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Abstract Background Large mediastinum tumors invading the thoracic outlet have consistently been a challenge in thoracic surgery. Due to the large size of the tumor and its proximity to many important tissues, appropriate surgical approaches are crucial for a successful surgery. Case presentations Here, we present a case of a large neurilemmoma that invaded the thoracic outlet that was resected by a supraclavicular-median sternotomy approach. The case was a 58-year-old woman with a large mass in the right chest cavity that had invaded the thoracic outlet. The preoperative biopsy showed a blood clot with a few fibrous connective tissues covered by a single layer of flat epithelium. There was insufficient evidence to diagnose the mass as a tumor, and imaging examinations suggested a diagnosis of solitary pleural fibroma. For good exposure of the cranial and caudal aspects of the large mass, we devised a median sternotomy combined with a supraclavicular approach and safely achieved complete resection. The patient recovered well and experienced no severe complications or functional restrictions of the upper extremity. The postoperative pathology diagnosis was a neurilemmoma. Conclusions The supraclavicular-median sternotomy approach could be an optional approach for the complete resection of large mediastinal tumors invading the thoracic outlet.

Neuroinflammation is considered the principal pathogenic mechanism underlying neurodegenerative diseases, and the incidence of brain disorders is closely linked to dietary fat consumption and intestinal health. To investigate this relationship, 60 8-week-old C57BL/6J mice were subjected to a 20-week dietary intervention, wherein they were fed lard and soybean oil, each at 15% and 35% fat energy. At a dietary fat energy level of 35%, inflammation was observed in both the soybean oil and lard groups. Nevertheless, inflammation was more pronounced in the mice that were administered soybean oil. The process by which nerve cell structure is compromised, inflammatory factors are upregulated, brain antioxidant capacity is diminished, and the TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB p65 inflammatory pathway is activated resulting in damage to the brain-gut barrier. This, in turn, leads to a reduction in the abundance of Akkermansia and unclassified_f_Lachnospiraceae, as well as an increase in Dubosiella abundance, ultimately resulting in brain inflammation and damage. These results suggested that soybean oil induces more severe neuroinflammation compared to lard. Our study demonstrated that, at a dietary fat energy level of 35%, compared to soybean oil, lard could be the healthier option, the outcomes would help provide a reference basis for the selection of residents’ daily dietary oil.

Background: Enterococcus faecium (E. faecium) stands as a prominent pathogen contributing to Gram-positive bacterial infections in individuals who have undergone liver transplantation. Case presentation: A 66-year-old male with a three-year history of treated anxiety disorder was admitted to our hospital due to recurrent abdominal distension and oliguria. He was diagnosed with hepatic veno-occlusive disease (HVOD), hepatic failure, pneumonia, renal insufficiency and abdominal ascites. A liver transplantation procedure was performed, but the patient's infection index increased on the first day after surgery. Empirical antibiotic therapy with ceftriaxone and meropenem and preventive antifungal therapy were applied. Sputum culture, blood culture, ascites culture and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) next-generation sequencing (NGS), revealed the presence of E. faecium. Given the application of various nephrotoxic immunosuppressive agents after liver transplantation, pre-existing renal insufficiency, severe bone marrow suppression, and a history of anxiety disorder treated with sertraline, contezolid was added for the treatment of the Gram-positive bacterial infection. Sixteen days after surgery, cultures from ascites and sputum yielded negative results for fungi and bacteria. Contezolid was subsequently discontinued without any reported adverse events during follow-up. Conclusion: Treatment with contezolid as the first-line therapy for sepsis and pneumonia caused by E. faecium following liver transplantation has shown satisfactory efficacy and safety. Therefore, contezolid may hold great promise for managing this life-threatening condition.

Abstract Objectives To investigate the potential mechanisms of shikonin in preventing and treating periodontitis using network pharmacology and molecular docking methods. Materials and methods The targets of shikonin were obtained in TCMSP and SEA databases, and targets of periodontitis were gathered from the OMIM, GeneCards and Drugbank Databases. The intersecting targets were entered into the DAVID database to obtain the relevant biological functions and pathways by GO and KEGG enrichment analysis. The obtained targets were analysed the protein–protein interaction (PPI) in STRING platform. In Cytoscape 3.8.0, the network analysis function with the MCODE plug-in were used to obtain the key targets, of shikonin and periodontitis. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation (MD) were used to assess the affinity between the shikonin and the key targets. Results Shikonin was screened for 22 targets and periodontitis was screened for 944 targets, the intersecting targets were considered as potential therapeutic targets. The targets played important roles in cellular response to hypoxia, response to xenobiotic stimulus and positive regulates of apoptotic process by GO enrichment analysis. 10 significant pathways were analyzed by KEGG, such as human cytomegalovirus infection and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, etc. Cytoscape software screened the key genes including AKT1, CCL5, CXCR4, PPARG, PTEN, PTGS2 and TP53. Molecular docking and MD results showed that shikonin could bind stably to the targets. Conclusions The present study enriched the molecular mechanisms in periodontitis with shikonin, providing potential therapeutic targets for periodontitis.

In high-latitude areas, the icing period is inevitable during winter. In view of the special mechanical environment of ice cracks faced during underwater launching in low-temperature ice zones, it is of great engineering value to expand the application of submarine-launched marine equipment in a low-temperature ice zone. The presence of floating ice inevitably enhances the nonlinearity of submarine-launched vehicles during high-speed water exit. A 6-degree-of-freedom(DOF) motion model of the vehicle was built by using the dynamic fluid interaction module(DFBI). Through comparative analysis of the underwater and cross-water motion stages of the submarine-launched vehicle under different ice hole sizes and shapes, the influence of ice holes on the evolution of the water-exit cavity was explored. The findings indicate that the ice hole has an obvious binding effect on the cavity during the process of water exit, and the binding effect increases with the decrease in ice hole size. For the same shape of the ice hole, a smaller ice hole size is accompanied by a greater impact on the pitching motion characteristics of the vehicle. For the same ice hole size, the circular ice hole has a greater impact on the pitching motion characteristics of the vehicle than square and triangular ice holes.

IntroductionAmpelopsis grossedentata (vine tea), a high polyphenol content antioxidant plant resource, is renowned for its medicinal benefits. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Ampelopsis grossedentata extract (AGE) on anti-inflammatory and antioxidant ability, enhancement of intestinal immunity, improvement of intestinal structure, and regulation of gut microbiota in swine.MethodsA total of 135 weaned piglets were randomly divided into three groups: a control group, a low-dose group, and a high-dose group. Pigs were weighed and blood was collected on days 36, 85, and 154. The feed intake was recorded daily to calculate growth performance parameters. On day 154, five to six pigs in each group were randomly selected and euthanized to obtain a small intestine to investigate the effects of AGE on anti-inflammatory and antioxidant abilities and gut microbiota.ResultsThe results showed that 500 mg/kg AGE increased the expression of anti-inflammatory and immune cytokines (IL-10, IgG, and IgA) (p

Objective: To evaluate the predictive performance of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in identifying and predicting pulmonary infections following liver transplantation and to investigate its association with patient outcomes within the initial four-week post-transplantation period. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 41 liver transplant patients with suspected pulmonary infections from August 2022 to May 2023. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples were collected on the first postoperative day for metagenomic next generation sequencing (mNGS) and culture. The predictive capability of mNGS for subsequent infections was assessed by monitoring inflammatory biomarkers and comparing the detection rates with culture methods. Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (Rt-PCR) was used to monitor Human betaherpesvirus 5 (CMV) and Human parvovirus B19 (B19) weekly during a four-week postoperative period. Inflammatory biomarkers and blood coagulation function were evaluated on specific days throughout the first, third, fifth, and during four weeks following surgery. The study was conducted until August 2023 to evaluate the patients' prognostic survival outcome, classifying them into groups based on the mortality and survival. Results: The analysis included a total of 41 patients, comprising 32 males and 9 females, with an average age of 52 (47, 63) years. Within one week after liver transplantation, there were 7 cases of bacterial infections, 5 cases of fungal infections, 19 cases of mixed infections, 8 cases without any infection, and 2 cases with unidentified pathogen-associated infections. mNGS successfully predicted 39 (72 %) strains of pathogens, while culture-based methods only detected 28 (52 %) strains. Among the 8 patients diagnosed as non-infected, culture methods identified positive results in 4 cases (50 %), whereas mNGS yielded positive results in 7 cases (87.5 %). The detection rates of CMV and B19 by Rt-PCR within 4 weeks after liver transplantation were 61 % and 17 %, respectively (25/41, 7/41) among the patients. During the study period, a total of 9 patients succumbed while 32 patients survived. The death group and the survival group exhibited significant differences in CRP, HGB, and INR levels at specific monitoring time points. The proportion of CMV detection in blood was significantly higher in the death group compared to the surviving group. Elevated CRP level was identified as a prognostic risk factor. Conclusions: Despite the presence of false positives, mNGS still presents a potential advantage in predicting pulmonary infection pathogens following liver transplantation. Furthermore, the levels of CRP and CMV carrier status within four weeks post-surgery exhibit significant associations with patient survival and prognosis.

Abstract Edge caching at access points (APs) is a promising approach to alleviate the fronthaul burden and reduce user‐perceived delay. However, the edge caching placement is still challenging considering the coupling between caching and AP‐user association, limited fronthaul capacity, and multi‐AP deployment in the cell‐free (CF) massive MIMO systems. To this end, the authors establish a framework for the joint problem of AP‐user association and caching to minimize the content delivery delay which considers both cooperation delivery delay and radio access delay. It is an integer nonlinear programming problem and NP‐hard. The optimization problem is first decomposed into an AP‐user association sub‐problem and a caching placement sub‐problem to address this problem. A two‐stage matching algorithm is further proposed to achieve AP‐user association and a modified genetic algorithm to determine caching placement. A computationally efficient iterative algorithm is developed to solve the joint optimization problem. Finally, the global convergence and computational complexity of the proposed strategy are analyzed theoretically. Simulation results reveal that the proposed strategy can achieve better delivery delay performance than benchmark schemes.

Abstract Background Stem cell‐based therapy (SCT) is an important component of regenerative therapy that brings hope to many patients. After decades of development, SCT has made significant progress in the research of various diseases, and the market size has also expanded significantly. The transition of SCT from small‐scale, customized experiments to routine clinical practice requires the assistance of standards. Many countries and international organizations around the world have developed corresponding SCT standards, which have effectively promoted the further development of the SCT industry. Methods We conducted a comprehensive literature review to introduce the clinical application progress of SCT and focus on the development status of SCT standardization. Results We first briefly introduced the types and characteristics of stem cells, and summarized the current clinical application and market development of SCT. Subsequently, we focused on the development status of SCT‐related standards as of now from three levels: the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), important international organizations, and national organizations. Finally, we provided perspectives and conclusions on the significance and challenges of SCT standardization. Conclusions Standardization plays an important role in the sustained, rapid and healthy development of SCT.

In Vehicular Edge Computing Network (VECN) scenarios, the mobility of vehicles causes the uncertainty of channel state information, which makes it difficult to guarantee the Quality of Service (QoS) in the process of computation offloading and the resource allocation of a Vehicular Edge Computing Server (VECS). A multi-user computation offloading and resource allocation optimization model and a computation offloading and resource allocation algorithm based on the Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG) are proposed to address this problem. Firstly, the problem is modeled as a Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming (MINLP) problem according to the optimization objective of minimizing the total system delay. Then, in response to the large state space and the coexistence of discrete and continuous variables in the action space, a reinforcement learning algorithm based on DDPG is proposed. Finally, the proposed method is used to solve the problem and compared with the other three benchmark schemes. Compared with the baseline algorithms, the proposed scheme can effectively select the task offloading mode and reasonably allocate VECS computing resources, ensure the QoS of task execution, and have a certain stability and scalability. Simulation results show that the total completion time of the proposed scheme can be reduced by 24–29% compared with the existing state-of-the-art techniques.

Abstract Background Fibulin‐4, namely, EFEMP2, is an essential matricellular protein associated with a variety of malignancies. The aim of this study was to explore the role of fibulin‐4 in the progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), as well as its effect on ESCC sensitivity to apatinib treatment. Methods The expression of fibulin‐4 in ESCC tissues and cell lines was detected. Stably transfected ESCC cells were established by transducing lentiviral vectors for silencing or overexpressing the fibulin‐4 gene into ESCC cells, and a subcutaneous xenograft tumor model of ESCC in mice was successfully established. IHC, RT–qPCR and western blotting were used to detect the expression of related genes and proteins. The CCK8 assay, EdU cell proliferation assay, wound healing assay, transwell assay and flow cytometry were used to evaluate the proliferation, invasion, migration and apoptosis of ESCC cells. After mice were sacrificed, the transplanted tumors were resected, and their volumes were measured. Results The expression of fibulin‐4 was significantly increased in both ESCC tissues and cell lines, and the high expression was closely related to the poor clinicopathological features. Downregulation of fibulin‐4 inhibited the proliferation, invasion and migration of ESCC cells in vitro and in vivo. Meanwhile, fibulin‐4 knockdown inhibited autophagy of tumor cells by activating the Akt–mTOR signaling pathway and significantly promoted apatinib‐induced apoptosis of ESCC cells. Conclusion Our study showed that fibulin‐4 is an oncogene that can promote ESCC progression and inhibit apoptosis. Downregulation of fibulin‐4 enhances the sensitivity of ESCC cells to apatinib by inhibiting cellular protective autophagy through activating the Akt–mTOR signaling pathway.

Introducing partial task offloading into vehicle edge computing networks (VECNs) can ease the burden placed on the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) by emerging vehicle applications and services. In this circumstance, the task offloading ratio and the resource allocation of edge servers (ES) need to be addressed urgently. Based on this, we propose a best response-based centralized multi-TaV computation resource allocation algorithm (BR-CMCRA) by jointly considering service vehicle (SeV) selection, offloading strategy making, and computing resource allocation in a multiple task vehicle (TaV) system, and the utility function is related to the processing delay of all tasks, which ensures the TaVs’s quality of services (QoS). In the scheme, SeV is first selected from three candidate SeVs (CSVs) near the corresponding TaV based on the channel gain. Then, an exact potential game (EPG) is conducted to allocate computation resources, where the computing resources can be allocated step by step to achieve the maximum benefit. After the resource allocation, the task offloading ratio can be acquired accordingly. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has better performance than other basic algorithms.

In the past few decades, many researchers believed that a high-fat and high-calorie diet is the most critical factor leading to metabolic diseases. However, increasing evidence shows a high-carbohydrate and low-fat diet may also be a significant risk factor. It needs a comprehensive evaluation to prove which viewpoint is more persuasive. We systematically compared the effects of high-fat and high-calorie diets and high-carbohydrate and low-fat ones on glycolipid metabolism in mice to evaluate and compare the effects of different dietary patterns on metabolic changes in mice. Sixty 8-week-old male C57BL/6 mice were divided into four groups after acclimatization and 15% (F-15), 25% (F-25), 35% (F-35), and 45% (F-45) of their dietary energy was derived from fat for 24 weeks. The body weight, body-fat percentage, fasting blood glucose, lipid content in the serum, and triglyceride content in the livers of mice showed a significantly positive correlation with dietary oil supplementation. Interestingly, the total cholesterol content in the livers of mice in the F-15 group was significantly higher than that in other groups (p < 0.05). Compared with the F-45 group, the mRNA expression of sterol synthesis and absorption-related genes (e.g., Asgr1, mTorc1, Ucp20, Srebp2, Hmgcr, and Ldlr), liver fibrosis-related genes (e.g., Col4a1 and Adamts1) and inflammation-related genes (e.g., Il-1β and Il-6) were significantly higher in the F-15 group. Compared with the F-45 group, the relative abundance of unclassified_f_Lachnospiraceae and Akkermansia was decreased in the F-15 group. While unclassified_f_Lachnospiraceae and Akkermansia are potentially beneficial bacteria, they have the ability to produce short-chain fatty acids and modulate cholesterol metabolism. In addition, the relative abundance of unclassified_f_Lachnospiraceae and Akkermansia was significantly positively correlated with fatty acid transporters expression and negatively correlated with that of cholesteryl acyltransferase 1 and cholesterol synthesis-related genes. In conclusion, our study delineated how a high-fat and high-calorie diet (fat supplied higher than or equal to 35%) induced obesity and hepatic lipid deposition in mice. Although the high-carbohydrate and low-fat diet did not cause weight gain in mice, it induced cholesterol deposition in the liver. The mechanism is mainly through the induction of endogenous synthesis of cholesterol in mice liver through the ASGR1-mTORC1-USP20-HMGCR signaling pathway. The appropriate oil and carbon water ratio (dietary energy supply from fat of 25%) showed the best gluco-lipid metabolic homeostasis in mice.

Dark tea is a fermented tea that plays a role in regulating the homeostasis of intestinal microorganisms. Previous studies have found that dark tea can improve obesity and has a lipid-lowering effect. In this study, green tea, Ilex latifolia Thunb (kuding tea) and Momordica grosvenori (Luo Han Guo) were added to a new compound dark tea (CDT), to improve the taste and health of this beverage. High-fat diet-fed C57BL/6J mice were treated with low- (6 mg/mL) or high- (12 mg/mL) concentrations of CDT for 18 weeks to assess their effect on lipid metabolism. Our results suggest that low- and high-concentrations of CDT could reduce body weight by 15 and 16% and by 44 and 38% of body fat, respectively, by attenuating body weight gain and fat accumulation, improving glucose tolerance, alleviating metabolic endotoxemia, and regulating the mRNA expression levels of lipid metabolism-related genes. In addition, low concentrations of CDT were able to reduce the abundance of Desulfovibrio, which is positively associated with obesity, and increase the abundance of Ruminococcus, which are negatively associated with obesity. This study demonstrates the effect of CDT on ameliorating lipid metabolism and provides new insights into the research and development of functional tea beverages.

To meet the ultra-low latency and ultra-high reliability requirements of users in the future mobile Internet， the wireless caching technology was combined with Cell-Free massive MIMO systems.The caching model was designed based on AP cooperative caching and regional popularity evaluation.The transmission delay expression involving AP clustering， cooperative caching， and regional popularity was derived， and the content placement problem was expressed as total content transmission delay minimization.Through the demonstration of the NP-hard and submodular monotony of the optimization problem， the greedy algorithm-based optimization strategy was proposed.Simulation results show that the proposed strategy can effectively reduce the content transmission delay and improve the cache hit rate.

In the biomedical field, polyurethane (PU) is widely used in interventional catheters, artificial hearts, artificial blood vessels, orthopedic materials, medical adhesives, and other medical devices. In this paper, a method based on machine vision was proposed to control the drafting and winding accuracy of PU filament in order to solve the problem of centrifugal runout when the mold rotates. The centrifugal runout of the mold directly affected the preparation efficiency and quality of long artificial blood vessel by wet spinning. Through non-contact real-time detection of the filament diameter and the angle between the axis of filament and the axis of mold, the motion parameters of the two motors driving the moving platform and the drafting roller could be adjusted in real time to achieve the purpose of online real-time control of filament drafting and winding accuracy. The vision control method proposed in this paper was used to carry out the PU tube preparation experiment. The visual measurement results of the filament diameter and the included angle were compared with the manual measurement results. The average value of the diameter error is 0.0096mm, and the average value of winding angle is 0.4777°. The results proved the accuracy of the visual measuring method and testified it feasible to using machine vision instead of manual method to detect filament diameter and winding angle. Properties of the prepared PU tube were tested and analyzed. The filament diameter measured by the 3D microscope was about 0.87 mm and significantly smaller than the filament diameter before winding. This indicated that the winding was uniform, the extrusion was tight, and the adhesion was good.

Abstract Device-to-device (D2D) communications and mobile edge computing (MEC) used to resolve traffic overload problems is a trend in the cellular network. By jointly considering the computation capability and the maximum delay, resource-constrained terminals offload parts of their computation-intensive tasks to one nearby device via a D2D connection or an edge server deployed at a base station via a cellular connection. In this paper, a novel method of cellular D2D–MEC system is proposed, which enables task offloading and resource allocation meanwhile improving the execution efficiency of each device with a low latency. We consider the partial offloading strategy and divide the task into local and remote computing, both of which can be executed in parallel through different computational modes. Instead of allocating system resources from a macroscopic view, we innovatively study both the task offloading strategy and the computing efficiency of each device from a microscopic perspective. By taking both task offloading policy and computation resource allocation into consideration, the optimization problem is formulated as that of maximized computing efficiency. As the formulated problem is a mixed-integer non-linear problem, we thus propose a two-phase heuristic algorithm by jointly considering helper selection and computation resources allocation. In the first phase, we obtain the suboptimal helper selection policy. In the second phase, the MEC computation resources allocation strategy is achieved. The proposed low complexity dichotomy algorithm (LCDA) is used to match the subtask-helper pair. The simulation results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed D2D-enhanced MEC system over some traditional D2D–MEC algorithms.

The effects of dietary supplementation with two particle sizes of nano zinc oxide (ZnO) on growth performance, immune function, intestinal morphology, and the gut microbiome were determined in a 42-day broiler chicken feeding experiment. A total of 75 one-day-old Arbor Acres broilers were randomized and divided into three groups with five replicates of five chicks each, including the conventional ZnO group (NC), the nano-ZnO group with an average particle size of 82 nm (ZNPL), and the nano-ZnO group with an average particle size of 21 nm (ZNPS). Each group was supplemented with 40 mg/kg of ZnO or nano-ZnO. Our results revealed that birds in the ZNPS group had a higher average daily gain and a lower feed-to-gain ratio than those in the NC group. ZNPS significantly increased the thymus index and spleen index, as well as the levels of serum metallothionein (MT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and lysozyme (LZM). The ZNPS treatments reduced interleukin (IL)-1β and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels and increased IL-2 and interferon (IFN)-γ levels compared to that in the NC group. Additionally, compared with the birds in the NC group, those in the nano-ZnO group had a higher villus height to crypt depth ratio of the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. Bacteroides increased in the ZNPS group at the genus level. Further, unidentified_Lachnospiraceae, Blautia, Lachnoclostridium, unidentified_Erysipelotrichaceae, and Intestinimonas were significantly increased in the ZNPL group. In conclusion, nano-ZnO improved the growth performance, promoted the development of immune organs, increased nonspecific immunity, improved the villus height to crypt depth ratio of the small intestine, and enriched the abundance of beneficial bacteria. Notably, the smaller particle size (21 nm) of nano-ZnO exhibited a more potent effect.

We consider an uplink cell-free massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system, in which the access points are connected to the central processing unit (CPU) through a fronthaul network. This system has the advantages of wide coverage and flexible deployment. However, the performance of this system depends on a capacity-limited fronthaul, and when the fronthaul is saturated, the quality of service will be reduced. To address this issue, we propose a joint user clustering and AP selection scheme, which can reduce the pressure on the fronthaul link while taking into account the system performance and computational complexity. We first derive a closed-form expression for the uplink spectral efficiency over Rician fading channels. Based on the derived expression, we formulate the problem of maximizing the minimum uplink spectral efficiency across all users by jointly optimizing the large-scale fading decoding (LSFD) coefficient and power control coefficient. Then, combined with the optimization results and channel estimation error, a suboptimal access point selection scheme is proposed. In addition, we propose a user clustering scheme to further reduce the complexity of the AP selection scheme. The simulation results show that the joint user clustering and access point selection scheme can reduce the system fronthaul link pressure, while the performance degrades only slightly.

Lard, a fat rich in saturated fatty acids (SFAs), is regarded as a risk factor for metabolic diseases. In the present study, effect of different lard blended with sunflower oil diets on lipid accumulation in adipose tissue, liver, and serum by mouse model was researched. Body weight, body fat percentage, cross-sectional area of adipocytes, liver triglycerides (TGs), and oil red stained area in mice liver of lard blend sunflower oil (L-SFO) group were significantly lower than those of sunflower oil (SFO) group, whereas no significant differences were observed between mice of lard and L-SFO groups. Serum TG and free fatty acid levels were significantly lower in L-SFO group than in other two groups. Furthermore, data showed that sunflower oil decreased contents of hormone-sensitive lipase and carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1 (CPT-1) and increased fatty acid synthase activity in liver tissue. A mixture of lard and sunflower oil rather than only sunflower oil or lard might promote body fat loss and reduce lipid accumulation in adipose tissue, serum, and liver by promoting hydrolysis of TG, increasing β-oxidation of fatty acids. These data suggested that mixing lard and vegetable oil (e.g. sunflower oil) for cooking, or alternate using lard and vegetable oil could be beneficial for reducing body fat.

Abstract Background Quercetin, a pigment (flavonoid) found in many plants and foods, has good effects on protecting liver function but poor solubility and bioavailability in vivo. A drug delivery system can improve the accumulation and bioavailability of quercetin in liver. In this study, we used liposomal nanoparticles to entrap quercetin and evaluated its protective and therapeutic effects on drug-induced liver injury in rats. Methods The nanoliposomal quercetin was prepared by a thin film evaporation-high pressure homogenization method and characterized by morphology, particle size and drug content. Acute liver injury was induced in rats by composite factors, including carbon tetrachloride injection, high-fat corn powder intake and ethanol drinking. After pure quercetin or nanoliposomal quercetin treatment, liver function was evaluated by detecting serum levels of glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT), glutamic-oxal acetic transaminase (GOT) and direct bilirubin (DBIL). Histology of injured liver tissues was evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Results On histology, liposomal nanoparticles loading quercetin were evenly distributed spherical particles. The nanoliposomal quercetin showed high bioactivity and bioavailability in rat liver and markedly attenuated the liver index and pathologic changes in injured liver tissue. With nanoliposomal quercetin treatment, the serum levels of GPT, GOT and DBIL were significantly better than treated with pure quercetin. Using liposomal nanoparticles to entrap quercetin might be an effective strategy to reduce hepatic injury and protect hepatocytes against damage. Conclusion Liposomal nanoparticles may improve the solubility and bioavailability of quercetin in liver. Furthermore, nanoliposomal quercetin could effectively protect rats against acute liver injury and may be a new hepatoprotective and therapeutic agent for patients with liver diseases.

Aims. Tripartite motif protein 36 (TRIM36) plays a tumor-suppressive role in prostate cancer. However, there is little information on the clinical relevance of TRIM36 expression in esophageal cancer (ESCA). Methods. TRIM36 expression was analyzed by using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) ESCA dataset as well as by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining on samples from our hospital. Results. In the current study, the analysis of TCGA ESCA dataset suggested the decreased expression of TRIM36 in ESCA tissues. Further analyses on samples from our hospital demonstrated that TRIM36 was significantly downregulated in ESCA tissues than in the noncancerous controls at both the mRNA and protein levels. Moreover, gene set enrichment analysis on TCGA ESCA dataset suggested that TRIM36 expression was inversely correlated with the β-catenin pathway. IHC staining data showed that 66.25% (53/80) and 51.25% (41/80) of ESCA cases had a low expression of TRIM36 and a high expression of β-catenin, respectively. By Fisher’s exact test, we found that TRIM36 protein expression was significantly correlated with tumor size (P=0.0104), tumor stage (P=0.0169), lymph node metastasis (P=0.0021), vital status (P=0.0443), and β-catenin expression (P=0.0329). These findings suggest the potential clinical significance of TRIM36 in ESCA. Kaplan–Meier and log-rank test demonstrated that a low expression of TRIM6 and a high expression of β-catenin were associated with poor overall survival of ESCA patients. Conclusions. Our study provides evidence for the prognostic value of TRIM36 in ESCA.

Dietary habit is highly related to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Low-fat–high-carbohydrate (LFHC) diets could induce lean NAFLD in Asians. Previously, we found that a lard and soybean oil mixture reduced fat accumulation with a medium-fat diet; therefore, in this study, we evaluated the effect of a lard and soybean oil mixture (LFHC diet) on NAFLD and its underlying mechanisms. Mice in groups were fed with lard, soybean oil, or a lard and soybean oil mixture—an LFHC diet—separately. Our results showed that mixed oil significantly inhibited serum triglyceride, liver triglyceride, serum free fatty acids (FFAs), and liver FFAs compared with soybean oil or lard, and we found fewer inflammatory cells in mice fed with mixed oil. RNA-seq results indicate that mixed oil reduced FFAs transportation into the liver via decreasing liver fatty acid-binding protein 2 expression, inhibited oxidative phosphorylation via tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 6 downregulation, and alleviated inflammation via downregulating inflammatory cytokine. The liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry results showed that the mixed oil promoted bile acid conjugated with taurine and glycine, thus activating G-protein-coupled bile acid receptor 1 for improved lipids metabolism. In conclusion, the lard and soybean oil mixture alleviated NAFLD.

To meet the demand for middle and low-density railway lines, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) based on a train integrity monitoring system (TIMS) is used for train integrity detection. Each system has to be analyzed before it is applied in practice. To evaluate the safety of the train integrity detection, a collision risk evaluation method is proposed based on the positioning errors and protection level, in which the Probability of dangerous Failure per Hour (PFH) is computed to quantify the the criteria of Safety Integrity Level (SIL). Then, an experiment-based simulation procedure is presented for safety verification. Statistics results have been obtained from field test data, and simulations are carried out using CPN and MATLAB to verify the collision risk of GNSS-based train integrity detection. The result showed that the GNSS-based train integrity detection satisfies the safety requirements in the system design phase for railway applications.

Upregulation of miR-21 (microRNA-21) and downregulation of miR-34b/c have been found in breast cancer (BC). However, their regulation mechanism and function roles in BC have not been fully addressed. Here, we report that miR-21 levels were inversely correlated with miR-34b/c levels in BC. MiR-21 upregulation contributes to PTEN downregulation, which is beneficial for the activation of PI3K/AKT signaling. The activation of AKT phosphorylates FOXO3a, triggering relocalization of FOXO3a proteins from the nucleus to the cytoplasm. FOXO3a is a newly identified transcription factor responsible for miR-34b/c expression. Downregulation of nuclear FOXO3a decreased the expression levels of miR-34b and miR-34c in breast cancer cells, in which p53 was mutated. We also found upregulation of circulating miR-21 and downregulation of circulating miR-34b/c in BC patients’ serum. More importantly, we showed that systemic delivery of miR-34b/c or with anti-miR-21 significantly inhibited breast tumor growth in vivo. These results suggest that high circulating levels of miR-21 and low levels of miR-34b/c may provide potential biomarkers for BC diagnosis, and systemic delivery of miR-34b/c has potential as a therapeutic option for BC treatment.

Background: The molecular features of fibroblasts and the role of fibrosis in neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) response and breast cancer (BRCA) prognosis remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of interstitial fibrosis on the response and prognosis of patients with BRCA undergoing NAC treatment. Materials and Methods: The molecular characteristics of pathologic complete response (pCR) and non-pCR (npCR) in patients with BRCA were analyzed using multiomics analysis. A clinical cohort was collected to investigate the predictive value of fibrosis in patients with BRCA. Results: Fibrosis-related signaling pathways were significantly upregulated in patients with npCR. npCR may be associated with distinct and highly active fibroblast subtypes. Patients with high fibrosis had lower pCR rates. The fibrosis-dependent nomogram for pCR showed efficient predictive ability [training set: area under the curve [AUC]= 0.871, validation set: AUC= 0.792]. Patients with low fibrosis had a significantly better prognosis than those with high fibrosis, and those with a high fibrotic focus index had significantly shorter overall and recurrence-free survival. Therefore, fibrosis can be used to predict pCR. Our findings provide a basis for decision-making in the treatment of BRCA. Conclusions: npCR is associated with a distinct and highly active fibroblast subtype. Furthermore, patients with high fibrosis have lower pCR rates and shorter long-term survival. Therefore, fibrosis can predict pCR. A nomogram that includes fibrosis can provide a basis for decision-making in the treatment of BRCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to design a compact frequency selective surface (FSS) for electromagnetic shielding in the 1.8 GHz band of GSM, ensuring that the stopband width covers the target frequency range in both simulations and actual measurements. The primary focus of this paper is to design a compact FSS with good miniaturization for real-world applications. The proposed FSS structure is a single-layer double-sided structure. The regression models reflecting the mapping relationship between the resonant frequency and structural parameters are established to guide the design. An equivalent circuit model (ECM) is presented to clearly explain the working mechanism of the FSS. The unit size is only 0.038λ0, where λ0 is the wavelength of the resonant frequency in free space. In addition, the proposed FSS provides stable performance under oblique angles of incidence for both TE and TM polarizations. An FSS prototype has been manufactured for verification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]