Bis(5-amino-4-amino­carbonyl-1H-imid­azol-3-ium) (5-amino-4-amino­carbonyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium-κO)-di-μ-chlorido-hepta­chlorido-dibismuth(III) mono­hydrate

The title compound, (C4H7N4O)2[Bi2Cl9(C4H7N4O)]·H2O, was prepared by the reaction of bis­muth trichloride and 5-amino-1H-imidazole-4-carboxamide in a dilute HCl medium. The asymmetric unit contains two 5-amino-4-amino­carbonyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium cations, one edge-shared non-centrosymmetric biocta­hedral [Bi2C19(C4H7N4O)]2− dianion and a water mol­ecule. In the dianion, the planar 5-amino-4-amino­carbonyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium ligand occupies an equatorial site and is inclined at an angle of 75.7 (2)° to the Bi2(μ-C1)2 plane. The salt forms a three-dimensional network arising from hydrogen bonds between cations, anions and water mol­ecules

Forest Fire Prevention Early Warning Method Based on Fuzzy Bayesian Network

In the environment of large forest, the factors causing fire are nonlinear and uncertain. If the data collected by the sensor is simply analyzed and compared, the false alarm rate will be higher. How to combine the data of several sensors for effective fire warning is a difficult point. In order to improve the accuracy of prediction, aiming at the shortcomings of traditional forest fire prevention early warning system, we propose a forest fire prevention early warning method based on fuzzy Bayesian network. Firstly, we combine the fuzzy control system and the Bayesian network in series, and pre-process the collected sensor data. The pre-processed data is sent to the previously trained Bayesian network for processing. Then the calculated open fire probability, smoldering fire probability, and no fire probability are used as input data of fuzzy control system, and fuzzy inference is performed. Finally, we de-fuzzify the results of fuzzy reasoning and get the probability of fire. Simulation results show that our method can effectively combine the data collected by multiple sensors, quickly and accurately determine fire occurrence probability, improve the accuracy of forest fire prevention warning, and reduce the false positive rate

Notch 1 signaling pathway is the potential target of novel anticancer drugs for the treatment of human nasopharyngeal cancer

Activation of Notch signaling pathway in cancer stem cells plays a crucial role in the regulation of selfrenewal and maintenance of side population cells.  In the present study, we have identified cancer stem like 2.7% side population cells from nasopharyngeal carcinoma samples whose prevalence was significantly reduced to 0.3% upon verapamil treatment. The protein level of Notch1 and Hes-1 are highly up-regulated in fluorescence-activated cell sorting purified side population cells and thus leads to the elevated expression of stem cell surface proteins (Oct-4, Sox2 and Nanog), which are essential for side population cells self-renewal. In addition, these nasopharyngeal carcinoma side population cells are CD133 and CD44 positive and they possess enhanced cell proliferation rate, highly tumorgenic and invasive. Our findings suggest that Notch1 signaling is a potential target of novel anticancer drugs, which could efficiently target and eradicate the cancer stem cells

Suppressed Expression of CXCL14 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Tissues and Its Reduction in the Advanced Stage of Chronic HBV Infection.

Introduction(#br)CXCL14 was a significantly under-expressed mRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues according to our microarray analysis, as well as head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and cervical squamous cell carcinoma. CXCL14 was considered a tumor suppressor in some studies; however, its role in HBV infection has not been identified.(#br)Methods(#br)CXCL14 mRNA expression was quantified from 20 male HCC patients, and the fold change in cancer tissues was calculated by comparisons with normal adjacent tissues. Overall, 212 patients with chronic HBV infection and 180 HBV-free controls were recruited to investigate the association between CXCL14 polymorphisms and HBV progression as well as liver function parameters. Serum CXCL14 levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and comparisons were made between different HBV status and different CXCL14 genotypes.(#br)Results(#br)The mRNA expression of CXCL14 was 0.33-fold in HCC tissues when compared with adjacent tissues. The frequencies of rs2237062 and rs2547, but not rs2237061, were significantly different between patients with mild hepatitis and moderate-to-severe hepatitis. Moreover, rs2237062 and rs2547 polymorphisms correlated with impaired liver function parameters. ELISA results suggested that HBV-free controls had the highest level of CXCL14, while mild hepatitis patients had low levels, and patients with moderate-to-severe hepatitis had the lowest level. GA+AA genotypes of rs2547 were associated with reduced levels of serum CXCL14 because it introduced a stop codon at residue 109.(#br)Conclusion(#br)CXCL14 was significantly suppressed in HBV-related HCC tissues, and its polymorphisms were linked with advanced stage chronic HBV infection and impaired liver function

Prevalence and clinical characteristics of lower limb atherosclerotic lesions in newly diagnosed patients with ketosis-onset diabetes: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: The clinical features of atherosclerotic lesions in ketosis-onset diabetes are largely absent. We aimed to compare the characteristics of lower limb atherosclerotic lesions among type 1, ketosis-onset and non-ketotic type 2 diabetes. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed in newly diagnosed Chinese patients with diabetes, including 53 type 1 diabetics with positive islet-associated autoantibodies, 208 ketosis-onset diabetics without islet-associated autoantibodies, and 215 non-ketotic type 2 diabetics. Sixty-two subjects without diabetes were used as control. Femoral intima-media thickness (FIMT), lower limb atherosclerotic plaque and stenosis were evaluated and compared among the four groups based on ultrasonography. The risk factors associated with lower limb atherosclerotic plaque were evaluated via binary logistic regression in patients with diabetes. RESULTS: After adjusting for age and sex, the prevalence of lower limb plaque in the patients with ketosis-onset diabetes (47.6%) was significantly higher than in the control subjects (25.8%, p = 0.013), and showed a higher trend compared with the patients with type 1 diabetes (39.6%, p = 0.072), but no difference was observed in comparison to the patients with non-ketotic type 2 diabetes (62.3%, p = 0.859). The mean FIMT in the ketosis-onset diabetics (0.73 ± 0.17 mm) was markedly greater than that in the control subjects (0.69 ± 0.13 mm, p = 0.045) after controlling for age and sex, but no significant differences were found between the ketosis-onset diabetics and the type 1 diabetics (0.71 ± 0.16 mm, p = 0.373), and the non-ketotic type 2 diabetics (0.80 ± 0.22 mm, p = 0.280), respectively. Age and FIMT were independent risk factors for the presence of lower limb plaque in both the ketosis-onset and non-ketotic type 2 diabetic patients, while sex and age in the type 1 diabetic patients. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence and risk of lower limb atherosclerotic plaque in the ketosis-onset diabetes were remarkably higher than in the control subjects without diabetes. The features and risk factors of lower limb atherosclerotic lesions in the ketosis-onset diabetes resembled those in the non-ketotic type 2 diabetes, but different from those in the type 1 diabetes. Our findings provide further evidences to support the classification of ketosis-onset diabetes as a subtype of type 2 diabetes rather than idiopathic type 1 diabetes

Effects of two Lactobacillus strains on lipid metabolism and intestinal microflora in rats fed a high-cholesterol diet

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The hypocholesterolemic effects of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have now become an area of great interest and controversy for many scientists. In this study, we evaluated the effects of <it>Lactobacillus plantarum </it>9-41-A and <it>Lactobacillus fermentum </it>M1-16 on body weight, lipid metabolism and intestinal microflora of rats fed a high-cholesterol diet.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Forty rats were assigned to four groups and fed either a normal or a high-cholesterol diet. The LAB-treated groups received the high-cholesterol diet supplemented with <it>Lactobacillus plantarum </it>9-41-A or <it>Lactobacillus fermentum </it>M1-16. The rats were sacrificed after a 6-week feeding period. Body weights, visceral organ and fat pad weights, serum and liver cholesterol and lipid levels, and fecal cholesterol and bile acid concentrations were measured. Liver lipid deposition and adipocyte size were evaluated histologically.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared with rats fed a high-cholesterol diet but without LAB supplementation, serum total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides levels were significantly decreased in LAB-treated rats (p < 0.05), with no significant change in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Hepatic cholesterol and triglyceride levels and liver lipid deposition were significantly decreased in the LAB-treated groups (p < 0.05). Accordingly, both fecal cholesterol and bile acids levels were significantly increased after LAB administration (p < 0.05). Intestinal <it>Lactobacillus </it>and <it>Bifidobacterium </it>colonies were increased while <it>Escherichia coli </it>colonies were decreased in the LAB-treated groups. Fecal water content was higher in the LAB-treated groups. Compared with rats fed a high-cholesterol diet, administration of <it>Lactobacillus plantarum </it>9-41-A resulted in decreases in the body weight gain, liver and fat pad weight, and adipocytes size (p < 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study suggests that LAB supplementation has hypocholesterolemic effects in rats fed a high-cholesterol diet. The ability to lower serum cholesterol varies among LAB strains. Our strains might be able to improve the intestinal microbial balance and potentially improve intestinal transit time. Although the mechanism is largely unknown, <it>L. plantarum </it>9-41-A may play a role in fat metabolism.</p