Global, regional, and national burden of chronic kidney disease attributable to high fasting plasma glucose from 1990 to 2019: a systematic analysis from the global burden of disease study 2019

Purpose

Given the rising prevalence of high fasting plasma glucose (HFPG) over the past three decades, it is crucial to assess its global, national, and regional impact on chronic kidney disease (CKD). This study aims to investigate the burden of CKD attributed to HFPG and its distribution across various levels.

Methods and materials

The data for this research was sourced from the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2019. To estimate the burden of CKD attributed to HFPG, we utilized DisMod-MR 2.1, a Bayesian meta-regression tool. The burden was measured using age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) and age-standardized disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) rate. Correlation analysis was performed using the Spearman rank order correlation method. Temporal trends were analyzed by estimating the estimated annual percentage change (EAPC).

Results

Globally in 2019, there were a total of 487.97 thousand deaths and 13,093.42 thousand DALYs attributed to CKD attributed to HFPG, which represent a substantial increase of 153.8% and 120%, respectively, compared to 1990. Over the period from 1990 to 2019, the burden of CKD attributable to HFPG increased across all regions, with the highest increases observed in regions with high socio-demographic index (SDI) and middle SDI. Regions with lower SDI exhibited higher ASMR and age-standardized DALYs (ASDR) compared to developed nations at the regional level. Additionally, the EAPC values, which indicate the rate of increase, were significantly higher in these regions compared to developed nations. Notably, high-income North America, belonging to the high SDI regions, experienced the greatest increase in both ASMR and ASDR over the past three decades. Furthermore, throughout the years from 1990 to 2019, males bore a greater burden of CKD attributable to HFPG.

Conclusion

With an increasing population and changing dietary patterns, the burden of CKD attributed to HFPG is expected to worsen. From 1990 to 2019, males and developing regions have experienced a more significant burden. Notably, the EAPC values for both ASMR and ASDR were higher in males and regions with lower SDI (excluding high-income North America). This emphasizes the pressing requirement for effective interventions to reduce the burden of CKD attributable to HFPG.

QTL mapping for plant height and ear height using bi-parental immortalized heterozygous populations in maize

Introduction

Plant height (PH) and ear height (EH) are key plant architectural traits in maize, which will affect the photosynthetic efficiency, high plant density tolerance, suitability for mechanical harvesting.

Methods

QTL mapping were conducted for PH and EH using a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population and two corresponding immortalized backcross (IB) populations obtained from crosses between the RIL population and the two parental lines.

Results

A total of 17 and 15 QTL were detected in the RIL and IB populations, respectively. Two QTL, qPH1-1 (qEH1-1) and qPH1-2 (qEH1-4) in the RIL, were simultaneously identified for PH and EH. Combing reported genome-wide association and cloned PH-related genes, co-expression network analyses were constructed, then five candidate genes with high confidence in major QTL were identified including Zm00001d011117 and Zm00001d011108, whose homologs have been confirmed to play a role in determining PH in maize and soybean.

Discussion

QTL mapping used a immortalized backcross population is a new strategy. These identified genes in this study can provide new insights for improving the plant architecture in maize.

Pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma treated with PD-1 inhibitor: Two case reports

Pulmonary polymorphic carcinoma (PPC) is a rare and poorly differentiated form of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), accounting for just approximately 0.1% to 0.4% of all NSCLC cases. Historically, the conventional treatments for PPC have been linked to a grim prognosis. However, with the advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), including PD-1 inhibitors, for the management of NSCLC, our center has witnessed encouraging outcomes in two PPC patients who underwent PD-1 inhibitor therapy. The first patient was a 70-year-old male who initially came to our attention after the discovery of a lung mass during a routine physical examination. A lung biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of PPC, and further complications included brain metastasis. Surgical intervention was conducted for the brain metastases, while PD-1 inhibitor therapy was employed for the lung tumors. The second patient was a 60-year-old male who was admitted with a history of persistent coughing and hemoptysis, which led to the diagnosis of a left lung tumor. Subsequent postoperative pathology revealed pulmonary adenocarcinoma coexisting with PPC. However, 2 months later, distant metastases were detected during a follow-up examination. The patient encountered difficulty in tolerating the adverse effects of chemotherapy, prompting the initiation of PD-1 inhibitor treatment. Notably, both patients underwent one cycle of PD-1 inhibitor therapy without encountering significant adverse reactions, and their responses proved to be promising during re-examinations. These findings suggest that surgery combined with immunotherapy PD-1 inhibitor therapy may represent an effective approach for the treatment of PPC.

Roles of autophagy-related genes in the therapeutic effects of Xuanfei Pingchuan capsules on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease based on transcriptome sequencing analysis

Objective: Autophagy plays an important role in the occurrence and development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We evaluated the effect of Xuanfei Pingchuan capsule (XFPC) on autophagy-related genes of COPD by a bioinformatics analysis and experimental verification. Methods: The best treatment duration was screened by CCK8 assays. HBE cells were divided into three groups: blank, CSE and XFPC. After intervened by XFPC, HBE cells were collected and sent to Shenzhen Huada Gene Company for transcriptome sequencing. Subsequently, differential expression analyses, target gene prediction, and function enrichment analyses were carried out. Expression changes were verified in HBE cells by real-time Quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and western blotting (WB). Results: The result of differential expression analysis displayed that 125 target genes of HBE cells were mainly related to mitogen-activated protein kinase (MKK) binding, interleukin 33 binding, 1-Pyrroline-5-carboxylate dehydrogenase activity, and the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal pathway. Among the target genes, the core genes related to autophagy obtained by maximum neighborhood component algorithm were CSF1, AREG, MAPK9, MAP3K7, and AKT3. RT-qPCR and WB methods were used to verify the result, it showed similar expression changes in CSF1, MAPK9, MAP3K7, and AKT3 in bronchial epithelial cells to those in the bioinformatics analysis. Conclusion: Through transcriptome sequencing and validation analysis, we predicted that CSF1, MAPK9, MAP3K7, and AKT3 may be the potential autophagy-related genes that play an important role in the pathogenesis of COPD. XFPC may regulate autophagy by down-regulating the expression of CSF1, MAPK9, MAP3K7, and AKT3, thus achieving the purpose of treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Interactions between vaginal local cytokine IL-2 and high-risk human papillomavirus infection with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in a Chinese population-based study

Background

Although interleukin-2 (IL-2) has long been associated with cancer development, its roles in the development of cervical cancer remains unclear. Few studies examined the associations between IL-2 and high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) with risk of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN).

Objective

We aimed to assess the association of IL-2 and high-risk HPV infection with risk of CIN as well as their interactions on the risk of CIN.

Design

We performed a cross-sectional analysis of screening data in 2285 women aged 19-65 years who participated in an ongoing community-based cohort of 40,000 women in Shanxi, China in 2014-2015. Both categorical and spline analyses were used to evaluation the association between IL-2 in the local vaginal fluids and prevalence of CIN. In addition, 1503 controls were followed up until January 31, 2019), the nested case-control study design was adopted to evaluate the association of vaginal lavage IL-2 levels and the risk of CIN progression.

Results

After adjusting for potential confounders, IL-2 levels were statistically inversely associated with prevalence of CIN (the 1st versus 4th quartile IL-2 levels: the respective odds ratio [OR] and 95% confidence intervals [CI] was: = 1.75 [1.37, 2.23] for CIN, 1.32 [1.01, 1.73] for CIN I, and 3.53 [2.26, 5.52] for CIN II/III). Increased IL-2 levels were inversely associated with prevalence of CIN (P-overall<0.01, P-nonlinearity<0.01 for CIN; P-overall<0.01, P-nonlinearity = 0.01 for CIN I; P-overall <0.01, P-nonlinearity = 0.62 for CIN II/III). The highest prevalence of CIN was observed in women with high-risk HPV, who also had the lowest IL-2 levels (P-interaction < 0.01). Nested case-control study observed an inverse association between IL-2 levels and risk of CIN progression (OR=3.43, [1.17, 10.03]).

Conclusions

IL-2 levels in the local vaginal fluids were inversely associated with the risk of CIN in Chinese women either with or without high-risk HPV infection.

Mace-Like Plasmonic Au-Pd Heterostructures Boost Near-Infrared Photoimmunotherapy

Photoimmunotherapy, with spatiotemporal precision and noninvasive property, has provided a novel targeted therapeutic strategy for highly malignant triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, their therapeutic effect is severely restricted by the insufficient generation of tumor antigens and the weak activation of immune response, which is caused by the limited tissue penetration of light and complex immunosuppressive microenvironment. To improve the outcomes, herein, mace-like plasmonic AuPd heterostructures (Au Pd HSs) have been fabricated to boost near-infrared (NIR) photoimmunotherapy. The plasmonic Au Pd HSs exhibit strong photothermal and photodynamic effects under NIR light irradiation, effectively triggering immunogenic cell death (ICD) to activate the immune response. Meanwhile, the spiky surface of Au Pd HSs can also stimulate the maturation of DCs to present these antigens, amplifying the immune response. Ultimately, combining with anti-programmed death-ligand 1 (α-PD-L1) will further reverse the immunosuppressive microenvironment and enhance the infiltration of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), not only eradicating primary TNBC but also completely inhibiting mimetic metastatic TNBC. Overall, the current study opens a new path for the treatment of TNBC through immunotherapy by integrating nanotopology and plasmonic performance.

Single and combined use of the platelet-lymphocyte ratio, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, and systemic immune-inflammation index in gastric cancer diagnosis

Introduction

The platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) are markers for systemic inflammatory responses and have been shown by numerous studies to correlate with the prognosis of gastric cancer (GC). However, the diagnostic value of these three markers in GC is unclear, and no research has examined them in combination. In this study, we investigated the value of the PLR, NLR, and SII individually or in combination for GC diagnosis and elucidated the connection of these three markers with GC patients' clinicopathological features.

Methods

This retrospective study was conducted on 125 patients diagnosed with GC and 125 healthy individuals, whose peripheral blood samples were obtained for analysis. The preoperative PLR, NLR, and SII values were subsequently calculated.

Results

The results suggest that the PLR, NLR, and SII values of the GC group were considerably higher than those of the healthy group (all P ≤ 0.001); moreover, all three parameters were notably higher in early GC patients (stage I/II) than in the healthy population. The diagnostic value of each index for GC was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and area under the curve (AUC) calculation. The diagnostic efficacy of the SII alone (AUC: 0.831; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.777-0.885) was expressively better than those of the NLR (AUC: 0.821; 95% CI: 0.769-0.873, P = 0.017) and PLR (AUC: 0.783; 95% CI: 0.726-0.840; P = 0.020). The AUC value of the combination of the PLR, NLR, and SII (AUC: 0.843; 95% CI: 0.791-0.885) was significantly higher than that of the combination of the SII and NLR (0.837, 95% CI: 0.785-0.880, P≤0.05), PLR (P = 0.020), NLR (P = 0.017), or SII alone (P ≤ 0.001). The optimal cut-off values were determined for the PLR, NLR, and SII using ROC analysis (SII: 438.7; NLR: 2.1; PLR: 139.5). Additionally, the PLR, NLR, and SII values were all meaningfully connected with the tumor size, TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, and serosa invasion (all P ≤ 0.05). Elevated levels of the NLR and SII were linked to distant metastasis (all P ≤ 0.001).

Discussion

These data suggest that the preoperative PLR, NLR, and SII could thus be utilized as diagnostic markers for GC or even early GC. Among these three indicators, the SII had the best diagnostic efficacy for GC, and the combination of the three could further improve diagnostic efficiency.

Comparative physiological and transcriptomics analysis revealed crucial mechanisms of silicon-mediated tolerance to iron deficiency in tomato

Iron (Fe) deficiency is a common abiotic stress in plants grown in alkaline soil that causes leaf chlorosis and affects root development due to low plant-available Fe concentration. Silicon (Si) is a beneficial element for plant growth and can also improve plant tolerance to abiotic stress. However, the effect of Si and regulatory mechanisms on tomato plant growth under Fe deficiency remain largely unclear. Here, we examined the effect of Si application on the photosynthetic capacity, antioxidant defense, sugar metabolism, and organic acid contents under Fe deficiency in tomato plants. The results showed that Si application promoted plant growth by increasing photosynthetic capacity, strengthening antioxidant defense, and reprogramming sugar metabolism. Transcriptomics analysis (RNA-seq) showed that Si application under Fe deficiency up-regulated the expression of genes related to antioxidant defense, carbohydrate metabolism and organic acid synthesis. In addition, Si application under Fe deficiency increased Fe distribution to leaves and roots. Combined with physiological assessment and molecular analysis, these findings suggest that Si application can effectively increase plant tolerance to low Fe stress and thus can be implicated in agronomic management of Fe deficiency for sustainable crop production. Moreover, these findings provide important information for further exploring the genes and underlying regulatory mechanisms of Si-mediated low Fe stress tolerance in crop plants.

Regulation of differentiation and generation of osteoclasts in rheumatoid arthritis

INTRODUCTION

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which affects nearly 1% of the world's population, is a debilitating autoimmune disease. Bone erosion caused by periarticular osteopenia and synovial pannus formation is the most destructive pathological changes of RA, also leads to joint deformity and loss of function,and ultimately affects the quality of life of patients. Osteoclasts (OCs) are the only known bone resorption cells and their abnormal differentiation and production play an important role in the occurrence and development of RA bone destruction; this remains the main culprit behind RA.

METHOD

Based on the latest published literature and research progress at home and abroad, this paper reviews the abnormal regulation mechanism of OC generation and differentiation in RA and the possible targeted therapy.

RESULT

OC-mediated bone destruction is achieved through the regulation of a variety of cytokines and cell-to-cell interactions, including gene transcription, epigenetics and environmental factors. At present, most methods for the treatment of RA are based on the regulation of inflammation, the inhibition of bone injury and joint deformities remains unexplored.

DISCUSSION

This article will review the mechanism of abnormal differentiation of OC in RA, and summarise the current treatment oftargeting cytokines in the process of OC generation and differentiation to reduce bone destruction in patients with RA, which isexpected to become a valuable treatment choice to inhibit bone destruction in RA.

GSK3β-dependent lysosome biogenesis: An effective pathway to mitigate renal fibrosis with LM49

Renal fibrosis is an incurable disorder characterised by an imbalance of the extracellular matrix (ECM) favouring excess production over degradation. The identification of actionable pathways and agents that promote ECM degradation to restore ECM homeostasis may help mitigate renal fibrosis. In this study, we identified 5,2′-dibromo-2,4′,5′-trihydroxydiphenylmethanone (LM49), a compound we previously synthesised, as a small-molecule inducer of ECM degradation. LM49 administration efficiently reduced ECM deposition in renal tissue of diabetic nephropathy rats and in transforming growth factor β-treated renal fibroblast cells. LM49 promoted the cytosol-to-nucleus translocation of transcription factor EB (TFEB) to increase lysosome biogenesis, leading to lysosome-based degradation of the ECM. TFEB-mediated lysosome biogenesis was induced by LM49 directly inhibiting the activity of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) rather than mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1. LM49 inhibited GSK3β kinase activity concentration-dependently via competing with ATP. Direct binding between LM49 and GSK3β was confirmed by the bio-layer interferometry assay, cellular thermal shift assay, and drug affinity responsive target stability. A molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulation revealed that LM49 occupied the ATP pocket of GSK3β, which was consistent with the kinase activity assay. In summary, LM49 enhances TFEB-mediated lysosome biogenesis by directly inhibiting GSK3β, leading to the degradation of the ECM by lysosomes. The enhancement of GSK3β-dependent lysosome biogenesis to rebalance the ECM may be a novel strategy to counteract renal fibrosis, and LM49 may be a viable clinical candidate for treating this disorder.

A new type of calcium-rich biochars derived from spent mushroom substrates and their efficient adsorption properties for cationic dyes

Adsorption is commonly accepted as a most promising strategy in dye wastewater treatment, and the widespread use of adsorption emphasizes the need to explore low-cost but excellent adsorbents. Herein, a low-cost adsorbent (calcium-rich biochar) was developed, which was directly pyrolyzed from spent mushroom substate without any modification. This study evaluated the potential application of two calcium-rich biochars (GSBC and LSBC) derived from spent substrates of Ganoderma lucidum and Lentinus edodes, respectively. The effects of pyrolysis temperature on the calcium-rich biochars characteristics and their adsorption mechanism for cationic dyes (Malachite Green oxalate (MG) and Safranine T (ST)) were studied systematically. The increase in pyrolysis temperature from 350 to 750 °C led to an increase in both biochar ash, Ca content, and specific surface area, which made high-temperature biochars (GS750 and LS750) the superior adsorbents for cationic dyes. Batch adsorption results showed LS750 was more efficient to adsorb dyes than GS750 attributed to its higher Ca content and larger specific surface area. According to the Langmuir model, LS750 had high adsorption capacities of 9,388.04 and 3,871.48 mg g⁻¹ for Malachite green and ST, respectively. The adsorption mechanism of dye MG could be attributed to pore filling, hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interaction, ion exchange, and π-π stacking, while ST adsorption mainly involved pore filling, electrostatic interaction, ion exchange, and π-π stacking. Attributed to their excellent adsorption performance, cheap source, and good reusability, biochars obtained from SMSs were very promising in dyeing wastewater treatment.

Melatonin pretreatment on exosomes: Heterogeneity, therapeutic effects, and usage

The therapeutic outcomes of exosome-based therapies have greatly exceeded initial expectations in many clinically intractable diseases due to the safety, low toxicity, and immunogenicity of exosomes, but the production of the exosomes is a bottleneck for wide use. To increase the yield of the exosomes, various solutions have been tried, such as hypoxia, extracellular acidic pH, etc. With a limited number of cells or exosomes, an alternative approach has been developed to improve the efficacy of exosomes through cell pretreatment recently. Melatonin is synthesized from tryptophan and secreted in the pineal gland, presenting a protective effect in pathological conditions. As a new pretreatment method, melatonin can effectively enhance the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic function of exosomes in chronic kidney disease, diabetic wound healing, and ischemia-reperfusion treatments. However, the current use of melatonin pretreatment varies widely. Here, we discuss the effects of melatonin pretreatment on the heterogeneity of exosomes based on the role of melatonin and further speculate on the possible mechanisms. Finally, the therapeutic use of exosomes and the usage of melatonin pretreatment are described.

Development of a panel of three multiplex allele-specific qRT-PCR assays for quick differentiation of recombinant variants and Omicron subvariants of SARS-CoV-2

Quick differentiation of the circulating variants and the emerging recombinant variants of SARS-CoV-2 is essential to monitor their transmission. However, the widely used gene sequencing method is time-consuming and costly when facing the viral recombinant variants, because partial or whole genome sequencing is required. Allele-specific real time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) represents a quick and cost-effective method in SNP genotyping and has been successfully applied for SARS-CoV-2 variant screening. In the present study, we developed a panel of 3 multiplex allele-specific qRT-PCR assays targeting 12 key differential mutations for quick differentiation of SARS-CoV-2 recombinant variants (XD and XE) and Omicron subvariants (BA.1 and BA.2). Two parallel multiplex qRT-PCR reactions were designed to separately target the protype allele and the mutated allele of the four mutations in each allele-specific qRT-PCR assay. The variation of Cp values (ΔCp) between the two multiplex qRT-PCR reactions was applied for mutation determination. The developed multiplex allele-specific qRT-PCR assays exhibited outstanding analytical sensitivities (with limits of detection [LoDs] of 2.97-27.43 copies per reaction), wide linear detection ranges (10⁷-10⁰ copies per reaction), good amplification efficiencies (82% to 95%), good reproducibility (Coefficient of Variations (CVs) < 5% in both intra-assay and inter-assay tests) and clinical performances (99.5%-100% consistency with Sanger sequencing). The developed multiplex allele-specific qRT-PCR assays in this study provide an alternative tool for quick differentiation of SARS-CoV-2 recombinant variants (XD and XE) and Omicron subvariants (BA.1 and BA.2).

Investigation into the in vivo mechanism of diosmetin in patients with breast cancer and COVID-19 using bioinformatics

Patients with breast cancer are prone to SARS-CoV-2 infection [the causative virus of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)] due to their lack of immunity. In the current study, we examined the mechanism of action of Diosmetin, a flavonoid with anti-inflammatory properties, in patients with BRCA infected with SARS-CoV-2.We used bioinformatics technology to analyze the binding ability, biological function, and other biological characteristics of Diosmetinin vivo and examine the core target and potential mechanism of action of Diosmetin in patients with patients with breast cancer infected with SARS-CoV-2. A prognostic model of SARS-COV-2–infected breast cancer patients was constructed, and the core genes were screened out, revealing the correlation between these core genes and clinicopathological characteristics, survival rate, and high-risk and low-risk populations. The docking results revealed that Diosmetin binds well to the core genes of patients with breast cancer with COVID-19. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses suggested that Diosmetin inhibited inflammation, enhanced immune function, and regulated the cellular microenvironment in patients with BRCA/COVID-19. For the first time, we reveal the molecular functions and potential targets of Diosmetin in patients with breast cancer infected with SARS-CoV-2, improving the reliability of the new drug and laying the foundation for further research and development.

Better detoxifying effect of ripe forsythiae fructus over green forsythiae fructus and the potential mechanisms involving bile acids metabolism and gut microbiota

Forsythiae Fructus (FF), the fruit of Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl. (Lianqiao), is one of the most fundamental herbs in Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM), mainly due to its heat-clearing and detoxifying effects. There are two types of FF, the greenish fruits that start to ripen (GF) and the yellow fruits that are fully ripe (RF), called “Qingqiao” and “Laoqiao” referred to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, respectively. It undergoes a complex series of changes during the maturation of FF. However, the clinical uses and preparation of phytopharmaceuticals of FF have not been distinguished to date. Moreover, there is limited information on the study of the difference in pharmacological activity between RF and GF. In this study, a rat model of bile duct ligation (BDL)-induced cholestasis was used to compare the differences in their effects. RF was found to have better results than GF in addressing toxic bile acids (BAs) accumulation and related pathological conditions caused by BDL. The underlying mechanism may be related to the interventions of gut microbiota. The results of the present study suggest that the better detoxifying effect of RF than GF may be indirectly exerted through the regulation of gut microbiota and thus the improvement of BAs metabolism.

Effect of biochar on antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes variations during co-composting of pig manure and corn straw

Pig manure is a reservoir of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). The effect of biochar on the variations in physicochemical properties, bacterial communities, antibiotics, ARGs, and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) of compost product during co-composting of pig manure and corn straw have been investigated in this study. Compared with the control treatment (CK), biochar addition accelerated the increase in pile temperature and prolonged the high temperature period (>55°C) for 2 days. Under biochar influence, organic matter degradation, NH₄⁺-N conversion and NO₃⁻-N production was accelerated, and dissolved total organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved total nitrogen (DTN) utilization by microorganisms were enhanced. Biochar addition altered the microbial community and promoted the vital activity of Actinobacteria in the later composting stage. The antibiotics removal efficiency (except danofloxacin and enrofloxacin) was accelerated in the early composting stage (1–14 days) by biochar addition, the pile temperature had a positive effect on antibiotics removal, and the total antibiotics removal efficiency in CK and CK+Biochar treatments was 69.58% and 78.67% at the end of the composting process, respectively. The absolute abundance of most of the ARGs in the CK+Biochar treatment was lower than that in the CK treatment during composting, and the ARGs removal mainly occurred in the early (1–14 days) and later (28–50 days) stages. Biochar addition reduced the absolute abundance of MGEs (intI1, intI2) in the compost product, and most of the ARGs had a significant positive correlation with MGEs. Network analysis and redundancy analysis showed that ARGs and MGEs occurred in various host bacteria (Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Halanaerobiaeota), and that DTN and NH₄⁺-N are the main factors regulating the changes in bacterial communities, antibiotics, ARGs, and MGEs during composting. Moreover, MGEs contributed the most to the variation in ARGs. In summary, biochar addition during composting accelerated antibiotics removal and inhibited accumulation and transmission of ARGs. The results of this study could provide theoretical and technical support for biochar application for antibiotics and ARGs removal during livestock and poultry manure composting.

Multi-Model Domain Adaptation for Diabetic Retinopathy Classification

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most threatening complications in diabetic patients, leading to permanent blindness without timely treatment. However, DR screening is not only a time-consuming task that requires experienced ophthalmologists but also easy to produce misdiagnosis. In recent years, deep learning techniques based on convolutional neural networks have attracted increasing research attention in medical image analysis, especially for DR diagnosis. However, dataset labeling is expensive work and it is necessary for existing deep-learning-based DR detection models. For this study, a novel domain adaptation method (multi-model domain adaptation) is developed for unsupervised DR classification in unlabeled retinal images. At the same time, it only exploits discriminative information from multiple source models without access to any data. In detail, we integrate a weight mechanism into the multi-model-based domain adaptation by measuring the importance of each source domain in a novel way, and a weighted pseudo-labeling strategy is attached to the source feature extractors for training the target DR classification model. Extensive experiments are performed on four source datasets (DDR, IDRiD, Messidor, and Messidor-2) to a target domain APTOS 2019, showing that MMDA produces competitive performance for present state-of-the-art methods for DR classification. As a novel DR detection approach, this article presents a new domain adaptation solution for medical image analysis when the source data is unavailable.

Preliminary Study on the Imbalance Between Th17 and Regulatory T Cells in Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Objective

Patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) have immune cell abnormalities that remain poorly understood. This study compared primary APS (PAPS) and secondary APS (SAPS) patients with healthy controls with respect to peripheral blood lymphocytes, CD4+T cell subsets, and cytokine levels. The correlation between antiphospholipid antibody titres and T helper 17 (Th17) and T regulatory (Treg) cell subsets was also analyzed, together with the correlations between cytokine profiles and the clinical characteristics of APS patients.

Methods

The retrospective study population consisted of 67 APS patients (12 with PAPS, 55 with SAPS) and 40 healthy controls. Absolute numbers of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets and CD4+ T cell subsets were detected by flow cytometry, and serum cytokine levels by flow cytometry bead array.

Results

Patients with SAPS had lower absolute values of T, B and CD4+T cells than the healthy control group, while only natural killer (NK) cell levels were decreased in patients with PAPS. Absolute numbers of T, B, NK, and CD4+T cells were significantly higher in the PAPS than SAPS group. The trends in CD4+T cell subsets were the same in PAPS and SAPS patients as in healthy controls, with increased Th1, decreased Th2, and decreased Treg levels, and thus an increased Th17/Treg ratio. Th2, Th17, and Treg cell counts were higher in the PAPS than SAPS group. Cytokine analysis showed that only IL-10 levels differed between the two APS groups. However, the levels of all of the studied cytokines were higher in APS patients than healthy controls, and correlated with the clinical characteristics of the patients. In the PAPS group, the titres of two autoantibodies correlated positively with the Th17/Treg ratio and negatively with the levels of D-dimer and Treg subsets.

Conclusions

Our study clearly showed that APS patients have immune disturbances, the most prominent of which is an increase in the Th17/Treg ratio, due to a decrease in the number of Treg cells. These abnormalities may be involved in the occurrence and progression of APS. An additional finding was a higher level of peripheral blood lymphocytes in PAPS than SAPS patients, which may be related to the immunosuppressive treatment of SAPS patients.

Spectroscopy, Structure, Biomacromolecular Interactions, and Antiproliferation Activity of a Fe(II) Complex With DPA-Bpy as Pentadentate Ligand

An Fe(II) complex with DPA-Bpy (DPA-Bpy = N,N-bis(2-pyridinylmethyl)-2,20-bipyridine-6 -methanamine) as the ligand was synthesized and characterized to mimic bleomycin. The binding constants (K_b) of the complex with calf thymus DNA and human serum albumin (HSA) were quantitatively evaluated using fluorescence spectroscopy, with K_b as 5.53×10⁵ and 2.40×10⁴ M⁻¹, respectively; the number of the average binding site (n) is close to 1. The thermodynamic analyses suggested that the electrostatic interactions exist between the complex and DNA, and the hydrogen bonding and Van der Waals force exist for the complex and HSA. The Fe complex exhibits cleavage ability toward pBR322 DNA, and the crystal structure of the HSA Fe complex adduct at 2.4 Å resolution clearly shows that His288 serves as the axial ligand of the Fe center complexed with a pentadentate DPA-Bpy ligand. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity of the complex was evaluated against HeLa cells. Both the Fe complex and HSA Fe complex adduct show obvious effect on cell proliferation with an IC₅₀ of 1.18 and 0.82 μM, respectively; they induced cell apoptosis and arrested cell cycles at S phase. This study provides insight into the plausible mechanism underlying their metabolism and pharmacological activity.

Clinical Characteristics and CD4+ T Cell Subsets in IgG4-Related Disease

Objectives

To characterize the clinical features of IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) and analyze the peripheral T lymphocyte subsets and cytokine levels.

Methods

A total of 52 patients with newly diagnosed IgG4-RD were enrolled in the retrospective study. Baseline clinical characteristics and examinational findings were systematically reviewed.

Results

IgG4-RD patients had a male predominance, with an average age of 57.4 ± 10.3 years (range 27-81). The mean number of involved organs was 2.7 (range 1-8). Submandibular gland (57.7%) and lacrimal gland/orbit (40.4%) were the most commonly involved organs. Serum IgG4 increased in 97.9% of the patients, the median level was 1300 (585.25, 1975) mg/dl. Decreased C3 and C4 accounted for 77.8% and 55.6% of this patient cohort, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) test indicated the possibility of lung/pleura involvement when C3 was less than 0.570 g/l (AUC = 0.788, P = 0.014), and kidney involvement when C3 was less than 0.545 g/l (AUC = 0.796, P = 0.014). Compared with healthy controls (HC), the absolute Th1 counts were higher in IgG4-RD patients (157.58 cells/μl vs. 130.54 cells/μl, P = 0.038), while the absolute counts of Th2, Th17 and T regulatory (Treg) cells, as well as Th17/Treg ratio were not statistically different. The levels of serum IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, TNF-α, and IFN-γ were higher in patients with IgG4-RD as compared with HC (P < 0.001). Serum IL-10 was positively correlated with IL-4, TNF-α and IFN-γ, but uncorrelated with Treg cells. Serum IgG4 level was positively associated with the number of affected organs, eosinophil counts, and ESR, whereas inversely associated with C3, C4, IgM, and IgA.

Conclusion

Submandibular and lacrimal glands are the most commonly involved organs in IgG4-RD. Serum C3 level could be a predictor of lung/pleura and kidney involvement in the disease process. Elevated Th1 cells are probably related to chronic inflammation and fibrosis. Treg cells are unlikely to play an important role in the pathogenesis of IgG4-RD.