Ruptured left ventricular pseudoaneurysm in the mediastinum following acute myocardial infarction: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Left ventricular pseudoaneurysm is an uncommon complication after transmural acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Here we describe the case of a 43-year-old man who presented with AMI and chest distress despite the normal appearance of his coronary artery during coronary angiography. Timely thrombolytic therapy was administered. Echocardiography, and cardiac computed tomography showed a ventricular pseudoaneurysm, and direct visualization at the time of surgery showed that it had ruptured in the mediastinum instead of the pericardium. The survival rate of patients with ventricular pseudoaneurysm rupture is low. The rupture of ventricular pseudoaneurysm in the mediastinum is rare; therefore, this case is noteworthy.</p

Inversion Study of Nitrogen Content of Hyperspectral Apple Canopy Leaves Using Optimized Least Squares Support Vector Machine Approach

The rapid and accurate estimation of the nitrogen content of fruit trees helps to achieve a precise management of orchards. Hyperspectral data were collected from leaves of apple tree canopies at different fertility stages through field experiments to investigate the relationship between the nitrogen content and spectral reflectance of apple canopy leaves. Two different preprocessing methods, Savitzky–Golay (SG) smoothing and multiple scattering correction (MSC), were used to extract the feature bands by combining the successive projection method (SPA) and the competitive adaptive weighting algorithm–partial least squares (CARS-PLS). The reflectance values of the feature bands screened via these two methods were used as inputs to construct the multi-factor inversion models of apple canopy leaf nitrogen content based on the long- and short-term memory (LSTM) network, the support vector regression (SVR) and the Least Squares Support Vector Machine Regression (RIME-LSSVM). The study compared the ability of three algorithmic models to estimate leaf nitrogen content, and the results showed that the model constructed with the reflectance values of the characteristic bands screened by the CARS-PLS algorithm as inputs was more effective in predicting the nitrogen content of leaves. Furthermore, the accuracy of the model constructed using RIME-LSSVM was significantly higher than that of the model constructed using the long- and short-term memory network and support vector regression, in which the coefficient of determination of the test set (R-squared) is 0.964 and the root-mean-squared error (RMSE) is 0.052. Finally, the CARS-PLS algorithm combined with the RIME-LSSVM model has a higher prediction accuracy. The study demonstrated the feasibility and reliability of hyperspectral techniques for the estimation of nitrogen content of apple leaves in the Aksu region

Generation of a new congenic mouse strain with enhanced chymase expression in mast cells.

Mast cells are effector cells best known for their roles in IgE-associated allergy, but they also play a protective role in defense against pathogens. These cells express high levels of proteases including chymase, tryptase and carboxypeptidase. In the present study, we identified a congenic strain of C57BL/6 mice expressing an extraordinarily high level of chymases Mcp-2 and Mcp-4 in mast cells. The overexpression was associated with variant Mcp-2 and Mcp-4 genes originated from DBA/2 mice that also expressed high levels of the two enzymes. Real time PCR analysis revealed that Mcp-2 and Mcp-4 were selectively overexpressed as tryptases, Cpa3 and several other chymases were kept at normal levels. Reporter gene assays demonstrated that single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the promoter region of Mcp-2 gene may be partly responsible for the increased gene transcription. Our study provides a new model system to study the function of mast cell chymases. The data also suggest that expression of chymases differs considerably in different strains of mice and the increased chymase activity may be responsible for some unique phenotypes observed in DBA/2 mice

The Effect of Technical Training Provided by Agricultural Cooperatives on Farmers&rsquo; Adoption of Organic Fertilizers in China: Based on the Mediation Role of Ability and Perception

Organic fertilizers can be crucial in promoting sustainable agricultural development, but they are not used in a wide-ranging way among smallholder farmers in many developing countries. In China, cooperatives are considered essential subjects of agricultural technical training, but it is more common to join cooperatives without participating in their technical training. Thus, joining cooperatives or not cannot simply be used to assess the role of cooperatives in influencing the farmers&rsquo; production behavior. Based on survey data of 1160 citrus farmers in Sichuan Province, China, this study estimated the effect of the technical training provided by agricultural cooperatives on farmers&rsquo; adoption of organic fertilizers, taking into account the farmers&rsquo; ability and perception as the mediation variables. The findings showed that participating in the technical training provided by agricultural cooperatives could significantly enhance the likelihood that farmers will adopt organic fertilizers. The impact was 81.6% in influencing the farmer&rsquo;s abilities and 7.64% in their perceptions of organic fertilizers. Furthermore, other variables, such as farm sizes, land transfers, and education levels, also make a difference in the effectiveness of the agricultural cooperatives&rsquo; technical training. This study provides support for developing pertinent policies to promote the complete adoption of agricultural cooperatives&rsquo; technical training functions and the widespread use of organic fertilizers

Association of Mcp-2 and Mcp-4 overexpressions in BMMCs with gene variants.

<p><b>A.</b> Mice were genotyped for the Mcp-2 gene variant by allele-specific PCR and the Mcp-4 gene variant by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) with NdeI. BMMCs derived from these mice were analyzed for Mcp-2 and Mcp-4 protein expressions by Commassie blue staining and western blotting. <b>B.</b> BMMCs from B6 and B6-cma mice were analyzed for chymase activity. In at least 45 mice analyzed, there is a perfect correlation of Mcp-2 and Mcp-4 gene variants with overexpression of Mcp-2 and Mcp-4 and increased chymase activity.</p

Comparison of Mcp-2 and Mcp-4 protein levels in mast cells from B6, B6-cma, and DBA/2 mice.

<p>Mast cells were derived from bone marrow (BM) and peritoneal cavity (PC) of B6, B6-cma, and DBA/2 mice. <b>A.</b> Cell extracts were resolved on 12.5% SDS gels followed by Coomassie blue staining (top panel) or western blotting with indicated antibodies. <b>B.</b> Cells were subjected to Wright-Giemsa staining (top panel) or immunofluorescent staining with indicated antibodies.</p

Expression of mast cell proteases in mast cells derived from B6, B6-cma, and DBA/2 mice.

<p>Expression of indicated mast cell proteases together with house-keeping gene GAPDH (glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase) was analyzed by real time PCR using specific PCR primers shown in the top panel. Data represent relative gene expression levels calculated based on threshold cycles and standard curves obtained with serial dilutions of purified PCR products. Error bars denote standard deviation (n≥3). *p<0.0001 in comparison with B6 control mice.</p

Chymase activity in mast cells from B6, B6-cma, and DBA/2 mice.

<p>Mast cells were derived from bone marrow (BM) and peritoneal cavity (PC) of B6, B6-cma, and DBA/2 mice. Cells were either extracted for assays of total chymase activity (A) or treated with antigen to induce degranulation for determination of secreted chymase activity (B). Specific activity was calculated in reference to total proteins in cell pellets. Error bars denote standard deviation (n≥3). *p<0.0001 in comparison with B6 control mice.</p