Bias‐Corrected Diagonal Discriminant Rules for High‐Dimensional Classification

Summary Diagonal discriminant rules have been successfully used for high‐dimensional classification problems, but suffer from the serious drawback of biased discriminant scores. In this article, we propose improved diagonal discriminant rules with bias‐corrected discriminant scores for high‐dimensional classification. We show that the proposed discriminant scores dominate the standard ones under the quadratic loss function. Analytical results on why the bias‐corrected rules can potentially improve the predication accuracy are also provided. Finally, we demonstrate the improvement of the proposed rules over the original ones through extensive simulation studies and real case studies.     

中国人类病毒传染病的研究进展及可视化分析

病毒性出血热、流感和病毒性肝炎等传染病的流行与暴发,提示着病毒性传染病一直是人类健康的威胁,各国都非常重视该领域的研究.为了解我国人类病毒传染病相关研究领域热点的分布、变化历程及发展趋势,以中国知网(CNKI)数据库为检索对象,应用CiteSpace可视化软件近对20年内该领域的发文量、作者、机构、关键词等进行分析.通过该方法最终检索出30875篇文献,分析发现该研究领域年发文量虽有所波动,但年均发文量在1500篇左右,说明该领域的研究处在平稳期阶段.由于病毒传染病研究具有极强的特殊性,所以我国的研究机构主要以中国疾病预防中心为主.同时发现近20年我国研究热点主要集中在肝炎、出血热、流感、人类免疫缺陷病毒(Human immuno-deficiency virus,HIV)、严重急性呼吸综合征(Severe acute respiratory syndrome,SARS)等方面,其中对肝炎、流感、HIV的研究热度一直持续至今,呈现出研究热点变化与社会发展需求紧密联合的现象.从研究内容变化的历程上分析,能预测我国未来病毒传染病研究领域将向疫情预防以及疾病攻克方面侧重.     

Increased circulating trimethylamine N-oxide contributes to endothelial dysfunction in a rat model of chronic kidney disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is strongly associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Impaired endothelial function, a key initiating step in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease, has been reported in patients with CKD, but the mechanisms responsible for endothelial dysfunction in CKD remain elusive. Emerging evidence reveals that trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), a gut microbiota-generated metabolite, is involved in the pathogenesis of many cardiovascular diseases. Circulating TMAO is elevated in CKD. Here we tested the hypothesis that elevated TMAO plays a contributory role in the pathogenesis of endothelial dysfunction in CKD. Rats underwent 5/6 nephrectomy to induce CKD or sham operation, and were treated with 1.0% 3,3-Dimethyl-1-butanol (DMB, an inhibitor of trimethylamine formation) or vehicle. Eight weeks after nephrectomy and DMB treatment, circulating TMAO levels were markedly elevated in CKD-vehicle rats compared with sham-vehicle rats, but were reduced in CKD-DMB rats. Acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent vasodilation was impaired in CKD-vehicle rats compared with sham-vehicle rats as indicated by reduced maximal relaxation (E_max) and decreased area under the curve (AUC). E_max and AUC were both normalized in CKD-DMB rats. No difference in sodium nitroprusside-induced endothelial-independent vasodilation was observed across groups. Molecular studies revealed that endothelial nitric-oxide synthase activity was decreased, while superoxide production and proinflammatory cytokine expression were increased in the aorta of CKD-vehicle rats compared with sham-vehicle rats. Of note, the abnormalities in above molecular parameters were completely restored in CKD-DMB rats. These results suggest that CKD elevates circulating TMAO levels, which may reduce eNOS-derived NO production by increasing vascular oxidative stress and inflammation, contributing to CKD-associated endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease.     

土壤施硒对烤烟生理指标的影响

以烤烟品种K326盆栽试验为基础,研究了不同浓度Se对烤烟生长过程中生理特性、烤烟叶片硒含量及硒积累速率的影响.结果表明:低浓度Se(≤8 mg/kg)对烤烟叶片中叶绿素a、叶绿素b、叶绿素a+b和类胡萝卜素含量有促进作用,可提高烤烟叶片中SOD、POD活性;高浓度硒(≥12mg/kg)降低了烤烟叶片SOD、POD活性,烟株生长受到抑制甚至死亡.在适宜的硒浓度范围内,烤烟MDA含量有所降低,缓解了膜脂的过氧化程度;POD活性随着生育期的延长而提高;烤烟生长前期的SOD活性高于后期;烤烟生长中期的MDA含量明显低于前期和后期.随着土壤中硒含量的增加,烤烟叶片中的硒含量逐渐递增,而硒在烤烟叶片中的积累速率呈现出先增高后降低的趋势.     

雷公藤红素抑制成人T细胞白血病细胞增殖及机制

本研究旨在分析雷公藤红素对成人T细胞白血病细胞增殖、凋亡的影响,并探讨其分子机制。使用不同浓度的雷公藤红素溶液处理多种成人T细胞白血病细胞株,通过四唑盐比色法(MTT)、克隆形成实验检测细胞的增殖情况;Annexin V/PI双染检测细胞凋亡情况;最后通过Western blotting及双荧光素酶报告基因技术探究雷公藤红素抑制成人T细胞白血病细胞生长的调控机制。结果表明雷公藤红素能显著抑制成人T细胞白血病细胞增殖并诱导其凋亡,随着雷公藤红素浓度的增加Bax/Bcl-2蛋白比率明显升高,凋亡途径中Caspase-3/7蛋白也随之被切割活化,同时病毒编码的癌蛋白Tax的表达也明显受到抑制。以上结果表明,雷公藤红素通过调控Bcl-2家族蛋白,激活了Caspase途径诱导细胞凋亡,并通过抑制病毒关键蛋白Tax的表达,从而有效抑制了成人T细胞白血病细胞的增殖。该研究为临床应用雷公藤红素治疗成人T细胞白血病提供了实验依据。     

Glutamate and aspartate alleviate testicular/epididymal oxidative stress by supporting antioxidant enzymes and immune defense systems in boars

Several potential oxidative agents have damaging effects on mammalian reproductive systems. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of glutamate(Glu) and aspartate(Asp) supplementation on antioxidant enzymes and immune defense systems in the outer scrotum of boars injected with H_2O_2. A total of 24 healthy boars were randomly divided into 4 treatment groups: control(basal diet, saline-treated), H_2O_2(basal diet, H_2O_2-challenged outer scrotum(1 m L kg–1 BW)), Glu(basal diet+2% Glu, H_2O_2-challenged), and Asp(basal diet+2% Asp, H_2O_2-challenged). Our results showed that both Glu and Asp supplementation improved testicular morphology and decreased the genital index in the H_2O_2-treated boars. Glu and Asp administration increased the antioxidant enzyme activities and affected the testicular inflammatory cytokine secretion but had no effect on sex hormone levels. Furthermore, the m RNA expression of CAT, Cu Zn SOD, and GPx4 was altered in the testes and epididymis of boars treated with Asp and Glu. Glu and Asp supplementation also modulated the expression of TGF-β1, IL-10,TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β in the testis and epididymis. These results indicate that dietary Glu and Asp supplementation might enhance antioxidant capacity and regulate the secretion and expression of inflammatory cytokines to protect the testes and epididymis of boars against oxidative stress.     

Assessment of the national schistosomiasis control program in a typical region along the Yangtze River,China

Schistosomiasis remains a major public health problem in eastern China, particularly along the Yangtze River Basin. The latest national schistosomiasis control program (NSCP) was implemented in 2005 with the main goal of reducing the rate of infection to less than 5% by 2008 and 1% by 2015. To assess the progress, we applied a Bayesian spatio-temporal model to describe dynamics of schistosomiasis in Guichi, Anhui Province, China, using annual parasitological and environmental data collected within 41 sample villages for the period 2005–2011. Predictive maps of schistosomiasis showed that the disease prevalence remains constant and low. Results of uncertainty analysis, in the form of probability contour maps (PCMs), indicated that the first goal of “infection rate less than 5% by 2008” was fully achieved in the study area. More longitudinal data for schistosomiasis are needed for the assessment of the second goal of “infection rate less than 1% by 2015”. Compared with the traditional way of mapping uncertainty (e.g., variance or mean-square error), our PCMs provide more realistic information for schistosomiasis control.     

Identification of Molecular Markers Associated with Verticillium Wilt Resistance in Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa L.) Using High-Resolution Melting

Verticillium wilt, caused by the soilborne fungus, Verticillium alfalfae, is one of the most serious diseases of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) worldwide. To identify loci associated with resistance to Verticillium wilt, a bulk segregant analysis was conducted in susceptible or resistant pools constructed from 13 synthetic alfalfa populations, followed by association mapping in two F1 populations consisted of 352 individuals. Simple sequence repeat (SSR) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were used for genotyping. Phenotyping was done by manual inoculation of the pathogen to replicated cloned plants of each individual and disease severity was scored using a standard scale. Marker-trait association was analyzed by TASSEL. Seventeen SNP markers significantly associated with Verticillium wilt resistance were identified and they were located on chromosomes 1, 2, 4, 7 and 8. SNP markers identified on chromosomes 2, 4 and 7 co-locate with regions of Verticillium wilt resistance loci reported in M. truncatula. Additional markers identified on chromosomes 1 and 8 located the regions where no Verticillium resistance locus has been reported. This study highlights the value of SNP genotyping by high resolution melting to identify the disease resistance loci in tetraploid alfalfa. With further validation, the markers identified in this study could be used for improving resistance to Verticillium wilt in alfalfa breeding programs.