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Blastocystis is a common intestinal protozoan in humans and various animals worldwide. A few studies have reported the genetic characterization of Blastocystis in pigs in China, but no epidemiological data are available from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In this study, 801 fecal samples were collected from seven scale pig farms in Xinjiang and tested by polymerase chain reaction and sequence analysis of the partial SSU rRNA gene. The average infection rate of Blastocystis was 21.7% (174/801), with 7.1% in preweaning piglets, 10.0% in postweaning piglets, 31.8% in fattening pigs, and 41.9% in sows (χ2 = 104.89; P

Aiming at the problems of poor average fitness, low-risk prediction accuracy, high mean square error, low-risk evaluation precision, and long average running time of traditional sports event model evaluation and prediction methods, a sports event model evaluation and prediction method using principal component analysis (PCA) is proposed. Sports event risk monitoring microbase is deployed by ZigBee technology, and sports event risk monitoring data is monitored and packaged at each base station. Optical fiber and Ethernet are used to transmit the data to the monitoring and management center to complete the risk data collection of sports events. After data standardization, the risk evaluation index system of sports events is constructed, and the comprehensive score of each risk index of sports events is obtained by using the PCA method. The BP neural network is improved by genetic algorithm (GA), and the comprehensive score of risk index is input into the network to obtain the evaluation and prediction results of sports event risk. The results show that the proposed method has good average fitness, the predicted value of sports event risk is almost equal to the actual value, the prediction mean square error is less than 0.15, the evaluation precision is high, and the average running time is only 8 s. The cost (time complexity) is low. Overall, the method has a good application prospect in the field of sports event evaluation and prediction.

To address the problems of the traditional human motion gesture tracking and recognition methods, such as poor tracking effect, low recognition accuracy, high frame loss rate, and long-time cost, a dynamic human motion gesture tracking and recognition algorithm using multimode deep learning was proposed. Firstly, the collected human motion images are repaired in the three-dimensional (3D) environment, and the multimodal 3D human motion model is reconstructed using the processed images. Secondly, according to the results of model reconstruction, the camera gesture and other parameters of the keyframe are used to construct the target tracking optimization function so as to achieve the purpose of accurate tracking of human motion. Finally, for multimodal human motion gesture learning, a convolutional neural network (CNN) is developed. The trained CNN is utilized to complete dynamic human motion recognition after convolutional and pooling calculations. The results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is effective in tracking human motion gestures. The average recognition accuracy is 96%, the average frame loss rate is 8.8%, the time cost is low, and the proposed algorithm has a high F-measure and much lower power consumption than other algorithms, indicating that the proposed algorithm is effective.

Aim: Evaluation of a novel microsampling device for its use in clinical sample collection and biomarker analysis. Methodology: Matching samples were collected from 16 healthy donors (ten females, six males; age 42 ± 20) via K2EDTA touch activated phlebotomy (TAP) device and phlebotomy. The protein profile differences between sampling groups was evaluated using aptamer-based proteomic assay SomaScan and selected ELISA. Conclusion: Somascan signal concordance between phlebotomy- and TAP-generated samples was studied and comparability of protein abundances between these blood sample collection methods was demonstrated. Statistically significant correlation in selected ELISA assays also confirmed the TAP device applicability to the quantitative analysis of protein biomarkers in clinical trials.

Seuli Bose-Brill,1 Jinming Xing,2 Debra J Barnette,1,2 Christopher Hanks1 1Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Grandview, Wexner Medical Center, 2Department of Practice and Science, College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA Abstract: Adolescents with autism have higher rates of anxiety than the general adolescent population. They often struggle to express psychological symptoms verbally where their symptoms may manifest as withdrawal and agitation. Adolescent patients with autism have higher rates of polypharmacy and high-risk psychiatric medication use (eg, atypical antipsychotics) than other patients with psychiatric illness. Primary care pediatricians are at the front lines of psychiatric management for patients with autism. Yet, they have inadequate access to pediatric psychiatry for complex medication management. Pharmacogenomic testing can provide personalized drug metabolism profiles for a majority of psychotropic medications. Primary care based pharmacogenomic testing for adolescents with autism on one or more psychiatric medications may help individualize and optimize complex medication regimens, while promoting drug safety. Keywords: autism, pharmacogenomic, pharmacogenetic, pharmacotherapy, anxiety, depression, psychiatry, pediatrics

Background: Blastocystis is a commonly identified intestinal protozoan in humans and various animals. Few studies are available regarding the genetic characterization of Blastocystis infections in pigs in China. Methods: In this study, 801 fecal samples were collected from seven large-scale pig farms in Xinjiang and tested by polymerase chain reaction. Results: The average infection rate of Blastocystis was 21.7% (174/801); the infection rates for pre-weaning piglets, post-weaning piglets, fattening pigs, and sows were 7.1%, 10.0%, 31.8%, and 41.9%, respectively (χ 2 = 104.89; P < 0.01). Blastocystis subtypes ST1 ( n = 7), ST3 ( n = 2), and ST5 ( n = 165) were identified using sequence analysis of the small-subunit ribosomal RNA gene, with subtype ST5 being predominant in each of the pig farms. All the age groups were positive for Blastocystis . ST3 and ST5 were identified in pre-weaning piglets, and ST1, ST3, and ST5 in post-weaning piglets. In contrast, only the ST5 subtype was observed in fattening pigs and sows. Genetic polymorphisms were observed at the intra-subtype level, including two variations for ST1 (ST1A, ST1B), and seven for ST5 (ST5A to ST5G), by sequence alignment analysis and phylogenetic analysis. Conclusions: A high prevalence of Blastocystis was detected in pigs in Xinjiang, China. The infection rate increased significantly with increasing age of the pigs. ST5 was the predominant Blastocystis subtype in all age groups. Subtypes ST1, ST3, and ST5 may emerge as zoonotic pathogens in some areas of China because of the large scale of the pork industry and close contact between pigs and humans. More studies are needed to elucidate the transmission and public health significance of Blastocystis in pigs in various areas. Key words: Blastocystis , SSU rRNA, genetic polymorphism, pig, Xinjiang

This study aims to assess the association of polymorphisms and mRNA expression of adipocyte-type fatty acid-binding protein (A-FABP) with intramuscular fat (IMF) in the breast muscle (BM) and leg muscle (LM) of Baicheng-You chickens (BYCs). A total of 180 chickens, including sixty black Baicheng-You chickens (BBYCs), sixty silky Baicheng-You chickens (SBYCs) and sixty white Baicheng-You chickens (WBYCs), were reared from 1 to 120 day. A polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism strategy (PCR-SSCP) was used to detect the polymorphism of the A-FABP gene in the first exon, and the C51T silent mutational site was found. The IMF content with the AA genotype was significantly higher than that with the AG genotype (p = 0.0473) in the LM of WBYC. Thus, this site could be taken as a molecular marker in selecting a higher IMF content of LM in WBYC. A-FABP gene mRNA expression in the BM and LM of BYCs was detected, and a significant positive correlation was observed in the LM of WBYC. These findings provide fundamental data that might be useful in further study of the role of the A-FABP gene in IMF content and fatty metabolism in chickens.

Cryptosporidium spp. are distributed ubiquitously worldwide, and pigs are considered as one of the main reservoir hosts. Eight hundred one porcine fecal specimens were collected from seven intensive pig farms in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. Cryptosporidium spp. were screened via PCR amplification of the small ribosomal subunit RNA gene, and 143 specimens (17.9%, 143/801) from all seven farms tested positive for Cryptosporidium spp. Cryptosporidium prevalence in the pigs differed significantly among farms (p < 0.01). The highest Cryptosporidium spp. prevalence in post-weaned pigs was 39.5% (111/281), followed by fattening pigs (23.2%, 30/129), pre-weaned pigs (1.2%, 2/169), and sows (0/222). Significant differences were observed between age groups (p < 0.01). C. suis was the predominantly identified species (62.9%, 90/143), followed by C. scrofarum (35.7%, 51/143), and C. parvum (1.4%, 2/143). Two C. parvum specimens were subtyped by analyzing the 60-kDa glycoprotein (gp60) gene sequences and were identified as IIdA14G1 and IIdA15G1. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. parvum infection in pigs in China. The identification of three Cryptosporidium species, including zoonotic C. parvum in pigs in Xinjiang raises concern for the health of both swine animals and personnel in the pig industry.

To study the presence of Giardia duodenalis in Xinjiang, northwest China, we collected 801 fecal specimens from seven large-scale pig farms and screened them using PCR targeting the SSU rRNA gene. Twenty-one (2.6%) of the specimens from five farms were G. duodenalis-positive, with a significant difference in prevalence among different farms (0–8.7%) (p Giardia duodenalis prevalence was highest in fattening pigs (5.4%, 7/129), followed by sows (3.2%, 7/222), post-weaning piglets (1.8%, 5/281), and pre-weaning piglets (1.2%, 2/169), but there was no significant difference in prevalence among the age groups (p > 0.05). Sequence analysis of the SSU rRNA gene revealed that the 21 G. duodenalis strains belonged to three assemblages: A (n = 2), B (n = 16), and E (n = 3). Assemblage B was the predominant assemblage and was widely distributed in all G. duodenalis-positive farms and age groups. All G. duodenalis-positive specimens were further assayed at the β-giardin (bg), glutamate dehydrogenase (gdh), and triosephosphate isomerase (tpi) genes, and two tpi, four gdh, and two bg sequences were identified. These data indicate that pigs may be a zoonotic risk and can potentially spread G. duodenalis infection from animals to humans.

In order to extract audio/visual mid-level features of sport videos, this paper uses supervised audio classification and unsupervised scene clustering to satisfy versatility requirements. The sound in the sports video is more robust, and the supervised audio classification can be used for the versatility of a competition. When extending this method to other competitions, such as diving, baseball, supervised methods also require only a small number of annotations. For video, due to heavy scene differences, unsupervised scene clustering is used to achieve versatility. This paper proposes a new and effective scene clustering algorithm, which automatically determines the stopping point of the algorithm without prior knowledge. The experimental results show that although the number of clusters of different videos is different, but the final scene classification results are consistent with people's expectations.

The adipocyte-type fatty acid-binding protein (A-FABP) is considered a candidate gene for fat metabolism; thus, it affects fat deposition in chickens. The present study was designed to examine the polymorphism and mRNA abundance of the A-FABP gene with intramuscular fat (IMF) in the pectoralis muscles (PM) and leg muscles (LM) of Three-yellow Chicken (TYC) and Hetian-black Chicken (HTBC). In total, 60 TYCs and 60 HTBCs were sacrificed using exsanguination at market age. The IMF contents of the PM and LM in the HTBC were significantly higher than those in the TYC. Three genotypes of the A-FABP gene first exon, AA, AB, and BB, were examined by polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP), and a C51 T mutational site, which is a silent substitution mutation, was revealed. The IMF contents of the AA genotype in the PM of the HTBC were significantly higher than those in the AB genotype; thus, the C51 T mutable site is a gene marker for selecting a higher IMF content in the PM of the HTBC. The relative expression of the A-FABP mRNA in the LM of the HTBC, which was measured by quantitative real-time PCR, was significantly higher than in the TYC. A significantly positive association was detected between A-FABP expression with the IMF contents of the PM and LM of both the TYC and the HTBC. These results provide basic data that might be helpful to further research the role of the A-FABP gene in fat deposition and fatty acid metabolism in chickens.

Background To explore the relationship between the heart-type fatty acid binding protein (H-FABP) gene and intramuscular fat (IMF), a polymorphism of the second exon of the H-FABP gene was investigated in 60 Three-yellow chickens (TYCs) and 60 Hetian-black chickens (HTBCs). Results The IMF contents of the cardiac, chest and leg muscles in HTBC were increased compared with TYC. Both TYC and HTBC populations exhibited Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE) according to the χ2 test. Three variations of the two birds were detected, namely, G939A, G982A and C1014T. HTBCs with the TT genotypes exhibit increased IMF content in the chest muscles compared with the TC genotype. Thus, the G982A site could be considered a genetic marker for selecting increased IMF content in the chest muscles of HTBC. The correlation coefficients revealed that H-FABP mRNA expression was negatively correlated with the IMF content in the cardiac, chest and leg muscles of HTBC and in the cardiac and chest muscles of TYC. The relative mRNA expression of H-FABP was reduced in the cardiac and leg muscles of HTBC compared with TYC, but this difference was not observed at the protein level, as assessed by Western blot analysis. Conclusions These findings offer essential data that can be useful in the breeding program of HTBC and future research exploring the role of H-FABP in IMF deposition and regulation in chickens.