Hippocampal GPR35 Participates in the Pathogenesis of Cognitive Deficits and Emotional Alterations Induced by Aß1-42 in Mice.

The amyloid-beta (Aß) aggregation in Alzheimer's disease (AD) triggers neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration, which lead to cognitive deficits along with other neuropsychiatric symptoms, including depression and anxiety. G protein-coupled receptor 35 (GPR35) is expressed in the brain and is involved in metabolic stresses. However, the role of GPR35 in AD pathogenesis remains unknown. Herein, pharmacological blockade, shRNA-mediated knockdown or knockout of GPR35 was performed to investigate the role and mechanisms of GPR35 in Aß1-42-induced cognitive impairment and emotional alterations in mice. A series of behavioral, histopathological, and biochemical tests were performed in mice. Our results showed that hippocampal GPR35 expression was significantly increased in Aß1-42-induced and APP/PS1 AD mouse models. Pharmacological blockade or knockdown of GPR35 ameliorated cognitive impairment and emotional alterations induced by Aß1-42 in mice. We also found that blockade or knockdown of GPR35 decreased the accumulation of Aß, and improved neuroinflammation, cholinergic system deficiency, and neuronal apoptosis via the RhoA/ROCK2 pathway in Aß1-42-treaed mice. However, activation of GPR35 aggravates Aß1-42-induced cognitive deficits and emotional alterations in mice. In addition, genetic deletion of GPR35 protects against the Aß1-42-induced cognitive deficits and emotional alterations in mice. Moreover, GPR35 could bind to TLR4. These results indicate that GPR35 participates in the pathogenesis of cognitive deficits and emotional alterations induced by Aß1-42 in mice, suggesting that GPR35 could be a potential therapeutic target for AD.

Soluble carbon source recovery using preconditioning coagulants for applicable short-term fermentation of waste activated sludge in WWTPs.

A huge production of waste activated sludge (WAS) has been a burden for wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) with high disposal cost and little benefit back to wastewater purification. The short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced by a short-term acidogenic fermentation of WAS before methane production have been proven to be a high-quality carbon source available for microbial denitrification process. The dual purpose of full recovery of fermentation liquid products and facilitating disposal of residual solid waste necessitate an efficient solid-liquid separation process of short-term fermentation liquid. The transformation and loss of various soluble carbon sources between solid and liquid are very important issues for carbon recovery efficiency when combining short-term fermentation and sludge dewatering in WWTPs. Here we testified the three conventional preconditioning coagulants, Polyferric Sulfate (PFS), Poly Aluminum Chloride (PAC) and Polyacrylamide (PAM), to improve the efficiency of subsequent solid-liquid separation. The results show that conversion yield of SCFAs in the liquid phase of sludge after short-term fermentation was 195 mg COD/g VSS, when using the coagulants PFS, PAC, and PAM for recovery, the recovery ratio was 79.5%, 82.0%, and 85.9%, respectively, while the dewaterability could be improved after preconditioning short-term fermentation sludge. The complexation of Al3+/Fe3+ in metal coagulants with carboxyl groups of SCFA demonstrated by Density Functional Theory calculation led to small part of soluble carbons co-migration to the solid phase, mainly a loss of high molecular weight organic compounds (carbohydrate, proteins, humic acids), while the application of PAM had little impact on carbon recovery. Economic calculations further showed PAM preconditioning short-term fermentation liquid of WAS could achieve higher recovery benefits.

Knockdown and inhibition of hippocampal GPR17 attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced cognitive impairment in mice.

BACKGROUND: Previously we reported that inhibition of GPR17 prevents amyloid ß 1-42 (Aß1-42)-induced cognitive impairment in mice. However, the role of GPR17 on cognition is still largely unknown. METHODS: Herein, we used a mouse model of cognitive impairment induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to further investigate the role of GPR17 in cognition and its potential mechanism. The mice were pretreated with GPR17 shRNA lentivirus and cangrelor by microinjection into the dentate gyrus (DG) region of the hippocampus. After 21 days, LPS (0.25 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered for 7 days. Animal behavioral tests as well as pathological and biochemical assays were performed to evaluate the cognitive function in mice. RESULTS: LPS exposure resulted in a significant increase in GPR17 expression at both protein and mRNA levels in the hippocampus. Gene reduction and pharmacological blockade of GPR17 improved cognitive impairment in both the Morris water maze and novel object recognition tests. Knockdown and inhibition of GPR17 inhibited Aß production, decreased the expression of NF-κB p65, increased CREB phosphorylation and elevated BDNF expression, suppressed the accumulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, inhibited Glial cells (microglia and astrocytes) activation, and increased Bcl-2, PSD-95, and SYN expression, reduced Bax expression as well as decreased caspase-3 activity and TUNEL-positive cells in the hippocampus of LPS-treated mice. Notably, knockdown and inhibition of GPR17 not only provided protective effects against cholinergic dysfunction but also facilitated the regulation of oxidative stress. In addition, cangrelor pretreatment can effectively inhibit the expression of inflammatory cytokines by suppressing NF-κB/CREB/BDNF signaling in BV-2 cells stimulated by LPS. However, activation of hippocampal GPR17 with MDL-29951 induced cognitive impairment in normal mice. CONCLUSIONS: These observations indicate that GPR17 may possess a neuroprotective effect against LPS-induced cognition deficits, and neuroinflammation by modulation of NF-κB/CREB/BDNF signaling in mice, indicating that GPR17 may be a promising new target for the prevention and treatment of AD.

A novel inclusion complex of oxybenzone with C-methylresorcin[4]arene deters skin permeation.

Oxybenzone (OXB), a very widely used sunscreen ingredient has the potential to block both UVA and UVB but can penetrate through skin. Studies have revealed its presence in the blood and urine of most humans, which may lead to long-term health effects. As the confined cavities of macrocycles can alter the physical and chemical properties of encapsulated guests, in this study, we investigated the formation of host-guest complexes between C-methylresorcin[4]arene and OXB. Combined experimental (NMR spectroscopy, UV/vis absorption, and fluorescence spectroscopy) and theoretical investigation confirmed the formation of a weak host-guest complex that had a 1 : 1 stoichiometry. Furthermore, skin permeation testing revealed that complexation by C-methylresorcin[4]arene significantly reduced the skin permeation of OXB which can potentially limit the harmful effects of this organic sunscreen.

Walnut Protein Isolate-κ-Carrageenan Composite Gels Improved with Synergetic Ultrasound-Transglutaminase: Gelation Properties and Structure.

Walnut protein is a kind of natural, high-quality plant protein resource. However, its high content of gluten, strong hydrophobicity and poor gelation ability have greatly limited its development and utilization in gel products. It was found in this experiment that ultrasonic power combined with transglutaminase (TGase) had a significant effect on the gel properties of the walnut protein isolate (WNPI)-κ-carrageenan (KC) complex. The results showed that the gel strength of the WNPI-KC complex first increased and then decreased with the increase in ultrasonic power (0-400 W). WNPI-KC composite gel had the best texture properties, rheological properties, water-holding capacity (99.41 ± 0.76%), swelling ratio (2.31 ± 0.29%) and thermal stability (83.22 °C) following 200 W ultrasonic pretreatment. At this time, the gel network was more uniform and much denser, and the water molecules were more tightly bound. Further, 200 W ultrasonic pretreatment could promote the transformation of α-helices to ß-folds in protein molecules, improve the fluorescence intensity, increase the content of free sulfhydryl groups and enhance the intermolecular forces. The experimental results could provide technical support for the development of walnut protein gel food.

Advancements in virtual screening techniques for study of enzyme inhibitor compounds / 中国中药杂志

Enzymes are closely associated with the onset and progression of numerous diseases, making enzymes a primary target in innovative drug development. However, the challenge remains in identifying compounds that exhibit potent inhibitory effects on the target enzymes. With the continuous expansion of the total number of natural products and increasing difficulty in isolating and enriching new compounds, traditional high-throughput screening methods are finding it increasingly challenging to meet the demands of new drug development. Virtual screening, characterized by its high efficiency and low cost, has gradually become an indispensable technology in drug development. It represents a prominent example of the integration of artificial intelligence with biopharmaceuticals and is an inevitable trend in the rapid development of innovative drug screening in the future. Therefore, this article primarily focused on systematically reviewing the recent applications of virtual screening technology in the development of enzyme inhibitors and explored the prospects and advantages of using this technology in developing new drugs, aiming to provide essential theoretical insights and references for the application of related technologies in the field of new drug development.

Spatial transcriptome analysis of long non-coding RNAs reveals tissue specificity and functional roles in cancer / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a significant role in maintaining tissue morphology and functions, and their precise regulatory effectiveness is closely related to expression patterns. However, the spatial expression patterns of lncRNAs in humans are poorly characterized. Here, we constructed five comprehensive transcriptomic atlases of human lncRNAs covering thousands of major tissue samples in normal and disease states. The lncRNA transcriptomes exhibited high consistency within the same tissues across resources, and even higher complexity in specialized tissues. Tissue-elevated (TE) lncRNAs were identified in each resource and robust TE lncRNAs were refined by integrative analysis. We detected 1 to 4684 robust TE lncRNAs across tissues; the highest number was in testis tissue, followed by brain tissue. Functional analyses of TE lncRNAs indicated important roles in corresponding tissue-related pathways. Moreover, we found that the expression features of robust TE lncRNAs made them be effective biomarkers to distinguish tissues; TE lncRNAs also tended to be associated with cancer, and exhibited differential expression or were correlated with patient survival. In summary, spatial classification of lncRNAs is the starting point for elucidating the function of lncRNAs in both maintenance of tissue morphology and progress of tissue-constricted diseases.

Overexpressed SIRT6 ameliorates doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity and potentiates the therapeutic efficacy through metabolic remodeling

Since the utilization of anthracyclines in cancer therapy, severe cardiotoxicity has become a major obstacle. The major challenge in treating cancer patients with anthracyclines is minimizing cardiotoxicity without compromising antitumor efficacy. Herein, histone deacetylase SIRT6 expression was reduced in plasma of patients treated with anthracyclines-based chemotherapy regimens. Furthermore, overexpression of SIRT6 alleviated doxorubicin-induced cytotoxicity in cardiomyocytes, and potentiated cytotoxicity of doxorubicin in multiple cancer cell lines. Moreover, SIRT6 overexpression ameliorated doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity and potentiated antitumor efficacy of doxorubicin in mice, suggesting that SIRT6 overexpression could be an adjunctive therapeutic strategy during doxorubicin treatment. Mechanistically, doxorubicin-impaired mitochondria led to decreased mitochondrial respiration and ATP production. And SIRT6 enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis and mitophagy by deacetylating and inhibiting Sgk1. Thus, SIRT6 overexpression coordinated metabolic remodeling from glycolysis to mitochondrial respiration during doxorubicin treatment, which was more conducive to cardiomyocyte metabolism, thus protecting cardiomyocytes but not cancer cells against doxorubicin-induced energy deficiency. In addition, ellagic acid, a natural compound that activates SIRT6, alleviated doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity and enhanced doxorubicin-mediated tumor regression in tumor-bearing mice. These findings provide a preclinical rationale for preventing cardiotoxicity by activating SIRT6 in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, but also advancing the understanding of the crucial role of SIRT6 in mitochondrial homeostasis.

[Advancements in virtual screening techniques for study of enzyme inhibitor compounds].

Enzymes are closely associated with the onset and progression of numerous diseases, making enzymes a primary target in innovative drug development. However, the challenge remains in identifying compounds that exhibit potent inhibitory effects on the target enzymes. With the continuous expansion of the total number of natural products and increasing difficulty in isolating and enriching new compounds, traditional high-throughput screening methods are finding it increasingly challenging to meet the demands of new drug development. Virtual screening, characterized by its high efficiency and low cost, has gradually become an indispensable technology in drug development. It represents a prominent example of the integration of artificial intelligence with biopharmaceuticals and is an inevitable trend in the rapid development of innovative drug screening in the future. Therefore, this article primarily focused on systematically reviewing the recent applications of virtual screening technology in the development of enzyme inhibitors and explored the prospects and advantages of using this technology in developing new drugs, aiming to provide essential theoretical insights and references for the application of related technologies in the field of new drug development.

A cohort study of intrapartum group B streptococcus prophylaxis on atopic dermatitis in 2-year-old children.

OBJECTIVE: To understand the occurrence of atopic dermatitis (AD) in children aged 2 years on exposure to maternal group B streptococcus (GBS) antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP). DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of 2909 mother-child pairs. SETTING: Taixing People's Hospital in Eastern China. PARTICIPANTS: Term infants born 2018-2019, followed longitudinally from birth to 2 years. EXPOSURES: The GBS-IAP was defined as therapy with intravenous penicillin G or ampicillin or cefazolin ≥ 4 h prior to delivery to the mother. Reference infants were defined as born without or with other intrapartum antibiotic exposure. OUTCOMES: The logistic regression models were employed to analyze the effect of intrapartum GBS prophylaxis on AD in 2-year-old children during delivery. Analysis was a priori stratified according to the mode of delivery and adjusted for relevant covariates. RESULTS: The cohorts showed that preventive GBS-IAP was potentially associated with increased incidence of AD in children delivered vaginally according to logistic regression models before and after covariate-adjusted treatment (OR: 6.719,95% CI: 4.730-9.544,P < 0.001;aOR: 6.562,95% CI: 4.302-10.008, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Prophylactic treatment of intrapartum GBS may raise the risk of AD in vaginally delivered children. These findings highlight the need to better understand the risk between childhood AD and current GBS-IAP intervention strategies.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET)/Computed Tomography Features of Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumors: Case Series and Review.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to explore the clinical and neuroradiologic properties of atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors. Methods: Data from 6 pediatric patients with atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors, which mainly contained the features of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT), was retrospectively analyzed. Follow-up was conducted in all patients through clinic services and/or telephone consultation. Results: The patients included 4 males and 2 females, aged from 3.2 to 83.1 months at the initial diagnosis. All patients had MRI scans. Two patients underwent 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT scintigraphy preoperatively and 4 postoperatively. All primary lesions were located in the cranial cavity and the average diameter of lesions was 37.2 mm. Cerebrospinal fluid spread on enhanced T1-weighted images were found in 2 patients. Multiple metastases were found on MRI and PET/CT scans, which were located at cranial cavity, spinal cord, lung and lymph node. The primary and metastatic lesions showed evident uptake of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose. Two patients underwent total tumor removal, and 4 patients underwent subtotal removal. None of the patients received shunt surgery. Follow-up was performed in all 6 patients. One patient survived event-free 38.4 months after resection. The mean overall survival of the remaining 5 patients was 5.1 months. Conclusion: We identified specific PET/CT and MRI features that can facilitate the recognition of atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors prior to biopsy.

The principal component analysis of the ring deformation in the nonadiabatic surface hopping dynamics.

The analysis of the leading active molecular motions in the on-the-fly trajectory surface hopping simulation provides the essential information to understand the geometric evolution in nonadiabatic dynamics. When the ring deformation is involved, the identification of the key active coordinates becomes challenging. A "hierarchical" protocol based on the dimensionality reduction and clustering approaches is proposed for the automatic analysis of the ring deformation in the nonadiabatic molecular dynamics. The representative system keto isocytosine is taken as the prototype to illustrate this protocol. The results indicate that the current hierarchical analysis protocol is a powerful way to clearly clarify both the major and minor active molecular motions of the ring distortion in nonadiabatic dynamics.

Variation of Anxiety and Depression During a 3-Year Period as Well as Their Risk Factors and Prognostic Value in Postoperative Bladder Cancer Patients.

Background: Anxiety and depression are commonly recognized and prognostically relevant in cancer patients. The aim of this study was to explore the 3-year longitudinal changes in anxiety and depression, their risk factors, and prognostic value in patients with bladder cancer. Methods: Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale for anxiety (HADS-A) and depression (HADS-D) scores of 120 postoperative bladder cancer patients and 100 healthy controls (HCs) were assessed. Additionally, the HADS-A and HADS-D scores of bladder cancer patients were determined at 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years post surgery. Results: HADS-A score (7.7 ± 3.0 vs. 4.8 ± 2.6), anxiety rate (38.3% vs. 9.0%), HADS-D score (7.7 ± 3.3 vs. 4.3 ± 2.6), depression rate (40.0% vs. 11.0%), as well as anxiety degree and depression degree, were all increased in bladder cancer patients compared with HCs (all P < 0.001). Besides, the HADS-A score gradually increased from baseline to 3 years (P = 0.004), while the anxiety rate, HADS-D score, and depression rate did not change significantly (all P > 0.050). Gender, tumor size, marriage status, hypertension, diversity, and lymph node (LN) metastasis were associated with anxiety or depression in patients with bladder cancer (all P < 0.050). Anxiety was associated with shortened overall survival (OS) (P = 0.024) but did not link with disease-free survival (DFS) (P = 0.201); depression was not correlated with either DFS or OS (both P > 0.050). Conclusion: The prevalence and severity of anxiety and depression are high in patients with bladder cancer, which are influenced by gender, tumor features, marriage status, and hypertension; in addition, their correlation with survival is relatively weak.

Wavelength and frequency optimization in spatial frequency domain imaging for two-layer tissue.

Spatial frequency domain imaging is a non-contact, wide-field, fast-diffusion optical imaging technique, which in principle uses steady-state spatially modulated light to irradiate biological tissue, reconstruct two-dimensional or three-dimensional tissue optical characteristic map through optical transmission model, and further quantify the spatial distribution of tissue physiological parameters by multispectral imaging technique. The selection of light source wavelength and light field spatial modulation frequency is directly related to the accuracy of tissue optical properties and tissue physiological parameters extraction. For improvement of the measurement accuracy of optical properties and physiological parameters in the two-layer tissue, a multispectral spatial frequency domain imaging system is built based on liquid crystal tunable filter, and a data mapping table of spatially resolved diffuse reflectance and optical properties of two-layer tissue is established based on scaling Monte Carlo method. Combined with the dispersion effect and window effect of light-tissue interaction, the study applies numerical simulation to optimize the wavelength in the 650-850 nm range with spectral resolution of 10 nm. In order to minimize the uncertainty of the optical properties, Cramér-Rao bound is used to optimize the optical field spatial modulation frequency by transmitting the uncertainty of optical properties. The results showed that in order to realize the detection of melanin, oxyhemoglobin, deoxyhemoglobin, water and other physiological parameters in two-layer tissue, the best wavelength combination was determined as 720, 730, 760 and 810 nm according to the condition number. The findings of the Cramér-Rao bound analysis reveal that the uncertainty of optical characteristics for the frequency combinations [0, 0.3] mm-1, [0, 0.2] mm-1, and [0, 0.1] mm-1 increases successively. Under the optimal combination of wavelength and frequency, the diffuse reflectance of the gradient gray-scale plate measured by the multi-spectral spatial frequency domain imaging system is linearly correlated with the calibration value. The error between the measured liquid phantom absorption coefficient and the collimation projection system based on colorimetric dish is less than 2%. The experimental results of human brachial artery occlusion indicate that under the optimal wavelength combination, the change of the second layer absorption coefficient captured by the three frequency combinations decreases in turn, so as the change of oxygen saturation.

Identification of a secretory heme-binding protein from Nocardia seriolae involved in cell apoptosis.

According to the whole-genome bioinformatics analysis, a heme-binding protein from Nocardia seriolae (HBP) was found. HBP was predicted to be a bacterial secretory protein, located at mitochondrial membrane in eukaryotic cells and have a similar protein structure with the heme-binding protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Rv0203. In this study, HBP was found to be a secretory protein and co-localized with mitochondria in FHM cells. Quantitative analysis of mitochondrial membrane potential value, caspase-3 activity, and transcription level of apoptosis-related genes suggested that overexpression of HBP protein can induce cell apoptosis. In conclusion, HBP was a secretory protein which may target to mitochondria and involve in cell apoptosis in host cells. This research will promote the function study of HBP and deepen the comprehension of the virulence factors and pathogenic mechanisms of N. seriolae.

Characteristics and Mechanism of Crayfish Myofibril Protein Gel Deterioration Induced by Autoclaving.

Crayfish myofibril protein (CMP) gel deterioration induced by autoclaving was investigated. A series of CMP gels were obtained through treating CMP solutions at different autoclaving conditions from 100 °C/0.1 MPa to 121 °C/0.21 MPa, and then characteristics and the mechanism of gel texture deterioration along with the intensification of autoclaving were explored through determining appearance, texture, protein composition, cross-linking forces, degree of hydrolysis, water state, microstructure of the gels, and average particle size of aggregates. When autoclaving was at above 105 °C/0.103 MPa, texture of CMP gel showed a tendency to severely weaken with the intensification of autoclaving (p < 0.05), hydrophobic interaction and aggregation between proteins weakened gradually (p < 0.05), and moderately bound water in the gel decreased and T22 relaxation time significantly increased (p < 0.05). After heating for 30 min at above 105 °C/0.103 MPa, pores in the microstructure of CMP gel enlarged obviously, and myosin heavy chain (MHC) degraded. It can be concluded that CMP gel deterioration induced by autoclaving was associated with the degradation of MHC and 105 °C might be the critical temperature to ensure good texture of crayfish products.

High Rate of HIV-1 Drug Resistance in Antiretroviral Therapy-Failure Patients in Liaoning Province, China.

This study aimed to monitor the prevalence of HIV-1 drug resistance and risk factors associated with drug resistance in antiretroviral therapy (ART)-failure individuals in Liaoning Province, China. Plasma samples were collected from HIV-1-positive individuals who experienced ART failure in Liaoning Province between April 2018 and September 2019. Genotype resistance test was performed using an in-house assay on these collected samples. Factors associated with drug resistance were identified by logistic regression analysis. We collected a total of 468 ART-failure individuals, of which 256 were successfully included in the final study. Of these, the most predominant genotype was CRF01_AE, accounting for 77.73%. The resistance rate to any of the three classes of antiretroviral drugs (non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors [NNRTIs], nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors [NRTIs], and protease inhibitors [PIs]) was 64.84%. Among 256 ART-failure patients, 62.89% showed drug resistance to NNRTIs, 50.39% to NRTIs, and 3.13% to PIs. G190S (31.25%) and Y181C (25.78%) mutations were the most common NNRTIs resistance mutations. K65R (29.69%), M184V (28.52%) were the most common NRTIs resistance mutations. Factors associated with drug resistance included current ART regimen and viral load. The high drug resistance rate among ART-failure individuals in Liaoning Province needs more attention. Corresponding strategies for the risk factors associated with HIV drug resistance can better control and prevent the prevalence of resistance.

Spatial frequency domain imaging technology based on Fourier single-pixel imaging.

SIGNIFICANCE: Optical properties (absorption coefficient and scattering coefficient) of tissue are the most critical parameters for disease diagnosis-based optical method. In recent years, researchers proposed spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) to quantitatively map tissue optical properties in a broad field of contactless imaging. To solve the limitations in wavebands unsuitable for silicon-based sensor technology, a compressed sensing (CS) algorithm is used to reproduce the original signal by a single-pixel detectors. Currently, the existing single-pixel SFDI method mainly uses a random sampling policy to extract and recover signals in the acquisition stage. However, these methods are memory-hungry and time-consuming, and they cannot generate discernible results under low sampling rate. Explorations on high performance and efficiency single-pixel SFDI are of great significance for clinical application. AIM: Fourier single-pixel imaging can reconstruct signals with less time and space costs and has fewer reconstruction errors. We focus on an SFDI algorithm based on Fourier single-pixel imaging and propose our Fourier single-pixel image-based spatial frequency domain imaging method (FSI-SFDI). APPROACH: First, we use Fourier single-pixel imaging algorithm to collect and compress signals and SFDI algorithm to generate optical parameters. Given the basis that the main energy of general image signals is concentrated in the range of low frequency of Fourier frequency domain, our FSI-SFDI uses a circular-sampling scheme to sample data points in the low-frequency region. Then, we reconstruct the image details from these points by optimization-based inverse-FFT method. RESULTS: Our algorithm is tested on simulated data. Results show that the root mean square error (RMSE) of optical parameters is lower than 5% when the data reduction is 92%, and it can generate discernible optical parameter image with low sampling rate. We can observe that our FSI-SFDI primarily recovers the optical properties while keeping the RMSE under the upper bound of 4.5% when we use an image with 512 × 512 resolution as the example for calculation and analysis. Not only that but also our algorithm consumes less space and time for an image with 256 × 256 resolution, the signal reconstruction takes only 1.65 ms, and requires less RAM memory. Compared to CS-SFDI method, our FSI-SFDI can reduce the required number of measurements through optimizing algorithm. CONCLUSIONS: Moreover, FSI-SFDI is capable of recovering high-quality resolvable images with lower sampling rate, higher-resolution images with less memory and time consumed than previous CS-SFDI method, which is very promising for clinical data collection and medical analysis.

Correlation between serum angiopoietin-2 levels and the severity of community acquired pneumonia in elderly patients / 中华老年医学杂志

Objective:To investigate the expression of serum angiopoietin-2(Ang-2)in elderly community acquired pneumonia(CAP)patients and to evaluate the correlation between Ang-2 levels and the severity of CAP.Methods:As a case-control study, a total of 118 hospitalized elderly CAP patients were selected.According to the severity of CAP, patients were divided into the general pneumonia group( n=67)and the severe pneumonia group( n=51). At the same time, 40 elderly healthy people without pneumonia were selected as the control group.Serum Ang-2, interleukin-6(IL-6), procalcitonin(PCT)and C-reactive protein(CRP)levels were measured, and CURB-65 scores were obtained for patients with CAP. Results:Serum levels of Ang-2, IL-6, PCT and CRP in elderly CAP patients were significantly higher than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant( H=70.698, 25.752, 15.982, 30.588, all P<0.001). Spearman correlation analysis showed that Ang-2 levels were positively correlated with IL-6, PCT, CRP, and CURB-65 scores( r=0.715, 0.531, 0.558, 0.450, all P<0.001). Using Ang-2 as a predictor for severe pneumonia in community-dwelling elderly patients, the area under the ROC curve(AUC)was 0.866(95% CI: 0.809-0.924), the optimal cutoff point was 5.24 μg/L, and the corresponding sensitivity and specificity were 72.5% and 84.1%. Conclusions:Serum Ang-2 levels in elderly patients with CAP are significantly higher than those in healthy people, and are correlated with the severity of CAP.The detection of Ang-2 levels is helpful for early intervention management and improved prognosis of elderly CAP patients.