Protective Effect of Calculus Bovis Sativus

Calculus Bovis Sativus (CBS) is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine, which has been reported to exhibit antispasmodic, fever-reducing, anti-inflammatory, and gallbladder-repairing effects. The present study aims to investigate the protective effect of CBS on dextran sulphate sodium- (DSS-) induced ulcerative colitis (UC) in mice. C57BL/6 male mice were exposed to 5% DSS in drinking water. CBS was given orally at 50 and 150 mg/kg once per day for 7 days. Body weight, disease activity index (DAI), colon length, colonic myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, and malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) levels were measured. Administration of CBS significantly reserved these changes, decreased the MPO activity and MDA and NO level, and increased the SOD activity in the colon tissue. Histological observation suggested that CBS alleviated edema, mucosal damage, and inflammatory cells infiltration induced by DSS in the colon. Moreover, CBS significantly downregulated the mRNA expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin- (IL-) 1β and IL-6 in the colon tissue. Our data suggested that CBS exerted protective effect on DSS-induced UC partially through the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities

Exploring biomarkers of premature ovarian insufficiency based on oxford nanopore transcriptional profile and machine learning

Abstract Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a reproductive endocrine disorder characterized by infertility and perimenopausal syndrome, with a highly heterogeneous genetic etiology and its mechanism is not fully understood. Therefore, we utilized Oxford Nanopore Technology (ONT) for the first time to characterize the full-length transcript profile, and revealed biomarkers, pathway and molecular mechanisms for POI by bioinformatics analysis and machine learning. Ultimately, we identified 272 differentially expressed genes, 858 core genes, and 25 hub genes by analysis of differential expression, gene set enrichment, and protein–protein interactions. Seven candidate genes were identified based on the intersection features of the random forest and Boruta algorithm. qRT-PCR results indicated that COX5A, UQCRFS1, LCK, RPS2 and EIF5A exhibited consistent expression trends with sequencing data and have potential as biomarkers. Additionally, GSEA analysis revealed that the pathophysiology of POI is closely associated with inhibition of the PI3K-AKT pathway, oxidative phosphorylation and DNA damage repair, as well as activation of inflammatory and apoptotic pathways. Furthermore, we emphasize that downregulation of respiratory chain enzyme complex subunits and inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation pathways play crucial roles in the pathophysiology of POI. In conclusion, our utilization of long-read sequencing has refined the annotation information within the POI transcriptional profile. This valuable data provides novel insights for further exploration into molecular regulatory networks and potential biomarkers associated with POI

A Combined Hybrid 3-D/2-D Model for Flow and Solidification Prediction during Slab Continuous Casting

A combined hybrid 3-D/2-D simulation model was developed to investigate the flow and solidification phenomena in turbulent flow and laminar flow regions during slab continuous casting (CC). The 3-D coupling model and 2-D slicing model were applied to the turbulent flow and laminar flow regions, respectively. In the simulation model, the uneven distribution of cooling water in the width direction of the strand was taken into account according to the nozzle collocation of secondary cooling zones. The results from the 3-D turbulent flow region show that the impact effect of the molten steel jet on the formation of a solidification shell is significant. The impact point is 457 mm below the meniscus, and the plug flow is formed 2442 mm below the meniscus. In the laminar flow region, grid independence tests indicate that the grids with a cell size of 10 × 10 mm2 are sufficient in simulations to attain the precise temperature distribution and solidification profile. The liquid core of the strand is not entirely uniform, and the solidification profile agrees well with the integrated distribution of cooling water in secondary cooling zones. The final solidification points are at a position of 400–500 mm in the width direction and are 17.66 m away from the meniscus

Identification and analysis of key hypoxia- and immune-related genes in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Abstract Background Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), an autosomal dominant genetic disease, is the main cause of sudden death in adolescents and athletes globally. Hypoxia and immune factors have been revealed to be related to the pathology of HCM. There is growing evidence of a role for hypoxia and inflammation as triggers and enhancers in the pathology in HCM. However, the role of hypoxia- and immune-related genes in HCM have not been reported. Methods Firstly, we obtained four HCM-related datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database for differential expression analysis. Immune cells significantly expressed in normal samples and HCM were then screened by a microenvironmental cell population counter (MCP-counter) algorithm. Next, hypoxia- and immune-related genes were screened by the LASSO + support vector machine recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE) and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). Single-gene enrichment analysis and expression validation of key genes were then performed. Finally, we constructed a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network of key genes. Results In this study, 35 differentially expressed hypoxia genes were found. By using LASSO + SVM-RFE analysis, 10 more targets with differentially expressed hypoxia genes were identified. The MCP-count algorithm yielded five differentially expressed immune cells, and after assessing them for WGCNA characteristics, 612 immune genes were discovered. When hypoxia and immune genes were combined for cross-tabulation analysis, three hypoxia- and immune-related genes (ATP2A2, DDAH1, and OMA1) were identified. Conclusion Based on hypoxia characteristic genes, three key genes were identified. These were also significantly related to immune activation, which proves a theoretical basis and reference value for studying the relationship between HCM and hypoxia and immunity. Graphical Abstrac

Hydraulic Modeling on Flow Behavior in High-Speed Billet Continuous Casting Mold Considering Hydrostatic Pressure and Solidified Shell

The flow behavior in the mold has a considerable influence on the final product quality of the strand. In this paper, the variation of flow field, level fluctuation, and liquid slag distribution was analyzed by a hydraulic modeling experiment of a high-speed billet continuous casting mold with and without consideration of hydrostatic pressure and a solidified shell. The results indicate that a mold with hydrostatic pressure and a solidified shell possesses an impact depth shallower by 10–30 mm, level fluctuation greater by 3–15%, and more active liquid slag layer at different casting speeds than a mold without them. Moreover, the results of the hydraulic modeling with hydrostatic pressure and a solidified shell agree well with those of the numerical simulation. Therefore, the mold flow behavior modeled with hydrostatic pressure and a solidified shell is closer to the actual behavior than that obtained by models without them. The method in this paper contributes to improving the accuracy of the hydraulic modeling experiment and establishing a foundation for further study of continuous casting

Identification and evaluation of resistance to powdery mildew and yellow rust in a wheat mapping population.

Deployment of cultivars with genetic resistance is an effective approach to control the diseases of powdery mildew (PM) and yellow rust (YR). Chinese wheat cultivar XK0106 exhibits high levels of resistance to both diseases, while cultivar E07901 has partial, adult plant resistance (APR). The aim of this study was to map resistance loci derived from the two cultivars and analyze their effects against PM and YR in a range of environments. A doubled haploid population (388 lines) was used to develop a framework map consisting of 117 SSR markers, while a much higher density map using the 90K Illumina iSelect SNP array was produced with a subset of 80 randomly selected lines. Seedling resistance was characterized against a range of PM and YR isolates, while field scores in multiple environments were used to characterize APR. Composite interval mapping (CIM) of seedling PM scores identified two QTLs (QPm.haas-6A and QPm.haas-2A), the former being located at the Pm21 locus. These QTLs were also significant in field scores, as were Qpm.haas-3A and QPm.haas-5A. QYr.haas-1B-1 and QYr.haas-2A were identified in field scores of YR and were located at the Yr24/26 and Yr17 chromosomal regions respectively. A second 1B QTL, QYr.haas-1B-2 was also identified. QPm.haas-2A and QYr.haas-1B-2 are likely to be new QTLs that have not been previously identified. Effects of the QTLs were further investigated in multiple environments through the testing of selected lines predicted to contain various QTL combinations. Significant additive interactions between the PM QTLs highlighted the ability to pyramid these loci to provide higher level of resistance. Interactions between the YR QTLs gave insights into the pathogen populations in the different locations as well as showing genetic interactions between these loci

Characterization and microRNA Expression Analysis of Serum-Derived Extracellular Vesicles in Severe Liver Injury from Chronic HBV Infection

Background: Extracellular vesicle (EV) microRNAs have been documented in several studies to have significantly different expressions in hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related liver diseases, such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The current work aimed to observe the characteristics of EVs and EV miRNA expressions in patients with severe liver injury chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and patients with HBV-associated decompensated cirrhosis (DeCi). Methods: The characterization of the EVs in the serum was carried out for three different groups, namely, patients with severe liver injury-CHB, patients with DeCi, and healthy controls. EV miRNAs were analyzed using miRNA-seq and RT-qPCR arrays. Additionally, we assessed the predictive and observational values of the miRNAs with significant differential expressions in serum EVs. Results: Patients with severe liver injury-CHB had the highest EV concentrations when compared to the normal controls (NCs) and patients with DeCi (p 2, p p p Conclusions: The patients with severe liver injury-CHB had the highest number of EVs. The combination of novel-miR-172-5p and miR-1285-5p in serum EVs helped in predicting the progression of the NCs to severe liver injury-CHB, while the addition of EV miR-335-5p improved the serological accuracy of predicting the progression of severe liver injury-CHB to DeCi

The effect of pre-pregnancy hair dye exposure on infant birth weight: a nested case-control study

Abstract Background Limited evidences were reported about the risk of pre-pregnancy hair dye use or irregular menstruation with abnormal birth weight during pregnancy, and their joint effects were also unknown. The aim of our study was to explore whether the pre-pregnancy exposure of hair dye and irregular menstruation were associated with the risk of abnormal birth weight. Methods We conducted a nested case-control study from a prospective cohort of 6203 pregnant women. Low birth weight study included 315 mother-infant pairs (105 LBW cases and 210 matched controls), and macrosomia study included 381 mother-infant pairs (127 macrosomia cases and 254 matched controls). Meanwhile, lifestyle information including hair dying custom and menstrual history were collected by face-to-face questionnaires and birth outcomes were extracted from the medical records. The logistic regressions models were used to analyze the join effect of irregular menstruation and hair dye use. Results Pre-pregnancy hair dye use was associated with increased risk of LBW (adjusted OR = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.01–2.92, P = 0.048). Irregular menstruation had high risk of LBW (adjusted OR = 2.79, 95% CI: 1.53–5.09, P = 0.001) and macrosomia (adjusted OR = 1.93, 95% CI: 1.09–3.44, P = 0.023). Additionally, in the LBW study, women who used hair dye with pre-pregnancy BMI < 18.5 kg/m2 had higher OR than those with only one risk factor (3.07 vs 2.53, P trend = 0.015), and women with both hair dye use and irregular menstruation also had higher risk than those with only one factor (4.53 vs 2.07, P trend = 0.05). Moreover, in macrosomia study, women with irregular menstruation and pre-pregnancy BMI ≥ 24 kg/m2 had higher risk than those with one factor (13.31 vs 2.09, P trend = 0.001). Conclusion Our study showed that either pre-pregnancy hair dye use or irregular menstruation was associated with abnormal birth weight, especially, their joint effects could furthermore increase the risk of low birth weight infants when these two factors existed simultaneously