Does My Dog ''Speak'' Like Me? The Acoustic Correlation between Pet Dogs and Their Human Owners

How hosts language influence their pets' vocalization is an interesting yet underexplored problem. This paper presents a preliminary investigation into the possible correlation between domestic dog vocal expressions and their human host's language environment. We first present a new dataset of Shiba Inu dog vocals from YouTube, which provides 7500 clean sound clips, including their contextual information of these vocals and their owner's speech clips with a carefully-designed data processing pipeline. The contextual information includes the scene category in which the vocal was recorded, the dog's location and activity. With a classification task and prominent factor analysis, we discover significant acoustic differences in the dog vocals from the two language environments. We further identify some acoustic features from dog vocalizations that are potentially correlated to their host language patterns

Towards Lexical Analysis of Dog Vocalizations via Online Videos

Deciphering the semantics of animal language has been a grand challenge. This study presents a data-driven investigation into the semantics of dog vocalizations via correlating different sound types with consistent semantics. We first present a new dataset of Shiba Inu sounds, along with contextual information such as location and activity, collected from YouTube with a well-constructed pipeline. The framework is also applicable to other animal species. Based on the analysis of conditioned probability between dog vocalizations and corresponding location and activity, we discover supporting evidence for previous heuristic research on the semantic meaning of various dog sounds. For instance, growls can signify interactions. Furthermore, our study yields new insights that existing word types can be subdivided into finer-grained subtypes and minimal semantic unit for Shiba Inu is word-related. For example, whimper can be subdivided into two types, attention-seeking and discomfort

Engineering hibiscus-like riboflavin/ZIF-8 microsphere composites to enhance transepithelial corneal cross-linking

Riboflavin-5-phosphate (RF) is the most commonly used photosensitizer in corneal cross-linking (CXL), but its hydrophilicity and negative charge limit its penetration through the corneal epithelium into the stroma. To enhance the corneal permeability of RF and promote its efficacy in the treatment of keratoconus, novel hibiscus-like RF@ZIF-8 microsphere composites [6RF@ZIF-8 NF (nanoflake)] are prepared using ZIF-8 nanomaterials as carriers, which are characterized by their hydrophobicity, positive potential, biocompatibility, high loading capacities, and large surface areas. Both hematoxylin and eosin endothelial staining and TUNEL assays demonstrate excellent biocompatibility of 6RF@ZIF-8 NF. In in vivo studies, the 6RF@ZIF-8 NF displayed excellent corneal permeation, and outstanding transepithelial CXL (TE-CXL) efficacy, slightly better than the conventional CXL protocol. Furthermore, the special hibiscus-like structures of 6RF@ZIF-8 NF meant that it has better TE-CXL efficacy than that of 6RF@ZIF-8 NP (nanoparticles) due to the larger contact area with the epithelium and the shorter RF release passage. These results suggest that the 6RF@ZIF-8 NF are promising for transepithelial corneal cross-linking, avoiding the need for epithelial debridement

Oral Health Policies to Tackle the Burden of Early Childhood Caries: A Review of 14 Countries/Regions

Aim: Early childhood caries (ECC) has significant public health implications but has received inadequate global attention. There is limited information regarding the success of oral health policies implemented to address the challenges of ECC. This review aimed to summarize such policies to tackle ECC from different countries/regions.Method: Independent collaborators from 14 countries/regions (Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Japan, Nigeria, Thailand, UK, USA, and Venezuela) collected the data. The ECC status, dental workforce, oral health policies on ECC prevention in different countries/regions were summarized by each country.Results: The findings indicated that ECC prevalence varied in different countries/regions. The lowest prevalence of ECC among 5-year-old children was found in Nigeria (7%), and the highest was found in Indonesia (90%). The existing dental workforce and resources are limited in most countries. The smallest dentist to population ratio was reported by Nigeria at 1:48,400, whereas the highest ratio was in Brazil (1:600). Out of 14, three (21%) countries namely India, Venezuela and Cambodia had no national oral health policies addressing ECC and four (29%) countries (Cambodia, China, India, Venezuela) had no publicly funded dental care program for 0–5-year-old children. Water fluoridation is available in four countries/regions (Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, USA).Conclusion: ECC remains a global health challenge and dental workforce is limited. National/regional programs to tackle ECC are not yet prioritized in many countries/regions. Evidence to support demonstration projects is limited. Further research on the cost-effectiveness of interventions strategies is required for policymakers

MMS Integrated Communication System Based on ARCNET/Ethernet

In the course of the industrialization of CIMS, manufacturing message specification(MMS) becomes one of the keys to the integration of CIMS networks. In this paper, we study the transition of network architecture from MAP / TOP to ARCnet / Ethernet. After the analysis of MMS, an implementation strategy of MMS integrated communication system based on ARCnet / Ethernet is presented

Efficacy and safety of US-guided thermal ablation for primary hyperparathyroidism: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose To summarize the published literature on thermal ablation for primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) and to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of thermal ablation as a novel treatment strategy. Materials and methods Two authors carried out the literature search using four databases independently, including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Web of Science. The meta-analysis included prospective and retrospective data that compared post-ablative outcomes to pre-ablative values. The primary outcomes were parathyroid hormone (PTH), serum calcium and volume of the parathyroid gland (VPG). Results From the 184 original articles, five studies (4 retrospective studies and 1 prospective study) examining 84 patients met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis showed significant reduction of PTH at 3 (standardized mean difference (SMD) =  −1.09, 95% confidence index (CI) =  −1.42 to −0.76, p < 0.001) and 6 months (SMD =  −1.13, 95% CI =  −1.46 to −0.80, p < 0.001) after thermal ablation. Serum calcium level was significantly reduced at 3 (mean difference (MD) =  −0.31, 95% CI =  −0.50 to −0.12, p  =  0.001) and 6 months (MD =  −0.31, 95% CI =  −0.46 to −0.17, p < 0.001) after thermal ablation. There was no significant difference between pre-ablative VPG and that of 6 months after ablation (MD =  −0.30, 95% CI =  −0.70 to 0.09, p  =  0.13). The most common complications were transient dysphonia and subcutaneous edema. No major complications or death occurred. Conclusion Thermal ablation is effective and safe for treatment of PHPT. PTH and calcium levels were reduced significantly at 3 and 6 months after thermal ablation

Indirubin derivative 7-bromoindirubin-3-oxime (7bio) attenuates aβ oligomer-induced cognitive impairments in mice

2017-2018 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journal201808 bcrcVersion of RecordPublishe

Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Algicidal Mechanism of <i>Brevibacillus laterosporus</i> against <i>Microcystis aeruginosa</i> through Multiple Metabolic Pathways

It is widely accepted that eutrophication has played an important role in the formation of harmful cyanobacterial blooms in recent decades, which impacts water quality and ecological environment and causes huge economic losses. Algicidal bacteria have a promising application prospect in controlling cyanobacterial blooms in aquaculture water. Here, the process of the algicidal bacterium Brevibacillus laterosporus strain Bl-zj acting on Microcystis aeruginosa was explored using transcriptome analysis to elucidate the algicidal mechanism. The results of the co-culture of bacterium and alga showed a strong alga-lysing effect of B. laterosporus against M. aeruginosa with an extreme morphology deformation of the algal cells. A total of 2744 differentially expressed genes of B. laterosporus were identified, which were mainly involved in the metabolism of amino acid, carbohydrate, and lipid. In the co-cultured group, the expression of genes mainly enriched in valine, leucine and isoleucine degradation, and fatty acid degradation were significantly increased. However, the expression of the genes related to ribosome were mainly inhibited. Transcriptome analysis showed that B. laterosporus obtained ATP and energy by the degradation of valine, leucine, isoleucine, and fatty acids, and destroyed algal cells by efflux pump transporters, secretion of hydrolytic enzymes, antibiotics, proteases, and other secondary metabolites, resulting in algal death and achieving the algicidal effect

Evaluation of the prognostic value of paraoxonase 1 in the recurrence and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma and establishment of a liver-specific predictive model of survival

Abstract Background Hepatocellular carcinoma is a malignant tumor with a highly invasive and metastatic phenotype, and the detection of potential indicators associated with its recurrence and metastasis after surgical resection is critical for patient survival. Methods Transcriptome data for large cohorts (n = 1432) from multicenter sources were comprehensively analyzed to explore such potential signatures. The prognostic value of the selected indicators was investigated and discussed, and a comparison with conventional clinicopathological features was performed. A survival predictive nomogram for 5-year survival was established with the selected indicator using the Cox proportional hazards regression. To validate the indicator at the protein level, we performed immunohistochemical staining with paraffin-embedded slides of hepatocellular carcinoma samples (n = 67 patients) from our hospital. Finally, a gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to detect the underlying biological processes and internal mechanisms. Results The liver-specific protein paraoxonase 1 (PON1) was found to be the most relevant indicator of tumor recurrence, invasiveness, and metastasis in the present study, and the downregulation of PON1 might reveal poor survival for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The C-index of the PON1-related nomogram was 0.714, thus indicating a more effective predictive performance than the 7th American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) tumor stage (0.534), AJCC T stage (0.565), or alpha-fetoprotein (0.488). The GSEA revealed that PON1 was associated with several hepatocellular carcinoma-related pathways, including the cell cycle, DNA replication, gap junction and p53 downstream pathways. Conclusions The downregulation of paraoxonase 1 may suggest worse outcomes and a higher recurrence rate. Thus, paraoxonase 1 might represent an indicator for predicting the survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

Risk assessment of cardiotoxicity to zebrafish (Danio rerio) by environmental exposure to triclosan and its derivatives.

Triclosan (TCS) and its two derivatives (2,4-dichlorophenol and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol) are priority pollutants that coexist in aquatic environments. Joint exposure of TCS, 2,4-dichlorophenol and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, hereafter referred to as TCS-DT, contributes severe toxicity to aquatic organisms. There is currently a paucity of data regarding TCS-DT molecular toxicity, especially on cardiac diseases. We used zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model organism, and evaluated the molecular-level cardiotoxicity induced by TCS-DT from embryonic to adult stages. TCS-DT exposure prominently led to phenotypic malformations, such as pericardial cysts, cardiac bleeding, increased SV-BA distance, decreased heart rate and reduced ejection fraction, as well as abnormal swimming behavior. Analyses of the GO and KEGG pathways revealed enrichment pathways related to cardiac development and screened for significantly down-regulated adrenaline signaling in cardiomyocytes. The cardiac marker genes (amhc, cmlc2, vmhc, and nkx2.5) were obtained through protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, and expressed as down-regulation by WISH. After chronic exposure to TCS-DT from 30 to 90-dpf, both body mass and heart indexes prominently increased, showing myocardial hypertrophy, abnormal heart rate and histopathological injury. Heart tissue damage included disordered and ruptured myocardial fibers, broken and dissolved myofilaments, nuclear pyknosis, mitochondrial injury and inflammatory cell infiltration. Further, abnormal changes in a series of cardiac functions-related biomarkers, including superoxide dismutase, triglyceride, lactate dehydrogenase and creatinine kinase MB, provided evidence for cardiac pathological responses. These results highlight the molecular mechanisms involving TCS-DT induced cardiac toxicity, and provide theoretical data to guide prevention and treatment of pollutant-induced cardiac diseases