Ensemble species distribution modeling and multilocus phylogeography provide insight into the spatial genetic patterns and distribution dynamics of a keystone forest species, Quercus glauca.

Background: Forests are essential for maintaining species diversity, stabilizing local and global climate, and providing ecosystem services. Exploring the impact of paleogeographic events and climate change on the genetic structure and distribution dynamics of forest keystone species could help predict responses to future climate change. In this study, we combined an ensemble species distribution model (eSDM) and multilocus phylogeography to investigate the spatial genetic patterns and distribution change of Quercus glauca Thunb, a keystone of East Asian subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest.

Impact of Premature Ventricular Complex (PVC) Burden on the Left Ventricle in the Structurally Normal Heart: Hemodynamic Alterations of Idiopathic PVC on Echocardiography.

Background: Premature ventricular complex (PVC) without structural heart disease is mostly viewed as a benign arrhythmia. However, the high burden of PVC causes cardiomyopathy due to intraventricular dyssynchrony. The effects of ectopic contraction on left ventricular (LV) hemodynamics in the structurally normal heart are unclear.

An Optimization-Based Technology Applied for Face Skin Symptom Detection.

Face recognition segmentation is very important for symptom detection, especially in the case of complex image backgrounds or noise. The complexity of the photo background, the clarity of the facial expressions, or the interference of other people's faces can increase the difficulty of detection. Therefore, in this paper, we have proposed a method to combine mask region-based convolutional neural networks (Mask R-CNN) with you only look once version 4 (YOLOv4) to identify facial symptoms by this new method.

Case Report: Diagnostic Value of Metagenomics Next Generation Sequencing in Intracranial Infection Caused by Mucor.

mNGS(metagenomics Next Generation Sequencing), as a novel culture-independent approach, demonstrated the capability of rapid, sensitive, and accurate pathogen identification. At present, there have been many case reports about the use of mNGS to assist in the diagnosis of bacterial, fungal, viral and parasitic infections and to guide clinicians to determine appropriate treatment. However, the clinical understanding of this technique is not comprehensive, and the experience of using it is relatively limited.

Comparison of optical and crystal properties of three translucent yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystals with those of lithium disilicate glass-ceramic material.

Background/purpose: Among the ceramic materials used for all-ceramic crowns, zirconia has high biocompatibility and favorable mechanical properties, but its main drawbacks include low translucency and stress-induced phase transformation. To stabilize high-strength tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (TZP), 3-5 mol% yttria is usually added to prepare yttria-stabilized TZP (Y-TZP). In this study, the optical properties of three commercial Y-TZP ceramics were compared with those of the clinically available glass-ceramic material of lithium disilicate, and the relationship between translucency and crystal properties was analyzed in vitro.

Patterns of yeast diversity distribution and its drivers in rhizosphere soil of Hami melon orchards in different regions of Xinjiang.

Background: The unique climatic conditions of the Xinjiang region nurture rich melon and fruit resources, the melon and fruit sugar sources provide sufficient nutrients for the survival of yeast, and the diverse habitats accompanied by extreme climatic conditions promote the production of yeast diversity and strain resources. However, the relationship between yeast species and their relationship with environmental factors in the soil of Xinjiang specialty cash crop Hami melon is not clear. Here, we aimed to characterize the diversity, community structure, and relationship between yeast species and environmental factors in Hami melon orchards soils in different regions of Xinjiang, China.

Clinical Outcomes of Patients with Intermediate-to-High-Risk Pulmonary Embolism Undergoing Ultrasound-Assisted Catheter-Based Fibrinolysis Therapy in a Mid-Term Follow-Up Period - A Retrospective Observational Study.

Objectives: Endovascular therapy with ultrasound-assisted catheter-directed thrombolysis (UACDT) theoretically provides higher efficacy while reducing the bleeding risk compared with conventional systemic thrombolysis. The clinical outcomes of UACDT in treating intermediate-to-high-risk pulmonary embolism (PE) are lacking in an Asian population.

Methods: Forty-two patients who presented with intermediate-to-high-risk PE received UACDT.

Mathematical models for within-host competition of malaria parasites.

In this paper, we formulate two within-host infection models to simulate dynamics of the drug sensitive and drug resistant malaria parasites, where the first model solely considers the within-host competition between these two strains, and the second model further considers the immune re-sponse. Detailed theoretical analysis of the second model are made, including the existence, stability and bifurcation of the equilibrium, which have also been verified by numerical simulations. Both theoretical and numerical results show that competition or chronic control of drug sensitive parasites could inhibit the evolution of drug resistant ones to some extent.

Spironolactone ameliorates endothelial dysfunction through inhibition of the AGE/RAGE axis in a chronic renal failure rat model.

Background: Spironolactone can improve endothelial dysfunction in the setting of heart failure and diabetes models. However, its beneficial effect in the cardiovascular system is not clear in the setting of non-diabetic renal failure. We conducted this study to investigate whether spironolactone can ameliorate endothelial dysfunction in a 5/6 nephrectomy model, and to determine the underlying mechanism.

Skin autofluorescence is associated with rapid renal function decline in subjects at increased risk of coronary artery disease.

Skin autofluorescence (AF) has been validated as a tool for estimating tissue advanced glycation end products (AGEs) accumulation and predicting long-term cardiovascular outcomes. However, whether measurements of skin AF could predict renal function decline remains controversial. From April, 2014 to April, 2015, we enrolled 245 subjects with at least two conventional risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD).

Cloud-assisted mutual authentication and privacy preservation protocol for telecare medical information systems.

Background And Objective:  With the rapid development of wireless communication technologies and the growing prevalence of smart devices, telecare medical information system (TMIS) allows patients to receive medical treatments from the doctors via Internet technology without visiting hospitals in person. By adopting mobile device, cloud-assisted platform and wireless body area network, the patients can collect their physiological conditions and upload them to medical cloud via their mobile devices, enabling caregivers or doctors to provide patients with appropriate treatments at anytime and anywhere. In order to protect the medical privacy of the patient and guarantee reliability of the system, before accessing the TMIS, all system participants must be authenticated.

Electronegative low-density lipoprotein increases the risk of ischemic lower-extremity peripheral artery disease in uremia patients on maintenance hemodialysis.

Electronegative low-density lipoprotein (LDL) has been shown to increase coronary artery disease risk in hemodialysis patients, but its effect on the risk of peripheral artery disease (PAD) remains unclear. We separated plasma LDL from 90 uremia patients undergoing hemodialysis into 5 subfractions (L1-L5) according to charge by using fast-protein liquid chromatography with an anion-exchange column and examined the distribution of L5-the most electronegative LDL subfraction-in total LDL (i.e.

Skin autofluorescence is associated with inappropriate left ventricular mass and diastolic dysfunction in subjects at risk for cardiovascular disease.

Background: Enhanced advanced glycation end products deposition within myocardial tissue may cause diastolic dysfunction. However, whether this is related to left ventricular hypertrophy or inappropriate left ventricular mass remains unclear.

Methods: We prospectively enrolled 139 subjects at risk for cardiovascular diseases.

Skin Autofluorescence Is Associated with Endothelial Dysfunction in Uremic Subjects on Hemodialysis.

Background: Elevated levels of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) within tissues may contribute to endothelial dysfunction, an early indicator of atherosclerosis. We aimed to investigate whether levels of skin AGEs could be a useful marker to predict endothelial dysfunction in uremic subjects on hemodialysis.

Methods And Results: One hundred and nineteen uremic patients on hemodialysis and 57 control subjects with moderate-to-high cardiovascular risk factors and without chronic kidney disease (CKD) were enrolled.

Electronegative Low-density Lipoprotein Increases Coronary Artery Disease Risk in Uremia Patients on Maintenance Hemodialysis.

Electronegative low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is a recognized factor in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD) in the general population, but its role in the development of CAD in uremia patients is unknown. L5 is the most electronegative subfraction of LDL isolated from human plasma. In this study, we examined the distribution of L5 (L5%) and its association with CAD risk in uremia patients.

Spinal cord injury is associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation: A population-based cohort study.

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) can result in substantial sensorimotor and autonomic dysfunctions and an adverse prognosis. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in patients with chronic SCI.

Objective: We conducted a retrospective cohort study to investigate the association between atrial fibrillation (AF) and SCI.

Hepatitis C Virus Infection Associated With an Increased Risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

The association between the hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and the risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke has been previously investigated. However, the association between the HCV infection and the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) has not been extensively discussed. Using the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000 (LHID2000), we selected 3686 patients with newly diagnosed HCV infection.

A Hash Based Remote User Authentication and Authenticated Key Agreement Scheme for the Integrated EPR Information System.

To protect patient privacy and ensure authorized access to remote medical services, many remote user authentication schemes for the integrated electronic patient record (EPR) information system have been proposed in the literature. In a recent paper, Das proposed a hash based remote user authentication scheme using passwords and smart cards for the integrated EPR information system, and claimed that the proposed scheme could resist various passive and active attacks. However, in this paper, we found that Das's authentication scheme is still vulnerable to modification and user duplication attacks.