616 research outputs found
Efficacy of normodyne-magnesium sulfate combination treatment on pregnancy-induced hypertension, and its effect on VEGF and Flt-1 levels
Purpose: To investigate the efficacy of the combined use of normodyne and magnesium sulfate in the treatment of pregnancy-induced hypertension, and its effect on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and factor receptor-1 (Flt-1) levels in serum.Methods: A total of 100 patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension attending Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Xinjiang, China, were categorized as Group A, and then further subdivided into control sub-group (who were treated with magnesium sulfate only) and study sub-group (treated with magnesium sulfate plus normodyne). Furthermore, 100 healthy pregnantwomen attending the hospital for prenatal examination during the same period were categorized as Group B. Serum expressions of VEGF and Flt-1 in all patients were determined and compared. The therapeutic effect, adverse reactions, adverse pregnancy outcomes, blood pressure before and after treatment, 24 h proteinuria, and serum expression levels of VEGF and Flt-1 in the study and control groups were determined and compared.Results: Serum VEGF levels in patients with pregnancy-mediated hypertension were significantly lower than those of healthy pregnant women, and Flt-1 was raised in healthy pregnant women (p < 0.05). In the study group, treatment was markedly more effective, and the degree of amelioration of blood pressure, 24 h proteinuria, serum VEGF, and Flt-1 were significantly higher than for control sub-group. There were lower adverse pregnancy outcomes in study sub-group than in control (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The combination of magnesium sulfate and normodyne produces greater clinical efficacy in the treatment of patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension than magnesium sulfate alone, and also shows a high safety profile
Response of Freshwater Biofilm to pollution and ecosystem in Baiyangdian Lake of China
AbstractAn experimental study was undertaken to highlight the potential applicability of biofilms as biomonitors forming simultaneously on natural and artificial substrata in Baiyngdian Lake(China).We investigated the responses of freshwater biofilm in 8 site of Baiyngdian Lake and compared with control site (a reservoir) to assess the relative health of water. Exposure to pollution and its impact on biofilms were assessed by measuring the biomass production, Chlorophyll concentration, the algal composition, extracellular enzyme activity of bacterial communities and Polysaccharide content. This relation between the biological characters of biofilms and water quality were discussed, and the relative health of regions were demonstrated by the degree of deviation based on bioflim indicator in the following order: Fu river (S4) < Duan cun (S8) < Nan Liuzhuang (S5) < Wang jiazai (S1) < Cai putai (S7) < Zao lingzhuang (S2)< Shao Chedian (S3).. The result indicated that biofilm can provide information for pollution detection and ecological health assessment of water, and biofilm on aritificial substrata was recommended for biomonitoring in the Baiyangdian Lake
MPR-Net:Multi-Scale Pattern Reproduction Guided Universality Time Series Interpretable Forecasting
Time series forecasting has received wide interest from existing research due
to its broad applications and inherent challenging. The research challenge lies
in identifying effective patterns in historical series and applying them to
future forecasting. Advanced models based on point-wise connected MLP and
Transformer architectures have strong fitting power, but their secondary
computational complexity limits practicality. Additionally, those structures
inherently disrupt the temporal order, reducing the information utilization and
making the forecasting process uninterpretable. To solve these problems, this
paper proposes a forecasting model, MPR-Net. It first adaptively decomposes
multi-scale historical series patterns using convolution operation, then
constructs a pattern extension forecasting method based on the prior knowledge
of pattern reproduction, and finally reconstructs future patterns into future
series using deconvolution operation. By leveraging the temporal dependencies
present in the time series, MPR-Net not only achieves linear time complexity,
but also makes the forecasting process interpretable. By carrying out
sufficient experiments on more than ten real data sets of both short and long
term forecasting tasks, MPR-Net achieves the state of the art forecasting
performance, as well as good generalization and robustness performance
Structural and biochemical insights into small RNA 3' end trimming by Arabidopsis SDN1.
A family of DEDDh 3'→5' exonucleases known as Small RNA Degrading Nucleases (SDNs) initiates the turnover of ARGONAUTE1 (AGO1)-bound microRNAs in Arabidopsis by trimming their 3' ends. Here, we report the crystal structure of Arabidopsis SDN1 (residues 2-300) in complex with a 9 nucleotide single-stranded RNA substrate, revealing that the DEDDh domain forms rigid interactions with the N-terminal domain and binds 4 nucleotides from the 3' end of the RNA via its catalytic pocket. Structural and biochemical results suggest that the SDN1 C-terminal domain adopts an RNA Recognition Motif (RRM) fold and is critical for substrate binding and enzymatic processivity of SDN1. In addition, SDN1 interacts with the AGO1 PAZ domain in an RNA-independent manner in vitro, enabling it to act on AGO1-bound microRNAs. These extensive structural and biochemical studies may shed light on a common 3' end trimming mechanism for 3'→5' exonucleases in the metabolism of small non-coding RNAs
An ABC Algorithm with Recombination
Artificial bee colony (ABC) is an efficient swarm intelligence algorithm, which has shown good exploration ability. However, its exploitation capacity needs to be improved. In this paper, a novel ABC variant with recombination (called RABC) is proposed to enhance the exploitation. RABC firstly employs a new search model inspired by the updating equation of particle swarm optimization (PSO). Then, both the new search model and the original ABC model are recombined to build a hybrid search model. The effectiveness of the proposed RABC is validated on ten famous benchmark optimization problems. Experimental results show RABC can significantly improve the quality of solutions and accelerate the convergence speed
Transition from continental collision to tectonic escape? A geophysical perspective on lateral expansion of the northern Tibetan Plateau
A number of tectonic models have been proposed for the Tibetan Plateau, which origin, however, remains poorly understood. In this study, investigations of the shear wave velocity (Vs) and density (ρ) structures of the crust and upper mantle evidenced three remarkable features: (1) There are variations in Vs and ρ of the metasomatic mantle wedge in the hanging wall of the subduction beneath different tectonic blocks of Tibet, which may be inferred as related to the dehydration of the downgoing slab. (2) Sections depicting gravitational potential energy suggest that the subducted lithosphere is less dense than the ambient rocks, and thus, being buoyant, it cannot be driven by gravitational slab pull. The subduction process can be inferred by the faster SW-ward motion of Eurasia relative to India as indicated by the plate motions relative to the mantle. An opposite NE-ward mantle flow can be inferred beneath the Himalaya system, deviating E and SE-ward toward China along the tectonic equator. (3) The variation in the thickness of the metasomatic mantle wedge suggests that the leading edge of the subducting Indian slab reaches the Bangoin-Nujiang suture (BNS), and the metasomatic mantle wedge overlaps with a region with poor Sn-wave propagation in north Tibet. The metasomatic layer, north of the BNS, deforms in the E-W direction to accommodate lithosphere shortening in south Tibet
Discrepant diversity patterns and function of bacterial and fungal communities on an earthquake-prone mountain gradient in Northwest Sichuan, China
Patterns of microbial diversity on elevational gradients have been extensively studied, but little is known about those patterns during the restoration of earthquake-fractured alpine ecosystems. In this study, soil properties, soil enzyme activities, abundance and diversity of soil bacterial and fungal communities at four positions along a 2.6-km elevational gradient in the Snow Treasure Summit National Nature Reserve, located in Pingwu County, Southwest China. Although there were no significant changes in the soil chemical environment, bacterial and fungal communities were significantly different at different elevations. The overall fungal community presented an N-shaped diversity pattern with increasing elevation, while bacterial diversity decreased significantly with elevation. Changes in microbial diversity were associated with soil phosphorus, plant litter, and variations in dominant microbial taxa. Differences in enzyme activities among elevations were regulated by microbial communities, with changes in catalase and acid phosphatase activities mainly controlled by Acidobacteria and Planctomycetaceae bacteria, respectively (catalase: p < 0.001; acid phosphatase: p < 0.01), and those in β-glucosidase, sucrase, and urease activities mainly controlled by fungi. The β-glucosidase and sucrase were both positively correlated with Herpotrichiellaceae, and urease was positively correlated with Sebacinaceae (p < 0.05). These findings contribute to the conservation and management of mountain ecosystems in the face of changing environmental conditions. Further research can delve into the specific interactions between microbial communities, soil properties, and vegetation to gain deeper insights into the intricate ecological dynamics within earthquake-prone mountain ecosystems
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Free-living human cells reconfigure their chromosomes in the evolution back to uni-cellularity
Cells of multi-cellular organisms evolve toward uni-cellularity in the form of cancer and, if humans intervene, continue to evolve in cell culture. During this process, gene dosage relationships may evolve in novel ways to cope with the new environment and may regress back to the ancestral uni-cellular state. In this context, the evolution of sex chromosomes vis-a-vis autosomes is of particular interest. Here, we report the chromosomal evolution in ~ 600 cancer cell lines. Many of them jettisoned either Y or the inactive X; thus, free-living male and female cells converge by becoming ‘de-sexualized’. Surprisingly, the active X often doubled, accompanied by the addition of one haploid complement of autosomes, leading to an X:A ratio of 2:3 from the extant ratio of 1:2. Theoretical modeling of the frequency distribution of X:A karyotypes suggests that the 2:3 ratio confers a higher fitness and may reflect aspects of sex chromosome evolution
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