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Introduction: The selection of an optimal scale or granularity in landscape analysis is pivotal for uncovering inherent patterns and changes driven by processes. Variations in spatial resolution can significantly alter the proportions and distributions of various landscape types, thereby impacting the assessment of landscape patterns. Despite its importance, the scale factor is frequently neglected in studies focusing on long-term landscape dynamics. Methods: Bridging this gap, we utilized remote sensing imagery data from 1986 to 2020 for Lushui City, integrating remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) technologies to generate land cover maps. Our focus centered on investigating the sensitivity of landscape pattern indices within the 30-1000m scale. Combining the first scale domain with an information loss assessment model, we identified the optimal granularity for the analysis, conducting a detailed spatiotemporal examination of landscape pattern from 1986 to 2020 using the index analysis method. Results and discussion: The results show that: (1) The dominance of forests in Lushui City, yet reveal a significant increase in construction land area over the study period, primarily driven by the conversion of forest and grassland. (2) Among the 10 examined indices, four (PD, ED, TE, and LSI) demonstrated predictable responses to changes in granularity, while three (PAFEAC, COHESION, AI) exhibited unpredictable stepwise reactions. Three indices (LPI, SHDI, PLAND) displayed minimal regularity to granularity changes. (3) The optimal long-term landscape analysis granularity for Lushui was identified as 100 m. (4) Before 1996, the city's landscape exhibited characteristics of aggregation, good connectivity, and minimal anthropogenic disturbance. However, post-1996, the landscape experienced disruptions, leading to an overall increase in fragmentation. The expansion of cultivated land and construction land due to urbanization has intensified landscape fragmentation. However, policies such as converting cropland to forest and planned ecological civilization initiatives have restored forest coverage and improved landscape cohesion and connectivity in Lushui City. This research offers vital insights for ecological planning and resource management in alpine valley watershed cities, deepening our grasp of landscape pattern evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Helicobacter pylori epidemic in China accounts for up to a third of gastric cancers worldwide. We aim to monitor the temporal and spatial dynamics of H. pylori infection in both adults and children across China. Materials and Methods: We developed a surveillance system consisting of a data collection component that harnessed survey reports in natural populations and an analysis component that accounted for the differences in survey time and location, population age structure, and H. pylori detection method. System outputs were estimates of the prevalence of H. pylori in adults and children (aged ≤ 14 years) presented at three hierarchical levels (regional, provincial, and prefectural). Results: The overall prevalence of H. pylori infection declined sharply in adults (63.3%, 52.5%, 43.4%, and 38.7%) and less sharply in children (23.1%, 26.1%, 16.0%, and 15.7%) in 1983–1999, 2000–2009, 2010–2014, and 2015–2019, respectively. The changes were asynchronous across regions, with the most marked declines in the Northwest, the Hong Kong‐Macao‐Taiwan region, and the East. We estimated that 457.6 million adults and 44.5 million children have been infected with H. pylori, with cross‐province disparities in prevalence ranging from 24.3% to 69.3% among adults and 2.9% to 46.3% among children. In general, the risk level of gastric cancer increased as the prevalence of H. pylori increased. The correlation was statistically significant for both adult men (Spearman coefficient of correlation: 0.393, p = 0.0146) and women (0.470, p = 0.0029). Conclusions: The tracking system would be important for the continuous and stratified tracking of the Helicobacter pylori epidemic across China and can be used to furnish an evidence base for the formulation of tailored prevention strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Currently, industrial fermentation of Botrytis cinerea is a significant source of abscisic acid (ABA). The crucial role of ABA in plants and its wide range of applications in agricultural production have resulted in the constant discovery of new derivatives and analogues. While modifying the ABA synthesis pathway of existing strains to produce ABA derivatives is a viable option, it is hindered by the limited synthesis capacity of these strains, which hinders further development and application. Results: In this study, we knocked out the bcaba4 gene of B. cinerea TB-31 to obtain the 1′,4′-trans-ABA-diol producing strain ZX2. We then studied the fermentation broth of the batch-fed fermentation of the ZX2 strain using metabolomic analysis. The results showed significant accumulation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaric acid, mevalonic acid, and mevalonolactone during the fermentation process, indicating potential rate-limiting steps in the 1′,4′-trans-ABA-diol synthesis pathway. This may be hindering the flow of the synthetic pathway. Additionally, analysis of the transcript levels of terpene synthesis pathway genes in this strain revealed a correlation between the bchmgr, bcerg12, and bcaba1-3 genes and 1′,4′-trans-ABA-diol synthesis. To further increase the yield of 1′,4′-trans-ABA-diol, we constructed a pCBg418 plasmid suitable for the Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) system and transformed it to obtain a single-gene overexpression strain. We found that overexpression of bchmgr, bcerg12, bcaba1, bcaba2, and bcaba3 genes increased the yield of 1′,4′-trans-ABA-diol. The highest yielding ZX2 A3 strain was eventually screened, which produced a 1′,4′-trans-ABA-diol concentration of 7.96 mg/g DCW (54.4 mg/L) in 144 h of shake flask fermentation. This represents a 2.1-fold increase compared to the ZX2 strain. Conclusions: We utilized metabolic engineering techniques to alter the ABA-synthesizing strain B. cinerea, resulting in the creation of the mutant strain ZX2, which has the ability to produce 1′,4′-trans-ABA-diol. By overexpressing the crucial genes involved in the 1′,4′-trans-ABA-diol synthesis pathway in ZX2, we observed a substantial increase in the production of 1′,4′-trans-ABA-diol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Conditional survival (CS) takes into consideration the duration of survival post-surgery and can provide valuable additional insights. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors associated with reduced one-year postoperative conditional survival in patients diagnosed with stage III T3–T4 colon cancer and real-time prognosis prediction. Furthermore, we aim to develop pertinent nomograms and predictive models. Methods: Clinical data and survival outcomes of patients diagnosed with stage III T3–T4 colon cancer were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, covering the period from 2010 to 2019. Patients were divided into training and validation cohorts at a ratio of 7:3. The training set consisted of a total of 11,386 patients for conditional overall survival (cOS) and 11,800 patients for conditional cancer-specific survival (cCSS), while the validation set comprised 4876 patients for cOS and 5055 patients for cCSS. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were employed to identify independent risk factors influencing one-year postoperative cOS and cCSS. Subsequently, predictive nomograms for cOS and cCSS at 2-year, 3-year, 4-year, and 5-year intervals were constructed based on the identified prognostic factors. The performance of these nomograms was rigorously assessed through metrics including the concordance index (C-index), calibration curves, and the area under curve (AUC) derived from the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Clinical utility was further evaluated using decision curve analysis (DCA). Results: A total of 18,190 patients diagnosed with stage III T3–T4 colon cancer were included in this study. Independent risk factors for one-year postoperative cOS and cCSS included age, pT stage, pN stage, pretreatment carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels, receipt of chemotherapy, perineural invasion (PNI), presence of tumor deposits, the number of harvested lymph nodes, and marital status. Sex and tumor site were significantly associated with one-year postoperative cOS, while radiation therapy was notably associated with one-year postoperative cCSS. In the training cohort, the developed nomogram demonstrated a C-index of 0.701 (95% CI, 0.711–0.691) for predicting one-year postoperative cOS and 0.701 (95% CI, 0.713–0.689) for one-year postoperative cCSS. Following validation, the C-index remained robust at 0.707 (95% CI, 0.721–0.693) for one-year postoperative cOS and 0.700 (95% CI, 0.716–0.684) for one-year postoperative cCSS. ROC and calibration curves provided evidence of the model's stability and reliability. Furthermore, DCA underscored the nomogram's superior clinical utility. Conclusions: Our study developed nomograms and predictive models for postoperative stage III survival in T3–T4 colon cancer with the aim of accurately estimating conditional survival. Survival bias in our analyses may lead to overestimation of survival outcomes, which may limit the applicability of our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aims: Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease. The imbalance of Th17/Treg cells has been reported in PBC patients. Low-dose IL-2 can alleviate disease severity through modulating CD4 + T cell subsets in patients with autoimmune diseases. Hence, the present study aimed to examine the effects and mechanism of low-dose IL-2 in PBC mouse models. Methods: PBC models were induced in female C57BL/6 mice by two immunizations with 2OA-BSA at two-week intervals, and poly I: C every three days. PBC mouse models were divided into the IL-2 treated and untreated groups and low-dose IL-2 was injected at three different time points. Th17 and Tregs were analyzed by flow cytometry, and the related cytokines were analyzed by ELISA. Liver histopathology was examined by H&E and immunohistochemical staining. Results: Twelve weeks after modeling, the serum AMA was positive and the ALP was significantly increased in PBC mouse models (P<0.05). The pathology showed lymphocyte infiltration in the portal area, damage, and reactive proliferation of the small bile duct (P<0.05). The flow cytometric showed the imbalance of Th17/Treg cells in the liver of PBC mouse models, with decreased Treg cells, increased Th17 cells, and Th17/Treg ratio (P < 0.05). After the low-dose IL-2 intervention, biochemical index and liver pathologies showed improvement at 12 weeks. Besides, the imbalance of Th17 and Treg cells recovered. Public database mining showed that Th17 cell differentiation may contribute to poor response in PBC patients. Conclusion: Low-dose IL-2 can significantly improve liver biochemistry and pathology by reversing the imbalance of Th17 and Treg cells, suggesting that it may be a potential therapeutic target for PBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mitochondrial DNA's (mtDNA) haplogroups and SNPs were associated with the risk of different cancer. However, there is no evidence that the same haplogroup or mitochondrial SNP (mtSNP) exhibits the pleiotropic effect on multiple cancers., Methods: We recruited 2,489 participants, including patients with colorectal, hepatocellular, lung, ovarian, bladder, breast, pancreatic, and renal cell carcinoma. In addition, 715 healthy individuals from Northern China served as controls. Next, cross-tumor analysis was performed to determine whether mtDNA variation is associated with multiple cancers., Results: Our results revealed a significant decrease in the occurrence risk of multiple cancers among individuals belonging to haplogroup A [OR = 0.553, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.375-0.815, P = 0.003]. Furthermore, we identified 11 mtSNPs associated with multiple cancers and divided the population into high-risk and low-risk groups. Low-risk groups showed a significantly reduced risk of occurrence compared with high-risk groups (OR = 0.614, 95% CI = 0.507-0.744, P < 0.001). Furthermore, using interaction analysis, we identified a special group of individuals belonging to haplogroup A/M7 and the low-risk population, who exhibit a lower risk of multiple cancers compared with other populations (OR = 0.195, 95% CI = 0.106-0.359, P < 0.001). Finally, gene set enrichment analysis confirmed that haplogroup A/M7 patients had lower expression levels of cancer-related pathway genes compared with haplogroup D patients., Conclusions: We found that specific mtDNA haplogroups and mtSNPs may play a role in predicting multiple cancer predisposition in Chinese populations., Impact: This may provide a potential tool for early screening in clinical settings for individuals in the Chinese population., (©2024 American Association for Cancer Research.)