Purines enrich root-associated Pseudomonas and improve wild soybean growth under salt stress

The root-associated microbiota plays an important role in the response to environmental stress. However, the underlying mechanisms controlling the interaction between salt-stressed plants and microbiota are poorly understood. Here, by focusing on a salt-tolerant plant wild soybean (Glycine soja), we demonstrate that highly conserved microbes dominated by Pseudomonas are enriched in the root and rhizosphere microbiota of salt-stressed plant. Two corresponding Pseudomonas isolates are confirmed to enhance the salt tolerance of wild soybean. Shotgun metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing reveal that motility-associated genes, mainly chemotaxis and flagellar assembly, are significantly enriched and expressed in salt-treated samples. We further find that roots of salt stressed plants secreted purines, especially xanthine, which induce motility of the Pseudomonas isolates. Moreover, exogenous application for xanthine to non-stressed plants results in Pseudomonas enrichment, reproducing the microbiota shift in salt-stressed root. Finally, Pseudomonas mutant analysis shows that the motility related gene cheW is required for chemotaxis toward xanthine and for enhancing plant salt tolerance. Our study proposes that wild soybean recruits beneficial Pseudomonas species by exudating key metabolites (i.e., purine) against salt stress.

Effect of PFDS on the immobilization of Cs+ by metakaolin-based geopolymers in complex environments

Metakaolin-based geopolymers are very promising materials for improving the safety of low and intermediate level radioactive waste disposal, with respect to ordinary Portland cement, due to their excellent immobilization performance for Cs+ and superior chemical stability. However, their application is limited by the fact that the leaching behavior of Cs+ is susceptible to the presence of other ions in the environment. Here, we propose a way to modify a geopolymer using perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane (PDFS), successfully reducing the leaching rate of Cs+ in the presence of multiple competitive cations due to blocking the diffusion of water. The leachability index of the modified samples in deionized water and highly concentrated saline water reached 11.0 and 8.0, respectively. The reaction mechanism between PDFS and geopolymers was systematically investigated by characterizing the microstructure and chemical bonding of the material. This work provides a facile and successful approach to improve the immobilization of Cs ions by geopolymers in real complex environments, and it could be extended to further improve the reliability of geopolymers used in a range of applications.

[The association between portal vein thrombosis and rebleeding after non-urgent endoscopic treatment of esophagogastric varices]

Objective: To investigate the association between portal vein thrombosis and rebleeding after non-urgent endoscopic treatment of esophagogastric varices. Methods: The cirrhotic patients with esophagogastric varices diagnosed in the People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2017 to March 2023 were retrospectively collected. The patients were divided into thrombotic group and non-thrombotic group according to the presence or absence of portal vein thrombosis. The failure rate of endoscopic treatment and rebleeding rate in different periods were compared between the two groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to select the best cutoff value of gastric varicose diameter that affected total rebleeding during follow-up in both groups. The influencing factors of rebleeding within 12 and 36 months in both groups were analyzed, and the influencing factors of rebleeding within 36 months in thrombus group were further analyzed. Results: A total of 106 patients were enrolled, including 53 patients in the thrombotic group [male 37, female 16, aged 18-78 (54±13) years] and 53 patients in the non-thrombotic group [male 37, female 16, aged 27-83 (55±12) years]. The follow-up time of the two groups were (20±15) and (25±15) months, respectively. The total rebleeding rate in the thrombotic group was higher than that in the non-thrombotic group [30.2% (16/53) vs 13.2% (7/53), P˂0.05]. The rebleeding rates within 6, 12, 24 and 36 months in the thrombotic group were higher than those in the non-thrombotic group [18.9% (10/53) vs 5.7% (3/53), 18.9% (10/53) vs 5.7% (3/53), 28.3% (15/53) vs 9.4% (5/53), 30.2% (16/53) vs 11.3% (6/53), all P˂0.05]. The best cut-off value of the diameter of gastric varices that affects the total rebleeding in the two groups was 10.4 mm (10 mm was selected as the best cut-off value for the convenience of practical clinical application). Hemoglobin ˂ 85 g/L (HR=0.202, 95%CI: 0.043-0.953, P=0.043), 10 mm ˂ the diameter of GV ≤ 15 mm (HR=5.321, 95%CI: 1.161-24.390, P=0.031) and endoscopic variceal ligation combined with endoscopic tissue adhesive injection (EVL+ETAI) (HR=7.172, 95%CI: 1.910-26.930, P=0.004) were the risk factors for the first gastroesophageal variceal rebleeding within 12 months after non-urgent endoscopic treatment. EVL+ETAI (HR=3.811, 95%CI: 1.441-10.084, P=0.007) and portal vein thrombosis (HR=4.026, 95%CI: 1.483-10.932, P=0.006) were the risk factors for the first gastroesophageal variceal rebleeding within 36 months after non-urgent endoscopic treatment. The study found that, 10 mm ˂ the diameter of GV ≤ 15 mm (HR=7.503, 95%CI: 1.568-35.890, P=0.012) was the risk factor for rebleeding within 36 months in the thrombotic group. Conclusion: Portal vein thrombosis is a risk factor for rebleeding after non-urgent endoscopic treatment of esophagogastric varices.

Partial replacement of soybean meal with microalgae biomass on in vitro ruminal fermentation may reduce ruminal protein degradation

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of partially replacing soybean meal (SBM) with algal sources on in vitro ruminal fermentation. Using 6 fermenters in a 3 × 3 replicated Latin square with 3 periods of 10 d each, we tested 3 treatments: a control diet (CRT) with SBM at 17.8% of the diet dry matter (DM); and 50% SBM biomass replacement with either Chlorella pyrenoidosa (CHL); or Spirulina platensis (SPI). The basal diet was formulated to meet the requirements of a 680-kg Holstein dairy cow producing 45 kg/d of milk with 3.5% fat and 3% protein. All diets had a similar nutritional composition (16.0% CP; 34.9% NDF; 31.0% starch, DM basis) and fermenters were provided with 106 g DM/d split into 2 portions. After 7 d of adaptation, samples were collected for 3 d of each period for analyses of ruminal fermentation at 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 h after morning feeding for evaluation of the ruminal fermentation kinetics. For the evaluation of the daily production of total metabolites and for the evaluation of nutrient degradability, samples from the effluent containers were collected daily. Statistical analysis was performed with the MIXED procedure of SAS with treatment, time, and their interactions considered as fixed effects; day, square, and fermenter were considered as random effects. Orthogonal contrasts (CRT vs. algae; and CHL vs. SPI) were used to depict the treatment effect, and significance was declared when P ≤ 0.05. Fermenters that received algae-based diets had a greater propionate molar concentration and molar proportion when compared with the fermenters fed CRT diets. In addition, those algae-fed fermenters had lower branched short-chain fatty acids (BSCFA) and isoacids (IA), which are biomarkers of ruminal protein degradation, along with lower ammonia (NH3-N) concentration and greater nonammonia nitrogen (NAN). When contrasting with fermenters fed SPI-diets, fermenters fed based CHL-diets had a lower molar concentration of BSCFA and IA, along with lower NH3-N concentration and flow, and greater NAN, bacterial nitrogen flow, and efficiency of nitrogen utilization. Those results indicate that CHL protein may be more resistant to ruminal degradation, which would increase efficiency of nitrogen utilization. In summary, partially replacing SBM with algae biomass, especially with CHL, is a promising strategy to improve the efficiency of nitrogen utilization, due to the fact that fermenters fed CHL-based diets resulted in a reduction in BSCFA and IA, which are markers of protein degradation, and it would improve the efficiency of nitrogen utilization. However, further validation using in vivo models are required.

Integrated transcriptome and metabolome analysis revealed that HaMYB1 modulates anthocyanin accumulation to deepen sunflower flower color

KEY MESSAGE

HanMYB1 was found to play positive roles in the modulation of anthocyanins metabolism based on the integrative analysis of different color cultivars and the related molecular genetic analyses. As a high value ornamental and edible crop with various colors, sunflowers (Helianthus annuus L.) provide an ideal system to understand the formation of flower color. Anthocyanins are major pigments in higher plants, which is associated with development of flower colors and ability of oxidation resistance. Here, we performed an integrative analysis of the transcriptome and flavonoid metabolome in five sunflower cultivars with different flower colors. According to differentially expressed genes and differentially accumulated flavonoids, these cultivars could be grouped into yellow and red. The results showed that more anthocyanins were accumulated in the red group flowers, especially the chrysanthemin. Some anthocyanins biosynthesis-related genes like UFGT (UDP-glycose flavonoid glycosyltransferase) also expressed more in the red group flowers. A MYB transcriptional factor, HanMYB1, was found to play vital positive roles in the modulation of anthocyanins metabolism by the integrative analysis. Overexpressed HanMYB1 in tobacco could deepen the flower color, increase the accumulation of anthocyanins and directly active the express of UFGT genes. Our findings indicated that the MYB transcriptional factors provide new insight into the dynamic regulation of the anthocyanin biosynthesis in facilitating sunflower color formation and anthocyanin accumulation.

[Effects of canagliflozin on amino acid metabolism in atherosclerotic mice]

Objective: To explore the possible anti-atherosclerotic mechanisms of glucose co-transporter-2 inhibitor canagliflozin. Methods: ApoE-/-mice fed on Western diet were randomly assigned into the model group (n=10) and the canagliflozin group (n=10). C57BL/6J mice fed on normal diet were chosen as the control group (n=10). Mice in the canagliflozin group were gavaged with canagliflozin for 14 weeks. The presence and severity of atherosclerosis were evaluated with HE and oil red O stainings in aortic root section slices. PCR assay was performed to determine the mRNA expression levels of nitric oxide synthase. Hepatic transcriptome analysis and hepatic amino acid detection were conducted using RNA-seq and targeted LC-MS, respectively. Results: HE staining and oil red O staining of the aortic root showed that AS models were successfully established in ApoE-/-mice fed on Western diet for 14 weeks. Canagliflozin alleviated the severity of atherosclerosis in pathology. Hepatic transcriptome analysis indicated that canagliflozin impacted on amino acid metabolism, especially arginine synthesis in ApoE-/-mice. Targeted metabolomics analysis of amino acids showed that canagliflozin reduced hepatic levels of L-serine, L-aspartic acid, tyrosine, L-hydroxyproline, and L-citrulline, but raised the hepatic level of L-arginine. Compared to the model group, the canagliflozin group exhibited higher serum arginine and nitric oxide levels as well as elevated nitric oxide mRNA expression in aortic tissues (P<0.05). Conclusion: Canagliflozin regulated the amino acid metabolism, reduced the levels of glucogenic amino acids,and promoted the synthesis of arginine in atherosclerotic mice.

Effects of Prevotella copri on insulin, gut microbiota and bile acids

Obesity is becoming a major global health problem in children that can cause diseases such as type 2 diabetes and metabolic disorders, which are closely related to the gut microbiota. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, a significant positive correlation was observed between Prevotella copri (P. copri) and obesity in children (p = 0.003). Next, the effect of P. copri on obesity was explored by using fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) experiment. Transplantation of P. copri. increased serum levels of fasting blood glucose (p < 0.01), insulin (p < 0.01) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) (p < 0.05) in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice, but not in normal mice. Characterization of the gut microbiota indicated that P. copri reduced the relative abundance of the Akkermansia genus in mice (p < 0.01). Further analysis on bile acids (BAs) revealed that P. copri increased the primary BAs and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in HFD-induced mice (p < 0.05). This study demonstrated for the first time that P. copri has a significant positive correlation with obesity in children, and can increase fasting blood glucose and insulin levels in HFD-fed obese mice, which are related to the abundance of Akkermansia genus and bile acids.

Co-application of chitooligosaccharides and arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi reduced greenhouse gas fluxes in saline soil by improving the rhizosphere microecology of soybean

Soil salinization can affect the ecological environment of soil and alter greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Chitooligosaccharides and Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) reduced the GHG fluxes of salinized soil, and this reduction was attributed to an alteration in the rhizosphere microecology, including changes in the activities of β-glucosidase, acid phosphatase, N-acetyl-β-D-glucosidase, and Leucine aminopeptidase. Additionally, certain bacteria species such as paracoccus, ensifer, microvirga, and paracyclodium were highly correlated with GHG emissions. Another interesting finding is that foliar spraying of chitooligosaccharides could transport to the soybean root system, and improve soybean tolerance to salt stress. This is achieved by enhancing the activities of antioxidant enzymes, and the changes in amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, and membrane transport. Importantly, the Co-application of chitooligosaccharides and Arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi was found to have a greater effect compared to their application alone.

KatG catalase deficiency confers bedaquiline hyper-susceptibility to isoniazid resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a growing source of global mortality and threatens global control of tuberculosis (TB) disease. The diarylquinoline bedaquiline (BDQ) recently emerged as a highly efficacious drug against MDR-TB, defined as resistance to the first-line drugs isoniazid (INH) and rifampin. INH resistance is primarily caused by loss-of-function mutations in the catalase KatG, but mechanisms underlying BDQ's efficacy against MDR-TB remain unknown. Here we employ a systems biology approach to investigate BDQ hyper-susceptibility in INH-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis . We found hyper-susceptibility to BDQ in INH-resistant cells is due to several physiological changes induced by KatG deficiency, including increased susceptibility to reactive oxygen species and DNA damage, remodeling of transcriptional programs, and metabolic repression of folate biosynthesis. We demonstrate BDQ hyper-susceptibility is common in INH-resistant clinical isolates. Collectively, these results highlight how altered bacterial physiology can impact drug efficacy in drug-resistant bacteria.

The Role of Radiation Therapy for Metastatic Cervical Cancer

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Survival rates for women with metastatic cervical cancer (CC) are low, with limited management options. Radiation therapy (RT) for metastatic disease has led to prolonged survival in other malignancies, however, the data are scarce in CC. Herein, we evaluated the effect of RT for metastatic CC.

MATERIALS/METHODS

A total of 58 patients with metastatic CC between September 2019 and January 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. All the patients were treated with platinum-based chemotherapy combined with targeted therapy or immunotherapy followed with or without RT (NRT). The recent efficacy, survival status and prognostic factors were analyzed statistically.

RESULTS

Objective response rate (ORR) was 63.6% with one complete and twenty partial responses in RT group (n = 33) and 40.0% with two complete and eight partial responses in NRT group (n = 25), respectively (p = 0.074). Disease control rate (DCR) of the RT and NRT groups were 79.4% vs 80.0%, respectively (p = 0.861). Median follow-up time was 17 months (3-39months). In RT group, 11(33.3%) patients experienced local regional or distant failure and 9 (27.3%) patients were dead. In NRT group, 15(60%) patients had progression and 8 (32%) patients dead. There was no significant difference between the two groups in overall survival (OS); however, RT group displayed superior progression-free survival (PFS) (1-year OS: 72.7% vs. 68.0%, p = 0.460; 1-year PFS: 66.7% vs. 40.0%, p = 0.039). The multivariate analysis showed that RT, immunotherapy, lymph node metastasis only relevant predictor of superior PFS but not OS. In subgroup analysis, patients treated with RT appeared to have a better PFS in some specific cohorts, such as age>45 years (72.0% vs 36.4% P = 0.015), squamous carcinoma histology (71.0% vs 40.9% P = 0.017), metastatic at diagnosis (75.0% vs 47.6% P = 0.012), non-targeted therapy (72.4% vs 43.8% P = 0.040). No significant increase in treatment-related toxicity was observed in the RT group compared with the NRT group.

CONCLUSION

RT provided superior PFS in metastatic CC patients compared to NRT, and well tolerated. Moreover, RT, immunotherapy, lymph node metastasis only were independent significant prognostic factors for PFS. Subgroup analysis showed that combination of RT and chemotherapy obtained favorable PFS in metastatic CC patients with age>45 years, squamous carcinoma histology, metastatic at diagnosis, non-targeted therapy. Studies with a larger sample size and longer follow-up are warranted.

Hyperthermia Enhances the Radiosensitivity of Pancreatic Cancer Cells by Inhibiting Wnt2B Signaling

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly lethal human malignance. Due to unobvious symptoms at early stage, most of the patients with PC are diagnosed at late stages and lose the chance of surgical resection. Furthermore, PC patients are resistant to chemoradiotherapy and therefore show a dismal survival. Hyperthermia is commonly used as a sensitizer of chemotherapy or radiotherapy for the clinical treatment of human cancers. Our study aimed to investigate whether hyperthermia can improve the radiosensitivity of PC cells and uncover the involved mechanisms.

MATERIALS/METHODS

PC cells BxPC3, CFPAC-1 and PANC1 were heated to 43 ℃ 1 h before exposure to ionizing irradiation (IR). The radiosensitivity of PC cells were detected in vitro by colony formation assay, immunofluence analysis and western blotting. The mechanisms studies have been conducted using qRT-PCR analysis, cDNA/siRNA transfection and comet assay.

RESULTS

Hyperthermia significantly enhanced the radiosensitivity of PC cells by decreasing their colony formation and increasing DNA damage following IR. By qRT-PCR analysis of Wnt genes expressions, we found Wnt2B was significantly down-regulated in PC-3 cells which were treated with the combination of hyperthermia and IR compared with hyperthermia or IR alone. Functional assays showed that the expression level of Wnt2B was inversely associated with the radiosensitivity of PC-3 cells. Furthermore, we found hyperthermia inhibited the expression of DNA repair proteins such as p-BRCA1 and p-MRE11 in PC cells following IR CONCLUSION: Hyperthermia can significantly enhance the radiosensitivity of PC cells in a Wnt2B signaling-dependent manner.

Establishment and application of multiplex droplet digital polymerase chain reaction assay for bovine enterovirus, bovine coronavirus, and bovine rotavirus

Bovine enterovirus (BEV), bovine coronavirus (BCoV), and bovine rotavirus (BRV) are still the major worldwide concerns in the health care of cattle, causing serious economic losses in the livestock industry. It is urgent to establish specific and sensitive methods to detect viruses for the early control of diseases. Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) has been proposed to effectively detect viral particles, and it does not involve Ct values or standard curves. In this study, we designed specific primers and probes, based on conserved regions of viral genomes, to optimize protocols for a dual ddPCR assay for detecting BCoV and BRV and a multiplex ddPCR assay for BEV, BCoV, and BRV. Sensitivity assays revealed that the lower limit of detection for qPCR was 1,000 copies/μL and for ddPCR for BEV, BCoV, and BRV, 2.7 copies/μL, 1 copy/μL and 2.4 copies/μL, respectively. Studying 82 samples collected from diarrheal calves on a farm, our dual ddPCR method detected BCoV, BRV, and co-infection at rates of 18.29%, 14.63%, and 6.1%, respectively. In contrast, conventional qPCR methods detected BCoV, BRV, and co-infection at rates of 10.98%, 12.2%, and 3.66%, respectively. On the other hand, studying 68 samples from another farm, qPCR detected BCoV, BRV, BEV, and co-infection of BCoV and BEV at rates of 14.49%, 1.45%, 5.80%, and 1.45%, respectively. Our multiplex ddPCR method detected BCoV, BRV, BEV, co-infection of BCoV and BEV, and co-infection of BRV and BEV. at rates of 14.49%, 2.9%, 8.7%, 2.9%, and 1.45%, respectively. Studying 93 samples from another farm, qPCR detected BCoV, BRV, BEV, and co-infection of BCoV and BEV was detected at rates of 5.38%, 1.08%, 18.28%, and 1.08%, respectively. Co-infection of BCoV, BRV, BEV, BCoV, and BEV, and co-infection of BRV and BEV, were detected by multiplex ddPCR methods at rates of 5.38%, 2.15%, 20.45%, 1.08%, and 1.08%, respectively. These results indicated that our optimized dual and multiplex ddPCR methods were more effective than conventional qPCR assays to detect these viral infections.

First-principles property assessment of hybrid formate perovskites

Hybrid organic-inorganic formate perovskites, AB(HCOO)3, are a large family of compounds that exhibit a variety of phase transitions and diverse properties, such as (anti)ferroelectricity, ferroelasticity, (anti)ferromagnetism, and multiferroism. While many properties of these materials have already been characterized, we are not aware of any study that focuses on the comprehensive property assessment of a large number of formate perovskites. A comparison of the properties of materials within the family is challenging due to systematic errors attributed to different techniques or the lack of data. For example, complete piezoelectric, dielectric, and elastic tensors are not available. In this work, we utilize first-principles density functional theory based simulations to overcome these challenges and to report structural, mechanical, dielectric, piezoelectric, and ferroelectric properties of 29 formate perovskites. We find that these materials exhibit elastic stiffness in the range 0.5-127.0 GPa; highly anisotropic linear compressibility, including zero and even negative values; dielectric constants in the range 0.1-102.1; highly anisotropic piezoelectric response with the longitudinal values in the range 1.18-21.12 pC/N; and spontaneous polarizations in the range 0.2-7.8 μC/cm2. Furthermore, we propose and computationally characterize a few formate perovskites that have not been reported yet.

Impacts of the COVID-19 economic slowdown on soybean crop yields in the United States

It is without question that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on the U.S. economy. Stay-at-home orders led to reduced vehicular traffic and widespread declines in anthropogenic emissions (e.g., nitrogen oxides (NOx)). This study is the first to explore the potential consequences of O3 changes resulting from the economic shutdown in the United States on soybean crop yields for 2020. The pandemic's impact on surface O3 is quantified using the NOAA's National Air Quality Forecasting Capability (NAQFC), which is based on the Community Multi-Scale Air Quality (CMAQ) model for May-July 2020. The "would-be", 2020 level business-as-usual (BAU) emissions are compared to a simulation that uses representative COVID-19 (C19) emissions. For each emissions scenario, crop exposures are calculated using the AOT40 cumulative exposure index and then combined with county-level soybean production totals to determine regional yield losses. Exposure changes ranged between - 2 and 2 ppmVhr-1. It was further shown that increased exposures (0.5 to 1.10 ppmVhr-1) in the Southeast U.S. counteracted decreased exposures (0.8 to 0.5 ppmVhr-1) in the other soybean-producing regions. As a result, corresponding yield improvements counteracted yield losses around the Mississippi River Valley and allowed for minimal improvements in soybean production loss totaling $6.5 million over CONUS.

Icaritin Promotes Myelination by Simultaneously Enhancing the Proliferation and Differentiation of Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells

Myelin repair, which is known as remyelination, is critical to the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, and myelination depends on not only the differentiation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells toward oligodendrocytes but also the renewal of oligodendrocyte precursor cells under pathological conditions. However, simultaneously promoting the differentiation and proliferation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells in lesions remains an unmet challenge and might affect demyelinating diseases. Kidney-tonifying herbs of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are effective in improving the symptoms of degenerative patients. However, herbs or compounds with dual functions are unverified. The purpose of this study was to find a kidney-tonifying TCM that synchronously improved the differentiation and proliferation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells under pathological conditions. Compounds with dual functions were screened from highly frequently used kidney-tonifying TCM, and the effects of the obtained compound on remyelination were investigated in an in vitro oligodendrocyte precursor cell differentiation model under pathological conditions and in demyelinating mice in vivo. The compound icaritin, which is an active component of Yin-Yang-Huo (the leaves of Epimedium brevicornu Maxim), demonstrated multiple effects on the remyelination process, including enhancing oligodendrocyte precursor cell proliferation, facilitating the differentiation of neural progenitor cells toward oligodendrocyte precursor cells and further toward oligodendrocytes, and maturation of oligodendrocytes under corticosterone- or glutamate-induced pathological conditions. Importantly, icaritin effectively rescued behavioral functions and increased the formation of myelin in a cuprizone-induced demyelination mouse model. The multiple effects of icaritin make it a promising lead compound for remyelination therapy.

Public Preference Heterogeneity and Predicted Uptake Rate of Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Screening Programs in Rural China: Discrete Choice Experiments and Latent Class Analysis

BACKGROUND

Rapid increases in the morbidity and mortality of patients with upper gastrointestinal cancer (UGC) in high-incidence countries in Asia have raised public health concerns. Screening can effectively reduce the incidence and mortality of patients with UGC, but the low population uptake rate seriously affects the screening effect.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to determine the characteristics that influence residents' preference heterogeneity for a UGC-screening program and the extent to which these characteristics predict residents' uptake rates.

METHODS

A discrete choice experiment was conducted in 1000 residents aged 40-69 years who were randomly selected from 3 counties (Feicheng, Linqu, and Dongchangfu) in Shandong Province, China. Each respondent was repeatedly asked to choose from 9 discrete choice questions of 2 hypothetical screening programs comprising 5 attributes: screening interval, screening technique, regular follow-up for precancerous lesions, mortality reduction, and out-of-pocket costs. The latent class logit model was used to estimate residents' preference heterogeneity for each attribute level, their willingness to pay, and the expected uptake rates.

RESULTS

Of the 1000 residents invited, 926 (92.6%) were included in the final analyses. The mean age was 57.32 (SD 7.22) years. The best model contained 4 classes of respondents (Akaike information criterion=7140.989, Bayesian information criterion=7485.373) defined by different preferences for the 5 attributes. In the 4-class model, out of 926 residents, 88 (9.5%) were assigned to class 1, named as the negative latent type; 216 (3.3%) were assigned to class 2, named as the positive integrated type; 434 (46.9%) were assigned to class 3, named as the positive comfortable type; and 188 (20.3%) were assigned to class 4, named as the neutral quality type. For these 4 latent classes, "out-of-pocket cost" is the most preferred attribute in negative latent type and positive integrated type residents (45.04% vs 66.04% importance weights), whereas "screening technique" is the most preferred factor in positive comfortable type residents (62.56% importance weight) and "screening interval" is the most valued attribute in neutral quality type residents (47.05% importance weight). Besides, residents in different classes had common preference for painless endoscopy, and their willingness to pay were CNY ¥385.369 (US $59.747), CNY ¥93.44 (US $14.486), CNY ¥1946.48 (US $301.810), and CNY ¥3566.60 (US $552.961), respectively. Residents' participation rate could increase by more than 89% (except for the 60.98% in class 2) if the optimal UGC screening option with free, follow-up for precancerous lesions, 45% mortality reduction, screening every year, and painless endoscopy was implemented.

CONCLUSIONS

Public preference heterogeneity for UGC screening does exist. Most residents have a positive attitude toward UGC screening, but their preferences vary in selected attributes and levels, except for painless endoscopy. Policy makers should consider these heterogeneities to formulate UGC-screening programs that incorporate the public's needs and preferences to improve participation rates.

The association of new-onset diabetes with subsequent diagnosis of pancreatic cancer-novel use of a large administrative database

BACKGROUND

Screening options for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are limited. New-onset type 2 diabetes (NoD) is associated with subsequent diagnosis of PDAC in observational studies and may afford an opportunity for PDAC screening. We evaluated this association using a large administrative database.

METHODS

Patients were identified using claims data from the OptumLabs® Data Warehouse. Adult patients with NoD diagnosis were matched 1:3 with patients without NoD using age, sex and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) status. The event of PDAC diagnosis was compared between cohorts using the Kaplan-Meier method. Factors associated with PDAC diagnosis were evaluated with Cox's proportional hazards modeling.

RESULTS

We identified 640 421 patients with NoD and included 1 921 263 controls. At 3 years, significantly more PDAC events were identified in the NoD group vs control group (579 vs 505; P < 0.001). When controlling for patient factors, NoD was significantly associated with elevated risk of PDAC (HR 3.474, 95% CI 3.082-3.920, P < 0.001). Other factors significantly associated with PDAC diagnosis were increasing age, increasing age among Black patients, and COPD diagnosis (P ≤ 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

NoD was independently associated with subsequent diagnosis of PDAC within 3 years. Future studies should evaluate the feasibility and benefit of PDAC screening in patients with NoD.

Metabolic engineering and mechanical investigation of enhanced plant autoluminescence

The fungal bioluminescence pathway (FBP) was identified from glowing fungi, which releases self-sustained visible green luminescence. However, weak bioluminescence limits the potential application of the bioluminescence system. Here, we screened and characterized a C3'H1 (4-coumaroyl shikimate/quinate 3'-hydroxylase) gene from Brassica napus, which efficiently converts p-coumaroyl shikimate to caffeic acid and hispidin. Simultaneous expression of BnC3'H1 and NPGA (null-pigment mutant in A. nidulans) produces more caffeic acid and hispidin as the natural precursor of luciferin and significantly intensifies the original fungal bioluminescence pathway (oFBP). Thus, we successfully created enhanced FBP (eFBP) plants emitting 3 × 10¹¹ photons/min/cm² , sufficient to illuminate its surroundings and visualize words clearly in the dark. The glowing plants provide sustainable and bio-renewable illumination for the naked eyes, and manifest distinct responses to diverse environmental conditions via caffeic acid biosynthesis pathway. Importantly, we revealed that the biosynthesis of caffeic acid and hispidin in eFBP plants derived from the sugar pathway, and the inhibitors of the energy production system significantly reduced the luminescence signal rapidly from eFBP plants, suggesting that the FBP system coupled with the luciferin metabolic flux functions in an energy-driven way. These findings lay the groundwork for genetically creating stronger eFBP plants and developing more powerful biological tools with the FBP system.

Bacterial antibiotic resistance among cancer inpatients in China: 2016-20

BACKGROUND

The incidence of infections among cancer patients is as high as 23.2-33.2% in China. However, the lack of information and data on the number of antibiotics used by cancer patients is an obstacle to implementing antibiotic management plans.

AIM

This study aimed to investigate bacterial infections and antibiotic resistance in Chinese cancer patients to provide a reference for the rational use of antibiotics.

DESIGN

This was a 5-year retrospective study on the antibiotic resistance of cancer patients.

METHODS

In this 5-year surveillance study, we collected bacterial and antibiotic resistance data from 20 provincial cancer diagnosis and treatment centers and three specialized cancer hospitals in China. We analyzed the resistance of common bacteria to antibiotics, compared to common clinical drug-resistant bacteria, evaluated the evolution of critical drug-resistant bacteria and conducted data analysis.

FINDINGS

Between 2016 and 2020, 216 219 bacterial strains were clinically isolated. The resistance trend of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae to amikacin, ciprofloxacin, cefotaxime, piperacillin/tazobactam and imipenem was relatively stable and did not significantly increase over time. The resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains to all antibiotics tested, including imipenem and meropenem, decreased over time. In contrast, the resistance of Acinetobacter baumannii strains to carbapenems increased from 4.7% to 14.7%. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) significantly decreased from 65.2% in 2016 to 48.9% in 2020.

CONCLUSIONS

The bacterial prevalence and antibiotic resistance rates of E. coli, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa, A. baumannii, S. aureus and MRSA were significantly lower than the national average.

Effects of testis testosterone deficiency on gene expression in the adrenal gland and skeletal muscle of ducks

1. Testosterone has an anabolic effect on skeletal muscle. The testes produce most of the testosterone in vivo, while the adrenal glands contribute smaller amounts. When testis testosterone is deficient the adrenal gland increases steroid hormone synthesis, which is referred to as compensatory testicular adaptation (CTA).2. To reveal the effects of testis testosterone deficiency on adrenal steroid hormones synthesis and skeletal muscle development, gene expression related to adrenal steroid hormones synthesis and skeletal muscle development were determined by RNA-seq.3. The results showed that castrating male ducks had significant effects on their body weight but no significant impact on cross-sectional area (CSA) or density of pectoral muscle fibres. In skeletal muscle protein metabolism, expression levels of the catabolic gene atrogin1/MAFbx and the anabolic gene eEF2 were significantly higher, with concomitant increases after castration. The adrenal glands' alteration of the steroid hormone 11β-hydroxylase (CYP11B1) was significantly lower following castration.4. Expression pattern analysis showed that the adrenal glands' glucocorticoid receptor (NR3C1/GR) had a potential regulatory relationship with the skeletal muscle-related genes (Pax7, mTOR, FBXO32, FOXO3, and FOXO4).5. The data showed that castration affected muscle protein metabolism, adrenal steroid and testosterone synthesis. In addition, it was speculated that, after castration, steroid hormones produced by the adrenal gland could have a compensatory effect, which might mediate the changes in skeletal muscle protein metabolism and development.

Qian Yang Yu Yin granule improves hypertensive renal damage: A potential role for TRPC6-CaMKKβ-AMPK-mTOR-mediated autophagy

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Qian Yang Yu Yin granules (QYYYG) have a long history in the treatment of hypertensive renal damage (HRD) in China. Clinical studies have found that QYYYG stabilizes blood pressure and prevents early renal damage. However, the exact mechanism is not entirely clear.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To evaluate the therapeutic effect and further explore the therapeutic mechanism of QYYYG against HRD.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The efficacy of QYYYG in treating HRD was assessed in spontaneous hypertension rats (SHR). Renal autophagy and the TRPC6-CaMKKβ-AMPK pathway in rats were evaluated. The regulatory role of QYYYG in angiotensin II (Ang II) induced abnormal autophagy in rat podocytes was determined by detecting autophagy-related proteins, intracellular Ca²⁺ content, and the TRPC6-CaMKKβ-AMPK-mTOR pathway expressions. Finally, we established a stable rat podocyte cell line overexpressing TRPC6 and used the cells to verify the regulatory effects of QYYYG.

RESULTS

QYYYG alleviated HRD and reversed the abnormal expression of autophagy-related genes in the SHR. In vitro, QYYYG protected against Ang II-induced podocyte damage. Furthermore, treatment of podocytes with QYYYG reversed Ang II-induced autophagy and inhibited Ang II-stimulated TRPC6 activation, Ca²⁺ influx and activation CaMKKβ-AMPK pathway. Overexpression of TRPC6 resulted in pronounced activation of CaMKKβ, AMPK, and autophagy induction in rat podocytes, which were significantly attenuated by QYYYG.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study suggested that QYYYG may exert its HRD protective effects in part by regulating the abnormal autophagy of podocytes through the TRPC6-CaMKKβ-AMPK-mTOR pathway.

LncRNA WEE2-AS1 is a diagnostic biomarker that predicts poor prognoses in patients with glioma

BACKGROUND

Glioma is characterized by high morbidity, high mortality, and poor prognosis. Despite tremendous advances in the treatment of glioma, the prognosis of patients with glioma is still unsatisfactory. There is an urgent need to discover novel molecular markers that effectively predict prognosis in patients with glioma. The investigation of the role of WEE2-AS1 in various tumors is an emerging research field, but the biological function and prognostic value of WEE2-AS1 in glioma have rarely been reported. This study aimed to assess the value of WEE2-AS1 as a potential prognostic marker of glioma.

METHODS

Gene expression (RNA-Seq) data of patients with glioma were extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) databases. The Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to analyze the expression of WEE2-AS1 in the cells and tissues of glioma. The Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test, Wilcoxon rank sum test, and logistic regression were used to evaluate the relationship between clinical variables and expression of WEE2-AS1. Cox regression analysis and the Kaplan-Meier method were used to evaluate the prognostic factors in glioma. A nomogram based on Cox multivariate analysis was used to predict the impact of WEE2-AS1 on glioma prognosis. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was used to identify key WEE2-AS1-associated signaling pathways. Spearman's rank correlation was used to elucidate the association between WEE2-AS1 expression and immune cell infiltration levels.

RESULTS

We found that WEE2-AS1 was overexpressed in a variety of cancers, including glioma. High expression of WEE2-AS1 was associated with glioma progression. We determined that the expression of WEE2-AS1 might be an independent risk factor for the survival and prognosis of patients with glioma. We further observed that the mechanism of WEE2-AS1-mediated tumorigenesis involved neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, cell cycle, and the infiltration of immune cells into the glioma microenvironment.

CONCLUSION

These findings demonstrate that WEE2-AS1 is a promising biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with glioma. An increased understanding of its effects on the regulation of cell growth may lead to the development of clinical applications that improve the prognostic status of patients with glioma.

Additive manufacturing of geopolymers with hierarchical porosity for highly efficient removal of Cs. J Hazard Mater 2023;443:130161. [PMID: 36327833 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130161]

Geopolymers (GPs) have emerged as promising adsorbents for wastewater treatment due to their superior adsorption stability, tunable porosity, high adsorption capacity, and low-energy production. Despite their great promise, developing GPs with well-controlled hierarchical structures and high porosity remains challenging, and the mechanism underlying the ion adsorption process remains elusive. Here we report a cost-effective and universal approach to fabricate Na or K GPs with sophisticated architectures, high porosity, and arbitrary cation species exchange by means of additive manufacturing and a surfactant. The introduction of sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) enhanced the porosity of the GP adsorbents, yielding NaGP-lattice-10%SLS adsorbent with a high total porosity of 80.8 vol%. Combining static and dynamic adsorption tests, the effects of morphology, surfactant content, and cation species on Cs⁺ adsorption performance were systemically investigated. With an initial Cs⁺ concentration of 900 mg/L, the printed NaGP exhibited a maximum Cs⁺ adsorption capacity of 80.1 mg/g, outperforming other adsorbents reported so far. The quasi-second-order fit of the NaGP adsorbent showed overall higher R² values than the quasi-first-order fit, indicating that the adsorption process was dominated by ion exchange. Combined with first-principles calculations, we verified that the content of water in the GP sod cages also affected the ion-exchange process between Na⁺ and Cs⁺.

Development and Validation of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Risk Prediction Models Based on an Endoscopic Screening Program

IMPORTANCE

Assessment tools are lacking for screening of esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC) in China, especially for the follow-up stage. Risk prediction to optimize the screening procedure is urgently needed.

OBJECTIVE

To develop and validate ESCC prediction models for identifying people at high risk for follow-up decision-making.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This open, prospective multicenter diagnostic study has been performed since September 1, 2006, in Shandong Province, China. This study used baseline and follow-up data until December 31, 2021. The data were analyzed between April 6 and May 31, 2022. Eligibility criteria consisted of rural residents aged 40 to 69 years who had no contraindications for endoscopy. Among 161 212 eligible participants, those diagnosed with cancer or who had cancer at baseline, did not complete the questionnaire, were younger than 40 years or older than 69 years, or were detected with severe dysplasia or worse lesions were eliminated from the analysis.

EXPOSURES

Risk factors obtained by questionnaire and endoscopy.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Pathological diagnosis of ESCC and confirmation by cancer registry data.

RESULTS

In this diagnostic study of 104 129 participants (56.39% women; mean [SD] age, 54.31 [7.64] years), 59 481 (mean [SD] age, 53.83 [7.64] years; 58.55% women) formed the derivation set while 44 648 (mean [SD] age, 54.95 [7.60] years; 53.51% women) formed the validation set. A total of 252 new cases of ESCC were diagnosed during 424 903.50 person-years of follow-up in the derivation cohort and 61 new cases from 177 094.10 person-years follow-up in the validation cohort. Model A included the covariates age, sex, and number of lesions; model B included age, sex, smoking status, alcohol use status, body mass index, annual household income, history of gastrointestinal tract diseases, consumption of pickled food, number of lesions, distinct lesions, and mild or moderate dysplasia. The Harrell C statistic of model A was 0.80 (95% CI, 0.77-0.83) in the derivation set and 0.90 (95% CI, 0.87-0.93) in the validation set; the Harrell C statistic of model B was 0.83 (95% CI, 0.81-0.86) and 0.91 (95% CI, 0.88-0.95), respectively. The models also had good calibration performance and clinical usefulness.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

The findings of this diagnostic study suggest that the models developed are suitable for selecting high-risk populations for follow-up decision-making and optimizing the cancer screening process.

New application of Aspergillus versicolor in promoting plant growth after suppressing sterigmatocystin production via genome mining and engineering

Aspergillus genus is a key component in fermentation and food processing. However, sterigmatocystin (STE)-a mycotoxin produced by several species of Aspergillus-limits the use of some Aspergillus species (such as Aspergillus versicolor, Aspergillus inflatus, and Aspergillus parasiticus) because of its toxicity and carcinogenicity. Here, we engineered an STE-free Aspergillus versicolor strain based on genome mining techniques. We sequenced and assembled the Aspergillus versicolor D5 genome (34.52 Mb), in which we identified 16 scaffolds and 54 biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). We silenced cytochrome P450 coding genes STC17 and STC27 by insertional inactivation. The production of STE in the Δstc17 mutant strain was increased by 282% but no STE was detected in the Δstc27 mutant. Metabolites of Δstc27 mutant exhibited growth-promoting effect on plants. Our study makes significant progress in improving the application of some Aspergillus strains by restricting their production of toxic and carcinogenic compounds.

Rapid and Accurate Estimation of Activation Free Energy in Hydrogen Atom Transfer-Based C-H Activation Reactions: From Empirical Model to Artificial Neural Networks

A well-performing machine learning (ML) model is obtained by using proper descriptors and artificial neural network (ANN) algorithms, which can quickly and accurately predict activation free energy in hydrogen atom transfer (HAT)-based sp³ C-H activation. Density functional theory calculations (UωB97X-D) are used to establish the reaction system data sets of methoxyl (CH₃O·), trifluoroethoxyl (CF₃CH₂O·), tert-butoxyl (tBuO·), and cumyloxyl (CumO·) radicals. The simplified Roberts' equation proposed in our recent study works here [R ² = 0.84, mean absolute error (MAE) = 0.85 kcal/mol]. Its performance is comparable with univariate Mulliken-type electronegativity (χ) with the ANN model. The ANN model with bond dissociation free energy, χ, α-unsaturation, and Nolan buried volume (%V _buried) successively improves R ² and MAE to 0.93 and 0.54 kcal/mol, respectively. It reproduces the test sets of trichloroethoxyl (CCl₃CH₂O·) with R ² = 0.87 and MAE = 0.89 kcal/mol and accurately predicts the relative experimental barrier of the HAT reactions with CumO· and the site selectivity of CH₃O·.

Video Captioning Using Global-Local Representation

Video captioning is a challenging task as it needs to accurately transform visual understanding into natural language description. To date, state-of-the-art methods inadequately model global-local vision representation for sentence generation, leaving plenty of room for improvement. In this work, we approach the video captioning task from a new perspective and propose a GLR framework, namely a global-local representation granularity. Our GLR demonstrates three advantages over the prior efforts. First, we propose a simple solution, which exploits extensive vision representations from different video ranges to improve linguistic expression. Second, we devise a novel global-local encoder, which encodes different video representations including long-range, short-range and local-keyframe, to produce rich semantic vocabulary for obtaining a descriptive granularity of video contents across frames. Finally, we introduce the progressive training strategy which can effectively organize feature learning to incur optimal captioning behavior. Evaluated on the MSR-VTT and MSVD dataset, we outperform recent state-of-the-art methods including a well-tuned SA-LSTM baseline by a significant margin, with shorter training schedules. Because of its simplicity and efficacy, we hope that our GLR could serve as a strong baseline for many video understanding tasks besides video captioning. Code will be available.

Effects of betaine supplementation on reproductive performance of breeding geese

1. An experiment feeding three concentrations of betaine was conducted using breeding geese to analyse the reproductive performance, serum biochemical indexes, egg quality and intestinal immunity.2. A total of 450 female and 90 male Jiangnan White breeding geese were divided into three treatments, with five pen replicates each containing 30 female geese and 6 male geese.3. The results showed that there was no significant effect on the reproductive performance, serum biochemical indexes or jejunal villi goblet cells of geese with different levels of betaine in the diet (P>0.05). Compared with the control group, the addition of 2.5 g/kg betaine to the diet showed a tendency to increase egg mass (P>0.05) the betaine content in the yolk (P<0.05). Feeding betaine significantly increased the height of jejunal villi and egg yolk total cholesterol content in female geese (P<0.05).4. In conclusion, adding betaine to the goose diet was effective in its ability to improve intestinal structures and increase egg production. Adding 2.5 g/kg betaine to feed significantly increased the content of TCHOL and betaine in goose eggs.

Pronounced increases in nitrogen emissions and deposition due to the historic 2020 wildfires in the western U.S

Wildfire outbreaks can lead to extreme biomass burning (BB) emissions of both oxidized (e.g., nitrogen oxides; NO_x = NO+NO₂) and reduced form (e.g., ammonia; NH₃) nitrogen (N) compounds. High N emissions are major concerns for air quality, atmospheric deposition, and consequential human and ecosystem health impacts. In this study, we use both satellite-based observations and modeling results to quantify the contribution of BB to the total emissions, and approximate the impact on total N deposition in the western U.S. Our results show that during the 2020 wildfire season of August-October, BB contributes significantly to the total emissions, with a satellite-derived fraction of NH₃ to the total reactive N emissions (median ~ 40%) in the range of aircraft observations. During the peak of the western August Complex Fires in September, BB contributed to ~55% (for the contiguous U.S.) and ~ 83% (for the western U.S.) of the monthly total NO_x and NH₃ emissions. Overall, there is good model performance of the George Mason University-Wildfire Forecasting System (GMU-WFS) used in this work. The extreme BB emissions lead to significant contributions to the total N deposition for different ecosystems in California, with an average August - October 2020 relative increase of ~78% (from 7.1 to 12.6 kg ha^-1 year^-1) in deposition rate to major vegetation types (mixed forests + grasslands/shrublands/savanna) compared to the GMU-WFS simulations without BB emissions. For mixed forest types only, the average N deposition rate increases (from 6.2 to 16.9 kg ha^-1 year^-1) are even larger at ~173%. Such large N deposition due to extreme BB emissions are much (~6-12 times) larger than low-end critical load thresholds for major vegetation types (e.g., forests at 1.5-3 kg ha^-1 year^-1), and thus may result in adverse N deposition effects across larger areas of lichen communities found in California's mixed conifer forests.

Ubiquitin ligase OsRINGzf1 regulates drought resistance by controlling the turnover of OsPIP2;1

Water is crucial for plant growth and survival. The transcellular water movement is facilitated by aquaporins (AQPs) that rapidly and reversibly modify water permeability. The abundance of AQPs is regulated by its synthesis, redistribution and degradation. However, the molecular mechanism of proteasomal degradation of AQPs remains unclear. Here, we demonstrate that a novel E3 ligase, OsRINGzf1, mediated the degradation of AQPs in rice. OsRINGzf1 is the candidate gene from a drought-related quantitative trait locus (QTL) on the long arm of chromosome 4 in rice (Oryza sativa) and encodes a Really Interesting New Gene (RING) zinc finger protein 1. OsRINGzf1 possesses the E3 ligase activity, ubiquitinates and mediates OsPIP2;1 degradation, thus reducing its protein abundance. The content of OsPIP2;1 protein was decreased in OsRINGzf1 overexpression (OE) plants. The degradation of OsPIP2;1 was inhibited by MG132. The OsRINGzf1 OE plants, with higher leaf-related water content (LRWC) and lower leaf water loss rate (LWLR), exhibited enhanced drought resistance, whereas the RNAi and knockout plants of OsRINGzf1 were more sensitive to drought. Together, our data demonstrate that OsRINGzf1 positively regulates drought resistance through promoting the degradation of OsPIP2;1 to enhance water retention capacity in rice.

Enhancing adoptive T cell therapy for solid tumor with cell-surface anchored immune checkpoint inhibitor nanogels

The efficacy of Adoptive Cell Therapy (ACT) for solid tumor is still mediocre. This is mainly because tumor cells can hijack ACT T cells' immune checkpoint pathways to exert immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment. Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors such as anti-PD-1 (aPD1) can counter the immunosuppression, but the synergizing effects of aPD1 to ACT was still not satisfactory. Here we demonstrate an approach to safely anchor aPD1-formed nanogels onto T cell surface via bio-orthogonal click chemistry before adoptive transfer. The spatial-temporal co-existence of aPD1 with ACT T cells and the responsive drug release significantly improved the treatment outcome of ACT in murine solid tumor model. The average tumor weight of the group treated by cell-surface anchored aPD1 was only 18 % of the group treated by equivalent dose of free aPD1 and T cells. The technology can be broadly applicable in ACTs employing natural or Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T cells.

Pulmonary delivery of size-transformable nanoparticles improves tumor accumulation and penetration for chemo-sonodynamic combination therapy

Very little is currently known about how inhaled nanomedicine for lung cancer treatment overcomes biological barriers hampering the tumor availability of drug and nanoparticles. Here, we developed a size-transformable nanocarrier (~ 119 nm) in which small-size nanoparticles (~ 28 nm) were loaded in the large nanocarrier after the addition of modified hyaluronan and could be released upon size-transformation at tumor tissue. Subsequently, the pulmonary and tumor pharmacokinetics of the two nanocarriers containing 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN38) and a covalently linked fluorescent sonosensitizer were comparatively investigated after intratracheal instillation to mice bearing orthotopic Lewis lung carcinoma tumors. The results showed that both instilled nanoparticles seemed to transport drug to tumor by direct access and transcytosis of nanoparticles, and diffusion of the released drug with the latter accounting for a great proportion of the drug tumor bioavailability. Relative to the small-size nanocarrier, the size-transformable counterpart appeared to restrict the mucociliary and absorption clearances from the lung and the clearance from the tumor interstitium to circulation, leading to increases in lung and tumor bioavailability of SN38 by 58.5% and 199%, respectively. In addition, the size-transformable nanoformulation conferred deep tumor penetration and sustained levels of both sonosensitizer and SN38 within tumors and simultaneously exerted sonodynamic- and chemo-therapies. Overall, the pulmonary delivery of size-transformable nanocarrier could co-deliver sonosensitizer and drug to deep tumor sites with enhanced tumor accumulation to realize combination therapy in lung cancer.

Effects of dietary supplementation of gestating sows with adenosine 5 '-monophosphate or adenosine on placental angiogenesis and vitality of their offspring

Our previous study found that dietary nucleotide supplementation, including adenosine 5 '-monophosphate (AMP), could increase AMP content in sow milk and promote piglet growth, but its effects on placental efficiency and piglet vitality remains unknown. This experiment aimed to investigate the effects of dietary AMP or its metabolite adenosine (ADO) supplementation on sow reproductive performance and placental angiogenesis. A total of 135 sows with a similar farrowing time were blocked by backfat and body weight (BW) at day 65 of gestation, and assigned to 1 of 3 dietary treatment groups (n = 45 per treatment): basal diet, basal diet supplemented with 0.1% AMP, or 0.1% ADO, respectively. Placental analysis and the characteristics of sows and piglets unveiled that compared with control (CON) group, AMP or ADO supplementation could improve sow placental efficiency (P<0.05) and newborn piglet vitality (P<0.05), increase piglet birth weight (P<0.05), and reduce stillbirth rate (P<0.05). More importantly, AMP or ADO supplementation could increase the contents of AMP, ADO, and their metabolites in placentae (P<0.05). Meanwhile, AMP or ADO supplementation could also increase placental vascular density (P<0.05) and the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor A (P<0.05), as well as promote the migration and tube formation of porcine iliac artery endothelial cells (P<0.05). Overall, maternal dietary AMP or ADO supplementation could increase their contents in the placenta, thereby improving placental angiogenesis and neonatal piglet vitality.

[Comparison of criteria for metabolically healthy overweight/obesity in Shanghai Changfeng study]

Objective: To establish a more suitable and practicable criterion of metabolically healthy overweight/obesity (MHO/O) in Chinese, a comparison study on different criteria of MHO/O was conducted in subjects aged over 45-year-old in Shanghai Changfeng Community. Method: A total of 3 301 overweight/obese subjects over 45 years old (men 1 521, women 1 789) in Shanghai Changfeng Community was included in the study. According to the inclusion or exclusion of waist circumference (WC), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) ≥2.5, and numbers of abnormal metabolic components, the MHO/O criteria were divided into 7 types: Adult Treatment Panel Ⅲ (ATP-Ⅲ) (with WC)<1 component, ATP-Ⅲ (with WC)<2 components, ATP-Ⅲ (with WC)<3 components, ATP-Ⅲ (without WC)<1 component, ATP-Ⅲ (without WC)<2 components, adjusted metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) criteria<1 component, and adjusted MAFLD criteria<2 components. The prevalence of MHO/O and its relationship with the changes of body mass index (BMI), and the differences of the characteristics of MHO/O among the 7 types of metabolic health standards were compared. Result: The prevalence of MHO/O according to the ATP-Ⅲ (with WC)<1, ATP-Ⅲ (with WC)<2, ATP-Ⅲ (with WC)<3, ATP-Ⅲ (without WC)<1, ATP-Ⅲ (without WC)<2, adjusted MAFLD criteria<1, and adjusted MAFLD criteria<2 was 2.85%, 15.48%, 39.87%, 8.00%, 33.66%, 2.33%, 12.24%, respectively. The prevalence of MHO/O decreased as BMI increased. When BMI ≥ 28 kg/m², the prevalence of MHO/O by ATP-Ⅲ (with WC)<1 and adjusted MAFLD criteria<1 dropped to 0. Conclusion: The adjusted MAFLD criterion without abnormal metabolic components is the most practicable definition of MHO/O.

The association between preoperative Mini-Cog© score and postoperative delirium (POD): a retrospective cohort study

Background

The onset of delirium after major surgery is associated with worse in-hospital outcomes for major surgical patients. Best practice recommends assessing surgical patients for delirium risk factors and this includes screening for cognitive impairment. The Mini-Cog© is a short instrument which has been shown to predict postoperative delirium (POD) and other complications in elderly patients undergoing major elective surgery. The primary aim of this study was to ascertain whether a positive preoperative Mini-Cog© is associated with postoperative delirium in elective colorectal surgery patients at high-risk of mortality due to age or comorbidity. Secondary outcomes were 90-day mortality and length of stay.

Methods

This is a retrospective analysis of data gathered prospectively between October 2015 and December 2017. Baseline data were collected at a preoperative screening clinic, and postoperative data during daily ward rounds by the Perioperative Medicine team at The York Hospital.

Results

Three hundred nineteen patients were included in the final analysis, of which 52 (16%) were found to be cognitively impaired on the Mini-Cog©. Older patients (median difference 10 years, p < 0.001) and patients with cognitive impairment (OR 3.04, 95%CI 1.15 to 8.03, p = 0.019) were more likely to develop postoperative delirium in univariate analysis; however, cognitive impairment (OR 0.492, 95%CI 0.177 to 1.368, p = 0.174) loses its significance when controlled for by confounding factors in a logistic regression model. Cognitive impairment (OR 4.65, 95%CI 1.36 to 15.9, p = 0.02), frailty (OR 7.28, 95%CI 1.92 to 27.58, p = 0.009), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade (OR 5.95, 95%CI 1.54 to 22.94, p = 0.006) and age (median difference 10 years, p = 0.002) were significantly associated with 90-day mortality in univariate analysis. Sex was the only factor significantly associated with length of stay in the multiple regression model, with males having a 3-day longer average length of stay than females (OR = 2.94, 95%CI 0.10–5.78).

Conclusions

Mini-Cog© is not independently associated with post-operative delirium in high-risk elective colorectal surgery patients in this cohort. Mini-Cog© shows promise as a possible predictor of 90-day mortality. Larger studies exploring preoperative cognitive status and postoperative confusion and mortality could improve risk-stratification for surgery and allocation of resources to those patients at higher risk.

Hydrogen Abstraction by Alkoxyl Radicals: Computational Studies of Thermodynamic and Polarity Effects on Reactivities and Selectivities

Density functional theory calculations (ωB97X-D) are reported for the reactions of methoxy, tert-butoxy, trichloroethoxy, and trifluoroethoxy radicals with a series of 26 C-H bonds in different environments characteristic of a variety of hydrocarbons and substituted derivatives. The variations in activation barriers are analyzed with modified Evans-Polanyi treatments to account for polarity and unsaturation effects. The treatments by Roberts and Steel and by Mayer have inspired the development of a simple treatment involving the thermodynamics of reactions, the difference between the reactant radical and product radical electronegativities, and the absence or presence of α-unsaturation. The three-parameter equation (ΔH^⧧ = 0.52ΔH_rxn(1 - d) - 0.35Δχ_AB² + 10.0, where d = 0.44 when there is α-unsaturation to the reacting C-H bond), correlates well with quantum mechanically computed barriers and shows the quantitative importance of the thermodynamics of reactions (dictated by the reactant and the product bond dissociation energies) and polar effects.

Unusual Properties of Hydrogen-Bonded Ferroelectrics: The Case of Cobalt Formate

Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites is a class of materials with diverse chemically tunable properties and outstanding potential for multifunctionality. We use first-principles simulations to predict room temperature ferroelectricity in a representative of the formate family, [NH_{2}NH_{3}][Co(HCOO)_{3}]. The ferroelectricity arises as a "by-product" of structural transition driven by the stabilization of the hydrogen bond. As a consequence the coupling with the electric field is relatively weak giving origin to large intrinsic coercive fields and making material immune to the depolarizing fields known for its detrimental role in nanoscale ferroelectrics. Insensitivity to the electric field and the intrinsic dynamics of the order-disorder transition in such material leads to the supercoercivity defined as significant increase in the coercive field with frequency. Room temperature polarization measurements provide further support for the predictions.