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Gouty arthritis (GA) is an inflammatory disease, and renal impairment may occur to varying degrees with the progress of disease. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is an inflammatory marker. In this study, we aimed to explore the association between NLR and renal impairment in GA.The subjects comprised 499 patients with gouty arthritis (GA) (473 men, 26 women; age range, 39-61 years old) from our hospital. They were divided into a chronic kidney disease (CKD) group (n = 206) and non-CKD group (n = 293) according to the glomerular filtration rate. Blood samples were collected during the gout flares. The differences in NLR, general data, and laboratory indexes of patients with GA between the two groups were compared, such as serum uric acid (SUA), serum creatinine (SCREA), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL).NLR (3.38 vs. 2.38 (p 0.001)) was higher in the CKD group, compared to the non-CKD group. Similarly, both SUA (527 vs. 507 (p 0.05)) and SCREA (122 vs. 87 (p 0.001)) were higher in the CKD group than in the non-CKD group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that NLR (OR = 1.122, p 0.05), age, hypertension, and SUA were risk factors for CKD in patients with GA, although HDL and HGB were protective factors. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis indicated that the area under the curve of NLR for predicting CKD in patients with GA was 0.646 (95% CI 0.597-0.694).Our data showed that NLR might be an important potential factor for evaluating renal impairment in GA during flares.

Ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) plays an essential role in eukaryotic protein cycle,the dysregulation of which can lead to tumorigenesis.Increased activities of UPS have been observed in the patients with cancers including leukemia.UPS inhibitors can kill cancer cells by affecting ubiquitin-ligating enzyme E3,deubiquitinase,and protein degradation active sites of UPS.Therefore,UPS inhibitors have emerged as an important therapy for treating hematological malignancies,while they are rarely applied in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia.This paper summarizes the research progress in the inhibitors affecting the protein ubiquitination at different stages of acute myeloid leukemia,aiming to provide new clues for the clinical treatment of acute myeloid leukemia.

Background: Sporadic inclusion body myositis is predominantly affecting the elderly population. It is insidious and easily misdiagnosed as other forms of neuromuscular and inflammatory myopathy. Patients may be treated with steroids and immunosuppressants for many years, leading to severe side effects. A correct diagnosis will also help avoid using high doses of steroids and immunosuppressants. Case Presentation: We report a case of a 14-year-old girl diagnosed with sporadic inclusion body myositis, Sjögren's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, and autoimmune thyroiditis. She was treated with steroids, intravenous immunoglobulin, and rituximab, which failed to relieve the progressive muscle weakness. Considering previous published cases, this case may be classified as a rare early onset form. Conclusions: Our patient had a family history of autoimmune thyroiditis combined with various connective tissue diseases. The persistence of thyroid autoantibodies may have predicted the onset and diagnosis of sIBM. In this case report, overlapping immune diagnoses and unusually young age may be factors in misdiagnosis of sporadic inclusion body myositis. Early and more positive treatment should be a discussion of future research. We suggest that failed treatment may be related to the patient's muscle enzyme levels.

To the existing spectrum sharing schemes in wireless-powered cognitive wireless sensor networks, the protocols are limited to either separate the primary and the secondary transmission or allow the secondary user to transmit signals in a time slot when it forwards the primary signal. In order to address this limitation, a novel cooperative spectrum sharing scheme is proposed, where the secondary transmission is multiplexed with both the primary transmission and the relay transmission. Specifically, the process of transmission is on a three-phase time-switching relaying basis. In the first phase, a cognitive sensor node SU1 scavenges energy from the primary transmission. In the second phase, another sensor node SU2 and primary transmitter simultaneously transmit signals to the SU1. In the third phase, the node SU1 can assist the primary transmission to acquire the opportunity of spectrum sharing. Joint decoding and interference cancellation technique is adopted at the receivers to retrieve the desired signals. We further derive the closed-form expressions for the outage probabilities of both the primary and secondary systems. Moreover, we address optimization of energy harvesting duration and power allocation coefficient strategy under performance criteria. An effective algorithm is then presented to solve the optimization problem. Simulation results demonstrate that with the optimized solutions, the sensor nodes with the proposed cooperative spectrum sharing scheme can utilize the spectrum in a more efficient manner without deteriorating the performance of the primary transmission, as compared with the existing one-directional scheme in the literature.

In this paper, the fourth in a series documenting palynological characters across angiosperms using a contemporary phylogenetic framework, we deal with the basal eudicots, a group which includes Buxales, Proteales, Ranunculales, Sabiaceae, and Trochodendrales. Using available molecular sequences of matK and rbcL from previous studies, we reconstructed a maximum likelihood tree for a total of 196 genera (including nine outgroups), representing 13 families and all four orders of basal eudicots. Across the 196 genera, 20 pollen characters were documented from prior publications and new observations. These were coded using two strategies and optimized onto the reconstructed phylogenetic tree using Fitch parsimony, maximum likelihood, and hierarchical Bayesian inference to infer ancestral states. Pollen samples of 24 species from 24 genera in eight families were imaged under LM and SEM to illustrate the diversity of basal eudicot pollen. In addition, we tested for correlated evolution between plant growth form and pollen shape class, and between anemophily and pollen aperture number, using maximum likelihood and Markov chain Monte Carlo analyses. Basal eudicot pollen showed high morphological diversity, especially in characters including tectum sculpture, aperture number, and ectoaperture shape. Depending upon the method of reconstruction, 14 to 18 plesiomorphic palynological states were unequivocally inferred, and a total number of 357 character state transitions were found at or above tribal level. These provide palynological support for at least 58 of the clades discovered by molecular phylogenetic estimation. For example, using hierarchical Bayesian inference with comprehensive data coding, 222 state changes were inferred. Pollen size, tectum sculpture, and pollen shape class changed the most frequently among the 20 studied characters. The most concentrated character state changes in basal eudicot pollen are estimated to have occurred around the Barremian to Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous. Tests of correlated evolution suggest that the herbaceous growth form is significantly associated with spheroidal pollen shape and the arborescent growth form with oblate pollen shape. However, no significant correlations were found between anemophily and aperture number. Patterns of evolutionary change in pollen size and tectum sculpture, and their adaptive functions, are discussed. Based on previous evidence and our data, pollination syndrome is the most likely factor associated with the high frequency of state changes in these two characters.

Gaultheria series Trichophyllae Airy Shaw is an angiosperm clade of high-alpine shrublets endemic to the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains and characterized by recent species divergence and convergent character evolution that has until recently caused much confusion in species circumscription. Although multiple DNA sequence regions have been employed previously, phylogenetic relationships among species in the group have remained largely unresolved. Here we examined the effectiveness of the plastid genome for improving phylogenetic resolution within the G. series Trichophyllae clade. Plastid genomes of 31 samples representing all 19 recognized species of the series and three outgroup species were sequenced with Illumina Sequencing technology. Maximum likelihood (ML), maximum parsimony (MP) and Bayesian inference (BI) phylogenetic analyses were performed with various datasets, i.e., that from the whole plastid genome, coding regions, noncoding regions, large single-copy region (LSC) and inverted-repeat region a (IRa). The partitioned whole plastid genome with inverted-repeat region b (IRb) excluded was also analyzed with ML and BI. Tree topologies based on the whole plastid genome, noncoding regions, and LSC region datasets across all analyses, and that based on the partitioned dataset with ML and BI analyses, are identical and generally strongly supported. Gaultheria series Trichophyllae form a clade with three species and one variety that is sister to a clade of the remaining 16 species; the latter comprises seven main subclades. Interspecific relationships within the series are strongly supported except for those based on the coding-region and IRa-region datasets. Eight divergence hotspot regions, each possessing >5% percent variable sites, were screened across the whole plastid genome of the 28 individuals sampled in the series. Results of morphological character evolution reconstruction diagnose several clades, and a hypothesis of adaptive evolution for plant habit is postulated.

Xiao-yan Yang,1,* Ming-ying Zhang,1,* Qi Zhou,1 Shui-yan Wu,1 Ye Zhao,2 Wei-ying Gu,3 Jian Pan,1 Jian-nong Cen,2 Zi-xing Chen,2 Wen-ge Guo,4 Chien-shing Chen,5 Wen-hua Yan,6 Shao-yan Hu1 1Department of Haematology and Oncology, Children’s Hospital of Soochow University, 2Department of Haematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, 3Department of Haematology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Mathematical Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, 5Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology and Biospecimen Laboratory, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, USA; 6Department of Cardiology, Children’s Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, People’s Republic ofChina *These authors contributed equally tothis work Abstract: S100A8 has been increasingly recognized as a biomarker in multiple solid tumors and has played pivotal roles in hematological malignancies. S100A8 is potentially an indicator for poor survival in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in retrospective studies. However, the mechanisms of S100A8 are diverse in cancers. In this study, we investigated the correlation of S100A8 at the transcription level with clinical parameters in 91 de novo AML patients and explored its mechanisms of chemoresistance to etoposide in vitro. The transcription level of S100A8 was significantly lower at initial and relapse stages of AML samples than at complete remission (P

Retinal blood vessels may develop vasculopathy and apoptosis in response to hypertension. The present study was aimed at testing the role of losartan, a specific antagonist of angiotensin II receptor type 1 receptor in regulation of vascular apoptosis in retinal vasculature with hypertension.Losartan potassium was administered to spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Blood pressure was measured in SHR as well as normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). Eye fundus was examined in living animals and then tissue specimens were collected for histochemistry by hematoxylin and eosin staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated 2'-deoxyuridine 5'-triphosphate nick end labeling (TUNEL), immunohistochemistry and transmission electron microscopy.Losartan treatment for 4-8 weeks reduced blood pressure of SHR to the normal levels seen in WKY. The losartan-treated SHR showed marked improvement of retinal vascular morphology compared with untreated SHR. The retinal blood networks of the treated SHR developed lower degrees of vasculopathy and apoptosis. TUNEL and transmission electron microscopy also revealed that losartan exerted its protective effects not only on endothelial cells but on pericytes as well. The blood vessels of losartan-treated animals also showed decreased expression of bax with elevation of B-cell CLL/lymphoma 2.Treatment with losartan, a medicine that lowers blood pressure by blocking angiotensin II receptor type 1 receptor, can protect the retinal vasculature against hypertensive vascular injury by inhibiting apoptosis of vascular cells and by preventing hypertensive retinopathy.

The free-electron relaxation time is a crucial property to be considered in the design of optical devices, because it determines the dielectric function. Thus, an accurate understanding of this relaxation time is essential for design optimization. Some simulations showed that the relaxation times of Au thin films with thicknesses below 30 nm are different from those of the bulk material. Therefore, we deposited films with four different thicknesses below this value and used near-infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry to show that the relaxation time is dependent on the film thickness. We fitted the ellipsometry spectrum of Au thin films with a thickness

Gaultheria trichophylla var. tetracme of G. series Trichophyllae (Ericaceae) has been distinguished from the nominate variety of G. trichophylla by the presence of two awns on each anther theca (versus one). Phylogenetic data based on plastid DNA sequences placed G. t. var. tetracme in a different clade than the nominate variety with strong statistical support, suggesting that G. trichophylla is not monophyletic. To investigate this further, we studied the morphology of these two taxa in the field and with herbarium material. We found that G. t. var. tetracme differs substantially from the nominate variety in morphology, not only by the number of anther awns, but also the larger size of many features, e.g., plant height, leaves, and pedicels, a greater number of leaf marginal setae, and a distinct geographic range. On this basis, we elevate G. t. var. tetracme to the species level as Gaultheria tetracme, endemic to the Hengduan Shan in Sichuan Province, China. We note the wide morphological variation in the remainder of G. trichophylla and indicate specific problems that should be investigated in more detail for better understanding the taxonomy of this species.