Integrative analysis of bone-formation associated genes and immune cell infiltration in osteoporosis, and the prediction of active ingredients in targeted traditional Chinese medicine

Objective To explore the differential expression and mechanisms of bone formation-related genes in osteoporosis(OP)leveraging bioinformatics and machine learning methodologies;and to predict the active ingredients of targeted traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)herbs.Methods The Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)and GeneCards databases were employed to conduct a comprehensive screening of genes and disease-associated loci pertinent to the pathogenesis of OP.The R package was utilized as the analytical tool for the identification of differentially expressed genes.Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)logis-tic regression analysis and support vector machine-recursive feature elimination(SVM-RFE)algorithm were employed in defining the genetic signature specific to OP.Gene Ontology(GO)and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes(KEGG)pathway enrichment analyses for the selected pivotal genes were conducted.The cell-type identification by estimating rela-tive subsets of RNA transcripts(CIBERSORT)algorithm was leveraged to examine the infiltra-tion patterns of immune cells;with Spearman’s rank correlation analysis utilized to assess the relationship between the expression levels of the genes and the presence of immune cells.Coremine Medical Database was used to screen out potential TCM herbs for the treatment of OP.Comparative Toxicogenomics Database(CTD)was employed for forecasting the TCM ac-tive ingredients targeting the key genes.AutoDock Vina 1.2.2 and GROMACS 2020 softwares were employed to conclude analysis results;facilitating the exploration of binding affinity and conformational dynamics between the TCM active ingredients and their biological targets.Results Ten genes were identified by intersecting the results from the GEO and GeneCards databases.Through the application of LASSO regression and SVM-RFE algorithm;four piv-otal genes were selected:coat protein(CP);kallikrein 3(KLK3);polymeraseγ(POLG);and transient receptor potential vanilloid 4(TRPV4).GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analy-ses revealed that these trait genes were predominantly engaged in the regulation of defense response activation;maintenance of cellular metal ion balance;and the production of chemokine ligand 5.These genes were notably associated with signaling pathways such as ferroptosis;porphyrin metabolism;and base excision repair.Immune infiltration analysis showed that key genes were highly correlated with immune cells.Macrophage M0;M1;M2;and resting dendritic cell were significantly different between groups;and there were signifi-cant differences between different groups(P<0.05).The interaction counts of resveratrol;curcumin;and quercetin with KLK3 were 7;3;and 2;respectively.It shows that the interac-tions of resveratrol;curcumin;and quercetin with KLK3 were substantial.Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations further confirmed the robust binding affinity of these bioactive compounds to the target genes.Conclusion Pivotal genes including CP;KLK3;POLG;and TRPV4;exhibited commendable significant prognostic value;and played a crucial role in the diagnostic assessment of OP.Resveratrol;curcumin;and quercetin;natural compounds found in TCM;showed promise in their potential to effectively modulate the bone-forming gene KLK3.This study provides a sci-entific basis for the interpretation of the pathogenesis of OP and the development of clinical drugs.

传统文化思想影响下的中国传统建筑装修特征

该文从中国传统建筑装修特征的成因角度出发,在分析中国传统文化思想因素(包括农耕文化、儒家文化、道家文化和佛家文化)对其形成所发挥作用的基础上,概括出中国传统建筑装修文化的本质性特征,即内向性、务实性、秩序性、中和性和生息性等,并详细阐述这些特征在中国传统建筑装修上的具体表现。

Calling and Mating Behavior of Malacosoma rectifascia Lajonquère

[Objective]The research aimed to study the calling and mating behavior of Malacosoma rectifascia Lajonquère and provide theoretical basis for utilization of sex pheromone to prevent and control M.rectifascia. [Method]Through indoor and outdoor observation,effects of M.rectifascia mating behavior occurrence process,calling period,different sex ratio and population density on mating rate were studied. [Result]The sex ratio of M.rectifascia in nature was 1∶1.2,while in lab was 1∶1.8; the calling peak took place from 19：00 to 21：00;different sex ratio and population density had significant effects on mating behavior,and mating rate would be reduced if the population density was higher; both male and female M.rectifascia mate only once throughout their life. [Conclusion]Controlling M.rectifascia with sex pheromone has good application prospects.

Blue-eared Pheasant:a forest bird endemic to China

The Blue-eared Pheasant (Crossoptilon auritum) is an important bird species,endemic to China and is ranked as a second grade key protected wildlife species in China.These birds are only found in the mountainous regions of Qinghai,Gansu and Sichuan provinces and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.In order to understand systematically the existing information on the biology of the Blue-eared Pheasant,we provide updated information on its habitat,activity,nest-site features,breeding biology,feeding habits,population status and conservation of this pheasant by integrating published data with the information from our field surveys,conducted from 2006 to 2008 in the Gaihai-zecha National Nature Reserve,Gansu.

Investigation on Physiological Status of Regional Vegetation Using Pushbroom Hyperspectral Imager Data

To extract vegetation pigment concentration and physiological status has been studied in two test areas covered with swamp and flourish vegetation using pushbroom hyperspectral imager (PHI) data which flied in September of 2000 at Daxing'anling district of Heilongjiang Province, China. The ratio analysis of reflectance spectra (RARS) indices, which were put forward by Chappelle et al (1992), are chosen in this paper owing to their effect and simpleness against both comparison with various methods and techniques for exploration of pigment concentration and characteristics of PHI data. The correlation coefficients between RARS indices and pigment concentration of vegetation were up to 0.8. The new RARS indices modes are established in the two test areas using both PHI data and spectra of different vegetations measured in the field. The indices' parameter images of chlorophyll a (Chl a), chlorophyll b (Chl b) and carotenoids (Cars) of the test areas covered with swamp and flourish vegetation are acquired by the new RARS indices modes. Furthermore, the regional concentration of Chl a and Chl b are extracted and quantified using regression equations between RARS indices and pigment concentrations, which were built by Blackburn (1998). The results showed the physiological status and variety clearly, and are in good agreement with the distribution of vegetation in the field.

Serrated neoplasia of the colorectum

Serrated polyps of the colorectum form a group of related lesions which include aberrant crypt foci (ACF), conventional hyperplastic polyps, mixed (admixed) polyps, serrated adenomas and sessile serrated adenomas. In recent years the molecular differences between these morphologically similar lesions have been highlighted, and their differing biological potential has been realised. In particular, the sessile serrated adenoma has become recognised as the precursor lesion to a group of sporadic colorectal carcinomas characterised by morphological and molecular features distinct from conventional adenomas. These recent findings have challenged the long held paradigm that all colorectal carcinomas arise via the traditional adenoma-carcinoma sequence. In addition, they present a major challenge for the early detection and management of colorectal cancer, which is no longer regarded as a homogeneous entity.

Large pedinculated antral hyperplastic gastric polyp traversed the bulbus causing outlet obstruction and iron deficiency anemia: endoscopic removal

We present here a large (3 cm) hyperplastic gastric polyp prolapsed into duodenum and caused outlet obstruction and iron deficiency anemia in 60 years old male patient.Endoscopic removal was performed successfully.

Effect of Helicobacter pylori eradication on gastric hyperplastic polyposis in Cowden's disease

A 21-year-old woman with complaints of hematochezia was diagnosed as having Cowden's disease (CD), an autosomal dominant condition characterized by multiple hamartomas, since facial papules and gingival papillomas were identified. On endoscopy, multiple hyperplastic polyps were seen in the rectum and left-side colon. There were also esophageal glycogenic acanthosis and hyperplastic polyposis in the antrum accompanied by Helicobacter pylorirelated gastritis. Although gastric hyperplastic polyposis had by no means regressed with unsuccessful first-line eradication therapy for H pylori, following cure of the infection with salvage therapy consisting of rabeprazole,amoxicillin and metronidazole, the polyposis lesions almost disappeared. Follow-up gastroscopy 2 and 3 years after cessation of the second-line eradication therapy revealed almost complete regression of the polyposis lesions with no evidence of H pylori infection. We recommend eradication treatment for CD patients with gastric hyperplastic polyps and the infection, as the occurrence of gastric carcinoma among hyperplastic polyps has been described.

Addition of hepatectomy decreases liver recurrence and leads to long survival in hilar cholangiocarcinoma

AIM： To evaluate hepatic recurrence and prognostic factors for survival in patients with surgically resected hilar cholangiocarcinoma in a single institution over the last 13 years. METHODS： From 1994 to 2007, all patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma referred to a surgical clinic were evaluated. Demographic data, tumor characteristics, and outcome were analyzed retrospectively. Outcome was compared in patients who underwent additional liver resection with resection of the tumor. RESULTS： Of the 69 patients submitted to laparotomy for tumor resection, curative resection （Ro resection） was performed in 40 patients, and palliative resection in 29. Thirty-one patients had only duct resection, and 38 patients had combined duct resection with liver resection including 34 total or part caudate lobes. Curative rates with the combined hepatectomy were significantly improved compared with those without additional hepatectomy （27/38 vs 13/31; X^2 = 5.94, P 〈 0.05）. Concomitant liver resection was associated with a decreased incidence of initial recurrence in liver one year after surgery （11/38 vs 23/31; X^2 = 13.98, P 〈 0.01）. The 3-year survival rate after Ro resection was 30.7% and was 10.5% for palliative resection. R0 resection improved the 3-year survival rate （30.7% vs 10.5%; X^2 = 12.47, P 〈 0.01）.CONCLUSION： Hepatectomy, especially including the caudate lobe combined with bile duct resection should be considered standard treatment to cure hilar cholangiocarcinoma.

Genome-wide Detection and Analysis of Alternative Splicing for Nucleotide Binding Site-Leucine-Rich Repeats Sequences in Rice

Alternative splicing is a major contributor to genomic complexity and proteome diversity, yet the analysis of alternative splicing for the sequence containing nucleotide binding site and leucine-rich repeats （NBS-LRR） domain has not been explored in rice （Oryza sativa L.）. Hidden Markov model （HMM） searches were performed for NBS-LRR domain. 875 NBS-LRR-encoding sequences were obtained from the Institute for Genomic Research （TIGR）. All of them were used to blast Knowledge-based Oryza Molecular Biological Encyclopaedia （KOME）, TIGR rice gene index （TGI）, and Universal Protein Resource （UniProt） to obtain homologous full-length cDNAs （FL-cDNAs）, tentative consensus sequences, and protein sequences. Alternative splicing events were detected from genomic alignment of FL-cDNAs, tentative consensus sequences, and protein sequences, which provide valuable information on splice variants of genes. These sequences were aligned to the corresponding BAC sequences using the Spidey and Sim4 programs and each of the proteins was aligned by tBLASTn. Of the 875 NBS-LRR sequences, 119 （13.6%） sequences had alternative splicing where multiple FL-cDNAs, TGI sequences and proteins corresponded to the same gene. 71 intron retention events, 20 exon skipping events, 16 alternative termination events, 25 alternative initiation events, 12 alternative 5＇ splicing events, and 16 alternative 3＇ splicing events were identified. Most of these alternative splices were supported by two or more transcripts. The data sets are available at http：//www.bioinfor.org. Furthermore, the bioinformatics analysis of splice boundaries showed that exon skipping and intron retention did not exhibit strong consensus. This implies a different regulation mechanism that guides the expression of splice isoforms. This article also presents the analysis of the effects of intron retention on proteins. The C-terminal regions of alternative proteins turned out to be more variable than the N-terminal regions. Finally, tissue distribution and protein localization of alternative splicing were explored. The largest categories of tissue distributions for alternative splicing were shoot and callus. More than one-thirds of protein localization for splice forms was plasma membrane and cytoplasm. All the NBS-LRR proteins for splice forms may have important function in disease resistance and activate downstream signaling pathways.

Hyperplastic polyposis associated with two asynchronous colon cancers

We report a patient with hyperplastic polyposis who had two asynchronous colon cancers, a combined adenoma-hyperplastic polyp, a serrated adenoma, and tubular adenomas. Hyperplastic polyposis is thought to be a precancerous lesion; and adenocarcinoma arises from hyperplastic polyposis through the hyperplastic polyp-adenoma-carcinoma sequence. Most polyps in patients with hyperplastic polyposis present as bland- looking hyperplastic polyps, which are regarded as non- neoplastic lesions; however, the risk of malignancy should not be underestimated. In patients with multiple hyperplastic polyps, hyperplastic polyposis should be identified and followed up carefully in order to detect malignant transformation in the early stage.

Comparison of six statistical approaches in the selection of appropriate fish growth models

The performance of six statistical approaches,which can be used for selection of the best model to describe the growth of individual fish,was analyzed using simulated and real length-at-age data.The six approaches include coefficient of determination(R2),adjusted coefficient of determination(adj.-R2),root mean squared error(RMSE),Akaike's information criterion(AIC),bias correction of AIC(AICc) and Bayesian information criterion(BIC).The simulation data were generated by five growth models with different numbers of parameters.Four sets of real data were taken from the literature.The parameters in each of the five growth models were estimated using the maximum likelihood method under the assumption of the additive error structure for the data.The best supported model by the data was identified using each of the six approaches.The results show that R2 and RMSE have the same properties and perform worst.The sample size has an effect on the performance of adj.-R2,AIC,AICc and BIC.Adj.-R2 does better in small samples than in large samples.AIC is not suitable to use in small samples and tends to select more complex model when the sample size becomes large.AICc and BIC have best performance in small and large sample cases,respectively.Use of AICc or BIC is recommended for selection of fish growth model according to the size of the length-at-age data.

Bioinformotics Analysis for Coding SNPs of the HLA-DQA1 Gene Involved in Susceptibility to Cervical Cancer

OBJECTIVE To analyze coding SNPs of the HLA-DQA1 gene involved in susceptibility for cervical cancer by a bioinformatics approach, and to choose some SNPs that may have an association with cervical cancer. METHODS By a SNPper tool we extracted SNPs from a public database (dbSNP), exporting them in FASTA formats suitable for subsequent use. Then we used PARSESNP as a tool for the analysis of the cSNPs. RESULTS In the cSNPs of the HLA-DQA1 gene, we find that rs9272693 and rs9272703, are made up of missense mutations which convert a codon for one amino acid into a codon for a different amino acid. We chose a PSSM Difference >10 as a lower level for the scores of changes predicted to be deldterious. CONCLUSION We used a bioinformatics approach for cSNPs analysis of the HLA-DQA1 gene. This method can select the variants in a conserved region, and give a PSSM Difference score. But the results need to be verified in cervical cancer patients and a control population.

Habitat Utilization and Feeding Biology of Himalayan Grey Langur (Semnopithecus entellus ajex) in Machiara National Park, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan

Habitat utilization and feeding biology of Himalayan Grey Langur （Semnopithecus entellus ajex） were studied from April, 2006 to April, 2007 in Machiara National Park, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. The results showed that in the winter season the most preferred habitat of the langurs was the moist temperate coniferous forests interspersed with deciduous trees, while in the summer season they preferred to migrate into the subalpine scrub forests at higher altitudes. Langurs were folivorous in feeding habit, recorded as consuming more than 49 plant species （27 in summer and 22 in winter） in the study area. The mature leaves （36.12%） were preferred over the young leaves （27.27%） while other food components comprised of fruits （17.00%）, roots （9.45%）, barks （6.69%）, flowers （2.19%） and stems （1.28%） of various plant species.

MicroRNAs and cancer

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) belong to a class of noncoding, regulatory RNAs that are involved in oncogenesis and show remarkable tissue specificity.miRNAs are approximately 22 nt non-coding RNAs, which regulate gene expression in a sequence-specific manner via translational inhibition or messenger RNA (mRNA) degradation, thus affecting various cellular processes.Since the discovery of their fundamental mechanisms of action, the field of miRNAs has opened a new era in the understanding of small noncoding RNAs.Recent evidence has shown that miRNA controls cell growth, apoptosis, and differentiation.Cancer is a complex genetic disease caused by abnormalities in gene structure and expression, moreover, miRNA expression correlates with cancers and could have a crucial function in tumor progression.Bioinformatic data indicate that each miRNA can control hundreds of target genes, but identification of the accurate miRNA targets will be crucial to exploit the emerging knowledge of miRNA contribution to cancer process.

Private Topic or Public One： On Topic Sentence Quality

Topic effect on L2 writing has long been an issue of controversy. This study was carried out to investigate the influence of topic type on the quality of topic sentence. The participants, 150 college students at three different proficiency levels, were asked to write both on a private topic and a public topic. The results show that the participants on the whole wrote better on the public topic, and their proficiencies can be differentiated by the quality of their topic sentences. The public topic was conducive to the production of complete English discourse structures, as well as the generation of informative and predictive topic sentences. Moreover, the results also reveal the dynamic nature of contrastive rhetoric

SECURE STEGANOGRAPHY BASED ON BINARY PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION

The objective of steganography is to hide message securely in cover objects for secret communication.How to design a secure steganographic algorithm is still major challenge in this re-search field.In this letter,developing secure steganography is formulated as solving a constrained IP(Integer Programming) problem,which takes the relative entropy of cover and stego distributions as the objective function.Furthermore,a novel method is introduced based on BPSO(Binary Particle Swarm Optimization) for achieving the optimal solution of this programming problem.Experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve excellent performance on preserving neighboring co-occurrence features for JPEG steganography.

Personalized E-Health Management System for Monitoring and Empowering Patients

This paper presents the design and development of a health information system following the requirements of Spanish law as well as physicians and patients. In Spain, these systems are relatively new because, until recently, ownership of patients＇ medical records belonged to the health institution. The proposed system gives patients all the information about their medical records, online. The difference from other initiatives is that the hospital provides patients with information and the latter are responsible for its future use. Importantly, this application allows physicians to carry out a personalized and individualized monitoring and treatment of each patient. The tests were conducted with real patients, all with a chronic disease （to show each patient the personalized data）. They all expressed their appreciation of this application＇s usefulness, and obtained satisfaction level was very high. Thanks to having medical information stored on the proposed system, it can be provided to other specialists to improve the knowledgement about the patient.

Identification of habitat requirements of farmland birds based on a hierarchical structured monitoring scheme

Agricultural landscapes are essential for the conservation of biodiversity. Nevertheless, a negative trend continues to be observed in many rural areas for the most prominent indicator species group, the farmland birds. However, clear cause-effect relationships are rarely reported and sometimes difficult to deduce, especially from monitoring data which are based only on the detection of species and counts of the numbers of individuals. Because the identification of habitat preferences is a precondition for farmland bird biodiversity conservation efforts, a monitoring scheme for the simultaneous collection and analysis of bird and land use data was developed and tested. In order to assign the occurrence of bird species to land characteristics at various spatial scales and different land use and crop types, we applied a hierarchical structured sampling design. The spatial scales were ‘agricultural landscape', ‘agricultural landscape types', ‘field crops and other habitats' and ‘vegetation structures'. These scales were integrated with a novel concept, the ‘habitat matrix'(HM). This method was applied to farmland breeding bird abundances on 29 plots, each 1 km2 in size, by the use of the territory mapping method. The same plots were enlarged by a 100 m buffer and the sizes and location of habitats documented. Vegetation height, coverage and density were also recorded for all crop fields in the study area. We propose that this monitoring method facilitates the identification of scale dependent relationships between farmland bird habitat characteristics and bird abundance. This is demonstrated by the farmland bird species Corn Bunting(Emberiza calandra), Skylark(Alauda arvensis), and Whinchat(Saxicola rubetra). The breeding territories of these species reveal large differences within the various spatial scales ‘agricultural landscape', ‘agricultural landscape types' and ‘field crops'. Throughout the breeding season the abundances varied, dependent on the field crop and the development of vegetation structures(height, coverage, and density). HM-analysis led to the identification of specific habitat configurations preferred by individual bird species within the agricultural landscape. These findings indicate that the methodology has the potential to design monitoring schemes for the identification of cause-and-effects of landscape configuration, land use and land use changes on the habitat suitability and abundance of farmland birds.

Artistic Practices [Between] Gender and Technologies

This paper was carried out by the group of professors--Maia Creus, Tamara Diaz, and Ines Martins from the Design Analysis and Prospective Department, with the collaboration of the Catalan Institute for Women, Generalitat de Catalunya. Maia Creus and Ines Martins are parts of the research group TADD （Theory, Analysis, Design, and Development） recognized by Ramon Llull University. The research, based on feminist and performance studies, focuses on artistic groups currently working in Catalonia and whose practices produce tools and technology sharing, highlight the social and educational potential of ICTs （information and communication technologies） free access when used, consciously and critically, from feminist perspectives assumed. The research project was developed as a dual methodological process. This research group has developed a critical review of the three conceptual axes--women, art, and technology--around which revolves the present study and, in parallel, has conducted field work directly with groups of selected artists, in order to meet them within their areas of production and to know more about their working methods, theoretical discourse, goals, frustrations, and desires. This deployment in parallel was used to develop a group of key concepts that revolve around ＂free culture＂ and ＂culture of access＂ that in contrast with the practices and theories of the investigated groups are necessary to intercept and reinterpret. Through various forms of visibility, this paper intends to investigate, promote, and share these tools, technologies, and pedagogies developed by these groups which, by its own dynamics of collective work, as well as the processes of public participation, emphasize forms of interculturality and interdisciplinary.