Smart meters play vital roles in the aspects of the management and operation of smart grids such as demand response, energy efficiency improvement, and electricity pricing. Massive amounts of data ...are being collected owing to the popularity of smart meters. Two main issues should be addressed in this context. One is the communication and storage of big data from smart meters at reduced cost. The other is the effective extraction of useful information from this massive dataset. In this paper, the K-SVD sparse representation technique, which includes two phases (dictionary learning and sparse coding), is used to decompose load profiles into linear combinations of several partial usage patterns (PUPs), which allows the smart meter data to be compressed and hidden electricity consumption patterns to be extracted. Then, a linear support vector machine (SVM) based method is used to classify the load profiles into two groups, residential customers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), based on the extracted patterns. Comprehensive comparisons with the results of k-means clustering, the discrete wavelet transform (DWT), principal component analysis (PCA), and piecewise aggregate approximation (PAA) are conducted on real datasets in Ireland. The results show that our proposed technique outperforms these methods in both compression ratio and classification accuracy.
Forsythiae Fructus (called Lianqiao in Chinese), the fruit of Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl, is utilized as a common traditional medicine in China, Japan and Korea. It is traditionally used to ...treat pyrexia, inflammation, gonorrhea, carbuncle and erysipelas. Depending on the different harvest time, Forsythiae Fructus can be classified into two forms, namely Qingqiao and Laoqiao. The greenish fruits that start to ripen are collected as Qingqiao, while the yellow fruits that are fully ripe are collected as Laoqiao. Both are applied to medical use. This review aims to provide a systematic summary of F. suspensa (Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl) and to reveal the correlation between the traditional uses and pharmacological activities so as to offer inspiration for future research.
All corresponding information about F. suspensa was searched by Scifinder and obtained from scientific databases including Springer, Science Direct, Wiley, Pubmed and China Knowledge Resource Integrated (CNKI). Local dissertations and books were searched as well.
According to classical Chinese herbal texts and Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Forsythiae Fructus dominantly displays heat-clearing and detoxifying effects in TCM prescriptions. In modern research, more than 230 compounds were separated and identified from F. suspensa. 211 Of them were isolated from fruits. Lignans and phenylethanoid glycosides are considered as the characteristic and active constituents of this herb, such as forsythiaside, phillyrin, rutin and phillygenin. They exhibited anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-virus, anti-cancer and anti-allergy effects, etc. Currently, there is no report on the toxicity of Forsythiae Fructus, despite slight toxicity of forsythiaside reported in local publications. Compared to Laoqiao, Qingqiao contains higher levels of forsythiaside, forsythoside C, cornoside, rutin, phillyrin, gallic acid and chlorogenic acid and lower levels of rengyol, β-glucose and S-suspensaside methyl ether.
Heat-clearing actions of Forsythiae Fructus are based on the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of lignans and phenylethanoid glycosides. Detoxifying effects attribute to the antibacterial, antiviral and anti-cancer activities of Forsythiae Fructus. And traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) characteristics of Forsythiae Fructus (bitter flavor, slightly cold nature and lung meridian) supported its strong anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, the remarkable anti-inflammatory and antioxidant capacities of Forsythiae Fructus contribute to its anti-cancer and neuroprotective activities. The higher proportion of lignans and phenylethanoid glycosides in Qingqiao than Laoqiao might explain the better antioxidant ability of Qingqiao and more frequent uses of Qingqiao in TCM prescriptions. For future research, more in vivo experiments and clinical studies are encouraged to further clarify the relation between traditional uses and modern applications. Regarding to Qingqiao and Laoqiao, they remain to be differentiated by all-round quality control methods, and the chemical compositions and clinical effects between them should be compared.
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Aims
As one of the most fundamental questions in modern science, “what causes schizophrenia (SZ)” remains a profound mystery due to the absence of objective gene markers. The reproducibility of the ...gene signatures identified by independent studies is found to be extremely low due to the incapability of available feature selection methods and the lack of measurement on validating signatures’ robustness. These irreproducible results have significantly limited our understanding of the etiology of SZ.
Methods
In this study, a new feature selection strategy was developed, and a comprehensive analysis was then conducted to ensure a reliable signature discovery. Particularly, the new strategy (a) combined multiple randomized sampling with consensus scoring and (b) assessed gene ranking consistency among different datasets, and a comprehensive analysis among nine independent studies was conducted.
Results
Based on a first‐ever evaluation of methods’ reproducibility that was cross‐validated by nine independent studies, the newly developed strategy was found to be superior to the traditional ones. As a result, 33 genes were consistently identified from multiple datasets by the new strategy as differentially expressed, which might facilitate our understanding of the mechanism underlying the etiology of SZ.
Conclusion
A new strategy capable of enhancing the reproducibility of feature selection in current SZ research was successfully constructed and validated. A group of candidate genes identified in this study should be considered as great potential for revealing the etiology of SZ.
Insect gustatory receptors are predicted to have a seven-transmembrane structure and are distantly related to insect olfactory receptors, which have an inverted topology compared with G-protein ...coupled receptors, including mammalian olfactory receptors. In contrast, the topology of insect gustatory receptors remains unknown. Except for a few examples from Drosophila, the specificity of individual insect gustatory receptors is also unknown. In this study, the total number of identified gustatory receptors in Bombyx mori was expanded from 65 to 69. BmGr8, a silkmoth gustatory receptor from the sugar receptor subfamily, was expressed in insect cells. Membrane topology studies on BmGr8 indicate that, like insect olfactory receptors, it has an inverted topology relative to G protein-coupled receptors. An orphan GR from the bitter receptor family, BmGr53, yielded similar results. We infer, from the finding that two distantly related BmGrs have an intracellular N-terminus and an odd number of transmembrane spans, that this is likely to be a general topology for all insect gustatory receptors. We also show that BmGr8 functions independently in Sf9 cells and responds in a concentration-dependent manner to the polyalcohols myo-inositol and epi-inositol but not to a range of mono- and di-saccharides. BmGr8 is the first chemoreceptor shown to respond specifically to inositol, an important or essential nutrient for some Lepidoptera. The selectivity of BmGr8 responses is consistent with the known responses of one of the gustatory receptor neurons in the lateral styloconic sensilla of B. mori, which responds to myo-inositol and epi-inositol but not to allo-inositol.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A general and efficient method for the synthesis of various selanyl phenanthrenes/polycyclic heteroaromatics through the electrophilic annulation of 2-alkynyl biaryls with diorganyl diselenides under ...metal-free and mild conditions was established. The sulfanyl phenanthrene was also obtained in moderate yields.
Chronic inflammation plays a positive role in the development and progression of colitis‐associated colorectal cancer (CAC). Medicinal plants and their extracts with anti‐inflammatory and ...immunoregulatory properties may be an effective treatment and prevention strategy for CAC. This research aimed to explore the potential chemoprevention of paeoniflorin (PF) for CAC by network pharmacology, molecular docking technology, and in vivo experiments. The results showed that interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) is a key target of PF against CAC. In the CAC mouse model, PF increased the survival rate of mice and decreased the number and size of colon tumors. Moreover, reduced histological score of colitis and expression of Ki‐67 and PCNA were observed in PF‐treated mice. In addition, the chemoprevention mechanisms of PF in CAC may be associated with suppression of the IL‐6/STAT3 signaling pathway and the IL‐17 level. This research provides experimental evidence of potential chemoprevention strategies for CAC treatment.
In insects, the vitellogenin receptor (VgR) mediates the uptake of vitellogenin (Vg) from the hemolymph by developing oocytes. The oogenesis mutant scanty vitellin (vit) of Bombyx mori (Bm) lacks ...vitellin and 30-kDa proteins, but B. mori egg-specific protein and BmVg are normal. The vit eggs are white and smaller compared with the pale yellow eggs of the wild type and are embryonic lethal. This study found that a mutation in the B. mori VgR gene (BmVgR) is responsible for the vit phenotype. We cloned the cDNA sequences encoding WT and vit BmVgR. The functional domains of BmVgR are similar to those of other low-density lipoprotein receptors. When compared with the wild type, a 235-bp genomic sequence in vit BmVgR is substituted for a 7-bp sequence. This mutation has resulted in a 50-amino acid deletion in the third Class B region of the first epidermal growth factor (EGF1) domain. BmVgR is expressed specifically in oocytes, and the transcriptional level is changed dramatically and consistently with maturation of oocytes during the previtellogenic periods. Linkage analysis confirmed that BmVgR is mutated in the vit mutant. The coimmunoprecipitation assay confirmed that mutated BmVgR is able to bind BmVg but that BmVg cannot be dissociated under acidic conditions. The WT phenotype determined by RNA interference was similar to that of the vit phenotype for nutritional deficiency, such as BmVg and 30-kDa proteins. These results showed that BmVgR has an important role in transporting proteins for egg formation and embryonic development in B. mori.
Background: The vitellogenin receptor (VgR) mediates the uptake of vitellogenin (Vg) from the hemolymph by developing oocytes.
Results: VgR with the mutational EGF1 domain can bind ligand proteins but cannot be dissociated under acidic conditions. The mutant is lethal in embryos.
Conclusion:Bombyx mori VgR (BmVgR) has an important role in egg formation and embryonic development.
Significance: BmVgR is a potential target for pest control.
•miRNAs-expression patterns of primary hepatocytes under proliferative status.•miR-21 expression level peaked at 12h after stimulated by EGF.•miR-21 drive rapid S phase entry of primary ...hepatocytes.•PI3K/Akt signaling was modulated via targeting PTEN by miR-21.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in controlling hepatocyte proliferation during liver regeneration. In this study, we established the miRNAs-expression patterns of primary hepatocytes in vitro under stimulation of epidermal growth factor (EGF), and found that microRNA-21 (miR-21) was appreciably up-regulated and peaked at 12h. In addition, we further presented evidences indicating that miR-21 promotes primary hepatocyte proliferation through in vitro transfecting with miR-21 mimics or inhibitor. We further demonstrated that phosphatidylinositol 3′-OH kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling was altered accordingly, it is, by targeting phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10, PI3K/Akt signaling is activated by miR-21 to accelerate hepatocyte rapid S-phase entry and proliferation in vitro.
•Pure and Bi-doped SnSe2 film samples are synthesized via the direct chemical vapor transport method.•Bi doping introduces ferromagnetism in SnSe2 with Curie temperature of 65 K.•Coercivity of Bi- ...SnSe2 sample is as high as 4.4 kOe.•First-principles calculations reveal the mechanism of Bi doping-induced ferromagnetism in SnSe2.
Ferromagnetism of two-dimensional layered materials is of considerable interest in spintronics. In the present work, we report the ferromagnetism of the layered material SnSe2 induced by Bi doping. The pure SnSe2 and Bi-doped SnSe2 film samples are prepared by chemical vapor transport method. X-ray diffractions show that both the SnSe2 and Bi-doped SnSe2 have CdI2-type layered structure grown perfectly along the c-axis. Magnetic measurements indicate that the pure SnSe2 is a diamagnet. The doping of nonmagnetic Bi introduces ferromagnetism in SnSe2 with Curie temperature of 65 K. A coercivity as high as 4.4 kOe is observed at T = 10 K. Such high coercivity has never been reported in d0 two-dimensional layered materials. First-principles calculations indicate that the Bi-doping leads to the spin splitting of degenerate px and py orbital states and gives rise to a spin order aligned in ab plane. Calculations also show that the Bi-doped SnSe2 is a half metal. All these features make Bi-doped SnSe2 a potential candidate for spintronic material.
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