DAPDAG: Domain Adaptation via Perturbed DAG Reconstruction

Leveraging labelled data from multiple domains to enable prediction in another domain without labels is a significant, yet challenging problem. To address this problem, we introduce the framework DAPDAG (\textbf{D}omain \textbf{A}daptation via \textbf{P}erturbed \textbf{DAG} Reconstruction) and propose to learn an auto-encoder that undertakes inference on population statistics given features and reconstructing a directed acyclic graph (DAG) as an auxiliary task. The underlying DAG structure is assumed invariant among observed variables whose conditional distributions are allowed to vary across domains led by a latent environmental variable $E$. The encoder is designed to serve as an inference device on $E$ while the decoder reconstructs each observed variable conditioned on its graphical parents in the DAG and the inferred $E$. We train the encoder and decoder jointly in an end-to-end manner and conduct experiments on synthetic and real datasets with mixed variables. Empirical results demonstrate that reconstructing the DAG benefits the approximate inference. Furthermore, our approach can achieve competitive performance against other benchmarks in prediction tasks, with better adaptation ability, especially in the target domain significantly different from the source domains

Lung adenocarcinoma with bladder metastasis: A case report and literature review

BackgroundLung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related mortality in the world. Unfortunately, more than 50% of patients have already metastasized at the time of diagnosis, contributing to morbidity and mortality. Common sites of metastasis are adrenal glands, liver, bone, and brain. Bladder metastasis is rare and should prompt a careful differential consideration of primary bladder cancer.Case descriptionHere, we report a 72-year-old female who went to the hospital for “gross hematuria for one day”. Cystoscopy showed space-occupying lesions in the bladder. During the general CT examination, space-occupying lesions in the lower lobe of the lung were found. Peripheral lung cancer with multiple lymph node metastases, pulmonary metastasis, and left pleural effusion were considered. Transurethral cystoscopic resection of the bladder tumor and pleural effusion cell block examination were performed to clarify the diagnosis. Combined with morphological and immunohistochemical results, both pathological results supported a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma metastasis, and gene detection was carried out. EGFR, ALK, and ROS-1 were negative. According to the genetic testing results, there was no corresponding targeted drug, so we administered chemotherapy, and one-year survival was achieved, which was better than expected based on other studies.ConclusionThis paper describes a case of lung adenocarcinoma metastatic to the bladder and includes a review of the literature to provide clinicians with diagnostic and treatment experience and help avoid misdiagnosis and mistreatment

MORIN MITIGATES OXIDATIVE STRESS, APOPTOSIS AND INFLAMMATION IN CEREBRAL ISCHEMIC RATS

Background: Morin is a flavanoid which exhibits potent antioxidant activity in various oxidative stress related diseases. The current study was attempted to scrutinize the preclinical bio-efficacy of morin on focal ischemia. Methods: The animal model of focal cerebral ischemic injury was done by midbrain carotid artery occlusion (MCAO) method, followed by Morin (30mg/kg) administration for seven days. Results: The outcome of the study showed that treatment with morin displayed positive effects in reducing the focal cerebral ischemia. This effect was evident with the improvements in neurological deficits, reduction in MDA content and elevation of antioxidant levels (SOD, GSH and Gpx). Furthermore, protein expression of Bax and caspase-3 were effectively down-regulated, whilst the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly elevated. On the other hand, the mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokines was significantly reduced in focal cerebral ischemic rats upon morin intervention. Conclusion: Thus, the beneficial effects of morin on cerebral ischemia assault may result from the reduction of oxidative stress, inhibition of apoptosis and inflammation

The remarkable promotional effect of SO 2 on Pb-poisoned V 2 O 5 -WO 3 /TiO 2 catalysts: An in-depth experimental and theoretical study

Currently, Pb poisoning of heterogeneous catalysts is considered to be a key area of interest in research involved with industrial NOx reduction. As such, a series of Pb-poisoned V2O5-WO3/TiO2 catalysts were prepared by a wet impregnation method and the influence of SO2 on the performance of these poisoned catalysts for NOx reduction was assessed both experimentally and using theoretical calculations. As expected, the incorporation of Pb in these materials resulted in a significant reduction in their catalytic performance. The conversion of NOx over the Pb-V2O5-WO3/TiO2 catalyst increased from approximately 50% to 90% in presence of SO2 (2000 ppm) at 350 °C. It was postulated that in the absence of SO2, Pb reacts with surface V-OH species, which ultimately results in the destruction of Brønsted acid sites; considered to be crucial for the catalytic conversion of NOx. In the presence of SO2 however, enhanced catalytic activity was observed which was suggested to be a result of the formation of additional Brønsted sites (S-OH) via a surface bidentate sulfate intermediate species. The formation of these species was attributed to the interaction of Pb with SO2 and O2 on the surface of the catalyst. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations based on a monolayer V model on TiO2 (0 0 1) showed that SO2 absorbed selectively onto Pb sites rather than V or Ti oxides. It was subsequently determined that NH3 absorption proceeds through the formation of Pb-N species with Pb atom and H-O with SO2. We believe that the present work provides new insights into the design and application of SCR catalysts with specific relevance for application in flue gas streams which contain high quantities of Pb content

ORY-1001 Suppresses Cell Growth and Induces Apoptosis in Lung Cancer Through Triggering HK2 Mediated Warburg Effect

ORY-1001, an inhibitor of covalent lysine (K)-specific demethylase 1A (KDM1A), has been used as a therapy for the treatment of acute leukemia. However, the underlying mechanisms of anticancer are still not fully elucidated. Here, we report that KDM1A is highly expressed in lung cancers, where it appears to drive aggressive growth. Furthermore, lung cancer patients with higher KDM1A levels have worse survival outcomes than patients with lower KDM1A levels. Interestingly, ORY-1001significantly inhibited the cell proliferation, colony formation, cell cycle, and induced apoptosis, by regulating the Warburg effect through controlling Hexokinases 2 (HK2) expression. In summary, these results indicate that ORY-1001 could inhibit the growth of lung cancer cells via regulating the Warburg effect by controlling HK2

SO2 promoted in situ recovery of thermally deactivated Fe2(SO4)3/TiO2 NH3-SCR catalysts: from experimental work to theoretical study

Due to high catalytic activity and excellent resistance to SO2 and H2O, sulfate materials are considered to be promising vanadium-free catalysts for selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3 (NH3-SCR). Despite this, investigations about thermal stability of sulfate SCR catalysts are limited, which is surprising given that sulfates are typically susceptible to thermal decomposition. In this work, the thermal stability of Fe2(SO4)3/TiO2 catalysts was investigated. It was determined that the thermal decomposition of Fe2(SO4)3 resulted in NOx conversion decreased from 90% to 60% at 350 °C. Interestingly however, the introduction of SO2 into the gas stream was found to reverse the effects of the thermal deactivation and the NOx conversion of 90% (350 °C) was once again observed. Extensive characterization of each catalyst sample and density functional theory (DFT) calculations were subsequently conducted. The reduction in catalytic activity after the thermal treatment was attributed to the transformation of Fe2(SO4)3 to α-Fe2O3, which reduced the quantity of Brønsted acid sites on the catalyst. The presence of SO2 in the gas stream was found to reverse this phase transformation which ultimately led to the recovery of Brønsted acid sites. DFT calculations indicated that SO2 adsorbed selectively on Fe atoms of the thermal deactivated catalysts and S-Fe bond should mainly be formed by electrons from p orbitals of S and Fe atoms. Then NH3 could be adsorbed on the surface by N-S bond with SO2. The recoverable property of this catalyst provides a promising outlook for the commercial application, especially given that industrial flue gas streams regularly contain SO2

Exploring medicationpatterns of Traditional Chinese Medicine compound patents in the treatment of thyroid cancer based on the National Patent Database

Objective To explore the medication patterns of Traditional Chinese Medicine （TCM） compound prescriptions for the treatment of thyroid cancer （TC）. Methods Patents related to TCM compound prescriptions for TC were retrieved from the National Patent Database. Using R software，frequency analysis，association rule analysis，cluster analysis，and complex network analysis were performed to investigate the formulation patterns and identify core herbs. Results A total of 87 TCM compound patents involving 467 individual herbs were included. Thirty-one herbs were identified as high-frequency （usage frequency≥9），with representative ones including Spica Prunellae and Ecklonia kurome Okam. The main therapeutic functions included heat-clearing，resolving phlegm and relieving cough and asthma，activating blood circulation and removing blood stasis，tonifying deficiency，and regulating Qi. In terms of properties，the herbs were mainly bitter and pungent in flavor，cold in nature，and primarily targeted the liver and lung meridians. Association rule analysis identified 24 herbal combinations；cluster analysis yielded 6 herb groups. Complex network analysis suggested that Spica Prunellae，Sargassum，Ecklonia Kurome Okam and Airpotato Yam Rhizome were core herbs. Conclusions The patterns of TCM prescriptions for TC primarily follows the treatment principles of “clearing heat，resolving phlegm，regulating Qi，invigorating blood and tonifying deficiency.” This principles precisely corresponds to the core pathogenesis of TC，characterized by the evolution of “Qi stagnation，phlegm accumulation，blood stasis，toxicity，and deficiency.” Moreover，the core herbal combination comprising Spica Prunellae，Sargassum，Ecklonia Kurome Okam and Airpotato Yam Rhizome may serve as a valuable reference for clinical application

Upregulation of EMMPRIN (OX47) in Rat Dorsal Root Ganglion Contributes to the Development of Mechanical Allodynia after Nerve Injury

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are widely implicated in inflammation and tissue remodeling associated with various neurodegenerative diseases and play an important role in nociception and allodynia. Extracellular Matrix Metalloproteinase Inducer (EMMPRIN) plays a key regulatory role for MMP activities. However, the role of EMMPRIN in the development of neuropathic pain is not clear. Western blotting, real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), and immunofluorescence were performed to determine the changes of messenger RNA and protein of EMMPRIN/OX47 and their cellular localization in the rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) after nerve injury. Paw withdrawal threshold test was examined to evaluate the pain behavior in spinal nerve ligation (SNL) model. The lentivirus containing OX47 shRNA was injected into the DRG one day before SNL. The expression level of both mRNA and protein of OX47 was markedly upregulated in ipsilateral DRG after SNL. OX47 was mainly expressed in the extracellular matrix of DRG. Administration of shRNA targeted against OX47 in vivo remarkably attenuated mechanical allodynia induced by SNL. In conclusion, peripheral nerve injury induced upregulation of OX47 in the extracellular matrix of DRG. RNA interference against OX47 significantly suppressed the expression of OX47 mRNA and the development of mechanical allodynia. The altered expression of OX47 may contribute to the development of neuropathic pain after nerve injury