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Objectives: To determine the predictive effect of Hounsfield unit (HU) values in the cervical vertebral body measured by computed tomography (CT) and T-scores measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) on Zero-P subsidence after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF)with Zero-P. In addition, we evaluated the most reliable measurement of cervical HU values. Methods: We reviewed 76 patients who underwent single-level Zero-P fusion for cervical spondylosis. HU values were measured on CT images according to previous studies. Univariate analysis was used to screen the influencing factors of Zero-P subsidence, and then, logistic regression was used to determine the independent risk factors. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the ability to predict Zero-P subsidence. Results: Twelve patients (15.8%) developed Zero-P subsidence. There were significant differences between subsidence group and non-subsidence group in terms of age, axial HU value, and HU value of midsagittal, midcoronal, and midaxial (MSCD), but there were no significant differences in lowest T-score and lowest BMD. The axial HU value (OR = 0.925) and HU value of MSCD (OR = 0.892) were independent risk factors for Zero-P subsidence, and the lowest T-score was not (OR = 1.186). The AUC of predicting Zero-P subsidence was 0.798 for axial HU value, 0.861 for HU value of MSCD, and 0.656 for T-score. Conclusions: Lower cervical HU value indicates a higher risk of subsidence in patients following Zero-P fusion for single-level cervical spondylosis. HU values were better predictors of Zero-P subsidence than DXA T-scores. In addition, the measurement of HU value in the midsagittal, midcoronal, and midaxial planes of the cervical vertebral body provides an effective method for predicting Zero-P subsidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimating human mobility responses to the large-scale spreading of the COVID-19 pandemic is crucial, since its significance guides policymakers to give Non-pharmaceutical Interventions, such as closure or reopening of businesses. It is challenging to model due to complex social contexts and limited training data. Recently, we proposed a conditional generative adversarial network (COVID-GAN) to estimate human mobility response under a set of social and policy conditions integrated from multiple data sources. Although COVID-GAN achieves a good average estimation accuracy under real-world conditions, it produces higher errors in certain regions due to the presence of spatial heterogeneity and outliers. To address these issues, in this article, we extend our prior work by introducing a new spatio-temporal deep generative model, namely, COVID-GAN+. COVID-GAN+ deals with the spatial heterogeneity issue by introducing a new spatial feature layer that utilizes the local Moran statistic to model the spatial heterogeneity strength in the data. In addition, we redesign the training objective to learn the estimated mobility changes from historical average levels to mitigate the effects of spatial outliers. We perform comprehensive evaluations using urban mobility data derived from cell phone records and census data. Results show that COVID-GAN+ can better approximate real-world human mobility responses than prior methods, including COVID-GAN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objectives] The action mechanism of Tingli Dazao Xiefei Decoction in the treatment of COPD was explored by the network pharmacology and molecular docking technology. [Methods] The TCMSP database was used to perform active ingredient screening and target prediction on Chinese medicines contained in Tingli Dazao Xiefei Decoction, and COPD-related targets were searched through disease databases. Common targets of Tingli Dazao Xiefei Decoction and COPD were imported into Metascape database for GO analysis and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. The STRING database was used to perform PPI analysis on common targets, and core targets were screened through the Cyto-scape software. The Pymol, AutoDockTools, Vina and other software were used for molecular docking of some core targets and ingredients. [Results] From Tingli Dazao Xiefei Decoction, 26 active ingredients which shared 211 common targets and 22 core targets with COPD, were screened out. Enrichment analysis revealed a total of 1 892 biological processes, 78 cell components, 152 molecular functions, and 164 signal paths. The molecular docking of part of the core targets and corresponding ingredients obtained beeter results. [Conclusions] Tingli Dazao Xiefei Decoction treats COPD through multiple targets and multiple pathways, revealing its mechanism for treating COPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new coronavirus pandemic, COVID-19, has resurrected a number of historical and sociological problems associated with naming and blaming collectives for the origin or transmission of infectious disease. The default example of the false accusation in 2020 has been the case of the charge of well poisoning against the Jews of Western Europe causing the pandemic of the Black Death during the fourteenth century. Equally apparent is the wide-spread accusation that Asians are collectively responsible for the spread of the present pandemic. Yet querying group actions in times of pandemics is not solely one of rebutting false attributions. What happens when a collective is at fault, and how does the collective respond to the simultaneous burden of both false, stereotypical accusations and appropriate charges of culpability? The case studies here are of Ultra-Orthodox Jewish (Haredi) communities and the PRC during the 2020 outbreak of COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determination of optimal hemodynamic and pressure-volume loading conditions for patients undergoing veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) would benefit from understanding the impact of ECMO flow rates (QE) on the native cardiac output in the admixing zone, i.e., aortic root. This study characterizes the flow in the aortic root of a pig with severe myocardial ischemia using contrast-enhanced ultrasound particle image/tracking velocimetry (echo-PIV/PTV). New methods for data preprocessing are introduced, including autocontouring to remove surrounding tissues, followed by blind deconvolution to identify the centers of elongated bubble traces in images with low signal to noise ratio. Calibrations based on synthetic images show that this procedure increases the number of detected bubbles and reduces the error in their locations by 50%. Then, an optimized echo-PIV/PTV procedure, which integrates image enhancement with velocity measurements, is used for characterizing the time-resolved two-dimensional (2D) velocity distributions. Phase-averaged and instantaneous flow fields show that the ECMO flow rate influences the velocity and acceleration of the cardiac output during systole, and secondary flows during diastole. When QE is 3.0?L/min or higher, the cardiac ejection velocity, phase interval with open aortic valve, velocity-time integral (VTI), and mean arterial pressure (MAP) increase with decreasing QE, all indicating sufficient support. For lower QE, the MAP and VTI decrease as QE is reduced, and the deceleration during transition to diastole becomes milder. Hence, for this specific case, the optimal ECMO flow rate is 3.0?L/min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review and assessment of earlier studies shows that the thermal groundwater near Chongqing in the eastern Sichuan Basin of China has a unique occurrence called the 'basin-anticline outcropping' type. Its occurrence and emergence are strongly controlled by the nearly north-south trending anticlines. The basin-anticline outcropping type groundwater is similar to that of the basin type but also has the characteristics of the outcropping type because of the anticlines. The natural hot springs in the study area exist mainly in the outcropping areas of the carbonates, in the middle and the plunging ends of the anticlines where the topography was cut by rivers. They can also rise through the overlying sandstones and form up-flow springs. Geothermal wells tapping the carbonate reservoirs on the flanks of the anticlines also produce thermal groundwater. The groundwater flow can be divided into three levels: (1) shallow circulation system with groundwater of HCO3-Ca type and low TDS discharging through normal temperature springs, (2) middle circulation system with groundwater of SO4-Ca type and TDS of 2-3 g/L discharging through hot springs and (3) deep circulation system with groundwater of Cl-Na type and high TDS discharging through hot springs or wells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Madeng hot spring emerges in the central river valley in the northeastern Lanping Basin in Jianchuan county of Yunnan Province in China. Quaternary sand and gravel occur in the valley which is underlain by the red beds consisting of sandstone and mudstone. The temperature of the hot spring is 42.1°C. The spring water has a pH value of 6.41, TDS of 3.98 g/L, F contents of 3.08 mg/L, and H2SiO3 of 35.6 mg/L. The hot water is of SO4•Cl-Na•Ca type. There is a slight hydrogen sulfide odor in the spring water. Stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes indicate that the hot water is of meteoric origin. It is estimated that the elevation of the recharge area of the hot spring is approximately 3800 m, the age of the hot water is some 140 years, the temperature of the geothermal reservoir is 75°C–80°C, the mixture ratio of cold water is approximately 80%, and the circulation depth of the thermal groundwater is 1870 m. After receiving recharge from infiltration of precipitation in the mountainous recharge areas, the groundwater undergoes a deep circulation, obtains heat from the heat flow, flows upward along the fractured zone, and emerges as an upflow spring through the Quaternary sand and gravel in the central low-lying river valley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For solar plants, waste-energy recovery, and turbogenerators, there is a considerable amount of waste energy due to low mass flow rate. Owing to the high specific power output and large pressure ratios across the turbine, a supersonic industrial steam turbine (IST) is able to utilize the waste energy associated with low mass flow rate. Supersonic IST has fewer stages than conventional turbines and a compact and modular design, thus avoiding the excessive size and manufacturing cost of conventional IST. Given their flexible operation and ability to function with loads in the range of 50-120% of the design load, supersonic IST offers significant advantages compared to conventional IST. The strong shock-wave loss caused by supersonic flows can be reduced by decreasing the shock intensity and reducing its influence; consequently, a supersonic IST can reach higher efficiency levels. Considering the demonstrated utility of bowed blades in conventional IST, this paper presents a study of the use of bowed blades in a supersonic IST. For this purpose, first, the shock-wave structure in the supersonic flow field was analyzed and compared with experimental results. Then, four different bowed blades were designed and compared with a straight blade to study the influence of bowed blades on the shock-wave structure and wetness. The results indicate that S-shaped bowing can improve the efficiency of supersonic turbines, and the energy-loss coefficient of the stators can be decreased by 2.4% or more under various operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cerium oxide cationic clusters (CeO2)1-3 + were generated through laser ablation and then reacted with sulfur dioxide (SO2) at ambient conditions in an ion trap reactor and those reactions were studied and characterized by combining the art of time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF-MS) with density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Molecule association and oxygen atom transfer (OAT) were observed for the CeO2 + and (CeO2)2,3 + reaction systems, respectively. The mechanistic analysis indicates that the weak Ce-O bond strength associated with the oxygen release capacity of cerium oxide clusters is considered as the key factor to achieve the oxidation of SO2. To our best knowledge, this research should be the first example to identify the OAT reactivity of metal oxide cluster ions toward sulfur dioxide under thermal collision conditions, and a fundamental understanding of the elementary oxidation of SO2 to SO3 is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insulin action at the hypothalamus controls glucose homeostasis by suppressing hepatic glucose production and promoting glucose uptake by muscle. However, the mechanisms that control central insulin signaling have not been fully elucidated. Previously, we showed that LMO4 is highly expressed in hypothalamic nuclei that regulate glucose homeostasis. Here, we determined how loss of LMO4 in the hypothalamus would affect central insulin signaling and glucose homeostasis. In transgenic mice that have LMO4 in ablated in glutamatergic neurons, we found that insulin signaling is impaired in the hypothalamus as well as in peripheral tissues (liver and skeletal muscle). Impaired glucose homeostasis was associated with a markedly elevation in hypothalamic protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) activity. PTP1B is a key phosphatase that terminates insulin signaling by dephosphorylating its receptor and downstream signaling molecules. Importantly, we found that administration of a selective PTP1B inhibitor Trodusquemine to the hypothalamus restored central insulin signaling and improved the response of peripheral tissues to insulin in these LMO4-deficient mice. Thus, our study reveals an essential requirement for LMO4 to modulate central insulin signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid–liquid equilibrium (SLE) and solution density data for the (Na2SO4+ H2NCH2CH2SO3H + H2O) system from (288.15 to 328.15) K were measured by use of the method of isothermal dissolution. From the experimental data, a set of polynomial equations were derived to calculate the solubility of taurine as a function of sodium sulfate mass fraction in the equilibrium solution, and two phase diagrams at (293.15 and 318.15) K were constructed. In general, the density of the equilibrium solution regularly increases with the sodium sulfate concentration. Furthermore, at low temperatures the equilibrium solid phase is Na2SO4·10H2O, whereas at high temperatures the equilibrium solid phase is Na2SO4. All of these data will provide a better understanding of the separation of taurine from Na2SO4 aqueous solutions through crystallization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dramatic increase in the prevalence of obesity reflects a lack of progress in combating one of the most serious health problems of this century. Recent studies have improved our understanding of the appetitive network by focusing on the paraventricular hypothalamus (PVH), a key region responsible for the homeostatic balance of food intake. Here we show that mice with PVH-specific ablation of LIM domain only 4 (Lmo4) become rapidly obese when fed regular chow due to hyperphagia rather than to reduced energy expenditure. Brain slice recording of LM04-deficient PVH neurons showed reduced basal cellular excitability together with reduced voltage-activated Ca2+ currents. Real-time PCR quantification revealed that LM04 regulates the expression of Ca2+ channels (Cacnalh, Cacnale) that underlie neuronal excitability. By increasing neuronal activity using designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs technology, we could suppress food intake of PVH-specific LM04-deficient mice. Together, these results demonstrate that reduced neural activity in LM04-deficient PVH neurons accounts for hyperphagia. Thus, maintaining PVH activity is important to prevent hyperphagia-induced obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the existence of standing waves for a generalized Davey-Stewartson system. By reducing the system to a single Schrödinger equation problem, we are able to establish some existence results for the system by variational methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The LIM domain only 4 (LMO4) transcription cofactor activates gene expression in neurons and regulates key aspects of network formation, but the mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we show that LMO4 positively regulates ryanodine receptor type 2 (RyR2) expression, thereby suggesting that LMO4 regulates calcium-induced calcium release (CICR) in central neurons. We found that CICR modulation of the afterhyperpolarization in CA3 neurons from mice carrying a forebrain-specific deletion of LMO4 (LMO4 KO) was severely compromised but could be restored by single-cell overexpression of LMO4. In line with these findings, two-photon calcium imaging experiments showed that the potentiation of RyR-mediated calcium release from internal stores by caffeine was absent in LMO4 KO neurons. The overall facilitatory effect of CICR on glutamate release induced during trains of action potentials was likewise defective in LMO4 KO, confirming that CICR machinery is severely compromised in these neurons. Moreover, the magnitude of CA3-CA1 longterm potentiation was reduced in LMO4 KO mice, a defect that appears to be secondary to an overall reduced glutamate release probability. These cellular phenotypes in LMO4 KO mice were accompanied with deficits in hippocampus-dependent spatial learning as determined by the Morris water maze test. Thus, our results establish LMO4 as a key regulator of CICR in central neurons, providing a mechanism for LMO4 to modulate a wide range of neuronal functions and behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay attempts to explore the development of the Jewish presence in the Chinese capital since 2001. The key question to ask is what it means to be Jewish in international cities such as Beijing, where the current population is made up of people from all over the world. By focusing on the mikvah, the essay argues that in Beijing this 'integral part of Jewish life' has been transformed into a global experience and product. It further investigates the role of Chabad as a 'global movement' and the same time the 'home for every Jew', and asks what happened to traditional practices and beliefs in the age of 'globalisation'? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with hypothesis tests for g-probabilities, a class of nonlinear probability measures. The problem is shown to be a special case of a general stochastic optimization problem where the objective is to choose the terminal state of certain backward stochastic differential equations so as to minimize a g-expectation. The latter is solved with a stochastic maximum principle approach. Neyman–Pearson type results are thereby derived for the original problem with both simple and randomized tests. It turns out that the likelihood ratio in the optimal tests is nothing else than the ratio of the adjoint processes associated with the maximum principle. Concrete examples, ranging from the classical simple tests, financial market modelling with ambiguity, to super- and sub-pricing of contingent claims and to risk measures, are presented to illustrate the applications of the results obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: LMO4 is a transcription cofactor expressed during retinal development and in amacrine neurons at birth. A previous study in zebrafish reported that morpholino RNA ablation of one of two related genes, LMO4b, increases the size of eyes in embryos. However, the significance of LMO4 in mammalian eye development and function remained unknown since LMO4 null mice die prior to birth. Methodology/Principal Findings: We observed the presence of a smaller eye and/or coloboma in ~40% LMO4 null mouse embryos. To investigate the postnatal role of LMO4 in retinal development and function, LMO4 was conditionally ablated in retinal progenitor cells using the Pax6 alpha-enhancer Cre/LMO4flox mice. We found that these mice have fewer Bhlhb5- positive GABAergic amacrine and OFF-cone bipolar cells. The deficit appears to affect the postnatal wave of Bhlhb5+ neurons, suggesting a temporal requirement for LMO4 in retinal neuron development. In contrast, cholinergic and dopaminergic amacrine, rod bipolar and photoreceptor cell numbers were not affected. The selective reduction in these interneurons was accompanied by a functional deficit revealed by electroretinography, with reduced amplitude of b-waves, indicating deficits in the inner nuclear layer of the retina. Conclusions/Significance: Inhibitory GABAergic interneurons play a critical function in controlling retinal image processing, and are important for neural networks in the central nervous system. Our finding of an essential postnatal function of LMO4 in the differentiation of Bhlhb5-expressing inhibitory interneurons in the retina may be a general mechanism whereby LMO4 controls the production of inhibitory interneurons in the nervous system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A joint China-U.S. underwater acoustics experiment was conducted in the Yellow Sea with a very flat bottom and a strong and sharp thermocline. Broadband explosive sources were deployed both above and below the thermocline along two radial lines up to 57.2 km and a quarter circle with a radius of 34 km. Two inversion schemes are used to obtain the seabottom sound speed. One is based on extracting normal mode depth functions from the cross-spectral density matrix. The other is based on the best match between the calculated and measured modal arrival times for different frequencies. The inverted seabottom sound speed is used as a constraint condition to extract the seabottom sound attenuation by three methods. The first method involves measuring the attenuation coefficients of normal modes. In the second method, the seabottom sound attenuation is estimated by minimizing the difference between the theoretical and measured modal amplitude ratios. The third method is based on finding the best match between the measured and modeled transmission losses (TLs). The resultant seabottom attenuation, averaged over three independent methods, can be expressed as α=(0.33±0.02)f1.86±0.04(dB/m kHz) over a frequency range of 80–1000 Hz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emission trading is widely considered to be the most effective policy to minimize the overall costs for CO2 abatement. However, the political feasibility of an emission trading scheme may crucially depend on the free initial allocation of emission permits to carbon-intensive industries in order to offset the reduction in profits.This paper aims to analyze these potential profit impacts and the possible compensation to affected generation compaflies through modeling the Australian National Electricity Market under a potential emission trading scheme. Historical emissionbased and historical generation-based allocation approaches are used in this paper to calculate and compare the percentages of carbon permits that should be freely allocated. Two carbon permit price scenarios are -used to analyze the sensitivity of the optimal percentage of free allocation to carbon permit price. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Octreotide is a crucial drug used for treating patients with chylous ascites; however, there have been few reports related to octreotide that are being used in cirrhotic patients. Thus, this thesis is designed to determine the effects of octreotide on patients with chylous ascites after liver cirrhosis. Eight patients were diagnosed with chylous ascites, on the basis of laboratory findings on ascites samples, between January 2003 and May 2008. Octreotide was given to the six patients, while the remaining two were treated as a control. All patients had persistent peritoneal drainage with the quantity and quality of the drainage fluid observed once every other day. All the necessary care was individually given to the patients during the therapy. All patients properly received combined therapy including a low-fat and low-sodium diet, and diuretic and peritoneal drainage. The volume of the peritoneal drainage was reduced to zero in one of the six patients who received octreotide therapy, while the other five had the drainage volumes decreased from 2,000 to 50 ml with a clear appearance and negative qualitative analysis of chyle. For those two patients who did not receive octreotide therapy, the conditions of peritoneal drainage seldom changed both from the qualitative and quantitative aspects. In conclusion, Octreotide, along with combined therapy, can rapidly relieve portal hypertension and reduce triglyceride levels in ascites. It appears to be an effective therapy available for the treatment of chylous ascites caused by liver cirrhosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Shallow Water’ 06 experiment, two L-shape arrays (ARRAY52 and ARRAY32) were deployed. The vertical line array (VLA) components of both ARRAY52 and ARRAY32 were exactly perpendicular to the direction of sound propagation. The horizontal line array (HLA) component of ARRAY52 was exactly perpendicular to the direction of sound propagation. The HLA component of ARRAY32 was exactly parallel to the direction of sound propagation. This configuration offered an opportunity to simultaneously analyze the three dimensional (3-D) spatial coherences: vertical, transverse horizontal and longitudinal horizontal. When the source and the receivers were below the thermocline, both the vertical and longitudinal horizontal coherence lengths in units of wavelength increased with increasing range and frequency. When the source was within the thermocline, the transverse horizontal coherence length in units of wavelength decreased with frequency and exhibited weak range dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The spectroscopic properties and thermal stability of Er3+-doped Bi2O3–B2O3–Ga2O3 glasses are investigated experimentally. The effect of Ga2O3 content on absorption spectra, the Judd-Ofelt parameters Ω t (t =2, 4, 6), fluorescence spectra and the lifetimes of Er3+:4I13/2 level are also investigated, and the stimulated emission cross-section is calculated from McCumber theory. With the increasing of Ga2O3 content in the glass composition, the Ω t (t =2, 4, 6) parameters, fluorescence full width at half maximum (FWHM) and the 4I13/2 lifetimes of Er3+ first increase, reach its maximum at Ga2O3 =8mol.%, and then decrease. The results show that Er3+-doped 50Bi2O3–42B2O3–8Ga2O3 glass has the broadest FWHM (81nm) and large stimulated emission cross-section (1.03×10−20 cm2) in these glass samples. Compared with other glass hosts, the gain bandwidth properties of Er3+-doped Bi2O3–B2O3–Ga2O3 glass is better than tellurite, silicate, phosphate and germante glasses. In addition, the lifetime of 4I13/2 level of Er3+ in bismuth-based glass, compared with those in other glasses, is relative low due to the high-phonon energy of the B–O bond, the large refractive index of the host and the existence of OH− in the glass. At the same time, the glass thermal stability is improved in which the substitution of Ga2O3 for B2O3 strengthens the network structure. The suitability of bismuth-based glass as a host for a Er3+-doped broadband amplifier and its advantages over other glass hosts are also discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Wideband reverberation measurements were made at a fixed location in the East China Sea on 3 and 5 June 2001 using the same measurement system. Sound-speed profiles were similar during both measurements. Wind speed (W) and rms surface-wave height (σ) changed from 2.74 m/s and 0.10 m on 3 June to 7.45 m/s and 0.33 m on 5 June. Thus, these measurements offer an opportunity to evaluate sea-surface effects on reverberation vertical coherence (RVC), RVC-inverted bottom acoustic parameters, and reverberation level (RL) in shallow water. The two sets of RVC and RL data, in a frequency range of 100–2500 Hz, show differences that are the apparent effects of the surface roughness. With increasing sea state, the RVC increases and the RL decreases. The effective bottom losses, inverted from the RVC data, correspond to the variation of sea state. This additional loss gives a physical explanation of the characteristics of both the measured RVC and RL. These preliminary findings show the importance of surface effects in shallow-water reverberation and propagation models. These effects would be pronounced for high frequencies and sea states. For the conditions reported here, the effects were most apparent for f>500 Hz when W=7.45 m/s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the redox-dependent DNA binding of the purified androgen receptor (AR). Raising of a monoclonal antibody; Detection of slow- and fast-migrating AR-DNA complexes; Formation of a migrating, slower disassociating complex due to a treatment with the sulfhydryl oxidizing reagent diamide; Concentrations of purified AR required for solution dimerization.

Studies the origin of subsurface brines in the Sichuan Basin of China. Geological and hydrogeological framework of the basin; Chemical and isotopic composition of the brines; Salinity of brines.

Urban traffic status (e.g., traffic speed and volume) is highly dynamic in nature, namely, varying across space and evolving over time. Thus, predicting such traffic dynamics is of great importance to urban development and transportation management. However, it is very challenging to solve this problem due to spatial-temporal dependencies and traffic uncertainties. In this article, we solve the traffic dynamics prediction problem from Bayesian meta-learning perspective and propose a novel continuous spatial-temporal meta-learner (cST-ML), which is trained on a distribution of traffic prediction tasks segmented by historical traffic data with the goal of learning a strategy that can be quickly adapted to related but unseen traffic prediction tasks. cST-ML tackles the traffic dynamics prediction challenges by advancing the Bayesian black-box meta-learning framework through the following new points: (1) cST-ML captures the dynamics of traffic prediction tasks using variational inference, and to better capture the temporal uncertainties within tasks, cST-ML performs as a rolling window within each task; (2) cST-ML has novel designs in architecture, where CNN and LSTM are embedded to capture the spatial-temporal dependencies between traffic status and traffic-related features; (3) novel training and testing algorithms for cST-ML are designed. We also conduct experiments on two real-world traffic datasets (taxi inflow and traffic speed) to evaluate our proposed cST-ML. The experimental results verify that cST-ML can significantly improve the urban traffic prediction performance and outperform all baseline models especially when obvious traffic dynamics and temporal uncertainties are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has a greater risk of recurrence and metastasis along with a worse prognosis compared with other subtypes of breast cancer. Studies have revealed that mitogenic estrogen signaling is involved in the malignant proliferation of TNBC cells through a novel variant of the estrogen receptor, estrogen receptor α-36 (ER-α36). The results of the present study demonstrated that knockdown of ER-α36 expression in TNBC cells using short hairpin RNA inhibited rapid estrogen signaling bypass activation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Moreover, the ER-α36 modulator icaritin inhibited the proliferation of TNBC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Here, it was revealed that the combination of icaritin and cetuximab, a therapeutic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) neutralizing antibody, induced apoptosis and inhibited cell proliferation synergistically in TNBC cells. The results of the present study improved the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of TNBC progression and supported the therapeutic potential of combined treatment targeting the ER-α36 and EGFR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new term essential tremor (ET) plus was proposed in the 2018 tremor consensus criteria. The National Survey of Essential Tremor Plus in China, a large multicenter registry study, aimed to evaluate the clinical features of pure ET and ET plus and explore possible factors related to ET plus. All patients with ET underwent neurological examination and neuropsychological assessment at 17 clinical sites. The diagnosis was made according to the 2018 consensus criteria. Clinicodemographic characteristics were analyzed. A total of 1160 patients were included, including 546 patients with pure ET and 614 patients with ET plus. The proportion of females was significantly higher in the ET plus than that in the pure ET (P = 0.001). The age at onset (AAO) of pure ET showed a bimodal distribution, with peaks in the 2nd and 5th decades. However, the AAO of the ET plus group demonstrated a skewed distribution, with a single peak in the 6th decade. Female sex (OR=1.645, P<0.001), older age (OR=1.023, P<0.001), lower educational level (OR=0.934, P<0.001), head tremor (OR=1.457, P<0.001), and higher the Tremor Research Group Essential Tremor Rating Assessment Scale (TETRAS)-II scores (OR=1.134, P<0.001) were significantly associated with ET plus. Old age and female sex may contribute to ET plus development. Pure ET showed a bimodal distribution for AAO, whereas ET plus showed a unimodal distribution. It remains unclear whether pure ET and ET plus are merely different stages of a single disease or represent distinct disease entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reductive (1 + 4) annulation reaction of isatins and substituted nitroalkenes mediated by a trivalent phosphorus reagent has been realized for the first time, providing easy access to spirooxindolyl isoxazoline N-oxides in moderate to excellent yields with a flexible substrate scope. This reaction presumably proceeds through a Michael addition-intramolecular substitution sequence via active in situ generated Kukhtin-Ramirez zwitterions from isatins and P(NMe2)3. It is also demonstrated that the spirooxindolyl isoxazoline N-oxides can be readily converted into the corresponding isoxazolines in good yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional fault diagnosis methods require complex signal processing and expert experience, and the accuracy of fault identification is low. To solve these problems, a fault diagnosis method based on an improved convolutional neural network (CNN) is proposed. Based on the traditional CNN model, a variety of convolution stride modes were added to extract features of different scales of signals and expand the feature dimension. Firstly, the vibration signals were collected and grouped. Then, the data were divided into a training set and a test set and input into improved CNN for feature extraction and model training to realize fault identification. The proposed model achieved a classification accuracy of 99.3% when testing the vibration data of the armored vehicle. Finally, the proposed model was used to classify different fault types of planetary gearboxes. The gradient-weighted class activation mapping (Grad-CAM) method was used to visualize the classification weight of samples. The results showed that the classification accuracy reaches 98% under various working conditions of the planetary gearbox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hamilton’s seabed geo-acoustic model, which is widely accepted, predicts that the attenuation of sound in marine sediments increases linearly with frequency over the full frequency range of interest in ocean acoustics (a few hertz to megahertz). However, Biot-Stoll’s physics-based seabed geo-acoustic model predicts that the bottom attenuation should exhibit non-linear frequency dependence, particularly in sandy bottoms. Since the publication of previous papers [Zhou, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 78, 1003–1009 (1985); Kibblewhite, ibid. 86, 716–738 (1989)], more low-frequency field data, collected from different coastal zones around the world, have shown inconsistencies with the often-used linear frequency dependence. This paper attempts to support the non-linear frequency dependence of sea bottom attenuation through a review of shallow-water acoustic field measurements, with a special emphasis on the 50–1000 Hz frequency range. The relevant measurements include bottom reflection loss, sound transmission loss, dispersion analysis, vertical coherence of both propagation and reverberation, normal-mode spatial filtering, and optimum frequency and transition range of sound propagation. A non-linear frequency dependence of equivalent bottom acoustic attenuation, derived from these measurements, will be introduced. [Work supported by ONR and NNSF of China.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Terahertz computed tomography makes use of the penetrability of terahertz radiation and obtains three-dimensional (3-D) object projection data. Continuous-wave terahertz digital holographic tomography with a pyroelectric array detector is presented. Compared with scanning terahertz computed tomography, a pyroelectric array detector can obtain a large quantity of projection data in a short time. To obtain a 3-D image, in-line digital holograms of the object are recorded from various directions and reconstructed to obtain two-dimensional (2-D) projection data; then 2-D cross-sectional images and 3-D images of the internal structure of the object are obtained by the filtered back projection algorithm. The presented system can rapidly reconstruct the 3-D object and reveals the internal 3-D structure of the object. A 3-D reconstruction of a polyethylene straw is presented with a 6% error in retrieved diameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The mechanism whereby the 9p21.3 locus confers risk for coronary artery disease remains incompletely understood. Risk alleles are associated with reduced expression of the cell cycle suppressor genes CDKN2A (p16 and p14) and CDKN2B (p15) and increased vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation. We asked whether risk alleles disrupt transcription factor binding to account for this effect.Methods and Results: A bioinformatic screen was used to predict which of 59 single nucleotide polymorphisms at the 9p21.3 locus disrupt (or create) transcription factor binding sites. Electrophoretic mobility shift and luciferase reporter assays examined the binding and functionality of the predicted regulatory sequences. Primary human aortic smooth muscle cells (HAoSMCs) were genotyped for 9p21.3, and HAoSMCs homozygous for the risk allele showed reduced p15 and p16 levels and increased proliferation. rs10811656 and rs4977757 disrupted functional TEF-1 TEC1 AbaA domain (TEAD) transcription factor binding sites. TEAD3 and TEAD4 overexpression induced p16 in HAoSMCs homozygous for the nonrisk allele, but not for the risk allele. Transforming growth factor β, known to activate p16 and also to interact with TEAD factors, failed to induce p16 or to inhibit proliferation of HAoSMCs homozygous for the risk allele. Knockdown of TEAD3 blocked transforming growth factor β-induced p16 mRNA and protein expression, and dual knockdown of TEAD3 and TEAD4 markedly reduced p16 expression in heterozygous HAoSMCs.Conclusions: Here, we identify a novel mechanism whereby sequences at the 9p21.3 risk locus disrupt TEAD factor binding and TEAD3-dependent transforming growth factor β induction of p16 in HAoSMCs. This mechanism accounts, in part, for the 9p21.3 coronary artery disease risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional prognostics and health management (PHM) methods for fault detection require complex signal processing and manual fault feature extraction, and the accuracy is low. To address these problems, a fault diagnosis method of planetary gearbox based on deep belief networks (DBNs) is proposed. Firstly, the vibration signals of the planetary gearbox are collected and analyzed in the time domain and the frequency domain. Then, the DBN model and optimal parameters are determined to meet the task requirements. Finally, the vibration data is divided into training set and test set and input into the DBN model, which can realize the automatic feature extraction and fault recognition of vibration signals. The results show that the identification accuracy reaches 97% under five working conditions of planetary gearbox. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. microRNA (miRNA, miR) are thought to interact with multiple mRNAs which are involved in the EMT process. But the role of miRNAs in peritoneal fibrosis has remained unknown. Objective. To determine if miRNA589 regulates the EMT induced by TGFβ1 in human peritoneal mesothelial cell line (HMrSV5 cells). Methods. 1. Level of miR589 was detected in both human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMCs) isolated from continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients' effluent and HMrSV5 cells treated with or without TGFβ1. 2. HMrSV5 cells were divided into three groups: control group, TGFβ1 group, and pre-miR-589+TGFβ1 group. The level of miRNA589 was determined by realtime PCR. The expressions of ZO-1, vimentin, and Ecadherin in HPMCs were detected, respectively. Results. Decreased level ofmiRNA589 was obtained in either HPMCs of long-term CAPD patients or HMrSV5 cells treated with TGFβ1. In vitro, TGFβ1 led to upregulation of vimentin and downregulation of ZO-1 as well as E-cadherin in HMrSV5 cells, which suggested EMT, was induced. The changes were accompanied with notably decreased level of miRNA589 in HMrSV5 cells treated with TGFβ1. Overexpression of miRNA589 by transfection with pre-miRNA589 partially reversed these EMT changes. Conclusion. miRNA589 mediates TGFβ1 induced EMT in human peritoneal mesothelial cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. microRNA (miRNA, miR) are thought to interact with multiple mRNAs which are involved in the EMT process. But the role of miRNAs in peritoneal fibrosis has remained unknown. Objective. To determine if miRNA589 regulates the EMT induced by TGFβ1 in human peritoneal mesothelial cell line (HMrSV5 cells). Methods. 1. Level of miR589 was detected in both human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMCs) isolated from continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients' effluent and HMrSV5 cells treated with or without TGFβ1. 2. HMrSV5 cells were divided into three groups: control group, TGFβ1 group, and pre-miR-589+TGFβ1 group. The level of miRNA589 was determined by realtime PCR. The expressions of ZO-1, vimentin, and Ecadherin in HPMCs were detected, respectively. Results. Decreased level ofmiRNA589 was obtained in either HPMCs of long-term CAPD patients or HMrSV5 cells treated with TGFβ1. In vitro, TGFβ1 led to upregulation of vimentin and downregulation of ZO-1 as well as E-cadherin in HMrSV5 cells, which suggested EMT, was induced. The changes were accompanied with notably decreased level of miRNA589 in HMrSV5 cells treated with TGFβ1. Overexpression of miRNA589 by transfection with pre-miRNA589 partially reversed these EMT changes. Conclusion. miRNA589 mediates TGFβ1 induced EMT in human peritoneal mesothelial cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF) is currently in clinical trials to treat neurodegenerative diseases and stroke. Here, we tested whether LIM domain only 4 protein (LMO4), a hypoxia-inducible gene that protects neurons from ischemic injury, could modulate the neuroprotective effect of GCSF. We showed that GCSF treatment acetylates and phosphorylates Stat3, activates expression of a Stat3-dependent anti-apoptotic gene, p27, and increases neuron survival from ischemic injury. LMO4 participates in Stat3 signaling in hepatocytes and associates with histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) in cancer cells. In the absence of LMO4, GCSF fails to rescue neurons from ischemic insults. In wild-type neurons, inhibition of HDAC promoted Stat3 acetylation and the antiapoptotic effect of GCSF. In LMO4 null cortical neurons, expression of wild-type but not HDAC-interaction-deficient LMO4 restored GCSF-induced Stat3 acetylation and p27 expression. Thus, our results indicate that LMO4 enhances GCSF-induced Stat3 signaling in neurons, in part by sequestering HDAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, the effect of resonant enhancement transmission in a Ge subwavelength periodic membrane is presented. The key idea is that the strong refractive-index modulation of the Ge subwavelength periodic membrane can support the excitation of three leaky mode resonances TE1,1, TE2,1, and TE3,0 in a reflection band, and every leaky mode resonance relates a transmission peak on its edge, thus the overlapping of the edges of these multiple leaky mode resonances can be tailored to create resonant enhancement transmission. Resonant enhancement transmission with single and double channels near λ=10.60 μm is designed to demonstrate this concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using first-principle calculations, we investigate the mechanical, structural, and electronic properties and formation energy of 25 kinds of III–V binary monolayers in detail. A relative radius of the binary compound according to the atomic number in the periodic table is defined, and based on the definition, the 25 kinds of III–V binary compounds are exactly located at a symmetric position in a symmetric matrix. The mechanical properties and band gaps are found to be very dependent on relative radius, while the effective mass of holes and electrons are found to be less dependent. A linear function between Young’s modulus and formation energy is fitted with a linear relation in this paper. The change regularity of physical properties of B–V (V = P, As, Sb, Bi) and III–N (, Ga, In, Tl) are found to be very different from those of other III–V binary compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The extent of lymphadenectomy during laparoscopic right colectomy can affect the oncological outcome and the safety of surgery. The principle of complete mesocolic excision (CME) has been gradually accepted and increasingly applied by colorectal surgeons. The aim of this study is to investigate whether extended lymphadenectomy (CME) in laparoscopic colectomy could improve the oncological outcomes of patients with right-sided colon cancers, compared with D2 lymphadenectomy. Methods/design: The Radical Extent of lympadenectomy: D2 dissection versus complete mesocolic excision of LAparoscopic Right Colectomy for right-sided colon cancer (RELARC) study is a prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial in which 1072 eligible patients with right-sided colon cancers will be randomly assigned to the CME group or the D2 dissection group during laparoscopic right colectomy. Inclusion criteria are locally advanced colon cancers situated from the cecum to the right third of the transverse colon and clinically staged as T2-4aN0M0 or TanyN + M0. The primary endpoint of this trial is 3-year disease-free survival. Secondary endpoints include 3-year overall survival, postoperative complication rates, perioperative mortality rates, and rates of positive central lymph nodes (the station 3 nodes). Discussion: The RELARC trial is a prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial that will provide evidence on the optimal extent of lymphadenectomy during laparoscopic right colectomy in terms of better oncological outcome and operation safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of new vehicle model is a long-time and high-cost procedure traditionally. In this paper, the typical automotive body panel has been formed by means of Single Point Incremental Forming (SPIF) technology which is high-flexibility, short-cycle, low-cost and so on. Based on the stereolithography (STL) triangle meshes, the SPIF main direction of the automotive body panel has been determined. In accordance with the partial fracture on the panel concave surface, the forming principles on single-stage and double-stage have been analysized. Multi-stage forming has been applied to realize the automotive panel processing successfully. To ensure the SPIF efficiency and quality, the first-stage forming process has been to finish the preliminary integral forming for the parts according to the concave intermediate shape, and then to conduct the second-stage forming for the concave final shape locally. The experimental data has showed that the reasonable forming stage can effectively optimize the thickness distribution of the parts. It is helpful to new vehicle development based on the SPIF flexible manufacturing technology in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explosive growth in geospatial and temporal data as well as the emergence of new technologies emphasize the need for automated discovery of spatiotemporal knowledge. Spatiotemporal data mining studies the process of discovering interesting and previously unknown, but potentially useful patterns from large spatiotemporal databases. It has broad application domains including ecology and environmental management, public safety, transportation, earth science, epidemiology, and climatology. The complexity of spatiotemporal data and intrinsic relationships limits the usefulness of conventional data science techniques for extracting spatiotemporal patterns. In this survey, we review recent computational techniques and tools in spatiotemporal data mining, focusing on several major pattern families: spatiotemporal outlier, spatiotemporal coupling and tele-coupling, spatiotemporal prediction, spatiotemporal partitioning and summarization, spatiotemporal hotspots, and change detection. Compared with other surveys in the literature, this paper emphasizes the statistical foundations of spatiotemporal data mining and provides comprehensive coverage of computational approaches for various pattern families. We also list popular software tools for spatiotemporal data analysis. The survey concludes with a look at future research needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with nonobstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC) are considered low risk, generally not requiring aggressive intervention. However, nonobstructive and labile-obstructive HC have been traditionally classified together, and it is unknown if these 2 subgroups have distinct risk profiles. We compared cardiovascular outcomes in 293 patients HC (96 nonobstructive, 114 labile-obstructive, and 83 obstructive) referred for exercise echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging and followed for 3.3 ± 3.6 years. A subgroup (34 nonobstructive, 28 labile-obstructive, 21 obstructive) underwent positron emission tomography. The mean number of sudden cardiac death risk factors was similar among groups (nonobstructive: 1.4 vs labile-obstructive: 1.2 vs obstructive: 1.4 risk factors, p = 0.2). Prevalence of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) was similar across groups but more non-obstructive patients had late gadolinium enhancement =20% of myocardial mass (23 [30%] vs 19 [18%] labile-obstructive and 8 [11%] obstructive, p = 0.01]. Fewer labile-obstructive patients had regional positron emission tomography perfusion abnormalities (12 [46%] vs nonobstructive 30 [81%] and obstructive 17 [85%], p = 0.003]. During follow-up, 60 events were recorded (36 ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation, including 30 defibrillator discharges, 12 heart failure worsening, and 2 deaths). Nonobstructive patients were at greater risk of VT/VF at follow-up, compared to labile obstructive (hazed ratio 0.18, 95% confidence interval 0.04 to 0.84, p = 0.03) and the risk persisted after adjusting for age, gender, syncope, family history of sudden cardiac death, abnormal blood pressure response, and septum =3 cm (p = 0.04). Appropriate defibrillator discharges were more frequent in nonobstructive (8 [18%]) compared to labile-obstructive (0 [0%], p = 0.02) patients. In conclusion, nonobstructive hemodynamics is associated with more pronounced fibrosis and ischemia than labile-obstructive and is an independent predictor of VT/VF in HC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Various techniques using magnifying endoscopy (ME) and chromoendoscopy are being developed to enhance images of gastrointestinal tumor. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of ME enhanced by acetic acid-indigo carmine mixture (ME-AIM) and ME enhanced with narrow-band imaging (ME-NBI) for differential diagnosis of superficial gastric lesions identified with conventional white-light endoscopy (WLE). Methods: Patients with superficial gastric lesions picked up with WLE were enrolled in the study. ME-NBI and ME-AIM were used to further characterize the lesions. All images of the lesions were evaluated by four skilled endoscopists blinded to the clinical data. The microarchitectural patterns in the lesions were analyzed with reference to the 'VS classification' system. Results: A total of 643 lesions (mean diameter, 7 mm) from 508 patients (316 men, 192 women; mean age, 63 years) were evaluated. Pathologically, 24 of the 643 lesions were diagnosed as gastric cancer; the others were noncancerous lesions. For diagnosis of gastric cancer, the negative predictive value of each of the three magnified findings (irregular microvascular pattern, irregular microsurface pattern, and demarcation line) was high (nearly 100 %). According to the 'VS classification' system, either ME-NBI or ME-AIM had a higher specificity (99.5 % or 99.4 % vs. 89.5 %, P < 0.001) and accuracy (99.2 % or 98.9 % vs. 89.0 %, P < 0.001) than WLE, and ME-AIM was not superior to ME-NBI for identifying carcinoma. Conclusions: Enhanced ME is useful for correctly diagnosing early gastric cancer, and in contrast with ME-AIM, ME-NBI is a more feasible and efficient method for clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temporal variations in reference evapotranspiration (ETo) have profound implications for hydrological processes as well as for agricultural crop performance. The main aim of this study was to analyze the annual, seasonal trends in ETo in the Heihe River basin. The likely causative meteorological variables for such temporal changes in ETo were also identified. Results showed that, on a seasonal and annual scale, ETo for the upper reach showed increasing trends from 1960 to 2010; both increasing and decreasing trends were observed for the middle and lower reaches. In spring, wind speed (WS) and relative humidity (RH) were the most likely causative variables for changes of ETo for the whole basin; in summer and autumn, maximum temperature (Tmax) and RH contributed more to the trends in ETo for the upper reach, and WS contributed more for the middle and lower reaches; in winter, Tmax, WS and RH contributed more in different locations and in different seasons. From the spatial perspective, WS, RH and Tmax contributed more to the changes of ETo in the upper reach; WS was the main likely influence factor in the middle reach, and WS and RH were the probable main factors in the lower reach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our objective was to determine the effects of feeding different net energy (NE) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) on performance of growing-finishing pigs from 30- to 135-kg. A total of 2,058 barrows and gilts (PIC 380×Camborough, initial BW 33.4±0.60 kg) were used in a 97-d growth trial with 21 pigs per pen and 14 pens per treatment in a randomized complete block design. Treatments were formulated to contain 2.11, 2.21, 2.32, 2.42, 2.53, 2.63, and 2.73 Mcal NE/kg; and 24.2, 19.7, 15.1, 10.6, 10.2, 9.8, and 9.5% NDF throughout the experiment. Wheat, wheat byproducts, barley, rye, peas, fababeans, and canola oil were used with NRC (2012) loading values to achieve the treatments. Dietary lysine levels were set to meet PIC2016 lysine requirements for finishing gilts. Experimental data were analyzed using generalized linear mixed models and linear and quadratic polynomial contrasts were built with pen as the experimental unit. Increasing NE or decreasing NDF improved (linear and quadratic, P< 0.05) average daily gain (ADG), gain-to-feed ratio (G:F), carcass ADG, and carcass G:F (Table 1); but reduced (linear and quadratic, P< 0.05) average daily feed intake (ADFI). Comparing to pigs fed 2.42 Mcal/kg diet (energy equivalent to a corn-soybean meal diet), even though those fed 2.11 Mcal/kg diet had 8.7% increment on ADFI, daily NE intake was still 5.4% less. Hot carcass weight, backfat depth, and carcass yield increased (linear and quadratic, P< 0.05) and lean yield decreased (linear and quadratic, P< 0.05) with increasing dietary NE and decreasing NDF. No evidence for differences (P >0.10) were observed for loin depth. Removal and mortality rate was reduced (quadratic, P< 0.05) with increasing dietary NE and decreasing dietary NDF. In summary, increasing dietary NE while reducing dietary NDF resulted in improvements on growth performance, carcass characteristics, and removal and mortality rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgroud Isatis indigotica is a widely used herb for the clinical treatment of colds, fever, and influenza in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Various structural classes of compounds have been identified as effective ingredients. However, little is known at genetics level about these active metabolites. In the present study, we performed de novo transcriptome sequencing for the first time to produce a comprehensive dataset of I. indigotica. Results A database of 36,367 unigenes (average length = 1,115.67 bases) was generated by performing transcriptome sequencing. Based on the gene annotation of the transcriptome, 104 unigenes were identified covering most of the catalytic steps in the general biosynthetic pathways of indole, terpenoid, and phenylpropanoid. Subsequently, the organ-specific expression patterns of the genes involved in these pathways, and their responses to methyl jasmonate (MeJA) induction, were investigated. Metabolites profile of effective phenylpropanoid showed accumulation pattern of secondary metabolites were mostly correlated with the transcription of their biosynthetic genes. According to the analysis of UDP-dependent glycosyltransferases (UGT) family, several flavonoids were indicated to exist in I. indigotica and further identified by metabolic profile using UPLC/Q-TOF. Moreover, applying transcriptome co-expression analysis, nine new, putative UGTs were suggested as flavonol glycosyltransferases and lignan glycosyltransferases. Conclusions This database provides a pool of candidate genes involved in biosynthesis of effective metabolites in I. indigotica. Furthermore, the comprehensive analysis and characterization of the significant pathways are expected to give a better insight regarding the diversity of chemical composition, synthetic characteristics, and the regulatory mechanism which operate in this medical herb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Qaidam basin is the largest Cenozoic intermontane basin within the Tibetan plateau, bounded by the Qilian Shan range to the north, the East Kunlun range to the south, the Altyn Tagh range to the west, and the Ela Shan range to the east. Its deposits consist of nonmarine sedimentary rocks, with a maximum thickness exceeding 13,400 m. Modern sedimentation mainly takes place along the marginal areas of the basin, where alluvial fans are formed along a series of rivers that originate from the surrounding mountains. Nevertheless, drilling, sedimentary, and seismic data reveal that the depocenter of the basin during much of Cenozoic time was not developed as foreland basins of the Qilian Shan belt to the north and the East Kunlun belt to the south, but instead the depocenter was in the center of the western part of the basin and had a northwest-southeast trend that shifted eastward ∼380 km during Oligocene to Quaternary time. This indicates that most of the basin sediments were not derived from the surrounding mountain ranges. The results of the fission-track age dating reveal that the rapid uplift of the Yousha Shan anticline bounding the depocenter to the southwest initiated at ca. 31 Ma, indicating that the southeastward shift of the depocenter began at that time, yielding a migration rate for the depocenter of 10.2 mm/yr. The northwestern margin of the depocenter of the Qaidam basin lies to the east of the westward prolongation of the Qaidam basin, the Tula trough, a 300-km-long narrow trough flanked by the Altyn Tagh range along the Altyn Tagh strike-slip fault on the north and the East Kunlun thrust belt on the south. The sedimentary and deformational evidence from this region indicates that the Tula trough was formed as a syncline, along which a paleoriver flowed to the east into the Qaidam basin. To the southwest, this river valley merges with the trace of the Altyn Tagh fault. The latter and its westward continuation are interpreted to have extended to the northern margin of the Pamir folded belt north of the western syntaxis of the Himalaya. We propose that most of the sediments within the depocenter of the Qaidam basin were transported from the northern margin of the Pamir folded belt along a progressively lengthening 2000-km-long longitudinal river that developed along the left-lateral Altyn Tagh fault and its western continuation, as the eastward extrusion of the Tibetan plateau took place in Oligocene time. Both the crustal uplift and continuous southeastward aggradations of the sediments carried by the paleo-Kunlun River are interpreted to be the cause for southeastward migration of the depocenter of the Qaidam basin. The longitudinal river disappeared in late Cenozoic time (2-4 Ma) due to stream capture and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]