Robust and Precise Facial Landmark Detection by Self-Calibrated Pose Attention Network.

Current fully supervised facial landmark detection methods have progressed rapidly and achieved remarkable performance. However, they still suffer when coping with faces under large poses and heavy occlusions for inaccurate facial shape constraints and insufficient labeled training samples. In this article, we propose a semisupervised framework, that is, a self-calibrated pose attention network (SCPAN) to achieve more robust and precise facial landmark detection in challenging scenarios.

Hsp70 Promotes SUMO of HIF-1 and Promotes Lung Cancer Invasion and Metastasis.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the effect of heat shock protein-70 (Hsp70) on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of lung cancer cells under heat stimulation and to explore its possible molecular mechanism.

Methods: qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry assay were used to detect the expression of Hsp70 in lung cancer tissues and adjacent tissues. EdU assay was used to detect the cell activity.

GuidedStyle: Attribute knowledge guided style manipulation for semantic face editing.

Although significant progress has been made in synthesizing high-quality and visually realistic face images by unconditional Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs), there is still a lack of control over the generation process in order to achieve semantic face editing. In this paper, we propose a novel learning framework, called GuidedStyle, to achieve semantic face editing on pretrained StyleGAN by guiding the image generation process with a knowledge network. Furthermore, we allow an attention mechanism in StyleGAN generator to adaptively select a single layer for style manipulation.

Higher Incidence of Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension After Acute Pulmonary Embolism in Asians Than in Europeans: A Meta-Analysis.

To summarize the incidence of right heart catheter diagnosed chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) after acute pulmonary embolism (PE) in a meta-analysis. Cohort studies reporting the incidence of CTEPH after acute PE were identified search of Medline, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and WanFang databases. Twenty-two cohort studies with 5,834 acute PE patients were included.

Age-associated changes in microglia and astrocytes ameliorate blood-brain barrier dysfunction.

Blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction is associated with an accumulation of neurotoxic molecules and increased infiltration of peripheral cells within the brain parenchyma. Accruing evidence suggests that microglia and astrocytes play a crucial role in the recovery of BBB integrity and the corralling of infiltrating cells into clusters after brain damage, but the mechanisms involved remain unclear. Intriguingly, the results of flow cytometry and immunofluorescence analyses have shown that BBB permeability to peripheral cells is substantially enhanced during normal aging at 12 months in mice.

An organoid-based screen for epigenetic inhibitors that stimulate antigen presentation and potentiate T-cell-mediated cytotoxicity.

In breast cancer, genetic heterogeneity, the lack of actionable targets and immune evasion all contribute to the limited clinical response rates to immune checkpoint blockade therapy. Here, we report a high-throughput screen based on the functional interaction of mouse- or patient-derived breast tumour organoids and tumour-specific cytotoxic T cells for the identification of epigenetic inhibitors that promote antigen presentation and potentiate T-cell-mediated cytotoxicity. We show that the epigenetic inhibitors GSK-LSD1, CUDC-101 and BML-210, identified by the screen, display antitumour activities in orthotopic mammary tumours in mice, that they upregulate antigen presentation mediated by the major histocompatibility complex class I on breast tumour cells and that treatment with BML-210 substantially sensitized breast tumours to the inhibitor of the checkpoint programmed death-1.

Digestion-Promoting Effects and Mechanisms of Dashanzha Pill Based on Raw and Charred Crataegi Fructus.

Emerging evidence suggests that a high-fat diet (HFD) can influence endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and gut microbiota. Crataegi Fructus is a traditional Chinese herb widely used in formulas for dyspepsia, with Dashanzha Pill composed of raw Crataegi Fructus (DR) being a representative drug. Processing products of Crataegi Fructus, however, have a stronger pro-digestive effect, and we hypothesized that Dashanzha Pill composed of charred Crataegi Fructus (DC) is more effective.

Increased expression of IL-20 is associated with ischemic cardiomyopathy and acute myocardial infarction.

The expression and clinical significance of IL-20 in coronary artery diseases needs to be analyzed. IL-20 and its receptors were analyzed in coronary artery tissues. In a separate study, plasma IL-20 was also evaluated.

β-Lapachone Selectively Kills Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells by Targeting NQO1 to Induce Extensive DNA Damage and PARP1 Hyperactivation.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death globally. Currently there is a lack of tumor-selective and efficacious therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma. β-Lapachone (ARQ761 in clinical form) selectively kill NADPH: quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1)-overexpressing cancer cells.

Circular RNA hsa_circ_0002483 promotes growth and invasion of lung adenocarcinoma by sponging miR-125a-3p.

Background: Increasing evidence indicates that the aberrant expression of circular RNAs (circRNAs) is involved in the pathogenesis and progression of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAC). However, the function and molecular mechanisms of hsa_circ_0002483 (circ_0002483) in LUAC remain unclear.

Methods: The association between circ_0002483 expression and clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in patients with LUAC was analyzed by fluorescence in situ hybridization.

Constructing a Z-scheme ZnInS-S/CNTs/RP nanocomposite with modulated energy band alignment for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

Energy band structures greatly determine the charge separation and transfer properties in heterojunction photocatalysts and consequently their photocatalytic activities. Herein, a well-designed Z-scheme ZnInS-S/CNTs/RP (ZIS-S/CNTs/RP) nanocomposite was fabricated according to an energy band alignment steering strategy to realize superior photocatalytic H evolution performance. The ZIS-S/CNTs/RP nanocomposite shows an efficient photocatalytic H evolution rate of 1639.

A survey on computational methods in discovering protein inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2.

The outbreak of acute respiratory disease in 2019, namely Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19), has become an unprecedented healthcare crisis. To mitigate the pandemic, there are a lot of collective and multidisciplinary efforts in facilitating the rapid discovery of protein inhibitors or drugs against COVID-19. Although many computational methods to predict protein inhibitors have been developed [ 1- 5], few systematic reviews on these methods have been published.

Integrative effects based on behavior, physiology and gene expression of tritiated water on zebrafish.

Tritium is a water-soluble hydrogen isotope that releases beta rays during decay. In nature, tritium primarily exists as tritiated water (HTO), and its main source is nuclear power/processing plants. In recent decades, with the development of nuclear power industry, it is necessary to evaluate the impact of tritium on organisms.

Kallikrein augments the anticoagulant function of the protein C system in thrombin generation.

Background: Genetics play a significant role in coagulation phenotype and venous thromboembolism risk. Resistance to the anticoagulant activated protein C (APC) is an established risk for thrombosis. Herein, we explored the genetic determinants of thrombin generation (TG) and thrombomodulin (TM)-modulated TG using plasma from the Human Functional Genomics Project.

Chromosomal instability sensitizes patient breast tumors to multipolar divisions induced by paclitaxel.

Paclitaxel (Taxol) is a cornerstone of cancer treatment. However, its mechanism of cytotoxicity is incompletely understood and not all patients benefit from treatment. We show that patients with breast cancer did not accumulate sufficient intratumoral paclitaxel to induce mitotic arrest in tumor cells.

Using CRISPR Interference as a Therapeutic Approach to Treat TGFβ2-Induced Ocular Hypertension and Glaucoma.

Purpose: Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) is a leading cause of blindness worldwide with elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) as the most important risk factor. POAG IOP elevation is due to pathological changes in the trabecular meshwork (TM). Elevated TGFβ2 contributes to these changes and increases IOP.

ADGRG1 enriches for functional human hematopoietic stem cells following ex vivo expansion-induced mitochondrial oxidative stress.

The heterogeneity of human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) under stress conditions such as ex vivo expansion is poorly understood. Here, we report that the frequencies of SCID-repopulating cells were greatly decreased in cord blood (CB) CD34+ HSCs and HPCs upon ex vivo culturing. Transcriptomic analysis and metabolic profiling demonstrated that mitochondrial oxidative stress of human CB HSCs and HPCs notably increased, along with loss of stemness.

Proteome Landscape of Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) of Retinal Pigment Epithelium Shares Commonalities With Malignancy-Associated EMT.

Stress and injury to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) often lead to dedifferentiation and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). These processes have been implicated in several retinal diseases, including proliferative vitreoretinopathy, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration. Despite the importance of RPE-EMT and the large body of data characterizing malignancy-related EMT, comprehensive proteomic studies to define the protein changes and pathways underlying RPE-EMT have not been reported.

Functional validation of pathogenicity genes in rice sheath blight pathogen Rhizoctonia solani by a novel host-induced gene silencing system.

Rice sheath blight, caused by the soilborne fungus Rhizoctonia solani, causes severe yield losses worldwide. Elucidation of the pathogenic mechanism of R. solani is highly desired.

Theory of the exterior-interior relationship between the lungs and the large intestine to explore the mechanism of Eriobotrya japonica leaf water extract in the treatment of cough variant asthma.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl leaf (EJL) is used as a traditional Chinese medicine. E.

Selective Inhibition of NLRP3 Inflammasome Reverses Pressure Overload-Induced Pathological Cardiac Remodeling by Attenuating Hypertrophy, Fibrosis, and Inflammation.

Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome promotes pathological cardiac remodeling induced by pressure overload. However, the therapeutic effects of NLRP3 inhibition after cardiac remodeling remain unknown. The present study aimed to investigate whether the selective NLRP3 inhibitor, MCC950, could reverse transverse aortic constriction (TAC)-induced cardiac remodeling.

Caspases Switch off the mA RNA Modification Pathway to Foster the Replication of a Ubiquitous Human Tumor Virus.

The methylation of RNA at the N6 position of adenosine (mA) orchestrates multiple biological processes to control development, differentiation, and cell cycle, as well as various aspects of the virus life cycle. How the mA RNA modification pathway is regulated to finely tune these processes remains poorly understood. Here, we discovered the mA reader YTHDF2 as a caspase substrate via proteome-wide prediction, followed by and validations.

SIRT6 controls hepatic lipogenesis by suppressing LXR, ChREBP, and SREBP1.

Fatty liver disease is the most prevalent chronic liver disorder, which is manifested by hepatic triglyceride elevation, inflammation, and fibrosis. Sirtuin 6 (Sirt6), an NAD-dependent deacetylase, has been implicated in hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism; however, the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. The aim of this study was to identify and characterize novel players and mechanisms that are responsible for the Sirt6-mediated metabolic regulation in the liver.

Mucosa-Associated Microbial Profile Is Altered in Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth.

The overall gut microbial profile of patients with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) has not been thoroughly investigated. We investigated the microbial communities of mucosal specimens from the duodenum, ileum, sigmoid colon, and feces of patients with and without SIBO, as diagnosed by lactulose breath testing. The bacteria present in the mucosal and fecal samples were identified using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

Analysis of right ventricular flow with 4-dimensional flow cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Background: Cardiac flow closely interact with function, however, the correlation of right ventricular (RV) flow and function remains unknown, thus our objective is to observe right ventricular flow with four-dimensional phase-contrast cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (4D flow CMR) in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and to analyze flow components with RV function and hemodynamics.

Methods: This study retrospectively enrolled 30 patients with PAH (mean age: 49±13 years, 16 females) and 14 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers as controls (mean age: 44±12 years, 9 females). All patients who underwent CMR and right heart catheterization (RHC) within 1 week between January 2019 and July 2020 were included.