Dural sinus septum: an underlying cause of cerebral venous sinus stenting failure and complications

OBJECTIVES

The presence of dural sinus septum has long been identified anatomically but is often neglected for its clinical significance. Our findings revealed the association of dural sinus septum with venous sinus stenting failure and complications supported by clinical evidence.

METHODS

This retrospective study included 185 consecutive patients treated with cerebral venous sinus stenting from January 2009 to May 2022. We identified the dural sinus septa using digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and classified them into three types based on their location. The septa at the transverse sinus were defined as type I, those at the junction between the transverse sinus and sigmoid sinus were defined as type II and those at the sigmoid sinus were defined as type III. Based on the anatomic features and neuroimaging clues, we investigated the correlation of dural sinus septa with stenting failure and complications.

RESULTS

32 (17.1%) out of 185 patients (121 with idiopathic intracranial hypertension and 64 with venous pulsatile tinnitus) were identified with dural sinus septa by DSA. More than half of the septa were type I (18/32, 56.2%), followed by type II (11/32, 34.4%) and type III (3/32, 9.4%). The dural sinus septa caused three stenting failures and complications, including one case of venous sinus injury with subdural haemorrhage and two cases of incomplete stent expansion. Statistical analysis revealed that the presence of dural sinus septum (p<0.01) was associated with complications of cerebral venous sinus stenting.

DISCUSSION

The dural sinus septum is a common structure in the cerebral venous sinus. We found that the presence of dural sinus septa introduces uncertainties to cerebral venous sinus stenting and suggested precautions and ingenious skills in imaging and treatment.

Mouse serum albumin induces neuronal apoptosis and tauopathies

The elderly frequently present impaired blood-brain barrier which is closely associated with various neurodegenerative diseases. However, how the albumin, the most abundant protein in the plasma, leaking through the disrupted BBB, contributes to the neuropathology remains poorly understood. We here demonstrated that mouse serum albumin-activated microglia induced astrocytes to A1 phenotype to remarkably increase levels of Elovl1, an astrocytic synthase for very long-chain saturated fatty acids, significantly promoting VLSFAs secretion and causing neuronal lippoapoptosis through endoplasmic reticulum stress response pathway. Moreover, MSA-activated microglia triggered remarkable tau phosphorylation at multiple sites through NLRP3 inflammasome pathway. Intracerebroventricular injection of MSA into the brains of C57BL/6J mice to a similar concentration as in patient brains induced neuronal apoptosis, neuroinflammation, increased tau phosphorylation, and decreased the spatial learning and memory abilities, while Elovl1 knockdown significantly prevented the deleterious effect of MSA. Overall, our study here revealed that MSA induced tau phosphorylation and neuron apoptosis based on MSA-activated microglia and astrocytes, respectively, showing the critical roles of MSA in initiating the occurrence of tauopathies and cognitive decline, and providing potential therapeutic targets for MSA-induced neuropathology in multiple neurodegenerative disorders.

Thrombomodulin reduces α-synuclein generation and ameliorates neuropathology in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease

The neurotoxic α-synuclein (α-syn) oligomers play an important role in the occurrence and development of Parkinson's disease (PD), but the factors affecting α-syn generation and neurotoxicity remain unclear. We here first found that thrombomodulin (TM) significantly decreased in the plasma of PD patients and brains of A53T α-syn mice, and the increased TM in primary neurons reduced α-syn generation by inhibiting transcription factor p-c-jun production through Erk1/2 signaling pathway. Moreover, TM decreased α-syn neurotoxicity by reducing the levels of oxidative stress and inhibiting PAR1-p53-Bax signaling pathway. In contrast, TM downregulation increased the expression and neurotoxicity of α-syn in primary neurons. When TM plasmids were specifically delivered to neurons in the brains of A53T α-syn mice by adeno-associated virus (AAV), TM significantly reduced α-syn expression and deposition, and ameliorated the neuronal apoptosis, oxidative stress, gliosis and motor deficits in the mouse models, whereas TM knockdown exacerbated these neuropathology and motor dysfunction. Our present findings demonstrate that TM plays a neuroprotective role in PD pathology and symptoms, and it could be a novel therapeutic target in efforts to combat PD. Schematic representation of signaling pathways of TM involved in the expression and neurotoxicity of α-syn. A TM decreased RAGE, and resulting in the lowered production of p-Erk1/2 and p-c-Jun, and finally reduce α-syn generation. α-syn oligomers which formed from monomers increase the expression of p-p38, p53, C-caspase9, C-caspase3 and Bax, decrease the level of Bcl-2, cause mitochondrial damage and lead to oxidative stress, thus inducing neuronal apoptosis. TM can reduce intracellular oxidative stress and inhibit p53-Bax signaling by activating APC and PAR-1. B The binding of α-syn oligomers to TLR4 may induce the expression of IL-1β, which is subsequently secreted into the extracellular space. This secreted IL-1β then binds to its receptor, prompting p65 to translocate from the cytoplasm into the nucleus. This translocation downregulates the expression of KLF2, ultimately leading to the suppression of TM expression. By Figdraw.

COVID-19 vaccines and adverse events of special interest: A multinational Global Vaccine Data Network (GVDN) cohort study of 99 million vaccinated individuals

BACKGROUND

The Global COVID Vaccine Safety (GCoVS) Project, established in 2021 under the multinational Global Vaccine Data Network™ (GVDN®), facilitates comprehensive assessment of vaccine safety. This study aimed to evaluate the risk of adverse events of special interest (AESI) following COVID-19 vaccination from 10 sites across eight countries.

METHODS

Using a common protocol, this observational cohort study compared observed with expected rates of 13 selected AESI across neurological, haematological, and cardiac outcomes. Expected rates were obtained by participating sites using pre-COVID-19 vaccination healthcare data stratified by age and sex. Observed rates were reported from the same healthcare datasets since COVID-19 vaccination program rollout. AESI occurring up to 42 days following vaccination with mRNA (BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273) and adenovirus-vector (ChAdOx1) vaccines were included in the primary analysis. Risks were assessed using observed versus expected (OE) ratios with 95 % confidence intervals. Prioritised potential safety signals were those with lower bound of the 95 % confidence interval (LBCI) greater than 1.5.

RESULTS

Participants included 99,068,901 vaccinated individuals. In total, 183,559,462 doses of BNT162b2, 36,178,442 doses of mRNA-1273, and 23,093,399 doses of ChAdOx1 were administered across participating sites in the study period. Risk periods following homologous vaccination schedules contributed 23,168,335 person-years of follow-up. OE ratios with LBCI > 1.5 were observed for Guillain-Barré syndrome (2.49, 95 % CI: 2.15, 2.87) and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (3.23, 95 % CI: 2.51, 4.09) following the first dose of ChAdOx1 vaccine. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis showed an OE ratio of 3.78 (95 % CI: 1.52, 7.78) following the first dose of mRNA-1273 vaccine. The OE ratios for myocarditis and pericarditis following BNT162b2, mRNA-1273, and ChAdOx1 were significantly increased with LBCIs > 1.5.

CONCLUSION

This multi-country analysis confirmed pre-established safety signals for myocarditis, pericarditis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis. Other potential safety signals that require further investigation were identified.

Research on the brewing technology of Dangshen Huangjiu with low biogenic amines and high functional factors

BACKGROUND

Biogenic amines (BA) are hazardous components in Huangjiu (HJ). To ensure the quality of Dangshen Huangjiu (DSHJ), an orthogonal experiment L9 (33) was proposed to optimize the process by the main brewing factors (pre-fermentation temperature, pre- and post-fermentation time) that may affect BA and functional factors in DSHJ. DSHJ was produced with low BA content and high functional factors. Gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry combined with a multivariate statistical method (GC-IMS-MSM) was used to analyze the volatile components in the brewing process of DSHJ.

RESULTS

The optimum brewing process parameters of DSHJ were as follows: pre-fermentation temperature, 28 °C; pre-fermentation time, 9 days; post-fermentation time, 18 days. The average content of BA in DSHJ was 33.12 mg L-1, and the sensory score, total phenol content and DPPH free radical scavenging rate of DSHJ were significantly higher than those of HJ. A total of 14 esters, 7 acids, 7 alcohols, 1 ketone, 5 aldehydes and 1 pyrazine in DSHJ and HJ were identified by GC-IMS. There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in DSHJ and HJ in the soaking rice and saccharification stage. 11 components, such as ethyl acetate, and 12 components, such as acetic acid, were the different components of HJ and DSHJ in pre-fermentation and post-fermentation stages, respectively. In the post-fermentation stage, the contents of 8 components in DSHJ such as ethyl acetate were higher than in HJ.

CONCLUSION

The preparation process parameters of DSHJ optimized by orthogonal experiments can ensure that DSHJ has the advantages of low BA content, high total phenol content and good antioxidant activity. Sensory score and GC-IMS-MSM analysis found that DSHJ prepared using the optimal process had the characteristics of good taste and rich aroma. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) with multiple different onset forms of frequent recurrent attacks: A case report and literature review

INTRODUCTION

Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is one kind of monogenic hereditary small-vessel disease in the brain caused by mutations in the NOTCH3 gene. However, it is rare for CADASIL to recur with different clinical manifestations in 1 patient, and some atypical clinical manifestations can easily lead to misdiagnosis by clinical physicians.

CASE CONCERN

A 34-year-old male presented with transient speech disorder accompanied by weakness in the left side of the body for 1 day in June 2020. Magnetic resonance imaging showed acute ischemic infarction in right centrum semiovale, along with multiple abnormal white matter hyperintensities in the brain. Genetic sequencing identified a heterozygous mutation in the NOTCH3 gene. The patient experienced recurrent episodes in 2021 and 2023, with varying clinical symptoms including visual blurring, abnormal limb sensation, and sudden cognitive dysfunction.

DIAGNOSIS

The diagnoses of CADASIL is based on clinical manifestations, imaging results, and genetic reports.

INTERVISION AND OUTCOMES

The patient was received symptomatic treatment including antiplatelet aggregation therapy, lipid regulation, and plaque stabilization, resulting in improved symptoms.

OUTCOMES

During the course of the disease, after medication treatment and rehabilitation exercise, the patient clinical symptoms have significantly improved. Currently, the patient is closely following up and regularly undergoing relevant examinations.

LESSONS

In this rare case, we found that CADASIL can recur multiple times in a patient with different clinical symptoms, which can easily lead to clinical misdiagnosis. Clinicians should consider the possibility of CADASIL in young patients with sudden typical neurological dysfunction.

Ni3+ -Rich Ni/NiOx @C Nanocapsules Below 4 nm Constructed by Low-Temperature Graphitization of Self-Assembled Few-Layer Coordination Polymers toward Efficient Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalysis

Low-cost and eco-friendly Ni/NiO heterojunctions have been theoretically proven to be the ideal candidate for stepwise electrocatalysis of alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction, attributed to the preferred OHad adsorption by incompletely filled d orbitals of NiO phase and favorable Had adsorption energy of Ni phase. Nevertheless, most Ni/NiO compounds reported so far fail to exhibit excellent catalytic activity, possibly due to the lack of efficient electron transport, limited interfacial active sites, and unregulated Nin+ ratios. To address the above bottlenecks, herein, the ultrasmall Ni/NiOx @C nanocapsules (<5 nm) are directly constructed by graphitization of four-layer Ni-based coordination polymers at record low temperatures of 400 °C. Ascribed to the accelerated electron and mass transfer by the carbon nano-onions coated around Ni/NiOx heterojunctions, the extreme rise in interfaces and Ni3+ defects with t6 2ge1 g electronic configuration owed to the ultrasmall size, the Ni/NiOx @C nanocapsules exhibit the highest catalytic activity and the lowest overpotential of η10 = 80 mV among various Ni/NiO materials (measured on the glassy carbon electrode). This work not only constructs an industrialized high-efficiency electrocatalyst toward alkaline HER, but also provides a novel strategy for the constant-scale preparation of multicomponent transition metals-based nanocrystals below 4 nm.

[Resveratrol Inhibits T-acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Mice by Regulating Notch1 Signaling Pathway]

OBJECTIVE

To observe the effect of resveratrol (Res) on T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) mice, and further explore its mechanism on Notch1 signaling pathway.

METHODS

Twenty-five 6-8 weeks old female C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into control group, T-ALL group and Res group. Res group was further divided into low-Res, middle-Res and high-Res group. The percentage of leukemia cells in peripheral blood and spleen cell suspension were detected by flow cytometry and Wright-Giemsa staining, pathological morphology of spleen and bone marrow tissues were observed by HE staining, the expression levels of Notch1, Hes-1, c-Myc, miR-19b and PTEN mRNA in spleen tissue were detected by RT-qPCR, and the protein levels of Notch1, Hes-1, c-Myc, p-PTEN and PTEN were detected by Western blot.

RESULTS

Compared with control group, the leukemia cells in peripheral blood of mice in T-ALL group were markedly increased, accompanied by diffuse infiltration of leukemia cells in spleen and bone marrow tissues, the mRNA levels of Notch1, Hes-1, c-Myc, miR-19b and the protein levels of Notch1, Hes-1, c-Myc were increased (P <0.01), while the expression of PTEN mRNA and protein were significantly decreased in the spleen tissue of T-ALL mice (P <0.01). The above indicators in the H-Res group were reversed compared with T-ALL group after administration of resveratrol.

CONCLUSION

Resveratrol may play a role in anti T-ALL by inhibiting Notch1 signaling pathway in mice.

The neural mechanisms of identifiable victim effect in prosocial decision-making

The phenomenon known as the "identifiable victim effect" describes how individuals tend to offer more assistance to victims they can identify with than to those who are vague or abstract. The neural underpinnings of this effect, however, remain elusive. Our study utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging to delve into how the "identifiable victim effect" influences prosocial decision-making, considering different types of helping costs, across two distinct tasks. Participants were instructed to decide whether to help a victim with personal information shown (i.e., the identifiable victim) and an unidentifiable one by costing their money (task 1) or physical effort (task 2). Behaviorally, we observed a pronounced preference in both tasks for aiding identifiable victims over anonymous ones, highlighting a robust "identifiable victim effect." On a neural level, this effect was associated with heightened activity in brain areas like the bilateral temporoparietal junction (TPJ) when participants confronted anonymous victims, potentially indicating a more intensive mentalizing process for less concrete victims. Additionally, we noted that the TPJ's influence on value judgment processes is mediated through its functional connectivity with the medial prefrontal cortex. These insights contribute significantly to our understanding of the psychological and neural dynamics underlying the identifiable victim effect.

Gas chromatography ion mobility spectroscopy: A rapid and effective tool for monitoring oil oxidation

Oil autoxidation is an early process of food deterioration, monitoring oil oxidation is therefore of great significance to ensure food quality and safety. In this study, a detection method of the primary and secondary oxidative products was developed by gas chromatography ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS).The secondary oxidative products was analyzed by GC-IMS. Then, the relationships between peroxide values and the contents of secondary oxidative products were investigated by constructing a prediction model of peroxide value of rapeseed oil with the help of secondary oxidative products and chemometrics. The coefficient of determination Q2 of the model validation set is 0.96, and the RMSECV is 0.1570 g/100 g. These validation results indicated that secondary oxidative products could also reflect the content of the primary oxidative products. Moreover, 10 characteristic markers related to oxidative rancidity were identified for monitoring edible oil rancidity and oxidative stability.

Research on Energy Harvesting Mechanism and Low Power Technology in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are widely used in various fields such as military, industrial, and transportation for real-time monitoring, sensing, and data collection of different environments or objects. However, the development of WSNs is hindered by several limitations, including energy, storage space, computing power, and data transmission rate. Among these, the availability of power energy plays a crucial role as it directly determines the lifespan of WSN. To extend the life cycle of WSN, two key approaches are power supply improvement and energy conservation. Therefore, we propose an energy harvesting system and a low-energy-consumption mechanism for WSNs. Firstly, we delved into the energy harvesting technology of WSNs, explored the utilization of solar energy and mechanical vibration energy to ensure a continuous and dependable power supply to the sensor nodes, and analyzed the voltage output characteristics of bistable piezoelectric cantilever. Secondly, we proposed a neighbor discovery mechanism that utilizes a separation beacon, is based on reply to ACK, and can facilitate the identification of neighboring nodes. This mechanism operates at a certain duty cycle ratio, significantly reduces idle listening time and results in substantial energy savings. In comparison to the Disco and U-connect protocols, our proposed mechanism achieved a remarkable reduction of 66.67% and 75% in the worst discovery delay, respectively. Furthermore, we introduced a data fusion mechanism based on integer wavelet transform. This mechanism effectively eliminates data redundancy caused by spatiotemporal correlation, resulting in a data compression rate of 5.42. Additionally, it significantly reduces energy consumption associated with data transmission by the nodes.

Ni/NiO@NC as a highly efficient and durable HER electrocatalyst derived from nickel(II) complexes: importance of polydentate amino-acid ligands

Research on Ni/NiO electrocatalysts has advanced significantly, but the main obstacles to their use and commercialization remain their relatively ordinary activity and stability. In this paper, a chelating structure based on the coordination of multidentate ligands and Ni(II) is proposed to limit the growth of Ni and Ni oxide grains. These features reduce the particle size of Ni/NiO, increase particle dispersion, and maintain the high activity and stability of the catalyst. Aspartic acid, as a polydentate ligand, could coordinate with Ni2+ to form structurally stable chelate rings. The latter can limit grain growth, but also coat the active core with thin carbon layers after calcination to further achieve the confinement and protection of nanoparticles. The hydrogen evolution overpotential of prepared nitrogen-doped graphitized carbon shells (Ni/NiO@NC) nanoparticles was 100 mV (vs. RHE) when the current density was 10 mA cm-2 in 1 M KOH. The hydrogen evolution overpotential increased by only 4 mV after 6000 continuous cyclic-voltammetry scans. Moreover, when coated on different conductive substrates, the overpotential of this catalyst dropped to 34.6 mV (vs. RHE) at a current density of 10 mV cm-2. The lowest overpotential of the composite was only 194.9 mV at a current density of 100 mA cm-2, which is comparable with that of noble metal-based electrocatalysts. This work provides a plausible method for designing high-performance electrocatalysts of small size.

Prosocial decision-making under time pressure: Behavioral and neural mechanisms

The present study employed a novel paradigm and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to uncover the specific regulatory mechanism of time pressure and empathy trait in prosocial decision-making, compared to self-decision making. Participants were instructed to decide whether to spend their own monetary interest to alleviate themselves (or another person) from unpleasant noise threats under high and low time pressures. On the behavioral level, results showed that high time pressure had a significant effect on reducing participants' willingness to spend money on relieving themselves from the noise, while there is a similar but not significant trend in prosocial decision-making. On the neural level, for self-concerned decision-making, low time pressure activated the bilateral insula more strongly than high time pressure. For prosocial decision-making, high time pressure suppressed activations in multiple brain regions related to empathy (temporal pole, middle temporal gyrus, and inferior frontal gyrus), valuation (medial orbitofrontal cortex), and emotion (putamen). The functional connectivity strength among these regions, especially the connectivity between the medial orbitofrontal cortex and putamen, significantly predicted the effect of time pressure on prosocial decision-making at the behavioral level. Additionally, we discovered the activation of the medial orbitofrontal cortex partially mediated the effect of empathy trait scores on prosocial decision-making. These findings suggest that (1) there are different neural underpinnings for the modulation of time pressure for self and prosocial decision-making, and (2) the empathy trait plays a crucial role in the latter.

Increased incidence of napkin-ring sign plaques on cervicocerebral computed tomography angiography associated with the risk of acute ischemic stroke occurrence

OBJECTIVES

Carotid atherosclerosis plays an essential role in the occurrence of ischemic stroke. This study aimed to investigate whether a larger burden of napkin-ring sign (NRS) plaques on cervicocerebral computed tomography angiography (CTA) increased the risk of acute ischemic stroke (AIS).

METHODS

This retrospective, single-center, cross-sectional study enrolled patients with NRS plaques identified in the subclavian arteries, brachiocephalic trunk, carotid arterial system, and vertebrobasilar circulation on contrast-enhanced cervicocerebral CTA. Patients were divided into AIS and non-AIS groups based on imaging within 12 h of symptom onset. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the risk factor of AIS occurrence.

RESULTS

A total of 202 patients (66.72 years ± 8.97, 157 men) were evaluated. Plaques with NRS in each subject of the AIS group (N = 98) were significantly more prevalent than that in the control group (N = 104) (1.96 ± 1.17 vs 1.41 ± 0.62). In the AIS group, there were substantially more NRS plaques on the ipsilateral side than contralateral side (1.55 ± 0.90 vs. 0.41 ± 0.66). NRS located on the ipsilateral side of the AIS showed an area under the receiver curve (AUC) of 0.86 to identify ischemic stroke. NRS plaque amounts were an independent risk factor for AIS occurrence (odds ratio, 1.86) after adjusting for other factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Increased incidence of napkin-ring sign plaques on cervicocerebral CTA was positively associated with AIS occurrence, which could aid in detecting asymptomatic atherosclerotic patients at high risk of AIS in routine screening or emergency settings.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT

Napkin-ring sign plaque provides an important imaging target for estimating acute ischemic stroke risk and identifying high-risk patients in routine screening or emergency settings, so that timely anti-atherosclerotic therapy can be used for prevention.

KEY POINTS

• This cross-sectional study investigated the association between high-risk carotid artery plaques and acute ischemic stroke. • Increased incidence of napkin-ring sign plaques on cervicocerebral computed tomography angiography is positively associated with acute ischemic stroke occurrence. • Napkin-ring signs help identify risky patients prone to acute ischemic stroke to facilitate prevention.

Study on environmental factors affecting the quality of codonopsis radix based on MaxEnt model and all-in-one functional factor

Owing to the increasing market demand of Codonopsis Radix, the cropper blindly cultivates to expand planting area for economic benefits, which seriously affects the quality of Codonopsis Radix. Therefore, this study synthesized 207 batches of Codonopsis Radix and 115 ecological factors, and analyzed the suitable planting areas of Codonopsis pilosula under current and future climate change based on Geographic Information System (GIS) and MaxEnt model. Secondly, we evaluated the quality of Codonopsis Radix based on the all-in-one functional factor including chromatographic fingerprint, the index components, the effective compounds groups, the nutritional components, and the nutritional elements, and the quality regionalization of Codonopsis Radix was analyzed. Finally, the ecological factors affecting the accumulation of effective components of Codonopsis Radix were analyzed. This study found for the first time that the highly suitable area of Codonopsis pilosula was mainly distributed in the Weihe River system and the Bailongjiang River system in Gansu Province. There were differences in the quality of Codonopsis Radix from different ecologically suitable areas based on the all-in-one functional factors, and the comprehensive high-quality area of Codonopsis Radix was mainly distributed in Longnan and Longxi district of Gansu Province. The precipitation, temperature and altitude play a key role in the accumulation of chemical components in the 10 ecological factors affecting the distribution of Codonopsis pilosula. Under future climatic conditions, the highly suitable area of Codonopsis pilosula is decreased.

Resource scarcity aggravates ingroup bias: Neural mechanisms and cross-scenario validation

Previous studies examining the relationship between ingroup bias and resource scarcity have produced heterogeneous findings, possibly due to their focus on the allocation of positive resources (e.g. money). This study aims to investigate whether ingroup bias would be amplified or eliminated when perceived survival resources for counteracting negative stimuli are scarce. For this purpose, we exposed the participants and another confederate of the experimenters (ingroup/outgroup member) to a potential threat of unpleasant noise. Participants received some 'relieving resources' to counteract noise administration, the amount of which may or may not be enough for them and the confederate in different conditions (i.e. abundance vs. scarcity). First, a behavioural experiment demonstrated that intergroup discrimination manifested only in the scarcity condition; in contrast, the participants allocated similar amounts of resource to ingroup and outgroup members in the abundance condition, indicating a context-dependent allocation strategy. This behavioural pattern was replicated in a follow-up neuroimaging experiment, which further revealed that when contrasting scarcity with abundance, there was higher activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) as well as stronger functional connectivity of the ACC with the empathy network (including the temporoparietal junction and medial prefrontal cortex) for ingroup compared to outgroup members. We suggest that ACC activation reflects the mentalizing process toward ingroup over outgroup members in the scarcity condition. Finally, the ACC activation level significantly predicted the influence of resource scarcity on ingroup bias in hypothetical real-life situations according to a follow-up examination.

The effect of chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia improving liver damage in metabolic syndrome rats through ferritinophagy

Studies have confirmed that hepatic iron overload is one of the important factors causing liver damage in the metabolic syndrome (MS). As a special form of autophagy, ferritinophagy is involved in the regulation of iron metabolism. Our previous studies have shown that chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (CIHH) can improve the iron metabolism disorder. The aim of this study was to investigate how CIHH improves liver damage through ferritinophagy in MS rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 8-10 weeks were randomly divided into four groups: control (CON), CIHH (exposed to hypoxia at a simulated altitude of 5000 m for 28 days, 6 h daily), MS model (induced by a 16-week high-fat diet and 10% fructose water feeding), and MS + CIHH (exposed to CIHH after a 16-week MS inducement) groups. Liver index, liver function, iron content, tissue morphology, oxidative stress, ferritinophagy, ferroptosis, and iron metabolism-related protein expression were measured, and the ferritinophagy flux in the liver was further analyzed. Compared with CON rats, MS rats had an increased liver index, damaged liver tissue and function, increased iron content and iron deposition, disrupted iron metabolism, significantly increased oxidative stress indicators in the liver, significantly upregulated expression of ferroptosis-related proteins, and downregulated expression of nuclear receptor coactivator 4 (NCOA4) and ferritinophagy flux. After CIHH treatment, the degree of liver damage and various abnormal indicators in MS rats were significantly improved. CIHH may improve liver damage by promoting NCOA4-mediated ferritinophagy, reducing iron overload and oxidative stress, and thereby alleviating ferroptosis in MS rats.

Herpesvirus latent infection promotes stroke via activating the OTUD1/NF-κB signaling pathway

OBJECTIVE

Our study aimed to reveal the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of cerebral infarction by herpes virus latency infection via the OTUD1/NF-κB signaling pathway using evidence-based medicine Meta-analysis and bioinformatics analysis.

METHODS

We conducted a Meta-analysis by searching Pubmed, Embase, and Web of Science databases to evaluate the correlation between herpes virus infection and increased risk of cerebral infarction. We obtained wild-type or mutant herpes virus latent infection-related brain tissue datasets from the GEO database and performed differential analysis to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the brain tissue after herpes virus latent infection. We further conducted WGCNA co-expression analysis on the cerebral infarction-related datasets from the GEO database to obtain key module genes and intersect them with the DEGs. We used ROC curve analysis to identify the key gene OTUD1 for predicting the occurrence of cerebral infarction and combined correlation and pathway enrichment analyses to identify the downstream pathways regulated by OTUD1.

RESULTS

Our meta-analysis revealed that herpes virus infection is associated with an increased risk of cerebral infarction. By integrating the differential analysis and WGCNA co-expression analysis of GEO chip data, we identified three key genes mediating cerebral infarction after herpes virus latent infection. ROC curve analysis identified the key gene OTUD1, and the correlation and pathway enrichment analyses showed that OTUD1 regulates the NF-κB signaling pathway to mediate cerebral infarction.

CONCLUSION

Herpes virus latent infection promotes cerebral infarction by activating the OTUD1/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Dangshen Huangjiu prevents gastric mucosal injury and inhibits Akt/NF-κB pathway

One of the top ten tonic herbs, Dangshen is frequently found in Chinese functional foods. With the inclusion of Dangshen in the list of food and medicine substances in 2020, the Dangshen Huangjiu (DHJ) emerged. In the Bencao, it is written that Huangjiu can "open up the curved veins and thicken the stomach and intestines". Furthermore, increasing investigations have verified the protective effect of Dangshen on the gastric mucosa. Therefore, we propose the hypothesis that the stomach mucosa might be protected by the DHJ. To demonstrate that the effect of solids in Dangshen Huangjiu (DHJG) on damaged human gastric mucosal epithelial cells (GES-1) was reversed, the study used ethanol to induce injury to GES-1 and then used protein immunoblotting (western blotting) to determine the expression levels of p-Akt, p-NF-κB-p65, and NF-κB-p65 proteins in the cells. 0.04 mol L-1 MNNG (5 mL kg-1 body weight) mixed with eating disorders(2 d satiety, l d starvation, 3 d cycle) was used to further establish a chronic non-atrophic gastritis (CNAG) model in Wistar rats, at the same time, the experimental rats were given DHJ and DHJG gavage. Cellular assays confirmed that DHJG (25-100 μg mL-1) dose-dependently increased the viability of ethanol-injured GES-1 and lowered p-Akt and p-NF-κB-p65/NF-κB-p65 protein expression. Animal experiments revealed that 10 mL kg-1 and 20 mL kg-1 DHJ had no significant effect on the basic activity and gastric tissues and related biochemical indices of healthy rats; DHJ (10 mL kg-1, 20 mL kg-1) and DHJG (2.8 g kg-1, 11.4 g kg-1) resulted in some improvement in weight loss and significant improvement in gastric mucosal pathology in CNAG rats with damage. Particularly, DHJ and DHJG significantly decreased the expression of p-Akt, p-NF-κB-p65/NF-κB-p65 and Bcl-2/Bax proteins and Akt, IKKβ, IκBα and NF-κB mRNA in the gastric tissues of CNAG rats. These results showed that DHJG ameliorates ethanol-induced GES-1 cell injury; both DHJ and DHJG alleviate CNAG, and the mechanisms by which they do so may be related to DHJ and DHJG increasing the antioxidant capacity (elevating SOD, decreasing MDA), attenuating inflammatory responses (decreasing IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α), reversing apoptosis (reducing the Bcl-2/Bax ratio) and down-regulating gastric tissue p-Akt and p-NF-κB-p65/NF-κB-p65 protein expression as well as Akt, IKKβ, IκBα and NF-κB mRNA expression. This study indicates that the interventional effects of DHJ and DHJG in CNAG may act through the Akt/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia improves iron metabolism disorders via the IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 and Epo/STAT5/ERFE signaling pathways in metabolic syndrome rats

AIM

Our previous study demonstrated that chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (CIHH) improved iron metabolism disorder in obese rats through the downregulation of hepcidin. This study aimed to observe the molecular mechanism of CIHH in improving iron metabolism disorders, especially by Janus kinase/signal transducer and activation of the transcription (JAK/STAT) signaling pathway in metabolic syndrome (MS) rats.

METHODS

Six-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: CON, CIHH (subjected to hypobaric hypoxia simulating 5000-m altitude for 28 days, 6 h daily), MS (induced by high fat diet and fructose water), and MS+CIHH. The serum levels of glucose, lipid metabolism, iron metabolism, interleukin-6 (IL-6), erythropoietin (Epo) and hepcidin were measured. The protein expressions of JAK2, STAT3, STAT5, bone morphogenetic protein 6 (BMP6), small mothers against decapentaplegic 1 (SMAD1) and hepcidin were examined. The mRNA expressions of erythroferrone (ERFE) and hepcidin were analyzed.

RESULTS

The MS rats displayed obesity, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, iron metabolism disorder, increased IL-6 and hepcidin serum levels, upregulation of JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway, decreased Epo serum levels, downregulation of STAT5/ERFE signaling pathway in spleen, upregulation of BMP/SMAD signaling pathway in liver, and increased hepcidin mRNA and protein expression compared to CON rats. All the aforementioned abnormalities in MS rats were ameliorated in MS + CIHH rats.

CONCLUSIONS

CIHH improved iron metabolism disorders, possibly by inhibiting IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 and activating Epo/STAT5/ERFE signaling pathway, thus downregulating hepcidin in MS rats.

Integrated proteogenomic characterization reveals an imbalanced hepatocellular carcinoma microenvironment after incomplete radiofrequency ablation

BACKGROUND

Efforts to precisely assess tumor-specific T-cell immune responses still face major challenges, and the potential molecular mechanisms mediating hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) microenvironment imbalance after incomplete radiofrequency ablation (iRFA) are unclear. This study aimed to provide further insight into the integrated transcriptomic and proteogenomic landscape and identify a new target involved in HCC progression following iRFA.

METHODS

Peripheral blood and matched tissue samples were collected from 10 RFA-treated HCC patients. Multiplex immunostaining and flow cytometry were used to assess local and systemic immune responses. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were explored via transcriptomic and proteogenomic analyses. Proteinase-3 (PRTN3) was identified in these analyses. And then, the ability of PRTN3 to predict overall survival (OS) was assessed in 70 HCC patients with early recurrence after RFA. In vitro CCK-8, wound healing and transwell assays were conducted to observe interactions between Kupffer cells (KCs) and HCC cells induced by PRTN3. The protein levels of multiple oncogenic factors and signaling pathway components were detected by western blotting. A xenograft mouse model was built to observe the tumorigenic effect of PRTN3 overexpression on HCC.

RESULTS

Multiplex immunostaining revealed no immediate significant change in local immune cell counts in periablational tumor tissues after 30 min of iRFA. Flow cytometry showed significantly increased levels of CD4⁺ T cells, CD4⁺CD8⁺ T cells, and CD4⁺CD25⁺CD127^- Tregs and significantly decreased the levels of CD16⁺CD56⁺ natural killer cells on day 5 after cRFA (p < 0.05). Transcriptomics and proteomics revealed 389 DEGs and 20 DEPs. Pathway analysis showed that the DEP-DEGs were mainly enriched in the immunoinflammatory response, cancer progression and metabolic processes. Among the DEP-DEGs, PRTN3 was persistently upregulated and closely associated with the OS of patients with early recurrent HCC following RFA. PRTN3 expressed in KCs may affect the migration and invasion of heat stress-treated HCC cells. PRTN3 promotes tumor growth via multiple oncogenic factors and the PI3K/AKT and P38/ERK signaling pathways.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides a comprehensive overview of the immune response and transcriptomic and proteogenomic landscapes of the HCC milieu induced by iRFA, revealing that PRTN3 promotes HCC progression after iRFA.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ChiCTR2200055606, http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=32588 .

Threat-induced anxiety and selfishness in resource sharing: Behavioral and neural evidence

In real life, it is not unusual that we face potential threats (i.e., physical stimuli and environments that may cause harm or danger) with other individuals together, yet it remains largely unknown how threat-induced anxious feelings influence prosocial behaviors such as resource sharing. In this study, we investigated this question by combining functional magnetic resonance imaging and a novel paradigm. Together with an anonymous partner, each participant faced the possibility of receiving a 10-s noise administration, which had a low or high probability to be a threat (i.e., the intensity of noise can induce a high level of unpleasantness). Each participant first reported her/his immediate feeling of anxiety about the current situation (being threatened by the unpleasant noise), then decided how to split a number of resources (which could relieve the noise) between her/him and the partner. Behavioral results revealed that the participants showed a selfish bias in the threat conditions than in the safe conditions, and that self-reported anxiety feeling significantly predicted this bias. Functional magnetic resonance imaging results revealed that: (1) the activation level of the anterior insula was correlated with self-reported anxiety and (2) the connectivity between the anterior insula and the temporoparietal junction was sensitive to the modulating effect of anxiety on the selfish bias. These findings indicate the neural correlates of the association between threat-induced anxiety and prosocial tendencies in social interactions.

Scarcity mindset reduces empathic responses to others' pain: the behavioral and neural evidence

Resource scarcity pervades our life. A scarcity mindset triggered by perceiving insufficient resources has been proven to influence our cognition and behaviors, yet it remains unknown whether this mindset specifically influences empathy. The present study induced feelings of scarcity or abundance in separate groups of participants through experimental manipulation and examined the effects of both mindsets on the behavioral and neural responses to others' pain. Behaviorally, pain intensity ratings of others' pain were lower in the scarcity group than in the abundance group. The analysis of event-related potentials revealed that N1 amplitudes for painful and nonpainful stimuli were comparable in the scarcity group but differed significantly in the abundance group. Additionally, while both groups showed larger late positive potential amplitudes for painful stimuli than for nonpainful stimuli, this amplitude differential was significantly smaller in the scarcity group than in the abundance group. Thus, behavioral and neural evidence suggests that inducing a scarcity mindset significantly dampens the ability to empathize with others' pain during both the early and late stages of empathic processing. These findings shed light on our understanding of how a scarcity mindset may influence social emotions and behaviors.

Chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia ameliorates vascular reactivity through upregulating adiponectin expression of PVAT in metabolic syndrome rats

Cumulating evidence demonstrated that chronic intermittent hypobaric hypoxia (CIHH) had beneficial effects on the body. This study investigated the role of perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) in ameliorating effect of CIHH on vascular reactivity by adiponectin in mesenteric artery of metabolic syndrome (MS) rats. Main methods: 6-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups: control (CON), MS model, CIHH treatment, and MS + CIHH treatment group. The size of adipocytes in PVAT was measured by scanning electron microscopy. Serum adiponectin was measured. The microvessel recording technique was used to observe the effect of CIHH on contraction and relaxation in mesenteric artery rings. Also, the expressions of interleukin-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, adiponectin, AdipoR1, AdipoR2, APPL1, and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) were assayed by Western blotting. Key findings: in MS rats, adipocyte size increased, serum adiponectin decreased, contraction reaction increased while relaxation reaction decreased, the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines was upregulated, while adiponectin was downregulated in PVAT, and the expressions of AdipoR1, AdipoR2, APPL, and phosphorylated-eNOS were downregulated in mesenteric artery. All aforementioned abnormalities of MS were ameliorated in MS + CIHH rats. We concluded that CIHH treatment improves vascular reactivity through upregulating adiponectin expression and downregulating pro-inflammatory cytokine expression of PVAT in MS rats.

Factors and techniques associated with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography outcomes in patients with periampullary diverticulum: Results from a large tertiary center

BACKGROUND

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for patients with periampullary diverticulum (PAD) remains a challenge. This study aims to investigate the factors and techniques related to successful and safe ERCP in patients with PAD.

METHODS

We enrolled patients who underwent ERCP in a large tertiary center. The difficult cannulation rate, technical success rate, clinical success rate, and adverse events (AEs) rate were compared between patients with or without PAD. Three independent logistic regression models were established to identify factors and techniques associated with difficult cannulation, clinical success, and AEs.

RESULTS

Five thousand five hundred and ninety patients were included, of which 705 (12.6%) were diagnosed with PAD. Patients with PAD had a significantly higher difficult cannulation rate compared with patients without PAD (10.6% vs 8.0%, P < 0.0001), but the rates of technical success (clinical success (95.2% vs 95.2%, P = 0.951), and AEs (16.5% vs 14.4%, P = 0.156) were similar. Type I PAD (odds ratio [OR] = 2.114, 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.05-5.25) and ERCP indication for pancreatic diseases (OR = 1.196, 95%CI: 1.053-1.261) were independently associated with difficult cannulation. Small endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) with balloon dilatation (OR = 1.581, 95%CI: 1.044-2.393) was independently associated with clinical success. Somatostatin injection showed no preventive effect on post-ERCP pancreatitis (OR = 1.144, 95%CI: 1.044-1.254). Moreover, the auxiliary cannulation techniques were safe for PAD patients.

CONCLUSIONS

PAD did not affect ERCP outcomes. However, the choice of techniques and AE prophylactic measures should be more specific, especially for patients with type I PAD.

The value of artificial intelligence techniques in predicting pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with EUS images: A meta-analysis and systematic review

Conventional EUS plays an important role in identifying pancreatic cancer. However, the accuracy of EUS is strongly influenced by the operator's experience in performing EUS. Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used in various clinical diagnoses, especially in terms of image classification. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic test accuracy of AI for the prediction of pancreatic cancer using EUS images. We searched the Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane Library databases to identify studies that used endoscopic ultrasound images of pancreatic cancer and AI to predict the diagnostic accuracy of pancreatic cancer. Two reviewers extracted the data independently. The risk of bias of eligible studies was assessed using a Deek funnel plot. The quality of the included studies was measured by the QUDAS-2 tool. Seven studies involving 1110 participants were included: 634 participants with pancreatic cancer and 476 participants with nonpancreatic cancer. The accuracy of the AI for the prediction of pancreatic cancer (area under the curve) was 0.95 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.93-0.97), with a corresponding pooled sensitivity of 93% (95% CI, 0.90-0.95), specificity of 90% (95% CI, 0.8-0.95), positive likelihood ratio 9.1 (95% CI 4.4-18.6), negative likelihood ratio 0.08 (95% CI 0.06-0.11), and diagnostic odds ratio 114 (95% CI 56-236). The methodological quality in each study was found to be the source of heterogeneity in the meta-regression combined model, which was statistically significant (P = 0.01). There was no evidence of publication bias. The accuracy of AI in diagnosing pancreatic cancer appears to be reliable. Further research and investment in AI could lead to substantial improvements in screening and early diagnosis.

Reduction of SLC7A11 and GPX4 Contributing to Ferroptosis in Sperm from Asthenozoospermia Individuals

Ferroptosis is a newly defined form of regulated cell death, which is involved in various pathophysiological conditions. However, the role of ferroptosis in male infertility remains unclear. In this study, 42 asthenozoospermic and 45 normozoospermic individuals participated. To investigate the ferroptosis level in the two groups, the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA), and iron were measured, and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) was detected as an indicator of mitochondrial injuries. Compared with the normozoospermic group, ROS (p < 0.05), MDA (p < 0.001), and iron (p < 0.001) of the asthenozoospermic group were significantly increased. However, the asthenozoospermia group had a decreased MMP level (p < 0.05). In addition, the expression levels of GSH-dependent peroxidase 4 (GPX4) (p < 0.001) and solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11) (p < 0.05) were also reduced in asthenozoospermic individuals. In asthenozoospermic samples, a significantly high positive correlation was observed between GPX4 mRNA levels and progressive motility (r = 0.397, p = 0.009) and total motility (r = 0.389, p = 0.011), while a negative correlation was observed between GPX4 and iron concentration (r =  - 0.276, p = 0.077). The function of ferroptosis in asthenozoospermic males has never been studied before. In our study, we concluded that GPX4 and SLC7A11 expression levels in asthenozoospermia patients were related to increased ferroptosis and impaired sperm function, revealing novel molecular insights into the complex systems involved in male infertility.

[A multicenter, double-blind, randomized controlled clinical trial comparing ergometrine with oxytocin and oxytocin alone for prevention of postpartum hemorrhage at cesarean section]

Objective: To compare oxytocin combined with ergometrine with oxytocin alone in terms of primary prophylaxis for postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) at the time of cesarean section (CS). Methods: This was a multicenter double-blind randomized controlled interventional study comparing ergometrine combined with oxytocin and oxytocin alone administered at CS. From December 2018 to November 2019, a total of 298 parturients were enrolled in 16 hospitals nationwide. They were randomly divided into experimental group (ergometrine intra-myometrial injection following oxytocin intravenously; 148 cases) and control group (oxytocin intra-myometrial injection following oxytocin intravenously; 150 cases) according to 1∶1 random allocation. The following indexes were compared between the two groups: (1) main index: blood loss 2 hours (h) after delivery; (2) secondary indicators: postpartum blood loss at 6 h and 24 h, placental retention time, incidence of PPH, the proportion of additional use of uterine contraction drugs, hemostatic drugs or other hemostatic measures at 2 h and 24 h after delivery, the proportion requiring blood transfusion, and the proportion of prolonged hospital stay due to poor uterine involution; (3) safety indicators: nausea, vomiting, dizziness and other adverse reactions, and blood pressure at each time point of administration. Results: (1) The blood loss at 2 h after delivery in the experimental group [(402±18) ml] was less than that in the control group [(505±18) ml], and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). (2) The blood loss at 6 h and 24 h after delivery in the experimental group were less than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the incidence of PPH, the proportion of additional use of uterine contraction drugs, hemostatic drugs or other hemostatic measures at 2 h and 24 h after delivery, the proportion requiring blood transfusion, and the proportion of prolonged hospital stay due to poor uterine involution (all P>0.05). (3) Adverse reactions occurred in 2 cases (1.4%, 2/148) in the experimental group and 1 case (0.7%, 1/150) in the control group. There was no significant difference between the two groups (P>0.05). The systolic blood pressure within 2.0 h and diastolic blood pressure within 1.5 h of drug administration in the experimental group were higher than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05), but the blood pressure of the two groups were in the normal range. Conclusion: The use of ergometrine injection in CS could reduce the amount of PPH, which is safe and feasible.

[Quality of life and risk factors in patients with herpes zoster]

Objective: To evaluate the quality of life and influencing factors of patients with herpes zoster (HZ) seen in hospitals. Methods: Based on Zoster Brief Pain Inventory (ZBPI) and Five-level EuroQol Five-dimensional Questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L), a cross-sectional survey was conducted to evaluate the pain severity and quality of life of 332 HZ cases seen in 22 hospitals of Lu'an City (Anhui Province), Zibo City (Shandong Province) and Tongchuan City (Shaanxi Province) from October to December 2021. The censored least absolute deviations (CLAD) model was used to analyze the related factors affecting the changes of patients' health utility values. Results: The 45.5% of 332 HZ cases were male. The median (Q₁,Q₃) age was 59 (50, 68) years. 59.64% of them assessed by ZBPI had moderate to severe pain in the past 24 hours (worst pain score≥5), and that of PHN cases was 84.8%(39/46). 77.7% (258/332), 77.4% (257/332) and 74.1% (246/332) of all patients reported that pain interfered with sleep, mood and general activities, respectively. Aging [β_40-49y (95%CI)=-0.11 (-0.15, -0.08); β_50-59y (95%CI)=-0.03 (-0.05, 0.00); β_60-69y (95%CI)=-0.09 (-0.12, -0.06); β_70-90y(95%CI)=-0.16 (-0.19, -0.12)], working status (unemployed) [β_farmer (95%CI)=0.15 (0.13, 0.18); β_retirees(95%CI)=0.21 (0.18, 0.24); β_employee (95%CI)=0.13 (0.10, 0.16) ], complications[β_PHN (95%CI)=-0.08 (-0.13, -0.04); β_{other complications} (95%CI)=-0.12 (-0.15, -0.08)], within 30 days after onset [β(95%CI)=-0.01 (-0.03, 0.01)] and treatment [β_{other complications} (95%CI)=-0.09 (-0.11, -0.06)] were related factors for the decline of health utility value (all P values <0.05). Conclusions: More than half of the patients with HZ had moderate to severe pain in the past 24 hours, which had a serious negative impact on the physical and mental health of the patients. Elderly patients, acute patients and patients with complications had lower health utility values and worse health status. We suggest that eligible people be vaccinated with HZ vaccine as soon as possible.

The Mechanism of Delayed Ischemic Preconditioning in Alleviating Acute Ischemia/Reperfusion Renal Injury through Treg Mediated by Immature CD11c+ Dendritic Cells

Introduction

Renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is one of the major causes of acute kidney injury, and its mechanism is complex involving multiple factors, while delayed ischemic preconditioning (DIPC) has a protective effect on the above process. In our previous study, we found that DIPC can exert its protection on renal IRI by inhibiting the maturation of dendritic cells (DCs), but the mechanism has not been clarified. This study aimed to investigate the protective mechanism of DIPC on renal IRI in mice through Treg mediated by immature DCs (imDCs).

Methods

The IRI mice model, DIPC treatment, and conditional CD11c⁺ DCs (CD11c-DTR) knockout mice were used to perform our study. The maturation and differentiation of DCs and Treg cells in the kidney and spleen were analyzed by flow cytometry. HE staining was used to evaluate the pathology of the kidney tissue. The level of creatinine (Cr), oxidative stress factors (SOD, MDA), and inflammatory factors (TNF-α, IL-10, IL-4) were also measured. Then, imDCs were co-cultured with HK-2 cells, and apoptosis was analyzed with flow cytometry and PI-Hoechst 33,342 fluorescence staining to assess the apoptosis rate of HK-2 cells under hypoxic-reoxygenated (H/R) conditions.

Results

DIPC could decrease renal Cr levels, alleviate pathological renal damage, and reduce oxidative stress and inflammation caused by IRI. Moreover, DIPC could decrease the number of mature DCs (mDCs) and increase Treg lymphocyte infiltration in the kidney tissue, while the reduction of DCs reversed this process. In addition, our in vitro experiment found that in the H/R model, the apoptosis of HK-2 cells decreased which were co-cultured with imDCs.

Conclusion

DIPC can regulate the differentiation of DCs into imDCs, thus affecting the differentiation level and distribution of Treg cells to exert its protective effect on renal IRI.

Anonymity in sharing morally salient news: the causal role of the temporoparietal junction

Considering the crucial role of morality in shaping one’s reputation, exploring factors that modulate people’s decision to share morally salient news is important. Previous studies suggested that self-expression and socializing are 2 key factors for news-sharing behaviors, suggesting the key role of anonymity in such decisions. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), the present study focused on how anonymity modulates the sharing of morally salient information, as well as its neural mechanisms. Results showed that compared to moral news, people were more reluctant to share immoral news, especially when they share it with their real names shown. On the neural level, we found that this effect was associated with the activity of the left temporoparietal junction (TPJ), as well as its functional connection to its right counterpart. Dynamic causal modeling analysis revealed the moral valence of news and the anonymity of sharing modulated the effective connectivity between the left TPJ and the middle frontal gyrus as well as the medial frontal gyrus. There was no significant difference when sharing news anonymously. Further, a followed-up tDCS experiment supported the causal role of the left TPJ in this behavioral effect. Taken together, these results suggested that people concern more about social repercussion, when they share the news with their real-names shown, especially when sharing immoral news, and this effect is associated with stronger neural activation in the left TPJ, as well as changes in its functional connectivity with other brain regions.

Trends of calcium silicate biomaterials in medical research and applications: A bibliometric analysis from 1990 to 2020

Background: Calcium silicate biomaterials (CSB) have witnessed rapid development in the past 30 years. This study aimed to accomplish a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the published research literature on CSB for biomedical applications and explore the research hotspot and current status.

Methods: Articles related to CSB published in the last three decades (1990–2020) were retrieved from Web of Science Core Collection. The R bibliometrix package and VOSviewer were used to construct publication outputs and collaborative networking among authors, their institutes, countries, journals’ matrices and keywords plus.

Results: A total of 872 publications fulfilling the search criteria were included. CSB is mainly reported for bone tissues and dental applications. Among researchers, Chang J from Chinese Academy of Sciences and Gandolfi MG from the University of Bologna are the most productive author in these two fields, respectively. China was the leading contributor to the research on CSB in the medical field. A total of 130 keywords appeared more ten or more times were identified. The term “mineral trioxide aggregate” ranked first with 268 occurrences. The co-occurrence analysis identified three major clusters: CSB in dentistry, bone tissue and vitro bioactivity.

Conclusion: Calcium silicate biomaterials have a promising scope for various biomedical applications ranging from regeneration of hard tissues (bone and teeth) to skin, tumor, cardiac muscle and other soft tissues. This study may help researchers further understand the frontiers of the field.

Case report: 18F-FDG PET confirmed pupil-sparing third nerve palsy heralding aseptic cavernous sinus embolism in patient with chest malignancy

Classical cavernous sinus embolism is a rare clinical finding, presented most commonly by complaints of headache, diplopia, visual field defects, facial pain, and progressive neurological deficits. Many patients exhibit symptoms of III, IV, and VI nerve palsies. We hereby report a rare case of aseptic cavernous sinus embolism developed in a 75-year-old male with primary lung cancer who presented with binocular diplopia due to unilateral third and sixth cranial nerve palsies with pupil-sparing. The possibility of cavernous sinus cancer embolus should be considered if the routine examination excluded metastases, infiltration, carcinomatous meningitis, or the paraneoplastic process. ¹⁸F-FDG PET imaging may provide a promising diagnostic modality for the diagnosis of cancer embolus.

[Research progress on the regulation mechanisms of iron metabolism in anemia of chronic disease]

Anemia of chronic disease (ACD), complicated by various chronic inflammatory diseases, is the second most prevalent type of anemia after iron deficiency anemia in the world. ACD significantly reduces the life quality of patients with chronic diseases, and represents an independent poor prognostic factor in certain chronic diseases. A large body of studies has demonstrated that most of anemia is related to abnormal iron metabolism. In the past decade, hepcidin, as a key factor in regulating iron metabolism, has attracted enormous attention due to its important role in the pathogenesis of ACD. This article reviews the research progress on the role and underlying regulatory mechanisms of hepcidin in ACD. We also discuss the potential of hepcidin as an effective therapeutic target for ACD treatment, in order to provide a new maneuver for improving the quality of ACD patients' life.

Single-cell sequencing reveals heterogeneity between pancreatic adenosquamous carcinoma and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with prognostic value

Pancreatic adenosquamous carcinoma (ASPC) is a rare subtype of pancreatic cancer with lethal malignancy, and few studies have focused on the heterogeneity of ASPC. Here, we performed a single-cell sequencing procedure on pancreatic tumor tissue from an ASPC patient and a patient with high-grade intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN). Through the combined analysis of single-cell sequencing data from five pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients, one IPMN patient, and one ASPC patient in a public database, we identified 11 main types of cells, including macrophages, B cells, cancer stem cells, ductal cells, fibroblasts, endo/stellate cells, neutrophils, acinar cells, T cells, natural killer (NK) cells, dendritic cells, and mast cells. Then, the different characteristics and differentiation paths of the immune microenvironment among IPMN, ASPC, and PDAC in macrophages, T cells, and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) were identified through multiple bioinformatics analyses. Two novel special cancer-associated fibroblasts were identified as nCAFs and imCAFs. Then, cancer cells in duct cells were identified using the infercnv software. Two ASPC-specific subgroups of cancer cells with squamous cell features were identified. Finally, the identified specific CAFs and cancer cells were mapped to TCGA-PAAD cohort through the cibersoftx software. All of these identified subgroups were calculated to have a significant prognostic value in pancreatic cancer patients. These findings will promote the clinical application of single-cell sequencing data of pancreatic cancer and deepen our understanding of ASPC.

Establishing and validating an ADCP-related prognostic signature in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

With the progress of precision medicine treatment in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), individualized cancer-related examination and prediction is of great importance in this high malignant tumor, and antibody-dependent cell phagocytosis (ADCP) with changed pathways highly enrolled in the carcinogenesis of PDAC. High-throughput data of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma were downloaded and 160 differentially expressed ADCP-related genes (ARGs) were obtained. Secondly, GO and KEGG enrichment analyses show that ADCP is a pivotal biologic process in pancreatic carcinogenesis. Next, CALB2, NLGN2, NCAPG and SERTAD2 are identified through multivariate Cox regression. These 4 genes are confirmed with significant prognostic value in PDAC. Then, a risk score formula is constructed and tested in PDAC samples. Finally, the correlation between these 4 genes and M2 macrophage polarization was screened. Some pivotal differentially expressed ADCP-related genes and biologic processes, four pivotal subgroup was among identified in the protein-protein network, and hub genes was found in these sub group. Then, an ADCP-related formula was set: CALB2* 0.355526 + NLGN2* -0.86862 + NCAPG* 0.932348 + SERTAD2* 1.153568. Additionally, the significant correlation between M2 macrophage-infiltration and the expression of each genes in PDAC samples was identified. Finally, the somatic mutation landscape and sensitive chemotherapy drug between high risk group and low risk group was explored. This study provides a potential prognostic signature for predicting prognosis of PDAC patients and molecular insights of ADCP in PDAC, and the formula focusing on the prognosis of PDAC can be effective. These findings will contribute to the precision medicine of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma treatment.

Codonopsis pilosula oligosaccharides modulate the gut microbiota and change serum metabolomic profiles in high-fat diet-induced obese mice

Obesity has become a major health problem worldwide, linked to gut microbiota imbalance and chronic inflammation. This study aims to evaluate whether Codonopsis pilosula oligosaccharides (CPOs) can alleviate obesity and related metabolic complications in high-fat diet (HFD) induced obese mice. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed with a HFD for 16 weeks and treated daily with CPOs (500 mg kg^-1). CPO supplementation decreased body weight and fat accumulation and improved glucose tolerance in HFD-fed mice. CPOs also reversed the effects of the HFD on inflammatory markers and improved macrophage infiltration. The results of gut microbiota analysis showed that CPOs could also regulate gut microbiota composition, significantly increasing the abundance of the beneficial bacteria Muribaculaceae spp., Alistipes and Clostridium and decreasing the abundance of the harmful bacteria Rikenella, Enterobacteriaceae spp., Collinsella and Megasphaera in HFD mice. Based on serum non-targeted metabolomics analysis, 20 key metabolites responding to CPO treatment were identified, and their biological functions were mainly related to tryptophan and bile acid metabolism. The results demonstrate that CPO supplementation can ameliorate HFD-induced obesity and obesity-related metabolic disorders. It can be used as a novel gut microbiota modulator to prevent HFD-induced gut dysbiosis.

[Novel MFN2, BSCL2 and LRSAM1 variants in a cohort of Chinese patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease]

Objective: Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) comprises a group of clinically and genetically heterogeneous inherited neuropathies with an estimated prevalence of 1 in 2500. This study aimed to analyze the clinical and mutational characteristics of Chinese CMT patients with MFN2, BSCL2 and LRSAM1 variants. Methods: In this study, genetic analysis was performed in 206 Chinese patients at Chinese PLA General Hospital from December 2012 to March 2020 with clinical diagnosis of CMT, and reported variants of MFN2, BSCL2 and LRSAM1 related to CMT2. Results: We reported ten MFN2 mutations in ten unrelated patients (7 male, 3 female), two of whom had positive family history. Three novel mutations were detected including c.475-2A>G (splicing); c.687dupA (p.E230Rfs*16) and c.558dupT (p.S186fs). We reported three BSCL2 mutations of four unrelated patients, including c.461C>G (p.S154W), c.461C>T(p.S154L), and novel variants of c.1309G>C (p.A437P) and c.845C>T (p.A282V). Furthermore, two novel variants of LRSAM1, including c.1930G>T (p.G644C) and c.1178T>A (p.L393Q) were detected in two unrelated patients. Conclusion: Mutational spectrum of MFN2-, BSCL2-and LRSAM1-related CMT disease is expanded with the identification of novel variants in Chinese patients.

Silencing GS Homeobox 2 Alleviates Gemcitabine Resistance in Pancreatic Cancer Cells by Activating SHH/GLI1 Signaling Pathway

Sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling pathway and glioma-associated oncogene homolog 1 (GLI1) play important roles in the initiation and progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). GS homeobox 2 (GSX2, formerly GSH2) is a downstream target of SHH signaling, but its role in pancreatic cancer remains unclear. This study evaluates the role of GSH2 in the development and drug resistance of pancreatic cancer. Both cell culture and xenograft mouse model were used. Immunohistochemistry, Western blotting and quantitative RT-PCR were used to examine the expression of GSH2 and other related molecules. CCK8 assay was used to test the cell proliferation, and flow cytometry used to examine cell apoptosis upon gemcitabine treatment. It was found that GSH2 is overexpressed in human pancreatic cancer tissues and cells. The expression of SHH and GLI1 was reversely correlated with GSH2 in pancreatic cancer cells. SHH and GLI1 have protein-protein interactions with GSH2. GSH2 silencing in pancreatic cancer cells inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion, increased cell apoptosis and sensitized pancreatic cancer cells to gemcitabine treatment. Furthermore, in vivo study demonstrated that silencing GSH2 increased the efficacy of gemcitabine-based treatment. Our results indicate that GSH2 is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer. GSH2 silencing in pancreatic cancer alleviates gemcitabine resistance by activating SHH/GLI1 pathway. Thus, targeting GSH2 in PDAC could be a novel cancer therapeutic strategy.

Bibliometric Analysis of Cathepsin B Research From 2011 to 2021

Cathepsin B (CTSB) is a lysosomal protease implicated in the progression of various diseases. A large number of CTSB-related studies have been conducted to date. However, there is no comprehensive bibliometric analysis on this subject. In our study, we performed quantitative analysis of CTSB-related publications retrieved from the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) of the Web of Science Core Collection (reference period: 2011–2021). A total of 3,062 original articles and reviews were retrieved. The largest number of publications were from USA (n = 847, 27.66%). The research output of each country showed positive correlation with gross domestic product (GDP) (r = 0.9745, P < 0.0001). Active collaborations between countries/regions were also observed. Reinheckel T and Sloane BF were perhaps the most impactful researchers in the research landscape of CTSB. Plos ONE was the most prevalent (119/3,062, 3.89%) and cited journal (3,021 citations). Comprehensive analysis of the top citations, co-citations, and keywords was performed to acquire the theoretical basis and hotspots of CTSB-related research. The main topics included CTSB-related cancers and inflammatory diseases, CTSB-associated cell death pattern, and the applications of CTSB. These results provide comprehensive insights into the current status of global CTSB-related research especially in pancreas, which is worthy of continued follow-up by practitioners and clinicians in this field.

The Global Status and Trends of Enteropeptidase: A Bibliometric Study

Background

Enteropeptidase (EP) is a type II transmembrane serine protease and a physiological activator of trypsinogen. Extensive studies related to EP have been conducted to date. However, no bibliometric analysis has systematically investigated this theme. Our study aimed to visualize the current landscape and frontier trends of scientific achievements on EP, provide an overview of the past 120 years and insights for researchers and clinicians to facilitate future collaborative research and clinical intervention.

Methods

Quantitative analysis of publications relating to EP from 1900 to 2020 was interpreted and graphed through the Science Citation Index Expanded of Web of Science Core Collection (limited to SCIE). Microsoft office 2019, GraphPad Prism 8, VOSviewer, and R-bibliometrix were used to conduct the bibliometric analysis.

Results

From 1900 to 2020, a total of 1,034 publications were retrieved. The USA had the largest number of publications, making the greatest contribution to the topic (n = 260, 25.15%). Active collaborations between countries/regions were also enrolled. Grant and Hermontaylor were perhaps the most impactful researchers in the landscape of EP. Protein Expression and Purification and the Journal of Biological Chemistry were the most prevalent (79/1,034, 7.64%) and cited journals (n = 2,626), respectively. Using the top 15 citations and co-citations achievements clarified the theoretical basis of the EP research field. Important topics mainly include the structure of EP, the affective factors for activating substrates by EP, EP-related disorders, and inhibitors of EP.

Conclusion

Based on the bibliometric analysis, we have gained a comprehensive analysis of the global status and research frontiers of studies investigating EP, which provides some guidance and reference for researchers and clinicians engaged in EP research.

Inflammatory cytokine levels in patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Objectives In the present study, inflammatory factors, including interleukin (IL) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the peripheral blood of patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (sALS) were evaluated, and the issue of whether these variables were associated with the progression and severity of the disease examined. Methods Data on inflammatory factors, including IL-1, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and TNF-α, were retrospectively collected from 248 sALS patients admitted to the Chinese PLA General Hospital between March 2018 and March 2021. The relationships between the variables and clinical features, including gender, age at onset, site of onset, time from onset to hospital admission, ALS functional rating scale score, and diagnostic category were analyzed. Results IL-1, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and TNF-α levels were elevated in 43.75%, 7.04%, 16.42%, 25.35%, 1.41%, and 50.72% of ALS patients, respectively, compared with the normal value range. IL-2 and IL-6 levels were inversely associated with the ALS functional rating scale score (r = − 0.280, P = 0.004 and r = − 0.198, P = 0.048 ). Conclusion Elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines support the hypothesis of an inflammatory response in ALS, and IL-2 and IL-6 may be used as an inflammation-related biomarker for disease severity.

How resource sharing resists scarcity: the role of cognitive empathy and its neurobiological mechanisms

Resource scarcity challenges individuals' willingness to share limited resources with other people. Still, lots of field studies and laboratory experiments have shown that sharing behaviors do not disappear under scarcity. Rather, some individuals are willing to share their scarce resources with others in a similar way as when the resource is abundant, which is crucial for the maintenance and development of human society. Here, we designed a novel paradigm in which subjects decided whether (and how much) to share an amount of "relieving resources" for counteracting unpleasant noises, which mimics real-life situations that people cost their own resources to help others escape from adversity. Overall, the robustness of resource sharing under scarcity was positively correlated with individual level of the cognitive component of empathy across two independent experiments. Resource insufficiency modulated the activations of several brain regions (including the TPJ, mPFC, and PCC) as well as the functional connection (from the rTPJ to the mPFC) within the mentalizing brain network, but the modulatory effect decreased as a function of cognitive empathy. We also applied the administration of oxytocin and found significant effects on sharing behavior among individuals with a higher level of cognitive empathy, but not their low-level counterparts. These findings highlight the importance of empathy to resource sharing under scarcity and explain the underlying neurobiological mechanisms.