Generation of Individual Whole-Brain Atlases With Resting-State fMRI Data Using Simultaneous Graph Computation and Parcellation

The human brain can be characterized as functional networks. Therefore, it is important to subdivide the brain appropriately in order to construct reliable networks. Resting-state functional connectivity-based parcellation is a commonly used technique to fulfill this goal. Here we propose a novel individual subject-level parcellation approach based on whole-brain resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. We first used a supervoxel method known as simple linear iterative clustering directly on resting-state fMRI time series to generate supervoxels, and then combined similar supervoxels to generate clusters using a clustering method known as graph-without-cut (GWC). The GWC approach incorporates spatial information and multiple features of the supervoxels by energy minimization, simultaneously yielding an optimal graph and brain parcellation. Meanwhile, it theoretically guarantees that the actual cluster number is exactly equal to the initialized cluster number. By comparing the results of the GWC approach and those of the random GWC approach, we demonstrated that GWC does not rely heavily on spatial structures, thus avoiding the challenges encountered in some previous whole-brain parcellation approaches. In addition, by comparing the GWC approach to two competing approaches, we showed that GWC achieved better parcellation performances in terms of different evaluation metrics. The proposed approach can be used to generate individualized brain atlases for applications related to cognition, development, aging, disease, personalized medicine, etc. The major source codes of this study have been made publicly available at https://github.com/yuzhounh/GWC.

Effect of Spin-Draw Rate and Stretching Ratio on Polypropylene Hollow Fiber Membrane Made by Melt-Spinning and Stretching Method

A series of polypropylene hollow fiber membranes was fabricated by melt-spinning and stretching. The crystalline behavior and hard elasticity of precursor hollow fibers were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), elastic recovery and strain-stress curves. The structure and properties of membranes were investigated in detail by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical microscopy, pure water flux, and so on. The results showed that membranes with excellent structure and properties can be obtained at a spin-draw rate of 350 m/min and a stretching ratio of 200 %. The evolution of crystal structure was explored during the annealing and stretching processes by two-dimensional small-angle X-ray scattering (2D-SAXS). Shish-kebab structure was obtained during annealing for hollow fibers at a spin-draw rate of 350 m/min. The crystalline lamellae were destroyed and micropores were formed during the fabrication of membranes by stretching.

Combined impacts of land use and soil property changes on soil erosion in a mollisol area under long-term agricultural development

Soil erosion exhibits special characteristics in the process of agricultural development. Understanding the combined impacts of land use and soil property changes on soil erosion, especially in the area under long-term agricultural cultivations, is vital to watershed agricultural and soil management. This study investigated the temporal-spatial patterns of the soil erosion based on a modified version of Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and conducted a soil erosion contribution analysis. The land use data were interpreted from Landsat series images, and soil properties were obtained from field sampling, laboratory tests and SPAW (Soil-Plant-Atmosphere-Water) model calculations. Over a long period of agricultural development, the average erosion modulus decreased from 187.7tkm^-2a^-1 in 1979 to 158.4tkm^-2a^-1 in 2014. The land use types were transformed mainly in the reclamation of paddy fields and the shrinking of wetlands on a large scale. Most of the soils were converted to loam from silty or clay loam and the saturated hydraulic conductivity (K_s) of most soil types decreased by 1.11% to 43.6%. The rapidly increasing area of 49.8km² of paddy fields together with the moderate decrease of 14.0km² of forests, as well as K_s values explained 87.4% of the total variance in soil erosion. Although changes in soil physical and water characteristics indicated that soil erosion loads should have become higher, the upsurge in paddy fields played an important role in mitigating soil erosion in this study area. These results demonstrated that land use changes had more significant impacts than soil property changes on soil erosion. This study suggested that rational measures should be taken to extend paddy fields and control the dry land farming. These findings will benefit watershed agricultural targeting and management.

Effect of Cdc42 on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion of rats

To investigate the effects and their possible mechanisms of cell division cycle 42 (Cdc42) to neonatal rat myocardial cells subjected to the ischemia-repefusion. Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were cultured and then subjected to the ischemia-reperfusion. Experimental groups 1. Control group; 2. Ischemia-repefusion group (I/R group); 3. Oligofectamine group (Oli group); 4. Oligofectamine and antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (AS-ODN) group (As group); 5. Oligofectamine and missense oligodeoxynucleotide (MS-ODN) group (Ms group); 6. SP600125 and Oligofectamine and AS-ODN group (SP600125/As group); 7. SP600125 and Oligofectamine and MS-ODN group (SP600125/Ms group). The cardiacmyocyte apoptosis rate was detected by AnnexinV/PI with flow cytometry. Cdc42, JNK, p-JNK, Bax and Bcl-2 were detected by western blot. In comparison with control group, Cdc42, the cardiacmyocyte apoptosis rate and phosphorylation of JNK were increased and the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax was reduced in the I/R group; Cdc42, the cardiacmyocyte apoptosis rate and phosphorylation of JNK in As group was lower than the I/R group, Oli group and the Ms group, and the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax was the highest in the four groups; Cdc42, cardiacmyocyte apoptosis rate, phosphorylation of JNK and the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax showed no differences in the I/R group, Oli group and the Ms group. Compared with As group, phosphorylation of JNK was lower in the SP600125/As group, phosphorylation of JNK in SP600125/Ms group was lower than the Ms group, and it showed no differences between the SP600125 & As group and the SP600125 & Ms group. Cdc42 in myocardial I/R can promote cardiacmyocyte apoptosis rate. AS-ODN of Cdc42 can decrease the cardiacmyocyte apoptosis rate in I/R. Cdc42 may played a role in myocardial I/R via JNK , Bcl-2 and Bax signal pathway.

Plasma pharmacokinetics of quinocetone in ducks after oral and intravenous administration

Quinocetone (QCT), an antimicrobial growth promoter, is widely used in food-producing animals. However, information about pharmacokinetics (PK) of QCT in ducks still remains unavailable up to now. In this study, QCT and its major metabolites (1-desoxyquinocetone, di-desoxyquinocetone and 3-methyl-quinoxaline-2-carboxylic) in ducks were studied using a simple and sensitive UHPLC-MS/MS assay. Twenty ducks were divided into two groups. (n = 10/group). One group received QCT by oral administration at dose of 40 mg/kg while another group received QCT intravenously at 10 mg/kg. Plasma samples were collected at various time points from 0 to 96 hr. QCT and its major metabolites in duck plasma samples were extracted by 1 ml acetonitrile and detected by UHPLC-MS/MS, with the gradient mobile phase that consisted of 0.1% formic acid in water (A) and acetonitrile (B). A noncompartment analysis was used to calculate the PK parameters. The results showed that following oral dosing, the peak plasma concentration (C_max ) of QCT was 32.14 ng/ml and the area under the curve (AUCINF_obs) was 233.63 (h ng)/ ml. Following intravenous dosing, the C_max , AUCINF_obs and Vss_obs were 96.70 ng/ml, 152.34 (h ng)/ ml and 807.00 L/kg, respectively. These data indicated that the QCT was less absorbed in vivo following oral administration, with low bioavailability (38.43%). QCT and its major metabolites such as 1-desoxyquinocetone and 3-methyl-quinoxaline-2-carboxylic were detected at individual time points in individual ducks, while the di-desoxyquinocetone was not detected in all time points in all ducks. This study enriches basic scientific data about pharmacokinetics of QCT in ducks after oral and intravenous administration and will be beneficial for clinical application in ducks.

Treatment of a subdural empyema complicated by intracerebral abscess due to Brucella infection

A 55-year-old male presented with fever, stupor, aphasia, and left hemiparesis. A history of head trauma 3 months before was also reported. Cranial magnetic resonance imaging revealed slight contrast enhancement of lesions under the right frontal skull plate and right frontal lobe. Because of deterioration in nutritional status and intracranial hypertension, the patient was prepared for burr hole surgery. A subdural empyema (SDE) recurred after simple drainage. After detection of Brucella species in SDE, craniotomy combined with antibiotic treatment was undertaken. The patient received antibiotic therapy for 6 months (two doses of 2 g ceftriaxone, two doses of 100 mg doxycycline, and 700 mg rifapentine for 6 months) that resulted in complete cure of the infection. Thus, it was speculated that the preexisting subdural hematoma was formed after head trauma, which was followed by a hematogenous infection caused by Brucella species.

Farmland-atmosphere feedbacks amplify decreases in diffuse nitrogen pollution in a freeze-thaw agricultural area under climate warming conditions

Although climate warming and agricultural land use changes are two of the primary instigators of increased diffuse pollution, they are usually considered separately or additively. This likely lead to poor decisions regarding climate adaptation. Climate warming and farmland responses have synergistic consequences for diffuse nitrogen pollution, which are hypothesized to present different spatio-temporal patterns. In this study, we propose a modeling framework to simulate the synergistic impacts of climate warming and warming-induced farmland shifts on diffuse pollution. Active accumulated temperature response for latitudinal and altitudinal directions was predicted based on a simple agro-climate model under different temperature increments (△T₀ is from 0.8°C to 1.4°C at an interval of 0.2°C). Spatial distributions of dryland shift to paddy land were determined by considering accumulated temperature. Different temperature increments and crop distributions were inserted into Soil and Water Assessment Tool model, which quantified the spatio-temporal changes of nitrogen. Warming led to a decrease of the annual total nitrogen loading (2.6%-14.2%) in the low latitudes compared with baseline, which was larger than the decrease (0.8%-6.2%) in the high latitudes. The synergistic impacts amplified the decrease of the loading in the low and high latitudes at the sub-basin scale. Warming led to a decrease of the loading at a rate of 0.35kg/ha/°C, which was lower than the synergistic impacts (3.67kg/ha/°C) at the watershed level. However, warming led to the slight increase of the annual averaged NO3 (LAT) (0.16kg/ha/°C), which was amplified by the synergistic impacts (0.22kg/ha/°C). Expansion of paddy fields led to a decrease in the monthly total nitrogen loading throughout the year, but amplified an increase in the loading in August and September. The decreased response in spatio-temporal nitrogen patterns is substantially amplified by farmland-atmosphere feedbacks associated with farmland shifts in response to warming.

Does gastric bypass surgery change body weight set point?

The relatively stable body weight during adulthood is attributed to a homeostatic regulatory mechanism residing in the brain which uses feedback from the body to control energy intake and expenditure. This mechanism guarantees that if perturbed up or down by design, body weight will return to pre-perturbation levels, defined as the defended level or set point. The fact that weight re-gain is common after dieting suggests that obese subjects defend a higher level of body weight. Thus, the set point for body weight is flexible and likely determined by the complex interaction of genetic, epigenetic and environmental factors. Unlike dieting, bariatric surgery does a much better job in producing sustained suppression of food intake and body weight, and an intensive search for the underlying mechanisms has started. Although one explanation for this lasting effect of particularly Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB) is simple physical restriction due to the invasive surgery, a more exciting explanation is that the surgery physiologically reprograms the body weight defense mechanism. In this non-systematic review, we present behavioral evidence from our own and other studies that defended body weight is lowered after RYGB and sleeve gastrectomy. After these surgeries, rodents return to their preferred lower body weight if over- or underfed for a period of time, and the ability to drastically increase food intake during the anabolic phase strongly argues against the physical restriction hypothesis. However, the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. Although the mechanism involves central leptin and melanocortin signaling pathways, other peripheral signals such as gut hormones and their neural effector pathways likely contribute. Future research using both targeted and non-targeted 'omics' techniques in both humans and rodents as well as modern, genetically targeted, neuronal manipulation techniques in rodents will be necessary.

Nox1 promotes colon cancer cell metastasis via activation of the ADAM17 pathway

OBJECTIVE

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by endogenous metabolic enzymes are involved in a variety of pathology processes, including cancer. In particular, superoxide-generating NADPH oxidase 1 (Nox1), a member of Nox enzyme family, is highly expressed in the colon tissue and has been implicated in physiological and pathophysiological states of colon cancer. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of Nox1 in the regulation of colon cancer progression remains largely unknown.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In vitro scratch wound healing and invasion assays were used to compare the migration and invasion abilities of HT29 cells in which Nox1 protein levels were manipulated. Western blot assay was performed to detect the expression of key proteins of the EGFR-PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. Immunoprecipitation assay was performed to detect the interaction between Nox1 and ADAM17.

RESULTS

Nox1 overexpression promoted colon cancer cell growth, migration, and invasion through the EGFR-PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. At the molecular level, Nox1 regulated the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) converting enzyme (TACE)/a disintegrin and metalloprotease domain 17 (ADAM17). Furthermore, Nox1 interacted with and stabilized ADAM17 from ubiquitin-mediated degradation, leading to the activation of the ADAM17 signaling pathway.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests that Nox1 promotes colorectal cancer metastasis by modulating the stability of ADAM17.

Comparison of efficacy of different embolic agents on uterine leiomyoma

The aim of this study was to explore the efficacies, postoperative side effects, and complications of uterine artery embolization (UAE) treatments for uterine leiomyoma (UL) with different embolic agents. The study included 107 patients with UL that were treated with UAE with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA group) or pingyangmycin lipiodol emulsion and silk-segment (PLES group). Six months later, the improvement rate of anaemia, the menstrual improvement rate, the incidence rate of fever, the disappearance rates of compression symptoms and abdominal symptoms in the PVA group were 93.8%, 94.7%, 22.0%, 60.0%, and 88.9%, respectively, which showed no significant difference from those in the PLES group (90.5%, 92.3%, 84.8%, 53.3%, and 8 1.3%, respectively). The incidence rate of fever after embolization in PVA group was significantly lower than that in PLES group (c² = 41.958, p = 0.000). However, the efficacy, improvement rate of symptoms, and postoperative side effects of two groups showed no significant difference (p > 0.05). PVA and PLES have significant efficacy for UAE treatment on patients with UL.

Association between Longevity and Element Levels in Food and Drinking Water of Typical Chinese Longevity Area

OBJECTIVES

To carrying out an integrated analysis on regional environment and human health in China and to detect the association between longevity and daily element intake from food and drinking water.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

All the 18 cities and counties in Hainan Province.

MEASUREMENTS

The distribution of elderly population and longevity indexes at a county level in Hainan Province were investigated. Quality of food and drinking water in Hainan was evaluated by comparing the chemical elements with National Standards. In addition, the association between element concentrations in food and water and longevity was examined using spearman's rank correlation.

RESULTS

The proportion of elderly people is higher in the northern part of the province compared with southern counties. Food contributes a greater proportion of daily element intake than drinking water. Compared with the National Standards, reaching rates for elements were over 85% for both food and drinking water. There was a positive correlation between daily intake of Cu, Se, and Zn from food and water and aging and longevity indexes, and a negative correlation between Pb intake and these indexes.

CONCLUSION

The quality of food and water in Hainan Province are good and that, compared with water, food is a more important source of trace elements. An appropriate supply of Cu, Se, and Zn is important, whereas excessive intake of Pb should be avoided. The findings also provide basic data to support further studies on regional variations in longevity and their relationship to diet and drinking water.

Global integrated drought monitoring and prediction system

Drought is by far the most costly natural disaster that can lead to widespread impacts, including water and food crises. Here we present data sets available from the Global Integrated Drought Monitoring and Prediction System (GIDMaPS), which provides drought information based on multiple drought indicators. The system provides meteorological and agricultural drought information based on multiple satellite-, and model-based precipitation and soil moisture data sets. GIDMaPS includes a near real-time monitoring component and a seasonal probabilistic prediction module. The data sets include historical drought severity data from the monitoring component, and probabilistic seasonal forecasts from the prediction module. The probabilistic forecasts provide essential information for early warning, taking preventive measures, and planning mitigation strategies. GIDMaPS data sets are a significant extension to current capabilities and data sets for global drought assessment and early warning. The presented data sets would be instrumental in reducing drought impacts especially in developing countries. Our results indicate that GIDMaPS data sets reliably captured several major droughts from across the globe.