Zingiberis rhizoma-based carbon dots alter serum oestradiol and follicle-stimulating hormone levels in female mice

Chinese herbs contain substances that regulate female hormones. Our study confirmed that Zingiberis rhizoma carbonisata contains Zingiberis rhizoma-based carbon dots (ZR-CDs), which exert regulatory effects on serum oestradiol and FSH in mice and show impacts on endometrial growth and follicular development that potentially affect the ability of female fertility. ZR-CDs were characterized to clarify the microstructure, optical features, and functional group characteristics. It shows that ZR-CDs are spherical carbon nanostructures ranging from 0.97 to 2.3 nm in diameter, with fluorescent properties and a surface rich in functional groups. We further investigated the impact of ZR-CDs on oestradiol and FSH in serum, growth, and the development of ovarian and uterine using normal female mice and exogenous oestradiol intervention model. It was observed that ZR-CDs accelerated oestrogen metabolism and attenuated oestradiol-induced endometrial hyperplasia. Simultaneously, ZR-CDs triggered an increase in FSH, even in the presence of high-serum oestradiol that inhibits FSH secretion. Our findings suggest that ZR-CDs could be a potential therapeutic treatment for anovulatory menstruation.

Gabapentinoids for the treatment of stroke

ABSTRACT

Gabapentinoid drugs (pregabalin and gabapentin) have been successfully used in the treatment of neuropathic pain and in focal seizure prevention. Recent research has demonstrated their potent activities in modulating neurotransmitter release in neuronal tissue, oxidative stress, and inflammation, which matches the mechanism of action via voltage-gated calcium channels. In this review, we briefly elaborate on the medicinal history and ligand-binding sites of gabapentinoids. We systematically summarize the preclinical and clinical research on gabapentinoids in stroke, including ischemic stroke, intracerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, seizures after stroke, cortical spreading depolarization after stroke, pain after stroke, and nerve regeneration after stroke. This review also discusses the potential targets of gabapentinoids in stroke; however, the existing results are still uncertain regarding the effect of gabapentinoids on stroke and related diseases. Further preclinical and clinical trials are needed to test the therapeutic potential of gabapentinoids in stroke. Therefore, gabapentinoids have both opportunities and challenges in the treatment of stroke.

Advances of nanoparticle derived from food in the control of α-dicarbonyl compounds-A review

α-Dicarbonyl compounds (α-DCs) are predominantly generated through the thermal processing of carbohydrate and protein-rich food. They are pivotal precursors to hazard formation, such as advanced glycation end products (AGEs), acrylamide, and furan. Their accumulation within the body will be genotoxicity and neurotoxicity. Recently, significant advancements have been made in nanotechnology, leading to the widespread utilization of nanomaterials as functional components in addressing the detrimental impact of α-DCs. This review focuses on the control of α-DCs through the utilization of nanoparticle-based functional factors, which were prepared by using edible components as resources. Four emerging nanoparticles are introduced including phenolic compounds-derived nanoparticle, plant-derived nanoparticle, active peptides-derived nanoparticle, and functional minerals-derived nanoparticle. The general control mechanisms as well as the recent evidence pertaining to the aforementioned aspects were also discussed, hoping to valuable helpful references for the development of innovative α-DCs scavengers and identifying the further scope of research.

Qinzhuliangxue mixture ameliorates psoriasis by restraining apoptosis in psoriasis via downregulating the MDA-5 pathway

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Psoriasis is characterized by hyperkeratosis that produces the classic silvery scales, and the pathogenesis of psoriasis involves abnormal proliferation of keratinocytes. Emerging evidence supports that apoptosis regulates keratinocyte proliferation and formation of stratum corneum, which maintains the homeostasis of the skin. Qinzhuliangxue mixture (QZLX) is a representative formula for the treatment of psoriasis, which was earliest recorded in the classic Chinese medicine book Xia's Surgery. In our previous clinical studies, QZLX demonstrated 83.33% efficacy with few side effects in the treatment of psoriasis. Furthermore, our published basic research has also proved that the QZLX mixture effectively inhibits the hyperproliferation of keratinocytes, thus exerting therapeutic effects on psoriasis. However, whether QZLX mixture can regulate keratinocytes apoptosis requires further clarification.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

To investigate the mechanism of QZLX in the treatment of psoriasis from the perspective of keratinocyte apoptosis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

First, psoriasis-like mice with imiquimod (IMQ)-induced were given QZLX intragastric administration and Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) scores were recored for 11 consecutive days to appraise the efficacy. Then, tissue samples were collected for transcriptome analysis. The DEseq2 method detected significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs), Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) Pathway databases were used to analyze the functions and pathway enrichment of DEGs. After that, the therapeutic mechanisms of QZLX in intervening with psoriasis were explored using TUNEL, immunohistochemical staining, and western blotting.

RESULTS

QZLX ameliorated the symptoms and pathological characteristics of IMQ-induced psoriasis in mice. The epidermal cell hyperplasia in the skin was inhibited, in accordance with the suppressed expression of PCNA and Ki67 after treatment. Transcriptome sequencing showed that melanoma differentiation associated gene-5 (MDA-5) was downregulated. GO and KEGG enrichment analysis of the signaling pathways indicated that the differentially expressed genes were significantly enriched in apoptosis pathways. Besides, QZLX treatment decreased the apoptosis of keratinocyte as shown by reduced TUNEL-positive cells. As MDA-5 protein levels decreased, so did the expression of the downstream protein Caspase-8, which indicates that the apoptotic pathway was triggered. Furthermore, QZLX therapy might also help to balance the apoptotic Bcl-2 family expression.

CONCLUSION

QZLX restrains the apoptosis of keratinocyte in psoriasis-like mice by downregulating the MDA-5 pathway. The restoration of the balance between cell apoptosis and proliferation in the skin may lead to considerable psoriasis relief. Our study reveals the possible molecular processes behind the effects of QZLX therapy on the skin lesions of psoriasis, and lends support to its clinical efficacy.

Molecular mechanisms of quetiapine bidirectional regulation of bipolar depression and mania based on network pharmacology and molecular docking: Evidence from computational biology

BACKGROUND

Quetiapine monotherapy is recommended as the first-line option for acute mania and acute bipolar depression. However, the mechanism of action of quetiapine is unclear. Network pharmacology and molecular docking were employed to determine the molecular mechanisms of quetiapine bidirectional regulation of bipolar depression and mania.

METHODS

Putative target genes for quetiapine were collected from the GeneCard, SwissTargetPrediction, and DrugBank databases. Targets for bipolar depression and bipolar mania were identified from the DisGeNET and GeneCards databases. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was generated using the String database and imported into Cytoscape. DAVID and the Bioinformatics platform were employed to perform the Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses of the top 15 core targets. The drug-pathway-target-disease network was constructed using Cytoscape. Finally, molecular docking was performed to evaluate the interactions between quetiapine and potential targets.

RESULTS

Targets for quetiapine actions against bipolar depression (126 targets) and bipolar mania (81 targets) were identified. Based on PPI and KEGG pathway analyses, quetiapine may affect bipolar depression by targeting the MAPK and PI3K/AKT insulin signaling pathways via BDNF, INS, EGFR, IGF1, and NGF, and it may affect bipolar mania by targeting the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction signaling pathway via HTR1A, HTR1B, HTR2A, DRD2, and GRIN2B. Molecular docking revealed good binding affinity between quetiapine and potential targets.

LIMITATIONS

Pharmacological experiments should be conducted to verify and further explore these results.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that quetiapine affects bipolar depression and bipolar mania through distinct biological core targets, and thus through different mechanisms. Furthermore, our results provide a theoretical basis for the clinical use of quetiapine and possible directions for new drug development.

Structural characteristics and drivers of greenhouse gas emissions at county-level and long-time scales: A case study of the Anji County, China

To achieve carbon neutrality, the Chinese government needs to gain a comprehensive understanding of the sources and drivers of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly at the county level. Anji County in eastern China is a typical example of an industrial transformation from quarrying to a low-carbon economy. This study analyzed the decoupling types and structural characteristics of GHG emissions and the driving factors of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the Anji from 2006 to 2019, and explored the differences between county-level and provincial-level or city-level results. It was observed that energy-related activities are the main source of GHG emissions in Anji and that economic development is the driving factor behind the increasing CO2 emissions. However, industrial transformation and upgradation coupled with the alternative use of clean energy limit the growth of GHG emissions. This study details the GHG emissions of county during the industrial transformation stage and provides corresponding policy recommendations for county governments.

Enhancing medical students' science communication skills: from the perspective of new media

With the development of science over the years, people have increasingly realized the importance of science communication. Unfortunately, very little research has focused on helping medical students develop the capabilities of science communication. To improve medical students' science communication and evaluate the effectiveness of New Media through mobile clients in health science communication, a competition was held among medical undergraduates. Outstanding works were selected for publication on our official health science communication WeChat account. Furthermore, the participants volunteered to complete a questionnaire survey to help us assess students' awareness of science communication. Our analysis revealed that students had a strong willingness to serve society and to participate in science communication work. Students generally agreed that science communication work had excellent effects on professional knowledge and related skills. In addition, the correlation results showed that the greater students' willingness to participate in health science communication was, the greater their sense of gain. New Media effectively expand the influence of students' popular science works. Our findings suggest that competition in science communication has a positive impact on enhancing students' awareness and capabilities in science communication. In addition, New Media are an effective way to improve students' scientific communication efficiency. However, we also noted that students' participation rate and enthusiasm for scientific communication were not high. Further research is needed to determine the reasons for this situation and potential strategies to further improve students' science communication.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The science communication competition had a positive impact on helping medical students develop awareness and capabilities for science communication. In addition, New Media are an effective way to improve students' scientific communication efficiency.

Advances in methane emissions from agricultural sources: Part I. Accounting and mitigation

Methane is one of the major greenhouse gases (GHGs) and agriculture is recognized as its primary emitter. Methane accounting is a prerequisite for developing effective agriculture mitigation strategies. In this review, methane accounting methods and research status for various agricultural emission source including rice fields, animal enteric fermentation and livestock and poultry manure management were overview, and the influencing factors of each emission source were analyzed and discussed. At the same time, it analyzes the different research efforts involving agricultural methane accounting and makes recommendations based on the actual situation. Finally, mitigation strategies based on accounting results and actual situation are proposed. This review aims to provide basic data and reference for agriculture-oriented countries and regions to actively participate in climate action and carry out effective methane emission mitigation.

Sambucus williamsii Hance: A comprehensive review of traditional uses, processing specifications, botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, and pharmacokinetics

OBJECTIVE

Sambucus williamsii Hance, belonging to the Sambucus L. family (Viburnaceae), possesses medicinal properties in its roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits. It is recognized for its ability to facilitate bone reunion, enhance blood circulation, remove stasis, and dispel wind and dampness. This traditional Chinese medicine holds significant potential for development and practical use. Hence, this paper offers an in-depth review of S. williamsii, covering traditional uses, processing guidelines, botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, and pharmacokinetics, aiming to serve as a reference for its further development and utilization.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Information for this study was gathered from various books, bibliographic databases, and literature sources such as Google Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Baidu Scholar, VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals, and Wanfang Data.

RESULTS

Phytochemical investigations have identified approximately 238 compounds within the root bark, stem branches, leaves, and fruits of S. williamsii. These compounds encompass flavonoids, sugars, glycosides, terpenoids, phenylpropanoids, alkaloids, phenols, phenolic glycosides, and other chemical constituents, with phenylpropanoids being the most prevalent. S. williamsii exhibits a wide range of pharmacological effects, particularly in promoting osteogenesis and fracture healing.

CONCLUSION

This comprehensive review delves into the traditional uses, processing guidelines, botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, and pharmacokinetics of S. williamsii. It provides valuable insights into this plant, which will prove beneficial for future research involving S. williamsii.

Environmental exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: An underestimated risk factor for systemic lupus erythematosus onset and progression

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the link between systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) incidence and exposure to environmental polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).

METHODS

A case-control study (ChiCTR2000038187) involving 316 SLE patients and 851 healthy controls (HCs) was executed. Environmental exposure was assessed via a questionnaire, stratified by gender and age (females <35 and ≥35 years, males). Blood samples collected from 89 HCs, 85 inactive, and 95 active SLE patients were used to measure serum benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide -albumin (BPDE-Alb) adducts and PAH concentrations, indicating long-term and short-term exposure respectively. Intergroup comparisons and statistical analyses were conducted using R version 4.3.1.

RESULTS

Diverse patterns were found in how environmental factors affect SLE onset across different demographics. Lifestyle exposure factors were found to be a stronger determinant of SLE onset than occupational exposure factors in women under 35. Indoor air pollution had a significant impact on SLE incidence, potentially comparable to outdoor air pollution. Lifestyle-related PAH exposure had a greater impact on SLE than occupational PAH exposure. PAH exposure levels progressively increase from HCs to inactive and active SLE patients. Active SLE patients show markedly higher BPDE-Alb levels than HCs.

CONCLUSIONS

Environmental PAH, particularly lifestyle-related, are significant, yet under-recognized, risk factors for SLE.

STATEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATION

We examined the relationship between exposure to environmental polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and the incidence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). PAH, prevalent in sources such as cigarette smoke, air pollution, and charred food, pose significant health hazards. This study is the first to investigate specific PAH exposure levels in SLE patients. We determined actual PAH exposure levels in both SLE patients and healthy individuals and indicated that long-term PAH exposure biomarker is more reliable for evaluating exposure in non-occupationally exposed groups like SLE, compared to short-term markers. These findings provide valuable insights for future research on similar non-occupationally exposed populations.

BnXTH1 regulates cadmium tolerance by modulating vacuolar compartmentalization and the cadmium binding capacity of cell walls in ramie (Boehmeria nivea)

Xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolases (XTH) are cell wall-modifying enzymes important in plant response to abiotic stress. However, the role of XTH in cadmium (Cd) tolerance in ramie remains largely unknown. Here, we identified and cloned BnXTH1, a member of the XTH family, in response to Cd stress in ramie. The BnXTH1 promoter (BnXTH1p) demonstrated that MeJA induces the response of BnXTH1p to Cd stress. Moreover, overexpressing BnXTH1 in Boehmeria nivea increased Cd tolerance by significantly increasing the Cd content in the cell wall and decreasing Cd inside ramie cells. Cadmium stress induced BnXTH1-expression and consequently increased xyloglucan endotransglucosylase (XET) activity, leading to high xyloglucan contents and increased hemicellulose contents in ramie. The elevated hemicellulose content increased Cd chelation onto the cell walls and reduced the level of intracellular Cd. Interestingly, overexpressing BnXTH1 significantly increased the content of Cd in vacuoles of ramie and vacuolar compartmentalization genes. Altogether, these results evidence that Cd stress induced MeJA accumulation in ramie, thus, activating BnXTH1 expression and increasing the content of xyloglucan to enhance the hemicellulose binding capacity and increase Cd chelation onto cell walls. BnXTH1 also enhances the vacuolar Cd compartmentalization and reduces the level of Cd entering the organelles and soluble solution.

The material basis of bitter constituents in Carbonized Typhae Pollen, based on the integration strategy of constituent analysis, taste sensing system and molecular docking

The discovery of bitter constituents is of great significance to the exploration of medicinal substances for they have potential physiological effects. Carbonized Typhae Pollen (CTP), which is a typical example of carbonized Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), has a bitter taste and hemostatic effect after carbonized processing. The objective of this study is to elucidate the material basis of bitter constituents in CTP. Firstly, the constituents of CTP extracts with 7 different solvents were characterized by UPLC-Q-TOF-MS. Then, multivariate statistical analysis was used to visualize the CTP extracts from 7 solvents. A total of 37 constituents were tentatively identified and 17 constituents were considered as the key constituents in differentiating 7 different solvent extracts. Subsequently, the bitter evaluation of extracts from different polar parts was investigated by using an electronic tongue. As a result, the order of bitterness of the extracts was as follows: ethanol > methanol > water > n-butyl alcohol > petroleum ether > butyl acetate > isopropanol. There were statistically significant differences in the bitter degree of extracts. By correlation analysis of bitter information and chemical constituents with partial least squares regression (PLSR), 8 potential bitterness constituents were discovered, including phenylalanine, valine, chlorogenic acid, isoquercitrin, palmitic acid, citric acid, quercetin-3-O-(2-α-L-rhamnosyl)-rutinoside, and typhaneoside. Additionally, molecular docking analysis was conducted to reveal the interaction of these constituents with the bitter taste receptor. The docking result showed that these constituents could be embedded well into the active pocket of T2R46 and had significant affinity interactions with critical amino acid residues by forming hydrogen bonds. This study provided a reliable theoretical basis for future research on biological activity of bitterness substances.

Effects and mechanisms of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in inflammatory skin diseases

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are hydrocarbons characterized by the presence of multiple benzene rings. They are ubiquitously found in the natural environment, especially in environmental pollutants, including atmospheric particulate matter, cigarette smoke, barbecue smoke, among others. PAHs can influence human health through several mechanisms, including the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) pathway, oxidative stress pathway, and epigenetic pathway. In recent years, the impact of PAHs on inflammatory skin diseases has garnered significant attention, yet many of their underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We conducted a comprehensive review of articles focusing on the link between PAHs and several inflammatory skin diseases, including psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, lupus erythematosus, and acne. This review summarizes the effects and mechanisms of PAHs in these diseases and discusses the prospects and potential therapeutic implications of PAHs for inflammatory skin diseases.

HRD-Net: High resolution segmentation network with adaptive learning ability of retinal vessel features

Retinal segmentation is a crucial step in the early warning of human health conditions. However, retinal blood vessels possess complex curvature, irregular distribution, and contain multi-scale fine structures, which make the limited receptive field of regular convolution challenging to process their vascular details efficiently. Additionally, the encoder-decoder based network leads to irreversible spatial information loss because of multiple downsampling, resulting in over-segmentation and missed segmentation of the vessels. For this reason, we develop a high-resolution network based on Deformable Convolution v3, called HRD-Net. By constructing a high-resolution representation, the network allows special attention to be paid to the details of tiny blood vessels. The proposed feature enhancement cascade module based on Deformable Convolution v3 can flexibly adapt and capture the ever-changing morphology and intricate connections of retinal blood vessels, ensuring the continuity of vessel segmentation. In the output phase of the network, the proposed global aggregation module integrates full-resolution feature maps while suppressing redundant features, achieving an effective fusion of high-level semantic information and spatial detail information. In addition, we have re-examined the selection criteria for activation and normalization methods, and also refine the network architectures from a spatial domain perspective to release redundant computational loads. Testing on the DRIVE, STARE, and CHASE_DB1 datasets indicates that HRD-Net, with fewer parameters, outperforms existing segmentation methods on several evaluation metrics such as F1, ACC, SE, SP, AUC, and IOU.

Novel alternative tools for metastatic pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas prediction

OBJECTIVE

The existing prediction models for metastasis in pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas (PPGLs) showed high heterogeneity in different centers. Therefore, this study aimed to establish new prediction models integrating multiple variables based on different algorithms.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Data of patients with PPGLs undergoing surgical resection at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2007 to 2022 were collected retrospectively. Patients were randomly divided into the training and testing sets in a ratio of 7:3. Subsequently, decision trees, random forest, and logistic models were constructed for metastasis prediction with the training set and Cox models for metastasis-free survival (MFS) prediction with the total population. Additionally, Ki-67 index and tumor size were transformed into categorical variables for adjusting models. The testing set was used to assess the discrimination and calibration of models and the optimal models were visualized as nomograms. Clinical characteristics and MFS were compared between patients with and without risk factors.

RESULTS

A total of 198 patients with 59 cases of metastasis were included and classified into the training set (n = 138) and testing set (n = 60). Among all models, the logistic regression model showed the best discrimination for metastasis prediction with an AUC of 0.891 (95% CI, 0.793-0.990), integrating SDHB germline mutations [OR: 96.72 (95% CI, 16.61-940.79)], S-100 (-) [OR: 11.22 (95% CI, 3.04-58.51)], ATRX (-) [OR: 8.42 (95% CI, 2.73-29.24)] and Ki-67 ≥ 3% [OR: 7.98 (95% CI, 2.27-32.24)] evaluated through immunohistochemistry (IHC), and tumor size ≥ 5 cm [OR: 4.59 (95% CI, 1.34-19.13)]. The multivariate Cox model including the above risk factors also showed a high C-index of 0.860 (95% CI, 0.810-0.911) in predicting MFS after surgery. Furthermore, patients with the above risk factors showed a significantly poorer MFS (P ≤ 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Models established in this study provided alternative and reliable tools for clinicians to predict PPGLs patients' metastasis and MFS. More importantly, this study revealed for the first time that IHC of ATRX could act as an independent predictor of metastasis in PPGLs.

Preoperative prediction of microsatellite instability status: development and validation of a pan-cancer PET/CT-based radiomics model

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to verify the feasibility of preoperative prediction of patients' microsatellite instability status by applying a PET/CT-based radiation model.

METHODS

This retrospective study ultimately included 142 patients. Three prediction models have been developed. The predictive performance of all models was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the curve values. The PET/CT radiological histology score (Radscore) was calculated to evaluate the microsatellite instability status, and the corresponding nomogram was established. The correlation between clinical factors and radiological characteristics was analyzed to verify the value of radiological characteristics in predicting microsatellite instability status.

RESULTS

Twelve features were retained to establish a comprehensive prediction model of radiological and clinical features. M phase of the tumor has been proven to be an independent predictor of microsatellite instability status. The receiver operating characteristic results showed that the area under the curve values of the training set and the validation set of the radiomics model were 0.82 and 0.75, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the training set were 0.72, 0.78, 0.83 and 0.66, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the validation set were 1.00, 0.50, 0.76 and 1.00, respectively. The risk of patients with microsatellite instability was calculated by Radscore and nomograph, and the cutoff value was -0.4385. The validity of the results was confirmed by the decision and calibration curves.

CONCLUSION

Radiological models based on PET/CT can provide clinical and practical noninvasive prediction of microsatellite instability status of several different cancer types, reducing or avoiding unnecessary biopsy to a certain extent.

Analysis of related factors influencing postoperative recurrence of adenomyosis treated with HIFU

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the efficacy of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for adenomyosis and postoperative recurrence and its influencing factors.

METHODS

Clinical and follow-up data of 308 patients with adenomyosis who were treated with HIFU in Haifu Center, Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from September 2017 to January 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. The recurrence of adenomyosis and the efficacy of HIFU at 6 months after surgery were followed up. To explore factors influencing postoperative prognosis and recurrence, the following variables were analyzed: patients' age, course of disease, gravidity and parity, size of the uterus, duration of HIFU, duration of irradiation, treatment intensity, dysmenorrhea score, time of follow-up, combined treatment of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), western medicine adjuvant treatment, lesion location and type, and menorrhagia.

RESULTS

Among the 308 patients, 238 (77%) were followed up from 6 to 36 months, with an average follow-up time of 15.24 ± 9.97 months. The other 70 (23%) were lost to follow-up. At 6-month after surgery, efficacy rates of dysmenorrhea and menorrhagia management were 86.7% and 89.3%, respectively. Postoperative recurrence rates were 4.8% (1-12 months), 9.0% (12-24 months), and 17.0% (24-36 months) for dysmenorrhea; and 6.3% (1-12 months), 2.4% (12-24 months), and 12.2% (24-36 months) for menorrhagia. Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that parity (P = 0.043, OR = 1.773, 95% CI 1.018-3.087), uterine size (P = 0.019, OR = 1.004, 95% CI 1.001-1.007), combined treatment of TCM (P = 0.047, OR = 1.846, 95% CI 1.008-3.381), diffuse lesion type (P = 0.013, OR = 0.464, 95% CI 0.254-0.848) and ablation rate (P = 0.015, OR = 0.481, 95%CI 0.267-0.868) were prognostic factors (P < 0.05). Age, course of disease, gravidity, duration of HIFU, duration of irradiation, treatment intensity, preoperative dysmenorrhea score, time of follow-up, western medicine adjuvant therapy, lesion location, and preoperative menstrual volume had no effect on prognosis (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

HIFU can effectively relieve dysmenorrhea and reduce menstrual volume in patients with adenomyosis. Parity, uterine size, lesion type (diffuse), and ablation rate are risk factors for symptom recurrence after HIFU, while the combination of TCM therapy is a protective factor for relapse. We, therefore, recommend TCM in the adjuvant setting after HIFU according to patient condition.

Using machine learning to identify proteomic and metabolomic signatures of stroke in atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common cardiac arrhythmia, with stroke being its most detrimental comorbidity. The exact mechanism of AF related stroke (AFS) still needs to be explored. In this study, we integrated proteomics and metabolomics platform to explore disordered plasma proteins and metabolites between AF patients and AFS patients. There were 22 up-regulated and 31 down-regulated differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in AFS plasma samples. Moreover, 63 up-regulated and 51 down-regulated differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) were discovered in AFS plasma samples. We integrated proteomics and metabolomics based on the topological interactions of DEPs and DEMs, which yielded revealed several related pathways such as arachidonic acid metabolism, serotonergic synapse, purine metabolism, tyrosine metabolism and steroid hormone biosynthesis. We then performed a machine learning model to identify potential biomarkers of stroke in AF. Finally, we selected 6 proteins and 6 metabolites as candidate biomarkers for predicting stroke in AF by random forest, the area under the curve being 0.976. In conclusion, this study provides new perspectives for understanding the progressive mechanisms of AF related stroke and discovering innovative biomarkers for determining the prognosis of stroke in AF.

Image-based profiling and deep learning reveal morphological heterogeneity of colorectal cancer organoids

Patient-derived organoids have proven to be a highly relevant model for evaluating of disease mechanisms and drug efficacies, as they closely recapitulate in vivo physiology. Colorectal cancer organoids, specifically, exhibit a diverse range of morphologies, which have been analyzed with image-based profiling. However, the relationship between morphological subtypes and functional parameters of the organoids remains underexplored. Here, we identified two distinct morphological subtypes ("cystic" and "solid") across 31360 bright field images using image-based profiling, which correlated differently with viability and apoptosis level of colorectal cancer organoids. Leveraging object detection neural networks, we were able to categorize single organoids achieving higher viability scores as "cystic" than "solid" subtype. Furthermore, a deep generative model was proposed to predict apoptosis intensity based on a apoptosis-featured dataset encompassing over 17000 bright field and matched fluorescent images. Notably, a significant correlation of 0.91 between the predicted value and ground truth was achived, underscoring the feasibility of this generative model as a potential means for assessing organoid functional parameters. The underlying cellular heterogeneity of the organoids, i.e., conserved colonic cell types and rare immune components, was also verified with scRNA sequencing, implying a compromised tumor microenvironment. Additionally, the "cystic" subtype was identified as a relapse phenotype featuring intestinal stem cell signatures, suggesting that this visually discernible relapse phenotype shows potential as a novel biomarker for colorectal cancer diagnosis and prognosis. In summary, our findings demonstrate that the morphological heterogeneity of colorectal cancer organoids explicitly recapitulate the association of phenotypic features and exogenous perturbations through the image-based profiling, providing new insights into disease mechanisms.

Exploring the dynamics of antibiotic resistome on plastic debris traveling from the river to the sea along a representative estuary based on field sequential transfer incubations

The environmental risks arising from ubiquitous microplastics or plastic debris (PD) acting as carriers of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have attracted widespread attention. Enormous amounts of plastic waste are transported by rivers and traverse estuaries into the sea every year. However, changes in the antibiotic resistome within the plastisphere (the biofilms formed on PD) as PD travels through estuaries are largely unknown. In this study, we performed sequential migration incubations for PD along Haihe Estuary to simulate the natural process of PD floating from rivers to the ocean. Metagenomic sequencing and analysis techniques were used to track microbial communities and antibiotic resistome on migrating PD and in seawater representing the marine environment. The total relative gene copies of ARGs on traveling PD remained stable. As migration between greatly varied waters, additional ARG subtypes were recruited to the plastisphere. Above 80 % ARG subtypes identified in the plastisphere were persistent throughout the migration, and over 30 % of these persistent ARGs were undetected in seawater. The bacterial hosts composition of ARGs on PD progressively altered as transported downstream. Human pathogenic bacteria carrying ARGs (HPBs-ARG) exhibited decreasing trends in abundance and species number during transfer. Individual HPBs-ARG persisted on transferred PD and were absent in seawater samples, comprising Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Based on all detected ARGs and HPBs-ARG, the Projection Pursuit model was applied to synthetically evaluate the potential risks of antibiotic resistance on migrating PD. Diminished risks on PD were observed upon the river-to-sea journey but consistently remained significantly higher than in seawater. The potential risks posed to marine environments by drifting PD as dispersal vectors for antibiotic resistance deserve greater attention. Our results provide initial insights into the dynamics or stability of antibiotic resistome on PD crossing distinct aquatic systems in field estuaries.

Protective effect of bioactive components from Rubi fructus against oxidative damage in human ovarian granulosa cells induced by 2,2-azobis (2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride

BACKGROUND

Diminished ovarian reserve has a serious impact on female reproduction with an increasing incidence every year. An important cause of this is oxidative stress. Rubi fructus, a traditional medicinal and edible plant, has shown therapeutic effects against gynecological diseases. Vanillic acid, isoquercitrin, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, kaempferol-3-O-sophoroside, oleanolic acid, tormentic acid, tiliroside, and ellagic acid are the major bioactive components in R. fructus. However, studies involved in the effectiveness and mechanism of these components in oxidative stress-induced ovarian dysfunction are scarce.

RESULTS

In this study, the protective mechanisms of the bioactive components were evaluated in human ovarian granulosa cells. Isoquercitrin was significantly superior to other bioactive components in relieving damage in human ovarian granulosa cells induced by 2,2-azobis (2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride, considering enhanced cell viability, reduced reactive oxygen species accumulation, and improved mitochondrial membrane potential level. Isoquercitrin protected human ovarian granulosa cells from oxidative stress by regulating the enzyme activity of glutathione peroxidase, inhibiting cell apoptosis, improving the expression of genes related to oxidative stress, and ameliorating heme oxygenase 1 protein expression.

CONCLUSION

Isoquercitrin, a bioactive component in R. fructus, has a significant protective effect on oxidative damage induced by 2,2-azobis (2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride in human ovarian granulosa cells, providing evidence for its potential application in protecting ovarian function. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Association of Blood Manganese and Preeclampsia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to comprehensively evaluate the association between manganese (Mn) level and preeclampsia (PE) during pregnancy. Relevant observational studies were retrieved by searching Medline, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library from database inception to May 25, 2023. Pooling results was performed using a random-effects model incorporating heterogeneity. This meta-analysis incorporated 18 observational studies, which included 1113 women with PE and 5480 normotensive pregnant women. Pooled results showed that compared to normotensive control, women with PE had significantly lower blood Mn concentration (standardized mean difference: -0.36, 95% confidence interval: -0.50 to -0.22, p < 0.001; I2 = 67%). Subgroup analysis showed that the results were not significantly affected by study country (African, Asian, or Western), timing of blood sampling (before, at, or after the diagnosis of PE), mean blood Mn level of controls, or numbers of confounding factors adjusted (p for subgroup analysis all > 0.05), while methods for measuring blood Mn levels might affect the results (p for subgroup difference < 0.001). Finally, pooled results of three studies showed that a high level of blood Mn was related to a low risk of PE with blood Mn analyzed in continuous (risk ratio [RR]: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.59 to 0.85, p < 0.001; I2 = 0%) and categorized variables (RR: 0.50, 95% CI: 0.30 to 0.82, p = 0.006; I2 = 32%). In conclusion, a low blood level of Mn may be associated with PE in pregnant women.

Filament coating system assists recovery of ablative fCO2 laser treatment: A split-face clinical observation

BACKGROUND

The current nursing procedure after fractional carbon dioxide (fCO2) is complex and needs to be optimized. The present study was conducted to evaluate the assisting effect of filament coating system after fCO2 laser treatment.

METHODS

Chinese individuals aged from 18 to 65 years diagnosed as photoaging or atrophic acne scar were recruited and each participant was treated with one single pass of fCO2 laser. A split face was randomly assigned as treatment side or control side. For control side, conventional procedure was topically applied respectively, including desonide cream two times for 3 days, fusidic acid cream two times for 7 days, and recombinant human epidermal growth factor (RhEGF) gel four times for 7 days; for treating side, a filament coating system was applied immediately after one application of fusidic acid cream, desonide cream and RhEGF, and removed 3 h later, for 3 days. Erythema, edema, crust, and pain on both sides were scored from 0 to 10 before and 1, 2, 4, and 7 days after fCO2 laser treatment. Stratum corneum hydration (SCH) and sebum of forehead and cheek on both sides were also measured by using Corneometer-Sebumeter.

RESULTS

Twenty photoaging and 11 atrophic acne scar participants finished the observation. All of them complained of erythema, edema, crust, and pain after fCO2 laser treatment, and the scores decreased as time passed by. There were no statistical significances of erythema, edema, crust, pain, SCH, and sebum between treating side and control side at each observation time.

CONCLUSION

Filament coating system was effective, safe, convenient, and economic in assisting recovery of ablative fCO2 laser, which might be a new option for additional nursing procedure.

Albumin combined with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio score and outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome treated with percutaneous coronary intervention

BACKGROUND

Evidence about the association between albumin combined with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio score (ANS) and survival outcomes in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is rare. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of ANS in patients with ACS undergoing PCI by propensity score matching (PSM) analysis.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients with ACS undergoing PCI were consecutively enrolled in this prospective cohort study from January 2016 to December 2018. The albumin and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio cutoff values for predicting major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) were calculated using receiver operating characteristic curves. Survival analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier estimates, the Cox proportional hazard regression models and PSM. The study endpoint was the occurrence of a MACE, which included all-cause mortality and rehospitalization for severe heart failure during follow-up.

RESULTS

Overall, 1549 patients with adequate specimens were identified and assigned into different groups for comparison. Before and after PSM, the Kaplan-Meier curves showed that a higher ANS value was associated with a higher risk of MACEs (all P  < 0.001). The multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression model showed that the ANS (per 1 score increase) [hazard ratio (HR), 2.016; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.329-3.057; P  = 0.001 vs. HR, 2.166; 95% CI, 1.344-3.492; P  = 0.002] was an independent predictor for MACEs.

CONCLUSION

This study tentatively confirms that ANS may be a valuable clinical indicator to identify high-risk ACS patients after PCI. More high-quality prospective studies are needed in the future.

Asiaticoside exerts neuroprotection through targeting NLRP3 inflammasome activation

BACKGROUND

Parkinson's disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder, is characterized by motor symptoms due to the progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN) and striatum (STR), alongside neuroinflammation. Asiaticoside (AS), a primary active component with anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties, is derived from Centella asiatica. However, the precise mechanisms through which AS influences PD associated with inflammation are not yet fully understood.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to explore the protective mechanism of AS in PD.

METHODS

Targets associated with AS and PD were identified from the Swiss Target Prediction, Similarity Ensemble Approach, PharmMapper, and GeneCards database. A protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed to identify potential therapeutic targets. Concurrently, GO and KEGG analyses were performed to predict potential signaling pathways. To validate these mechanisms, the effects of AS on 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced PD in mice were investigated. Furthermore, neuroinflammation and the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome were assessed to confirm the anti-inflammatory properties of AS. In vitro experiments in BV2 cells were then performed to investigate the mechanisms of AS in PD. Moreover, CETSA, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations (MDs) were performed for further validation.

RESULTS

Network pharmacology analysis identified 17 potential targets affected by AS in PD. GO and KEGG analyses suggested the biological roles of these targets, demonstrating that AS interacts with 149 pathways in PD. Notably, the NOD-like receptor signaling pathway was identified as a key pathway mediating AS's effect on PD. In vivo studies demonstrated that AS alleviated motor dysfunction and reduced the loss of dopaminergic neurons in MPTP-induced PD mice. In vitro experiments demonstrated that AS substantially decreased IL-1β release in BV2 cells, attributing this to the modulation of the NLRP3 signaling pathway. CETSA and molecular docking studies indicated that AS forms a stable complex with NLRP3. MDs suggested that ARG578 played an important role in the formation of the complex.

CONCLUSION

In this study, we first predicted that the potential target and pathway of AS's effect on PD could be NLRP3 protein and NOD-like receptor signaling pathway by network pharmacology analysis. Further, we demonstrated that AS could alleviate symptoms of PD induced by MPTP through its interaction with the NLRP3 protein for the first time by in vivo and in vitro experiments. By binding to NLRP3, AS effectively inhibits the assembly and activation of the inflammasome. These findings suggest that AS is a promising inhibitor for PD driven by NLRP3 overactivation.

Vesical Imaging-Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) as a grouping imaging biomarker combined with a decision-tree mode to preoperatively predict the pathological grade of bladder cancer

AIM

To investigate whether the Vesical Imaging-Reporting and Data System (VI-RADS) could be used to develop a new non-invasive preoperative grade-prediction system to partially predict high-grade bladder cancer (HG-BC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present study enrolled 89 primary BC patients prospectively from March 2022 to June 2023. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of VI-RADS for predicting HG-BC and muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) in the entire group. In the low VI-RADS (≤2) group, the decision tree-based method was used to obtain significant predictors and construct the decision-tree model (DT model). The performance of the DT model and low VI-RADS scores for predicting HG-BC was determined using ROC, calibration, and decision curve analyses.

RESULTS

At a cut-off of ≥3, the specificity and positive predictive value of VI-RADS for predicting HG-BC in the entire group was 100%, and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.697. Among 65 patients with low VI-RADS scores, the DT model showed an AUC of 0.884 in predicting HG-BC compared to 0.506 for low VI-RADS scores. Calibration and decision curve analyses showed that the DT model performed better than the low VI-RADS scores.

CONCLUSION

Most VI-RADS scores ≥3 correspond to HG-BCs. VI-RADS could be used as a grouping imaging biomarker for a pathological grade-prediction procedure, which in combination with the DT model for low VI-RADS (≤2) populations, would provide a potential preoperative non-invasive method of predicting HG-BC.

STCGRU: A hybrid model based on CNN and BiGRU for mild cognitive impairment diagnosis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Early diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is one of the essential measures to prevent its further development into Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this paper, we propose a hybrid deep learning model for early diagnosis of MCI, called spatio-temporal convolutional gated recurrent unit network (STCGRU).

METHODS

The STCGRU comprises three bespoke convolutional neural network (CNN) modules and a bi-directional gated recurrent unit (BiGRU) module, which can effectively extract the spatial and temporal features of EEG and obtain excellent diagnostic results. We use a publicly available EEG dataset that has not undergone pre-processing to verify the robustness and accuracy of the model. Ablation experiments on STCGRU are conducted to showcase the individual performance improvement of each module.

RESULTS

Compared with other state-of-the-art approaches using the same publicly available EEG dataset, the results show that STCGRU is more suitable for early diagnosis of MCI. After 10-fold cross-validation, the average classification accuracy of the hybrid model reached 99.95 %, while the average kappa value reached 0.9989.

CONCLUSIONS

The experimental results show that the hybrid model proposed in this paper can directly extract compelling spatio-temporal features from the raw EEG data for classification. The STCGRU allows for accurate diagnosis of patients with MCI and has a high practical value.

Combined impact of hypoalbuminemia and pharmacogenomic variants on voriconazole trough concentration: data from a real-life clinical setting in the Chinese population

Voriconazole (VRC) displays highly variable pharmacokinetics impacting treatment efficacy and safety. To provide evidence for optimizing VRC therapy regimens, the authors set out to determine the factors impacting VRC steady-state trough concentration (Cmin) in patients with various albumin (Alb) level. A total of 275 blood samples of 120 patients and their clinical characteristics and genotypes of CYP2C19, CYP3A4, CYP3A5, CYP2C9, FMO3, ABCB1, POR, NR1I2 and NR1I3 were included in this study. Results of multivariate linear regression analysis demonstrated that C-reactive protein (CRP) and total bilirubin (T-Bil) were predictors of the VRC Cmin adjusted for dose in patients with hypoalbuminemia (Alb < 35 g/L) (R2 = 0.16, P < 0.001). Additionally, in patients with normal albumin level (Alb ≥ 35 g/L), it resulted in a significant model containing factors of the poor metabolizer (PM) CYP2C19 genotype and CRP level (R2 = 0.26, P < 0.001). Therefore, CRP and T-Bil levels ought to receive greater consideration than genetic factors in patients with hypoalbuminemia.

Revealing underlying regulatory mechanisms of LINC00313 in Osimertinib-resistant LUAD cells by ceRNA network analysis

BACKGROUND

Osimertinib, a third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI), is the preferred treatment for EGFR-mutated lung cancer. However, acquired resistance inevitably develops. While non-coding RNAs have been implicated in lung cancer through various functions, the molecular mechanisms responsible for osimertinib resistance remain incompletely elucidated.

METHODS

RNA-sequencing technology was employed to determine differentially expressed lncRNAs (DE-lncRNAs) and mRNAs (DE-mRNAs) between H1975 and H1975OR cell lines. Starbase 2.0 was utilized to predict DE-lncRNA and DE-mRNA interactions, constructing ceRNA networks. Subsequently, functional and pathway enrichment analysis were performed on target DE-mRNAs to identify pathways associated with osimertinib resistance. Key target DE-mRNAs were then selected as potential risk signatures for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) prognostic modeling using multivariate Cox regression analyses. The Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry staining were used for result validation.

RESULTS

Functional analysis revealed that the identified DE-mRNAs primarily enriched in EGFR-TKI resistance pathways, especially in the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, where their concerted actions may lead to osimertinib resistance. Specifically, upregulation of LINC00313 enhanced COL1A1 expression by acting as a miR-218-5p sponge, triggering an upstream response that activates the PI3K/Akt pathway, potentially contributing to osimertinib resistance. Furthermore, the expressions of LINC00313 and COL1A1 were validated by qRT-PCR, and the activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway was confirmed by immunohistochemistry staining.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that the LINC00313/miR-218-5p/COL1A1 axis potentially contributes to osimertinib resistance through the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, providing novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying acquired osimertinib resistance in LUAD. Additionally, our study may aid in the identification of potential therapeutic targets for overcoming resistance to osimertinib.

Improving image quality of triple-low-protocol renal artery CT angiography with deep-learning image reconstruction: a comparative study with standard-dose single-energy and dual-energy CT with adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction

AIM

To investigate the improvement in image quality of triple-low-protocol (low radiation, low contrast medium dose, low injection speed) renal artery computed tomography (CT) angiography (RACTA) using deep-learning image reconstruction (DLIR), in comparison with standard-dose single- and dual-energy CT (DECT) using adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction-Veo (ASIR-V) algorithm.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Ninety patients for RACTA were divided into different groups: standard-dose single-energy CT (S group) using ASIR-V at 60% strength (60%ASIR-V), DECT (DE group) with 60%ASIR-V including virtual monochromatic images at 40 keV (DE40 group) and 70 keV (DE70 group), and the triple-low protocol single-energy CT (L group) with DLIR at high level (DLIR-H). The effective dose (ED), contrast medium dose, injection speed, standard deviation (SD), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of abdominal aorta (AA), and left/right renal artery (LRA, RRA), and subjective scores were compared among the different groups.

RESULTS

The L group significantly reduced ED by 37.6% and 31.2%, contrast medium dose by 33.9% and 30.5%, and injection speed by 30% and 30%, respectively, compared to the S and DE groups. The L group had the lowest SD values for all arteries compared to the other groups (p<0.001). The SNR of RRA and LRA in the L group, and the CNR of all arteries in the DE40 group had highest value compared to others (p<0.05). The L group had the best comprehensive score with good consistency (p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The triple-low protocol RACTA with DLIR-H significantly reduces the ED, contrast medium doses, and injection speed, while providing good comprehensive image quality.

Value of long non-coding RNA HAS2-AS1 as a diagnostic and prognostic marker of glioma

BACKGROUND

Glioma presents high incidence and poor prognosis, and therefore more effective treatments are needed. Studies have confirmed that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) basically regulate various human diseases including glioma. It has been theorized that HAS2-AS1 serves as an lncRNA to exert an oncogenic role in varying cancers. This study aimed to assess the value of lncRNA HAS2-AS1 as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for glioma.

METHODS

The miRNA expression data and clinical data of glioma were downloaded from the TCGA database for differential analysis and survival analysis. In addition, pathological specimens and specimens of adjacent normal tissue from 80 patients with glioma were used to observe the expression of HAS2-AS1. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the diagnostic ability and prognostic value of HAS2-AS1 in glioma. Meanwhile, a Kaplan-Meier survival curve was plotted to evaluate the survival of glioma patients with different HAS2-AS1 expression levels.

RESULTS

HAS2-AS1 was significantly upregulated in glioma tissues compared with normal tissue. The survival curves showed that overexpression of HAS2-AS1 was associated with poor overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS). Several clinicopathological factors of glioma patients, including tumor size and WHO grade, were significantly correlated with HAS2-AS1 expression in tissues. The ROC curve showed an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.863, indicating that HAS2-AS1 had good diagnostic value. The ROC curve for the predicted OS showed an AUC of 0.906, while the ROC curve for predicted PFS showed an AUC of 0.88. Both suggested that overexpression of HAS2-AS1 was associated with poor prognosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Normal tissues could be clearly distinguished from glioma tissues based on HAS2-AS1 expression. Moreover, overexpression of HAS2-AS1 indicated poor prognosis in glioma patients. Therefore, HAS2-AS1 could be used as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for glioma.

Enhancing deep vein thrombosis prediction in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 using improved machine learning model

BACKGROUND

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a significant complication in coronavirus disease 2019 patients, arising from coagulation issues in the deep venous system. Among 424 scheduled patients, 202 developed DVT (47.64%). DVT increases hospitalization risk, and complications, and impacts prognosis. Accurate prognostication and timely intervention are crucial to prevent DVT progression and improve patient outcomes.

METHODS

This study introduces an effective DVT prediction model, named bSES-AC-RUN-FKNN, which integrates fuzzy k-nearest neighbor (FKNN) with enhanced Runge-Kutta optimizer (RUN). Recognizing the insufficient effectiveness of RUN in local search capability and its convergence accuracy, spherical evolutionary search (SES) and differential evolution-inspired knowledge adaptive crossover (AC) are incorporated, termed SES-AC-RUN, to enhance its optimization capability.

RESULTS

Based on the benchmark set by CEC 2017 and comparative analyses with several peers, it is evident that SES-AC-RUN significantly enhances search performance compared to traditional RUN, even standing comparably against leading championship algorithms. The proposed bSES-AC-RUN-FKNN model was applied to predict a dataset comprising 424 cases of DVT patients, totaling 7208 records. Remarkably, the model demonstrates outstanding accuracy, reaching 91.02%, alongside commendable sensitivity at 91.07%.

CONCLUSIONS

The bSES-AC-RUN-FKNN emerges as a robust and efficient predictive tool, significantly enhancing the accuracy of DVT prediction. This model can be used to manage the risk of thrombosis in the care of COVID-19 patients. Nursing staff can combine the model's predictions with clinical judgment to formulate comprehensive treatment approaches.

Rapamycin improves the long-term T-cell memory and protective efficacy of tuberculosis subunit vaccine

The formation of long-lived T-cell memory is a critical goal of vaccines against intracellular pathogens like Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis). In this study, to access the adjuvant effect of rapamycin on tuberculosis subunit vaccine, we treated mice with rapamycin during the course of vaccination and then monitored the vaccine-specific long-term memory T cell recall responses and protective ability against mycobacterial organisms. Compared with the mice that received vaccine alone, rapamycin treatment enhanced the vaccine induced long-term IFN-γ and IL-2 recall responses, promoted the development of TCM (central memory) like cells and improved the long-term proliferative ability of lymphocytes. Long-duration (total 53 days) of low-dose rapamycin (75 μg/kg/day) treatment generated stronger vaccine-specific memory T cell responses than short-duration treatment (total 25 days). Moreover, rapamycin improved the vaccine's long-term protective efficacy, which resulted in a better reduction of 0.89-log10 CFU of mycobacterial organisms in the lungs compared with control without rapamycin treatment. These findings suggest that rapamycin may be considered in designing TB subunit vaccine regimens or as potential adjuvant to enhance vaccine-induced T cell memory response and to prolong the longevity of vaccine's protective efficacy.

Sub-region based radiomics analysis for prediction of isocitrate dehydrogenase and telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter mutations in diffuse gliomas

AIM

To enhance the prediction of mutation status of isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) and telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) promoter, which are crucial for glioma prognostication and therapeutic decision-making, via sub-regional radiomics analysis based on multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A retrospective study was conducted on 401 participants with adult-type diffuse gliomas. Employing the K-means algorithm, tumours were clustered into two to four subregions. Sub-regional radiomics features were extracted and selected using the Mann-Whitney U-test, Pearson correlation analysis, and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, forming the basis for predictive models. The performance of model combinations of different sub-regional features and classifiers (including logistic regression, support vector machines, K-nearest neighbour, light gradient boosting machine, and multilayer perceptron) was evaluated using an external test set.

RESULTS

The models demonstrated high predictive performance, with area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values ranging from 0.918 to 0.994 in the training set for IDH mutation prediction and from 0.758 to 0.939 for TERT promoter mutation prediction. In the external test sets, the two-cluster radiomics features and the logistic regression model yielded the highest prediction for IDH mutation, resulting in an AUC of 0.905. Additionally, the most effective predictive performance with an AUC of 0.803 was achieved using the four-cluster radiomics features and the support vector machine model, specifically for TERT promoter mutation prediction.

CONCLUSION

The present study underscores the potential of sub-regional radiomics analysis in predicting IDH and TERT promoter mutations in glioma patients. These models have the capacity to refine preoperative glioma diagnosis and contribute to personalised therapeutic interventions for patients.

Polarized Ultrathin BN Induced Dynamic Electron Interactions for Enhancing Acidic Oxygen Evolution

Developing ruthenium-based heterogeneous catalysts with an efficient and stable interface is essential for enhanced acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, we report a defect-rich ultrathin boron nitride nanosheet support with relatively independent electron donor and acceptor sites, which serves as an electron reservoir and receiving station for RuO2, realizing the rapid supply and reception of electrons. Through precisely controlling the reaction interface, a low OER overpotential of only 180 mV (at 10 mA cm-2) and long-term operational stability (350 h) are achieved, suggesting potential practical applications. In situ characterization and theoretical calculations have validated the existence of a localized electronic recycling between RuO2 and ultrathin BN nanosheets (BNNS). The electron-rich Ru sites accelerate the adsorption of water molecules and the dissociation of intermediates, while the interconnection between the O-terminal and B-terminal edge establishes electronic back-donation, effectively suppressing the over-oxidation of lattice oxygen. This study provides a new perspective for constructing a stable and highly active catalytic interface.

Cyclic Amine Synthesis via Catalytic Radical-Polar Crossover Cycloadditions

The rapid assembly of valuable cyclic amine architectures in a single step from simple precursors has been recognized as an ideal platform in term of efficiency and sustainability. Although a vast number of studies regarding cyclic amine synthesis has been reported, new synthetic disconnection approaches are still high in demand. Herein, we report a catalytic radical-polar crossover cycloaddition to cyclic amine synthesis triggered from primary sulfonamide under photoredox condition. This newly developed disconnection, comparable to established synthetic approaches, will allow to construct β, β-disubstituted cyclic amine and β-monosubstituted cyclic amine derivatives efficiently. This study highlights the unique utility of primary sulfonamide as a bifunctional reagent, which acts as a radical precursor and a nucleophile. The open-shell methodology demonstrates broad tolerance to various functional groups, drug derivatives and natural products in an economically and sustainable fashion.

Impact of perioperative low-molecular-weight heparin therapy on clinical events of elderly patients with prior coronary stents implanted > 12 months undergoing non-cardiac surgery: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Little is known about the safety and efficacy of discontinuing antiplatelet therapy via LMWH bridging therapy in elderly patients with coronary stents implanted for > 12 months undergoing non-cardiac surgery. This randomized trial was designed to compare the clinical benefits and risks of antiplatelet drug discontinuation via LMWH bridging therapy.

METHODS

Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive subcutaneous injections of either dalteparin sodium or placebo. The primary efficacy endpoint was cardiac or cerebrovascular events. The primary safety endpoint was major bleeding.

RESULTS

Among 2476 randomized patients, the variables (sex, age, body mass index, comorbidities, medications, and procedural characteristics) and percutaneous coronary intervention information were not significantly different between the bridging and non-bridging groups. During the follow-up period, the rate of the combined endpoint in the bridging group was significantly lower than in the non-bridging group (5.79% vs. 8.42%, p = 0.012). The incidence of myocardial injury in the bridging group was significantly lower than in the non-bridging group (3.14% vs. 5.19%, p = 0.011). Deep vein thrombosis occurred more frequently in the non-bridging group (1.21% vs. 0.4%, p = 0.024), and there was a trend toward a higher rate of pulmonary embolism (0.32% vs. 0.08%, p = 0.177). There was no significant difference between the groups in the rates of acute myocardial infarction (0.81% vs. 1.38%), cardiac death (0.24% vs. 0.41%), stroke (0.16% vs. 0.24%), or major bleeding (1.22% vs. 1.45%). Multivariable analysis showed that LMWH bridging, creatinine clearance < 30 mL/min, preoperative hemoglobin < 10 g/dL, and diabetes mellitus were independent predictors of ischemic events. LMWH bridging and a preoperative platelet count of < 70 × 109/L were independent predictors of minor bleeding events.

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed the safety and efficacy of perioperative LMWH bridging therapy in elderly patients with coronary stents implanted > 12 months undergoing non-cardiac surgery. An alternative approach might be the use of bridging therapy with half-dose LMWH.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ISRCTN65203415.

[Exploration and validation of optimal cut-off values for tPSA and fPSA/tPSA screening of prostate cancer at different ages]

Objective: To determine the total and age-specific cut-off values of total prostate specific antigen (tPSA) and the ratio of free PSA divided total PSA (fPSA/tPSA) for screening prostate cancer in China. Methods: Based on the Chinese Colorectal, Breast, Lung, Liver, and Stomach cancer Screening Trial (C-BLAST) and the Tianjin Common Cancer Case Cohort (TJ4C), males who were not diagnosed with any cancers at baseline since 2017 and received both tPSA and fPSA testes were selected. Based on Cox regression, the overall and age-specific (＜60, 60-＜70, and ≥70 years) accuracy and optimal cut-off values of tPSA and fPSA/tPSA ratio for screening prostate cancer were evaluated with time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve (tdROC) and area under curve (AUC). Bootstrap resampling was used to internally validate the stability of the optimal cut-off value, and the PLCO study was used to externally validate the accuracy under different cut-off values. Results: A total of 5 180 participants were included in the study, and after a median follow-up of 1.48 years, a total of 332 prostate cancer patients were included. In the total population, the tdAUC of tPSA and fPSA/tPSA screening for prostate cancer were 0.852 and 0.748, respectively, with the optimal cut-off values of 5.08 ng/ml and 0.173, respectively. After age stratification, the age specific cut-off values of tPSA in the <60, 60-<70, and ≥70 age groups were 3.13, 4.82, and 11.54 ng/ml, respectively, while the age-specific cut-off values of fPSA/tPSA were 0.153, 0.135, and 0.130, respectively. Under the age-specific cut-off values, the sensitivities of tPSA screening for prostate cancer in males <60, 60-70, and ≥70 years old were 92.3%, 82.0%, and 77.6%, respectively, while the specificities were 84.7%, 81.3%, and 75.4%, respectively. The age-specific sensitivities of fPSA/tPSA for screening prostate cancer were 74.4%, 53.3%, and 55.9%, respectively, while the specificities were 83.8%, 83.7%, and 83.7%, respectively. Both bootstrap's internal validation and PLCO external validation provided similar results. The combination of tPSA and fPSA/tPSA could further improve the accuracy of screening. Conclusion: To improve the screening effects, it is recommended that age-specific cut-off values of tPSA and fPSA/tPSA should be used to screen for prostate cancer in the general risk population.

Thickness- and Field-Dependent Magnetic Domain Evolution in van der Waals Fe3GaTe2

The discovery of room-temperature ferromagnetism in van der Waals (vdW) materials opens new avenues for exploring low-dimensional magnetism and its applications in spintronics. Recently, the observation of the room-temperature topological Hall effect in the vdW ferromagnet Fe3GaTe2 suggests the possible existence of room-temperature skyrmions, yet skyrmions have not been directly observed. In this study, real-space imaging was employed to investigate the domain evolution of the labyrinth and skyrmion structure. First, Néel-type skyrmions can be created at room temperature. In addition, the influence of flake thickness and external magnetic field (during field cooling) on both labyrinth domains and the skyrmion lattice is unveiled. Due to the competition between magnetic anisotropy and dipole interactions, the specimen thickness significantly influences the density of skyrmions. These findings demonstrate that Fe3GaTe2 can host room-temperature skyrmions of various sizes, opening up avenues for further study of magnetic topological textures at room temperature.

TRIM28 Fosters Microglia Ferroptosis via Autophagy Modulation to Enhance Neuropathic Pain and Neuroinflammation

This study explores the molecular underpinnings of neuropathic pain (NPP) and neuroinflammation, focusing on the role of TRIM28 in the regulation of autophagy and microglia ferroptosis. Leveraging transcriptomic data associated with NPP, we identified TRIM28 as a critical regulator of ferroptosis. Through comprehensive analysis, including Gene Ontology enrichment and protein-protein interaction network assessments, we unveiled GSK3B as a downstream target of TRIM28. Experimental validation confirmed the capacity of TRIM28 to suppress GSK3B expression and attenuate autophagic processes in microglia. We probed the consequences of autophagy and ferroptosis on microglia physiology, iron homeostasis, oxidative stress, and the release of proinflammatory cytokines. In a murine model, we validated the pivotal role of TRIM28 in NPP and neuroinflammation. Our analysis identified 20 ferroptosis regulatory factors associated with NPP, with TRIM28 emerging as a central orchestrator. Experimental evidence affirmed that TRIM28 governs microglial iron homeostasis and cell fate by downregulating GSK3B expression and modulating autophagy. Notably, autophagy was found to influence oxidative stress and proinflammatory cytokine release through the iron metabolism pathway, ultimately fueling neuroinflammation. In vivo experiments provided conclusive evidence of TRIM28-mediated pathways contributing to heightened pain sensitivity in neuroinflammatory states. The effect of TRIM28 on autophagy and microglia ferroptosis drives NPP and neuroinflammation. These findings offer promising avenues for identifying novel therapeutic targets to manage NPP and neuroinflammation.

The neutrophil-to-apolipoprotein A1 ratio is associated with adverse outcomes in patients with acute decompensated heart failure at different glucose metabolic states: a retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

The present study was performed to assess the association between the neutrophil-to-apolipoprotein A1 ratio (NAR) and outcomes in patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) at different glucose metabolism states.

METHODS

We recruited 1233 patients with ADHF who were admitted to Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University from December 2014 to October 2019. The endpoints were defined as composites of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal ischemic stroke and exacerbation of chronic heart failure. The restricted cubic spline was used to determine the best cutoff of NAR, and patients were divided into low and high NAR groups. Kaplan-Meier plots and multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used to investigate the association between NAR and the risk of adverse outcomes.

RESULTS

During the five-year follow-up period, the composite outcome occurred in 692 participants (56.1%). After adjusting for potential confounding factors, a higher NAR was associated with a higher incidence of composite outcomes in the total cohort (Model 1: HR = 1.42, 95% CI = 1.22-1.65, P<0.001; Model 2: HR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.10-1.51, P = 0.002; Model 3: HR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.01-1.42, P = 0.036). At different glucose metabolic states, a high NAR was associated with a high risk of composite outcomes in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) (Model 1: HR = 1.54, 95% CI = 1.25-1.90, P<0.001; Model 2: HR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.13-1.74, P = 0.002; Model 3: HR = 1.31, 95% CI = 1.04-1.66, P = 0.022), and the above association was not found in patients with prediabetes mellitus (Pre-DM) or normal glucose regulation (NGR) (both P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The NAR has predictive value for adverse outcomes of ADHF with DM, which implies that the NAR could be a potential indicator for the management of ADHF.

Self-controlled in silico gene knockdown strategies to enhance the sustainable production of heterologous terpenoid by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Microbial bioengineering is a growing field for producing plant natural products (PNPs) in recent decades, using heterologous metabolic pathways in host cells. Once heterologous metabolic pathways have been introduced into host cells, traditional metabolic engineering techniques are employed to enhance the productivity and yield of PNP biosynthetic routes, as well as to manage competing pathways. The advent of computational biology has marked the beginning of a novel epoch in strain design through in silico methods. These methods utilize genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) and flux optimization algorithms to facilitate rational design across the entire cellular metabolic network. However, the implementation of in silico strategies can often result in an uneven distribution of metabolic fluxes due to the rigid knocking out of endogenous genes, which can impede cell growth and ultimately impact the accumulation of target products. In this study, we creatively utilized synthetic biology to refine in silico strain design for efficient PNPs production. OptKnock simulation was performed on the GEM of Saccharomyces cerevisiae OA07, an engineered strain for oleanolic acid (OA) bioproduction that has been reported previously. The simulation predicted that the single deletion of fol1, fol2, fol3, abz1, and abz2, or a combined knockout of hfd1, ald2 and ald3 could improve its OA production. Consequently, strains EK1∼EK7 were constructed and cultivated. EK3 (OA07△fol3), EK5 (OA07△abz1), and EK6 (OA07△abz2) had significantly higher OA titers in a batch cultivation compared to the original strain OA07. However, these increases were less pronounced in the fed-batch mode, indicating that gene deletion did not support sustainable OA production. To address this, we designed a negative feedback circuit regulated by malonyl-CoA, a growth-associated intermediate whose synthesis served as a bypass to OA synthesis, at fol3, abz1, abz2, and at acetyl-CoA carboxylase-encoding gene acc1, to dynamically and autonomously regulate the expression of these genes in OA07. The constructed strains R_3A, R_5A and R_6A had significantly higher OA titers than the initial strain and the responding gene-knockout mutants in either batch or fed-batch culture modes. Among them, strain R_3A stand out with the highest OA titer reported to date. Its OA titer doubled that of the initial strain in the flask-level fed-batch cultivation, and achieved at 1.23±0.04 g L-1 in 96 hours in the fermenter-level fed-batch mode. This indicated that the integration of optimization algorithm and synthetic biology approaches was efficiently rational for PNP-producing strain design.

Sirt1 alleviates osteoarthritis via promoting FoxO1 nucleo-cytoplasm shuttling to facilitate autophagy

This study aims to investigate the role and underlying mechanisms of Sirt1 in the pathophysiological process of OA. Safranine O and HE staining were utilized to identify pathological changes in the cartilage tissue. Immunohistochemistry was employed to evaluate the expression levels of proteins. IL-1β treatment and TamCartSirt1flox/flox mice were utilized to induce OA model both in vitro and in vivo. Key autophagy-related transcription factors, autophagy-related genes, and chondrocyte extracellular matrix (ECM) breakdown enzyme markers were examined using multi assays. Immunofluorescence staining revealed subcellular localization and gene expression patterns. ChIP assay and Co-immunoprecipitation assay were conducted to investigate the interactions between FoxO1 and the promoter regions of Atg7 and Sirt1. Our results demonstrate that Sirt1 deficiency exhibited inhibitory effects on ECM synthesis and autophagy, as well as exacerbated angiogenesis. Moreover, Atg7, Foxo1, and Sirt1 could form a protein complex. Sirt1 was observed to facilitate nuclear translocation of FoxO1, enhancing its transcriptional activity. Furthermore, FoxO1 was found to bind to the promoter regions of Atg7 and Sirt1, potentially regulating their expression. This study provides valuable insights into the involvement of Sirt1-Atg7-FoxO1 loop in OA, opening new avenues for targeted therapeutic interventions aiming to mitigate cartilage degradation and restore joint function.

Promiscuous Oxidosqualene Cyclases from Neoalsomitra integrifoliola Catalyzing the Formation of Tetracyclic, Pentacyclic, and Heterocyclic Triterpenes

Six oxidosqualene cyclases (NiOSC1-NiOSC6) from Neoalsomitra integrifoliola were characterized for the biosynthesis of diverse triterpene scaffolds, including tetracyclic and pentacyclic triterpenes from the 2,3-oxidosqualene (1) and oxacyclic triterpenes from the 2,3:22,23-dioxidosqualene (2). NiOSC1 showed high efficiency in the production of naturally rare (20R)-epimers of oxacyclic triterpenes. Mutagenesis results revealed that the NiOSC1-F731G mutant significantly increased the yields of (20R)-epimers compared to the wild type. Homology modeling and molecular docking elucidated the origin of the (20R)-configuration in the epoxide addition step.

On-site detection and differentiation of African swine fever virus variants using an orthogonal CRISPR-Cas12b/Cas13a-based assay

The African swine fever virus (ASFV) and its variants have induced substantial economic losses in China, prompting a critical need for efficient detection methods. Several PCR-based methods have been developed to discriminate between wild-type ASFV and gene-deleted variants. However, the requirement for sophisticated equipment and skilled operators limits their use in field settings. Here, we developed a CRISPR-Cas12b/Cas13a-based detection assay that can identify ASFV variants with minimal equipment requirements and a short turnaround time. The assay utilizes the distinct DNA/RNA collateral cleavage preferences of Cas12b/Cas13a to detect two amplified targets from multiplex recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) in a single tube, and the results can be visualized through fluorescent or lateral-flow readouts. When tested with clinical samples in field settings, our assay successfully detected all ASFV-positive samples in less than 60 min. This assay provides a rapid on-site surveillance tool for detecting ASFV and its emerging variants.

Mitochondrial Outer Membrane Translocase MoTom20 Modulates Mitochondrial Morphology and Is Important for Infectious Growth of the Rice Blast Fungus Magnaporthe oryzae

Mitochondria are highly dynamic organelles that constantly change their morphology to adapt to the cellular environment through fission and fusion, which is critical for a cell to maintain normal cellular functions. Despite the significance of this process in the development and pathogenicity of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, the underlying mechanism remains largely elusive. Here, we identified and characterized a mitochondrial outer membrane translocase, MoTom20, in M. oryzae. Targeted gene deletion revealed that MoTom20 plays an important role in vegetative growth, conidiogenesis, penetration, and infectious growth of M. oryzae. The growth rate, conidial production, appressorium turgor, and pathogenicity are decreased in the ΔMotom20 mutant compared with the wild-type and complemented strains. Further analysis revealed that MoTom20 localizes in mitochondrion and plays a key role in regulating mitochondrial fission and fusion balance, which is critical for infectious growth. Finally, we found that MoTom20 is involved in fatty-acid utilization, and its yeast homolog ScTom20 is able to rescue the defects of ΔMotom20 in mitochondrial morphology and pathogenicity. Overall, our data demonstrate that MoTom20 is a key regulator for mitochondrial morphology maintenance, which is important for infectious growth of the rice blast fungus M. oryzae. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

Parageobacillus thermoglucosidasius Strain Engineering Using a Theophylline Responsive RiboCas for Controlled Gene Expression

The relentless increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations as a consequence of the exploitation of fossil resources compels the adoption of sustainable routes to chemical and fuel manufacture based on biological fermentation processes. The use of thermophilic chassis in such processes is an attractive proposition; however, their effective exploitation will require improved genome editing tools. In the case of the industrially relevant chassis Parageobacillus thermoglucosidasius, CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing has been demonstrated. The constitutive promoter used, however, accentuates the deleterious nature of Cas9, causing decreased transformation and low editing efficiencies, together with an increased likelihood of off-target effects or alternative mutations. Here, we rectify this issue by controlling the expression of Cas9 through the use of a synthetic riboswitch that is dependent on the nonmetabolized, nontoxic, and cheap inducer, theophylline. We demonstrate that the riboswitches are dose-dependent, allowing for controlled expression of the target gene. Through their use, we were then able to address the deleterious nature of Cas9 and produce an inducible system, RiboCas93. The benefits of RiboCas93 were demonstrated by increased transformation efficiency of the editing vectors, improved efficiency in mutant generation (100%), and a reduction of Cas9 toxicity, as indicated by a reduction in the number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) observed. This new system provides a quick and efficient way to produce mutants in P. thermoglucosidasius.