Dietary Probiotic Bacillus licheniformis TC22 Increases Growth, Immunity, and Disease Resistance, against Vibrio splendidus Infection in Juvenile Sea Cucumbers Apostichopus japonicus

In this study we examined the effects of probiotic Bacillus licheniformis TC22 on growth, immunity, and disease resistance against Vibrio splendidus in juvenile sea cucumbers Apostichopus japonicus. For 30 days, sea cucumbers were fed diets with TC22 at 0 (control), 105, 107, and 109 CFU/g respectively. Results showed that dietary TC22 at 109 CFU/g significantly improved (P0.05). Dietary TC22 at 109 CFU/g significantly improved phagocytosis, and total nitric oxide synthase activity in sea cucumbers (P0.05). Respiratory burst in sea cucumbers fed dietary TC22 at 109 CFU/g was significantly higher than those fed dietary TC22 at 107 CFU/g (P<0.05). Cumulative mortality after V. splendidus challenge decreased significantly in the sea cucumbers fed with TC22 at 109 CFU/g (P<0.05). The present study confirmed dietary B. licheniformis TC22 at 109 CFU/g could significantly improve immunity and disease resistance in juvenile A. japonicus

Association between Serum Uric Acid Level and Metabolic Syndrome and Its Sex Difference in a Chinese Community Elderly Population

Objective. This study aimed to evaluate the association between serum uric acid (SUA) levels within a normal to high range and the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS) among community elderly and explore the sex difference. Design and Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a representative urban area of Beijing between 2009 and 2010. A two-stage stratified clustering sampling method was used and 2102 elderly participants were included. Results. The prevalence of hyperuricemia and MetS was 16.7% and 59.1%, respectively. There was a strong association between hyperuricemia and four components of MetS in women and three components in men. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed ORs of hyperuricemia for MetS were 1.67 (95% CI: 1.11–2.50) in men and 2.73 (95% CI: 1.81–4.11) in women. Even in the normal range, the ORs for MetS increased gradually according to SUA levels. MetS component number also showed an increasing trend across SUA quartile in both sexes (P for trend < 0.01). Conclusion. This study suggests that higher SUA levels, even in the normal range, are positively associated with MetS among Chinese community elderly, and the association is stronger in women than men. Physicians should recognize MetS as a frequent comorbidity of hyperuricemia and take early action to prevent subsequent disease burden

Data-driven optimization of brittleness index for hydraulic fracturing

Evaluation of brittleness index (BI) is a fundamental principle of a hydraulic fracturing design. A wide variety of BI calculations often baffle field engineers. The traditional value comparison may also not make the best of BI. Moreover, it is often mixed up with the fracability in field applications, thus causing concerns. We, therefore, redefine fracability as the fracturing pressure under certain rock mechanical (mainly brittleness), geological and injecting conditions to clarify the confusion. Then, we propose a data-driven workflow to optimize BIs by controlling the geological and injecting conditions. The machine learning (ML) workflow is employed to predict the fracability (fracturing pressure) based on field measurement. Three representative ML algorithms are applied to average the prediction, aiming to restrict the interference of algorithm performances. The contribution of brittleness on pressure/fracability prediction by error analysis (rather than the traditional method of BI-value comparison) is proposed as the new criterion for optimization. Six classic BI correlations (mineral-, logging- and elastic-based) are evaluated, three of which are optimized for the derivation of a new BI using the backward elimination strategy. The stress ratio (ratio of minimum and maximum horizontal principal stress), representing the geological feature, is introduced into the derived calculation based on the independent variable analysis. The reliability of the new BI is verified by error analyses using data of eight fracturing stages from seven different wells. Approximately 40%–50% of the errors are reduced based on the new BI. The differences among the performances of algorithms are also significantly restrained. The new brittleness index provides a more reliable option for evaluating the brittleness and fracability of the fracturing formation. The machine learning workflow also proposes a promising application scenario of the BI for hydraulic fracturing, which makes more efficient and broader usages of the BI compared with the traditional value comparison

Clinicopathological significance of non-small cell lung cancer with high prevalence of Oct-4 tumor cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Expression of the stem cell marker octamer 4 (Oct-4) in various neoplasms has been previously reported, but very little is currently known about the potential function of Oct-4 in this setting. The purpose of this study was to assess the prognostic value of Oct-4 expression after surgery in primary non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and investigate its possible molecular mechanism.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We measured Oct-4 expression in 113 NSCLC tissue samples and three cell lines by immunohistochemical staining and RT-PCR. The association of Oct-4 expression with demographic characteristics, proliferative marker Ki67, microvessel density (MVD), and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were assessed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Oct-4 expression was detected in 90.3% of samples and was positively correlated with poor differentiation and adenocarcinoma histology, and Oct-4 mRNA was found in each cell lines detected. Overexpression of Oct-4 had a strong association with cells proliferation in all cases, MVD-negative, and VEGF-negative subsets. A Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that overexpression of Oct-4 was associated with shorter overall survival in all cases, adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, MVD-negative, and VEGF-negative subsets. A multivariate analysis demonstrated that Oct-4 level in tumor tissue was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival in all cases, MVD-negative, and VEGF-negative subsets.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our findings suggest that, even in the context of vulnerable MVD status and VEGF expression, overexpression of Oct-4 in tumor tissue represents a prognostic factor in primary NSCLC patients. Oct-4 may maintain NSCLC cells in a poorly differentiated state through a mechanism that depends on promoting cell proliferation.</p

Effect of slickwater-alternate-slurry injection on proppant transport at field scales : a hybrid approach combining experiments and deep learning

Proppant transport in underground fractures plays a key role in mitigating sand screen-out and enhancing the stimulated production for hydraulic fracturing. The effects of field pumping schedules, however, are not fully studied. We investigate the effect of slickwater-alternate-slurry injection on proppant transport at field-practical scales. A new hybrid approach is proposed to directly connect experimental studies with field operations, which consists of observation experiments, calculations, and deep learning (DL) workflow. The experiments reveal that the alternate injection induces the unexpected proppant ridge. The modified calculations (considering the ridge height) are proposed to extract features for training the DL algorithm. The workflow predicts the downhole pressure (mainly governed by proppant injection) for error analyses. Approximately 20.2% of the error is eliminated by considering the proppant ridge, thus demonstrating its effect on proppant injection. The predictions are significantly improved in early and late periods of fracturing operations when the fracture is initially created and highly filled. The sensitivity analysis suggests that the pump rate may dominate the ridge height compared with other hydraulic parameters. The study of proppant ridge complements the mechanisms of proppant transport, which is essential for controlling fracturing pressure and boosting the proppant injection

Different patterns of NF-κB and Notch1 signaling contribute to tumor-induced lymphangiogenesis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Lymph node involvement and tumor-induced lymphangiogenesis appear as the earliest features of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), although the molecular regulatory mechanisms involved have remained unclear. Our aim was to investigate the contribution of NF-κB and Notch1 signaling to lymph node involvement and tumor-induced lymphangiogenesis in ESCC.</p> <p>Material and methods</p> <p>NF-κB and Notch1 expression in 60 tissue samples of ESCC were assessed by immunohistochemical staining. The correlations of NF-κB and Notch1 with lymph node involvement, lymphatic vessel density (LVD), podoplanin, and vascular endothelial growth factor-C (VEGF-C) were further evaluated to determine the association of NF-κB and Notch1 expression with tumor-induced lymphangiogenesis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Chi-square tests revealed that NF-κB and Notch1 expression in ESCC tissues were significant associated with lymph node metastasis, LVD, podoplanin, and VEGF-C expression. Strong expression of NF-κB, but weak expression of Notch1, was observed in tumor tissues with lymph nodes involvement (<it>P </it>< 0.05 for both). The mean histoscores of LVD, podoplanin, and VEGF-C staining were higher in high-NF-κB-expressing tissue than in low-expressing tissue (<it>P </it>< 0.05 for each). In contrast, the mean histoscores of LVD and VEGF-C staining were lower in high-Notch1-expressing tissue than in low-expressing tissue (<it>P </it>< 0.05 for both). A multiple factors analysis of LVD and VEGF-C further demonstrated that LVD and VEGF-C status were significantly correlated with NF-κB and Notch1 expression in tumors. NF-κB and Notch1 expression were also significantly inversely correlated (<it>P </it>< 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results suggest that different patterns of NF-κB and Notch1 signaling contribute to lymph nodes metastasis and tumor-induced lymphangiogenesis of ESCC, and reveal that up-regulation of NF-κB is associated with down-regulation of Notch1 in tumor tissue.</p

Primary cardiac osteosarcoma in a 42-year-old woman

We describe here a 42-year-old woman who was admitted to hospital with a pedunculated mass in her left atrium. She was diagnosed with a primary cardiac osteosarcoma with special immunohistochemical characteristics. Echocardiography and computed tomography can be used to differentiate cardiac osteosarcomas from routine intracardiac tumors. The patient was treated by surgical removal of the mass. Two years later, she has shown no evidence of disease recurrence. We discuss primary osteosarcomas in the cardiac cavity and their management