Correlation analysis of serum TLR4 protein levels and TLR4 gene polymorphisms in gouty arthritis patients

OBJECTIVE

The Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4-mediated nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway regulates the production of inflammatory factors and plays a key role in the pathogenesis of gouty arthritis. The aim of the present study was to investigate the link among TLR4 gene polymorphisms at various loci, protein expression, and gouty arthritis susceptibility.

METHODS

Between 2016 and 2021, a case-control study was used to collect a total of 1207 study subjects, including 317 male patients with gouty arthritis (gout group) and 890 healthy males (control group). The association between gout susceptibility and different genetic models was analyzed by typing three loci of the TLR4 gene (rs2149356, rs2737191, and rs10759932) using a multiplex point mutation rapid assay, and the association between protein expression and gout was confirmed by measuring TLR4 protein concentrations using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs).

RESULTS

In a codominant models AA and AG, the rs2737191 polymorphism in the gout group increased the risk of gout compared to the AA genotype (OR = 2.249, 95%CI 1.010~5.008), and the risk of gout was higher for those carrying the G allele compared to the A allele (OR = 2.227, 95%CI 1.006~4.932). TLR4 protein expression was different between the two groups with different locus genotypes. The differences in TLR4 protein expression between the gout group and control group were statistically significant between the following genotypes: the GG and GT genotypes of the rs2149356 polymorphism; the AA and AG genotypes of the rs2737191 polymorphism; and the TT and TC genotypes of the rs10759932 polymorphism(P<0.05). The TLR4 protein level in the gout group (19.19±3.09 ng/ml) was significantly higher than that in the control group (15.85±4.75 ng/ml).

CONCLUSION

The AG genotype of the TLR4 gene rs2737191 polymorphism may be correlated with the development of gouty arthritis. The level of TLR4 protein expression is significantly higher in patients with gouty arthritis than in controls, and there is a correlation between high TLR4 protein expression and the development of gouty arthritis.

Coherent Modulation of the Aggregation Behavior and Intramolecular Charge Transfer in Small Molecule Probes for Sensitive and Long-term Nerve Agent Monitoring

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) shows promising performance in chemical sensing relying on the change of the emission behavior of the probe molecule monomers to the aggregated product. However, whether the response contrast could be further boosted by utilizing the emission property of the aggregated probe and the aggregated product remains a big challenge. Here, an exciting AIE probe regulation strategy was proposed by coherently modulating the aggregation behavior and the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) property of the probes and thus an aggregated-to-aggregated colorimetric-fluorescent dual-mode detection was achieved. The blue emissive film obtained with the optimal AIE probe has been proven to be effective to recognize the vapor of nerve agent analog DCP in air by emitting a sharp green fluorescence. In addition, a porous polymer-based wet sensing chip loaded with the probe enables the immediate response to DCP vapor with a limit of detection (LOD) of 1.7 ppb, and it was further integrated into a wearable watch device for long-term monitoring of DCP vapor up to two weeks. We expect the present probe design strategy would greatly deepen the AIE-based science and provide new insights for long-term monitoring sensors toward trace hazardous substances.

Chemokines and Their Receptors: Predictors of Therapeutic Potential in Tumor Microenvironment on Esophageal Cancer

Esophageal carcinoma (ESCA) is an aggressive solid tumor. The 5-year survival rate for patients with ESCA is estimated to be less than 20%, mainly due to tumor invasion and metastasis. Therefore, it is urgent to improve early diagnostic tools and effective treatments for ESCA patients. Tumor microenvironment (TME) enhances the ability of tumor cells to proliferate, migrate, and escape from the immune system, thus promoting the occurrence and development of tumor. TME contains chemokines. Chemokines consist of four major families, which are mainly composed of CC and CXC families. The main purpose of this review is to understand the CC and CXC chemokines and their receptors in ESCA, to improve the understanding of tumorigenesis of ESCA and determine new biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of ESCA. We reviewed the literature on CC and CXC chemokines and their receptors in ESCA identified by PubMed database. This article introduces the general structures and functions of CC, CXC chemokines and their receptors in TME, as well as their roles in the progress of ESCA. Chemokines are involved in the development of ESCA, such as cancer cell invasion, metastasis, angiogenesis, and radioresistance, and are key determinants of disease progression, which have a great impact on patient prognosis and treatment response. In addition, a full understanding of their mechanism of action is essential to further verify that these chemokines and their receptors may serve as biomarkers or therapeutic targets of ESCA.

A Self-Accelerating Naphthalimide-Based Probe Coupled with Upconversion Nanoparticles for Ultra-Accurate Tri-Mode Visualization of Hydrogen Peroxide

The design and development of ultra-accurate probe is of great significance to chemical sensing in complex practical scenarios. Here, a self-accelerating naphthalimide-based probe with fast response and high sensitivity toward hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is designed. By coupling with the specially selected upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs), an ultra-accurate colorimetric-fluorescent-upconversion luminescence (UCL) tri-mode platform is constructed. Owing to the promoted reaction process, this platform demonstrates rapid response (< 1 s), an ultra-low detection limit (4.34 nM), and superb anti-interferent ability even in presence of > 21 types of oxidants, explosives, metallic salts, daily compounds, colorful or fluorescent substances. In addition, the effectiveness of this design is further verified by a sponge-based sensing chip loaded with the UCNPs/probe in recognizing trace H2O2 vapor from interferents with the three characteristic colors existing simultaneously. The proposed design of probe and tri-mode visualization detection platform is expected to open up a brand-new methodology for ultra-accurate sensing.

Electrophilicity Modulation for Sub-ppm Visualization and Discrimination of EDA

Precise and timely recognition of hazardous chemical substances is of great significance for safeguarding human health, ecological environment, public security, etc., especially crucial for adopting appropriate disposition measures. Up to now, there remains a practical challenge to sensitively detect and differentiate organic amines with similar chemical structures with intuitive analysis outcomes. Here, a unique optical probe with two electrophilic recognition sites for rapid and ultra-sensitive ratiometric fluorescence detection of ethylenediamine (EDA) is presented, while producing distinct fluorescence signals to its structural analog. The probe exhibits ppb/nmol level sensitivity to liquidous and gaseous EDA, specific recognition toward EDA without disturbance to up to 28 potential interferents, as well as rapid fluorescence response within 0.2 s. By further combining the portable sensing chip with the convolutional algorithm endowed with image processing, this work cracked the problem of precisely discriminating the target and non-targets at extremely low concentrations.

Two-stage association study of mitochondrial DNA variants in allergic rhinitis

BACKGROUND

Correlations between mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and allergic rhinitis (AR) have not been reported before. This study aimed to better understand the mitochondrial genome profile with AR and to investigate the associations between AR in China and the mitochondrial genome at a single variant and gene level.

METHODS

Mitochondrial sequencing was conducted on a total of 134 unrelated individual subjects (68 patients with AR, 66 healthy controls) at discovery stage. Heteroplasmy was analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Sequence kernel association tests (SKAT) were conducted to study the association between mitochondrial genes and AR. Single-variant analysis was performed using logistic regression analysis and further validated in 120 subjects (69 patients with AR, 51 healthy controls). Candidate genes were further explored based on differences in mRNA and protein abundance in nasal mucosal tissue.

RESULTS

In the discovery stage, 886 variants, including 836 SNV and 50 indels, were identified with mitochondrial sequencing. No statistically significant differences were identified for the mitochondrial heteroplasmy or SKAT analysis between these two groups after applying a Boferroni correction. One nonsynonymous variants, rs3135028 (MT8584.G/A) in ATP6, was related to a reduced risk of AR in both the discovery and validation cohorts. Furthermore, mRNA levels of MT-ATP6 in nasal mucosal tissue were significantly lower in AR individuals than in controls (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

In a two-stage analysis of associations between AR and mtDNA variations, mitochondrial gene maps of Chinese patients with AR indicated that the ATP6 gene was probably associated with AR at the single-variant level.

GhHB14_D10 and GhREV_D5, two HD-ZIP III transcription factors, play a regulatory role in cotton fiber secondary cell wall biosynthesis

KEY MESSAGE

GhHB14_D10 and GhREV_D5 regulated secondary cell wall formation and played an important role in fiber development. Cotton serves as an important source of natural fiber, and the biosynthesis of the secondary cell wall plays a pivotal role in determining cotton fiber quality. Nevertheless, the intricacies of this mechanism in cotton fiber remain insufficiently elucidated. This study investigates the functional roles of GhHB14_D10 and GhREV_D5, two HD-ZIP III transcription factors, in secondary cell wall biosynthesis in cotton fibers. Both GhHB14_D10 and GhREV_D5 were found to be localized in the nucleus with transcriptional activation activity. Ectopic overexpression of GhHB14_D10 and GhREV_D5 in Arabidopsis resulted in changed xylem differentiation, secondary cell wall deposition, and expression of genes related to the secondary cell wall. Silencing of GhHB14_D10 and GhREV_D5 in cotton led to enhanced fiber length, reduced cell wall thickness, cellulose contents and expression of secondary cell wall-related genes. Moreover, GhHB14_D10's direct interaction with GhREV_D5, and transcriptional regulation of cellulose biosynthesis genes GhCesA4-4 and GhCesA7-2 revealed their collaborative roles in secondary cell wall during cotton fiber development. Overall, these results shed light on the roles of GhHB14_D10 and GhREV_D5 in secondary cell wall biosynthesis, offering a strategy for the genetic improvement of cotton fiber quality.

Fluorination Strategy Towards Symmetry Breaking of Boron-centered Tetrahedron for Poly-fluorinated Optical Crystals

Borate crystals can be chemically and functionally modified by the fluorination strategy, which encourages the identification of emerging fluorooxoborates with a structure and set of characteristics not seen in any other oxide parents. However, the bulk of fluorooxoborates have been found accidentally, rational methods of synthesis are required, particularly for the infrequently occurring poly-fluorinated components. Herein, we reported the use of bifluoride salts as a potent source of fluorine to prepare fluorooxoborates that contain rarely tri-fluorinated [BF3 X] (X=O and CH3 ) tetrahedra and eleven compounds were found. We identified the optical properties of the organofluorinated group [CH3 BF3 ] and their potential for nonlinear optics for the first time. Among these, two non-centrosymmetric components hold potential for the production of 266 nm harmonic coherent light for nonlinear optics, and more crucially, have the benefit of growing large size single crystals. Our study establishes experimental conditions for the coexistence of the diverse functional groups, enabling the production of poly-fluorinated optical crystals.

A single-center clinical study of acute kidney injury associated with acute myocardial infarction

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the risk factors of acute kidney injury (AKI) patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and establish potential microRNA (miRNA) biomarkers in the peripheral blood of AMI-AKI patients.

METHODS

Patients hospitalized from 2016 to 2020 and diagnosed with AMI (with AKI or without AKI groups) were recruited. The data of the two groups were compared and the risk factors of AMI-AKI were analyzed by logistic regression. The receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve was drawn and the predictive value of risk factors in AMI-AKI was evaluated. Six AMI-AKI patients were selected and six healthy subjects were enrolled as the control. The peripheral blood samples of the two groups were collected for miRNA high-throughput sequencing.

RESULTS

A total of 300 AMI patients were collected, including 190 patients with AKI and 110 patients without AKI. Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that diastolic pressure (68-80 mmHg), urea nitrogen, creatinine, serum uric acid (SUA), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and left ventricular ejection fraction were the dependent risk factors of AMI-AKI patients (P < 0.05). ROC curve showed that the incidence of AMI-AKI patients was most correlated with urea nitrogen, creatinine, and SUA. In addition, 60 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified between AMI-AKI and controls. Then, hsa-miR-2278, hsa-miR-1827, and hsa-miR-149-5p were more corrected with predictors. Twelve of them targeted 71 genes involved in phagosome, oxytocin signaling pathway, and microRNAs in cancer pathways.

CONCLUSION

Urea nitrogen, creatinine, and SUA were the dependent risk factors and important predictors for AMI-AKI patients. Three miRNAs may be considered as biomarkers for AMI-AKI.

Performance of Human Gene EPB41L3 and HPV 16/18 Viral DNA Methylation to Triage hrHPV-Positive Women

More evidence from population-based cohort studies is required to confirm the application of methylation-based biomarkers in real-world settings. The cross-sectional and 24-month cumulative triage performance of a novel methylation assay targeting the host gene EPB41LE and HPV16/18 DNA L1/L2 regions among hrHPV-positive women was evaluated based on a population-based cohort study from China. Overall methylation positivity was 12.4% among hrHPV-positive women. Methylation-positive women had significantly higher risks of hrHPV persistence at 12M and 24M follow-up (RR12M = 1.9, 95%CI: 1.5-2.6 and RR24M = 1.7, 95%CI: 1.2-2.5). For CIN2+, cross-sectional triage sensitivity of methylation was similar to HPV16/18 (70.6% vs. 64.7%, pexact = 1.000), but was lower than cytology (94.1%), although not significantly (pexact = 0.213). The specificity (91.2%) of methylation was significantly higher than other triage methods (p < 0.001 for all). The longitudinal sensitivity of methylation over 24M follow-up was 56.0%, lower (but not significantly so) than HPV16/18 (64.0%, pexact = 0.688) and cytology (76.0%, pexact = 0.125). Methylation testing showed high positive predictive values for CIN2+ (41.4% at baseline, 50.0% at 24-month), while the CIN2+ risk of methylation negative women (cNPV) remained considerable (2.5% at baseline, 6.9% at 24-month). Study findings indicate that methylation has better specificity and predictive values for the presence or development of cervical precancer and might therefore be considered for the strategy of HPV screening and methylation triage followed by immediate treatment of triage-positive women and delayed follow-up of hrHPV-positive/methylation-negative women.

Taxonomic implications of leaf morphology and epidermal anatomy for 14 species of Gagea (Liliaceae) from Xinjiang, China

BACKGROUND

Leaf morphology and epidermal characters are important for phylogenetic and taxonomic studies of many plants, but there is currently insufficient data to use them to help distinguish species of Gagea, which is a taxonomically difficult genus mainly due to polyploidy and hybridization. Therefore, leaf morphology and epidermal characters of Gagea were studied to assess the characters that can be used to elucidate the taxonomy and systematics of 14 species of Gagea collected in Xinjiang, China. Using light microscopy (LM), six qualitative and three quantitative leaf epidermal anatomical characters were examined for both the adaxial and abaxial surfaces. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was employed to reveal the similarities based on leaf morphology and epidermal characters of the investigated species.

RESULTS

Basal leaf of these species can be terete or flat, and it is triangle, flat, or circular in transverse section. Anticlinal wall patterns of the leaf epidermal cells were straight and sinuous, and only three species had epidermal hairs. Shape of long cells varies, ranging from quadrangular to irregular. HCA revealed that the 14 species could be divided into two groups. Group A was arranged into three subgroups (A1, A2 and A3), based on the Euclidean distance of 6.96. Subgroup A1 consisted of three species with indumentum; subgroup A2 had four species with sinuous type anticlinal walls; and subgroup A3 comprised of two species with a fistulose basal leaf. Group B included five species with short cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Leaf morphology and epidermal characters did not differ significantly among populations of the same species in Gagea, whereas they differ significantly among species. Thus, leaf morphology and epidermal characters provide diagnostic information for differentiating G. nigra and G. filiformis; G. altaica, G. jensii and G. alberti, which are morphologically similar species.

RBP4-based Multimarker Score: A Prognostic Tool for Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients

CONTEXT

Retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) has been implicated in the progression of cardiovascular diseases. However, its association with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains obscure.

OBJECTIVE

Here, we examined the prognostic value of baseline RBP4 and its derived multimarker score for MACEs in ACS patients.

METHODS

A total of 826 patients with ACS were consecutively recruited from the department of cardiology and prospectively followed up for a median of 1.95 years (interquartile range, 1.02-3.25 years). Plasma RBP4 was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Adjusted associations between RBP4 and its derived multimarker score (1 point was assigned when RBP4 ≥ 38.18μg/mL, left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF] ≤ 55%, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide [NT-proBNP] ≥ 450 ng/L, estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] ≤ 90 mL/min/1.73 m2, and age ≥60) with MACEs were analyzed.

RESULTS

In total, 269 ACS patients (32.57%) experienced MACEs. When patients were grouped by multimarker score (0-1, n = 315; 2-3, n = 406; 4-5, n = 105), there was a significant graded association between RBP4-based multimarker score and risk of MACEs (intermediate score (2-3): HRadj: 1.80; 95% CI, 1.34-2.41; high score (4-5): HRadj: 3.26; 95% CI, 2.21-4.81) and its components (P < .05 for each). Moreover, the prognostic and discriminative value of the RBP4-derived multimarker score remained robust in ACS patients with various high-risk anatomical or clinical characteristics.

CONCLUSION

The RBP4-derived 5-item score serves as a useful risk stratification and decision support for secondary prevention in patients with ACS.

Multiple change point analysis of hepatitis B reports in Xinjiang, China from 2006 to 2021

Objective

Hepatitis B (HB) is a major global challenge, but there has been a lack of epidemiological studies on HB incidence in Xinjiang from a change-point perspective. This study aims to bridge this gap by identifying significant change points and trends.

Method

The datasets were obtained from the Xinjiang Information System for Disease Control and Prevention. Change points were identified using binary segmentation for full datasets and a segmented regression model for five age groups.

Results

The results showed four change points for the quarterly HB time series, with the period between the first change point (March 2007) and the second change point (March 2010) having the highest mean number of HB reports. In the subsequent segments, there was a clear downward trend in reported cases. The segmented regression model showed different numbers of change points for each age group, with the 30-50, 51-80, and 15-29 age groups having higher growth rates.

Conclusion

Change point analysis has valuable applications in epidemiology. These findings provide important information for future epidemiological studies and early warning systems for HB.

Integrated machine learning identifies epithelial cell marker genes for improving outcomes and immunotherapy in prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

Prostate cancer (PCa), a globally prevalent malignancy, displays intricate heterogeneity within its epithelial cells, closely linked with disease progression and immune modulation. However, the clinical significance of genes and biomarkers associated with these cells remains inadequately explored. To address this gap, this study aimed to comprehensively investigate the roles and clinical value of epithelial cell-related genes in PCa.

METHODS

Leveraging single-cell sequencing data from GSE176031, we conducted an extensive analysis to identify epithelial cell marker genes (ECMGs). Employing consensus clustering analysis, we evaluated the correlations between ECMGs, prognosis, and immune responses in PCa. Subsequently, we developed and validated an optimal prognostic signature, termed the epithelial cell marker gene prognostic signature (ECMGPS), through synergistic analysis from 101 models employing 10 machine learning algorithms across five independent cohorts. Additionally, we collected clinical features and previously published signatures from the literature for comparative analysis. Furthermore, we explored the clinical utility of ECMGPS in immunotherapy and drug selection using multi-omics analysis and the IMvigor cohort. Finally, we investigated the biological functions of the hub gene, transmembrane p24 trafficking protein 3 (TMED3), in PCa using public databases and experiments.

RESULTS

We identified a comprehensive set of 543 ECMGs and established a strong correlation between ECMGs and both the prognostic evaluation and immune classification in PCa. Notably, ECMGPS exhibited robust predictive capability, surpassing traditional clinical features and 80 published signatures in terms of both independence and accuracy across five cohorts. Significantly, ECMGPS demonstrated significant promise in identifying potential PCa patients who might benefit from immunotherapy and personalized medicine, thereby moving us nearer to tailored therapeutic approaches for individuals. Moreover, the role of TMED3 in promoting malignant proliferation of PCa cells was validated.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings highlight ECMGPS as a powerful tool for improving PCa patient outcomes and supply a robust conceptual framework for in-depth examination of PCa complexities. Simultaneously, our study has the potential to develop a novel alternative for PCa diagnosis and prognostication.

The Antibiotic Resistome and Its Association with Bacterial Communities in Raw Camel Milk from Altay Xinjiang

Raw camel milk is generally contaminated with varied microbiota, including antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), that can act as a potential pathway for the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). In this study, high-throughput quantitative PCR and 16S rRNA gene-based Illumine sequencing data were used to establish a comprehensive understanding of the antibiotic resistome and its relationship with the bacterial community in Bactrian camel milk from Xinjiang. A total of 136 ARGs and up to 1.33 × 108 total ARG copies per gram were identified, which predominantly encode resistance to β-lactamas and multidrugs. The ARGs' profiles were mainly explained by interactions between the bacteria community and physicochemical indicators (77.9%). Network analysis suggested that most ARGs exhibited co-occurrence with Corynebacterium, Leuconostoc and MGEs. Overall, raw camel milk serves as a reservoir for ARGs, which may aggravate the spread of ARGs through vertical and horizontal gene transfer in the food chain.

Retrospective Analysis of Tinea Capitis in Xinjiang, China

Tinea capitis is a cutaneous infection of dermatophytes and predominant in children. It is one of common infectious diseases of children in Xinjiang, particularly in the southern Xinjiang. The aim of this study is to analyze the clinical and mycological characteristics of patients with tinea capitis in Xinjiang China. Medical records from 2010 to 2021, Mycology Laboratory Department of Dermatology in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, retrospectively investigated the clinical and mycological characteristics of 198 patients with tinea capitis. Hairs have been obtained for fungal examination, and analysis with 20% KOH and Fungus Fluorescence Staining Solution has been conducted. Identification of fungi was using of morphological and molecular biological methods. Among total number of 198 patients, 189 (96%) were children with tinea capitis, of which 119 (63%) were male and 70 (37%) were female; 9 (4%) were adult patients with tinea capitis, of which 7 were female and 2 were male. Preschool children between the ages of 3 and 5 years had the highest distribution (54%), followed by those between the ages of 6 and 12 years (33%), the ages under 2 years (11%) and the ages of 13-15 years (2%) respectively. Among all patients, 135 (68.18%) were Uygur, 53 (26.77%) were Han, 5 (2.53%) were Kazak, 3 (1.52%) were Hui, 1 (0.5%) was Mongolian and nationality information of 1 patient (0.5%) is unknown. The indentification results of the isolates showed that 195 (98%) patients had single-species infections and 3 (2%) patients had double mixed infections. Among single-species infection patients, Microsporum canis (n = 82, 42.05%), Microsporum ferrugineum (n = 56, 28.72%) and Trichophyton mentagrophytes (n = 22, 11.28%) were the most prevalent species. Other dermatophytes included Trichophyton tonsurans (n = 12, 6.15%), Trichophyton violaceum (n = 10, 5.13%), Trichophyton schoenleinii (n = 9, 4.62%) and Trichophyton verrucosum (n = 4, 2.05%). Among 3 cases of mixed infections, 1 was M. canis + T. tonsurans (n = 1), and the other 2 were M.canis + T.mentagrophytes (n = 2). In conclusion, the majority of tinea capitis patients in Xinjiang, China are Uygur male children aged 3-5 years. M. canis was the most prevalent species causing tinea capitis in Xinjiang. These results provide useful information for the treatment and prevention of tinea capitis.

Structural predictions of three medium-sized thiolate-protected gold nanoclusters Au44(SR)30, Au56(SR)32, and Au60(SR)34

The knowledge of structural evolution among thiolate-protected gold nanoclusters is not only helpful for understanding their structure-property relationship but also provides scientific evidence to rule-guided structure predictions of gold nanoclusters. In this paper, three new atomic structures of medium-sized thiolate-protected gold nanoclusters, i.e. Au44(SR)30, Au56(SR)32, and Au60(SR)34, are predicted based on the grand unified model and ring model. Two structural evolution rules, i.e., Au44(SR)28 + [Au12(SR)4] → Au56(SR)32 + [Au12(SR)4] → Au68(SR)36 and Au44(SR)30 + [Au8(SR)2] → Au52(SR)32 + [Au8(SR)2] → Au60(SR)34 + [Au8(SR)2] → Au68(SR)36, are explored. The generic growth patterns underlying both sequences of nanoclusters can be viewed as sequential addition of four and three highly stable tetrahedral Au4 units on the cores, respectively. In addition, density functional theory calculations show that these three newly predicted gold nanoclusters have very close formation energies with their adjacent structures, large highest occupied molecular orbital-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO-LUMO) gaps, and all-positive harmonic vibration frequencies, indicating their high stabilities.

Plasma Methylated SEPT9 as a Novel Biomarker for Predicting Liver Metastasis in Colorectal Cancer

This study aimed to explore the role of plasma methylated SEPT9 (mSEPT9) in predicting liver metastasis (LM) in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. The clinicopathological information of 115 consecutive CRC patients were collected. The differences of clinical characteristics and several biomarkers between CRC patients with LM and those with non-liver metastasis (NM) were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the risk factors for predicting LM in CRC patients. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was applied to investigate the sensitivity and specificity of potential biomarkers in indicating the presence of LM in CRC. Compared with the CRC without LM, the levels of plasma mSEPT9 and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were significantly increased in CRC with LM. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that plasma mSEPT9 was an independent risk factor for predicting LM in CRC. ROC curves showed that mSEPT9 and CEA could efficiently distinguish LM from NM in CRC. The area under the curve (AUC) of mSEPT9 was 0.850, which was slightly higher than that of CEA (0.842). The optimal cut-off value of mSEPT9 was 35.09 with a sensitivity of 81.82% and a specificity of 73.33%, both similar with that of CEA (sensitivity 87.27% and specificity 75.00%). In addition, the combination of mSEPT9 and CEA had a higher specificity than CEA alone (81.70% Vs 75.00%). Our findings suggest, for the first time, that plasma mSEPT9 might serve as a potential biomarker to predict LM in CRC, which deserves further in-depth study.

Messenger RNA electroporated hepatitis B virus (HBV) antigen-specific T cell receptor (TCR) redirected T cell therapy is well-tolerated in patients with recurrent HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma post-liver transplantation: results from a phase I trial

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Liver transplantation (LT) is the primary curative option for cirrhotic patients with early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, tumor recurrence occurs in 15-20% of cases with unfavorable prognosis. We have developed a library of T cell receptors (TCRs) specific for different hepatitis B virus (HBV) antigens, restricted by different molecules of human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-class I, to redirect T cells against HBV antigens (Banu in Sci Rep 4:4166, 2014). We further demonstrated that these transiently functional T cells specific for HBV obtained through messenger RNA (mRNA) electroporation can eliminate HCC cells expressing HBV antigens in vitro and in vivo (Kah in J Clin Invest 127:3177-3188, 2017). A phase I clinical trial for patients with HCC recurrence post-liver transplant was conducted to assess the safety, tolerability, and anti-tumor efficacy of transiently functional HBV-TCR T cells. Here, we report the clinical findings with regard to the safety and anti-tumor efficacy of mRNA electroporated HBV-specific TCR-T cells. (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02719782).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of six patients with HBV-positive recurrent HCC post-liver transplant and HLA-matched to TCR targeting hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) or hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) (HLA-A*02:01/HBsAg, HLA-A*11:01/HBcAg, HLA-B*58:01/HBsAg or HLA-C*08:01/HBsAg) were enrolled in this study. The primary objective was to assess the safety of short-lived mRNA electroporated HBV-TCR T cells based on the incidence and severity of the adverse event (AE) graded per National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (NCI CTCAE), Version 4.0. The secondary objective was to determine the effectiveness of HBV-TCR T cells as per RECIST 1.1 criteria. Patients were followed up for survival for 2 years post-end of treatment.

RESULTS

The median age of the six patients was 35.5 years (range: 28-47). The median number of HBV-TCR T cell infusions administered was 6.5 (range: 4-12). The treatment-related AE included grade 1 pyrexia. This study reported no cytokine release syndrome nor neurotoxicity. One patient remained alive and five were deceased at the time of the data cutoff (30 April 2020).

CONCLUSION

This study has demonstrated that multiple infusions of mRNA electroporated HBV-specific TCR T cells were well-tolerated in patients with HBV-positive recurrent HCC post-liver transplant.

Complications associated with single-level bone transport for the treatment of tibial bone defects caused by fracture-related infection

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to report the outcomes of single-level bone transport with a unilateral external fixator for treatment of proximal, intermediate and distal tibial bone defects caused by fracture-related infection (FRI) and compare their complications.

METHODS

The clinical records and consecutive X-ray photographs of patients with tibial bone defects treated by single-level bone transport using a unilateral external fixator (Orthofix Limb Reconstruction System) were analyzed retrospectively, from January 2012 to December 2018. Patients were divided into the proximal group (P, n = 19), intermediate group (I, n = 25), and distal group (D, n = 18) according to the location of the tibial bone defect. The Association for the Study and Application of the Method of Ilizarov (ASAMI) standard was applied to assess the bone and functional outcomes and postoperative complications evaluated by the Paley classification.

RESULTS

A total of 62 participants were included in this study, with a median age of 36 ± 7.14 years. Sixty patients with tibial bone defects caused by FRI were successfully treated by single-level bone transport using a unilateral external fixator, with a mean bone union time (BUT) of 7.3 ± 1.71 months. According to the ASAMI criteria, there were statistical differences in bone and function results between the three groups (P vs. I vs. D, P < 0.001). The excellent and good rate of bone result in the intermediate group was higher than the other (P vs. I vs. D, 73.6% vs. 84% vs. 66.7%), and the excellent and good rate of function result in the proximal group was the highest (P vs. I vs. D, 84.2% vs. 80% vs. 73.3%). Complications were observed in 29 out of 62 patients (46.7%), with pin tract infection being the most common (14.8%), followed by axial deviation (14.8%), muscle contractures (12.7%), joint stiffness (12.7%), and soft tissue incarceration (12.7%). Other complications included delayed consolidation (12.7%), delayed union (6.3%), nonunion (4.2%), and neurological injury (8.5%). Two patients (3.2%) required below-knee amputation due to uncontrollable infection and previous surgery failure.

CONCLUSIONS

Pin tract infection was the most common complication in tibial bone transport using an external fixator. Complications of distal tibial bone transport are more severe and occur at a higher rate than in other parts. Axial deviation mostly occurred in the intermediate tibial bone transport.

Schisandrin B Improves the Hypothermic Preservation of Celsior Solution in Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells

BACKGROUND

Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs) have emerged as promising therapy for immune and inflammatory diseases. However, how to maintain the activity and unique properties during cold storage and transportation is one of the key factors affecting the therapeutic efficiency of hUCMSCs. Schisandrin B (SchB) has many functions in cell protection as a natural medicine. In this study, we investigated the protective effects of SchB on the hypothermic preservation of hUCMSCs.

METHODS

hUCMSCs were isolated from Wharton's jelly. Subsequently, hUCMSCs were exposed to cold storage (4 °C) and 24-h re-warming. After that, cells viability, surface markers, immunomodulatory effects, reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial integrity, apoptosis-related and antioxidant proteins expression level were evaluated.

RESULTS

SchB significantly alleviated the cells injury and maintained unique properties such as differentiation potential, level of surface markers and immunomodulatory effects of hUCMSCs. The protective effects of SchB on hUCMSCs after hypothermic storage seemed associated with its inhibition of apoptosis and the anti-oxidative stress effect mediated by nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 signaling.

CONCLUSION

These results demonstrate SchB could be used as an agent for hypothermic preservation of hUCMSCs.

Correlation between sKL and Nrf2 plasma levels and calcium oxalate urolithiasis

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationship between plasma levels of sKL and Nrf2 and calcium oxalate calculi.

METHODS

The clinical data of 135 patients with calcium oxalate calculi treated in the Department of Urology of the second affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University from February 2019 to December 2022, and 125 healthy persons who underwent physical examination in the same period were collected and divided into healthy group and stone group. The levels of sKL and Nrf2 were measured by ELISA. Correlation test was used to analyze the risk factors of calcium oxalate stones, logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors of calcium oxalate stones, and ROC curve was used to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of sKL and Nrf2 in predicting urinary calculi.

RESULTS

Compared with the healthy group, the plasma sKL level in the stone group decreased (111.53 ± 27.89 vs 130.68 ± 32.51), while the plasma Nrf2 level increased (300.74 ± 114.31 vs 246.74 ± 108.22). There was no significant difference in the distribution of age and sex between the healthy group and the stone group, but there were significant differences in plasma levels of WBC, NEUT, CRP, BUN, BUA, SCr, BMI, and eating habits. The results of correlation test showed that the level of plasma Nrf2 was positively correlated with SCr (r = 0.181, P < 0.05) and NEUT (r = 0.144 P < 0.05). Plasma sKL was not significantly correlated with Nrf2 (r = 0.047, P > 0.05), WBC (r = 0.108, P > 0.05), CRP (r = - 0.022, P > 0.05), BUN (r = - 0.115, P > 0.05), BUA (r = - 0.139, P > 0.05), SCr (r = 0.049, P > 0.05), and NEUT (r = 0.027, P > 0.05). Plasma Nrf2 was not significantly correlated with WBC (r = 0.097, P > 0.05), CRP (r = 0.045, P > 0.05), BUN (r = 0.122, P > 0.05), and BUA (r = 0.122, P > 0.05); (r = 0.078, P > 0.05) had no significant correlation. Logistic regression showed that elevated plasma sKL (OR 0.978, 95% CI 0.969 ~ 0.988, P < 0.05) was a protective factor for the occurrence of calcium oxalate stones, BMI (OR 1.122, 95% CI 1.045 ~ 1.206, P < 0.05), dietary habit score (OR 1.571, 95% CI 1.221 ~ 2.020, P < 0.05), and WBC (OR 1.551, 95% CI 1.423 ~ 1.424, P < 0.05). Increased NEUT (OR 1.539, 95% CI 1.391 ~ 1.395, P < 0.05) and CRP (OR 1.118, 95% CI: 1.066 ~ 1.098, P < 0.05) are risk factors for the occurrence of calcium oxalate stones.

CONCLUSION

Plasma sKL level decreased and Nrf2 level increased in patients with calcium oxalate calculi. Plasma sKL may play an antioxidant role in the pathogenesis of calcium oxalate stones through Nrf2 antioxidant pathway.

CNN-LSTM Neural Network for Identification of Pre-Cooked Pasta Products in Different Physical States Using Infrared Spectroscopy

Infrared (IR) spectroscopy is nondestructive, fast, and straightforward. Recently, a growing number of pasta companies have been using IR spectroscopy combined with chemometrics to quickly determine sample parameters. However, fewer models have used deep learning models to classify cooked wheat food products and even fewer have used deep learning models to classify Italian pasta. To solve these problems, an improved CNN-LSTM neural network is proposed to identify pasta in different physical states (frozen vs. thawed) using IR spectroscopy. A one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D-CNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) were constructed to extract the local abstraction and sequence position information from the spectra, respectively. The results showed that the accuracy of the CNN-LSTM model reached 100% after using principal component analysis (PCA) on the Italian pasta spectral data in the thawed state and 99.44% after using PCA on the Italian pasta spectral data in the frozen form, verifying that the method has high analytical accuracy and generalization. Therefore, the CNN-LSTM neural network combined with IR spectroscopy helps to identify different pasta products.

Phosphorylation of AKT by lysyl oxidase-like 2 activates the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway to promote proliferation, invasion and metastasis in esophageal squamous carcinoma

OBJECTIVE

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common and aggressive malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract for which therapeutic options are scarce. This study screens for LOXL2, a key gene in ESCC, and explains the molecular mechanism by which it promotes the progression of ESCC.

METHODS

Immunohistochemical staining was performed to detect the expression level of LOXL2 in ESCC tissues and paraneoplastic tissues. CCK-8 and Transwell assays were performed to assess the effects of LOXL2 knockdown and overexpression on the proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion ability of ESCC cells. High-throughput sequencing analysis screens for molecular mechanisms of action by which LOXL2 promotes ESCC progression. Western blotting and qRT-PCR were used to determine the expression levels of relevant markers.

RESULTS

LOXL2 is positively expressed in ESCC and highly correlated with poor prognosis. Silencing LOXL2 significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasive ability of ESCC cells, whereas overexpression showed the opposite phenotype. High-throughput sequencing suggested that LOXL2-associated differentially expressed genes were highly enriched in the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. In vitro cellular assays confirmed that silencing LOXL2 significantly reduced PI3K, p-AKT^Thr308 and p-AKT^Ser473 gene and protein expression levels, while overexpression increased all three gene and protein levels, while AKT gene and protein expression levels were not significantly different.

CONCLUSION

This study found that LOXL2 may regulate the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and exert protumor effects on ESCC cells through phosphorylation of AKT. LOXL2 may be a key clinical warning biomarker or therapeutic target for ESCC.

Target-Driven Design of Deep-UV Nonlinear Optical Materials via Interpretable Machine Learning

The development of a data-driven science paradigm is greatly revolutionizing the process of materials discovery. Particularly, exploring novel nonlinear optical (NLO) materials with the birefringent phase-matching ability to deep-ultraviolet (UV) region is of vital significance for the field of laser technologies. Herein, a target-driven materials design framework combining high-throughput calculations (HTC), crystal structure prediction, and interpretable machine learning (ML) is proposed to accelerate the discovery of deep-UV NLO materials. Using a dataset generated from HTC, an ML regression model for predicting birefringence is developed for the first time, which exhibits a possibility of achieving fast and accurate prediction. Essentially, crystal structures are adopted as the only known input of this model to establish a close structure-property relationship mapping birefringence. Utilizing the ML-predicted birefringence which can affect the shortest phase-matching wavelength, a full list of potential chemical compositions based on an efficient screening strategy is identified. Further, eight structures with good stability are discovered to show potential applications in the deep-UV region, owing to their promising NLO-related properties. This study provides a new insight into the discovery of NLO materials and this design framework can identify desired materials with high performances in the broad chemical space at a low computational cost.

Localization of southern tomato virus (STV) in tomato tissues

Southern tomato virus (STV) is a dsRNA virus, which belongs to the newly formed Amalgavirus genus of the Amalgaviridae family. Currently there is no report regarding the presence of STV in tomato tissues. In this study, we performed in situ hybridization to examine the distribution of STV in host tissues. STV was found in the leaves, stems, seeds, shoot apexes and root tips of tomato and localized in the cortex tissue, vascular tissues, pith, seed coat, endosperm, cotyledon (including inner cotyledons and outer cotyledons), hypocotyls and radicles of infected tomato tissues. In addition, STV was detected in the apical part of the stems and roots for the first time. This indicates that STV is a systemic infectious virus.

A comparative study of three models to analyze the impact of air pollutants on the number of pulmonary tuberculosis cases in Urumqi, Xinjiang

In this paper, we separately constructed ARIMA, ARIMAX, and RNN models to determine whether there exists an impact of the air pollutants (such as PM2.5, PM10, CO, O3, NO2, and SO2) on the number of pulmonary tuberculosis cases from January 2014 to December 2018 in Urumqi, Xinjiang. In addition, by using a new comprehensive evaluation index DISO to compare the performance of three models, it was demonstrated that ARIMAX (1,1,2) × (0,1,1)12 + PM2.5 (lag = 12) model was the optimal one, which was applied to predict the number of pulmonary tuberculosis cases in Urumqi from January 2019 to December 2019. The predicting results were in good agreement with the actual pulmonary tuberculosis cases and shown that pulmonary tuberculosis cases obviously declined, which indicated that the policies of environmental protection and universal health checkups in Urumqi have been very effective in recent years.

TC-Net: Dual coding network of Transformer and CNN for skin lesion segmentation

Skin lesion segmentation has become an essential recent direction in machine learning for medical applications. In a deep learning segmentation network, the convolutional neural network (CNN) uses convolution to capture local information for modeling. However, it ignores the relationship between pixels and still can not meet the precise segmentation requirements of some complex low contrast datasets. Transformer performs well in modeling global feature information, but their ability to extract fine-grained local feature patterns is weak. In this work, The dual coding fusion network architecture Transformer and CNN (TC-Net), as an architecture that can more accurately combine local feature information and global feature information, can improve the segmentation performance of skin images. The results of this work demonstrate that the combination of CNN and Transformer brings very significant improvement in global segmentation performance and allows outperformance as compared to the pure single network model. The experimental results and visual analysis of these three datasets quantitatively and qualitatively illustrate the robustness of TC-Net. Compared with Swin UNet, on the ISIC2018 dataset, it has increased by 2.46% in the dice index and about 4% in the JA index. On the ISBI2017 dataset, the dice and JA indices rose by about 4%.

The mediating effect of resilience on pregnancy stress and prenatal anxiety in pregnant women

Objective

To investigate the relationship between pregnancy stress and prenatal anxiety in pregnant women in Urumqi, Xinjiang, and the mediating effect of mental resilience level on the relationship between pregnancy stress and prenatal anxiety.

Method

The investigation involved 750 pregnant women at a tertiary hospital in Urumqi, and included a questionnaire eliciting general demographic information, a pregnancy stress scale (Pregnancy Pressure Scale, PPS), generalized anxiety disorder scale (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, GAD-7), and a mental resilience scale (Connor-Davidson resilience scale, CD-RISC). The Bootstrap mediation effect test was used to test the effect relationship between variables, and Amos was used to establish the structural equation model.

Results

Among the 750 participants, 122 (16.2%) had moderate or greater pregnancy stress (PPS > 1), 372 (49.6%) had mild or greater anxiety symptoms (GAD-7 > 5), and 241 (32.1%) had good or higher mental resilience score. Pregnancy stress negatively affected resilience (β = -0.37, p < 0.01), and resilience also negatively affected prenatal anxiety (β = -0.12, p < 0.01). The mediating effect value of resilience was 8.3%.

Conclusion

Pregnancy stress, mental resilience, and prenatal anxiety were significantly correlated, and mental resilience played a partial mediating role in the influence of pregnancy stress on prenatal anxiety. It is recommended that pregnant women exercise their mental resilience to reduce the incidence of prenatal anxiety and promote physical and mental health.

A highly efficient polydopamine encapsulated clinical ICG theranostic nanoplatform for enhanced photothermal therapy of cervical cancer

Photothermal therapy (PTT) is a safe and efficient anti-tumor treatment. A photothermal agent (PTA) with good biocompatibility and strong photothermal properties is of great importance for PTT. In this study, near-infrared (NIR) excitable clinical indocyanine green (ICG) was utilized as a PTA and further encapsulated by another PTA polydopamine (PDA) to form highly stable and efficient ICG@PDA nanoparticles (NPs). Then the ICG@PDA NPs were modified with methoxy polyethylene glycol amine (mPEG₂₀₀₀-NH₂) to form biocompatible ICG@PDA@PEG NPs. ICG@PDA@PEG NPs showed good water solubility and a spherical shape with an average size of 140 nm. Furthermore, the photothermal properties of ICG@PDA@PEG NPs were studied and excellent photothermal performance with a photothermal conversion efficiency of 43.7% under 808 nm laser irradiation was achieved. Then, the PTT properties of ICG@PDA@PEG NPs were confirmed on HeLa cells with an efficiency of 86.1%. Meanwhile, the in vivo biocompatibility and toxicity of ICG@PDA@PEG NPs were evaluated. No apparent in vivo toxicity was observed in 24 hours and 7 days. Next, in vivo PTT analysis was conducted for cervical tumor-bearing nude mice under 808 nm laser excitation. It showed a good anti-tumor effect in vivo. Thus, ICG@PDA@PEG NPs exhibited great potential for safe and efficient photothermal therapy in anti-tumor therapy.

Plasma tumor necrosis factor-α is associated with sarcopenia in elderly individuals residing in agricultural and pastoral areas of Xinjiang, China

Background

Inflammatory reactions play a significant role in the occurrence and development of sarcopenia. Determining the association between specific cytokines and sarcopenia may reveal the disease’s pathophysiological mechanism(s). Accordingly, the present study aimed to investigate the association between sarcopenia and inflammatory cytokines among the elderly natural population in agricultural and pastoral areas of Xinjiang.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional epidemiological survey of the community-dwelling older people using a multi-stage random sampling method in Mulei County in northern Xinjiang and Luopu County in southern Xinjiang from September 2017 to May 2018. Of the 2,100 participants, the statistical analyses included 1,838 participants with complete data. Comparisons of living habits, disease status, biochemical indexes, and levels of interleukin (IL)-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia participants were made in this study.

Results

Our study revealed no significant differences (i.e., P > 0.05) in sex, age, ethnicity, smoking and drinking habits, serum renal function, total cholesterol, and diabetes in the elderly between the sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia groups in Xinjiang. However, triglyceride levels (P = 0.004), hypertension (P = 0.019), and abdominal obesity (P < 0.001) in the sarcopenia group were significantly higher than those in the non-sarcopenia group. Moreover, the levels of IL-10 (P < 0.001), IL-4 (P < 0.001), and TNF-α (P < 0.001) in the sarcopenia group were higher than those in the non-sarcopenia group after adjusting for sex, age, hypertension, blood lipid concentration, and obesity. Furthermore, after adjusting for sex, age, hypertension, obesity, and IL-10, IL-4, and IL-6 levels, an increased TNF-α level was also significantly associated with sarcopenia.

Conclusion

The results of the present study suggest that an increased plasma level of TNF-α is significantly associated with sarcopenia among elderly individuals residing in Xinjiang’s agricultural and pastoral areas. Further study is still needed to determine the physiological role of “immune aging” in the pathogenesis of sarcopenia.

AAF-Net: Scene text detection based on attention aggregation features

With the advent of the era of artificial intelligence, text detection is widely used in the real world. In text detection, due to the limitation of the receptive field of the neural network, most existing scene text detection methods cannot accurately detect small target text instances in any direction, and the detection rate of mutually adhering text instances is low, which is prone to false detection. To tackle such difficulties, in this paper, we propose a new feature pyramid network for scene text detection, Cross-Scale Attention Aggregation Feature Pyramid Network (CSAA-FPN). Specifically, we use a Attention Aggregation Feature Module (AAFM) to enhance features, which not only solves the problem of weak features and small receptive fields extracted by lightweight networks but also better handles multi-scale information and accurately separate adjacent text instances. An attention module CBAM is introduced to focus on effective information so that the output feature layer has richer and more accurate information. Furthermore, we design an Adaptive Fusion Module (AFM), which weights the output features and pays attention to the pixel information to further refine the features. Experiments conducted on CTW1500, Total-Text, ICDAR2015, and MSRA-TD500 have demonstrated the superiority of this model.

Reinfection of Nine-Valent Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Types Among HIV-Negative Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Prospective Cohort Study

Objectives

Reinfection of human papillomavirus (HPV) among men who have sex with men (MSM) after clearing the infection of HPV has not been well characterized. To understand the reinfection of HPV among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) negative MSM without HPV vaccine, we analyzed the reinfection of nine-valent HPV vaccine (9v-HPV) types.

Methods

Data were acquired from a prospective cohort study among HIV-negative MSM in Urumqi of Xinjiang from 1 April 2016 to 14 July 2020. Participants were recruited through a local non-government organization using a website advertisement. Self-administered questionnaires and self-collected anal swabs were collected at baseline and every 6 months. The incidence rates of reinfection was calculated based on the number of events divided by person-months of observation of event risk. 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated based on the Poisson distribution.

Results

A total of 515 HIV-negative unvaccinated MSM were included with a mean age of 30.93 years (SD 7.85), and 27.68% were reinfected with any 9v-HPV type after clearance. The reinfection incidence rate of any 9v-HPV was 14.47 per 1000 person-months (95% CI: 11.52–17.87). HPV52 was the most common type of reinfection, with a reinfection rate of 17.96 per 1,000 person months (95% CI: 11.58–26.33). Univariate analysis showed that MSM over the age of 30 had a slightly higher risk of reinfection with any 9v-HPV (Hazard ratio (HR): 1.57; 95% CI: 1.01–2.45), but no significant association was observed in multivariate analysis.

Conclusions

Our study showed MSM without HPV vaccine will become reinfected following the natural clearance of specific HPV types. It is also suggested that HPV vaccination is recommended not only prior to sexual debut but also after viral clearance for MSM to reduce HPV prevalence.

Protein Methylation in Diabetic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is defined by persistent urine aberrations, structural abnormalities, or impaired excretory renal function. Diabetes is the leading cause of CKD. Their common pathological manifestation is renal fibrosis. Approximately half of all patients with type 2 diabetes and one-third with type 1 diabetes will develop CKD. However, renal fibrosis mechanisms are still poorly understood, especially post-transcriptional and epigenetic regulation. And an unmet need remains for innovative treatment strategies for preventing, arresting, treating, and reversing diabetic kidney disease (DKD). People believe that protein methylation, including histone and non-histone, is an essential type of post-translational modification (PTM). However, prevalent reviews mainly focus on the causes such as DNA methylation. This review will take insights into the protein part. Furthermore, by emphasizing the close relationship between protein methylation and DKD, we will summarize the clinical research status and foresee the application prospect of protein methyltransferase (PMT) inhibitors in DKD treatment. In a nutshell, our review will contribute to a more profound understanding of DKD’s molecular mechanism and inspire people to dig into this field.

Natural History of Anal Papillomavirus Infection in HIV-Negative Men Who Have Sex With Men Based on a Markov Model: A 5-Year Prospective Cohort Study

Objective

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at increased risk for Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection compared to women and heterosexual men. We aimed to assess the incidence, clearance and duration of anal human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in HIV-negative MSM and the influencing factors in a 5-year prospective cohort study.

Methods

From April 2016 to April 2021, HIV-negative MSM were recruited and followed every 6 months in Urumqi, Xinjiang, China. Questionnaires and anal swabs were collected at baseline and every 6 months. We detected 37 anal HPV genotypes using the HPV Geno Array Diagnostic Kit Test. Incidence and clearance rates of anal HPV infection and the influencing factors were estimated using a two-state Markov model.

Results

A total of 585 MSM were included with a median age of 37 years [interquartile range (IQR): 31–43 years] and were followed for a median 2.8 years (IQR: 1.8–3.6 years). Incidence rates for any HPV and high-risk HPV (Hr-HPV) were 53.4 [95% confidence interval (CI): 49.1–58.0] and 39.0 (95% CI: 35.7–42.5)/1,000 person-months. Median duration of infection was 9.67 (95% CI: 8.67–10.86) and 8.51 (95% CI: 7.57–9.50) months, respectively. Clearance rates for any HPV and Hr-HPV were 50.9 (95% CI: 46.7–55.3) and 62.1 (95% CI: 56.8–66.7)/1,000 person-months, respectively. HPV16 and HPV6 had the highest incidence, lowest clearance rate and longest duration of infection among Hr-HPV and low-risk HPV (Lr-HPV) types, respectively. Receptive anal sex is a risk factor for any HPV [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.66, 95% CI: 1.16–2.38] and Hr-HPV infection (HR = 1.99, 95% CI:1.39–2.85). Recent anal sex without condom use was significantly associated with any HPV (HR = 1.80, 95% CI: 1.10–2.94) and Hr-HPV infection (HR = 2.60, 95% CI: 1.42–4.77). Age ≥35 years was significantly associated with Lr-HPV HPV infection only (HR = 1.40, 95% CI: 1.02–1.93). Both inserted and receptive anal sex (HR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.40–0.89) and anal sex ≥2 times per week (HR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.43–0.87) were associated with reduced Hr-HPV clearance. Six of the nine-valent vaccine types (HPV6, 11, 16, 18, 52 and 58) occurred most frequently, which indicates the need for high vaccination coverage in MSM.

Conclusions

In this cohort study, high incidence and low clearance of any HPV, Hr-HPV and individual HPV infections emphasize the importance of MSM vaccination. Modifiable behavioral factors such as condoms and drug use should be incorporated into HPV prevention strategies.

Quantitative Trait Locus Analysis and Identification of Candidate Genes Affecting Seed Size and Shape in an Interspecific Backcross Inbred Line Population of Gossypium hirsutum × Gossypium barbadense

Seed size and shape are key agronomic traits affecting seedcotton yield and seed quality in cotton (Gossypium spp.). However, the genetic mechanisms that regulate the seed physical traits in cotton are largely unknown. In this study, an interspecific backcross inbred line (BIL) population of 250 BC1F7 lines, derived from the recurrent parent Upland CRI36 (Gossypium hirsutum) and Hai7124 (Gossypium barbadense), was used to investigate the genetic basis of cotton seed physical traits via quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping and candidate gene identification. The BILs were tested in five environments, measuring eight seed size and shape-related traits, including 100-kernel weight, kernel length width and their ratio, kernel area, kernel girth, kernel diameter, and kernel roundness. Based on 7,709 single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) markers, a total of 49 QTLs were detected and each explained 2.91-35.01% of the phenotypic variation, including nine stable QTLs mapped in at least three environments. Based on pathway enrichment, gene annotation, genome sequence, and expression analysis, five genes encoding starch synthase 4, transcription factor PIF7 and MYC4, ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E27, and THO complex subunit 4A were identified as candidate genes that might be associated with seed size and shape. Our research provides valuable information to improve seed physical traits in cotton breeding.

Genome-Wide Analysis of the GW2-Like Genes in Gossypium and Functional Characterization of the Seed Size Effect of GhGW2-2D

Cotton is one of the most economically important crops worldwide. Seed size is a vital trait for plants connected with yield and germination. GW2 encodes a RING_Ubox E3 ubiquitin ligase that controls seed development by affecting cell growth. Here, are few reports on GW2-like genes in cotton, and the function of GW2 in cotton is poorly understood. In the present study, a genome-wide analysis identified 6 and 3 GW2-like genes in each of the two cultivated tetraploids (Gossypium hirsutum and G. barbadense) and each of their diploid ancestral species (G. arboreum, G. raimondii), respectively. GhGW2-2D has the same functional domain and high sequence similarity with AtDA2 in Arabidopsis. Overexpression of GhGW2-2D in Arabidopsis significantly reduced seed and seedling size, suggesting GhGW2-2D is a potential target for regulating cotton seed size. These results provided information on the genetic and molecular basis of GW2-like genes in cotton, thus establishing a foundation for functional studies of cotton seeds.

Suitability evaluation for mountain-based adventure tourism: A case study of Xinjiang Tianshan, China

In recent years, there has been considerable growth in the provision of and demand for adventure tourism; however, research that examines the resources regarding adventure tourism is limited. A spatial suitability evaluation system for mountain-based adventure tourism (MBAT) was developed via the integration of the AHP-Delphi technique. The evaluation system parameters included resource conditions, difficulty levels, safety conditions, and ecological sensitivity. Furthermore, each parameter contained several indicators that can be quantified and visualised in ArcGIS. The results showed that suitable areas for professional adventure tourism in Xinjiang Tianshan include the Kurdening and Tomur regions, and the those for adventure tourism include the Tianshan Tianchi lake. Furthermore, suitable areas for experiential adventure tourism include the Tianshan Tianchi lake, Tianshan Grand Canyon, Jiangbulak, East Tianshan, Tuohurasu scenic area, and the Gongliu wild fruit forest, while those for mass adventure tourism include large areas in the middle and low altitude range of Tianshan. The methods and results proposed in this paper are expected to be significant for planning adventure tourism and can be helpful for mountain communities when choosing regions to develop for adventure tourism, formulating tourism development strategies, increasing tourism opportunities, and thus improving regional competitiveness.

A retrospective study assessing the acceleration effect of type I Helicobacter pylori infection on the progress of atrophic gastritis

Based on the antibody typing classification, Helicobacter pylori infection can be divided into type I H. pylori infection and type II H. pylori infection. To observe the effects of different H. pylori infection types on the distribution of histopathological characteristics and the levels of three items of serum gastric function (PG I, PG II, G-17). 1175 cases from October 2018 to February 2020 were collected with ratio 1:2. All patients were performed with ¹⁴C-Urea breath test (¹⁴C-UBT), H. pylori antibody typing classification, three items of serum gastric function detection, painless gastroscopy, pathological examination, etc. According to H. pylori antibody typing classification, patients were divided into three groups: type I H. pylori infection group, type II H. pylori infection group and control group. Significant difference existed among type I H. pylori infection group, type II H. pylori infection group and control group in inflammation and activity (χ² = 165.43, 354.88, P all < 0.01). The proportion of three groups in OLGA staging had statistic difference (χ² = 67.99, P all < 0.01); Compared with type II H. pylori infection group and control group, the level of pepsinogen I, pepsinogen II, gastrin17 in type I H. pylori infection group increased, and PG I/PG II ratio (PG I/PG II ratio, PGR) decreased, which was statistically significant (χ² = 35.08, 166.24, 134.21, 141.19; P all < 0.01). Type I H. pylori infection worsened the severity of gastric mucosal inflammation and activity. H. pylori infection was prone to induce atrophy of gastric mucosa, while type I H. pylori infection played a key role in promoting the progress of atrophic gastritis and affected the level of serum gastric function. The study indicated that the eradication of H. pylori should be treated individually.