368 research outputs found
Polyamines and hyposaline stress in Ulva fasciata 167 Bot
Abstract. This study was conducted to investigate changes of free polyamine levels in response to hyposaline stress in Ulva fasciata Delile. Free putrescine, spermidine, and spermine are present in this alga. As salinity decreased from 30 to 5, specific growth rate (%/d), TTC reduction activity, net photosynthetic O 2 evolution rate and chlorophyll levels decreased. Plants grown at 5 bleached except the basal part near rhizoidal portion. Free putrescine maintained at a constant level at salinity over the range of 10~30 and increased three fold following 5 treatment. Free spermidine also increased when salinity fell below 15. In plants grown at 5, free putrescine and spermidine accumulation in the basal part was less than in the remaining part. Free spermine levels increased as salinity decreased from 30 to 10, but dropped sharply at 5. Both α-difluoromethylarginine (0.2 mM) and D-arginine (1 mM), inhibitors of arginine decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.19), and also both α-difluoromethylornithine (0.2 mM) and α-methylornithine (0.2 mM), inhibitors of ornithine decarboxylase (EC 4.1.1.17), inhibited the 5-induced free putrescine accumulation. Overall, the present results suggest that an extreme hyposaline condition (5) induced a significant accumulation of free putrescine and spermidine in U. fasciata and that ADC and ODC each contributed to free putrescine accumulation. The relationships between accumulated putrescine and hyposaline injury are discussed
Antioxidant Activities and Phytochemical Study of Leaf Extracts from 18 Indigenous Tree Species in Taiwan
The objective of this study is to assess antioxidant activities of methanolic extracts from the leaves of 18 indigenous tree species in Taiwan. Results revealed that, among 18 species, Acer oliverianum exhibited the best free radical scavenging activities. The IC50 values were 5.8 and 11.8 μg/mL on DPPH radical and superoxide radical scavenging activities, respectively. In addition, A. oliverianum also exhibited the strongest ferrous ion chelating activity. Based on a bioactivity-guided isolation principle, the resulting methanolic crude extracts of A. oliverianum leaves were fractionated to yield soluble fractions of hexane, EtOAc, BuOH, and water. Of these, the EtOAc fraction had the best antioxidant activity. Furthermore, 8 specific phytochemicals were isolated and identified from the EtOAc fraction. Among them, 1,2,3,4,6-O-penta-galloyl-β-D-glucopyranose had the best free radical scavenging activity. These results demonstrate that methanolic extracts and their derived phytochemicals of A. oliverianum leaves have excellent antioxidant activities and thus they have great potential as sources for natural health products
Self-supervised learning-based general laboratory progress pretrained model for cardiovascular event detection
The inherent nature of patient data poses several challenges. Prevalent cases
amass substantial longitudinal data owing to their patient volume and
consistent follow-ups, however, longitudinal laboratory data are renowned for
their irregularity, temporality, absenteeism, and sparsity; In contrast,
recruitment for rare or specific cases is often constrained due to their
limited patient size and episodic observations. This study employed
self-supervised learning (SSL) to pretrain a generalized laboratory progress
(GLP) model that captures the overall progression of six common laboratory
markers in prevalent cardiovascular cases, with the intention of transferring
this knowledge to aid in the detection of specific cardiovascular event. GLP
implemented a two-stage training approach, leveraging the information embedded
within interpolated data and amplify the performance of SSL. After GLP
pretraining, it is transferred for TVR detection. The proposed two-stage
training improved the performance of pure SSL, and the transferability of GLP
exhibited distinctiveness. After GLP processing, the classification exhibited a
notable enhancement, with averaged accuracy rising from 0.63 to 0.90. All
evaluated metrics demonstrated substantial superiority (p < 0.01) compared to
prior GLP processing. Our study effectively engages in translational
engineering by transferring patient progression of cardiovascular laboratory
parameters from one patient group to another, transcending the limitations of
data availability. The transferability of disease progression optimized the
strategies of examinations and treatments, and improves patient prognosis while
using commonly available laboratory parameters. The potential for expanding
this approach to encompass other diseases holds great promise.Comment: published in IEEE Journal of Translational Engineering in Health &
Medicin
A model for predicting physical function upon discharge of hospitalized older adults in Taiwan—a machine learning approach based on both electronic health records and comprehensive geriatric assessment
BackgroundPredicting physical function upon discharge among hospitalized older adults is important. This study has aimed to develop a prediction model of physical function upon discharge through use of a machine learning algorithm using electronic health records (EHRs) and comprehensive geriatrics assessments (CGAs) among hospitalized older adults in Taiwan.MethodsData was retrieved from the clinical database of a tertiary medical center in central Taiwan. Older adults admitted to the acute geriatric unit during the period from January 2012 to December 2018 were included for analysis, while those with missing data were excluded. From data of the EHRs and CGAs, a total of 52 clinical features were input for model building. We used 3 different machine learning algorithms, XGBoost, random forest and logistic regression.ResultsIn total, 1,755 older adults were included in final analysis, with a mean age of 80.68 years. For linear models on physical function upon discharge, the accuracy of prediction was 87% for XGBoost, 85% for random forest, and 32% for logistic regression. For classification models on physical function upon discharge, the accuracy for random forest, logistic regression and XGBoost were 94, 92 and 92%, respectively. The auROC reached 98% for XGBoost and random forest, while logistic regression had an auROC of 97%. The top 3 features of importance were activity of daily living (ADL) at baseline, ADL during admission, and mini nutritional status (MNA) during admission.ConclusionThe results showed that physical function upon discharge among hospitalized older adults can be predicted accurately during admission through use of a machine learning model with data taken from EHRs and CGAs
Hepadnavirus DNA Is Detected in Canine Blood Samples in Hong Kong but Not in Liver Biopsies of Chronic Hepatitis or Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Chronic hepatitis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) caused by the hepadnavirus hepatitis B virus (HBV) are significant causes of human mortality. A hepatitis-B-like virus infecting cats, domestic cat hepadnavirus (DCH), was reported in 2018. DCH DNA is hepatotropic and detectable in feline blood or serum (3.2 to 12.3%). Detection of HBV DNA has been reported in sera from 10% of free-roaming dogs in Brazil, whereas 6.3% of sera from dogs in Italy tested positive for DCH DNA by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR). If DCH, HBV, or another hepadnavirus is hepatotropic in dogs, a role for such a virus in the etiology of canine idiopathic chronic hepatitis (CH) or HCC warrants investigation. This study investigated whether DCH DNA could be detected via qPCR in blood from dogs in Hong Kong and also whether liver biopsies from dogs with confirmed idiopathic CH or HCC contained hepadnaviral DNA using two panhepadnavirus conventional PCRs (cPCR) and a DCH-specific cPCR. DCH DNA was amplified from 2 of 501 (0.4%) canine whole-blood DNA samples. A second sample taken 6 or 7 months later from each dog tested negative in DCH qPCR. DNA extracted from 101 liver biopsies from dogs in Hong Kong or the USA, diagnosed by board-certified pathologists as idiopathic CH (n = 47) or HCC (n = 54), tested negative for DCH DNA and also tested negative using panhepadnavirus cPCRs. This study confirms that DCH DNA can be detected in canine blood by qPCR, although at a much lower prevalence than that reported previously. We identified no evidence to support a pathogenic role for a hepadnavirus in canine idiopathic CH or HCC
Correlation between radioactivity and chemotherapeutics of the 111In-VNB-liposome in pharmacokinetics and biodistribution in rats
Otalgia and eschar in the external auditory canal in scrub typhus complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome and multiple organ failure
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Scrub typhus, a mite-transmitted zoonosis caused by <it>Orientia tsutsugamushi</it>, is an endemic disease in Taiwan and may be potentially fatal if diagnosis is delayed.</p> <p>Case presentations</p> <p>We encountered a 23-year-old previously healthy Taiwanese male soldier presenting with the right ear pain after training in the jungle and an eleven-day history of intermittent high fever up to 39°C. Amoxicillin/clavulanate was prescribed for otitis media at a local clinic. Skin rash over whole body and abdominal cramping pain with watery diarrhea appeared on the sixth day of fever. He was referred due to progressive dyspnea and cough for 4 days prior to admission in our institution. On physical examination, there were cardiopulmonary distress, icteric sclera, an eschar in the right external auditory canal and bilateral basal rales. Laboratory evaluation revealed thrombocytopenia, elevation of liver function and acute renal failure. Chest x-ray revealed bilateral diffuse infiltration. Doxycycline was prescribed for scrub typhus with acute respiratory distress syndrome and multiple organ failure. Fever subsided dramatically the next day and he was discharged on day 7 with oral tetracycline for 7 days.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Scrub typhus should be considered in acutely febrile patients with multiple organ involvement, particularly if there is an eschar or a history of environmental exposure in endemic areas. Rapid and accurate diagnosis, timely administration of antibiotics and intensive supportive care are necessary to decrease mortality of serious complications of scrub typhus.</p
The detrimental effect of asymmetric dimethylarginine on cholesterol efflux of macrophage foam cells:Role of the NOX/ROS signaling
The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe
The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the
dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for
life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront
of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early
evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The
Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed
plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE
is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity
neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi
National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream
of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed
as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research
Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in
Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at
Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino
charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet
cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can
accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional
combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and
potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility
for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around
the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program
of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of
LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics
worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will
possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for
LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a
comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the
landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate
and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure
Genomic, Pathway Network, and Immunologic Features Distinguishing Squamous Carcinomas
This integrated, multiplatform PanCancer Atlas study co-mapped and identified distinguishing
molecular features of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) from five sites associated with smokin
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