Displaying publications 81 - 100 of 515 in total

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  1. An infectious full-length cDNA clone of duck Tembusu virus, a newly emerging flavivirus causing duck egg drop syndrome in China
    Li S, Zhang L, Wang Y, Wang S, Sun H, Su W, et al.
    Virus Res, 2013 Jan;171(1):238-41.
    PMID: 23116594 DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2012.10.019
    Duck Tembusu virus (TMUV) is a recently identified pathogenic flavivirus that causes severe egg drop and encephalitis in Chinese ducks and geese. It has been found to be most closely related to the mosquito-origin Tembusu virus and chicken Sitiawan virus reported in Malaysia. However, the ecological characteristics and the pathogenesis of duck TMUV are largely unknown. We report the construction of full-length cDNA clone of duck TMUV strain JXSP. The virus genome was reverse transcribed, amplified as seven overlapping fragments and successively ligated into the low copy number vector pWSK29 under the control of a T7 promoter. Transfection of BHK-21 cells with the transcribed RNA from the full-length cDNA clone resulted in production of highly infectious progeny virus. In vitro growth characteristics in BHK-21 cells and virulence in ducklings and BALB/c mice were similar for the rescued and parental viruses. This stable infectious cDNA clone will be a valuable tool for studying the genetic determinants of duck TMUV.
  2. DeepPSP: A Global-Local Information-Based Deep Neural Network for the Prediction of Protein Phosphorylation Sites
    Guo L, Wang Y, Xu X, Cheng KK, Long Y, Xu J, et al.
    J Proteome Res, 2021 01 01;20(1):346-356.
    PMID: 33241931 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.0c00431
    Identification of phosphorylation sites is an important step in the function study and drug design of proteins. In recent years, there have been increasing applications of the computational method in the identification of phosphorylation sites because of its low cost and high speed. Most of the currently available methods focus on using local information around potential phosphorylation sites for prediction and do not take the global information of the protein sequence into consideration. Here, we demonstrated that the global information of protein sequences may be also critical for phosphorylation site prediction. In this paper, a new deep neural network model, called DeepPSP, was proposed for the prediction of protein phosphorylation sites. In the DeepPSP model, two parallel modules were introduced to extract both local and global features from protein sequences. Two squeeze-and-excitation blocks and one bidirectional long short-term memory block were introduced into each module to capture effective representations of the sequences. Comparative studies were carried out to evaluate the performance of DeepPSP, and four other prediction methods using public data sets The F1-score, area under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC), and area under precision-recall curves (AUPRC) of DeepPSP were found to be 0.4819, 0.82, and 0.50, respectively, for S/T general site prediction and 0.4206, 0.73, and 0.39, respectively, for Y general site prediction. Compared with the MusiteDeep method, the F1-score, AUROC, and AUPRC of DeepPSP were found to increase by 8.6, 2.5, and 8.7%, respectively, for S/T general site prediction and by 20.6, 5.8, and 18.2%, respectively, for Y general site prediction. Among the tested methods, the developed DeepPSP method was also found to produce best results for different kinase-specific site predictions including CDK, mitogen-activated protein kinase, CAMK, AGC, and CMGC. Taken together, the developed DeepPSP method may offer a more accurate phosphorylation site prediction by including global information. It may serve as an alternative model with better performance and interpretability for protein phosphorylation site prediction.
  3. Fulltext Haplotype divergence and multiple candidate genes at Rphq2, a partial resistance QTL of barley to Puccinia hordei
    Yeo FK, Wang Y, Vozabova T, Huneau C, Leroy P, Chalhoub B, et al.
    Theor Appl Genet, 2016 Feb;129(2):289-304.
    PMID: 26542283 DOI: 10.1007/s00122-015-2627-5
    Rphq2, a minor gene for partial resistance to Puccinia hordei , was physically mapped in a 188 kbp introgression with suppressed recombination between haplotypes of rphq2 and Rphq2 barley cultivars.
  4. Fulltext The effects of daily fasting hours on shaping gut microbiota in mice
    Li L, Su Y, Li F, Wang Y, Ma Z, Li Z, et al.
    BMC Microbiol, 2020 03 24;20(1):65.
    PMID: 32209070 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-020-01754-2
    BACKGROUND: It has recently been reported that intermittent fasting shapes the gut microbiota to benefit health, but this effect may be influenced to the exact fasting protocols. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of different daily fasting hours on shaping the gut microbiota in mice. Healthy C57BL/6 J male mice were subjected to 12, 16 or 20 h fasting per day for 1 month, and then fed ad libitum for an extended month. Gut microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene-based sequencing and food intake was recorded as well.

    RESULTS: We found that cumulative food intake was not changed in the group with 12 h daily fasting, but significantly decreased in the 16 and 20 h fasting groups. The composition of gut microbiota was altered by all these types of intermittent fasting. At genus level, 16 h fasting led to increased level of Akkermansia and decreased level of Alistipes, but these effects disappeared after the cessation of fasting. No taxonomic differences were identified in the other two groups.

    CONCLUSIONS: These data indicated that intermittent fasting shapes gut microbiota in healthy mice, and the length of daily fasting interval may influence the outcome of intermittent fasting.

  5. Potential Residual Contaminants in Edible Bird's Nest
    Yeo BH, Tang TK, Wong SF, Tan CP, Wang Y, Cheong LZ, et al.
    Front Pharmacol, 2021;12:631136.
    PMID: 33833681 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.631136
    Edible bird's nest (EBN) is recognized as a nourishing food among Chinese people. The efficacy of EBN was stated in the records of traditional Chinese medicine and its activities have been reported in many researches. Malaysia is the second largest exporter of EBNs in the world, after Indonesia. For many years, EBN trade to China was not regulated until August 2011, when a safety alert was triggered for the consumption of EBNs. China banned the import of EBNs from Malaysia and Indonesia due to high level of nitrite. Since then, the Malaysia government has formulated Malaysia Standards for swiftlet farming (MS 2273:2012), edible bird's nest processing plant design and management (MS 2333:2010), and edible bird's nest product quality (MS 2334:2011) to enable the industry to meet the specified standards for the export to China. On the other hand, Indonesia's EBN industry formulated a standard operating procedure (SOP) for exportation to China. Both countries can export EBNs to China by complying with the standards and SOPs. EBN contaminants may include but not limited to nitrite, heavy metals, excessive minerals, fungi, bacteria, and mites. The possible source of contaminants may come from the swiftlet farms and the swiftlets or introduced during processing, storage, and transportation of EBNs, or adulterants. Swiftlet house design and management, and EBN processing affect the bird's nest color. Degradation of its optical quality has an impact on the selling price, and color changes are tied together with nitrite level. In this review, the current and future prospects of EBNs in Malaysia and Indonesia in terms of their quality, and the research on the contaminants and their effects on EBN color changes are discussed.
  6. Synthesis of metallic mixed 3R and 2H Nb1+xS2 nanoflakes by chemical vapor deposition
    Mohmad AR, Hamzah AA, Yang J, Wang Y, Bozkurt I, Shin HS, et al.
    Faraday Discuss, 2021 Apr 01;227:332-340.
    PMID: 33523053 DOI: 10.1039/c9fd00132h
    In this work, we report the synthesis and characterization of mixed phase Nb1+xS2 nanoflakes prepared by chemical vapor deposition. The as-grown samples show a high density of flakes (thickness ∼50 nm) that form a continuous film. Raman and X-ray diffraction data show that the samples consist of both 2H and 3R phases, with the 2H phase containing a high concentration of Nb interstitials. These Nb interstitials sit in between the NbS2 layers to form Nb1+xS2. Cross-sectional Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy analysis with transmission electron microscopy suggests that the 2H Nb1+xS2 region is found in thinner flakes, while 3R NbS2 is observed in thicker regions of the films. The evolution of the phase from 2H Nb1+xS2 to 3R NbS2 may be attributed to the change of the growth environment from Nb-rich at the start of the growth to sulfur-rich at the latter stage. It was also found that the incorporation of Nb interstitials is highly dependent on the temperature of the NbCl5 precursor and the position of the substrate in the furnace. Samples grown at high NbCl5 temperature and with substrate located closer to the NbCl5 source show higher incorporation of Nb interstitials. Electrical measurements show linear I-V characteristics, indicating the metallic nature of the Nb1+xS2 film with relatively low resistivity of 4.1 × 10-3Ω cm.
  7. Garlic flavonoids alleviate H2 O2 induced oxidative damage in L02 cells and induced apoptosis in HepG2 cells by Bcl-2/Caspase pathway
    Gao X, Yanan J, Santhanam RK, Wang Y, Lu Y, Zhang M, et al.
    J Food Sci, 2021 Feb;86(2):366-375.
    PMID: 33448034 DOI: 10.1111/1750-3841.15599
    Liver damage is a common liver disorder, which could induce liver cancer. Oral antioxidant is one of the effective treatments to prevent and alleviate liver damage. In this study, three flavonoids namely myricetin, isoquercitrin, and isorhamnetin were isolated and identified from Laba garlic. The isolated compounds were investigated on the protective effects against H2 O2 -induced oxidative damages in hepatic L02 cells and apoptosis inducing mechanism in hepatic cancer cells HepG2 by using MTT assay, flow cytometry and western blotting analysis. Myricetin, isoquercitrin, and isorhamnetin showed proliferation inhibition on HepG2 cells with IC50 value of 44.32 ± 0.213 µM, 49.68 ± 0.192 µM, and 54.32 ± 0.176 µM, respectively. While they showed low toxicity on normal cell lines L02. They could significantly alleviate the oxidative damage towards L02 cells (P < 0.05), via inhibiting the morphological changes in mitochondria and upholding the integrity of mitochondrial structure and function. The fluorescence intensity of L02 cells pre-treated with myricetin, isoquercitrin, and isorhamnetin (100 µM) was 89.23 ± 1.26%, 89.35 ± 1.43% and 88.97 ± 0.79%, respectively. Moreover, the flavonoids could induce apoptosis in HepG2 cells via Bcl-2/Caspase pathways, where it could up-regulate the expression of Bax and down-regulate the expression of Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, pro-Caspase-3, and pro-Caspase-9 proteins in a dose dependent manner. Overall, the results suggested that the flavonoids from Laba garlic might be a promising candidate for the treatment of various liver disorders. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Flavonoids from Laba garlic showed selective toxicity towards HepG2 cells in comparison to L02 cells via regulating Bcl-2/caspase pathway. Additionally, the isolated flavonoids expressively barred the oxidative damage induced by H2 O2 in L02 cells. These results suggested that the flavonoids from laba garlic could be a promising agent towards the development of functional foods.
  8. Regional suitability prediction of soil salinization based on remote-sensing derivatives and optimal spectral index
    Wang Z, Zhang F, Zhang X, Chan NW, Kung HT, Ariken M, et al.
    Sci Total Environ, 2021 Feb 12;775:145807.
    PMID: 33618298 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145807
    Soil salinization is an extremely serious land degradation problem in arid and semi-arid regions that hinders the sustainable development of agriculture and food security. Information and research on soil salinity using remote sensing (RS) technology provide a quick and accurate assessment and solutions to address this problem. This study aims to compare the capabilities of Landsat-8 OLI and Sentinel-2A MSI in RS prediction and exploration of the potential application of derivatives to RS prediction of salinized soils. It explores the ability of derivatives to be used in the Landsat-8 OLI and Sentinel-2A MSI multispectral data, and it was used as a data source as well as to address the adaptability of salinity prediction on a regional scale. The two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) optimal spectral indices are used to screen the bands that are most sensitive to soil salinity (0-10 cm), and RS data and topographic factors are combined with machine learning to construct a comprehensive soil salinity estimation model based on gray correlation analysis. The results are as follows: (1) The optimal spectral index (2D, 3D) can effectively consider possible combinations of the bands between the interaction effects and responding to sensitive bands of soil properties to circumvent the problem of applicability of spectral indices in different regions; (2) Both the Landsat-8 OLI and Sentinel-2A MSI multispectral RS data sources, after the first-order derivative techniques are all processed, show improvements in the prediction accuracy of the model; (3) The best performance/accuracy of the predictive model is for sentinel data under first-order derivatives. This study compared the capabilities of Landsat-8 OLI and Sentinel-2A MSI in RS prediction in finding the potential application of derivatives to RS prediction of salinized soils, with the results providing some theoretical basis and technical guidance for salinized soil prediction and environmental management planning.
  9. Prevalence of Childhood Hearing Loss and Secular Trends: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
    Wang J, Sung V, Carew P, Burt RA, Liu M, Wang Y, et al.
    Acad Pediatr, 2019 07;19(5):504-514.
    PMID: 30872125 DOI: 10.1016/j.acap.2019.01.010
    BACKGROUND: Better epidemiologic information on childhood hearing loss would inform research priorities and efforts to prevent its progression.

    OBJECTIVES: To estimate prevalence and secular trends in children's hearing loss.

    DATA SOURCES: We searched MEDLINE and Embase from January 1996 to August 2017.

    STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: We included epidemiologic studies in English reporting hearing loss prevalence.

    STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHODS: The modified Leboeuf-Yde and Lauritsen tool was used to assess methodological quality. Meta-analyses combined study-specific estimates using random-effects models.

    PARTICIPANTS: Children 0 to 18 years of age.

    RESULTS: Among 88 eligible studies, 43.2% included audiometric measurement of speech frequencies. In meta-analyses, pooled prevalence estimates of slight or worse bilateral speech frequency losses >15 decibels hearing level (dB HL) were 13.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 10.0-17.0). Using progressively more stringent cutpoints, pooled prevalence estimates were 8.1% (95% CI, 1.3-19.8) with >20 dB HL, 2.2% (95% CI, 1.4-3.0) with >25 dB HL, 1.8% (95% CI, 0.4-4.1) with >30 dB HL, and 0.9% (95% CI, 0.1-2.6) with >40 dB HL. Also, 8.9% (95% CI, 6.4-12.3) had likely sensorineural losses >15 dB HL in 1 or both ears, and 1.2% (95% CI, 0.5-2.1) had self-reported hearing loss. From 1990 to 2010, the prevalence of losses >15 dB HL in 1 or both ears rose substantially (all P for trend

  10. Dietary phytochemicals that influence gut microbiota: Roles and actions as anti-Alzheimer agents
    Wang Y, Lim YY, He Z, Wong WT, Lai WF
    Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 2021 Feb 09.
    PMID: 33559482 DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2021.1882381
    The last decide has witnessed a growing research interest in the role of dietary phytochemicals in influencing the gut microbiota. On the other hand, recent evidence reveals that dietary phytochemicals exhibit properties of preventing and tackling symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, which is a neurodegenerative disease that has also been linked with the status of the gut microbiota over the last decade. Till now, little serious discussions, however, have been made to link recent understanding of Alzheimer's disease, dietary phytochemicals and the gut microbiota together and to review the roles played by phytochemicals in gut dysbiosis induced pathologies of Alzheimer's disease. Deciphering these connections can provide insights into the development and future use of dietary phytochemicals as anti-Alzheimer drug candidates. This review aims at presenting latest evidence in the modulating role of phytochemicals in the gut microbiota and its relevance to Alzheimer's disease and summarizing the mechanisms behind the modulative activities. Limitations of current research in this field and potential directions will also be discussed for future research on dietary phytochemicals as anti-Alzheimer agents.
  11. Latanoprost Quantification in Ocular Implants and Tissues: HPLC-Fluorescence vs HPLC-UV
    Soliman K, Jirjees F, Sonawane R, Sheshala R, Wang Y, Jones D, et al.
    J Chromatogr Sci, 2021 Jan 01;59(1):64-70.
    PMID: 33047781 DOI: 10.1093/chromsci/bmaa078
    Anti-glaucoma latanoprost-loaded ocular implants provide prolonged delivery and enhanced bioavailability relative to the conventional eye drops. This study aims at the development and validation of a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography method for quantitative analysis of nanogram levels of latanoprost in the eye, and for the first time, compares the use of fluorescence vs ultraviolet (UV) detectors in latanoprost quantification. The mobile phase was composed of acetonitrile:0.1% v/v formic acid (60:40, v/v) with a flow rate of 1 mL/min and separation was done using a C18 column at temperature 40°C. The fluorescence excitation and emission wavelengths were set at 265 and 285 nm, respectively, while the UV absorption was measured at 200 nm. The latanoprost concentration-peak area relationship maintained its linearity (R2 = 0.9999) over concentration ranges of 0.063-10 μg/mL and 0.212-10 μg/mL for the fluorescence and UV detectors, respectively. The UV detector showed better precision, while the fluorescence detector exhibited higher robustness and greater sensitivity, with a detection limit of 0.021 μg/mL. The fluorescence detector was selected for quantification of latanoprost released from ocular implants in vitro and in porcine ocular tissues. The developed method is a robust, rapid and cost-effective alternative to liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for routine analysis of latanoprost released from ocular implants.
  12. Effect of Purification Methods on the Physicochemical and Thermodynamic Properties and Crystallization Kinetics of Medium-Chain, Medium-Long-Chain, and Long-Chain Diacylglycerols
    Wang S, Lee WJ, Wang Y, Tan CP, Lai OM, Wang Y
    J Agric Food Chem, 2020 Aug 05;68(31):8391-8403.
    PMID: 32511921 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.0c01346
    Medium-chain diacylglycerol (MCD), medium-long-chain diacylglycerol (MLCD), and long-chain diacylglycerol (LCD) were prepared through enzymatic esterification using different conditions at temperatures of 55-70 °C and reaction times of 1.5-5 h and in the presence of 5-6% Novozym 435. Subsequently, purification was performed using three different techniques, namely, molecular distillation (MD), deodorization (DO), and silica gel column chromatography (SGCC). Variations in terms of the physicochemical and thermodynamic properties, crystallization properties, and kinetics of the diacylglycerols (DAGs) before and after purification were determined. Irrespective of the DAG chain lengths, SGCC was able to produce samples with high DAG purity (96-99 wt %), followed by MD (58-79 wt %) and DO (39-59 wt %). A higher 1,3-DAG/1,2-DAG ratio was recorded for all samples, with the highest ratio recorded for SGCC purified samples. Regardless of the purification techniques used, the solid fat content (SFC) profiles of crude samples with steep curves were altered post-purification, showing a gradual increment in SFC along with increasing temperature. Modification of the Avrami constant and coefficient suggested the modification of the crystal growth mechanism post-purification. Crystallization and melting temperatures of products with a higher DAG purity were shifted to a higher temperature region. Variations were also reflected in terms of the crystal polymorphism, whereby the α and β' crystals transitioned into the more stable β form in purified samples accompanied by modification in the microstructures and crystal sizes. However, there was insignificant change in the morphology of MLCD crystal after purification, except for the decrease in crystal sizes. In conclusion, synthesis of MCD, MLCD, and LCD comprising different DAG purities had distinctive SFC profiles, thermodynamic properties, crystallization kinetics, and crystal morphologies, which can be further incorporated into the preparation of a variety of fat products to obtain end products with desired characteristics.
  13. High-performance detection of an abdominal aortic aneurysm biomarker by immunosensing
    Guo S, Li Y, Li R, Zhang P, Wang Y, Gopinath SCB, et al.
    Biotechnol Appl Biochem, 2020 May;67(3):383-388.
    PMID: 31876964 DOI: 10.1002/bab.1877
    Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a serious, life-threatening vascular disease that presents as an enlarged area of the aorta, which is the main artery that carries blood away from the heart. AAA may occur at any location in the aorta, but it is mainly found in the abdominal region. A ruptured AAA causes serious health issues, including death. Traditional imaging techniques, such as computed tomography angiogram, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasound sonography, have been used to identify AAAs. Circulating biomarkers have recently become attractive for diagnosing AAAs due to their cost-effectiveness compared to imaging. Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a secreted hormone vital for human atherosclerotic plaque stability, has been found to be an efficient biomarker for AAA identification. In this report, immunosensing was performed by using an InterDigitated electrode (IDE) sensor to detect circulating levels of IGF-1. The detection limit of IGF-1 was found to be 100 fM with this sensor. Moreover, related protein controls (IGF-2 and IGFBP3) were not detected with the same antibody, indicating selective IGF-1 detection. Thus, immunosensing by using an IDE sensor may help to effectively diagnose AAAs and represents a basic platform for further development.
  14. Synthesis of conjugated linoleic acid-rich triacylglycerols by immobilized mutant lipase with excellent capability and recyclability
    Lian W, Li D, Zhang L, Wang W, Faiza M, Tan CP, et al.
    Enzyme Microb Technol, 2018 Oct;117:56-63.
    PMID: 30037552 DOI: 10.1016/j.enzmictec.2018.06.007
    Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)-rich triacylglycerols (TAG) have received significant attention owing to their health promoting properties. In this study, CLA-rich TAG were successfully synthesized by an immobilized mutant lipase (MAS1-H108A)-catalyzed esterification of CLA-rich fatty acids and glycerol under vacuum. MAS1-H108A was first immobilized onto ECR1030 resin. Results showed that the lipase/support ratio of 41 mg/g was suitable for the immobilization and the thermostability of immobilized MAS1-H108A was greatly enhanced. Subsequently, the immobilized MAS1-H108A was employed for the synthesis of CLA-rich TAG and 95.21% TAG with 69.19% CLA was obtained under the optimized conditions. The TAG content (95.21%) obtained by immobilized MAS1-H108A is the reported highest value thus far, which was significantly higher than that (9.26%) obtained by Novozym 435 under the same conditions. Although the TAG content comparable to the results obtained in this study could also be obtained by Novozym 435, the used enzyme amount is approximately 5-fold of the immobilized MAS1-H108A. Additionally, the immobilized MAS1-H108A exhibited excellent recyclability during esterification retaining 95.11% of its initial activity after 10 batches. Overall, such immobilized mutant lipase with superior esterification activity and recyclability has the potential to be used in oils and fats industry.
  15. Potential of using basa catfish oil as a promising alternative deep-frying medium: A thermo-oxidative stability study
    Khor YP, Wan SY, Tan CP, Zhao G, Li C, Wang Y, et al.
    Food Res Int, 2021 03;141:109897.
    PMID: 33641946 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2020.109897
    Basa catfish is a good source for fish oil extraction, which was believed to have good thermo-oxidative stability because of its similar fatty acid composition to that of palm olein (PO). The thermo-oxidative stability of PO, basa catfish oil (FO), and palm olein-basa fish oil blend (PO-FO; ratio 1:1) was evaluated after 75 frying cycles. No significant difference was observed in p-anisidine value, TOTOX value, conjugated trienes, monomeric oxidized triacylglycerols, and free fatty acids concentration after frying. Moreover, compared to PO, FO exhibited lighter color, lower acid value, conjugated dienes, polymerized triacylglycerol, and total polar content. The PO-FO blend also demonstrated a more favorable frying stability compared to the other two frying systems. These findings indicated that FO could be proposed as a promising alternative to common PO, and its blending with other vegetable oils at an appropriate ratio might improve the overall oil frying quality for future industrial applications.
  16. A review on segmentation of knee articular cartilage: from conventional methods towards deep learning
    Ebrahimkhani S, Jaward MH, Cicuttini FM, Dharmaratne A, Wang Y, de Herrera AGS
    Artif Intell Med, 2020 06;106:101851.
    PMID: 32593389 DOI: 10.1016/j.artmed.2020.101851
    In this paper, we review the state-of-the-art approaches for knee articular cartilage segmentation from conventional techniques to deep learning (DL) based techniques. Knee articular cartilage segmentation on magnetic resonance (MR) images is of great importance in early diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA). Besides, segmentation allows estimating the articular cartilage loss rate which is utilised in clinical practice for assessing the disease progression and morphological changes. It has been traditionally applied in quantifying longitudinal knee OA progression pattern to detect and assess the articular cartilage thickness and volume. Topics covered include various image processing algorithms and major features of different segmentation techniques, feature computations and the performance evaluation metrics. This paper is intended to provide researchers with a broad overview of the currently existing methods in the field, as well as to highlight the shortcomings and potential considerations in the application at clinical practice. The survey showed that state-of-the-art techniques based on DL outperform the other segmentation methods. The analysis of the existing methods reveals that integration of DL-based algorithms with other traditional model-based approaches has achieved the best results (mean Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) between 85.8% and 90%).
  17. Association of circulating leptin and adiponectin levels with colorectal cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis of case-control studies
    Wang Y, Li J, Fu X, Li J, Liu L, Alkohlani A, et al.
    Cancer Epidemiol, 2021 08;73:101958.
    PMID: 34020315 DOI: 10.1016/j.canep.2021.101958
    PURPOSE: Leptin and adiponectin are adipokines which have been commonly implicated in carcinogenesis. As such, many studies have investigated the association of circulating leptin and adiponectin levels with colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. However, the results remained inconsistent.

    METHODS: In this work, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to precisely examine the association between circulating levels of leptin and adiponectin and CRC risk. A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases from inception until October 2020. The pooled effect size was then estimated by calculating the odds ratio (OR).

    RESULTS: A total of 23 records (comprising 26 studies) were included in the meta-analysis. The overall analysis found that circulating levels of leptin and adiponectin were not significantly associated with CRC risk (P > 0.05). Interestingly, subgroup analysis revealed that a higher level of adiponectin was significantly associated with an increased CRC risk among overweight individuals (OR = 1.16; 95 % CI: 1.02, 1.32), and a decreased CRC risk among normal weight individuals (OR = 0.76; 95 % CI: 0.62, 0.92). Besides, a higher level of adiponectin was also significantly associated with a decreased risk of CRC in men (OR = 0.76; 95 % CI: 0.59, 0.98).

    CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, circulating leptin level was not associated with CRC risk, but that of adiponectin was associated with CRC risk only in specific subgroups.

  18. Effective passivation of lead by phosphate solubilizing bacteria capsules containing tricalcium phosphate
    Zhang K, Teng Z, Shao W, Wang Y, Li M, Lam SS
    J Hazard Mater, 2020 10 05;397:122754.
    PMID: 32361140 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122754
    Phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSBs) shows high potential to be used for lead passivation in sediments due to the abilities of releasing phosphate and the subsequent formation of insoluble Pb-phosphate compounds. In this research, microbial capsules implemented with sodium alginate and CaCl2, containing Leclercia adecarboxylata L15 (a lead resistant PSB) and Ca3(PO4)2, were developed and the performance on lead passivation under different conditions was examined. The optimal concentrations of sodium alginate and CaCl2 for formulating the capsules were determined to be 0.3% and 10%, respectively. The removal efficiency of Pb2+ by capsules containing L15 and Ca3(PO4)2 was up to 98% with a capsule dosage of 2%, initial Pb2+ concentration of 1mM and pH of 3.0, which was better than that of free L15 (18%) and capsules containing only L15 (34%). Lead was immobilized via the formation of Pb5(PO4)3Cl on the surface and Pb3(PO4)2 in the interior of the capsules. The simulated sediment remediation experiments showed that the acid soluble fraction of lead reduced from 28% to 14% and transformed into more stable fractions after 10 days. The experiment results indicated that PSBs capsules coupled with phosphate materials have a great promise for application in remediation of lead contaminated sediments.
  19. In vitro fermentative capacity of swine large intestine: comparison between native Lantang and commercial Duroc breeds
    Cheng PH, Liang JB, Wu YB, Wang Y, Tufarelli V, Laudadio V, et al.
    Anim Sci J, 2017 Aug;88(8):1141-1148.
    PMID: 28026141 DOI: 10.1111/asj.12723
    Native Lantang and commercial Duroc pigs were used as animal models to evaluate the differences existing in dietary fiber utilization ability between breeds. Animals were fed the same diet from weaning (4 weeks) to 4 months of age. Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) from wheat bran (as substrate) and fecal samples from the two breeds (as inoculum) were used in an in vitro gas production trial. Results showed that cumulative and maximum gas productions were higher in inocula from Lantang than those from the Duroc breed (P 
  20. Progress in microbial biomass conversion into green energy
    Wang Y, Van Le Q, Yang H, Lam SS, Yang Y, Gu H, et al.
    Chemosphere, 2021 Oct;281:130835.
    PMID: 33992848 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130835
    The increase in global population size over the past 100 decades has doubled the requirements for energy resources. To mitigate the limited fossil fuel available, new clean energy sources being environmental sustainable for replacement of traditional energy sources are explored to supplement the current scarcity. Biomass containing lignin and cellulose is the main raw material to replace fossil energy given its abundance and lower emission of greenhouse gases and NOx when transformed into energy. Bacteria, fungi and algae decompose lignocellulose leading to generation of hydrogen, methane, bioethanol and biodiesel being the clean energy used for heating, power generation and the automobile industry. Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) uses microorganisms to decompose biomass in wastewater to generate electricity and remove heavy metals in wastewater. Biomass contains cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and other biomacromolecules which need hydrolyzation for conversion into small molecules by corresponding enzymes in order to be utilized by microorganisms. This paper discusses microbial decomposition of biomass into clean energy and the five major ways of clean energy production, and its economic benefits for future renewable energy security.
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