Developmental differences in the structure of executive function in middle childhood and adolescence

Although it has been argued that the structure of executive function (EF) may change developmentally, there is little empirical research to examine this view in middle childhood and adolescence. The main objective of this study was to examine developmental changes in the component structure of EF in a large sample (N = 457) of 7–15 year olds. Participants completed batteries of tasks that measured three components of EF: updating working memory (UWM), inhibition, and shifting. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test five alternative models in 7–9 year olds, 10–12 year olds, and 13–15 year olds. The results of CFA showed that a single-factor EF model best explained EF performance in 7–9-year-old and 10–12-year-old groups, namely unitary EF, though this single factor explained different amounts of variance at these two ages. In contrast, a three-factor model that included UWM, inhibition, and shifting best accounted for the data from 13–15 year olds, namely diverse EF. In sum, during middle childhood, putative measures of UWM, inhibition, and shifting may rely on similar underlying cognitive processes. Importantly, our findings suggest that developmental dissociations in these three EF components do not emerge until children transition into adolescence. These findings provided empirical evidence for the development of EF structure which progressed from unity to diversity during middle childhood and adolescence

Computer-Aided Diagnosis and Quantification of Cirrhotic Livers Based on Morphological Analysis and Machine Learning

It is widely known that morphological changes of the liver and the spleen occur during the clinical course of chronic liver diseases. In this paper, we proposed a morphological analysis method based on statistical shape models (SSMs) of the liver and spleen for computer-aided diagnosis and quantification of the chronic liver. We constructed not only the liver SSM but also the spleen SSM and a joint SSM of the liver and the spleen for a morphologic analysis of the cirrhotic liver in CT images. The effective modes are selected based on both its accumulation contribution rate and its correlation with doctor’s opinions (stage labels). We then learn a mapping function between the selected mode and the stage of chronic liver. The mapping function was used for diagnosis and staging of chronic liver diseases

Differential contributory roles of nucleotide excision and homologous recombination repair for enhancing cisplatin sensitivity in human ovarian cancer cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>While platinum-based chemotherapeutic agents are widely used to treat various solid tumors, the acquired platinum resistance is a major impediment in their successful treatment. Since enhanced DNA repair capacity is a major factor in conferring cisplatin resistance, targeting of DNA repair pathways is an effective stratagem for overcoming cisplatin resistance. This study was designed to delineate the role of nucleotide excision repair (NER), the principal mechanism for the removal of cisplatin-induced DNA intrastrand crosslinks, in cisplatin resistance and reveal the impact of DNA repair interference on cisplatin sensitivity in human ovarian cancer cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We assessed the inherent NER efficiency of multiple matched pairs of cisplatin-sensitive and -resistant ovarian cancer cell lines and their expression of NER-related factors at mRNA and protein levels. Our results showed that only the cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cell line PEO4 possessed an increased NER capacity compared to its inherently NER-inefficient parental line PEO1. Several other cisplatin-resistant cell lines, including CP70, CDDP and 2008C13, exhibited a normal and parental cell-comparable NER capacity for removing cisplatin-induced DNA intrastrand cross-links (Pt-GG). Concomitant gene expression analysis revealed discordance in mRNA and protein levels of NER factors in various ovarian cancer cell lines and NER proteins level were unrelated to the cisplatin sensitivity of these cell lines. Although knockdown of NER factors was able to compromise the NER efficiency, it only caused a minimal effect on cisplatin sensitivity. On the contrary, downregulation of BRCA2, a critical protein for homologous recombination repair (HRR), significantly enhanced the efficacy of cisplatin in killing ovarian cancer cell line PEO4.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our studies indicate that the level of NER factors in ovarian cancer cell lines is neither a determinant of their NER capacity nor of the sensitivity to cisplatin, and suggest that manipulation of the HRR but not the NER factor expression provides an effective strategy for sensitizing cisplatin-resistant tumors to platinating agents.</p

miR-17-5p and miR-106a are involved in the balance between osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells

AbstractMesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can differentiate into several distinct cell types, including osteoblasts and adipocytes. The balance between osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation is disrupted in several osteogenic-related disorders, such as osteoporosis. So far, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that drive final lineage commitment of MSCs. In this study, we revealed that miR-17-5p and miR-106a have dual functions in the modulation of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hADSCs) commitment by gain- and loss-of-function assays. They could promote adipogenesis and inhibit osteogenesis. Luciferase reporter assay, western blot and ELISA suggested BMP2 was a direct target of miR-17-5p and miR-106a. Downregulation of endogeneous BMP2 by RNA interference suppressed osteogenesis and increased adipogenesis, similar to the effect of miR-17-5p and miR-106a upregulation. Moreover, the inhibitory effects of miR-17-5p on osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation of hADSCs could be reversed by BMP2 RNA interference. In conclusion, miR-17-5p and miR-106a regulate osteogenic and adipogenic lineage commitment of hADSCs by directly targeting BMP2, and subsequently decreased osteogenic TAZ, MSX2 and Runx2, and increased adipogenic C/EBPα and PPARγ

Directly mapping whispering gallery modes in a microsphere through modal coupling and directional emission

We fabricate slightly deformed fused-silica microspheres in which whispering gallery modes possess remarkably directional escape emission from the microsphere boundary. With efficient free-space excitation and collection, the lateral spatial distribution of whispering gallery modes with different azimuthal mode numbers, m, is directly observed through modal coupling and directional emission. Excellent agreement with theory is obtained

Response of rhizosphere microbial community structure and production performance of corn and soybean to belt planting mode

Soybean and corn strip cropping takes full advantage of the root characteristics and plant height differences between soybean and corn, which can improve crop photosynthesis and nutrient uptake as well as capitalize on the marginal effect of corn. However, there is not enough in-depth research on the effects of soybean and corn strip cropping modes on inter-root microbial communities and crop yield traits and their correlations, and the functional genes of inter-root microbes. In this study, the structural composition and functional genes of soil inter-root microbial communities under different strip cropping patterns of soybean and maize, Mode 1, Mode 2, and Mode 3, were studied using macro-genome high-throughput sequencing, and the yield traits of soybean and maize were determined and the correlation was understood, taking Zhonglian Soybean 1505 and Tiyu 108 maize as test materials at the experimental base of the Research Institute of Agricultural and Livestock Sciences, Xing'anmeng, Inner Mongolia. correlation between the two. The following results were found. Redundancy analysis found that rhizosphere microorganisms are mainly bacteria, followed by viruses, followed by archaea, and fungi are the least. Relatively speaking, viruses and bacteria are more susceptible to the influence of planting patterns than fungi. Alpha diversity analysis shows that the diversity index changes significantly during the peak flowering period. There is no difference between the other two stages. The diversity of maize rhizosphere microorganisms under Mode 1 or Mode 2 modes is higher than that under Mode 3 modes, while the diversity of soybean rhizosphere microorganisms under Mode 3 modes is higher than the other two modes. Profiling analysis found that different growth periods and planting patterns lead to varying degrees of changes in community structure. The dominant bacterial phyla include Pseudomonas, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Streptococcus. The dominant genera of bacteria are rhizobia, pseudomonas, erythrobacteria, and pseudomonas. The relative abundance of slow root rhizobia in the three growth stages of maize rhizosphere is relatively low. The results of yield traits showed that corn yield under Mode 1 and Mode 2 planting was significantly higher than that under pattern III; soybean yield under pattern III planting was significantly higher than that under the other two patterns, indicating that pattern I or II planting is suitable for corn production, while Mode 3 planting mode is more suitable for soybean production. Correlation analysis showed that S_Massilis_putida was significantly and positively correlated with maize yield, and S_lysobacter_capsici was highly significantly and significantly positively correlated with the number of soybean plants per square meter, and the number of plants in 2 square meters. This study contributes to our further understanding of the classification of inter-root microorganisms and their functional relationships in maize and soybean under different conditions

Rapid detection of porcine circovirus type 2 using a TaqMan-based real-time PCR

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and the associated disease postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) have caused heavy losses in global agriculture in recent decades. Rapid detection of PCV2 is very important for the effective prophylaxis and treatment of PMWS. To establish a sensitive, specific assay for the detection and quantitation of PCV2, we designed and synthesized specific primers and a probe in the open reading frame 2. The assay had a wide dynamic range with excellent linearity and reliable reproducibility, and detected between 102 and 1010 copies of the genomic DNA per reaction. The coefficient of variation for Ct values varied from 0.59% to 1.05% in the same assay and from 1.9% to 4.2% in 10 different assays. The assay did not cross-react with porcine circovirus type 1, porcine reproductive and respiratory, porcine epidemic diarrhea, transmissible gastroenteritis of pigs and rotavirus. The limits of detection and quantitation were 10 and 100 copies, respectively. Using the established real-time PCR system, 39 of the 40 samples we tested were detected as positive