A Improved Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm with Dynamic Acceleration Coefficients

Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is one of the famous heuristic methods. However, this method may suffer to trap at local minima especially for multimodal problem. This paper proposes a modified particle swarm optimization with dynamic acceleration coefficients (ACPSO). To efficiently control the local search and convergence to the global optimum solution, dynamic acceleration coefficients are introduced to PSO. To improve the solution quality and robustness of PSO algorithm, a new best mutation method is proposed to enhance the diversity of particle swarm and avoid premature convergence. The effectiveness of ACPSO algorithm is tested on different benchmarks. Simulation results found that the proposed ACPSO algorithm has good solution quality and more robust than other methods reported in previous work

Knockdown of the nucleosome binding protein 1 inhibits the growth and invasion of clear cell renal cell carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The nucleosome binding protein 1 (HMGN5/NSBP1) is a member of the HMGN protein family and is highly expressed in several kinds of cancer. Nevertheless, the role of NSBP1 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) remains unclear. This study aimed to confirm the oncogenic role of NSBP1 in ccRCC using in vitro and in vivo models and explore the mechanism by which NSBP1 contributes to ccRCC tumorigenesis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>NSBP1 expression was detected in renal tissues from 152 ccRCC patients by immunohistochemistry, and examined in ccRCC cell lines by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. ccRCC cells were transfected by NSBP1 RNAi and cell viability, apoptosis and invasion were detected by cell vitality test, flow cytometry and transwell assay in vitro. Xenograft in nude mice was also employed to examine the tumorigenesis of ccRCC cells depleted of NSBP1.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Immunohistostaining showed strong immunoreactivity of NSBP1 in all ccRCC tissues and NSBP1 expression level was associated with tumor grade (p = 0.04). NSBP1 expression at mRNA and protein levels was high in ccRCC cell lines. Knockdown of NSBP1 induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, and inhibited invasion in 786-O cells. Western blot analysis demonstrated increased expression of Bax and decreased expression of Bcl-2, CyclinB1, VEGF, VEGFR-2, MMP-2, MMP-9, c-fos and c-jun in 786-O cells depleted of NSBP1. In vivo study further showed that knockdown of NSBP1 affected the tumorigenesis of ccRCC cells in nude mice.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>NSBP1 plays oncogenic role in ccRCCs by promoting cell proliferation and invasion, and could be exploited as a target for ccRCC treatment.</p

Efficient nano iron particle-labeling and noninvasive MR imaging of mouse bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells

In this study, we sought to label mouse bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) with Resovist® in vitro and to image them using 7.0 Tesla (T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Mouse bone marrow-derived EPCs were cultured in endothelial basal medium with endothelial growth supplement. They were then characterized by immunocytochemistry, flow cytometry, and fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Their functions were evaluated by measuring their uptake of 1,1-dioctadecyl-3,3,3,3-tetramethylindocarbocyanine-labeled acetylated low-density lipoprotein (Dil-Ac-LDL), binding of fluorine isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled Ulex europaeus agglutinin (UEA), and formation of capillary-like networks. EPCs were labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) and their proliferation was then assessed in a water-soluble tetrazolium (WST-8)-based cell proliferation assay. Spin echo sequence (multislice, multiecho [MSME]) and gradient echo sequence (2D-FLASH) were used to detect differences in the numbers of labeled cells by 7.0 T MRI. The results showed that the cultured cells were of “cobblestone”-like shape and positive for CD133, CD34, CD31, von Willebrand factor, kinase domain receptor, and CD45, but negative for F4/80. They could take up Dil-Ac-LDL, bind FITC-UEA, and form capillary-like networks on Matrigel in vitro. Prussian-blue staining demonstrated that the cells were efficiently labeled with SPIO. The single-cell T2* effect was more obvious in the 2D-FLASH sequence than in the MSME sequence. Further, there were almost no adverse effects on cell vitality and proliferation. In conclusion, mouse bone marrow-derived EPCs can be efficiently labeled with SPIO and imaged with 7.0-T MRI. They may thus be traced by MRI following transplantation for blood vessel disorders and cancer treatment

Age- and Gender-Specific Prevalence of Risk Factors in Patients with First-Ever Ischemic Stroke in China

Background. Evidences are accumulating that age and gender have great impact on the distribution of stroke risk factors. Such data are lacking in Chinese population. Methods. 1027 patients with first-ever ischemic stroke (IS) were recruited and divided into young adult (<50 years), middle-aged (50∼80 years), and very old (>80 years) groups according to stroke onset ages. Vascular risk factors were collected and compared among groups. Results. Female patients were globally older than male patients at stroke onset and having higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM), heart diseases, and atrial fibrillation (AF). However, females were less likely to drink heavily or smoke than males. Young patients had a much higher proportion of smoking and drinking than middle-aged and very old patients and the highest family history of hypertension, while very old patients had the highest prevalence of heart diseases and AF but lowest proportion of positive family history of vascular diseases. Hypertension and DM were equally frequent among three groups. Conclusion. Our study showed that vascular risk factors had a specific age and gender distribution pattern in Chinese IS patients. Secondary prevention strategy should emphasize on the control of different risk factors based on patient's age and gender

Effects of Sangu Decoction on Osteoclast Activity in a Rat Model of Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis

Bone metastasis (BM) is a major clinical problem for which current treatments lack full efficacy. The Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Sangu Decoction (SGD) has been widely used to treat BM in China. However, no in vivo experiments to date have investigated the effects of TCM on osteoclast activity in BM. In this study, the protective effect and probable mechanism of SGD were evaluated. The model was established using the breast cancer MRMT-1 cells injected into the tibia of rat. SGD was administrated, compared with Zoledronic acid as a positive control. The development of the bone tumor and osteoclast activity was monitored by radiological analysis. TRAP stain was used to identify osteoclasts quantity and activity. TRAP-5b in serum or bone tumor and TRAP mRNA were also quantified. Radiological examination showed that SGD inhibited tumor proliferation and preserved the cortical and trabecular bone structure. In addition, a dramatic reduction of TRAP positive osteoclasts was observed and TRAP-5b levels in serum and bone tumor decreased significantly. It also reduced the mRNA expression of TRAP. The results indicated that SGD exerted potent antiosteoclast property that could be directly related to its TRAP inhibited activity. In addition it prevented bone tumor proliferation in BM model

Feasibility of Direct Utilization of Biomass Gasification Product Gas Fuels in Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cells for On-Site Electricity Generation

Biomass is one of the most abundant and cheap renewable energy sources, and gasification product gases from the pyrolysis process of biomass, such as mallee wood and wheat straw, contain typically 20-27% H2 and a small amount of CO and CH4 (8-13%). Here, preliminary results on the performance of Ni/Y2O3-ZrO2 cermet anode-supported tubular solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) for the electricity generation from gasification product gases are presented. Two product gases derived from mallee wood and wheat straw are used as the fuels. The tubular SOFCs deliver a maximum power density over 576 mW cm-2 at 800 °C, close to the power density based on the equivalent amount of pure H2 or CH4 fuel. The power density is affected by the flow rate of product gas, but there are no significant differences of power output among the product gas sources used. However, the cell performance decreases gradually, and the degradation in the electricity generation performance of the tubular SOFC is most likely due to the presence of impurities, such as sulfur- and chlorine-containing compounds in the biomass feedstock. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the gasification product gas-fueled SOFCs for the on-site electricity generation, and the deterioration effect of impurities could be mitigated by cleaning the product gases or developing the contaminant-tolerant electrodes