Pituitary neuroendocrine tumor: A neuropsychological comparison with intra-axial tumor

OBJECTIVE

Despite pituitary neuroendocrine tumor (PitNET) being extra-axial tumors without direct damage to brain tissue, patients with PitNET exhibit neuropsychological impairments. However, it remains unclear whether there are neuropsychological differences between PitNET and intra-axial tumors that directly destroy the brain parenchyma. This prospective study aims to clarify this distinction to inform decision-making for intracranial tumors of diverse origins.

METHODS

A total of 146 patients with PitNET, 74 patients with glioma representing intra-axial tumors, and 52 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls were recruited. All patients received standard treatment and postoperative rehabilitation. Clinical data were meticulously collected, and neuropsychological tests were administered to all participants both before and 3 months after surgery.

RESULTS

Both PitNET and glioma patients experience the dual burden of cognitive and affective deficits. However, the feature of these deficits differs substantially. In PitNET patients, the deficits are relatively mild and focal, whereas in glioma patients, they are severe and extensive. Specifically, PitNET patients exhibit deficits in memory, anxiety, and negative affect. In contrast, glioma patients display deficits in executive function, attention, anxiety, positive/negative affect, and empathy. Notably, except for persistent memory deficits, the majority of neuropsychological scores declines in PitNET patients are restorable and can reach improvement within a short period after standard surgical therapy and perioperative management. Conversely, glioma patients not only fail to show improvements but also demonstrate worsening in terms of general cognition and memory postoperatively.

INTERPRETATION

As an extra-axial tumor, PitNET may exhibit distinctive cognitive and affective functioning compared to intra-axial tumors, highlighting the need for specific treatment approaches for PitNET patients.

ForMAX - a beamline for multiscale and multimodal structural characterization of hierarchical materials

The ForMAX beamline at the MAX IV Laboratory provides multiscale and multimodal structural characterization of hierarchical materials in the nanometre to millimetre range by combining small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering with full-field microtomography. The modular design of the beamline is optimized for easy switching between different experimental modalities. The beamline has a special focus on the development of novel fibrous materials from forest resources, but it is also well suited for studies within, for example, food science and biomedical research.

[Progress in epidemiological characteristics and surveillance and early warning of dengue fever in China]

Dengue fever is an acute mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by dengue virus and widely spread worldwide. Many factors, such as pathogens, vector organisms, climate, and social environment, affect its transmission and prevalence. The local dengue fever epidemic caused by imported cases in China shows a trend of increasing epidemic latitude and more widespread epidemic areas. However, the traditional monitoring and early warning models of dengue fever mainly focus on researching a single factor and a single area. Establishing a multi-factor forecast and early warning system is urgent to strengthen the early warning capability for the dengue fever epidemic. This paper mainly discusses the epidemic characteristics, the influencing factors, and the surveillance and early warning models of dengue fever in China to provide a reference for the effective prevention and control of dengue fever in China.

Bibliometric analysis of transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion in lumbar spine surgery

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study is to conduct a bibliometric analysis to examine the current condition, areas of interest, and rising trends of transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion in lumbar spine surgery (TLIF), as well as its importance in associated research domains.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

An extensive collection of academic papers on the use of TLIF was obtained from the Web of Science between January 1, 2000, and November 5, 2023. Then, using a variety of tools like HisCite, VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and the bibliometrix package, a bibliometric study was carried out. This study included the collection of information on country, institution, author, journal, and keywords.

RESULTS

A comprehensive analysis was undertaken on a total of 1,907 publications obtained from 181 journals, encompassing the contributions of 7,232 authors affiliated with 1,775 institutes spanning 57 countries/regions. Notably, the USA exhibited the highest number of publications, with 763 (40.03%) articles on TLIF. The most productive institution was Rush University, with 96 (5.03%) publications. The author with the highest publication output was Singh, Kern with 75 (3.93%) publications. World Neurosurgery demonstrated the highest level of productivity, having published a total of 211 (11.06%) articles. The most frequently used keywords were "TLIF", "spondylolisthesis" and "complication". Meanwhile, "workflow", "technical note" and "hidden blood loss" have been identified as the research frontiers for the forthcoming years.

CONCLUSIONS

This paper provides a thorough evaluation of current research trends and advancements in TLIF. It includes relevant research findings and emphasizes collaborative efforts among authors, institutions, and countries.

Neural response properties predict perceived contents and locations elicited by intracranial electrical stimulation of human auditory cortex

Intracranial electrical stimulation (iES) of auditory cortex can elicit sound experiences with a variety of perceived contents (hallucination or illusion) and locations (contralateral or bilateral side), independent of actual acoustic inputs. However, the neural mechanisms underlying this elicitation heterogeneity remain undiscovered. Here, we collected subjective reports following iES at 3062 intracranial sites in 28 patients (both sexes) and identified 113 auditory cortical sites with iES-elicited sound experiences. We then decomposed the sound-induced intracranial electroencephalogram (iEEG) signals recorded from all 113 sites into time-frequency features. We found that the iES-elicited perceived contents can be predicted by the early high-γ features extracted from sound-induced iEEG. In contrast, the perceived locations elicited by stimulating hallucination sites and illusion sites are determined by the late high-γ and long-lasting α features, respectively. Our study unveils the crucial neural signatures of iES-elicited sound experiences in human and presents a new strategy to hearing restoration for individuals suffering from deafness.

[Rudimentary horn pregnancy: clinical analysis of 12 cases and literature review]

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics, treatments and fertility recovery of rudimentary horn pregnancy (RHP). Methods: The clinical data of 12 cases with RHP diagnosed and treated in Peking University Third Hospital from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Clinical informations, diagnosis and treatments of RHP and the pregnancy status after surgery were analyzed. Results: The median age of 12 RHP patients was 29 years (range: 24-37 years). Eight cases of pregnancy in residual horn of uterus occurred in type Ⅰ residual horn of uterus, 4 cases occurred in type Ⅱ residual horn of uterus; among which 5 cases were misdiagnosed by ultrasound before surgery. All patients underwent excision of residual horn of uterus and affected salpingectomy. After surgery, 9 patients expected future pregnancy, and 3 cases of natural pregnancy, 2 cases of successful pregnancy through assisted reproductive technology. Four pregnancies resulted in live birth with cesarean section, and 1 case resulted in spontaneous abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy. No uterine rupture or ectopic pregnancy occurred in subsequent pregnancies. Conclusions: Ultrasonography could aid early diagnosis of RHP while misdiagnosis occurred in certain cases. Thus, a comprehensive judgment and decision ought to be made based on medical history, physical examination and assisted examination. Surgical exploration is necessary for diagnosis and treatment of RHP. For infertile patients, assisted reproductive technology should be applied when necessary. Caution to prevent the occurrence of pregnancy complications such as uterine rupture, and application of cesarean section to terminate pregnancy are recommended.

Analysis of Efficacy and Safety of Small-Volume-Plasma Artificial Liver Model in the Treatment of Acute-On-Chronic Liver Failure

To explore the efficacy and safety of a small-volume-plasma artificial liver support system (ALSS) in the treatment of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). A retrospective analysis was performed. All ACLF patients received ALSS of plasma exchange & double plasma molecular absorb system (PE+DPMAS) treatment, and successfully completed this treatment. Patients were divided into small-volume and half-volume plasma groups. We compared the changes of the indicators on liver function, kidney function, blood coagulation function, and blood ammonia level before and after PE+DPMAS treatment; we compared the short-term and long-term curative effects between small-volume and half-volume plasma groups; and the factors influencing Week 4 and Week 12 mortality of ACLF patients were analyzed. The Week 4 improvement rates were 63.96 % and 66.86 % in the small-volume and half-volume plasma groups, respectively. The Week 12 survival rates in the small-volume-plasma and half-volume plasma groups were 66.72 % and 64.61 %, respectively. We found several risk factors affecting Week 4 and Week 12 mortality. Kaplan-Meier survival curves suggested no significant difference in Week 4 and Week 12 survival rates between the small-volume and half-volume plasma groups (P=0.34). The small-volume-plasma PE+DPMAS treatment could effectively reduce bilirubin and bile acids, and this was an approach with high safety and few complications, similar to the half-volume-plasma PE+DPMAS treatment. The small-volume-plasma PE+DPMAS has the advantage of greatly reducing the need for intraoperative plasma, which is especially of importance in times of shortage of plasma.

Interchromosomal Colocalization with Parental Genes Is Linked to the Function and Evolution of Mammalian Retrocopies

Retrocopies are gene duplicates arising from reverse transcription of mature mRNA transcripts and their insertion back into the genome. While long being regarded as processed pseudogenes, more and more functional retrocopies have been discovered. How the stripped-down retrocopies recover expression capability and become functional paralogs continually intrigues evolutionary biologists. Here, we investigated the function and evolution of retrocopies in the context of 3D genome organization. By mapping retrocopy-parent pairs onto sequencing-based and imaging-based chromatin contact maps in human and mouse cell lines and onto Hi-C interaction maps in 5 other mammals, we found that retrocopies and their parental genes show a higher-than-expected interchromosomal colocalization frequency. The spatial interactions between retrocopies and parental genes occur frequently at loci in active subcompartments and near nuclear speckles. Accordingly, colocalized retrocopies are more actively transcribed and translated and are more evolutionarily conserved than noncolocalized ones. The active transcription of colocalized retrocopies may result from their permissive epigenetic environment and shared regulatory elements with parental genes. Population genetic analysis of retroposed gene copy number variants in human populations revealed that retrocopy insertions are not entirely random in regard to interchromosomal interactions and that colocalized retroposed gene copy number variants are more likely to reach high frequencies, suggesting that both insertion bias and natural selection contribute to the colocalization of retrocopy-parent pairs. Further dissection implies that reduced selection efficacy, rather than positive selection, contributes to the elevated allele frequency of colocalized retroposed gene copy number variants. Overall, our results hint a role of interchromosomal colocalization in the "resurrection" of initially neutral retrocopies.

Deep Learning for Automated Contouring of Primary Gross Tumor Volumes by MRI for Radiation Therapy of Brain Metastasis

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Radiotherapy is one of the most effective methods for the treatment of brain metastases (BMs). Traditional manual delineation of primary gross tumor volumes (GTV) of multiple BMs (especially small metastases) in radiotherapy practice is extremely labor intensive and highly dependent on oncologists' experience, achieving the precise and efficient automatic delineation of BMs is of great significance for efficient and homogeneous one-stop adaptive radiotherapy.

MATERIALS/METHODS

We retrospectively collected 62 MRI (non-enhanced T1-weighted sequences) sequences of 50 patients with BMs from January 2020 to July 2021. An automatic model (BUC-Net) for automatic delineation BMs was proposed in this work, which was based on deep learning by combining 3D bottler layer module and the cascade architecture to improve the accuracy and efficient of BMs' automatic delineation, especially for small metastases with tiny size and relatively low contrast. The prosed method was compared with the existing 3D U-Net (U-Net) and 3D U-Net Cascade (U-Net Cascade). The performance of our proposed method was evaluated by Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), 95% Hausdorff distance (HD95) and average surface distance (ASD) with human experts.

RESULTS

The automatic segmentation results of BUC-Net evaluated with 310 BMs in 13 test patients was summarized in Table 1. These BMs in each test patient were automatically delineated by two types of contours: as a whole tumor contour (Whole-delineation) and the multiple tumor contours (Multiple-delineation). BUC-Net performed the best mean DSC and HD95, which is significantly outperformed U-Net (Whole-delineation: 0.911 & 0.894 of DSC, Multiple-delineation: 0.794 & 0.754 of DSC, P < 0.05 for both) and U-Net cascade (Whole-delineation: 0.947 & 7.141 of HD95, Multiple-delineation: 0.902 & 1.171 of HD95, P < 0.05 for both); Additionally, BUC-Net achieved the best mean ASD for Whole-delineation and comparable ASD (0.290 & 0.277, P > 0) for Multiple-delineation with U-Net Cascade.

CONCLUSION

Our results showed that the proposed approach is promising for the automatic delineation of BMs in MRI, which can be integrated into a radiotherapy workflow to significantly shorten segmentation time.

Systematic analysis of prophages carried by Porphyromonas gingivalis

To systematically investigate the prophages carrying in Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) strains, analyze potential antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and virulence genes in these prophages. We collected 90 whole genome sequences of P. gingivalis from NCBI and utilized the Prophage Hunter online software to predict prophages; Comprehensive antibiotic research database (CARD) and virulence factors database (VFDB) were adopted to analyze the ARGs and virulence factors (VFs) carried by the prophages. Sixty-nine prophages were identified among 24/90 P. gingivalis strains, including 17 active prophages (18.9%) and 52 ambiguous prophages (57.8%). The proportion of prophages carried by each P. gingivalis genome ranged from 0.5% to 6.7%. A total of 188 antibiotic resistance genes belonging to 25 phenotypes and 46 different families with six mechanisms of antibiotic resistance were identified in the 17 active prophages. Three active prophages encoded 4 virulence genes belonging to type III and type VI secretion systems. The potential hosts of these virulence genes included Escherichia coli, Shigella sonnei, Salmonella typhi, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. In conclusion, 26.7% P. gingivalis strains carry prophages, while the proportion of prophage genes in the P. gingivalis genome is relatively low. In addition, approximately 39.7% of the P. gingivalis prophage genes have ARGs identified, mainly against streptogramin, peptides, and aminoglycosides. Only a few prophages carry virulence genes. Prophages may play an important role in the acquisition, dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes, and pathogenicity evolution in P. gingivalis.

[COL11A1 regulates PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β pathway and promotes human lung adenocarcinoma primary cell migration and invasion]

Objective: To investigate the role and mechanism of COL11A1 in lung adenocarcinoma migration and invasion. Methods: Surgical pathological tissues of 4 patients with lung adenocarcinoma admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University from September to November 2020 were used. Immunohistochemical methods were used to identify lung adenocarcinoma tissues, para-cancerous tissues and parallel transcriptome sequencing. Genetic prognostic analysis was conducted by TCGA and GTEx databases.The expression level of COL11A1 gene in lung adenocarcinoma and adjacent tissues was detected by Western blotting.The primary human lung adenocarcinoma cells cultured. The COL11A1 siRNA was transfected into primary human lung adenocarcinoma cells, then the transcriptome sequencing of differential genes was performed,and KEGG enrichment analysis of differential gene enrichment pathway was conducted. Protein expression and phosphorylation were detected by Western blot method. Cell migration was detected by scratch healing test. Cell proliferation was detected by CCK8 method and invasion ability was detected by Transwell method. Results: Ten differentially expressed genes were screened by transcription sequencing in lung adenocarcinoma. Prognostic analysis of single gene showed that COL11A1 gene expression level was correlated with survival rate (P<0.001). The expression of COL11A1 in lung adenocarcinoma was higher than that in adjacent tissues by Western blot (P<0.001). Transcriptome sequencing of COL11A1 siRNA transfection into primary human lung adenocarcinoma cells showed that differential genes were concentrated in PI3K-akt pathway. The expression of tumor suppressor gene PTEN in siRNA transfection group was significantly higher than that in control group and negative transfection group by Western blot. The expression of Aktp-Akt 473 p-Akt 308 p-PTENp-PDK1p-c-Rafp-GSK-3 β was down-regulated (all P<0.05).Compared with the negative control group, the ability of migration, proliferation and invasion of primary human lung adenocarcinoma cells in siRNA transfection group decreased (all P<0.05). COL11A1 regulates PI3K/Akt/GSK-3 β pathway to promote migration and invasion of primary human lung adenocarcinoma cells. Conclusion: COL11A1 regulates PI3K/Akt/GSK-3 β pathway to promote migration and invasion of primary human lung adenocarcinoma cells.

[Spatial clustering analysis of scarlet fever incidence in China from 2016 to 2020]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the incidence trend and spatial clustering characteristics of scarlet fever in China from 2016 to 2020 to provide evidence for development of regional disease prevention and control strategies.

METHODS

The incidence data of scarlet fever in 31 provinces and municipalities in mainland China from 2016 to 2020 were obtained from the Chinese Health Statistics Yearbook and the Public Health Science Data Center led by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.The three-dimensional spatial trend map of scarlet fever incidence in China was drawn using ArcGIS to determine the regional trend of scarlet fever incidence.GeoDa spatial autocorrelation analysis was used to explore the spatial aggregation of scarlet fever in China in recent years.

RESULTS

From 2016 to 2020, a total of 310 816 cases of scarlet fever were reported in 31 provinces, municipalities directly under the central government and autonomous regions, with an average annual incidence of 4.48/100 000.The reported incidence decreased from 4.32/100 000 in 2016 to 1.18/100 000 in 2020(Z=103.47, P < 0.001).The incidence of scarlet fever in China showed an obvious regional clustering from 2016 to 2019(Moran's I>0, P < 0.05), but was randomly distributed in 2020(Moran's I>0, P=0.16).The incidence of scarlet fever showed a U-shaped distribution in eastern and western regions of China, and increased gradually from the southern to northern regions.Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Hebei and Gansu provinces had the High-high (H-H) clusters of scarlet fever in China.

CONCLUSION

Scarlet fever still has a high incidence in China with an obvious spatial clustering.For the northern regions of China with H-H clusters of scarlet fever, the allocation of health resources and public health education dynamics should be strengthened, and local scarlet fever prevention and control policies should be made to contain the hotspots of scarlet fever.

[Spatial distribution of cognitive dysfunction and its risk factors in Chinese population aged 45 years and above]

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the spatial distribution of the prevalence of cognitive dysfunction and its risk factors in Chinese population aged 45 years and above to provide evidence for formulating regional prevention and control strategies.

METHODS

The study subjects with complete cognitive function data were selected from the follow-up data of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) Phase IV. ArcGis 10.4 software was used for spatial analysis of the prevalence of cognitive dysfunction in the population aged 45 years and above for each province based on the geographic information system (GIS) technology.

RESULTS

In 2018, the overall prevalence of cognitive dysfunction was 33.59% (5951/17716) in individuals aged 45 and above in China. Global spatial autocorrelation analysis indicated a spatial clustering and a positive autocorrelation (P < 0.001) of the prevalence of cognitive dysfunction in the study subjects, with a Moran's I value of 0.333085. The results of local spatial autocorrelation analysis showed that the southwestern region of China was the main aggregation area of patients with cognitive dysfunction. Geographically weighted regression analysis suggested that a male gender, an advanced age, and illiteracy were the major risk factors for cognitive dysfunction (P < 0.05). These 3 risk factors showed a spatial distribution heterogeneity with greater impact in the northern, western, and northwestern regions of China, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of cognitive dysfunction is relatively high in individuals aged 45 years and above in China. A male gender, an advanced age, and illiteracy are the major risk factors for cognitive dysfunction and show different spatial distribution patterns, with the northern, western and northwestern regions of China as the key areas for prevention and control, where the prevention and control measures should be designed based on local conditions.

Splicing complexity as a pivotal feature of alternative exons in mammalian species

BACKGROUND

As a significant process of post-transcriptional gene expression regulation in eukaryotic cells, alternative splicing (AS) of exons greatly contributes to the complexity of the transcriptome and indirectly enriches the protein repertoires. A large number of studies have focused on the splicing inclusion of alternative exons and have revealed the roles of AS in organ development and maturation. Notably, AS takes place through a change in the relative abundance of the transcript isoforms produced by a single gene, meaning that exons can have complex splicing patterns. However, the commonly used percent spliced-in (Ψ) values only define the usage rate of exons, but lose information about the complexity of exons' linkage pattern. To date, the extent and functional consequence of splicing complexity of alternative exons in development and evolution is poorly understood.

RESULTS

By comparing splicing complexity of exons in six tissues (brain, cerebellum, heart, liver, kidney, and testis) from six mammalian species (human, chimpanzee, gorilla, macaque, mouse, opossum) and an outgroup species (chicken), we revealed that exons with high splicing complexity are prevalent in mammals and are closely related to features of genes. Using traditional machine learning and deep learning methods, we found that the splicing complexity of exons can be moderately predicted with features derived from exons, among which length of flanking exons and splicing strength of downstream/upstream splice sites are top predictors. Comparative analysis among human, chimpanzee, gorilla, macaque, and mouse revealed that, alternative exons tend to evolve to an increased level of splicing complexity and higher tissue specificity in splicing complexity. During organ development, not only developmentally regulated exons, but also 10-15% of non-developmentally regulated exons show dynamic splicing complexity.

CONCLUSIONS

Our analysis revealed that splicing complexity is an important metric to characterize the splicing dynamics of alternative exons during the development and evolution of mammals.

Clinical Relevance of Plaque Distribution for Basilar Artery Stenosis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

There is no clear association between plaque distribution and postoperative complications in patients with basilar artery atherosclerotic stenosis. The aim of this study was to determine whether plaque distribution and postoperative complications after endovascular treatment for basilar artery stenosis are related.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Our study enrolled patients with severe basilar artery stenosis who were scanned with high-resolution MR imaging and followed by DSA before the intervention. According to high-resolution MR imaging, plaques can be classified as ventral, lateral, dorsal, or involved in 2 quadrants. Plaques affecting the proximal, distal, or junctional segments of the basilar artery were classified according to DSA. An experienced independent team assessed ischemic events after the intervention using MR imaging. Further analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between plaque distribution and postoperative complications.

RESULTS

A total of 140 eligible patients were included in the study, with a postoperative complication rate of 11.4%. These patients were an average age of 61.9 (SD, 7.7) years. Dorsal wall plaques accounted for 34.3% of all plaques, and plaques distal to the anterior-inferior cerebellar artery accounted for 60.7%. Postoperative complications of endovascular treatment were associated with plaques located at the lateral wall (OR = 4.00; 95% CI, 1.21-13.23; P = .023), junctional segment (OR = 8.75; 95% CI, 1.16-66.22; P = .036), and plaque burden (OR = 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.06; P = .042).

CONCLUSIONS

Plaques with a large burden located at the junctional segment and lateral wall of the basilar artery may increase the likelihood of postoperative complications following endovascular therapy. A larger sample size is needed for future studies.

Transcranial Doppler versus CT angiography: a comparative analysis for the diagnosis of ischaemic cerebrovascular disease

AIMS

To compare the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and clinical usefulness of transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound against computed tomography angiography (CTA) for the diagnosis of ischaemic cerebrovascular disease.

METHODS

A total of 1,183 sites (vascular segments) of 169 patients who had been diagnosed with cerebrovascular disease using digital subtraction angiography (DSA) were evaluated by CTA and TCD for the diagnosis of the arterial lesions.

RESULTS

Lesions were identified in 509 sites and 674 sites did not have lesions according to the DSA examination. Each individual site had higher sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for TCD than those for CTA, respectively. For all sites, TCD had higher true-positive (p=0.0029) and -negative (p=0.0151) values and fewer false-positive and -negative (p<0.0001 for both) values than those of CTA. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of CTA for all sites to detect lesions were 77%, 88%, and 84%, respectively. The same parameters for TCD were 94%, 97%, and 95%, respectively. The beneficial scores for CTA and TCD to detect lesions were 0-0.795 diagnostic confidence and 0-0.91 diagnostic confidence, respectively. Beneficial scores >0.795 and >0.91 indicated a risk of underdiagnosis of lesions at CTA and TCD, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with DSA (reference standard) and CTA, the study underscores the use of TCD in cerebrovascular pathology.

[Peripheral blood KCNMA1 methylation level is associated with the occurrence and progression of lung cancer]

OBJECTIVE

To explore the association of KCNMA1 gene methylation levels in peripheral blood with lung cancer.

METHODS

The methylation levels of 4 CpG sites in KCNMA1 gene were quantitatively detected in 285 patients with lung cancer, 186 age- and sex-matched patients with benign pulmonary nodules and 278 matched healthy control subjects using mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). The association of KCNMA1 methylation levels with lung cancer was analyzed using logistic regression models adjusted for covariates. The KCNMA1 methylation levels in different subgroups of lung cancer patients were compared using Mann-Whitney U test.

RESULTS

In subjects over 55 years and in female subjects, the highest quartile (Q4) vs the lowest quartile (Q1) of KCNMA1_CpG_5 methylation levels were significantly correlated with lung cancer (for subjects over 55 years: OR=2.60, 95% CI: 1.25-5.41, P=0.011; for female subjects: OR=2.09, 95% CI: 1.03?4.26, P=0.042). From Q2 to Q4 of KCNMA1_CpG_5 methylation levels, their correlation with lung cancer became gradually stronger (P=0.003 and 0.038, respectively). In male subjects, the OR of Q4 of KCNMA1_CpG_5 methylation levels was 0.35 in patients with lung cancer as compared with patients with benign nodules (95% CI: 0.16-0.79, P=0.012). KCNMA1_CpG_3 methylation level was significantly lower in invasive adenocarcinoma than in noninvasive adenocarcinoma (P=0.028), and that of KCNMA1_CpG_1 was significantly higher in patients with larger tumors (T2-4) than in those with smaller tumors (T1) (P=0.021).

CONCLUSION

The change of peripheral blood KCNMA1 methylation level is correlated with the occurrence and development of lung cancer.

UCHL1 Impairs Periodontal Ligament Stem Cell Osteogenesis in Periodontitis

Periodontitis comprises a series of inflammatory responses resulting in alveolar bone loss. The suppression of osteogenesis of periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) by inflammation is responsible for impaired alveolar bone regeneration, which remains an ongoing challenge for periodontitis therapy. Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) belongs to the family of deubiquitinating enzymes, which was found to play roles in inflammation previously. In this study, the upregulation of UCHL1 was identified in inflamed PDLSCs isolated from periodontitis patients and in healthy PDLSCs treated with tumor necrosis factor-α or interleukin-1β, and the higher expression level of UCHL1 was accompanied with the impaired osteogenesis of PDLSCs. Then UCHL1 was inhibited in PDLSCs using the lentivirus or inhibitor, and the osteogenesis of PDLSCs suppressed by inflammation was rescued by UCHL1 inhibition. Mechanistically, the negative effect of UCHL1 on the osteogenesis of PDLSCs was attributable to its negative regulation of mitophagy-dependent bone morphogenetic protein 2/Smad signaling pathway in periodontitis-associated inflammation. Furthermore, a ligature-induced murine periodontitis model was established, and the specific inhibitor of UCHL1 was administrated to periodontitis mice. The histological results showed increased active osteoblasts on alveolar bone surface and enhanced alveolar bone regeneration when UCHL1 was inhibited in periodontitis mice. Besides, the therapeutic effects of UCHL1 inhibition on ameliorating periodontitis were verified, as indicated by less bone loss and reduced inflammation. Altogether, our study proved UCHL1 to be a key negative regulator of the osteogenesis of PDLSCs in periodontitis and suggested that UCHL1 inhibition holds promise for alveolar bone regeneration in periodontitis treatment.

Representing linguistic communicative functions in the premotor cortex

Linguistic communication is often regarded as an action that serves a function to convey the speaker's goal to the addressee. Here, with an functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study and a lesion study, we demonstrated that communicative functions are represented in the human premotor cortex. Participants read scripts involving 2 interlocutors. Each script contained a critical sentence said by the speaker with a communicative function of either making a Promise, a Request, or a Reply to the addressee's query. With various preceding contexts, the critical sentences were supposed to induce neural activities associated with communicative functions rather than specific actions literally described by these sentences. The fMRI results showed that the premotor cortex contained more information, as revealed by multivariate analyses, on communicative functions and relevant interlocutors' attitudes than the perisylvian language regions. The lesion study results showed that, relative to healthy controls, the understanding of communicative functions was impaired in patients with lesions in the premotor cortex, whereas no reliable difference was observed between the healthy controls and patients with lesions in other brain regions. These findings convergently suggest the crucial role of the premotor cortex in representing the functions of linguistic communications, supporting that linguistic communication can be seen as an action.

[Clinical characteristics of severe late-onset ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and its impact on the live birth outcome of IVF-ET]

Objective: To investigate the correlation between different clinical features and live birth in patients with severe late-onset ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) after in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET). Methods: The clinical information of 330 patients who were pregnant after IVF-ET and referred to medical treatments diagnosed as late-onset severe OHSS in Peking University Third Hospital from January 2016 to December 2020 was retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into live birth achieved group (n=287) and non-live birth achieved group (n=43) according to pregnancy outcomes, and live birth achieved group was further divided into two subgroups, full-term birth group (n=222) and early-term birth group (n=65) according to gestational week at delivery for better analysis. Single factor and multi-factor analysis were utilized to clarify the influencing factors of both live birth and early-term birth. Results: Among all the patients who received IVF-ET, the incidence of severe OHSS was 0.67% (673/100 758). Among 330 severe late-onset OHSS patients, 42.4% (140/330) had pleural effusion, the incidence of abnormal liver function was 69.4% (229/330), and the live birth rate was 87.0% (287/330). Among the 287 patients who achieved live birth, 55.4% (159/287) had no pleural effusion, 18.5% (53/287) had a small amount of pleural effusion, and 26.1% (75/287) had medium or massive pleural effusion; in the non-live birth achieved group, there were more patients without pleural effusion and less patients with a small amount of pleural effusion; the difference was statistically significant (χ²=6.213, P=0.045). The rate of selective fetal reduction in live birth achieved group was 16.0% (46/287), which was significantly higher than that in the non-live birth achieved group, which was 2.3% (1/43; χ²=5.749, P=0.017). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that moderately abnormal liver function was an independent risk factor for live birth (OR=3.15, 95%CI: 1.60-6.19), while selective fetal reduction was an independent protective factor for live birth (OR=0.13, 95%CI: 0.02-0.96). Additionally, subgroup analysis suggested that twin birth was an independent risk factor for preterm birth (OR=8.54, 95%CI: 4.31-16.91). Conclusions: Moderate hepatic dysfunction may be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes in patients with severe late-onset OHSS. Selective fetal reduction and singleton pregnancy are recommended to ameliorate live birth rate, full-term delivery rate, also the maternal and neonatal prognosis for patients with multiple pregnancies.

Circ-Udg Derived from Cyprinid Herpesvirus 2 Promotes Viral Replication

Cyprinid herpesvirus 2 (CyHV-2) has caused great losses to the gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio) industry. Previous studies showed that certain DNA viruses can encode circular RNAs (circRNAs) to regulate virus infection, which provides new clues for the treatment of viral disease. Whether CyHV-2 can encode circRNAs is still unknown. Here, 10 CyHV-2-derived circRNAs were identified, and the function of circ-udg, a circRNA derived from the CyHV-2 uracil DNA glycosylase (udg) gene, was studied. Although the expression level of circ-udg was lower than that of the parental gene, udg, its expression level was elevated in tandem with the proliferation of CyHV-2 and udg. In vitro experiments confirmed that circ-udg could promote the proliferation of CyHV-2. Moreover, circ-udg could encode a truncated UDG protein consisting of 147-amino-acid residues (termed circ-udg-P147). Both UDG and circ-udg-P147 were found to promote CyHV-2 proliferation, but the promoting effect of circ-udg on CyHV-2 proliferation was attenuated after circ-udg lost the ability to encode circ-udg-P147. Also, circ-udg-P147 could not change the transcription level of the udg gene. Interestingly, the UDG protein level was increased by circ-udg-P147. These results deepen the understanding of the genetic information carried by the genome of CyHV-2 and provide a new target for the treatment of gibel carp bleeding disease caused by CyHV-2. IMPORTANCE The outbreak of C. auratus gibelio gill hemorrhagic disease caused by CyHV-2 brought great losses to the gibel carp industry. Therefore, exploring the interaction between CyHV-2 and host and the molecular mechanism of viral infection is of great significance in preventing and treating the gibel carp gill hemorrhagic disease. Although some progress has been made in the study of CyHV-2, the mechanism of interaction between CyHV-2 and crucian carp is still unclear. In this study, we found that CyHV-2 can encode circRNA to regulate virus replication. Our study provides novel information on CyHV-2 functional genomics, a reference for research into the circRNA of other viruses, and theoretical guidance for preventing and treating gibel carp bleeding disease.

[A discrimination model for differentiation of renal cell carcinoma from renal angiomyolipoma without visible fat: based on hierarchical fusion framework of multi-classifier]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the capabilities of classification models based on hierarchical fusion framework of multi-classifier using a random projection strategy for differentiation of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) from small renal angiomyolipoma (< 4 cm) without visible fat (AMLwvf).

METHODS

We retrospectively collected the clinical data from 163 patients with pathologically proven small renal mass, including 118 with RCC and 45 with AMLwvf.Target region of interest (ROI) delineation was performed on an unenhanced phase (UP) CT image slice displaying the largest lesion area.The radiomics features were used to establish a hierarchical fusion method.On the projection-based level, the homogeneous classifiers were fused, and the fusion results were further fused at the classifier-based level to construct a multi-classifier fusion system based on random projection for differentiation of AMLwvf and RCC.The discriminative capability of this model was quantitatively evaluated using 5-fold cross validation and 4 evaluation indexes[specificity, sensitivity, accuracy and area under ROC curve (AUC)].We quantitatively compared this multi-classifier fusion framework against different classification models using a single classifier and several multi-classifier ensemble models.

RESULTS

When the projection number was set at 10, the proposed hierarchical fusion differentiation framework achieved the best results on all the evaluation measurements.At the optimal projection number of 10, the specificity, sensitivity, average accuracy and AUC of the multi-classifier ensemble classification system for differentiation between AMLwvf and RCC were 0.853, 0.693, 0.809 and 0.870, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The proposed model constructed based on a multi-classifier fusion system using random projection shows better performance to differentiate RCC from AMLwvf than the AMLwvf and RCC discrimination models based on a single classification algorithm and the currently available benchmark ensemble methods.

Pharmacological inhibition of eIF2alpha phosphorylation by integrated stress response inhibitor (ISRIB) ameliorates vascular calcification in rats

Vascular calcification (VC) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality with the absence of current treatment. This study aimed to investigate whether eIF2alpha phosphorylation inhibition could ameliorate VC. VC in rats was induced by administration of vitamin D3 (3×10(5) IU/kg, intramuscularly) plus nicotine (25 mg/kg, intragastrically). ISRIB (0.25 mg/kg·week), an inhibitor of eIF2alpha phosphorylation, ameliorated the elevation of calcium deposition and ALP activity in calcified rat aortas, accompanied by amelioration of increased SBP, PP, and PWV. The decreased protein levels of calponin and SM22alpha, and the increased levels of RUNX2 and BMP2 in calcified aorta were all rescued by ISRIB, while the increased levels of the GRP78, GRP94, and C/EBP homologous proteins in rats with VC were also attenuated. Moreover, ISRIB could prevent the elevation of eIF2alpha phosphorylation and ATF4, and partially inhibit PERK phosphorylation in the calcified aorta. These results suggested that an eIF2alpha phosphorylation inhibitor could ameliorate VC pathogenesis by blocking eIF2alpha/ATF4 signaling, which may provide a new target for VC prevention and treatment.

[Interference of P2X4 receptor expression in tumor-associated macrophages suppresses migration and invasion of glioma cells]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the effect of interference of P2X4 receptor expression in tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) on invasion and migration of glioma cells.

METHODS

C57BL/6 mouse models bearing gliomas in the caudate nucleus were examined for glioma pathology with HE staining and expressions of Iba-1 and P2X4 receptor with immunofluorescence assay. RAW264.7 cells were induced into TAMs using conditioned medium from GL261 cells, and the changes in mRNA expressions of macrophage polarization-related markers and the mRNA and protein expressions of P2X4 receptor were detected with RT-qPCR and Western blotting. The effect of siRNA-mediated P2X4 interference on IL-1β and IL-18 mRNA and protein expressions in the TAMs was detected with RT-qPCR and Western blotting. GL261 cells were cultured in the conditioned medium from the transfected TAMs, and the invasion and migration abilities of the cells were assessed with Transwell invasion and migration experiment.

RESULTS

The glioma tissues from the tumor-bearing mice showed a significantly greater number of Iba-1-positive cells, where an obviously increased P2X4 receptor expression was detected (P=0.001), than the brain tissues of the control mice (P < 0.001). The M2 macrophage markers (Arg-1 and IL-10) and M1 macrophage markers (iNOS and TNF-α) were both significantly up-regulated in the TAMs derived from RAW264.7 cells (all P < 0.01), but the up-regulation of the M2 macrophage markers was more prominent; the expression levels of P2X4 receptor protein and mRNA were both increased in the TAMs (P < 0.05). Interference of P2X4 receptor expression significantly lowered the mRNA(P < 0.01)and protein (P < 0.01, P < 0.05)expression levels of IL-1β and IL-18 in the TAMs and obviously inhibited the ability of the TAMs to promote invasion and migration of the glioma cells (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Interference of P2X4 receptor in the TAMs suppresses the migration and invasion of glioma cells possibly by lowering the expressions of IL-1β and IL-18.

Association of Ubiquitin C-Terminal Hydrolase-L1 (Uch-L1) serum levels with cognition and brain energy metabolism

OBJECTIVE

In recent years, many researchers have taken serum ubiquitin c-terminal hydrolase (Uch-L1) as an indicator of post-traumatic brain injury and associated it with cognitive impairment. Alzheimer's disease is characterized by cognitive impairment and energy metabolism disorders. The purpose of this study was to detect whether serum Uch-L1 is related to cognition and brain energy metabolism in healthy people, and to explore whether it can be used as an early blood marker of Alzheimer's disease.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In this prospective cohort study, adult outpatients from a Grade 3A hospital were recruited. They completed the 18F-FDG-PET/CT examination in the nuclear medicine department and were screened by the Mini Mental State scale (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale (MoCA). Blood samples were collected from all outpatients to detect the concentration of serum Uch-L1, and the mean standard uptake value (SUVmean) of energy metabolism in the hippocampus during PET/CT examination was collected.

RESULTS

A total of 37 participants, 14 participants with cognitive impairment (MMSE score < 27) and 23 controls (MMSE score 27-30) were included. There was a significant difference in the SUVmean of the hippocampus between the cognitive impairment group and the normal control group (p < 0.05). There was a significant correlation between the SUVmean of the hippocampus and the total score of MMSE in all participants [r = 0.439, 95% CI: (0.139-0.668), p = 0.007]. There were also significant correlations between serum Uch-L1 and MMSE. Based on the significant differences of demographic variables between groups, we conducted a multivariate linear regression analysis of MMSE cognitive scores based on age (X1), length of education (X2) and SUVmean of hippocampus (X3). The regression equation is as follows: Y = 25.709-0.072 X1 + 0.422 X2 + 0.232 X3.

CONCLUSIONS

Brain cognitive ability is closely related to energy metabolism and serum Uch-L1 concentration, so serum Uch-L1 may become a blood marker for extensive screening of dementia in the future. We look forward to the introduction of a more accurate and low-cost method for detecting serum Uch-L1 concentration.

Direct Observation of Coherent Longitudinal and Shear Acoustic Phonons in TaAs Using Ultrafast X-Ray Diffraction

Using femtosecond time-resolved x-ray diffraction, we investigated optically excited coherent acoustic phonons in the Weyl semimetal TaAs. The low symmetry of the (112) surface probed in our experiment enables the simultaneous excitation of longitudinal and shear acoustic modes, whose dispersion closely matches our simulations. We observed an asymmetry in the spectral line shape of the longitudinal mode that is notably absent from the shear mode, suggesting a time-dependent frequency chirp that is likely driven by photoinduced carrier diffusion. We argue on the basis of symmetry that these acoustic deformations can transiently alter the electronic structure near the Weyl points and support this with model calculations. Our study underscores the benefit of using off-axis crystal orientations when optically exciting acoustic deformations in topological semimetals, allowing one to transiently change their crystal and electronic structures.

Antibacterial activity and mechanism of chloroform fraction from aqueous extract of mugwort leaves (Artemisia argyi L.) against Staphylococcus aureus

In this work, the antibacterial activity and mechanism of chloroform fraction obtained from aqueous extract of mugwort leaves against Staphylococcus aureus were investigated. The extract showed obvious antibacterial activity against S. aureus which the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration were determined to be 3·0 and 6·0 mg ml^-1 respectively. The mechanism study suggested that the extract could destroy the integrity of the S. aureus cell walls and increase the permeability of cell membrane in a certain concentration, but it could not kill S. aureus in a short time. Instead, the extract could make bacteria in a state of apoptosis for a long time, interfere with the normal physiological metabolism of bacteria, and eventually make bacteria die, which was confirm by scanning electronic microscope.

Perceptions of NZ orthodontists and periodontists on the management of gingival recession in orthodontic patients

BACKGROUND

This study aimed to investigate the perceptions and opinions of orthodontists and periodontists on the management of gingival recession in orthodontic patients.

METHODS

An online survey was sent to 29 periodontists and 80 orthodontists registered and currently practising in New Zealand. All participants answered questions about the timing and clinical indications of mucogingival surgeries in orthodontic patients diagnosed with mucogingival deformities.

RESULTS

Most periodontists and orthodontists believed that gingival grafts should ideally be performed after orthodontic treatment. In clinical practice, 40% of periodontists indicated that they would receive referrals after completion of orthodontic treatment. However, 29.6% of orthodontists indicated that they would refer to a periodontist before orthodontic treatment in clinical practice. The most crucial factor that affected periodontists' decision-making was 'evidence-based guidelines' (35.0%), followed by 'clinical experience' (30.0%) and 'patient concerns' (15.0%). All four factors of 'gingival phenotype', 'presence of gingival recession', 'amount of keratinised tissue' and 'planning specific tooth movements' were equally considered by orthodontists regarding their decision-making.

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of the surveyed New Zealand periodontists and orthodontists expressed a belief that the ideal timing for the management of gingival recessions would be after the completion of orthodontic treatment.

Photocurrent-driven transient symmetry breaking in the Weyl semimetal TaAs

Symmetry plays a central role in conventional and topological phases of matter, making the ability to optically drive symmetry changes a critical step in developing future technologies that rely on such control. Topological materials, like topological semimetals, are particularly sensitive to a breaking or restoring of time-reversal and crystalline symmetries, which affect both bulk and surface electronic states. While previous studies have focused on controlling symmetry via coupling to the crystal lattice, we demonstrate here an all-electronic mechanism based on photocurrent generation. Using second harmonic generation spectroscopy as a sensitive probe of symmetry changes, we observe an ultrafast breaking of time-reversal and spatial symmetries following femtosecond optical excitation in the prototypical type-I Weyl semimetal TaAs. Our results show that optically driven photocurrents can be tailored to explicitly break electronic symmetry in a generic fashion, opening up the possibility of driving phase transitions between symmetry-protected states on ultrafast timescales.

The Association between Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Cognitive Function in Middle-Aged and Older People: A Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVE

To explore the association between the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and cognitive dysfunction in middle-aged and older adults, so as to provide an evidence-based basis for the early prevention of cognitive dysfunction.

METHODS

A comprehensive search of relevant literature was conducted in PubMed, EMBase, Cochrane, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science from the inception until January 2021. Odds ratios (OR), hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using a random-effects, generic inverse variance method. Meta-analysis of the included studies was performed using Review Manager 5.4.

RESULTS

A total of 10 studies on the association between sugary beverages and cognitive dysfunction in middle-aged and older adults were included, of which 3 were cross-sectional studies and the rest were cohort studies. Eight of the ten studies had results suggestive of a negative association. However, Meta-analysis results showed that the association between the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and the risk of cognitive impairment was not statistically significant (OR=1.59, 95% CI: 0.93-2.74, P=0.08); but from two studies, the hazard ratios of all-cause dementia in middle-aged and older people consuming sugar-sweetened beverages was 2.77 (95%CI: 2.24-3.43, P<0.00001); the hazard ratios of Alzheimer's disease in middle-aged and older people consuming sugar-sweetened beverages was 2.63 (95%CI: 1.70-4.05, P<0.0001).

CONCLUSION

There is insufficient evidence to state conclusively that sugar-sweetened beverages intake causes cognitive dysfunction in middle-aged and older adults.

COVID-19 prevention measures reduce dengue spread in Yunnan Province, China, but do not reduce established outbreak

The COVID-19 pandemic and measures against it provided a unique opportunity to understand the transmission of other infectious diseases and to evaluate the efficacy of COVID-19 prevention measures on them. Here we show a dengue epidemic in Yunnan, China, during the pandemic of COVID-19 was dramatically reduced compared to non-pandemic years and, importantly, spread was confined to only one city, Ruili. Three key features characterized this dengue outbreak: (i) the urban-to-suburban spread was efficiently blocked; (ii) the scale of epidemic in urban region was less affected; (iii) co-circulation of multiple strains was attenuated. These results suggested that countermeasures taken during COVID-19 pandemic are efficient to prevent dengue transmission between cities and from urban to suburban, as well to reduce the co-circulation of multiple serotypes or genotypes. Nevertheless, as revealed by the spatial analysis, once the dengue outbreak was established, its distribution was very stable and resistant to measures against COVID-19, implying the possibility to develop a precise prediction method.

[Influence of guided bone regeneration on marginal bone loss of implants in the mandible posterior region: a 10-year retrospective cohort study]

Objective: To investigate the effect of guided bone regeneration (GBR) on marginal bone loss (MBL) in the region of the mandibular posterior tooth by using a retrospective cohort study, in order to provide reference for clinical practice. Methods: The research subjects were patients who received dental implants from October 2008 to June 2011 in the region of the mandibular posterior tooth at the Department of Oral Implantology, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University. According to whether GBR was performed or not and the time of implant insertion, the patients were divided into the controls group (patients without bone grafting), simultaneous GBR implantation group, and delayed GBR implantation group. On this basis, the MBL was measured according to radiographs by comparing the marginal bone level from that of immediate postoperation 10 years ago. General data was collected and compared among groups, including modified plaque index (mPI), modified sulcus bleeding index (mSBI), probing depth (PD), and gingival papilla height. Results: The controls group (patients without bone grafting), implantation group, and delayed GBR implantation group followed 58, 76, 26 implants in 26, 32, 13 patients aging at (46.5±9.9), (45.5±10.7), (58.3±6.4) respectively. The duration of the follow-up was (11.2±0.7), (11.1±0.8), (11.1±0.9) years respectively. The 10-year implant survival rate was 100% (58/58), 100% (76/76), 100% (26/26). The MBL was (0.91±0.28), (0.84±0.27), (1.01±0.27) mm respectively. The MBL difference of patients with simultaneous GBR implantation and delayed GBR implantation showed statistical significance (P<0.05), but these two groups showed no statistical significance compared with the controls group (P>0.05). The mPI, mSBI, PD, and gingival papilla height of the three groups all had no significance on statistics (P>0.05). Conclusions: It can be concluded that there is no difference in long-term marginal bone resorption between simultaneous and delayed implantation with or without GBR (using autologous blood mixed with granular bone meal) in the posterior mandibular area.

Real-Time Electron Solvation Induced by Bursts of Laser-Accelerated Protons in Liquid Water

Understanding the mechanisms of proton energy deposition in matter and subsequent damage formation is fundamental to radiation science. Here we exploit the picosecond (10^{-12}  s) resolution of laser-driven accelerators to track ultrafast solvation dynamics for electrons due to proton radiolysis in liquid water (H_{2}O). Comparing these results with modeling that assumes initial conditions similar to those found in photolysis reveals that solvation time due to protons is extended by >20  ps. Supported by magnetohydrodynamic theory this indicates a highly dynamic phase in the immediate aftermath of the proton interaction that is not accounted for in current models.

[Peripheral blood EMR3 gene methylation level is correlated with breast cancer in Chinese women]

OBJECTIVE

To explore the association of methylation levels of C19orf57, MAP9, EMR3, NEK6 and PCOLCE2 genes in peripheral blood with breast cancer (BC) in Chinese women.

METHODS

We collected peripheral blood samples from 258 early-stage BC patients and 272 healthy women. Agena matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) was utilized to quantitatively measure the methylation levels of CpG sites in the genes. The association between DNA methylation and BC was analyzed using a logistic regression model adjusted for covariants. Spearman's correlation analysis was performed to analyze the association between the gene methylation levels and age. The methylation levels of the genes in the BC patients with different clinical characteristics were investigated using non-parametric tests.

RESULTS

In stead of EMR3 gene hypermethylation as found in BC patients as found in the Caucasian population, EMR3 gene hypomethylation was found to correlate with BC in Chinese women, but this correlation was significant only in women beyond the age of 50 years (for every 10% reduction of the methylation level, EMR3_CpG_1: OR=1.40; EMR3_CpG_2: OR=2.31; EMR3_CpG_3: OR=2.76, P < 0.05). EMR3 methylation was not or was only weakly correlated with tumor stage, size, lymphatic metastasis, ER, PR, HER2, or Ki67. Our data did not show a correlation between C19orf57 methylation and BC.

CONCLUSION

Peripheral blood EMR3 gene hypomethylation is associated with BC in Chinese women, especially in those at an old age and in postmenopausal women.

Xinnaokang improves cecal microbiota and lipid metabolism to target atherosclerosis

This study aims to explore the potential mechanisms of Xinnaokang in atherosclerosis treatment. Firstly, the active components of Xinnaokang were analysed by HPLC, which contains ginsenoside Rg1, puerarin, tanshinone, notoginsenoside R1, ammonium glycyrrhizate and glycyrrhizin. Network pharmacology analysis showed there were 145 common targets of Xinnaokang, including the chemical stress, lipid metabolite, lipopolysaccharide, molecules of bacterial origin, nuclear receptor and fluid shear stress pathways. Then, the animal experiment showed that Xinnaokang reduced the body weight and blood lipid levels of atherosclerotic mice. Vascular plaque formation was increased in atherosclerotic mice, which was markedly reversed by Xinnaokang. In addition, Xinnaokang reduced CAV-1 expression and increased ABCA1, SREBP-1 and LXR expressions in the vasculature. Xinnaokang promoted SREBP-2 and LDLR expressions in the liver but decreased IDOL and PCSK9 expressions, indicating that Xinnaokang regulated lipid transport-related protein expression. Cecal microbiota diversity was reduced in atherosclerotic mice but increased after Xinnaokang treatment. Xinnaokang treatment also improved gut microbiota communities by enriching Actinobacteria, Bifidobacteriales and Bifidobacteriaceae abundances. Metabolic profile showed that Xinnaokang significantly reduced homogentisate, phenylacetylglycine, alanine and methionine expressions in the liver of atherosclerotic mice. Xinnaokang effectively alleviated atherosclerosis, and this effect might be linked with the altered features of the liver metabolite profiles and cecal microbiota.

[Safety and effectiveness of left atrial appendage occlusion in patients with atrial fibrillation and end-stage renal disease undergoing long-term hemodialysis]

Objective: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) in patients with atrial fibrillation and end-stage renal disease undergoing long-term hemodialysis. Methods: Six patients with AF and end-stage renal disease(ESRD)on long term hemodialysis who underwent LAAO from March 2017 to March 2021 in Beijing Anzhen Hospital were enrolled. Baseline characteristics such as age, sex, types of arrhythmia, stroke and bleeding score, and continuous dialysis time were collected. Four patients underwent LAAO, two patients underwent the combined procedure of catheter ablation and LAAO. Perioperative treatment and serious complications were recorded. Transesophageal echocardiography was repeated at 45 days and 60 days after the procedure. Telephone follow-up was conducted at 3, 6 and 12 months after the procedure, and every 6 months thereafter. Thromboembolism and major bleeding events and survival were evaluated. Results: The average age was (66.7±17.0) years old, and 5 were male (5/6). There were 4 patients with paroxysmal AF (4/6), and 2 patients with persistent AF (2/6). The mean CHA₂DS₂-VASc score was (4.8±1.5), and the HAS-BLED score was (3.5±1.4). The duration of hemodialysis was 2.6 (1.1, 8.3) years. Successfully Watchman implantation was achieved in all patients. There were no severe perioperative complications, and no device related thrombosis or leaks were observed by transesophageal echocardiography. During a mean of 22.0 (12.0, 32.0) months follow-up, there was no thromboembolism or major bleeding events. A total of 2 patients died, one from sudden cardiac death, and another one from heart failure. Conclusions: LAAO may be a safe and effective therapeutic option for prevention of thromboembolism in patients with atrial fibrillation and end-stage renal disease undergoing long-term hemodialysis, further studies with larger patient cohort are needed to confirm our results.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles promotes liver cancer cell apoptosis through inducing autophagy and promoting p53

OBJECTIVE

Emerging evidence has highlighted the promising potential of the application of Zinc Oxide nanoparticles (nano-ZnO) but the mechanism by how it functions in liver cancer remains elusive. We aimed to explore the effect of nano-ZnO on liver cancer cells.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Liver cancer cells Huh7 cells were transfected with GFP-LC3, and then, treated with DMSO, Sorafenib, and nano-ZnO respectively to set blank group, Sorafenib control group, and nano-ZnO group followed by the analysis of the expression of GFP-LC3, p53, and Caspase by Western blot and RT-qPCR, cell apoptosis and viability by flow cytometry and CCK-8 assay.

RESULTS

With a diameter of nano-ZnO 14.13±0.92 nm, the amount of GFP-LC3 protein was increased after treatment of nano-ZnO. Besides, the expressions of GFP-LC3, p53, and Caspase in Sorafenib group and nano-ZnO group were significantly higher than that of control group, while their levels were highest in nano-ZnO group (p<0.05). In nano-ZnO group, the values of D450nm at 24 h, 48h, and 72 h were 0.56±0.06, 0.39±0.05, and 0.22±0.04, respectively, and the apoptotic rate (83.11±2.79%) was significantly lower than that of blank group and control group.

CONCLUSIONS

Nano-ZnO induced autophagy, upregulated the p53 gene, and facilitated the apoptosis of liver cancer cells, indicating that nano-ZnO might be a therapeutic approach for the treatment of liver cancer patients.

Probiotic and prebiotic interventions for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Many studies have associated altered intestinal bacterial communities and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, but the putative effects are inconclusive. The purpose of this network meta-analysis (NMA) was to evaluate the effects of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease through randomised intervention trials. Literature searches were performed until March 2020. For each outcome, a random NMA was performed, the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) was determined. A total of 22 randomised trials comparing prebiotic, probiotic, and synbiotic treatments included 1301 participants. Considering all seven results (aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, body mass index, weight, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) together, the highest SUCRA values are probiotics (94%), synbiotics (61%) and prebiotics (56%), respectively. NMA results provide evidence that probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics can alleviate non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. However, due to the lack of high-quality randomised trials, this research also has some limitations.

[Clinical analysis of left atrial appendage occlusion for stroke prevention in elderly patients with atrial fibrillation]

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) over 75 years. A total of 82 patients with AF who underwent LAAO successfully in Beijing Anzhen Hospital from March 2014 to March 2019 were divided into two groups according to age: the elderly group (aged>75 years) and the young group (aged ≤75 years). Risk of perioperative complications and incidence of ischemic stroke and major bleeding during follow-up were retrospectively analyzed. The results showed that there were no significant differences in procedure-related ischemic stroke(0 vs.1.6%,P=0.768) and major bleeding (0 vs.1.6%,P=0.768) during perioperative period between the two groups. No complications as death or pericardial tamponade occurred in the two group. During a (25.9±15.9) months period of followed up, ischemic stroke event rate was 3.6/100 person-years in the elderly group and 4.9/100 person-years in the young group, respectively. Major bleeding event rate was 2.5/100 person-years in the elderly group and 0/100 person-years in the young group, respectively. Compared with the expected ones, the relative risk reduction (RRR) of stroke in the elderly group was more profound than that in the young group (32.0% vs. 25.0%), while the risk of major bleeding in the young group was significantly lower than that in the elderly group (RRR 100% vs. 56.9%). Therefore, LAAO might be suitable for stroke prevention in the elderly AF patients.

Baseline brain function in the preadolescents of the ABCD Study

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study® is a 10-year longitudinal study of children recruited at ages 9 and 10. A battery of neuroimaging tasks are administered biennially to track neurodevelopment and identify individual differences in brain function. This study reports activation patterns from functional MRI (fMRI) tasks completed at baseline, which were designed to measure cognitive impulse control with a stop signal task (SST; N = 5,547), reward anticipation and receipt with a monetary incentive delay (MID) task (N = 6,657) and working memory and emotion reactivity with an emotional N-back (EN-back) task (N = 6,009). Further, we report the spatial reproducibility of activation patterns by assessing between-group vertex/voxelwise correlations of blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) activation. Analyses reveal robust brain activations that are consistent with the published literature, vary across fMRI tasks/contrasts and slightly correlate with individual behavioral performance on the tasks. These results establish the preadolescent brain function baseline, guide interpretation of cross-sectional analyses and will enable the investigation of longitudinal changes during adolescent development.

[Chronic lymphocytic leukemia with t (14;18) (q32;q21) : report of eight cases and a literature review]

目的

分析伴t(14;18)(q32;q21)的慢性淋巴细胞白血病（CLL）患者的临床特征及预后，并进行相关文献复习。

方法

收集并分析2009年11月至2019年11月于江苏省人民医院就诊的8例伴t(14;18)(q32;q21)的CLL患者的临床资料。

结果

8例患者中7例男性，1例女性，诊断时中位年龄70岁，3例免疫表型积分5分，4例积分4分，1例积分3分。所有患者的骨髓组织病理学均为典型CLL表现。染色体核型示所有患者的t(14;18)(q32;q21)均为干系，3例仅携带t(14;18)(q32;q21)异常，4例为t(14;18)(q32;q21)伴+12，1例为t(14;18)(q32;q21)伴13q−。通过FISH在另外3例患者中发现了13q−。6例检测了免疫球蛋白重链可变区（IGHV）突变状态且均为有突变，未见IGHV3-21片段使用。进行相关检测的患者中，仅1例携带TP53突变，其余患者未见TP53、SF3B1、NOTCH1、MYD88突变。中位随访30.9个月时，1例死亡，7例存活，其中3例尚未达到治疗指征，4例接受化疗或免疫治疗的患者病情均稳定。

结论

t(14;18)(q32;q21)在CLL中少见，往往与+12、有突变的IGHV伴随出现。伴t(14;18)(q32;q21)的CLL可能预后良好。

POS1088 EFFICACY OF SUBCUTANEOUS TANEZUMAB FOR THE TREATMENT OF OSTEOARTHRITIS OF THE KNEE OR HIP: A POST-HOC SUBGROUP ANALYSIS OF PATIENTS FROM A RANDOMIZED, NSAID-CONTROLLED STUDY WITH A HISTORY OF DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, OR INSOMNIA

Background:

Tanezumab is a monoclonal antibody directed against nerve growth factor. It is in development for the treatment of moderate to severe chronic pain associated with osteoarthritis (OA) in adult patients for whom other treatments are ineffective or not appropriate. Phase 3 clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy of subcutaneous tanezumab versus placebo for pain and function outcomes over various timepoints. Largely similar change from baseline was demonstrated in an oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-controlled study.1,2,3,4 The efficacy of some other OA therapies can be dampened in patients with depression, anxiety, or insomnia.5,6,7

Objectives:

A post-hoc analysis to explore the efficacy of subcutaneous tanezumab after 16 weeks treatment, as compared to oral NSAID, in patients with OA and a history of depression, anxiety, or insomnia at baseline.

Methods:

Subgroup analysis of data from a randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, active-controlled phase 3 study of subcutaneous tanezumab (2.5 mg or 5 mg every 8 weeks) vs twice daily oral NSAID in patients (≥18 years) with radiographically-confirmed moderate to severe hip or knee OA (Kellgren-Lawrence grade ≥2; NCT02528188).4 Co-primary efficacy endpoints were change from baseline to week 16 in Western Ontario and McMaster Universities OA Index (WOMAC*) Pain and Physical Function subscale scores (both ≥5/10 at randomisation; increasing score indicates increasing pain/disability), and Patient’s Global Assessment of OA (PGA-OA, ≥3/5 at randomisation; increasing score indicates poorer condition). Enrolled patients had a history of inadequate pain relief with acetaminophen; inadequate pain relief with/intolerance to/contraindication to tramadol or opioids; or an unwillingness to take opioids. Patients were on a stable dose of NSAID for ≥30 days before screening. Data are presented as least squares (LS) mean change from baseline to week 16 for the whole population and for subgroups of patients with/without a history of depression, anxiety, or insomnia at baseline. Exploratory statistical analysis was conducted by analysis of covariance. P values were not adjusted for multiplicity. This exploratory post-hoc analysis was not part of the pre-specified hypothesis testing plan or included in any sample size calculations; therefore, comparisons between treatment arms or patient subgroups should be interpreted with caution.

Results:

Overall, 2996 patients were randomized and received at least one dose of study treatment (subcutaneous tanezumab 2.5 mg: n=1002; subcutaneous tanezumab 5 mg: n=998; oral NSAID: n=996). In this population (comprising patients with or without a history of anxiety, depression or insomnia), all treatments were associated with notable and largely similar magnitude improvements in WOMAC Pain, WOMAC Physical Function, and PGA-OA at week 16 (Figure 1). Across treatment groups, differences in LS mean change from baseline in patients with and without a history of depression, anxiety or insomnia ranged between 0 - 0.34 for WOMAC Pain and Physical Function and 0 - 0.19 for PGA-OA.

Conclusion:

Patients with a history of depression, anxiety, or insomnia did not appear to experience dampened improvements in pain or function with tanezumab or NSAID, as compared to those without.

References:

[1]Schnitzer T, et al. JAMA. 2019;322(1):37-48;

[2]Berenbaum F, et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2020;79(6):800-10;

[3]Schnitzer T, et al. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2020;50(3):387-93;

[4]Hochberg M, et al. Arthritis Rheumatol. In Press;

[5]Sharma A, et al. Open Access Rheumatol. 2016;31(8):103-13;

[6]Mallen C, et al. PLoS Med. 2017;14(4):e1002273;

[7]Campbell C, et al. Arthritis Care Res. 2015;67(10):1387-96.

Acknowledgements:

Study sponsored by Pfizer and Eli Lilly and Company. Editorial support was provided by Jennifer Bodkin of Engage Scientific Solutions and funded by Pfizer and Eli Lilly and Company.

Disclosure of Interests:

Philip J Mease Speakers bureau: AbbVie, Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene, Janssen, Eli Lilly and Company, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB, Consultant of: AbbVie, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene, Galapagos, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Eli Lilly and Company, Novartis, Pfizer, Sun, UCB, Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene, Janssen, Eli Lilly and Company, Novartis, Pfizer, Sun, UCB, Theresa Mallick-Searle Speakers bureau: Allergan, Abbvie, Eli Lilly and Company, Salix, Consultant of: Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Company, Elizabeth Johnston Shareholder of: Eli Lilly and Company, Employee of: Eli Lilly and Company, Lars Viktrup Shareholder of: Eli Lilly and Company, Employee of: Eli Lilly and Company, Dominique Menuet Employee of: Pfizer, Ruoyong Yang Employee of: Pfizer, Robert J Fountaine Shareholder of: Pfizer, Employee of: Pfizer.