Enzymatic Preparation, In-Depth Molecular Analysis, and In Vitro Digestion Simulation of Palmitoleic Acid (ω-7)-Enriched Fish Oil Triacylglycerols

In this study, an enzymatic reaction was developed for synthesizing pure triacylglycerols (TAG) with a high content of palmitoleic acid (POA) using fish byproduct oil. The characteristics of synthesized structural TAGs rich in POA (POA-TAG) were analyzed in detail through ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography Q Exactive orbitrap mass spectrometry. Optimal conditions were thoroughly investigated and determined for reaction systems, including the use of Lipozyme TL IM and Novozym 435, 15 wt % lipase loading, substrate mass ratio of 1:3, and water content of 2.5 and 0.5 wt %, respectively, resulting in yields of 67.50 and 67.45% for POA-TAG, respectively. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that TAG 16:1/16:1/20:4, TAG 16:1/16:1/16:1, TAG 16:1/16:1/18:1, and TAG 16:0/16:1/18:1 were the main variables in Lipozyme TL IM and Novozym 435 enzyme-catalyzed products under different water content conditions. Finally, the fate of POA-TAG across the gastrointestinal tract was simulated using an in vitro digestion model. The results showed that the maximum release of free fatty acids and apparent rate constants were 71.44% and 0.0347 s-1, respectively, for POA-TAG lipids, and the physical and structural characteristics during digestion depended on their microenvironments. These findings provide a theoretical basis for studying the rational design of POA-structural lipids and exploring the nutritional and functional benefits of POA products.

On-site monitoring of nandrolone in cattle farming samples by portable atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry with ambient sampling

Nandrolone (NT) is a type of androgen anabolic steroid that is often illegally used in cattle farming, leading to unpredictable harm to human health via the food chain. In this study, a rapid detection method for NT in the samples of cattle farming was established using a portable mass spectrometer. The instrument parameters were optimized, including a thermal desorption temperature of 220 °C, a pump speed of 30 %, an APCI ionization voltage of 3900 v, and an injection volume of 6 μL. The samples of bovine urine, feed, sewage, and tissue were selected, and extracted using a solution of methanol:acetonitrile (1:1, v/v), followed by spiking a NT standard solution (1000 ng·mL-1) and ionization through the APCI ion source for detection. The results showed that NT could not be detected in beef and feed due to the complexity of the matrix, while clear signals of NT ions were observed in bovine urine and sewage samples, with LODs of 1000 and 100 ng·mL-1, respectively. Furthermore, quantitative analysis was attempted, and a good linear relationship (R2 = 0.9952) was observed for NT in sewage within the range of 100 to 1000 ng·mL-1. At spiked levels of 100, 500, 1000 and 2000 ng mL-1, the recovery rates ranged from 74.3 % to 92.8 %, with a relative standard deviation (n = 6) of less than 15 %. In conclusion, this detection method offers the advantages of simplicity, rapidity, strong timeliness, and specificity, making it suitable for on-site detection. It can be used for qualitative screening of nandrolone in bovine urine and quantitative analysis of nandrolone in sewage.

Response mechanism of soil leachate and disinfection by-product formation to extreme precipitation events under continuous drought scenario

In this study, a rainfall simulation device was employed to investigate the response mechanism of soil leachate and disinfection by-products formation potential (DBPsFP) to extreme precipitation events. The results revealed that the aromaticity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and the concentration of hydrophobic DOM containing aromatic carbon groups in leachate decreased with rising temperature. The humification degree of DOM decreased at 25 °C (99 mm/h), while the humification degree and protein-like level of DOM increased under high temperatures droughts (45 °C and 65 °C). Higher temperatures resulted in the leach of more microbial-derived humus and low molecular phenolic compounds from soil and broadened the range of molecular weight distribution. Increasing temperature increased DBPsFP and DBPs species and caused the precursors of haloacetic acids (HAAs) in leachate to become more hydrophobic, while the precursors of trihalomethanes (THMs) became more hydrophilic. Most importantly, the increased temperature attenuated the rainfall-mediated dilution of organic pollutant concentration, and temperature has a more significant effect than extreme rainfall in DOM abundance and the formation potential (or species) of DBPs. The results help to better understand the impact of climate change on the physicochemical processes of water quality.

Onset of double subduction controls plate motion reorganisation

Face-to-face double subduction systems, in which two oceanic plates subduct toward each other, are essential elements of plate tectonics. Two subduction zones in such systems are typically uneven in age and their spatially and temporally variable dynamics remain enigmatic. Here, with 2D numerical modelling, we demonstrate that the onset of the younger subduction zone strongly changes the dynamics of the older subduction zone. The waxing younger subduction may gradually absorb plate convergence from the older one, resulting in older subduction waning featured by the dramatic decrease in subduction rate and trench retreat. The dynamical transformation of subduction predominance alters the intraplate stress and mantle flow, regulating the relative motion among the three different plates. The process of waxing and waning of subduction zones controls plate motion reorganisation, providing a reference to interpret the past, present, and future evolution of several key double subduction regions found on the modern Earth.

Biocontrol ability of Bacillus velezensis T9 against Apiospora arundinis causing Apiospora mold on sugarcane

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) may be infected with Apiospora, which can produce the toxin 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NPA) during improper transportation and storage. The consumption of sugarcane that contains 3-NPA can lead to food poisoning. Therefore, this study sought to explore a novel biocontrol agent to prevent and control Apiospora mold. Bacteria were isolated from the soil of healthy sugarcane and identified as Bacillus velezensis T9 through colony morphological, physiological and biochemical characterization and molecular identification. The inhibitory effect of B. velezensis T9 on Apiospora mold on sugarcane was analyzed. Assays of the cell suspension of strain T9 and its cell-free supernatant showed that T9 had significant in vitro antifungal activities against Apiospora arundinis and thus, would be a likely antagonist. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed that treatment with T9 significantly distorted the A. arundinis mycelia, perforated the membrane, contracted the vesicles, and decomposed most organelles into irregular fragments. A re-isolation experiment demonstrates the ability of T9 to colonize the sugarcane stems and survive in them. This strain can produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are remarkably strong inhibitors, and it can also form biofilms. Additionally, the cell-free supernatant significantly reduced the ability of A. arundinis to produce 3-NPA and completely inhibited its production at 10%. Therefore, strain T9 is effective at controlling A. arundinis and has the potential for further development as a fungal prevention agent for agricultural products.

Efficient and stable acidic CO2 electrolysis to formic acid by a reservoir structure design

Electrochemical synthesis of valuable chemicals and feedstocks through carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction in acidic electrolytes can surmount the considerable CO2 loss in alkaline and neutral conditions. However, achieving high productivity, while operating steadily in acidic electrolytes, remains a big challenge owing to the severe competing hydrogen evolution reaction. Here, we show that vertically grown bismuth nanosheets on a gas-diffusion layer can create numerous cavities as electrolyte reservoirs, which confine in situ-generated hydroxide and potassium ions and limit inward proton diffusion, producing locally alkaline environments. Based on this design, we achieve formic acid Faradaic efficiency of 96.3% and partial current density of 471 mA cm-2 at pH 2. When operated in a slim continuous-flow electrolyzer, the system exhibits a full-cell formic acid energy efficiency of 40% and a single pass carbon efficiency of 79% and performs steadily over 50 h. We further demonstrate the production of pure formic acid aqueous solution with a concentration of 4.2 weight %.

Revealing spatial multimodal heterogeneity in tissues with SpaTrio

Capturing and depicting the multimodal tissue information of tissues at the spatial scale remains a significant challenge owing to technical limitations in single-cell multi-omics and spatial transcriptomics sequencing. Here, we developed a computational method called SpaTrio that can build spatial multi-omics data by integrating these two datasets through probabilistic alignment and enabling further analysis of gene regulation and cellular interactions. We benchmarked SpaTrio using simulation datasets and demonstrated its accuracy and robustness. Next, we evaluated SpaTrio on biological datasets and showed that it could detect topological patterns of cells and modalities. SpaTrio has also been applied to multiple sets of actual data to uncover spatially multimodal heterogeneity, understand the spatiotemporal regulation of gene expression, and resolve multimodal communication among cells. Our data demonstrated that SpaTrio could accurately map single cells and reconstruct the spatial distribution of various biomolecules, providing valuable multimodal insights into spatial biology.

[Research progress in pharmacological effectsand mechanism of Fel Ursi against cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases]

Fel Ursi is a dried product obtained from the gallbladder of Ursidae animals, such as Selenarctos thibetanus or Ursus arctos, through gallbladder surgery for bile drainage. It is one of the rare animal medicinal materials in China and is known for its therapeutic effects, including clearing heat, removing toxins, extinguishing wind, relieving spasms, clearing the liver, and improving vision. Research has also found that Fel Ursi has pharmacological effects against cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and antioxidant stress properties. Recently, numerous studies have confirmed the close relationship between cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and the gut microbiota as well as gut metabolites. Fel Ursi contains bile acid components that may have bidirectional regulatory effects on the gut microbiota and gut metabolites. This aspect could represent a potential therapeutic pathway for Fel Ursi in the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. This article comprehensively summarized relevant literature in China and abroad, reviewed the research progress on the pharmacological effects of Fel Ursi against cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and explored the impact of Fel Ursi on gut microbiota and gut metabolites, thereby aiming to provide references for further in-depth research and clinical application of Fel Ursi.

Inhibitory effect of tannic acid on the growth of Apiospora arundinis and 3-Nitropropionic acid production

AIMS

This study aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of tannic acid (TA) on the growth of Apiospora arundinis and 3-Nitropropionic acid (3-NPA) production.

METHODS AND RESULTS

To investigate the antifungal mechanism, the effects of TA on the hypha growth, electrical conductivity, hypha morphology, defense-related enzymes, and 3-NPA production of A. arundinis were studied. TA concentrations of 640 and 1280 μg ml-1 exhibited strong antifungal activity against A. arundinis. The results of scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed that the hypha of the A. arundinis was severely deformed after TA treatment, and the cell membrane was blurred and thin, vacuoles were obviously shrunken and smaller, and most of the organelles were decomposed into irregular fragments. The increased electrical conductivity and malondialdehyde content indicated that TA caused peroxidation of unsaturated fatty acids and damaged the structure of the cell membrane. The decrease of intracellular ATPase and succinate dehydrogenase content indicated that TA damaged the function of mitochondria, and participated in the inhibition of respiratory metabolism. In addition, TA significantly reduced 3-NPA production and completely inhibited 3-NPA production at 640 and 1280 μg ml-1.

CONCLUSION

TA effectively inhibited both growth of A. arundinis in vitro and 3-NPA production.

Suitable ultrasound screening method for older adults with disability to identify low muscle mass

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the accuracy and consistency of different ultrasound protocols for the measurement of gastrocnemius muscle (GM) thickness and to identify a suitable ultrasound scheme that can be used to detect the low muscle mass in older with disability.

Materials and methods

In this cross-sectional study, each participant underwent three different ultrasound protocols for the measurement of the GM thickness, and each measurement was repeated three times. The three measurement schemes were as follows: method A, lying on the examination bed in a prone position with legs stretched and relaxed and feet hanging outside the examination bed; method B, lateral right side lying position with legs separated (left leg flexed and right leg in a relaxed state); and method C, right side lying position with legs together and lower limb muscles in a relaxed state. The low muscle mass was determined by averaging two or three measurements of the GM thickness determined using different sonographic protocols.

Results

The study included 489 participants. The difference in the prevalence of low muscle mass identified between two and three replicates of the same measurement protocol ranged from 0 to 1.3%. Considering the three repeated measurements of the method A as the reference, the area under the curve (AUC) in different measurement schemes were 0.977-1 and 0.973-1 in males and females, respectively. Furthermore, male and female Kappa values from low to high were 0.773, 0.801, 0.829, 0.839, and 0.967 and 0.786, 0.794, 0.804, 0.819, and 0.984, respectively.

Conclusion

Different ultrasound measurement protocols showed high accuracy and consistency in identifying low muscle mass. Repeating the measurements two or three times was found to be feasible.

Ecological Risk Assessment and Source Identification of Heavy Metals in Soils from Shiyang River Watershed in Northwest China

Shiyang River Watershed is an important ecological barrier and agricultural production area in Northwest China, and the study of soil heavy metal content, distribution, and sources is important for agricultural product safety, pollution control, and ecosystem health. In this paper, 140 soil samples were collected from 28 stations to assess the level of heavy metal (Arsenic (As), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Mercury (Hg), Nickel (Ni), Zinc (Zn)) contamination, pollutant sources and influencing factors of soil in Shiyang River Watershed through determination of the metal contents and statistical analysis. The results indicated that the soils in the study area are typical saline soils in arid zones. The enrichment factors (EF) of As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, and Pb indicate no contamination, and the EFs of Cd and Hg suggested minor contamination. Although the concentrations of Cd and Hg in soil are lower than others, they are more biotoxic and exhibit a moderate-high ecological risk. The index of geoaccumulation (Igeo) values reflect that most of the stations, especially the three groups of samples from depths of 10-20 cm, 20-40 cm, and 40-80 cm, are below the contamination threshold for all heavy metals. The chemical speciation of heavy metals, principal component analysis, and correlation analysis showed that Cr, Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni, and Zn mainly come from the natural accumulation upon weathering of soil-forming matrices. Hg and As mainly come from anthropogenic contributions. The effect of agricultural crop cultivation on soil heavy metal contamination is mainly through farm irrigation and crop-soil interactions, which accelerate the release of heavy metals through the weathering of soil-forming parent material and irrigation, which transports the heavy metals below the surface. The results of this study can provide a scientific basis for the involved authorities to formulate reasonable policies on environmental protection and pollution control.

Transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) in neutrophils enhances myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury

The Ca2+-permeable TRPV4 cation channel is expressed in neutrophils and contributes to myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. Here we tested the hypotheses that TRPV4 promotes neutrophil activation and subsequently aggregates myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. TRPV4 protein was confirmed in neutrophils, and its function was assessed by the current and intracellular Ca2+ concentration elevations evoked by TRPV4 agonists. Furthermore, TRPV4 agonists dose-dependently promoted migration toward fMLP, reactive oxygen species production, and myeloperoxidase release, which were prevented by pretreatment with a selective TRPV4 antagonist, in neutrophils from TRPV4 knockout mice, Ca2+-free medium, or BAPTA-AM + Ca2+-free medium. Blockade of TRPV4 also inhibited the effects of commonly used neutrophil activators fMLP and PMA. Mechanically, TRPV4 regulated neutrophil activation, particularly reactive oxygen species production, by affecting PKCα, P38, and AKT via Ca2+ signaling. In addition, isolated hearts infused with neutrophils from wild-type mice showed additional myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injuries but not those infused with TRPV4 knockout. Our study reveals that TRPV4-mediated neutrophil activation enhances myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, and it might be a novel therapeutic target for myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury and other neutrophil-mediated inflammatory diseases.

Laser capture microdissection for biomedical research: towards high-throughput, multi-omics, and single-cell resolution

Spatial omics technologies have become powerful methods to provide valuable insights into cells and tissues within a complex context, significantly enhancing our understanding of the intricate and multifaceted biological system. With an increasing focus on spatial heterogeneity, there is a growing need for unbiased, spatially resolved omics technologies. Laser capture microdissection (LCM) is a cutting-edge method for acquiring spatial information that can quickly collect regions of interest (ROIs) from heterogeneous tissues, with resolutions ranging from single cells to cell populations. Thus, LCM has been widely used for studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms of diseases. This review focuses on the differences among four types of commonly used LCM technologies and their applications in omics and disease research. Key attributes of application cases are also highlighted, such as throughput and spatial resolution. In addition, we comprehensively discuss the existing challenges and the great potential of LCM in biomedical research, disease diagnosis, and targeted therapy from the perspective of high-throughput, multi-omics, and single-cell resolution.

High-Density IgG4+ Plasma Cells Infiltration Is Associated With Fibroplasia in Fibrostenotic Crohn's Disease

Transmural fibrosis and stricture formation are key pathogenic processes for Crohn's disease that underlies clinical refractoriness, resulting in severe morbidity. The mechanisms for fibroplasia in Crohn's are not fully elucidated. In this study, we identified a cohort of refractory Crohn's disease with surgically resected bowel specimens including cases with bowel stricture and age-/sex-matched refractory disease without bowel stricture. Via immunohistochemistry, density and distribution of IgG4+ plasma cells in resected cases were analyzed. The histologic severity of fibrosis and association with gross evidence of stricture formation and IgG4+ plasma cells were comprehensively analyzed. Our results showed that density of IgG4+ plasma cells/high-power field (IgG4+ PCs/HPF) was significantly associated with increasing histologic fibrosis score (15 IgG4+ PCs/HPF in specimens with fibrosis score 0 vs 31 IgG4+ PC/HPF in fibrosis score 2 and 3, P = .039). Patients with gross evidence of stricture had significantly higher fibrosis scores compared to those without gross evidence of stricture (P = .044). There was a trend that mean IgG4+ plasma cell count was higher in Crohn's disease with gross stricture formation (P = .26), although it did not reach statistical significance (likely due to multiple pathogenesis events involved in bowel stricture formation besides IgG4+ plasma cells; such as transmural fibrosis, muscular hypertrophy, transmural ulcer/scar formation, and muscular-neural dysfunction). Our findings indicate IgG4+ plasma cells are associated with increasing histologic fibrosis in Crohn's. Further research is needed to establish a role for IgG4+ plasma cells in fibroplasia with an eye toward potential medical therapies targeting IgG4+ plasma cells to prevent transmural fibrosis.

Efficient NH3-Tolerant Nickel-Based Hydrogen Oxidation Catalyst for Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

Converting hydrogen chemical energy into electrical energy by fuel cells offers high efficiencies and environmental advantages, but ultrapure hydrogen (over 99.97%) is required; otherwise, the electrode catalysts, typically platinum on carbon (Pt/C), will be poisoned by impurity gases such as ammonia (NH3). Here we demonstrate remarkable NH3 resistivity over a nickel-molybdenum alloy (MoNi4) modulated by chromium (Cr) dopants. The resultant Cr-MoNi4 exhibits high activity toward alkaline hydrogen oxidation and can undergo 10,000 cycles without apparent activity decay in the presence of 2 ppm of NH3. Furthermore, a fuel cell assembled with this catalyst retains 95% of the initial peak power density even when NH3 (10 ppm)/H2 was fed, whereas the power output reduces to 61% of the initial value for the Pt/C catalyst. Experimental and theoretical studies reveal that the Cr modifier not only creates electron-rich states that restrain lone-pair electron donation but also downshifts the d-band center to suppress d-electron back-donation, synergistically weakening NH3 adsorption.

Prevention strategies of postoperative adhesion in soft tissues by applying biomaterials: Based on the mechanisms of occurrence and development of adhesions

Postoperative adhesion (POA) widely occurs in soft tissues and usually leads to chronic pain, dysfunction of adjacent organs and some acute complications, seriously reducing patients' quality of life and even being life-threatening. Except for adhesiolysis, there are few effective methods to release existing adhesion. However, it requires a second operation and inpatient care and usually triggers recurrent adhesion in a great incidence. Hence, preventing POA formation has been regarded as the most effective clinical strategy. Biomaterials have attracted great attention in preventing POA because they can act as both barriers and drug carriers. Nevertheless, even though much reported research has been demonstrated their efficacy on POA inhibition to a certain extent, thoroughly preventing POA formation is still challenging. Meanwhile, most biomaterials for POA prevention were designed based on limited experiences, not a solid theoretical basis, showing blindness. Hence, we aimed to provide guidance for designing anti-adhesion materials applied in different soft tissues based on the mechanisms of POA occurrence and development. We first classified the postoperative adhesions into four categories according to the different components of diverse adhesion tissues, and named them as "membranous adhesion", "vascular adhesion", "adhesive adhesion" and "scarred adhesion", respectively. Then, the process of the occurrence and development of POA were analyzed, and the main influencing factors in different stages were clarified. Further, we proposed seven strategies for POA prevention by using biomaterials according to these influencing factors. Meanwhile, the relevant practices were summarized according to the corresponding strategies and the future perspectives were analyzed.

First Dark Matter Search Results from the LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) Experiment

The LUX-ZEPLIN experiment is a dark matter detector centered on a dual-phase xenon time projection chamber operating at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, South Dakota, USA. This Letter reports results from LUX-ZEPLIN's first search for weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) with an exposure of 60 live days using a fiducial mass of 5.5 t. A profile-likelihood ratio analysis shows the data to be consistent with a background-only hypothesis, setting new limits on spin-independent WIMP-nucleon, spin-dependent WIMP-neutron, and spin-dependent WIMP-proton cross sections for WIMP masses above 9  GeV/c^{2}. The most stringent limit is set for spin-independent scattering at 36  GeV/c^{2}, rejecting cross sections above 9.2×10^{-48}  cm at the 90% confidence level.

New Insights into Phospholipid Profile Alteration of Bigeye Tuna (Thunnus obesus) during Daily Cooking Processes Using Rapid Evaporative Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Bigeye tuna (BET, Thunnus obesus) is one of the most nutritious and luxurious cosmopolitan fish. The cooked BET products are capturing the interests of consumers by enhancing flavor and ensuring microbiological safety; however, the lipidomic fingerprints during daily cooking processes have not been investigated. In this work, lipid phenotypic data variation in BET during air-frying, roasting, and boiling was studied comprehensively using iKnife rapid evaporative ionization mass spectrometry (REIMS). The outstanding lipid ions mainly including fatty acids (FAs) and phospholipids (PLs) were identified structurally. It was demonstrated that the rates of heat transfer and lipid oxidation in air-fried BET were slower than those in roasted and boiled BET by elucidating the lipid oxidation and PL hydrolysis mechanism. Furthermore, multivariate REIMS data analysis (e.g., discriminant analysis, support vector machine, neutral network, and machine learning models) was used to characterize the lipid profile change in different cooked BET samples, among which FA_C22:6, PL_18:3/22:6, PL_18:1/22:6, and others were the salient contributing features for determining the cooked BET samples. These results may provide a potential strategy for a healthy diet by controlling and improving functional food quality in daily cooking.

Dissecting the brain with spatially resolved multi-omics

Recent studies have highlighted spatially resolved multi-omics technologies, including spatial genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, as powerful tools to decipher the spatial heterogeneity of the brain. Here, we focus on two major approaches in spatial transcriptomics (next-generation sequencing-based technologies and image-based technologies), and mass spectrometry imaging technologies used in spatial proteomics and spatial metabolomics. Furthermore, we discuss their applications in neuroscience, including building the brain atlas, uncovering gene expression patterns of neurons for special behaviors, deciphering the molecular basis of neuronal communication, and providing a more comprehensive explanation of the molecular mechanisms underlying central nervous system disorders. However, further efforts are still needed toward the integrative application of multi-omics technologies, including the real-time spatial multi-omics analysis in living cells, the detailed gene profile in a whole-brain view, and the combination of functional verification.

From Whispering Gallery Mode Resonators to Biochemical Sensors

Optical biosensors are frontrunners for the rapid and real-time detection of analytes, particularly for low concentrations. Among them, whispering gallery mode (WGM) resonators have recently attracted a growing focus due to their robust optomechanical features and high sensitivity, measuring down to single binding events in small volumes. In this review, we provide a broad overview of WGM sensors along with critical advice and additional "tips and tricks" to make them more accessible to both biochemical and optical communities. Their structures, fabrication methods, materials, and surface functionalization chemistries are discussed. We propose this reflection under a pedagogical approach to describe and explain these biochemical sensors with a particular focus on the most recent achievements in the field. In addition to highlighting the advantages of WGM sensors, we also discuss and suggest strategies to overcome their current limitations, leaving room for further development as practical tools in various applications. We aim to provide new insights and combine different knowledge and perspectives to advance the development of the next generation of WGM biosensors. With their unique advantages and compatibility with different sensing modalities, these biosensors have the potential to become major game changers for biomedical and environmental monitoring, among many other relevant target applications.

Predicting Drug Treatment Outcomes in Childrens with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex-Related Epilepsy: A Clinical Radiomics Study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Highly predictive markers of drug treatment outcomes of tuberous sclerosis complex-related epilepsy are a key unmet clinical need. The objective of this study was to identify meaningful clinical and radiomic predictors of outcomes of epilepsy drug treatment in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 105 children with tuberous sclerosis complex-related epilepsy were enrolled in this retrospective study. The pretreatment baseline predictors that were used to predict drug treatment outcomes included patient demographic and clinical information, gene data, electroencephalogram data, and radiomic features that were extracted from pretreatment MR imaging scans. The Spearman correlation coefficient and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator were calculated to select the most relevant features for the drug treatment outcome to build a comprehensive model with radiomic and clinical features for clinical application.

RESULTS

Four MR imaging-based radiomic features and 5 key clinical features were selected to predict the drug treatment outcome. Good discriminative performances were achieved in testing cohorts (area under the curve = 0.85, accuracy = 80.0%, sensitivity = 0.75, and specificity = 0.83) for the epilepsy drug treatment outcome. The model of radiomic and clinical features resulted in favorable calibration curves in all cohorts.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggested that the radiomic and clinical features model may predict the epilepsy drug treatment outcome. Age of onset, infantile spasms, antiseizure medication numbers, epileptiform discharge in left parieto-occipital area of electroencephalography, and gene mutation type are the key clinical factors to predict the epilepsy drug treatment outcome. The texture and first-order statistic features are the most valuable radiomic features for predicting drug treatment outcomes.

The micro and macro interactions in acute autoimmune encephalitis: a study of resting-state EEG

Objective

Early recognition of autoimmune encephalitis (AIE) is often difficult and time-consuming. Understanding how the micro-level (antibodies) and macro-level (EEG) couple with each other may help rapidly diagnose and appropriately treat AIE. However, limited studies focused on brain oscillations involving micro- and macro-interactions in AIE from a neuro-electrophysiological perspective. Here, we investigated brain network oscillations in AIE using Graph theoretical analysis of resting state EEG.

Methods

AIE Patients (n = 67) were enrolled from June 2018 to June 2022. Each participant underwent a ca.2-hour 19-channel EEG examination. Five 10-second resting state EEG epochs with eyes closed were extracted for each participant. The functional networks based on the channels and Graph theory analysis were carried out.

Results

Compared with the HC group, significantly decreased FC across whole brain regions at alpha and beta bands were found in AIE patients. In addition, the local efficiency and clustering coefficient of the delta band was higher in AIE patients than in the HC group (P < 0.05). AIE patients had a smaller world index (P < 0.05) and higher shortest path length (P < 0.001) in the alpha band than those of the control group. Also, the AIE patients' global efficiency, local efficiency, and clustering coefficients decreased in the alpha band (P < 0.001). Different types of antibodies (antibodies against ion channels, antibodies against synaptic excitatory receptors, antibodies against synaptic inhibitory receptors, and multiple antibodies positive) showed distinct graph parameters. Moreover, the graph parameters differed in the subgroups by intracranial pressure. Correlation analysis revealed that magnetic resonance imaging abnormalities were related to global efficiency, local efficiency, and clustering coefficients in the theta, alpha, and beta bands, but negatively related to the shortest path length.

Conclusion

These findings add to our understanding of how brain FC and graph parameters change and how the micro- (antibodies) scales interact with the macro- (scalp EEG) scale in acute AIE. The clinical traits and subtypes of AIE may be suggested by graph properties. Further longitudinal cohort studies are needed to explore the associations between these graph parameters and recovery status, and their possible applications in AIE rehabilitation.

Plate Load Tests of Soft Foundations Reinforced by Soilbags with Solid Wastes for Wind Farms

Soilbags are expandable three-dimensional geosynthetic bags made from high-density polyethylene or polypropylene. This study conducted a series of plate load tests to explore the bearing capacity of soft foundations reinforced by soilbags filled with solid wastes based on an onshore wind farm project in China. The effect of contained material on the bearing capacity of the soilbag-reinforced foundation was investigated during the field tests. The experimental studies indicated that soilbag reinforcement with reused solid wastes could substantially improve the bearing capacity of soft foundations under vertical loading conditions. Solid wastes like excavated soil or brick slag residues were found to be suitable as contained material, and the soilbags with plain soil mixed with brick slag had higher bearing capacity than those with pure plain soil. The earth pressure analysis indicated that stress diffusion occurred through the soilbag layers to reduce the load transferred to the underlying soft soil. The stress diffusion angle of soilbag reinforcement obtained from the tests was approximately 38°. In addition, combining soilbag reinforcement with bottom sludge permeable treatment was an effective foundation reinforcement method, which required fewer soilbag layers due to its relatively high permeability. Furthermore, soilbags are considered sustainable construction materials with advantages such as high construction efficiency, low cost, easy reclamation and environmental friendliness while making full use of local solid wastes.

Antimony isotope fractionation and the key controls in the soil profiles of an antimony smelting area

The controlling factors of antimony migration and transformation in soil profiles are still unclear. Antimony isotopes might be a useful tool to trace it. In this paper, antimony isotopic compositions of plant and smelter-derived samples, and two soil profiles were measured for the first time. The δ¹²³Sb values of the surface and bottom layers of the two soil profiles varied in 0.23‰-1.19‰ and 0.58‰-0.66‰, respectively, while δ¹²³Sb of the smelter-derived samples varied in 0.29‰-0.38‰. The results show that the antimony isotopic compositions in the soil profiles are affected by post-depositional biogeochemical processes. The enrichment and loss of light isotopes at 0-10 cm and 10-40 cm layers of the contrasted soil profile may be controlled by plant uptake process. The loss and enrichment of heavy isotopes in the 0-10 cm and 10-25 cm layers of the antimony from smelting source in the polluted soil profile may be controlled by the adsorption process, while the enrichment of light isotopes in the 25-80 cm layer may be related to the reductive dissolution process. The conclusion emphasizes that the promotion of the Sb isotope fractionation mechanism will play a crucial role in understanding the migration and transformation behaviors of Sb in soil systems.

Network pharmacology approaches for research of Traditional Chinese Medicines

Pharmacodynamics material basis and effective mechanisms are the two main issues to decipher the mechnisms of action of Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) for the treatment of diseases. TCMs, in "multi-component, multi-target, multi-pathway" paradigm, show satisfactory clinical results in complex diseases. New ideas and methods are urgently needed to explain the complex interactions between TCMs and diseases. Network pharmacology (NP) provides a novel paradigm to uncover and visualize the underlying interaction networks of TCMs against multifactorial diseases. The development and application of NP has promoted the safety, efficacy, and mechanism investigations of TCMs, which then reinforces the credibility and popularity of TCMs. The current organ-centricity of medicine and the "one disease-one target-one drug" dogma obstruct the understanding of complex diseases and the development of effective drugs. Therefore, more attentions should be paid to shift from "phenotype and symptom" to "endotype and cause" in understanding and redefining current diseases. In the past two decades, with the advent of advanced and intelligent technologies (such as metabolomics, proteomics, transcriptomics, single-cell omics, and artificial intelligence), NP has been improved and deeply implemented, and presented its great value and potential as the next drug-discovery paradigm. NP is developed to cure causal mechanisms instead of treating symptoms. This review briefly summarizes the recent research progress on NP application in TCMs for efficacy research, mechanism elucidation, target prediction, safety evaluation, drug repurposing, and drug design.

Reconstruction of the cell pseudo-space from single-cell RNA sequencing data with scSpace

Tissues are highly complicated with spatial heterogeneity in gene expression. However, the cutting-edge single-cell RNA-seq technology eliminates the spatial information of individual cells, which contributes to the characterization of cell identities. Herein, we propose single-cell spatial position associated co-embeddings (scSpace), an integrative method to identify spatially variable cell subpopulations by reconstructing cells onto a pseudo-space with spatial transcriptome references (Visium, STARmap, Slide-seq, etc.). We benchmark scSpace with both simulated and biological datasets, and demonstrate that scSpace can accurately and robustly identify spatially variated cell subpopulations. When employed to reconstruct the spatial architectures of complex tissue such as the brain cortex, the small intestinal villus, the liver lobule, the kidney, the embryonic heart, and others, scSpace shows promising performance on revealing the pairwise cellular spatial association within single-cell data. The application of scSpace in melanoma and COVID-19 exhibits a broad prospect in the discovery of spatial therapeutic markers.

EB-OCT: a potential strategy on early diagnosis and treatment for lung cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in China and the world, mainly attributed to delayed diagnosis, given that currently available early screening strategies exhibit limited value. Endobronchial optical coherence tomography (EB-OCT) has the characteristics of non-invasiveness, accuracy, and repeatability. Importantly, the combination of EB-OCT with existing technologies represents a potential approach for early screening and diagnosis. In this review, we introduce the structure and strengths of EB-OCT. Furthermore, we provide a comprehensive overview of the application of EB-OCT on early screening and diagnosis of lung cancer from in vivo experiments to clinical studies, including differential diagnosis of airway lesions, early screening for lung cancer, lung nodules, lymph node biopsy and localization and palliative treatment of lung cancer. Moreover, the bottlenecks and difficulties in developing and popularizing EB-OCT for diagnosis and treatment during clinical practice are analyzed. The characteristics of OCT images of normal and cancerous lung tissues were in good agreement with the results of pathology, which could be used to judge the nature of lung lesions in real time. In addition, EB-OCT can be used as an assistant to biopsy of pulmonary nodules and improve the success rate of biopsy. EB-OCT also plays an auxiliary role in the treatment of lung cancer. In conclusion, EB-OCT is non-invasive, safe and accurate in real-time. It is of great significance in the diagnosis of lung cancer and suitable for clinical application and is expected to become an important diagnostic method for lung cancer in the future.

Seamless Texture Optimization for RGB-D Reconstruction

Restoring high-fidelity textures for 3D reconstructed models are an increasing demand in AR/VR, cultural heritage protection, entertainment, and other relevant fields. Due to geometric errors and camera pose drifting, existing texture mapping algorithms are either plagued by blurring and ghosting or suffer from undesirable visual seams. In this paper, we propose a novel tri-directional similarity texture synthesis method to eliminate the texture inconsistency in RGB-D 3D reconstruction and generate visually realistic texture mapping results. In addition to RGB color information, we incorporate a novel color image texture detail layer serving as an additional context to improve the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method. First, we select an optimal texture image for each triangle face of the reconstructed model to avoid texture blurring and ghosting. During the selection procedure, the texture details are weighted to avoid generating texture chart partitions across high-frequency areas. Then, we optimize the camera pose of each texture image to align with the reconstructed 3D shape. Next, we propose a tri-directional similarity function to resynthesize the image context within the boundary stripe of texture charts, which can significantly diminish the occurrence of texture seams. Finally, we introduce a global color harmonization method to address the color inconsistency between texture images captured from different viewpoints. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art texture mapping methods and effectively overcomes texture tearing, blurring, and ghosting artifacts.

Integrated analysis of long non-coding RNAs and mRNA expression profiles identified potential interactions regulating melanogenesis in chicken skin

1. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in various physiological functions. However, the mechanisms underlying the regulation of lncRNAs in melanogenesis remain unclear. To determine the molecular mechanisms involved in skin melanogenesis, the present study depicted the expression profiles of lncRNAs and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in black- (B group) and white- (W group) skinned chickens using RNA sequencing.2. In total, 373 differentially expressed lncRNAs (DELs; 203 up-regulated and 170 down-regulated) and 253 differentially expressed genes (DEGs; 152 up-regulated and 101 down-regulated) were identified between the B and W groups. A total of eight known melanogenesis-related genes were identified (KIT, TYRP1, DCT (TYRP2), SLC45A2, OCA2, EDNRB2, TRPM1 and RAB38).3. Functional annotation of the co-expressed DEGs and DELs was performed using Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses. The co-expressed DEGs were mainly involved in melanogenesis and the co-expressed genes of 117 and 108 DELs were significantly enriched in the melanogenesis and tyrosine metabolism pathways, respectively.4. The DEL-DEG interaction network revealed that three lncRNAs (XR_003072387.1, XR_003075112.1, and XR_003077033.1) and DCT genes may have key roles in regulating melanogenesis in chicken skin. This data provides the groundwork for studying the lncRNA regulatory mechanisms of skin melanogenesis and suggested a new perspective on the modulation of melanogenesis in chicken skin based on a lncRNA-mRNA causal regulatory network.

Placental clearance not synthesis tempers exaggerated pro-inflammatory cytokine response in neonates exposed to chorioamnionitis

BACKGROUND

The source and clearance of cytokines in the fetal circulation in term pregnancies complicated by chorioamnionitis remains unclear as are the contributions of placental transport, synthesis, and clearance. The objectives of the study were to determine (1) fetal and/or placental contributions to synthesis and/or clearance of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in term pregnancies complicated by chorioamnionitis and (2) whether this differs in pregnancies further complicated by fetal hypoxia.

METHODS

Prospective cohort study of pregnancies >37 weeks gestational age that included: Group 1, uncomplicated cesarean delivery without labor (n = 20); Group 2, uncomplicated vaginal delivery (n = 30); Group 3, pregnancies complicated by chorioamnionitis (n = 10); Group 4, complicated by chorioamnionitis + fetal hypoxia (n = 10). Umbilical arterial (UmA) and venous (UmV) blood were assayed for IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, TNFα, and IL-10.

RESULTS

IL-6 and IL-8 were below assay detection in UmA and UmV blood in Group 1 and increased in Group 2 (P < 0.01), UmA»UmV (P < 0.01). Their concentrations increased further in Groups 3 and 4 (P = 0.003), UmA»UmV. Placental clearance was concentration dependent that approaches saturation in the presence of chorioamnionitis.

CONCLUSIONS

Marked increases in fetal synthesis of IL-6 and IL-8 occur in chorioamnionitis. Synthesis increase further when complicated by fetal hypoxia. Cytokine removal occurs via placental concentration-dependent mechanisms, potentially contributing to adverse fetal effects.

IMPACT

The source and role of the placenta in synthesis and/or clearance of inflammatory mediators in term pregnancies complicated by clinical chorioamnionitis are unclear; however, conventional wisdom suggests the placenta is their source. This is the first study demonstrating that circulating concentrations of fetal IL-6 and IL-8 in clinical chorioamnionitis ± birth asphyxia in term pregnancies are of fetal origin. Circulating fetal inflammatory cytokines are cleared by concentration-dependent placental mechanisms that are nearly saturated in chorioamnionitis ± fetal hypoxia. These observations provide additional insight into understanding the fetal immune response in term pregnancies complicated by clinical chorioamnionitis.

Roles of lipid metabolism and its regulatory mechanism in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: A review

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive lung disease of unknown etiology characterized by distorted distal lung architecture, inflammation, and fibrosis. Several lung cell types, including alveolar epithelial cells and fibroblasts, have been implicated in the development and progression of fibrosis. However, the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is still incompletely understood. The latest research has found that dysregulation of lipid metabolism plays an important role in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The changes in the synthesis and activity of fatty acids, cholesterol and other lipids seriously affect the regenerative function of alveolar epithelial cells and promote the transformation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts. Mitochondrial function is the key to regulating the metabolic needs of a variety of cells, including alveolar epithelial cells. Sirtuins located in mitochondria are essential to maintain mitochondrial function and cellular metabolic homeostasis. Sirtuins can maintain normal lipid metabolism by regulating respiratory enzyme activity, resisting oxidative stress, and protecting mitochondrial function. In this review, we aimed to discuss the difference between normal and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis lungs in terms of lipid metabolism. Additionally, we highlight recent breakthroughs on the effect of abnormal lipid metabolism on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, including the effects of sirtuins. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis has its high mortality and limited therapeutic options; therefore, we believe that this review will help to develop a new therapeutic direction from the aspect of lipid metabolism in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

High-throughput transcriptional profiling of perturbations by Panax ginseng saponins and Panax notoginseng saponins using TCM-seq

Panax ginseng (PG) and Panax notoginseng (PN) are highly valuable Chinese medicines (CM). Although both CMs have similar active constituents, their clinical applications are clearly different. Over the past decade, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis has been employed to investigate the molecular mechanisms of extracts or monomers. However, owing to the limited number of samples in standard RNA-seq, few studies have systematically compared the effects of PG and PN spanning multiple conditions at the transcriptomic level. Here, we developed an approach that simultaneously profiles transcriptome changes for multiplexed samples using RNA-seq (TCM-seq), a high-throughput, low-cost workflow to molecularly evaluate CM perturbations. A species-mixing experiment was conducted to illustrate the accuracy of sample multiplexing in TCM-seq. Transcriptomes from repeated samples were used to verify the robustness of TCM-seq. We then focused on the primary active components, Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) and Panax ginseng saponins (PGS) extracted from PN and PG, respectively. We also characterized the transcriptome changes of 10 cell lines, treated with four different doses of PNS and PGS, using TCM-seq to compare the differences in their perturbing effects on genes, functional pathways, gene modules, and molecular networks. The results of transcriptional data analysis showed that the transcriptional patterns of various cell lines were significantly distinct. PGS exhibited a stronger regulatory effect on genes involved in cardiovascular disease, whereas PNS resulted in a greater coagulation effect on vascular endothelial cells. This study proposes a paradigm to comprehensively explore the differences in mechanisms of action between CMs based on transcriptome readouts.

Massively Parallel CRISPR-Based Genetic Perturbation Screening at Single-Cell Resolution

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-based genetic screening has been demonstrated as a powerful approach for unbiased functional genomics research. Single-cell CRISPR screening (scCRISPR) techniques, which result from the combination of single-cell toolkits and CRISPR screening, allow dissecting regulatory networks in complex biological systems at unprecedented resolution. These methods allow cells to be perturbed en masse using a pooled CRISPR library, followed by high-content phenotyping. This is technically accomplished by annotating cells with sgRNA-specific barcodes or directly detectable sgRNAs. According to the integration of distinct single-cell technologies, these methods principally fall into four categories: scCRISPR with RNA-seq, scCRISPR with ATAC-seq, scCRISPR with proteome probing, and imaging-based scCRISPR. scCRISPR has deciphered genotype-phenotype relationships, genetic regulations, tumor biological issues, and neuropathological mechanisms. This review provides insight into the technical breakthrough of scCRISPR by systematically summarizing the advancements of various scCRISPR methodologies and analyzing their merits and limitations. In addition, an application-oriented approach guide is offered to meet researchers' individualized demands.

Consistency and Discrepancy between Visibility and PM2.5 Measurements: Potential Application of Visibility Observation to Air Quality Study

High-quality measurements of air quality are the highest priority for understanding widespread air pollution. Visibility has been widely suggested to be a good alternative to PM2.5 concentration as a measure. In this study, the similarities and differences between visibility and PM2.5 measurements in China are checked and the results reveal the potential application of visibility observation to the study of air quality. Based on the quality-controlled PM2.5 and visibility data from 2016 to 2018, the nonparametric Spearman correlation coefficient (ρ) values between stations for PM2.5 and visibility-derived surface extinction coefficient (bext) decrease as the station distance (R) increases. Some relatively low ρ values (<0.4) occur in regions characterized by the lowest (background) levels of PM2.5 and bext values, for example, the Tibetan and Yungui Plateau. The relatively lower ρ for bext compared to PM2.5 is probably caused by the predefined maximum threshold of visibility measurements (generally 30 km). A significant correlation between PM2.5 and bext is derived in most stations and relatively larger ρ values are evident in eastern China (Northeast China excluded) and in winter (the national median ρ is 0.67). The abrupt changes in specific mass extinction efficiency (αext) imply a potentially large influence of alternation of visibility sensors or recalibrations on visibility measurements. The bext data are thereafter corrected by comparison to the reference measurements at the adjacent stations, which leads to a three-year quality assured of visibility and bext datasets.

Successful ablation of morphology-changing premature ventricular contractions under the guidance of local voltage potentials: A case report

Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) stemming from the aortic sinus cusp often have preferential conduction to two exits in the outflow tract and exhibited two different morphologies of PVCs, which may render radiofrequency catheter ablation (RFCA) difficult. A 67-year-old male patient underwent RACF for premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) characterizing by bi-morphology (left and right bundle branch block) on electrocardiogram. Dynamic changes in QRS morphology during ablation and evident local voltage potentials during electro-anatomical mapping were critical for identifying the real foci of origin of PVCs. Successful ablation was achieved at the left-right coronary cusp commissure.

Prevalence and risk factors of chronic rhinosinusitis among Chinese: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) can be seen in people of all ages. CRS heavily affects the quality of a patient's daily life and also causes tremendous economic burdens on patients' families and society. The prevalence of CRS in different countries varies and no systematic review of the prevalence of CRS among Chinese has been published previously. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to determine the prevalence of CRS among Chinese and to explore the main risk factors of CRS among Chinese.

Methods

Using relevant keywords, data resources including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Embase, Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge of Infrastructure (CNKI), WANGFANG, VIP, and China Biomedical Literature database (CMB) were searched to obtain literature reporting the prevalence of and risk factors of CRS among Chinese which were clearly diagnosed with CRS from inception to 30 June 2022. The random/fixed effect model was used for meta-analysis, and the I² index was employed to assess heterogeneity among studies. All analyses were performed by using the STATA version 16.0 software. The study was registered with PROSPERO, register number. CRD42022341877.

Result

A total of 12 relevant kinds of literature were qualified for the present systematic review, including 4,033 patients. The results showed that the overall prevalence of CRS among Chinese was 10% (95%CI: 0.06-0.13, I² = 99.6%, P < 0.001). The prevalence of CRS among Chinese who lived in urban cities was 18% (95%CI: -0.07 to 0.43, I² = 99.9%, P < 0.001), which was obviously lower than the prevalence of CRS among Chinese who lived in rural areas (27%, 95%CI: -0.14 to 0.68, I² = 99.8%, P < 0.001). The prevalence of CRS among Chinese before 2010 was 23% (95%CI: -0.05 to 0.50, I² = 99.8%, P < 0.001), which was remarkably higher than the prevalence of CRS among Chinese after 2010 (7%, 95%CI: 0.05-0.09, I² = 99.0%, P < 0.001). The prevalence of CRS among Chinese who were divorced was 17% (95%CI: 0.12-0.22, I² = 0.0%, P = 0.436), while the prevalence of CRS among Chinese who were married, widowed, and unmarried was 9% (95%CI: 0.06-0.11, I² = 88.1%, P = 0.004), 9% (95%CI: 0.06-0.11, I² = 0.0%, P = 0.863), and 9% (95%CI: 0.08-0.10, I² = 0.0%, P = 0.658), respectively. The prevalence of CRS among Han and minority Chinese was 8% (95%CI: 0.07-0.10, I² = 69.6%, P = 0.070) and 12% (95%CI: 0.10-0.15, I² = 38.6%, P = 0.202), respectively. The prevalence of CRS among Chinese who was never exposed to moldy or damp environments was 8% (95%CI: 0.08-0.09, I² = 0.0%, P = 0.351), the prevalence of CRS among Chinese who was occasionally exposed to moldy or damp environments was 16% (95%CI: 0.10-0.22, I² = 78.9%, P = 0.030), and the prevalence of CRS among Chinese who was frequently or every day exposed to moldy or damp environments was up to 20% (95%CI: 0.15-0.24, I² = 0.0%, P = 0.558).

Conclusion

This meta-analysis shows that the prevalence of CRS among Chinese is at a high level. People who have some risk factors, such as occasional or frequent or everyday exposure to moldy or damp environments, have a higher prevalence of CRS. We should attach more importance to the risk factors of CRS in clinical practice and disseminate scientific information and carry out education to lower the prevalence of CRS in China.

Systematic review registration

https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=341877, identifier: CRD42022341877.

Prognostic Value of the Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Older Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke

BACKGROUND

The prognostic value of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), an inflammatory indicator, for 90-day outcomes has not been determined for patients with acute ischemic stroke aged ≥ 80 years. Therefore, this study examined the predictive significance of the NLR for estimating the 90-day outcomes of older patients with acute ischemic stroke.

METHODS

Data from patients aged ≥ 80 years were recorded within 7 days of ischemic stroke onset during the period from January 2019 to June 2021. A Kaplan-Meier curve was drawn based on the incidence of adverse outcomes to compare the survival probability of each group at different time periods. Cox multivariate regression was used to explore adverse events affecting patient prognosis.

RESULTS

A total of 560 patients were initially recruited; of these, 476 were eligible for inclusion. The log-rank test showed that the survival rates of the groups differed. The 90-day survival rate was significantly lower in the group with the highest NLR than in the group with the lowest NLR. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that after adjusting for risk factors, a high NLR and a high National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score were independent risk factors for 90-day mortality. According to the receiver operating characteristic analysis, the area under the curve for predicting mortality at 90 days was 0.74.

CONCLUSION

This study confirmed that a high NLR is an independent risk factor for acute ischemic stroke and has predictive value for 90-day prognosis in patients aged ≥ 80 years.

Clinical and histopathologic characterization of SETD2-mutated colorectal cancer

With the advent of next-generation sequencing (NGS), identifying and better understanding genetic mutations in cancer pathways has become more feasible. A mutation now commonly reported in NGS panels is the SETD2 gene (H3K36 trimethyltransferase). However, its contributions to colorectal cancer (CRC) are not well described. In this study, we describe the clinicopathologic characteristics of SETD2-mutated CRC, determine common mutation sites on the SETD2 gene, and correlate these mutations with the loss of H3K36 trimethylation and the aberrant expression of beta-catenin. By searching pathology reports at our institution which included the 161-gene NGS panel from 2019 to 2021, we identify 24 individuals with SETD2-mutated CRC. All samples were evaluated for microsatellite status, H3K36 trimethylation, and beta-catenin via immunohistochemistry. In this cohort of 24 SETD2-mutated CRC individuals (a median age of 62.4 years [interquartile range: 49.1-73.6]), 10 (41.7%) patients presented at American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) tumor stage II, seven (29.2%) at stage III, six (25%) at stage IV, and one (4.2%) at stage I. Most tumors studied were adenocarcinomas with no further specification (22, 92%), and most tumors were microsatellite stable (18, 82.5%). Thirty-three mutation locations were represented by 24 patients, with one patient having six mutations in the SETD2 gene and two patients having three mutations. The dominant mutation type is missense mutations (N = 29, 87.9%), and no mutation hotspots were found. Only two samples lost trimethylation of histone H3K36, both from individuals with multiple SETD2 mutations and aberrant nuclear beta-catenin expression. SETD2-mutated CRC is similar in clinical and histologic presentation to other commonly reported CRC. SETD2 mutations were missense dominantand showed no hotspots, and multiple mutations are likely necessary for loss of H3K36 trimethylation. These results warrant further study on determining a role of SETD2-histone H3K36 pathway in CRC.

Low- or high-dose preventive aspirin use and risk of death from all-cause, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: A nationally representative cohort study

Background and aim: For a long time, aspirin has been recommended for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, results of long-term effects of aspirin use on the risk of CVD and all-cause death as well as cause-specific mortality are not consistent. This study aims to investigate the relationship between low- or high-dose preventive aspirin use and the risk of death from all-cause, CVD, and cancer among US adults aged 40 years and older. Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted by utilizing four cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and linked 2019 mortality files. Cox proportional hazard models accounting for multiple covariates were used to calculate hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the associations between low- or high-dose aspirin use and risk of death. Results: A total of 10,854 individuals (5,364 men and 5,490 women) were enrolled in the study. During a median follow-up of 4.8 years, 924 death events including 294 CVD death and 223 cancer death were documented. We found no evidence that taking low-dose aspirin decreased the chance of dying from any cause (HR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.79-1.06), CVD (HR: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.79-1.33), or cancer (HR: 0.80, 95% CI: 0.60-1.08). High-dose aspirin users had a higher risk of CVD death compared to participants who had never used aspirin (HR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.11-2.41). Conclusion: Using low-dose aspirin has no effect on the risk of death from any causes, whereas taking high doses of aspirin increases the risk of CVD death.

[Application of robot-assisted laparoscopic sentinel lymph node tracing in treating endometrial carcinoma]

Objective: To investigate the value of robot-assisted laparoscopic indocyanine green sentinel lymph node (SLN) tracing in treating endometrial carcinoma. Methods: Thirty-two patients with early-staging endometrial carcinoma were operated with laparoscopic comprehensive staging laparotomy from January 2019 to December 2021. At the same time, the SLN detection was performed by near-infrared fluorescence imaging tracer technology, in which the tracer was indocyanine green. Sixteen cases were injected with indocyanine green before laparoscopic surgery, and 16 cases were injected with indocyanine green before robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery. The operation index, postoperative complications, prognosis, and lymph node dissection were compared between the two groups. Results: (1) The mean age of patients in the robot group was (54.7±8.1) years old, and was (54.9±8.8) years old in the laparoscopic group. There were no significant difference between the two groups (t=0.06, P=0.951). (2) Intraoperative blood loss [(131±40) vs (169±57) ml], hemoglobin difference before and after surgery [(11.2±5.4) vs (15.5±5.7) g/L], the length of stay after operation [(6.2±1.3) vs (8.6±1.4) days] between the robot group and the laparoscopic group were compared, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). (3) SLNs were detected in all 16 patients in the robotic group, and a total of 41 SLNs were detected. SLNs were detected in 15 of the 16 patients in the laparoscopy group, and a total of 40 SLNs were detected. Compared with the laparoscopic group (15/16), the total detection rate of SLN in the robotic group (16/16), there were no statistical significance (χ²=1.03, P=0.310). Compared with the laparoscopic group (7/15), the SLN bilateral detection rate in the robotic group (10/16), there were also no significant difference (χ²=0.78, P=0.376). The number of lymph nodes detected in surgery group (16.6±4.1) were lower than those in the laparoscopy surgery group (21.0±7.1), while there were no statistically difference between the two groups (χ²=2.01, P=0.054). There was no tumor metastasis in the resected lymph nodes and SLN between the two groups. The false negative rate of SLN in diagnosing endometrial cancer postoperative lymph node metastasis was 0, and the negative predictive value was 100%. (4) The pelvic and retroperitoneal lymph nodes were divided into five regions, which were the left pelvis, the right pelvis, the presacral region, the deep inguinal region, and the abdominal aorta. The numbers of SLN of unilateral detection and bilateral pelvic detection between two groups showed no significant differences (all P>0.05). The left pelvis had the most SLN imaging in both groups, followed by the right pelvis, para-aortic, and deep groin. (5) There was one patient in both robotic group and laparoscopic group with postoperative complications, which were urinary retention and pelvic lymph node cyst respectively. There were no significant differences in the incidence of complications between the two groups (χ²=0.97, P=1.000). The median follow-up time after operation was 14 months (range 6-24 months). During the follow-up period, no local recurrence or distant metastasis was found between the two groups of endometrial cancer patients. Conclusions: Compared with the laparoscopic group, the robot group has less intraoperative blood loss and shorter postoperative hospital stay. The bilateral detection rate of SLN in the group was better than that of laparoscopy.

The efficacy and safety of several interventions of corticosteroids for CRSwNP patients after endoscope sinus surgery: A protocol for systematic review and network meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Corticosteroid has been a mainstay of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) medical therapy. While endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) will be performed when patients had failed to respond to maximal medical therapy. Many studies shown that several corticosteroids of interventions (e.g., nasal spray, oral, atomization/nebulization, nasal irrigation, direct infiltration, and steroid-eluting stent, etc) have each demonstrated significant efficacy compared with placebo or no corticosteroids intervention except intranasal corticosteroids for the treatment of CRSwNP after ESS. The aim of this systematic review and network meta-analysis is to answer the following question: which 1 is the best corticosteroid of intervention for CRSwNP patients after ESS?

METHODS

A systematic review will be conducted to identify studies involving randomized controlled trials which compared several different interventions of corticosteroids (e.g., nasal spray, oral, atomization/nebulization, nasal irrigation, direct infiltration, steroid-eluting stent, etc) for CRSwNP patients after ESS. The primary outcomes are efficacy (e.g., effective rate or cure rate), visual analogic scale of symptom severity, Lund-Kennedy endoscopic score, adverse events, and so on. We will comprehensively search PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, ClinicalTrials.gov, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wangfang and VIP journal database from inception to July, 2022. For studies which meet our inclusion criteria, 2 reviewers will extract data independently and assess the quality of literature using a revision of version 2 of the Cochrane risk of bias tool (RoB 2.0). A random effects model will be used for all pairwise meta-analyses (with a 95% confidence interval). Network meta-analyses will be conducted to generate estimates of comparative effectiveness of each intervention class and rankings of their effectiveness.

RESULTS

The results of this study expect to provide a high-quality, evidence-based recommendation on which 1 is the best corticosteroid of intervention for CRSwNP patients after ESS?

DISCUSSION

This study will provide evidence regarding the comparability of several interventions of corticosteroids for CRSwNP patients after ESS. Also, the data generated from this review will provide health-care providers with a clear evidence synthesis of CRSwNP patients after ESS management strategies. These data will be incorporated into the development of a patient decision aid to assist patients and clinicians in making a preference-based decision when faced with a CRSwNP patients after ESS as well.

T-shaped silicon waveguide coupled with a micro-ring resonator-based Fano resonance modulator

Fano resonance has an asymmetric and sharp resonance peak near the resonance wavelength, enhancing optical modulation performance. Here, a Fano resonant silicon optical modulator with a micro-ring resonator (MRR) coupled with a T-shaped waveguide is designed. Compared with an MRR modulator, a Fano resonance-based modulator has a smaller wavelength range of changes in optical intensity (from 0 a.u. to 1 a.u.). Under the condition of achieving the same light intensity change, Fano resonance only needs to shift the wavelength by 0.07 times compared with MRR. By optimizing the doping section and the Fano resonance line shape, the modulation depth of the Fano modulator is 12.44 dB, and an insertion loss of 0.41 dB is obtained. Moreover, it improves the modulation linearity. This modulator provides a new idea, to the best of our knowledge, for the single-cavity Fano resonance modulator.

Antimony release and volatilization from rice paddy soils: Field and microcosm study

The fate of antimony (Sb) in submerged soils and the impact of common agricultural practices (e.g., manuring) on Sb release and volatilization is understudied. We investigated porewater Sb release and volatilization in the field and laboratory for three rice paddy soils. In the field study, the porewater Sb concentration (up to 107.1 μg L^-1) was associated with iron (Fe) at two sites, and with pH, Fe, manganese (Mn), and sulfate (SO₄^2-) at one site. The surface water Sb concentrations (up to 495.3 ± 113.7 μg L^-1) were up to 99 times higher than the regulatory values indicating a potential risk to aquaculture and rice agriculture. For the first time, volatile Sb was detected in rice paddy fields using a validated quantitative method (18.1 ± 5.2 to 217.9 ± 160.7 mg ha^-1 y^-1). We also investigated the influence of two common rice agriculture practices (flooding and manuring) on Sb release and volatilization in a 56-day microcosm experiment using the same soils from the field campaign. Flooding induced an immediate, but temporary, Sb release into the porewater that declined with SO₄^2-, indicating that SO₄^2- reduction may reduce porewater Sb concentrations. A secondary Sb release, corresponding to Fe reduction in the porewater, was observed in some of the microcosms. Our results suggest flooding-induced Sb release into rice paddy porewaters is temporary but relevant. Manuring the soils did not impact the porewater Sb concentration but did enhance Sb volatilization. Volatile Sb (159.6 ± 108.4 to 2237.5 ± 679.7 ng kg^-1 y^-1) was detected in most of the treatments and was correlated with the surface water Sb concentration. Our study indicates that Sb volatilization could be occurring at the soil-water interface or directly in the surface water and highlights that future works should investigate this potentially relevant mechanism.

Development and validation of a prognostic nomogram for predicting cancer-specific survival in patients with metastatic clear cell renal carcinoma: A study based on SEER database

Objectives

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is highly prevalent, prone to metastasis, and has a poor prognosis after metastasis. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a prognostic model to predict the individualized prognosis of patients with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (mccRCC).

Patients and Methods

Data of 1790 patients with mccRCC, registered from 2010 to 2015, were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. The included patients were randomly divided into a training set (n = 1253) and a validation set (n = 537) based on the ratio of 7:3. The univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to identify the important independent prognostic factors. A nomogram was then constructed to predict cancer specific survival (CSS). The performance of the nomogram was internally validated by using the concordance index (C-index), calibration plots, receiver operating characteristic curves, net reclassification improvement (NRI), integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), and decision curve analysis (DCA). We compared the nomogram with the TNM staging system. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was applied to validate the application of the risk stratification system.

Results

Diagnostic age, T-stage, N-stage, bone metastases, brain metastases, liver metastases, lung metastases, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgery, and histological grade were identified as independent predictors of CSS. The C-index of training and validation sets are 0.707 and 0.650 respectively. In the training set, the AUC of CSS predicted by nomogram in patients with mccRCC at 1-, 3- and 5-years were 0.770, 0.758, and 0.757, respectively. And that in the validation set were 0.717, 0.700, and 0.700 respectively. Calibration plots also showed great prediction accuracy. Compared with the TNM staging system, NRI and IDI results showed that the predictive ability of the nomogram was greatly improved, and DCA showed that patients obtained clinical benefits. The risk stratification system can significantly distinguish the patients with different survival risks.

Conclusion

In this study, we developed and validated a nomogram to predict the CSS rate in patients with mccRCC. It showed consistent reliability and clinical applicability. Nomogram may assist clinicians in evaluating the risk factors of patients and formulating an optimal individualized treatment strategy.

The Emerging Role of Astrocytic Autophagy in Central Nervous System Disorders

Astrocytes act as "housekeeping cells" for maintaining cerebral homeostasis and play an important role in many disorders. Recent studies further highlight the contribution of autophagy to astrocytic functions, including astrogenesis, the astrocytic removal of neurotoxins or stressors, and astrocytic polarization. More importantly, genetic and pharmacological approaches have provided evidence that outlines the contributions of astrocytic autophagy to several brain disorders, including neurodegeneration, cerebral ischemia, and depression. In this study, we summarize the emerging role of autophagy in regulating astrocytic functions and discuss the contributions of astrocytic autophagy to different CNS disorders.