CFD Study on Effects of Geometric Shape and Surface Hydrophilicity and Hydrophobicity on the Drainage Capacity of Plant Leaves

The photosynthesis process of plant requires fast removal of surface contaminant of leaves. The removal of surface contaminants is highly related to the drainage capacity of the leaf. This paper conducted a comprehensive study on the drainage capacity of plant leaves. The effects of both leaf shape and leaf hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity are investigated. This paper uses Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technology to simulate the drainage process of plant leaves. The numerical simulation results indicate that hydrophilic leaves requires the sharp parts on the edges to remove the water. On the other hand, the drainage capacity of hydrophobic leaves is independent of the shape of the leaves

Adaptive weights learning in CNN feature fusion for crime scene investigation image classification

The combination of features from the convolutional layer and the fully connected layer of a convolutional neural network (CNN) provides an effective way to improve the performance of crime scene investigation (CSI) image classification. However, in existing work, as the weights in feature fusion do not change after the training phase, it may produce inaccurate image features which affect classification results. To solve this problem, this paper proposes an adaptive feature fusion method based on an auto-encoder to improve classification accuracy. The method includes the following steps: Firstly, the CNN model is trained by transfer learning. Next, the features of the convolution layer and the fully connected layer are extracted respectively. These extracted features are then passed into the auto-encoder for further learning with Softmax normalisation to obtain the adaptive weights for performing final classification. Experiments demonstrated that the proposed method achieves higher CSI image classification performance compared with fix weights feature fusion. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Chromatin dysregulation and DNA methylation at transcription start sites associated with transcriptional repression in cancers.

Although promoter-associated CpG islands have been established as targets of DNA methylation changes in cancer, previous studies suggest that epigenetic dysregulation outside the promoter region may be more closely associated with transcriptional changes. Here we examine DNA methylation, chromatin marks, and transcriptional alterations to define the relationship between transcriptional modulation and spatial changes in chromatin structure. Using human papillomavirus-related oropharyngeal carcinoma as a model, we show aberrant enrichment of repressive H3K9me3 at the transcriptional start site (TSS) with methylation-associated, tumor-specific gene silencing. Further analysis identifies a hypermethylated subtype which shows a functional convergence on MYC targets and association with CREBBP/EP300 mutation. The tumor-specific shift to transcriptional repression associated with DNA methylation at TSSs was confirmed in multiple tumor types. Our data may show a common underlying epigenetic dysregulation in cancer associated with broad enrichment of repressive chromatin marks and aberrant DNA hypermethylation at TSSs in combination with MYC network activation

Patient-Specific Unicompartmental Knee Resurfacing Arthroplasty: Use of a Novel Interference Lock to Reduce Tibial Insert Micromotion and Backside Wear

Micromotion has long been associated with wear of polyethylene tibial inserts, potentially causing failure of unicompartmental knee replacement systems. One cause of micromotion is the locking mechanism between the undersurface of the polyethylene and the tibial tray. The objective of this study was to investigate the use of new novel lock designs for reducing the micromotion associated with a patient specific tibial implant. Micromotion occurring between the tibial insert and tibial tray was measured using the DVRT method for two new lock designs and compared to the micromotion measured for the prior generation lock design. In total, 18 samples were tested, six in each of the three designs: prior generation CLEARANCE lock design, new LINE-TO-LINE design, new INTERFERENCE design

Radiotherapy Dose–Volume Effects on Salivary Gland Function

Publications relating parotid dose-volume characteristics to radiotherapy-induced salivary toxicity were reviewed. Late salivary dysfunction has been correlated to the mean parotid gland dose, with recovery occurring with time. Severe xerostomia (defined as long-term salivary function of <25% of baseline) is usually avoided if at least one parotid gland is spared to a mean dose of less than ≈20 Gy or if both glands are spared to less than ≈25 Gy (mean dose). For complex, partial-volume RT patterns (e.g., intensity-modulated radiotherapy), each parotid mean dose should be kept as low as possible, consistent with the desired clinical target volume coverage. A lower parotid mean dose usually results in better function. Submandibular gland sparing also significantly decreases the risk of xerostomia. The currently available predictive models are imprecise, and additional study is required to identify more accurate models of xerostomia risk

Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Neutralize the Anti-tumor Effect of CSF1 Receptor Blockade by Inducing PMN-MDSC Infiltration of Tumors.

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) contribute to all aspects of tumor progression. Use of CSF1R inhibitors to target TAM is therapeutically appealing, but has had very limited anti-tumor effects. Here, we have identified the mechanism that limited the effect of CSF1R targeted therapy. We demonstrated that carcinoma-associated fibroblasts (CAF) are major sources of chemokines that recruit granulocytes to tumors. CSF1 produced by tumor cells caused HDAC2-mediated downregulation of granulocyte-specific chemokine expression in CAF, which limited migration of these cells to tumors. Treatment with CSF1R inhibitors disrupted this crosstalk and triggered a profound increase in granulocyte recruitment to tumors. Combining CSF1R inhibitor with a CXCR2 antagonist blocked granulocyte infiltration of tumors and showed strong anti-tumor effects

Anti-obesity activity of diglyceride containing conjugated linoleic acid in C57BL/6J ob/ob mice

This study was to investigate the anti-obesity effects of diglyceride (DG)-conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) containing 22% CLA as fatty acids in C57BL/6J ob/ob male mice. There were four experimental groups including vehicle control, DG, CLA, and DG-CLA. The test solutions of 750 mg/kg dose were orally administered to the mice everyday for 5 weeks. CLA treatments significantly decreased mean body weight in the obese mice throughout the experimental period compared to the control (p < 0.01). All test solutions significantly decreased the levels of triglyceride, glucose and free fatty acids in the serum compared with control (p < 0.05). The levels of total cholesterol were also significantly reduced in DG and DG-CLA groups compared with the control group (p < 0.05). CLA significantly decreased weights of renal and epididymal fats compared with the control (p < 0.05). DG and DG-CLA also significantly decreased the epididymal fat weights compared with the control (p < 0.05). A remarkable decrease in the number of lipid droplets and fat globules was observed in the livers of mice treated with DG, CLA, and DG-CLA compared to control. Treatments of DG and CLA actually increased the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma. These results suggest that DG-CLA containing 22% CLA have a respectable anti-obesity effect by controlling serum lipids and fat metabolism