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Background: Physical exercise is an important method for both the physical and mental health of the senior population. However, excessive exertion can lead to increased risks of falls, severe injuries, and diminished quality of life. Therefore, simple and effective methods for fatigue monitoring during exercise are highly desirable, particularly in community settings. The purpose of this study was to explore the possibility of real-time detection of exercise-induced fatigue using surface Electromyogram (sEMG) features, including the kurtosis and skewness of the Probability Density Function (PDF) in the community settings to solve the issues of low sensitivity and high computational complexity of commonly used sEMG features., Methods: sEMG signals from six forearm muscles were recorded during hand grip tasks at 20% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) task-to-failure contractions from 30 healthy community-dwelling elders at their respective community centers. PDF shape features of the sEMG, namely kurtosis and skewness, were computed from 25 s of non-fatigue stable phase and 25 s of fatigue data for comparison. Statistical tests were conducted to compare and test for the significance of these features. We further proposed a novel fatigue indicator, Temporal-Mean-Kurtosis (TMK) of channel-averaged kurtosis, to detect fatigue with relatively low computational complexity and adequate sensitivity in community settings. ANOVA and post-hoc analyses were performed to examine the performance of TMK., Results: Statistically significant differences were found between the non-fatigue period and the fatigue period for both kurtosis and skewness, with increasing values when approaching fatigue. TMK was shown to be sensitive in detecting fatigue with respect to time with lower computational complexity than the Sample Entropy., Conclusion: This study investigated PDF shape features of sEMG signals during a handgrip exercise to identify muscle fatigue in older adults in community experiments. Results revealed significant changes in kurtosis upon fatigue, indicating that PDF shape features were suitable convenient detectors of muscle fatigue in community experiments. The proposed indicator, TMK, showed potential sensitivity in tracking muscle fatigue over time in community-based settings with limited computational complexity, highlighting the promise of sEMG's PDF features in detecting muscle fatigue among the elderly., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Ticks are vectors of numerous pathogens, with their bacterial composition, abundance, diversity, and interaction influencing both their growth and disease transmission efficiency. Despite the abundance of ticks in Inner Mongolia, China, comprehensive data on their microbial communities are lacking. This study aims to analyze the microbial communities within ticks from Inner Mongolia to inform innovative control strategies for interrupting pathogen transmission., Methods: Tick samples were collected from animals and vegetation in multiple locations across Inner Mongolia and stored at - 80 °C. Ticks were identified using morphological keys and molecular biology methods. Full-length 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed on collected samples. Bacterial community composition and diversity were mainly analyzed using bioinformatic tools such as QIIME, phyloseq, and DESeq2. Alpha diversity was assessed using Chao1, ACE, and Shannon indices, while beta diversity was evaluated using Bray-Curtis dissimilarity matrices. LEfSe analysis was applied to identify taxa associated with ecological and biological variables., Results: A total of 5,048,137 high-quality read counts were obtained, forming an average of 789.3 OTUs per sample. Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes were the most dominant phyla. Bacterial community composition varied significantly with geography, with Dermacentor nuttalli showing a higher abundance of Rickettsia in Xilingol League, while other regions had different dominant genera. The microbial community also differed based on the feeding status of ticks. Additionally, the microbiota of engorged ticks showed organ specificity. Pathogen detection efforts revealed the presence of nine pathogens across all three tick species. D. nuttalli was found to carry a significantly higher burden of pathogenic bacteria, making it the most potentially threatening tick species in Inner Mongolia., Conclusions: The study highlights significant variations in tick microbiomes influenced by geographic location, feeding status, and tick species. It underscores the importance of enhancing tick and tick-borne disease surveillance in Inner Mongolia for early detection and control of emerging pathogens., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: While physicians are considered to be more susceptible to developing depressive symptoms, empirical data are lacking. The study aims to compare the risk of depressive symptoms between emergency physicians and the general population in China based on national data., Methods: This was a national cross-sectional study. 10 457 emergency physicians and 101 120 participants from the general population were investigated from July 2018 to August 2018 and January 2019 to February 2019, respectively. PHQ-9 was used to measure depressive symptoms, and a score ≥ 10 indicates major depression. Propensity score matching was adopted to balance the characteristics between emergency physicians and the general population. Multinomial logistic regression model was used to examine the association between occupational groups and the severity of depressive symptoms. Binary logistic regression model was performed to explore the risk factors of major depression among emergency physicians., Results: The prevalence of major depression among emergency physicians was 35.7%, whereas among the general population was 13.9%. Emergency physicians had a 3.65 times higher risk of major depression than the general population. And emergency physician was significantly associated with mild (OR: 3.12, 95% CI 2.95-3.30), moderate (OR: 4.94, 95% CI 4.60-5.30), moderately severe (OR: 9.48, 95% CI 8.61-10.44), and severe depressive symptoms (OR: 14.18, 95% CI 12.47-16.13) compared with none depressive symptoms. Even after matching, the results remained consistent. Factors associated with major depression among emergency physicians included bachelor degree or above (OR: 1.22, 95% CI 1.06-1.40), worked long years (OR: 1.26, 95% CI 1.08-1.46 for 1-5 years; OR: 1.56, 95% CI 1.32-1.84 for ≥ 6 years), experienced workplace violence (OR: 2.51, 95% CI 2.16-2.94), worked more night shifts per month (OR: 1.33, 95% CI 1.16-1.51 for 6-10 times; OR: 1.83, 95% CI 1.58-2.11 for ≥ 11 times), smoked (OR: 1.64, 95% CI 1.47-1.84), and effort-reward imbalance (OR: 4.18, 95% CI 3.62-4.85)., Conclusions: Emergency physicians had a higher risk of depressive symptoms than the general population. There is a need for greater awareness of the mental health issues faced by emergency physicians., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: To assess the prevalence and epidemic pattern of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, China during 2012-2022., Methods: All the tuberculosis cases undergoing drug susceptibility testing during 2012-2022 were included in this study. De-identified information was extracted from the electronic database Tuberculosis Information Management System for analysis of drug resistance prevalence in Hangzhou and ecdemic multidrug-resistant tuberculosis which originated from other regions. Chi-square tests were used to compare drug resistance rates between different groups, while Chi-square tests for trend were used to evaluate the change of drug resistance rates over the years of 2012-2022. The sources and destinations of ecdemic multidrug-resistant tuberculosis were illustrated using a Sankey diagram., Results: Of 21,127 cases included in this study, 1119 (5.3%) were multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. A significant decline in multidrug-resistant tuberculosis rates was observed during 2012-2022. There was a significant difference in multidrug-resistant tuberculosis rates among immigrant population and local residents in Hangzhou City. Of 1119 multidrug-resistant tuberculosis cases, 515(46%) were ecdemic multidrug-resistant tuberculosis cases, of which 277(53.8%) were from other parts of Zhejiang Province and 238(46.2%) were from other provinces in China. Anhui, Jiangxi and Sichuan were among top three provinces which were the source of ecdemic multidrug-resistant tuberculosis cases. Three districts including Xiaoshan, Shangcheng and Linping districts had the most cases in Hangzhou. The proportion of ecdemic multidrug-resistant tuberculosis cases in Binjiang, Xiaoshan, Qiantang and Linping districtalso exceeded 30% of total cases., Conclusions: Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis prevalence has been declining in Hangzhou. Migrant population contributed to a significant potion of cases in Hangzhou. Interventions should be tailed to local and migrant residents., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Glechoma longituba, recognized as a medicinal plant, provides valuable pharmaceutical raw materials for treating various diseases. Saline-alkali stress may effectively enhance the medicinal quality of G. longituba by promoting the synthesis of secondary metabolites. To investigate the changes in the primary medicinal components of G. longituba under saline-alkali stress and improve the quality of medicinal materials, Na 2 CO 3 was applied to induce short-term stress under different conditions and the biomass, physiologically active substances and primary medicinal components of G. longituba were measured in this study., Results: Under alkaline salt stress, the activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) were elevated in G. longituba, accompanied by increased accumulation of proline (Pro) and malondialdehyde (MDA). Furthermore, analysis of the medicinal constituents revealed that G. longituba produced the highest levels of soluble sugars, flavonoids, ursolic acid, and oleanolic acid under 0.6% Na 2 CO 3 stress for 48 h, 0.2% Na 2 CO 3 stress for 72 h, 0.4% Na 2 CO 3 stress for 12 h, and 0.4% Na 2 CO 3 stress for 8 h, respectively., Conclusions: Short-term Na 2 CO 3 stress enhances the synthesis of medicinal components in G. longituba. By manipulating stress conditions, the production of various medicinal substances could be optimized. This approach may serve as a basis for the targeted cultivation of G. longituba, offering potential applications in the treatment of diverse diseases., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Gesture recognition using surface electromyography (sEMG) has garnered significant attention due to its potential for intuitive and natural control in wearable human-machine interfaces. However, ensuring robustness remains essential and is currently the primary challenge for practical applications., Methods: This study investigates the impact of limb conditions and analyzes the influence of electrode placement. Both static and dynamic limb conditions were examined using electrodes positioned on the wrist, elbow, and the midpoint between them. Initially, we compared classification performance across various training conditions at these three electrode locations. Subsequently, a feature space analysis was conducted to quantify the effects of limb conditions. Finally, strategies for group training and feature selection were explored to mitigate these effects., Results: The results indicate that with the state-of-the-art method, classification performance at the wrist was comparable to that at the middle position, both of which outperformed the elbow, consistent with the findings from the feature space analysis. In inter-condition classification, training under dynamic limb conditions yielded better results than training under static conditions, especially at the positions covered by dynamic training. Additionally, fast and slow movement speeds produced similar performance outcomes. To mitigate the effects of limb conditions, adding more training conditions reduced classification errors; however, this reduction plateaued after four conditions, resulting in classification errors of 22.72%, 22.65%, and 26.58% for the wrist, middle, and elbow, respectively. Feature selection further improved classification performance, reducing errors to 19.98%, 19.75%, and 27.14% at the respective electrode locations, using three optimal features derived from single-condition training., Conclusions: The study demonstrated that the impact of limb conditions was mitigated when electrodes were placed near the wrist. Dynamic limb condition training, combined with feature optimization, proved to be an effective strategy for reducing this effect. This work contributes to enhancing the robustness of myoelectric-controlled interfaces, thereby advancing the development of wearable intelligent devices., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer can significantly benefit from HER2-directed therapy - such as the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab. However, some patients can develop therapy resistance or change HER2 status. Thus, we urgently need new, noninvasive strategies to monitor patients frequently. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted from tumor cells are emerging as potential biomarker candidates. These membrane-delimited nanoparticles harbor molecular signatures of their origin cells; report rapidly on changes to cellular status; and can be frequently sampled from accessible biofluids., Results: Using Single Extracellular VEsicle Nanoscopy (SEVEN) platform that combines affinity isolation of EVs with super-resolution microscopy, here we provide multiparametric characterization of EVs with ~ 8 nm precision and molecular sensitivity. We first interrogated cell culture EVs affinity-enriched in tetraspanins CD9, CD63, and CD81; these transmembrane proteins are commonly found on EV membranes. SEVEN robustly provided critical parameters of individual, tetraspanin-enriched EVs: concentration, size, shape, molecular cargo content, and heterogeneity. Trastuzumab-resistant cells (vs. trastuzumab-sensitive) secreted more EVs. Additionally, EVs from trastuzumab-resistant cells had lower tetraspanin density and higher HER2 density. We also evaluated EVs affinity-enriched in HER2; we found that these EVs (vs. tetraspanin-enriched) were larger and more elongated. We further optimized analytical sample processing to assess a rare population of HER2-enriched EVs from patient plasma. In breast cancer patients with elevated HER2 protein expression (vs. controls), HER2-enriched EVs had distinct characteristics including typically increased number of tetraspanin molecules and larger size. Importantly, these EVs were on average 25-fold more abundant compared to no cancer controls., Conclusions: SEVEN revealed unique characteristics of HER2-enriched EVs in cultured cells and complex biological fluid. In combination with current clinical approaches, this method is well poised to support precise therapeutic decisions., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Aim: To construct an evaluation index system for the core competence of nurses in sleep medicine specialties., Background: Specialized nurses in sleep medicine must handle treatment, nursing, and management well, which requires nurses to have excellent competence in knowledge, skills, and ability. However, a competency evaluation system for sleep medicine nurses has not been established in China., Methods: We used a literature review and an expert meeting to establish a draft indicator system. Subsequently, two rounds of correspondence were conducted with 27 experts from 5 provinces using the Delphi method to solicit their opinions on the core competency evaluation indicators for sleep medicine nurse specialists and to qualitatively evaluate the experts' scores. The consensus was defined in advance as a mean score of 4.0 or above, with at least 75% agreement among participants. In this way, the final indicator framework was determined., Results: The final evaluation indexes of the core competencies for sleep medicine Nurse Specialists included 6 first-level indexes (Practical ability, Theoretical Knowledge, Critical thinking, Communication and coordination, Nursing Management, and Professional Development), 16 s-level indexes, and 64 third-level indexes. The effective response rates of the two expert consultation rounds were 100%. The expert authority coefficients were 0.878 and 0.865 in the first and second rounds of consultation, respectively. In the second round of consultation, the first, second, and third indexes of Kendall's coefficient of concordance were 0.373, 0.351, and 0.286, respectively (P < 0.05)., Conclusion: The core competence evaluation index system for sleep medicine nurses established in this study is scientific and reliable and can provide a theoretical reference for the training, assessment, and evaluation of sleep medicine nurses in the future., Implications for Nursing Management: The evaluation index system of sleep medicine nurses' core competence will provide an effective practical framework for nursing management to evaluate, train, and examine the core competence of sleep medicine nurses., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Calcaneal osteomyelitis (CO) poses a formidable challenge in treatment due to the distinct anatomical structure and functional properties of the calcaneus. The present study endeavors to furnish a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the clinical manifestations, therapeutic strategies, and therapeutic outcomes pertaining to pediatric calcaneal osteomyelitis (PCO) by conducting a meticulous synthesis and analysis of cases reported in the literature., Methods: A systematic search of the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases was conducted to identify English-language studies analyzing PCO between 2000 and 2021. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the National Institutes of Health (NIH) assessment scale. Effective data were extracted and analyzed., Results: A total of 42 studies, encompassing 128 patients, fulfilled the established inclusion criteria. The gender distribution revealed a male-to-female ratio of 2:1 (81 boys and 40 girls). The median age at the time of diagnosis was 8 years, while the median duration of symptoms was 0.6 month. Trauma emerged as the primary etiology (41 cases, 54%), and limited activity was the most prevalent symptom (68 cases). The positive rate for pathogen culture was 75.4% (49/65), with Staphylococcus aureus being the most commonly isolated pathogen (28 cases, 57.1%). Surgical intervention was performed in 51% (64/126) of the patients, with debridement serving as the primary surgical strategy. The rate of infection recurrence was 6.8% (8/118), and the risk of below-knee amputation was 0.8% (1/124)., Conclusions: PCO occurred more frequently in male patients, with trauma being the primary underlying cause and Staphylococcus aureus being the most prevalent bacterial pathogen isolated. Over half of the patients underwent surgical intervention. Nonetheless, it is imperative that treatment strategies undergo further refinement, as approximately 7% of patients experienced infection recurrence., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Primary human hepatocytes (PHHs) are highly valuable for drug-metabolism evaluation, liver disease modeling and hepatocyte transplantation. However, their availability is significantly restricted due to limited donor sources, alongside their constrained proliferation capabilities and reduced functionality when cultured in vitro. To address this challenge, we aimed to develop a novel method to efficiently expand PHHs in vitro without a loss of function., Methods: By mimicking the in vivo liver regeneration route, we developed a two-step strategy involving the de-differentiation/expansion and subsequent maturation of PHHs to generate abundant functional hepatocytes in vitro. Initially, we applied SiPer, a prediction algorithm, to identify candidate small molecules capable of activating liver regenerative transcription factors, thereby formulating a novel hepatic expansion medium to de-differentiate PHHs into proliferative human hepatic progenitor-like cells (ProHPLCs). These ProHPLCs were then re-differentiated into functionally mature hepatocytes using a new hepatocyte maturation condition. Additionally, we investigated the underlying mechanism of PHHs expansion under our new conditions., Results: The novel hepatic expansion medium containing hydrocortisone facilitated the de-differentiation of PHHs into ProHPLCs, which exhibited key hepatic progenitor characteristics and demonstrated a marked increase in proliferation capacity compared to cells cultivated in previously established expansion conditions. Remarkably, these subsequent matured hepatocytes rivaled PHHs in terms of transcriptome profiles, drug metabolizing activities and in vivo engraftment capabilities. Importantly, our findings suggest that the enhanced expansion of PHHs by hydrocortisone may be mediated through the PPARα signaling pathway and regenerative transcription factors., Conclusions: This study presents a two-step strategy that initially induces PHHs into a proliferative state (ProHPLCs) to ensure sufficient cell quantity, followed by the maturation of ProHPLCs into fully functional hepatocytes to guarantee optimal cell quality. This approach offers a promising means of producing large numbers of seeding cells for hepatocyte-based applications., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Regenerating inflamed bone defects represents a severe clinical challenge due to the undesirable inflammatory microenvironment. The inflammatory stimulus poses a weighty threat to the regenerative capacity of endogenously derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are mainly responsible for osteogenic differentiation, thereby resulting in compromised endogenous bone formation. Consequently, alleviating the biological characteristics of inflammatory-impaired MSCs is crucial for promoting inflamed bone regeneration. Nano-sized small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) have emerged as promising therapeutic tools to orchestrate MSCs fate due to their intrinsic biocompatibility and encapsulated bioactive contents. In the present study, we extracted sEVs from youthful and adult dental pulp MSCs and explored their ability to recover inflammation-compromised periodontal ligament stem cells (IPDLSCs). The results indicated that both types of sEVs were capable of facilitating IPDLSCs osteogenesis. However, young sEVs exhibited a more robust potential at a lower concentration compared to adult sEVs. Mechanically, young sEVs enhanced the expression of bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) via delivering the protein Biglycan, which correspondingly promoted the osteogenic capability of IPDLSCs. Collectively, our findings emphasized that young sEVs hold enormous potential to rescue the inherent function and regenerative competence of inflammation-impaired MSCs, shedding light on their promising therapeutic prospects for infected bone regeneration., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Individuals with sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) tend to be overreactive in response to negative environmental stimuli. More is known about the positive relationship between SPS and quality of life (QoL); nevertheless, less is known regarding the roles of resilience and social determinants in this association. This research aimed to investigate the potential mediation effect of resilience and the moderation effect of social determinants on the relationship between SPS and QoL in a large sample of Chinese cancer patients., Methods: We used the most recent datasets from an ongoing project conducted in southwest China. A two-stage random sampling strategy with a probability proportionate to sample size (PPS) design was adopted. The associations between resilience, SPS, and QoL were evaluated using a linear regression model. Path analysis was adopted to examine the mediation of resilience., Results: Resilience was positively associated with quality of life, while increased sensory processing sensitivity was negatively associated with quality of life. The restricted cubic spline analysis revealed that as resilience increased, the coefficients of quality of life rapidly increased across all domains. Conversely, the coefficients for quality of life gradually decreased with the escalation of sensory processing sensitivity. Resilience was a significant mediator, accounting for 21.88% of the total SPS-QoL association. The mediation effect of resilience varied across ethnicity and sex., Conclusion: Sensory processing sensitivity was significantly associated with quality of life in cancer patients, and promoting resilience could mitigate this negative impact. However, the effect of resilience varies across sex and ethnicity. Therefore, targeted resilience promotion interventions, especially those integrating social characteristics, should be considered for implementation., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) can be reactivated and proliferated with fatal outcome in immuno-compromised people, but the clinical consequences of EBV infection in patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) remain uncertain. In this study, we investigated the infection rate, the influence and the early predictors of EBV infection in SFTS patients., Methods: In this retrospective study, SFTS patients who were treated in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from May 2011 to August 2021 were enrolled and divided into infected and non-infected groups. We compared the demographic characteristics, clinical manifestations and signs, laboratory tests and prognosis, and explored the risk factors of EBV infection by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and logistic regression., Results: A total of 120 hospitalized SFTS patients with EBV-DNA testing were enrolled in this study. Patients with EBV infection had statistically significant higher mortality rate (32.0% vs. 11.43%, P = 0.005). Compared with the non-infected group, the EBV-infected group had higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), creatine-kinase (CK), fasting blood glucose (FBG), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), D-dimer, and CD56 + cell counts, lower levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, complement 3 (C3), and C4. The proportion of patients with age ≥ 60 years and ferritin > 1500.0 ng/ml in the EBV-infected group was significantly higher than that in the non-infected group. The results of ROC analysis showed that the cut-off values of CRP, IgG, C3, C4, and CD56 + cell counts to predict EBV infection were 13.2 mg/l, 12.5 g/l, 1.1 g/l, 0.6 g/l, 0.3 g/l, and 94.0 cells/µl. Multivariable logistic analysis showed that age ≥ 60 years old, CRP > 13.2 mg/l, BUN > 5.4 mmol/l, ferritin > 1500.0 ng/ml, IgG < 12.5 g/l, IgM < 1.1 g/l, C4 < 0.3 g/l, and CD56 + cell counts > 94.0 cells/µl were the independent risk factors of EBV infection in SFTS patients., Conclusions: SFTS combined with EBV infection is associated with high morbidity and mortality. It is necessary to strengthen screening for EBV infection and its early predictive markers after admission in SFTS patients., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

To reveal the molecular function of elongation family of very long chain fatty acids(ELO) protein in Cyrtotrachelus buqueti, we have identified 15 ELO proteins from C.buqueti genome. 15 CbuELO proteins were located on four chromosomes. Their isoelectric points ranged from 9.22 to 9.68, and they were alkaline. These CbuELO proteins were stable and hydrophobic. CbuELO proteins had transmembrane movement, and had multiple phosphorylation sites. The secondary structure of CbuELO proteins was mainly α-helix. A total of 10 conserved motifs were identified in CbuELO protein family. Phylogenetic analysis showed that molecular evolutionary relationships of ELO protein family between C. buqueti and Tribolium castaneum was the closest. Developmental transcriptome analysis indicated that CbuELO10, CbuELO13 and CbuELO02 genes were key enzyme genes that determine the synthesis of very long chain fatty acids in pupae and eggs, CbuELO6 and CbuELO7 were that in the male, and CbuELO8 and CbuELO11 were that in the larva. Transcriptome analysis under different temperature conditions indicated that CbuELO1, CbuELO5, CbuELO12 and CbuELO14 participated in regulating temperature stress responses. Transcriptome analysis at different feeding times showed CbuELO12 gene expression level in all feeding time periods was significant downregulation. The qRT-PCR experiment verified expression level changes of CbuELO gene family under different temperature and feeding time conditions. Protein-protein interaction analysis showed that 9 CbuELO proteins were related to each other, CbuELO1, CbuELO4 and CbuELO12 had more than one interaction relationship. These results lay a theoretical foundation for further studying its molecular function during growth and development of C. buqueti., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Drug resistance, including Adriamycin-based therapeutic resistance, remains a challenge in breast cancer (BC) treatment. Studies have revealed that macrophages could play a pivotal role in mediating the chemoresistance of cancer cells. Accumulating evidence suggests that tRNA-Derived small RNAs (tDRs) are associated the physiological and pathological processes in multiple cancers. However, the underlying mechanisms of tDRs on chemoresistance of BC in tumor-associated macrophages remain largely unknown., Methods: The high-throughput sequencing technique was used to screen tDRs expression profile in BC cells. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments and xenograft models were performed to verify the biological function of 3'tRF-Ala-AGC in BC cells. The CIBERSORT algorithm was used to investigate immune cell infiltration in BC tissues. To explore the role of 3'tRF-Ala-AGC in macrophages, M2 macrophages transfected with 3'tRF-Ala-AGC mimic or inhibitor were co-cultured with BC cells. Effects on Nuclear factor-κb (NF-κb) pathway were investigated by NF-κb nuclear translocation assay and western blot analysis. RNA pull-down assay was performed to identify 3'tRF-Ala-AGC interacting proteins., Results: A 3'tRF fragment of 3'tRF-AlaAGC was screened, which is significantly overexpressed in BC specimens and Adriamycin-resistant cells. 3'tRF-AlaAGC could promote cell malignant activity and facilitate M2 polarization of macrophages in vitro and in vivo. Higher expression of M2 macrophages were more likely to have lymph node metastasis and deeper invasion in BC patients. Mechanistically, 3'tRF-AlaAGC binds Type 1-associated death domain protein (TRADD) in BC cells, and suppression of TRADD partially abolished the enhanced effect of 3'tRF-AlaAGC mimic on phenotype of M2. The NF-κb signaling pathway was activated in BC cells co-cultured with M2 macrophages transfected with 3'tRF-AlaAGC mimic., Conclusions: 3'tRF-AlaAGC might modulate macrophage polarization via binding to TRADD and increase the effect of M2 on promoting the chemoresistance in BC cells through NF-κb signaling pathway., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

DNA binding with one finger(Dof) gene family is a class of transcription factors which play an important role on plant growth and development. Genome-wide identification results indicated that there were 45 Dof genes(ColDof) in C.oleifera genome. All 45 ColDof proteins were non-transmembrane and non-secretory proteins. Phosphorylation site analysis showed that biological function of ColDof proteins were mainly realized by phosphorylation at serine (Ser) site. The secondary structure of 44 ColDof proteins was dominated by random coil, and only one ColDof protein was dominated by α-helix. ColDof genes' promoter region contained a variety of cis-acting elements, including light responsive regulators, gibberellin responsive regulators, abscisic acid responsive regulators, auxin responsive regulators and drought induction responsive regulators. The SSR sites analysis showed that the proportion of single nucleotide repeats and the frequency of A/T in ColDof genes were the largest. Non-coding RNA analysis showed that 45 ColDof genes contained 232 miRNAs. Transcription factor binding sites of ColDof genes showed that ColDof genes had 5793 ERF binding sites, 4381 Dof binding sites, 2206 MYB binding sites, 3702 BCR-BPC binding sites. ColDof9, ColDof39 and ColDof44 were expected to have the most TFBSs. The collinearity analysis showed that there were 40 colinear locis between ColDof proteins and AtDof proteins. Phylogenetic analysis showed that ColDof gene family was most closely related to that of Camellia sinensis var. sinensis cv.Biyun and Camellia lanceoleosa. Protein-protein interaction analysis showed that ColDof34, ColDof20, ColDof28, ColDof35, ColDof42 and ColDof26 had the most protein interactions. The transcriptome analysis of C. oleifera seeds showed that 21 ColDof genes were involved in the growth and development process of C. oleifera seeds, and were expressed in 221 C. oleifera varieties. The results of qRT-PCR experiments treated with different concentrations NaCl and PEG6000 solutions indicated that ColDof1, ColDof2, ColDof14 and ColDof36 not only had significant molecular mechanisms for salt stress tolerance, but also significant molecular functions for drought stress tolerance in C. oleifera. The results of this study provide a reference for further understanding of the function of ColDof genes in C.oleifera., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Pyrethroid chemicals are one of the main acaricides used against ticks. Resistance to these chemicals has been reported to be associated with mutations in the voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) gene of the Rhipicephalus microplus. This study investigates R. microplus resistance to pyrethroids in Guangxi region of China, marking one of the first research efforts in this area. The findings are intended to provide vital baseline for the effective implementation of localized tick control strategies., Methods: From March to July 2021, 447 R. microplus tick samples were collected from five prefecture-level cities in Guangxi. Allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR) was used to amplify segments C190A and G215T of the domain II S4-5 linker and T2134A of domain III S6 in the VGSC, to detect nucleotide mutations associated with resistance to pyrethroid acaricides. Subsequent analyses were conducted to ascertain the prevalence, types of mutations, and genotypic distributions within the sampled populations., Results: Mutations within VGSC gene were identified across all five studied populations of R. microplus, although the mutation rates remained generally low. Specifically, the most prevalent mutation was C190A, observed in 4.9% of the samples (22/447), followed by G215T at 4.0% (18/447), and T2134A at 1.3% (6/447). The distribution of mutations across three critical sites of the VGSC gene revealed four distinct mutation types: C190A, G215T, C190A + G215T, and T2134A. Notably, the single mutation C190A had the highest mutation frequency, accounting for 4.3%, and the C190A + G215T combination had the lowest, at only 0.7%. The analysis further identified seven genotypic combinations, with the wild-type combination C/C + G/G + T/T predominating at a frequency of 90.4%. Subsequently, the C/A + G/G + T/T combination was observed at a frequency of 4.3%, whereas the C/C + T/T + T/T combination exhibited the lowest frequency (0.2%). Additionally, no instances of simultaneous mutations at all three sites were detected. Geographical differences in mutation types were apparent. Both samples from Hechi to Chongzuo cities exhibited the same three mutation types; however, C190A was the most prevalent in Hechi, while G215T dominated in Chongzuo. In contrast, samples from Beihai to Guilin each exhibited only one mutation type: G215T occurred in 12.5% (4/32) of Beihai samples, and C190A in 7.5% (4/53) of Guilin samples., Conclusions: These findings underscore the relatively low frequency of VGSC gene mutations in R. microplus associated with pyrethroid resistance in the Guangxi, China. Moreover, the variation in mutation types and genotypic distributions across different locales highlights the need for regionalized strategies in monitoring and managing pyrethroid resistance in tick populations. This molecular surveillance is crucial for informing targeted control measures and mitigating the risk of widespread resistance emergence., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The analysis of genomic variations in offspring after implantation has been infrequently studied. In this study, we aim to investigate the extent of de novo mutations in humans from developing fetus to birth. Using high-depth whole-genome sequencing, 443 parent-offspring trios were studied to compare the results of de novo mutations (DNMs) between different groups. The focus was on fetuses and newborns, with DNA samples obtained from the families' blood and the aspirated embryonic tissues subjected to deep sequencing. It was observed that the average number of total DNMs in the newborns group was 56.26 (54.17-58.35), which appeared to be lower than that the multifetal reduction group, which was 76.05 (69.70-82.40) (F = 2.42, P = 0.12). However, after adjusting for parental age and maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), significant differences were found between the two groups. The analysis was further divided into single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and insertion/deletion of a small number of bases (indels), and it was discovered that the average number of de novo SNVs associated with the multifetal reduction group and the newborn group was 49.89 (45.59-54.20) and 51.09 (49.22-52.96), respectively. No significant differences were noted between the groups (F = 1.01, P = 0.32). However, a significant difference was observed for de novo indels, with a higher average number found in the multifetal reduction group compared to the newborn group (F = 194.17, P < 0.001). The average number of de novo indels among the multifetal reduction group and the newborn group was 26.26 (23.27-29.05) and 5.17 (4.82-5.52), respectively. To conclude, it has been observed that the quantity of de novo indels in the newborns experiences a significant decrease when compared to that in the aspirated embryonic tissues (7-9 weeks). This phenomenon is evident across all genomic regions, highlighting the adverse effects of de novo indels on the fetus and emphasizing the significance of embryonic implantation and intrauterine growth in human genetic selection mechanisms., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Dof transcription factor family in Cyperus esculentus genome was identified and analyzed using bioinformatics. The analysis results revealed that C.esculentus genome contains 29 Dof genes (CesDof), all of which are located in the nucleus according to subcellular localization prediction. CesDof proteinrs have a range of 124 to 512 amino acids, with most being basic proteins. Their secondary structure was mainly irregular curl. The promoter sequence of CesDof genes contains cis-acting elements that respond to light, drought, hormones, low temperature, and circadian rhythm. Codon preference analysis showed that CesDof genes' codon preference ends in T/A. Collinearity analysis revealed that C.esculentus had three pairs of collinear CesDof genes. Additionally, there were 15 pairs of collinear genes between C.esculentus and Arabidopsis thaliana. The genetic relationship between C.esculentus and Rhynchospora pubera was found to be the closest. Phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that 29 CesDof genes of C.esculentus can be classified into 4 subgroups. Additionally, 144 miRNAs were predicted to target these CesDof genes. Furthermore, protein interaction analysis indicated that 15 Dof proteins in C.esculentus had interactions. The qRT-PCR verification results of drought stress and salt stress treatment experiments showed that most CesDof genes were involved in drought stress and salt stress responses, and the gene expression trends under drought stress and salt stress conditions were consistent. These results lay a theoretical foundation for further studying the molecular functions of Dof gene family in C.esculentus and its molecular mechanisms in regulating the life activities of C.esculentus., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Due to the advanced studies on stem cells in developmental biology, the roles of stem cells in the body and their phenotypes in related diseases have not been covered clearly. Meanwhile, with the intensive research on the mechanisms of stem cells in regulating various diseases, stem cell therapy is increasingly being attention because of its effectiveness and safety. As one of the most widely used stem cell in stem cell therapies, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation shows huge advantage in treatment of leukemia and other blood-malignant diseases. Besides, due to the effect of anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory, mesenchymal stem cells could be a potential therapeutic strategy for variety infectious diseases. In this review, we summarized the effects of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and its components on different types of adult stem cells and their downstream signaling pathways. Also, we reviewed the roles of different kinds of stem cells in various disease models caused by S. aureus, providing new insights for applying stem cell therapy to treat infectious diseases., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Given the rapid population aging in China, achieving universal health coverage (UHC) presents a primary challenge in addressing unmet healthcare needs and associated inequalities among middle-aged and older adults. Several studies have focused on healthcare utilization and its inequalities, but little attention has been paid to the inequality in unmet healthcare needs. This study aimed to analyze the inequalities in unmet the healthcare needs of middle-aged and older adults in eastern China during the progression toward UHC., Methods: Data were obtained from the fourth, fifth, and sixth National Health Service Survey (NHSS) of Jiangsu Province, located in eastern China, during the years 2008, 2013, and 2018, respectively. Logistic regression models were used to assess the associated factors of unmet healthcare needs. The inequality was measured according to the concentration index (CI) and its decomposition., Results: In this study, we found that 12.86%, 2.22%, and 48.89% of middle-aged and older adults reported unmet needs for outpatient and inpatient services and physical examinations, respectively. The prevalence of unmet outpatient needs increased from 2008 to 2018, while the prevalence of unmet inpatient services was lower but maintained. The prevalence of unmet needs for physical examinations among middle-aged and older adults markedly decreased since 2008. Rural areas had a higher prevalence of unmet needs for inpatient services and physical examinations than urban areas. Unmet healthcare needs were more prevalent among the poor. The pro-poor inequalities of unmet healthcare needs have been mitigated during the progression toward UHC; however, they remain predominant among rural middle-aged and older adults for outpatient and inpatient services. Socioeconomic factors significantly influenced unmet healthcare needs and contributed to their inequalities., Conclusions: The findings characterize the prevalence and inequality of unmet healthcare need among middle-aged and older adults in eastern China during the progression toward UHC. Policy interventions should be actively advocated to effectively mitigate the unmet healthcare needs and address the associated inequalities., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The article by Zhao et al. titled "Associations of Triglyceride-Glucose (TyG) Index with Chest Pain Incidence and Mortality among the U.S. Population" provides valuable insights into the positive correlation between the TyG index and chest pain incidence, as well as a nonlinear relationship with mortality. However, the use of the COX proportional hazards model in their analysis presents several limitations. The assumption of constant hazard ratios over time may not hold, potentially leading to biased estimates. The model's struggle with time-dependent covariates and the possibility of residual confounding are notable concerns. Additionally, the study's subgroup analyses might suffer from reduced statistical power, and potential interactions with other metabolic markers were not explored. Considering these limitations, future research should adopt alternative approaches, such as time-varying covariate models, to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between the TyG index and cardiovascular outcomes., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive review of the existing literature regarding the treatment of osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLT) using autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis (AMIC), while also discussing the mid-long term functional outcomes, complications, and surgical failure rate., Methods: We searched Embase, PubMed, and Web of Science for studies on OLT treated with AMIC with an average follow-up of at least 2 years. Publication information, patient data, functional scores, surgical failure rate, and complications were extracted., Results: A total of 15 studies were screened and included, with 12 case series selected for meta-analysis and 3 non-randomized controlled studies chosen for descriptive analysis. The improvements in the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot, and Tegner scores at the last follow-up were (SMD = - 2.825, 95% CI - 3.343 to  - 2.306, P < 0.001), (SMD = 2.73, 95% CI 1.60 to 3.86, P < 0.001), (SMD = 0.85, 95% CI 0.5 to 1.2, P < 0.001) respectively compared to preoperative values. The surgery failure rate was 11% (95% CI 8-15%), with a total of 12 patients experiencing complications., Conclusion: The use of AMIC demonstrates a positive impact on pain management, functional improvement, and mobility enhancement in patients with OLT. It is worth noting that the choice of stent for AMIC, patient age, and OLT size can influence the ultimate clinical outcomes. This study provides evidences supporting the safety and efficacy of AMIC as a viable treatment option in real-world medical practice., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: The persistent infection of high-risk Human papillomavirus(HPV) is considered the main cause of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer. But various cervical lesions caused by HPV infection can be properly prevented by timely vaccination. However, the distribution of HPV genotypes varies geographically., Methods: Retrospective analysis of high-risk HPV prevalence of 16,150 women from 2020 to 2022 in xianning of China. HPV genotyping was performed using a PCR-RDB Kit that can detect 18 high-risk HPV genotypes recommended by China's National Medical Products Administration. The prevalence of 18 high-risk HPV genotypes and their relationship with cervical lesions as well as vaccine efficacy were analyzed., Results: A total of 2431 women were confirmed to have different types of high-risk HPV infections. The overall positive rate reached 15.05%(2431/16,150). The most prevalent high-risk HPV genotypes were HPV52, 16, 58, 53, and 51. The prevalence of high-risk HPV reached peak at age ≤ 20(20.95%) and age ≥ 61(20.56%). The most prevalent high-risk HPV genotypes were HPV16, 58, 18, 33 and 52 in cervical cancer cases, HPV16, 52, 58, 33 and 18 in CIN2/3 cases, and HPV52, 58, 16, 53 and 18 in CIN1 cases, respectively., Conclusion: HPV16, 58 and 18 are the most dangerous and carcinogenic genotypes in xianning, China. Conducting epidemiological investigations on high-risk HPV has significant clinical value in guiding HPV vaccination work., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Efficient thrombolysis in time is crucial for prognostic improvement of patients with acute arterial thromboembolic disease, while limitations and complications still exist in conventional thrombolytic treatment methods. Herein, our study sought to investigate a novel dual-mode strategy that integrated ultrasound (US) and near-infrared light (NIR) with establishment of hollow mesoporous silica nanoprobe (HMSN) which contains Arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) peptide (thrombus targeting), perfluoropentane (PFP) (thrombolysis with phase-change and stable cavitation) and indocyanine green (ICG) (thrombolysis with photothermal conversion). HMSN is used as the carrier, the surface is coupled with targeted RGD to achieve high targeting and permeability of thrombus, PFP and ICG are loaded to achieve the collaborative diagnosis and treatment of thrombus by US and NIR, so as to provide a new strategy for the integration of diagnosis and treatment of arterial thrombus. From the in vitro and in vivo evaluation, RGD/ICG/PFP@HMSN can aggregate and penetrate at the site of thrombus, and finally establish the dual-mode directional development and thrombolytic treatment under the synergistic effect of US and NIR, providing strong technical support for the accurate diagnosis and treatment of arterial thrombosis., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging infectious disease. SFTS virus (SFTSV) is transmitted by tick bites and contact with the blood or body fluids of SFTS patients. Animal-to-human transmission of SFTS has been reported in Japan, but not in China. In this study, the possible transmission route of two patients who fed and cared for farm-raised fur animals in a mink farm was explored., Method: An epidemiological investigation and a genetic analysis of patients, animals and working environment were carried out., Results: It was found that two patients had not been bitten by ticks and had no contact with patients infected with SFTS virus, but both of them had skinned the dying animals. 54.55% (12/22) of the farm workers were positive for SFTS virus antibody. By analyzing the large, medium and small segments sequences, the viral sequences from the two patients, animals and environments showed 99.9% homology., Conclusion: It is suspected that the two patients may be directly infected by farm-raised animals, and that the virus may have been transmitted by aerosols when skinning dying animals. Transmission by direct blood contacts or animal bites cannot be ignored., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: In the practical application of sarcopenia screening, there is a need for faster, time-saving, and community-friendly detection methods. The primary purpose of this study was to perform sarcopenia screening in community-dwelling older adults and investigate whether surface electromyogram (sEMG) from hand grip could potentially be used to detect sarcopenia using machine learning (ML) methods with reasonable features extracted from sEMG signals. The secondary aim was to provide the interpretability of the obtained ML models using a novel feature importance estimation method., Methods: A total of 158 community-dwelling older residents (≥ 60 years old) were recruited. After screening through the diagnostic criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia in 2019 (AWGS 2019) and data quality check, participants were assigned to the healthy group (n = 45) and the sarcopenic group (n = 48). sEMG signals from six forearm muscles were recorded during the hand grip task at 20% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) and 50% MVC. After filtering recorded signals, nine representative features were extracted, including six time-domain features plus three time-frequency domain features. Then, a voting classifier ensembled by a support vector machine (SVM), a random forest (RF), and a gradient boosting machine (GBM) was implemented to classify healthy versus sarcopenic participants. Finally, the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) method was utilized to investigate feature importance during classification., Results: Seven out of the nine features exhibited statistically significant differences between healthy and sarcopenic participants in both 20% and 50% MVC tests. Using these features, the voting classifier achieved 80% sensitivity and 73% accuracy through a five-fold cross-validation. Such performance was better than each of the SVM, RF, and GBM models alone. Lastly, SHAP results revealed that the wavelength (WL) and the kurtosis of continuous wavelet transform coefficients (CWT&#95;kurtosis) had the highest feature impact scores., Conclusion: This study proposed a method for community-based sarcopenia screening using sEMG signals of forearm muscles. Using a voting classifier with nine representative features, the accuracy exceeds 70% and the sensitivity exceeds 75%, indicating moderate classification performance. Interpretable results obtained from the SHAP model suggest that motor unit (MU) activation mode may be a key factor affecting sarcopenia., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Insect Cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (CYPs or P450s) plays an important role in detoxifying insecticides, causing insect populations to develop resistance. However, the molecular functions of P450 gene family in Cyrtotrachelus buqueti genome are still lacking., Results: In this study, 71 CbuP450 genes have been identified. The amino acids length of CbuP450 proteins was between 183 aa ~ 1041 aa. They are proteins with transmembrane domains. The main component of their secondary structure is α-helix and random coils. Phylogenetic analysis showed that C. buqueti and Rhynchophorus ferrugineus were the most closely related. This gene family has 29 high-frequency codons, which tend to use A/T bases and A/T ending codons. Gene expression analysis showed that CbuP450&#95;23 in the female adult may play an important role on high temperature resistance, and CbuP450&#95;17 in the larval may play an important role on low temperature tolerance. CbuP450&#95;10, CbuP450&#95;17, CbuP450&#95;23, CbuP450&#95;10, CbuP450&#95;16, CbuP450&#95;20, CbuP450&#95;23 and CbuP450&#95; 29 may be related to the regulation of bamboo fiber degradation genes in C. buqueti. Protein interaction analysis indicates that most CbuP450 proteins are mainly divided into three aspects: encoding the biosynthesis of ecdysteroids, participating in the decomposition of synthetic insecticides, metabolizing insect hormones, and participating in the detoxification of compounds., Conclusions: We systematically analyzed the gene and protein characteristics, gene expression, and protein interactions of CbuP450 gene family, revealing the key genes involved in the stress response of CbuP450 gene family in the resistance of C. buqueti to high or low temperature stress, and identified the key CbuP450 proteins involved in important life activity metabolism. These results provided a reference for further research on the function of P450 gene family in C. buqueti., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: It is well known that high-fat diet (HFD)-induced metabolic syndrome plays a crucial role in cognitive decline and brain-blood barrier (BBB) breakdown. However, whether the bone-brain axis participates in this pathological process remains unknown. Here, we report that platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) secretion by preosteoclasts in the bone accelerates neuroinflammation. The expression of alkaline phosphatase (ALPL), a nonspecific transcytosis marker, was upregulated during HFD challenge., Main Body: Preosteoclast-specific Pdgfb transgenic mice with high PDGF-BB concentrations in the circulation recapitulated the HFD-induced neuroinflammation and transcytosis shift. Preosteoclast-specific Pdgfb knockout mice were partially rescued from hippocampal neuroinflammation and transcytosis shifts in HFD-challenged mice. HFD-induced PDGF-BB elevation aggravated microglia-associated neuroinflammation and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) secretion, which increased ALPL expression and transcytosis shift through enhancing protein 1 (SP1) translocation in endothelial cells., Conclusion: Our findings confirm the role of bone-secreted PDGF-BB in neuroinflammation and the transcytosis shift in the hippocampal region during HFD challenge and identify a novel mechanism of microglia-endothelial crosstalk in HFD-induced metabolic syndrome., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: This study aimed to construct a coronary heart disease (CHD) risk-prediction model in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) with the help of machine learning (ML) per electronic medical records (EMRs)., Methods: Sixty-one medical characteristics (including demography information, laboratory measurements, and complicating disease) readily available from EMRs were retained for clinical analysis. These characteristics further aided the development of prediction models by using seven ML algorithms [light gradient-boosting machine (LightGBM), support vector machine (SVM), eXtreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), adaptive boosting (AdaBoost), decision tree, multilayer perceptron (MLP), and logistic regression]. The performance of this model was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) was further applied to interpret the findings of the best-performing model., Results: The LightGBM model exhibited the highest AUC (0.849; 95% CI, 0.814-0.883). Additionally, the SHAP plot per the LightGBM depicted that age, heart failure, hypertension, glucose, serum creatinine, indirect bilirubin, serum uric acid, and amylase can help identify PLHIV who were at a high or low risk of developing CHD., Conclusion: This study developed a CHD risk prediction model for PLHIV utilizing ML techniques and EMR data. The LightGBM model exhibited improved comprehensive performance and thus had higher reliability in assessing the risk predictors of CHD. Hence, it can potentially facilitate the development of clinical management techniques for PLHIV care in the era of EMRs., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objectives: Despite accumulating evidence regarding the impact of sleep disturbance on internalizing symptoms among adolescents, the underlying psychological mechanisms remain inadequately explored. This study aimed to investigate a conceptual framework elucidating how sleep disturbance influences internalizing symptoms in adolescents through the mediating role of self-control, with mindfulness as a moderator., Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1876 Chinese adolescents (Mage = 14.88 years, SD = 1.47 years, range = 12-19 years, 44.7% boys) completed the Youth Self-Rating Insomnia Scale (YSIS), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Brief Self-control Scale (BSCS), and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale-Children (MAAS-C) to provide data on sleep-related variables, internalizing symptoms (anxiety and depression), self-control, and mindfulness, respectively. The PROCESS macro for SPSS was applied to perform moderated mediation analysis., Results: Sleep disturbance demonstrated a significant positive correlation with internalizing symptoms in adolescents, including anxiety (β = 0.481, p < 0.001) and depression (β = 0.543, p < 0.001). Self-control served as a mediator between sleep disturbance and two forms of internalizing symptoms. Moreover, mindfulness moderated the pathways from self-control to internalizing symptoms (for anxiety symptoms: β = 0.007, p < 0.001; for depression symptoms: β = 0.006, p < 0.001), and the mediating relationships were weaker for adolescents exhibiting higher levels of mindfulness., Conclusions: Our findings enhance understanding of the impact, pathways, and influencing factors of sleep disturbance on adolescent internalizing symptoms, suggesting the importance of enhancing mindfulness levels in addressing self-control deficits and subsequently reducing internalizing symptoms among adolescents., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Few studies are focusing on the mechanism of erastin acts on prostate cancer (PCa) cells, and essential ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs) that can be PCa therapeutic targets are rarely known., Methods: In this study, in vitro assays were performed and RNA-sequencing was used to measure the expression of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in erastin-induced PCa cells. A series of bioinformatic analyses were applied to analyze the pathways and DEGs., Results: Erastin inhibited the expression of SLC7A11 and cell survivability in LNCaP and PC3 cells. After treatment with erastin, the concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) and Fe 2+ significantly increased, whereas the glutathione (GSH) and the oxidized glutathione (GSSG) significantly decreased in both cells. A total of 295 overlapping DEGs were identified under erastin exposure and significantly enriched in several pathways, including DNA replication and cell cycle. The percentage of LNCaP and PC3 cells in G1 phase was markedly increased in response to erastin treatment. For four hub FRGs, TMEFF2 was higher in PCa tissue and the expression levels of NRXN3, CLU, and UNC5B were lower in PCa tissue. The expression levels of SLC7A11 and cell survivability were inhibited after the knockdown of TMEFF2 in androgen-dependent cell lines (LNCaP and VCaP) but not in androgen-independent cell lines (PC3 and C4-2). The concentration of Fe 2+ only significantly increased in TMEFF2 downregulated LNCaP and VCaP cells., Conclusion: TMEFF2 might be likely to develop into a potential ferroptosis target in PCa and this study extends our understanding of the molecular mechanism involved in erastin-affected PCa cells., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: An extensive literature has shown a strong connection between maternal parenting practices and adolescent mental health problems. However, it has been difficult for previous research to map a dynamic concurrent and prospective relationships within and between types of parenting practices and adolescent mental health problems. The present study addressed these issues using a network analysis approach and a longitudinal design., Methods: This study involved 591 Chinese adolescents (249 males; mean age at T1 = 13.53) and their mothers (mean age at T1 = 39.71) at two time points (T1 and T2) with eighteen months apart. Mothers reported their parenting practices including warmth, monitoring, inductive reasoning, hostility, and harshness, while adolescents reported their mental health problems including anxiety, depression, aggression, and conduct problems. Network analysis was conducted for contemporaneous networks at T1 and T2 and temporal networks from T1 to T2., Results: The contemporaneous networks revealed the negative association between monitoring and conduct problems served as the main pathway through which parenting practices and adolescent mental health mutually influenced each other, and further, warmth was the most influential parenting practice on adolescent mental health. The temporal network revealed that maternal hostility exerted the most influence on adolescent mental health problems, whereas adolescents' depression was most influenced by maternal parenting practices. Moreover, maternal hostility was most predicted by maternal harshness., Conclusions: This study presents a novel perspective to gain a better understanding of the dynamics between and within maternal parenting practices and adolescent mental health problems. Findings highlight maternal harshness and warmth as potential prevention and intervention targets for adolescent mental health problems., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: To investigate the role of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) in the disease severity and prognosis of SLE-related thrombocytopenia (SLE-TP)., Methods: This multicenter prospective study was conducted based on data from the CSTAR registry. TP was defined as a platelet count<100 × 10 9 /L. Demographic characteristics, platelet count, clinical manifestations, disease activity, and autoantibody profiles were collected at baseline. Relapse was defined as the loss of remission. Bone marrow aspirate reports were also collected., Results: A total of 350 SLE-TP patients with complete follow-up data, 194 (55.4%) were aPLs positive. At baseline, SLE-TP patients with aPLs had lower baseline platelet counts (61.0 × 10 9 /L vs. 76.5 × 10 9 /L, P<0.001), and a higher proportion of moderate to severe cases (24.2% vs. 14.1% ; 18.0% vs. 8.3%, P<0.001). SLE-TP patients with aPLs also had lower platelet counts at their lowest point (37.0 × 10 9 /L vs. 51.0 × 10 9 /L, P = 0.002). In addition, thean increasing number of aPLs types was associated with a decrease in the baseline and minimum values of platelets ( P<0.001, P = 0.001). During follow-up, SLE-TP carrying aPLs had a higher relapse rate (58.2% vs. 44.2%, P = 0.009) and a lower complete response (CR) rate. As the types of aPLs increased, the relapse rate increased, and the CR rate decreased. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the ratio of granulocytes to red blood cells (G/E), the total number of megakaryocyte and categories., Conclusion: SLE-TP patients with positive aPLs had more severe disease a lower remission rate but a higher relapse rate., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Sepsis is a life-threatening, systemic inflammatory disease that can lead to a variety of conditions, including septic acute kidney injury (AKI). Recently, multiple circular Rnas (circRNAs) have been implicated in the development of this disease., Methods: In this study, we aimed to elucidate the role of circ-Gatad1 in sepsis induced AKI and its potential mechanism of action. High-throughput sequencing was used to investigate abnormal expression of circRNA in AKI and healthy volunteer. Bioinformatics analysis and luciferase reporting analysis were used to clarify the interacted relationship among circRNA, miRNA and mRNA. HK2 cells were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to establish septic AKI cell model. HK2 cells were employ to analysis the ROS, inflammatory cytokines expression, proliferation and apoptosis under LPS condition., Results: The result show that the expression of circ-Gatad1 was increased in septic acute kidney patients. Downregulation circ-Gatad1 suppressed LPS-treated induced HK2 cells injury including apoptosis, proliferation ability, ROS and inflammatory cytokines level. Bioinformatics and luciferase report analysis confirmed that both miR-22-3p and TRPM7 were downstream targets of circ-Gatad1. Overexpression of TRPM7 or downregulation of miR-22-3p reversed the protective effect of si-circ-Gatad1 to HK2 after exposure to LPS (5 µg/ml) microenvironment., Conclusion: In conclusion, knockdown of circ-Gatad1 alleviates LPS induced HK2 cell injury via targeting miR-22-3p/TRPM7 axis in septic acute kidney., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Quitting support from smokers' partners can predict quit attempts and smoking abstinence but research on factors that predict such support has been limited. To add more evidence for partner support and the improved interventions for smoking cessation, we analyzed some new potential predictors of quitting support from smokers' spouses., Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted in in 2022 and 2023, selecting the students' families in which fathers smoked and mothers didn't smoke from grade 1-5 of 13 primary schools in Qingdao, China. Parents who met the criteria completed the online questionnaires and 1018 families were included in the analysis. We measured personal information related to smokers and their spouses such as age, education and nicotine dependence, and variables related to family and marital relationship such as family functioning, perceived responsiveness and power in decision-making of quitting smoking. Quitting support from smokers' spouses was measured by Partner Interaction Questionnaire and generalized linear model was used to explore the potential predictors of partner support., Results: In this study, the mean age of smokers was 39.97(SD = 5.57) and the mean age of smokers' spouses was 38.24(SD = 4.59). The regression analysis showed that for smokers and their spouses, the older age groups showed the lower ratio of positive/negative support(P < 0.05) and smokers with high education showed the less positive and negative partner support(P < 0.05). Nicotine dependence was positively associated with negative support (β = 0.120, P < 0.01), and perceived responsiveness (β = 0.124, P < 0.05) as well as family functioning (β = 0.059, P < 0.05) was positively associated with positive support. These three factors were associated with ratio of positive/negative support(P < 0.05). In addition, power of smoker's spouse in decision-making of quitting smoking was positively associated with the positive (β = 0.087, P < 0.001) and negative support (β = 0.084, P < 0.001)., Conclusions: Nicotine dependence, family functioning, power in decision-making of quitting smoking and perceived responsiveness were found to be the predictors of quitting support from smokers' spouses. By incorporating predictors of partner support and integrating some established theories that can improve family functioning and marital relationships, smoking cessation interventions can be further improved., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: The human sortilin protein is an important drug target and detection marker for cancer research. The sortilin from Toxoplasma gondii transports proteins associated with the apical organelles of the parasite. In this study, we aimed to determine the intracellular localization and structural domains of T. gondii sortilin, which may mediate protein transportation. Approaches to the functional inhibition of sortilin to establish novel treatments for T. gondii infections were explored., Methods: A gene encoding the sortilin protein was identified in the T. gondii genome. Immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry were performed to identify the protein species transported by T. gondii sortilin. The interaction of each structural domain of sortilin with the transported proteins was investigated using bio-layer interferometry. The binding regions of the transported proteins in sortilin were identified. The effect of the sortilin inhibitor AF38469 on the infectivity of T. gondii was investigated. The binding site of AF38469 on sortilin was determined., Results: The subdomains Vps10, sortilin-C, and sortilin-M of the sortilin were identified as the binding regions for intracellular transportation of the target proteins. The sortilin inhibitor AF38469 bound to the Vps10 structural domain of T. gondii sortilin, which inhibited parasite invasion, replication, and intracellular growth in vitro and was therapeutic in mice infected with T. gondii., Conclusion: The Vps10, sortilin-C, and sortilin-M subdomains of T. gondii sortilin were identified as functional regions for intracellular protein transport. The binding region for the sortilin inhibitor AF38469 was also identified as the Vps10 subdomain. This study establishes sortilin as a promising drug target against T. gondii and provides a valuable reference for the development of anti-T. gondii drug-target studies., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) are the remnants of ancient retroviral infections integrated into the human genome. Although most HERVs are silenced or rendered inactive by various regulatory mechanisms, they retain the potential to influence the nearby genes. We analyzed the regulatory map of 91 HERV-Ks on neighboring genes in human breast cancer and investigated the impact of HERV-Ks on the tumor microenvironment (TME) and prognosis of breast cancer. Nine RNA-seq datasets were obtained from GEO and NCBI SRA. Differentially expressed genes and HERV-Ks were analyzed using DESeq2. Validation of high-risk prognostic candidate genes using TCGA data. These included Overall survival (multivariate Cox regression model), immune infiltration analysis (TIMER), tumor mutation burden (maftools), and drug sensitivity analysis (GSCA). A total of 88 candidate genes related to breast cancer prognosis were screened, of which CD48, SLAMF7, SLAMF1, IGLL1, IGHA1, and LRRC8A were key genes. Functionally, these six key genes were significantly enriched in some immune function-related pathways, which may be associated with poor prognosis for breast cancer (p = 0.00016), and the expression levels of these genes were significantly correlated with the sensitivity of breast cancer treatment-related drugs. Mechanistically, they may influence breast cancer development by modulating the infiltration of various immune cells into the TME. We further experimentally validated these genes to confirm the results obtained from bioinformatics analysis. This study represents the first report on the regulatory potential of HERV-K in the neighboring breast cancer genome. We identified three key HERV-Ks and five neighboring genes that hold promise as novel targets for future interventions and treatments for breast cancer., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the nucleotide-binding domain leucine-rich repeat protein-3 (NLRP3) gene are reported to be linked to many inflammatory disorders. However, uncertainty persists over the associations between these SNPs and susceptibilities to chronic osteomyelitis (COM). This study aimed to investigate potential relationships between NLRP3 gene SNPs and the risks of developing COM in a Chinese Han cohort., Methods: The four tag SNPs of the NLRP3 gene were genotyped in a total of 428 COM patients and 368 healthy controlsusing the SNapShot technique. The genotype distribution, mutant allele frequency, and the four genetic models (dominant, recessive, homozygous, and heterozygous) of the four SNPs were compared between the two groups., Results: A significant association was found between rs10754558 polymorphism and the probability of COM occurence by the heterozygous model (P = 0.037, odds ratio [OR] = 1.541, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.025-2.319), indicating that rs10754558 may be associated with a higher risk of developing COM.In addition, possible relationship was found between rs7525979 polymorphism and the risk of COM development by the outcomes of homozygous (P = 0.073, OR = 0.453, 95% CI = 0.187-1.097) and recessive (P = 0.093, OR = 0.478, 95% CI = 0.198-1.151) models, though no statistical differences were obtained., Conclusions: Outcomes of the present study showed, for the first time, that rs10754558 polymorphism of the NLRP3 gene may increase the risk of COM development in this Chinese Han population, with genotype CG as a risk factor. Nonetheless, this conclusion requires verification from further studies with a larger sample size., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: The role of mitochondrial dynamics, encompassing fission, fusion, and mitophagy, in cancer progression has been extensively studied. However, the specific impact of mitochondrial dynamics on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still under investigation., Methods: In this study, mitochondrial dynamic genes were obtained from the MitoCarta 3.0 database, and gene expression data were collected from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Based on the expression of these dynamic genes and differentially expressed genes (DEGs), patients were stratified into two clusters. Subsequently, a prognostic model was constructed using univariate COX regression and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression, and the prognostic signature was evaluated. We analyzed the interaction between these model genes and dynamic genes to identify hub genes and reveal mitochondrial status. Furthermore, we assessed immune infiltration, tumor mutational burden (TMB), tumor stemness indices (TSI), and the response to immune checkpoint block (ICB) therapy using the TIDE algorithm and risk scores. Additionally, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining, immunohistochemistry (IHC), western blotting (WB), and immunofluorescence (IF) were conducted to afford detailed visualization of the morphology of the mitochondria and the expression patterns of fission-associated proteins., Results: Patients in Cluster 2 exhibited heightened mitochondrial fission and had a worse prognosis. The up-regulated dynamic genes in Cluster 2 were identified as fission genes. GO/KEGG analyses reconfirmed the connection of Cluster 2 to augmented mitochondrial fission activities. Subsequently, a ten-gene prognostic signature based on the differentially expressed genes between the two clusters was generated, with all ten genes being up-regulated in the high-risk group. Moreover, the potential links between these ten signature genes and mitochondrial dynamics were explored, suggesting their involvement in mediating mitochondrial fission through interaction with MTFR2. Further investigation revealed that the high-risk group had an unfavorable prognosis, with a higher mutation frequency of TP53, increased immune checkpoint expression, a higher TIS score, and a lower TIDE score. The mitochondrial imbalance characterized by increased fission and upregulated MTFR2 and DNM1L expression was substantiated in both HCC specimens and cell lines., Conclusions: In conclusion, we developed a novel MTFR2-related prognostic signature comprising ten mitochondrial dynamics genes. These genes play crucial roles in mitochondrial fission and have the potential to serve as important predictors and therapeutic targets for HCC., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative disease resulting joint disability and pain. Accumulating evidences suggest that chondrocyte extracellular matrix calcification plays an important role in the development of OA. Here, we showed that Krüppel-like factor 10 (Klf10) was involved in the regulation of chondrocyte extracellular matrix calcification by regulating the expression of Frizzled9. Knockdown of Klf10 attenuated TBHP induced calcification and reduced calcium content in chondrocytes. Restoring extracellular matrix calcification of chondrocytes could aggravate chondrocyte senescence. Destabilization of a medial meniscus (DMM) mouse model of OA, in vivo experiments revealed that knockdown Klf10 improved the calcification of articular cartilage and ameliorated articular cartilage degeneration. These findings suggested that knockdown Klf10 inhibited extracellular matrix calcification-related changes in chondrocytes and alleviated chondrocyte senescence., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: Since the unexplained in vitro fertilization failure occurs frequently, it is of great importance and clinical value to identify potential underlying predictors. This study aimed to explore whether the percentage of sperm with a small acrosome was correlated with unexplained in vitro fertilization failure., Methods: A new acrosomal function evaluation index (the percentage of sperm with a small acrosome) was introduced into the analysis of sperm morphology. The association between the index and acrosome function by acrosin activity detection test and acrosome reaction test was investigated. In addition, the correlation with unexplained in vitro fertilization failure was further explored. Finally, the ROC curve was used to analyze the diagnostic efficacy on the failure of in vitro fertilization and the cutoff value was calculated., Results: As the increasing of the percentage of sperm with a small acrosome, the value of acrosin activity, acrosome reaction rate, and in vitro fertilization rate were reduced, with a statistically significant difference (P < 0.05). The index in the low fertilization rate group was significantly higher than that in the normal fertilization rate group (P < 0.05). Finally, the results of ROC curve found that when the index was 43.5%, the sensitivity and specificity were 74.2% and 95.3%, respectively., Conclusion: The percentage of sperm with a small acrosome was positively correlated with unexplained in vitro fertilization failure, which could be potentially used as a prognostic index for the failure of in vitro fertilization., Trial Registration: [Ethics review acceptance No IIT20210339B]., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Brucellosis is a zoonotic affliction instigated by bacteria belonging to the genus Brucella and is characterized by a diverse range of pervasiveness, multiple transmission routes, and serious hazards. It is imperative to amalgamate the current knowledge and identify gaps pertaining to the role of ticks in brucellosis transmission., Methods: We systematically searched China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WanFang, Google Scholar, and PubMed on the topic published until April 23, 2022. The procedure was performed in accordance with the Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. The selected articles were categorized across three major topic areas, and the potential data was extracted to describe evidence-practice gaps by two reviewers., Results: The search identified 83 eligible studies for the final analyses. The results highlighted the potential capacity of ticks in brucellosis transmission as evidenced by the detection of Brucella in 16 different tick species. The pooled overall prevalence of Brucella in ticks was 33.87% (range: 0.00-87.80%). The review also revealed the capability of Brucella to circulate in parasitic ticks' different developmental stages, thus posing a potential threat to animal and human health. Empirical evidence from in vitro rodent infection experiments has revealed that ticks possess the capability to transmit Brucella to uninfected animals (range: 45.00-80.00%). Moreover, significant epidemiological associations have been found between the occurrence of brucellosis in animals and tick control in rangelands, which further suggests that ticks may serve as potential vectors for brucellosis transmission in ruminants. Notably, a mere three cases of human brucellosis resulting from potential tick bites were identified in search of global clinical case reports from 1963 to 2019., Conclusions: It is imperative to improve the techniques used to identify Brucella in ticks, particularly by developing a novel, efficient, precise approach that can be applied in a field setting. Furthermore, due to the lack of adequate evidence of tick-borne brucellosis, it is essential to integrate various disciplines, including experimental animal science, epidemiology, molecular genetics, and others, to better understand the efficacy of tick-borne brucellosis. By amalgamating multiple disciplines, we can enhance our comprehension and proficiency in tackling tick-borne brucellosis., (© 2024. The Author(s).)