The Effect of Upper Airway Surgery on Loop Gain in Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Study Objectives: Controversy exists as to whether elevated loop gain is a cause or consequence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Upper airway surgery is commonly performed in Asian patients with OSA who have failed positive airway pressure therapy and who are thought to have anatomical predisposition to OSA. We hypothesized that high loop gain would decrease following surgical treatment of OSA due to reduced sleep apnea severity.

Correction to: Use of oral anticoagulant drugs is associated with carotid intraplaque hemorrhage in atherosclerosis patients: a meta-analysis.

The article Use of oral anticoagulant drugs is associated with carotid intraplaque hemorrhage in atherosclerosis patients: a meta‑analysis, written by Xin Cao, Jun Zhang and Daoying Geng, was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on April 2019 with open access. With the author(s)' decision to step back from Open Choice, the copyright of the article changed on May 2019 to © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019 and the article is forthwith distributed under the terms of copyright.

Use of oral anticoagulant drugs is associated with carotid intraplaque hemorrhage in atherosclerosis patients: a meta-analysis.

Patients with carotid atherosclerosis, especially the elderly population, take antithrombotic medicine regularly. However, no previous meta-analysis has focused on one of the possible side effects of such drugs, namely intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH). To determine whether antiplatelet drugs or anticoagulants are associated with an increased risk of carotid IPH.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and risk of bone fracture in patients with type 2 diabetes: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Aims: To evaluate the association between glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) and the risk of bone fracture in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Materials And Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search in PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and Web of Science from inception to 28 February 2018 and identified eligible randomized controlled trials. The following data were extracted from each study: first author, year of publication, sample size, patient characteristics, study design, intervention drug, control drug, follow-up time, and incident bone fracture events.

Long-term impact of heavy metals on the performance of biological wastewater treatment processes during shock-adaptation-restoration phases.

The present work investigated the long-term (30 days of shock-adaptation and 60 days of restoration) impact of Cu, Hg and Ag shock loading on the performance of biological wastewater treatment processes. Under the same inhibitory concentration (IC), Cu had the most significant impact on the treatment efficiency. During the shock-adaptation phase, Ag led to up to 4 times of biopolymers generation compared to that of the blank one; Hg inhibited the nitrification process but showed little influence on other parameters; Cu and Ag inhibited the activity of sDHA completely and decreased the content of ATP significantly, as well they caused abnormal ROS generation and corresponding CAT and SOD increment.

Sheep zinc finger proteins 395 (): insertion/deletion variations, associations with growth traits, and mRNA expression.

Zinc finger protein 395 (ZNF395), belonging to the Krüppel C2H2-type zinc-finger protein family, is a common transcription factor, which is involved in several cellular responses such as cell proliferation, differentiation, metabolism, and immunity, especially in the process of adipogenesis. In order to explore the insertion/deletion (indel) genetic variations of and evaluate their effects on sheep growth traits, a total of 1934 samples from five Chinese and two Mongolian sheep breeds were investigated. Genetic variation analysis of revealed a novel 23 bp indel at the intron 3 with three genotypes.

RETRACTED: Function of the PLZF gene in early development and self-renewal of T cells in mice.

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal).

Elevated thyroglobulin level is associated with dysfunction of regulatory T cells in patients with thyroid nodules.

Objective: Thyroid nodules are usually accompanied by elevated thyroglobulin (Tg) level and autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs). However, the relationship between Tg and AITDs is not fully understood. Dysfunction of regulatory T cells (Tregs) plays an important role in the development of AITDs.

A meta-analysis of the relationship between foot local characteristics and major lower extremity amputation in diabetic foot patients.

Objective: To clarify and quantify risk factors among local characteristics of the foot for major amputation in diabetic foot patients.

Methods: Articles published before January 2018 on PubMed and Embase were conducted observational studies about risk factors for major amputation in patients with diabetic foot were retrieved and systematically reviewed by using Stata 12.0 statistical software.

The effect of short-term intensive insulin therapy on circulating T cell subpopulations in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Aims: To evaluate the effect of short-term intensive insulin therapy on circulating T cell subpopulations in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: A total of 113 patients with T2DM and 28 normal subjects were enrolled. Demographic parameters and biochemical markers were collected at baseline, and flow cytometry was applied to determine the proportion of T cell subpopulations in participants.

The concentration thresholds establishment of nitrogen and phosphorus considering the effects of extracellular substrate-to-biomass ratio on cyanobacterial growth kinetics.

Harmful cyanobacterial blooms have caused serious threat to the sustainable development of freshwater ecosystems due to eutrophication, but there is no consensus on nutrients threshold for controlling cyanobacterial bloom. A Monod-based ratio-dependent model was originally developed to investigate the effects of the extracellular substrate-to-biomass (Chlorophyll a) ratio (S/X) on the growth kinetics of Cyanobacteria and to determine the concentration thresholds of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the form of S/X. The results indicated that biomass growth was completely suppressed at S/X ≤ 0.

Upregulation of MTA1 expression by human papillomavirus infection promotes CDDP resistance in cervical cancer cells via modulation of NF-κB/APOBEC3B cascade.

Objective: Compelling evidence establishes the etiological role of viral proteins E6 and E7 of high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV) in cervical carcinogenesis, but their contribution in chemoresistance that leads to advanced metastatic lesions remains poorly defined. Since metastasis-associated protein 1 (MTA1) upregulation and augmentation of APOBEC3B expression are both strongly associated with cervical cancer (CCa) development, and both molecules have been shown to be functionally associated with NF-κB pathway, we therefore sought to investigate the potential mechanistic link between MTA1, APOBEC3B and NF-κB during the pathogenesis of cisplatin (CDDP) resistance in HPV-positive CCa cells.

Methods: MTA1 expression was assessed in HPV-transfected CCa cells using quantitative RT-PCR and immunoblotting.

Automatic Sleep Stage Classification Based on Subthalamic Local Field Potentials.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an established treatment for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Sleep disorders are common complications of PD and affected by subthalamic DBS treatment. To achieve more precise neuromodulation, chronicsleepmonitoringand closed-loop DBS toward sleep-wake cycles could potentially be utilized.

Heat Transfer Performance of a Novel Multi-Baffle-Type Heat Sink.

A new type of multi-baffle-type heat sink is proposed in this paper. The heat-transfer coefficient and pressure drop penalty of the employed six heat sink models are numerically investigated under five different inlet velocities. It is shown that Model 6 (M6) has excellent heat transfer performance as its heat-transfer coefficient reaches a value of 1758.

Physiological role of nitric oxide for regulation of arterial stiffness in anesthetized rabbits.

We assessed effects of acetylcholine and Nω-Nitro-l-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (l-NAME) on the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), an indicator of arterial stiffness from origin of aorta to tibial artery, in halothane-anesthetized rabbits. Acetylcholine decreased the blood pressure, femoral vascular resistance and CAVI, whereas l-NAME did not affect the CAVI at a hypertensive dose. The acetylcholine-induced decrement of CAVI was completely suppressed by l-NAME.

Type III Interferons in Viral Infection and Antiviral Immunity.

Interferons (IFNs) can serve as the first line of immune defense against viral infection. The identification of IFN-λs 1, 2, 3 & 4 (termed as type III IFNs) has revealed that the antiviral immune response to viruses contains more components than the type I IFNs that have been known for more than 50 years. IFN-λs are IFN-λ1 (IL-29), IFN-λ2 (IL-28a), IFN-λ3 (IL-28b) and IFN-λ4, which resembles IFN-λ3.

25-hydroxycholesterol down-regulates oxysterol binding protein like 2 (OSBPL2) via the p53/SREBF2/NFYA signaling pathway.

Oxysterol Binding Protein Like 2 (OSBPL2) is a lipid-binding protein implicated in various cellular processes. Previous studies have shown that depression of OSBPL2 significantly increases the level of cellular 25-hydroxycholesterol (25-OHC) which regulates the expression of lipid-metabolism-related genes. However, whether 25-OHC can regulate the expression of OSBPL2 remains unanswered.

Identification of a novel MYO6 mutation associated with autosomal dominant non-syndromic hearing loss in a Chinese family by whole-exome sequencing.

Autosomal dominant non-syndromic hearing loss (ADNSHL) is characterized by postlingual progressive onset. Due to its high genetic heterogeneity, it is difficult to perform a molecular diagnosis for most patients with ADNSHL. In our study, whole-exome sequencing (WES) was used to screen pathogenic gene candidates by analyzing genomic DNA samples from a large Chinese family (JSNY-067), including the proband and her father, who suffered from non-syndromic hearing loss.

Induction and Suppression of Innate Antiviral Responses by Hepatitis A Virus.

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) belongs to the family . It is the pathogen of acute viral hepatitis caused by fecal-oral transmission. RNA viruses are sensed by pathogen-associated pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) such as Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I), and melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5).

Type I Interferon Induced and Antagonized by Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus.

Viral infections trigger the innate immune system, serving as the first line of defense, and are characterized by the production of type I interferon (IFN). Type I IFN is expressed in a broad spectrum of cells and tissues in the host and includes various subtypes (IFN-α, IFN-β, IFN-δ, IFN-ε, IFN-κ, IFN-τ, IFN-ω, IFN-ν, and IFN-ζ). Since the discovery of type I IFN, our knowledge of the biology of type I IFN has accumulated immensely, and we now have a substantial amount of information on the molecular mechanisms of the response and induction of type I IFN, as well as the strategies utilized by viruses to evade the type I IFN response.

Interactions between algal (AOM) and natural organic matter (NOM): Impacts on their photodegradation in surface waters.

The occurrence of algae bloom would lead to the release of algae-derived organic matter (AOM) and then alter the abundance and behavior of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in aquatic ecosystems. In this study, the characteristics and photodegradation of AOM, naturally occurring organic matter (NOM) derived from soil and plants and their mixtures were explored to reveal the potential interactions between AOM and NOM in water. Results indicated that the protein-like components from AOM and the humic-like components from SRNOM took place inter-component interactions in the AOM-NOM mixtures.

Roles of NIPBL in maintenance of genome stability.

A cohesin-loading factor (NIPBL) is one of important regulatory factors in the maintenance of 3D genome organization and function, by interacting with a large number of factors, e.g. cohesion, CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) or cohesin complex component.

An automatic multi-class coronary atherosclerosis plaque detection and classification framework.

Detection of different classes of atherosclerotic plaques is important for early intervention of coronary artery diseases. However, previous methods focused either on the detection of a specific class of coronary plaques or on the distinction between plaques and normal arteries, neglecting the classification of different classes of plaques. Therefore, we proposed an automatic multi-class coronary atherosclerosis plaque detection and classification framework.

Montmorillonite supported nanoscale zero-valent iron immobilized in sodium alginate (SA/Mt-NZVI) enhanced the nitrogen removal in vertical flow constructed wetlands (VFCWs).

Lacking of electron donor generally causes the low denitrification performance of constructed wetlands (CWs). Montmorillonite supported nanoscale zero-valent iron immobilized in sodium alginate (SA/Mt-NZVI) as novel electron donor-acceptor compounds were added in the denitrification zone of vertical flow constructed wetlands (VFCWs) to enhance the nitrogen removal. The key factors of the SA/Mt-NZVI dosage, the hydraulic retention time (HRT) of VFCWs, and the C/N ratios of influent were explored.