Circulating Proteins and IgA Nephropathy

BACKGROUND

The therapeutic options for IgA nephropathy are rapidly evolving, but early diagnosis and targeted treatment remain challenging. We aimed to identify circulating plasma proteins associated with IgA nephropathy by proteome-wide mendelian randomization studies across multiple ancestry populations.

METHODS

In this study, we applied Mendelian randomization and colocalization analyses to estimate the putative causal effects of 2615 proteins on IgA nephropathy in Europeans and 235 proteins in East Asians. Following two-stage network Mendelian randomization, multi-trait colocalization analysis and protein-altering variant annotation were performed to strengthen the reliability of the results. A protein-protein interaction network was constructed to investigate the interactions between the identified proteins and the targets of existing medications.

RESULTS

Putative causal effects of 184 and 13 protein-disease pairs in European and East Asian ancestries were identified, respectively. Two protein-disease pairs showed shared causal effects across them (CFHR1 and FCRL2). Supported by the evidence from colocalization analysis, potential therapeutic targets were prioritized and four drug-repurposing opportunities were suggested. The protein-protein interaction network further provided strong evidence for existing medications and pathways that are known to be therapeutically important.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study identified a number of circulating proteins associated with IgA nephropathy and prioritized several potential drug targets that require further investigation.

RotatedStomataNet: a deep rotated object detection network for directional stomata phenotype analysis

KEY MESSAGE

Innovatively, we consider stomatal detection as rotated object detection and provide an end-to-end, batch, rotated, real-time stomatal density and aperture size intelligent detection and identification system, RotatedeStomataNet. Stomata acts as a pathway for air and water vapor in the course of respiration, transpiration, and other gas metabolism, so the stomata phenotype is important for plant growth and development. Intelligent detection of high-throughput stoma is a key issue. Nevertheless, currently available methods usually suffer from detection errors or cumbersome operations when facing densely and unevenly arranged stomata. The proposed RotatedStomataNet innovatively regards stomata detection as rotated object detection, enabling an end-to-end, real-time, and intelligent phenotype analysis of stomata and apertures. The system is constructed based on the Arabidopsis and maize stomatal data sets acquired destructively, and the maize stomatal data set acquired in a non-destructive way, enabling the one-stop automatic collection of phenotypic, such as the location, density, length, and width of stomata and apertures without step-by-step operations. The accuracy of this system to acquire stomata and apertures has been well demonstrated in monocotyledon and dicotyledon, such as Arabidopsis, soybean, wheat, and maize. The experimental results that the prediction results of the method are consistent with those of manual labeling. The test sets, the system code, and their usage are also given ( https://github.com/AITAhenu/RotatedStomataNet ).

Wireless Sensing System Based on Biodegradable Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Evaluating Sports and Sleep Respiratory

The rapid growth of the Internet of Things and wearable sensors has led to advancements in monitoring technology in the field of health. One such advancement is the development of wearable respiratory sensors, which offer a new approach to real-time respiratory monitoring compared to traditional methods. However, the energy consumption of these sensors raises concerns about environmental pollution. To address the issue, this study proposes the use of a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) as a sustainable energy source. The electrical conductivity of the TENG is improved by incorporating chitosan and carbon nanotubes, with the added benefit of chitosan's biodegradability reducing negative environmental impact. A wireless intelligent respiratory monitoring system (WIRMS) is then introduced, which utilizes a degradable triboelectric nanogenerator for real-time respiratory monitoring, diagnosis, and prevention of obstructive respiratory diseases. WIRMS offers stable and highly accurate respiratory information monitoring, while enabling real-time and nondestructive transmission of information. In addition, machine learning technology is used for sleep respiration state analysis. The potential applications of WIRMS extend to wearables, medical monitoring and sports monitoring, thereby presenting innovative ideas for modern medical and sports monitoring.

Evaluating the developmental potential of 2.1PN-derived embryos and associated chromosomal analysis

PURPOSE

Zygotes with 2.1 pronuclei (2.1PN) present with two normal-sized pronuclei, and an additional smaller pronucleus, that is approximately smaller than two thirds the size of a normal pronucleus. It remains unclear whether the additional pronucleus causes embryonic chromosome abnormalities. In the majority of cases, in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics discarded 2.1PN zygotes. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the developmental potential and value of 2.1PN zygotes.

METHODS

2.1PN-derived embryos from 164 patients who underwent IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment between January 2021 and December 2022 were included in the present study. All embryos were monitored using a time-lapse system, and blastocyst formation was used to assess 2.1PN-derived embryo developmental potential. The blastocyst formation was quantified using generalized estimating equations, and chromosome euploidy was analyzed using next-generation sequencing (NGS). In addition, the potential association between age and occurrence of 2.1PN zygotes was determined.

RESULTS

The present study demonstrated that numerous 2.1PN zygotes developed into blastocysts. Early cleavage patterns and embryo quality on Day 3 were the independent predictors for the blastocyst formation of 2.1PN-derived embryos. The 2.1PN zygotes displayed a comparable developmental potential compared to 2PN zygotes in advanced age patients (≥ 38). Moreover, there was a tendency that 2.1PN-derived blastocysts showed a similar euploidy rate compared to 2PN-derived blastocysts.

CONCLUSION

Clinicians should consider using 2.1PN-derived euploid embryos for transfer after preimplantation genetic testing in the absence of available 2PN embryo cycles. 2.1PN-derived embryos could be a candidate, particularly beneficial for patients at advanced age.

Combined Plasma Olink Proteomics and Transcriptomics Identifies CXCL1 and TNFRSF12A as Potential Predictive and Diagnostic Inflammatory Markers for Acute Kidney Injury

Acute kidney injury (AKI) poses a significant global public health challenge. Current methods for detecting AKI rely on monitoring changes in serum creatinine (Scr), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), urinary output and some commonly employed biomarkers. However, these indicators are usually neither specific nor sensitive to AKI, especially in cases of mild kidney injury. AKI is accompanied by severe inflammatory reactions, resulting in the upregulation of numerous inflammation-associated proteins in the plasma. Plasma biomarkers are a noninvasive method for detecting kidney injury, and to date, plasma inflammation-associated cytokines have not been adequately studied in AKI patients. The objective of our research was to identify novel inflammatory biomarkers for AKI. We utilized Olink proteomics to analyze the alterations in plasma inflammation-related proteins in the serum of healthy mice (n = 2) or mice treated with cisplatin (n = 6). Additionally, transcriptome datasets for the lipopolysaccharide (LPS), cisplatin, and ischemia‒reperfusion injury (IRI) groups were obtained from the National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. We calculated the intersection of differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and genes (DEGs) from both datasets. In the Olink proteomics analysis, the AKI group had significantly greater levels of 11 DEPs than did the control group. In addition, 56 common upregulated DEGs were obtained from the transcriptome dataset. The expression of CXCL1 and TNFRSF12A overlapped across all the datasets. The transcription and protein expression levels of CXCL1 and TNFRSF12A were detected in vivo. The gene and protein levels of CXCL1 and TNFRSF12A were significantly increased in different AKI mouse models and clinical patients, suggesting that these genes and proteins could be potential specific biomarkers for the identification of AKI.

Nano-indentation study of dislocation evolution in GaN-based laser diodes

The slip systems and motion behavior of dislocations induced by nano-indentation technique in GaN-based LDs were investigated. Dislocations with burgers vector of b = 1/3 <11 2 ¯ 3> were introduced on either {11 2 ¯ 2} <11 2 ¯ 3>, or {1 1 ¯ 01} <11 2 ¯ 3> pyramidal slip systems in the upper p-GaN layer. Besides, {0001} <11 2 ¯ 0> basal slip system was also activated. The AlGaN/InGaN multi-layers in device can provide mismatch stresses to prevent dislocations from slipping through. It was observed that the density of dislocations induced by the indenter significantly decreased from the upper to the lower regions of the multi-layers. The a + c dislocations on pyramidal slip planes were mostly blocked by the strained layers.

Effects of early recovery of renal function on adverse renal outcomes and mortality in patients with acute kidney injury: a systematic review and meta-analysis

AIM

This study intended to scrutinize the effect of RFR time on adverse renal outcomes and mortality and try to define the cutoff of early RFR.

METHODS

We conducted a literature search from database inception to February 2023. Outcome measures incorporated the progression of CKD, delivery of RRT, incidence of composite renal outcomes, and mortality. And pooled results were depicted as odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).

RESULTS

A total of 11 studies were finally selected (507,989 patients, mean follow-up, 3.89 years). The results exhibited that the crude mortality was lower in patients with early RFR (OR = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.16-0.95, P = 0.037). In addition, patients with early RFR had a lower incidence of progression to CKD (OR = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.17-0.85, P < 0.018), RRT (OR = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.20-0.71, P = 0.03), and composite renal outcomes (OR = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.15-0.20, P < 0.001). CKD progression-related events were significantly higher in patients whose renal function recovered after 7 days (OR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.47-1.09, P = 0.112) than in those whose renal function recovered within 7 days (OR = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.06-0.92, P = 0.038), and the risk of RRT was lower in patients who recovered within 7 days (OR = 0.32, 95% CI: 0.15-0.66, P = 0.002) than in those who recovered after 7 days (OR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.17-3.09, P = 0.654) or longer.

CONCLUSION

Patients with early RFR had a lower risk of CKD progression, RRT, and composite renal outcomes, as well as lower crude mortality than those without early recovery, despite no marked difference in 30-day, 90-day, and 1-year mortality. We speculated that 7 days may be used as a cutoff for early RFR.

Zinc as a Mediator Through the ROCK1 Pathway of Cognitive Impairment in Aluminum-Exposed Workers: A Clinical and Animal Study

Aluminum (Al) exposure was implicated in neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive impairment, yet the involvement of zinc (Zn) and its mechanism in Al-induced mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remains poorly understood. The objective is to explore the role of Zn in Al-induced cognitive impairment and its potential mechanisms. Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) test scores and serum Al, Zn from Al industry workers were collected. A mediation analysis was performed to evaluate the role of serum Zn among serum Al and MoCA test scores. Subsequently, an Al-exposure study was conducted on a rat model categorized into control, low-, medium-, and high-dose groups. After a Morris Water Maze test and detection of Al, Zn content in the hippocampus, integrated transcriptomic and proteomic analyses between the control group and the high-dose group were performed to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEPs), proteins (DEPs), and pathways. To corroborate these findings, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting (WB) were selected to identify the gene and protein results. Zn overall mediates the relationship between serum Al and cognitive function (mediation effect 17.82%, effect value =  - 0.0351). In the Al-exposed rat model, 734 DEGs, 18 miRNAs, 35 lncRNAs, 64 circRNAs, and 113 DEPs were identified between the high-dose group and the control group. Among them, ROCK1, DMD, and other four DEPs were identified as related to zinc finger proteins (ZNF). Co-enrichment analyses of the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) linked these changes to the RHOA/ROCK1 signaling axis. ZNF-related proteins Rock1, DMD, and DHX57 in the high-dose group were downregulated (p = 0.006, 0.003, 0.04), and the expression of Myl9, Rhoa, miR431, and miR182 was also downregulated (p = 0.003, 0.032, 0.032, and 0.046). These findings also show correlations between Al, Zn levels in the hippocampus, water maze performance, and expressions of Myl9, Rhoa, miR431, miR182, DMD, ROCK1, and DHX57, with both negative and positive associations. Based on the results, we determined that Zn was involved in Al-induced MCI in Al workers and Al-exposed rat models. Al exposure and interaction with Zn could trigger the downregulation of ZNF of ROCK1, DMD, and DHX57. miR431, miR182 regulate RHOA/ROCK1 was one of the Zn-involved pathways in Al-induced cognitive impairment.

Complications of Injected Exogenous Growth Factor for Cosmetic Facial Rejuvenation: A Case Series and Sequential Therapy

BACKGROUND

Exogenous growth factor presents promising soft tissue regeneration, but the complications from injectable exogenous growth factor seem to be growing. However, there is no detailed summary of complications and sequential treatment protocols. It is noted that the injection of exogenous growth factor into the soft tissue is an unreasonable or even illegal procedure, which could cause uncontrollable tissue growth and some other complications.

METHODS

A total of 65 patients underwent analysis retrospectively for complications related to the injection of exogenous growth factor from 2017to 2022 at Xijing Hospital in China. Initially the symptoms mainly consisted of redness, skin temperature arisen, itching, tissue hypertrophy, localized swelling, mass, and lump, with later manifestations including ulcerations and purulent discharge. A comprehensive treatment scheme was formulated based on the location and size of the lumps as well as the type of complication. Post-treatment satisfaction was evaluated over a mean 16-month follow-up (range 6-39 months).

RESULTS

A total of 65 patients participated in the treatment. Drug injection therapy was initially performed on all patients. If injections were not effective, surgical treatment (debridement/excision/liposuction) was performed. Twenty-eight patients were managed with intralesional injections alone. Patients reported improved satisfaction in 23 cases (82.14%), full symptom resolution in 3 cases (10.72%), and no improvement in 2 cases (7.14%). Surgery was required for 37 patients. Postoperative improved satisfaction was reported in 30 cases (81.08%), full symptom resolution was recorded in 4 cases (10.82%), and no improvement was seen in 3 cases (8.10%).

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights the management of complications arising from exogenous growth factor injections through the implementation of a sequential therapy approach. Specifically, this approach involves the initial administration of drug injection therapy, and if drug injection therapy proves ineffective, then surgical treatment is pursued. In conclusion, the injection of exogenous growth factors into soft tissues should be forbidden.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV

This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Comparison of the upfront surgery and neoadjuvant therapy in resectable and borderline resectable pancreatic cancer: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis

Pancreatic cancer is a malignant disease with a dismal prognosis. While neoadjuvant therapy has shown promise in the treatment of pancreatic cancer, its role remains a subject of controversy among physicians. We aimed to evaluate the benefits of neoadjuvant therapy in patients with resectable and borderline resectable pancreatic cancer. Eligible studies were identified from MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. Studies comparing neoadjuvant therapy with upfront surgery (with or without adjuvant therapy) in resectable and borderline resectable pancreatic cancer were included. The primary endpoint assessed was overall survival. A total of 10,022 studies were identified, and the meta-analysis finally enrolled 50 revealed studies. The meta-analysis suggested that neoadjuvant therapy significantly improved the overall survival (HR 0.74, p < 0.001) and recurrence-free survival (HR 0.75, p = 0.006) compared to the upfront surgery approach. Furthermore, neoadjuvant therapy leads to favorable postoperative outcomes, with an enhanced R0 resection rate (OR 1.90, p < 0.001) and reduced lymph node metastasis (OR 0.36, p < 0.001) and perineural invasion (OR 0.42, p < 0.001), although it is associated with a reduced resection rate (OR 0.42, p < 0.001). In addition, patients treated with neoadjuvant therapy experience superior survival benefits compared to those undergoing adjuvant therapy (HR 0.87, p = 0.019). These results are further corroborated by the subgroup analysis of randomized controlled trials. Neoadjuvant therapy has the potential to provide survival benefits and improve postoperative long-term outcomes for patients with resectable and borderline resectable pancreatic cancer. However, to validate and reinforce these findings, further well-designed and large trials are required.

Association between erythrocyte membrane fatty acids and gut bacteria in obesity-related cognitive dysfunction

Obesity increases the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia, and the gut microbiota can affect brain cognitive function and obesity through a variety of pathways such as the gut-brain axis. This study aimed to discover how fatty acid affect cognitive function by regulating intestinal flora in obesity. Obese subjects were recruited for cognitive function assessment, and participants were divided into obese group with cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 49) and obese cognitively normal group (Non_MCI, n = 55). In the erythrocyte membrane, the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), linoleic acid (C18:2 n-6) and arachidonic acid (C20:4 n-6) and n-6/n-3 ratio was higher in the MCI group than in the Non_MCI group. However, the α-linolenic acid (C18:3 n-3) percentage of the erythrocyte membrane was lower in the MCI group. We found that Coriobacteriales_Incertae_Sedis was positively correlated with erythrocyte membrane C20:4 n-6 and n-6 PUFA and negatively correlated with cognitive scores in obese patients. In addition, several of the functional pathways we predicted were significantly different in the MCI and Non_MCI groups. Higher levels of n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ratio in the erythrocyte membranes may influence the inflammatory response in the organism causing obesity induced cognitive damage. Moreover, high levels of n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ratio may also affect the intestinal flora of obese patients, which in turn may affect the cognitive function of obese patients.

Remediation of lead-contaminated groundwater by oyster shell powder-peanut shell biochar mixture

Groundwater pollution caused by lead ions has become a widespread issue worldwide due to the ever-increasing development of industrial activities. Such pollution poses significant threats to both humans and the environment. Oyster shell powder-peanut shell biochar mixture (OSP-PSB mixture) was used for lead-contaminated groundwater treatment by permeable reactive barrier (PRB) technology. Basic characteristics of materials proved that OSP-PSB mixture has good adsorption properties; OSP with particle sizes ranging from 0.85 to 1.18 mm was used in this research; according to engineering and adsorption characteristics, OSP-PSB mixture (5:1) showed excellent permeability (4.35 × 10-4 cm/s) and lead adsorption capacity(27 mg/g); long-term permeability of the OSP-PSB mixture slightly decreased over time and met the permeability requirements for PRB; the removal mechanisms of lead ions by OSP-PSB mixture include precipitation, surface complexation, ion exchange, and physical adsorption. The experiment results showed that the OSP-PSB mixture fulfills the actual project requirements of PRB.

Low-dose Interleukin-2 For Psoriasis Therapy Based on the Regulation of Th17/Treg Cell Balance in Peripheral Blood

The imbalance between regulatory T (Treg) cells and efficient T cells plays an important role in psoriasis. Low-dose interleukin (IL)-2 can preferentially activate Treg cells and ameliorate the imbalance of Treg/efficient T cells. This study focused on the status of circulating CD4+ T subsets and the clinical efficacy of low-dose IL-2 therapies in psoriasis. This retrospective study included peripheral blood samples obtained from 45 psoriatic patients and 40 healthy controls. The 45 psoriatic patients received three cycles of subcutaneous low-dose IL-2 treatment (0.5 million IU/day for 2 weeks) combined with conventional therapies. Inflammatory indices, CD4+ T-lymphocyte subsets, and cytokines were measured in all patients before and after treatment. The percentage of Treg cells was dramatically decreased in the psoriasis group compared to the healthy group, and the percentage of Treg cells negatively correlated with the disease indices and the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) (P < 0.001). The Th17/Treg ratio was significantly increased in the psoriasis group compared to the healthy group, and the Th17/Treg ratio positively correlated with disease indices and PASI (P < 0.001). Low-dose IL-2 treatment significantly amplified the percentage of Treg cells and restored the Th17 and Treg immune balance in psoriasis (P < 0.001). Low-dose IL-2 combination therapy effectively improved the clinical manifestations of psoriasis but decreased the inflammatory indicators of the disease activity, with no apparent side effects. Thus, low-dose IL-2 provides a new strategy for the treatment of psoriasis.

Preschool or/and kindergarten? The long-term benefits of different types of early childhood education on pupils' skills

BACKGROUND

Developing countries have witnessed great progress in early childhood education (ECE) enrollment rate over the past three decades. Preschool and kindergarten are the two most common types of ECE in developing countries. Questions remain as to which of the two types of ECE is more effective in promoting child development in developing countries, including both cognitive and non-cognitive skills. The objective of this paper is to examine the long-term benefits of attending preschool or/and kindergarten on pupils' cognitive and non-cognitive skills in rural China.

METHODOLOGY

We pooled data from two large-scale surveys conducted by the authors themselves at 136 rural primary schools in 20 counties from three provinces in northwestern China in 2009. The final study sample consisted of 9,839 pupils who both reported their ECE experience and completed cognitive and non-cognitive tests. We measured pupils' cognitive skills by standardized math test scores and grade retention, and their non-cognitive skills by both self-reported self-efficacy, mental health, and teacher-reported behaviors. Inverse Probability Weighting (IPW) was used to balance the pre-treatment variables between the treatment (Any ECE, Preschool Only, Kindergarten Only, or Preschool+Kindergarten) and comparison (No ECE) groups.

RESULTS

Results from IPW show that compared with their peers without any ECE experience, pupils with any ECE experience perform better in cognitive skills (0.118 standard deviations (s.d.) increase in the TIMSS, 7.1 percentage point (pp) decrease in the probability of grade retention) but not in non-cognitive skills. By ECE types, attending kindergarten only is associated with a 0.150 s.d. increase in the TIMSS, a 7.0 pp decrease in the probability of grade retention, and a 0.059 s.d. decrease in the index of behavioral problems of pupils. Moreover, attending both preschool and kindergarten predicts a lower probability of grade retention, but attending preschool only has few benefits. Heterogenous analyses suggest that the long-term benefits of ECE are more prominent among the Han pupils from households with higher socio-economic status.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings imply that increasing access to ECE can be an effective instrument to improve pupils' skills in less-developed rural areas of China, especially their cognitive skills. Among different types of ECE, attending kindergarten contributes more to pupils' skill development in rural China than other types. We call for strengthened efforts to ensure equal access to quality ECE for preschool-aged children in rural China.

High Performance Rotating Triboelectric Nanogenerator with Coaxial Rolling Charge Pump Strategy

With the development of society and the advancement of technology, the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) has changed people's lifestyles and raised the demand for energy to a new level. However, there are some drawbacks in terms of energy supply for IoT sensors, such as limited battery capacity and limitations in replacement and maintenance. Therefore, it has become urgent to develop a sustainable green energy source (wind energy) using the surrounding environment. Meanwhile, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) with advantages such as flexible structure, low manufacturing cost, and environmental friendliness provide enormous potential for constructing self-powered sensing systems. In this work, we present a novel coaxial rolling charge pump TENG (CR-TENG) based on wind energy to enhance the output performance and durability. The rolling friction charge pump TENG directly injects positive and negative charges into the main TENG, which is more wear-resistant compared to sliding friction, and greatly increases the charge density and output power. In addition, the charge pumping part and the main TENG adopt the coaxial design, reducing the complexity of the structural design. On comparing the output performance of the CR-TENG under the initial state, rectifier bridge supplemental charge strategy, and charge pump supplemental charge strategy, results shown that the output voltage performance of the CR-TENG can be improved by 5800% under the charge pump supplemental charge strategy. Moreover, the output performance of the CR-TENG remains stable after 72,000 cycles. The output power of the CR-TENG can reach 1.21 mW with a load resistance of 3 × 107 Ω. And the CR-TENG can charge a 0.1 μF capacitor to 5 V in just 1.6 s. This work provides new insights for the rotary durable high output charge pump compensating a triboelectric nanogenerator and demonstrates the important potential of harvesting environmental energy to supply intelligent IoT nodes.

Electrochemical sensor for hydrogen sulfide detection using electrocatalysis-assisted amplification and chemical reaction-mediated signal enhancement

An ultrasensitive electrochemical biosensing platform has been designed by combining electrocatalysis-assisted H2S amplification with a chemical reaction-mediated electrochemical signal-boosted system for H2S detection based on Cu-Mn(OH)2 hexagonal nanorings. The signal amplification is initiated by an electrocatalysis reaction that can grasp specific H2S substrates and further highly amplify electrochemical signals. Then, the unique chemical reaction is powered by copper ion and generates a large amount of electroactive CuxS products on the electrode surface, thus achieving the multiple amplification of H2S detection. Finally, the Cu-Mn(OH)2 loaded with plenty of electroactive CuxS can be captured on the electrode for further improving the electrochemical signal thus obtaining ultra-high sensitive determination of H2S. The established electrochemical biosensing platform displays a wide analytical range of 0.1 μM to 265 μM with a low detection limit of 0.096 μM. The satisfactory selectivity allows the electrochemical sensor to distinguish H2S from other interfering substances without any complicated pretreatment, even in complex tumor cell samples. Thus, our designed electrocatalysis-assisted amplification strategy offers a powerful analysis toolkit for the early determination of H2S-related disease in clinical diagnosis.

A multimodal radiomic machine learning approach to predict the LCK expression and clinical prognosis in high-grade serous ovarian cancer

We developed and validated a multimodal radiomic machine learning approach to noninvasively predict the expression of lymphocyte cell-specific protein-tyrosine kinase (LCK) expression and clinical prognosis of patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC). We analyzed gene enrichment using 343 HGSOC cases extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas. The corresponding biomedical computed tomography images accessed from The Cancer Imaging Archive were used to construct the radiomic signature (Radscore). A radiomic nomogram was built by combining the Radscore and clinical and genetic information based on multimodal analysis. We compared the model performances and clinical practicability via area under the curve (AUC), Kaplan-Meier survival, and decision curve analyses. LCK mRNA expression was associated with the prognosis of HGSOC patients, serving as a significant prognostic marker of the immune response and immune cells infiltration. Six radiomic characteristics were chosen to predict the expression of LCK and overall survival (OS) in HGSOC patients. The logistic regression (LR) radiomic model exhibited slightly better predictive abilities than the support vector machine model, as assessed by comparing combined results. The performance of the LR radiomic model for predicting the level of LCK expression with five-fold cross-validation achieved AUCs of 0.879 and 0.834, respectively, in the training and validation sets. Decision curve analysis at 60 months demonstrated the high clinical utility of our model within thresholds of 0.25 and 0.7. The radiomic nomograms were robust and displayed effective calibration. Abnormally high expression of LCK in HGSOC patients is significantly correlated with the tumor immune microenvironment and can be used as an essential indicator for predicting the prognosis of HGSOC. The multimodal radiomic machine learning approach can capture the heterogeneity of HGSOC, noninvasively predict the expression of LCK, and replace LCK for predictive analysis, providing a new idea for predicting the clinical prognosis of HGSOC and formulating a personalized treatment plan.

Spatiotemporal associations between hand, foot and mouth disease and meteorological factors over multiple climate zones

Prior studies of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) have often observed inconsistent results regarding meteorological factors. We propose the hypothesis that these meteorological associations vary in regions because of the heterogeneity of their geographical characteristics. We have tested this hypothesis by applying a geographical detector and Bayesian space-time hierarchy model to measure stratified spatiotemporal heterogeneity and local associations between meteorological factors and HFMD risk in five climate zones in China from January 2016 to December 2017. We found a significant spatial stratified heterogeneity in HFMD risk and climate zone explained 15% of the spatial stratified heterogeneity. Meanwhile, there was a significant temporal stratified heterogeneity of 14% as determined by meteorological factors. Average temperatures and relative humidity had a significant positive effect on HFMD in all climate zones, they were the most obvious in the southern temperate zone. In northern temperate, southern temperate, northern subtropics, middle subtropics and southern subtropics climate zone, a 1 °C rise in temperature was related to an increase of 3.99%, 13.76%, 4.38%, 3.99%, and 7.74% in HFMD, and a 1% increment in relative humidity was associated with a 1.51%, 5.40%, 2.21%, 3.44%, and 4.78% increase, respectively. These findings provide strong support for our hypotheses that HFMD incidence has a significant spatiotemporal stratified heterogeneity and different climate zones have distinct influences on the disease. These findings provide strong support for our hypotheses: HFMD incidence had significant spatiotemporal stratified heterogeneity and different climate zones had distinct influences on it. The study suggested that HFMD prevention and policy should be made according to meteorological variation in each climate zone.

Alleviation of Adverse Effects of Drought Stress on Growth and Nitrogen Metabolism in Mungbean (Vigna radiata) by Sulphur and Nitric Oxide Involves Up-Regulation of Antioxidant and Osmolyte Metabolism and Gene Expression

The influence of drought induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG) and the alleviatory effect of nitric oxide (50 µM) and sulphur (S, 1 mM K2SO4) were studied in Vigna radiata. Drought stress reduced plant height, dry weight, total chlorophylls, carotenoids and the content of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and sulphur. The foliar applications of NO and sulphur each individually alleviated the decline, with a greater alleviation observed in seedlings treated with both NO and sulphur. The reduction in intermediates of chlorophyll synthesis pathways and photosynthesis were alleviated by NO and sulphur. Oxidative stress was evident through the increased hydrogen peroxide, superoxide and activity of lipoxygenase and protease which were significantly assuaged by NO, sulphur and NO + sulphur treatments. A reduction in the activity of nitrate reductase, glutamine synthetase and glutamate synthase was mitigated due to the application of NO and the supplementation of sulphur. The endogenous concentration of NO and hydrogen sulphide (HS) was increased due to PEG; however, the PEG-induced increase in NO and HS was lowered due to NO and sulphur. Furthermore, NO and sulphur treatments to PEG-stressed seedlings further enhanced the functioning of the antioxidant system, osmolytes and secondary metabolite accumulation. Activities of γ-glutamyl kinase and phenylalanine ammonia lyase were up-regulated due to NO and S treatments. The treatment of NO and S regulated the expression of the Cu/ZnSOD, POD, CAT, RLP, HSP70 and LEA genes significantly under normal and drought stress. The present study advocates for the beneficial use of NO and sulphur in the mitigation of drought-induced alterations in the metabolism of Vigna radiata.

Introduction of multilayered quantum dot nanobeads into competitive lateral flow assays for ultrasensitive and quantitative monitoring of pesticides in complex samples

A competitive fluorescent lateral flow assay (CFLFA) is proposed for direct, ultrasensitive, quantitative detection of common pesticides imidacloprid (IMI) and carbendazim (CBZ) in complex food samples by using silica-core multilayered quantum dot nanobeads (SiO2-MQB) as liquid fluorescent tags. The SiO2-MQB nanostructure comprises a 200-nm SiO2 core and a shell of hundreds of carboxylated QDs (excitation/emission maxima ~365/631 nm), and can generate better stability, superior dispersibility, and higher luminescence than traditional fluorescent beads, greatly improving the sensitivity of current LFA methods for pesticides. Moreover, using liquid SiO2-MQB directly instead of via the conjugate pad both simplifies the structure of LFA system and improves the efficiency of immunobinding reactions between nanotags and the targets. Applying these methods, the established CFLFA realized the stable and accurate detection of IMI and CBZ in 12 min, with detection limits down to 1.94 and 14.79 pg/mL, respectively. The SiO2-MQB-CFLFA is practicable for application to real food samples (corn, apple, cucumber, and cabbage), and undoubtedly a promising and low-cost tool for on-site monitoring of trace pesticide residues.

Genetic Predisposition to Periodontitis and Risk of Migraine: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Study

INTRODUCTION

Previous observational studies have associated periodontitis (PD) with migraine; however, the results are inconclusive and the causality of the association between PD and migraine remains unclear. This two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study was performed to explore the bi-directional causal relationship between PD and migraine.

METHODS

To investigate the relationship between PD (17,353 cases; 28,210 controls) and migraine (1072 cases; 360,122 controls), we used genetic tools from the largest available genome-wide association study of European descent. Inverse variance-weighted (IVW) and a series of sensitivity analyses were used to explore the association between migraine and PD. We performed an MR study using seven SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) as instrumental variables for PD to investigate the causal relationship between migraine and PD.

RESULTS

We found no significant causal relationship between PD and migraine (odds ratio, OR = 1.000; 95% confidence interval, CI = 0.99-1.00; p = 0.65). Similarly, no evidence supported a causal relationship between migraine and PD (OR = 0.07; CI = 2.04 × 10-9-2.65 × 106; p = 0.77). A sensitivity analysis revealed that no potential polymorphic effect (p = 0.356) and heterogeneity (p = 0.652) exists for the variants used in constructing the genetic instrument.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the results of our MR study, there is no causal relationship between PD and migraines or migraines and PD.

Tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling-based quantitative proteomic analysis reveals the cellular protein characteristics of 16HBE cells infected with coxsackievirus A10 and the potential effect of HMGB1 on viral replication

Coxsackievirus A10 (CV-A10) is recognized as one of the most important pathogens associated with hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) in young children under 5 years of age worldwide, and it can lead to fatal neurological complications. However, available commercial vaccines fail to protect against CV-A10. Therefore, there is an urgent need to study new protein targets of CV-A10 and develop novel vaccine-based therapeutic strategies. Advances in proteomics in recent years have enabled a comprehensive understanding of host pathogen interactions. Here, to study CV-A10-host interactions, a global quantitative proteomic analysis was conducted to investigate the molecular characteristics of host cell proteins and identify key host proteins involved in CV-A10 infection. Using tandem mass tagging (TMT)-based mass spectrometry, a total of 6615 host proteins were quantified, with 293 proteins being differentially regulated. To ensure the validity and reliability of the proteomics data, three randomly selected proteins were verified by Western blot analysis, and the results were consistent with the TMT results. Further functional analysis showed that the upregulated and downregulated proteins were associated with diverse biological activities and signaling pathways, such as metabolic processes, biosynthetic processes, the AMPK signaling pathway, the neurotrophin signaling pathway, the MAPK signaling pathway, and the GABAergic synaptic signaling. Moreover, subsequent bioinformatics analysis demonstrated that these differentially expressed proteins contained distinct domains, were localized in different subcellular components, and generated a complex network. Finally, high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) might be a key host factor involved in CV-A10 replication. In summary, our findings provide comprehensive insights into the proteomic profile during CV-A10 infection, deepen our understanding of the relationship between CV-A10 and host cells, and establish a proteomic signature for this viral infection. Moreover, the observed effect of HMGB1 on CV-A10 replication suggests that it might be a potential therapeutic target treatment of CV-A10 infection.

XGBoost-SHAP-based interpretable diagnostic framework for alzheimer's disease

BACKGROUND

Due to the class imbalance issue faced when Alzheimer's disease (AD) develops from normal cognition (NC) to mild cognitive impairment (MCI), present clinical practice is met with challenges regarding the auxiliary diagnosis of AD using machine learning (ML). This leads to low diagnosis performance. We aimed to construct an interpretable framework, extreme gradient boosting-Shapley additive explanations (XGBoost-SHAP), to handle the imbalance among different AD progression statuses at the algorithmic level. We also sought to achieve multiclassification of NC, MCI, and AD.

METHODS

We obtained patient data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database, including clinical information, neuropsychological test results, neuroimaging-derived biomarkers, and APOE-ε4 gene statuses. First, three feature selection algorithms were applied, and they were then included in the XGBoost algorithm. Due to the imbalance among the three classes, we changed the sample weight distribution to achieve multiclassification of NC, MCI, and AD. Then, the SHAP method was linked to XGBoost to form an interpretable framework. This framework utilized attribution ideas that quantified the impacts of model predictions into numerical values and analysed them based on their directions and sizes. Subsequently, the top 10 features (optimal subset) were used to simplify the clinical decision-making process, and their performance was compared with that of a random forest (RF), Bagging, AdaBoost, and a naive Bayes (NB) classifier. Finally, the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC) dataset was employed to assess the impact path consistency of the features within the optimal subset.

RESULTS

Compared to the RF, Bagging, AdaBoost, NB and XGBoost (unweighted), the interpretable framework had higher classification performance with accuracy improvements of 0.74%, 0.74%, 1.46%, 13.18%, and 0.83%, respectively. The framework achieved high sensitivity (81.21%/74.85%), specificity (92.18%/89.86%), accuracy (87.57%/80.52%), area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) (0.91/0.88), positive clinical utility index (0.71/0.56), and negative clinical utility index (0.75/0.68) on the ADNI and NACC datasets, respectively. In the ADNI dataset, the top 10 features were found to have varying associations with the risk of AD onset based on their SHAP values. Specifically, the higher SHAP values of CDRSB, ADAS13, ADAS11, ventricle volume, ADASQ4, and FAQ were associated with higher risks of AD onset. Conversely, the higher SHAP values of LDELTOTAL, mPACCdigit, RAVLT_immediate, and MMSE were associated with lower risks of AD onset. Similar results were found for the NACC dataset.

CONCLUSIONS

The proposed interpretable framework contributes to achieving excellent performance in imbalanced AD multiclassification tasks and provides scientific guidance (optimal subset) for clinical decision-making, thereby facilitating disease management and offering new research ideas for optimizing AD prevention and treatment programs.

Potent Intestinal Mucosal Barrier Enhancement of Nostoc commune Vaucher Polysaccharide Supplementation Ameliorates Acute Ulcerative Colitis in Mice Mediated by Gut Microbiota

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is evolving into a global burden with a substantially increasing incidence in developing countries. It is characterized by inflammation confined to mucosa and is recognized as an intestinal barrier disease. The intestinal microbiota plays a crucial role in UC pathogenesis. N. commune has long been appreciated as a healthy food and supplement worldwide and polysaccharides account for 60%. Here, we examined the amelioration of N. commune polysaccharides against acute colitis in mice induced by DSS and assessed the mediating role of gut microbiota. An integrated analysis of microbiome, metabolomics, and transcriptomics fully elaborated it markedly enhanced intestinal mucosal barrier function, including: increasing the relative abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila, uncultured_bacterium_g__norank_f__Muribaculaceae, and unclassified_g__norank_f__norank_o__Clostridia_UCG-014; decreasing microbiota-derived phosphatidylcholines and thromboxane 2 levels mapped to arachidonic acid metabolism; improving mucin2 biosynthesis and secretion; enhancing ZO-1 and occludin expression; reducing neutrophil infiltration; regulating the level of colitis-related inflammatory cytokines; involving inflammation and immune function-associated signaling pathways. Further, the mediation effect of gut microbiota was evaluated by administering a cocktail of antibiotics. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that N. commune polysaccharides predominantly reinforced the gut microbiota-mediated intestinal mucosal barrier to confer protection against UC and exhibited dramatic prebiotic-like functions, providing an alternative or complementary treatment for UC.

In Situ Formation ZnIn2 S4 /Mo2 TiC2 Schottky Junction for Accelerating Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution Kinetics: Manipulation of Local Coordination and Electronic Structure

Regulating electronic structures of the active site by manipulating the local coordination is one of the advantageous means to improve photocatalytic hydrogen evolution (PHE) kinetics. Herein, the ZnIn₂ S₄ /Mo₂ TiC₂ Schottky junctions are designed to be constructed through the interfacial local coordination of In³⁺ with the electronegative O terminal group on Mo₂ TiC₂ based on the different work functions. Kelvin probe force microscopy and charge density difference reveal that an electronic unidirectional transport channel across the Schottky interface from ZnIn₂ S₄ to Mo₂ TiC₂ is established by the formed local nucleophilic/electrophilic region. The increased local electron density of Mo₂ TiC₂ inhibits the backflow of electrons, boosts the charge transfer and separation, and optimizes the hydrogen adsorption energy. Therefore, the ZnIn₂ S₄ /Mo₂ TiC₂ photocatalyst exhibits a superior PHE rate of 3.12 mmol g^-1 h^-1 under visible light, reaching 3.03 times that of the pristine ZnIn₂ S₄ . This work provides some insights and inspiration for preparing MXene-based Schottky catalysts to accelerate PHE kinetics.

An Efficient Differential Privacy-Based Method for Location Privacy Protection in Location-Based Services

Location-based services (LBS) are widely used due to the rapid development of mobile devices and location technology. Users usually provide precise location information to LBS to access the corresponding services. However, this convenience comes with the risk of location privacy disclosure, which can infringe upon personal privacy and security. In this paper, a location privacy protection method based on differential privacy is proposed, which efficiently protects users' locations, without degrading the performance of LBS. First, a location-clustering (L-clustering) algorithm is proposed to divide the continuous locations into different clusters based on the distance and density relationships among multiple groups. Then, a differential privacy-based location privacy protection algorithm (DPLPA) is proposed to protect users' location privacy, where Laplace noise is added to the resident points and centroids within the cluster. The experimental results show that the DPLPA achieves a high level of data utility, with minimal time consumption, while effectively protecting the privacy of location information.

Ecological Responses of Soil Microbial Communities to Heavy Metal Stress in a Coal-Based Industrial Region in China

Soil microorganisms play vital roles in ecosystem functions, and soil microbial communities might be affected by heavy metal contamination caused by the anthropogenic activities associated with the coal-based industry. This study explored the effects of heavy metal contamination on soil bacterial and fungal communities surrounding different coal-based industrial fields (the coal mining industry, coal preparation industry, coal-based chemical industry, and coal-fired power industry) in Shanxi province, North China. Moreover, soil samples from farmland and parks away from all the industrial plants were collected as references. The results showed that the concentrations of most heavy metals were greater than the local background values, particularly for arsenic (As), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg). There were significant differences in soil cellulase and alkaline phosphatase activities among sampling fields. The composition, diversity, and abundance of soil microbial communities among all sampling fields were significantly different, particularly for the fungal community. Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Acidobacteria were the predominant bacterial phyla, while Ascomycota, Mortierellomycota, and Basidiomycota dominated the studied fungal community in this coal-based industrially intensive region. A redundancy analysis, variance partitioning analysis, and Spearman correlation analysis revealed that the soil microbial community structure was significantly affected by Cd, total carbon, total nitrogen, and alkaline phosphatase activity. This study profiles the basic features of the soil physicochemical properties, the multiple heavy metal concentrations, and the microbial communities in a coal-based industrial region in North China.

Ruthenium-catalysed decarboxylative unsymmetric dual ortho-/meta-C-H bond functionalization of arenecarboxylic acids

Here, we describe a ruthenium-catalysed decarboxylative unsymmetric ortho-C-H azaarylation/meta-C-H alkylation via a traceless directing group relay strategy. The installation of a 2-pyridyl functionality via carboxyl directed ortho-C-H activation is critical to promote decarboxylation and enable meta-C-H bond alkylation to streamline the synthesis of 4-azaaryl-benzo-fused five-membered heterocycles. This protocol is characterized by high regio- and chemoselectivity, broad substrate scopes, and good functional group tolerance under redox-neutral conditions.

Ginsenoside 24-OH-PD from red ginseng inhibits acute T-lymphocytic leukaemia by activating the mitochondrial pathway

Ginsenoside 24-hydroxy-ginsengdiol (24-OH-PD), extracted from red ginseng, is a novel diol-type ginsenoside, strongly inhibits the growth of human T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL) CCRF-CEM cells. Our research aimed at investigating the mechanism underlying this inhibition. Cell viability was determined using the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, and NOD/SCID mice bearing CCRF-CEM cells were used to verify the therapeutic effect of 24-OH-PD on T-ALL in vivo. We equally analysed pathways related to 24-OH-PD in CCRF-CEM cells using RNA-Seq analysis. Cell apoptosis, reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), and mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) levels were detected by flow cytometry. The activity of caspase3 and caspase9 was detected by enzyme activity detection kits. The expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins and mRNA were determined through western blotting and quantitative reverse-transcription PCR assays (qRT-PCR). CCK-8 assay and animal xenograft experiments confirmed that 24-OH-PD significantly inhibited T-ALL in a dose-dependent manner, both in vivo and in vitro. RNA-Seq results suggest that mitochondria-mediated apoptosis pathway plays an important role in this process. Furthermore, intracellular ROS levels increased, mPTP opened, and ΔΨm decreased following 24-OH-PD treatment. Pretreatment with the antioxidant, NAC, reversed the effects of 24-OH-PD on apoptosis and ROS generation. Moreover, 24-OH-PD treatment increased the expression of Bax and caspase family members, thereby releasing cytochrome c (Cytc) and inducing apoptosis. Our findings showed that, 24-OH-PD induces apoptosis in CCRF-CEM cells by activating the mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis pathway through ROS accumulation. This inhibitory effect implies that 24-OH-PD could be further developed as treatment of T-ALL.

Efficient production of salvianic acid A from L-dihydroxyphenylalanine through a tri-enzyme cascade

Salvianic acid A (SAA), used for treating cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, possesses several pharmacological properties. However, the current methods for the enzymatic synthesis of SAA show low efficiency. Here, we constructed a three-enzyme cascade pathway in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) to produce SAA from L-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA). The phenylpyruvate reductase (LaPPR) from Lactobacillus sp. CGMCC 9967 is a rate-limiting enzyme in this process. Therefore, we employed a mechanism-guided protein engineering strategy to shorten the transfer distances of protons and hydrides, generating an optimal LaPPR mutant, LaPPRMu2 (H89M/H143D/P256C), with a 2.8-fold increase in specific activity and 9.3-time increase in kcat/Km value compared to that of the wild type. Introduction of the mutant LaPPRMu2 into the cascade pathway and the optimization of enzyme levels and transformation conditions allowed the obtainment of the highest SAA titer (82.6 g L-1) ever reported in vivo, good conversion rate (91.3%), excellent ee value (99%) and the highest productivity (6.9 g L-1 h-1) from 90 g L-1 L-DOPA in 12 h. This successful strategy provides a potential new method for the industrial production of SAA.

Primary observations of EVO ICL implantation for high myopia with concave iris

PURPOSE

To investigate the morphological changes of concave iris in myopic patients after EVO implantable collamer lens (ICL) implantation.

METHODS

EVO ICL candidates with posterior bowing iris were observed using ultrasound biometric microscopy (UBM) in this prospective nonrandomized observational study. Forty patients were enrolled, with 20 patients in the concave iris group and the other 20 patients in the control group. None of the patients underwent laser peripheral iridotomy. All patients received preoperative and postoperative examinations, which included uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), subjective manifest refraction and intraocular pressure. UBM was used to observe iris curvature (IC), irido-corneal angle (ICA), posterior chamber angle (PCA), iris-lens contact distance (ILCD), iris-zonule distance (IZD) and ciliary process length (CPL). Anterior chamber angle pigment was observed by gonioscopy. The preoperative and postoperative data were analyzed using SPSS.

RESULTS

The average follow-up period was 13.3 ± 5.3 months. The mean efficacy indices were 1.10 ± 0.13 and 1.07 ± 0.11 (P = 0.58), and the safety indices were 1.19 ± 0.09 and 1.18 ± 0.17 in the control group and the concave iris group (P = 0.93), respectively. The IOP postoperatively were 14.13 ± 2.02 mmHg and 14.69 ± 1.59 mmHg in control and concave iris groups (P = 0.37). Preoperatively, the concave iris group was presented with greater IC (P < 0.0001), longer ILCD (P < 0.0001), wider ICA (P = 0.004), narrower PCA (P = 0.01), and shorter IZD (P = 0.03) than the control group. In the concave iris group, IC, ILCD and ICA were significantly decreased after ICL implantation (P < 0.0001), while PCA and IZD were significantly increased (P = 0.03 and P = 0.04, respectively). Postoperative IC, ILCD, ICA, PCA and IZD were not statistically different between groups (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference in pigment deposition grades between the two groups (P = 0.37).

CONCLUSION

After EVO ICL implantation, the morphology of concave iris was significantly improved, which may reduce the risk of intraocular pigment dissemination caused by iris concavity. The concave iris has no impact on the safety of EVO ICL surgery during the follow-up.

Design and evaluation of an exergame system to assist knee disorders patients' rehabilitation based on gesture interaction

We designed a knee rehabilitation exercise game (Exergame) for home-based rehabilitation of patients with knee disorders. The system includes three functional components: knee exercise plan formulation, exergame, and exercise feedback. The 3D Human Pose Estimation based on images is used as the gesture interaction to capture the patient's primary joint motion data. We recruited 20 knee osteoarthritis (KOA) to evaluate the system's feasibility and user experience. The physician's group formulated the patient's exercise plans. The average accuracy of motion recognition is 95.2%, indicating that the system can effectively guide rehabilitation training for KOA patients. The results of the UEQ-S questionnaire, namely the practical quality value (1.63 ± 0.85), hedonic quality value (1.75 ± 0.86), and the total value (1.69 ± 0.86) of 20 patients, indicate that the system provides an excellent user experience, which improves the willingness and compliance of the patients for the active exercise. The above evidence confirms that the proposed approach is suitable for Knee disorders rehabilitation exercise and has promising application prospects.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13755-022-00189-5.

SS31 Alleviates Pressure Overload-Induced Heart Failure Caused by Sirt3-Mediated Mitochondrial Fusion

Heart failure caused by pressure overload is one of the leading causes of heart failure worldwide, but its pathological origin remains poorly understood. It remains critical to discover and find new improvements and treatments for pressure overload-induced heart failure. According to previous studies, mitochondrial dysfunction and myocardial interstitial fibrosis are important mechanisms for the development of heart failure. The oligopeptide Szeto-Schiller Compound 31 (SS31) can specifically interact with the inner mitochondrial membrane and affect the integrity of the inner mitochondrial membrane. Whether SS31 alleviates pressure overload-induced heart failure through the regulation of mitochondrial fusion has not yet been confirmed. We established a pressure-overloaded heart failure mouse model through TAC surgery and found that SS31 can significantly improve cardiac function, reduce myocardial interstitial fibrosis, and increase the expression of optic atrophy-associated protein 1 (OPA1), a key protein in mitochondrial fusion. Interestingly, the role of SS31 in improving heart failure and reducing fibrosis is inseparable from the presence of sirtuin3 (Sirt3). We found that in Sirt3KO mice and fibroblasts, the effects of SS31 on improving heart failure and improving fibroblast transdifferentiation were disappeared. Likewise, Sirt3 has direct interactions with proteins critical for mitochondrial fission and fusion. We found that SS31 failed to increase OPA1 expression in both Sirt3KO mice and fibroblasts. Thus, SS31 can alleviate pressure overload-induced heart failure through Sirt3-mediated mitochondrial fusion. This study provides new directions and drug options for the clinical treatment of heart failure caused by pressure overload.

Release characteristics of elemental mercury during low calorific value coal combustion

The dynamic release characteristics of Hg⁰ during low calorific value coal combustion were investigated in a combining laboratory-scale furnace coupled with atomic fluorescence spectroscopy. The results show that the sulfur has an inhibitory effect on the homogeneous oxidation of Hg⁰ in flue gas. The instant intensity of Hg⁰ release increases with increasing temperature while the amount of Hg⁰ release gradually decreases with increasing temperature. Compared with that under air, the instant intensity of Hg⁰ release under O₂/CO₂ atmosphere increases to some extent with a lower decreasing rate of Hg⁰ release peak. The release ratio of elemental mercury (Hg) from Yuwu (YW) and Qinxin (QX) coal increases while that from Yonghao (YH) coal decreases under O₂/CO₂ atmosphere. In the range of 800-1100°C, the release rate of Hg reaches more than 96% under the residence time of 50 s.