49 research outputs found
Peptide density targets and impedes triple negative breast cancer metastasis
The C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4, CD184) pathway is a key regulator of cancer metastasis. Existing therapeutics that block CXCR4 signaling are dependent on single molecule-receptor interactions or silencing CXCR4 expression. CXCR4 localizes in lipid rafts and forms dimers therefore CXCR4 targeting and signaling may depend on ligand density. Herein, we report liposomes presenting a CXCR4 binding peptide (DV1) as a threedimensional molecular array, ranging from 9k to 74k molecules μm−2, target triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). TNBC cells exhibit a maxima in binding and uptake of DV1functionalized liposomes (L-DV1) in vitro at a specific density, which yields a significant reduction in cell migration. This density inhibits metastasis from a primary tumor for 27 days, resulting from peptide density dependent gene regulation. We show that complementing cell membrane receptor expression may be a strategy for targeting cells and regulating signaling
Chinese herbal compound for multidrug-resistant or extensively drug-resistant bacterial pneumonia: a meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis with association rule mining to identify core herb combinations
Purpose: Antibiotic-resistant bacterial pneumonia poses a significant therapeutic challenge. In China, Chinese herbal compound (CHC) is commonly used to treat bacterial pneumonia. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CHC and identify core herb combinations for the treatment of multidrug-resistant or extensively drug-resistant bacterial pneumonia.Methods: Stata 16 and TSA 0.9.5.10 beta software were used for meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis (TSA), respectively. Exploring the sources of heterogeneity through meta-regression and subgroup analysis.Results: Thirty-eight studies involving 2890 patients were included in the analyses. Meta-analysis indicated that CHC combined with antibiotics improved the response rate (RR = 1.24; 95% CI: 1.19–1.28; p < 0.0001) and microbiological eradication (RR = 1.41; 95% CI: 1.27–1.57; p < 0.0001), lowered the white blood cell count (MD = −2.09; 95% CI: −2.65 to −1.53; p < 0.0001), procalcitonin levels (MD = −0.49; 95% CI: −0.59 to −0.40; p < 0.0001), C-reactive protein levels (MD = −11.80; 95% CI: −15.22 to −8.39; p < 0.0001), Clinical Pulmonary Infection Scores (CPIS) (MD = −1.97; 95% CI: −2.68 to −1.26; p < 0.0001), and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE)-II score (MD = −4.08; 95% CI: −5.16 to −3.00; p < 0.0001), shortened the length of hospitalization (MD = −4.79; 95% CI: −6.18 to −3.40; p < 0.0001), and reduced the number of adverse events. TSA indicated that the response rate and microbiological eradication results were robust. Moreover, Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, Fritillaria thunbergii Miq, Lonicera japonica Thunb, and Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch were identified as core CHC prescription herbs.Conclusion: Compared with antibiotic treatment, CHC + antibiotic treatment was superior in improving response rate, microbiological eradication, inflammatory response, CPIS, and APACHE-II score and shortening the length of hospitalization. Association rule analysis identified four core herbs as promising candidates for treating antibiotic-resistant bacterial pneumonia. However, large-scale clinical studies are still required.Systematic Review Registration:https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42023410587
Geochemical source analysis of rock cuttings based on major elemental geochemistry
In recent years, shale logging has played a crucial role in the grouting reinforcement engineering of the floor limestone strata in “North China-type”coalfields. However, existing shale logging techniques are limited to the recognition of physical indicators such as color, particle size, and morphology. This limitation makes an accurate stratification challenging, and the “along-stratum rate” in borehole design is difficult to be ensured. These constraints hinder the effectiveness of water damage control in the floor limestone strata areas. This study, based on the elemental geochemical differences in the Carboniferous Taiyuan Formation thin-layered limestone and its clastic interlayers, selected the Taoyuan Coal Mine in the Huaibei Coalfield as the research area. Some vertical core samples were obtained from drill holes in the upper part of the Taiyuan Formation, including L1 limestone to L4 limestone (with L3 limestone as the grouting control target layer). Using the X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), the major elemental background values of thin-layered limestone and its interlayers were quantitatively determined. Also, a major elemental geochemical identification model was established for thin-layered limestone using mathematical statistical methods such as cluster analysis and factor analysis. Simultaneously, major elemental testing was conducted on shale samples from directional drilling horizontal branch holes. The identification pattern validation was completed through shale stratigraphic source analysis based on the established geochemical identification model. The results showed that high CaO content and Loss on Ignition (LOI) value could serve as characteristic indicators for the target layer L3 limestone in grouting and reinforcement. Abundances of MgO (0.5%±), MnO (0.03%±), and P2O5 (0.08%±) could be used as recognition indicators for the overlying marker layer J3. The cluster analysis identification model effectively distinguished the Taiyuan Formation L1 to L3 limestone. The model established using element factor scores effectively differentiated clastic interlayers from thin-layered limestone in the Taiyuan Formation. The Fisher discriminant equation obtained by running the model with rock geochemical background values achieved an accuracy rate of 100% in the source analysis of cuttings from grouting target layer L3 limestone. Based on the above findings, the feasibility of applying the elemental geochemical source analysis method, aimed at ensuring the “in-layer rate” in horizontal branch hole cuttings, was demonstrated. This, in turn, led to the proposal of a ground directional drilling “in-layer rate” control technology scheme. This study, grounded in elemental geochemical theory, identified the target layer stratification through characteristic geochemical information carried by cuttings from directional drilling. With the support of on-site rapid quantitative testing techniques, the technology offers new insights into addressing the challenge of grouting and modification at bottom limestone water hazard areas in the North China-type coalfields
Fountain Code-Based LT-SLT Anti-Eavesdropping Coding Design
In wireless communication wiretap channel, for the eavesdropper to obtain the legitimate receiver decoding rules situation, this paper proposes a LT-SLT fountain code anti-eavesdropping channel coding design. This method targets the Luby Transform (LT) code transmission for some of the original symbols of the Shifted LT (SLT) code and utilizes the fountain code to receive the correct symbols in different noise channels with differential characteristics so that the decoding process of the eavesdropper changes and cannot be decoded in synchronization with the legitimate receivers, and then the partial symbols of the recovered source are different from those of the legitimate receivers. When these symbols continue to participate in SLT decoding, increasing the untranslated rate of the eavesdropper. Experimental results show that although the method proposed in this paper increases the number of decoded symbols by a small amount, the eavesdropper untranslated rate of this scheme gets improved by about 15% when the main channel or the wiretap channel is varied individually, compared with LT code and SLT code. When both the main channel and the wiretap channel are varied simultaneously, the untranslated rate of the eavesdropper in this scheme gets approximately 30% higher compared to LT code and SLT code, and the untranslated rate of the eavesdropper in this scheme gets approximately 14% higher compared to SLT-LT fountain code. When the main channel is worse or slightly better than the wiretap channel, the untranslated rate of eavesdroppers of this scheme is better than that of SLT-LT fountain code, which effectively ensures secure transmission of information
Simulation of daylight availability, visual comfort and view clarity for a novel window system with switchable blinds in classrooms
Applicability of Thermal Dissipation Method in Sap Flow Measurement of Karst Shrub Community
Although the thermal dissipation probe (TDP) method is prominent in forest transpiration studies, the accurate estimation of sap flow density in particular trees with different wood structures remains highly variable. To verify the applicability of the TDP method in the measurement of the transpirational water consumption of shrub communities in degraded karst areas in southern China, Granier’s original formula was validated and corrected using the isolated stem segment method with Celtis sinensis, Xylosma congesta, Triadica sebifera, Paliurus ramosissimus, Pyracantha fortuneana, Sageretia thea, and Phanera championii. Finally, the correction coefficients were analyzed in relation to wood structural parameters. Our study reveals that the sap flow density estimated using Granier’s original formula exhibited varying degrees of overestimation or underestimation compared to the measured sap flow density. The differences ranged from −78.9% to 114.2%, highlighting the need for formula correction. Consequently, we adjusted the coefficients α and β of the original formula (n = 3–5), resulting in a revised range of 0.0047–0.0509 g cm−2 s−1 and 0.5882–1.9821 (R2 = 0.81–0.97), respectively. The conduit diameter was significantly correlated with the correction coefficient α. It is currently unknown whether the results obtained for a particular species can be applied to different growth environments and more prominent individuals of the same species. In conclusion, it is necessary to verify the applicability of Granier’s original formula when estimating water consumption through transpiration in trees
Efficient Vaccine Distribution Based on a Hybrid Compartmental Model.
To effectively and efficiently reduce the morbidity and mortality that may be caused by outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases, it is very important for public health agencies to make informed decisions for controlling the spread of the disease. Such decisions must incorporate various kinds of intervention strategies, such as vaccinations, school closures and border restrictions. Recently, researchers have paid increased attention to searching for effective vaccine distribution strategies for reducing the effects of pandemic outbreaks when resources are limited. Most of the existing research work has been focused on how to design an effective age-structured epidemic model and to select a suitable vaccine distribution strategy to prevent the propagation of an infectious virus. Models that evaluate age structure effects are common, but models that additionally evaluate geographical effects are less common. In this paper, we propose a new SEIR (susceptible-exposed-infectious šC recovered) model, named the hybrid SEIR-V model (HSEIR-V), which considers not only the dynamics of infection prevalence in several age-specific host populations, but also seeks to characterize the dynamics by which a virus spreads in various geographic districts. Several vaccination strategies such as different kinds of vaccine coverage, different vaccine releasing times and different vaccine deployment methods are incorporated into the HSEIR-V compartmental model. We also design four hybrid vaccination distribution strategies (based on population size, contact pattern matrix, infection rate and infectious risk) for controlling the spread of viral infections. Based on data from the 2009-2010 H1N1 influenza epidemic, we evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed HSEIR-V model and study the effects of different types of human behaviour in responding to epidemics
Using Field Spectroradiometer to Estimate the Leaf N/P Ratio of Mixed Forest in a Karst Area of Southern China: A Combined Model to Overcome Overfitting
The ratio between nitrogen and phosphorus (N/P) in plant leaves has been widely used to assess the availability of nutrients. However, it is challenging to rapidly and accurately estimate the leaf N/P ratio, especially for mixed forest. In this study, we collected 301 samples from nine typical karst areas in Guangxi Province during the growing season of 2018 to 2020. We then utilized five models (partial least squares regression (PLSR), backpropagation neural network (BPNN), general regression neural network (GRNN), PLSR+BPNN, and PLSR+GRNN) to estimate the leaf N/P ratio of plants based on these samples. We also applied the fractional differentiation to extract additional information from the original spectra of each sample. The results showed that the average leaf N/P ratio of plants was 17.97. Plant growth was primarily limited by phosphorus in these karst areas. The sensitive spectra to estimate leaf N/P ratio had wavelengths ranging from 400–730 nm. The prediction capabilities of these five models can be ranked in descending order as PLSR+GRNN, PLSR+BPNN, PLSR, GRNN, and BPNN when considering both accuracy and robustness. The PLSR+GRNN model yielded high R2 and performance to deviation (RPD), and low root mean squared error (RMSE) with values of 0.91, 3.15, and 1.98, respectively, for the training test and 0.81, 2.25, and 2.46, respectively, for validation test. Compared with the PLSR model, both PLSR+BPNN and PLSR+GRNN models had higher accuracy and were more stable. Moreover, both PLSR+BPNN and PLSR+GRNN models overcame the issue of overfitting, which occurs when a single model is used to predict leaf N/P ratio. Therefore, both PLSR+BPNN and PLSR+GRNN models can be used to predict the leaf N/P ratio of plants in karst areas. Fractional differentiation is a promising spectral preprocessing technique that can improve the accuracy of models. We conclude that the leaf N/P ratio of mixed forest can be effectively estimated using combined models based on field spectroradiometer data in karst areas
Detection and Characterization of Metastatic Cancer Cells in the Mesogastrium of Gastric Cancer Patients.
Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Here, we propose a novel type of tumor metastasis designated as Metastasis V in gastric cancer. Metastasis V is defined as the appearance of cancer cells in the mesogastrium with perigastric adipose tissue. To detect its incidence and characterize its clinic pathological features, large cross sectional tissue analysis of mesogastrium from 74 patients were used. Metastasis V was detected in 1 of 40 (2.5%) patients with early gastric cancer, 8 of 34 (24%) patients with advanced gastric cancer. The mean distance of Metastasis V from gastric wall was approximately 2.6 cm. Metastasis V was closely associated with tumor invasion depth, along with a number of positive lymph node metastasis. The prognosis of patients with Metastasis V was significantly (P<0.05) worse than those with tumor cell-free mesogastrium. These findings indicate that by using whole-sectional analysis, Metastasis V can be detected in the mesogastrium of gastric cancer patients, and also suggests that it may be a risk factor for patient survival after radical surgery