Three cases of hand injury caused by meat grinders are presented. All 3 injuries involved the dominant hand and resulted in varying degrees of deformity. Two of the 3 patients arrived in the emergency room with the injured hand still firmly wedged in the meat grinder. Although these injuries continue to prove very mutilating, maximum restoration of the injured hand can be accomplished by careful extrication, followed by preservation and reconstruction of all viable tissues. Perioperative antibiotics and wound irrigation with antibiotic solution are recommended. Microsurgical technique can be of value in treating selected patients.


Acid-sensing ion channel 1b (ASIC1b) is expressed in peripheral sensory neurons and has been implicated in nociception. Understanding the modulation of ASIC1b will provide important insight into how ASIC1b contributes to pain sensation. In our previous study, we showed that zinc, an important modulator of pain sensation, reduces rat ASIC1b current. However, rat ASIC1b shows several important differences from its recently identified human homolog. Most noticeably, human ASIC1b (hASIC1b) has a sustained component, which may play a role in persistent pain. Therefore, we tested here the hypothesis that zinc modulates the current properties of hASIC1b. Bath application of zinc suppressed the peak amplitude of hASIC1b currents, with a half-maximum inhibitory concentration of 37 μM. However, zinc did not affect the sustained component of hASIC1b currents. The effect of zinc was independent of pH-dependent activation, steady-state desensitization, and extracellular Ca(2+), suggesting noncompetitive mechanisms. Further, we found that extracellular site(s) of the hASIC1b subunit is important for the effect of zinc. Mutating cysteine 196, but not cysteine 309, in the extracellular domain of the hASIC1b abolished the zinc inhibition. These results suggest that, through modulating cysteine196, zinc may have a modulatory role in acute pain.


Child neglect is a multidimensional concept encompassing various forms. Prior studies suggest that risk factors differ by neglect subtypes such as physical or supervisory neglect, but few studies address how risk factors vary between other neglect subtypes. This study aimed to examine how risk factors were related to neglect subtypes such as physical neglect, lack of supervision, exposure to domestic violence, substance-abusing parent, and mixed neglect. This study used secondary data from a nationally representative sample of children (National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being-II, N = 5,872), and 786 children with a first-time child protective services investigation for neglect allegations alone were selected. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to explore how individual, family, and community risk factors may be associated with specific neglect subtypes. Five risk factors were able to discriminate between subtypes of neglect. For example, being a young child is associated with a greater risk of experiencing multiple forms of neglect. Caregiver's mental health problem is associated with a higher likelihood of being referred for multiple forms of neglect, particularly as compared with the risk of being referred for lack of supervision. Having poor social support is associated with a higher risk of physical neglect, and caregiver high stress is related to a higher risk of domestic violence. While most intervention programs target risk factors for overall child neglect, not specific neglect subtypes cases, our findings suggest that the intervention approach based on an understanding of the heterogeneity in risk factors between neglect subtypes is advisable. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).


Creating digital archives of personal and family memories is an area of growing interest, but which seemingly is often not supported by a thorough understanding of current home archiving practice. In this paper we seek to excavate the home archive. Based on extensive field research in family homes we present a taxonomy of the kinds of sentimental objects to be found in homes, and through in-depth interviews with family members, we explore why and how those objects are kept and archived within the home. From this understanding of existing practice we derive requirements and implications for the design of digital archiving or memory technologies.


In recent years there has been great progress in the use of machine learning algorithms to develop interatomic potential models. Machine-learned potential models are typically orders of magnitude faster than density functional theory but also orders of magnitude slower than physics-derived models such as the embedded atom method. In our previous work, we used symbolic regression to develop fast, accurate and transferrable interatomic potential models for copper with novel functional forms that resemble those of the embedded atom method. To determine the extent to which the success of these forms was specific to copper, here we explore the generalizability of these models to other face-centered cubic transition metals and analyze their out-of-sample performance on several material properties. We found that these forms work particularly well on elements that are chemically similar to copper. When compared to optimized Sutton-Chen models, which have similar complexity, the functional forms discovered using symbolic regression perform better across all elements considered except gold where they have a similar performance. They perform similarly to a moderately more complex embedded atom form on properties on which they were trained, and they are more accurate on average on other properties. We attribute this improved generalized accuracy to the relative simplicity of the models discovered using symbolic regression. The genetic programming models are found to outperform other models from the literature about 50% of the time in a variety of property predictions, with about 1/10th the model complexity on average. We discuss the implications of these results to the broader application of symbolic regression to the development of new potentials and highlight how models discovered for one element can be used to seed new searches for different elements.


Abstract Hydrogel-based three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds are widely used in the field of regenerative medicine, translational medicine, and tissue engineering. Recently, we reported the effect of scaffold formation on the differentiation and survival of human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs) using PuraMatrix™ (RADA-16) scaffolds. Here, we were interested in the impact of PuraMatrix modified by the addition of short peptide sequences, based on a bone marrow homing factor and laminin. The culture and differentiation of the hNPCs in the modified matrices resulted in an approximately fivefold increase in neuronal cells. The examination of apoptotic and necrotic cells, as well as the level of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, indicates benefits for cells hosted in the modified formulations. In addition, we found a trend to lower proportions of apoptotic or necrotic neuronal cells in the modified matrices. Interestingly, the neural progenitor cell pool was increased in all the tested matrices in comparison to the standard 2D culture system, while no difference was found between the modified matrices. We conclude that a combination of elevated neuronal differentiation and a protective effect of the modified matrices underlies the increased proportion of neuronal cells.


Allergic disorders, including asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis, food allergies, urticaria and anaphylaxis have significant impacts on our daily lives. Innovation of novel treatment modalities targeting effector cells, cytokines, receptors or signaling pathways may bring new alternatives in the management of diseases, including allergic disorders. Understanding the mechanisms of allergic immune response is a requisite to plan or switch to a new or an adjunctive treatment course instead of or in addition to current conventional therapies, which are almost effective and safe in most of the cases. Monoclonal antibodies are major candidates that may act on the specific targets of allergic immune response in the treatment of these disorders. As monoclonal antibodies may contribute to our designing of new treatment options within the next years, specific concerns have to be considered such as efficacy, safety, long-term tolerability of these molecules as well as identifying associations with the mechanisms of disease pathogenesis. Hereby, it is aimed to review most of the currently published clinical studies in which some monoclonal antibodies were trialed for the management of allergic disorders. This review also addressed some recently patented monoclonal antibodies and their uses.


Modern random access protocols are emerging as an efficient yet simple solution for arising internet of things (IoT) applications in upcoming beyond-5G systems. In this context, both terrestrial and non-terrestrial scenarios can benefit from the presence of multiple low-complexity receivers that act as relays, collecting packets from users and forwarding them towards a central unit. To gain insights on the potential of these setups, we investigate a two-tier slotted ALOHA (SA) multiple-relay system under an erasure channel model. We derive exact end-to-end throughput expressions for an arbitrary number of receivers, and complement our study by discussing the impact of channel impairments. The non-trivial outcome that adding relays is not always beneficial is highlighted and thoughtfully discussed.


We propose a neural-network training algorithm that is robust to data imbalance in classification. In our proposed algorithm, weights are introduced to training examples, effectively modifying the trajectory traversed in the parameter space during the learning process. Furthermore, the proposed algorithm would reduce to the normal stochastic gradient decent learning if the data is balanced. On the FAU-Aibo database, which is known to be used in Interspeech Emotion Challenge, the proposed method achieves an unweighted average (UA) recall rate of 45.3% on the 5-class speech emotion recognition task. Within the static modeling framework, where each example is represented as a fixed-length vector, this performance is one of the best performance ever achieved on the 5-class task.


The ability to compute paths for constrained point-to-multipoint
(P2MP) Traffic Engineering Label Switched Paths (TE LSPs) across
multiple domains has been identified as a key requirement for the
deployment of P2MP services in MPLS and GMPLS networks. The Path
Computation Element (PCE) has been recognized as an appropriate
technology for the determination of inter-domain paths of P2MP TE
LSPs. This document describes the procedures and extensions to the
PCE communication Protocol (PCEP) to handle requests and responses for
the computation of inter-domain paths for P2MP TE LSPs.


Background and Aim The connection between gene polymorphisms of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA4) and primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is still vague and blurred. The purpose of this study is to precisely estimate the association of the polymorphisms of CTLA4 with the risk of PBC by using a meta-analysis. Methods PubMed and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database were used to search correlative literatures, and the documents which were about the relationships between the polymorphisms of CTLA4 (rs231775, rs231725, rs3087243, and rs5742909) and PBC were collected as of June 2016. The strength of correlation based on odds ratios (ORs) and its 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) was computed by STATA. Results Generally, in rs231775, a significant risk was found in G allele, the value of OR was 1.32, and its 95%CI was 1.19 to 1.47. The same situation was found in A allele of rs231725, the value of OR was 1.33, and its 95%CI was 1.22 to 1.45. As genotypic level, different genotypic models were also found to have obvious relevance with PBC in rs231775 and rs231725. No obvious connections were found in other SNPs. Conclusion This study indicated that the polymorphisms of rs231775 and rs231725 would be the risk factors of PBC.


Understanding the specificity and complexity of the tumor microenvironment (TME) of Ewing sarcoma (ES) is essential for identifying the immune characteristics of ES, improving the prediction of immunotherapeutic response, and facilitating therapeutic target discovery. In this study, we not only evaluated the gene sets associated with TME in ES using ESTIMATE and WGCNA algorithms based on the transcriptome data of ES, but also constructed a prognostic model (ES Score) using univariate Cox regression and Lasso regression and assessed its predictive ability on immune cell infiltration. Subsequently, we identified ARAP3 as a key gene affecting the TME of ES. In addition, bioinformatic analyses and in vitro experiments proved that the high expression of ARAP3 regulated ES cell proliferation, migration, as well as apoptosis via the p53 signaling pathway and affected macrophage infiltration and osteoclast differentiation through regulating IL1B and IL11 secretion of tumor cells.


Background Microsporidiasis, which is of great concern for immunocompromised patients, is poorly studied in developing countries. Objectives A study was carried out amongst HIV-positive hospital patients and HIV-negative hospital controls in Ilorin, Nigeria, between January 2009 and July 2010 to determine the prevalence and intensity of Microsporidium spores and the complications associated with their presence. Method Stool samples from 750 HIV-positive patients and 375 HIV-negative patients were studied using the Chromotrope-2R staining technique. Determination of CD4+ count was performed on the Partec Cyflow SL-3 CD4/8 instrument. Intensity of spores was determined by counting the total number of the spores in a 10 µl stained smear of stool. Images were captured with Phenix Microimage Analysis Software and data obtained were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Results The prevalence of Microsporidium isolates amongst the HIV-positive hospital patients was significantly higher (42.4%) than amongst the HIV-negative controls (19.2%) (p < 0.05). The intensity of microsporidial spores amongst HIV-positive hospital patients was also significantly higher than amongst the controls (p < 0.05). However, the difference in the intensity of spores amongst HIV-positive patients who were on antiretroviral therapy (n = 411) and those who were not (n = 339) was not significant (p = 0.236). Microsporidiasis in HIV infection infection was common amongst patients with with low CD4+ counts, diarrhoea, body rashes and cough. Conclusion Both the prevalence and intensity of Microsporidiasis are high amongst HIV-positive hospital patients; campaigns to promote awareness, prevention and control are required. Laboratory testing for microsporidia in HIV patients should be performed routinely so as to identify the organism for prompt medical attention.


In an age in which the "imperial presidency" seems to have reached its apex, perhaps most alarmingly surrounding the use of military force, conventional wisdom remains fixed that constitutional and international law play a negligible role in constraining executive branch decision making in this realm.. Yet as this Essay explains, the factual case that supports the conventional view, based largely on highly selected incidents of presidential behavior, is meaningless in any standard empirical sense. Indeed, the canonical listing of presidential decisions to use force without prior authorization feeds a compliance-centered focus on the study of legal constraint rooted in long-since abandoned understandings of how and why legal systems function. While the realities that law does not operate as an on/off switch have long been accepted among legal scholars when it comes to ordinary law – all legal rules face "the fact of violation," uncertainty in meaning, and a complex array of human motives and incentives for acting – these phenomena seem yet to have informed our understanding of law's role in shaping decision making surrounding state uses of force. This Essay argues that accounting for these features of law is especially relevant to the study of constitutional and international regulations of state use of force. Applying a more contemporary understanding of how law works, the Essay illustrates how shifting our methodological approach away from compliance-centered metrics of legal constraint may require reinterpreting the conventional set of examples we have long assumed we understood. At a minimum, it requires redesigning our approach to the empirical study of executive branch decision making. And it suggests we may need to rethink what mechanisms may most effectively constrain the "imperial presidency" in the years ahead.


: Heavy metals have high biological activity, tend to accumulate in separate links of the biological cycle and to enter the organism of animals in trophic chains, accumulating and negatively affecting their vital activity. The aim of the research was to study the effect of various doses of the adsorbent oftetacinum calcium on the morphological and biochemical values of the blood of the Hereford bull calves fed on rations with a higher content of heavy metals.Methods of research.Scientific and economic experiment was conducted on the Hereford bulls, for which four groups of 10 heads each were formed using the pair-analogue method. In the course of the studies, the bulls of 1 (control) group got the basal diet (BD), and the ration of animals of 2, 3 and 4 (trial) groups were supplemented withtetacinum calcium at the rate of 0.5; 1.0 and 1.5 g / 100 kg of live weight. The results were processed statistically by the Student's methodology using the software package "Microsoft Excel".Results of the research. In the conditions of excessive content of heavy metals in feeds, feeder bulls of the3experimental groupwhich received the preparation of tetacinumcalciumat the rate of 1.0 g / 100 kg of live weight werecharacterized by the best level of intermediate metabolism. In the blood of the bulls of the 3 test group, the highest content of erythrocytes and hemoglobin was found, which exceeded the control by these parameters by 0.45 × 10 12 / l and 0.98 g / l, respectively. The highest concentration of cadmium - 0.129 mg / kg, lead - 1.68 mg / kg and zinc - 30.75 mg / kg, was observed at the age of 18 months in the serum of young animals of group 1, and the lowest in animals of group 3, yielding to them in saturation of these toxicants, respectively, by 26.8, 30.6 and 48.8%. Although the concentration of zinc, lead and cadmium in the blood of the youngsters of the 3 test group exceeded the maximum concentration limits, their level was approaching the lowest point of this level. The Morphological And Biochemical Parameters Of Blood Of Young Cattle Due


Expansins are unique plant cell wall proteins that are involved in cell wall modifications underlying many plant developmental processes. In this work, we investigated the possible biological role of the root-specific α-expansin gene OsEXPA8 in rice growth and development by generating transgenic plants. Overexpression of OsEXPA8 in rice plants yielded pleiotropic phenotypes of improved root system architecture (longer primary roots, more lateral roots and root hairs), increased plant height, enhanced leaf number and enlarged leaf size. Further study indicated that the average cell length in both leaf and root vascular bundles was enhanced, and the cell growth in suspension cultures was increased, which revealed the cellular basis for OsEXPA8-mediated rice plant growth acceleration. Expansins are thought to be a key factor required for cell enlargement and wall loosening. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) technology revealed that average wall stiffness values for 35S::OsEXPA8 transgenic suspension-cultured cells decreased over six-fold compared to wild-type counterparts during different growth phases. Moreover, a prominent change in the wall polymer composition of suspension cells was observed, and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra revealed a relative increase in the ratios of the polysaccharide/lignin content in cell wall compositions of OsEXPA8 overexpressors. These results support a role for expansins in cell expansion and plant growth.


The procedure previously proposed for the parameterization of the exchange]repulsion energy using probe atom calculations is applied here to the study of the methane dimer and refined to give a very accurate anisotropic model potential in terms of atomic parameters. The most accurate model uses sites on C and H atoms and requires 12 parameters, but a description using just four isotropic sites shifted inward from the H atoms by 15% of the bond length is almost as accurate and is very simple in form. Q 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 19: 847]857, 1998


Animal studies routinely demonstrate an alcohol (ETOH) -mediated increase in survival after experimental traumatic brain injury (TBI). Recent clinical studies also suggest ETOH plays a neuroprotective role in moderate to severe TBI. We sought to investigate the relationship between ETOH and outcomes in patients with moderate to severe TBI using a countywide database. The Los Angeles County Trauma System database was queried for all adult (older than 14 years) patients with isolated moderate to severe TBI trauma (head Abbreviated Injury Score [AIS] 3 or greater, all other AIS 3 or less) who had ETOH levels measured on admission between 1998 and 2005. A total of 7304 patients were evaluated with 3219 (44.1%) patients testing positive for serum ETOH. ETOH-positive patients with TBI had a significantly lower mortality rate compared with ETOH negative patients (8.5 vs 10.5%, P = 0.005). Even after logistic regression analysis, a positive ETOH was associated with reduced mortality (adjusted OR 0.82, 95% CI: 0.69-0.99, P = 0.035). Therefore, a positive serum ETOH level was independently associated with significantly improved survival in patients with isolated moderate to severe TBI. The neuroprotective role ETOH plays in TBI is in contrast to previous findings and deserves further attention as a potential therapeutic.


Ehrlichia canis is the main etiological agent of canine monocytic ehrlichiosis (CME), a globally canine infectious disease. In Brazil, CME is considered to be endemic, and its prevalence can reach 65% in some states. The diagnosis of ehrlichiosis is important for treatment and epidemiological purposes. The E. canis TRP36 (Tandem Repeat Protein) protein elicits the earliest acute-phase antibody response observed during the course of the disease. This study aimed to generate the recombinant TRP36 protein from E. canis São Paulo strain and to evaluate its potential as a tool for the serologic diagnosis of CME. The E. canis São Paulo isolate was cultivated in DH82 lineage cells, and its genomic DNA was obtained. The bacterial DNA fragment encoding the entire ORF of TRP36 was cloned into the pBAD/Thio-TOPO vector and transformed into Escherichia coli DH10B competent cells with the trp36-bearing plasmid for protein expression. To evaluate the protein antigenicity, 16 canine serum samples were previously tested (by PCR and the commercial SNAP®4Dx® serological test). The results were in accordance with the SNAP®4Dx® test. Experiments using this recombinant protein as an antigen, targeting the development of a serologic test based on ELISA methodology, are the next step to produce a reliable, affordable and useful diagnostic tool for CME in Brazil.


According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in four people will be affected by mental disorders at some point in their lives. However, in many parts of the world, patients do not actively seek professional diagnosis because of stigma attached to mental illness, ignorance of mental health and its associated symptoms. In this paper, we propose a model for passively detecting mental disorders using conversations on Reddit. Specifically, we focus on a subset of mental disorders that are characterized by distinct emotional patterns (henceforth called emotional disorders): major depressive, anxiety, and bipolar disorders. Through passive (i.e., unprompted) detection, we can encourage patients to seek diagnosis and treatment for mental disorders. Our proposed model is different from other work in this area in that our model is based entirely on the emotional states, and the transition between these states of users on Reddit, whereas prior work is typically based on content-based representations (e.g., n-grams, language model embeddings, etc). We show that content-based representation is affected by domain and topic bias and thus does not generalize, while our model, on the other hand, suppresses topic-specific information and thus generalizes well across different topics and times. We conduct experiments on our model's ability to detect different emotional disorders and on the generalizability of our model. Our experiments show that while our model performs comparably to content-based models, such as BERT, it generalizes much better across time and topic.


Farm-gate buying by small itinerant buyers is the dominant mode of primary marketing in Tanzania's maize market. This paper estimates the effect of household distance to market on maize farm-gate prices, and the extent to which seasonally determined search costs can explain price variations between the lean and the harvest seasons using data from the most recent Tanzania Household Budget Survey (2007). The author observes that greater distance to market depresses farm-gate prices but that it is a relatively modest effect, and that this effect is pro-cyclical in that it is stronger during the harvest season when prices are lowest. The paper discusses the latter result with reference to search costs as an explanatory factor. It also briefly places the findings in the context of Tanzania's food security patterns, making a link between food insecurity and high search costs. The main policy conclusion is that coordinating mechanisms such as village market places (in parallel with farm-gate buying) may reduce transaction costs in rural markets.


This paper considers the problem of performing bimanual aerial manipulation tasks in grabbing conditions, with one of the arms grabbed to a fixed point (grabbing arm) while the other conducts the task (operation arm). The goal was to evaluate the positioning accuracy of the aerial platform and the end effector when the grabbing arm is used as position sensor, as well as to analyze the behavior of the robot during the aerial physical interaction on flight. The paper proposed a control scheme that exploits the information provided by the joint sensors of the grabbing arm for estimating the relative position of the aerial platform w.r.t. (with respect to) the grabbing point. A deflection-based Cartesian impedance control was designed for the compliant arm, allowing the generation of forces that help the aerial platform to maintain the reference position when it is disturbed due to external forces. The proposed methods were validated in an indoor testbed with a lightweight and compliant dual arm aerial manipulation robot.


OBJECTIVE
To study the etiology and early diagnosis of hypergonadotropic amenorrhea and to explore the appropriate treatment for preserving their reproductive function.

METHODS
126 cases of secondary amenorrhea with serum follicular stimulating hormone (FSH) levels > or = 40 IU/I, were analysed. Their clinical manifestations, karyotypes, ovarian morphology and histology, reproductive hormone assays, and responses to estrogen therapy and ovulation induction were studied.

RESULTS
6 cases presented with histories of ovarian surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Among the other 120 cases, 18 manifested amenorrhea before or at 25 years of age, 102 developed amenorrhea after age 25. In the former group, 16 (88.9%) showed unilateral or bilateral gonadal dysgenesis, and the other 2(11.1%) were defined as resistant ovaries. Abnormalities of sex chromosome karyotype occurred in 44.4% (8/ 18). In the latter group, 68 underwent laparotomy or laparoscopy examination. Morphological and histological examinations of both ovaries showed atrophic ovaries in all cases accompanied by 30.9% (21/ 68) unilateral gonadal dysgenesis; sex chromosomal abnormality was found in only one with no sexual immaturation. The efficacy of estrogen treatment was significantly better among cases with amenorrhea less than 1 year as compared with those longer than 1 year. Clomiphene challenge test given to 8 cases during their irregular menstrual stages produced an elevation of FSH levels to > 20 IU/I. without any response of estradiol secretion.

CONCLUSIONS
The earlier estrogen therapy is initiated, the greater possibility of pregnancy will be achieved in cases suffering from hypergonadotropic amenorrhea. The clomiphene challenge test may provide evidence of waning ovarian function for early diagnosis.


Employee attendance is an administrative process that is carried out every day. Use of a manual system for events prone to damage or loss. Not to mention employees who forget attendance records, which will cause delays in the flow of employee attendance information. As a solution to the existing problems is by designing an application to make presence using Android-based QR Code Scanning and Location-Based Services (LBS). QR Code technology is very efficient because the code can be read in a very short time using a smartphone while the Location Based Service (LBS) is to prevent employees from making presence outside the area determined by the company. The design of this application produces a paperless system and prevents manipulation of attendance data because in this application it is implemented that one employee only asks for one device ID or smartphone IMEI


In a multicenter open study involving 620 patients suffering from recurrent infections of the upper and lower respiratory tract aged between 12 and 89 years, the tolerability of an oral bacterial lysate was investigated. On the basis of the nature and frequency (1.9%) of adverse effects, and an analysis of the laboratory investigations over an observation period of three months, overall tolerability was adjudged to be excellent. The frequency and severity of infections was reduced. In 75% of the cases, both physician and patient considered the augmentation of the body's defense mechanisms by immunoactivation to have been of benefit. The favourable risk-to-benefit ratio results in a high level of acceptance of immunotherapy, and 96% of the patients completed the study as planned.


The present work introduces an evaluation framework for small-dimension solar cookers based on three parameters: energy efficiency, ease of use, and economic accessibility. Each parameter evaluates various quantifiable indicators, as a ) energy efficiency: standardized cooking power, heating time, and thermal performance, b ) ease of use: load capacity in the pot, mass in relation to collector area, orientations per hour, and c ) economic accessibility: cost per watt generated and durability of the reflector and/or thermal accumulator. Each indicator has been assigned a maximum and minimum evaluation; data obtained from these indicators were integrated in a radial graph. The sum of the indicators constitutes the aspect to be compared, but the graph also allows us to interpret the strengths and weaknesses described above. This framework requires two or more devices, since it is a comparative tool.


To evaluate the relevance of a simple carbon balance model (Seginer et al., 1994, Scientia Horticulturae 60: 55-80) in source-limiting conditions, the dynamics of growth, respiration and carbohydrate reserves of tomato plants were observed in prolonged darkness. Four days prior to the experiments, plants were exposed to high or low light levels and CO(2) concentrations. The concentration of carbohydrates in vegetative organs was 30-50 % lower in plants that were exposed to low carbon assimilation conditions compared with those exposed to high carbon assimilation conditions. During prolonged darkness, plants with low carbohydrate reserves exhibited a lower whole-plant respiration rate, which decreased rapidly to almost zero after 24 h, and carbohydrate pools were almost exhausted in leaves, roots and flowers. In plants with high carbohydrate reserves, the whole-plant respiration rate was maintained for a longer period and carbohydrates remained available for at least 48 h in leaves and flowers. In contrast, fruits maintained fairly stable and identical concentrations of carbohydrates and the reduction in their rate of expansion was moderate irrespective of the pre-treatment carbon assimilation conditions. The time-course of asparagine and glutamine concentrations showed the occurrence of carbon stress in leaves and flowers. Estimation of source and sink activities indicated that even after low carbon assimilation, vegetative organs contained enough carbohydrates to support fruit growth provided their own growth stopped. The time of exhaustion of these carbohydrates corresponded grossly to the maintenance stage simulated by the model proposed by Seginer et al. (1994), thus validating the use of such a model for optimizing plant growth.


Ovarian cancer is a highly lethal malignancy in the female reproductive system. Platinum drugs, represented by cisplatin, are the first-line chemotherapeutic agents for treatment of various malignancies including ovarian cancer, but drug resistance leads to chemotherapy failure. MicroRNAs emerged as promising molecules in reversal of cisplatin resistance. MiR-186 was reported to be downregulated in the cisplatin-resistant ovarian cell lines and miR-186 expression increased cisplatin sensitivity. However, we found the bidirectional regulatory effects of miR-186 on cisplatin sensitivity for the first time that overexpression of miR-186 at low concentration increased the cisplatin sensitivity of ovarian cancer cells A2780/DDP, while high concentration of miR-186 decreased the cisplatin sensitivity. The survival assay in other types of cancer cell lines verified the bidirectional regulatory function of miR-186 on cisplatin sensitivity in dose and cell type dependent manners. MiR-186 suppressed the protein levels of PTEN and PIK3R3 dose-dependently, which are opposite regulatory molecules of the oncogenic AKT pathway. MiR-186 also enhanced the protein levels of apoptotic gene APAF1 dose-dependently. We proposed the final effects of PTEN and APAF1 outweighed PIK3R3 when miR-186 at low concentration so as to increase the cisplatin sensitivity of ovarian cancer cells, while the final effects of PIK3R3 outweighed PTEN and APAF1 when miR-186 at high concentration so as to decrease the cisplatin sensitivity. We concluded the outcome of regulation of these opposite functional molecules contributed to the bidirectional regulatory effects of miR-186 in ovarian cancer cisplatin sensitivity. It deserves more attentions when developing therapeutic strategies based on the bidirectional functional miRNAs.