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Study DesignRetrospective radiological analysis.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to evaluate the distribution of bone mineral density (BMD) in lumbar vertebrae using the Hounsfield unit (HU) measurement method and investigate the clinical implications of HU values for assessing lumbar vertebrae BMD.MethodTwo hundred and ninety-six patients were retrospectively reviewed and divided into six groups according to age: Group 1(20–29 years old), Group 2 (30–39 years old), Group 3 (40–49 years old), Group 4 (50–59 years old), Group 5 (60–69 years old), Group 6 (70–79 years old). Six different locations from each vertebra of L1-L5 were selected as regions of interest: the anterior, middle and posterior parts of the upper and lower slices of the vertebrae. HU values were measured for the six regions of interest, followed by statistical analysis.ResultsThe HU values of vertebrae showed a decreasing trend from young patients to elderly patients in Group 1 to Group 5. There was no significant difference in HU values among different vertebrae in the same age group. In all age groups, the HU values of the anterior and posterior part of the vertebral body were significantly different from L1 to L3, with the anterior part of the vertebral body having lower HU values than the posterior part. The HU values of the anterior and posterior part of the vertebral body of L4 and L5 were statistically significant only in Group 5 and Group 6, and the HU values of the anterior part of the vertebral body were lower than those of the posterior part. The HU values of posterior part of L4 and L5 in Group6 were higher than those in Group5.ConclusionBone mineral density in the lumbar vertebrae is not uniformly distributed, potentially attributed to varying stress stimuli. The assessment of local HU values in the lumbar spine is of significant importance for surgical treatment.

The whole-genome sequence of an African swine fever virus (ASFV) strain (HuB/HH/2019) isolated from Hubei, China, was highly similar to that of the Georgia 2007/1 strain ASFV. After infection with strong strains, domestic pigs show typical symptoms of infection, including fever, depression, reddening of the skin, hemorrhagic swelling of various tissues, and dysfunction. The earliest detoxification occurred in pharyngeal swabs at 4 days post-infection. The viral load in the blood was extremely high, and ASFV was detected in multiple tissues, with the highest viral loads in the spleen and lungs. An imbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory factors in the serum leads to an excessive inflammatory response in the body. Immune factor expression is suppressed without effectively eliciting an immune defense. Antibodies against p30 were not detected in acutely dead domestic pigs. Sequencing of the peripheral blood mononuclear cell transcriptome revealed elevated transcription of genes associated with immunity, defense, and stress. The massive reduction in lymphocyte counts in the blood collapses the body’s immune system. An excessive inflammatory response with a massive reduction in the lymphocyte count may be an important cause of mortality in domestic pigs. These two reasons have inspired researchers to reduce excessive inflammatory responses and stimulate effective immune responses for future vaccine development.

Coinfection of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) and porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) is common in pig farms, but there is currently no effective vaccine to prevent this co-infection. In this study, we used immunoinformatics tools to design a multi-epitope vaccine against PEDV and PDCoV co-infection. The epitopes were screened through a filtering pipeline comprised of antigenic, immunogenic, toxic, and allergenic properties. A new multi-epitope vaccine named rPPMEV, comprising cytotoxic T lymphocyte-, helper T lymphocyte-, and B cell epitopes, was constructed. To enhance immunogenicity, the TLR2 agonist Pam2Cys and the TLR4 agonist RS09 were added to rPPMEV. Molecular docking and dynamics simulation were performed to reveal the stable interactions between rPPMEV and TLR2 as well as TLR4. Additionally, the immune stimulation prediction indicated that rPPMEV could stimulate T and B lymphocytes to induce a robust immune response. Finally, to ensure the expression of the vaccine protein, the sequence of rPPMEV was optimized and further performed in silico cloning. These studies suggest that rPPMEV has the potential to be a vaccine candidate against PEDV and PDCoV co-infection as well as a new strategy for interrupting the spread of both viruses.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), a continuously evolving pathogen, causes severe diarrhea in piglets with high mortality rates. However, current vaccines cannot provide complete protection against PEDV, so vaccine development is still necessary and urgent. Here, with the help of immunoinformatics approaches, we attempted to design a multi-epitope vaccine named rPMEV to prevent and control PEDV infection. The epitopes of rPMEV were constructed by 9 cytotoxic T lymphocyte epitopes (CTLs), 11 helper T lymphocyte epitopes (HTLs), 6 linear B cell epitopes (LBEs), and 4 conformational B cell epitopes (CBEs) based on the S proteins from the four representative PEDV G2 strains. To enhance immunogenicity, porcine β-defensin-2 (PBD-2) was adjoined to the N-terminal of the vaccine as an adjuvant. All of the epitopes and PBD-2 were joined by corresponding linkers and recombined into the multivalent vaccine, which is stable, antigenic, and non-allergenic. Furthermore, we adopted molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation methods to analyze the interaction of rPMEV with the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4): a stable interaction between them created by 13 hydrogen bonds. In addition, the results of the immune simulation showed that rPMEV could stimulate both cellular and humoral immune responses. Finally, to raise the expression efficiency, the sequence of the vaccine protein was cloned into the pET28a (+) vector after the codon optimization. These studies indicate that the designed multi-epitope vaccine has a potential protective effect, providing a theoretical basis for further confirmation of its protective effect against PEDV infection in vitro and in vivo studies.

How to improve and regulate coffee bean yield and quality through split fertilization in the whole life cycle of coffee is still unclear and deserves further study. A field experiment of 5-year-old Arabica coffee trees was conducted for 2 consecutive years from 2020 to 2022. The fertilizer (750 kg ha-1 year-1, N-P2O5-K2O:20%-20%-20%) was split in three times at early flowering (FL), the berry expansion (BE), and the berry ripening (BR). Taking equal fertilization throughout the growth cycle (FL250BE250BR250) as the control check, variable fertilizations including FL150BE250BR350, FL150BE350BR250, FL250BE150BR350, FL250BE350BR150, FL350BE150BR250, and FL350BE250BR150. Leaf net photosynthetic rate (Anet), stomatal conductance (gs), transpiration rate (Tr), leaf water use efficiency (LWUE), carboxylation efficiency (CE), partial factor productivity of fertilizer (PFP), bean yield, crop water use efficiency (WUE), bean nutrients, volatile compounds and cup quality, and the correlation of nutrients with volatile compounds and cup quality was evaluated. FL350BE250BR150 had the maximum Anet and gs, followed by FL250BE350BR150. The highest dry bean yield and WUE were obtained from FL250BE350BR150, which increased by 8.86% and 8.47% compared with FL250BE250BR250 in two-year average. The ash, total sugar, fat, protein, caffeine and chlorogenic acid in FL250BE350BR150 were 6.47%, 9.48%, 3.60%, 14.02%, 4.85% and 15.42% higher than FL250BE250BR250. Cluster analysis indicated FL150BE350BR250, FL250BE350BR150, FL350BE150BR250 and FL350BE250BR150 under medium roasted degree increased pyrazines, esters, ketones and furans, FL150BE350BR250 and FL250BE350BR150 under dark roasted degree increased ketones and furans. The aroma, flavor, acidity and overall score of medium roasted coffee were higher than dark roasted coffee, while the body score of dark roasted coffee was higher than medium roasted coffee. The nutrient contents were correlated with the volatile compounds and cup quality. TOPSIS indicated that FL250BE350BR150 was the optimal fertilization mode in the xerothermic regions. The obtained optimum fertilization mode can provide a scientific basis for coffee fertilization optimization and management.

Intermediate mafic lava is a special oil and gas reservoir. While its internal structure is an important factor affecting the reservoir properties, the identification of facies and understanding of the relationship between facies architecture and reservoir are limited. This study evaluated the intermediate mafic lava flows of the Yingcheng Formation in the Dongling area of Songliao Basin by analyzing drilling cores, corresponding thin sections, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) images, as well as well-logging and seismic attributes. We also performed helium gas experiments and high-pressure mercury intrusion (HPMI) analysis to assess the physical properties and pore structure of the reservoir, respectively. The results showed that intermediate mafic lava flows develop tabular lava flow, compound lava flow, and hyaloclastite. Three facies showed present diverse well-logging and seismic responses. The intermediate mafic lava facies architecture was divided into crater-proximal facies (CF-PF), medial facies (MF), and distal facies (DF), which were characterized by their vesicles and joints and could be identified through their seismic attributes. The reservoir spaces including vesicles, amygdale inner pores, joint fissures, and dissolution pores predominantly showed oil and gas accumulation. The results of the tests of the reservoir’s physical properties showed that the reservoir quality was best in the CF-PF, which is the main target of oil and gas exploration.

Usutu virus (USUV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus of African origin. Over the past decades, USUV has spread through Europe causing mass die-offs among multiple bird species. The natural transmission cycle of USUV involves Culex spp. mosquitoes as vectors and birds as amplifying hosts. Next to birds and mosquitoes, USUV has also been isolated from multiple mammalian species, including humans, which are considered dead-end hosts. USUV isolates are phylogenetically classified into an African and European branch, subdivided into eight genetic lineages (Africa 1, 2, and 3 and Europe 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 lineages). Currently, multiple African and European lineages are co-circulating in Europe. Despite increased knowledge of the epidemiology and pathogenicity of the different lineages, the effects of co-infection and transmission efficacy of the co-circulating USUV strains remain unclear. In this study, we report a comparative study between two USUV isolates as follows: a Dutch isolate (USUV-NL, Africa lineage 3) and an Italian isolate (USUV-IT, Europe lineage 2). Upon co-infection, USUV-NL was consistently outcompeted by USUV-IT in mosquito, mammalian, and avian cell lines. In mosquito cells, the fitness advantage of USUV-IT was most prominently observed in comparison to the mammalian or avian cell lines. When Culex pipiens mosquitoes were orally infected with the different isolates, no overall differences in vector competence for USUV-IT and USUV-NL were observed. However, during the in vivo co-infection assay, it was observed that USUV-NL infectivity and transmission were negatively affected by USUV-IT but not vice versa.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by synovial inflammation, pannus formation, and bone and cartilage damage. It has a high disability rate. The hypoxic microenvironment of RA joints can cause reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and mitochondrial damage, which not only affect the metabolic processes of immune cells and pathological changes in fibroblastic synovial cells but also upregulate the expression of several inflammatory pathways, ultimately promoting inflammation. Additionally, ROS and mitochondrial damage are involved in angiogenesis and bone destruction, thereby accelerating RA progression. In this review, we highlighted the effects of ROS accumulation and mitochondrial damage on inflammatory response, angiogenesis, bone and cartilage damage in RA. Additionally, we summarized therapies that target ROS or mitochondria to relieve RA symptoms and discuss the gaps in research and existing controversies, hoping to provide new ideas for research in this area and insights for targeted drug development in RA.

BackgroundWhen thyroid cancer invades the trachea, tumor resection and trachea reconstruction are required. Although the traditional way of anesthesia and tracheal intubation can maintain the necessary ventilation function during the operation, tracheal intubation affects the surgical field of vision and is not conducive to the protection of the recurrent laryngeal nerve beside the trachea during the operation.Case presentationExtracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is used to replace traditional tracheal intubation in the process of resection and end-to-end anastomosis of tracheal tumors, and complete tracheal tumor resection and trachea reconstruction are achieved.ConclusionUsing ECMO for thyroid carcinoma resection, invaded trachea resection, and trachea reconstruction is safe and effective, which reduces the obstruction of endotracheal intubation on the operative field, guarantees the rapid and efficient end-to-end anastomosis in the upper trachea, and clearly avoids laryngeal recurrent nerve injury in the process of anastomosis.

In recent years, the studies of the role of microRNAs in adipogenesis and adipocyte development and the corresponding molecular mechanisms have received great attention. In this work, we investigated the function of miR-140 in the process of adipogenesis and the molecular pathways involved, and we found that adipogenic treatment promoted the miR-140-5p RNA level in preadipocytes. Over-expression of miR-140-5p in preadipocytes accelerated lipogenesis along with adipogenic differentiation by transcriptional modulation of adipogenesis-linked genes. Meanwhile, silencing endogenous miR-140-5p dampened adipogenesis. Platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRα) was shown to be a miR-140-5p target gene. miR-140-5p over-expression in preadipocyte 3T3-L1 diminished PDGFRα expression, but silencing of miR-140-5p augmented it. In addition, over-expression of PDGFRα suppressed adipogenic differentiation and lipogenesis, while its knockdown enhanced these biological processes of preadipocyte 3T3-L1. Altogether, our current findings reveal that miR-140-5p induces lipogenesis and adipogenic differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells by targeting PDGFRα, therefore regulating adipogenesis. Our research provides molecular targets and a theoretical basis for the treatment of obesity-related metabolic diseases.

Nitric oxide (NO) production impairment is involved in the onset and development of hypertension. Although NO production impairment in spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) has been reported in a variety of researches, the time course of this progressive procedure, as well as its relationship with asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and angiotensin II (Ang II), has not been quantified. The aim of this research is to establish a mechanism-based disease progression model to assess Ang II and ADMA’s inhibition of NO production in SHR’s disease progression with/without ramipril’s intervention. SHR were randomly divided into three groups: one disease group (n=8) and two treatment groups (n=8 for each group) ：standard treatment group (receiving ramipril 2mg/kg*day) and intensive treatment group (receiving ramipril 10mg/kg*day). ADMA, Ang II, NO and SBP were determined weekly. Intensive treatment with ramipril was found to have no further attenuation of plasma NO and ADMA than standard treatment beyond its significantly stronger antihypertensive effects. Four linked turnover models were developed to characterize the profiles of ADMA, Ang II, NO and SBP during hypertensive disease progression with/without ramipril intervention. Our model described Ang II and ADMA’s contribution to NO production impairment and their responses to ramipril treatment throughout the disease progression in SHR. Model simulations suggested that Ang II affected NO production mainly through inhibiting ADMA elimination rather than affecting nitric oxide synthase (NOS) directly.

Usutu virus (USUV) is a mosquito-borne flavivirus of African origin. Over the past decades, USUV has spread through Europe causing mass die-offs among multiple bird species. The natural transmission cycle of USUV involves Culex spp. mosquitoes as vectors and birds as amplifying hosts. Next to birds and mosquitoes, USUV has also been isolated from multiple mammalian species, including humans, which are considered dead-end hosts. USUV isolates are phylogenetically classified into an African and European branch, subdivided into eight genetic lineages (Africa 1, 2, and 3 and Europe 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 lineages). Currently, multiple African and European lineages are co-circulating in Europe. Despite increased knowledge of the epidemiology and pathogenicity of the different lineages, the effects of co-infection and transmission effcacy of the co- circulating USUV strains remain unclear. In this study, we report a comparative study between two USUV isolates as follows: a Dutch isolate (USUV-NL, Africa lineage 3) and an Italian isolate (USUV-IT, Europe lineage 2). Upon co-infection, USUV-NL was consistently outcompeted by USUV-IT in mosquito, mammalian, and avian cell lines. In mosquito cells, the fitness advantage of USUV-IT was most prominently observed in comparison to the mammalian or avian cell lines. When Culex pipiensmosquitoes were orally infected with the different isolates, no overall differences in vector competence for USUV-IT and USUV-NL were observed. However, during the in vivo co-infection assay, it was observed that USUV-NL infectivity and transmission were negatively affected by USUV-IT but not vice versa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]