Fine mapping and analysis of a candidate gene controlling Phytophthora blight resistance in cucumber

Cucumber blight is a destructive disease. The best way to control this disease is resistance breeding. This study focuses on disease resistance gene mapping and molecular marker development. We used the resistant cucumber, JSH, and susceptible cucumber, B80, as parents to construct F2 populations. Bulked segregant analysis (BSA) combined with specific length amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq) were used, from which we developed cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPs) markers to map the resistance gene. Resistance in F2 individuals showed a segregation ratio of resistance:susceptibility close to 3:1. The gene in JSH resistant cucumber was mapped to an interval of 9.25 kb, and sequencing results for the three genes in the mapped region revealed three mutations at base sites 225, 302, and 591 in the coding region of Csa5G139130 between JSH and B80, but no mutations in coding regions of Csa5G139140 and Csa5G139150. The mutations caused changes in amino acids 75 and 101 of the protein encoded by Csa5G139130, suggesting that Csa5G139130 is the most likely resistance candidate gene. We developed a molecular marker, CAPs-4, as a closely linked marker for the cucumber blight resistance gene. This is the first report on mapping of a cucumber blight resistance gene and will provideg a useful marker for molecular breeding of cucumber resistance to Phytophthora blight.

Photonic Source of Heralded Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger States

Generating large multiphoton entangled states is of main interest due to enabling universal photonic quantum computing and all-optical quantum repeater nodes. These applications exploit measurement-based quantum computation using cluster states. Remarkably, it was shown that photonic cluster states of arbitrary size can be generated by using feasible heralded linear optics fusion gates that act on heralded three-photon Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states as the initial resource state. Thus, the capability of generating heralded GHZ states is of great importance for scaling up photonic quantum computing. Here, we experimentally demonstrate this required building block by reporting a polarisation-encoded heralded GHZ state of three photons, for which we build a high-rate six-photon source (547±2  Hz) from a solid-state quantum emitter and a stable polarization-based interferometer. The detection of three ancillary photons heralds the generation of three-photon GHZ states among the remaining particles with fidelities up to F=0.7278±0.0106. Our results initiate a path for scalable entangling operations using heralded linear-optics implementations.

[Mid- and long-term results of surgical treatment of brachiocephalic Takayasu arteritis]

Objective: To examine the mid - and long-term outcomes of surgical treatment of brachiocephalic Takayasu arteritis. Methods: This is a retrospective case series study. The clinical data of 39 patients,which had been diagnosed as brachiocephalic Takayasu arteritis (244 cases),who underwent surgical treatment,were analyzed between July 2012 to November 2022 at Department of Endoluminal Vascular Surgery, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University. There were 5 males and 34 females, aged (37.9±14.0)years (range:13 to 71 years). Despite medical treatment, the patients suffered severe ischemic symptoms continually and then underwent surgical interventions. Among them, 20 patients underwent endovascular procedures, 11 underwent open surgical procedures, and 8 underwent hybrid procedures. Patients were followed up through outpatient visits at 1, 3, 6 months after surgery and once every year later. Follow-up was conducted until November 2022. Operation status, postoperative complications and re-intervention of patients were recorded and the Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to analyze postoperative vascular patency rates. Results: All 39 surgeries were successful, with no intraoperative death or serious complications. The follow-up period was (48.8±38.2) months(range:1 to 123 months). Thirty-three patients experienced symptom relief after surgery, and 6 patients required secondary surgical interventions. The patency rates for the endovascular treatment group at 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year were 95.0%, 75.2%, 60.2%, and 60.2%, respectively, while the patency rates for open surgery were all 90.9%. In the hybrid surgery group, the patency rates at 1-, 3-, 5-, and 8-year were all 87.5%. Conclusion: For patients with brachiocephalic Takayasu arteritis, choice of an appropriate blood flow revascularization intervention should be based on the patient's condition,and the mid-and long-term outcomes are satisfactory.

[Thinking and strategy selection on the quality control of early gastric cancer]

With the developing technique of the diagnosis and treatment of early gastric cancer, the quality of early gastric cancer diagnosis and treatment is coming into focus, and is crucial to improve the overall management of gastric cancer. It is necessary to establish a quality control system to ensure the quality of diagnosis and treatment for EGC. Based on the summary of the diagnosis and treatment status and technological progress of early gastric cancer, this paper proposes the quality control strategy, content and plan for the diagnosis and treatment process of EGC from the aspects of multidisciplinary diagnosis and treatment, clinical diagnosis technology, endoscopic and surgical treatment, pathological diagnosis and follow-up, with a view to expound the rationality, standardization and quality guarantee of the diagnosis and treatment process for early gastric cancer.

[Clinical characteristics and efficacy analysis of various treatments for spontaneous carotid artery dissection]

Objective: To investigate the clinical features of spontaneous carotid artery dissection (SCAD) and the efficacy of different treatment methods. Methods: The clinical data of 164 patients with SCAD who were treated at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from June 2018 to January 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 127 males and 37 females, with a mean age of (49.5±11.1) years. They were divided into conservative treatment group (n=100) and surgical treatment group (n=64) according to whether they received surgical treatment. Patients were followed at 3, 6, and 12 months after discharge and annually thereafter through outpatient or inpatient visits. The incidence of cerebral ischemic events, cerebral hemorrhage events, and mortality rates during hospitalization and follow-up periods were analyzed in the two patient groups. To examine correlates of revascularization in SCAD, multifactorial logistic regression analysis was used. Results: Of the 164 patients, 18 patients had bilateral SCAD and a total of 182 carotid arteries were included in the study. Ischemic stroke (85 cases, 51.8%) and transient ischemic attack (31 cases, 18.9%) were the main clinical manifestations in SCAD patients. Hypertension (81 cases, 49.4%) and hyperlipidemia (39 cases, 23.8%) were the main comorbidities in SCAD patients. During hospitalization, 100 patients in the conservative treatment group received medication in 113 carotid arteries, no new cerebral ischemic events or symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage events occurred, and no death occurred. A total of 69 carotid arteries were surgically treated in 64 patients in the surgical treatment group. The success rate was 97.1% (67/69). In the surgical treatment group, the proportion of carotid stenosis degree≥90% was 47.8% (33/69), the proportion of type Ⅱ SCAD was 60.9% (42/69), and the proportion discharged from the hospital to receive antiplatelet therapy was 92.8% (64/69), which were higher than those in the conservative treatment group, which were 25.7% (29/113), 45.1% (51/113), and 73.5% (83/113), respectively (all P<0.05). The follow-up time [M(Q1, Q3)] in the conservative treatment group was 24 (13, 34) months, with an 8% (9/113) rate of ischemic events and a 7.1% (8/113) rate of readmission; in the surgical treatment group, the follow-up time was 24 (11, 38) months, and there were no new ischemic events or deaths. The results of multifactorial logistic regression analysis showed that the degree of true luminal stenosis<90% (OR=2.738, 95%CI: 1.067-7.026, P=0.036) and type Ⅰ dissections (OR=2.656, 95%CI: 1.189-5.935, P=0.017) were the correlates of complete revascularization. Conclusions: Ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack are the main clinical manifestations in patients with SCAD. Pharmacological antithrombotic therapy remains the method of choice, and endovascular treatment after failure of conservative therapy reduces the risk of recurrent long-term cerebral ischemic events and the re-admission rate of patients.

Effects of empagliflozin on progression of chronic kidney disease: a prespecified secondary analysis from the empa-kidney trial

BACKGROUND

Sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors reduce progression of chronic kidney disease and the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in a wide range of patients. However, their effects on kidney disease progression in some patients with chronic kidney disease are unclear because few clinical kidney outcomes occurred among such patients in the completed trials. In particular, some guidelines stratify their level of recommendation about who should be treated with SGLT2 inhibitors based on diabetes status and albuminuria. We aimed to assess the effects of empagliflozin on progression of chronic kidney disease both overall and among specific types of participants in the EMPA-KIDNEY trial.

METHODS

EMPA-KIDNEY, a randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial, was conducted at 241 centres in eight countries (Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the UK, and the USA), and included individuals aged 18 years or older with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 20 to less than 45 mL/min per 1·73 m2, or with an eGFR of 45 to less than 90 mL/min per 1·73 m2 with a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR) of 200 mg/g or higher. We explored the effects of 10 mg oral empagliflozin once daily versus placebo on the annualised rate of change in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR slope), a tertiary outcome. We studied the acute slope (from randomisation to 2 months) and chronic slope (from 2 months onwards) separately, using shared parameter models to estimate the latter. Analyses were done in all randomly assigned participants by intention to treat. EMPA-KIDNEY is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03594110.

FINDINGS

Between May 15, 2019, and April 16, 2021, 6609 participants were randomly assigned and then followed up for a median of 2·0 years (IQR 1·5-2·4). Prespecified subgroups of eGFR included 2282 (34·5%) participants with an eGFR of less than 30 mL/min per 1·73 m2, 2928 (44·3%) with an eGFR of 30 to less than 45 mL/min per 1·73 m2, and 1399 (21·2%) with an eGFR 45 mL/min per 1·73 m2 or higher. Prespecified subgroups of uACR included 1328 (20·1%) with a uACR of less than 30 mg/g, 1864 (28·2%) with a uACR of 30 to 300 mg/g, and 3417 (51·7%) with a uACR of more than 300 mg/g. Overall, allocation to empagliflozin caused an acute 2·12 mL/min per 1·73 m2 (95% CI 1·83-2·41) reduction in eGFR, equivalent to a 6% (5-6) dip in the first 2 months. After this, it halved the chronic slope from -2·75 to -1·37 mL/min per 1·73 m2 per year (relative difference 50%, 95% CI 42-58). The absolute and relative benefits of empagliflozin on the magnitude of the chronic slope varied significantly depending on diabetes status and baseline levels of eGFR and uACR. In particular, the absolute difference in chronic slopes was lower in patients with lower baseline uACR, but because this group progressed more slowly than those with higher uACR, this translated to a larger relative difference in chronic slopes in this group (86% [36-136] reduction in the chronic slope among those with baseline uACR <30 mg/g compared with a 29% [19-38] reduction for those with baseline uACR ≥2000 mg/g; ptrend<0·0001).

INTERPRETATION

Empagliflozin slowed the rate of progression of chronic kidney disease among all types of participant in the EMPA-KIDNEY trial, including those with little albuminuria. Albuminuria alone should not be used to determine whether to treat with an SGLT2 inhibitor.

FUNDING

Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly.

Impact of primary kidney disease on the effects of empagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease: secondary analyses of the EMPA-KIDNEY trial

BACKGROUND

The EMPA-KIDNEY trial showed that empagliflozin reduced the risk of the primary composite outcome of kidney disease progression or cardiovascular death in patients with chronic kidney disease mainly through slowing progression. We aimed to assess how effects of empagliflozin might differ by primary kidney disease across its broad population.

METHODS

EMPA-KIDNEY, a randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial, was conducted at 241 centres in eight countries (Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the UK, and the USA). Patients were eligible if their estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 20 to less than 45 mL/min per 1·73 m2, or 45 to less than 90 mL/min per 1·73 m2 with a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR) of 200 mg/g or higher at screening. They were randomly assigned (1:1) to 10 mg oral empagliflozin once daily or matching placebo. Effects on kidney disease progression (defined as a sustained ≥40% eGFR decline from randomisation, end-stage kidney disease, a sustained eGFR below 10 mL/min per 1·73 m2, or death from kidney failure) were assessed using prespecified Cox models, and eGFR slope analyses used shared parameter models. Subgroup comparisons were performed by including relevant interaction terms in models. EMPA-KIDNEY is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03594110.

FINDINGS

Between May 15, 2019, and April 16, 2021, 6609 participants were randomly assigned and followed up for a median of 2·0 years (IQR 1·5-2·4). Prespecified subgroupings by primary kidney disease included 2057 (31·1%) participants with diabetic kidney disease, 1669 (25·3%) with glomerular disease, 1445 (21·9%) with hypertensive or renovascular disease, and 1438 (21·8%) with other or unknown causes. Kidney disease progression occurred in 384 (11·6%) of 3304 patients in the empagliflozin group and 504 (15·2%) of 3305 patients in the placebo group (hazard ratio 0·71 [95% CI 0·62-0·81]), with no evidence that the relative effect size varied significantly by primary kidney disease (pheterogeneity=0·62). The between-group difference in chronic eGFR slopes (ie, from 2 months to final follow-up) was 1·37 mL/min per 1·73 m2 per year (95% CI 1·16-1·59), representing a 50% (42-58) reduction in the rate of chronic eGFR decline. This relative effect of empagliflozin on chronic eGFR slope was similar in analyses by different primary kidney diseases, including in explorations by type of glomerular disease and diabetes (p values for heterogeneity all >0·1).

INTERPRETATION

In a broad range of patients with chronic kidney disease at risk of progression, including a wide range of non-diabetic causes of chronic kidney disease, empagliflozin reduced risk of kidney disease progression. Relative effect sizes were broadly similar irrespective of the cause of primary kidney disease, suggesting that SGLT2 inhibitors should be part of a standard of care to minimise risk of kidney failure in chronic kidney disease.

FUNDING

Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, and UK Medical Research Council.

Safety assessment of Rhodobacter azotoformans SY5 for potential application in Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis

Rhodobacter species are promising beneficial microbes that can improve growth performance, immunity and antioxidant capability in aquatic crustaceans. Yet the safety of Rhodobacter azotoformans for potential application in Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis is still unclear. In the present study, R. azotoformans SY5, a potential probiotic additive that can significantly improve the growth performance, immunity, antioxidant capability, and disease resistance in E. sinensis, was evaluated for safety through whole genome sequencing, antibiotic resistance, toxic metabolites, virulence, and crab tolerance assays. The results indicated that R. azotoformans SY5 only harboured the acyl carrier protein-encoding gene (acpP) that was universal in probiotic bacteria with the function of bacterial fatty acid biosynthesis, exhibited high susceptibility to aminoglycosides, penicillins, polymyxins, polyphosphates, quinolones, and tetracyclines antimicrobials, and possessed inability to produce hemolysin, hydrogen sulphide, nitrite, ammonia, and phenylpyruvate. In addition, R. azotoformans SY5 showed no pathogenicity for E. sinensis with the seven-day acute intraperitoneal LD50 value of above 6.0 × 109 cfu/ml and 30-day chronic oral LD50 of above 6.0 × 109 cfu/g diet. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the safety of R. azotoformans for potential application in Chinese mitten crabs.

[Survey on the cognition of the "undetectable equals untransmittable" concept among HIV-infected men who have sex with men receiving antiviral treatment]

Objective: To explore the cognition of the "undetectable equals untransmittable" ("U=U") concept and associated factors among HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM) receiving antiviral treatment (ART) in Shenzhen, and provide evidence for designing promotion and advocacy strategies for the "U=U" concept. Methods: We recruited HIV-infected MSM receiving ART using convenient sampling method combined with routine follow-up in Shenzhen through conducting observational survey. The sample size was estimated to be 475. A questionnaire was administered to collect socio-demographic characteristics, sexual behaviors, ART, viral load testing and the cognition towards "U=U" in HIV-infected MSM. Logistic regression was used to access factors associated with acceptance of "U=U". Results: A total of 490 HIV-infected MSM receiving ART were recruited. Of whom, 60.2% (295/490) were aware of "U=U" and 50.6% (248/490) accepted "U=U". Multiple logistic regression showed that participants who had an educational level of college or above (aOR=1.76,95%CI: 1.12-2.75) were more likely to accept "U=U". Those who had no local residency (aOR=0.51,95%CI: 0.29-0.92), had viral load >0 copies/ml in the last testing (aOR=0.61,95%CI: 0.38-0.98) and were unaware of "U=U" (aOR=0.13, 95%CI: 0.09-0.21), were less likely to accept "U=U". Conclusions: HIV-infected MSM receiving ART had a low cognition level of "U=U" in Shenzhen. Promotion and advocacy on this concept through healthcare workers should be enhanced in combination with routine follow-up in order to improve their ART adherence and outcome of treatment. Furthermore, developing related guidelines on "U=U" according to the characteristics of HIV-infected individuals is warranted to improve the normalization of promotion and advocacy on "U=U".

Global burden of neoplasms attributable to specific occupational carcinogens over 30 years: a population-based study

OBJECTIVES

The study aimed to analyze the global burden of occupational neoplasms from various epidemiological perspectives.

STUDY DESIGN

In this cross-sectional study, secondary analyses were conducted to assess the burden of neoplasms attributable to occupational carcinogens and their distribution characteristics using data from GBD 2019 and the World Bank database.

METHODS

Based on the GBD 2019 and the World Bank database, we analyzed the global burden of occupational neoplasms including the age-period-cohort model, decomposition analysis, health inequality analysis, and panel model. All analyses were conducted in R (version 4.0.3) and Joinpoint (version 4.9.1).

RESULTS

The absolute number of neoplasms burden attributable to occupational carcinogens has continued to rise over 30 years. In 2019, occupational neoplasms caused 333,867 [95% uncertainty interval (UI): 263,491 to 404,641] mortalities and 6,964,775 (95% UI: 5,467,884 to 8,580,431) disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) globally. Greenland, Monaco, the Netherlands, and Andorra suffered the highest burden. The burden was higher in countries with a higher sociodemographic index. The age effect was prominent in the elderly, and the 1925 birth cohort had the highest cohort effect. Population growth was the most significant driver of the mortalities (89%) and DALYs (111%) change. Moreover, the proportion of urban population was significantly positively associated with the disease burden, while GDP per capita was negatively correlated with the disease burden.

CONCLUSIONS

The burden of occupational neoplasms was unevenly distributed across locations and populations. The need for rational allocation of healthcare resources was urgent.

Real-Time Monitoring of Grazing Cattle Using LORA-WAN Sensors to Improve Precision in Detecting Animal Welfare Implications via Daily Distance Walked Metrics

Animal welfare monitoring relies on sensor accuracy for detecting changes in animal well-being. We compared the distance calculations based on global positioning system (GPS) data alone or combined with motion data from triaxial accelerometers. The assessment involved static trackers placed outdoors or indoors vs. trackers mounted on cows grazing on pasture. Trackers communicated motion data at 1 min intervals and GPS positions at 15 min intervals for seven days. Daily distance walked was determined using the following: (1) raw GPS data (RawDist), (2) data with erroneous GPS locations removed (CorrectedDist), or (3) data with erroneous GPS locations removed, combined with the exclusion of GPS data associated with no motion reading (CorrectedDist_Act). Distances were analyzed via one-way ANOVA to compare the effects of tracker placement (Indoor, Outdoor, or Animal). No difference was detected between the tracker placement for RawDist. The computation of CorrectedDist differed between the tracker placements. However, due to the random error of GPS measurements, CorrectedDist for Indoor static trackers differed from zero. The walking distance calculated by CorrectedDist_Act differed between the tracker placements, with distances for static trackers not differing from zero. The fusion of GPS and accelerometer data better detected animal welfare implications related to immobility in grazing cattle.

Effect of mechanical ventilation guided by transpulmonary pressure in acute respiratory distress syndrome patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized control trials

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the effect of mechanical ventilation guided by transpulmonary pressure in patients diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Randomized control trials of ARDS patients that received mechanical ventilation guided by transpulmonary pressure vs. mechanical ventilation guided by traditional lung protective ventilation strategies in adults were retrieved by two reviewers independently from PubMed, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library, The China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and WanFang database before October 2022. The protocol has been registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022307816). The primary outcome was mortality. The secondary outcomes included mechanical ventilation days, oxygenation function and ventilation parameters, hemodynamics, and cytokines level.

RESULTS

Thirteen articles (819 patients) were finally included through our search strategy. The total mortality (RR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54-0.85; p = 0.0006) and mechanical ventilation days (MD, -2.77; 95% CI, -4.60 - -0.94; p = 0.003) reduced when compared with the control group. Patients in the transpulmonary pressure group had higher oxygen index (MD, 40.74; 95% CI 9.81-71.68, p = 0.010) and lung compliance (MD, 7.98; 95% CI 4.55-11.41, p < 0.00001). Positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) was higher in the transpulmonary pressure group (MD, 5.47; 95% CI, 3.59 - 7.35; p < 0.00001). The Interlukin-6 (IL-6) level in the control group decreased obviously compared with that in the transpulmonary pressure group (SMD, -2.03; 95% CI, -3.50 - -0.56; p = 0.007).

CONCLUSIONS

Mechanical ventilation guided by transpulmonary pressure tended to have a beneficial prognosis on ARDS patients. Oxygenation and lung mechanics parameters were also improved. The clinical effect of mechanical ventilation directed by transpulmonary pressure was superior to the traditional lung protective ventilation strategies in ARDS patients.

[Efficacy of machine learning models versus Cox regression model for predicting prognosis of esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma]

OBJECTIVE

To compare the performance of machine learning models and traditional Cox regression model in predicting postoperative outcomes of patients with esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma (AEG).

METHODS

This study was conducted among 203 AEG patients with complete clinical and follow-up data, who were treated in our hospital between September, 2015 and October, 2020. The clinicopathological data of the patients were processed for analysis using R language package and divided into training and validation datasets at the ratio of 3:1. The Cox proportional hazards regression model and 4 machine learning models were constructed for analyzing the datasets. ROC curves, calibration curves and clinical decision curves (DCA) were plotted. Internal validation of the machine learning models was performed to assess their predictive efficacy. The predictive performance of each model was evaluated by calculating the area under the curve (AUC), and the model fitting was assessed using the calibration curve.

RESULTS

For predicting 3-year survival based on the validation dataset, the AUC was 0.870 for Cox proportional hazard regression model, 0.901 for eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), 0.791 for random forest, 0.832 for support vector machine, and 0.725 for multilayer perceptron; For predicting 5-year survival, the AUCs of these models were 0.915, 0.916, 0.758, 0.905, and 0.737, respectively. For internal validation, the AUCs of the 4 machine learning models decreased in the order of XGBoost (0.818), random forest (0.758), support vector machine (0.0.804), and multilayer perceptron (0.745).

CONCLUSION

The machine learning models show better predictive efficacy for survival outcomes of patients with AEG than Cox proportional hazard regression model, especially when proportional odds assumption or linear regression models are not applicable. XGBoost models have better performance than the other machine learning models, and the multi-layer perception model may have poor fitting results for a limited data volume.

[Influence of postoperative complications on prognosis of gastric cancer-The manifestation of gastric surgeon's skill, responsibility and empathy]

Radical gastrectomy combined with perioperative comprehensive treatment is the main curable strategy for gastric cancer patients, and postoperative complications are the issue that gastric surgeons have to face. Complications not only affect the short-term postoperative recovery, but also facilitate tumor recurrence or metastasis, thus resulting in poor prognosis. Therefore, unifying the diagnostic criteria for postoperative complications, bringing the surgeons' attention to complications, and understanding the potential mechanism of complications undermining long-term survival, will be helpful to the future improvement of the clinical diagnosis and treatment as well as prognosis for gastric cancer patients in China. Meanwhile, surgeons should constantly hone their operative skills, improve their sense of responsibility and empathy, and administer individualized perioperative management based on patients' general conditions, so as to minimize the occurrence of postoperative complications and their influence on prognosis.

[Forsythiaside B inhibits cerebral ischemia/reperfusion-induced oxidative stress injury in mice via the AMPK/DAF-16/FOXO3 pathway]

OBJECTIVE

To study the protective effect of forsythiaside B (FB) against cerebral oxidative stress injury induced by cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) in mice and explore the underlying mechanism.

METHODS

Ninety C57BL/6 mice were randomized into sham-operated group, middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model group, and low-, medium and highdose (10, 20, and 40 mg/kg, respectively) FB groups. The expression levels of MDA, ROS, PCO, 8-OHdG, SOD, GSTα4, CAT and GPx in the brain tissue of the mice were detected using commercial kits, and those of AMPK, P-AMPK, DAF-16, FOXO3 and P-FOXO3 were detected with Western blotting. Compound C (CC), an AMPK inhibitor, was used to verify the role of the AMPK pathway in mediating the therapeutic effect of FB. In another 36 C57BL/6 mice randomized into 4 sham-operated group, MCAO model group, FB (40 mg/kg) treatment group, FB+CC (10 mg/kg) treatment group, TTC staining was used to examine the volume of cerebral infarcts, and the levels of ROS and SOD in the brain were detected; the changes in the protein expressions of AMPK, P-AMPK, DAF-16, FOXO3 and P-FOXO3 in the brain tissue were detected using Western blotting.

RESULTS

In mice with cerebral IR injury, treatment with FB significantly reduced the levels of ROS, MDA, PCO and 8-OHdG, increased the activities of antioxidant enzymes SOD, GSTα4, CAT and GPx, and enhanced phosphorylation of AMPK and FOXO3 and DAF-16 protein expression in the brain tissue (P < 0.01). Compared with FB treatment alone, the combined treatment with FB and CC significantly reduced phosphorylation of AMPK and FOXO3, lowered expression of DAF-16 and SOD activity, and increased cerebral infarction volume and ROS level in the brain tissue of the mice (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

FB inhibits oxidative stress injury caused by cerebral I/R in mice possibly by enhancing AMPK phosphorylation, promoting the downstream DAF-16 protein expression and FOXO3 phosphorylation, increasing the expression of antioxidant enzymes, and reducing ROS level in the brain tissue.

Neuroprotective Effects of IVIG against Alzheimer' s Disease via Regulation of Antigen Processing and Presentation by MHC Class I Molecules in 3xTg-AD Mice

BACKGROUND

The results of clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients treated with Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) revealed inconsistency in efficacy.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the neuroprotective effects and possible mechanisms of different IVIG in 3xTg-AD mice.

METHODS

3-month-old 3xTg-AD mice were administered intraperitoneally with different IVIG (A/B/C) for 3 months and then the therapeutic effects were observed and tested at 9 months of age. The bioavailability of IVIG and Aβ40/42 concentrations in parietotemporal cortex was measured by ELISA. Behavioral tests were performed to examine cognitive functions. Immunohistochemistry was utilized to examine the deposition of Aβ, the phosphorylation of tau, the levels of GFAP and Iba-1 in the hippocampus. Proteomics, Luminex assay and parallel reaction monitoring were performed to identify and verify the proteins that showed a marked change in the hippocampus.

RESULTS

IVIG-C was more effective than IVIG-A and IVIG-B in counteracting cognitive deficits, ameliorating Aβ deposits and tau phosphorylation, attenuating the activation of microglia and astrocytes in the hippocampus and inhibiting the secretion of pro-inflammatory factors. IVIG-C affected innate immunity and suppressed the activation of antigen processing and presentation by MHC class I molecule (APP-MHC-I).

CONCLUSION

The efficacy of different IVIG on AD was significantly different, and only IVIG-C has been confirmed to possess significant neuroprotective effects, which are related to the inhibition of APP-MHC-I. IVIG may be a potential therapeutic for AD but further research is needed to evaluate the functional of IVIG before clinical trials of AD treatment.

PSXIII-7 Field Testing of Lora-wan Sensors for Real-Time Tracking and Biosensing of Brangus and Raramuri Criollo Cattle Grazing a Small Pasture

The study’s objective was to investigate the use of Internet of Things (IoT) biosensors using Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRa-WAN) communication to compare the foraging behavior of two desert adapted cattle breeds. Two groups of mature Brangus (BA) and Raramuri Criollo (RC) cows were introduced into a small irrigated pasture (38ha) at the New Mexico State University’s Clayton Livestock Research Center during Dec-Jan, 2021 (41-days). The real-time position and activity count data (15- and 1-minute interval, respectively) were retrieved continuously from 4 BA and 5 RC cows collared with commercially available trackers (Abeeway Industrial-trackers). Response variables derived from GPS records included daily distance traveled (Dist) and daily area explored (Area). Response variables derived from accelerometers included daily percentage motion (%Act) and cumulative activity data (CumAct). All variables were grouped into six consecutive weekly periods and analyzed by a repeated measures mixed model that included the fixed effects of BREED, WEEK, and the BREED*WEEK interaction in a completely randomized design. A significant (P&lt; 0.01) BREED*WEEK interaction was detected on all GPS-derived variables, with RC exhibiting a trend to explore larger areas than BA (P=0.06). For the accelerometer-derived variables, the BREED*WEEK interaction was only significant (P=0.01) for CumAct. Overall, BA spent a larger percentage of the day active (%Act; BA= 76.74 vs. RC= 73.16; P=0.02), while investing a significantly greater overall activity (CumAct; BA= 8816.63 vs. RC= 6311.31; P=0.03) compared to RC cows. The insensitivity of GPS-derived variables is hypothesized to be the result of aggregating errors associated with less frequent GPS location measurements coupled with position errors (~5m) and a low success rate of data packet transmission (~40%). The spatial scale of the study is hypothesized to have influenced the foraging behavior differences that were observed between the breeds, and the better performance of the accelerometer vs. GPS-derived variables.

Search for Subsolar-Mass Binaries in the First Half of Advanced LIGO's and Advanced Virgo's Third Observing Run

We report on a search for compact binary coalescences where at least one binary component has a mass between 0.2  M_{⊙} and 1.0  M_{⊙} in Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo data collected between 1 April 2019 1500 UTC and 1 October 2019 1500 UTC. We extend our previous analyses in two main ways: we include data from the Virgo detector and we allow for more unequal mass systems, with mass ratio q≥0.1. We do not report any gravitational-wave candidates. The most significant trigger has a false alarm rate of 0.14  yr^{-1}. This implies an upper limit on the merger rate of subsolar binaries in the range [220-24200]  Gpc^{-3} yr^{-1}, depending on the chirp mass of the binary. We use this upper limit to derive astrophysical constraints on two phenomenological models that could produce subsolar-mass compact objects. One is an isotropic distribution of equal-mass primordial black holes. Using this model, we find that the fraction of dark matter in primordial black holes in the mass range 0.2  M_{⊙}<m_{PBH}<1.0  M_{⊙} is f_{PBH}≡Ω_{PBH}/Ω_{DM}≲6%. This improves existing constraints on primordial black hole abundance by a factor of ∼3. The other is a dissipative dark matter model, in which fermionic dark matter can collapse and form black holes. The upper limit on the fraction of dark matter black holes depends on the minimum mass of the black holes that can be formed: the most constraining result is obtained at M_{min}=1  M_{⊙}, where f_{DBH}≡Ω_{DBH}/Ω_{DM}≲0.003%. These are the first constraints placed on dissipative dark models by subsolar-mass analyses.

Performance Evaluation of Aggregation-based Group Recommender Systems for Ephemeral Groups

Recommender Systems ( RecSys ) provide suggestions in many decision-making processes. Given that groups of people can perform many real-world activities (e.g., a group of people attending a conference looking for a place to dine), the need for recommendations for groups has increased. A wide range of Group Recommender Systems ( GRecSys ) has been developed to aggregate individual preferences to group preferences. We analyze 175 studies related to GRecSys . Previous works evaluate their systems using different types of groups (sizes and cohesiveness), and most of such works focus on testing their systems using only one type of item, called experience goods (EG). As a consequence, it is hard to get consistent conclusions about the performance of GRecSys . We present the aggregation strategies and aggregation functions that GRecSys commonly use to aggregate group members’ preferences. This study experimentally compares the performance (i.e., accuracy, ranking quality, and usefulness) using four metrics (Hit Ratio, nDCG, Diversity, and Coverage) of eight representative RecSys for group recommendations on ephemeral groups. Moreover, we use two different aggregation strategies, ten different aggregation functions, and two different types of items on two types of datasets (Experience Goods (EG) and Search Goods (SG)) containing real-life datasets. The results show that the evaluation of GRecSys needs to use both EG and SG types of data because the different characteristics of datasets lead to different performance. GRecSys using Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) or Neural Collaborative Filtering (NCF) methods work better than others. It is observed that the Average aggregation function is the one that produces better results.

Stability profiling and degradation products of dihydromyricetin in Dulbecco's modified eagle's medium

Dihydromyricetin has shown many bioactivities in cell level. However, dihydromyricetin was found to be highly instable in cell culture medium DMEM. Here, the underlying degradation mechanism was investigated via UPLC-MS/MS analysis. Dihydromyricetin was mainly converted into its dimers and oxidized products. At lower temperature, dihydromyricetin in DMEM showed higher stability. Vitamin C increased the stability of dihydromyricetin in DMEM probably due to its high antioxidant potential.

Aberrant methylation-mediated downregulation of the LINC01554 gene accelerates the malignant progression and regulates the chemosensitivity of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is diagnosed as a malignant tumor with a poor prognosis, the associated mechanisms still need to be further investigated. The LINC01554 gene is confirmed to participate in the tumorigenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma, but its role in LSCC has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the function and the potential mechanism of LINC01554 in LSCC, LINC01554 further was used as a molecular target for the diagnosis and molecular targeted therapy of LSCC. The microarray-based gene expression profiling of LSCC and its adjacent non-tumor tissue were used to identify the differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was applied to verify the expression levels of LINC01554 in tissue and LSCC cell lines. The DNA methylation level of the LINC01554 promoter was detected by the application of bisulfite genomic sequencing (BGS), and the bisulfite conversion-specific/methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (BS-MSP) method. The effect of LINC01554 on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of squamous cell carcinoma was assessed by MTS, wound healing, transwell, RT-qPCR, Western blot in vitro-cultured TU177 cells, and AMC-HN-8 cells. The microarray-based gene expression profiling identified the differentially expressed lncRNAs, including LINC01554, with downregulation in the LSCC tissue vs. normal tissue. The RT-qPCR verified the downregulation of LINC01554 in the LSCC tissue (P=0.0049) and LSCC cell (P=0.0020). The BGS and BS-MSP exhibited the hypermethylation level of the LINC01554 promoter, which mediated the downregulation of LINC01554. A gain-of-function experiment showed that LINC01554 inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of TU177 and AMC-HN-8. Subsequently, LINC01554 overexpression was shown to decrease cell viability in TU177 and AMC-HN-8 cells treated with cisplatin. Our findings indicated that the aberrant methylation-mediated downregulation of LINC01554 promoted malignant progression and cisplatin resistance in LSCC, and LINC01554 may serve as a potential diagnostic biomarker and a novel therapeutic target for LSCC.

[Current status and progression of minimally invasive surgery after neoadjuvant therapy for adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction]

The number of minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction (AEG) has been increasing year by year. The key technical points such as surgical approach, lymph node dissection and GI tract reconstruction have gradually reached their maturity. With the emergence of proofs of evidence-based neoadjuvant therapy, neoadjuvant chemotherapy or neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy for advanced AEG is also gradually accepted by most surgeons and oncologists. European scholars have previously started researches on MIS after neoadjuvant therapy for esophageal cancer and AEG. Domestic scholars also raise practical suggestions on the application of neoadjuvant therapy for AEG via the cooperation between gastrointestinal and thoracic surgeons, demonstrating the trend in standardization and individualization. But there is still no consent to the indication of MIS after neoadjuvant therapy. Furthermore, there is also a lack of the standardization of technical points for MIS, GI tract reconstruction, short- and long-term outcomes. Such associated problems have been the hot controversy and exploration in recent years. This article describes current progress of neoadjuvant therapy for AEG, current status of MIS after the neoadjuvant therapy in Europe, America, East Asia, including China, and related researches plus future prospects, hoping for better clinical outcomes.

[Research progress of follow-up monitoring design in mega cohort]

With the increasing demand to study the cause of complex diseases, mega cohort has gradually replaced the traditional small sample cohort and become the hotspot of epidemiological research. Follow-up is the essential step in a cohort study to obtain the information about the onset and death of diseases, migration or loss of follow-up of the cases. Its quality has a direct impact on the conclusions of cohort study. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a reasonable follow-up monitoring program for a mega cohort.In this paper, we summarized the contents and methods of the follow-up monitoring program in the mega cohorts at home and abroad, which aimed to provide suggestions for the new cohort and improve the follow-up program for the existing cohort.

[Gut microbiome composition in pre-adolescent children with different meat consumption patterns]

OBJECTIVE

To compare the composition of gut microbiome in pre-adolescent children with different meat consumption patterns.

METHODS

This study was conducted among 44 healthy school-age children (age range 8-10 years) in Shenzhen. According to the monthly intake frequency ratio of white meat and red meat, the children were divided into red-meat group (n=15), balanced group (n=16) and white-meat group (n=13). The Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) was used to investigate the children's diet, and samples of morning feces were collected to study the gut microbiome. The fecal DNA was extracted and amplified, and the composition of the intestinal microbiome of the children was analyzed using Illumina Miseq high-throughput sequencing.

RESULTS

The children in red meat and white meat groups showed significantly lower abundance and diversity of gut microbiota than those with a balanced diet (P < 0.05). LEfSe analysis of the genus in the fecal samples showed that Escherichia-Shigella, Coprobacillus and Peptoniphilus were enriched in red-meat group and Holdemanella was enriched in the white-meat group as compared with the balanced group. In the samples of the balanced group, 31 and 25 genus (such as Laurespirillum and Rumenococcus) were significantly enriched as compared with the samples of the red-meat group and the white-meat group, respectively. Prediction of the gut microbiota KEGG pathway using PICRUSt2 suggested that compared with that in the balanced group, the gut microbiota in red-meat group had significant activation of the pathways involving lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis (P < 0.01), arachidonic acid metabolism (P < 0.01), thyroid hormone synthesis (P < 0.001), and carbohydrate digestion and absorption (P < 0.05). But compared with the white-meat group, the red-meat group showed only significant activation of the pathways of arachidonic acid metabolism (P < 0.05) and thyroid hormone synthesis (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The preference of red meat and white meat consumption may significantly reduce the abundance and diversity of gut microbiota in pre-adolescent children. A red meat-rich diet may cause enrichment of Escherichia-Shigella and significant activation of lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis pathway, suggesting the potential benefit of a balanced diet for pre-adolescent children.

Analysis and prediction of produced water quantity and quality in the Permian Basin using machine learning techniques

Appropriate produced water (PW) management is critical for oil and gas industry. Understanding PW quantity and quality trends for one well or all similar wells in one region would significantly assist operators, regulators, and water treatment/disposal companies in optimizing PW management. In this research, historical PW quantity and quality data in the New Mexico portion (NM) of the Permian Basin from 1995 to 2019 was collected, pre-processed, and analyzed to understand the distribution, trend and characteristics of PW production for potential beneficial use. Various machine learning algorithms were applied to predict PW quantity for different types of oil and gas wells. Both linear and non-linear regression approaches were used to conduct the analysis. The prediction results from five-fold cross-validation showed that the Random Forest Regression model reported high prediction accuracy. The AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average model showed good results for predicting PW volume in time series. The water quality analysis results showed that the PW samples from the Delaware and Artesia Formations (mostly from conventional wells) had the highest and the lowest average total dissolved solids concentrations of 194,535 mg/L and 100,036 mg/L, respectively. This study is the first research that comprehensively analyzed and predicted PW quantity and quality in the NM-Permian Basin. The results can be used to develop a geospatial metrics analysis or facilitate system modeling to identify the potential opportunities and challenges of PW management alternatives within and outside oil and gas industry. The machine learning techniques developed in this study are generic and can be applied to other basins to predict PW quantity and quality.

Decreased CSF Dynamics in Treatment-Naive Patients with Essential Hypertension: A Study with Phase-Contrast Cine MR Imaging

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Arterial sclerosis resulting from hypertension slows CSF transportation in the perivascular spaces, showing the intrinsic relationship between the CSF and the blood vasculature. However, the exact effect of hypertension on human CSF flow dynamics remains unclear. The present study aimed to evaluate CSF flow dynamics in treatment-naive patients with essential hypertension using phase-contrast cine MR imaging.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study included 60 never-treated patients with essential hypertension and 60 subjects without symptomatic atherosclerosis. CSF flow parameters, such as forward flow volume, forward peak velocity, reverse flow volume, reverse peak velocity, average flow, and net flow volume, were measured with phase-contrast cine MR imaging. Differences between the 2 groups were assessed to determine the independent determinants of these CSF flow parameters.

RESULTS

Forward flow volume, forward peak velocity, reverse flow volume, reverse peak velocity, and average flow in the patients with hypertension significantly decreased (all, P < .05). Increasing systolic blood pressure was significantly associated with lower forward flow volume (β = -0.44 mL/mL/mm Hg; 95% CI, -0.83 to -0.06 mL/mL/mm Hg), forward peak velocity (β = -0.50 cm/s/mm Hg; 95% CI, -0.88 to -0.12 cm/s/mm Hg), reverse flow volume (β = -0.61 mL/mL/mm Hg; 95% CI, -0.97 to -0.26 mL/mL/mm Hg), reverse peak velocity (β = -0.55 cm/s/mm Hg; 95% CI, -0.91-0.18 cm/s/mm Hg), and average flow (β = -0.50 mL/min/mm Hg; 95% CI, -0.93 to -0.08 mL/min/mm Hg).

CONCLUSIONS

The CSF flow dynamics in patients with hypertension are decreased, and increasing systolic blood pressure is strongly associated with lower CSF flow dynamics.

Virtual Reality for Hypertension in Tooth Extraction: A Randomized Trial

Tooth extraction is one of the most common causes of dental anxiety and pain, leading to the elevation of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR). Such effects may be exaggerated and cause life-threatening accidents in patients with hypertension. Therefore, the pain and anxiety management of these patients is imperative. Virtual reality (VR) has been demonstrated to be a distraction method to relieve anxiety and pain in clinical operations. Thus, we hypothesized that VR can control the elevation of BP and HR in patients with hypertension. In this study, 96 eligible patients with controlled hypertension who needed tooth extraction were randomized to the VR or standard care group by stratified randomization of anxiety grade and gender. Their BP and HR were dynamically monitored. The corresponding systolic and diastolic BP and HR values were selected when systolic BP was at the highest point of the process. BP was converted into mean arterial pressure (MAP) for comparison per the following formula: MAP = (systolic BP + 2 × diastolic BP)/3. Statistical analyses were by intention to treat and conducted in SPSS. Nonparametric rank sum tests were used to compare the difference of ΔMAP and ΔHR between the VR and standard care groups. Multivariate linear regression was applied to evaluate the effect of VR on ΔMAP and ΔHR. The results showed that the VR technique significantly decreased the elevation of MAP (P < 0.001) and HR (P < 0.001), and this effect was found even after adjusting for baseline characteristics and additional surgical procedures (ΔMAP, P < 0.001, R² = 0.276; ΔHR, P < 0.001, R² = 0.152). VR did not increase the incidence of adverse events (P = 0.677). In conclusion, the VR technique was effective in controlling BP and HR within an acceptable range and can help manage BP and HR during tooth extraction for patients with hypertension (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry: ChiCTR2100042132).

Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Club Drug Use among Secondary Vocational Students in China

To understand the prevalence of and factors associated with club drug use among Chinese secondary vocational students, a nationally representative survey was conducted. The multistage cluster sampling strategy was employed to select participants. A total of 9469 students from eleven secondary vocational schools in five cities completed self-reported questionnaires, which included information on club drug use, sociodemographic variables, individual factors, as well as peer and family related factors. The data were separately analyzed with Poisson regression models for female and male students. The overall lifetime prevalence of club drug use was 2.7% (258/9469), and male students had higher prevalence than female students (3.5% vs. 1.9%, p < 0.001). Female and male students shared four risk factors (i.e., having ever smoked, perceiving social benefit expectancies, peer drug using and perceiving peer's approval of drug use) and one protective factor (i.e., having medium or high levels of refusal skills) for club drug use. Moreover, family drug using and having a part-time job were two additionally independent risk factors for club drug use among male students. These findings indicate that the problem of club drug use among Chinese secondary vocational students is worthy of attention. The prevention of club drug use should address multiple risks and protective factors on individual, peer and family levels.

[Clinical significance of the deep learning algorithm based on contrast-enhanced CT in the differential diagnosis of gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors with a diameter ≤ 5 cm]

Objective: Contrast-enhanced CT is an important method of preoperative diagnosis and evaluation for the malignant potential of gastric submucosal tumor (SMT). It has a high diagnostic accuracy rate in differentiating gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) with a diameter greater than 5 cm from gastric benign SMT. This study aimed to use deep learning algorithms to establish a diagnosis model (GISTNet) based on contrast-enhanced CT and evaluate its diagnostic value in distinguishing gastric GIST with a diameter ≤ 5 cm and other gastric SMT before surgery. Methods: A diagnostic test study was carried out. Clinicopathological data of 181 patients undergoing resection with postoperative pathological diagnosis of gastric SMT with a diameter ≤ 5 cm at Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery of Renji Hospital from September 2016 to April 2021 were retrospectively collected. After excluding 13 patients without preoperative CT or with poor CT imaging quality, a total of 168 patients were enrolled in this study, of whom, 107 were GIST while 61 were benign SMT (non-GIST), including 27 leiomyomas, 24 schwannomas, 6 heterotopic pancreas and 4 lipomas. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) gastric SMT was diagnosed by contrast-enhanced CT before surgery; (2) preoperative gastroscopic examination and biopsy showed no abnormal cells; (3) complete clinical and pathological data. Exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) patients received anti-tumor therapy before surgery; (2) without preoperative CT or with poor CT imaging quality due to any reason; (3) except GIST, other gastric malignant tumors were pathologically diagnosed after surgery. Based on the hold-out method, 148 patients were randomly selected as the training set and 20 patients as the test set of the GISTNet diagnosis model. After the GISTNet model was established, 5 indicators were used for evaluation in the test set, including sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and the area under the receiver operating curve (AUC). Then GISTNet diagnosis model was compared with the GIST-risk scoring model based on traditional CT features. Besides, in order to compare the accuracy of the GISTNet diagnosis model and the imaging doctors in the diagnosis of gastric SMT imaging, 3 radiologists with 3, 9 and 19 years of work experience, respectively, blinded to clinical and pathological information, tested and judged the samples. The accuracy rate between the three doctors and the GISTNet model was compared. Results: The GISTNet model yielded an AUC of 0.900 (95% CI: 0.827-0.973) in the test set. When the threshold value was 0.345, the sensitivity specificity, positive and negative predictive values of the GISTNet diagnosis model was 100%, 67%, 75% and 100%, respectively. The accuracy rate of the GISTNet diagnosis model was better than that of the GIST-risk model and the manual readings from two radiologists with 3 years and 9 years of work experience (83% vs. 75%, 60%, 65%), and was close to the manual reading of the radiologist with 19 years of work experience (83% vs. 80%). Conclusion: The deep learning algorithm based on contrast-enhanced CT has favorable and reliable diagnostic accuracy in distinguishing gastric GIST with a diameter ≤ 5 cm and other gastric SMT before operation.

[Act following etiquette and change with time: analysis and discussion on the difference between the current guidelines and clinical practice of gastrointestinal stromal tumor]

Gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is the most common mesenchymal tumor in the gastrointestinal tract. At present, many professional academic groups and associations at home and abroad have released guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of GIST. In 2020, Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor Expert Committee of China Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO) issued the first "CSCO gastrointestinal stromal tumor diagnosis and treatment guidelines" in China. In the same year, NCCN also released the first "NCCN guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (first edition in 2021)" by separating GIST-related content from the guideline for soft tissue sarcoma. However, there are many inconsistencies between the guidelines' recommendation and clinical practice in China. For example, in the aspect of diagnosis, the emphasis on and implementation of molecular detection are variable, the format of molecular detection report is not unified or standardized, the selection of detection methods is inappropriate, the diagnosis of wild-type GIST is not standardized, the risk assessment is improper, and the use of EUS-FNA is relatively seldom; in the aspect of drug therapy, there are some problems, such as the lack of standardization in dose and course of targeted drugs, and off-label medication such as cross line therapy; in terms of surgical treatment, there are also some problems, such as the clinical application scenarios of laparoscopic surgery exceed the recommendations of the guidelines, and the general description of surgical intervention of advanced GIST in the guidelines cannot well guide specific clinical practice. In this context, on the one hand, clinicians need to understand the academic frontier and standardize their medical behavior with the latest guidelines; on the other hand, clinicians need to consider the scientific rationale and accessibility of treatment on some clinical problems that are not clear in the guidelines, and take whether patients can benefit the most as the criteria.

[Identification and inner relation between gastrointestinal stromal tumor and intra-abdominal desmoid tumor]

Intra-abdominal desmoid tumor (IADT) and gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) are both mesenchymal tumors mostly found in gastrointestinal tracts and easily misdiagnosed, which would directly damage the survival prognosis and quality of life of patients. With the advent of the era of precision medicine, the understanding of the above two diseases is more in-depth, and the requirements for accurate diagnosis and individualized precision treatment are more stringent. Moreover, there seems to be some internal relationship between IADT and GIST, and the lack of systematic research and discussion makes clinical decision-making and patient management easy to fall into traps and misunderstandings. Therefore, this paper reviews the clinical characteristics, pathogenesis and treatments of the two, and explore their differences and internal relations, so as to provide research and practical reference for promoting more precise and individualized diagnosis and treatment regimens.

[Adherence to adjuvant with therapy imatinib in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumor: a national multi-center cross-sectional study]

Objective: To analyze the current adherence to imatinib in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) in China and its influencing factors. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted. Study period: from October 1, 2020 to November 31, 2020. Study subjects: GIST patients taking imatinib who were diagnosed and treated in public tertiary level A general hospitals or oncology hospitals; those who had not been pathologically diagnosed, those who never received imatinib, or those who had taken imatinib in the past but stopped afterwards were excluded. The Questionnaire Star online surgery platform was used to design a questionnaire about the adherence to adjuvant imatinib therapy of Chinese GIST patients. The link of questionnaire was sent through WeChat. The questionnaire contained basic information of patients, medication status and Morisky Medication Adherence Scale. Results: A total of 2162 questionnaires from 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities were collected, of which 2005 were valid questionnaires, with an effective rate of 92.7%. The survey subjects included 1104 males and 901 females, with a median age of 56 (22-91) years old. Working status: 609 cases (30.4%) in the work unit, 729 cases (36.4%) of retirement, 667 cases of flexible employment or unemployment (33.3%). Education level: 477 cases (23.8%) with bachelor degree or above, 658 cases (32.8%) of high school, 782 cases (39.0%) of elementary or junior high school, 88 cases (4.4%) without education. Marital status: 1789 cases (89.2%) were married, 179 cases (8.9%) divorced or widowed, 37 cases (1.8%) unmarried. Two hundred and ninety-four patients (14.7%) had metastasis when they were first diagnosed, including 203 liver metastases, 52 peritoneal metastases, and 39 other metastases. One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine patients underwent surgical treatment, of whom 1642 (81.9%) achieved complete resection. The median time of taking imatinib was 25 (1-200) months. Common adverse reactions of imatinib included 1701 cases (84.8%) of periorbital edema, 1031 cases (51.4%) of leukopenia, 948 cases (47.3%) of fatigue, 781 cases (39.0%) of nausea and vomiting, 709 cases (35.4%) of rash, and 670 cases (33.4%) of lower extremity edema. The score of the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale showed that 392 cases (19.6%) had poor adherence, 1023 cases (51.0%) had moderate adherence, and 590 cases (29.4%) had good adherence. Univariate analysis showed that gender, age, work status, economic income, residence, education level, marriage, the duration of taking medication and adverse reactions were associated with adherence to adjuvant imatinib therapy (all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that female (OR=1.264, P=0.009), non-retirement (OR=1.454, P=0.001), monthly income ≤4000 yuan (OR=1.280, P=0.036), township residents (OR=1.332, P=0.005), unmarried or divorced or widowed (OR=1.362, P=0.026), the duration of imatinib medication >36 months (OR=1.478, P<0.001) and adverse reactions (OR=1.719, P=0.048) were independent risk factors for poor adherence to adjuvant imatinib. Among patients undergoing complete resection, 324 (19.7%) had poor adherence, 836 (50.9%) had moderate adherence, and 482 (29.4%) had good adherence. Meanwhile, 55 patients with good adherence (11.4%) developed recurrence after surgery, 121 patients with moderate adherence (14.5%) developed recurrence, 61 patients with poor adherence (18.8%) developed recurrence, and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.017). Conclusions: The adherence to adjuvant therapy with imatinib in Chinese GIST patients is relatively poor. Females, non-retirement, monthly income ≤4000 yuan, township residents, unmarried or divorced or widowed, the duration of imatinib medication >36 months, and adverse reactions are independently associated with poor adherence of GIST patients. Those with poor adherence have a higher risk of recurrence after surgery. Positive interventions based on the above risk factors are advocated to improve the prognosis of patients with GIST.

[Clinicopathological features and prognosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumors with KIT/PDGFRA gene "homozygous mutation": a multicenter retrospective cohort study]

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological features of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) with KIT/PDGFRA "homozygous mutation", the efficacy of targeted therapy and the prognosis. Methods: A retrospective cohort study and propensity score matching were used. "Homozygous mutation" was defined as the detection of KIT/PDGFRA gene status of GIST by Sanger sequencing, which showed that there was only mutant gene sequence in the sequencing map, lack of wild-type sequence or the peak height of mutant gene sequence was much higher than that of wild-type gene sequence (> 3 times). "Heterozygous mutation" was defined as the mutant gene sequences coexisted with wild type gene sequences, and the peak height was similar (3 times or less). The clinicopathological data and follow-up information of 92 GIST patients with KIT/PDGFRA "homozygous mutation" were collected from 4 hospitals in Shanghai from January 2008 to May 2021 (Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine: 70 cases; Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University: 14 cases; Changhai Hospital, Naval Military Medical University: 6 cases and Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine: 2 cases). Patients with perioperative death, other malignancies, and incomplete clinicopathological information were excluded. The clinicopathological features of the patients and the efficacy of targeted drug therapy were observed and analyzed. The efficacy was evaluated using Choi criteria, which were divided into complete response (CR), partial response (PR), stable disease (SD) and progressive disease (PD). In addition, a total of 230 patients with high-risk GIST with "heterozygous mutation" in exon 11 of KIT gene and 117 patients with recurrent or metastatic GIST with "heterozygous mutation" in exon 11 of KIT gene were included. The propensity score matching method was used to match GIST patients with "heterozygous" and "homozygous" mutations in exon 11 of KIT gene (1∶1) for survival analysis. The disease-free survival (DFS) between two groups of high-risk GIST patients who underwent complete surgical resection were compared. And progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with recurrent or metastatic GIST were compared. Results: Of the 92 GIST cases with KIT/PDGFRA "homozygous mutation", 58 were males and 34 were females, with a median onset age of 62 (31-91) years. Primary GIST 83 cases. Primary high-risk GIST (53 cases), metastatic GIST (21 cases) and recurrent GIST (9 cases) accounted for 90.2% (83/92). There were 90 cases of KIT gene"homozygous mutation" (exon 11 for 88 cases, exon 13 for 1 case, exon 17 for 1 case), and 2 cases of PDGFRA gene "homozygous mutation" (exon 12 for 1 case, exon 18 for 1 case). The median follow-up time was 49 (8-181) months. Among the 61 cases of primary localized GIST undergoing complete surgical resection, 2 cases were intermediate-risk GIST, 5 cases were low-risk GIST, and 1 case was very low-risk GIST, of whom 1 case of intermediate-risk GIST received 1-year adjuvant imatinib mesylate (IM) therapy after operation, and no tumor recurrence developed during the follow-up period. The remaining 53 cases were high-risk GIST, and follow-up data were obtained from 50 cases, of whom 22 developed tumor recurrence during follow-up. Of 9 patients directly receiving neoadjuvant targeted therapy (IM or avapritinib), 5 had complete imaging follow-up data, and the evaluation of efficacy achieved PR. Of all the 92 GIST cases with KIT/PDGFRA "homozygous mutation", 50 (54.4%) had tumor metastasis or tumor recurrence or progression during follow-up, and 12 (13.0%) died of the tumor. Survival analysis combined with propensity score showed that in 100 cases of high-risk GISTs with complete resection, GISTs with "homozygous mutation" in exon 11 of KIT gene had shorter disease-free survival (DFS) than GISTs with "heterozygous mutation" in exon 11 of KIT gene (median DFS: 72 months vs. 148 months, P=0.015). In 60 cases of recurrent or metastatic GISTs with KIT gene exon 11 mutation, IM was used as the first-line treatment, and the progression-free survival (PFS) of GISTs with "homozygous mutation" was shorter compared to GISTs with "heterozygous mutation" (median PFS: 38 months vs. 69 months, P=0.044). The differences were statistically significant. Conclusions: "Homozygous mutation" in KIT/PDGFRA gene is associated with the progression of GIST. The corresponding targeted therapeutic drugs are still effective for GIST with KIT/PDGFRA gene "homozygous mutation". Compared with GIST patients with "heterozygous mutation" in KIT exon 11, GIST patients with "homozygous mutation" in KIT exon 11 are more likely to relapse after surgery and to develop resistance to IM. Therefore, it is still necessary to seek more effective treatment methods for this subset of cases.

Characterization and Validation of Fatigue Strains for Superelastic Nitinol Using Digital Image Correlation

Fatigue is a major challenge encountered in cardiovascular implant design. While the properly heat-treated Nitinol can exhibit up to 6–7% recoverable strains allowing for minimally invasive transcatheter delivery of cardiovascular implants, the cyclic in vivo loading can cause premature fracture of the implant if the fatigue strain is too high. Strain-based criteria have been adopted for the development of Nitinol fatigue resistance. Lacking experimental tools to characterize the local material fatigue strain, fatigue testing of Nitinol specimens has largely relied on the finite element analysis to compute the cyclic strain amplitude and mean strain based on experimentally derived constitutive parameters using phenomenological strain energy theory. Without a consistent computational standard, previous works have resulted in controversy and inconsistency in the impact of mean strain on the fatigue resistance of Nitinol in terms of strain amplitude limit at high cycle fatigue regime. In this paper, digital image correlation (DIC) technique is used to experimentally determine local material strains of Nitinol fatigue specimens using monotonic and cyclic loading conditions. These local strains are compared with strains computed from finite element analysis. It was found that strains from DIC and FEA are comparable in the single-phase states (pure austenitic or martensitic), whereas the measured strains can show significant difference from simulation computed strain during the transformation stage where both austenite and martensite phase co-exist. These observations have significant implications to nitinol fatigue testing and implant reliability assessment.

Three Novel Structural Variations at MHC and IL12B Predisposing to Psoriasis

BACKGROUND

Structural variations (SVs, defined as DNA variants ≥50 bp) have been associated with various complex human diseases. However, research to screen the whole genome for SVs predisposing to psoriasis is still lacking.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to investigate the association of SVs and psoriasis.

METHODS

We performed a genome-wide screen on SVs using an imputation method on 5 independent cohorts with 45,386 subjects from the Chinese Han population. Fine mapping analysis, genetic interaction analysis and RNA expression analysis were conducted to explore the mechanism of SVs.

RESULTS

We obtained 4,535 SVs in total and identified 2 novel deletions (esv3608550, OR=2.73, P<2.00×10^-308 ; esv3608542, OR=0.47, P=7.40×10^-28 ) at 6q21.33 (MHC), 1 novel Alu element insertion (esv3607339, OR=1.22, P=1.18×10^-35 ) at 5q33.3 (IL12B), and confirmed 1 previously reported deletion (esv3587563, OR=1.30, P=9.52×10^-60 ) at 1q21.2 (LCE) for psoriasis. Fine mapping analysis including SNPs and small Insertions/Deletions (InDels) revealed that esv3608550 and esv3608542 were independently associated with psoriasis, and a novel independent SNP (rs9378188, OR=1.65, P=3.46×10^-38 ) was identified at 6q21.33. By genetic interaction analysis and RNA expression analysis, we speculate that the association of 2 deletions at 6q21.33 with psoriasis might relate to their influence on the expression of HLA-C.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study constructed the most comprehensive SV map for psoriasis thus far and enriched the genetic architecture and pathogenesis of psoriasis as well as highlighted the nonnegligible impact of SVs on complex diseases.

Down-regulation of betatrophin enhances insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetes mellitus through activation of the GSK-3β/PGC-1α signaling pathway

OBJECTIVE

The incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) among children and adolescents has been rising. Accumulating evidences have noted the significant role of betatrophin in the regulation of lipid metabolism and glucose homeostasis. In our study, we tried to figure out the underlying mechanism of betatrophin in insulin resistance (IR) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

METHODS

First, fasting serum betatrophin, fasting blood glucose (FBG), insulin, total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were detected in T2DM children. The homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), Gutt insulin sensitivity index (ISI_G) and Matsuda insulin sensitivity index (ISI_M) were calculated. A T2DM-IR mouse model was induced by high-fat diet, with the expression of GSK-3β and PGC-1α detected. Besides, HepG2 cells were induced by a high concentration of insulin to establish an IR cell model (HepG2-IR). The cell viability, glucose consumption, liver glycogen content, inflammation, and fluorescence level of GSK-3β and PGC-1α were analyzed.

RESULTS

Betatrophin was highly expressed in serum of T2DM children and was positively correlated with FBG, insulin, TC, TG, LDL-C and HOMA-IR, while negatively correlated with ISI_G and ISI_M. Betatrophin and GSK-3β in the liver tissues of T2DM-IR mice were increased, while the PGC-1α expression was decreased. Betatrophin expression was negatively correlated with PGC-1α and positively correlated with GSK-3β. Silencing of betatrophin enhanced insulin sensitivity through the activation of GSK-3β/PGC-1α signaling pathway. In vitro experiments also found that silencing of betatrophin promoted glucose consumption and glycogen synthesis while inhibited inflammation.

CONCLUSION

Our findings concluded that silencing of betatrophin could enhance insulin sensitivity and improve histopathological morphology through the activation of GSK-3β/PGC-1α signaling pathway.

[Analysis of diagnosis, treatment and risk classification of blunt thoracic aortic injury]

Objective: Propose a new risk classification system for blunt thoracic aortic injury and explore its treatment strategies. Methods: After the retrospective analysis of clinical data from 68 patients with blunt thoracic aortic injury in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from November 2016 to October 2020, there were 56 males and 12 females, among these patients, the median age was 45(21-69). According to the degree of aortic injury and the combined injury, the patients were scored for aortic injury, and the risk of the patients were graded into following three types: low-risk group (score ≤ 2 points) 12 cases, intermediate-risk group (3 points ≤ score ≤ 5 points) 41 cases, high-risk group (score ≥ 6 points) 15 cases. Analyzing the effects of treatments received by patients in different grades on the prognosis. Patients were followed up through hospitalization or outpatient clinics at 1, 3, 6, 12 months after surgery and every year thereafter. Results: Of the 68 patients, 21 received non-surgical treatment and 47 received surgical repair, including 6 open surgery and 41 thoracic aortic endovascular repair. There were 16 cases of emergency operation and 31 cases of delayed operation. Twelve low-risk patients were treated with non-surgical treatment, and only 1 patient died of lung infection, with a mortality rate of 8.3% (1/12). There were 8 deaths in 41 moderate-risk patients, with a mortality rate of 19.5% (8/41), and the aortic-related mortality rate was 9.8% (4/41), and the operative mortality rate was 10.8% (4/37). The total mortality of 15 high-risk patients was 40% (6/15), and the aortic-related mortality rate was 30.0% (5/15), and the mortality rate of surgical patients was 10% (1/10). During the follow-up period of 5 to 52 months, no deaths occurred outside the hospital. According to the risk grading, there were significant differences in the aortic-related mortality of each grade (χ²=7.840, P=0.020). During the follow-up of 5-52 months, 1 case had type Ⅰ endoleak, 1 case of cerebral infarction, and 1 case of acute renal failure. Conclusion: According to the patient's degree of aortic injury and combined injury, the risk classification helps to choose the appropriate treatment.