A Fast Algorithm to Compute Maximum k-Plexes in Social Network Analysis

A clique model is one of the most important techniques on the cohesive subgraph detection; however, its applications are rather limited due to restrictive conditions of the model. Hence much research resorts to k-plex — a graph in which any vertex is adjacent to all but at most k vertices — which is a relaxation model of the clique. In this paper, we study the maximum k-plex problem and propose a fast algorithm to compute maximum k-plexes by exploiting structural properties of the problem. In an n-vertex graph, the algorithm computes optimal solutions in cnnO(1) time for a constant c < 2 depending only on k. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first algorithm that breaks the trivial theoretical bound of 2n for each k ≥ 3. We also provide experimental results over multiple real-world social network instances in support

A method to prolong lithium-ion battery life during the full life cycle

Extended lifetime of lithium-ion batteries decreases economic costs and environmental burdens in achieving sustainable development. Cycle life tests are conducted on 18650-type commercial batteries, exhibiting nonlinear and inconsistent degradation. The accelerated fade dispersion is proposed to be triggered by the evolution of an additional potential of the anode during cycling as measured vs. Li$^+$/Li. A method to prolong the battery cycle lifetime is proposed, in which the lower cutoff voltage is raised to 3 V when the battery reaches a capacity degradation threshold. The results demonstrate a 38.1% increase in throughput at 70% of their beginning of life (BoL) capacity. The method is applied to two other types of lithium-ion batteries. A cycle lifetime extension of 16.7% and 33.7% is achieved at 70% of their BoL capacity, respectively. The proposed method enables lithium-ion batteries to provide long service time, cost savings, and environmental relief while facilitating suitable second-use applications

The potential role of the orexin system in premenstrual syndrome

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) occurs recurrently during the luteal phase of a woman’s menstrual cycle and disappears after menstruation ends. It is characterized by abnormal changes in both the body and mood, and in certain cases, severe disruptions in daily life and even suicidal tendencies. Current drugs for treating PMS, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, do not yield satisfactory results. Orexin, a neuropeptide produced in the lateral hypothalamus, is garnering attention in the treatment of neurological disorders and is believed to modulate the symptoms of PMS. This paper reviews the advancements in research on sleep disturbances, mood changes, and cognitive impairment caused by PMS, and suggests potential pathways for orexin to address these symptoms. Furthermore, it delves into the role of orexin in the molecular mechanisms underlying PMS. Orexin regulates steroid hormones, and the cyclic fluctuations of estrogen and progesterone play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of PMS. Additionally, orexin also modulates the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system and the inflammatory response involved in coordinating the mechanism of PMS. Unraveling the role of orexin in the pathogenesis of PMS will not only aid in understanding the etiology of PMS but also hold implications for orexin as a novel target for treating PMS

The NLRP3 inflammasome is involved in resident intruder paradigm-induced aggressive behaviors in mice

Background: Aggressive behaviors are one of the most important negative behaviors that seriously endangers human health. Also, the central para-inflammation of microglia triggered by stress can affect neurological function, plasticity, and behavior. NLRP3 integrates stress-related signals and is a key driver of this neural para-inflammation. However, it is unclear whether the NLRP3 inflammasome is implicated in the development of aggressive behaviors.Methods: First, aggressive behavior model mice were established using the resident intruder paradigm. Then, aggressive behaviors were determined with open-field tests (OFT), elevated plus-maze (EPM), and aggressive behavior tests (AT). Moreover, the expression of P2X7R and NLRP3 inflammasome complexes were assessed by immunofluorescence and Western blot. The levels of NLRP3 and inflammatory cytokines were evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Finally, nerve plasticity damage was observed by immunofluorescence, transmission electron microscope, and BrdU staining.Results: Overall, the resident intruder paradigm induced aggressive behaviors, activated the hippocampal P2X7R and NLRP3 inflammasome, and promoted the release of proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β in mice. Moreover, NLRP3 knockdown, administration of P2X7R antagonist (A804598), and IL-1β blocker (IL-1Ra) prevented NLRP3 inflammasome-driven inflammatory responses and ameliorated resident intruder paradigm-induced aggressive behaviors. Also, the resident intruder paradigm promoted the activation of mouse microglia, damaging synapses in the hippocampus, and suppressing hippocampal regeneration in mice. Besides, NLRP3 knockdown, administration of A804598, and IL-1Ra inhibited the activation of microglia, improved synaptic damage, and restored hippocampal regeneration.Conclusion: The NLRP3 inflammasome-driven inflammatory response contributed to resident intruder paradigm-induced aggressive behavior, which might be related to neuroplasticity. Therefore, the NLRP3 inflammasome can be a potential target to treat aggressive behavior-related mental illnesses

Identification and Validation of Immune-Related Gene Prognostic Signature for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Immune-related genes (IRGs) have been identified as critical drivers of the initiation and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study is aimed at constructing an IRG signature for HCC and validating its prognostic value in clinical application. The prognostic signature was developed by integrating multiple IRG expression data sets from TCGA and GEO databases. The IRGs were then combined with clinical features to validate the robustness of the prognostic signature through bioinformatics tools. A total of 1039 IRGs were identified in the 657 HCC samples. Subsequently, the IRGs were subjected to univariate Cox regression and LASSO Cox regression analyses in the training set to construct an IRG signature comprising nine immune-related gene pairs (IRGPs). Functional analyses revealed that the nine IRGPs were associated with tumor immune mechanisms, including cell proliferation, cell-mediated immunity, and tumorigenesis signal pathway. Concerning the overall survival rate, the IRGPs distinctly grouped the HCC samples into the high- and low-risk groups. Also, we found that the risk score based on nine IRGPs was related to clinical and pathologic factors and remained a valid independent prognostic signature after adjusting for tumor TNM, grade, and grade in multivariate Cox regression analyses. The prognostic value of the nine IRGPs was further validated by forest and nomogram plots, which revealed that it was superior to the tumor TNM, grade, and stage. Our findings suggest that the nine-IRGP signature can be effective in determining the disease outcomes of HCC patients

Anti-colorectal cancer of Ardisia gigantifolia Stapf. and targets prediction via network pharmacology and molecular docking study

Abstract Background Ardisia gigantifolia Stapf. (AGS), a Chinese folk medicine widely grows in the south of China and several studies reported that AGS could inhibit the proliferation of breast cancer, liver cancer, and bladder cancer cell lines. However, little is known about its anti-colorectal cancer (CRC) efficiency. Methods In the present study, a combination of MTT assay, network pharmacological analysis, bioinformatics, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulation study was used to investigate the active ingredients, and targets of AGS against CRC, as well as the potential mechanism. Results MTT assay showed that three kinds of fractions from AGS, including the n-butanol extract (NBAGS), ethyl acetate fraction (EAAGS), and petroleum ether fraction (PEAGS) significantly inhibited the proliferation of CRC cells, with the IC50 values of 197.24, 264.85, 15.45 µg/mL on HCT116 cells, and 523.6, 323.59, 150.31 µg/mL on SW620 cells, respectively. Eleven active ingredients, including, 11-O-galloylbergenin, 11-O-protocatechuoylbergenin, 11-O-syringylbergenin, ardisiacrispin B, bergenin, epicatechin-3-gallate, gallic acid, quercetin, stigmasterol, stigmasterol-3-o-β-D-glucopyranoside were identified. A total of 173 targets related to the bioactive components and 21,572 targets related to CRC were picked out through database searching. Based on the crossover targets of AGS and CRC, a protein-protein interaction network was built up by the String database, from which it was concluded that the core targets would be SRC, MAPK1, ESR1, HSP90AA1, MAPK8. Besides, GO analysis showed that the numbers of biological process, cellular component, and molecular function of AGS against CRC were 1079, 44, and 132, respectively, and KEGG pathway enrichment indicated that 96 signaling pathways in all would probably be involved in AGS against CRC, among which MAPK signaling pathway, lipid, and atherosclerosis, proteoglycans in cancer, prostate cancer, adherens junction would probably be the major pathways. The docking study verified that AGS had multiple ingredients and multiple targets against CRC. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation analysis showed that the binding would be stable via forming hydrogen bonds. Conclusion Our study showed that AGS had good anti-CRC potency with the characteristics of multi-ingredients, -targets, and -signaling pathways

Complete Technical Scheme for Automatic Biological Dose Estimation Platform

To establish a complete technical solution for the automatic radiation biological dose estimation platform for biological dose estimation and classification of the wounded in large-scale radiation accidents, the “dose–effect curve by dicentric chromosome (DIC) automatic analysis” was established and its accuracy was verified. The effects of analyzed cell number and the special treatment of the culture on dose estimation by DIC automatic analysis were studied. Besides, sample processing capabilities of the special equipments were tested. The fitted “dose–effect curve by DIC automatic analysis” was presented as follows: Y = (0.01806 ± 0.00032) D 2 + (0.01279 ± 0.00084) D + (0.0004891 ± 0.0001358) ( R 2 = 0.961). Three-gradient scanning method, culture refrigeration method, and interprofessional collaboration under extreme conditions were proposed to improve the detection speed, prolong the sample processing time window, and reduce the equipment investment. In addition, the optimized device allocation ratio for the automatic biological dose estimation laboratory was proposed to eliminate the efficiency bottleneck. The complete set of technical solutions for the high-throughput automatic biological dose estimation laboratory proposed in this study can meet the requirements of early classification and rapid biological dose assessment of the wounded during the large-scale nuclear radiation events, and it is worthy of further promotion

Comparative transcriptome analysis of the different tissues between the cultivated and wild tomato.

Although domesticated tomato is cultivated by wild tomato, there are a lot of differences between cultivated tomato and wild tomato, such as shape, physiological function and life history. Many studies show that wild tomato has better salt resistance and drought resistance. In addition to, domesticated tomato's fruit is bigger and has more nutritious than wild tomato. The different features are closely related to differentially expressed genes. We identified 126 up-regulated differentially expressed genes and 87 down-regulated differentially expressed genes in cultivated tomato and wild tomato by RNA-Seq. These differentially expressed genes may be associated with salt resistance, drought resistance and fruit nutrition. These differentially expressed genes also further highlight the large-scale reconstruction between wild and cultivated species. In this paper, we mainly study GO enrichment analysis and pathway analysis of the differentially expressed genes. After GO and pathway enrichment analysis, a set of significantly enriched GO annotations and pathways were identified for the differentially expressed genes. What's more, we also identified long non-coding RNAs and mRNAs in the two species and analyzed its essential features. In addition to, we construct a co-expression network of long non-coding RNAs and mRNAs, and annotate mRNAs associated with long non-coding RNAs as target genes, and speculate the regulation function of long non-coding RNAs. In total, our results reveal the effects of artificial and natural selection on tomato's transcript, providing scientific basis for tomato's research in the future

Evidences for Chlorogenic Acid — A Major Endogenous Polyphenol Involved in Regulation of Ripening and Senescence of Apple Fruit

<div><p>To learn how the endogenous polyphenols may play a role in fruit ripening and senescence, apple pulp discs were used as a model to study the influences of chlorogenic acid (CHA, a major polyphenol in apple pulp) on fruit ripening and senescence. Apple (‘Golden Delicious’) pulp discs prepared from pre-climacteric fruit were treated with 50 mg L^-1 CHA and incubated in flasks with 10 mM MES buffer (pH 6.0, 11% sorbitol). Compared to the control samples, treatment with CHA significantly reduced ethylene production and respiration rate, and enhanced levels of firmness and soluble solids content of the pulp discs during incubation at 25°C. These results suggested that CHA could retard senescence of the apple pulp discs. Proteomics analysis with sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF) revealed that the expressions of several key proteins correlated to fruit ripening and senescence were affected by the treatment with CHA. Further study showed that treating the pulp discs with CHA remarkably reduced levels of lipoxygenase, β-galactosidase, NADP-malic enzyme, and enzymatic activities of lipoxygenase and UDP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, all of which are known as promoters of fruit ripening and senescence. These results could provide new insights into the functions of endogenous phenolic compounds in fruit ripening and senescence.</p></div