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Extractive document summarization (EDS) is usually seen as a sequence labeling task, which extracts sentences from a document one by one to form a summary. However, extracting sentences separately ignores the relationship between the sentences and documents. One solution is to use sentence position information to enhance sentence representation, but this will cause the sentence-leading bias problem, especially in news datasets. In this paper, we propose a novel sentence centrality for the EDS task to address these two problems. The sentence centrality is based on directed graphs, while reflecting the sentence-document relationship, it also reflects the sentence position information in the document. We implicitly strengthen the relevance of sentences and documents by using sentence centrality to enhance sentence representation. Notably, we replaced the sentence position information with sentence centrality to reduce sentence-leading bias without causing model performance degradation. Experiments on the CNN/Daily Mail dataset showed that EDS models with sentence centrality significantly improved compared with baseline models.

Background and Aim: To evaluate the clinical effect of ultrasound (US)-guided percutaneous thermal ablation of hepatic focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH).Methods: A retrospective analysis of the clinical data of patients undergoing US-guided percutaneous thermal ablation of FNH from November 2008 to August 2021 at five medical centers in China was conducted.Results: A total of 53 patients were included (26 males and 27 females). The mean age was 35.1 ± 10.8 years. Sixty-five lesions (46 solitary cases and 7 cases with multiple lesions) were included, 70.8% (46/65) of which were located in the right liver lobe. The mean tumor length was 2.9 ± 1.5 cm. All patients successfully completed the ablation treatment. Immediate postoperative imaging showed that the primary technical success rate was 94.3% (50/53). Two patients underwent ablation 3 and 6 months after the primary ablation, and the secondary technical success rate was 100% (2/2). The incidence of complications was 3.8% (2/53). Imaging follow-up was conducted regularly after ablation, and no residual lesion enlargement or tumor recurrence was observed during the follow-up period. The technique efficacy rate was 98.1% (52/53).Conclusion: US-guided percutaneous thermal ablation is a safe and effective treatment for FNH of the liver.

Appropriate planting and nitrogen application patterns to support high-quality production of cultivated forage in light of issues of water scarcity, extensive field husbandry, and low productivity in cultivated grassland planting areas were investigated in this study. Using Medicago sativa L. (alfalfa) as the research object, this study analyzed the effects of planting patterns (conventional flat planting (FP) and ridge culture with film mulching (RM)) and nitrogen level (N0: 0 kg·ha−1, N1: 80 kg·ha−1, N2: 160 kg·ha−1, N3: 240 kg·ha−1) on the growth, yield, quality (crude protein content (CP), acid detergent fiber content (ADF), neutral detergent fiber content (NDF), and relative feeding value (RFV)), the water–nitrogen use efficiency, and economic benefits (EB) of alfalfa in the year of establishment. Results demonstrated that (1) RM might greatly increase the growth of alfalfa when compared to FP. The plant height, stem diameter, and leaf:stem ratio of alfalfa all increased under the same planting patterns before decreasing as the nitrogen application rate (NAR) increased. (2) Appropriate NAR combined with RM could improve the yield and quality of alfalfa. Compared with other treatments, the yield, CP, and RFV under RMN2 treatment increased by 5.9~84.9%, 4.9~28.6%, and 19.6~49.3%, respectively, and the ADF and NDF decreased by 14.0~27.6% and 13.0~26.1%, respectively. (3) Under the same nitrogen level, RM showed better performance than FP in terms of water use efficiency (WUE), irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE), precipitation use efficiency (PUE), partial factor productivity of nitrogen (PFPN), agronomic nitrogen use efficiency (ANUE), and EB of alfalfa. Under the same planting pattern, PFPN decreased as the NAR increased, while WUE, IWUE, PUE, ANUE, and EB first increased and then decreased as the NAR increased and reached a maximum value under the N2 condition. In conclusion, the RM planting pattern combined with a nitrogen level of 160 kg·ha−1 can significantly promote alfalfa growth as well as the yield, quality, water–nitrogen use efficiency, and EB of alfalfa, making it a suitable planting management mode for alfalfa production in the Yellow River irrigation region in Gansu Province, China and areas with similar climate.

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head, an intractable but common disease that eventually triggers collapse of the femoral head, is characterized by increased osteoclast activity and markedly decreased osteoblast activity in the necrotic region of the femoral head. MicroRNA (miRNA)-214 (miR-214) may play important roles in vertebrate skeletal development by inhibiting osteoblast function by targeting activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) and promoting osteoclast function via phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN). This study revealed significantly increased levels of miR-214 in necrotic regions, with commensurate changes in the numbers of its target cells (both osteoblasts and osteoclasts). To investigate whether targeting miR-214 could prevent femoral head collapse, we constructed an adeno-associated virus (AAV)-associated anti-miR-214 (AAV-anti-miR-214) and evaluated its function in vivo. AAV-anti-miR-214 promoted osteoblast activity and diminished osteoclast activity, effectively preventing collapse of the femoral head in a rat model of osteonecrosis. Keywords: miRNA-214, osteonecrosis of the femoral head, osteoblast activity, osteoclast activity

This study investigated the fermentation quality of alfalfa grown in different salt stress regions in China. Following the production of silage from the natural fermentation of alfalfa, the interplay between the chemical composition, fermentation characteristics, and microbiome was examined to understand the influence of these factors on the fermentation quality of silage. The alfalfa was cultivated under salt stress with the following: (a) soil content of

IntroductionCircular RNAs (circRNAs) are non-coding RNAs that have the structure of a covalently closed loop. Increasing data have proven that circRNAs can influence the progression and chemotherapy sensitivity of tumors. Therefore, the underlying function and mechanisms of more circRNAs in progression and chemotherapy resistance are important.MethodsWe conducted RNA sequencing on five pairs of urothelial carcinoma samples and screened for circRNAs. CircFAM114A2 was found to be low expressed in urothelial carcinoma. The functions of circFAM114A2 in urothelial carcinoma were explored by cell cycle assay, IC50 determination assay, cell proliferation assay, apoptosis assay, and tumorigenesis assay.ResultsWe discovered that the levels of circFAM114A2 were decreased in urothelial carcinoma cell lines and tissues. According to follow-up data, urothelial carcinoma patients with higher circFAM114A2 expression had better survival. Importantly, the levels of circFAM114A2 were associated with the histological grade of urothelial carcinoma. CircFAM114A2 could inhibit cell proliferation and block more urothelial carcinoma cells in the G1 phase and then increase the sensitivity of urothelial carcinoma to cisplatin chemotherapy. Mechanistically, circFAM114A2 directly sponged miR-222-3p/miR-146a-5p and subsequently influenced the expressions of the downstream target genes P27/P21, which, in turn, inhibited the progression of urothelial carcinoma and increased the sensitivity of cancer cells to cisplatin chemotherapy.ConclusionCircFAM114A2 could inhibit progression and promote cisplatin sensitivity in urothelial carcinoma through novel circFAM114A2/miR-222-3p/P27 and circFAM114A2/miR-146a-5p/P21 pathways. CircFAM1142 has therefore great potential as a prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for urothelial carcinoma.

BackgroundAlzheimer’s disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are the two main types of dementia. We investigated the electroencephalogram (EEG) difference and clinical correlation in early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (EOAD), and FTD using multimodal EEG analyses. EOAD had more severe EEG abnormalities than late-onset AD (LOAD). Group comparisons between EOAD and LOAD were also performed.MethodsThirty patients diagnosed with EOAD, nine patients with LOAD, and 14 patients with FTD (≤65 y) were recruited (2008.1–2020.2), along with 24 healthy controls (≤65 y, n = 18; >65 y, n = 6). Clinical data were reviewed. Visual EEG, EEG microstate, and spectral analyses were performed.ResultsCompared to controls, markedly increased mean microstate duration, reduced mean occurrence, and reduced global field power (GFP) peaks per second were observed in EOAD and FTD. We found increased durations of class B in EOAD and class A in FTD. EOAD had reduced occurrences in classes A, B, and C, while only class C occurrence was reduced in FTD. The visual EEG results did not differ between AD and FTD. Microstate B showed correlations with activities of daily living score (r = 0.780, p = 0.008) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ42 (r = −0.833, p = 0.010) in EOAD. Microstate D occurrence was correlated with the CSF Aβ42 level in FTD (r = 0.786, p = 0.021). Spectral analysis revealed a general slowing EEG, which may contribute to microstate dynamic loss. Power in delta was significantly higher in EOAD than in FTD all over the head. In addition, EOAD had a marked increased duration and decreased occurrence than late-onset AD (LOAD), with no group differences in visual EEG results.ConclusionThe current study found that EOAD and FTD had different EEG changes, and microstate had an association with clinical severity and CSF biomarkers. EEG microstate is more sensitive than visual EEG and may be useful for the differentiation between AD and FTD. The observations support that EEG can be a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and assessment of early-onset dementias.

Dynamin 3 (DNM3) has gained increased attention ever since its potential as a tumor suppressor was reported. However, its action in lung cancer (LC) is undefined. In this study, the role of DNM3 in LC development was investigated. DNM3 expression was found to be downregulated in tumors of patients with LC, especially those with metastasis. The DNM3 downregulation enhanced the proliferative and metastatic ability of LC cells, whereas its upregulation had the opposite effects. In vivo xenograft experiments confirmed that lung tumors with lower DNM3 expression had higher growth and metastatic abilities. Mechanistic studies revealed that DNM3 interacts with growth factor receptor-bound protein 2 (GBR2), thereby interrupting tyrosine-protein kinase Met (c-MET)–GBR2–signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) complex formation, which suppressed STAT3 activation. Therefore, the absence of DNM3 frees GBR2 to activate STAT3, which regulates the expression of genes related to LC proliferation and metastasis (e.g., cyclin D1 and Snail family transcriptional repressor 1). Additionally, the c-MET inhibitor crizotinib effectively suppressed LC cell proliferation and migration in vitro and in vivo, even with DNM3 depleted. Therefore, our study has demonstrated the antitumor effect of DNM3 in LC and suggests that the inhibition of c-MET might be a promising strategy for treating those LC patients with low DNM3 expression.

This article copes with signal source localization by employing a receding horizon control approach with temporal logic planning in the light of a single mobile robot. First, a temporal logic planning approach is proposed such that the task requirements from the temporal logic specifications can be effectively dealt with based on the product automaton in an offline fashion. Second, in order to label the key nodes of the product automaton, a particle filter is utilized to predict the source positions as the key nodes. Third, on the basis of the product automaton, a receding horizon control approach with temporal logic planning is developed to produce the robot’s trajectory that satisfies a given linear temporal logic specification. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed control approach is illustrated for signal source localization.

This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the safety and viral shedding of live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) in Chinese healthy juveniles and adults. A total of 80 Eligible volunteers were divided into two age groups (≥18 and 3–17 years old). Volunteers were randomly and equally assigned to the experimental group and placebo-controlled group by ratio of 3:1 in each age group. Vaccination was carried out in steps. Totally, 34 (56.67%) adverse events and 24 (40.00%) adverse reactions of the LAIV group were reported. Most adverse reactions were grade 1 and grade 2, and the incidence of adverse reactions that grade 3 was 5%. The most common local reaction was runny nose/nasal congestion (n = 4, 6.67%). And the most common general reaction was fever (n = 10, 16.67%). There were no statistically significant differences in the incidence of total adverse reactions, different grades of adverse reactions, and symptoms between the experimental group and placebo-controlled group. No severe adverse events were reported. Three subjects (5.00%) had been detected vaccine strains on the 3rd day after LAIV vaccination; one was type B and the other two were H3N2. Four subjects (6.67%) had been detected with vaccine strains on the 7th day after LAIV vaccination, all were H3N2. There were no subjects detected carrying the influenza virus on the 15th day after vaccination. There were no statistically significant differences in the positive rate of vaccine strains of influenza virus between the experimental group and placebo-controlled group. The vaccine was well tolerated and not associated with increased rates in adverse reactions or the occurrence of severe adverse events. Pathogenicity of shed vaccine virus to surrounding people was not observed. Thus, Phase Ⅱ study can be carried out as scheduled.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is an important source of livestock feed used to address the imbalance between livestock and forage production in China. However, much of the grasslands have a high salt content, which seriously affects the quality and yield of alfalfa. There are many kinds of fungi that play an important role in alfalfa growth and nutrient synthesis. The response of the fungi of alfalfa to salinity is poorly understood. In this study, the physiological characteristics and the fungal community composition of alfalfa under different salt stress conditions were investigated. Salt stress had a great impact on the physiological characteristics and the fungal community composition of alfalfa. The activity of invertase increased significantly under salt stress; the content of water and starch decreased; and the content of crude protein (CP) and soluble sugar increased under mild salt stress. With the increase in salt stress, the relative abundance of Ascomycetes increased, while the relative abundance of basidiomycetes decreased. This showed that the changes in the fungal community may be related to the adaptability of alfalfa plants to salt stress. These findings contribute to a better understanding of alfalfa physiological characteristics and nutrient synthesis under salt stress and deepen our understanding of alfalfa–fungi interactions in the saline soil environment of grasslands.

In order to meet the safety requirements of automobile braking, to improve the braking energy recovery rate of pure electric buses and increase their driving range, the maximum regenerative braking force that the motor can provide is used to determine the front and rear wheel friction braking force distribution curve. A parallel regenerative braking control strategy, A, is proposed to make full use of the motor performance. Aiming at the problems of low power density and short cycle life with a single power battery, a composite energy system composed of power batteries and supercapacitors is designed, and an alternative energy control strategy, D, using real-time wavelet transform control is proposed. The required power is decomposed into high-frequency components and low-frequency components by using the wavelet transform control, in which the high-frequency power is borne by the supercapacitor to avoid impact on the power battery. The simulation model was created using MATLAB/Simulink software, and the simulation was carried out under combined cycle conditions to verify the effectiveness of the control strategy. The simulation results showed that compared with the original vehicle control strategy, adopting the A regenerative braking control strategy can reduce the battery SOC drop by 5.15%, increase the relative increase by 47.9%, and improve the braking energy recovery rate. Compared with the traditional logic threshold regenerative braking control strategy, AC, the AD control strategy can effectively reduce the impact of the peak current and high-frequency demands of the power battery on the battery. The maximum output current of the battery was reduced by 39.5%. The decrease in battery SOC decreased by 0.69%, and the relative increase increased by 12.43%. The driving range and braking performance of the vehicle have thus been effectively improved.

Purpose: To evaluate whether dry eye deteriorates after phacoemulsification cataract surgery, and to explore the influential factors.Methods: Studies published before February 2020 indexed on PubMed and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were retrieved. A meta-analysis, including meta-regression, a sensitivity analysis, and a subgroup analysis, were performed.Results: Twenty studies with 2,247 eyes were included in the meta-analysis, dry eye-related parameters were investigated preoperatively and 1 month postoperatively. Patients with pre-existing meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) had worsened subjective symptoms of dry eye (1.31, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.66, 1.95], P < 0.0001), a reduced tear break-up time (BUT) (−2.27, 95% CI [−2.66, −1.88], P < 0.0001), and a worse corneal fluorescein staining (CFS) score (0.75, 95% CI [0.5, 1.0], P < 0.0001) after phacoemulsification cataract surgery, whereas in the general population, the subjective symptoms score and CFS remained unchanged and BUT decreased slightly after surgery. Patients without diabetes showed significantly reduced total tear secretion after phacoemulsification cataract surgery (−1.25, 95% CI [−1.62, −0.88], P < 0.0001).Conclusion: Dry eye generally remained unchanged 1 month after phacoemulsification cataract surgery. Notably, worsened symptoms and signs of dry eye were observed more frequently in patients with pre-existing MGD. Patients without diabetes were more susceptible to reduced tearing postoperatively.Clinical Trial Registration: Identifier: PERSPERO (2020: CRD42020203316).

Background Globally, there is a large amount of salinized land. These soils have varying degrees of salt stress, causing ionic toxicity and osmotic stress on plants. However, it is not clear how different degrees of salt stress affect plant nutrients and microbial communities. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of plant major nutrients and microbial communities response to salt stress is desirable. Results We analyzed the main nutrients of the salt-tolerant ZhongMu No. 3 alfalfa variety planted in a salt stress environment. In mild and moderate group, the protein content and fatty acid content of alfalfa were the highest, indicating the best nutritional value. The severe group of salt stress affected the growth and development of alfalfa, as manifested by a decrease in the nutritional quality of alfalfa. Pseudomonas and Sphingobacterium that from alfalfa stem and leaf endophytes also increased with an increase in salt stress. In contrast, Sphingomonas, Methylobacterium, and Rhizobium decrease with increasing salt stress. Methylobacterium and Rhizobium have extremely significant differences in response to salt stress, and Exiquobacterium also shows significant differences. Conclusions Soil salinity would be an important factor beyond which alfalfa nutrient quality and microbial community structure change. This study identified key levels of salt stress that may affect the nutrient quality and microbial community structure. These findings enhance our understanding of the effects of salt stress on the nutritional quality of alfalfa and provide a reference for the sustainable use of salinized soil in the future.

BackgroundMetabolic syndrome (MetS) is a pathophysiological change based on the abnormal metabolism of many substances. The study aims to investigate the performance of visceral adiposity index (VAI) and lipid accumulation product (LAP) of MetS in young adults.Methods448 young adults aged between 19 and 24 years old in Qinhuangdao had been included in this cross-sectional study. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were used to assess the accuracy of these two obesity indicators for MetS.ResultsThe prevalence of MetS was 2.0%. In male subjects, LAP had the highest area under the ROC curve (AUC) value (AUC = 0.963), followed by VAI (AUC = 0.937). In female subjects, LAP also had the highest AUC value (AUC = 0.931), followed by VAI (AUC = 0.861). No significant difference was found between the two obesity indicators (P > 0.05).ConclusionThe two obesity indicators were valuable for the screening of MetS in young adults, and LAP was the simpler of the two.

Introduction: It remains controversial whether the periodic discharges (PDs) pattern is an ictal or interictal phenomenon. The aims of the study are to apply time-frequency and power spectrum analysis to study the PDs pattern and prediction of seizures.Methods: We retrospectively searched continuous electroencephalography (cEEG) recordings to identify patients exhibiting the PDs pattern. Artifact-free cEEG segments demonstrating the PDs pattern with stable baselines were chosen for time-frequency and power spectrum analysis.Results: In total, 72 patients (1.3%) exhibited the PDs pattern, with a mean age 36.0 ± 20.7 years (range, 8–76 years). The median spectral power of PDs with a length of 60 s was 70.94 μV2 and that of PDs with a length of 20 s was 195.80 μV2. During follow-up, patients with spectral power of PDs of length 60 and 20 s lower than 28.65 and 36.09 μV2, respectively, exhibited no seizure. For predicting seizures, when the spectral power for PDs of 60 and 20 s equaled to 17.26 and 21.40 μV2, respectively, the diagnostic sensitivity was 100% and specificity was 86%. The locations of maximal spectral power of PDs, crude seizure onset zone (SOZ) judged from scalp EEG, and the most prominent regions of hyper- or hypo-metabolism on FDG-PET were congruent.Conclusions: Spectral power might be a candidate seizure marker of the PDs pattern. High spectral power predicted a high risk of seizures, and low spectral power was associated with a low risk of seizures.

AIM: To investigate the association between interleukin-10 (IL-10) genetic polymorphisms and risk of POAG through a case-control study in a Han population of China. METHODS: A total of 210 patients with POAG and 420 normal subjects were recruited during the period from Dec. 2013 to Dec. 2016. The IL-10 -1082A>G (rs1800870), -819T>C (rs1800871) and -592C>A (rs1800872) polymorphisms were determined using iPlex GOLD SNP genotyping analysis (the SequenomMassARRAY® System, Sequenom, San Diego, USA). The association between IL-10 -1082A>G (rs1800870), -819T>C (rs1800871), and -592C>A (rs1800872) polymorphisms and risk of POAG was assessed by singlelogistic regression analysis. RESULTS: We observed that those carrying the CC genotype of rs1800871 was associated with an increased risk of POAG when compared with those harboring the TT genotype (OR=1.84, 95%CI=1.01-3.38). Those with AA genotype of rs1800872 had a 10.62 fold risk of POAG in comparison to the CC genotype (OR=10.62, 95%CI, 3.41-33.09). A completely linkage disequilibrium was found between IL-10 rs1800871-rs1800872 (D’=1.00, r2=0.16). The A-C-A (OR=2.60, 95%CI, 1.48-4.58) and G-T-A (OR=2.34, 95%CI, 1.42-3.86) haplotypes were associated with an increased risk of POAG, while the A-T-C haplotype showed a decreased risk of POAG (OR=0.63, 95%CI, 0.49-0.81). CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that IL-10 rs1800871 and rs1800872 can be predictive factors for the pathogenesis of POAG in the Chinese population.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have recently emerged as essential regulators in carcinogenesis and cancer progression. Previous studies have shown that Cdr1as functions as a microRNA (miRNA) sponge in various cancer types. However, the role of Cdr1as in cisplatin chemosensitivity in bladder cancer remains unclear. Here, we used real‐time PCR to examine miRNA and gene expression in bladder cancer tissues and cell lines. The abilities of Cdr1as and its downstream regulatory molecules to induce apoptosis and promote cisplatin‐induced chemosensitivity of bladder cancer cells were determined by flow cytometry and cell counting kit. Bioinformatic analysis was utilized to predict potential miRNA target sites, and biotin‐coupled miRNA capture, biotin‐coupled probe pull‐down assay, and RNA fluorescent in situ hybridization were used to study the interaction between Cdr1as and target miRNAs. Dual‐luciferase reporter assay was also used to validate the target genes of miRNAs. The expression level of apoptotic protease‐activating factor 1 (APAF1) in bladder cancer cells was identified via western blot. Finally, the sensitivity of Cdr1as to cisplatin chemotherapy in nude mice xenografts was evaluated in terms of the size, volume of tumors, and the survival of mice. We report that Cdr1as induced the apoptosis and enhanced the cisplatin chemosensitivity of bladder cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. Silencing of APAF1 reduced the sensitivity of bladder cancer cells to cisplatin chemotherapy. Furthermore, Cdr1as could directly sponge miR‐1270 and abolish its effect on APAF1. Our study verified that Cdr1as exerts a cisplatin‐chemosensitization effect on bladder cancer cells through the Cdr1as/miR‐1270/APAF1 axis. This newly identified axis may be a potential therapeutic target for bladder cancer patients.

Abstract Background METTL3 is known to be involved in all stages in the life cycle of RNA. It affects the tumor formation by the regulation the m6A modification in the mRNAs of critical oncogenes or tumor suppressors. In bladder cancer, METTL3 could promote the bladder cancer progression via AFF4/NF-κB/MYC signaling network by an m6A dependent manner. Recently, METTL3 was also found to affect the m6A modification in non-coding RNAs including miRNAs, lincRNAs and circRNAs. However, whether this mechanism is related to the proliferation of tumors induced by METTL3 is not reported yet. Methods Quantitative real-time PCR, western blot and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression of METTL3 in bladder cancer. The survival analysis was adopted to explore the association between METTL3 expression and the prognosis of bladder cancer. Bladder cancer cells were stably transfected with lentivirus and cell proliferation and cell cycle, as well as tumorigenesis in nude mice were performed to assess the effect of METTL3 in bladder cancer. RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), co-immunoprecipitations and RNA m6A dot blot assays were conducted to confirm that METTL3 interacted with the microprocessor protein DGCR8 and modulated the pri-miR221/222 process in an m6A-dependent manner. Luciferase reporter assay was employed to identify the direct binding sites of miR221/222 with PTEN. Colony formation assay and CCK8 assays were conducted to confirm the function of miR-221/222 in METTL3-induced cell growth in bladder cancer. Results We confirmed the oncogenic role of METTL3 in bladder cancer by accelerating the maturation of pri-miR221/222, resulting in the reduction of PTEN, which ultimately leads to the proliferation of bladder cancer. Moreover, we found that METTL3 was significantly increased in bladder cancer and correlated with poor prognosis of bladder cancer patients. Conclusions Our findings suggested that METTL3 may have an oncogenic role in bladder cancer through interacting with the microprocessor protein DGCR8 and positively modulating the pri-miR221/222 process in an m6A-dependent manner. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study that METTL3 affected the tumor formation by the regulation the m6A modification in non-coding RNAs, which might provide fresh insights into bladder cancer therapy.

DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2019.04.014

AIM: To analyze the early visual quality differences of femtosecond laser small incision matrix lens extraction(SMILE)versus femtosecond laser excimer laser in situ keratomileusis(LASIK).METHODS: From February 2017 to February 2018, 78 patients(including 156 eyes)with SMILE myopia were enrolled in our hospital. Eighty patients(160 eyes)who underwent LASIK myopia in the same period were selected. All patients were followed up for three times. Months were observed for surgical outcomes, high-order aberrations, and contrast sensitivity(CS)status.RESULTS: At 1mo and 3mo postoperatively, the central corneal thickness change rate in the SMILE group was(-14.48±2.67)%,(-13.54±2.90)% lower than that of LASIK(-17.92±2.85)%,(-15.63±2.71)%, and intraocular pressure changes. The rates were(-27.08±3.64)% and(-24.41±3.28)% were lower than those in the LASIK group(-29.26±3.81)% and(-27.01±3.62)%(PPPCONCLUSION: SMILE has a lower effect on patients with higher-order aberrations than LASIK, and the early visual quality is better.

The investigations show that the fractional calculus could be employed for complex biological systems and capture intrinsic phenomena. At the same time, the research results also show that the neural network has the characteristics of fractional calculus and its neuronal dynamics is complex. As a micro-neural circuit placed in the spinal cord, the central pattern generator (CPG) is supposed to have the property of fractional calculus. In order to study the application of the fractional order technique to the CPG, the fractional order CPG model is established based on the Matsuoka model. The stable conditions are given through mathematical analysis. In order to extract the relation between the motor cortex and the fractional order CPG, the coupling model between the fractional order CPG and the neural mass model (NMM) simulated the motor cortex is built. Moreover, the effects of coupling model parameters variations on the CPG and the NMM are investigated. The main findings are: first, the CPG output obtained with the fractional order is more accurate than the one obtained with the integral order. Increasing the fractional order makes the CPG output more accurate. Second, the results show that the motor cortex has corresponding modes with those of the CPG. And the NMM mode can switch in accordance with the change of fractional order. Third, the simulations also show that a new stable state in motor cortex could be produced based on the existing modes with the introduction of the fractional order CPG model. It can provide a helpful method to understand the working principles of the motor cortex.

Three-dimensional Reconstruction has drawn much attention in computer vision. Generating a dense point cloud from a single image is a more challenging task. However, generating dense point clouds directly costs expensively in calculation and memory and may cause the network hard to train. In this work, we propose a two-stage training dense point cloud generation network. We first train our attention-based sparse point cloud generation network to generate a sparse point cloud from a single image. Then we train our dense point cloud generation network to densify the generated sparse point cloud. After combining the two stages and finetuning, we obtain an end-to-end network that generates a dense point cloud from a single image. Through evaluation of both synthetic and real-world datasets, we demonstrate that our approach outperforms state of the art works in dense point cloud generation. Our source code is available at https://github.com/VIM-Lab/AttentionDPCR.

The locomotion is one of the basic skills essential for animals' survival. It is a key research field where the locomotion is modulated by the motor cortex. It is shown by the investigation that the neural oscillations have key roles in neural communication. To assess the impacts on the motor cortex in gamma rhythm based on different frequencies central pattern generator (CPG), it is attempted to establish the model between the motor cortex and the CPG. The primary motor cortex and the primary somatosensory cortex are included in the motor cortex. The effects level is qualified using the power spectrum, spiking time histogram, rastergram, spectrogram in terms of the wavelet analysis and coherence between neural populations. The main findings include (1) The CPG with various frequencies under the gamma rhythm frequency can be embedded in gamma oscillation and the gamma power is modified by the CPG phase. (2) There is an optimal CPG with appreciate frequency and amplitude making the neural populations oscillate for the best action in the gamma band. Therefore, to process the neural population the appropriate stimulus is suitable. (3) When CPGs with different parameters are sent into the neural populations, the coherence difference mainly takes place in the gamma band. Therefore, there is an interaction between the internal dynamics with incoming stimuli providing a substrate for processing the complex information. A beneficial exploration can be provided by the investigation on the information process mechanisms in the motor cortex.

The research field of reconstructing 3D models from 2D images is becoming more and more important. Existing methods typically perform single-view reconstruction or multi-view reconstruction utilizing the properties of recurrent neural networks. Due to the self-occlusion of the model and the special nature of the recurrent neural network, these methods have some problems. We propose a novel three-dimensional fusion hierarchical reconstruction method that utilizes a multi-view feature combination method and a hierarchical prediction strategy to unify the single view and any number of multiple views 3D reconstructions. Experiments show that our method can effectively combine features between different views and obtain better reconstruction results than the baseline, especially in the thin parts of the object. Our source code is available at https://github.com/VIM-Lab/3D-FHNet.

A hierarchical formation control framework is proposed to study the formation control problem for the leader-follower multi-quadrotor systems. The proposed framework includes a coordinating control level and a tracking control level. On the coordinating control level, the virtual position and the virtual velocity are obtained based on the finite-time consensus theory such that the virtual shape is formed and virtual velocity consensus is reached. On the tracking control level, the real position and the real velocity track the virtual position and the virtual velocity, respectively, such that a number of quadrotors can reach the desired formation shape and the velocity consensus. Consequently, a coordinating control algorithm and a tracking control algorithm are designed, respectively. The results of simulations and experiments employing three quadrotors and a leader demonstrate that the quadrotors can quickly complete the formation shape and the corresponding velocity consensus is arrived.

In this paper, we design an event-triggered distributed continuous-time optimization approach. The proposed approach can be implemented independently by each robot and has two main characteristics. One is that each robot can deal with its local cost function such that the minimum of the sum of all the local cost functions can be found. The other is that, due to using the event-triggered communication mechanism, resource consumption of chips are saved by reducing the communication frequencies and the updating times of control inputs before the consensus is arrived. Moreover, based on Lyapunov theory, the stability conditions of multi-robot systems with the proposed approach are given. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed approach is illustrated through experimental results.

Scientifically and accurately predicting the state of health (SOH) and remaining useful life (RUL) of batteries is the key technology of automotive battery management systems. The selection of the health indicator (HI) that characterizes battery aging affects the accuracy of the prediction model construction, which in turn affects the accuracy of SOH and RUL estimation. Therefore, this paper analyzes the current status of HI selection for lithium-ion batteries by systematically reviewing the existing literature on the selection of HIs. According to the relationship between HI and battery aging, battery HI can be divided into two categories: direct HI and indirect HI. The capacity and internal resistance of the battery can directly represent the aging degree of the battery and are the direct HIs of the battery. Indirect HIs refer to characteristic parameters extracted from battery charge and discharge data that can characterize the degree of battery aging. This paper analyzes and summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of various HIs and indirect HIs commonly used in current research, providing useful support and reference for future researchers in selecting HIs to characterize battery aging. Finally, in view of the capacity regeneration phenomenon in the aging process of the battery, the selection direction of future HI is proposed.

Numerous patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer develop low responsiveness to cisplatin. Our purpose was to explore differential metabolites derived from serum in bladder cancer patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Data of patients diagnosed with cT2-4aNxM0 was collected. Blood samples were retained prospectively before the first chemotherapy for untargeted metabolomics by 1H-NMR and UPLC-MS. To identify characterized metabolites, multivariate statistical analyses were applied, and the intersection of the differential metabolites discovered by the two approaches was used to identify viable biomarkers. A total of 18 patients (6 NAC-sensitive patients and 12 NAC-resistant patients) were enrolled. There were 29 metabolites detected by 1H-NMR and 147 metabolites identified by UPLC-MS. Multivariate statistics demonstrated that in the sensitive group, glutamine and taurine were considerably increased compared to their levels in the resistant group, while glutamate and hypoxanthine were remarkably decreased. Pathway analysis and enrichment analysis showed significant alterations in amino acid pathways, suggesting that response to chemotherapy may be related to amino acid metabolism. In addition, hallmark analysis showed that DNA repair played a regulatory role. Overall, serum metabolic profiles of NAC sensitivity are significantly different in bladder cancer patients. Glycine, hypoxanthine, taurine and glutamine may be the potential biomarkers for clinical treatment. Amino acid metabolism has potential value in enhancing drug efficacy.

Abstract Background Delayed bowel function recovery and postoperative ileus are relatively serious complications of laparoscopic radical cystectomy (LRC). Our study aimed to determine whether performing pelvic re-peritonealization reduces the incidence of these complications. Methods Clinical data of 78 patients who had undergone LRC with pelvic re-peritonealization from August 2015 to December 2017 were retrospectively collected and compared with those of 92 patients who had undergone LRC alone between January 2013 and July 2015 in our institution. Differences in duration of surgery, estimated blood loss, time to recovery of bowel function, the complications of intestinal and blood vessel injury, and incidence of postoperative ileus between the two groups were analyzed. Results Baseline characteristics such as age, sex and BMI were balanced between the two groups. There were no significant differences in duration of surgery (P = 0.072), estimated blood loss (P = 0.717), or incidence of intestinal obstruction (P = 0.225) between the two groups. Interestingly, patients who had undergone pelvic re-peritonealization recovered bowel function more rapidly than those had not (2.79 d vs. 3.72 d, P = 0.001). Additionally, hospitalization stay was significantly shorter for patients with re-peritonealization than for those without (5.46 d vs. 6.68 d, P = 0.029). Conclusions Compared with LRC alone, LRC with pelvic re-peritonealization as described in the present study had comparable perioperative complications, but was associated with more rapid gastrointestinal recovery and shorter hospitalization stay.

Current reports on prognostic factors for chondrosarcoma mainly involve patients in treatment centers. Few are based on multicenter or multi-eras. We analyzed existing data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to investigate the risk factors for survival outcomes. All patients with chondrosarcoma from 1973 to 2012 were identified. 3737 patients were eligible and included. In survival analysis, patient had good survival outcome if the patient was female, young, with localized stage, well grade, small tumor size, treated with surgery, while patient was male, old, with distant stage, undifferentiated grade, tumor size

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disease impairing the gastrointestinal tract, and its incidence and prevalence have been increasing over time worldwide. IBD greatly reduces peoples' quality of life and results in several life-threatening complications, including polyp, toxic colonic dilatation, intestinal perforation, gastrointestinal bleeding, and cancerization. The current therapies for IBD mainly include drugs for noncritical patients and operation for critical patients. However, continuous use of these drugs causes serious side effects and increased drug resistance, and the demand of effective and affordable drugs with minimal side effects for IBD sufferers is urgent. Natural-derived polysaccharides are becoming a research hotspot for their therapeutic effects on IBD. This study focuses on the research progress of various natural polysaccharides from plants, seaweeds, and mushrooms for the treatment of IBD during recent 20 years. Regulation of oxidative stress, inflammatory status, gut microbiota, and immune system and protection of the intestinal epithelial barrier function are the underlying mechanisms for the natural-derived polysaccharides to treat IBD. The excellent efficacy and safety of polysaccharides make them promising candidates for IBD therapy.

ObjectiveTo explore whether risk stratification based on ultrasound elastography of liver background assists contrast-enhanced ultrasound liver imaging reporting and data system (CEUS LI-RADS) in diagnosing HCC.Materials and MethodsIn total, 304 patients with focal liver lesions (FLLs) confirmed by pathology underwent CEUS and ultrasound elastography were included in this retrospective study. Patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB, n=193) and non-CHB (n=111) were stratified by four liver stiffness measurement (LSM) thresholds. A LI-RADS category was assigned to FLLs using CEUS LI-RADS v2017. The diagnostic performance was assessed with the AUC, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV.ResultsThe mean background liver stiffness of HCC patients with CHB, HCC patients without CHB and non-HCC patients without CHB were 9.72 kPa, 8.23 kPa and 4.97 kPa, respectively. The AUC, sensitivity, specificity and PPV of CEUS LI-RADS for HCC in CHB patients with LSM ≥ 5.8 kPa, ≥ 6.8 kPa, ≥ 9.1 kPa, and ≥ 10.3 kPa were high, with corresponding values of 0.745 to 0.880, 94.2% to 95.3%, 81.3% to 85.7%, and 98.1% to 98.8%, respectively. Higher AUC and specificity for HCC was observed in non-CHB patients with LSM ≥ 9.1 kPa and ≥ 10.3 kPa compared to non-CHB patients with LSM ≥ 5.8 kPa and ≥ 6.8 kPa, with corresponding values of0.964/1.000 vs 0.590/0.580, and 100%/100% vs 60%/70%, respectively.ConclusionCEUS LI-RADS has a good diagnostic performance in CHB patients regardless of the background liver stiffness. Furthermore, CEUS LI-RADS can be applied for non-CHB patients with a LSM ≥ 9.1 kPa.

ObjectiveTo establish and validate a radiomics nomogram based on the features of the primary tumor for predicting preoperative pathological extramural venous invasion (EMVI) in rectal cancer using machine learning.MethodsThe clinical and imaging data of 281 patients with primary rectal cancer from April 2012 to May 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. All the patients were divided into a training set (n = 198) and a test set (n = 83) respectively. The radiomics features of the primary tumor were extracted from the enhanced computed tomography (CT), the T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and the gadolinium contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging (CE-TIWI) of each patient. One optimal radiomics signature extracted from each modal image was generated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis after dimensionality reduction. Three kinds of models were constructed based on training set, including the clinical model (the optimal radiomics signature combining with the clinical features), the magnetic resonance imaging model (the optimal radiomics signature combining with the mrEMVI status) and the integrated model (the optimal radiomics signature combining with both the clinical features and the mrEMVI status). Finally, the optimal model was selected to create a radiomics nomogram. The performance of the nomogram to evaluate clinical efficacy was verified by ROC curves and decision curve analysis curves.ResultsThe radiomics signature constructed based on T2WI showed the best performance, with an AUC value of 0.717, a sensitivity of 0.742 and a specificity of 0.621. The radiomics nomogram had the highest prediction efficiency, of which the AUC was 0.863, the sensitivity was 0.774 and the specificity was 0.801.ConclusionThe radiomics nomogram had the highest efficiency in predicting EMVI. This may help patients choose the best treatment strategy and may strengthen personalized treatment methods to further optimize the treatment effect.

This study combined conservation of resources theory with the job demands-resources model to explore the influence of leader mindfulness on the emotional exhaustion of university teachers Using a time-lagged research design, 388 paired data sets were gathered. Multiple regression and bootstrapping were used to test each hypothesis. The results showed that first, leader mindfulness significantly reduces the emotional exhaustion of university teachers. Second, the results showed that workplace telepressure partially mediates the relationship between leader mindfulness and the emotional exhaustion of university teachers. Third, university teacher mindfulness positively moderates the relationship between leader mindfulness and workplace telepressure. Finally, the results of this study indicate that self-efficacy in managing negative emotions negatively moderates the relationship between workplace telepressure and the emotional exhaustion of university teachers. This study empirically examined the interpersonal influence of leader mindfulness and the initial resources effect of university teacher mindfulness and self-efficacy in managing negative emotions from the bilateral perspective of leaders and university teachers.

This paper deals with the problem of multiquadrotor collaborative control by developing and analyzing a new type of fixed-time formation control algorithm. The control strategy proposes a hierarchical control framework, which consists of two layers: a coordinating control layer and a tracking control layer. On the coordinating control layer, according to the fixed-time consistency theory, the virtual position and virtual velocity of each quadrotor are calculated and acquired to form a virtual formation, and the virtual velocity reaches consistency. On the tracking control layer, the real position and the real velocity track the virtual position and the virtual velocity, respectively. Thus, multiquadrotor can achieve the required formation shape and velocity consensus. Finally, the comparative simulations are carried out to illustrate the feasibility and superiority of the proposed fixed-time hierarchical formation control method for multiquadrotor collaborative control.

A novel in situ surface modification strategy of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber is proposed, which is related to the dry gel-spinning technique and the directional entrapping modification. The surface modification, with poly (ethylene oxide) monooleate (OEO) as the modifier, applied a short entrapping time combined with a long storage period to match the high-speed spinning process. Swelling treatment, contact angle and XRD results show that the swollen fibers with swelling degrees between 6.4 and 9.6 wt% are suitable for the surface modification, via which modifier molecules can be facilely embedded into the amorphous regions of swollen surfaces. The modified surface acquires high polarity with a contact angle of 57.2° under conditions of the entrapping time of 60 s and storage period of 12 h. Large micelles of the OEO modifier, induced by great modifier concentrations and high storage temperatures, are proved to be helpful for the surface modification. The introduction of vinyl group in the modifier (oleate of OEO) together with the utilization of benzoyl peroxide (BPO) in the surface modification greatly reinforces the modifier fixation in modified surfaces. The modified fibers give rise to 43.5% elevation of the impact strength of epoxy resin composite relative to unmodified fibers, because of the polar acquirement on fiber surfaces.

In recent years, increasing evidence shows that circular RNA (circRNA) disorder is closely related to tumorigenesis and cancer progression. However, the regulatory functions of most circRNAs in bladder cancer (BCa) remain unclear. This study was aimed at exploring the molecular regulatory mechanism of circRNAs in BCa. We obtained four datasets of circRNA, microRNA (miRNA), and messenger (mRNA) expression profiles from the Gene Expression Omnibus and The Cancer Genome Atlas microarray databases and identified 434, 367, and 4799/4841 differentially expressed circRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs, respectively. With these differentially expressed RNAs, we established a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA targeted interaction network. A total of 18, 24, and 51 central circRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs were identified, respectively. Among them, the top 10 mRNAs that had high connectivity with other circRNAs and miRNAs were regarded as hub genes. We detected the expression levels of these 10 mRNAs in 16 pairs of BCa tissues and adjacent normal tissues through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The differentially expressed mRNAs and central mRNAs were enriched in the processes and pathways that are associated with the growth, differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis of tumor cells. The outstanding genes (CDCA4, GATA6, LATS2, RHOB, ZBTB4, and ZFPM2) also interacted with numerous drugs, indicating their potency as biomarkers and drug targets. The findings of this study provide a deep understanding of the circRNA-related competitive endogenous RNA regulatory mechanism in BCa pathogenesis.

Cornus hongkongensis subsp. tonkinensis (W. P. Fang) Q. Y. Xiang is a native evergreen species with high ornamental value for abundant variations in leaf, bract, fruit, and tree gesture. To broaden its cultivation in coastal saline soil, salt damage and survival rate, physiological responses, photosynthetic performance, and related genes were evaluated for annual seedlings exposed to 0.3% salt (ST) concentrations for 60 days. Syndromes of salt damage were aggravated, and the survival rate decreased with prolonged stress duration; all stressed seedlings displayed salt damage, and 58.3% survived. Under short-term saline stress (5 d), marked increases in malondialdehyde (MDA), relative electrical conductivity (REC), and decreases in superoxide dismutase (SOD), photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (gs), and internal carbon dioxide concentration (Ci) were recorded. The stable leaf water use efficiency (WUE) and chlorophyll content were positive physiological responses to ensure photosynthetic performance. Meanwhile, the expression levels of genes related to photosystem II (psbA) and photorespiration (SGAT and GGAT) were upregulated, indicating the role of photorespiration in protecting photosynthesis from photoinhibition. After 30 days of stress (≥30 d), there was a significant increase in MDA, REC, soluble sugar (SS), soluble protein (SP), and Ci, whereas descending patterns in Pn, gs, WUE, the maximal photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), and potential activities of PSII (Fv/F0) occurred in salt-stressed seedlings, compared with CK. Meanwhile, the expression levels of related genes significantly dropped, such as psbA, LFNR, GGAT, GLYK, and PGK, indicating photoinhibition and worse photosynthetic performance. Our results suggest that the moderate salt tolerance of C. hongkongensis subsp. tonkinensis mostly lies in a better photosynthetic system influenced by active photorespiration. Hence, these results provide a framework for better understanding the photosynthetic responses of C. hongkongensis subsp. tonkinensis to salt stress.

Objective: Sleep disorders are common in voltage-gated potassium channel complex antibody (VGKC-Ab) diseases. The aim was to investigate the sleep disturbances and polysomnography (PSG) characteristics in patients with VGKC-Ab-associated diseases.Methods: Twenty-seven patients with leucine-rich glioma-inactivated protein 1 antibody (LGI1-Ab) encephalitis, seven patients with contactin protein-like 2 antibody (Caspr2-Ab)-associated diseases, and 14 healthy controls with at least one PSG or actigraphy recording were recruited at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2014 to July 2019.Results: Sleep disorders including insomnia, hypersomnia, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD), periodic limb movements in sleep (PLMS), agrypnia excitata, and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome were observed. Twenty-one PSG recordings from patients with LGI1-Ab encephalitis demonstrated a decrease in total sleep time (TST) (median 365.5, range 184.5–495.5 min), sleep efficiency (70.0%, 47–92%), N3 sleep (9.7%, 0–32.9%), and REM sleep (9.9%, 0.4–27.9%). Of five patients with Caspr2-Ab-associated diseases, TST was found to be 329.5 (167.0–377.5 min), and sleep efficiency was found to be 61.7% (34.6–71.7%). The percentage for N3 and REM sleep was found to be 15.0% (0–34.6%) and 12.7% (0–22.2%), respectively. Both RBD and PLMS were observed more frequently in patients with LGI1-Ab encephalitis. We identified status dissociatus (SD) in five (23.8%) patients with LGI1-Ab encephalitis and two (40%) patients with Caspr2-Ab diseases. The former is more likely to have simple limb movements rather than complex movements, which mimic the contents of their dreams. Continuous insomnia was more common in patients with Caspr2-Ab diseases than patients with LGI1-Ab encephalitis. Patients reported clinical and PSG improvements following immunotherapy.Conclusion: Sleep disorders in patients with VGKC-Ab-associated diseases include decreased TST and poor sleep efficiency. Our studies provide evidence of SD in patients with LGI1-Ab encephalitis.

Phosphatidic acid (PA) is the simplest phospholipid and is involved in the regulation of various cellular events. Recently, we developed a new PA sensor, the N-terminal region of α-synuclein (α-Syn-N). However, whether α-Syn-N can sense physiologically produced, endogenous PA remains unclear. We first established an inactive PA sensor (α-Syn-N-KQ) as a negative control by replacing all eleven lysine residues with glutamine residues. Using confocal microscopy, we next verified that α-Syn-N, but not α-Syn-N-KQ, detected PA in macrophagic phagosomes in which PA is known to be enriched, further indicating that α-Syn-N can be used as a reliable PA sensor in cells. Finally, because PA generated during neuronal differentiation is critical for neurite outgrowth, we investigated the subcellular distribution of PA using α-Syn-N. We found that α-Syn-N, but not α-Syn-N-KQ, accumulated at the peripheral regions (close to the plasma membrane) of neuronal growth cones. Experiments using a phospholipase D (PLD) inhibitor strongly suggested that PA in the peripheral regions of the growth cone was primarily produced by PLD. Our findings provide a reliable sensor of endogenous PA and novel insights into the distribution of PA during neuronal differentiation.

Introduction Current guidelines recommend an initial pleural aspiration in the investigation and management of suspected malignant pleural effusions (MPEs) with the aim of establishing a diagnosis, identifying non-expansile lung (NEL) and, at times, providing a therapeutic procedure. A wealth of research has been published since the guidelines suggesting that results and outcomes from an aspiration may not always provide sufficient information to guide management. It is important to establish the validity of these findings in a ‘real world’ population.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted of all patients who underwent pleural fluid (PF) sampling, in a single centre, over 3 years to determine the utility of the initial aspiration.Results A diagnosis of MPE was confirmed in 230/998 (23%) cases, a further 95/998 (9.5%) were presumed to represent MPE. Transudative biochemistry was found in 3% of cases of confirmed MPE. Positive PF cytology was only sufficient to guide management in 45/140 (32%) cases. Evidence of pleural thickening on CT was associated with both negative cytology (χ2 1df=26.27, p

The long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) H19 has been demonstrated to play a crucial role in carcinogenesis, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, the impact of genetic variations in H19 gene on RCC has not been investigated before. In the present study, we sought to evaluate whether genetic polymorphisms in H19 are related to the susceptibility and mortality of RCC. We genotyped four widely studied polymorphisms in H19 and assessed their relationship with susceptibility and prognosis of RCC in a case-control study compromising 1,027 cases and 1,094 controls. The functionality of the important polymorphism was further investigated by real-time polymerase chain reaction and luciferase reporter assay. We found that H19 rs2839698 was significantly associated with risk and prognosis of RCC. Compared with the H19 rs2839698 CC genotype, the variant genotypes (CT/TT) were significantly associated with increased risk of RCC (P = 0.023, OR = 1.21; 95% CI = 1.03–1.45). Besides, patients with variant genotypes (CT/TT) were more likely to develop large tumor (P = 0.003, OR = 1.47; 95% CI = 1.16–1.85) and advanced disease (P = 0.010, OR = 1.59; 95% CI = 1.12–2.26); and had a significantly unfavorable overall survival than those with the rs2839698 CC genotype (CT/TT vs. CC: Log-rank P = 0.026, HR = 2.25, 95%CI = 1.07–4.75). Furthermore, the CT/TT genotypes were associated with significantly increased expression of H19 in renal tissue. The luciferase reporter assays revealed the potential effect of rs2839698 variant on the binding of microRNAs to H19. Our results suggest that the H19 rs2839698 variant may be a genetic predictor of susceptibility and mortality of RCC. The risk effects and the functional impact of the variant on H19 still need further validation.

Sentiment classification is a fundamental task in NLP, and its aim to predict the sentiment polarities of the given texts. Recent researches show great interest in modeling Chinese sentiment classification. However, the complexity of Chinese grammar makes the performance of the existing Chinese sentiment classification model not perform well. In order to address the above problem, we propose a sentiment classification method based on grammar rules and bidirectional encoder representation from transformers (BERT). We first preprocess data through BERT model. Then we combine the Chinese grammar rules with Bi-gated recurrent neural network (GRU) in the form of constraints, and simulate the linguistic functions at the sentence by standardizing the output of adjacent positions. Extensive experiments on two public datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method, and our findings in the experiment provide new insights for the future development of Chinese sentiment classification.

A new method was proposed for polygeneration of phenol and supercapacitor electrode material from pyrolysis of biomass impregnated with ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (NH4H2PO4). The pyrolysis experiments were executed to demonstrate the product distributions under different NH4H2PO4-to-poplar (PA-to-PL) ratios and pyrolysis temperatures in a lab-scale device. The results revealed that the phenol yield attained its optimal value of 4.57 wt% with a satisfactory selectivity of 20.09% at 500°C under PA-to-PL ratio of 0.6. The pyrolytic solid product obtained at this condition was then subjected to high temperature activation directly without additional activators to prepare N and P co-doped activated carbon (NPAC) as supercapacitor. The physicochemical analysis of NPAC showed that the N and P contents in NPAC reached 3.75 and 3.65 wt%, respectively. The electrochemical experiments executed in a three-electrode system indicated that the NPAC exhibited promising electrochemical performance with a satisfactory capacitance of 181.3 F g−1 at 1 A g−1.

In this study, the effects of single immunoglobin IL-1 receptor-related protein (SIGIRR) on tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-) receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) ubiquitination in acute lung injury (ALI) were evaluated in both alveolar epithelial cells and alveolar macrophage cells in vitro. Our results found that SIGIRR negatively regulated TRAF6 ubiquitination and such SIGIRR inhibition could enhance the TRAF6 expression in both alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) and alveolar macrophage cells (AMCs). SIGIRR knockdown may increase NF-κB activity via TRAF6 regulation by the classical but not the nonclassical NF-κB signaling pathway. Such modulation between TRAF6 and SIGIRR could affect cytokine secretion and exacerbate the immune response; the IL-8, NFKB1, and NFKBIA mRNA levels were reduced after SIGIRR overexpression. The current study reveals the molecular mechanisms of the negative regulatory roles of SIGIRR on the innate immune response related to the LPS/TLR-4 signaling pathway and provides evidence for strategies to clinically treat inflammatory diseases.

Abstract Background Bone marrow is an important source of stem cells, which can promote bone fracture healing. Methods We investigated the optimal time to inject bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in a C57 murine unilateral, transverse, femur fracture model. BMSCs transfected with red fluorescent protein (RFP-BMSCs) were injected via the tail vein on day 1, 7, or 14 post-fracture. AMD3100 (inhibitor of stromal cell-derived factor 1 [SDF-1]) was also injected before RFP-BMSCs in one group for comparison; a control group received saline injections. RFP-BMSC migration and fracture healing were evaluated by in vivo fluorescence assay. Micro-CT was performed and mechanical testing and histological analysis. Chemokine levels were evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting. Results Following injection on day 7 post-fracture, RFP-BMSCs more frequently homed to the fracture site and remained for a longer duration. Bone volume and bone mineral density were increased when BMSCs were injected on day 7 post-fracture (P