Vaginal Submucosal Dendritic Cells, but Not Langerhans Cells, Induce Protective Th1 Responses to Herpes Simplex Virus-2

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 2 infection occurs primarily at the genital mucosal surfaces and is a leading cause of ulcerative lesions. Despite the availability of animal models for HSV-2 infection, little is known regarding the mechanism of immune induction within the vaginal mucosa. Here, we examined the cell types responsible for the initiation of protective Th1 immunity to HSV-2. Intravaginal inoculation of HSV-2 led to a rapid recruitment of submucosal dendritic cells (DCs) to the infected epithelium. Subsequently, CD11c+ DCs harboring viral peptides in the context of MHC class II molecules emerged in the draining lymph nodes and were found to be responsible for the stimulation of IFNγ secretion from HSV-specific CD4+ T cells. Other antigen-presenting cells including B cells and macrophages did not present viral peptides to T cells in the draining lymph nodes. Next, we assessed the relative contribution to immune generation by the Langerhans cells in the vaginal epithelium, the submucosal CD11b+ DCs, and the CD8α+ lymph node DCs. Analysis of these DC populations from the draining lymph nodes revealed that only the CD11b+ submucosal DCs, but not Langerhans cell–derived or CD8α+ DCs, presented viral antigens to CD4+ T cells and induced IFNγ secretion. These results demonstrate a previously unanticipated role for submucosal DCs in the generation of protective Th1 immune responses to HSV-2 in the vaginal mucosa, and suggest their importance in immunity to other sexually transmitted diseases

A High Serum Level of Taurocholic Acid is Correlated with the Severity and Resolution of Drug-induced Liver Injury

Background & Aims Alterations in the serum levels of bile acids are associated with drug-induced liver injury (DILI). We investigated the association between serum levels of bile acids and the severity and outcome of DILI, along with the potential role of variants in the ATP binding cassette subfamily B member 11 ( ABCB11) gene and expression of its product, ABCB11 (also called BSEP). Methods We performed this prospective study of 95 patients (median age, 53 years; 73.7% female) with DILI from August 2018 through August 2019. Patients were matched for age, gender, and body mass index with healthy individuals (n=100; healthy controls) and patients with chronic hepatitis B (n=105; CHB controls). We collected demographic and biochemical data at baseline and 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months after DILI onset and at the time of biochemical recovery, liver failure or liver transplantation. Serum levels of bile acids were measured using high-performance liquid-chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry. All 27 exons of ABCB11 were sequenced and expression of BSEP were analyzed by immunohistochemistry in liver biopsy specimens. Results Levels of 30 of the 37 bile acids analyzed differed significantly between patients with DILI and healthy controls. Changes in levels of taurocholic acid (TCA), glycocholic acid, taurochenodeoxycholate, and glycochenodeoxycholate associated with the increased levels of bilirubin and greater severity of DILI, and were also associated with CHB. Cox regression analysis showed that only change in the levels of TCA independently associated with biochemical resolution of DILI. Combination of TCA level (≥ 1955.41 nmol/L), patient age, and DILI severity was associated with abnormal blood biochemistry at 6 months after DILI onset (area under the curve, 0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.71–0.88; sensitivity, 0.69; specificity, 0.81). ABCB11 missense variants were not associated with differences in the serum bile acid profiles, DILI severity, or clinical resolution. However, lower levels of BSEP in bile canaliculi in liver biopsies were associated with altered serum levels of bile acids. Conclusions In this prospective study performed in Chinese patients, we found that the serum levels of TCA were associated with the severity and clinical resolution of DILI. Reduced protein expression of BSEP in liver tissue, rather than variants of the ABCB11 gene were associated with altered serum levels of bile acids

A bioinformatic analysis found low expression and clinical significance of ATF4 in breast cancer

Background: Activating Transcription Factor 4 (ATF4) expression exhibits differential patterns across different types of tumors. Besides, the pathogenesis of breast cancer is complex, and the exact relationship between ATF4 and ATF4 remains uncertain. Methods: The analysis of ATF4 expression was conducted by utilizing The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) pan-cancer data, while the gene expression profile of breast cancer was checked by the comprehensive database-Gene Expression Omnibus database. In order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the specific cell types that exhibit ATF4 expression within the microenvironment of breast cancer, we conducted a single-cell analysis of ATF4 using two distinct datasets of human breast cancer (GSE114717 and GSE11088, respectively). The spatial distribution of ATF4 within a tissue was demonstrated based on datasets obtained from the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) and SpatialDB. The clinical prognostic significance of ATF4 was assessed by analyzing clinical survival data obtained from TCGA, GSE4830, and GSE25055 datasets. We used the R package clusterProfiler to carry out an enrichment analysis of ATF4. We assessed how ATF4 impacts the growth and movement of breast cancer cell lines. We manipulated ATF4 levels using plasmid transfection techniques. Results: The expression of ATF4 was found to be suboptimal and demonstrated a significant correlation with enhanced disease-specific survival (p = 0.012) and overall survival (p = 0.032) in breast cancer as well as other malignancies. We conducted an analysis to investigate the interaction between the infiltration level of immune cells and the expression of ATF4, using samples obtained from TCGA with known immune cell infiltration scores. Furthermore, a notable positive correlation exists between the elevated expression of ATF4 and immune-related genomes, specifically those associated with chemokine as well as immunity. Subsequent examination revealed a notable augmentation in the cytodifferentiation of T cells into regulatory T (Treg) cells within tissues exhibiting elevated levels of ATF4 expression. ATF4 exhibits notable upregulation in the MDA-MB-231 cell, thereby exerting a substantial impact on cell proliferation and migration upon its knockdown. Conversely, the overexpression of ATF4 in the MCF7 Luminal A breast cancer cell line can also modulate cellular function. Conclusions: Our study suggests that ATF4 helps T cells differentiate into Treg cells in breast cancer. ATF4 can represent a clinically useful biomarker to predict the overall survival rate, especially in patients with different subtypes of breast cancer. Provide certain guidance value for the development of targeted drugs or inhibitors targeting ATF4

Object Tracking in Satellite Videos Based on Correlation Filter with Multi-Feature Fusion and Motion Trajectory Compensation

As a new type of earth observation satellite approach, video satellites can continuously monitor an area of the Earth and acquire dynamic and abundant information by utilizing video imaging. Hence, video satellites can afford to track various objects of interest on the Earth's surface. Inspired by the capabilities of video satellites, this paper presents a novel method to track fast-moving objects in satellite videos based on the kernelized correlation filter (KCF) embedded with multi-feature fusion and motion trajectory compensation. The contributions of the suggested algorithm are multifold. First, a multi-feature fusion strategy is proposed to describe an object comprehensively, which is challenging for the single-feature approach. Second, a subpixel positioning method is developed to calculate the object’s position and overcome the poor tracking accuracy difficulties caused by inaccurate object localization. Third, introducing an adaptive Kalman filter (AKF) enables compensation and correction of the KCF tracker results and reduces the object’s bounding box drift, solving the moving object occlusion problem. Based on the correlation filtering tracking framework, combined with the above improvement strategies, our algorithm improves the tracking accuracy by at least 17% on average and the success rate by at least 18% on average compared to the KCF algorithm. Hence, our method effectively solves poor object tracking accuracy caused by complex backgrounds and object occlusion. The experimental results utilize satellite videos from the Jilin-1 satellite constellation and highlight the proposed algorithm's appealing tracking results against current state-of-the-art trackers regarding success rate, precision, and robustness metrics

Object Tracking in Satellite Videos Based on Correlation Filter with Multi-Feature Fusion and Motion Trajectory Compensation

As a new type of earth observation satellite approach, video satellites can continuously monitor an area of the Earth and acquire dynamic and abundant information by utilizing video imaging. Hence, video satellites can afford to track various objects of interest on the Earth\u27s surface. Inspired by the capabilities of video satellites, this paper presents a novel method to track fast-moving objects in satellite videos based on the kernelized correlation filter (KCF) embedded with multi-feature fusion and motion trajectory compensation. The contributions of the suggested algorithm are multifold. First, a multi-feature fusion strategy is proposed to describe an object comprehensively, which is challenging for the single-feature approach. Second, a subpixel positioning method is developed to calculate the object’s position and overcome the poor tracking accuracy difficulties caused by inaccurate object localization. Third, introducing an adaptive Kalman filter (AKF) enables compensation and correction of the KCF tracker results and reduces the object’s bounding box drift, solving the moving object occlusion problem. Based on the correlation filtering tracking framework, combined with the above improvement strategies, our algorithm improves the tracking accuracy by at least 17% on average and the success rate by at least 18% on average compared to the KCF algorithm. Hence, our method effectively solves poor object tracking accuracy caused by complex backgrounds and object occlusion. The experimental results utilize satellite videos from the Jilin-1 satellite constellation and highlight the proposed algorithm\u27s appealing tracking results against current state-of-the-art trackers regarding success rate, precision, and robustness metrics

Three-Dimensional Path-Following Control Method for Flying–Walking Power Line Inspection Robot Based on Improved Line of Sight

The Flying–Walking Power Line Inspection Robot (FPLIR) faces challenges in maintaining stability and reliability when operating in harsh transmission line environments with complex conditions. The robot often switches modes frequently to land accurately on the line, resulting in increasing following errors and premature or delayed switching caused by reference path switching. To address these issues, a path-following control method based on improved line of sight (LOS) is proposed. The method features an adaptive acceptance circle strategy that adjusts the radius of the acceptance circle of the path point based on the angle of the path segment and the flight speed at the time of switching, improving path-following accuracy during reference trajectory switching. Also, an adaptive heading control with vertical distance feedback is designed to prioritize different path-following methods in real time based on variations in vertical distance, achieving rapid convergence along the following path. The state feedback following control law, based on the improved LOS, achieves the stable following of the reference path, which was validated by simulations. The simulation results show that the improved LOS reduces the convergence time by 0.8 s under controllable error conditions for path angles of θ ∈ (0, π⁄2). For path angles of θ ∈ (π⁄2, π), the following error is reduced by 0.3 m, and the convergence time is reduced by 0.4 s. These results validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. This method demonstrates advantages over the traditional LOS in terms of following accuracy and convergence speed, providing theoretical references for future 3D path following for path-following robots and aerial vehicles

Development and Validity of the Adult Reading History Questionnaire (ARHQ) for Chinese

The Adult Reading History Questionnaire (ARHQ) is a popular instrument for diagnosing dyslexia in adults, yet there is no evidence to suggest its applicability in Chinese. The aim of the present study is to develop an Adult Reading History Questionnaire for Chinese (Chinese-ARHQ) and to assess its validity among Chinese adults. A total of 2439 questionnaires were collected, with 2234 usable for further analyses (Nmales = 825，Mage = 26.29 years, SD = 9.12). Among them, 184 completed the questionnaire twice, and 221 completed reading-related tests. Results showed that the Chinese-ARHQ had a good reliability. Cronbach's reliability α was 0.88 and the test-retest reliability was 0.81. Three subscales (current reading, dyslexia symptom, and memory) were extracted from exploratory factor analysis. Scores of the Chinese-ARHQ and its subscales were both related to reading and phonological skills, revealing criterion validity of the questionnaire. ROC analysis revealed that the optimal threshold of the Chinese-ARHQ was 0.36 with a sensitivity of 83.3% and a specificity of 75.9%. Additionally, adults with reading difficulty (Chinese-ARHQ ≥ 0.36) performed worse than controls on reading accuracy and phonological awareness, which further validated the Chinese-ARHQ as a reliable self-report screening tool for Chinese dyslexia in adults

Multiobjective Energy Consumption Optimization of a Flying–Walking Power Transmission Line Inspection Robot during Flight Missions Using Improved NSGA-II

In order to improve the flight efficiency of a flying–walking power transmission line inspection robot (FPTLIR) during flight missions, an accurate energy consumption model is constructed, and a multiobjective optimization approach using the improved NSGA-II is proposed to address the high energy consumption and long execution time. The energy consumption model is derived from the FPTLIR kinematics to the motor dynamics, with the key parameters validated using a test platform. A multiobjective optimization model is proposed that considers many constraints related to the FPTLIR during missions, offering a comprehensive analysis of the energy consumption and execution time. The NSGA-II algorithm is improved by integrating the Cauchy variation operator and the simulated annealing algorithm, which is used to construct the multiobjective optimization approach. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model accurately predicts the energy consumption of the FPTLIR across different paths and flight conditions with an average relative error ranging from 0.76% to 3.24%. After optimization, energy savings of 5.33% and 5.01% are achieved for on-line and off-line missions, respectively, while maintaining the shortest execution time at the given energy level. The energy consumption optimization approach significantly improves the flight efficiency of the system, providing a reference for analyzing and optimizing energy consumption of inspection robots

<i>Hand2os1</i> Regulates the Secretion of Progesterone in Mice Corpus Luteum

The corpus luteum plays a key role in pregnancy maintenance and estrous cycle regulation by secreting progesterone. Hand2os1 is an lncRNA located upstream of Hand2, with which a bidirectional promoter is shared and is involved in the regulation of cardiac development and embryo implantation in mice. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression and regulation of Hand2os1 in the ovaries. Here, we used RNAscope to detect differential expression of Hand2os1 in the ovaries of cycling and pregnant mice. Hand2os1 was specifically detected in luteal cells during the proestrus and estrus phases, showing its highest expression in the corpus luteum at estrus. Additionally, Hand2os1 was strongly expressed in the corpus luteum on day 4 of pregnancy, but the positive signal progressively disappeared after day 8, was detected again on day 18, and gradually decreased after delivery. Hand2os1 significantly promoted the synthesis of progesterone and the expression of StAR and Cyp11a1. The decreased progesterone levels caused by Hand2os1 interference were rescued by the overexpression of StAR. Our findings suggest that Hand2os1 may regulate the secretion of progesterone in the mouse corpus luteum by affecting the key rate-limiting enzyme StAR, which may have an impact on the maintenance of pregnancy