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AIM: To evaluate the relationship of overweight and obesity with retinal and choroidal thickness in adults without ocular symptoms by swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). METHODS: According to the body mass index (BMI) results, the adults enrolled in the cross-sectional study were divided into the normal group (18.50≤BMI

Abstract Fraxinus hubeiensis is a plant endemic to China and widely used as folk medicine to treat various diseases. However, its chemical constituents have never been reported sufficiently. Thus, the primary objective of this study was to investigate the phytochemical constituents and biological activities of F. hubeiensis leaves. Hence, combined column chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques were used to identify and characterize the secondary metabolites such as a pair of 3-keto-glycoside epimers (1) and (2), along with five known compounds (3 ~ 7). The results of α-glucosidase inhibitory activity exhibited that 1 and 2 had moderate activity with IC50 values of 359.50 and 468.43 µM, respectively, compared to a positive control acarbose with the IC50 value of 164.08 µM. However, Compounds 1–6 were shown to be inactive against the tested microbes.

AIM: To assess the retinal thickness and fundus blood flow density changes in chest pain patients with dyslipidemia using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). METHODS: All subjects with chest pain as the main symptom accepted a comprehensive ophthalmological examination. According to the serum lipid levels, the participants were divided into the control group and the dyslipidemia group. The retina thickness and fundus blood flow density were determined using OCTA. RESULTS: The study enrolled 87 left eyes from 87 adults with dyslipidemia and 87 left eyes from age- and sex-matched participants without dyslipidemia. The retina of dyslipidemia subjects was significantly thinner than that of the controls in the inferior (P=0.004 and P=0.014, respectively) and temporal (P=0.015 and P=0.019, respectively) regions, both inner and outer layers. In terms of blood flow density in the macula or optic disk, there was a decreasing trend in the dyslipidemia group compared with the control group, especially in the inferior and temporal regions. CONCLUSION: Dyslipidemia may contribute to the decrease in retinal thickness and fundus blood flow density. Further validation of the association between abnormal lipid metabolism and fundus microcirculation alterations needs to be carried out in chest pain patients.

Abstract Background Ocular metastasis (OM) is a rare metastatic site of primary liver cancer (PLC). The purpose of this study was to establish a clinical predictive model of OM in PLC patients based on machine learning (ML). Methods We retrospectively collected the clinical data of 1540 PLC patients and divided it into a training set and an internal test set in a 7:3 proportion. PLC patients were divided into OM and non‐ocular metastasis (NOM) groups, and univariate logistic regression analysis was performed between the two groups. The variables with univariate logistic analysis p

Background: Although gastric adenocarcinoma (GA) related ocular metastasis (OM) is rare, its occurrence indicates a more severe disease. We aimed to utilize machine learning (ML) to analyze the risk factors of GA-related OM and predict its risks. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study. The clinical data of 3532 GA patients were collected and randomly classified into training and validation sets in a ratio of 7:3. Those with or without OM were classified into OM and non-OM (NOM) groups. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator were conducted. We integrated the variables identified through feature importance ranking and further refined the selection process using forward sequential feature selection based on random forest (RF) algorithm before incorporating them into the ML model. We applied six ML algorithms to construct the predictive GA model. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve indicated the model's predictive ability. Also, we established a network risk calculator based on the best performance model. We used Shapley additive interpretation (SHAP) to identify risk factors and to confirm the interpretability of the black box model. We have de-identified all patient details. Results: The ML model, consisting of 13 variables, achieved an optimal predictive performance using the gradient boosting machine (GBM) model, with an impressive area under the curve (AUC) of 0.997 in the test set. Utilizing the SHAP method, we identified crucial factors for OM in GA patients, including LDL, CA724, CEA, AFP, CA125, Hb, CA153, and Ca 2+ . Additionally, we validated the model's reliability through an analysis of two patient cases and developed a functional online web prediction calculator based on the GBM model. Conclusion: We used the ML method to establish a risk prediction model for GA-related OM and showed that GBM performed best among the six ML models. The model may identify patients with GA-related OM to provide early and timely treatment.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large class of organic compounds, in which all or part of the hydrogen atoms in the alkyl-chain are replaced by fluorine, and many PFAS are used globally in chemicals, leather textile, paper, packaging and other industrial and consumer goods production fields. Many studies have shown that PFAS possesses hepatic and metabolic toxicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, immunotoxicity, and so on. Therefore, the use of PFAS in textiles has been restricted by lots of regulations or standards world widely, such as the International Ecological Textile Standard (STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX®), the Restricted Substances List (RSL) of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) and the REACH regulations of EU. However, there is still lack of simultaneous determination method for various volatile PFAS in relevant standards. In this study, a method of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was developed for the simultaneous determination of 12 volatile PFAS in infant and child textiles, including four fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs), three fluorotelomer acrylates (FTAs), three perfluorooctane sulfonamides (FOSAs) and two perfluorooctane sulfonamidoethanols (FOSEs). The redissolve solvent was optimized, and the extraction efficiencies for different extraction solvents, extraction volumes, extraction times, extraction temperature and time were compared. 20 mL Acetonitrile was selected as extraction solvent, and the sample was extracted twice by ultrasonic at 60 ℃ for 30 min each time, then the combined supernatants were concentrated by rotary evaporation. Finally, the targets were separated by DB-5MS column and detected at selected ion monitor (SIM) mode, and quantified by external standard method. The results showed that 4∶2 FTOH and the other 11 volatile PFAS had good linear relationship in the range of 20-5 000, 10-5 000 μg/L, respectively, and the correlation coefficients (R2) were not less than 0.998. The limits of quantification (LOQs) were 0.03-0.07 mg/kg. The recoveries of 12 PFAS were 71.9%-113.6% under the two spiked levels (levels at the LOQ and the limit content of relevant standards), and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) were 1.2%-12.8% (n=6). The method has the advantages of simple pretreatment, accurate qualitative and quantitative determination, high sensitivity, and good repeatability. The actual samples were divided into two groups and determined by this method. One group included 53 pieces of textile fabrics with certain waterproofness that were tested daily in the laboratory. Some of these textile fabrics have cartoon patterns, which may be used for making children’s clothing. The other group included 26 pieces of infant and child clothes purchased from online stores. The results showed that the positive rate of volatile PFAS in textile fabrics was high. FTOHs and FTAs were detected, and their concentrations were in the range of 0.08-276.41 mg/kg. FOSAs were not detected in the samples. The textile fibers with PFAS detected were mainly polyester. Volatile PFAS were not detected in the randomly purchased infant and child cloth products, which might be mainly because they didn’t have waterproofs. The skin exposure model proposed by the European Chemical Agency was used to assess exposure risks. The mixed exposure of various PFAS in textiles was calculated by the relative potency factor (RPF), which was converted into the equivalent of PFOA, and compared with the safety threshold given by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the European Food Safety Agency. The results showed that the risk of direct health hazards to infants and children from the exposure of detected target substances was low. The method has reference value for the control of volatile PFAS risk substances in baby textiles.

Abstract Objectives This study aimed to investigate the potential factors associated with adherence to colonoscopy among participants who were preliminarily screened positive in a community‐based colorectal cancer screening program in China. Methods This study analyzed data from 1219 out of 6971 community residents who were identified as positive cases by the well‐validated high‐risk factor questionnaire (HRFQ) or fecal immunochemical test (FIT) in the preliminary screening stage for colorectal neoplasms. Patients showing adherence to colonoscopy were defined as those who received positive results in a preliminary screening for colorectal neoplasms and later received a colonoscopy examination as required. The associations of social‐demographic factors, lifestyle behaviors, history of diabetes, body mass index (BMI), and risk factors in the HRFQ with adherence to colonoscopy were evaluated using logistic regression models. Results Among 1219 participants who preliminarily screened positive, the top five risk factors reported by the participants were chronic constipation (25.9%), hematochezia (23.5%), family history of CRC in first‐degree relatives (22.1%), chronic diarrhea (21.8%), and history of polyps (16.6%). Around 14.2% of participants who preliminarily screened positive reported three or more risk factors, and the proportion was 26.2% among participants who were positive according to both HRFQ and FIT. Among all participants who were preliminarily screened positive, the multivariable results showed that those who were married (OR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.12, 2.25, p = 0.01), had chronic diarrhea (OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.78, p = 0.047), and had a positive FIT (OR = 1.60, 95% CI: 1.21, 2.10, p

Liver injury is a common pathological process characterized by massive degeneration and abnormal death of liver cells. With increase in dead cells and necrosis, liver injury eventually leads to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), hepatic fibrosis, and even hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Consequently, it is necessary to treat liver injury and to prevent its progression. The drug Bicylol is widely employed in China to treat chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and has therapeutic potential for liver injury. It is the derivative of dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans extracted from Schisandra chinensis (SC). The Schisandraceae family is a rich source of dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans, which possesses potential liver protective activity. This study aimed to comprehensively summarize the phytochemistry, structure-activity relationship and molecular mechanisms underlying the liver protective activities of dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans from the Schisandraceae family. Here, we had discussed the analysis of absorption or permeation properties of 358 compounds based on Lipinski’s rule of five. So far, 358 dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans have been reported, with 37 of them exhibited hepatoprotective effects. The molecular mechanism of the active compounds mainly involves antioxidative stress, anti-inflammation and autophagy through Kelch-like ECH-associating protein 1/nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2/antioxidant response element (Keap1/Nrf2/ARE), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-кB), and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β)/Smad 2/3 signaling pathways. This review is expected to provide scientific ideas for future research related to developing and utilizing the dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans from Schisandraceae family.

Background: Studies on the association between serum vitamin B6 status and colorectal cancer prognosis are limited and have yielded inconsistent results. This study investigated the association of pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) and pyridoxic acid ratio (PAr) index with colorectal cancer survival. Methods: A total of 1286 colorectal cancer patients diagnosed since 2010 were selected from the Guangdong Colorectal Cancer Cohort study. Serum levels of PLP, pyridoxal, and 4-pyridoxic acid were measured using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The study followed overall mortality and colorectal cancer-specific mortality until December 2023. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were applied to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Restricted cubic spline and stratified analysis were performed. Results: During a median follow-up of 77.36 months, 331 deaths were recorded, with 293 specifically attributed to colorectal cancer. Higher PLP levels were associated with a longer overall survival (HRQ4 vs. Q1, 0.63; 95% CI: 0.46, 0.87; p for trend = 0.008) and colorectal cancer-specific survival (HRQ4 vs. Q1, 0.62; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.87; p for trend = 0.006). Non-linear associations were observed between serum PLP and overall and colorectal cancer-specific survival (p for non-linear < 0.05). However, PAr was not significantly associated with either overall survival (HRQ4 vs. Q1, 1.03; 95% CI: 0.75, 1.41) or colorectal cancer-specific survival (HRQ4 vs. Q1, 1.01; 95% CI: 0.72, 1.42). The association between serum PLP and both overall survival and colorectal cancer-specific survival (p for interaction < 0.05) varied by alcohol drinking status. Conclusions: Higher serum PLP levels, but not PAr, may be associated with improved overall and colorectal cancer-specific survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The positive predictive value (PPV) of high risk factor questionnaire (HRFQ) plus fecal immunochemical test (FIT) as preliminary screening strategy for colorectal-related neoplasia is relatively low. We aim to explore independent factors associated with PPVs of HRFQ combined FIT for selecting high risk individuals for colonoscopy. Methods A total of 6971 residents were enrolled in a community-based screening program. Participants who had positive results of HRFQ and/or FIT and subsequently received colonoscopy were involved. The associations of socio-demographic factors, lifestyle behaviors, and high risk factors of colorectal cancer with PPVs of HRFQ, FIT, and their combination were evaluated by multivariable logistic regression models. Results Among 572 involved cases, 249 (43.5%) colorectal neoplasms were detected by colonoscopy, including 71 advanced adenoma (12.4%) and 9 colorectal cancer (CRC) (1.6%). The PPVs of preliminary screening were 43.5% for total colorectal neoplasms, 14.0% for advanced neoplasm, and 1.6% for CRC. Adding positive HRFQ to FIT could improve the PPV from 3.5 to 8.0% for detecting CRC. Preliminarily screened positive individuals who were males [adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.95, 95% CI 1.31, 2.90; p 60 years) (AOR: 1.70, 95% CI 1.17, 2.46; p = 0.005), or ex-/current smokers (AOR: 3.04, 95% CI 1.31, 7.09; p = 0.10) had higher odds of PPVs of detecting colorectal neoplasms. Conclusions Combining HRFQ and FIT could largely improve PPVs for screening advanced neoplasm and CRC. Gender and age-specific FIT cut-off values as well as initiating ages for CRC screening might be recommended to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of current screening algorithm.

Mixed cryoglobulinemia refers to the serum presence of a variety of cryoglobulins, which are defined as immunoglobulins that precipitate at temperatures of < 37°C. The most common cause of mixed cryoglobulinemia is hepatitis C virus (HCV), while other infections, including hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HIV infections, and lymphoproliferative and autoimmune disorders have also been associated with the disease. We reported a rare case of type II–III mixed cryoglobulinemia caused by alcoholic cirrhosis. We need to increase the awareness of and facilitate the early identification of mixed cryoglobulinemia in our clinical study when encountering a patient with liver cirrhosis combined with renal impairment so that treatment can begin early to improve the success rate of therapy and reduce the fatality rate in a potentially life-saving therapy.

Six new compounds (huangjusus A-F), including three caffeic acid glycosides (1–3), one quinic acid derivative (4), one dihydroflavone glycoside (11) and one monoterpene (31), together with thirty-eight known compounds (5–10, 12–30, 32–44), were obtained from “Jinsi Huangju” (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) flowers. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of the data obtained from different spectroscopic techniques. Among these compounds, five new (1–4 and 11) and ten known (5–9, 12, 13, 17, 40, and 42) compounds demonstrated significant 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging effects with IC50 values of 4.22–19.90 μM. Furthermore, three new compounds (1, 11, and 31) and seven known compounds (13, 19, 21, 29, 30, 39, and 41) exhibited potent hepatoprotective activities against N-acetyl-p-aminophenol (APAP)-induced toxicity in HepG2 cells with the cell survival rates of 61.53 %, 63.55 %, 60.01 %, 63.05 %, 59.75 %, 59.15 %, 61.07 %, 62.72 %, 58.86 %, and 58.76 % (positive control bicyclol, 58.41 %), respectively, at a concentration of 10 μM. These results indicate the potency of the flowers against radicals and in hepatoprotections.

Functional magnetic Fe3O4@PPy microspheres were prepared and characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM, and magnetometer, and the adsorption of Hg(II) onto Fe3O4@PPy was investigated. The results showed that the adsorption of Hg(II) onto Fe3O4@PPy dramatically increases within 5 min and reaches adsorption equilibrium at 200 min. The adsorption of Hg(II) increases with pH increased, and a removal efficiency (RE) of 90.5% was obtained at pH 7.2. The isotherm studies revealed that the adsorption of Hg(II) onto the Fe3O4@PPy fits well with the Langmuir isotherm model, and the calculated qm value of 232.56 mg/g. The adsorption process of Hg(II) onto the Fe3O4@PPy is well-fitted by the pseudo-second-order model with a high correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.999. The thermodynamic coefficients (ΔH°, ΔS°, and ΔG°) were calculated from the temperature-dependent adsorption isotherms and illustrated that the adsorption of Hg(II) on the Fe3O4@PPy was spontaneous and endothermic. Different desorption agents were used to recover Hg(II) adsorbed onto Fe3O4@PPy, and a satisfactory recovery percentage of 93.0% was obtained by using 0.1 M HCl and 0.05 M NaCl. HIGHLIGHTS Amino-functional magnetic Fe3O4@PPy microspheres were prepared and characterized.; The Hg(II) can be adsorbed by Fe3O4@PPy effectively.; The used Fe3O4@PPy could be regenerated by two-component desorbent of HCl and NaCl.;

The stability of reservoir bank slopes is critical to the engineering operation’s safety. Due to the complexity of geological conditions, the monitoring mode based on deformation monitoring data cannot directly respond to the structural damage stability state, whereas anther mode based on structural calculation is time-consuming and lacks real-time capabilities. To that end, this paper proposes a method for fast prediction of the safety state of reservoir bank rock slope based on the physical significance of time-dependent deformation and rock creep at monitoring points, with the safety coefficient and reliability obtained by numerical calculation as the dependent variables and the slope deformation monitoring sequence as the independent variable, based on full verification of the rationality of numerical calculation. The model can be used to forecast the stability and reliability coefficients of reservoir bank slopes online using deformation data from the field. The application verification of the left bank slope of the Dagangshan arch dam reveals that the average and maximum error of slope stability safety coefficient prediction is within 5% for 90 and 180 days and the average and maximum error of reliability index prediction is within 10%, which meet the engineering requirements and can provide a new way for rapid prediction of slope engineering safety.

While excavated discharge channels are often used for the emergency treatment of landslide-dammed lakes, the erosion of the discharge channel of a landslide dam is complex and rarely monitored on site. This work presents a quantitative monitoring method based on three-dimensional terrestrial laser scanning technology (TLS) for analyzing the erosion of a landslide dam discharge channel and then applies this method to evaluate the emergency engineering treatment of the 2018 Baige landslide-dammed lake in 2019. The proposed method uses TLS technology to accurately track the dynamic evolution of the discharge channel and to quantify the lateral erosion. Moreover, qualitatively analysis for vertical erosion is conducted based on the difference between actual and hypothetic river elevation. The results indicate that erosion processes of landslide deposition fluctuate as the results of flow discharge variations. Damage to the covering layer consisting of large particles is considered to be the main cause of this phenomenon. According to the relationship between erosion intensity (EI) and flow velocity, an empirical formula is deduced for erosion analysis. The key parameter in this formula is determined by the variation rate of discharge, the flow velocity, the composition of riverbank and the flow field distribution.

One new 3,4-seco-17,13-friedo-lanostane triterpenoid heilaohuacid A (1), one new 3,4-seco-17,14-friedo-lanostane triterpenoid heilaohuacid B (2), five new 3,4-seco-lanostane triterpenoids heilaohuacids C-D (3–4) and heilaohumethylesters A-C (7–9), one new 3,4-seco-cycloartane triterpenoid heilaohuacid E (5), and one new intact-lanostane triterpenoid heilaohuacid F (6), together with twenty-two known analogues (10–31), were isolated from heilaohu. Their structures were determined using HR-ESI-MS data, 1D and 2D NMR spectra, 13C NMR calculations, and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. Heilaohuacids A and B (1 and 2) contain a 3,4-seco ring A and unprecedented migration of Me-18 from C-13 to C-17 or C-14 to C-18. This type of lanostane triterpenoid derivatives was rarely reported so far. More importantly, all compounds against inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α levels on LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophages were evaluated, and compounds 4 and 31 significantly inhibited the release level of IL-6 with IC50 values of 8.15 and 9.86 μM, respectively. Meanwhile, compounds 17, 18, and 31 significantly inhibited proliferation of rheumatoid arthritis-fibroblastoid synovial (RA-FLS) cells in vitro with IC50 values of 7.52, 8.85, and 7.97 μM, respectively.

Abstract Edwardsiella piscicida is a severe fish pathogen. Haem utilization systems play an important role in bacterial adversity adaptation and pathogenicity. In this study, a speculative haem utilization protein, HutZEp, was characterized in E. piscicida. hutZ Ep is encoded with two other genes, hutW and hutX, in an operon that is similar to the haem utilization operon hutWXZ identified in V. cholerae. However, protein activity analysis showed that HutZEp is probably not related to hemin utilization. To explore the biological role of HutZEp, a markerless hutZ Ep in-frame mutant strain, TX01ΔhutZ, was constructed. Deletion of hutZ Ep did not significantly affect bacterial growth in normal medium, in iron-deficient conditions, or in the presence of haem but significantly retarded bacterial biofilm growth. The expression of known genes related to biofilm growth was not affected by hutZ Ep deletion, which indicated that HutZEp was probably a novel factor promoting biofilm formation in E. piscicida. Compared to the wild-type TX01, TX01ΔhutZ exhibited markedly compromised tolerance to acid stress and host serum stress. Pathogenicity analysis showed that inactivation of hutZ Ep significantly impaired the ability of E. piscicida to invade and reproduce in host cells and to infect host tissue. In contrast to TX01, TX01ΔhutZ was defective in blocking host macrophage activation. The expression of hutZ Ep was directly regulated by the ferric uptake regulator Fur. This study is the first functional characterization of HutZ in a fish pathogen, and these findings suggested that HutZEp is essential for E. piscicida biofilm formation and contributes to host infection.

ABSTRACT: Lonicerae flos, a widely used traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been used for several thousand years in China. As a famous traditional Chinese herbal medicine, it was used as heat-clearing drug and alexipharmic agent and was widely cultivated in Hunan province. L. flos mainly contains biologically active compounds such as caffeic acid derivatives, essential oil, flavonoids, iridoid glycosides and terpenoids. A range of biological activities has been reported from plant extracts including anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antioxidant, antiallergy, immunomodulating and antibacterial activity. In this study, the author investigated ancient books of TCM and nowadays reports, summarized the chemical constituents, biological activity of L. flos to provide a comprehensive systematic review. Keywords: Caprifoliaceae, Lonicerae flos, Chemical constituents, Biological activity, Lonicera macranthoides, Lonicera cofusa

Idiopathic macular hole(IMH)refers to full thickness defect of retinal neurepithelium layer in macular area with unclear reasons. Early IMH can be observed. Vitrectomy combined with internal limiting membrane(ILM)peeling is a conventional method for treating IMH. The continuous improvement and innovation of ILM surgery contribute greatly to the diversity and maturation of IMH treatment. At present, the pharmacological vitreolysis and pneumatic vitreplysis have gradual progress in the prevention and treatment of IMH. In this article we review the current management of IMH.