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Based on a quantitative analysis of a novel dataset comprising 10,093 publicly available judgments of adjudicated child custody disputes from the China Judgments Online website, this article identifies potential gender bias in Chinese family courts under certain conditions. Key findings include: 1. Mothers are generally more proactive in seeking custody and are awarded custody in the majority of cases compared to fathers. 2. Specifically, mothers have a significant advantage in cases involving daughters, while their advantage in cases involving sons is less pronounced. 3. In rural courts, the results are notably different: mothers are disadvantaged overall, fathers are particularly assertive in seeking custody of sons compared to daughters, and mothers are less likely than fathers to be awarded custody of sons. Building on existing literature, this study highlights potential judicial biases rooted in societal gender norms prevalent in rural areas. This raises questions about whether courts have achieved substantive gender equality and whether the legal principle of 'the best interests of the child' is consistently upheld in every court decision. This study enhances the understanding of gender bias within China's family court system by providing valuable insights for those interested in addressing gender inequality. It not only highlights specific challenges women face in custody cases but also calls for broader societal and policy changes to support women and combat gender discrimination in all its forms.

This study is the first to examine the gender gap in academic patenting among faculty members in Chinese universities, a critical issue for the sustainable development of scientific research and innovation. Using a unique dataset that includes the patenting activities and professional status of 1,836 faculty members in life science-related departments at 36 top Chinese universities, this research reveals an evolving landscape of patenting dynamics. The trend of male faculty members leading in the annual number of patent applications and patents granted has shifted among newly graduated faculty members. Female faculty submit and receive their first patent applications significantly earlier than male faculty. However, male faculty are more likely to be lead inventors, and this gender gap remains difficult to close, with female faculty more likely to be supporting inventors. This research is contextualized within the broader framework of China's university tenure reform and the growing presence of women in the life sciences. While progress is evident, the study uncovers persistent systemic barriers that prevent women from fully translating their research into patentable innovations. By identifying these social and institutional barriers, our study not only sheds light on the gender gap, but also suggests policy measures to promote gender equity in scientific innovation, making it a critical read for policymakers and academic leaders.

BackgroundThe development of endometrial cancer (EC) is closely related to the abnormal activation of the estrogen signaling pathway. Effective diagnostic markers are important for the early detection and treatment of EC.MethodWe downloaded single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and spatial transcriptome (ST) data of EC from public databases. Enrichment scores were calculated for EC cell subpopulations using the "AddModuleScore" function and the AUCell package, respectively. Six predictive models were constructed, including logistic regression (LR), Gaussian naive Bayes (GaussianNB), k-nearest neighbor (KNN), support vector machine (SVM), extreme gradient boosting (XGB), and neural network (NK). Subsequently, receiver-operating characteristics with areas under the curves (AUCs) were used to assess the robustness of the predictive model.ResultWe classified EC cell coaggregation into six cell clusters, of which the epithelial, fibroblast and endothelial cell clusters had higher estrogen signaling pathway activity. We founded the epithelial cell subtype Epi cluster1, the fibroblast cell subtype Fib cluster3, and the endothelial cell subtype Endo cluster3 all showed early activation levels of estrogen response. Based on EC cell subtypes, estrogen-responsive early genes, and genes encoding Stage I and para-cancer differentially expressed proteins in EC patients, a total of 24 early diagnostic markers were identified. The AUCs values of all six classifiers were higher than 0.95, which indicates that the early diagnostic markers we screened have superior robustness across different classification algorithms.ConclusionOur study elucidates the potential biological mechanism of EC response to estrogen at single-cell resolution, which provides a new direction for early diagnosis of EC.

A suction bucket foundation is a new type offering high construction efficiency, precise positioning, cost-effectiveness, and environmental friendliness. It has been extensively employed in marine resource development, particularly in offshore wind power and oil and gas extraction. It usually involves multiple suction bucket conduit rack platforms during offshore construction projects. Accurately predicting the sinking penetration resistance and determining the suction value is crucial during the construction of the suction bucket foundation, as it ensures the safe sinking of the platform foundation to the designated depth. This paper examines the feasibility of the suction bucket foundation's sinking, sinking penetration resistance, suction value, and self-weight penetration depth, using the offshore wind farm guiding frame platform foundation project in Yangjiang, Guangdong Province, as a basis of analysis. The measured data is analyzed using the API specification static equilibrium analysis method, ABAQUS finite element analysis, and data mining techniques. The suction drum base platform's sinking process was monitored for negative pressure and penetration resistance. These observed values were compared to theoretical and finite element calculations. Results demonstrated that the API specification's theoretical calculations and finite element analyses effectively predict sinking penetration resistance, the suction force value, and the penetration depth for self-gravitational penetration. On-site engineering data fit these theoretical calculations, and finite element analyses well. The findings from this study have enriched the engineering application database of the suction drum foundation, providing a valuable reference for the design and construction of similar projects and establishing the groundwork for further promotion and application.

This article investigates whether higher classification accuracy can always be achieved by utilizing a pre-trained deep learning model as the feature extractor in the Bag-of-Deep-Visual-Words (BoDVW) classification model, as opposed to directly using the new classification layer of the pre-trained model for classification. Considering the multiple factors related to the feature extractor -such as model architecture, fine-tuning strategy, number of training samples, feature extraction method, and feature encoding method-we investigate these factors through experiments and then provide detailed answers to the question. In our experiments, we use five feature encoding methods: hard-voting, soft-voting, locally constrained linear coding, super vector coding, and fisher vector (FV). We also employ two popular feature extraction methods: one (denoted as Ext-DFs(CP)) uses a convolutional or non-global pooling layer, and another (denoted as Ext-DFs(FC)) uses a fully-connected or global pooling layer. Three pre-trained models-VGGNet-16, ResNext-50(32×4d), and Swin-B-are utilized as feature extractors. Experimental results on six datasets (15-Scenes, TF-Flowers, MIT Indoor-67, COVID-19 CXR, NWPU-RESISC45, and Caltech-101) reveal that compared to using the pre-trained model with only the new classification layer re-trained for classification, employing it as the feature extractor in the BoDVW model improves the accuracy in 35 out of 36 experiments when using FV. With Ext-DFs(CP), the accuracy increases by 0.13% to 8.43% (averaged at 3.11%), and with Ext-DFs(FC), it increases by 1.06% to 14.63% (averaged at 5.66%). Furthermore, when all layers of the pre-trained model are fine-tuned and used as the feature extractor, the results vary depending on the methods used. If FV and Ext-DFs(FC) are used, the accuracy increases by 0.21% to 5.65% (averaged at 1.58%) in 14 out of 18 experiments. Our results suggest that while using a pre-trained deep learning model as the feature extractor does not always improve classification accuracy, it holds great potential as an accuracy improvement technique.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) and ammonia (NH3) volatilization (AV) are the major pathways of nitrogen (N) loss in soil, and recently, N2O and NH3 mitigation has become urgently needed in agricultural systems worldwide. However, the influence of straw incorporation (SI) and biochar addition (BC) on N2O and NH3 emissions are still unclear. To fill this knowledge gap, a soil column experiment was conducted with two management strategies using straw - straw incorporation (S1) and straw removal (S0) - and four biochar application rates (0 (C0), 15 (C1), 30 (C2), and 45 t ha-1 (C3)) to evaluate the impacts of their interactions on N2O and NH3 emissions. The results showed that NO3--N concentration and pH was the major contributors to affect the N2O and NH3 losses. Without biochar addition, N2O emissions was decreased by 59.6% (P

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.

Background Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have a lower risk of breast cancer (BRCA) than the general population. In this study, we explored the underlying molecular mechanism that is dysregulated in both diseases. Methods Weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) was executed with the SLE and BRCA datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) website and identified the potential role of membrane metalloendopeptidase (MME) in both diseases. Then, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses of related proteins and miRNAs were performed to investigate the potential molecular pathways. Results WGCNA revealed that MME was positively related to SLE but negatively related to BRCA. In BRCA, MME expression was significantly decreased in tumor tissues, especially in luminal B and infiltrating ductal carcinoma subtypes. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis identified MME as a valuable diagnostic biomarker of BRCA, with an area under the curve (AUC) value equal to 0.984 (95% confidence interval = 0.976–0.992). KEGG enrichment analysis suggested that MME-related proteins and targeted miRNAs may reduce the incidence of BRCA in SLE patients via the PI3K/AKT/FOXO signaling pathway. Low MME expression was associated with favorable relapse-free survival (RFS) but no other clinical outcomes and may contribute to resistance to chemotherapy in BRCA, with an AUC equal to 0.527 (P value < 0.05). Conclusions In summary, MME expression was significantly decreased in BRCA but positively correlated with SLE, and it might reduce the incidence of BRCA in SLE patients via the PI3K/AKT/FOXO signaling pathway.

Background Neurological COVID-19 disease has been reported widely, but published studies often lack information on neurological outcomes and prognostic risk factors. We aimed to describe the spectrum of neurological disease in hospitalised COVID-19 patients; characterise clinical outcomes; and investigate factors associated with a poor outcome. Methods We conducted an individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis of hospitalised patients with neurological COVID-19 disease, using standard case definitions. We invited authors of studies from the first pandemic wave, plus clinicians in the Global COVID-Neuro Network with unpublished data, to contribute. We analysed features associated with poor outcome (moderate to severe disability or death, 3 to 6 on the modified Rankin Scale) using multivariable models. Results We included 83 studies (31 unpublished) providing IPD for 1979 patients with COVID-19 and acute new-onset neurological disease. Encephalopathy (978 [49%] patients) and cerebrovascular events (506 [26%]) were the most common diagnoses. Respiratory and systemic symptoms preceded neurological features in 93% of patients; one third developed neurological disease after hospital admission. A poor outcome was more common in patients with cerebrovascular events (76% [95% CI 67–82]), than encephalopathy (54% [42–65]). Intensive care use was high (38% [35–41]) overall, and also greater in the cerebrovascular patients. In the cerebrovascular, but not encephalopathic patients, risk factors for poor outcome included breathlessness on admission and elevated D-dimer. Overall, 30-day mortality was 30% [27–32]. The hazard of death was comparatively lower for patients in the WHO European region. Interpretation Neurological COVID-19 disease poses a considerable burden in terms of disease outcomes and use of hospital resources from prolonged intensive care and inpatient admission; preliminary data suggest these may differ according to WHO regions and country income levels. The different risk factors for encephalopathy and stroke suggest different disease mechanisms which may be amenable to intervention, especially in those who develop neurological symptoms after hospital admission.

BackgroundPatients with functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) also often have emotional symptoms, such as anxiety and depression. The main drugs used for the treatment of FGIDs mainly target single gastrointestinal symptoms and are not effective in regulating emotional symptoms. Evidence has shown that acupuncture can relieve gastrointestinal symptoms in FGIDs patients, but there is no high-quality evidence to show that acupuncture can relieve psychological symptoms in these patients.ObjectivesTo systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of acupuncture for emotional symptoms in patients with FGIDs.MethodsRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) published from database inception through July 31, 2021, were retrieved from three English-language databases (PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Embase) and five Chinese-language databases (the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang, VIP, Chinese Biomedical, and TCM Literature Analysis and Retrieval databases). RCTs that compared acupuncture with sham acupuncture and pharmacotherapy were included in this study. The score on the depression or anxiety scale after treatment were considered as primary outcomes. The 'meta' package (version 4.19-0) in RStudio 1.1.463 was used to analyse the data.ResultsA total of 2151 patients from 24 RCTs were included in this study. Compared with sham acupuncture, acupuncture was not significantly better at relieving anxiety (standardized mean difference [SMD] -0.35, 95% CI -1.05 to 0.33) and depression (SMD -0.32, 95% CI -0.71 to 0.07) symptoms. Compared with pharmacotherapy, acupuncture was significantly better at relieving anxiety (SMD -0.64, 95% CI -0.93 to -0.35) and depression (SMD -0.46, 95% CI -0.69 to -0.22) symptoms.ConclusionsThis meta-analysis found that acupuncture can alleviate emotional symptoms in FGID patients better than pharmacotherapy. However, it is not clear whether this effect is based on the placebo effect, specific effect or nonspecific effect of acupuncture. The evidence should be proven by rigorously designed RCTs in the future.Prospero registration numberCRD42021271899.

As China's strategic support belt, the green development of industry in the Yangtze River Economic Zone is of great significance to promote the construction of China's ecological civilization, build a modern industrial system and accelerate high-quality economic development. The study of green total factor productivity of industry in the Yangtze River Economic Zone has important theoretical and practical value for exploring the green development path of China's industry. This Paper takes the Yangtze River Economic Zone, a key strategic region in China, as the research object, selects the input and output data of industrial production from 2006 to 2018, based on DEA model. To construct an MML index considering expected and unexpected output, and to quantitatively analyze the changes of industrial GTFP in the Yangtze River Economic Zone. The results show that: (1) During the sample period, the industrial green total factor productivity in the Yangtze River Economic Zone shows the spatial characteristics of differential growth and the temporal characteristics of volatile growth. It shows the fluctuation characteristics of "N" shape. (2) According to the order of "upper, middle, and lower" reaches, the spatial pattern of industrial green total factor productivity is characterized by "lower ladder". But the difference between the upper and middle reaches is small. (3) Cities with higher green total factor productivity and lower green total factor productivity each form the characteristics of "club convergence" of spatial agglomeration. (4) Technological efficiency and technological progress efficiency have heterogeneous effects on different river basins in the upper, middle, and lower reaches, and technological progress efficiency is conducive to promoting the evolution of green total factor productivity to a high level. According to the above empirical results, this paper finally puts forward the policy recommendations to improve the industrial green total factor productivity of the Yangtze River Economic Zone and the policy recommendations to reduce the industrial differences between the Yangtze River Economic Zone.

This study explored changes in the microbial community structure during straw degradation by a microbial decomposer, M44. The microbial community succession at different degradation periods was analyzed using MiSeq high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that 14 days after inoculation, the filter paper enzyme and endoglucanase activities increased to 2.55 U·mL-1 and 2.34 U·mL-1. The xylanase, laccase, and lignin peroxidase activities rose to 9.86 U·mL-1, 132.16 U·L-1, and 85.43 U·L-1 after 28 d, which was consistent with changes in the straw degradation rate. The degradation rates of straw, lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose were 31.43%, 13.67%, 25.04%, and 21.69%, respectively, after 28 d of fermentation at 15°C. Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes were the main bacterial species in samples at different degradation stages. The dominant genera included Pseudomonas, Delftia, and Paenibacillus during the initial stage (1 d, 7 d) and the mid-term stage (14 d). The key functional microbes during the late stage (21 d, 28 d) were Rhizobium, Chryseobacterium, Sphingobacterium, Brevundimonas, and Devosia. Changes in the bacterial consortium structure and straw degradation characteristics during different degradation periods were clarified to provide a theoretical basis for the rational utilization of microbial decomposer M44.

Heavy-metal pollution has been established to affect ginseng quality. However, this effect is still unknown in ginseng of different ages, emphasizing the need to investigate the effects of heavy metals in soils on ginseng growth. Herein, we determined the content of heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Pb, Hg, and As) in ginseng of different ages (2 to 6-year-old) and the corresponding soil samples. Then, the total ginsenosides content of ginseng and rate-limiting enzyme (HMGR, SQE, CYP450) activity in the synthesis of ginsenosides were assessed. Results from 200 differently-aged Chinese ginseng showed that increased ginsenoside content in 3 to 5-year-old ginseng was paralleled by increased heavy metal element content in ginseng and its soil. The activity of rate-limiting enzymes increased in the first four years of ginseng growth and then exhibited a steady or downward trend. Further analysis suggested that heavy metal elements in soils could directly affect ginsenoside content. Moreover, we found that Cu significantly affected the rate-limiting enzyme CYP450 activity. Further principal component analysis and correlation analysis found that heavy metals could obviously inhibit ginseng growth during the 5th and 6th years. Heavy metal content in soils has huge prospects for predicting ginsenoside, Cu and As content in ginseng. This study provided support for ginseng cultivation, quality research and quality assessment.

ObjectiveTo study the feasibility of use of radiomic features extracted from axillary lymph nodes for diagnosis of their metastatic status in patients with breast cancer.Materials and methodsA total of 176 axillary lymph nodes of patients with breast cancer, consisting of 87 metastatic axillary lymph nodes (ALNM) and 89 negative axillary lymph nodes proven by surgery, were retrospectively reviewed from the database of our cancer center. For each selected axillary lymph node, 106 radiomic features based on preoperative pharmacokinetic modeling dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (PK-DCE-MRI) and 5 conventional image features were obtained. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was used to select useful radiomic features. Logistic regression was used to develop diagnostic models for ALNM. Delong test was used to compare the diagnostic performance of different models.ResultsThe 106 radiomic features were reduced to 4 ALNM diagnosis-related features by LASSO. Four diagnostic models including conventional model, pharmacokinetic model, radiomic model, and a combined model (integrating the Rad-score in the radiomic model with the conventional image features) were developed and validated. Delong test showed that the combined model had the best diagnostic performance: area under the curve (AUC), 0.972 (95% CI [0.947-0.997]) in the training cohort and 0.979 (95% CI [0.952-1]) in the validation cohort. The diagnostic performance of the combined model and the radiomic model were better than that of pharmacokinetic model and conventional model (PConclusionRadiomic features extracted from PK-DCE-MRI images of axillary lymph nodes showed promising application for diagnosis of ALNM in patients with breast cancer.

In recent years, China's economic development has advanced by leaps and bounds, but the development of China's rural logistics system is still at its primary stage. Some remote areas with inconvenient transportation are still in a state of serious lack or even blank, and due to the high cost of rural logistics delivery services, the rural logistics business of the enterprise also has a profit problem, which limits the development of rural logistics talent innovation to some extent. The purpose of this paper is to study a new influencing factor model of the Internet rural logistics talent innovation mechanism. This paper innovatively proposes countermeasures to improve the innovation of e-commerce practitioners in rural areas. Through research, the author finds that the innovation of rural e-commerce application talents in China is generally low. The key point of the solution lies in how to improve the level of innovation in rural e-commerce application talents. According to the status quo, identify the factors that hinder the innovation and improvement of rural e-commerce application talents. Combined with the great environment of the development of rural e-commerce industry in China, the paper proposes to improve the countermeasures for improving the innovation of rural e-commerce application talents. Improve the current situation of rural e-commerce application talents mediocrity and promote the innovation of rural e-commerce application talents. Fundamentally promote agricultural development and the building of a new socialist countryside. This paper adopts the literature research method based on fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method, system analysis method and the combination of questionnaire survey and interview. Through big data and information science methods for data processing, using a company's Internet rural talent data set to simulate, the results It shows that with the method of this paper, the recognition rate reaches 98%, the speed increases obviously, and it is 20% faster than others.

Among the three overburden zones (the caving zone, the fracture zone, and the continuous deformation zone) in longwall coal mining, the continuous deformation zone is often considered to be continuous without cracks, so continuum mechanics can be used to calculate the subsidence of overburden strata. Longwall coal mining, however, will induce the generation of wide cracks in the surface and thus may cause the continuous deformation zone to fracture. In this paper, whether there are cracks in the continuous deformation zone as well as the height of overburden fracture in longwall face and the subsidence and deformation of strata of different fracture penetration ratios were studied by means of physical simulation, theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. The results show that: (1) Rock stratum starts to fracture as long as it has slightly subsided for only tens of millimeters, and the height of fracture development is the height of working face overburden. (2) With the increase of fracture penetration ratio, the subsidence of key strata remains basically unchanged; the surface deformation range and the maximum compression deformation decrease, while the maximum horizontal movement and maximum horizontal tensile deformation increase. Therefore, the subsidence of overburden strata which have fractured but have not broken can be calculated through the continuum mechanics method.

OBJECTIVES:This study aimed to assess the accuracy of body mass index (BMI) percentile, waist circumference (WC) percentile, waist-height ratio, and waist-hip ratio for identifying cardiometabolic risk factors in Chinese children and adolescents stratified by sex and BMI categories. METHODS:We measured anthropometric indices, fasting plasma glucose, lipid profile and blood pressure for 15698 participants aged 6-17 in a national survey between September and December 2013. The predictive accuracy of anthropometric indices for cardiometabolic risk factors was examined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. The DeLong test and Z test were used for the comparisons of areas under ROC curves (AUCs). RESULTS:The prevalence of impaired fasting glucose, dyslipidemia, hypertension and cluster of risk factors were 2.9%, 27.3%, 10.5% and 5.7% respectively. The four anthropometric indices showed poor to fair discriminatory ability for cardiometabolic risk factors with the AUCs ranging from 0.53-0.72. Each index performed significantly better AUCs for dyslipidemia (0.59-0.63 vs. 0.56-0.59), hypertension (0.62-0.70 vs. 0.55-0.65) and clustered risk factors (0.70-0.73 vs. 0.60-0.64) in boys than that in girls. BMI percentile performed the best accuracy for hypertension in both sexes; WC percentile had the highest AUC for dyslipidemia and BMI percentile and waist-height ratio performed similarly the best AUCs for clustered risk factors in boys while BMI percentile, WC percentile and waist-height ratio performed similar and better AUCs for dyslipidemia and clustered risk factors in girls; whereas waist-hip ratio was consistently the poorest predictor for them regardless of sex. Though the anthropometric indices were more predictive of dyslipidemia, hypertension and clustered risk factors in overweight/obese group compared to their normal BMI peers, the AUCs in overweight/obese group remained in the poor range below 0.70. CONCLUSIONS:Anthropometric indices are not effective screening tools for pediatric cardiometabolic risk factors, even in overweight/obese children.

OBJECTIVES:Nonthyroidal illness syndrome (NTIS), also known as low triiodothyronine (T3) syndrome, frequently affects patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and may affect lipid metabolism. Dyslipidemia is highly prevalent and associated with the long-term prognosis of SLE. The aim of the present study was to explore the clinical significance of NTIS on disease activity and dyslipidemia in patients with SLE. METHODS:Clinical and laboratory data were collected retrospectively from 223 patients with SLE. The correlation between free triiodothyronine (FT3), SLE disease activity, and lipid profiles were estimated. The correlation coefficient (r) was calculated using a Pearson's regression model. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the risk factors for dyslipidemia in SLE. RESULTS:Serum FT3 levels were negatively correlated with the levels of 24 h urine protein (UP), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr) and SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) (all p < 0.001) in NTIS patients but not in euthyroid patients. ApoB/ApoA1 was significantly correlated with SLEDAI (p < 0.01) in NTIS patients and CRP (p < 0.001) and ESR (p < 0.01) in euthyroid patients. A multivariate analysis revealed that only FT3 exhibited an independent negative association with dyslipidemia (P = 0.01; OR = 0.48; 95% CI 0.27-0.85). CONCLUSION:NTIS frequently occurs in patients with SLE. Low FT3 is associated with disease activity in SLE patients complicated with NTIS. Low FT3 is an independent risk factor for dyslipidemia in patients with SLE.

Repeated exposures to environmental allergens in susceptible individuals drive the development of type 2 inflammatory conditions such as asthma, which have been traditionally considered to be mainly mediated by Th2 cells. However, emerging evidence suggest that a new innate cell type, group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2), plays a central role in initiating and amplifying a type 2 response, even in the absence of adaptive immunity. At present, the regulatory mechanisms for controlling ILC2 activation remain poorly understood. Here we report that respiratory delivery of immunogenic extracellular RNA (exRNAs) derived from RNA- and DNA-virus infected cells, was able to activate a protective response against acute type 2 lung immunopathology and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) induced by IL-33 and a fungal allergen, A. flavus, in mice. Mechanistically, we found that the innate immune responses triggered by exRNAs had a potent suppressive effect in vivo on the proliferation and function of ILC2 without the involvement of adaptive immunity. We further provided the loss-of-function genetic evidence that the TLR3- and MAVS-mediated signaling axis is essential for the inhibitory effects of exRNAs in mouse lungs. Thus, our results indicate that the host detection of extracellular immunostimulatory RNAs generated during respiratory viral infections have an important function in the regulation of ILC2-driven acute lung inflammation.

At present, the identification of honeysuckle aroma depends on experienced tasters, which results in inconsistencies due to human error. The key odorants have the potential to distinguish the different species and evaluate the quality of honeysuckle. Hence, in this study, a more scientific approach was applied to distinguish various honeysuckles. The volatile compounds of different species and parts of honeysuckle were separately extracted by headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) and solvent assisted flavor evaporation (SAFE). Compounds with greater volatility such as aldehydes, limonene, γ-terpinene, and terpinolene were preferentially extracted by HS-SPME. As a complementary extraction method to HS-SPME, SAFE was found to recover comparatively more polar compounds such as eugenol, decanoic acid, and vanillin. Subsequently, key odorants with the highest flavour dilution (FD) factors were detected by aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA). These were benzaldehyde, 4-ethylphenol, decanoic acid, vanillin, 3-methyl-2-butenal, and β-ionone in honeysuckle flowers and γ-octalactone, 4-ethyl phenol, and vanillin in honeysuckle stem. Finally, principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted to analyze not only the key odorants of species and parts of honeysuckle but also their different origins. The results of PCA suggested that the species of honeysuckle contributed much more to variations in aroma rather than their origins. In conclusion, the application of the key odorants combined with PCA was demonstrated as a valid approach to differentiate species, origins, and parts of honeysuckle.

BackgroundThe association between polymorphisms in vitamin D-binding protein (DBP) gene and the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) and type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) has been investigated in many studies, but the studies showed controversial results. The rationale for this meta-analysis was to determine whether DBP polymorphisms increases the risk of MS and T1DM by pooling data.MethodsPotentially relevant studies were searched using GWAS Catalog, PubMed, Embase, CNKI and WANFANG databases up to November 2019. The pooled odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were performed to estimate the associations in a fixed-effects or random-effects model.ResultsA total of 13 studies were enrolled in this meta-analysis, including eight studies for MS and five for T1DM. The overall results showed that there was no significant association of DBP rs7041 and rs4588 polymorphisms with the risk of MS and T1DM under any genetic model. Similarly, subgroup analysis by ethnicity revealed that no significant association of rs7041 and rs4588 polymorphisms with the risk of MS and T1DM was observed in white or non-white racial groups.ConclusionsThis meta-analysis provides evidence that DBP rs7041 and rs4588 polymorphisms may not be associated with an increased risk in MS and T1DM. However, these findings need further validation by larger-scale epidemiological studies and genome-wide association studies (GWASs) in different populations.

Soil moisture is one of the main factors in agricultural production and hydrological cycles, and its precise prediction is important for the rational use and management of water resources. However, soil moisture involves complex structural characteristics and meteorological factors, and it is difficult to establish an ideal mathematical model for soil moisture prediction. Existing prediction models have problems such as prediction accuracy, generalization, and multi-feature processing capability, and prediction performance must improve. Based on this, taking the Beijing area as the research object, the deep learning regression network (DNNR) with big data fitting capability was proposed to construct a soil moisture prediction model. By integrating the dataset, analyzing the time series of the predictive variables, and clarifying the relationship between features and predictive variables through the Taylor diagram, selected meteorological parameters can provide effective weights for moisture prediction. Test results prove that the deep learning model is feasible and effective for soil moisture prediction. Its' good data fitting and generalization capability can enrich the input characteristics while ensuring high accuracy in predicting the trends and values of soil moisture data and provides an effective theoretical basis for water-saving irrigation and drought control.

Na+/H+ exchangers are the most common membrane proteins involved in the regulation of intracellular pH that concurrently transport Na+ into the cells and H+ out of the cells. In this study, the full-length cDNA of the Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE) from the Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) was cloned. The LvNHE cDNA is 3167 bp long, contains a 5'-untranslated region (UTR) of 74 bp and a 3'-UTR of 456 bp and an open reading frame (ORF) of 2637 bp, coding for a protein of 878 amino acids with 11 putative transmembrane domains and a long cytoplasmic tail. LvNHE shows high sequence homology with mud crab NHE at the amino acid level. LvNHE mRNA was detected in the hepatopancreas, gill, eyestalk, skin, heart, intestine, muscle, brain and stomach, with the highest abundance in the intestine. In the shrimp intestinal fragment cultures exposed to gradually declining pH medium (from pH 8.0 to pH 6.4), the LvNHE mRNA expression was significantly stimulated, with the highest response when incubated in pH 7.0 medium for 6 h. To investigate the functional roles of LvNHE in pH regulation at the physiological and cellular levels, the LvNHE mRNA expression was silenced by siRNA knockdown. Upon low-pH challenge, the hemolymph pH was significantly reduced in the LvNHE mRNA knockdown shrimp. In addition, knockdown of LvNHE mRNA reduced the recovery capacity of intracellular pH in intestinal fragment cultures after acidification. Altogether, this study demonstrates the role of NHE in shrimp response to low pH stress and provides new insights into the acid/base homeostasis mechanisms of crustaceans.

In this study, we propose a method for predicting the supporting pressure required for shallow tunnels in layered soils, based on a curved roof collapse mechanism with multi-failure surfaces. In this method, the effect of the number and thickness of soil layers, pore water pressure, arbitrary roof profile, and ground additional load is considered simultaneously. A nonlinear power-law failure criterion is employed to describe the failure characteristics of the roof soils. The internal energy dissipation rate and the work rates produced by external forces are obtained based on the associated flow rule and plasticity potential theory. The analytical expressions of the required supporting pressure and roof collapse surfaces are obtained with the upper bound method. Furtherly, a shallow rectangular tunnel in two soil layers is selected for parametric investigation. The change laws of the required supporting pressure and collapse curves under varying parameters are obtained. Furthermore, the corresponding engineering recommendations are given, which may potentially provide references for the support design and construction of shallow tunnels in layered strata.

The HeLa cells are the earliest and mostly used laboratory human cells for biomedical particularly cancer research. They were derived from a patient's cervical cancerous tissue, and are known for their heterogeneous cellular origin and variable genomic landscapes. Single-cell sequencing techniques with faithful linear and uniformly amplified genomes (DNA) and transcriptomes (RNA) may facilitate the study of cellular differences at the individual cell level. In this work, we have performed single-cell DNA and RNA sequencing with HeLa-CCL2 cells to study their heterogeneity. We have studied the complexity of copy number variations (CNVs) of HeLa-CCL2 genome at the single cell level, and revealed the transcriptomic heterogeneity of HeLa-CCL2. We also analyzed the relationship between genome and transcriptome at the single-cell level, and found overall correlation between CNV and transcriptome expression patterns. Finally, we concluded that although single-cell sequencing techniques are applicable to study heterogeneous cells such as HeLa-CCL2, the data analyses need to be more careful and well controlled.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212951.].

Controllability of complex networks has been a hot topic in recent years. Real networks regarded as interdependent networks are always coupled together by multiple networks. The cascading process of interdependent networks including interdependent failure and overload failure will destroy the robustness of controllability for the whole network. Therefore, the optimization of the robustness of interdependent network controllability is of great importance in the research area of complex networks. In this paper, based on the model of interdependent networks constructed first, we determine the cascading process under different proportions of node attacks. Then, the structural controllability of interdependent networks is measured by the minimum driver nodes. Furthermore, we propose a parameter which can be obtained by the structure and minimum driver set of interdependent networks under different proportions of node attacks and analyze the robustness for interdependent network controllability. Finally, we optimize the robustness of interdependent network controllability by redundant design including node backup and redundancy edge backup and improve the redundant design by proposing different strategies according to their cost. Comparative strategies of redundant design are conducted to find the best strategy. Results shows that node backup and redundancy edge backup can indeed decrease those nodes suffering from failure and improve the robustness of controllability. Considering the cost of redundant design, we should choose BBS (betweenness-based strategy) or DBS (degree based strategy) for node backup and HDF(high degree first) for redundancy edge backup. Above all, our proposed strategies are feasible and effective at improving the robustness of interdependent network controllability.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNA molecules that play a significant role in many types of cancers including breast cancer. In the current study, we evaluated the expression levels of microR-10b (miR-10b) in 115 breast cancer patients from Sichuan Cancer Center. Real time reverse transcription-PCR was used to assess miR-10b expression. Clinical data including disease stage, survival status, age, ER/PR/HER2 status, molecular subtypes, tumor size, lymph node status and Ki-67 expression levels were correlated with miR-10b expression levels. Our data showed that the miR-10b expression is correlated with disease stage, living status and tumor sizes. We also found that miR-10b expression levels are higher in the lymph node positive group and the Ki-67 higher scoring group (score > 20). No statistically significant differences were observed based on age or molecular sub-type grouping. In conclusion, miR-10b may be a biomarker for breast cancer and is a potential treatment target.

Hydrogeochemical and stable isotope analyses and geochemical modeling were carried out to identify the major geochemical processes controlling the groundwater chemistry and fluoride contamination in the aquifers of the Yuncheng Basin, China, an area with complex hydrogeochemical conditions and severe fluoride contamination of the groundwater. The major findings of this case study include the following: 1) Cation exchange and salt effects are vital controls on the enrichment of fluoride in groundwater in the area by reducing the activity of Ca2+/F- in groundwater via ion complexation. Cation exchange increased the fluoride concentration by 2.7 mg/L when the Na/Ca molar ratio increased from 0.24 to 9.0, while the salt effect led to a ca. 5-10% increase in complex F- in groundwater due to the further dissolution of fluoride-bearing minerals in the aquifers, as suggested by a model calculation. 2) Anthropogenic contamination from pesticide and fertilizer use and industrial waste discharge is also a main source of fluoride in the groundwater. 3) Evaporation and ion effects favor the enrichment of fluoride in groundwater by encouraging the removal of Ca via precipitation. 4) The desorption of fluoride from mineral/organic matter surfaces is enhanced under alkaline conditions and a high HCO3 content in groundwater.

Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are precursors of functional gametes and can be used as efficient transgenic tools and carriers in bioreactors. Few methods for long-term culture of PGCs are available. In this study, we tested various culture conditions for PGCs, and used the optimum culture system to culture chicken gonad PGCs for about three hundred days. Long-term-cultured PGCs were detected and characterized by karyotype analysis, immunocytochemical staining of SSEA-1, c-kit, Sox2, cDAZL, and quantitative RT-PCR for specific genes like Tert, DAZL, POUV, and NANOG. Cultured PGCs labeled with PKH26 were reinjected into Stage X recipient embryos and into the dorsal aorta of Stage 14-17 embryos to assay their ability of migration into the germinal crescent and gonads, respectively. In conclusion, the most suitable culture system for PGCs is as follows: feeder layer cells treated with 20 μg/mL mitomycin C for 2 hours, and with 50% conditioned medium added to the factor culture medium. PGCs cultured in this system retain their pluripotency and the unique ability of migration without transformation, indicating the successful preliminary establishment of chicken primordial germ cell lines and these PGCs can be considered for use as carriers in transgenic bioreactors.

Online Social Networks generate a prodigious wealth of real-time information at an incessant rate. In this paper we study the empirical data that crawled from Twitter to describe the topology and information spreading dynamics of Online Social Networks. We propose a measurement with three measures to state the efforts of users on Twitter to get their information spreading, based on the unique mechanisms for information retransmission on Twitter. It is noticed that small fraction of users with special performance on participation can gain great influence, while most other users play a role as middleware during the information propagation. Thus a community analysis is performed and four categories of users are found with different kinds of participation that cause the information dissemination dynamics. These suggest that exiting topological measures alone may reflect little about the influence of individuals and provide new insights for information spreading.

Steady state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based brain computer interface (BCI) has advantages of high information transfer rate (ITR), less electrodes and little training. So it has been widely investigated. However, the available stimulus frequencies are limited by brain responses. Simultaneous modulation of stimulus luminance is a novel method to resolve this problem. In this study, three experiments were devised to gain a deeper understanding of the brain response to the stimulation using inter-modulation frequencies. First, luminance-based stimulation using one to five inter-modulation frequencies was analyzed for the first time. The characteristics of the brain responses to the proposed stimulation were reported. Second, the motion-based stimulation with equal luminance using inter-modulation frequencies was also proposed for the first time. The response of the brain under these conditions were similar to that of luminance-based stimulation which can induce combination frequencies. And an elementary analysis was conducted to explain the reason of the occurrence of combination frequencies. Finally, the online test demonstrated the efficacy of our proposed two stimulation methods for BCI. The average ITRs reached 34.7836 bits/min and 39.2856 bits/min for luminance-based and motion-based stimulation respectively. This study demonstrated that the simultaneous modulation of stimulus luminance could extend to at least five frequencies to induce SSVEP and the brain response to the stimulus still maintained a certain positive correlation with luminance. And not only luminance-based stimulation, but also motion-based stimulation with equal luminance can elicit inter-modulation frequencies to effectively increase the number of targets for multi-class SSVEP.

Current diagnosis of radioactive iodine (RAI)-refractory (RAIR) differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is based on the imaging technique, which is of a high cost. Serum thyroglobulin (Tg) is a sensitive and easily obtained biomarker. Hence, we aimed to assess the predicting value of quantitative response of Tg in earlier identifying the RAIR-DTC with pulmonary metastasis.Pulmonary metastatic DTC patients who underwent total or near-total thyroidectomy and at least two times of RAI therapy were included in this study. The pre-ablative stimulated Tg at the first and second RAI therapy were defined as pstim-Tg1 and pstim-Tg2, while the suppressed Tg before and after the second RAI therapy were designated sup-Tg1 and sup-Tg2. The predicted value of pstim-Tg2/Tg1 and sup-Tg2/Tg1 ratio were detected using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and logistic regression analyses.Totally 115 patients were involved in this study. ROC curves showed a cut-off value of 0.544 for pstim-Tg2/ pstim-Tg1 in detecting RAIR, with a sensitivity of 0.9 and specificity of 0.477, and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.744. Similarly, the cut-off of sup-Tg2/ sup-Tg1 was 0.972, with a sensitivity of 0.733 and specificity of 0.935, and AUC of 0.898. Univariate analysis illustrated that age, tumor size, pstim-Tg2/Tg1, sup-Tg2/ sup-Tg1 and BRAFV600E mutation were eligible to predict RAIR. While from multivariate analysis, only age, pstim-Tg2/Tg1, sup-Tg2/ sup-Tg1 and BRAFV600E mutation were verified to be the independent predictive factors.The quantitative Tg response was encouraging in identifying RAIR-DTC with pulmonary metastasis. Age, BRAFV600E mutation and Tg response were independent predictors in predicting RAIR-DTC.

Vaccination is an effective and safe strategy for combating bacterial diseases in fish, but the mechanisms underlying the early immune response after vaccination remain to be elucidated. In the present study, we used RNA-seq technology to perform transcriptome analysis of spleens from large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) induced by inactivated trivalent bacterial vaccine (Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio alginolyticus and Aeromonas hydrophila). A total of 2,789 or 1,511 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained at 24 or 72 h after vaccination, including 1,132 or 842 remarkably up-regulated genes and 1,657 or 669 remarkably down-regulated genes, respectively. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichments revealed that numerous DEGs belong to immune-relevant genes, involved in many immune-relevant pathways. Most of the strongly up-regulated DEGs are innate defense molecules, such as antimicrobial peptides, complement components, lectins, and transferrins. Trivalent bacterial vaccine affected the expressions of many components associated with bacterial ligand-depending Toll-like receptor signaling pathways and inflammasome formation, indicating that multiple innate immune processes were activated at the early period of vaccination in large yellow croaker. Moreover, the expression levels of genes involved in antigen processing were also up-regulated by bacterial vaccine. However, the expression levels of several T cell receptors and related CD molecules and signal transducers were down-regulated, suggesting that the T cell receptor signaling pathway was rapidly suppressed after vaccination. These results provide the comprehensive insights into the early immune response of large yellow croaker to vaccination and valuable information for developing a highly immunogenic vaccine against bacterial infection in teleosts.

Feline panleukopenia is a common contagious disease with high morbidity and mortality. At present, feline parvovirus (FPV) and canine parvovirus (CPV) variants are the pathogens of feline panleukopenia. Many studies have shown that miRNAs are involved in virus-host interactions. Nevertheless, miRNA expression profiling of FPV (original virus) or CPV-2b (new virus) in cats has not been reported. To investigate these profiles, three 10-week-old cats were orally inoculated with 106 TCID50 of the viruses (FPV and CPV-2b), and the jejunums of one cat in each group were sectioned for miRNA sequencing at 5 days post-inoculation (dpi). This study is the first attempt to use miRNA analysis to understand the molecular basis of FPV and CPV infection in cats. The miRNA expression profiles of the jejunums of cats infected with FPV and CPV were obtained, and a subset of miRNAs was validated by real-time qPCR. The results show that a variety of metabolism-related pathways, cytokine- and pathogen-host interaction-related pathways, and pathology- and cellar structure-related pathways, as well as others, were affected. Specifically, the JAK-STAT signaling pathway, which is critical for cytokines and growth factors, was enriched. This description of the miRNAs involved in regulating FPV and CPV infection in vivo provides further insight into the mechanisms of viral infection and adaptation and might provide an alternative antiviral strategy for disease control and prevention.

Angiosperms distinguish themselves from gymnosperms by their ovules that are enclosed before pollination. However, how the ovules get enclosed in angiosperms remains a mystery, especially for Magnoliaceae. The only key to this mystery is finding a series of carpels transitional from fully closed with enclosed ovules to open with naked ovules. We use routine paraffin section technology, LM, SEM to document the morphology and anatomy of carpel variation in Michelia figo (Magnoliaceae). A series of carpel variations within a single flower of Michelia figo (Magnoliaceae) are documented, in which the ovules are exposed in atypical carpels. These atypical and typical carpels for the first time demonstrate clearly how the naked ovule get enclosed. Each atypical carpel, with naked ovules, clearly comprises two parts, namely, subtending foliar part and branches bearing ovules, suggesting that a typical carpel is actually an end-product of the fusion between the ovuliferous branches and subtending foliar parts. The only difference among these carpels is the extent of fusion between these two parts. This generalization is in full agreement with the molecular genetic studies on angiosperm flowers.

Electroencephalography (EEG) has recently been considered for use in rehabilitation of people with motor deficits. EEG data from the motor imagery of different body movements have been used, for instance, as an EEG-based control method to send commands to rehabilitation devices that assist people to perform a variety of different motor tasks. However, it is both time and effort consuming to go through data collection and model training for every rehabilitation task. In this paper, we investigate the possibility of using an EEG model from one type of motor imagery (e.g.: elbow extension and flexion) to classify EEG from other types of motor imagery activities (e.g.: open a drawer). In order to study the problem, we focused on the elbow joint. Specifically, nine kinesthetic motor imagery tasks involving the elbow were investigated in twelve healthy individuals who participated in the study. While results reported that models from goal-oriented motor imagery tasks had higher accuracy than models from the simple joint tasks in intra-task testing (e.g., model from elbow extension and flexion task was tested on EEG data collected from elbow extension and flexion task), models from simple joint tasks had higher accuracies than the others in inter-task testing (e.g., model from elbow extension and flexion task tested on EEG data collected from drawer opening task). Simple single joint motor imagery tasks could, therefore, be considered for training models to potentially reduce the number of repetitive data acquisitions and model training in rehabilitation applications.

To trace the evolution process of CPV-2, all of the VP2 gene sequences of CPV-2 and FPV (from 1978 to 2015) from GenBank were analyzed in this study. Then, several new ideas regarding CPV-2 evolution were presented. First, the VP2 amino acid 555 and 375 positions of CPV-2 were first ruled out as a universal mutation site in CPV-2a and amino acid 101 position of FPV feature I or T instead of only I in existing rule. Second, the recently confusing nomenclature of CPV-2 variants was substituted with a optional nomenclature that would serve future CPV-2 research. Third, After check the global distribution of variants, CPV-2a is the predominant variant in Asia and CPV-2c is the predominant variant in Europe and Latin America. Fourth, a series of CPV-2-like strains were identified and deduced to evolve from modified live vaccine strains. Finally, three single VP2 mutation (F267Y, Y324I, and T440A) strains were caught concern. Furthermore, these three new VP2 mutation strains may be responsible for vaccine failure, and the strains with VP2 440A may become the novel CPV sub-variant. In conclusion, a summary of all VP2 sequences provides a new perspective regarding CPV-2 evolution and the correlative biological studies needs to be further performed.

Financial markets are partially composed of sectors dominated by external driving forces, such as commodity prices, infrastructure and other indices. We characterize the statistical properties of such sectors and present a novel model for the coupling of the stock prices and their dominating driving forces, inspired by mean reverting stochastic processes. Using the model we were able to explain the market sectors' long term behavior and estimate the coupling strength between stocks in financial markets and the sector specific driving forces. Notably, the analysis was successfully applied to the shipping market, in which the Baltic dry index (BDI), an assessment of the price of transporting the major raw materials by sea, influences the shipping financial market. We also present the analysis of other sectors-the gold mining market and the food production market, for which the model was also successfully applied. The model can serve as a general tool for characterizing the coupling between external forces and affected financial variables and therefore for estimating the risk in sectors and their vulnerability to external stress.

The results of clinical and experimental studies suggest that endotoxin/toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-mediated proinflammatory and profibrotic signaling activation is critical in the development of hepatic fibrosis. However, studies examining the role of specific TLR4 inhibitor are still lacking. The present study was aimed to prepare a human anti-TLR4 Fab fragment, named hTLR4-Fab01, and to explore its immune activity. We screened the positive clone of anti-human TLR4 phagemid from a human phage-display antibody library using recombinant TLR4 protein, which was used as template cDNA for the amplification of variable regions of the heavy (VH) chain and light chain (VL), then coupled with highly conserved regions of the heavy chain domain 1 (CH1) and the light chain (CL), respectively. Thus, the prokaryotic expression vector pETDuet-1 of hTLR4-Fab01 was constructed and transformed into Escherichia coli (E. coli) BL21. The characteristic of hTLR4-Fab01 was examined by SDS-PAGE, Western blotting, ELISA, affinity and kinetics assay. Further, our data demonstrate that hTLR4-Fab01 could specifically bind to TLR4, and its treatment obviously attenuated the proinflammatory effect, characterized by less LPS-induced TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6 and IL-8 production in human macrophages. In conclusion, we have successfully prepared the hTLR4-Fab01 with efficient activity for blocking LPS-induced proinflammatory cytokines production, suggesting that the hTLR4-Fab01 may be a potential candidate for the treatment of hepatic fibrosis.

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a polygenic neuropsychiatric disease. Previous studies have indicated that dysregulation in the histaminergic system may play a crucial role in disease onset. In this study, we investigated the role of the histidine decarboxylase gene (HDC) in TS susceptibility in the Chinese Han population. After genotyping 241 TS nuclear families trios, we analyzed three tag HDC single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs854150, rs854151, and rs854157) in a family-based study using the transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) and haplotype relative risk (HRR). TDT showed no over-transmission in these SNPs across the HDC region (for rs854150: χ2 = 0.472, P = 0.537, OR = 1.097, 95%CI = 0.738-1.630; for rs854151: χ2 = 0.043, P = 0.889, OR = 1.145, 95%CI = 0.767-1.709; for rs854157:χ2 = 0.984, P = 0.367, OR = 1.020, 95%CI = 0.508-2.049). HRR also showed the same tendency (for rs854150: χ2 = 0.211, P = 0.646, OR = 1.088, 95%CI = 0.759-1.559; for rs854151: χ2 = 0.134, P = 0.714, OR = 0.935, 95%CI = 0.653-1.339; for rs854157:χ2 = 0.841, P = 0.359, OR = 1.206, 95%CI = 0.808-1.799). Additionally, the haplotype-based haplotype relative risk showed a negative association. Although these findings indicate an unlikely association between HDC and TS in the Chinese Han population, a potential role for HDC cannot be ruled out in TS etiology. Future research should investigate this more thoroughly using different populations and larger samples.

The transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) nucleocapsid (N) protein plays important roles in the replication and translation of viral RNA. The present study provides the first description of two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) (5E8 and 3D7) directed against the TGEV N protein linker region (LKR) and carboxyl terminal domain (CTD). The mAbs 5E8 and 3D7 reacted with native N protein in western blotting and immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Two linear epitopes, 189SVEQAVLAALKKLG202 and 246VTRFYGARSSSA257, located in the LKR and CTD of TGEV N protein, respectively, were identified after truncating the protein and applying a peptide scanning technique. Using mAb 5E8, we observed that the N protein was expressed in the cytoplasm during TGEV replication and that the protein could be immunoprecipitated from TGEV-infected PK-15 cells. The mAb 5E8 can be applied for different approaches to diagnosis of TGEV infection. In addition, the antibodies represent useful tools for investigating the antigenic properties of the N protein.

BACKGROUND:The disease burden associated with influenza in developing tropical and subtropical countries is poorly understood owing to the lack of a comprehensive disease surveillance system and information-exchange mechanisms. The impact of influenza on outpatient visits, hospital admissions, and deaths has not been fully demonstrated to date in south China. METHODS:A time series Poisson generalized additive model was used to quantitatively assess influenza-like illness (ILI) and influenza disease burden by using influenza surveillance data in Zhuhai City from 2007 to 2009, combined with the outpatient, inpatient, and respiratory disease mortality data of the same period. RESULTS:The influenza activity in Zhuhai City demonstrated a typical subtropical seasonal pattern; however, each influenza virus subtype showed a specific transmission variation. The weekly ILI case number and virus isolation rate had a very close positive correlation (r = 0.774, P < 0.0001). The impact of ILI and influenza on weekly outpatient visits was statistically significant (P < 0.05). We determined that 10.7% of outpatient visits were associated with ILI and 1.88% were associated with influenza. ILI also had a significant influence on the hospitalization rates (P < 0.05), but mainly in populations 0.05). The impact of ILI on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was most significant (P < 0.05), with 33.1% of COPD-related deaths being attributable to ILI. The impact of influenza on the mortality rate requires further evaluation. CONCLUSIONS:ILI is a feasible indicator of influenza activity. Both ILI and influenza have a large impact on outpatient visits. Although ILI affects the number of hospital admissions and deaths, we found no consistent influence of influenza, which requires further assessment.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153369.].

The H3N8 virus and the H3N2 virus are the main subtypes of canine influenza virus (CIV). H3N8 CIV mainly circulates in America, and H3N2 CIV mainly circulates in Asia. However, there was an outbreak of the Asian H3N2 virus in the United States (US) in 2015. Thus, it is important to evaluate the presence of subtype H3N8 virus in dogs in China. From May 2015 to November 2015, 600 sera from pet dogs were collected from Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen for hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays and microneutralization (MN) assays. Fifty-two (8.66%) of the 600 sera were positive for the subtype H3N2 virus, which matched the previous reports. Five (0.83%) of 600 sera were positive for the subtype H3N8 virus (H3N8 EIV or H3N8 AIV or H3N8 CIV), which is the first report of subtype H3N8 virus infection among dogs in China and remind us to play more attention to this subtype virus. Therefore, further serological and virological surveillance of influenza virus infection among dogs in China is imperative.

The uppermost internode is one of the fastest elongating organs in rice, and is expected to require an adequate supply of cell-wall materials and enzymes to the cell surface to enhance mechanical strength. Although it has been reported that the phenotype of shortened uppermost internode 1 (sui1) is caused by mutations in PHOSPHATIDYLSERINE SYNTHASE (OsPSS), the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here we show that the OsPSS-1, as a gene expressed predominantly in elongating cells, regulates post-Golgi vesicle secretion to intercellular spaces. Mutation of OsPSS-1 leads to compromised delivery of CESA4 and secGFP towards the cell surface, resulting in weakened intercellular adhesion and disorganized cell arrangement in parenchyma. The phenotype of sui1-4 is caused largely by the reduction in cellulose contents in the whole plant and detrimental delivery of pectins in the uppermost internode. We found that OsPSS-1 and its potential product PS (phosphatidylserine) localized to organelles associated with exocytosis. These results together suggest that OsPSS-1 plays a potential role in mediating cell expansion by regulating secretion of cell wall components.

Vimentin is a member of the intermediate filament proteins and a canonical marker of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which is pivotal in tumorigenesis, metastasis and invasion in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The current meta-analysis aimed to investigate the associations between vimentin and prognosis and progression in NSCLC.Databases with literature published in English, including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Science Direct, Wiley Online Library, Ovid, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, LILACS and Google Scholar, and the CNKI, VIP, CBM and WanFang databases in Chinese were used for the literature search. The key terms included (1) 'vimentin' OR 'vim' OR 'vmt' OR 'vm' OR 'hel113' OR 'ctrct30' and (2) 'pulmon*' OR 'lung' OR 'alveolar' and (3) 'cancer' OR 'carcinoma' OR 'tumor' OR 'adenocarcinoma' OR 'squamous' OR 'neoplas*' OR 'malignan*'. The data were combined by random effect model and the H value and I2 were used to assess the heterogeneity. All the meta-analysis was conducted using Stata 12.0.Thirty-two qualified studies (4118 cases) were included in the current meta-analysis. Twelve studies with 1750 patients were included to assess the significance of vimentin in the overall survival (OS) of NSCLC; the pooled hazard ratio (HR) was 1.831 (confidence interval (CI): 1.315-2.550, P0.05).An overexpression of vimentin may predict the progression and an unfavorable survival of NSCLC. Vimentin may represent a helpful biomarker and a potential target for the treatment strategies of NSCLC. Additional, prospective studies with large samples are necessary to confirm the significance of vimentin in NSCLC.

BACKGROUND:We conducted this meta-analysis to compare the outcomes of coaxial microincision cataract surgery (C-MICS) and standard coaxial small incision cataract surgery (C-SICS). METHODS:The outcomes of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) reporting C-MICS and C-SICS were collected from PubMed, Web of Science, and The Cochrane Library in May 2015. The final meta-analysis was conducted on the following intraoperative and postoperative outcomes: ultrasound time (UST), effective phacoemulsification time (EPT), balanced salt solution use (BSS use), cumulative dissipated energy (CDE), mean surgery time, endothelial cell loss percentage (ECL%), best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), increased central corneal thickness (CCT), laser flare photometry values and surgically induced astigmatism (SIA). RESULTS:A total of 15 RCTs, involving 1136 eyes, were included in the final meta-analysis. No significant between-group differences were detected in EPT, BSS use, CDE, BCVA, laser flare photometry values or increased CCT. However, the C-MICS group showed less SIA (at postoperative day 7: p

Dietary protein restriction is not only beneficial to health and longevity in humans, but also protects against air pollution and minimizes feeding cost in livestock production. However, its impact on amino acid (AA) absorption and metabolism is not quite understood. Therefore, the study aimed to explore the effect of protein restriction on nitrogen balance, circulating AA pool size, and AA absorption using a pig model. In Exp.1, 72 gilts weighting 29.9 ± 1.5 kg were allocated to 1 of the 3 diets containing 14, 16, or 18% CP for a 28-d trial. Growth (n = 24), nitrogen balance (n = 6), and the expression of small intestinal AA and peptide transporters (n = 6) were evaluated. In Exp.2, 12 barrows weighting 22.7 ± 1.3 kg were surgically fitted with catheters in the portal and jejunal veins as well as the carotid artery and assigned to a diet containing 14 or 18% CP. A series of blood samples were collected before and after feeding for determining the pool size of circulating AA and AA absorption in the portal vein, respectively. Protein restriction did not sacrifice body weight gain and protein retention, since nitrogen digestibility was increased as dietary protein content reduced. However, the pool size of circulating AA except for lysine and threonine, and most AA flux through the portal vein were reduced in pigs fed the low protein diet. Meanwhile, the expression of peptide transporter 1 (PepT-1) was stimulated, but the expression of the neutral and cationic AA transporter systems was depressed. These results evidenced that protein restriction with essential AA-balanced diets, decreased AA absorption and reduced circulating AA pool size. Increased expression of small intestinal peptide transporter PepT-1 could not compensate for the depressed expression of jejunal AA transporters for AA absorption.

INTRODUCTION:Hemophilia B is an inherited X chromosome-linked disorder characterized by impaired blood clotting owing to the absence of functional coagulation factor IX. Due to the relatively short half-life of factor IX, patients with hemophilia B require frequent factor IX infusions to maintain prophylaxis. We have developed a recombinant factor IX (rFIX) fused to the Fc region of IgG (rFIXFc) with an extended half-life in animals and humans. MATERIALS AND METHODS:Procoagulant properties of rFIXFc and rFIX (BENEFIX®) were compared to determine the effect of the Fc region on rFIXFc hemostatic function. Specifically, we assessed rFIXFc activation, intermolecular interactions within the Xase complex, inactivation by antithrombin III (AT) and thrombin generation potential compared with rFIX. We also assessed the acute and prophylactic efficacy profiles of rFIXFc and rFIX in vivo in hemophilia B mouse bleeding models. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS:The activation by factor XIa or factor VIIa/tissue factor, inhibition by AT, interaction profiles with phospholipids, affinities for factor VIIIa within the context of the Xase complex, and thrombin generation profiles were similar for rFIXFc and rFIX. Xase complexes formed with either molecule exhibited similar kinetic profiles for factor Xa generation. In acute efficacy models, mice infused with rFIXFc or rFIX were equally protected from bleeding. However, in prophylactic efficacy models, protection from bleeding was maintained approximately three times longer in rFIXFc-dosed mice than in those given rFIX; this prolonged efficacy correlates with the previously observed half-life extension. We conclude that rFIXFc retains critical FIX procoagulant attributes and that the extension in rFIXFc half-life translates into prolonged efficacy in hemophilia B mice.