Forward error correction (FEC) is a common error control technique to improve the quality of video streaming over unreliable channels by recovering packet losses during transmission. The traditional ...frame-level FEC adopts the independent FEC coding method, regarding each video frame as one coding block, and protects each block with its respective FEC data according to the principle of unequal error protection (UEP). In contrast, emerging content-dependent FEC coding schemes explore the performance improvement provided by the expandable block structure. For the frame-level FEC with an expandable block structure, a high-priority frame is involved in the FEC processing of its following frame, and thus the frames with a dependency relation in the video coding stage are also correlated in the FEC coding stage. In this paper, an analytical content-dependent FEC model is developed to estimate video streaming quality in terms of playable frame rate. Based on this model, optimized FEC configuration can be found given the inputs of the video and transmission channel parameters. A comprehensive performance study is conducted for the proposed model to observe the redundancy assignment behavior, the reconstructed video quality and the FEC coding complexity, under the various network situations. The performance results show that the expanding-block FEC can be superior in balancing the trade-off between FEC complexity and loss recovery capacity.
Transitioning to college during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may increase risk for alcohol use and mental health problems. We examined how COVID-19 related stressors and ...parent–child relationships are independently and interactively associated with alcohol use and mental health profiles in a sample of first-year college students (N = 425, 34.8% Hispanic/Latinx; 74.9% female) who completed an online survey in October 2020. Latent profile analysis identified four profiles: well-adjusted (53.2%), mental health problems only (21.6%), alcohol use only (17.4%), and comorbid (7.8%). COVID-19 related stressful events increased risk of being in the alcohol use only and comorbid profiles, whereas COVID-19 related worries increased risk of being in the mental health problems only profile. Parent–child relationship quality lowered risk of being in the mental health problems only and the comorbid profiles. In addition, parent–child relationship quality moderated the role of COVID-19 related worries such that COVID-19 related worries were associated with lower odds of being in the comorbid profile when parent–child relationship quality was high but not when parent–child relationship quality was low. Strengthening parent–child relationship quality appears important for promoting college students’ well-being.
Pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis involved the interactions of immune and neuroendocrine systems. Here we describe a mouse model for atopic dermatitis with concomitant neurogenic inflammation, by ...epicutaneous sensitization with a dust mite allergen. Allergen patching resulted in localized dermatitis characterized by pronounced epidermal hyperplasia and spongiosis, which was associated with infiltration of eosinophils and neutrophils, degranulated mast cells, CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and dendritic cells. There was increased innervation of calcium gene related peptides and substance P in inflamed skins, interactions between nerve fibers and mast cells were seen, indicating the coexistence of neurogenic inflammation. Splenic T cells produced T helper 2-polarized cytokines in response to allergen stimulation in vitro, indicating systemic allergen sensitization. This is the first report of a mouse model of eczema, accompanied by neurogenic inflammation, which shows close resemblance to human allergic diseases. This work supports the notion that the skin is an important site for the initiation of primary allergen sensitization. Besides, this model may also be useful for study of other stress-associated neuroinflammatory skin disorders such as neurogenic pruritus and psoriasis.
Substance use disorders (SUDs) incur serious social and personal costs. The risk for SUDs is complex, with risk factors ranging from social conditions to individual genetic variation. We examined ...whether models that include a clinical/environmental risk index (CERI) and polygenic scores (PGS) are able to identify individuals at increased risk of SUD in young adulthood across four longitudinal cohorts for a combined sample of N = 15,134. Our analyses included participants of European (N
= 12,659) and African (N
= 2475) ancestries. SUD outcomes included: (1) alcohol dependence, (2) nicotine dependence; (3) drug dependence, and (4) any substance dependence. In the models containing the PGS and CERI, the CERI was associated with all three outcomes (ORs = 01.37-1.67). PGS for problematic alcohol use, externalizing, and smoking quantity were associated with alcohol dependence, drug dependence, and nicotine dependence, respectively (OR = 1.11-1.33). PGS for problematic alcohol use and externalizing were also associated with any substance dependence (ORs = 1.09-1.18). The full model explained 6-13% of the variance in SUDs. Those in the top 10% of CERI and PGS had relative risk ratios of 3.86-8.04 for each SUD relative to the bottom 90%. Overall, the combined measures of clinical, environmental, and genetic risk demonstrated modest ability to distinguish between affected and unaffected individuals in young adulthood. PGS were significant but added little in addition to the clinical/environmental risk index. Results from our analysis demonstrate there is still considerable work to be done before tools such as these are ready for clinical applications.
This study examined whether polygenic risk scores (PRS) for lifetime cannabis and alcohol use were associated with misusing opioids, and whether sex differences existed in these relations in an ...urban, African-American sample.
Data were drawn from three cohorts of participants (N = 1,103; 45% male) who were recruited in first grade as part of a series of elementary school-based, universal preventive intervention trials conducted in a Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. In young adulthood, participants provided a DNA sample and reported on whether they had used heroin or misused prescription opioids in their lifetime. Three substance use PRS were computed based on prior GWAS: lifetime cannabis use from Pasman et al. (2018), heavy drinking indexed via maximum number of drinks from Gelernter et al. (2019), and alcohol consumption from Kranzler et al. (2019).
Higher PRS for lifetime cannabis use, greater heavy drinking, and greater alcohol consumption were associated with heightened risk for misusing opioids among the whole sample. Significant sex by PRS interactions were also observed such that higher PRS for heavy drinking and alcohol consumption were associated with a greater likelihood of opioid misuse among males, but not females.
Our findings further elucidate the genetic contributions to misusing opioids by showing that the genetics of cannabis and alcohol consumption are associated with lifetime opioid misuse among young adults, though replication of our findings is needed.
We have investigated a novel compound, 3,6‐bis2‐(1‐methylpyridinium)vinylcarbazole diiodide (BMVC), for inhibiting telomerase activity and distinguishing human lung H1299 and oral Ca9‐22 cancer cells ...from lung IMR90 and skin Detroit‐551 normal fibroblast cells. The telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assay shows that the concentration of BMVC that inhibits 50% of the telomerase activity (IC50) is ca. 0.05 μM. On the other hand, the cell‐viability assay indicates that the cytotoxicity was less than 15% to the H1299 and Ca9‐22 cancer cells, and almost negligible to the MRC‐5 and Detroit‐551 normal cells after incubation with 0.5 μM BMVC for 72 h. The low concentration of 0.05 μM of BMVC can inhibit telomerase activity but does not have general toxic effects to normal cells, implying that BMVC is a promising telomerase inhibitor. Moreover, wide‐field fluorescence images of 0.1 μM BMVC‐treated cells show bright fluorescence spots in the nuclei of the most H1299 and Ca9‐22 cancer cells. Interestingly, similar fluorescence spots are hardly observed in the nuclei of the IMR90 and Detroit‐551 normal cells, implying that BMVC might be a useful marker to distinguish tumor cells and normal cells.
Oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and associated with poor prognosis and mortality. Discovery of proteins that can improve OSCC ...treatment is needed. Using comparative proteome profiling of primary cells derived from OSCC and adjacent noncancerous epithelium, endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidases 2 (ERAP2) has been identified as an OSCC-associated protein. Compared with the adjacent normal tissues, ERAP2 levels were determined to be significantly elevated in OSCC tissues using quantitative real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry. Importantly, overexpression of ERAP2 was associated with positive N stage, advanced overall stage, positive perineural invasion, and tumor depth (
= 0.041, 0.015, 0.010, and 0.032, respectively). The overall survival rates of patients without and with the ERAP2 overexpression were 71.9% and 56.0%, respectively (
= 0.029). Furthermore, knockdown of ERAP2 inhibited the migration and invasion abilities of OSCC cells. Our results collectively show that ERAP2 overexpression is associated with the cervical metastasis and poorer prognosis of OSCC.
Previous studies demonstrated that allergen gene vaccination induced TH1-skewed responses and inhibited IgE production. This study evaluated and characterized the immune responses induced by three ...DNA constructs encoding different forms of Der p 2 for safe and efficacious vaccination against mite allergy.
Mice were immunized intramuscularly with DNA constructs encoding a major mite allergen, Der p 2, without a signal peptide (p2), with a signal peptide (p52), and with a signal peptide plus lysosomal-targeting sequence (p52-LA), respectively, followed by TH2-skewed protein challenge. Antibody and T-cell cytokine responses were assessed by ELISA. Primed dendritic cells (DCs) were adoptively transferred to naïve mice and humoral responses were examined after protein challenge. The circulating Der p 2 protein was detected by sandwich ELISA.
Mice immunized with p52-LA showed strong and clear-cut TH1-type response, as evident by high IFN-γ production and elevated levels of Der p 2-specific IgG2a production whereas construct p2 induced only moderate levels of TH1 response. In contrast, mice immunized with construct p52 showed a mixed TH1/TH2 phenotype and produced substantial circulating Der p 2 protein. Mice adoptively transferred with DCs primed by p52 construct, but not by the p2 or p52-LA constructs, were sensitized to produce high levels of Der p 2-specific IgE.
Immunization with DNA construct encoding a signal peptide could potentially prime TH2-skewed responses and IgE production. The additional inclusion of lysosomal-targeting sequences to such construct could improve the safety and efficacy of DNA vaccination against allergy.
The effects on heart rate variability (HRV) and arterial stiffness from exposure to ambient particulate matter and ozone have not been studied simultaneously. The aim of this study was to analyze ...these effects with refined exposure estimates from personal measurements of ozone and size-resolved particulate matter mass concentrations. The authors recruited 17 mail carriers in a panel study in Taipei County, Taiwan, during February–March, 2007, and each subject was followed for 5–6 days. Personal ozone and size-fractionated particulate matter exposures were monitored during working hours while carriers delivered mail outdoors. Cardiovascular effects were evaluated with heart rate variability (HRV) indices and an arterial stiffness index, the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI). The authors used linear mixed models to examine the association between personal exposure data and the HRV index and CAVI. They found that an interquartile range increase in personal exposure to ozone and particulate matter of between 1.0 and 2.5 μm was associated with a 4.8% and 2.5% increase in CAVI, respectively, in the single-pollutant models. In contrast, the personal exposure data showed no significant effects on HRV. In 2-pollutant models, personal ozone exposure remained significantly associated with the CAVI measurements. The study results indicate that vascular function may be more sensitive to air pollutants than the autonomic balance.
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