Chondroitin sulfate/silk fibroin hydrogel incorporating graphene oxide quantum dots with photothermal-effect promotes type H vessel-related wound healing

Chronic wounds with bacterial infection present formidable clinical challenges. In this study, a versatile hydrogel dressing with antibacterial and angiogenic activity composite of silk fibroin (SF), chondroitin sulfate (CS), and graphene oxide quantum dots (GOQDs) is fabricated. GOQDs@SF/CS (GSC) hydrogel is rapidly formed through the enzyme catalytic action of horseradish peroxidase. With the incorporation of GOQDs both gelation speed and mechanical properties have been enhanced, and the photothermal characteristics of GOQDs in GSC hydrogel enabled bacterial killing through photothermal treatment (PTT) at ∼51 °C. In vitro studies show that the GSC hydrogels demonstrate excellent antibacterial performance and induce type H vessel differentiation of endothelial cells via the activated ERK1/2 signaling pathway and upregulated SLIT3 expression. In vivo results show that the hydrogel significantly promotes type H vessels formation, which is related to the collagen deposition, epithelialization and, ultimately, accelerates the regeneration of infected skin defects. Collectively, this multifunctional GSC hydrogel, with dual action of antibacterial efficacy and angiogenesis promotion, emerges as an innovative skin dressing with the potential for advancing in infected wound healing.

G-K BertDTA: A graph representation learning and semantic embedding-based framework for drug-target affinity prediction

Developing new drugs is costly, time-consuming, and risky. Drug-target affinity (DTA), indicating the binding capability between drugs and target proteins, is a crucial indicator for drug development. Accurately predicting interaction strength between new drug-target pairs by analyzing previous experiments aids in screening potential drug molecules, repurposing them, and developing safe and effective medicines. Existing computational models for DTA prediction rely on strings or single-graph neural networks, lacking consideration of protein structure and molecular semantic information, leading to limited accuracy. Our experiments demonstrate that string-based methods may overlook protein conformations, causing a high root mean square error (RMSE) of 3.584 in affinity due to a lack of spatial context. Single graph networks also underperform on topology features, with a 6% lower confidence interval (CI) for activity classification. Absent semantic information also limits generalization across diverse compounds, resulting in 18% increment in RMSE and 5% in misclassifications within quantifications study, restricting potential drug discovery. To address these limitations, we propose G-K BertDTA, a novel framework for accurate DTA prediction incorporating protein features, molecular semantic features, and molecular structural information. In this proposed model, we represent drugs as graphs, with a GIN employed to learn the molecular topological information. For the extraction of protein structural features, we utilize a DenseNet architecture. A knowledge-based BERT semantic model is incorporated to obtain rich pre-trained semantic embeddings, thereby enhancing the feature information. We extensively evaluated our proposed approach on the publicly available benchmark datasets (i.e., KIBA and Davis), and experimental results demonstrate the promising performance of our method, which consistently outperforms previous state-of-the-art approaches. Code is available at https://github.com/AmbitYuki/G-K-BertDTA.

Defense against adversarial attacks based on color space transformation

Deep Learning algorithms have achieved state-of-the-art performance in various important tasks. However, recent studies have found that an elaborate perturbation may cause a network to misclassify, which is known as an adversarial attack. Based on current research, it is suggested that adversarial examples cannot be eliminated completely. Consequently, it is always possible to determine an attack that is effective against a defense model. We render existing adversarial examples invalid by altering the classification boundaries. Meanwhile, for valid adversarial examples generated against the defense model, the adversarial perturbations are increased so that they can be distinguished by the human eye. This paper proposes a method for implementing the abovementioned concepts through color space transformation. Experiments on CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100, and Mini-ImageNet demonstrate the effectiveness and versatility of our defense method. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first defense model based on the amplification of adversarial perturbations.

Effectiveness of Problem-Based Learning on Development of Nursing Students' Critical Thinking Skills: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a student-centered approach to teaching that has been applied in medical and nursing education. The effectiveness of PBL in promoting critical thinking in nursing students has been studied extensively with mixed results.

PURPOSE

The meta-analysis aimed to investigate the impact of PBL interventions on critical thinking skills of nursing students.

METHODS

PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and CINAHL databases were electronically searched. Methodological quality was examined using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and version 2 of the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. Data were analyzed with 95% confidence intervals based on random-effect models.

RESULTS

Nineteen studies involving 1996 nursing students were included in the analysis. The results of the analysis demonstrated greater improvement in critical thinking skills compared with the control group (overall critical thinking scores: standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.47, 95% CI = 0.33-0.61, P < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

The meta-analysis indicates that PBL can help nursing students to improve their critical thinking.

Aucubin produces anti-osteoporotic effects under mechanical stretch stress and orthodontic tooth movement

Aucubin (AU), an iridoid glycoside extracted from Eucommia ulmoides, exerts anti-osteoporotic effects by promoting osteogenesis, as reported in previous studies. Here, we investigated the effects of AU under mechanical stretch stress. MC3T3-E1 cells were treated with dexamethasone (DEX) in vitro and subjected to mechanical stretch stress to establish an osteoporotic orthodontic force cell model. AU treatment increased the mRNA and protein expressions of BMP2, OPN, RUNX2, COL-1 and other osteogenic differentiation factors in MC3T3-E1 cells. Furthermore, we established an in vivo orthodontic tooth movement (OTM) model of osteoporosis. Serum parameter detection of ALP concentration, radiography of the femur, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, and micro-CT of the maxilla confirmed that AU could partially reverse the damage induced by DEX. Immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis showed that AU increased the expression of COL-1, OCN, and OPN on the tension side of the periodontium. In conclusion, AU treatment promotes osteogenic differentiation under mechanical stretch stress and positively affects bone remodeling during OTM in DEX-induced osteoporosis.

A Compact-Sized Fully Self-Powered Wireless Flowmeter Based on Triboelectric Discharge

Flow sensing exhibits significant potential for monitoring, controlling, and optimizing processes in industries, resource management, and environmental protection. However, achieving wireless real-time and omnidirectional sensing of gas/liquid flow on a simple, self-contained device without external power support has remained a formidable challenge. In this study, a compact-sized, fully self-powered wireless sensing flowmeter (CSWF) is introduced with a small size diameter of down to less than 50 mm, which can transmit real-time and omnidirectional wireless signals, as driven by a rotating triboelectric nanogenerator (R-TENG). The R-TENG triggers the breakdown discharge of a gas discharge tube (GDT), which enables flow rate wireless sensing through emitted electromagnetic waves. Importantly, the performance of the CSWF is not affected by the R-TENG's varied output, while the transmission distance is greater than 10 m. Real-time wireless remote monitoring of wind speed and water flow rate is successfully demonstrated. This research introduces an approach to achieve a wireless, self-powered environmental monitoring system with a diverse range of potential applications, including prolonged meteorological observations, marine environment monitoring, early warning systems for natural disasters, and remote ecosystem monitoring.

Creation of Porous, Perfusable Microtubular Networks for Improved Cell Viability in Volumetric Hydrogels

The creation of large, volumetric tissue-engineered constructs has long been hindered due to the lack of effective vascularization strategies. Recently, 3D printing has emerged as a viable approach to creating vascular structures; however, its application is limited. Here, we present a simple and controllable technique to produce porous, free-standing, perfusable tubular networks from sacrificial templates of polyelectrolyte complex and coatings of salt-containing citrate-based elastomer poly(1,8-octanediol-co-citrate) (POC). As demonstrated, fully perfusable and interconnected POC tubular networks with channel diameters ranging from 100 to 400 μm were created. Incorporating NaCl particulates into the POC coating enabled the formation of micropores (∼19 μm in diameter) in the tubular wall upon particulate leaching to increase the cross-wall fluid transport. Casting and cross-linking gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) suspended with human osteoblasts over the free-standing porous POC tubular networks led to the fabrication of 3D cell-encapsulated constructs. Compared to the constructs without POC tubular networks, those with either solid or porous wall tubular networks exhibited a significant increase in cell viability and proliferation along with healthy cell morphology, particularly those with porous networks. Taken together, the sacrificial template-assisted approach is effective to fabricate tubular networks with controllable channel diameter and patency, which can be easily incorporated into cell-encapsulated hydrogels or used as tissue-engineering scaffolds to improve cell viability.

Short-term forecasting approach of single well production based on multi-intelligent agent hybrid model

The short-term prediction of single well production can provide direct data support for timely guiding the optimization and adjustment of oil well production parameters and studying and judging oil well production conditions. In view of the coupling effect of complex factors on the daily output of a single well, a short-term prediction method based on a multi-agent hybrid model is proposed, and a short-term prediction process of single well output is constructed. First, CEEMDAN method is used to decompose and reconstruct the original data set, and the sliding window method is used to compose the data set with the obtained components. Features of components by decomposition are described as feature vectors based on values of fuzzy entropy and autocorrelation coefficient, through which those components are divided into two groups using cluster algorithm for prediction with two sub models. Optimized online sequential extreme learning machine and the deep learning model based on encoder-decoder structure using self-attention are developed as sub models to predict the grouped data, and the final predicted production comes from the sum of prediction values by sub models. The validity of this method for short-term production prediction of single well daily oil production is verified. The statistical value of data deviation and statistical test methods are introduced as the basis for comparative evaluation, and comparative models are used as the reference model to evaluate the prediction effect of the above multi-agent hybrid model. Results indicated that the proposed hybrid model has performed better with MAE value of 0.0935, 0.0694 and 0.0593 in three cases, respectively. By comparison, the short-term prediction method of single well production based on multi-agent hybrid model has considerably improved the statistical value of prediction deviation of selected oil well data in different periods. Through statistical test, the multi-agent hybrid model is superior to the comparative models. Therefore, the short-term prediction method of single well production based on a multi-agent hybrid model can effectively optimize oilfield production parameters and study and judge oil well production conditions.

Ogataea polymorpha as a next-generation chassis for industrial biotechnology

Ogataea (Hansenula) polymorpha is a nonconventional yeast with some unique characteristics, including fast growth, thermostability, and broad substrate spectrum. Other than common applications for protein production, O. polymorpha is attracting interest for chemical and protein production from methanol; a promising feedstock for the next-generation biomanufacturing due to its abundant sources and excellent characteristics. Benefiting from the development of synthetic biology, it has been engineered to produce value-added chemicals by extensively rewiring cellular metabolism. This Review discusses recently developed synthetic biology tools of O. polymorpha. The advances of chemicals production and systems biology were reviewed comprehensively. Finally, we look ahead to the developments of biomanufacturing in O. polymorpha to make an overall understanding of this chassis for academia and industry.

Deep optimization of water quality index and positive matrix factorization models for water quality evaluation and pollution source apportionment using a random forest model

Effective evaluation of water quality and accurate quantification of pollution sources are essential for the sustainable use of water resources. Although water quality index (WQI) and positive matrix factorization (PMF) models have been proven to be applicable for surface water quality assessments and pollution source apportionments, these models still have potential for further development in today's data-driven, rapidly evolving technological era. This study coupled a machine learning technique, the random forest model, with WQI and PMF models to enhance their ability to analyze water pollution issues. Monitoring data of 12 water quality indicators from six sites along the Minjiang River from 2015 to 2020 were used to build a WQI model for determining the spatiotemporal water quality characteristics. Then, coupled with the random forest model, the importance of 12 indicators relative to the WQI was assessed. The total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), chemical oxygen demand (CODCr), dissolved oxygen (DO), and five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) were identified as the top five significant parameters influencing water quality in the region. The improved WQI model constructed based on key parameters enabled high-precision (R2 = 0.9696) water quality prediction. Furthermore, the feature importance of the indicators was used as weights to adjust the results of the PMF model, allowing for a more reasonable pollutant source apportionment and revealing potential driving factors of variations in water quality. The final contributions of pollution sources in descending order were agricultural activities (30.26%), domestic sewage (29.07%), industrial wastewater (26.25%), seasonal factors (6.45%), soil erosion (6.19%), and unidentified sources (1.78%). This study provides a new perspective for a comprehensive understanding of the water pollution characteristics of rivers, and offers valuable references for the development of targeted strategies for water quality improvement.

Merging total synthesis and NMR technology for deciphering the realistic structure of natural 2,6-dideoxyglycosides

The structural identification and efficient synthesis of bioactive 2,6-dideoxyglycosides are daunting challenges. Here, we report the total synthesis and structural revision of a series of 2,6-dideoxyglycosides from folk medicinal plants Ecdysanthera rosea and Chonemorpha megacalyx, which feature pregnane steroidal aglycones bearing an 18,20-lactone and glycans consisting of 2,6-dideoxy-3-O-methyl-β-pyranose residues, including ecdysosides A, B, and F and ecdysantheroside A. All the eight possible 2,6-dideoxy-3-O-methyl-β-pyranoside stereoisomers (of the proposed ecdysantheroside A) have been synthesized that testify the effective gold(I)-catalyzed glycosylation methods for the synthesis of various 2-deoxy-β-pyranosidic linkages and lays a foundation via nuclear magnetic resonance data mapping to identify these sugar units which occur promiscuously in the present and other natural glycosides. Moreover, some synthetic natural compounds and their isomers have shown promising anticancer, immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory, and anti-Zika virus activities.

Inhibitory effects of β-asarone on lncRNA BACE1-mediated induction of autophagy in a model of Alzheimer's disease

The primary aim of this study was to examine the correlation between the formation of Aβ plaques and autophagy, which is regulated by β-asarone and the lncRNA BACE1-AS. Additionally, the study sought to explore potential targets of the drug in inhibiting the deposition of toxic AD-related proteins and restoring impaired mitochondrial and autophagic functions. SHY5Y cells were utilized to construct a stable Alzheimer's disease (AD) model, followed by the utilization of interference and overexpression lentiviruses targeting BACE1-AS to establish a cell model. The cells were categorized into five groups, including a normal group, siRNA/BACE1 group, and β-asarone group. The fluorescence quantitative PCR technique was employed to assess the disparity in BACE1 mRNA expression, while changes in immunofluorescence (IF) were observed to determine the stable interference titre and action time of the lentiviruses. Additionally, western blotting (WB) and fluorescence quantitative PCR were employed to evaluate the expression of proteins and mRNAs associated with AD and autophagy. The findings demonstrated a significant elevation in BACE1 expression levels in brain tissue among individuals with AD compared to those without the condition. Moreover, the results indicated that the introduction of β-asarone led to an increase in the expression of the BACE1-AS gene in the cell group transfected with plasmid H12732. Furthermore, it was observed that β-asarone enhanced the expression levels of shRNA and BACE1 after 72 h. In contrast, β-asarone suppressed the expression of PS1, Aβ, BACE1, APP, and p62, while promoting the expression of syn, LC3 I/II, and Beclin-1. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that β-Asarone exerts a comprehensive influence on the expression of proteins associated with AD and synaptic function. β-Asarone exhibits the potential to mitigate Aβ deposition by impeding the expression of lncBACE1, thereby facilitating autophagy through the suppression of BACE1's inhibitory impact on autophagy. This complements the self-enhancing effect of autophagy.

[Effect of LAG3 deficiency on natural killer cell function and hepatic fibrosis in mice infected with Echinococcus multilocularis]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of LAG-3 deficiency (LAG3-/-) on natural killer (NK) cell function and hepatic fibrosis in mice infected with Echinococcus multilocularis.

METHODS

C57BL/6 mice, each weighing (20 ± 2) g, were divided into the LAG3-/- and wild type (WT) groups, and each mouse in both groups was inoculated with 3 000 E. multilocularis protoscoleces via the hepatic portal vein. Mouse liver and spleen specimens were collected 12 weeks post-infection, sectioned and stained with sirius red, and the hepatic lesions and fibrosis were observed. Mouse hepatic and splenic lymphocytes were isolated, and flow cytometry was performed to detect the proportions of hepatic and splenic NK cells, the expression of CD44, CD25 and CD69 molecules on NK cell surface, and the secretion of interferon γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-4, IL-10 and IL-17A.

RESULTS

Sirius red staining showed widening of inflammatory cell bands and hyperplasia of fibrotic connective tissues around mouse hepatic lesions, as well as increased deposition of collagen fibers in the LAG3-/-group relative to the WT group. Flow cytometry revealed lower proportions of mouse hepatic (6.29% ± 1.06% vs. 11.91% ± 1.85%, P < 0.000 1) and splenic NK cells (4.44% ± 1.22% vs. 5.85% ± 1.10%, P > 0.05) in the LAG3-/- group than in the WT group, and the mean fluorescence intensity of CD44 was higher on the surface of mouse hepatic NK cells in the LAG3-/- group than in the WT group (t = -3.234, P < 0.01), while no significant differences were found in the mean fluorescence intensity of CD25 or CD69 on the surface of mouse hepaticNK cells between the LAG3-/- and WT groups (both P values > 0.05). There were significant differences between the LAG3-/- and WT groups in terms of the percentages of IFN-γ (t = -0.723, P > 0.05), TNF-α (t = -0.659, P > 0.05), IL-4 (t = -0.263, P > 0.05), IL-10 (t = -0.455, P > 0.05) or IL-17A secreted by mouse hepatic NK cells (t = 0.091, P > 0.05), and the percentage of IFN-γ secreted by mouse splenic NK cells was higher in the LAG3-/- group than in the WT group (58.40% ± 1.64% vs. 50.40% ± 4.13%; t = -4.042, P < 0.01); however, there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of the proportions of TNF-α (t = -1.902, P > 0.05), IL-4 (t = -1.333, P > 0.05), IL-10 (t = -1.356, P > 0.05) or IL-17A secreted by mouse splenic NK cells (t = 0.529, P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

During the course of E. multilocularis infections, LAG3-/- promotes high-level secretion of IFN-γ by splenic NK cells, which may participate in the reversal the immune function of NK cells, resulting in aggravation of hepatic fibrosis.

Magnetic-driven hydrogel microrobots for promoting osteosarcoma chemo-therapy with synthetic lethality strategy

The advancements in the field of micro-robots for drug delivery systems have garnered considerable attention. In contrast to traditional drug delivery systems, which are dependent on blood circulation to reach their target, these engineered micro/nano robots possess the unique ability to navigate autonomously, thereby enabling the delivery of drugs to otherwise inaccessible regions. Precise drug delivery systems can improve the effectiveness and safety of synthetic lethality strategies, which are used for targeted therapy of solid tumors. MYC-overexpressing tumors show sensitivity to CDK1 inhibition. This study delves into the potential of Ro-3306 loaded magnetic-driven hydrogel micro-robots in the treatment of MYC-dependent osteosarcoma. Ro-3306, a specific inhibitor of CDK1, has been demonstrated to suppress tumor growth across various types of cancer. We have designed and fabricated this micro-robot, capable of delivering Ro-3306 precisely to tumor cells under the influence of a magnetic field, and evaluated its chemosensitizing effects, thereby augmenting the therapeutic efficacy and introducing a novel possibility for osteosarcoma treatment. The clinical translation of this method necessitates further investigation and validation. In summary, the Ro-3306-loaded magnetic-driven hydrogel micro-robots present a novel strategy for enhancing the chemosensitivity of MYC-dependent osteosarcoma, paving the way for new possibilities in future clinical applications.

Characterization, antioxidant activity and in vitro digestion of hawthorn pectin prepared by gradient ethanol precipitation

Four modified hawthorn pectin fractions (MHPs), named MHP-30, MHP-50, MHP-70 and MHP-90, were obtained by ultrasonic-assisted pectin methyl esterase modification and gradient ethanol precipitation. The results indicated that all four MHPs were composed of galacturonic acid, galactose, xylose, arabinose, glucose and mannose in different proportions. With the increase of the ethanol concentration, the molecular weight, esterification degree and galacturonic acid content of MHPs all decreased, whereas the arabinose content and branching degree increased. The structural characterization from XRD, SEM, and FT-IR showed that four MHPs exhibited amorphous structure, similar functional groups, diverse surface morphologies. Besides, in vitro antioxidant assays confirmed that MHP-70 and MHP-90 exhibited stronger total antioxidant activities than MHP-30 and MHP-50. The results of simulated saliva-gastrointestinal digestion showed that the molecular weight of MHP-70 and MHP-90 remained stable, yielded small amounts of reducing sugars, and were resistant to digestion in the human upper digestive tract. Overall, MHP-70 and MHP-90 shown great potential as novel natural antioxidants, which are expected to be good carbon sources for the utilization of intestinal microorganisms.

Association of pretreatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio with clinical outcomes in cancer immunotherapy: An evidence synthesis from 30 meta-analyses

BACKGROUND

The Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) holds relevance in cancer immunotherapy outcomes, yet its validation remains limited. Thus, we conducted an umbrella review to comprehensively assess the association between pretreatment NLR and immunotherapy outcomes, along with evaluating their credibility and strength.

METHODS

Electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane, were systematically searched for eligible systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Quality assessment and evidence grading utilized AMSTAR, GRADE, and additional classification criteria, following PRISMA and PRIOR guidelines.

RESULTS

Thirty unique meta-analyses were included, with 24 associations (80%) exhibiting statistical significance. Notably, associations between pretreatment NLR and the prognosis of renal cell carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, melanoma, and non-small cell lung cancer garnered highly suggestive or convincing evidence grading.

CONCLUSIONS

Elevated pretreatment NLR correlates with poor outcomes in cancer immunotherapy, suggesting its potential as a biomarker for identifying appropriate treatment populations and predicting clinical outcomes. Nevertheless, further validation through prospective cohort studies is warranted.

[Comparison of the microbiota diversity between autogenous and anautogenous Culex pipiens pallens]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the microbiota composition and diversity between autogenous and anautogenous Culex pipiens pallens, so as to provide insights into unraveling the pathogenesis of autogeny in Cx. pipiens pallens.

METHODS

Autogenous and anautogenous adult Cx. pipiens pallens samples were collected at 25 ℃, and the hypervariable regions of the microbial 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) gene was sequenced on the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 sequencing platform. The microbiota abundance and diversity were evaluated using the alpha diversity index, and the difference in the microbiota structure was examined using the beta diversity index. The microbiota with significant differences in the abundance between autogenous and anautogenous adult Cx. pipiens pallens samples was identified using the linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe).

RESULTS

The microbiota in autogenous and anautogenous Cx. pipiens pallens samples belonged to 18 phyla, 28 classes, 70 orders, 113 families, and 170 genera, and the dominant phyla included Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and so on. At the genus level, Wolbachia was a common dominant genus, and the relative abundance was (77.6 ± 11.3)% in autogenous Cx. pipiens pallens samples and (47.5 ± 8.5)% in anautogenous mosquito samples, while Faecalibaculum (0.4% ± 0.1%), Dubosiella (0.5% ± 0.0%) and Massilia (0.5% ± 0.1%) were specific species in autogenous Cx. pipiens pallens samples. Alpha diversity analysis showed that higher Chao1 index and ACE index in autogenous Cx. pipiens pallens samples than in anautogenous samples (both P values > 0.05), and lower Shannon index (P > 0.05) and Simpson index (P < 0.05) in autogenous Cx. pipiens pallens samples than in anautogenous samples. LEfSe analysis showed a total of 48 significantly different taxa between autogenous and anautogenous Cx. pipiens pallens samples (all P values < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

There is a significant difference in the microbiota diversity between autogenous and anautogenous Cx. pipiens pallens.

Research on duck egg recognition algorithm based on improved YOLOv4

1. The following study addressed the problem of small duck eggs as challenging to detect and identify for pick up in complex free-range duck farm environments. It introduces improvements to the YOLOv4 convolutional neural network target detection algorithm, based on the working conditions of egg-picking robots.2. Specifically, one scale of anchor boxes was removed from the prediction network, and a duck egg labelling dataset was established to make the improved algorithm YOLOv4-ours better match the working state of egg-picking robots and enhance detection performance.3. Through multiple comparative experiments, the YOLOv4-ours object detection algorithm exhibited superior overall performance, achieving a precision of 98.85%, recall of 96.67%, and an average precision of 98.60% and F1 score increased to 97%. Compared to the original YOLOv4 model, these improvements represented increases of 1.89%, 3.41%, 1.32%, and 1.04%, respectively. Furthermore, detection time was reduced from 0.26 seconds per image to 0.20 seconds.4. The enhanced model accurately detected duck eggs in free-range duck housing, effectively meeting the real-time egg identification and picking requirements.

Volume electron microscopy reveals age-related ultrastructural differences of globular bush cell axons in mouse central auditory system

In mammals, thick axonal calibers wrapped with heavy myelin sheaths are prevalent in the auditory nervous system. These features are crucial for fast traveling of nerve impulses with minimal attenuation required for sound signal transmission. In particular, the long-range projections from the cochlear nucleus - the axons of globular bush cells (GBCs) - to the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body (MNTB) are tonotopically organized. However, it remains controversial in gerbils and mice whether structural and functional adaptations are present among the GBC axons targeting different MNTB frequency regions. By means of high-throughput volume electron microscopy, we compared the GBC axons in full-tonotopy-ranged MNTB slices from the C57BL/6 mice at different ages. Our quantification reveals distinct caliber diameter and myelin profile of the GBC axons with endings at lateral and medial MNTB, arguing for modulation of functionally heterogeneous axon subgroups. In addition, we reported axon-specific differences in axon caliber, node of Ranvier, and myelin sheath among juvenile, adult, and old mice, indicating the age-related changes of GBC axon morphology over time. These findings provide structural insight into the maturation and degeneration of GBC axons with frequency tuning across the lifespan of mice.

The Relationship Between Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Osteoporosis Based on Different Ethnic Groups: a Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Analysis

The previous observational studies could not overcome the effects of confounding variables and reverse causality. We aimed to determine whether there is a causal relationship between systemic lupus erythematosus and osteoporosis in East Asian and European populations, respectively, by two-sample Mendelian Randomization analysis. We obtained and downloaded data from publicly available genome-wide association study databases and analyses for East Asian and European populations, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), osteoporosis (OP), multisite bone mineral density (BMD), and OP with fracture. After screening for instrumental single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly correlated to SLE, the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method was used for calculating the ratio and 95% confidence interval, besides utilizing MR-Egger, weighted median, and weighted mode to assess the robustness of the primary outcome. Moreover, multiple analyses, including MR-PRESSO, MR-Egger intercept, Cochran's Q test, as well as "leave-one-out" sensitivity, were used for evaluating horizontal pleiotropy, heterogeneity, and stability. Finally, we exchanged exposure and outcome and performed a reverse MR analysis. IVW (OR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.01-1.09, P = 0.009) indicated a significant positive correlation between genetically predicted SLE and OP in East Asians. Furthermore, neither heterogeneity nor horizontal pleiotropy was observed. In Europe, there was no significant genetically predicted causal relation between SLE and OP. Bi-directional MR analysis showed no reverse causality between SLE and OP. In the East Asian population, genetically predicted SLE may have had a positive causal relationship with OP. In Europe, there is insufficient evidence for a potential causal relation between SLE and OP or BMD and fracture, and the correlations currently observed may be attributed to a variety of confounder variables.

Contribution of Direct Cerebral Vascular Transport in Brain Substance Clearance

The accumulation of harmful substances has long been recognized as a likely cause of many neurodegenerative diseases. The two classic brain clearance pathways are cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and vascular circulation systems. Since the discovery of the glymphatic system, research on the CSF pathway has gained momentum, and impaired CSF clearance has been implicated in virtually all neurodegenerative animal models. However, the contribution of the direct participation of vascular transport across the blood-brain barrier in clearing substances is often ignored in glymphatic papers. Supportive evidence for the direct involvement of parenchymal vasculature in substance clearance is accumulated. First, multiple mechanisms have been proposed for the vascular drainage of exogenous and endogenous substances across the blood-brain barriers. Second, the "traditional" role of arachnoid villi and granulations as the main site for CSF draining into the vasculature system has been questioned. Third, MRI studies using different CSF tracers indicate that parenchymal vasculature directly participates in tracer efflux, consistent with immunohistochemical findings. Here we will review evidence in the literature that supports the direct participation of the parenchymal vascular system in substance clearance, in addition to the CSF clearance pathways.

Impaired local Vitamin D3 metabolism contributes to IL-36g overproduction in epithelial cells in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps

BACKGROUND

Vitamin D (VD) possesses immunomodulatory properties, but its role in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) remains poorly studied. Herein, we aim to explore the regulation and function of VD3 in CRSwNP.

METHODS

25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25VD3) levels in serum and tissue lysates were detected by ELISA. The expression of VD receptor (VDR) and cytochrome P450 family 27 subfamily B member 1 (CYP27B1), the enzyme that converts 25VD3 to the active 1,25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25VD3), and their expression regulation in human nasal epithelial cells (HNECs) were studied by RT-PCR, western blotting, immunofluorescence, and flow cytometry. RNA sequencing was performed to identify genes regulated by 1,25VD3 in HNECs. HNECs and polyp tissue explants were treated with 1,25VD3, 25VD3, and dexamethasone.

RESULTS

25VD3 levels in serum and nasal tissue lysates were decreased in patients with eosinophilic and noneosinophilic CRSwNP than control subjects. The expression of VDR and CYP27B1 were reduced in eosinophilic and noneosinophilic CRSwNP, particularly in nasal epithelial cells. VDR and CYP27B1 expression in HNECs were downregulated by interferon y and poly (I:C). Polyp-derived epithelial cells demonstrated an impaired ability to convert 25VD3 to 1,25VD3 than control tissues. 1,25VD3 and 25VD3 suppressed IL-36y production in HNECs and polyp tissues, and the effect of 25VD3 was abolished by siCYP27B1 treatment. Tissue 25VD3 levels negatively correlated with IL-36y expression and neutrophilic inflammation in CRSwNP.

CONCLUSION

Reduced systemic 25VD3 level, local 1,25VD3 generation and VDR expression result in impaired VD3 signaling activation in nasal epithelial cells, thereby exaggerating IL-36y production and neutrophilic inflammation in CRSwNP.

Sleep apnea and ischemic stroke- a perspective for translational preclinical modelling

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with ischemic stroke. There is, however, a lack of knowledge on the exact cause-effect relationship, and preclinical models of OSA for experimental ischemic stroke investigations are not well characterized. In this review, we discuss sleep apnea and its relationship with stroke risk factors. We consider how OSA may lead to ischemic stroke and how OSA-induced metabolic syndrome and hypothalamic-pituitary axis (HPA) dysfunction could serve as therapeutic targets to prevent ischemic stroke. Further, we examine the translational potential of established preclinical models of OSA. We conclude that metabolic syndrome and HPA dysfunction, which are often overlooked in the context of experimental stroke and OSA studies, are crucial for experimental consideration to improve the body of knowledge as well as the translational potential of investigative efforts.

Characteristic analysis of BZR genes family and their responses to hormone treatments and abiotic stresses in Carya illinoinensis

As the core of Brassinosteroids (BR) signaling pathway, BR-resistant (BZR) transcription factor regulates thousands of targeted genes mediating photomophogenesis, pollen sterility, cell expansion and stress response. Pecan (Carya illinoinensis) is a famous trees species of Carya, and its nut has high nutritional and economic values. However, there has no report on BZR genes family in pecan yet. Herein, totals of seven CiBZR members were identified in pecan genome, which were predicted to be hydrophilic unstable proteins and located in the nucleus. CiBZR genes had close evolutionary relationships with CcBZRs and JrBZRs in both Carya cathayensis and Juglans regia. These seven CiBZR genes were located independently on 7 chromosomes without doubling or tandem duplication. Based on the analysis of conserved motifs and gene structures, CiBZR genes were divided into three categories. More than 40 cis-acting elements were found in the 2 kb promoter regions of CiBZRs, which were mainly involved in hormone, light, and stress response, and plant growth and development. Notably, some of these CiBZR proteins were mainly located in the nucleus, had the self-activation ability and interaction relationship with BIN2 kinase, and negatively regulated the expression of CiCPD and CiDWF4. Gene expressions analysis further showed that CiBZR genes could express in many tissues and shared similar expression trends during embryo development. Moreover, most CiBZR genes responded to BR, Gibberellin (GA), Strigolactone (SL), salt, acid and osmotic stress. This study provides theoretical basis for the subsequent study on the role of CiBZR family genes in plant growth, development and stress responses.

Intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging of solitary pulmonary lesions: initial study with gradient- and spin-echo sequences

AIM

To evaluate the feasibility and image quality of intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging (IVIM) using gradient- and spin-echo (GRASE) in solitary pulmonary lesions (SPLs) compared to echo planar imaging (EPI) and turbo spin-echo (TSE) at 3 T.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Forty-two patients with SPLs underwent lung magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using TSE-IVIM, GRASE-IVIM, and EPI-IVIM at 3 T. Signal ratio (SR), contrast ratio (CR), and image distortion ratio (DR) of three sequences were compared. The reproducibility and repeatability of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and IVIM-derived parameters were assessed using the interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and coefficient of variation (CV). The repeatability of the ADC and IVIM-derived parameters between all sequences was evaluated using the Bland-Altman method.

RESULTS

EPI-IVIM had a higher SR, lower CR, and higher DR (p<0.05); however, there was no significant difference between TSE-IVIM and GRASE-IVIM (p>0.05). Compared to the D and f values of TSE-IVIM (ICC lower limit >0.90), GRASE-IVIM and EPI-IVIM showed poor reproducibility (ICC lower limit<0.90). The repeatability of the ADC and D values obtained by TSE-IVIM (CV, 1.93-2.96% and 2.44-3.18%, respectively) and GRASE-IVIM (CV, 2.56-3.12% and 3.21-3.51%, respectively) were superior to those of EPI-IVIM (CV, 10.03-10.2% and 11.30-11.57%). The repeatability of D∗ and f values for all sequences was poor. Bland-Altman analysis showed wide limits of agreement between the ADC and IVIM-derived parameters for all sequences.

CONCLUSION

GRASE-IVIM reduced the DR, improved the stability of the ADC and D values on repeated scans, and had the shortest scanning time.

A novel maize F-bZIP member, ZmbZIP76, functions as a positive regulator in ABA-mediated abiotic stress tolerance by binding to ACGT-containing elements

The group F-bZIP transcription factors (TFs) in Arabidopsis are involved in nutrient deficiency or salt stress responses. Nevertheless, our learning about the functions of group F-bZIP genes in maize remains limited. Here, we cloned a new F-bZIP gene (ZmbZIP76) from maize inbred line He344. The expression of ZmbZIP76 in maize was dramatically induced by high salt, osmotic stress and abscisic acid. Accordingly, overexpression of ZmbZIP76 increased tolerance of transgenic plants to salt and osmotic stress. In addition, ZmbZIP76 functions as a nuclear transcription factor and upregulates the expression of a range of abiotic stress-responsive genes by binding to the ACGT-containing elements, leading to enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging capability, increased abscisic acid level, proline content, and ratio of K+/Na+, reduced water loss rate, and membrane damage. These physiological changes caused by ZmbZIP76 ultimately enhanced tolerance of transgenic plants to salt and osmotic stress.

Single-nucleus RNA and multiomics in situ pairwise sequencing reveals cellular heterogeneity of the abnormal ligamentum teres in patients with developmental dysplasia of the hip

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is the most common hip deformity in pediatric orthopedics. One of the common pathological changes in DDH is the thickening and hypertrophy of the ligamentum teres. However, the underlying pathogenic mechanism responsible for these changes remains unclear. This study represents the first time that the heterogeneity of cell subsets in the abnormal ligamentum teres of patients with DDH has been resolved at the single-cell and spatial levels by snRNA-Seq and MiP-Seq. Through gene set enrichment and intercellular communication network analyses, we found that receptor-like cells and ligament stem cells may play an essential role in the pathological changes resulting in ligamentum teres thickening and hypertrophy. Eight ligand-receptor pairs related to the ECM-receptor pathway were observed to be closely associated with DDH. Further, using the Monocle R package, we predicted a differentiation trajectory of pericytes into two branches, leading to junctional ligament stem cells or fibroblasts. The expression of extracellular matrix-related genes along pseudotemporal trajectories was also investigated. Using MiP-Seq, we determined the expression distribution of marker genes specific to different cell types within the ligamentum teres, as well as differentially expressed DDH-associated genes at the spatial level.

Study of High-Transverse-Momentum Higgs Boson Production in Association with a Vector Boson in the qqbb Final State with the ATLAS Detector

This Letter presents the first study of Higgs boson production in association with a vector boson (V=W or Z) in the fully hadronic qqbb final state using data recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s]=13  TeV and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 137  fb^{-1}. The vector bosons and Higgs bosons are each reconstructed as large-radius jets and tagged using jet substructure techniques. Dedicated tagging algorithms exploiting b-tagging properties are used to identify jets consistent with Higgs bosons decaying into bb[over ¯]. Dominant backgrounds from multijet production are determined directly from the data, and a likelihood fit to the jet mass distribution of Higgs boson candidates is used to extract the number of signal events. The VH production cross section is measured inclusively and differentially in several ranges of Higgs boson transverse momentum: 250-450, 450-650, and greater than 650 GeV. The inclusive signal yield relative to the standard model expectation is observed to be μ=1.4_{-0.9}^{+1.0} and the corresponding cross section is 3.1±1.3(stat)_{-1.4}^{+1.8}(syst)  pb.

The Neglected Role of Asphaltene in the Synthesis of Mesophase Pitch

This study investigates the synthesis of mesophase pitch using low-cost fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) slurry and waste fluid asphaltene (WFA) as raw materials through the co-carbonization method. The resulting mesophase pitch product and its formation mechanism were thoroughly analyzed. Various characterization techniques, including polarizing microscopy, softening point measurement, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), were employed to characterize and analyze the properties and structure of the mesophase pitch. The experimental results demonstrate that the optimal optical texture of the mesophase product is achieved under specific reaction conditions, including a temperature of 420 °C, pressure of 1 MPa, reaction time of 6 h, and the addition of 2% asphaltene. It was observed that a small amount of asphaltene contributes to the formation of mesophase pitch spheres, facilitating the development of the mesophase. However, excessive content of asphaltene may cover the surface of the mesophase spheres, impeding the contact between them and consequently compromising the optical texture of the mesophase pitch product. Furthermore, the inclusion of asphaltene promotes polymerization reactions in the system, leading to an increase in the average molecular weight of the mesophase pitch. Notably, when the amount of asphaltene added is 2%, the mesophase pitch demonstrates the lowest ID/IG value, indicating superior molecular orientation and larger graphite-like microcrystals. Additionally, researchers found that at this asphaltene concentration, the mesophase pitch exhibits the highest degree of order, as evidenced by the maximum diffraction angle (2θ) and stacking height (Lc) values, and the minimum d002 value. Moreover, the addition of asphaltene enhances the yield and aromaticity of the mesophase pitch and significantly improves the thermal stability of the resulting product.

Anycost Network Quantization for Image Super-Resolution

In this paper, we propose an anycost network quantization method for efficient image super-resolution with variable resource budgets. Conventional quantization approaches acquire discrete network parameters for deployment with fixed complexity constraints, while image super-resolution networks are usually applied on mobile devices with frequently modified resource budgets due to the change of battery levels or computing chips. Hence, exhaustively optimizing quantized networks with each complexity constraint results in unacceptable training costs. On the contrary, we construct a hyper-network whose parameters can efficiently adapt to different resource budgets with negligible finetuning cost, so that the image super-resolution networks can be feasibly deployed in diversified devices with variable resource budgets. Specifically, we dynamically search the optimal bitwidth for each patch in convolution according to feature maps and complexity constraints, which aims to achieve the best efficiency-accuracy trade-off in image super-resolution given the resource budget. To acquire the hyper-network that can be efficiently adapted to different bitwidth settings, we actively sample the patch-wise bitwidth during training and adaptively ensemble gradients from hyper-network in different precision for faster convergence and higher generalization ability. Compared with existing quantization methods, experimental results demonstrate that our method significantly reduces the cost of adapting models in new resource budgets with comparable efficiency-accuracy trade-offs.

Convolutional neural network for identifying common bile duct stones based on magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography

AIMS

To develop an auto-categorization system based on machine learning for three-dimensional magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (3D MRCP) to detect choledocholithiasis from healthy and symptomatic individuals.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

3D MRCP sequences from 254 cases with common bile duct (CBD) stones and 251 cases with normal CBD were enrolled to train the 3D Convolutional Neural Network (3D-CNN) model. Then 184 patients from three different hospitals (91 with positive CBD stone and 93 with normal CBD) were prospectively included to test the performance of 3D-CNN.

RESULTS

With a cutoff value of 0.2754, 3D-CNN achieved the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 94.51%, 92.47%, and 93.48%, respectively. In the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the area under the curve (AUC) for the presence or absence of CBD stones was 0.974 (95% CI, 0.940-0.992). There was no significant difference in sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy between 3D-CNN and radiologists. In addition, the performance of 3D-CNN was also evaluated in the internal test set and the external test set, respectively. The internal test set yielded an accuracy of 94.74% and AUC of 0.974 (95% CI, 0.919-0.996), and the external test set yielded an accuracy of 92.13% and AUC of 0.970 (95% CI, 0.911-0.995).

CONCLUSIONS

An artificial intelligence-assisted diagnostic system for CBD stones was constructed using 3D-CNN model for 3D MRCP images. The performance of 3D-CNN model was comparable to that of radiologists in diagnosing CBD stones. 3D-CNN model maintained high performance when applied to data from other hospitals.

[Feasibility and safety study of distal radial artery approach in emergency PCI of elderly STEMI patients]

Objective: To investigate the feasibility and safety of distal radial artery approach in emergency percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI) of elderly ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction(STEMI) patients. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study. Elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction who received emergency PCI at the Third Central Hospital of Tianjin from January 2020 to December 2022 were selected. They were divided into the distal radial artery group and the classic radial artery group based on the puncture location. The success rate, puncture time, surgical success rate, and surgical time of the two groups were observed; The incidence of complications in patients, including radial artery occlusion rate, radial artery spasm rate, local hematoma rate, aneurysm incidence rate were recorded. Results: There were 70 cases in the distal radial artery group, including 33 males (47.1%), aged (65.6±6.7) years old; There were 70 cases in the classic radial artery group, including 35 males (50.0%), aged (66.4±6.9) years old. There was no statistically significant difference in puncture success rate, puncture time, surgical success rate, and surgical time between the distal radial artery group and the classical radial artery group (P>0.05). The incidence of radial artery occlusion in the distal radial artery group was significantly lower than that in the classical radial artery group (1.4% vs. 8.6%, P=0.024). The postoperative compression time in the distal radial artery group was significantly shorter than that in the classical radial artery group ((291.6±10.5) min vs. (343.5±9.8) min, P=0.047). There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of radial artery spasm, local hematoma, and aneurysm between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusions: The distal radial artery approach has a lower radial artery occlusion rate, shorter compression time, and better safety. It can be used as a new approach for emergency PCI in elderly patients with STEMI for clinical application.

Efficient Production of 9,22-Dihydroxy-23,24-bisnorchol-4-ene-3-one from Phytosterols by Modifying Multiple Genes in Mycobacterium fortuitum

C19 steroids and C22 steroids are vital intermediates for the synthesis of steroid drugs. Compared with C19 steroids, C22 steroids are more suitable for synthesizing progesterone and adrenocortical hormones, albeit less developed. 9,22-dihydroxy-23,24-bisnorchol-4-ene-3-one(9-OHBA), due to its substituents at positions C-9 and C-22, is a beneficial and innovative steroid derivative for synthesizing corticosteroids. We focused on the C22 pathway in Mycobacterium fortuitum ATCC 35855, aiming to develop a productive strain that produces 9-OHBA. We used a mutant strain, MFΔkstD, that knocked out kstds from Mycobacterium fortuitum ATCC 35855 named MFKD in this study as the original strain. Hsd4A and FadA5 are key enzymes in controlling the C19 metabolic pathway of steroids in Mycobacterium fortuitum ATCC 35855. After knocking out hsd4A, MFKDΔhsd4A accumulated 81.47% 9-OHBA compared with 4.13% 9-OHBA in the strain MFKD. The double mutant MFKDΔhsd4AΔfadA5 further improved the selectivity of 9-OHBA to 95.13%, and 9α-hydroxy-4-androstenedione (9-OHAD) decreased to 0.90% from 4.19%. In the end, we obtained 6.81 g/L 9-OHBA from 10 g/L phytosterols with a molar yield of 80.33%, which showed the best performance compared with formerly reported strains.

Observation of WWγ Production and Search for Hγ Production in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV

The observation of WWγ production in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with an integrated luminosity of 138  fb^{-1} is presented. The observed (expected) significance is 5.6 (5.1) standard deviations. Events are selected by requiring exactly two leptons (one electron and one muon) of opposite charge, moderate missing transverse momentum, and a photon. The measured fiducial cross section for WWγ is 5.9±0.8(stat)±0.8(syst)±0.7(modeling)  fb, in agreement with the next-to-leading order quantum chromodynamics prediction. The analysis is extended with a search for the associated production of the Higgs boson and a photon, which is generated by a coupling of the Higgs boson to light quarks. The result is used to constrain the Higgs boson couplings to light quarks.

[Analysis of transfusion effect of different platelet matching schemes in patients with platelet transfusion refractoriness]

Objective: To analyze the transfusion effect of different platelet matching schemes in patients with platelet transfusion refractoriness (PTR). Methods: A total of 94 patients with PTR received by Taiyuan Blood Center from January to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed, including 26 males and 68 females, aged 53(34,66) years. Platelet antibody screening was performed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). For patients with positive human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class Ⅰ antibodies, Luminex platform liquid chip assay was used to identify the specificity of antibodies, and platelets with missing allelic expression antigen corresponding to their specific antibodies were found in the platelet donor gene database established in our laboratory. For patients with negative class HLA-Ⅰ antibody screening, medium and high-resolution HLA-A and B alleles were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction restriction sequence specific oligonucleotide (PCR-SSO), and the compatible platelets were searched from the platelet donor gene database by HLA cross-reactive group genotype matching scheme or directly selected by serological cross-matching. The PCI compliance rate and total transfusion effective rate of different mismatch site groups and different matching scheme groups were statistically analyzed. Results: Platelet antibody was detected in 39 of 94 PTR patients with a positive rate of 41.5%, and all of them were HLA-Ⅰ antibodies, and 1 case was accompanied by human platelet antigen (HPA) antibody. A total of 134 times of compatible platelets were supplied to 39 patients with HLA-Ⅰ antibody positive by using antibody avoidance matching method. And the total effective rate of transfusion was 97.8% (131/134); The PCI compliance rates of HLA-A antigen mismatch, HLA-B antigen mismatch and HLA-A and B antigen mismatch groups were 81.6% (31/38), 86.5% (32/37) and 78.6% (22/28), respectively. The total effective rate of transfusion was 97.4% (37/38), 94.6% (35/37) and 100% (28/28), respectively, with no statistical significance (all P>0.05). A total of 118 times of compatible platelets were provided by HLA antigen cross-reaction group genotype matching and serological cross-matching, 90 transfusion effects were collected during follow-up, and the total effective rate was 76.7% (69/90). Conclusion: The combination of different platelet matching schemes can improve the PCI compliance rate and the total effective rate of transfusion in PTR patients.

Cohesin mediated loop extrusion from active enhancers form chromatin jets in C. elegans

In mammals, cohesin and CTCF organize the 3D genome into topologically associated domains (TADs) to regulate communication between cis-regulatory elements. However, many organisms, including S. cerevisiae , C. elegans , and A. thaliana lack CTCF. Here, we use C. elegans as a model to investigate the function of cohesin in 3D genome organization in an animal without CTCF. We use auxin-inducible degradation to acutely deplete SMC-3 or its negative regulator WAPL-1 from somatic cells. Using Hi-C data, we identify a cohesin-dependent 3D genome organization feature called chromatin jets (aka fountains). These are population average reflections of DNA loops that are ∼20-40 kb in scale and often cover a few transcribed genes. The jets emerge from NIPBL occupied segments, and the trajectory of the jets coincides with cohesin binding. Cohesin translocation from jet origins depends on a fully intact complex and is extended upon WAPL-1 depletion. Hi-C results support the idea that cohesin is preferentially loaded at NIPBL occupied sites and loop extrudes in an effectively two-sided manner. The location of putative loading sites coincide with active enhancers and the strength of chromatin jet pattern correlates with transcription. Hi-C analyses upon WAPL-1 depletion reveal unequal loop extrusion processivity on each side and stalling due to cohesin molecules colliding. Compared to mammalian systems, average processivity of C. elegans cohesin is ∼10-fold shorter and NIPBL binding does not depend on cohesin. We conclude that the processivity of cohesin scales with genome size; and regardless of CTCF presence, preferential loading of cohesin at enhancers is a conserved mechanism of genome organization that regulates the interaction of gene regulatory elements in 3D.

Degradation of Angelica sinensis polysaccharide: Structures and protective activities against ethanol-induced acute liver injury

Angelica sinensis polysaccharide (ASP) possesses diverse bioactivities; however, its metabolic fate following oral administration remains poorly understood. To intuitively determine its intestinal digestion behavior after oral administration, ASP was labeled with fluorescein, and it was found to accumulate and be degraded in the cecum and colon. Therefore, we investigated the in vitro enzymatic degradation behavior and identified the products. The results showed that ASP could be degraded into fragments with molecular weights similar to those of the fragments observed in vivo. Structural characterization revealed that ASP is a highly branched acid heteropolysaccharide with AG type II domains, and its backbone is predominantly composed of 1,3-Galp, →3,6)-Galp-(1→6)-Galp-(1→, 1,4-Manp, 1,4-Rhap, 1,3-Glcp, 1,2,3,4-Galp, 1,3,4,6-Galp, 1,3,4-GalAp and 1,4-GlcAp, with branches of Araf, Glcp and Galp. In addition, the high molecular weight enzymatic degradation products (ASP H) maintained a backbone structure almost identical to that of ASP, but exhibited only partial branch changes. Then, the results of ethanol-induced acute liver injury experiments revealed that ASP and ASP H reduced the expression of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and malondialdehyde (MDA) and increased the superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT) levels, thereby relieving ethanol-induced acute liver injury.

New Structures in the J/ψJ/ψ Mass Spectrum in Proton-Proton Collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV

A search is reported for near-threshold structures in the J/ψJ/ψ invariant mass spectrum produced in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s]=13  TeV from data collected by the CMS experiment, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 135  fb^{-1}. Three structures are found, and a model with quantum interference among these structures provides a good description of the data. A new structure is observed with a local significance above 5 standard deviations at a mass of 6638_{-38}^{+43}(stat)_{-31}^{+16}(syst)  MeV. Another structure with even higher significance is found at a mass of 6847_{-28}^{+44}(stat)_{-20}^{+48}(syst)  MeV, which is consistent with the X(6900) resonance reported by the LHCb experiment and confirmed by the ATLAS experiment. Evidence for another new structure, with a local significance of 4.7 standard deviations, is found at a mass of 7134_{-25}^{+48}(stat)_{-15}^{+41}(syst)  MeV. Results are also reported for a model without interference, which does not fit the data as well and shows mass shifts up to 150 MeV relative to the model with interference.

Clinical and cardiac MRI characteristics: prognosis in patients with alcoholic cardiomyopathy

AIMS

Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is recognized as a type of non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). To date, the clinical prognosis of ACM remains a topic of debate in previous studies and there are limited studies on its cardiac MRI characteristics. The aim of this study was to summarize the clinical and MRI features of ACM patients and to identify the predictors of adverse prognosis based on clinical characteristics and MRI imaging findings.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Adult patients who were clinically diagnosed with ACM and underwent enhanced CMR between September 2015 and August 2022 were retrospectively enrolled. The primary endpoints were major adverse cardiovascular events, including cardiac-related death, heart transplantation, hospitalization for heart failure and life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias (sustained ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, or ICD shock). The risk factors associated with these primary end points were identified using multivariable Cox analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 62 ACM patients (50 ± 9 years, 62 men) were included. The majority of patients presented with symptoms of heart failure. Over a median follow-up period of 30.3 months (IQR 12.2-57.7 months), 24 patients reached the primary endpoints. For clinical variables, multivariable analysis showed that drinking duration (HR=1.05; 95%CI:1.01, 1.11; p=0.03) and persistent drinking (HR=3.71; 95%CI:1.46, 9.44; p=0.01) were associated with MACE. For CMR variables, late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) percent (HR = 1.09; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.14; p<0.001) stood out as an independent predictor for MACE.

CONCLUSIONS

In ACM patients, persistent drinking and cardiac MRI-defined myocardial scar were associated with adverse outcomes such as cardiac death, heart transplantation, hospitalization for heart failure or life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias.

Conductance Evolution of Photoisomeric Single-Molecule Junctions under Ultraviolet Irradiation and Mechanical Stretching

A comprehensive understanding of carrier transport in photoisomeric molecular junctions is crucial for the rational design and delicate fabrication of single-molecule functional devices. It has been widely recognized that the conductance of azobenzene (a class of photoisomeric molecules) based molecular junctions is mainly determined by photoinduced conformational changes. In this study, it is demonstrated that the most probable conductance of amine-anchored azobenzene-based molecular junctions increases continuously upon UV irradiation. In contrast, the conductance of pyridyl-anchored molecular junctions with an identical azobenzene core exhibits a contrasting trend, highlighting the pivotal role that anchoring groups play, potentially overriding (even reversing) the effects of photoinduced conformational changes. It is further demonstrated that the molecule with cis-conformation cannot be fully mechanically stretched into the trans-conformation, clarifying that it is a great challenge to realize a reversible molecular switch by purely mechanical operation. Additionally, it is revealed that the coupling strength of pyridyl-anchored molecules is dramatically weakened when the UV irradiation time is prolonged, whereas it is not observed for amine-anchored molecules. The mechanisms for these observations are elucidated with the assistance of density functional theory calculations and UV-Vis spectra combined with flicker noise measurements which confirm the photoinduced conformational changes, providing insight into understanding the charge transport in photoisomeric molecular junctions and offering a routine for logical designing synchro opto-mechanical molecular switches.

Exponential Amplification-Induced Activation of CRISPR/Cas9 for Sensitive Detection of Exosomal miRNA

As an important component of highly heterogeneous exosomes, exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) have great potential as noninvasive biomarkers for cancer diagnosis. Therefore, a sensitive and simple sensor is the key for its clinical application. Herein, we designed an exponential amplification reaction (EXPAR) to induce the reactivation of the CRISPR-associated protein 9/small guide RNA (Cas9/sgRNA) complex, thus achieving sensitive and visual exosomal miRNAs-21 (miR-21) fluorescence sensing. In this design, we inactivated the sgRNA by hybridizing sgRNA and blocker DNA. Then, we used a trigger DNA to hybridize with miR-21 and produced a lot of activated DNA by EXPAR. Those activated DNA further hybridized with blocker DNA and released the free sgRNA to form the activated Cas9/sgRNA complex. Based on the quick cleavage of activated Cas9/sgRNA complex, the reporter DNA labeled by SYBR Green I was released from the surface of the magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) into the supernatant, and thus was used to sensitively quantify the miRNAs concentration with a limit of detection of 3 × 103 particles/mL. In addition, this fluorescence sensor has also been successfully employed to distinguish healthy people and cancer patients by naked-eye observation of the fluorescence, thus demonstrating its great potential for accurate and point-of-care cancer diagnosis.

Smad4 Loss in the Mouse Intestinal Epithelium Alleviates the Pathological Fibrotic Response to Injury in the Colon

Mucosal healing is associated with better clinical outcomes in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). Unresolved injury and inflammation, on the other hand, increases pathological fibrosis and the predisposition to cancer. Loss of Smad4, a tumor suppressor, is known to increase colitis-associated cancer in mouse models of chronic IBD. Since common biological processes are involved in both injury repair and tumor growth, we sought to investigate the effect of Smad4 loss on the response to epithelial injury. To this end, Smad4 was knocked out specifically in the intestinal epithelium and transcriptomic and morphological changes compared between wild type mice and Smad4 knock out mice after DSS-induced injury. We find that Smad4 loss alleviates pathological fibrosis and enhances mucosal repair. The transcriptomic changes specific to epithelium indicate molecular changes that affect epithelial extracellular matrix (ECM) and promote enhanced mucosal repair. These findings suggest that the biological processes that promote wound healing alleviate the pathological fibrotic response to DSS. Therefore, these mucosal repair processes could be exploited to develop therapies that promote normal wound healing and prevent fibrosis.

NEW AND NOTEWORTHY

We show that transcriptomic changes due to Smad4 loss in the colonic epithelium alleviates the pathological fibrotic response to DSS in an IBD mouse model of acute inflammation. Most notably, we find that collagen deposition in the epithelial ECM, as opposed to that in the lamina propria, correlates with epithelial changes that enhance wound healing. This is the first report on a mouse model providing alleviated fibrotic response in a DSS-IBD mouse model in vivo .

Risk of papillary thyroid carcinoma and nodular goiter associated with exposure to semi-volatile organic compounds: A multi-pollutant assessment based on machine learning algorithms

BACKGROUND

Exposure to semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) may link to thyroid nodule risk, but studies of mixed-SVOCs exposure effects are lacking. Traditional analytical methods are inadequate for dealing with mixed exposures, while machine learning (ML) seems to be a good way to fill the gaps in the field of environmental epidemiology research.

OBJECTIVES

Different ML algorithms were used to explore the relationship between mixed-SVOCs exposure and thyroid nodule.

METHODS

A 1:1:1 age- and gender-matched case-control study was conducted in which 96 serum SVOCs were measured in 50 papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), 50 nodular goiters (NG), and 50 controls. Different ML techniques such as Random Forest, AdaBoost were selected based on their predictive power, and variables were selected based on their weights in the models. Weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) were used to assess the mixed effects of the SVOCs exposure on thyroid nodule.

RESULTS

Forty-three of 96 SVOCs with detection rate >80 % were included in the analysis. ML algorithms showed a consistent selection of SVOCs associated with thyroid nodule. Fluazifop-butyl and fenpropathrin are positively associated with PTC and NG in single compound models (all P < 0.05). WQS model shows that exposure to mixed-SVOCs was associated with an increased risk of PTC and NG, with the mixture dominated by fenpropathrin, followed by fluazifop-butyl and propham. In the BKMR model, mixtures showed a significant positive association with thyroid nodule risk at high exposure levels, and fluazifop-butyl showed positive effects associated with PTC and NG.

CONCLUSION

This study confirms the feasibility of ML methods for variable selection in high-dimensional complex data and showed that mixed exposure to SVOCs was associated with increased risk of PTC and NG. The observed association was primarily driven by fluazifop-butyl and fenpropathrin. The findings warranted further investigation.

[A prospective study of association between physical activity and ischemic stroke in adults]

Objective: To explore the prospective associations between physical activity and incident ischemic stroke in adults. Methods: Data of China Kadoorie Biobank study in Tongxiang of Zhejiang were used. After excluding participants with cancers, strokes, heart diseases and diabetes at baseline study, a total of 53 916 participants aged 30-79 years were included in the final analysis. The participants were divided into 5 groups according to the quintiles of their physical activity level. Cox proportional hazard regression models was used to calculate the hazard ratios (HR) for the analysis on the association between baseline physical activity level and risk for ischemic stroke. Results: The total physical activity level in the participants was (30.63±15.25) metabolic equivalent (MET)-h/d, and it was higher in men [(31.04±15.48) MET-h/d] than that in women [(30.33±15.07) MET-h/d] (P<0.001). In 595 526 person-years of the follow-up (average 11.4 years), a total of 1 138 men and 1 082 women were newly diagnosed with ischemic stroke. Compared to participants with the lowest physical activity level (<16.17 MET-h/d), after adjusting for socio-demographic factors, lifestyle, BMI, waist circumference, and SBP, the HRs for the risk for ischemic stroke in those with moderate low physical activity level (16.17-24.94 MET-h/d), moderate physical activity level (24.95-35.63 MET-h/d), moderate high physical activity level (35.64-43.86 MET-h/d) and the highest physical activity level (≥43.87 MET-h/d) were 0.93 (95%CI: 0.83-1.04), 0.87 (95%CI: 0.76-0.98), 0.82 (95%CI: 0.71-0.95) and 0.76 (95%CI: 0.64-0.89), respectively. Conclusion: Improving physical activity level has an effect on reducing the risk for ischemic stroke.

[Analysis of the differences in the characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells derived from jaw and long bones based on single-cell RNA-sequencing]

Objective: To study the whole bone marrow cellular composition of jaw and long bones, and further analyze the heterogeneity of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from these two tissue, aiming at exploring the differences in functional characteristics of bone MSCs from different lineage sources. Methods: The Seurat package of R language was used to analyze the mandibular and femur whole bone marrow single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) datasets in the literature, and the subpopulations were annotated by reference to the marker genes reported by previous studies. The differentially expressed genes between mandible-derived MSCs (M-MSCs) and femur-derived MSCs (F-MSCs) were calculated, and cell-cell communication analysis between M-MSCs or F-MSCs with other cell populations was performed. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were performed on up-regulated and down-regulated differentially expressed genes of M-MSCs, and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was performed on M-MSCs or F-MSCs. Results: cRNA-seq analysis showed that the mandible and femur had the same bone marrow cell composition, but there were differences in the proportion of specific cell populations. Also, there were significantly differentially expressed genes between M-MSCs and F-MSCs. In addition, cell-cell communication analysis revealed differences in numbers of ligand-receptor pairs between M-MSCs or F-MSCs with other cell populations. Furthermore, GO, KEGG and GSEA analysis showed that M-MSCs had higher extracellular matrix production potential than F-MSCs, but had lower ability to regulate other cells in the bone marrow, especially immune cells. Conclusions: M-MSCs and F-MSCs showed distinct differences in the gene expression pattern and up-regulated signaling pathways, which may be closely related to the developmental sources and functional characteristics of jaw and long bones.

[Effect of preemptive analgesia with ibuprofen on postoperative pain after mandibular third molar extraction: a randomized controlled trial]

Objective: To evaluate the impact of preemptive analgesia with ibuprofen on postoperative pain following the extraction of impacted mandibular third molars in a Chinese population, aiming to provide a clinical reference for its application. Methods: This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel-group trial was conducted from April 2022 to October 2023 at the Capital Medical University School of Stomatology (40 cases), Beijing TianTan Hospital, Capital Medical University (22 cases), and Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University (20 cases). It included 82 patients with impacted mandibular third molars, with 41 in the ibuprofen group and 41 in the control group. Participants in the ibuprofen group received 300 mg of sustained-release ibuprofen capsules orally 15 min before surgery, while the control group received a placebo. Both groups were instructed to take sustained-release ibuprofen capsules as planned for 3 days post-surgery. Pain intensity was measured using the numerical rating scale at 30 min, 4 h, 6 h, 8 h, 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h after surgery, and the use of additional analgesic medication was recorded during days 4 to 6 postoperatively. Results: All 82 patients completed the study according to the protocol. No adverse events such as nausea, vomiting, or allergies were reported in either group during the trial. The ibuprofen group exhibited significantly lower pain scores at 4 h [2.0 (1.0, 4.0) vs. 4.0 (3.0, 5.0)] (Z=-3.73, P<0.001), 6 h [2.0 (1.0, 4.0) vs. 5.0(2.5, 6.0)] (Z=-3.38, P<0.001), and 8 h [2.0 (1.0, 4.0) vs. 5.0 (2.0, 6.0)] (Z=-2.11, P=0.035) postoperatively compared to the control group. There were no statistically significant differences in pain scores between the groups at 30 min, 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h postoperatively (P>0.05). Additionally, 11 out of 41 patients (26.8%) in the ibuprofen group and 23 out of 41 patients (56.1%) in the control group required extra analgesic medication between days 4 and 6 post-surgery, with the ibuprofen group taking significantly fewer additional pills [0.0 (0.0, 1.0) vs. 1.0 (0.0, 3.0)] (Z=-2.81, P=0.005). Conclusions: A pain management regimen involving 300 mg of oral sustained-release ibuprofen capsules administered 15 minutes before surgery and continued for 3 d postoperatively effectively reduces pain levels and the total amount of analgesic medication used after the extraction of impacted mandibular third molars. Considering its efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness, ibuprofen is recommended as a first-line drug for perioperative pain management, enhancing patient comfort during diagnosis and treatment in a feasible manner.

Orbital Magneto-Nonlinear Anomalous Hall Effect in Kagome Magnet Fe_{3}Sn_{2}

It has been theoretically predicted that perturbation of the Berry curvature by electromagnetic fields gives rise to intrinsic nonlinear anomalous Hall effects that are independent of scattering. Two types of nonlinear anomalous Hall effects are expected. The electric nonlinear Hall effect has recently begun to receive attention, while very few studies are concerned with the magneto-nonlinear Hall effect. Here, we combine experiment and first-principles calculations to show that the kagome ferromagnet Fe_{3}Sn_{2} displays such a magneto-nonlinear Hall effect. By systematic field angular and temperature-dependent transport measurements, we unambiguously identify a large anomalous Hall current that is linear in both applied in-plane electric and magnetic fields, utilizing a unique in-plane configuration. We clarify its dominant orbital origin and connect it to the magneto-nonlinear Hall effect. The effect is governed by the intrinsic quantum geometric properties of Bloch electrons. Our results demonstrate the significance of the quantum geometry of electron wave functions from the orbital degree of freedom and open up a new direction in Hall transport effects.