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Ming Bai,1,* Wei-Xue Wang,1,2,* Ting Deng,1 Jing-Jing Duan,1 Yi Ba1,3 1Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin, Tianjin’s Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Digestive Cancer, Tianjin, 300060, People’s Republic of China; 2Aerospace Center Hospital, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China; 3Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, 100730, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yi Ba, Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin, Tianjin’s Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Digestive Cancer, Tianjin, 300060, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 22-23340123, Email bayi@tjmuch.comObjective: This study aimed to identify the effectiveness and safety of PD-1 blockades among elderly patients with metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) clinically.Methods: A total of 78 elderly patients with previously treated metastatic ESCC aged ≥ 65 years who received PD-1 blockades monotherapy were included retrospectively. Demographic characteristics, therapeutic effectiveness and adverse reactions of the elderly patients who underwent PD-1 blockade therapy were recorded. Regular follow-up was conducted for all patients. The analysis aimed to identify potential risk factors for OS by examining the correlation between prognosis and subgroups based on baseline characteristics.Results: The median age of the 78 elderly patients was 73 years, ranging from 65 to 87 years. Among the 78 patients, 18 cases showed partial response, 26 cases had stable disease, 29 cases experienced progressive disease and 5 cases were not assessable for response, yielding an ORR of 23.1%, a DCR of 56.4%. The prognostic outcomes indicated that among the 78 patients with metastatic ESCC who received PD-1 blockades, the median PFS was 3.1 months [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.64– 4.56], and the median OS was 10.9 months (95% CI: 6.02– 15.78), 24-month OS rate was 22.7% (95% CI: 12.8– 34.2%). In terms of the safety profile, among the 78 patients with metastatic ESCC during PD-1 blockades single-agent treatment, a total of 61 patients (78.2%) experienced any grade adverse reactions and the incidence of grade ≥ 3 adverse reactions were 20.5%. Briefly, the common adverse reactions manifested as fatigue (32.1%), gastrointestinal reaction (24.4%), diarrhea (19.2%), anemia (17.9%) and rash (16.7%). Overall tolerability of PD-1 blockade monotherapy in elderly patients with metastatic ESCC was acceptable and manageable.Conclusion: PD-1 blockades single agent demonstrated encouraging effectiveness and acceptable safety profile for elderly patients with previously treated metastatic ESCC in clinical practice. Prospective study should be performed to elucidate the conclusion in this study subsequently.Keywords: elderly patients, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, PD-1 blockades, effectiveness, safety

Fanqi Wang,1,2,* Limin Xie,1,2,* Yuan Tang,1,2 Tuo Deng3 1National Clinical Research Center for Metabolic Diseases, and Department of Metabolism and Endocrinology, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, People’s Republic of China; 2Key Laboratory of Diabetes Immunology, Ministry of Education, and Metabolic Syndrome Research Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, People’s Republic of China; 3Clinical Immunology Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Tuo Deng, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, 410011, People’s Republic of China, Tel +8613755063233, Email dengtuo@csu.edu.cnPurpose: To clarify the significance of mitochondria-related differentially expressed genes (MTDEGs) in UC carcinogenesis through a bioinformatics analysis and provide potential therapeutic targets for patients with UC associated colorectal cancer.Methods: Microarray GSE37283 was utilized to investigate differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in UC and UC with neoplasia (UCN). MTDEGs were identified by intersecting DEGs with human mitochondrial genes. Utilizing LASSO and random forest analyses, we identified three crucial genes. Subsequently, using ROC curve to investigate the predictive ability of three key genes. Following, three key genes were confirmed in AOM/DSS mice model by Real-time PCR. Finally, single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) was employed to explore the correlation between the hub genes and immune cells infiltration in UC carcinogenesis.Results: The three identified hub MTDEGs (HMGCS2, MAVS, RDH13) may exhibit significant diagnostic specificity in the transition from UC to UCN. Real-time PCR assay further confirmed that the expressions of HMGCS2 and RDH13 were significantly downregulated in UCN mice than that in UC mice. ssGSEA analysis revealed the hub genes were highly associated with CD56dim natural killer cells.Conclusion: RDH13, HMGCS2, and MAVS may become diagnostic indicators and potential biomarkers for UCN. Our research has the potential to enhance our understanding of the mechanisms underlying carcinogenesis in UC.Keywords: ulcerative colitis, colorectal cancer, autoimmunity diseases, mitochondria, NKT cells

Yujie Wang,1 Tingting Deng,1 Xi Liu,2 Xueyang Fang,1 Yongpan Mo,3 Ni Xie,4 Guohui Nie,1 Bin Zhang,1 Xiaoqin Fan1,4 1Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Nanozymes and Translational Cancer Research, Department of Otolaryngology, Shenzhen Institute of Translational Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, 518035, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Nephrology, Shenzhen Longgang Central Hospital, Shenzhen, 518116, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, 518035, People’s Republic of China; 4The Bio-Bank of Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518035, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Bin Zhang; Xiaoqin Fan, Email binzhang@email.szu.edu.cn; fanxiaoqin83@163.comAbstract: The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a complex and dynamic entity, comprising stromal cells, immune cells, blood vessels and extracellular matrix, which is intimately associated with the occurrence and development of cancers, as well as their therapy. Utilizing the shared characteristics of tumors, such as an acidic environment, enzymes and hypoxia, researchers have developed a promising cancer therapy strategy known as responsive release of nano-loaded drugs, specifically targeted at tumor tissues or cells. In this comprehensive review, we provide an in-depth overview of the current fundamentals and state-of-the-art intelligent strategies of TME-responsive nanoplatforms, which include acidic pH, high GSH levels, high-level adenosine triphosphate, overexpressed enzymes, hypoxia and reductive environment. Additionally, we showcase the latest advancements in TME-responsive nanoparticles. In conclusion, we thoroughly examine the immediate challenges and prospects of TME-responsive nanopharmaceuticals, with the expectation that the progress of these targeted nanoformulations will enable the exploitation, overcoming or modulation of the TME, ultimately leading to significantly more effective cancer therapy. Keywords: tumor microenvironment, stimulus-responsive, drug delivery, cancer therapy, intelligent biomedicine

Jingsong Luo,1,2 Yuxin Chen,2 Yanmin Tao,1 Yaxin Xu,3 Kexin Yu,2 Ranran Liu,2 Yuchen Jiang,2 Cichong Cai,2 Yiyang Mao,2 Jingyi Li,2 Ziyi Yang,2 Tingting Deng1 1School of Nursing, The Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Sichuan, 610000, People’s Republic of China; 2Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Nursing, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200000, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Tingting Deng, School of Nursing, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, 611137, People’s Republic of China, Email dengtingting999@163.comBackground: There is substantial evidence from previous studies that abnormalities in sleep parameters associated with depression are demonstrated in almost all stages of sleep architecture. Patients with symptoms of sleep-wake disorders have a much higher risk of developing major depressive disorders (MDD) compared to those without.Objective: The aim of the present study is to establish and compare the performance of different machine learning models based on sleep-wake disorder symptoms data and to select the optimal model to interpret the importance of sleep-wake disorder symptoms to predict MDD occurrence in adolescents.Methods: We derived data for this work from 2020 to 2021 Assessing Nocturnal Sleep/Wake Effects on Risk of Suicide Phase I Study from National Sleep Research Resource. Using demographic and sleep-wake disorder symptoms data as predictors and the occurrence of MDD measured base on the center for epidemiologic studies depression scale as an outcome, the following six machine learning predictive models were developed: eXtreme Gradient Boosting model (XGBoost), Light Gradient Boosting mode, AdaBoost, Gaussian Naïve Bayes, Complement Naïve Bayes, and multilayer perceptron. The models’ performance was assessed using the AUC and other metrics, and the final model’s predictor importance ranking was explained.Results: XGBoost is the optimal predictive model in comprehensive performance with the AUC of 0.804 in the test set. All sleep-wake disorder symptoms were significantly positively correlated with the occurrence of adolescent MDD. The insomnia severity was the most important predictor compared with the other predictors in this study.Conclusion: This machine learning predictive model based on sleep-wake disorder symptoms can help to raise the awareness of risk of symptoms between sleep-wake disorders and MDD in adolescents and improve primary care and prevention.Keywords: adolescent major depressive disorder, sleep-wake disorders symptom, insomnia, obstruct sleep apnea, machine learning prediction model, xgboost

Luoxi Wang,1 Tinghan Deng,1 Ying Liu,1 Hongbin Cheng2 1Clinical Research on Skin Diseases School of Clinical Medicine, Chengdu University of TCM, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 2Dermatology of Department, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Hongbin Cheng, Email chenghongbin@cdutcm.edu.cnObjective: To explore the mechanism of Qiwei antipruritic by using network pharmacology and molecular docking technology.Methods: The components and related targets of Qiwei antipruritic were screened by using the traditional Chinese medicine system pharmacology database (TCMSP and symmap databases). GeneCards and OMIM databases were used to screen itch-related targets. The protein–protein interaction (PPI) network between active ingredient targets and pruritus disease targets was constructed using STRING database. Cytoscape 3.8.0 software was used to draw the visualization network of “drug-component-target-signaling pathway” and screen the core targets. Gene ontology (GO) functional annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were performed using R software. AutoDock vina software was used to perform molecular docking of key targets and their corresponding key components.Results: There were 44 main components of Qiwei antipruritic compound, 118 corresponding targets and 3869 itch-related genes. A total of 82 predicted targets of Qiwei antipruritic in the treatment of pruritus were obtained. Eleven key targets were screened. Among the 23 KEGG enriched pathways, 12 signaling pathways were related to skin pruritus. Molecular docking results showed that the core components of Qiwei antipruritic, including quercetin, kaempferol, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, luteolin, and preskimmianine, had good binding ability with ESR1, PPARG, IL6, TP53, and EGFR, and the docking scores were all less than − 4.Conclusion: The mechanism of Qiwei antipruritic may be related to histamine activation mechanism, calcium channel mechanism, inhibition of inflammatory signaling pathway, inhibition of neurotransmitters, and regulation of immune pathways. The traditional Chinese medicine compound Qiwei antipruritic can treat clinical pruritus through multiple targets and pathways.Keywords: Qiwei antipruritic, traditional Chinese medicine compound, network pharmacology, molecular docking, mechanism of action

Ting Deng, Yin Lin, Li Chen, Jun-Ying Jiang Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine for Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pediatrics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, 350001, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Jun-Ying Jiang, Email 1057851146@qq.comObjective: To compare the spontaneous pregnancy rates between dydrogesterone and Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) treatments in patients with endometriosis stage III and IV after laparoscopy.Methods: The clinical data of patients with endometriosis stage III and IV administered laparoscopic surgery in our hospital from January 2018 to March 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. Totally 151 cases were divided into two groups according to postoperative medication, including the study (70 cases) and control (81 cases) groups treated with dydrogesterone and GnRH-a, respectively. The spontaneous pregnancy and subsequent pregnancy outcomes were assessed within 12 months.Results: Totally 49 patients had spontaneous pregnancy. Among them, there were 31 cases in the dydrogesterone group (spontaneous pregnancy rate of 44.3%, 31/70), including 25 live birth cases (35.7%, 25/70), 4 miscarriage cases, and 2 ectopic pregnancy cases. The time to conception was 1– 10 months (median value of 5 months). Totally 18 cases in the GnRH-a group had spontaneous pregnancy (22.2%, 18/81), including 16 live birth cases (19.8%, 16/81). 81) and 2 miscarriage cases; the time to conception was 3– 11 months (median value of 6 months). There were significant differences in spontaneous pregnancy rate and cumulative spontaneous pregnancy rate between the two groups (P = 0.005 and 0.003, respectively).Conclusion: Dydrogesterone after laparoscopic surgery in patients with endometriosis stage III and IV improved the natural pregnancy rate.Keywords: endometriosis, laparoscopic surgery, dydrogesterone, gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist, spontaneous pregnancy

Tinghan Deng,1 Huilan Zheng,1 Ying Zhu,2 Ming Liu,3 Guanjin He,1 Ya Li,1 Yichen Liu,1 Jingping Wu,4 Hongbin Cheng1 1Department of Dermatology, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 610075, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Gynecology, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 610075, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Medical Oncology/Gastric Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 610041, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Medical Cosmetology, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 610075, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Jingping Wu; Hongbin Cheng, Email wujingping@cdutcm.edu.cn; chenghongbin@cdutcm.edu.cnBackground: Human skin microbiome is the first barrier against exogenous attack and is associated with various skin disease pathogenesis and progression. Advancements in high-throughput sequencing technologies have paved the way for a deeper understanding of this field. Based on the bibliometric analysis, this investigation aimed to identify the hotspots and future research trends associated with human skin microbiomes studied over the past decade.Methods: The published research on skin microbiome from January 2013 to January 2023 was retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. Data cleaning processes to ensure robust data and the bibliometrix packages R, CiteSpace, VOSviewer, Origin, and Scimago Graphica for bibliometric and visual analyses were utilized.Results: A total of 1629 published documents were analyzed. The overall publication trend steadily increased, with relatively fast growth in 2017 and 2020. The United States of America has the highest number of publications and citations and shows close collaborations with China and Germany. The University of California, San Diego, indicated a higher number of publications than other institutions and the fastest growth rate. The top three most publishing journals on this topic are Microorganisms, Frontiers in Microbiology, and Experimental dermatology. Gallo RL is the most influential author with the highest h- and g-index and most publications in skin microecology, followed by Grice EA and Kong HH. The top 10 most frequently used keywords in recent years included skin microbiome, microbiome, staphylococcus aureus, diversity, atopic dermatitis, skin, bacteria, infections, gut microbiota, and disease.Conclusion: The skin microbiome is an area of research that requires continuous analysis, and even with much-achieved progress, future research will further be aided as technology develops.Keywords: skin microbiome, bibliometric, trends, skin barrier, skin immune

Tianhua Deng, Lin Huang, Zhengli Ran, Xun Huang, Hong Li, Zhigang You Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Zhigang You, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, No. 1 Minde Road, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, 330006, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13077985297, Email youzhigang_75@126.comPurpose: The values of European Society of Cardiology (ESC) criteria and dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) score in the stratification of ischemic risk were assessed in this study.Methods: A total of 489 patients with acute coronary syndrome who received DAPT at discharge between June 2020 and August 2020 were enrolled. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), which included recurrent ACS or unplanned revascularization, all-cause death, or ischemic stroke during a 27-month follow-up period.Results: Patients with ESC-defined high-risk showed a significantly higher risk of MACE (HR 2.75, 95% CI 1.78– 4.25), all-cause death (HR 2.49, 95% CI 1.14– 5.43), and recurrent ACS or unplanned revascularization (HR 2.80, 95% CI 1.57– 4.99) than those with ESC-defined low/medium-risk during follow-up. The results of landmark analysis showed that patients in the high-risk group had a significantly higher risk of MACE (HR 2.80,95 CI% 1.57– 4.97), recurrent ACS or unplanned revascularization (HR 3.19,95 CI% 1.47– 6.93) within one year, and a higher risk of MACE (HR 2.69,95 CI% 1.38– 5.23) after one year. There was no significant difference in the incidence of MACE between patients with a DAPT score ≥ 2 and a DAPT score < 2. The C-indices of ESC criteria and DAPT score for prediction of MACE were 0.63 (95% CI 0.57– 0.70) and 0.54 (95% CI 0.48– 0.61), respectively. The predictive value of ESC criteria for MACE was better than the DAPT score according to the DeLong test (z-statistic=2.30, P=0.020).Conclusion: Patients with ESC-defined high-risk had a higher risk of MACE compared to those with ESC-defined low/medium-risk. The discriminant ability of the ESC criteria was better than the DAPT score for MACE. The ESC criteria demonstrated moderate discriminatory capacity of MACE in ACS patients treated with DAPT.Keywords: acute coronary syndrome, ESC criteria, DAPT score, platelet inhibitors, clinical outcome

Yafan Fan,1,&ast; Tongbo Deng,1,&ast; Min Li2 1School of Public Administration, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Business Administration, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510641, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yafan Fan, School of Public Administration, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510640, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13469968950, Email pafanyafan@mail.scut.edu.cnPurpose: Managing workplace deviance has long been a hot topic in the organizational research. However, the mechanisms through which decent work affects workplace deviance have yet to be fully understood. Drawing upon relative deprivation theory, this study examines the relationship between decent work and workplace deviance by focusing on the mediating role of relative deprivation and the moderating role of career calling.Methods: Two waves of data from 307 doctors and 61 supervisors of public hospitals in central China were examined using a the moderated mediation model.Results: Decent work is negatively associated with workplace deviance via the mediation of relative deprivation, and the negative relationship between decent work and relative deprivation is negatively moderated by career calling. The mediating role of relative deprivation is moderated by career calling, and the indirect effect is stronger when career calling is high than when it is low.Conclusion: By focusing on the mediating role of relative deprivation and the moderating role of career calling, this study contributes to the literature by addressing the previously unexamined relationship between decent work and workplace deviance. Moreover, this study responds to calls for research on decent work from the perspective of relative deprivation.Keywords: decent work, workplace deviance, relative deprivation, career calling, physicians

Zhuo Li,1,2,&ast; Chi Xu,2,&ast; Jun Fu,2 Maimaiti Zulipikaer,2 Tao Deng,2 Jiying Chen2 1School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jiying Chen, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, No. 28 Fuxing Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100853, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 10 66938104, Fax +86 10 68216336, Email jiyingchen_301@163.comBackground: Central sensitization refers to a state of hypersensitivity in the central nervous system and is associated with the development and maintenance of chronic pain. Central sensitization plays an essential role in various diseases. Nevertheless, there has been no bibliometric analysis before in this field. The purpose of this study was to provide critical themes and trends in the area of central sensitization, to build a network of knowledge, and to facilitate the future development of relevant basic and clinical research.Methods: Publications on central sensitization were extracted from the Science Citation Index-Expanded. We used R software to systematically analyze the countries, institutions, authors, journals, references, and keywords of the publications. Besides, conceptual structure, intellectual structure, and social structure were constructed.Results: A total of 4466 publications were included. Research in the field of central sensitization generally showed a steady upward trend. The three structural networks showed that the United States is the leading country in this field. Arendt-Nielsen L and Woolf CJ were the most productive and influential authors, respectively. “Pain” was the journal with the most studies. Most journals that published and cited articles about central sensitization were academically influential. Cluster analysis revealed that research in central sensitization contains three main conceptual clusters, and the themes of research evolve frequently. Current research focuses on the pathogenesis of central sensitization in neuropathic pain, the role of central sensitization in different diseases, and related clinical double-blind trials.Conclusion: Central sensitization received widespread attention. The United States led the way in academic activity. In this field, the current situation of cooperation and communication between different countries and institutions is positive. The present research hotspots were the pathogenesis of central sensitization in neuropathic pain, the role of central sensitization in different diseases, and related clinical double-blind trials.Keywords: central sensitization, bibliometric analysis, pain, co-word, co-citation, collaboration network

Fengjuan Shi,1,&ast; Tongning Deng,2,&ast; Jian Mo,1 Huiru Wang,1 Jianxun Lu3,4 1Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, 530022, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Meiao Gynaecology and Obstetrics Hospital of Guangxi, Nanning, Guangxi, 530000, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Medical Oncology, The Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, 530022, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Medical Oncology, The First People’s Hospital of Nanning, Nanning, Guangxi, 530022, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jianxun LuThe Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, 89 Qixing Road, Nanning, Guangxi, 530022, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +867712636253Email lujianxun1970@sina.comBackground: Ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma (OSCC) is a life-threatening malignancy with poor prognosis. Therefore, the identification of immune-related genes associated with OSCC prognosis may reveal new targets of immunotherapy for OSCC.Patients and Methods: The gene expression profiles of overlapped genes were extracted by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to identify immune-related modules. Significant genes were identified by univariate Cox regression analysis of model genes. Model characteristic genes were obtained by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) analysis and used to calculate a “signature index”. The model’s ability to predict prognosis in OSCC patients was assessed using time-dependent receiver operator characteristic curves. Differences in the biological processes and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways between groups with high or low signature index were assessed using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). The types of immune cells and their abundance in the two index groups were explored by single-sample GSEA.Results: The expression profiles of 3517 overlapped genes were extracted by WGCNA, and nine modules related to the immune system of OSCC were obtained. The expression profiles of 114 hub genes were then subjected to LASSO analysis. Among them, 10 immune-related genes were significant, of which six were identified as model characteristic genes and were used to calculate the signature index. Moreover, 24 types of immune cells were identified in the tumor microenvironment, and their abundance was explored in high- and low-signature index groups of two datasets.Conclusion: ARHGEF18, PLEKHA7, MTOR, VPS45, BRCA1, and HINT2 were identified as characteristic genes and used to develop a new immune-related gene-based signature as a promising prognostic biomarker for OSCC.Keywords: ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma, prognostic biomarker, signature index, immune-related genes

Qiumo Zhang,1,* Haiyang Zhang,1,* Tao Ning,1 Dongying Liu,1 Ting Deng,1 Rui Liu,1 Ming Bai,1 Kegan Zhu,1 Jialu Li,2 Qian Fan,1 Guoguang Ying,1 Yi Ba1 1Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Key Laboratory of Cancer Prevention and Therapy, Tianjin’s Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Tianjin 300060, People’s Republic of China; 2Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Shanghai Institute of Digestive Disease; Key Laboratory of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Ministry of Health, Shanghai Jiao-Tong University School of Medicine Renji Hospital, Shanghai 200001, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yi Ba; Guoguang Ying Email yingguoguang163@163.com; bayi@tjmuch.comBackground: Drug resistance often occurs in the treatment of gastric cancer, which is the main cause of poor prognosis of chemotherapy. c-Met is overexpressed in a variety of tumors including gastric cancer, often leads to poor prognosis of gastric cancer, therefore regarded as a key target for the treatment of gastric cancer. This study aims to determine whether exosomes with si-c-Met could inhibit the resistance to cisplatin in gastric cancer (GC).Methods: The protein expression levels of c-Met in tumor tissues and normal tissues of patients were evaluated by Western blot (WB) and immunohistochemistry (IHC), HEK293T cells were transfected with si-c-Met, exosomes were isolated, then co-cultured with gastric cancer cell lines and confirmed that it was incorporated into the cells by transmitted electron microscopy. Functional experiments were performed to examine the inhibitory effect of exo-si-c-Met on gastric cancer cell resistance in vitro, and xenograft models were used to reveal that exo-si-c-Met can enhance the sensitivity of tumors to cisplatin in vivo.Results: High expression of c-Met is associated with poor prognosis of GC patients. si-c-Met significantly inhibited migration, invasion and promoted apoptosis in vitro, which indicated that si-c-Met sensitizes the response of gastric cancer cells to cisplatin. Exo-si-c-Met sharply reduced c-Met expression in gastric cancer cells and reverse the resistance to cisplatin in vitro and in vivo.Conclusion: Our results indicate that exo-si-c-Met can inhibit the invasion and migration of gastric cancer cells and promote apoptosis in vitro and inhibit tumor growth in vivo, reversing the resistance to cisplatin in gastric cancer.Keywords: exosomes, c-Met, siRNA, chemoresistance, gastric cancer

Zhang Q, Zhang H, Ning T, et al. Int J Nanomedicine. 2020;115:2323–2335. The authors have advised that an error was made during the assembly of Figure 5C on page 2331. The correct Figure is shown in Download Article: Figure 1 The corrected figure does not affect the interpretation or conclusions of this paper. We apologize to our readers for any confusion this unintentional error might have caused. Read the original article

Apart from northern and central China, the fossil record of the latest Miocene and Early Pliocene of Asia is not well documented and the record of South China during this interval is especially poor. Shuitangba, a site in Yunnan Province, offers a rare window into the paleoenvironment of the latest Miocene in southwestern China. Over 2400 vertebrate and macrobotanical specimens have been recovered from the site. The faunal assemblage is dominated by aquatic avian taxa and many of the mammalian taxa are those that indicate densely vegetated, water-margin habitats. Pollen and carpological remains indicate a temperate to subtropical, broad-leaved/coniferous forest around standing water, with more open areas containing grasses and herbs. Analyses of clay minerals, chemical weathering, and enamel stable isotopes suggest that Shuitangba was warmer and more humid than today, possibly with more pronounced seasonality. Results of community structure analysis indicate that the Shuitangba mammalian community was different from those of other Late Miocene Chinese sites in the high proportions of aquatic-dependent mammalian taxa. While Shuitangba shared mammalian faunal elements with other Late Miocene sites in Yunnan, it was still faunally distinct. Further, Shuitangba was depauperate in its mammalian fauna, which may have been a result of the depositional setting rather than a true reflection of regional faunal diversity.

Lei He, Tao Deng, Hesheng Luo Department of Gastroenterology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China Background: Several studies have reported an association between the A23G polymorphism (rs 1800975) in the xeroderma pigmentosum group A (XPA) gene and risk of digestive system cancers. However, the results are inconsistent. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis to assess the association between XPA A23G polymorphism and the risk of digestive system cancers. Methods: Relevant studies were identified using the PubMed, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang, and VIP databases up to August 30, 2014. The pooled odds ratio (OR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated using the fixed or random effects model. Results: A total of 18 case-control studies from 16 publications with 4,170 patients and 6,929 controls were included. Overall, no significant association was found between XPA A23G polymorphism and the risk of digestive system cancers (dominant model: GA + AA versus GG, OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.74–1.08; recessive model: AA versus GA + GG, OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.74–1.20; GA versus GG, OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.77–1.03; and AA versus GG, OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.64–1.19). When the analysis was stratified by ethnicity, similar results were observed among Asians and Caucasians in all genetic models. In stratified analysis based on tumor type, we also failed to detect any association between XPA A23G polymorphism and the risk of esophageal, gastric, or colorectal cancers. Conclusion: This meta-analysis indicates that the XPA A23G polymorphism is not associated with a risk of digestive system cancers. Keywords: xeroderma pigmentosum group A, polymorphism, digestive system cancer, meta-analysis

Recently, layered copper chalcogenides Cu2X family (X=S, Se, Te) has attracted tremendous research interests due to their high thermoelectric performance, which is partly due to the superionic behavior of mobile Cu ions, making these compounds "phonon liquids."Here, we systematically investigate the electronic structure and its temperature evolution of the less studied single crystal Cu2-xTe by the combination of angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and scanning tunneling microscope/spectroscopy (STM/STS) experiments. While the band structure of the Cu2-xTe shows agreement with the calculations, we clearly observe a 2×2 surface reconstruction from both our low temperature ARPES and STM/STS experiments which survives up to room temperature. Interestingly, our low temperature STM experiments further reveal multiple types of reconstruction patterns, which suggests the origin of the surface reconstruction being the distributed deficiency of liquidlike Cu ions. Our findings reveal the electronic structure and impurity level of Cu2Te, which provides knowledge about its thermoelectric properties from the electronic degree of freedom.

Lithium-sulfur (Li–S) battery is one of the most promising candidates for the next generation energy storage systems. However, several barriers, including polysulfide shuttle effect, the slow solid-solid surface reaction pathway in the lower discharge plateau, and corrosion of Li anode still limit its practical applications, especially under the lean electrolyte condition required for high energy density. Here, we propose a solution-mediated sulfur reduction pathway to improve the capacity and reversibility of the sulfur cathode. With this method, a high coulombic efficiency (99%) and stable cycle life over 100 cycles were achieved under application-relevant conditions (S loading: 6.2 mg cm−2; electrolyte to sulfur ratio: 3 mLE gs−1; sulfur weight ratio: 72 wt%). This result is enabled by a specially designed Li2S4-rich electrolyte, in which Li2S is formed through a chemical disproportionation reaction instead of electrochemical routes. A single diglyme solvent was used to obtain electrolytes with the optimum range of Li2S4 concentration. Operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy confirms the solution pathway in a practical Li–S cell. This solution pathway not only introduces a new electrolyte regime for practical Li–S batteries, but also provides a new perspective for bypassing the inefficient surface pathway for other electrochemical processes.

Otters (subfamily Lutrinae) are semi-aquatic predators in the family Mustelidae. Modern otters have a worldwide distribution but their fossil record is poor, often consisting of fragmentary jaws and teeth. Multiple lineages have developed bunodont dentitions with enlargements of molars, usually for cracking molluscs or other hard foods. Some lineages have evolved badger-like teeth and, as a result, were often confused with melines (Old World badger clade). Siamogale thailandica Ginsburg, Invagat, & Tassy, 1983 from the middle Miocene basin of Mae Moh in northern Thailand is one such species, whose fragmentary dental remains have thus far impeded our understanding. A new species of fossil otter, Siamogale melilutra sp. nov., represented by a nearly complete cranium, mandible and partial skeletons of at least three individuals, was recovered from the latest Miocene (∼6.2 Ma) lignite beds of the Shuitangba Site in north-eastern Yunnan Province, south-western China. Computed tomography (CT) restoration of the crushed skull reveals a combination of otter-like and badger-like cranial and dental characteristics. The new species belongs to the Lutrinae because of its possession of a large infraorbital canal and ventral expansion of the mastoid process, among other traits. A distally expanded M1, however, gives a badger-like appearance. In overall morphology the Shuitangba otter is closest to Siamogale thailandica. A previously described jaw (‘Lutra’ aonychoides) from the early Pliocene of the Yushe Basin in north China is also here referred to S. melilutra. No previous attempt has been made to provide a global phylogenetic framework for otters. We present the first combined morphological and molecular (nuclear and mitochondrial DNAs) character matrices of five extant (Pteronura, Lontra, Enhydra, Aonyx, Lutra) and eight extinct genera (Tyrrhenolutra, Paralutra, Paludolutra, Enhydritherium, Siamogale, Vishnuonyx, Sivaonyx, Enhydriodon) to better understand the evolution of bunodont otters. Parsimony and Bayesian analyses consistently recover an eastern Asian clade that includes forms from Shuitangba, Yushe and Mae Moh, all of which are referred to Siamogale. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:5C637018-0772-4C78-AA4B-783B71085D9D.