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【Objective】Aiming at the problem that BitString can not represent all Bit-Forwarding Routers (BFRs) in large-scale Software Defined Networking (SDN) multicast based on Bit Index Explicit Replication (BIER) due to the limited length, this study designs a Hierarchical Domain (HD)-BIER model and devises its construction algorithm.【Methods】The HD-BIER model is a multi-layer BIER network composed of multiple small-scale Sub Domains (SD), which enables BIER to support a number of devices exceeding the capacity of the BitString representation in large-scale networks. The proposed HD-BIER construction algorithm takes into account the BitString Length (BSL) limitation, link lengths between nodes, and network connectivity. It leverages the concept of community partition algorithms and introduces a modularity function based on node similarity as an evaluation metric for BIER SD partitioning. The construction follows a bottom-up approach to dynamically build the HD-BIER network.【Results】The simulation results show that the HD-BIER construction algorithm can effectively construct HD-BIER networks that exceed the BSL limit in either simple networks or the complex networks with a large number of nodes. Additionally, the resulting HD-BIER model not only ensures normal transmission of multicast service data flows through the gradual encapsulation and decapsulation of BitString layers but also maintains SDN multicast communication performance throughout this process.【Conclusion】The simulation results validate that the proposed HD-BIER model presents an effective multicast service support solution for even larger-scale networks.

Objective: Establish a high throughput method for the determination of 57 organic pollutants in edible vegetable oil. Methods: The target compounds were extracted by acetonitrile-hexane solution and purified by disperse solid phase extraction and solid phase extraction, after that the contents of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, 17 phthalates, 8 organochlorines and 16 polychlorinated biphenyls in edible oil were detected by gas chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. Results: All target components had an excellent linearity within the linear range of 0.001~0.1 μg/mL （r2＞0.998）, and the limits of detection was between 0.16~2.0 μg/kg, meanwhile the average recovery rate of matrix addition was between 71.0%~119.5%, and the relative standard deviation was below 12.6% （n=6）. Furthermore, the method was used to analyze 24 baches of edible oils, and 25 types of target substances were founded. Conclusion: This method is high efficiency, accuracy, high sensitivity, which has great significance for the monitoring of persistent organic pollutants and phthalates in edible oil.

BackgroundChronic exposure to arsenic (As), a human toxicant and carcinogen, remains a global public health problem. Health risks persist after As exposure has ended, suggesting epigenetic dysregulation as a mechanistic link between exposure and health outcomes.ObjectivesWe investigated the association between total urinary As and locus-specific DNA methylation in the Strong Heart Study, a cohort of American Indian adults with low-to-moderate As exposure [total urinary As, mean (±SD) μg/g creatinine: 11.7 (10.6)].MethodsDNA methylation was measured in 2,325 participants using the Illumina MethylationEPIC array. We implemented linear models to test differentially methylated positions (DMPs) and the DMRcate method to identify regions (DMRs) and conducted gene ontology enrichment analysis. Models were adjusted for estimated cell type proportions, age, sex, body mass index, smoking, education, estimated glomerular filtration rate, and study center. Arsenic was measured in urine as the sum of inorganic and methylated species.ResultsIn adjusted models, methylation at 20 CpGs was associated with urinary As after false discovery rate (FDR) correction (FDR

Objective To explore the effect and molecular mechanism of artesunate (ART) on cholestatic liver fibrosis induced by 3, 5-diethoxycarbonyl-1, 4-dihydro-2, 4, 6-collidine (DDC). Methods 8-week-old male C57BL/6J mice(n=24) were randomly divided into 3 groups: the control group(n=6), the 0.1% DDC group(n=9) and the 0.1% DDC+ART group(n=9). Mice have been fed with diet containing 0.1% DDC for 2 weeks to establish cholestatic mouse model, and ART was given intramuscular injection (30.0 mg/kg) once a day in the 0.1% DDC+ART group. The indicators of liver injury in serum of mice were detected. HE staining and Sirius red staining were performed, and histopathological scores were obtained according to Scheuer scoring system. RT-qPCR was used to detect the levels of α-SMA, Col1a1, Col1a2 and Tgfβ1 in mouse liver. Hydroxyproline (HYP) content was detected with HYP detection kit. LX2 cells were treated with TGF-β combined with ART, and the proteins related to PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway were detected by Western blot assay. The expression of α-SMA, hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation marker, was detected after ART and pathway inhibitors were used to treated with LX2 cells. Results ART significantly ameliorated DDC-induced cholestatic liver injury and liver fibrosis (P < 0.05). ART markedly decreased the levels of ALT, AST, ALP and TBA in serum of mice (P < 0.05). ART inhibited the mRNA expression of α-SMA, Col1a1, Col1a2 and Tgfβ1, and reduced the content of HYP in liver tissues of mice with cholestasis(P < 0.05). In addition, ART obviously inhibited TGF-β-induced activation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in LX2 cells (P < 0.05). PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway inhibitors enhanced the inhibitory effect of HSC activation induced by TGF-β(P < 0.05). Conclusion ART observably improves DDC-induced cholestatic liver fibrosis, and it can inhibit HSC activation by regulating PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, thus exerting anti-fibrosis effect.

To study the frequency response characteristics of knitted fabric-based frequency selective surface (FSS), high-pass knitted fabric-based FSS were designed and prepared. The electromagnetic transmission characteristics were tested in a microwave anechoic chamber. The results show that weft-knitted fabric based FSS has high-pass and low-resistance electromagnetic properties. When the placement direction of the knitted fabrics and the polarization mode of electromagnetic wave are different, the frequency response characteristics are distinct. When the ratio of conductive yarns increases, the electromagnetic wave shield ability and breathability of knitted fabric based FSS are enhanced. The shielding ability of the fabric increases with the density, but the permeability of the fabric decreases. As the incident angle of electromagnetic wave increases, the electromagnetic wave component entering the fabric decreases, and the electromagnetic wave passing through the fabric decreases. Therefore, under the premise of wear comfort, the frequency response characteristics of knitted fabrics can be controlled and selective transmission of electromagnetic wave can be achieved by designing the structure and weaving parameters of knitted fabrics and adjusting the polarization mode and incidence angle of electromagnetic wave.

Objective To investigate the underlying molecular mechanism by which melatonin suppresses bile acids (BAs)-initiated expression of chemokine C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (Cxcl2). Methods Mice were fed a 1% cholic acid (CA)-supplemented diet for 2 weeks to establish a model of cholestatic disease, and were given an intraperitoneal injection of melatonin (100 mg/kg) once a day for 2 weeks. Then, the liver tissues were collected for HE staining, and the liver histology was scored using the Scheuer scoring system. Effects of melatonin on the expression of Cxcl2, Cxcr2, myeloperoxidase (Mpo) and c-Jun in the liver tissues at mRNA and protein levels were detected by real-time qPCR and Western blotting. The expression of c-Jun in the liver tissues was measured by immunohistochemical assay. Primary mouse hepatocytes were isolated and cultured, and then treated with taurine-conjugated bile acid, taurocholic acid (TCA) and melatonin in order to explore the mechanism of melatonin reducing BAs-initiated Cxcl2 expression. Furthermore, these primarily cultured cells were treated with anisomycin (JNK agonist) and melatonin to further detect the expression of Cxcl2. Results Melatonin treatment significantly ameliorated cholestasis-induced inflammatory liver injury (P < 0.05), and reduced the elevated expression of Cxcl2, Cxcr2, Mpo(a biomarker of neutrophils) and the transcription factor c-Jun in the livers of cholestatic disease mice (P

Objective To explore the role of IDH1 in the expression of RNA binding proteins (RBPs) in glioma cell line LN229. Methods Lentivirus was used to construct IDH1 knockdown and control cells, and the expression of IDH1 was validated by RT-qPCR (real-time quantitative PCR) and Western blot. Then the total RNA of cells from each group was extracted for RNA sequencing (RNA-seq); the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by limma package and enriched pathways were analyzed; the differentially expressed RBPs were selected according to the RBP database and protein-protein interaction network was constructed by string database; finally, the expression level of candidate RBPs was tested in IDH1 knockdown, over-expressed and mutant cells(R132H) respectively. Results A total of 259 DEGs were detected in IDH1 knockdown LN229 cells, including 146 upregulated and 113 downregulated genes. These DEGs were significantly enriched in interferon related pathways and included 14 RBP-encoding genes, 9 of which were significantly enriched in interferon related pathways and showed close interaction; compared with the control group, IDH1 knockdown in LN229 significantly upregulated the expression of all the nine RBPs (P＜0.001), and IDH1 overexpression only downregulated IFIT3 (P＜0.01) involving in interferon pathway, while IDH1 mutation had no significant effect on IFIT3. Conclusions IDH1 regulates expression of interferon pathway related gene IFIT3 in LN229 cells.

The Mann–Whitney–Wilcoxon rank sum test (MWWRST) is a widely used method for comparing two treatment groups in randomized control trials, particularly when dealing with highly skewed data. However, when applied to observational study data, the MWWRST often yields invalid results for causal inference. To address this limitation, Wu et al. (Causal inference for Mann–Whitney–Wilcoxon rank sum and other nonparametric statistics, Stat. Med. 33 (2014), pp. 1261–1271) introduced an approach that incorporates inverse probability weighting (IPW) into this rank-based statistic to mitigate confounding effects. Subsequently, Mao (On causal estimation using U-statistics, Biometrika 105 (2018), pp. 215–220), Zhang et al. (Estimating Mann Whitney-type causal effects, J. Causal Inference 7 (2019), ARTICLE ID 20180010), and Ai et al. (A Mann–Whitney test of distributional effects in a multivalued treatment, J. Stat. Plan. Inference 209 (2020), pp. 85–100) extended this IPW estimator to develop doubly robust estimators. Nevertheless, each of these approaches has notable limitations. Mao's method imposes stringent assumptions that may not align with real-world study data. Zhang et al.'s (Estimating Mann Whitney-type causal effects, J. Causal Inference 7 (2019), ARTICLE ID 20180010) estimators rely on bootstrap inference, which suffers from computational inefficiency and lacks known asymptotic properties. Meanwhile, Ai et al. (A Mann–Whitney test of distributional effects in a multivalued treatment, J. Stat. Plan. Inference 209 (2020), pp. 85–100) primarily focus on testing the null hypothesis of equal distributions between two groups, which is a more stringent assumption that may not be well-suited to the primary practical application of MWWRST. In this paper, we aim to address these limitations by leveraging functional response models (FRM) to develop doubly robust estimators. We demonstrate the performance of our proposed approach using both simulated and real study data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]