[This corrects the article DOI: 10.7150/jca.44492.].

Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) and its complications seriously threaten human life and health. Rhaponticum carthamoides (Willd.) Iljin (RC) is widely used to treat cardiovascular diseases. Previous studies reported that RC reduces blood glucose levels in rats with type 1 DM. However, the effects of RC on type 2 diabetes and vascular complications, as well as its related active components and underlying mechanisms, remain unclear. Purpose This study aimed to investigate the effects of RC on endothelial dysfunction and the inflammatory response in type 2 DM mice and to explore its underlying mechanism and active ingredients. Study Design/Methods Male C57BL/6J mice were used to establish a type 2 DM mouse model. After 12 weeks of oral administration of RC extract (60, 120, and 240 mg/kg) to mice, blood glucose and lipid levels were assessed. The morphological structures of the liver and kidney tissues were observed using hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, and their functions were evaluated by detecting relevant biochemical indicators in the serum. Then, aorta morphology was observed via HE staining. In addition, serum levels of markers of endothelial function and inflammatory factors were detected, and the expression of inflammatory factors and the phosphorylation levels of key proteins in the aorta were examined. Furthermore, prediction and enrichment analyses of potential targets of RC acting on diabetic vascular lesions were performed on the basis of pharmacophore matching using various databases. Then, the expression, localization and phosphorylation levels of potential targets in the aortas of DM mice treated with RC were assessed using Western blotting, immunofluorescence, and RT‒PCR. Finally, the active components of RC were identified through virtual screening, and their ability to improve endothelial cell dysfunction was verified. Results RC reduced blood glucose levels and serum lipid levels of total triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), increased high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) levels, and improved liver and kidney function in type 2 DM mice. RC decreased endothelial cell shedding in the aortas of type 2 DM mice, increased serum nitric oxide (NO) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) levels, and reduced soluble cluster of differentiation 40 ligand (sCD40L), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) levels. Further findings indicated that RC reduced the expression of aortic inflammatory factors, namely, CD40, CD40L, IL-1β, and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and increased endothelial NOS (eNOS) phosphorylation levels. Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6), protein kinase B (AKT), and eNOS were predicted to be key node targets of RC acting on DM vascular lesions, and it was confirmed that RC increased SIRT6 expression and AKT phosphorylation levels in aortic endothelial cells. 20-Hydroxyecdysone (20E), daucosterol (Dau), euscaphic acid (Eus), and syringin (Syr) were identified as active components of RC. These components protect against TNF-α-induced human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) damage and decrease the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and IL-1β and increased the release of NO in TNF-α-induced HUVECs in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion RC reduced blood glucose and lipid levels in mice with type 2 DM and protected liver and kidney function. RC promotes SIRT6 expression in endothelial cells; upregulates the NO/NOS system by increasing AKT/eNOS phosphorylation levels to regulate vascular tone factors; and reduces the levels of inflammatory factors such as CD40, TNF-α, and IL-1β to inhibit endothelial inflammatory responses. Based on these mechanisms, RC improves endothelial dysfunction.

在当今人工智能时代，我国高等教育经历着前所未有的改革。教育部在《面向21世纪教育振兴行动计划》中提出 “高等院校要跟踪国际学术发展前沿，成为知识创造和高层次创造性人才培养的基地。”培养具有创新能力的人才 已成为我国高等教育改革和发展的必然趋势。在此背景下，高校电气类专业的新工科人才培养模式如何改革成为当 今高校教育的迫切任务之一。本文在分析高等院校创新创业教育现状的基础上，以人工智能技术为背景，提出了创 新创业人才培养模式改革的策略。

To address the poor performance of most defogging algorithms on images with large areas of sky, an improved dark channel a priori defogging method is proposed. First, segment the sky area according to the image gradient information, and based on the sky area segmentation, combine the high brightness and smoothness of the atmospheric light reference pixels to set the discriminant formula and reasonably estimate atmospheric light values. Second, a piecewise linear function is used to dynamically modify the adjustable parameters in response to the value of the dark channel to solve the local shadow caused by excessive defogging. Then, the transmittance estimated by the bright channel model and improved dark channel a priori model are fused and guided filtering is used for edge optimization. Finally, the defogging image is obtained by combining brightness compensation and contrast stretching using the atmospheric scattering model. The experimental results show that the improved method effectively reduces image distortion, improves image contrast and details, and has advantages in preserving the visual authenticity of the sky area.

Acute aortic dissection is one of the most severe vascular diseases. The molecular mechanisms of aortic expansion and dissection are unclear. Clinical studies have found that statins play a protective role in aortic dissection development and therapy; however, the mechanism of statins' effects on the aorta is unknown. The Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset GSE52093, GSE2450and GSE8686 were analyzed, and genes expressed differentially between aortic dissection samples and normal samples were determined using the Networkanalyst and iDEP tools. Weight gene correlation network analysis (WGCNA), functional annotation, pathway enrichment analysis, and the analysis of the regional variations of genomic features were then performed. We found that the minichromosome maintenance proteins (MCMs), a family of proteins targeted by statins, were upregulated in dissected aortic wall tissues and play a central role in cell-cycle and mitosis regulation in aortic dissection patients. Our results indicate a potential molecular target and mechanism for statins' effects in patients with acute type A aortic dissection.

The aim of this study was to analyze the role of blood biomarkers regarding preoperative inflammation and coagulation in predicting the postoperative in-hospital mortality of patients with type A acute aortic dissection (AAD). A total of 206 patients with type A AAD who had received surgical treatment were enrolled in this study. Patients were divided into two groups: the death group (28 patients who died during hospitalization) and the survival group (178 patients). Peripheral blood samples were collected before anesthesia induction. Preoperative levels of D-dimer, fibrinogen (FIB), platelet (PLT), white blood cells (WBC) and neutrophil (NEU) were compared between the two groups. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis were utilized to identify the independent risk factors for postoperative in-hospital deaths of patients with type A AAD. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used to analyze the predictive value of these indices in the postoperative in-hospital mortality of the patients. Univariable logistic regression analysis showed that the P values of the five parameters including D-dimer, FIB, PLT, WBC and NEU were all less than 0.1, which may be risk factors for postoperative in-hospital deaths of patients with type A AAD. Further multivariable logistic regression analysis indicated that higher preoperative D-dimer and WBC levels were independent risk factors for postoperative in-hospital mortality of patients with type A AAD. ROC curve analysis indicated that application of combining FIB and PLT could improve accuracy in prediction of postoperative in-hospital mortality in patients with type A AAD. Both preoperative D-dimer and WBC in patients with type A AAD may be used as independent risk factors for the postoperative in-hospital mortality of such patients. The combination of FIB and PLT may improve the accuracy of clinical prognostic assessment.

Platelet-derived growth receptor α (PDGFRα) is a key factor in many pathophysiological processes. The expression level of PDGFRα is significantly elevated in the early stage of liver development and maintained at a lower level in adult normal livers. In this study, we constructed a liver-specific PDGFRαD842 mutant transgenic (TG) mice model to explore the effect of continuous activation of PDGFRα on liver regeneration and hepatocarcinogenesis. 14-day-old TG and wild-type (WT) mice were intraperitoneally injected with diethylnitrosamine (DEN) at a dose of 25 μg/g body weight. Two-month-old male TG and WT mice were subjected to partial hepatectomy (PH). The liver tissues were collected for further analysis at different time points. Overexpression of PDGFRαD842V and its target genes, Akt, c-myc and cyclin D1 in hepatocytes with no overt phenotype versus WT mice were compared. Unexpectedly, a dramatic decrease in hepatocyte proliferation was noted after PH in TG versus WT mice, possibly due to the downregulation of hepatocyte growth factor receptor (MET) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). No TG mice developed HCC spontaneously after 14 months follow-up. However, TG mice were more resistant to DEN-induced hapatocarcinogenesis at 6, 10, and 12 months of age, showing delayed hepatocyte proliferation and apoptosis, lower tumor incidence, smaller size and fewer number, compared with age-matched WTs, partially through downregulation of MET and EGFR. In conclusion, continuous activation of PDGFRα signaling by expression of PDGFRαD842V does not promote, but inhibit hepatic regeneration and hepatocarcinogenesis, possibly through compensatory downregulation of MET and EGFR.

Myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) is a main pathophysiologic change following CPB surgery. L-carnitine, a natural amino acid, is able to transport fatty acids for generating energy and has a protective effect on MIRI. We aim to investigate the protective effect of L-carnitine on MIRI in patients with rheumatic valvular heart disease (RVHD) performed CPB surgical operation and the underlying mechanism. In this study, patients were randomized to three groups. L-carnitine was added to the crystalloid cardioplegic solution for experimental group 1 (6 g/L) and experimental group 2 (12 g/L), whereas no L-carnitine was used in the control group. Our results showed that L-carnitine significantly attenuated myocardial injury after surgery in these patients. L-carnitine decreased serum markers of myocardial injury including CK-MB, cTnI, hs-cTnT and IMA. L-carnitine increased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) but reduced wall motion score index (WMSI) after operation. L-carnitine also inhibited myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and inflammatory cytokines in the myocardium of patients after unclamping the aorta. Additionally, L-carnitine increased levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) while decreased levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyl content in the myocardium of patients after unclamping the aorta. Moreover, L-carnitine suppressed the activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and activated nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). There was also no significant difference in these indices between two experimental groups after unclamping the aorta. Taken together, L-carnitine had a protective effect against CPB-induced MIRI in patients with RVHD, which might be related to its modulation of NF-κB and Nrf2 activities.

为了提高机械手臂的运行效率,使机械手臂运行轨迹平滑连续,增强机械手臂的实用性,在以时间最优为目的情况下提出了一种运用粒子群算法以B样条曲线对机械手臂进行轨迹规划,对各段样条曲线时间间隔进行优化,考虑速度、加速度及其变化率三个约束条件.仿真研究表明,采用粒子群算法优化B样条曲线产生的轨迹,能够缩短各段曲线的时间间隔,提高机械手臂的运行效率.

Leader-follower control of mobile robots has been an attractive topic in the robotics community. In this paper, a vision-based leader- follower tracking control system is presented using two autonomous mobile robots and model predictive control (MPC). In particular, the follower robot employs a vision sensor and a laser scanner to acquire the distance and orientation information between the leader robot and the follower. Then, the extended Kalman filter algorithm is employed to remove the measurement noise. A vision-based model predictive control (MPC) method for nonholonomic mobile robots is proposed to implement a reliable leader-follower tracking control. The simulation results under different control horizons are provided to validate the proposed control strategy.

Cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) phenotypic conversion to myofibroblasts (MFs) represents a crucial event in cardiac fibrosis that leads to impaired cardiac function. However, regulation of this phenotypic transformation remains unclear. Here, we showed that sirtuin-7 (Sirt7) plays an important role in the regulation of MFs differentiation. Sirt7 expression and phosphorylation were upregulated in CFs upon angiotensin-II (Ang-II) stimulation. Sirt7 depletion by siRNA in CFs resulted in decreased cell proliferation and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition. Further, examination of Sirt7-depleted CFs demonstrated significantly lower expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), the classical marker of MFs differentiation, and decreased formation of focal adhesions. Moreover, overexpression of Sirt7 increased α-SMA expression in Ang-II treated CFs and exacerbated Ang-II-induced MFs differentiation. Moreover, Sirt7 depletion could largely reverse Ang-II induced increase of nuclear translocalization and activity of smad2 and extracellular regulated kinases (ERK) in CFs. Importantly, the increased differentiation of CFs to MFs was also abolished by smad2 siRNA or U0126. Our findings reveal a novel role of Sirt7 and its phosphorylation in the phenotypic conversion of CFs to MFs and might lead to the development of new therapeutic and prognostic tools for cardiac fibrosis.

Tetrandrine (TET), a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid found in traditional Chinese medicines, exerts anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo. However, its potential role in the prostate cancer metastatic process has not yet been elucidated. Thus, we investigated the inhibition effect of tetrandrine on prostate cancer migration and invasion and the corresponding molecular basis underlying its anticancer activity. Cell migration and invasion were determined using the Transwell chamber model. The protein expression of Akt, phosphorylated Akt, the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), phosphorylated mTOR and matrix metalloproteinases 9 (MMP-9) was detected by western blot in the presence or absence of tetrandrine or in the group tetrandrine combination with LY294002 (inhibitor of Akt) and rapamycin (inhibitor of mTOR). Our studies showed that excluding the effect of tetrandrine on cell proliferation, tetrandrine significantly inhibited cell migration and invasion in prostate cancer DU145 and PC3 cells. Furthermore, tetrandrine decreased the protein levels of p-Akt, p-mTOR, and MMP-9. While the inhibition of Akt or mTOR by the respective inhibitors could potentiate this effect of tetrandrine on prostate cancer cells, the studies indicate that tetrandrine inhibits the metastasis process by negatively regulating the Akt/mTOR/MMP-9 signaling pathway. These results suggest that tetrandrine might serve as a potential metastasis suppressor to treat cancer cells that have escaped surgical removal or that have disseminated widely.

The control of the indoor environment should not only consider the human comfort requirements such as temperature, humidity, air flow velocity etc, but also consider factors such as air quality and energy consumption. Based on the analysis of human comfort index PMV (Predicted Mean Vote), we do research on the indoor environmental ventilation and air conditioning control system using the method of multi-objective optimization control, describe the principles of optimization and optimization steps. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the optimization method, which can provide a feasible method of the ventilation and air conditioning control for the indoor environment.

Facing the technology of the automatic diagnosis for ECG signal pre-processing, we compared and summarized the de-noising capability of the digital filter, Mallat algorithm and lifting wavelet algorithm. Simulation results showed that lifting wavelet algorithm does well in solving the problems of baseline drift interference, frequency interference, EMG (electromyogram) interference in ECG (electrocardiogram), and the lifting wavelet algorithm has the advantage of real-time and the better effect of de-noising. Using lifting wavelet algorithm in ECG de-noising will lay a good foundation for the next work of ECG automatic diagnosis.

In this paper, the necessity and significance of combined training of Postgraduate is analyzed. Game rules, strategies and payoffs is introduced about the combined training of Postgraduate. The application problem is researched based on game theory about the mode selection of combined postgraduate.

VxWorks operating system has been widely used in the field of embedded real-time operating system for its good reliability and excellent real-time performance. In this paper, the robot PC control interface is designed under VxWorks development environment. By reading the 24-bit true color bitmap, the image data is stored in memory, and window is created using WindMl multimedia database, bitmap is created and displayed in the window, background is displayed using the entire bitmap, buttons and text boxes are displayed by modifying and updating the corresponding position image display memory. The paper gives some modules of code, the method used is simple common, and the design interface is beautiful.

In this paper, the laser sensor is used to detect environmental information. The problems of maps building of mobile robot are researched in the indoor structured environment. Least squares algorithm is adopted to build local maps, and a method of dynamic partition are presented based on the distance of adjacent points and angle. For accomplishing the self-localization and route planning of the mobile robot in the indoor environment lacking of the prior map, this paper present the method of the global map building based on the match of the feature points and the characteristic line. The experiments show the methods presented are effective and practicable.

For polishing friable complex transparent pieces surface, compliant mechanism is used on the polishing robot in this paper. Compliant mechanisms on the polishing robot are designed and installed. Polishing experiments are carried out without compliant mechanisms and with compliant mechanisms. The experiments results show that the robot can complete better polishing tasks with compliant mechanisms, through the wrist force sensor collecting the polishing force, and controlling the proper compression height of compliant devices.

In this paper, in order to achieve high-precision trajectory control of grinding robot, the method of computed torque control is proposed based on PD feedback, a single-joint robot experimental platform was built, position and velocity tracking experiment is carried out with empty Load and load. Experimental results show that the method of computed torque based on PD feedback control has the characteristic of quick response speed and small position tracking error.