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Background: The receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptors (ROR) family contains the atypical member ROR1, which plays an oncogenic role in several malignant tumors. However, the clinical potentials and underlying mechanisms of ROR1 in gastric cancer progression remain largely unknown. In this study, we validated the microRNA-mediated gene repression mechanism involved in the role of ROR1. Methods: Bioinformatic prediction, luciferase reporter assay, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blotting were used to reveal the regulatory relationship between miR-27b-3p and ROR1. The expression patterns of miR-27b-3p and ROR1 in human gastric cancer (GC) specimens and cell lines were determined by microRNA RT-PCR and western blotting. Cell proliferation, colony formation assay in soft agar in vitro and tumorigenicity in vivo were performed to observe the effects of downregulation and upregulation miR-27b-3p expression on GC cell phenotypes. Results: miR-27b-3p suppressed ROR1 expression by binding to the 3'UTR of ROR1 mRNA in GC cells. miR-27b-3p was significantly downregulated and reversely correlated with ROR1 protein levels in clinical samples. Analysis of the clinicopathological significance showed that miR-27b-3p and ROR1 were closely correlated with GC characteristics. Ectopic miR-27b-3p expression suppressed cell proliferation, colony formation in soft agar, xenograft tumors of GC cells. By contrast, miR-27b-3p knockdown enhanced these malignant behaviors. Our studies further revealed that the c-Src/ STAT3 signaling pathway was involved in miR-27b-3p-ROR1-mediated cell proliferation regulation. Conclusions: These results show that miR-27b-3p suppresses ROR1 expression through the binding site in the 3'UTR inhibiting the cell proliferation. These findings indicate that miR-27b-3p exerts tumor-suppressive effects in GC through the suppression of oncogene ROR1 expression and suggest a therapeutic application of miR-27b-3p in GC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of self-assembled biomacromolecules in the development of functional bionanocomposite foams is one of the best lessons learned from nature. Here, we show that monolithic, flexible and porous zinc oxide bionanocomposite foams with a hierarchical architecture can be assembled through the mediation of bacterial cellulose. The assembly is achieved by controlled hydrolysis and solvothermal crystallization using a bacterial cellulose aerogel as a template in a non-aqueous polar medium. The bionanocomposite foam with a maximum zinc oxide loading of 70 wt% is constructed of intimately packed spheres of aggregated zinc oxide nanocrystals exhibiting a BET surface area of 92 m2 g-1. The zinc oxide bionanocomposite foams show excellent antibacterial activity, which give them potential value as selfsupporting wound dressing and water sterilization materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, the influence of water absorption on the dielectric properties of epoxy resin and epoxy micro-composites and nano-composites filled with silica has been studied. Nanocomposites were found to absorb significantly more water than unfilled epoxy. However, the microcomposite absorbed less water than unfilled epoxy: corresponding to the reduced proportion of the epoxy in this composite. The glass transition temperatures (Tg) of all the samples were measured by both differential scanning calorimetry and dielectric spectroscopy. The Tg decreased as the water absorption increased and, in all cases, corresponded to a drop of approximately 20 K as the humidity was increased from 0% to 100%. This implied that for all the samples, the amount of water in the resin component of the composites was almost identical. It was concluded that the extra water found in the nanocomposites was located around the surface of the nanoparticles. This was confirmed by measuring the water uptake, and the swelling and density change, as a function of humidity as water was absorbed. The water shell model, originally proposed by Lewis and developed by Tanaka, has been further developed to explain low frequency dielectric spectroscopy results in which percolation of charge carriers through overlapping water shells was shown to occur. This has been discussed in terms of a percolation model. At 100% relative humidity, water is believed to surround the nanoparticles with a thickness of approximately 5 monolayers. A second layer of water is proposed that is dispersed but sufficiently concentrated to be conductive; this may extend for approximately 25 nm. If all the water had existed in a single layer surrounding a nanoparticle, this layer would have been approximately 3 to 4 nm thick at 100%. This "characteristic thickness" of water surrounding a given size of nanoparticle appeared to be independent of the concentration of nanoparticles but approximately proportional to water uptake. Filler particles that have surfaces that are functionalized to be hydrophobic considerably reduce the amount of water absorbed in nanocomposites under the same conditions of humidity. Comments are made on the possible effect on electrical aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are important components in tumor microenvironment. This study intended to explore the influence of TAMs on cervical cancer cells proliferation and migration. The expression levels of TAMs markers, CD68 and CD163, in tissues were examined by immunohistochemistry and increased with the progression of cervical lesions (p < 0.05). TAMs with M2-like phenotype (PMA(Polymethacrylate) induced THP-1 cells) were noticed to promote the proliferation of cervical cancer cells and improve the migration ability of tumor cells. These enhancements were attributed to secreting soluble components and the physical contact between macrophages and tumor cells. The tumor formation and tumor growth were significantly faster in the mixed group of induced THP-1 cells and SiHa than in the SiHa cells alone group (p < 0.05). The results indicated that the interaction of macrophages and cervical cancer cells, including the secretion of soluble components and physical contact, were responsible for shaping immunosuppression microenvironments and in promoting tumor cell proliferation and migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triazoles, due to their high bactericidal performance, have been widely used in the agricultural, clinical, and chemical industry. However, triazoles have been proven to cause endocrine-toxic and organ impairment in humans as a potentially toxic substance. Besides, because of the improper use and difficulty of degradation, triazoles pesticide residues left in the environment could pose a threat to the environment. Therefore, the rapid, reliable, accurate, and high-sensitivity triazoles analysis methods are significantly essential to effectively monitor their presence in various samples and safeguard human health. This review aims to summarize and update the progress of the pretreatment and analytical methods of triazole fungicides in environmental samples from 2012 to 2024. Common pretreatment methods used to extract and purify targets include simple steps (e.g., protein precipitation and coated blade spray), liquid-liquid extraction, solid-phase extraction, and various microextraction methods such as liquid-phase microextraction and solid-phase microextraction, among others. Detection methods mainly include liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, supercritical fluid chromatography, sensing methods, and capillary electrophoresis. In addition, we elaborate and compare the advantages and disadvantages of different pretreatment and analytical methods, and their development prospects are discussed.

Background A consensus has not been reached on the value of prostate-specific antigen density (PSAD) as a predictor of biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the association between PSAD and biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer after primary treatment. Methods Two authors systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases (up to August September 10, 2023) to identify studies that assessed the value of pretreatment PSAD in predicting biochemical recurrence after primary treatment (radical prostatectomy or radiotherapy) of prostate cancer. A random effect model was used to pool adjusted hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for biochemical recurrence. Results Nine studies with 4963 patients were eligible for the meta-analysis. The reported prevalence of biochemical recurrence ranged from 4 to 55.1%. For patients with higher PSAD compared to those with low PSAD, the pooled HR of biochemical recurrence was 1.59 (95% CI 1.21-2.10). Subgroup analysis showed that the pooled HR of biochemical recurrence was 1.80 (95% CI 1.34-2.42) for patients who received radical prostatectomy, and 0.98 (95% CI 0.66-1.45) for patients who received radiotherapy. Conclusions Elevated pretreatment PSAD may be an independent predictor for biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy. Determining PSAD could potentially improve the prediction of biochemical recurrence in patients with prostate cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, all-inorganic perovskites such as CsPbBr3 and CsPbI3, have emerged as promising materials for light-emitting applications. While encouraging performance has been demonstrated, the stability issue of the red-emitting CsPbI3 is still a major concern due to its small tolerance factor. Here we report a highly stable CsPbI3 quantum dot (QD) light-emitting diode (LED) with red emission fabricated using an improved purification approach. The device achieved decent external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 0.21% at a bias of 6 V and outstanding operational stability, with a L70 lifetime (EL intensity decreases to 70% of starting value) of 16 h and 1.5 h under a constant driving voltage of 5 V and 6 V (maximum EQE operation) respectively. Furthermore, the device can work under a higher voltage of 7 V (maximum luminance operation) and retain 50% of its initial EL intensity after 500 s. These findings demonstrate the promise of CsPbI3 QDs for stable red LEDs, and suggest the feasibility for electrically pumped perovskite lasers with further device optimizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Arterial stiffness contributes to additional cardiovascular risks in diabetic patients by triggering the loss of vascular and myocardial compliance and promoting endothelial dysfunction. Thus, prevention of arterial stiffness is a public health priority, and the identification of potential biomarkers may provide benefits for early prevention. This study investigates the relationships between serum laboratory tests and pulse wave velocity (PWV) tests. We also investigated the associations between PWV and all‐cause mortality. Methods We examined a panel of 33 blood biomarkers among diabetic populations in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study. The carotid‐femoral (cfPWV) and femoral‐ankle PWV (faPWV) were measured using an automated cardiovascular screening device. The aortic‐femoral arterial stiffness gradient (afSG) was calculated as faPWV divided by cfPWV. Biomarker levels were log‐transformed and correlated with PWV. Cox proportional hazard models were employed for survival analysis. Results Among 1079 diabetic patients, biomarkers including high‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, glycated hemoglobin, high‐sensitivity troponin T, cystatin C, creatinine, and albuminuria were significantly correlated with afSG (R = 0.078, −0.193, −0.155, −0.153, −0.116, and −0.137, respectively) and cfPWV (R = −0.068, 0.175, 0.128, 0.066, 0.202, and 0.062, respectively). Compared with the lowest tertile of afSG, the risk of all‐cause mortality was lower in the highest tertile (hazard ratio 0.543; 95% confidence interval 0.328–0.900). Conclusion Certain biomarkers related to blood glucose monitoring, myocardial injury, and renal function significantly correlated with PWV, suggesting that these putative risk factors are likely to be important atherosclerosis mechanisms in diabetic patients. AfSG may be an independent predictor of mortality among diabetic populations.

ObjectivesThe efficacy of updated health policy in improving the generalization of Helicobacter pylori screening and eradication in southwest China was assessed in a longitudinal analysis of multiple cross-sectional studies from an institution.MethodsIn the periods 2009–2010, 2013–2014, and 2019–2021, 8,365, 16,914, and 18,281 urban observations from health check-ups at West China Hospital were analyzed, respectively. The 14C-urea or 13C-urea breath test was consistently used for H. pylori detection. The protocol has been reported elsewhere (PROSPERO Registration number: CRD42019120764).ResultsThe overall prevalence of H. pylori dramatically decreased from 53.1% to 30.7% over the past decade (OR = 0.39, 95% CI 0.37–0.41), with a similar decline in all sex-specific and age-specific subgroups. The age-specific prevalence consistently increased before 40 years of age and always peaked at 50–59 years. Longitudinal clearance increased along with aging, and prevalence dropped to 22.6%, 25.1%, and 23.6% in the 40–49, 50–59, and 60–69 years initial age groups, respectively.ConclusionThe generalization of H. pylori screening and eradication could greatly contribute to the control of H. pylori infection among urban health check-up populations and lower gastric cancer incidence.

Abstract Background Greater lipid variability may cause adverse health events among diabetic patients. We aimed to examine the effect of lipid variability on the risk of diabetic microvascular outcomes among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Methods We assessed the association between visit‐to‐visit variability (measured by variability independent of mean) in high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol (LDL), triglyceride, and remnant cholesterol (RC) measurements among participants involved in the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) study and the risk of incident microvascular outcomes, including nephropathy, neuropathy, and retinopathy. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for potential confounders. Results There were 2400, 2470, and 2468 cases of nephropathy, neuropathy, and retinopathy during a follow‐up period of 22 600, 21 542, and 26 701 person‐years, respectively. Higher levels of HDL, triglyceride, and RC variability were associated with an increased risk of incident nephropathy and neuropathy. Compared with the lowest quartile, the fully adjusted HRs (95% CI) for the highest quartile of HDL, triglyceride, and RC variability for nephropathy risk were 1.57 (1.22, 2.01), 1.50 (1.18, 1.92), and 1.40 (1.09, 1.80), respectively; and for neuropathy, the corresponding risks were 1.36 (1.05, 1.75), 1.47 (1.14, 1.91), and 1.35 (1.04, 1.74), respectively. Null association was observed between LDL variability and all microvascular complications. Additionally, all associations of variability in the other lipids with retinopathy risk were null. Conclusion Among individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus, HDL, triglyceride, and RC variability were associated with increased risks of nephropathy and neuropathy but not retinopathy. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov., no. NCT00000620.

Objectives: To examine the association between visit-to-visit blood pressure variability (BPV) and incident diabetes mellitus (DM) risk in a Chinese population.Methods: Data comes from China Health and Nutrition Survey (n = 15,084). BPV was estimated as the average real variability (ARV) using at least three BP measurements from the year preceding the event and was divided into quartiles. Participants were also categorized into 9 groups on the basis of combinations of systolic BPV (SBPV) and diastolic BPV (DBPV) tertiles. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used.Results: During a median follow-up of 16.8 years, 1,030 (6.8%) participants developed diabetes (incidence rate: 4.65/1,000 person-years). The HRs (95% CIs) for the highest quartile (vs. the lowest quartile) of SBPV and DBPV were 1.60 (1.30–1.97) and 1.37 (1.13–1.67), respectively. Participants with both highest SBPV and DBPV tertile had an ≈89% higher risk of DM (HR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.47–2.42) compared with those in the both SBPV and DBPV tertile 1 group.Conclusion: Higher SBP ARV and DBP ARV were independently associated with increased risk of incident DM, which was augmented when both presented together.

With the rapid development of soil moisture estimation techniques involving remote sensing technology, the sampling designs used in soil moisture research are very important. To estimate the rational sample number for measuring near-surface soil moisture (0–20 cm), a random combination method was used to study the relationship between the average measured soil moisture contents and the true values at given scales. Compared to classic statistics and stratified sampling, the random combination method easily obtained precision estimates from a small number of samples. Moreover, the random combination method was upscaled to further discuss the influence of the coefficient of variation and study-region scale on the rational sample numbers at different scales (2, 10, 20, 40, 80, and 160 m). The results showed that the rational sample numbers for measuring near-surface soil moisture at the 2, 10, 20, 40, 80, and 160 m scales were 2, 5, 5, 8, 20, and 42, respectively, under the relative error of 10% at the 95% confidence level. The rational sample numbers at different scales were proportional to the coefficient of variation and the regional scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Wet grinding for synthesis of 2D CuS nanosheets with superior photothermal effect. • Solubility product control strategy for Hg2+ photothermal sensing. • Advantages of simple, easy to operate, low cost, and signal legibility. • A powerful on-site solution for monitoring Hg2+ contamination. Here, a solubility product control strategy for Hg2+ photothermal sensing was developed by using ultrathin porous 2D CuS nanosheets as a photothermal sensor. Therein, the 2D CuS nanosheets with high photothermal effect was firstly prepared by simple wet grinding, which showed high specific surface area and hierarchical porous structure, providing abundant exposed active sites and diffusion channels, and exhibiting strong affinity and accessibility for Hg2+. Based on the difference of solubility products between CuS and HgS, the 2D CuS nanosheets could react with Hg2+ through substitution reaction to form HgS on the surface of 2D CuS nanosheets, resulting in the reduction of the photothermal effect of 2D CuS nanosheets. The photothermal effect-induced temperature signal change exhibited a good linearity with Hg2+ concentrations in the range from 1 nM to 10 μM, with high selectivity and low detection limit of 0.7 nM. This photothermal sensing strategy with the advantages of simple, easy to operate, low cost, and signal legibility provided a preferred solution for monitoring Hg2+ pollution, and would be highly beneficial for a broad range of point-of-care testing (POCT) applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveThis study sought to study the feasibility, efficacy, and safety of using multiscale entropy (MSE) analysis to guide catheter ablation for persistent atrial fibrillation (PsAF) and predict ablation outcomes.MethodsWe prospectively enrolled 108 patients undergoing initial ablation for PsAF. MSE was calculated based on bipolar intracardiac electrograms (iEGMs) to measure the dynamical complexity of biological signals. The iEGMs data were exported after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI), then calculated in a customed platform, and finally re-annotated into the CARTO system. After PVI, regions of the highest mean MSE (mMSE) values were ablated in descending order until AF termination, or three areas had been ablated.ResultsBaseline characteristics were evenly distributed between the AF termination (n = 38, 35.19%) and the non-termination group. The RA-to-LA mean MSE (mMSE) gradient demonstrated a positive gradient in the non-termination group and a negative gradient in the termination group (0.105 ± 0.180 vs. −0.235 ± 0.256, P < 0.001). During a 12-month follow-up, 29 patients (26.9%) had arrhythmia recurrence after single ablation, and 18 of them had AF (62.1%). The termination group had lower rates of arrhythmia recurrence (15.79 vs. 32.86%, Log-Rank P = 0.053) and AF recurrence (10.53 vs. 20%, Log-Rank P = 0.173) after single ablation and a lower rate of arrhythmia recurrence (7.89 vs. 27.14%, Log-Rank P = 0.018) after repeated ablation. Correspondingly, subjects with negative RA-to-LA mMSE gradient had lower incidences of arrhythmia (16.67 vs. 35%, Log-Rank P = 0.028) and AF (16.67 vs. 35%, Log-Rank P = 0.032) recurrence after single ablation and arrhythmia recurrence after repeated ablation (12.5 vs. 26.67%, Log-Rank P = 0.062). Marginal peri-procedural safety outcomes were observed.ConclusionMSE analysis-guided driver ablation in addition to PVI for PsAF could be feasible, efficient, and safe. An RA < LA mMSE gradient before ablation could predict freedom from arrhythmia. The RA-LA MSE gradient could be useful for guiding ablation strategy selection.

Abstract Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal diseases which lack an early diagnostic marker. We investigated whether serum ferritin (SF) reflects risk for pancreatic cancer and potential genes that may contribute ferritin and pancreatic cancer risks. We performed a meta-analysis of relevant studies on SF and pancreatic cancer risk by searching articles in PUBMED and EMBASE published up to 1 March 2020. We also collected serum samples from Taipei Medical University Joint Biobank and compared SF levels in 34 healthy controls and 34 pancreatic cancer patients. An Oncomine database was applied as a platform to explore a series of genes that exhibited strong associations between ferritin and pancreatic cancer. Herein, we show that high levels of SF can indicate risk of pancreatic cancer, suggesting SF as the new tumor marker that may be used to help pancreatic cancer diagnosis. We also found that expressions of iron homeostasis genes (MYC, FXN) and ferroptosis genes (ALOX15, CBS, FDFT1, LPCAT3, RPL8, TP53, TTC35) are significantly altered with pancreatic tumor grades, which may contribute to differential expression of ferritin related to pancreatic cancer prognosis.

Oxaliplatin, a third-generation platinum derivative, has become one of the main chemotherapeutic treatments for esophagus, gastric and colorectal cancer; however, it is still unclear the potential effectiveness for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) with gemcitabine resistance. Here, we observed that PDAC tumors have low level of organic cation transporter 2 (OCT2, also known as SLC22A2) compared with non-tumor tissues and identified that OCT2 expression is positively correlated with oxaliplatin sensitivity in PDAC cells. Treatment of OCT2 inhibitors or knockdown of OCT2 expression significantly decreased the sensitivity to oxaliplatin in PANC-1 cells. In addition, bisulfite sequencing polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that higher methylation frequency represses OCT2 expression in gemcitabine-resistant PANC-1 (PANC-1/GR) cells. Moreover, we found that treatment of DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) inhibitors, decitabine or 5-azacytidine recover OCT2 expression and oxaliplatin sensitivity in PANC-1/GR cells, and DNMT1 level has inverse correlation with OCT2 expression in PDAC cells and tumors. Our findings jointly suggest that OCT2 expression is a potential and predictive marker for evaluating oxaliplatin sensitivity and developing alternative treatments for PDAC patients with gemcitabine resistance.

BackgroundLean body mass (LBM) and fat mass (FM) have been shown to have different associations with several chronic diseases but little is known about the sex-specific association of LBM and FM with diabetic nephropathy (DN) risk among participants with diabetes.MethodsParticipants from the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) study was used in a post hoc analysis to examine the association of predicted LBM index (LBMI) and FM index (FMI) with incident DN risk (defined as a composite outcome of three types of predefined DN). Because of sex differences in body composition, analyses were conducted separately using sex-specific quartiles of predicted LBMI and FMI.ResultsOf the 9,022 participants with type 2 diabetes (5,575 men and 3,447 women) included in this study, 5,374 individuals developed DN (3,396 in men and 1,978 in women). Higher quartiles of LBMI were associated with a reduced risk of DN while higher quartiles of FMI were associated with an increased higher risk of DN among men but not women. Compared with the lowest quartile, the fully adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs)for the highest quartile of predicted LBMI and FMI were respectively 0.83 (95% CI 1.71 – 0.96) and 1.23 (95% CI 1.06-1.43) among men; and 0.92 (95% CI 0.63 – 1.33) and 1.14 (95% CI 0.79 – 1.63) among women.ConclusionsAmong participants with diabetes, predicted LBMI was inversely associated with risk of DN while predicted FMI was positively associated with an increased risk of incident DN among men but not women. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov., no. NCT00000620.

Background: Chloroplasts are important semi-autonomous organelles in plants and algae. Unlike higher plants, the chloroplast genomes of green algal linage have distinct features both in organization and expression. Despite the architecture of chloroplast genome having been extensively studied in higher plants and several model species of algae, little is known about the transcriptional features of green algal chloroplast-encoded genes. Results: Based on full-length cDNA (Iso-Seq) sequencing, we identified widely co-transcribed polycistronic transcriptional units (PTUs) in the green alga Caulerpa lentillifera. In addition to clusters of genes from the same pathway, we identified a series of PTUs of up to nine genes whose function in the plastid is not understood. The RNA data further allowed us to confirm widespread expression of fragmented genes and conserved open reading frames, which are both important features in green algal chloroplast genomes. In addition, a newly fragmented gene specific to C. lentillifera was discovered, which may represent a recent gene fragmentation event in the chloroplast genome. With the newly annotated exon-intron boundary information, gene structural annotation was greatly improved across the siphonous green algae lineages. Our data also revealed a type of non-canonical Group II introns, with a deviant secondary structure and intronic ORFs lacking known splicing or mobility domains. These widespread introns have conserved positions in their genes and are excised precisely despite lacking clear consensus intron boundaries. Conclusion: Our study fills important knowledge gaps in chloroplast genome organization and transcription in green algae, and provides new insights into expression of polycistronic transcripts, freestanding ORFs and fragmented genes in algal chloroplast genomes. Moreover, we revealed an unusual type of Group II intron with distinct features and conserved positions in Bryopsidales. Our data represents interesting additions to knowledge of chloroplast intron structure and highlights clusters of uncharacterized genes that probably play important roles in plastids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive disease with a 5-year survival rate of

Oxaliplatin, a third-generation platinum derivative, has become one of the main chemotherapeutic treatments for esophagus, gastric and colorectal cancer; however, it is still unclear the potential effectiveness for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) with gemcitabine resistance. Here, we observed that PDAC tumors have low level of organic cation transporter 2 (OCT2, also known as SLC22A2) compared with non-tumor tissues and identified that OCT2 expression is positively correlated with oxaliplatin sensitivity in PDAC cells. Treatment of OCT2 inhibitors or knockdown of OCT2 expression significantly decreased the sensitivity to oxaliplatin in PANC-1 cells. In addition, bisulfite sequencing polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that higher methylation frequency represses OCT2 expression in gemcitabine-resistant PANC-1 (PANC-1/GR) cells. Moreover, we found that treatment of DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) inhibitors, decitabine or 5-azacytidine recover OCT2 expression and oxaliplatin sensitivity in PANC-1/GR cells, and DNMT1 level has inverse correlation with OCT2 expression in PDAC cells and tumors. Our findings jointly suggest that OCT2 expression is a potential and predictive marker for evaluating oxaliplatin sensitivity and developing alternative treatments for PDAC patients with gemcitabine resistance. [Display omitted] • Low level of OCT2 expression in PDAC tumors. • OCT2 expression is positively correlated with oxaliplatin sensitivity. • Inhibition of DNMTs upregulates OCT2 expression and oxaliplatin sensitivity. • The negative correlation between DNMT1 and OCT2 expression in PDAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What Is Already Known About This Topic?: Noroviruses are highly infectious with rapid transmission capabilities, causing illness for an average duration of 12-60 hours. In China, individuals in educational agencies may return to class 72 hours after symptom resolution., What Is Added by This Report?: This outbreak was precipitated by a potential source of infection in a child resuming class after a 72-hour quarantine post-symptom resolution, leading to a cluster of cases within the class., What Are the Implications for Public Health Practice?: While extending the quarantine period for children may be considered from a safety perspective, it is a challenge for educational agencies. The outbreak is deemed a low-probability event; however, further investigation into the detoxification period of asymptomatic patients is warranted., (Copyright and License information: Editorial Office of CCDCW, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2024.)

Introduction: Pharmacogenetics currently supports clinical decision-making on the basis of a limited number of variants in a few genes and may benefit paediatric prescribing where there is a need for more precise dosing. Integrating genomic information such as methylation into pharmacogenetic models holds the potential to improve their accuracy and consequently prescribing decisions. Cytochrome P450 2D6 ( CYP2D6 ) is a highly polymorphic gene conventionally associated with the metabolism of commonly used drugs and endogenous substrates. We thus sought to predict epigenetic loci from single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to CYP2D6 in children from the GUSTO cohort., Methods: Buffy coat DNA methylation was quantified using the Illumina Infinium Methylation EPIC beadchip. CpG sites associated with CYP2D6 were used as outcome variables in Linear Regression, Elastic Net and XGBoost models. We compared feature selection of SNPs from GWAS mQTLs, GTEx eQTLs and SNPs within 2 MB of the CYP2D6 gene and the impact of adding demographic data. The samples were split into training (75%) sets and test (25%) sets for validation. In Elastic Net model and XGBoost models, optimal hyperparameter search was done using 10-fold cross validation. Root Mean Square Error and R-squared values were obtained to investigate each models' performance. When GWAS was performed to determine SNPs associated with CpG sites, a total of 15 SNPs were identified where several SNPs appeared to influence multiple CpG sites., Results: Overall, Elastic Net models of genetic features appeared to perform marginally better than heritability estimates and substantially better than Linear Regression and XGBoost models. The addition of nongenetic features appeared to improve performance for some but not all feature sets and probes. The best feature set and Machine Learning (ML) approach differed substantially between CpG sites and a number of top variables were identified for each model., Discussion: The development of SNP-based prediction models for CYP2D6 CpG methylation in Singaporean children of varying ethnicities in this study has clinical application. With further validation, they may add to the set of tools available to improve precision medicine and pharmacogenetics-based dosing., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Fong, Tan, Garg, Teh, Pan, Gupta, Krishna, Chen, Purwanto, Yap, Tan, Chan, Chan, Goh, Rane, Tan, Jiang, Han, Meaney, Wang, Keppo and Tan.)

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal diseases which lack an early diagnostic marker. We investigated whether serum ferritin (SF) reflects risk for pancreatic cancer and potential genes that may contribute ferritin and pancreatic cancer risks. We performed a meta-analysis of relevant studies on SF and pancreatic cancer risk by searching articles in PUBMED and EMBASE published up to 1 March 2020. We also collected serum samples from Taipei Medical University Joint Biobank and compared SF levels in 34 healthy controls and 34 pancreatic cancer patients. An Oncomine database was applied as a platform to explore a series of genes that exhibited strong associations between ferritin and pancreatic cancer. Herein, we show that high levels of SF can indicate risk of pancreatic cancer, suggesting SF as the new tumor marker that may be used to help pancreatic cancer diagnosis. We also found that expressions of iron homeostasis genes (MYC, FXN) and ferroptosis genes (ALOX15, CBS, FDFT1, LPCAT3, RPL8, TP53, TTC35) are significantly altered with pancreatic tumor grades, which may contribute to differential expression of ferritin related to pancreatic cancer prognosis., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Gas concentration mapping with computed tomography-remote sensing fourier transform infrared spectroscopy demonstrates that this system and reconstruction method can be directly applied in many environmental and industrial settings. This development of reconstruction algorithm can greatly broaden the application of CT to obtain rapid reconstruction of ambient air pollution data.