Screening biomarkers for spinal cord injury using weighted gene co-expression network analysis and machine learning

Immune changes and inflammatory responses have been identified as central events in the pathological process of spinal co rd injury.They can greatly affect nerve regeneration and functional recovery.However,there is still limited understanding of the peripheral immune inflammato ry response in spinal cord inju ry.In this study.we obtained microRNA expression profiles from the peripheral blood of patients with spinal co rd injury using high-throughput sequencing.We also obtained the mRNA expression profile of spinal cord injury patients from the Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)database(GSE151371).We identified 54 differentially expressed microRNAs and 1656 diffe rentially expressed genes using bioinformatics approaches.Functional enrichment analysis revealed that various common immune and inflammation-related signaling pathways,such as neutrophil extracellular trap formation pathway,T cell receptor signaling pathway,and nuclear factor-κB signal pathway,we re abnormally activated or inhibited in spinal cord inju ry patient samples.We applied an integrated strategy that combines weighted gene co-expression network analysis,LASSO logistic regression,and SVM-RFE algorithm and identified three biomarke rs associated with spinal cord injury:ANO10,BST1,and ZFP36L2.We verified the expression levels and diagnostic perfo rmance of these three genes in the original training dataset and clinical samples through the receiver operating characteristic curve.Quantitative polymerase chain reaction results showed that ANO20 and BST1 mRNA levels were increased and ZFP36L2 mRNA was decreased in the peripheral blood of spinal cord injury patients.We also constructed a small RNA-mRNA interaction network using Cytoscape.Additionally,we evaluated the proportion of 22 types of immune cells in the peripheral blood of spinal co rd injury patients using the CIBERSORT tool.The proportions of naive B cells,plasma cells,monocytes,and neutrophils were increased while the proportions of memory B cells,CD8^(+)T cells,resting natural killer cells,resting dendritic cells,and eosinophils were markedly decreased in spinal cord injury patients increased compared with healthy subjects,and ANO10,BST1 and ZFP26L2we re closely related to the proportion of certain immune cell types.The findings from this study provide new directions for the development of treatment strategies related to immune inflammation in spinal co rd inju ry and suggest that ANO10,BST2,and ZFP36L2 are potential biomarkers for spinal cord injury.The study was registe red in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry(registration No.ChiCTR2200066985,December 12,2022).

Weighted gene co-expression network analysis reveals similarities and differences of molecular features between dilated and ischemic cardiomyopathies

Cardiomyopathies represent the most common clinical and genetic heterogeneous group of diseases that affect the heart function.Though progress has been made to elucidate the process,molecular mechanisms of different classes of cardiomyopathies remain elusive.This paper aims to describe the similarities and differences in molecular features of dilated cardiomyopathy(DCM)and ischemic cardiomyopathy(ICM).We firstly detected the co-expressed modules using the weighted gene co-expression network analysis(WGCNA).Significant modules associated with DCM/ICM were identified by the Pearson correlation coefficient(PCC)between the modules and the phenotype of DCM/ICM.The differentially expressed genes in the modules were selected to perform functional enrichment.The potential transcription factors(TFs)prediction was conducted for transcription regulation of hub genes.Apoptosis and cardiac conduction were perturbed in DCM and ICM,respectively.TFs demonstrated that the biomarkers and the transcription regulations in DCM and ICM were different,which helps make more accurate discrimination between them at molecular levels.In conclusion,comprehensive analyses of the molecular features may advance our understanding of DCM and ICM causes and progression.Thus,this understanding may promote the development of innovative diagnoses and treatments.

Transcriptome and weighted gene co-expression network analysis of jujube(Ziziphus jujuba Mill.)fruit reveal putative genes involved in proanthocyanin biosynthesis and regulation

Proanthocyanidin(PA)is an important bioactive compound with multiple physiological benefits in jujube(Ziziphus jujube Mill.).However,the molecular mechanisms underlying PA biosynthesis in jujube fruit have not been investigated.Here,the profiling of PA,(+)-catechin and(–)-epicatechin and transcriptome sequencing of three jujube cultivars from Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China at five developmental stages were analyzed.The levels of total PAs and catechin exhibited a decreased trend over jujube ripening,and epicatechin content of two jujube cultivars increased first and then declined.Transcriptome analysis revealed that the differentially expressed genes(DEGs)were mainly enriched in ribosome,glycolysis/gluconeogenesis,fructose and mannose metabolism.17 DEGs encoding PAL,CHS,CHI,CHS,F3'H,LAR,ANR,C4Hs,4CLs,FLSs,DFRs and UFGTs involved in PA biosynthesis were relatively abundant.The highly transcribed LAR gene may greatly contribute to epicatechin accumulation.A weighted gene co-expression network analysis(WGCNA)was performed,and a network module including 1620 genes highly correlated with content of Pas and catechin was established.We identified 58 genes including 9 structural genes and 49 regulatory genes related to PA biosynthesis and regulation in the WGCNA module.Sixteen genes encoding 9 families of transcriptional factors(i.e.,MYB,bHLH,ERF,bZIP,NAC,SBP,MIKC,HB,WRKY)were considered as hub genes.The results of qRT-PCR analysis validating 10 genes were well consistent with the transcriptome data.These findings provide valuable knowledge to facilitate its genetic studies and molecular breeding.

Association of CDH11 with Autism Spectrum Disorder Revealed by Matched-gene Co-expression Analysis and Mouse Behavioral Studies

A large number of putative risk genes for autism spectrum disorder(ASD)have been reported.The functions of most of these susceptibility genes in developing brains remain unknown,and causal relationships between their variation and autism traits have not been established.The aim of this study was to predict putative risk genes at the whole-genome level based on the analysis of gene co-expression with a group of high-confidence ASD risk genes(hcASDs).The results showed that three gene features–gene size,mRNA abundance,and guanine-cytosine content–affect the genome-wide co-expression profiles of hcASDs.To circumvent the interference of these features in gene co-expression analysis,we developed a method to determine whether a gene is significantly co-expressed with hcASDs by statistically comparing the co-expression profile of this gene with hcASDs to that of this gene with permuted gene sets of feature-matched genes.This method is referred to as"matched-gene co-expression analysis"(MGCA).With MGCA,we demonstrated the convergence in developmental expression profiles of hcASDs and improved the efficacy of risk gene prediction.The results of analysis of two recently-reported ASD candidate genes,CDH11 and CDH9,suggested the involvement of CDH11,but not CDH9,in ASD.Consistent with this prediction,behavioral studies showed that Cdh11-null mice,but not Cdh9-null mice,have multiple autism-like behavioral alterations.This study highlights the power of MGCA in revealing ASD-associated genes and the potential role of CDH11 in ASD.

Co-expression Analysis Identifies CRC and AP1 the Regulator of Arabidopsis Fatty Acid Biosynthesis

Fatty acids （FAs） play crucial rules in signal transduction and plant development, however, the regulation of FA metabolism is still poorly understood. To study the relevant regulatory network, fifty-eight FA biosynthesis genes including de novo synthases, desaturases and elongases were selected as ＂guide genes＂ to construct the co-expression network. Calculation of the correlation between all Arabidopsis thaliana （L.） genes with each guide gene by Arabidopsis co-expression dating mining tools （ACT） identifies 797 candidate FA-correlated genes. Gene ontology （GO） analysis of these co-expressed genes showed they are tightly correlated to photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism, and function in many processes. Interestingly, 63 transcription factors （TFs） were identified as candidate FA biosynthesis regulators and 8 TF families are enriched. Two TF genes, CRC and AP1, both correlating with 8 FA guide genes, were further characterized. Analyses of the ap1 and crc mutant showed the altered total FA composition of mature seeds. The contents of palmitoleic acid, stearic acid, arachidic acid and eicosadienoic acid are decreased, whereas that of oleic acid is increased in apl and crc seeds, which is consistent with the qRT-PCR analysis revealing the suppressed expression of the corresponding guide genes. In addition, yeast one-hybrid analysis and electrophoretic mobility shift assay （EMSA） revealed that CRC can bind to the promoter regions of KCS7 and KCS15, indicating that CRC may directly regulate FA biosynthesis.

Social-ecological perspective on the suicidal behaviour factors of early adolescents in China:a network analysis

Background In early adolescence,youth are highly prone to suicidal behaviours.Identifying modifiable risk factors during this critical phase is a priority to inform effective suicide prevention strategies.Aims To explore the risk and protective factors of suicidal behaviours(ie,suicidal ideation,plans and attempts)in early adolescence in China using a social-ecological perspective.Methods Using data from the cross-sectional project‘Healthy and Risky Behaviours Among Middle School Students in Anhui Province,China',stratified random cluster sampling was used to select 5724 middle school students who had completed self-report questionnaires in November 2020.Network analysis was employed to examine the correlates of suicidal ideation,plans and attempts at four levels,namely individual(sex,academic performance,serious physical llness/disability,history of self-harm,depression,impulsivity,sleep problems,resilience),family(family economic status,relationship with mother,relationship with father,family violence,childhood abuse,parental mental illness),school(relationship with teachers,relationship with classmates,school-bullying victimisation and perpetration)and social(social support,satisfaction with society).Results In total,37.9%,19.0%and 5.5%of the students reported suicidal ideation,plans and attempts in the past 6 months,respectively.The estimated network revealed that suicidal ideation,plans and attempts were collectively associated with a history of self-harm,sleep problems,childhood abuse,school bullying and victimisation.Centrality analysis indicated that the most influential nodes in the network were history of self-harm and childhood abuse.Notably,the network also showed unique correlates of suicidal ideation(sex,weight=0.60;impulsivity,weight=0.24;family violence,weight=0.17;relationship with teachers,weight=-0.03;school-bullying perpetration,weight=0.22),suicidal plans(social support,weight=-0.15)and suicidal attempts(relationship with mother,weight=-0.10;parental mental llness,weight=0.61).Conclusions This study identified the correlates of suicidal ideation,plans and attempts,and provided practical implications for suicide prevention for young adolescents in China.Firstly,this study highlighted the importance of joint interventions across multiple departments.Secondly,the common risk factors of suicidal ideation,plans and attempts were elucidated.Thirdly,this study proposed target interventions to address the unique influencing factors of suicidal ideation,plans and attempts.

Transglutaminase 2 serves as a pathogenic hub gene of KRAS mutant colon cancer based on integrated analysis

BACKGROUND Colon cancer is acknowledged as one of the most common malignancies worldwide,ranking third in United States regarding incidence and mortality.Notably,approximately 40%of colon cancer cases harbor oncogenic KRAS mutations,resulting in the continuous activation of epidermal growth factor receptor signaling.AIM To investigate the key pathogenic genes in KRAS mutant colon cancer holds considerable importance.METHODS Weighted gene co-expression network analysis,in combination with additional bioinformatics analysis,were conducted to screen the key factors driving the progression of KRAS mutant colon cancer.Meanwhile,various in vitro experiments were also conducted to explore the biological function of transglutaminase 2(TGM2).RESULTS Integrated analysis demonstrated that TGM2 acted as an independent prognostic factor for progression-free survival.Immunohistochemical analysis on tissue microarrays revealed that TGM2 was associated with an elevated probability of perineural invasion in patients with KRAS mutant colon cancer.Additionally,biological roles of the key gene TGM2 was also assessed,suggesting that the downregulation of TGM2 attenuated the proliferation,invasion,and migration of the KRAS mutant colon cancer cell line.CONCLUSION This study underscores the potential significance of TGM2 in the progression of KRAS mutant colon cancer.This insight not only offers a theoretical foundation for therapeutic approaches but also highlights the need for additional clinical trials and fundamental research to support our preliminary findings.

Advances in microfluidic-based DNA methylation analysis

DNA methylation has been extensively investigated in recent years,not least because of its known relationship with various diseases.Progress in analytical methods can greatly increase the relevance of DNA methylation studies to both clinical medicine and scientific research.Microflu-idic chips are excellent carriers for molecular analysis,and their use can provide improvements from multiple aspects.On-chip molecular analysis has received extensive attention owing to its advantages of portability,high throughput,low cost,and high efficiency.In recent years,the use of novel microfluidic chips for DNA methylation analysis has been widely reported and has shown obvious superiority to conventional methods.In this review,wefirst focus on DNA methylation and its applications.Then,we discuss advanced microfluidic-based methods for DNA methylation analysis and describe the great progress that has been made in recent years.Finally,we summarize the advantages that microfluidic technology brings to DNA methylation analysis and describe several challenges and perspectives for on-chip DNA methylation analysis.This review should help researchers improve their understanding and make progress in developing microfluidic-based methods for DNA methylation analysis.

A Review on Sources,Extractions and Analysis Methods of a Sustainable Biomaterial:Tannins

Condensed and hydrolysable tannins are non-toxic natural polyphenols that are a commercial commodity industrialized for tanning hides to obtain leather and for a growing number of other industrial applications mainly to substitute petroleum-based products.They are a definite class of sustainable materials of the forestry industry.They have been in operation for hundreds of years to manufacture leather and now for a growing number of applications in a variety of other industries,such as wood adhesives,metal coating,pharmaceutical/medical applications and several others.This review presents the main sources,either already or potentially commercial of this forestry by-materials,their industrial and laboratory extraction systems,their systems of analysis with their advantages and drawbacks,be these methods so simple to even appear primitive but nonetheless of proven effectiveness,or very modern and instrumental.It constitutes a basic but essential summary of what is necessary to know of these sustainable materials.In doing so,the review highlights some of the main challenges that remain to be addressed to deliver the quality and economics of tannin supply necessary to fulfill the industrial production requirements for some materials-based uses.

Lagrangian coherent structure analysis on transport of Acetes chinensis along coast of Lianyungang,China

Spatial heterogeneity or“patchiness”of plankton distributions in the ocean has always been an attractive and challenging scientific issue to oceanographers.We focused on the accumulation and dynamic mechanism of the Acetes chinensis in the Lianyungang nearshore licensed fishing area.The Lagrangian frame approaches including the Lagrangian coherent structures theory,Lagrangian residual current,and Lagrangian particle-tracking model were applied to find the transport pathways and aggregation characteristics of Acetes chinensis.There exist some material transport pathways for Acetes chinensis passing through the licensed fishing area,and Acetes chinensis is easy to accumulate in the licensed fishing area.The main mechanism forming this distribution pattern is the local circulation induced by the nonlinear interaction of topography and tidal flow.Both the Lagrangian coherent structure analysis and the particle trajectory tracking indicate that Acetes chinensis in the licensed fishing area come from the nearshore estuary.This work contributed to the adjustment of licensed fishing area and the efficient utilization of fishery resources.

Iron and ferritin effects on intensive care unit mortality:A metaanalysis

BACKGROUND The effect of serum iron or ferritin parameters on mortality among critically ill patients is not well characterized.AIM To determine the association between serum iron or ferritin parameters and mortality among critically ill patients.METHODS Web of Science,Embase,PubMed,and Cochrane Library databases were searched for studies on serum iron or ferritin parameters and mortality among critically ill patients.Two reviewers independently assessed,selected,and abstracted data from studies reporting on serum iron or ferritin parameters and mortality among critically ill patients.Data on serum iron or ferritin levels,mortality,and demographics were extracted.RESULTS Nineteen studies comprising 125490 patients were eligible for inclusion.We observed a slight negative effect of serum ferritin on mortality in the United States population[relative risk(RR)1.002;95%CI:1.002-1.004].In patients with sepsis,serum iron had a significant negative effect on mortality(RR=1.567;95%CI:1.208-1.925).CONCLUSION This systematic review presents evidence of a negative correlation between serum iron levels and mortality among patients with sepsis.Furthermore,it reveals a minor yet adverse impact of serum ferritin on mortality among the United States population.

Identification of an Aux/IAA regulator for flesh firmness using combined GWAS and bulked segregant RNA-Seq analysis in watermelon

Watermelon is a highly cultivated fruit crop renowned for its quality properties of fruit flesh.Among various quality factors,fruit flesh firmness is a crucial quality parameter influencing the fruit texture,shelf life and its commercial value.The auxin/indole-3-acetic acid(Aux/IAA)plays a significant role in fruit development and ripening of non-climacteric fruits.However,the regulatory mechanism of Aux/IAA in controlling fruit flesh firmness and ripening in watermelon remains unknown.In this study,we employed an integrative approach combining genome-wide association study(GWAS)and bulked segregant RNA-Seq analysis(BSR-Seq)to identify an overlapping candidate region between 12776310 and 12968331 bp on chromosome 6,underlying an auxin-responsive gene(Aux/IAA)associated with flesh firmness in watermelon.Transcriptome analysis,followed by real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR(qRT-PCR),confirmed that the expression of Aux/IAA was consistently higher in fruits with high flesh firmness.The sequence alignment revealed a single base mutation in the coding region of Aux/IAA.Furthermore,the concomitant Kompetitive/Competitive allele-specific PCR(KASP)genotyping data sets for F2 population and germplasm accessions identified Aux/IAA as a strong candidate gene associated with flesh firmness.Aux/IAA was enriched in the plant hormone signal transduction pathway,involving cell enlargement and leading to low flesh firmness.We determined the higher accumulation of abscisic acid(ABA)in fruits with low flesh firmness than hard flesh.Moreover,overexpression of Aux/IAA induced higher flesh firmness with an increased number of fruit flesh cells while reducing ABA content and flesh cell sizes.Additionally,the allelic variation in Aux/IAA for soft flesh firmness was found to exist in Citrullus mucosospermus and gradually fixed into Citrullus lanatus during domestication,indicating that soft flesh firmness was a domesticated trait.These findings significantly enhanced our understanding of watermelon fruit flesh firmness and consequently the watermelon fruit quality.

Telomerase-related advances in hepatocellular carcinoma:A bibliometric and visual analysis

BACKGROUND As a critical early event in hepatocellular carcinogenesis,telomerase activation might be a promising and critical biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)patients,and its function in the genesis and treatment of HCC has gained much attention over the past two decades.AIM To perform a bibliometric analysis to systematically assess the current state of research on HCC-related telomerase.METHODS The Web of Science Core Collection and PubMed were systematically searched to retrieve publications pertaining to HCC/telomerase limited to“articles”and“reviews”published in English.A total of 873 relevant publications related to HCC and telomerase were identified.We employed the Bibliometrix package in R to extract and analyze the fundamental information of the publications,such as the trends in the publications,citation counts,most prolific or influential writers,and most popular journals;to screen for keywords occurring at high frequency;and to draw collaboration and cluster analysis charts on the basis of coauthorship and co-occurrences.VOSviewer was utilized to compile and visualize the bibliometric data.RESULTS A surge of 51 publications on HCC/telomerase research occurred in 2016,the most productive year from 1996 to 2023,accompanied by the peak citation count recorded in 2016.Up to December 2023,35226 citations were made to all publications,an average of 46.6 citations to each paper.The United States received the most citations(n=13531),followed by China(n=7427)and Japan(n=5754).In terms of national cooperation,China presented the highest centrality,its strongest bonds being to the United States and Japan.Among the 20 academic institutions with the most publications,ten came from China and the rest of Asia,though the University of Paris Cité,Public Assistance-Hospitals of Paris,and the National Institute of Health and Medical Research(INSERM)were the most prolific.As for individual contributions,Hisatomi H,Kaneko S,and Ide T were the three most prolific authors.Kaneko S ranked first by H-index,G-index,and overall publication count,while Zucman-Rossi J ranked first in citation count.The five most popular journals were the World Journal of Gastroenterology,Hepatology,Journal of Hepatology,Oncotarget,and Oncogene,while Nature Genetics,Hepatology,and Nature Reviews Disease Primers had the most citations.We extracted 2293 keywords from the publications,120 of which appeared more than ten times.The most frequent were HCC,telomerase and human telomerase reverse transcriptase(hTERT).Keywords such as mutational landscape,TERT promoter mutations,landscape,risk,and prognosis were among the most common issues in this field in the last three years and may be topics for research in the coming years.CONCLUSION Our bibliometric analysis provides a comprehensive overview of HCC/telomerase research and insights into promising upcoming research.

Micro segment analysis of supercritical methane thermal-hydraulic performance and pseudo-boiling in a PCHE straight channel

The printed circuit heat exchanger(PCHE) is receiving wide attention as a new kind of compact heat exchanger and is considered as a promising vaporizer in the LNG process. In this paper, a PCHE straight channel in the length of 500 mm is established, with a semicircular cross section in a diameter of 1.2 mm.Numerical simulation is employed to investigate the flow and heat transfer performance of supercritical methane in the channel. The pseudo-boiling theory is adopted and the liquid-like, two-phase-like, and vapor-like regimes are divided for supercritical methane to analyze the heat transfer and flow features.The results are presented in micro segment to show the local convective heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop. It shows that the convective heat transfer coefficient in segments along the channel has a significant peak feature near the pseudo-critical point and a heat transfer deterioration when the average fluid temperature in the segment is higher than the pseudo-critical point. The reason is explained with the generation of vapor-like film near the channel wall that the peak feature related to a nucleateboiling-like state and heat transfer deterioration related to a film-boiling-like state. The effects of parameters, including mass flow rate, pressure, and wall heat flux on flow and heat transfer were analyzed.In calculating of the averaged heat transfer coefficient of the whole channel, the traditional method shows significant deviation and the micro segment weighted average method is adopted. The pressure drop can mainly be affected by the mass flux and pressure and little affected by the wall heat flux. The peak of the convective heat transfer coefficient can only form at high mass flux, low wall heat flux, and near critical pressure, in which condition the nucleate-boiling-like state is easier to appear. Moreover,heat transfer deterioration will always appear, since the supercritical flow will finally develop into a filmboiling-like state. So heat transfer deterioration should be taken seriously in the design and safe operation of vaporizer PCHE. The study of this work clarified the local heat transfer and flow feature of supercritical methane in microchannel and contributed to the deep understanding of supercritical methane flow of the vaporization process in PCHE.

Semi-analytical solution for drained expansion analysis of a hollow cylinder of critical state soils

The expansion of a thick-walled hollow cylinder in soil is of non-self-similar nature that the stress/deformation paths are not the same for different soil material points.As a result,this problem cannot be solved by the common self-similar-based similarity techniques.This paper proposes a novel,exact solution for rigorous drained expansion analysis of a hollow cylinder of critical state soils.Considering stress-dependent elastic moduli of soils,new analytical stress and displacement solutions for the nonself-similar problem are developed taking the small strain assumption in the elastic zone.In the plastic zone,the cavity expansion response is formulated into a set of first-order partial differential equations(PDEs)with the combination use of Eulerian and Lagrangian descriptions,and a novel solution algorithm is developed to efficiently solve this complex boundary value problem.The solution is presented in a general form and thus can be useful for a wide range of soils.With the new solution,the non-self-similar nature induced by the finite outer boundary is clearly demonstrated and highlighted,which is found to be greatly different to the behaviour of cavity expansion in infinite soil mass.The present solution may serve as a benchmark for verifying the performance of advanced numerical techniques with critical state soil models and be used to capture the finite boundary effect for pressuremeter tests in small-sized calibration chambers.

Identification of cell surface markers for acute myeloid leukemia prognosis based on multi-model analysis

Given the extremely high inter-patient heterogeneity of acute myeloid leukemia(AML),the identification of biomarkers for prognostic assessment and therapeutic guidance is critical.Cell surface markers(CSMs)have been shown to play an important role in AML leukemogenesis and progression.In the current study,we evaluated the prognostic potential of all human CSMs in 130 AML patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)based on differential gene expression analysis and univariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis.By using multi-model analysis,including Adaptive LASSO regression,LASSO regression,and Elastic Net,we constructed a 9-CSMs prognostic model for risk stratification of the AML patients.The predictive value of the 9-CSMs risk score was further validated at the transcriptome and proteome levels.Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed that the risk score was an independent prognostic factor for the AML patients.The AML patients with high 9-CSMs risk scores had a shorter overall and event-free survival time than those with low scores.Notably,single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis indicated that patients with high 9-CSMs risk scores exhibited chemotherapy resistance.Furthermore,PI3K inhibitors were identified as potential treatments for these high-risk patients.In conclusion,we constructed a 9-CSMs prognostic model that served as an independent prognostic factor for the survival of AML patients and held the potential for guiding drug therapy.

Causal Analysis Between Rice Growth and Cadmium Accumulation and Transfer under Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Inoculation

Cadmium(Cd)contamination in rice has been a serious threat to human health.To investigate the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF)on the Cd translocation in rice,a controlled pot experiment was conducted.The results indicated that AMF significantly increased rice biomass,with an increase of up to 40.0%,particularly in root biomass by up to 68.4%.Notably,the number of prominent rice individuals also increased,and their plasticity was enhanced following AMF inoculation.AMF led to an increase in the net photosynthetic rate and antioxidant enzyme activity of rice.In the AMF treatment group,the Cd concentration in the rice roots was significantly higher(19.1%‒68.0%)compared with that in the control group.Conversely,the Cd concentration in the rice seeds was lower in the AMF treatment group,indicating that AMF facilitated the sequestration of Cd in rice roots and reduced Cd accumulation in the seeds.Path coefficients varied across different treatments,suggesting that AMF inoculation reduced the direct impact of soil Cd concentration on the total Cd accumulation in seeds.The translocation of Cd was consistently associated with simultaneous growth dilution and compensatory accumulation as a result of mycorrhizal effects.Our study quantitatively analyzed this process through path analysis and clarified the causal relationship between rice growth and Cd transfer under the influence of AMF.

Perception of dental appearance and aesthetic analysis among patients,laypersons and dentists

BACKGROUND Current concepts of beauty are increasingly subjective,influenced by the viewpoints of others.The aim of the study was to evaluate divergences in the perception of dental appearance and smile esthetics among patients,laypersons and dental practitioners.The study goals were to evaluate the influence of age,sex,education and dental specialty on the participants’judgment and to identify the values of different esthetic criteria.Patients sample included 50 patients who responded to a dental appearance questionnaire(DAQ).Two frontal photographs were taken,one during a smile and one with retracted lips.Laypersons and dentists were asked to evaluate both photographs using a Linear Scale from(0-10),where 0 represent(absolutely unaesthetic)and 10 represent(absolutely aesthetic).One-way analysis of variance(ANOVA)and t-test analysis were measured for each group.Most patients in the sample expressed satisfaction with most aspects of their smiles and dental appearance.Among laypersons(including 488 participants),47 pictures“with lips”out of 50 had higher mean aesthetic scores compared to pictures“without lips”.Among the dentist sample,90 dentists’perception towards the esthetic smile and dental appearance for photos“with lips”and“without lips”were the same for 23 out of 50 patients.Perception of smile aesthetics differed between patients,laypersons and dentists.Several factors can contribute to shape the perception of smile aesthetic.AIM To compare the perception of dental aesthetic among patients,laypersons,and professional dentists,to evaluate the impact of age,sex,educational background,and income on the judgments made by laypersons,to assess the variations in experience,specialty,age,and sex on professional dentists’judgment,and to evaluate the role of lips,skin shade and tooth shade in different participants’judgments.METHODS Patients sample included 50 patients who responded to DAQ.Two frontal photographs were taken:one during a smile and one with retracted lips.Laypersons and dentists were asked to evaluate both photographs using a Linear Scale from(0-10),where 0 represent(absolutely unaesthetic)and 10 represent(absolutely aesthetic).One-way ANOVA and t-test analysis were measured for each group.RESULTS Most patients in the sample expressed satisfaction with most aspects of their smiles and dental appearance.Among laypersons(including 488 participants),47 pictures“with lips”out of 50 had higher mean aesthetic scores compared to pictures“without lips”.Whereas among the dentist sample,90 dentists’perception towards the esthetic smile and dental appearance for photos“with lips”and“without lips”were the same for 23 out of 50 patients.Perception of smile aesthetics differed between patients,laypersons and dentists.CONCLUSION Several factors can contribute to shape the perception of smile aesthetic.

Co-expression network analysis predicts a key role of microRNAs in the adaptation of the porcine skeletal muscle to nutrient supply

Background:The role of non-coding RNAs in the porcine muscle metabolism is poorly understood,with few studies investigating their expression patterns in response to nutrient supply.Therefore,we aimed to investigate the changes in microRNAs(miRNAs),long intergenic non-coding RNAs(lincRNAs)and mRNAs muscle expression before and after food intake.Results:We measured the miRNA,lincRNA and mRNA expression levels in the gluteus medius muscle of 12 gilts in a fasting condition(AL-T0)and 24 gilts fed ad libitum during either 5 h.(AL-T1,N=12)or 7 h.(AL-T2,N=12)prior to slaughter.The small RNA fraction was extracted from muscle samples retrieved from the 36 gilts and sequenced,whereas lincRNA and mRNA expression data were already available.In terms of mean and variance,the expression profiles of miRNAs and lincRNAs in the porcine muscle were quite different than those of mRNAs.Food intake induced the differential expression of 149(AL-T0/AL-T1)and 435(AL-T0/AL-T2)mRNAs,6(AL-T0/AL-T1)and 28(AL-T0/AL-T2)miRNAs and none lincRNAs,while the number of differentially dispersed genes was much lower.Among the set of differentially expressed miRNAs,we identified ssc-miR-148a-3p,ssc-miR-22-3p and ssc-miR-1,which play key roles in the regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism.Besides,co-expression network analyses revealed several miRNAs that putatively interact with mRNAs playing key metabolic roles and that also showed differential expression before and after feeding.One case example was represented by seven miRNAs(ssc-miR-148a-3p,ssc-miR-151-3p,ssc-miR-30a-3p,ssc-miR-30e-3p,ssc-miR-421-5p,ssc-miR-493-5p and ssc-miR-503)which putatively interact with the PDK4 mRNA,one of the master regulators of glucose utilization and fatty acid oxidation.Conclusions:As a whole,our results evidence that microRNAs are likely to play an important role in the porcine skeletal muscle metabolic adaptation to nutrient availability.

Model reduction of fractional impedance spectra for time–frequency analysis of batteries, fuel cells, and supercapacitors

Joint time–frequency analysis is an emerging method for interpreting the underlying physics in fuel cells,batteries,and supercapacitors.To increase the reliability of time–frequency analysis,a theoretical correlation between frequency-domain stationary analysis and time-domain transient analysis is urgently required.The present work formularizes a thorough model reduction of fractional impedance spectra for electrochemical energy devices involving not only the model reduction from fractional-order models to integer-order models and from high-to low-order RC circuits but also insight into the evolution of the characteristic time constants during the whole reduction process.The following work has been carried out:(i)the model-reduction theory is addressed for typical Warburg elements and RC circuits based on the continued fraction expansion theory and the response error minimization technique,respectively;(ii)the order effect on the model reduction of typical Warburg elements is quantitatively evaluated by time–frequency analysis;(iii)the results of time–frequency analysis are confirmed to be useful to determine the reduction order in terms of the kinetic information needed to be captured;and(iv)the results of time–frequency analysis are validated for the model reduction of fractional impedance spectra for lithium-ion batteries,supercapacitors,and solid oxide fuel cells.In turn,the numerical validation has demonstrated the powerful function of the joint time–frequency analysis.The thorough model reduction of fractional impedance spectra addressed in the present work not only clarifies the relationship between time-domain transient analysis and frequency-domain stationary analysis but also enhances the reliability of the joint time–frequency analysis for electrochemical energy devices.