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IntroductionDespite popular speculation that nostalgic social media use skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, this has yet to be formally investigated in the scientific literature.MethodsInterrupted time series analysis (ITSA) using a segmented regression model was performed to examine the changes in the weekly volume of searches for nostalgic songs on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), as a proxy for nostalgic social media use, before and after the lockdown of Wuhan (signaled the start of the pandemic on a national scale in China).ResultsAcross the study period (January 1, 2019–February 28, 2021), an immediate and significant increase in nostalgic social media use was observed when the pandemic initially started (95% CI = [47314.30, 154969.60], p

Objective: This study aims to identify the periodontitis factor that activates excessive autophagy in pancreatic β cells, resulting in organic lesions of pancreatic islet tissues and diminished insulin secretion, thereby accelerating the progression of diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods: Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were induced with periodontitis (PD), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), or the combination of T2DM and PD (DP) through a high-sugar/high-fat diet and ligation of the tooth neck with silk thread. Alveolar bone resorption was assessed using Micro-CT, blood glucose levels were measured with a blood glucose meter, pancreatic tissue pathology was examined through HE staining, and the expression of autophagy-related proteins Beclin1 and LC3II/LC3I was analyzed using Western blotting. Results: Micro-CT results revealed more pronounced alveolar bone resorption and root bifurcation exposure in the PD and DP groups compared to the control group, with the DP group exhibiting the most severe condition. HE staining demonstrated the formation of periodontal pockets, severe alveolar bone destruction, and abnormal pancreatic islet tissue morphology in the PD and DP groups. The serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1β increased sequentially in the control, DM, PD, and DP groups (P 0.05), while the mRNA expressions in the DP and DM groups increased (P

Since China entered the aging society, the surging demand for elderly care and the industrial upgrading of “silver economy” has forced the domestic service industry to face endogenous challenges. Among them, the formalization of the domestic service industry can effectively reduce the transaction costs and risks of actors, innovate the endogenous vitality of the industry, and promote the improvement of elderly care quality through a triangular employment relationship. By constructing a tripartite asymmetric evolutionary game model of clients, domestic enterprises and governmental departments, this study uses the stability theorem of differential equations to explore the influencing factors and action paths of the system's evolutionary stable strategies (ESS), and uses the research data collected from China to assign values to models for simulation analysis. This study finds that the ratio of the initial ideal strategy, the difference between profits and costs, subsidies to clients, and subsidies or punishments for breach of contract to domestic enterprises are the key factors affecting the formalization of the domestic service industry. Subsidy policy programs can be divided into long-term and periodic programs, and there are differences in the influence paths and effects of the key factors in different situations. Increasing domestic enterprises' market share with employee management systems, formulating subsidy programs for clients, and setting up evaluation and supervision mechanisms are efficient ways through which to promote the formalization of the domestic service industry in China. Subsidy policy of governmental departments should focus on improving the professional skills and quality of elderly care domestic workers, and also encourage domestic enterprises with employee management systems at the same time, to expand the scope of service beneficiaries by running nutrition restaurants in communities, cooperating with elderly care institutions, etc.

For the problem that the conventional oil pipeline detection system cannot effectively detect the leakage of the two-phase flow pipelines, a leakage identification method based on the acoustic emission signal was proposed for the gasliquid two-phase flow pipelines. According to the basic principles of acoustic emission detection technology, the leakage detection tests were carried out for the three flow patterns of laminar flow, slug flow and annular flow at a gas pressure of 0.1 to 0.4 MPa in three different orientations of leak holes with two different diameters. The main signal components extracted by wavelet packet decomposition combined with local mean decomposition were taken as the input of pattern recognition, and the BP artificial neural network pattern recognition was also performed. The test results show that the average accuracy of the leakage identification of the three two-phase flow pipelines of laminar flow, slug flow and annular flow is 83.5%, which is high in accuracy. Further, the proposed method has a reference value for the leakage detection of gas-liquid twophase flow pipelines.

Plant spacing usually refers to distances between plants within and between rows in the field. Different spacing in crop planting would generally influence the size, plant architecture, economic productivity, etc. The present research provided a time course monitoring of stem development in tobacco with different plant spacing. The result showed that cambium activity, vascular bundle thickness, lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose content, as well as the macronutrient deposition in the stem varied because of the different plant spacing. Furthermore, the genes (NtHB8s and NtNST3s) coding the homologs of HB8 and NST3 transcription factors, which are involved in plant secondary growth, were cloned in tobacco. In the time course, they also indicated diverse expression patterns among altered plant-spacing treatments. Their transcriptomic activities were validated, and the motifs that might bind transcription factors in their promoter regions were predicted. Promoters of NtHB8s and NtNST3s genes were rich in light-response elements; as a result, light might be the main environmental factor in plant spacing to regulate stem secondary growth.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the treatment of lung cancer, including both non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer. Despite the promising results of immunotherapies, ICI-related pneumonitis (ICIP) is a potentially fatal adverse event. Therefore, early detection of patients at risk for developing ICIP before the initiation of immunotherapy is critical for alleviating future complications with early interventions and improving treatment outcomes. In this study, we present the first reported work that explores the potential of deep learning to predict patients who are at risk for developing ICIP. To this end, we collected the pretreatment baseline CT images and clinical information of 24 patients who developed ICIP after immunotherapy and 24 control patients who did not. A multimodal deep learning model was constructed based on 3D CT images and clinical data. To enhance performance, we employed two-stage transfer learning by pre-training the model sequentially on a large natural image dataset and a large CT image dataset, as well as transfer learning. Extensive experiments were conducted to verify the effectiveness of the key components used in our method. Using five-fold cross-validation, our method accurately distinguished ICIP patients from non-ICIP patients, with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.918 and accuracy of 0.920. This study demonstrates the promising potential of deep learning to identify patients at risk for developing ICIP. The proposed deep learning model enables efficient risk stratification, close monitoring, and prompt management of ICIP, ultimately leading to better treatment outcomes.

Glioma is the most common malignancy of the nervous system with high mortality rates. The MS4A family members have been reported as potential prognostic biomarkers in several cancers; however, the relationship between the MS4A family and glioma has not been clearly confirmed. In our study, we explored the prognostic value of MS4As as well as their potential pro-cancer mechanisms of glioma. Using bioinformatics analysis methods based on the data from public databases, we found that the expression of MS4A4A, MS4A4E, MS4A6A, MS4A7, TMEM176A, and TMEM176B was significantly overexpressed in glioma tissues compared with that of normal tissues. The Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazards models revealed that high levels of MS4As can be associated with a poorer prognosis; TMEM176A, TMEM176B, age, WHO grade, and IDH status were identified as independent prognostic factors. Enrichment analysis predicted that MS4As were related to tumor-related pathways and immune response, which might regulate the process of MS4As promoting tumorigenesis. Additionally, we analyzed the correlations of MS4A expression with immune cells and immune inhibitory molecules. Finally, data from the cell culture suggested that knockdown of the TMEM176B gene contributes to the decreased proliferation and migration of glioma cells. In conclusion, MS4A4A, MS4A4E, MS4A6A, MS4A7, TMEM176A, and TMEM176B may act as potential diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers in glioma and play a role in forming the immune microenvironment in gliomas.

Abstract Background Thymocyte selection‐associated high mobility group box (TOX) plays a crucial role on the development of innate immunity and tumor microenvironment. This study aims to explore the prognostic potential of TOX and comprehensively analyze the correlations between TOX, immune infiltration, and T cells function in diverse cancers particularly lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Methods TIMER was used to analyze TOX expression in different cancers. Potential prognostic value of TOX was evaluated by the PrognoScan, Kaplan‐Meier Plotter, and GEPIA2. The relationships between TOX, immune infiltration, and related gene marker sets were analyzed by TIMER and GEPIA2. Single‐cell RNA‐seq for T cells in LUAD was analyzed to further investigate the correlations between TOX expression and different T cells populations. Results TOX downregulates in most of the cancer types and correlates with poor prognosis in LUAD. TOX shows significant impacts on survival of LUAD with early stage, ever‐smoking, or low‐TMB status. Increased TOX expression positively correlates with high immune infiltration levels in most of the immune cells and functional T cells including exhausted T cells. Moreover, multiple key genes of exhausted T cells comprising PD‐1, TIM‐3, TIGHT, and CXCL13 have remarkable interaction with TOX. Specifically, TOX is observed with high enrichment in exhausted CD4+ and CD8+ T cells populations in single‐cell RNA‐seq analysis for LUAD. Conclusion TOX is a prognosis‐related biomarker for multiple cancer types especially LUAD. Increased TOX expression significantly increase immune infiltration levels in most of the immune cells comprising CD8+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, mast cells, and functional T cells. Moreover, we verified that TOX highly correlates with exhausted T cells and is probable a critical regulator promoted T cells exhaustion in LUAD. Detection of TOX expression could help to predict prognosis and regulating TOX expression in exhausted T cells may offer a novel strategy in maximizing immunotherapy efficacy for LUAD.

Secondary wall-associated NAC (SWN) genes are a subgroup of NAC (NAM, ATAF, and CUC) transcription factors (TF) that play a key role in regulating secondary cell wall biosynthesis in plants. However, this gene family has not been systematically characterized, and their potential roles in response to hormones are unknown in Nicotiana tabacum. In this study, a total of 40 SWN genes, of which 12 from Nicotiana tomentosiformis, 13 from Nicotiana sylvestris, and 15 from Nicotiana tabacum, were successfully identified. The 15 SWNs from Nicotiana tabacum were further classified into three groups, namely, vascular-related NAC domain genes (NtVNDs), NAC secondary wall thickening promoting factor genes (NtNSTs), and secondary wall-associated NAC domain genes (NtSNDs). The protein characteristic, gene structure, and chromosomal location of 15 NtSWNs (also named Nt1 to Nt15) were also analyzed. The NtVND and NtNST group genes had five conserved subdomains in their N-terminal regions and a motif (LP[Q/x] L[E/x] S[P/A]) in their diverged C- terminal regions. Some hormones, dark and low-temperature related cis-acting elements, were significantly enriched in the promoters of NtSWN genes. A comprehensive expression profile analysis revealed that Nt4 and Nt12 might play a role in vein development. Others might be important for stem development. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) revealed that in the NtNST group, genes such as Nt7, Nt8, and Nt13 were more sensitive than the genes in NtVND and NtSND groups under abiotic stress conditions. A transactivation assay further suggested that Nt7, Nt8, and Nt13 showed a significant transactivation activity. Overall, SWN genes were finally identified and characterized in diploid and tetraploid tobacco, revealing new insights into their evolution, variation, and homology relationships. Transcriptome, cis-acting element, qRT-PCR, and transactivation assay analysis indicated the roles in hormonal and stress responses, which provided further resources in molecular mechanism and genetic improvement.

Sucrose (Suc) accumulation is one of the key indicators of leaf senescence onset, but little is known about its regulatory role. Here, we found that application of high (120–150 mM) and low levels (60 mM) of Suc to young leaf (YL) and fully expanded leaf (FEL) discs, respectively, decreased chlorophyll content and maximum photosynthetic efficiency. Electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde levels increased at high Suc concentrations (90–120 mM in YL and 60 and 150 mM in FEL discs). In FEL discs, the senescence-associated gene NtSAG12 showed a gradual increase in expression with increased Suc application; in contrast, in YL discs, NtSAG12 was upregulated with low Suc treatment (60 mM) but downregulated at higher levels of Suc. In YL discs, trehalose-6-phosphate (T6P) accumulated at a low half-maximal effective concentration (EC50) of Suc (1.765 mM). However, T6P levels declined as trehalose 6 phosphate synthase (TPS) content decreased, resulting in the maximum velocity of sucrose non-fermenting-1-related protein kinase (SnRK) and hexokinase (HXK) occurring at higher level of Suc. We therefore speculated that senescence was induced by hexose accumulation. In FEL discs, the EC50 of T6P occurred at a low concentration of Suc (0.9488 mM); T6P levels progressively increased with higher TPS content, which inhibited SnRK activity with a dissociation constant (Kd) of 0.001475 U/g. This confirmed that the T6P–SnRK complex induced senescence in detached FEL discs.

AIM: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of robotic gastrectomy versus open gastrectomy for gastric cancer. METHODS: A comprehensive search of PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Web of Knowledge was performed. Systematic review was carried out to identify studies comparing robotic gastrectomy and open gastrectomy in gastric cancer. Intraoperative and postoperative outcomes were also analyzed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the surgery. A fixed effects model or a random effects model was utilized according to the heterogeneity. RESULTS: Four studies involving 5780 patients with 520 (9.00%) cases of robotic gastrectomy and 5260 (91.00%) cases of open gastrectomy were included in this meta-analysis. Compared to open gastrectomy, robotic gastrectomy has a significantly longer operation time (weighted mean differences (WMD) =92.37, 95% confidence interval (CI): 55.63 to 129.12, P

The method of DNS data collection is one of the most important parts of DNS simulation. DNS data contains a lot of information. When it comes to analyzing the DNS security issues by simulation on the cyber range with customized features, we only need some of them, such as IP address, domain name information, etc. Therefore, the data we need are supposed to be light-weighted and easy to manipulate. Many researchers have designed different schemes to obtain their datasets, such as LDplayer and Thales system. However, existing solutions consume excessive computational resources, which are not necessary for DNS security simulation. In this paper, we propose a light-weighted active data collection method to prepare the datasets for DNS simulation on cyber range. We evaluate the performance of the method and prove that it can collect DNS data in a short time and store the collected data at a lower storage cost. In addition, we give two examples to illustrate how our method can be used in a variety of applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Mounting evidence suggests that extracellular vesicles (EVs) are effective communicators in biological signalling in cardiac physiology and pathology. However, the role of EVs in cardiac injury, particularly in ischemic myocardial scenarios, has not been fully elucidated. Here, we report that acute myocardial infarction (AMI)‐induced EVs can impair cardiomyocyte survival and exacerbate cardiac injury. EV‐encapsulated miR‐503, which is enriched during the early phase of AMI, is a critical molecule that mediates myocardial injury. Functional studies revealed that miR‐503 promoted cardiomyocyte death by directly binding to peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor gamma coactivator‐1β (PGC‐1β) and a mitochondrial deacetylase, sirtuin 3 (SIRT3), thereby triggering mitochondrial metabolic dysfunction and cardiomyocyte death. Mechanistically, we identified endothelial cells as the primary source of miR‐503 in EVs after AMI. Hypoxia induced rapid H3K4 methylation of the promoter of the methyltransferase‐like 3 gene (METTL3) and resulted in its overexpression. METTL3 overexpression evokes N6‐methyladenosine (m6A)‐dependent miR‐503 biogenesis in endothelial cells. In summary, this study highlights a novel endogenous mechanism wherein EVs aggravate myocardial injury during the onset of AMI via endothelial cell‐secreted miR‐503 shuttling.

Application of biochar has been suggested to improve water and fertilizer-retaining capacity of agricultural soil. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of wheat straw-derived biochar on water retention capacity, and ammonium (NH4+) and nitrate (NO3-) leaching from the arable calcareous clay soil of Loess Plateau by soil column experiment. Results showed that the cumulative leachate volume significantly (P < 0.05) reduced from 1148 ± 11.0, 1115 ± 7.00 to 1069 ± 5.00 mL as biochar application rate increased from 1%, 5% to 10%, which reduced the leachate volume of 2.13%, 4.94% and 8.87% compared to the control treatment (no biochar application), respectively. Biochar inhibited NH4+ leaching. The cumulative masses of NH4+-N leached from 1%, 5% and 10% biochar application soil columns were 4.87 ± 0.07, 4.20 ± 0.21 and 3.59 ± 0.11 mg respectively, much lower than control (5.32 ± 0.20 mg). However, biochar promoted NO3- leaching. The cumulative masses of NO3--N leached from 1%, 5% and 10% biochar application soil columns were 81.6 ± 1.40, 78.2 ± 0.90 and 73.5 ± 2.40 mg respectively, much higher than control (71.1 ± 2.10 mg). Furthermore, both the cumulative masses of leached NH4+-N and NO3-- N decreased as biochar application rate increased. This phenomenon may be the incor- porated result of stimulated nitrification and enhanced adsorption of NH4+ and NO3- caused by biochar addition. Notably, our results suggested a potential negative effect of biochar on NO3- leaching in intensively fertilized cropland soils, which should be investigated further in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) of the inguinal region are exceptionally rare. The current study reported the case of a 49 year-old male patient with IMT, who presented with a fever, night sweats, anorexia, loss of weight and frequent urination. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a lesion occupying the soft tissue of the right inguinal region and surgery was performed to resect the lesion. Histopathological analysis of the lesion revealed a composition of spindle and inflammatory cells, including plasma cells and lymphocytes. In addition, immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that the tumor cells were positive for CD34, vimentin, actin, Ki-67, B cell lymphoma-2, CD99, epithelial membrane antigen and CD38; however, tumor cells were negative for CD117, desmin, anaplastic lymphoma kinase and creatine kinase. Thus, the patient was diagnosed with IMT and was advised to return for regular follow-up appointments. Subsequently, the patient developed a local recurrence 12 months following the initial surgery. Of note, the histopathological characteristics of the recurrent lesions were consistent with those of the initial specimen. Thus, a second surgery was performed, followed by fractionated radiotherapy (FRT). At 3 and 6 months following the FRT, magnetic resonance imaging scans did not indicate tumor recurrence or metastasis. In conclusion, surgical excision is the current recommended treatment for IMT; however, for cases similar to that of the current study, which are not successfully controlled by surgical excision, radiotherapy should be considered and long-term follow-up is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radioresistance remains a major problem in the treatment of patients suffering from nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). A better understanding of the mechanisms involved in the induction of radioresistance may provide strategies to improve NPC patients' response to therapy. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of microRNA (miR)-101 on the radioresistance of NPC cells. Analysis of miR-101 expression levels indicated that miR-101 was downregulated in NPC cell lines. Furthermore, ectopic expression of miR-101 suppressed cell proliferation and enhanced radiosensitivity of NPC cells. Stathmin 1 (STMN1) was additionally verified as a direct functional target of miR-101, which was found to be involved in cell viability, radioresistance and radiation-induced autophagy of NPC cells. In conclusions, the results of the present study suggested that the identified miR-101/STMN1 pathway contributed to the elucidation of the mechanisms of radioresistance in human NPC and that it may represent a potential therapeutic target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Robotic-assisted laparoscopy is popularly performed for colorectal disease. The objective of this meta-analysis was to compare the safety and efficacy of robotic-assisted colorectal surgery (RCS) and laparoscopic colorectal surgery (LCS) for colorectal disease based on randomized controlled trial studies. Methods Literature searches of electronic databases (Pubmed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library) were performed to identify randomized controlled trial studies that compared the clinical or oncologic outcomes of RCS and LCS. This meta-analysis was performed using the Review Manager (RevMan) software (version 5.2) that is provided by the Cochrane Collaboration. The data used were mean differences and odds ratios for continuous and dichotomous variables, respectively. Fixed-effects or random-effects models were adopted according to heterogeneity. Results Four randomized controlled trial studies were identified for this meta-analysis. In total, 110 patients underwent RCS, and 116 patients underwent LCS. The results revealed that estimated blood losses (EBLs), conversion rates and times to the recovery of bowel function were significantly reduced following RCS compared with LCS. There were no significant differences in complication rates, lengths of hospital stays, proximal margins, distal margins or harvested lymph nodes between the two techniques. Conclusions RCS is a promising technique and is a safe and effective alternative to LCS for colorectal surgery. The advantages of RCS include reduced EBLs, lower conversion rates and shorter times to the recovery of bowel function. Further studies are required to define the financial effects of RCS and the effects of RCS on long-term oncologic outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiotherapy is a highly efficient treatment method for nasopharyngeal carcinoma that is often accompanied by significant ototoxic side-effects. The inner ear hair cells are particularly prone to serious injury following radiotherapy. Tanshinone IIA is a transcription factor inhibitor that is extracted from the traditional herbal medicine, Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge. The present study investigated the effects of tanshinone IIA treatment on radiation-induced toxicity in the HEI-OC1 hair cell line. Using an MTT assay and flow cytometry, the radiation-induced weakening of the cells was observed to be alleviated when the cells were pre-treated with tanshinone IIA. Radiation exposure promoted p65/nuclear factor NF-kB nuclear translocation and activated the p53/p21 pathway, two processes which play a significant role in radiation-induced cell apoptosis. However, pre-treatment of the cells with tanshinone IIA inhibited p65/NF-kB nuclear translocation and p53/p21 pathway activation. These results demonstrate that tanshinone IIA is capable of protecting cochlear cells from radiation-induced injury through the suppression of p65/NF-kB nuclear translocation and the p53/p21 signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]