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BackgroundBreast cancer, one of the most prevalent malignancies among women worldwide, has rising incidence rates. Physical activity, particularly exercise, has emerged as a significant modifier of cancer prognosis, influencing both tumor biology and patient outcomes.MethodsIn this study, we utilized a murine breast cancer model, dividing mice into a control group and an exercise group; the latter underwent 21 days of voluntary running. We conducted RNA sequencing, bioinformatics analysis, pan-cancer analysis, and cellular experiments to investigate the underlying mechanisms influenced by exercise.ResultsExercise led to a significant reduction in tumor size and weight. Post-exercise mRNA sequencing indicated a notable upregulation of THSD7B in the exercised mice, with significant alterations observed in pathways such as MicroRNAs in cancers and the Calcium signaling pathway. In a broader cancer context, THSD7B showed considerable expression variability, being significantly downregulated in several cancers, correlating with positive prognostic outcomes in PRAD, LAML, KIRC, and GBM and highlighting its potential role as a prognostic marker and therapeutic target. THSD7B expression was also negatively associated with processes of breast cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion.ConclusionThis study underscores the dual role of exercise in modulating gene expression relevant to tumor growth and highlights the potential of THSD7B as a therapeutic target in cancer. Future research should further explore the specific mechanisms by which exercise and THSD7B influence cancer progression and develop immunotherapy-enhanced strategies to change patient outcomes in clinical settings.

Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) starts mainly with colorectal surgery and has been shown to improve clinical outcomes and cost savings in almost all major surgical specialties during the implementation and development for more than two decades. On the basis of improving medical quality and perioperative safety strengthened by ERAS, we propose the concept of fastest recovery after surgery (FRAS) and bring it into clinical practice to achieve fastest recovery for patients undergoing elective major gastrointestinal surgery. In this article, we introduce the definition, superiorities, perioperative protocol, and future directions with regard to the practice of FRAS in gastrointestinal surgery.

Abstract Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is the causative agent of Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) and multiple types of B cell malignancies. Emerging evidence demonstrates that KSHV reprograms host-cell central carbon metabolic pathways, which contributes to viral persistence and tumorigenesis. However, the mechanisms underlying KSHV-mediated metabolic reprogramming remain poorly understood. Carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase 2, aspartate transcarbamoylase, and dihydroorotase (CAD) is a key enzyme of the de novo pyrimidine synthesis, and was recently identified to deamidate the NF-κB subunit RelA to promote aerobic glycolysis and cell proliferation. Here we report that KSHV infection exploits CAD for nucleotide synthesis and glycolysis. Mechanistically, KSHV vCyclin binds to and hijacks cyclin-dependent kinase CDK6 to phosphorylate Ser-1900 on CAD, thereby activating CAD-mediated pyrimidine synthesis and RelA-deamidation-mediated glycolytic reprogramming. Correspondingly, genetic depletion or pharmacological inhibition of CDK6 and CAD potently impeded KSHV lytic replication and thwarted tumorigenesis of primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) cells in vitro and in vivo. Altogether, our work defines a viral metabolic reprogramming mechanism underpinning KSHV oncogenesis, which may spur the development of new strategies to treat KSHV-associated malignancies and other diseases.

In continuously cropped strawberry soil, a large population of the fungivorous nematode, Aphelenchus avenae, was observed to increase significantly over time. This nematode, which feeds on pathogenic fungi affecting strawberries, has significant potential as a biocontrol agent. The purpose of this article is to discuss the nematode’s preference for fungi associated with strawberries and its impact on the growth of strawberry roots. With the exception of Trichoderma harzianum, most of the pathogenic fungi commonly found in strawberry soil, such as Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani, Verticillium, Phytophthora infestans, and Botrytis cinerea Pers. attracted A. avenae and supported their propagation. All treatments with A. avenae and the non-nematode control showed a consistent trend throughout strawberry development, indicating that a moderate amount of A. avenae does not adversely affect strawberry roots. Moderate and low levels of A. avenae significantly increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD) in strawberry roots in all treatments during the entire growth stages. Also, the malondialdehyde (MDA) content of strawberry roots in all nematode treatments was lower than that in the no-nematode control. Despite an overabundance of A. avenae, which negatively affected the redox system balance of strawberry roots, A. avenae can protect the roots from pathogenic fungi by preventing infection and damage. These results lay the foundation for the potential use of A. avenae as a biological agent to control these pathogenic fungi in strawberry soil, in combination with the biological fungi (T. harzianum).

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) are potent microbial biocontrol agents applied commercially against various economically important insect pests. The efficacy of EPN in the field may be partially reduced when compared to chemical insecticides due to its sensitivity to environmental stressors like temperature, desiccation, and UV light. Thus, researchers have developed methods to enhance the effectiveness of EPN, such as screening or breeding stress-resistant strains and creating adjuvants for EPN protection in the field. This study used another strategy to lower the host’s immunity so that the anti-infection ability of the pest wanes, and the virulence of EPN waxes accordingly. In addition to its use as a plant growth regulator, thiourea also functions as an inhibitor of polyphenol oxidase (PO) in insects. Thiourea can inhibit a key interaction in the humoral immunity of insects, so we utilized it to enhance the efficacy of EPN. To investigate the effects of thiourea on PO activity inhibition and EPN pathogenesis, we studied the effects of thiourea on survival, infectivity, reproduction, and host searching ability of the EPN, Heterorhabditis beicherriana, and monitored in vivo and in vitro polyphenol oxidase activity of the model insect host, Galleria mellonella. The survival of H. beicherriana infective juveniles (IJs) was barely affected after exposure to 0.5 mM and 1 mM thiourea solution, and the reproductive output of H. beicherriana IJs (after applying 50, 100 and 200 IJs per host) in 0.5 mM and 1 mM thiourea was not different compared to the control. However, the LD50 of G. mellonella larvae caused by H. beicherriana without thiourea was significantly higher than H. beicherriana IJs in thiourea. Moreover, thiourea inhibited in vivo and in vitro polyphenol oxidase activity of G. mellonella infected by EPNs at different concentrations. Thus, thiourea can improve the biological control efficacy of EPNs, and the enhanced environmentally friendly approach may apply to diverse cropping systems.

The Saaty analytic network process (Saaty-ANP) is a generalization of the analytic hierarchy process. The Markov chain-based ANP (MC-ANP) is another decision-making approach suitable for general structures. Both ANPs use a relative measurement (paired comparisons with ratio scales) to estimate tangible and intangible factors, use a stochastic matrix (SM) to solve feedback problems and obtain the same results under some conditions. The Saaty-ANP does not define the basic concepts, nor does it check the rationality of the structure, which may lead to meaningless solutions and ignore a subclass of feedback decision problems. MC-ANP separates the alternatives from the criteria and defines the attributes, criteria, criterion dominated relations (CDRs) and reasonable constraints of the CDRs by means of digraphs; it also represents CDRs as Markov chain transition diagrams and corresponding (stochastic) adjacency matrices and obtains solutions from a system of linear equations. With the MC-ANP, for the real alternative problems (Class I), the solutions are priorities of the alternatives obtained by the parametric positive left eigenvectors of the SM, and for the nominal alternative problems (Class II), the solutions are priorities of the criteria obtained by the nonnegative right eigenvector of the SM. We analyze the conditions and causes of rank reversal; note that rank reversal does not appear in Class II problems; the study offers a rank reversal ANP example (with feedback) and presents a rank-preserving method for Class I problems. We discuss the contribution of MC-ANP, how to compensate for the defects of Saaty-AHP/ANP, and present issues that need further consideration.