Introduction. We investigated the proportion of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and their subsets in patients with rheumatic diseases and clarified the association between these cells and ...the patient clinical data. Methods. Patients with rheumatic diseases and healthy controls were recruited. The clinical characteristics were obtained. The MDSCs and their subsets were marked with fluorescently labelled antibodies and were then analyzed with flow cytometry. Results. The patients included 31 with RA, 21 with AS, 14 with OA, 11 with SLE with arthritis, 13 with SLE without arthritis, 9 with Gout, 10 with HUA, and 25 healthy controls. The proportions of MDSCs, M-MDSCs, and G-MDSCs were higher in patients with RA than in healthy controls (6.56±6.77% versus 1.46±0.96%, 2.52±3.81% versus 0.35±0.35%, and 1.13±1.64% versus 0.18±0.14%; p<0.001). The same increased cells were also found in other patients. The proportions of MDSCs and M-MDSCs were mostly correlated with the patient's joint inflammation indexes and the disease activity. When other cell subsets were adjusted, the increased risk of arthritis was also obtained for M-MDSCs (adjusted OR=5.772; p=0.031). Conclusions. The expansion of MDSCs and their subsets was correlated with the disease activity and joint inflammation in patient with different rheumatic diseases. The proportion of M-MDSCs was associated with the risk of arthritis in those populations.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) perform a variety of important cellular functions, including regulating the cell cycle, apoptosis and differentiation, amongst others. Recent research has demonstrated an essential ...function performed by miRNAs in regulating pyroptosis, which is a type of programmed cell death associated with inflammatory responses that plays a critical role in numerous diseases. Through direct or indirect action on proteins associated with the pyroptosis signaling pathway, miRNAs are involved in the pathological processes of cardiovascular, kidney and immune diseases, among others. The present review discusses the maturation process of miRNAs and the process of pyroptosis, with a specific focus on the transport of miRNAs to damaged cells via exosomes, shedding vesicles and protein stabilized complexes, as well as the role of different miRNAs in the regulation of pyroptosis through different gene and protein targets. The aim of the present review was to provide a novel insight into the regulatory role of miRNAs in pyroptosis and new treatment options for pyroptosis‑associated diseases.
Abstract
This work aims to explore the overflow characteristics of a vertical H
2
S‐containing natural gas well. A two‐phase flow model for H
2
S‐containing natural gas well combining with a ...transient temperature prediction model was established to simulate the overflow process of a vertical H
2
S‐containing natural gas well. The model was validated by reproducing the field data of Well Longhui #2. The effects of H
2
S content, mud displacement, drilling fluid density, geothermal gradient, and reservoir permeability on the overflow characteristics of a vertical H
2
S‐containing natural gas well were studied and analyzed in this work. Results indicate that bubble, slug, and churn flows constitute the main flow patterns in the whole overflow process. The higher the H
2
S content is, the more obviously the gas void fraction increases. The phase change position of H
2
S is closer to the wellhead at lower H
2
S content. An increase in mud displacement indicates the decreases in overflow time. As drilling fluid density increases, the release position of H
2
S moves up, and the overflow time and shut‐in casing pressure increase. The initial gas void fraction is higher and the gas invasion volume will be larger in gas reservoirs with higher permeability. As the reservoir permeability increases, the shut‐in casing pressure rises while the overflow time declines. With higher geothermal gradient, the wellbore temperature tends to be higher at the same depth, leading to an increase in the H
2
S solubility. The gasification starting position is further away from the wellhead at higher geothermal gradient. The results of this work could provide important theoretical basis and technical guidance for drilling engineers to reduce a blowout risk during drilling of H
2
S‐containing natural gas well.
Hot Topic Detection in News Blog Wang, Xiang Yang
Applied Mechanics and Materials,
02/2014, Letnik:
513-517, Številka:
Applied Science, Materials Science and Information Technologies in Industry
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Topic detection in news blogs needs to carefully arrange the information and analyze the characteristics of topics. However, there are some difficulties for hot topic detection in blogs. On one hand, ...information overload and dynamic change of web pages are obstacles of information arrangement. On the other hand, there are different hotness evaluation norms for web topics. The proposed method first analyzes the characteristics of the news blog and recognizes the factors which can influence the evolution of a topic. Then a word network is constructed, and candidate topics are extracted from the word network based on the complex networks theory. Finally, hot topics in the news blog are identified by measuring the user participation, opinion communication between users and user forgetting degree.
Carbon dots (CDs) have been a new class of fascinating carbon-based fluorescent nanomaterials. In the present work, new N-doped CDs with highly crystalline graphite structures are prepared from ...renewable precursors, chitosan and tartaric acid, and are well characterized. The prepared CDs are applied as a biocompatible fluorescent sensor for the sequential detection of Fe
and AA. Among various transition metal ions, Fe
can selectively quench the fluorescence of CDs. Upon the further addition of AA, the quenched fluorescence of CDs is then restored as Fe
is reduced to Fe
by AA, which can be utilized for the fluorescent determination of AA. A good linear relationship in the range of 0-150 μM of AA concentration is established with a low detection limit of 0.02 µM. Moreover, the practical applications of this fluorescent sensing method in measurement of AA in food samples are successfully realized with satisfactory results.
The Saanen goat is known as the greatest milk producer among small ruminat breeds. However, its morphometric features still remain unclear. Therefore, the present work aimed to investigate the ...functional anatomy of the upper and lower jaws as well as the volumetric properties of the male and female Saanen goat for clinical applications. The heads of 20 adult animals (10 males and 10 females) were included. Totally, 22 morphometric parameters were measured on three dimensional computed tomographic images using RadiAnt DICOM Viewer software and some parameters were measured on hot macerated sample. The mean volume of paranasal sinuses as well as conchal sinuses were estimated using stereological method. Based on the results, the differences between males and females were not significant (p>0.05) in all desired parameters. The frontal and lacrimal sinuses were the largest and smallest paranasal sinus in both sexes. Also, the dorsal and middle conchal sinuses were the largest and smallest ones, respectively. The common nasal meatus was the smallest and ventral meatus was the largest meatus in the nasal cavity.In conclusion, these findings provide a basic data that would be useful in blocking terminal branches of the cranial nerves in this breed for surgical purpose or teeth injuries treatment. KEY WORDS: Applied anatomy; CT scan; Morphometry; Ruminant; Stereology.
The aim of the present study was to identify whether lumbar spinal subtypes (LSS) were associated with lumbar disc degeneration (LDD) among asymptomatic middle-aged and aged subjects. A cohort of 158 ...asymptomatic Chinese adults aged >40 years was recruited and 97 volunteers that met the inclusion criteria with complete information available were selected for inclusion. According to spinal morphology, volunteers were divided into four subtypes based on the classification of Roussouly. After baseline information was collected and spinopelvic parameters were measured, the data were compared among the four groups. According to the Pfirrmann classification, the degree of LDD was evaluated at each level on the MRI. For grades I-V, LDD at each level was effectively compared. Each of the four LSS from I to IV according to Roussouly classification from types I to IV were comprised of 25 (25.8%), 19 (19.6%), 38 (39.2%) and 15 (15.5%) of volunteers, respectively. Lumbar lordosis, sacral slope and pelvic incidence were significantly different among the four sub-types (P<0.001 for each), but no difference in pelvic tilt was observed (P=0.21). From types I to IV LSS, the proportion of disc degeneration was found to be 44, 52, 50 and 48%, respectively, which exhibited no statistically significant difference among LSS. No correlation between LSS and intervertebral disc degeneration was obtained among the asymptomatic middle-aged and aged subjects. The present study provides a reference for spinal surgery and indicated that additional risk factors should be assessed in the asymptomatic population of this age group, particularly in terms of differentially expressed genes.
Mitotically-associated long non-coding RNA (MANCR) is involved in malignant breast cancer. The present study analyzed the role of MANCR in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MANCR was found to be ...upregulated in HCC and high expression level of MANCR in cancer tissues predicted poor survival of HCC patients. MicroRNA (miR)-122a was downregulated HCC and was inversely correlated with MANCR only in cancer tissues. MANCR overexpression resulted in downregulation of miR-122a, while miR-122a overexpression showed no obvious effects on MANCR expression. MANCR overexpression showed no significant effects on HCC cell proliferation but led to promoted cell migration and invasion. miR-122a overexpression led to inhibited migration and invasion of HCC cells and attenuated the effects of MANCR overexpression. Therefore, lncRNA MANCR may promote cancer cell proliferation in HCC by downregulating miR-122a.
The establishment of a scientific and effective evaluation index system is essential for the healthy development of China's electricity market. This paper focuses on the effectiveness evaluation of ...the system construction for compliance management. We propose a three-level index system of compliance management. Further, the weight of each index is measured by the weighting method for group decision based on AHP method. Finally, a modal analysis has been made to illustrate the suitability and effectiveness of the proposed framework. Some suggestions on compliance management are provided to ensure the sustainable development and promote the electricity market reform in China.
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