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Abstract Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of peripheral blood lymphocyte testing in children with infectious mononucleosis (IM). Methods A total of 135 children with IM as the IM group and 100 healthy volunteers as the healthy group were included in this retrospective study. Peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets marked as CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD16 + CD56+, and CD19 + in the peripheral blood were quantified using flow cytometry. Statistical analysis was performed using the chi-square test, Kruskal-Wallis test, AUROC curve, and Kappa consistency test to assess the diagnostic value of these markers in IM. Results The AUROC curve for CD8 + cells and for CD4+/CD8 + ratios both achieved a value of 1 with the sensitivity and specificity of 100% (P

Abstract Background Emotional eating is a prevalent maladaptive coping mechanism among college students, which is associated with mental health and sleep concerns. Though previous studies have established a link between sleep quality, depression and emotional eating, most of these have been in Western populations. In addition, few existing studies have taken physical activities into account, and the underlying mechanisms between these four variables remain to be further studied. Therefore, our study investigated the mediating role of depression and the moderating role of physical activity levels in the relationship between sleep quality and emotional eating among Chinese college students. Our study can help to understand the characteristics of this population and provide guidance on the intervention pathways for emotional eating. Methods A convenience sampling method was employed to select eligible participants for investigation. The General Information Questionnaire, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire, the Dutch Eating Behavior Scale, and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire were employed to measure the general condition, sleep quality, depression, emotional eating, and physical activity. A total of 813 college students (Mage = 19.14, SD = 1.12, range = 17 ~ 25 years old, 71.1% females) completed the survey. The moderated mediation analysis was carried out using the SPSS PROCESS macro. Results After controlling for sex, age, and body mass index (BMI), sleep quality positively predicted emotional eating. Depression primarily mediated the association between them. Besides, physical activity levels moderated the relationship between sleep quality and emotional eating via depression. Depression significantly predicted emotional eating among students with low levels of physical activity; however, it was not significant among students with moderate or high levels of physical activity. Conclusions The role of depression mediates the link between sleep quality and emotional eating. Regular exercise can ease the symptoms of emotional eating through depression. This implies the importance of offering more sleep hygiene education and physical activity in university settings.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of physical mutagenesis on the development and adaptive traits of early-stage shrimp larvae and to explore the feasibility of increasing genetic diversity and utilizing genetic variation in breeding populations through mutation technology. Atmospheric and room-temperature plasma (ARTP) mutagenesis technology was used to perform batch mutagenesis on fertilized eggs (gastrula stage) of four different families (A, B, C, and D) of Penaeus vannamei at the same power (360 W) and different times (2, 4, 8, and 12 min). Hatching rates, limb bud stage hatching deformity rates, survival rates, metamorphosis rates, and indicators of juvenile shrimp hypoxia tolerance and ammonia nitrogen stress were analyzed.The experimental results showed that all groups except for the 2 min mutation group showed hatching deformity rates significantly higher than those of the control group for the A and D families (P < 0.05). The deformity rate of each treatment group showed no significant differences from that of the control group in Family B. The malformation rate for Family C in the 8 min mutation treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group. However, there was no significant difference between the 2 and 4 min treatment groups. In all four families, the hatching rate of fertilized eggs decreased with an increase in mutation time, and when the mutation time was greater than or equal to 4 min, the hatching rates of all four families were less than 15%. Compared with that of the control group, all treatment groups of the families except for the 2 min mutation group from Family A showed a significant decrease in hatching rate (P < 0.05). The hatching rate of the 2 min group for families A, B, C, and D was significantly higher than that of the 4, 8, and 12 min mutation groups, and the hatching rate of the 4 min mutation group from Family B was significantly higher than that of the 8 min mutation group (P < 0.05). The hatching and limb bud stage hatching deformity rates were moderately and highly correlated with mutagenic time, respectively.Compared with the control group, the survival rates of families A, B, C, and D in the same treatment group at the same stage showed no significant differences. The survival rate of the 8 min mutation group from Family A was significantly reduced (P < 0.05), that of the 4 and 8 min mutation groups from Family C was significantly increased, and that of the 2 and 4 min mutation groups from Family D was significantly reduced relative to the control value, whereas that of the 8 min group from Family D was significantly increased. Considering Family A as an example, metamorphosis rates in each stage were analyzed. The metamorphosis rates of the control group and the 2 min mutation group showed a significant decreasing trend during the three stages of larval development (P < 0.05); however, the metamorphosis rate in the M–P stage was significantly lower than that in the N–Z and Z–M stages. The metamorphosis rate in the Z–M stage of the 4 min and 12 min groups was significantly lower than that during the N–Z and M–P stages, whereas the metamorphosis rate during the N–Z stage of the 8 min group was significantly lower than that of the Z–M stage. After low-dose (0 and 2 min) mutagenesis of fertilized eggs of P. vannamei, the peak period of death mainly occurred in the late stage of larval development. The peak period of larval death after relatively high doses of mutagenesis (4, 8, and 12 min) mainly occurred in the middle or early stages of larval development. The peak period of death varied among different treatment groups. The results caused by radiation treatment showed directionality, and this trend of peak mortality was similar between all families.Hypoxia tolerance and ammonia-nitrogen stress testing in Family A of juvenile shrimp revealed that almost all shrimp in the 4, 8, and 12 min groups died after 5.5 h of hypoxia stress. In contrast, the control group died after 9 h of stress, and the 2 min group died after 10 h of stress. The results indicate that low doses of radiation (2 min) may improve hypoxia tolerance to some extent. The survival rates of the 2 min and 8 min groups were highest on the fourth and seventh days of the ammonia nitrogen stress experiment, respectively. Mutation had a certain impact on the ability of larvae in Family A to resist ammonia-nitrogen stress.The experimental results suggest that ARTP induced the mutation of fertilized P. vannamei eggs with non-directional changes in adaptive traits. These findings suggest the feasibility of novel methods for creating new germplasms and preparing functional research materials for P. vannamei and provide basic data and a scientific basis for the mutagenic breeding of P. vannamei.

Abstract We conducted a systematic review of research in artificial intelligence (AI) for retinal fundus photographic images. We highlighted the use of various AI algorithms, including deep learning (DL) models, for application in ophthalmic and non-ophthalmic (i.e., systemic) disorders. We found that the use of AI algorithms for the interpretation of retinal images, compared to clinical data and physician experts, represents an innovative solution with demonstrated superior accuracy in identifying many ophthalmic (e.g., diabetic retinopathy (DR), age-related macular degeneration (AMD), optic nerve disorders), and non-ophthalmic disorders (e.g., dementia, cardiovascular disease). There has been a significant amount of clinical and imaging data for this research, leading to the potential incorporation of AI and DL for automated analysis. AI has the potential to transform healthcare by improving accuracy, speed, and workflow, lowering cost, increasing access, reducing mistakes, and transforming healthcare worker education and training.

ABSTRACTBackground: Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL) are an aggressive group of mature T-cell neoplasms, often associated with poor outcomes, in part, due to frequent relapsed/refractory disease. The objective of this study was to assess the prognostic impact of disease progression within 24 months (POD24) on overall survival (OS) for patients diagnosed with PTCL.Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on a cohort of patients with newly diagnosed PTCL who underwent chemotherapy at the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University between January 2010 and September 2021. Prognostic assessment was limited to patients who were evaluable for POD24.Results: Records were reviewed for 106 patients with PTCL, of whom 66 patients experienced POD24 (referred to as the POD24 group) and 40 patients did not experience POD24 (referred to as the no POD24 group). Significant differences were observed between the POD24 group and the no POD24 group in regard to clinical stage, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS), International Prognostic Index (IPI) score, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels, β2-microglobulin (β2-MG) levels, prealbumin and albumin levels. Patients in the POD24 group had a significant shorter median OS compared to the no POD24 group (11.9 months vs not reached, respectively; P

Purpose: Fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA) is the gold standard for retinal vein occlusion (RVO) diagnosis. This study aims to develop a deep learning-based system to diagnose and classify RVO using FFA images, addressing the challenges of time-consuming and variable interpretations by ophthalmologists. Methods: 4028 FFA images of 467 eyes from 463 patients were collected and annotated. Three convolutional neural networks (CNN) models (ResNet50, VGG19, InceptionV3) were trained to generate the label of image quality, eye, location, phase, lesions, diagnosis, and macular involvement. The performance of the models was evaluated by accuracy, precision, recall, F-1 score, the area under the curve, confusion matrix, human-machine comparison, and Clinical validation on three external data sets. Results: The InceptionV3 model outperformed ResNet50 and VGG19 in labeling and interpreting FFA images for RVO diagnosis, achieving 77.63%–96.45% accuracy for basic information labels and 81.72%–96.45% for RVO-relevant labels. The comparison between the best CNN and ophthalmologists showed up to 19% accuracy improvement with the inceptionV3. Conclusion: This study developed a deep learning model capable of automatically multi-label and multi-classification of FFA images for RVO diagnosis. The proposed system is anticipated to serve as a new tool for diagnosing RVO in places short of medical resources.

ObjectiveThe escape from T cell-mediated immune surveillance is an important cause of death for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). This study aims to identify clonal heterogeneity in leukemia progenitor cells and explore molecular or signaling pathways associated with AML immune escape.MethodsSingle-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was performed to identified AML-related cellular subsets, and intercellular communication was analyzed to investigate molecular mechanisms associated with AML immune escape. Bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed to screen differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to hematopoietic stem cell progenitors (HSC-Prog) in AML, and critical ore signaling pathways and hub genes were found by Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA), Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis. The mRNA level of the hub gene was verified using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and the protein level of human leukocyte antigen A (HLA-A) using enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA).ResultsscRNA-seq analysis revealed a large heterogeneity of HSC-Prog across samples, and the intercellular communication analysis indicated a strong association between HSC-Prog and CD8+-T cells, and HSC-Prog also had an association with HLA-A. Transcriptome analysis identified 1748 DEGs, enrichment analysis results showed that non-classical wnt signaling pathway was associated with AML, and 4 pathway-related genes (RHOA, RYK, CSNK1D, NLK) were obtained. After qRT-PCR and ELISA validation, hub genes and HLA-A were found to be down-regulated in AML and up-regulated after activation of the non-classical Wnt signaling pathway.ConclusionIn this study, clonal heterogeneity of HSC-Prog cells in AML was identified, non-classical wnt signaling pathways associated with AML were identified, and it was verified that HLA-A could be upregulated by activation of non-classical wnt signaling, thereby increasing antigen presentation.

ImportanceVarious studies have widely explored the association between index of dietary inflammation (DII) and occurrence of diseases. Accumulating evidence have revealed that a lower DII seems to be protective against a variety of diseases. Nevertheless, the association between DII and age-related cataract remains unclear.ObjectiveTo investigate the correlation between DII and age-related cataract in a representative sample of the American population.Design, setting, and participantsThis cross-sectional population-based study comprised 6,395 participants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted in cycles from 2005 to 2008. DII was calculated using dietary recall information, with higher scores indicating greater inflammatory potential of the diet. Age-related cataract was evaluated using cataract surgery as a surrogate measure. Covariates included sociodemographic factors, lifestyle factors, physical measures, and comorbidities. Logistic regression models were employed to assess the association between DII and cataract. The presence of a non-linear relationship was examined using restricted cubic spline analysis. Subgroup analysis was conducted to explore potential interaction effects. Data analysis was performed from September 1 to December 30, 2022.Main outcomes and measuresAge-related cataract assessed through cataract surgery information obtained from a self-reported questionnaire.ResultsA total of 6,395 participants were included, with a mean (standard deviation, SD) age of 48.7 (15.3) years. Of these, 3,115 (48.7%) were male, 3,333 (52.1%) were non-Hispanic white, and 683 (10.7%) had cataract. The mean (SD) DII was −4.78 (1.74). After adjusting for all included covariates, DII showed a positive association with cataract, both as a continuous variable (odds ratio (OR): 1.054, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.007–1.103, p = 0.023) and in quartiles, with the highest quartile compared to the lowest (OR: 1.555, 95% CI: 1.233–1.967, p

We study the effects of bike-sharing usage on urban air quality in China. Our Difference-in-Differences strategy exploits the staggered entries by two leading bike-sharing companies, ofo and Mobike, and utilizes city-day panel data. We find that the entries of the two bike-sharing platforms can reduce PM2.5 by 3.832 ​μg/m3. Further analyses imply that the effects are more conspicuous on pollutants from the exhaust emission of vehicles, increase with the usage intensity of bike-sharing service, and are more pronounced in cities with well-developed rail transit or those located in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Air Pollution Transmission Channel.

Abstract Aims To investigate the association between professionalism and social media competence among Chinese mainland nursing undergraduates. Design This study employed a cross‐sectional descriptive correlation design. Participants From June to July 2021, 797 nursing students from four nursing colleges in Jiangsu Province, China, were chosen using stratified cluster sampling. Methods The questionnaire included the Chinese version of the Nursing Professionalism Scale and the Social Media Competency Scale. The association between professionalism and social media competency was examined using Pearson's correlation analysis. Results The professionalism of nursing undergraduates (average scores:70.44 ± 8.82) was at a medium level. Social media self‐efficacy, performance expectancy, facilitating conditions and social influence (3.76 ± 0.75, 3.87 ± 0.60, 3.53 ± 0.69, 3.41 ± 0.76) were at a medium–high level, while social media experience and effort expectancy (3.03 ± 0.72, 2.60 ± 0.59) were at medium and low levels. Among nursing undergraduates, professionalism was related to social media competence, among which, professionalism was positively correlated with social media self‐efficacy (r = 0.40, p

Marine animals possess genomes of considerable complexity and heterozygosity. Their unique reproductive system, characterized by high fecundity and substantial early mortality rates, increases the risk of inbreeding, potentially leading to severe inbreeding depression during various larval developmental stages. In this study, we established a set of inbred families of Fenneropenaeus chinensis, with an inbreeding coefficient of 0.25, and investigated elimination patterns and the manifestations of inbreeding depression during major larval developmental stages. Reduced-representation genome sequencing was utilized to explore the genotype frequency characteristics across two typical elimination stages. The results revealed notable mortality in hatching and metamorphosis into mysis and post-larvae stages. Inbreeding depression was also evident during these developmental stages, with depression rates of 24.36%, 29.23%, and 45.28%. Segregation analysis of SNPs indicated an important role of gametic selection before hatching, accounting for 45.95% of deviation in the zoea stage. During the zygotic selection phase of larval development, homozygote deficiency and heterozygote excess were the main selection types. Summation of the two types explained 82.31% and 89.91% of zygotic selection in the mysis and post-larvae stage, respectively. The overall distortion ratio decreased from 22.37% to 12.86% in the late developmental stage. A total of 783 loci were identified through selective sweep analysis. We also found the types of distortion at the same locus could change after the post-larvae stage. The predominant shifts included a transition of gametic selection toward normal segregation and other forms of distortion to heterozygous excess. This may be attributed to high-intensity selection on deleterious alleles and genetic hitchhiking effects. Following larval elimination, a greater proportion of heterozygous individuals were preserved. We detected an increase in genetic diversity parameters such as expected heterozygosity, observed heterozygosity, and polymorphic information content in the post-larvae stage. These findings suggest the presence of numerous recessive deleterious alleles and their linkage and suggest a major role of the partial dominance hypothesis. The results provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of inbreeding depression in marine animals and offer guidance for formulating breeding strategies in shrimp populations.

Abstract Background Narrative medicine has become a solution to cultivate medical students’ ability of empathy and humanistic care. However, the role of narrative medicine is lacking in the study of professionalism. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of narrative medical theory learning and narrative writing on professionalism, empathy and humanistic care ability of nursing students. Methods This cluster randomized controlled trial was conducted between June 2021 and June 2022 in two universities in Jiangsu, China. The participants of this study were 85 nursing students who were randomly divided into the intervention group (n = 43) or the control group (n = 42). Participants in the intervention group were trained in narrative medical theory learning and narrative writing based on a Web-based platform, while those in the control group were not. Self-report questionnaires of professionalism, empathy and humanistic care ability were used before and after intervention. Results The results showed that the professionalism score of the intervention group was (68.7 ± 6.8 vs. 64.5 ± 7.5; P = 0.005), empathy (99.4 ± 15.7 vs. 92.2 ± 14.6; P = 0.014) and humanistic care ability (127.6 ± 20.0 vs. 113.3 ± 18.8; P = 0.004) were better than the control group. Conclusion The results of this quantitative study suggest that narrative medical theory education and narrative writing based on the network platform can promote the development of professionalism, empathy and humanistic care ability of nursing undergraduates.

Abstract Background Labor epidural analgesia has been suggested to be associated with intrapartum fever. We designed this study to investigate the effects of epidural analgesia and combined spinal-epidural analgesia on maternal intrapartum temperature. Methods Four hundred healthy nullipara patients were randomly assigned to receive either epidural analgesia (EA group) or combined spinal-epidural analgesia (CSEA group). Maternal temperature was measured hourly after analgesia administration. The primary outcome was the incidence of maternal fever, and the secondary outcomes were the duration of analgesia, analgesia to full cervical dilation and analgesia to delivery. Neonatal outcomes and other basic labor events were also recorded. Results Maternal temperature gradually increased with time in both analgesia groups during labor. However, the CSEA group had a lower incidence of maternal fever, and a lower mean maternal temperature at 5 h, 6 h, and 9 h after analgesia. In addtion, the CSEA group also had a shorter time of analgesia duration, analgesia to full cervical dilation, analgesia to delivery, and less dose of epidural local anesthetic than the EA group. Conclusion Our findings suggest that combined spinal-epidural analgesia is associated with a lower risk of intrapartum fever than epidural analgesia. Trial registration ChiCTR1900026606 . Registered on 16/10/2019.

ObjectivesWe investigated the role and molecular mechanisms of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and their regulated alternative splicing events (RASEs) in the pathogenesis of mitral valve prolapse (MVP). MethodsFor RNA extraction, we obtained peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from five patients with MVP, with or without chordae tendineae rupture, and five healthy individuals. High-throughput sequencing was used for RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) analysis, alternative splicing (AS) analysis, functional enrichment analysis, co-expression of RBPs, and alternative splicing events (ASEs) analysis were conducted.ResultsThe MVP patients exhibited 306 up-regulated genes and 198 down-regulated genes. All down- and up-regulated genes were enriched in both Gene Ontology (GO) terms and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways. Furthermore, MVP was closely associated with the top 10 enriched terms and pathways. In MVP patients, 2,288 RASEs were found to be significantly different, and four suitable RASEs (CARD11 A3ss, RBM5 ES, NCF1 A5SS, and DAXX A3ss) were tested. We identified 13 RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) from the DEGs and screened out four RBPs (ZFP36, HSPA1A, TRIM21, and P2RX7). We selected four RASEs based on the co-expression analyses of RBPs and RASEs, including exon skipping (ES) of DEDD2, alternative 3′ splice site (A3SS) of ETV6, mutually exclusive 3′UTRs (3pMXE) of TNFAIP8L2, and A3SS of HLA-B. Furthermore, the selected four RBPs and four RASEs were validated by reverse transcription–quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and showed high consistency with RNA sequencing (RNA-seq).ConclusionDysregulated RBPs and their associated RASEs may play regulatory roles in MVP development and may therefore be used as therapeutic targets in the future.

Background: To explain the biological role of cytokines in the eye and the possible role of cytokines in the pathogenesis of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) by comparing the correlation between cytokine of aqueous humor concentration and optical coherence tomography (OCT) retinal fluid.Methods: Spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT) images and aqueous humor samples were collected from 20 nAMD patient’s three clinical visits. Retinal fluid volume in OCT was automatically quantified using deep learning--Deeplabv3+. Eighteen cytokines were detected in aqueous humor using the Luminex technology. OCT fluid volume measurements were correlated with changes in aqueous humor cytokine levels using Pearson’s correlation coefficient (PCC).Results: The patients with intraretinal fluid (IRF) showed significantly lower levels of cytokines, such as C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CXCL2) (p = 0.03) and CXCL11 (p = 0.009), compared with the patients without IRF. And the IRF volume was negatively correlated with CXCL2 (r = −0.407, p = 0.048) and CXCL11 (r = −0.410, p = 0.046) concentration in the patients with IRF. Meanwhile, the subretinal fluid (SRF) volume was positively correlated with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) concentration (r = 0.299, p = 0.027) and negatively correlated with interleukin (IL)-36β concentration (r = −0.295, p = 0.029) in the patients with SRF.Conclusion: Decreased level of VEGF was associated with decreased OCT-based retinal fluid volume in nAMD patients, while increased levels of CXCL2, CXCL11, and IL-36β were associated with decreased OCT-based retinal fluid volume in nAMD patients, which may suggest a role for inflammatory cytokines in retinal morphological changes and pathogenesis of nAMD patients.

Abstract Background Delay in care seeking is one of the causes for neonatal death. Mothers’ knowledge of neonatal danger signs is imperative to promote early recognition of neonatal illness and reduce the delay in care seeking. Currently, no study has been conducted on the knowledge about neonatal danger signs in China, especially in economically less developed areas. This study aimed to examine the knowledge of neonatal danger signs and risk factors of poor knowledge among mothers in a rural county of southwest of China. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in Wenshan, a rural county of southwest of China. A total of 112 respondents were included from November 2020 to February 2021 among women who had babies aged 0–12 months and brought their babies to health care centers for immunization within the study period. A questionnaire with 18-item key neonatal danger signs was used to measure their knowledge about these signs. Mothers who scored above average were considered to have relatively good knowledge whereas those who scored below average were considered to have relatively poor knowledge. Independent predictors of mothers’ knowledge were identified by multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results The mean knowledge score of neonatal danger signs of mothers was 18.1 (SD = 8.6). Fifty-eight percentage of mothers (65/112) had poor knowledge of neonatal danger signs. Danger signs of “bluish or pale skin”, “chest indrawing”, and “convulsion” were mostly recognized, whereas danger signs of “not able to feed since birth, or stopped feeding well”, “excessive crying” and “eyes draining pus” were recognized poorly. Less than four antenatal visits [AOR = 4.348], younger than 25 years old [AOR = 3.839], ethnic minority [AOR = 3.956] and family financial difficulty [AOR = 4.944] were significant indicators of relatively poor knowledge. Conclusions Mothers’ knowledge about neonatal danger signs in rural China is poor even though the coverage of maternal and child health care services are expanded. Existing efforts should be enhanced for antenatal care visits, avoiding early marriage as well as early childbearing. More attention should be paid to low-income ethnic minority mothers. Educating and training should be strengthened for danger signs, especially those who are predicted to have insufficient knowledge.

Abstract Valvuloplasty for rheumatic aortic valve disease remains controversial. We conducted this study to explore whether aortic valvuloplasty is appropriate for the rheumatic population. A comprehensive search was conducted, and 7 eligible retrospective studies were identified from PubMed, Embase, Medline and Cochrane (up to April 7, 2020) according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data for hospital mortality, 5-year survival, 5-year reoperation, aortic insufficiency grade (AIG) and aortic valve gradient (AVG) were extracted by 2 independent reviewers and were analysed to evaluate the safety and availability of aortic valvuloplasty for rheumatic patients. The heterogeneity of the results was estimated using the Q test and I2 statistics. The fixed pooling model was used when I2 ≤ 50%; otherwise, the random pooling model was selected. 7 articles with 418 patients were included. The pooled hospital mortality, 5-year survival and 5-year reoperation rates were 3.2%, 94.5% and 9.9%, respectively. The heterogeneities of the weighted mean differences (WMD) values of the AIG and AVG between preoperation and postoperation were extremely high (I2 = 81.5%, p

BackgroundStatistics indicate that the morbidity of breast cancer is increasing globally, and its (overall figures) incidence has now surpassed that of lung cancer for the first time. The relation between a whole dietary pattern, rather than of a single food or nutrient, and breast cancer (BC) should be examined for findings to capture the complexities of diet and the potential for synergism between dietary components. Hence, the effects of dietary patterns on breast cancer have recently attracted increasing attention.ObjectiveTo systematically review the effects of dietary patterns on breast cancer risk, prognosis, and quality of life in survivors.MethodsThis systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines and was registered in PROSPERO. Data from Ovid, China Biomedical Literature Database, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, CNKI, PubMed, Weipu, The Cochrane Library, Duxiu Data, ProQuest, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus Database were retrieved and evaluated.ResultsA total of 47 studies that investigated the association between eating patterns and breast cancer were identified. Ten studies evaluated the effect of the model on treatment outcome and prognosis of breast cancer and two cross-sectional studies examined the influence of dietary patterns on quality of life. The resulting favorable dietary patterns were shown to regulate metabolic biomarkers, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, and protective genes, and inhibit cell proliferation and invasion.ConclusionNumerous studies have examined the effects of healthy eating, plant-based, anti-inflammation, low-fat, and other favorable dietary patterns in relation to breast cancer. However, few studies reported significant associations and the studies had limitations, suggesting that the current findings should be interpreted with caution.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, CRD4202 2350171.

Objective: Keluoxin capsule (KLXC) has been widely used in diabetic kidney disease (DKD), but its efficacy and safety have not yet been clarified. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to assess the efficacy and safety of KLXC for DKD.Methods: The randomized control trials (RCTs) included KLXC searched from seven major English and Chinese databases up until 3 June 2022. The methodological quality and risk of bias were assessed by version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool (RoB 2) for the RCTs from the Cochrane Handbook. The analyses were conducted by RevMan 5.4 and Stata 17.0.Results: A total of 20 trials with 1,500 participants were identified. The meta-analysis showed that KLXC combined with Western medicine was superior to the use of Western medicine alone for DKD which included improvements in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) [MD = 3.04, 95% CI (0.30, 5.78), p = 0.03], reduction in microalbuminuria (mALB) [MD = −25.83, 95% CI (−41.20, −10.47), p = 0.001], urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER) [SMD = −0.97, 95% CI (−1.50, −0.44), p = 0.0003], 24-h urine protein (24hUpro) [SMD = −1.31, 95% CI (−1.82, −0.80), p < 0.00001], serum creatinine (Scr) [MD = −11.39, 95% CI (−18.76, −4.02), p = 0.002], blood urea nitrogen (BUN) [MD = −1.28, 95% CI (−1.67, −0.88), p < 0.00001], fasting blood glucose (FBG) [MD = −0.51, 95% CI (−0.90, −0.11), p = 0.01], total cholesterol (TC) [MD = −1.04, 95% CI (−1.40, −0.68), p < 0.00001], triglycerides (TG) [MD = −0.36, 95% CI (−0.50, −0.23), p < 0.00001], and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) [MD = −0.39, 95% CI (−0.71, −0.07), p = 0.02]. Results showed no statistically significant difference in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) (p = 0.14) or adverse events (p = 0.81) between the two groups.Conclusion: The combination of KLXC and Western medicine had a positive effect on DKD. However, due to the high clinical heterogeneity and low quality of included studies, further standardized, large-scale, rigorously designed RCTs for DKD in the definitive stage are still necessary to achieve more accurate results.Systematic Review Registration:https://inplasy.com/inplasy-2021-11-0067/, identifier INPLASY 2021110067.

Background: The prevalence of mitral valve prolapse (MVP) in heart valvular diseases is globally increasing. However, the understanding of its etiology and pathogenesis is limited. So far, the relationship between ferroptosis-related genes and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in MVP remains unexplored. This study investigates the potential pathogenesis of ferroptosis-related genes in MVP and provides a therapeutic target for the disease.Methods: Blood samples from patients with MVP and healthy volunteers were collected for transcriptomic sequencing to analyze the expression of ferroptosis-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs (DElncRNAs Co-expression network of ferroptosis-related DEGs and DElncRNAs. Furthermore, this work conducted GO and KEGG enrichment analyses.Results:CDKN2A, SLC1A4, ATF3, and other core genes related to the mitral valve prolapse were screened out. CDKN2A, SLC1A4, and ATF3 genes were at the core position of the network, regulated by numerous lncRNAs. Notably, these genes are primarily involved in the extracellular region and p53 signaling pathway.Conclusion: In summary, CDKN2A, SLC1A4, and ATF3 regulate the pathophysiological process of MVP and are potential therapeutic targets.

Nurses often face a variety of work-related and life-related stresses that make them more prone to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), yet the underlying mechanism of this association is poorly understood. To address this research gap, we investigated the mediating role of maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between perceived stress and PTSD symptoms, and explored whether psychological capital could moderate the direct or indirect effects between perceived stress and PTSD symptoms. Nurses (N = 723) completed a questionnaire about perceived stress, PTSD symptoms, maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and psychological capital. After controlling for gender, age and work department, perceived stress was positively correlated with PTSD symptoms. Maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies partially mediated this relationship. Psychological capital moderates the effects of perceived stress and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies on PTSD symptoms. Specifically, the positive correlation between perceived stress and PTSD symptoms was stronger among nurses with low levels of psychological capital than among nurses with high levels of psychological capital. At the same time, the positive correlation between maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and PTSD symptoms was stronger in nurses with a low level of psychological capital. Therefore, cognitive strategies and interventions oriented toward psychological capital may alleviate the PTSD symptoms of nurses in stressful situations.

Summary: Background: Clinical application of artificial intelligence is limited due to the lack of interpretability and expandability in complex clinical settings. We aimed to develop an eye diseases screening system with improved interpretability and expandability based on a lesion-level dissection and tested the clinical expandability and auxiliary ability of the system. Methods: The four-hierarchical interpretable eye diseases screening system (IEDSS) based on a novel structural pattern named lesion atlas was developed to identify 30 eye diseases and conditions using a total of 32,026 ultra-wide field images collected from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, School of Medicine (SAHZU), the First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China (FAHUSTC), and the Affiliated People's Hospital of Ningbo University (APHNU) in China between November 1, 2016 to February 28, 2022. The performance of IEDSS was compared with ophthalmologists and classic models trained with image-level labels. We further evaluated IEDSS in two external datasets, and tested it in a real-world scenario and an extended dataset with new phenotypes beyond the training categories. The accuracy (ACC), F1 score and confusion matrix were calculated to assess the performance of IEDSS. Findings: IEDSS reached average ACCs (aACC) of 0·9781 (95%CI 0·9739-0·9824), 0·9660 (95%CI 0·9591-0·9730) and 0·9709 (95%CI 0·9655-0·9763), frequency-weighted average F1 scores of 0·9042 (95%CI 0·8957-0·9127), 0·8837 (95%CI 0·8714-0·8960) and 0·8874 (95%CI 0·8772-0·8972) in datasets of SAHZU, APHNU and FAHUSTC, respectively. IEDSS reached a higher aACC (0·9781, 95%CI 0·9739-0·9824) compared with a multi-class image-level model (0·9398, 95%CI 0·9329-0·9467), a classic multi-label image-level model (0·9278, 95%CI 0·9189-0·9366), a novel multi-label image-level model (0·9241, 95%CI 0·9151-0·9331) and a lesion-level model without Adaboost (0·9381, 95%CI 0·9299-0·9463). In the real-world scenario, the aACC of IEDSS (0·9872, 95%CI 0·9828-0·9915) was higher than that of the senior ophthalmologist (SO) (0·9413, 95%CI 0·9321-0·9504, p = 0·000) and the junior ophthalmologist (JO) (0·8846, 95%CI 0·8722-0·8971, p = 0·000). IEDSS remained strong performance (ACC = 0·8560, 95%CI 0·8252-0·8868) compared with JO (ACC = 0·784, 95%CI 0·7479-0·8201, p= 0·003) and SO (ACC = 0·8500, 95%CI 0·8187-0·8813, p = 0·789) in the extended dataset. Interpretation: IEDSS showed excellent and stable performance in identifying common eye conditions and conditions beyond the training categories. The transparency and expandability of IEDSS could tremendously increase the clinical application range and the practical clinical value of it. It would enhance the efficiency and reliability of clinical practice, especially in remote areas with a lack of experienced specialists. Funding: National Natural Science Foundation Regional Innovation and Development Joint Fund (U20A20386), Key research and development program of Zhejiang Province (2019C03020), Clinical Medical Research Centre for Eye Diseases of Zhejiang Province (2021E50007).

BackgroundWith the popularization of the Internet, it has become possible to widely disseminate health information via social media. Medical staff's health communication through social media can improve the public's health literacy, and improving the intention of health communication among nursing undergraduates is of great significance for them to actively carry out health communication after entering clinical practice.ObjectiveTo explore the relationship among eHealth literacy, social media self-efficacy, and health communication intention and to determine the mediating role of social media self-efficacy in the relationship between eHealth literacy and health communication intention.DesignA cross-sectional descriptive correlation design was used in this study.ParticipantsStratified cluster sampling was used to select 958 nursing students from four nursing colleges in Jiangsu Province, China, from June to July 2021.MethodsData were collected using the eHealth Literacy Scale, the Social Media Self-efficacy Scale, and the Health Communication Intention Questionnaire. Sociodemographic data were also collected. Correlation analysis and regression analysis were used to determine the relationship between eHealth literacy, social media self-efficacy, and health communication intention.ResultsHealth communication intention is positively correlated with eHealth literacy and social media self-efficacy. There is a significant positive correlation between eHealth literacy and health communication intention (β = 0.57, p < 0.001), and social media self-efficacy played a mediating role in the influence of eHealth literacy on health communication intention (the mediating effect accounted for 37.2% of the total effect).ConclusionThe study found that eHealth literacy and social media self-efficacy had an impact on health communication intention. Because there is a correlation between eHealth literacy and social media self-efficacy and health communication intention, in order to promote health communication intention of nursing students, it is also important to cultivate eHealth literacy and social media self-efficacy of nursing students. In view of these results, targeted educational programs must be developed to improve eHealth literacy and social media self-efficacy among nursing undergraduates, thereby promoting their health information transmission.

BackgroundA great proportion of college students experience various sleep problems, which damage their health and study performance. College students' sleep problems, which are caused by several factors, have been easily ignored before. In the past decade, more research has been published to expand our understanding of undergraduates' sleep. The purpose of the study is to explore the research hotspots and frontiers regarding college students' sleep using CiteSpace5.8.R3 and offer guidance for future study.MethodsWe retrieved relevant literature from the Web of Science Core Collection Database and imputed the downloaded files into CiteSpace5.8.R3 for visualization analysis. We generated network maps of the collaborations between authors, countries, institutions, the cited journals, and co-occurrence keywords. The analysis of keywords clusters, timeline views, and keywords citation bursts help us identify the hotspots and research trends.ResultsA total of 1,841 articles related to college students' sleep, published from 2012 to 2021, were selected. The number of publications gradually increased. Karl Peltzer was the most prolific authors with 15 publications. The United States and Harvard University separately contributed 680 and 40 articles and had the greatest impact in this field. SLEEP ranked first in the frequency of cited journals. The article published by Lund HG was the most influential publication. Based on the analysis of keywords, we summarized research hotspots as follows: current status, affecting factors, and adverse outcomes of college students' sleep. The frontiers were the further understanding of the relationships between sleep and mental and physical health, and various interventions for sleep disorders.ConclusionOur study illustrates the research hotspots and trends and calls for more research to expand the findings. In the future, the cooperation between institutions and authors needs to be strengthened. The complex relationships between sleep and mental and physical health and problematic substance use disorders are necessary to be explored. Longitudinal studies or randomized controlled trials should be constructed to verify the current findings or assumptions.

Longitudinal disease progression evaluation between follow-up examinations relies on precise registration of medical images. Compared to other medical imaging methods, color fundus photograph, a common retinal examination, is easily affected by eye movements while shooting, for which we think it is necessary to develop a reliable longitudinal registration method for this modality. Thus, the purpose of this study was to propose a robust registration method for longitudinal color fundus photographs and establish a longitudinal retinal registration dataset. In the proposed algorithm, radiation-variation insensitive feature transform (RIFT) feature points were calculated and aligned, followed by further refinement using a normalized total gradient (NTG). Experiments and ablation analyses were conducted on both public and private datasets, using the mean registration error and registration success plot as the main evaluation metrics. The results showed that our proposed method was comparable to other state-of-the-art registration algorithms and was particularly accurate for longitudinal images with disease progression. We believe the proposed method will be beneficial for the longitudinal evaluation of fundus images.

Excessive production of visceral adipose is a major risk factor of many diseases. Inhibiting the adipogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) will be an efficient way to block adipose production. We illuminated POU class 2 homeobox associating factor 1 (POU2AF1) may promote MSCs adipogenesis by histone deacetylases 1 (HDAC1) signalling. Human retroperitoneal adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells were isolated from overweight and control groups of patients. IncRNA microarray was used to identified gene expression levels. Adenovirus transduction and cellular small-interfering RNA transfection were used to achieve overexpression and interference of POU2AF1 or HDAC1. Adipogenesis was identified by Oil-red O staining, triglycende, cholesterol assay, real-time PCR and Western Blot. POU2AF1 expression was upregulated in retroperitoneal adipose tissue of overweight patients, and increased during adipogenesis. Overexpression of POU2AF1 promoted spontaneous adipogenesis without adipogenic treatment. Silencing of endogenous POU2AF1 in MSCs inhibited adipogenesis. Overexpression of POU2AF1 alleviated the translocation of HDAC1 to the nucleus. The mRNA level of HDAC1 was also reduced. Co-transfection of Ad-POU2AF1 and Ad-HDAC1 partially reversed the promotion effect of POU2AF1 overexpression in MSCs spontaneous adipogenic differentiation. POU2AF1 involves in the natural differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells. Overexpression or silencing POU2AF1 could effectively induce or inhibit the adipogenesis by HDAC1 signaling.

Current studies have confirmed that liver diseases are closely related to intestinal microorganisms; however, those studies have mainly concentrated on bacteria. Although the proportion of intestinal microorganisms accounted for by colonizing fungi is very small, these fungi do have a significant effect on the homeostasis of the intestinal microecosystem. In this paper, the characteristics of intestinal fungi in patients with chronic liver diseases such as alcoholic liver disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and cirrhosis are summarized, and the effects of intestinal fungi and their metabolites are analyzed and discussed. It is important to realize that not only bacteria but also intestinal fungi play important roles in liver diseases.

In recent years, quercetin plays an increasingly important role in the medical field. However, the absorption and effect of quercetin as a drug in vivo are limited due to its extremely poor solubility in water. In addition, chitosan nanoparticles can deliver poorly soluble drugs as drug delivery carriers. Herein, chitosan nanoparticles were prepared by oxidative degradation and ionic cross-linking technology to study the drug loading properties of quercetin. On the other hand, the application of chitosan for fluorescent materials can improve the biocompatibility of fluorescent materials and increase the adsorption of fluorescent materials. Fluorescently labeled chitosan nanoparticles, especially chitosan microsphere fluorescent probes prepared using the abundant amino groups on chitosan chains to react with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FTIC), have been widely used as fluorescent probes in biomarkers and medical diagnostics. Therefore, chitosan–quercetin (CS–QT) drug-loaded nanoparticles are labeled with FITC, and the drug-loaded rate, encapsulation efficiency, and antioxidant properties were investigated. The drug-loaded rate of the sample reaches 8.39%, the encapsulation rate reaches 83.65%, and exhibits good antioxidant capacity. The fluorescence aperture of the obtained sample was consistent with the inhibition zone, which could realize the visualization of the antibacterial performance of the sample. The fluorescent-labeled nano-system exhibit superior antibacterial properties, which provide a strategy for observing the release and function of drugs.

Abstract The effective synthesis and self-assembly of nanocomposites were of key importance for a broad range of nanomaterial applications. In this work, new carbon nanotube (CNT)-Cu2O nanocomposites were successfully synthesized via a facile approach. CNT was selected as the anchoring substrate to load Cu2O nanoparticles to prepare composite catalysts with well stability and good reusability. It is discovered that the prepared CNT-Cu2O nanocomposite materials could be effectively controlled via regulating preparation temperature and time without the use of any stabilizing agents. The nanostructures of synthesized composites were well characterized by many techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). And the prepared CNT-Cu2O nanocomposites with optimized preparation conditions as new catalyst displayed excellent catalytic performance on the reduction reaction of p-nitrophenol, demonstrating potential applications for environmental governance and composite materials.

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), as a kind of transition metal dichalcogenide, has been widely studied for its excellent compatibility with most of inorganic nanomaterials. Nevertheless, its microscale and agglomeration limit the performance severely. Therefore, the special structure of V-MoS2 has drawn a lot of interest, which can not only reduce the size of MoS2 nanosheets but also improve the valence electron structure of the materials. In this work, SrTiO3@MoS2 composite nanofibers were synthesized by the simple electrospinning and hydrothermal method, and it was applied as a novel material for photodetector. SEM, TEM, EDX, XRD, I-T curves, and EIS analysis were used to study the structure and properties of the prepared SrTiO3@MoS2 composite nanofibers. Simulating under sunlight at a potential of 1.23 V, the prepared composite materials exhibited a superior photoelectric performance of photocurrent density of 21.4 μA and a resistance of 2.3 Ω. These results indicate that the composite of SrTiO3 nanofiber adhered with V-MoS2 has a stable composite structure, good electrical conductivity, and photoelectric sensitivity and is a suitable material for photodetectors. This work provides new ideas for the preparation of self-assembled materials and their application in photodetectors.

MXene is a new type of layered two-dimensional transition metal carbide materials differing from graphene, demonstrating intriguing chemical/physical properties. Here the chemical modification of MXene and next fabrication of core–shell MXene–COOH@(PEI/PAA)n composites have been investigated. The obtained MXene-based composites were treated with gold nanoparticles to form MXene–COOH@(PEI/PAA)n@AuNPs nanocomposites, and their catalytic properties for nitro-compounds were studied. The prepared nanocomposites demonstrated good catalytic activity and reproducibility, showing potential applications in composite catalysts and environmental fields. Keywords: MXene, Core–shell composite, Nitro-compounds, Gold nanoparticle, Catalytic activity

Diabetes is caused by the lack of release or action of insulin. Some foods and supplements can compensate for this deficiency; thus, they can aid in the prevention or treatment of diabetes. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Cyclocarya paliurus extract (CPE) on insulin signaling and its capacity to correct hyperglycemia in the absence of insulin. To investigate the hypoglycemic effects of CPE, C2C12 cells were exposed to CPE (50 and 100 μg/mL). CPE promoted 2-(N-(7-Nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)Amino)-2-Deoxyglucose (2NBDG) uptake into the cells via translocation of glucose transporter 4 (Glut4) to the plasma membrane. In addition, CPE enhanced tyrosine phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate and activated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and protein kinase B (Akt) via sirtuin1 in C2C12 cells. Moreover, we found that oral administration of CPE (1 g/kg) to streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemic mice produced a progressive decrease in plasma glucose levels at 1 h after single dosing. At that point, CPE significantly increased the expression of skeletal muscle membrane Glut4 and enhanced the phosphorylation of Akt. These results suggest that CPE exerts antidiabetic effects similar to those of insulin, and may be an oral therapeutic alternative for the management of diabetes.

Polydopamine (PDA) nanoparticles can be used as an adsorbent with excellent adsorption capacity. However, nanosized adsorbents are prone to aggregation and thus are severely limited in the field of adsorption. In order to solve this problem, we utilized polydopamine in-situ oxidation self-polymerization on the surface of polycaprolactone (PCL)/polyethylene oxide (PEO) electrospun fiber after solvent vapor annealing (SVA) treatment, and successfully designed and prepared a PCL/PEO@PDA composite membrane. The SVA treatment regulated the microscopic morphology of smooth PCL/PEO electrospun fibers that exhibited a pleated microstructure, increasing the specific surface area, and providing abundant active sites for the anchoring of PDA nanoparticles. The PCL/PEO@PDA composite obtained by chemical modification of PDA demonstrated numerous active sites for the adsorption of methylene (MB) and methyl orange (MO). In addition, the PCL/PEO@PDA composites were reusable several times with good reutilization as adsorbents. Therefore, we have developed a highly efficient and non-agglomerated dye adsorbent that exhibits potential large-scale application in dye removal and wastewater purification.

Dye wastewater is one of the most important problems to be faced and solved in wastewater treatment. However, the treatment cannot be single and simple adsorption due to the complexity of dye species. In this work, we prepared novel composite fiber adsorbent materials consisting of ε-polycaprolactone (PCL) and beta-cyclodextrin-based polymer (PCD) by electrospinning. The morphological and spectral characterization demonstrated the successful preparation of a series of composite fibers with different mass ratios. The obtained fiber materials have demonstrated remarkable selective adsorption for MB and 4-aminoazobenzene solutions. The addition of a PCD component in composite fibers enhanced the mechanical strength of membranes and changed the adsorption uptake due to the cavity molecular structure via host⁻guest interaction. The dye removal efficiency could reach 24.1 mg/g towards 4-aminoazobenzene. Due to the admirable stability and selectivity adsorption process, the present prepared beta-cyclodextrin-based composite fibers have demonstrated potential large-scale applications in dye uptake and wastewater treatment.

The design and self-assembly of graphene oxide (GO)-based composite membranes have attracted enormous attention due to their wide application in nanomaterial and environmental fields. In this work, we have successfully developed a strategy to fabricate new composite membranes based on poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(acrylic acid)/carboxyl-functionalized graphene oxide modified with silver nanoparticles (PVA/PAA/GO-COOH@AgNPs), which were prepared via thermal treatment and the electrospinning technique. Due to the strong π-π forces and strong electrostatic interactions of GO–COOH sheets, the prepared composite membranes and their lager surface areas were modified by scores of AgNPs, which demonstrated that a high-efficiency photocatalyst removed the organic dyes from the aqueous solutions. The prepared PVA/PAA/GO-COOH@AgNPs nanocomposite membranes showed a remarkable photocatalytic capacity in the catalytic degradation of the methylene blue dye solutions. Most importantly, the whole process was easy, mild, and eco-friendly. Additionally, the as-prepared membranes could be repeatedly used after the catalytic reaction.

Increased energy intake and reduced physical activity can lead to obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Transcriptional modulation of metabolic networks has become a focus of current drug discovery research into the prevention and treatment of metabolic disorders associated with energy surplus and obesity. Tang-Nai-Kang (TNK), a mixture of five herbal plant extracts, has been shown to improve abnormal glucose metabolism in patients with pre-diabetes. Here, we report the metabolic phenotype of SHR.Cg-Leprcp/NDmcr (SHR/cp) rats treated with TNK. Pre-diabetic SHR/cp rats were randomly divided into control, TNK low-dose (1.67 g/kg) and TNK high-dose (3.24 g/kg) groups. After high-dose treatment for 2 weeks, the serum triglycerides and free fatty acids in SHR/cp rats were markedly reduced compared to controls. After 3 weeks of administration, the high dose of TNK significantly reduced the body weight and fat mass of SHR/cp rats without affecting food consumption. Serum fasting glucose and insulin levels in the TNK-treated groups decreased after 6 weeks of treatment. Furthermore, TNK-treated rats exhibited obvious improvements in glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. The improved glucose metabolism may be caused by the substantial reduction in serum lipids and body weight observed in SHR/cp rats starting at 3 weeks of TNK treatment. The mRNA expression of NAD+-dependent deacetylase sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) and genes related to fatty acid oxidation was markedly up-regulated in the muscle, liver and adipose tissue after TNK treatment. Furthermore, TNK promoted the deacetylation of two well-established SIRT1 targets, PPARγ coactivator 1α (PGC1α) and forkhead transcription factor 1 (FOXO1), and induced the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) in different tissues. These observations suggested that TNK may be an alternative treatment for pre-diabetes and metabolic syndrome by inducing a gene expression switch toward fat oxidation through the activation of SIRT1 and AMPK signaling.

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have attracted widespread attention for their excellent catalytic activity, as well as their unusual physical and chemical properties. The main challenges come from the agglomeration and time-consuming separation of gold nanoparticles, which have greatly baffled the development and application in liquid phase selective reduction. To solve these problems, we propose the preparation of polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)/poly(acrylic acid)(PAA)/Fe3O4 nanocomposites with loaded AuNPs. The obtained PVA/PAA/Fe3O4 composite membrane by electrospinning demonstrated high structural stability, a large specific surface area, and more active sites, which is conducive to promoting good dispersion of AuNPs on membrane surfaces. The subsequently prepared PVA/PAA/Fe3O4@AuNPs nanocomposites exhibited satisfactory nanostructures, robust thermal stability, and a favorable magnetic response for recycling. In addition, the PVA/PAA/Fe3O4@AuNPs nanocomposites showed a remarkable catalytic capacity in the catalytic reduction of p-nitrophenol and 2-nitroaniline solutions. In addition, the regeneration studies toward p-nitrophenol for different consecutive cycles demonstrate that the as-prepared PVA/PAA/Fe3O4@AuNPs nanocomposites have outstanding stability and recycling in catalytic reduction.

Self-assembly of hierarchical graphene oxide (GO)-based nanomaterials with novel functions has received a great deal of attentions. In this study, nanostructured organogels based on cationic amphiphile-GO composites were prepared. The gelation behaviors of amphiphile-GO composites in organic solvents can be regulated by changing the headgroups of amphiphiles. Ammonium substituted headgroup in molecular structures in present self-assembled composites is more favorable for the gelation in comparison to pyridinium headgroup. A possible mechanism for headgroup effects on self-assembly and as-prepared nanostructures is proposed. It is believed that the present amphiphile-GO self-assembled system will provide an alternative platform for the design of new GO nanomaterials and soft matters.

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate a lot of physiological and pathological processes, including myocardial ischemia/reperfusion. Recent studies reported that knockdown of miR-92a could attenuate ischemia/reperfusion-induced myocardial injury. In the present study, we examined the potential anti-apoptotic effects of miR-92a in a rat myocardiocyte cell line, and the possible role of Smad7 in such actions. METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS: In a preliminary bioinformatic analysis, we identified SMAD family member 7 (Smad7) as a potential target for miR-92a. A luciferase reporter assay indeed demonstrated that miR-92a could inhibit Smad7 expression. Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion was simulated in rat H9c2 cells with 24-h hypoxia followed by 12-h reoxygenation. Prior to hypoxia/reoxygenation, cells were transfected by miR-92a inhibitor. In some experiments, cells were co-transfected with siRNA-Smad7. The miR-92a inhibitor dramatically reduced the release of lactate dehydrogenase and malonaldehyde, and attenuated cardiomyocyte apoptosis. The miR-92a inhibitor increased SMAD7 protein level and decreased nuclear NF-κB p65 protein. Effects of the miR-92a inhibitor were attenuated by co-transfection with siRNA-Smad7. CONCLUSION: Inhibiting miR-92a can attenuate myocardiocyte apoptosis induced by hypoxia/reoxygenation by targeting Smad7.

Some luminol imide derivatives with different substituent groups have been designed and synthesized. Their electrochemiluminescence properties have been measured with a view to developing new biosensors. The ECL response to hydrogen peroxide in the presence of these luminescent derivatives has been investigated taking into account crucial factors such as the applied potential value, injection volume of hydrogen peroxide, and the substituent groups in molecular structures. The experimental data demonstrated that the substituent groups in these imide derivatives can have a profound effect upon the ECL abilities of these studied compounds. The present research work affords new and useful exploration for the design and development of new soft matter for ECL biosensors with luminol functional groups.

The application of polyelectrolyte multilayer films is a new, versatile approach to surface modification of decellularized tissue, which has the potential to greatly enhance the functionality of engineered tissue constructs derived from decellularized organs. In the present study, we test the hypothesis that Heparin- vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) multilayer film can not only act as an antithrombotic coating reagent, but also induce proliferation of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) on the decellularized aortic heart valve. SEM demonstrated the adhesion and geometric deformation of platelets. The quantitative assay of platelet activation was determined by measuring the production of soluble P-selectin. Binding and subsequent release of heparin and VEGF from valve leaflets were assessed qualitatively by laser confocal scanning microscopy and quantitatively by ELISA methods. Human blood derived EPCs were cultured and the adhesion and growth of EPCs on the surface modified valvular scaffolds were assessed. The results showed that Heparin-VEGF multilayer film improved decellularized valve haemocompatibility with respect to a substantial reduction of platelet adhesion. Release of VEGF from the decellularized heart valve leaflets at physiological conditions was sustained over 5 days. In vitro biological tests demonstrated that EPCs achieved better adhesion, proliferation and migration on the coatings with Heparin-VEGF multilayer film. Combined, these results indicate that Heparin-VEGF multilayer film could be used to cover the decellularized porcine aortic valve to decrease platelet adhesion while exhibiting excellent EPCs biocompatibility.

In this work, some amide compounds with different aromatic substituent headgroups were synthesized and their gelation self-assembly behaviors in 22 solvents were characterized as new gelators. The obtained results indicated that the size of aromatic substituent headgroups in molecular skeletons in gelators showed crucial effect in the gel formation and self-assembly behavior of all compounds in the solvents used. Larger aromatic headgroups in molecular structures in the synthesized gelator molecules are helpful to form various gel nanostructures. Morphological investigations showed that the gelator molecules can self-assembly and stack into various organized aggregates with solvent change, such as wrinkle, belt, rod, and lamella-like structures. Spectral characterizations suggested that there existed various weak interactions including π-π stacking, hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic forces due to aromatic substituent headgroups and alkyl substituent chains in molecular structures. In addition, the drug release capacities experiments demonstrated that the drug release rate in present obtained gels can be tuned by adjusting the concentrations of dye. The present work would open up enormous insight to design and investigate new kind of soft materials with designed molecular structures and tunable drug release performance.

In this paper, crystalline iron-nickel alloy nanostructures were successfully prepared from two cationic pyridinium derivatives as soft templates in solution. The crystal structure and micrograph of FeNi alloy nanostructures were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, and the content was confirmed by energy-dispersive spectrometry. The results indicated that the as-prepared nanostructures showed slightly different diameter ranges with the change of cationic pyridinium derivatives on the surface. The experimental data indicated that the adsorption of cationic pyridinium compounds on the surface of particles reduces the surface charge, leading to an isotropic distribution of the residual surface charges. The magnetic behaviours of as-prepared FeNi alloy nanostructures exhibited disparate behaviours, which could be attributed to their grain sizes and distinctive structures. The present work may give some insight into the synthesis and character of new alloy nanomaterials with special nanostructures using new soft templates.