The multiple roles of viral 3Dpol protein in picornavirus infections

The Picornaviridae are a large group of positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses, and most research has focused on the Enterovirus genus, given they present a severe health risk to humans. Other picornaviruses, such as foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) and senecavirus A (SVA), affect agricultural production with high animal mortality to cause huge economic losses. The 3Dpol protein of picornaviruses is widely known to be used for genome replication; however, a growing number of studies have demonstrated its non-polymerase roles, including modulation of host cell biological processes, viral replication complex assembly and localization, autophagy, and innate immune responses. Currently, there is no effective vaccine to control picornavirus diseases widely, and clinical therapeutic strategies have limited efficiency in combating infections. Many efforts have been made to develop different types of drugs to prohibit virus survival; the most important target for drug development is the virus polymerase, a necessary element for virus replication. For picornaviruses, there are also active efforts in targeted 3Dpol drug development. This paper reviews the interaction of 3Dpol proteins with the host and the progress of drug development targeting 3Dpol.

Metal-Drug Coordination Nanoparticles and Hydrogels for Enhanced Delivery

Drug delivery is a key component of nanomedicine, and conventional delivery relies on the adsorption or encapsulation of drug molecules to a nanomaterial. Many delivery vehicles contain metal ions, such as metal-organic frameworks, metal oxides, transition metal dichalcogenides, MXene, and noble metal nanoparticles. These materials have a high metal content and pose potential long-term toxicity concerns leading to difficulties for clinical approval. In this review, recent developments are summarized in the use of drug molecules as ligands for metal coordination forming various nanomaterials and soft materials. In these cases, the drug-to-metal ratio is much higher than conventional adsorption-based strategies. The drug molecules are divided into small-molecule drugs, nucleic acids, and proteins. The formed hybrid materials mainly include nanoparticles and hydrogels, upon which targeting ligands can be grafted to improve efficacy and further decrease toxicity. The application of these materials for addressing cancer, viral infection, bacterial infection inflammatory bowel disease, and bone diseases is reviewed. In the end, some future directions are discussed from fundamental research, materials science, and medicine.

EPHB2 as a key mediator of glioma progression: Insights from microenvironmental receptor ligand-related prognostic gene signature

Malignant gliomas, characterized by pronounced heterogeneity, a complex microenvironment, and a propensity for relapse and drug resistaniguree, pose significant challenges in oncology. This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of Ligand and Receptor related genes (LRRGs) within the glioma microenvironment. An intersection of 71 ligand-related genes (LRGs) and 2628 receptor-related genes (RRGs) yielded a total of 69 LRRGs. Utilizing the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis, a prognostic RiskScore model comprising 28 LRRGs was constructed. The model demonstrated robust prognostic value, further validated in the TCGA-GBMLGG dataset. Subsequent analyses included differential gene expression, Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), gene set enrichment (GSEA), and gene set variation (GSVA) within RiskScore groups. Additionally, evaluations of PPI, mRNA-RBP, mRNA-TF, and mRNA-drug interaction networks were conducted. Four hub genes were identified through differential expression analysis of the 28 LRRGs across various GSE datasets. A multivariate Cox prognostic model was constructed for nomogram analysis, gene mutation analysis, and related expression distribution. This study underscores the role of LRRGs in intercellular communication within the glioma microenvironment and identifies four hub genes crucial for prognostic assessment in clinical glioma patients. These findings offer a potential evaluation framework for glioma patients, enhancing our understanding of the disease and informing future therapeutic strategies.

The Chinese Hamster Ovary Cell-Based H9 HA Subunit Avian Influenza Vaccine Provides Complete Protection against the H9N2 Virus Challenge in Chickens

(1) Background: Avian influenza has attracted widespread attention because of its severe effect on the poultry industry and potential threat to human health. The H9N2 subtype of avian influenza viruses was the most prevalent in chickens, and there are several commercial vaccines available for the prevention of the H9N2 subtype of avian influenza viruses. However, due to the prompt antigenic drift and antigenic shift of influenza viruses, outbreaks of H9N2 viruses still continuously occur, so surveillance and vaccine updates for H9N2 subtype avian influenza viruses are particularly important. (2) Methods: In this study, we constructed a stable Chinese hamster ovary cell line (CHO) to express the H9 hemagglutinin (HA) protein of the major prevalent H9N2 strain A/chicken/Daye/DY0602/2017 with genetic engineering technology, and then a subunit H9 avian influenza vaccine was prepared using the purified HA protein with a water-in-oil adjuvant. (3) Results: The results showed that the HI antibodies significantly increased after vaccination with the H9 subunit vaccine in specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chickens with a dose-dependent potency of the immunized HA protein, and the 50 μg or more per dose HA protein could provide complete protection against the H9N2 virus challenge. (4) Conclusions: These results indicate that the CHO expression system could be a platform used to develop the subunit vaccine against H9 influenza viruses in chickens.

Following the Nonthermal Phase Transition in Niobium Dioxide by Time-Resolved Harmonic Spectroscopy

Photoinduced phase transitions in correlated materials promise diverse applications from ultrafast switches to optoelectronics. Resolving those transitions and possible metastable phases temporally are key enablers for these applications, but challenge existing experimental approaches. Extreme nonlinear optics can help probe phase changes, as higher-order nonlinearities have higher sensitivity and temporal resolution to band structure and lattice deformations. Here the ultrafast transition from the semiconducting to the metallic phases in polycrystalline thin-film NbO_{2} is investigated by time-resolved harmonic spectroscopy. The emission strength of all harmonic orders shows a steplike suppression when the excitation fluence exceeds a threshold (∼11-12  mJ/cm^{2}), below the fluence required for the thermal transition-a signature of the nonthermal emergence of a metallic phase within 100±20  fs. This observation is backed by full ab initio simulations as well as a 1D chain model of high-harmonic generation from both phases. Our results demonstrate femtosecond harmonic probing of phase transitions and nonthermal dynamics in solids.

Duality of the SVIL expression in bladder cancer and its correlation with immune infiltration

SVIL is a member of the villin/gelsolin superfamily and is responsible for encoding supervillin. It has been reported to be closely related to the occurrence and development of various tumors. However, the mechanism of SVIL in bladder cancer has not been reported yet. In this research, we evaluated the relationship between SVIL expression and bladder cancer in public dataset and examined the expression of SVIL in bladder cancer cell lines, tissue microarrays and patients in our cohort. Our work determined that the expression of SVIL in bladder cancer tissue was significantly lower than that in normal tissue. However, in bladder cancer tissues, the high expression of SVIL is significantly associated with poor prognosis. This kind of duality is very novel and has great research value. The expression level of SVIL can well predict the survival time of bladder cancer patients, and is an independent risk factor of bladder cancer patients. The expression of SVIL is also closely related to the immune tumor microenvironment of bladder cancer. Our research provides a basis for personalized therapeutic targets for bladder cancer.

Peritonitis-associated with peritoneal dialysis following Ureaplasma parvum infection: A case report and literature review

We report a patient diagnosed with peritonitis due to a rare infection of Ureaplasma parvum after receiving peritoneal dialysis for two years. This microorganism rarely causes peritoneal dialysis-associated peritonitis (PDAP). This is the first case of PDAP caused by Ureaplasma parvum. In the present case, the pathogen was identified through next-generation sequencing of PD fluid samples. The patient was treated with intraperitoneal (IP) levofloxacin combined with vancomycin and oral clarithromycin which effectively improved her symptoms. This case creates awareness that Ureaplasma parvum can cause PDAP and can be diagnosed using next-generation sequencing(NGS).

Machine learning-based on cytotoxic T lymphocyte evasion gene develops a novel signature to predict prognosis and immunotherapy responses for kidney renal clear cell carcinoma patients

Background

Immunotherapy resistance has become a difficult point in treating kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) patients, mainly because of immune evasion. Currently, there is no effective signature to predict immunotherapy. Therefore, we use machine learning algorithms to construct a signature based on cytotoxic T lymphocyte evasion genes (CTLEGs) to predict the immunotherapy responses of patients, so as to screen patients effective for immunotherapy.

Methods

In public data sets and our in-house cohort, we used 10 machine learning algorithms to screen the optimal model with 89 combinations under the cross-validation framework, and 101 published signatures were collected. The relationship between the CTLEG signature (CTLEGS) and clinical variables was analyzed. We analyzed the role of CTLES in other types of cancer by pan-cancer analysis. The immune cell infiltration and biological characteristics were evaluated. Moreover, the response to immunotherapy and drug sensitivity of different risk groups were investigated. The key gene closely related to the signature was identified by WGCNA. We also conducted cell functional experiments and clinical tissue validation of key gene.

Results

In public data sets and our in-house cohort, the CTLEGS shows good prediction performance. The CTLEGS can be regard as an independent risk factor for KIRC. Compared with 101 published models, our signature shows considerable superiority. The high-risk group has abundant infiltration of immunosuppressive cells and high expression of T cell depletion markers, which are characterized by immunosuppressive phenotype, minimal benefit from immunotherapy, and resistance to sunitinib and sorafenib. The CTLEGS was also strongly correlated with immunity in pan-cancer. Immunohistochemistry verified that T cell depletion marker LAG3 is highly expressed in high-risk groups in the clinical in-house cohort. The key CTLEG STAT2 can promote the proliferation, migration and invasion of KIRC cell.

Conclusions

CTLEGS can accurately predict the prognosis of patients and their response to immunotherapy. It can provide guidance for the precise treatment of KIRC and help clinicians identify patients who may benefit from immunotherapy.

[Anatomical relationship between the brachiocephalic trunk and the trachea and the clinical implications]

OBJECTIVE

To observe the anatomical features and relative position of the brachiocephalic trunk and the trachea to provide an anatomical basis for diagnosis and treatment of mechanical airway obstruction and for facilitating the performance of tracheotomy.

METHODS

A total of 91 formalin- fixed adult cadavers (70 male and 21 female) were used in this study. The whole length of the larynx and the trachea were separated and exposed from the neck to the chest, followed by separation of the aortic arch and its 3 branches to observe the anatomical position of the brachiocephalic trunk and the trachea.

RESULTS

The brachiocephalic trunk and the trachea did not intersect in 3.30%, partially intersected in 71.43%, and completely intersected in 25.27% of the 91 cadaveric specimens. The male specimens all showed greater outer diameter of the aortic arch, the brachiocephalic trunk and the trachea with a greater length of the trachea than the female specimens (P < 0.05), while the distances from the aortic arch to the brachiocephalic trunk or the cricoid cartilage did not differ significantly between them (P > 0.05). The number of the tracheal cartilage rings above the brachiocephalic trunk ranged from 3 to 10, and the mean number did not differ significantly between the male and female specimens (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The brachiocephalic trunk has complex anatomical relationship with the trachea, and caution should be taken to avoid injuries of the brachiocephalic trunk and the aortic arch in the diagnosis and treatment of mechanical respiratory obstruction and during tracheotomy.

Genome-Wide Screening Identifies Gene AKR1C1 Critical for Resistance to Pirarubicin in Bladder Cancer

Non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) is a common tumor of the urinary system. Given its high rates of recurrence, progression, and drug resistance, NMIBC seriously affects the quality of life and limits the survival time of patients. Pirarubicin (THP) is a bladder infusion chemotherapy drug recommended by the guidelines for NMIBC. Although the widespread use of THP reduces the recurrence rate of NMIBC, 10-50% of patients still suffer from tumor recurrence, which is closely related to tumor resistance to chemotherapy drugs. This study was performed to screen the critical genes causing THP resistance in bladder cancer cell lines by using the CRISPR/dCas9-SAM system. Thus, AKR1C1 was screened. Results showed that the high expression of AKR1C1 could enhance the drug resistance of bladder cancer to THP both in vivo and in vitro. This gene could reduce the levels of 4-hydroxynonenal and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and resist THP-induced apoptosis. However, AKR1C1 did not affect the proliferation, invasion, or migration of the bladder cancer cells. Aspirin, which is an AKR1C1 inhibitor, could help reduce the drug resistance caused by AKR1C1. After receiving THP treatment, the bladder cancer cell lines could upregulate the expression of the AKR1C1 gene through the ROS/KEAP1/NRF2 pathway, leading to resistance to THP treatment. Using tempol, which is an inhibitor of ROS, could prevent the upregulation of AKR1C1 expression.

RNA-Binding Proteins in Bladder Cancer

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are key regulators of transcription and translation, with highly dynamic spatio-temporal regulation. They are usually involved in the regulation of RNA splicing, polyadenylation, and mRNA stability and mediate processes such as mRNA localization and translation, thereby affecting the RNA life cycle and causing the production of abnormal protein phenotypes that lead to tumorigenesis and development. Accumulating evidence supports that RBPs play critical roles in vital life processes, such as bladder cancer initiation, progression, metastasis, and drug resistance. Uncovering the regulatory mechanisms of RBPs in bladder cancer is aimed at addressing the occurrence and progression of bladder cancer and finding new therapies for cancer treatment. This article reviews the effects and mechanisms of several RBPs on bladder cancer and summarizes the different types of RBPs involved in the progression of bladder cancer and the potential molecular mechanisms by which they are regulated, with a view to providing information for basic and clinical researchers.

Progress on innate immune evasion and live attenuated vaccine of pseudorabies virus

Pseudorabies virus (PRV) is a highly infectious disease that can infect most mammals, with pigs as the only natural host, has caused considerable economic losses to the pig husbandry of the world. Innate immunity is the first defense line of the host against the attack of pathogens and is essential for the proper establishment of adaptive immunity. The host uses the innate immune response to against the invasion of PRV; however PRV makes use of various strategies to inhibit the innate immunity to promote the virus replication. Currently, live attenuated vaccine is used to prevent pig from infection with the PRV worldwide, such as Bartha K61. However, a growing number of data indicates that these vaccines do not provide complete protection against new PRV variants that have emerged since late 2011. Here we summarized the interactions between PRV and host innate immunity and the current status of live attenuated PRV vaccines to promote the development of novel and more effective PRV vaccines.

Development of a polyamine gene expression score for predicting prognosis and treatment response in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Backgrounds

Polyamine metabolism (PM) is closely related to the tumor microenvironment (TME) and is involved in antitumor immunity. Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) not only has high immunogenicity but also has significant metabolic changes. However, the role of PM in the immune microenvironment of ccRCC remains unclear. This study aimed to reveal the prognostic value of PM-related genes (PMRGs) expression in ccRCC and their correlation with the TME.

Methods

The expression levels PMRGs in different cells were characterized with single-cell sequencing analysis. The PMRG expression pattern of 777 ccRCC patients was evaluated based on PMRGs. Unsupervised clustering analysis was used in identifying PMRG expression subtypes, and Lasso regression analysis was used in developing polyamine gene expression score (PGES), which was validated in external and internal data sets. The predictive value of PGES for immunotherapy was validated in the IMvigor210 cohort. Multiple algorithms were used in analyzing the correlation between PGES and immune cells. The sensitivity of PGES to chemotherapeutic drugs was analyzed with the "pRRophetic" package. We validated the genes that develop PGES in tissue samples. Finally, weighted gene co-expression network analysis was used in identifying the key PMRGs closely related to ccRCC, and cell function experiments were carried out.

Results

PMRGs were abundantly expressed on tumor cells, and PMRG expression was active in CD8⁺ T cells and fibroblasts. We identified three PMRG expression subtypes. Cancer and immune related pathways were active in PMRG expression cluster A, which had better prognosis. PGES exhibited excellent predictive value. The high-PGES group was characterized by high immune cell infiltration, high expression of T cell depletion markers, high tumor mutation burden and tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion, was insensitive to immunotherapy but sensitive to sunitinib, temsirolimus, and rapamycin, and had poor prognosis. Spermidine synthetase (SRM) has been identified as a key gene and is highly expressed in ccRCC at RNA and protein levels. SRM knockdown can inhibit ccRCC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion.

Conclusions

We revealed the biological characteristics of PMRG expression subtypes and developed PGES to accurately predict the prognosis of patients and response to immunotherapy.

The role of regulatory necrosis in traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability in the population worldwide, of which key injury mechanism involving the death of nerve cells. Many recent studies have shown that regulatory necrosis is involved in the pathological process of TBI which includes necroptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, parthanatos, and Cyclophilin D (CypD) mediated necrosis. Therefore, targeting the signaling pathways involved in regulatory necrosis may be an effective strategy to reduce the secondary injury after TBI. Meanwhile, drugs or genes are used as interference factors in various types of regulatory necrosis, so as to explore the potential treatment methods for the secondary injury after TBI. This review summarizes the current progress on regulatory necrosis in TBI.

m7G regulator-mediated molecular subtypes and tumor microenvironment in kidney renal clear cell carcinoma

Background: RNA methylation modification plays an important role in immune regulation. m7G RNA methylation is an emerging research hotspot in the RNA methylation field. However, its role in the tumor immune microenvironment of kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) is still unclear.

Methods: We analyzed the expression profiles of 29 m7G regulators in KIRC, integrated multiple datasets to identify a novel m7G regulator-mediated molecular subtype, and developed the m7G score. We evaluated the immune tumor microenvironments in m7G clusters and analyzed the correlation of the m7G score with immune cells and drug sensitivity. We tested the predictive power of the m7G score for prognosis of patients with KIRC and verified the predictive accuracy of the m7G score by using the GSE40912 and E-MTAB-1980 datasets. The genes used to develop the m7G score were verified by qRT-PCR. Finally, we experimentally analyzed the effects of WDR4 knockdown on KIRC proliferation, migration, invasion, and drug sensitivity.

Results: We identified three m7G clusters. The expression of m7G regulators was higher in cluster C than in other clusters. m7G cluster C was related to immune activation, low tumor purity, good prognosis, and low m7G score. Cluster B was related to drug metabolism, high tumor purity, poor survival, and high m7G score. Cluster A was related to purine metabolism. The m7G score can well-predict the prognosis of patients with KIRC, and its prediction accuracy based on the m7G score nomogram was very high. Patients with high m7G scores were more sensitive to rapamycin, gefitinib, sunitinib, and vinblastine than other patients. Knocking down WDR4 can inhibit the proliferation, migration, and invasion of 786-0 and Caki-1 cells and increase sensitivity to sorafenib and sunitinib.

Conclusion: We proposed a novel molecular subtype related to m7G modification and revealed the immune cell infiltration characteristics of different subtypes. The developed m7G score can well-predict the prognosis of patients with KIRC, and our research provides a basis for personalized treatment of patients with KIRC.

A Glycolipid α-GalCer Derivative, 7DW8-5 as a Novel Mucosal Adjuvant for the Split Inactivated Influenza Vaccine

Influenza virus infects the host and transmits through the respiratory tract (i.e., the mouth and nose); therefore, the development of intranasal influenza vaccines that mimic the natural infection, coupled with an efficient mucosal adjuvant, is an attractive alternative to current parenteral vaccines. However, with the withdrawal of cholera toxin and Escherichia coli heat-labile endotoxin from clinical use due to side effects, there are no approved adjuvants for intranasal vaccines. Therefore, safe and effective mucosal adjuvants are urgently needed. Previously, we reported that one derivative of α-Galactosylceramide (α-GalCer), 7DW8-5, could enhance the protective efficacy of split influenza vaccine by injection administration. However, the mucosal adjuvanticity of 7DW8-5 is still unclear. In this study, we found that 7DW8-5 promotes the production of secret IgA antibodies and IgG antibodies and enhances the protective efficacy of the split influenza vaccine by intranasal administration. Furthermore, co-administration of 7DW8-5 with the split influenza vaccine significantly reduces the virus shedding in the upper and lower respiratory tract after lethal challenge. Our results demonstrate that 7DW8-5 is a novel mucosal adjuvant for the split influenza vaccine.

Ferroptosis and Tumor Drug Resistance: Current Status and Major Challenges

Ferroptosis is a novel type of regulated cell death, whose unique metabolic characteristics are commonly used to evaluate the conditions of various diseases especially in tumors. Accumulating evidence supports that ferroptosis can regulate tumor development, metastasis, and therapeutic responses. Considering to the important role of chemotherapy in tumor treatment, drug resistance has become the most serious challenge. Revealing the molecular mechanism of ferroptosis is expected to solve tumor drug resistance and find new therapies to treat cancers. In this review, we discuss the relationship between ferroptosis and tumor drug resistance, summarize the abnormal ferroptosis in tissues of different cancer types and current research progress and challenges in overcoming treatment resistance, and explore the concept of targeting ferroptosis to improve tumor treatment outcomes.

KAP1 Positively Modulates Influenza A Virus Replication by Interacting with PB2 and NS1 Proteins in Human Lung Epithelial Cells

Influenza virus only encodes a dozen of viral proteins, which need to use host machinery to complete the viral life cycle. Previously, KAP1 was identified as one host protein that potentially interacts with influenza viral proteins in HEK 293 cells. However, the role of KAP1 in influenza virus replication in human lung alveolar epithelial cells and the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we first generated KAP1 KO A549 cells by CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing. KAP1 deletion had no significant effect on the cell viability and lack of KAP1 expression significantly reduced the influenza A virus replication. Moreover, we demonstrated that KAP1 is involved in the influenza virus entry, transcription/replication of viral genome, and viral protein synthesis in human lung epithelial cells and confirmed that KAP1 interacted with PB2 and NS1 viral proteins during the virus infection. Further study showed that KAP1 inhibited the production of type I IFN and overexpression of KAP1 significantly reduced the IFN-β production. In addition, influenza virus infection induces the deSUMOylation and enhanced phosphorylation of KAP1. Our results suggested that KAP1 is required for the replication of influenza A virus and mediates the replication of influenza A virus by facilitating viral infectivity and synthesis of viral proteins, enhancing viral polymerase activity, and inhibiting the type I IFN production.

Silymarin protects the rats against paraquat-induced acute kidney injury via Nrf2

BACKGROUND

Paraquat (PQ) poisoning induces severe acute kidney injury and causes extremely high rate of death. In this study, we aimed to investigate the protective effects of silymarin on PQ-induced acute kidney injury and explore the underlying mechanisms.

METHODS

A rat model was established through intraperitoneal injection of PQ. Rats were administrated with saline or silymarin for 3 days. Then, survival rate, physiological parameters, and renal injury score were evaluated. The apoptosis and oxidative stress in kidney tissues were determined through hematoxylin and eosin staining, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays.

RESULTS

Silymarin administration could significantly increase the survival rate of PQ-poisoned rats. It was found that silymarin treatment improved renal function, decreased injury score in kidney tissues, and inhibited the apoptosis and oxidative stress in PQ-induced acute kidney injury through the activating the signaling pathway of Nrf2 and promoting its nuclear translocation.

CONCLUSION

Silymarin exhibited a protective effect against PQ-induced kidney injury, suggesting that treatment with this flavonoid could be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of acute kidney injury.

Regulated Cell Death in Urinary Malignancies

Urinary malignancies refer to a series of malignant tumors that occur in the urinary system and mainly include kidney, bladder, and prostate cancers. Although local or systemic radiotherapy and chemotherapy, immunotherapy, castration therapy and other methods have been applied to treat these diseases, their high recurrence and metastasis rate remain problems for patients. With in-depth research on the pathogenesis of urinary malignant tumors, this work suggests that regulatory cell death (RCD) plays an important role in their occurrence and development. These RCD pathways are stimulated by various internal and external environmental factors and can induce cell death or permit cell survival under the control of various signal molecules, thereby affecting tumor progression or therapeutic efficacy. Among the previously reported RCD methods, necroptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) have attracted research attention. These modes transmit death signals through signal molecules, such as cysteine-aspartic proteases (caspase) family and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) that have a wide and profound influence on tumor proliferation or death and even change the sensitivity of tumor cells to therapy. This review discussed the effects of necroptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and NETs on kidney, bladder and prostate cancer and summarized the latest research and achievements in these fields. Future directions and possibility of improving the denouement of urinary system tumors treatment by targeting RCD therapy were also explored.

A New Ferroptosis-Related lncRNA Signature Predicts the Prognosis of Bladder Cancer Patients

Background: Ferroptosis is closely related to the occurrence and development of cancer. An increasing number of studies have induced ferroptosis as a treatment strategy for cancer. However, the predictive value of ferroptosis-related lncRNAs in bladder cancer (BC) still need to be further elucidated. The purpose of this study was to construct a predictive signature based on ferroptosis-related long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) to predict the prognosis of BC patients.

Methods: We downloaded RNA-seq data and the corresponding clinical and prognostic data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database and performed univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses to obtain ferroptosis-related lncRNAs to construct a predictive signature. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the overall survival (OS) rate of the high-risk and low-risk groups. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to explore the functional differences between the high- and low-risk groups. Single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) was used to explore the relationship between the predictive signature and immune status. Finally, the correlation between the predictive signature and the treatment response of BC patients was analyzed.

Results: We constructed a signature composed of nine ferroptosis-related lncRNAs (AL031775.1, AL162586.1, AC034236.2, LINC01004, OCIAD1-AS1, AL136084.3, AP003352.1, Z84484.1, AC022150.2). Compared with the low-risk group, the high-risk group had a worse prognosis. The ferroptosis-related lncRNA signature could independently predict the prognosis of patients with BC. Compared with clinicopathological variables, the ferroptosis-related lncRNA signature has a higher diagnostic efficiency, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.707. When patients were stratified according to different clinicopathological variables, the OS of patients in the high-risk group was shorter than that of those in the low-risk group. GSEA showed that tumor- and immune-related pathways were mainly enriched in the high-risk group. ssGSEA showed that the predictive signature was significantly related to the immune status of BC patients. High-risk patients were more sensitive to anti-PD-1/L1 immunotherapy and the conventional chemotherapy drugs sunitinib, paclitaxel, cisplatin, and docetaxel.

Conclusion: The predictive signature can independently predict the prognosis of BC patients, provides a basis for the mechanism of ferroptosis-related lncRNAs in BC and provides clinical treatment guidance for patients with BC.

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Tumor Microenvironment in Bladder Cancer: The Missing Link

Bladder cancer is a common malignant tumor of the urinary system. Despite recent advances in treatments such as local or systemic immunotherapy, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, the high metastasis and recurrence rates, especially in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), have led to the evaluation of more targeted and personalized approaches. A fundamental understanding of the tumorigenesis of bladder cancer along with the development of therapeutics to target processes and pathways implicated in bladder cancer has provided new avenues for the management of this disease. Accumulating evidence supports that the tumor microenvironment (TME) can be shaped by and reciprocally act on tumor cells, which reprograms and regulates tumor development, metastasis, and therapeutic responses. A hostile TME, caused by intrinsic tumor attributes (e.g., hypoxia, oxidative stress, and nutrient deprivation) or external stressors (e.g., chemotherapy and radiation), disrupts the normal synthesis and folding process of proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), culminating in a harmful situation called ER stress (ERS). ERS is a series of adaptive changes mediated by unfolded protein response (UPR), which is interwoven into a network that can ultimately mediate cell proliferation, apoptosis, and autophagy, thereby endowing tumor cells with more aggressive behaviors. Moreover, recent studies revealed that ERS could also impede the efficacy of anti-cancer treatment including immunotherapy by manipulating the TME. In this review, we discuss the relationship among bladder cancer, ERS, and TME; summarize the current research progress and challenges in overcoming therapeutic resistance; and explore the concept of targeting ERS to improve bladder cancer treatment outcomes.

Rac3 Expression and its Clinicopathological Significance in Patients With Bladder Cancer

Background: Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 3 (Rac3) is overexpressed in malignancies and promotes tumor progression. However, the correlations between Rac3 expression and the clinicopathological characteristics and prognoses of patients with bladder cancer (BC) remain unclear.

Methods: Data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were used to analyze Rac3 expression in BC and normal bladder tissues and validated using the Oncomine database, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blot. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the relationship between Rac3 expression and the prognosis of patients with BC. Cox univariate and multivariate analyses of BC patients overall survival (OS) were performed. Signaling pathways that potentially mediate Rac3 activity in BC were then analyzed by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA).

Results: The Rac3 expression in BC tissues was significantly higher than that in normal bladder tissues. Rac3 expression was significantly correlated with grade and stage. Overexpression of Rac3 was associated with a poor prognosis. GSEA showed that the cell cycle, DNA replication, p53 signaling pathway and mismatch repair were differentially enriched in the high Rac3 expression phenotype. The qRT-PCR and western blot results confirmed that the Rac3 expression in BC tissues was higher than that in normal bladder tissues.

Conclusion: Rac3 is highly expressed in BC, which is related to the advanced clinicopathological variables and adverse prognosis of patients with BC. These results provide a new therapeutic target for BC.

A simple nomogram to predict contrast-induced acute kidney injury in patients with congestive heart failure undergoing coronary angiography

Background

Patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) are vulnerable to contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI), but few prediction models are currently available.

Objectives

We aimed to establish a simple nomogram for CI-AKI risk assessment for patients with CHF undergoing coronary angiography.

Methods

A total of 1876 consecutive patients with CHF (defined as New York Heart Association functional class II-IV or Killip class II-IV) were enrolled and randomly (2:1) assigned to a development cohort and a validation cohort. The endpoint was CI-AKI defined as serum creatinine elevation of ≥0.3 mg/dL or 50% from baseline within the first 48–72 hours following the procedure. Predictors for the nomogram were selected by multivariable logistic regression with a stepwise approach. The discriminative power was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and was compared with the classic Mehran score in the validation cohort. Calibration was assessed using the Hosmer–Lemeshow test and 1000 bootstrap samples.

Results

The incidence of CI-AKI was 9.06% (n=170) in the total sample, 8.64% (n=109) in the development cohort and 9.92% (n=61) in the validation cohort (p=0.367). The simple nomogram including four predictors (age, intra-aortic balloon pump, acute myocardial infarction and chronic kidney disease) demonstrated a similar predictive power as the Mehran score (area under the curve: 0.80 vs 0.75, p=0.061), as well as a well-fitted calibration curve.

Conclusions

The present simple nomogram including four predictors is a simple and reliable tool to identify CHF patients at risk of CI-AKI, whereas further external validations are needed.

Figure 1

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: None

Identification of an Autophagy-Related Prognostic Signature for Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

Abnormal autophagy is closely related to the development of cancer. Many studies have demonstrated that autophagy plays an important role in biological function in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). This study aimed to construct a prognostic signature for ccRCC based on autophagy-related genes (ARGs) to predict the prognosis of ccRCC. Differentially expressed ARGs were obtained from ccRCC RNA-seq data in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. ARGs were enriched by gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). The prognostic ARGs used to construct the risk score models for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were identified by Cox regression analyses. According to the median value of the risk score, patients were divided into a high-risk group and a low-risk group. The OS and DFS were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method. The predictive accuracy was determined by a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Additionally, we performed stratification analyses based on different clinical variables and evaluated the correlation between the risk score and the clinical variables. The differentially expressed ARGs were mainly enriched in the platinum drug resistance pathway. The prognostic signatures based on 11 ARGs for OS and 5 ARGs for DFS were constructed and showed that the survive time was significantly shorter in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group (P < 0.001). The ROC curve for OS exhibited good predictive accuracy, with an area under the curve value of 0.738. In the stratification analyses, the OS time of the high-risk group was shorter than that of the low-risk group stratified by different clinical variables. In conclusion, an autophagy-related signature for OS we constructed can independently predict the prognosis of ccRCC patient, and provide a deep understanding of the potential biological mechanisms of autophagy in ccRCC.

The effect of acetylation on the protein stability of BmApoLp-III in the silkworm, Bombyx mori

Acetylation is an important, reversible posttranslational modification to a protein. In a previous study, we found that there were a large number of acetylated sites in various nutrient storage proteins of the silkworm haemolymph. In this study, we confirmed that acetylation can affect the stability of nutrient storage protein Bombyx mori apolipophorin-III (BmApoLp-III). First, the expression of BmApoLp-III could be upregulated when BmN cells were treated with the deacetylase inhibitor panobinostat (LBH589); similarly, the expression was downregulated when the cells were treated with the acetylase inhibitor C646. Furthermore, the increase in acetylation by LBH589 could inhibit the degradation and improve the accumulation of BmApoLp-III in BmN cells treated with cycloheximide and MG132 respectively. Moreover, we found that an increase in acetylation could decrease the ubiquitination of BmApoLp-III and vice versa; therefore, we predicted that acetylation could improve the stability of BmApoLp-III by competing for ubiquitination and inhibiting the protein degradation pathway mediated by ubiquitin. Additionally, BmApoLp-III had an antiapoptosis function that increased after LBH589 treatment, which might have been due to the improved protein stability after acetylation. These results have laid the foundation for further study on the mechanism of acetylation in regulating the storage and utilization of silkworm nutrition.

[Analysis of spatial-temporal distribution of pesticide poisoning in Quzhou, 2013-2017]

Objective: To analysis the epidemic and spatial characteristics of pesticide poisoning in Quzhou during 2013-2017, and to provide scientific basis for the prevention and control of influenza in Quzhou in the future. Methods: The incidence data of pesticide poisoning from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2017 in Quzhou collected from China Information System For Disease Control And Prevention. The descriptive analysis conducted by using SPSS18.0 software, and the Sa T Scan 9.2 software was used to complete space-time scan. Finally, ArcMap10.2 software was used to visualize the results. Results: There were 1819 cases of pesticide poisoning in Quzhou from 2007 to 2016, among which 298 cases were reported for productive poisoning, the incidence peak was from August to September, the highest number of patients in productive poisoning was in the age group of 46-60 years old and over 61 years old, with 109 patients in each group, and the number of male patients was significantly higher than that of female (χ(2)=63.857, P<0.01) . 1521 cases of non-productive pesticide poisoning were reported, among which the proportion of suicide poisoning (57.65%) was far higher than that of accidental poisoning (28.97%) , the number of female suicide poisoning was higher than that of male (χ(2)=5.510, P=0.019) , the proportion of accidental poisoning was the highest in the ≤15 years age group (89.00%, 89/100) , furthermore the number of suicide poisoning was the highest in the ≥61 years age group (314) . The incidence of pesticide poisoning could be detected by temporal-spatial scanning statistics, the time clustering is from August to September, the spatial clustering is in Jiangshan city, there are consistent with the descriptive of pesticide poisoning. Conclusion: The pesticide poisoning in Quzhou is mainly caused by non-productive suicide poisoning, and the spatial clustering is in Jiangshan city. Relevant departments should carry out targeted prevention and control measures according to the different characteristics of pesticide poisoning in clustered and non-clustered areas.

Phase Space Dynamics of a Plasma Wakefield Dechirper for Energy Spread Reduction

Plasma-based accelerators have made impressive progress in recent years. However, the beam energy spread obtained in these accelerators is still at the ∼1% level, nearly one order of magnitude larger than what is needed for challenging applications like coherent light sources or colliders. In plasma accelerators, the beam energy spread is mainly dominated by its energy chirp (longitudinally correlated energy spread). Here we demonstrate that when an initially chirped electron beam from a linac with a proper current profile is sent through a low-density plasma structure, the self-wake of the beam can significantly reduce its energy chirp and the overall energy spread. The resolution-limited energy spectrum measurements show at least a threefold reduction of the beam energy spread from 1.28% to 0.41% FWHM with a dechirping strength of ∼1  (MV/m)/(mm pC). Refined time-resolved phase space measurements, combined with high-fidelity three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations, further indicate the real energy spread after the dechirper is only about 0.13% (FWHM), a factor of 10 reduction of the initial energy spread.

Effect of SGLT2 inhibitor on renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVE

This study summarizes the evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to assess the effects of SGLT2 inhibitors on renal function and albuminuria in patients with type 2 diabetes.

MATERIALS/METHODS

We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and EMBASE for reports published up to March 2018 and included RCTs reporting estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and/or urine albumin/creatinine ratio (UACR) changes. Data extraction and assessment of research quality based on Cochrane risk biasing tools. Data were calculated to represent the standardized mean difference (SMD) for each study, and the SMDs with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled using a random effects model.

RESULTS

Fifty-one studies were included that evaluated eGFR levels, and 17 studies were included that evaluated UACR levels. A meta-analysis showed that SGLT2 inhibitors had no significant effect on eGFR levels (SMD - 0.02, 95% CI - 0.06, 0.03, p = 0.45), and eGFR reduction was observed in the subsets of the duration of the trial 12 < duration ≤ 26 weeks (SMD - 0.08, 95% CI - 0.13, - 0.02, p = 0.005) and mean baseline eGFR < 60 ml/min per 1.73 square meters (SMD - 0.22, 95% CI - 0.37, - 0.07, p = 0.004). We found that SGLT2 inhibitors reduced UACR levels in patients with type 2 diabetes (SMD - 0.11, 95% CI - 0.17, - 0.05, p = 0.0001). Compared with monotherapy, the combination with other hypoglycemic agents can reduce albuminuria levels (SMD - 0.13, 95% CI - 0.19, - 0.06, p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

The effect of SGLT2 inhibitor on eGFR in patients with T2DM was not statistically significant, but it was effective in reducing albuminuria levels.

Self-assembled lipoprotein based gold nanoparticles for detection and photothermal disaggregation of β-amyloid aggregates

Curcumin loaded lipoprotein based NPs with an ApoE3 shell and an AuNP core are synthesized for the detection and light-triggered disaggregation of Aβ oligomers.

Functional characterization of Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus mutant lacking late expression factor 9

Baculoviridae is a family of invertebrate viruses with large double-stranded DNA genomes. Proteins encoded by some late expression factor (lef ) genes are involved in the regulation of viral gene expression. Lef-9 is one of four transcription-specific Lefs, which are components of the virus-encoded RNA polymerase, and can initiate and transcribe late and very late genes. As a multifunctional protein encoded by the Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV), Lef-9 may be involved in the regulation of viral propagation. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. To determine the role of lef-9 in baculovirus infection, lef-9-knockout virus (lef-9-KO-Bacmid virus) was constructed using the Red recombination system, and the Bac-to-Bac system was used to prepare lef-9-repaired virus (lef-9-Re-Bacmid virus). The lef-9-KO virus did not produce infectious viruses or show infection activity, while the lef-9-repaired virus recovered both. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis of the transcription levels in wild-type-Bacmid, lef-9-KO-Bacmid, and lef-9-Re-Bacmid viruses showed that the lef-9-KO bacmid had little effect on viral genome replication. However, the transcription levels of the early and late viral genes, lef-3, ie-1, vp39, and p10, were significantly lower in BmN cells transfected with lef-9-KO-Bacmids than in the controls. Electron microscopy showed no visible enveloped virions in cells transfected with lef-9-KO-Bacmids, while many mature virions in cells transfected with lef-9-Re-Bacmid and wt-Bacmid were present. Thus, lef-9 was not essential for viral genome replication, but significantly affected viral gene transcription and expression in all periods of cell life cycle.

[High glucose dialysate enhances peritoneal fibrosis through upregulating glucose transporters GLUT1 and SGLT1]

Objective: To investigate the role of glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) and sodium-glucose cotransporter 1 (SGLT1) in high glucose dialysate-induced peritoneal fibrosis. Methods: Thirty six male SD rats were randomly divided into 6 groups (6 in each):normal control group, sham operation group, peritoneal dialysis group (PD group), PD+phloretin group (PD+T group), PD+phlorizin group (PD+Z group), PD+phloretin+phlorizin group (PD+T+Z group). Rat model of uraemia was established using 5/6 nephrotomy, and 2.5% dextrose peritoneal dialysis solution was used in peritoneal dialysis. Peritoneal equilibration test was performed 24 h after dialysis to evaluate transport function of peritoneum in rats; HE staining was used to observe the morphology of peritoneal tissue; and immunohistochemistry was used to detect the expression of GLUT1, SGLT1, TGF-β1 and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) in peritoneum. Human peritoneal microvascular endothelial cells (HPECs) were divided into 5 groups:normal control group, peritoneal dialysis group (PD group), PD+phloretin group (PD+T group), PD+phlorezin group (PD+Z group), and PD+phloretin+phlorezin group (PD+T+Z group). Real time PCR and Western blotting were used to detect mRNA and protein expressions of GLUT1, SGLT1, TGF-β1, CTGF in peritoneal membrane and HPECs. Results:In vivo, compared with sham operation group, rats in PD group had thickened peritoneum, higher ultrafiltration volume, and the mRNA and protein expressions of GLUT1, SGLT1, CTGF, TGF-β1 were significantly increased (all P<0.05); compared with PD group, thickened peritoneum was attenuated, and the mRNA and protein expressions of GLUT1, SGLT1, CTGF, TGF-β1 were significantly decreased in PD+T, PD+Z and PD+T+Z groups (all P<0.05). Pearson's correlation analysis showed that the expressions of GLUT1, SGLT1 in peritoneum were positively correlated with the expressions of TGF-β1 and CTGF (all P<0.05). In vitro, the mRNA and protein expressions of GLUT1, SGLT1, TGF-β1, CTGF were significantly increased in HPECs of peritoneal dialysis group (all P<0.05), and those in PD+T, PD+Z, and PD+T+Z groups were decreased (all P<0.05). Pearson's correlation analysis showed that the expressions of GLUT1, SGLT1 in HPECs were positively correlated with the expressions of TGF-β1 and CTGF (all P<0.05). Conclusion: High glucose peritoneal dialysis fluid may promote peritoneal fibrosis by upregulating the expressions of GLUT1 and SGLT1.

The effect of BM67 gene deletion on Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus replication

Homologs of Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus (BmNPV) Bm67 gene ORF67 have been found in the genome of all lepidopteran nuclear polyhedrosis viruses, but their function is still not very clear. In order to analyze it we employed a  bacmid harboring the complete BmNPV genome including the Bm67 gene and expressing infectious virus (wtBacmid) for the construction of its Bm67-deficient variant (Bm67-KO-Bacmid) using the Red recombination system and the Bm67-repaired variant (Bm67-Re-Bacmid) using the Bac-to-Bac system. By transfecting BmN cells with these bacmids we demonstrated that the Bm67-deficient virus did not generate infectious virus, while the repaired virus restored its infectivity, indicating that the Bm67 gene is essential for the formation of infectious budding virus (BV). Electron microscopy of BmN cells transfected with the abovementioned bacmids showed many mature rodshaped virus particles in both wtBacmid- and Bm67-Re-Bacmid-transfected cells but none in Bm67-KO-Bacmid-transfected ones. Moreover, the real-time RT-PCR showed that the deletion of Bm67 from wtBacmid significantly reduced the levels of viral genomic DNA and transcripts of viral early genes dnapol, ie-1 and lef-3 but not those of transcripts of late gene vp39 and very late gene p10. The finding that the Bm67-deficient virus generated reduced levels of infectious virus and transcripts of early dnapol gene but not those of late genes indicates that the Bm67 gene is essential for BmNPV replication.

Transmission of avian influenza A(H7N9) virus from father to child: a report of limited person-to-person transmission, Guangzhou, China, January 2014

We investigated a possible person-to-person transmission within a family cluster of two confirmed influenza A(H7N9) patients in Guangzhou, China. The index case, a man in his late twenties, worked in a wet market that was confirmed to be contaminated by the influenza A(H7N9) virus. He developed a consistent fever and severe pneumonia after 4 January 2014. In contrast, the second case, his five-year-old child, who only developed a mild disease 10 days after disease onset of the index case, did not have any contact with poultry and birds but had unprotected and very close contact with the index case. The sequences of the haemagglutinin (HA) genes of the virus stains isolated from the two cases were 100% identical. These findings strongly suggest that the second case might have acquired the infection via transmission of the virus from the sick father. Fortunately, all 40 close contacts, including the other four family members who also had unprotected and very close contact with the cases, did not acquire influenza A(H7N9) virus infection, indicating that the person-to-person transmissibility of the virus remained limited. Our finding underlines the importance of carefully, thoroughly and punctually following-up close contacts of influenza A(H7N9) cases to allow detection of any secondary cases, as these may constitute an early warning signal of the virus's increasing ability to transmit from person-to-person.

H19 DMR methylation correlates to the progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma through IGF2 imprinting pathway

BACKGROUND

H19 gene has been proved to be essential for human tumor growth which contains CpG rich regions. Imprinted gene expression in many cancers is usually associated with the function of methylation. We performed this study to better understand wether H19 DMR methylation correlates to the progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma through IGF2 imprinting pathway.

METHODS

LOI of IGF2 was detected in 276 samples, which were determined as heterozygote with ApaI polymorphism in exon 9 of IGF2 by PCR-RFLP and RT-PCR-RFLP. Methylation status of H19 DMR in informative samples was analyzed by bisulfite sequencing PCR. IGF2 expression was examined by real-time PCR and IHC.

RESULTS

208 ESCC patients were informative for ApaI polymorphism. 92 tumor and 30 normal tissues showed IGF2 LOI. Methylation status of H19 CBS6 was higher in patients with IGF2 LOI compared to patients with IGF2 MOI (p < 0.05). IGF2 expression in patients with IGF2 LOI was higher than patients with IGF2 MOI (p < 0.05) which was correlated with lymph node involvement, neoplastic grade and metastasis (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggested that H19 CBS6 hypermethylation is related to the LOI of IGF2 which usually leads to an overexpression of IGF2, playing important roles in the occurrence, development as well as metastasis of ESCC. Therefore, H19 CBS6 methylation potentially represents a novel clinically relevant epigenetic marker to identify individuals at increased risk for the occurrence, progression and prognosis of ESCC.

Is photodynamic therapy a solution for keloid?

Keloid is a common skin condition, especially in people of Asian and African decent. The treatment of keloid is still unsatisfactory. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a novel treatment for this condition, but is widely used in treating certain skin pre-malignant and malignant lesions due to its high efficiency and safety. Another aspect of PDT is its scarless (or minimal scarring) wound healing after treatment despite the fact that it causes skin inflammation. There are a few independent reports that indicate 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) or methylaminolevulinate (MAL)-PDT may be effective in keloid and hypertrophic scars. The mechanism is largely unknown. PDT may exert these effects by acting on keratinocytes and fibroblasts or directly on collagen/extracellular matrix (ECM) in keloid tissues, by inducing keloid fibroblast apoptosis/necrosis, modulating growth factor and cytokine expression, reducing collagen/ECM synthesis and causing degeneration of formed collagen/ECM. These potential mechanisms and the scope for topical PDT of keloids are considered in this article.

Melanotropic peptides: more than just 'Barbie drugs' and 'sun-tan jabs'?

While ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a major cause of skin ageing and carcinogenesis, public pursuit of a novel tanning strategy circumventing the need for UVR is increasingly reported in the media and scientific press. This involves the subcutaneous self-administration of unregulated products labelled as melanotan I and/or II, synthetic analogues of α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH), as obtained via the internet, tanning salons and gyms. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority has recently raised awareness of the public health risk of transmission of blood-borne viruses from the needle sharing that may occur, and of the potential impurity of these products. Dermatologists should also be aware that these agents can complicate the clinical presentation of patients with pigmented lesions; their use may be suspected in unexpectedly tanned individuals with rapidly pigmenting naevi. Meanwhile, the regulated α-MSH analogue afamelanotide (Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Melbourne, Australia) is showing promise for its photoprotective potential, and is undergoing phase II and III clinical trials in people with photosensitivity disorders and those prone to nonmelanoma skin cancer. The photoprotective and other biological effects of α-MSH analogues await full determination.

Predicting timothy mineral concentrations, dietary cation-anion difference, and grass tetany index by near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy

The mineral concentration of forage grasses plays a significant role in 2 metabolic disorders in dairy cattle production, namely, hypocalcemia (milk fever) and hypomagnesemia (grass tetany). Risks of occurrence of these 2 metabolic disorders can be evaluated by determining the dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) and the grass tetany (GT) index of forages and specific rations. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of predicting timothy (Phleum pratense L.) mineral concentrations of Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cl, S, and P, the DCAD, and the GT index by near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS). Timothy samples (n = 1,108) were scanned using NIRS and analyzed for the concentration of 7 mineral elements. Calculations of the DCAD were made using 3 different formulas, and the GT index was also calculated. Samples were divided into calibration (n = 240) and validation (n = 868) sets. The calibration, cross-validation, and prediction for mineral concentrations, the DCAD, and the GT index were performed using modified partial least squares regression. Concentrations of K, Ca, Mg, Cl, and P were successfully predicted with coefficients of determination of prediction (R(P)2) of 0.69 to 0.92 and coefficients of variation of prediction (CV(P)) ranging from 6.6 to 11.4%. The prediction of Na and S concentrations failed, with respective R(P)2 of 0.58 and 0.53 and CV(P) of 82.2 and 12.9%. The 3 calculated DCAD and the GT index were predicted successfully, with R(P)2 >0.90 and CV(P) <20%. Our results confirm the feasibility of using NIRS to predict K, Ca, Mg, and Cl concentrations, as well as the DCAD and the GT index, in timothy.

Carbohydrates in alfalfa-timothy mixtures predicted with near infrared reflectance spectroscopy equations developed for single species

Our objective was to evaluate the feasibility of using near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) equations previously developed with a calibration set that included samples of both timothy and alfalfa to predict carbohydrate fractions in mixed samples of both species. Timothy and alfalfa mixed samples were prepared with the alfalfa proportion ranging from 0 to 100%, with increments of 4%. With previously developed NIRS equations based on samples of single species of timothy and alfalfa, concentrations of total ethanol soluble carbohydrates (TESC), starch, and neutral detergent soluble carbohydrates (NDSC) of the mixed samples were predicted successfully, but concentrations of organic acids (OA) and neutral detergent soluble fiber (NDSF) were unsuccessfully predicted. Adding 13 mixed samples to the initial calibration set of around 110 samples of pure timothy and alfalfa samples improved the accuracy of already successful predictions for TESC, starch, and NDSC, and resulted in a successful prediction for NDSF in timothy and alfalfa mixtures.Key words: Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy, sugars, Phleum pratense, Medicago sativa