Enhanced fuel ethanol production from rice straw hydrolysate by an inhibitor-tolerant mutant strain of Scheffersomyces stipitis

The aim of the present study was to develop an inhibitor-tolerant strain of Scheffersomyces stipitis and establish an efficient ethanol fermentation process for cost-effective ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass. By a strategy of three successive rounds of UV mutagenesis following adaptation, we isolated a S. stipitis mutant with improved tolerance against ethanol and inhibitors in the form of acetic acid, furfural and vanillin. The mutant strain exhibited excellent ethanol fermentation performance; both the xylose and glucose consumption rate and ethanol productivity were almost two times higher than the parental strain in batch fermentation. To overcome the issue of product inhibition and carbon catabolite repression (CCR) effect, the membrane integrated continuous fermentation system was employed. The maximum ethanol titer of 43.2 g l−1 and productivity of 2.16 g l−1 h−1 was achieved at a dilution rate of 0.05 h−1, higher than the relevant studies ever reported. These results suggested the novel process of cell recycling continuous fermentation using S. stipitis mutant has great potential for commercial ethanol production from lignocelluloses-based biomass

ECPC-IDS:A benchmark endometrail cancer PET/CT image dataset for evaluation of semantic segmentation and detection of hypermetabolic regions

Endometrial cancer is one of the most common tumors in the female reproductive system and is the third most common gynecological malignancy that causes death after ovarian and cervical cancer. Early diagnosis can significantly improve the 5-year survival rate of patients. With the development of artificial intelligence, computer-assisted diagnosis plays an increasingly important role in improving the accuracy and objectivity of diagnosis, as well as reducing the workload of doctors. However, the absence of publicly available endometrial cancer image datasets restricts the application of computer-assisted diagnostic techniques.In this paper, a publicly available Endometrial Cancer PET/CT Image Dataset for Evaluation of Semantic Segmentation and Detection of Hypermetabolic Regions (ECPC-IDS) are published. Specifically, the segmentation section includes PET and CT images, with a total of 7159 images in multiple formats. In order to prove the effectiveness of segmentation methods on ECPC-IDS, five classical deep learning semantic segmentation methods are selected to test the image segmentation task. The object detection section also includes PET and CT images, with a total of 3579 images and XML files with annotation information. Six deep learning methods are selected for experiments on the detection task.This study conduct extensive experiments using deep learning-based semantic segmentation and object detection methods to demonstrate the differences between various methods on ECPC-IDS. As far as we know, this is the first publicly available dataset of endometrial cancer with a large number of multiple images, including a large amount of information required for image and target detection. ECPC-IDS can aid researchers in exploring new algorithms to enhance computer-assisted technology, benefiting both clinical doctors and patients greatly.Comment: 14 pages,6 figure

(2,4-Difluoro­phen­yl)[1-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)cyclo­prop­yl]methanone

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C12H9F2N3O, contains two independent mol­ecules (A and B) in which the benzene and cyclo­propane rings form dihedral angles of 33.0 (1) and 29.7 (1)°, respectively. In the crystal, weak inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link alternating A and B mol­ecules into chains along [010]

9-(1,1-Dimethyl-3-oxobut­yl)adenine

The title compound, C11H15N5O, crystallizes with two independent mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit, both of which contain essentially planar imidazole and pyrimidine rings [maximum deviations = 0.002 (2) and 0.026 (2) Å, respectively, for the first mol­ecule, and 0.001 (2) and 0.025 (2) Å for the second]; the dihedral angles between the rings are 2.1 (2) and 1.7 (2)° in the two mol­ecules. The crystal structure is stabilized by inter­molecular N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds, defining chains along a, which are further linked by weak inter­molecular π–π contacts [centroid centroid distance = 3.7989 (16) Å] into planes parallel to (01)

Loop corrections for Kaluza-Klein AdS amplitudes

Recently we conjectured the four-point amplitude of graviton multiplets in ${\rm AdS}_5 \times {\rm S}^5$ at one loop by exploiting the operator product expansion of $\mathcal{N}=4$ super Yang-Mills theory. Here we give the first extension of those results to include Kaluza-Klein modes, obtaining the amplitude for two graviton multiplets and two states of the first KK mode. Our method again relies on resolving the large N degeneracy among a family of long double-trace operators, for which we obtain explicit formulas for the leading anomalous dimensions. Having constructed the one-loop amplitude we are able to obtain a formula for the one-loop corrections to the anomalous dimensions of all twist five double-trace operators.Comment: 37 pages. One ancillary file containing data on the correlator

Reproductive Factors and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Risk in the California Teachers Study

BACKGROUND:Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is a malignancy etiologically linked to immunomodulatory exposures and disorders. Endogenous female sex hormones may modify immune function and influence NHL risk. Few studies have examined associations between reproductive factors, which can serve as surrogates for such hormonal exposures, and NHL risk by subtype. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Women in the California Teachers Study cohort provided detailed data in 1995-1996 on reproductive history. Follow-up through 2007 identified 574 women with incident B-cell NHL. Hazard rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models to assess associations between reproductive factors and all B-cell NHL combined, diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, follicular lymphomas, and B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemias/small lymphocytic lymphomas. Pregnancy was marginally associated with lower risk of B-cell NHL (RR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.68-1.04). Much of the reduction in risk was observed after one full-term pregnancy relative to nulligravid women (RR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.54-1.06; P for trend <0.01), particularly for diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (P for trend = 0.13), but not among women who had only incomplete pregnancies. Age at first full-term pregnancy was marginally inversely associated with B-cell NHL risk overall (P for trend = 0.08) and for diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (P for trend = 0.056). Breast feeding was not associated with B-cell NHL risk overall or by subtype. CONCLUSIONS:Full-term pregnancy and early age at first full-term pregnancy account for most of the observed reduction in B-cell NHL risk associated with gravidity. Pregnancy-related hormonal exposures, including prolonged and high-level exposure to progesterone during a full-term pregnancy may inhibit development of B-cell NHL

Association of cluster determinant 36, scavenger receptor class B type 1, and major facilitator superfamily domain containing the 2a genetic polymorphism with serum lipid profile in aging population with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background Lipid metabolism disorder commonly happens in subjects with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) which may be linked to genetic variants of lipid metabolism-related genes. However, few studies have explored the relationship between lipid metabolism-related gene polymorphism and serum lipid profile in aging subjects with T2DM. The present study was designed to explore the impact of genetic polymorphism of cluster determinant 36 (CD36) (rs1049673, rs1054516, rs2151916), scavenger receptor class B type 1 (SCARB1) (rs5888), and major facilitator superfamily domain containing the 2a (MFSD2A) (rs12083239, rs4233508, rs12072037) on the relationship between circulating lipids in aging subjects with T2DM. Methods 205 T2DM patients and 205 age and gender matched control subjects were recruited. Information on demographic characteristics was collected by using a self-administered questionnaire. Fasting venous blood samples were taken for lipid-related gene genotyping and serum lipid profile measurement. The Chi-square test was used to compare percentage differences and to calculate P-value for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Logistic regression and multiple linear regression were used to explore the risk or correlation between variables, and general linear model (GLM) was used to compare the means of serum lipids between the groups. Results In T2DM group, CD36 rs1054516 and MFSD2A rs12072037 were correlated with serum TC level. In control group, CD36 rs1049673 was correlated with serum HDL-C level. Meanwhile, T2DM subjects with MFSD2A rs12083239 (CG), MFSD2A rs4233508 (TT), and MFSD2A rs12072037 (AA) had higher TG level than control subjects. T2DM subjects with CD36 rs1049673 (CG, GG), CD36 rs1054516 (CT), CD36 rs2151916 (TT, CT), SCARB1 rs5888 (GG), MFSD2A rs12083239 (GG, CG), MFSD2A rs4233508 (TT), and MFSD2A rs12072037 (CA, AA) had lower HDL-C level than control subjects. T2DM subjects with MFSD2A rs12072037 (AA) had lower LDL-C level than control subjects. In dominant model, major genotype (GG) of SCARB1 gene was associated with the risk of T2DM (OR = 0.636, P = 0.032). Conclusion The genetic polymorphism of CD36 (rs1049673, rs1054516, rs2151916), SCARB1 (rs5888), and MFSD2A (rs12083239, rs4233508, rs12072037) were associated with serum lipids in T2DM subjects. The SCARB1 rs5888 major genotype (GG) was a protective factor for T2DM. Large scale cohort study is required to determine the relationship between lipid metabolism-related gene polymorphism, serum lipid profile and T2DM in aging subjects

A review of the botany, phytochemistry, traditional uses, pharmacology, toxicology, and quality control of the Astragalus memeranaceus

Astragali Radix (Huangqi) is mainly distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, South America, and Africa and rarely in North America and Oceania. It has long been used as an ethnomedicine in the Russian Federation, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, and China. It was first recorded in the Shennong Ben Cao Jing and includes the effects of reinforcing healthy qi, dispelling pathogenic factors, promoting diuresis, reducing swelling, activating blood circulation, and dredging collaterals. This review systematically summarizes the botanical characteristics, phytochemistry, traditional uses, pharmacology, and toxicology of Astragalus to explore the potential of Huangqi and expand its applications. Data were obtained from databases such as PubMed, CNKI, Wan Fang Data, Baidu Scholar, and Google Scholar. The collected material also includes classic works of Chinese herbal medicine, Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Chinese Medicine Dictionary, and PhD and Master’s theses. The pharmacological effects of the isoflavone fraction in Huangqi have been studied extensively; The pharmacological effects of Huangqi isoflavone are mainly reflected in its anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-oxidant, anti-allergic, and anti-diabetic properties and its ability to treat several related diseases. Additionally, the medicinal uses, chemical composition, pharmacological activity, toxicology, and quality control of Huangqi require further elucidation. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the botany, phytochemistry, traditional uses, pharmacology, toxicology, and quality control of Astragalus to assist future innovative research and to identify and develop new drugs involving Huangqi