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The patients were evaluated by the International Orthopaedic Association evaluation method and graded and correlated by medical imaging technology. The results showed that 41% of the patients had unstable gait and sensory loss of lower limbs or muscle weakness in the analysis of clinical manifestations. In the analysis of therapeutic effect by using medical imaging technology, it was found that the patients’ scores increased significantly after operation, which was significantly different from those before operation (P < 0.01). There was a significant correlation between preoperative scores and imaging changes, but no significant correlation between other indicators after surgery. Therefore, through the study, it is found that the application of medical imaging technology in the observation and treatment of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of cervical spine can play a very positive and accurate role in the analysis of the patient’s condition, and provide an experimental basis for the selection of treatment methods for ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of cervical spine and the application direction of medical imaging technology.

Background Recently, machine learning (ML) has become attractive in genomic prediction, but its superiority in genomic prediction over conventional (ss) GBLUP methods and the choice of optimal ML methods need to be investigated. Results In this study, 2566 Chinese Yorkshire pigs with reproduction trait records were genotyped with the GenoBaits Porcine SNP 50 K and PorcineSNP50 panels. Four ML methods, including support vector regression (SVR), kernel ridge regression (KRR), random forest (RF) and Adaboost.R2 were implemented. Through 20 replicates of fivefold cross-validation (CV) and one prediction for younger individuals, the utility of ML methods in genomic prediction was explored. In CV, compared with genomic BLUP (GBLUP), single-step GBLUP (ssGBLUP) and the Bayesian method BayesHE, ML methods significantly outperformed these conventional methods. ML methods improved the genomic prediction accuracy of GBLUP, ssGBLUP, and BayesHE by 19.3%, 15.0% and 20.8%, respectively. In addition, ML methods yielded smaller mean squared error (MSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) in all scenarios. ssGBLUP yielded an improvement of 3.8% on average in accuracy compared to that of GBLUP, and the accuracy of BayesHE was close to that of GBLUP. In genomic prediction of younger individuals, RF and Adaboost.R2_KRR performed better than GBLUP and BayesHE, while ssGBLUP performed comparably with RF, and ssGBLUP yielded slightly higher accuracy and lower MSE than Adaboost.R2_KRR in the prediction of total number of piglets born, while for number of piglets born alive, Adaboost.R2_KRR performed significantly better than ssGBLUP. Among ML methods, Adaboost.R2_KRR consistently performed well in our study. Our findings also demonstrated that optimal hyperparameters are useful for ML methods. After tuning hyperparameters in CV and in predicting genomic outcomes of younger individuals, the average improvement was 14.3% and 21.8% over those using default hyperparameters, respectively. Conclusion Our findings demonstrated that ML methods had better overall prediction performance than conventional genomic selection methods, and could be new options for genomic prediction. Among ML methods, Adaboost.R2_KRR consistently performed well in our study, and tuning hyperparameters is necessary for ML methods. The optimal hyperparameters depend on the character of traits, datasets etc.

Cannabidiol (CBD) extracts have gained attention for their therapeutic efficacy. The present study used a zebrafish embryo caudal fin amputation model and found 1.25 mg/L crude CBD extract accelerated caudal fin regeneration and reduced apoptosis after amputation, while not altering mitotic regenerating cells. The purity of the CBD extract was 55.5 ± 0.37%. Pure CBD promoted fin regeneration and inhibited neutrophil accumulation in a dose-dependent manner, while these effects were not seen in a high concentration of CBD (2.5 mg/L), possibly due to the toxicity of the high dose. An equivalent amount of pure CBD (0.625 to 1.25 mg/L) enhanced regeneration and reduced apoptosis similarly to crude CBD extract (1.25 mg/L). Additionally, CBD reduced the gene expression level of cxcl8, tnf-a, and il-1β, and protein expression level of IL-1β, Caspase 3, and PARP, but not Bcl-2 or Bax. These results suggest that CBD exerts its effect on wound pro-regeneration in part by modulating the inflammatory response and the IL-1β/Caspase 3/PARP signal pathway.

Upregulation of CD47, a “Do Not Eat Me” signal, is observed in nearly all solid and hematological malignancies. Engagement of CD47 on tumor cells with SIRPα on macrophages inhibits phagocytosis of tumor cells. Anti-CD47 antibodies block the CD47 - SIRPα engagement and reactivate phagocytosis of tumor cells by macrophages. Yet the ubiquitous expression of CD47 on normal cells, including red blood cells, presents a therapeutic challenge. Systemic targeting of CD47, by either anti-CD47 monoclonal antibodies or SIRPα-Fc fusion proteins, yielded only moderate clinical benefit due to severe adverse side effects, mainly anemia. QL401 is PD-L1 x CD47 bispecific antibody engineered to reduce binding to red blood cells while retaining potent phagocytic activation of macrophages in vitro and delayed tumor growth in vivo. QL401 comprises three functional components: a PD-L1 binding Fab arm, a CD47 binding scFv arm, and a human IgG4 backbone. The PD-L1 binding arm provides both tumor targeting and blocking of PD-1 for reactivating T cells. The CD47 arm blocks the binding of SIRPα, the “Do Not Eat Me” signal, while the IgG4 Fc retains Fc gamma receptor binding to provide a phagocytic “Eat Me” signal. Therefore, QL401 is multi-functional antibody that re-actives both the innate and adaptive immune response. In preclinical efficacy studies, QL401 potently blocked SIRPα to promote phagocytosis of tumor cells with sub-nanomolar potency. In vivo efficacy studies in mouse models of solid and hematological tumors showed QL401 to be comparable or superior to PD-L1 or CD47 monoclonal antibodies alone and in combination. In vitro safety evaluation of Q401 showed significantly reduced binding and phagocytosis of red blood cells, in contrast to CD47 monoclonal antibodies. In addition, Q401 did not induce hemagglutination. In non-human primates, QL401 was well tolerated up to 100 mg/kg without reduction of red blood cells below normal range. A phase 1 dose escalation and expansion study is expected to start Q1 2022 to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and early efficacy of QL401. Citation Format: Irene Tang, Lauren Schwimmer, Shenda Gu, Wei Wei Prior, Hieu V. Tran, Allan Chan, Anna McClain, Shihao Chen, Chuanzeng Cao, Chunyan Sun, Meimei Si, Guijiang Wang. QL401, a dual PD-L1/CD47 blocker effective against both solid and hematological malignancies with improved blood safety [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 2894.

In the research of the problem of maximizing the influence of social networks, a propagation model based on the attraction between nodes is proposed for the calculation of node information propagation influence. In this study, we model the node properties of the network and use it to define the direct attraction and cumulative attraction, in which we consider the change and attenuation of the node influence. Also, we discuss the gravitational features of the nodes to establish a propagation method based on the independent cascade model. The probability of the node attraction is designed for activation between nodes. Finally, experiments on actual data sets show that the influence under this method is better than other methods.

Biochanin A has been reported to be associated to tumour cell proliferation, apoptosis and drug resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma, prostate cancer, and colorectal cancer, etc, while the relation of biochanin A on osteosarcoma is not clear. Hence, in this study, we examined the effects of biochanin A treatment on osteosarcoma cell lines MG63 and U2OS on proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration. We then investigated the involved molecular mechanism and found a time- and dose-dependent inhibition of cell viability in MG63 and U2OS cells with biochanin A treatment. Under the same circumstances, an increased ratio of cells in G0/G1 phase but a decreased ratio of cells in G2/M phase was observed. In addition, after biochanin A treatment, apoptotic rates clearly increased and decreased migration and invasion ability were observed in MG63 and O2OS cells. Meanwhile, relevant genes involved in cell proliferation, apoptosis, invation and migration demonstrated altered expressions in MG63 and U2OS cells. The present study supports the assumption that biochanin A has suppressive effects on osteosarcoma through regulating cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, and migration.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary bone cancer in adolescents and children. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) contain > 200 nucleotides and do not have protein-coding ability. Liver-expressed LXR-induced sequence (LeXis) is a newly identified functional lncRNA. However, its expression pattern, biological function, and molecular mechanism in OS progression are unclear. The present study is the first to show that LeXis expression was upregulated in OS tissues. Increased LeXis expression was significantly correlated with high tumor stage, large tumor size, and poor prognosis. Our findings highlight the oncogenic activity of lncRNA LeXis in OS growth. Results of functional assays showed that LeXis promoted OS growth both in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistic investigation showed that LeXis directly interacted with miR-199a and suppressed its expression. Moreover, LeXis increased CTNNB1 expression by functioning as a ceRNA of CTNNB1 against miR-199a. These findings may have important implications for developing novel therapeutic strategies for OS.

We have synthesized a new terpolymer suitable for polymer flooding from acrylamide, the hydrophobic monomer N-dodecylacrylamide, and the polar monomer 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid via micellar polymerization in water. We have studied the effect of chain initiation temperature and initiator concentration on the molecular weight of the terpolymer. We evaluate the salt resistance and thermal stability of the terpolymer and its ability to improve oil recovery compared with water flooding. Our results show that the terpolymer performs best for a chain initiation temperature of 9°C and an initiator concentration of 150 mg/liter in the reaction medium. Under such conditions, we obtain a terpolymer with a molecular weight of 22∙106. The viscosity of a terpolymer solution with a concentration of 1500 ppm is 18.7 mPa∙s, and it remains constant for one month at 85°C and formation water salinity of 32 000 mg/L. The new terpolymer is superior to commercially available products in terms of the improvement in oil recovery.

The copolymer KP was synthesized from acrylamide monomer and a small amount of the hydrophobic monomer N-dodecyl acrylamide (AMC12) via micellar polymerization in water. The polymer, with significantly high salt resistance, was specially designed for application in polymer flooding of Class II reservoirs in the Daqing oil field. We have studied the effect of sodium formate addition on the molecular weight of KP, as well as enhancement of the water solubility of KP from addition of the surfactant Triton X-100. The salt resistance of KP was experimentally evaluated and flooding tests were conducted. The molecular weight of KP was measured as about 15 million daltons. It was also found that the viscosity of a KP/water solution is much higher than the viscosity of an HPAM-15/water solution (where HPAM-15 is a partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide with molecular weight 15 million daltons) at the same polymer concentration (1000 mg/L), and is close to the viscosity of an HPAM-30/water solution (where HPAM-30 has a molecular weight of 30 million daltons). Mineralized water (salinity 4000 mg/L, similar to the water in the Daqing oil field) was used for all the tests. Furthermore, KP is very stable with a long shelf-life. Displacement efficiency tests show that oil recovery increased by about 13% when a KP solution was used instead of water. The medium-high molecular-weight polymer KP is promising for application in Class II reservoirs in the Daqing oil field.

Beauveria bassiana is an important insect-pathogenic fungus that invades insects by direct penetration of the host cuticle. To delineate the molecular mechanisms involved in fungal infection, a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) gene, Bb mpk1 , which encodes a YERK1 family MAPK was isolated and characterized. Targeted gene disruption of Bb mpk1 resulted in a complete loss of virulence when applied topically to host insects but did not affect growth of the fungus when conidia were injected directly into the hemocoel. Hyphae of the mutant strain growing in the insect hemocoel were unable to penetrate the cuticle growing outwards and consequently failed to sporulate on the cadaver surface. These data suggest that BbMPK1 is essential for penetration of the insect cuticle both from the outside and from the inside-out in order to escape and disperse from the host. Inactivation of BbMPK1 also caused a significant decrease in fungal adhesion to insect cuticles and eliminated their ability to form appressoria. In order to identify downstream genes regulated by BbMPK1, a suppressive subtractive hybridization (SSH) library was generated comparing mutant and wild-type transcripts isolated during appressorium formation. Thirty-one genes screened from the SSH library were determined to be expressed in the wild-type strain but either significantly reduced or not expressed in the mutant. Ten genes showed high or medium similarity to known protein encoding genes, including proteins involved in cell surface hydrophobicity, lipid metabolism, microtubule dynamics, mitochondrial electron transport, chromatin remodeling, transcription, rRNA processing, small nucleolar RNA accumulation, oxidation of aldehydes, translation, and likely other cellular processes.

On the basis of analysis of components and structure of the heavy oil from the 109-1 block in the Dagang oilfield, the high effectiveness viscosity reducer, which can make the mixture of water and heavy oil to become the stable O/W emulsion and decrease viscosity of the heavy oil by above 97% in the case of above 30% water cut and above 1000mg/L dosage of viscosity reducer (for total amount of water and heavy oil), have been developed according to the characteristic of high temperature 80, high mineral salt 20693.75mg/L (especially Ca2+/Mg2+ 805.38 mg/L) and the lower recovery percent of reserves of the 109-1 block heavy oil reservoir in the Dagang oilfield. The viscosity reducer in the produced liquid did not bring unfavorable influence on demulsification. The core displacement experiments show that displacement system containing viscosity reducer can enhance oil recovery by above 22% comparing to water-flooding, and prove that decreasing heavy oil viscosity can improve the oil-water mobility ratio, enhance sweep efficiency and enhance oil recovery.

On the base of molecular structure design, we have synthesized hydrophobically associating water-soluble polymers. The solution properties of hydrophobically associating water-soluble polymer as a function of electrolytes concentration temperature and shear rate have been investigated. The enhance in oil recovery obtained in core flow experiment with the polymers solution is higher. This polymer is developed for use under hostile reservoir conditions.