Price Prediction of Pu'er tea based on ARIMA and BP Models.

Pu'er tea is a Yunnan geographical indication product, and its brand value ranks first in China. At present, qualitative and quantitative methods with low prediction accuracy are used to predict price. In this paper, based on the current situation and industry characteristics, a differential autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA) is used to predict the short-term price. From the perspective of macro and micro, back-propagation neural network model (BP) was established to predict the long-term price based on the weight ranking of 16 factors affecting the price by technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution method (TOPSIS). The future price is predicted and analyzed, and then based on the empirical results, suggestions are put forward for the industry in terms of reducing production capacity, increasing consumer demand and combining with the publicity and promotion of Internet.

Attenuated P. falciparum Parasite Shows Cytokine Variations in Humanized Mice.

A recently developed humanized mouse has been used to assess the immune response evoked against the isolated attenuated C9 parasite clone (C9-M; carrying a single insertion disrupting the open reading frame (ORF) of PF3D7_1305500) of Plasmodium falciparum. Significant human RBC engraftment was achieved by ameliorating the residual non-adaptive immune response using clodronate-loaded liposome treatment. Controlled reactive professional phagocytic leukocytes in immunodeficient mice allowed for sizeable human blood chimerism and injected huRBCs acted as bona fide host cells for P. falciparum. huRBC-reconstituted immunodeficient mice received infectious challenge with attenuated P. falciparum C9 parasite mutants (C9-M), complemented (C9-C), and wild type (NF54) progenitors to study the role of immune effectors in the clearance of the parasite from mouse circulation. C9-M and NF54 parasites grew and developed in the huRBC-reconstituted humanized NSG mice. Further, the presence of mutant parasites in deep-seated tissues suggests the escape of parasites from the host's immune responses and thus extended the survival of the parasite. Our results suggest an evasion mechanism that may have been employed by the parasite to survive the mouse's residual non-adaptive immune responses. Collectively, our data suggest that huRBCs reconstituted NSG mice infected with attenuated P. falciparum is a valuable tool to explore the role of C9 mutation in the growth and survival of parasite mutants and their response to the host's immune responses. This mouse might help in identifying novel chemotherapeutic targets to develop new anti-malarial drugs.

Safety and efficacy concerns of modern strategies of local anesthetics delivery.

In the last few decades, several formulations have evolved to realize better efficacy of administered anesthesia. These innovative formulations have facilitated surgeons to perform operations under purely local anesthesia, which provides extra protection and comfort to patients. Ease of delivery of local anesthesia is the need of the current generation, because some of the standard procedures are performed without the use of any sedative agent. Therefore, we are presenting here the various approaches of administration of local anesthetics by the surgeons. To construct a comprehensive report on various methods of anesthesia, we followed a systematic literature search of bibliographic databases of published articles recently in the international journals and publishers of repute. A comprehensive study of several reports of the field indicates that there are significant progresses towards developing novel formulations of anesthesia drugs as well as strategies of delivery. Among formulations, nanoparticle-based delivery approaches, including polymeric, liposomal, and micellar structures, have offered the much needed efficacy with low toxicity. Therefore, several of such techniques are at various stages of clinical trials. Nanotechnology-based delivery approaches have significantly emerged in recent past due to the low systemic toxicity and better efficacy of the nonconventional local anesthetics. The other methods of local anesthesia delivery such as transdermal, magnetophoresis, electrophoresis, and iontophoresis are frequently used due to them being minimally invasive and locally effective. Therefore, the combination of the nanotechnological methods with above mentioned techniques would significantly enhance the overall process of local anesthesia delivery and efficacy.

Effect of 5-µg Dose of Dexmedetomidine in Combination With Intrathecal Bupivacaine on Spinal Anesthesia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Intrathecal dexmedetomidine (DEX) has been used to improve the quality and duration of spinal anesthesia. The aim of this meta-analysis is to evaluate whether intrathecal DEX could prolong the duration of sensory and motor block during spinal anesthesia. METHODS: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library for randomized controlled trials that investigated the facilitatory effects of intrathecal administration of DEX compared with those of a placebo on spinal anesthesia from inception to April 2019. Sensory and motor block durations, sensory and motor block onset times, time to first analgesic request, and DEX-related adverse effects were evaluated. Results were combined using fixed-effects or random effects modeling when appropriate. FINDINGS: A total of 1478 patients from 25 clinical studies were included in the analysis. Compared with placebo, intrathecal DEX significantly prolonged the durations of both sensory block (weighted mean difference [WMD] = 134.42 min; 95% CI, 109.71-159.13 min; P < 0.001) and motor block (WMD = 114.27 min; 95% CI, 93.18-135.35 min; P < 0.001). It also hastened the onset of sensory block (WMD = -0.80 min; 95% CI, -1.21 to -0.40; P < 0.001) and motor block (WMD = -1.03 min; 95% CI, -1.51 to -0.56 min; P < 0.001). Furthermore, it delayed the time to first analgesic request (WMD = 216.90 min; 95% CI, 178.90-254.90 min; P < 0.001) and reduced the incidence of shivering (risk ratio [RR] = 0.39; 95% CI, 0.27-0.55; P < 0.001). DEX was associated with increased risk of transient bradycardia (RR = 1.59; 95% CI, 1.07-2.37; P = 0.022) and hypotension (RR = 1.40; 95% CI, 1.04-1.89; P = 0.026) but did not increase the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (RR = 0.87; 95% CI, 0.62-1.24; P = 0.45). IMPLICATIONS: Intrathecal DEX can prolong the duration of sensory block, the duration of motor block, and the time to first analgesic request associated with spinal anesthesia.

ITRAQ-based proteomic analysis reveals possible target-related proteins in human adrenocortical adenomas.

BACKGROUND: Adrenocortical adenomas (ACAs) can lead to the autonomous secretion of aldosterone responsible for primary aldosteronism (PA), which is the most common form of secondary arterial hypertension. However, the authentic fundamental mechanisms underlying ACAs remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: Isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ)-based proteomics and bioinformatics analyses from etiological studies of ACAs were performed to screen the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and investigate the relevant mechanisms of their occurrence and development. Results could help determine therapeutic targets of clinical significance. METHODS: In the present study, iTRAQ-based proteomics was applied to analyze ACA tissue samples from normal adrenal cortex tissues adjacent to the tumor. Using proteins extracted from a panel of four pairs of ACA samples, we identified some upregulated proteins and other downregulated proteins in all four pairs of ACA samples compared with adjacent normal tissue. Subsequently, we predicted protein-protein interaction networks of three DEPs to determine the authentic functional factors in ACA. RESULTS: A total of 753 DEPs were identified, including 347 upregulated and 406 downregulated proteins. The expression of three upregulated proteins (E2F3, KRT6A, and ALDH1A2) was validated by Western blot in 24 ACA samples. Our data suggested that some DEPs might be important hallmarks during the development of ACA. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first proteomic research to investigate alterations in protein levels and affected pathways in ACA using the iTRAQ technique. Thus, this study not only provides a comprehensive dataset on overall protein changes but also sheds light on its potential molecular mechanism in human ACAs.