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Infectious bursal disease (IBD) is one of the most prevalent infectious diseases caused by IBD virus (IBDV), which results in bursal necrosis and immunosuppression that cause severe damage to the immune system in chickens. Cytokines are important mediators and regulators of both types of host responses. In the present study, layer chickens were artificially challenged with IBDV, and the differential expression of inflammatory genes was explored by using quantitative real-time PCR, which offered basic data for further study of IBDV pathogenesis. Data showed that after IBDV infection, the virus load in the bursa of Fabricius (BF) peaked at 96 h and then gradually decreased. Compared with those of the negative-infected group, the mRNA expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin [IL]-1β, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-α, transforming growth factor [TGF]-β) and anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in the infected group increased to varying degrees at 12 to 192 h, respectively. Furthermore, the IL-1β mRNA expression peaked at 48 h; the mRNA transcript levels of IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 were the highest at 96 h; TNF-α mRNA expression peaked at 120 h; the IL-7 mRNA expression peaked at 144 h; and the TGF-β mRNA transcript level was the highest at 192 h. Taken together, these observations indicated that along with the change pattern of IBDV proliferation in BF, the mRNA expression of cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α, TGF-β) obviously increased, and the kinetics of each of these cytokines was different. The kinetics of IL-6/IL-10 mRNA expression ratio was significantly positively correlated with that of the virus load. These results suggest that IBDV infection seriously interferes with the natural immune response mediated by inflammatory cytokines in chickens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytochemical investigation into the roots of Piper nigrum Linn. led to the isolation of ten compounds, including six lignans (1 – 6), two aromatic compounds (7 – 8), one lactone (9), and one sesquiterpenoid (10). Compounds 1 , 2 , 4 , 7 , 8 , 9 , and 10 were isolated from Piperaceae for the first time. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by comprehensive spectral methods, including UV, NMR, CD, optical rotation and other spectroscopy methods. The chemotaxonomic significance of isolated compounds was also elucidated. • Ten known compounds were found in the roots of Piper nigrum Linn. • Seven compounds (1 , 2 , 4 , 7 – 10) were firstly reported in the Piperaceae family. • The chemotaxonomic significance of isolated compounds was elucidated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The global threshold scheme to generate the binary spectrogram makes ADI sensitive to noise. • The proposed FADI is robust to noise within a much wider SNR range as compared with ADI. • FADI has a potential to expand the spatial–temporal coverage in PAM applications. In recent years, passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) has been widely applied in the field of soundscape ecology. Meanwhile, acoustic indices, as an important tool for rapid biodiversity assessment (RBA), have also attracted increasing attention. However, considerable evidence demonstrates that existing acoustic indices are susceptible to noise, which poses a challenge for wider applications of acoustic indices. In this work, we firstly provide insights into how noise affects the widely used acoustic diversity index (ADI), revealing that the global threshold scheme (i.e., −50 dBFS for all time–frequency bins) to generate the binary spectrogram (spectrogram containing time–frequency bins denoted as '1′ with power above the threshold and '0′ below) is the key factor that makes ADI sensitive to noise. To address this problem, we propose a revised ADI version named frequency-dependent acoustic diversity index (FADI), which employs a new threshold scheme to reduce noise impacts on its values. Specifically, considering that the noise floor along frequency axis usually varies in practice, i.e., a colored noise rather than a white noise exists in field recordings, floating thresholds adapted to the noise level at each frequency bin were employed and further incorporated with the global threshold of ADI. Controlled computational experiments using field recordings were conducted where manipulated noise levels were introduced as different signal-to-noise ratios (SNR). It was shown that the proposed FADI was significantly robust to noise within a much wider SNR range as compared with ADI. Furthermore, a singular example using a real-world recording also verified its effectiveness and highlighted the promising potential of FADI in applications of PAM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seven triterpenoids (1 – 7), two prenylated coumarins (8 and 9), and one diphenylpropane (10), including five previously undescribed compounds (1 – 3 , 8 , and 10), were obtained from the stem and root barks of Daphne giraldii. The structures and absolute configurations of the new triterpenoids were established by NMR, HRESIMS, ECD calculations, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. All identified compounds were tested for cytotoxicities (human tumour cell line Hep3B) and inhibitory effects on AChE in vitro. Notably, prenylated coumarins (8 and 9) exhibited moderate cytotoxic activities and 3-hydroxy-substituted triterpenoids (2 and 4) showed mild inhibitory effects on AChE. Furthermore, compounds 2 and 4 have also been subjected to molecular docking studies to investigate the inhibitory mechanism. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Liver has a strong potential for regeneration after physical, biological or chemical injury, but no data have been reported so far on liver regeneration in response to irradiation injury. The present experiment in rats was designed to clarify whether partial liver irradiation could induce and stimulate the unirradiated part of liver to regenerate. The left-half of rat liver was irradiated with a single dose of 25Gy. Liver tissues from the irradiated and unirradiated liver, and blood sample were collected at different time points after irradiation. Radiation injury was evaluated by serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities, histopathologic features and trichrome stain. The hepatic regeneration was assessed by serum hepatic growth factor (HGF), mitotic index and proliferation cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) immunohistochemical stain. Expression of transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) by immunohistochemistry assay was also performed. Results showed that 25Gy of single-dose irradiation produced severe hepatic injury in the irradiated liver, and the unirradiated liver had been stimulated to regenerate, demonstrated by significant increases of serum HGF 30 days after irradiation, and increase of mitotic index and the number of PCNA-positive hepatocytes 60 days after irradiation. TGF-β1 was strongly and uniformly expressed in the irradiated liver 90-day-post-irradiation, and it was also expressed slightly in unirradiated liver region. In summary, partial liver irradiation could stimulate the unirradiated liver to regenerate, and the role of TGF-β1 in hepatic injury and proliferation needs further investigation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background and purpose: To investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of utilizing active breathing coordinator (ABC) in 3DCRT for HCC. Materials and methods: A dosimetric comparison between the free-breathing (FB) plan and ABC plan in HCC 3DCRT was performed. Set-up errors and reproducibility of diaphragm position using ABC were measured, and patients’ acceptance was also recorded. Results: From April 2005 to February 2007, 28 HCC were irradiated with ABC and they tolerated ABC well. The mean dose to normal liver was reduced from 16.9Gy in FB plan to 14.3Gy in ABC plan. PTV for ABC and FB plans were 529cm3 and 781cm3, respectively, and V 23 were reduced from 45% to 30%. The predicted incidences of radiation-induced liver disease by Lyman model were 1% and 2.5%, respectively, in favor of ABC plan. The systematic and random errors for the ABC and FB plans were 1.2mm vs. 4.7mm, 1.6mm vs. 3.5mm, and 1.8mm vs. 2.7mm, respectively, in cranio-caudal, anterior-posterior, and left-right directions. The average intrafraction reproducibility of diaphragm position in cranio-caudal direction was 1.6mm, and the interfraction, 6.7mm. Conclusions: The utilization of ABC in HCC 3DCRT is feasible, and can reduce liver irradiation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: To describe the probability of RILD by application of the Lyman-Kutcher-Burman normal-tissue complication (NTCP) model for primary liver carcinoma (PLC) treated with hypofractionated three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT). Methods and Materials: A total of 109 PLC patients treated by 3D-CRT were followed for RILD. Of these patients, 93 were in liver cirrhosis of Child-Pugh Grade A, and 16 were in Child-Pugh Grade B. The Michigan NTCP model was used to predict the probability of RILD, and then the modified Lyman NTCP model was generated for Child-Pugh A and Child-Pugh B patients by maximum-likelihood analysis. Results: Of all patients, 17 developed RILD in which 8 were of Child-Pugh Grade A, and 9 were of Child-Pugh Grade B. The prediction of RILD by the Michigan model was underestimated for PLC patients. The modified n, m, TD50 (1) were 1.1, 0.28, and 40.5 Gy and 0.7, 0.43, and 23 Gy for patients with Child-Pugh A and B, respectively, which yielded better estimations of RILD probability. The hepatic tolerable doses (TD5) would be MDTNL of 21 Gy and 6 Gy, respectively, for Child-Pugh A and B patients. Conclusions: The Michigan model was probably not fit to predict RILD in PLC patients. A modified Lyman NTCP model for RILD was recommended. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• An in-situ microphone channel frequency response calibration method is proposed using eigenvalue decomposition. • The proposed method is suitable for the array node with arbitrary array configuration and inter-microphone distance. • Compared with existing methods, our approach presents a more general, convenient solution with better calibration accuracy. Acoustic sensor networks consisting of spatially distributed microphone array nodes offer great potential in various areas such as acoustic surveillance, digital agriculture, and smart cities. As for each node, available microphone array signal processing algorithms generally assume that the amplitude and phase frequency responses across channels are identical, which however does not necessarily hold in practice. State-of-the-art microphone channel frequency response calibration (MCFRC) methods translate the calibration task into the optimization of calibration filter coefficients and have shown notable performance. Unfortunately, these approaches either require microphone disassembly and reassembly operations, or pose constraints on array configuration and/or inter-microphone distance for an array node, which limits the wide application of those techniques to a great extent. To address this issue, an in-situ MCFRC method for array node with arbitrary configuration and inter-microphone distance is presented in this article. First, a single far-field sound source with known direction of arrival is employed to broadcast band-limited white noise as the calibration signal. Then, the auto-covariance matrix of channel outputs is analyzed using eigenvalue decomposition. We prove that there is an explicit relationship between the eigenvector corresponding to the largest eigenvalue and the steering vector distorted by amplitude and phase mismatches. Finally, the calibration filter can be directly designed. Detailed mathematical derivation is provided. Simulation results reveal that our approach presents a more general, convenient solution as well as better calibration performance as compared with existing MCFRC algorithms. Real-world experiments also verify its effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunosuppressive activity guided chemical investigation, four alkaloids (1 – 4) and eight polyketides (5 – 12) were isolated from mangrove - derived Aspergillus fumigatus HQD24. Their structures were elucidated unambiguously based on the comprehensive spectroscopic analysis and comparison with literature data. Compounds 1 and 3 – 5 were separated from mangrove endophytic fungi for the first time, 3 and 12 were firstly recovered from fungal genus Aspergillus. Compound 5 remarkable inhibited proliferation of ConA (concanavalin A)-induced T and LPS (lipopolysaccharide)-induced B murine spleen lymphocytes, with IC 50 of 12.11 ± 0.11 μM and 62.66 ± 0.80 μM, respectively. Meanwhile, the chemotaxonomic relations of isolated compounds and Aspergillus species were also discussed. • Four alkaloids and eight polyketides were isolated from mangrove - derived Aspergillus fumigatus HQD24. • Compound 5 exhibited remarkable immunosuppressive activity. • The chemotaxonomic relations of A. fumigatus and other species of Aspergillus were disclosed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytochemical investigation of the leaves of Isatis tinctoria Linnaeus led to the isolation of thirty compounds, including thirteen indole alkaloids (1–13), seven quinazolinone alkaloids (14–20), two quinoline alkaloids (21–22), one quindoline alkaloid (23), one simple amide alkaloid (24) and six monoterpenes (25–30). According to spectroscopic data analysis and comparison with the previously reported literature, their structures were elucidated. Among them, six compounds (12 , 13 , 17 , and 22 – 24) have not been reported from the family Brassicaceae and eight compounds (3 , 7 , and 25 – 30) were isolated from the genus Isatis for the first time. Furthermore, the chemotaxonomic significance of isolated compounds has also been elaborated. • Thirty compounds (1-30) were isolated from the leaves of Isatis tinctoria Linnaeus. • Eight compounds (3 , 7 , and 25-30) were firstly obtained from the genus Isatis. • Six compounds (12 , 13 , 17 , and 22-24) were reported from the family Brassicaceae for the first time. • The chemotaxonomic significance of the isolated compounds was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A geometric scheme for array node position calibration suitable for the 3D scenario is proposed using DOA measurements. • Compared with existing algebraic methods, the proposed approach can implement the array node position calibration with comparable calibration accuracy and much less computational burden. • Under given node angle estimation error condition, the proposed method possesses predictable performance with corresponding probabilities. Wireless acoustic sensor networks (WASNs) comprised of spatially distributed acoustic nodes have been increasingly popular in many areas such as speech enhancement, blind source separation, and audio surveillance, where node position information is generally required to implement relevant processing algorithms. In this article, we focus on the node position calibration only using direction-of-arrival (DOA) information with each node consisting of a microphone array. State-of-the-art techniques translate the position calibration into optimization of DOA-based cost functions, and have shown notable success. However, a compromise between position calibration accuracy and computational load still exists. Furthermore, none of the existing studies can offer a quantitative evaluation of calibration performance before the optimization procedure is finished. To address these problems, a geometric solution to array node position calibration is proposed using DOA measurements. For a given array node, DOAs of three sources are first utilized to construct cylinder, plane, and cone equations. Next, the two-dimensional projection of intersections among these equations is calculated using Sylvester resultant matrix. Finally, a closed-form solution of node position in three-dimensional space is established. Moreover, explicit mathematical derivation of the confidence interval analysis on the calibration results under given node angle estimation error condition is presented, indicating that the proposed method can provide predictable performance with corresponding probabilities. The Cramér-Rao bound (CRB) is further investigated. Simulation results reveal that as compared with existing methods our approach achieves comparable calibration accuracy with much less computational burden. Real-world experiments also verify its effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Seven acoustic indices are tested using three controlled computational experiments. • Three acoustic dimensions of bird vocalizations affect acoustic indices' performance. • H, ADI, and AEI show moderate correlations with avian species richness. • ADI is relatively more robust regarding bird species richness surveys. Passive acoustic monitoring of biotic sounds is increasingly popular in conservation biology. Among vocalizing animals, birds are most frequently studied and multiple acoustic indices have been proposed for rapid acoustic assessment of avian diversity. Preliminary results suggest that several indices can be used as proxies for bird species richness, however it is still unclear to what extent different conditions of bird vocalizations affect the relationship between indices and bird species richness – should it matter if the bird vocalizations contain different sound unit shapes, or if the frequency of vocalization occurrence differs, or if the vocalizations are made with various intensities? In this work, seven commonly used acoustic indices were tested using three controlled computational experiments with real-world recordings to provide an objective measure of each index's performance for answering the aforementioned questions. In the experiments, different options of sound unit shape and frequency of vocalization occurrence were precisely controlled and intensity variations were expressed as different signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) of the vocalizations. The first experiment showed that three indices (the acoustic entropy index (H), acoustic diversity index (ADI), and acoustic evenness index (AEI)) performed better than the other four, showing moderate correlations with avian species richness. The second experiment revealed that ADI for each sound unit shape tended towards a constant value with increasing frequency of vocalization occurrence while the influence from frequency of vocalization occurrence on H and AEI varied with different sound unit shape options. Our third experiment showed that the vocalization intensity affected the values of these three indices while the performance disparity among different sound unit shapes for only ADI explicitly appeared a decreasing tendency with increasing vocalization intensities. We conclude that ADI, among the tested indices, is relatively more robust with regard to bird species richness surveys when sound unit shape, frequency of vocalization occurrence, and vocalization intensity are considered. Meanwhile, since multiple indices are usually applied together to provide a comprehensive observation, the above acoustic dimensions should be taken into account especially in comparative research of different bird communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Gelao ethnic group, an aboriginal population residing in southwest China, has undergone a long and complex evolutionary process. To investigate the genetic structure of this ancient ethnic group, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphisms of 102 Gelao individuals were collected and analyzed in this study. With the aid of the information extracted from control-region hypervariable segments (HVSs) I and II as well as some necessary coding-region segments, phylogenetic status of all mtDNAs under study were determined by means of classifying into various defined haplogroups. The southern-prevalent haplogroups B, R9, and M7 account for 45.1% of the gene pool, whereas northern-prevalent haplogroups A, D, G, N9, and M8 consist of 39.2%. Haplogroup distribution indicates that the Gelao bears signatures of southern populations and possesses some regional characters. In the PC map, Gelao clusters together with populations with Bai-Yue tribe origin as well as the local Han and the Miao. The results demonstrate the complexity of Gelao population and the data can well supplement the China mtDNA database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two undescribed split-ring iridoids (1 – 2) with six known triterpenes (3 – 8) and one steride (9) were isolated from the Viburnum chingii. Compound 2 possessed an unprecedented split-ring iridoid skeleton formed by electrocyclic reaction and split ring. The structures and absolute configurations of the new iridoids were established by NMR, HRESIMS, and ECD calculations. All the isolated compounds were tested for AChE inhibitory activity. Biologically, 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , and 7 displayed significant AChE effects compared to the positive control donepezil, and have also been subjected to molecular docking studies. [Display omitted] • Two undescribed split-ring iridoids (1 – 2) with six known triterpenes (3 – 8)were isolated from the Viburnum chingii. • Compound 2 possessed an unprecedented split-ring iridoid skeleton formed by electrocyclic reaction and split ring. • The possible biosynthetic pathways of compounds 1–2 were proposed. • Compounds 6 , 7 , and 9 were reported for the first time in the genus Viburnum. • All the isolated compounds were tested for their anti-acetylcholinesterase effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coccidiosis causes considerable economic losses in the poultry industry. At present, the pathology of coccidiosis is preventable with anticoccidials and vaccination, although at considerable cost to the international poultry industry. The purpose of the present study was to elucidate the relationship between Eimeria tenella development and host cell apoptosis in chickens, which provides a theoretical basis for further study of the injury mechanism of E. tenella and the prevention and treatment of coccidiosis. Cecal epithelial cells from chick embryo were used as host cells in vitro. In addition, flow cytometry, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate (dUTP) nick-end labeling, and histopathological assays were used to detect the dynamic changes in E. tenella infection rates, DNA injury rates, and apoptosis rates in groups treated with and without the caspase-9 inhibitor Z-LEHD-FMK. Following E. tenella infection, we demonstrated that untreated cells had less apoptosis at 4 h and, inversely, more apoptosis at 24 to 120 h compared with control cells. Furthermore, after the application of Z-LEHD-FMK, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling assays, and translation of phosphatidyl serines to the host cell plasma membrane surface, the treated group chick embryo cecal epithelial cells exhibited decreased apoptosis and DNA injuries (P < 0.01) at 24 to 120 h. However, light microscopy showed that E. tenella infection rates of treated cells were higher (P < 0.01) than untreated cells during the whole experimental period. Together, these observations suggest that E. tenella can protect host cells from apoptosis at early stages of development but can promote apoptosis during the middle to late stages. In addition, the inhibition of host cell apoptosis can be beneficial to the intracellular growth and development of E. tenella. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquilaria sinensis (Lour.) Spreng. (Thymelaeaceae family), is the fragrant resin-infused wood derived from the wounded trees of Aquilaria species. With years of studies, phytochemical investigations on A. sinensis have been proven to possess various chemical constituents which contained sesquiterpenes and 2-(2-phenylethyl) chromone derivatives as two classes of characteristic compounds. As the medicinal parts, A. sinensis also demonstrates a wide array of pharmacological properties of anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, cytotoxicity activities and showed potential properties for the treatment of depression, and neuroinflammation. As a result, phytochemical investigations on A. sinensis exhibit chemotaxonomic significance, characterizing certain Thymelaeaceae species well. In addition, the latest research progress on A. sinensis was reviewed in order to have a more particular understanding and tap of its potential. [Display omitted] • The distribution of the components in Aquilaria sinensis in other families, genus, plants and funguses was firstly summarized in detail. • Sesquiterpenoids and 2-(2-phenylethyl) chromones could serve as valuable chemotaxonomic markers for Thymelaeaceae species. • The skeletal rearrangement of guaiane-type sesquiterpenoids isolated from A. sinensis. was summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Purpose: A prospective phase I–II study was conducted to determine the tolerance and local control rate of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3-DCRT) for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Methods and materials: Thirty patients underwent 3-DCRT for thoracic esophageal SCC. PTV1 composed of a 1.2–1.5cm margin lateral around GTV and 3.0cm margin superior/inferior of GTV. PTV2 encompassed GTV with a margin of 0.5–0.7cm. The dose for PTV1 was 50Gy in 2Gy daily fractions; PTV2 received a boost of 16Gy in 2Gy daily fractions to a total dose of 66Gy. Results: Median follow-up time was 18months. The most common acute toxicity was esophagitis in 63% of patients with RTOG grades 1–2, and in 3% with grade 3. RTOG grades 1–2 radiation pneumonitis developed in 27% of patients. One patient developed pulmonary fibrosis RTOG grade 2 and another patient experienced grade 3 pulmonary fibrosis. Two patients developed mild esophageal stricture requiring dilatation. Two-year overall survival, local disease progression-free rate, and distant metastasis-free rate were 69%, 36% and 56%, respectively. Conclusions: Although 3-DCRT to 66Gy for esophageal SCC was well tolerated, the local control was disappointing. The result supports the use of chemoradiation as the standard care for esophageal SCC. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: To identify risk factors relevant to radiation-induced liver disease (RILD) and to determine the hepatic tolerance to radiation. Methods and Materials: The data of 109 primary liver carcinomas (PLC) treated with hypofractionated three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) were analyzed. Seventeen patients were diagnosed with RILD and 13 of 17 died of it. Results: The risk factors for RILD were late T stage, large gross tumor volume, presence of portal vein thrombosis, association with Child-Pugh Grade B cirrhosis, and acute hepatic toxicity. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that the severity of hepatic cirrhosis was a unique independent predictor. For Child-Pugh Grade A patients, the hepatic radiation tolerance was as follows: (1) Mean dose to normal liver (MDTNL) of 23 Gy was tolerable. (2) For cumulative dose–volume histogram, the tolerable volume percentages would be less than: V5 of 86%, V10 of 68%, V15 of 59%, V20 of 49%, V25 of 35%, V30 of 28%, V35 of 25%, and V40 of 20%. (3) Tolerable MDTNL could be estimated by MDTNL (Gy) = −1.686 + 0.023 * normal liver volume (cm3). Conclusion: The predominant risk factor for RILD was the severity of hepatic cirrhosis. The hepatic tolerance to radiation could be estimated by dosimetric parameters. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present study aims to investigate the similarities and differences between the host cells apoptosis induced by virulent line of Eimeria tenella (Tsx) and precocious line (PTsx), which can provide a theoretical basis for the study of drugs and vaccines against coccidiosis. HE staining, Hoechst 33342/AnnexinV-FITC/PI composite staining, and ELISA were used to detect the infection rate, apoptosis rate, and Caspase-3 enzyme activity of host cells infected by PTsx or Tsx, respectively. The apoptotic rates and Caspase-3 absorbance of the inoculation groups were lower (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) than those of the control group at 4 h, whereas the apoptotic rates and Caspase-3 absorbance of the inoculation groups were higher (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01) than those of the control groups at 24 to 120 h. At the same inoculation dose, there was no significant difference in the infection rate, apoptosis rate or Caspase-3 absorbance between Tsx groups and PTsx groups after E. tenella inoculation for 4 to 72 h (P > 0.05). However, these indicators of PTsx groups were lower (P < 0.01) than those of the same dose inoculated Tsx groups at 120 h. The apoptosis rates of cecal and glandular epithelial cells in the inoculated groups were higher (P < 0.01) than those in the control group after inoculated E. tenella 5 D in vivo, and the apoptosis rates of cecal and glandular epithelial cells in PTsx group was lower (P < 0.01) than that in the same dose inoculated Tsx group. These observations indicate that both Tsx and PTsx inhibit host cell apoptosis in the early development of E. tenella , induce host cell apoptosis in the middle and late stages, and the apoptosis-inducing effect on host cells increases with increasing dose. However, when the same dose of oocysts was inoculated, the amount of apoptosis induced by PTsx in late development was less than Tsx. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A CFAR-based adaptive threshold scheme is proposed to more effectively select potential bird vocalization segments. • Fusion of LWAP and MFCC features after improved VLAD encoding is employed and corresponding feature space analysis is presented. • Our method outperforms other feature extraction based and deep learning based methods for low SNR and small-scale datasets. Bird species classification based on acoustic monitoring has attracted increasing attention. Two common methods, deep learning and feature extraction-based, are widely applied for bird sound classification. Although deep learning based methods have shown great success, they usually require an enormous amount of labeled data to train models, which could make these approaches prohibitive since collecting enough labeled samples of various species, especially rare birds, is a difficult task. On the other hand, feature extraction based methods are less dependent on the number of samples and have achieved remarkable classification performance for small-scale datasets, however they prove susceptible to signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). To address this problem, a new method is proposed for acoustic bird species classification in this work, which is well suited to low SNR and small-scale dataset conditions. Firstly, an adaptive threshold scheme based on the constant false alarm rate (CFAR) criterion is designed to more effectively detect potential bird sound segments in field recordings. Then, the local wavelet acoustic pattern (LWAP) and Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) features are extracted, which are further processed using improved vector of locally aggregated descriptors (VLAD) encoding. Finally, encoded LWAP and MFCC features are fused with dimensionality reduction and a classifier with weighted distance is used for classification. Corresponding feature space analysis upon feature fusion is also provided demonstrating explicit improvement in bird sounds discrimination under low SNR conditions. Experimental results on the dataset consisting of 11 bird species under low SNR and small-scale conditions reveal that the proposed method achieves considerable improvement in classification performance as compared with other feature extraction based methods. Meanwhile, our approach also outperforms state-of-the-art deep learning based methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the role and key point of Et MIC4 EGF-like recombinant protein in regulating the apoptosis of Eimeria tenella host cells via the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway. The cells were treated with Et MIC4 EGF-like protein, EGFR-specific siRNA, or both. Infection and apoptosis rates as well as dynamic changes in the key genes and proteins of the EGFR signaling pathway in the host cells were determined. Results showed that the E. tenella and Et MIC4 EGF-like group had the highest infection rate (P < 0.01). In cells treated with Et MIC4 EGF-like for 4 to 24 h, the apoptosis rate was significantly decreased (P < 0.01) and the relative mRNA expression and protein phosphorylation levels of EGFR, protein kinase B (AKT), and extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK) were significantly increased (P < 0.01). In E. tenella sporozoites infected for 4 to 96 h, the rate of host cell apoptosis induced by E. tenella infection was significantly (P < 0.01) reduced by Et MIC4 EGF-like. The relative mRNA expression and protein phosphorylation levels of EGFR, AKT, and ERK in the host cells of E. tenella + Et MIC4 EGF-like group were significantly increased (P < 0.01). These results indicated that E. tenella could activate the EGFR pathway through Et MIC4 EGF-like and regulate the expression of key genes in the AKT and ERK signaling pathways, thereby inhibiting cell apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT)/intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) combined with transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for locally advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods and Materials: Patients were assigned to two subgroups based on tumor diameter: Group 1 had tumors <10 cm; Group II had tumors ≥10 cm. Escalation was achieved by increments of 4.0 Gy for each cohort in both groups. Dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) was defined as a grade of ≥3 acute liver or gastrointestinal toxicity or any grade 5 acute toxicity in other organs at risk or radiation-induced liver disease. The dose escalation would be terminated when ≥2 of 8 patients in a cohort experienced DLT. Results: From April 2005 to May 2008, 40 patients were enrolled. In Group I, 11 patients had grade ≤2 acute treatment-related toxicities, and no patient experienced DLT; and in Group II, 10 patients had grade ≤2 acute toxicity, and 1 patient in the group receiving 52 Gy developed radiation-induced liver disease. MTD was 62 Gy for Group I and 52 Gy for Group II. In-field progression-free and local progression-free rates were 100% and 69% at 1 year, and 93% and 44% at 2 years, respectively. Distant metastasis rates were 6% at 1 year and 15% at 2 years. Overall survival rates for 1-year and 2-years were 72% and 62%, respectively. Conclusions: The irradiation dose was safely escalated in hepatocellular carcinoma patients by using 3DCRT/IMRT with an active breathing coordinator. MTD was 62 Gy and 52 Gy for patients with tumor diameters of <10 cm and ≥10 cm, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]