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Abstract Background Cancer is mostly a disease of aging, and older patients with cancer are generally frailer. This study aimed to describe the characteristics and in‐hospital outcomes and explore factors associated with duration, cost, and mortality during first hospitalization, in older patients with cancer admitted to a top‐ranked hospital in China. Methods Data on patients with solid cancer ≥65 years consecutively hospitalized in 2016–2020 were retrieved from the electronic medical records of Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai, China. Baseline characteristics, duration, cost, and mortality during hospitalization were described. Factors associated with duration, cost, and mortality during first hospitalization were explored using multivariable‐adjusted logistic regression. Results 20,650 eligible patients with male proportion of 59% and median age of 70 years were analyzed. 45% of the patients underwent resection in our hospital. Upon first admission, 49% of patients had hypertension, 19% diabetes, 22% weight loss, and 28% risks of malnutrition. The median duration and cost of first hospitalization were 9 days and 32,000 RMB, respectively. 118 (0.6%) and 228 (1.1%) deaths occurred during first and any hospitalization, respectively. For first hospitalization, longer duration and higher cost were positively associated with older ages, male gender, emergency admission, certain tumor locations and histology, histories of diabetes, cirrhosis, and anticoagulant intake, higher body mass index, weight loss, reduced food intake, risk of falling, and worse self‐care ability; in‐hospital mortality was positively associated with age ≥85 years, emergency admission, certain cancer types, histories of hypertension and psychotropic intake, reduced food intake, and worse self‐care ability. Conclusions This study identified certain baseline patient and tumor characteristics, medical and medication histories, changes of weight and food intake, diet, and self‐care ability which were independently associated with in‐hospital outcomes among older patients with cancer admitted to our hospital and which should be paid special attention to. While the factors might not be easily modifiable, our study can help identify patients at higher risks of inferior in‐hospital outcomes.

Abstract Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) have made great successes in clinical diagnosis, medical research, and neurological science. MRI provides high resolution anatomical images of tissues/organs, and MRS provides information of the functional molecules related to a specific tissue/organ. However, it is difficult for classic MRI/MRS to selectively image/probe a specific metabolite molecule other than the water or fat in tissues/organs. This greatly limits their applications on the study of the molecular mechanism(s) of metabolism and disease. Herein, we report a series of molecularly targeted MRI/MRS methods to target specific molecules. The optimal control method was used to efficiently prepare the singlet spin orders of varied multi-spin systems and in turn greatly expand the choice of the targeted molecules in the molecularly targeted MRI/MRS. Several molecules, such as N-acetyl-l-aspartic acid (NAA), dopamine (DA), and a tripeptide (alanine-glycine-glycine, AGG), have been used as targeted molecules for molecularly targeted MRI and MRS. We show in vivo NAA-targeted 1H MRS spectrum of a human brain. The high-resolution signal of NAA suggests a promising way to study important issues in molecular biology at the molecular level, e.g., measuring the local pH value of tissue in vivo, demonstrating the high potential of such methods in medicine.

Abstract Background The intergenerational association between maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and their children’s health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is underexplored. This study aimed to examine such association in Chinese preschool children and to test the moderation role of children’s sex. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 4243 mother–child dyads who attended randomly selected preschools. Mothers self-reported their experience of 12 forms of ACEs, including emotional abuse, physical abuse, emotional neglect, physical neglect, intimate partner violence, substance abuse in the household, incarcerated household member, mental illness in household, parental death, parental separation or divorce, bullying, and community violence. Children’s HRQOL was evaluated through mother report of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory version 4.0. Linear regression models were established to estimate the associations between maternal ACEs and their children’s HRQOL sub-scores and total scores. Stratified analysis and test for interaction were further conducted to evaluate whether the associations were moderated by children’s sex. Results Of the included mothers, 85.8% (n = 3641) had reported exposure to at least one ACE, and 22.3% (n = 948) were exposed to three or more ACEs. Compared to children of mothers without any ACE exposure, those of mothers with 1, 2, or ≥ 3 ACEs all had significantly lower scores of physical, social, and school functioning, as well as lower psychosocial health summary score and total scale score in both crude and adjusted models. However, only children of mothers with two or more ACEs had significantly poorer emotional functioning when compared to their counterparts whose mothers had no ACE exposure. A significant dose-response pattern was also observed between the number of maternal ACEs and children’s HRQOL sub-scores and total scores. Stratified analysis revealed sex-specific pattern between maternal ACEs and their children’s HRQOL. Nonetheless, children’s sex was not a significant moderator. Conclusions Our study showed that preschool children of mothers who had any experience of ACEs were at risk of poorer HRQOL. Our findings indicated that screening maternal ACEs in young children and promoting targeted interventions might be a feasible way to mitigate or stop the potential negative intergenerational health and wellbeing implications of ACEs.

In vitro regeneration was studied to protect the rare Chinese medicinal orchid Liparis nervosa (Thunb.) Lindl. The mixtures of protocorm and seeding and the stem tip were used as explants. The results revealed that the best essential medium for L. nervosa growth was 1/3 MS medium with 25 g · L–1 sucrose, 50 g · L–1 banana puree, 40 g · L–1 mashed potato, and 1.0 g · L–1 AC (MS1); MS1 medium with 0.5 mg · L–1 BA, 0.05 mg · L–1 2,4-D, and 1.5 mg · L–1 NAA was optimal for proliferation. When stem tips were cultured in a proliferation medium, four types of proliferation occurred: basal stem cluster bud (occurring at the basal node), tiller bud (occurring at the root), protocorm-like body (occurring at the plant’s base incision), and high-position bud (occurring on plant stem nodes other than the basal nodes). Four methods produced 10.12 proliferation coefficients. In the MS1 medium with 0.5 mg · L−1 NAA, the plantlets rooted 100%, and the rooted plantlets survived 100% after domestication and transplantation.

ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the individual and joint associations of sedentary behaviour, physical activity (PA), sleep and breakfast eating on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) amongst Chinese junior high school students.MethodsData were from 783 junior high school students who participated in a health behaviour and health survey in Jining city of Shandong province of China. HRQoL was measured by the EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire, youth version (EQ-5D-Y). Multivariable logistic and linear regressions were applied to examine the associations between health behaviours and HRQoL.ResultsMultivariable regression analyses showed that using a computer ≥ 2 h a day (vs. < 2 h/day) is associated with increased likelihood of having health problems in the three EQ-D-Y dimensions, including walking, looking after self and doing usual activities. Lower PA is associated with more problems in feeling worried, sad or unhappy, and with a lower visual analogue scale (VAS) score. Students who had insufficient sleep time (e.g.,

Bromadiolone, as a second-generation coumarin anticoagulant rodenticide, may accidently cause harm to humans and non-target animals when overused or misused due to its high toxicity and long-lasting effects. In some severe cases such as the presence of active bleeding, treatment should involve the administration of hemoperfusion therapy. Nafamostat mesylate is a synthesized protease inhibitor that inhibits most factors in the coagulation process, preventing clotting and ensuring smooth blood flow during the procedure. Nafamostat mesylate helps maintain the efficacy and safety of hemoperfusion treatment. Despite its wide application in Japan, the clinical practice and research of nafamostat mesylate are limited in China, especially for patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis. This paper reports two cases of bromadiolone poisoning and describes the treatment procedure and therapeutic effect of anticoagulation in hemoperfusion therapy with nafamostat mesylate.

ObjectiveBipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) are two common psychiatric disorders. Due to the overlapping clinical symptoms and the lack of objective diagnostic biomarkers, bipolar disorder (BD) is easily misdiagnosed as major depressive disorder (MDD), which in turn affects treatment decisions and prognosis. This study aimed to investigate biomarkers that could be used to differentiate BD from MDD.MethodsNuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was performed to assess serum metabolic profiles in depressed patients with BD (n = 59), patients with MDD (n = 14), and healthy controls (n = 10). Data was analyzed using partial least squares discriminant analysis, orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis and t-tests. Different metabolites (VIP > 1 and p < 0.05) were identified and further analyzed using Metabo Analyst 5.0 to identify relevant metabolic pathways.ResultsThe metabolic phenotypes of the BD and MDD groups were significantly different from those of the healthy controls, and there were different metabolite differences between them. In the BD group, the levels of 3-hydroxybutyric acid, n-acetyl glycoprotein, β-glucose, pantothenic acid, mannose, glycerol, and lipids were significantly higher than those in the healthy control group, and the levels of lactate and acetoacetate were significantly lower than those in the healthy control group. In the MDD group, the levels of 3-hydroxybutyric acid, n-acetyl glycoprotein, pyruvate, choline, acetoacetic acid, and lipids were significantly higher than those of healthy controls, and the levels of acetic acid and glycerol were significantly lower than those of healthy controls.ConclusionGlycerolipid metabolism is significantly involved in BD and MDD. Pyruvate metabolism is significantly involved in MDD. Pyruvate, choline, and acetate may be potential biomarkers for MDD to distinguish from BD, and pantothenic acid may be a potential biomarker for BD to distinguish from MDD.

Introduction: The Gelao ethnic minority of northern Guizhou, China have long possessed extensive traditional knowledge of medicinal herbs. This ethnobotanical study aimed to document and evaluate wild plants used medicinally by the Gelao people, providing insights into their traditional medicine and knowledge systems.Methods: Field research was conducted in Gelao communities of Daozhen, Wuchuan and Zheng’an counties using interviews, surveys and participatory rural appraisal.Results: Quantitative ethnobotanical indices were utilized to assess the cultural significance of 187 herbs identified. The herbs belonged to 84 families, primarily Compositae, and were mostly roots, rhizomes and whole plants. They were used to treat digestive, respiratory and inflammatory disorders, gynecological diseases, bites and other conditions, mainly through decoctions. 25 highly significant herbs (national plant cultural significance index > 1000) were known to protect health. Some function as food and are considered safe. However, the study revealed issues including a declining number of knowledgeable elders and inadequate hygiene controls.Conclusion: Our findings demonstrate the Gelao’s extensive medicinal plant knowledge and highlight the need for further ethnobotanical research to document and preserve this culturally important tradition. The identified herbs also represent an alternative medicinal resource with potential modern applications pending further investigation of their pharmacology and sustainable use. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into Gelao ethnobotanical knowledge and the potential of indigenous medicine for modern healthcare.

Highlights • First meta-analysis on the correlation between sarcopenia and myocardial infarction • A certain relationship exists between sarcopenia and myocardial infarction • Provides a clinical basis for sarcopenia patients with myocardial infarction

The dynamic vibration characteristics of multibody system in axial piston pump is studied based on a lumped parameter model. The model is used to predict the vibration responses of the rotor assembly and the separator assembly based on Runge-Kutta method. The built model is verified by comparing the theoretical frequencies and experimental results. The developed model is used to investigate the effect of operating circumstances and coefficients of stiffness and damping on the amplitude-frequency vibration response and phase trajectory diagram. The results demonstrated that the frequency simulated by the model is similar to that measured by the experiment, and the error is 8.85%. The frequency of the harmonic is related to the excitation force period and the rotational speed of the axial piston pump. Higher harmonic vibration frequencies are integer multiples of the pump rotation frequency and the inherent flow pulsation frequency. The frequency of pistons impulse is twice that of the rotation. The frequency diagram and phase trajectory diagram are affected by various operating conditions as well as stiffness and damping factors.

Abstract Background Lupus nephritis (LN) is the most common and serious complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). LN pathogenesis is not fully understood. Axl receptor tyrosine kinase is upregulated and contributes to the pathogenic progress in LN. We have reported that Axl disruption attenuates nephritis development in mice. Methods In this study, we analyzed the gene expression profiles with RNA-seq using renal cortical samples from nephritic mice. Axl-KO mice were bred onto a B6.lpr spontaneous lupus background, and renal disease development was followed and compared to the Axl-sufficient B6.lpr mice. Finally, anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) Ab-induced nephritic mice were treated with Axl small molecule inhibitor, R428, at different stages of nephritis development. Blood urine nitrogen levels and renal pathologies were evaluated. Results Transcriptome analysis revealed that renal Axl activation contributed to cell proliferation, survival, and motility through regulation of the Akt, c-Jun, and actin pathways. Spontaneous lupus-prone B6.lpr mice with Axl deficiency showed significantly reduced kidney damages and decreased T cell infiltration compared to the renal damage and T cell infiltration in Axl-sufficient B6.lpr mice. The improved kidney function was independent of autoAb production. Moreover, R428 significantly reduced anti-GBM glomerulonephritis at different stages of GN development compared to the untreated nephritic control mice. R428 administration reduced inflammatory cytokine (IL-6) production, T cell infiltration, and nephritis disease activity. Conclusions Results from this study emphasize the important role of Axl signaling in LN and highlight Axl as an attractive target in LN.

Abstract Background Both excessive screen time and early screen exposure have been linked to children’s health outcomes, but few studies considered these two exposures simultaneously. The aim of this study was to explore the independent and interactive associations of excessive screen time and early screen exposure with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and behavioral problems among Chinese children attending preschools. Methods A cross-sectional study of 4985 children aged between 3 and 6 years was conducted in Chengdu, China. Each parent has finished an online questionnaire regarding their children’s screen use, HRQOL, and behavioral problems. Children with screen time over 1 h/day were considered as having excessive screen time. Early screen exposure was defined if the children had started using screen-based media before the age of 2 years. HRQOL was assessed by the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory version 4.0 (PedsQL 4.0), while behavioral problems were confirmed with the 48-item Conners’ Parent Rating Scale (CPRS-48). Results Of the 4985 children (2593 boys and 2392 girls) included, the mean age was 4.6 (SD: 1.0) years. After adjustment for confounders and early screen exposure, excessive screen time was significantly associated with worse HRQOL scores in all dimensions and summary scales, as well as each type of behavioral problems (all p values

Context Zuojin Pill (ZJP) has been used to treat gastrointestinal problems in China for hundreds of years.Objective To discover more potential active ingredients and evaluate the gastroprotective mechanisms of ZJP.Materials and methods An approach involving UPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS and serum pharmacochemistry was established to screen the multiple chemical constituents of ZJP. Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided into six groups: normal control, ulcer control, omeprazole (30 mg/kg), and three ZJP groups (1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 g/kg). After oral treatment with ZJP or omeprazole for 7 days, all groups except the normal control group were orally administered 5 mL/kg ethanol to induce gastric ulceration. Histopathological assessment of gastric tissue was performed by haematoxylin and eosin staining. Antioxidant parameters and inflammatory mediators were determined using ELISA Kit and immunohistochemical analysis.Results Ninety components were identified in ZJP. Among them, 23 prototypes were found in rat serum after oral administration of ZJP. The ulcer inhibition was over 90.0% for all the ZJP groups. Compared with the ulcer control rats, ZJP (4.0 g/kg) enhanced the antioxidant capacity of gastric tissue: superoxide dismutase (1.33-fold), catalase (2.61-fold), glutathione (2.14-fold), and reduced the malondialdehyde level (0.48-fold). Simultaneously, the ZJP meaningfully lowered the content of tumour necrosis factor-α (0.76-fold), interleukin-6 (0.66-fold), myeloperoxidase (0.21-fold), and nuclear factor kappa B (p65) (0.62-fold).Discussion and conclusions This study showed ZJP could mitigate ethanol-induced rat gastric ulcers, which might benefit from the synergistic actions of multiple ingredients. The findings could support the quality control and clinical trials of ZJP.

Abstract Background Previous studies reported that there was right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction in patients with hypertension. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) on RV systolic dysfunction and interventricular interactions using cardiac magnetic resonance feature tracking (CMR-FT) in patients with essential hypertension. Methods and methods Eighty-five hypertensive patients without T2DM [HTN(T2DM −)], 58 patients with T2DM [HTN(T2DM +)] and 49 normal controls were included in this study. The biventricular global radial, circumferential and longitudinal peak strains (GRS, GCS, GLS, respectively) and RV regional strains at the basal-, mid- and apical-cavity, were calculated with CMR-FT and compared among controls and different patient groups. Backward stepwise multivariable linear regression analyses were used to determine the effects of T2DM and left ventricular (LV) strains on RV strains. Results The biventricular GLS and RV apical longitudinal strain deteriorated significantly from controls, through HTN(T2DM-), to HTN(T2DM +) groups. RV middle longitudinal strain in patient groups were significantly reduced, and LV GRS and GCS and RV basal longitudinal strain were decreased in HTN(T2DM +) but preserved in HTN(T2DM-) group. Multivariable regression analyses adjusted for covariates demonstrated that T2DM was independently associated with LV strains (LV GRS: β = − 4.278, p = 0.004, model R2 = 0.285; GCS: β = 1.498, p = 0.006, model R2 = 0.363; GLS: β = 1.133, p = 0.007, model R2 = 0.372) and RV GLS (β = 1.454, p = 0.003, model R2 = 0.142) in hypertension. When T2DM and LV GLS were included in the multiple regression analysis, both T2DM and LV GLS (β = 0.977 and 0.362, p = 0.039 and

Abstract Background We attempted to estimate dietary vitamin A requirements based on dietary vitamin A intake in well-nourished Chinese children with adequate liver vitamin A reserves. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in a kindergarten and an elementary school in Shiyan city, Hubei province of China from December 2009 to July 2010. After screening, 60 children (22 aged 4 ~ 6 y and 38 aged 7 ~ 9 y) were randomly subjected to a 3-d or 18-d deuterated-retinol-dilution (DRD) procedure to evaluate the vitamin A reserves in the body and liver. Dietary intakes of vitamin A were estimated from two (one in winter and one in summer) consecutive 3-day weighed food records and dietary recalls. Results The dietary vitamin A intakes were significantly correlated with vitamin A stores in the body and liver, but not with the serum level of retinol. The dietary vitamin A intakes were 476.9 ± 196.7 µg retinol equivalent (RE) (or 377.7 ± 166.2 µg retinol activity equivalent (RAE)) / day for 4 ~ 6 y children and 529.1 ± 87.2 µg RE/d (or 464.0 ± 81.1 µg RAE/d) for 7 ~ 9 y children with adequate liver vitamin A reserves. The estimated liver stores of vitamin A derived from both time points (3-d and 18-d) were similar. Conclusion Adequate dietary vitamin A intakes among the well-nourished Chinese children were estimated to be 477 µg RE/d (95%CI 385 ~ 570) or 378 µg RAE/d (95%CI 304 ~ 441) for 4 ~ 6 y children and 529 µg RE/d (95%CI 500 ~ 560) or 464 µg RAE/d (95%CI 437 ~ 491) for 7 ~ 9 y children. Although it needs to be verified in a larger population of different regions in China, our results provide important data to establish the dietary requirement of vitamin A specifically for Chinese children.

Abstract Background As one of the most important staple food crops, rice produces large of agronomic biomass residues that contain lots of secondary cell walls (SCWs). Membrane trafficking plays key roles in SCWs biosynthesis, but information association membrane trafficking and SCWs formation in plants is limited. Results In this study, we report the function characterization of a rice mutant, c ulm e asily f ragile 3 (cef3), that exhibits growth retardation and fragile culm phenotype with significantly altered cell wall composition and reduced secondary wall thickness. Map-based cloning revealed that CEF3 encodes a homologous protein of Arabidopsis STOMATAL CYTOKINESIS DEFECTIVE2 (SCD2). The saccharification assays revealed that CEF3 mutation can improve biomass enzymatic saccharification. Expression pattern analysis indicated that CEF3 is ubiquitously expressed in many organs at different developmental stages. Subcellular localization revealed that CEF3 is a Golgi-localized protein. The FM4-64 uptake assay revealed CEF3 is involved in endocytosis. Furthermore, mutation of CEF3 not only affected cellulose synthesis-related genes expression, but also altered the abundance of cellulose synthase catalytic subunit 9 (OsCESA9) in the PM and in the endomembrane systems. Conclusions This study has demonstrated that CEF3 participates in the membrane trafficking that is essential for normal cellulose and other polysaccharides biosynthesis of the secondary cell wall, thereby manipulation of CEF3 could alter cellulose content and enhance biomass enzymatic saccharification in rice plants. Therefore, the study of the function of CEF3 can provide a strategy for genetic modification of SCWs in bioenergy crops.

As a novel post-translational modification (PTM), lysine 2-hydroxyisobutyrylation (Khib) is considered to regulate gene transcriptional activities in eukaryotic cells; however, the functions of Khib-modified proteins in plants remain unknown. Here, we report that Khib is an evolutionarily-conserved PTM in wheat and its progenitors. A total of 3348 Khib sites on 1074 proteins are identified in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) by using affinity purification and mass spectroscopy of 2-hydroxyisobutyrylome. Bioinformatic data indicate that Khib-modified proteins participate in a wide variety of biological and metabolic pathways. Immunoprecipitation confirms that Khib-modified proteins are present endogenously. A comparison of Khib and other main PTMs shows that Khib-modified proteins are simultaneously modified by multiple PTMs. Using mutagenesis experiments and co-immunoprecipitation assays, we demonstrate that Khib on K206 of phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) is a key regulatory modification for its enzymatic activity, and mutation on K206 affects the interactions of PGK with its substrates. Furthermore, Khib modification of low-molecular-weight proteins is a response to the deacetylase inhibitors nicotinamide and trichostatin. This study provides evidence to promote our current understanding of Khib in wheat plants, including the cooperation between Khib and its metabolic regulation.

Bisecting N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), a GlcNAc linked to the core β-mannose residue via a β1,4 linkage, is a special type of N-glycosylation that has been reported to be involved in various biological processes, such as cell adhesion and fetal development. This N-glycan structure is abundant in human trophoblasts, which is postulated to be resistant to natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity, enabling a mother to nourish a fetus without rejection. In this study, we hypothesized that the human amniotic membrane, which serves as the last barrier for the fetus, may also express bisected-type glycans. To test this hypothesis, glycomic analysis of the human amniotic membrane was performed, and bisected N-glycans were detected. Furthermore, our proteomic data, which have been previously employed to explore human missing proteins, were analyzed and the presence of bisecting GlcNAc-modified peptides was confirmed. A total of 41 glycoproteins with 43 glycopeptides were found to possess a bisecting GlcNAc, and 25 of these glycoproteins were reported to exhibit this type of modification for the first time. These results provide insights into the potential roles of bisecting GlcNAc modification in the human amniotic membrane, and can be beneficial to functional studies on glycoproteins with bisecting GlcNAc modifications and functional studies on immune suppression in human placenta.

There are only a few platforms that integrate multiple omics data types, bioinformatics tools, and interfaces for integrative analyses and visualization that do not require programming skills. Here the authors present an integrative web-based platform for analysis of omics data and signatures of cellular perturbations.

The fault feature of vibration signal is always submerged in heavy interference noise and strong pumping impulses in axial piston pump bearings. A fuzzy entropy assisted singular spectrum decomposition denoising method is introduced to extract bearing fault in axial piston pump. The raw measured data is adaptively decomposed to singular spectrum components. The fuzzy entropy of singular spectrum components is used to screen the component with critical information and remove the unrelated components. The remaining singular spectrum components are conducted for the secondary screening to decrease impulse interference based on the prior knowledge. Simulation results of signals with different noise intensity thoroughly validate performance. This method is applied to process practical engineering signals and the characteristic frequency intensity coefficient is taken as the evaluation index in the field. The experimental results show that the evaluation index of the presented technique are increased by 80%, 56% and 40%, respectively.

ObjectiveThe aim was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis for assessing the effectiveness and safety of dietary polyphenol curcumin supplement on metabolic, inflammatory, and oxidative stress indices in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS).MethodsA comprehensive search for clinical trials was conducted in the following scientific databases: PubMed, SCOPUS, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, and China Biological Medicine. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the efficacy and safety of curcumin supplement for MetS were identified. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed using inverse variance, and efficacy was expressed as mean difference (MD) with 95% confidence interval (CI). The metabolic syndrome markers that were evaluated in the present study included waist circumference (WC), fasting blood sugar (FBS), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), interleukin 6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), ultrasensitive c-reactive protein (hsCRP), and malondialdehyde (MDA). By employing the Cochrane tool, RCTs were assessed for bias risk.ResultsA total of 785 participants from 13 RCTs were included, with intervention durations ranging from 4 to 12 weeks. Compared with the control group, the curcumin group had positive effects on WC (MD = -2.16, 95% CI: -3.78 to -0.54, p = 0.009, seven studies), FBS (MD = -8.6, 95% CI: -15.45 to -1.75, p = 0.01, nine studies), DBP (MD = -2.8, 95% CI: -4.53 to - 1.06, p = 0.002, five studies), HDL-C (MD = 4.98, 95% CI: 2.58 to 7.38, p < 0.0001, eight studies), TNF-a (MD = -12.97, 95% CI: -18.37 to -7.57, p < 0.00001, two studies), CRP (MD = - 1.24, 95% CI: -1.71 to -0.77, p < 0.00001, two studies), and MDA (MD = -2.35, 95% CI: -4.47 to -0.24, p = 0.03, three studies). These improvements were statistically significant. Meanwhile, there was no significant improvement in SBP (MD = -4.82, 95% CI: -9.98 to 0.35, p = 0.07, six studies), TG (MD = 1.28, 95% CI: -3.75 to 6.30, p = 0.62, eight studies), IL-6 (MD = -1.5, 95% CI: -3.97 to 0.97, p = 0.23, two studies), or hsCRP (MD = -1.10, 95% CI: -4.35 to 2.16, p < 0.51, two studies). FBS, SBP, HDL-C, IL-6, CRP, hsCRP, and MDA had a relatively high heterogeneity.ConclusionCurcumin exhibited promising potential in enhancing markers associated with metabolic syndrome, including inflammation. However, additional studies are required to confirm such findings since the included evidence is limited and has a relatively high heterogeneity.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero, identifier CRD42022362553.

Polypropylene (PP) mesh is one of the most widely used artificial meshes to treat hernias. It has many advantages but can also cause chronic inflammation, pain, and adhesion. In inguinal hernia repair, PP mesh may have a negative effect on the reproductive system. In this study, the protective effect of an electrospun fibrous membrane was investigated in an autologous control experiment of inguinal hernia repair in rabbits. Tissue adhesions, obstructions of the spermatic cord, orchiatrophy, and reproductive system abnormalities were highly correlated and mainly appeared soon after implantation. The fibrous membrane, which serves as a biocompatible physical barrier, successfully reduced the deformity and dysfunction of the spermatic cord, testicle, and reproductive system, while polypropylene mesh caused severe damage. In the sub-chronic and chronic stages, at 90 and 180 days, respectively, the peritonealization of the remaining mesh was in the process while the fibrous membrane was degrading. The structure and function of the spermatic cord, testicle, and reproductive system were well protected and maintained because the newly formed tissue prevented contact between the mesh and the spermatic cord. Thus, introducing a fibrous membrane in inguinal hernia repair reduces the adverse effects of polypropylene mesh.

Introduction: Carboplatin (CBP) is a DNA damaging drug used to treat various cancers, including advanced melanoma. Yet we still face low response rates and short survival due to resistance. Triptolide (TPL) is considered to have multifunctional antitumor effects and has been confirmed to enhance the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapeutic drugs. Herein, we aimed to investigate the knowledge about the effects and mechanisms for the combined application of TPL and CBP against melanoma.Methods: Melanoma cell lines and xenograft mouse model were used to uncover the antitumor effects and the underlying molecular mechanisms of the alone or combined treatment of TPL and CBP in melanoma. Cell viability, migration, invasion, apoptosis, and DNA damage were detected by conventional methods. The rate-limiting proteins of the NER pathway were quantitated using PCR and Western blot. Fluorescent reporter plasmids were used to test the NER repair capacity.Results: Our results showed that the presence of TPL in CBP treatment could selectively inhibit NER pathway activity, and TPL exerts a synergistic effect with CBP to inhibit viability, migration, invasion, and induce apoptosis of A375 and B16 cells. Moreover, combined treatment with TPL and CBP significantly inhibited tumor progression in nude mice by suppressing cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis.Discussion: This study reveals the NER inhibitor TPL which has great potential in treating melanoma, either alone or in combination with CBP.

Purpose: Cold ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) is one of the most serious complications following renal transplantation. The current study investigated the feasibility of Intravoxel Incoherent Motion (IVIM) imaging and blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) in the evaluation of different degrees of renal cold ischemia-reperfusion injury in a rat model.Methods: Seventy five rats were randomly divided into three groups (N = 25 for each group): T0: sham-operated group, T2/T4: CIRI groups with different cold ischemia hours (2, 4 h, respectively). The rat model of CIRI group was established by left kidney cold ischemia with right nephrectomy. All the rats received a baseline MRI before the surgery. Five rats in each group were randomly selected to undergo an MRI examination at 1 h, day 1, day 2 and day 5 after CIRI. The IVIM and BOLD parameters were studied in the renal cortex (CO), the outer stripe of the outer medulla (OSOM), and the inner stripe of the outer medulla (ISOM) followed by histological analysis to examine Paller scores, peritubular capillary (PTC) density, apoptosis rate and biochemical indicators to obtain the contents of serum creatinine (Scr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA).Results: The D, D*, PF and T2* values in the CIRI groups were lower than those in the sham-operated group at all timepoints (all p < 0.05). The prolonged cold ischemia times resulted in gradually lower D, D*, PF and T2* values (all p < 0.05). The D and T2* values of cortex and OSOM in Group T0 and T2 returned to the baseline level (all p > 0.05) except Group T4. The D* and PF values of cortex, OSOM and ISOM in Group T2 and T4 still remained below the normal levels (all p < 0.05) except Group T0. D, D*, PF and T2* values were strongly correlated with histopathological (Paller scores, PTC density and apoptosis rate) and the biochemistry indicators (SOD and MDA) (|r|>0.6, p < 0.001). D*, PF and T2* values were moderately to poorly correlated with some biochemistry indicators (Scr and BUN) (|r|

The humidifier plays a key role in a humidification–dehumidification (HDH) desalination system; it directly affects both the freshwater production efficiency and energy consumption ratio of the system. In this study, for a humidifier in an HDH system, a heat–mass coupled differential equation model of spray water and air on the surface of the packing material was established, and the effects of parameters such as the spray water temperature (tw), mass flow rate of spray water (mw), air temperature (ta), and air mass flow rate (ma) on the humidification performance of humidifiers composed of eight different types of packing materials were investigated. The results show the following: (1) Under the same inlet spray water and air conditions, the humidification performance of different packing materials from good to bad is as follows: cellulose paper, polypropylene, hackettes, saddles, snowflakes, wooden slats, polyvinyl chloride, gunny bag cloth. (2) Increasing the tw can significantly improve the humidification performance. To achieve higher humidification energy efficiency, it is recommended to increase the tw to above 80 °C. (3) With the increase in the mw, although the humidification efficiency (εhum) decreases slightly, the humidification rate (mhum) increases, and the specific humidification energy ratio (ηhum) decreases accordingly. To maintain a high mhum and a low ηhum, it is advisable to control the mw at not less than 0.5 kg/s. (4) Increasing the humidifier inlet ta can improve the mhum, εhum, and ηhum, although not as effectively as increasing tw. (5) Increasing the ma can improve mhum and εhum. However, it simultaneously increases the ηhum. The results of this study can provide theoretical guidance for the selection of efficient packing materials and the optimization of humidifier operating conditions in HDH desalination systems.

Aeromonas septicemia and columnaris disease are major bacterial diseases in grass carp; however, the drugs currently used to control these diseases pose environmental and health risks. This study aimed to screen for a probiotic Bacillus strain with antagonistic activity to prevent and control bacterial diseases in grass carp and to evaluate the antimicrobial activities, biosafety, and biocontrol effects of this strain. A Bacillus strain with antagonistic activity against Aeromonas hydrophila, obtained from grass carp intestines, was screened, and the isolate CYS06 was identified by analyzing the 16S rRNA and gyrA gene sequences. The antimicrobial spectrum of the strain CYS06 was determined, and the activities of amylase, cellulase, protease, and lipase of the strain CYS06 were determined. The whole genome of the strain CYS06 was sequenced using the nanopore sequencing technology platform, followed by the analysis of the antagonistic substance synthesis gene clusters and CAZy enzyme gene families. The biosafety of the strain CYS06 was evaluated via intraperitoneal injection into healthy grass carp. After the strain CYS06 was fed to the grass carp, its biological control effect on this fish was evaluated through artificial infection experiments. The strain CYS06 was identified as Bacillus velezensis, based on molecular identification, which shows broad antimicrobial activity against various fish pathogens. The strain CYS06 secretes amylase, cellulase, protease, and lipase. The genome size of the strain CYS06 is 3,914,159 bp, and it contains eight antagonistic substance synthesis gene clusters and many CAZy enzymes. The strain CYS06 exhibits high biological safety for grass carp, based on the challenge test. Feeding grass carp with the strain CYS06 for 4 weeks significantly enhanced the resistance of the fish to A. hydrophila. Strain CYS06 could inhibit the growth of Flavobacterium columnare under co-culture and reduce the amount of F. columnare adherence on the gills of grass carp, indicating that CYS06 has good potential for the prevention and control of columnaris disease. In conclusion, we isolated an antagonistic probiotic strain, CYS06, which exhibits a biological control effect on septicemia and columnaris disease caused by Aeromonas spp. and F. columnare in grass carp, respectively. This strain contains many antagonistic substance synthesis-related gene clusters and holds the potential to degrade various types of carbohydrates. As a biological control agent, the strain CYS06 exhibits significant potential for the prevention and control of bacterial diseases in grass carp.

Abstract Background Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is an important symptom of bipolar disorder (BD) and other mental disorders and has attracted the attention of researchers lately. It is of great significance to study the characteristic markers of NSSI. Metabolomics is a relatively new field that can provide complementary insights into data obtained from genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic analyses of psychiatric disorders. The aim of this study was to identify the metabolic pathways associated with BD with NSSI and assess important diagnostic and predictive indices of NSSI in BD. Method Nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry was performed to evaluate the serum metabolic profiles of patients with BD with NSSI (n = 31), patients with BD without NSSI (n = 46), and healthy controls (n = 10). Data were analyzed using an Orthogonal Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis and a t-test. Differential metabolites were identified (VIP > 1 and p

Abstract High-grade serous ovarian, fallopian tube or peritoneal carcinoma is an aggressive subtype of ovarian cancer that frequently develops resistance to chemotherapy. It remains contested whether the resistance is caused by the acquisition of novel molecular aberrations or alternatively through the selection of rare pre-existing tumor clones. To address this question, we applied single-cell RNA sequencing to depict the tumor landscape of 6 samples from a single case of advanced high-grade serous fallopian tube carcinoma during neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). We analyzed a total of 32,079 single cells, with 17,249 cells derived from the pre-NACT multisite tumor tissue samples and 14,830 cells derived from the post-NACT multisite tumor tissue samples. We identified the diverse properties of the tumor, immune and stromal cell types between the pre-NACT and post-NACT tumors. The malignant epithelial cells displayed a high degree of intratumor heterogeneity in response to NACT. We showed that the primary resistant clone (clone 63) epithelial genotype was already present in the pre-NACT tumors, and was adaptively enriched after NACT. This clone 63 was correlated with a poor clinical prognosis. Furthermore, single-cell analysis of CD4+ T cells demonstrated that IL2RAhi-CCL22+-Tregs were selectively enriched in post-NACT tumors. Interestingly, this Treg subtype could recruit and enrich themselves through secreting the CCL22-CCR1 combination in pre-NACT and post-NACT tumors, and further express CD274 to suppress other CD4 and CD8 T cells through a CD274-PDCD1 axis in the post-NACT tumors, and this predicted an immunosuppressive state after NACT. Overall, our results provide important evidence for the adaptive resistance theory of HGSC, and for the potential development of therapeutic strategies to treat HGSC and improve the survival of patients with HGSC.

Abstract This paper addresses coordinated problem of uncertain robotic manipulators with matrix-weighted network. Given interconnections between agents are weighted by nonnegative definite matrices, we present a sufficient and necessary condition about zero eigenvalues of matrix-weighted Laplacian and types of coordinated behaviors for multiple agents. Based on the condition, two novel control schemes are proposed for the networked robots by introducing matrix-weighted network. We employ the decomposition approach and Lyapunov-like approach to show coordinated motions of the networked system, and demonstrate that the proposed controls are capable of ensuring the robotic agents reach complete/cluster consensus and complete/cluster synchronization. Finally, some numerical examples and simulations demonstrate the obtained theoretical results.

Abstract Background The acupoint selections impact the effects of acupuncture, and preliminary evidence showed potential connection between pain threshold (PT) and acupuncture response. This study examined whether acupuncture at acupoints with lower PT versus higher PT would yield different effects in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Methods In this multicenter randomized clinical trial, patients were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive acupuncture at acupoints with lower PT (LPT group), acupuncture at acupoints with higher PT (HPT group), and no acupuncture (waiting-list group). PT was measured with electronic von Frey detector. The primary outcome was the change in WOMAC total score from baseline to 16 weeks, and the secondary outcomes were SF-12 score, and active knee range of motion (ROM). Intention-to-treat analysis was conducted with linear mixed-effect model. Results Among 666 randomized patients, 625 (93.84%) completed the study. From baseline to 16 weeks, patients in the LPT group versus HPT group had similar effects in reducing WOMAC total score (adjusted mean difference (MD) 2.21, 95% confidence interval (CI) −2.51 to 6.92, P = 0.36), while a greater reduction in WOMAC total score was observed in LPT group (−9.77, 95% CI −14.47 to −5.07, P

Abstract Background The gaur (Bos gaurus) is the largest extant wild bovine species, native to South and Southeast Asia, with unique traits, and is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Results We report the first gaur reference genome and identify three biological pathways including lysozyme activity, proton transmembrane transporter activity, and oxygen transport with significant changes in gene copy number in gaur compared to other mammals. These may reflect adaptation to challenges related to climate and nutrition. Comparative analyses with domesticated indicine (Bos indicus) and taurine (Bos taurus) cattle revealed genomic signatures of artificial selection, including the expansion of sperm odorant receptor genes in domesticated cattle, which may have important implications for understanding selection for male fertility. Conclusions Apart from aiding dissection of economically important traits, the gaur genome will also provide the foundation to conserve the species.

Abstract Background Weight management is strongly promoted for overweight or obese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) by current guidelines. However, the prognostic impact of weight loss achieved without behavioural intervention on the mortality and cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in diabetic patients is still contested. Methods We searched the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases for studies that investigated the association of weight loss or weight variability with mortality and CV outcomes. Results of studies that measured weight loss by percentage weight loss from baseline and stratified it as > 10% and 5–10% or studies that computed weight variability were pooled using random effects model. Study quality was evaluated using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Results Thirty eligible studies were included in the systematic review and 13 of these were included in the meta-analysis. Large weight loss (> 10%) was associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality (pooled hazard ratio (HR) 2.27, 95% CI 1.51–3.42), composite of major CV events (pooled HR 1.71, 95% CI 1.38–2.12) and CV mortality (pooled HR 1.50, 95% CI 1.27–1.76) among T2DM patients. Moderate weight loss showed no significant association with all-cause mortality (pooled HR 1.17, 95% CI 0.97–1.41) or CV outcomes (pooled HR 1.12, 95% CI 0.94–1.33). Weight variability was associated with high hazard of all-cause mortality (pooled HR 1.54, 95% CI 1.52–1.56). Conclusions Large weight loss and large fluctuations in weight are potential markers of increased risk of mortality and CV events in T2DM patients. Maintaining a stable weight may have positive impact in these patients.

BackgroundTo understand the pathological correlations of multi-b-value diffusion-weighted imaging (MDWI) stretched-exponential model (SEM) parameters of α and diffusion distribution index (DDC) in patients with glioma. SEM parameters, as promising biomarkers, played an important role in histologically grading gliomas.MethodsBiopsy specimens were grouped as high-grade glioma (HGG) or low-grade glioma (LGG). MDWI-SEM parametric mapping of DDC1500, α1500 fitted by 15 b-values (0-1,500 sec/mm2)and DDC5000 and α5000 fitted by 22 b-values (0-5,000 sec/mm2) were matched with pathological samples (stained by MIB-1 and CD34) by coregistered localized biopsies, and all SEM parameters were correlated with these pathological indices pMIB-1(percentage of MIB-1 expression positive rate) and CD34-MVD (CD34 expression positive microvascular density for each specimen). The two-tailed Spearman’s correlation was calculated for pathological indexes and SEM parameters, as well as WHO grades and SEM parameters.ResultsMDWI-derived α1500 negatively correlated with CD34-MVD in both LGG (6 specimens) and HGG (26 specimens) (r=-0.437, P =0.012). MDWI-derived DDC1500 and DDC5000 negatively correlated with MIB-1 expression in all glioma patients (P

Organic erectile dysfunction (ED) is a type of sexual disorder in men that is usually associated with illness, surgical injury, normal aging and has a high incidence across the globe. And the essence of penile erection is a neurovascular event regulated by a combination of factors. Nerve and vascular injury are the main causes of erectile dysfunction. Currently, the main treatment options for ED include phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5Is), intracorporeal injections and vacuum erection devices (VEDs), which are ineffective. Therefore, it is essential to find an emerging, non-invasive and effective treatment for ED. The histopathological damage causing ED can be improved or even reversed with hydrogels, in contrast to current therapies. Hydrogels have many advantages, they can be synthesized from various raw materials with different properties, possess a definite composition, and have good biocompatibility and biodegradability. These advantages make hydrogels an effective drug carrier. In this review, we began with an overview of the underlying mechanisms of organic erectile dysfunction, discussed the dilemmas of existing treatments for ED, and described the unique advantages of hydrogel over other approaches. Then emphasizing the progress of research on hydrogels in the treatment of ED.

Backgrounds & aimsLiver inflammation is the main risk factor for developing liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and even hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. To replace biopsy, additional non-invasive biomarkers to diagnose and grade liver necroinflammation are urgently required in clinical practice.MethodNinety-four CHB patients, including 74 HBeAg-positive and 20 HBeAg-negative patients, were enrolled and started entecavir or adefovir therapy. Serum HBV RNA, HBV DNA, HBsAg, hepatitis B core-related antigen (HBcrAg), ALT and AST levels, as well as intrahepatic HBV DNA and cccDNA were measured at baseline and during treatment. Liver inflammation was assessed at baseline and month 60 by liver biopsy. Inflammation regression was defined as a ≥1-grade decrease according to the Scheuer scoring system.ResultsIn HBeAg-positive CHB patients, at baseline, serum HBsAg and HBcrAg levels negatively correlated with inflammation grade, while ALT and AST levels positively correlated with inflammation grade. AST plus HBsAg exhibited excellent diagnostic ability for significant inflammation with an AUROC of 0.896. After 60 months of antiviral treatment, almost all the patients’ liver inflammation ameliorated to G1, and no patients had inflammation progression.ConclusionBesides ALT and AST, serum HBsAg and HBcrAg correlated with inflammation grade in HBeAg-positive CHB patients before NAs treatment. Moreover, the combination of HBsAg and AST exhibited excellent diagnostic ability for significant inflammation.

ObjectivesTo analyze clinical characteristics of the diabetic inpatients with foot ulcers and explore the risk factors of lower extremity amputation (LEA) in West China Hospital of Sichuan University.MethodsA retrospective analysis was performed based on the clinical data of the patients with diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) hospitalized in West China Hospital of Sichuan University from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2020. The DFU patients were divided into three groups: non-amputation, minor amputation, and major amputation groups. The ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to identify the risk factors for LEA.Results992 diabetic patients (622 males and 370 females) with DFU were hospitalized in the Diabetic Foot Care Center of Sichuan University. Among them, 72 (7.3%) (55 minor amputations and 17 major amputations) cases experienced amputation, and 21(2.1%) refused amputation. Excluding the patients who refused amputation, the mean age and duration of diabetes of and HbA1c the 971 patients with DFU, were 65.1 ± 12.3 years old, 11.1 ± 7.6 years, and 8.6 ± 2.3% respectively. The patients in the major amputation group were older and had longer course of diabetes for a longer period of time than those in the non-amputation and minor amputation groups. Compared with the non-amputation patients (55.1%), more patients with amputation (minor amputation (63.5%) and major amputation (88.2%)) suffered from peripheral arterial disease (P=0.019). The amputated patients had statistically lower hemoglobin, serum albumin and ankle brachial index (ABI), but higher white blood cell, platelet counts, fibrinogen and C-reactive protein levels. The patients with amputation had a higher incidence of osteomyelitis (P = 0.006), foot gangrene (P < 0.001), and a history of prior amputations (P < 0.001) than those without amputation. Furthermore, a history of prior amputation (odds ratio 10.194; 95% CI, 2.646-39.279; P=0.001), foot gangrene (odds ratio 6.466; 95% CI, 1.576-26.539; P=0.010) and ABI (odds ratio 0.791; 95% CI, 0.639-0.980; P = 0.032) were significantly associated with LEAs.ConclusionsThe DFU inpatients with amputation were older with long duration of diabetes, poorly glycemic control, malnutrition, PAD, severe foot ulcers with infection. A history of prior amputation, foot gangrene and a low ABI level were the independent predictors of LEA. Multidisciplinary intervention for DFU is essential to avoid amputation of the diabetic patients with foot ulcer.

The reproductive tract is susceptible to infection by a variety of bacteria, which can impair ovarian and uterine function. However, there is little known about whether mild infection can harm follicle development and embryo implantation. Here our results showed that the immune response to a mild infection simulated by low-dose LPS induced inflammatory factor IL-1b expression and decreased MMP2 expression involved in embryo implantation. LPS treatment also inhibited the ovulation process and reduced litter weight. Despite the immune response and the disturbed ovulation induced by treatment with low-dose LPS, the overall result was beneficial to mouse pregnancy. This research provides the necessary foundation for exploring the effects of mild bacterial infection on ovarian and uterine function in mammals.

The vagina contains at least a billion microbial cells, dominated by lactobacilli. Here we perform metagenomic shotgun sequencing on cervical and fecal samples from a cohort of 516 Chinese women of reproductive age, as well as cervical, fecal, and salivary samples from a second cohort of 632 women. Factors such as pregnancy history, delivery history, cesarean section, and breastfeeding were all more important than menstrual cycle in shaping the microbiome, and such information would be necessary before trying to interpret differences between vagino-cervical microbiome data. Greater proportion of Bifidobacterium breve was seen with older age at sexual debut. The relative abundance of lactobacilli especially Lactobacillus crispatus was negatively associated with pregnancy history. Potential markers for lack of menstrual regularity, heavy flow, dysmenorrhea, and contraceptives were also identified. Lactobacilli were rare during breastfeeding or post-menopause. Other features such as mood fluctuations and facial speckles could potentially be predicted from the vagino-cervical microbiome. Gut and salivary microbiomes, plasma vitamins, metals, amino acids, and hormones showed associations with the vagino-cervical microbiome. Our results offer an unprecedented glimpse into the microbiota of the female reproductive tract and call for international collaborations to better understand its long-term health impact other than in the settings of infection or pre-term birth.

Abstract High grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is the most aggressive subtype of ovarian cancer and HGSOC patients often appear with metastasis, leading to the poor prognosis. Up to date, the extrachromosomal circular DNAs (eccDNAs) have been shown to be involved in cancer genome remodeling but the roles of eccDNAs in metastatic HGSOC are still not clear. Here we explored eccDNA profiles in HGSOC by Circle-Sequencing analysis using four pairs of primary and metastatic tissues of HGSOC patients. Within the differentially expressed eccDNAs screened out by our analysis, eight candidates were validated by outward PCR and qRT-PCR analysis. Among them, DNMT1circle10302690-10302961 was further confirmed by FISH assay and BaseScope assay, as the most significantly down-regulated eccDNA in metastatic tumors of HGSOC. Lower expression of DNMT1circle10302690-10302961 in both primary and metastatic tumors was associated with worse prognosis of HGSOC. Taken together, our finding firstly demonstrated the eccDNAs landscape of primary and metastatic tissues of HGSOC. The eccDNA DNMT1circle10302690-10302961 can be considered as a potential biomarker or a therapeutically clinical target of HGSOC metastasis and prognosis.

Abstract Newcastle disease virus genotype VII (NDV-GVII) is a highly contagious pathogen responsible for pandemics that have caused devastating economic losses in the poultry industry. Several features in the transcription of NDV mRNA, including differentially expressed genes across the viral genome, are shared with that for other single, non-segmented, negative-strand viruses. Previous studies measuring viral gene expression using northern blotting indicated that the NDV transcription produced non-equimolar levels of viral mRNAs. However, deep high-throughput sequencing of virus-infected tissues can provide a better insight into the patterns of viral transcription. In this report, the transcription pattern of virulent NDV-GVII was analysed using RNA-seq and qRT-PCR. This study revealed the transcriptional profiling of these highly pathogenic NDV-GVII genes: NP:P:M:F:HN:L, in which there was a slight attenuation at the NP:P and HN:L gene boundaries. Our result also provides a fully comprehensive qPCR protocol for measuring viral transcript abundance that may be more convenient for laboratories where accessing RNA-seq is not feasible.

China has ranked first worldwide in graphite imports in recent years, facing a graphite supply risk. Coal-hosted graphite is the focus of future graphite deposit exploration. The current research on the enrichment and mineralization mechanism of coal-hosted graphite is superficial, and the identification standard of coal-hosted graphite is incomprehensive, restricting the exploration of coal-hosted graphite mineral resources and the development of coal metamorphic evolution theory. In this study, the Caotangou–Meigoucoal-hosted graphite deposit in western Qinling Mountain was taken as a case study for dissection. Based on the data from 1/50,000 and 1/200,000 regional geological mapping and the data of graphite mines in the study area, the samples were systematically collected and analyzed to explore the mechanism of coal graphitization through a 1:5000 geological profile survey, 1/10,000 geological mapping in key areas, and the investigation and cataloguing of abandoned coal-hosted graphite adit. The result was that there were two main coal-hosted graphite ore bodies, striking from nearly east to west. The Rmax values of the samples were 7.23–8.15%, the average values of Vdaf were around 5.0%, the d002 value of the II ore body was 0.3433–0.3389 nm, the d002 value of the I ore body was mainly 0.3418–0.3429 nm, the graphitization degree G value of the II ore body was 8.14–59.30%, the graphitization degree G value of the II ore body was 12.79–25.58%. The II ore body was coal-hosted graphite, while some samples of the I ore body were coal-hosted graphite, and some samples were coal. The magmatic heat controls the thermal metamorphism of coal seams to form graphite. The closer the distance to the magma body, the larger the crystals, and the higher the euhedral degree, indicating the higher degree of coal seam metamorphism. The nearly north–south compressive structures mainly provided effective tectonic stress for the evolution of coal graphitization during the Yanshan period; the basic structural units (BSUs) rotated and rearranged, eventually forming a straight graphite structure, and tectonic stress catalyzed the graphitization process. The coal-hosted graphite deposits formed under the dual effects of magmatic heat transfer and tectonic stress.

Visual navigation based on image matching has become one of the most important research fields for UAVs to achieve autonomous navigation, because of its low cost, strong anti-jamming ability, and high performance. Currently, numerous positioning and navigation methods based on visual information have been proposed for UAV navigation. However, the appearance, shape, color, and texture of objects can change significantly due to different lighting conditions, shadows, and surface coverage during different seasons, such as vegetation cover in summer or ice and snow cover in winter. These changes pose greater challenges for feature-based image matching methods. This encouraged us to overcome the limitations of previous works, which did not consider significant seasonal changes such as snow-covered UAV aerial images, by proposing an image matching method using season-changing UAV aerial images and satellite imagery. Following the pipeline of a two-channel deep convolutional neural network, we first pre-scaled the UAV aerial images, ensuring that the UAV aerial images and satellite imagery had the same ground sampling distance. Then, we introduced attention mechanisms to provide additional supervision for both low-level local features and high-level global features, resulting in a new season-specific feature representation. The similarity between image patches was calculated using a similarity measurement layer composed of two fully connected layers. Subsequently, we conducted template matching to estimate the UAV matching position with the highest similarity. Finally, we validated our proposed method on both synthetic and real UAV aerial image datasets, and conducted direct comparisons with previous popular works. The experimental results demonstrated that our method achieved the highest matching accuracy on multi-temporal and multi-season images.

ObjectivesTo summarize the cytokine/chemokine levels of anti-N-methyl-Daspartate receptor encephalitis (NMDAR-E) and explore the potential role of these molecules and immune cells in the pathogenic mechanism.MethodsThe PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched for various articles that assessed the concentrations of cytokines/chemokines in the unstimulated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or serum of patients with NMDAR-E in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated by Stata17.0.ResultsA total of 19 articles were included in the systematic review from 260 candidate papers, and cytokine/chemokine levels reported in the CSF/serum were examined in each article. This meta-analysis included 17 eligible studies comprising 579 patients with NMDAR-E, 367 patients with noninflammatory neurological disorders, and 42 healthy controls from China, Spain, South Korea, Australia, Czechia, and Sweden. The results indicated that the levels of different cytokines interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, IL-10, IL-13, IL-1β, IL-12, and IL-17 and chemokine C-X-C motif ligand (CXCL)10 in the CSF were significantly higher in NMDAR-E patients with a large effect size. In addition, B cell activating factor (BAFF), CXCL13, and interferon (IFN)-γ levels in the CSF were higher in NMDAR-E patients with a middle effect size. In contrast, levels of IL-2 and IL-4 in the CSF and CXCL13 and BAFF in the serum did not show a significant difference between cases and controls.ConclusionsThese analyses showed that the central immune response in NMDAR-E is a process that involves multiple immune cell interactions mediated by cytokines/chemokines, and T cells play an important role in the pathogenesis of immunity.Systematic review registrationhttps://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier (CRD42022342485).

Summary: The oral microbiome has been implicated in a growing number of diseases; however, determinants of the oral microbiome and their roles remain elusive. Here, we investigated the oral (saliva and tongue dorsum) metagenome, the whole genome, and other omics data in a total of 4,478 individuals and demonstrated that the oral microbiome composition and its major contributing host factors significantly differed between sexes. We thus conducted a sex-stratified metagenome-genome-wide-association study (M-GWAS) and identified 11 differential genetic associations with the oral microbiome (psex-difference

Transmissible Gastroenteritis Virus (TGEV) infection is one of the leading causes of diarrhea in piglets. Intestinal immune system plays an important role in maintaining the intestinal mucosa"s integrity and resisting infection by pathogens. However, the relationship between the immune response induced by TGEV infection and disease progression is unclear. Using the microarray data set GSE41756 from the Gene Expression Omnibus database, we analyzed porcine small intestinal epithelial cells at 6 and 12 h of TGEV infection. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected using the "limma" R package. Gene Ontology, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment, and the protein-protein interaction network analyses were performed with the detected DEGs. We found 56 DEGs (47 up-regulated and 9 down-regulated) after the intersection. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the DEGs were mainly associated with immune response, extracellular space, cytokine activity, and positive regulation of nuclear factor-κB import into the nucleus. This revealed the strong relationships among DEGs in the tumor necrosis factor signaling pathway, inflammatory bowel disease, and influenza A. Interleukin 6 (IL6), IL8, IL18, tumor necrosis factor, and toll-like receptor hub genes may play important roles during TGEV infection.

ObjectiveThis systematic review and meta-analysis compares the outcome between MMBC and unifocal breast cancer (UFBC), in order to provide a theoretical basis for the design of an appropriate clinical therapeutic strategy of MMBC patients.MethodsPubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of science, CNKI, WanFang Data, CBM and VIP database were searched from inception to July 2021, and observational studies reporting the outcome of patients with MMBC and UFBC were included. We extracted or calculated the mortality rates of MMBC and UFBC patients; and obtained the hazard ratios; odds ratios; relative risks; and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals from the eligible studies. All the meta-analyses were conducted by using the Stata 15.0 software.Results31 eligible studies comprising a total of 15,703 individuals were included. The meta-analysis revealed that MMBC did not have a significant association with poor overall survival (HR=1.04, 95% CI=0.96-1.12), disease-free survival (HR= 1.07, 95% CI= 0.84-1.36), breast cancer-specific survival (HR=1.42, 95% CI= 0.89-2.27), recurrence-free survival (HR= 0.878, 95% CI= 0.652-1.182), local recurrence-free survival (HR= 0.90, 95% CI= 0.57-1.42), and contralateral breast cancer risk (RR= 0.908, 95% CI= 0.667-1.234). However, MMBC appeared to have a correlation with a slightly higher risk of death (OR=1.31, 95% CI=1.18-1.45).ConclusionPatients with MMBC appeared to have a higher risk of death, however, it may not be independently associated with poorer outcomes. Considering the inter-study heterogeneity and other limitations, our results need to be validated by further multicenter prospective studies with a large sample size in the future.

Study region: Tibetan Plateau (TP) Study focus: Lakes in the TP that are subject to low human activity serve as an important indicator for quantitative assessment of regional climate change. However, previous studies have mainly focused on annual changes in lake area, level, and storage because of limited monitoring stations, and long-term lake level reconstruction at monthly resolution remains challenging. We propose a conceptual hydrological model-guided monthly lake level reconstruction (WBM-SVR) approach that incorporates water balance models (WBMs) and support vector regression (SVR), to improve the training and testing sets compared with SVR alone through consideration of the hydrological process. The WBM-SVR approach integrates WBMs to select input factors, sub-process control equations to quantify the contributions of input factors, empirical parameters to characterize catchment uniqueness, and SVR for water level modelling. New hydrological insights for the region: Physically guided WBM-SVR is more accurate than SVR in reconstructing monthly lake water levels. WBMs can quantify the hydrological process in the lake catchment area with efficient quasi-physical mechanisms and refine the input–output factors within lake hydrometeorology. The reconstructability, generalization capability, and transferability of WBM-SVR were validated for three different types of lakes (glacier-free inflow lake, glacier-free outflow lake, and glacier-fed inflow lake), and the reconstruction results indicate significant improvements in WBM-SVR compared with SVR. The WBM-SVR approach shows great promise for achieving monthly lake level reconstruction.

Exposure to nicotine is the first cause of entirely preventable death killing, which is commonly initiated in adolescence. Previous studies revealed the changes of electroencephalography (EEG) and inhibition control in smokers. However, little is known about the specific link between alpha coherence during the resting state and inhibition control ability in young smokers. The present study aimed to investigate inter-hemispherical and frontal-parietal alpha coherence changes and assessed the relationships between alpha coherence and inhibition control in young smokers. We collected resting-state EEG data from 23 young smokers and 24 healthy controls. Inhibition control ability was assessed by a Go/NoGo task. Compared to healthy controls, young smokers exhibited increased inter-hemispherical and frontal-parietal alpha coherence. Furthermore, young smokers committed more NoGo errors in the Go/NogGo task. It is noteworthy that alpha coherence at the frontal electrode sites was positively correlated with NoGo errors in healthy controls, whereas inverse correlations were observed in young smokers. Our findings suggested that alterations of alpha coherence may provide support to the earlier nicotine-dependence-related research findings, which may help us to understand the neuropathology of inhibitory control in young smokers.

BackgroundThis study aims to investigate the association of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) accumulation with cardiac function and atrioventricular coupling in a cohort of postmenopausal women assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR).Materials and methodsOverall, 283 postmenopausal women (mean age 61.5 ± 9.1 years) who underwent CMR examination were enrolled. Participants were classified into four groups by the quartile of EAT volume. EAT volume was quantified on short-axis cine stacks covering the entire epicardium. CMR-derived cardiac structure and function, including left atrial (LA)- volume, emptying fraction, deformation, and left ventricular (LV)- mass, volume, ejection fraction, and deformation, were compared among the four groups of graded EAT volume.ResultsLeft ventricular mass (LVM) and LV remodeling index were both increased in the group with the highest EAT volume, compared to those in the lowest quartile (p = 0.016 and p = 0.003). The LV global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS), circumferential strain (LV-GCS), and LA- reservoir strain (LA-RS), conduit strain (LA-CS), and booster strain (LA-BS), were all progressively decreased from the lowest quartile of EAT volume to the highest (all p < 0.05). Multivariable linear regression analyses showed that EAT was independently associated with LV-GLS, LA-RS, LA-CS, and LA-BS after adjusting for body mass index and other clinical factors.ConclusionEpicardial adipose tissue accumulation is independently associated with subclinical LV and LA function in postmenopausal women. These associations support the role of EAT in mediating deleterious effects on cardiac structure and function.