Atrial Fibrillation Beat Identification Using the Combination of Modified Frequency Slice Wavelet Transform and Convolution Neural Networks

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a serious cardiovascular disease with the phenomenon of beating irregularly. It is the major cause of variety of heart diseases, such as myocardial infarction. Automatic AF beat detection is still a challenging task which needs further exploration. A new framework, which combines modified frequency slice wavelet transform (MFSWT) and convolutional neural networks (CNNs), was proposed for automatic AF beat identification. MFSWT was used to transform 1-s electrocardiogram (ECG) segments to time-frequency images, then the images were fed into a 12-layer CNN for feature extraction and AF/non-AF beat classification. The results on the MIT-BIH Atrial Fibrillation database showed that a mean accuracy (Acc) of 81.07% from 5-fold cross validation is achieved for the test data. The corresponding sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp) and the area under ROC curve (AUC) results are 74.96%, 86.41% and 0.88. When excluding an extreme poor signal quality ECG recording in the test data, a mean Acc of 84.85% is achieved, with the corresponding Se, Sp and AUC values of 79.05%, 89.99% and 0.92. This study indicates that it is possible to accurately identify AF or non-AF ECGs from a short-term signal episode

MRI parameters predict central lumbar spinal stenosis combined with redundant nerve roots: a prospective MRI study

BackgroundTo observe changes in the cauda equina nerve on lumbar MRI in patients with central lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).Methods878 patients diagnosed with LSS by clinical and MRI were divided into the redundant group (204 patients) and the nonredundant group (674 patients) according to the presence or absence of redundant nerve roots (RNRs). The anteroposterior diameter of the spinal canal (APDS) and the presence of multiple level stenosis, disc herniation, thickening of ligamentum flavum (LF) and increased epidural fat were assessed on MRI. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the predictors of LSS combined with RNRs.ResultsPatients with LSS combined with RNRs had thicker epidural fat, smaller APDS and more combined multifaceted stenosis. Female patients and older LSS patients were more likely to develop RNRs; there was no difference between two groups in terms of disc herniation (p > 0. 05). Age, APDS, multiple level stenosis, and increased epidural fat were significantly correlated with the formation of LSS combined with RNRs (p < 0.05).ConclusionA smaller APDS and the presence of multiple level stenosis, thickening of LF, and increased epidural fat may be manifestations of anatomical differences in patients with LSS combined with RNRs. Age, APDS, multiple level stenosis, and increased epidural fat play important roles. The lumbar spine was measured and its anatomy was observed using multiple methods, and cauda equina changes were assessed to identify the best anatomical predictors and provide new therapeutic strategies for the management of LSS combined with RNRs

Proteomic Analysis of Ubiquitinated Proteins in Rice (\u3ci\u3eOryza sativa\u3c/i\u3e) After Treatment With Pathogen-Associated Molecular Pattern (PAMP) Elicitors

Reversible protein ubiquitination plays essential roles in regulating cellular processes. Although many reports have described the functions of ubiquitination in plant defense responses, few have focused on global changes in the ubiquitome. To better understand the regulatory roles of ubiquitination in rice pattern-triggered immunity (PTI), we investigated the ubiquitome of rice seedlings after treatment with two pathogen-associated molecular patterns, the fungal-derived chitin or the bacterialderived flg22, using label-free quantitative proteomics. In chitin-treated samples, 144 and 167 lysine-ubiquitination sites in 121 and 162 proteins showed increased and decreased ubiquitination, respectively. In flg22-treated samples, 151 and 179 lysine-ubiquitination sites in 118 and 166 proteins showed increased and decreased ubiquitination, respectively. Bioinformatic analyses indicated diverse regulatory roles of these proteins. The ubiquitination levels of many proteins involved in the ubiquitination system, protein transportation, ligand recognition, membrane trafficking, and redox reactions were significantly changed in response to the elicitor treatments. Notably, the ubiquitination levels of many enzymes in the phenylpropanoid metabolic pathway were up-regulated, indicating that this pathway is tightly regulated by ubiquitination during rice PTI. Additionally, the ubiquitination levels of some key components in plant hormone signaling pathways were up- or down-regulated, suggesting that ubiquitination may fine-tune hormone pathways for defense responses. Our results demonstrated that ubiquitination, by targeting a wide range of proteins for degradation or stabilization, has a widespread role in modulating PTI in rice. The large pool of ubiquitination targets will serve as a valuable resource for understanding how the ubiquitination system regulates defense responses to pathogen attack

Downregulation of nuclear STAT2 protein in the spinal dorsal horn is involved in neuropathic pain following chronic constriction injury of the rat sciatic nerve

Regulation of gene transcription in the spinal dorsal horn (SDH) plays a critical role in the pathophysiology of neuropathic pain. In this study, we investigated whether the transcription factor STAT2 affects neuropathic pain and evaluated its possible mechanisms. A proteomic analysis showed that the nuclear fraction of STAT2 protein in the SDH was downregulated after chronic constriction injury of the rat sciatic nerve, which was associated with the development of neuropathic pain. Similarly, siRNA-induced downregulation of STAT2 in the SDH of naïve rats also resulted in pain hypersensitivity. Using RNA-sequencing analysis, we showed that reduction of nuclear STAT2 after chronic constriction injury was associated with increased expression of microglial activation markers, including the class II transactivator and major histocompatibility complex class II proteins. In addition, siRNA-induced downregulation of STAT2 promoted microglial activation and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in the SDH. Taken together, these results showed that chronic constriction injury caused downregulation of nuclear STAT2 in the SDH, which may result in microglial activation and development of neuropathic pain. Our findings indicate that restoration of nuclear expression of STAT2 could be a potential pathway for the treatment of neuropathic pain

Regulation Mechanism of Processed Cheese Stretchability

In this work, the regulation mechanism of processed cheese stretchability was studied by adjusting the amount of added emulsifying salt (0.6%–3.0%) and potato acetate starch (0.125%–2%) and pH (5.4–5.8). The results showed that as the emulsifying salt increased from 0.6% to 3.0%, the content of bound calcium in processed cheese decreased from (4.42 ± 0.05) to (0.02 ± 0.04) g/kg, the average fat globule size D(4,3) decreased from (73.08 ± 3.16) to (27.90 ± 2.55) μm, and the bound water content increased from (9.57 ± 0.25)% to (10.40 ± 0.25)%, indicating that the calcium crosslinking effect gradually decreased, the emulsifying effect and hydration degree increased, the interaction between protein molecules changed from strong to weak, so the stretchability of processed cheese initially increased and then decreased. As pH increased from 5.4 to 5.8, the content of bound calcium increased from (2.01 ± 0.08) to (2.74 ± 0.05) g/kg, and the average fat globule size D(4,3) decreased from (36.36 ± 2.68) to (21.37 ± 2.39) μm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that the bending vibration absorption peaks of O–H and N–H moved to lower wavenumbers, and the bound water content increased from (9.85 ± 0.16)% to (10.74 ± 0.12)%, indicating that the calcium crosslinking effect, emulsifying effect and hydration degree increased, the interaction between protein molecules changed from strong to weak, so the stretchability of processed cheese increased first and then decreased. As potato acetate starch concentration increased from 0.125% to 2%, the average fat globule size D(4,3) decreased from (54.17 ± 2.74) to (29.92 ± 2.71) μm, and the bound water content increased from (9.90 ± 0.38)% to (11.00 ± 0.21)%, indicating that the emulsifying effect and hydration degree increased, and the stretchability increased first and then decreased. At a potato acetate starch concentration of 2%, starch and protein were separated, so the stretchability became worse. In conclusion, the stretchability of processed cheese is comprehensively regulated by the degree of calcium ion chelation, emulsifying effect, electrostatic interaction between protein molecules, water distribution state and protein-polysaccharide phase behavior