An efficient diagnosis system for Parkinson's disease using kernel-based extreme learning machine with subtractive clustering features weighting approach.

A novel hybrid method named SCFW-KELM, which integrates effective subtractive clustering features weighting and a fast classifier kernel-based extreme learning machine (KELM), has been introduced for the diagnosis of PD. In the proposed method, SCFW is used as a data preprocessing tool, which aims at decreasing the variance in features of the PD dataset, in order to further improve the diagnostic accuracy of the KELM classifier. The impact of the type of kernel functions on the performance of KELM has been investigated in detail. The efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed method have been rigorously evaluated against the PD dataset in terms of classification accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC), f-measure, and kappa statistics value. Experimental results have demonstrated that the proposed SCFW-KELM significantly outperforms SVM-based, KNN-based, and ELM-based approaches and other methods in the literature and achieved highest classification results reported so far via 10-fold cross validation scheme, with the classification accuracy of 99.49%, the sensitivity of 100%, the specificity of 99.39%, AUC of 99.69%, the f-measure value of 0.9964, and kappa value of 0.9867. Promisingly, the proposed method might serve as a new candidate of powerful methods for the diagnosis of PD with excellent performance.

Co-circulation of multiple hemorrhagic fever diseases with distinct clinical characteristics in Dandong, China.

Hemorrhagic fevers (HF) caused by viruses and bacteria are a major public health problem in China and characterized by variable clinical manifestations, such that it is often difficult to achieve accurate diagnosis and treatment. The causes of HF in 85 patients admitted to Dandong hospital, China, between 2011-2012 were determined by serological and PCR tests. Of these, 34 patients were diagnosed with Huaiyangshan hemorrhagic fever (HYSHF), 34 with Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS), one with murine typhus, and one with scrub typhus. Etiologic agents could not be determined in the 15 remaining patients. Phylogenetic analyses of recovered bacterial and viral sequences revealed that the causative infectious agents were closely related to those described in other geographical regions. As these diseases have no distinctive clinical features in their early stage, only 13 patients were initially accurately diagnosed. The distinctive clinical features of HFRS and HYSHF developed during disease progression. Enlarged lymph nodes, cough, sputum, and diarrhea were more common in HYSHF patients, while more HFRS cases presented with headache, sore throat, oliguria, percussion pain kidney area, and petechiae. Additionally, HYSHF patients displayed significantly lower levels of white blood cells (WBC), higher levels of creations kinase (CK) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), while HFRS patients presented with an elevation of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (CREA). These clinical features will assist in the accurate diagnosis of both HYSHF and HFRS. Overall, our data reveal the complexity of pathogens causing HFs in a single Chinese hospital, and highlight the need for accurate early diagnosis and a better understanding of their distinctive clinical features.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) leaves to identify aroma compound-related genes expressed in different cultivated regions.

To identify genes that are differentially expressed in tobacco in response to environmental changes and to decipher the mechanisms by which aromatic carotenoids are formed in tobacco, an Agilent Tobacco Gene Expression microarray was adapted for transcriptome comparison of tobacco leaves derived from three cultivated regions of China, Kaiyang (KY), Weining (WN) and Tianzhu (TZ). A total of 1,005 genes were differentially expressed between leaves derived from KY and TZ, 733 between KY and WN, and 517 between TZ and WN. Genes that were upregulated in leaves from WN and TZ tended to be involved in secondary metabolism pathways, and included several carotenoid pathway genes, e.g., NtPYS, NtPDS, and NtLCYE, whereas those that were down-regulated tended to be involved in the response to temperature and light. The expression of 10 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) was evaluated by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and found to be consistent with the microarray data. Gene Ontology and MapMan analyses indicate that the genes that were differentially expressed among the three cultivated regions were associated with the light reaction of photosystem II, response to stimuli, and secondary metabolism. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis showed that leaves derived from KY had the lowest levels of lutein, ß-carotene, and neoxanthin, whereas the total carotenoid content in leaves from TZ was greatest, a finding that could well be explained by the expression patterns of DEGs in the carotenoid pathway. These results may help elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying environmental adaptation and accumulation of aroma compounds in tobacco.

[Quercetin affects leptin and its receptor in human gastric cancer MGC-803 cells and JAK-STAT pathway].

AIM: Quercetin affects the expressions of leptin and its receptor in human gastric cancer MGC-803 cells and JAK-STAT pathway. METHODS: The cultured MGC-803 cells were divided into three groups: CONTROL GROUP: the cultured cells without quercetin, and Quercetin group: the cultured cells with quercetin(40 µmol/L), and AG490group: the cultured cells with AG490(40 µmol/L)The expressions of Leptin, Leptin receptor and P-STAT3 were detected in protein level by immunocytochemical and Western bloting method respectively. The expressions of Leptin, Leptin receptor were detected in mRNA level by RT-PCR method. MGC-803 cell cycle was arrest by flow cytometry (FCM); MGC-803 cell apoptosis ratio by apoptotic marker An-necxinV. RESULTS: The protein expression of Leptin, Leptin receptor, P-STAT3 and the the mRNA expression of Leptin and Leptin receptor were significantly increased (P<0.05), compared with the control group.There was the rectilinear correlation relationship not only between Leptin and P-STAT3 protein(r=0.741, P<0.05) but also between Leptin receptor and P-STAT3 protein(r=0.693, P<0.05). FCM analysis showed that quercetin arrested MGC-803 cells at the G2/M phase, The ratio of apoptotic and necrosic cells increased with added quercetin concentration. CONCLUSION: Quercetin could inhibit the Proliferation of MGC-803 cells. It is probably relevant to the down-regulation the expressions of Leptin and Leptin receptor protein, Leptin mRNA and Leptin receptor mRNA by JAK-STAT pathway.

[Effects of quercetin on the expression of VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 in human cancer MGC-803 cells].

AIM: To investigate the mechanism of quercetin on the inhibition of the lymphatic metastasis in human gastric cancer cells MGC-803. METHODS: Cells were divided into the control group and the quercetin (Que)-treated group. Immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR were used to detect the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGF-C) and VEGFR-3 of human gastric cancer cells MGC-803 in response to Que. RESULTS: Que significantly decreased the expression of VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 at 40 mumol/L compared with the control group after 48 h (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Que can down-regulate the expression of VEGF-C and VEGFR-3 in human gastric cancer cells MGC-803.

[Quercetin inhibits growth and induces apoptosis of human gastric carcinoma cells].

AIM: To study the effect of quercetin on the growth and apoptosis of human gastric carcinoma cell line MGC-803. METHODS: The measurement of inhibitory rate and apoptotic index(AI) of quercetin were done by MTT assay and TUNEL assay. The positive expression rate of P53, C-myc and P16 were detected by immunocytochemical staining. RESULTS: Quercetin at concentrations ranging from 40 mumol/L to 100 mumol/L significantly inhibited the proliferation of MGC-803 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner (P<0.01). TUNEL assay indicated that the number of apoptotic cells in quercetin-treated group was greater than that in the control group (P<0.01). Expression of P53 and C-myc protein decreased following quercetin induction in a dose-dependent manner, whereas P16 expression increased significantly compared with that of the control group (P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Quercetin can inhibit the growth and induce apoptosis of MGC-803 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Its mechanisms may be relevant to the down-regulation of P53 and C-myc protein expression as well as up-regulation of P16 expression.