Changes of placental three-dimensional power Doppler ultrasonography in third trimester among hypertensive disorders complicating pregnancy

Hypertensive disorders complicating pregnancy (HDCP) represent a systemic condition specific to pregnant women. Three-dimensional (3D) power Doppler ultrasonography is a technique that utilizes erythrocyte density, scattered intensity, or energy distribution in the bloodstream for imaging purposes. This study aimed to compare the changes in 3D power Doppler ultrasonography parameters in late pregnancy between patients with HDCP and those without HDCP, and to evaluate the predictive value of these parameters for pregnancy outcomes in patients with HDCP. The study included 160 pregnant women diagnosed with HDCP and 100 pregnant women without HDCP, who served as the control group. 3D power Doppler ultrasonography was performed, and the values of the vascularization index (VI), flow index (FI), and vascularization flow index (VFI) were measured. In the HDCP group, the VI, FI, and VFI were all lower than those observed in patients without HDCP. In HDCP patients with positive outcomes, these three parameters were higher than those recorded in patients with negative outcomes. The area under the predicted curve (AUC) for VI, FI, VFI, and the combination of these three parameters were 0.69, 0.63, 0.66, and 0.75, respectively. The parameters of 3D power Doppler ultrasonography can reflect the perfusion status of the placenta and predict the outcome of pregnancy in patients with HDCP. By monitoring these relevant hemodynamic parameters, valuable information can be provided for the clinical diagnosis, objective evaluation, and treatment of HDCP

A grazing Gomphotherium in Middle Miocene Central Asia, 10 million years prior to the origin of the Elephantidae

Feeding preference of fossil herbivorous mammals, concerning the coevolution of mammalian and floral ecosystems, has become of key research interest. In this paper, phytoliths in dental calculus from two gomphotheriid proboscideans of the middle Miocene Junggar Basin, Central Asia, have been identified, suggesting that Gomphotherium connexum was a mixed feeder, while the phytoliths from G. steinheimense indicates grazing preference. This is the earliest-known proboscidean with a predominantly grazing habit. These results are further confirmed by microwear and isotope analyses. Pollen record reveals an open steppic environment with few trees, indicating an early aridity phase in the Asian interior during the Mid-Miocene Climate Optimum, which might urge a diet remodeling of G. steinheimense. Morphological and cladistic analyses show that G. steinheimense comprises the sister taxon of tetralophodont gomphotheres, which were believed to be the general ancestral stock of derived “true elephantids”; whereas G. connexum represents a more conservative lineage in both feeding behavior and tooth morphology, which subsequently became completely extinct. Therefore, grazing by G. steinheimense may have acted as a behavior preadaptive for aridity, and allowing its lineage evolving new morphological features for surviving later in time. This study displays an interesting example of behavioral adaptation prior to morphological modification

Genomic insights and antimicrobial resistance profiles of CRKP and non-CRKP isolates in a Beijing geriatric medical center: emphasizing the blaKPC-2 carrying high-risk clones and their spread

BackgroundThe escalating resistance of Klebsiella pneumoniae, a prevalent pathogen in healthcare settings, especially its carbapenem-resistant K. pneumoniae (CRKP), to a wide array of antibiotics, notably β-lactams, constitutes a formidable challenge for healthcare and global public health management.MethodsThis research compared the resistance phenotypes and genomic profiles of CRKP and Non-CRKP isolates in a Beijing hospital, focusing on high-risk blaKPC-2 gene-bearing CRKP clones and the structure of mobile genetic elements facilitating their spread across hospital departments. Forty K. pneumoniae isolates were collected from various departments of the hospital and subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing and whole-genome sequencing to analyze their resistance phenotypes and genomic features.ResultsThe study revealed that among the 31 CRKP isolates, ST11 is the most common sequence type, with K47 and OL101 being the dominant capsule types, primarily observed in the respiratory department. In terms of antimicrobial susceptibility: 87.5% of the isolates exhibited multidrug resistance (MDR), with a high resistance rate of 30% against tigecycline. All CRKP isolates demonstrated resistance to multiple drug classes (≥5 CLSI classes). Non-CRKP isolates also showed high resistance rates to minocycline and doxycycline (77.8%). the ST11-KL47-OL101 type emerged as the predominant clone among the CRKP isolates carrying the blaKPC-2 gene. This dominance appears to be mediated by the pKpnR03_2 plasmid, which harbors not only blaKPC-2 and rmtb but also gene clusters pertinent to iron transport and arsenic resistance. These isolates, clustering in the C3 clade of the phylogenetic tree, exhibited minor genetic variations and close evolutionary relationships, suggesting a plasmid-driven spread across various hospital departments.ConclusionIn summary, our study highlights the extensive spread of antibiotic-resistant K. pneumoniae across various departments in our hospital, with a particular emphasis on the dominant clonal proliferation of the ST11-KL47-OL101 CRKP strain. This finding underscores the significant role of plasmid-mediated gene transfer in the evolution and dissemination of resistant strains within hospital environments. The study emphasizes the necessity for ongoing surveillance of antibiotic resistance and genomic analysis in hospital settings to effectively monitor and manage these challenges

Hsa-miR-196a2 Rs11614913 Polymorphism Contributes to Cancer Susceptibility: Evidence from 15 Case-Control Studies

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of endogenous, small and noncoding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression by suppressing translation or degrading mRNAs. Recently, many studies investigated the association between hsa-miR-196a2 rs11614913 polymorphism and cancer risk, which showed inconclusive results. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted a meta-analysis of 15 studies that included 9,341 cancer cases and 10,569 case-free controls. We assessed the strength of the association, using odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Overall, individuals with the TC/CC genotypes were associated with higher cancer risk than those with the TT genotype (OR=1.18, 95% CI=1.03-1.34, P<0.001 for heterogeneity test). In the stratified analyses, we observed that the CC genotype might modulate breast cancer risk (OR=1.11, 95%CI=1.01-1.23, Pheterogeneity=0.210) and lung cancer risk (OR=1.25, 95%CI=1.06-1.46, Pheterogeneity=0.958), comparing with the TC/TT genotype. Moreover, a significantly increased risk was found among Asian populations in a dominant model (TC/CC versus TT, OR=1.24, 95% CI=1.07-1.43, Pheterogeneity=0.006). CONCLUSIONS: These findings supported that hsa-miR-196a2 rs11614913 polymorphism may contribute to the susceptibility of cancers

Overview to the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (Insight-HXMT) Satellite

As China's first X-ray astronomical satellite, the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), which was dubbed as Insight-HXMT after the launch on June 15, 2017, is a wide-band (1-250 keV) slat-collimator-based X-ray astronomy satellite with the capability of all-sky monitoring in 0.2-3 MeV. It was designed to perform pointing, scanning and gamma-ray burst (GRB) observations and, based on the Direct Demodulation Method (DDM), the image of the scanned sky region can be reconstructed. Here we give an overview of the mission and its progresses, including payload, core sciences, ground calibration/facility, ground segment, data archive, software, in-orbit performance, calibration, background model, observations and some preliminary results.Comment: 29 pages, 40 figures, 6 tables, to appear in Sci. China-Phys. Mech. Astron. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1910.0443

Combustion Optimization for Coal Fired Power Plant Boilers Based on Improved Distributed ELM and Distributed PSO

Increasing the combustion efficiency of power plant boilers and reducing pollutant emissions are important for energy conservation and environmental protection. The power plant boiler combustion process is a complex multi-input/multi-output system, with a high degree of nonlinearity and strong coupling characteristics. It is necessary to optimize the boiler combustion model by means of artificial intelligence methods. However, the traditional intelligent algorithms cannot deal effectively with the massive and high dimensional power station data. In this paper, a distributed combustion optimization method for boilers is proposed. The MapReduce programming framework is used to parallelize the proposed algorithm model and improve its ability to deal with big data. An improved distributed extreme learning machine is used to establish the combustion system model aiming at boiler combustion efficiency and NOx emission. The distributed particle swarm optimization algorithm based on MapReduce is used to optimize the input parameters of boiler combustion model, and weighted coefficient method is used to solve the multi-objective optimization problem (boiler combustion efficiency and NOx emissions). According to the experimental analysis, the results show that the method can optimize the boiler combustion efficiency and NOx emissions by combining different weight coefficients as needed

Potential Therapeutic Effects of NAMPT-Mediated NAD Biosynthesis in Depression In Vivo

This study aimed to investigate the potential therapeutic effects of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT)-mediated adenine dinucleotide (NAD) biosynthesis in depression models in vivo. Namptflox/flox mice were used to evaluate the role of NAMPT in depression. NAMPT and NAD levels in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) were measured, and depression-associated behavior, cognitive function, and social interaction were evaluated. The expression levels of BDNF, pCREB, CREB, monoamine neurotransmitters, and corticosterone (CORT) were also detected in the PFC. The contents of NAMPT and NAD decreased in the PFC in Namptflox/flox mice. Namptflox/flox mice showed depression-like behaviors, cognitive function deterioration, decreased social ability, and decreased dominance. Meanwhile, there were decreased expression levels of the pCREB/CREB ratio, but not BDNF, in the PFC. Levels of DA, 5-HT, and NE were decreased, and CORT was activated in the PFC of Namptflox/flox mice. Additionally, the role of NAMPT-NAD was examined in rats treated with nicotinamide riboside (NR) after being exposed to chronic unexpected mild stress (CUMS). NR reversed the decreased NAMPT expression in the PFC and HIP, and the NAD content in the PFC, but not HIP in rats with CUMS-induced depression. NR also improved depressive- and anxiolytic-like behaviors, locomotor activity, and cognitive function. BDNF expression and the pCREB/CREB ratio were significantly increased in both the PFC and HIP after NR treatment. The activation of CORT and decreased content of DA were reversed after NR treatment in the PFC. There was no difference in the 5-HT content among groups in both the PFC and HIP. Taken together, NAD synthesis induced by NAMPT could be associated with depression-like behaviors in mice, and the elevated NAD level by NR improved depression in rats