A New Hyperchaotic System and the Synchronization Using Active Variable Universe Adaptive Fuzzy Controller

This paper presents a new hyperchaotic system by introducing an additional state variable into Lorenz system. The system’s characteristics, including the dissipativity, equilibrium, and Lyapunov exponents, are studied. A controller is developed which consists of an active control term and a variable universe adaptive fuzzy system. By using this controller, the synchronization of the new hyperchaotic systems with uncertain linear part is accomplished according to Lyapunov’s direct method. Simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method

Metal-Organic Framework-Based Sensor for Bacterial Trehalose in Beef Products

Objective The objective is to detect trehalose from pathogenic bacteria using an electrochemical sensor based on alkali earth metal-organic frameworks (AE-MOFS)

Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells from leukemia patients inhibit growth and apoptosis in serum-deprived K562 cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The regulation of growth and apoptosis in K562 cells by human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from leukemia patients was investigated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>K562 cells were cocultured with leukemic MSCs under serum deprivation. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), PI staining, Annexin V/PI binding and FACS assays were used to investigate cell proliferation, cell cycle status, and apoptosis of K562 cells cultures in the presence or absence of 10% serum. Western blotting was used to determine the levels of Akt, phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), the BCL-2 family member Bad, and phosphorylated Bad (p-Bad) proteins in K562 cells after coculturing with MSCs. The effects of LY294002 (a specific inhibitor of PI3K) on protein expression were also determined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>K562 cell proliferation was inhibited by coculture with MSCs and the dominant cell cycle was the G₀-G₁phase. The proportion of apoptotic K562 cells was decreased and the levels of p-Akt and p-Bad were upregulated after exposing K562 cells to MSCs. However, when LY294002 was used, p-Akt and p-Bad proteins inK562 cells showed a significant reduction, while no distinct variation was seen in the nonphosphorylated Akt and Bad protein levels.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Leukemic MSCs can inhibit K562 cell expansion and modulate the cell cycle to a state of relative quiescence. This allows the K562 cells to endure adverse conditions such as serum starvation. The PI3K-Akt-Bad signaling pathway may be involved in this antiapoptotic process via phosphorylation of the Akt and Bad proteins. Blocking MSC-induced transduction of the PI3K-Akt-Bad pathway may be a potential strategy for a targeted therapy to combat leukemia.</p

A Network Pharmacology Approach to Determine Active Compounds and Action Mechanisms of Ge-Gen-Qin-Lian Decoction for Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herbal formulae can be valuable therapeutic strategies and drug discovery resources. However, the active ingredients and action mechanisms of most TCM formulae remain unclear. Therefore, the identification of potent ingredients and their actions is a major challenge in TCM research. In this study, we used a network pharmacology approach we previously developed to help determine the potential antidiabetic ingredients from the traditional Ge-Gen-Qin-Lian decoction (GGQLD) formula. We predicted the target profiles of all available GGQLD ingredients to infer the active ingredients by clustering the target profile of ingredients with FDA-approved antidiabetic drugs. We also applied network target analysis to evaluate the links between herbal ingredients and pharmacological actions to help explain the action mechanisms of GGQLD. According to the predicted results, we confirmed that a novel antidiabetic ingredient from Puerariae Lobatae radix (Ge-Gen), 4-Hydroxymephenytoin, increased the insulin secretion in RIN-5F cells and improved insulin resistance in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. The network pharmacology strategy used here provided a powerful means for identifying bioactive ingredients and mechanisms of action for TCM herbal formulae, including Ge-Gen-Qin-Lian decoction

Sensitive fluorescence detection of nucleic acids based on isothermal circular strand-displacement polymerization reaction

Here we have developed a sensitive DNA amplified detection method based on isothermal strand-displacement polymerization reaction. This method takes advantage of both the hybridization property of DNA and the strand-displacement property of polymerase. Importantly, we demonstrate that our method produces a circular polymerization reaction activated by the target, which essentially allows it to self-detect. Functionally, this DNA system consists of a hairpin fluorescence probe, a short primer and polymerase. Upon recognition and hybridization with the target ssDNA, the stem of the hairpin probe is opened, after which the opened probe anneals with the primer and triggers the polymerization reaction. During this process of the polymerization reaction, a complementary DNA is synthesized and the hybridized target is displaced. Finally, the displaced target recognizes and hybridizes with another probe, triggering the next round of polymerization reaction, reaching a target detection limit of 6.4 × 10−15 M

Using force spectroscopy analysis to improve the properties of the hairpin probe

The sensitivity of hairpin-probe-based fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) analysis was sequence-dependent in detecting single base mismatches with different positions and identities. In this paper, the relationship between the sequence-dependent effect and the discrimination sensitivity of a single base mismatch was systematically investigated by fluorescence analysis and force spectroscopy analysis. The same hairpin probe was used. The uneven fluorescence analysis sensitivity was obviously influenced by the guanine-cytosine (GC) contents as well as the location of the mismatched base. However, we found that force spectroscopy analysis distinguished itself, displaying a high and even sensitivity in detecting differently mismatched targets. This could therefore be an alternative and novel way to minimize the sequence-dependent effect of the hairpin probe. The advantage offered by force spectroscopy analysis could mainly be attributed to the percentage of rupture force reduction, which could be directly and dramatically influenced by the percentage of secondary structure disruption contributed by each mismatched base pair, regardless of its location and identity. This yes-or-no detection mechanism should both contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the sensitivity source of different mutation analyses and extend the application range of hairpin probes

Altered Brain Function in Treatment-Resistant and Non-treatment-resistant Depression Patients: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

ObjectiveIn this study, we used amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) to observe differences in local brain functional activity and its characteristics in patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) and non-treatment-resistant depression (nTRD), and to explore the correlation between areas of abnormal brain functional activity and clinical symptoms.MethodThirty-seven patients with TRD, 36 patients with nTRD, and 35 healthy controls (HCs) were included in resting-state fMRI scans. ALFF and ReHo were used for image analysis and further correlation between abnormal brain regions and clinical symptoms were analyzed.ResultsANOVA revealed that the significantly different brain regions of ALFF and ReHo among the three groups were mainly concentrated in the frontal and temporal lobes. Compared with the nTRD group, the TRD group had decreased ALFF in the left/right inferior frontal triangular gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, left cuneus and bilateral posterior lobes of the cerebellum, and increased ALFF in the left middle frontal gyrus and right superior temporal gyrus, and the TRD group had decreased ReHo in the left/right inferior frontal triangular gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, and increased ReHo in the right superior frontal gyrus. Compared with the HC group, the TRD group had decreased ALFF/ReHo in both the right inferior frontal triangular gyrus and the left middle temporal gyrus. Pearson correlation analysis showed that both ALFF and ReHo values in these abnormal brain regions were positively correlated with HAMD-17 scores (P &lt; 0.05).ConclusionAlthough the clinical symptoms were similar in the TRD and nTRD groups, abnormal neurological functional activity were present in some of the same brain regions. Compared with the nTRD group, ALFF and ReHo showed a wider range of brain area alterations and more complex neuropathological mechanisms in the TRD group, especially in the inferior frontal triangular gyrus of the frontal lobe and the middle temporal gyrus of the temporal lobe

Solving the Multi-Functional Heterogeneous UAV Cooperative Mission Planning Problem Using Multi-Swarm Fruit Fly Optimization Algorithm

The complexity of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) missions is increasing with the rapid development of UAV technology. Multiple UAVs usually cooperate in the form of teams to improve the efficiency of mission execution. The UAVs are equipped with multiple sensors with complementary functions to adapt to the complex mission constraints. Reasonable task assignment, task scheduling, and UAV trajectory planning are the prerequisites for efficient cooperation of multi-functional heterogeneous UAVs. In this paper, a multi-swarm fruit fly optimization algorithm (MFOA) with dual strategy switching is proposed to solve the multi-functional heterogeneous UAV cooperative mission planning problem with the criterion of simultaneously minimizing the makespan and the total mission time. First, the multi-swarm mechanism is introduced to enhance the global search capability of the fruit fly optimization algorithm. Second, in the smell-based search phase, the local search strategies and large-scale search strategies are designed to drive multiple fruit fly swarms, and the dual strategy switching method is presented. Third, in the vision-based search stage, the greedy selection strategy is adopted. Finally, numerical simulation experiments are designed. The simulation results show that the MFOA algorithm is more effective and stable for solving the multi-functional heterogeneous UAV cooperative mission planning problem compared with other algorithms