The background in image of remote sensing is often complicated and changeable, and the edge of cloud and its shadow is irregular. In the traditional method, the bright part of the background is easy ...to be misjudged as cloud, while the dark part is easy to be misjudged as cloud shadow. Moreover, the edge information of the extracted cloud and its shadow is rough, and it is easy to miss the judgment for the thin cloud part and the light cloud shadow part. In order to solve the above problems, a strip pooling channel spatial attention network is proposed. In this work, the strip pooling residual network is used as the backbone network to obtain the feature of cloud and its shadow. The strip pooling residual network can obtain more accurate local position information of cloud and its shadow, which can improve the accuracy of edge segmentation. Channel attention and spatial attention combine shallow spatial information with deep context information, so that cloud and its shadow can be accurately segmented from the background. The experimental results demonstrate that method in our work can acquire more accurate segmentation edge than existing methods, hence it is practical in accurate cloud and its shadow segmentation.
•The strip pool residual neural network is used as the backbone network to obtain the feature of clouds and cloud shadows.•The strip pool residual network can improve the accuracy of edge segmentation.•Channel attention and spatial attention combine shallow location information with deep semantic information.
In this study, we explored the effects of particulate matter 2.5 (PM
) eye drops on the ocular surface structure and tear function in mice and established a novel animal model for dry eye research. ...We found that, following treatment with PM
, the tear volume and, the tear film break-up time showed statistical differences at each time point (P < 0.05). The FL score of the PM
-treated group was higher than that of others (P < 0.05). The average number of corneal epithelial layer cells in groups A and B was significantly lower than that in group C (P < 0.05). Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the number of corneal epithelial microvilli and corneal desmosomes was drastically reduced in group C. PM
induced apoptosis in the corneal superficial and basal epithelium and led to abnormal differentiation and proliferation of the ocular surface with higher expression levels of Ki67 and a reduced number of goblet cells in the conjunctival fornix in group C. PM
significantly increased the levels of TNF-α, NF-κB p65 (phospho S536), and NF-κB in the cornea. Thus, the topical administration of PM
in mice induces ocular surface changes that are similar to those of dry eye in humans, representing a novel model of dry eye.
The etiology of non-genetic intellectual disability (ID) is not fully known, and we aimed to identify the prenatal, perinatal and neonatal risk factors for ID.
PubMed and Embase databases were ...searched for studies that examined the association between pre-, peri- and neonatal factors and ID risk (keywords "intellectual disability" or "mental retardation" or "ID" or "MR" in combination with "prenatal" or "pregnancy" or "obstetric" or "perinatal" or "neonatal". The last search was updated on September 15, 2015. Summary effect estimates (pooled odds ratios) were calculated for each risk factor using random effects models, with tests for heterogeneity and publication bias.
Seventeen studies with 55,344 patients and 5,723,749 control individuals were eligible for inclusion in our analysis, and 16 potential risk factors were analyzed. Ten prenatal factors (advanced maternal age, maternal black race, low maternal education, third or more parity, maternal alcohol use, maternal tobacco use, maternal diabetes, maternal hypertension, maternal epilepsy and maternal asthma), one perinatal factor (preterm birth) and two neonatal factors (male sex and low birth weight) were significantly associated with increased risk of ID.
This systemic review and meta-analysis provides a comprehensive evidence-based assessment of the risk factors for ID. Future studies are encouraged to focus on perinatal and neonatal risk factors and the combined effects of multiple factors.
Recently, circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been reported to be microRNA sponges and play essential roles in cancer development. This study aimed to evaluate whether circulating circRNAs could be used as ...diagnostic biomarkers for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD).
The Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset was used to investigate differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs) in paired LUAD tissues and adjacent nontumor tissues. The expression levels of the host genes were analyzed in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-LUAD dataset, and the prognostic value was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier plotter. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to validate the expression of candidate circRNAs in the LUAD plasma and cells. The CCK8 assay was used to measure the function of circRNAs in cell proliferation. Competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network, gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were performed to predict the possible mechanisms and functions of circRNAs in LUAD.
Two upregulated and two downregulated circRNAs were identified as candidate circRNAs using bioinformatics analysis. qRT-PCR demonstrated that hsa_circ_0005962 was upregulated in LUAD plasma and cells, whereas hsa_circ_0086414 was downregulated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis confirmed that a signature comprising the two circRNAs had good diagnostic potential, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.81 (P < 0.0001). In addition, we observed that overexpression of plasma hsa_circ_0086414 was related to EGFR mutations (P = 0.001). Plasma hsa_circ_0005962 displayed significantly different expression before and after surgery in patients with LUAD (P < 0.0001). In vitro experiments suggested that hsa_circ_0005962 promoted LUAD cell proliferation. For future studies, we predicted the circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network for hsa_circ_0005962. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that hsa_circ_0005962 might be involved in LUAD development.
A circRNA signature was identified as a potential noninvasive biomarker for LUAD diagnosis.
Purpose
To quantify early changes of macular microvascular density, complexity, and peripapillary vessel caliber in hypertension using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).
Methods
...Hypertension (137 eyes) and healthy eyes (79 eyes) as control were involved in this prospective observational study. Indices of the microcirculation included vessel density (VD), skeleton density (SD), vessel diameter index (VDI), fractal dimension (FD) and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) of superficial retinal layer (SRL) and deep retinal layer (DRL), and peripapillary vessel calibers. The correlation of these indices with mean arterial pressure (MAP) and ocular perfusion pressure (OPP) was analyzed.
Results
Mean VD of DRL, SD of SRL and DRL, and FD of SRL and DRL were significantly reduced in the macula of hypertensive eyes (all
P
< 0.01). Meanwhile, hypertensive eyes had margin results of narrower peripapillary arteriolar caliber (
P
= 0.04). No significant finding was demonstrated on VD of SRL, VDI and FAZ of SRL and DRL, peripapillary total vascular caliber, and peripapillary venal caliber (all
P
> 0.05). SD and VD of the DRL correlated negatively with MAP (both
R
= − 0.152,
P
= 0.03).
Conclusion
OCTA algorithms may provide an additional inexpensive tool to aid in the preclinical assessment of hypertensive subject.
Three new diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) compounds are shown to be colorimetric and ratiometric red fluorescent sensors for fluoride anions with high sensitivity and selectivity. The recognition ...mechanism is attributed to the intermolecular proton transfer between a hydrogen atom on the lactam N positions of the DPP moiety and the fluoride anion.
Pyroptosis and inflammation are involved in the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the cigarette smoke-mediated mechanism of COPD remains unclear. In this study, we ...aimed to investigate the role of nucleotide-binding domain-like receptor protein-3 (NLRP3) inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis in the death of human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells after cigarette smoke extract (CSE) exposure.
The protein level of NLRP3 in lung tissue was measured after cigarette smoke exposure in vivo. In vitro, HBE cells were treated with CSE. Subsequently, the activity of caspase-1, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, release of interleukin (IL)-1β and NLRP3 expression levels were measured. The involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was also explored.
After exposure to CSE, increased release of LDH, the transcriptional and translational upregulation of NLRP3, the caspase-1 activity levels, and enhanced IL-1β and IL-18 release were observed in 16HBE cells. In addition, NLRP3 was required to activate the caspase-1. Our results suggested that pre-stimulated of 16HBE with a caspase-1 inhibitor, or using NLRP3 siRNA to silence NLRP3 expression, also caused the decrease of IL-1β release and pyroptosis.
Significances.
CSE induced inflammation and contributed to pyroptosis through the ROS/NLRP3/caspase-1 pathway in 16HBE cells. The NLRP3 inflammasome participates in CSE-induced HBE cell damage and pyroptosis, which could provide new insights into COPD.
Gastric cancer(GC) is a major public health issue as the fourth most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death. Recent advances have improved our understanding of its ...molecular pathogenesis,as best exemplified by elucidating the fundamental role of several major signaling pathways and related molecular derangements. Central to these mechanisms are the genetic and epigenetic alterations in these signaling pathways,such as gene mutations,copy number variants,aberrant gene methylation and histone modification,nucleosome positioning,and microRNAs. Some of these genetic/epigenetic alterations represent effective diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for GC. This information has now opened unprecedented opportunities for better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of gastric carcinogenesis and the development of novel therapeutic strategies for this cancer. The pathogenetic mechanisms of GC are the focus of this review.
Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDPs) are leading perinatal diseases. Using a national cohort of 2,043,182 pregnant women in China, we evaluated the association between ambient temperatures and ...HDP subgroups, including preeclampsia or eclampsia, gestational hypertension, and superimposed preeclampsia. Under extreme temperatures, very cold exposure during preconception (12 weeks) increases odds of preeclampsia or eclampsia and gestational hypertension. Compared to preconception, in the first half of pregnancy, the impact of temperature on preeclampsia or eclampsia and gestational hypertension is opposite. Cold exposure decreases the odds, whereas hot exposure increases the odds. Under average temperatures, a temperature increase during preconception decreases the risk of preeclampsia or eclampsia and gestational hypertension. However, in the first half of pregnancy, temperature is positively associated with a higher risk. No significant association is observed between temperature and superimposed preeclampsia. Here we report a close relationship exists between ambient temperature and preeclampsia or eclampsia and gestational hypertension.
Water quality regulation is widely recognized as a highly effective strategy for disease prevention in the field of aquaculture, and it holds significant potential for the development of sustainable ...aquaculture. Herein, four water quality regulators, including potassium monopersulfate (KMPS), tetrakis hydroxymethyl phosphonium sulfate (THPS), bacillus subtilis (BS), and chitosan (CS), were added to the culture water of Oreochromis niloticus (GIFT tilapia) every seven days. Subsequently, the effects of these four water quality regulators on GIFT tilapia were comprehensively evaluated by measuring the water quality index of daily growth-related performance and immune indexes of GIFT tilapia. The findings indicated that implementing the four water quality regulators resulted in a decrease in the content of ammonia nitrogen, active phosphate, nitrite, total organic carbon (TOC), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) in the water. Additionally, these regulators were found to maintain dissolved oxygen (DO) levels and pH of the water effectively. Furthermore, using these regulators demonstrated positive effects on various physiological parameters of GIFT tilapia, including improvements in final body weight, weight gain rate (WGR), specific growth rate (SGR), condition factor (CF), feed conversion ratio (FCR), spleen index (SI), hepato-somatic index (HSI), immune cell count, the activity of antioxidant-related enzymes (Nitric oxide, NO and Superoxide dismutase, SOD), and mRNA expression levels of immunity-related factors (Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha, TNF-alpha and Interleukin-1 beta, IL-1beta) in the liver and spleen. Notably, the most significant improvements were observed in the groups treated with the BS and CS water quality regulators. Moreover, BS and CS groups exhibited significantly higher serum levels of albumin (ALB) and total protein (TP) (P 0.05) compared to the control group. However, the KMPS and THPS groups of GIFT tilapia exhibited significantly higher serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), creatinine (CRE) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) (P < 0.05), whereas they exhibited significantly decreased HSI (P < 0.05). In addition, the partially pathological observations revealed the presence of cell vacuolation, nuclear shrinkage, and pyknosis within the liver. In conclusion, these four water quality regulators, mainly BS and CS, could improve the growth performance and immunity of GIFT tilapia to varying degrees by regulating the water quality and then further increasing the expression levels of immune-related factors or the activity of antioxidant-related enzymes of GIFT tilapia. On the contrary, the prolonged use of KMPS and THPS may gradually diminish their growth-enhancing properties and potentially hinder the growth of GIFT tilapia.
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