An Annealing Mechanism for Adversarial Training Acceleration.

Despite the empirical success in various domains, it has been revealed that deep neural networks are vulnerable to maliciously perturbed input data that can dramatically degrade their performance. These are known as adversarial attacks. To counter adversarial attacks, adversarial training formulated as a form of robust optimization has been demonstrated to be effective. However, conducting adversarial training brings much computational overhead compared with standard training. In order to reduce the computational cost, we propose an annealing mechanism, annealing mechanism for adversarial training acceleration (Amata), to reduce the overhead associated with adversarial training. The proposed Amata is provably convergent, well-motivated from the lens of optimal control theory, and can be combined with existing acceleration methods to further enhance performance. It is demonstrated that, on standard datasets, Amata can achieve similar or better robustness with around 1/3-1/2 the computational time compared with traditional methods. In addition, Amata can be incorporated into other adversarial training acceleration algorithms (e.g., YOPO, Free, Fast, and ATTA), which leads to a further reduction in computational time on large-scale problems.

Transcriptomic analysis of gills in nitrite-tolerant and -sensitive families of Litopenaeus vannamei.

Nitrite stress is a major environmental factor that limits aquatic animal growth, reproduction and survival. Even so, some shrimps still can withstand somewhat high concentrations of nitrite environment. However, few studies have been conducted about the tolerance molecular mechanism of Litopenaeus vannamei in the high concentration nitrite. To identify the genes and pathways involved in the regulation of nitrite tolerance, we performed comparative transcriptomic analysis in the L. vannamei nitrite-tolerant (NT) and nitrite-sensitive (NS) families, and untreated shrimps were used as the control group. After 24 h of nitrite exposure (NaNO2, 112.5 mg/L), a total of 1521 and 868 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained from NT compared with NS and control group, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that most of these DEGs were involved in immune defense, energy metabolism processes and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. During nitrite stress, energy metabolism in NT was significantly enhanced by activating the related genes expression of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathway and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. Meanwhile, some DEGs involved in innate immunity- related genes and pathways, and ER stress responses also were highly expressed in NT. Therefore, we speculate that accelerated energy metabolism, higher expression of immunity and ER related genes might be the important adaptive strategies for NT in relative to NS under nitrite stress. These results will provide new insights on the potential tolerant molecular mechanisms and the breeding of new varieties of nitrite tolerant L. vannamei.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Revealed Genes Involved in Sexual and Polyploid Growth Dimorphisms in Loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus).

Sexual and polyploidy size dimorphisms are widespread phenomena in fish, but the molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) displays both sexual and polyploid growth dimorphism phenomena, and are therefore ideal models to study these two phenomena. In this study, RNA-seq was used for the first time to explore the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between both sexes of diploid and tetraploid loaches in four tissues (brain, gonad, liver, and muscle). Results showed that 21,003, 17, and 1 DEGs were identified in gonad, liver, and muscle tissues, respectively, between females and males in both diploids and tetraploids. Regarding the ploidy levels, 4956, 1496, 2187, and 1726 DEGs were identified in the brain, gonad, liver, and muscle tissues, respectively, between tetraploids and diploids of the same sex. When both sexual and polyploid size dimorphisms were considered simultaneously in the four tissues, only 424 DEGs were found in the gonads, indicating that these gonadal DEGs may play an important regulatory role in regulating sexual and polyploid size dimorphisms. Regardless of the sex or ploidy comparison, the significant DEGs involved in glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and oxidative phosphorylation pathways were upregulated in faster-growing individuals, while steroid hormone biosynthesis-related genes and fatty acid degradation and elongation-related genes were downregulated. This suggests that fast-growing loaches (tetraploids, females) have higher energy metabolism levels and lower steroid hormone synthesis and fatty acid degradation abilities than slow-growing loaches (diploids, males). Our findings provide an archive for future systematic research on fish sexual and polyploid dimorphisms.

MiR-22-3p Expression is down-regulated in lung adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Our current study was performed with an attempt to detect the expression of microRNA-22-3p (miR-22-3p) in lung adenocarcinoma, as well as to analyze its role in clinical practice. In addition, its relationship with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and metastasis related indexes was focused. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The trials in which 62 cases of lung adenocarcinoma were received to collect tumor tissue (study group) and normal lung tissue (control group) were eligible for this study. The expression of miR-22-3p in the two groups was detected through RT-PCR. Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of VEGF and leukocyte differentiation antigen 31 (CD31) marked microvessel density (MVD) in lung adenocarcinoma. The expressions of matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) and matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) in lung adenocarcinoma were also detected through the use of Western Blot. RESULTS: The present study revealed significant difference in the expression of miR-22-3p between the two groups. No significant difference in the expression of gender, age, neural invasion and the number of lesions were observed between groups. There was significant difference in the expression of miR-22-3p in the maximum diameter of tumor, pleural recidivism, vascular recidivism, lymph node metastasis and different TNM stages. Based on survival analysis, miR-22-3p was linked to survival time. Correlation analysis indicated that there was negative correlation between miR-22-3p and VEGF, miR-22-3p and MVD, miR-22-3p and MMP-3, and miR-22-3p and MMP-7 in lung adenocarcinoma. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide evidence that miR-22-3p is low expressed in lung adenocarcinoma tissues and the low expression of miR-22-3p is closely associated with clinicopathological characteristics and the prognosis. MiR-22-3p may be involved in the tumor progression of lung adenocarcinoma and may serve as a biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma.

Application of artificial intelligence in surgery.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is gradually changing the practice of surgery with technological advancements in imaging, navigation, and robotic intervention. In this article, we review the recent successful and influential applications of AI in surgery from preoperative planning and intraoperative guidance to its integration into surgical robots. We conclude this review by summarizing the current state, emerging trends, and major challenges in the future development of AI in surgery.

Transcriptome sequencing analysis of the MSDIN gene family encoding cyclic peptides in lethal Amanita fuligineoides.

Amanita fuligineoides, a lethal mushroom discovered in China, contains abundant cyclic peptide toxins that can cause fatal poisoning. However, the MSDIN gene family encoding for these cyclic peptides in A. fuligineoides has not been systematically studied. In this research, the transcriptome sequencing of A. fuligineoides was performed and its MSDIN family members were analyzed. A total of 4.41 Gb data containing 30833 unigenes was obtained; sequence alignments throughout several databases were done to obtain their functional annotations. Based on these annotations, MSDIN genes were found and verified by RT-PCR. A total of 29 different core peptides were obtained: 3 toxin genes, encoding ß-amanitin (ß-AMA), phalloidin (PHD), and phallacidin (PCD), and 26 genes encoding unknown cyclic peptides, 20 of which are reported for the first time and may encode for novel cyclic peptides. Analysis of the predicted precursor peptides indicated that octocyclic peptides were the main MSDIN peptides synthesized by A. fuligineoides, accounting for the 45%. A phylogenetic analysis suggested that studied precursor peptides could be clustered into 7 clades, which might represent different functionalities. Results suggested that A. fuligineoides might have a strong capacity to synthesize cyclopeptides, laying the foundation for their excavation and utilization.

Integrated analysis of physiological, transcriptomic and metabolomic responses and tolerance mechanism of nitrite exposure in Litopenaeus vannamei.

Nitrite accumulation in aquatic environments is a potential risk factor that disrupts multiple physiological functions in aquatic animals. In this study, the physiology, transcriptome and metabolome of the control group (LV-C), nitrite-tolerance group (LV-NT) and nitrite-sensitive group (LV-NS) were investigated to identify the stress responses and mechanisms underlying the nitrite tolerance of Litopenaeus vannamei. After LV-NT and LV-NS were subjected to nitrite stress, the hemocyanin contents were significantly decreased, and hepatopancreas showed severe histological damage compared with LV-C. Likewise, the antioxidant enzymes were also significantly changed after nitrite exposure. The transcriptome data revealed differentially expressed genes associated with immune system, cytoskeleton remodeling and apoptosis in LV-NT and LV-NS. The combination of transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis revealed nitrite exposure disturbed metabolism processes in L. vannamei, including amino acid metabolism, nucleotide metabolism and lipid metabolism. The multiple comparative analysis implicated that higher nitrite tolerance of LV-NT than LV-NS may be attributed to enhanced hypoxia inducible factor-1α expression to regulate energy supply and gaseous exchange. Moreover, LV-NT showed higher antioxidative ability, detoxification gene expression and enhanced fatty acids contents after nitrite exposure in relative to LV-NS. Collectively, all these results will greatly provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the stress responses and tolerance of nitrite exposure in L. vannamei.

Stress response and tolerance mechanisms of ammonia exposure based on transcriptomics and metabolomics in Litopenaeus vannamei.

Ammonia, one of the major limiting environment factors in aquaculture, may pose a threat to the shrimp growth, reproduction and survival. In this study, to understand molecular differences of transcriptomic and metabolomic responses and investigate the tolerance mechanisms underlying ammonia stress in Litopenaeus vannamei, ammonia-tolerant family (LV-AT) and ammonia-sensitive family (LV-AS) of these two extreme families were exposed to high-concentration (NH4Cl, 46 mg/L) ammonia for 24 h. The comparative transcriptome analysis between ammonia-treated and control (LV-C) groups revealed involvement of immune defense, cytoskeleton remodeling, antioxidative system and metabolic pathway in ammonia-stress response of L. vannamei. Likewise, metabolomics analysis showed that ammonia exposure could disturb amino acid metabolism, nucleotide metabolism and lipid metabolism, with metabolism related-genes changed according to RNA-seq analysis. The comparison of metabolite and transcript profiles between LV-AT and LV-AS indicated that LV-AT used the enhanced glycolysis and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle strategies for energy supply and ammonia excretion to adapt high-concentration ammonia. Furthermore, some of genes involved in the detoxification and ammonia excretion were highly expressed in LV-AT. We speculate that the higher ability of ammonia excretion and detoxification and the accelerated energy metabolism for energy supplies might be the adaptive strategies for LV-AT relative to LV-AS after ammonia stress. Collectively, the combination of transcriptomics and metabolomics results will greatly contribute to incrementally understand the stress responses on ammonia exposure to L. vannamei and supply molecular level support for evaluating the environmental effects of ammonia on aquatic organisms. The results further constitute new sights on the potential molecular mechanisms of ammonia adaptive strategies in shrimps at the transcriptomics and metabolomics levels.

Pathotypes of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. dieffenbachiae Isolated from Anthurium andraeanum in China.

Anthurium blight, caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. dieffenbachiae (Xad), is one of the most serious diseases of Anthurium andraeanum. However, little is known about variations in virulence between Xad pathotypes. Here, we examined the virulence of 68 Xad strains isolated from 30 anthurium plants from five regions of China against five different anthurium cultivars. Seven bacterial pathotypes were identified based on disease index and incidence analyses following foliar spray or leaf-clip inoculation. The resulting disease susceptibility patterns for pathotypes I⁻VII were RRRSS, RRSRS, RSRSR, RRSSS, RSSRS, RSSSS, and SSSSS, respectively. Overall, 72% of tested strains belonged to pathotypes VI or VII and were highly virulent. A further 22.1% of strains showed medium-level virulence and were classed as pathotype III, IV, or V, while the remaining 5.9% of strains were pathotype I or II, showing low virulence. Further analysis revealed differences in the virulence of Xad strains from the same anthurium cultivar, with variation also observed in pathovars associated with the same cultivar from different areas. Our results reveal the diversity and complexity of the Xad population structure in China and suggest that investigation of Xad pathotypes provides useful information to guide the identification and use of resistant varieties of A. andraeanum.

Maxillary Metastasis of Esophageal Cancer: Report of the First Case and Literature Review.

BACKGROUND: Esophageal cancer (EC) is a common digestive system tumor, characterized by high invasion, apparent lethality, and poor prognosis. Direct diffusion is the major metastatic mechanism of early EC, whereas advanced EC is spread mainly by lymphatic metastasis, but also can be transferred to the liver, lungs, bones, and so on, by hematogenous metastasis. The incidence of bone metastasis in esophageal cancer is low, and maxillary metastasis of EC is more rare. OBJECTIVE: To explore the differential diagnosis in ECMM, the rare metastasis of EC, and the possible mechanisms and predictors of bone metastasis. METHODS: The clinical materials of a male patient with maxillary metastasis of esophageal cancer (ECMM) were analyzed. Then, the possible mechanism of the ECMM was discussed. CONCLUSION: ECMM may belong to the hematogenous metastasis. The early detection of rare sites of metastasis of EC should be prioritized in tumor marker detection, imaging, pathology, and other diagnostic techniques.

A real-time and registration-free framework for dynamic shape instantiation.

Real-time 3D navigation during minimally invasive procedures is an essential yet challenging task, especially when considerable tissue motion is involved. To balance image acquisition speed and resolution, only 2D images or low-resolution 3D volumes can be used clinically. In this paper, a real-time and registration-free framework for dynamic shape instantiation, generalizable to multiple anatomical applications, is proposed to instantiate high-resolution 3D shapes of an organ from a single 2D image intra-operatively. Firstly, an approximate optimal scan plane was determined by analyzing the pre-operative 3D statistical shape model (SSM) of the anatomy with sparse principal component analysis (SPCA) and considering practical constraints. Secondly, kernel partial least squares regression (KPLSR) was used to learn the relationship between the pre-operative 3D SSM and a synchronized 2D SSM constructed from 2D images obtained at the approximate optimal scan plane. Finally, the derived relationship was applied to the new intra-operative 2D image obtained at the same scan plane to predict the high-resolution 3D shape intra-operatively. A major feature of the proposed framework is that no extra registration between the pre-operative 3D SSM and the synchronized 2D SSM is required. Detailed validation was performed on studies including the liver and right ventricle (RV) of the heart. The derived results (mean accuracy of 2.19 mm on patients and computation speed of 1 ms) demonstrate its potential clinical value for real-time, high-resolution, dynamic and 3D interventional guidance.

Placental transmogrification of the lung: Case report and systematic review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: Placental transmogrification of the lung (PTL) is rare cystic lesion. Thus, we summarized the characteristics of PTL to explore the strategy of diagnosis and treatment. METHODS: Two patients pathologically confirmed PTL were treated in our hospital. Retrospectively analysis was performed on such 2 cases and 34 cases of PTL reported in abroad. The basic information and clinical characteristics from each patient were gathered and analyzed. RESULTS: The imaging findings of 2 patients were the pulmonary solid mass with peripheral multiple pulmonary bullae. After the improvement of preoperative examination and the multidisciplinary discussion of thoracic surgery, respiration, imaging, and anesthesia, the possibility of benign pulmonary lesions was improved in all cases. Thoracoscopic lobectomy was carried out under general anesthesia, and the intraoperative frozen pathology showed bullae of lung. Ultimately, PTL was confirmed by paraffin pathological diagnosis. Both 2 PTL patients had satisfied recovery without obvious complications or imaging abnormalities. In addition, the literature review of 34 PTL cases from PubMed database was summarized between 1995 and 2015. A total of 36 patients were retrospectively analyzed in our study. The age of 34 cases ranged from 24 to 72 years (an average age of 45.6 ±â€Š13.5 years). Among these, 8 cases were no obvious symptoms. In addition, the other 25 cases had respiratory symptoms such as chest tightness, cough, and chest pain. Moreover, the mean size of pulmonary bulla was 6.5 ±â€Š5.5 cm. The size of the solid lesions in 23 cases was 3.3 ±â€Š3.4 cm (ranging from 0.5 to 15). The follow-up period was 2 to 96 months (average 27.3 ±â€Š29.8 months). CONCLUSION: Early diagnosis and surgical operation of PTL should be performed as soon as possible. These lesions are best treated by minimally invasive surgery, so as to preserve more normal lung tissue and avoid the pneumonectomy.

An efficient cardiac mapping strategy for radiofrequency catheter ablation with active learning.

OBJECTIVE: A major challenge in radiofrequency catheter ablation procedures is the voltage and activation mapping of the endocardium, given a limited mapping time. By learning from expert interventional electrophysiologists (operators), while also making use of an active-learning framework, guidance on performing cardiac voltage mapping can be provided to novice operators or even directly to catheter robots. METHODS: A learning from demonstration (LfD) framework, based upon previous cardiac mapping procedures performed by an expert operator, in conjunction with Gaussian process (GP) model-based active learning, was developed to efficiently perform voltage mapping over right ventricles (RV). The GP model was used to output the next best mapping point, while getting updated towards the underlying voltage data pattern as more mapping points are taken. A regularized particle filter was used to keep track of the kernel hyperparameter used by GP. The travel cost of the catheter tip was incorporated to produce time-efficient mapping sequences. RESULTS: The proposed strategy was validated on a simulated 2D grid mapping task, with leave-one-out experiments on 25 retrospective datasets, in an RV phantom using the Stereotaxis Niobe® remote magnetic navigation system, and on a tele-operated catheter robot. In comparison with an existing geometry-based method, regression error was reduced and was minimized at a faster rate over retrospective procedure data. CONCLUSION: A new method of catheter mapping guidance has been proposed based on LfD and active learning. The proposed method provides real-time guidance for the procedure, as well as a live evaluation of mapping sufficiency.

Direct Evidences of Shallow Donor Level Enhanced Green Emission in ZnO Quantum Dots.

ZnO Quantum dots with particle sizes about 5 nm were prepared by sol-gel method, the research about the photo luminescence(PL)/photoluminescence excitation(PLE) spectrum and the fluorescence lifetime indicated that the green emissions can be divided into two parts which were attributed to different transit mechanisms. The higher energy green emission was due to the electrons transit from conduction band to oxygen vacancies while the lower energy green emission was assigned to the electrons transit from the shallow donor levels which enhanced the green emission to the oxygen vacancies and the shallow donor levels was also the reason why the green emission reach strongest intensity when the excitation energy was a little lower than the band gap energy. While the blue emission can be explained by the electrons transiting from Zinc intervals to the valence band. The two mechanisms of green emission are first highlighted and should be considered in the optical application.

Ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone syndrome caused by neuroendocrine tumors of the thymus: 30-year experience with 16 patients at a single institute in the People's Republic of China.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Thymic neuroendocrine carcinomas (TNECs) are extremely uncommon. Certain cases of TNECs can produce the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cause ectopic ACTH syndrome (EAS). The current literature on this topic consists mainly of case reports, and therapeutic guidelines are lacking. The aim of this study was to discuss the diagnosis, surgical management, and prognosis of EAS caused by TNECs to improve clinical experience with this rare disease. METHODS: From June 1984 to June 2014, at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital, the surgical interventions and follow-up outcomes of 16 consecutive patients (eight men and eight women) with EAS caused by TNECs were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: The median age was 32.5 years (range: 13-47 years), and the median disease duration was 8.5 months (range: 1-150 months). All patients presented with clinical and biochemical evidence indicating a diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome. Contrast-enhanced thoracic computed tomography scans were critical to locating the ACTH-producing tumor and evaluating the feasibility of resection. All patients underwent surgery. One patient died of septicemia in the intensive care unit 2 weeks after surgery. No other morbidity or mortality occurred during the perioperative period. The median overall survival (OS) was 41 months (95% CI: 30.3-51.7 months), and the progression-free survival was 28 months (95% CI: 21.6-34.3 months). Both overall survival (P=0.002) and progression-free survival (P=0.030) improved significantly after complete resection. CONCLUSION: TNEC is an extremely aggressive disease that should be considered when treating patients with Cushing's syndrome due to ectopic ACTH secretion. In particular, all suspected patients should undergo contrast-enhanced thoracic computed tomography scans to facilitate early diagnosis. The current first-line treatment is surgical resection, and complete resection is a favorable prognostic factor. However, additional patients and a longer follow-up will be needed to determine the variables that are predictive of survival and to improve patient prognosis.

A malignant glomus tumor in the upper trachea.

Malignant glomus tumors are extremely rare, and a malignant glomus tumor in the trachea has not been described previously. In this report, we present the first known case of a malignant glomus tumor originating in the trachea.

Complete mitochondrial genome of the Amur weatherfish, Misgurnus mohoity (Teleostei: Cypriniformes: Cobitididae).

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Amur weatherfish, Misgurnus mohoity is a circular molecule of 16,566 bp in size, containing 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and 2 main non-coding regions (the control region and the origin of the light strand replication). Most of the genes are encoded on the heavy strand, except for ND6 and eight tRNAs. The control region is 915 bp in length and located between the tRNA(Pro) and tRNA(Phe) genes, some typical conserved elements (TAS, CSB1-3 and CSB D-F) were found in this region. All these features reflect a typical vertebrate mitochondrial gene arrangement of the M. mohoity.

Construction of a tumor cell-targeting non-viral gene delivery vector with polyethylenimine modified with RGD sequence-containing peptide.

The objective of the present study was to construct a novel type of non-viral gene delivery vector with high delivery efficiency and specific tumor cell-targeting ability. The CP9 peptide (CYGGRGDTP) containing Arg-Gly-Asp sequence was employed to be conjugated onto polyethylenimine (PEI) to act as the role of the targeting moiety. The chemical linker, N-succinimidyl-3-(2-pyridyldithio) propionate, was applied during the synthesis of the vector (CP9-PEI). The physicochemical characteristics of the vector were evaluated by the methods of 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gel retardation assay, electron microscope observation and particle size detection. HepG2 cells were used to verify the gene delivery efficiency and targeting ability by gene delivery procedure and free CP9 peptide inhibition tests. The results showed that the successful synthesis of CP9-PEI and the synthesized vector may efficiently condense plasmid DNA into round particles with diameters of ~200 nm at a polymer/pDNA ratio of 10. CP9-PEI may deliver the reporter gene into HepG2 cells with higher efficiency and the efficiency may be inhibited by the free CP9 peptide. The present study suggested that the modification of PEI with the CP9 peptide is an effective method to construct a novel tumor cell-targeting non-viral vector, and that the novel vector exhibits great prospect in the field of cancer gene therapy.

Mitochondrial genome of the natural tetraploid loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus.

The mitochondrial genome of the natural tetraploid loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus is a circular molecule of 16,645 bp in length, containing 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, two ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, and two main noncoding regions (the control region and the origin of the light strand replication). Most of the genes are encoded on the heavy strand, except for ND6 and eight tRNAs. All the protein-coding genes are initiated with ATG except for COX1, which began with GTG instead. However, the termination codons of 13 protein-coding genes are varied with TAA, TA-, T-- or TAG. The control region is 917 bp in length and located between the tRNA(Pro) and tRNA(Phe) genes, some typical conserved elements (TAS, CSB1-3 and CSB D-F) were found in this region. All these features reflect a typical vertebrate mitochondrial gene arrangement of the tetraploid M. anguillicaudatus.