Traffic Crash Characteristics in Shenzhen, China from 2014 to 2016

Road traffic crashes cause fatalities and injuries of both drivers/passengers in vehicles and pedestrians outside, thus challenge public health especially in big cities in developing countries like China. Previous efforts mainly focus on a specific crash type or causation to examine the crash characteristics in China while lacking the characteristics of various crash types, factors, and the interplay between them. This study investigated the crash characteristics in Shenzhen, one of the biggest four cities in China, based on the police-reported crashes from 2014 to 2016. The descriptive characteristics were reported in detail with respect to each of the crash attributes. Based on the recorded crash locations, the land-use pattern was obtained as one of the attributes for each crash. Then, the relationship between the attributes in motor-vehicle-involved crashes was examined using the Bayesian network analysis. We revealed the distinct crash characteristics observed between the examined levels of each attribute, as well the interplay between the attributes. This study provides an insight into the crash characteristics in Shenzhen, which would help understand the driving behavior of Chinese drivers, identify the traffic safety problems, guide the research focuses on advanced driver assistance systems (ADASs) and traffic management countermeasures in China

ENaC–Membrane Interactions: Regulation of Channel Activity by Membrane Order

Recently, it was reported that the epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC) is regulated by temperature (Askwith, C.C., C.J. Benson, M.J. Welsh, and P.M. Snyder. 2001. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 98:6459–6463). As these changes of temperature affect membrane lipid order and lipid–protein interactions, we tested the hypothesis that ENaC activity can be modulated by membrane lipid interactions. Two approaches were used to modulate membrane anisotropy, a lipid order–dependent parameter. The nonpharmacological approach used temperature changes, while the pharmacological one used chlorpromazine (CPZ), an agent known to decrease membrane order, and Gd+3. Experiments used Xenopus oocytes expressing human ENaC. Methods of impedance analysis were used to determine whether the effects of changing lipid order indirectly altered ENaC conductance via changes of membrane area. These data were further corroborated with quantitative morphology on micrographs from oocytes membranes studied via electron microscopy. We report biphasic effects of cooling (stimulation followed by inhibition) on hENaC conductance. These effects were relatively slow (minutes) and were delayed from the actual bath temperature changes. Peak stimulation occurred at a calculated Tmax of 15.2. At temperatures below Tmax, ENaC conductance was inhibited with cooling. The effects of temperature on gNa were distinct from those observed on ion channels endogenous to Xenopus oocytes, where the membrane conductance decreased monoexponentially with temperature (t = 6.2°C). Similar effects were also observed in oocytes with reduced intra- and extracellular [Na+], thereby ruling out effects of self or feedback inhibition. Addition of CPZ or the mechanosensitive channel blocker, Gd+3, caused inhibition of ENaC. The effects of Gd+3 were also attributed to its ability to partition into the outer membrane leaflet and to decrease anisotropy. None of the effects of temperature, CPZ, or Gd+3 were accompanied by changes of membrane area, indicating the likely absence of effects on channel trafficking. However, CPZ and Gd+3 altered membrane capacitance in an opposite manner to temperature, consistent with effects on the membrane-dielectric properties. The reversible effects of both Gd+3 and CPZ could also be blocked by cooling and trapping these agents in the rigidified membrane, providing further evidence for their mechanism of action. Our findings demonstrate a novel regulatory mechanism of ENaC

Analysis of the anatomic eligibility for transcarotid artery revascularization in Chinese patients who underwent carotid endarterectomy and transfemoral carotid artery stenting

ObjectiveTranscarotid artery revascularization (TCAR) is thought to be a promising technique and instrument for treating carotid stenosis with favorable outcomes. Since there remain several differences in anatomic characteristics among races, this study was conducted to investigate the anatomic eligibility of TCAR in Chinese patients who underwent carotid revascularization.MethodsA retrospective review of patients with carotid stenosis from 2019 to 2021 was conducted. The anatomic eligibility of TCAR was based on the instruction of the ENROUTE Transcarotid Neuroprotection System. The carotid artery characteristics and configuration of the circle of Willis (CoW) were evaluated by CT angiography. The demographic and clinical characteristics and procedure-related complications were recorded. Logistic regression was used to analyze the independent factors for TCAR eligibility.ResultsOf 289 consecutive patients [222 for carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and 67 for transfemoral carotid artery stenting (TF-CAS)] identified, a total of 215 patients (74.4%) met TCAR anatomic eligibility. Specifically, 83.7% had mild common carotid artery (CCA) puncture site plaque, 95.2% had 4–9 mm internal carotid artery diameters, 95.8% had >6 mm CCA diameter, and 98.3% had >5 cm clavicle to carotid bifurcation distance. Those who were female (OR, 5.967; 95% CI: 2.545–13.987; P < 0.001), were of an older age (OR, 1.226; 95% CI: 1.157–1.299; P < 0.001), and higher body mass index (OR, 1.462; 95% CI: 1.260–1.697; P < 0.001) were prone to be associated with TCAR ineligibility. In addition, 71 patients with TCAR eligibility (33.0%) were found to combine with incomplete CoW. A high risk for CEA was found in 29 patients (17.3%) with TCAR eligibility, and a high risk for TF-CAS was noted in nine patients (19.1%) with TCAR eligibility. Overall, cranial nerve injury (CNI) was found in 22 patients after CEA, while 19 of them (11.3%) met TCAR eligibility.ConclusionA significant proportion of Chinese patients meet the anatomic criteria of TCAR, making TCAR a feasible treatment option in China. Anatomic and some demographic factors play key roles in TCAR eligibility. Further analysis indicates a potential reduction of procedure-related complications in patients with high-risk carotid stenosis under the TCAR procedure

Effect of tumor and normal lung volumes on the lung volume–dose parameters of IMRT in non–small-cell lung cancer

OBJECTIVES: To explore the effect of tumor and normal lung volumes on lung volume-dose parameters in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had undergone intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). METHODS: The clinical data of 208 patients with NSCLC who underwent radical IMRT between June 2014 and June 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. A regression model curve was used to evaluate the effect of tumor and normal lung volumes on normal lung relative volumes receiving greater than 5 and 20 Gy (V5, V20), on mean lung dose (MLD), and on absolute volumes spared from greater than 5 and 20 Gy (AVS5, AVS20). RESULTS: The V5, V20, and MLD of the bilateral lung were fitted to a quadratic equation curve with the change in tumor volume, which increased initially and then decreased when the tumor volume increased. The V5, V20, and MLD of the lung reached their apex when the tumor volumes were 288.07, 341.69, and 326.83 cm3, respectively. AVS5 and AVS20 decreased in a logarithmic curve with an increase in tumor volume. The V5, V20, and MLD of the small normal lung volume group were all significantly higher than those of the large normal lung volume group (p<0.001, p=0.004, p=0.002). However, the AVS5 and AVS20 of the small normal lung volume group were all significantly lower than those of the large normal lung volume group (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The effects of tumor volume and normal lung volume on dose-volume parameters should be considered. AVS5 is an important supplementary dose limitation parameter for patients whose tumor volume exceeds a certain boundary value (approximately 300 cm3)

Double shielded Public Key Cryptosystems

By introducing extra shields on Shpilrain and Ushakov\u27s Ko-Lee-like protocol based on the decomposition problem of group elements we propose two new key exchange schemes and then a number of public key cryptographic protocols. We show that these protocols are free of known attacks. Particularly,if the entities taking part in our protocols create their private keys composed by the generators of the Mihailova subgroups of Bn, we show that the safety of our protocols are very highly guarantied by the insolvability of subgroup membership problem of the Mihailova subgroups

Strong [O III] {\lambda}5007 Compact Galaxies Identified from SDSS DR16 and Their Scaling Relations

Green pea galaxies are a special class of star-forming compact galaxies with strong [O III]{\lambda}5007 and considered as analogs of high-redshift Ly{\alpha}-emitting galaxies and potential sources for cosmic reionization. In this paper, we identify 76 strong [O III]{\lambda}5007 compact galaxies at z < 0.35 from DR1613 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. These galaxies present relatively low stellar mass, high star formation rate, and low metallicity. Both star-forming main sequence relation (SFMS) and mass-metallicity relation (MZR) are investigated and compared with green pea and blueberry galaxies collected from literature. It is found that our strong [O III] {\lambda}5007 compact galaxies share common properties with those compact galaxies with extreme star formation and show distinct scaling relations in respect to those of normal star-forming galaxies at the same redshift. The slope of SFMS is higher, indicates that strong [O III]{\lambda}5007 compact galaxies might grow faster in stellar mass. The lower MZR implies that they may be less chemically evolved and hence on the early stage of star formation. A further environmental investigation confirms that they inhabit relatively low-density regions. Future largescale spectroscopic surveys will provide more details on their physical origin and evolution.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, 1 table. Published in A

Divergent Evolution of TRC Genes in Mammalian Niche Adaptation

Mammals inhabit a wide variety of ecological niches, which in turn can be affected by various ecological factors, especially in relation to immunity. The canonical TRC repertoire (TRAC, TRBC, TRGC, and TRDC) codes C regions of T cell receptor chains that form the primary antigen receptors involved in the activation of cellular immunity. At present, little is known about the correlation between the evolution of mammalian TRC genes and ecological factors. In this study, four types canonical of TRC genes were identified from 37 mammalian species. Phylogenetic comparative methods (phyANOVA and PGLS) and selective pressure analyses among different groups of ecological factors (habitat, diet, and sociality) were carried out. The results showed that habitat was the major ecological factor shaping mammalian TRC repertoires. Specifically, trade-off between TRGC numbers and positive selection of TRAC and the balanced evolutionary rates between TRAC and TRDC genes were speculated as two main mechanisms in adaption to habitat and sociality. Overall, our study suggested divergent mechanisms for the evolution of TRCs, prompting mammalian immunity adaptions within diverse niches

Chromosome-level genome assembly of the yellow boxfish (Ostracion cubicus) provides insights into the evolution of bone plates and ostracitoxin secretion

The Ostracion cubicus, commonly known as the yellow boxfish, is a remarkable species with a body encased in a bone plate and the ability to produce an ostracitoxin from their skin when under stress. However, the genetic basis of those effective defense traits is still largely unknown due to the lack of genomic resources. Here, we assembled the first chromosome-level genome of O. cubicus with 867.50 Mb in genome size and 34.86 Mb N50 scaffold length by HiFi and Hi-C sequencing. Twenty-five pseudo-chromosomes, numbered according to size, covered 94.13% of the total assembled sequences. A total of 23,224 protein-coding genes were predicted, with a BUSCO completeness of 98.6%. Positive selection or rapid evolution was observed in genes related to scale and bone development (acsl4a, casr, keap1a, tbx1), and up-regulation of transcription was found in the skin of boxfish (bmp1, bmp2k, bmp4, bmp7, smad5, suco, prelp, mitf), likely associated with the bone plates evolution in the yellow boxfish. An expansion of the solute carrier family 22, a cluster of genes in solute carrier (SLCs) family, transmembrane protein family (TMEMs), vesicle trafficking (SECs), ATP-binding cassette (ABCs) and apolipoproteins (APOs) were identified under positive selection, rapid evolution, or up-regulated in the skin of boxfish, likely associated with the ostracitoxin secretion in the yellow boxfish. Our study not only presents a high-quality boxfish genome but also provides insights into bone plates evolution and ostracitoxin secretion of O. cubicus

Research Note: Association of single nucleotide polymorphism of AKT3 with egg production traits in White Muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata).

Prior studies on transcriptomes of hypothalamus and ovary revealed that AKT3 is one of the candidate genes that might affect egg production in White Muscovy ducks. The role of AKT3 in the uterus during reproductive processes cannot be overemphasized. However, functional role of this gene in the tissues and on egg production traits of Muscovy ducks remains unknown. To identify the relationship between AKT3 and egg production traits in ducks, relative expression profile was first examined prior to identifying the variants within AKT3 that may underscore egg production traits [age at first egg (AFE), number of eggs at 300 d (N300D), and number of eggs at 59 wk (N59W)] in 549 ducks. The mRNA expression of AKT3 gene in high producing (HP) ducks was significantly higher than low producing (LP) ducks in the ovary, oviduct, and hypothalamus (P \u3c 0.05 or 0.001). Three variants in AKT3 (C-3631A, C-3766T, and C-3953T) and high linkage block between C-3766T and C-3953T which are significantly (P \u3c 0.05) associated with N300D and N59W were discovered. This study elucidates novel knowledge on the molecular mechanism of AKT3 that might be regulating egg production traits in Muscovy ducks

Analysis of the Constituents in Rat Serum after Oral Administration of Fufang Zhenzhu Tiaozhi Capsule by UPLC–Q–TOF–MS/MS

A rapid and sensitive UPLC/Q–TOF–MS method has been established for analysis of the constituents in rat serum after oral administration of Fufang Zhenzhu Tiaozhi (FTZ) capsule, an effective compound prescription for treating hyperlipidemia in the clinic. The UPLC/MS information of samples was obtained first in FTZ preparation and FTZ-treated rat serum. Mass spectra were acquired in both negative and positive ion modes. Thirty-six constituents in rat serum after oral administration of FTZ were detected, including the alkaloids, ginsenosides, pentacyclic triterpenes, and their metabolites. These chemicals were identified based on the retention time and mass spectrometry data with those of authentic standards or comparison of the literatures reports. Twenty-seven prototype components originated from FTZ and nine were the metabolites of the FTZ constituents. These results shed light on the potential active constituents of the complex traditional Chinese medicinal formulas