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Yiming Ma,* Yating Peng,* Ping Chen, Na Nie, Yan Chen Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yan ChenDepartment of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 139 Renmin Road, Changsha, Hunan 410011, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail chenyan99727@csu.edu.cnBackground: Since most internal medicine nurses work with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients daily, their ability to meet the needs of COPD patients is an important issue. Our study aimed to assess COPD-related knowledge in internal medicine nurses.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study including 175 participants was conducted to investigate COPD-related knowledge levels among internal medicine nurses in a large top-ranked tertiary hospital in China. The Bristol COPD Knowledge Questionnaire (BCKQ) was used to test COPD-related knowledge levels in the participants.Results: Overall BCKQ score for all nurses in this study was 35.76 ± 5.49. In comparison with non-respiratory nurses, the overall score among respiratory nurses was significantly higher (39.01 ± 3.95 vs 33.32 ± 5.23, p < 0.001). The mean scores for four topics (epidemiology, breathlessness, oral steroids, and inhaled steroids) were less than 3 among both respiratory and non-respiratory nurses. Subgroup analysis of specialist respiratory wards showed that nurses in the chronic airway disease ward had the highest overall knowledge score (40.47 ± 4.03). Linear regression analysis demonstrated that the overall BCKQ score was significantly related to the population of nurses (β coefficient = 3.016, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.953–5.079, p < 0.01), education (β coefficient = 4.710, 95% CI: 1.979-7.440, p < 0.01) and previous rotation in respiratory wards (β coefficient = 3.871, 95% CI: 1.776-5.967, p < 0.001).Conclusion: Internal medicine nurses at this tertiary hospital showed deficits in COPD-related knowledge. Appropriate and systematic education about COPD knowledge and strengthening rotation among different wards are necessary for improving COPD-related knowledge levels among internal medicine nurses.Keywords: COPD, knowledge, nurse, internal medicine, BCKQ

A single-element antenna is usually unable to meet the communication requirements of the wireless system and the main solution is to use an array antenna. The desire to reduce the weight and cost of the array antenna gave rise to the sparse array. A linearly polarized sparse array antenna with ultra-wideband wide-angle scanning characteristics based on a genetic algorithm (GA) is developed in this paper. The antenna array consists of 40 units, which are arranged by a rectangular array with a side length of 300 mm. Compared to the conventional periodic array, the proposed sparse array has reduced about 190 antenna elements. The sparse array can achieve S11 < -10 dB in the ultrawideband of 2.7-12 GHz (120%). Experimental results for the proposed antenna exhibit an azimuth scanning angle of ±45°, and a pitching scanning angle of ±30°. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Branchio-oto syndrome (BOS) is a group of autosomal dominant genetic diseases, multisystem disorders excluding renal anomalies. There are clinical heterogeneity and ethnic diversity in BOS, which reported in more studies in European populations than in Asian populations, with a prevalence rate of approximately 1/40000. As the most common disease-causing gene, the mutation types of EYA1 range from missense to various frameshift, splicing and nonsense variants. Although splicing mutations are one of the important factors in the disease, existed research has paid less attention to the novel mutations causing aberrant RNA splicing and their pathogenic mechanisms. Reproductive interventions that actively block the transmission of the disease to future generations have also not been reported., Methods: We had collected research samples from a three-generation Chinese family with BOS. Whole exome sequencing was applied for the screening of candidate causing gene. Minigene assay was performed to identify the aberrant splicing products, and molecular biology techniques were used to analyze the pathogenicity of potentially mistranslated proteins. pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT) has been employed to prevent hearing loss in this family based on SNP analysis., Results: A novel mutation EYA1:c.1598-2AG>TA was identified by whole-exome sequencing and classified as harmful refer to ACMG's evidence. An aberrant RNA splicing was verified and suggested that might prematurely terminates the translation of EYA1 protein, through the minigene assay. The EYA1 truncated protein presented unstable and difficultly translocated to the nucleus, also impaired EYA1-SIX1 interactions in cytological experiments. PGT helped the proband give birth to a healthy boy., Conclusion: A novel splicing variant of EYA1 gene was identified in this study, and the potential molecular pathogenic mechanism was elucidated by several functional experiments. On basis above findings, we successfully implemented the first instance of using PGT to ensure the birth of a healthy offspring free from this genetic disorder.

Objective: To assess the impact of lipid-lowering drugs (LLDs) and antihypertensive drugs on the risk of aortic diseases., Methods: Mendelian randomization was utilized to analyze data from 500,000 participants in the UK Biobank to evaluate the effects of statins, PCSK9 inhibitors (PCSK9i), beta-blockers, and calcium channel blockers on the risks of thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA), abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), and aortic dissection (AD) using genetic variants as proxies. Real-world pharmacovigilance data from the FAERS database was used., Results: PCSK9i and statins significantly reduced the risks of aortic aneurysms and AD, respectively. Furthermore, the two LLDs reduced the risk of aortic diseases through certain metabolites. Meanwhile, real-world pharmacovigilance reports also indicated a low incidence of aortic diseases with PCSK9i and statin treatment., Conclusion: LLDs, particularly statins and PCSK9i, significantly protect against aortic diseases, providing a scientific basis for preventing and treating aortic diseases., (© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

Environmental rules and regulations are essential instruments the government administration uses to control environmental problems in this era of advanced technologies and smooth economic growth. This paper aims to examine how environmental regulations, both mandatory and incentive-based, impact on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the presence of urbanization, foreign trade, economic growth and energy efficiency (EE) in logistics transportation. The influence of explicating factors on dependent variables, such as the highest, lowest, and mean, is estimated using the quantile regression model. We applied a number of econometric techniques like unit root test, panel co-integration, quantiles regression (CO2), quantiles regression (Energy efficiency), endogeneity test, and finally, we applied the robustness test to verify the results. This research uses quantile regression to estimate the influence of environmental regulations on releasing carbon dioxide and energy efficiency, using panel data of China's thirty provinces from 2005 to 2019. Environmental policies in the Ningxia, Qinghai, and Hainan provinces impose higher pollution penalties, which significantly impact reducing CO2 emissions. These regions release more environmental regulations, and in the provinces that fall between the 25th and 50th percentiles, mandatory environmental regulations significantly lower CO2 emissions. Incentive environmental regulations regarding the environment have a more significant effect on energy efficiency in the 50th-75th, 75th-90th, and higher 90th percentile groups since these groups have made more significant investments in research and development. Meanwhile, the Yunnan, Heilongjiang, and Xinjiang provinces have higher energy efficiency levels due to mandatory environmental legislation. The results provide the correct information to the government to implement effective environmental regulations to achieve sustainable development goals., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Background: Centromere protein N (CENPN), located on chromosome 16q23.2, encodes vital nucleosome-associated complexes that are essential for dynamic assembly processes. CENPN plays a pivotal role in regulating cell proliferation and cell cycle progression by influencing mitotic events. Despite its potential importance, the precise functional role and regulatory mechanisms of CENPN in diverse malignancies remain largely unexplored. This study aimed to elucidate the role of CENPN in human cancers and evaluate its prognostic significance., Methods: Investigate the role of CENPN in various malignancies, we leveraged data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases. We employed a comprehensive suite of web platforms and software tools for data analysis, including R, Cytoscape, an integrated repository portal for tumor-immune system interactions (TISIDB), CBio Cancer Genomics Portal (cBioPortal), Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interaction Gene/Proteins (STRING), Gene Set Cancer Analysis (GSCALite), and a cancer single-cell state atlas (CancerSEA)., Results: The findings demonstrated that CENPN expression was elevated in the majority of cancer types and differentially expressed across molecular and immune subtypes. Functional enrichment analysis in multiple tumors also identified possible pathways of CENPN involvement in tumorigenesis. Its expression positively correlated with Th2 and Tcm cells in most cancers. It is also correlated with genetic markers of immunomodulators in various cancers., Conclusions: Overall, CENPN expression is closely related to cancers and has the potential to act as a cancer biomarker., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Not applicable. Patient consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Two new acylphloroglucinol-nerolidol meroterpenoids (APNMs) [(±)-1 and (±)-2], with a skeleton of mixed sesquiterpene and dimeric acylphloroglucinol biosynthetic origin, were isolated from the medicinal pteridophyte Dryopteris crassirhizoma . Inspired by the proposed biosynthetic pathway, we initially completed the biomimetic syntheses of eight optically active Dryopteris APNMs (1-8) in a one-pot domino reaction. The structures of APNMs 1-8 including their absolute configurations were unambiguously established by a combination of NMR analysis, ECD calculations, and synthetic methods. Furthermore, an underlying method based on NMR data to assign the stereochemistry of the long-chain alcohol moieties in APNMs was revealed. Anti-triple negative breast cancer (anti-TNBC), antifungal and antibacterial activities of the synthetic meroterpenoids were evaluated. All tested compounds exhibited cytotoxicity against TNBC cells MDA-MB-231 with IC 50 values in the range of 1.22-27.43 μM, with (-)-8 being the most potent antitumor agent (IC 50 : 0.48 μM; selectivity index: 32.04). This study resulted in the biomimetic synthesis of APNMs for the first time and positioned APNMs from D . crassirhizoma as a new class of promising candidates for the development of new anti-TNBC drugs.

Depression has emerged as a significant public health concern, with its prevalence fluctuating based on varying environmental and demographic factors. This study categorized participants based on altitude. A convenient sampling approach was used, and the hamilton depression rating scale-24 was used to assess depressed symptoms while gathering demographic information. A total of 600 Tibetan residents from the Dege area of Garze Prefecture, Sichuan, China, participated in the survey. The mean age is 56.81 years, males comprising 52.8% and females 47.2% of the sample. Of the participants, 41.2% resided permanently at elevations exceeding 3500 m. The results found that the weighted prevalence of depression in the area was 24.62%. Regardless of gender, the age group with the highest prevalence was 55-64 years old. Depression increased with age as well as gradually decreased after the age of 60. Logistic regression analysis showed that middle-aged (OR 2.86, 95% CI 1.69-4.82, P < 0.01) and elderly people (OR 2.27, 95% CI 1.30-3.98, P < 0.01), living in ultra-high altitude areas (OR 3.48, 95% CI 1.35-2.91, P < 0.01) and low BMI (OR   4.31, 95% CI 1.33-13.93) are high-risk factors for depression. This study enhances the understanding of the characteristics of depression in high-altitude regions of China, contributing to a more comprehensive view of the psychological well-being of residents in these areas. The findings underscore the need for targeted prevention and treatment strategies tailored to the specific needs of these populations., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), driven by dipole-dipole interactions (DDIs), is widely utilized in chemistry, biology, and nanophotonics. However, conventional FRET is ineffective at donor-acceptor distances exceeding 10 nm and measurements suffer from low signal-to-noise ratios. In this study, we demonstrate significant FRET enhancement and extended interaction distances under ambient conditions by utilizing a bound state in the continuum (BIC) mode within a dielectric metasurface cavity. This enhancement is achieved by leveraging the ultrahigh quality factors, minimal material absorption, and nonlocal effects associated with the BIC mode. Spectrally and angularly resolved photoluminescence (PL) lifetime measurements reveal that the BIC mode significantly increases the FRET rate and interaction distance. The FRET rate is enhanced by up to 70-fold, and the interaction distance is significantly boosted by over an order of magnitude, reaching ∼100 nm. These findings offer valuable insights for achieving long-range, high-efficiency FRET and collective DDIs using loss-less dielectric metasurfaces.

Obesity is a prominent feature of Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), which represents a major and growing public health problem. More than half of BBS patients carry mutations in one of eight genes that encode subunits of a protein complex known as the BBSome, which has emerged as a key regulator of energy and glucose homeostasis. However, the mechanisms underlying obesity in BBS are complex. Numerous studies have identified a high prevalence of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome among individuals with BBS. However, the exact mechanisms are not fully understood. This review summarized evidence from experiments using mouse and cell models, focusing on the energy imbalance that leads to obesity in patients with BBS. The studies discussed in this review contribute to understanding the functional role of the BBSome in the obesity associated with BBS, laying the foundation for developing new preventive or therapeutic strategies for obese patients., (© 2024 World Obesity Federation.)

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) is a pivotal coenzyme, existing in its oxidized form (NAD + ) and reduced form (NADH). Both are essential in cellular redox reactions and are implicated in energy production and cancer. Current NADH detection methods often involve complex optical measurements. We propose a miniaturized, on-chip photoelectric sensor array using AlGaN/GaN two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) photodetectors for NADH quantification. The device exhibits an ultralow dark current and ultrahigh UV light responsivity, enabling sensitive NADH detection. By exploiting the absorbance disparity between NADH and NAD + , our sensor achieves rapid, sensitive detection, surpassing commercial assays. It effectively detects NADH levels in 3D multicellular models, promising cancer screening and monitoring. This sensor platform offers a significant advancement in NADH quantification, with the potential for high-throughput testing and point-of-care diagnostics. Our study presents an efficient approach for NADH sensing, addressing the need for rapid and sensitive detection methods in biomedical research and clinical practice.

Castleman disease (CD) is a rare lymphoproliferative disease known as angiofollicular lymph node hyperplasia, firstly reported in 1954. It mainly occurs in adults, presenting with a wide range of clinical manifestations, including paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP). PNP is a rare and often life-threatening autoimmune disorder characterized by painful blisters and erosions on the skin and mucous membranes. In children, PNP is often linked to Castleman disease, as evidenced in case reports. So far, less than 30 pediatric cases have been reported, with the pathogenesis remaining unclear and treatment approaches varied. Here, we present a pediatric case initially suspected as Behçet's disease due to persistent oral ulcers and conjunctivitis, and undergone a sudden aggravation of clinical features following an allergic reaction. New involvement of skin rashes and imaging findings prompted the final diagnosis as PNP linked to Unicentral Castleman disease (UCD).Through detailing the progression of clinical features and diagnostic work, we aim to arise the awareness of physicians and put emphasize on early recognition and multidisciplinary management, which can improve patient outcomes., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2024 Zhang, Liu, Nie, Wang, Wu, Zhang, Zhang, Gao, Bai, Lin, Zhang and Chang.)

Today, artificial intelligence (AI) is used in the design and production of artworks as a powerful tool that helps artists and designers to create more creative and attractive artworks. AI as a new tool has created new opportunities to create and improve artworks. Therefore, in this study, a new model for recommending and simulating the style of handmade artworks using generative adversarial networks (GANs) is presented. This model operates in two distinct phases: style recommendation and style simulation. The reason for using these two separate phases is to increase the accuracy and efficiency of the model. In the first phase, a pre-trained GAN is used to suggest different styles to the artist. In the second phase, a new GAN specifically designed to produce realistic images of handmade artwork is used to simulate the artist's selected style. Also, in order to improve the accuracy, the genetic algorithm (GA) was used to adjust the activity configuration of Self-Attention (SA) modules. The results of a case study on two types of data, including samples without and with the initial background pattern, GA-SAGAN model has been able to significantly reduce the validation error. As a result, adjusting the activity configuration of SA modules using GA can be effective in producing realistic and accurate artworks. The outputs produced by the GA-SAGAN model have a loss rate close to zero. Also, the Entropy values and Precision and Recall indices are higher than GAN and SAGAN models, it shows the higher diversity of production output patterns and the superiority of the proposed model., Competing Interests: Declarations Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Biological age (BA) can represent the actual state of human aging more accurately than chronological age (CA)., Methods: Using hematological data from 112,925 participants in southwestern China, collected between 2015 and 2021, this study constructed BA predictors using 7 machine learning (ML) methods (tailored separately for male and female populations). This study then analyzed the association between BA acceleration and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) within this data using logistic regression. Additionally, it examined the impact of glycemic control on BA in individuals with diabetes., Results: Among all ML models, deep neural networks (DNN) delivered the best performance in male [mean absolute error (MAE)=6.89, r=0.75] and female subsets (MAE=6.86, r=0.74). BA acceleration showed positive correlations with T2DM in both male [odds ratio ( OR ): 2.22, 95% confidence interval ( CI ): 1.77-2.77] and female subsets ( OR : 3.10, 95% CI : 2.16-4.46), while BA deceleration showed negative correlations in both male ( OR : 0.32, 95% CI : 0.27-0.39) and female subsets ( OR : 0.42, 95% CI : 0.33-0.53). Individuals with diabetes with normal fasting glucose had significantly lower BAs than those with impaired fasting glucose in all CA groups except for patients older than 80., Discussion: Artificial intelligence (AI)-based hematological BA predictors show promise as advanced tools for assessing aging in epidemiological studies. Implementing AI-based BA predictors in public health initiatives could facilitate proactive aging management and disease prevention., Competing Interests: No conflicts of interest., (Copyright and License information: Editorial Office of CCDCW, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention 2024.)

Pile foundation structures are widely used in the construction of high-piled wharves in coastal soft soil areas due to their excellent adaptability to such environments. However, the extensive, deep backfilling involved in constructing these wharves can easily induce negative skin friction (NSF) on the piles, resulting in safety issues such as excessive settlement during the service life of the structures. This paper presents an indoor model experiment to examine the distribution of the THE NSF under varying pile-top loads and surcharge effects on single pile and double-sleeve pile foundations. The potential of double-sleeve pile foundations to mitigate the NSF was also explored. The results show that the axial force within the double-sleeve pile's protected section remains essentially stable, though it is affected by the surface surcharge in the unprotected section. Time effect is exhibited both for the axial force and the NSF, gradually increasing over time. Compared to single piles, double-casing pile foundations can effectively isolate the down drag load caused by surrounding soil settlement, thereby reducing or eliminating the NSF on the pile sides., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by persistent inflammation and joint destruction. Although the roles of inflammatory cytokines and metabolites in RA pathogenesis have caught a lot of attention, there is a lack of systematic studies, and their causal relationships remain unclear., Methods: We conducted a two-step mendelian randomization analysis utilizing genetic data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of inflammatory cytokines, metabolites, and RA. The first step assessed the causal effect of 91 inflammatory cytokines and 1400 metabolites on RA risk using inverse variance weighted method, complemented by MR-Egger, weighted median, simple mode and MR-PRESSO to ensure robustness and assess pleiotropy. The second step evaluated the mediation effects of selected metabolites on the relationship between cytokines and RA., Results: The analysis identified 9 inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1α and IL-10, which significantly increase RA risk, while TNF-β exhibited a protective effect. Additionally, 6 metabolites were associated with increased RA risk, including 1-(1-enyl-palmitoyl)-2-arachidonoyl-GPE and arachidonate (20:4n6). Conversely, 5 metabolites, such as docosatrienoate (22:3n3) and Cholesterol, were found to reduce RA risk. The mediation analysis revealed that TNF-β may exerts its protective effect through its influence on specific metabolites, and X-24949, which accounted for a -2.58% mediated effect in the TNF-β-RA causal pathway., Conclusion: This study explores the complex interplay between inflammatory cytokines, metabolites, and RA. The findings suggest potential biomarkers for early diagnosis and novel therapeutic targets, particularly those related to lipid metabolites and specific cytokines like TNF-β. Key message What is already known on this topic  Inflammatory factors and metabolites are considered to be related to the onset and progression of RA. What this study adds  We conducted a MR analysis to identify all inflammatory factors and metabolites associated with RA and calculated the mediation effect of inflammatory cytokines on RA through metabolites. This study contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the pathophysiological processes of RA. How this study might affect research, practice or policy  This has laid the groundwork for developing early diagnosis methods and future treatments., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to measure the long-diameter of tumors for evaluating treatment response., Methods: Our study included 48 patients with lung-specific target lesions and conducted 277 measurements. The radiologists recorded the long-diameter in axial imaging plane of the target lesions for each measurement. Meanwhile, AI software was utilized to measure the long-diameter in both the axial imaging plane and in three dimensions (3D). Statistical analyses including the Bland-Altman plot, Spearman correlation analysis, and paired t-test to ascertain the accuracy and reliability of our findings., Results: The Bland-Altman plot showed that the AI measurements had a bias of -0.28 mm and had limits of agreement ranging from - 13.78 to 13.22 mm (P = 0.497), indicating agreement with the manual measurements. However, there was no agreement between the 3D measurements and the manual measurements, with P < 0.001. The paired t-test revealed no statistically significant difference between the manual measurements and AI measurements (P = 0.497), whereas a statistically significant difference was observed between the manual measurements and 3D measurements (P < 0.001)., Conclusions: The application of AI in measuring the long-diameter of tumors had significantly improved efficiency and reduced the incidence of subjective measurement errors. This advancement facilitated more convenient and accurate tumor response evaluation., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The RAB interacting factor (RABIF) is a putative guanine nucleotide exchange factor that also functions as a RAB-stabilizing holdase chaperone. It has been implicated in pathogenesis of several cancers. However, the functional role and molecular mechanism of RABIF in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are not entirely known. Here, we demonstrate an upregulation of RABIF in patients with HCC, correlating with a poor prognosis. RABIF inhibition results in decreased HCC cell growth both in vitro and in vivo. Our study reveals that depleting RABIF attenuates the STOML2-PARL-PGAM5 axis-mediated mitophagy. Consequently, this reduction in mitophagy results in diminished mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mitoROS) production, thereby alleviating the HIF1α-mediated downregulation of glycolytic genes HK1, HKDC1, and LDHB. Additionally, we illustrate that RABIF regulates glucose uptake by controlling RAB10 expression. Importantly, the knockout of RABIF or blockade of mitophagy sensitizes HCC cells to sorafenib. This study uncovers a previously unrecognized role of RABIF crucial for HCC growth and identifies it as a potential therapeutic target., (© 2024. The Author(s).)