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Big-sized trees, species diversity, and stand density affect aboveground biomass in natural tropical and temperate forests. However, these relationships are unclear in arid natural forests and plantations. Here, we hypothesized that large plants (a latent variable of tall-stature and big-crown, which indicated the effect of big-sized trees on ecosystem function and structure) enhance aboveground biomass in both arid natural forests and plantations along the gradients of climate water availability and soil fertility. To prove it, we used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the influences of large plants located in 20% of the sequence formed by individual size (a synthetical value calculated from tree height and crown) on aboveground biomass in natural forests and plantations while considering the direct and indirect influences of species diversity as well as climatic and soil conditions, using data from 73 natural forest and 30 plantation plots in the northwest arid region of China. The results showed that large plants, species diversity, and stand density all increased aboveground biomass. Soil fertility declined aboveground biomass in natural forest, whereas it increased biomass in plantation. Although climatic water availability had no direct impact on aboveground biomass in both forests, it indirectly controlled the change of aboveground biomass via species diversity, stand density, and large plants. Stand density negatively affects large plants in both natural forests and plantations. Species diversity positively affects large plants on plantations but not in natural forests. Large plants increased slightly with increasing climatic water availability in the natural forest but decreased in plantation, whereas soil fertility inhibited large plants in plantation only. This study highlights the extended generality of the big-sized trees hypothesis, scaling theory, and the global importance of big-sized tree in arid natural forests and plantations.
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Objective:To explore the expression of long-chain noncoding RNA (lncRNA) and myocardial infarction-associated transcription (MIAT) in Leukocyte differentiation antigen (CD)4+T cells in peripheral blood of gastric cancer patients and its value of clinical application.Methods:Peripheral blood CD4+T cells were collected from 124 patients with gastric cancer, 90 benign gastric diseases patients and 80 healthy controls enrolled in Taizhou People′s Hospital from January 2019 to April 2021. The expression levels of MIAT and N6-methyladenosine(m6A) binding to MIAT promoter in CD4+T cells were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-qPCR, respectively. Spearman test was used to analyze the correlation between MIAT and clinicopathological features, as well as between MIAT and regulatory T cell levels. The receivor operating characteristic curve (ROC) of the subjects was used to evaluate the MIAT expression level in the auxiliary diagnostic value of gastric cancer.Results:The relative expression levels of MIAT in the gastric cancer patients, the benign gastric diseases patients, and the healthy controls were 2.849 (2.131, 4.062), 1.511 (0.916, 1.855) and 0.963 (0.729, 1.432), respectively. The difference among the three groups was statistically significant ( H=158.25, P<0.001). The relative expression level of MIAT in the gastric cancer patients was significantly higher than the levels in the benign gastric diseases patients and healthy controls. The difference was statistically significant ( Z=100.63, 145.14, P<0.001). The binding activity of m6A to MIAT promoter in patients with early stage (stage Ⅰ and Ⅱ) and end stage (stage Ⅲ and Ⅳ) gastric cancer was 8.590±1.483 and 4.274±0.425, respectively. The difference was statistically significant ( t=6.255, P=0.002). Furthermore, the binding activity of m6A to MIAT promoter in the gastric cancer patients was significantly lower than that in patients with benign gastric diseases (17.267±3.106) and healthy controls (27.637±3.945) ( t=-7.331,-12.832, P<0.001). The relative expression of MIAT in CD4+T cells in peripheral blood of the gastric cancer patients had no significant difference in age(χ2=0.000, P=1.000), gender(χ2=0.000, P=1.000), CEA (χ2=0.648, P=0.421) and CA199(χ2=1.554, P=0.213), but had significant difference with tumor size expression(χ2=9.443, P<0.01), TNM stage(χ2=23.571, P=0.002) and lymph node metastasis (χ2=45.248, P<0.01). In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between the relative expression of MIAT in CD4+T cells and Treg level ( r2=0.76, P<0.001). The diagnostic efficacies of MIAT in CD4+T cells, CEA and CA199 in the gastric cancer patients were analyzed by ROC curve. When compared with patients with benign gastric diseases, the areas under the curve were 0.879, 0.635 and 0.611, respectively. When compared with healthy patients, the areas under the curve were 0.953, 0.784 and 0.598, respectively. Conclusions:The level of MIAT in CD4+T cells in peripheral blood of patients with gastric cancer is significantly higher than the levels in patients with benign gastric diseases and the healthy controls, which may be related with the decreased activity of m6A binding to the promoter of MIAT. The level of MIAT in CD4+T cells may be a relevant biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of gastric cancer.
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Objective To evaluate the effect of serum chromium on oral cancer after adjusting the covarite between groups based on propensity score matching (PSM). Methods We performed a case-control study in 395 cases of newly diagnosed primary oral cancer from the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University and 1 240 controls from the same community from January 2010 to February 2018. Using the PSM to select 309 controls randomly which were matched with the cases by 1 ∶1 matching. Conditional Logistic regression model was used to explore the association between chromium and oral cancer. Results The level of serum chromium was 178.91 (121.83-284.19) μg/L in the case group, which was lower than 324.27 (264.82-397.69) μg/L in control group, the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.001). Dose-response analysis showed that the risk of oral cancer gradually decreased with the increase of serum chromium, which presented a negative correlation. There was a negative correlation between serum chromium level and the risk for oral cancer by conditional Logistic regression,the aOR of serum chromium in the Q2, Q3 and Q4 compared with the Q1 were 0.14 (0.08-0.26), 0.15 (0.08-0.28) and 0.10 (0.05-0.20),with significant trend (Ptrend＜0.001). Stratified analysis showed the negative correlation between serum chromium and oral cancer by smoking, drinking tea, not drinking alcohol status and fish, fruits and green vegetables intake frequencies. Conclusions The high level of serum chromium is a protective factor for the incidence of oral cancer, and the higher of serum chromium, the lower risk of developing oral cancer.
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This paper realized an electromagnetic tracking system based on electrically-controlled rotating magnetic field. A tracking system using the digital signal processor (DSP) as the control processing device was developed, including a controllable constant current source module, a magnetic field source module, a three-axis magnetic sensor and ADC interface circuit. The experimental results verified that each time the system could be stable positioning, average error of position was 0.282 cm, the average error of orientation was 0.696o, the positioning time was 1.572 s. Through calibration and further improvement of the hardware circuit, the performance of the system is expected to further improve.
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Calibration , Electromagnetic Phenomena , Equipment Design , Magnetic FieldsABSTRACT
Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of morning hypertension in people with eseential hypertension in Dali Bai autonomous prefecture,and to study the management model for morning hypertension. Methods From May 2015 to January 2017,302 patients with hypertension in the People's Hospital of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture were divided voluntarily into two groups,including single management group (group 1)and systematic management group (group 2 ).During six to twelve months follow －up,the changes in control rate of morning hypertension,serum biochemical indicators,KAP and Mofisky score were observed before and after intervention. Results The proportion of morning hypertension in people with hypertension was 62.25%,61.11% in men and 62.86%in females.The patients with morning hypertension had higher age,BMI,WC,TC,LDL－C,SBP,DBP,CRP, FBG,SCr,Sokolow－Lyon,Cornell,LVMI,UACR and MAU,more cervical plaque,and lower HDL －C and eGFR compared with non－morning hypertension(P＜0.05 －0.001).The number of patients with target organ damage was most in patients with morning hypertension by home blood pressure monitoring(HBPM),second in ambulatory blood pressure monitoring(ABPM),least in clinic blood pressure monitoring (CBPM)(P＜0.05 －0.001).After six to twelve months follow－up,compared with before intervention,the control rate of morning hypertension was increased (43.78%vs.61.39%),and SBP,DBP,HR,BMI,WC,TC,TG,UA,Scr were decreased in both two groups,which in the group 2 were lower than those in the group 1(P＜0.05 ).Compared with before intervention,the KAP score and Mofisky in the two groups after intervention were significantly improved(P＜0.05－0.01)[K score:(9.63 ±3.01)points vs.(14.26 ±2.89)points in the group 1,(10.11±2.34)points vs.(17.23 ±1.06)points in the group2;A score:(2.05 ±1.21)points vs.(2.98 ±0.25)points in the group 1,(2.08 ±1.65)points vs.(3.56 ±0.42)points in the group 2,P score:(4.39 ±2.36)points vs.(5.89 ±3.24)points in the group 1,(4.71±3.42)points vs.(7.26 ± 1.21)points in the group 2,Mofisky questionnaire score:(61.23 ±5.79)points vs.(72.36 ±6.18)points in the group 1,(60.89 ±6.47)points vs.(88.45 ±5.48)points in the group 2],which in the group 2 were higher than those in the group 1(P＜0.01).Conclusion The control rate of morning hypertension in patients with hypertension in Dali Bai autonomous prefecture is low,the HBPM is better way to predict the target organ damage,and systematic management model is effective to improve the control rate of morning hypertension and so do in KAP and Morisky score.
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Objective To study the relationship between carotid atherosclerosis (CAS) and serum markers in elderly essential hypertension (EH) patients.Methods Three hundred and eightyeight elderly EH patients who underwent carotid colour ultrasonography and biochemical testing served as an EH group and 82 subjects undergoing physical examination served as a control group.The patients in EH group were divided into plaque-free group (n =142),stable plaque group (n=132),and unstable plaque group (n=114).The relationship between CAS and serum FPG,Hcy,TBIL,DBIL,IBIL,UA,ferritin,fibrinogen,CRP levels was analyzed.Results The incidence of CAS and serum Hcy level were significantly higher in EH group than in control group (63.40％ vs 31.71％,12.69±3.58 μmol/L vs 6.96±2.89 μmol/L,P＜0.01).The incidence of CAS was 63.40％ in EH patients.The serum levels of FPG,TC,TG,LDL-C,Hcy,UA,ferritin,fibrinogen,CRP were significantly higher while those of TBIL,DBIL,and IBIL were significantly lower in stable plaque group than in unstable plaque group (P＜0.05,P＜0.01).Logistic regression analysis showed that stable CAS was negatively related with serum levels of TBIL and IBIL and positively related with those of FPG,TC,LDL-C,Hcy,UA,ferritin,fibrinogen and CRP,history of smoking,incidence of DM and hypertension (P＜0.05).Conclusion Serum levels of TBIL and IBIL are the protective factor for CAS while those of FPG,Hcy,UA,ferritin,fibrinogen and CRP are the risk factors for CAS in elderly EH patients.
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Objective To compare the prevalence and clinical charecteristics of metabolic syndrome(MS) in aged people of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture under three diagnostic criteria.Methods A total of 1 386 patients in outpatient department or admitted to our hospital were recruited.The different prevalences under the World Health Organization(WHO) in 1999,the China Diabetes Society in 2004 (CDS 2004) and the China Diabetes Society in 2013(CDS 2013) definitions respectively were calculated and the results were compared by κ test.Results The prevalences of metabolic syndrome under WHO,CDS2004,and CDS2013 were 30.38％,33.77％ and 36.87％,respectively,it increased with age,and was most highest in ＞ 70～ 80 years aged group (P ＜ 0.05-0.01),the number of hypertension abnormality was more than 60.00％,and the most combination of abnormalities ＞ 3 in MS was hypertension + hyperglycemia + obesity (P ＜ 0.01);The 92.86％ concordance of MS cases was found between CDS2004 and CDS2013,90.19％ between WHO and CDS2013,and 80.23％ between WHO and CDS2013 (P ＜ 0.05-0.01).Conclusion The prevalence of MS increased with age in eldely people of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture,there is different between man and female,hypertension is the common abnormality in components of MS.The agreement among three criterias is relatively high,and the prevalence of MS has high level by CDS2013.
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Objective@#To investigate the expression of miR-212 and miR-132 in the serum of patients with primary liver cancer and their targeted regulation of GP73.@*Methods@#The patients with liver cancer, chronic hepatitis B, or liver cirrhosis who were hospitalized in Taizhou People’s Hospital from January 2015 to December 2016 were enrolled, and healthy volunteers were also enrolled as controls. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to measure the serum levels of miR-212 and miR-132, and the association between the expression of serum miR-212 and miR-132 and the clinicopathological features of patients with liver cancer was analyzed. A Spearman’s rank correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between serum miR-212/miR-132 and GP73. Western blot was used to measure the protein expression of GP73, and MTT assay was used to measure the survival rate of cells. The Levene’s homogeneity of variance test was used for data analysis. The independent samples t-test was used for comparison of means between two samples, and ANOVA was used for comparison of means between multiple samples.@*Results@#A total of 90 patients with liver cancer, 60 with chronic hepatitis B, 68 with liver cirrhosis, and 100 healthy volunteers were enrolled. The relative expression levels of miR-212 and miR-132 in serum were 0.046 6 ± 0.024 7 and 0.005 9 ± 0.003 0 in the patients with liver cancer, 0.979 7 ± 0.259 5 and 1.001 8 ± 0.249 9 in the healthy volunteers, 0.588 2 ± 0.216 5 and 0.345 7 ± 0.233 8 in the patients with hepatitis, and 0.313 8 ± 0.153 3 and 0.080 1 ± 0.042 66 in the patients with liver cirrhosis. Compared with the normal controls, all patients had significant reductions in the expression of serum miR-212 (t = 10.26, 20.86, and 35.80, all P < 0.01) and miR-132 (t = 16.55, 36.09, and 39.85, all P < 0.01). In the patients with liver cancer, the relative expression of miR-212 and miR-132 was negatively correlated with alpha-fetoprotein (miR-212: t = -4.46, P < 0.01; miR-132: t = -4.83, P < 0.01), TNM stage (miR-212: t = 6.569, P < 0.01; miR-132: t = 7.31, P < 0.01), degree of tumor differentiation (miR-212: t = 5.268, P < 0.01; miR-132: t = 5.914, P < 0.01), and presence of portal vein tumor thrombus (miR-212: t = 5.16, P < 0.01; miR-132: t = 3.681, P < 0.01), while it was not correlated with tumor size (miR-212: t = 0.687, P > 0.05; miR-132: t = 0.887, P > 0.05). In addition, serum miR-212 and miR-132 were negatively correlated with GP73 in the patients with liver cancer (miR-212: rs = -0.709, P < 0.01; miR-132: rs = -0.877, P < 0.01). Overexpression of miR-212 or miR-132 in HepG2 cells significantly inhibited the activity and expression of 3’-UTR, and interference of miR-212 or miR-132 significantly increased the activity and expression of 3’-UTR in GP73. Overexpression of GP73 reversed the reduction in survival rate of hepatoma cells induced by the overexpression of miR-212 or miR-132.@*Conclusion@#Patients with liver cancer have a significant reduction in the expression of miR-212 and miR-132 in serum, which is closely associated with the development, progression, and metastasis of liver cancer, and miR-212 and miR-132 in hepatoma cells inhibit the growth of liver cancer by targeted regulation of GP73 expression.
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RASSF2 has recently been identified as a potential tumor suppressor that serves as a Ras effector in various types of human cancers. However, there have been few reports detailing this in gastric cancer. Samples of gastric adenocarcinoma from 276 Chinese patients with follow-up were analyzed for RASSF2 protein expression by immunohistochemistry. RASSF2 was expressed in up to 31.2% (86/276) of this group of gastric carcinoma. The expression of RASSF2 was significantly lower in carcinomas than in normal mucosas (P<0.05). RASSF2 corresponded positively with patient age, histological differentiation, depth of tumor invasion, regional lymph node and distant metastasis, and TNM stage (all P<0.05). Further multivariate analysis revealed that patient gender, depth of tumor invasion, distant metastasis, TNM stage and the expression of RASSF2 were independent prognostic factors for patients with gastric cancer. The Kaplan-Meier plot showed that the overall mean survival time of the patients with RASSF2-negative expression was shorter than that of patients with positive expression (χ(2)=156.874, P<0.0001). Moreover, RASSF2-negative expression had a much more significant effect on the survival of those patients with early stage tumors (χ(2)=127.167, P<0.0001), highlighted by a >50.9% reduction in 3-year survival compared to that of patients with RASSF2-positive expression. In late stages, the difference was also significant (χ(2)=6.246, P=0.019), with a 35.5% reduction in 3-year survival. It is suggested that RASSF2 plays an important role in the evolution of gastric adenocarcinoma and should be considered as a potential marker for its prognosis.
