Broadband nonlinear modulation of incoherent light using a transparent optoelectronic neuron array

Nonlinear optical processing of ambient natural light is highly desired in computational imaging and sensing applications. A strong optical nonlinear response that can work under weak broadband incoherent light is essential for this purpose. Here we introduce an optoelectronic nonlinear filter array that can address this emerging need. By merging 2D transparent phototransistors (TPTs) with liquid crystal (LC) modulators, we create an optoelectronic neuron array that allows self-amplitude modulation of spatially incoherent light, achieving a large nonlinear contrast over a broad spectrum at orders-of-magnitude lower intensity than what is achievable in most optical nonlinear materials. For a proof-of-concept demonstration, we fabricated a 10,000-pixel array of optoelectronic neurons, each serving as a nonlinear filter, and experimentally demonstrated an intelligent imaging system that uses the nonlinear response to instantly reduce input glares while retaining the weaker-intensity objects within the field of view of a cellphone camera. This intelligent glare-reduction capability is important for various imaging applications, including autonomous driving, machine vision, and security cameras. Beyond imaging and sensing, this optoelectronic neuron array, with its rapid nonlinear modulation for processing incoherent broadband light, might also find applications in optical computing, where nonlinear activation functions that can work under ambient light conditions are highly sought.Comment: 20 Pages, 5 Figure

Functional analysis of the C-reactive protein (CRP) gene -717A>G polymorphism associated with coronary heart disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Atherosclerosis underlies the major pathophysiological mechanisms of coronary heart disease (CHD), and inflammation contributes to all phases of atherosclerosis. C-reactive protein (CRP), a sensitive, but nonspecific marker of inflammation has been shown to play proatherogenic roles in the process of atherosclerosis. Our previous report showed that rs2794521 (-717A>G), located in the promoter of the CRP gene, was independently associated with CHD in Chinese subjects. In the present study, we tried to investigate the biological significance of this genetic variation <it>in vitro</it>.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The influence of G to A substitution at the site of rs2794521 on the transcriptional activity of the promoter of the CRP gene was assessed by luciferase reporter assay, and protein binding to the site of rs2794521 was detected by EMSA assay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The G to A exchange at the site of rs2794521 resulted in an increased transcriptional activity of the promoter of CRP gene, and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) protein factor bound drastically differently to the A and G alleles at the site of rs2794521.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results provided functional evidence supporting the association of the SNP rs2794521 of the CRP gene with CHD probably through regulating the expression level of CRP by different variations of rs2794521.</p

Emilin1 gene and essential hypertension: a two-stage association study in northern Han Chinese population

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Elastogenesis of elastic extracellular matrix (ECM) which was recognized as a major component of blood vessels has been believed for a long time to play only a passive role in the dynamic vascular changes of typical hypertension. Emilin1 gene participated in the transcription of ECM's formation and was recognized to modulate links TGF-β maturation to blood pressure homeostasis in animal study. Recently relevant advances urge further researches to investigate the role of Emilin1 gene in regulating TGF-β signals involved in elastogenesis and vascular cell defects of essential hypertension (EH).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We designed a two-stage case-control study and selected three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs3754734, rs2011616 and rs2304682 from the HapMap database, which covered Emilin1 gene. Totally 2,586 subjects were recruited from the International Collaborative Study of Cardiovascular Disease in Asia (InterASIA). In stage 1, all the three SNPs of the Emilin1 gene were genotyped and tested within a subsample including 503 cases and 490 controls, significant SNPs would enter into stage 2 including 814 cases with hypertension and 779 controls and analyze on the basis of testing total 2,586 subjects.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In stage 1, single locus analyses showed that SNPs rs3754734 and rs2011616 had significant association with EH (P < 0.05). In stage 2, weak association for dominant model were observed by age stratification and odds ratio (ORs) of TG+GG vs. TT of rs3754734 were 0.768 (0.584-1.009), 0.985 (0.735-1.320) and 1.346 (1.003-1.806) in < 50, 50-59 and ≥ 60 years group and ORs of GA+AA vs. GG of rs2011616 were 0.745 (0.568-0.977), 1.013 (0.758-1.353) and 1.437 (1.072-1.926) in < 50, 50-59 and ≥ 60 years group respectively. Accordingly, significant interactions were detected between genotypes of rs3754734 and rs2011616 and age for EH, and ORs were 1.758 (1.180-2.620), P = 0.006 and 1.903 (1.281-2.825), P = 0.001, respectively. Results of haplotypes analysis showed that there weren't any haplotypes associated with EH directly, but the interaction of hap2 (GA) and age-group found to be significant after being adjusted for the covariates, OR was 1.220 (1.031-1.444), P value was 0.020.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings don't support positive association of Emilin1 gene with EH, but the interaction of age and genotype variation of rs3754734 and rs2011616 might increase the risk to hypertension.</p

Association of the PHACTR1/EDN1 genetic locus with spontaneous coronary artery dissection

Background: Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is an increasingly recognized cause of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) afflicting predominantly younger to middle-aged women. Observational studies have reported a high prevalence of extracoronary vascular anomalies, especially fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD) and a low prevalence of coincidental cases of atherosclerosis. PHACTR1/EDN1 is a genetic risk locus for several vascular diseases, including FMD and coronary artery disease, with the putative causal noncoding variant at the rs9349379 locus acting as a potential enhancer for the endothelin-1 (EDN1) gene. Objectives: This study sought to test the association between the rs9349379 genotype and SCAD. Methods: Results from case control studies from France, United Kingdom, United States, and Australia were analyzed to test the association with SCAD risk, including age at first event, pregnancy-associated SCAD (P-SCAD), and recurrent SCAD. Results: The previously reported risk allele for FMD (rs9349379-A) was associated with a higher risk of SCAD in all studies. In a meta-analysis of 1,055 SCAD patients and 7,190 controls, the odds ratio (OR) was 1.67 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.50 to 1.86) per copy of rs9349379-A. In a subset of 491 SCAD patients, the OR estimate was found to be higher for the association with SCAD in patients without FMD (OR: 1.89; 95% CI: 1.53 to 2.33) than in SCAD cases with FMD (OR: 1.60; 95% CI: 1.28 to 1.99). There was no effect of genotype on age at first event, P-SCAD, or recurrence. Conclusions: The first genetic risk factor for SCAD was identified in the largest study conducted to date for this condition. This genetic link may contribute to the clinical overlap between SCAD and FMD

Identify QTLs and candidate genes underlying source-, sink-, and grain yield-related traits in rice by integrated analysis of bi-parental and natural populations.

The source-sink relationship determines the ultimate grain yield of rice. In this study, we used a set of reciprocal introgression lines (ILs) derived from Xuishui09 × IR2061 to map quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that were associated with sink-, source-, and grain yield-related traits. A total of 95 QTLs influencing eight measured traits were identified using 6181 high-quality single nucleotide polymorphism markers. Nine background-independent QTLs were consistently detected in seven chromosomal regions in different genetic backgrounds. Seven QTLs clusters simultaneously affected sink-, source-, and grain yield-related traits, probably due to the genetic basis of significant correlations of grain yield with source and sink traits. We selected 15 candidate genes in the four QTLs consistently identified in the two populations by performing gene-based association and haplotype analyses using 2288 accessions from the 3K project. Among these, LOC_Os03g48970 for qTSN3b, LOC_Os06g04710 for qFLL6a, and LOC_Os07g32510 for qTGW7 were considered as the most likely candidate genes based on functional annotations. These results provide a basis for further study of candidate genes and for the development of high-yield rice varieties by balancing source-sink relationships using marker-assisted selection

A Malicious Mining Code Detection Method Based on Multi-Features Fusion

With the continuous increase in the economic value of new digital currencies represented by Bitcoin, more and more cybercriminals use malicious code to occupy victims system resources and network resources for mining without the victims permission, thereby obtaining cryptocurrency. This type of malicious code named malicious mining code has brought considerable influence and harm to society, enterprises and users. The mining code always conceals the fact that it consumes computer resources in a way that is difficult for ordinary people to discover. This paper proposes a malicious mining code detection method based on feature fusion and machine learning. First, we analyze from static analysis methods and statistical analysis methods to extract multi-dimensional features. Then for multi-dimensional text features, feature vectors are extracted through the n-gram model and TF-IDF, and best feature vectors are selected through the classifier and we fuse these best feature vectors with other statistic features to train our detection model. Finally, automatic detection is performed based on the machine learning framework. The experimental results show that the recognition accuracy of our method can reach 98.0%, its f1 score reach 0.969, and the ROCs AUC reach 0.973

QTL mapping and candidate gene analysis of peduncle vascular bundle related traits in rice by genome-wide association study

Abstract Background The vascular bundle especially in the peduncle is one of crucial limiting factors of rice yield, and it determines how plants efficiently transport photosynthetic products, mineral nutrients and water from leaf and root to panicle. However, the genetic base of rice vascular bundle related traits in the peduncle still remains unknown. Results The 423 panel showed substantial natural variations of peduncle vascular bundle. In total, 48 quantitative trait loci/locus (QTL) affecting the eight traits were identified throughout the genome by applying a significance threshold of P < 1.0 × 10− 4. Combined determining linkage disequilibrium (LD) blocks associated with significant SNPs and haplotype analyses allowed us to shortlist six candidate genes for four important QTL regions affecting the peduncle vascular bundle traits, including one cloned gene (NAL1) and three newly identified QTL (qLVN6, qSVN7, and qSVA8.1). Further the most likely candidate genes for each important QTL were also discussed based on functional annotation. Conclusions Genetic base on peduncle vascular bundle related traits in rice was systematically dissected, and most likely candidate genes of the known gene NAL1 and the three newly identified QTL (qLVN6, qSVN7, and qSVA8.1) were analyzed. The results provided valuable information for future functional characterization and rice breeding for high yield through optimizing transportation efficiency of photosynthetic products by marker-assisted selection

The Effects of Sleeve Gastrectomy on Glucose Metabolism and Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 in Goto-Kakizaki Rats

Purpose. To investigate the effects of sleeve gastrectomy (SG) on glucose metabolism and changes in glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) in Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats. Methods. GK rats were randomly assigned to one of three groups: SG, SG pair-fed plus sham surgery (PF-sham), and ad libitum-fed no surgery (control). Food intake, body weight, blood glucose, GLP-1 and insulin levels, and GLP-1 expression in the jejunum and ileum were compared. Results. The SG rats exhibited lower postoperative food intake, body weight, and fasting glucose than did the control rats (P<0.05). SG significantly improved glucose and insulin tolerance (P<0.05). Plasma GLP-1 levels were higher in SG rats than in control or PF-sham rats in the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) (P<0.05). Blood glucose levels expressed as a percentage of baseline were higher in SG rats than in control rats after exendin (9-39) administration (P<0.05). The levels of GLP-1 expression in the jejunum and ileum were higher in SG rats than in PF-sham and control rats (P<0.05). Conclusions. Improvement of glucose metabolism by SG was associated with increased GLP-1 secretion. SG contributes to an increase in plasma GLP-1 levels via increased GLP-1 expression in the mucosa of the jejunum and/or ileum