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Abstract The emergence of transferable linezolid resistance genes poses significant challenges to public health, as it does not only confer linezolid resistance but also reduces susceptibility to florfenicol, which is widely used in the veterinary field. This study evaluated the genetic characteristics of linezolid-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from pig carcasses and further clarified potential resistance and virulence mechanisms in a newly identified sequence type. Of more than 2500 strains isolated in a prior study, 15 isolated from pig carcasses exhibited linezolid resistance (minimum inhibitory concentration ≥ 8 mg/L). The strains were characterized in detail by genomic analysis. Linezolid-resistant S. aureus strains exhibited a high degree of genetic lineage diversity, with one strain (LNZ_R_SAU_64) belonging to ST8004, which has not been reported previously. The 15 strains carried a total of 21 antibiotic resistance genes, and five carried mecA associated with methicillin resistance. All strains harbored cfr and fexA, which mediate resistance to linezolid, phenicol, and other antibiotics. Moreover, the strains carried enterotoxin gene clusters, including the hemolysin, leukotoxin, and protease genes, which are associated with humans or livestock. Some genes were predicted to be carried in plasmids or flanked by ISSau9 and the transposon Tn554, thus being transmittable between staphylococci. Strains carrying the plasmid replicon repUS5 displayed high sequence similarity (99%) to the previously reported strain pSA737 in human clinical samples in the United States. The results illustrate the need for continuous monitoring of the prevalence and transmission of linezolid-resistant S. aureus isolated from animals and their products.

Highlights The paper introduces a bioresorbable elastomer, poly(glycolide-co-ε-caprolactone) (PGCL), with remarkable mechanical properties, including high elongation-at-break (

Abstract Background Schistosoma japonicum is a parasitic flatworm that causes human schistosomiasis, which is a significant cause of morbidity in China, the Philippines and Indonesia. Oncomelania hupensis (Gastropoda: Pomatiopsidae) is the unique intermediate host of S. japonicum. A complete genome sequence of O. hupensis will enable the fundamental understanding of snail biology as well as its co-evolution with the S. japonicum parasite. Assembling a high-quality reference genome of O. hupehensis will provide data for further research on the snail biology and controlling the spread of S. japonicum. Methods The draft genome was de novo assembly using the long-read sequencing technology (PacBio Sequel II) and corrected with Illumina sequencing data. Then, using Hi-C sequencing data, the genome was assembled at the chromosomal level. CAFE was used to do analysis of contraction and expansion of the gene family and CodeML module in PAML was used for positive selection analysis in protein coding sequences. Results A total length of 1.46 Gb high-quality O. hupensis genome with 17 unique full-length chromosomes (2n = 34) of the individual including a contig N50 of 1.35 Mb and a scaffold N50 of 75.08 Mb. Additionally, 95.03% of these contig sequences were anchored in 17 chromosomes. After scanning the assembled genome, a total of 30,604 protein-coding genes were predicted. Among them, 86.67% were functionally annotated. Further phylogenetic analysis revealed that O. hupensis was separated from a common ancestor of Pomacea canaliculata and Bellamya purificata approximately 170 million years ago. Comparing the genome of O. hupensis with its most recent common ancestor, it showed 266 significantly expanded and 58 significantly contracted gene families (P

Affected by the weakening of the low-pressure system caused by the northward movement of the typhoon "Doksuri", Hebei encountered an unprecedented severe torrential rain event (hereinafter referred to as "23.7" severe torrential rain) from 29 July to 2 August 2023, in which the accumulated rainfall in 52 hours is up to 1 003.4 mm at Liangjiazhuang station in Xingtai of southern Hebei. Using routine upper-air and surface weather observations, regional automatic weather station data, radar mosaic of reflectivity factor, ERA5 reanalysis data, and other relevant data, we conducted the analysis on the precipitation evolution characteristics, circulation patterns, environmental conditions, and mesoscale features of the "23.7" severe torrential rain. The results indicate that the "23.7" severe torrential rain is characterized by long duration, large accumulated rainfall and wide coverage. After landing and moving northward, Typhoon "Doksuri" is blocked by the high pressure barrier in northern North China at 500 hPa and stagnates. Total content of water vapor over most areas of Hebei reached more than twice the climate average state. All the factors, that low lifting condensation level, low free convection height, moderate convective instability energy, as well as the lasting convergence uplift provided by the stability and stagnation of inverted trough at 850 hPa, are the causes of maintaining precipitation echo for a long time in central Hebei and in the foothills of Taihang Mountains in southwestern Hebei. The southeasterly boundary layer jet moves northwards along with the typhoon inverted trough, and the jet core is located in central Hebei, with the wind speed exceeding 22 m·s-1 and terrain plays a significant role in the rainfall event. During the influence of boundary layer jet on southwestern Hebei, multiple convective cells with echo intensity of 30~40 dBz and centroid height lower than 6 km successively pass over the Liangjiazhuang station, causing a total of 24 hours of short-term severe rainfall at the station. After the boundary layer jet moving northwards, the rainfall overlapping, caused by the continued long-term maintenance of stratocumulus mixed cloud precipitation echo in the foothills of Taihang Mountains due to the interaction of easterly wind of about 8 m·s-1 and terrain, is the main reason of the 52-hour accumulated rainfall exceeding 1 000 mm at the Liangjiazhuang station.

Medical image segmentation is a crucial component of computer-aided clinical diagnosis, with state-of-the-art models often being variants of U-Net. Despite their success, these models’ skip connections introduce an unnecessary semantic gap between the encoder and decoder, which hinders their ability to achieve the high precision required for clinical applications. Awareness of this semantic gap and its detrimental influences have increased over time. However, a quantitative understanding of how this semantic gap compromises accuracy and reliability remains lacking, emphasizing the need for effective mitigation strategies. In response, we present the first quantitative evaluation of the semantic gap between corresponding layers of U-Net and identify two key characteristics: 1) The direct skip connection (DSC) exhibits a semantic gap that negatively impacts models’ performance; 2) The magnitude of the semantic gap varies across different layers. Based on these findings, we re-examine this issue through the lens of skip connections. We introduce a Multichannel Fusion Transformer (MCFT) and propose a novel USCT-UNet architecture, which incorporates U-shaped skip connections (USC) to replace DSC, allocates varying numbers of MCFT blocks based on the semantic gap magnitude at different layers, and employs a spatial channel cross-attention (SCCA) module to facilitate the fusion of features between the decoder and USC. We evaluate USCT-UNet on four challenging datasets, and the results demonstrate that it effectively eliminates the semantic gap. Compared to using DSC, our USC and SCCA strategies achieve maximum improvements of 4.79% in the Dice coefficient, 5.70% in mean intersection over union (MIoU), and 3.26 in Hausdorff distance.

Background: Climate change has shifted and will continue to alter the patterns of daytime and nighttime temperatures. However, it remains unclear whether hot days and nights, as well as cold days and nights, have varying impacts on mental disorders. Methods: Daily hospital-based data on 1.2 million outpatient visits for mental disorders were obtained from 15 Chinese cities (2011-2015). The index of hot day excess, hot night excess, cold day excess, and cold night excess were used to measure the intensity of hot/cold days and nights. Firstly, a distributed lag non-linear model was used to estimate the risk of mental disorders associated with hot/cold days and nights for each city. Secondly, city-specific estimates were pooled by multivariate meta-analysis to obtain national effect estimates. Thirdly, the attributable fraction of mental disorders was estimated for the nation, genders, age groups, heating methods, and air conditioning penetration rates. Results: Our findings revealed that both hot and cold nights were associated with a higher risk of mental disorders compared to hot and cold days. The attributable fraction of mental disorders was higher for cold (night: 25.74%; day: 19.65%) in contrast to heat (night: 16.91%; day: 7.24%). Males, the elderly, cities using central heating, and cities with low air conditioning penetration rates were vulnerable to cold nights. Conclusions: This nationwide study highlights the adverse effects and significant burden of hot and cold nights on mental disorders. It underscores the potential for mitigating these impacts through the adoption of air conditioning, particularly in southern cities across China.

Abstract Background Insulin resistance (IR), a hallmark of proceeding diabetes and cardiovascular (CV) disease, has been shown to predict prognosis in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio and metabolic score for insulin resistance (METS-IR) have been shown to be simple and reliable non-insulin-based surrogates for IR. However, limited studies have determined the associations between distinct non-insulin-based IR markers and CV outcomes in patients undergoing complex PCI who are at higher risk of CV events after PCI. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate and compare the prognostic value of these markers in patients undergoing complex PCI. Methods This was a descriptive cohort study. From January 2017 to December 2018, a total of 9514 patients undergoing complex PCI at Fuwai Hospital were consecutively enrolled in this study. The 3 IR indices were estimated from the included patients. The primary study endpoint was CV events, defined as a composite of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction and nonfatal stroke. Results During a median follow-up of 3.1 years, 324 (3.5%) CV events occurred. Multivariable Cox regression models showed per-unit increase in the TyG index (hazard ratio [HR], 1.42; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13–1.77), rather than per-unit elevation in either Ln(TG/HDL-C ratio) (HR, 1.18; 95%CI 0.96–1.45) or METS-IR (HR, 1.00; 95%CI 0.98–1.02), was associated with increased risk of CV events. Meanwhile, adding the TyG index to the original model led to a significant improvement in C-statistics (0.618 vs. 0.627, P 0.05) to the original model. Conclusions The TyG index, not TG/HDL-C ratio and METS-IR, was positively associated with worse CV outcomes in patients undergoing complex PCI. Our study, for the first time, demonstrated that the TyG index can serve as the suitable non-insulin-based IR marker to help in risk stratification and prognosis in this population.

Abstract Background The role of triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, an insulin resistance indicator, in glycemic management for diabetic patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) was still unknown. Therefore, we aimed to explore the association between glycemic control and cardiovascular (CV) outcomes in patients with diabetes and CAD according to different TyG index levels. Methods A total of 9996 diabetic patients with angiograph-proven CAD were consecutively recruited from 2017 to 2018 at Fuwai Hospital. Patients were assigned into 3 groups according to TyG index tertiles (T) (T1:

Abstract Objective Sepsis-induced coagulopathy (SIC) is extremely common in individuals with sepsis, significantly associated with poor outcomes. This study attempted to develop an interpretable and generalizable machine learning (ML) model for early predicting the risk of 28-day death in patients with SIC. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, we extracted SIC patients from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III), MIMIC-IV, and eICU-CRD database according to Toshiaki Iba's scale. And the overlapping in the MIMIC-IV was excluded for this study. Afterward, only the MIMIC-III cohort was randomly divided into the training set, and the internal validation set according to the ratio of 7:3, while the MIMIC-IV and eICU-CRD databases were considered the external validation sets. The predictive factors for 28-day mortality of SIC patients were determined using recursive feature elimination combined with tenfold cross-validation (RFECV). Then, we constructed models using ML algorithms. Multiple metrics were used for evaluation of performance of the models, including the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), area under the precision recall curve (AUPRC), accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value, recall, and F1 score. Finally, Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP), Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations (LIME) were employed to provide a reasonable interpretation for the prediction results. Results A total of 3280, 2798, and 1668 SIC patients were screened from MIMIC-III, MIMIC-IV, and eICU-CRD databases, respectively. Seventeen features were selected to construct ML prediction models. XGBoost had the best performance in predicting the 28-day mortality of SIC patients, with AUC of 0.828, 0.913 and 0.923, the AUPRC of 0.807, 0.796 and 0.921, the accuracy of 0.785, 0.885 and 0.891, the F1 scores were 0.63, 0.69 and 0.70 in MIMIC-III (internal validation set), MIMIC-IV, and eICU-CRD databases. The importance ranking and SHAP analyses showed that initial SOFA score, red blood cell distribution width (RDW), and age were the top three critical features in the XGBoost model. Conclusions We developed an optimal and explainable ML model to predict the risk of 28-day death of SIC patients 28-day death risk. Compared with conventional scoring systems, the XGBoost model performed better. The model established will have the potential to improve the level of clinical practice for SIC patients. Graphical Abstract

Abstract Introduction Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) causes symptoms of varying severity and negatively impacts patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQL). Despite antibiotic treatment, recurrence of CDI (rCDI) is common and imposes clinical and economic burdens on patients. Fecal microbiota, live-jslm (REBYOTA [RBL]) is newly approved in the USA for prevention of rCDI following antibiotic treatments. We analyzed efficacy and HRQL impact of RBL vs. placebo in patients at first rCDI using data from the phase 3 randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial, PUNCH CD3. Methods This post hoc analysis included patients at first rCDI fromPUNCH CD3. Treatment success (i.e., absence of diarrhea within 8 weeks post-treatment) was analyzed adjusting for baseline patient characteristics. HRQL was measured using the Clostridioides difficile Quality of Life Survey (Cdiff32); absolute scores and change from baseline in total and domain (physical, mental, and social) scores were summarized and compared between arms. Analyses were conducted for the trial’s blinded phase only. Results Among 86 eligible patients (32.8% of the overall trial population, RBL 53 [61.6%], placebo 33 [38.4%]), RBL-treated patients had significantly lower odds of recurrence (i.e., greater probability of treatment success) at week 8 vs. placebo (odds ratio 0.35 [95% confidence interval 0.13, 0.98]). Probability of treatment success at week 8 was 81% for RBL and 60% for placebo, representing 21% absolute and 35% relative increases for RBL (crude proportions 79.2% vs. 60.6%; relative risk 0.53, p = 0.06). Additionally, RBL was associated with significantly higher Cdiff32 total (change score difference 13.5 [standard deviation 5.7], p

Abstract Background The benefit-risk profile of direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC) therapy in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and atrial fibrillation (AF) has not been well established yet. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of DOAC compared with vitamin K antagonists (VKA) in patients with HCM and AF. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and clinicaltrials.gov were searched to identify studies comparing DOAC with VKA in patients with HCM and AF. The primary endpoint was thromboembolic events. The relative risks and standard errors were pooled by random-effect models using the generic inverse variance method. Results Seven observational studies involving 9395 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Compared to the VKA group, the DOAC group displayed a similar risk of thromboembolic events [RR (95%CI): 0.93 (0.73–1.20), p = 0.59] and ischemic stroke [RR (95%CI): 0.65 (0.33–1.28), p = 0.22]. The incidence of major bleeding was comparable between the two groups [RR (95%CI): 0.75 (0.49–1.15), p = 0.19]. Meanwhile, DOAC therapy was superior to VKA therapy in reducing the incidences of all-cause death [RR (95%CI): 0.44 (0.35–0.55), p

Abstract Introduction A prospective observational study was modified to assess the efficacy of surgery alone for the treatment of locally advanced oral squamous cell carcinoma. (LA-OSCC) Materials and methods This prospective, single-institution, single-arm study involved 174 patients who underwent major surgery for LA-OSCC. Participating patients did not receive postoperative radiation. After initial curative treatment, patients were routinely monitored via clinical examination and imaging. The follow-up period was 3–70 months. Tumour recurrence and death were considered as the Clinical End Point in Research. Results The 5-year overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and locoregional control rates for 174 patients were 66.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 59.8 to 73.6), 66.1% (95% CI, 59.2 to 73.0), and 82.4% (95% CI, 76.5 to 88.3), respectively. Conclusion A study of patients with LA-OSCC treated with surgery alone may have the optimal therapeutic impact for LA-OSCC, as evidenced by solid data for our next RCT trial. This conclusion still needs to be validated in higher-level RCTs.

This paper presents a data-driven approach to short-term wind turbine fault prediction and condition monitoring based on a hybrid architecture of recurrent neural network and long short-term memory. The proposed architecture is established by utilizing time series data from the supervisory control and data acquisition system and a Bladed model of a 5 MW wind turbine to predict faults occurring to the wind generator. The recurrent neural network-long short-term memory training procedure is enhanced with self-organizing maps and long short-term memory auto encoder so as to describe the complex interaction between the mechanical system and unpredictable wind speed. To verify the performance of the proposed scheme, we conduct in-depth numerical experiments by applying the hybrid architecture to the Bladed 5 MW wind turbine model with rated wind speed of 11.8 m/s. Experimental results confirm that the proposed scheme has superior accuracy and practicality of fault prediction compared with eminent existing machine learning algorithms such as extreme gradient boost and random forest regressor.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is an enduring condition that leads to inflammation and affects a substantial number of individuals with diabetes worldwide. A gradual reduction in glomerular filtration and emergence of proteins in the urine are typical aspects of DN, ultimately resulting in renal failure. Mounting evidence suggests that immunological and inflammatory factors are crucial for the development of DN. Therefore, the activation of innate immunity by resident renal and immune cells is critical for initiating and perpetuating inflammation. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are an important group of receptors that identify patterns and activate immune responses and inflammation. Meanwhile, inflammatory responses in the liver, pancreatic islets, and kidneys involve inflammasomes and chemokines that generate pro-inflammatory cytokines. Moreover, the activation of the complement cascade can be triggered by glycated proteins. This review highlights recent findings elucidating how the innate immune system contributes to tissue fibrosis and organ dysfunction, ultimately leading to renal failure. This review also discusses innovative approaches that can be utilized to modulate the innate immune responses in DN for therapeutic purposes.

Abstract We examine the Sommerfeld enhancement effect for the puffy self-interacting dark matter. We find out two new parameters to classify the self-scattering cross section into the Born, the resonance and the classical regimes for the puffy dark matter. Then we observe that the resonance peaks for the puffy dark matter self-scattering and for the Sommerfeld enhancement effect have the same locations. Further, we find that for a large ratio between R χ (radius of a puffy dark matter particle) and 1/m ϕ (force range), the Sommerfeld enhancement factor approaches to 1 (no enhancement). Finally, for the puffy SIDM scenario to solve the small-scale problems, the values of the Sommerfeld enhancement factor are displayed in the allowed parameter regions.

Abstract The application of nano fertilizers is one of the hotspots in current agricultural production. In this study, nano silicon materials were mixed with compound fertilizers to make nano silicon fertilizer. The effects of different amounts of nano silicon application on the breaking-resistance strength, lodging-resistance index, lignin accumulation, lignin synthesis related enzymes, and the relative expression of lignin synthesis related genes in the second stem node of wheat were mainly studied. Four treatments were set up: CK (750 kg·ha−1 compound fertilizer), T1 (750 kg·ha−1 compound fertilizer + 0.9 kg·ha−1 nano silicon), T2 (750 kg·ha−1 compound fertilizer + 1.8 kg·ha−1 nano silicon), T3 (750 kg·ha−1 compound fertilizer + 2.7 kg·ha−1 nano silicon). The results of the two-year experiment showed that the breaking-resistance strength, lodging-resistance index, lignin accumulation in the second stem node of wheat treated with nano silicon fertilizer were higher than CK. In the first year of the experiment, the lignin accumulation of T2 was 130.73%, 5.14% and 7.25% higher than that of CK, T1 and T3 respectively at the maturity stage. In the second year of the experiment, the lignin accumulation of T2 was 20.33%, 11.19% and 9.89% higher than that of CK, T1 and T3 respectively at the maturity stage. And the activities of PAL, 4CL, CAD, and related gene expression levels were also higher than CK. And among them, T2 performed the best, indicating that the application of nano silicon fertilizer is beneficial for improving the lodging resistance of wheat stems and is of great significance for improving the quality of wheat.

Abstract The distribution of saline soil is wide and the area is large in China. The saline soil in different regions shows their own characteristics. The saline soil of single salt is configured by adding different contents of NaCl to the loess in Xi'an. The effects of chlorine content and water content on soil strength and volume change in a large water content range was studied, and the change mechanism was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the strength of chloride saline soil increases with the decrease of water content. The moisture content of 12% is the critical point of strength change of chloride saline soil. When the moisture content is greater than 12%, the strength of soil decreases with the increase of salt content. When the water content is less than 12%, the strength of saline soil is 3% NaCl content > 1% NaCl content > 5% NaCl content > 0% NaCl content. The volume change of the sample consists of three parts: elastic deformation during sample pressing, volume shrinkage during water loss and salt expansion. In the absence of NaCl and 1% NaCl content, the sample was in the state of shrinkage during the loading process, in which with the decrease of moisture content shrinkage rate slowed down. The volume change rate of 3% and 5% NaCl showed an inflection point from negative to positive when the water content was 15%. When the water content is less than 12%, the saline soil with 3% NaCl content has the characteristics of high strength and unobvious salt expansion. The method of adding 3% NaCl to loess in Xi 'an area can be used to simulate the cement between soil particles, which provides a reference for artificially preparing structural soil. According to the microstructure analysis, the higher the salt content of saline soil, the smaller the soil pores, and the contact form of soil particles gradually develops from the point contact between soil particles to the salt-wrapped structure.

Abstract Background Family resilience plays a crucial role in helping depressed adolescents overcome challenges. However, studies examining family resilience in depressed adolescents are currently scarce. This study, guided by the family resilience framework, aimed to investigate the serial-multiple mediation of social support and psychological resilience between family communication and family resilience in Chinese families of depressed adolescents. Methods In 229 parents of adolescents with major depressive disorder, 20.1% comprises of fathers, while 79.9% comprises of mothers. The mean age of depressed adolescents was 14.84 (±1.76) years, and the mean age of parents of these depressed adolescents was 43.24 (±4.67) years. The Family Resilience Assessment Scale (FRAS), the Psychological Resilience of Parents of Special Children Questionnaire, and the Social Support Rating Scale, Family Assessment Device (FAD) were used to collected data. Descriptive, univariate, and Pearson correlation analyses were used in preliminary analyses. To explore mediation, we employed a serial-multiple mediation model (PROCESS model 6). Results Family communication was positively correlated with family resilience, social support, and psychological resilience. Mediation analysis revealed indirect effects of family communication on family resilience, which were mediated solely by either social support or psychological resilience, or through multiple mediation pathways involving both social support and psychological resilience. Conclusions Family communication positively and directly affects the family resilience of depressed adolescents, and a higher level of social support and psychological resilience can help improve family resilience. These findings not only provide empirical evidence supporting the family resilience framework but also have practical implications for future family interventions targeting depressed adolescents.

Abstract This study aimed to comprehensively evaluate non-contrast computed tomography (CT)-based radiomics for predicting early outcomes in patients with severe atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis (ARAS) after percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty (PTRA). A total of 52 patients were retrospectively recruited, and their clinical characteristics and pretreatment CT images were collected. During a median follow-up period of 3.7 mo, 18 patients were confirmed to have benefited from the treatment, defined as a 20% improvement from baseline in the estimated glomerular filtration rate. A deep learning network trained via self-supervised learning was used to enhance the imaging phenotype characteristics. Radiomics features, comprising 116 handcrafted features and 78 deep learning features, were extracted from the affected renal and perirenal adipose regions. More features from the latter were correlated with early outcomes, as determined by univariate analysis, and were visually represented in radiomics heatmaps and volcano plots. After using consensus clustering and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method for feature selection, five machine learning models were evaluated. Logistic regression yielded the highest leave-one-out cross-validation accuracy of 0.780 (95%CI: 0.660–0.880) for the renal signature, while the support vector machine achieved 0.865 (95%CI: 0.769–0.942) for the perirenal adipose signature. SHapley Additive exPlanations was used to visually interpret the prediction mechanism, and a histogram feature and a deep learning feature were identified as the most influential factors for the renal signature and perirenal adipose signature, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that both signatures served as independent predictive factors. When combined, they achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.888 (95%CI: 0.784–0.992), indicating that the imaging phenotypes from both regions complemented each other. In conclusion, non-contrast CT-based radiomics can be leveraged to predict the early outcomes of PTRA, thereby assisting in identifying patients with ARAS suitable for this treatment, with perirenal adipose tissue providing added predictive value.

Abstract Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most prevalent malignant tumors of the gastrointestinal system in the globe. The effect of PIEZO2 on the immune function and pathological features of gastric cancer remains to be explored. The Online database of cancer genes and GSE54129 have been used to analyze the clinical characteristics of PIEZO2 expression. We looked at the relationship between PIEZO2 and the immune systems of GC patients. The TIDE algorithm was used to explore the value of PIEZO2 in immunotherapy. Investigated the enrichment of PIEZO2 gene ontology and associated signal pathways using Online gene databases. The results show that overexpression of PIEZO2 was identified as an independent risk factor for patients with GC who had poor overall survival. Individuals may have a better prognosis if they had poorly differentiated GC and increased PIEZO2 expression (P

Abstract Amorphophallus konjac, belonging to the genus Amorphophallus of the Araceae family, is an economically important crop widely used in health products and biomaterials. In the present work, we performed the whole-genome assembly of A. konjac based on the NovaSeq platform sequence data. The final genome assembly was 4.58 Gb with a scaffold N50 of 3212 bp. The genome includes 39,421 protein-coding genes, and 71.75% of the assemblies were repetitive sequences. Comparative genomic analysis showed 1647 gene families have expanded and 2685 contracted in the A. konjac genome. Likewise, genome evolution analysis indicated that A. konjac underwent whole-genome duplication, possibly contributing to the expansion of certain gene families. Furthermore, we identified many candidate genes involved in the tuber formation and development, cellulose and lignification synthesis. The genome of A. konjac obtained in this work provides a valuable resource for the further study of the genetics, genomics, and breeding of this economically important crop, as well as for evolutionary studies of Araceae family.

Abstract The use of titanium implants as fixed supports following fractures in patients with OP can often result in sterile loosening and poor osseointegration. Oxidative stress has been shown to play a particularly important role in this process. While TSA has been reported to facilitate in vivo osteogenesis, the underlying mechanisms remain to be clarified. It also remains unclear whether TSA can improve the osseointegration of titanium implants. This study investigated whether TSA could enhance the osseointegration of titanium rods by activating AKT/Nrf2 pathway signaling, thereby suppressing oxidative stress. MC3T3-E1 cells treated with CCCP to induce oxidative stress served as an in vitro model, while an OVX-induced OP rat model was employed for in vivo analysis of titanium rod implantation. In vitro, TSA treatment of CCCP-treated MC3T3-E1 cells resulted in the upregulation of osteogenic proteins together with increased AKT, total Nrf2, nuclear Nrf2, HO-1, and NQO1 expression, enhanced mitochondrial functionality, and decreased oxidative damage. Notably, the PI3K/AKT inhibitor LY294002 reversed these effects. In vivo, TSA effectively enhanced the microstructural characteristics of distal femur trabecular bone, increased BMSCs mineralization capacity, promoted bone formation, and improved the binding of titanium implants to the surrounding tissue. Finally, our results showed that TSA could reverse oxidative stress-induced cell damage while promoting bone healing and improving titanium rods' osseointegration through AKT/Nrf2 pathway activation.

Abstract Background Skeletal muscle mass and quality assessed by computed tomography (CT) images of the third lumbar vertebra (L3) level have been established as risk factors for poor clinical outcomes in several illnesses, but the relevance for dialysis patients is unclear. A few studies have suggested a correlation between CT‐determined skeletal muscle mass and quality at the first lumbar vertebra (L1) level and adverse outcomes. Generally, chest CT does not reach beyond L1. We aimed to determine whether opportunistic CT scan (chest CT)‐determined skeletal muscle mass and quality at L1 are associated with mortality in initial‐dialysis patients. Methods This 3‐year multicentric retrospective study included initial‐dialysis patients from four centres between 2014 and 2017 in China. Unenhanced CT images of the L1 and L3 levels were obtained to assess skeletal muscle mass [by skeletal muscle index, (SMI), cm2/m2] and quality [by skeletal muscle density (SMD), HU]. Skeletal muscle measures at L1 were compared with those at L3. The sex‐specific optimal cutoff values of L1 SMI and L1 SMD were determined in relation to all‐cause mortality. The outcomes were all‐cause death and cardiac death. Cox regression models were applied to investigate the risk factors for death. Results A total of 485 patients were enrolled, of whom 257 had both L1 and L3 images. Pearson's correlation coefficient between L1 and L3 SMI was 0.84 (P 0.05). Low L1 SMD (n = 280, 57.73%) was diagnosed based on the optimal cutoff value (

A functional compound selenium-enriched plant solid beverage was successfully developed by taking the selenium-enriched medicinal and edible plants Brassica oleracea, Pueraria lobata, Ampelopsis grossedentata, Polygonatum sibiricum, Chaenomeles sinensis, and tomato as the materials. At the meantime, its biological activities including antiproliferative, antioxidant, and analgesic activities were evaluated. The total selenium content of the compound solid beverage was determined by fluorescence spectrophotometry as 540±30.12 μg/kg. The biological results showed that the compound selenium-enriched plant solid beverage inhibited the proliferation of four cancerous cell lines A549, SMMC-7721, MCF-7, and SW480 with the inhibition values of 4.09%±1.36%, 19.48%±3.18%, 30.75%±1.45%, and 18.20%±1.12%, respectively, and had no cytotoxicity to the human normal lung epithelial cell BEAS-2B at a concentration of 100 μg/mL, indicating its antiproliferative effect against cancer cells in vitro. The compound solid beverage had a clearance ability of DPPH radical at a concentration-dependent manner with an IC50 value of 435.6±27.2 μg/mL. The compound solid beverage reduced the H2O2-induced oxidative damage and the intracellular reactive oxygen fluorescence intensity in LO2 cells, and presented a dose-effect relationship within a concentration of 5~20 μg/mL, revealing its obvious antioxidant activity (P

Similarity measurement has been a prevailing research topic in geographic information science. Geometric similarity measurement in scaling transformation (GSM_ST) is critical to ensure spatial data quality while balancing detailed information with distinctive features. However, GSM_ST is an uncertain problem due to subjective spatial cognition, global and local concerns, and geometric complexity. Traditional rule-based methods considering multiple consistent conditions require subjective adjustments to characteristics and weights, leading to poor robustness in addressing GSM_ST. This study proposes an unsupervised representation learning framework for automated GSM_ST, using a Graph Autoencoder Network (GAE) and drainage networks as an example. The framework involves constructing a drainage graph, designing the GAE architecture for GSM_ST, and using Cosine similarity to measure similarity based on the GAE-derived drainage embeddings in different scales. We perform extensive experiments and compare methods across 71 drainage networks during five scaling transformations. The results show that the proposed GAE method outperforms other methods with a satisfaction ratio of around 88% and has strong robustness. Moreover, our proposed method also can be applied to other scenarios, such as measuring similarity between geographical entities at different times and data from different datasets.

The willingness of consumers to buy animal welfare products is an important support for the transformation of animal husbandry to animal welfare. However, animal welfare farming often means a considerable capital investment, which often increases the likelihood of price increases for the products. The main purpose of this study is to assist in the marketing of animal welfare products through the research results and then promote the transformation of animal husbandry to animal welfare-friendly agriculture. The analysis results showed that consumers’ moral attitudes towards animal products significantly affect perceived higher prices and buying willingness, while perceived higher prices negatively affect buying willingness. Still, fortunately, the negative impact is not significant. Based on the findings, a discussion of academic and managerial implications is provided at the end of this article.

At present, soil contaminated with arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) is escalating at an alarming rate, which is harmful to human health. In this study, Fe- and Mn-modified activated carbon (AC) and biochar (BC) were prepared and compared for the remediation of As- and Sb-contaminated soil. The effects on the speciation of As and Sb, soil pH, organic matter (SOM), and enzyme activity with various dosages and remediation times were investigated. The results showed that on the whole, the best stabilization effect of As and Sb was achieved with 3% FeMnBC. Furthermore, with increases in time and dosage, the immobilization effect on As and Sb was more significant. Fe/Mn-modified AC and BC enhanced soil pH, with 3% MnAC being particularly effective; 3% AC and 3% FeMnAC demonstrated the most pronounced enhancement in SOM. The modified carbon materials exhibited a dramatic increase in enzymatic activity. In particular, urease activity showed an increasing trend, and catalase activity first decreased and then increased over 30 days. Among the treatments, 3% MnAC showed the most significant enhancements in catalase and urease activities, whereas 1% FeMnBC had the most pronounced effect on increasing sucrase activity. This study provides theoretical support for the remediation of soil co-contaminated with As and Sb by Fe/Mn-modified AC and BC.

Camels, vital to economies in Asia, Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula, have been domesticated for over 4000 years. They thrive in arid regions like Xinjiang, China, but face challenges from internal and external parasites, particularly gastrointestinal parasites, which impact health, meat and milk quality, and production efficiency. This study investigates the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminth infections in camels from five major regions in Xinjiang. We collected 435 fresh fecal samples and used the saturated saline flotation method and McMaster’s method for detection. Molecular examination followed. The overall prevalence was 18.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 14.7–22.2%), with Urumqi showing the highest prevalence (29%, 95% CI: 23.4–35.1%) compared to other regions (odds ratio [OR]: 4.62, 95% CI: 2.63–8.41%). Younger camels (≤3 years old) were more likely infected by the parasites after adjusting for the region differences (OR: 10.53, 5.12–24.65%). However, we found no evidence that the prevalence was different between male and female camels. PCR analysis identified Trichostrongylus spp., Chabertia ovina, and Haemonchus contortus as predominant parasites, with observed co-infections indicating a complex parasitic landscape. The findings provide essential epidemiological data for effective parasite control strategies.

Conservation tillage methods, including straw return (SR) and no tillage (NT), are widely used to improve the soil organic carbon (SOC) content and crop yield. However, applying SR or NT separately has become a common practice for farmers producing different crops or those in different regions. Evaluating the effects of SR or NT on the SOC content, carbon emissions, and crop yield are important for guiding the correct application of conservation tillage and promoting sustainable agricultural development. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis based on 1014 sets of data obtained in China to assess the effects of SR and NT on the SOC content, carbon emissions, and crop yield. Compared with no straw return, SR increased the SOC content and crop yield by 10% and 8.6%, respectively, but with no significant impact on carbon emissions. Compared with conventional tillage, NT increased the SOC content by 2.9% and reduced the carbon emissions and crop yield by 18% and 3.9%, respectively. We also found that SR combined with NT had an additive effect, where the combination improved SOC more than applying SR or NT alone. If applying SR or NT alone, the specific climatic conditions, soil characteristics, and field management strategies need to be considered to maximize SOC. In particular, SR should be used in limited hydrothermal conditions (low temperature or low precipitation) and areas where rice–wheat rotation is implemented. NT can be used under any climate conditions, but it can effectively increase the SOC content in continuous wheat cropping areas.

This work employs a multiscale simulation framework to systematically explore the spallation behavior of ductile tantalum (Ta) subjected to high strain rate impacts. The approach integrates macroscopic simulations, utilizing both the Lagrangian mesh and Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) methods, with microscopic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to dissect the dynamic failure processes of tantalum. The macroscopic simulations, validated against experimental data, demonstrate the effectiveness of the SPH method in accurately capturing the spallation process. An exponential correlation between spallation strength and tensile strain rate has been established. An in-depth analysis of the free surface velocity profile indicates that the pullback signal is associated with microvoid nucleation, where the velocity drop signifies the initiation conditions for microvoid development. Additionally, the rebound rate following the pullback signal reflects the progression of damage within the spallation region. By integrating results across macro- and microscales, this work offers comprehensive insights into the complex spallation behavior of ductile tantalum under extreme conditions, advancing the understanding of its failure mechanisms at high strain rates.

Change detection based on optical image processing plays a crucial role in the field of damage assessment. Although existing damage scene change detection methods have achieved some good results, they are faced with challenges, such as low accuracy and slow speed in optical image change detection. To solve these problems, an image change detection approach that combines infrared polarization imaging with a fast principal component analysis network (Fast-PCANet) is proposed. Firstly, the acquired infrared polarization images are analyzed, and pixel image blocks are extracted and filtered to obtain the candidate change points. Then, the Fast-PCANet network framework is established, and the candidate pixel image blocks are sent to the network to detect the change pixel points. Finally, the false-detection points predicted by the Fast-PCANet are further corrected by region filling and filtering to obtain the final binary change map of the damage scene. Comparisons with typical PCANet-based change detection algorithms are made on a dataset of infrared-polarized images. The experimental results show that the proposed Fast-PCANet method improves the PCC and the Kappa coefficient of infrared polarization images over infrared intensity images by 6.77% and 13.67%, respectively. Meanwhile, the inference speed can be more than seven times faster. The results verify that the proposed approach is effective and efficient for the change detection task with infrared polarization imaging. The study can be applied to the damage assessment field and has great potential for object recognition, material classification, and polarization remote sensing.

Exploration of the pollution status of river-based water sources is important to ensure quality and safe drinking water supply for the public. The present study investigated physicochemical parameters of surface water in the upper segment of River Mahaweli, which provides drinking water to the Nuwara Eliya and Kandy districts of Sri Lanka. River surface water from 15 intakes and treated water from 14 Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) were tested for pH, water temperature, turbidity, EC, COD, 6 anions, 21 cations, 3 pesticides, and 30 antibiotics once every 3 months from June 2022 to July 2023. Except for turbidity and iron concentrations, all other parameters were within the permissible range as per the Sri Lanka Standard Specification for Potable Water (SLS 614:2013). The uppermost Kotagala WTP raw water had a high concentration of iron due to runoff from areas with abundant iron-bearing minerals. Turbidity increased as the river flowed downstream, reaching its highest value of 13.43 NTU at the lowermost Haragama. Four intakes had raw surface water suitable for drinking as per the Water Quality Index (WQI). Pollution increased gradually towards downstream mainly due to agricultural runoff, industrial effluents, and urbanization. Poor water quality at the upstream Thalawakale-Nanuoya intake was due to highly contaminated effluent water coming from Lake Gregory in Nuwara Eliya. Cluster analysis categorized WTP locations in the river segment into 3 clusters as low, moderate, and high based on contaminations. Principal component analysis revealed that the significance of the 41.56% variance of the raw water was due to the pH and the presence of heavy metals V, Cr, Ni, Rb, Co, Sr, and As. All treated water from 15 WTPs had very good to excellent quality. In general, heavy metal contamination was low as indicated by the heavy metal pollution index (HPI) and heavy metal evaluation index (HEI). The treatment process could remove up to 94.7% of the turbidity. This is the first attempt to cluster the river catchment of the Mahaweli River based on physicochemical parameters of river water. We present here the land-use pattern-based pollution of the river and efficacy of the water treatment process using the Mahaweli River Basin as a case study. Regular monitoring and treatment adjustments at identified points are recommended to maintain the delivery of safe drinking water.

Weathering processes gradually alter the physical and mechanical attributes of slope materials, weakening the structural integrity and stability of slopes. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of slope stability in an open-pit mine, emphasizing the pivotal role of weathering effects in determining slope stability. To accurately capture the impact of weathering on slope stability, a comprehensive analysis model was developed, incorporating field observations, laboratory testing, and numerical simulations. The effects of weathering on the mechanical properties of black shale were studied through extensive laboratory tests. The uniaxial compressive strength, shear strength, and modulus of elasticity significantly decreased with increasing weathering, indicating a heightened vulnerability to slope failure. The correlation function between mechanical parameters and weathering time was obtained, providing the basis for evaluating the stability of mine slopes. It was found that more severe weathering conditions were strongly correlated with elevated risks of slope failure, including landslides and collapses. Based on these findings, practical recommendations are provided for slope reinforcement and management strategies, aimed at mitigating slope failure risks and ensuring the safe and efficient operation of the mine. By incorporating weathering effects into slope stability analysis, mine operators can make informed decisions that account for the dynamic nature of slope materials and their susceptibility to weathering, thereby improving overall mine performance and safety.

This article introduces an affine registration (AR) algorithm to improve the performance of ultra-local (UL) model-free predictive control (MFPC) methods. The UL model is extensively utilized in continuous control set (CCS)-MFPC to estimate lumped parameters. However, in these cases, variations in inductance during operation can significantly impact the input gain coefficient of the UL model. Little work has focused on this aspect, which makes the motivation and novelty of this paper. The AR technique, derived from image processing methodologies, is employed to establish a mapping between predicted states and actual states during the commissioning process. Subsequently, during actual operation, the resolved voltage reference is modified based on the AR matrix to compensate for errors in the UL model. The theoretical control model is rigorously derived, and experimental results are presented to validate the superior performance of the proposed method.

IntroductionCytomegalovirus (CMV) can cause various end-organ diseases in immunocompromised hosts, including allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (allo-HSCT) recipients. Interestingly, CMV viremia has been associated with various complications and poor prognosis in allo-HSCT recipients. Complications involving the central nervous system (CNS) occur in 9–14% of patients following allo-HSCT. However, autoimmune encephalitis (AE) secondary to CMV infection after allo-HSCT has rarely been reported. Here we report a case of possible AE following CMV viremia after allo-HSCT, which was successfully treated with high-dose pulsed methylprednisolone and intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg).Case descriptionA 53-year-old female underwent allo-HSCT for T-lymphoblastic lymphoma/leukemia. The patient developed CMV viremia on day 36 after transplantation, and serum CMV-DNA remained positive after initiating ganciclovir antiviral therapy, turning negative one month later. Four months later, she started experiencing memory impairment, weakness in the left limbs, cognitive dysfunction, and hallucinations. A magnetic resonance imaging brain scan showed scattered ischemic lesions under the bilateral frontal cortex. Viral detection in cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) by next-generation gene sequencing technology showed no obvious abnormality. Antibodies specific to AE and paraneoplastic diseases in serum and CSF were absent. The oligoclonal bands in the CSF were detected using isoelectric focusing and immunofixation, and the results were negative. However, after extensive investigation regarding infections, autoimmune disorders, and recurrence of the malignancy, possible AE could not be excluded. The patient was treated with high-dose steroids combined with IVIg therapy; the patient’s symptoms were significantly improved.ConclusionThe mechanisms of AE after allo-HSCT and the relationship with CMV infection should be further studied. Therefore, reporting this and similar cases will improve our awareness and understanding of the underlying disease mechanisms.

The cement industries as binder materials, produces 1.6 billion metric tons’ carbon dioxide (CO2) in 2022 and cause depletion in ozone layer. The cement is being used in modern construction and cause the environmental impact. Therefore, there is a quest for a sustainable alternative binder to reduce the CO2 emission from the conventional cement production and their effective disposal methods in construction and demolished (C&D) waste is paramount. This article delves into the production of recycled cement by leveraging various methods such as mechanical activation, chemical activation, and heat treatment of C&D waste, ultimately contributing to the carbon neutrality. A comparison with traditional cement production sheds light on energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and resource utilization. The recycled cement displays increased water demand, accelerated early setting, extended final setting time, and reduced compressive strength. However, when used solely as a cementitious matrix, recycled cement can readily achieve up to 30 MPa in 28 days. Utilising recycled cement in concrete applications demonstrates its efficacy in the construction industry. The insights provided herein offer a holistic understanding of the production processes, properties, and applications of recycled cement, reinforcing its potential as a viable and environmentally friendly alternative in the realm of construction materials.

Key Clinical Message Antipsychotic drug treatment is a commonly used therapeutic strategy in the field of psychiatry. Rational and standardized use of antipsychotics is crucial in clinical practice, and excessive use of antipsychotics may lead to severe toxic reactions. Thus, attention should be given to the monitoring of drug concentration and examination of organ function. Abstract Excessive use of antipsychotics can cause a variety of adverse effects, including dysfunction of the liver and other organs. Liver cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzymes play an important role in the metabolism of antipsychotics, and metabolizer types of CYP450 enzymes may influence the therapeutic effects. In this case report, we introduced a 52‐year‐old woman with a 23‐year history of schizophrenia who took excessive doses of multiple antipsychotics and other herbal preparations for nearly 2 years, with poor response to treatment and minor side reactions to the antipsychotics. Pharmacogenomic examination showed that this patient was a CYP1A2 ultra‐rapid metabolizer. The examination and treatment of this patient may provide a reference for the management of similar cases with poor response to an alarming tolerance for antipsychotics.

BackgroundIgA nephropathy (IgAN), the most common type of glomerulonephritis, has great individual differences in prognosis. Many studies showed the relationship between thyroid hormones and chronic kidney disease. However, the relationship between free thyroxine (FT4), as a thyroid hormone, and IgAN is still unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of FT4 on IgAN prognosis.MethodsThis retrospective study involved 223 patients with biopsy-proven IgAN. The renal composite outcomes were defined as: (1) ESRD, defined as eGFR < 15 ml/(min·1.73 m2) or initiation of renal replacement therapy (hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, renal transplantation); (2) serum creatinine doubled from baseline; (3) eGFR decreased by more than 50% from baseline. The predictive value was determined by the area under the curve (AUC). Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards analyses assessed renal progression and prognosis.ResultsAfter 38 (26–54) months of follow-up, 23 patients (10.3%) experienced renal composite outcomes. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that the renal survival rate of the IgAN patients with FT4

BackgroundAging individuals are vulnerable to various Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs). Different behaviors are closely related to a decreased risk of suffering from NCDs: sufficient Physical Activity (PA) (e.g., at least 150 mins Moderate-to-vigorous Physical Activity (MVPA) per week) and a healthy daily diet (e.g., at least five portions of Fruit and Vegetable Intake (FVI), 5–6 taels (189.0–226.8 g) Meat, Fish, Egg and Alternatives (MFEA)). Traditional face-to-face interventions were effective in behavior change. However, it was revealed to be resource-intensive and limited transfer due to poor self-regulation skills outside of face-to-face sessions. Thus, eHealth could be a supplement for older adults outside traditional face-to-face settings. The blended approach combining these two interventions might optimize the intervention effects on lifestyle behavior initiation and maintenance, but little research can be found among Hong Kong older adults. Therefore, the study aims to test a blended intervention to promote PA, diet, and health outcomes among Hong Kong community-dwelling older adults.MethodsThis study will adopt a 10-week three-arm randomized controlled trial. The blended group will receive weekly (1) two 60-min face-to-face sessions with one for PA and one for diet, and (2) two web-based sessions with one for PA and one for diet. The face-to-face group will receive the same intervention content as the face-to-face sessions in the blended group. The control condition will receive a biweekly telephone call. The outcomes will include MVPA (minutes/week), FVI (portions/day), MFEA consumption (taels/day), social-cognitive factors (self-efficacy, planning, social support, action control), physical health outcomes (clinical indicators, senior physical fitness), mental health outcomes (depression, loneliness) and health-related quality of life. Data collection will be implemented at the pre-test, post-test, and 3-month follow-up test.DiscussionThis is the first study evaluating a blended intervention promoting multiple health behaviors among Hong Kong community-dwelling older adults. If the effect of the blended intervention is superior to the traditional face-to-face group and the control group, it will enrich lifestyle intervention approaches and can be applied to older adults, helping them obtain health benefits. Furthermore, a better understanding of mechanisms will also have implications for theory-building.Clinical trial registrationhttps://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN32329348, ISRCTN32329348.

Background This review aimed to quantify the impact of socioeconomic status on functional outcomes from stroke and identify the socioeconomic status indicators that exhibit the highest magnitude of association. Methods and Results We performed a systematic literature search across Medline and Embase from inception to May 2022, to identify observational studies (n≥100, and in English). Risk of bias was assessed using the modified Newcastle Ottawa Scale. Random effects meta‐analysis was used to pool data. We included 19 studies (157 715 patients, 47.7% women) reporting functional outcomes measured with modified Rankin Scale or Barthel index, with 10 assessed as low risk of bias. Measures of socioeconomic status reported were education (11 studies), income (8), occupation (4), health insurance status (3), and neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation (3). Pooled data suggested that low socioeconomic status was significantly associated with poor functional outcomes, including incomplete education or below high school level versus high school attainment and above (odds ratio [OR], 1.66 [95% CI, 1.40–1.95]), lowest income versus highest income (OR, 1.36 [95% CI, 1.02–1.83]), a manual job/being unemployed versus a nonmanual job/working (OR, 1.62 [95% CI, 1.29–2.02]), and living in the most disadvantaged socioeconomic neighborhood versus the least disadvantaged (OR, 1.55 [95% CI, 1.25–1.92]). Low health insurance status was also associated with an increased risk of poor functional outcomes (OR, 1.32 [95% CI, 0.95–1.84]), although this was association was not statistically significant. Conclusions Despite great strides in stroke treatment in the past decades, social disadvantage remains a risk factor for poor functional outcome after an acute stroke. Further research is needed to better understand causal mechanisms and disparities.

The stability of the electroweak vacuum imposes important constraints on new physics models. Such new physics models may introduce one or more new thermal phases with a lower free energy than that of the electroweak vacuum. In this case, the early universe may stay or have already evolved into one of these deeper vacuum states. We investigate this possibility in detail in the singlet extension of the Standard Model, and delineate the corresponding constraints in its parameter space. We also discuss the situation in supersymmetry as another example. To account for the possibility that the universe is trapped in a non-electroweak vacuum, we propose a procedure of calculating the vacuum stability limit efficiently.

Our recent multi-omics studies have revealed rich sources of novel bioactive proteins and polypeptides from marine organisms including cnidarians. In the present study, we initially conducted a transcriptomic analysis to review the composition profile of polypeptides from Zoanthus sociatus. Then, a newly discovered NPY-like polypeptide-ZoaNPY was selected for further in silico structural, binding and virtually pharmacological studies. To evaluate the pro-angiogenic effects of ZoaNPY, we employed an in vitro HUVECs model and an in vivo zebrafish model. Our results indicate that ZoaNPY, at 1–100 pmol, enhances cell survival, migration and tube formation in the endothelial cells. Besides, treatment with ZoaNPY could restore a chemically-induced vascular insufficiency in zebrafish embryos. Western blot results demonstrated the application of ZoaNPY could increase the phosphorylation of proteins related to angiogenesis signaling including PKC, PLC, FAK, Src, Akt, mTOR, MEK, and ERK1/2. Furthermore, through molecular docking and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) verification, ZoaNPY was shown to directly and physically interact with NPY Y2 receptor. In view of this, all evidence showed that the pro-angiogenic effects of ZoaNPY involve the activation of NPY Y2 receptor, thereby activating the Akt/mTOR, PLC/PKC, ERK/MEK and Src- FAK-dependent signaling pathways. Furthermore, in an excision wound model, the treatment with ZoaNPY was shown to accelerate the wound healing process in mice. Our findings provide new insights into the discovery and development of novel pro-angiogenic drugs derived from NPY-like polypeptides in the future.

BACKGROUND: The diagnostic criteria and phenotypes in polycystic ovary syndrome are heterogeneous. Currently, it is unclear how to assess a patient's prognosis based on the onset time of menstruation disturbance. Evidence on this topic is scarce and has mainly focused on menstrual patterns. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the association between the onset time of menstrual disturbance and clinical features and in vitro fertilization pregnancy outcomes in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome. STUDY DESIGN: Our study was a secondary analysis of data collected as part of a randomized controlled trial conducted to compare live birth rates between fresh embryo transfer and frozen embryo transfer in 1508 individuals with polycystic ovary syndrome. Here, 1500 participants were classified into 2 groups according to the onset time of menstrual disturbance: immediately after menarche (early group) and after at least 1 year of regular menstruation (late group). We compared the prepregnancy clinical features, variables of ovarian stimulation, pregnancy outcomes after the initial cycle of embryo transfer, and perinatal and neonatal complications in the 2 groups. RESULTS: Compared with the late group, the early group had more antral follicles (32.00 [range, 27.25–39.50] vs 28.00 [range, 24.00–36.00]; P

BACKGROUND: Frozen embryo transfer resulted in a higher birthweight and an increased risk of macrosomia than fresh embryo transfer. However, the mechanism was still unclear. When the impact of frozen embryo transfer on fetal growth began was unknown. Crown-rump length at 11–13 weeks had been regarded as a good indicator of fetal growth in the first trimester and had been used for gestational age calculation in women with uncertain last menstrual periods. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between frozen embryo transfer and early fetal growth, particularly the crown-rump length, then fresh embryo transfer. The secondary objective was to investigate the potential correlation between crown-rump length and birthweight. STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study conducted at the Reproductive Medical Center of Shandong University. A total of 4949 patients who obtained singleton pregnancy after frozen embryo transfer and 1793 patients who got singleton pregnancy after fresh embryo transfer between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2022 were included. The primary outcome was the crown-rump length measured via ultrasound at 11–13 weeks gestation. The secondary outcomes were perinatal outcomes, including birthweight and the risk of large for gestational age, small for gestational age, macrosomia, low birthweight, and premature delivery. Multivariable linear regression models were used to adjust for potential confounders of crown-rump length. RESULTS: A total of 6742 live singleton births after frozen embryo transfer or fresh embryo transfer were included in this study. In the univariable analysis, the frozen embryo transfer group had a larger crown-rump length (5.75±0.53 cm vs 5.57±0.48 cm, P

ObjectivePrevious research has partially revealed distinct gut microbiota in ankylosing spondylitis (AS). In this study, we performed non-targeted fecal metabolomics in AS in order to discover the microbiome–metabolome interface in AS. Based on prospective cohort studies, we further explored the impact of the tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) on the gut microbiota and metabolites in AS.MethodsTo further understand the gut microbiota and metabolites in AS, along with the influence of TNFi, we initiated a prospective cohort study. Fecal samples were collected from 29 patients with AS before and after TNFi therapy and 31 healthy controls. Metagenomic and metabolomic experiments were performed on the fecal samples; moreover, validation experiments were conducted based on the association between the microbiota and metabolites.ResultsA total of 7,703 species were annotated using the metagenomic sequencing system and by profiling the microbial community taxonomic composition, while 50,046 metabolites were identified using metabolite profiling. Differential microbials and metabolites were discovered between patients with AS and healthy controls. Moreover, TNFi was confirmed to partially restore the gut microbiota and the metabolites. Multi-omics analysis of the microbiota and metabolites was performed to determine the associations between the differential microbes and metabolites, identifying compounds such as oxypurinol and biotin, which were correlated with the inhibition of the pathogenic bacteria Ruminococcus gnavus and the promotion of the probiotic bacteria Bacteroides uniformis. Through experimental studies, the relationship between microbes and metabolites was further confirmed, and the impact of these two types of microbes on the enterocytes and the inflammatory cytokine interleukin-18 (IL-18) was explored.ConclusionIn summary, multi-omics exploration elucidated the impact of TNFi on the gut microbiota and metabolites and proposed a novel therapeutic perspective: supplementation of compounds to inhibit potential pathogenic bacteria and to promote potential probiotics, therefore controlling inflammation in AS.

Malnutrition persists as one of the most severe symptoms in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) globally. It is a critical risk factor for cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in patients with CKD. Readily available objective indicators are used to calculate composite objective nutritional assessment indexes, including the geriatric nutritional risk index, prognostic nutritional index, and controlling nutritional status score. These indexes offer a straightforward and effective method for evaluating nutritional status and predicting clinical outcomes in patients with CKD. This review presents supporting evidence on the significance of composite nutritional indexes.