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Tongming Zhu,1,&ast; Junyan Fu,2,&ast; Di Zang,1,3,&ast; Zhe Wang,1,4,&ast; Xiangru Ye,1 Xuehai Wu,1 Jin Hu1 1Department of Neurosurgery, Fudan University Huashan Hospital, National Center for Neurological Disorders, National Key Laboratory for Medical Neurobiology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Regeneration, Institutes of Brain Science, MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Shanghai Medical College-Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Radiology, Fudan University Huashan Hospital, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Neurosurgery, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Medical Imaging Technology, SJTU-Ruijin-UIH Institute for Medical Imaging Technology, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xuehai Wu; Jin Hu, Department of Neurosurgery, Fudan University Huashan Hospital, No. 12, Middle Wulumuqi Road, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, Email wuxuehai2013@163.com; hujin@fudan.edu.cnBackground: The effect of Ommaya reservoirs on the clinical outcomes of patients with intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) remains unclear.Objective: We aimed to determine the effect of combining the Ommaya reservoir and external ventricular drainage (EVD) therapy on IVH and explore better clinical indicators for Ommaya implantation.Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients diagnosed with IVH who received EVD-Ommaya drainage between January 2013 and March 2021. The patient population was divided into two groups: the Ommaya-used group, comprising patients in whom the Ommaya drainage system was activated post-surgery, and the Ommaya-unused group, comprising patients in whom the system was not activated. The study analyzed clinical, imaging, and outcome data of the patient population.Results: A total of 123 patients with IVH were included: 75 patients in the Ommaya-used group and 48 patients in the Ommaya-unused group. The patients in the Ommaya-used group showed a lower 3-month GOS than those in the Ommaya-unused group (p< 0.0001). The modified Graeb scale (mGS) in the Ommaya-unused group was significantly lower than that in the Ommaya-used group before the operation (p< 0.01) but not after surgery (p> 0.05). The GCS in the Ommaya-unused group was significantly lower than that in the other group, and there was a close correlation between the GCS and 3-month GOS (p< 0.0001). The GCS score showed significance in predicting the use of Ommaya (p< 0.001).Conclusion: The study demonstrated that combining EVD and Ommaya drainage was a safe and feasible treatment for IVH. Additionally, preoperative GCS was found to predict the use of Ommaya drainage in subsequent treatment, providing valuable information for pre-surgery decision-making.Keywords: intraventricular hemorrhage, Ommaya, external ventricular drainage

Xiaoxia Ding, Yu Wang, Bo Zou, Dongxiao Zang, Yi Hao Department of Ophthalmology, Fushun Eye Hospital, Fushun, Liaoning, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xiaoxia Ding, Fushun Eye Hospital, No. 1 Hupo Street, Xinfu District, Fushun, 113008, People’s Republic of China, Email 791151967@qq.comObjective: To evaluate the efficacy on best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and microvascular structure changes of conbercept intravitreal injection for the treatment of macular edema (ME) secondary to different types of retinal vein occlusion (RVO) and to explore the baseline OCTA parameters which were related to the change of BCVA and CRT after the intravitreal conbercept injection to RVO.Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted involving 67 eyes from 67 patients who were diagnosed with ME secondary to RVO between April 2019 to December 2020. The subjects were divided into branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) and central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) according to the involved vessel, subsequently the subjects received intravitreal conbercept treatment. The BCVA and fundus microstructure were measured to identify predictors of effective outcomes.Results: BCVA, central retinal thickness (CRT), fovea avascular zone (FAZ), and foveal vascular density (FVD) in superficial capillary plexus (SCP) were significantly changed from baseline to 6-month follow-up in both CRVO and BRVO. In the BRVO group, age and baseline BCVA were correlated with changes of BCVA, while the baseline CRT, FVD in the DCP, and parafovea vascular density (PFVD) in DCP were associated with changes of CRT (P< 0.05). In the CRVO group, the baseline BCVA was correlated with changes of BCVA, while age, gender, baseline CRT, FVD in DCP, and PFVD in DCP were associated with changes of CRT (P< 0.05). There were no serious adverse events (SAEs) related to the drug or the injection procedure.Conclusion: Intravitreal injections of conbercept can improve BCVA and CRT and change the FVD in SCP effectively both in BRVO and CRVO groups. In addition, the baseline FVD and PFVD in the DCP were related to the change of CRT after intravitreal conbercept treatment.Keywords: conbercept, retinal vein occlusion, macular edema, microvascular structure, best-corrected visual acuity

Xiantao Zhang,1,&ast; Bibo Liu,1,&ast; Difan Zang,1 Yilu Li,1 Shuiyuan Xiao,1 Yu Yu1,2 1Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People’s Republic of China; 2Division of Prevention and Community Research, Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yu Yu, Department of Social Medicine and Health Management, Xiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Upper Mayuanlin Road 238, Changsha, Hunan, 410008, People’s Republic of China, Tel +1 2037459531, Email yu.yu@yale.eduPurpose: This study examines the preferences for WeChat-based and hospital-based family intervention among caregivers of people living with schizophrenia (PLS) and identify correlates associated with these preferences.Patients and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 449 family caregivers of PLS. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect information on socio-demographics, preferences for WeChat-based and hospital-based family intervention, social support, and coping.Results: Over 72.16% of participants endorsed hospital-based family intervention, while 50.11% endorsed WeChat-based family intervention. Endorsement of WeChat-based family intervention was associated with younger age (OR=0.42, 95% CI: 0.22, 0.79), WeChat use (OR=12.90, 95% CI: 7.48, 22.23), and higher social support (OR=1.03, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.04). Endorsement of hospital-based family intervention was associated with lower education (OR=0.19– 0.37, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.66) and WeChat use (OR=3.27, 95% CI: 1.91, 5.59).Conclusion: The studies showed a higher endorsement rate for hospital-based family intervention than WeChat-based family intervention and provide implications for developing targeted family intervention programs based on participants’ own unique characteristics.Keywords: preference, WeChat, caregiving, schizophrenia

Xiaoxia Ding,1 Shisong Rong,2 Yu Wang,1 Dong Li,1 Liang Wen,1 Bo Zou,1 Dongxiao Zang,1 Kemi Feng,3 Yuanbo Liang,3 Fenghua Wang,4 Gang Zhai1 1Department of Ophthalmology, Fushun Eye Hospital, Fushun, Liaoning, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, MA, USA; 3Department of Ophthalmology, the Affiliated Eye Hospital, School of Optometry and Ophthalmology, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Ophthalmology, Beijing Tongren Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Ophthalmology & Visual Science Key Laboratory, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Gang Zhai, Fushun Eye Hospital, No. 1 Hupo Street, Xinfu District, Fushun, Liaoning, 113008, People’s Republic of China, Email fsgangzhai@163.comAim: To report the prevalence of depression and its association with vision-related quality of life and social support in a type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) population.Methods: Patients were recruited from a community-based study, Fushun Diabetic Retinopathy Cohort Study (FS-DIRECT), conducted between July 2012 and May 2013 in China. Depression was assessed using the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Vision-related quality of life was evaluated using the Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (VFQ-25). Social support was captured with the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS). Generalized linear models were used to estimate the individual and joint association of VFQ-25 composite score (VFQCS) and SSRS score (SSRSS) with depression.Results: A total of 1618 subjects (60.9% female) aged 61.69 ± 8.72 years in an urban district of Jiangjun Street, Fushun City, Liaoning province, Northeast China from July 2012 to May 2013 were recruited, of which, 23.36% (95% CI: 21.30– 25.42%) were identified with depression. Every 14.1 increase in VFQ-25 composite score decreased the risk of depression by half (OR = 0.5; 95% CI: 0.4– 0.6); with the elevation of 10.0 SSRS score the risk of depression decreased by 40% (OR = 0.6; 95% CI: 0.5– 0.7). Patients with the VFQCS less than 91.3 and SSRSS less than 38.0 had 5.9 times more risk of depression (OR = 5.9; 95% CI: 3.6– 9.7). Age (over 60 years) (OR = 0.6; 95% CI: 0.4– 0.9) and medical history of cardiovascular disease (OR = 1.7; 95% CI: 1.1– 2.5) were independently correlated with depression symptom.Conclusion: The prevalence of depression is high among patients with T2DM in urban district in northeast China. Vision-related quality of life and social support scores are significantly associated with depression. Measures should be taken to screen depressive symptoms in patients with type 2 diabetes patients. These patients need to be intervened with appropriate and effective treatment as early as possible. Meanwhile, behavioral health specialists should guide the patient to get and use social support sources effectively.Keywords: diabetic retinopathy, depression, quality of vision, Visual Function Questionnaire-25, Social Support Rating Scale

Chuang Zhang,1,2,* Ruoxi Yu,1,2,* Zhi Li,1,2 Huicong Song,1,2 Dan Zang,1,2 Mingming Deng,1 Yibo Fan,1,2 Yunpeng Liu,1,2 Ye Zhang,1,2 Xiujuan Qu1,21Key Laboratory of Anticancer Drugs and Biotherapy, the First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110001, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Medical Oncology, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, Liaoning, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: The chr1p/19q co-deletion is a favorable prognostic factor in patients with lower grade glioma. The aim of this study was to reveal key genes for prognosis and establish prognostic gene signatures based on genes encoded by chr1p/19q.Materials and methods: The data was downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between lower grade glioma tissue and normal brain were identified. The univariate COX regression, robust likelihood-base survival analysis (rbsurv) and multivariate COX regression analysis were used to establish the 4-gene-signature based on the DEGs. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the Kaplan-Mere curve were used to verify the prediction accuracy of the signature. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis were also performed to explore the reasons for good prognosis in patients with chr1p/19q deletion.Results: A total of 1346 DEGs were identified between lower grade glioma samples and normal brain samples in GSE16011, including 56 up-regulated mRNAs located on chr1p and 20 up-regulated mRNAs located on chr19q. We established a 4-gene-signature that was significantly associated with survival based on the 76 gene. The AUC of the 4-gene-signature for 5-year OS in TCGA and CGGA was 0.837 and 0.876, respectively, which was superior compared to other parameters such as chr1p/19q co-deletion, IDH mutant, WHO grade and histology type, especially in chr1p/19q non-co-deletion patients. GSEA and KEGG analysis suggested that the prolongation of chr1p/19q in patients could be associated with cell cycle and DNA mismatch repairing.Conclusions: We established a robust 4-gene-signature based on the chr1p/19q and we explored the potential function of these newly identified survival-associated genes by bioinformatics analysis. The 4-gene from the signature are promising molecular targets to be used in the future.Keywords: lower grade glioma, prognostic signature, 1p/19q co-deletion, rbsurv

Deng Zang,1,2 Chao Niu,1 Haji Akber Aisa1 1Key Laboratory of Plant Resources and Chemistry in Arid Regions, State Key Laboratory Basis of Xinjiang Indigenous Medicinal Plants Resource Utilization, Xinjiang Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China; 2University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China Background: Melanogenesis, or the biosynthesis of melanin, plays a critical role in the pigmentation of skin, hair, and eyes. Reduced melanogenesis may lead to depigmentation conditions such as vitiligo. Psoralen, a furocoumarin derivative, is closely associated with melanogenesis, and its derivative 8-methoxypsoralen is used in psoralen and ultraviolet A therapy for pigmentation disorders. In a previous study, we synthesized a new series of amine derivatives of furocoumarin, of which 5-(morpholinomethyl)-3-phenyl-7H-furo[3,2-g]chromen-7-one (encoded as D206008) showed a remarkable melanogenic effect in B16 murine cells.Methods: In this study, we examined the effects of D206008 on the melanogenesis-related pathways in B16 cells. D206008 increased melanin production and tyrosinase (TYR) activity, as well as the mRNA and protein expression levels of the melanogenic enzymes TYR, TRP-1 and TRP-2, and the melanogenesis-related transcription factor microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) in a dose-dependent (0–100 µM) and time-dependent (0–48 hours) manner.Results: Mechanistically, D206008 inhibited β-catenin degradation by enhancing the phosphorylation of Akt and glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β), which increased the accumulation of β-catenin in the cytoplasm. Nuclear translocation of β-catenin also increased in response to D206008 treatment.Conclusion: Taken together, these data indicate that D206008 promotes melanin synthesis by stimulating the nuclear translocation of β-catenin, which activates MITF transcription and eventually melanogenesis. Keywords: amine derivatives of furocoumarin, melanogenesis, Akt/GSK-3β/β-catenin

Background: To evaluate the diagnostic potential of joint testing of serum tumor markers containing cytokeratin fragment antigen 21-1 (CYFRA21-1), progastrinreleasing peptide (ProGRP), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) as well as neuron-specific enolase (NSE) in a variety of lung cancer (LC). Materials and Methods: The LC group comprised 150 LC patients who were diagnosed for the first time and were not treated. During the same period, 120 patients harbored benign lung diseases and 120 healthy subjects were respectively designated as the benign group and control group. Immunochemiluminescence assay was implemented to detect tumor markers in serum from three groups and different types of LC. Results: Levels of four serum tumor markers in LC group were elevated relative to control group. CYFRA21-1 level in lung squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) group was elevated compared to lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) groups. ProGRP and NSE levels in SCLC group increased compared to LSCC and LUAD groups. CEA level in LUAD group was higher compared to LSCC and SCLC groups. The highest positive rate of LSCC was CYFRA21-1, the highest positive rate of LUAD was CEA and the highest positive rates of SCLC were ProGRP and NSE. In terms of single tumor marker detection, CYFRA21-1 possessed the best diagnostic efficiency for LSCC, CEA possessed the best diagnostic efficiency for LUAD, NSE and ProGRP possessed the best diagnostic efficiency for SCLC, respectively. Conclusion: The individual determination of CYFRA21-1, ProGRP, CEA, and NSE has certain clinical application value for the pathological classification of LC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research findings indicate that in multi-unit systems experiencing subsynchronous oscillations （SSO）， the units tend to exhibit similar torsional vibration frequencies. Therefore， an analysis was conducted on the interactive effects among shaft systems of units with similar frequencies， as well as the mechanisms of system series compensation， electrical distances between units. Additionally， the paper delved into the mechanisms through which system series compensation， electrical distances between units， and similar torsional vibration frequencies impact the SSO. Firstly， based on characteristic matrices， the expression for the complex torque coefficients of two parallel thermal power units in the system was derived. Subsequently， the simplified complex torque coefficient method for a single unit was extended to encompass multi-unit systems， resulting in a streamlined expression for the electrical damping of dual thermal power units. The analysis further examined the influence of other units on the damping of the target unit， revealing that series compensation， electrical distances between units， and similar torsional vibration frequencies all exert an influence on system damping and stability. Finally， the mechanisms through which influencing factors affect the subsynchronous stability of the system were validated through numerical examples.

Background: Vitiligo is a complex disorder characterized by skin depigmentation; the canonical Wnt signaling pathway that involves β-catenin plays a crucial role in promoting the melanin production in melanocytes. Targeted inhibition of the Janus kinase JAK-STAT pathway can effectively diminish the secretion of the chemokine C-X-C motif ligand CXCL10, thereby safeguarding melanocytes. Ferula has been applied as a treatment regimen for a long period; however, its use for the treatment of vitiligo has not been previously documented. Methods: CCK-8 assay, Intracellular melanin content assay, Tyrosinase activity assay, Western blotting, qRT-PCR, and ELISA methods were employed. Using molecular docking verified the inhibitory effects of feshurin on the JAK1. Results: The sesquiterpene coumarin feshurin was separated from Ferula samarcandica. Feshurin was shown to induce GSK-3β phosphorylation, resulting in the translocation of β-catenin into the nucleus. This translocation subsequently upregulated the transcription of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), leading to increased tyrosinase activity and melanin production. In addition, feshurin inhibited the production of chemokine CXCL10 via the JAK-STAT signaling pathway, which was verified by molecular docking. Conclusions: Based on these findings, it can be concluded that feshurin exhibits significant potential for the development of novel anti-vitiligo therapeutics.

The reservoirs in the N oilfield in Sudan feature a complex sedimentary environment, which has led to a widespread development of low-resistivity oil zones, accounting for as high as 37% of the total oil zones. In this case, a large number of oil zones will be misinterpreted using conventional methods. Based on the analysis of the core data and logging curves of the study area, this study concludes that the low-resistivity oil zones are formed mainly due to the high irreducible water saturation caused by the high content of illite and smectite and complex pore structure, the additional electrical conductivity induced by clay minerals, and the difference in formation water salinity between the oil zones and water zones. Furthermore, four methods are proposed to qualitatively identify these oil zones and water zones, namely the relationship analysis of five reservoir properties, cross-plotting of sensitive parameters, analysis of pressure testing data, and multi-well correlation. Furthermore, the study quantitatively calculates the initial oil saturation using the capillary pressure data, thus avoiding the conventional empirical saturation formulas depending on electrical resistivity and solving the difficulty in calculating oil saturation of low-resistivity oil zones. Finally, precise logging processing and interpretation of 95 wells in the study area are conducted using the above-mentioned comprehensive assessment system for low-resistivity oil zones. As a result, 59 oil zones are newly discovered in 43 wells. Moreover, it is recommended that 17 oil zones in 12 wells should be tested, of which 11 oil zones have been tested as recommended, all proven to be high production oil zones after perforation. The coincidence rate of logging interpretation increases from 75% to 94.3%, and the original oil in place (OOIP) increases by 57.42 million barrels. All these indicate that the assessment system proposed is suitable for low-resistivity zones.

Prognostic nutritional index (PNI) is a parameter reflecting prognosis for various cancers, including resected lung cancer. However, there were few reports to study the relationship between the PNI and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced (stage IIIB/IV) non-small lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study, we collected the clinical data of 315 patients with advanced (stage IIIB/IV) NSCLC who had received chemotherapy or epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) between January 2010 and June 2011. Survival curves were plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariate analyses were used to evaluate prognostic significance of PNI in patients with advanced (stage IIIB/IV) NSCLC. In our analysis, we found that PNI (p=0.001) was significantly associated with OS in patients with advanced (stage IIIB/IV) NSCLC, so was smoking (p<0.001) and disease stage (p=0.005). We demonstrated that PNI could be utilized to predict survival outcomes in patients with advanced (stage IIIB/IV) NSCLC. Patients with a lower PNI may have worse prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives The aim of the study was to detect changes in the levels of ferritin heavy chain ( FHC), ferritin light chain ( FLC), and transferrin in the cerebrospinal fluid ( CSF) and serum of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ( ALS) patients and to analyze the correlations between the levels of these proteins and various clinical parameters. Methods Cerebrospinal fluid and serum samples were obtained from 54 ALS patients and 46 non-inflammatory neurological disease control (non- INDC) patients. CSF and serum FHC, FLC, and transferring levels were measured via the enzyme-linked immunosorbent method using a commercial ELISA kit, and the times from onset (durations), ALS functional rating scale-revised ( ALSFRS-r) scores, and disease progression rates ( DPRs) were analyzed by registered neurologists. Statistical analysis was performed via Prism software. Results Compared with controls, ALS patients exhibited significantly increased FHC and FLC levels in CSF, which were positively correlated with DPR and negatively correlated with duration. Serum transferrin levels were significantly increased in ALS patients but were not correlated with disease progression. FHC and FLC in CSF rapidly increased as the disease worsened. Conclusions This study demonstrated that the clinical measurement of FHC and FLC in CSF may be beneficial for disease differentiation and evaluating progression in patients with ALS. Compared with levels in serum, the levels of FHC and FLC in CSF might be more reliable for diagnosing and assessing the progression of ALS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ( ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with complicated pathogenesis. No effective diagnostic test and cure exists for the disease at present. We detected the levels of MIP-1 α in cerebrospinal fluid ( CSF) and serum and then further evaluated whether MIP-1 α levels correlate with the severity and progression of ALS. Methods We used ELISAs to detect MIP-1 α levels from 58 patients with ALS and 45 age- and gender-matched controls. The patients with ALS were also clinically evaluated with the revised ALS functional rating scale ( ALSFRS-r). Moreover, we followed up with 40 cases of ALS by way of call or clinic visit 4 years after enrollment in this study. Finally, we assessed the correlations between MIP-1 α levels and various clinical parameters. Results We found that the levels of MIP-1 α in patients with ALS significantly increased compared to controls and they were positively correlated with duration. MIP-1 α showed negative correlations with disease progression rate and the decrease in ALSFRS-r. Furthermore, the cumulative survival of patients with ALS with high levels of MIP-1 α exceeded patients with low MIP-1 α levels. Conclusions MIP-1 α levels increased in both CSF and serum of patients with ALS, and it may be a potential neuroprotective biomarker in ALS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by selective motor neuron loss in the brain and spinal cord. The cause of this selective death of motor neurons is still unclear, but among several pathomechanisms that have been discussed, the loss of neurotrophic factors is one hypothesis. Basic fibroblast growth factor 2 (bFGF) may be a potential neurotrophic factor for slowing various neurodegenerative diseases, but its potential role in the prognosis of ALS is not known. Methods To explore the role of bFGF in ALS, we investigated changes in bFGF in the CSF and serum from patients with sALS and from the control group. Furthermore, we analyzed the correlations between bFGF, disease duration, disease progression rate, ALSFRS-r score and survival. Results The level of bFGF increased in both the CSF and serum in sALS patients. It was higher in patients with longer durations. It was negatively correlated with disease progression rates, especially in the later stages of sALS, but showed no linear correlation with ALSFRS-r. In an analysis of the relationship between bFGF and survival, we found that sALS patients with high levels of bFGF had significantly higher cumulative survival rates than patients with low levels of bFGF. Discussion and Conclusion In conclusion, endogenous bFGF increased both in the CSF and serum of sALS patients and it may be a useful biomarker that could predict disease progression and survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The smart water meter based on cloud computing is a new instrument that uses modern sensor technology, communication technology and modern microelectronics technology to measure water volume, transfer water data and settle transactions. The traditional water meter only has the function of flow collection and pointer mechanical display of water consumption. Compared with traditional water meter, smart water meter has great progress. With the development of wireless transmission technology and mobile communication network, remote water meter technology begins to develop rapidly.

Background Aberrant expression of mucins can promote the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which leads to enhanced tumorigenesis. Carcinogenesis-related pathways involving c-MET and β-catenin involve mucins. Among the mucins, MUC5AC and MUC6 are characteristic for stomach mucins. This study characterized expressions of MET, MUC5AC, MUC5B, and MUC6 EMT signaling in human gastric cancer (GC) cell lines, and further characterized the differential susceptibility of these cell lines to tepotinib. Methods We assessed the antitumor activity of tepotinib in GC cell lines. The effect of tepotinib on cell viability (IC50), apoptotic cell death, the EMT, and c-MET and β-catenin signaling were evaluated by MTS, flow cytometry, western blotting, and qRT-PCR. Antitumor efficacy was assessed in MKN45 xenograft mice. Results Tepotinib treatment showed dose-dependent growth inhibition of c-MET-amplified SNU620, MKN45, and KATO III cells with concomitant induction of apoptosis, but tepotinib treatment did not have an effect on c-MET-reduced MKN28 and AGS cells. Tepotinib treatment also significantly reduced expressions of phosphor-c-MET, total c-MET, phosphor-ERK, total ERK, beta-catenin, and c-MYC protein in SNU620 and MKN45 cells. In contrast, this drug was only slightly active against KATO III cells. Notably, tepotinib significantly reduced the expressions of EMT promotion genes such as MMP7, COX-2, WNT1, MUC5B, and c-MYC in c-MET-expressed GC cells, and increased expressions of EMT suppression genes such as MUC5AC, MUC6, GSK3β, and ECAD. In a murine xenograft model, tumor volumes were significantly reduced in the tepotinib-treated group, when administered by daily oral gavage at a dose of 10 mg/kg/day. Histologically, tepotinib induced more necrosis than in the control group. Conclusions These results are consistent with clinical evaluations of tepotinib in c-MET and MUC5B-expressed GCs. Editorial acknowledgement National R&D Program for Cancer Control, Ministry of Health and Welfare (HA17C0054), the National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded by the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT (NRF-2017R1A2B4005055), the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (awarded in 2018, 18183MFDS491) of Korea, the Hallym University Medical Center Research Fund, and the Hallym University Internal Translational Research Fund (No. HURF-2015-38). Legal entity responsible for the study The authors. Funding Has not received any funding. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premature drug release in chemotherapy and hypoxic conditions in photodynamic therapy (PDT) are perplexing problems in tumor treatment. Thus, it is of great significance to develop the novel therapeutic system with controllable drug release and effective oxygen generation. Herein, a pH-responsive oxygen self-sufficient smart nanoplatform (named DHCCC), integrating hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles (HMSNs), chitosan (CS), doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX), chlorin e6 (Ce6) and catalase (CAT), is fabricated to enhance the tumor therapeutic efficacy efficiently through avoiding premature drug release and mitigating hypoxia of tumor microenvironment (TME). The drug DOX can be efficiently loaded into the HMSNs with large cavity and be controllable released because of the pH responsiveness of CS to the weak acidic TME, thereby elevating the chemotherapy efficacy. Meanwhile, CAT can catalyze the decomposition of endogenous hydrogen peroxide in situ generating oxygen to alleviate the hypoxia and enhance the PDT efficiency considerably. In vitro and in vivo results demonstrate that the combined chemo-photodynamic therapy based on the DHCCC nanoplatform exerts more effective antitumor efficacy than chemotherapy or PDT alone. The current study provides a promising inspiration to construct the pH-responsive oxygen self-sufficient smart nanomedicine with potentials to prevent premature drug leakage and overcome hypoxia for efficient tumor therapy., 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.)

Chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity is a major adverse effect, driven by multiple factors in its pathogenesis. Notably, RNAs have emerged as significant contributors in both cancer and heart failure (HF). RNAs carry genetic and metabolic information that mirrors the current state of cells, making them valuable as potential biomarkers and therapeutic tools for diagnosing, predicting, and treating a range of diseases, including cardiotoxicity. Over 97% of the genome is transcribed into non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including ribosomal RNA (rRNAs), transfer RNAs (tRNAs), and newly identified microRNAs (miRNAs), circular RNAs (circRNAs), and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). NcRNAs function not only within their originating cells but also in recipient cells by being transported through extracellular compartments, referred to as extracellular RNAs (exRNAs). Since ncRNAs were identified as key regulators of gene expression, numerous studies have highlighted their significance in both cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Nevertheless, the role of ncRNAs in cardiotoxicity remains not fully elucidated. The study aims to review the existing knowledge on ncRNAs in Cardio-Oncology and explore the potential of ncRNA-based biomarkers and therapies. These investigations could advance the clinical application of ncRNA research, improving early detection and mitigating of chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Dysfunctional renal tubular epithelial cells, induced by high glucose, are commonly observed in the kidney tissues of diabetic nephropathy (DN) patients. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of these cells often leads to renal interstitial fibrosis and kidney damage in DN. High glucose also triggers mitochondrial damage and apoptosis, contributing further to the dysfunction of renal tubular epithelial cells. Cellular senescence, a recognized characteristic of DN, is primarily caused by high glucose. However, it remains unclear whether high glucose-induced cellular senescence in DN exacerbates the functional impairment of tubular epithelial cells. In this study, we examined the relationship between EMT and cellular senescence in kidney tissues from streptozotocin (STZ)-induced DN and HK-2 cells treated with high glucose (HG). We also investigated the impact of HG concentrations on tubular epithelial cells, specifically mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular senescence and apoptosis. These damages were primarily associated with the secretion of cytokines (such as IL-6, and TNF-α), production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and an increase of intracellular Ca 2+ . Notably, resveratrol, an anti-aging agent, could effectively attenuate the occurrence of EMT, mitochondrial dysfunction, and apoptosis induced by HG. Mechanistically, anti-aging treatment leads to a reduction in cytokine secretion, ROS production, and intracellular Ca 2+ levels., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors declare no competing interests. We declare that neither the entire paper nor any part of its content has been published or has been accepted elsewhere. If accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other languages, including electronic form without the written consent of the copyright-holder., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Microdroplet chemistry is now well-known to be able to remarkably accelerate otherwise slow reactions and trigger otherwise impossible reactions. The uniqueness of the microdroplet is attributable to either the air-water interface or solid-liquid interface, depending on the medium that the microdroplet is in contact with. To date, the importance of the solid-liquid interface might have been confirmed, but the contribution from the air-water interface seems to be elusive due to the lack of method for generating contactless microdroplets. In this study, we used a droplet atomization method with acoustic levitation. Upon manipulation of the acoustic field, the levitated parent droplet can be further atomized into progeny microdroplets. With this method, only the air-water interface was present, and a large variety of reactions were successfully tested. We anticipate that this study can be an advance toward the understanding of the air-water interfacial processes of microdroplet chemistry.

Salt stress has become a major environmental problem affecting plant growth and development. Some WRKY transcription factors have been reported to be involved in the salt stress response in plants. However, there are few studies on the involvement of WRKYs in the salt stress response in Rosa rugosa . In this study, we isolated a salt tolerance gene, RrWRKY1 , from R. rugosa . RrWRKY1 was found to belong to Group I of the WRKY family, and it was specifically expressed in leaves and petals. RrWRKY1 expression was upregulated under NaCl stress in rose leaves. After silencing RrWRKY1 in R. rugosa , transgenic plants showed dry leaves and black and brown veins, indicating sensitivity to salt stress. At the same time, the transcription levels of the salt tolerance-related genes RrNHX1 , RrABF2 , RrRD22 , RrNCED1 , and RrHKT1 also changed significantly. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) activities decreased, the proline content decreased, and the malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the gene-silenced plants increased, indicating that RrWRKY1 regulates the salt tolerance of R. rugosa. In addition, the overexpression of RrWRKY1 in Arabidopsis thaliana improved the germination rate and the average of the main root and lateral root lengths, and the transgenic plants had a larger number of lateral roots than the WT plants under salt stress. This study provides candidate gene resources for salinity tolerance breeding and a theoretical basis for analyzing the salinity tolerance mechanism of the WRKY gene.

Background: Disorders of consciousness (DoC) are a group of conditions that affect the level of awareness and communication in patients. While neuroimaging techniques can provide useful information about the brain structure and function in these patients, most existing methods rely on a single modality for analysis and rarely account for brain injury. To address these limitations, we propose a novel method that integrates two neuroimaging modalities, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), to enhance the classification of subjects into different states of consciousness., Method and Results: The main contributions of our work are threefold: first, after constructing a dual-model individual graph using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), we introduce a brain injury mask mechanism that consolidates damaged brain regions into a single graph node, enhancing the modeling of brain injuries and reducing deformation effects. Second, to address over-smoothing, we construct a dual-level graph that dynamically construct a population-level graph with node features from individual graphs, to promote the clustering of similar subjects while distinguishing dissimilar ones. Finally, we employ a subgraph exploration model with task-fMRI data to validate the interpretability of our model, confirming that the selected brain regions are task-relevant in cognition. Our experimental results on data from 89 healthy participants and 204 patients with DoC from Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, demonstrate that our method achieves high accuracy in classifying patients into unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS), minimally conscious state (MCS), or normal conscious state, outperforming current state-of-the-art methods. The explainability results of our method identified a subset of brain regions that are important for consciousness, such as the default mode network, the salience network, the dorsal attention network, and the visual network. Our method also revealed the relationship between brain networks and language processing in consciousness, and showed that language-related subgraphs can distinguish MCS from UWS patients., Conclusion: We proposed a novel graph learning method for classifying DoC based on fMRI and DTI data, introducing a brain injury mask mechanism to effectively handle damaged brains. The classification results demonstrate the effectiveness of our method in distinguishing subjects across different states of consciousness, while the explainability results identify key brain regions relevant to this classification. Our study provides new evidence for the role of brain networks and language processing in consciousness, with potential implications for improving the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with DoC., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The BTB gene superfamily is widely distributed among higher eukaryotes and plays a significant role in numerous biological processes. However, there is limited knowledge about the structure and function of BTB genes in the critically endangered species Alligator sinensis , which is endemic to China. A total of 170 BTB genes were identified from the A. sinensis genome, classified into 13 families, and unevenly distributed across 16 chromosomes. Analysis of gene duplication events yielded eight pairs of tandem duplication genes and six pairs of segmental duplication genes. Phylogenetics shows that the AsBTB genes are evolutionarily conserved. The cis-regulatory elements in the AsBTB family promoter region reveal their involvement in multiple biological processes. Protein interaction network analysis indicates that the protein interactions of the AsBTB genes are centered around CLU-3, mainly participating in the regulation of biological processes through the ubiquitination pathway. The expression profile and protein interaction network analysis of AsBTB genes during sex differentiation and early gonadal development indicate that AsBTB genes are widely expressed in this process and involves numerous genes and pathways for regulation. This study provides a basis for further investigation of the role of the BTB gene in sex differentiation and gonadal development in A. sinensis .

Background: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has become widely available but molecular profiling-guided therapy (MGT) had not been well established in the real world due to lack of available therapies and expertise to match treatment. Our study was designed to test the feasibility of a nationwide platform of NGS-guided MGT recommended by a central molecular tumor board (cMTB) for metastatic solid tumors., Patients and Methods: Patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors with available NGS results and without standard treatment were enrolled. The cMTB interpreted the patients' NGS reports and recommended the following: (i) investigational medicinal products (IMPs) approved in other indications; (ii) alternative treatments; (iii) clinical trials. The primary variables were the proportion of patients with actionable genomic alterations and those receiving MGT as per cMTB recommendations. Others included treatment duration (TD), overall response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and safety., Results: From February 2021 to February 2022, 193 cases [99 (51.3%) men; median age 58 years (range 24-88 years); median line of previous treatment 3 (range 0-9)] from 29 sites were enrolled for 60 cMTB sessions. The median time from case submission to cMTB discussion was 7 days (range 2-20 days), and to IMP treatment initiation was 28 days (range 14-90 days). Actionable genetic alterations were found in 145 patients (75.1%). A total of 89 (46.1%) patients received actual dosing of IMPs, and 10 (5.2%) were enrolled in cMTB-recommended clinical trials, achieving an MGT rate of 51.3%. ORR and DCR of IMPs were 10.1% and 72.5%, respectively. The median TD was 3.5 months [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.8-5.5 months], and the 4-month TD rate was 44.9%. The median overall survival of patients who received IMPs was 6.9 months (95% CI 5.2-10.0 months)., Conclusion: KOSMOS confirmed the feasibility of MGT recommended by the cMTB, achieving a high MGT match rate and promising effectiveness in heavily pretreated advanced cancer patients., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: In recent years, China has actively promoted the publicity and promotion of breastfeeding, because breastfeeding is conducive to the healthy growth of babies and conducive to the recovery of maternal health. Behavioral nursing theory holds that individual behavior change is a complex and continuous process, and personalized care is given at different stages of individual behavior change to promote individual behavior change., Objective: To explore the impact of behavioral nursing intervention on the breastfeeding maintenance rate of hospitalized newborns., Design: This was a prospective cohort study based on the description provided., Setting: This study was conducted in the Department of Pediatrics, Shanghai Six People's Hospital/Shanghai Six People's Hospital Affiliated with Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, because the author worked in the hospital., Participants: A total of 120 cases of parturients in our hospital from January 2021 to December 2022 were chosen and separated into a control group and an observation group through the random number table method. Inclusion criteria: Parturients were full-term single pregnancies, examined in our hospital, and there were no abnormalities in prenatal examination. Exclusion criteria: Parturients with a history of mental illness, accompanied by hepatitis B, three Yang, acquired immune deficiency syndrome and other infectious diseases, and combined with visual and hearing disorders., Interventions: The control group adopted routine breastfeeding nursing intervention, including training in the prenatal maternity school, instruction in breastfeeding methods during hospital delivery and follow-up after discharge. The observation group adopted behavioral nursing intervention, the corresponding health guidance and nursing methods were formulated and implemented in the second trimester, the third trimester, the hospitalization period of childbirth, and the discharge, and at each stage., Primary Outcome Measures: (1) Degree of knowledge about breastfeeding, (2) Efficiency of breastfeeding, (3) Rate of exclusive breastfeeding, (4) Nutritional index, (5) Cognitive ability of newborns, (6) Satisfaction of family members with nursing., Results: After the intervention, the score of feeding knowledge in the observation group was elevated relative to the control group (P < .05). The self-efficacy scores and rates of exclusive breastfeeding in the observation group at 1, 6 weeks, and 6 months after delivery were higher relative to the control group (P < .05). After the intervention, the levels of albumin, albumin, and transferrin in the observation group were higher relative to the control group (P < .05). After the intervention, the scores of the mental development index and psychomotor development index in the observation group were elevated relative to the control group (P < .05)., Conclusion: Behavioral nursing can effectively improve the effectiveness of breastfeeding and facilitate the health and growth of mothers and newborns, aligning with the broader goals of promoting breastfeeding in healthcare settings.

Background: Several abdominal obesity indices including waist circumference (WC), waist-hip ratio (WHR), visceral adiposity index (VAI), lipid accumulation product (LAP), and Chinese visceral adiposity index (CVAI) were considered effective and useful predictive markers for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in general populations or diabetic populations. However, studies investigating the associations between these indices among postmenopausal women are limited. Our study aimed to investigate the associations of the five indices with incident CVD and compare the predictive performance of CVAI with other abdominal obesity indices among postmenopausal women., Methods: A total of 1252 postmenopausal women without CVD at baseline were analyzed in our investigation based on a 10-year follow-up prospective cohort study. Link of each abdominal obesity index with CVD were assessed by the Cox regression analysis and the Kaplan-Meier curve. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn to compare the predictive ability for CVD., Results: During the median follow-up of 120.53 months, 121 participants newly developed CVD. Compared to quartile 1 of LAP and CVAI, quartile 4 had increased risk to develop CVD after fully adjusted among postmenopausal women. When WC, VAI and CVAI considered as continuous variables, significant increased hazard ratios (HRs) for developing CVD were observed. The areas under the curve (AUC) of CVAI (0.632) was greatly higher than other indices (WC: 0.580, WHR: 0.538, LAP: 0.573, VAI: 0.540 respectively)., Conclusions: This study suggested that the abdominal obesity indices were associated with the risk of CVD excluded WHR and highlighted that CVAI might be the most valuable abdominal obesity indicator for identifying the high risk of CVD in Chinese postmenopausal women., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Compared with the traditional gel electrode, the dry electrode is being taken more seriously in bioelectrical recording because of its easy preparation, long-lasting ability, and reusability. However, the commonly used dry AgCl electrodes and silver cloth electrodes are generally hard to record through hair due to their flat contact surface. Claw electrodes can contact skin through hair on the head and body, but the internal claw structure is relatively hard and causes discomfort after being worn for a few hours. Here, we report a conductive Velcro electrode (CVE) with an elastic hook hair structure, which can collect biopotential through body hair. The elastic hooks greatly reduce discomfort after long-time wearing and can even be worn all day. The CVE electrode is fabricated by one-step immersion in conductive silver paste based on the cost-effective commercial Velcro, forming a uniform and durable conductive coating on a cluster of hook microstructures. The electrode shows excellent properties, including low impedance (15.88 kΩ @ 10 Hz), high signal-to-noise ratio (16.0 dB), strong water resistance, and mechanical resistance. After washing in laundry detergent, the impedance of CVE is still 16% lower than the commercial AgCl electrodes. To verify the mechanical strength and recovery capability, we conducted cyclic compression experiments. The results show that the displacement change of the electrode hook hair after 50 compression cycles was still less than 1%. This electrode provides a universal acquisition scheme, including effective acquisition of different parts of the body with or without hair. Finally, the gesture recognition from electromyography (EMG) by the CVE electrode was applied with accuracy above 90%. The CVE proposed in this study has great potential and promise in various human-machine interface (HMI) applications that employ surface biopotential signals on the body or head with hair.

The persistent challenge of poor recovery characteristics of NO 2 sensors operated at room temperature remains significant. However, the development of In 2 O 3 -based gas sensing materials provides a promising approach to accelerate response and recovery for sub-ppm of NO 2 detection at room temperature. Herein, we propose a simple two-step method to synthesize a one-dimensional (1D) In 2 O 3 @ZnO heterostructure material with hollow microtubes, by coupling metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) (MIL-68 (In)) and zinc ions. Meanwhile, the In 2 O 3 @ZnO composite-based gas sensor exhibits superior sensitivity performance to NO 2 under visible light activation. The response value to 5 ppm of NO 2 at room temperature is as high as 1800, which is 35 times higher than that of the pure In 2 O 3 -based sensor. Additionally, the gas sensor based on the In 2 O 3 @ZnO heterostructure demonstrates a significantly reduced response/recovery time of 30 s/67 s compared to the sensor based on pure In 2 O 3 (74 s/235 s). The outstanding gas sensing properties of the In 2 O 3 @ZnO heterostructure-based sensors can be attributed to the enhanced photogenerated charge separation efficiency resulting from the heterostructure effect, and the improved receptor function toward NO 2 , which can increase the reactive sites and gas adsorption capacity. In summary, this work proposes a low-cost and efficient method to synthesize a 1D heterostructure material with microtube structures, which can serve as a fundamental technique for developing high-performance room-temperature gas sensors.

Objective: This study mainly explores (2R,6R; 2S,6S)-HNK and its compounds whether there are antidepressant effects., Methods: Four HNK compounds were obtained from 2-(Chlorophenyl) Cyclopentylmethanone. Forced swimming test, locomotor sensitization test, and conditioned location preference test were used to screen the antidepressant activity of the synthesized target compounds., Results: In the case of 10 mg HNK treatment, compared with saline, the immobile time of mice in the HNK group, I5 group and I6 group at 1 h and 7 days had statistical significance. In the case of 10 mg HNK treatment, compared with saline, the immobile time of compound C and D groups in the glass cylinder area was significantly different. In the locomotor sensitization test, the movement distance of compound C and D groups on day 15 and day 7 mice increased significantly compared with the first day. In the conditioned place preference experiment, compound C and compound D induced conditioned place preference in mice compared with the Veh group., Conclusion: The results of the forced swimming test, locomotor sensitization test, and conditioned location preference test showed that compounds C and D may have certain anti-depressant activity. However, HNK exerts a rapid and significant antidepressant effect within 1 week, but the duration is short., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U.)

We investigate the effect of ultrasound on the evaporation and crystallization of sessile NaCl solution droplets which were positioned in traveling or standing wave ultrasound field. The experimental results indicated that the ultrasound field can significantly accelerate the evaporation rate of the sessile droplets and refine the crystal grains. By adjusting the distance between the sessile droplets and the ultrasound emitter, it is found that, in traveling wave ultrasound field, the sessile droplet evaporation time and the time for the appearance of NaCl grains exhibited a fluctuating increase as the droplet-emitter distance increased. While in the standing wave ultrasound, the sessile droplet evaporation rate increases with the increasing droplet-emitter distance. Overall, the traveling wave ultrasound field has a stronger effect on grain refinement of the sessile droplets than the standing wave ultrasound field. The grain refinement is attributed to the decrease of critical nucleation radius caused by ultrasound energy and the increase of the nucleation rate caused by the accelerated evaporation rate. In addition, the breakage of grains caused by ultrasonic cavitation would also lead to grain refinement., 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 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)