A popular optimization algorithm, the artificial bee colony algorithm (ABC), has attracted great attention over the recent years for its powerful global search ability. However, its slow convergence ...rate limits its development. In this paper, to further enhance its performance, we first introduced a new concept of a leading group, which includes some individuals with excellent performance, into the traditional ABC. The updated bee then selects one individual from the group to follow, which accelerates the convergence rate of the population. Furthermore, to enable the ABC algorithm to acquire greater opprotunities to search within a larger space, a logistic chaotic operator was introduced into our algorithm to balance its global and local search abilities. The performance of the algorithm proposed is tested on the traditional 12 benchmark functions and an image registration problem. The results reveal that our algorithm provides more acceptable results compared with the other algorithms.
The Hippo pathway was originally identified in Drosophila as the signalling pathway that governs organ size. The core of the pathway harbours two protein kinases (Hippo and Warts). Hippo ...phosphorylates and activates Warts, which in turn phosphorylates and inactivates the transcriptional co-activator Yorkie. As Yorkie mediates cell cycle-promoting and anti-apoptotic gene transcriptions, the Hippo pathway suppresses cell cycle progression and induces apoptosis. The pathway was named after Hippo, which was regarded as a key component. The pathway was initially considered to be well conserved in mammals. Indeed the mammalian homologues of Hippo, and Warts negatively regulate Yorkie homologue and function as the tumour suppressors. However, the researchers have identified numerous additional components both in Drosophila and mammals and the significant interspecies diversity is now evident. To make things more complicated, the regulation of the pathway does not necessarily depend on Hippo homologues. In this commentary, we reconsider what is essential for the Hippo pathway and try to sort out the controversial arguments in the discussion of the evolutionary root of the pathway.
The purpose of this study was to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture combined with balloon dilatation in patients with post-stroke cricopharyngeal achalasia (CPA) according to ...the effective rate, videofluoroscopy swallowing study (VFSS) score and standardized swallowing function assessment scale (SSA) score through Meta-analysis.
English and Chinese language literature published before July 24,2022 were searched in ten electronic databases. The identified articles were screened, data were extracted, and the methodological quality of the included trials was assessed. Using RevMan 5.4.1 software to perform Meta-analysis.
10 studies with 517 patients with post-stroke CPA were included. Meta-analysis showed that the effective rate of the experience group was higher than that of the control group OR = 0.62; 95% CI (2.32, 13.05);
= 0%;
= 0.0001. Compared to the control group, the SSA score was lower in the experience group MD = -4.22; 95% CI (-4.57, -3.87);
= 42%;
< 0.00001. In terms of VFSS scores, the experience group showed greater efficacy differences than control group MD = 1.53; 95% CI (1.32, 1.75);
= 0%;
< 0.00001. The subgroup analysis of VFSS score based on the average course of disease (<1 month vs. ≥1 month) showed no significant difference. The subgroup analysis based on average age (>60 years vs. ≤60 years) showed the VFSS score of the experience group was significantly higher than that of the control group, and the effect may be better in the subgroup older than 60 years. The subgroup analysis based on the treatment course (>30 days vs. ≤30 days) showed the VFSS score of the experience group was significantly higher than that of the control group, and the effect may be better in the subgroup the treatment course>30 days.
Acupuncture combined with balloon dilatation may be an effective method for treating post-stroke CPA. Compared with balloon dilatation, acupuncture combined with balloon can significantly improve the swallowing function of patients, and it is also effective for patients of different courses, ages, and treatment course, while patients over 60 years old and the treatment course over 30 days may have better clinical outcomes.
► Mass loss of diesel present samples depended on the small molecular hydrocarbons. ► The low evaporation rate of FAMEs resulted in the negligible loss of biodiesels. ► Evaporation process was the ...dominant weathering mechanism in this simulated study. ► The contribution of FAMEs to the evaporation of diesel hydrocarbons was negligible.
The weathering of petroleum has attracted many researchers’ interest, but the dominant weathering process and storage stability of biodiesel and its blends with diesel under an open air and ambient temperature conditions, and the effect of biodiesel on the evaporation rate of petroleum hydrocarbons were seldom concerned. The present study reported the mass and chemical composition changes in neat biodiesel samples sourced from soybean and canola oil, diesel, and blended with diesel (5% and 20%, volume/volume), at ambient temperature with air exposure lasting for 190days. The mass-loss curves indicated losses for both the pure diesel and the blends of biodiesel and diesel, but negligible changes in mass for pure biodiesel. The chemical composition of the diesel petroleum hydrocarbons followed the expected evaporative-loss profile, however, fatty acid methyl esters did not show significant loss even after 190days exposure. The rate of evaporation of fatty acid methyl esters for pure biodiesel or blends is significantly lower than conventional diesel because of the higher boiling point of the biodiesel component compared with some petroleum hydrocarbons. Additionally, losses due to microbial activity and chemical degradation were negligible as the chemical composition of fatty acid methyl esters did not have significant variation from the starting materials even after 190days exposure to air.
The accuracy of correlation modeling for multiple wind farms will directly affect the assessment results of absorption capacity in electric utilities. Due to the rapid increase in installed capacity ...of wind power in recent years, there are often multiple wind farms with complex correlations in a region, and traditional correlation models are inaccurate and highly computational. In order to enhance the accuracy of correlation modeling for multiple wind farms, this paper combines the piecewise cloud representation and regular vine (R-vine) copulas for classification modeling purposes. The piecewise cloud representation is used to divide the multiple wind farms’ data into different categories, and the correlation models of different categories are established based on the R-vine copulas. A case of the SCADA system record data of 6 wind farms in Northwest China has been adopted to evaluate the effectiveness compared with its competitors. Case studies have demonstrated that the proposed method not only has good performances on modeling the correlation better than the traditional method but also has strong robustness, especially in the case that the correlation of different wind farms is inconsistent. Most importantly, this model is able to extract the correlations of different features in multiple wind farms’ data and then targeted modeling.
Immunotherapy has been recognized as one of the most promising treatment strategies for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). As a pioneering trend of immunotherapy, dendritic cell (DC) ...vaccines have displayed the ability to prime an immune response, while the insufficient immunogenicity and low lymph node (LN) targeting efficiency, resulted in an unsubstantiated therapeutic efficacy in clinical trials. Herein, a hybrid nanovaccine (Hy‐M‐Exo) is developed via fusing tumor‐derived exosome (TEX) and dendritic cell membrane vesicle (DCMV). The hybrid nanovaccine inherited the key protein for lymphatic homing, CCR7, from DCMV and demonstrated an enhanced efficiency of LN targeting. Meanwhile, the reserved tumor antigens and endogenous danger signals in the hybrid nanovaccine activated antigen presenting cells (APCs) elicited a robust T‐cell response. Moreover, the nanovaccine Hy‐M‐Exo displayed good therapeutic efficacy in a mouse model of HNSCC. These results indicated that Hy‐M‐Exo is of high clinical value to serve as a feasible strategy for antitumor immunotherapy.
Hybridize immunogenic tumor derived exosome (TEX) with CCR7 retained dendritic cell membrane vesicle (DCMV), and adjuvanted by MPLA, to develop a novel nanovaccine (Hy‐M‐Exo), which can target in lymph nodes via the CCR7‐CCL21 way. Hy‐M‐Exo elicits robust tumor‐specific T cells infiltrated in the tumor site, alters the tumor microenvironment, and leads to tumor regression.
Green fluorescent protein (GFP) is composed of 11 β-strands, and loses GFP signals, when divided into the N-terminal ten β-strands (GFP1-10) and the C-terminal last β-strand (GFP11). However, when ...GFP1-10 and GFP11 encounter, they reassemble into the fluorescent GFP. We expressed GFP1-10 and blasticidin resistance gene product-fused GFP11 (BSR-GFP11) in C2C12 cells. Both the cell lines do not show GFP but when they undergo myogenesis and myofusion, GFP1-10 and BSR-GFP11 form the fluorescent complex in multi-nuclear myotubes, so that GFP signals reflect myogenesis and myofusion.
SHR-1222 is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting sclerostin and has the potential to promote bone formation and reduce bone resorption. This study was aimed to assess the safety, tolerability, ...pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and immunogenicity of SHR-1222 in healthy men and postmenopausal women with low bone mass (BMD). It was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation, phase I study. Subjects received SHR-1222 at 50, 100, 200, 300, and 400 mg sequentially or matching placebo subcutaneously. Totally, 50 subjects with low BMD were enrolled and randomly assigned; 10 received placebo and 40 received SHR-1222 (50 mg, n = 4; 100, 200, 300, or 400 mg, n = 9). The most common adverse events that occurred at least 10% higher in subjects with SHR-1222 treatment than those with placebo were decreased blood calcium, blood urine present, increased blood cholesterol, electrocardiogram T wave abnormal, urinary tract infection, increased blood pressure diastolic, and positive bacterial test. All the above adverse events were mild in severity and well resolved except one of increased blood cholesterol in a subject lost to follow-up. The serum SHR-1222 concentration increased in a dose-dependent manner. Administration of SHR-1222 upregulated the bone-formation markers N-terminal propeptide of type 1 procollagen, osteocalcin, and bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, while downregulated the bone-resorption marker β-C-telopeptide. The BMD at the lumbar spine notably rose after a single dose of SHR-1222. The largest increase occurred in the 400 mg cohort (3.8, 6.7, and 6.1% on day 29, 57, and 85, respectively; compared with 1.4, 0.8, and 1.0% in the placebo group). Although 10.0% of subjects receiving SHR-1222 tested positive for anti–SHR-1222 antibodies, no obvious effects of antibody formation were found on pharmacokinetics. Overall, SHR-1222 was well tolerated at doses from 50 to 400 mg and is a promising new remedy for osteoporosis.
Clinical Trial Registration:
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
, NCT03870100.
Fatty acid metabolism has attracted extensive attention for its key role in the occurrence and development of tumors. Fatty acids not only participate in the biosynthesis of phospholipids in the ...membrane to overcome the demand for rapidly proliferating membrane lipids but also provide ATP, signaling molecules, and NADPH through β-oxidation to maintain tumor survival and growth. However, the specific role of fatty acid β-oxidation in tumors and the description of multiple potential targets in this process are not comprehensive and systematic. Therefore, this review summarizes the function of fatty acid β-oxidation in tumors and studies of key enzymes that catalyze related reactions in various stages to improve the overall understanding of fatty acid β-oxidation and search for novel tumor treatment strategies and ideas.
The 2020 COVID-19 lockdown provides an opportunity to assess how the anthropause affected the behavior of birds. Black-headed gulls (
Larus ridibundus
) wintering at Dianchi Lake (Yunnan Province, ...southwestern China) prefer to forage on easily accessible human-provided food at various sites along the lake. Following the closure of the lake because of the pandemic, synthetic food was provided at a single location. We expected that the home range size and distribution of gulls would change in response to these changes in food provisioning. A total of 91 gulls were tagged with satellite transmitters in November 2018 and March 2019, and their movements were tracked during the winter months. We analyzed their home range size and spatial distribution in four periods, SCP2019, SOP2019, SCP2020, and SOP2020 (Scenic Opening/Closing Period in 2019/2020), and the difference between SOP2019 and SCP2019 was used as the control group. The eutrophication level in the wintering periods “
Nov. 2018–Apr. 2019
” and “
Oct. 2019–Apr. 2020
” was determined using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and the coverage ratio of algal blooms and NDVI were used as indicators of the amount of naturally available food. The home range sizes of gulls were reduced in SCP2020 compared with SOP2019, SCP2019, and SOP2020. The gulls were most abundant in the 600–900 m buffer zone and least abundant in the 0–300 m buffer zone in SCP2019; they were most abundant in the 0–300 m buffer zone and least abundant in the 900–2000 m buffer zone in SCP2020. These patterns were consistent with variation in the NDVI and the coverage ratio of algal blooms among buffer zones. Changes in wintering behaviors in SCP2020 relative to other periods suggested that gulls modified their behavior following anthropause-related changes in the distribution and provisioning of food. Our findings provide insights into the role of behavioral plasticity in mediating adaptation to changes in human activities in birds.
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