Search

The fracture behaviours of pearlite structures in several typical carbon steels were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Microstructural analysis indicated that the fracture of pearlite is a mixed ductile-brittle fracture, and brittle fracture has cleavage fracture characteristics, which often occur inside the pearlite structure. The fracture surface can exhibit any orientation relationship with the ferrite/cementite interface plane in the pearlite structure. The two phases in the pearlite structure (ferrite (α-Fe) and cementite (θ-Fe3C)) are fine grains rather than single-crystal platelets. The cleavage fracture mechanism in any direction of pearlite structure occurs due to the fine grain substructure.

The spatial and temporal linear expression of Hox genes establishes a regional Hox code, which is crucial for the antero-posterior (A-P) patterning, segmentation, and neuronal circuit development of the hindbrain. RNF220, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, is widely involved in neural development via targeting of multiple substrates. Here, we found that the expression of Hox genes in the pons was markedly up-regulated at the late developmental stage (post-embryonic day E15.5) in Rnf220-/- and Rnf220+/- mouse embryos. Single-nucleus RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis revealed different Hox de-repression profiles in different groups of neurons, including the pontine nuclei (PN). The Hox pattern was disrupted and the neural circuits were affected in the PN of Rnf220+/- mice. We showed that this phenomenon was mediated by WDR5, a key component of the TrxG complex, which can be polyubiquitinated and degraded by RNF220. Intrauterine injection of WDR5 inhibitor (WDR5-IN-4) and genetic ablation of Wdr5 in Rnf220+/- mice largely recovered the de-repressed Hox expression pattern in the hindbrain. In P19 embryonal carcinoma cells, the retinoic acid-induced Hox expression was further stimulated by Rnf220 knockdown, which can also be rescued by Wdr5 knockdown. In short, our data suggest a new role of RNF220/WDR5 in Hox pattern maintenance and pons development in mice.

Abstract The influence of hydrogen charging potentials on the hydrogen embrittlement susceptibility of R6 ultra-high strength mooring chain steel was investigated via constant potential hydrogen charging slow strain rate tensile tests combined with thermal desorption analysis. The results reveal that hydrogen charging leads to a 38.94% decrease in elongation, while the impact on tensile strength is relatively minor. Furthermore, the specimens experienced intergranular cracking at the critical potential of −1150 mV, with the size of the brittle region increasing as the negative charging potential becomes more negative. And, hydrogen atoms can cause local embrittlement of materials and increase KAM value.

IntroductionThis study aimed to investigate the relationship between athletes' training satisfaction and competitive state anxiety, by examining the mediating roles of psychological resilience and coping strategies. The findings provide a theoretical foundation and practical recommendations for enhancing athletes' training and mental health services.MethodsA questionnaire was utilized to assess training satisfaction, psychological resilience, coping strategies, and Competitive State Anxiety among a sample of 447 athletes. The data was examined through descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and structural equation modeling, employing SPSS and the Process 3.5 plug-in.ResultsTraining satisfaction had a significant positive effect on psychological resilience (β = 0.726, p

This study explored 1-year follow-up of Parmaco-invasive strategy with half-dose recombinant human prourokinase (PHDP) in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The follow-up endpoints were major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) occurring within 30 days and 1 year, as well as postoperative bleeding events. The study ultimately included 150 subjects, with 75 in the primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) group and 75 in the PHDP group. This study found that the PHDP group had a shorter FMC-reperfusion time (42.00 min vs 96.00 min, P 0.05). The PHDP facilitates early treatment of infarct-related vessels, shortens FMC-reperfusion time, and does not increase the risk of MACEs.

Objective To analyze the serological characteristics and molecular mechanism of a novel B subtype allele 803delC. Methods ABO blood group was detected by serological method. Sequence-specific primer polymerase chain reaction (PCR-SSP) was used to detect ABO blood group genes. The coding region of exon 1-7 of ABO gene was detected by Sanger sequencing to determine the mutation site. Results Serological identification of patients was with forward O-type and reverse B-type. The result of PCR-SSP genotyping was A/O. There was A gene, which was not consistent with serological results. Further Sanger double-strand sequencing revealed that the C-base was deleted at position 803 of exon 7 on the basis of ABO*B. 01/ABO*O. 01.01. The mutation eventually leads to the amino acid substitution of p. Ala268Gly and p. Phe269Ser and the production of new open reading frame starting at position 269, with the new open reading frame No.20 amino acid being stop codon, resulted in the termination of B gene expression. Further single-strand sequencing of the ABO gene revealed that the mutation was located in the ABO*B. 01 gene. The mutation was submitted to the NCBI database with the number OR343908. Conclusion A new ABO allele leading to B variant has been found in Chinese population. Genetic detection can be used to identify the ambiguous blood group with discrepancy between forward and reverse blood grouping.

In the genomics of plants and the phytoecosystem, Pyrus (pear) is among the most nutritious fruits and contains fiber that has great health benefits to humans. It is mostly cultivated in temperate regions and is one of the most cultivated pome fruits globally. Pears are highly subjected to biotic and abiotic stresses that affect their yield. TIR1/AFB proteins act as auxin co-receptors during the signaling of nuclear auxins and play a primary role in development-related regulatory processes and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. However, this gene family and its members have not been explored in Pyrus genomes, and understanding these genes will help obtain useful insights into stress tolerance and ultimately help maintain a high yield of pears. This study reports a pangenome-wide investigation of TIR1/AFB genes from eight Pyrus genomes: Cuiguan (Pyrus pyrifolia), Shanxi Duli (P. betulifolia), Zhongai 1 [(P. ussuriensis × communis) × spp.], Nijisseiki (P. pyrifolia), Yunhong No.1 (P. pyrifolia), d’Anjou (P. communis), Bartlett v2.0 (P. communis), and Dangshansuli v.1.1 (P. bretschneideri). These genes were randomly distributed on 17 chromosomes in each genome. Based on phylogenetics, the identified TIR1/AFB genes were divided into six groups. Their gene structure and motif pattern showed the intraspecific structural conservation as well as evolutionary patterns of Pyrus TIR1/AFBs. The expansion of this gene family in Pyrus is mainly caused by segmental duplication; however, a few genes showed tandem duplication. Moreover, positive and negative selection pressure equally directed the gene’s duplication process. The GO and PPI analysis showed that Pyrus TIR1/AFB genes are associated with abiotic stress- and development-related signaling pathways. The promoter regions of Pyrus TIR1/AFB genes were enriched in hormone-, light-, development-, and stress-related cis elements. Furthermore, publicly available RNA-seq data analysis showed that DaTIR1/AFBs have varied levels of expression in various tissues and developmental stages, fruit hardening disease conditions, and drought stress conditions. This indicated that DaTIR1/AFB genes might play critical roles in response to biotic and abiotic stresses. The DaTIR1/AFBs have similar protein structures, which show that they are involved in the same function. Hence, this study will broaden our knowledge of the TIR1/AFB gene family in Pyrus, elucidating their contribution to conferring resistance against various environmental stresses, and will also provide valuable insights for future researchers.

Two mining chain steels 23MnNiMoCr5-4 and 0.3C0.2Si0.3Mn4.2(Cr+Ni+Mo) with tensile strengths of 1200 MPa and 1250 MPa, respectively, were employed to investigate their hydrogen embrittlement behaviors by slow strain rate tests combined with thermal desorption analyses. It is shown that at initial stage the fracture stress decreases linearly as the hydrogen content increases, and the turning points occur at hydrogen content of 1.2 wppm for 0.3C0.2Si0.3Mn4.2(Cr+Ni+Mo) and 0.26 wppm for 23MnNiMoCr5-4. The fractured surface observation suggests that the ratio of intergranular fracture area to quasi-cleavage area increases dramatically at the turning points. The maximum hydrogen contents resulting from the corrosive HCl solutions with pHs of 2 are approximately 0.6 wppm 0.3C0.2Si0.3Mn4.2(Cr+Ni+Mo) and 0.11 wppm for 23MnNiMoCr5-4, corresponding to the activation energies for hydrogen desorption are 21.57 kJ/mol and 14.53 kJ/mol, respectively.

Increasing evidences suggest the important role of calcium homeostasis in hallmarks of cancer, but its function and regulatory network in metastasis remain unclear. A comprehensive investigation of key regulators in cancer metastasis is urgently needed. Transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) of primary esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and matched metastatic tissues and a series of gain/loss-of-function experiments identified potassium channel tetramerization domain containing 4 (KCTD4) as a driver of cancer metastasis. KCTD4 expression was found upregulated in metastatic ESCC. High KCTD4 expression is associated with poor prognosis in patients with ESCC and contributes to cancer metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, KCTD4 binds to CLIC1 and disrupts its dimerization, thus increasing intracellular Ca2+ level to enhance NFATc1-dependent fibronectin transcription. KCTD4-induced fibronectin secretion activates fibroblasts in a paracrine manner, which in turn promotes cancer cell invasion via MMP24 signaling as positive feedback. Furthermore, a lead compound K279-0738 significantly suppresses cancer metastasis by targeting the KCTD4‒CLIC1 interaction, providing a potential therapeutic strategy. Taken together, our study not only uncovers KCTD4 as a regulator of calcium homeostasis, but also reveals KCTD4/CLIC1-Ca2+-NFATc1-fibronectin signaling as a novel mechanism of cancer metastasis. These findings validate KCTD4 as a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for ESCC.

Hydrogen has garnered considerable attention as a promising energy source for addressing contemporary environmental degradation and energy scarcity challenges. Electrocatalytic water splitting for hydrogen production has emerged as an environmentally friendly and versatile method, offering high purity. However, the development of cost-effective electrocatalytic catalysts using abundant and inexpensive materials is crucial. In this study, we successfully synthesized nitrogen-doped Co6Mo6C supported on nitrogen-doped graphene (N-Co6Mo6C/NC). The catalyst exhibited high performance and durability in alkaline electrolytes (1.0 M KOH) for hydrogen evolution, showcasing an overpotential of 185 mV at a current density of 100 mA cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 80 mV dec−1. These findings present a novel avenue for the fabrication of efficient bimetallic carbide catalysts.

Abstract This paper presents a monolithically integrated aptasensor composed of a piezoresistive microcantilever array and an on-chip signal processing circuit. Twelve microcantilevers, each of them embedded with a piezoresistor, form three sensors in a Wheatstone bridge configuration. The on-chip signal processing circuit consists of a multiplexer, a chopper instrumentation amplifier, a low-pass filter, a sigma-delta analog-to-digital converter, and a serial peripheral interface. Both the microcantilever array and the on-chip signal processing circuit were fabricated on the single-crystalline silicon device layer of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer with partially depleted (PD) CMOS technology followed by three micromachining processes. The integrated microcantilever sensor makes full use of the high gauge factor of single-crystalline silicon to achieve low parasitic, latch-up, and leakage current in the PD-SOI CMOS. A measured deflection sensitivity of 0.98 × 10− 6 nm−1 and an output voltage fluctuation of less than 1 μV were obtained for the integrated microcantilever. A maximum gain of 134.97 and an input offset current of only 0.623 nA were acquired for the on-chip signal processing circuit. By functionalizing the measurement microcantilevers with a biotin-avidin system method, human IgG, abrin, and staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB) were detected at a limit of detection (LOD) of 48 pg/mL. Moreover, multichannel detection of the three integrated microcantilever aptasensors was also verified by detecting SEB. All these experimental results indicate that the design and process of monolithically integrated microcantilevers can meet the requirements of high-sensitivity detection of biomolecules.

Electronic Health Records (EHRs) contain unprecedented volumes of data related to health such as diagnosis and treatment information. Based on the technologies of named entity recognition (NER), EHRs mining has become a research focus in health domain. Nevertheless, the complex medical entities are challenging to be recognized, especially in Chinese EHRs. In this paper, a Glyph and Word Boundary-based Named Entity Recognition (GWBNER) method is presented, which takes into account both the Chinese character glyph and word boundary features in Chinese EHRs. Specifically, the character glyphs are utilized to capture the character-level global structural features, and the word boundaries are adopted to extract the word-level local structural features in Chinese. Therefore, the medical entities are fully recognized with rich semantic features from diverse perspectives in Chinese EHR texts. Finally, we conduct extensive experiments to evaluate the novel approach, and the F1 scores of 0.879, 0.998 and 0.962 are achieved on three EHR datasets, respectively. The experimental results demonstrate the optimal performance of the GWBNER method compared with the state-of-the-art models in NER community.

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is the second leading cause of death worldwide. This study aims at assessing platelet morphology, ultrastructure and function changes of platelets in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients by the technique of Structured Illumination Microscopy (SIM). This assay collected platelet-rich plasma (PRP) from 11 AIS patients and 12 healthy controls. Each PRP sample was divided into 7 groups:1) rest group; 2) Thrombin-treated 5 min group; 3) Thrombin plus 2MeSAMP-treated 5 min group; 4) Thrombin plus Aspirin-treated 5 min group; 5) Thrombin-treated 1 h group; 6) Thrombin plus 2MeSAMP-treated 1 h group; 7) Thrombin plus Aspirin-treated 1 h group. SIM was applied to observe dense granules and α-granules morphology changes of platelet in AIS patients. FIJI was used to quantify the image data. We finally observed 1448 images of platelets within the 7 groups. In rest group, 7162 platelets were calculated platelet diameter, CD63 dots, average CD63-positive dots area, CD63-positive area per platelet, CD63-positive area Fov, VWF dots, average VWF-positive dots area, VWF-positive area per platelet and VWF-positive area Fov. ELISA was used to detect release of platelet factor 4 (PF4) of α-granules. The results showed that AIS patients had lower number and smaller area of platelet granules. Platelet α-granules of AIS patients concentrated to parenchymal-like fluorescent blocks in Thrombin-treated 1 h group. Antiplatelet drug treatment could reverse the concentration of platelets α-granules, and 2MeSAMP was more powerful than Aspirin in vitro. This study complemented detail information of platelet ultrastructure of AIS patients, provided a new perspective on the pathogenesis of AIS and the mechanism of antiplatelet drugs based on SIM and provided a reference for future related studies. SIM-based analysis of platelet ultrastructure may be useful for detecting antiplatelet drugs and AIS in the future.

The intestinal epithelium barrier serves as a highly dynamic immunologic frontier in the defense against invading pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Hence, understanding of the complicated underlying relationship between enteric pathogens and the intestinal epithelium barrier is vital for developing strategies to improve the intestinal health of farm animals. To this end, Caco-2 cells were stimulated by 1 µg/ml lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for 24 h and 5 µg/ml polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (ploy(I:C)) for 4 h to imitate bacterial and viral infection processes, respectively. The specific alterations in gene expression of Caco-2 cells after stimulation were characterized by transcriptome sequencing. Seventy differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified under LPS exposure, and 17 DEGs were observed under ploy(I:C) exposure. We found that most DEGs were specific, and only one common DEG SPAG7 was observed. Gene Ontology (GO) annotation analysis indicated that all DEGs identified in the different treatments were mainly derived from GO terms related to the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. Moreover, specific DEGs such as SLC39A10, MT2A, and MT1E regulated by LPS treatment, while IFIT2 and RUNX2 mediated by ploy(I:C) treatment, which are derived from immune function modulation related GO terms, were confirmed by both transcriptome sequencing and qRT-PCR. In addition, both transcriptome sequencing and qRT-PCR results verified that LPS specifically down-regulated the DEGs INHBE and ARF6, which are involved in inflammation responses related to the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway including the TGF-beta signaling pathways and the Ras signaling pathway. Ploy(I:C) uniquely suppressed the DEGs GABARAP and LAMTOR3, which participated in viral replication-associated pathways including autophagy and mTOR signaling pathway.

Abstract Malignant eyelid tumors can invade adjacent structures and pose a threat to vision and even life. Early identification of malignant eyelid tumors is crucial to avoiding substantial morbidity and mortality. However, differentiating malignant eyelid tumors from benign ones can be challenging for primary care physicians and even some ophthalmologists. Here, based on 1,417 photographic images from 851 patients across three hospitals, we developed an artificial intelligence system using a faster region-based convolutional neural network and deep learning classification networks to automatically locate eyelid tumors and then distinguish between malignant and benign eyelid tumors. The system performed well in both internal and external test sets (AUCs ranged from 0.899 to 0.955). The performance of the system is comparable to that of a senior ophthalmologist, indicating that this system has the potential to be used at the screening stage for promoting the early detection and treatment of malignant eyelid tumors.

As one of the hallmarks of cancer, metabolic reprogramming leads to cancer progression, and targeting glycolytic enzymes could be useful strategies for cancer therapy. By screening a small molecule library consisting of 1320 FDA-approved drugs, we found that penfluridol, an antipsychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia, could inhibit glycolysis and induce apoptosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Gene profiling and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis suggested the important role of AMPK in action mechanism of penfluridol. By using drug affinity responsive target stability (DARTS) technology and proteomics, we identified phosphofructokinase, liver type (PFKL), a key enzyme in glycolysis, as a direct target of penfluridol. Penfluridol could not exhibit its anticancer property in PFKL-deficient cancer cells, illustrating that PFKL is essential for the bioactivity of penfluridol. High PFKL expression is correlated with advanced stages and poor survival of ESCC patients, and silencing of PFKL significantly suppressed tumor growth. Mechanistically, direct binding of penfluridol and PFKL inhibits glucose consumption, lactate and ATP production, leads to nuclear translocation of FOXO3a and subsequent transcriptional activation of BIM in an AMPK-dependent manner. Taken together, PFKL is a potential prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target in ESCC, and penfluridol may be a new therapeutic option for management of this lethal disease.

Abstract K-anonymity has been gaining widespread attention as one of the most widely used technologies to protect location privacy. Nevertheless, there are still some threats such as behavior deception and service swing, since utilizing distributed k-anonymity technology to construct an anonymous domain. More specifically, the coordinate of the honest node will be a leak if the malicious nodes submit wrong locations coordinate to take part in the domain construction process. Worse still, owing to service swing, the attacker increases the reputation illegally to deceive honest nodes again. To overcome those drawbacks, we propose a trusted de-swinging k-anonymity scheme for location privacy protection. Primarily, we introduce a de-swinging reputation evaluation method (DREM), which designs a penalty factor to curb swinging behavior. This method calculates the reputation from entity honesty degree, location information entropy, and service swing degree. Besides, based on our proposed DREM, a credible cloaking area is constructed to protect the location privacy of the requester. In the area, nodes can choose some nodes with a high reputation for completing the construction process of the anonymous domain. Finally, we design reputation contracts to calculate credit automatically based on smart contracts. The security analysis and simulation results indicate that our proposed scheme effectively resists malicious attacks, curbs the service swing, and encourages nodes to participate honestly in the construction of cloaking areas.

Abstract Background Gastric cancer (GC) has a poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. As a new promising cancer therapeutic approach, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells represent a potential GC treatment. We investigated the antitumor activity of CAR-T cells target-B7H3 in GC. Methods In our study, expression of B7H3 was examined in GC tissues and explored the tumoricidal potential of B7H3-targeting CAR-T cells in GC. B7H3-directed CAR-T cells with a humanized antigen-recognizing domain was generated. The anti-tumor effects of this CAR-T cell were finally investigated in vitro and in vivo. Results Our results show that B7H3-directed CAR-T cells efficiently killed GC tumor cells. In addition, we found that B7H3 is correlated with tumor cell stemness, and anti-B7H3 CAR-T can simultaneously target stem cell-like GC cells to improve the treatment outcome. Conclusions Our study indicates that B7H3 is an attractive target for GC therapy, and B7H3 has high potential for clinical application.

BackgroundViral hepatitis is a widespread and serious infectious disease, and most patients with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma are prone to viral infections. T cell immunoglobulin-and mucin-domain-containing molecule-3 (Tim-3) is an immune checkpoint molecule that negatively regulates T cell responses, playing an extremely important role in controlling infectious diseases. However, reports about the role of serum soluble Tim-3 (sTim-3) in hepatitis virus infection are limited. Therefore, this study explored changes in sTim-3 levels in patients infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and hepatitis E virus (HEV).MethodsThis study applied high-sensitivity time-resolved fluorescence immunoassay for the detection of sTim-3 levels. A total of 205 cases of viral hepatitis infection (68 cases of HBV infection, 60 cases of HCV infection, and 77 cases of HEV virus infection) and 88 healthy controls were quantitatively determined. The changes in serum sTim-3 level and its clinical value in hepatitis virus infection were analyzed.ResultsPatients with HBV infection (14.00, 10.78–20.45 ng/mL), HCV infection (15.99, 11.83–27.00 ng/mL), or HEV infection (19.09, 10.85–33.93 ng/mL) had significantly higher sTim-3 levels than that in the healthy control group (7.69, 6.14–10.22 ng/mL, P < 0.0001). Patients with hepatitis and fibrosis infected with HBV (22.76, 12.82–37.53 ng/mL), HCV (33.06, 16.36–39.30 ng/mL), and HEV (28.90, 17.95–35.94 ng/mL) had significantly higher sTim-3 levels than patients with hepatitis without fibrosis (13.29, 7.75–17.28; 13.86, 11.48–18.64; 14.77, 9.79–29.79 ng/mL; P < 0.05).ConclusionsTim-3 level was elevated in patients infected with HBV, HCV, or HEV and gradually increased in patients with either hepatitis or hepatitis with hepatic fibrosis. It has a certain role in the evaluation of the course of a disease after hepatitis virus infection.

Electroencephalogram (EEG) has been widely utilized in emotion recognition. Psychologists have found that emotions can be divided into conscious emotion and unconscious emotion. In this article, we explore to classify subliminal emotions (happiness and anger) with EEG signals elicited by subliminal face stimulation, that is to select appropriate features to classify subliminal emotions. First, multi-scale sample entropy (MSpEn), wavelet packet energy (Ei), and wavelet packet entropy (WpEn) of EEG signals are extracted. Then, these features are fed into the decision tree and improved random forest, respectively. The classification accuracy with Ei and WpEn is higher than MSpEn, which shows that Ei and WpEn can be used as effective features to classify subliminal emotions. We compared the classification results of different features combined with the decision tree algorithm and the improved random forest algorithm. The experimental results indicate that the improved random forest algorithm attains the best classification accuracy for subliminal emotions. Finally, subliminal emotions and physiological proof of subliminal affective priming effect are discussed.

ObjectiveTo explore the effects of nifedipine tablets combined with magnesium sulfate on blood coagulation indexes, oxidative stress and levels of NO and ET-1 in patients with Pregnancy-induced hypertension syndrome (PIH).MethodsA total of 110 patients with hypertension during pregnancy were admitted to our hospital from January 2020 to January 2021. According to the random number table method, 110 patients were divided into the control group and the therapy group, with 55 cases in each group. The blood pressure levels (systolic and diastolic blood pressure), coagulation indexes (TT, PT, APTT, Fib), oxidative stress indexes (LPO, MDA, SOD), vascular endothelial function (ET-1, NO), clinical efficacy and adverse reactions of the two groups were compared.ResultsAfter therapy, the systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure of the two groups were significantly decreased, and the therapy group was significantly lower than the control group (P < 0.05). After therapy, PT, TT, and APTT in two groups were significantly increased, and Fib was significantly decreased, and PT, TT, APTT in the therapy group were higher than those in the control group, and Fib was lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). After therapy, LPO and MDA in two groups were significantly decreased, and SOD was significantly increased, and LPO and MDA in the therapy group were lower than those in the control group, and SOD was higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05). After therapy, ET-1 in two groups were significantly increased, and NO and ET-1/NO was significantly decreased, and ET-1 in the therapy group was higher than that in the control group, and NO and ET-1/NO were lower those in the control group (P < 0.05). The total clinical effective rate of patients in the therapy group was 94.5%, and in the control group was 81.8%, the therapy group was significantly better than the control group (P < 0.05). The total incidence of adverse reactions in the therapy group was 7.3%, and in the control group was 21.8%, the therapy group was significantly lower than the control group (P < 0.05).ConclusionNifedipine tablets combined with magnesium sulfate in the treatment of PIH can improve the blood coagulation function of patients, reduce oxidative stress damage, adjust the serum levels of ET-1 and NO, and improve the clinical efficacy.

Sleep-related diseases seriously affect the life quality of patients. Sleep stage classification (or sleep staging), which studies the human sleep process and classifies the sleep stages, is an important reference to the diagnosis and study of sleep disorders. Many scholars have conducted a series of sleep staging studies, but the correlation between different sleep stages and the accuracy of classification still needs to be improved. Therefore, this paper proposes an automatic sleep stage classification based on EEG. By constructing an improved empirical mode decomposition and K-means experimental model, the concept of “frequency-domain correlation coefficient” is defined. In the process of feature extraction, the feature vector with the best correlation in the time-frequency domain is selected. Extraction and classification of EEG features are realized based on the K-means clustering algorithm. Experimental results demonstrate that the classification accuracy is significantly improved, and our proposed algorithm has a positive impact on sleep staging compared with other algorithms.

In this paper, a polyimide (PI)/Si/SiO2-based piezoresistive microcantilever biosensor was developed to achieve a trace level detection for aflatoxin B1. To take advantage of both the high piezoresistance coefficient of single-crystal silicon and the small spring constant of PI, the flexible piezoresistive microcantilever was designed using the buried oxide (BOX) layer of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer as a bottom passivation layer, the topmost single-crystal silicon layer as a piezoresistor layer, and a thin PI film as a top passivation layer. To obtain higher sensitivity and output voltage stability, four identical piezoresistors, two of which were located in the substrate and two integrated in the microcantilevers, were composed of a quarter-bridge configuration wheatstone bridge. The fabricated PI/Si/SiO2 microcantilever showed good mechanical properties with a spring constant of 21.31 nN/μm and a deflection sensitivity of 3.54 × 10−7 nm−1. The microcantilever biosensor also showed a stable voltage output in the Phosphate Buffered Saline (PBS) buffer with a fluctuation less than 1 μV @ 3 V. By functionalizing anti-aflatoxin B1 on the sensing piezoresistive microcantilever with a biotin avidin system (BAS), a linear aflatoxin B1 detection concentration resulting from 1 ng/mL to 100 ng/mL was obtained, and the toxic molecule detection also showed good specificity. The experimental results indicate that the PI/Si/SiO2 flexible piezoresistive microcantilever biosensor has excellent abilities in trace-level and specific detections of aflatoxin B1 and other biomolecules.

This paper introduces a piezoresistive microcantilever with a low spring constant. The microcantilever was fabricated with titanium (Ti) as the piezoresistor, a low spring constant polyimide (PI) layer, and a thin silicon oxide (SiO2) layer as the top and bottom passive layers, respectively. Excellent mechanical performances with the spring constant of 0.02128 N/m and the deflection sensitivity (∆V/V)/∆z of 1.03 × 10−7 nm−1 were obtained. The output voltage fluctuation of a Wheatstone bridge, which consists of four piezoresistive microcantilevers, is less than 3 μV@3 V in a phosphate buffered saline (PBS) environment. A microcantilever aptasensor was then developed through functionalizing the microcantilevers with a ricin aptamer probe, and detections on ricin with concentrations of 10, 20, 50 and 100 ng/mL were successfully realized. A good specificity was also confirmed by using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a blank control. The experiment results show that the Ti and PI-based microcantilever has great prospects for ultrasensitive biochemical molecule detections with high reliability and specificity.

Cardiac sympathetic tone overdrive is a key mechanism of arrhythmia. Cardiac sympathetic nerves denervation, such as LSG ablation or renal sympathetic denervation, suppressed both the prevalence of VAs and the incidence of SCD. Accumulating evidence demonstrates the ligament of Marshall (LOM) is a key component of the sympathetic conduit between the left stellate ganglion (LSG) and the ventricles. The present study aimed to investigate the roles of the distal segment of LOM (LOMLSPV) denervation in ischemia and reperfusion (IR)-induced VAs, and compared that LSG denervation. Thirty-three canines were randomly divided into group 1 (IR group, n = 11), group 2 (LOMLSPV Denervation + IR, n = 9), and group 3 (LSG Denervation + IR, n = 13). Hematoxylin-Eosin (HE) and Immunohistochemistry staining revealed that LOMLSPV contained bundles of sympathetic but not parasympathetic nerves. IR increased the cardiac sympathetic tone [serum concentrations of noradrenaline (NE) and epinephrine (E)] and induced the prevalence of VAs [ventricular premature beat (VPB), salvo of VPB, ventricular tachycardia (VT), VT duration (VTD) and ventricular fibrillation (VF)]. Both LOMLSPV denervation and LSG denervation could reduce the cardiac sympathetic tone in Baseline (BS) [heart rate variability (HRV)]. Compared with group 1, LOMLSPV denervation and LSG denervation similarly reduced sympathetic tone [NE (1.39±0.068 ng/ml in group 2, 1.29±0.081 ng/ml in group 3 vs 2.32±0.17 ng/ml in group 1, P

The present case-control study explored the interaction between marine-derived n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC PUFAs) and uric acid (UA) on glucose metabolism and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Two hundred and eleven healthy subjects in control group and 268 T2DM subjects in case group were included. Plasma phospholipid (PL) fatty acids and biochemical parameters were detected by standard methods. Plasma PL C22:6n-3 was significantly lower in case group than in control group, and was negatively correlated with fasting glucose (r = −0.177, p < 0.001). Higher plasma PL C22:6n-3 was associated with lower risk of T2DM, and the OR was 0.32 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.12 to 0.80; p = 0.016) for per unit increase of C22:6n-3. UA was significantly lower in case group than in control group. UA was positively correlated with fasting glucose in healthy subjects, but this correlation became negative in T2DM subjects. A significant interaction was observed between C22:6n-3 and UA on fasting glucose (p for interaction = 0.005): the lowering effect of C22:6n-3 was only significant in subjects with a lower level of UA. In conclusion, C22:6n-3 interacts with UA to modulate glucose metabolism.

Uric acid is the final metabolite of purine. Increased serum uric acid level is associated with incidence of gout and cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between serum uric acid and parameters of biochemistry and haematology in Hangzhou populations, China. In this crosssectional study, 186 male (56±14 y) and 85 female (55±11 y) free-living subjects were recruited from Hangzhou, China. The physiological parameters were measured. Each subject gave fasting blood, urine and faeces samples, from which serum uric acid and other parameters of biochemistry and haematology were measured with standard methods. Serum uric concentration was significantly higher in males than in females, 329±69 µmol/L for male and 237±53 µmol/L for female (P

Resurrection plants usually grow in specific or extreme habitats and have the capacity to survive almost complete water loss. We characterized the physiological and biochemical responses of Paraisometrum mileense to extreme desiccation and found that it is a resurrection plant. We profiled the changes in lipid molecular species during dehydration and rehydration in P. mileense, and compared these with corresponding changes in the desiccation-sensitive plant Arabidopsis thaliana. One day of desiccation was lethal for A. thaliana but not for P. mileense. After desiccation and subsequent rewatering, A. thaliana showed dramatic lipid degradation accompanied by large increases in levels of phosphatidic acid (PA) and diacylglycerol (DAG). In contrast, desiccation and rewatering of P. mileense significantly decreased the level of monogalactosyldiacylglycerol and increased the unsaturation of membrane lipids, without changing the level of extraplastidic lipids. Lethal desiccation in P. mileense caused massive lipid degradation, whereas the PA content remained at a low level similar to that of fresh leaves. Neither damage nor repair processes, nor increases in PA, occurred during non-lethal desiccation in P. mileense. The activity of phospholipase D, the main source of PA, was much lower in P. mileense than in A. thaliana under control conditions, or after either dehydration or rehydration. It was demonstrated that low rates of phospholipase D-mediated PA formation in P. mileense might limit its ability to degrade lipids to PA, thereby maintaining membrane integrity following desiccation.

Plant lifespan is affected by factors with genetic and environmental bases. The laws governing these two factors and how they affect plant lifespan are unclear. Here we show that the acyl chain length (ACL) of phosphatidylserine (PS) is correlated with plant lifespan. Among the detected eight head-group classes of membrane lipids with lipidomics based on triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry, the ACL of PS showed high diversity, in contrast to the ACLs of the other seven classes, which were highly conserved over all stages of development in all plant species and organs and under all conditions that we studied. Further investigation found that acyl chains of PS lengthened during development, senescence, and under environmental stresses and that increasing length was accelerated by promoted- senescence. The acyl chains of PS were limited to a certain carbon number and ceased to increase in length when plants were close to death. These findings suggest that the ACL of PS can count plant lifespan and could be a molecular scale ruler for measuring plant development and senescence.