Morphological diversity of single neurons in molecularly defined cell types.

Dendritic and axonal morphology reflects the input and output of neurons and is a defining feature of neuronal types1,2, yet our knowledge of its diversity remains limited. Here, to systematically examine complete single-neuron morphologies on a brain-wide scale, we established a pipeline encompassing sparse labelling, whole-brain imaging, reconstruction, registration and analysis. We fully reconstructed 1,741 neurons from cortex, claustrum, thalamus, striatum and other brain regions in mice. We identified 11 major projection neuron types with distinct morphological features and corresponding transcriptomic identities. Extensive projectional diversity was found within each of these major types, on the basis of which some types were clustered into more refined subtypes. This diversity follows a set of generalizable principles that govern long-range axonal projections at different levels, including molecular correspondence, divergent or convergent projection, axon termination pattern, regional specificity, topography, and individual cell variability. Although clear concordance with transcriptomic profiles is evident at the level of major projection type, fine-grained morphological diversity often does not readily correlate with transcriptomic subtypes derived from unsupervised clustering, highlighting the need for single-cell cross-modality studies. Overall, our study demonstrates the crucial need for quantitative description of complete single-cell anatomy in cell-type classification, as single-cell morphological diversity reveals a plethora of ways in which different cell types and their individual members may contribute to the configuration and function of their respective circuits

Dual therapy for Helicobacter pylori infection

Abstract. Bismuth-containing quadruple therapy (BQT) has long been recommended for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) eradication in China. Meanwhile, in the latest national consensus in China, dual therapy (DT) comprising an acid suppressor and amoxicillin has also been recommended. In recent years, the eradication rate of H. pylori has reached >90% using DT, which has been used not only as a first-line treatment but also as a rescue treatment. Compared with BQT, DT has great potential for H. pylori eradication; however, it has some limitations. This review summarizes the development of DT and its application in H. pylori eradication. The H. pylori eradication rates of DT were comparable to or even higher than those of BQT or standard triple therapy, especially in the first-line treatment. The incidence of adverse events associated with DT was lower than that with other therapies. Furthermore, there were no significant differences in the effects of dual and quadruple therapies on gastrointestinal microecology. In the short term, H. pylori eradication causes certain fluctuations in the gastrointestinal microbiota; however, in the long term, the gastrointestinal microbiota eventually returns to its normal state. In the penicillin-naïve population, patients receiving DT have a high eradiation rate, better compliance, lower incidence of adverse reactions, and lower primary and secondary resistance to amoxicillin. These findings suggest the safety, efficacy, and potential of DT for H. pylori eradication

Preliminary Design of a Recognition System for Infected Fish Species Using Computer Vision

Part 1: Decision Support Systems, Intelligent Systems and Artificial Intelligence ApplicationsInternational audienceFor the purpose of classification of fish species, a recognition system was preliminary designed using computer vision. In the first place, pictures were pre-processed by developed programs, dividing into rectangle pieces. Secondly, color and texture features are extracted for those selected texture rectangle fish skin images. Finally, all the images were classified by multi-class classifier named SVMs. The experiment showed that color and texture are the appropriate features for fish species classification. The multi-class classifier based on SVM will be developed for further work

A Quantitative and Optimization Model for Microstructure Uniformity of Sinter Based on Multiple Regression-NSGA2

The degree of homogeneity of the sintered ore phase structure directly determines its quality index. A sinter ore quality evaluation method based on the quantification of the homogeneity of the mineral phase structure is proposed. First, the magnetite particle size characteristics in the ore phase structures with different degrees of homogeneity were summarized under a polarized light microscope, and a criterion for evaluating the uniformity of the sintered ore phase structure based on the magnetite content of different particle size grades was determined. Second, a multiple regression model was established for the raw material composition ratio of magnetite with varying particle size grades. Finally, the multiple regression model was optimized using the second-generation non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA2). The results show that mineral phase structure analysis categorized the magnetite particle sizes into 60 μm. The adjusted R2 of the multiple regression model of the chemical composition of raw materials and the proportion of magnetite of each particle size grade were all greater than 0.95, and the p values were all 2O3 mass% = 1.82, MgO mass% = 1.50, and R(CaO mass%/SiO2 mass%) = 1.84 for the highest degree of uniformity of the sintered ores. Under this sintering condition, the micro-mineral phase structure became more homogeneous, confirming the model’s reliability

PATTERNS AND RELATIONSHIPS OF PLANT TRAITS, COMMUNITY STRUCTURAL ATTRIBUTES, AND ECO-HYDROLOGICAL FUNCTIONS DURING A SUBTROPICAL SECONDARY SUCCESSION IN CENTRAL YUNNAN (SOUTHWEST CHINA)

Abstract —Human-induced changes in land use lead to major changes in plant community composition and structure which have strong effects on eco-hydrological processes and functions. We here tested the hypothesis that changes in traits of living plants have resulted in changes in structural attributes of the community that influenced eco-hydrological functions by altering eco-hydrological processes. This was done in the context of a subtropical secondary forest succession following land abandonment in Central Yunnan (Southwest China). During the succession, species with hig

Rumination and Loneliness Independently Predict Six-Month Later Depression Symptoms among Chinese Elderly in Nursing Homes

<div><p>Background</p><p>Previous studies conducted in Western countries independently demonstrated that loneliness and rumination are remarkable risk factors of depression among the elderly in both community and nursing homes. However, knowledge on the relationship between these three constructs among the elderly in Eastern countries is scarce. The current study aims to determine the relationship between loneliness, rumination, and depression among Chinese elderly in nursing homes.</p><p>Methods</p><p>A total of 71 elderly participants with an average age of 82.49 years completed this six-month longitudinal study. Physical reports indicated that none of the participants were clinically depressed before the study. At Time 1, their loneliness and rumination were measured using UCLA-8 Loneliness Scale and Ruminative Responses Scale. Six months later, the participants completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale to assess depressive symptoms (Time 2).</p><p>Results</p><p>Multiple regression analysis revealed that both loneliness and rumination at Time 1 were the predictors of depression symptoms at Time 2 among the Chinese elderly in nursing homes. However, in the mediation analysis using PROCESS, the indirect effect between loneliness at Time 1 and depression symptoms at Time 2 was insignificant.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Results suggest that previous loneliness and rumination thinking are predictors of future depression symptoms among the Chinese elderly in nursing homes. However, the insignificant mediation further suggests that the differences between loneliness and rumination should be explored in future studies. Findings have important implications for mental health professionals in nursing homes in China.</p></div

Sestrin2 Overexpression Ameliorates Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Induced Apoptosis via Inhibiting mTOR Pathway in HepG2 Cells

Sestrin2 is a highly conserved stress-inducible protein, acting as a crucial part in regulating homeostasis in response to various stress conditions in the cell. However, the role of Sestrin2 in regulating cell apoptosis related to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) has not been fully investigated. Our study presented here aims to reveal the effect of Sestrin2 in tunicamycin (TM)-induced cell apoptosis related to ER stress and its underlying molecular mechanisms. The results demonstrated that Sestrin2 expression was significantly upregulated correlated with ER stress responses in TM treated HepG2 cells. Sestrin2 overexpression obviously alleviated ER stress with the determination of ER stress-related proteins expression. In addition, Sestrin2 overexpression inhibited cell apoptosis with the examination of apoptosis-related proteins and TUNEL assay. However, Sestrin2 knockdown further promoted the ER stress-mediated cell apoptosis. The further mechanistic study revealed that Sestrin2 overexpression inhibited TM-induced mTOR pathway activation. Taken together, our current study indicated that Sestrin2 overexpression ameliorates ER stress-induced apoptosis via inhibiting mTOR pathway in HepG2 cells

Mediation Effect Analysis Based on PROCESS. (N = 71).

<p>Mediation Effect Analysis Based on PROCESS. (N = 71).</p

Hierarchical Regression Analysis on the Depression Symptoms. (N = 71).

<p>Hierarchical Regression Analysis on the Depression Symptoms. (N = 71).</p