Wnt1 inducible protein-1 signaling pathway (WISP-1) is a relatively new adipokine involved in many cellular processes, including epithelial mucosa healing. The aim of the study was to compare circulating levels of WISP-1 and other selected adipokines [adiponectin, resistin and retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP-4)] in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with healthy controls and to investigate possible differences between Crohn's disease patients. (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC). The study was performed as a case-control study. In addition to adipokines, anthropometric, lipid parameters, markers of inflammation or disease activity were evaluated in all participants. Compared to healthy controls (n=20), significantly lower levels of adiponectin and higher levels of resistin and WISP-1 were found in patients with IBD (n=58). Elevation of WISP-1 was detected only in the CD group (n=31). There were no differences in RBP-4 levels between the groups. Adiponectin, WISP-1 and RBP-4 were independently associated with body mass index only, resistin levels were associated with C-reactive protein levels and leukocyte counts. Adverse adipokines production reflects presence of dysfunctional fat tissue in IBD patients. Higher levels of WISP-1 in CD compared to patients with UC may indicate a specific role for mesenteric adipose tissue in WISP-1 production.
A key physical property used in the description of a soil-water regime is a soil water retention curve, which shows the relationship between the water content and the water potential of the soil. Pedotransfer functions are based on the supposed dependence of the soil water content on the available soil characteristics, e.g., on the relative content of the particle size in the soil and the dry bulk density of the soil. This dependence could be extracted from the available data by various regression methods. In this paper, artificial neural networks (ANNs) and support vector machines (SVMs) were used to estimate a drying branch of a water retention curve. The paper compares the mentioned methods by estimating the water retention curves on regional scale for the Záhorská lowland in the Slovak Republic, where relatively small data set was available. The performance of the models was evaluated and compared. These computations did not fully confirm the superiority of SVMs over ANNs as is often proclaimed in the literature, because the results obtained show that in this study the ANN model performs somewhat better and is easier to handle in determining pedotransfer functions than the SVM models. Nevertheless, the results from both data-driven models are quite close, and the results show that they provide a significantly more precise outcome than a traditional multi-linear regression does., Autori sa v príspevku venujú určovaniu pedotransferových funkcií (PTF), ktoré umožňujú stanoviť body vlhkostných retenčných kriviek pôdy z ľahšie merateľných pôdnych vlastností a sú dôležitým prvkom modelovania vodného režimu pôdy. Ešte v minulej dekáde sa objavili snahy využívať na ich určenie umelé neurónové siete (UNS). Multi-layer perceptron (MLP) čiže viacvrstvový perceptrón je najčastejšie používaný model doprednej umelej neurónovej siete s kontrolovaným typom učenia. Vstupné signály prechádzajú sieťou typu MLP iba dopredným smerom, teda postupne od vrstvy k vrstve. MLP používa tri a viac vrstiev neurónov rozdelených na vstupnú, skrytú a výstupnú vrstvu s nelineárnou aktivačnou funkciou a vie rozpoznať alebo modelovať informácie, ktoré nie sú lineárne oddeliteľné alebo závislé. Novší vývoj v oblasti učiacich algoritmov poskytuje ďalšie možnosti, z ktorých sa v tomto príspevku venujeme tzv. mechanizmom podporných vektorov (Support Vector Machines - SVM). SVM využíva pri svojom kalibrovaní na riešený problém princíp tzv. štrukturálnej minimalizácie namiesto iba minimalizácie chyby - (Vapnik, 1995). Pri trénovaní siete MLP je jediným cieľom minimalizovať celkovú chybu. Pri SVM sa simultánne minimalizuje chyba aj zložitosť modelu. Použitie tohto princípu vedie zvyčajne k vyššej schopnosti generalizácie, t.j. umožneniu presnejších predpovedí pre dáta, ktoré neboli použité pri trénovaní SVM. Vhodnosť štandardnej umelej neurónovej siete, SVM a viacnásobnej lineárnej regresie sa v článku vyhodnocuje na základe údajov získaných z pôdnych vzoriek odobratých v lokalite Záhorskej nížiny. Pôvodné údaje a ich aplikáciu pri vyhodnocovaní vodného režimu pôd uvádza Skalová (2001, 2007), odkiaľ boli prevzaté vstupné dáta a to percentuálny obsah zrnitostných kategórií (I až IV podľa Kopeckého), redukovaná objemová hmotnosť (ρd) a vlhkosti pre vlkostné potenciály hw= -2.5, -56, -209, -558, -976, -3060, -15300 cm, ktoré boli stanovené laboratórne pre potreby určenia a testovania regresných závislostí. Vzhľadom na to, že pri odvodzovaní regionálnych PTF je častým prípadom nedostatok dát pre odvodenie dátovo riadených modelov, autori navrhli riešiť úlohu pomocou ansámblu MLP resp. SVM. Ansámbel dátovo riadených modelov bol vytvorený variabilným rozdelením údajov na trénovacie a validačné (validačnými údajmi sa testuje presnosť modelu vo fáze jeho tvorby, ešte sa používajú konečné testovacie dáta, ktoré neboli pri tvorbe modelu použité). Výsledky ukázali lepšie regresné schopnosti oboch dátovo riadených modelov (SVM aj MLP) voči multilineárnej regresii a o niečo lepšie výsledky boli získané z viacvrstvového perceptrónu než zo SVM., and Keďže v niektorých iných prácach mal zvyčajne vyššiu výpočtovú presnosť model založený na SVM než na UNS, autori odporúčajú pre budúci výskum preveriť vhodnosť kombinácie SVM a MLP modelov v dátovo riadenom skupinovom modeli.
Annona and ginger have prominent uses in traditional medicine; their therapeutic properties have not been sufficiently explored. The ameliorative effect of Annona or ginger extracts on hyperglycaemia associated with oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis in experimentally induced diabetes was addressed. Type 1 diabetes in male rats was induced by a single injection of streptozotocin (STZ; 40 mg/kg, i.p.), then Annona (100 mg/kg) or ginger (200 mg/kg) extracts were orally administered daily for 30 days. The Annona and ginger extracts ameliorated hyperglycaemia, insulin level, glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) levels in the diabetic rats. The treatments significantly ameliorated liver function enzymes and total proteins; this was confirmed by histopathological examination of liver sections. Annona and ginger extracts significantly reduced elevated malondialdehyde (MDA) and restored activity of antioxidant enzymes in the liver such as glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) and the hepatic content of reduced glutathione (GSH). The oxidative stressdependent inflammation was regulated by both Annona and ginger extracts, which was indicated by down-regulation of TNF-α, NF-κB, pro-apoptotic proteins Bax, p53, and anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. Moreover, the expression of insulin receptor (INSR) and glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) genes was markedly regulated by both these extracts. The results suggest that Annona and ginger extracts ameliorate the hepatic damage resulting from diabetes by advocating antioxidants and modulating apoptotic mediator proteins in the liver of diabetic rats. In conclusion, Annona and ginger extracts have a potential therapeutic effect in the treatment of diabetes and its complications.
Soil salinization and alkalinization frequently co-occur in naturally saline and alkaline soils. To understand the characteristics of mixed salt-alkali stress and adaptive response of Medicago ruthenica seedlings to salt-alkali stress, water content of shoots, growth and photosynthetic characteristics of seedlings under 30 salt-alkaline combinations (salinity 24-120 mM and pH 7.03-10.32) with mixed salts (NaCl, Na2SO4, NaHCO3, and Na2CO3) were examined. The indices were significantly affected by both salinity and pH. The interactive effects between salt and alkali stresses were significant, except for photosynthetic pigments. Water content of shoots, relative growth rates of shoots and roots and pigment concentrations showed decreasing trends with increasing salinity and alkalinity. The root activity under high alkalinity and salinity treatments gradually decreased, but was stimulated by the combined effects of low alkalinity and salinity. The survival rate decreased with increased salinity, except at pH 7.03-7.26 when all plants survived. Net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and intercellular CO2 concentration decreased with increased salinity and pH. M. ruthenica tolerated the stress of high salt concentration when alkali concentration was low, and the synergistic effects of high alkali and high salt concentrations lead to the death of some or all seedlings. M. ruthenica appeared to be salt-alkali tolerant. Reducing the salt concentration or pH based on the salt components in the soil may be helpful to abate damage from mixed salt-alkaline stress. and J. Y. Yang ... [et al.].
A structure of terms of I-faster convergent series is studied in the paper. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of I-faster convergent series with different types of their terms are proved. Some consequences are discussed.
Developmental dysplasia and dislocation of the hip (DDH) is the
most common type of lower limb deformity in pediatric
orthopedics. The mechanism of the signaling pathway has been
studied in depth. However, the role of epigenetic regulation, such
as lncRNA, is still far from clear. In this study, we successfully
established a rat model of DDH and demonstrated that H19 was
down-regulated in the development of DDH. Further, we
constructed H19 knockdown (KD) and overexpression
chondrocytes. H19 KD suppressed the proliferation of normal
chondrocytes, while overexpression of H19 promoted cell
proliferation of DDH chondrocytes. Finally, we revealed that H19
bound to let-7 and inhibited its function, acting as a competing
endogenous RNA. Down-regulation of H19 is closely associated
with DDH progression and H19 is an important epigenetic factor
that regulates the proliferation of chondrocytes. H19 may thus be
a potential clinical marker for DDH diagnosis and treatment.