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Abstract Semileptonic three-body $$D \rightarrow M\ell ^+\nu _\ell $$ D → M ℓ + ν ℓ decays, non-leptonic $$M \rightarrow VP$$ M → V P decays, and semileptonic four-body $$D \rightarrow M(M \rightarrow VP)\ell ^+\nu _\ell $$ D → M ( M → V P ) ℓ + ν ℓ decays are analyzed using the SU(3) flavor symmetry/breaking approach, where $$\ell =e/\mu $$ ℓ = e / μ , $$M=A/T$$ M = A / T , and A/T/V/P denote the axial-vector/tensor/vector/pseudoscalar mesons, respectively. In terms of SU(3) flavor symmetry/breaking, the decay amplitudes of the $$D \rightarrow M \ell ^+ \nu _\ell $$ D → M ℓ + ν ℓ decays and the vertex coefficients of the $$M \rightarrow VP$$ M → V P decays are related. The relevant non-perturbative parameters of the $$D \rightarrow A\ell ^+\nu _\ell $$ D → A ℓ + ν ℓ , $$A \rightarrow VP$$ A → V P , and $$T \rightarrow VP$$ T → V P decays are constrained by the present experimental data, and the non-perturbative parameters of $$D \rightarrow T\ell ^+\nu _\ell $$ D → T ℓ + ν ℓ decays are taken from the results in the light-front quark model since no experimental data are available at present. The branching ratios of the $$D \rightarrow M \ell ^+ \nu _\ell $$ D → M ℓ + ν ℓ , $$M \rightarrow VP$$ M → V P , and $$D\rightarrow M(M\rightarrow VP)\ell ^+\nu _\ell $$ D → M ( M → V P ) ℓ + ν ℓ decays are then predicted. We find that some processes receive both tensor and axial-vector resonant contributions, while other processes receive only axial-vector resonant contributions. In cases where both kinds of resonant contributions exist, the axial-vector contributions are dominant. Some branching ratios with axial-vector resonance states are large, and they may be measured experimentally in the near future. In addition, the sensitivities of the branching ratios of $$D \rightarrow A \ell ^+ \nu _\ell $$ D → A ℓ + ν ℓ and $$A \rightarrow VP$$ A → V P decays to the parameters are also investigated, and some decay branching ratios are found to be sensitive to the non-perturbative parameters.

Abstract Background The dysregulation of sialylation plays a pivotal role in cancer progression and metastasis, impacting various aspects of tumor behavior. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic significance of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in relation to sialylation. Additionally, we aimed to develop a signature of sialylation-related lncRNAs in the context of bladder cancer. Methods This study used transcriptomic data and clinical information from the TCGA (the Cancer Genome Atlas) database to screen for sialylation-related lncRNAs and constructed a prognostic model. The relationships between these lncRNAs and biological pathways, immune cell infiltration, drug sensitivity, etc., were analyzed, and the expression of some lncRNAs was validated at the cellular level. Results This study identified 6 prognostic lncRNAs related to sialylation and constructed a risk score model with high predictive accuracy and reliability. The survival period of patients in the high-risk group was significantly lower than that of the low-risk group, and it was related to various biological pathways and immune functions. In addition, this study found differences in the sensitivity of patients in different risk groups to chemotherapy drugs, providing a reference for personalized treatment. Conclusion In this study, we examined the relationship between sialylation-related lncRNA and the prognosis of bladder cancer, providing new molecular markers and potential targets for diagnosis and treatment. Our research revealed correlations between sialylation-related lncRNA characteristics and clinicopathological features, potential mechanisms, somatic mutations, immune microenvironment, chemotherapy response, and predicted drug sensitivity in bladder cancer. Additionally, in vitro cellular studies were conducted to validate these findings and lay the groundwork for future clinical applications.

Abstract Background Prostate cancer (PCa) is highly prevalent among males worldwide. The investigation of exosomes in PCa has emerged as a dynamic and important research area. To visually depict the prominent research areas and evolutionary patterns of exosomes in PCa, we performed a comprehensive analysis via bibliometric methods. Methods Studies were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. CiteSpace, VOSviewers, and the R package “bibliometrix” were employed to analyze the relationships and collaborations among countries/regions, organizations, authors, journals, references, and keywords. Results Over the past 20 years (2003–2022), 995 literatures on exosomes in PCa have been collected. The findings indicate a consistent upward trend in annual publications with the United States being the leading contributor. Cancers is widely recognized as the most prominent journal in this area. In total, 5936 authors have contributed to these publications, with Alicia Llorente being the most prolific. The primary keywords associated with research hotspots include “liquid biopsy”, “identification”, “growth”, “microRNAs”, and “tumor-derived exosomes”. Conclusion Our analysis reveals that investigating the intrinsic mechanisms of exosomes in PCa pathogenesis and exploring the potential of exosomes as biomarkers of PCa constitute the principal focal points in this domain of research.

BackgroundPatient-targeted Googling (PTG) is an unavoidable aspect of the internet era, offering both opportunities and risks. However, no PTG studies have been conducted in Asian contexts to date. Additionally, existing research has provided limited exploration of factors influencing PTG practices, particularly regarding the professional differences between psychiatrists and psychologists. This study seeks to address these research gaps.MethodA total of 943 licensed psychiatrists and psychologists working in China completed an online survey. The survey included their attitudes towards PTG (including general attitude, application situations, reasons for/against PTG) and their actual practice of PTG.Results250(26.5%) respondents reported using PTG. Among them, 151(60.4%) respondents sought consent from clients before use, and 142(56.8%) respondents discussed search results with clients after use. Chinese psychiatrists and psychologists have contradictory attitudes, with concerns but also recognition of its possible positive effects, and expressing a need for more guidance. Compared to psychiatrists or those working in public institutions, psychologists and those working in private institutions report greater concerns about PTG but engage in it more frequently.ConclusionsAlthough the sample is limited, the study reveals notable differences in attitudes and practice of PTG among Chinese psychiatrists and psychologists, which may be related to their distinct professional roles and workplace environments. These findings suggest the need for further research to better understand the underlying factors contributing to these differences. Moreover, the results highlight the importance of developing tailored ethical guidelines and targeted training programs to address PTG practices for psychiatrists and psychologists in China.

Infectious myonecrosis virus (IMNV), first identified in 2003, predominantly infects the shrimp species Litopenaeus vannamei and has caused significant economic losses in major shrimp farming regions in Brazil and Southeast Asia. However, the infection mechanisms of IMNV has not been elucidated. In this study we have investigated the molecular mechanisms of IMNV-shrimp interaction and identified potential antiviral key genes to provide a theoretical reference for developing new control technologies. Transcriptome sequencing of control and infected shrimp groups at 30 (early), 60 (mid), and 90 days (late) post-infection identified 695, 2411, and 401 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), respectively. Early infection analysis revealed IMNV promotes colonization and spread by inhibiting hemagglutination and apoptosis-related genes while activating antiviral pathways like JAK-STAT, indicating it evades host defenses by interfering with the innate immune response. During mid-stage infection, glucose and amino acid metabolism pathways were enriched, suggesting IMNV induces host metabolic reprogramming to support viral replication. Late-stage analysis showed downregulated apoptosis and autophagy pathways, and upregulated cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix genes, indicating the host mitigates viral tissue damage by regulating cell fate and repair mechanisms. This transcriptomics study uncovers dynamic shrimp gene expression changes induced by IMNV infection, identifying multiple immune and metabolic pathways involved in the antiviral response. It elucidates IMNV's pathogenic mechanism and identifies key regulatory genes in pathways like PI3K-Akt-mTOR and JAK-STAT. These findings enhance our understanding of IMNV-shrimp host interaction and could inform novel antiviral strategy development.

Background Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a common chronic disease associated with inflammation and oxidative stress. This study aimed to construct a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA)-microRNA (miRNA)-messenger RNA (mRNA) network based on bioinformatics analysis and to explore oxidative stress-related genes underlying the pathogenesis of UC. Methods The GSE75214, GSE48959, and GSE114603 datasets were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Following differentially expressed (DE) analysis, the regulatory relationships among these DERNAs were identified through miRDB, miRTarBase, and TargetScan; then, the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network was established. The Molecular Signatures Database (MSigDB) was used to search oxidative stress-related genes. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were performed for functional annotation and enrichment analyses. Based on the drug gene interaction database DGIdb, drugs that interact with oxidative stress-associated genes were explored. A dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced UC mouse model was used for experimental validation. Results A total of 30 DE-lncRNAs, 3 DE-miRNAs, and 19 DE-mRNAs were used to construct a lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network. By comparing these 19 DE-mRNAs with oxidative stress-related genes in MSigDB, three oxidative stress-related genes (CAV1, SLC7A11, and SLC7A5) were found in the 19 DEM sets, which were all negatively associated with miR-194. GO and KEGG analyses showed that CAV1, SLC7A11, and SLC7A5 were associated with immune inflammation and steroid hormone synthesis. In animal experiments, the results showed that dexamethasone, a well-known glucocorticoid drug, could significantly decrease the expression of CAV1, SLC7A11, and SLC7A5 as well as improve UC histology, restore antioxidant activities, inhibit inflammation, and decrease myeloperoxidase activity. Conclusion SLC7A5 was identified as a representative gene associated with glucocorticoid therapy resistance and thus may be a new therapeutic target for the treatment of UC in the clinic.

Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) using implantable glucose sensors is a critical tool in the management of diabetes. Unfortunately, current commercial glucose sensors have limited performance and lifespans in vivo, considered to be due to sensor-induced tissue reactions (inflammation, fibrosis, and vessel regression). Previously, our laboratory utilized monocyte/macrophage (Mo/MQ) deficient and depleted mice to establish a causal relationship between Mo/MQ accumulation and inflammation in glucose sensor performance in vivo. Using C–C chemokine ligand-2 (CCL2) and C–C chemokine receptor-2 (CCR2) knockout mice, we next established that deletion of this Mo/MQ chemokine family, suppressed inflammation at the sensor-tissue interface in these mice, while improving sensor performance over a 4-week post-sensor implantation, compared to normal mice. These studies underscore the importance of the CCL2 family of chemokines and receptors in Mo/MQ recruitment/activation, and sensor performance in vivo. In the present study, we systemically administered Bindarit, a CCL2 synthesis inhibitor, to assess the role of CCL2 chemokines, Mo/MQ recruitment and inflammation at sensor implantation sites, on CGM performance in vivo. These studies demonstrate that systemic administration of Bindarit substantially reduced sensor-induced inflammation, particularly MQ recruitment, preventing sensor biofouling in our CGM mouse model. These results not only confirm the major role monocytes/macrophages play, but directly demonstrate that CCL2 drives Mo/MQ recruitment and biofouling of glucose sensors in vivo. These findings support future studies incorporating Mo/MQ migration/chemotaxis inhibitors, like CCL2, on sensor coatings to improve glucose sensor accuracy and lifespan in vivo.

In this paper, we studied the exact solution of the C2(1) invariant quantum spin chain with off-diagonal open boundary condition. We obtain a solution of the reflection equation where the all matrix element of reflection matrix are nonzeros. By using the technique of fusion, we construct the fused transfer matrix and find the closed recursive relations among the transfer matrices. Based on the algebraic analysis, we obtain the eigenvalue of the system and express it as the inhomogeneous T−Q relation.

PurposeTo develop and validate a nomogram for preoperative prediction of lymph node metastasis in patients with progressive muscle-invasive bladder cancer.Materials and methodsWe retrospectively recruited patients, divided them into training and validation cohorts, and gathered patient demographics, pathology data of transurethral bladder tumor resection specimens, imaging findings, and laboratory information. We performed logistic regression analyses, both single-variable and multi-variable, to investigate independent preoperative risk variables and develop a nomogram. Both internal and external validations were conducted to evaluate the predictive performance of this nomogram.ResultsThe training cohort consisted of 144 patients with advanced muscle-invasive bladder cancer, while the validation cohort included 62 individuals. The independent preoperative risk factors identified were tumor pathology grade, platelet count, tumor size on imaging, and lymph node size, which were utilized to develop the nomogram. The model demonstrated high predictive accuracy, as evidenced by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values of 0.898 and 0.843 for the primary and external validation cohorts, respectively. Calibration curves and decision curve analysis showed a good performance of the nomogram in both cohorts, indicating its high clinical applicability.ConclusionA nomogram for preoperative prediction of lymph node metastasis in patients with advanced muscle-invasive bladder cancer was successfully developed; its accuracy, reliability, and clinical value were demonstrated. This new tool would facilitate better clinical decisions regarding whether to perform complete lymph node dissection in cases of radical cystectomy.

Abstract Background Discoid meniscus (DM) and femoral trochlear dysplasia (FTD) are common knee disorders. Both as congenital malformation, whether there is a connection between them is unclear and the research on their prevalence in the general population is inadequate. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of FTD and DM in the general population through a large sample size, and to explore the relationship between them. Study design Retrospective study. Methods Patients undergoing knee magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations at our outpatient clinic were screened and 1003 patients were enrolled in DM group with 989 patients in non-DM (NDM) group. The type of DM and FTD was classified with Watanabe classification and Dejour’s classification, respectively. The prevalence of FTD and DM in the general population and the relationship between them were evaluated. Results The prevalence of DM and FTD was 10.0% and 14.5%, respectively. The overall percentage of FTD was higher in DM group (P

The preparation method of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) samples for pure zirconium was successfully executed using a focused ion beam (FIB) system. These samples unveiled artifact hydrides induced during the FIB sample preparation process, which resulted from stress damage, ion implantation, and ion irradiation. An innovative solution was proposed to effectively reduce the effect of artifact hydrides for FIB-prepared samples of hydrogen-sensitive materials, such as zirconium alloys. This development lays the groundwork for further research on the micro/nanostructures of zirconium alloys after ion irradiation, thereby facilitating the study of corrosion mechanisms and the prediction of service life for nuclear fuel cladding materials. Furthermore, the solution proposed in this study is also applicable to TEM sample preparation using FIB for other hydrogen-sensitive materials such as titanium, magnesium, and palladium.

Deferoxamine, an iron chelator used to treat diseases caused by excess iron, has had a Food and Drug Administration-approved status for many years. A large number of studies have confirmed that deferoxamine can reduce inflammatory response and promote angiogenesis. Blood vessels play a crucial role in sustaining vital life by facilitating the delivery of immune cells, oxygen, and nutrients, as well as eliminating waste products generated during cellular metabolism. Dysfunction in blood vessels may contribute significantly to the development of life-threatening diseases. Anti-angiogenesis therapy and pro-angiogenesis/angiogenesis strategies have been frequently recommended for various diseases. Herein, we describe the mechanism by which deferoxamine promotes angiogenesis and summarize its application in chronic wounds, bone repair, and diseases of the respiratory system. Furthermore, we discuss the drug delivery system of deferoxamine for treating various diseases, providing constructive ideas and inspiration for the development of new treatment strategies.

Multiple displacement amplification (MDA) based on isothermal random priming and high fidelity phi29 DNA polymerase-mediated processive extension has revolutionized the field of whole genome amplification by enabling the amplification of minute amounts of DNA, such as from a single cell, generating vast amounts of DNA with high genome coverage. Despite its advantages, MDA has its own challenges, one of the grandest being the formation of chimeric sequences (chimeras), which presents in all MDA products and seriously disturbs the downstream analysis. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of current research on MDA chimeras. We first reviewed the mechanisms of chimera formation and chimera detection methods. We then systematically summarized the characteristics of chimeras, including overlap, chimeric distance, chimeric density, and chimeric rate, as found in independently published sequencing data. Finally, we reviewed the methods used to process chimeric sequences and their impacts on the improvement of data utilization efficiency. The information presented in this review will be useful for those interested in understanding the challenges with MDA and in improving its performance.

Context Effective treatment of ischaemic stroke is required to combat its high prevalence and incidence. Although the combination of Astragalus membranaeus (Fisch.) Bge. (Fabaceae) and Carthamus tinctorius L. (Asteraceae) is used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of stroke, its underlying mechanism remains unclear.Objective The objective of this study is to elucidate the mechanism underlying Huangqi-Honghua (HQ-HH) for the treatment of ischaemic stroke by gut microbiota analysis and metabonomics.Materials and methods Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly assigned to the sham, model, HQ-HH, and Naoxintong (NXT) groups. The middle cerebral artery occlusion-reperfusion model was established after 7 days of intragastric administration in the HQ-HH (4.5 g/kg, qd) and NXT (1.0 g/kg, qd) groups. The neurological examination, infarct volume, gut microbiota, bile acids, and inflammation markers were assessed after 72 h of reperfusion.Results Compared with the model group, HQ-HH significantly reduced the neurological deficit scores of the model rats (2.0 ± 0.2 vs. 3.16 ± 0.56), and reduced the cerebral infarct volume (27.83 ± 3.95 vs. 45.17 ± 2.75), and reduced the rate of necrotic neurons (26.35 ± 4.37 vs. 53.50 ± 9.61). HQ-HH regulating gut microbiota, activating the bile acid receptor FXR, maintaining the homeostasis of bile acid, reducing Th17 cells and increasing Treg cells in the rat brain, reducing the inflammatory response, and improving cerebral ischaemia–reperfusion injury.Conclusions These data indicate that HQ-HH combination can improve ischaemic stroke by regulating the gut microbiota to affect bile acid metabolism, providing experimental evidence for the wide application of HQ-HH in clinical practice of ischaemic stroke.

The layout design of an airfield area plays a crucial role in ensuring the efficiency of aircraft ground operations. In order to minimize delays caused by insufficient capacity and prevent resource wastage due to excessive capacity during the operational phase, this paper developed a prediction model for operational efficiency leveraging queuing network theory and machine-learning models. Our approach involves four key steps: (1) establish a theoretical framework for analyzing the operational efficiency of airfield area layouts based on queuing network theory, (2) employ a combination of discrete modeling and multi-agent modeling to construct a simulation model for ground operations in the airfield area, (3) develop a prediction model, known as PSO-ANN, for forecasting the operational efficiency of the airfield area using the simulation results, (4) conduct computer-based simulation experiments to assess the sensitivity of airfield area parameters, observe traffic-flow phase transitions, and investigate the factors influencing operational efficiency. This methodology enables the rapid assessment of operational efficiency for small- and medium-sized airports, as well as regional multi-airport systems. It is particularly useful for program evaluation during the strategic planning phase.

In the epoch of deep photometric surveys, a large number of substructures—e.g., overdensities and streams—have been identified. With the help of astrometry and spectroscopy, the community has revealed a complex picture of our Milky Way (MW) after investigating their origins. The off-plane substructures the Anticenter Stream (ACS) and Monoceros Ring (MNC), once considered as dissolving dwarf galaxies, were later found to share similar kinematics and metallicity with the Galactic outer thin disk. In this work, we aim to chemically tag ACS and MNC with high-accuracy abundances from the APOGEE survey. By extrapolating chemical abundance trends in the outer thin-disk region (10 < R _GC < 18 kpc, 0 < ∣ Z _GC ∣ < 3 kpc), we found that ACS and MNC stars show consistent chemical abundances as the extrapolating values for 12 elements, including C, N, O, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Cr, Mn, Co, and Ni. The similar chemical patterns indicate that ACS and MNC have a similar star formation history as the MW outer thin disk, while we also excluded their dwarf galaxy association, as they are distinctive in multiple chemical spaces. The ages of ACS and MNC stars are consistent with the time of the first Sagittarius dSph passage, indicating their possible connection.

Abstract Background Surgical treatment for recurrent patellar dislocation (RPD) could yield good outcomes. While, unsatisfactory recovery still exists in some cases. For all prognostic factors, serum biomarkers have rarely been investigated. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of preoperative serum calcium level, a widely used serum biomarker, in surgical treatment for RPD. Study design Retrospective study. Methods Ninety-nine patients with RPD were enrolled in the study. Preoperative serum calcium was acquired from routinely tested blood 1 day prior to operation. Demographic data, characteristics of RPD, postoperative functional outcomes were obtained. The association between preoperative calcium and postoperative functional outcomes (Kujala, Lysholm, Tegner, IKDC and KOOS score) was determined by correlation analysis and multivariate linear regression analysis. Poor recovery was determined as Kujala score below 80. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the prognostic value of preoperative calcium. Results Patients were followed up for a mean period of 2.45 ± 1.33 years. All clinical scores showed significant improvement at the latest follow-up. Correlation and multivariate linear analyses indicated that serum calcium level was an important factor related with the prognosis of surgical treatment for RPD. According to the ROC curve, the cut-off value for preoperative calcium was 2.225 mmol/L. The clinical outcomes of patients with a preoperative blood calcium

Objective: In the fibrotic kidneys, the extent of a formed deleterious microenvironment is determined by cellular mechanical forces. This process requires metabolism for energy. However, how cellular mechanics and metabolism are connected remains unclear. Methods: A multi-disciplinary approach was employed: the fibrotic kidney disease models were induced by renal ischemia-reperfusion injury and unilateral ureteral obstruction in Calponin 2 (CNN2) knockdown mice. Proteomics, bioinformatics, and in vivo and in vitro molecular experimental pathology studies were performed. Result: Our proteomics revealed that actin filament binding and cell metabolism are the two most dysregulated events in the fibrotic kidneys. As a prominent actin stabilizer, CNN2 was predominantly expressed in fibroblasts and pericytes. In CKD patients, CNN2 levels was markedly induced in blood. In mice, CNN2 knockdown preserves kidney function and alleviates fibrosis. Global proteomics profiled that CNN2 knockdown enhanced the activities of the key rate-limiting enzymes and regulators of fatty acid oxidation (FAO) in the diseased kidneys. Inhibiting carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1α in the FAO pathway resulted in lipid accumulation and extracellular matrix deposition in the fibrotic kidneys, which were restored after CNN2 knockdown. Bioinformatics and chromatin immunoprecipitation showed that CNN2 interactor, estrogen receptor 2 (ESR2), binds peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα) to transcriptionally regulate FAO downstream target genes expression amid kidney fibrosis. In vitro, ESR2 knockdown repressed the mRNA levels of PPARα and the key genes in the FAO pathway. Conversely, activation of PPARα reduced CNN2-induced matrix inductions. Conclusions: Our results suggest that balancing cell mechanics and metabolism is crucial to develop therapeutic strategies to halt kidney fibrosis.

In this paper, we study the exact solution of the q-deformed D3(1) quantum lattice model with non-diagonal open boundary condition. We demonstrate the crossing symmetry of the transfer matrix and obtain the quantum determinant. We construct the independent transfer matrix fusion identities and show that the fusion processes can be closed. Based on the fusion hierarchies and polynomial analysis, we obtain the inhomogeneous T−Q relations, exact energy spectrum and Bethe ansatz equations of the system.

BackgroundBiomarkers of different stages and grades of bladder cancer (BC) are important in clinical work. The objective of our study was to investigate new biomarkers of early-stage BC with liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) using serum samples.MethodsA total of 215 cases were included in our study, including 109 healthy adults as the control group and 106 non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients as the NMIBC group. Serum samples were collected from BC patients in the early stage, called NMIBC, and healthy people before surgery. We used LC-HRMS to distinguish the NMIBC group from the control group and the low-grade NMIBC group from the control group.ResultsAn apparent difference between the NMIBC group and the control group was visualized by unsupervised principal component analysis (PCA). Metabolite panels for 16-hydroxy-10-oxohexadecanoic acid, PGF2a ethanolamide, sulfoglycolithocholate, and threoninyl-alanine were used to distinguish the two groups. The area under the curve (AUC) of the panels was 0.985, and the sensitivity and specificity were 98.63% and 98.59%, respectively. To distinguish the low-grade NMIBC group from the control group, serum metabolic profiling differences between the low-grade NMIBC group and control group samples were also analyzed. Metabolite panels of L-octanoylcarnitine, PGF2a ethanolamide, and threoninyl-alanine showed good discrimination performance. The AUC of the panels was 0.999, and the sensitivity and specificity were 97.8% and 100%, respectively.ConclusionMetabolomics analysis of serum samples can distinguish the NMIBC group from the control group, particularly the early-stage low-grade NMIBC group.

Although primary vesical calculi is an ancient disease, the mechanism of calculi formation remains unclear. In this study, we established a novel primary vesical calculi model with d,l-choline tartrate in mice. Compared with commonly used melamine and ethylene glycol models, our model was the only approach that induced vesical calculi without causing kidney injury. Previous studies suggest that proteins in the daily diet are the main contributors to the prevention of vesical calculi, yet the effect of fat is overlooked. To assay the relationship of dietary fat with the formation of primary vesical calculi, d,l-choline tartrate-treated mice were fed a high-fat, low-fat, or normal-fat diet. Genetic changes in the mouse bladder were detected with transcriptome analysis. A high-fat diet remarkably reduced the morbidity of primary vesical calculi. Higher fatty acid levels in serum and urine were observed in the high-fat diet group, and more intact epithelia in bladder were observed in the same group compared with the normal- and low-fat diet groups, suggesting the protective effect of fatty acids on bladder epithelia to maintain its normal histological structure. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the macrophage differentiation-related gene C–X–C motif chemokine ligand 14 (Cxcl14) was upregulated in the bladders of high-fat diet-fed mice compared with those of normal- or low-fat diet-fed mice, which was consistent with histological observations. The expression of CXCL14 significantly increased in the bladder in the high-fat diet group. CXCL14 enhanced the recruitment of macrophages to the crystal nucleus and induced the transformation of M2 macrophages, which led to phagocytosis of budding crystals and prevented accumulation of calculi. In human bladder epithelia (HCV-29) cells, high fatty acid supplementation significantly increased the expression of CXCL14. Dietary fat is essential for the maintenance of physiological functions of the bladder and for the prevention of primary vesical calculi, which provides new ideas for the reduction of morbidity of primary vesical calculi.

Features of black phosphorous (BP) nano sheets such as enhancing mineralization and reducing cytotoxicity in bone regeneration field have been reported. Thermo-responsive FHE hydrogel (mainly composed of oxidized hyaluronic acid (OHA), poly-ε-L-lysine (ε-EPL) and F127) also showed a desired outcome in skin regeneration due to its stability and antibacterial benefits. This study investigated the application of BP-FHE hydrogel in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) both in in vitro and in vivo, and addressed its effects on tendon and bone healing. This BP-FHE hydrogel is expected to bring the benefits of both components (thermo-sensitivity, induced osteogenesis and easy delivery) to optimize the clinical application of ACLR and enhance the recovery. Our in vitro results confirmed the potential role of BP-FHE via significantly increased rBMSC attachment, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation with ARS and PCR analysis. Moreover, In vivo results indicated that BP-FHE hydrogels can successfully optimize the recovery of ACLR through enhancing osteogenesis and improving the integration of tendon and bone interface. Further results of Biomechanical testing and Micro-CT analysis [bone tunnel area (mm2) and bone volume/total volume (%)] demonstrated that BP can indeed accelerate bone ingrowth. Additionally, histological staining (H&E, Masson and Safranin O/fast green) and immunohistochemical analysis (COL I, COL III and BMP-2) strongly supported the ability of BP to promote tendon-bone healing after ACLR in murine animal models.

With the development of economy and society, the consumption of fossil energy is gradually increasing. In order to solve the current energy dilemma, Natural gas hydrate (NGH) is considered as an ideal alternative energy. At the same time, solid fluidization exploitation is an ideal method. However, in the process of that, sand and hydrate ore bodies enter the closed pipeline together, which will block the pipeline and increase the difficulty of exploitation. Therefore, the pre-separation of sand by hydrocyclone plays an important role in solid fluidization exploitation. In this study, the numerical simulation method was used to study the internal flow field characteristics of the hydrocyclone, and the effects of different flow rate, different flow ratio, different sand content and different particle diameter on the phase distribution were investigated. The results show that: at the same axial position, the increase of flow rate and sand content makes the sand phase more distributed at the edge of the flow field. Under the same working conditions, the sand gradually migrates to the center of the flow field with the increase of the axial distance. By calculation, it is obtained that under the optimum working condition of the flow rate is 4.83m3/h, the flow ratio is 20%, the sand content is 20%, and sand diameter is 80μm, the maximum Es is 22.1% and the minimum is 86.1%. Finally, a comprehensive analysis of the hydrocyclone in this study shows that this hydrocyclone is only applicable to rough pre-separation of sand in the process of solid fluidization exploitation. Through the study of the internal flow field characteristics and phase distribution law of the hydrocyclone, this study provides a reference for the practical engineering application of sand phase pre-separation in the solid fluidization exploitation of NGH.

Abstract Finding out root patterns of quantum integrable models is an important step to study their physical properties in the thermodynamic limit. Especially for models without U(1) symmetry, their spectra are usually given by inhomogeneous T − Q relations and the Bethe root patterns are still unclear. In this paper with the antiperiodic XXZ spin chain as an example, an analytic method to derive both the Bethe root patterns and the transfer-matrix root patterns in the thermodynamic limit is proposed. Based on them the ground state energy and elementary excitations in the gapped regime are derived. The present method provides an universal procedure to compute physical properties of quantum integrable models in the thermodynamic limit.

Abstract With increasing utilization of comprehensive genomic data to guide clinical care, anticipated to become the standard of care in many clinical settings, the practice of diagnostic medicine is undergoing a notable shift. However, the move from single-gene or panel-based genetic testing to exome and genome sequencing has not been matched by the development of tools to enable diagnosticians to interpret increasingly complex or uncertain genomic findings. Here, we present gene.iobio, a real-time, intuitive and interactive web application for clinically-driven variant interrogation and prioritization. We show gene.iobio is a novel and effective approach that significantly improves upon and reimagines existing methods. In a radical departure from existing methods that present variants and genomic data in text and table formats, gene.iobio provides an interactive, intuitive and visually-driven analysis environment. We demonstrate that adoption of gene.iobio in clinical and research settings empowers clinical care providers to interact directly with patient genomic data both for establishing clinical diagnoses and informing patient care, using sophisticated genomic analyses that previously were only accessible via complex command line tools.

Abstract Background Metastatic breast cancer is a deadly disease with a low 5-year survival rate. Tracking metastatic spread in living patients is difficult and thus poorly understood. Methods Via rapid autopsy, we have collected 30 tumor samples over 3 timepoints and across 8 organs from a triple-negative metastatic breast cancer patient. The large number of sites sampled, together with deep whole-genome sequencing and advanced computational analysis, allowed us to comprehensively reconstruct the tumor’s evolution at subclonal resolution. Results The most unique, previously unreported aspect of the tumor’s evolution that we observed in this patient was the presence of “subclone incubators,” defined as metastatic sites where substantial tumor evolution occurs before colonization of additional sites and organs by subclones that initially evolved at the incubator site. Overall, we identified four discrete waves of metastatic expansions, each of which resulted in a number of new, genetically similar metastasis sites that also enriched for particular organs (e.g., abdominal vs bone and brain). The lung played a critical role in facilitating metastatic spread in this patient: the lung was the first site of metastatic escape from the primary breast lesion, subclones at this site were likely the source of all four subsequent metastatic waves, and multiple sites in the lung acted as subclone incubators. Finally, functional annotation revealed that many known drivers or metastasis-promoting tumor mutations in this patient were shared by some, but not all metastatic sites, highlighting the need for more comprehensive surveys of a patient’s metastases for effective clinical intervention. Conclusions Our analysis revealed the presence of substantial tumor evolution at metastatic incubator sites in a patient, with potentially important clinical implications. Our study demonstrated that sampling of a large number of metastatic sites affords unprecedented detail for studying metastatic evolution.

Lamotrigine is an antiepileptic drug that can be used to control many types of seizures as a single-agent or an add-on therapy in patients over 2 years of age. In addition to common adverse reactions, this current case report describes a paediatric male patient with a rare side-effect of persistent penile erectile due to lamotrigine. Previous studies have shown that it can improve sexual function in adult male patients. This patient suffered from refractory epilepsy and pneumonia. He had taken a variety of antiepileptic drugs for a long time and developed priapism after the dosage of lamotrigine had been increased. The priapism improved after drug withdrawal and sedation. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanism of this rare side-effect.

The exact solution of the D2(1) quantum spin chain with generic non-diagonal boundary reflections is obtained. It is found that the generating functional of conserved quantities of the system can be factorized as the product of transfer matrices of two anisotropic XXZ spin chains with open boundary conditions. By using the factorization identities and the fusion technique, the eigenvalues and the Bethe ansatz equations of the model are obtained. The eigenvalues are also parameterized by the zero roots of the transfer matrix, and the patterns of root distributions are obtained. Based on them, ground states energy and the surface energies induced by the twisted boundary magnetic fields in the thermodynamic limit are obtained. These results are checked by the numerical calculations. The corresponding isotropic limit is also discussed. The results given in this paper are the foundation to study the exact physical properties of high rank Dn(1) model by using the nested processes.

With the development of economy and industry, the consumption of fossil energy is gradually increasing. Currently, natural gas hydrates (NGH) are considered to be an ideal alternative energy due to its large reserve and high energy density. However, the separation of hydrate slurry is a critical step in the exploitation of NGH. In this study, the optimization of the structural parameters based on the conventional three-phase hydrocyclone was carried out using numerical simulation and orthogonal design. At the same time, the separation efficiency criterion E was defined to evaluate the separation efficiency by calculating the sum of the discharge efficiency of water and gas. Analysis of the effect of individual structural factors on the flow field distribution characteristics inside the hydrocyclone using the single factor analysis method. The results showed that: with the combination of structural parameters of s was 2 mm2 × 12 mm2, dz was 28 mm, h was 20 mm, and li was 28 mm, the maximum E of the three-phase hydrocyclone was 1.46. The effect significance of each structural parameter on the separation efficiency from the highest to the lowest was the s, dz, h, and li. In the single-factor analysis, when the s was 2 mm2 × 12 mm2, the tangential velocity, axial velocity, and CH4 volume fraction in the flow field reached the maximum of 13.65 m/s, 4.35 m/s, and 12.4%, respectively. But the minimum water phase volume fraction was 69.9% under this structural parameter condition. When the dz was 36 mm, the maximum decrease value of axial velocity in the flow field was 3.57 m/s, the maximum CH4 volume fraction was 12.4%, and the water volume fraction reached a minimum of 66.3%. The li and the h only had significant effects on the axial velocity and the water volume fraction, respectively. The axial velocity reached a maximum of 4.75 m/s when the li was 32 mm, and the water phase volume fraction reached a maximum of 77.9% when the h was 10 mm. The study of the structural parameters and flow field characteristics of this three-phase hydrocyclone applicable to the solid fluidization exploitation of NGH provides some guidance and suggestions for the separation of hydrate slurry after solid fluidization exploitation of NGH.

Abstract A new nonlinear integral equation (NLIE) describing the thermodynamics of the Heisenberg spin chain is derived based on the t − W relation of the quantum transfer matrices. The free energy of the system in a magnetic field is thus obtained by solving the NLIE. This method can be generalized to other lattice quantum integrable models. Taking the SU(3)-invariant quantum spin chain as an example, we construct the corre- sponding NLIEs and compute the free energy. The present results coincide exactly with those obtained via other methods previously.

Abstract While mobile elements are largely inactive in healthy somatic tissues, increased activity has been found in cancer tissues, with significant variation among different cancer types. In addition to insertion events, mobile elements have also been found to mediate many structural variation events in the genome. Here, to better understand the timing and impact of mobile element insertions and associated structural variants in cancer, we examined their activity in longitudinal samples of four metastatic breast cancer patients. We identified 11 mobile element insertions or associated structural variants and found that the majority of these occurred early in tumor progression. Most of the variants impact intergenic regions; however, we identified a translocation interrupting MAP2K4 involving Alu elements and a deletion in YTHDF2 involving mobile elements that likely inactivate reported tumor suppressor genes. The high variant allele fraction of the translocation, the loss of the other copy of MAP2K4, the recurrent loss-of-function mutations found in this gene in other cancers, and the important function of MAP2K4 indicate that this translocation is potentially a driver mutation. Overall, using a unique longitudinal dataset, we find that most variants are likely passenger mutations in the four patients we examined, but some variants impact tumor progression.

Prostate cystadenoma is a rare benign prostatic neoplasm, which grows outside prostate and locates midline between the urinary bladder and rectum. It usually presents as multilocular cysts, thus, named giant multilocular prostate cystadenoma. The definite diagnosis is difficult to be made before surgery, and it depends on histopathology. Here, we report a rarer condition of prostate cystadenoma, which manifests as a giant unilocular cyst with a solid nodule inside. The 55-year-old Chinese male patient presented with dysuria and constipation. MRI revealed a 10.5 × 8.2 cm mono-cystic lesion displacing the rectum to the posterior, prostate, and bladder to the anterior, with a 2.8 × 2.1 cm solid nodule at the anterior wall. 18F-FDG PET/CT demonstrated an elevated SUVmax (3.5) of the solid nodule. Laparoscopic pelvic mass resection was performed and prostate cystadenoma was diagnosed. In conclusion, when a mass of single locular cyst sits in the male pelvis, the diagnosis of prostate cystadenoma could not be excluded.

Background: Stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP) prescribed in patients admitted to surgical wards with a low risk of stress-related mucosal disease (SRMD) accounted for a considerable proportion of improper use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). This study aimed to analyze the appropriateness of SUP prescribing patterns and identify its associated factors in the orthopedics department of a tertiary hospital in the Northwestern China.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, information regarding the demographic and clinical characteristics of 1,200 fracture inpatients who underwent surgical operations from January 2020 to August 2021 were collected from medical records. Established criteria were used to assess the appropriateness of the prescribing pattern for SUP, and the incidence of inappropriate SUP medication was calculated. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with inappropriate SUP medication.Results: Approximately, 42.4% of the study population was interpreted as inappropriate prescription of SUP. A total of 397 (33.1%) patients received SUP without a proper indication (overprescription), and the incidence of inappropriate SUP medication was calculated to be 43.11 per 100 patient-days. In addition, 112 (9.3%) inpatients for whom SUP was indicated did not receive SUP (underprescription). PPIs were prescribed in 96.1% of the inpatients who used acid suppression therapy (AST), and intravenous PPIs accounted for 95.3% thereof. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, age above 65 years and prolonged hospitalization were associated with overprescription of SUP. Increased number of drugs excluding PPIs, the concurrent use of systemic corticosteroids, comorbidity of hypertension, and unemployed or retired status in inpatients were associated with a reduced likelihood of overprescription for SUP. Conversely, prolonged hospitalization, the concurrent use of systemic corticosteroids or anticoagulants, and unemployed status in inpatients were positively associated with underprescription of SUP.Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of inappropriate SUP prescription among noncritically ill inpatients of fracture who underwent surgical operations. We delineated the associated factors with inappropriate SUP medication, which indicated that more information was required for clinicians about rationality and efficiency of their prescribing practices. Effective intervention strategies should be executed by clinical pharmacists to reduce improper SUP medication.

BackgroundUrinary stones usually start at a young age and tend to recur. Therefore, preventing stone occurrence and recurrence in young people is crucial. We aimed to investigate the association between subcutaneous adipose tissue, visceral adipose tissue, and stone episodes in young people.MethodsWe retrospectively studied patients aged below 40 years with kidney or ureteral stones. Data on demographic and metabolic characteristics, urolithiasis history, subcutaneous fat area (SFA), and visceral fat area (VFA) were collected. We evaluated the association between SFA or VFA and the occurrence or recurrence of stone episodes using binary logistic regression and Poisson regression analyses.ResultsIn total, 120 patients were included. Abdominal obesity, overweight or obesity, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, SFA, and VFA increased with the number of stone episodes (all p < 0.05). The increase in SFA was independently associated with episode occurrence (p = 0.015). Patients with an SFA > 97 cm2 had a higher risk of episode occurrence. SFA and VFA accumulation were independently associated with episode recurrence (all p < 0.05), and SFA had a stronger association than VFA did.ConclusionsIn young people, SFA accumulation is an independent and early risk factor for the occurrence and recurrence of stone episodes. Subcutaneous fat could be a convenient and effective indicator to assess the risk of stone episodes before the development of metabolic disorders.

Abstract Background DNA sequencing has unveiled extensive tumor heterogeneity in several different cancer types, with many exhibiting diverse subclonal populations. Identifying and tracing mutations throughout the expansion and progression of a tumor represents a significant challenge. Furthermore, prioritizing the subset of such mutations most likely to contribute to tumor evolution or that could serve as potential therapeutic targets represents an ongoing problem. Results Here, we describe OncoGEMINI, a new tool designed for exploring the complex patterns and trajectory of somatic and inherited variation observed in heterogeneous tumors biopsied over the course of treatment. This is accomplished by creating a searchable database of variants that includes tumor sampling time points and allows for filtering methods that reflect specific changes in variant allele frequencies over time. Additionally, by incorporating existing annotations and resources that facilitate the interpretation of cancer mutations (e.g., CIViC, DGIdb), OncoGEMINI enables rapid searches for, and potential identification of, mutations that may be driving subclonal evolution. Conclusions By combining relevant genomic annotations alongside specific filtering tools, OncoGEMINI provides powerful and customizable approaches that enable the quick identification of individual tumor variants that meet specified criteria. It can be applied to a wide range of tumor-derived sequence data, but is especially designed for studies with multiple samples, including longitudinal datasets. It is available under an MIT license at github.com/fakedrtom/oncogemini .

We propose a novel characterization of the exact solution of the one-dimensional Hubbard model with unparallel boundary magnetic fields. The non-diagonal boundary terms break the U(1) symmetry of the system and the number of electrons with fixed spin is not conserved. Thus it is difficult to study the physical quantities in the thermodynamic limit based on the previously obtained inhomogeneous T−Q relation and Bethe ansatz equations. In order to solve this problem, we propose the t−W scheme. The basic idea is that the eigenvalues of the transfer matrix can be expressed by its zero-roots instead of the usual Bethe roots. This method allows us to study thermodynamic properties of the system such as the ground state, surface energy, charge and spin excitations. The t−W scheme is universal and can be applied to the systems either with or without U(1) symmetry.

Abstract Background Vibrio alginolyticus is an important pathogen that has to be closely monitored and controlled in the mariculture industry because of its strong pathogenicity, quick onset after infection and high mortality rate in aquatic animals. Fast, simple and specific methods are needed for on-site detection to effectively control outbreaks and prevent economic losses. The detection specificity towards the pathogenic strains has to be emphasized to facilitate pointed treatment and prevention. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based molecular approaches have been developed, but their application is limited due to the requirement of complicated thermal cycling machines and trained personnel. Results A fast, simple and highly specific detection method for V. alginolyticus pathogenic strains was established based on isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) and lateral flow dipsticks (LFD). The method targeted the virulence gene toxR, which is reported to have good coverage for V. alginolyticus pathogenic strains. To ensure the specificity of the method, the primer-probe set of the RPA system was carefully designed to recognize regions in the toxR gene that diverge in different Vibrio species but are conserved in V. alginolyticus pathogenic strains. The primer-probe set was determined after a systematic screening of amplification performance, primer-dimer formation and false positive signals. The RPA-LFD method was confirmed to have high specificity for V. alginolyticus pathogenic strains without any cross reaction with other Vibrio species or other pathogenic bacteria and was able to detect as little as 1 colony forming unit (CFU) per reaction without DNA purification, or 170 fg of genomic DNA, or 6.25 × 103 CFU/25 g in spiked shrimp without any enrichment. The method finishes detection within 30 min at temperatures between 35 °C and 45 °C, and the visual signal on the dipstick can be directly read by the naked eye. In an application simulation, randomly spiked shrimp homogenate samples were 100% accurately detected. Conclusions The RPA-LFD method developed in this study is fast, simple, highly specific and does not require complicated equipment. This method is applicable for on-site detection of V. alginolyticus pathogenic strains for the mariculture industry.

A novel Bethe ansatz scheme is proposed to investigate the exact physical properties of an integrable anisotropic quantum spin chain with competing interactions among the nearest, next nearest neighbor and chiral three spin couplings, where the boundary condition is the twisted one. The eigenvalue of the transfer matrix is characterized by its zero roots instead of the traditional Bethe roots. Based on the exact solution, the conserved momentum and charge operators of this U(1)-symmetry broken system are obtained. The ground state energy and density of rapidities are calculated. It is found that there exist three kinds of elementary excitations and the corresponding dispersion relations are obtained, which gives a different picture from that with periodic boundary condition.

We study the thermodynamic limit of the antiperiodic XXZ spin chain with the anisotropic parameter η=πi3. We parameterize eigenvalues of the transfer matrix by their zero points instead of Bethe roots. We obtain patterns of the distribution of zero points. Based on them, we calculate the ground state energy and the elementary excitations in the thermodynamic limit. We also obtain the two-body scattering matrix of elementary excitations. Two types of elementary excitations and three types of scattering processes are discussed in detailed.

Introduction: Colorectal cancer is the third most common malignancy and the second most deadly cancer worldwide. In this present study, the effects of eupafolin on DMH-induced colon cancer in rats were assessed. Methods: The acute and sub-acute oral toxicity study in the balb/c mice was performed to evaluate the LD50 dose and the chemotherapeutic doses of eupafolin. The colon cancer was induced in the animals through a single intraperitoneal injection (i.p) of 30 mg/kg of dimethylhydrazine followed by 2% DSS for 7 days in the drinking water in male Wistar rats. The rats were treated with eupafolin (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg) through oral route for 18 weeks. The animals were sacrificed and colon tissues were subsequently investigated for aberrant crypt foci (ACF), in vivo antioxidant studies, histology and immunohistochemical analysis, and apoptosis by TUNNEL technique after 18 weeks of eupafolin therapy. Results: The acute oral toxicity data represented the LD50 dose of eupafolin which was found to be 500 mg/kg body weight. Along with that, the sub-acute toxicity study suggested the chemotherapeutic doses of eupafolin, that is, 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg body weight. Eupafolin therapy inhibits ACF development in rat colon mucosa efficiently. Additionally, eupafolin has improved the colonic lesions and the structural integrity of the colonic mucosa. Eupafolin therapy causes anti-oxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione to increase as well. Increased levels of P53, BAX, and PCNA and a simultaneous decrease in Bcl2 and IL-6 expressions show eupafolin therapy successfully regulated these biological markers in colorectal cancer. Eupafolin also induced apoptosis efficiently in the rat colon mucous membrane. Conclusion: These results show that eupafolin can improve colon cancer by modulating the p53, Bcl2, BAX, and IL-6 pathways in rats.

The sustainability of shrimp aquaculture can be achieved through the development of greenhouse and aquaponic rearing modes, which are classified as heterotrophic and autotrophic bacterial aquaculture systems. However, there have been few investigations into the discrepancies between the intestinal and water microbiota of these two rearing methods. In this study, we collected shrimp samples from greenhouse-rearing (WG) and aquaponic-rearing (YG) ponds, and water samples (WE, YE), and investigated the intestinal and water microbiota between the two rearing modes. The results, through alpha and beta diversity analyses, reveal that there was basically no significant difference between shrimp intestine WG and YG (p > 0.05) or between rearing water WE and YE (p > 0.05). At the phylum and genus levels, the common bacteria between WE and WG differed significantly from those of YE and YG. The analysis of the top six phyla shows that Proteobacteria and Patescibacteria were significantly more abundant in the WG group than those in the YG group (p < 0.05). Conversely, Actinobacteriota, Firmicutes, and Verrucomicrobiota were significantly more abundant in the YG group than those in the WG group (p < 0.05). Venn analysis between WE and WG shows that Amaricoccus, Micrococcales, Flavobacteriaceae, and Paracoccus were the dominant bacteria genera, while Acinetobacter, Demequina, and Rheinheimera were the dominant bacteria genera between YE and YG. Pathways such as the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, microbial metabolism in different environments, and carbon metabolism were significantly more upregulated in WG than those in YG (p < 0.05). In addition, pathways such as sulfate, chloroplast, phototrophy, and the nitrogen metabolism were significantly different between the WE and YE samples. These findings suggest that the greenhouse mode, a typical heterotrophic bacterial model, contains bacterial flora consisting of Amaricoccus, Micrococcales, Flavobacteriaceae, and other bacteria, which is indicative of the biological sludge process. Conversely, the aquaponic mode, an autotrophic bacterial model, was characterized by Acinetobacter, Demequina, Rheinheimera, and other bacteria, signifying the autotrophic biological process. This research provides an extensive understanding of heterotrophic and autotrophic bacterial aquaculture systems.

Abstract When ordering genetic testing or triaging candidate variants in exome and genome sequencing studies, it is critical to generate and test a comprehensive list of candidate genes that succinctly describe the complete and objective phenotypic features of disease. Significant efforts have been made to curate gene:disease associations both in academic research and commercial genetic testing laboratory settings. However, many of these valuable resources exist as islands and must be used independently, generating static, single-resource gene:disease association lists. Here we describe genepanel.iobio (https://genepanel.iobio.io) an easy to use, free and open-source web tool for generating disease- and phenotype-associated gene lists from multiple gene:disease association resources, including the NCBI Genetic Testing Registry (GTR), Phenolyzer, and the Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO). We demonstrate the utility of genepanel.iobio by applying it to complex, rare and undiagnosed disease cases that had reached a diagnostic conclusion. We find that genepanel.iobio is able to correctly prioritize the gene containing the diagnostic variant in roughly half of these challenging cases. Importantly, each component resource contributed diagnostic value, showing the benefits of this aggregate approach. We expect genepanel.iobio will improve the ease and diagnostic value of generating gene:disease association lists for genetic test ordering and whole genome or exome sequencing variant prioritization.

Objective: Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the most common microvascular complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus (2-DM). Currently, urine and kidney biopsy specimens are the major clinical resources for DKD diagnosis. Our study proposes to evaluate the diagnostic value of blood in monitoring the onset of DKD and distinguishing its status in the clinic. Methods: This study recruited 1,513 participants including healthy adults and patients diagnosed with 2-DM, early-stage DKD (DKD-E), and advanced-stage DKD (DKD-A) from 4 independent medical centers. One discovery and four testing cohorts were established. Sera were collected and subjected to training proteomics and large-scale metabolomics. Results: Deep profiling of serum proteomes and metabolomes revealed several insights. First, the training proteomics revealed that the combination of α2-macroglobulin, cathepsin D, and CD324 could serve as a surrogate protein biomarker for monitoring DKD progression. Second, metabolomics demonstrated that galactose metabolism and glycerolipid metabolism are the major disturbed metabolic pathways in DKD, and serum metabolite glycerol-3-galactoside could be used as an independent marker to predict DKD. Third, integrating proteomics and metabolomics increased the diagnostic and predictive stability and accuracy for distinguishing DKD status. Conclusions: Serum integrative omics provide stable and accurate biomarkers for early warning and diagnosis of DKD. Our study provides a rich and open-access data resource for optimizing DKD management.

Increasing evidences have showed that a tight link among pathogen infection, physiological indicators and intestinal microbiota. To investigate effects of Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) infection to growth retardation and intestinal microbiota, different sized Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei) infecting with EHP were studied. The shrimp with big, medium and small sized groups were from same batch of postlarvae and reared in one pond under the same diet and environmental conditions. Number of EHP copies revealed that the more EHP copies the smaller size of shrimp individuals. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles showed intestinal bacterial patterns of small sized shrimp were similar to the middle sized shrimp, rather than the big sized shrimp. It implied that intestinal microbiota were influenced by severity of EHP infection and suggested the different sizes of shrimp were due to the successive infection period of EHP. Among the different sized groups, the relative abundance of Vibrio of small group was the highest, suggesting EHP infection could result in higher susceptibility to pathogen invasion. Our findings provided the evidence intestinal bacterial patterns altered by infection of EHP, the more EHP copies the smaller size of shrimp, and different sized individuals due to successive infection period of EHP.

We propose a novel characterization of the exact solution of the one-dimensional supersymmetric t−Jmodel with generic non-diagonal boundary conditions. Instead of using Bethe roots, we parameterize the eigenvalues of transfer matrix in the spin sector with their zero-roots. By constructing the t−Wrelation, we obtain the explicit forms of the eigenvalues of the system and the homogeneous Bethe ansatz equations. This scheme is universal and can be applied to other quantum integrable systems with or without U(1)symmetry.

Summary: The kidney local microenvironment (KLM) plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of kidney fibrosis. However, the composition and regulation of a fibrotic KLM remain unclear. Through a multidisciplinary approach, we investigated the roles of the hepatocyte growth factor/c-met signaling pathway in regulating KLM formation in various chronic kidney disease (CKD) models. We performed a retrospective analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing data and determined that tubular epithelial cells and macrophages are two major cell populations in a fibrotic kidney. We then created a mathematical model that predicted loss of c-met in tubular cells would cause greater responses to injury than loss of c-met in macrophages. By generating c-met conditional knockout mice, we validated that loss of c-met influences epithelial plasticity, myofibroblast activation, and extracellular matrix synthesis/degradation, which ultimately determined the characteristics of the fibrotic KLM. Our findings open the possibility of designing effective therapeutic strategies to retard CKD.

Abstract Background Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) has never been applied in Chinese clinical practice, and the distribution of NPD in the clinical population of China is largely unknown. The current study uses two-stage clinic-based screening to investigate the frequency and clinical features of NPD in a Chinese help-seeking sample. Methods A total of 1402 consecutive outpatients ages 18–60 were recruited during their visit to the Shanghai Mental Health Center and screened with the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire Fourth Edition Plus (PDQ-4+) and Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) Axis II (SCID-II). The structured clinical interview was administered to estimate the rate of NPD and the frequency of each disorder criterion. Results The frequency estimate of NPD in the total sample was 4.0%. Among the 56 outpatients who met the criteria for NPD, there were more males than females, and many had a better educational background. The SCID-II interviews revealed high frequencies of diagnostic criterion 1 ("exaggerated sense of self-importance. NPD likely overlaps with Histrionic PD, Borderline PD, and Paranoid PD. This two stage screening method can enhance detection of Chinese NPD patients in clinical settings. Conclusions Narcissism pathology is not rare in the Chinese psychiatric community when using the DSM-IV NPD criteria. Existing evidence suggests, at least indirectly, that there are important benefits of NPD diagnosis in psychiatric practice.