Pure Retroperitoneal Laparoscopic Peritoneum Incision Technique in Right Nephrectomy and Inferior Vena Cava Tumor Thrombectomy: A Novel Surgical Technique and Long-Term Outcomes from a Large Chinese Center

Purpose: To explore the safety and effectiveness of the Pure Retroperitoneal Laparoscopic Peritoneum Incision Technique (PREP-IT) in laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (LRN) and inferior vena cave (IVC) tumor thrombectomy for right renal-cell carcinoma (RCC) with level Mayo I to III venous tumor thrombus (VTT). Patients and Methods: From May 2015 to September 2020, 92 patients with right RCC and Mayo I to III VTT were retrospectively reviewed, including 57 patients who underwent retroperitoneal LRN and IVC thrombectomy using PREP-IT, and 35 patients who underwent open surgery. PREP-IT refers to dissecting the retroperitoneum and temporarily placing the right kidney into the abdominal cavity to enlarge the retroperitoneal workspace for a safer and faster IVC operation. Results: Compared with the open surgery group, the PREP-IT group had a larger tumor diameter, while a larger proportion of Mayo I tumor thrombus and smaller maximum tumor thrombus width. Two patients (3.5%) in the PREP-IT group had a history of abdominal surgery. No conversion to open surgery or standard laparoscopic surgery occurred in PREP-IT group. Laparoscopic surgery with PREP-IT was characterized by shorter operative time, less surgical blood loss, shorter postoperative hospital stay, and lower postoperative complication rate. With a 33-month (ranges: 2-86) follow-up time period, the estimated mean overall survival time was 57.2 ± 5.3 and 58.1 ± 71.5 months in the PREP-IT group and open surgery group, respectively. Log-rank test indicated no significant difference between the two groups in terms of overall survival and cancer-specific survival. Conclusions: The PREP-IT is relatively safe and feasible for retroperitoneal LRN with right renal tumor and IVC tumor thrombus, allowing for a large workspace and wide exposure for IVC operations.

l-Arginine treatment maintains postharvest quality in blueberry fruit by enhancing antioxidant capacity during storage

The postharvest quality of blueberry fruit is largely limited by deterioration. l-arginine (Arg) is a functional nontoxic amino acid with high biological activities. This study investigated the positive effects and the underlying mechanism of Arg treatment on the quality of postharvest blueberries. Arg effectively mitigated fruit decay and improved the quality of blueberries, including weight loss, firmness, and soluble solid content. Mechanistically, Arg-mediated activation of the anti-oxidative defense system reduced reactive oxygen species-mediated oxidative damage. Moreover, Arg treatment decreased the activities and gene expression of phospholipase D, lipoxygenase, and lipase-inhibiting membrane lipid peroxidation during the prolonged storage of blueberries. Meanwhile, Arg treatment increased nitric oxide (NO) content and NO synthase activity. Furthermore, correlation and principal component analyses revealed the enhancement of Arg treatment on antioxidant capacity. This study suggests that Arg treatment can maintain the postharvest quality of blueberries by improving antioxidant capacity.

IL-35 inhibits adipogenesis via PPARγ-Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway by targeting Axin2

Interleukin (IL)-35, a member of the IL-12 family, functions as an immunosuppressive cytokine that plays a crucial role in the regulation of immune-related disorders and inflammatory diseases. Adipose tissue, which is now recognized as an immune organ, is regulated by immunocytes through various signaling pathways, including the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα) pathway and the Wnt/β-actin pathway. However, there is limited research regarding the effects of IL-35 on adipogenesis. Our current findings indicated that IL-35 impedes the proliferation and promotes the cytotoxicity of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Furthermore, IL-35 inhibited the adipogenic differentiation, as well as suppressed triglyceride and lipid accumulation. Additionally, the expression of PPARγ and C/EBPα, two key regulators of adipogenesis, were both down-regulated with IL-35 treatment. In order to explicate the mechanisms underlying the effects of IL-35, we conducted an investigation into the expression of Axin2, an intracellular inhibitor of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, in 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cells. Gene silencing of Axin2 through small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) enhanced PPARγ and C/EBPα expression while decreasing nuclear β-catenin levels in the presence of IL-35. Furthermore, in IL-35-treated cells, Axin2 knockdown boosted adipogenic differentiation (as measured by increased Oil Red O staining). These findings imply that IL-35 regulates Axin2 expression and thereby plays an important role in adipocyte development.

Enzymatic synthesis of indigo derivatives by tuning P450 BM3 peroxygenases

Indigoids, a class of bis-indoles, have long been applied in dyeing, food, and pharmaceutical industries. Recently, interest in these 'old' molecules has been renewed in the field of organic semiconductors as functional building blocks for organic electronics due to their excellent chemical and physical properties. However, these indigo derivatives are difficult to access through chemical synthesis. In this study, we engineer cytochrome P450 BM3 from an NADPH-dependent monooxygenase to peroxygenases through directed evolution. A select number of P450 BM3 variants are used for the selective oxidation of indole derivatives to form different indigoid pigments with a spectrum of colors. Among the prepared indigoid organic photocatalysts, a majority of indigoids demonstrate a reduced band gap than indigo due to the increased light capture and improved charge separation, making them promising candidates for the development of new organic electronic devices. Thus, we present a useful enzymatic approach with broad substrate scope and cost-effectiveness by using low-cost H₂O₂ as a cofactor for the preparation of diversified indigoids, offering versatility in designing and manufacturing new dyestuff and electronic/sensor components.

Effects of V-N Microalloying on Low-Cycle Fatigue Property in the Welded Joints of Constructional Steel

Low-cycle fatigue testing was carried out for the welded joints of constructional steels containing 0% V + 0.0021% N and 0.10% V + 0.0078% N, and the effects of V-N microalloying on the low-cycle fatigue property of the welded joints were investigated. The results showed that when the total strain amplitudes were 1.2%, 1.4% and 1.6%, the mean low-cycle fatigue lives of the welded joints of steel containing 0.10% V + 0.0078% N were 5050, 2372 and 1535 cycles, respectively, which were significantly higher than those of the welded joints of steel containing 0% V + 0.0021% N; however, when the total strain amplitudes increased to 1.8% and 2.0%, the mean low-cycle fatigue lives of the welded joints of steel containing 0.10% V + 0.0078% N were 575 and 367 cycles, respectively, which were gradually lower than those of the welded joints of steel containing 0% V + 0.0021% N. The reasons causing the difference of low-cycle fatigue life were explained by the dislocation structure and precipitates in the welding heat-affected zone, plastic strain energy density of the welded joints, and fatigue fracture morphology. When the low-cycle fatigue life is between 100 and 200 cycles, the cyclic toughness of the welded joint of steel containing 0.10% V + 0.0078% N is between 57.48 and 78.22 J/cm3, which is higher than that of the welded joint of steel containing 0% V + 0.0021% N, indicating that the welded joint of steel containing 0.10% V + 0.0078% N is able to absorb more energy in a seismic condition, therefore possessing better seismic resistance.

Inflammatory biomarkers and delirium: a Mendelian randomization study

Background

The association between inflammatory biomarkers and individual delirium symptoms remains controversial in observational studies. We investigated the relationship between inflammatory biomarkers and the risk of developing delirium.

Methods

A bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) was performed. Genetic instruments associated with peripheral tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-8, IL-6, soluble IL-6 receptor alpha (sIL-6Rα), and soluble gp130 were identified in three different large summary genome-wide association studies (GWAS) conducted in the European population. Summary-level statistics for delirium not induced by alcohol and other psychoactive substances were obtained from the FinnGen consortium (2,612 cases and 325,306 controls). The estimated causal effects were performed using instruments' variants at the genome-wide significant level (P < 5e-8 and P < 5e-6), applying a linkage disequilibrium clumping approach with a threshold of r2 < 0.001 for each of the exposures. Reverse causation was also performed. The inverse-variance weighted method (IVW), MR-Egger method, weighted median method, MR-Egger regression, and MR Pleiotropy RESidual Sum were used for MR analyses.

Results

At the genome-wide significant level (P < 5e-8, r2 < 0.001), genetically predicted sIL-6Rα was significantly associated with a decreased risk of delirium with less than three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in all three GWAS data sources (ORWaldratio = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.79-0.96, PWaldratio = 0.0016; ORIVW = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.79-0.97, PIVW = 0.008; ORIVW = 0.88, 95% CI: 0.80-0.96, PIVW = 0.004). The causal relationship between sIL-6Rα and delirium became non-significant when a more liberal threshold of P of < 5e-6 was applied (all PIVW > 0.05). At the two genome-wide significance levels (P < 5e-8 and P < 5e-6), we found no evidence for the causal effects of peripheral TNF-α, CRP, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, and soluble gp130 on delirium (all P > 0.05). The MR-Egger intercept and MR-PRESSO results indicated that no SNP had possible pleiotropy (all P > 0.05). Regarding the reverse, no evidence for an effect of delirium on these inflammatory biomarkers could be found (all P > 0.05).

Conclusion

The results of this MR analysis did not support that peripheral TNF-α, CRP, IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, sIL-6Rα, soluble gp130, and IL-8 were causally associated with delirium. More research is needed to explore the role of inflammatory factors in the pathogenesis of delirium.

Can the co-application of biochar and different inorganic nitrogen fertilizers repress N2O emissions in acidic soil?

The sole application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer with lower N2O emission potential or combined with biochar may help for mitigating N2O production. However, how biochar applied with various inorganic N fertilizers affected N2O emission in acidic soil remains unclear. Thus, we examined N2O emission, soil N dynamics and relating nitrifiers (i.e., ammonia-oxidizing archaea, AOA) in acidic soil. The study contained three N fertilizers (including NH4Cl, NaNO3, NH4NO3) and two biochar application rates (i.e., 0% and 0.5%). The results indicated that the alone application of NH4Cl produced more N2O. Meanwhile, the co-application of biochar and N fertilizers enhanced N2O emission as well, especially in the combined treatment of biochar and NH4NO3. Soil pH was decreased with the application of various N fertilizers, especially with NH4Cl, and the average decrease rate was 9.6%. Meanwhile, correlation analysis showed a negative relationship between N2O and pH, dramatically, which might indicate that the alteration of pH was one factor relating to N2O emission. However, there was no difference between the same N addition treatments with or without biochar on pH. Interestingly, in the combined treatment of biochar and NH4NO3, the lowest net nitrification rate and net mineralization rate appeared during days 16-23. Meanwhile, the highest emission rate of N2O in the same treatment also appeared during days 16-23. The accordance might indicate that N transformation alteration was another factor relating to N2O emissions. In addition, compared to NH4NO3 alone application, co-applied with biochar had a lower content of Nitrososphaera-AOA, which was a main contributor to nitrification. The study emphasizes the importance of using a suitable form of N fertilizers and further indicates that two factors, namely alteration of pH and N transformation rate, are related to N2O emission. Moreover, in future studies, it is necessary to explore the soil N dynamics controlled by microorganisms.

[Clinical characteristics of children with IgE-mediated cow's milk protein allergy]

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics of children with IgE-mediated cow's milk protein allergy (CMPA) and provide a basis for disease management and prevention. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to analyze 142 children aged 0-12 years who were diagnosed with IgE-mediated CMPA in Capital Institute of Pediatrics Affiliated Children's Hospital from 2020 to 2022. There were 79 males (55.6%) and 63 females (44.4%), with an average age of 14 (8, 27) months. 61 cases (43.0%) were in the <1-year-old group, 54 cases (38.0%) in the 1-3-year-old group, and 27 cases (19.0%) in the >3-year-old group. Data on demographic data, clinical manifestations, mean wheel diameter of skin prick test and serum specific IgE level were collected. The serum cow's milk protein sIgE and component sIgE were measured by ImmunoCAP fully automated system of fluorescence enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and statistically analyzed using chi-square test, nonparametric tests, correlation. Results: Cutaneous symptoms were the first and most frequent in 142 children (97.9%, 139/142 cases), followed by digestive (29.6%, 42/142 cases) and respiratory symptoms (27.5%, 39/142 cases).The proportion of children with respiratory symptoms after consuming cow's milk was significantly higher in the>3 years age group than those in the infant and toddler groups(66.7% vs 19.7%,χ2=18.396,P<0.01;66.7% vs 16.7%,χ2=20.250,P<0.01), and the symptoms involving ≥3 systems were also significantly higher than those in the other two groups(37.0% vs 13.1%,χ2=6.597,P<0.05;37.0% vs 7.4%,χ2=12.120,P<0.01). The average cow's milk SPT diameter and serum sIgE levels in the>3 years age group were significantly higher than those in the infant and toddler groups (Z=-4.682, P<0.01; Z=-3.498, P<0.01); (Z=-4.463, P<0.01; Z=-6.463, P<0.01). The most common cow's milk component protein were β-lactoglobulin(65.1%,56/86 cases) and casein (57.0%, 49/86 cases). Multiple-sensitization rate of the patients were 54.9%. Egg white (43.7%, 62/142 cases) was the most common co-sensitization food allergen while mold (12.7%, 18/142 cases) and weed pollen (12.7%, 18/142 cases) were the main co-sensitization aeroallergens. The proportion of multiple-sensitization to aeroallergens in the children group was the highest (51.9%, 14/27 cases), followed by the toddler group (29.6%, 16/54 cases), and the infant group was the least (3.3%, 2/61 cases). There was a significant difference among these three groups (χ2=7.476, P<0.05). Conclusion: Skin and mucosal symptoms are the most common in CMPA patients. The proportion of respiratory symptoms and multisystem involvement increased with age as well as the wheal diameter in skin test and serum sIgE level elevated. CMPA patients older than 3 years had the highest proportion of aeroallergen sensitization and airway allergic diseases.

The ratio of monocyte count and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol mediates the association between urinary tungsten and cardiovascular disease: a study from NHANES 2005-2018

Tungsten (W) is an emerging contaminant that can damage multiple systems in humans. However, studies of its effects on cardiovascular disease (CVD) are limited. The monocyte count to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR) is a composite inflammatory index of great concern in recent years, derived from lipid and cell inflammation parameters, that is used to indicate the risk of CVD. This study aimed to investigate the association between urinary W and CVD in the general population and compare the mediating effects of lipids, cell inflammatory parameters, and MHR to find a better target for intervention. We analyzed data from 9137 (≥ 20 years) participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), from 2005 to 2018. Restricted cubic splines (RCS) and survey-weighted generalized linear models (SWGLMs) were used to assess the relationship between W and CVD. Mediated analyses were used to explore lipids, cell inflammatory parameters, and MHR in the possible mediating pathways between W and CVD. In SWGLM, we found that W enhances the risk of CVD, especially congestive heart failure (CHF), coronary heart disease (CHD), and angina pectoris (AP). Women, higher age groups (≥ 55 years), and those with hypertension were vulnerable to W in the subgroup analysis. Mediation analysis showed that monocyte count (MC), white blood cell count (WBC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and MHR played a mediating role between W and CVD in proportions of 8.49%, 3.70%, 5.18%, and 12.95%, respectively. In conclusion, our study shows that urinary W can increase the risk of CVD, especially for CHF, CHD, and AP. Women, older age groups, and people with hypertension seem to be more vulnerable to W. In addition, MC, WBC, HDL, and MHR mediated the association between W and CVD, especially MHR, which suggests that we should consider it as a priority intervention target in the future.

First report of Didymella glomerata causing leaf spot on Lonicera caerulea L. in Heilongjiang province, China

China has the largest blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.) cultivation area globally. In June 2022, leaf spots were observed on approximately 10% of blue honeysuckle (cv. 'Lanjingling') leaves in a 0.03-ha field in Harbin (127.66°E, 45.61°N), Heilongjiang Province, China. The leaves of the affected plants displayed chlorotic to tan dieback with a darker brown margin along the leaftip and leave margins. Cross-sectional segments of approximately 3 mm were cut from 50 typical infected plant leaves. Their surfaces were sterilized with 75% ethanol for 30 s followed by 3 min in 5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), rinsed three times with sterile water, and transferred to 9-cm Petri dishes containing 15 ml of sterile PDA growth medium. Five purified cultures with similar culture characteristics were finally obtained and their colonies were dark brown on the PDA plates. The pycnidia were subglobular and deep black and measured avg. 215.48 (135.30-331.20) μm × avg. 170.28 (99.90-282.90) μm (n = 50) (Chen et al., 2015; Huang et al., 2018). Conidia were single-celled, hyaline, and ellipsoidal and measured avg. 6.22 (5.40-7.20) µm × avg. 3.42 (2.70-3.90) µm (n = 50). For molecular verification, genomic DNA was extracted from a representative isolate, LD-75. The internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), the second-largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (rpb2), the partial 28S large subunit rDNA (LSU), beta-tubulin (TUB), and actin (ACT) genes were amplified with the primers ITS1/ITS4, RPB2f/RPB2r, LROR/LR7, TUB2Fd/TUB4Rd, and ACT512f/ACT783R, respectively (White et al. 1990; Carbone and Kohn, 1999; Staats et al., 2005; de Gruyter et al., 2009; Chen et al., 2015). BLAST results indicated that the genes of LD-75 (GenBank OP218870, OP264863, OQ561448, OQ597233, and OQ597232) shared 99%-100% identity with those of Didymella glomerata (OK485138, GU371781, EU754185, MZ073910, and MW963190, respectively). Therefore, based on morphological characteristics and molecular phylogeny, LD-75 was identified as D. glomerata. Six two-year-old healthy plants from the 'Lanjingling' cultivar were selected for a pathogenicity test. The leaves were surface disinfested with 75% ethanol and then wiped with sterilized water three times. All plants were cultured in a greenhouse at 28℃ under a 12-h light/dark cycle. Whole plants sprayed with conidial suspension of isolate LD-75 (106 spores/mL) (n = 3) displayed leaf spot symptoms after 14 d, while no symptoms were detected on whole plants sprayed with sterile water (n = 3). The same isolate, reisolated from infected leaves and with the same morphological and molecular traits, was also identified as D. glomerata, confirming Koch's postulate. The fungus was previously reported in Cornus officinalis in Nanyang City, China (Huang et al., 2018). To our knowledge, this is the first report of blue honeysuckle leaf spot caused by D. glomerata in China. Reducing blue honeysuckle production losses caused by leaf spots is crucial for growers, and we hope that researchers will develop efficient control strategies for managing this emerging plant disease.

Mutant HTT does not affect glial development but impairs myelination in the early disease stage

Introduction

Huntington's disease (HD) is caused by expanded CAG repeats in the huntingtin gene (HTT) and is characterized by late-onset neurodegeneration that primarily affects the striatum. Several studies have shown that mutant HTT can also affect neuronal development, contributing to the late-onset neurodegeneration. However, it is currently unclear whether mutant HTT impairs the development of glial cells, which is important for understanding whether mutant HTT affects glial cells during early brain development.

Methods

Using HD knock-in mice that express full-length mutant HTT with a 140 glutamine repeat at the endogenous level, we analyzed the numbers of astrocytes and oligodendrocytes from postnatal day 1 to 3 months of age via Western blotting and immunocytochemistry. We also performed electron microscopy, RNAseq analysis, and quantitative RT-PCR.

Results

The numbers of astrocytes and oligodendrocytes were not significantly altered in postnatal HD KI mice compared to wild type (WT) mice. Consistently, glial protein expression levels were not significantly different between HD KI and WT mice. However, at 3 months of age, myelin protein expression was reduced in HD KI mice, as evidenced by Western blotting and immunocytochemical results. Electron microscopy revealed a slight but significant reduction in myelin thickness of axons in the HD KI mouse brain at 3 months of age. RNAseq analysis did not show significant reductions in myelin-related genes in postnatal HD KI mice.

Conclusion

These data suggest that cytoplasmic mutant HTT, rather than nuclear mutant HTT, mediates myelination defects in the early stages of the disease without impacting the differentiation and maturation of glial cells.

Lnc-ZEB2-19 Inhibits the Progression and Lenvatinib Resistance of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Attenuating the NF-κB Signaling Pathway through the TRA2A/RSPH14 Axis

Long non-coding RNAs have been reported to play a crucial role in tumor progression in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Lnc-ZEB2-19 has been validated to be deficiently expressed in HCC. However, the capabilities and underlying mechanisms of lnc-ZEB2-19 remain uncertain. In this study, we verified that the downregulation of lnc-ZEB2-19 was prevalent in HCC and significantly correlated with the unfavorable prognosis. Further in vitro and in vivo verified that lnc-ZEB2-19 notably inhibited the proliferation, metastasis, stemness, and lenvatinib resistance (LR) of HCC cells. Mechanistically, lnc-ZEB2-19 inhibited HCC progression and LR by specifically binding to transformer 2α (TRA2A) and promoting its degradation, which resulted in the instability of RSPH14 mRNA, leading to the downregulation of Rela(p65) and p-Rela(p-p65). Furthermore, rescue assays showed that silencing RSPH14 partially restrained the effect of knockdown expression of lnc-ZEB2-19 on HCC cell metastatic ability and stemness. The findings describe a novel regulatory axis, lnc-ZEB2-19/TRA2A/RSPH14, downregulating the nuclear factor kappa B to inhibit HCC progression and LR.

First report of leaf spot disease caused by Alternaria tenuissima on Lonicera caerulea L. in Heilongjiang Province, China

Blue honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea L.) is a perennial plant of the Caprifoliaceae family and Lonicera genus, the largest genus in the plant kingdom. Between September 2021 and September 2022, a leaf spot disease was observed on ~20% of blue honeysuckles of the 'Lanjingling' cultivar grown in a 3.33 ha field at the Xiangyang base (126.96°E, 45.77°N) of the Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin (Heilongjiang Province, China). Leaf spots first presented black mildew centers, gradually covering large areas of the leaf until it eventually fell off. Small 3-4 mm segments of infected tissue from 50 randomly selected leaves were surface sterilized with 75% ethanol and 5% sodium hypochlorite, rinsed in sterile distilled water, and transferred to 9 cm Petri dishes containing potato dextrose agar (PDA) after drying. Finally, two isolated pathogens were obtained through single spore culture on PDA; they appeared as gray-black colonies and were named LD-12 and LD-121. The observed LD-12 and LD-121 conidia displayed a morphology consistent with Alternaria spp. They were obpyriform and dark brown, with 0-6 transverse and 0-3 longitudinal septa, measuring 6.00-17.70 μm × 9.30-42.30 μm and 5.70-20.70 μm × 8.40-47.70 μm for LD-12 and LD-121, respectively (n = 50). Genomic DNA was extracted from the two isolates for molecular verification, and PCR amplification was performed with ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990), GPD1/GPD2 (Woudenberg et al. 2015), EFl-728F/EF1-986R (Carbone and Kohn 1999), RPB2-5F2/RPB2-7CR (Liu et al. 1999), and Alt-for/Alt-rev (Hong et al. 2005) primers. Sequences of LD-12 ITS (OQ607743), GPD (OQ623200), TEF (OQ623201), RPB2 (OQ658509), and ALT (OQ623199) revealed 99-100% of identity with Alternaria tenuissima sequences (KC584567, MK451973, LT707524, MK391051, and ON357632). Sequences of LD-121 ITS (OQ629881), GPD (OQ850078), TEF (OQ850075), RPB2 (OQ850076), and ALT (OQ850077) revealed 99-100% identity with A. alternata sequences (MN826219, ON055384, KY094927, MK637444, and OM849255). Nine two-year-old healthy plants from the 'Lanjingling' cultivar were selected for a pathogenicity test. Three plants were inoculated with either the LD-12 or LD-121 conidial suspension (1 × 106 spores/ml) or with clean water as an experimental control condition (Mirzwa-Mróz et al., 2018; Liu et al., 2021). All plants were cultured in a greenhouse at 28℃ under a 12-h light/dark cycle, and each experiment was performed three times. Typical leaf spot symptoms were observed on inoculated leaves after 10 d. The same pathogens reisolated from infected leaves displayed the same morphological and molecular traits. They were again identified as A. tenuissima and A. alternata, confirming Koch's postulate. A. tenuissima and A. alternata were previously reported on Orychophragmus violaceus (Liu et al., 2021) and L. caerulea (Yan et al., 2022) in China. This study is the first report of a blue honeysuckle leaf spot caused by A. tenuissima in China. In the future, effective biological and chemical control should be used to prevent blue honeysuckle leaf spots in China.

Stable isotope labeling differential glycans discovery in the serum of acute myocardial infarction by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometry

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) poses a grave threat to human life. However, most clinical biomarkers have limitations of low sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, screening novel glycan biomarkers with high sensitivity and specificity is crucial for the prevention and treatment of AMI. The novel method of ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole-Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS) with d0/d5-BOTC probe labeling for relative quantification of glycans based on Pronase E digestion was established to screen novel glycan biomarkers in the serum of 34 AMI patients relative to healthy volunteers. The monosaccharide model D-glucosamine was used to investigate the effectiveness of the derivatization; the limit of detection (S/N = 3) was 10 amol. The accuracy was verified based on the consistency of different theoretical molar ratios (d0/d5 = 1:2, 2:1) and intensity ratios following digestion of glycoprotein ribonuclease B. Expressions of H4N4F3SA, H4N6F2, H4N6SA, H4N6F3 and H5N4FSA in the serum were significantly different (p < 0.0005) between AMI patients and healthy volunteers. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for H4N6SA, H5N4FSA, and H4N6F2 was greater than 0.9039. Based on the proposed method, H4N6SA, H5N4FSA, and H4N6F2 in human serum showed high accuracy and specificity and may serve as potential glycan biomarkers, crucial for the diagnosis and treatment monitoring of AMI.

Prognostic value of sarcopenic visceral obesity in hepatocellular carcinoma treated with TACE

Although Transartial chemoembolization (TACE) is one of the recommended treatments for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), there is always a dispute on the selection of the best beneficiary for treatment. We studied the prognostic value of nutritional markers, obesity, visceral obesity and sarcopenia on survival outcomes under single and different combinations. In a retrospective cohort of 235 patients with HCC at different stages, more accurate comprehensive prognostic factors were obtained by combining and comparing the multifactor hazard ratios (HR) of various parameters, including skeletal muscle index (SMI) and visceral fat index (VFI) obtained by computer tomography, laboratory index albumin-to-globulin (A/G) ratio, anthropometric body mass index (BMI) and other parameters. The study cohort was dominated by men (73.6%), with a median age of 54 years. According to the survival outcome of HCC patients, we obtained the ideal sex cutoff value of VFI: ≥40.54 cm2/m2 for males (the receiver operating characteristic curve [ROC] = 0.764, P < .001) and ≥ 43.19 cm2/m2 for females (ROC = 0.718, P < .05). According to the results of multifactor analysis, sarcopenic visceral obesity (HR = 8.35, 95% confidence intervals [CI] = [4.96, 14.05], P < .001) is more effective than any single or combined prognosis assessment, including sarcopenic dystrophy (HR = 2.70, 95% CI = [1.85, 3.95], P < .001), sarcopenic obesity (HR = 5.23, 95% CI = [3.41, 8.02], P < .001), sarcopenia (HR = 5.74, 95% CI = [3.61, 9.11], P < .001) and visceral obesity (HR = 3.44, 95% CI = [2.24, 5.27], P < .001). Sarcopenic visceral obesity, defined by SMI and VFI, is a more objective and accurate prognostic indicator of HCC.

Metabolites from scutellarin alleviating deferoxamine-induced hypoxia injury in BV2 cells cultured on microfluidic chip combined with a mass spectrometer

The changes of metabolites of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle in cells under hypoxia play a key role in drug screening. In order to dynamically monitor the drug metabolism changes of Scutellarin in the hypoxia environment induced by deferoxamine (DFO), a microfluidic-chip mass spectrometry method was used to study the real-time monitoring of drug metabolism changes under hypoxia conditions. This system has six drug-loading units, cell culture chamber, metabolite collection, filtration, HPLC separation and mass spectrometer. The cells in each microchannel were incubated with continuous flow of culture medium, metabolites will be collected by the fixed card slot, automatic sampling needle will be precise positioned and sampled. Through this new system combined with molecular biological methods, the changes of metabolites in TCA cycle of BV2 cells and drug metabolism of Scutellarin can be determined in real-time. In general, we illustrated a new mechanism of Scutellarin for reducing BV2 cell hypoxia injury and presented a novel analysis strategy that opened a way for real-time online monitoring of the energy metabolic mechanism of the effect of drugs on cells and further provided a superior strategy to screen natural drug candidates for hypoxia-related brain disease treatment.

Advancements in understanding mechanisms of hepatocellular carcinoma radiosensitivity: A comprehensive review

Primary liver cancer is a significant health problem worldwide. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the main pathological type of primary liver cancer, accounting for 75%-85% of cases. In recent years, radiotherapy has become an emerging treatment for HCC and is effective for various stages of HCC. However, radiosensitivity of liver cancer cells has a significant effect on the efficacy of radiotherapy and is regulated by various factors. How to increase radiosensitivity and improve the therapeutic effects of radiotherapy require further exploration. This review summarizes the recent research progress on the mechanisms affecting sensitivity to radiotherapy, including epigenetics, transportation and metabolism, regulated cell death pathways, the microenvironment, and redox status, as well as the effect of nanoparticles on the radiosensitivity of liver cancer. It is expected to provide more effective strategies and methods for clinical treatment of liver cancer by radiotherapy.

An intelligent detection method for plasmodium based on self-supervised learning and attention mechanism

Background

Malaria remains a severe life-threatening disease caused by plasmodium parasites. Microscopy is widely used for malaria diagnosis. However, it relies heavily on the skills and experience of inspectors. Due to low-level medical services and the lack of skilled inspectors, misdiagnoses are frequently made in some areas.

Methods

In recent years, many successful applications of CNN models have been reported. Unlike images in the ImageNet, the image of plasmodium only has a tiny defect area with a large amount of information. In addition, the dataset is extremely unbalanced: the number of positive samples is much less than that of negative samples. This paper proposes a classification network by combining attention mechanism and ResNeSt for plasmodium detection and using self-supervised learning to pre-train the network. First, the positive samples were adopted to pre-train the network. Then, attention modules were taken to highlight the feature area. To support current and future research, we also constructed a plasmodium dataset with Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, and Plasmodium malaria and non-Plasmodium. Through self-supervised learning, a large amount of unlabeled data is used to mine the representational features, thus improving the feature extraction capability of the model and achieving higher accuracy, while saving the physician's labeling time and improving the classification accuracy.

Results

The experiments show that our model exhibits an excellent performance and that the test accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity attain 97.8%, 96.5%, and 98.9%, respectively.

Conclusion

The AI classification method proposed in this paper can effectively assist clinicians in the diagnosis and provide a basis for the automatic detection of malaria parasites in the future.

Atomically Site Synergistic Effects of Dual-Atom Nanozyme Enhances Peroxidase-like Properties

Pursuing effective and generalized strategies for modulating the electronic structures of atomically dispersed nanozymes with remarkable catalytic performance is exceptionally attractive yet challenging. Herein, we developed a facile "formamide condensation and carbonization" strategy to fabricate a library of single-atom (M₁-NC; 6 types) and dual-atom (M₁/M₂-NC; 13 types) metal-nitrogen-carbon nanozymes (M = Fe, Co, Ni, Mn, Ru, Cu) to reveal peroxidase- (POD-) like activities. The Fe₁Co₁-NC dual-atom nanozyme with Fe₁-N₄/Co₁-N₄ coordination displayed the highest POD-like activity. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that the Co atom site synergistically affects the d-band center position of the Fe atom site and served as the second reaction center, which contributes to better POD-like activity. Finally, Fe₁Co₁ NC was shown to be effective in inhibiting tumor growth both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that diatomic synergy is an effective strategy for developing artificial nanozymes as novel nanocatalytic therapeutics.

Iron-modified biochar reduces nitrogen loss and improves nitrogen retention in Luvisols by adsorption and microbial regulation

Nitrogen (N) loss poses a great threat to global environmental sustainability. The application of modified biochar is a novel strategy to improve soil nitrogen retention and alleviate the negative effects caused by N fertilizers. Therefore, in this study iron modified biochar was used as a soil amendment to investigate the potential mechanisms of N retention in Luvisols. The experiment comprised five treatments i.e., CK (control), 0.5 % BC, 1 % BC, 0.5 % FBC and 1 % FBC. Our results showed that the intensity of functional groups and surface structure of FBC was improved. The 1 % FBC treatment showed a significant increment in soil NO₃^--N, dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), and total nitrogen (TN) content by 374.7 %, 51.9 %, and 14.4 %, respectively, compared with CK. The accumulation of N in cotton shoots and roots was increased by 28.6 % and 6.6 % with 1 % FBC addition. The application of FBC also stimulated the activities of soil enzymes related to C and N cycling i.e., β-glucosidase (βG), β-Cellobiohydrolase (CBH), and Leucine aminopeptidase (LAP). In the soil treated with FBC, a significant improvement in the structure and functions of the soil bacterial community was found. FBC addition altered the taxa involved in the N cycle by affecting soil chemical properties, especially for Achromobacte, Gemmatimonas, and Cyanobacteriales. In addition to direct adsorption, the regulation of FBC on organisms related to N-cycling also played an important role in soil nitrogen retention.

Stability of the Arginine-Ornithine-Citrulline Cycle Maintained by Tumor-Stroma Interactions in Cell Coculture Hydrogel Microspheres

Tumor-stroma interaction is the core process of tumor metastasis. Therefore, building a model of tumor-stromal cell communication is crucial for understanding the tumor metastasis process and curing cancer completely. In this research, a controllable three-dimensional (3D) tumor-stroma coculture microsphere model based on droplet microfluidic technology was developed to culture human lung cancer cells (A549 cell) and fibroblast cells (NIH-3T3 cell) using core-shell hydrogel microspheres to partition different kinds of cells. In our coculture model, tumor cells show a trend of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT): a decrease in the number of surface E-cadherin and an increase in the number of N-cadherin. At the same time, fibroblasts are activated into cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) as the level of interleukin-6 (IL-6) released is increased. In addition, an interesting phenomenon was discovered; in the absence of fibroblasts, the metabolism of the tumor cell culture alone leads to arginine depletion and citrulline accumulation, whereas a coculture can maintain the arginine-ornithine-citrulline cycle to reach equilibrium after 72 h, and the balance increases the stress resistance of tumor cells. This discovery may provide a new direction for understanding tumor resistance.

[Exploration of clinical pathway-oriented optimal management diagnosis and treatment model for rare diseases]

This study takes Cushing's syndrome, a rare disease, as a model, and adopts the path of "Plan, Do, Check, Action" (PDCA) to explore new methods to optimize the clinical path, can improve the quality and efficiency of diagnosis and treatment of rare diseases. After sorting out the problems existing in the previous diagnosis and treatment mode, our team optimizes the path in various ways and establishes a standard operation procedure (SOP) for the new path. In the evaluation of the optimized mode, 55 patients with Cushing's syndrome were admitted to the Department of Endocrinology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, including 19 males and 36 females, aged (41.8±14.4) years (6-68 years). The pathway group (28 cases) and the control group (27 cases) were divided according to whether they were included in the new path management at the time of admission, and the effect of path optimization was assessed in terms of time, efficacy, safety and cost. The results showed that compared with the control group, the pathway group had a shorter time of hospitalization in the Department of Endocrinology and critical tests, such as blood cortisol rhythm, low-dose dexamethasone inhibition test, and bilateral inferior petrosal sinus sampling (all P<0.05). There was no significant differences in the decrease of total cortisol after operation, the incidence of postoperative complications, and hospitalization expenses (all P>0.05). The optimized path improves the medical efficiency while ensuring medical quality, safety and no increase in cost. This study proposes PDCA path optimization for complex diseases and establishes SOP process, which provides experience in management optimization for the patient-centered and clinical path-oriented diagnosis and treatment mode of rare diseases.

Insight into mechanisms of biochar-fertilizer induced of microbial community and microbiology of nitrogen cycle in acidic soil

Biochar has been shown to affect the nitrogen (N) cycle in soil, however, it is unknown how this occurs. Therefore, we used metabolomics, high-throughput sequencing, and quantitative PCR to explore biochar and nitrogen fertilizer effects on the mitigation mechanisms of adverse environments in acidic soil. In the current research, we used acidic soil and maize straw biochar (pyrolyzed at 400 °C with limited oxygen). Three maize straw biochar levels (B1; 0t ha^-1, B2; 45 t ha^-1, and B3; 90 t ha^-1) along with three N fertilizer (urea) levels (N1; 0 kg ha^-1, N2; 225 kg ha^-1 mg kg^-1, and N3; 450 kg ha^-1 mg kg^-1) were employed in a sixty-day pot experiment. We found that the formation of NH+ 4-N was faster at 0-10 days, while the formation of NO- 3-N occurred at 20-35 days. Furthermore, the combined application of biochar and N fertilizer most effectively boosted soil inorganic N contents compared to biochar and N fertilizer treatments alone. The B3 treatment increased the total N and total inorganic N by 0.2-24.2% and 55.2-91.7%, respectively. Soil microorganism, N fixation, and nitrification capabilities increased with biochar and N fertilizer addition in terms of N-cycling-functional genes. Biochar-N fertilizer had a greater impact on the soil bacterial community and their diversity and richness. Metabolomics revealed 756 distinct metabolites, including 8 substantially upregulated metabolites and 21 significantly downregulated metabolites. A significant amount of lipids and organic acids were formed by biochar-N fertilizer treatments. Thus, biochar and N fertilizer triggered soil metabolism by affecting bacterial community structure, and N-cycling of the soil micro-ecological environment.

Built environment and schizophrenia re-hospitalization risk in China: A cohort study

BACKGROUND

Built environment exposure, characterized by ubiquity and changeability, has the potential to be the prospective target of public health policy. However, little research has been conducted to explore its impact on schizophrenia. This study aimed to investigate the association between built environmentand and schizophrenia rehospitalization by simultaneously considering substantial built environmental exposures.

METHODS

We recruited eligible schizophrenia patients from Hefei, Anhui Province, China between 2017 and 2019. The main outcome for this study was the time interval until the first recurrent hospital admission occurred within one year after discharge. For each included subject, we estimated the built environment exposures, including population density, walkability, land use mix, green and blue space, public transportation accessibility and road traffic indicator. Lasso (Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator) analysis was used to select the key variables. Multivariable Cox regression model was applied to obtain hazard ratio (HR) and its corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI). Further, we also evaluated the joint effects of built environment characteristics on rehospitalization for schizophrenia by Quantile g-computation model.

RESULTS

A total of 1564 hospitalized schizophrenia patients were enrolled, with 347 patients (22.2%) had a rehospitalization within one-year after discharge. Multivariable Cox regression analysis indicated that the re-hospitalization rate for schizophrenia would be higher in areas with a high population density (HR: 1.10, 95%CI: 1.04-1.16). Nonetheless, compared to the reference (Q1), participants who lived in a neighborhood with the highest walkability and NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) (Q4) had a 76% and 47% lower risk of re-hospitalization within one year (HR:0.24, 95%CI: 0.13-0.45; and 0.53, 95%CI:0.32-0.85), respectively. Moreover, quantile-based g-computation analyses revealed that increased walkability and green space significantly eliminated the adverse effects of population density increases on schizophrenia patients, with a HR ratio of 0.61 (95%CI:0.48,0.79) per one quartile change at the same time.

CONCLUSION

Our study provides scientific evidence for the significant role of built environment in schizophrenia rehospitalization, suggesting that optimizing the built environment is required in designing and building a healthy city.