Die analyse eines mathematischen Modells und der Regressionsgleichung für die berechnung inerziäller Parameter von Körperteilen in jungen Chinesinnen

Objective: In this study a mathematical model was set up for calculating the inertial parameters of body segments in young Chinese female students. Methods: On the sample of 50 young Chinese women the inertial parameters, mass and mass center of body segments, were determined by using the Computed Tomography – Digital Image Processing (CT-DIP) method. Results: A 16-segment mathematical model of young Chinese women was set up and a binary regression equation for inertial parameters of body segments calculation was established, in which body weight and stature were treated as independent variables. Conclusion: The study provided a method for a simple calculation of mass, mass centre and moment of inertia both of the segments and of the total body in the population of young Chinese womenUvod Od samih početaka proučavanja čovječjeg kretanja, koncept fizikalnog modeliranja tijela bio je imanentan tim istraživanjima. Braune i Fischer, Hanavan, Hatze, Delp – autori su koji su obilježili razvoj modeliranja ljudskog tijela s primjenama u kineziologiji. Ovaj rad temelji se na pristupu Millerove i Nelsona, odnosno Zatsiorskyog i Seluyanova. Cilj je bio odrediti i analizirati inercijske podatke tijela mladih kineskih žena. Metode Uzorak je obuhvatio 50 žena, studentica, u dobi od 18 do 23 godine. Uporabljena je metoda Computed Tomography – Digital Image Processing (CT-DIP) za analizu 16 segmenata tijela. Na temelju razine sive boje i gustoće svake strukture i tkiva u slikama tih segmenata, inercijski parametri segmenata izracunati su metodom konačnih jedinica. Na kraju su procijenjeni masa, središte mase i moment inercije segmenta. Matematički model je opisan kao n-segmentni sustav s više stupnjeva slobode na spojevima segmenata. To je sustav sastavljen od niza pretpostavljeno homogenih krutih tijela jednostavnih geometrijskih oblika koji su spojeni u zglobovima, a na temelju Hanavanova koncepta 16-segmentnog sustava. Utvrđena je binarna regresijska jednadžba kojom se može izračunati masa, središte mase i moment inercije tjelesnih segmenata. Tjelesna masa i visina korištene su kao nezavisne varijable. Rezultati Prikazani su prosječni podaci za masu, središte mase i moment inercije segmenta i cijelog tijela izračunati metodom CT-DIP. Prikazani su kompletni rezultati dizajna 16- segmentnog modela tijela i inercijalni parametri izračunati binarnom regresijskom jednadžbom. Rasprava Uporabom balansne ploče i metode CT-DIP određeni su i uspoređeni inercijski podaci tijela. Pored standardnih nalaza, autori konstatiraju da ovakav pristup odražava različite karakteristike različitih ljudskih rasa. U okviru evaluacije binarne regresijske jednadžbe najveće diskrepancije u rezultatima pojavile su se u rezultatima za šake i stopala. Međutim, te diskrepancije nisu ozbiljnije utjecale na izračune jer su njihovi momenti bili izuzetno maleni u usporedbi s onima ostalih segmenata. U usporedbi izračunatih vrijednosti i onih dobivenih na balansnoj platformi najveća apsolutna varijanca mase cijeloga tijela iznosila je 3.01 kg, najveća relativna varijacija 3.88%, najveća apsolutna varijanca središta mase cijelog tijela 3.78 cm i najveća relativna varijacija 3.75%. Zaključak Provedena studija pokazala je da je pristup matematičkim modeliranjem dobro prilagođen populaciji mladih kineskih žena. Binarna regresijska jednadžba pokazala se jednostavnim, a vrijednim sredstvom u primjeni tog postupka. Potrebna su daljnja istraživanja da bi se povećala pouzdanost zaključaka.Ziel: In dieser Studie wurde ein mathematisches Modell für die Berechunng inerziäller Parameter von Hörperteilen in jungen Chinesinnen gestaltet. Methoden: Inerziälle Parameter, die Masse und das Massenzentrum von Hörperteilen wurden bei 50 jungen Chinesinnen mittels der Digitalen Bildbearbeitungsmethode (Digital Image Processing – DIP) bestimmt. Ergebnisse: 16-teiliges mathematisches Modell von jungen Chinesinnen wurde gestaltet zusammen mit der binären Regressionsgleichung für die Berechnung von inerziällen Parametern des Hörpergewichts und der Hörperteile. Hörpergewicht und Statur wurden als unabhängige Variablen betrachtet. Schlussfolgerung: Das Resultat dieser Analyse war die Gestaltung einer Methode für die einfache Berechnung von Masse, Massenzentrum und Inerzmoment einzelner Hörperteile und des ganzen Hörpers bei jungen Chinesinnen

Effect of grape pomace supplement on growth performance, gastrointestinal microbiota, and methane production in Tan lambs

Grape pomace (GP), a by-product in wine production, is nutritious and can be used as a feed ingredient for ruminants; however, its role in shaping sheep gastrointestinal tract (GIT) microbiota is unclear. We conducted a controlled trial using a randomized block design with 10 Tan lambs fed a control diet (CD) and 10 Tan lambs fed a pelleted diet containing 8% GP (dry matter basis) for 46 days. Rumen, jejunum, cecum, and colon bacterial and archaeal composition were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Dry matter intake (DMI) was greater (p < 0.05) in the GP than CD group; however, there was no difference in average daily gain (ADG, p < 0.05) and feed conversion ratio (FCR, p < 0.05) between the two groups. The GP group had a greater abundance of Prevotella 1 and Prevotella 7 in the rumen; of Sharpe, Ruminococcaceae 2, and [Ruminococcus] gauvreauii group in the jejunum; of Ruminococcaceae UCG-014 and Romboutsia in the cecum, and Prevotella UCG-001 in the colon; but lesser Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group in the rumen and cecum, and Ruminococcaceae UCG-005 and Ruminococcaceae UCG-010 in the colon than the CD group. The pathways of carbohydrate metabolism, such as L-rhamnose degradation in the rumen, starch and glycogen degradation in the jejunum, galactose degradation in the cecum, and mixed acid fermentation and mannan degradation in the colon were up-graded; whereas, the pathways of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle VIII, and pyruvate fermentation to acetone in the rumen and colon were down-graded with GP. The archaeal incomplete reductive TCA cycle was enriched in the rumen, jejunum, and colon; whereas, the methanogenesis from H2 and CO2, the cofactors of methanogenesis, including coenzyme M, coenzyme B, and factor 420 biosynthesis were decreased in the colon. The study concluded that a diet including GP at 8% DM did not affect ADG or FCR in Tan lambs. However, there were some potential benefits, such as enhancing propionate production by microbiota and pathways in the GIT, promoting B-vitamin production in the rumen, facilitating starch degradation and amino acid biosynthesis in the jejunum, and reducing methanogenesis in the colon

Multi-Layer Progressive Face Alignment by Integrating Global Match and Local Refinement

Robust and accurate face alignment remains a challenging task, especially when local noises, illumination variations and partial occlusions exist in images. The existing local search and global match methods often misalign due to local optima without global constraints or limited local representation of global appearance. To solve these problems, we propose a new multi-layer progressive face alignment method that combines global matches for a whole face with local refinement for a given region, where the errors caused by local optima are restricted by globally-matched appearance, and the local misalignments in the global method are avoided by supplementing the representation of local details. Our method consists of the following processes: Firstly, an input image is encoded as a multi-mode Local Binary Pattern (LBP) image to regress the face shape parameters. Secondly, the local multi-mode histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) features is applied to update each landmark position. Thirdly, the above two alignment shapes are weighted as the final result. The contributions of this paper are as follows: (1) Shape initialization by applying an affine transformation to the mean shape. (2) Face representation by integrating multi-mode information in a whole face or a face region. (3) Face alignment by combining handcrafted features with convolutional neural networks (CNN). Extensive experiments on public datasets show that our method demonstrates improved performance in real environments in comparison to some state-of-the-art methods which apply single scale features or single CNN networks. Applying our method to the challenging HELEN dataset, the samples with fewer than 8 mean errors reach 81.1%

Finite volume element methods for two-dimensional three-temperature radiation diffusion equations

\u3cp\u3eTwo-dimensional three-temperature (2-D 3-T) radiation diffusion equations are widely used to approximately describe the evolution of radiation energy within a multi-material system and explain the exchange of energy among electrons, ions and photons. Their highly nonlinear, strong discontinuous and tightly coupled phenomena always make the numerical solution of such equations extremely challenging. In this paper, we construct two finite volume element schemes both satisfying the discrete conservation property. One of them can well preserve the positivity of analytical solutions, while the other one does not satisfy this property. To fix this defect, two as repair techniques are designed. In addition, as the numerical simulation of 2-D 3-T equations is very time consuming, we also devise a mesh adaptation algorithm to reduce the cost. Numerical results show that these new methods are practical and efficient in solving this kind of problems.\u3c/p\u3

Limitations of Using IL-17A and IFN-γ-Induced Protein 10 to Detect Bovine Tuberculosis

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is primarily caused by infection with Mycobacterium bovis, which belongs to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. The airborne route is considered the most common for transmission of M. bovis, and more than 15% of cattle with bTB shed the Mycobacterium, which can be detect by nested PCR to amplify mycobacterial mpb70 from a nasal swab from a cow. To screen for cytokines fostering early and accurate detection of bTB, peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from naturally M. bovis-infected, experimentally M. bovis 68002-infected, and uninfected cattle, then these cells were stimulated by PPD-B, CFP-10-ESAT-6 (CE), or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) for 6 h. The levels of interferon gamma (IFN-γ), IFN-γ-induced protein 10 (IP-10), IL-6, IL-12, IL-17A, and tumor necrosis factor alpha mRNA were measured using real-time PCR. To explore the cytokines associated with different periods of M. bovis infection, cattle were divided into three groups: PCR-positive, PCR-negative, and uninfected using the tuberculin skin test, CFP-10/ESAT-6/TB10.4 protein cocktail-based skin test, IFN-γ release assay (IGRA), CFP-10/ESAT-6 (CE)-based IGRA, and nested PCR. The expression of IP-10, IL-17A, and IFN-γ proteins induced by PPD-B, CE, or PBS was detected by ELISA. The results showed that levels of PPD-B-stimulated IL-17A and IP-10 (mRNA and protein), and CE-induced IP-10 (mRNA and protein) were significantly higher in cattle naturally or experimentally infected with M. bovis than in those that were uninfected. The levels of PPD-B- or CE-induced IL-17A and IP-10 (protein) could be used to differentiate M. bovis-infected calves from uninfected ones for 6 to 30 weeks post-infection, whereas PPD-B- and CE-induced IP-10 and IL-17A mRNA expression could be used to differentiate M. bovis-infected calves from uninfected ones between 6 and 58 weeks post-infection. However, CE-induced IL-17A (protein) was not a reliable indicator of M. bovis infection in cattle that were confirmed positive for infection by nested PCR. Furthermore, the levels of PPD-B- or CE-induced IP-10 and IL-17A protein were lower than IFN-γ in M. bovis-infected cattle. Therefore, IL-17A and IP-10 protein are not suitable biomarkers for bTB. Antigen-induced IP-10 mRNA should be analyzed further for their potential to be used in the diagnosis of bTB

ABCB11 accumulated in immature tertiary lymphoid structures participates in xenobiotic metabolic process and predicts resistance to PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) are at a high risk of recurrence and multimodal therapy have not significantly improved survival in recent decades. Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are effective in a small proportion of HNSCC patients, the majority do not respond. In this study, we for the first time revealed that xenobiotic metabolic process was significantly associated with resistance to programmed death-1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors in HNSCC and found that ATP binding cassette subfamily B member 11 (ABCB11) accumulated in immature tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) predicted worse progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) after PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors therapy. Moreover, the expression of cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2), a cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme that participates in xenobiotic metabolic process, was significantly upregulated in CD45+ABCB11+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) compared with CD45+ABCB11−TILs in HNSCC tissues. Whole slide scans of 110 HNSCC tissues with hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and multispectral immuno-fluorescent (mIF) staining revealed that ABCB11 had a high co-expression with CYP1A2 in immature TLSs, and colocalization of ABCB11 and CYP1A2 in immature TLs significantly associated with high infiltration of immunosuppressive T-regulatory (Treg). Our study revealed that ABCB11 accumulated in immature TLSs might upregulate CYP1A2 to mediate xenobiotic metabolic process, thus increase the immunosuppressive Treg infiltration, and induce resistance to PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in HNSCC

Correlation between obesity and clinicopathological characteristics in patients with papillary thyroid cancer: a study of 1579 cases: a retrospective study

Objective To explore the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and clinicopathological characteristics in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Methods The clinical data of 1,579 patients with PTC, admitted to our hospital from May 2016 to March 2017, were retrospectively analyzed. According to the different BMI of patients, it can be divided into underweight recombination (BMI < 18.5 kg/m), normal body recombination (18.5 ≤ BMI < 24.0 kg/m2), overweight recombination (24.0 ≤ BMI < 28.0 kg/m2) and obesity group (BMI ≥ 28.0 kg/m2). The clinicopathological characteristics of PTC in patients with different BMIs group were compared. Results In our study, the risk for extrathyroidal extension (ETE), advanced T stage (T III/IV), and advanced tumor-node-metastasis stage (TNM III/IV) in the overweight group were higher, with OR (odds ratio) = 1.99(1.41–2.81), OR = 2.01(1.43–2.84), OR = 2.94(1.42–6.07), respectively, relative to the normal weight group. The risk for ETE and T III/IV stage in the obese group were higher, with OR = 1.82(1.23–2.71) and OR = 1.82(1.23–2.70), respectively, relative to the normal weight group. Conclusion BMI is associated with the invasiveness of PTC. There is a higher risk for ETE and TNM III/IV stage among patients with PTC in the overweight group and for ETE among patients with PTC in the obese group

Genomic characterization and pathogenic study of two porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome viruses with different virulence in Fujian, China

peer reviewedTwo strains of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) were isolated in 2006 and 2016 and designated as FZ06A and FZ16A, respectively. Inoculation experiments showed that FZ06A caused 100% morbidity and 60% mortality, while FZ16A caused 100% morbidity without death. By using genomic sequence and phylogenetic analyses, close relationships between a Chinese highly pathogenic PRRSV strain and the FZ06A and FZ16A strains were observed. Based on the achieved results, multiple genomic variations in Nsp2, a unique N-glycosylation site (N33→K33), and a K151 amino acid (AA) substitution for virulence in the GP5 of FZ16A were detected; except the 30 AA deletion in the Nsp2-coding region. Inoculation experiments were conducted and weaker virulence of FZ16A than FZ06A was observed. Based on our results, a 30 AA deletion in the Nsp2-coding region is an unreliable genomic indicator of a high virulence PRRSV strain. The Nsp2 and GP5 differences, in addition to the virulence difference between these two highly pathogenic PRRSV strains, have the potential to be used to establish a basis for further study of PRRSV virulence determinants and to provide data useful in the development of vaccines against this economically devastating disease

Glob. Ecol. Conserv.

Belowground assemblages are closely related to the aboveground vegetation and edaphic properties, which are also driven by dominant plants due to direct and indirect influences. However, the effects of dominant woody plants on the belowground organisms along successional gradients remain poorly understood. Plant and soil samples were collected from an initial herbaceous stage (i.e. alpine meadows) and four stages dominated by woody species, beneath and between patches of the dominant woody plants, to assess the effects of dominant woody plants on the succession of microbial communities along a secondary successional gradient. We quantified herbaceous, edaphic, bacterial, and fungal dissimilarities between stages to explore how dominant woody plants affect bacterial and fungal dissimilarities between stages using structural equation modeling. We found that dominant woody plants generally increase the succession of microbial communities in early stages, but decrease it in late stages. Our results further suggest that the herbaceous dissimilarity between stages plays more important roles than the edaphic one in mediating the effect of dominant woody plants on both bacterial and fungal dissimilarities between stages. Our results provide insight into the relative role of direct and indirect influences on microbial dissimilarity between stages and highlight the importance of dominant woody plants in driving microbial succession. As woody encroachment increases in alpine meadows, the dominant woody plants may have strong consequences on the dynamic of microbial communities, thereby affecting ecosystem functioning