Intensive Surveillance of Porcine-Rhesus Kidney Xenotransplant Using Different Ultrasound Techniques.

BACKGROUND: Significant progress has been made in kidney xenotransplantation in the past few years, and this field is accelerating towards clinical translation. Therefore, surveillance of the xenograft with appropriate tools is of great importance. Ultrasonography has been widely used in kidney allotransplantation and served as an economical and non-invasive method to monitor the allograft. However, questions remain whether the ultrasonographic criteria established for human kidney allograft could also be applied in xenotransplantation. METHODS: In the current study, we established a porcine-rhesus life sustaining kidney xenotransplantation model. The xenograft underwent intensive surveillance using gray-scale, colorful Doppler ultrasound as well as 2D shear wave elastography. The kidney growth, blood perfusion, and cortical stiffness were measured twice a day. These parameters were compared with the clinical data including urine output, chemistry, and pathological findings. RESULTS: The observation continued for 16 days after transplantation. Decline of urine output and elevated serum creatinine were observed on POD9 and biopsy proven antibody-mediated rejection was seen on the same day. The xenograft underwent substantial growth, with the long axis length increased by 32% and the volume increased by threefold at the end of observation. The resistive index of the xenograft arteries elevated in response to rejection, together with impaired cortical perfusion, while the peak systolic velocity (PSV) was not compromised. The cortical stiffness also increased along with rejection. CONCLUSION: In summary, the ultrasound findings of kidney xenograft shared similarities with those in allograft but possessed some unique features. A modified criteria needs to be established for further application of ultrasound in kidney xenotransplantation.

Plant species diversity and functional diversity relations in the degradation process of desert steppe in an arid area of northwest China.

Species and functional diversity play a major role in the stability and sustainability of grassland ecosystems. However, changes in species and functional diversity during grassland degradation in arid areas as well as the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we surveyed the vegetation and soil properties of arid regions across a degradation gradient to explore the shifts in species and functional diversity in plant communities, their relationships and key determinants during desert steppe degradation. Our results found significant variability in species diversity and functional diversity across degradation stages. Species diversity (Shannon-Wiener index (H), and Pielou index) and functional diversity (functional evenness (FEve) index, and Rao's quadratic entropy (RaoQ) index) tended to increase initially and then decrease with increasing grassland degradation. The Patrick index, Simpson index, functional richness (FRic) index, functional divergence (FDiv) index, and functional dispersion (FDis) index declined as grassland degradation increased. The relationships between species diversity and functional diversity indices at different stages of degradation in the desert steppe were inconsistent. From no to heavy degradation grasslands, the correlation between species diversity and functional diversity gradually weakened. Specifically, there was a significant correlation between Patrick (R) and FRic indices (R2 > 0.7) on both non-degraded and light degraded grasslands, but there was no significant correlation between R and FRic indices in moderately and heavily degraded grasslands (R2 < 0.7), and R2 gradually decreased. Redundancy analysis and partial least squares path modeling showed that grassland degradation has a significant direct effect on the species diversity and functional diversity. In addition grassland degradation has direct and indirect effects on the species diversity through soil available nitrogen, organic matter and total nitrogen. Functional diversity is directly or indirectly affected by species diversity, soil available nitrogen, organic matter and total nitrogen, soil moisture content, soil bulk density, and pH value. In summary, the relationship between species and functional diversity indices gradually weakened from areas with no degradation to heavy degradation in arid desert grasslands. Our study reveals the patterns and relationships between species diversity and functional diversity throughout the process of grassland degradation, demonstrating a gradual decrease in ecosystem stability and sustainability as degradation advances. Our results have significant implications for the restoration of grassland degradation and the management of ecosystem services in arid steppe regions.

Extending grazing time during the warm season can reduce P limitation and increase the N cycling rate in arid desert steppes.

Ecological stoichiometry serves as a valuable tool for comprehending biogeochemical cycles within grassland ecosystems. The impact of grazing time on the concentration and stoichiometric characteristics of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) in desert steppe ecosystems remains ambiguous. This research was carried out in a desert grassland utilizing a completely randomized experimental design. Four distinct grazing time treatments were implemented: fenced grassland (FG, control), delay to start and early to end grazing grassland (DEG), delay to start grazing grassland (DG), and traditional grazing grassland (TG). The patterns of C, N, and P concentrations and their stoichiometry in various components of the ecosystem, as well as their driving factors under different grazing times were examined. The results showed that grazing time positively influenced C and N concentrations in leaves, while negatively affecting N concentrations in roots. TG had a significant positive effect on soil P concentrations but a negative effect on soil C:P and N:P ratios. Plant C:N, C:P, and N: P ratios were mainly influenced by N and P. The soil C:N ratio was primarily influenced by soil N, the soil C:P ratio was affected by both soil C and P, and the soil N:P ratio was influenced by both soil N and P. The growth of plants in desert steppes is mainly limited by P; however, as grazing time increased, P limitation gradually decreased and the N cycling rate increased. C-N, C-P, and N-P in various plant organs and soils demonstrated significant anisotropic growth relationships at different grazing times. Soil organic carbon, pH, and soil total phosphorus were the main driving factors that affected changes in ecological C:N:P stoichiometry. These results will help improve grassland management and anticipate the response of grassland systems to external disturbances with greater accuracy.

Distribution of pathogenic bacteria and antimicrobial sensitivity of eye infections in Suzhou.

AIM: To investigate the types of bacteria in patients with eye infections in Suzhou and their drug resistance to commonly used antibacterial drugs. METHODS: The clinical data of 155 patients were retrospectively collected in this study, and the pathogenic bacteria species and drug resistance of each pathogenic bacteria were analyzed. RESULTS: Among the 155 patients (age from 12 to 87 years old, with an average age of 57, 99 males and 56 females) with eye infections (160 eyes: 74 in the left eye, 76 in the right eye and 5 in both eyes, all of which were exogenous), 71 (45.81%) strains were gram-positive bacteria, 23 (14.84%) strains were gram-negative bacteria and 61 (39.35%) strains were fungi. Gram-positive bacteria were highly resistant to penicillin and erythromycin (78.87% and 46.48% respectively), but least resistant to vancomycin at 0. Gram-negative bacteria were highly resistant to cefoxitin and compound sulfamethoxazole (100% and 95.65% respectively), but least resistant to meropenem at 0. Comparison of the resistance of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria to some drugs revealed statistically significant differences (P<0.05) in the resistance of both to cefoxitin, cotrimoxazole, levofloxacin, cefuroxime, ceftriaxone and ceftazidime, and both had higher rates of resistance to gram-negative bacteria than to gram-positive bacteria. The distribution of bacterial infection strains showed that Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most common strain in the conjunctiva, cornea, aqueous humor or vitreous body and other eye parts. Besides, Fusarium and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were also among the most common strains of conjunctival and corneal infections. CONCLUSION: Gram-positive bacteria are the dominant bacteria in eye infections, followed by gram-negative bacteria and fungi. Considering the resistance of gram-negative bacteria to multiple drugs, monitoring of bacteria should be strengthened in eye bacterial infections for effective prevention and control to reduce complications caused by eye infections.

Bioinformatics analysis and experimental verification of TIGD1 in non-small cell lung cancer.

Introduction: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a prevalent respiratory system tumor. Triggered transposable element derivative 1 (TIGD1) exhibits significant overexpression in various tumor cells and tissues, suggesting its involvement in cancer progression. Methods: Clinical data and gene expression profiles of lung adenocarcinoma were collected from TCGA, UCSC XENA, and GEO databases. Computational techniques and empirical studies were employed to analyze the role of TIGD1 in NSCLC. Cellular experiments were conducted using the H1299 cell line, including RNA interference, cell viability assays, quantitative PCR, wound-healing assays, western blotting, and plate clone formation assays. Results: Bioinformatics analysis revealed TIGD1's potential as a biomarker for diagnosing and predicting lung cancer. It also indicated promise as a target for immune-related therapy and targeted drug therapy. Cellular studies confirmed TIGD1's involvement in cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and migration. Furthermore, an association between TIGD1 and the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway was suggested. Discussion: The findings suggest that TIGD1 plays a vital role in NSCLC progression, making it a potential diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target. The association with the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway provides insights into the underlying molecular mechanisms. Integrating computational analysis with empirical studies enhances our understanding of TIGD1's significance in NSCLC and opens avenues for further research into targeted therapies.

Effect of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy on male reproductive function in Chinese men with obesity: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a widely recognized global public health issue, and bariatric surgery has emerged as an effective intervention for alleviating obesity associated health complications. However, the impact of bariatric surgery on male reproductive function remains inconclusive in the literature. The current understanding of the impact of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) on male reproductive function remains ambiguous, despite its status as the most commonly performed bariatric surgery. This prospective cohort study aimed to investigate the impact of LSG on erectile function and semen quality. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 34 obese patients were enrolled in this study and underwent LSG. Prior to the operation and at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperation, all participants were required to complete the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) questionnaire and undergo a nocturnal erectile function test and semen quality analysis. RESULTS: Within 12 months postoperation, BMI, blood lipids, and insulin resistance showed significant improvement. The IIEF-5 score increased significantly (18.88±5.97 vs. 23.78±3.19, P <0.05), and the frequency and duration of erections significantly improved compared to baseline. Sperm concentration, total motility, survival rate, and sperm morphology parameters exhibited a significant decline at 3 months but demonstrated a significant improvement at 6 and 12 months postoperation. At 12 months, sperm concentration was shown to be correlated with changes in zinc (r=0.25, P =0.033) as well as changes in testosterone (r=0.43, P =0.013). CONCLUSIONS: LSG has beneficial effects on erectile function, despite a transient decline in semen quality at 3 months postoperatively, followed by a significant improvement at 12 months.

Upregulation of HLA-II related to LAG-3+CD4+ T cell infiltration is associated with patient outcome in human glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant diffuse glioma of the brain. Although immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), such as programmed cell death protein (PD)-1/PD ligand-1 inhibitors, has revolutionized the treatment of several cancers, the clinical benefit in GBM patients has been limited. Lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (LAG-3) binding to human leukocyte antigen-II (HLA-II) plays an essential role in triggering CD4+ T cell exhaustion and could interfere with the efficiency of anti-PD-1 treatment; however, the value of LAG-3-HLA-II interactions in ICI immunotherapy for GBM patients has not yet been analyzed. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the expression and regulation of HLA-II in human GBM samples and the correlation with LAG-3+CD4+ T cell infiltration. Human leukocyte antigen-II was highly expressed in GBM and correlated with increased LAG-3+CD4+ T cell infiltration in the stroma. Additionally, HLA-IIHighLAG-3High was associated with worse patient survival. Increased interleukin-10 (IL-10) expression was observed in GBM, which was correlated with high levels of HLA-II and LAG-3+ T cell infiltration in stroma. HLA-IIHighIL-10High GBM associated with LAG-3+ T cells infiltration synergistically showed shorter overall survival in patients. Combined anti-LAG-3 and anti-IL-10 treatment inhibited tumor growth in a mouse brain GL261 tumor model. In vitro, CD68+ macrophages upregulated HLA-II expression in GBM cells through tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Blocking TNF-α-dependent inflammation inhibited tumor growth in a mouse GBM model. In summary, T cell-tumor cell interactions, such as LAG-3-HLA-II, could confer an immunosuppressive environment in human GBM, leading to poor prognosis in patients. Therefore, targeting the LAG-3-HLA-II interaction could be beneficial in ICI immunotherapy to improve the clinical outcome of GBM patients.

ITGB4 upregulation is associated with progression of lower grade glioma.

Gliomas originating in the neuroepithelium account for about 80% of brain malignancies and are the most common cancer of the central nervous system. Clinical management of gliomas remains challenging despite significant advances in comprehensive therapies, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery. The ITGB4 (Integrin subunit beta 4) gene encodes a receptor for laminins and its upregulation in tumor tissues is associated with poor prognosis. However, its role in glioma is not well understood. First, we performed a pan cancer analysis of ITGB4 expression in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset. Survival analysis was done on Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) and TCGA. Immunohistochemistry was then used to validate the expression and role of ITGB4 in glioma. We finally analyzed the possible mechanism by immune infiltration and single-cell sequencing analysis. Here, we found that ITGB4 is upregulated in glioma and accurately predicts the prognosis of lower grade glioma (LGG). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses showed that ITGB4 is a risk factor for LGG. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed that ITGB4 accurately predicts LGG prognosis. Non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) cluster analysis showed that ITGB4 was closely related to immune related genes. Immune cell infiltration and single cell sequencing analyses indicated that ITGB4 may be closely related to the microenvironment of gliomas, especially tumor-associated fibroblasts. ITGB4 is a promising diagnostic and therapeutic factor in LGG patients.

Insulin resistance levels predicted metabolic improvement and weight loss after metabolic surgery in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: The causes for failure of metabolic improvement and inadequate weight loss after metabolic surgery (MS) in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have not been fully elucidated. The effect of insulin resistance (IR) on the outcome of T2D, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and obesity after MS in Chinese patients with T2D and a body mass index (BMI) of 25-32.5 kg/m2 warrants further study. OBJECTIVES: Patients with T2D and a BMI of 25-32.5 kg/m2 who underwent MS between July 2019 and June 2021 were included. SETTING: University hospital, China. METHODS: IR levels were evaluated with the glucose disposal rate (GDR). Improvement of T2D, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia was assessed with the composite triple endpoint (CTEP), and weight loss was assessed with the percent of total weight loss (%TWL). Partial correlation analysis, binary logistic regression analysis, multiple linear regression analysis, receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis, and subgroup analysis were used to analyze the relationship between the CTEP, %TWL at 1 year postoperative, and GDR preoperative. RESULTS: This study analyzed the data of 51 patients with T2D and a BMI of 25-32.5 kg/m2 (30 men and 21 women) with a mean preoperative GDR of 3.72 ± 1.48 mg/kg/min. Partial correlation coefficients between CTEP, %TWL, and GDR were .303 (P = .041) and .449 (P = .001), respectively. The preoperative GDR was significantly positively correlated with CTEP (OR = 1.610, P = .024) and %TWL (ß = 1.38, P = .003). The preoperative GDR predicted cutoff values of 4.36 and 5.35 mg/kg/min for CTEP attainment and %TWL ≥ 20%, respectively. CONCLUSION: IR levels predicted metabolic improvement and weight loss 1 year after MS in Chinese patients with T2D and a BMI of 25-32.5 kg/m2.

Determination of the water-use patterns for two xerophyte shrubs by hydrogen isotope offset correction.

The stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope technique is typically used to explore plant water uptake; however, the accuracy of the technique has been challenged by hydrogen isotope offsets between plant xylem water and its potential source water. In this study, the soil hydrogen and oxygen isotope waterline was used to correct the hydrogen isotope offsets for Salix psammophila and Caragana korshinskii, two typical shrub species on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Five different types of isotopic data [(i) δ18O, (ii) δ2H, (iii) combination δ18O with δ2H, (iv) corrected δ2H and (v) combination δ18O with corrected δ2H] were separately used to determine the water-use patterns of the two shrubs. The δ2H offset values of S. psammophila and C. korshinskii did not show significant temporal variation among the sampling months (May, July and September) but showed notable differences between the two shrubs (-0.4 ± 0.5‰ in S. psammophila vs -4.3 ± 0.9‰ in C. korshinskii). The obtained water absorption proportion (WAP) of S. psammophila in the different soil layers (0-20, 20-60 and 60-200 cm) did not differ significantly among the five different input data types. However, compared with the input data types (iii) and (v), the data types (i), (ii) and (iv) overestimated the WAP of C. korshinskii in the 0-20 cm soil layer and underestimated that in the 60-200 cm layer. The data type (iii) overestimated the WAP of C. korshinskii in 0-20 cm soil layer (25.9 ± 0.8%) in July in comparison with the WAP calculated based on data type (v) (19.1 ± 1.1%). The combination of δ18O and corrected δ2H, i.e., data type (v), was identified as the best data type to determine the water use patterns of C. korshinskii due to the strong correlation between the calculated WAP and soil water content and soil sand content. In general, S. psammophila mainly used (57.9-62.1%) shallow soil water (0-60 cm), whereas C. korshinskii mainly absorbed (52.7-63.5%) deep soil water (60-200 cm). We confirm that the hydrogen isotope offsets can cause significant errors in determining plant water uptake of C. korshinskii, and provide valuable insights for accurately quantifying plant water uptake in the presence of hydrogen isotope offsets between xylem and source water. This study is significant for facilitating the application of the stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope technique worldwide, and for revealing the response mechanism of shrub key ecohydrological and physiological processes to the drought environment in similar climate regions.

Single-atom Cu anchored on Mo2C boosts nitrite electroreduction to ammonia.

We design single-atom Cu anchored on Mo2C (Cu1/Mo2C) as an effective electrocatalyst towards electrochemical nitrite reduction to ammonia (NO2RR), exhibiting an NH3-faradaic efficiency of 91.5% with a corresponding NH3 yield rate of 472.9 µmol h-1 cm-2 at -0.6 V vs. RHE. Theoretical computations unravel that single-atomic Cu couples with the surface Mo atom of Mo2C to enable the construction of Cu-Mo dual-active centers, which can synergistically activate NO2- and minimize the NO2--to-NH3 reaction energy barrier, whilst suppressing the competing hydrogen evolution reaction.

Exploring maternal-fetal interface with in vitro placental and trophoblastic models.

The placenta, being a temporary organ, plays a crucial role in facilitating the exchange of nutrients and gases between the mother and the fetus during pregnancy. Any abnormalities in the development of this vital organ not only lead to various pregnancy-related disorders that can result in fetal injury or death, but also have long-term effects on maternal health. In vitro models have been employed to study the physiological features and molecular regulatory mechanisms of placental development, aiming to gain a detailed understanding of the pathogenesis of pregnancy-related diseases. Among these models, trophoblast stem cell culture and organoids show great promise. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current mature trophoblast stem cell models and emerging organoid models, while also discussing other models in a systematic manner. We believe that this knowledge will be valuable in guiding further exploration of the complex maternal-fetal interface.

Controlled synchronization of a vibrating screen driven by two motors based on improved sliding mode controlling method.

With a requirement of miniaturization in modern vibrating screens, the vibration synchronization method can no longer meet the process demand, so the controlled synchronization method is introduced in the vibrating screen to achieve zero phase error state and realize the purpose of increasing the amplitude. In this article, the controlled synchronization of a vibrating screen driven by two motors based on improved sliding mode controlling method is investigated. Firstly, according to the theory of mechanical dynamics, the motion state of the vibrating screen is simplified as the electromechanical coupling dynamical model of a vibrating system driven by two inductor motors. And then the synchronization conditions and stability criterion of the vibrating system are derived and numerically analyzed. Based on a master-slave controlling strategy, the controllers of two motors are respectively designed with Super-Twisting sliding mode control (ST-SMC) and backstepping second-order complementary sliding mode control (BSOCSMC), while the uncertainty is estimated by an adaptive radial basis function neural network (ARBFNN). In addition, Lyapunov stability analysis is performed on the two controllers to prove their stability theoretically. Finally, simulation analysis is conducted based on the dynamics model in this paper.

Ampere-Level Nitrate Electroreduction to Ammonia over Monodispersed Bi-Doped FeS2.

Electrochemical conversion of NO3- into NH3 (NO3RR) holds an enormous prospect to simultaneously yield valuable NH3 and alleviate NO3- pollution. Herein, we report monodispersed Bi-doped FeS2 (Bi-FeS2) as a highly effective NO3RR catalyst. Atomic coordination characterizations of Bi-FeS2 disclose that the isolated Bi dopant coordinates with its adjacent Fe atom to create the unconventional p-d hybridized Bi-Fe dinuclear sites. Operando spectroscopic measurements combined with theoretical calculations disclose that Bi-Fe dinuclear sites can synergistically enhance the hydrogenation energetics of NO3--to-NH3 pathway, while suppressing the competitive hydrogen evolution, leading to a high NO3RR selectivity and activity. Consequently, the specially designed flow cell equipped with Bi-FeS2 exhibits a high NH3 yield rate of 83.7 mg h-1 cm-2 with a near-100% NO3--to-NH3 Faradaic efficiency at an ampere-level current density of 1023.2 mA cm-2, together with an excellent long-term stability for 100 h of electrolysis, ranking almost the highest performance among all reported NO3RR catalysts.

BBX7 interacts with BBX8 to accelerate flowering in chrysanthemum.

The quantitative control of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) activation is important for the floral transition in flowering plants. However, the flowering regulation mechanisms in the day-neutral, summer-flowering chrysanthemum plant remain unclear. In this study, the chrysanthemum BBX7 homolog CmBBX7 was isolated and its flowering function was identified. The expression of CmBBX7 showed a diurnal rhythm and CmBBX7 exhibited higher expression levels than CmBBX8. Overexpression of CmBBX7 in transgenic chrysanthemum accelerated flowering, whereas lines transfected with a chimeric repressor (pSRDX-CmBBX7) exhibited delayed flowering. Yeast single hybridization, luciferase, electrophoretic mobility shift, and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed that CmBBX7 directly targets CmFTL1. In addition, we found that CmBBX7 and CmBBX8 interact to positively regulate the expression of CmFTL1 through binding to its promoter. Collectively, these results highlight CmBBX7 as a key cooperator in the BBX8-FT module to control chrysanthemum flowering.

Clinical factors associated with remission of obese acanthosis nigricans after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Acanthosis nigricans (AN) involves skin hyperpigmentation in body folds and creases. Obesity-associated AN (OB_AN) is the most common type of AN. The skin condition of obese patients with AN can be improved through bariatric surgery, such as laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG), after weight loss. However, the contributing factors to the remission of AN after surgery are still not fully determined. The authors aimed to assess the metabolic and pathological factors associated with remission of AN following LSG in obese individuals. METHODS: The study included 319 obese patients who underwent LSG at our hospital. The subjects were divided into obesity (OB) only (OB, n =178) or OB with AN (OB_AN, n =141) groups. The basic clinical and metabolic indices and the dermatological features via reflectance confocal microscopy and histology were collected from patients prior to and after LSG. RESULTS: OB_AN patients had higher fasting plasma glucose, homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance, and testosterone levels than OB patients. LSG could significantly improve the biochemical and histopathological features of OB_AN patients. The remissive rate of OB_AN patients was about 86.5% (122 out of 141) after surgery. The remission of OB_AN skin lesions was positively correlated with testosterone levels ( P <0.01). In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between changes in AN scores and epidermal thickness and skin pigmentation scores after surgery ( P <0.01). CONCLUSION: The remissive rate of OB_AN after LSG is associated with improved testosterone levels and reduced epidermal thickness and skin pigmentation levels.

Targeting survivin with Tanshinone IIA inhibits tumor growth and overcomes chemoresistance in colorectal cancer.

The inhibitor of apoptosis protein survivin has a critical regulatory role in carcinogenesis and treatment tolerance in colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the targeted drugs for survivin protein are extremely limited. In the present research, we discovered that Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA) played a dual regulatory role in inhibiting tumorigenesis and reversing 5-Fu tolerance via modulating the expression and phosphorylation of survivin in CRC cells. Mechanistically, Tan IIA suppressed the Akt/WEE1/CDK1 signaling pathway, which led to the downregulation of survivin Thr34 phosphorylation and destruction of the interaction between USP1 and survivin to promote survivin ubiquitination and degradation. Furthermore, Tan IIA significantly facilitated chemoresistant CRC cells to 5-Fu sensitivity. These results revealed that Tan IIA possessed a strong antitumor activity against CRC cells and could act as an up-and-coming agent for treating CRC and overcoming chemotherapy resistance.

An application of stereo matching algorithm based on transfer learning on robots in multiple scenes.

Robot vision technology based on binocular vision holds tremendous potential for development in various fields, including 3D scene reconstruction, target detection, and autonomous driving. However, current binocular vision methods used in robotics engineering have limitations such as high costs, complex algorithms, and low reliability of the generated disparity map in different scenes. To overcome these challenges, a cross-domain stereo matching algorithm for binocular vision based on transfer learning was proposed in this paper, named Cross-Domain Adaptation and Transfer Learning Network (Ct-Net), which has shown valuable results in multiple robot scenes. First, this paper introduces a General Feature Extractor to extract rich general feature information for domain adaptive stereo matching tasks. Then, a feature adapter is used to adapt the general features to the stereo matching network. Furthermore, a Domain Adaptive Cost Optimization Module is designed to optimize the matching cost. A disparity score prediction module was also embedded to adaptively adjust the search range of disparity and optimize the cost distribution. The overall framework was trained using a phased strategy, and ablation experiments were conducted to verify the effectiveness of the training strategy. Compared with the prototype PSMNet, on KITTI 2015 benchmark, the 3PE-fg of Ct-Net in all regions and non-occluded regions decreased by 19.3 and 21.1% respectively, meanwhile, on the Middlebury dataset, the proposed algorithm improves the sample error rate at least 28.4%, which is the Staircase sample. The quantitative and qualitative results obtained from Middlebury, Apollo, and other datasets demonstrate that Ct-Net significantly improves the cross-domain performance of stereo matching. Stereo matching experiments in real-world scenes have shown that it can effectively address visual tasks in multiple scenes.

Sex-Specific Changes in Body Composition Following Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Are Associated with the Remission of Metabolic Syndrome.

PURPOSE: Metabolic and bariatric surgery (MBS) is the most effective treatment for metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, the mechanism of MetS remission after MBS remains unclear. We aimed to explore the relationship between sex differences, body composition, and the remission of MetS after MBS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cross-sectional study of 80 patients with obesity and MetS who underwent MBS with case-control design. The International Diabetes Federation criteria were used to define MetS. Body composition was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry before and 1 year after the operation. In addition to calculating changes in MetS and its prevalence, we performed a multiple logistic regression to determine predictors of MetS remission. RESULTS: There were significant differences in body composition between males and females after MBS. Both males and females had significant improvements in the overall prevalence of MetS, decreasing from 100 to 21.74% (P <0.001) and from 100 to 35.29% (P <0.001), respectively. A higher percentage of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) reduction tends to be associated with a higher chance of MetS remission in men. In females, the MetS nonremission subgroup had a higher %Trunk lean body mass (LBM), and %Android LBM reduction than the remission subgroup, but the multiple logistic regression analysis result was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: After MBS, reduced VAT might be related to MetS reversibility in males, while reduced LBM may result in MetS nonremission in females.