Evaluating Alzheimer's Disease Progression by Modeling Crosstalk Network Disruption

Aβ, tau and P-tau have been widely accepted as reliable markers for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The crosstalk between these markers forms a complex network. AD may induce the integral variation and disruption of the network. The aim of this study was to develop a novel mathematic model based on a simplified crosstalk network to evaluate the disease progression of AD. The integral variation of the network is measured by three integral disruption parameters. The robustness of network is evaluated by network disruption probability. Presented results show that network disruption probability has a good linear relationship with Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). The proposed model combined with Support vector machine (SVM) achieves a relative high 10-fold cross-validated performance in classification of AD vs normal and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) vs normal (95% accuracy, 95% sensitivity, 95% specificity for AD vs normal; 90% accuracy, 94% sensitivity, 83% specificity for MCI vs normal). This research evaluates the progression of AD and facilitates AD early diagnosis

Resource utilization of microalgae from biological soil crusts::biodiesel production associated with desertification control

With the continuing consumption of resources and increasingly prominent environmental issues, microalgal resource utilization has received extensive attention. In this study, based on the microalgal investigation in desert biological soil crusts (BSCs) using pyrosequencing technology, the cultivated crust microalgae were further isolated in order to obtain high quality microalgae for resource utilization. The results showed that with crust development and succession, microalgal diversity gradually decreased, including the number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and genus, although Microcokus always was the dominant genera. Pyrosequencing obtained 630 OTUs of cyanobacteria, 25 OTUs of green algae and 9 OTUs of diatom; however, part of cultivated microalgae still could not yet be detected due to the DNA extraction preferences and errors caused by PCR amplification. After isolation, four strains were purified and cultivated, including two filamentous cyanobacteria Microcoleus vaginatus BSC-06 and Scytonema javanicum BSC-39, and two unicellular green algae Chlorella sp. BSC-24 and Monoraphidium dybowskii BSC-81. The two green algae grew fast (> 250 mg L-1 d(-1)), and achieved high lipid productivity up to 75-85 mg L-1 d(-1), with lipid content of 28.7-39.0%, thus was considered as promising feedstock for biodiesel production. In addition, the two crust cyanobacteria could be used to construct artificial cyanobacterial soil crusts in desertification control, although their biomass accumulation was not as high as that in the green algae. Ultimately, combining biodiesel production with desertification control would not only improve desert environments, but also provide ideal places for the local microalgal resource exploitation, further promoting desert socioeconomic development

Coping strategies following the diagnosis of a fetal anomaly: A scoping review

IntroductionMany women experience severe emotional distress (such as grief, depression, and anxiety) following a diagnosis of fetal anomaly. The ability to cope with stressful events and regulate emotions across diverse situations may play a primary role in psychological wellbeing. This study aims to present coping strategies after disclosing a fetal anomaly to pregnant women.MethodsThis is a scoping review based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Electronic databases, including Web of Science (WOS, BCI, KJD, MEDLINE, RSCI, SCIELO), CINAHL, and EBSCO PsycARTICLES, were used to search for primary studies from the inception of each database to 2021. The keywords were determined by existing literature and included: “fetal anomaly,” “fetal abnormality,” “fetal anomaly,” “fetal abnormality” AND “cope,” “coping,” “deal,” “manage,” “adapt*,” “emotion* regulate*,” with the use of Boolean operators AND/OR. A total of 16 articles were reviewed, followed by advancing scoping review methodology of Arksey and O'Malley's framework.ResultsIn this review, we identified 52 coping strategies using five questionnaires in seven quantitative studies and one mixed-method study. The relationship between coping strategies and mental distress was explored. However, the results were inconsistent and incomparable. We synthesized four coping categories from qualitative studies and presented them in an intersection.ConclusionThis scoping review identified the coping strategies of women with a diagnosis of a fetal anomaly during pregnancy. The relationship between coping strategies and mental distress was uncertain and needs more exploration. We considered an appropriate measurement should be necessary for the research of coping in women diagnosed with fetal anomaly pregnancy

A Study of the Comprehensive Urban Competitiveness Based On Principal Component Analysis

This paper studies the comprehensive urban competitiveness and performs the principal component analysis. The results show that the comprehensive evaluation of urban competitiveness is not entirely dependent on the city's economic strength or GDP, and it is necessary to consider from resource allocation capacity, openness and public service capacity. By selecting various data concerning 11 prefecture-level cities in Jiangxi Province in 2006, 2009 and 2012, this paper gets the ranking results and analyzes trends, to provide a basis for making future economic policy

Effects of temperature and its combination with high light intensity on lipid production of Monoraphidium dybowskii Y2 from semi-arid desert areas

Temperature and light intensity are important environmental factors influencing microalgae for biodiesel production. The aim of present work was to study the effects of temperature (15 degrees C, 25 degrees C, and 35 degrees C) and its combination with high light intensity (HL, 400 mu mol photon m(-2) s(-1)) on lipid production of Monoraphidium dybowskii Y2 which was isolated from desert. The results demonstrated that algal growth was only inhibited at 15 degrees C. Promoted lipid content and decreased Fv/Fm were observed in 15 degrees C and 35 degrees C. Cellular carbohydrate, protein conversion and membrane lipid (MGDG, DGDG and SQDG) remodeling contributes for lipid accumulation. Stress combined temperatures with HL are benefit for lipid production, especially desired neutral lipid productivity all exceed 40 mg L-1 d(-1). Fatty acids compositions of C16:0 and C18:1 were further promoted under 15 degrees C or 35 degrees C combined with HL. Thus, M. dybowskii Y2 will well-adapted to outdoors cultivation for biodiesel production

Culture modes and financial evaluation of two oleaginous microalgae for biodiesel production in desert area with open raceway pond

Cultivation modes of autotrophic microalgae for biodiesel production utilizing open raceway pond were analyzed in this study. Five before screened good microalgae were tested their lipid productivity and biodiesel quality again in outdoor 1000 L ORP. Then, Chlorella sp. L1 and Monoraphidium dybowskii Y2 were selected due to their stronger environmental adaptability, higher lipid productivity and better biodiesel properties. Further scale up cultivation for two species with batch and semi-continuous culture was conducted. In 40,000 L ORP, higher lipid productivity (5.15 versus 4.06 g m(-2) d(-1) for Chlorella sp. L1, 5.35 versus 3.00 g m(-2) d(-1) for M. dybowskii Y2) was achieved in semi-continuous mode. Moreover, the financial costs of 14.18 $gal(-1) and 13.31$ gal(-1) for crude biodiesel in two microalgae with semi-continuous mode were more economically feasible for commercial production on large scale outdoors. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Optimizing light regimes on growth and lipid accumulation in Ankistrodesmus fusiformis H1 for biodiesel production

The aim of this study was to optimize the light regimes including initial inoculum density, photoperiod and light intensity on the growth and lipid (TAG) accumulation in Ankistrodesmus fusiformis H1 for biodiesel production. At last, the strategy of 4.47 mM urea with initial OD680-0.5, 18: 6 h light/dark cycle and 200 lmol photon m(-2) s(-1) regimes were optimized. The lipid productivity of 116.88 mg L-1 d(-1) and 57.58% neutral lipid in total lipid were achieved finally. Moreover, the changes of photosynthetic activity, pigments contents and biochemical compositions revealed that more carbon flow to lipid synthesis. Therefore, A. fusiformis H1 is an ideal candidate for biodiesel production by utilizing light appropriately. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Feasibility of biodiesel production and CO2 emission reduction by Monoraphidium dybowskii LB50 under semi-continuous culture with open raceway ponds in the desert area

Abstract Background Compared with other general energy crops, microalgae are more compatible with desert conditions. In addition, microalgae cultivated in desert regions can be used to develop biodiesel. Therefore, screening oil-rich microalgae, and researching the algae growth, CO2 fixation and oil yield in desert areas not only effectively utilize the idle desertification lands and other resources, but also reduce CO2 emission. Results Monoraphidium dybowskii LB50 can be efficiently cultured in the desert area using light resources, and lipid yield can be effectively improved using two-stage induction and semi-continuous culture modes in open raceway ponds (ORPs). Lipid content (LC) and lipid productivity (LP) were increased by 20% under two-stage industrial salt induction, whereas biomass productivity (BP) increased by 80% to enhance LP under semi-continuous mode in 5 m2 ORPs. After 3 years of operation, M. dybowskii LB50 was successfully and stably cultivated under semi-continuous mode for a month during five cycles of repeated culture in a 200 m2 ORP in the desert area. This culture mode reduced the supply of the original species. The BP and CO2 fixation rate were maintained at 18 and 33 g m−2 day−1, respectively. Moreover, LC decreased only during the fifth cycle of repeated culture. Evaporation occurred at 0.9–1.8 L m−2 day−1, which corresponded to 6.5–13% of evaporation loss rate. Semi-continuous and two-stage salt induction culture modes can reduce energy consumption and increase energy balance through the energy consumption analysis of life cycle. Conclusion This study demonstrates the feasibility of combining biodiesel production and CO2 fixation using microalgae grown as feedstock under culture modes with ORPs by using the resources in the desert area. The understanding of evaporation loss and the sustainability of semi-continuous culture render this approach practically viable. The novel strategy may be a promising alternative to existing technology for CO2 emission reduction and biofuel production