•AhR in B cells may be correlated with SLE activity.•AhR in B cells may be associated with SLE related renal damage but not with SLE-related arthritis.•AhR in B cells may be a marker for predicting ...SLE with renal damage.
Renal damage is one of the typical clinical manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and few effective markers can be used to predict SLE with renal damage. Additionally, the relationship among AhR, B cells and SLE with renal damage is poorly understood.
A case-control study was performed, and the clinical and laboratory data were acquired from medical records. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the expression of AhR in B cells.
Both the proportion of B cells in peripheral blood lymphocytes and AhR in B cells were significantly higher in SLE patients than in healthy controls. AhR in B cells was negatively correlated with complement 3 and 4 levels but was positively correlated with SLEDAI-2 K, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein and absolute lymphocyte count. Furthermore, more SLE patients suffered from renal damage and arthritis in the high-AhR B-cell group than in the low-AhR B-cell group. Interestingly, AhR in B cells was significantly increased in SLE with renal damage compared with SLE without renal damage, but no significant difference was observed between SLE with arthritis and SLE without arthritis. In addition, the area under the curve for AhR in B cells was 0.815, and its optimal cut-off level was 3.05 %, which provided a 83.3 % sensitivity and a 70.0 % specificity in predicting SLE with renal damage.
AhR in B cells was correlated with SLE disease activity, and it may be a potential marker for predicting SLE with renal damage.
Since preference order is a crucial feature of data concerning decision situations, the classical rough set model has been generalized by replacing the indiscernibility relation with a dominance ...relation. The purpose of this paper is to further investigate the dominance-based rough set in incomplete interval-valued information system, which contains both incomplete and imprecise evaluations of objects. By considering three types of unknown values in the incomplete interval-valued information system, a data complement method is used to transform the incomplete interval-valued information system into a traditional one. To generate the optimal decision rules from the incomplete interval-valued decision system, six types of relative reducts are proposed. Not only the relationships between these reducts but also the practical approaches to compute these reducts are then investigated. Some numerical examples are employed to substantiate the conceptual arguments.
With the advances of depth sensing technologies, color image plus depth information (referred to as RGB-D data hereafter) is more and more popular for comprehensive description of 3-D scenes. This ...paper proposes a two-stage segmentation method for RGB-D data: 1) oversegmentation by 3-D geometry enhanced superpixels and 2) graph-based merging with label cost from superpixels. In the oversegmentation stage, 3-D geometrical information is reconstructed from the depth map. Then, a K-means-like clustering method is applied to the RGB-D data for oversegmentation using an 8-D distance metric constructed from both color and 3-D geometrical information. In the merging stage, treating each superpixel as a node, a graph-based model is set up to relabel the superpixels into semantically-coherent segments. In the graph-based model, RGB-D proximity, texture similarity, and boundary continuity are incorporated into the smoothness term to exploit the correlations of neighboring superpixels. To obtain a compact labeling, the label term is designed to penalize labels linking to similar superpixels that likely belong to the same object. Both the proposed 3-D geometry enhanced superpixel clustering method and the graph-based merging method from superpixels are evaluated by qualitative and quantitative results. By the fusion of color and depth information, the proposed method achieves superior segmentation performance over several state-of-the-art algorithms.
Capturing images at high ISO modes will introduce much realistic noise, which is difficult to be removed by traditional denoising methods. In this paper, we propose a novel denoising method for high ...ISO JPEG images via deep fusion of collaborative and convolutional filtering. Collaborative filtering explores the non-local similarity of natural images, while convolutional filtering takes advantage of the large capacity of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to infer noise from noisy images. We observe that the noise variance map of a high ISO JPEG image is spatial-dependent and has a Bayer-like pattern. Therefore, we introduce the Bayer pattern prior in our noise estimation and collaborative filtering stages. Since collaborative filtering is good at recovering repeatable structures and convolutional filtering is good at recovering irregular patterns and removing noise in flat regions, we propose to fuse the strengths of the two methods via deep CNN. The experimental results demonstrate that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art realistic noise removal methods for a wide variety of testing images in both subjective and objective measurements. In addition, we construct a dataset with noisy and clean image pairs for high ISO JPEG images to facilitate research on this topic.
To maximize improving the tracking wind power output plan and the service life of energy storage systems (ESS), a control strategy is proposed for ESS to track wind power planning output based on ...model prediction and two-layer fuzzy control. First, based on model predictive control, a model with deviations of grid-connected power from the planned output and the minimum deviation of the remaining capacity of the ESS from the ideal value is established as the target. Then, when the grid-connected power exceeds the allowable deviation band of tracking, the weight coefficients in the objective function are adjusted by introducing the first layer of fuzzy control rules, combining the state of charge (SOC) of the ESS with the dynamic tracking demand of the planned value of wind power. When the grid-connected power is within the tracking allowable deviation band, the second layer of fuzzy control rules is used to correct the charging and discharging power of the ESS to improve its ability to track the future planned deviation while not crossing the limit. By repeatedly correcting the charging and discharging power of the ESS, its safe operation and the multitasking execution of the wind power plan output tracking target are ensured. Finally, taking actual data from a wind farm as an example, tests on a simulation platform of a combined wind-storage power generation system verify the feasibility and superiority of the proposed control strategy.
Moiré artifacts are generally caused by the interference between the overlap of the sensor's sampling grid and high-frequency (nearly) periodic textures, and heavily affect the image quality. ...However, it is difficult to effectively remove moiré artifacts from textured images as the structure of moiré patterns is similar to that of textures in some sense. In this paper, we propose a novel textured image demoiréing method by signal decomposition and guided filtering. Given a textured image with moiré artifacts, we first remove moiré artifacts in the green (G) channel using the proposed low-rank and sparse matrix decomposition model. This model regularizes the texture layer by the low-rank prior in spatial domain and the moiré layer by sparse representation in frequency domain. An alternating direction method under the augmented Lagrangian multiplier framework is used to solve the matrix decomposition model. Then, since the red (R) and blue (B) channels are more heavily polluted by moiré artifacts than the G channel, we propose to remove moiré artifacts in its R and B channels via guided filtering by the obtained texture layer of the G channel. Experimental results demonstrate that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods for both synthetic and real images.
Rough set is a useful tool to deal with partition related uncertainty, granularity, and incompleteness of knowledge. Although the classical rough set is constructed on the basis of an ...indiscernibility relation, it can also be generalized by using some weaker binary relations. In this paper, a systematic approach is used to study the generalized rough sets in six coverings and pure reflexive neighborhood system. After two steps, relationships among generalized rough sets in six coverings and pure reflexive neighborhood system are obtained. The first step is to study the generalized rough sets in six coverings, and to get relationships between every two covering rough set models. The second step is to study the relationships between generalized rough sets in each covering and in pure reflexive neighborhood system. The inclusion relations or equivalence relations among the seven upper/lower approximations could be acquired. Finally, the accuracy measures of generalized rough sets in six coverings and that in pure reflexive neighborhood system are compared. The relationships among seven accuracy measures are also obtained. Some illustrative examples are employed to demonstrate our arguments.
In order to better study the influence of land use on the concentration and distribution of organic contaminants in urban areas, the concentrations of 16 principal polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons ...(PAHs) were determined on soil samples collected at three depths (0~10 cm, 10~20 cm and 20~30 cm) from urban greenland areas of 6 functional zones: residential zone (RZ), business zone (BZ), industrial zone (IZ), cultural and educational zone (CZ), urban park (UP) and urban rural forest (URF) of Nanjing, China. Results showed that the average concentration of ∑PAHs in the urban greenland of Nanjing (499.47 ng/g) was comparable to the value reported for other cities under similar conditions. Acenaphthene was the dominant compound (46.2% of the ∑PAHs), and low molecular weight PAHs (LPAHs) represented the largest share of ∑PAHs. Concentrations of ∑PAHs in 6 function zones were different, with the highest value in IZ (954.33 ng/g) and lowest value in URF (147.81 ng/g). The soil showed the highest ∑PAHs contamination in the layer 10~20 cm in all zones (on average 547.01 ng/g). ∑PAHs of IZ showed the highest values in all soil layers. Isomer ratio and factor analysis were used to determine the source of PAHs in soil. Petroleum combustion (PC), coal and biomass combustion (CBC), mixed (M) and petroleum (P) sources were finally identified as the four main sources of PAHs in Nanjing urban greenland soil, accounting for 50.2%, 14.9%, 8.4% and 6.6%, respectively. Bap toxic equivalent (TEQ
Bap
) was used to analyze the ecological risk. TEQ
Bap
was 20.59 ng/g in total zones (TZ), below the threshold for multipurpose soil of Dutch legislation (32.96 ng/g), but 69% of samples exceeded this threshold. TEQ
Bap
of different functional zones is ordered as: IZ (43.62 ng/g)>RZ (23.89 ng/g) > BZ (20.62 ng/g) > CZ (19. 93 ng/g) > UP (12.97 ng/g) > URF (2.01 ng/g). In the industrial area, more than 97% of TEQ
Bap
depended on seven carcinogenic PAHs (∑PAH
7c
), which indicated that IZ had high ecological risk. Lifetime risk of cancer (ILCR) model was used to assess the health risk of ∑PAHs. ILCRs ranked as following: children > youth > adults, with soil oral intake determining the highest cancer risk, followed by skin contact and breath intake. ILCRs of children were in high cancer risk range, with values of 3.77 × 10
−4
(for boy) and 3.87 × 10
−4
(for girl), while ILCRs of youth and adults were in an acceptable range; ILCRs were highest in IZ, followed by RZ, BZ, CZ, UP and URF. The soil PAHs analysis in different function greenland zones of Nanjing showed that land use influenced the concentration and distribution of PAHs in soils. This difference should be taken into account in the urban greenland planning and management to reduce the risks for the environment and human health.
Dysregulation of the proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is a crucial cause of atherosclerosis. MiR-637 exerts an antiproliferative effect on multiple human cells. Its ...impact on atherosclerosis remains largely unexplored.
Real-time PCR was used to determine miR-637 expression in samples from atherosclerosis patients and animal models. Its expression in VSMC dysfunction models (induced by ox-LDL) was also measured. The proliferation and migration of VSMCs were respectively tested using CCK-8 and Transwell assays, and apoptosis was measured using flow cytometry. The Targetscan database was used to predict the target genes of miR-637. Interaction between miR-637 and the potential target gene was validated via real-time PCR, western blotting and a luciferase reporter assay.
MiR-637 expression was significantly lower in atherosclerosis patient and animal model samples. It also decreased in a dose- and time-dependent manner in animal models with ox-LDL-induced atherosclerosis. Transfection with miR-637 mimics suppressed the proliferation and migration of VSMCs while promoting apoptosis, while transfection with miR-637 inhibitors had the opposite effects. We also validated that insulin-like growth factor-2 (IGF-2), a crucial factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, serves as a target gene for miR-637.
MiR-637 targeting IGF-2 contributes to atherosclerosis inhibition and could be a potential target for this disease.
Chemotherapeutic agents are generally used as a frontline therapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, resistance to chemotherapy arises rapidly in NSCLC, and the reasons for chemotherapy ...resistance have not been fully determined. Here, we found cisplatin, but not paclitaxel and doxorubicin, induced the enrichment of cancer stem cell (CSC) and conferred multidrug resistance in NSCLC cell lines. In vivo study confirmed drug-resistant tumors displayed the enhanced expressions of CSC transcription factors. Mechanistically, cisplatin treatment resulted in C/EBP-β-dependent increasing of TRIB1. The crucial role of TRIB1 in cisplatin-induced enrichment of CSC and drug resistance was verified by knockdown TRIB1. Interestingly, cisplatin treatment also contributed to the increasement of HDAC, the interaction of TRIB1 with HDAC, and inactivation of p53. Similarly, the silencing of HDAC led to reduction of cisplatin-induced CSC, and combined knockdown of HDAC and TRIB1 exhibited enhanced effect. Additionally, the combination of HDAC inhibitor and cisplatin showed a reinforced antitumor action in NSCLC cell lines with TRIB1-dependent manner and remarkably shrink tumors in xenograft models. Moreover, cisplatin-treated NSCLC patients with high levels of TRIB1 exhibited a significantly poorer prognosis. Our findings illustrate a novel perspective in the evolution of chemotherapy resistance and provide a promising approach for the treatment of patients with NSCLC.
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