Clinical Observation of Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting with Heart Valve Replacement for Coronary Heart Disease with Heart Valvular Disease

Objective: To analyze and explore the clinical observation of coronary artery disease with coronary heart disease and coronary heart disease (CHD) undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. Methods: From December 2015 to December 2016, 80 patients with coronary heart disease and heart valve were randomly divided into two groups: observation group and control group (40 cases). The observation group was treated with coronary artery bypass grafting combined with simultaneous heart valve replacement. The control group was treated with coronary stent implantation and non-synchronous valve replacement. The improvement of postoperative cardiac function, postoperative hospitalization, adverse events and bridge patency were compared between the two groups. Results: The improvement of cardiac function and the incidence of adverse events were significantly better in the observation group than in the control group (P <0.05). The time of hospitalization and the time of ventilator were significantly shorter than those of the control group (P <0.05). The patency rate of the bridge was significantly higher than that of the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion: Coronary artery bypass grafting combined with heart valve replacement in patients with coronary heart disease complicated with valvular heart disease can achieve significant curative effect, which is more ideal and safer than coronary artery bypass surgery combined with non-synchronous valve replacement

BOAT: Basic Oligonucleotide Alignment Tool

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Next-generation DNA sequencing technologies generate tens of millions of sequencing reads in one run. These technologies are now widely used in biology research such as in genome-wide identification of polymorphisms, transcription factor binding sites, methylation states, and transcript expression profiles. Mapping the sequencing reads to reference genomes efficiently and effectively is one of the most critical analysis tasks. Although several tools have been developed, their performance suffers when both multiple substitutions and insertions/deletions (indels) occur together.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We report a new algorithm, Basic Oligonucleotide Alignment Tool (BOAT) that can accurately and efficiently map sequencing reads back to the reference genome. BOAT can handle several substitutions and indels simultaneously, a useful feature for identifying SNPs and other genomic structural variations in functional genomic studies. For better handling of low-quality reads, BOAT supports a "3'-end Trimming Mode" to build local optimized alignment for sequencing reads, further improving sensitivity. BOAT calculates an E-value for each hit as a quality assessment and provides customizable post-mapping filters for further mapping quality control.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Evaluations on both real and simulation datasets suggest that BOAT is capable of mapping large volumes of short reads to reference sequences with better sensitivity and lower memory requirement than other currently existing algorithms. The source code and pre-compiled binary packages of BOAT are publicly available for download at <url>http://boat.cbi.pku.edu.cn</url> under GNU Public License (GPL). BOAT can be a useful new tool for functional genomics studies.</p

Trade-induced atmospheric mercury deposition over China and implications for demand-side controls

Mercury (Hg) is of global concern because of its adverse effects on humans and the environment. In addition to long-range atmospheric transport, Hg emissions can be geographically relocated through economic trade. Here, we investigate the effect of China’s interregional trade on atmospheric Hg deposition over China, using an atmospheric transport model and multiregional input-output analysis. In general, total atmospheric Hg deposition over China is 408.8 Mg yr-1, and 32% of this is embodied in China’s interregional trade, with the hotspots occurring over Gansu, Henan, Hebei, and Yunnan provinces. Interprovincial trade considerably redistributes atmospheric Hg deposition over China, with a range in deposition flux from −104% to +28%. Developed regions, such as the Yangtze River Delta (Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang) and Guangdong, avoid Hg deposition over their geographical boundaries, instead causing additional Hg deposition over developing provinces. Bilateral interaction among provinces is strong over some regions, suggesting a need for joint mitigation, such as the Jing-Jin-Ji region (Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei) and the Yangtze River Delta. Transferring advanced technology from developed regions to their developing trade partners would be an effective measure to mitigate China’s Hg pollution. Our findings are relevant to interprovincial efforts to reduce trans-boundary Hg pollution in China

Tulp1 deficiency causes early-onset retinal degeneration through affecting ciliogenesis and activating ferroptosis in zebrafish

Mutations in TUB-like protein 1 (TULP1) are associated with severe early-onset retinal degeneration in humans. However, the pathogenesis remains largely unknown. There are two homologous genes of TULP1 in zebrafish, namely tulp1a and tulp1b. Here, we generated the single knockout (tulp1a(−/−) and tulp1b(−/−)) and double knockout (tulp1-dKO) models in zebrafish. Knockout of tulp1a resulted in the mislocalization of UV cone opsins and the degeneration of UV cones specifically, while knockout of tulp1b resulted in mislocalization of rod opsins and rod-cone degeneration. In the tulp1-dKO zebrafish, mislocalization of opsins was present in all types of photoreceptors, and severe degeneration was observed at a very early age, mimicking the clinical manifestations of TULP1 patients. Photoreceptor cilium length was significantly reduced in the tulp1-dKO retinas. RNA-seq analysis showed that the expression of tektin2 (tekt2), a ciliary and flagellar microtubule structural component, was downregulated in the tulp1-dKO zebrafish. Dual-luciferase reporter assay suggested that Tulp1a and Tulp1b transcriptionally activate the promoter of tekt2. In addition, ferroptosis might be activated in the tulp1-dKO zebrafish, as suggested by the up-regulation of genes related to the ferroptosis pathway, the shrinkage of mitochondria, reduction or disappearance of mitochondria cristae, and the iron and lipid droplet deposition in the retina of tulp1-dKO zebrafish. In conclusion, our study establishes an appropriate zebrafish model for TULP1-associated retinal degeneration and proposes that loss of TULP1 causes defects in cilia structure and opsin trafficking through the downregulation of tekt2, which further increases the death of photoreceptors via ferroptosis. These findings offer insight into the pathogenesis and clinical treatment of early-onset retinal degeneration

The splicing factor DHX38 enables retinal development through safeguarding genome integrity

DEAH-Box Helicase 38 (DHX38) is a pre-mRNA splicing factor and also a disease-causing gene of autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (arRP). The role of DHX38 in the development and maintenance of the retina remains largely unknown. In this study, by using the dhx38 knockout zebrafish model, wedemonstrated that Dhx38 deficiency causes severe differentiation defects and apoptosis of retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) through disrupted mitosis and increased DNA damage. Furthermore, we found a significant accumulation of R-loops in the dhx38-deficient RPCs and human cell lines. Finally, we found that DNA replication stress is the prerequisite for R-loop-induced DNA damage in the DHX38 knockdown cells. Taken together, our study demonstrates a necessary role of DHX38 in the development of retina and reveals a DHX38/R-loop/replication stress/DNA damage regulatory axis that is relatively independent of the known functions of DHX38 in mitosis control

New Perspectives on Host-Parasite Interplay by Comparative Transcriptomic and Proteomic Analyses of Schistosoma japonicum

Schistosomiasis remains a serious public health problem with an estimated 200 million people infected in 76 countries. Here we isolated ~ 8,400 potential protein-encoding cDNA contigs from Schistosoma japonicum after sequencing circa 84,000 expressed sequence tags. In tandem, we undertook a high-throughput proteomics approach to characterize the protein expression profiles of a number of developmental stages (cercariae, hepatic schistosomula, female and male adults, eggs, and miracidia) and tissues at the host-parasite interface (eggshell and tegument) by interrogating the protein database deduced from the contigs. Comparative analysis of these transcriptomic and proteomic data, the latter including 3,260 proteins with putative identities, revealed differential expression of genes among the various developmental stages and sexes of S. japonicum and localization of putative secretory and membrane antigens, enzymes, and other gene products on the adult tegument and eggshell, many of which displayed genetic polymorphisms. Numerous S. japonicum genes exhibited high levels of identity with those of their mammalian hosts, whereas many others appeared to be conserved only across the genus Schistosoma or Phylum Platyhelminthes. These findings are expected to provide new insights into the pathophysiology of schistosomiasis and for the development of improved interventions for disease control and will facilitate a more fundamental understanding of schistosome biology, evolution, and the host-parasite interplay

A rapid and high-throughput quantum dots bioassay for monitoring of perfluorooctane sulfonate in environmental water samples

Currently HPLC/MS is the state of the art tool for environmental/drinking water perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) monitoring. PFOS can bind to peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPARα), which forms heterodimers with retinoid X receptors (RXRs) and binds to PPAR response elements. In this bioassay free PFOS in water samples competes with immobilized PFOS in ELISA plates for a given amount of PPARα-RXRα. It can be determined indirectly by immobilizing PPARα-RXRα-PFOS complex to another plate coated with PPARα antibody and subsequent measuring the level of PPARα-RXRα by using biotin-modified PPARα- RXRα probes-quantum dots-streptavidin detection system. The rapid and high- throughput bioassay demonstrated a detection limit of 2.5ngL-1 with linear range between 2.5ngL-1 and 75ngL-1. Detection results of environmental water samples were highly consistent between the bioassay a

Biases Characteristics Assessment of the Advanced Geosynchronous Radiation Imager (AGRI) Measurement on Board Fengyun–4A Geostationary Satellite

The Chinese Fengyun&ndash;4A geostationary meteorological satellite was successfully launched on 11 December 2016, carrying an Advanced Geostationary Radiation Imager (AGRI) to provide the observations of visible, near infrared, and infrared bands with improved spectral, spatial, and temporal resolution. The AGRI infrared observations can be assimilated into numerical weather prediction (NWP) data assimilation systems to improve the atmospheric analysis and weather forecasting capabilities. To achieve data assimilation, the first and crucial step is to characterize and evaluate the biases of the AGRI brightness temperatures in infrared channels 8&ndash;14. This study conducts the assessment of clear&ndash;sky AGRI full&ndash;disk infrared observation biases by coupling the RTTOV model and ERA Interim analysis. The AGRI observations are generally in good agreement with the model simulations. It is found that the biases over the ocean and land are less than 1.4 and 1.6 K, respectively. For bias difference between land and ocean, channels 11&ndash;13 are more obvious than water vapor channels 9&ndash;10. The fitting coefficient of linear regression tests between AGRI biases and sensor zenith angles manifests no obvious scan angle&ndash;dependent biases over ocean. All infrared channels observations are scene temperature&ndash;dependent over the ocean and land