A web-DB model on multicast and anycast

Most of the current web-based database systems suffer from poor performance, complicated heterogeneity, and synchronization issues. In this paper, we propose a novel mechanism for web-based database system on multicast and anycast protocols to deal with these issues. In the model, we put a castway, a network interface for database server, between database server and Web server. Castway deals with the multicast and anycast requests and responses. We propose a requirement-based server selection algorithm and an atomic multicast update algorithm for data queries and synchronizations. The model is independent from the Internet environment, it can synchronise the databases efficiently and automatically. Furthermore, the model can reduce the possibility of transaction deadlocks.<br /

In-silico design of novel myocilin inhibitors for glaucoma therapy

Purpose: To explore newer computational approaches in the design of novel myocilin inhibitors for the treatment of glaucoma.Methods: An in-silico virtual screening technique based on simulation of molecular docking was utilised to design a novel myocilin inhibitors for the treatment of  glaucoma. The designed novel molecules were theoretically evaluated to predict their pharmacokinetic properties and toxic effects. Lead molecules were screened out in virtual screening technique on the basis of low binding energies obtained in AutoDock based molecular docking simulation.Results: Out of ten top lead compounds screened, ZINC01729523 and ZINC04692015 were promising, having shown potent inhibition of myocilin, good pharmacokinetic properties and absence of any toxic effects.Conclusion: In-silico virtual screening of molecular libraries containing a large number of ligands is very useful for short-listing of potential lead molecules for further structure-based discovery of antiglaucoma-drugs.Keywords: Glaucoma, Myocilin, Docking, Virtual-screening, Autodock, Ligand, Drug desig

Stunting and soil-transmitted-helminth infections among school-age pupils in rural areas of southern China

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Stunting and soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections including ascariasis, trichuriasis and hookworm remain major public health problems in school-age pupils in developing countries. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of stunting for children and its association with three major soil-transmitted helminths (STH) in rural areas of southern China. The study also aims to determine risk factors for stunting and to provide guidance on the prevention and control of stunting and STH infections for future studies in this field.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A cross-sectional survey was carried out in the poor rural areas in Guangxi Autonomous Regional and Hainan Province where STH prevalence was higher between September and November 2009. Pupils were from 15 primary schools. All the school-age pupils aged between 9 and 12 years old (mean age 11.2 ± 3.2 years), from grades three to six took part in this study. Study contents include questionnaire surveys, physical examination and laboratory methods (stool checking for eggs of three major STH infections and haemoglobin determination was performed for the anaemia test). Finally 1031 school-age pupils took part in survey. The results showed that the overall prevalence of stunting (HAZ < 2SD) was 25.6%, based on the WHO Child Growth Standards (2007). Risk factors for stunting based on logistic regression analyses were: (1) STH moderate-to-heavy intensity infections (OR = 1.93;95%CI:1.19,3.11); (2) anaemia (OR = 3.26;95%CI: 2.02,5.27); (3) education level of mother (OR = 2.13; 95%CI: 1.39,3.25). The overall prevalence of major STH infections was 36.7%, STH moderate-to-heavy intensity infections was 16.7%. The overall prevalence of ascariasis, trichuriasis, hookworm and co-infection were 18.5%, 11.2%, 14.7% and 9.1% respectively. The prevalence of anaemic children (HB < 12 g/dl) was 13.1%.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study showed that stunting was highly prevalent among the study population and STH infection is one of the important risk factors for stunting, with moderate-to-heavy intensity infections being the main predictor of stunting. Hence, additional interventions measures such as to promote de-worming treatment, to enhance health education and to improve hygiene and sanitation in order to reduce stunting in this population, are needed throughout the primary school age group.</p

Identification of 10 SUMOylation-Related Genes From Yellow Catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco, and Their Transcriptional Responses to Carbohydrate Addition in vivo and in vitro

SUMOylation is a kind of important post-translational modification. In the present study, we identified 10 key genes involved in SUMOylation and deSUMOylation (sumo1, sumo2, sumo3, sae1, uba2, ubc9, pias1, senp1, senp2, and senp3) in yellow catfish Pelteobagrus fulvidraco, investigated their tissue expression patterns and transcriptional responses to carbohydrate addition both in vivo and in vitro. All of these members shared similar domains to their orthologous genes of other vertebrates. Their mRNAs were widely expressed in all the tested tissues, but at variable levels. Dietary carbohydrate levels differentially influenced the mRNA levels of these genes in liver, muscle, testis, and ovary of yellow catfish. Their mRNA levels in primary hepatocytes were differentially responsive to glucose addition. Our study would contribute to our understanding into the molecular basis of SUMOylation modification and into the potential SUMOylation function in the carbohydrate utilization in fish

MePAL6 regulates lignin accumulation to shape cassava resistance against two-spotted spider mite

IntroductionThe two-spotted spider mite (TSSM) is a devastating pest of cassava production in China. Lignin is considered as an important defensive barrier against pests and diseases, several genes participate in lignin biosynthesis, however, how these genes modulate lignin accumulation in cassava and shape TSSM-resistance is largely unknown.MethodsTo fill this knowledge gap, while under TSSM infestation, the cassava lignin biosynthesis related genes were subjected to expression pattern analysis followed by family identification, and genes with significant induction were used for further function exploration.ResultsMost genes involved in lignin biosynthesis were up-regulated when the mite-resistant cassava cultivars were infested by TSSM, noticeably, the MePAL gene presented the most vigorous induction among these genes. Therefore, we paid more attention to dissect the function of MePAL gene during cassava-TSSM interaction. Gene family identification showed that there are 6 MePAL members identified in cassava genome, further phylogenetic analysis, gene duplication, cis-elements and conserved motif prediction speculated that these genes may probably contribute to biotic stress responses in cassava. The transcription profile of the 6 MePAL genes in TSSM-resistant cassava cultivar SC9 indicated a universal up-regulation pattern. To further elucidate the potential correlation between MePAL expression and TSSM-resistance, the most strongly induced gene MePAL6 were silenced using virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) assay, we found that silencing of MePAL6 in SC9 not only simultaneously suppressed the expression of other lignin biosynthesis genes such as 4-coumarate--CoA ligase (4CL), hydroxycinnamoyltransferase (HCT) and cinnamoyl-CoA reductase (CCR), but also resulted in decrease of lignin content. Ultimately, the suppression of MePAL6 in SC9 can lead to significant deterioration of TSSM-resistance.DiscussionThis study accurately identified MePAL6 as critical genes in conferring cassava resistance to TSSM, which could be considered as promising marker gene for evaluating cassava resistance to insect pest

Research on Quality Dynamics and Shelf Life Prediction of Yogurt under Different Storage Conditions

In order to study the dynamic law of the quality change in low temperature yogurts,yogurts were stored at temperatures of 4 ℃,15 ℃,25 ℃ and 30 ℃ respectively,and the changes in protein level,fat level,acidity level,particle size,color,texture and total number of colonies were observed.The regression equation analysis shows that the changes of a* redness value (at 15℃,25℃ and 30 ℃),total color difference ΔE,colony number (at 4 ℃,15 ℃ and 25 ℃),softness and consistency (at 15 ℃ and 25 ℃)match the Zero-order kinetic model,while the changes of titratable acidity and b* yellowness value match the First-order kinetic model.The established shelf-life prediction model equation provides insights in the adjustment of storage and transportation conditions of low-temperature milk products,as well as quality monitoring during the storage period

Automated Facial Recognition for Noonan Syndrome Using Novel Deep Convolutional Neural Network With Additive Angular Margin Loss

BackgroundNoonan syndrome (NS), a genetically heterogeneous disorder, presents with hypertelorism, ptosis, dysplastic pulmonary valve stenosis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and small stature. Early detection and assessment of NS are crucial to formulating an individualized treatment protocol. However, the diagnostic rate of pediatricians and pediatric cardiologists is limited. To overcome this challenge, we propose an automated facial recognition model to identify NS using a novel deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) with a loss function called additive angular margin loss (ArcFace).MethodsThe proposed automated facial recognition models were trained on dataset that included 127 NS patients, 163 healthy children, and 130 children with several other dysmorphic syndromes. The photo dataset contained only one frontal face image from each participant. A novel DCNN framework with ArcFace loss function (DCNN-Arcface model) was constructed. Two traditional machine learning models and a DCNN model with cross-entropy loss function (DCNN-CE model) were also constructed. Transfer learning and data augmentation were applied in the training process. The identification performance of facial recognition models was assessed by five-fold cross-validation. Comparison of the DCNN-Arcface model to two traditional machine learning models, the DCNN-CE model, and six physicians were performed.ResultsAt distinguishing NS patients from healthy children, the DCNN-Arcface model achieved an accuracy of 0.9201 ± 0.0138 and an area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.9797 ± 0.0055. At distinguishing NS patients from children with several other genetic syndromes, it achieved an accuracy of 0.8171 ± 0.0074 and an AUC of 0.9274 ± 0.0062. In both cases, the DCNN-Arcface model outperformed the two traditional machine learning models, the DCNN-CE model, and six physicians.ConclusionThis study shows that the proposed DCNN-Arcface model is a promising way to screen NS patients and can improve the NS diagnosis rate

A Recombination Hotspot in a Schizophrenia-Associated Region of GABRB2

Background: Schizophrenia is a major disorder with complex genetic mechanisms. Earlier, population genetic studies revealed the occurrence of strong positive selection in the GABRB2 gene encoding the β2 subunit of GABAA receptors, within a segment of 3,551 bp harboring twenty-nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and containing schizophrenia-associated SNPs and haplotypes. Methodology/Principal Findings:In the present study, the possible occurrence of recombination in this 'S1-S29' segment was assessed. The occurrence of hotspot recombination was indicated by high resolution recombination rate estimation, haplotype diversity, abundance of rare haplotypes, recurrent mutations and torsos in haplotype networks, and experimental haplotyping of somatic and sperm DNA. The sub-segment distribution of relative recombination strength, measured by the ratio of haplotype diversity (Hd) over mutation rate (θ), was indicative of a human specific Alu-Yi6 insertion serving as a central recombining sequence facilitating homologous recombination. Local anomalous DNA conformation attributable to the Alu-Yi6 element, as suggested by enhanced DNase I sensitivity and obstruction to DNA sequencing, could be a contributing factor of the increased sequence diversity. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis yielded prominent low LD points that supported ongoing recombination. LD contrast revealed significant dissimilarity between control and schizophrenic cohorts. Among the large array of inferred haplotypes, H26 and H73 were identified to be protective, and H19 and H81 risk-conferring, toward the development of schizophrenia. Conclusions/Significance: The co-occurrence of hotspot recombination and positive selection in the S1-S29 segment of GABRB2 has provided a plausible contribution to the molecular genetics mechanisms for schizophrenia. The present findings therefore suggest that genome regions characterized by the co-occurrence of positive selection and hotspot recombination, two interacting factors both affecting genetic diversity, merit close scrutiny with respect to the etiology of common complex disorders. © 2010 Ng et al

Tip60-mediated lipin 1 acetylation and ER translocation determine triacylglycerol synthesis rate

人类遗传学家James V. Neel在1962年首次提出了“节俭基因”这一概念，认为现今人类导致包括肥胖症、糖尿病和高血压等代谢障碍的基因是因为生理系统为了适应远古环境食物富足和食物缺乏的周期性改变而筛选出的，可以让远古人类在食物富足的短暂时期中快速增肥，以应对随时将到来的食物缺乏时期。这类基因在当时环境下有很大的优越性，但对于当今食物富足的社会则截然相反。这篇论文中林圣彩教授团队揭示了乙酰转移酶TIP60通过乙酰化脂肪合成途径的代谢酶lipin 1并促进其向内质网转运，从而提高脂肪合成速率，揭示了TIP60作为一个“节俭基因”的功能和作用机制。该研究阐明了脂肪合成途径中首个受蛋白质乙酰化修饰调控的途径，揭示了TIP60作为经典转录调控因子之外的又一重要生物学功能，为开发防治肥胖症及其相关代谢紊乱疾病提供了新的药物作用靶点。博士后李阳、博士生宋林涛和硕士生孙玉是该论文的共同第一作者。【Abstract】Obesity is characterized by excessive fatty acid conversion to triacylglycerols (TAGs) in adipose tissues. However, how signaling networks sense fatty acids and connect to the stimulation of lipid synthesis remains elusive. Here, we show that homozygous knock-in mice carrying a point mutation at the Ser86 phosphorylation site of acetyltransferase Tip60 (Tip60SA/SA) display remarkably reduced body fat mass, and Tip60SA/SA females fail to nurture pups to adulthood due to severely reduced milk TAGs. Mechanistically, fatty acids stimulate Tip60-dependent acetylation and endoplasmic reticulum translocation of phosphatidic acid phosphatase lipin 1 to generate diacylglycerol for TAG synthesis, which is repressed by deacetylase Sirt1. Inhibition of Tip60 activity strongly blocks fatty acid-induced TAG synthesis while Sirt1 suppression leads to increased adiposity. Genetic analysis of loss-of-function mutants in Saccharomyces cerevisiae reveals a requirement of ESA1, yeast ortholog of Tip60, in TAG accumulation. These findings uncover a conserved mechanism linking fatty acid sensing to fat synthesis.This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (#31690101, #31430094, #31600961 and #31571214) and National Key Research and Development Project of China (2016YFA0502001). 该研究受到了国家自然科学基金和中国国家重点研发计划项目的资助