Effects of purified anthocyanin supplementation on platelet chemokines in hypocholesterolemic individuals: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: It is becoming increasingly evident that platelet chemokines are involved in distinct aspects of atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of long-term supplementation with purified anthocyanins on platelet chemokines in hypercholesterolemic individuals and to identify correlations of decreased platelet chemokine levels with serum lipid and inflammatory marker levels. METHODS: A total of 146 hypercholesterolemic individuals were recruited and treated with 320 mg of purified anthocyanins (n = 73) or a placebo (n = 73) daily for 24 weeks in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. RESULTS: Anthocyanin supplementation for 24 weeks significantly decreased the plasma CXCL7 (–12.32% vs. 4.22%, P = 0.001), CXCL5 (–9.95% vs. 1.93%, P = 0.011), CXCL8 (–6.07% vs. 0.66%, P = 0.004), CXCL12 (–8.11% vs. 5.43%, P = 0.023) and CCL2 levels (–11.63% vs. 12.84%, P = 0.001) compared with the placebo. Interestingly, the decreases in the CXCL7 and CCL2 levels were both positively correlated with the decreases in the serum low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) levels after anthocyanin supplementation for 24 weeks. The decrease in the CXCL8 level was negatively correlated with the increase in the how-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) level and was positively correlated with the decrease in the soluble P-selectin (sP-selectin) level in the anthocyanin group. In addition, a positive correlation was observed between the decreases in the CXCL12 and tumornecrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels after anthocyanin supplementation. However, the plasma CXCL4L1, CXCL1, macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and human plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) levels did not significantly change following anthocyanin supplementation. CONCLUSIONS: The present study supports the notion that platelet chemokines are promising targets of anthocyanins in the prevention of atherosclerosis. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ChiCTR-TRC-08000240. Registered: 10 December 2008

The homology growth for finite abelian covers of smooth quasi-projective varieties

Let $X$ be a complex smooth quasi-projective variety with a fixed epimorphism $\nu\colon\pi_1(X)\twoheadrightarrow H$, where $H$ is a finitely generated abelian group with $\mathrm{rank}H\geq 1$. In this paper, we study the asymptotic behaviour of Betti numbers with all possible field coefficients and the order of the torsion subgroup of singular homology associated to $\nu$, known as the $L^2$-type invariants. When $\nu$ is orbifold effective, we give explicit formulas of these invariants at degree 1. This generalizes the authors' previous work for $H\cong \Z$.Comment: 12 pages, to appear in Chinese Annals of Mathematics, series B. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2110.0335

Quasinormal modes of a Schwarzschild black hole surrounded by free static spherically symmetric quintessence: Electromagnetic perturbations

In this paper, we evaluated the quasinormal modes of electromagnetic perturbation in a Schwarzschild black hole surrounded by the static spherically symmetric quintessence by using the third-order WKB approximation when the quintessential state parameter $w_{q}$ in the range of $-1/3<w_{q}<0$. Due to the presence of quintessence, Maxwell field damps more slowly. And when at $-1<w_{q}<-1/3$, it is similar to the black hole solution in the ds/Ads spacetime. The appropriate boundary conditions need to be modified.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Crustal Anisotropy Beneath the Trans-North China Orogen and its Adjacent Areas From Receiver Functions

As an important segment of the North China Craton, the Trans-North China Orogen (TNCO) has experienced strong tectonic deformation and magmatic activities since the Cenozoic and is characterized by significant seismicity. To understand the mechanism of the crustal deformation and seismic hazards, we determined the crustal thickness (H), Vp/Vs ratio (κ) and crustal anisotropy (the fast polarization direction φ and splitting time τ) beneath the TNCO and its adjacent areas by analyzing receiver function data recorded by a dense seismic array. The (H, κ) and (φ, τ) at a total of 309 stations were measured, respectively. The Moho depth varies from ∼30 km beneath the western margin of the Bohai bay basin to the maximum value of ∼48 km beneath the northern Lüliang Mountain, which shows the positive and negative correlations with the elevation and the Bouguer anomaly. The average φ is roughly parallel to the strikes of the faults, grabens and Mountains in this study area, whereas a rotating distribution is shown around the Datong-Hannuoba volcanic regions. Based on the φ measured from the Moho Ps and SKS/SKKS phases, we propose that the crustal deformation and seismic hazards beneath the TNCO could be due to the counterclockwise rotation of the Ordos block driven by the far-field effects of the India-Eurasian collision

Sedimentary and crustal structure of the US Gulf Coast revealed by Rayleigh wave and teleseismic P coda data with implications for continent rifting

We have developed an S-wave model of the south-central US focusing on the Gulf Coast sedimentary basin and its crust to understand continental rifting and regional tectonics. The model was derived by a joint inversion of Rayleigh wave phase velocities, Z/H ratios and P-coda data. The surface- and body-wave measurements were made, respectively, from ambient noise and teleseismic earthquakes recorded by 215 USArray stations in a rectangular area of 100°–87° west and 28°–37° north. We employed a cross-convolution function and H-κ analysis to better constrain sedimentary and Moho structure. We find that the southern edge of the Ouachita fold-and-thrust belt (OFTB) appears as a boundary in measured phase velocities, Z/H ratios, sediment basement depths, Moho depths, average crustal Vs and Vp/Vs ratios. The model shows southeastward thickening of the sedimentary basin, accompanied by thinning of the crystalline crust. The Moho gradient suggests that early rifting between North America and the Yucatan block commenced in a SE direction and involved most of the Pangea crust south of the OFTB boundary (i.e., Gondwana crust). We believe that a high velocity feature in the lowermost crust and upper mantle parallel to the southeast Texas coast was emplaced as a mafic body and is the source of the Houston magnetic anomaly. The seismic structures of the crust and uppermost mantle observed beneath the Mississippi Embayment and the Mississippi Valley Graben are consistent with plume induced Cretaceous uplift of the Mississippi Embayment as North America passed over the Bermuda hotspot

Viral Genome Delivery Across Bacterial Cell Surfaces

In 1952, Hershey and Chase used bacteriophage T2 genome delivery inside Escherichia coli to demonstrate that DNA, not protein, is the genetic material. Over 70 years later, our understanding of bacteriophage structure has grown dramatically, mainly thanks to the cryogenic electron microscopy revolution. In stark contrast, phage genome delivery in prokaryotes remains poorly understood, mainly due to the inherent challenge of studying such a transient and complex process. Here, we review the current literature on viral genome delivery across bacterial cell surfaces. We focus on icosahedral bacterial viruses that we arbitrarily sort into three groups based on the presence and size of a tail apparatus. We inventory the building blocks implicated in genome delivery and critically analyze putative mechanisms of genome ejection. Bacteriophage genome delivery into bacteria is a topic of growing interest, given the renaissance of phage therapy in Western medicine as a therapeutic alternative to face the antibiotic resistance crisis

TBI Image/Text (TBI-IT): Comprehensive Text and Image Datasets for Traumatic Brain Injury Research

In this paper, we introduce a new dataset in the medical field of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), called TBI-IT, which includes both electronic medical records (EMRs) and head CT images. This dataset is designed to enhance the accuracy of artificial intelligence in the diagnosis and treatment of TBI. This dataset, built upon the foundation of standard text and image data, incorporates specific annotations within the EMRs, extracting key content from the text information, and categorizes the annotation content of imaging data into five types: brain midline, hematoma, left cerebral ventricle, right cerebral ventricle and fracture. TBI-IT aims to be a foundational dataset for feature learning in image segmentation tasks and named entity recognition.Comment: arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2401.1593

HICH Image/Text (HICH-IT): Comprehensive Text and Image Datasets for Hypertensive Intracerebral Hemorrhage Research

In this paper, we introduce a new dataset in the medical field of hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage (HICH), called HICH-IT, which includes both electronic medical records (EMRs) and head CT images. This dataset is designed to enhance the accuracy of artificial intelligence in the diagnosis and treatment of HICH. This dataset, built upon the foundation of standard text and image data, incorporates specific annotations within the EMRs, extracting key content from the text information, and categorizes the annotation content of imaging data into four types: brain midline, hematoma, left and right cerebral ventricle. HICH-IT aims to be a foundational dataset for feature learning in image segmentation tasks and named entity recognition. To further understand the dataset, we have trained deep learning algorithms to observe the performance. The pretrained models have been released at both www.daip.club and github.com/Deep-AI-Application-DAIP. The dataset has been uploaded to https://github.com/CYBUS123456/HICH-IT-Datasets. Index Terms-HICH, Deep learning, Intraparenchymal hemorrhage, named entity recognition, novel datase