagnosis and research of brain-computer interface (BCI). However, the measurements of EEG are often exposed to strong interference of power line artifact (PLA). Digital notch filters (DNFs) can be applied to remove the PLA effectively, but it also results in severe signal distortions in the time domain. To address this problem, spectrum correction (SC) based methods can be utilized. These methods estimate harmonic parameters of the PLA such that compensation signals are produced to remove the noise. In order to ensure high accuracy during harmonic parameter estimations, a novel approach is proposed in this paper. This novel approach is based on the combination of sparse representation (SR) and SC. It can deeply mine the information of PLA in the frequency domain. Firstly, a ratio-based spectrum correction (RBSC) using rectangular window is employed to make rough estimation of the harmonic parameters of PLA. Secondly, the two spectral line closest to the estimated frequency are calculated. Thirdly, the two spectral lines with high amplitudes can be utilized as input of RBSC to make finer estimations of the harmonic parameters. Finally, a compensation signal, based on the extracted harmonic parameters, is generated to suppress PLA. Numerical simulations and actual EEG signals with PLA were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the improved approach. It is verified that this approach can effectively suppress the PLA without distorting the time-domain waveform of the EEG signal.

Detection of peripheral blood circulating tumor cells in oral squamous cell carcinoma and its clinical significance.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to investigate the diagnostic value of peripheral blood circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and its correlation with the clinicopathological features of OSCC. METHODS: Ninety-three patients diagnosed as OSCC in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from May 2019 to May 2020 were selected as the experimental group, and 20 healthy volunteers were employed as the control group. The CTCs value of peripheral blood of the patients were measured by CTCs detection technology, and its clinical significance was analyzed. RESULTS: The CTCs values in the experimental group were higher than those in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.000 1). The CTCs value in the peripheral blood of patients in the experimental group were not correlated with gender, site of onset, and presence or absence of peripheral tissue infiltration (P>0.05), but was correlated with age (P=0.022), tumor T stage (P=0.02), tumor N stage (P=0.007 5), tumor M stage (P=0.013), clinical stage (P=0.029), early or late stage (P=0.022), tumor differentiation degree (P<0.001), and node metastasis (P=0.006 4). The AUC value of CTCs in OSCC diagnosis was 0.925, and the energy efficiency was statistically significant [P=0.000, 95%CI (0.876, 0.974)]. When the CTC value was 8.450 FU/3 mL, the maximum value of the Yoden index was 0.853, and the sensitivity and specificity of OSCC diagnosis were 90.3% and 95.0%, respectively. The AUC value of CTCs in the diagnosis of OSCC metastasis was 0.691, and the energy efficiency was statistically significant [P=0.000, 95%CI (0.580, 0.803)]. When the blood CTC value was 12.250 FU/3 mL, the maximum value of Yoden index was 0.367, the sensitivity was 63.6%, and the specificity was 73.3%. Multivariate regression analysis showed that buccal tumor was negatively correlated with CTCs in patients with OSCC (P=0.001 08), N2 stage (P=0.000 74) and M stage (P=0.026 38). High differentiation (P<0.000 1) and moderate differentiation (P=0.001 5) were negatively correlated with CTCs values in patients with OSCC. CONCLUSIONS: Peripheral blood CTCs has important clinical value for early screening, auxiliary diagnosis, evaluation of metastasis, and determination of malignant degree, progression, and pathological grade of OSCC and a relatively reliable tumor detection indicator.

[Experimental study on the effect of tooth movement with thin and thick aligners in rabbits].

PURPOSE: To explore the effect of tooth movement on lower incisors of rabbits with thin and thick aligners. METHODS: A group of 6 male New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into 2 groups, the experimental group(n=3) was designed to move the lower incisors distally by 3 steps with thin and thick aligners(0.625 and 0.75 mm)，0.33 mm each；the control group (n=3) was designed to move the teeth by 3 steps with aligner of conventional thickness (0.75 mm), 0.20 mm each. Polyvinyl siloxane impressions were taken before and after aligner placement. The data of tooth movement were measured. SPSS 19.0 software package was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The accuracy of tooth movement expression in both groups decreased gradually from the incisal part to the gingival part. The rate of tooth movement in the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group（P<0.001）. CONCLUSIONS: The tooth movement of rabbit mandibular central incisor was tipping with the clear aligner. The rate of tooth movement was increased by applying thin and thick aligners，but the accuracy of tooth movement was decreased.

[Remediation of Cd Contaminated Acidic Rice Fields Using the Combined Application of Lime and Organic Matter].

Using an in-situ experiment in Cd contaminated paddy fields in Chongqing, the absorption and distribution of Cd in rice plants was examined following the combined application of lime and organic matter, and the mechanisms driving changes in Cd fractions in soil were also studied. The results showed that pH, OM content, and CEC in the soil were significantly enhanced, and OM and CEC were significantly positively correlated, as pH showed a significant positive correlation; pH and CEC was mainly associated with a change in Cd from the acidic extractable fraction to the reducible, oxidable, and residual fractions. The percentage of acidic extractable Cd dropped by 22.92%-31.25% with the application of the amendments, thus reducing the accumulation of Cd in rice plants in the followed order:CK (control group)≫B6 (lime and maize straw)≈B4 (lime and biochar)≈B3 (lime and activated humic acidic fertilizer) > B2 (lime and humic acidic fertilizer)≈B1 (lime) > B5 (lime and oil cake). On the other hand, for both the treatments and control conditions (CK), the Cd content of brown rice was higher than Chinese standard (GB 2762-2017), while that of polished (white) rice was lower than the Chinese standard after treatment. Overall, treatment using all of the remediation agents offers some benefit for the safe utilization of agricultural contaminated soil and safe food production. The combined application of lime and oil cake proved the best measure for treating Cd contaminated acidic rice fields, yielding a reduction in acidic extractable Cd (31.25%), a reduction in the Cd content of rice plants (33.32%), and the lowest Cd content (0.13 mg·kg-1) in polished rice (a 42.17% compared to the control).

Multifocal glioblastoma-two case reports and literature review.

BACKGROUND: Multifocal glioblastoma is a rare type of glioblastoma with worse prognosis. In this article, we aimed to report two cases of classical multifocal glioblastoma. CASE PRESENTATION: In case 1, a 47-year-old male presented with dizziness, and once had a sudden loss of consciousness accompanied by convulsion of limbs. Contrast-enhanced MRI showed multiple lesions with heterogeneously ring-enhanced characters in the left hemisphere, diagnosed as multifocal glioblastoma. He underwent a craniotomy of all lesions, concurrent radiotherapy and chemotherapy as well as additional chemotherapy of temozolomide. After 2 cycles, repeat MRI showed that the new lesions already occurred and progressed. Eventually, he abandoned the chemotherapy after the 2 cycles and died 1 year later. In case 2, a 71-year-old male presented with a history of headache, left limb weakness, and numbness. Discontinuous convulsion of limbs once occurred. Contrast-enhanced MRI showed multiple lesions located in the right hemisphere, diagnosed as multifocal glioblastoma. He underwent a right frontoparietal craniotomy of the main lesion. Hemorrhage of the residual tumor and pulmonary artery embolism occurred synchronously. Eventually, his family decided not to pursue any further treatment and opted for hospice care and he passed away within 11 days of surgery. CONCLUSIONS: We reported two cases of typical multifocal glioblastoma. Valid diagnosis is crucial; then, resection of multiple lesions and canonical radio-chemotherapy probably bring survival benefits.

Safety and efficacy of INTRABEAM intraoperative radiotherapy for invasive thymoma.

Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) has been used to treat different residual solid tumors after tumor removal and has shown many advantages over other treatment methods. However, the use of IORT for invasive thymoma has not been reported. Therefore, in this study, we tried to determine the safety and efficacy of INTRABEAM IORT for the treatment of invasive thymoma.Among the patients admitted to our hospital from September to December 2016 who were diagnosed with invasive thymoma, 14 were selected as study subjects. With medical histories taken beforehand, 8 of these patients were diagnosed with Masaoka stage IIA and 6 with Masaoka stage IIB; furthermore, 5 of the patients were diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG). INTRABEAM radiation (8-10 Gy, low energy) was delivered to the postoperative tumor bed of each patient during surgery. The intra- and postoperative complications were observed and evaluated, and the improvement in symptoms was assessed. An additional 23 patients with stage II thymoma undergoing radical surgery from April to August 2016 were chosen as the control group.One month after the operation, only 1 patient in the IORT group had cough, increased levels of leucocytes and neutrophils, and pulmonary inflammation on chest computed tomography. Reactive inflammation and pleural effusion in the 2 groups were similar (P > .05). There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in the improvement of myasthenia gravis (P > .05). Postoperative chest computed tomography and routine blood examination at 3 and 12 months showed that all the patients recovered, with normal hemogram levels and no pulmonary fibrosis around the radiation field. In addition, ultrasonic cardiography and electrocardiography demonstrated no significant difference before or after surgery within the IORT group. At the end of the follow-up, all the patients were alive, no relapse or remote metastasis was observed in the IORT group, and 2 inpatients in the control group had experienced relapse at 24 and 26 months. There was a significant difference in disease-free survival between the 2 groups (P = .00).It is safe to administer low-energy INTRABEAM IORT at a dose of approximately 10 Gy in patients with stage II invasive thymoma. INTRABEAM IORT does not significantly increase operation- or radiation-related complications and has no significant effect on vital organs such as the lungs and heart. Its long-term efficacy is worth expecting.

Long non-coding RNA CCAT1 is a prognostic biomarker for the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma via miR-181a-mediated Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) ranks as the sixth most common carcinoma worldwide, and the third most common carcinoma in developing countries as well. Recently, the aberrant expression of lncRNA CCAT1 has been revealed to play an important role in the development of several cancers. However, its role in OSCC remains unknown. The expression levels of CCAT1 and miR-181a were determined in 15 paired primary OSCC tissues and their adjacent noncancerous tissues and cell lines with qPCR. shRNA against CCAT1 was employed to investigate the impact of CCAT1 on proliferation and metastasis. Then dual luciferase reporter and RIP assays were utilized to study the interaction between CCAT1 and miR-181a. Cells transfected with sh-CCAT1 or treated with miR-181a inhibitor were subjected to western blot to investigate the role of Wnt/ß-catenin signaling in CCAT1-mediated proliferation and metastasis. Finally, the role of CCAT1 in OSCC was confirmed with tumor xenografts mice model. CCAT1 was upregulated in OSCC tissues and cell lines. Knockdown of CCAT1 inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of OSCC cells, while the cell apoptosis was enhanced. Luciferase and RIP assays revealed that miR-181a was a direct target of CCAT1. Inhibition of miR-181a partially reversed the efficacy of sh-CCAT1. Moreover, sh-CCAT1 inhibited OSCC tissues growth through inhibiting Wnt signaling in a miR-181a-dependent manner in vivo. lncRNA CCAT1 activated Wnt/ß-catenin signaling via inhibiting miR-181a, resulting in the cell proliferation, migration and invasion of OSCC, suggesting that CCAT1 might serve as a potential target of OSCC treatment. Abbreviation: LncRNA: long non-coding RNA; OSCC: oral squamous cell carcinoma; 3' UTR: 3' untranslated region; ANOVA: one-way analysis of variance; CDK: cyclin-dependent kinase; ceRNA: competing endogenous RNA; FBS: fetal bovine serum; HGF: human gingival fibroblasts; MAPK: mitogen-activated protein kinase; miRNA: micro RNA; ncRNA: noncoding RNAs; PBS: phosphate-buffered saline; PI3K: phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase.

Arabidopsis MDN1 Is Involved in the Establishment of a Normal Seed Proteome and Seed Germination.

Seed germination and formation are the beginning and ending, respectively, of a plant life cycle. These two processes are under fine regulation by the internal genetic information. Previously, we demonstrated that Arabidopsis MIDASIN 1 (MDN1) is required for ribosome biogenesis, and its dysfunction leads to pleiotropic developmental phenotypes, including impaired embryogenesis and slow seed germination. In this study, we further found that the weak mutant of MDN1, mdn1-1, exhibits an increased seed size phenotype. Seed proteomic analysis reveals that a number of proteins involved in seed development and response to external environments are mis-regulated by the MDN1 dysfunction. Many 2S seed storage proteins (SSPs) and late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins are over-accumulated in the dry seeds of mdn1-1. Further, some genes encoding seed storage reserves are also upregulated in mdn1-1 seedlings. More interestingly, abscisic acid-insensitive 5 (ABI5) is over-accumulated in mdn1-1 seeds, and the loss of its function partially rescues the low seed germination rate of mdn1-1. Together, this study further demonstrates that MDN1 is essential for establishing a normal seed proteome, and its mutation triggers ABI5-mediated repression of seed germination.

Construction of Anti-hPD-L1 HCAb Nb6 and in Situ 124I Labeling for Noninvasive Detection of PD-L1 Expression in Human Bone Sarcoma.

Immunotherapy is considered the fourth major treatment mode for cancer following surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. In recent years, tumor immunotherapy has achieved breakthrough progress; therefore, it is important to screen patients to identify those who will respond to tumor immunotherapy. Here, we report the construction of a novel heavy chain-only antibody (HCAb) and its corresponding 124I-labeled probe. Using phage display technology, we generated a novel anti-hPD-L1-specific HCAb named Nb6 (selected from 95 monoclones) with high affinity for hPD-L1. The positron-emitting 124I-labeled hPD-L1-targeted HCAb probe was prepared for further evaluation, and nonradioactive natural iodine (natI)-labeled anti-hPD-L1 Nb6 was synthesized as a reference compound. 125I-anti-hPD-L1 Nb6 uptake in OS-732 cells in vitro can be blocked by the precursor. The binding affinity of 125I-anti-hPD-L1 Nb6 to OS-732 cell lines was 2.19 nM. For in vivo studies, an osteosarcoma OS-732 tumor-bearing mouse model was successfully constructed. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western blot analyses were performed to confirm the presence of the hPD-L1 gene and antigen in the tumor tissue of the OS-732 mouse model. Biodistribution showed that uptake of 124I-anti-hPD-L1 Nb6 probes at 24 h was 4.43 ± 0.33% ID/g in OS-732 tumor tissues. Tumor lesions can be clearly delineated on micro-PET (positron emission tomography)/CT (computed tomography) imaging 24 h after injection of 124I-anti-hPD-L1 Nb6, while the blocking group shows substantially decreased uptake on imaging. Pathological staining validated hPD-L1 expression on the surface of the tumor cell membrane; thus, 124I-anti-hPD-L1 Nb6 can be used for in vivo noninvasive PET imaging. When administered in tandem, Nb6 and 124I-anti-hPD-L1 Nb6 may provide a novel strategy to clinically screen patients for hPD-L1 to identify those who would benefit from immunotherapy of malignant tumors such as osteosarcoma.

[Clinical value of vacuum sealing drainage in the treatment of oral and maxillofacial space infection].

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to observe the efficacy of vacuum sealing drainage (VSD) by continuous negative pressure drainage and saline irrigation in the treatment of oral and maxillofacial space infection. METHODS: Retrospective analysis was conducted on 116 cases of maxillofacial space infection, and clinical data were collected to compare the therapeutic effects of routine incision with drainage treatment (traditional treatment group, 58 cases) and VSD treatment (VSD group, 58 cases). RESULTS: The length of hospital stay, white blood cell count, scar length, frequency of dressing change, and pain degree of patients in the VSD group were all lower than those in the traditional treatment group. Moreover, the improvement degree of mouth opening in the VSD groups was better than that in the traditional treatment group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: VSD is a more effective method for the treatment of oral and maxillofacial space infection.

Curcumin inhibits heat-induced oxidative stress by activating the MAPK-Nrf2 / ARE signaling pathway in chicken fibroblasts cells.

Curcumin is a natural phenolic component of yellow curry spice, exhibits antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. In this study we investigated whether curcumin suppresses heat-induced apoptosis in chicken embryonic fibroblast cells (CEF) and the underlying mechanism. CEF cells line was divided into 6 groups (4 repetitions per group) including normal temperature group (NC), high temperature control group (H) and 4 experimental groups (H1(5 µmol/L), H2(10 µmol/L), H3(20 µmol/L) and H4(40 µmol/L)). Control groups were cultured in basic medium without Curcumin, while, the experimental groups were supplemented with 5, 10, 20 and 40 µmol/L, respectively. The experimental groups and H control group were cultured at 43 ℃ (95% air/5% CO2), whereas NC group cells were cultured at 37 °C. After 6, 12 and 24 h of culture, cells were collected for viability, proliferation, apoptosis, antioxidant status and gene expression analysis. Results showed that heat stress trigged the ROS production and induced the apoptosis, leading to decrease the cell viability and proliferation. The enzymatic activities of antioxidants (SOD, CAT, and GPX) were down-regulated. The expression of antioxidant enzyme (CAT, SOD1, SOD2, GSTO1, GSTT1 and GSTA3) and MAPK-Nrf2 pathway genes (Nrf2, Jnk, Erk and P38) were down-regulated under heats stress condition. While, the Curcumin treated groups had decreased ROS and MDA content. Down-regulation of the activity and expression of antioxidant enzyme induced by heat were also reversed by curcumin. Furthermore the up-regulation in expression of Nrf2, Jnk, Erk and P38 in supplemented groups revealed the involvement of MAPK-Nrf2 signaling pathway to alleviate oxidative stress induced by heat stress. This study demonstrates that curcumin has the ability to ease the oxidative damage through activating the MAPK-Nrf2 signaling pathway in CEF cells.

MCLPMDA: A novel method for miRNA-disease association prediction based on matrix completion and label propagation.

MiRNAs are a class of small non-coding RNAs that are involved in the development and progression of various complex diseases. Great efforts have been made to discover potential associations between miRNAs and diseases recently. As experimental methods are in general expensive and time-consuming, a large number of computational models have been developed to effectively predict reliable disease-related miRNAs. However, the inherent noise and incompleteness in the existing biological datasets have inevitably limited the prediction accuracy of current computational models. To solve this issue, in this paper, we propose a novel method for miRNA-disease association prediction based on matrix completion and label propagation. Specifically, our method first reconstructs a new miRNA/disease similarity matrix by matrix completion algorithm based on known experimentally verified miRNA-disease associations and then utilizes the label propagation algorithm to reliably predict disease-related miRNAs. As a result, MCLPMDA achieved comparable performance under different evaluation metrics and was capable of discovering greater number of true miRNA-disease associations. Moreover, case study conducted on Breast Neoplasms further confirmed the prediction reliability of the proposed method. Taken together, the experimental results clearly demonstrated that MCLPMDA can serve as an effective and reliable tool for miRNA-disease association prediction.

Outlier Detection in Wireless Sensor Networks Using Model Selection-Based Support Vector Data Descriptions.

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are often deployed in harsh and unattended environments, which may cause the generation of abnormal or low quality data. The inaccurate and unreliable sensor data may increase generation of false alarms and erroneous decisions, so it's very important to detect outliers in sensor data efficiently and accurately to ensure sound scientific decision-making. In this paper, an outlier detection algorithm (TSVDD) using model selection-based support vector data description (SVDD) is proposed. Firstly, the Toeplitz matrix random feature mapping is used to reduce the time and space complexity of outlier detection. Secondly, a novel model selection strategy is realized to keep the algorithm stable under the low feature dimensions, this strategy can select a relatively optimal decision model and avoid both under-fitting and overfitting phenomena. The simulation results on SensorScope and IBRL datasets demonstrate that, TSVDD achieves higher accuracy and lower time complexity for outlier detection in WSNs compared with existing methods.

[miR-199b-5p inhibits proliferation and invasion of head and neck cancer cells].

PURPOSE: This study identified the differentially expressed miR-199b-5p in the progressing of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma(HNSCC) and investigated its biological characters. METHODS: The expression of miR-199b-5p in 128 HNSCC tissues samples was evaluated. The association between clinicopathological parameters and the expression levels of the candidated miRNAs was analyzed by using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Cell growth, invasion and migration potential, and clone formation were observed to detect the functions of the miRNAs in HNSCC cells. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 19.0 software package. RESULTS: In 79 HNSCC tissues with cervical lymph node metastasis, the expression level of miR-199b-5p was 1.68±0.21; while the expression level was 2.64±0.24 in 28 tissues without lymph node metastasis (P=0.001). In patients with HNSCC, lower level of miR-199b-5p expression significantly correlated with worse overall survival rate (P=0.01). Overexpression of miR-199b-5p inhibited HNSCC cell proliferation and invasion. CONCLUSIONS: miR-199b-5p plays a key role in cell invasion and metastasis and its expression correlated with overall survival in patients with HNSCC.

GLNMDA: a novel method for miRNA-disease association prediction based on global linear neighborhoods.

Recently, increasing studies have shown that miRNAs are involved in the development and progression of various complex diseases. Consequently, predicting potential miRNA-disease associations makes an important contribution to understanding the pathogenesis of diseases, developing new drugs as well as designing individualized diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for different human diseases. Nonetheless, the inherent noise and incompleteness in the existing biological datasets have limited the prediction accuracy of current computational models. To solve this issue, in this paper, we propose a novel method for miRNA-disease association prediction based on global linear neighborhoods (GLNMDA). Specifically, our method obtains a new miRNA/disease similarity matrix by linearly reconstructing each miRNA/disease according to the known experimentally verified miRNA-disease associations. We then adopt label propagation to infer the potential associations between miRNAs and diseases. As a result, GLNMDA achieved reliable performance in the frameworks of both local and global LOOCV (AUCs of 0.867 and 0.929, respectively) and 5-fold cross validation (average AUC of 0.926). Case studies on five common human diseases further confirmed the utility of our method in discovering latent miRNA-disease pairs. Taken together, GLNMDA could serve as a reliable computational tool for miRNA-disease association prediction.