Copy number variants selected during pig domestication inferred from whole genome resequencing.

Over extended periods of natural and artificial selection, China has developed numerous exceptional pig breeds. Deciphering the germplasm characteristics of these breeds is crucial for their preservation and utilization. While many studies have employed single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis to investigate the local pig germplasm characteristics, copy number variation (CNV), another significant type of genetic variation, has been less explored in understanding pig resources. In this study, we examined the CNVs of 18 Wanbei pigs (WBP) using whole genome resequencing data with an average depth of 12.61. We identified a total of 8,783 CNVs (~30.07 Mb, 1.20% of the pig genome) in WBP, including 8,427 deletions and 356 duplications. Utilizing fixation index (Fst), we determined that 164 CNVs were within the top 1% of the Fst value and defined as under selection. Functional enrichment analyses of the genes associated with these selected CNVs revealed genes linked to reproduction (SPATA6, CFAP43, CFTR, BPTF), growth and development (NR6A1, SMYD3, VIPR2), and immunity (PARD3, FYB2). This study enhances our understanding of the genomic characteristics of the Wanbei pig and offers a theoretical foundation for the future breeding of this breed.

Study on the Impact of Building Energy Predictions Considering Weather Errors of Neighboring Weather Stations.

Weather data errors affect energy management by influencing the accuracy of building energy predictions. This study presents a long short-term memory (LSTM) prediction model based on the "Energy Detective" dataset (Shanghai, China) and neighboring weather station data. The study analyzes the errors of different weather data sources (Detective and A) at the same latitude and longitude. Subsequently, it discusses the effects of weather errors from neighboring weather stations (Detective, A, B, C, and D) on energy forecasts for the next hour and day including the selection process for neighboring weather stations. Furthermore, it compares the forecast results for summer and autumn. The findings indicate a correlation between weather errors from neighboring weather stations and energy consumption. The median R-Square for predicting the next hour reached 0.95. The model's predictions for the next day exhibit a higher Prediction Interval Mean Width (139.0 in summer and 146.1 in autumn), indicating a greater uncertainty.

Genome-Wide Detection and Analysis of Copy Number Variation in Anhui Indigenous and Western Commercial Pig Breeds Using Porcine 80K SNP BeadChip.

Copy number variation (CNV) is an important class of genetic variations widely associated with the porcine genome, but little is known about the characteristics of CNVs in foreign and indigenous pig breeds. We performed a genome-wide comparison of CNVs between Anhui indigenous pig (AHIP) and Western commercial pig (WECP) breeds based on data from the Porcine 80K SNP BeadChip. After analysis using the PennCNV software, we detected 3863 and 7546 CNVs in the AHIP and WECP populations, respectively. We obtained 225 (loss: 178, gain: 47) and 379 (loss: 293, gain: 86) copy number variation regions (CNVRs) randomly distributed across the autosomes of the AHIP and WECP populations, accounting for 10.90% and 22.57% of the porcine autosomal genome, respectively. Functional enrichment analysis of genes in the CNVRs identified genes related to immunity (FOXJ1, FOXK2, MBL2, TNFRSF4, SIRT1, NCF1) and meat quality (DGAT1, NT5E) in the WECP population; these genes were a loss event in the WECP population. This study provides important information on CNV differences between foreign and indigenous pig breeds, making it possible to provide a reference for future improvement of these breeds and their production performance.

Drivers' gaze patterns when resuming control with a head-up-display: Effects of automation level and time budget.

The removal of drivers' active engagement in driving tasks can lead to erratic gaze patterns in SAE Level 2 (L2) and Level 3 (L3) automation, which has been linked to their subsequential degraded take-over performance. To further address how changes in gaze patterns evolve during the take-over phase, and whether they are influenced by the take-over urgency and the location of the human-machine interface, this driving simulator study used a head-up display (HUD) to relay information about the automation status and conducted take-over driving experiments where the ego car was about to exit the highway with variations in the automation level (L2, L3) and time budget (2 s, 6 s). In L2 automation, drivers were required to monitor the environment, while in L3, they were engaged with a visual non-driving related task. Manual driving was also embodied in the experiments as the baseline. Results showed that, compared to manual driving, drivers in L2 automation focused more on the HUD and Far Road (roadway beyond 2 s time headway ahead), and less on the Near Road (roadway within 2 s time headway ahead); while in L3, drivers' attention was predominantly allocated on the non-driving related task. After receiving take-over requests (TORs), there was a gradual diversion of attention from the Far Road to the Near Road in L2 take-overs. This trend changed nearly in proportion to the time within the time budget and it exaggerated given a shorter time budget of 2 s. While in L3, drivers' gaze distribution was similar in the early stage of take-overs for both time budget conditions (2 s vs. 6 s), where they prioritized their early glances to Near Road with a gradual increase in attention towards Far Road. The HUD used in the present study showed the potential to maintain drivers' attention around the road center during automation and to encourage drivers to glance the road earlier after TORs by reducing glances to the instrument cluster, which might be of significance to take-over safety. These findings were discussed based on an extended conceptual gaze control model, which advances our understanding of gaze patterns around control transitions and their underlying gaze control causations. Implications can be contributed to the design of autonomous vehicles to facilitate the transition of control by guiding drivers' attention appropriately according to drivers' attentional state and the take-over urgency.

Genetic architecture and selection of Anhui autochthonous pig population revealed by whole genome resequencing.

The genetic resources among pigs in Anhui Province are diverse, but their value and potential have yet to be discovered. To illustrate the genetic diversity and population structure of the Anhui pigs population, we resequenced the genome of 150 pigs from six representative Anhui pigs populations and analyzed this data together with the sequencing data from 40 Asian wild boars and commercial pigs. Our results showed that Anhui pigs were divided into two distinct types based on ancestral descent: Wannan Spotted pig (WSP) and Wannan Black pig (WBP) origins from the same ancestor and the other four populations origins from another ancestor. We also identified several potential selective sweep regions associated with domestication characteristics among Anhui pigs, including reproduction-associated genes (CABS1, INSL6, MAP3K12, IGF1R, INSR, LIMK2, PATZ1, MAPK1), lipid- and meat-related genes (SNX19, MSTN, MC5R, PRKG1, CREBBP, ADCY9), and ear size genes (MSRB3 and SOX5). Therefore, these findings expand the catalogue and how these genetic differences among pigs and this newly generated data will be a valuable resource for future genetic studies and for improving genome-assisted breeding of pigs and other domesticated animals.

Percutaneous endovascular arteriovenous fistula: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Currently, percutaneous endovascular creation of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) shows excellent outcomes. However, few systematic research evidence to support clinical decision making on the benefit of endovascular AVF is available. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of endovascular AVF (endoAVF) in patients with renal failure. Methods: We searched the Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases for studies on endovascular or endovascular versus surgery for the creation of AVF. Two reviewers independently selected studies and extracted data. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed by Review Manager 5.4 software (Revman, The Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford, United Kingdom) and Stata 15.0 (Stata Corp, College Station, TX, United States). Results: A total of 14 case series and 5 cohort studies, with 1,929 patients, were included in this study. The technique success was 98.00% for endoAVF (95% CI, 0.97-0.99; I 2 = 16.25%). There was no statistically significant difference in 3 cohort studies between endovascular and surgical AVF for procedural success (OR = 0.69; 95% CI, 0.04-11.98; P = 0.80; I 2 = 53%). The maturation rates of endoAVF were 87.00% (95% CI, 0.79-0.93; I 2 = 83.96%), and no significant difference was observed in 3 cohort studies between the 2 groups (OR = 0.73; 95% CI, 0.20-2.63; P = 0.63; I 2 = 88%). Procedure-related complications for endoAVF was 7% (95% CI, 0.04-0.17; I 2 = 78.31%), and it did not show significant difference in 4 cohort studies between the 2 groups (OR = 1.85; 95% CI, 0.37-9.16; P = 0.45; I 2 = 59%). Conclusion: The endovascular creation of AVF is potentially effective and safe. These important data may provide evidence to support clinicians and patients in making decisions with endovascular AVF. But further research is great necessary due to lack of randomized controlled studies.

Effects of miR-151-3p-mediated GLCCl1 expression on biological function in children with nephrotic syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to confirm the association of miR-151-3p with nephrotic syndrome (NS) in children and to explore the molecular mechanisms by which glucocorticoid-induced transcript 1 gene (GLCCI1) targets cellular biological functions in children with nephrotic syndrome. METHODS: miR-151-3p levels were detected in 20 children with hormone-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS), 15 children with steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome (SDNS) and 20 children with steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS), using qRT-PCR before and after glucocorticoid treatment, and TargetScan information software was used to predict the biological targets between miR-151-3p and GLCCI1 gene. The change in albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) before and after treatment in children with NS was determined to judge the treatment efficacy. RESULTS: Compared with healthy controls, pediatric patients with NS had significantly increased serum miR-151-3p levels before treatment (P<0.01). After glucocorticoid treatment, children with SSNS/SDNS had significantly decreased serum miR-151-3p levels (P<0.01), with no significant difference from healthy controls. The ACR of children with SSNS/SDNS was significantly lower than that before treatment (P<0.05), and the symptoms of proteinuria were significantly relieved. The serum miR-151-3p levels and ACR of children with SRNS did not change significantly from that before treatment (P>0.05), and the symptoms of proteinuria were also not improved. Targetscan prediction results showed that miR-151-3p has well-matched sites with GLCCI13'UTR. CONCLUSION: miR-151-3p directly influences the onset and progression of NS through targeted regulation of GLCCI1 expression in podocytes. miR-151-3p may be a biological marker for the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of NS.

Meta-Analysis Treatment Hyperphosphatemia Chronic Renal Failure Based on Nano Lanthanum Hydroxide.

In this study, our aim is to investigate the effect of lanthanum carbonate in chronic treatment renal failure complicated with hyperphosphatemia. Using methods with lanthanum carbonate, hyperphosphatemia, placebos, calcium carbonate, end-stage renal disease as keywords, we searched the Chinese Journal Full-text Database, Chinese sci-tech journal database, Wanfang Data knowledge service platform, web of science, PubMed, and other databases for literature quality; meta analysis was carried out after a subsequent evaluation. The meta analysis results showed a significant difference in the control of the blood phosphorus level between weighted mean difference WMD = -0.60, 95% CI: -0.75~-0.45, lanthanum carbonate and placebo; WMD = -0.01, 95% CI: -0.07~-0.05; the lanthanum carbonate and placebo had no significant difference in the control of the blood calcium levels after treatment; WMD = -29.75, 95% CI: -39.22 for the control of blood PIH level after treatment, indicating that the difference between lanthanum carbonate and placebo in the control of the parathyroid hormone (PTH) level was statistically significant. WMD=0.41, 95% CI: -0.48~0.34; the difference between the lanthanum carbonate and calcium carbonate in the control of the blood phosphorus level was statistically significant; WMD = 0.19, 95% CI: -0.25~0.13, lanthanum carbonate and calcium carbonate were statistically significant in blood control calcium level; WMD = 174.66, 95% CI: -150.86~150.46, lanthanum carbonate and calcium carbonate were statistically significant in the control of blood PIH level; the difference was statistically significant. Conclusion: Lanthanum carbonate can significantly reduce blood phosphorus and PIH complicated hyperphosphatemia, and has no significant effect on blood calcium, which is superior to calcium carbonate in effectiveness.

Data and analyses of phase relations in the Ce-Fe-Sb ternary system.

These data and analyses support the research article "Experimental study on phase relations in the Ce-Fe-Sb ternary system" Zhu et al. (2017) [1]. The data and analyses presented here include the experimental results of XRD, SEM and EPMA for the determination of the whole liquidus projection and the isothermal section at 823 K in the Ce-Fe-Sb system. All the results enable the understanding of the constituent phases and the solidification processes of the as-cast alloys as well as the phase relations and the equilibrium regions at 823 K in the Ce-Fe-Sb ternary system over the entire composition.

Intrusion of polyethylene glycol into solid-state nanopores.

The intrusion of PEG aqueous solution into solid-state-nanopores upon mechanical pressure is experimentally investigated. By using hydrophobic nanoporous silica with a broad range of pore sizes, the characteristic size of PEG chains in water while penetrating nanopores is measured and analyzed, which increases with molecular weight and decreases with concentration of PEG. Its sensitivity to molecular weight is relatively limited due to nano-confinement. The inclusion of PEG as an intruding liquid imposes a rate effect on the intrusion pressure, and inhibits the extrusion from the nanopores.

Elastomeric Cellular Structure Enhanced by Compressible Liquid Filler.

Elastomeric cellular structures provide a promising solution for energy absorption. Their flexible and resilient nature is particularly relevant to protection of human bodies. Herein we develop an elastomeric cellular structure filled with nanoporous material functionalized (NMF) liquid. Due to the nanoscale infiltration in NMF liquid and its interaction with cell walls, the cellular structure has a much enhanced mechanical performance, in terms of loading capacity and energy absorption density. Moreover, it is validated that the structure is highly compressible and self-restoring. Its hyper-viscoelastic characteristics are elucidated.