Trans-ethnic genome-wide association study of severe COVID-19

COVID-19 has caused numerous infections with diverse clinical symptoms. To identify human genetic variants contributing to the clinical development of COVID-19, we genotyped 1457 (598/859 with severe/mild symptoms) and sequenced 1141 (severe/mild: 474/667) patients of Chinese ancestry. We further incorporated 1401 genotyped and 948 sequenced ancestry-matched population controls, and tested genome-wide association on 1072 severe cases versus 3875 mild or population controls, followed by trans-ethnic meta-analysis with summary statistics of 3199 hospitalized cases and 897,488 population controls from the COVID-19 Host Genetics Initiative. We identified three significant signals outside the well-established 3p21.31 locus: an intronic variant in FOXP4-AS1 (rs1853837, odds ratio OR = 1.28, P = 2.51 × 10-10, allele frequencies in Chinese/European AF = 0.345/0.105), a frameshift insertion in ABO (rs8176719, OR = 1.19, P = 8.98 × 10-9, AF = 0.422/0.395) and a Chinese-specific intronic variant in MEF2B (rs74490654, OR = 8.73, P = 1.22 × 10-8, AF = 0.004/0). These findings highlight an important role of the adaptive immunity and the ABO blood-group system in protection from developing severe COVID-19.

Effect analysis of kinetic energy progressive exercise in patients with acute myocardial infarction after percutaneous coronary intervention: a randomized trial

BACKGROUND

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is the most common critical illness clinically. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) can help patients with AMI by reopening their blocked blood vessels and improving clinical symptoms. Clinical practice has confirmed that rehabilitation training after PCI could significantly promote the recovery of patients' heart function, reduce cardiovascular events, and have a positive significance for prognosis. This study aimed to explore the effect of kinetic energy progressive exercise (PEKE) applied to patients with AMI after PCI.

METHODS

From April 2019 to April 2020, a total of 98 patients with AMI after PCI in our hospital were randomly allocated to PEKE group and routine intervention (RI) group. The RI group adopted routine intervention, while the PEKE group introduced PEKE intervention on the basis of the RI group. The incidence of adverse events (AEs), motor function, cardiac function, and quality of life (QoL) before and after intervention were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

Compared with the RI group, the incidence of AEs in the PEKE group was significantly reduced (χ2=4.404, P=0.036). After 6 months of intervention, the maximum exercise load and metabolic equivalent of the PEKE group were greater than those of the RI group (t=7.114, 4.565; P=0.000, 0.000). After 6 months of intervention, the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of the PEKE group was greater than that of the RI group (t=6.826, P=0.000), and there were no significant differences in left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) and left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV) compared with the RI group (t=1.253, 1.147; P=0.213, 0.254). After 6 months of intervention, the PEKE group's symptoms, physical function, cognitive function, psychosocial function, and satisfaction scores were greater than those in the RI group (t=5.991, 4.612, 7.165, 5.731, 5.468; P=0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000, 0.000).

CONCLUSIONS

We applied PEKE was to AMI patients with after PCI, and it was shown to effectively reduce AEs, improve the patients' exercise ability and cardiac function, and improve their QoL.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: ChiCTR2100046123.

Development of solid state terahertz interferometer for the first plasma on HL-2M tokamak

A solid state terahertz interferometer has been developed on the recent commissioned HL-2M tokamak. It can work in a wide frequency region of 220-325 GHz, and the terahertz wave is generated from a low frequency phase locked voltage controlled oscillator with the frequency multiplying technique. A phase processor based on field programmable gate array (FPGA) technology is designed for the heterodyne interferometer, and it contributes to real-time display of electron density. To extract phase information, a novel numerical algorithm related to fast Fourier transform is written on the FPGA chip and enables one to obtain phase shift without being affected by amplitude variation induced by plasma absorption or frequency modulation from the outer electromagnetic environment. The interferometer achieves minimum measurable electron density in the order of 10¹⁶ m^-3. With the plasma diagnosis, electron density and low frequency tearing mode have been measured during the first experimental campaign.

Monolithic integrated waveguide device with dual functions of electro-optic modulation and optical amplification

An organic polymer-based monolithic integrated waveguide device with dual functions of electro-optic (EO) modulation and optical amplification is demonstrated. In this Letter, the dual functions are achieved by employing EO polymer as the waveguide upper cladding and organic optical amplified material as the waveguide core layer. Based on this dual-functional waveguide structure, the waveguide amplifier and the EO switch are successfully designed and fabricated on a SiO₂-Si substrate. An optical gain of 5.8 dB at the wavelength of 1535 nm is obtained in the dual-functional polymer waveguide, and the EO switch based on the dual-functional polymer waveguide also presents a high-speed response time of ∼10ns.

Expression of miR-182 in patients with fracture of tibial plateau and its regulative effects on the fracture healing

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the expression of miR-182 in patients with fracture of tibial plateau (FTP) and its effects on osteoblasts and fracture healing.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The patients with fracture of tibial plateau treated in our hospital and healthy subjects who received physical examination from January 2017 to January 2018 were collected. The expression of miR-182 in the serum was detected. The osteoblasts from SD rats were cultured and transfected with miR-182, anti-miR-182, miR-NC or anti-miR-NC using transfection reagent LipofectamineTM 2000. The proliferation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, calcification and osteogenic gene expression of osteoblasts were detected. The rat models with fracture of tibial plateau were divided into control group, fracture group, fracture+miR-182 group, and fracture+anti-miR-182 group. The levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF) and transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) in serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

RESULTS

Compared with the controls, the expression of miR-182 in serum was significantly elevated in patients with fracture of tibial plateau. Overexpression of miR-182 inhibited the proliferation of osteoblasts, while the knockdown of miR-182 increased the proliferation. MiR-182 could decrease the ALP activity of osteoblasts, while anti-miR-182 increased the ALP activity. Osteoblast calcification ability was significantly decreased by overexpression of miR-182. Knockdown of miR-182 increased the calcification ability of osteoblasts and the expression of osteogenic genes. MiR-182 could inhibit the expression of osteogenic genes. The levels of VEGF, EGF and TGFβ in the fracture group were higher than those in the control group, while the levels in the fracture+miR-182 group were higher than those in the fracture group. The levels of VEGF, EGF and TGFβ in the anti-miR-182 group were lower than those in the fracture group.

CONCLUSIONS

MiR-182 is elevated in patients with fracture of tibial plateau, which can inhibit the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts and affect the fracture healing. The knockdown of miR-182 might be a new method for treating fracture healing.

A remote gain controlled and polarization angle tunable Doppler backward scattering reflectometer

Remote control of the diagnostic systems is the basic requirement for the high performance plasma operation in a fusion device. This work presents the development of the remote control system for the multichannel Doppler backward scattering (DBS) reflectometers. It includes a remote controlled quasi-optical system and a remote intermediate frequency (IF) amplifier gain control system. The quasi-optical system contains a rotational polarizer, its polarization angle is tunable through a remote controlled motor, and it could combine the microwave beams with a wide frequency range into one focused beam. The remote IF gain control system utilizes the digital microcontroller (MCU) technique to regulate the signal amplitude for each signal channel. The gain parameters of amplifiers are adjustable, and the feedback of working status in the IF system will be sent to MCU in real time for safe operation. The gain parameters could be controlled either by the Ethernet remote way or directly through the local control interface on the system. Preliminary experimental results show the effectiveness of the remote controlled multichannel DBS system.

[Biocompatibility of extracellular matrix hydrogel with human iPSCs differentiated cardiomyocytes]

Objective: To observe the biocompatibility of porcine omental derived extracellular matrix (ECM) hydrogel with human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) and the feasibility of ECM hydrogel as a delivery vector of cell transplantation. Methods: A series of chemical, physical and enzymatic methods were applied to acellularize the porcine omentum. Subsequently, the extracted ECM was prepared into thermosensitive hydrogel. The biochemical composition of the hydrogel was identified by histological staining. The microstructure was observed by scanning electron microscopy. The hydrogel was then injected into the myocardium of mice to observe its in situ gelation ability. Differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells into cardiomyocytes was achieved by small molecule induction, and then the obtained hiPSC-CMs were cultured. hiPSC-CMs cultured onto the prepared hydrogel were defined as the hydrogel group, while conventionally cultured hiPSC-CMs were defined as the control group. Cardiomyocyte viability and growth patterns were detected using live/dead staining, CCK-8 and phalloidin staining. Immunofluorescence staining and Western blot of cardiomyocytes were used to determine the survival and phenotypic maintenance markers of cardiomyocytes in materials. Results: The results of HE staining, oil red O staining and DAPI fluorescence staining showed that there was no significant cell debris, nucleus and lipid residue in the prepared ECM hydrogel. The Sirius red staining and Alcian blue staining showed that the hydrogel retained collagen and glycolaminoglycan, which were the main components of ECM. The prepared hydrogel behaves as a viscous liquid at 4 ℃ and as a gel state at 37 ℃. Scanning electron microscope results showed that the microstructure of the hydrogel was composed of irregular fibers and pores of different sizes. Under the guidance of ultrasound, the prepared ECM hydrogel could be successfully injected into the myocardium of mice. Immediately after the injection, the hyperechoic signal could be observed under ultrasound, suggesting that the hydrogel remained in the myocardium. HE staining of myocardial tissue evidenced that there was lump of gel in the injection area. The differentiated hiPSC-CMs were co-cultured with the prepared ECM hydrogel, and the results of live/dead staining showed that most of the hiPSC-CMs in the hydrogel group and the control group were alive, dead cells were scanty. The results of CCK-8 test showed that the absorbance values of the two groups were similar (P>0.05). The results of phalloidin staining showed that hiPSC-CMs could extend normally when co-cultured with ECM hydrogel. The cell morphology of the hydrogel group was similar with that of the control group, and there was no statistically significant difference in the F-actin coverage area per cell between the two groups (P>0.05). Immunofluorescence staining of cardiomyocyte markers showed that there was no significant difference in the coverage area of α-actinin and connexin-43 (Cx-43) per field between the hydrogel group and the control group (both P>0.05), the quantitative results of DAPI staining showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the number of cells between the two groups (P>0.05). Meanwhile, the results of Western blot showed that the expression levels of α-actinin and Cx-43 in cardiomyocytes in the hydrogel group were similar as those in the control group (both P>0.05). Conclusions: These results show that preparation of the ECM hydrogel from porcine omentum is successful. The hydrogel has good biocompatibility and no obvious cytotoxicity. Besides, the hydrogel can support the survival of hiPSC-CMs in vitro and maintain its phenotype. These properties make it a promising injectable cardiac tissue engineering material.

[Application of transcriptome sequencing and fusion genes analysis in the diagnosis of myeloid leukemia with normal karyotype]

Objective: To analyze the possible fusion genes with high-throughput transcriptome sequencing in myeloid leukemia patients with normal karyotype. Methods: From May 2017 to January 2019, three cases of myeloid leukemia patients with normal karyotype and negative for common fusion genes from the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University were selected as the research objects. The transcriptome sequencing of bone marrow mononuclear cells was performed by high-throughput gene sequencing technology. Defuse software was used to analyze the gene fusion sequence in the transcriptome data, reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Sanger sequencing were used to verify the fusion gene with clear pathological significance. Results: All three patients were diagnosed with myeloid leukemia by clinical manifestations, bone marrow cell morphology, immunology, and histochemical staining. Cytogenetic tests showed normal chromosome karyotypes. Fluorescence in situ hybridization and RT-PCR were used to detect BCR-ABL1, PML-RARA, and other common fusion genes. The results were all negative. Transcriptome sequencing and fusion transcripts analysis revealed that these three patients carried rare fusion genes with clear pathological significance, which included BCR-FGFR1, CPSF6-RARG, and NUP98-RARG, respectively. Conclusion: Transcriptome sequencing can accurately analyze rare but pathologically significant fusion genes that may exist in myeloid leukemia patients with normal karyotypes.

Bone marrow stem cells secretome accelerates simulated birth trauma-induced stress urinary incontinence recovery in rats

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is defined as involuntary urine leakage during physical activities that increase the intra-abdominal pressure on the bladder. We studied bone marrow stem cell (BMSC) secretome-induced activation of anterior vaginal wall (AVW) fibroblasts and its ability to accelerate SUI recovery following vaginal distention (VD) in a rat model of birth trauma using BMSC-conditioned medium (BMSC-CM) and concentrated conditioned medium (CCM). BMSC-CM enhanced the proliferation, migration, and collagen synthesizing abilities of fibroblasts. Differentially expressed genes in BMSC-CM-induced fibroblasts were mainly enriched for cell adhesion, extracellular fibril organization and angiogenesis. Treatment with the JAK2 inhibitor AG490 reversed BMSC-CM-induced activation of the JAK2/STAT4 pathway. Periurethral injection with BMSC-CCM markedly enhanced the abdominal leak point pressure (LPP) in rats after VD. Histological analysis revealed increased numbers of fibroblasts, improved collagen fibers arrangement and elevated collagens content in the AVW of rats receiving BMSC-CCM. These findings suggest the BMSC secretome activates AVW fibroblasts and contributes to the functional and anatomic recovery of simulated birth trauma-induced SUI in rats.

Self-monitoring diabetes with multiple mobile health devices

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of multiple mobile health technologies to generate and transmit data from diverse patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in between clinic visits. We examined the data to identify patterns that describe characteristics of patients for clinical insights.

METHODS

We enrolled 60 adults with T2DM from a US healthcare system to participate in a 6-month longitudinal feasibility trial. Patient weight, physical activity, and blood glucose were self-monitored via devices provided at baseline. Patients also responded to biweekly medication adherence text message surveys. Data were aggregated in near real-time. Measures of feasibility assessing total engagement in device submissions and survey completion over the 6 months of observation were calculated.

RESULTS

It was feasible for participants from different socioeconomic, educational, and racial backgrounds to use and track relevant diabetes-related data from multiple mobile health devices for at least 6 months. Both the transmission and engagement of the data revealed notable patterns and varied by patient characteristics.

DISCUSSION

Using multiple mobile health tools allowed us to derive clinical insights from diverse patients with diabetes. The ubiquitous adoption of smartphones across racial, educational, and socioeconomic populations and the integration of data from mobile health devices into electronic health records present an opportunity to develop new models of care delivery for patients with T2DM that may promote equity as well.

Global dissipativity and finite-time synchronization of mixed time-varying delayed memristor-based neural networks with discontinuous activations

In this paper, the matters of dissipativity and finite time synchronization for memristor-based neural networks (MNNs) with mixed time-varying discontinuities are investigated. Firstly, under the framework of extending Filippov differential inclusion theory, several effective new criteria are derived. Then, the global dissipativity of Filippov solution to neural networks is proved by using generalized Halanay inequality and matrix measure method. Secondly, some novel sufficient conditions are introduced to guarantee the finite-time synchronization of the drive-response MNNs based on a simple Lyapunov function and two different feedback controllers. Finally, several numerical examples are given to verify the validity of the theoretical results.

Intestinal epithelium-derived BATF3 promotes colitis-associated colon cancer through facilitating CXCL5-mediated neutrophils recruitment

Inflammation is a critical player in the development and progression of colon cancer. Basic leucine zipper transcription factor ATF-like 3 (BATF3) plays an important role in infection and tumor immunity through regulating the development of conventional type 1 dendritic cells (cDC1s). However, the function of BATF3 in colitis and colitis-associated colon cancer (CAC) remains unclear. Here, BATF3 wild-type and knockout mice were used to construct an AOM/DSS-induced CAC model. In addition, DSS-induced chronic colitis, bone marrow cross-transfusion (BMT), neutrophil knockout, and other animal models were used for in-depth research. We found that BATF3 deficiency in intestinal epithelial cells rather than in cDC1s inhibited CAC, which was depended on inflammatory stimulation. Mechanistically, BATF3 directly promoted transcription of CXCL5 by forming a heterodimer with JunD, and accelerated the recruitment of neutrophils through the CXCL5-CXCR2 axis, ultimately increasing the occurrence and development of CAC. Tissue microarray and TCGA data also indicated that high expression of BATF3 was positively correlated with poor prognosis of colorectal cancer and other inflammation-related tumors. In summary, our results demonstrate that intestinal epithelial-derived BATF3 relies on inflammatory stimulation to promote CAC, and BATF3 is expected to be a novel diagnostic indicator for colitis and CAC.

Alkoxycarbonyl radicals from alkyloxalyl chlorides: photoinduced synthesis of isoquinolinediones under visible light irradiation

Alkyloxalyl chlorides, generated from alcohols and oxalyl chlorides, are used as alkoxycarbonyl radicals in the reaction of N-acryloyl benzamides under photocatalysis at room temperature.

Texture analysis applied in T1 maps and extracellular volume obtained using cardiac MRI in the diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and hypertensive heart disease compared with normal controls

AIM

To assess the potential of texture analysis (TA) applied in T1 maps and extracellular volume (ECV) obtained using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in the diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and hypertensive heart disease (HHD) compared with normal controls (NC). Strain parameters were analysed to compare with final TA models.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This retrospective study included 66 HCM patients, 39 HHD patients, and 41 NC. Step-wise dimension reduction and feature selection were performed by reproducibility, machine learning, collinearity, and multivariable regression analysis to select the texture features that enable diagnosis of and differentiation between HCM and HHD. Strain parameters were calculated by short-axis and three long-axis cine sequences.

RESULTS

Independent features in T1 maps and ECV analysis allowed for the differentiation between patients (HCM and HHD) and NC. Of the best-calculated model, the areas under the receiver operating curve (AUCs) were as follows: 0.969 for T1 map and 0.964 for ECV. To distinguish HCM from HHD, two independent features were screened out for both T1 and ECV maps. The AUCs were as follows: 0.793 for T1 map and 0.894 for ECV. Radial, circumferential, and longitudinal strain parameters could differentiate patients from NC, but only longitudinal strain parameters was significantly different between HCM and HHD.

CONCLUSIONS

Texture analysis of T1 maps and ECV shows high accuracy in differentiating hypertrophic myocardium from NC, and HCM from HHD. Strain parameters are able to demonstrate the difference between patients and NC, but were less impressive in differentiating HCM and HHD.

Baohuoside I via mTOR Apoptotic Signaling to Inhibit Glioma Cell Growth

Introduction

Baohuoside I, a novel oncotherapeutic agent, has been reported to have anti-cancer effects on a variety of cancers, but its role in glioma and its molecular mechanism are still unclear.

Methods

The proliferation of U251 cells was detected by real-time cellular analysis (RTCA), CCK-8, Ki67 immunofluorescence and colony formation assay. The effect of Baohuoside I on the invasion and migration of U251 cells was measured by transwell and scratch tests. The apoptosis of U251 cells was detected by flow cytometry. The expression level of related protein was detected by western blotting.

Results

Baohuoside I could inhibit the proliferation of human glioma cells and induce apoptosis. Further study showed that the migration and invasion ability of glioma was significantly decreased by Baohuoside I. Western blot revealed the expression of p-AMPKα1 protein was up-regulated, and the expression of p-mTOR and p-S6K was down-regulated after Baohuoside I treatment. Tumorigenesis in nude mice showed that Baohuoside I had an anti-glioma effect in vivo.

Conclusion

We propose a natural product, which can inhibit the proliferation, invasion and migration of glioma and may be a valuable anti-tumor candidate. The inhibitory effect of Baohuoside I on the glioma is achieved by inducing the apoptosis of the tumor cells, rather than autophagy. In addition, the pathway to induce cell apoptosis of Baohuoside I is to target the mTOR signal.

von Willebrand factor promotes platelet-induced metastasis of osteosarcoma through activation of the VWF-GPIb axis

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Immunohistochemistry results directly show VWF is increased during tumor progression.

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VWF is expressed as low molecular weight multimer in OS cell line SAOS2.

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VWF promotes platelet-induced metastasis of OS through VWF-GPIb pathway.

von Willebrand factor (VWF) is exclusively expressed in endothelial cells (ECs) and megakaryocytes, which plays a crucial role in the initiation of arterial thrombosis. Recent studies have shown that VWF is also expressed in osteosarcoma (OS) cells and participates in adhesion of cancer cells to platelets, thus promoting metastasis of OS cells. However, it is unclear how OS cell-derived VWF-platelet interaction contributes to the metastasis of OS. We hypothesized that the interaction is mediated by the binding between VWF A1 and GPIbα of platelets, a molecular mechanism similar to that of thrombosis. The increased expression of VWF in SAOS2 cells may contribute to the enhancement of platelet adhesion through the VWF-GPIb pathway, which could promote the migration and invasion capacities of SAOS2 cells in vitro. Antibodies that block the pathway could significantly inhibit the platelet-induced metastasis of OS cells. Our results suggest a theoretical basis for the development of new anti-OS metastasis drugs, and further enrich the mechanism of OS metastasis.

Influence of Silver Diamine Fluoride Treatment on the Microtensile Bond Strength of Glass Ionomer Cement to Sound and Carious Dentin

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

This study provides valuable information about the influence of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) treatment on the microtensile bond strength of glass ionomer cement (GIC) to dentin.

SUMMARY

Objectives: To investigate the influence of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) treatment on the microtensile bond strength (mTBS) of glass ionomer cement (GIC) to sound and artificial carious dentin.Methods: Thirty dentin blocks prepared from 30 noncarious human molars were randomly allocated into either the sound (Gp1) or artificial carious dentin (Gp2) groups. A microbiological method was adopted to create artificial dentin caries lesions in Gp2 specimens. Each dentin block was sectioned into two halves perpendicularly, and each pair of block halves was randomly assigned to two subgroups to receive topical application of SDF (Gp1-SDF, Gp2-SDF) or water as control (Gp1-water, Gp2-water). An encapsulated GIC was bonded to the exposed dentin surfaces 14 days after the SDF/water application. After immersion for 7 days in artificial saliva, the GIC-dentin specimens were sectioned into beams for mTBS testing. Failure mode was examined after the mTBS test.Results: There was no significant difference in the mean mTBS values between the SDF and control subgroups (Gp1-SDF vs Gp1-water, 10.57±1.6 MPa vs 10.20±1.8 MPa; Gp2-SDF vs Gp2-water, 6.14±2.2 MPa vs 5.97±2.3 MPa; paired t-test, p>0.05). However, the mean mTBS value of the sound dentin group was significantly higher than that of the carious dentin group, irrespective of whether SDF was applied prior to GIC bonding (independent t-test, p<0.001). Proportionally more cohesive failures occurred in the sound dentin groups (Gp1-SDF, 48.4%; Gp1-water, 42.9%) compared with the carious dentin groups (Gp2-SDF, 15.6%; Gp2-water, 9.8%; p<0.05).Conclusions: SDF treatment had no significant influence on the mTBS of GIC to dentin. Compared with sound dentin, dentin with caries had lower mTBS to GIC.