Comparative genomic analyses provide insight into the pathogenicity of three Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae strains from Anhui Province, China

BACKGROUND

Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa) is an important bacterial plant pathogen that causes severe damage to the kiwifruit industry worldwide. Three Psa strains were recently obtained from different kiwifruit orchards in Anhui Province, China. The present study mainly focused on the variations in virulence and genome characteristics of these strains based on the pathogenicity assays and comparative genomic analyses.

RESULTS

Three strains were identified as biovar 3 (Psa3), along with strain QSY6 showing higher virulence than JZY2 and YXH1 in pathogenicity assays. The whole genome assembly revealed that each of the three strains had a circular chromosome and a complete plasmid. The chromosome sizes ranged from 6.5 to 6.6 Mb with a GC content of approximately 58.39 to 58.46%, and a predicted number of protein-coding sequences ranging from 5,884 to 6,019. The three strains clustered tightly with 8 Psa3 reference strains in terms of average nucleotide identity (ANI), whole-genome-based phylogenetic analysis, and pangenome analysis, while they were evolutionarily distinct from other biovars (Psa1 and Psa5). Variations were observed in the repertoire of effectors of the type III secretion system among all 15 strains. Moreover, synteny analysis of the three sequenced strains revealed eight genomic regions containing 308 genes exclusively present in the highly virulent strain QSY6. Further investigation of these genes showed that 16 virulence-related genes highlight several key factors, such as effector delivery systems (type III secretion systems) and adherence (type IV pilus), which might be crucial for the virulence of QSY6.

CONCLUSION

Three Psa strains were identified and showed variant virulence in kiwifruit plant. Complete genome sequences and comparative genomic analyses further provided a theoretical basis for the potential pathogenic factors responsible for kiwifruit bacterial canker.

Association of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D with cardiovascular mortality and kidney outcome in patients with early stages of CKD

PURPOSE

While serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) deficiency is prevalent in chronic kidney disease (CKD), the effects of 25(OH)D deficiency on cardiovascular mortality and kidney outcomes in patients with early-stage CKD remain incompletely understood.

METHODS

This multicenter retrospective cohort study included adult patients with stages 1-3 CKD from 19 medical centers across China between January 2000 and May 2021. The primary outcome was cardiovascular mortality. The secondary study outcome included CKD progression (defined as a sustained > 40% eGFR decrease from baseline or progress to end-stage kidney disease), and annual percentage change of eGFR.

RESULTS

Of 9229 adults with stages 1-3 CKD, 27.0% and 38.9% had severe (< 10 ng/mL) and moderate (10 to < 20 ng/mL) serum 25(OH)D deficiency, respectively. Compared with patients having 25(OH)D ≥ 20 ng/mL, a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1.90, 95% CI 1.37-2.63), CKD progression (HR 2.20, 95% CI 1.68-2.88), and a steeper annual decline in eGFR (estimate - 7.87%; 95% CI - 10.24% to - 5.51% per year) was found in those with serum 25(OH)D < 10 ng/mL. Similar results were obtained in subgroups and by sensitivity analyses.

CONCLUSIONS

25(OH)D deficiency is associated with increased risks of cardiovascular mortality and CKD progression in patients with early-stage CKD. Studies are needed to determine whether early intervention for 25(OH)D deficiency could improve the prognosis of patients with early-stage CKD.

Giant magneto-photoluminescence at ultralow field in organic microcrystal arrays for on-chip optical magnetometer

Optical detection of magnetic field is appealing for integrated photonics; however, the light-matter interaction is usually weak at low field. Here we observe that the photoluminescence (PL) decreases by > 40% at 10 mT in rubrene microcrystals (RMCs) prepared by a capillary-bridge assembly method. The giant magneto-PL (MPL) relies on the singlet-triplet conversion involving triplet-triplet pairs, through the processes of singlet fission (SF) and triplet fusion (TF) during radiative decay. Importantly, the size of RMCs is critical for maximizing MPL as it influences on the photophysical processes of spin state conversion. The SF/TF process is quantified by measuring the prompt/delayed PL with time-resolved spectroscopies, which shows that the geminate SF/TF associated with triplet-triplet pairs are responsible for the giant MPL. Furthermore, the RMC-based magnetometer is constructed on an optical chip, which takes advantages of remarkable low-field sensitivity over a broad range of frequencies, representing a prototype of emerging opto-spintronic molecular devices.

A Zn-MOF-GOx-based cascade nanoreactor promotes diabetic infected wound healing by NO release and microenvironment regulation

Diabetic wound healing is a great clinical challenge due to the microenvironment of hyperglycemia and high pH value, bacterial infection and persistent inflammation. Here, we develop a cascade nanoreactor hydrogel (Arg@Zn-MOF-GOx Gel, AZG-Gel) with arginine (Arg) loaded Zinc metal organic framework (Zn-MOF) and glucose oxidase (GOx) based on chondroitin sulfate (CS) and Pluronic (F127) to accelerate diabetic infected wound healing. GOx in AZG-Gel was triggered by hyperglycemic environment to reduce local glucose and pH, and simultaneously produced hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to enable Arg-to release nitric oxide (NO) for inflammation regulation, providing a suitable microenvironment for wound healing. Zinc ions (Zn2+) released from acid-responsive Zn-MOF significantly inhibited the proliferation and biofilm formation of S.aureus and E.coli. AZG-Gel significantly accelerated diabetic infected wound healing by down-regulating pro-inflammatory tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6, up-regulating anti-inflammatory factor IL-4, promoting angiogenesis and collagen deposition in vivo. Collectively, our nanoreactor cascade strategy combining "endogenous improvement (reducing glucose and pH)" with "exogenous resistance (anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory)" provides a new idea for promoting diabetic infected wound healing by addressing both symptoms and root causes. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: A cascade nanoreactor (AZG-Gel) is constructed to solve three key problems in diabetic wound healing, namely, hyperglycemia and high pH microenvironment, bacterial infection and persistent inflammation. Local glucose and pH levels are reduced by GOx to provide a suitable microenvironment for wound healing. The release of Zn2+ significantly inhibits bacterial proliferation and biofilm formation, and NO reduces wound inflammation and promotes angiogenesis. The pH change when AZG-Gel is applied to wounds is expected to enable the visualization of wound healing to guide the treatment of diabetic wound. Our strategy of "endogenous improvement (reducing glucose and pH)" combined with "exogenous resistance (anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory)" provides a new way for promoting diabetic wound healing.

Immediate loading in partially edentulous patients with fixed implant-supported restorations cases report

Objectives

This article reports on four rare cases involving multiple trauma-induced adjacent missing anterior teeth in the maxillary or mandibular region. These cases were successfully treated using a 4-axial implant-based alternative insert and an immediate loading protocol.

Material and methods

This series of cases was summarized by retrospective study that 4 patients who received a total of 20 immediately loaded implants. These patients had suffered from trauma-induced loss of 8-9 adjacent anterior teeth. The 4-axial-implants were inserted with the assistance of digital pioneer drill guides. The surgical procedure involved alveolar bone trimming or ultrasonic osteotomy, eliminating the need for traditional large-area bone augmentation. Pre- and post-operative CBCT was matched using DTX Studio Implant software, the deviation of implant between actual position and preoperative design was measured and compared using SPSS software package.

Results

The average follow-up duration 48 months after implant prostheses, the cumulative retention rate of the implants was 100%, the marginal bone loss averaged 0.53 mm (SD 0.15 mm), and buccal plate bone loss averaged 0.62 mm (SD 0.41 mm).

Conclusions

This retrospective clinical report demonstrates the successful treatment of several patients with multiple adjacent maxillary or mandibular anterior teeth using four implant-supported screws to fix the frame and employing immediate loading. The approach resulted in long-term stable clinical outcomes. Moreover, the method not only shortens the period of edentulism but also facilitates easy disassembly, maintenance, and cleaning. Consequently, it emerges as a highly favorable clinical option for patients suffering from extensive tooth loss.

Radiomics Analysis of Pericoronary Adipose Tissue From Baseline Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography Enables Prediction of Coronary Plaque Progression

PURPOSE

The relationship between plaque progression and pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) radiomics has not been comprehensively evaluated. We aim to predict plaque progression with PCAT radiomics features and evaluate their incremental value over quantitative plaque characteristics.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Between January 2009 and December 2020, 500 patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease who underwent serial coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) ≥2 years apart were retrospectively analyzed and randomly stratified into a training and testing data set with a ratio of 7:3. Plaque progression was defined with annual change in plaque burden exceeding the median value in the entire cohort. Quantitative plaque characteristics and PCAT radiomics features were extracted from baseline CCTA. Then we built 3 models including quantitative plaque characteristics (model 1), PCAT radiomics features (model 2), and the combined model (model 3) to compare the prediction performance evaluated by area under the curve.

RESULTS

The quantitative plaque characteristics of the training set showed the values of noncalcified plaque volume (NCPV), fibrous plaque volume, lesion length, and PCAT attenuation were larger in the plaque progression group than in the nonprogression group ( P < 0.05 for all). In multivariable logistic analysis, NCPV and PCAT attenuation were independent predictors of coronary plaque progression. PCAT radiomics exhibited significantly superior prediction over quantitative plaque characteristics both in the training (area under the curve: 0.814 vs 0.615, P < 0.001) and testing (0.736 vs 0.594, P = 0.007) data sets.

CONCLUSIONS

NCPV and PCAT attenuation were independent predictors of coronary plaque progression. PCAT radiomics derived from baseline CCTA achieved significantly better prediction than quantitative plaque characteristics.

Synergistic effects of chemical additives and mature compost on reducing H2S emission during kitchen waste composting

Additives could improve composting performance and reduce gaseous emission, but few studies have explored the synergistic of additives on H2S emission and compost maturity. This research aims to make an investigation about the effects of chemical additives and mature compost on H2S emission and compost maturity of kitchen waste composting. The results showed that additives increased the germination index value and H2S emission reduction over 15 days and the treatment with both chemical additives and mature compost achieved highest germination index value and H2S emission reduction (85%). Except for the treatment with only chemical additives, the total sulfur content increased during the kitchen waste composting. The proportion of effective sulfur was higher with the addition of chemical additives, compared with other groups. The relative abundance of H2S-formation bacterial (Desulfovibrio) was reduced and the relative abundance of bacterial (Pseudomonas and Paracoccus), which could convert sulfur-containing substances and H2S to sulfate was improved with additives. In the composting process with both chemical additives and mature compost, the relative abundance of Desulfovibrio was lowest, while the relative abundance of Pseudomonas and Paracoccus was highest. Taken together, the chemical additives and mature compost achieved H2S emission reduction by regulating the dynamics of microbial community.

An artificial intelligence model for detecting pathological lymph node metastasis in prostate cancer using whole slide images: a retrospective, multicentre, diagnostic study

Background

The pathological examination of lymph node metastasis (LNM) is crucial for treating prostate cancer (PCa). However, the limitations with naked-eye detection and pathologist workload contribute to a high missed-diagnosis rate for nodal micrometastasis. We aimed to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-based, time-efficient, and high-precision PCa LNM detector (ProCaLNMD) and evaluate its clinical application value.

Methods

In this multicentre, retrospective, diagnostic study, consecutive patients with PCa who underwent radical prostatectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection at five centres between Sep 2, 2013 and Apr 28, 2023 were included, and histopathological slides of resected lymph nodes were collected and digitised as whole-slide images for model development and validation. ProCaLNMD was trained at a dataset from a single centre (the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University [SYSMH]), and externally validated in the other four centres. A bladder cancer dataset from SYSMH was used to further validate ProCaLNMD, and an additional validation (human-AI comparison and collaboration study) containing consecutive patients with PCa from SYSMH was implemented to evaluate the application value of integrating ProCaLNMD into the clinical workflow. The primary endpoint was the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of ProCaLNMD. In addition, the performance measures for pathologists with ProCaLNMD assistance was also assessed.

Findings

In total, 8225 slides from 1297 patients with PCa were collected and digitised. Overall, 8158 slides (18,761 lymph nodes) from 1297 patients with PCa (median age 68 years [interquartile range 64-73]; 331 [26%] with LNM) were used to train and validate ProCaLNMD. The AUROC of ProCaLNMD ranged from 0.975 (95% confidence interval 0.953-0.998) to 0.992 (0.982-1.000) in the training and validation datasets, with sensitivities > 0.955 and specificities > 0.921. ProCaLNMD also demonstrated an AUROC of 0.979 in the cross-cancer dataset. ProCaLNMD use triggered true reclassification in 43 (4.3%) slides in which micrometastatic tumour regions were initially missed by pathologists, thereby correcting 28 (8.5%) missed-diagnosed cases of previous routine pathological reports. In the human-AI comparison and collaboration study, the sensitivity of ProCaLNMD (0.983 [0.908-1.000]) surpassed that of two junior pathologists (0.862 [0.746-0.939], P = 0.023; 0.879 [0.767-0.950], P = 0.041) by 10-12% and showed no difference to that of two senior pathologists (both 0.983 [0.908-1.000], both P > 0.99). Furthermore, ProCaLNMD significantly boosted the diagnostic sensitivity of two junior pathologists (both P = 0.041) to the level of senior pathologists (both P > 0.99), and substantially reduced the four pathologists' slide reviewing time (-31%, P < 0.0001; -34%, P < 0.0001; -29%, P < 0.0001; and -27%, P = 0.00031).

Interpretation

ProCaLNMD demonstrated high diagnostic capabilities for identifying LNM in prostate cancer, reducing the likelihood of missed diagnoses by pathologists and decreasing the slide reviewing time, highlighting its potential for clinical application.

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province, the National Key Research and Development Programme of China, the Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Centre for Urological Diseases, and the Science and Technology Projects in Guangzhou.

Rational design and synthesis of 2,4-dichloro-6-methyl pyrimidine derivatives as potential selective EGFRT790M/L858R inhibitors for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer

Many patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) initially benefit from epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) targeted therapy. Unfortunately, varying degrees of resistance or side effects eventually develop. Overcoming and preventing the resistance and side effects of EGFR inhibitors has become a hot topic of research today. Based on the previous studies on AZD-9291, we designed and synthesized two series of 2,4-dichloro-6-methylpyrimidine derivatives, 19 compounds in total, as potential inhibitors of the EGFR kinase. The most promising compound, L-18, showed better inhibitory activity (81.9%) and selectivity against EGFRT790M/L858R kinase. In addition, L-18 showed strong antiproliferative activity against H1975 cells with an IC50 value of 0.65 ± 0.06 μM and no toxicity to normal cells (LO-2). L-18 was able to dose-dependently induce the apoptosis of H1975 cells and produced a cell-cycle-blocking effect, and it can also dose-dependently inhibit the migration and invasion of H1975 cells. L-18 also showed in vivo anticancer efficacy in H1975 cells xenograft mice. We also performed a series of in vivo and in vitro toxicological evaluations of compound L-18, which did not cause obvious injury in mice during administration. These results suggest that L-18 may be a promising drug candidate that warrants further investigation.

Effects of cations on biofilms in gravity-driven membrane system: Filtration performance and mechanism investigation

The gravity-driven membrane (GDM) system is desirable for energy-efficient water treatment. However, little is known about the influence of cations on biofilm properties and GDM performance. In this study, typical cations (Ca2+ and Na+) were used to reveal the combined fouling behavior and mechanisms. Results showed that Ca2+ improved the stable flux and pollutant removal efficiency, while Na+ adversely affected the flux. Compared with GDM control, the concentration of pollutants was lower in Ca-GDM, as indicated by the low biomass, proteins, and polysaccharides. A heterogeneous and loose biofilm was observed in the Ca-GDM system, with roughness and porosity increasing by 43.06 % and 32.60 %, respectively. However, Na+ induced a homogeneous and dense biofilm, with porosity and roughness respectively reduced by 17.48 % and 22.04 %. The richness of bacterial communities increased in Ca-GDM systems, while it decreased in Na-GDM systems. High adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentration in Ca-GDM system was consistent with the abundant bacteria and their high biological activity, which was helpful for the efficient removal of pollutants. The abundance of Apicomplexa, Platyhelminthes, Annelida and Nematoda increased after adding Ca2+, which was related to the formation of loose biofilms. Computational simulations indicated that the free volumes of the biofilms in Ca-GDM and Na-GDM were 13.7 and 13.2 nm3, respectively. The addition of cations changed intermolecular forces, Ca2+ induced bridging effects led to large and loose floc particles, while the significant dehydration of hydrated molecules in the Na-GDM caused obvious aggregation. Overall, microbiological characteristics and contaminant molecular interactions were the main reasons for differences in GDM systems.

Physicochemical properties of esterified/crosslinked quinoa starches and their influence on bread quality

BACKGROUND

Starch is the main component of quinoa seeds. However, quinoa starch has poor solubility in cold water and poor mechanical resistance and is easily aged, which limit its application. Therefore, modification of its structure to improve its functional properties is necessary.

RESULTS

This research used acetic anhydride and sodium trimetaphosphate to modify the structure of starch molecules and investigated their influence on bread quality. The results showed that both esterification and crosslinking prevented the aggregation behavior of starch molecules. Moreover, they both decreased the gelatinization enthalpy change and relative crystallinity of the starch. Compared with native starch, modification significantly decreased the gelatinization temperature from 57.01 to 52.01 °C and the esterified starch exhibited the lowest enthalpy change with a 44.2% decrease. Modified starch increased the specific volume and decreased the hardness and chewiness of bread. Modification did not influence the moisture content in bread but impacted the water retention capacity, depending on the degree of modification. Low and medium degrees of modification improved the water retention capacity during storage. By contrast, a high degree of modification (10 g kg-1 crosslinking agent) decreased the water retention capacity. The dually modified quinoa starch (esterified and crosslinked) showed no influence on the textural properties of bread.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated that both esterification and crosslinking significantly improved the functional properties of quinoa starch. Crosslinked or esterified quinoa starches have the potential to improve the textural properties of bakery products. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

iGWAS: Image-based genome-wide association of self-supervised deep phenotyping of retina fundus images

Existing imaging genetics studies have been mostly limited in scope by using imaging-derived phenotypes defined by human experts. Here, leveraging new breakthroughs in self-supervised deep representation learning, we propose a new approach, image-based genome-wide association study (iGWAS), for identifying genetic factors associated with phenotypes discovered from medical images using contrastive learning. Using retinal fundus photos, our model extracts a 128-dimensional vector representing features of the retina as phenotypes. After training the model on 40,000 images from the EyePACS dataset, we generated phenotypes from 130,329 images of 65,629 British White participants in the UK Biobank. We conducted GWAS on these phenotypes and identified 14 loci with genome-wide significance (p<5×10-8 and intersection of hits from left and right eyes). We also did GWAS on the retina color, the average color of the center region of the retinal fundus photos. The GWAS of retina colors identified 34 loci, 7 are overlapping with GWAS of raw image phenotype. Our results establish the feasibility of this new framework of genomic study based on self-supervised phenotyping of medical images.

Low-level PM2.5 induces the occurrence of early pulmonary injury by regulating circ_0092363

The significant correlation between particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters of ≤ 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and the high morbidity and mortality of respiratory diseases has become the consensus of the research. Epidemiological studies have clearly pointed out that there is no safe concentration of PM2.5, and mechanism studies have also shown that exposure to PM2.5 will first cause pulmonary inflammation. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the mechanism of early lung injury induced by low-level PM2.5 from the perspective of epigenetics. Based on the previous results of population samples, combined with an in vitro/vivo exposure model of PM2.5, it was found that low-level PM2.5 promoted the transport of circ_0092363 from intracellular to extracellular spaces. The decreased expression of intracellular circ_0092363 resulted in reduced absorption of miR-31-5p, leading to inhibition of Rho associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 1 (ROCK1) and the subsequent abnormal expression of tight junction proteins such as Zonula occludens protein 1 (ZO-1) and Claudin-1, ultimately inducing the occurrence of early pulmonary injury. Furthermore, this study innovatively introduced organoid technology and conducted a preliminary exploration for a study of the relationship among environmental exposure genomics, epigenetics and disease genomics in organoids. The role of circ_0092363 in early pulmonary injury induced by low-level PM2.5 was elucidated, and its value as a potential diagnostic biomarker was confirmed.

Single-nucleotide variant calling in single-cell sequencing data with Monopogen

Single-cell omics technologies enable molecular characterization of diverse cell types and states, but how the resulting transcriptional and epigenetic profiles depend on the cell's genetic background remains understudied. We describe Monopogen, a computational tool to detect single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) from single-cell sequencing data. Monopogen leverages linkage disequilibrium from external reference panels to identify germline SNVs and detects putative somatic SNVs using allele cosegregating patterns at the cell population level. It can identify 100 K to 3 M germline SNVs achieving a genotyping accuracy of 95%, together with hundreds of putative somatic SNVs. Monopogen-derived genotypes enable global and local ancestry inference and identification of admixed samples. It identifies variants associated with cardiomyocyte metabolic levels and epigenomic programs. It also improves putative somatic SNV detection that enables clonal lineage tracing in primary human clonal hematopoiesis. Monopogen brings together population genetics, cell lineage tracing and single-cell omics to uncover genetic determinants of cellular processes.

TEDC2 plays an oncogenic role and serves as a therapeutic target of hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies and tends to have a poor prognosis due to its insidious onset, difficulty in early diagnosis, and limited treatment options. Tubulin epsilon and delta complex 2 (TEDC2), also known as C16orf59, is implicated in maintaining centriole stability, but the involvement of TEDC2 in HCC remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the expression profile and potential mechanisms of TEDC2 in HCC.

METHODS

Multiple RNA sequencing datasets were screened for differentially expressed genes in HCC, and the prognosis-related gene, TEDC2, was further screened as a target gene in this study. The expression of TEDC2 in public datasets and clinical specimens was analyzed, and the involvement of TEDC2 in HCC was investigated by bioinformatic analysis and in vitro experiments.

RESULTS

TEDC2 levels were elevated in HCC compared to healthy livers. Overexpression of TEDC2 was positively correlated with pathologic stage and histologic grade. In addition, TEDC2 was found to be an independent prognostic predictor. An excellent prognostic model of HCC was successfully constructed with TEDC2 in combination with the TNM stage. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that overexpression of TEDC2 might be associated with impaired tumor immunity in HCC, as evidenced by increased infiltration of T helper 2 (Th2) cells and reduced infiltration of cytotoxic cells. Further studies showed that TP53 mutations regulated TEDC2 expression, and TEDC2 was significantly associated with drug sensitivity. Moreover, overexpression of TEDC2 promoted cell metastasis and proliferation in vitro.

CONCLUSION

These findings initially suggested a crucial effect of TEDC2 overexpression on HCC tumor progression, suggesting its potential as a novel prognostic and therapeutic target in HCC.

Bismuth-Doped Carbon Dots Decorated Escherichia coli for Enhanced Hydrogen Production

Photosynthetic inorganic biohybrid systems (PBSs) combining an inorganic photosensitizer with intact living cells provide an innovative view for solar hydrogen production. However, typical whole-cell biohybrid systems often suffer from sluggish electron transfer kinetics during transmembrane diffusion, which severely limits the efficiency of solar hydrogen production. Here, a unique biohybrid system with a quantum yield of 8.42% was constructed by feeding bismuth-doped carbon dots (Bi@CDS) to Escherichia coli (E. coli). In this biohybrid system, Bi@CDS can enter the cells and transfer the electrons upon light irradiation, greatly reducing the energy loss and shortening the distance of electron transfer. More importantly, the photocatalytic hydrogen production of the E. coli-Bi@CDs biohybrid system reached up to 0.95 mmol within 3 h under light irradiation (420-780 nm, 2000 W m-2), which is 1.36 and 2.38 times higher than that in the E. coli-CDs biohybrid system and the E. coli system, respectively. In addition, the mechanism of enhanced hydrogen production was further explored. It was found that the accelerated decomposition of glucose, the accelerated production of pyruvate, the inhibition of lactic acid, and the increase of formic acid were the reasons for the increase of hydrogen production. This work provides a novel strategy for improving the hydrogen production in photosynthetic inorganic biohybrid systems.

Nonvolatile Phase-Only Transmissive Spatial Light Modulator with Electrical Addressability of Individual Pixels

Active metasurfaces with tunable subwavelength-scale nanoscatterers are promising platforms for high-performance spatial light modulators (SLMs). Among the tuning methods, phase-change materials (PCMs) are attractive because of their nonvolatile, threshold-driven, and drastic optical modulation, rendering zero-static power, crosstalk immunity, and compact pixels. However, current electrically controlled PCM-based metasurfaces are limited to global amplitude modulation, which is insufficient for SLMs. Here, an individual-pixel addressable, transmissive metasurface is experimentally demonstrated using the low-loss PCM Sb2Se3 and doped silicon nanowire heaters. The nanowires simultaneously form a diatomic metasurface, supporting a high-quality-factor (∼406) quasi-bound-state-in-the-continuum mode. A global phase-only modulation of ∼0.25π (∼0.2π) in simulation (experiment) is achieved, showing ten times enhancement. A 2π phase shift is further obtained using a guided-mode resonance with enhanced light-Sb2Se3 interaction. Finally, individual-pixel addressability and SLM functionality are demonstrated through deterministic multilevel switching (ten levels) and tunable far-field beam shaping. Our work presents zero-static power transmissive phase-only SLMs, enabled by electrically controlled low-loss PCMs and individual meta-molecule addressable metasurfaces.

To be or not to be - Decoding the Trabecular Meshwork Cell Identity

The trabecular meshwork within the conventional outflow apparatus is critical in maintaining intraocular pressure homeostasis. In vitro studies employing primary cell cultures of the human trabecular meshwork (hTM) have conventionally served as surrogates for investigating the pathobiology of TM dysfunction. Despite its abundant use, translation of outcomes from in vitro studies to ex vivo and/or in vivo studies remains a challenge. Given the cell heterogeneity, performing single-cell RNA sequencing comparing primary hTM cell cultures to hTM tissue may provide important insights on cellular identity and translatability, as such an approach has not been reported before. In this study, we assembled a total of 14 primary hTM in vitro samples across passages 1-4, including 4 samples from individuals diagnosed with glaucoma. This dataset offers a comprehensive transcriptomic resource of primary hTM in vitro scRNA-seq data to study global changes in gene expression in comparison to cells in tissue in situ. We have performed extensive preprocessing and quality control, allowing the research community to access and utilize this public resource.

Sample multiplexing for retinal single-cell RNA-sequencing

Rare cell populations can be challenging to characterize using microfluidic single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) platforms. Typically, the population of interest must be enriched and pooled from multiple biological specimens for efficient collection. However, these practices preclude the resolution of sample origin together with phenotypic data and are problematic in experiments in which biological or technical variation is expected to be high (e.g., disease models, genetic perturbation screens, or human samples). One solution is sample multiplexing whereby each sample is tagged with a unique sequence barcode that is resolved bioinformatically. We have established a scRNA-seq sample multiplexing pipeline for mouse retinal ganglion cells using cholesterol-modified-oligos and utilized the enhanced precision to investigate cell type distribution and transcriptomic variance across retinal samples. As single cell transcriptomics are becoming more widely used to research development and disease, sample multiplexing represents a useful method to enhance the precision of scRNA-seq analysis.

A practical nomogram for predicting early death in elderly small cell lung cancer patients: A SEER-based study

This study aimed to identify risk factors for early death in elderly small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients and develop nomogram prediction models for all-cause and cancer-specific early death to improve patient management. Data of elderly patients diagnosed with SCLC were extracted from the SEER database, then randomly divided into training and validation cohorts. Univariate and stepwise multivariable Logistic regression analyses were performed on the training cohort to identify independent risk factors for early death in these patients. Nomograms were developed based on these factors to predict the overall risk of early death. The efficacy of the nomograms was validated using various methods, including ROC analysis, calibration curves, DCA, NRI, and IDI. Among 2077 elderly SCLC patients, 773 died within 3 months, 713 due to cancer-specific causes. Older age, higher AJCC staging, brain metastases, and lack of surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy increase the risk of all-cause early death, while higher AJCC staging, brain metastases, lung metastases, and lack of surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy increase the risk of cancer-specific death (P < .05). These identified factors were used to construct 2 nomograms to predict the risk of early death. The ROC indicated that the nomograms performed well in predicting both all-cause early death (AUC = 0.823 in the training cohort and AUC = 0.843 in the validation cohort) and cancer-specific early death (AUC = 0.814 in the training cohort and AUC = 0.841 in the validation cohort). The results of calibration curves, DCAs, NRI and IDI also showed that the 2 sets of nomograms had good predictive power and clinical utility and were superior to the commonly used TNM staging system. The nomogram prediction models constructed in this study can effectively assist clinicians in predicting the risk of early death in elderly SCLC patients, and can also help physicians screen patients at higher risk and develop personalized treatment plans for them.

Design, Synthesis, Formulation, and Bioevaluation of Trisubstituted Triazines as Highly Selective mTOR Inhibitors for the Treatment of Human Breast Cancer

The aberrant activation of the PI3K/mTOR signaling pathway is implicated in various human cancers. Thus, the development of inhibitors targeting mTOR has attracted considerable attention. In this study, we used a structure-based drug design strategy to discover a highly potent and kinase-selective mTOR inhibitor 24 (PT-88), which demonstrated an mTOR inhibitory IC50 value of 1.2 nM without obvious inhibition against another 195 kinases from the kinase profiling screening. PT-88 displayed selective inhibition against MCF-7 cells (IC50: 0.74 μM) with high biosafety against normal cells, in which autophagy induced by mTOR inhibition was implicated. After successful encapsulation in a lipodisc formulation, PT-88 demonstrated favorable pharmacokinetic and biosafety profiles and exerted a large antitumor effect in an MCF-7 subcutaneous bearing nude mice model. Our study shows the discovery of a highly selective mTOR inhibitor using a structure-based drug discovery strategy and provides a promising antitumor candidate for future study and development.

Constructing a P2W18O626--Containing Hybrid Photocatalyst via Noncovalent Interactions for Enhanced H2 Production

Polyoxometalates (POMs) have gained significant research attention because of their excellent properties in photocatalytic (PC) hydrogen production. Exploring POM-based compounds for heterogeneous photocatalysis is an ongoing task. Here, we obtain a water-insoluble inorganic-organic hybrid compound, (P2W18O62)3(C12N3H10)6(C12N3H11)6·9.5H2O (P-PW), formed by Dawson-type POM P2W18O626- (P2W18) anions and protonated 2-(pyridin-4-yl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazole (PHB) cations via noncovalent interactions. In the presence of the sacrificial agent triethanolamine, P-PW exhibits a PC H2 generation rate of 0.418 mmol/g/h, surpassing that of P2W18 and PHB by 15 and 17 times, respectively. This enhancement in PC performance of P-PW can be attributed to its band structure change from the precursor compounds, leading to increased light absorption and therefore more efficient PC hydrogen production.

ALK-rearranged and EGFR wild-type lung adenocarcinoma transformed to small cell lung cancer: a case report

Background

Cases of ALK-rearranged EGFR wild-type lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) transforming into small cell lung cancer (SCLC) are rarely reported, and diagnosis is often delayed. The emergence of this transformation phenomenon is often regarded as a consequence of acquired resistance mechanisms.

Case presentation

A 47-year-old male diagnosed with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the right middle lung (pT2N2M0, stage IIIA) achieved a 46-month progression-free survival (PFS) following surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy. During routine follow-up, tumor recurrence and metastasis was detected. Genetic testing revealed ALK rearrangement and wild-type EGFR, prompting treatment with ALK-TKIs. In May 2023, abdominal CT scans showed significant progression of liver metastases and abnormal elevation of the tumor marker NSE. Immunohistochemical results from percutaneous liver biopsy indicated metastatic SCLC.

Results

After resistance to ALK-TKIs and transformation to SCLC, the patient received chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy for SCLC, but the patient's disease progressed rapidly. Currently, the patient is being treated with albumin-bound paclitaxel in combination with oral erlotinib and remains stable.

Conclusion

Histological transformation emerges as a compelling mechanism of resistance to ALK-TKIs, necessitating the utmost urgency for repeat biopsies in patients displaying disease progression after resistance. These biopsies are pivotal in enabling the tailor-made adaptation of treatment regimens to effectively counteract the assorted mechanisms of acquired resistance, thus optimizing patient outcomes in the battle against ALK-driven malignancies.

Implications of depressive mood in OSAHS patients: insights from event-related potential

BACKGROUND

Obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is a chronic breathing disorder characterized by recurrent upper airway obstruction during sleep. Although previous studies have shown a link between OSAHS and depressive mood, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying mood disorders in OSAHS patients remain poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the emotion processing mechanism in OSAHS patients with depressive mood using event-related potentials (ERPs).

METHODS

Seventy-four OSAHS patients were divided into the depressive mood and non-depressive mood groups according to their Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) scores. Patients underwent overnight polysomnography and completed various cognitive and emotional questionnaires. The patients were shown facial images displaying positive, neutral, and negative emotions and tasked to identify the emotion category, while their visual evoked potential was simultaneously recorded.

RESULTS

The two groups did not differ significantly in age, BMI, and years of education, but showed significant differences in their slow wave sleep ratio (P = 0.039), ESS (P = 0.006), MMSE (P < 0.001), and MOCA scores (P = 0.043). No significant difference was found in accuracy and response time on emotional face recognition between the two groups. N170 latency in the depressive group was significantly longer than the non-depressive group (P = 0.014 and 0.007) at the bilateral parieto-occipital lobe, while no significant difference in N170 amplitude was found. No significant difference in P300 amplitude or latency between the two groups. Furthermore, N170 amplitude at PO7 was positively correlated with the arousal index and negatively with MOCA scores (both P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

OSAHS patients with depressive mood exhibit increased N170 latency and impaired facial emotion recognition ability. Special attention towards the depressive mood among OSAHS patients is warranted for its implications for patient care.