MRI-based radiomics model to preoperatively predict mesenchymal transition subtype in high-grade serous ovarian cancer

AIM

To develop a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based radiomics model for the preoperative identification of mesenchymal transition (MT) subtype in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

One hundred and eighty-nine patients with histopathologically confirmed HGSOC were enrolled retrospectively. Among the included patients, 55 patients were determined as the MT subtype and the remaining 134 were non-MT subtype. After extracting a total of 204 features from T2-weighted imaging (T2WI) and contrast-enhanced (CE)-T1WI images, the Mann-Whitney U-test, Spearman correlation test, and Boruta algorithm were adopted to select the optimal feature set. Three classifiers, including logistic regression (LR), support vector machine (SVM), and random forest (RF), were trained to develop radiomics models. The performance of established models was evaluated from three aspects: discrimination, calibration, and clinical utility.

RESULTS

Seven radiomics features relevant to MT subtypes were selected to build the radiomics models. The model based on the RF algorithm showed the best performance in predicting MT subtype, with areas under the curves (AUCs) of 0.866 (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.797-0.936) and 0.852 (95 % CI: 0.736-0.967) in the training and testing cohorts, respectively. The calibration curves, supported with Brier scores, indicated very good consistency between observation and prediction. Decision curve analysis (DCA) showed that the RF-based model could provide more net benefit, which suggested favorable utility in clinical application.

CONCLUSION

The RF-based radiomics model provided accurate identification of MT from the non-MT subtype and may help facilitate personalised management of HGSOC.

Examining the Effect of Entrepreneurial Leadership on Nursing Team Creativity in New Hospitals: A Structural Equation Model

METHODS

This cross-sectional study sampled 833 nurses from 2 new hospitals in Guizhou Province, China. They completed a questionnaire on entrepreneurial leadership, nursing team creativity, innovation climate, creative self-efficacy, team psychological safety, and knowledge sharing. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

RESULTS

Entrepreneurial leadership positively influenced nursing team creativity. Innovation climate, creative self-efficacy, team psychological safety, and knowledge sharing mediated the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and nursing team creativity in new hospitals.

CONCLUSIONS

This study confirmed the significant role of innovation climate, creative self-efficacy, team psychological safety, and knowledge sharing in mediating the relationship between entrepreneurial leadership and nursing team creativity through empirical analysis.

Independent association between IVC filter placement and VTE risk in patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding and isolated distal DVT: A retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

The placement of inferior vena cava (IVC) filters often emerges as an alternative preventative measure against pulmonary embolism in patients with upper gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding and isolated distal deep vein thrombosis (DVT). We aimed to investigate the association of IVC filter placement and the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) recurrence in this patient population.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective cohort study including 450 patients with upper GI bleeding and isolated distal DVT. Propensity score matching using logistic regression was conducted to mitigate potential selection bias. Logistic regression models and additional sensitivity analyses were conducted to estimate the association between IVC filter implantation and VTE recurrence. Interaction and stratified analyses were also performed according to the background covariates.

RESULTS

Patients who underwent IVC filter placement were significantly younger than patients in the surveillance group (55.8 ± 9.0 vs 58.4 ± 11.2 years, p = 0.034). Patients in the IVC filter group demonstrated a higher distal thrombus burden. The VTE recurrence composite was significantly higher in patients who underwent IVC filter placement (44.1% [45/102] vs 25% [87/348], p < 0.001). Unmatched crude logistic regression analysis identified a significant association between IVC filter placement and VTE recurrence composite (OR = 2.37; 95% CI, 1.50-3.75). Sensitivity analyses yielded congruent outcomes.

CONCLUSION

This study revealed an increased risk of VTE recurrence among patients receiving IVC filter placement, suggesting that IVC filter placement may not be suitable as a primary treatment for patients with upper GI bleeding and isolated distal DVT.

Small Molecules Promote the Rapid Generation of Dental Epithelial Cells from Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) offer a promising source for generating dental epithelial (DE) cells. Whereas the existing differentiation protocols were time-consuming and relied heavily on growth factors, herein, we developed a three-step protocol to convert hiPSCs into DE cells in 8 days. In the first phase, hiPSCs were differentiated into non-neural ectoderm using SU5402 (an FGF signaling inhibitor). The second phase involved differentiating non-neural ectoderm into pan-placodal ectoderm and simultaneously inducing the formation of oral ectoderm (OE) using LDN193189 (a BMP signaling inhibitor) and purmorphamine (a SHH signaling activator). In the final phase, OE cells were differentiated into DE through the application of Purmorphamine, XAV939 (a WNT signaling inhibitor), and BMP4. qRT-PCR and immunostaining were performed to examine the expression of lineage-specific markers. ARS staining was performed to evaluate the formation of the mineralization nodule. The expression of PITX2, SP6, and AMBN, the emergence of mineralization nodules, and the enhanced expression of AMBN and AMELX in spheroid culture implied the generation of DE cells. This study delineates the developmental signaling pathways and uses small molecules to streamline the induction of hiPSCs into DE cells. Our findings present a simplified and quicker method for generating DE cells, contributing valuable insights for dental regeneration and dental disease research.

Post-discharge nutritional management for patients with coronary heart disease and frailty: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Frail elderly patients experience physiological function and reserve depletion, leading to imbalances in their internal environment, which increases the risk of coronary heart disease recurrence and malnutrition. However, the majority of these patients, who primarily have a low level of education and lack self-management skills, face difficulties actively dealing with obstacles during the transition period after their discharge from hospitalization. Therefore, it is necessary to understand and discuss in depth the nutrition management experience of discharged elderly patients with coronary heart disease and frailty (ages 65-80 years old) and to analyze the promoting and hindering factors that affect scientific diet behavior during the discharge transition period.

METHODS

Fifteen elderly patients with coronary heart disease and frailty who had been discharged from the hospital for 6 months were interviewed using a semistructured method. The directed content analysis approach to descriptive research was used to extract topics from the interview content.

RESULTS

All participants discussed the problems in health nutrition management experience of discharged. Five topics and ten subtopics were extracted, such as ①Weak perceptions and behaviors towards healthy eating (personal habit solidification, negative attitudes towards nutrition management), ②Lack of objective factors for independently adjusting dietary conditions (reliance on subjective feelings, times of appetite change), ③Personal hindrance factors (memory impairment, deficiencies in self-nutrition management), ④Expected external support (assistance care support, ways to obtain nutritional information), ⑤Lack of continuous nutrition management (interruption of professional guidance, avoidance of medical treatment behavior).

CONCLUSIONS

Nutrition management after discharge places a burden on elderly patients with coronary heart disease and frailty. According to the patients' physical conditions, we should develop a diet support system that is coordinated by individuals, families and society.

All-in-one strategy to construct bifunctional covalent triazine-based frameworks for simultaneous extraction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and polychlorinated naphthalenes in foods

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) are of growing concern due to their toxic effects on the environment and human health. There is an urgent need for strategies to monitor and analyze the coexistence of PFASs and PCNs, especially in food samples at trace levels, to ensure food safety. Herein, a novel β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) derived fluoro-functionalized covalent triazine-based frameworks named CD-F-CTF was firstly synthesized. This innovative framework effectively combines the porous nature of the covalent organic framework and the host-guest recognition property of β-CD enabling the simultaneous extraction of PFASs and PCNs. Under the optimal conditions, a simple and rapid method was developed to analyze PFASs and PCNs by solid-phase extraction (SPE) based simultaneous extraction and stepwise elution (SESE) strategy for the first time. When coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS), this method achieved impressive detection limits for PFASs (0.020 -0.023 ng/g) and PCNs (0.016 -0.075 ng/g). Furthermore, the excellent performance was validated in food samples with recoveries of 76.7-107 % (for PFASs) and 78.0-108 % (for PCNs). This work not only provides a simple and rapid technique for simultaneous monitoring of PFASs and PCNs in food and environmental samples, but also introduces a new idea for the designing novel adsorbents with multiple recognition sites.

MRI characteristics of H3 G34-mutant diffuse hemispheric gliomas and possible differentiation from IDH-wild-type glioblastomas in adolescents and young adults

OBJECTIVE

H3 G34-mutant diffuse hemispheric gliomas (G34m-DHGs) are rare and constitute a new infiltrating brain tumor entity whose characteristics require elucidation, and their difference from isocitrate dehydrogenase-wild-type glioblastomas (IDH-WT-GBMs) needs to be clarified. In this study, the authors report the demographic, clinical, and neuroradiological features of G34m-DHG and investigate the capability of quantitative MRI features in differentiating them.

METHODS

Twenty-three patients with G34m-DHG and 30 patients with IDH-WT-GBM were included in this retrospective study. The authors reviewed the clinical, radiological, and molecular data of G34m-DHGs and compared their neuroimaging features with those of IDH-WT-GBMs in adolescents and young adults. Visually Accessible Rembrandt Images (VASARI) features were extracted, and the Kruskal-Wallis test was performed. A logistic regression model was constructed to evaluate the diagnostic performance for differentiating between G34m-DHG and IDH-WT-GBM. Subsequently, FeAture Explorer (FAE) was used to generate the machine learning pipeline and select important radiomics features that had been extracted with PyRadiomics. Estimates of the performance were supplied by metrics such as sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and area under the curve (AUC).

RESULTS

The mean age of the 23 patients with G34m-DHG was 23.7 years (range 11-45 years), younger than the mean age of patients with IDH-WT-GBM (30.96 years, range 5-43 years). All tumors were hemispheric. Most cases were immunonegative for ATRX (95%) and Olig2 (100%), were immunopositive for p53 (95%), and exhibited MGMT promoter methylation (81%). The radiological presentations of G34m-DHG were different from those of IDH-WT-GBM. The majority of the G34m-DHGs were in the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes and demonstrated no or only faint contrast enhancement (74%), while IDH-WT-GBMs were mostly seen in the frontal lobe and showed marked contrast enhancement in 83% of cases. The FAE-generated model, based on radiomics features (AUC 0.925) of conventional MR images, had better discriminatory performance between G34m-DHG and IDH-WT-GBM than VASARI feature analysis (AUC 0.843).

CONCLUSIONS

G34m-DHGs most frequently occur in the frontal, parietal, and temporal lobes in adolescent and young adults and are associated with radiological characteristics distinct from those of IDH-WT-GBMs. Successful identification can be achieved by using either VASARI features or radiomics signatures, which may contribute to prognostic evaluation and assist in clinical settings.

Distinct enzyme activities of serine protease p37k in silkworm midgut and molting fluid

Serine proteases possess various biological functions. The serine protease p37k exhibits gelatinolytic activity in the silkworm midgut and degrades cuticular proteins in the molting fluid. In this study, we analyzed the activity changes of recombinant p37k (re-p37k) and p37k in the midgut and molting fluid of Bombyx mori. Firstly, in vitro-expressed re-p37k was activated when a 22 kDa band was observed by western blot. Re-p37k exhibits strong gelatinolytic activity, with the highest activity observed at pH 7.0-9.0 and 45 °C. Compared to p37k in the midgut, re-p37k loses thermal stability but can be restored by midgut extract or ions. E64, AEBSF, and an inhibitor cocktail inhibited the hydrolytic activity of re-p37k on epidermal proteins but did not inhibit the gelatinolytic activity. Subsequently, zymography showed that the positions of gelatinolytic band produced by p37k in the midgut and molting fluid were different, 35 kDa and 40 kDa, respectively. Finally, when heated midgut extract was added to re-p37k or molting fluid, the gelatinolytic band shifted from 40 kDa to 35 kDa, and the proteolytic activity of p37k in the molting fluid was inhibited. Collectively, our results demonstrate that p37k exhibits different activities in various tissues, suggesting its distinct tissue-specific functions during insect metamorphosis.

Testate amoebae (Protozoa) in lakes of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: Biodiversity, community structures, and protozoic biosilicification in relation to environmental properties and climate warming

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is characterized by a vast number of frozen and unfrozen freshwater reservoirs, which is why it is also called "the third pole" of the Earth or "Asian Water Tower". We analyzed testate amoeba (TA) biodiversity and corresponding protozoic biosilicification in lake sediments of the QTP in relation to environmental properties (freshwater conditions, elevation, and climate). As TA are known as excellent bio-indicators, our results allowed us to derive conclusions about the influence of climate warming on TA communities and microbial biogeochemical silicon (Si) cycling. We found a total of 113 TA taxa including some rare and one unknown species in the analyzed lake sediments of the QTP highlighting the potential of this remote region for TA biodiversity. >1/3 of the identified TA taxa were relatively small (<30 μm) reflecting the relatively harsh environmental conditions in the examined lakes. TA communities were strongly affected by physico-chemical properties of the lakes, especially water temperature and pH, but also elevation and climate conditions (temperature, precipitation). Our study reveals climate-related changes in TA biodiversity with consequences for protozoic biosilicification. As the warming trend in the QTP is two to three times faster compared to the global average, our results provide not only deeper insights into the relations between TA biodiversity and environmental properties, but also predictions of future developments in other regions of the world. Moreover, our results provide fundamental data for paleolimnological reconstructions. Thus, examining the QTP is helpful to understand microbial biogeochemical Si cycling in the past, present, and future.

Research on safety risk control of prepared foods from the perspective of supply chain

Prepared foods bring great convenience to people's lives, but they also entail safety risks in all aspects, from production to sales. The cooperation of the supply chain and the supervision of the government are key to promoting the safety management of prepared foods. This paper considers the government's regulation, focuses on the interaction relationship between the producer and the retailer of prepared foods, and builds an evolutionary game model to analyze the influence of collaborative decision-making between prepared food producers and retailers in preventing and controlling food safety risks under the government's regulatory strategy. The research finds that: (1) Under certain conditions, there are three stable equilibrium strategies within the prepared foods supply chain: bilateral low-safety inputs, unilateral high-safety inputs, and bilateral high-safety inputs. (2) Government regulators can influence the safety input behaviors of prepared food supply chain enterprises by adjusting investigation probabilities and punishment severity. (3) The safety input behaviors of these enterprises are influenced by various factors, including costs, revenues, brand image, reputation, and the consequences associated with contractual violations. This paper represents the first systematic analysis of prepared food safety from a supply chain perspective. It fills a gap in the existing literature in this area, offering guidance and suggestions for prepared food supply chain enterprises, as well as references and recommendations for government regulators.

Berberine promotes lacteal junction zippering and ameliorates diet-induced obesity through the RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway

BACKGROUND

Obesity has emerged as a global epidemic. Recent research has indicated that diet-induced obesity can be prevented by promoting lacteal junction zippering. Berberine, which is derived from natural plants, is found to be promising in weight reduction, but the underlying mechanism remains unspecified.

PURPOSE

To determine whether berberine protects against obesity by regulating the lacteal junction and to explore potential molecular mechanisms.

METHODS

Following the induction of the diet-induced obese (DIO) model, mice were administered low and high doses of berberine for 4 weeks. Indicators associated with insulin resistance and lipid metabolism were examined. Various methods, such as Oil Red O staining, transmission electron microscopy imaging, confocal imaging and others were used to observe the effects of berberine on lipid absorption and the lacteal junction. In vitro, human dermal lymphatic endothelial cells (HDLECs) were used to investigate the effect of berberine on LEC junctions. Western Blot and immunostaining were applied to determine the expression levels of relevant molecules.

RESULTS

Both low and high doses of berberine reduced body weight in DIO mice without appetite suppression and ameliorated glucolipid metabolism disorders. We also found that the weight loss effect of berberine might contribute to the inhibition of small intestinal lipid absorption. The possible mechanism was related to the promotion of lacteal junction zippering via suppressing the ras homolog gene family member A (RhoA)/Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) signaling pathway. In vitro, berberine also promoted the formation of stable mature junctions in HDLECs, involving the same signaling pathway.

CONCLUSION

Berberine could promote lacteal junction zippering and ameliorate diet-induced obesity through the RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway.

Pig-eRNAdb: a comprehensive enhancer and eRNA dataset of pigs

Enhancers and the enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) have been strongly implicated in regulations of transcriptions. Based the multi-omics data (ATAC-seq, ChIP-seq and RNA-seq) from public databases, Pig-eRNAdb is a dataset that comprehensively integrates enhancers and eRNAs for pigs using the machine learning strategy, which incorporates 82,399 enhancers and 37,803 eRNAs from 607 samples across 15 tissues of pigs. This user-friendly dataset covers a comprehensive depth of enhancers and eRNAs annotation for pigs. The coordinates of enhancers and the expression patterns of eRNAs are downloadable. Besides, thousands of regulators on eRNAs, the target genes of eRNAs, the tissue-specific eRNAs, and the housekeeping eRNAs are also accessible as well as the sequence similarity of eRNAs with humans. Moreover, the tissue-specific eRNA-trait associations encompass 652 traits are also provided. It will crucially facilitate investigations on enhancers and eRNAs with Pig-eRNAdb as a reference dataset in pigs.

Effects of geniposide on innate immunity and antiviral activity of Scyllaparamamosain

In this study, we examined the impact of geniposide on the innate immunity of the mud crab Scylla paramamosain, specifically in relation to WSSV infection. Through the use of in vitro cell culture experiments, we assessed the effects of geniposide on various parameters of hemocyte activity in S. paramamosain. Our findings revealed that high doses of geniposide inhibited hemocyte growth, with an optimal dose of 100 mg/kg determined. Additionally, we observed that geniposide increased the total hemocyte counts in S. paramamosain following WSSV infection. Geniposide also enhanced the enzymatic activities in hemolymph following treatment. The enzymes affected by geniposide encompassed ACP (acid phosphatase), POD (phenol oxidase catalase), PO (phenoloxidase), SOD (superoxide dismutase), CAT (catalase), and LZM (lysozyme). Furthermore, the activities of ACP, POD, PO, and LZM were also observed to increase subsequent to infection with WSSV. Notably, geniposide was found to enhance the phagocytosis of V. alginolyticus within the hemocytes. Geniposide can reduce hemocyte apoptosis rates after treatment, as well as hemocytes infected with WSSV. Furthermore, geniposide treatment significantly up-regulated the expression level of Myosin, but expression levels of Astakine, C-type lectin (CTL), STAT, JAK, proPO, minichromosome maintenance protein (MCM7), caspase-3 and crustin were down-regulated in the hemocytes. Additionally, geniposide treatment inhibited WSSV replication in hemocytes of S. paramamosain, and enhanced the survival rates of mud crabs following WSSV infection. These experimental results provide evidence that geniposide can improve the immune response by regulating humoral immunity and cellular immunity, and enhance pathogen resistance in S. paramamosain.

Comparison and Evaluation of the Accuracy for Thoracic and Lumbar Pedicle Screw Fixation in Early-Onset Congenital Scoliosis Children

BACKGROUND

Compared to adult scoliosis, correcting scoliosis in children often presents greater challenges. This is attributed to two key factors. Firstly, it involves accounting for the growth potential of children. Secondly, the thinner pedicles in children can complicate screw insertion, particularly when dealing with existing deformities. The utilization of intraoperative navigation technology offers a modest improvement in the precision of screw placement but does come with the drawback of increased radiation exposure. The aim of this study is to investigate and assess the accuracy of manually inserting pedicle screws in the thoracic and lumbar spine to rectify deformities in children with early-onset congenital scoliosis.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, 26 hospitalized patients diagnosed with early-onset congenital scoliosis between December 2014 and December 2019 were selected. The cohort comprised 16 boys and 10 girls, aged between 2 and 10 years, with an average age of 4.68 ± 2.42 years. Pedicle screw fixation was applied in the segment spanning from T1 to L5. Pedicle screws were inserted manually, guided by the positioning of the C-arm and anatomical markers. The assessment of pedicle screw placement was based on the distance of penetration into the medial, lateral, or anterior bone cortex of the vertebral body, including the pedicle, categorized into three grades: Grade 1 (placement <2 mm), Grade 2 (placement between 2-4 mm), and Grade 3 (placement >4 mm). Grade 1 indicates accurate pedicle screw placement, while Grades 2 and 3 signify abnormal pedicle screw placement. Complications related to pedicle screw insertion were also recorded, both during and after the surgical procedure.

RESULTS

A total of 173 pedicle screws were inserted in this study, with an average of 6.65 screws per patient. Accurate screw placement was achieved in 143 cases (82.7%), while 30 pedicle screws were found to be abnormal. Among the abnormal screws, 24 were categorized as Grade 2 (13.9%), and 6 as Grade 3 (3.5%). Grade 2 abnormalities were distributed across 20 thoracic vertebrae and 4 lumbar vertebrae, while Grade 3 abnormalities affected 5 thoracic vertebrae and 1 lumbar vertebra. When comparing the lumbar and thoracic vertebral regions, a significant difference in the rate of abnormal screw placement was observed (χ2 = 5.801, p < 0.05). The rate of abnormal screw placement was higher in the thoracic vertebral region with abnormal vertebral bodies than in the lumbar vertebral regions. Furthermore, a statistically significant difference in the rate of abnormal screw placement was found between the concave and convex sides (χ2 = 23.047, p < 0.05). The concave side of the abnormal vertebral body had a higher rate of abnormal screw placement (55.6%, 15/27) compared to the convex side (20.1%, 7/34), and this difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Throughout the intraoperative and postoperative follow-up period, spanning from 12 to 56 months, only one patient experienced issues with wound healing, and no complications related to pedicle screw placement occurred, such as hemopneumothorax, pedicle fracture, nerve root injury, aortic injury, screw loosening, pullout or breakage, or spinal cord injury.

CONCLUSIONS

In children under 10 years of age with early-onset congenital scoliosis, the freehand placement of thoracic and lumbar pedicle screws demonstrates a high level of accuracy. Moreover, complications associated with pedicle screw insertion are infrequent following surgery. It is advisable to exercise caution when placing pedicle screws in thoracic vertebral bodies and morphologically abnormal vertebral bodies, with particular attention to the concave side when screw placement is required in these regions.

Database Resources of the National Genomics Data Center, China National Center for Bioinformation in 2024

The National Genomics Data Center (NGDC), which is a part of the China National Center for Bioinformation (CNCB), provides a family of database resources to support the global academic and industrial communities. With the rapid accumulation of multi-omics data at an unprecedented pace, CNCB-NGDC continuously expands and updates core database resources through big data archiving, integrative analysis and value-added curation. Importantly, NGDC collaborates closely with major international databases and initiatives to ensure seamless data exchange and interoperability. Over the past year, significant efforts have been dedicated to integrating diverse omics data, synthesizing expanding knowledge, developing new resources, and upgrading major existing resources. Particularly, several database resources are newly developed for the biodiversity of protists (P10K), bacteria (NTM-DB, MPA) as well as plant (PPGR, SoyOmics, PlantPan) and disease/trait association (CROST, HervD Atlas, HALL, MACdb, BioKA, BioKA, RePoS, PGG.SV, NAFLDkb). All the resources and services are publicly accessible at https://ngdc.cncb.ac.cn.

Enhancing brain metastasis prediction in non-small cell lung cancer: a deep learning-based segmentation and CT radiomics-based ensemble learning model

BACKGROUND

Brain metastasis (BM) is most common in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. This study aims to enhance BM risk prediction within three years for advanced NSCLC patients by using a deep learning-based segmentation and computed tomography (CT) radiomics-based ensemble learning model.

METHODS

This retrospective study included 602 stage IIIA-IVB NSCLC patients, 309 BM patients and 293 non-BM patients, from two centers. Patients were divided into a training cohort (N = 376), an internal validation cohort (N = 161) and an external validation cohort (N = 65). Lung tumors were first segmented by using a three-dimensional (3D) deep residual U-Net network. Then, a total of 1106 radiomics features were computed by using pretreatment lung CT images to decode the imaging phenotypes of primary lung cancer. To reduce the dimensionality of the radiomics features, recursive feature elimination configured with the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regularization method was applied to select the optimal image features after removing the low-variance features. An ensemble learning algorithm of the extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) classifier was used to train and build a prediction model by fusing radiomics features and clinical features. Finally, Kaplan‒Meier (KM) survival analysis was used to evaluate the prognostic value of the prediction score generated by the radiomics-clinical model.

RESULTS

The fused model achieved area under the receiver operating characteristic curve values of 0.91 ± 0.01, 0.89 ± 0.02 and 0.85 ± 0.05 on the training and two validation cohorts, respectively. Through KM survival analysis, the risk score generated by our model achieved a significant prognostic value for BM-free survival (BMFS) and overall survival (OS) in the two cohorts (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results demonstrated that (1) the fusion of radiomics and clinical features can improve the prediction performance in predicting BM risk, (2) the radiomics model generates higher performance than the clinical model, and (3) the radiomics-clinical fusion model has prognostic value in predicting the BMFS and OS of NSCLC patients.

Integrating serum pharmacochemistry and network pharmacology to reveal the mechanism of chickpea in improving insulin resistance

Although chickpea have great potential in the treatment of obesity and diabetes, the bioactive components and therapeutic targets of chickpea to prevent insulin resistance (IR) are still unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the chemical and pharmacological characteristics of chickpea on IR through serum pharmacochemistry and network pharmacology. The results revealed that compared with other polar fractions, the ethyl acetate extract of chickpea (CE) had the definitive performance on enhancing the capacities of glucose consumption and glycogen synthesis. In addition, we analyzed the components of CE in vivo and in vitro based on UPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS technology. There were 28 kinds of in vitro chemical components, among which the isoflavones included biochanin A, formononetin, ononin, sissotrin, and astragalin, etc. Concerningly, the chief prototype components of CE absorbed into the blood were biochanin A, formononetin, loliolide, and lenticin, etc. Furthermore, a total of 209 common targets between IR and active components of CE were screened out by network pharmacology, among which the key targets involved PI3K p85, NF-κB p65 and estrogen receptor 1, etc. Specifically, KEGG pathway analysis indicated that PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, and AGE-RAGE signaling pathway may play critical roles in the IR remission by CE. Finally, the in vitro validation experiments disclosed that CE significantly balanced the oxidative stress state of IR-HepG2 cells and inhibited expressions of inflammatory cytokines. In conclusion, the present study will be an important reference for clarifying the pharmacodynamic substance basis and underlying mechanism of chickpea to alleviate IR.

Extracellular vesicles from organoid-derived human retinal progenitor cells prevent lipid overload-induced retinal pigment epithelium injury by regulating fatty acid metabolism

Retinal degeneration (RD), a group of diseases leading to irreversible vision loss, is characterised by retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) or retinal neuron damage and loss. With fewer risks of immune rejection and tumorigenesis, stem cell-secreted extracellular vesicles (EVs) offer a new cell-free therapeutic paradigm for RD, which remains to be investigated. Human retinal organoid-derived retinal progenitor cells (hERO-RPCs) are an easily accessible and advanced cell source for RD treatment. However, hERO-RPCs-derived EVs require further characterisation. Here, we compared the characteristics of EVs from hERO-RPCs (hRPC-EVs) with those of human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-derived EVs (hESC-EVs) as controls. Based on in-depth proteomic analysis, we revealed remarkable differences between hRPC-EVs and hESC-EVs. A comparison between EVs and their respective cells of origin demonstrated that the protein loading of hRPC-EVs was more selective than that of hESC-EVs. In particular, hESC-EVs were enriched with proteins related to angiogenesis and cell cycle, whereas hRPC-EVs were enriched with proteins associated with immune modulation and retinal development. More importantly, compared with that of hESC-EVs, hRPC-EVs exhibited a lower correlation with cell proliferation and a unique capacity to regulate lipid metabolism. It was further confirmed that hRPC-EVs potentially eliminated lipid deposits, inhibited lipotoxicity and oxidative stress, and enhanced phagocytosis and survival of oleic acid-treated ARPE-19 cells. Mechanistically, hRPC-EVs are integrated into the mitochondrial network of oleic acid-treated ARPE-19 cells, and increased the level of mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation-related proteins. Thus, organoid-derived hRPC-EVs represent a promising source of cell-free therapy for RD, especially for blinding diseases related to abnormal lipid metabolism in RPE cells.

Evaluating nutrient limitation in co-culture of Chlorella pyrenoidosa and Rhodobacter sphaeroides

The influence of nitrogen deficiency on microalgae-bacteria co-culture has been studied mostly with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Photosynthetic bacteria (PSB), which are non-nitrogen-fixing bacteria, the impact of N deficiency on its co-culture with microalgae is unknown. In this study, Chlorella pyrenoidosa and Rhodobacter sphaeroides co-culture was cultivated photoheterotrophically with acetate. The impact of N starvation and different P supply levels on oil production were examined. When phosphorus was sufficient, N starvation increased the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) content from 21.7 % to 28.2 %, and also increased the FAME yield (g CODFAME/g CODAcetate) from 0.17 to 0.22. However, the biomass and FAME productivities decreased. Sufficient phosphorus was also essential for a high growth rate and FAME productivity. Deficiencies in either N or P led to a decrease in the proportion of unsaturated FAMEs. iTRAQ analysis indicated N starvation promoted oil accumulation by driving the carbon flow to fatty acid synthesis in microalgae from co-culture. This study improves the understanding of biomass and lipid production via microalgae-PSB co-culture in photoheterotrophic cultivation. The mechanism of interaction between microalgae and bacteria needs further study.

Prognostic prediction value of the clinical-radiomics tumour-stroma ratio in locally advanced rectal cancer

PURPOSE

To develop and validate a radiomics model based on high-resolution T2WI and a clinical-radiomics model for tumour-stroma ratio (TSR) evaluation with a gold standard of TSR evaluated by rectal specimens without therapeutic interference and further apply them in prognosis prediction of locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients who received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

METHODS

A total of 178 patients (mean age: 59.35, range 20-85 years; 65 women and 113 men) with rectal cancer who received surgery alone from January 2016 to October 2020 were enrolled and randomly separated at a ratio of 7:3 into training and validation sets. A senior radiologist reviewed after 2 readers manually delineated the whole tumour in consensus on preoperative high-resolution T2WI in the training set. A total of 1046 features were then extracted, and recursive feature elimination embedded with leave-one-out cross validation was applied to select features, with which an MR-TSR evaluation model was built containing 6 filtered features via a support vector machine classifier trained by comparing patients' pathological TSR. Stepwise logistic regression was employed to integrate clinical factors with the radiomics model (Fusion-TSR) in the training set. Later, the MR-TSR and Fusion-TSR models were replicated in the validation set for diagnostic effectiveness evaluation. Subsequently, 243 patients (mean age: 53.74, range 23-74 years; 63 women and 180 men) with LARC from October 2012 to September 2017 who were treated with NCRT prior to surgery and underwent standard pretreatment rectal MR examination were enrolled. The MR-TSR and Fusion-TSR were applied, and the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used to compare the survival of patients with different MR-TSR and Fusion-TSR. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to calculate the hazard ratio (HR).

RESULTS

Both the MR-TSR and Fusion-TSR models were validated with favourable diagnostic power: the AUC of the MR-TSR was 0.77 (p = 0.01; accuracy = 69.8 %, sensitivity = 88.9 %, specificity = 65.9 %, PPV = 34.8 %, NPV = 96.7 %), while the AUC of the Fusion-TSR was 0.76 (p = 0.014; accuracy = 67.9 %, sensitivity = 88.9 %, specificity = 63.6 %, PPV = 33.3 %, NPV = 96.6 %), outperforming their effectiveness in the training set: the AUC of the MR-TSR was 0.65 (p = 0.035; accuracy = 66.4 %, sensitivity = 61.9 %, specificity = 67.3 %, PPV = 27.7 %, NPV = 90.0 %), while the AUC of the Fusion-TSR was 0.73 (p = 0.001; accuracy = 73.6 %, sensitivity = 71.4 %, specificity = 74.0 %, PPV = 35.73 %, NPV = 92.8 %). With further prognostic analysis, the MR-TSR was validated as a significant prognostic factor for DFS in LARC patients treated with NCRT (p = 0.020, HR = 1.662, 95 % CI = 1.077-2.565), while the Fusion-TSR was a significant prognostic factor for OS (p = 0.005, HR = 2.373, 95 % CI = 1.281-4.396).

CONCLUSIONS

We developed and validated a radiomics TSR and a clinical-radiomics TSR model and successfully applied them to better risk stratification for LARC patients receiving NCRT and for better decision making.

Modified Hu-lu-ba-wan protects diabetic glomerular podocytes via promoting PKM2-mediated mitochondrial dynamic homeostasis

BACKGROUND

Mitochondrial dysfunction is implicated in the progression of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Damaged mitochondria produce excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can cause apoptosis. Mitochondrial dynamics control the quality and function of mitochondria. Targeting mitochondrial dynamics may reduce ROS-induced apoptosis and improve renal injury in DKD. Modified Hu-lu-ba-wan (MHLBW) shows distinct clinical effects on DKD patients, which are related to its role in antioxidant stress modulation. However, the relevant mechanisms of MHLBW have not been clearly explored.

PURPOSE

This study was aimed to evaluate the therapeutic effects of MHLBW on spontaneous DKD mice and clarify the potential mechanisms.

METHODS

The main components of MHLBW were identified by HPLC. Using db/db mice as DKD models, we evaluated the therapeutic effects of MHLBW on mice after an 8-week administration. We investigated the molecular mechanism of MHLBW in regulating mitochondrial dynamic homeostasis, podocyte apoptosis, and glomerular damage. After that, computational docking analysis and in vitro experiments were conducted for further mechanism verification.

RESULTS

Intragastric administration of MHLBW for 8 weeks in db/db mice significantly improved glucose metabolism, basement membrane thickening, mesangial expansion, glomerular fibrosis, and podocyte injury. MHLBW can reverse podocyte apoptosis via promoting mitochondrial dynamic homeostasis, which was related to regulating the PKM2/ PGC-1α/Opa1 pathway. Berberine (BBR), one of the components of MHLBW, exhibited preeminent affinity with PKM2 as reflected by computational docking analysis. In cultured podocytes, BBR can also prevent apoptosis by promoting PKM2-mediated mitochondrial dynamic homeostasis.

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrates that MHLBW can treat DKD by inhibiting glomerular damage and podocyte apoptosis through positive regulation of PKM2-mediated mitochondrial dynamic homeostasis. These results may provide a potential strategy against DKD.

6-Gingerol regulates triglyceride and cholesterol biosynthesis to improve hepatic steatosis in MAFLD by activating the AMPK-SREBPs signaling pathway

Excessive synthesis of triglycerides and cholesterol accelerates the progression of hepatic steatosis in metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). However, the precise mechanism by which 6-gingerol mitigates hepatic steatosis in MAFLD model mice has yet to be fully understood. The present study observed that 6-gingerol administration exhibited significant protective effects against obesity, insulin resistance, and hepatic steatosis in mice subjected to a high-fat diet (HFD), and mitigated lipid accumulation in HepG2 cells treated with palmitate (PA). Following the hepatic lipidomic analysis, we confirmed that the AMPK-SREBPs signaling pathway as the underlying molecular mechanism by which 6-gingerol inhibited triglyceride and cholesterol biosynthesis, both in vivo and in vitro, through Western blot and immunofluorescence assay. Additionally, the application of an AMPK agonist/inhibitor further validated that 6-gingerol promoted AMPK activation by increasing the phosphorylation level of AMPK in vitro. Notably, the inhibitory effect of 6-gingerol on cholesterol biosynthesis, rather than triglyceride biosynthesis, was significantly diminished after silencing SREBP2 using a lentiviral plasmid shRNA in HepG2 cells. Our study demonstrates that 6-gingerol mitigates hepatic triglyceride and cholesterol biosynthesis to alleviate hepatic steatosis by activating the AMPK-SREBPs signaling pathway, indicating that 6-gingerol may be a potential candidate in the therapy of MAFLD.

[Genome-wide identification of the BmAKR gene family in the silkworm (Bombyx mori) and their expression analysis in diapause eggs and nondiapause eggs]

The aldo-keto reductase super family (AKRs) has a wide range of substrate specificity. However, the systematic identification of insect AKR gene family members has not been reported. In this study, bioinformatics methods were used to predict the phylogenetic evolution, physical and chemical properties, chromosome location, conserved motifs, and gene structure of AKR family members in Bombyx mori (BmAKR). Transcriptome data or quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to analyze the expression level of BmAKR genes during different organizational periods and silkworm eggs in different developmental states. Moreover, Western blotting was used to detect the expression level of the BmAKR in silkworm eggs. The results showed that 11 BmAKR genes were identified. These genes were distributed on 4 chromosomes of the silkworm genome, all of which had the (α/β) 8-barrel motif, and their physical and chemical characteristics were relatively similar. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the BmAKR genes could be divided into 2 subgroups (AKR1 and AKR2). Transcriptome data analysis showed that the expression of BmAKR genes were quite different in different tissues and periods. Moreover, the expression analysis of BmAKR genes in silkworm eggs showed that some genes were expressed significantly higher in nondiapause eggs than in diapause eggs; but another gene, BmAKR1-1, was expressed significantly higher in diapause eggs than in nondiapause eggs. The detection of protein level found that the difference trend of BmAKR1-1 in diapause eggs and non-diapause eggs was consistent with the results of qRT-PCR. In conclusion, BmAKR1-1 was screened out as candidates through the identification and analysis of the BmAKR genes in silkworm, which may regulate silkworm egg development is worthy of further investigation.

[Characterization and immunofluorescence localization analysis of carboxypeptidase A in molt fluid of silkworm]

Molting is an important physiological phenomenon of many metamorphosis insects, during which the old and new epidermis are separated by enzymes present in the molting fluid. Various proteomic studies have discovered the presence of Bombyx mori carboxypeptidase A (Bm-CPA) in the molting fluid of silkworm, but its function remains unclear. In order to better understand the role of Bm-CPA in the molting process of silkworm, Bm-CPA was analyzed by bioinformatics analysis, real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR, antibody preparation, immunofluorescence staining, and expression in Pichia pastoris. The results showed that Bm-CPA had a conserved M14 zinc carboxypeptidase domain and glycosylation site. Its expression was regulated by ecdysone 20E, and large expression was observed in the epidermis of the upper cluster stage. Immunofluorescence staining showed that Bm-CPA was enriched in the epidermis during the molting stage, and the inhibitor of Bm-CPA led to the larval death due to the inability to molt. We also successfully obtained a large number of recombinant Bm-CPA proteins by Pichia pastoris expression in vitro. These results may facilitate further understanding the molting development process of silkworm.

Proteomic Analysis of the Midgut Contents of Silkworm in the Pupal Stage

The silkworm Bombyx mori, a lepidopteran insect, possesses an 8-10-day pupal stage, during which significant changes occur in the midgut, where it first condenses into the yellow body, and then undergoes decomposition. To gain insights into this transformation process, proteomics was performed on Bombyx mori midgut contents on day 2 and day 7 after pupation. The results revealed the identification of 771 proteins with more than one unique peptide. An analysis using AgriGO demonstrated that these proteins were predominantly associated with catalytic activity. Among the identified proteins, a considerable number were found to be involved in carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, nucleic acid degradation, and energy support. Additionally, variations in the levels of certain proteases were observed between the midgut contents on day 2 and day 7 after pupation. An in-depth analysis of the two-dimensional electrophoresis of the midgut contents on day 7 after pupation led to the identification of twelve protein spots with potential gelatinolytic activity. Among these, six proteases were identified through mass spectrometry, including the p37k protease, vitellin-degrading protease, chymotrypsin-2, etc. These proteases may be responsible for the digestion of the yellow body during the later stages of pupal development.