Modeling the pulse signal by wave-shape function and analyzing by synchrosqueezing transform

We apply the recently developed adaptive non-harmonic model based on the wave-shape function, as well as the time-frequency analysis tool called synchrosqueezing transform (SST) to model and analyze oscillatory physiological signals. To demonstrate how the model and algorithm work, we apply them to study the pulse wave signal. By extracting features called the spectral pulse signature, {and} based on functional regression, we characterize the hemodynamics from the radial pulse wave signals recorded by the sphygmomanometer. Analysis results suggest the potential of the proposed signal processing approach to extract health-related hemodynamics features

Pathogenesis and treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and its fibrosis

The initial presentation of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is hepatic steatosis. The dysfunction of lipid metabolism within hepatocytes caused by genetic factors, diet, and insulin resistance causes lipid accumulation. Lipotoxicity, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and endoplasmic reticulum stress would further contribute to hepatocyte injury and death, leading to inflammation and immune dysfunction in the liver. During the healing process, the accumulation of an excessive amount of fibrosis might occur while healing. During the development of NASH and liver fibrosis, the gut-liver axis, adipose-liver axis, and renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may be dysregulated and impaired. Translocation of bacteria or its end-products entering the liver could activate hepatocytes, Kupffer cells, and hepatic stellate cells, exacerbating hepatic steatosis, inflammation, and fibrosis. Bile acids regulate glucose and lipid metabolism through Farnesoid X receptors in the liver and intestine. Increased adipose tissue-derived non-esterified fatty acids would aggravate hepatic steatosis. Increased leptin also plays a role in hepatic fibrogenesis, and decreased adiponectin may contribute to hepatic insulin resistance. Moreover, dysregulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors in the liver, adipose, and muscle tissues may impair lipid metabolism. In addition, the RAS may contribute to hepatic fatty acid metabolism, inflammation, and fibrosis. The treatment includes lifestyle modification, pharmacological therapy, and non-pharmacological therapy. Currently, weight reduction by lifestyle modification or surgery is the most effective therapy. However, vitamin E, pioglitazone, and obeticholic acid have also been suggested. In this review, we will introduce some new clinical trials and experimental therapies for the treatment of NASH and related fibrosis

The effect of exercise on the risk of metabolic syndrome associated with sleep insufficiency: a cross-sectional study

IntroductionSleep disturbance and insufficient sleep have been linked to metabolic syndrome, increasing cardiovascular disease and mortality risk. However, few studies investigate the joint effect of sleep and exercise on metabolic syndrome. We hypothesized that regular exercise can mitigate the exacerbation of metabolic syndrome by sleep insufficiency.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate whether exercise can attenuate or eliminate the relationship between sleep insufficiency and metabolic syndrome.MethodA total of 6,289 adults (mean age = 33.96 years; women: 74.81%) were included in the study, a cross-sectional study conducted based on the results of employee health screening questionnaires and databases from a large healthcare system in central Taiwan. Participants reported sleep insufficiency or not. Self-reported exercise habits were classified into 3 levels: no exercise, exercise <150 min/week, and exercise ≧150 min/week. Multiple logistic regression and sensitivity analyses were conducted to understand the joint associations of sleep patterns and exercise with metabolic syndrome with exposure variables combining sleep duration/disturbances and PA.ResultsCompared with the reference group (sufficient sleep), individuals with sleep insufficiency had a higher risk for metabolic syndrome [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.40, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.01–1.94, p < 0.05] in females aged 40–64 years, but not in other populations. Sleep insufficiency was not associated with the risk of metabolic syndrome among individuals achieving an exercise level of <150 min/week, and in particular among those achieving ≧150 min/week in all populations in our study.ConclusionSleep insufficiency was related to a higher risk of metabolic syndrome in female healthcare staff aged 40–64 years. Being physically active with exercise habits in these individuals, the risk of metabolic syndrome was no longer significant

Screening and Evaluation of Polyhydroxybutyrate-Producing Strains from Indigenous Isolate Cupriavidus taiwanensis Strains

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is a biodegradable material with many potential biomedical applications, including medical implants and drug delivery. This study developed a system for screening production strains in order to optimize PHA production in Cupriavidus taiwanensis 184, 185, 186, 187, 204, 208, 209 and Pseudomona oleovorans ATCC 29347. In this study, Sudan black B staining, Infrared (IR) and Gas Chromatography (GC) analysis indicated that the best strain for PHA synthesis is C. taiwanensis 184, which obtains polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB). Cultivation of C. taiwanensis 184 under a pH of 7.0, at 30 °C, and at an agitation rate of 200 rpm, obtained a PHB content of 10% and PHB production of 0.14 g/L. The carbon and nitrogen types selected for analysis of PHB production by C. taiwanensis 184 were gluconic acid and NH4Cl, respectively. Optimal carbon/nitrogen ratio for PHB production was also determined. This study demonstrated a PHB content of 58.81% and a PHB production of 2.44 g/L when the carbon/nitrogen ratio of 8/1 was selected for C. taiwanensis 184. A two-stage fermentation strategy significantly enhanced PHB content and PHB production. Under a two-stage fermentation strategy with nutrient-limited conditions, C. taiwanensis 184 obtained a PHB content of 72% and a PHB concentration of 7 g/L. Finally, experimental results confirmed that optimizing the growth medium and fermentation conditions for cultivating the indigenous C. taiwanensis 184 strain substantially elevated PHB content from 10% to 72% and PHB production from 0.14 g/L to 7 g/L, respectively

Novel Quinazolinone MJ-29 Triggers Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Intrinsic Apoptosis in Murine Leukemia WEHI-3 Cells and Inhibits Leukemic Mice

The present study was to explore the biological responses of the newly compound, MJ-29 in murine myelomonocytic leukemia WEHI-3 cells in vitro and in vivo fates. We focused on the in vitro effects of MJ-29 on ER stress and mitochondria-dependent apoptotic death in WEHI-3 cells, and to hypothesize that MJ-29 might fully impair the orthotopic leukemic mice. Our results indicated that a concentration-dependent decrease of cell viability was shown in MJ-29-treated cells. DNA content was examined utilizing flow cytometry, whereas apoptotic populations were determined using annexin V/PI, DAPI staining and TUNEL assay. Increasing vital factors of mitochondrial dysfunction by MJ-29 were further investigated. Thus, MJ-29-provaked apoptosis of WEHI-3 cells is mediated through the intrinsic pathway. Importantly, intracellular Ca2+ release and ER stress-associated signaling also contributed to MJ-29-triggered cell apoptosis. We found that MJ-29 stimulated the protein levels of calpain 1, CHOP and p-eIF2α pathways in WEHI-3 cells. In in vivo experiments, intraperitoneal administration of MJ-29 significantly improved the total survival rate, enhanced body weight and attenuated enlarged spleen and liver tissues in leukemic mice. The infiltration of immature myeloblastic cells into splenic red pulp was reduced in MJ-29-treated leukemic mice. Moreover, MJ-29 increased the differentiations of T and B cells but decreased that of macrophages and monocytes. Additionally, MJ-29-stimulated immune responses might be involved in anti-leukemic activity in vivo. Based on these observations, MJ-29 suppresses WEHI-3 cells in vitro and in vivo, and it is proposed that this potent and selective agent could be a new chemotherapeutic candidate for anti-leukemia in the future

The population of merging compact binaries inferred using gravitational waves through GWTC-3

We report on the population properties of 76 compact binary mergers detected with gravitational waves below a false alarm rate of 1 per year through GWTC-3. The catalog contains three classes of binary mergers: BBH, BNS, and NSBH mergers. We infer the BNS merger rate to be between 10 $\rm{Gpc^{-3} yr^{-1}}$ and 1700 $\rm{Gpc^{-3} yr^{-1}}$ and the NSBH merger rate to be between 7.8 $\rm{Gpc^{-3}\, yr^{-1}}$ and 140 $\rm{Gpc^{-3} yr^{-1}}$ , assuming a constant rate density versus comoving volume and taking the union of 90% credible intervals for methods used in this work. Accounting for the BBH merger rate to evolve with redshift, we find the BBH merger rate to be between 17.9 $\rm{Gpc^{-3}\, yr^{-1}}$ and 44 $\rm{Gpc^{-3}\, yr^{-1}}$ at a fiducial redshift (z=0.2). We obtain a broad neutron star mass distribution extending from $1.2^{+0.1}_{-0.2} M_\odot$ to $2.0^{+0.3}_{-0.3} M_\odot$. We can confidently identify a rapid decrease in merger rate versus component mass between neutron star-like masses and black-hole-like masses, but there is no evidence that the merger rate increases again before 10 $M_\odot$. We also find the BBH mass distribution has localized over- and under-densities relative to a power law distribution. While we continue to find the mass distribution of a binary's more massive component strongly decreases as a function of primary mass, we observe no evidence of a strongly suppressed merger rate above $\sim 60 M_\odot$. The rate of BBH mergers is observed to increase with redshift at a rate proportional to $(1+z)^{\kappa}$ with $\kappa = 2.9^{+1.7}_{-1.8}$ for $z\lesssim 1$. Observed black hole spins are small, with half of spin magnitudes below $\chi_i \simeq 0.25$. We observe evidence of negative aligned spins in the population, and an increase in spin magnitude for systems with more unequal mass ratio

Diving below the spin-down limit:constraints on gravitational waves from the energetic young pulsar PSR J0537-6910

We present a search for continuous gravitational-wave signals from the young, energetic X-ray pulsar PSR J0537-6910 using data from the second and third observing runs of LIGO and Virgo. The search is enabled by a contemporaneous timing ephemeris obtained using NICER data. The NICER ephemeris has also been extended through 2020 October and includes three new glitches. PSR J0537-6910 has the largest spin-down luminosity of any pulsar and is highly active with regards to glitches. Analyses of its long-term and inter-glitch braking indices provided intriguing evidence that its spin-down energy budget may include gravitational-wave emission from a time-varying mass quadrupole moment. Its 62 Hz rotation frequency also puts its possible gravitational-wave emission in the most sensitive band of LIGO/Virgo detectors. Motivated by these considerations, we search for gravitational-wave emission at both once and twice the rotation frequency. We find no signal, however, and report our upper limits. Assuming a rigidly rotating triaxial star, our constraints reach below the gravitational-wave spin-down limit for this star for the first time by more than a factor of two and limit gravitational waves from the l = m = 2 mode to account for less than 14% of the spin-down energy budget. The fiducial equatorial ellipticity is limited to less than about 3 x 10⁻⁵, which is the third best constraint for any young pulsar