Isolation and characterization of putative functional long terminal repeat retrotransposons in the Pyrus genome

Annotation of 440 isolated LTR retrotransposons. (XLSX 88 kb

An Efficient Multi-solution Solver for the Inverse Kinematics of 3-Section Constant-Curvature Robots

Piecewise constant curvature is a popular kinematics framework for continuum robots. Computing the model parameters from the desired end pose, known as the inverse kinematics problem, is fundamental in manipulation, tracking and planning tasks. In this paper, we propose an efficient multi-solution solver to address the inverse kinematics problem of 3-section constant-curvature robots by bridging both the theoretical reduction and numerical correction. We derive analytical conditions to simplify the original problem into a one-dimensional problem. Further, the equivalence of the two problems is formalised. In addition, we introduce an approximation with bounded error so that the one dimension becomes traversable while the remaining parameters analytically solvable. With the theoretical results, the global search and numerical correction are employed to implement the solver. The experiments validate the better efficiency and higher success rate of our solver than the numerical methods when one solution is required, and demonstrate the ability of obtaining multiple solutions with optimal path planning in a space with obstacles.Comment: Robotics: Science and Systems 202

Medium-Term Visual Outcomes of Apodized Diffractive Multifocal Intraocular Lens with +3.00 D Addition Power

Purpose. To evaluate 2-year visual acuities and questionnaire after bilateral implantation of SN6AD1 multifocal intraocular lens (MIOL) or SN60WF IOL. Methods. Patients randomly scheduled for bilateral implantation of SN6AD1 MIOL and SN60WF IOL with 2-year follow-up were enrolled. Uncorrected/corrected distance and near visual acuity, uncorrected intermediate visual acuity at 63 cm under high and low contrast, reading activity, the defocus curve, and a quality-of-life questionnaire were evaluated. Results. Each group comprised 20 patients. Uncorrected intermediate visual acuities and uncorrected near visual acuity were better in SN6AD1 group than in SN60WF group (P = 0.005, P = 0.011, and P < 0.001). In SN6AD1 group, the uncorrected intermediate and near visual acuities 1 year and 2 years postoperatively were reduced than postoperative 3-month outcomes, respectively. SN6AD1 group reported superior overall spectacle independence and inferior satisfaction. SN6AD1 group had a longer reading newspaper duration than SN60WF group (P = 0.036). When using mobile phone, SN6AD1 group had a more comfortable distance than SN60WF group (P < 0.001) and higher speed of reading fixed text message (P < 0.001). Conclusion. SN6AD1 MIOL provided a satisfactory full range of visual acuities and questionnaire performance 2 years postoperatively. One-year and 2-year uncorrected near and intermediate visual acuities of SN6AD1 MIOL were lower than those 3 months postoperatively

Time trends and heterogeneity in the disease burden of visual impairment due to cataract, 1990–2019: A global analysis

ObjectivesThis study aimed to estimate the disease burden of cataract and evaluate the contributions of risk factors to cataract-associated disability-adjusted life years (DALYs).Materials and methodsPrevalence and DALYs of visual impairment due to cataract were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study 2019 to explore time trends and annual changes. Regional and country-level socioeconomic indexes were obtained from open databases. The time trend of prevalence and DALYs was demonstrated. Stepwise multiple linear regression was used to evaluate associations between the age-standardized rate of DALYs of cataract and potential predictors.ResultsGlobal Prevalence rate of visual impairment due to cataract rose by 58.45% to 1,253.9 per 100,000 population (95% CI: 1,103.3 to 1,417.7 per 100,000 population) in 2019 and the DALYs rate rose by 32.18% from 65.3 per 100,000 population (95% CI: 46.4 to 88.2 per 100,000 population) in 1990 to 86.3 per 100,000 population (95% CI: 61.5 to 116.4 per 100,000 population) in 2019. Stepwise multiple linear regression model showed that higher refractive error prevalence (β = 0.036, 95% CI: 0.022, 0.050, P &lt; 0.001), lower number of physicians per 10,000 population (β = −0.959, 95% CI: −1.685, −0.233, P = 0.010), and lower level of HDI (β = −134.93, 95% CI: −209.84, −60.02, P = 0.001) were associated with a higher disease burden of cataract.ConclusionSubstantial increases in the prevalence of visual impairment and DALYs of cataract were observed from 1990 to 2019. Successful global initiatives targeting improving cataract surgical rate and quality, especially in regions with lower socioeconomic status, is a prerequisite to combating this growing burden of cataract in the aging society

A Novel Diagnostic Nomogram for Noninvasive Evaluating Liver Fibrosis in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection

Objective. To establish a novel nomogram for diagnosing liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and verify the diagnostic performance of the established nomogram. Methods. Patients with chronic HBV infection who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled in this retrospective study; 70% and 30% of patients were randomly assigned to training dataset and validation dataset, respectively. The risk factors for liver fibrosis were screened using the univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Based on the results, a nomogram was established and verified. Results. 508 patients with chronic HBV infection were included in this study (n=355 for training dataset and n=153 for validation dataset). The logistic regression analysis showed that liver stiffness measurement (LSM), platelet (PLT) count, and prothrombin time (PT) were independent risk factors for liver fibrosis (P<0.01), which were used to establish the nomogram. The consistency index (C-index) of the nomogram established for diagnosing liver fibrosis was 0.875. The calibration line and the ideal line were consistent, which indicated that diagnosis of liver fibrosis by the established model was accurate. The values of area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve (AUROC) for diagnosing liver fibrosis by the nomogram were 0.857 and 0.862 in the training dataset and validation dataset, respectively, which were noticeably higher than those in the well-known serological models, including the aspartate aminotransferase- (AST-) to-platelet ratio index (APRI) scoring model, fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) scoring model, APAG model (including age, PT, albumin, and γ-glutamyl transferase), and S-index model (all P<0.05). Conclusion. LSM, PT, and PLT were found as independent risk factors for liver fibrosis. The established nomogram exhibited an excellent diagnostic performance, and it can more visually and individually evaluate the probability of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic HBV infection

Significance of Methylation of FBP1 Gene in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Because NSCLC has poor overall prognosis and is frequently diagnosed at later stage, we aimed to seek novel diagnosis biomarkers or therapy target of the disease in this study. Fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase 1 (FBP1) is a rate-limiting enzyme in gluconeogenesis, which was usually lost in NSCLC due to abnormal methylation in promoter DNA sequence. The clinical data indicated that the methylation rate in FBP1 gene promoter was negatively related to the overall survival of the NSCLC patients. DNA methylation transferase inhibitor 5-aza treatment could significantly increase both expression levels of mRNA and protein in A549 cell line. On the other hand, silence of FBP1 in H460 cell line by using specific siRNA against FBP1 dramatically improved the cell proliferation and cell migration according to the date of FACS and transwell assays. All these findings implied the important roles of FBP1 expression in lung cancer development and progression and the potential use of the methylation status detected in FBP1 promoter region as a novel predictor for prognosis and therapeutic target for NSCLC patients

Additional file 7: Table S3. of Isolation and characterization of putative functional long terminal repeat retrotransposons in the Pyrus genome

Genome size of Pyrus species and related species. (DOCX 19 kb

Surgical Site Infections Caused by Highly Virulent Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Sequence Type 398, China

We identified 2 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains of sequence type 398 from surgical site infections in China. Genetic analysis and clinical data from these strains suggested that they were human-related but sporadic. Hemolysis analysis and mouse-skin infection models indicated a high virulence potential for these strains

Time trends, associations and prevalence of blindness and vision loss due to glaucoma: an analysis of observational data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

OBJECTIVE: To estimate global prevalence of blindness and vision loss caused by glaucoma, and to evaluate the impact of socioeconomic factors on it. DESIGN: A population-based observational study. SETTING: The prevalence of blindness and vision loss due to glaucoma were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 database. The Human Development Index (HDI), inequality-adjusted HDI and other socioeconomic data were acquired from international open databases. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The prevalence of blindness and vision loss due to glaucoma by age, gender, subregion and Socio-Demographic Index (SDI) levels. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to explore the associations between the prevalence and socioeconomic indicators. RESULTS: The overall age-standardised prevalence of blindness and vision loss due to glaucoma worldwide was 81.5 per 100 000 in 1990 and 75.6 per 100 000 in 2017. In 2017, men had a higher age-standardised prevalence than women (6.07% vs 5.42%), and the worldwide prevalence increased with age, from 0.5 per 100 000 in the 45–49 year age group to 112.9 per 100 000 among those 70+. Eastern Mediterranean and African regions had the highest prevalence during the whole period, while the Americas region had the lowest prevalence. The prevalence was highest in low-SDI and low-income regions while lowest in high-SDI and high-income regions over the past 27 years. Multiple linear regression showed cataract surgery rate (β=−0.01, p=0.009), refractive error prevalence (β=−0.03, p=0.024) and expected years of schooling (β= -8.33, p=0.035) were associated with lower prevalence, while gross national income per capita (β=0.002, p<0.001) was associated with higher prevalence. CONCLUSIONS: Lower socioeconomic levels and worse access to eyecare services are associated with higher prevalence of glaucoma-related blindness and vision loss. These findings provide evidence for policy-makers that investments in these areas may reduce the burden of the leading cause of irreversible blindness

Table1_Intestinal microbiome-targeted therapies improve liver function in alcohol-related liver disease by restoring bifidobacteria: a systematic review and meta-analysis.DOCX

Objective: To systematically evaluate the efficacy of intestinal microbiome-targeted therapies (MTTs) in alcohol-related liver disease (ALD).Methods: With pre-specified keywords and strategies, we searched databases including Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMBASE, CNKI, Wanfang Data, and Weipu for RCTs on intestinal MTTs in ALD patients from January 2000 to May 2021. Two researchers independently conducted literature screening, data extraction, and quality evaluation according to the eligible criteria. Outcomes of interest included the effects of intestinal MTTs on ALT, AST, GGT, TBIL, TNF-α, IL-6, intestinal Escherichia coli, and Bifidobacteria when compared to the control group. Pooled data were compiled and analyzed with Revman 5.4 software.Results: Among 5 RCTs included with 456 ALD patients who received probiotics, the therapeutic pooled effects in the experimental group were the followings: ALT (MD = −7.16.95% CI: 10.71∼-3.60; p Conclusion: Intestinal MTTs can significantly improve liver function, associated with the increase of intestinal Bifidobacteria, which may be beneficial to ALD.Systematic Review Registration:https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42021246067, Identifier CRD42021246067.</p