Regular exercise and the trajectory of health-related quality of life among Taiwanese adults: a cohort study analysis 2006–2014

Abstract Background Physical activity is related to health-related quality of life, but little evidence from multiple waves of panel data in Asian countries area available. This study aims to explore the impacts of different degree of regular exercise on the trajectories of physical and mental dimensions of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for community-dwelling Taiwanese adults during 2006–2014. Methods Data were derived from the “Landseed Integrated Outreaching Neighborhood Screening (LIONS)” study, with 6182 adults enrolled at the baseline and subsequently followed up to three times till 2014. Linear mixed-effects modeling approach was employed to evaluate the growth curve models of HRQOL (with 16,281 observations) by linear & quadratic time effects, regular exercise (5-level moderate-intensity physical activity), and major influential factors of HRQOL. Results Regular exercise showed significantly positive dose-response effects on physical HRQOL (β =1.27~2.54), and regular exercise of 150 min or more showed positive effects on mental HRQOL (β = 1.55~2.03). Besides, irregular exercise could also improve both physical and mental HRQOL (β = 1.27 & β = 0.87). However, such effects were not significant over time (at time slope) on HRQOL. In addition, physical and mental HRQOL improved across time (β = 1.01 and 1.49, respectively), but the time quadratic effect would significantly offset a little bit on physical dimension (β = − 0.22). Moreover, being female, increasing age, living alone, or poorer health status were related to lower physical HRQOL; and being younger, living alone, or poorer health status were associated with lower mental HRQOL. Conclusions The positive dose-response relationship between regular exercise and HRQOL or its domains was demonstrated for community-dwelling Taiwanese adults. Thus, a regular exercise habit (better ≧150 min per week) is advised for community-based healthcare professionals and the government to incorporate into health promotion strategies and plans.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152207/1/12889_2019_Article_7662.pd

Knowledge networks in science-based start-ups : actors and strategies

The paper investigates the strategic choices made by young science-based firms’ regarding the selection of knowledge sources. Drawing on two streams of research – on alliances and on social networks – two different dimensions of this strategy are considered: the activation of the entrepreneurs’ social capital and the intentional inclusion of new knowledge sources. The data collected for a subset of the Portuguese biotechnology sector are analysed with a view to answer to three research questions: i) To what do extent firms’ rely on entrepreneurs’ personal networks, activating their social capital to access scientific and technological knowledge at start-up; ii) To what extent are new actors added to knowledge networks at start-up; iii) Are there differences between existing and new ties in terms of strength and formalisation. The results obtained confirm the consideration of the strategies underlying network building is vital for an understanding of the configuration of young science-based firms’ knowledge networks. They reveal the existence of different knowledge network building strategies that often combine tie persistence with search for novelty. They also suggest that differences in the network building strategies may be the behind the somewhat contradictory results presented in the literature about the network configuration that is more favourable for innovation

Lithium europium(III) molybdate(VI), Li3.5Eu1.5(MoO4)4

The title compound, Li3.5Eu1.5(MoO4)4, was prepared by solid-state reactions. The fundamental building units of the structure are LiO4 polyhedra (site symmetry ), distorted LiO6 polyhedra and MoO4 tetra­hedra, which are further inter­connected via corner-sharing O atoms. One site is occupied by both Li and Eu atoms in a substituent disordered manner (0.25:0.75), and the Li/Eu atoms are coordinated by eight O atoms in a distorted square-antiprismatic manner

Particle size-dependent microstructure, hardness and electrochemical corrosion behavior of atmospheric plasma sprayed nicrbsi coatings

Particle size is a critical consideration for many powder coating-related industries since it significantly influences the properties of the produced materials. However, the effect of particle size on the characteristics of plasma sprayed NiCrBSi coatings is not well understood. This work investigates the microstructures, hardness and electrochemical corrosion behavior of plasma sprayed NiCrBSi coatings synthesized using different-sized powders. All coatings mainly consist of Ni, N3B, CrB, Cr7C3 and Cr3C2 phases. The coatings produced by small particles (50–75 μm) exhibit lower porosity (2.0 ± 0.8%). Such coatings show a higher fraction (15.5 vol.%) of the amorphous phase and lower hardness (700 HV0.5) than the counterparts (8.7 vol.% and 760 HV0.5, respectively) produced by large particles (75–100 μm) with higher porosity (3.0 ± 1.6%). Meanwhile, the coatings produced from smaller particles possess a larger number of non-bonded boundaries, leading to the easier penetration of corrosive medium, as well as a higher corrosion current density (0.254 ± 0.062 μA/cm2) and a lower charge transfer resistance (0.37 ± 0.07 MΩ cm2). These distinctions are attributed to particle size-induced different melting degrees and stackings of in-flight particles during deposition

Super-enhancer-based identification of a BATF3/IL-2R-module reveals vulnerabilities in anaplastic large cell lymphoma

Anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), an aggressive CD30-positive T-cell lymphoma, comprises systemic anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive, and ALK-negative, primary cutaneous and breast implant-associated ALCL. Prognosis of some ALCL subgroups is still unsatisfactory, and already in second line effective treatment options are lacking. To identify genes defining ALCL cell state and dependencies, we here characterize super-enhancer regions by genome-wide H3K27ac ChIP-seq. In addition to known ALCL key regulators, the AP-1-member BATF3 and IL-2 receptor (IL2R)-components are among the top hits. Specific and high-level IL2R expression in ALCL correlates with BATF3 expression. Confirming a regulatory link, IL-2R-expression decreases following BATF3 knockout, and BATF3 is recruited to IL2R regulatory regions. Functionally, IL-2, IL-15 and Neo-2/15, a hyper-stable IL-2/IL-15 mimic, accelerate ALCL growth and activate STAT1, STAT5 and ERK1/2. In line, strong IL-2Rα-expression in ALCL patients is linked to more aggressive clinical presentation. Finally, an IL-2Rα-targeting antibody-drug conjugate efficiently kills ALCL cells in vitro and in vivo. Our results highlight the importance of the BATF3/IL-2R-module for ALCL biology and identify IL-2Rα-targeting as a promising treatment strategy for ALCL

Al0.5Nb1.5(PO4)3

Single crystals of the title compound, aluminium niobium triphosphate, Al0.5Nb1.5(PO4)3, have been synthesized by a high-temperature reaction in a platinium crucible. The AlIII and NbV atoms occupy the same site on the axis, with disorder in the ratio of 1:3. The fundamental building units of the title structure are isolated Al/NbO6 octa­hedra and PO4 tetra­hedra (. 2 symmetry), which are further inter­locked by corner-sharing O atoms, leading to a three-dimensional framework structure with infinite channels along the a axis

PTIGS-IdIt, a system for species identification by DNA sequences of the psbA-trnH intergenic spacer region

Abstract Background DNA barcoding technology, which uses a short piece of DNA sequence to identify species, has wide ranges of applications. Until today, a universal DNA barcode marker for plants remains elusive. The rbcL and matK regions have been proposed as the “core barcode” for plants and the ITS2 and psbA-trnH intergenic spacer (PTIGS) regions were later added as supplemental barcodes. The use of PTIGS region as a supplemental barcode has been limited by the lack of computational tools that can handle significant insertions and deletions in the PTIGS sequences. Here, we compared the most commonly used alignment-based and alignment-free methods and developed a web server to allow the biologists to carry out PTIGS-based DNA barcoding analyses. Results First, we compared several alignment-based methods such as BLAST and those calculating P distance and Edit distance, alignment-free methods Di-Nucleotide Frequency Profile (DNFP) and their combinations. We found that the DNFP and Edit-distance methods increased the identification success rate to ~80%, 20% higher than the most commonly used BLAST method. Second, the combined methods showed overall better success rate and performance. Last, we have developed a web server that allows (1) retrieving various sub-regions and the consensus sequences of PTIGS, (2) annotating novel PTIGS sequences, (3) determining species identity by PTIGS sequences using eight methods, and (4) examining identification efficiency and performance of the eight methods for various taxonomy groups. Conclusions The Edit distance and the DNFP methods have the highest discrimination powers. Hybrid methods can be used to achieve significant improvement in performance. These methods can be extended to applications using the core barcodes and the other supplemental DNA barcode ITS2. To our knowledge, the web server developed here is the only one that allows species determination based on PTIGS sequences. The web server can be accessed at http://psba-trnh-plantidit.dnsalias.org

The AP-1-BATF and -BATF3 module is essential for growth, survival and TH17/ILC3 skewing of anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

Transcription factor AP-1 is constitutively activated and IRF4 drives growth and survival in ALK+ and ALK- anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). Here we demonstrate high-level BATF and BATF3 expression in ALCL. Both BATFs bind classical AP-1 motifs and interact with in ALCL deregulated AP-1 factors. Together with IRF4, they co-occupy AP-1-IRF composite elements, differentiating ALCL from non-ALCL. Gene-specific inactivation of BATFs, or global AP-1 inhibition results in ALCL growth retardation and/or cell death in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the AP-1-BATF module establishes TH17/group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3)-associated gene expression in ALCL cells, including marker genes such as AHR, IL17F, IL22, IL26, IL23R and RORγt. Elevated IL-17A and IL-17F levels were detected in a subset of children and adolescents with ALK+ ALCL. Furthermore, a comprehensive analysis of primary lymphoma data confirms TH17-, and in particular ILC3-skewing in ALCL compared with PTCL. Finally, pharmacological inhibition of RORC as single treatment leads to cell death in ALCL cell lines and, in combination with the ALK inhibitor crizotinib, enforces death induction in ALK+ ALCL. Our data highlight the crucial role of AP-1/BATFs in ALCL and lead to the concept that some ALCL might originate from ILC3

DNA Barcode Goes Two-Dimensions: DNA QR Code Web Server

The DNA barcoding technology uses a standard region of DNA sequence for species identification and discovery. At present, “DNA barcode” actually refers to DNA sequences, which are not amenable to information storage, recognition, and retrieval. Our aim is to identify the best symbology that can represent DNA barcode sequences in practical applications. A comprehensive set of sequences for five DNA barcode markers ITS2, rbcL, matK, psbA-trnH, and CO1 was used as the test data. Fifty-three different types of one-dimensional and ten two-dimensional barcode symbologies were compared based on different criteria, such as coding capacity, compression efficiency, and error detection ability. The quick response (QR) code was found to have the largest coding capacity and relatively high compression ratio. To facilitate the further usage of QR code-based DNA barcodes, a web server was developed and is accessible at http://qrfordna.dnsalias.org. The web server allows users to retrieve the QR code for a species of interests, convert a DNA sequence to and from a QR code, and perform species identification based on local and global sequence similarities. In summary, the first comprehensive evaluation of various barcode symbologies has been carried out. The QR code has been found to be the most appropriate symbology for DNA barcode sequences. A web server has also been constructed to allow biologists to utilize QR codes in practical DNA barcoding applications