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Fengsong Chen,1 Yanhua Huang,1 Yayun Qian,2 Ya Zhao,2 Chiwen Bu,3 Dong Zhang3 1Department of Gastroenterology, Haimen People’s Hospital, Nantong, 226000, People’s Republic of China; 2Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225001, People’s Republic of China; 3Institute of Surgery, Guanyun People’s Hospital, Guanyun, 222200, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Dong Zhang; Chiwen Bu, Email gyxrmyykjk@163.com; gyxrmyybcw@163.comBackground: Gastric lesions pose significant clinical challenges due to their varying degrees of malignancy and difficulty in early diagnosis. Early and accurate detection of these lesions is crucial for effective treatment and improved patient outcomes.Methods: This paper proposed a label-free and highly sensitive classification method for serum of patients with different degrees of gastric lesions by combining surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and machine learning analysis. Specifically, we prepared Au lotus-shaped (AuLS) nanoarrays substrates using seed-mediated and liquid–liquid interface self-assembly method for measuring SERS spectra of serum, and then the collected spectra were processed by principal component analysis (PCA) - multi-local means based nearest neighbor (MLMNN) model to achieve differentiation.Results: By employing this pattern analysis, AuLS nanoarray substrates can achieve fast, sensitive, and label-free serum spectral detection. The classification accuracy can reach 97.5%, the sensitivity is higher than 96.7%, and the specificity is higher than 95.0%. Moreover, by analyzing the PCs loading plots, the most critical spectral features distinguishing different degrees of gastric lesions were successfully captured.Conclusion: This discovery lays the foundation for combining SERS with machine learning for real-time diagnosis and recognition of gastric lesions.Keywords: surface-enhanced Raman scattering, gastric lesions, Au lotus-shaped nanoarrays, principal component analysis, multi-local means based nearest neighbor

Liang Liu,1 Yan Qian,2 Yanhua Chen1 1Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Shanghai Pudong New Area Mental Health Center, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Social and Public Administration, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yanhua Chen, Email chenyh@shspdjw.comBackground: After acute treatment, patients with schizophrenia return to their original living environment for further rehabilitation, which not only determines the quality of life of the patients and their families but also has an important impact on society. However, patients often find it difficult to adapt to changes in the environment when they are discharged from the hospital. This may be related to the incompleteness of China’s mental health service system, as many services for schizophrenia patients are only in the treatment stage. In China, schizophrenia is traditionally associated with poor moral quality, and patients find it difficult to obtain support. Many patients have trouble reintegrating into the community after treatment. Schizophrenic multifamily teams gather families affected by the same illness and pain together to promote healing together in an environment that allows mutual sharing, understanding and transparency, maximizes the use of family resources for support, improves discharge readiness, and better deals with post-discharge recovery.Methods: The multifamily group intervention method was used to improve the motivation of the patients’ family motivation as well as the discharge readiness and self-efficacy of the patient.Results: After the intervention, the motivation of the family and discharge readiness of the patient were improved compared with that of the baseline period; however, the improvement was not significant. The self-efficacy of the patients was significantly improved (P=0.042).Conclusions: In the discharge preparation of schizophrenia patients, multifamily teams can be used to help patients and their families share resources, enhance support and prepare for discharge. Patients will have better support following discharge for recovery in the community. Additional consideration should be given to the impact of the environment on patient services, and the evaluation of the service process is key to continuously improving the service effect.Keywords: schizophrenia multifamily discharge group

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

Guang-Hong Xie,1,&ast; Jun Shen,2,&ast; Fan Li,2 Huan-Huan Yan,2 Ying Qian3 1Department of Operating Room, The First People’s Hospital of Lianyungang, The Affiliated Hospital of XuZhou Medical University, Lianyungang, Jiangsu, 222002, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Breast Surgery, The First People’s Hospital of Lianyungang, The Affiliated Hospital of XuZhou Medical University, Lianyungang, Jiangsu, 222002, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Operating Room, Wuxi People’s Hospital, Wuxi, Jiangsu, 214063, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Ying Qian Department of Operating Room, Wuxi People’s Hospital, No. 299 Qingyang Road, Liangxi District, Wuxi, 214063, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China, Tel +8615190209358, Email qianying_q06@126.comObjective: We aimed to analyze the factors related to delay in transfer of patients in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) and to develop and validate a prediction model for understanding these factors to guide precise clinical intervention.Methods: We collected data from two cohorts of 1153 and 297 patients who underwent surgery and were treated in the PACU at two time points. We examined their clinical features and anesthesia care data using analytical methods such as logistic regression, Random Forest, and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (Xgboost) to screen out variables and establish a prediction model. We then validated and simplified the model and plotted a nomogram. Using LASSO regression, we reduced the dimensionality of the data. We developed multiple models and plotted receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and calibration curves. We then constructed a simplified model by pooling the identified variables, which included hemoglobin (HB), alanine transaminase (ALT), glucose levels, duration of anesthesia, and the minimum bispectral index value (BIS_min).Results: The model had good prediction performance parameters in the training and validation sets, with an AUC of 0.909 (0.887– 0.932) in the training set and 0.939 (0.919– 0.959) in the validation set. When we compared model 6 with other models, the net reclassification index (NRI) and the integrated discriminant improvement (IDI) index indicated that it did not differ significantly from the other models. We developed a scoring system, and it showed good prediction performance when verified with the training and validation sets as well as external data. Additionally, both the decision curve analysis (DCA) and clinical impact curve (CIC) demonstrated the potential clinical efficacy of the model in guiding patient interventions.Conclusion: Predicting transfer delays in the post-anesthesia care unit using predictive models is feasible; however, this merits further exploration.Keywords: delayed transfer, machine learning, nomogram, post-anesthesia care unit, predictive model

Renzhe Tang,1,&ast; Chong Li,2,&ast; Dongmei Di,1 Lin Zhou,2 Yongxiang Qian,1 Chaohua Qiang,3 Chao Ma,1 Rui Zhou,1 Bin Wang,1 Min Wang1 1Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, 213003, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Respiratory Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, 213003, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Echocardiography, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, 213003, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Min Wang; Bin Wang, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, No. 185 of Juqian Street, Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, 213003, People’s Republic of China, Email wangmin80808@163.com; wangbin1987@suda.edu.cnObjective: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a disorder characterized by disruption in breathing and hypoventilation. In parallel, metabolic syndrome (MetS) mainly co-occur with OSA, however, their association has not been fully elucidated. Therefore, this study aimed to reveal the relationship between OSA and MetS using data from the National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database and pooled data from Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS).Material and Methods: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and pooled data from genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) were used univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were carried out to evaluate the correlation between OSA and MetS, and multivariate logistic regression models were utilized for adjusting for potential confounders. Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) was used to assess the causal relationship between OSA and MetS. The variance-weighted inverse method was employed as the main method of analysis.Results: A positive relationship of OSA with Mets was evidenced by multivariate logistic regression analysis, and OSA was associated with higher incidence rates of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. OSA is strongly associated with abdominal obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia, high triglycerides, and low HDL. Furthermore, except for hypertriglyceridemia, MR analysis indicated that genetically driven OSA was causally associated with a higher risk of MetS.Conclusion: The positive relationship of OSA with Mets was revealed, and higher incidence rates of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality were noted to be correlated with OSA. MR analysis further confirmed the causal relationship of OSA with MetS and cardiovascular disease.Keywords: obstructive sleep apnea, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, NHANES, Mendelian randomization

Chunmei Yang,1,2 Tingwan Du,1 Yueying Zhao,1 Youhui Qian,1 Jiashi Tang,1 Xiaohong Li,2,&ast; Ling Ma1,3,&ast; 1Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, People’s Republic of China; 2Health Management Center, The Affiliated Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, People’s Republic of China; 3Environmental Health Effects and Risk Assessment Key Laboratory of Luzhou, School of Public Health, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, 646000, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xiaohong Li; Ling Ma, Email 1848922774@qq.com; xjml@swmu.edu.cnPurpose: To construct and validate a precise and personalized predictive model for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) to enhance NAFLD screening and healthcare administration.Patients and Methods: A total of 730 participants’ clinical information and outcome measurements were gathered and randomly divided into training and validation sets in a ratio of 3:7. Using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression and multiple logistic regression, a nomogram was established to select risk predictor variables. The NAFLD prediction model was validated through the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration plot, and decision curve analysis (DCA).Results: After random grouping, the cohort comprised 517 in the training set and 213 in the validation set. The prediction model employed nine of the 20 selected variables, namely gender, hypertension, waist circumference, body mass index, blood platelet, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, plasma glucose, and alanine aminotransferase. ROC curve analysis yielded an area under the curve values of 0.877 (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.848– 0.907) for the training set and 0.871 (95% CI: 0.825– 0.917) for the validation set. Optimal critical values were determined as 0.472 (0.786, 0.825) in the training set and 0.457 (0.743, 0.839) in the validation set. Calibration curves for both sets showed proximity to the ideal diagonal, with P-values of 0.972 and 0.370 for the training and validation sets, respectively (P > 0.05). DCA indicated favorable clinical applicability of the model.Conclusion: We constructed a nomogram model that could complement traditional NAFLD detection methods, aiding in individualized risk assessment for NAFLD.Keywords: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, nomogram, prediction model, LASSO

Zheng-Dao Mao,1,&ast; Zhi-Guang Liu,1,&ast; Yan Qian,1 Yu-Jia Shi,1 Lian-Zheng Zhou,1 Qian Zhang,1 Chun-Jian Qi2 1Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Affiliated Changzhou No. 2 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Central Laboratory, Affiliated Changzhou No. 2 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Chun-Jian Qi, Laboratory of Oncology, Changzhou Second People’s Hospital, Changzhou Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, 213003, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-519-81087391, Email qichunjian@njmu.edu.cn Qian Zhang, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Affiliated Changzhou No. 2 People’s Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, No. 29 Xinlong Road, Changzhou, 213003, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-519-81087391, Email qianzhang@njmu.edu.cnIntroduction: Combined allergic rhinitis and asthma syndrome (CARAS) is a concurrent clinical or subclinical allergic symptom of diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract. This study is the first to explore the expression profiles of mRNA, lncRNA, and circRNA in CARAS using RNA sequencing, which may provide insight into the mechanisms underlying CARAS.Material and Methods: Whole blood samples from nine participants (three CARAS patients, three AR patients, and three normal control participants) were subjected to perform RNA sequencing, followed by identification of differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs), circRNAs (DEcircRNAs) and mRNAs (DEmRNAs). Then, lncRNA/circRNA-mRNA regulatory pairs were constructed, followed by functional analysis, immune infiltration analysis, drug prediction, and expression validation with RT-qPCR and ELISA.Results: The results showed that 61 DEmRNAs, 23 DElncRNAs and 3 DEcircRNAs may be related to the occurrence and development of CARAS. KRT8 may be implicated in the development of AR into CARAS. Three immunity-related mRNAs (IDO1, CYSLTR2, and TEC) and two hypoxia-related mRNAs (TKTL1 and VLDLR) were associated with the occurrence and development of CARAS. TEC may be considered a drug target for Dasatinib in treating CARAS. Several lncRNA/circRNA-mRNA regulatory pairs were identified in CARAS, including LINC00452/MIR4280HG/hsa_circ_0007272/hsa_circ_0070934-CLC, HEATR6-DT/LINC00639/LINC01783/hsa_circ_0008903-TEC, RP11-71L14.3-IDO1/SMPD3, RP11-178F10.2-IDO1/HRH4, and hsa_circ_0008903-CYSLTR2, which may indicate potential regulatory effects of lncRNAs/circRNAs in CARAS. Dysregulated levels of immune cell infiltration may be closely related to CARAS.Conclusion: The regulating effect of lncRNA/circRNA-immunity/hypoxia-related mRNA regulatory pairs may be involved in the occurrence and development of CARAS.Keywords: combined allergic rhinitis and asthma syndrome, lncRNA, circRNA, immunity, hypoxia

Qingjian Li,1,&ast; Kunhuan Yang,2– 5,&ast; Qianlin Ji,1,&ast; Jing Jiang,1 Rongrong Zong,2– 5 Yu Zhang,1 Yiwen Qian,1 Xin Che,1 Jinshan Suo,1 Zhiliang Wang1 1Department of Ophthalmology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Xiamen, Fujian, People’s Republic of China; 3Fujian Engineering and Research Center of Eye Regenerative Medicine, Xiamen, Fujian, People’s Republic of China; 4Eye Institute of Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, People’s Republic of China; 5Xiamen University School of Medicine, Xiamen, Fujian, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jinshan Suo; Zhiliang Wang, Email ammy_suo@163.com; ophwzl@163.comPurpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of idiopathic epiretinal membrane (ERM) surgery in patients aged over 80 years.Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) combined with ERM and internal limiting membrane (ILM) peeling with retrobulbar anesthesia were recruited. Based on age, the patients were divided into the elderly group (≥ 80 years of age) and the control group (< 80 years of age). The best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and surgical complications were regarded as the main measurement indicators.Results: This study included 43 eyes from 43 patients aged 80 to 91 years and 86 eyes from 86 patients aged 54 to 79 years. Surgical intervention substantially improved BCVA both in the elderly and control groups (p = 0.005 and p < 0.001, respectively). Statistical analyses showed no significant difference in the incidence of surgical complications between the two groups (p = 0.631). The operations in either group were not delayed or canceled for the reason of complications of retrobulbar anesthesia, severe anxiety, or physical discomfort in the perioperative period. Moreover, no patient required a second operation. Also, no stroke, myocardial infarction, or death occurred during the follow-up period. All the surgical complications were treated satisfactorily.Conclusion: Our outcomes indicate that PPV combined with ERM and ILM peeling with retrobulbar anesthesia is effective and safe in elderly patients aged 80 years or older. Based on age alone, we believe that advancing age should not be the risk factor for idiopathic ERM surgery.Keywords: idiopathic epiretinal membrane, elderly, pars plana vitrectomy, complication, safety

Xiaoyu Zhang,1– 3,&ast; Lan Ding,1– 3,&ast; Ling Sun,1– 3 Bingqing Sun,1– 3 Yangyi Huang,1– 3 Yishan Qian,1– 3,&ast; Xingtao Zhou1– 3,&ast; 1Eye Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, Eye & ENT Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200031, People’s Republic of China; 2Key Laboratory of Myopia, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, People’s Republic of China; 3Shanghai Research Center of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Eye & ENT Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200031, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yishan Qian; Xingtao Zhou, Eye Institute and Department of Ophthalmology, Eye & ENT Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200031, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-21-64377134, Fax +86-21-64377151, Email thronebird31@hotmail.com; doctzhouxingtao@163.comPurpose: To investigate the relationship between corneal tomographic or biomechanical parameters and risk of keratoconus in very asymmetric ectasia (VAE).Methods: This retrospective case-control single-centre study included patients with VAE and normal controls. The VAE group had clinical ectasia in one eye and normal topography (VAE-NT) in the fellow eye; VAE-NT eyes were selected for analysis. The control group was selected from corneal refractive surgery candidates; the right eye was enrolled. Scheimpflug-based corneal tomography (Pentacam) and corneal biomechanical assessment (Corvis ST) were performed. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression were performed using Cox proportional hazards models to evaluate keratoconus-associated risk factors. A two-piecewise linear regression model was applied to examine the threshold effect of selected vital paragmeters on the risk of keratoconus according to a smoothing plot.Results: Threshold effect between tomographic integration and risk of keratoconus was observed. Discrepancy between the central corneal thickness and thinnest corneal thickness (discrepancy CCT vs TCT) greater than 5 μm, discrepancy between the apex corneal thickness and thinnest corneal thickness (discrepancy ACT vs TCT) greater than 3 μm, vector distance between CCT and TCT (distance CCT vs TCT) greater than 0.65 mm indicated a significant increased risk of keratoconus. Risk of keratoconus decreased when distance CCT vs TCT was less than 0.65 mm.Conclusion: Discrepancy CCT vs TCT, discrepancy ACT vs TCT, and distance CCT vs TCT can be used as indicators for risk assessment of early keratoconus.Keywords: keratoconus, corneal tomographic, corneal biomechanical, very asymmetric ectasia

Yang Qian, Chenting Cai, Mengqing Sun, Dan Lv, Yun Zhao The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Dan Lv, The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China, Email fylvdan@nbu.edu.cnAbstract: Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is the exacerbation of a range of respiratory symptoms during the stable phase of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). AECOPD is thus a dangerous stage and key event in the course of COPD, as its deterioration and frequency seriously affects the quality of life of patients and shortens their survival. Acute exacerbations occur and develop due to many factors such as infection, tobacco smoke inhalation, air pollution, comorbidities, airflow limitation, various biomarkers, history of previous deterioration, natural killer cell abnormalities, immunoglobulin G deficiency, genetics, abnormal muscle and nutritional status, negative psychology, and seasonal temperature changes. There is relatively limited research on the impact of the role of standardized management on the alleviation of AECOPD. However, with the establishment of relevant prevention and management systems and the promotion of artificial intelligence technology and Internet medical approaches, long-term effective and standardized management of COPD patients may help to achieve the quality of life and disease prognosis in COPD patients and reduce the risk of AE.Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute exacerbation, related risk factors

Ma B, Ma J, Yang Y, et al. Onco Targets Ther. 2020;13:3411–3423. At the author’s request, we, the Editors and Publisher of OncoTargets and Therapy, have retracted the following article. Following publication of the article, concerns were raised about the duplication of images from Figure 1. Specifically, The images shown in Figure 1D show duplicated and unexpected features which indicate the original images may have been altered. The authors responded to our queries but were unable to provide an explanation for the duplicated images or provide satisfactory data for the study. As verifying the validity of published work is core to the integrity of the scholarly record, the authors requested to retract the article and the Editor and Publisher agreed with this decision. We have been informed in our decision-making by our editorial policies and COPE guidelines. The retracted article will remain online to maintain the scholarly record, but it will be digitally watermarked on each page as “Retracted”.

Xu Yang,1 Mi Yao,2 Delu Yin,3 Na Zhang,1 Jing Li,1 Yan Jiang,1 Rundong Fu,1 Yi Qian1 1Department of General Practice, Donghuashi Community Health Service Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of General Practice, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Health Development, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xu Yang, Department of General Practice, Donghuashi Community Health Service Center, 33 Donghuashi Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100062, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13693088802, Fax +86 1067120077, Email xuyang8799@163.comBackground: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has a high incidence rate in China, but the diagnosis rate remains insufficient. This study aimed to explore and compare COPD screening tools for primary healthcare institutions in China.Purpose: Exploring COPD Screening Tools and Their Combined Use for Primary Healthcare Institutions in China.Patients and Methods: From September 2022 to March 2023, a screening for COPD was conducted among residents aged 35 years and above in primary healthcare institutions in Beijing, China. The screening involved the use of the CAPTURE scale, COPD-SQ scale, and peak expiratory flow rate test. Any positive results from these screening tests were followed by further pulmonary function testing to confirm the diagnosis. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were calculated for each screening tool alone and in combination.Results: A total of 986 individuals completed the screening tests. The positive rates for the CAPTURE scale, COPD-SQ scale, and peak flow meter screening were 41.78%, 29.11%, and 52.03%, respectively. Of the participants, 166 (24.09%) underwent pulmonary function tests, with an average age of 61.69± 13.68 years. The peak flow meter screening showed the highest sensitivity (83.78%) when used alone, while the COPD-SQ scale exhibited the best specificity (59.69%), positive predictive value (31.58%), and negative predictive value (58.56%). Significant differences (P< 0.05) were observed between any two of the three screening tools. Among the combinations, the peak flow meter screening + COPD-SQ scale showed the highest accuracy, with a Youden index of 0.277 and an AUC of 0.638.Conclusion: There is variation in the accuracy of existing screening tools for COPD when used alone. For primary healthcare institutions, the optimal COPD screening tool is the combination of peak flow meter screening and the COPD-SQ questionnaire. If limited by screening equipment conditions, the COPD-SQ questionnaire can be used alone for screening.Keywords: primary health care institutions, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, screening questionnaire, peak flow rate test, pulmonary function tests

Ying Qian,1,&ast; Zhuohang Che,1,&ast; Chuanwen Fu,1,&ast; Xinqiang Chen,1 Jia Zeng,1 Xuehui Zhang,1 Yongli Zeng,2 Jianzhong Yin1,3 1School of Public Health, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, 650500, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Cardiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, 650032, People’s Republic of China; 3Baoshan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Baoshan, 678000, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jianzhong Yin, Baoshan College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Longyang District, Baoshan City, Yunnan Province, 678000, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13987645337, Email yinjianzhong2005@sina.com Yongli Zeng, Department of Cardiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, 650032, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13888931757, Email zyluh@126.comBackground: In recent years, with the rapidly development of economic globalization, residents’ dietary structure has undergone major changes, and diet have emerged as an important environmental factors linked to the increased incidence of obesity. Therefore, evaluating the overall dietary quality and structure of residents, further clarifying the main dietary factors that lead to disease occurrence, is of great practical significance for disease prevention and control.Methods: Baseline data from the China Multi-Ethnic Cohort study (CMEC), Han people living in high-altitude and cold regions of Yunnan Province, which was 1518 participants. In this study, the dietary balance index (DBI-16) was used (i) To evaluate the dietary quality of Han nationality residents 30– 79 years old in the Yunnan plateau; (ii) To analyze the correlation between the dietary quality and overweight/obesity; (iii) And to provide reference basis of nutritional intervention for local residents and explore the main dietary factors affecting their health status.Results: The dietary structure of the Han nationality residents in the cold regions of Yunnan plateau is unreasonable. Firstly, the intake of cereals, fruits, dairy, eggs and fishes is insufficient to varying degrees, while the intake of beans, poultry, and cooking oil is relatively high. Secondly, the dietary patterns of normal groups, the overweight and obese groups obeyed the A, E, H and I dietary patterns, and the serum Leptin and adipocyte fatty acid binding protein (A-FABP) levels of the overweight and obese group were higher than the normal group between the different dietary patterns (P < 0.05, r > 0). Additionally, excessive dietary intake was positively correlated with a higher serum UCP1 level (P < 0.05, r > 0). In comparison, insufficient dietary intake was positively correlated with a higher serum A-FABP level (P < 0.05, r > 0).Conclusion: Through the DBI-16, it is found that the dietary structure of the Han nationality residents in the cold regions of Yunnan plateau was in a serious imbalance state, and nutritional guidance and intervention should be further strengthened.Keywords: plateau Han nationality, dietary balance index-16, dietary quality, dietary evaluation, dietary pattern

Subseasonal-to-seasonal (S2S) prediction, especially the prediction of extreme hydroclimate events such as droughts and floods, is not only scientifically challenging, but also has substantial societal impacts. Motivated by preliminary studies, the Global Energy and Water Exchanges (GEWEX)/Global Atmospheric System Study (GASS) has launched a new initiative called "Impact of Initialized Land Surface Temperature and Snowpack on Subseasonal to Seasonal Prediction"(LS4P) as the first international grass-roots effort to introduce spring land surface temperature (LST)/subsurface temperature (SUBT) anomalies over high mountain areas as a crucial factor that can lead to significant improvement in precipitation prediction through the remote effects of land-atmosphere interactions. LS4P focuses on process understanding and predictability, and hence it is different from, and complements, other international projects that focus on the operational S2S prediction. More than 40 groups worldwide have participated in this effort, including 21 Earth system models, 9 regional climate models, and 7 data groups. This paper provides an overview of the history and objectives of LS4P, provides the first-phase experimental protocol (LS4P-I) which focuses on the remote effect of the Tibetan Plateau, discusses the LST/SUBT initialization, and presents the preliminary results. Multi-model ensemble experiments and analyses of observational data have revealed that the hydroclimatic effect of the spring LST on the Tibetan Plateau is not limited to the Yangtze River basin but may have a significant large-scale impact on summer precipitation beyond East Asia and its S2S prediction. Preliminary studies and analysis have also shown that LS4P models are unable to preserve the initialized LST anomalies in producing the observed anomalies largely for two main reasons: (i) inadequacies in the land models arising from total soil depths which are too shallow and the use of simplified parameterizations, which both tend to limit the soil memory; (ii) reanalysis data, which are used for initial conditions, have large discrepancies from the observed mean state and anomalies of LST over the Tibetan Plateau. Innovative approaches have been developed to largely overcome these problems.

Yayun Qian,1 Yuexing Gu,2 Jialin Deng,3 Zhaoying Cai,3 Yang Wang,3 Ruoyu Zhou,3 Dongxu Zhu,3 Hongmei Lu,4 Zheng Wang1 1Department of Pathology, The Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine for Prevention and Treatment of Senile Diseases, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Pathology, Yangzhou Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Yangzhou, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Zheng Wang; Yayun Qian, Email yzdxfsyywz@163.com; yyqian@yzu.edu.cnIntroduction: As the most common malignant tumor in the world, the prognosis of patients with advanced lung cancer remains poor even after treatment. There are many prognostic marker assays available, but there is still more room for the development of high-throughput and sensitive detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), a spectroscopic detection method that has received wide attention in recent years, can achieve exponential amplification of Raman signals by using different metallic nanomaterials. Integrating SERS with signal amplification strategy into the microfluidic chip and applying it to ctDNA detection is expected to be an effective tool for the prognosis of lung cancer treatment effect in the future.Methods: To construct a high-throughput SERS microfluidic chip integrated with enzyme-assisted signal amplification (EASA) and catalytic hairpin self-assembly (CHA) signal amplification strategies, using hpDNA-functionalized Au nanocone arrays (AuNCAs) as capture substrates and cisplatin-treated lung cancer mice to simulate the detection environment for sensitive detection of ctDNA in serum of lung cancer patients after treatment.Results: The SERS microfluidic chip constructed by this scheme, with two reaction zones, can simultaneously and sensitively detect the concentrations of four prognostic ctDNAs in the serum of three lung cancer patients with a limit of detection (LOD) as low as the aM level. The results of the ELISA assay are consistent with this scheme, and its accuracy is guaranteed.Conclusion: This high-throughput SERS microfluidic chip has high sensitivity and specificity in the detection of ctDNA. This could be a potential tool for prognostic assessment of lung cancer treatment efficacy in future clinical applications.Keywords: circulating tumor DNA, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, lung cancer, AuNCAs, prognostic assessment

Yezhou Qian,1 Zhangli Fei,2 Feige Nian2 1Department of Cardiology, The First Hospital of Jiaxing, The Affiliated Hospital of Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Rheumatology, The First Hospital of Jiaxing, The Affiliated Hospital of Jiaxing University, Jiaxing, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Feige Nian, Department of Rheumatology, The First Hospital of Jiaxing, The Affiliated Hospital of Jiaxing University, No. 1882 Zhong Huan Road, Jiaxing, 314000, People’s Republic of China, Tel +8619884323170, Email 00192649@zjxu.edu.cnAbstract: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia with a significant increase in morbidity and mortality worldwide. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as a systemic inflammatory disease, affecting 0.5– 1.0% of the adult population, is associated with increased incidence of cardiac arrhythmias such as AF. Several epidemiologic studies find that the risk of AF is increased in RA when compared with the general population. Other studies are inconsistent. Considering that inflammation plays an important role in AF, RA may be involved in the occurrence and development of AF. This review summarizes the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and management of AF in patients with RA.Keywords: atrial fibrillation, rheumatoid arthritis, epidemiology, pathophysiology, management

Yuexing Gu,1,2,&ast; Yan Li,3,&ast; Shengjie Ge,1,2 Wenbo Lu,4 Yu Mao,1,2 Miao Chen,1,2 Yayun Qian1,2 1Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine for Prevention and Treatment of Senile Diseases, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Second People’s Hospital of Taizhou City, Taizhou, People’s Republic of China; 4Shanxi Normal University, College of Chemistry and Material Science, Linfen, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yayun Qian, Email yyqian@yzu.edu.cnPurpose: This paper aims to construct a surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) biosensor based on functionalized Au-Si nanocone arrays (Au-SiNCA) using a dual signal amplification strategy (SDA-CHA) to evaluate telomerase activity during epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in laryngeal carcinoma (LC).Methods: A SERS biosensor based on functionalized Au-SiNCA was designed with an integrated dual-signal amplification strategy to achieve ultrasensitive detection of telomerase activity during EMT in LC patients.Results: Labeled probes (Au-AgNRs@4-MBA@H1) and capture substrates (Au-SiNCA@H2) were prepared by modifying hairpin DNA and Raman signal molecules. Using this scheme, telomerase activity in peripheral mononuclear cells (PMNC) could be successfully detected with a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 10− 6 IU/mL. In addition, biological experiments using BLM treatment of TU686 effectively mimicked the EMT process. The results of this scheme were highly consistent with the ELISA scheme, confirming its accuracy.Conclusion: This scheme provides a reproducible, selective, and ultrasensitive assay for telomerase activity, which is expected to be a potential tool for the early screening of LC in future clinical applications.Keywords: surface-enhanced Raman scattering, telomerase, laryngeal carcinoma, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, Au-SiNCA

Haochen Jiang,1,2,&ast; Zhi Shang,2,&ast; Liping You,1,2,&ast; Jinghao Zhang,1 Junzhe Jiao,2 Yihan Qian,2 Jiacheng Lin,2 Fang Wang,2 Yueqiu Gao,1 Xiaoni Kong,2 Xuehua Sun1 1Department of Liver Diseases, Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Central Laboratory, Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xuehua Sun, Department of Liver Diseases, Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, Email susan_sxh@shutcm.edu.cn Xiaoni Kong, Central Laboratory, Shuguang Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China, Email xiaonikong@shutcm.edu.cnBackground and Purpose: Current pharmacological approaches to prevent hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) are limited. To mitigate hepatic injury, more research is needed to improve the understanding of hepatic IRI. Depending on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) theory, acupuncture therapy has been used for the treatment of ischemic diseases with good efficacy. However, the efficacy and mechanism of acupuncture for hepatic IRI are still unclear.Methods: Blood provided to the left and middle lobe of mice livers was blocked with a non-invasive clamp and then the clamps were removed for reperfusion to establish a liver IRI model. Quantitative proteomics approach was used to evaluate the impact of EA pretreatment on liver tissue proteome in the IRI group. Serum biochemistry was used to detect liver injury, inflammation, and oxidative stress levels. H&E staining and TUNEL staining were used to detect hepatocyte injury and apoptosis. Immunohistochemistry and ELISA were used to detect the degree of inflammatory cell infiltration and the level of inflammation. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant capacities were detected by Quantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting.Results: We found that EA at Zusanli (ST36) has a protective effect on hepatic IRI in mice by alleviating oxidative stress, hepatocyte death, and inflammation response. Nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) as a crucial target was regulated by EA and was then successfully validated. The Nrf2 inhibitor ML385 and cervical vagotomy eliminated the protective effect in the EA treatment group.Conclusion: This study firstly demonstrated that EA pretreatment at ST36 significantly ameliorates hepatic IRI in mice by inhibiting oxidative stress via activating the Nrf2 signal pathway, which was vagus nerve-dependent.Keywords: inflammation, liver, proteomics

Regional climate modeling addresses our need to understand and simulate climatic processes and phenomena unresolved in global models. This paper highlights examples of current approaches to and innovative uses of regional climate modeling that deepen understanding of the climate system. High-resolution models are generally more skillful in simulating extremes, such as heavy precipitation, strong winds, and severe storms. In addition, research has shown that finescale features such as mountains, coastlines, lakes, irrigation, land use, and urban heat islands can substantially influence a region's climate and its response to changing forcings. Regional climate simulations explicitly simulating convection are now being performed, providing an opportunity to illuminate new physical behavior that previously was represented by parameterizations with large uncertainties. Regional and global models are both advancing toward higher resolution, as computational capacity increases. However, the resolution and ensemble size necessary to produce a sufficient statistical sample of these processes in global models has proven too costly for contemporary supercomputing systems. Regional climate models are thus indispensable tools that complement global models for understanding physical processes governing regional climate variability and change. The deeper understanding of regional climate processes also benefits stakeholders and policymakers who need physically robust, high-resolution climate information to guide societal responses to changing climate. Key scientific questions that will continue to require regional climate models, and opportunities are emerging for addressing those questions.

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are now widely known for their association with high-impact weather events and long-term water supply in many regions. Researchers within the scientific community have developed numerous methods to identify and track of ARs—a necessary step for analyses on gridded data sets, and objective attribution of impacts to ARs. These different methods have been developed to answer specific research questions and hence use different criteria (e.g., geometry, threshold values of key variables, and time dependence). Furthermore, these methods are often employed using different reanalysis data sets, time periods, and regions of interest. The goal of the Atmospheric River Tracking Method Intercomparison Project (ARTMIP) is to understand and quantify uncertainties in AR science that arise due to differences in these methods. This paper presents results for key AR-related metrics based on 20+ different AR identification and tracking methods applied to Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications Version 2 reanalysis data from January 1980 through June 2017. We show that AR frequency, duration, and seasonality exhibit a wide range of results, while the meridional distribution of these metrics along selected coastal (but not interior) transects are quite similar across methods. Furthermore, methods are grouped into criteria-based clusters, within which the range of results is reduced. AR case studies and an evaluation of individual method deviation from an all-method mean highlight advantages/disadvantages of certain approaches. For example, methods with less (more) restrictive criteria identify more (less) ARs and AR-related impacts. Finally, this paper concludes with a discussion and recommendations for those conducting AR-related research to consider.

This study provides an overview of the coupled high-resolution Version 1 of the Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SMv1) and documents the characteristics of a 50-year-long high-resolution control simulation with time-invariant 1950 forcings following the HighResMIP protocol. In terms of global root-mean-squared error metrics, this high-resolution simulation is generally superior to results from the low-resolution configuration of E3SMv1 (due to resolution, tuning changes, and possibly initialization procedure) and compares favorably to models in the CMIP5 ensemble. Ocean and sea ice simulation is particularly improved, due to better resolution of bathymetry, the ability to capture more variability and extremes in winds and currents, and the ability to resolve mesoscale ocean eddies. The largest improvement in this regard is an ice-free Labrador Sea, which is a major problem at low resolution. Interestingly, several features found to improve with resolution in previous studies are insensitive to resolution or even degrade in E3SMv1. Most notable in this regard are warm bias and associated stratocumulus deficiency in eastern subtropical oceans and lack of improvement in El Niño. Another major finding of this study is that resolution increase had negligible impact on climate sensitivity (measured by net feedback determined through uniform +4K prescribed sea surface temperature increase) and aerosol sensitivity. Cloud response to resolution increase consisted of very minor decrease at all levels. Large-scale patterns of precipitation bias were also relatively unaffected by grid spacing.

Haipeng Yao,1 Zhen Sun,1 Wei Yuan,1 Chen Shao,1 Honghua Cai,2 Lihua Li,3 Yongjiang Qian,1 Zhongqun Wang1 1Department of Cardiology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Pathology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Zhongqun Wang, Department of Cardiology, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, 212000, People’s Republic of China, Email wangtsmc@126.comPurpose: The research explores the relationship between the triglyceride-glucose index (TyG index) and the macroangiopathy risk in single-center hospitalized type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients and develops a risk prediction nomogram model.Patients and Methods: A total of 858 patients with T2DM were studied retrospectively. Lasso regression was used to eliminate unimportant factors, and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between the TyG index and macrovascular disease in T2DM. A nomogram model was constructed to predict macrovascular disease in T2DM and tested using the bootstrap technique, and the efficacy of the nomogram model was investigated using ROC curves. The multivariate Cox proportional hazards model estimated the association between the TyG index and all-cause mortality.Results: TyG index, high-density lipoprotein, red blood cell count, hypertension, history of taking ACEI/ARB drugs, and aortic calcification were closely related to macrovascular complications. In Cox proportional hazard model, the HRs of TyG index were 1.89 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29– 2.76, p < 0.001) after adjusting for covariates. The risk of all-cause mortality in T2DM with macrovascular complications was significantly higher than in diabetic patients without vascular disease. In the ROC curve analysis, the cut-off value of the TyG index for macrovascular complications of T2DM was 9.31 (AUC: 0.702, 95% CI 0.67– 0.74, p < 0.001).Conclusion: TyG index predicts future macrovascular disease in diabetic patients independently of known cardiovascular risk factors, suggesting that TyG index may be a useful marker for prognosis in diabetic patients.Keywords: diabetes, cardiovascular events, vascular complications, risk factors, triglyceride-glucose index

Long Yan,1,2 Yulin Qian,1 Hong Li1,2 1First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, 300380, People’s Republic of China; 2National Clinical Research Center for Chinese Medicine Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Tianjin, 300380, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Hong Li, First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 88, Changling Road, Liqizhuang Street, Xiqing District, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China, Email 15222817069@163.comIntroduction: Stroke often leaves behind a wide range of functional impairments, of which limb movement disorders are more common. Approximately 85% of patients have varying degrees of upper limb motor impairment. In recent years, transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation combined with rehabilitation training has been gradually used in the rehabilitation of upper limb motor dysfunction after stroke and appears to have some therapeutic benefits.Purpose: We conducted the systematic review to evaluate the efficacy and safety of transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation combined with rehabilitation training in the rehabilitation of upper limb motor dysfunction after stroke.Methods: Six databases, including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database (CNKI), Wanfang Database, and China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), were searched for January 1, 2016 to January 30, 2022. Randomized controlled trials using TVNS combined with rehabilitation training to intervene in upper limb motor dysfunction after stroke were included, and meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.4.1 software.Results: Total of 101 participants from 4 studies were included in this systematic review. These studies were evaluated using the Cochrane Review’s Handbook 5.1 evaluation criteria and PEDro scores, and meta-analysis was performed on the collected data. The systematic review shows a significant effect of TVNS combined with rehabilitation training on the Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer Score (MD=3.58, 95% CI [2.34, 4.82], P< 0.00001, I2=0%), Function Independent Measure Score (MD=3.86, 95% CI [0.45, 7.27], P=0.03, I2=0%) and the Wolf Motor Function Test Score (MD=3.58, 95% CI [1.97, 5.18], P< 0.0001, I2=0%).Conclusion: Based on UE-FM, FIM, and WMFT scores, TVNS combined with rehabilitation training showed some improvement in upper limb motor dysfunction in post-stroke patients, but its long-term effects, stimulation sites, stimulation parameters, combined mode with rehabilitation training, and adverse effects still need further observation.Registration: PROSPERO: CRD42022312453 (https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42022312453).Keywords: TVNS, stroke, motor function, systematic review, meta-analysis

Aiyun Li,1,&ast; Ming Fang,2,&ast; Dongjie Hao,1 Qiaoai Wu,1 Yaqi Qian,1 Hao Xu,3,4 Bo Zhu1 1Department of Clinical Medicine, The Women’s Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Institute of Infection Disease Control, Shandong Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Jinan, People’s Republic of China; 3State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Disease, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Structure and Morphology, Jinan Microecological Biomedicine Shandong Laboratory, Jinan, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Hao Xu; Bo Zhu, Email xuhao0523@zju.edu.cn; 5202054@zju.edu.cnBackground: Late-onset group B Streptococcus (LOGBS) sepsis is a cause of infection and death in infants. Infected breast milk has been considered a source of neonatal GBS infection and invasive infection. However, mother-to-infant transmission of GBS detected by the high-resolution diagnostic method is rarely reported.Methods: This study describes a low-weight premature infant who developed late-onset GBS septicemia 21 days after birth. GBS strains isolated from the mother’s cervical secretion, the mother’s milk, and the baby’s blood were cultured to identify the source of GBS infection. We further confirmed the GBS isolates through matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Finally, we performed whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and phylogenetic analyses on the GBS strains recovered.Results: GBS isolates were cultured from the bloodstream of the premature infant and the mother’s milk, respectively. Subsequently, WGS and phylogenetic analyses on three GBS isolates demonstrated that the GBS strain from the infant’s bloodstream was 100% homologous to that from the mother’s breast milk, which had some different gene fragments from the GBS strain from the mother’s cervical secretion. It provided evidence that this infant’s late-onset GBS septicemia originated from his mother’s breast milk instead of the vertical mother-to-infant transmission.Conclusion: Through WGS and phylogenetic analysis of the GBS strains, we proved in this study that the late-onset GBS sepsis in a premature infant was derived from his mother’s breast milk. It indicated that WGS diagnosis is an effective tool for infection tracing. Furthermore, this report provides direction for preventing late-onset GBS infection.Keywords: group B Streptococcus, late-onset GBS sepsis, breast milk, whole-genome sequencing, phylogenetic analysis

The Energy Exascale Earth System Model Atmosphere Model version 1, the atmospheric component of the Department of Energy's Energy Exascale Earth System Model is described. The model began as a fork of the well-known Community Atmosphere Model, but it has evolved in new ways, and coding, performance, resolution, physical processes (primarily cloud and aerosols formulations), testing and development procedures now differ significantly. Vertical resolution was increased (from 30 to 72 layers), and the model top extended to 60 km (~0.1 hPa). A simple ozone photochemistry predicts stratospheric ozone, and the model now supports increased and more realistic variability in the upper troposphere and stratosphere. An optional improved treatment of light-absorbing particle deposition to snowpack and ice is available, and stronger connections with Earth system biogeochemistry can be used for some science problems. Satellite and ground-based cloud and aerosol simulators were implemented to facilitate evaluation of clouds, aerosols, and aerosol-cloud interactions. Higher horizontal and vertical resolution, increased complexity, and more predicted and transported variables have increased the model computational cost and changed the simulations considerably. These changes required development of alternate strategies for tuning and evaluation as it was not feasible to “brute force” tune the high-resolution configurations, so short-term hindcasts, perturbed parameter ensemble simulations, and regionally refined simulations provided guidance on tuning and parameterization sensitivity to higher resolution. A brief overview of the model and model climate is provided. Model fidelity has generally improved compared to its predecessors and the CMIP5 generation of climate models.

AbstractThe Third Pole (TP) is experiencing rapid warming and is currently in its warmest period in the past 2,000 years. This paper reviews the latest development in multidisciplinary TP research associated with this warming. The rapid warming facilitates intense and broad glacier melt over most of the TP, although some glaciers in the northwest are advancing. By heating the atmosphere and reducing snow/ice albedo, aerosols also contribute to the glaciers melting. Glacier melt is accompanied by lake expansion and intensification of the water cycle over the TP. Precipitation has increased over the eastern and northwestern TP. Meanwhile, the TP is greening and most regions are experiencing advancing phenological trends, although over the southwest there is a spring phenological delay mainly in response to the recent decline in spring precipitation. Atmospheric and terrestrial thermal and dynamical processes over the TP affect the Asian monsoon at different scales. Recent evidence indicates substantial roles that mesoscale convective systems play in the TP’s precipitation as well as an association between soil moisture anomalies in the TP and the Indian monsoon. Moreover, an increase in geohazard events has been associated with recent environmental changes, some of which have had catastrophic consequences caused by glacial lake outbursts and landslides. Active debris flows are growing in both frequency of occurrences and spatial scale. Meanwhile, new types of disasters, such as the twin ice avalanches in Ali in 2016, are now appearing in the region. Adaptation and mitigation measures should be taken to help societies’ preparation for future environmental challenges. Some key issues for future TP studies are also discussed.

This work documents the first version of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) new Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SMv1). We focus on the standard resolution of the fully coupled physical model designed to address DOE mission-relevant water cycle questions. Its components include atmosphere and land (110-km grid spacing), ocean and sea ice (60 km in the midlatitudes and 30 km at the equator and poles), and river transport (55 km) models. This base configuration will also serve as a foundation for additional configurations exploring higher horizontal resolution as well as augmented capabilities in the form of biogeochemistry and cryosphere configurations. The performance of E3SMv1 is evaluated by means of a standard set of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Characterization of Klima simulations consisting of a long preindustrial control, historical simulations (ensembles of fully coupled and prescribed SSTs) as well as idealized CO2 forcing simulations. The model performs well overall with biases typical of other CMIP-class models, although the simulated Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation is weaker than many CMIP-class models. While the E3SMv1 historical ensemble captures the bulk of the observed warming between preindustrial (1850) and present day, the trajectory of the warming diverges from observations in the second half of the twentieth century with a period of delayed warming followed by an excessive warming trend. Using a two-layer energy balance model, we attribute this divergence to the model's strong aerosol-related effective radiative forcing (ERFari+aci = −1.65 W/m2) and high equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS = 5.3 K).

Wei Zhang,1 Yue Qian,1 Xue Jin,2 Yixian Wang,1 Lili Mu,1 Zhixia Jiang2 1Department of Pathogen Biology, Guizhou Nursing Vocational College, Guiyang, People’s Republic of China; 2Guizhou Nursing Vocational College, Guiyang, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Wei Zhang, Department of Pathogen Biology, Guizhou Nursing Vocational College, Guiyang, 550000, Guizhou, People’s Republic of China, Email lawrence2013@163.comBackground: SIRT7 has been shown to be expressed in many cancer types, including clear cell renal cell carcinoma (KIRC), but its functional role in this oncogenic context remains to be firmly defined. This study was designed to explore correlations between SIRT7 and KIRC characteristics using the TCGA database.Methods: Relationships between SIRT7 expression and KIRC patient clinicopathological characteristics were assessed through Kruskal–Wallis tests, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and logistic regression analyses. Area under the ROC curve (AUC) values were used to assess the prognostic value of SIRT7 as a means of classifying clear cell renal cell carcinoma patients. The functional role of SIRT7 in this cancer type was assessed through GO/KEGG enrichment analyses and immune cell infiltration analyses.Results: In KIRC patients, higher levels of SIRT7 expression were associated with Race, M stage, T stage (all P < 0.05). SIRT7 offered significant diagnostic value in ROC curve analyses (AUC = 0.912), and elevated SIRT7 levels were linked to worse patient overall survival (OS; P < 0.001). The expression of SIRT7 was independently related with KIRC patient OS (HR: 1.827; 95% CI: 1.346– 2.481; P< 0.001). In GO/KEGG analyses, SIRT7 was found to be associated with ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis and nucleotide excision repair. Higher SIRT7 expression was related to the enhanced infiltration of certain immune cells.Conclusion: Increased SIRT7 expression was associated with a worse KIRC patient prognosis, and immune infiltrates, suggesting it may offer value as a prognostic biomarker for this cancer type.Keywords: SIRT7, biomarker, KIRC, prognosis, tumor-immune infiltration

Yiguan Qian,&ast; Yang Li,&ast; Ke Chen,&ast; Ning Liu, Xi Hong, Di Wu, Zheng Xu, Liuhua Zhou, Luwei Xu, Ruipeng Jia, Yu-Zheng Ge Department of Urology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Ruipeng Jia; Yu-Zheng Ge, Department of Urology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University Nanjing, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-15850675660, Email ruipengj@163.com; geyuzheng@njmu.edu.cnBackground: Polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) belongs to polo-like kinases family and affects cell cycles. However, the role of PLK1 in some malignant tumors remains unclear.Methods: To obtain a comprehensive view of PLK1 expression patterns, public databases including The Cancer Genome Atlas, Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia, the Genotype-Tissue Expression, and human cell landscape databases were employed. The correlation of PLK1 expression with prognosis, immune infiltrations, immune checkpoint genes, tumor mutational burden (TMB), microsatellite instability (MSI), mismatch repair (MMR), and DNA methylation was examined. Besides, we validated the results of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) in two cohorts, with quantitative real-time PCR, Western blot, and loss-of-function experiments.Results: By mining public datasets, we discovered that PLK1 expression in tumor tissues and cancer cell lines displayed heterogeneity compared to normal controls across different cancers. Besides, high expression of PLK1 results in shorter survival time in 15 cancer types, especially in ccRCC. PLK1 expression showed strong association with immune cell infiltration and immune checkpoint genes across cancer types. Moreover, we identified a strong association between PLK1 expression and TMB, MSI MMR, and DNA methylation. PLK1 was validated to be highly expressed in ccRCC tissues and promote ccRCC cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and cell cycle. Mechanistically, PLK1 could regulate forkhead box protein M1 and target cell cycle-associated genes to participate in cell cycle control.Conclusion: PLK1 has important prognostic value and is associated with tumor immunity across cancer types including ccRCC.Keywords: PLK1, pan-cancer analysis, ccRCC, biomarker, tumor immunity

Peng Feng,1,&ast; Yuchen Li,2,&ast; Zhijie Tian,1,&ast; Yuan Qian,1 Xingyu Miao,1 Yuelin Zhang3 1Neurosurgery, Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Xian, 710068, People’s Republic of China; 2Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, People’s Republic of China; 3Xi’an Medical University, Xian, 710021, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xingyu Miao; Yuelin Zhang, Email miaoxyu@163.com; xyyxyfp@163.comBackground: High-grade glioma is a type of heterogeneous lethal brain tumor most common in adults. At present, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are being considered for first-line therapeutics for malignant GBM. Nonetheless, molecular markers for malignant GBM are unavailable at present. As a result, it is important to explore molecular markers related to immunity for GBM.Materials and Methods: The present study adopted a deconvolution algorithm for quantifying immunocyte composition and measuring gene expression, and used weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to analyze GBM expression data obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO), Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA), and the Cancer Genome Atlas Glioblastoma Multiforme (TCGA-GBM) databases. Thereafter, key CD8+ T cell infiltration-related genes and modules were identified, and database analysis was conducted to verify the therapeutic and immune features of the selected genes.Results: From this study, CD8+ T cell-related modules were identified. By using consistent clustering analysis, two panels of genes (red and green) with the highest correlation with CD8+ T cells infiltration were used to construct high-, low-expression groups, silent and/or mixed group of T cell infiltrations. In the high and low CD8+ T cell infiltration groups, a total of 535 differential genes were obtained, of which ten genes (RPS5, RPS6, FAU, RPS19, RPS23, RPS15A, RPS29, RPS14, RPS16, RPS27A) were identified through protein–protein interactions and co-expression network analysis. Post Cox regression and Kaplan–Meier (K-M) survival analysis, RPS5, RPS6, and RPS16 were selected as candidate prognostic biomarkers related to CD8+ T cells.Conclusion: The three associated genes RPS5, RPS6, and RPS16 were markedly related to degree of T cell infiltration and immune-related activated. We identified their potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets associated with the extent of CD8+ T cell infiltration in GBM.Keywords: prognosis, mutation, glioblastoma, gene, WGCNA