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Aldosterone, as a major product of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), determines multiple pathophysiological processes in cardiovascular diseases. The excess inflammatory response is one of the key profiles in aldosterone-mediated cardiac remodeling. However, the potential mechanisms of aldosterone/inflammatory signaling were still not fully disclosed. The present study aimed to investigate whether TIR-domain-containing adapter-inducing interferon-ß (Trif) participated in the aldosterone-induced cardiac remodeling, and to explore potential molecular mechanisms. Trif knockout mice and their littermates were osmotically administrated with aldosterone (50 µg/kg per day) for 21 and 42 days. The cardiac structural analysis, functional parameters, and mitochondrial function were measured. Aldosterone dose- or time-dependently increased the levels of TRIF in primary mouse cardiomyocytes or mouse heart tissues. Trif deficiency protected against aldosterone-induced cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis and dysfunction. Moreover, Trif deficiency also suppressed aldosterone-induced cardiac inflammatory response and mitochondrial injuries. Mechanistically, overexpression of cardiac microRNAs (miR)-34a reversed the cardiac benefits of Trif deficiency in aldosterone-treated mice. Taken together, Trif/miR-34a axis could provide a novel molecular mechanism for explaining aldosterone-induced cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis and functional disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Interleukin-17A (IL-17A), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma. A number of studies have investigated the relationship between IL-17A rs2275913 polymorphism and risk of asthma. However, the results obtained are inconclusive. The aim of this meta-analysis is to clarify the relationship between IL-17A rs2275913 polymorphism and asthma risk.Material and Methods: Searches were conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Elsevier, Google Scholar, Wanfang and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases, and data were extracted from eligible studies by two independent reviewers. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Publication bias, heterogeneity and sensitivity analysis were also assessed.Results: Ten studies with a total of 5016 subjects were included. Overall, the results indicated a significant association between the IL-17A rs2275913 polymorphism and the risk of asthma (G vs. A: OR = 0.866, 95% CI: 0.789-0.951, p = 0.003; GG+GA vs. AA: OR = 0.752, 95% CI: 0.633-0.895, p = 0.001). In subgroup analysis by age and ethnicity, the G allele of rs2275913 in IL-17A was significantly associated with a reduced risk of asthma in children and Asians.Conclusions: The results of this meta-analysis indicate that the G allele of rs2275913 in IL-17A is a protective factor for the development of asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the field of chemical process monitoring, the vine copula model provides a new idea for describing the interdependence between high-dimensional complex variables, and directly characterizes the correlation without dimensional reduction. However, in actual industrial processes, the number of pair copulas to be optimized and the parameters to be estimated increase rapidly when the dimensionality of the variables is large. This greatly increases the computational load and reduces the detection efficiency. In this paper, a fault diagnosis method based on a simplified R-vine (SRV) model is proposed. Without reducing the precision of the model significantly, the simplified level is set to reduce the complexity of the workload and calculations. The simplified level of an R-vine model is obtained by a Vuong test. Then, the generalized local probability (GLP) of the non-Gaussian state is constructed by using the theory of highest density region (HDR) and a density quantile table. The monitoring results of the Tennessee Eastman (TE) process and a real acetic acid dehydration distillation system show that the proposed SRV approach achieves good performance in monitoring results and computational load for chemical process fault monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To elucidate the physiological and transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that underlie the responses of poplars to high temperature ( HT) and/or drought in woody plants, we exposed Populus alba × Populus tremula var. glandulosa saplings to ambient temperature ( AT) or HT under 80 or 40% field capacities (FC), or no watering. HT increased the foliar total carbon (C) concentrations, and foliar δ13C and δ18O. HT triggered heat stress signaling via increasing levels of abscisic acid ( ABA) and indole-3-acetic acid ( IAA) in poplar roots and leaves. After perception of HT, poplars initiated osmotic adjustment by increasing foliar sucrose and root galactose levels. In agreement with the HT-induced heat stress and the changes in the levels of ABA and carbohydrates, we detected increased transcript levels of HSP18 and HSP21, as well as NCED3 in the roots and leaves, and the sugar transporter gene STP14 in the roots. Compared with AT, drought induced greater enhancement of foliar δ13C and δ18O in poplars at HT. Similarly, drought caused greater stimulation of the ABA and foliar glucose levels in poplars at HT than at AT. Correspondingly, desiccation led to greater increases in the mRNA levels of HSP18, HSP21, NCED3, STP14 and INT1 in poplar roots at HT than at AT. These results suggest that HT has detrimental effects on physiological processes and it induces the transcriptional regulation of key genes involved in heat stress responses, ABA biosynthesis and sugar transport and HT can cause greater changes in drought-induced physiological and transcriptional responses in poplar roots and leaves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystal structure development of jojoba-like esters incorporating either 1-decenoic acid and/or 1-decenol, namely octadec-9-enyl dec-9-enoate (JLE-281), and its isomer dec-9-enyl oleate (JLE-282) was investigated to reveal the effect of symmetry about the ester group on crystallization of aliphatic fatty monoesters. The phase transformation path was investigated with temperature-time resolved X-ray diffraction during stepped isothermal crystallization, and while cooling from the melt at a fixed rate. Startling differences in phase behavior were uncovered between the isomers. When stepped isothermals were used, selective extinctions occurred at a transition temperature for JLE-281 but not for JLE-282. The extinctions, which are due to dramatic changes in the electronic density of certain families of planes, indicate a phase transition attributed to a brusque rearrangement of the oxygen atoms in the crystal subcell. The phase transition did not occur when the JLEs were cooled continuously. The crucial role played by the position of the alkyl chain and its orientation relative to the easy rotation site of the C-O bond in the phase trajectories of the JLEs was particularly highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the production of pure terephthalic acid, a tiny amount of reactant p-xylene may enter into the acetic acid dehydration distillation column through the feed stream. In normal operation, p-xylene will not leave the column from the top or bottom product. It will be accumulated in the top of dehydration distillation column and decanter. With the accumulation of p-xylene, the operation cost will be increased gradually, to ensure the purity specifications of the top and bottom products. To reduce the operation cost, it is necessary to cut down the concentration of p-xylene by draining some organic reflux and make up the pure entrainer intermittent. In this paper, reboiler duties at different concentrations of p-xylene in the reflux were analyzed. The optimal operation conditionthat the concentration of p-xylene is decreased by draining some organic reflux when the mass fraction of p-xylene accumulation exceeds 0.15had been suggested. Finally, the residue curves diagram of three key components in the top of the column was used to interpret the draining place of p-xylene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geomechanics parameters are critical to numerical simulation, stability analysis, design and construction of geotechnical engineering. Due to the limitations of laboratory and in situ experiments, back analysis is widely used in geomechancis and geotechnical engineering. In this study, a hybrid back analysis method, that coupling numerical simulation, response surface (RS) and relevance vector machine (RVM), was proposed and applied to identify geomechanics parameters from hydraulic fracturing. RVM was adapted to approximate complex functional relationships between geomechanics parameters and borehole pressure through coupling with response surface method and numerical method. Artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm was used to search the geomechanics parameters as optimal method in back analysis. The proposed method was verified by a numerical example. Based on the geomechanics parameters identified by hybrid back analysis, the computed borehole pressure agreed closely with the monitored borehole pressure. It showed that RVM presented well the relationship between geomechanics parameters and borehole pressure, and the proposed method can characterized the geomechanics parameters reasonably. Further, the parameters of hybrid back analysis were analyzed and discussed. It showed that the hybrid back analysis is feasible, effective, robust and has a good global searching performance. The proposed method provides a significant way to identify geomechanics parameters from hydraulic fracturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new process monitoring method based on vine copula and active learning strategy under a limited number of labeled samples. The proposed method uses active learning strategy and the generalized Bayesian inference-based probability (GBIP) index to choose samples that can provide the most significant information for the process monitoring model. An adaptive strategy is used to select the number of training samples in every active learning loop. Then, the vine copula-based dependence description (VCDD) is used to fulfill fault detection for complex chemical processes. The validity and effectiveness of the proposed approach are illustrated using a numerical example and the Tennessee Eastman (TE) benchmark process. The results show that the proposed method can maximize the process monitoring performance while minimizing the number of samples labeled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel vine copula-based dependencedescription (VCDD) processmonitoring approach is proposed. The main contribution is to extractthe complex dependence among process variables rather than performdimensionality reduction or other decoupling processes. For a multimodechemical process, the C-vine copula model of each mode is initiallycreated, in which a multivariate optimization problem is simplifiedas coping with a series of bivariate copulas listed in a sparse matrix.To measure the distance of the process data from each non-Gaussianmode, a generalized local probability (GLP) index is defined. Consequently,the generalized Bayesian inference-based probability (GBIP) indexunder a given control limit can be further calculated in real timevia searching the density quantile table created offline. The validityand effectiveness of the proposed approach are illustrated using anumerical example and the Tennessee Eastman benchmark process. Theresults show that the proposed VCDD approach achieves good performancein both monitoring results and computation load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate factors affecting adherence to inhaled therapy in patients with asthma to further identify the determinants most closely associated with adherence to inhaled therapy for asthma, especially inhaled glucocorticosteroids (ICS). STUDY DESIGN: A 2-stage study was conducted. In stage 1, we performed nonassumptive deep-dive qualitative scoping to investigate the determinants of poor adherence in patients with asthma, and in stage 2 we developed a new questionnaire for cross-sectional surveys to obtain more accurate information about critical issues related to asthma management. METHODS: Patients with asthma who were 18 years and older in the outpatient clinic of The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from November 2016 to January 2018 were investigated. RESULTS: In the 350 patients with asthma recruited, 32% of patients showed good adherence, whereas 68% of patients displayed poor adherence to inhaled therapy due to various reasons. Further analysis indicated that inadequate understanding of asthma treatment and control, poor self-management, financial burden, adverse reactions, and the fear of potential adverse reactions were significant independent risk factors for poor ICS inhalation adherence in patients with asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Our research shows that many patients with asthma in western China have poor disease control and poor inhalation therapy adherence. We hope this research can alert clinicians and help them identify patients who may be experiencing uncontrolled asthma due to poor adherence to inhaled therapy, and we suggest that clinicians help those patients obtain appropriate information about asthma control and self-management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel copula subspace division strategy is proposed for fault detection and diagnosis. High-dimensional industrial data are analyzed in two elemental subspaces: margin distribution subspace (MDS) modeled by joint margin distribution, and dependence structure subspace (DSS) modeled by copula. The highest density regions of two submodels are introduced and quantified using probability indices. To improve the robustness of the monitoring index, a hyperrectangular control boundary in MDS is designed, and the equivalent univariate control limits are estimated. Two associated contribution indices are also constructed for fault diagnosis. The interactive relationships among the root-cause variables are investigated via a proposed state chart. The effectiveness and superiority of the proposed approaches (double-subspace and multisubspace) are validated using a numerical example and the Tennessee Eastman chemical process. Better monitoring performance is achieved compared with some conventional approaches such as principal component analysis, independent component analysis, kernel principal component analysis and vine copula-based dependence description. The proposed multisubspace approach fully utilizes univariate-based alarm data with a dependence restriction modulus, which is promising for industrial application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) is an acute infectious disease caused by enteroviruses, and HFMD complicated by cardiopulmonary failure has a high mortality. B type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is widely applied in monitoring cardiovascular disorders, and thus, we investigated whether this index was associated with the severity of HFMD and the outcome in severe HFMD.Methods: Serum BNP, lactate, and glucose levels as well as white blood cell (WBC) count, PaO2/FiO2, and cardiac output (CO) were analyzed in the 83 enrolled HFMD patients according to different conditions (common, severe, and critical; with and without complication; and survivors and non-survivors). The control group consisted of 29 patients with respiratory tract infections.Results: No significant differences in CO were observed between the groups. Serum lactate, glucose, BNP, and WBC levels in the critical group were significantly higher than those in the severe, common, and control groups (p < 0.01 or 0.05). The PaO2/FiO2 ratio was significantly lower in the critical group (214.286 ± 154.346) than in the other groups. According to logistic regression analysis, the areas under the curve for serum BNP, glucose, and PaO2/FiO2 of the patients with complications were 0.774, 0.738, and 0.75, respectively. Moreover, the BNP level was significantly higher in HFMD patients with complications and non-survivors.Conclusion: Our findings indicate that BNP could be a biochemical indicator for severe (critical) HFMD and used for prognosis in terms of complications and death. Combined with Glu and PaO2/FiO2 and clinical symptoms of HFMD, the value of BNP as an indicator became more precise and specific. Our results may provide another valuable, objective biochemical indicator for severe HFMD.Trial Registration Number: ChiCTR-DDT-14004576 . Name of registry: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry. Date of registration: 2014-09-21. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence suggests that an imbalance between oxidation and antioxidation is involved in the pathogenesis of acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ALI/ARDS). Activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has been shown to inhibit the occurrence of ALI/ARDS. However, it is unknown whether activation of AMPK benefits ALI/ARDS by restoration of the oxidant and antioxidant balance, and which mechanisms are responsible for this process. The present study aimed to address these issues. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced pronounced pathological changes of ALI in mice; these were accompanied by elevated production of malondialdehyde (MDA) and decreased activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) compared with control mice. Prior treatment of mice with the AMPK agonist metformin significantly suppressed the LPS-induced development of ALI, reduced the elevation of MDA and increased the activity of SOD. Further analysis indicated that activation of AMPK also stimulated the protein expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC1α) and superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1). This study suggests that activation of AMPK by metformin inhibits oxidative stress by upregulation of PGC1α and SOD1, thereby suppressing the development of ALI/ARDS, and has potential value in the clinical treatment of such conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been shown that activation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) suppresses proliferation of a variety of tumor cells as well as nonmalignant cells. In this study, we used post-transcriptional gene silencing with small interfering RNA (siRNA) to specifically examine the effect of AMPK on pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) proliferation and to further elucidate its underlying molecular mechanisms. Our results showed that knockdown of AMPKα2 promoted primary cultured PASMCs proliferation; this was accompanied with the elevation of phosphorylation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and S-phase kinase-associated protein 2 (Skp2) protein level and reduction of p27Kip1. Importantly, prior silencing of mTOR with siRNA abolished AMPKα2 knockdown-induced Skp2 upregulation, pp27Kip1 reduction as well as PASMCs proliferation. Furthermore, pre-depletion of Skp2 by siRNA also eliminated pp27Kip1 downregulation and PASMCs proliferation caused by AMPKα2 knockdown. Taken together, our study indicates that AMPKα2 isoform plays an important role in regulation of PASMCs proliferation by modulating mTOR/Skp2/pp27Kip1 axis, and suggests that activation of AMPKα2 might have potential value in the prevention and treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personalizing medicines has refined the traditional treatments for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In the present study, efforts towards personalizing delivery of care based on the status of EGFR and K-RAS mutations, and mRNA expression levels of ERCC1, TUBB3, TYMS, RRM1 and EGFR by choosing appropriate treatments for 52 patients with NSCLC were discussed. Among these 52 NSCLC patients, there were 14 patients treated with gefitinib. Ten patients with EGFR exon 21 point mutations or exon 19 deletions had better treatment outcomes following gefitinib treatment (71.4%). There were 38 patients treated with platinum-based chemotherapy. Docetaxel-platinum based chemotherapy was chosen as the first-line treatment when the patients had low or median ERCC1/TUBB3 expression and gemcitabine-platinum based chemotherapy was chosen when the patients had low or median ERCC1/RRM1 expression. In total, 26 cases had mRNA expression levels of ERCC1/TUBB3 or ERCC1/RRM1 that could be used to predict the treatment outcomes of chemotherapy (68.4%). The present results indicated that the mutation status of EGFR, as well as the mRNA expression levels of ERCC1, TUBB3 and RRM1, could be used as predictors of the response to gefitinib or chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) suppresses the proliferation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and vascular remodeling in rats and humans, and therefore improves the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, molecular mechanisms underlying these effects have not been completely understood. In the present study, the effects of PPARγ activation in monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary artery remodeling in rats were investigated. Eighteen Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly assigned into three groups (n=6): Control (Con), PAH and PAH treated with rosiglitazone (MCT + Rosi). The right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP), the ratio of the right to left ventricle plus septum weight [RV/(LV + S)], the percentage of medial wall thickness (%MT) and wall area (%WA) were used to evaluate the development of PAH. Tissue morphology was measured using hematoxylin and eosin staining. The protein levels of the phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN), Akt (ser473) phosphorylation (p-Akt) and total Akt in intrapulmonary arteries were determined by western blot analysis. MCT treatment significantly increased the RVSP, which was reduced by rosiglitazone treatment. The ratio of RV/(LV + S), %MT and %WA induced by MCT were similarly inhibited, which was associated with the increase of PTEN expression and the inhibition of Akt phosphorylation levels by rosiglitazone. In conclusion, activation of PPARγ ameliorates the proliferation of PASMCs and vascular remodeling by regulating the PTEN/PI3K/Akt pathway, suggesting that the activation of PPARγ has potential benefits for PAH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vitamin D-binding protein (VDBP) genetic polymorphisms have been associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A number of studies have been conducted to investigate the combined effects of the VDBP gene (GC) rs7041 and rs4588 polymorphisms on the COPD risk. However, the results obtained are inconclusive. The present meta-analysis aimed to investigate whether GC polymorphisms may be a potential risk factor for COPD. The Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang Database were searched from inception until June 1, 2014. The meta-analysis was performed using the STATA 12.0 software. Twelve case-control studies, including 2,937 subjects, met the inclusion criteria. Overall, a significantly increased risk was detected in populations of GC*1F homozygotes, whereas no associations between other GC polymorphisms and COPD risk were detected. According to ethnicity, the results demonstrated that the GC*1F homozygotes may be a risk factor for COPD and the GC*2 homozygotes may be a protective factor against COPD in the Asian population. However, similar associations were not observed among the Caucasian population. In conclusion, the current meta-analysis indicates that the GC*1F homozygotes may be a risk factor for COPD and the GC*2 homozygotes may be a protective factors against COPD in the Asian population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bark tissue of Populus x canescens can hyperaccumulate cadmium, but microstructural, transcriptomic, and physiological response mechanisms are poorly understood. Histochemical assays, transmission electron microscopic observations, energy-dispersive x-ray microanalysis, and transcriptomic and physiological analyses have been performed to enhance our understanding of cadmium accumulation and detoxification in P. x canescens. Cadmium was allocated to the phloem of the bark, and subcellular cadmium compartmentalization occurred mainly in vacuoles of phloem cells. Transcripts involved in microstruchJral alteration, changes in nutrition and primary metabolism, and stimulation of stress responses showed significantly differential expression in the bark of P. x canescens exposed to cadmium. About 48% of the differentially regulated transcripts formed a coregulation network in which 43 hub genes played a central role both in cross talk among distinct biological processes and in coordinating the transcriptomic regulation in the bark of P. x canescens in response to cadmium. The cadmium transcriptome in the bark of P. x canescens was mirrored by physiological readouts. Cadmium accumulation led to decreased total nitrogen, phosphorus, and calcium and increased sulfur in the bark. Cadmium inhibited photosynthesis, resulting in decreased carbohydrate levels. Cadmkun induced oxidative stress and antioxidants, including free proline, soluble phenolics, ascorbate, and thiol compounds. These results suggest that orchestrated microstructural, transcriptomic, and physiological regulation may sustain cadmium hyperaccumulation in P. x canescens bark and provide new insights into engineering woody plants for phytoremediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]