Intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging of pancreas: Probing evidence of β-cell dysfunction in asymptomatic adults with hyperglycemia in vivo

PURPOSE

Early evaluation of β-cell dysfunction of hyperglycemic patients in asymptomatic adults would be valuable for timely prevention of the diabetes. This study aimed to evaluate functional changes in the pancreas using intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging (IVIM-DWI) and determine whether it could be used as a non-invasive method of assessing β-cell dysfunction.

METHODS

This prospective cohort study was conducted from August 2022 to November 2022 in Jinan University Affiliated Guangdong Second General Hospital. Three groups were enrolled and underwent IVIM-DWI: confirmed patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM); hyperglycemic patients in asymptomatic adults; and the volunteers with normal glucose tolerance (NGT). Imaging parameters were obtained: apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), the true diffusion coefficient (Dt), the pseudo-diffusion coefficient (Dp), and the perfusion fraction (f). The β-cell function indexes were calculated from blood examinations: composite insulin sensitivity index (ISI), 60-min insulinogenic index (IGI60), and the disposition index (DI). We compared imaging parameters among three groups, calculated the diagnostic performance of them for differentiating different groups, and the reproducibility of them was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

RESULTS

The imaging parameters except f gradually decreased among the groups with significant differences for ADC (p < 0.0001), Dt (p < 0.0001), and Dp (p = 0.013). Dt demonstrated the best diagnostic performance for differentiating asymptomatic patients from NGT (Area Under Curve [AUC] = 0.815, p < 0.0001). IVIM-DWI parameters correlated with composite ISI and DI, of which, Dt has the highest correlation with DI (Pearson correlation coefficient [r] = 0.546, p < 0.0001). The ICC of IVIM-DWI parameters was very good, Dt was highest (Interobserver ICC = 0.938, 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 0.899-0.963; Intraobserver ICC = 0.941, 95% CI, 0.904-0.965).

CONCLUSION

IVIM-DWI is a non-invasive quantitative method that can identify β-cell dysfunction in the pancreas.

Bipolar Patient-Specific In Vitro Diagnostic Test Reveals Underlying Cardiac Arrhythmia Phenotype Caused by Calcium Channel Genetic Risk Factor

A common genetic risk factor for bipolar disorder is CACNA1C, a gene that is also critical for cardiac rhythm. The impact of CACNA1C mutations on bipolar patient cardiac rhythm is unknown. Here, we report the cardiac electrophysiological implications of a bipolar disorder-associated genetic risk factor in CACNA1C using patient induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes. Results indicate that the CACNA1C bipolar disorder-related mutation causes cardiac electrical impulse conduction slowing mediated by impaired intercellular coupling via connexin 43 gap junctions. In vitro gene therapy to restore connexin 43 expression increased cardiac electrical impulse conduction velocity and protected against thioridazine-induced QT prolongation. Patients positive for bipolar disorder CACNA1C genetic risk factors may have elevated proarrhythmic risk for adverse events in response to psychiatric medications that slow conduction or prolong the QT interval. This in vitro diagnostic tool enables cardiac testing specific to patients with psychiatric disorders to determine their sensitivity to off-target effects of psychiatric medications.

Value of turbo spin echo-based diffusion-weighted imaging in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant solitary pulmonary lesions

To quantitatively assess the diagnostic efficacy of multiple parameters derived from multi-b-value diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) using turbo spin echo (TSE)-based acquisition techniques in patients with solitary pulmonary lesions (SPLs). A total of 105 patients with SPLs underwent lung DWI using single-shot TSE-based acquisition techniques and multiple b values. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) parameters, and lesion-to-spinal cord signal intensity ratio (LSR), were analyzed to compare the benign and malignant groups using the Mann-Whitney U test and receiver operating characteristic analysis. The Dstar values observed in lung cancer were slightly lower than those observed in pulmonary benign lesions (28.164 ± 31.950 versus 32.917 ± 34.184; Z = -2.239, p = 0.025). The LSR values were significantly higher in lung cancer than in benign lesions (1.137 ± 0.581 versus 0.614 ± 0.442; Z = - 4.522, p < 0.001). Additionally, the ADC800, ADCtotal, and D values were all significantly lower in lung cancer than in the benign lesions (Z = - 5.054, -5.370, and -6.047, respectively, all p < 0.001), whereas the f values did not exhibit any statistically significant difference between the two groups. D had the highest area under the curve (AUC = 0.887), followed by ADCtotal (AUC = 0.844), ADC800 (AUC = 0.824), and LSR (AUC = 0.789). The LSR, ADC800, ADCtotal, and D values did not differ statistically significantly in diagnostic effectiveness. Lung DWI using TSE is feasible for differentiating SPLs. The LSR method, conventional DWI, and IVIM have comparable diagnostic efficacy for assessing SPLs.

Mn(II) Optimized Sono/Chemodynamic Effect of Porphyrin-Metal-Organic Framework Nanosheets for MRI-Guided Colon Cancer Therapy and Metastasis Suppression

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) offers a remarkable non-invasive ultrasound (US) treatment by activating sonosensitizer and generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) to inhibit tumor growth. The development of multifunctional, biocompatible, and highly effective sonosensitizers remains a current priority for SDT. Herein, the first report that Mn(II) ions chelated Gd-TCPP (GMT) nanosheets (NSs) are synthesized via a simple reflux method and encapsulated with pluronic F-127 to form novel sonosensitizers (GMTF). The GMTF NSs produce a high yield of ROS under US irradiation due to the decreased highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital gap energy (2.7-1.28 eV). Moreover, Mn(II) ions endow GMTF with a fascinating Fenton-like activity to produce hydroxyl radicals in support of chemodynamic therapy (CDT). It is also effectively used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with high relaxation rate (r 1: 4.401 mM-1 s-1) to track the accumulation of NSs in tumors. In vivo results indicate that the SDT and CDT in combination with programmed cell death protein 1 antibody (anti-PD-1) show effective metastasis prevention effects, and 70% of the mice in the GMTF + US + anti-PD-1 group survived for 60 days. In conclusion, this study develops a sonosensitizer with promising potential for utilizing both MRI-guided SDT and CDT strategies.

Alterations in functional connectivity in patients with non-specific chronic low back pain after motor control exercise: a randomized trial

BACKGROUND

Motor control exercise (MCE) is effective in alleviating non-specific chronic low back pain (NCLBP). Neuro-imaging research is warranted to explore the underlying neural mechanisms of MCE.

AIM

We used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to explore the central mechanism underpinning the effects of MCE in patients with NCLBP.

DESIGN

A randomized, single-blinded, controlled trial.

SETTING

The setting was out-patient and community.

POPULATION

Fifty-eight patients with NCLBP.

METHODS

Patients were randomized into the MCE or manual therapy (MT) group. All the participants completed pain-related clinical assessments and rs-fMRI scans before and after intervention. We performed exploratory whole-brain analyses in regional homogeneity (ReHo) and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) with significant post-pre differences in ReHo before and after intervention, and investigated associations between imaging and pain-related clinical assessments.

RESULTS

Compared with the MT group, a greater alleviation in pain intensity and disability was observed in the MCE group after intervention, and was sustained at the 6-month follow-up (P<0.001). Only the MCE group showed increased ReHo values in the right pre-central gyrus and decreased ReHo values in the bilateral posterior cerebellum (voxel level P<0.001, cluster-level FWE corrected P<0.05). Decreased rsFC of the right posterior cerebellum-left superior parietal gyrus and left insula were significantly positively associated with pain-related disability (voxel level P<0.001, cluster-level FWE corrected P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings demonstrated that MCE had superior effects in relieving pain and pain-related disability, which might be associated with its modulation of rsFC between the cerebellum and areas involved in sensory-discriminative processing of noxious and somato-sensory stimuli, affection, and cognition.

CLINICAL REHABILITATION IMPACT

This study provided preliminary evidence that MCE might alleviate NCLBP through its modulation of the function of brain areas related to chronic pain and postural control. Those results support MCE's clinical application and help physiotherapists to provide better multidisciplinary interventions with the combination of MCE and other first-line treatments.

Cortical-cerebellar circuits changes in preschool ASD children by multimodal MRI

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the alterations in cortical-cerebellar circuits and assess their diagnostic potential in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder using multimodal magnetic resonance imaging.

METHODS

We utilized diffusion basis spectrum imaging approaches, namely DBSI_20 and DBSI_combine, alongside 3D structural imaging to examine 31 autism spectrum disorder diagnosed patients and 30 healthy controls. The participants' brains were segmented into 120 anatomical regions for this analysis, and a multimodal strategy was adopted to assess the brain networks using a multi-kernel support vector machine for classification.

RESULTS

The results revealed consensus connections in the cortical-cerebellar and subcortical-cerebellar circuits, notably in the thalamus and basal ganglia. These connections were predominantly positive in the frontoparietal and subcortical pathways, whereas negative consensus connections were mainly observed in frontotemporal and subcortical pathways. Among the models tested, DBSI_20 showed the highest accuracy rate of 86.88%. In addition, further analysis indicated that combining the 3 models resulted in the most effective performance.

CONCLUSION

The connectivity network analysis of the multimodal brain data identified significant abnormalities in the cortical-cerebellar circuits in autism spectrum disorder patients. The DBSI_20 model not only provided the highest accuracy but also demonstrated efficiency, suggesting its potential for clinical application in autism spectrum disorder diagnosis.

Bionic nanotheranostic for multimodal imaging-guided NIR-II-photothermal cancer therapy

In photothermal therapy (PTT), the photothermal conversion of the second near-infrared (NIR-II) window allows deeper penetration and higher laser irradiance and is considered a promising therapeutic strategy for deep tissues. Since cancer remains a leading cause of deaths worldwide, despite the numerous treatment options, we aimed to develop an improved bionic nanotheranostic for combined imaging and photothermal cancer therapy. We combined a gold nanobipyramid (Au NBP) as a photothermal agent and MnO2 as a magnetic resonance enhancer to produce core/shell structures (Au@MnO2; AM) and modified their surfaces with homologous cancer cell plasma membranes (PM) to enable tumour targeting. The performance of the resulting Au@MnO2@PM (AMP) nanotheranostic was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. AMP exhibits photothermal properties under NIR-II laser irradiation and has multimodal in vitro imaging functions. AMP enables the computed tomography (CT), photothermal imaging (PTI), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of tumours. In particular, AMP exhibited a remarkable PTT effect on cancer cells in vitro and inhibited tumour cell growth under 1064 nm laser irradiation in vivo, with no significant systemic toxicity. This study achieved tumour therapy guided by multimodal imaging, thereby demonstrating a novel strategy for the use of bionic gold nanoparticles for tumour PTT under NIR-II laser irradiation.

Functional connectivity changes of the hippocampal subregions in anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis

The hippocampus plays an important role in the pathophysiological mechanism of Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) encephalitis. Nevertheless, the connection between the resting-state activity of the hippocampal subregions and neuropsychiatric disorders in patients remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the changes in functional connectivity (FC) in the hippocampal subregions of patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis and its association with clinical symptoms and cognitive performance. Twenty-three patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis and 23 healthy controls (HC) were recruited. All participants underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans and completed clinical cognitive scales. Based on the Brainnetome Atlas, the rostral (anterior) and caudal (posterior) hippocampi of both the left and right hemispheres were selected as regions of interest (ROIs) for FC analysis. First, a one-sample t-test was used to observe the whole-brain connectivity distribution of hippocampal subregions within the patient and HC groups at a threshold of p < 0.05. The two-sample t-test was used to compare the differences in hippocampal ROIs connectivity between groups, followed by a partial correlation analysis between the FC values of brain regions with statistical differences and clinical variables. This study observed that the distribution of whole-brain functional connectivity in the rostral and caudal hippocampi aligned with the connectivity differences between the anterior and posterior hippocampi. Compared to the HC group, the patients showed significantly decreased FC between the bilateral rostral hippocampus and the left inferior orbitofrontal gyrus and between the right rostral hippocampus and the right cerebellum. However, a significant increase in FC was observed between the right rostral hippocampus and left superior temporal gyrus, the left caudal hippocampus and right superior frontal gyrus, and the right caudal hippocampus and left gyrus rectus. Partial correlation analysis showed that FC between the left inferior orbitofrontal gyrus and the right rostral hippocampus was significantly negatively correlated with the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) and Brief Visuospatial Memory Test (BVMT) scores. The FC between the right rostral hippocampus and the left superior temporal gyrus was negatively correlated with BVMT scores. FC abnormalities in the hippocampal subregions of patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis were associated with cognitive impairment, emotional changes, and seizures. These results may help explain the pathophysiological mechanisms and clinical manifestations of anti-NMDAR encephalitis and NMDAR dysfunction-related diseases such as schizophrenia.

Multi-omics integrative analysis revealed characteristic changes in blood cell immunity and amino acid metabolism in a silkworm model of hyperproteinemia

Hyperproteinemia is a serious metabolic disease of both humans and animals characterized by an abnormally high plasma protein concentration (HPPC). Although hyperproteinemia can cause an imbalance in blood cell homeostasis, the functional changes to blood cells remain unclear. Here, a HPPC silkworm model was used to assess changes to the chromatin accessibility and transcript levels of genes related to blood cell metabolism and immune function. The results showed that HPPC enhanced phagocytosis of blood cells, increased chromatin accessibility and transcript levels of genes involved in cell phagocytosis, proliferation, stress, and programmed death, while genes associated with aromatic amino acid metabolism, and antibacterial peptide synthesis were inhibited in blood cells. Further analysis of the chromatin accessibility of the promoter region found that the high chromatin accessibility of genes sensitive to HPPC, was related to histone modifications, including tri-methylation of lysine residue 4 of histone H3 and acetylation of lysine residue 27 of histone H3. Changes to the chromatin accessibility and transcript levels of genes related to immune function and amino acid metabolism in the blood cells of the HPPC silkworm model provided useful references for future studies of the mechanisms underlying epigenomic regulation mediated by hyperproteinemia.

Motor Control Exercise Modulates the Neural Plasticity of the Default Mode Network in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain

BACKGROUND

Motor control exercise (MCE) effectively alleviates nonspecific chronic low back pain (CLBP), but the neural mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are poorly understood.

OBJECTIVE

To study MCE's neural mechanisms in patients with CLBP by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI).

STUDY DESIGN

A prospective, single-blind, randomized, controlled trial.

SETTING

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University.

METHODS

58 patients were randomly assigned to either the MCE or the Manual Therapy (MT) group. Before and after treatment, all the patients underwent ultrasound imaging to measure transversus abdominis (TrA) activation, rs-fMRI scans and questionnaire assessments. We analyzed the activation and connectivity of the bilateral precuneus based on the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and effective connectivity (EC) analyses. Further, we determined the association between imaging and clinical measures.

RESULTS

Pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, and pain-related disability were alleviated significantly in both groups post-treatment. However, the MCE group showed a greater reduction in pain-related disability and a better improvement in activation of the right TrA than the MT group. After MCE, patients showed an increase in regional fALFF values in the key node of the default mode network (bilateral precuneus) and decreased EC from the bilateral precuneus to the key node of the frontoparietal network (the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)). The pre-to-post-treatment change in the EC from bilateral precuneus into the left DLPFC was significantly correlated with the pre-to-post-treatment change in visual analog scale scores and activation of the right TrA in the MCE group (r = 0.765, P < 0.001 and r = 0.481 and P = 0.043 respectively).

LIMITATIONS

The present study showes the correlation between the alteration of brain functions and CLBP-related symptoms, which does not reveal the causal effect between them. Further, this study does not estimate the long-term efficacy of MCE on brain function, and the sample size was not calculated based on fMRI data.

CONCLUSION

These findings demonstrate that MCE may alleviate CLBP symptoms in patients by modifying information transmission from the default mode network to the left frontoparietal network.

Exploring the pharmacological mechanisms and key active ingredients of total flavonoids from Lamiophlomis rotata (Benth.) Kudo against rheumatoid arthritis based on multi-technology integrated network pharmacology

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Lamiophlomis rotata (Benth.) Kudo (LR, Lamiaceae) is a traditional Tibetan medicinal material in China. Tibetan medicine classic and research report suggested that LR could be used to cure rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the anti-RA active ingredients and pharmacological mechanisms of LR have not been elucidated.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To explore the mechanisms and key active ingredients of total flavonoids from LR (TFLR) against RA.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

First, the mechanisms of TFLR against RA were investigated on collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rat model by analyzing paw appearance, paw swelling, arthritis score, spleen index, thymus index, inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-17) levels in serum, histopathology of ankle joint and synovium from knee joint (hematoxylin-eosin, safranin O-fast green and DAB-TUNEL staining), and apoptosis-related protein (PI3K, Akt1, p-Akt, Bad, p-Bad, Bcl-xL and Bcl-2) levels in the synovium of ankle joints (Western blot). Then, the crucially active ingredients of TFLR against RA were explored by network pharmacology, ingredient analysis, in vitro metabolism and TNF-α-induced human RA synovial fibroblast MH7A proliferation assays. Network pharmacology was applied to predict the key active ingredients of TFLR against RA. The ingredient analysis and in vitro metabolism of TFLR were performed on HPLC, and MH7A proliferation assay were applied to evaluate the predicted results of network pharmacology.

RESULTS

TFLR shown excellently anti-RA effect by reducing paw swelling, arthritis score, spleen index, thymus index and inflammatory cytokine (IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-17) levels, and improving the histopathological changes of ankle joint and synovium from knee joint in CIA rats. Results of Western blot indicated that TFLR reversed the changes of PI3K, p-Akt, p-Bad, Bcl-xL and Bcl-2 levels in the ankle joint synovium of CIA rats. Results of network pharmacology exhibited that luteolin was identified as the pivotal active ingredient of TFLR against RA. The ingredient analysis of TFLR indicated that the main ingredient in TFLR was luteoloside. The in vitro metabolism study of TFLR suggested that luteoloside could be converted to luteolin in artificial gastric juice and intestinal juice. Results of MH7A proliferation assay showed that there was no significant difference between TFLR and equal luteoloside on the viability of MH7A cells, indicating that luteoloside was the key active ingredient of TFLR against RA. Additionally, the luteolin (same mol as luteoloside) showed better inhibitory effect on the viability of MH7A cells than luteoloside.

CONCLUSION

TFLR showed anti-RA effect, and the mechanism was related to promoting synovial cell apoptosis mediated by PI3K/Akt/Bad pathway. Meanwhile, this work indicated that luteoloside was the key active ingredient of TFLR against RA. This work lays a foundation for providing TFLR product with clear mechanism and stable quality to treat RA.

Dual-targeting nanotheranostics for MRI-guided enhanced chemodynamic therapy of hepatoma via regulating the tumor microenvironment

Chemodynamic therapy (CDT), as a reactive oxygen species (ROS)-based therapeutic modality, has attracted much attention in recent years. However, the insufficient therapeutic effect of CDT is due to the antioxidant system in the tumor microenvironment, such as high levels of glutathione (GSH). In this study, we developed a biological/physical dual-targeting nanotheranostic agent (relaxation rate, r1: 6.3 mM-1 s-1 and r2: 13.11 mM-1 s-1) for enhanced CDT of SMCC-7721 tumors. This nanotheranostic agent is composed of a homologous tumor cell membrane (TCM), magnetic ferric oxide, and manganese oxide and is denoted as FM@TCM nanoparticles (NPs). A favorable effect of in vitro CDT on SMCC-7721 cells (IC50: 20 μg mL-1) is demonstrated, attributed to the Fenton reaction and oxidative stress resulting from the reduction of the GSH level. In vivo T1/T2 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirms that the tumor accumulation of FM@TCM NPs is promoted by concurrent bioactive targeting of the homologous TCM and physico-magnetic targeting of tumor tissues with an external magnetic field. Impressive chemodynamic therapeutic effects on SMCC-7721 tumors are demonstrated through the catalysis of endogenous hydrogen peroxide and depletion of GSH to generate high levels of ROS. Dual-targeting FM@TCM NPs inhibit SMCC-7721 tumor growth (∼90.9%) in vivo without any biotoxicity. This nanotheranostic agent has great potential for use in MRI-guided CDT.

Imaging investigation of cervicocranial artery dissection by using high resolution magnetic resonance VWI and MRA: qualitative and quantitative analysis at different stages

BACKGROUND

To explore the value of magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and high resolution magnetic resonance vessel wall imaging (HRMR-VWI) in cervicocranial artery dissection (CCAD) for the disease diagnosis, course staging and treatment. On the basis of qualitative evaluation, this study also extract the changes of different stages in vessel wall in different vessel segments to identify imaging indicators for the quantitative evaluation of CCAD.

METHODS

We retrospectively enrolled 34 patients with CCAD (38branches) with conventional MRA and HRMR-VWI examinations. Two radiologists independently analyzed imaging features of vessel wall and lumen in the different stages, and the typical sign detection of artery dissection were compared between MRA and HRMR-VWI. Then the parameters of vessel wall was quantitatively evaluated by the post-processing software (Vesselmass, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.

RESULTS

HRMR-VWI revealed typical sign detection of artery dissection in all patients in the acute and subacute stage. Among them, the intimal flap/double lumen sign ditection were more common than the MRA, there was significant difference (P = 0.012). MRA revealed typical sign detection of artery dissection in more than half the patients, and the detection was no significant difference at the chronic stage between MRA and HRMR-VWI (P = 1.000/1.000/0.761). In the acute and subacute stage, the typical sign detection of intramural hematoma and Grade II enhancement revealed by HR-MRI was higher than the observations in the chronic stage (P = 0.000/0.000/0.016), while there was no significant difference by MRA (P = 0.902). The values of wall thickness, relative signal intensity of vessel wall enhancement, relative signal intensity of intramural hematoma (IMH), and percentage of stenosis in CCAD decreased from acute to subacute and then to chronic stages. Each quantitative parameter in patients with CCAD in the early stages (i.e., acute and subacute stages) was significantly different from that in patients with CCAD in the recovered group at chronic stage (P < 0.05). Wall thickness and relative signal intensity of vessel wall enhancement in patients with CCAD in the early stages were not significantly different from those in patients with CCAD in the incompletely recovered group at chronic stage (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

As the only noninvasive imaging technology, HRMR-VWI displays the structure of the vessel wall in vivo, showing not only excellent performance in the early diagnosis of CCAD, but also describing the changes of different stages in the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of vessel wall. It also helps to guide the diseasediagnosis, course staging and treatment of CCAD. Although the diagnostic efficacy of MRA was not as good as HRMR-VWI, it should be the first choice of method for routine examination in evaluating CCAD, especially at the chronic stage of CCAD.

Comprehensive analysis of nanoplastic effects on growth phenotype, nanoplastic accumulation, oxidative stress response, gene expression, and metabolite accumulation in multiple strawberry cultivars

Nanoplastics (NPs) have emerged as a novel environmental threat due to their potential impacts on both animals and plants. Currently, research on the ecotoxicity of NPs has mainly focused on marine aquatic organisms and freshwater algae, with very limited investigations conducted on horticultural plants. This study examined the effects of varying concentrations (0, 1, 10, 50 mg·L-1) of polystyrene NPs (PS-NPs) on strawberry growth. The findings revealed that low concentrations of PS-NPs stimulated strawberry growth, whereas high concentrations impeded it. Notably, diverse strawberry cultivars displayed considerable differences in their sensitivity to PS-NP exposure. Laser scanning confocal microscopy confirmed the absorption of PS-NPs by strawberry roots, with variations in PS-NP accumulation observed across different cultivars. Comparative transcriptomics analysis suggested that the differential expression of genes responsible for calcium ion transport played a significant role in the observed intervarietal differences in PS-NP accumulation among strawberry cultivars. Furthermore, distinct variations in endogenous oxidative responses were observed in different strawberry cultivars under PS-NP treatment. Further analysis indicated that the down-regulation of peroxidase (POD) gene expression and terpenoid compounds accumulation were responsible for heightened endogenous oxidative stress observed in certain strawberry cultivars under PS-NP treatment. Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses were performed on six strawberry cultivars to investigate their response to PS-NPs in terms of endogenous gene expression and metabolite accumulation. The results identified one commonly up-regulated gene (wall-associated receptor kinase-like) and sixteen commonly down-regulated genes associated with lipid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism. In addition, a significant reduction in fatty acid metabolite accumulation was observed in the six strawberry cultivars under PS-NP treatment. These findings have significant implications for understanding the effects of NPs on strawberry growth, metabolism, and antioxidant responses, as well as identifying marker genes for monitoring and evaluating the impact of NP pollution on strawberry.

A Direct-Contact Photocurrent-Direction-Switching Biosensing Platform Based on In Situ Formation of CN QDs/TiO2 Nanodiscs and Double-Supported 3D DNA Walking Amplification

Herein, a direct-contact photocurrent-direction-switching photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensing platform for the ultrasensitive and selective detection of soluble CD146 (sCD146) is reported for the first time via in situ formation of carbon nitride quantum dots (CN QDs)/titanium dioxide (TiO2 ) nanodiscs with the double-supported 3D DNA walking amplification. In this platform, metal organic frameworks (MOFs)-derived porous TiO2 nanodiscs exhibit excellent anodic photocurrent, whereas a single-stranded auxiliary DNA (ssDNA) as biogate is absorbed onto the TiO2 nanodiscs to block active sites. Subsequently, with the help of intermediate DNAs from target sCD146-induced double-supported 3D DNA walking signal amplification, the ssDNA can leave away from the surface of TiO2 nanodiscs due to the specific hybridization with intermediate DNAs. Afterward, the successful direct contact of CN QDs on TiO2 nanodiscs by porosity and electrostatic adsorption, leads to the effective photocurrent-direction switching from anodic to cathodic photocurrent. Based on direct-contact photocurrent-direction-switching CN QDs/TiO2 nanodiscs system and double-supported 3D DNA walking signal amplification, sCD146 is detected sensitively with a wide linear range (10 fg mL-1 to 5 ng mL-1 ) and a low limit of detection (2.1 fg mL-1 ). Also, the environmentally friendly and direct-contact photocurrent-direction-switching PEC biosensor has an application prospect for cancer biomarker detection.

Functional Alterations of the Basal Ganglia Are Associated with Voluntary Activation of the Core Stabilizing Muscles in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study

Purpose

Deficits in voluntary activation of the core stabilizing muscles are consistently observed in patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP); however, the underlying neural mechanism remains unclear. This cross-sectional study aimed at testing the hypothesis that the impaired voluntary activation of core stabilizing muscles is associated with structural and functional alterations in the basal ganglia, thalamus, and cortex in patients with CLBP.

Methods

We obtained structural and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data from 53 patients with CLBP and 67 healthy controls and estimated the alterations in grey matter volume (GMV) and functional and effective connectivity (EC) of regions with altered GMV via whole brain analysis. The voluntary activation of the multifidus (MF) and transversus abdominis (TrA) was evaluated by ultrasound imaging in these patients.

Results

Compared with the HCs, they displayed a significant decrease in GMV in the bilateral thalamus and caudate nucleus, a significant increase in GMV in the left middle frontal gyrus, and increased resting-state functional connectivity between the right caudate nucleus and the bilateral precuneus (voxel-level p < 0.005, Gaussian random field-corrected p < 0.05). The patients also showed increased EC from the right caudate nucleus to the bilateral precuneus, which was significantly correlated with voluntary activation of the bilateral MF and TrA (all p < 0.050).

Conclusions

Grey matter alterations may be confined to regions responsible for perception, motor control, and emotion regulation in patients with CLBP. The interrupted EC from the basal ganglia to the default mode network might be involved in the impairment of voluntary activation of the core stabilizing muscles.

Aberrant single-subject morphological cerebellar connectome in chronic insomnia

BACKGROUND

To systematically investigate the topological organisation of morphological networks of the cerebellum using structural MRI and examine their clinical relevance in chronic insomnia (CI).

METHODS

One hundred and one patients with CI and 102 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited in this study. Individual morphological networks of the cerebellum were constructed based on regional grey matter volume, and topologically characterised using weighted graph theory-based network approaches. Between-group comparisons were performed using permutation tests, and Spearman's correlation was used to examine the relationships between topological alterations and clinical variables.

RESULTS

Compared with HCs, patients with CI exhibited a lower normalised clustering coefficient. Locally, CI patients exhibited lower nodal efficiency in the cerebellar lobule VIIb and vermis regions, but higher nodal efficiency in the right cerebellar lobule VIIIa regions. No correlations were observed between network alterations and clinical variables.

CONCLUSIONS

Individual morphological network analysis provides a new strategy for investigating cerebellar morphometric changes in CI, and our findings may have important implications in establishing diagnostic and categorical biomarkers.

DNA methylation mediated by RdDM pathway and demethylation affects furanone accumulation through regulation of QUINONE OXIDOREDUCTASE in strawberry

Recently, increasing evidence suggests that DNA methylation plays a crucial role in fruit ripening. However, the role of DNA methylation in regulating specific traits, such as flavor, remains unclear. Here, we report a role of DNA methylation in affecting furanone biosynthesis in strawberry. Strawberry quinone oxidoreductase (FaQR) is a key enzyme in furanone biosynthesis. There are four FaQR homologs in strawberry cultivar 'Yuexin', and one of them, FaQR3, contributes ~50% of FaQR transcripts, indicating a major role of FaQR3 in furanone biosynthesis. Through characterization of levels of DNA methylation and FaQR3 transcript and furanone contents during fruit ripening and after the application of DNA methylation inhibitor, we found that the DNA methylation level of the FaQR3 promoter was negatively correlated with FaQR3 expression and furanone accumulation, suggesting that DNA methylation may be involved in furanone biosynthesis through adjusting FaQR3 expression, and responded to different temperatures consistently. In addition, transient expression of a gene in the RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) pathway, FaAGO4, and enrichment analysis of the 24-nucleotide siRNAs suggested that DNA methylation in the FaQR3 promoter is mediated by the RdDM pathway. Transient RNA interference (RNAi) of FaDML indicated that the demethylation pathway may be involved in regulating furanone accumulation. These findings provide new insights into the role of DNA methylation and demethylation in affecting flavor quality in strawberry during fruit ripening.

Correction: Wan et al. Correlation between Hypoperfusion Intensity Ratio and Functional Outcome in Large-Vessel Occlusion Acute Ischemic Stroke: Comparison with Multi-Phase CT Angiography. J. Clin. Med. 2022, 11, 5274

In the published publication [...].

Procoagulant effect of extracellular vesicles in patients after transcatheter aortic valve replacement or transcatheter aortic valve replacement with percutaneous coronary intervention

Patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) after replacement of the transcatheter aortic valve (TAVR) are more likely to develop thrombotic complications such as cerebral embolism and artificial valve thrombosis. However, the mechanism is not yet well defined. We aimed to explore the plasma extracellular vesicles (EVs) levels and their role in the induction of procoagulant activity (PCA) in patients receiving TAVR alone or TAVR with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). EVs were analyzed with flow cytometer. Markers of platelet and endothelial cell activation were quantified using selective enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Procoagulant activity (PCA) was assessed by clotting time, purified clotting complex assays, and fibrin production assays. Our results confirmed that EVs with positive phosphatedylserin (PS⁺EV), platelet EVs (PEVs) and positive tissue factor EVs (TF⁺EVs) were higher in patients following TAVR than before TAVR, particularly in TAVR with PCI. Furthermore, endothelial-derived EVs (EEVs) were also higher in patients after TAVR with PCI than pre-TAVR, however, the EEVs levels in TAVR alone patients were gradually reduce than pre-TAVR. In addition, we further proved that total EVs contributed to dramatically shortened coagulation time, increased intrinsic/extrinsic factor Xa and thrombin generation in patients after TAVR, especially in TAVR with PCI. The PCA was markedly attenuated by approximately 80% with lactucin. Our study reveals a previously unrecognized link between plasma EV levels and hypercoagulability in patients after TAVR, especially TAVR with PCI. Blockade of PS⁺EVs may improve the hypercoagulable state and prognosis of patients.

Aberrant brain entropy in posttraumatic stress disorder comorbid with major depressive disorder during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

Aim

Previously, neuroimaging studies on comorbid Posttraumatic-Major depression disorder (PTSD-MDD) comorbidity found abnormalities in multiple brain regions among patients. Recent neuroimaging studies have revealed dynamic nature on human brain activity during resting state, and entropy as an indicator of dynamic regularity may provide a new perspective for studying abnormalities of brain function among PTSD-MDD patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant increase in the number of patients with PTSD-MDD. We have decided to conduct research on resting-state brain functional activity of patients who developed PTSD-MDD during this period using entropy.

Methods

Thirty three patients with PTSD-MDD and 36 matched TCs were recruited. PTSD and depression symptoms were assessed using multiple clinical scales. All subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans. And the brain entropy (BEN) maps were calculated using the BEN mapping toolbox. A two-sample t-test was used to compare the differences in the brain entropy between the PTSD-MDD comorbidity group and TC group. Furthermore, correlation analysis was conducted between the BEN changes in patients with PTSD-MDD and clinical scales.

Results

Compared to the TCs, PTSD-MDD patients had a reduced BEN in the right middle frontal orbital gyrus (R_MFOG), left putamen, and right inferior frontal gyrus, opercular part (R_IFOG). Furthermore, a higher BEN in the R_MFOG was related to higher CAPS and HAMD-24 scores in the patients with PTSD-MDD.

Conclusion

The results showed that the R_MFOG is a potential marker for showing the symptom severity of PTSD-MDD comorbidity. Consequently, PTSD-MDD may have reduced BEN in frontal and basal ganglia regions which are related to emotional dysregulation and cognitive deficits.

Juvenile hormone suppresses the FoxO-takeout axis to shorten longevity in male silkworm

Juvenile hormone (JH) plays a crucial endocrine regulatory role in insect metamorphosis, reproduction, and longevity in multiple organisms, such as flies, honeybees, and migratory monarch butterflies. However, the molecular mechanism of JH affecting longevity remains largely unknown. In this study, we showed that JH III and its analog methoprene shortened the survival days significantly in the adulthood of male silkworm. At the same time, the allatostatin, a neuropeptide that inhibits the secretion of JH by the corpora allata, could extend the survival days dramatically after adult eclosion in male silkmoth. Interestingly, a central pro-longevity FoxO transcription factor was reduced upon JH stimulation in silkworm individuals and BmN-SWU1 cells. Furthermore, the analysis of the upstream sequence of the FoxO gene identified a JH response element which suggested that FoxO might be regulated as a target of JH. Surprisingly, we identified a Bmtakeout (BmTO) gene that encodes a JH-binding protein and contains a FoxO response element. As expected, FoxO overexpression and knockdown up- and down-regulated the expression of BmTO respectively, indicating that BmTO functions as a FoxO target. BmTO overexpression could release the inhibitory effect of JH on the BmFoxO gene by reducing JH bioavailability to block its signal transduction. Collectively, these results may provide insights into the mechanism of the JH-FoxO-TO axis in aging research and pest control.

Gold nanobipyramid@copper sulfide nanotheranostics for image-guided NIR-II photo/chemodynamic cancer therapy with enhanced immune response

Photothermal therapy (PTT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), and chemodynamic therapy (CDT) can cause cancer cell death through an immunogenic process. However, the study of second near-infrared window (NIR-II)-triggered PTT and PDT combined with CDT to induce an immune response has not been recently reported. Here, we integrated gold nanobipyramids and copper sulfide in a core/shell architecture (AuNBP@CuS). The material displays both photodynamic and photothermal properties under irradiation with a NIR-II laser. The released Cu²⁺ from CuS under an acidic tumor microenvironment can be converted to Cu⁺ by glutathione following a Fenton-like reaction with hydrogen peroxide to generate highly toxic hydroxyl radicals in the tumor region. Both in vitro and in vivo results demonstrated that such multifunctional nanoplatforms could achieve enhanced efficiency for image-guided tumor suppression based on the NIR-II photo/chemodynamic therapy. We found that damage-associated molecular pattern molecules such as adenosine triphosphate, pre-apoptotic calreticulin, and high mobility group box-1 in dying cells induced by the NIR-II photo/chemodynamic therapy could simultaneously trigger adaptive immune responses. This is the first report revealing that NIR-II photo/chemodynamic therapy based on AuNBP@CuS had promising performance on tumor suppressor with an effective immunogenic cell death process. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: 1. AuNBP@CuS displays both NIR-II photodynamic and photothermal properties. 2. Cu⁺ following a Fenton-like reaction to generate highly toxic hydroxyl radicals. 3. The NIR-II photo/chemodynamic therapy can trigger adaptive immune responses. 4. Such multifunctional nanoplatforms could achieve enhanced efficiency for tumor suppression.

Prognostic CT features in patients with untreated thymic epithelial tumors

To determine the prognostic CT features in patients with untreated thymic epithelial tumors (TETs). Clinical data and CT imaging features of 194 patients with pathologically confirmed TETs were retrospectively reviewed. The subjects included 113 male and 81 female patients between 15 and 78 years of age, with a mean age of 53.8 years. Clinical outcomes were categorized according to whether relapse, metastasis or death occurred within 3 years after the first diagnosis. Associations between clinical outcomes and CT imaging features were determined using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses, while the survival status was analyzed by Cox regression. In this study, we analyzed 110 thymic carcinomas, 52 high-risk thymomas and 32 low-risk thymomas. Percentages of poor outcome and patient death in thymic carcinomas were much higher than those in patients with high-risk and low-risk thymomas. In the thymic carcinomas groups, 46 patients (41.8%) experienced tumor progression, local relapse or metastasis and were categorized as having poor outcomes; vessel invasion and pericardial mass were confirmed to be independent predictors by logistic regression analysis (p < 0.01). In the high-risk thymoma group, 11 patients (21.2%) were categorized as having poor outcomes, and the CT feature pericardial mass was confirmed to be an independent predictor (p < 0.01). In survival analysis, Cox regression showed that CT features of lung invasion, great vessel invasion, lung metastasis and distant organ metastasis were independent predictors for worse survival in the thymic carcinoma group (p < 0.01), while lung invasion and pericardial mass were independent predictors for worse survival in high-risk thymoma group. No CT features were related to poor outcome and worse survival in the low-risk thymoma group. Patients with thymic carcinoma had poorer prognosis and worse survival than those with high-risk or low-risk thymoma. CT can serve as an important tool for predicting the prognosis and survival of patients with TETs. In this cohort, CT features of vessel invasion and pericardial mass were related to poorer outcomes in those with thymic carcinoma and pericardial mass in those with high-risk thymoma. Features including lung invasion, great vessel invasion, lung metastasis and distant organ metastasis indicate worse survival in thymic carcinoma, whereas lung invasion and pericardial mass indicate worse survival in high-risk thymoma.

Altered functional connectivity of anterior cingulate cortex in chronic insomnia: A resting-state fMRI study

The aim of our present study was to explore the connectivity pattern change between the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the voxels from the whole brain in chronic insomnia (CI). With region of interest (ROI)-based functional connectivity, a two-sample t-test was performed on individual FC correlation maps from two groups based on the resting-state fMRI data acquired from 57 CI patients and 46 healthy controls (GRF correction, voxel-level P < 0.001 and cluster-level P < 0.001). A correlation analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between the clinical features and the abnormal FC. Compared to the healthy controls, the CI patients show increased connectivity between the ACC and the right middle frontal gyrus, with decreased connectivity between the ACC and the bilateral precuneus gyrus. Correlation analysis indicated that the decreased connectivity showed positive correlations with Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) scores. Our study shows the alterations of CI patients in the level of functional integration and may indicate the dysfunction of communication within brain regions of the default mode network (DMN). These changes and their correlation with negative emotions may provide additional evidence to understand the possible neural mechanisms of CI.

Case report: Clinical and virological characteristics of aseptic meningitis caused by a recombinant echovirus 18 in an immunocompetent adult

Echovirus 18 has been recognized as an important causative pathogen of aseptic meningitis in young children worldwide, and echovirus 18-induced meningitis is rarely found in adults with immunocompetence. In this case study, we report the clinical and virological characteristics of aseptic meningitis caused by recombinant echovirus 18 in an adult with immunocompetence. A 31-year-old woman with immunocompetence was admitted to our hospital with fever, dizziness, severe headache, nausea, and vomiting for the past 1 day and was diagnosed with viral meningitis based on the clinical manifestations and laboratory results from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The patient received antiviral treatment with ribavirin and interferon as soon as the enterovirus infection was identified using qRT-PCR and was cured after 4 days. From the oropharyngeal swab and CSF samples, two echovirus 18 strains were isolated with a single nucleotide difference located at the 5' UTR. Phylogenetic analyses based on the VP1 gene showed that the two strains belonged to the subgenotype C2 and were clustered with sequences obtained from China after 2015, while the results from the 3D polymerase region showed that the two strains were closely related to the E30 strains. Bootscanning results using the 5' UTR to 2A region and the 2B to 3' UTR region showed that potential intertypic recombination had occurred in the 2B gene. Recombination analyses further confirmed that the two strains (echovirus 18) presented genome recombination with echovirus 30 in the nucleotide regions of the 2B gene. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of echovirus 18-induced meningitis in an adult with immunocompetence from mainland China, highlighting the need for close surveillance of echovirus 18 both in children and adults in the future.

Cerebral perfusion alterations in patients with trigeminal neuralgia as measured by pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling

Background

Accumulating evidence suggests that trigeminal neuralgia (TN) causes structural and functional alterations in the brain. However, only a few studies have focused on cerebral blood flow (CBF) changes in patients with TN. This study aimed to explore whether altered cerebral perfusion patterns exist in patients with TN and investigate the relationship between abnormal regional CBF (rCBF) and clinical characteristics of TN.

Materials and methods

This study included 28 patients with TN and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) who underwent perfusion functional MRI (fMRI) of the brain using pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) in the resting state. The regions of significantly altered CBF in patients with TN were detected using group comparison analyses. Then, the relationships between the clinical characteristics and abnormal rCBF were further investigated.

Results

Compared to the control group, patients with TN exhibited increased rCBF, primarily in the thalamus, middle frontal gyrus (MFG), and left insula. Furthermore, the CBF values of the thalamus were negatively correlated with the pain intensity of TN and positively correlated with pain duration in patients with TN.

Conclusion

Primary alterations in rCBF in patients with TN occurred in different brain regions related to pain, which are involved in cognitive-affective interaction, pain perception, and pain modulation. These results indicate that non-invasive resting cerebral perfusion imaging may contribute complementary information to further understanding the neuropathological mechanism underlying TN.

Andrographolide restored production performances and serum biochemical indexes and attenuated organs damage in Mycoplasma gallisepticum-infected broilers

1. This study aimed to study the preventive and therapeutic effects of andrographolide (Andro) during Mycoplasma gallisepticum HS strain (MG) infection in ArborAcres (AA) broilers.2. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Andro against MG was measured. Broiler body weight, feed efficiency, morbidity, cure rate and mortality were recorded during the experiment. Air sac lesion scores and immune organ index were calculated. Expression of pMGA1.2 in lung tissue and serum biochemical indices were examined. Histopathological examinations of immune organs, liver, trachea and lung tissue were conducted by Haematoxylin and Eosin stain.3. MIC was 3.75 μg/mL and Andro significantly inhibited the expression of pMGA1.2 (P ≤ 0.05). Compared with control MG-infected group, Andro low-dose and high-dose prevention reduced the morbidity of chronic respiratory disease in 40.00% and 50.00%, respectively. Mortality of C, D and E group was 16.67%, 10.00% and 6.67%, respectively. Cure rate of E, F, G and H group was 92.00%, 92.86%, 93.33% and 100.0%, respectively. Compared with control MG-infected group, Andro treatment significantly increased average weight gain (AWG), relative weight gain rate (RWG) and feed conversion rate (FCR) at 18 to 24 days (P ≤ 0.05). Compared with control group, Andro alone treatment significantly increased AWG in broilers (P ≤ 0.05).4. Compared with control MG-infected group, Andro significantly attenuated MG-induced air sac lesion, immune organs, liver, trachea and lung damage in broilers. Andro alone treatment did not induce abnormal morphological changes in these organs in healthy broilers. Serum biochemical analysis results showed, comparing with control MG-infected group, Andro significantly decreased the content of total protein, albumin, globulin, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, total bilirubin, urea, creatinine, uric acid, total cholesterol, and increased the albumin/globulin ratio and content of alkaline phosphatase, apolipoprotein B and apolipoprotein A-I in a dose-dependent manner (P ≤ 0.05).5. Andro could act as a potential agent against MG infection in broilers.

In situ growing 3D-Cu coating to improve the reversibility and reaction kinetics of Zn metal anodes

The zinc metal anode is the most promising metal anode material in aqueous battery systems due to its low cost and high theoretical capacity. However, it still undergoes irreversible reactions such as premature failure of the dendrites/dead Zn during Zn stripping/plating, resulting in the inferior cycling stability of the Zn-based full cell. Here, we demonstrate a facile 3D-Cu alloy coating to improve Zn reversibility by providing spatial voids to accommodate the plated Zn to form dendrite-free morphology. Combining the larger 3D surface and the alloying–dealloying process, the Zn anode reactions exhibit enhanced reaction kinetics to meet large operating current densities. The 3D-Cu-coated Zn anode can deliver improved cycling stability for 350 h under a large areal capacity of 3 mAh cm⁻². It also enables MnO₂–Zn at the full cell level to achieve a specific capacity of 205 mAh g⁻¹ and longer cycling for 350 cycles with 87.4% retention of the initial capacity. This research provides a new pathway to achieve high reversible Zn metal chemistry.

The chloroplasts genomic analyses of four specific Caragana species

Background

Many species of the genus Caragana have been used as wind prevention and sand fixation plants. They are also important traditional Chinese medicine, and ethnic medicine resource plant. Thus, chloroplast genomes (cp-genome) of some of these important species must be studied.

Methods

In this study, we analyzed the chloroplast genomes of C. jubata, C. erinacea, C. opulens, and C. bicolor, including their structure, repeat sequences, mutation sites, and phylogeny.

Results

The size of the chloroplast genomes was between 127,862 and 132,780 bp, and such genomes contained 112 genes (30 tRNA, 4 rRNA, and 78 protein-coding genes), 43 of which were photosynthesis-related genes. The total guanine + cytosine (G+C) content of four Caragana species was between 34.49% and 35.15%. The four Caragana species all lacked inverted repeats and can be classified as inverted repeat-lacking clade (IRLC). Of the anticipated genes of the four chloroplast genomes, introns were discovered in 17 genes, most of which were inserted by one intron. A total of 50 interspersed repeated sequences (IRSs) were found among them, 58, 29, 61, and 74 simple sequences repeats were found in C. jubata, C. bicolor, C. opulens, and C. erinacea, respectively. Analyses of sequence divergence showed that some intergenic regions (between trnK-UUU and rbcl; trnF-GAA and ndhJ; trnL-CAA and trnT-UGU; rpoB and trnC-GCA; petA and psbL; psbE and pebL; and sequences of rpoC, ycf1, and ycf2) exhibited a high degree of variations. A phylogenetic tree of eight Caragana species and another 10 legume species was reconstructed using full sequences of the chloroplast genome.

Conclusions

(1) Chloroplast genomes can be used for the identification and classification of Caragana species. (2) The four Caragana species have highly similar cpDNA G+C content. (3) IRS analysis of the chloroplast genomes showed that these four species, similar to the chloroplast genome of most legumes, lost IRLC regions. (4) Comparative cp-genomic analysis suggested that the cp genome structure of the Caragana genus was well conserved in highly variable regions, which can be used to exploit markers for the identification of Caragana species and further phylogenetic study. (5) Results of phylogenetic analyses were in accordance with the current taxonomic status of Caragana. The phylogenetic relationship of Caragana species was partially consistent with elevation and geographical distribution.

Phylogenetic analysis based on single-copy orthologous proteins in highly variable chloroplast genomes of Corydalis

Corydalis is one of the few lineages that have been reported to have extensive large-scale chloroplast genome (cp-genome) rearrangements. In this study, novel cp-genome rearrangements of Corydalis pinnata, C. mucronate, and C. sheareri are described. C. pinnata is a narrow endemic species only distributed at Qingcheng Mountain in southwest China. Two independent relocations of the same four genes (trnM-CAU-rbcL) were found relocated from the typically posterior part of the large single-copy region to the front of it. A uniform inversion of an 11-14-kb segment (ndhB-trnR-ACG) was found in the inverted repeat region; and extensive losses of accD, clpP, and trnV-UAC genes were detected in all cp-genomes of all three species of Corydalis. In addition, a phylogenetic tree was reconstructed based on 31 single-copy orthologous proteins in 27 cp-genomes. This study provides insights into the evolution of cp-genomes throughout the genus Corydalis and also provides a reference for further studies on the taxonomy, identification, phylogeny, and genetic transformation of other lineages with extensive rearrangements in cp-genomes.

Altered cerebral blood flow patterns in ankylosing spondylitis: A three-dimensional pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling study

Objective

This study aimed to detect the cerebral blood flow (CBF) values changes in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and to evaluate the correlation between the CBF values and the specific clinical characteristics.

Materials and methods

Forty-eight patients with AS (43 male and 5 female) and 42 healthy controls (HCs) (38 male and 4 female) were recruited. Three-dimensional pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (3D-pCASL) was performed on a 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). CBF values were obtained on the Philips post-processing workstation based on arterial spin labeling (ASL) data. The two-sample t-test was used to compare CBF differences. The correlation between CBF values and specific clinical characteristics of AS was evaluated.

Results

The AS group showed increased CBF values in the right precentral gyrus, the left inferior frontal gyrus, and the left temporal pole compared with HCs the AS group also showed decreased CBF values in the left precuneus and the left superior occipital gyrus compared with HCs. There were no significant correlations between the CBF values and the clinical characteristics including total back pain (TBP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP).

Conclusion

Patients with AS displayed CBF changes compared with HCs using 3D-PCASL. These results may enhance our understanding of the neural substrates of AS and provide evidence of AS-related neurological impairment.

Abnormal Cerebral Blood Flow and Volumetric Brain Morphometry in Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a serious breathing disorder, leading to myocardial infarction, high blood pressure, and stroke. Brain morphological changes have been widely reported in patients with OSA. The pathophysiological mechanisms of cerebral blood flow (CBF) changes associated with OSA are not clear. In this study, 20 patients with OSA and 36 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited, and then pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) methods were utilized to explore blood perfusion and morphological changes in the patients with OSA. Compared with the HC group, the OSA group showed increased CBF values in the right medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), left precentral gyrus, and right insula and showed decreased CBF values in the right temporal pole (TP) and the right cerebellum_Crus2. Compared with the HC group, the patients with OSA showed decreased gray matter volume (GMV) in the right dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), the right occipital pole, and the vermis. There were no significantly increased GMV brain regions found in patients with OSA. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the reduced GMV in the right DLPFC and the right occipital pole was both positively correlated with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) (r = 0.755, p < 0.001; r = 0.686, p = 0.002) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores (r = 0.716, p = 0.001; r = 0.601, p = 0.008), and the reduced GMV in the right occipital pole was negatively correlated with duration of illness (r = -0.497, p = 0.036). Patients with OSA have abnormal blood perfusion metabolism and morphological changes in brain regions including the frontal lobe and the cerebellum and were closely related to abnormal behavior, psychology, and cognitive function, which play an important role in the pathophysiological mechanism of OSA.

All-In-One Second Near-Infrared Light-Responsive Drug Delivery System for Synergistic Chemo-Photothermal Therapy

Light-responsive nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems (NDDSs), due to their unique advantages such as safety, minimal cross-reaction, and spatiotemporal precision, have received wide attention. Notably, second near-infrared (NIR-II) light, which has a high penetration depth for manipulating NDDSs to release drugs, is in high demand. Herein, polyethylene glycol (PEG)-modified hollow Cu_xS nanoparticles (NPs) are developed as an all-in-one NIR-II light-responsive NDDS for synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy. First, Cu_xS-PEG NPs were prepared under mild conditions by using Cu₂O NPs as sacrificial templates. The morphology, photothermal effect, drug loading/releasing abilities, and synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy of Cu_xS-PEG NPs have been investigated. The Cu_xS-PEG NPs with hollow structures showed a high drug loading capacity (∼255 μg Dox per mg of Cu_xS NPs) and stimuli-responsive drug release triggered by NIR-II laser irradiation. The synergistic chemo-photothermal therapy based on the Dox/Cu_xS-PEG NPs showed 98.5% tumor elimination. Our study emphasizes the great potential of Cu_xS-PEG NPs as an all-in-one NIR-II light-responsive NDDS for applications in biomedicine.

Deep Learning-Based Automated Detection of Arterial Vessel Wall and Plaque on Magnetic Resonance Vessel Wall Images

Purpose

To develop and evaluate an automatic segmentation method of arterial vessel walls and plaques, which is beneficial for facilitating the arterial morphological quantification in magnetic resonance vessel wall imaging (MRVWI).

Methods

MRVWI images acquired from 124 patients with atherosclerotic plaques were included. A convolutional neural network-based deep learning model, namely VWISegNet, was used to extract the features from MRVWI images and calculate the category of each pixel to facilitate the segmentation of vessel wall. Two-dimensional (2D) cross-sectional slices reconstructed from all plaques and 7 main arterial segments of 115 patients were used to build and optimize the deep learning model. The model performance was evaluated on the remaining nine-patient test set using the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) and average surface distance (ASD).

Results

The proposed automatic segmentation method demonstrated satisfactory agreement with the manual method, with DSCs of 93.8% for lumen contours and 86.0% for outer wall contours, which were higher than those obtained from the traditional U-Net, Attention U-Net, and Inception U-Net on the same nine-subject test set. And all the ASD values were less than 0.198 mm. The Bland–Altman plots and scatter plots also showed that there was a good agreement between the methods. All intraclass correlation coefficient values between the automatic method and manual method were greater than 0.780, and greater than that between two manual reads.

Conclusion

The proposed deep learning-based automatic segmentation method achieved good consistency with the manual methods in the segmentation of arterial vessel wall and plaque and is even more accurate than manual results, hence improved the convenience of arterial morphological quantification.

Effects of wearing personal protective equipment during COVID-19 pandemic on composition and diversity of skin bacteria and fungi of medical workers

BACKGROUND

During the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing PPE can induce skin damage such as erythema, pruritus, erosion, and ulceration among others. Although the skin microbiome is considered important for skin health, the change of the skin microbiome after wearing PPE remain unknown.

OBJECTIVE

The present study aimed to characterize the diversity and structure of bacterial and fungal flora on skin surfaces of healthcare workers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic using metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS).

METHODS

A total of 10 Chinese volunteers were recruited and the microbiome of their face, hand, and back were analyzed before and after wearing PPE. Moreover, VISIA was used to analyze skin features.

RESULTS

Results of alpha bacterial diversity showed that there was statistically significant decrease in alpha diversity indice in the skin samples from face, hand, and three sites after wearing PPE as compared with the indice in the skin samples before wearing PPE. Further, the results of evaluated alpha fungal diversity show that there was a statistically significant decrease in alpha diversity indices in the skin samples from hand after wearing PPE as compared with the indices in the skin samples before wearing PPE (P<0.05). Results of the current study found that the main bacteria on the face, hand, and back skin samples before wearing the PPE were Propionibacterium spp. (34.04%), Corynebacterium spp. (13.12%), and Staphylococcus spp. (38.07%). The main bacteria found on the skin samples after wearing the PPE were Staphylococcus spp. (31.23%), Xanthomonas spp. (26.21%), and Cutibacterium spp. (42.59%). The fungal community composition was similar in three skin sites before and after wearing PPE.

CONCLUSION

It was evident that wearing PPE may affect the skin microbiota, especially bacteria. Therefore, it was evident that the symbiotic microbiota may reflect the skin health of medical workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Functional Connectivity Underlying Symptoms in Preschool Boys With Autism: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Background

Single-sex children have been regarded as one of the best subjects to understand the abnormal development patterns of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). However, the functional connectivity (FC) behind their symptoms is still unknown.

Methods

Based on FC analysis, the acquired resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data sets, including 86 boys with ASD and 54 normal controls (NC), were used to detect the neural synchronous activity between brain regions. Pearson correlation analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between the abnormal FC value and clinical features.

Results

Individuals with ASD showed enhanced FC between the right calcarine and the right lingual gyrus (LG). The right medial orbital frontal cortex also showed increased FC with bilateral inferior temporal gyrus (ITG) [two-tailed, voxel-level p &lt; 0.001, gaussian random field (GRF) correction, cluster-level p &lt; 0.05]. We did not find a correlation between the abnormal FC value and clinical scales.

Conclusion

Our study reveals a possible relationship between atypical visual attention and poor learning ability in subjects with ASD, and delayed social language development may be a secondary symptom to ASD.

Reduced left lateralized functional connectivity of the thalamic subregions between short-term and chronic insomnia disorder

The purpose of the study was to systematically investigate the structural and functional abnormalities in the subregions of the thalamus and to examine their clinical relevance in patients with short-term and chronic insomnia disorder (ID). Thirty-four patients with short-term ID, 41 patients with chronic ID, and 46 healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. Grey matter volume and seed-based resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) were compared for each thalamic subregion (bilateral cTtha, lPFtha, mPFtha, mPMtha, Otha, Pptha, rTtha, and Stha) between the three groups. Spearman's correlation was used to estimate the associations between thalamic alterations and clinical variables. Compared with the HCs and chronic ID group, the short-term ID group exhibited lower RSFC of the left cTtha, lPFtha, Otha and Pptha with the bilateral caudate. In addition, the short-term ID group exhibited lower RSFC between the left mPFtha and left caudate in comparison with the other two groups. Convergent RSFC alterations were found in the left cTtha and Otha with the right parahippocampal gyrus in both ID groups. Moreover, a positive correlation was found for the left Otha-caudate RSFC with the Epworth sleepiness scale scores (r = 0.340, P = 0.040). Our findings suggest shared and unique RSFC alterations of certain thalamic subregions with paralimbic regions between short-term and chronic ID. These findings have implications for understanding common and specific pathophysiology of different types of ID.

Genome-wide characterization and expression of the TLP gene family associated with Colletotrichum gloeosporioides inoculation in Fragaria × ananassa

Background

Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, a soil-borne fungal pathogen, causes significant yield losses in many plants, including cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa, 2n = 8x = 56). Thaumatin-like proteins (TLPs) are a large and complex family of proteins that play a vital role in plant host defense and other physiological processes.

Methods

To enhance our understanding of the antifungal activity of F. × ananassa TLPs (FaTLP), we investigated the genome-wide identification of FaTLP gene families and their expression patterns in F. × ananassa plants upon pathogen infection. Moreover, we used RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to detect the differences in the expression patterns of TLP genes between different resistant strawberry cultivars in response to C. gloeosporioides infection.

Results

In total, 76 TLP genes were identified from the octoploid cultivated strawberry genome with a mean length of 1,439 bp. They were distributed on 24 F. × ananassa chromosomes. The FaTLP family was then divided into ten groups (Group I-X) according to the comparative phylogenetic results. Group VIII contained the highest number of TLP family genes. qRT-PCR analysis results indicated that FaTLP40, FaTLP41, FaTLP43, FaTLP68, and FaTLP75 were upregulated following C. gloeosporioides infection in the resistant octoploid strawberry.

Conclusions

The data showed some differences in TLP gene expression patterns across different resistant strawberry cultivars, as well as faster TLP defense responses to pathogenic fungi in resistant cultivars. This study will aid in the characterization of TLP gene family members found in octoploid strawberries and their potential biological functions in plants' defenses against pathogenic fungi.

Altered Spontaneous Brain Activity and Functional Integration in Hemodialysis Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease

Purpose

Using the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and functional connectivity (FC) algorithm to study the alteration of brain function in hemodialysis patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

Patients and Methods

We recruited 20 patients with ESRD on regular hemodialysis and 17 healthy controls (HCs). All of the participants underwent resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI), neuropsychological tests, and blood biochemical examination. The individual ALFF values between the two groups were tested by an independent sample t-test. Then, we set the altered ALFF brain areas as seed regions of interest (ROIs), and FC analysis was used to investigate the functional integration patterns between the seed ROI and the voxels within the whole brain.

Results

The ALFF values of the right precuneus and angular gyrus (RAG) in the ESRD group were lower than those in the HC subjects, but the right precentral gyrus showed higher ALFF values in patients. Hemoglobin (Hb) was negatively correlated with the ALFF values of the right precentral gyrus, and the ALFF values of the right precuneus were negatively correlated with line-tracing test (LTT) scores in patients with ESRD. Patients with ESRD show decreased connectivity between the RAG and the left precuneus, right superior frontal gyrus (RSFG), and the connectivity within the RAG was weak. In addition, FC in the RAG-right cuneus, right precuneus-left supramarginal gyrus was enhanced in the patient group.

Conclusion

Our research suggested that, in hemodialysis patients with ESRD, the brain areas with abnormal spontaneous brain activity and FC are mainly located in the default mode network (DMN) regions. Hb and the LTT results were correlated with abnormal spontaneous brain activity. These findings provide additional evidence to understand the possible underlying neuropathological mechanisms in patients with ESRD.

Interaction of Gut Microbiota and Brain Function in Patients With Chronic Insomnia: A Regional Homogeneity Study

Recent studies have shown that the human gut microbiota (GM) plays a critical role in brain function and behavior via the complex microbiome–gut–brain axis. However, knowledge about the underlying relationship between the GM and changes in brain function in patients with chronic insomnia (CI) is still very limited. In this prospective study, 31 CI patients and 30 healthy controls were recruited. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were performed and brain functional alterations in CI patients were evaluated using the regional homogeneity (ReHo) method. We collected fecal samples of CI patients and used 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing to assess the relative abundance (RA) and alpha diversity of the GM. We also performed extensive sleep, mood, and cognitive assessments. Then, we tested for potential associations between the GM profile, ReHo alterations, and neuropsychological changes in CI patients. Our results showed associations between the RA of Lactobacilli, ReHo values in the left fusiform gyrus, and depression scores in CI patients. We also found some bacterial genera related to ReHo values of the right triangular inferior frontal gyrus. In addition, the RA of genus Coprobacter was correlated with ReHo values of the left angular gyrus and with specific cognitive performance. These findings revealed complex relationships between GM, brain function, and behavior in patients with CI.

Spectrum-effect relationship between serum HPLC fingerprints and activation of blood circulation and removal of blood stasis by Chuanxiong

Purpose: To study the active ingredients of Chuanxiong (CX) in promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. Methods: Blood-activating effects and serum HPLC fingerprints of CX extracts from different parts of China were studied and the spectrum-effect relationship between them was established by grey correlation analysis. Results: After treatment with CX extracted using different solvents, hemorheology indices were lower than those in the model group, and the effect of dichloromethane was better than that of other solvents (p < 0.05 or p < 0.01). There were 6 common peaks by fingerprint analysis. Peaks 1 - 5 were identified as senkyunolide I, senkyunolide H, senkyunolide A, coniferyl ferulate and ligustilide, respectively. Conclusion: Analysis of the spectrum–effect relationship indicates the contribution of the five components to the blood-activating effect of CX. The findings lend some scientific justification for using CX to remove blood stasis, and selection of quality evaluation indices for CX.