Efficacy and safety of bexagliflozin compared with dapagliflozin as an adjunct to metformin in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A 24-week, randomized, double-blind, active-controlled, phase 3 trial

BACKGROUND

Bexagliflozin and dapagliflozin are sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors. No direct comparison of SGLT2 inhibitors in a randomized controlled trial has been reported to date.

METHODS

This was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, active-controlled trial comparing bexagliflozin to dapagliflozin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus in adults with disease inadequately controlled by metformin. Subjects (n = 406) were randomized to receive bexagliflozin (20 mg) or dapagliflozin (10 mg) plus metformin. The primary endpoint was noninferiority of bexagliflozin to dapagliflozin for the change in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) from baseline to week 24. Secondary endpoints included intergroup differences in fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2-h-postprandial glucose (PPG), body weight, and systolic blood pressure (SBP) from baseline to week 24. The trial also evaluated the safety profiles.

RESULTS

The model-adjusted mean change from baseline to week 24 HbA1c was -1.08% for bexagliflozin and -1.10% for dapagliflozin. The intergroup difference of 0.03% (95% confidence interval [CI] -0.14% to 0.19%) was below the prespecified margin of 0.4%, confirming the noninferiority of bexagliflozin. The changes from baseline in FPG, PPG, body weight, and SBP were -1.95 mmol/L, -3.24 mmol/L, -2.52 kg, and -6.4 mm Hg in the bexagliflozin arm and -1.87 mmol/L, -3.07 mmol/L, -2.22 kg, and -6.3 mm Hg in the dapagliflozin arm. Adverse events were experienced in 62.6% and 65.0% and serious adverse events affected 4.4% and 3.5% of subjects in the bexagliflozin and dapagliflozin arm, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Bexagliflozin showed nearly identical effects and a similar safety profile to dapagliflozin when used in Chinese patients on metformin.

Predictive value of crossover sign for outcome of ultrasound-guided vacuum aspiration in women with Cesarean scar pregnancy

OBJECTIVE

To examine the value of the crossover sign (COS) in predicting treatment outcome in women with a Cesarean scar pregnancy (CSP) who were treated with ultrasound-guided vacuum aspiration.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study of women with CSP who underwent ultrasound-guided vacuum aspiration. Based on the relationship between the gestational sac, Cesarean scar and anterior wall of the uterus, CSPs were classified by COS type. Analysis was conducted to investigate the association between COS type (COS-1, COS-2) and treatment outcome. The incidence of treatment failure, retained pregnancy tissue, secondary therapy and bleeding ≥ 200 mL were analyzed.

RESULTS

In total, 181 eligible patients with CSP, including 90 (49.7%) women with COS-1 and 91 (50.3%) women with COS-2, were analyzed. COS-1 patients had a higher incidence of treatment failure compared with COS-2 patients (25.6% vs 8.8%; P = 0.003), as well as higher rates of retained pregnancy tissue (18.9% vs 6.6%; P = 0.013), secondary therapy (20.0% vs 6.6%; P = 0.002) and bleeding of ≥ 200 mL (13.3% vs 4.4%; P = 0.034). COS-1 and a large gestational sac (30.1-50.0 mm or >50.0 mm in diameter) were associated independently with increased risk of treatment failure (odds ratio, 4.57 (95% CI, 1.66-12.56); P = 0.003, 4.34 (95% CI, 1.35-13.94); P = 0.014 and 10.50 (95% CI, 2.54-43.46); P = 0.001, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Ultrasound evaluation of the relationship between the gestational sac and the endometrial line (COS classification) in women with CSP may help to predict treatment outcome among those undergoing vacuum aspiration. Among COS-1 patients, especially those with a gestational sac diameter of >30.0 mm, vacuum aspiration may be discouraged. © 2023 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

CO2 utilization for methanol production: a review on the safety concerns and countermeasures

The catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide is one of the important ways to achieve the goal of carbon neutralization, which can be further divided into electrocatalysis, thermal catalysis, and photocatalysis. Although photocatalysis and electrocatalysis have the advantages of mild reaction conditions and low energy consumption, the thermal catalytic conversion of CO2 has larger processing capacity, better reduction effect, and more complete industrial foundation, which is a promising technology in the future. During the development of new technology from laboratory to industrial application, ensuring the safety of production process is essential. In this work, safety optimization design of equipment, safety performance of catalysts, accident types, and their countermeasures in the industrial applications of CO2 to methanol are reviewed and discussed in depth. Based on that, future research demands for industrial process safety of CO2 to methanol were proposed, which provide guidance for the large-scale application of CO2 thermal catalytic conversion technology.

The receptor binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants targets Siglec-9 to decrease its immunogenicity by preventing macrophage phagocytosis

The development of a vaccine specific to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Omicron has been hampered due to its low immunogenicity. Here, using reverse mutagenesis, we found that a phenylalanine-to-serine mutation at position 375 (F375S) in the spike protein of Omicron to revert it to the sequence found in Delta and other ancestral strains significantly enhanced the immunogenicity of Omicron vaccines. Sequence FAPFFAF at position 371-377 in Omicron spike had a potent inhibitory effect on macrophage uptake of receptor-binding domain (RBD) nanoparticles or spike-pseudovirus particles containing this sequence. Omicron RBD enhanced binding to Siglec-9 on macrophages to impair phagocytosis and antigen presentation and promote immune evasion, which could be abrogated by the F375S mutation. A bivalent F375S Omicron RBD and Delta-RBD nanoparticle vaccine elicited potent and broad nAbs in mice, rabbits and rhesus macaques. Our research suggested that manipulation of the Siglec-9 pathway could be a promising approach to enhance vaccine response.

Artesunate improves glucose and lipid metabolism in db/db mice by regulating the metabolic profile and the MAPK/PI3K/Akt signalling pathway

BACKGROUND

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized by chronic hyperglycaemia. Chronic metabolic abnormalities and long-term hyperglycaemia may result in a wide range of acute and chronic consequences. Previous studies have demonstrated that artesunate(ART) has antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antiatherosclerotic, and other beneficial effects, but the specific regulatory mechanism is not completely clear.

AIM

This study investigated the effects of ART on metabolic disorders in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) model db/db mice and explored the underlying mechanisms involved.

METHODS

C57BL/KsJ-db/db mice were used to identify the targets and molecular mechanism of ART. Metabolomic methods were used to evaluate the efficacy of ART in improving T2DM-related metabolic disorders. Network pharmacology and transcriptomic sequencing were used to analyse the targets and pathways of ART in T2DM. Finally, molecular biology experiments were performed to verify the key targets and pathways selected by network pharmacology and transcriptomic analyses.

RESULTS

After a 7-week ART intervention (160 mg/kg), the glucose and lipid metabolism levels of the db/db mice improved. Additionally, the oxidative stress indices, namely, the MDA and SOD levels, significantly improved (p<0.01). Linoleic acid and glycerophospholipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, bile acid synthesis, and purine metabolism disorders in db/db mice were partially corrected after ART treatment. Network pharmacology analysis identified important targets of ART for the treatment of metabolic disorders in T2DM . These targets are involved in key signalling pathways, including the highest scores observed for the PI3K/Akt signalling pathway. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that ART could activate the MAPK signalling pathway and two key gene targets, HGK and GADD45. Immunoblotting revealed that ART increases p-PI3K, p-AKT, Glut2, and IRS1 protein expression and suppresses the phosphorylation of p38, ERK1/2, and JNK, returning HGK and GADD45 to their preartesunate levels.

CONCLUSION

Treatment of db/db mice with 160 mg/kg ART for 7 weeks significantly reduced fasting blood glucose and lipid levels. It also improved metabolic imbalances in amino acids, lipids, purines, and bile acids, thereby improving metabolic disorders. These effects are achieved by activating the PI3K/AKT pathway and inhibiting the MAPK pathway, thus demonstrating the efficacy of the drug.

Hybrid gelatin-ascorbyl phosphate scaffolds accelerate diabetic wound healing via ROS scavenging, angiogenesis and collagen remodeling

Skin wound healing, particularly diabetic wound healing, is challenging in clinical management. Impaired wound healing is associated with persistent oxidative stress, altered inflammatory responses, unsatisfactory angiogenesis and epithelialization. Magnesium ascorbyl phosphate (MAP), which is an ascorbic acid derivative and active ingredient in cosmetics, has been reported to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS), and is considered a potential therapeutic agent for diabetic wounds. Herein, we report a hybrid gelatin-MAP scaffolds that can reduces oxidative stress damage, enhances angiogenesis and collagen remodeling to accelerate diabetic wound repair. Preliminary insights based on network pharmacology indicate that MAP may accelerate wound repair through multiple biological pathways, including extracellular matrix remodeling and anti-apoptosis. In vitro studies showed that the hybrid hydrogel scaffold had suitable mechanical properties, excellent biocompatibility and bioactivity. Further animal experiments demonstrated that the hydrogel accelerated full-thickness wound repair in diabetic mice (repair rate MAP vs Control=91.791±3.306 % vs 62.962±6.758 %) through antioxidant, neuroangiogenesis, collagen remodeling, and up-regulated the expression of the related factors COL-1, CD31, VEGF, and CGRP. Overall, we developed a bioactive hybrid hydrogel encapsulating MAP that synergistically promotes diabetic wound repair through multiple biological effects. This potentially integrated therapeutic scaffold may enrich future surgical approaches for treating diabetic wounds.

Pre-training molecular representation model with spatial geometry for property prediction

AI-enhanced bioinformatics and cheminformatics pivots on generating increasingly descriptive and generalized molecular representation. Accurate prediction of molecular properties needs a comprehensive description of molecular geometry. We design a novel Graph Isomorphic Network (GIN) based model integrating a three-level network structure with a dual-level pre-training approach that aligns the characteristics of molecules. In our Spatial Molecular Pre-training (SMPT) Model, the network can learn implicit geometric information in layers from lower to higher according to the dimension. Extensive evaluations against established baseline models validate the enhanced efficacy of SMPT, with notable accomplishments in classification tasks. These results emphasize the importance of spatial geometric information in molecular representation modeling and demonstrate the potential of SMPT as a valuable tool for property prediction.

Synthesis and initial evaluation of radioiodine-labelled deuterated tropane derivatives targeting dopamine transporter

The dopamine transporter (DAT) is closely related to a variety of neurological disorders including Parkinson's disease (PD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. In vivo imaging of DAT with radio-labelled tracers has become a powerful technique in related disorders. The radioiodine-labelled tropane derivative [123I]FP-CIT ([123I]1a) is widely used in clinical single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging as a DAT imaging agent. To develop more metabolically stable DAT radioligands for accurate imaging, this work compared two novel deuterated tropane derivatives ([131I]1c-d) with non-deuterated tropane derivatives ([131I]1a-b). [131I]1a-d were obtained in high radiochemical purity (RCP) above 99 % with molar activities of 7.0-10.0 GBq/μmol. The [131I]1a and [131I]1c exhibited relatively higher affinity to DAT (Ki: 2.0-3.12 nM) than [131I]1b and [131I]1d. Biodistribution results showed that [131I]1c consistently exhibited a higher ratio of the target to non-target (striatum/cerebellum) than [131I]1a. Furthermore, metabolism studies indicated that the in vivo metabolic stability of [131I]1c was superior to that of [131I]1a. Ex vivo autoradiography showed that [131I]1c selectively localized on DAT-rich striatal regions and the specific signal could be blocked by DAT inhibitor. These results indicated that [131I]1c might be a potential probe for DAT SPECT imaging in the brain.

Selective Manipulation of the Mitochondria Oxidative Stress in Different Cells Using Intelligent Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles to Activate On-Demand Immunotherapy for Cancer Treatment

Herein, the vitamin K2 (VK2)/maleimide (MA) coloaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs), functional molecules including folic acid (FA)/triphenylphosphine (TPP)/tetrapotassium hexacyanoferrate trihydrate (THT), as well as CaCO3 are explored to fabricate a core-shell-corona nanoparticle (VMMFTTC) for on-demand anti-tumor immunotherapy. After application, the tumor-specific acidic environment first decomposed CaCO3 corona, which significantly levitates the pH value of tumor tissue to convert M2 type macrophage to the antitumor M1 type. The resulting VMMFTT would then internalize in both tumor cells and macrophages via FA-assisted endocytosis and free endocytosis, respectively. These distinct processes generate different amount of VMMFTT in above two cells followed by 1) TPP-induced accumulation in the mitochondria, 2) THT-mediated effective capture of various signal ions to cut off signal transmission and further inhibit glutathione (GSH) generation, 3) ions catalyzed reactive oxygen species (ROS) production through Fenton reaction, 4) sustained release of VK2 and MA to further enhance the ROS production and GSH depletion, which caused significant apoptosis of tumor cells and additional M2-to-M1 macrophage polarization via different processes of oxidative stress. Moreover, the primary tumor apoptosis further matures surrounding immature dendritic cells and activates T cells to continuously promote the antitumor immunotherapy.

A Multi-center Dental Panoramic Radiography Image Dataset for Impacted Teeth, Periodontitis, and Dental Caries: Benchmarking Segmentation and Classification Tasks

Panoramic radiography imaging plays a crucial role in the diagnostic process of dental diseases. However, current artificial intelligence research datasets for panoramic radiography dental image processing are often limited to single-center and single-task scenarios, making it difficult to generalize their results. To address this, we present a multi-center, multi-task labeled dataset. In this study, our dataset comprises three datasets obtained from different hospitals. The first set has 4940 panoramic radiography images and corresponding labels from the Stemmatological Hospital of the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University. The second set includes 716 panoramic radiography images and labels from the People's Hospital of Yinchuan City, Ningxia. The third dataset contains 880 panoramic radiography images and labels from a hospital in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. This comprehensive dataset encompasses three types of dental diseases: impacted teeth, periodontitis, and dental caries. Specifically, it comprises 2555 images related to impacted teeth, 2735 images related to periodontitis, and 1246 images related to dental caries. In order to evaluate the performance of the dataset, we conducted benchmark tests for segmentation and classification tasks on our dataset. The results show that the presented dataset could be effectively used for benchmarking segmentation and classification tasks critical to the diagnosis of dental diseases. To request our multi-center dataset, please visit the address: https://github.com/qinxin99/qinxini .

Machine learning study of the extended drug-target interaction network informed by pain related voltage-gated sodium channels

ABSTRACT

Pain is a significant global health issue, and the current treatment options for pain management have limitations in terms of effectiveness, side effects, and potential for addiction. There is a pressing need for improved pain treatments and the development of new drugs. Voltage-gated sodium channels, particularly Nav1.3, Nav1.7, Nav1.8, and Nav1.9, play a crucial role in neuronal excitability and are predominantly expressed in the peripheral nervous system. Targeting these channels may provide a means to treat pain while minimizing central and cardiac adverse effects. In this study, we construct protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks based on pain-related sodium channels and develop a corresponding drug-target interaction network to identify potential lead compounds for pain management. To ensure reliable machine learning predictions, we carefully select 111 inhibitor data sets from a pool of more than 1000 targets in the PPI network. We employ 3 distinct machine learning algorithms combined with advanced natural language processing (NLP)-based embeddings, specifically pretrained transformer and autoencoder representations. Through a systematic screening process, we evaluate the side effects and repurposing potential of more than 150,000 drug candidates targeting Nav1.7 and Nav1.8 sodium channels. In addition, we assess the ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity) properties of these candidates to identify leads with near-optimal characteristics. Our strategy provides an innovative platform for the pharmacological development of pain treatments, offering the potential for improved efficacy and reduced side effects.

Reproductive outcomes following copper‑containing intrauterine device after hysteroscopic lysis for intrauterine adhesions

The present study aimed to investigate the reproductive outcomes of copper-containing intrauterine devices (IUDs) after hysteroscopic lysis in patients with mild to severe intrauterine adhesions (IUAs), according to the American Fertility Society (AFS) classification. Therefore, a prospective randomized controlled study was conducted at the Affiliated Jinhua Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University (Jinhua, China). A total of 173 women with IUAs were initially recruited between January 2020 and June 2021 and were then randomized to the copper-containing IUD group or the no barrier device group. Following hysteroscopic procedure, the fertility and obstetric outcomes were analyzed. Among the 173 patients enrolled, a total of 109 participants completed the study protocol. The results showed that AFS scores were not significantly different between the two groups prior to hysteroscopy. In addition, no statistically significant differences were recorded in pregnancy and live birth rates between the copper-containing IUD and no barrier device groups. Overall, the results of the current study indicated that the copper-containing IUDs had no positive effect on pregnancy and live birth rates in patients with mild to severe IUAs after hysteroscopic adhesiolysis. The present trial was retrospectively registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry on 28th December 2023 (registration no. ChiCTR2300079233).

Kaposiform Hemangioendothelioma with Bone Destruction: A 16-Year Follow-Up Cohort Study of the Clinical Characteristics and Prognosis

BACKGROUND

Kaposiform hemangioendothelioma (KHE) is a rare, locally aggressive vascular tumor that often occurs in infants and young children. The goal of this study was to analyze the clinical characteristics of KHE patients with bone destruction and provide clinical guidance for diagnosis and treatment.

METHODS

We conducted a descriptive cohort study with follow-up from January 2007 to January 2023 to collect demographic information and tumor-related clinical information from KHE patients with bone destruction.

RESULTS

A total of 269 KHE patients were included in the study, of whom 70 (26.0%) patients had tumors with bone destruction. The median age at diagnosis of patients with bone destruction was 19.0 months, which was much later than that of patients without bone destruction (P < 0.001). Patients with bone destruction were more likely to have a decreased range of motion (ROM) (P < 0.001). Metaphysis involvement was more likely to occur in the lower limb bones (P = 0.039), and the lower limb bones were more likely to be associated with decreased ROM (P = 0.001). Tumors involving extracompartmental bone were more likely to have decreased ROM (P = 0.003) and exhibit the Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon (P = 0.006).

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the rarity and significant heterogeneity of KHE patients with bone destruction, we should give full play to the role of multidisciplinary teams in addressing disease to reduce the long-term complications of KHE with bone destruction and improve the quality of life of patients.

TYPE OF STUDY

Prognostic Study.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level II.

Genome-wide association studies of egg production traits by whole genome sequencing of Laiwu Black chicken

Compared to high-yield commercial laying hens, Chinese indigenous chicken breeds have poor egg laying capacity due to the lack of intensive selection. However, as these breeds have not undergone systematic selection, it is possible that there is a greater abundance of genetic variations related to egg laying traits. In this study, we assessed 5 egg number (EN) traits at different stages of the egg-laying period: EN1 (from the first egg to 23 wk), EN2 (from 23 to 35 wk), EN3 (from 35 to 48 wk), EN4 (from the first egg to 35 wk), and EN5 (from the first egg to 48 wk). To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying egg number traits in a Chinese local chicken breed, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using data from whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of 399 Laiwu Black chickens. We obtained a total of 3.01 Tb of raw data with an average depth of 7.07 × per individual. A total of 86 genome-wide suggestive or significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) contained within a set of 45 corresponding candidate genes were identified and found to be associated with stages EN1-EN5. The genes vitellogenin 2 (VTG2), lipase maturation factor 1 (LMF1), calcium voltage-gated channel auxiliary subunit alpha2delta 3 (CACNA2D3), poly(A) binding protein cytoplasmic 1 (PABPC1), programmed cell death 11 (PDCD11) and family with sequence similarity 213 member A (FAM213A) can be considered as the candidate genes associated with egg number traits, due to their reported association with animal reproduction traits. Noteworthy, results suggests that VTG2 and PDCD11 are not only involved in the regulation of EN3, but also in the regulation of EN5, implies that VTG2 and PDCD11 have a significant influence on egg production traits. Our study offers valuable genomic insights into the molecular genetic mechanisms that govern egg number traits in a Chinese indigenous egg-laying chicken breed. These findings have the potential to enhance the egg-laying performance of chickens.

Response spectrum-based analysis of airborne radar random vibration and multi-point control improvement

During the flight of a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), the LiDAR device undergoes random vibrations due to the changing flight attitude and wind speed conditions of the UAV. It is important to control the frequency and amplitude of the vibrations within a reasonable range by means of a damping structure. As the vibrations caused by various factors during flight are random and non-linear, this paper innovates the analysis principle and damping control means for the random vibrations of airborne optoelectronic devices. The response spectrum analysis theory is used to establish the shock response spectrum, and an optimised and improved recursive digital filtering method is used to fit the frequencies of random vibration to the synthetic shock response. Considering the uncertainty of the vibration excitation signal, a virtual excitation method is used for the first time to simulate the random vibration to which the radar may be subjected in the air, and to simplify the calculation steps. The shock plate structure is designed using a multi-point control method to innovate a passive response to the random excitation. Finally, a modal analysis of the synthesised impact response was carried out. It is verified that the first six modal frequencies are controlled within 220 Hz, realising the frequency reduction. The amplitude of the three x, y, and z directions is controlled to within 0.5 mm, thus achieving vibration damping.

LAMP1 controls CXCL10-CXCR3 axis mediated inflammatory regulation of macrophage polarization during inflammatory stimulation

Increased expression of CXCL10 and its receptor CXCR3 represents an inflammatory response in cells and tissues. Macrophage polarization and autophagy are major functions in inflammatory macrophages; however, the cellular functions of the CXCL10-CXCR3 axis in macrophages are not well understood. Here, we examined the role of CXCL10-CXCR3-axis-regulated autophagy in macrophage polarization. First, in non-inflammatory macrophages, whereas CXCL10 promotes M2 polarization and inhibits M1 polarization, CXCR3 antagonist AMG487 induces the opposite macrophage polarization. Next, CXCL10 promotes the expression of autophagy proteins (Atg5-Atg12 complex, p62, LC3-II, and LAMP1) and AMG487 inhibits their expression. Knockdown of LAMP1 by short interfering RNA switches the CXCL10-induced polarization from M2 to M1 in non-inflammatory macrophages. Furthermore, in inflammatory macrophages stimulated by poly(I:C), CXCL10 induces M1 polarization and AMG487 induces M2 polarization in association with a decrease in LAMP1. Finally, AMG487 alleviates lung injury after poly(I:C) treatment in mice. In conclusion, CXCL10-CXCR3 axis differentially directs macrophage polarization in inflammatory and non-inflammatory states, and autophagy protein LAMP1 acts as the switch controlling the direction of macrophage polarization by CXCL10-CXCR3.

Exploring prognostic microbiota markers in patients with endometrial carcinoma: Intratumoral insights

Endometrial cancer, a leading gynecological malignancy, is profoundly influenced by the uterine microbiota, a key factor in disease prognosis and treatment. Our study underscores the distinct microbial compositions in endometrial cancer compared to adjacent non-cancerous tissues, revealing a dominant presence of p_Actinobacteria in cancerous tissues as opposed to p_Firmicutes in surrounding areas. Through comprehensive analysis, we identified 485 unique microorganisms in cancer tissues, 26 of which correlate with patient prognosis. Employing univariate Cox regression and LASSO regression analyses, we devised a microbial risk scoring model, effectively stratifying patients into high and low-risk categories, thereby providing predictive insights into their overall survival. We further developed a nomogram that incorporates the microbial risk score along with age, grade, and clinical stage, significantly enhancing the accuracy of our clinical prediction model for endometrial cancer. Moreover, our study delves into the differential immune landscapes of high-risk and low-risk patients. The low-risk group displayed a higher prevalence of activated B cells and increased T cell co-stimulation, indicative of a robust immune response. Conversely, high-risk patients showed elevated tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion scores, suggesting less favorable outcomes in immunotherapy. Notably, the efficacy of IPS-CTLA4 and PD1/PD-L1/PD-L2 blockers was substantially higher in the low-risk group, pointing to a more responsive immunotherapeutic approach. In summary, our research elucidates the unique microbial patterns in endometrial cancer and adjacent tissues, and establishes both a microbial risk score model and a clinical prediction nomogram. These findings highlight the potential of uterine microbiota as a biomarker for customizing treatment strategies, enabling precise interventions for high-risk patients while preventing overtreatment in low-risk cases. This study emphasizes the microbiota's role in tailoring immunotherapy, offering a novel perspective in the treatment and prognosis of endometrial cancer. Significantly, our study's expansive sample analysis from the TCGA-UCEC cohort, employing linear discriminant analysis effect size methodology, not only validates but also enhances our understanding of the microbiota's role in endometrial cancer, paving the way for novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in its management.

Population epigenetics: DNA methylation in the plant omics era

DNA methylation plays an important role in many biological processes. The mechanisms underlying the establishment and maintenance of DNA methylation are well understood thanks to decades of research using DNA methylation mutants, primarily in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) accession Col-0. Recent genome-wide association studies (GWASs) using the methylomes of natural accessions have uncovered a complex and distinct genetic basis of variation in DNA methylation at the population level. Sequencing following bisulfite treatment has served as an excellent method for quantifying DNA methylation. Unlike studies focusing on specific accessions with reference genomes, population-scale methylome research often requires an additional round of sequencing beyond obtaining genome assemblies or genetic variations from whole-genome sequencing data, which can be cost prohibitive. Here, we provide an overview of recently developed bisulfite-free methods for quantifying methylation and cost-effective approaches for the simultaneous detection of genetic and epigenetic information. We also discuss the plasticity of DNA methylation in a specific Arabidopsis accession, the contribution of DNA methylation to plant adaptation, and the genetic determinants of variation in DNA methylation in natural populations. The recently developed technology and knowledge will greatly benefit future studies in population epigenomes.

Measurements of All-Particle Energy Spectrum and Mean Logarithmic Mass of Cosmic Rays from 0.3 to 30 PeV with LHAASO-KM2A

We present the measurements of all-particle energy spectrum and mean logarithmic mass of cosmic rays in the energy range of 0.3-30 PeV using data collected from LHAASO-KM2A between September 2021 and December 2022, which is based on a nearly composition-independent energy reconstruction method, achieving unprecedented accuracy. Our analysis reveals the position of the knee at 3.67±0.05±0.15  PeV. Below the knee, the spectral index is found to be -2.7413±0.0004±0.0050, while above the knee, it is -3.128±0.005±0.027, with the sharpness of the transition measured with a statistical error of 2%. The mean logarithmic mass of cosmic rays is almost heavier than helium in the whole measured energy range. It decreases from 1.7 at 0.3 PeV to 1.3 at 3 PeV, representing a 24% decline following a power law with an index of -0.1200±0.0003±0.0341. This is equivalent to an increase in abundance of light components. Above the knee, the mean logarithmic mass exhibits a power law trend towards heavier components, which is reversal to the behavior observed in the all-particle energy spectrum. Additionally, the knee position and the change in power-law index are approximately the same. These findings suggest that the knee observed in the all-particle spectrum corresponds to the knee of the light component, rather than the medium-heavy components.

ArCH: improving the performance of clonal hematopoiesis variant calling and interpretation

MOTIVATION

The acquisition of somatic mutations in hematopoietic stem and progenitor stem cells with resultant clonal expansion, termed clonal hematopoiesis (CH), is associated with increased risk of hematologic malignancies and other adverse outcomes. CH is generally present at low allelic fractions, but clonal expansion and acquisition of additional mutations leads to hematologic cancers in a small proportion of individuals. With high depth and high sensitivity sequencing, CH can be detected in most adults and its clonal trajectory mapped over time. However, accurate CH variant calling is challenging due to the difficulty in distinguishing low frequency CH mutations from sequencing artifacts. The lack of well-validated bioinformatic pipelines for CH calling may contribute to lack of reproducibility in studies of CH.

RESULTS

Here, we developed ArCH, an Artifact filtering Clonal Hematopoiesis variant calling pipeline for detecting single nucleotide variants and short insertions/deletions by combining the output of four variant calling tools and filtering based on variant characteristics and sequencing error rate estimation. ArCH is an end-to-end cloud-based pipeline optimized to accept a variety of inputs with customizable parameters adaptable to multiple sequencing technologies, research questions, and datasets. Using deep targeted sequencing data generated from six acute myeloid leukemia patient tumor: normal dilutions, 31 blood samples with orthogonal validation, and 26 blood samples with technical replicates, we show that ArCH improves the sensitivity and positive predictive value of CH variant detection at low allele frequencies compared to standard application of commonly used variant calling approaches.

AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION

The code for this workflow is available at: https://github.com/kbolton-lab/ArCH.

Predicting the current fishable habitat distribution of Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) and its shift in the future under climate change in the Southern Ocean

Global warming continues to exert unprecedented impacts on marine habitats. Species distribution models (SDMs) are proven powerful in predicting habitat distribution for marine demersal species under climate change impacts. The Antarctic toothfish, Dissostichus mawsoni (Norman 1937), an ecologically and commercially significant species, is endemic to the Southern Ocean. Utilizing occurrence records and environmental data, we developed an ensemble model that integrates various modelling techniques. This model characterizes species-environment relationships and predicts current and future fishable habitats of D. mawsoni under four climate change scenarios. Ice thickness, depth and mean water temperature were the top three important factors in affecting the distribution of D. mawsoni. The ensemble prediction suggests an overall expansion of fishable habitats, potentially due to the limited occurrence records from fishery-dependent surveys. Future projections indicate varying degrees of fishable habitat loss in large areas of the Amery Ice Shelf's eastern and western portions. Suitable fishable habitats, including the spawning grounds in the seamounts around the northern Ross Sea and the coastal waters of the Bellingshausen Sea and Amundsen Sea, were persistent under present and future environmental conditions, highlighting the importance to protect these climate refugia from anthropogenic disturbance. Though data deficiency existed in this study, our predictions can provide valuable information for designing climate-adaptive development and conservation strategies in maintaining the sustainability of this species.

Multicolor Photochemical Printing Inside Polymer Matrices for Advanced Photonic Anticounterfeiting

Conventional security inks, generally directly printed on the data page surface, are vulnerable to counterfeiters, thereby raising the risk of chemical structural deciphering. In fact, polymer film-based data pages with customized patterns embedded within polymer matrix, rather than printed on the surface, emerge as a promising solution. Therefore, the key lies in developing fluorophores offering light dose-controlled fluorescent color inside polymer matrices. Though conventional fluorophores often suffer from photobleaching and uncontrolled photoreactions, disqualifying them for this purpose. Herein a diphenanthridinylfumaronitrile-based phototransformers (trans-D5) that undergoes photoisomerization and subsequent photocyclization during photopolymerization of the precursor, successively producing cis- and cyclo-D5 with stepwise redshifted solid-state emissions is developed. The resulting cyclo-D5 exhibits up to 172 nm emission redshift in rigidifying polymer matrices, while trans-D5 experiences a slightly blueshifted emission (≈28 nm), cis-D5 undergoes a modest redshift (≈14 nm). The markedly different rigidochromic behaviors of three D5 molecules within polymer matrices enable multicolor photochemical printing with a broad hue ranging from 38 to 10 via an anticlockwise direction in Munsell color space, yielding indecipherable fluorescent patterns in polymer films. This work provides a new method for document protection and implements advanced security features that are unattainable with conventional inks.

Thermosensitive hydrogel with programmed dual-octenidine release combating biofilm for the treatment of apical periodontitis

The utilization of intracanal medicaments is an indispensable procedure in root-canal treatment. However, the conventional intracanal medicaments still need improvement regarding antimicrobial efficacy and ease of clinical operation. To address the above issues, OCT/PECT@OCT + ALK composite hydrogel characterized by programming sequential release of dual antimicrobial agents has been proposed. Thanks to the self-assemble ability of amphiphilic copolymer poly(ε-caprolactone-co-1,4,8-trioxa [4.6]spiro-9-undecanone)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(ε-caprolactone-co-1,4,8-trioxa[4.6]spiro-9-undecanone) (PECT), dual hydrophilic and hydrophobic antimicrobial agents could be easily encapsulated in the hydrogel system and tailored for sequential drug release for a better antibiofilm effect. The hydrophilic octenidine (Octenidine dihydrochloride, OCT-HCl) is encapsulated in the hydrophilic part of hydrogel for instantaneous elevating the drug concentration through bursting release, and the hydrophobic octenidine (Octenidine, OCT) is further loaded into the PECT nanoparticles to achieve a slower and sustained-release profile. Additionally, calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) was incorporated into the system and evenly dispersed among PECT nanoparticles to create an alkaline (ALK) environment, synergistically enhancing the antibiofilm effect with higher efficiency and prolonged duration. The antibiofilm effect has been demonstrated in root-canal models and apical periodontitis rats, exhibiting superior performance compared to clinically used Ca(OH)2 paste. This study demonstrates that OCT/PECT@OCT + ALK composite thermosensitive hydrogel is a potential intracanal medicament with excellent antibiofilm effect and clinical operability.

Treatment Heterogeneity of Water, Sanitation, Hygiene, and Nutrition Interventions on Child Growth by Environmental Enteric Dysfunction and Pathogen Status for Young Children in Bangladesh

Background

Water, sanitation, hygiene (WSH), nutrition (N), and combined (N+WSH) interventions are often implemented by global health organizations, but WSH interventions may insufficiently reduce pathogen exposure, and nutrition interventions may be modified by environmental enteric dysfunction (EED), a condition of increased intestinal permeability and inflammation. This study investigated the heterogeneity of these treatments' effects based on individual pathogen and EED biomarker status with respect to child linear growth.

Methods

We applied cross-validated targeted maximum likelihood estimation and super learner ensemble machine learning to assess the conditional treatment effects in subgroups defined by biomarker and pathogen status. We analyzed treatment (N+WSH, WSH, N, or control) randomly assigned in-utero, child pathogen and EED data at 14 months of age, and child LAZ at 28 months of age. We estimated the difference in mean child length for age Z-score (LAZ) under the treatment rule and the difference in stratified treatment effect (treatment effect difference) comparing children with high versus low pathogen/biomarker status while controlling for baseline covariates.

Results

We analyzed data from 1,522 children, who had median LAZ of -1.56. We found that myeloperoxidase (N+WSH treatment effect difference 0.0007 LAZ, WSH treatment effect difference 0.1032 LAZ, N treatment effect difference 0.0037 LAZ) and Campylobacter infection (N+WSH treatment effect difference 0.0011 LAZ, WSH difference 0.0119 LAZ, N difference 0.0255 LAZ) were associated with greater effect of all interventions on growth. In other words, children with high myeloperoxidase or Campylobacter infection experienced a greater impact of the interventions on growth. We found that a treatment rule that assigned the N+WSH (LAZ difference 0.23, 95% CI (0.05, 0.41)) and WSH (LAZ difference 0.17, 95% CI (0.04, 0.30)) interventions based on EED biomarkers and pathogens increased predicted child growth compared to the randomly allocated intervention.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that EED biomarker and pathogen status, particularly Campylobacter and myeloperoxidase (a measure of gut inflammation), may be related to impact of N+WSH, WSH, and N interventions on child linear growth.

Tuning the Interface Stability of Nickel-Rich NCM Cathode Against Aggressive Structural Collapse via the Synergistic Effect of Additives

Nickel-rich layered oxides are envisaged as one of the most promising alternative cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, considering their capabilities to achieve ultrahigh energy density at an affordable cost. Nonetheless, with increasing Ni content in the cathodes comes a severe extent of Ni4+ redox side reactions on the interface, leading to fast capacity decay and structural stability fading over extended cycles. Herein, dual additives of bis(vinylsulfonyl)methane (BVM) and lithium difluorophosphate (LiDFP) are adopted to synergistically generate the F-, P-, and S-rich passivation layer on the cathode, and the Ni4+ activity and dissolution at high voltage are restricted. The sulfur-rich layer formed by the polymerization of BVM, combined with the Li3PO4 and LiF phases derived from LiDFP, alleviates the problems of increased impedance, cracks, and an irreversible H2-H3 phase transition. Consequently, the Ni-rich LiNixM1-xO2 (x > 0.95) button half-cell cycled in LiDFP + BVM electrolyte exhibits a significant discharging capacity of 181.4 mAh g-1 at 1  C (1  C = 200 mA g-1) with retention of 83.7% after 100 cycles, surpassing the performance of the commercial electrolyte (160.7 mAh g-1) with retention of 53.3%. Remarkably, the NCM95||graphite pouch cell exhibits a remarkable capacity retention of 95.5% after 200 cycles. This work inspires the rational design of electrolyte additives for ultrahigh-energy batteries with nickel-rich layered oxide cathodes.

Pulsed Ho:YLF laser intra-cavity pumped by a diode-pumped Q-switched Tm:YAP laser

We reported an intra-cavity pumped Q-switched laser with dual-wavelength synchronous output at 2066.7 nm and 1940nm. Ho:YLF crystal was pumped by a self-Q-switched Tm:YAP laser, which was served as both a gain medium and a saturable absorber simultaneously. For Ho:YLF laser, under 11.4-W incident pump power, a stable pulse laser was achieved at 2066.7 nm with the highest peak power of 69.65 W and the pulse repetition rate of 42.14 kHz. Under the same incident pump power, the highest peak power and pulse repetition rate of Tm:YAP laser were 17.85 W and 50.82 kHz, corresponding to the central wavelength of 1940nm. These results suggested that Q-switching without additional absorber element were effective way to obtain high-efficiency and compact 2.1 µm pulsed laser.

Traditional Chinese medicine for insomnia: Recommendation mapping of the global clinical guidelines

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) represents a rich repository of empirically-developed traditional medicines. The findings call for more rigorous study into the efficacy, safety, and mechanisms of action of TCM remedies to strengthen the evidence base.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To systematically review the quality of insomnia clinical practice guidelines that involve TCM recommendations and to summarize the certainty of evidence supporting the recommendations, strength, and consistency of recommendations, providing valuable research references for the development of future insomnia guidelines.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CNKI, Wanfang, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Medical Association, Chinese Sleep Research Society, Medsci, Medlive, British National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), and the International Guidelines Collaboration Network (GIN) for clinical practice guidelines on insomnia from inception to March 5, 2023. Four evaluators conducted independent assessments of the quality of the guidelines by employing the AGREE II tool. Subsequently, the guideline recommendations were consolidated and presented as evidence maps.

RESULTS

Thirteen clinical practice guidelines addressing insomnia, encompassing 211 recommendations (consisting of 127 evidence-based and 84 expert consensus recommendations), were deemed eligible for inclusion in our analysis. The evaluation results revealed an overall suboptimal quality, with the "scope and purpose" domain achieving the highest score (58.1%), while the "applicability" domain garnered the lowest score (13.0%). Specifically, it was observed that 74.8% (n = 95) of the evidence-based recommendations were supported by evidence of either very low or low certainty, in contrast to the expert consensus recommendations, which accounted for 61.9% (n = 52). We subsequently synthesized 44 recommendations into four evidence maps, focusing on proprietary Chinese medicines, Chinese medicine prescriptions, acupuncture, and massage, respectively. Notably, Chinese herbal remedies and acupuncture exhibited robust support, substantiated by high-certainty evidence, exemplified by interventions such as Xuefu Zhuyu decoction, spleen decoction, body acupuncture, and ear acupuncture, resulting in solid recommendations. Conversely, proprietary Chinese medicines needed more high-certainty evidence, predominantly yielding weak recommendations. As for other therapies, the level of certainty was predominantly categorized as low or very low. Recommendations about magnetic therapy, bathing, and fumigation relied primarily on expert consensus, needing more substantive clinical research evidence, consequently forming weak recommendations. Hot ironing and acupoint injection recommendations were weakly endorsed, primarily based on observational studies. Furthermore, interventions like qigong, gua sha, and moxibustion displayed a relatively limited number of clinical studies, necessitating further exploration to ascertain their efficacy.

CONCLUSIONS

Our analysis revealed a need for substantial improvement in the quality of all the included guidelines related to insomnia. Notably, recommendations for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treatments predominantly rely on low-certainty evidence. This study represents a pioneering effort in the utilization of recommendation mapping to both present and identify existing gaps in the evidence landscape within TCM therapies, thus setting the stage for future research initiatives. The evidence supporting TCM therapy recommendations must be fortified to achieve a more substantial level of recommendation and higher certainty. Consequently, there exists a critical and pressing demand for high-quality clinical investigations dedicated to TCM, with a specific focus on ascertaining its long-term efficacy, safety, and potential side effects in the context of insomnia treatment. These endeavors are poised to establish a robust scientific foundation to inform the development of TCM therapy recommendations within the insomnia guidelines.

Extraction, Isolation and Biological Activity of Two Glycolipids from Bangia fusco-purpurea

In order to explore the extraction and activity of macroalge glycolipids, six macroalgae (Bangia fusco-purpurea, Gelidium amansii, Gloiopeltis furcata, Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis, Gracilaria sp. and Pyropia yezoensis) glycolipids were extracted with five different solvents firstly. Considering the yield and glycolipids concentration of extracts, Bangia fusco-purpurea, Gracilaria sp. and Pyropia yezoensis were selected from six species of marine macroalgae as the raw materials for the extraction of glycolipids. The effects of the volume score of methanol, solid-liquid ratio, extraction temperature, extraction time and ultrasonic power on the yield and glycolipids concentration of extracts of the above three macroalgae were analyzed through a series of single-factor experiments. By analyzing the antioxidant activity in vitro, moisture absorption and moisturizing activity, the extraction process of Bangia fusco-purpurea glycolipids was further optimized by response surface method to obtain suitable conditions for glycolipid extraction (solid-liquid ratio of 1:27 g/mL, extraction temperature of 48 °C, extraction time of 98 min and ultrasonic power of 450 W). Bangia fusco-purpurea extracts exhibited a certain scavenging effect on DPPH free radicals, as well as good moisture-absorption and moisture retaining activities. Two glycolipids were isolated from Bangia fusco-purpurea by liquid-liquid extraction, silica gel column chromatography and thin-layer chromatography, and they showed good scavenging activities against DPPH free radicals and total antioxidant capacity. Their scavenging activities against DPPH free radicals were about 60% at 1600 µg/mL, and total antioxidant capacity was better than that of Trolox. Among them, the moisturizing activity of a glycolipid was close to that of sorbierite and sodium alginate. These two glycolipids exhibited big application potential as food humectants and antioxidants.

Bacterial antigens and asthma: a comparative study of common respiratory pathogenic bacteria

Objective: In a previous study we have shown that, in the presence of interleukin (IL)-33, repeated, per-nasal challenge of murine airways with Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) organisms induces human asthma-like airways inflammation. It is not clear, however, whether this effect is unique or manifest in response to other common respiratory pathogens.Methods: To explore this, airways of BALB/c mice were repeatedly challenged per-nasally with formaldehyde-inactivated bacterial bodies in the presence or absence of murine recombinant IL-33. Serum concentrations of S.pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis (M.catarrhalis) and Haemophilus influenzae (H.influenzae) lysates-specific IgE were measured in patients with asthma and control subjects.Results: We showed that in the presence of IL-33, repeated, per-nasal airways exposure to the bodies of these bacteria induced airways hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in the experimental mice. This was accompanied by cellular infiltration into bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), eosinophilic infiltration and mucous hypertrophy of the lung tissue, with elevated local expression of some type 2 cytokines and elevated, specific IgG and IgE in the serum. The precise characteristics of the inflammation evoked by exposure to each bacterial species were distinguishable.Conclusions: These results suggest that in the certain circumstances, inhaled or commensal bacterial body antigens of both Gram-positive (S. pneumoniae) and Gram-negative (M. catarrhalis and H. influenzae) respiratory tract bacteria may initiate type 2 inflammation typical of asthma in the airways. In addition, we demonstrated that human asthmatic patients manifest elevated serum concentrations of M.catarrhalis- and H.influenzae-specific IgE.

Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Efficacy for Co-Morbid Insomnia and Sleep Apnea (COMISA): Evidence from Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis

OBJECTIVES

A multitude of physical and mental challenges are being faced in the population with Co-morbid Insomnia and Sleep Apnea (COMISA). Unfortunately, research about clinical characteristics and management of COMISA based on quantitative evidence is lacking.

METHOD

Standard procedures for literature retrieval, selection and quality assessment, data extraction, analysis, and interpretation were conducted step by step. For studying the sleep characteristics, common complications and widely recognized treatment options for COMISA, Weighted Mean Difference (WMD) and Odds Ratio (OR) were applied to assess the mean and risk differences between compared groups. Outcomes included sleep health parameters and secondary impairments in physical and mental well-being.

RESULTS

COMISA showed worse sleep quality than OSA only by PSQI (WMD = 3.38 point) and heavier sleep fragmentation (WMD = 11.46 min) than insomnia only. Besides, COMISA patients showed a higher risk for depression (OR [95%CI] = 5.03[2.31, 10.93]) and PTSD (OR [95%CI] = 3.96[1.85, 8.46]) in comparison with OSA alone. Compared to insomnia alone, COMISA patients suffered from more than two times higher risk of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and diabetes. In treating COMISA patients, combining CBTI with PAP treatment can enhance the improvement of insomnia severity (ISI, WMD [95%CI] =-3.26[-4.51, -2.00] point) and sleep efficiency (WMD [95%CI] = 6.39[1.97, 10.81] %) compared to PAP alone.

CONCLUSIONS

Impaired sleep domains in COMISA cover sleep quality and sleep structure. Also, COMISA has a higher risk for cardiometabolic diseases and mental disorders. Combining CBTI with PAP can be a recommended treatment to relieve sleep impairments for COMISA.

Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in ITLN1 gene with ischemic stroke risk in Xi'an population, Shaanxi province

Background

Ischemic stroke (IS) is the main cause of death and adult disability. However, the pathogenesis of this complicated disease is unknown. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between ITLN1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the susceptibility to IS in Xi'an population, Shaanxi province.

Methods

In this study, we designed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers located at -3,308 bp upstream of the transcription initiation site within promoter region of the ITLN1 gene. The target fragment was amplified by PCR and identified by agarose gel electrophoresis. Sanger sequencing was then performed in the samples extracted from a cohort comprising 1,272 participants (636 controls and 636 cases), and the obtained sequences were compared with the reference sequences available on the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) website to detect SNPs in the ITLN1 gene promoter region. Logistic regression analysis was employed to assess the relationship between ITLN1 polymorphisms and IS risk, with adjustments for age and gender. Significant positive results were tested by false-positive report probability (FPRP) and false discovery rate (FDR). The interaction among noteworthy SNPs and their predictive relationship with IS risk were explored using the Multi-Factor Dimensionality Reduction (MDR) software.

Results

The results of Sanger sequencing were compared with the reference sequences on the NCBI website, and we found 14 SNPs in ITLN1 gene promoter satisfied Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE). Logistic regression analysis showed that ITLN1 was associated with a decreased risk of IS (rs6427553: Homozygous C/C: adjusted OR: 0.69, 95% CI [0.48-0.97]; Log-additive: adjusted OR: 0.83, 95% CI [0.70-0.98]; rs7411035: Homozygous G/G: adjusted OR: 0.66, 95% CI [0.47-0.94]; Dominant G/T-G/G: adjusted OR: 0.78, 95% CI [0.62-0.98]; Log-additive: adjusted OR: 0.81, 95% CI [0.69-0.96]; rs4656958: Heterozygous G/A: adjusted OR: 0.74, 95% CI [0.59-0.94]; Homozygous A/A: adjusted OR: 0.51, 95% CI [0.31-0.84]; Dominant G/A-A/A: adjusted OR: 0.71, 95% CI [0.57-0.89]; Recessive A/A: adjusted OR: 0.59, 95% CI [0.36-0.96]; Log-additive: adjusted OR: 0.73, 95% CI [0.61-0.88]), especially in people aged less than 60 years and males.

Conclusions

In short, our study revealed a correlation between ITLN1 variants (rs6427553, rs7411035 and rs4656958) and IS risk in Xi'an population, Shaanxi province, laying a foundation for ITLN1 gene as a potential biomarker for predicting susceptibility to IS.

Molecular characterization of Chinese patients with small bowel adenocarcinoma

PURPOSE

Small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) is a rare malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract, and its unique location within the small intestine presents difficulties in obtaining tissue samples from the lesions. This limitation hinders the research and development of effective clinical treatment methods. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis holds promise as an alternative approach for investigating SBA and guiding treatment decisions, thereby improving the prognosis of SBA.

METHODS

Between January 2017 and August 2021, a total of 336 tissue or plasma samples were obtained and the corresponding mutation status in tissue or blood was evaluated with NGS.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

The study found that in SBA tissues, the most commonly alternated genes were TP53, KRAS, and APC, and the most frequently affected pathways were RTK-RAS-MAPK, TP53, and WNT. Notably, the RTK-RAS-MAPK pathway was identified as a potential biomarker that could be targeted for treatment. Then, we validated the gene mutation profiling of ctDNA extracted from SBA patients exhibited the same characteristics as tissue samples for the first time. Subsequently, we applied ctDNA analysis on a terminal-stage patient who had shown no response to previous chemotherapy. After detecting alterations in the RTK-RAS-MAPK pathway in the ctDNA, the patient was treated with MEK + EGFR inhibitors and achieved a tumor shrinkage rate of 76.33%. Our study utilized the largest Chinese SBA cohort to uncover the molecular characteristics of this disease, which might facilitate clinical decision making for SBA patients.

Photoredox-catalyzed unsymmetrical diamination of alkenes for access to vicinal diamines

A photoredox-catalyzed unsymmetrical diamination of alkenes by using N-aminopyridinium salts and nitriles as the amination reagents has been developed. Various vicinal diamines were obtained in moderate to excellent yields under mild reaction conditions. Furthermore, this protocol could be applied in the late-stage modification of pharmaceuticals and natural products. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggested that this methodology may undergo a radical pathway followed by a Ritter-type reaction.

Microbiomes detected by cerebrospinal fluid metagenomic next-generation sequencing among patients with and without HIV with suspected central nervous system infection

BACKGROUND

Opportunistic infections in the central nervous system (CNS) can be a serious threat to people living with HIV. Early aetiological diagnosis and targeted treatment are crucial but difficult. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) has significant advantages over traditional detection methods. However, differences in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) microbiome profiles of patients living with and without HIV with suspected CNS infections using mNGS and conventional testing methods have not yet been adequately evaluated.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study in the first hospital of Changsha between January 2019 and June 2022 to investigate the microbiomes detected using mNGS of the CSF of patients living with and without HIV with suspected CNS infections. The pathogens causing CNS infections were concurrently identified using both mNGS and traditional detection methods. The spectrum of pathogens identified was compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

Overall, 173 patients (140 with and 33 without HIV) with suspected CNS infection were enrolled in our study. In total, 106 (75.7%) patients with and 16 (48.5%) patients without HIV tested positive with mNGS (p = 0.002). Among the enrolled patients, 71 (50.7%) with HIV and five (15.2%) without HIV tested positive for two or more pathogens (p < 0.001). Patients with HIV had significantly higher proportions of fungus (20.7% vs. 3.0%, p = 0.016) and DNA virus (59.3% vs. 21.2%, p < 0.001) than those without HIV. Epstein-Barr virus (33.6%) was the most commonly identified potential pathogen in the CSF of patients living with HIV using mNGS, followed by cytomegalovirus (20.7%) and torque teno virus (13.8%). The top three causative pathogens identified in patients without HIV were Streptococcus (18.2%), Epstein-Barr virus (12.1%), and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (9.1%). In total, 113 patients living with HIV were diagnosed as having CNS infections. The rate of pathogen detection in people living with HIV with a CNS infection was significantly higher with mNGS than with conventional methods (93.8% vs. 15.0%, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

CSF microbiome profiles differ between patients living with and without HIV with suspected CNS infection. mNGS is a powerful tool for the diagnosis of CNS infection among people living with HIV, especially in those with mixed infections.

Elucidation of the genetic determination of body weight and size in Chinese local chicken breeds by large-scale genomic analyses

BACKGROUND

Body weight and size are important economic traits in chickens. While many growth-related quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and candidate genes have been identified, further research is needed to confirm and characterize these findings. In this study, we investigate genetic and genomic markers associated with chicken body weight and size. This study provides new insights into potential markers for genomic selection and breeding strategies to improve meat production in chickens.

METHODS

We performed whole-genome resequencing of and Wenshang Barred (WB) chickens (n = 596) and three additional breeds with varying body sizes (Recessive White (RW), WB, and Luxi Mini (LM) chickens; (n = 50)). We then used selective sweeps of mutations coupled with genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify genomic markers associated with body weight and size.

RESULTS

We identified over 9.4 million high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among three chicken breeds/lines. Among these breeds, 287 protein-coding genes exhibited positive selection in the RW and WB populations, while 241 protein-coding genes showed positive selection in the LM and WB populations. Genomic heritability estimates were calculated for 26 body weight and size traits, including body weight, chest breadth, chest depth, thoracic horn, body oblique length, keel length, pelvic width, shank length, and shank circumference in the WB breed. The estimates ranged from 0.04 to 0.67. Our analysis also identified a total of 2,522 genome-wide significant SNPs, with 2,474 SNPs clustered around two genomic regions. The first region, located on chromosome 4 (7.41-7.64 Mb), was linked to body weight after ten weeks and body size traits. LCORL, LDB2, and PPARGC1A were identified as candidate genes in this region. The other region, located on chromosome 1 (170.46-171.53 Mb), was associated with body weight from four to eighteen weeks and body size traits. This region contained CAB39L and WDFY2 as candidate genes. Notably, LCORL, LDB2, and PPARGC1A showed highly selective signatures among the three breeds of chicken with varying body sizes.

CONCLUSION

Overall this study provides a comprehensive map of genomic variants associated with body weight and size in chickens. We propose two genomic regions, one on chromosome 1 and the other on chromosome 4, that could helpful for developing genome selection breeding strategies to enhance meat yield in chickens.

Enhancing the quality of fermented plant leaves: the role of metabolite signatures and associated fungi

Fungi play a pivotal role in fermentation processes, influencing the breakdown and transformation of metabolites. However, studies focusing on the effects of fungal-metabolite correlations on leaf fermentation quality enhancement are limited. This study investigated specific metabolites and fungi associated with high- and low-quality fermented plant leaves. Their changes were monitored over fermentation periods of 0, 8, 16, and 24 days. The results indicated that organoheterocyclic compounds, lipids, lipid-like molecules, organic nitrogen compounds, phenylpropanoids, and polyketides were predominant in high-quality samples. The fungi Saccharomyces (14.8%) and Thermoascus (4.6%) were predominantly found in these samples. These markers exhibited significant changes during the 24-day fermentation period. The critical influence of fungal community equilibrium was demonstrated by interspecies interactions (e.g., between Saccharomyces and Eurotium). A co-occurrence network analysis identified Saccharomyces as the primary contributor to high-quality samples. These markers collectively enhance the quality and sensory characteristics of the final product.

[Analysis of clinical characteristics of persistent HBeAg positivity in patients with chronic hepatitis B treated with nucleos(t)ide analogues]

Objective: To explore the clinical characteristics of persistent HBeAg positivity in patients with chronic hepatitis B treated with nucleos(t)ide analogues. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed according to different data types. An independent sample t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test, or Fisher's exact probability method were used. Chronic hepatitis B patients followed up for four years were collected from the follow-up case database of the Department of Infectious Diseases of Zhongshan Third Hospital from January 2009 to December 2018 and were divided into two groups, A and B, with 87 and 145 cases respectively, according to the duration of HBeAg-negativity≤ 3 and persistent positivity >3 years. Statistical analysis was conducted on the age, gender, family history, baseline, follow-up visit duration, liver function, and other data among the two patient groups. Results: There were no statistically significant differences in gender, age, family history of liver cirrhosis, family history of liver cancer, liver cirrhosis condition before treatment, fatty liver disease combined condition before treatment, baseline HBsAg, anti-HBc, alanine aminotransferase, albumin, or total bilirubin between the two groups of patients (P > 0.05). HBV DNA and HBeAg were significantly higher in group B than those in group A at baseline, with P≤0.001. Aspartate aminotransferase and γ-glutamyl transferase were significantly higher in group A than those in group B at baseline. The proportion of family history of hepatitis B was significantly higher in group B (69.0%) than that in group A (50.6%) among the two groups of patients, and the difference was statistically significant (P = 0.005). The proportion of mothers with hepatitis B was significantly higher in group B (25.5%) than in group A (11.5%), P = 0.010. During the treatment process, the HBV DNA quantification was significantly higher in group B than that in group A at 0.5 and 1 years (P≤0.002). The proportion of HBV DNA <100IU/ml was also significantly different at six months and one year (χ(2)=30.327, P < 0.001 and χ(2)=11.779, P = 0.001). The HBsAg level was higher in group B than that of group A in the second and fourth years, P < 0.05. During the entire treatment process, the HBeAg level was significantly higher in group B than that in group A (P < 0.001). A total of seven cases developed liver cirrhosis or cancer during follow-up, including three cases in group A and four cases in group B (P > 0.05). Conclusion: HBeAg-positive patients with chronic hepatitis B have persistent HBeAg positivity when treated with long-term nucleos(t)ide analogues. Accordingly, a greater proportion of this kind of patient family and mothers have a remarkable history of hepatitis B and a reduced HBV DNA relapse rate in the early stages (within a year or less).

Relationship between fasting prior to contrast-enhanced CT and adverse reaction in patients with allergies history

AIM

To examine the relationship between fasting prior to contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) and adverse reaction (AR) in patients with allergies history.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients with allergies history who underwent CECT from January 2014 to December 2020 (713 cases with iodinated contrast media (ICM)-related allergy history and 27045 cases with unrelated allergies history) were retrospectively analyzed. The occurrence of ICM-related AR and patient information were recorded. The relationship between fasting and AR and emetic complications was analyzed.

RESULTS

There was no statistical difference in the overall incidence of AR and emetic complications between fasting group and non-fasting group (P>0.05) and fasting was not an influence factor for overall AR occurrence in patients with both ICM-related and unrelated allergies history. However, the incidence of severe AR in fasting group was higher than that in non-fasting group (P=0.01) in patients with unrelated allergies history. The AR incidence in fasting group was higher than that in non-fasting group (P=0.022) when receiving abdominal examinations in patients with unrelated allergies history. There was no statistical difference in the incidence of AR with different occurrence time between fasting group and non-fasting group (P>0.05) in patients with both ICM-related and unrelated allergies history.

CONCLUSIONS

Fasting was associated with higher incidence of severe AR and was associated with higher AR incidence when receiving abdominal examinations in patients with unrelated allergies history. Fasting did not have effects on the occurrence time of AR in patients with allergies history. These provided new guidance for usage of ICM in patients with allergies history.

FKF1b controls reproductive transition associated with adaptation to geographical distribution in maize

Maize (Zea mays subspecies mays) is an important commercial crop across the world, and its flowering time is closely related to grain yield, plant cycle and latitude adaptation. FKF1 is an essential clock-regulated blue-light receptor with distinct functions on flowering time in plants, and its function in maize remains unclear. In this study, we identified two FKF1 homologs in the maize genome, named ZmFKF1a and ZmFKF1b, and indicated that ZmFKF1a and ZmFKF1b independently regulate reproductive transition through interacting with ZmCONZ1 and ZmGI1 to increase the transcription levels of ZmCONZ1 and ZCN8. We demonstrated that ZmFKF1b underwent artificial selection during modern breeding in China probably due to its role in geographical adaptation. Furthermore, our data suggested that ZmFKF1bHap_C7 may be an elite allele, which increases the abundance of ZmCONZ1 mRNA more efficiently and adapt to a wider range of temperature zone than that of ZmFKF1bHap_Z58 to promote maize floral transition. It extends our understanding of the genetic diversity of maize flowering. This allele is expected to be introduced into tropical maize germplasm to enrich breeding resources and may improve the adaptability of maize at different climate zones, especially at temperate region.

Age-period-cohort analysis of ischemic stroke deaths attributable to physical inactivity in different income regions

This study assessed the global and regional burden of IS (ischemic stroke) deaths due to LPA (low physical activity) from 1990 to 2019, analyzed regional, sex, and age differences in ASMR (age-standardized mortality rate), and provided a comprehensive understanding of the impact of age, period, and cohort on low physical activity related ischemic stroke ASMR. We conducted an APC (age-period-cohort) analysis of the global and four World Bank income level regions' IS mortality data attributed to LPA from 1990 to 2019, using the GBD2019 database, and the results showed that the global net drift of the Ischemic stroke age-standardized mortality attributable to low physical activity was - 1.085%[95% CI: - 1.168, - 1.003].The ASMR drop is most pronounced in the high-income zone, with a net drift of - 2.473% [95% CI: - 2.759, - 2.187] across the four income groups. The influence of age on mortality is increasing in the worldwide old population, while the period and cohort effects are decreasing. We also performed a Joinpoint regression analysis, which revealed that the specific time of considerable drop in ASMR of IS in the global LPA population was 2002-2007, with an APC of -2.628%. The specific period of considerable drop in ASMR in high-income regions with the highest variation was 1999-2007, with an APC = - 4.726%. The global burden of public health deaths caused by LPA is diminishing, with the most notable progress observed in high-income regions. However, in low and lower-middle income areas, the situation continues to deteriorate. Within the global elderly population, the effects of age on mortality is increasing, while the effects of period and cohort are diminishing. These trends vary across income levels, highlighting the necessity for enhanced international collaboration to formulate context-specific public health strategies aimed at enhancing cardiovascular health on a global, regional, and national scale.

[Pathogenetic analysis of transfusion-related acute lung injury caused by human leukocytes antigen antibody against human leukocyte antigen]

From September 2019 to October 2020, pathogenetic analysis of three patients clinically diagnosed as transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) caused by human leukocyte antibodies was conducted by Guangzhou Blood Centre, including 2 males and 1 female, aged 56, 50 and 20 years old, respectively. Solid phase agglutination, anti-human globulin test and flow cytometry method were used to detect the presence of antibodies against patients. Sequencing-based human leukocyte antigen (HLA-SBT) typing technique was used to detect the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genotypes of patients. Lifecodes single antigen class Ⅰ/Ⅱ kit (LSA-Ⅰ/Ⅱ) were used to detect the specificity of HLA-class Ⅰ and class Ⅱ antibodies in donor blood by Luminex 200 liquid suspension chip system. The HLA specific antibodies and corresponding epitopes in donors were also analyzed. The results showed that　HLA class Ⅰ or class Ⅱ specific antibodies against TRALI patients were detected in the blood donors. The plasma of donor 3 received by patient 1 contained antibodies against the patient's HLA-DRB1*09∶01 antigen, and the epitopes mediating the antibody reaction of the donor and recipient were 70R, 31I, 70QA. There were antibodies against the HLA-A*11∶02, HLA-A*11∶01, DRB1*12∶02, and DRB1*09∶01 antigens of patient 2 in the plasma of donor 4, and the associated antigenic epitopes were 151AHA, 57V, and 16Y. Antibodies against the HLA-DRB1*14∶04, DRB1*11∶01, and DPB1*05∶01 antigens of patient 3 were present in the plasma of donor 6 and donor 7, and the associated epitopes were 96HK, 140TV, 13SE, and 111K.　Three cases of TRALI were confirmed to be caused by HLA antibodies through laboratory analysis, and human leukocyte antibody detection should be paid attention in clinically suspected cases of TRALI, and targeted diagnosis and treatment should be given.

CDKL3 shapes immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and initiates autophagy in esophageal cancer

Background

CDKL3 has been associated with the prognosis of several tumors. However, the potential role of CDKL3 in immunotherapy and the tumor microenvironment (TME) in esophageal carcinoma (ESCA) remains unclear.

Methods

In this study, Cox regression analysis was used to assess the predictive value of CDKL3 for ESCA outcomes. We systematically correlated CDKL3 with immunological features in the TME. The role of CDKL3 in predicting the efficacy of immunotherapy was also analyzed. Correlation analysis, Cox analysis and LASSO Cox regression were used to construct the CDKL3-related autophagy (CrA) risk score model. The relationship between CDKL3 expression and postoperative pathological complete response (pCR) rate in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (nCRT) was evaluated using Immunohistochemical staining (IHC). The relationship between CDKL3 expression and autophagy induction was confirmed by immunofluorescence staining and western blot, and the effect of CDKL3 expression on macrophage polarization was verified by flow cytometry.

Results

High expression of CDKL3 was found in ESCA and was associated with poor prognosis in ESCA. Moreover, CDKL3 expression was negatively correlated with tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs), the integrality of the cancer immunity cycles, and anti-tumor signatures, while CDKL3 expression was positively correlated with suppressive TME-related chemokines and receptors, immune hyperprogressive genes, and suppressive immune checkpoint, resulting in immunosuppressive TME formation in ESCA. An analysis of immunotherapy cohorts of the ESCA and pan-cancer showed a better response to immunotherapy in tumor patients with lower CDKL3 levels. The CrA risk score model was constructed and validated to accurately predict the prognosis of ESCA. Notably, the CrA risk score of ESCA patients was significantly positively correlated with M2 macrophages. Furthermore, knockdown CDKL3 in KYSE150 cells could inhibit autophagy induction and M2 macrophage polarization. And, radiation could downregulate CDKL3 expression and autophagy induction, while ESCC patients with high CDKL3 expression had a significantly lower response rate after nCRT than those with low CDKL3 expression.

Conclusion

CDKL3 may play an important role in anti-tumor immunity by regulating autophagy to promote the formation of immunosuppressive TME, thus playing a critical role in the prognosis of ESCA.

Pressure-Induced Defects and Reduced Size Endow TiO2 with High Capacity over 20 000 Cycles and Excellent Fast-Charging Performance in Sodium Ion Batteries

Anatase TiO2 as sodium-ion-battery anode has attracted increased attention because of its low volume change and good safety. However, low capacity and poor rate performance caused by low electrical conductivity and slow ion diffusion greatly impede its practical applications. Here, a bi-solvent enhanced pressure strategy that induces defects (oxygen vacancies) into TiO2 via N doping and reduces its size by using mutual-solvent ethanol and dopant dimethylformamide as pressure-increased reagent of tetrabutyl orthotitanate tetramer is proposed to fabricate N-doped TiO2 /C nanocomposites. The induced defects can increase ion storage sites, improve electrical conductivity, and decrease bandgap and ion diffuse energy barrier of TiO2 . The size reduction increases contact interfaces between TiO2 and C and shortens ion diffuse distance, thus increasing extra ion storage sites and boosting ion diffusion rate of TiO2 . The N-doped TiO2 possesses highly stable crystal structure with a slightly increase of 0.86% in crystal lattice spacing and 3.2% in particle size after fully sodiation. Consequently, as a sodium-ion battery anode, the nanocomposite delivers high capacity and superior rate capability along with ultralong cycling life. This work proposes a novel pressure-induced synthesis strategy that provides unique guidance for designing TiO2 -based anode materials with high capacity and excellent fast-charging capability.

MHD-Net: Memory-aware Hetero-modal Distillation Network for Thymic Epithelial Tumor Typing with Missing Pathology Modality

Fusing multi-modal radiology and pathology data with complementary information can improve the accuracy of tumor typing. However, collecting pathology data is difficult since it is high-cost and sometimes only obtainable after the surgery, which limits the application of multi-modal methods in diagnosis. To address this problem, we propose comprehensively learning multi-modal radiology-pathology data in training, and only using uni-modal radiology data in testing. Concretely, a Memory-aware Hetero-modal Distillation Network (MHD-Net) is proposed, which can distill well-learned multi-modal knowledge with the assistance of memory from the teacher to the student. In the teacher, to tackle the challenge in hetero-modal feature fusion, we propose a novel spatial-differentiated hetero-modal fusion module (SHFM) that models spatial-specific tumor information correlations across modalities. As only radiology data is accessible to the student, we store pathology features in the proposed contrast-boosted typing memory module (CTMM) that achieves type-wise memory updating and stage-wise contrastive memory boosting to ensure the effectiveness and generalization of memory items. In the student, to improve the cross-modal distillation, we propose a multi-stage memory-aware distillation (MMD) scheme that reads memory-aware pathology features from CTMM to remedy missing modal-specific information. Furthermore, we construct a Radiology-Pathology Thymic Epithelial Tumor (RPTET) dataset containing paired CT and WSI images with annotations. Experiments on the RPTET and CPTAC-LUAD datasets demonstrate that MHD-Net significantly improves tumor typing and outperforms existing multi-modal methods on missing modality situations.

Low Contact Resistance Organic Single-Crystal Transistors with Band-Like Transport Based on 2,6-Bis-Phenylethynyl-Anthracene

Contact resistance has become one of the main bottlenecks that hinder further improvement of mobility and integration density of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). Much progress has been made in reducing contact resistance by modifying the electrode/semiconductor interface and decreasing the crystal thickness, however, the development of new organic semiconductor materials with low contact resistance still faces many challenges. Here, 2,6-bis-phenylethynyl-anthracene (BPEA) is found, which is a material that combines high mobility with low contact resistance. Single-crystal BEPA OFETs with a thickness of ≈20 nm demonstrated high mobility of 4.52 cm2  V-1  s-1 , contact resistance as low as 335 Ω cm, and band-like charge transport behavior. The calculated compatibility of the EHOMO of BPEA with the work function of the Au electrode, and the decreased |EHOMO -ΦAu | with the increase of external electric field intensity from source to gate both contributed to the efficient charge injection and small contact resistance. More intriguingly, p-type BPEA as a buffer layer can effectively reduce the contact resistance, improve the mobility, and meanwhile inhibit the double-slope electrical behavior of p-channel 2,6-diphenyl anthracene (DPA) single-crystal OFETs.

Homeobox B2 promotes malignant behavior and contributes to the radioresistance of nasopharyngeal carcinoma by regulating forkhead box protein O1

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an epithelial tumor of the head and neck with heterogeneous racial and geographical distributions. Homeobox B2 (HOXB2) is a tumor promoter in many cancers. However, the biological role of HOXB2 in NPC has not been elucidated. Methods: Bioinformatics analysis was performed to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between samples of patients with radiosensitive and radioresistant NPC. qRT-PCR, western blotting and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression levels of the corresponding mRNA and proteins. Cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assay and colony-forming capability was evaluated using colony formation assays. Further, migration and invasion abilities were examined using wound-healing and transwell chamber assays, respectively. Cellular apoptosis after irradiation was assessed using flow cytometry and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining. Results: HOXB2 was identified as a potential regulator of radioresistance in NPC. Our in vitro results indicate that HOXB2 overexpression (HOXB2-OE) promoted malignant behaviors including invasion, migration, proliferation, and inhibited the irradiation-induced apoptosis of NPC cells. Consistent with these results, HOXB2 knockdown (HOXB2-sh) exhibited the opposite trends in these biological activities. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that the DEGs were enriched in the FOXO signaling pathway. Mechanistically, western blotting showed that HOXB2-OE inhibited forkhead box protein O1 (FOXO1) expression in NPC cells. Thereafter, we transferred the FOXO1-OE plasmid to HOXB2-OE NPC cells and found that overexpression of FOXO1 reversed cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and radioresistance profiles promoted by HOXB2 overexpression. Conclusion: Our findings showed that HOXB2 acts as a tumor promoter in NPC, activating malignant behaviors and radioresistance of tumors via FOXO1 regulation. Moreover, the inactivation of HOXB2 or activation of FOXO1 are potential strategies to inhibit tumor progression and overcome radioresistance in NPC.

Construction of in vitro liver-on-a-chip models and application progress

The liver is the largest internal organ of the human body. It has a complex structure and function and plays a vital role in drug metabolism. In recent decades, extensive research has aimed to develop in vitro models that can simulate liver function to demonstrate changes in the physiological and pathological environment of the liver. Animal models and in vitro cell models are common, but the data obtained from animal models lack relevance when applied to humans, while cell models have limited predictive ability for metabolism and toxicity in humans. Recent advancements in tissue engineering, biomaterials, chip technology, and 3D bioprinting have provided opportunities for further research in in vitro models. Among them, liver-on-a-Chip (LOC) technology has made significant achievements in reproducing the in vivo behavior, physiological microenvironment, and metabolism of cells and organs. In this review, we discuss the development of LOC and its research progress in liver diseases, hepatotoxicity tests, and drug screening, as well as chip combinations. First, we review the structure and the physiological function of the liver. Then, we introduce the LOC technology, including general concepts, preparation materials, and methods. Finally, we review the application of LOC in disease modeling, hepatotoxicity tests, drug screening, and chip combinations, as well as the future challenges and directions of LOC.

Effect of radiotherapy on head and neck cancer tissues in patients receiving radiotherapy: a bioinformatics analysis-based study

Radiotherapy is pivotal in treating head and neck cancers including nasopharyngeal, tongue, hypopharyngeal, larynx, maxillary sinus, parotid gland, and oral cancers. It holds the potential for curative effects and finds application in conjunction with chemotherapy, either as a radical method to preserve organ function or as an adjuvant postoperative treatment. We used bioinformatics analysis to investigate the effects of radiotherapy on head and neck cancer tissues in patients who had received radiotherapy. In this study, the expression and mutation profiles of The Cancer Genome Atlas-Head-Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma were downloaded from the UCSC-Xena database, categorizing patients into two groups-those receiving radiotherapy and those not receiving radiotherapy. Subsequently, differential expression analysis and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were performed. Following this, single-sample GSEA (ssGSEA) scores related to glucose and lipid metabolism were compared between the two groups. Additionally, immune cell infiltration analysis and single-cell verification were performed. Finally, the mutation profiles of the two groups were compared. The analyses revealed that patients receiving radiotherapy exhibited prolonged survival, enhanced apoptosis in head and neck cancer tissue, and diminished keratinocyte proliferation and migration. A comparison of ssGSEA scores related to glucose and lipid metabolism between the two groups indicated a reduction in glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid cycle activity, and fat synthesis in tissues treated with radiotherapy, suggesting that radiotherapy can effectively inhibit tumour cell energy metabolism. Analyses of immune cell infiltration and single-cell verification suggested decreased infiltration of immune cells post-radiotherapy in head and neck cancer tissues. A comparison of mutation profiles revealed a higher frequency of TP53, TTN, and CDKN2A mutations in patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. In conclusion, the bioinformatics analyses delved into the effect of radiotherapy on patients with head and neck carcinoma. This study provides a theoretical framework elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying radiotherapy's efficacy in treating head and neck cancer and presents scientific recommendations for drug therapy following radiotherapy.