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Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in multiple physiological processes of the body involved in regulation, such as cardiovascular relaxation, neural homeostasis, and immune regulation, etc. The real-time monitoring of NO is of great significance in the investigation of related disease mechanisms and the evaluation of pharmacodynamics. Fluorescent probes are considered as a highly promising approach for pharmaceutical analysis and bioimaging due to their non-invasive character, real-time detection, and high sensitivity. However, there are still some challenges in the determination of biological nitric oxide with fluorescent probes, such as low anti-interference ability, poor function modifiability, and low organ specificity. Therefore, it would be beneficial to develop a new generation of fluorescent probes for real-time bioimaging of NO in vivo after this systematic summary., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to delineate the reconstructive endovascular treatment and periprocedural management of compensative-flow-related posterior circulation aneurysms with anterior circulation artery occlusion., Methods: A total of 87 patients were enrolled in this retrospective double-center cohort study from May 2011 to November 2023. The baseline demographics, aneurysm characteristics, etiology and status of anterior circulation artery occlusion, treatment modalities, anesthesia management, complications, and clinical and angiographic outcomes of the patients were retrospectively analyzed in this study., Results: Atherosclerosis and moyamoya disease were found to be the two main etiologies of anterior circulation artery occlusion. The mean American Society of Interventional and Therapeutic Neuroradiology/Society of Interventional Radiology scores were significantly higher in patients with posterior communicating artery trunk collaterals than those with posterior cerebral artery pial collaterals (P < .05). Treatment strategies included stent-assisted coiling (55, 63.2%), standard coiling (22, 25.3%), and flow diversion or flow diversion-assisted coiling (8, 9.2%). The overall rate of procedure-related ischemic and hemorrhagic complications (10.3%) was considered acceptable. The ischemic complication was significantly associated with a >20% drop in mean arterial pressure (P < .05) during the procedure. Finally, 86.2% of all patients showed a modified Rankin Scale score of 0 to 2 at the final clinical follow-up., Conclusion: Our study indicates that reconstructive endovascular treatments are feasible and effective strategies for compensative-flow-related posterior circulation aneurysms with anterior circulation artery occlusion. However, these treatments are associated with a risk of periprocedural ischemic complications, which can be reduced by collateral arterial assessment, appropriate periprocedural anesthesia management, and antiplatelet treatment., (Copyright © Congress of Neurological Surgeons 2024. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Wall remodeling and inflammation accompany symptomatic unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs). The volume transfer constant (K trans ) of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) reflects UIA wall permeability. Aneurysmal wall enhancement (AWE) on vessel wall MRI (VWI) is associated with inflammation. We hypothesized that K trans is related to symptomatic UIAs and AWE., Methods: Consecutive patients with UIAs were prospectively recruited for 3-T DCE-MRI and VWI from January 2018 to March 2023. UIAs were classified as asymptomatic and symptomatic if associated with sentinel headache or oculomotor nerve palsy. K trans and AWE were assessed on DCE-MRI and VWI, respectively. AWE was evaluated using the AWE pattern and wall enhancement index (WEI). Spearman's correlation coefficient and univariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess correlations between parameters., Results: We enrolled 82 patients with 100 UIAs (28 symptomatic and 72 asymptomatic). The median K trans (2.1 versus 0.4 min -1 ; p < 0.001) and WEI (1.5 versus 0.4; p < 0.001) were higher for symptomatic aneurysms than for asymptomatic aneurysms. K trans (odds ratio [OR]: 1.60, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.01-2.52; p = 0.04) and WEI (OR: 3.31, 95% CI: 1.05-10.42; p = 0.04) were independent risk factors for symptomatic aneurysms. K trans was positively correlated with WEI (Spearman's coefficient of rank correlation (rs) = 0.41, p < 0.001). The combination of K trans and WEI achieved an area under the curve of 0.81 for differentiating symptomatic from asymptomatic aneurysms., Conclusions: K trans may be correlated with symptomatic aneurysms and AWE. K trans and WEI may provide an additional value than the PHASES score for risk stratification of UIAs., Clinical Relevance Statement: The volume transfer constant (K trans ) from DCE-MRI perfusion is associated with symptomatic aneurysms and provides additional value above the clinical PHASES score for risk stratification of intracranial aneurysms., Key Points: • The volume transfer constant is correlated with intracranial aneurysm symptoms and aneurysmal wall enhancement. • Dynamic contrast-enhanced and vessel wall MRI facilitates understanding of the pathophysiological characteristics of intracranial aneurysm walls. • The volume transfer constant and wall enhancement index perform better than the traditional PHASES score in differentiating symptomatic aneurysms., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to European Society of Radiology.)

Ubiquitin-specific peptidase 46 (USP46) functions as a deubiquitinating enzyme, facilitating the removal of ubiquitin molecules attached to substrate proteins and playing a critical role in cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. However, its function in innate antiviral immunity is unknown. In this study we cloned and identified bcUSP46, a homolog of USP46 from black carp. We discovered that overexpression of bcUSP46 enhanced the transcription of interferon (IFN) promoters and increased the expression of IFN, PKR, and Mx1. In addition, bcUSP46 knockdown significantly inhibited the expression of ISG genes, as well as the antiviral activity of the host cells. Interestingly, when bcUSP46 was co-expressed with the RLR factors, it significantly enhanced the activity of the IFN promoter mediated by these factors, especially TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1). The subsequent co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP) and immunofluorescence (IF) assay confirmed the association between bcUSP46 and bcTBK1. Noteworthily, co-expression of bcUSP46 with bcTBK1 led to an elevation of bcTBK1 protein level. Further analysis revealed that bcUSP46 stabilized bcTBK1 by eliminating the K48-linked ubiquitination of bcTBK1. Overall, our findings highlight the unique role of USP46 in modulating TBK1/IFN signaling and enrich our knowledge of the function of deubiquitination in regulating innate immunity in vertebrates., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Mercury, one of the various harmful metals, is particularly significant in affecting aquatic organisms, currently gaining more attentions and sparking discussions. In response to the limitations of traditional detections, fluorescent probes have emerged as a promising solution with some advantages, such as weaker background interference, shorter processing time, higher accuracy. Thus, a novel fluorescent probe, FS-Hg-1, has been developed for assessing mercury ion (Hg 2+ ) concentrations in aquatic products. This probe displays specific recognition of mercury ions in fluorescence spectra. Notably, FS-Hg-1 exhibits a distinct color change to pink when combined with Hg 2+ (with a 948-fold increase in absorption at 568 nm) and a substantial fluorescence change towards Hg 2+ (361-fold increase, excitation at 562 nm, emission at 594 nm) in N, N-dimethylformamide. The probe boasts a detection limit of 0.14 μM and rapid reaction with Hg 2+ within 10 s, showing an excellent linear correlation with [Hg 2+ ] in the range of 0 to 10 μM. Through thorough analysis using FS-Hg-1, the results align with those from the standard method (P > 0.05), with spiked recovery rates ranging from 108.4% to 113.2%. With its precise recognition, low detection limit, and remarkable sensitivity, this fluorescent assay proves effective in mercury concentration determination in aquatic samples without interference. The potential of FS-Hg-1 is promising for speedy detection of residual Hg 2+ and holds significance in ensuring food safety., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Offshore heavy oil injection gas extraction is a highly scrutinized area in today's petroleum industry. However, the interaction mechanisms between oil and gas are not clear. To elucidate these mechanisms, an indoor experimental setup was established for research purposes. The effects of different types of gases on heavy oil expansion, mass transfer mechanisms between gas and heavy oil, the influence of gas injection on heavy oil phase behavior, and the testing of minimum miscibility pressures are investigated in this study. The results indicate that CO 2 yields the best reduction in the heavy oil viscosity. Both forward and backward multiple contact mass transfer processes demonstrate nonmiscible multiple contact dynamic displacement mechanisms involving CO 2 dissolution and condensation, as well as C1 extraction and coextraction. Nonmiscible multiple contact dynamic displacement of natural gas primarily involves limited dissolution and condensation of light hydrocarbon components and intermediate hydrocarbon components, with an extremely weak extraction effect. The minimum miscibility pressures are in the order of CO 2 < natural gas < N 2 . This research provides important experimental evidence and theoretical guidance for further improving offshore heavy oil injection gas technology and practice., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Nowadays, the widespread use of organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) in agricultural production leads to varying degrees of residues in crops, which pose a potential threat to human health. Conventional methods used in national standard for the detection of OPs in fruits and vegetables require expensive instruments or cumbersome sample pretreatment steps for the analysis. To address these challenges, in this work, we took advantage of the peroxidase-like activity of PtCu 3 alloy nanocrystals (NCs) for a colorimetric and smartphone assisted sensitive detection of OPs. With the assist of a smartphone, the concentration of OPs on the peel of fruits could be obtained by comparing the B/RG value (the brightness value of blue divided by those of red and green) of a test strip with a calibration curve. This work not only provides a facile and cost-effective method to detect pesticides but also makes a positive contribution to food safety warning., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Recent research has focused on miniaturizing atomic devices like magnetometers and gyroscopes for quantum precision measurements, leading to energy savings and broader application. This paper presents the design and validation of metasurface-based optical elements for atomic magnetometers' optical paths. These include highly efficient half-wave plates, polarizers, circular polarization generators, polarization-preserving reflectors, and polarizing beam splitters. These components, compatible with semiconductor manufacturing, offer a promising solution for creating ultra-thin, compact atomic devices.

The precise control of interferon (IFN) production is indispensable for the host to eliminate invading viruses and maintain a homeostatic state. In mammals, stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is a prominent adaptor involved in antiviral immune signaling pathways. However, the regulatory mechanism of piscine STING has not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we report that autophagy related 16 like 1 (bcATG16L1) of black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) is a negative regulator in black carp STING (bcSTING)-mediated signaling pathway. Initially, we substantiated that knockdown of bcATG16L1 increased the transcription of IFN and ISGs and enhanced the antiviral activity of the host cells. Subsequently, we identified that bcATG16L1 inhibited the bcSTING-mediated IFN promoter activation and proved that bcATG16L1 suppressed bcSTING-mediated antiviral ability. Furthermore, we revealed that bcATG16L1 interacted with bcSTING and the two proteins shared a similar subcellular distribution. Mechanically, we found that bcATG16L1 attenuated the oligomerization of bcSTING, which was a key step for bcSTING activation. Taken together, our results indicate that bcATG16L1 interacts with bcSTING, dampens the oligomerization of bcSTING, and negatively regulates bcSTING-mediated antiviral activity., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To evaluate the correlation of oxidative stress and vascular endothelial dysfunction with hippocampal perfusion in patients with atrial fibrillation and cognitive impairment., Methods: In total, 41 atrial fibrillation patients with cognitive impairment were compared to 45 atrial fibrillation patients without cognitive impairment. Oxidative stress, vascular endothelial dysfunction, hippocampal perfusion, and cognitive function were measured., Results: Serum level of oxidized low-density lipoprotein was significantly higher in the atrial fibrillation + cognitive impairment group than in the atrial fibrillation group. Serum levels of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 were significantly higher, and nitric oxide was lower, in the atrial fibrillation + cognitive impairment group than in the atrial fibrillation group. The regional cerebral blood volume, mean transit time, and time to peak were significantly higher in the atrial fibrillation + cognitive impairment group than in the atrial fibrillation group. Moreover, regional cerebral blood flow was significantly lower in the atrial fibrillation + cognitive impairment group than in the atrial fibrillation group. Age, left atrial diameter, and regional cerebral blood volume were negatively correlated with the cognitive function score in the atrial fibrillation + cognitive impairment group. Serum levels of oxidized low-density lipoprotein, regional cerebral blood volume, regional cerebral blood flow, mean transit time, and time to peak were significantly correlated with cognitive impairment in atrial fibrillation patients after multivariate logistic regression analysis., Conclusion: Hippocampal perfusion and oxidative stress were significantly correlated with cognitive impairment in atrial fibrillation patients., Competing Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

The LD oilfield is one of the representative offshore oilfields. After weak gel flooding, the recovery rate is significantly improved. However, the oilfield is then in a medium- to high-water content stage, presenting a complex distribution of the remaining oil. The measures for further enhanced oil recovery (EOR) are uncertain. As a result, it is necessary to clarify the distribution pattern and development potential of the remaining oil during the high-water content period after weak gel flooding. In this study, an online nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) oil displacement experiment and microscopic oil displacement experiment were conducted, and the mechanisms of weak gel flooding and the distribution pattern of the remaining oil were clarified in the LD oilfield. Additionally, high-multiple water flooding and numerical simulation experiments were conducted to analyze the development potential after weak gel flooding. The results show that the effect of weak gel flooding was more significant in the core of 1500 mD, with an increase in oil recovery of 9% compared to 500 mD. At a permeability of 500 mD, the degree of crude oil mobilization in micropores and small pores caused by weak gel flooding was improved by 29.64% and 23.48%, respectively, compared with water flooding. At 1500 mD, the degree of crude oil mobilization in small pores caused by weak gel flooding was increased by 37.79% compared to water flooding. After weak gel flooding, the remaining oil was primarily distributed in medium and large pores. Microscopically, the remaining oil was dominated by cluster residual oil, accounting for 16.49%, followed by columnar, membranous, and blind-end residual oil. High multiple water flooding experiments demonstrated that weak gel flooding could significantly reduce development time. The ultimate oil recovery efficiency of 500 mD and 1500 mD reached 71.85% and 80.69%, respectively. Numerical simulation results show that the ultimate oil recovery efficiency increased from 62.04% to 71.3% after weak gel flooding. This indicated that the LD oilfield still had certain development potential after weak gel flooding. The subsequent direction for enhanced oil recovery focuses mainly on mobilizing oil in medium pores or clustered remaining oil. This will play a crucial role in further exploring methods for utilizing the remaining oil and increasing the recovery rate.

Objective: The effect of miR-626 on the radiosensitivity to oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) was evaluated in this study. Materials and Methods: The level of miR-626 in OSCC patients was determined by analyzing the data of miRNA microarray GSE113956. miR-626 was overexpressed by miR-626 mimics and knockdown were performed by miR-626 inhibitor. The level of miR-626 was detected by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and colony formation assays were used to detect the effect of miR-626 on the growth of OSCC cells. Flow cytometry was used to detect the apoptosis of OSCC cells. Western blot and dual luciferase reporter assays were used to explore the underlying mechanism of miR-626 regulating the radiosensitivity to OSCC. The effect of miR-626 on the radiosensitivity to OSCC were examined in an in vivo xenograft model. Results: The serum miR-626 level of OSCC patients was significantly higher than that of healthy controls. miR-626 mimics significantly promoted the OSCC cell growth, but the miR-626 inhibitor significantly suppressed the OSCC cell growth. Radiation combined with the miR-626 inhibitor significantly suppressed the cell proliferation and promoted the apoptosis of SCC-4 and HSC4 cells. Moreover, miR-626 regulates the nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) signaling mediated by TRAF-interacting protein with forkhead-associated domain B. Furthermore, inhibition of miR-626 enhances the radiosensitivity to OSCC in nude mice. Conclusions: miR-626 inhibition enhanced the radiosensitivity to OSCC through the downregulation of NF-κB signaling.

The novel π-electron donor-based deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have been shown to be a promising type of absorbent with excellent performance on toluene absorption. However, their greenness or sustainability is still unclear. Thus, to bridge the gap and give a comprehensive evaluation for their industrialization potential, the life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to evaluate the potential environmental impacts incurred from their production and usage for absorbing toluene. The environmental profiles are also compared with that of popular choline chloride (ChCl) based DES, common organic solvent triethylene glycol (TEG) and ionic liquid ([EMIM][Tf 2 N]). The results indicate that among the involved hydrogen bond acceptors (HBAs), TEBAC generally imparts lower environmental impacts than other HBAs but has higher impacts than ChCl. Although TEBAC-PhOH is not the most environmentally friendly absorbent during the production stage, its outstanding absorption performance minimizes the environmental impact when absorbing the same mass of toluene. Furthermore, the environmental impacts of the toluene absorption process using TEBAC-PhOH is significantly lower than that of [EMIM][Tf 2 N], slightly lower than TEG. Therefore, considering both absorption performance and environmental impacts, TEBAC-PhOH can be used as a promising "green and sustainable" toluene absorbent to traditional absorbents and ionic liquids., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Objective: This study aimed to compare the efficacy of enhanced 3D T1-weighted black-blood fast-spin-echo vessel wall magnetic resonance imaging (eVW-MRI) and time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography (TOF MRA) for follow-up evaluation of aneurysms treated with flow diversion (FD)., Methods: Our study enrolled 77 patients harboring 84 aneurysms treated with FD. Follow-up was by MRI (eVW-MRI and TOF MRA) and digital subtraction angiography (DSA). Two radiologists, blinded to DSA examination results, independently evaluated the images of aneurysm occlusion and parent artery patency using the Kamran-Byrne Scale. Interobserver diagnostic agreement and intermodality diagnostic agreement were acquired. Pretreatment and follow-up aneurysm wall enhancement (AWE) patterns were collected., Results: Based on the Kamran-Byrne Scale, the intermodality agreement between eVW-MRI and DSA was better than TOF MRA versus DSA for aneurysm remnant detection (weighted ĸ = 0.891 v. 0.553) and parent artery patency (ĸ = 0.950 v. 0.221). Even with the coil artifact, the consistency of eVW-MRI with DSA for aneurysm remnant detection was better than that of TOF MRA (weighted ĸ = 0.891 v. 0.511). The artifact of adjunctive coils might be more likely to affect the accuracy in evaluating parent artery patency with TOF MRA than with eVW-MRI (ĸ = 0.077 v. 0.788). The follow-up AWE patterns were not significantly associated with pretreatment AWE patterns and aneurysm occlusion., Conclusions: The eVW-MRI outperforms TOF MRA as a reliable noninvasive and nonionizing radioactive imaging method for evaluating aneurysm remnants and parent artery patency after FD. The significance of enhancement patterns on eVW-MRI sequences needs more exploration., Clinical Relevance Statement: The application of enhanced vessel wall magnetic resonance imaging has proven to be a promising tool to depict aneurysm remnant and parent artery stenosis in order to tailor the antiplatelet therapy strategy in patients after flow diversion., Key Points: • Enhanced vessel wall magnetic resonance imaging has an emerging role in depicting aneurysm remnant and parent artery patency after flow diversion. • With or without the artifact from adjunctive coils, enhanced vessel wall magnetic resonance imaging was better than TOF MRA in detecting aneurysm residual and parent artery stenosis by using DSA imaging as the standard. • Enhanced vessel wall magnetic resonance imaging holds potential to be used as an alternative to DSA for routine aneurysm follow-up after flow diversion., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to European Society of Radiology.)

Objective: With cancer the second deadliest disease in the world, worry about cancer can have mental health or psychiatric implications. This study examines the prevalence, differences, and influence of cancer worry (CW), its interaction effect with age, and other confounders on self-reported depressive symptoms (SRDS) among adult males and females in the US., Methods: We utilized a nationally representative sample data of 2,950 individuals (males = 1,276; females = 1,674) from Cycle 4 of the Health Information National Trends Survey 5 (HINTS 5) 2020. Using frequencies, bivariate chi-square test, and multivariate logistic regression, we examined the prevalence, difference, and association of CW with SRDS, adjusting for confounders., Results: The prevalence rate of SRDS was found to be 32% among females and 23.5% among males. Among individuals with CW, females had a higher prevalence of SRDS compared to males (40.5% vs. 35.1%). However, there was a significant difference in the likelihood of experiencing SRDS between males and females with CW, with males having 84% increased risk compared to females. Across all age groups, the multivariate analysis of the relationship between CW and SRDS revealed that both males and females showed a significantly decreased likelihood of SRDS compared to those aged 18-34 years. However, males aged 35 years or older exhibited an even more pronounced decrease in likelihood compared to females in the same age group. Nonetheless, when examining the interaction of age and CW, we observed a significantly increased likelihood of SRDS across all age groups. Males, in particular, had a higher increased likelihood of SRDS compared to females across all ages, except for those aged 75 years and older., Conclusion: The findings of this study highlight the significant influence of CW on individuals' SRDS and the modifying effect of age, particularly among males. These results are important for a better understanding of the risk of CW on mental health, which can be a preventive strategy or control mechanism., (© 2024. This is a U.S. Government work and not under copyright protection in the US; foreign copyright protection may apply.)

A standoff methane (CH 4 ) sensor with actual hard topographic targets (usually called non-cooperative targets) is essential for natural gas pipeline leakage inspection and many other practical applications. To address this requirement, a miniaturized and low-power-consumption gas sensor was developed based on tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy for standoff CH 4 detection with a non-cooperative target. Wavelength modulation spectroscopy with a 1 f normalized 2 f detection method was employed for calibration-free CH 4 measurement. A Kalman filter algorithm was used to improve the precision of the detection. The performance of the standoff CH 4 sensor was evaluated comprehensively under various conditions, including different incident angles, different hard topographic targets, and different standoff distances. The results show that the measurement precision is 0.107% and the sensitivity is 4.08 parts per million per meter (ppm·m) with a time resolution of 1 s and a standoff distance of 40 m. The detection limit can achieve 1.24 ppm·m at an optimal integration time of 70 s. This sensor can be easily integrated into mobile platforms, which lays the foundation for intelligent leak inspection., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Objective: Anti-gamma-aminobutyric-acid-B receptor (GABAbR) encephalitis is a rare form of autoimmune encephalitis. Until now, there are few biomarkers that can indicate the severity and prognosis of patients with anti-GABAbR encephalitis. The objective of this study was to exam the changes of chitinase-3-like protein 1 (YKL-40) in patients with anti-GABAbR encephalitis. In addition, whether YKL-40 could indicate the disease severity was also evaluated., Methods: The clinical features of 14 patients with anti-GABAbR encephalitis and 21 patients with anti-N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis were retrospectively studied. YKL-40 levels in serum and cerebral fluid (CSF) of patients were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The correlation of modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of encephalitis patients and YKL40 levels were analyzed., Results: YKL-40 levels in CSF were significantly higher in patients with anti-GABAbR encephalitis or anti-NMDAR encephalitis than those in controls. YKL-40 levels between these two encephalitis groups were not different. Moreover, YKL-40 levels in CSF from patients with anti-GABAbR encephalitis were positively correlated with the mRS score at admission and at 6-month follow-up., Conclusion: YKL-40 level is elevated in CSF from patients with anti-GABAbR encephalitis at early disease stage. YKL-40 may be a potential biomarker indicating the prognosis of patients with anti-GABAbR encephalitis., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

COVID-19 has claimed millions of lives since its outbreak in December 2019, and the damage continues, so it is urgent to develop new technologies to aid its diagnosis. However, the state-of-the-art deep learning methods often rely on large-scale labeled data, limiting their clinical application in COVID-19 identification. Recently, capsule networks have achieved highly competitive performance for COVID-19 detection, but they require expensive routing computation or traditional matrix multiplication to deal with the capsule dimensional entanglement. A more lightweight capsule network is developed to effectively address these problems, namely DPDH-CapNet, which aims to enhance the technology of automated diagnosis for COVID-19 chest X-ray images. It adopts depthwise convolution (D), point convolution (P), and dilated convolution (D) to construct a new feature extractor, thus successfully capturing the local and global dependencies of COVID-19 pathological features. Simultaneously, it constructs the classification layer by homogeneous (H) vector capsules with an adaptive, non-iterative, and non-routing mechanism. We conduct experiments on two publicly available combined datasets, including normal, pneumonia, and COVID-19 images. With a limited number of samples, the parameters of the proposed model are reduced by 9x compared to the state-of-the-art capsule network. Moreover, our model has faster convergence speed and better generalization, and its accuracy, precision, recall, and F-measure are improved to 97.99%, 98.05%, 98.02%, and 98.03%, respectively. In addition, experimental results demonstrate that, contrary to the transfer learning method, the proposed model does not require pre-training and a large number of training samples., (© 2023. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine.)

Machine vision can prevent additional stress on yarn caused by contact measurement, as well as the risk of hairiness and breakage. However, the speed of the machine vision system is limited by image processing, and the tension detection method based on the axially moving model does not take into account the disturbance on yarn caused by motor vibrations. Thus, an embedded system combining machine vision with a tension observer is proposed. The differential equation for the transverse dynamics of the string is established using Hamilton's principle and then solved. A field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is used for image data acquisition, and the image processing algorithm is implemented using a multi-core digital signal processor (DSP). To obtain the yarn vibration frequency in the axially moving model, the brightest centreline grey value of the yarn image is put forward as a reference to determine the feature line. The calculated yarn tension value is then combined with the value obtained using the tension observer based on an adaptive weighted data fusion method in a programmable logic controller (PLC). The results show that the accuracy of the combined tension is improved compared with the original two non-contact methods of tension detection at a faster update rate. The system alleviates the problem of inadequate sampling rate using only machine vision methods and can be applied to future real-time control systems.

Objective: Anti-leucine-rich glioma inactivated 1(LGI1) encephalitis is one rare autoimmune encephalitis which is accompanied by inflammatory responses. (Anti-leucine-rich glioma inactivated 1 (anti-LGI1) encephalitis is an autoimmune disease mediated by inflammatory responses.)This study aimed to investigate the Chitinase 3-like 1(CHI3L1) in anti-LGI1encephalitis patients and evaluate its association with modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score in anti-LGI1 encephalitis at admission and 6 months follow-up.(This study looked into the relationship between Chitinase 3-like 1 (CHI3L1) and the modified Ranking Scale (mRS) score in anti-LGI1 encephalitis patients at admission and 6 months later.)., Methods: Thirty-five patients with anti-LGI1 encephalitis and 22 patients with non-inflammatory neurological disease were enrolled in this study. (We enrolled 35 patients with anti-LGI1 encephalitis and 22 patients with non-inflammatory neurological disease.)Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum levels of CHI3L1 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. (We quantified CHI3L1 in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by performing an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.)Patients were evaluated for mRS score at admission and at 6 months follow-up.(We recorded the mRS score of the patients at admission and 6 months later.)., Results: CHI3L1 levels in CSF and serum were highly elevated in patients with anti-LGI1 encephalitis at admission compared those with the controls.(At admission, patients with anti-LGI1 encephalitis had elevated CHI3L1 levels in the CSF and serum.) Additionally, patients presenting with cognitive impairment had significantly higher CSF CHI3L1 levels and mRS scores than those without cognitive impairment symptoms. Patients presenting with only faciobrachial dystonic seizures at admission had lower CSF CHI3L1 levels than those with other symptoms. Finally, CSF CHI3L1 levels were positively correlated with CSF lactate levels., Conclusion: CHI3L1 level in CSF is correlated with the severity and prognosis of anti-LGI1 encephalitis. (CSF CHI3L1 levels are correlated with the severity and prognosis of anti-LGI1 encephalitis.)., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Li, Li, Wang, Zhao, Wang and Li.)

Over 40 years ago, primary health care (PHC) was defined in the Alma-Ata Declaration as a critical component of the health care system to address the basic health demand of the people. In China, the Government attaches great importance to health care at the primary level. After the launch of the historical Reform of the Medical and Health Care System in 2009, the PHC system in China has witnessed major progress and breakthroughs, especially in its steadily increased capacity, continuously improved accessibility, and betterment in equality. In this review, we summarized published literatures and official policies, synthesized data from the electronic registration information system of the National Health Commission, national statistical reports, and yearbooks in health care. The review is intended to describe the systematic development of PHC in China in the last decade. The main results include: the solid national policy foundation, increasing number of PHC institutions and workforce, better training of PHC professionals, major achievements in primary health indicators, government financial support to PHC institutions, improved PHC budgeting and insurance coverage, and the advancement of supporting technologies. Challenges and prospects are also discussed., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2022 The Authors. Health Care Science published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. on behalf of Tsinghua University Press.)

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is an intractable condition with complex pathological processes and poor prognosis. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation induced by the mammalian target of the rapamycin (mTOR) protein is one of the causes of secondary inflammation of SCI. Rapamycin (Rapa) is a pharmacological inhibitor of mTOR, which can inhibit ROS overproduction mediated by abnormal activation of the mTOR protein. Polydopamine, as a nanocarrier with excellent biological safety, has been reported to possess satisfactory ROS scavenging ability. Therefore, we designed a mesoporous polydopamine nanoparticle loaded with Rapa (mPDA@Rapa) for combination therapy, which simultaneously inhibited abnormally activated mTOR-mediated ROS production and eliminated already generated ROS. The synthesized mPDA nanoparticles could realize the effective encapsulation and sustained release of Rapa due to their mesoporous cavities and a hydrophobic benzene ring structure. In vitro experiments proved that mPDA@Rapa nanoparticles had a good ROS scavenging ability towards hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals. Furthermore, mPDA@Rapa also showed a good therapeutic effect in SCI model rats, which was evidenced by a smaller injury cavity, more coordinated hind limb movements, and a higher degree of neurogenesis and tissue regeneration. Our work provides a combined strategy to inhibit ROS overproduction and eliminate excess ROS, with potential applications not only in SCI, but also in other ROS-induced inflammations.

Near Infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) qualitative analysis technology has shown excellent development potential in the field of blend fabrics. However, the qualitative detection method based on the convolutional neural network (CNN) is difficult to accurately extract the feature of the spectral data, which will lead to missing detection or false detection; when using deep learning to build a qualitative detection model, due to interference of the external environment and other factors, the spectral data collected may have outliers, this means that the knowledge generalization on anomalous testing data, which may have a different distribution of that of the training set, is not trivial, which will also lead to missing detection or false detection. To solve the above problems, this paper proposes a novel qualitative detection neural network by analyzing the near infrared spectral data of blend fabrics. Firstly, we remove the convolutional layer and pooling layer of the CNN, making full use of the feature to enhance the feature representation ability of the model. Secondly, adding the L1 norm of the feature coefficients as a penalty term to the loss function to force those features with high redundancy to become weaker. Thirdly, in order to improve the recognition accuracy of the anomalous spectral data and minimize the model uncertainty, an ensemble machine learning approach utilizing 5 neural networks in parallel is used. To show the superiority of our proposed method, the existing methods are used as competitive methods to compare with our method. Our homemade dataset contains 3482 samples of blend fabrics with 9 different compositions. The results show that the Micro-F1-score, Micro-Specificity, Weight-F1-score, and Weight-Specificity of this method respectively 99.71%, 99.96%, 99.73%, and 99.99%, the results further confirm the method has higher analysis accuracy and stability. In addition, the method proposed in this paper can greatly improve the recognition accuracy of the anomalous spectral data. It has important practical value in the qualitative detection of blend fabrics., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Surgery for thyroid cancer via endoscopic approach was still controversial. Herein, we report the indications, strategies for operative techniques, as well as results for endoscopic central lymph node dissection of thyroid cancer via chest-breast approach (ETCB-CLND)., Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on the cases of DTC, whom underwent ETCB-CLND from January 2013 to June 2020. Three hundred and twenty-three cases underwent ETCB-CLND (endoscopic group) and 267 cases underwent open surgery (open group). General characteristic, surgical results, thyroglobulin (Tg), radioactive iodine uptake (RAIU), radioactive technetium uptake (RATU), radionuclide imaging of the thyroid residual area (RITRA), and radionuclide imaging of suspicious lymph nodes metastasis (RISLNM) were analyzed and compared between the two groups., Results: The age of the endoscopic group were lower than that of the open group. The operation time of lobectomy in endoscopic group were longer than that in open group. The gender distribution (P = 0.831), operation time of total thyroidectomy (P = 0.311), intraoperative blood loss (P = 0.672), postoperative hospital stay (P = 0.852), tumor size (P = 0.259), number of cases of lymph node metastasis (P = 0.618), number of dissected lymph nodes (P = 0.681), number of metastatic lymph nodes (P = 0.723), and complications (P = 0.749) did not differ significantly between groups, nor did the surgical range (P = 0.661), Tg at 1 month (P = 0.61) and 1 year (P = 0.67) after surgery, before (P = 0.589) and after (P = 0.593) radioiodine therapy, RAIU-2 h/24 h (P = 0.906/0.582), RATU (P = 0.532), ( 99m Tc 15 min:P = 0.503; 131 I 24 h:P = 0.377; 131 I 3d:P = 0.919), RISLNM (none: P = 0.887; central: P = 0.630; lateral: P = 0.659)., Conclusion: The rational and normative application of the endoscopic technique in central lymph node dissection of DTC is safe, feasible, and consistent with the principle of radical tumor cure for selected cases by well-trained surgeons., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative dementia with the key pathological hallmark of amyloid deposits that may induce mitochondrial dysfunction. Ginkgolide K (GK) has been proven to have neuroprotective effects. The present study sought to explore the neuroprotective effect of GK through regulation of the expression of mitochondrial Ca 2+ uniporter (MCU) in the pathology of AD. SH-SY5Y cells were cultured and the expression of MCU was enhanced by transfection of MCU recombinant vectors or knockdown by MCU small interfering RNA. The cells were treated with GK and amyloid β (Aβ). Thereafter, the effects of GK, MCU expression and Aβ on viability and apoptosis of SH-SY5Y cells were examined via a WST-1 assay, flow cytometry and Caspase-3/8 activity assays, respectively. The effects of GK, MCU expression and Aβ on the calcium levels in mitochondria were also examined. The regulatory effect of GK on MCU expression was examined by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blot analysis. Furthermore, APP/PS1 mice received supplementation with GK and their cognitive ability was then examined through water maze tests, while the expression of MCU was examined using immunohistochemistry. The results indicated that enhancing the expression of MCU inhibited cell viability and promoted apoptosis. GK protected cells from amyloid-induced cytotoxicity by promoting cell viability and preventing cell apoptosis. The neuroprotective effect of GK was abolished when MCU expression was knocked down. GK decreased the expression of MCU in vitro and downregulation of MCU decreased the calcium level in mitochondria. Treatment with GK in APP/PS1 mice downregulated the expression of MCU in the brains and alleviated cognitive impairment. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that the administration of GK protected neurons by preventing apoptosis. Furthermore, the neuroprotective effect of GK in neuronal cells was indicated to be related to the inhibition of MCU expression. Therefore, administration of GK may be a promising strategy for treating AD., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © Liu et al.)

Acarbose and metformin have been recommended both as monotherapy and add-on therapy in type 2 diabetes mellitus. A novel fixed-dose combination (FDC) of acarbose and metformin has been developed to improve compliance and patient adherence to therapy. The current study investigated the bioequivalence (BE) between acarbose/metformin FDC (50 mg/500 mg) with corresponding loose combination of individual components under fasting conditions in healthy Chinese male and female subjects, using a randomized, 2-period, 2-way crossover study design. Pharmacodynamic parameters of serum glucose ratio between treatment day and baseline (ratio of maximum concentration [C max ], day 1/C max , day -1 and ratio of area under the concentration-time curve [AUC] from time 0 to 4 hours, day 1/AUC from time 0 to 4 hours, day -1) were used as the primary variables to evaluate BE of acarbose. Pharmacokinetic parameters C max , AUC from time 0 to the last data point greater than the lower limit of quantification, and AUC were used to evaluate BE of metformin. The results showed that the 90% confidence intervals of the ratios of all primary target variables including ratio of C max , day 1/C max , day -1 and ratio of AUC from time 0 to 4 hours, day 1/AUC from time 0 to 4 hours, day -1 for acarbose, and C max , AUC from time 0 to the last data point greater than the lower limit of quantification, and AUC for metformin all fell within the acceptance limits of 0.8 to 1.25. Thus, BE between 50-mg acarbose and 500-mg metformin as an FDC and loose combination was established. Furthermore, different kinds of exploratory pharmacodynamic parameters (based on either serum glucose or insulin) including several newly proposed parameters were also investigated for acarbose BE evaluation in this study, and inconsistent results were observed., (© 2021 The Authors. Clinical Pharmacology in Drug Development published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Clinical Pharmacology.)

Charitable crowdfunding provides a new channel for people and families suffering from unforeseen events, such as accidents, severe illness, and so on, to seek help from the public. Thus, finding the key determinants which drive the fundraising process of crowdfunding campaigns is of great importance, especially for those suffering. With a unique data set containing 210,907 crowdfunding projects covering a period from October 2015 to June 2020, from a famous charitable crowdfunding platform, specifically Qingsong Chou, we will reveal how many online donations are due to endogeneity, referring to the positive feedback process of attracting more people to donate through broadcasting campaigns in social networks by donors. For this aim, we calibrate three different Hawkes processes to the event data of online donations for each crowdfunding campaign on each day, which allows us to estimate the branching ratio, a measure of endogeneity. It is found that the online fundraising process works in a sub-critical state and nearly 70-90% of the online donations are endogenous. Furthermore, even though the fundraising amount, number of donations, and number of donors decrease rapidly after the crowdfunding project is created, the measure of endogeneity remains stable during the entire lifetime of crowdfunding projects. Our results not only deepen our understanding of online fundraising dynamics but also provide a quantitative framework to disentangle the endogenous and exogenous dynamics in complex systems.

Purpose . The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of left central lymph node dissection (CLND) in endoscopic thyroidectomy via chest-breast approach (ETCB). Methods. Retrospective analysis of 57 cases of left CLND (group A) via ETCB, 35 cases of open left CLND (group B), and 90 cases of right CLND via ETCB (Group C) were performed from October 2014 to October 2019. Surgical data, complications, and follow-up data were compared among group A and group B, group A and group C, respectively. Results . There were no significant differences between group A and group B in intraoperative blood loss, tumor size, lymph node (LN) metastasis rate, dissected LN number, metastatic LN number, serum thyroglobulin (sTg), radioactive iodine uptake (RAIU), radioactive technetium uptake (RATU), radionuclide imaging of the residual area (RITRA), and radionuclide imaging of suspicious lymph node metastasis (RISLNM). There were no significant differences between group A and group C in age, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative hospital stay, tumor size, LN metastasis rate, dissected LN number, metastatic LN number, hypoparathyroidism, sTg, RAIU, RATU, RITRA, and RISLNM. There were 5 cases of temporary recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) palsy and 1 case of recurrence in group C. Besides, 1 case of lymphatic leakage was in group A. Conclusion . For selected cases, endoscopic left CLND is safe, feasible, efficient, and more easier than endoscopic right CLND.

Objective: To investigate the characteristics of dynamic electrocardiogram and their clinical implications in elderly patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation combined with long R-R intervals., Methods: Elderly patients diagnosed with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation who were admitted as an inpatient or attended the outpatient department from January 2015 to January 2020 were selected. Patients were divided into two groups based on the presence of a long R-R interval. The characteristics and therapeutic significance of dynamic electrocardiogram between the two groups were compared., Results: A total of 532 patients were included in our analyses. Of these, 399 patients were in the long R-R interval group and 133 in the nonlong R-R interval group. In 399 patients, there were 48,840 long R-R intervals manifested within 24 hours. The average, slowest, and fastest ventricular rates during sleep time were higher than those in nonsleep time, while the number of long R-R intervals in sleep time was significantly smaller than that in nonsleep time ( P < 0.05). Clinical parameters including dizziness/syncope, cerebral infarction, ST-segment changes, platelet count, average hematocrit, prothrombin time (PT), left ventricular systolic function, end-diastolic diameter, pulmonary artery pressure, and left ventricular ejection fraction were comparable between the groups ( P > 0.05). When compared with the nonlong R-R interval group, the level of C-reactive protein was slightly lower in the long R-R interval group ( P < 0.05). In addition, the long R-R interval group had a higher incidence of atrial premature beats but a lower incidence of ventricular premature beats. Furthermore, the probability of long R-R interval combined with paroxysmal atrial tachycardia, transient ventricular arrest, second-degree atrioventricular block, and complete or incomplete right bundle branch block was higher than that of nonlong R-R interval ( P < 0.05). In patients with long R-R interval >3 s, the risk of having second-degree atrioventricular block and complete or incomplete right bundle branch block was significantly lower, while the risk of having transient ventricular arrest was higher when compared to patients with long R-R intervals of 2-3 s ( P < 0.05 P )., Conclusions: Long R-R interval is a common electrocardiographic phenomenon among the elderly with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. The long R-R interval mostly occurs in nonsleeping time. The average ventricular rate, slowest ventricular rate, and fastest ventricular rate of sleep time are higher than nonsleeping time. Analysis of the characteristics of the dynamic electrocardiogram of these patients may shed light on the mechanisms for long R-R intervals, including the likelihood of concealed conduction and physiological interference in the atrioventricular node, overspeed inhibition, increased vagus nerve tension, or pathological atrioventricular block., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Hongyuan Xu et al.)

Background/objective: To retrospectively analyze the characteristics, tendencies, and success rates of dental treatments for severe early childhood caries (SECC) under general anesthesia (GA) in in northwest China., Study Design: Children diagnosed with SECC were included in this retrospective study. From January 2015 to December 2018, they received dental treatment under GA at Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University. Demographic information, caries status and treatment characteristics were collected from electronic medical record system. Success rates of different treatments at 6-month and 12-month follow up were also analyzed., Results: A total of 846 children (477 male, 369 female) received dental treatment under GA. The case number was increased from 148 in 2015 to 278 in 2018. There were 81.2% and 70.8% of the children participated the 6-month and 12-month follow up. SSC and pulpotomy was the most successful restorations and pulp therapy, with the success rate of 97.09% and 93.98% in 12-month follow up, respectively. The use of crown restorations (including composite resin crown and stainless steel crown) and pulp reservation therapies (including indirect pulp therapy and pulpotomy) were significantly increased while composite resin filling and pulpectomy decreased during 2015 to 2018., Conclusion: There has been an increasing demand for dental treatment under GA for children with SECC in northwest China, with a trend toward younger ages. With better clinical outcomes, crown restorations and pulp reservation therapies were the fastest-growing treatments under GA.

Vilaprisan is a novel selective progesterone receptor modulator for the long-term treatment of uterine fibroids and endometriosis. This study investigated the pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability of vilaprisan in healthy Chinese postmenopausal women. Twelve participants received multiple doses of vilaprisan once daily over 14 days as a 2-mg tablet. Plasma vilaprisan concentrations were determined using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The main pharmacokinetic parameters of vilaprisan were assessed with noncompartmental analysis, including maximum observed concentration (C max ), systemic exposure (area under the plasma concentration-time curve), time to reach C max and terminal half-life. Safety assessments include the documentation of adverse events, measurement of clinical/anthropometric parameters and vital signs, electrocardiogram, and physical and gynecologic examination. The participants had a mean age of 53.3 (± 4.2) years and a body mass index of 23.8 ± 2.8 kg/m 2 . Median time to reach C max was 1.5 hours after both single and multiple vilaprisan administration. Mean C max values obtained after multiple dosing (23.3 μg/L [standard deviation (SD) = 6.73]) were 1.92-fold (SD = 0.554) higher compared to single dosing (12.5 μg/L [SD = 3.04]). Mean area under the plasma concentration-time curve in the dosing interval increased with an accumulation factor of 2.98 (SD = 0.767) between single (91.3 μg · h/L [SD = 20.4]) and multiple dosing (276 μg · h/L [SD = 109]). The mean terminal half-life of vilaprisan was 44.5 hours (SD = 10.3) after multiple dosing. Mild to moderate adverse events were observed similar to previous studies. Overall, daily oral administration of the therapeutic dose of 2 mg of vilaprisan over 14 days was safe and well tolerated by all participants., (© 2020 The Authors. Clinical Pharmacology in Drug Development published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American College of Clinical Pharmacology.)

Intelectin (ITLN) is a type of glycan-binding lectin involved in many physiological processes and some human diseases. Here we report a common carp intelectin (cITLN). Like other orthologs, cITLN also contains a conserved fibrinogen-related domain (FReD) and a unique intelectin domain, expresses in all the tissues tested with the highest level in the hindgut, and responds to bacterial challenge in the acute phase. We also expressed cITLN in Escherichia coli (E. coli) system, and the purified recombinant cITLN could neither affect the surface of bacteria nor inhibit the growth of bacteria, but it can agglutinate both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria in a calcium-dependent manner. The cITLN's ability of agglutination of gram-positive bacteria is stronger than that of gram-negative bacteria. This is probably because recombinant cITLN could binding peptidoglycan (PGN) with a higher degree to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Our results of cITLN provided new insight into the function of intelectin in the intestinal mucosal immunity., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Following the publication of the above article, the authors have realized that the data shown in Fig. 3B were published previously in Fig 1A of following publication, on which several of were co‑authors [Shu C, Huang W, Zeng Z, He Y, Luo B, Liu H, Li J and Xu J: Connexin 43 is involved in the sympathetic atrial fibrillation in canine and canine atrial myocytes. Anatol J Cardiol 18: 3‑9, 2017]. This error arose inadvertently; the corrected version of Fig. 3, also containing the correct data for Fig. 3B, is shown opposite. The authors are grateful to the Editor of International Journal of Molecular Medicine for allowing them the opportunity to publish this Corrigendum, and stress that this error did not significantly influence either the results or the conclusions of the paper. Furthermore, the authors apologize to the readership for any inconvenience caused. [the original article was published in International Journal of Molecular Medicine 42: 1125-1133, 2018; DOI: 10.3892/ijmm.2018.3648].

Intelectin (ITLN) is a new type of glycan-binding lectin. It has been demonstrated to agglutinate bacteria probably due to its carbohydrate-binding capacity, suggesting its role in an innate immune response. It is involved not only in many physiological processes but also in some human diseases such as asthma, heart disease, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer. Up to now, intelectin orthologs have been identified in placozoans, urochordatas, cephalochordates and several vertebrates, such as cyclostomata, fish, amphibians and mammals. Although the sequences of intelectins in different species are conserved, their expression patterns, quaternary structures and functions differ considerably among and within species. We summarize the evolution of the intelectin gene family, the tissue distribution, structure and functions of intelectins. We conclude that intelectin plays a role in innate immune response and there are still potential functions of intelectin awaiting discovery., (© 2020 The Scandinavian Foundation for Immunology.)

Infrared spectrum analysis technology can perform fast and nondestructive detection of gas and has been widely used in many fields. This work studies the quantitative analysis technology of the infrared spectrum based on deep learning. The experimental results show that the quantitative analysis model of logging gas established here can reach 100% recognition accuracy for elemental gas; further, the accuracy rate of spectral of mixed gas recognition reached 98%, indicating that the infrared spectrum logging gas detection model based on deep learning can quickly and accurately perform quantitative analysis of logging gas.

Background: The purpose of this research was to investigate the feasibility and strategies of right central lymph node dissection (CLND) in endoscopic thyroidectomy through chest-breast approach. Materials and Methods: Retrospective analysis on the conduction of 68 cases of endoscopic thyroidectomy through chest-breast approach with right side CLND (endoscopic group) and 31 cases of thyroidectomy through low-neck collar cervical approach with right side CLND (open group) from July 2014 to February 2019. The intraoperative and postoperative data were compared between the two groups. Results: All the surgeries in open group were successfully completed as well as the endoscopic group without any intraoperative conversion into open surgery. There were no difference in sizes of tumor, incidence of lymph node metastasis, number of dissected and metastatic lymph nodes, and postoperative hospitalization days between the two groups. Temporal hypoparathyroidism occurred in both groups with endoscopic group to be 24 cases and open group to be 15 cases but no case in both groups suffering from permanent hypoparathyroidism, recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, lymphatic leakage, or death. One case in endoscopic group was treated with secondary surgery for lateral cervical lymph node metastasis and no evidence of recurrence or metastasis was found in other cases during postoperative follow-up. Conclusions: With strict control in surgical indications and contraindications, endoscopic surgery is safe and feasible for selected cases with the same effect as open surgery on dissection of lymph nodes in the right central region, which is in line with the principle of radical treatment of tumors.

Accumulating evidence suggests that long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) functions as a critical regulator in cancer biology. Here, we characterized the role of lncRNA PCED1B antisense RNA 1 (PCED1B-AS1) in glioblastoma (GBM). PCED1B-AS1 was notably upregulated in GBM tissues and cell lines and closely associated with larger tumor size and higher grade. Patients with high PCED1B-AS1 had shorter survival time than those with low PCED1B-AS1. Functional experiments showed that depletion of PCED1B-AS1 significantly inhibited, while overexpression of PCED1B-AS1 promoted cell proliferation, glucose uptake, and lactate release. Mechanistically, PCED1B-AS1 was able to directly bind to the 5'-UTR of HIF-1α mRNA and potentiate HIF-1α translation, leading to increased HIF-1α protein level, thereby promoting the Warburg effect and tumorigenesis. Importantly, PCED1B-AS1 lost the carcinogenic properties in the absence of HIF-1α. In addition, we also confirmed the existence of the PCED1B-AS1/HIF-1α regulatory axis in vivo. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that PCED1B-AS1 is a novel oncogenic lncRNA in GBM and functions in a HIF-1α-dependent manner, which provides a promising prognostic biomarker and druggable target for GBM.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of nitazoxanide in intestinal parasitic infections in children., Methods: Four databases, PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane Library, have been systematically searched from the inception of each database up to March 1st, 2019. The enrolled studies were limited to randomized clinical trials in children, comparing nitazoxanide with placebo or other antiparasitic drugs. The data extraction and quality assessment of pooled studies were conducted by two reviewers independently. For meta-analysis, Stata12.0 was used and a randomized effect model or a fixed effect model was selected according to the outcomes of heterogeneity test., Results: A total of 1645 subjects in 13 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were enrolled, including 768 cases in the trial group and 877 cases in the control group. The effect of nitazoxanide vs. placebo and other antiparasitic drugs on the excretion rate of pathogens was uncertain (OR = 2.06, 95%CI [1.01,4.20], P = 0.047; I 2  = 84.7%; very low quality evidence). Compared with placebo, subgroup analysis suggested that nitazoxanide could significantly improve the excretion rate of pathogens (OR = 7.01, 95%CI [1.82,26.94], P = 0.005; I 2  = 79.1%; moderate quality evidence), while it made little or no difference compared with antiparasitic drugs (OR = 0.72, 95%CI [0.47,1.09], P = 0.124; I 2  = 33.1%; low quality evidence). Meanwhile, nitazoxanide might increase the remission rate of diarrhea with OR = 5.12, 95%CI [2.00,13.08], P = 0.001; I 2  = 72.3%; low quality evidence). However, it might also increase the rate of adverse events (OR = 1.47, 95%CI [1.05,2.07], P = 0.026; I 2  = 44.7%; low quality evidence)., Conclusions: The authors are uncertain whether or not nitazoxanide could improve the excretion rate of pathogens. Based on low-certainty evidence, nitazoxanide may improve the remission rate of diarrhea in children with intestinal parasite infections, but it may be associated with an increased risk of adverse reactions. Hence, more RCTs with a low risk of bias are still needed to assess the efficacy and safety of nitazoxanide.

Light intensity fluctuations and phase randomness in quadrature demodulation disturb the accuracy of frequency modulation spectroscopy. The proposed self-corrected method eliminated these effects: the profile of correctly demodulated signals identified whether a demodulation was phase matched and corrected a phase-mismatched demodulated signal; we extracted the measured signal's direct current component and corrected the light intensity fluctuation. We conducted theoretical analysis and experimental verification to reduce light-intensity errors by 16.8% under different intensity conditions and obtained spectral features by phase difference corrections under the same measurement conditions. We reduced the effect of light intensity fluctuation and demodulated signals were freed from phase stability limitations.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are regarded as a potential method for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) although its molecular mechanism remains unknown. We found in our previous study that the level of peripheral blood miR-27b-3p and the expression of atrial tissue CX43 were both significantly downregulated in AF patients. In the present study, we propose and test this hypothesis that overexpression of miR-27b-3p attenuates atrial fibrosis, increases CX43 expression, and regulates the signaling pathway of Wnt/ β -Catenin by targeting Wnt3a. miR-27b-3p overexpression was induced by rat tail vein injection of adeno-associated virus. Two weeks after transfection of adeno-associated virus, the rat AF model was established by tail vein injection of acetylcholine- (ACh-) CaCl 2 for 7 days, and 1 ml/kg was injected daily. The incidence and duration of AF were recorded with an electrocardiogram. Cardiac function was monitored by cardiac ultrasound. Serum cardiac enzyme was detected by ELISA. The expression of atrial miR-27b-3 and Wnt3a was assayed by quantitative RT-PCR. Atrial fibrosis was determined by Masson's trichrome staining. Expression of atrial Collagen-I and Collagen-III was tested by the immunohistochemical method. Expression of CX43 was measured by immunofluorescence. The expression of Collagen-I, a-SMA, Collagen-III, TGF- β 1, CX43, Wnt3a, β -Catenin, and p- β -Catenin was assayed by western blot. Our results showed that miR-27b-3p overexpression could reduce the incidence and duration of AF, alleviate atrial fibrosis, increase atrial CX43 expression, and decrease the expression of Collagen-I, a-SMA, Collagen-III, TGF- β 1, Wnt3a, and p- β -Catenin. In addition, the results of luciferase activity assay showed that Wnt3a is a validated miR-27b-3p target in HEK 293T cells. Our results provide a new evidence that miR-27b-3p regulates the signaling pathway of Wnt/ β -Catenin by targeting Wnt3a, which may play an important role in the development of atrial fibrosis and AF.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic value of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in bladder cancer., Methods: We enrolled healthy volunteers and patients who were clinically suspected to have bladder cancer and conducted FISH tests and cytology examinations from August 2007 to December 2008. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed and the area under curve (AUC) values were calculated for both the FISH and urine cytology tests., Results: A cohort of 988 healthy volunteers was enrolled to establish a reference range for the normal population. A total of 4807 patients with hematuria were prospectively, randomly enrolled for the simultaneous analysis of urine cytology, FISH testing, and a final diagnosis as determined by the pathologic findings of a biopsy or a surgically-excised specimen. Overall, the sensitivity of FISH in detecting transitional-cell carcinoma was 82.7%, while that of cytology was 33.4% ( p  < 0.001). The sensitivity values of FISH for non-muscle invasive and muscle invasive bladder transitional-cell carcinoma were 81.7% and 89.6%, respectively ( p  = 0.004). The sensitivity values of FISH for low and high grade bladder cancer were 82.6% and 90.1%, respectively ( p  = 0.002)., Conclusion: FISH is significantly more sensitive than voided urine cytology for detecting bladder cancer in patients evaluated for gross hematuria at all cancer grades and stages. Higher sensitivity using FISH was obtained in high grade and muscle invasive tumors.

Background: For selected patients, endoscopic thyroidectomy via the oral-vestibular approach (ETOVA) can be used to achieve a very good esthetic effect. This study aimed to assess the learning curve for ETOVA and identify improvements., Patients and Methods: This retrospective study evaluated the outcomes of 101 patients who underwent ETOVA by surgeons A and B. The patients were classified according to whether they had undergone surgery during the primary or advanced stage of the learning curve, respectively. Proficiency with the procedure in various types of cases and the operation time, operative blood loss, hospital stay length, and postoperative complications were analyzed., Results: In total, 56 and 45 patients were treated by surgeons A and B, respectively. For both surgeons, the operation times decreased considerably after 20 cases. Statistically significant differences with respect to stage were observed in terms of operation time (P<0.05) and drainage tube reservation (P<0.05). By contrast, significant differences were not observed between stages in terms of operative blood loss (P>0.05) or postoperative hospital stay length (P>0.05). The total postoperative complication rate was low and comparable with that of open surgery., Conclusions: The specific learning curve identified for ETOVA suggests that surgeons with sufficient endoscopic surgery experience could achieve a stable proficiency after ∼20 cases. A standardized training program and exposure to more cases would reduce the learning curve.

Background: An analysis of some special factors was performed to further evaluate and discuss whether endoscopic surgery and traditional open surgery have similar therapeutic outcomes for differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC)., Methods: A retrospective study was performed on 76 patients undergoing surgery to treat DTC. Forty patients were treated by endoscopic thyroidectomy via the chest-breast approach (endoscopic group) and thirty-six patients were treated by open surgery (open group). Serum thyroglobulin (sTg), radioactive iodine uptake (RAIU), radioactive technetium uptake (RATU), radionuclide imaging of the thyroid residual area (RITRA), radionuclide imaging of suspicious lymph nodes metastasis (RISLNM), and other general indexes were analyzed and compared between the two groups., Results: All surgeries were successfully completed in both groups. There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding gender (P = 0.120), postoperative hospital stay (P = 0.766), operation time (P = 0.065), intra-operative blood loss (P = 0.064), tumor diameter (P = 0.059), and overall complications (P = 0.828). Among these complications, there was no significant difference between the two approaches in transient hypoparathryoidism (P = 0.771), transient recurrent laryngeal injury (P = 0.474) and serious neck skin traction sensation (2.5 vs. 0%, P = 1.000). Age and body mass index were lower in the endoscopic group than the open group (P < 0.05). No significant difference was found in special factors between two groups concerning surgical range (P = 0.872), RAIU-2 h/24 h (P = 0.660/P = 0.955), RATU (P = 0.116), number of dissected lymph nodes (P = 0.157), sTg before radioiodine therapy (P = 0.188), sTg after radioiodine therapy (P = 0.159), RITRA at different time points ( 99m Tc 15 min: P = 0.144; 131 I 24 h: P = 0.243; 131 I 72 h: P = 0.624) and RISLNM (none: P = 0.805; central: P = 0.744; lateral: P = 1.000; central + lateral: P = 0.958)., Conclusion: Endoscopic total thyroidectomy and central lymph nodes dissection via a chest-breast approach are safe and effective. Through the detection of the postoperative special factors, a well-trained surgeon can achieve similar therapeutic results for selected patients with DTC, compared with open surgery.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia reported in clinical practice. Connexin 43 (Cx43) is a member of the connexin protein family, which serves important roles in signal transduction in vivo. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of Cx43 in the induction and maintenance of atrial fibrillation by using an animal model of sympathomimetic atrial fibrillation. Cx43 was successfully knocked down in the myocardium with gene‑specific small interfering (si)RNA via lentiviral infection. A total of 25 dogs were randomly and evenly divided into five groups: Normal (N), rapid atrial pacing (RAP), isoproterenol (ISO) + RAP, RAP + Cx43 siRNA and ISO + RAP + Cx43 siRNA. The mRNA and protein levels, as well as the distribution of Cx43 on the cell membrane, were gradually decreased in each group compared with the N group following treatment (P<0.05). The induction rate of the atrial effective refractory period was not significantly affected in the RAP and RAP + Cx43 siRNA groups, whereas it was significantly reduced in the ISO + RAP and ISO + RAP + Cx43 siRNA groups compared with the N group (P<0.05). The induction rate of AF was gradually increased in the RAP + Cx43 siRNA, ISO + RAP and ISO + RAP + Cx43 siRNA groups compared with the N group (P<0.05). The expression of nerve growth factor (NGF) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) was gradually increased in the ISO + RAP and ISO + RAP + Cx43 siRNA groups compared with their respective controls (RAP and RAP + Cx43 siRNA groups, respectively). However, no significant difference in the levels of NGF and TH was observed between the RAP, RAP + Cx43 siRNA, ISO + RAP and ISO + RAP + Cx43 siRNA groups. The mitochondrial morphology in each group was notably altered compared with the N group. The mitochondrial reactive oxygen species production and apoptotic index were gradually increased in each group compared with the N group (P<0.05). The results of the present study suggest that Cx43 reduces susceptibility to AF. Downregulation of Cx43 mediates the induction and maintenance of sympathetic AF.

Objective: Open surgery is the most common treatment of thyroglossal duct cyst (TGDC), but it leaves obvious neck scarring. This study aimed to explore the feasibility and strategy of total endoscopic procedure by breast approach to avoid such scarring on the neck., Materials and Methods: This study reviewed 13 patients who underwent endoscopic resection of TGDC and 15 patients who underwent open resection of TGDC. We compared and analyzed factors including operative time, estimated blood loss, postoperative hospitalization, complications, and cosmetic effect., Results: The surgery by the endoscopic approach was successfully completed in 13 cases and no one was converted to an open procedure. Another 15 cases were successfully performed by an open procedure. There were no significant differences between the 2 procedures in the mean cyst size, drainage time, intraoperative blood loss, and postoperative hospital stay. The cosmetic effect was better and the operative time was longer in the endoscopic approach. Two cases had swallowing discomfort after surgery in the endoscopic approach, whereas one case developed this complication in the open approach. On patient treated with each approach developed infection. One patient developed skin bruise and one patient developed subcutaneous hydros in the endoscopic approach, whereas no complications developed in the open approach. There were no incidences of uncontrolled bleeding, tracheal injury, dysphagia, salivary fistula, or asphyxia/dyspnea in both approaches, nor were there any deaths or recurrences of TGDC during the follow-up period., Conclusion: With strict indications, the total endoscopic breast procedure is feasible and effective for selected patients. This procedure can be another choice for patients who wish to avoid neck scarring when undergoing treatment for TGDC.

Parkinson's disease is one of the most common diseases in the elderly population, and the substantia nigra is generally involved in the disease process; however, the signaling pathways and related genes underlying Parkinson's disease remain unclear. This study integrated three cohorts of profile datasets to elucidate the potential key candidate genes and pathways in Parkinson's disease. The expression profiles of GSE8397, GSE20186 and GSE49036 were included 55 available substantia nigra tissue samples from individuals diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and 33 substantia nigra tissue samples from healthy controls. These samples were integrated and thoroughly analyzed. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were sorted, and candidate genes and pathway enrichments were analyzed. A DEG-associated protein-protein interaction network analysis was performed. 27 shared downregulated DEGs were identified from the three GSE datasets. The DEGs were clustered based on function and signaling pathway with significant enrichment analysis. 52 edges were identified from the DEG protein-protein interaction network complex, which included dopamine metabolism, nerve conduction, reduced neuronal toxicity and proliferation pathways. Using integrated bioinformatic analysis, we identified candidate genes and pathways in Parkinson's disease that could improve our understanding of underlying molecular events, which could be potential therapeutic targets for Parkinson's disease.

Objective: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common rapid cardiac arrhythmia associated with high morbidity and mortality. Stimulation of the sympathetic nerve is involved in AF occurrence. The gap junction protein connexin 43 (Cx43) plays a key role in electrical conduction velocity in cardiac tissues, and under expression of Cx43 was linked with AF. The aim of this study was to investigate whether Cx43 was involved in sympathetic AF., Methods: Fifteen dogs were randomly divided into 3 groups (5 in each group). Sympathetic AF was induced in dogs and isolated canine atrial myocytes by isoproterenol (ISO) perfusion and rapid atrium pacing (RAP). The expression levels of nerve growth factor (NGF) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the atrial tissues were detected using immunohistochemical staining. The transcription and protein expression of Cx43 in the AF cell model was measured. Subsequently, Cx43 was blocked by short interfering (si) RNA in atrial myocytes and the gap junctional intercellular communication was detected using the scrape-loading and dye transfer assay., Results: Sympathetic AF was successfully induced by a combination of ISO perfusion and RAP. The expression levels of NGF and TH were increased in the RAP group, and further increased in the RAP + ISO group. Tissue samples from the AF dogs had a lower Cx43 level than those of the control group (p<0.05). The expressions of mRNA and protein of Cx43 in sympathetic AF cell model decreased by 26% and 28%, respectively, when compared with the control group, with p<0.05. Silencing Cx43 in cells by siRNA could also efficiently reduce Cx43 expression. The relative levels of Cx45 mRNA were decreased by 73% compared with unaffected cells. The scrape-loading and dye transfer assay showed that gap junctional intercellular communication was hampered in the sympathetic AF cell model and silencing Cx43 could impede channel conduction., Conclusion: The results suggested that low expression of Cx43 was involved in sympathetic AF by influencing intercellular channel conduction. Intervention of Cx43 expression might be an appealing therapy to sympathetic AF.

Prostate cancer (PCa) remains the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in American men with an estimated mortality of more than 26,000 in 2016 alone. Aggressive and metastatic tumors are treated with androgen deprivation therapies (ADT); however, the tumors acquire resistance and develop into lethal castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). With the advent of better therapeutics, the incidences of a more aggressive neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) variant continue to emerge. Although de novo occurrences of NEPC are rare, more than 25% of the therapy-resistant patients on highly potent new-generation anti-androgen therapies end up with NEPC. This, along with previous observations of an increase in the number of such NE cells in aggressive tumors, has been suggested as a mechanism of resistance development during prostate cancer progression. Dovitinib (TKI-258/CHIR-258) is a pan receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibitor that targets VEGFR, FGFR, PDGFR, and KIT. It has shown efficacy in mouse-model of PCa bone metastasis, and is presently in clinical trials for several cancers. We observed that both androgen receptor (AR) positive and AR-negative PCa cells differentiate into a NE phenotype upon treatment with Dovitinib. The NE differentiation was also observed when mice harboring PC3-xenografted tumors were systemically treated with Dovitinib. The mechanistic underpinnings of this differentiation are unclear, but seem to be supported through MAPK-, PI3K-, and Wnt-signaling pathways. Further elucidation of the differentiation process will enable the identification of alternative salvage or combination therapies to overcome the potential resistance development., (Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury can result in unilateral or bilateral vocal cords paralysis, thereby causing a series of complications, such as hoarseness and dyspnea. However, the repair of RLN remains a great challenge in current medicine. This study aimed to develop human umbilical mesenchymal stem cells (HuMSCs) and nerve growth factor (NGF)-loaded heparinized collagen scaffolds (HuMSCs/NGF HC-scaffolds) and evaluate their potential in the repair of RLN injury. HuMSCs/NGF HC-scaffolds were prepared through incorporating HuMSCs and NGF into heparinized collagen scaffolds that were prefabricated by freeze-drying in a template. The resulting scaffolds were characterized by FTIR, SEM, porosity, degradation in vitro , NGF release in vitro and bioactivity. A rabbit RLN injury model was constructed to appraise the performance of HuMSCs/NGF HC-scaffolds for nerve injury repair. Electrophysiology, histomorphology and diagnostic proteins expression for treated nerves were checked after application of various scaffolds. The results showed that the composite scaffolds with HuMSCs and NGF were rather helpful for the repair of broken RLN. The RLN treated with HuMSCs/NGF HC-scaffolds for 8 weeks produced a relatively normal electromyogram, and the levels of calcium-binding protein S100, neurofilament and AchE pertinent to nerve were found to be close to the normal ones but higher than those resulted from other scaffolds. Taken together, HuMSCs/NGF HC-scaffolds exhibited a high score on the nerve injury repair and may be valuable for the remedy of RLN injury., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no any conflicts of interest.All animal experiments were conducted according to the Guidelines on the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes (2004, Singapore). The animal experiment protocol was reviewed and approved by the Experimental Animal Ethical Committee of Jinan University (Approval No: SCXK 2011-0015) (Guangzhou, China).