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Wenbin Zou,1,&ast; Wan Kuang,2,&ast; Chun Cai,1 Yan Qian1 1Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China; 2Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yan Qian, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, 1095 Jiefang Avenue, Qiaokou District, Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430000, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-27-83665211, Email qianyan@tjh.tjmu.edu.cnBackground & Aims: The objective of this study was to evaluate the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) as a predictor of short-term postoperative complications in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients undergoing neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy.Methods: Clinical data were collected from 77 patients undergoing radical esophageal cancer surgery after neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy at Tongji Hospital from January 2022 to January 2023. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was utilized to establish the optimal cut-off point for the PNI. Subsequently, patients were stratified into low and high PNI groups according to this cut-off point, and comparisons were made between the two groups in terms of clinical data and postoperative complications.Results: Out of the 77 patients included in the study, 31 were categorized in the low PNI group and 46 in the high PNI group, with a defined cutoff point of 47.38. Significant statistical variances were noted in the occurrence rates of general complications (P < 0.001), pulmonary infections (P < 0.001), and anastomotic fistula (P = 0.034) between the two groups. The low PNI group displayed elevated rates of these complications in comparison to the high PNI group.Conclusion: The research findings indicate that preoperative nutritional assessment using the PNI can effectively predict short-term postoperative complications in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients who have undergone neoadjuvant therapy. Furthermore, the results suggest that implementing nutritional interventions for patients with moderate-to-severe malnutrition, as indicated by preoperative PNI evaluation, may help reduce the incidence of postoperative complications.Keywords: prognostic nutritional index, neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy, postoperative complications, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Dabao He,1 Xiaoling Yang,2 Wenbin Kuang,1 Guoqing Huang,1 Xiaohong Liu,1 Yonggang Zhang1 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shenzhen Longhua District Central Hospital, Shenzhen 518110, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shenzhen Baoan District Songgang People’s Hospital, Shenzhen 518105, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xiaoling YangDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Shenzhen Baoan District Songgang People’s Hospital, Shenzhen 518105, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 0755-27718530Email xly_szbasg@yeah.netBackground: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), a special subtype of breast cancer, is characterized by high recurrence, mortality and few treatments. To date, the key factors contributing to TNBC progression have not been fully identified. In the current study, we found a TNBC-related circular RNA (circRNA), circ-PGAP3, and explored its biological function, clinical significance and potential mechanism of action.Materials and Methods: The functional assay was carried out using CCK-8, colony formation and Transwell invasion assays. RIP, RNA pull-down and luciferase reporter assays were used to test the correlation between circ-PGAP3, miR-330-3p and Myc. The animal model was employed to verify the function of circ-PGAP3 in vivo.Results: Circ-PGAP3 expression was significantly increased in TNBC tissues. High circ-PGAP3 was closely associated with large tumor size, lymph node metastasis, later TNM stage and dismal outcome. Through performing a series of in vitro and in vivo experiments, we found that circ-PGAP3 promoted TNBC cell growth and metastasis via sponging and inhibiting miR-330-3p, resulting in the upregulation of proto-oncogene Myc. Importantly, circ-PGAP3 expression was positively correlated with the Myc protein level but negatively correlated with miR-330-3p expression in TNBC tissues. Moreover, silencing of miR-330-3p or overexpression of Myc could effectively rescue the weakened malignant phenotype induced by circ-PGAP3 knockdown.Conclusion: Our results unveil the important driving role of circ-PGAP3 in TNBC development and progression, which provides a candidate therapeutic target for TNBC patients.Keywords: triple negative breast cancer, circular RNA, miRNA, Myc

Weihong Kuang,1,* Liantian Tian,2,* Lili Yue,1 Jin Li1 1Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China; 2Occupational Respiratory Disease Research Center, No 4 West China Hospital/West China School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the therapeutic effects of escitalopram in conjunction with Jiuweizhenxin-keli on neuroelectrophysiology in patients with major depressive disorders (MDD).Patients and methods: Patients with depressive episode of MDD according to the criteria of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, were randomly assigned to Esc group (30 patients) receiving escitalopram treatment and JK group (30 patients) treated with a combination of escitalopram and Jiuweizhenxin-keli. The healthy control (HC) group (30 persons with normal health condition) served as control. All groups were subject to examination of 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Hamilton Anxiety Scale, mismatch negativity (MMN), and sensory gating potential P50 (SG-P50) of event-related potentials. Data were collected at three different time points: baseline (before treatment) and week 2 and week 6 post treatment.Results: At baseline, all electrophysiological parameters of patients with MDD were significantly higher than those of HCs. After treatment, in the Esc group, MMN latency, S2-P50 amplitude, and S2-P50/S1-P50 amplitude ratio decreased; however, the decrements were not statistically significant compared to either baseline or the HC group. Also, no significant changes were observed in the percentage of individuals whose S2-P50/S1-P50 ≥0.5 in the Esc group. On the other hand, in the JK group after a 6-week treatment, MMN latency (206.35±32.14 ms) was significantly shorter than that of the Esc group (219.57±36.51 ms), S2-P50 amplitude (7.27±4.85 µV) reduced significantly compared with the baseline level (10.21±4.10 µV), the percentage of individuals whose S2-P50/S1-P50 ≥0.5 in the JK group greatly decreased and this was not significantly different compared to that of the HC group (P≥0.05).Conclusion: Neuroplasticity of patients with MDD is apparently disturbed, characterized by aberrant MMN latency and SG-P50-related event-related potential parameters. A combination of escitalopram and Jiuweizhenxin-keli treatment can markedly restore these neuroelectrophysiological features, and thus, could be a novel therapeutic solution for improving the impaired neuroplasticity of MDD patients. Keywords: major depressive disorder, Jiuweizhenxin-keli, escitalopram, MMN, P50, neuroplasticity

Numerical simulations of the geodynamo have successfully represented many observable characteristics of the geomagnetic field, yielding insight into the fundamental processes that generate magnetic fields in the Earth's core. Because of limited spatial resolution, however, the diffusivities in numerical dynamo models are much larger than those in the Earth's core, and consequently, questions remain about how realistic these models are. The typical strategy used to address this issue has been to continue to increase the resolution of these quasi-laminar models with increasing computational resources, thus pushing them toward more realistic parameter regimes. We assess which methods are most promising for the next generation of supercomputers, which will offer access to O(106) processor cores for large problems. Here we report performance and accuracy benchmarks from 15 dynamo codes that employ a range of numerical and parallelization methods. Computational performance is assessed on the basis of weak and strong scaling behavior up to 16,384 processor cores. Extrapolations of our weak-scaling results indicate that dynamo codes that employ two-dimensional or three-dimensional domain decompositions can perform efficiently on up to ∼106 processor cores, paving the way for more realistic simulations in the next model generation.

Despite being only one-atom thick, defect-free graphene is considered to be completely impermeable to all gases and liquids.sup.1-10. This conclusion is based on theory.sup.3-8 and supported by experiments.sup.1,9,10 that could not detect gas permeation through micrometre-size membranes within a detection limit of 10.sup.5 to 10.sup.6 atoms per second. Here, using small monocrystalline containers tightly sealed with graphene, we show that defect-free graphene is impermeable with an accuracy of eight to nine orders of magnitude higher than in the previous experiments. We are capable of discerning (but did not observe) permeation of just a few helium atoms per hour, and this detection limit is also valid for all other gases tested (neon, nitrogen, oxygen, argon, krypton and xenon), except for hydrogen. Hydrogen shows noticeable permeation, even though its molecule is larger than helium and should experience a higher energy barrier. This puzzling observation is attributed to a two-stage process that involves dissociation of molecular hydrogen at catalytically active graphene ripples, followed by adsorbed atoms flipping to the other side of the graphene sheet with a relatively low activation energy of about 1.0 electronvolt, a value close to that previously reported for proton transport.sup.11,12. Our work provides a key reference for the impermeability of two-dimensional materials and is important from a fundamental perspective and for their potential applications. Graphene is shown to be impermeable to helium and several other gases, except for hydrogen, which is attributed to the strong catalytic activity of ripples in the graphene sheet., Author(s): P. Z. Sun [sup.1] [sup.2] , Q. Yang [sup.1] [sup.2] , W. J. Kuang [sup.1] , Y. V. Stebunov [sup.1] [sup.2] , W. Q. Xiong [sup.3] , J. Yu [...]

Intercalation and deintercalation processes in van der Waals crystals underpin their use in nanoelectronics, energy storage, and catalysis but there remains significant uncertainty regarding these materials' structural and chemical heterogeneity at the nanoscale. Deintercalation in particular often controls the robustness and cyclability of the involved processes. Here, a detailed analysis of potassium ordering and compositional variations in as‐synthesised K intercalated MoS2 as well an analysis of deintercalation induced changes in the structure and K/Mo elemental composition is presented. By combining 4D scanning transmission electron microscopy (4DSTEM), in situ atomic resolution STEM imaging, selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS) the formation of previously unknown intermediate superstructures during deintercalation is revealed. The results provide evidence supporting a new deintercalation mechanism that favors formation of local regions with thermodynamically stable ordering rather than isotropic release of K. Systematic time‐temperature measurements demonstrate the deintercalation behavior to follow first‐order kinetics, allowing compositional and superstructural changes to be predicted. It is expected that the in situ correlative STEM‐EDS/SAED methodology developed in this work has the potential to determine optimal synthesis, processing and working conditions for a variety of intercalated or pillared materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potentilla kleiniana belongs to the family Rosaceae, which distributes in Central Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia. In China, this plant is mainly found in east, south and southwest provinces. P. kleiniana has been prescribed for the treatment of various diseases in the field of traditional Chinese medicine, such as cough, fever, tuberculosis, mastitis, rheumatoid arthritis. Our previous study found that P. kleiniana had a certain cytotoxicity on tumor cells. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the chemical constituents of P. kleiniana and their cytotoxicity on tumor cells. The 60% ethanol extract of P. kleiniana were isolated by D-101 macroporous adsorptive resins, silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, Toyopearl HW-40F, semi-preparative high performance liquid chromatography and other methods, and their chemical structures were elucidated on the basis of physicochemical properties, NMR and HR-ESI-MS analysis. Meanwhile, all these compounds were evaluated for cytotoxicity against human cervical cancer cell line Hela. The results were as follows: (1) Thirteen lignans were isolated and identified as (+)-pionresinol (1), (+)-8-hydroxypinoresinol (2), (+)-syringaresinol (3), (+)-medioresinol (4), (+)-pionresinol-4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (5), (+)-8′-hydroxypinoresinol-4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (6), (+)-8′-hydroxypinoresinol-4′-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7), (+)-pinoresinol-8′-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (8), schilignan F (9), (+)-pionresinol-4, 4′-O-bisglucopyranoside (10), (+)-lariciresinol-4′-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (11), neoolivil-4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (12), 3,3′-bis［3,4-dihydro-4-hydroxy-6-methoxy-2H-1-benzopyran］(13). Among them, compounds 1-4, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13 were isolated from genus Potentilla for the first time, and compounds 5, 6, 9, 11 were isolated from P. kleiniana for the first time. (2) Cytotoxicity studies showed that compounds 1, 3 and 4 display certain inhibitory activities against Hela cells with IC50 values of (69.94 ± 1.89), (66.25 ± 2.11), (59.81 ± 1.73) μmol·L-1, respectively. Therefore, the study enriches the chemical constituents of P. kleiniana, and provides a material basis for the development of anti-cervical cancer drugs.

Qing-Yu Xiao,1 Ren-Ling Wang,2 Hai-Jun Wu,1 Wen-Bin Kuang,3 Wei-Wei Meng,4 Zhen Cheng5 1Department of Blood Transfusion, Shenzhen Baoan Shiyan People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, 518108, China; 2Department of Oncology, Kaiping Central Hospital, Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province, 529399, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Laboratory, Longhua District Central Hospital, Shenzhen, 518110, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Laboratory, Shenzhen Baoan Shiyan People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, 518108, China; 5Guantian Community Healthcare Center, Shenzhen Baoan Shiyan People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong province, 518100, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Zhen Cheng, Guantian Community Healthcare Center, Shenzhen Baoan Shiyan People’s Hospital, About 50 Meters South of hkc Huike Industrial Park, Dezheng Road, Baoan District, Shenzhen, Guangdong province, 518100, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13632854050, Email cheng_3003_zhen@163.comObjective: To probe into the influence of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection on glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, and inflammatory cytokines in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (MASLD).Methods: A total of 140 MASLD patients admitted to our Hospital between June 2020 and May 2021 were selected as the research objects. Based on the presence or absence of Hp infection, they were divided into the study group (73 cases with infection) and control group (67 cases without infection). Glucose metabolism indicators [fasting blood glucose (FBG), 2-hour postprandial glucose (2hPG), fasting insulin (FINS), glycated hemoglobin (HbAlc)], lipid metabolism indicators [total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)], and inflammatory indicators [interleukin-37 (IL-37), interleukin-18 (IL-18)] were measured and compared between the two groups.Results: In terms of glucose metabolism indicators, the study group exhibited higher levels of FBG (5.84± 0.49 vs 5.40± 0.51, t=2.535, P=0.012), 2hPG (7.26± 1.30 vs 6.50± 1.53, t=3.321, P< 0.001), and FINS (11.13± 4.13 vs 9.12± 3.72, t=3.224, P< 0.001), and Insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) (2.97± 0.35 VS 2.13± 0.54, t=3.761, P< 0.001) and a lower level of HbAlc (5.25± 0.56 vs 6.12± 0.57, t=5.473, P< 0.001) compared to the control group. Regarding lipid metabolism indicators, the study group exhibited higher levels of TC (5.64± 1.49 vs 5.01± 1.32, t=3.332, P< 0.001), TG (1.89± 0.34 vs 1.32± 0.43, t=3.411, P< 0.001), and LDL-C (3.31± 0.43 vs 2.12± 0.29, t=4.142, P< 0.001), and a lower level of HDL-C (1.45± 0.21 vs 1.78± 0.42, t=4.347, P< 0.001) compared to the control group. As for the inflammatory indicators, the study group exhibited higher levels of IL-37 (45.56± 6.02 vs 34.02± 3.28, t=9.332, P< 0.001) and IL-18 (73.57± 5.82 vs 60.34± 4.84, t=10.141, P< 0.001) compared to the control group.Conclusion: It is crucial to place appropriate emphasis on the impact of Hp infection on the glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, and inflammatory response in MASLD patients, warranting careful consideration during the treatment of these patients.Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, infection, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, inflammatory indicators

Abstract Background Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are a superfamily of multifunctional enzymes in living organisms with metabolic and detoxification functions, which can detoxify exogenous and endogenous compounds and thereby reduce the damage caused by toxic substances to the body. Ticks are obligate blood-sucking ectoparasites that can transmit various pathogens, and the characterization of tick-derived GSTs may help improve current understanding of the molecular mechanism of tick resistance to insecticides. In this study, a novel GST gene, named HrGSTm1, was identified from Hyalomma rufipes. Methods Sequence analysis was performed by using bioinformatics techniques. A prokaryotic expression system was used to obtain the recombinant expression protein rHrGSTm1. Detection of spatiotemporal expression patterns of target genes and their response to the toxicity of cyhalothrin on female H. rufipes was performed by using a quantitative PCR platform. The optimal enzymological parameters of rHrGSTm1 using glutathione as substrate were calculated. The antioxidant capacity of the recombinant protein was evaluated by DPPH• (1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical 2,2-Diphenyl-1-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl) hydrazyl). Knockdown of the HrGSTm1 genes through RNA interference was used to analyze their effects on the physiological parameters of ticks. The changes in HrGSTm1 messenger RNA expression patterns under cypermethrin stress were analyzed. Results The complementary DNA sequence of HrGSTm1 contained a 672-bp open reading frame, which potentially encoded 223 amino acids. The predicted molecular weight was 25.62 kDa, and the isoelectric point 8.22. HrGSTm1 is a Mu-class GST, belonging to the cytoplasmic GSTs with no signal peptide observed. The V max and K m of rHrGSTm1 were 3.367 ± 0.81 uM and 2.208 ± 0.76 uM, respectively, and its activities were dependent on different temperatures and pH conditions; the scavenging rate of rHrGSTm1 to DPPH• reached 76.4% at 1.25 mg/ml. Variable expressions of HrGSTm1 were observed under various treatment periods and in different tissues, with the highest appearing in eggs (analysis of variance [ANOVA], F (2, 9) = 279.9, P

The most frequent primary brain tumor in adults is glioma, yet no effective curative treatments are currently available. Our previous study demonstrated the enhancing effects of JARID2 on glioma sensitivity to TMZ treatment. In this study, miR-155 is predicted to target JARID2. miR-155 is overexpressed in clinical glioma specimens and cell lines. miR-155 overexpression in glioma cells enhances cell viability and represses cell apoptosis. Through targeting, miR-155 inhibits JARID2 expression. miR-155 inhibition inhibits glioma cell viability and enhances cell apoptosis, whereas JARID2 knockdown enhances cell viability and inhibits cell apoptosis; JARID2 knockdown partially reverses miR-155 inhibition effects on glioma phenotypes. miR-155 inhibition reduces but knockdown of JARID2 promotes the tumor formation ability of glioma cells in vivo. Valproic acid (VPA) upregulates JARID2 expression, inhibits glioma cell viability and enhances cell apoptosis. VPA downregulates the expression level of miR-155 by increasing the methylation level of the miR-155 promoter, suggesting that the miR-155/JARID2 axis is implicated in VPA inhibition of glioma cell viability and enhancement of glioma cell apoptosis. This study demonstrates a new mechanism of VPA treatment of gliomas by affecting the miR-155/JARID2 axis, which could be regarded as a new strategy for the prevention and treatment of glioma.