SADIH: Semantic-Aware DIscrete Hashing

Due to its low storage cost and fast query speed, hashing has been recognized to accomplish similarity search in large-scale multimedia retrieval applications. Particularly supervised hashing has recently received considerable research attention by leveraging the label information to preserve the pairwise similarities of data points in the Hamming space. However, there still remain two crucial bottlenecks: 1) the learning process of the full pairwise similarity preservation is computationally unaffordable and unscalable to deal with big data; 2) the available category information of data are not well-explored to learn discriminative hash functions. To overcome these challenges, we propose a unified Semantic-Aware DIscrete Hashing (SADIH) framework, which aims to directly embed the transformed semantic information into the asymmetric similarity approximation and discriminative hashing function learning. Specifically, a semantic-aware latent embedding is introduced to asymmetrically preserve the full pairwise similarities while skillfully handle the cumbersome n times n pairwise similarity matrix. Meanwhile, a semantic-aware autoencoder is developed to jointly preserve the data structures in the discriminative latent semantic space and perform data reconstruction. Moreover, an efficient alternating optimization algorithm is proposed to solve the resulting discrete optimization problem. Extensive experimental results on multiple large-scale datasets demonstrate that our SADIH can clearly outperform the state-of-the-art baselines with the additional benefit of lower computational costs.Comment: Accepted by The Thirty-Third AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-19

A study on the preparation and characterization of plasmid DNA and drug-containing magnetic nanoliposomes for the treatment of tumors

Zi-Yu Wang1,2, Li Wang1, Jia Zhang1, Yun-Tao Li1, Dong-Sheng Zhang11School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, China; 2School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, ChinaPurpose: To explore the preparation and characterization of a novel nanosized magnetic liposome containing the PEI-As2O3/Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 complex.Methods: Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 and As2O3/Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 nanoparticles were prepared by chemical coprecipitation and loaded with PEI. The PEI-As2O3/Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 complex was characterized using transmission electron and scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectrometry, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Cell transfection experiments were performed to evaluate the transfect efficiency. Magnetic nanoliposomes were prepared by rotatory evaporation and their shape, diameter, and thermodynamic characteristics were observed.Results: Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 and PEI-As2O3/Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 nanoparticles were spherical, with an average diameter of 20–40 nm. PEI-As2O3/Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 was an appropriate carrier for the delivery of a foreign gene to HepG2 cells. Energy dispersive spectrometry results confirmed the presence of the elements nitrogen and arsenic. Nanoliposomes of approximately 100 nm were observed under a transmission electron microscope. Upon exposure to an alternating magnetic field, they also had good magnetic responsiveness, even though Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 was modified by PEI and encased in liposomes. Temperatures increased to 37°C–54°C depending on different concentrations of PEI-As2O3/Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 and remained stable thereafter.Conclusion: Our results suggest that PEI-As2O3/Mn0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 magnetic nanoliposomes are an excellent biomaterial, which has multiple benefits in tumor thermotherapy, gene therapy, and chemotherapy.Keywords: nanoliposomes, magnetic fluid hyperthermia, As2O3, DN

Epimedium brevicornu Maxim extract shows protective activity against Alzheimer's disease in mice

Purpose: To investigate the protective effect of Epimedium brevicornu Maxim extract (EBME) against Alzheimer's disease in 3xTg-AD mice. Methods: The cognitive function of 3xTg-AD mice was assessed using Morris water maze test. The levels of amyloid beta deposits and NeuN in the mouse hippocampus were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Brain neurotrophic-derived factor (BDNF) and tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) expressions were examined by western blot analysis. Results: EBME treatment significantly ameliorated learning and memory deficits in AD mice, as shown by the increased time spent in the target zone during probe tests. Compared with the 3xTg-AD mice (8.4 ± 1.1 s), the escape latency in animals treated with 600 mg/kg EBME (21.5 ± 1.1 s) was significantly increased (p < 0.01). In addition, EBME significantly decreased Aβ deposits, increased NeuN-positive cells, and upregulated the expressions of BDNF (1.5 ± 0.2, p < 0.05) and TrkB (1.6 ± 0.2, p < 0.05) in the 3xTg AD mice. Conclusion: EBME treatment may be a useful therapeutic strategy for managing memory impairment

An unprecedented 2D covalent organic framework with an htb net topology.

A 2D imine-linked COF with a hitherto unreported htb type topology was synthesized from a linear diamine linker and a judiciously designed tetra-aldehyde building block. This work opens the door to the development of COFs with unprecedented topologies and may broaden the scope of COF functional materials by pore size and pore surface engineering

Colorectal cancer screening with fecal occult blood test: A 22-year cohort study.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening with a three-tier fecal occult blood test (FOBT) in the Chinese population. The study was performed between 1987 and 2008 at the Beijing Military General Hospital, in a cohort of army service males and females aged >50 years. Between 1987 and 2005, a three-tier screening program, comprising guaiac-based FOBTs (gFOBTs), followed by immunochemical FOBTs for positive guaiac test samples and then colonoscopy for positive immunochemical test subjects, was performed annually. The cohort was followed up until 2008. The cohort included 5,104 subjects, of which, 3,863 subjects participated in screening (screening group) and 1,241 did not (non-screening group). The two groups did not differ in age, gender or other major risk factors for colon cancer. Overall, 36 CRCs occurred in the screening group and 21 in the non-screening group. Compared with the non-screening group, the relative risk for the incidence and mortality of CRC was 0.51 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.30-0.87] and 0.36 (95% CI, 0.18-0.71), respectively, in the screening group. The general sensitivity of this three-tier FOBT was 80.6% (95% CI, 65.3-91.1). Thus, annual screening using the three-tier FOBT program may reduce the CRC incidence and mortality rate

Identification of Hub Genes Associated With Progression and Prognosis in Patients With Bladder Cancer

Given that most bladder cancers (BCs) are diagnosed in advanced stages with poor prognosis, this study aims to find novel biomarkers associated with the progression and prognosis in patients with BC. 1,779 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between BC samples and normal bladder tissues were identified in total. Then, 24 DEGs were regarded as candidate hub genes by constructing a protein–protein interaction (PPI) network and a random forest model. Among them, six genes (BUB1B, CCNB1, CDK1, ISG15, KIF15, and RAD54L) were eventually identified by using five analysis methods (one-way Analysis of Variance analysis, spearman correlation analysis, distance correlation analysis, receiver operating characteristic curve, and expression values comparison), which were correlated with the progression and prognosis of BC. Moreover, the validation of hub genes was conducted based on GSE13507, Oncomine, and CBioPortal. Results of univariate Cox regression analysis showed that the expression levels of all the hub genes were influence features of overall survival (OS) and cancer specific survival (CSS) based on GSE13507, and we further established a six-gene signature based on the expression levels of the six genes and their Cox regression coefficients. This signature showed good potential for clinical application suggested by survival analysis (OS: Hazard Ratio = 0.484, 95%CI: 0.298–0.786; P = 0.0034; CSS: Hazard Ratio = 0.244, 95%CI: 0.121–0.493, P < 0.0001) and decision curve analysis. In conclusion, our study indicates that six hub genes have great predictive value for the prognosis and progression of BC and may contribute to the exploration of further basic and clinical research of BC