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Abstract Dysfunction of zinc finger protein 652 (ZNF652) is associated with various malignant tumors. However, the role of ZNF652 in lung cancer (LC) is poorly understood. Here, we identified that ZNF652 was downregulated in human LC tissues and cell lines. Low ZNF652 expression was associated with poor survival in LC patients. Overexpression of ZNF652 inhibited cell viability, proliferation, migration, and invasion of LC cells, whereas ZNF652 knockdown promoted these malignant phenotypes. Using RNA-seq analysis revealed that ZNF652 overexpression resulted in obvious alterations of various biological processes, especially cell cycle and cellular senescence. Subsequently, we confirmed that ZNF652 overexpression arrested the cell cycle at the G1 phase, increased ROS-mediated DNA damage, induced LC cell senescence, and enhanced cisplatin-induced apoptosis in LC cells. Mechanistically, ZNF652 directly bound to the promoter of cyclin D3 (CCND3), inhibited its transcription, thereby arresting the cell cycle at the G1 phase. Ectopic expression of cyclin D3 rescued the decreased cell viability and cell cycle arrest induced by ZNF652. In vivo studies further showed that ZNF652 overexpression suppressed the tumorigenic potential of LC. Collectively, our findings reveal that ZNF652 exerts a tumor suppressor role in lung cancer by inducing cell cycle arrest and cellular senescence via transcriptionally downregulating cyclin D3. Thus, ZNF652 may be a prognostic predictive factor for LC patients.

Background: Femur fracture is a type of fracture with high disability and mortality. There is no comprehensive analysis and prediction of the global distribution of femur fractures, so we conducted this study. Methods: Age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR), age-standardized prevalence rate (ASPR), and years living with disability (YLDs) of femur fractures (excluding femoral neck) were downloaded from the Global burden of disease database. Trend analysis was performed, and 6 time-series machine learning algorithms were applied to predict the global ASIR, ASPR, and YLDs. Results: ASPR for femur fracture had been increasing in most countries worldwide from 1990 to 2019, with the highest in East Asia (AAPC = 1.25 95%Confidence Interval (1.2, 1.3)) and lowest in Central Latin America (AAPC = −0.74 95%CI (−0.81, −0.67)). However, ASIR showed a significant downward trend worldwide, with East Saharan Africa decreasing the most (AAPC = −4.04 95%CI (−5.56, −2.47)), and East Asia elevating the most (AAPC = 1.11 95%CI (0.87, 1.42)). YLDs were increasing over the world, with East Asia still elevating the most AAPC= (3.9 95%CI (3.85, 3.95)), with the only region of decrease being Eastern Europe (AAPC = −0.28 95%CI (−0.3, −0.26)). Both ASPR and ASIR were higher in women than in men in the >75 year group, whereas YLDs was lower in women than in men in the >60 year group. Globally, the ARIMA model was optimal in the prediction of ASPR, the PROPHET model effected in the prediction of ASIR, and the PROPHET WITH XGBOOST model was the best in the prediction of YLDs. The projections showed increase in both ASPR and YLDs, except for ASIR decreasing by 2030. Conclusions: Our study found a rise in femur fracture ASPR and ASIR from 1990 to 2019 in war conflict areas and East Asia, meanwhile, the YLDs of femur fracture increased in populous countries. In both 1990 and 2019, both ASPR and ASIR were higher in women over 75 years than that in men, but YLDs was higher in men over 60 years than that in women. In 2020–2030, while global femur fracture ASIR might decline, both ASPR and YLDs might rise. The Translational Potential of this article: Femur fracture is a high-energy injury due to direct violence, and in war, conflicting and underdeveloped regions such as East Asia. Accidental injuries may occur due to the rapid development of industry and the frequent traffic accidents. This study suggests that we should focus on elderly women (≥75 years) in the above regions in the future. For older men (>60 years old), more attention should be paid to post-fracture functional rehabilitation and early reintegration into society to reduce the disability rate and lower the socio-economic burden.

ObjectiveThe current study aimed to assess the relationships between oxidative balance score (OBS) and OBS subclasses (dietary and lifestyle OBS) with risks of hyperuricemia (HUA) and gout among American adults.MethodsParticipants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to 2018 were initially recruited and then the final sample was restricted to adults without missing values about serum uric acid, gout, OBS, and covariates. Rao-Scott adjusted chi-square test and analysis of variance were utilized to compare the baseline characteristics in adults of different quartiles of OBS, while the weighted stepped logistic regression models were used to explore the associations of overall, dietary, and lifestyle OBS with the risks of HUA and gout. Weighted restricted cubic spline analyses were conducted to explore the nonlinear dose-response associations.ResultsThe final sample consisted of 22,705 participants aged 20 years and older, which was representative of approximately 197.3 million non-institutionalized American adults. HUA and gout prevalence decreased with OBS quartiles. Compared with adults in the first quartile of OBS, those in the second (OR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.72–0.99), third (OR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.58–0.85), and fourth (OR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.38–0.61) quartiles of OBS had reduced risks of hyperuricemia. Similarly, adults in the second (OR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.51–0.97) quartile of OBS was associated with lower gout risk in comparison to adults in the lowest quartile. Regarding OBS subclasses, dietary and lifestyle OBS were both negatively correlated with the risk of HUA, and only higher lifestyle OBS was significantly associated with lower gout risk. Furthermore, the subgroup analyses and interaction effects also substantiated similar effects. Significant nonlinear dose-response relationships were observed between overall, dietary, and lifestyle OBS with HUA risk as well as that of lifestyle OBS with gout risk.ConclusionThis study strongly suggests the significant negative associations of OBS with HUA and gout in American adults and provides a dietary and lifestyle guideline to reduce the risks.

Abstract Human naïve pluripotent stem cells (hnPSCs) can generate integrated models of blastocysts termed blastoids upon switch to inductive medium. However, the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. Here we report that self-renewing hnPSCs spontaneously and efficiently give rise to blastoids upon three dimensional (3D) suspension culture. The spontaneous blastoids mimic early stage human blastocysts in terms of structure, size, and transcriptome characteristics and are capable of progressing to post-implantation stages. This property is conferred by the glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) signalling inhibitor IM-12 present in 5iLAF self-renewing medium. IM-12 upregulates oxidative phosphorylation-associated genes that underly the capacity of hnPSCs to generate blastoids spontaneously. Starting from day one of self-organization, hnPSCs at the boundary of all 3D aggregates dedifferentiate into E5 embryo-like intermediates. Intermediates co-express SOX2/OCT4 and GATA6 and by day 3 specify trophoblast fate, which coincides with cavity and blastoid formation. In summary, spontaneous blastoid formation results from 3D culture triggering dedifferentiation of hnPSCs into earlier embryo-like intermediates which are then competent to segregate blastocyst fates.

ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the impact of depression and urinary metals on Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA).MethodsAnalysis was conducted on 1901 samples collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database between 2001 and 2010. Analytical methods included stepwise multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis of the overall population’s urinary metals and PSA relationship, analysis of urinary metals and PSA relationship in older adults and BMI subgroups, analysis of urinary metals and PSA relationship in the depressed population, and restricted cubic spline (RCS) analysis. A significance level of p 60, Be at Q4 level [β = 0.09, 95%CI (0.05, 0.21)] exhibited a dose–response correlation with PSA. In the population with 25 ≤ BMI

PurposeThe current study aimed to explore the associations of diet quality assessed by healthy eating index-2015 (HEI-2015) with risks of osteoporosis and low bone mineral density (BMD) among American postmenopausal women aged 50 years and older.MethodsPostmenopausal women aged 50 years and older in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 through 2018 were included in the final sample. Analysis of variance and Rao-Scott adjusted chi-square tests were used to compare the characteristics across tertiles of HEI-2015. Univariate and multivariate weighted logistic regression models were employed to explore the associations of HEI-2015 tertiles and continuous HEI-2015 with the risks of osteoporosis and low BMD. Nonlinear dose-response associations were evaluated using weighted restricted cubic spline analyses, and the contributions of various HEI-2015 components were assessed using weighted quantile sum regression models.ResultsThe final sample included 3,421 postmenopausal women aged 50 years and older representative for approximately 28.38 million non-institutionalized U.S. postmenopausal women. Osteoporosis prevalence decreased with HEI-2015 tertiles while the prevalence of low BMD showed no significant decrease. Compared with postmenopausal women in the first tertile of HEI-2015, those with the second (OR: 0.57, 95%CI: 0.38–0.84) and third (OR: 0.48, 95%CI: 0.29–0.78) HEI-2015 tertiles were associated with reduced osteoporosis risk after multivariate adjustments, but no significant association of HEI-2015 with the risk of BMD was identified. Furthermore, similar effects were confirmed in the sensitivity analyses and subgroup analyses and interaction effects. Moreover, significant nonlinear associations were observed between HEI-2015 with osteoporosis risk, and total vegetables, refined grains and greens and beans demonstrated the strongest protective effect among HEI-2015 components against osteoporosis.ConclusionsThis study strongly suggests the significant negative associations of HEI-2015 with osteoporosis risk in American postmenopausal women. These findings highlight the importance of adherence to the dietary guidelines for Americans in reducing the risk of osteoporosis.

ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the association of the oxidative balance score (OBS) with total abdominal fat mass (TAFM) and visceral adipose tissue mass (VATM) percentages among young and middle-aged U.S. adults.MethodsYoung and middle-aged adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011 to 2018 were included. Analysis of variance and Rao-Scott adjusted chi-square tests were used to compare the characteristics across quartiles of OBS. Univariate and multivariate weighted logistic regression models were employed to explore the relationship between OBS and the risks of high TAFM or high VATM percentage in the general population and subgroups, while the interaction effects were tested with a likelihood test. Weighted restricted cubic spline analyses were utilized to assess the non-linear association of OBS with TAFM and VATM percentages.ResultsThe final sample included 8,734 young and middle-aged non-institutionalized U.S. adults representing 134.7 million adults. Compared with adults in the first quartile of OBS, those with higher OBS were less likely to have a high TAFM percentage; the ORs and 95% CI for adults in the second, third, and highest quartiles of OBS were 0.70 (0.53–0.94), 0.49 (0.36–0.60), and 0.25 (0.18–0.36), respectively. Similar trends were observed in the association between OBS and VATM percentages. Moreover, similar effects were confirmed in the sensitivity analyses and subgroup analyses according to demographic characteristics. Regarding the OBS subclass, higher dietary OBS and lifestyle OBS were also correlated with decreased ORs of high TAFM and VATM percentages.ConclusionThis study strongly suggests that higher OBS, as well as higher dietary OBS and lifestyle OBS, are significantly correlated with lower risks of abdominal obesity and visceral fat accumulation. The findings highlight the importance of an antioxidant-rich diet and maintaining a healthy lifestyle in reducing the risks.

ObjectiveWe aimed to investigate the relationship of metal exposure and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among US adults and adolescents.MethodsParticipants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES 2011 ~ 2012) were included. Multiple logistic regression models were used to explore the associations between metal exposure and LTBI. A total of 5,248 adults and 1,860 adolescents were included in the present analysis.ResultsFor adults, we only found a positive association between total mercury and LTBI (OR: 1.411; 95% CI: 1.164 ~ 1.710) when used as a continuous variable. Compared with Q1, Q4 increased the prevalence of LTBI (2.303; 1.455 ~ 3.644) when used as a quartile. The OR of total mercury and LTBI was higher among females (1.517; 1.009 ~ 2.279), individuals aged 45 ~ 64 (1.457; 1.060 ~ 2.002), and non-Hispanic White individuals (1.773; 1.316 ~ 2.388). A relationship was observed among only participants with obesity (1.553; 1.040 ~ 2.319) or underweight (1.380; 1.076 ~ 1.771), with college or above (1.645; 1.184 ~ 2.286), with PIR > 3.0 (1.701; 1.217 ~ 2.376), reported smoking (1.535; 1.235 ~ 1.907) and drinking (1.464; 1.232 ~ 1.739). For adolescents, blood manganese was positively associated with LTBI. The OR and 95% CIs for each one-unit increase in the log-transformed level of blood manganese with LTBI were 9.954 (1.389 ~ 71.344).ConclusionSignificant associations were observed in girls, aged ≥12 years and in the non-Hispanic white population. In conclusion, total mercury is associated with an increased prevalence of LTBI among adults and positive association between blood manganese and LTBI was observed among adolescents. Further studies should be conducted to verify the results and explore potential biological mechanisms.

ObjectivesThis study aimed to compare the burden and trends of stroke attributed to dietary risk factors in the Belt and Road (“B&R”) countries from 1990 to 2019.MethodsThe 2019 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study was used to gather information on the burden of stroke attributable to dietary risk factors. Numbers and age-standardized rates (ASRs) of deaths, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) were determined in 1990 and 2019 among the “B&R” countries. The average annual percent change (AAPC) was used to analyze the temporal trends of diet-induced stroke DALYs from 1990 to 2019 and in the final decade (2010–2019) by Joinpoint regression analysis.ResultsIn 2019, the absolute number of stroke deaths and DALYs attributable to dietary risk factors were 671,872 cases (95% UI 436,354–937,093) and 1.67 million cases (95% UI 1.15–2.24) in China. We found geographical differences in mortality and DALYs of diet-attributable stroke among member countries, with Bulgaria, Hungary and Serbia being the three highest countries in 1990, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro in Central Asia in 2019. The ASRs of diet-induced stroke mortality and DALYs were generally declining in most member states from 1990 to 2019, however, the corresponding metrics in Mongolia remained high. The fastest decline in ASR of mortality and DALYs for diet-induced stroke was seen in Estonia, Eastern Europe, with AAPC values of −7.09% (95%CI: −7.72, −6.46%) and − 6.62% (95%CI: −7.20, −6.03%), respectively. We noted a substantial downward trend in ASR of mortality and DALYs from diet-induced stroke changes in the final decade (2010–2019) for most member states. The ASR of DALYs for diet-induced stroke decreased greater in females than in males. For those aged 50–74, the DALYs for stroke due to dietary risk factors in all other member countries of the “B&R” showed a decreasing trend, except for the Philippines, which rose (AAPC = 2.13, 95%CI: 1.40–2.87%) and Turkmenistan, which remained stable (AAPC = 0.05, 95%CI: −0.43–0.33%).ConclusionThe burden of diet-induced stroke varies substantially across “B&R” countries and threaten public health, relevant evidence-based policies and interventions should be adopted to address the future burden of stroke in “B&R” countries through extensive collaboration.

Abstract With rapid development of 5G communication technologies, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding for electronic devices has become an urgent demand in recent years, where the development of corresponding EMI shielding materials against detrimental electromagnetic radiation plays an essential role. Meanwhile, the EMI shielding materials with high flexibility and functional integrity are highly demanded for emerging shielding applications. Hitherto, a variety of flexible EMI shielding materials with lightweight and multifunctionalities have been developed. In this review, we not only introduce the recent development of flexible EMI shielding materials, but also elaborate the EMI shielding mechanisms and the index for "green EMI shielding" performance. In addition, the construction strategies for sophisticated multifunctionalities of flexible shielding materials are summarized. Finally, we propose several possible research directions for flexible EMI shielding materials in near future, which could be inspirational to the fast-growing next-generation flexible electronic devices with reliable and multipurpose protections as offered by EMI shielding materials.

ObjectivesCardiovascular disease (CVD) is a global public health concern, but its disease burden and trend have been poorly studied in people younger than 20 years. This study aimed to fill this gap by evaluating the CVD burden and trend in China, Western Pacific Region, and the world from 1990 to 2019.MethodsWe applied the 2019 Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) analytical tools to compare the incidence, mortality, and prevalence of CVD, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) among people younger than 20 years from 1990 to 2019 in China, the Western Pacific Region, and the world. The trends of disease burden between 1990 and 2019 evaluated using the average annual percent change (AAPC) and the 95% uncertainty interval (UI) were reported.ResultsGlobally, in 2019, there were 2.37 (95% UI: 1.82 to 3.05) million incidence of CVD, 16.85 (95% UI: 12.56 to 22.03) million prevalence of CVD, and 74386.73 (95% UI: 64543.82 to 86310.24) deaths due to CVD among people under 20 years of age. The trends for DALYs decreased among children and adolescents in China, Western Pacific Region, and the world (AAPC = −4.29, 95% CI: −4.38% to −4.20%; AAPC = −3.37, 95% CI: −3.48% to −3.26%; AAPC = −2.17, 95% CI: −2.24% to −2.09%; p

BackgroundAccording to previous reports, obesity especially visceral fat has become an important public health problem, causing an estimation of 20.5 disability-adjusted life years per 1000 inhabitants. Those who exercised for 1 or 2 days per week and reached the recommended 150 minutes of moderate physical activity (PA) per week have been defined as “weekend warriors” (WWs). Although the benefits of PA in suppressing obesity have been widely studied, the association of WWs with the Visceral Adiposity Index (VAI) and the difference between WW activity and regular PA are yet to be explored. ObjectiveThis study aims to explore the association between WW activity and other PA patterns with VAI in US adults. MethodsThe National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007-2016 data set was used, and the analytic sample was limited to adults 20 years and older who had complete information about VAI, PA patterns, and other covariates, including demographic characteristics, behavioral factors, and disease conditions. Participants’ characteristics in different PA pattern groups were tested using the Rao and Scott adjusted χ2 test and ANOVA. Univariate and multivariate stepped linear regression models were then used to explore the association between the PA pattern and VAI. Finally, stratified analyses and interaction effects were conducted to investigate whether the association was stable among subgroups. ResultsThe final sample included 9642 adults 20 years or older, which is representative of 158.1 million noninstitutionalized US adults, with 52.15% (n=5169) being male and 70.8% (n=4443) being non-Hispanic White. Gender, age group, race, education level, income level, marital status, smoking status, alcoholism, VAI, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes were all correlated with the PA pattern, but no relationship between hypertension and PA pattern was observed. After adjusting for demographic covariates, smoking status, alcoholism, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and hypertension, WW and regularly active adults had a β of .307 (95% CI –0.611 to –0.003) and .354 (95% CI –0.467 to –0.241), respectively, for reduced VAI when compared with inactive adults, but no significant effect of lowering VAI (β=–.132, 95% CI –0.282 to 0.018) was observed in insufficiently active adults when compared with inactive adults. Besides, no significant difference was exhibited between WW adults and regularly active adults (β=.047, 95% CI –0.258 to 0.352), suggesting WW adults had the same benefit of decreasing VAI as regularly active adults. Stratified analyses results exhibited that WW activity was related to reduced VAI in female adults aged 20-44 years who were non-Hispanic Black, other, or multiracial; high school or General Educational Development education; and never married, and the association between PA pattern and VAI remained stable in all demographic subgroups. ConclusionsCompared with inactive adults, WWs could reduce VAI, and there was no significant difference between WWs and regular active adults in decreasing VAI. Our study provides compelling evidence of the beneficial effect of WW activity on visceral obesity.

IntroductionMetabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is known to be the most common chronic liver disease worldwide, and accumulating evidence suggests that skeletal muscle might play an important role in metabolic health. However, the association between skeletal muscle and MAFLD is poorly understood so far. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the associations of skeletal muscle with MAFLD and significant fibrosis.MethodsA cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data obtained from the 2017-2018 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The whole-body, appendicular, and trunk skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) were assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. MAFLD and significant fibrosis were assessed by transient elastography. Survey-weight adjusted multivariable logistic regressions were used to determine the associations. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and variable importance scores from the random forest and logistic regression model were calculated to assess the predictive capability of variables and models.ResultsOf the 2065 participants, those with appendicular SMI in the highest quartile were associated with a lower risk for MAFLD in both sexes (male, OR[95%CI]: 0.46 [0.25~0.84]; female, OR[95%CI]: 0.32 [0.13~0.82]), but with a significantly different scale of the associations between sexes (Pinteraction = 0.037). However, females with trunk SMI in the highest quartile had an increased risk of significant fibrosis (OR[95%CI]: 7.82 [1.86~32.77]). Trunk SMI and appendicular SMI ranked the third contributor to MAFLD in random forest and logistic regression models, respectively. Taking appendicular and trunk SMI into consideration, the AUCs for MAFLD were 0.890 and 0.866 in random forest and logistic regression models, respectively.DiscussionThe distribution of skeletal muscle mass differently affects MAFLD and significant fibrosis in the sex groups. Higher appendicular skeletal muscle mass was associated with a lower risk of MAFLD, while the risk of significant fibrosis in females was increased with the trunk skeletal muscle mass.

ObjectiveLeukocytes telomere length (LTL) was reported to be associated with cellular aging and aging related disease. Urine metal also might accelerate the development of aging related disease. We aimed to analyze the association between LTL and urinary metals.MethodsIn this research, we screened all cycles of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) dataset, and download the eligible dataset in NHANES 1999–2002 containing demographic, disease history, eight urine metal, and LTL. The analysis in this research had three steps including baseline difference comparison, multiple linear regression (MLR) for hazardous urine metals, and artificial neural network (ANN, based on Tensorflow framework) to make LTL prediction.ResultsThe MLR results showed that urinary cadmium (Cd) was negatively correlated with LTL in the USA population [third quantile: −9.36, 95% confidential interval (CI) = (−19.7, −2.32)], and in the elderly urinary molybdenum (Mo) was positively associated with LTL [third quantile: 24.37, 95%CI = (5.42, 63.55)]. An ANN model was constructed, which had 24 neurons, 0.375 exit rate in the first layer, 15 neurons with 0.53 exit rate in the second layer, and 7 neurons with 0.86 exit rate in the third layer. The squared error loss (LOSS) and mean absolute error (MAE) in the ANN model were 0.054 and 0.181, respectively, which showed a low error rate.ConclusionIn conclusion, in adults especially the elderly, the relationships between urinary Cd and Mo might be worthy of further research. An accurate prediction model based on ANN could be further analyzed.

ObjectiveHeavy metals are present in many environmental pollutants, and have cumulative effects on the human body through water or food, which can lead to several diseases, including osteoarthritis (OA). In this research, we aimed to explore the association between heavy metals and OA.MethodsWe extracted 18 variables including age, gender, race, education level, marital status, smoking status, body mass index (BMI), physical activity, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, poverty level index (PLI), Lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), selenium (Se), manganese (Mn), and OA status from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2011-2020 datasets.ResultsIn the baseline data, the t test and Chi-square test were conducted. For heavy metals, quartile description and limit of detection (LOD) were adopted. To analyze the association between heavy metals and OA among elderly subjects, multivariable logistic regression was conducted and subgroup logistic by gender was also carried out. Furthermore, to make predictions based on heavy metals for OA, we compared eight machine learning algorithms, and XGBoost (AUC of 0.8, accuracy value of 0.773, and kappa value of 0.358) was the best machine learning model for prediction. For interactive use, a shiny application was made (https://alanwu.shinyapps.io/NHANES-OA/).ConclusionThe overall and gender subgroup logistic regressions all showed that Pb and Cd promoted the prevalence of OA while Mn could be a protective factor of OA prevalence among the elderly population of the United States. Furthermore, XGBoost model was trained for OA prediction.

ObjectiveTo explore the association between depression and blood metal elements, we conducted this machine learning model fitting research.MethodsDatasets from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in 2017–2018 were downloaded (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes). After screening, 3,247 aging samples with 10 different metals [lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), manganese (Mn), selenium (Se), chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), inorganic mercury (InHg), methylmercury (MeHg) and ethyl mercury (EtHg)] were included. Eight machine learning algorithms were compared for analyzing metal and depression. After comparison, XGBoost showed optimal effects. Poisson regression and XGBoost model (a kind of decision tree algorithm) were conducted to find the risk factors and prediction for depression.ResultsA total of 344 individuals out of 3247 participants were diagnosed with depression. In the Poisson model, we found Cd (β = 0.22, P = 0.00000941), EtHg (β = 3.43, P = 0.003216), and Hg (β=-0.15, P = 0.001524) were related with depression. XGBoost model was the suitable algorithm for the evaluation of depression, the accuracy was 0.89 with 95%CI (0.87, 0.92) and Kappa value was 0.006. Area under the curve (AUC) was 0.88. After that, an online XGBoost application for depression prediction was developed.ConclusionBlood heavy metals, especially Cd, EtHg, and Hg were significantly associated with depression and the prediction of depression was imperative.

Abstract We used agnostic, unsupervised machine learning to cluster a large clinical database of information on infants admitted to neonatal units in England. Our aim was to obtain insights into nutritional practice, an area of central importance in newborn care, utilising the UK National Neonatal Research Database (NNRD). We performed clustering on time-series data of daily nutritional intakes for very preterm infants born at a gestational age less than 32 weeks (n = 45,679) over a six-year period. This revealed 46 nutritional clusters heterogeneous in size, showing common interpretable clinical practices alongside rarer approaches. Nutritional clusters with similar admission profiles revealed associations between nutritional practice, geographical location and outcomes. We show how nutritional subgroups may be regarded as distinct interventions and tested for associations with measurable outcomes. We illustrate the potential for identifying relationships between nutritional practice and outcomes with two examples, discharge weight and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). We identify the well-known effect of formula milk on greater discharge weight as well as support for the plausible, but insufficiently evidenced view that human milk is protective against BPD. Our framework highlights the potential of agnostic machine learning approaches to deliver clinical practice insights and generate hypotheses using routine data.

As CO2 emissions increase and the global climate deteriorates, converting CO2 into valuable chemicals has become a topic of wide concern. The development of multifunctional catalysts for efficient CO2 conversion remains a major challenge. Herein, two porous organic polymers (NPOPs) functionalized with covalent triazine and triazole N-heterocycles are synthesized through the copper(I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction. The NPOPs have an abundant microporous content and high specific surface area, which confer them excellent CO2 affinities with a CO2 adsorption capacity of 84.0 mg g−1 and 63.7 mg g−1, respectively, at 273 K and 0.1 MPa. After wet impregnation and in situ reductions, Ag nanoparticles were supported in the NPOPs to obtain Ag@NPOPs with high dispersion and small particle size. The Ag@NPOPs were applied to high-value conversion reactions of CO2 with propargylic amines and terminal alkynes under mild reaction conditions. The carboxylative cyclization transformation of propargylic amine into 2-oxazolidinone and the carboxylation transformation of terminal alkynes into phenylpropiolic acid had the highest TOF values of 1125.1 and 90.9 h−1, respectively. The Ag@NPOP-1 was recycled and used five times without any significant decrease in catalytic activity, showing excellent catalytic stability and durability.

Cracks are inevitable during the service life of asphalt pavement and the water at the fracture surfaces tends to cause the grouting materials to fail. Studies have shown that the catechol groups in adhesion proteins secreted by mussels can produce strong adhesion performance in the water. In this paper, the mussel-like adhesive L-Dopa Methacrylic anhydride (L-DMA) was prepared based on the concept of bionic design and used to improve the properties of asphalt. By using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), the thermal stability and structural composition of L-DMA were investigated. Then, the rheological and low-temperature properties of L-DMA-modified asphalt were investigated using the dynamic shear rheological (DSR) test and bending beam rheological (BBR) test. Moreover, the modification mechanism was explored by FTIR. It was found that L-DMA can be effectively synthesized and has good thermal stability. The incorporation of L-DMA increases the composite modulus, viscosity, creep recovery rate and rutting factor of asphalt binder, resulting in an enhancement of its high-temperature performance. At a high L-DMA content of 10%, the low-temperature performance of the modified asphalt was enhanced. The modification of L-DMA to asphalt is mainly a physical process. Hydrogen bonds and conjugated systems generated by the introduction of catechol groups enhance the adhesion properties of asphalt. In general, L-DMA improves the properties of asphalt and theoretically can improve the water resistance of asphalt, which will be explored in future research.

A systematic comparison study was carried out to investigate the effect of Flavobacterium sp. on AISI 1045 steel corrosion by weight loss, fluorescence microscopy (FM), surface analysis, cell count, pH measure, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and polarization curves. The impedances were considerably increased by Flavobacterium sp. between 1 and 7 day exposure and after 30 day exposure but considerably decreased by Flavobacterium sp. after 15 and 21 day exposure, which were supported by the Icorr results and the weight loss data. Furthermore, the biofilm was formed on the coupons. The pH values were considerably decreased by Flavobacterium sp. after 15 and 21 day exposure. The results proved that Flavobacterium sp. decreased the corrosion rates between 1 and 7 day exposure and after 30 day exposure and increased the corrosion rates between 15 and 21 day exposure, which could be ascribed to the protective biofilm and the secreted corrosive acid, respectively. In addition, Flavobacterium sp. considerably increased the pit numbers, the maximum pit depths, and the corresponding widths and considerably decreased the Epit values. Importantly, the coverage and the heterogeneity of the biofilm were positively correlated with the increases in the maximum pit depths and the corresponding widths and the decreases in the Epit values by Flavobacterium sp. The results demonstrated that Flavobacterium sp. increased the pitting corrosion, which could involve the heterogeneous biofilm cover.

Calcium alginate capsules within asphalt concrete can gradually release interior asphalt rejuvenator under cyclic loading to repair micro cracks and rejuvenate aged asphalt in-situ. However, asphalt pavement will become aged due to environmental and traffic factors during the service period. In view of this, this paper investigated the effect of ageing on the healing properties of asphalt concrete containing calcium alginate/attapulgite composite capsules under cyclic loading. The capsules were fabricated using the orifice-bath method and the morphological structure, mechanical strength, thermal stability, oil release ratios and healing levels of capsules in fresh, short-term ageing and long-term ageing asphalt concrete were explored. The results indicated that the different ageing treatments would not damage the multi-chamber structure nor decrease the mechanical strength of capsules but would induce the capsules release oil prematurely. The premature oil released from capsules in turn can offset the ageing effect owing to ageing treatment. The short-term ageing and long-term ageing plain asphalt mixtures gained strength recovery ratios of 39.3% and 34.2% after 64,000 cycles of compression loading, while the strength recovery ratios of short-term ageing and long-term ageing asphalt mixtures containing capsules were 63.5% and 54.8%, respectively.

Abstract Background Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is a complex autoimmune thyroid disease, the onset of which is associated with environmental exposures and specific susceptibility genes. Its incidence in females is higher than its incidence in males. Thus far, although some susceptibility loci have been elaborated, including PTPN22, FOXP3, and CD25, the aetiology and pathogenesis of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis remains unclear. Methods Four affected members from a Chinese family with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis were selected for whole-exome sequencing. Missense, nonsense, frameshift, or splicing-site variants shared by all affected members were identified after frequency filtering against public and internal exome databases. Segregation analysis was performed by Sanger sequencing among all members with available DNA. Results We identified a missense mutation in PTPN22 (NM_015967.5; c. 77A > G; p.Asn26Ser) using whole-exome sequencing. PTPN22 is a known susceptibility gene associated with increased risks of multiple autoimmune diseases. Cosegregation analysis confirmed that all patients in this family, all of whom were female, carried the mutation. All public and private databases showed that the missense mutation was extremely rare. Conclusions We found a missense mutation in PTPN22 in a Chinese HT pedigree using whole-exome sequencing. Our study, for the first time, linked a rare variant of PTPN22 to Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, providing further evidence of the disease-causing or susceptibility role of PTPN22 in autoimmune thyroid disease. Functional studies regarding the effects of this variant on thyroid autoimmunity and thyroid function are warranted.

Gastrodia elata Blume (G. elata), a traditional Chinese medicine, is widely used for treatment of various neuro dysfunctions. However, its quality control is still limited to the determination of gastrodin. In the present study, two novel strategies based on quantitative evaluation of total gastrodin and gastrodigenin with base hydrolysis and total gastrodigenin with base-enzymatic hydrolysis followed by HPLC-FLD were put forward and successfully applied to evaluate the quality of 47 batches of G. elata from eight localities. Meanwhile, a systematic comparison of the novel strategy with the multiple markers and the Pharmacopeia method was performed. The results showed that the parishins category could be completely hydrolyzed to gastrodin by sodium hydroxide solution, and gastrodin could further utterly hydrolyze to gastrodigenin with β-d-glucosidase buffer solution. The contents of total gastrodin and gastrodigenin ranged from 1.311% to 2.034%, and total gastrodigenin from 0.748% to 1.120% at the eight localities. From the comparison, we can conclude that the two novel strategies can comprehensively reveal the characteristics of overall active ingredients in G. elata for quality control. The present study provides a feasible and credible strategy for the quality control of G. elata, suggesting a revision of the latest Chinese Pharmacopoeia or European Pharmacopoeia methods for the modernization of G. elata use.

Gastrodia elata Blume (G. elata), commonly called Tianma in Chinese, is an important and notable traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which has been used in China as an anticonvulsant, analgesic, sedative, anti-asthma, anti-immune drug since ancient times. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the abundant efforts of scientists in developing analytical techniques and performing pharmacokinetic studies of G. elata and its constituents, including sample pretreatment methods, analytical techniques, absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion (ADME) and influence factors to its pharmacokinetics. Based on the reported pharmacokinetic property data of G. elata and its constituents, it is hoped that more studies will focus on the development of rapid and sensitive analytical techniques, discovering new therapeutic uses and understanding the specific in vivo mechanisms of action of G. elata and its constituents from the pharmacokinetic viewpoint in the near future. The present review discusses analytical techniques and pharmacokinetics of G. elata and its constituents reported from 1985 onwards.