A cascaded symmetrical dual-taper Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure based on guided-mode and leaky-mode interference is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the interference spectrum characteristics ...of interferometer has been analyzed by the Finite Difference-Beam Propagation Method (FD-BPM). When the diameter of taper waist is 20 μm-30 μm, dual-taper length is 1 mm and taper distance is 4 cm-6 cm, the spectral contrast is higher, which is suitable for sensing. Secondly, experimental research on refractive index sensitivity is carried out. A refractive index sensitivity of 62.78 nm/RIU (refractive index unit) can achieved in the RI range of 1.3333-1.3792 (0%~25% NaCl solution), when the sensor structure parameters meet the following conditions: diameter of taper waist is 24 μm, dual-taper length is 837 μm and taper distance is 5.5 cm. The spectrum contrast is 0.8 and measurement resolution is 1.6 × 10(-5) RIU. The simulation analysis is highly consistent with experimental results. Research shows that the sensor has promising application in low RI fields where high-precision measurement is required due to its high sensitivity and stability.
Based on the rockery photos of 10 classical gardens including world cultural heritage, this paper incorporates the combined analysis and comparison of constituent elements (rockeries, buildings and ...plants) of scenic surfaces, and probes into the fractal characteristics of landscaping through the theory and the fractal dimension (FD) value analysis software. Studies have shown that the quantitative evaluation data of visual complexity (FD, i.e., fractal dimension) can characterize the contour morphology of constituent elements of the scenic surface of rockeries. The relevant analysis results are as follows: (1) FD can directly quantify the morphological contour of each element. Through the statistical analysis, it can effectively avoid the misjudgment of empirical cognition and subjective feeling. Therefore, FD value can be used as one of the effective indexes to evaluate the complexity and diversity of rockery and landscape elements. (2) The change in the level of the FD value enables the intuitive analysis of the effects of the plant varieties and landscaping techniques on rockery morphological complexity. (3) Higher FD value is not always better. Necessary morphological maintenance is required to avoid excessive FD value of plants.
Background
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) results in extraordinary weight loss and glycemic control outcomes for patients with obesity; however, the effect of gastric pouch size is still unclear, ...and the reported results are contradictory. Additionally, long-term data on type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with low body mass index (BMI) are sparse. This study was to assess the effect of 6-year outcomes in Chinese patients with T2D and a BMI < 35 kg/m2 who underwent RYGB with gastric pouches of different sizes.
Methods
A retrospective cohort study was performed. There were 42 patients in the large gastric pouch group (L) and 53 patients in the small gastric pouch group (S). Baseline demographic history, pre- and postoperative BMI, waist circumference, and glucose- and lipid metabolism-related indicators were compared.
Results
Assessments were completed in 100%, 100%, 93.6%, and 89.4% of patients at baseline, 1 year, 3 years, and 6 years, respectively. At 6 years, the changes in BMI and fasting plasma glucose were greater in the S group (-4.25 ± 0.51 kg/m2 and -4.58 ± 0.73 mmol/l) than in the L group (-2.06 ± 0.48 kg/m2 and -2.64 ± 0.61 mmol/l). The independent predictors of complete remission of T2D were preoperative BMI and the size of the gastric pouch. A large gastric pouch was associated with a higher risk for marginal ulcers.
Conclusions
A small gastric pouch results in better weight loss and glycemic control. High preoperative BMI and a small gastric pouch are associated with better T2D remission rates. A large gastric pouch leads to a higher incidence of marginal ulcers.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has resulted in a global pandemic.
We used a two-step polymerase chain reaction ...to detect the ACE genotype and ELISA kits to detect the cytokine factor. We also used proteomics to identify the immune pathway related to the ACE protein expression.
In this study, we found that the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) deletion polymorphism was associated with the susceptibility to COVID-19 in a risk-dependent manner among the Chinese population. D/D genotype distributions were higher in the COVID-19 disease group than in the control group (D/D odds ratio is 3.87 for mild (
value < 0.0001), 2.59 for moderate (
value = 0.0002), and 4.05 for severe symptoms (
value < 0.0001), logic regression analysis. Moreover, genotype-specific cytokine storms and immune responses were found enriched in patients with the ACE deletion polymorphism, suggesting the contribution to the susceptibility to COVID-19. Finally, we identified the immune pathway such as the complement system related to the ACE protein expression of patients by lung and plasma proteomics.
Our results demonstrated that it is very important to consider gene polymorphisms in the population to discover a host-based COVID-19 vaccine and drug design for preventive and precision medicine.
Migraine is a neurovascular disease with a high disability rate. Acupuncture treatment has emerged as a safe and viable alternative prophylactic therapy that can effectively alleviate the duration ...and frequency of migraine attacks. However, the therapeutic mechanisms underlying the effects of acupuncture are yet to be systematically elucidated. In this study, we enrolled female patients with migraine without aura (
n
= 20) and healthy controls (
n
= 10). Patients received acupuncture treatment on DU20, DU24, bilateral GB13, GB8, and GB20, applied three times per week over the course of 4 weeks for 12 sessions in total. Blood samples were collected from the median cubital vein before and after acupuncture treatment. Proteomic and metabolomic profiling was performed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to determine the characteristics of differentially expressed molecules and expression of their corresponding biological pathways as well as to elucidate the pathogenesis of migraine and the biological effects underlying the treatment of migraine with acupuncture. Proteomic and metabolomic profiling of plasma samples from patients with migraine without aura before and after acupuncture treatment revealed enrichment of immune-related pathway functions and the arginine synthesis pathway. Joint pathway analyses revealed significant enrichment of the pentose phosphate and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathways in patients with migraine. The glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and riboflavin metabolism pathways were significantly enriched after acupuncture treatment. The expression levels of various key proteins and metabolites, including α-
D
-glucose, flavin adenine dinucleotide, biliverdin reductase B, and L-glutamate, were significantly differentially expressed before and after acupuncture treatment in patients with migraine without aura. Treatment of migraine with acupuncture was associated with significant changes in key molecules and pathways, indicative of physiological changes in the trigeminovascular system, glutamate neurotoxicity, and other migraine-related physiological changes. Overall, our comprehensive analysis using proteomic and metabolomic profiling demonstrates that energy metabolism may serve as a key correlative link in the occurrence of migraine and the therapeutic effects of acupuncture treatment. Our findings may facilitate the identification of diagnostic and therapeutic modalities in the ongoing search for effective treatments for migraine attacks.
Rubber trees in southern China are often impacted by natural disturbances, and accurate rubber tree crown segmentation and property retrieval are of great significance for forest cultivation ...treatments and silvicultural risk management. Here, three plots of different rubber tree clones, PR107, CATAS 7-20-59 and CATAS 8-7-9, that were recently impacted by hurricanes and chilling injury were taken as the study targets. Through data collection using ground-based mobile light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology, a weighted Rayleigh entropy method based on the scanned branch data obtained from the region growing algorithm was proposed to calculate the trunk inclination angle and crown centre of each tree. A watershed algorithm based on the extracted crown centres was then adopted for tree crown segmentation, and a variety of tree properties were successfully extracted to evaluate the susceptibility of different rubber tree clones facing natural disturbances. The results show that the angles between the first-order branches and trunk ranged from 35.1–67.7° for rubber tree clone PR107, which is larger than the angles for clone CATAS 7-20-59, which ranged from 20.2–43.2°. Clone PR107 had the maximum number of scanned leaf points, lowest tree height and a crown volume that was larger than that of CATAS 7-20-59, which generates more frontal leaf area to oppose wind flow and reduces the gaps among tree crowns, inducing strong wind loading on the tree body. These factors result in more severe hurricane damage, resulting in trunk inclination angles that are larger for PR107 than CATAS 7-20-59. In addition, the rubber tree clone CATAS 8-7-9 had the minimal number of scanned leaf points and the smallest tree crown volume, reflecting its vulnerability to both hurricanes and chilling injury. The results are verified by field measurements. The work quantitatively assesses the susceptibility of different rubber tree clones under the impacts of natural disturbances using ground-based mobile LiDAR.
Background/Aims: Type II diabetes is a complex, chronic, and progressive disease. Glucagon-like peptide-1 (7–6) amide (GLP-1) is a gut hormone released from the L cells which stimulates insulin ...secretion, and promotes insulin gene expression and β-cell growth and differentiation. Elevated levels of hormone secreted by L cells are an important reason for diabetes improvement. GLP-1 secretion has been reported to be regulated by farnesoid X receptor (FXR), a transcriptional sensor for bile acids which also acts on glucose metabolism. Herein, we attempted to evaluate the effect of FXR on GLP-1 secretion in mouse enteroendocrine L cell lines, STC-1 and GLUTag, and to investigate the underlying mechanism. Methods: ELISA and Western blot assays were employed to examine the levels of GLP-1 and FXR, and the effect of FXR on GLP-1 secretion; online database, including BioGRID and KEGG were used to identify the potential interactions between FXR and proteins and involved pathways; GST pull-down and Co-Immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) assays were performed to validate FXR-CREB interaction; Luciferase reporter gene assays were used for CREB transcriptional activity determination. Results: FXR inversely regulated GLP-1 secretion in the mouse enteroendocrine L cell lines, GLUTag and STC-1. A total of 24 nonredundant human proteins were shown to be related to FXR by BioGRID; KEGG pathway analysis showed that FXR was related to glucagon signaling pathway, particularly with the transcriptional activators CREB, PGC1α, Sirt1 and CBP. CREB could positively regulate GLP-1 secretion in GLUTag and STC-1 cells. FXR combined with CREB to inhibit its transcriptional activity, thus inhibiting proprotein convertase subtilisin/ kexin type 1 (PCSK1) protein level and GLP-1 secretion. Conclusion: In the present study, we demonstrated a negative regulation of GLP-1 secretion by FXR in L cell lines, GLUTag and STC-1; FXR exerts its function in L cells through interacting with CREB, a crucial transcriptional regulator of cAMP-CREB signaling pathway, to inhibit its transcriptional activity. Targeting FXR to rescue GLP-1 secretion may be a promising strategy for type II diabetes.
T2DM (Type 2 diabetes) is a complex, chronic disease characterized as insulin resistance and islet β-cell dysfunction. Bariatric surgeries such as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery and ...laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) have become part of a critical treatment regimen in the treatment of obesity and T2DM. Moreover, GLP-1 increase following bariatric surgery has been regarded as a significant event in bariatric surgery-induced remission of T2DM. In this study, a high concentration cholesterol-induced lipotoxicity was observed in INS-1 cells, including inhibited cell viability and insulin secretion. Enhanced cell apoptosis and inhibited cholesterol efflux from INS-1 cells; meanwhile, ABCA1 protein level was decreased by cholesterol stimulation. Cholesterol-induced toxicity and ABCA1 downregulation were attenuated by GLP-1 agonist EX-4. GLP-1 induced AMPK phosphorylation during the protection against cholesterol-induced toxicity. Under cholesterol stimulation, GLP-1-induced AMPK activation inhibited PARP-1 activity, therefore attenuating cholesterol-induced toxicity in INS-1 cells. In INS-1 cells, PARP-1 directly interacted with LXR, leading to the poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation of LXRα and downregulation of LXR-mediated ABCA1 expression. In the STZ-induced T2DM model in rats, RYGB surgery or EX-4 treatment improved the glucose metabolism and lipid metabolism in rats through GLP-1 inhibition of PARP-1 activity. In conclusion, GLP-1 inhibits PARP-1 to protect islet β cell function against cholesterol-induced toxicity
in vitro
and
in vivo
through enhancing cholesterol efflux. GLP-1-induced AMPK and LXR-mediated ABCA1 expression are involved in GLP-1 protective effects.
Background
Obesity is associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). We aimed to elucidate the research status and explore research trends and future directions of research on obesity and PCOS.
...Methods
A bibliometric analysis of the published papers in the field of obesity and PCOS between 2012 and 2022 was conducted on the basis of the Web of Science Core Collection database. The collaboration networks, research trends, literature sources, citation analysis, co-citation analysis, and keywords analysis were statistically analyzed and visualized using the VOSviewer software.
Results
We retrieved 2843 records from 681 journals by 12307 authors from 2942 institutes in 99 countries. The number of published papers and citations had a roughly increasing trend annually. The United States and China contributed the majority of the records. Monash University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Karolinska Institute, University of São Paulo, and Tehran University of Medical Sciences were the biggest nodes in their cluster of the collaboration network map, and Moran LJ, Teede HJ, Joham AE, Escobar-Morreale HF, and Macut D were prolific authors. Research trends and hotspots were identified and visualized in the field of obesity and PCOS. Research hotspots in this field focused on insulin resistance (IR), metabolic syndrome, metformin, and inflammation. Bariatric surgery, mitochondrial dysfunction, binding globulins, and comorbidities may be the frontiers of future research.
Conclusions
We concluded the research status and trends in the field of obesity and PCOS. A better understanding of collaboration patterns, research hotspots, and frontiers may be useful for researchers.
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