ABSTRACT The yield of crops has a significant impact on economic and social development. It is significant to ensure the healthy growth of crops. Leaves can represent the growth of crops. Crop health can be monitored by analyzing a sufficient number of leaf images. But advanced farming techniques make leaves less susceptible to pests and diseases. Therefore, it is difficult to collect enough leaves with pests and diseases for image analysis. To solve this problem, this research proposed a method based on few-shot learning to identify crop leaf images and judge crop health status. The main structure of the method is a siamese network. The structure of its two subnetworks is the convolution neural network with an attention module. Each subnetwork outputs a feature vector. Measuring the distance of two feature vectors in the feature space, the similarity is calculated. Then the categories of leaf pests and diseases are judged. The experiments in this research were carried out on apple and potato leaves. The accuracy of identifying their pests and diseases reached 98.03% and 97.34% respectively. The experiment proved that when the sample size is small. The method proposed can effectively identify crop leaf pests and diseases.

Abstract Background Migraine underdiagnosis and undertreatment are so widespread, that hence is essential to diagnose migraine sufferers in nonclinical settings. A systematic review of validation studies on migraine diagnostic tools applicable to nonclinical settings can help researchers and practitioners in tool selection decisions. Objective To systematically review and critically assess published validation studies on migraine diagnostic tools for use in nonclinical settings, as well as to describe their diagnostic performance. Methods A multidisciplinary workgroup followed transparent and systematic procedures to collaborate on this work. PubMed, Medline, and Web of Science were searched for studies up to January 17, 2022. The QUADAS-2 was employed to assess methodological quality, and the quality thresholds adopted by the Global Burden Disease study were used to tail signaling questions. Results From 7,214 articles identified, a total of 27 studies examining 19 tools were eligible for inclusion. There has been no high-quality evidence to support any tool for use of migraine diagnosis in nonclinical settings. The diagnostic accuracy of the ID-migraine, structured headache and HARDSHIP questionnaires have been supported by moderate-quality evidence, with sensitivity and specificity above 70%. Of them, the HARDSHIP questionnaire has been the most extensively validated. The remaining 16 tools have provided poor-quality evidence for migraine diagnosis in nonclinical populations. Conclusions Up till now, the HARDSHIP questionnaire is the optimal choice for diagnosing migraine in nonclinical settings, with satisfactory diagnostic accuracy supported by moderate methodological quality. This work reveals the crucial next step, which is further high-quality validation studies in diverse nonclinical population groups.

Resumo Antecedentes O sub-diagnóstico e o subtratamento da enxaqueca são tão difundidos que, portanto, é essencial para diagnosticar os portadores de enxaqueca em ambientes não-clínicos. Uma revisão sistemática dos estudos de validação das ferramentas de diagnóstico da enxaqueca aplicáveis a ambientes não-clínicos pode ajudar os pesquisadores e profissionais nas decisões de seleção de ferramentas. Objetivo Revisar sistematicamente e avaliar criticamente estudos de validação publicados sobre ferramentas de diagnóstico da enxaqueca para uso em ambientes não-clínicos, bem como descrever seu desempenho diagnóstico. Métodos Um grupo de trabalho multidisciplinar seguiu procedimentos transparentes e sistemáticos para colaborar neste trabalho. PubMed, Medline e Web of Science foram pesquisados por estudos até 17 de janeiro de 2022. O QUADAS-2 foi empregado para avaliar a qualidade metodológica, e os limites de qualidade adotados pelo estudo da Global Burden Disease foram usados para responder a questões de sinalização. Resultados De 7.214 artigos identificados, um total de 27 estudos examinando 19 ferramentas foram elegíveis para inclusão. Não houve evidência de alta qualidade para apoiar qualquer ferramenta para o uso de diagnóstico de enxaqueca em ambientes não clínicos. A precisão diagnóstica do ID-Migraine, questionário de dor de cabeça estruturada e questionário HARDSHIP foram apoiados por evidências de qualidade moderada, com sensibilidade e especificidade acima de 70%. Deles, o questionário HARDSHIP foi o mais amplamente validado. As 16 ferramentas restantes forneceram provas de má qualidade para o diagnóstico de enxaqueca em populações não-clínicas. Conclusões Até agora, o questionário HARDSHIP é a escolha ideal para o diagnóstico da enxaqueca em ambientes não-clínicos, com precisão diagnóstica satisfatória apoiada por uma qualidade metodológica moderada. Este trabalho revela o próximo passo crucial, que é a realização de mais estudos de validação de alta qualidade em diversos grupos populacionais não-clínicos.

Abstract Sheep bone collagen peptide (SBCP) has attracted attention due to its potential effects on bone health. This study aims to explore the bone protective effect of SBCP in the presence of estrogen deficiency. Ovariectomized (OVX) female rats were given different dose rates (0, 0.68, 2.05, 3.40 g/kg BW) of SBCP for 8 consecutive weeks. At the end of the treatment, the serological indexes and tibial mineral content were measured. The microstructure and morphological changes of femur bones were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and hematoxylin and eosin (H & E) staining. Femur bones were harvested for determination of expression level of RANK, RANKL, OPG by molecular biological techniques. 3.40 g/kg BW SBCP treatment decreased the PINP and β-CTx levels but increased the tibial calcium and phosphorus contents significantly in estrogen deficient rats. Expression of RANK and RANKL decreased however expression of OPG increased in the bone of estrogen deficient rats which received 3.40 g/kg BW SBCP with greater effects than SBCP-M and SBCP-L treatments. SBCP helps to overcome the adverse effect of estrogen deficiency the bone and thus this nutriment could potentially be used for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women.

Abstract Purpose: To investigate the effect of ozone oxidative preconditioning (OzoneOP) on inflammation and oxidative stress injury in rat model of renal transplantation. Methods: Thirty six male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into three groups. Sham group: rats were treated with opening and closing abdomen. Kidney transplantation group (KT group): SD rat received the donor’s left kidney derived from another SD rat. Ozone oxidative preconditioning and kidney transplantation (OOP+KT group): donor SD rats received OzoneOP treatments by transrectal insufflations before kidney transplantation. After transplantation, parameters of renal function of recipients were determined. Morphology and pathological changes of renal allograft were examined. Expression of NF-κBp65, HMGB-1 were also determined by Western-blot. Results: Compared to KT group, the morphology and pathological damages of renal allograft were less serious in OOP+KT group. Meanwhile, levels of SOD and GSH-Px of renal allograft in OOP+KT group were higher than those in KT group respectively. Western-blot showed that the expressions of NF-κBp65 and HMGB-1 in OOP+KT group were obviously less than those in KT group. Conclusion: Ozone oxidative preconditioning could attenuate the inflammatory reaction and oxidative stress injury in renal allograft, which might be related with the enhancement of anti-oxidative system and suppression of inflammatory reaction.

ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of the study was to determine whether serum thymosin beta4 (Tβ4) can be a useful noninvasive biomarker to differentiate between nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL). Methods: The study included 24 NAFL patients and 21 NASH patients. The levels of Tβ4, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine acid (8-OhdG), liver function parameters, blood lipid, and glucose were detected in the venous blood of all patients. The NAFLD histological activity score (NAS) was examined in biopsy specimens from all patients. Statistical analysis was performed in order to find differences between the two abovementioned groups. In addition, receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analyses for alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and Tβ4 levels were performed in NAFL and NASH patients and the cut-off value was determined. Associations between the variables were tested using correlation coefficient calculations. Statistical significance was set at a p value of < 0.05. Results: Serum Tβ4 content was 5.12 ± 1.87 mg/l in the NAFL group and 2.98 ± 1.35 mg/l in the NASH group (p < 0.001). Serum Tβ4 content and NAS, histological features of hepatic steatosis, lobular inflammation and ballooning, ALT, glucose and 8-OhdG levels were negatively correlated (p < 0.05 for all) in the NASH group. The correlation coefficient values were -0.530, -0.562, -0.574, -0.438, -0.446, -0.426 and -0.563, respectively. On the basis of ROC analysis, the best predictive Tβ4 cut-off value for detecting NASH was 3.94 mg/l (85.7% sensitivity and 79.2% specificity, which were higher than those of ALT). Conclusion: Serum Tβ4 level can be used as a biomarker for the diagnosis of NASH and was negatively correlated with the oxidation state of the liver.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the expression levels of serum miRNAs in diabetic retinopathy and type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: Serum miRNA expression profiles from diabetic retinopathy cases (type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with diabetic retinopathy) and type 2 diabetes mellitus controls (type 2 diabetes mellitus patients without diabetic retinopathy) were examined by miRNA-specific microarray analysis. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to validate the significantly differentially expressed serum miRNAs from the microarray analysis of 45 diabetic retinopathy cases and 45 age-, sex-, body mass index- and duration-of-diabetes-matched type 2 diabetes mellitus controls. The relative changes in serum miRNA expression levels were analyzed using the 2-ΔΔCt method. RESULTS: A total of 5 diabetic retinopathy cases and 5 type 2 diabetes mellitus controls were included in the miRNA-specific microarray analysis. The serum levels of miR-3939 and miR-1910-3p differed significantly between the two groups in the screening stage; however, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction did not reveal significant differences in miRNA expression for 45 diabetic retinopathy cases and their matched type 2 diabetes mellitus controls. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that miR-3939 and miR-1910-3p may not play important roles in the development of diabetic retinopathy; however, studies with a larger sample size are needed to confirm our findings.

To investigate the effects of Kluyveromyces marxianus M3 isolated from Tibetan mushrooms on diet-induced hypercholesterolemia in rats, female Wistar rats were fed a high-cholesterol diet (HCD) for 28 d to generate hyperlipidemic models. Hyperlipidemic rats were assigned to four groups, which were individually treated with three different dosages of K. marxianus M3+HCD or physiological saline+HCD via oral gavage for 28 d. The total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in the serum and liver of the rats were measured using commercially available enzyme kits. In addition, the liver morphology was also examined using hematoxylin and eosin staining and optical microscopy. According to our results, the serum and liver TC, TG, LDL-C levels and atherogenic index (AI) were significantly decreased in rats orally administered K. marxianus M3 (p <0.01), and the HDL-C levels and anti atherogenic index (AAI) were significantly increased (p <0.01) compared to the control group. Moreover, K. marxianus M3 treatment also reduced the build-up of lipid droplets in the liver and exhibited normal hepatocytes, suggesting a protective effect of K. marxianus M3 in hyperlipidemic rats.

The aims to study the femoral offset and its relationship to femoral neck-shaft angle and torsion angle. One hundred paired (50 males and 50 females) Chinese femurs were used to measure the femoral offset, femoral neck-shaft angle and torsion angle. The data were analyzed by SPSS software. Femoral offsets were male right 44.40±4.56 mm, left 42.70±4.95 mm; female right 39.90±6.00 mm, left 38.90±6.18 mm. Femoral torsion angles were male right 6.02±10.85°, left 7.08±9.30°; female right 10.02±11.69, ° left 6.02±10.85°. Neck-shaft angles were male right 131.80±4.36°, left 134.00±4.78°; female right 132.10±5.94°, left 132.80±4.93°. There were no sexual differences in the two femoral angles (P>0.05) while there was a significant sexual difference in the femoral offset (P<0.01). The differences between left and right femoral offset and neck-shaft angle were significant (P<0.01). Clinically, our results indicate that FO could be obtained using the regression equation when the torsion angle and/or neck-shaft angle is measured.

El objetivo fue estudiar el desplazamiento femoral y su relación con el ángulo cuello-diáfisis femoral y el ángulo de torsión. Se utilizaron 100 pares de fémures (50 hombres y 50 mujeres) y se tomaron las medidas del desplazamiento femoral, ángulo cuello-diáfisis femoral y ángulo de torsión. Los datos fueron analizados con el software SPSS. El desplazamiento femoral en los hombres fue 44,40±4,56 mm en el lado derecho y 42,70±4,95 mm en el lado izquierdo, y en las mujeres, fue de 39,90±6,00 mm y 38,90±6,18 mm para el lado derecho e izquierdo, respectivamente. El ángulo de torsión femoral del lado derecho en los hombres fue 6,02±10,85° y 7,08±9,30° del izquierdo; mientras que en las mujeres, fue de 10,02±11,69° y 6,02±10,85° para el lado derecho e izquierdo, respectivamente. Los ángulos cuello-diáfisis fueron 131,80±4,36° en el lado derecho, y 134,00±4,78° en el izquierdo, para los hombres, mientras que en las mujeres fueron de 132,10±5,94° en el lado derecho y 132,80±4,93° en el izquierdo. No hubo diferencias según sexo en los dos ángulos femorales (P>0,05), mientras que si hubo una diferencia significativa en el desplazamiento femoral (P<0,01). Las diferencias entre el desplazamiento femoral izquierdo y derecho, y el ángulo cuello-diáfisis fueron significativas (P<0,01). Clínicamente, nuestros resultados indican que el desplazamiento femoral podría obtenerse utilizando la ecuación de regresión cuando se mide el ángulo de torsión o el ángulo cuello-diáfisis.

Nossa pesquisa focou-se nas principais características de planejamento e de desempenho de liberação cólon-específica tempo-dependente (TDCS) de comprimidos, que leva em conta a constância relativa observada no tempo de trânsito intestinal das formas de dosagem. A doença inflamatória do intestino (IBD) pode afetar o tempo de trânsito e, geralmente, resulta em fezes aquosas. Comparando ao TDCS e a comprimidos TDCS com matriz-cerosa, investigou-se sistema promissor de liberação cólon-específica tempo-dependente. Em nosso estudo, avaliou-se comprimido revestido com matriz base de supositório. A base de supositório solúvel em água auxilia a expansão do comprimido, facilita a dissolução uniforme do filme e atinge alta pressão osmótica. Associando a expansão do carboximetil amido sódico (CMS-Na) à absorção de umidade do NaCl, o comprimido revestido TDCS originou sistema de liberação direcionado e de erupção. Observou-se correlação muito boa entre a liberação in vitro e a in vivo do fármaco. Este comprimido revestido TDCS representa estratégia promissora para o controle da liberação do fármaco na região gastrintestinal mais baixa.

Our research has focused on the main design features and release performances of time-dependent colon-specific (TDCS) delivery tablets, which relies on the relative constancy that is observed in the small intestinal transit time of dosage forms. But inflammatory bowel disease（IBD）can affect the transit time, and usually results in watery stool. Compared to the TDCS and wax-matrix TDCS tablet, a promising time-dependent colon-specific delivery system was investigated. In our study, a suppository-base-matrix coated tablet was evaluated. Water soluble suppository-base helps the expansion of tablet, facilitates uniform film dissolution and achives high osmotic pressure. Combining the expansion of carboxymethyl starch sodium (CMS-Na) and the moisture absorption of NaCl, the coated TDCS tablet obtained a burst and targeted drug delivery system. A very good correlation between in vitro drug release and in vivo outcome was observed. This TDCS coated tablet provides a promising strategy to control drug release to the desired lower gastrointestinal region.

Herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) is an excellent material for studying the formation of flower colour because of its abundant colour. The full-length cDNA of a UDP-glucose: Flavonoid 5-O-glucosyltransferase gene (UF5GT) containing 1629 bp nucleotides was obtained from P. lactiflora. The expression patterns of nine related anthocyanin biosynthetic genes (PlPSY, PlCHS, PlCHI, PlF3H, PlF3'H, PlDFR, PlANS, PlUF3GT and PlUF5GT) in diurnal variation petals showed that their expression peaks were basically at 15:00 and the expression patterns were consistent with the trend of sampling conditions except individual gene. And the highest expression levels were in PlCHS, PlDFR and PlUF3GT, which could be the candidates to regulate P. lactiflora flower colour by means of genetic engineering.

Apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) is a mitochondrial flavoprotein that mediates both NADH-oxidizing and caspase-independent apoptosis. Further, the proapoptotic activity of AIF is located in the C-terminus of AIF, although the precise minimum sequence responsible for apoptosis induction remains to be investigated. In the present study, we generated two truncated AIFs, AIFΔ1-480-FLAG, which is a FLAG-tagged C-terminal peptide comprising amino acids from 481 to 613, and AIF360-480 containing amino acids from 360 to 480 of AIF. We used confocal microscopy to demonstrate that both the truncated proteins are expressed and located in the cytoplasm of transfected cells. AIFΔ1-480 but not AIF360-480 induces apoptosis in transfected cells. We also found that the expression of AIFΔ1-480 could initiate the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria. The suppression of caspase-9 via siRNA blocked the proapoptotic activity of AIFΔ1-480. Therefore, AIFΔ 1-480 is sufficient for inducing caspase-9-dependent apoptotic signaling, probably by promoting the release of cytochrome c. At last, we generated a chimeric immuno-AIFΔ 1-480 protein, which comprised an HER2 antibody, a Pseudomonas exotoxin A translocation domain and AIFΔ 1-480. Human Jurkat cells transfected with the immuno-AIFΔl-480 gene could express and secrete the chimeric protein, which selectively recognize and kill HER2-overexpressing tumor cells. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of the immuno-AIFΔl-480 gene as a novel approach to treating HER2-overexpressing cancers.