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Objective: Runt‐related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) plays an important role in bone metabolism; however, the relationship between Runx2 and periodontitis remains unclear. We investigated Runx2 expression in the gingiva of patients to explore its role in periodontitis. Methods: Gingival samples of patients were collected, including healthy samples (control group) and periodontitis samples (P group). Periodontitis samples were divided into three groups based on the periodontitis stage. Samples with stage I and grade B periodontitis were in the P1 group, stage II and grade B in the P2 group, and stage III or IV and grade B in the P3 group. Immunohistochemistry and western blotting were performed to detect Runx2 levels. The probing (PD) and clinical attachment loss (CAL) were recorded. Results: Runx2 expression levels in the P and P3 groups were higher than those in the control group. In addition, Runx2 expression was positively correlated with CAL and PD (r1 = 0.435, r2 = 0.396). Conclusion: The high expression level of Runx2 in the gingiva of patients with periodontitis may be correlated with the pathogenesis of periodontitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non‐native plants are typically released from specialist enemies but continue to be attacked by generalists, albeit at lower intensities. This reduced herbivory may lead to less investment in constitutive defences and greater investment in induced defences, potentially reducing defence costs. We compared herbivory on 27 non‐native and 59 native species in the field and conducted bioassays and chemical analyses on 12 pairs of non‐native and native congeners. Non‐natives suffered less damage and had weaker constitutive defences, but stronger induced defences than natives. For non‐natives, the strength of constitutive defences was correlated with the intensity of herbivory experienced, whereas induced defences showed the reverse. Investment in induced defences correlated positively with growth, suggesting a novel mechanism for the evolution of increased competitive ability. To our knowledge, these are the first linkages reported among trade‐offs in plant defences related to the intensity of herbivory, allocation to constitutive versus induced defences, and growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore the physical and mental health status of community residents and to identify the risk factors of chronic diseases. Design: A cross‐sectional, descriptive correlational study was conducted. Methods: A total of 579 participants were recruited from 15 communities in Tianjin. The demographic information sheet, 7‐item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (GAD‐7) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ‐9) were used. Data collection was undertaken based on the health management system on mobile phones from April to May 2019. Results: Eighty‐four participants of the total number of surveyed were with chronic disease. The incidence of depression and anxiety in participants was 44.2% and 41.3%. Logistic regression analysis showed that age (OR = 4.905, 95%CI: 2.619–9.187), religious belief (OR = 0.445, 95%CI: 1.510–11.181) and working condition (OR = 0.161, 95%CI: 0.299–0.664) entered the regression equation. Old age is a risk factor for chronic diseases. No religious belief and working condition are protective factors for chronic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) continues to be a major cause of visual impairment and blindness in premature infants and children. Objectives: To investigate the incidence of severe ROP receiving treatment in extremely preterm (EP) infants in China over time. The risk factors for ROP treatment were also assessed. Methods: This was a multicentre retrospective study and a subanalysis of baseline data from the "Outcomes of EP infants in China 2010–2019" study. This study was conducted in 68 tertiary neonatal care centres from 31 provinces of China. Infants with a gestational age of 230–276 weeks and admitted to a neonatal unit within the first 72 h of life between 2010 and 2019 were enrolled. Incidence of ROP was analysed in infants who survived to 32 weeks postmenstrual age and screened for ROP. Multivariable modified Poisson regression models were used to identify risk factors for ROP treatment. Results: Among 7295 eligible infants, 4701 (64.5%) survived to 32 weeks postmenstrual age and met ROP screening criteria. Of the 3756 infants who screened and with ROP data, 2320 (61.8%) developed ROP of any stage. The overall incidence of ROP treatment was 12.6%, decreasing from 45.5% at 23 weeks to 8.3% at 27 weeks. During the 10‐year period, the incidence of ROP treatment did not change, although the incidence of any ROP increased over time. Independent risk factors associated with ROP treatment included lower gestational age, small for gestational age, multiple birth, severe intraventricular haemorrhage, patent ductus arteriosus and supplemental oxygen duration. Conclusions: The incidence of EP infants receiving ROP treatment showed no change during this 10‐year period in China. Prevention of prematurity and foetal growth restriction, judicious use of oxygen and reducing comorbidities are promising factors that may reduce the incidence of ROP needing treatment in these high‐risk infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based upon the higher order (HO) concept and the convolution perfectly matched layer (CPML) formulation, the efficient and tight HO‐CPML implementation is proposed for electromagnetic (EM) simulation. The proposed formulation has the advantages of the higher order concept and the CPML in terms of enhancing absorbing performance and improving computational efficiency. Numerical examples including the half‐space soil/metal plate structure and the patch antenna radiation model are carried out in the finite‐difference time‐domain lattice to validate the effectiveness and efficiency. It can be demonstrated that the proposed HO‐CPML can further enhance the absorbing performance compared with the CPML and enjoy considerable computational efficiency compared with the other HO‐perfectly matched layers (HO‐PMLs). Meanwhile, the proposal can terminate arbitrary mediums without changing the update equations in the PML regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dickkopf‐1 is an inhibitor of the Wnt/β‐catenin pathway, but the role of Dickkopf‐1 in oral submucous fibrosis remains unclear. We evaluated the protein expression and gene methylation levels of dickkopf‐1 to determine the mechanism underlying abnormal Wnt/β‐catenin pathway activation. Methods: Healthy mucosa, oral submucous fibrosis, oral squamous cell carcinoma, and cancer‐adjacent tissues were collected. The expression and promoter methylation levels of dickkopf‐1 were analyzed. Results: The expression levels of dickkopf‐1 in oral submucous fibrosis and oral squamous cell carcinoma tissues were lower than those in healthy and cancer‐adjacent tissues. The methylation levels of the dickkopf‐1 gene in oral submucous fibrosis and oral squamous cell carcinoma tissues were higher than those in healthy and cancer‐adjacent tissues. Dickkopf‐1 expression was negatively correlated with dickkopf‐1 gene methylation. Conclusions: High dickkopf‐1 methylation levels in oral submucous fibrosis and oral squamous cell carcinoma tissues may decrease dickkopf‐1 expression, which may induce an abnormal activation of the Wnt/β‐catenin pathway and oral submucous fibrosis pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet demands for fresh flavor and unique taste from beer consumer, there is an increase in the popularity of craft beer, which is more susceptible to microbial contamination than the industry beer. A beer‐spoilage strain was isolated from craft beer and identified as Staphylococcus xylosus strain BS7. The isolate BS7 showed that high beer‐spoilage ability at low temperature (4°C), low pH (4.0) and high ethanol concentration (7.0%, v/v). Compared with the other known strains of S. xylosus, strain BS7 was resistant to hop compounds and had an evolutionary stability in hop resistance. Strain BS7 was able to grow quickly and utilizes nutrients in commercial beer, produces organic acids and biogenic amines, and changes beer flavor profile. These results suggest that S. xylosus strain BS7 is a beer‐spoilage strain with the danger, which can lead to the beer‐spoilage issues during craft beer production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of adaptive practical finite‐time control is considered for a class of single‐input and single‐output non‐linear systems, in which the system non‐linear functions are assumed to be unknown. By combining adaptive fuzzy control approach with the backstepping technology, a backstepping‐based adaptive fuzzy finite‐time control scheme is proposed. In the control design procedure, fuzzy logic systems are employed to identify the non‐linear uncertainties. The stability analysis of the adaptive closed‐loop systems is proposed based on the finite‐time Lyapunov stability theory. The proposed adaptive fuzzy controller guarantees that all the closed signals are semi‐global practical finite‐time stability while the tracking error converges to a small neighbourhood of the origin. Finally, simulation results are presented to validate the effectiveness of our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]