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Though RNAi and RNA-splicing machineries are involved in regulating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) replication, their precise roles in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pathogenesis remain unclear. Herein, we show that decreased RNAi component (Dicer and XPO5) and splicing factor (SRSF3 and hnRNPA3) expression correlate with increased COVID-19 severity. SARS-CoV-2 N protein induces the autophagic degradation of Dicer, XPO5, SRSF3, and hnRNPA3, inhibiting miRNA biogenesis and RNA splicing and triggering DNA damage, proteotoxic stress, and pneumonia. Dicer, XPO5, SRSF3, and hnRNPA3 knockdown increases, while their overexpression decreases, N protein-induced pneumonia's severity. Older mice show lower expression of Dicer, XPO5, SRSF3, and hnRNPA3 in their lung tissues and exhibit more severe N protein-induced pneumonia than younger mice. PJ34, a poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor, or anastrozole, an aromatase inhibitor, ameliorates N protein- or SARS-CoV-2-induced pneumonia by restoring Dicer, XPO5, SRSF3, and hnRNPA3 expression. These findings will aid in developing improved treatments for SARS-CoV-2-associated pneumonia. Here, the authors provide evidence that SARS-CoV-2 N protein leads to autophagic degradation of Dicer, XPO5, SRSF3, and hnRNPA3, inducing DNA damage and proteotoxic stress, eventually causing pneumonia. The small-molecule drug PJ34 or anastrozole alleviates N protein-induced pneumonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a disease of unknown etiology characterized by a constant incidence rate. Unfortunately, effective pharmacological treatments for this condition are lacking and the identification of novel therapeutic approaches and underlying pathological mechanisms are required. This study investigated the potential of quercetin in alleviating pulmonary fibrosis by promoting autophagy and activation of the SIRT1/AMPK pathway. Methods: Mouse models of IPF were divided into four treatment groups: control, bleomycin (BLM), quercetin (Q), and quercetin + EX-527 (Q + E) treatment. Pulmonary fibrosis was induced in the mouse models through intratracheal instillation of BLM. Various indexes were identified through histological staining, Western blotting analysis, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, immunohistochemistry, and transmission electron microscopy. Results: Quercetin treatment ameliorated the pathology of BLM-induced pulmonary fibrosis of mice by reducing α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen I (Col I), and collagen III (Col III) levels, and also improved the level of E-cadherin in lung tissue. Furthermore, Quercetin significantly enhanced LC3II/LC3I levels, decreased P62 expression, and increased the number of autophagosomes in lung tissue. These effects were accompanied by the activation of the SIRT1/AMPK pathway. Treatment with EX-527, an inhibitor for SIRT1, reversed all effects induced by quercetin. Conclusion: This study showed that quercetin could alleviate pulmonary fibrosis and improve epithelial-mesenchymal transition by acting on the SIRT1/AMPK signaling pathway, which may be achieved by regulating the level of autophagy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is concentrated on investigating the role and mechanism of miR-652-3p in the protective effects of isoflurane (ISO) against myocardial ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) injury. H9c2 cells underwent pretreatment with varying concentrations of ISO, and subsequently, a hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) model was constructed. The levels of miR-652-3p, ISL LIM homeobox 1 (ISL1), and inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were evaluated through reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed to investigate concentrations of myocardial injury markers, such as creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and cardiac troponin I (cTnI). Cell counting kit-8 was used to evaluate cell viability, while flow cytometry was utilized to measure apoptosis. Additionally, a dual luciferase reporter assay was conducted to validate the targeting relationship between ISL1 and miR-652-3p. Herein, we confirmed that the level of miR-652-3p was gradually increased with prolonged hypoxia; nevertheless, this increase was suppressed by ISO pretreatment (P < 0.05). Additionally, ISO pretreatment prevented the decrease in cell viability, increase in apoptosis, and overproduction of IL-6, TNF-α, CK-MB, and cTnI induced by H/R (P < 0.05). However, the inhibitory effects of ISO were counteracted by the increased levels of miR-652-3p (P < 0.05). ISL1 is a potential target of miR-652-3p. H/R induction suppressed ISL1 levels compared to the control, but ISO treatment increased its expression (P < 0.05). Overexpression of ISL1 inhibited the elimination of the protective effect of ISO on myocardial damage induced by the elevation of miR-652-3p (P < 0.05). The findings of this research confirm that miR-652-3p attenuated the protective effect of ISO on cardiomyocytes in myocardial ischemia by targeting ISL1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For reversible data hiding in encrypted image (RDHEI), it is an important problem to resolve the contradiction between embedding capacity and image visual quality. However, existing schemes do not maintain a good balance between them. Accordingly, we propose a multi-level block selection embedding mechanism to solve this problem. Our scheme firstly divides original image into muliple non-overlapping blocks with identical size. The most significant bit (MSB) planes of all pixels in the block are predicted from their neighboring pixels to generate a corresponding prediction error map for each block. Subsequently, the pixels are divided into eight bit planes, and the adjacent bit planes are implemented XOR operation to vacate room. Furthermore, by simulating data embedding in each block, PSNR values of each image block are sequentially generated. After encrypting the image using stream ciphers, the optimal blocks with maximum PSNR value can be selected to embed data according to the secret data capacity. Since our proposed scheme usually selects the image block with maximum PSNR value to embed secret data, it can naturally improve the image visual quality. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our scheme is effective and efficient, and outperforms existing state-of-the art methods with better visual quality and higher security performance under the given embedding capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the challenges for large-scale biomass gasification is inevitable ash-related problems such as ash deposition, corrosion, fouling, acid gas emission, and others, mainly caused by the volatile ash-forming elements in biomass. Water washing is an efficient, low-cost, and manageable way to alleviate these ash-related problems by reducing the concentrations of ash-forming elements in biomass. The leaching characteristics of ash-forming elements such as K, Na, Ca, Mg, Al, Fe, S, Cl, and P of corn straw (CS) were studied by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), ion chromatography (IC), and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis) during water washing at different time and temperatures. It was found that the water washing process removes almost all of K, Cl, and P with a removal efficiency higher than 90% within the first 10 min; large proportions of S, Na, and Mg with a removal efficiency of more than 70% within 120 min; and small amounts of Ca, Al, and Fe with a removal efficiency less than 63% within 120 min even at 50 ºC. The kinetic analysis indicated that the leaching of ash-forming elements was a two-step process consisting of an initial fast step and a second slow step. The leaching of ash-forming elements might be controlled by the first-order kinetic model, namely, homogeneous model and shrinking core model. Still, the second-order reaction model presents high regression coefficients, which is better suitable to fit the leaching kinetics of ash-forming elements from CS than the first-order kinetic leaching model. The reaction rate for the second-order reaction is faster than the first-order reaction during the water leaching of CS. The water washing could reduce the slagging tendency in the gasifier and diminish the emission of acid gases during corn straw gasification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Oxygen isotope anomaly of nitrate aerosol (∆17O-NO3−) contributes to understanding the atmospheric nitrogen chemistry in the polar oceans. Here, ∆17O-NO3− of the aerosol samples was analyzed based on a cruise from East Asia to the Arctic Ocean to explore the nitrate formation mechanisms. ∆17O-NO3− decreased with the increase of latitude, especially when after entering the Arctic Circle. ∆17O-NO3− (e.g., 11.5‰–21.2‰) was extremely low while crossing the sea ice-covered Arctic Ocean. This is most likely influenced by the combined enhancement of hydroxyl (OH) and peroxy (HO2 + RO2) radicals derived by sea ice under permanent sunlight period. In addition, the obvious increase in the ∆17O-NO3− of return trip with shortened daytime indicated the advantage of nocturnal pathways (NO3 related) with the higher ∆17O endmembers. The mutation of ∆17O-NO3− can reflect the change of NOx conversion pathways to nitrate, and it can be more sensitive to the change of radical chemistry related to atmospheric oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To develop MRI-based radiomics model for predicting prostate cancer (PCa) in men with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels of 4–10 ng/mL, to compare the performance of radiomics model and PI-RADS v2.1, and to further verify the predictive ability of radiomics model for lesions with different PI-RADS v2.1 score. 171 patients with PSA levels of 4–10 ng/mL were divided into training (n = 119) and testing (n = 52) groups. PI-RADS v2.1 score was assessed by two radiologists. All volumes of interest were segmented on T2-weighted imaging, diffusion weighted imaging, and apparent diffusion coefficient sequences, from which quantitative radiomics features were extracted. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to establish radiomics model for predicting PCa. The diagnostic performance was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. The radiomics model exhibited the best performance in predicting PCa, which was better than the performance of PI-RADS v2.1 scoring by the junior radiologist in the training group [area under the curve (AUC): 0.932 vs 0.803], testing group (AUC: 0.922 vs 0.797), and the entire cohort (AUC: 0.927 vs 0.801) (P < 0.05). The radiomics model performed well for lesions with PI-RADS v2.1 score of 3 (AUC = 0.854, sensitivity = 84.62%, specificity = 84.34%) and PI-RADS v2.1 score of 4–5 (AUC = 0.967, sensitivity = 98.11%, specificity = 86.36%) assigned by junior radiologist. The radiomics model quantitatively outperformed PI-RADS v2.1 for noninvasive prediction of PCa in men with PSA levels of 4–10 ng/mL. The model can help improve the diagnostic performance of junior radiologists and facilitate better decision-making by urologists for management of lesions with different PI-RADS v2.1 score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inorganic nitrate production is critical in atmospheric chemistry that reflects the oxidation capacity and the acidity of the atmosphere. Here we use the oxygen anomaly of nitrate (Δ17O( NO 3 − )) in high-time-resolved (3 h) aerosols to explore the chemical mechanisms of nitrate evolution in fine particles during the winter in Nanjing, a megacity of China. The continuous Δ17O( NO 3 − ) observation suggested the dominance of nocturnal chemistry (NO3 + HC/H2O and N2O5 + H2O/Cl−) in nitrate formation in the wintertime. Significant diurnal variations of nitrate formation pathways were found. The contribution of nocturnal chemistry increased at night and peaked (72%) at midnight. Particularly, nocturnal pathways became more important for the formation of nitrate in the process of air pollution aggravation. In contrast, the contribution of daytime chemistry (NO2 + OH/H2O) increased with the sunrise and showed a highest fraction (48%) around noon. The hydrolysis of N2O5 on particle surfaces played an important role in the daytime nitrate production on haze days. In addition, the reaction of NO2 with OH radicals was found to dominate the nitrate production after nitrate chemistry was reset by the precipitation events. These results suggest the importance of high-time-resolved observations of Δ17O( NO 3 − ) for exploring dynamic variations in reactive nitrogen chemistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Composite materials have elicited much interest because of their superior performance in the removal of toxic and radioactive uranyl ions from aqueous solutions. With polyethyleneimine as a functional group, carboxylated chitosan as a matrix, and oxidizing activated carbon as a nanofiller, this study synthesized a novel environment-friendly polyethylenimine-functionalized carboxylated chitosan/oxidized activated charcoal (PCO) biocomposite with a unique three-dimensional porous structure. PCO was synthesized through an easy chemical cross-linking method. Detailed characterization certified the formation of the unique three-dimensional porous structure. The obtained PCO was used to remove uranyl ions from an aqueous solution, demonstrating the maximum adsorption capacity of 450 mg·g−1. The adsorption capacity of PCO decreased by less than 7.51% after five adsorption-desorption cycles. PCO exhibited good adsorption selectivity (Kd = 3.45 × 104 mL·g−1) for uranyl ions. The adsorption mechanism of PCO was also discussed. The material showed good potential for application in the treatment of wastewater containing uranyl ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a type of serious clinical syndrome leading to morbidity and mortality. However, the precise pathogenesis of ALI remains elusive. Here, we implemented an integrative meta-analysis of six GEO microarray studies with 76 samples in the ALI mouse model. A total of 958 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in LPS relative to normal samples. Then, a network-based meta-analysis was used to mine core DEGs and to unfold the interactions among these genes. We found that Ebi3 was the top upregulated genes in the LPS-induced ALI. GO, KEGG, and GSEA analyses were performed for functional annotation. qRT-PCR revealed augmented expression of six candidate genes (Stat1, Syk, Jak3, Rac2, Ripk1, and Traf6) in the established ALI mouse model with LPS exposure. Taken together, our study investigated comprehensively hub DEGs and their networks for LPS-stimulated ALI, which might afford an additional approach to determine biomarkers and therapeutic targets and explore the molecular pathophysiology toward ALI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the key link connecting the earth's spheres, continental weathering plays an important role in regulating the global biogeochemical cycle and long-term climate change. Siliciclastic sediments derived from large river basins can record continental weathering and erosion signals, and are thus widely used to investigate weathering processes. However, sediment grain size, hydrodynamic sorting and sedimentary recycling complicate the interpretation of sediment weathering proxies. This study presents elemental and lithium isotope compositions of estuarine surface sediments (SS) and suspended particulate matters (SPM) collected from the Changjiang (Yangtze River) Estuary. Based on a simple mass balance model, the proportions of different end-members (i.e., igneous rocks, modern weathering products and inherited weathering products) in sediments were quantitatively calculated and thus the silicate weathering process can be estimated. Overall, the sediments in the Changjiang Estuary are mainly eroded from un-weathered rock fragments (>60%), while modern weathering products account for less than 40%. The fine-grained SPM contain more shale components (52–66%), and the modern weathering products account for 21–40%. Comparatively, the coarse-grained surface sediments contain more un-weathered igneous rock fragments (63–84%) and less modern weathering products (only 4–18%). The comparison of δ7Li values with the weathering proxy (Chemical Index of Alteration, CIA) suggests that sediment weathering intensity declines with increasing proportion of un-weathered igneous rock fragments. Additionally, the occurrence of inherited weathering products (i.e., shale) in modern sediments makes it a challenge to simply use CIA and δ7Li as indicators of weathering intensity. This study confirms that fine-grained particles are more suitable for tracing contemporary weathering process, albeit with the influence of sedimentary recycling. Lithium isotopes combining with the mass balance model can quantitatively constrain the continental weathering processes in large river basins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) is recognized as a considerable threat to carbon steel asset integrity in the oil and gas industry. There is an immediate need for reliable and broadly applicable methods for detection and monitoring of MIC. Proteins associated with microbial metabolisms involved in MIC could serve as useful biomarkers for MIC diagnosis and monitoring. A proteomic study was conducted using a lithotrophically-grown bacterium Desulfovibrio ferrophilus strain IS5, which is known to cause severe MIC in seawater environments. Unique proteins, which are differentially and uniquely expressed during severe microbial corrosion by strain IS5, were identified. This includes the detection of a multi-heme cytochrome protein possibly involved in extracellular electron transfer in the presence of the carbon steel. Thus, we conclude that this newly identified protein associated closely with severe MIC could be used to generate easy-to-implement immunoassays for reliable detection of microbiological corrosion in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common and fatal gastrointestinal cancers worldwide. Considering their diversity, the establishment of new continuous CRC cell lines with clear genetic backgrounds will provide useful tools for exploring molecular mechanisms, screening and evaluating antitumor drugs in CRC studies. Our de novo CRC cell line, PUMC-CRC1 (Peking Union Medical College Colorectal Cancer 1) was derived from a 47-year-old Chinese female patient diagnosed with moderately to poorly differentiated colon adenocarcinoma. Multiple experiments were used for full characterization. The new cell line was epithelial-like and was passaged for more than 40 times, with a population doubling time of 44 h in vitro, detected by cell counts. The cells exhibited complicated chromosomal abnormalities. The tumor formation rate in SCID mice was 100%. The xenograft tumor was adenocarcinoma with poor to moderate differentiation by Haematoxylin and Eosin staining (H&E) sections. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis and next-generation sequencing (NGS) revealed microsatellite stable (MSS), APC (p.T1493fs) inactivation, KRAS (p.G12V) activation, and SMAD4 (p.V506A) mutation. Quality control of the cell line proved mycoplasma negative and identical STR profile with that of the original tissue, and no interspecific or intraspecific cross contamination was detected. In conclusion, PUMC-CRC1 was a newly established and well characterized human colon cancer cell line, which might be a good model for both in vitro and in vivo studies of the mechanism of colon cancer progression and the treatment strategies for MSS CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, reversible data hiding in encrypted image (RDHEI) has attracted extensive attention, which can be used in secure cloud computing and privacy protection effectively. In this paper, a low-complexity RDHEI scheme based on MSB hierarchical coding and LSB compression is proposed. Content owner first utilizes a specific encryption method, including pixel encrypting, block, and pixel scrambling, to encrypt original image, which not only can reserve the redundancy, but also can mask image contents securely. Through hierarchical encoding MSBs of different types of image blocks and compressing LSBs, data hider can embed additional data into encrypted image effectively. Separable operations of data extraction, image decryption, and image recovery can be conducted on the receiver side based on encryption key and data-hiding key. Experimental results demonstrate that our scheme can achieve better rate-distortion performance than some of state-of-the-art schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to discriminate fat-poor angiomyolipoma (fp-AML) from clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) by constructing radiomics-based logistic classifiers in comparison with conventional computed tomography (CT) analysis at three CT phases. Materials and methods: Twenty-two fp-AML patients and 62 ccRCC patients who were pathologically identified were enrolled in this study, and underwent three-phase (unenhanced phase, UP; corticomedullary phase, CMP; nephrographic phase, NP) CT examinations. Whole-tumor regions of interest (ROIs) were contoured in ITK software by two radiologists. Radiomic features were dimensionally reduced by means of ANOVA + MW, correlation analysis, and LASSO. Four radiomics logistic classifiers including the UP group, CMP group, NP group, and sum group were built, and the radiomic scores (rad-scores) were calculated. After collecting the qualitative and quantitative conventional CT characteristics, the conventional CT analysis logistic classifier and the radiomics-based logistic classifier were constructed. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was constructed to evaluate the validity of each classifier. Results: The area under curve (AUC) of the conventional CT analysis logistic classifier including angular interface, cyst degeneration, and pseudocapsule was 0.935 (95% CI 0.860–0.977). Regarding logistic classifiers for radiomics analysis, the AUCs of the UP group were 0.950 (95% CI 0.895–1.000) and 0.917 (95% CI 0.801–1.000) in the training set and testing set, respectively, which were higher than those of the CMP and NP groups. The AUCs of the sum group were observed to be the highest. The top three selected features for the UP and sum groups belonged to GLCM parameters and histogram parameters. The radiomics-based logistic classifier encompassed cyst degeneration, pseudocapsule, and sum rad-score, and the AUC of the model was 0.988 (95% CI 0.935–1.000). Conclusion: Whole-tumor radiomics-based CT analysis is superior to conventional CT analysis in the differentiation of fp-AML from ccRCC. Cyst degeneration, pseudocapsule, and sum rad-score are the most significant factors. The radiomics analysis of the UP group shows a higher AUC than that of the CMP and NP groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a facile electroless chemical deposition (ECD) method to deposit uniform Pd nanoparticles ((2.5 ± 0.6) nm) on CeO2 nanorods (PdNPs/CeO2-ECD) through the interface redox reaction between the reduced CeO2 and Na2PdCl4. PdNPs/CeO2-ECD exhibits a stronger electronic metal–support interaction (EMSI) evidenced by higher reducibility and stronger anti-sintering capability at high temperatures, compared to that prepared by the conventional impregnation method. Such an EMSI effect of PdNPs/CeO2-ECD significantly improves its catalytic activity in CO oxidation. Besides, the chlorine residue-free catalysts through ECD process avoid the deleterious effect of chlorine on CO oxidation. This ECD process can further be extended to deposit various uniform nanoscaled noble metals (Au, Ag, Pt, Ru, Rh, etc.) on CeO2, which may deliver their potentials in advanced catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondrial creatine kinase (Mt-CK) is a major determinant of cardiac energetic status and is down-regulated in chronic heart failure, which may contribute to disease progression. We hypothesised that cardiomyocyte-specific overexpression of Mt-CK would mitigate against these changes and thereby preserve cardiac function. Male Mt-CK overexpressing mice (OE) and WT littermates were subjected to transverse aortic constriction (TAC) or sham surgery and assessed by echocardiography at 0, 3 and 6 weeks alongside a final LV haemodynamic assessment. Regardless of genotype, TAC mice developed progressive LV hypertrophy, dilatation and contractile dysfunction commensurate with pressure overload-induced chronic heart failure. There was a trend for improved survival in OE-TAC mice (90% vs 73%, P = 0.08), however, OE-TAC mice exhibited greater LV dilatation compared to WT and no functional parameters were significantly different under baseline conditions or during dobutamine stress test. CK activity was 37% higher in OE-sham versus WT-sham hearts and reduced in both TAC groups, but was maintained above normal values in the OE-TAC hearts. A separate cohort of mice received in vivo cardiac 31P-MRS to measure high-energy phosphates. There was no difference in the ratio of phosphocreatine-to-ATP in the sham mice, however, PCr/ATP was reduced in WT-TAC but preserved in OE-TAC (1.04 ± 0.10 vs 2.04 ± 0.22; P = 0.007). In conclusion, overexpression of Mt-CK activity prevented the changes in cardiac energetics that are considered hallmarks of a failing heart. This had a positive effect on early survival but was not associated with improved LV remodelling or function during the development of chronic heart failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sperm preparation in IVF cycles using density gradient centrifugation (DGC) in combination with swim-up (SU) has been widely adopted in reproductive centres worldwide. It is a fact that the sperm recovery rate following one DGC from poor semen samples (showing liquefaction defects/containing too many unresolvable clots or rare sperm) is relatively low. Our results showed that double DGC (DDGC) is effective at increasing the sperm recovery rate from poor semen samples. However, DDGC may increase the mechanical stress of sperm, thereby potentially impairing embryo development. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the safety of using sperm prepared by DDGC/SU for IVF cycles. In this study, we retrospectively analysed the data generated from a total of 529 IVF cycles (from June 2017 to June 2018), and these IVF cycles contributed 622 transfer cycles (from June 2017 to December 2018) in Changzhou Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital. Of them, 306 IVF cycles and the related 355 transfer cycles (normal semen samples prepared by DGC/SU) were set as the normal group, while 223 IVF cycles and the related 267 transfer cycles (poor semen prepared by DDGC/SU) were set as the observation group. The main outcome measures, including the normal fertilization rate, top D3 embryo formation rate, blastocyte formation rate, clinical pregnancy rate and live birth rate, birth weight and duration of pregnancy, were compared between the two groups. Compared to semen in the DGC/SU group, semen in the DDGC/SU group showed increased levels of the DNA fragmentation index (DFI) and reduced sperm concentration, percentage of progressive motility (PR) sperm, and percentage of normal morphology sperm. The indicators reflecting in vitro embryo development and clinical outcomes were similar in the DGC/SU group and DDGC/SU group, including the normal fertilization rate, top D3 embryo formation rate, blastocyte formation rate, pregnancy rate, implantation rate, spontaneous abortion rate, live birth rate, birth weight and duration of pregnancy. Furthermore, we found that the 1PN zygote formation rate was significantly lower in the DDGC/SU group than that in the DGC/SU group. We concluded that oocytes fertilized by sperm from poor semen samples separated by DDGC/SU achieved the same outcomes as oocytes fertilized by sperm from normal semen separated by DGC/SU, suggesting that DDGC/SU is an effective and safe method of sperm enrichment for poor semen samples in IVF. The main contribution of the present study is the verification of the effectiveness of DDGC/SU in improving sperm recovery from poor semen samples and the safety of using sperm prepared by DDGC/SU for IVF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate the performance of the mean parametric values and texture features based on intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging (IVIM-DWI) on identifying pathological complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). Methods: Pretreatment IVIM-DWI was performed on 41 LARC patients receiving nCRT in this prospective study. The values of IVIM-DWI parameters (apparent diffusion coefficient, ADC; pure diffusion coefficient, D; pseudo-diffusion coefficient, D* and perfusion fraction, f), the first-order, and gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) texture features were compared between the pCR (n = 9) and non-pathological responder (non-pCR, n = 32) groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves in univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were generated to determine the efficiency for identifying pCR. Results: The values of IVIM-DWI parameters and first-order texture features did not show significant differences between the pCR and non-pCR groups. The pCR group had lower Contrast and DifVarnc values extracted from the ADC, D, and D* maps, respectively, as well as lower CorrelatD value. Higher CorrelatD*, Correlatf, SumAvergADC, and SumAvergD values were observed in the pCR group. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) values for the individual predictors in univariate analysis ranged from 0.698 to 0.837, with sensitivities from 43.75% to 87.50% and specificities from 66.67 to 100.00%. In multivariate analysis, CorrelatD* (P < 0.001), DifVarncADC (P = 0.024), and DifVarncD (P < 0.001) were the independent predictors to pCR, with an AUC of 0.986, a sensitivity of 93.75%, and a specificity of 100.00%. Conclusion: Pretreatment GLCM analysis based on IVIM-DWI may be a potential approach to identify the pathological response of LARC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a novel real-time scheme of separable reversible data hiding in encrypted images, which consists of image encryption, data embedding, data extraction and image recovery. In image encryption phase, the content owner divides the original image into a number of non-overlapping blocks and encrypts blocks by stream cipher and permutation. During the data embedding phase, the data hider classifies encrypted blocks into smooth region and complex region according to the threshold and replaces the MSB layer of a part of pixels in blocks of smooth region with the secret data. Then, the LSB layers of other pixels are collected and compressed to generate a room for embedding the secret data again. When the receiver receives the marked image, he can divide the marked image into blocks and decrypt them by the encryption key to obtain a similar image with good quality. If the receiver only has the data hiding key, he can classify the blocks into smooth region and complex region according to the threshold and extract the embedded data by the data hiding key. If the receiver has both encryption key and data hiding key, he can extract the embedded data from the marked image and recover the original image perfectly. The proposed scheme can achieve satisfactory quality of decrypted image and high embedding rate. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and computational efficiency of our scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose two efficient compression schemes for digital images using an adaptive selection mechanism for vector quantization (VQ), side match vector quantization (SMVQ), and image inpainting. On the sender side, after the original image is divided into blocks, the compression is implemented block by block. In both schemes, blocks in pre-specified locations are first compressed by VQ. For each remaining block, the optimal compression method (for the first scheme, including VQ or inpainting, and for the second scheme, including VQ, SMVQ, and inpainting) is determined by computing the mean square error (MSE) between the original block and its inpainted result and then comparing it with a predefined threshold. If MSE is greater than the threshold, image inpainting continues to be used to compress the current block. Otherwise, the compression mode of VQ or SMVQ is selected to substitute image inpainting to maintain higher visual quality. With the assistance of transmitted indicator flags, the receiver side can execute the image inpainting and decompression successfully. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of two proposed schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a reversible data hiding scheme for digital images with high hiding capacity is proposed. Original image is segmented into smooth and rough regions based on local complexity. In order to achieve higher hiding capacity, we embed three bits into each pixel belonging to smooth region with lower local complexity and one bit is embedded into each pixel of rough region, which can effectively exploit more redundancy during data embedding compared with conventional methods of prediction error expansion (PEE). Additionally, the pixel selection mechanism is applied to reduce the number of shifted pixels, which leads to high visual quality of stego image. Experimental results show that, our scheme can achieve better rate-distortion performance than some of state-of-the-art schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimating variances in noise is of key importance in many image processing applications, such as filtering, enhancement, quality assessment, and detecting forgery. For the existing detection methods that are based on inconsistencies in noise, the conventional approach is to estimate the noise variance of each region first and then identify the regions with extremely higher or lower variance as splicing regions. However, due to the impossibility of completely separating image noise and inherent texture, inevitably, each estimate is overestimated, especially for regions that have more complex textures. In this paper, we consider the issue that the estimation of the noise of each region frequently is inaccurate due to the complexity of the texture of the region. Based on this consideration and motivated by the scoring strategy-based, object-proposal technique, an approach that incorporates the inhomogeneity scoring strategy is proposed to provide a more convincing result to expose image-splicing manipulations. Specifically, first, the image is segmented into small patches, and the noise variance of each patch is computed by using the kurtosis concentration-based pixel-level noise estimation method. Then, the inhomogeneity score is computed using the spectral residual-based saliency measurement method. After using a linear equation fitting based on the estimated sample of variance and the inhomogeneity score of each patch, the suspicious region can be identified by seeking the conjunct patches that are out of the linear constraint. The experimental results demonstrated the efficacy and robustness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complement-mediated inflammation plays a vital role in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), implicating pro-inflammatory factor interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) secretion. Brain samples and contralateral hemiencephalon were all collected and detected by Western blot. NLRP3 expression was located by dual immunofluorescence staining at 1, 3, and 5 days post-ICH. Brain water content was examined post-ICH. The neural deficit scores were evaluated by observers blindly. ILs were detected by ELISA. SiRNAs targeting NLRP3 (siNLRP3), siASC, and siControl were injected to inhibit NLRP3 function. To test the complement activation via Nod-like receptor (NLR) family pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3), normal rabbit complement (NRC) was injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to facilitate the complement function. As a result, complement 3a (C3a) and complement 5a (C5a) were upregulated during the ICH-induced neuroinflammation, and ablation of C3 attenuates ICH-induced IL-1β release. Though the LPS rescues the neuroinflammation in the ICH model, C3 deficiency attenuates the LPS-induced inflammatory effect. The NLRP3 inflammasome was activated after ICH and was located in the microglial cell of the mouse brain, which exhibits a time-dependent manner. However, the number of NLRP3/Iba-1 dual-labeled cells in the C3 group is less than that in the WT group in each time course, respectively. IL-1β and IL-18 released in perihematoma tissue, caspase-1-p20, brain water content, and behavioral outcomes were attenuated in the siNLRP3 and siASC groups than in the siControl and ICH groups. We also found that 5% of complement supplement enhances ICH-induced IL-1β release, while NLRP3 and ASC inhibition attenuates it. In conclusion, complement-induced ICH neuroinflammation depended on NLRP3 activation, which facilities LPS- and ICH-induced neuroinflammation, and NLRP3 is required for ICH-induced inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This meta-analysis was carried out to evaluate the relationship between NM23 expression and the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer. We searched PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science for relevant articles. The pooled odd ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95%CI were calculated to evaluate the prognostic value of NM23 expression in patients with colorectal cancer, and the association between NM23 expression and clinicopathological factors. In total, 2289 patients were pooled from 24 available studies. The incorporative OR combined by 16 studies with overall survival showed that high NM23 expression was associated with better overall survival (OR=0.67, 95%CI: 0.49-0.93, P=0.02, I =56%, Ph=0.004). And a new estimate without heterogeneity was produced when only combining high-quality studies (OR=0.70, 95%CI: 0.56-0.86, P=0.0007, I =46%). In disease free survival (DFS), we also obtained a good prognosis (OR=0.30, 95%CI: 0.14-0.68, P=0.004). Although we failed to find any significance in N status ( P=0.10), elevated NM23 expression was related to well tumor differentiation (OR=0.60, 95%CI: 0.44-0.820, P=0.001) and Dukes' A&B (OR=0.55, 95%CI: 0.32-0.95, P=0.03). These results indicated that over-expressed NM23 might be an indicator of good prognosis, well tumor differentiation and Dukes' A&B of patients with colorectal cancer, but no significance was found in N status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc finger of the cerebellum (ZIC1), one of ZIC family genes, has been shown to play important roles in many cancers such as gastric cancer and breast cancer. However, there is little known about the expression and significance of ZIC1 in endometrial cancer. The aim of this study was to determine the expression pattern and clinicopathological significance of ZIC1 in endometrial cancer. The mRNA and protein expression of ZIC1 in endometrial cancer tissues was detected using the reversetranscription polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting, respectively. Immunostaining of ZIC1 in 99 endometrial cancer samples was examined and its associations with clinicopathological parameters were analyzed. Hec-1-B cells were transfected with ZIC1-shRNA or sc-shRNA, and cell proliferation was assayed. Hec-1-B cells stably transfected with ZIC1-shRNA or sc-shRNA were subcutaneously inoculated into nude mice, and the tumor weight was measured. A significantly increased expression of ZIC1 mRNA and protein was observed in endometrial cancer tissues compared to that in normal endometrial tissues ( P<0.05). Immunohistochemical analysis showed that strong cytoplasmic immunostaining of ZIC1 was observed in almost all endometrial cancer samples (90/99) while light and moderate immunostaining of ZIC1 was only detected in 17 of 30 (56.7%) normal tissues. Moreover, up-regulation of ZIC1 was significantly correlated with age, disease stage, TNM stage and FIGO stage ( P<0.05). The down-regulated expression of ZIC1 contributed to the inhibition of cell proliferation, and inhibited the growth of tumor. It was concluded that ZIC1 is over-expressed in endometrial cancer tissue but not in normal tissue, and positively correlated to the malignant biological behavior of endometrial carcinogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The numerical simulation of tensile fracture behavior on Al-Cu alloy friction stir-welded joint was performed with the Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman (GTN) damage model. The parameters of the GTN model were studied in each region of the friction stir-welded joint by means of inverse identification. Based on the obtained parameters, the finite element model of the welded joint was built to predict the fracture behavior and tension properties. Good agreement can be found between the numerical and experimental results in the location of the tensile fracture and the mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel Vibrio alginolyticus lytic bacteriophage was isolated from sewage samples obtained from a local aquatic market. Morphological analysis revealed that the phage, designated as PVA1, belonged to the family Podoviridae. The complete genomic sequence of phage PVA1 contained 41,529 bp with a G + C content of 43.7 % and 75 putative open reading frames. The genome was grouped into four modules, including phage structure, DNA packaging, DNA replication and regulation, and some additional functions. Further genomic comparison of the phage PVA1 with other known phages showed no significant similarities. Genes related to virulence and lysogeny were not detected in the phage genome. Our results suggest that phage PVA1 may be classified as a new Vibrio phage. We believe that these phage genomic sequence data will provide useful basic information for further molecular research on this Vibrio phage and its host as well for determining its infection/interaction mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There should be an article note that will indicate that both authors' Fang Cao and Chunyan Wang contributed equally to the paper. Correction to: Network-Based Integrated Analysis of Transcriptomic Studies in Dissecting Gene Signatures for LPS-Induced Acute Lung Injury Thus, the below statement should be captured as article note: Fang Cao and Chunyan Wang contributed equally to this work. [Extracted from the article]

This study investigated the potential of using four spectroscopic techniques including visible-short-wave near infrared, long-wave near infrared (LNIR), mid-infrared, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in tandem with multivariable selection and calibration for rapid determination of three important ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), namely eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) in fish oil. Quantitative models were established between the spectral data and reference PUFA contents of samples based on partial least squares regression (PLSR) algorithm. Successive projections algorithm (SPA) and uninformative variable elimination (UVE) were used to select the most important variables for prediction. The average decrements of 23.20 % for root mean square error of cross-validation (RMSECV) and 64.90 % for the absolute value between root mean square error of calibration and RMSECV (AV_RMSE) in all 12 cases achieved after over 90 % variables were eliminated. UVE was also found to be helpful to improve the efficiency of SPA's variable selection in 8/12 cases. The best predictions for EPA, DHA, and DPA were all achieved by NMR spectroscopy (determination coefficients of cross-validation ( r) of 0.970, 0.982, and 0.983 and the RMSECV of 11.48, 4.73, and 0.77 mg/g for the EPA, DHA, and DPA predictions, respectively). LNIR spectra also did good predictions similar to NMR. The results demonstrated that the laborious and time-consuming gas chromatography method could be replaced by spectroscopic techniques in tandem with PLSR modeling and variable selection in order to provide a rapid and reliable inspection of PUFA in fish oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to investigate the overall contribution of genetic and environmental effects on poor response to hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination in Chinese infants. One-year-old healthy twins were recruited from child-care settings. Parental factors, neonates' condition at birth, postnatal infant feeding history and growth measurements during the 12 months were investigated by conducting an interview and checking the medical records. HBV-related markers were examined at 1 year of age. Heritability of surface antibody to HBV (anti-HBs) concentrations (ordinal variable) among twins was estimated using MX software. The role of perinatal environmental factors on poor vaccine response (anti-HBs<100 mIU ml−1) was analyzed using XTGEE (fit population-averaged panel-data models by using GEE) programs. Overall, 172 out of 225 recruited twin pairs were analyzed for heritability, including 82 pairs (47.67%) of monozygotic twins and 90 pairs of dizygotic twins, which consisted 43 pairs of (25.0%) opposite sex twins, 29 pairs of male twins and 18 pairs of female twins. Seventy-one (19.9%) of 370 twins showed poor responses to HBV vaccine. An additive genetic (0.91 of the variance)-random environmental (0.09 of the variance)-model best fit the variation of anti-HBs response. Risk factor analysis showed that with a smoking father and low birth weight, the infants were associated with an increased risk of poor response to HBV vaccination (odds ratio (OR)=4.50, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.52-8.03 and OR=2.55, 95% CI: 1.33-4.87, respectively). Higher Apgar score and gaining more body weight in the first year of life reduced this risk. Genetic factors have a dominant role in determining infant HBV vaccination responses (91%) compared with perinatal environmental factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Malignant melanoma, characterized by early distant metastasis to the lungs and brain, is a leading cause of mortality related to skin cancer. Cell fusion and the subsequent aneuploidy, commonly observed in melanoma, are associated with poor prognosis. However, the pathological consequences of cell fusion in melanoma remain unknown. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the pathological consequences of cell fusion in melanoma and the mechanism of melanoma metastasis. Methods: Phytohemagglutinin-polyethylene glycol (PHA-PEG) fusion method was developed for the fusion of tumor cells. Melanoma cells were fused through the improved PHA-PEG fusion method and obtained by fluorescence-activated cell sorting. DNA content was analyzed through flow cytometry. Cell proliferation rate was detected by cell culture in vitro, and the cell number was counted daily. To detect the tumor growth rate in vivo, cells were injected subcutaneously and the tumor volumes were measured using a vernier caliper. To analyze the tumor metastatic potential, cells were injected intravenously, and the collected lung-metastasis samples were weighed by an electronic balance and the surface nodules were counted. Results: We established an improved phytohemagglutinin-polyethylene glycol fusion method and successfully obtained stable melanoma tumor-tumor cell fusion hybrids. Cell size, DNA content, and chromosome numbers of the fusion hybrids were approximately twice those of the parents. The metastatic potential of the fusion hybrids was dramatically enhanced, in contrast to their proliferation rate. Their metastasis was specific to the lungs. Conclusions: We developed a highly efficient cell fusion method that can be applied in many fields, particularly cancer research. Our study has proven that tumor-tumor cell fusion hybrids in melanoma can acquire enhanced and specific metastatic potential. Thus, blockage of cell fusion may be a new strategy for melanoma metastasis therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the crystal structure of SPRY domain of human Absent, small or homeotic discs-like 2 (Ash2L), and its interactions with nuclear protein DPY30 and retinoblastoma-binding protein 5 (RbBP5). It notes the role of SPRY domain as a primary moiety in Ash2L that recognizes RbBP5, mediates MLL1 complex assembly, and regulates MLL1 enzymatic activity. It also cites the correlation of structural disparities in its loop regions with their role in specific protein recognition.

Low molecular weight (LMW) organic acids are important and ubiquitous chemical constituents in the atmosphere. A comprehensive study of the chemical composition of precipitation was carried out from June 2007 to June 2008 at a rural site in Anshun, in the west of Guizhou Province, China. During this period, 118 rainwater samples were collected and the main LMW carboxylic acids were determined using ion chromatography. The average pH of rainwater was 4.89 which is a typical acidic value. The most abundant carboxylic acids were formic acid (volume weight mean concentration: 8.77 µmol L-1) and acetic acid (6.90 µmol L-1), followed by oxalic acid (2.05 µmol L-1 ). The seasonal variation of concentrations and wet deposition fluxes of organic acids indicated that direct vegetation emissions were the main sources of the organic acids. Highest concentrations were observed in winter and were ascribed to the low winter rainfall and the contribution of other air pollution sources northeast of the study area. The ratio of formic and acetic acids in the precipitation ([F/A]T) was proposed as an indicator of pollution source. This suggested that the pollution resulted from direct emissions from natural or anthropogenic sources. Comparison with acid precipitation in other urban and rural areas in Guizhou showed that there was a decreasing contribution of LMW organic acids to free acidity and all anions in rainwater from urban to remote rural areas. Consequently, it is necessary to control emissions of organic acids to reduce the frequency of acid rain, especially in rural and remote areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A magnetic-separated catalyst of chitosan-palladium complex (Fe3O4-CS-Pd) based on chitosan coated Fe3O4 microspheres was prepared by the “bottom-up” approach. The catalytic behavior of the catalyst in the cross coupling reaction of acrylic acid (AA) with iodobenzene (ArI) was investigated. Compared with the traditional homogeneous palladium catalysts, the catalyst was easily separated and reused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the IHSL transform and the Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) segmentation algorithm are combined together to perform the unsupervised classification for fully polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Rader (SAR) data. We apply the IHSL colour transform to H/α/SPAN space to obtain a new space (RGB colour space) which has a uniform distinguishability among inner parameters and contains the whole polarimetric information in H/α/SPAN. Then the FCM algorithm is applied to this RGB space to finish the classification procedure. The main advantages of this method are that the parameters in the color space have similar interclass distinguishability, thus it can achieve a high performance in the pixel based segmentation algorithm, and since we can treat the parameters in the same way, the segmentation procedure can be simplified. The experiments show that it can provide an improved classification result compared with the method which uses the H/α/SPAN space directly during the segmentation procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been widely acknowledged that anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is a golden marker of ovarian reserve. Declined ovarian reserve (DOR), based on experience from reproductive-aged women, refers to both the quantitative and qualitative reduction in oocytes. This view is challenged by a recent study clearly showing that the quality of oocytes is similar in young women undergoing IVF cycles irrespective of the level of AMH. However, it remains elusive whether AMH indicates oocyte quality in women with advanced age (WAA). The aim of this study was to investigate this issue. In the present study, we retrospectively analysed the data generated from a total of 492 IVF/ICSI cycles (from January 2017 to July 2020), and these IVF/ICSI cycles contributed 292 embryo transfer (ET) cycles (from June 2017 to September 2019, data of day 3 ET were included for analysis) in our reproductive centre. Based on the level of AMH, all patients (= > 37 years old) were divided into 2 groups: the AMH high (H) group and the AMH low (L) group. The parameters of in vitro embryo development and clinical outcomes were compared between the two groups. The results showed that women in the L group experienced severe DOR, as demonstrated by a higher rate of primary diagnosis of DOR, lower antral follicle count (AFC), higher level of basal follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and cancelation cycles, lower level of E2 production on the day of surge, and fewer oocytes and MII oocytes retrieved. Compared with women in the H group, women in the L group showed slightly reduced top embryo formation rate but a similar normal fertilization rate and blastocyst formation rate. More importantly, we found that the rates of implantation, spontaneous miscarriage and livebirth were similar between the two groups, while the pregnancy rate was significantly reduced in the L group compared with the H group. Further analysis indicated that the higher pregnancy rate of women in the H group may be due to more top embryos transferred per cycle. Due to an extremely low implantation potential for transfer of non-top embryos from WAA (= > 37 years old) in our reproductive centre, we assumed that all the embryos that implanted may result from the transfer of top embryos. Based on this observation, we found that the ratio of embryos that successfully implanted or eventually led to a livebirth to top embryos transferred was similar between the H and the L groups. Furthermore, women with clinical pregnancy or livebirth in the H or L group did not show a higher level of serum AMH but were younger than women with non-pregnancy or non-livebirth. Taken together, this study showed that AMH had a limited role in predicting in vitro embryo developmental potential and had no role in predicting the in vivo embryo developmental potential, suggesting that in WAA, AMH should not be used as a marker of oocyte quality. This study supports the view that the accumulation of top embryos via multiple oocyte retrieval times is a good strategy for the treatment of WAA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]