The Korteweg-de Vires Equation for Bidirectional Pedestrian Flow Model

AbstractThis paper focuses on a two-dimensional bidirectional pedestrian flow model which involves the next-nearest-neighbor effect. The Korteweg-de Vries equation is derived to describe the density wave of pedestrian congestion by nonlinear analysis. The soliton solution is obtained

Topological triply-degenerate point with double Fermi arcs

Unconventional chiral particles have recently been predicted to appear in certain three dimensional (3D) crystal structures containing three- or more-fold linear band degeneracy points (BDPs). These BDPs carry topological charges, but are distinct from the standard twofold Weyl points or fourfold Dirac points, and cannot be described in terms of an emergent relativistic field theory. Here, we report on the experimental observation of a topological threefold BDP in a 3D phononic crystal. Using direct acoustic field mapping, we demonstrate the existence of the threefold BDP in the bulk bandstructure, as well as doubled Fermi arcs of surface states consistent with a topological charge of 2. Another novel BDP, similar to a Dirac point but carrying nonzero topological charge, is connected to the threefold BDP via the doubled Fermi arcs. These findings pave the way to using these unconventional particles for exploring new emergent physical phenomena

Bioinformatic analysis of the human DHRS4 gene cluster and a proposed mechanism for its transcriptional regulation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The human <it>DHRS4 </it>gene cluster consists of three genes, <it>DHRS4</it>, <it>DHRS4L2 </it>and <it>DHRS4L1</it>. Among them, <it>DHRS4 </it>encodes NADP(H)-dependent retinol dehydrogenase/reductase. In a previous study, we investigated the alternative splicing of <it>DHRS4 </it>and <it>DHRS4L2</it>. <it>DHRS4L1 </it>was added to the gene cluster recently, but little is known about its structure and expression. To reveal the regulatory mechanism of the <it>DHRS4 </it>gene cluster expression, we studied the structure and transcription of <it>DHRS4L1 </it>in the context of the transcriptional behaviors of the human <it>DHRS4 </it>gene cluster. Based on the results of bioinformatics analysis, we propose a possible mechanism for the transcriptional regulation of the human <it>DHRS4 </it>gene cluster.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The homologous comparison analysis suggests that <it>DHRS4</it>, <it>DHRS4L2 </it>and <it>DHRS4L1 </it>are three homologous genes in human. <it>DHRS4L1 </it>and <it>DHRS4L2 </it>are paralogues of <it>DHRS4</it>, and <it>DHRS4L2 </it>is the most recent member of the <it>DHRS4 </it>gene cluster. In the minus strand of the human <it>DHRS4 </it>gene cluster, a gene transcribed in an antisense direction was found containing a 5' sequence overlapping the region of exon 1 and promoter of <it>DHRS4</it>. By cloning the full length of RNA variants through 5'RACE and 3'RACE, we identified two transcription start sites, within exon <it>a2 </it>and exon 1, of this newly named gene <it>DHRS4L1 </it>using neuroblastoma cell line BE(2)-M17. Analysis of exon composition in the transcripts of <it>DHRS4 </it>gene cluster revealed that exon 1 was absent in all the transcripts initiated from exon <it>a1 </it>of <it>DHRS4L2 </it>and exon <it>a2 </it>of <it>DHRS4L1</it>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Alternatively spliced RNA variants are prevalent in the human <it>DHRS4 </it>gene cluster. Based on the analysis of gene transcripts and bioinformatic prediction, we propose here that antisense transcription may be involved in the transcriptional initiation regulation of <it>DHRS4 </it>and in the posttranscriptional splicing of <it>DHRS4L2 </it>and <it>DRHS4L1 </it>for the homologous identity of <it>DHRS4 </it>gene cluster. Beside the alternative transcriptional start sites, the antisense RNA is novel possible factor serving to remove exon 1 from the transcripts initiated from exon <it>a1 </it>and exon <it>a2</it>.</p

Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation for the Treatment of Depression: A Study Protocol for a Double Blinded Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Depressive disorders are the most common form of mental disorders in community and health care settings. Unfortunately, the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is far from satisfactory. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a relatively new and promising physical treatment for depressive disorders. One particularly appealing element of VNS is the long-term benefit in mood regulation. However, because this intervention involves surgery, perioperative risks, and potentially significant side effects, this treatment has been limited to those patients with treatment-resistant depression who have failed medication trials and exhausted established somatic treatments for major depression, due to intolerance or lack of response. This double-blinded randomized clinical trial aims to overcome these limitations by introducing a novel method of stimulating superficial branches of the vagus nerve on the ear to treat MDD. The rationale is that direct stimulation of the afferent nerve fibers on the ear area with afferent vagus nerve distribution should produce a similar effect as classic VNS in reducing depressive symptoms without the burden of surgical intervention. Design: One hundred twenty cases (60 males) of volunteer patients with mild and moderate depression will be randomly divided into transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation group (tVNS) and sham tVNS group. The treatment period lasts 4 months and all clinical and physiological measurements are acquired at the beginning and the end of the treatment period. Discussion: This study has the potential to significantly extend the application of VNS treatment for MDD and other disorders (including epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and morbid obesity), resulting in direct benefit to the patients suffering from these highly prevalent disorders. In addition, the results of this double-blinded clinical trial will shed new light on our understanding of acupuncture point specificity, and development of methodologies in clinical trials of acupuncture treatment

A Search for Double-peaked narrow emission line Galaxies and AGNs in the LAMOST DR1

LAMOST has released more than two million spectra, which provide the opportunity to search for double-peaked narrow emission line (NEL) galaxies and AGNs. The double-peaked narrow-line profiles can be well modeled by two velocity components, respectively blueshifted and redshifted with respect to the systemic recession velocity. This paper presents 20 double-peaked NEL galaxies and AGNs found from LAMOST DR1 using a search method based on multi-gaussian fit of the narrow emission lines. Among them, 10 have already been published by other authors, either listed as genuine double-peaked NEL objects or as asymmetric NEL objects, the remaining 10 being first discoveries. We discuss some possible origins for double-peaked narrow-line features, as interaction between jet and narrow line regions, interaction with companion galaxies and black hole binaries. Spatially resolved optical imaging and/or follow-up observations in other spectral bands are needed to further discuss the physical mechanisms at work.Comment: 17 pages, 5figures, 4 tables, accepted by RA

Effects of Dioscorea polystachya \u27yam gruel\u27 on the cognitive function of diabetic rats with focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury via the gut-brain axis

© 2020 Pang et al. Published by IMR press. Focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury is closely related to hyperglycemia and gut microbiota imbalance, while gut microbiota contributes to the regulation of brain function through the gut-brain axis. Previous studies in patients with diabetes have found that \u27yam gruel\u27 is a classic medicated diet made from Dioscorea polystachya, increases the content of Bifidobacterium, regulates oxidative stress, and reduces fasting blood glucose levels. The research reported here investigated the effects of \u27yam gruel\u27 on the cognitive function of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats with focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury and explored the mechanism underlying the role of the gut-brain axis in this process. \u27Yam gruel\u27 was shown to improve cognitive function as indicated by increased relative content of probiotic bacteria, and short-chain fatty acids in the intestinal tract and cerebral cortex reduced oxidative stress and inflammatory response and promotion of the expression of neurotransmitters and brain-derived neurotrophic factor. Thus, it is concluded that \u27yam gruel\u27 has a protective effect on cognitive function via a mechanism related to the gut-brain axis

MiRNA-30e downregulation increases cancer cell proliferation, invasion and tumor growth through targeting RPS6KB1

Human esophagus carcinoma (EC) is one of the most common malignant tumors, especially in Africa and Asia including China. In EC initiation and progression, genetic and epigenetic aberrations have been reported to play a major role, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. In this study, the miR-30e levels were analyzed in human EC tissues and TCGA databases, and the results demonstrated that miR-30e expression in EC tissues was significantly decreased compared to adjacent normal tissues. To further investigate the role of miR-30e in cancer cells, we found that forced expression of miR-30e dramatically inhibited cell proliferation, invasion, tube formation, and colony formation of cancer cells. To determine the underlying mechanism of miR-30e, we found that RPS6KB1 was a direct target of miR-30e by binding to its 3\u27-UTR, which was verified by luciferase activity assay using reporters with wild-type miR-30e and its seed sequence mutant constructs and Western blotting assay. In vivo experiment showed that miR-30e overexpression significantly inhibited tumor growth and decreased RPS6KB1 expression in xenografts. In EC, high expression of RPS6KB1 in tumor tissues indicated poor prognosis of patients with less survival rate. High levels of RPS6KB1 and low levels of miR-30e closely correlated poor survival of patients with several other types of cancer. These findings show that miR-30e and its target RPS6KB1 are important in cancer development and clinical outcomes, and miR-30e/RPS6KB1 is a potential future therapeutic pathway for EC intervention