In previous study,we got a purified ginger polysaccharide UGP1 and verified its significant antitumor activities on colon cancer HCT116 cells.In this article,we aimed to illustrate the underlying mechanism of UGP1 exe...In previous study,we got a purified ginger polysaccharide UGP1 and verified its significant antitumor activities on colon cancer HCT116 cells.In this article,we aimed to illustrate the underlying mechanism of UGP1 exerted antitumor activities on colon cancer by using in vitro cell models and in vivo animal models.The results demonstrated that UGP1 could induce S-phase cell cycle arrest,up-regulate the expression of Bax and p53,down-regulate the expression of Bcl-2,and activate the downstream protein caspase-9 and caspase-3,which was related to intrinsic apoptosis pathway on HCT116 cells.Moreover,UGP1 significantly stimulated RAW264.7 cell proliferation and secretion activity.Similarly,UGP1 inhibited tumor proliferation on tumor-bearing mice,increased the expression of p53 and the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2,enhanced the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α,IL-2,IL-6 and decreased the secretion of pro-tumor cytokines TGF-βand b FGF in serum.In conclusion,it indicated that the UGP 1 could sup press human colon cancer growth by inducing apoptosis via the regulation of p53,caspase-3,and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio-dependent pathway and regulating immune system activity.Thi s investigation provided basic theoretical mechanism of ginger polysaccharideexerted antitumor activities,and contributed to develop a possible functional food or adjuvant agent for prevention or treatment of colon cancer.展开更多
This study aimed to isolate and characterize the structures of glycoproteins from peas and determine their hypoglycemic activity.The crude pea glycoproteins(PGP)were extracted by hot water and purified by diethylamino...This study aimed to isolate and characterize the structures of glycoproteins from peas and determine their hypoglycemic activity.The crude pea glycoproteins(PGP)were extracted by hot water and purified by diethylaminoethyl(DEAE)-Sepharose chromatography and Sephadex G-100 size-exclusion chromatography in sequence.Then three main fractions were obtained,namely PGP1,PGP2 and PGP3,with molecular weights of 897615,846740 and 1194692 Da,respectively.The physical and chemical properties of the three fractions were evaluated and compared by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR),nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR),scanning electron microscope(SEM),high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)and other analytical techniques.The fraction PGP2 with the highest hypoglycemic activity,was screened using the Caco-2 monolayer cell model.It can inhibit the uptake of glucose in the small intestine,as well as the activities of maltase and sucrase.After simulated gastrointestinal digestion,PGP2 signifi cantly enhanced the inhibitory effect of α-glucosidase,and slightly reduced the inhibitory ability ofα-amylase.In summary,PGP2 possessed strong hypoglycemic activity after digestion.These results indicated that PGP2 has the potential to be developed into a functional food or natural medicine for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.展开更多
This study was designed to verify the stem cell properties of sheep amniotic epithelial cells and their capacity for neural differentiation. Immunofluorescence microscopy and reverse transcription-PCR revealed that th...This study was designed to verify the stem cell properties of sheep amniotic epithelial cells and their capacity for neural differentiation. Immunofluorescence microscopy and reverse transcription-PCR revealed that the sheep amniotic epithelial cells were positive for the embryonic stem cell marker proteins SSEA-1, SSEA-3, SSEA-4, TRA-1-60 and TRA-1-81, and the totipotency-associated genes Oct-4, Sox-2 and Rex-1, but negative for Nanog. Amniotic epithelial cells expressed β-Ⅲ-tubulin, glial fibrillary acidic protein, nestin and microtubule-associated protein-2 at 28 days after induction with serum-free neurobasal-A medium containing B-27. Thus, sheep amniotic epithelial cells could differentiate into neurons expressing β-Ⅲ-tubulin and microtubule-associated protein-2, and glial-like cells expressing glial fibrillary acidic protein, under specific conditions.展开更多
Warming and nitrogen(N)deposition are two important drivers of global climate changes.Coarse woody debris(CWD)contains a large proportion of the carbon(C)in the total global C pool.The composition of soil microbial co...Warming and nitrogen(N)deposition are two important drivers of global climate changes.Coarse woody debris(CWD)contains a large proportion of the carbon(C)in the total global C pool.The composition of soil microbial communities and environmental changes(i.e.,N deposition and warming)are the key drivers of CWD decomposition,but the interactive impact between N deposition and warming on the composition of soil microbial communities and CWD decomposition is still unclear.In a laboratory experiment,we study and simulate respiration during decomposition of the CWD(C 98)of Cryptomeria japonica(CR)and Platycarya strobilacea(PL)in response to warming and N deposition over 98 days.Resuts show that either warming or N addition signifi cantly accelerated the C 98 of the two tree species by altering the soil microbial community(bacterial:fungi and G+:G–).The combined treatment(warming+N)resulted in a decomposition eff ect equal to the sum of the individual eff ects.In addition,the species composition of bacteria and fungi was obviously aff ected by warming.However,N deposition had a remarkable infl uence on G+:G–.Our results indicated that N deposition and warming will observably alter the composition and growth of the microbial community and thus work synergistically to accelerate CWD decomposition in forest ecosystems.We also present evidence that N deposition and warming infl uenced the composition and balance of soil microbial communities and biogeochemical cycling of forest ecosystems.展开更多
To the Editor:Malignant pleural effusion(MPE)is a collection of a large amount of exudativeuid in the pleural cavity that mainly originates from pleural metastases in patients with malignant tumors.The formation of MP...To the Editor:Malignant pleural effusion(MPE)is a collection of a large amount of exudativeuid in the pleural cavity that mainly originates from pleural metastases in patients with malignant tumors.The formation of MPE is related to angiogenesis,increased vascular permeability,lymphatic obstruction,immune reactions,and the tumor metastasis microenvironment,but molecular-based diagnostic and next-generation therapeutic strategies for MPE are still lacking.Exosomes are vesicles with a double-layered lipid membrane structure that are widely distributed in bodyuids and can be produced by almost all cells.Increased evidence has shown that exosomes are related to the development of MPE and are correlated with the efcacy of and response to targeted therapy or immunotherapy.Although exosomes are one of the main components of MPE,the source and functional role of exosomes in MPE are still unclear.展开更多
Background and Aims:As practice patterns and hepatitis C virus(HCV)genotypes(GT)vary geographically,a global real-world study from both East and West covering all GTs can help inform practice policy toward the 2030 HC...Background and Aims:As practice patterns and hepatitis C virus(HCV)genotypes(GT)vary geographically,a global real-world study from both East and West covering all GTs can help inform practice policy toward the 2030 HCV elimination goal.This study aimed to assess the effectiveness and tolerability of DAA treatment in routine clinical practice in a multinational cohort for patients infected with all HCV GTs,focusing on GT3 and GT6.Methods:We analyzed the sustained virological response(SVR12)of 15,849 chronic hepatitis C patients from 39 Real-World Evidence from the Asia Liver Consortium for HCV clinical sites in Asia Pacific,North America,and Europe between 07/01/2014–07/01/2021.Results:The mean age was 62±13 years,with 49.6%male.The demographic breakdown was 91.1%Asian(52.9%Japanese,25.7%Chinese/Taiwan residents,5.4%Korean,3.3%Malaysian,and 2.9%Vietnamese),6.4%White,1.3%Hispanic/Latino,and 1%Black/African-American.Additionally,34.8%had cirrhosis,8.6%had hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),and 24.9%were treatment-experienced(20.7%with interferon,4.3%with direct-acting antivirals).The largest group was GT1(10,246[64.6%]),followed by GT2(3,686[23.2%]),GT3(1,151[7.2%]),GT6(457[2.8%]),GT4(47[0.3%]),GT5(1[0.006%]),and untyped GTs(261[1.6%]).The overall SVR12 was 96.9%,with rates over 95%for GT1/2/3/6 but 91.5%for GT4.SVR12 for GT3 was 95.1%overall,98.2%for GT3a,and 94.0%for GT3b.SVR12 was 98.3%overall for GT6,lower for patients with cirrhosis and treatment-experienced(TE)(93.8%)but≥97.5%for tretment-naive patients regardless of cirrhosis status.On multivariable analysis,advanced age,prior treatment failure,cirrhosis,active HCC,and GT3/4 were independent predictors of lower SVR12,while being Asian was a significant predictor of achieving SVR12.Conclusions:In this diverse multinational realworld cohort of patients with various GTs,the overall cure rate was 96.9%,despite large numbers of patients with cirrhosis,HCC,TE,and GT3/6.SVR12 for GT3/6 with cirrhosis and TE was lower but still excellent(>91%).展开更多
Background The annotation of fashion images is a significantly important task in the fashion industry as well as social media and e-commerce.However,owing to the complexity and diversity of fashion images,this task en...Background The annotation of fashion images is a significantly important task in the fashion industry as well as social media and e-commerce.However,owing to the complexity and diversity of fashion images,this task entails multiple challenges,including the lack of fine-grained captions and confounders caused by dataset bias.Specifically,confounders often cause models to learn spurious correlations,thereby reducing their generalization capabilities.Method In this work,we propose the Deconfounded Fashion Image Captioning(DFIC)framework,which first uses multimodal retrieval to enrich the predicted captions of clothing,and then constructs a detailed causal graph using causal inference in the decoder to perform deconfounding.Multimodal retrieval is used to obtain semantic words related to image features,which are input into the decoder as prompt words to enrich sentence descriptions.In the decoder,causal inference is applied to disentangle visual and semantic features while concurrently eliminating visual and language confounding.Results Overall,our method can not only effectively enrich the captions of target images,but also greatly reduce confounders caused by the dataset.To verify the effectiveness of the proposed framework,the model was experimentally verified using the FACAD dataset.展开更多
Despite significant improvements in five-year survival rates due to early diagnosis and combination therapy, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) treatment remains a major challenge. Finding new and effective targets ...Despite significant improvements in five-year survival rates due to early diagnosis and combination therapy, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) treatment remains a major challenge. Finding new and effective targets for diagnosis and drug therapy is urgent for TNBC patients. Jagged-1 (JAG1), one of the canonical ligands of the Notch signaling pathway, is involved in vascular budding and is a poor prognostic factor of TNBC. In this study, combined with quantitative real-time PCR, database analysis, animal experiments, and other means, JAG1 was confirmed to be related to the poor prognosis of TNBC patients. JAG1 was highly expressed in MDA-MB-231 Bone (231B) cells, with stronger invasion and metastasis ability than MDA-MB-231 (231) cells. Treatment of human vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC) with TNBC conditioned medium showed that TNBC JAG1 promoted the angiogenesis of HUVEC. Next, we detected the exosomes extracted from TNBC conditioned medium and found that JAG1 promoted the exosome secretion from 231 cells via ALIX-RAB11A/RAB35. In addition, we also found that the exosomes from JAG1 overexpressed TNBC cells contained more long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) MALAT1 , and MALAT1 promoted angiogenesis of HUVEC by targeting miR-140-5p . Finally, the angiogenesis-promoting effect of JAG1 in TNBC was further investigated by matrix gel assay. In conclusion, we reveal that JAG1 has a pro-invasion effect on TNBC and is involved in microenvironment angiogenesis by promoting exosome secretion and the MALAT1-miR-140-5p-JAG1/VEGFA pathway.展开更多
To adapt to the trend toward low-energy precision irrigation, the droplet distributions for two new prototype sprinklers, outside signal sprinkler(OS) and fluidic sprinkler(FS), were compared with impact sprinkler(IS)...To adapt to the trend toward low-energy precision irrigation, the droplet distributions for two new prototype sprinklers, outside signal sprinkler(OS) and fluidic sprinkler(FS), were compared with impact sprinkler(IS). A laser precipitation monitor was used to measure the droplet distributions. Droplet size and velocity distributions were tested under four operating pressures for nozzles 1.5 m above the ground. For the operating pressures tested, the mean OS, FS and IS droplet diameters ranged from 0 to 3.4, 0 to 3.5, 0 to 4.0 mm, respectively.The mean OS and FS droplet velocities ranged from 0 to6.3 m$s–1, whereas IS ranged from 0 to 6.3 m$s–1. Being gas-liquid fluidic sprinklers, droplet distributions of the OS and FS were similar, although not identical. IS mostly produced a 0.5 mm larger droplet diameter and a 0.5 m$s–1greater velocity than OS and FS. A new empirical equation is proposed for determination of droplet size for OS and FS, which is sufficiently accurate and simple to use. Basic statistics for droplet size and velocity were performed on data obtained by the photographic methods. The mean droplet diameter(arithmetic, volumetric and median)decreased and the mean velocity increased in operating pressure for the three types of sprinkler.展开更多
A number of studies have suggested that coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)can cause liver damage.However,clinical features and outcome of COVID-19 in patients with liver injury remain to be further investigated.In thi...A number of studies have suggested that coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)can cause liver damage.However,clinical features and outcome of COVID-19 in patients with liver injury remain to be further investigated.In this study,the clinical data of 265 COVID-19 patients admitted to seven tertiary hospitals were collected.Based on a threshold for transaminase or total bilirubin levels at two times the normal upper limit,patients were divided into mild or moderate/severe liver injury groups.Among the 265 patients,183 patients showed liver injury within 48 hours of admission.Aspartate aminotransferase levels were predominantly elevated in the liver injury group,but albumin levels were reduced.Moreover,fibrinogen and D-dimer were significantly increased.Furthermore,68%of the patients with moderate/severe liver injury had one or more underlying diseases.Almost half of these patients developed acute respiratory distress syndrome(44%)and secondary infections(46%).These patients showed increased interleukin-6 and interleukin-10 levels and a decrease in PaO2 and the oxygenation index.In addition,levels of alanine aminotransferase,aspartate aminotransferase,and albumin were correlated with the oxygenation index,D-dimer and lymphocyte counts.Furthermore,a novel prognostic assessment model based on liver function was established,which accuracy reached 88%and was able to accurately assess the prognosis of COVID-19 patients.展开更多
Increasing agricultural productivity in Africa will have important impacts not only on the agricultural sector but also can be a catalyst for industrialization through agro-processing.Irrigation,therefore,has a crucia...Increasing agricultural productivity in Africa will have important impacts not only on the agricultural sector but also can be a catalyst for industrialization through agro-processing.Irrigation,therefore,has a crucial role in enhancing food security and reducing hunger in the region.Numerous countries in Africa consider water and irrigation management as a key factor in improving their food security and ensuring access to drinking-water for their populations.Fortunately,there is evidence from a number of places on the continent where the adoption of efficient irrigation systems has led to higher productivity among smallholder farmers.While the appropriate interventions for the diverse agro-ecological zones of sub-Saharan Africa are known,adoption among smallholder farmers still remains a challenge.Digital technology opens the vast untapped potential for farmers,investors,and entrepreneurs to improve the efficiency of food production and consumption in Africa.From precision farming to an efficient food supply chain,technology could bring major economic,social,and environmental benefits.Increasing investment and involvement of the private sector is crucial for the up-scaling of irrigation technologies.Indeed,the sheer optimism across the startup ecosystem is that extreme hunger can be cured in Africa,in this generation,by significantly transforming the industry that employs most of its citizens.This paper draws on lessons from past trends in the irrigation industry and emphasizes on novel directions to ensure that farmers,as well as other stakeholders reap the benefits associated with improved technologies.展开更多
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Project“Modern food processing and food storage and transportation technology and equipment”(2017YFD0400203)。
文摘In previous study,we got a purified ginger polysaccharide UGP1 and verified its significant antitumor activities on colon cancer HCT116 cells.In this article,we aimed to illustrate the underlying mechanism of UGP1 exerted antitumor activities on colon cancer by using in vitro cell models and in vivo animal models.The results demonstrated that UGP1 could induce S-phase cell cycle arrest,up-regulate the expression of Bax and p53,down-regulate the expression of Bcl-2,and activate the downstream protein caspase-9 and caspase-3,which was related to intrinsic apoptosis pathway on HCT116 cells.Moreover,UGP1 significantly stimulated RAW264.7 cell proliferation and secretion activity.Similarly,UGP1 inhibited tumor proliferation on tumor-bearing mice,increased the expression of p53 and the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2,enhanced the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α,IL-2,IL-6 and decreased the secretion of pro-tumor cytokines TGF-βand b FGF in serum.In conclusion,it indicated that the UGP 1 could sup press human colon cancer growth by inducing apoptosis via the regulation of p53,caspase-3,and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio-dependent pathway and regulating immune system activity.Thi s investigation provided basic theoretical mechanism of ginger polysaccharideexerted antitumor activities,and contributed to develop a possible functional food or adjuvant agent for prevention or treatment of colon cancer.
基金The authors would like to show deepest gratitude tothe Earmarked Fund for Jiangsu Agricultural Industry Technology System(JATS[2020]413)Postgraduate Research&Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province(No.KYCX19_0682)forfinancial assistance.
文摘This study aimed to isolate and characterize the structures of glycoproteins from peas and determine their hypoglycemic activity.The crude pea glycoproteins(PGP)were extracted by hot water and purified by diethylaminoethyl(DEAE)-Sepharose chromatography and Sephadex G-100 size-exclusion chromatography in sequence.Then three main fractions were obtained,namely PGP1,PGP2 and PGP3,with molecular weights of 897615,846740 and 1194692 Da,respectively.The physical and chemical properties of the three fractions were evaluated and compared by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR),nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR),scanning electron microscope(SEM),high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)and other analytical techniques.The fraction PGP2 with the highest hypoglycemic activity,was screened using the Caco-2 monolayer cell model.It can inhibit the uptake of glucose in the small intestine,as well as the activities of maltase and sucrase.After simulated gastrointestinal digestion,PGP2 signifi cantly enhanced the inhibitory effect of α-glucosidase,and slightly reduced the inhibitory ability ofα-amylase.In summary,PGP2 possessed strong hypoglycemic activity after digestion.These results indicated that PGP2 has the potential to be developed into a functional food or natural medicine for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
基金funded by the National High-Tech Research and Development Program of China(863Program),No.2008AA101005
文摘This study was designed to verify the stem cell properties of sheep amniotic epithelial cells and their capacity for neural differentiation. Immunofluorescence microscopy and reverse transcription-PCR revealed that the sheep amniotic epithelial cells were positive for the embryonic stem cell marker proteins SSEA-1, SSEA-3, SSEA-4, TRA-1-60 and TRA-1-81, and the totipotency-associated genes Oct-4, Sox-2 and Rex-1, but negative for Nanog. Amniotic epithelial cells expressed β-Ⅲ-tubulin, glial fibrillary acidic protein, nestin and microtubule-associated protein-2 at 28 days after induction with serum-free neurobasal-A medium containing B-27. Thus, sheep amniotic epithelial cells could differentiate into neurons expressing β-Ⅲ-tubulin and microtubule-associated protein-2, and glial-like cells expressing glial fibrillary acidic protein, under specific conditions.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(3196140162).
文摘Warming and nitrogen(N)deposition are two important drivers of global climate changes.Coarse woody debris(CWD)contains a large proportion of the carbon(C)in the total global C pool.The composition of soil microbial communities and environmental changes(i.e.,N deposition and warming)are the key drivers of CWD decomposition,but the interactive impact between N deposition and warming on the composition of soil microbial communities and CWD decomposition is still unclear.In a laboratory experiment,we study and simulate respiration during decomposition of the CWD(C 98)of Cryptomeria japonica(CR)and Platycarya strobilacea(PL)in response to warming and N deposition over 98 days.Resuts show that either warming or N addition signifi cantly accelerated the C 98 of the two tree species by altering the soil microbial community(bacterial:fungi and G+:G–).The combined treatment(warming+N)resulted in a decomposition eff ect equal to the sum of the individual eff ects.In addition,the species composition of bacteria and fungi was obviously aff ected by warming.However,N deposition had a remarkable infl uence on G+:G–.Our results indicated that N deposition and warming will observably alter the composition and growth of the microbial community and thus work synergistically to accelerate CWD decomposition in forest ecosystems.We also present evidence that N deposition and warming infl uenced the composition and balance of soil microbial communities and biogeochemical cycling of forest ecosystems.
基金Key R&D Plan of Jiangxi Province(No.2021BBG71006)Zhejiang Provincial Basic Public Welfare Research Project(No.GF19H160028)Key project of Science and Technology Innovation of Health Commission of Jiangxi Province(Nos.2023ZD005 and 2024ZD008)
文摘To the Editor:Malignant pleural effusion(MPE)is a collection of a large amount of exudativeuid in the pleural cavity that mainly originates from pleural metastases in patients with malignant tumors.The formation of MPE is related to angiogenesis,increased vascular permeability,lymphatic obstruction,immune reactions,and the tumor metastasis microenvironment,but molecular-based diagnostic and next-generation therapeutic strategies for MPE are still lacking.Exosomes are vesicles with a double-layered lipid membrane structure that are widely distributed in bodyuids and can be produced by almost all cells.Increased evidence has shown that exosomes are related to the development of MPE and are correlated with the efcacy of and response to targeted therapy or immunotherapy.Although exosomes are one of the main components of MPE,the source and functional role of exosomes in MPE are still unclear.
基金partially supported by an investigator-initiated research grant(IN-US-334-4309)from Gilead Sciences to Stanford University.
文摘Background and Aims:As practice patterns and hepatitis C virus(HCV)genotypes(GT)vary geographically,a global real-world study from both East and West covering all GTs can help inform practice policy toward the 2030 HCV elimination goal.This study aimed to assess the effectiveness and tolerability of DAA treatment in routine clinical practice in a multinational cohort for patients infected with all HCV GTs,focusing on GT3 and GT6.Methods:We analyzed the sustained virological response(SVR12)of 15,849 chronic hepatitis C patients from 39 Real-World Evidence from the Asia Liver Consortium for HCV clinical sites in Asia Pacific,North America,and Europe between 07/01/2014–07/01/2021.Results:The mean age was 62±13 years,with 49.6%male.The demographic breakdown was 91.1%Asian(52.9%Japanese,25.7%Chinese/Taiwan residents,5.4%Korean,3.3%Malaysian,and 2.9%Vietnamese),6.4%White,1.3%Hispanic/Latino,and 1%Black/African-American.Additionally,34.8%had cirrhosis,8.6%had hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),and 24.9%were treatment-experienced(20.7%with interferon,4.3%with direct-acting antivirals).The largest group was GT1(10,246[64.6%]),followed by GT2(3,686[23.2%]),GT3(1,151[7.2%]),GT6(457[2.8%]),GT4(47[0.3%]),GT5(1[0.006%]),and untyped GTs(261[1.6%]).The overall SVR12 was 96.9%,with rates over 95%for GT1/2/3/6 but 91.5%for GT4.SVR12 for GT3 was 95.1%overall,98.2%for GT3a,and 94.0%for GT3b.SVR12 was 98.3%overall for GT6,lower for patients with cirrhosis and treatment-experienced(TE)(93.8%)but≥97.5%for tretment-naive patients regardless of cirrhosis status.On multivariable analysis,advanced age,prior treatment failure,cirrhosis,active HCC,and GT3/4 were independent predictors of lower SVR12,while being Asian was a significant predictor of achieving SVR12.Conclusions:In this diverse multinational realworld cohort of patients with various GTs,the overall cure rate was 96.9%,despite large numbers of patients with cirrhosis,HCC,TE,and GT3/6.SVR12 for GT3/6 with cirrhosis and TE was lower but still excellent(>91%).
文摘Background The annotation of fashion images is a significantly important task in the fashion industry as well as social media and e-commerce.However,owing to the complexity and diversity of fashion images,this task entails multiple challenges,including the lack of fine-grained captions and confounders caused by dataset bias.Specifically,confounders often cause models to learn spurious correlations,thereby reducing their generalization capabilities.Method In this work,we propose the Deconfounded Fashion Image Captioning(DFIC)framework,which first uses multimodal retrieval to enrich the predicted captions of clothing,and then constructs a detailed causal graph using causal inference in the decoder to perform deconfounding.Multimodal retrieval is used to obtain semantic words related to image features,which are input into the decoder as prompt words to enrich sentence descriptions.In the decoder,causal inference is applied to disentangle visual and semantic features while concurrently eliminating visual and language confounding.Results Overall,our method can not only effectively enrich the captions of target images,but also greatly reduce confounders caused by the dataset.To verify the effectiveness of the proposed framework,the model was experimentally verified using the FACAD dataset.
文摘Despite significant improvements in five-year survival rates due to early diagnosis and combination therapy, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) treatment remains a major challenge. Finding new and effective targets for diagnosis and drug therapy is urgent for TNBC patients. Jagged-1 (JAG1), one of the canonical ligands of the Notch signaling pathway, is involved in vascular budding and is a poor prognostic factor of TNBC. In this study, combined with quantitative real-time PCR, database analysis, animal experiments, and other means, JAG1 was confirmed to be related to the poor prognosis of TNBC patients. JAG1 was highly expressed in MDA-MB-231 Bone (231B) cells, with stronger invasion and metastasis ability than MDA-MB-231 (231) cells. Treatment of human vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC) with TNBC conditioned medium showed that TNBC JAG1 promoted the angiogenesis of HUVEC. Next, we detected the exosomes extracted from TNBC conditioned medium and found that JAG1 promoted the exosome secretion from 231 cells via ALIX-RAB11A/RAB35. In addition, we also found that the exosomes from JAG1 overexpressed TNBC cells contained more long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) MALAT1 , and MALAT1 promoted angiogenesis of HUVEC by targeting miR-140-5p . Finally, the angiogenesis-promoting effect of JAG1 in TNBC was further investigated by matrix gel assay. In conclusion, we reveal that JAG1 has a pro-invasion effect on TNBC and is involved in microenvironment angiogenesis by promoting exosome secretion and the MALAT1-miR-140-5p-JAG1/VEGFA pathway.
基金supported by grants from the Program for National Hi-Tech Research and Development of China(2011AA100506)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51309117)the Six Talent Peaks Project in Jiangsu Province(ZBZZ-018)
文摘To adapt to the trend toward low-energy precision irrigation, the droplet distributions for two new prototype sprinklers, outside signal sprinkler(OS) and fluidic sprinkler(FS), were compared with impact sprinkler(IS). A laser precipitation monitor was used to measure the droplet distributions. Droplet size and velocity distributions were tested under four operating pressures for nozzles 1.5 m above the ground. For the operating pressures tested, the mean OS, FS and IS droplet diameters ranged from 0 to 3.4, 0 to 3.5, 0 to 4.0 mm, respectively.The mean OS and FS droplet velocities ranged from 0 to6.3 m$s–1, whereas IS ranged from 0 to 6.3 m$s–1. Being gas-liquid fluidic sprinklers, droplet distributions of the OS and FS were similar, although not identical. IS mostly produced a 0.5 mm larger droplet diameter and a 0.5 m$s–1greater velocity than OS and FS. A new empirical equation is proposed for determination of droplet size for OS and FS, which is sufficiently accurate and simple to use. Basic statistics for droplet size and velocity were performed on data obtained by the photographic methods. The mean droplet diameter(arithmetic, volumetric and median)decreased and the mean velocity increased in operating pressure for the three types of sprinkler.
基金the Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Controlment for The Development of Chronic Liver Disease of Zhejiang Provinceand Zhejiang Emergency Project(Grant number:2020C03123).
文摘A number of studies have suggested that coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)can cause liver damage.However,clinical features and outcome of COVID-19 in patients with liver injury remain to be further investigated.In this study,the clinical data of 265 COVID-19 patients admitted to seven tertiary hospitals were collected.Based on a threshold for transaminase or total bilirubin levels at two times the normal upper limit,patients were divided into mild or moderate/severe liver injury groups.Among the 265 patients,183 patients showed liver injury within 48 hours of admission.Aspartate aminotransferase levels were predominantly elevated in the liver injury group,but albumin levels were reduced.Moreover,fibrinogen and D-dimer were significantly increased.Furthermore,68%of the patients with moderate/severe liver injury had one or more underlying diseases.Almost half of these patients developed acute respiratory distress syndrome(44%)and secondary infections(46%).These patients showed increased interleukin-6 and interleukin-10 levels and a decrease in PaO2 and the oxygenation index.In addition,levels of alanine aminotransferase,aspartate aminotransferase,and albumin were correlated with the oxygenation index,D-dimer and lymphocyte counts.Furthermore,a novel prognostic assessment model based on liver function was established,which accuracy reached 88%and was able to accurately assess the prognosis of COVID-19 patients.
基金The National key research and development program No.2016YFC0400202the key teacher training project of Jiangsu University and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions(PAPD).
文摘Increasing agricultural productivity in Africa will have important impacts not only on the agricultural sector but also can be a catalyst for industrialization through agro-processing.Irrigation,therefore,has a crucial role in enhancing food security and reducing hunger in the region.Numerous countries in Africa consider water and irrigation management as a key factor in improving their food security and ensuring access to drinking-water for their populations.Fortunately,there is evidence from a number of places on the continent where the adoption of efficient irrigation systems has led to higher productivity among smallholder farmers.While the appropriate interventions for the diverse agro-ecological zones of sub-Saharan Africa are known,adoption among smallholder farmers still remains a challenge.Digital technology opens the vast untapped potential for farmers,investors,and entrepreneurs to improve the efficiency of food production and consumption in Africa.From precision farming to an efficient food supply chain,technology could bring major economic,social,and environmental benefits.Increasing investment and involvement of the private sector is crucial for the up-scaling of irrigation technologies.Indeed,the sheer optimism across the startup ecosystem is that extreme hunger can be cured in Africa,in this generation,by significantly transforming the industry that employs most of its citizens.This paper draws on lessons from past trends in the irrigation industry and emphasizes on novel directions to ensure that farmers,as well as other stakeholders reap the benefits associated with improved technologies.
