A novel material Cs2RbxAg1−xIn0.875Bi0.125Cl6 with a special blue shift and application for white light LED devices

A lead-free perovskite of Cs2RbxAg1−xIn0.875Bi0.125Cl6 was synthesized by a hydrothermal method. Properties were characterized in detail and a LED device package was developed with desirable performance promising for lighting applications.

Retinol binding protein 1-dependent activation of NF- κB signaling enhances the malignancy of non-glioblastomatous diffuse gliomas

Nonglioblastomatous diffuse glioma (non‐GDG) is a heterogeneous neuroepithelial tumor that exhibits a varied survival range from 4 to 13 years based on the diverse subtypes. Recent studies demonstrated novel molecular markers can predict prognosis for non‐GDG patients; however, these findings as well as pathological classification strategies show obvious limitations on malignant transition due to the heterogeneity among non‐GDGs. Therefore, developing reliable prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets have become an urgent need for precisely distinguishing non‐GDG subtypes, illuminating the underlying mechanism. Nuclear factor κβ (NF‐κB) has been proved to be a significant nuclear transcriptional regulator with specific DNA‐binding sequences to participate in multiple pathophysiological processes. However, the underlying mechanism of NF‐κB activation still needs to be further investigated. Herein, our results indicated retinol‐binding protein 1 (RBP1) was significantly upregulated in the IDH^WT and 1p19q^{Non co‐del} non‐GDG subtypes and enriched RBP1 expression was markedly correlated with more severe outcomes. Additionally, malignant signatures of the non‐GDG cells including proliferation, migration, invasion, and self‐renewal were significantly suppressed by lentiviral knockdown of RBP1. To further explore the underlying molecular mechanism, bioinformatics analysis was performed using databases, and the results demonstrated RBP1 was strongly correlated with tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα)–NF‐κB signaling. Moreover, exogenous silencing of RBP1 reduced phosphorylation of IkB‐kinase α (IKKα) and thus decreased NF‐κB expression via decreasing the degradation of the IκBα protein. Altogether, these data suggested RBP1‐dependent activation of NF‐κB signaling promoted malignancy of non‐GDG, indicating that RBP1 could be a reliable prognostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for non‐GDG.

Clinical study of central cholinergic pathway damage in two mild cognitive impairment patients

Objectives

To explore the role of the central cholinergic system in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and mild vascular cognitive impairment (vMCI).

Methods

Twenty-five aMCI patients and 25 vMCI patients were enrolled in this study, and 25 healthy people were chosen as a control group. All participants performed a set of cognitive function scales and were subjected to a brain MRI. We analyzed differences in neuropsychological damage between groups, as well as the degree of brain atrophy and changes in the microstructure of central cholinergic pathways (CCP) in relation to effects on neuropsychological scores.

Results

(1) Regarding neuropsychological characteristics of the three groups, scores on the MoCA scale, immediate memory, delayed recall, cued recall, long time prolonged recognition, and CDR-SB of the control group were significantly better than those of the aMCI and vMCI groups. Scores on immediate memory, delayed memory, cued recall, long time delayed recognition, and Forward of Digital Span Test (FDST) in the aMCI group were lower than those in the vMCI group. Compared with the aMCI group, the vMCI group was significantly delayed in Trail Making Test (TMA)-A, TMT-B, and TMT B-A. There were no significant differences in HAMA, HAMD, MMSE, MoCA, the Boston Naming Test (BNT), language fluency or visual scale of posterior atrophy (Koedam score) between the vMCI and aMCI groups. (2) As for microstructure changes in the central cholinergic pathway, vMCI group had a decreased FA value in the cingulum (Cing) of the medial pathway, but an increased MD value in the external capsule (Excap) of the lateral pathway when compared to other two groups. Furthermore, the CingMD value of the vMCI group was higher than that of the control group, but the difference was not obvious when compared to the aMCI group. (3) Last, we researched microstructural changes to CCP, degree of brain atrophy, and neuropsychological scores by using partial correlation analysis for all participants. CingFA was negatively correlated with TMT-B, B-A, and FDST. CingMD was negatively correlated with FDST. ExcapFA was positively correlated with MMSE and Backward of BDST, while ExcapMD was negatively correlated with MMSE and MoCA. Claustrum (Claus)FA was positively related to MoCA and FDST, but was negatively related to TMT-A. ClausMD was negatively correlated with MoCA and language fluency. Koedam score was positively correlated with CDR-SB, ExcapMD, and ClausMD, but negatively correlated with MMSE score and inverse BDST.

Conclusion

The central cholinergic system is involved in the cognitive impairment of both aMCI and vMCI, and their mechanisms may be distinct. aMCI patients may present with primary CCP impairment while vMCI patients probably exhibit impairment secondary to vasogenic damage to the cholinergic system projection network. The lateral cholinergic pathway was more severely impaired than the medial pathway in vMCI patients, in addition to being associated with decreased executive and general cognitive functions. The damage to CCP was related to the degree of brain atrophy, and both may be involved in the development and progression of cognitive dysfunction.

A generalized l 2,p-norm regression based feature selection algorithm

Feature selection is an important data dimension reduction method, and it has been used widely in applications involving high-dimensional data such as genetic data analysis and image processing. In order to achieve robust feature selection, the latest works apply the l 2 , 1 or l 2 , p -norm of matrix to the loss function and regularization terms in regression, and have achieved encouraging results. However, these existing works rigidly set the matrix norms used in the loss function and the regularization terms to the same l 2 , 1 or l 2 , p -norm, which limit their applications. In addition, the algorithms for solutions they present either have high computational complexity and are not suitable for large data sets, or cannot provide satisfying performance due to the approximate calculation. To address these problems, we present a generalized l 2 , p -norm regression based feature selection ( l 2 , p -RFS) method based on a new optimization criterion. The criterion extends the optimization criterion of ( l 2 , p -RFS) when the loss function and the regularization terms in regression use different matrix norms. We cast the new optimization criterion in a regression framework without regularization. In this framework, the new optimization criterion can be solved using an iterative re-weighted least squares (IRLS) procedure in which the least squares problem can be solved efficiently by using the least square QR decomposition (LSQR) algorithm. We have conducted extensive experiments to evaluate the proposed algorithm on various well-known data sets of both gene expression and image data sets, and compare it with other related feature selection methods.

Risk factors for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and its histological precursor lesions in China: a multicenter cross-sectional study

Background

Despite research efforts, the causative factors that contribute to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in high-risk areas have not yet been understood. In this study, we, therefore, aimed to describe the risk factors associated with ESCC and its precursor lesions.

Methods

We performed an endoscopic examination of 44,857 individuals aged 40–69 years from five high incidence regions of China in 2017–2018. Participants were classified as 4 groups of normal control, esophagitis, low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN) and high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia/esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (HGIN/ESCC) using an unconditional logistic regression determine risk factors.

Results

We identified 4890 esophagitis, 1874 LGIN and 437 HGIN/ESCC cases. Crude odds ratios (ORs) and adjusted odds ratios were calculated using unconditional logistic regression. Drinking well and surface water, salty diet, and positive family history of cancer were the common risk factors for esophagitis, LGIN and HGIN/ESCC. History of chronic hepatitis/cirrhosis was the greatest risk factor of esophagitis (adjusted OR 2.96, 95%CI 2.52–3.47) and HGIN/ESCC (adjusted OR 1.91, 95%CI 1.03–3.22). Pesticide exposure (adjusted OR 1.20, 95%CI 1.05–1.37) was essential risk factor of LGIN.

Conclusions

Among individuals aged 40–69 years in high incidence regions of upper gastrointestinal cancer, the results provided important epidemiological evidence for the prevention of different precancerous lesions of ESCC.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-021-08764-x.

Novel approaches to intervene gut microbiota in the treatment of chronic liver diseases

Recent investigations of gut microbiota have contributed to understanding of the critical role of microbial community in pathophysiology. Dysbiosis not only causes disturbance directly to the gastrointestinal tract but also affects the liver through gut-liver axis. Various types of dysbiosis have been documented in alcoholic liver disease (ALD), nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), primary sclerosing cholangitis, and may be crucial for the initiation, progression, or deterioration to end-stage liver disease. A few microbial species have been identified as the causal factors leading to these chronic illnesses that either do not have clear etiologies or lack effective treatment. Notably, cytolysin-producing Enterococcus faecalis, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterococcus gallinarum were defined for ALD, NASH, and AIH, respectively. These groundbreaking discoveries drive a rapid development in innovative therapeutics, such as fecal microbial transplantation and implementation of specific bacteriophages in addition to prebiotics, probiotics, or synbiotics for intervention of dysbiosis. Although most emerging interventions are in preclinical development or early clinical trials, a better delineation of specific dysbiosis in these disorders at metabolic, immunogenic, or molecular levels in establishing particular causal effects aids in modulating or correcting the microbial community which is the part of daily life for human being.

[CFTR gene variations and phenotypes in seven children]

Objective: To analyze the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene variations and phenotypes in 7 Chinese children. Methods: In this retrospective study, the data of 7 children with CFTR gene variations admitted to Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from December 2013 to October 2020 were extracted. The general information, clinical manifestations, gene variations, diagnosis and treatment were summarized. Results: Among the 7 children, 2 were males and 5 were females, aged 5.2(0.5-11.3) years. Main clinical manifestations included malnutrition (5 cases), recurrent respiratory infection (4 cases), bronchiectasis (3 cases), steatorrhea (3 cases), vomiting in infancy (2 cases), liver cirrhosis (2 cases), meconium ileus (1 case), metabolic alkalosis and hypochloremia (1 case). A total of 15 variations were found by whole exon sequencing and Sanger sequencing, among which 3 were newly discovered, and 7 were missense mutations. Four children were diagnosed as CF, and the other 3 were diagnosed as CFTR related disease (CFTR-RD). Compared with CF patients, the pancreatic insufficiency and typical CF lung disease were relatively mild in CFTR-RD patients. After treatment, 6 children were clinically improved, while the rest one withdrew treatment due to critical pulmonary infection and disturbance of water-electrolyte metabolism. Conclusions: The loci and phenotypes of CFTR gene variants vary hugely and the pathogenicity of some variations are not clear. Whole exon sequencing can facilitate the identification of CF-and CFTR-RD-causing variaions. For the cases not compatible with CF, CFTR-RD should be considered and evaluated by timely gene detection, so as to carry out appropriate long term management.

Exposure to outdoor air pollution at different periods and the risk of leukemia: a meta-analysis

The causes of leukemia remain largely unknown; our aims were to examine the association between the exposure to outdoor air pollution and leukemia risk and to explore the effect of this exposure during different periods of pregnancy and early life. We searched for all case-control and cohort studies published before February 20, 2021, which measured the risk of leukemia in relation to exposure to the air pollutants: particulate matter, benzene, nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), and nitrogen oxides (NO_x). We then carried out a meta-analysis and calculated the summary relative risks (RRs) of leukemia by using a random-effects model. The potential dose-response relationship was further explored. The results showed that the highest exposure to benzene (RR: 1.20, 95%CI: 1.06-1.35) and NO₂ (RR: 1.04, 95%CI; 1.02-1.08) were positively correlated with leukemia risk when compared to the lowest exposure categories for each air pollutant. During pregnancy, exposure to benzene in the third trimester, as well as exposure to NO₂ in the second trimester and entire pregnancy, could also increase the risk of leukemia. In the dose-response analysis, benzene exposure and NO₂ exposure were linearly associated with the risk of leukemia. Other air pollutants did not have a statistical correlation with leukemia risk. There was a certain degree of publication bias in studies on benzene. Overall, our results support a link between outdoor air pollution and leukemia risk, particularly due to benzene and NO₂. Prospero Registration Number: PROSPERO CRD42020207025.

Diagnostic Performance of SGA, PG-SGA and MUST for Malnutrition Assessment in Adult Cancer Patients: A Systematic Literature Review and Hierarchical Bayesian Meta-Analysis

Because cancer-associated malnutrition is a major health complication, timely nutritional screening is of utmost importance. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of three tools in order to identify the method with the best diagnostic performance. PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane central register of controlled trials were searched for articles published from database inception to January 2021. Studies that assessed the diagnostic accuracy of the SGA, PG-SGA or MUST in adult cancer patients were included. In order to evaluate the quality of each included study, the QUADAS-2 tool was used after which a meta-analysis was conducted using the hierarchical bivariate model. This model accounts for both within and between study variability. 16 studies (18 datasets) were included to evaluate these tools. The overall sensitivity and specificity for SGA was 0.69 and 0.80, 0.95 and 0.81 for PG-SGA, along with 0.83 and 0.83 for MUST respectively. An assessment of the likelihood ratios showed that PG-SGA had the highest LR + and the lowest LR-, it therefore has the best diagnostic performance to confirm malnutrition in adult cancer patients.

A Novel Small Peptide H-KI20 Inhibits Retinal Neovascularization Through the JNK/ATF2 Signaling Pathway

Purpose

Abundant evidence has shown benefits of antivascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapies in neovascular eye diseases. However, the high cost, side effects, and inconvenience of frequent injections demand alternative novel drug candidates. This study aimed to analyze antiangiogenic effects of peptide H-KI20 and illustrated signaling mechanisms.

Methods

Live cell culture and tracing, wound healing assay, and tube formation were performed in human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRECs). The chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane and mouse oxygen-induced ischemic retinopathy model were applied to examine the effects of H-KI20 in vivo. The intracellular signaling pathways were examined. Molecular docking and surface plasmon resonance assay were used to validate the direct interaction of H-KI20 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase 2 (JNK2).

Results

H-KI20 had high penetration ability in vitro and in vivo. It inhibited motility, migration, and tube formation of HRECs, without cytotoxicity, and inhibited angiogenesis in vivo. Furthermore, H-KI20 treatment reduced the phosphorylation level of activating transcription factor 2 (ATF2) stimulated by VEGF via downregulating p-JNK. H-KI20 bound to JNK2 directly with a dissociation constant value of 83.68 µM. The knockdown of ATF2 attenuated VEGF-induced tube formation and decreased the movement speed of HRECs.

Conclusions

H-KI20 inhibited angiogenesis both in vitro and in vivo. The ratios of p-ATF2/ATF2 and p-JNK/JNK stimulated by VEGF were decreased by H-KI20, and H-KI20 targeted JNK2 directly. In addition, the pivotal role of ATF2 in VEGF-induced retinal neovascularization was elucidated for the first time. Taken together, H-KI20 displays potential for pathological retinal angiogenesis as a sustained and low-toxic peptide.

NLRP3 deficiency did not attenuate NASH development under high fat calorie diet plus high fructose and glucose in drinking water

NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) promotes the inflammatory response during progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). This study aimed to further delineate the role of NLRP3 in NASH development by abolishing its expression in mice. A high-fat and calorie diet plus high fructose and glucose in drinking water (HFCD-HF/G) was used to establish NASH in both wild-type (WT) and NLRP3 knock-out (KO) mice. Hepatocellular injury, hepatic steatosis and fibrosis, as well as inflammatory response and insulin resistance in the liver and epidydimal white adipose tissue (eWAT) were determined. Elevated body weight, liver weight and serum alanine transaminase level, increased hepatic triglyceride accumulation and collagen deposition, and worsened systemic insulin resistance were observed in Nlrp3-/- mice compared to WT mice under HFCD-HF/G feeding. Upregulated hepatic transcription of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), and enhanced infiltration of inducible nitric oxide synthase-positive (iNOS+) M1 macrophages were also documented in HFCD-HF/G-fed Nlrp3-/- mice in comparison to HFCD-HF/G-fed WT mice. Moreover, transcription of TNF-α and MCP-1 and infiltration of iNOS+ M1 macrophages were increased in the liver of Nlrp3-/- mice under control diet. NLRP3 deficiency did not attenuate, but instead aggravated NASH development under HFCD-HF/G feeding. The worsened extent of NASH might be attributed to enhanced hepatic MCP-1 expression and M1 macrophage infiltration in Nlrp3-/- mice. Our study points to additional caution when NLRP3 blockade is considered as a therapeutic strategy in the treatment of human NASH.

Modeling motor task activation from resting-state fMRI using machine learning in individual subjects

Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) has provided important insights into brain physiology. It has become an increasingly popular method for presurgical mapping, as an alternative to task-based functional MRI wherein the subject performs a task while being scanned. However, there is no commonly acknowledged gold standard approach for detecting eloquent brain areas using rs-fMRI data in clinical settings. In this study, a general linear model-based machine learning (GLM-ML) approach was tested to predict individual motor task activation based on rs-fMRI data. Its accuracy was then compared to a conventional independent component analysis (ICA) approach. 47 healthy subjects were scanned using resting state, active and passive motor task fMRI experiments using a clinically applicable low-resolution fMRI protocol. The model was trained to associate rs-fMRI network maps with that of hand movement task fMRI, then used to predict task activation maps for unseen subjects solely based on their rs-fMRI data. Our results showed that the GLM-ML approach can accurately predict individual differences in task activation using rs-fMRI data and outperform conventional ICA to detect task activation in the primary sensorimotor region. Furthermore, the predicted activation maps using the GLM -ML model matched well with the activation of passive hand movement fMRI on an individual basis. These results suggest that GLM-ML approach can robustly predict individual differences of task activation based on conventional low-resolution rs-fMRI data and has important implications for future clinical applications.

Mycobacterial fatty acid catabolism is repressed by FdmR to sustain lipogenesis and virulence

Host-derived fatty acids are an important carbon source for pathogenic mycobacteria during infection. How mycobacterial cells regulate the catabolism of fatty acids to serve the pathogenicity, however, remains unknown. Here, we identified a TetR-family transcriptional factor, FdmR, as the key regulator of fatty acid catabolism in the pathogen Mycobacterium marinum by combining use of transcriptomics, chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing, dynamic 13C-based flux analysis, metabolomics, and lipidomics. An M. marinum mutant deficient in FdmR was severely attenuated in zebrafish larvae and adult zebrafish. The mutant showed defective growth but high substrate consumption on fatty acids. FdmR was identified as a long-chain acyl-coenzyme A (acyl-CoA)-responsive repressor of genes involved in fatty acid degradation and modification. We demonstrated that FdmR functions as a valve to direct the flux of exogenously derived fatty acids away from β-oxidation toward lipid biosynthesis, thereby avoiding the overactive catabolism and accumulation of biologically toxic intermediates. Moreover, we found that FdmR suppresses degradation of long-chain acyl-CoAs endogenously synthesized through the type I fatty acid synthase. By modulating the supply of long-chain acyl-CoAs for lipogenesis, FdmR controls the abundance and chain length of virulence-associated lipids and mycolates and plays an important role in the impermeability of the cell envelope. These results reveal that despite the fact that host-derived fatty acids are used as an important carbon source, overactive catabolism of fatty acids is detrimental to mycobacterial cell growth and pathogenicity. This study thus presents FdmR as a potentially attractive target for chemotherapy.

Machine learning may predict individual hand motor activation from resting-state fMRI in patients with brain tumors in perirolandic cortex

OBJECTIVE

The study aimed to evaluate the predictive validity of the neural network (NN) method for presurgical mapping of motor areas using resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) data of patients with brain tumor located in the perirolandic cortex (PRC).

METHODS

A total of 109 patients with brain tumors occupying PRC underwent rs-fMRI and hand movement task-based fMRI (tb-fMRI) scans. Using a NN model trained on fMRI data of 47 healthy controls, individual task activation maps were predicted from their rs-fMRI data. NN-predicted maps were compared with task activation and independent component analysis (ICA)-derived maps. Spatial Pearson's correlation coefficients (CC) matrices and Dice coefficients (DC) between task activation and predicted activation using NN (DC_{NN_Act}) and ICA (DC_{ICA_Act}) were calculated and compared using non-parametric tests. The effects of tumor types and head motion on predicted maps were demonstrated.

RESULTS

The CC matrix of NN-predicted maps showed higher diagonal values compared with ICA-derived maps (p < 0.001). DC_{NN_Act} were higher than DC_{ICA_Act} (p < 0.001) for patients with or without motor deficits. Lower DCs were found in subjects with head motion greater than one voxel. DCs were higher on the nontumor side than on the tumor side (p < 0.001), especially in the glioma group compared with meningioma and metastatic groups.

CONCLUSIONS

This study indicated that the NN approach could predict individual motor activation using rs-fMRI data and could have promising clinical applications in brain tumor patients with anatomical and functional reorganizations.

KEY POINTS

• The neural network machine learning approach successfully predicted hand motor activation in patients with a tumor in the perirolandic cortex, despite space-occupying effects and possible functional reorganization. • Compared to the conventional independent component analysis, the neural network approach utilizing resting-state fMRI data yielded a higher correlation to the active task hand activation data. • The Dice coefficient of machine learning-predicted activation vs. task fMRI activation was different between tumor and nontumor side, also between tumor types, which might indicate different effects of possible neurovascular uncoupling on resting-state and task fMRI.

Diffusion tensor imaging revealed different pathological processes of white matter hyperintensities

Background

Although increasing evidence showed the correlations between white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) and cognitive impairment, the relationship between them is still modest. Many researchers began to focus on the variation caused by the heterogeneity of WMH. We tried to explore the pathological heterogeneity in WMH by using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), so as to provide a new insight into the future research.

Methods

Diffusion weighted images (DWIs) of the brain were acquired from 73 patients with WMH and 18 healthy controls, which were then modeled by DTI. We measured fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) of white matter of the periventricular frontal lobe (pFL), periventricular occipital lobe (pOL), periventricular parietal lobe (pPL) and deep centrum ovales (dCO), and grouped these measures according to the Fazekas scale. Then we compared the DTI metrics of different regions with the same Fazekas scale grade.

Results

Significantly lower FA values (all p < 0.001), and higher MD (all p < 0.001) and RD values (all p < 0.001) were associated with WMH observed in the periventricular frontal lobe (pFL) compared to all other regions with the same Fazekas grades. The AD of WMH in the pFL was higher than that of pPL and dCO, but the differences between groups was not as high as of MD and RD, as indicated by the effect size. In the normal control group, DTI metrics between pFL and other regions were not significantly different or less significant different. The difference of DTI metrics of WMH between pPL, pOL and dCO was lower than that of normal white matter, as indicated by the effect size.

Conclusion

Distinct pathological processes can be revealed by DTI between frontal periventricular WMH and other regions. These processes may represent the effects of severe demyelination within the frontal periventricular WMH.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12883-021-02140-9.

Simultaneous electrochemical aptasensing of patulin and ochratoxin A in apple juice based on gold nanoparticles decorated black phosphorus nanomaterial

Simultaneous detection of patulin (PAT) and ochratoxin A (OTA) in food products is in great demand, which can prevent toxins from being exposed to human and animal bodies. However, simultaneous detection of multiple targets still faces a challenge. Herein, we developed a novel electrochemical aptasensor for the simultaneous detection of PAT and OTA in apple juice based on gold nanoparticles decorated black phosphorus (AuNPs-BP) nanomaterial. AuNPs-BP function?/work? as a sensing platform for loading much different electrochemical signal molecules functionalized aptamers. In this context, methylene blue functionalized PAT aptamers (Mb-PAT-aptamers) and ferrocene functionalized OTA aptamers (Fc-OTA-aptamers) have been introduced here to fabricate the aptasensor. Fc close to electrode surface showed a strong signal, whereas Mb was far away from electrode surface so exhibited a weak signal in the absence of OTA and PAT. Two kinds of electrochemical signal changes have been recorded dependent on target of OTA and PAT concentrations. So, simultaneous detection of OTA and PAT is achieved. Under the optimum conditions, using this developed biosensor, PAT and OTA can be quantified at a linearity range of 0.01 × 10^-7 μg·mL^-1 ~ 0.10 μg·mL^-1. In addition, it also has good selectivity, stability and repeatability. For the practical application, it shows promising performance for the simultaneous detection of PAT and OTA in apple juice.

Systematic Identification of circRNA-miRNA-mRNA Regulatory Network in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Background

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are described as endogenous non-coding RNAs that have been reported to play important roles in the development and progression of cancers. This study aimed to reveal the circRNA-related regulatory mechanism in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC).

Methods

A genome-wide circRNA microarray assay was performed to profile the expression of circRNAs in the blood of preoperative ESCC patients and healthy controls. A systematic method of data mining was performed to identify the differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRs) and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) based on the metaMA and RankProd analysis. Bioinformatics analyses and multiple tools were employed to construct the potential circRNA–miRNA–mRNA regulatory network.

Results

Thirty-three differentially expressed circRNAs were identified in the ESCC blood, including 31 downregulated and two upregulated circRNAs in the blood of ESCC patients compared with the healthy controls. Twenty-three DEmiRs and 2,220 DEGs were obtained by the integration of microarray datasets. An ESCC-associated circRNA–miRNA–mRNA network was constructed based on 31 circRNAs, 3 DEmiRs, and 190 DEGs. Enrichment analyses indicated that the DEGs were associated with a series of biological processes and cancer-related pathways. The protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was generated by the 190 DEGs, with 10 hub genes verified in the network. Subsequently, a sub-network was established for ESCC, which included 29 circRNAs, 2 miRNAs, and 10 hub genes.

Conclusion

Our study provided a novel clue to help understand the circRNA–miRNA–mRNA regulatory mechanism, highlighting the potential roles of circRNAs in the pathogenesis and development of ESCC.

Novel Method Based on Hollow Laser Trapping-LIBS-Machine Learning for Simultaneous Quantitative Analysis of Multiple Metal Elements in a Single Microsized Particle in Air

Elemental identification of individual microsized aerosol particles is an important topic in air pollution studies. However, simultaneous and quantitative analysis of multiple constituents in a single aerosol particle with the noncontact in situ manner is still a challenging task. In this work, we explore the laser trapping-LIBS-machine learning to analyze four elements (Zn, Ni, Cu, and Cr) absorbed in a single micro-carbon black particle in air. By employing a hollow laser beam for trapping, the particle can be restricted in a range as small as ∼1.72 μm, which is much smaller than the focal diameter of the flat-topped LIBS exciting laser (∼20 μm). Therefore, the particle can be entirely and homogeneously radiated, and the LIBS spectrum with a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is correspondingly achieved. Then, two types of calibration models, i.e., the univariate method (calibration curve) and the multivariate calibration method (random forests (RF) regression), are employed for data processing. The results indicate that the RF calibration model shows a better prediction performance. The mean relative error (MRE), relative standard deviation (RSD), and root-mean-squared error (RMSE) are reduced from 0.1854, 363.7, and 434.7 to 0.0866, 179.8, and 216.2 ppm, respectively. Finally, simultaneous and quantitative determination of the four metal contents with high accuracy is realized based on the RF model. The method proposed in this work has the potential for online single aerosol particle analysis and further provides a theoretical basis and technical support for the precise prevention and control of composite air pollution.

Estimating Individualized Absolute Risk for Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Population-Based Study in High-Risk Areas of China

Background

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has a high incidence rate and poor prognosis. In this study, we aimed to develop a predictive model to estimate the individualized 5-year absolute risk for ESCC in Chinese populations living in the high-risk areas of China.

Methods

We developed a risk-predicting model based on the epidemiologic data from a population-based case-control study including 244 newly diagnosed ESCC patients and 1,220 healthy controls. Initially, we included easy-to-obtain risk factors to construct the model using the multivariable logistic regression analysis. The area under the ROC curves (AUC) with cross-validation methods was used to evaluate the performance of the model. Combined with local age- and sex-specific ESCC incidence and mortality rates, the model was then used to estimate the absolute risk of developing ESCC within 5 years.

Results

A relative risk model was established that included eight factors: age, sex, tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, education, and dietary habits (intake of hot food, intake of pickled/salted food, and intake of fresh fruit). The relative risk model had good discrimination [AUC, 0.785; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.749–0.821]. The estimated 5-year absolute risk of ESCC for individuals varied widely, from 0.0003% to 19.72% in the studied population, depending on the exposure to risk factors.

Conclusions

Our model based on readily identifiable risk factors showed good discriminative accuracy and strong robustness. And it could be applied to identify individuals with a higher risk of developing ESCC in the Chinese population, who might benefit from further targeted screening to prevent esophageal cancer.

Exogenous 6-benzyladenine application affects root morphology by altering hormone status and gene expression of developing lateral roots in Malus hupehensis

Malus hupehensis is an extensively used apple rootstock in China. In the current study, M. hupehensis seedlings were treated with exogenous 2.2 µm 6-benzyladenine (6-BA) so as to investigate the mechanism by which 6-BA affects lateral root development. The results indicate that 6-BA treatment promotes elongation and thickening of both root and shoot in M. hupehensis, but reduces the number of lateral roots, as well as reducing the auxin level after 6-BA treatment. Moreover, MhAHK4, MhRR1 and MhRR2 were also significantly up-regulated in response to 6-BA treatment. Expression levels of auxin synthesis- and transport-related genes, such as MhYUCCA6, MhYUCCA10, MhPIN1 and MhPIN2, were down-regulated, which corresponds with lower auxin levels in the 6-BA-treated seedlings. A negative regulator of auxin, MhIAA3, was induced by 6-BA treatment, leading to reduced expression of MhARF7 and MhARF19 in 6-BA-treated seedlings. As a result, expression of MhWOX11, MhWOX5, MhLBD16 and MhLBD29 was blocked, which in turn inhibited lateral root initiation. In addition, a lower auxin level decreased expression of MhRR7 and MhRR15, which repressed expression of key transcription factors associated with root development, thus inhibiting lateral root development. In contrast, 6-BA treatment promoted secondary growth (thickening) of the root by inducing expression of MhCYCD3;1 and MhCYCD3;2. Collectively, the changes in hormone levels and gene expression resulted in a reduced number of lateral roots and thicker roots in 6-BA-treated plants.

A Functional Variant of the miR-15 Family Is Associated with a Decreased Risk of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

MicroRNAs (miRNAs)-related single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been shown to be implicated in the susceptibility to different types of cancer, including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Identification of miRNA-related SNPs may provide candidate biomarkers for early diagnosis of ESCC. We performed a genome-wide microarray assay to identify differentially expressed miRNAs, which indicated that the miR-15 family may play an important role in ESCC biology. We then investigated the association of miR-15 family-related SNPs with ESCC. Five miR-15 family-related SNPs were genotyped in 300 patients and 418 controls. Unconditional logistic regression was used to evaluate the relationships of these SNPs with ESCC. Generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction was employed to analyze the SNP-SNP and SNP-smoking interactions. The expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) databases were queried for in silico functional validation. We found that miR-15b SNP rs1451761T>G was associated with a significantly decreased risk of ESCC and there was a significant SNP-SNP interaction between rs1451761 and rs2740545. SNP-smoking interaction analysis also indicated that the association between rs1451761 and ESCC risk could be changed by smoking status. Additionally, the eQTL analysis revealed that rs1451761 was significantly correlated with structural maintenance of chromosomes 4 and karyopherin subunit alpha 4 mRNA expression. Our results suggest that miR-15b SNP rs1451761 may affect an individual's susceptibility to ESCC, alone and in SNP-SNP and SNP-smoking interaction manners.

Succinate-GPR-91 receptor signalling is responsible for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-associated fibrosis: Effects of DHA supplementation

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is challenging, because suppressing fibrotic progression has not been achieved consistently by drug candidates currently in clinical trials. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular interplays underlying NASH-associated fibrosis in a mouse NASH model and human specimens.

METHODS

Mice were divided into 4 groups: Controls; NASH (high fat/Calorie diet plus high fructose and glucose in drinking water, HFCD-HF/G) for 16 weeks; HFCD-HF/G plus docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for 16 or 8 weeks.

RESULTS

Along with NASH progression, fibrotic deposition was documented in HFCD-HF/G-fed mice. Liver succinate content was significantly increased along with decreased expression of succinate dehydrogenase-A (SDH-A) in these mice; whereas, GPR-91 receptor expression was much enhanced in histology compared to control mice, and co-localized histologically with hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Succinate content was increased in fatty acid-overloaded primary hepatocytes with significant oxidant stress and lipotoxicity. Exposure to succinate led to up-regulation of GPR-91 receptor in primary and immortalized HSCs. In contrast, suppression of GPR-91 receptor expression abolished succinate stimulatory role in GPR-91 expression and extracellular matrix production in HSCs. All these changes were minimized or abrogated by DHA supplementation in vivo or in vitro. Moreover, GPR-91 receptor expression correlates with severity of fibrosis in human NASH biopsy specimens.

CONCLUSION

Succinate accumulation in steatotoic hepatocytes may result in HSC activation through GPR-91 receptor signalling in NASH progression, and the cross-talk between hepatocytes and HSC through GPR-91 signalling is most likely to be the molecular basis of fibrogenesis in NASH.