IL-36 Regulates Neutrophil Chemotaxis and Bone Loss at the Oral Barrier

Tissue-specific mechanisms regulate neutrophil immunity at the oral barrier, which plays a key role in periodontitis. Although it has been proposed that fibroblasts emit a powerful neutrophil chemotactic signal, how this chemotactic signal is driven has not been clear. The objective of this study was to investigate the site-specific regulatory mechanisms by which fibroblasts drive powerful neutrophil chemotactic signals within the oral barrier, with particular emphasis on the role of the IL-36 family. The present study found that IL-36γ, agonist of IL-36R, could promote neutrophil chemotaxis via fibroblast. Single-cell RNA sequencing data disclosed that IL36G is primarily expressed in human and mouse gingival epithelial cells and mouse neutrophils. Notably, there was a substantial increase in IL-36γ levels during periodontitis. In vitro experiments demonstrated that IL-36γ specifically activates gingival fibroblasts, leading to chemotaxis of neutrophils. In vivo experiments revealed that IL-36Ra inhibited the infiltration of neutrophils and bone resorption, while IL-36γ promoted their progression in the ligature-induced periodontitis mouse model. In summary, these data elucidate the function of the site-enriched IL-36γ in regulating neutrophil immunity and bone resorption at the oral barrier. These findings provide new insights into the tissue-specific pathophysiology of periodontitis and offer a promising avenue for prevention and treatment through targeted intervention of the IL-36 family.

Molecular detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry

Detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) is crucial in environmental mitigation and remediation of these persistent pollutants. We demonstrate that time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) is a viable technique to analyze and identify these substances at parts per trillion (ppt) level in real field samples without complicated sample preparation due to its superior surface sensitivity. Several representative PFAS compounds, such as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA), perfluoheptanoic acid (PFHpA), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and real-world groundwater samples collected from monitoring wells installed around at a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Southern California were analyzed in this work. ToF-SIMS spectral comparison depicts sensitive identification of pseudo-molecular ions, characteristic of reference PFASs. Additionally, principal component analysis (PCA) shows clear discrimination among real samples and reference compounds. Our results show that characteristic molecular ion and fragments peaks can be used to identify PFASs. Furthermore, SIMS two-dimensional (2D) images directly exhibit the distribution of perfluorocarboxylic acid (PFCA) and PFOS in simulated mixtures and real wastewater samples. Such findings indicate that ToF-SIMS is useable to determine PFAS compounds in complex environmental water samples. In conclusion, ToF-SIMS provides simple sample preparation and high sensitivity in mass spectral imaging, offering an alternative solution for environmental forensic analysis of PFASs in wastewater in the future.

Pneumonitis After Concurrent Chemoradiation and Immune Checkpoint Inhibition in Patients with Locally Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

AIMS

Pneumonitis is a common and potentially deadly complication of combined chemoradiation and immune checkpoint inhibition (CRT-ICI) in patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC). In this study we sought to identify the risk factors for pneumonitis with CRT-ICI therapy in LA-NSCLC cases and determine its impact on survival.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We conducted a retrospective chart review of 140 patients with LA-NSCLC who underwent curative-intent CRT-ICI with durvalumab between 2018 and 2021. Pneumonitis was diagnosed by a multidisciplinary team of clinical experts. We used multivariable cause-specific hazard models to identify risk factors associated with grade ≥2 pneumonitis. We constructed multivariable Cox proportional hazard models to investigate the impact of pneumonitis on all-cause mortality.

RESULTS

The median age of the cohort was 67 years; most patients were current or former smokers (86%). The cumulative incidence of grade ≥2 pneumonitis was 23%. Among survivors, 25/28 patients had persistent parenchymal scarring. In multivariable analyses, the mean lung dose (hazard ratio 1.14 per Gy, 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.25) and interstitial lung disease (hazard ratio 3.8, 95% confidence interval 1.3-11.0) increased the risk for pneumonitis. In adjusted models, grade ≥2 pneumonitis (hazard ratio 2.5, 95% confidence interval 1.0-6.2, P = 0.049) and high-grade (≥3) pneumonitis (hazard ratio 8.3, 95% confidence interval 3.0-23.0, P < 0.001) were associated with higher all-cause mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Risk factors for pneumonitis in LA-NSCLC patients undergoing CRT-ICI include the mean radiation dose to the lung and pre-treatment interstitial lung disease. Although most cases are not fatal, pneumonitis in this setting is associated with markedly increased mortality.

Electric-Field-Induced Assembly of an Ionic Liquid-Water Interphase Enables Efficient Heavy Metal Electrosorption

Controlling ion desolvation, transport, and charge transfer at the electrode-electrolyte interface (EEI) is critical to enable the rational design of the efficient and selective separation of targeted heavy metals and the decontamination of industrial wastewater. The main challenge is to sufficiently resolve and interrogate the desolvation of solvated metal ions and their subsequent electroreduction at the EEI and establish pathways to modulate these intermediate steps to achieve efficient energy transfer for targeted reactive separations. Herein, we obtained a predictive understanding of modulating the desolvation and electrosorption of Pb2+ cations using the hydrophobic ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (EMIMCl) in aqueous electrolyte. We revealed the formation of a compact interphase layer consisting of EMIMCl-Pb complexes under an applied electric field using operando electrochemical Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements combined with classical molecular dynamics simulations. A lower negative potential was shown to result in the formation of a well-oriented layer with the positive imidazolium ring of EMIMCl lying perpendicular to the electrode and the hydrophobic alkyl chain extending into the bulk electrolyte. This oriented layer, which formed from a dilute concentration of EMIMCl added to the electrolyte, was demonstrated to facilitate desolvation of incoming solvated Pb2+ cations and decrease the charge transfer resistance for Pb electrodeposition, which has important implications for the selective removal of Pb from contaminated mixtures. Overall, our findings open up new opportunities to modulate ion desolvation using hydrophobic ionic liquids in aqueous electrolytes for efficient heavy-metal separation.

[Expression changes of NaV channel subunits correlate with developmental maturation of electrophysiological characteristics of rat cerebellar Purkinje neurons]

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the variations in the expression of voltage-gated sodium (Na_v) channel subunits during development of rat cerebellar Purkinje neurons and their correlation with maturation of electrophysiological characteristics of the neurons.

METHODS

We observed the changes in the expression levels of Na_V1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.6 during the development of Purkinje neurons using immunohistochemistry in neonatal (5-7 days after birth), juvenile (12-14 days), adolescent (21-24 days), and adult (42-60 days) SD rats. Using whole-cell patch-clamp technique, we recorded the spontaneous electrical activity of the neurons in ex vivo brain slices of rats of different ages to analyze the changes of electrophysiological characteristics of these neurons during development.

RESULTS

The expression of Na_V subunits in rat cerebellar Purkinje neurons showed significant variations during development. Na_V1.1 subunit was highly expressed throughout the developmental stages and increased progressively with age (P < 0.05). Na_V1.2 expression was not detected in the neurons in any of the developmental stages (P > 0.05). The expression level of Na_V1.3 decreased with development and became undetectable after adolescence (P < 0.05). Na_V1.6 expression was not detected during infancy, but increased with further development (P < 0.05). Na_V1.1 and Na_V1.3 were mainly expressed in the early stages of development. With the maturation of the rats, Na_V1.3 expression disappeared and Na_V1.6 expression increased in the neurons. Na_V1.1 and Na_V1.6 were mainly expressed after adolescence. The total Na_V protein level increased gradually with development (P < 0.05) and tended to stabilize after adolescence. The spontaneous frequency and excitability of the Purkinje neurons increased gradually with development and reached the mature levels in adolescence. The developmental expression of Na_V subunits was positively correlated with discharge frequency (r=0.9942, P < 0.05) and negatively correlated with the excitatory threshold of the neurons (r=0.9891, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The changes in the expression levels of Na_V subunits are correlated with the maturation of high frequency electrophysiological properties of the neurons, suggesting thatmature Na_V subunit expressions is the basis of maturation of electrophysiological characteristics of the neurons.

Context-aware deep network for coronary artery stenosis classification in coronary CT angiography

Automatic coronary artery stenosis grading plays an important role in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Due to the difficulty of learning the informative features from varying grades of stenosis, it is still a challenging task to identify coronary artery stenosis from coronary CT angiography (CCTA). In this paper, we propose a context-aware deep network (CADN) for coronary artery stenosis classification. The proposed method integrates 3D CNN with Transformer to improve the feature representation of coronary artery stenosis in CCTA. We evaluate the proposed method on a multicenter dataset (APOLLO study with NCT05509010). Experimental results show that our proposed method can achieve the accuracy of 0.84, 0.83, and 0.86 for stenosis diagnosis on the lesion, artery, and patient levels, respectively.

[Assessment of the diagnostic value and prognosis of different detection markers in endocervical adenocarcinoma]

Objective: To study the diagnostic value of different detection markers in histological categories of endocervical adenocarcinoma (ECA), and their assessment of patient prognosis. Methods: A retrospective study of 54 patients with ECA in the Cancer Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from 2005-2010 were performed. The cases of ECA were classified into two categories, namely human papillomavirus-associated adenocarcinoma (HPVA) and non-human papillomavirus-associated adenocarcinoma (NHPVA), based on the 2018 international endocervical adenocarcinoma criteria and classification (IECC). To detect HR-HPV DNA and HR-HPV E6/E7 mRNA in all patients, we used whole tissue section PCR (WTS-PCR) and HPV E6/E7 mRNA in situ hybridization (ISH) techniques, respectively. Additionally, we performed Laser microdissection PCR (LCM-PCR) on 15 randomly selected HR-HPV DNA-positive cases to confirm the accuracy of the above two assays in identifying ECA lesions. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to analyze the efficacy of markers to identify HPVA and NHPVA. Univariate and multifactorial Cox proportional risk model regression analyses were performed for factors influencing ECA patients' prognoses. Results: Of the 54 patients with ECA, 30 were HPVA and 24 were NHPVA. A total of 96.7% (29/30) of HPVA patients were positive for HR-HPV DNA and 63.3% (19/30) for HR-HPV E6/E7 mRNA, and 33.3% (8/24) of NHPVA patients were positive for HR-HPV DNA and HR-HPV E6/E7 mRNA was not detected (0/24), and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.001). LCM-PCR showed that five patients were positive for HR-HPV DNA in the area of glandular epithelial lesions and others were negative, which was in good agreement with the E6/E7 mRNA ISH assay (Kappa=0.842, P=0.001). Analysis of the ROC results showed that the AUC of HR-HPV DNA, HR-HPV E6/E7 mRNA, and p16 to identify HPVA and NHPVA were 0.817, 0.817, and 0.692, respectively, with sensitivities of 96.7%, 63.3%, and 80.0% and specificities of 66.7%, 100.0%, and 58.3%, respectively. HR-HPV DNA identified HPVA and NHPVA with higher AUC than p16 (P=0.044). The difference in survival rates between HR-HPV DNA (WTS-PCR assay) positive and negative patients was not statistically significant (P=0.156), while the difference in survival rates between HR-HPV E6/E7 mRNA positive and negative patients, and p16 positive and negative patients were statistically significant (both P<0.05). Multifactorial Cox regression analysis showed that International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (FIGO) staging (HR=19.875, 95% CI: 1.526-258.833) and parametrial involvement (HR=14.032, 95% CI: 1.281-153.761) were independent factors influencing the prognosis of patients with ECA. Conclusions: HR-HPV E6/E7 mRNA is more reflective of HPV infection in ECA tissue. The efficacy of HR-HPV E6/E7 mRNA and HR-HPV DNA (WTS-PCR assay) in identifying HPVA and NHPVA is similar, with higher sensitivity of HR-HPV DNA and higher specificity of HR-HPV E6/E7 mRNA. HR-HPV DNA is more effective than p16 in identifying HPVA and NHPVA. HPV E6/E7 mRNA and p16 positive ECA patients have better survival rates than negative.

Machine learning accurately quantifies epicardial adipose tissue from non-contrast CT images in coronary artery disease

Funding Acknowledgements

Type of funding sources: Other. Main funding source(s): Industry Alignment Fund – Pre-positioning Programme

Background

Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is the visceral fat deposit within the pericardium that surrounds the heart and the coronary arteries. EAT volume measured from non-contrast CT (NCCT) has been demonstrated to be significantly associated with adverse cardiovascular risk,1 particularly in patients with coronary artery disease.2 However, routine measurement of EAT volume is still challenging in clinical practice, as it is a tedious manual process and prone to human error.

Purpose

We aimed to develop a fully automated AI toolkit (i.e., AI EAT) for the quantification of EAT from routine NCCT scans and assess its performance in reference to clinical ground truth.

Methods

This is a multicenter study which performs CT scans in 5000 Asian Admixture patients (APOLLO study NCT05509010). In the current stage of this study, NCCT data analysis were conducted in 551 patients with 26,037 images. AI EAT was developed via a novel deep learning framework using an ensemble region-based UNet. The region-based UNet uses 2 component UNet models to perform segmentation of pericardium at the apex region and non-apex region (middle and basal). EAT volume was obtained by automated thresholding of the voxels (-190 to -30 Hounsfield Unit) within the pericardium (Figure 1). The network was trained in 501 patients with 23,712 NCCT images and tested in 50 patients with 2,325 NCCT images. The performance of AI EAT was evaluated with respect to clinical ground truth using Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), Pearson correlation, and Bland-Altman analysis.

Results

The AI EAT quantification process took less than 10 seconds per subject, compared with 20-30 minutes for expert readers. Compared to clinical ground truth, our AI EAT achieved a DSC of 0.96±0.01 and 0.91±0.02 for pericardium and EAT segmentations, respectively. There was strong agreement between the AI EAT and clinical ground truth in deriving the EAT volume (r=0.99, P&lt;0.001) with minimal error of 7±5%.

Conclusion

End-to-end deep learning system accurately quantifies epicardial adipose tissue in standard NCCT images without manual segmentation.

Natural colloids facilitated transport of steroidal estrogens in saturated porous media: Mechanism and processes

Steroid estrogens (SEs) as typical endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are widely detected in terrestrial environment, whilst the transport of SEs in groundwater remains unwell understood. Specifically, the effects of ubiquitous natural colloids on the SEs transport are unclear in subsurface environment, especially in aquifer systems. Here, the influence of inorganic colloids (i.e. silica and illite) and organic colloids, i.e. Humic acid (HA), on the transport of estrone (E1) and estradiol (E2) in saturated porous media was studied utilizing laboratory scale column experiments. Characterization on the colloids and porous aquifer material was conducted to provide a basis for interpretation of the experimental findings. Results showed that the transport of SEs was clearly affected by the natural colloids migrating through the saturated porous media. About 38.5% of E1 and 24.6% of E2 were retained in the column when colloids were absent in the system. When transporting with silica colloids, illite colloids, and HA colloids, the transport of E1 was enhanced by 15.64%, 11.17% and 25.60%, respectively; whilst the transport of E2 was improved by 19.56%, 23.06% and 36.40%, respectively. The SEs transport enhancement by colloids depended upon not only the mobility of the colloids but also their geochemical characteristics. The organic colloids showed 1.5-2.5 times greater ability on promoting the transport of SEs than the inorganic ones tested in this study. The proposed mechanisms of nature colloids facilitated transport of SEs including competing for adsorption sites on the sand surfaces by the colloids resulting mobilization of adsorbed SEs from solid matrix, and transport of colloids as carriers for SEs.

[Effect of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation on minimal residual disease in patients with multiple myeloma]

Objective: To evaluate the effect of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) on minimal residual disease (MRD) in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Method: From August 2018 to August 2021, 92 patients newly diagnosed with MM who had received either the bortezomib combined with cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone (VCD) or the bortezomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone (VRD) induction regimens followed by sequential ASCT were assessed for overall survival (OS) and the MRD negative rate. The differences in efficacy at 100 days after transplantation were assessed according to factors, including age, risk stratification, target organ damage, and pre-transplant regimen, etc. Results: Among the 92 patients, there were 45 males and 47 females, with a median age of 57.3 (35-67) years. Fifty-seven patients received the VCD regimen, and 35 received VRD as induction regimen. Forty-three patients received busulphan combined with cyclophosphamide and etoposide (BCV), and 49 patients received high-dose melphan (HDM) regimen as pre-transplantation treatment. After transplantation, the total complete remission (CR) rate of 92 patients increased from 23.9% (22/92) to 58.7% (54/92), and the MRD negative rate increased from 4.4% (4/92) to 33.7% (31/92), and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). After transplantation, the MRD negative rates of patients with PR, VGPR and ≥CR before transplantation were 17.6% (6/34), 33.3% (12/36) and 59.1% (13/22), respectively (P=0.006). The CR rates of patients with or without plasmacytoma at initial diagnosis were 36.4% (4/11) and 65.4% (53/81), respectively (P=0.029), and the MRD negative rates were 18.2% (2/11) and 39.5% (32/81), respectively (P=0.037), and the differences were statistically significant. The MRD negative rates in high-risk patients and standard-risk group were 30.5% (12/28) and 42.9% (18/59), respectively (P=0.258). For patients who achieved efficacy above VGPR before transplantation, the MRD negative rates after transplantation in VCD-induced group and VRD group were 29% (9/31) and 59.3% (16/27), respectively (P=0.033), and in BCV group and HDM group were 24% (6/25) and 57.6% (19/33), respectively (P=0.016), the differences between the groups were both statistically significant. Conclusion: ASCT can overcome the adverse factors such as high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities, and significantly improve the CR rate and MRD negative rate of MM patients. However, the benefit for patients with plasmacytoma at initial diagnosis is not as good as that of patients without.

Association of the serum transaminase with mortality among the US elderly population

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Considering the inconsistent findings of research into the associations between serum levels of liver enzymes (alanine aminotransferase [ALT], aspartate aminotransferase [AST], and gamma-glutamyltransferase [GGT]) and mortality among elderly people, we aimed to investigate the associations of ALT, AST, GGT, and De-Ritis ratio (DRR, defined as AST/ALT) and all-cause or cause-specific mortality among the US elderly people using National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys data.

METHODS

We included 6415 elderly participants (≥ 65 years). Exclusion criteria included positive test for hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus infection at baseline. Multivariable-adjusted Cox regression models calculating hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals were developed for each of the liver enzyme measures.

RESULTS

All-cause cumulative mortality was 33.8%, of which 23.8% were cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths, 15.6% were cancer deaths, and 60.6% were other cause deaths. Adjusted Cox models found increased all-cause mortality risk for low ALT (HR: 1.70), low AST (HR: 1.13), high GGT (HR: 1.25), and high DRR (HR: 1.68). Low ALT and high DRR predicted CVD mortality. Low ALT (HR: 1.91), low AST (HR: 1.16), high GGT (HR: 1.40), and high DRR (HR: 1.76) predicted other cause mortality.

CONCLUSIONS

Low ALT and high DRR were associated with increased CVD and cancer mortality. All serum liver enzyme measures were associated with all-cause mortality and other cause mortality in the US elderly population. Further studies may validate these findings in other elderly populations.

Facile Dual-Protection Layer and Advanced Electrolyte Enhancing Performances of Cobalt-free/Nickel-rich Cathodes in Lithium-Ion Batteries

Despite cobalt (Co)-free/nickel (Ni)-rich layered oxides being considered as one of the promising cathode materials due to their high specific capacity, their highly reactive surface still hinders practical application. Herein, a polyimide/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PI/PVP, denoted as PP) coating layer is demonstrated as dual protection for the LiNi_0.96Mg_0.02Ti_0.02O₂ (NMT) cathode material to suppress surface contamination against moist air and to prevent unwanted interfacial side reactions during cycling. The PP-coated NMT (PP@NMT) preserves a relatively clean surface with the bare generation of lithium residues, structural degradation, and gas evolution even after exposure to air with ∼30% humidity for 2 weeks compared to the bare NMT. In addition, the exposed PP@NMT significantly enhances the electrochemical performance of graphite||NMT cells by preventing byproducts and structural distortion. Moreover, the exposed PP@NMT achieves a high capacity retention of 86.7% after 500 cycles using an advanced localized high-concentration electrolyte. This work demonstrates promising protection of Co-free/Ni-rich layered cathodes for their practical usage even after exposure to moist air.

Comparison of obesity indices and triglyceride glucose-related parameters to predict type 2 diabetes mellitus among normal-weight elderly in China

PURPOSE

Although a significant proportion of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) cases arose from normal-weight individuals, studies on indicators of T2DM in normal-weight people are limited. Accordingly, this study aims to investigate the predictive value of obesity indices and triglyceride glucose-related parameters (TyG-related parameters) in T2DM among normal-weight Chinese elderly.

METHODS

A total of 24,215 normal-weight Chinese elderly (age ≥ 60 years) [body mass index-BMI (18.5-23.9 kg/m²)] were included. Obesity indices and triglyceride glucose-related parameters (TyG-related parameters) included waist circumference (WC), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), visceral adiposity index (VAI), lipid accumulation product (LAP), and TyG-related parameters (TyG, TyG-BMI, TyG-WC, and TyG-WHtR). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the associations between obesity- and TyG-related indices and T2DM. The areas under the curve (AUC) of the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were used to evaluate and compare the predictive value of the different indices.

RESULTS

The prevalence of T2DM was 14.2% in normal-weight individuals. Among the indices, TyG was significantly associated with T2DM among men and women, respectively, (adjusted odds ratio-aOR per SD 3.46; 95% CI 3.23-3.71) and (aOR per SD 3.64; 95% CI 3.43-3.86). Compared with other indices, TyG had the highest AUC value for T2DM in men (AUC: 0.818, 95% CI 0.810-0.825) and women (AUC: 0.824, 95% CI 0.814-0.833).

CONCLUSIONS

TyG is an effective marker and outperforms other indices when predicting T2DM in the normal-weight Chinese elderly population.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level V: Opinions of authorities, based on descriptive studies, narrative reviews, clinical experience, or reports of expert committees.

Telemedicine for Preventing and Treating Pressure Injury after Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (Preprint)

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Enhanced delivery of engineered Fe-Mn binary oxides in heterogeneous porous media for efficient arsenic stabilization

Heterogeneity in sediment and aquifer is universal, resulting in preferential flows of injected materials in the high permeability regions and forming flow by-passed zones in the low permeability regions during in-situ subsurface remediation. This adverse effect can considerably delay the completion of remedial operations and significantly increase the cost. Column experiments were designed and conducted to study the transport of starch- and starch-xanthan gum modified Fe-Mn binary oxide particles (SFM and SXFM) in saturated heterogeneous porous media and to reveal the particles' arsenic (As) stabilization performance. Fine-in-Coarse (FIC) and Coarse-in-Fine (CIF) patterns of heterogeneous packings were set up in the columns. Testing results demonstrated that starch-xanthan gum dual treatment on Fe-Mn binary oxides successfully improved the particles' migration capability in heterogeneous porous media and their distribution uniformity attributed to the profound shear thinning behavior of xanthan gum solution. The addition of xanthan gum to the system increased the viscosity and shear thinning property of the SXFM suspension, making it a better candidate for delivery. Both SFM and SXFM stabilized As in heterogeneously packed sediment collected from a contaminated site, with SXFM showing better stabilization performance than SFM. The stabilization effects of SXFM were 90.7-97.0%, compared to 82.0-95.2% of SFM.

Effects of Atomoxetine Hydrochloride on Regulation of Lifespan in Drosophila Model

Nootropics (smart drugs) are used by students to enhance cognitive performance which have been reported times in recent years. However, some of the nootropics are central nervous system stimulants which are very likely to lead to addiction or complications such as vomiting and dizziness. Are there nootropics that can improve learning behavior while having potential positive effect on health? Here, we reported that Atomoxetine (ATX) has sex-specific effect on prolonging the life span of female Drosophila melanogaster. Further study indicated that ATX enhanced female resistance to heat stress and their vertical climbing ability, but it did decrease the number of eggs laid. ATX increased food-intake and sleep time both of females and males, and significantly reduced the 24h spontaneous activity of females and males. Our results present the sex dimorphic effect of ATX on life span regulation in Drosophila, and support further research on the beneficial role of ATX and the mechanisms in other animal models.

A combined management scheme to simultaneously mitigate As and Cd concentrations in rice cultivated in contaminated paddy soil

Paddy soils in southern China are heavily co-polluted by arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd). The accumulation of these contaminants in rice grains may pose a high health risk. We evaluated the impact of adjusted water management practice (i.e., conventional irrigation and aerobic treatment after heading stage) and the application of two immobilization agents (i.e., CaO and Fe₂O₃) on the accumulation of As and Cd in rice grains of three rice varieties (i.e., Jinyou-463, Jinyou-268, and Mabayouzhan). The different schemes were tested via conducting a field experiment in paddy soil in Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, China. The results showed that the combined scheme (selecting Jinyou-268, aerobic water management after the heading stage, and 0.09% CaO and 0.5% Fe₂O₃ amendments) exhibited the best performance in the reduction of As and Cd accumulation in rice grains. This combined scheme decreased the grain As concentration by 26.19% and maintained the Cd at a low level (0.056 mg/kg) as compared to the use of local conventional irrigation patterns. Moreover, health risk assessment demonstrated that by applying the optimal scheme, neither As nor Cd content in rice had carcinogenic risk. However, the grain As remains at a high non-carcinogenic risk. We suggest that future field study design should fully incorporate the uncertainty of the natural environment to make the research conclusions more feasible for popularization and utilization. This study demonstrated an approach of utilizing the synergy effects of various measures for safe rice production in fields subjected to As and Cd contaminations.

Advanced Low-Flammable Electrolytes for Stable Operation of High-Voltage Lithium-Ion Batteries

Despite being an effective flame retardant, trimethyl phosphate (TMP_a ) is generally considered as an unqualified solvent for fabricating electrolytes used in graphite (Gr)-based lithium-ion batteries as it readily leads to Gr exfoliation and cell failure. In this work, by adopting the unique solvation structure of localized high-concentration electrolyte (LHCE) to TMP_a and tuning the composition of the solvation sheaths via electrolyte additives, excellent electrochemical performance can be achieved with TMP_a -based electrolytes in Gr∥LiNi_0.8 Mn_0.1 Co_0.1 O₂ cells. After 500 charge/discharge cycles within the voltage range of 2.5-4.4 V, the batteries containing the TMP_a -based LHCE with a proper additive can achieve a capacity retention of 85.4 %, being significantly higher than cells using a LiPF₆ -organocarbonates baseline electrolyte (75.2 %). Meanwhile, due to the flame retarding effect of TMP_a , TMP_a -based LHCEs exhibit significantly reduced flammability compared with the conventional LiPF₆ -organocarbonates electrolyte.

ORAOV1-B Promotes OSCC Metastasis via the NF-κB-TNFα Loop

Metastasis, a powerful prognostic indicator of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), is chiefly responsible for poor cancer outcomes. Despite an increasing number of studies examining the mechanisms underlying poor outcomes, the development of potent strategies is hindered by insufficient characterization of the crucial regulators. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have recently been gaining interest as significant modulators of OSCC metastasis; however, the detailed mechanisms underlying lncRNA-mediated OSCC metastasis remain relatively uncharacterized. Here, we identified a novel alternative splice variant of oral cancer overexpressed 1 (ORAOV1), named as ORAOV1-B, which was subsequently validated as an lncRNA and correlated with OSCC lymph node metastasis; significantly increased invasion and migration were observed in ORAOV1-B-overexpressing OSCC cells. RNA pulldown and mass spectrometry identified Hsp90 as a direct target of ORAOV1-B, and cDNA microarrays suggested TNFα as a potential downstream target of ORAOV1-B. ORAOV1-B was shown to directly bind to and stabilize Hsp90, which maintains the function of client proteins, receptor-interaction protein, and IκB kinase beta, thus activating the NF-κB pathway and inducing TNFα. Additionally, TNFα reciprocally enhanced p-NF-κB-p65 and the downstream epithelial-mesenchymal transition. ORAOV1-B effects were reversed by a TNFα inhibitor, demonstrating that TNFα is essential for ORAOV1-B-regulated metastatic ability. Consistent epithelial-mesenchymal transition in the ORAOV1-B group was demonstrated via an orthotopic model. In the metastatic model, ORAOV1-B significantly contributed to OSCC-related lung metastasis. In summary, the novel splice variant ORAOV1-B is an lncRNA, which significantly potentiates OSCC invasion and metastasis by binding to Hsp90 and activating the NF-κB-TNFα loop. These findings demonstrate the versatile role of ORAOV1 family members and the significance of genes located within 11q13 in promoting OSCC. ORAOV1-B might serve as an attractive OSCC metastasis intervention target.

Excretory dysfunction and quality of life after a spinal cord injury: A cross-sectional study

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

To determine the aspects of excretory dysfunction most influential in determining the quality of life of survivors of spinal cord injury.

BACKGROUND

Excretory dysfunction is one of the most common and troublesome sequelae of spinal cord injury. Previous studies have shown that it can restrict social participation restriction, cause readmission and generally influence quality of life substantially.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional survey of hospital inpatients following STOBE guidelines.

METHODS

A convenience sample of 101 patients with traumatic or non-traumatic spinal cord injury were asked about their experiences of excretory dysfunction, and management and their self-perceived quality of life. Univariate analysis and multiple linear regression were performed to isolate the most important relationships.

RESULTS

Only 2 of the 101 subjects professed to be unaffected by excretion dysfunction. Bladder-related dysfunction was the most frequently mentioned type of problem. Quality of life impairment was found to be most often associated with bladder accidents, bowel accidents and having more than one bladder complications.

CONCLUSIONS

Excretory dysfunction substantially impacts quality of life after a spinal cord injury. Bladder accidents, bowel accidents and more than one bladder complication are factors independently influencing the quality of life of spinal cord injury survivors.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

To improve excretion-related QOL, patients' bladder and bowel self-management training should be strengthened seeking to prevent complications and reduce the risk of bladder and bowel accidents.

Adverse cardiovascular ageing among older women and cardiometabolic ageing

Funding Acknowledgements

Type of funding sources: Public hospital(s). Main funding source(s): National Medical Research Council (NMRC)

Background

Despite longer life expectancies, women may experience reduced ‘health-span’ (period of life spent in good health) due to accumulation of risks over their longer life spans. Metabolic factors present in diet and lifestyle may provide modifiable solutions to tackle burdens of cardiovascular (CV) ageing in women.

Objective

We aim to study gender differences in CV structure and function among community older adults without clinical CV disease, as well as metabolic perturbations in their study samples.

Methods

We examined a prospective cohort study of older adults, obtaining their medical history, serum sampling, echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging on a single day visit. Echo E/A ratio was computed as a ratio of peak velocity flow in early diastole E (m/s) to peak velocity flow in late diastole by atrial contraction A (m/s) mitral inflow velocities. Longitudinal strain (ε) at any time point (t) in the cardiac cycle from end-diastole (time 0) was calculated as: ε(t)=(L(t)-L0)/L0, obtaining left atrial (LA) reservoir strain (εs), conduit strain (εe) and booster strain (εa) by CMR. Metabolomics profiling was performed by standard mass spectrometry techniques.

Results

Among n = 492 (49.6%, n = 244 women, mean age 73 ± 4 years) participants, women had lower prevalence of hypertension (52% vs 58%, p &lt; 0.0001), smoking (4% vs 35%, p &lt; 0.0001), but higher prevalence of dyslipidemia (52% vs 50%, p = 0.001) compared to men. Women had lower left ventricular mass index (69 vs 71 g/m2, p &lt; 0.0001) compared to men. However, women had more adverse CV function, such as lower E/A ratio (0.78 vs 0.85, p &lt; 0.0001), lower LA booster (εa) (16.5 vs 17.8, p = 0.027) and lower LA reservoir (εs) strain rate (1.5 vs 1.6, p = 0.012), compared to men. Amino acids such as alanine, arginine, aspartate, citrulline, glycine, phenylalanine and valine were similar between gender. However, women had higher levels of tyrosine (76 vs 68 μM, p = 0.015). On multivariate adjustment, apart from age, tyrosine was independently associated with E/A ratio (β=0.002, 95%CI 0.00-0.004, p = 0.044) and εs (β=0.004, 95%CI 0.00-0.009, p = 0.048) among women. 

Conclusion

Utilizing conventional and sensitive CV imaging, women appeared to have more adverse CV functions with ageing. As a branched chain amino acid linked to future risk of CV disease, tyrosine may be linked to adverse CV function. Factors that contribute to these cardiometabolic profiles, such as menopause, diet or lifestyle warrant further research.

Oral toxicity to high level sodium fluoride causes impairment of autophagy

Autophagy is a highly conserved intracellular digestion process that degrades damaged proteins and organelles but the biological roles of autophagy in pathological aspects of oral tissues remain largely unknown. We sought to elucidate the function of autophagy, especially its interplay with apoptosis and oxidative stress, in the oral toxicity induced by exposure to 5 mM sodium fluoride (NaF). Human cementoblasts (HCEM-2) in culture were exposed to 5 mM NaF for 5 min, after which cell viability and cell apoptosis were assessed using the MTS assay and an Annexin V-FITC/PI apoptosis detection kit, respectively. Quantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting were performed to characterize the expression levels of markers for autophagy, apoptosis, and oxidative stress. Senescence-resistant (SAMR1) mice were exposed to 5 mM NaF in their drinking water from 12 to 58 weeks. Micro-computed tomography was used to measure changes in their alveolar bone while immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence staining was used to evaluate protein expression levels. HCEM-2 cells exposed to 5 mM NaF had decreased levels of autophagy, as shown by reduced expression levels of ATG5, Beclin-1 and LC3-II, elicited apoptosis, which in turn induced oxidative stress and inflammation, as manifested by elevated levels of Bax, cleaved caspase-3, SOD1 and phospho NF-κB. Treatment of mice with 5 mM NaF resulted in histological abnormalities in periodontal tissues, induced excessive oxidative stress and apoptosis, and reduced autophagy. Micro-computed tomography analysis demonstrated that 5 mM NaF caused a decrease in bone areas of mice compared with controls. Exposure to 5 mM NaF induced RANKL (receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand) and cathepsin K expression in periodontal tissues, while ATG5 and Beclin-1 expression was abrogated by 5 mM NaF. Taken together, our findings suggest that 5 mM NaF elicits oral toxicity that contributes to excessive apoptosis, oxidative stress, and defective autophagy, which aggravates periodontal tissue damage.

Do distribution and expansion of exotic invasive Asteraceae plants relate to leaf construction cost in a man-made wetland?

Exotic species especially Asteraceae plants severely invade wetlands in Shenzhen Bay, an important part of the coast wetland in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Bay Area, China. However, the reasons causing their expansion are unclear. The leaf traits and expansion indices of six invasive Asteraceae plants from the Overseas Chinese Town (OCT) wetland were studied and the results showed that nearly 45% of the total plant species (31 out of 69 species) in the OCT wetland, belonging to 15 families and 27 genera, were exotic invasive species. The expansion indices of six Asteraceae species negatively correlated with their leaf construction cost based on mass (CCM), caloric values and carbon concentration, but their relations with ash content were positive. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that CCM was the most important factor affecting the expansion of an exotic species, indicating CCM may be an important reason causing the expansion of exotic species in coastal wetlands.

Mechanical stimuli for left ventricular growth during pressure overload

BACKGROUND

The mechanical stimulus (i.e. stress or stretch) for growth occurring in the pressure-overloaded left ventricle (LV) is not exactly known.

OBJECTIVE

To address this issue, we investigate the correlation between local ventricular growth (indexed by local wall thickness) and the local acute changes in mechanical stimuli after aortic banding.

METHODS

LV geometric data were extracted from 3D echo measurements at baseline and 2 weeks in the aortic banding swine model (n = 4). We developed and calibrated animal-specific finite element (FE) model of LV mechanics against pressure and volume waveforms measured at baseline. After the simulation of the acute effects of pressure-overload, the local changes of maximum, mean and minimum myocardial stretches and stresses in three orthogonal material directions (i.e., fiber, sheet and sheet-normal) over a cardiac cycle were quantified. Correlation between mechanical quantities and the corresponding measured local changes in wall thickness was quantified using the Pearson correlation number (PCN) and Spearman rank correlation number (SCN).

RESULTS

At 2 weeks after banding, the average septum thickness decreased from 10.6 ± 2.92mm to 9.49 ± 2.02mm, whereas the LV free-wall thickness increased from 8.69 ± 1.64mm to 9.4 ± 1.22mm. The FE results show strong correlation of growth with the changes in maximum fiber stress (PCN = 0.5471, SCN = 0.5111) and changes in the mean sheet-normal stress (PCN= 0.5266, SCN = 0.5256). Myocardial stretches, however, do not have good correlation with growth.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that fiber stress is the mechanical stimuli for LV growth in pressure-overload.

[Study on the state of macrophage infiltration in the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease induced by high-fat diet in mice]

Objective: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common chronic liver disease. Macrophages are an important cell-mediated immune response in the pathogenesis of NAFLD. However, the dynamic changes of intrahepatic infiltration during the pathogenesis of NAFLD remains unclear. Therefore, this study intends to investigate the changes and their correlations with morphological indicators, hepatic histopathological index, and intrahepatic macrophage infiltration in the progression of NAFLD induced by high-fat diet in mice. Methods: C57BL/6J mice were fed with 42% high-fat diet, and the morphological data and liver tissue were obtained at 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12 months, respectively. Hepatic histopathological characteristics were evaluated by HE stain. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the number of F4/80 positive cells in liver tissue at different stages to evaluate the degree of intrahepatic macrophage infiltration. Results: (1) The body weight, liver weight, and liver weight/body weight of mice fed with high-fat diet had gradually increased. (2) HE staining results showed that mice fed with high-fat diet had mainly developed simple steatosis within 1 to 2 months. In addition, a balloon-like hepatocyte degeneration and intralobular inflammation had begun to appear at 4 months, indicating that non-alcoholic steatohepatitis had started, and can be seen very clearly at 8 to 12 months. (3) Immunohistochemical staining results suggested that in the simple steatosis stage of NAFLD, the intrahepatic macrophage infiltration was not significant. However, after NAFLD activity score > 3, a large amount of infiltration had appeared and cluster-like changes in the later stage. (4) Correlation analysis results indicated that the degree of macrophage infiltration was not related to the mice morphological indicators (body weight, liver weight and liver weight/body weight) and pathological indicators (percentage of hepatic steatotic change, and degree of hepatocyte ballooning and intralobular inflammation), but was significantly related to the NAFLD activity score. Conclusion: High-fat diet can successfully induce NAFLD in mice and progress to the stage of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. At the same time, high-fat diet can induce macrophage infiltration in liver tissue of mice and the changing trend of infiltration is related to NAFLD activity score.

Enabling Ether-Based Electrolytes for Long Cycle Life of Lithium-Ion Batteries at High Charge Voltage

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with high-nickel (Ni) content LiNi_xMn_yCo_zO₂ (x + y + z = 1) (NMC with Ni ≥ 0.6) cathodes operated at high charge voltages have been considered as one of the most promising candidates for addressing the challenge of increasing energy density demand. Conventional LiPF₆-organocarbonate electrolytes exhibit incompatibility with such cell chemistries under certain testing conditions because of the instability of electrode/electrolyte interphases. In response to this challenge, ether-based electrolytes with finely tuned structure and composition of solvation sheaths were developed and evaluated in graphite (Gr)∥NMC811 cell chemistry in 2.5-4.4 V, despite ethers being conventionally considered to be unfavorable electrolyte solvents for LIBs because of their anodic instability above 4.0 V and cointercalation into Gr electrodes. The functional ether-based electrolytes in this work enable both excellent cycle life and high rate capability of Gr∥NMC811 cells. Mechanistic studies reveal that the unique structure and composition of the solvation sheath of the functional ether electrolytes are the main reasons behind their excellent anodic stability and effective protection of the Gr electrode and, consequently, the extraordinary cell performances when operated at high charge cutoff voltages. This work also provides a feasible approach in developing highly stable functional electrolytes for high-energy density LIBs.

[Atypical renal cysts: a clinicopathological and molecular analysis of six cases]

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and molecular genetics of atypical renal cysts. Methods: Six cases of atypical renal cysts were collected from Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou, China, between February 2014 and February 2019. The clinicopathological characteristics and disease progression were analyzed. The 3p deletion and trisomy of chromosomes 7 and 17 were detected using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Results: All of the 6 patients were male, aged 43-63 years (median: 52 years). Preoperative Bosniak classification showed 4 cases of grade Ⅱ, 1 case of grade Ⅰ and 1 of grade Ⅲ. Histologically, atypical renal cysts appeared as unilocular or multilocular cysts, lined by multilayered flattened or cuboidal-shaped clear or eosinophilic cells. They often showed short papillary projections, and lacked solid or nodular growth of the lesional cells within the wall or septa of the cysts. Histologically, these cysts could be classified into three categories: acquired cystic disease-associated renal cell carcinoma (ACKD-RCC)-like (3 cases), clear cell type (2 cases), and eosinophilic papillary type (1 case). Two cases of ACKD-RCC-like atypical renal cysts were accompanied by clear cell renal cell carcinomas. On immunohistochemical staining, ACKD-RCC-like atypical renal cysts were focally CK7+/AMACR+/CD57+, the clear-cell type atypical renal cysts were CK7+/CAⅨ+, and eosinophilic papillary type atypical renal cysts were CK7+/AMACR+. FISH analyses showed that one case of ACKD-RCC-like atypical renal cysts had trisomy 17 and one case of clear cell type had 3p deletion, while no signal abnormality was detected in the other cases. The six patients were followed up for 13 to 70 months (median: 27 months), and no evidence of renal cell carcinoma was noted. Conclusion: Atypical renal cysts are a group of lesions that are heterogeneous in clinical, histological and immunophenotypical and molecular genetic features. FISH analyses suggest that a subset of the cases may be precursors of currently known renal cell carcinomas. Extensively sampling and careful observation of the histological characteristics of the cyst wall are important for distinguishing atypical renal cysts from extensively cystic renal cell carcinomas.

miR-92a-3p promotes the proliferation and invasion of gastric cancer cells by targeting KLF2

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have pivotal roles in the initiation and progression of gastric cancer (GC), and miR-92a-3p has been proved to act as an oncogene in multiple malignancies. However, the molecular mechanisms by which miR-92a-3p contributes to GC remain unclear. The differentially expressed miRNAs were screened by GEO dataset, and the association of miR-92a-3p expression with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in patients with GC was analyzed by TCGA dataset. The target genes of miR-92a-3p were identified by bioinformatic analysis, and their interaction was confirmed by luciferase reporter assay. MTT, EdU and Transwell assays were conducted to determine the role of miR-92a-3p in GC cells. As a result, it was found that the expression levels of miR-92a-3p were increased in GC tissues and were associated with tumor size, lymph node infiltration and distant metastasis, acting as an independent prognostic factor of poor survival in patients with GC. Restored expression of miR-92a-3p facilitated cell proliferation, DNA synthesis and cell invasion, but its inhibitor reversed these effects. KLF2 was further identified as a direct target of miR-92a-3p, indicating a negative correlation with miR-92a-3p expression and harboring a favorable prognosis in GC. In addition, KLF2 repressed cell proliferation and invasion and attenuated the tumor-promoting effects of miR-92a-3p in GC cells. Altogether, our findings demonstrated that miR-92a-3p promoted the proliferation and invasion of GC cells by targeting KLF2.

Repurposing glycated hemoglobin as a possible marker of myocardial ageing in asymptomatic older adults

Background

The adverse consequences of diabetes mellitus on cardiovascular health is well-established. However, few studies have studied the impact of diabetes on ageing. In our previous investigations, we identified distinct patterns of myocardial ageing among older adults otherwise asymptomatic for clinical cardiovascular disease. In this analysis, we hypothesize that glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) may be differentially associated with these distinct signatures of myocardial ageing, thereby providing greater precision towards future preventative trials.

Methods

We performed extensive cardiovascular examinations on a cohort of asymptomatic aged community adults. Transthoracic echocardiography measured left ventricular structure and function. LV filling pressure was measured as the ratio between early mitral inflow velocity and mitral annular early diastolic velocity. Longitudinal left atrial (LA) strain comprising reservoir strain (ɛs), conduit strain (ɛe) and booster strain (ɛa) and their corresponding peak strain rates (SRs, SRe, SRa) were measured using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) feature tracking technique. Blood sampling for biomarkers were performed simultaneously with cardiovascular examinations.

Results

Among n=515 community adults in sinus rhythm and without cardiovascular disease [mean age 73±4 years, 255 (50%) females], 116 (23%) had diabetes. Age (73 vs 73 years) and heart rate (72 vs 75 beats per minute) were similar between diabetic and non-diabetic older adults. Diabetic older adults are mostly male (59% vs 48%, p=0.046), had larger body mass indices (24 vs 23 kg/m2, p=0.027), and greater burdens of hypertension (81% vs 41%, p&lt;0.0001) and dyslipidemia (79% vs 43%, p&lt;0.0001), compared to non-diabetic older adults. Diabetics had worse LV myocardial relaxation [(ratio of peak velocity flow in early diastole E (m/s) to peak velocity flow in late diastole by atrial contraction A (m/s), 0.8±0.2 vs 0.9±0.3, p=0.031), worse LV filling pressures (10.9±3.1 vs 10.1±3.3, p=0.022), reductions in LA global strain (−33±17 vs −28±9.7, p=0.016), LA conduit strain ɛe (12±4.3 vs 14±4.1, p=0.045), increases in SRe (−1.2±0.4 vs −1.3±0.5, p=0.042) and reductions in SRe: SRa ratio (0.5±0.2 vs 0.7±0.3, p=0.0059) compared to non-diabetics. Based on multivariate analysis, HbA1c was independently associated with LV myocardial relaxation (β=−0.08 (−0.1, −0.03), p=0.002), LA conduit strain (β=−0.9, (−1.6, −0.1), p=0.025), LA conduit strain rate (β=0.1, (0.04, 0.2), p=0.005), strongly associated with LA global strain (β=3.0, (0.9, 5.1), p=0.006), but not associated with LV filling pressure (β=0.5 (−0.04, 1.0), p=NS).

Conclusion

Our detailed examinations revealed distinct associations between glycated hemoglobin and myocardial functions that additionally varied in magnitude. As a contemporary biomarker, glycated hemoglobin may be useful for stratifying risks associated with myocardial ageing, particularly in ageing-related left atrial myopathies.

Funding Acknowledgement

Type of funding source: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): National Medical Research Council of Singapore; Singhealth Foundation

Gastric cancer nodal tumour-stroma ratios influence prognosis

This study showed that nodal tumour-stroma ratio (NTSR) is an independent prognostic factor for overall and disease-free survival of patients with gastric cancer. Both relative stroma-rich primary tumour-stroma ratio (PTSR) and NTSR were independent negative prognostic factors for overall survival in gastric cancer. This study supports assessment of tumour-stroma ratio in the routine pathological diagnosis of gastric cancer. validated in node-positive disease.

[Application of penile index in the diagnosis and therapeutic evaluation of concealed penis in children]

Objective: To explore the significance of penile index in the diagnosis of concealed penis and the evaluation of therapeutic efficacy. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 221 children with phimosis and 113 children with concealed penis aged 6-10, all of whom had undergone circumcision or phalloplasty respectively in Shanghai Children's Medical Center from January 2014 to December 2017. Penile index was measured before and after surgery. The values of phimosis and concealed penis were tested by group t test. Self -control test was performed for values of concealed penis before and after operations. Results: Penile index was 0.78±0.08 in children with phimosis. It was 0.23±0.10 in concealed penis before operation and changed to 0.84±0.11 postoperatively. In children with phimosis and concealed penile, the difference of penile index was statistically significant (P<0.001). The difference of penile index before and after operation was statistically significant (P<0.001) in children with concealed penis. Conclusion: Penile index is an effective index to evaluate the degree of penis exposure.

The value of four imaging modalities to distinguish malignant from benign solitary pulmonary nodules: a study based on 73 cohorts incorporating 7956 individuals

BACKGROUND

Solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) frequently bother oncologists. The differentiation of malignant from benign nodules with non-invasive approach remains a tough challenge. This study was designed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of dynamic computed tomography (CT), dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET), and technetium 99 m (^99mTc) depreotide single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) for SPNs.

METHODS

Electronic databases of MEDLINE, PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were searched to identify relevant trials. The primary evaluation index of diagnostic accuracy was areas under the summary receiver-operating characteristic (SROC) curve. The results were analyzed utilizing Stata 12.0 statistical software.

RESULTS

Seventy-three trials incorporating 7956 individuals were recruited. Sensitivities, specificities, positive likelihood ratios, negative likelihood ratios, diagnostic score, diagnostic odds ratios, and areas under the SROC curve with 95% confidence intervals were, respectively, 0.92 (0.89-0.95), 0.64 (0.54-0.74), 2.60 (1.98-3.42), 0.12 (0.08-0.17), 3.10 (2.62-3.59), 22.24 (13.67-36.17), and 0.91 (0.88-0.93) for CT; 0.92 (0.86-0.95), 0.85 (0.77-0.90), 6.01 (3.90-9.24), 0.10 (0.06-0.17), 4.12 (3.41-4.82), 61.39 (30.41-123.93), and 0.94 (0.92-0.96) for MRI; 0.90 (0.86-0.93), 0.73 (0.65-0.79), 3.28 (2.56-4.20), 0.14 (0.10-0.19), 3.16 (2.69-3.64), 23.68 (14.74-38.05), and 0.90 (0.87-0.92) for ¹⁸F-FDG PET; and 0.93 (0.88-0.96), 0.70 (0.56-0.81), 3.12 (2.03-4.81), 0.10 (0.06-0.17), 3.43 (2.63-4.22), 30.74 (13.84-68.27), and 0.93 (0.91-0.95) for ^99mTc-depreotide SPECT.

CONCLUSION

The dynamic MRI, dynamic CT, ¹⁸F-FDG PET, and ^99mTc-depreotide SPECT were favorable non-invasive approaches to distinguish malignant SPNs from benign. Moreover, from the viewpoint of cost-effectiveness and avoiding radiation, the dynamic MRI was recommendable for SPNs.

AB1067 CASE OR FAMILY?FROM 2 CHINESE FCAS3 CHILDREN WITH PLCG2 MUTATION TO THEIR FAMILIES

Background:

Familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome 3 (FCAS3) is an autoinflammatory disease (AID) caused by mutation of the PLCG2 gene, which has not been reported in China. We will report 2 cases of Chinese FCAS3 patients with no claimed family history, but we found the same mutations in a parent during their genetic analysis. After further inquiry of the parent’s medical history, we confirmed that actually, they were two FCAS3 families. Through a literature review, we found that the clinical features of Chinese patients are milder than foreign countries, and their symptoms are concealed and may be ignored, resulting in mistakes in family history collecting.

Objectives:

To summarize the genetic and clinical features of Chinese FCAS3 patients and to provide diagnostic recommendations for the disease.

Methods:

Two suspected AID children with recurrent fever and urticaria were enrolled in this study. Clinical data and family history were collected, and genetic analysis was performed by next-generation sequencing (PID panel or WES) and Sanger-based validation. Literature was reviewed from PubMed, CNKI, and Wanfang Database.

Results:

The two children were both diagnosed to be FCAS3 with PLCG2 mutation. The clinical manifestations of 2 children were recurrent fever, urticaria, and increased ESR and CRP. Case 1 has a paternal, and Case 2 has a maternal heterozygous mutation in the PLCG2 gene, while both had claimed without a family history. Further inquiry showed the two parents used to have a fever with urticaria. By comparing with foreign literature, we found our patients were milder than abroad patients. Large fragment deletions were relatively more common in foreign patients.

Conclusion:

We reported the case of FCAS3 in China for the first time. Their genotype and phenotype were different from foreign patients. Their symptoms are mild, and heterozygous mutations are more common than foreign patients, which are the main differences. The difference in mutation type may be the reason for different clinical manifestations. Besides, both two families showed a trend of more severe clinical features in the next generation. As the symptoms of the elders were not obvious and may be ignored, it caused trouble for the genetic diagnosis. Therefore, family history should be collected carefully. For rashes and fevers, which are not too severe in overall symptoms, care should be taken about the possibility of AIDs. Genetic testing can help to make a definite diagnosis.

Table 1.

Descriptive charecteristics of the patients with FMF, n=474

VariableCompliant(n=230)Noncompliant (n=244)P valueGender of patient (F)142(61.7)147(60.2)0.73Age, years*35(28-42.5)34(27-44.2)0.88Being Married152(66.1)146(59.8)0.15Disease duration, years*22(14-31)22(15-31)0.71Number of index flare*within last 12-month6.7(1-10)5(3-10)<0.001Family historyof parents54(23.5)39(16.0)0.04Family historyof sibling73(32.9)102(43.4)0.02Comorbid disease presence73(31.7)55(22.5)0.02Treatment<0.001Colchicine230 (94.1)180(78.6)Anakinra&Canakinumab134(5.3)49(21.4)Colchicine response presence127(55.2)126(52.3)0.52Drug using except FMF74(32.2)44(18.0)<0.001Presence of 2 attacks except fever90 (39.1)68(27.9)0.009Chronic peripheral arthritis16(7.0)7(2.9)0.03Amyloidosis18(7.8)9(3.7)0.05Proteinuria23(10.8)8(3.6)0.004Adequate medical care161(70.0)132(54.8)<0.001ISSF severity score*3(2-4)3(2-4)0.02ADDI index*1(0-1)1(0-1)0.05

References:

[1]Pathak S, Mcdermott M F, Savic S. Autoinflammatory diseases: update on classification diagnosis and management[J]. Journal of Clinical Pathology, 2017, 70(1):1-8.

[2]Broderick, L., Hereditary Autoinflammatory Disorders: Recognition and Treatment. Immunol Allergy Clin North Am, 2019. 39(1):13-29.

[3]Milner, Joshua D. PLAID: A Syndrome of Complex Patterns of Disease and Unique Phenotypes[J]. Journal of Clinical Immunology, 2015, 35(6):527-530.

[4]Picard C, Gaspar H B, Al-Herz W, et al. International Union of Immunological Societies: 2017 Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases Committee Report on Inborn Errors of Immunity[J]. Journal of Clinical Immunology, 2017, 38(Suppl 1):96-128.

[5]Ombrello M J, Remmers E F, Sun G, et al. Cold Urticaria, Immunodeficiency, and Autoimmunity Related to PLCG2 Deletions[J]. New England Journal of Medicine, 2012, 366(4):330-8.

[6]Zhou Q, Lee GS, Brady J, et al. A Hypermorphic Missense Mutation in PLCG2, Encoding Phospholipase Cγ2, Causes a Dominantly Inherited Autoinflammatory Disease with Immunodeficiency[J]. American Journal of Human Genetics, 2012, 91(4).

[7]Neves, J.F., et al., Novel PLCG2 Mutation in a Patient with APLAID and Cutis Laxa. Front Immunol, 2018. 9: 2863.

[8]Mcdermott M F, Aksentijevich I, Galon J, et al. Germline mutations in the extracellular domains of the 55 kDa TNF receptor, TNFR1, define a family of dominantly inherited autoinflammatory syndromes[J]. Cell, 1999, 97(1):133-144.

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared

GPR39 Overexpression in OSCC Promotes YAP-Sustained Malignant Progression

The clinical outcome of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) has not improved in recent years, mainly due to the limited effective targeted therapy that has been applied. Recently, a transcriptional coactivator, YAP, has been shown to have a key regulatory role in malignant progression in multiple cancers, including OSCC. But pharmacologically targeting YAP or the Hippo pathway, which is the main signaling pathway regulating YAP, has been proven to be challenging. Therefore, uncovering YAP upstream regulators in cancer would identify novel therapeutic targets for treatment of YAP-sustained cancers. Here, we showed that YAP was overactivated in OSCC and that high YAP activity in patients with OSCC was associated with malignant progression and poor survival. We uncovered that GPR39 (a G protein-coupled receptor) was overexpressed in OSCC, that the expression level of GPR39 was correlated with the activity level of YAP, and that the high GPR39 expression was associated with malignant progression and poor survival in patients with OSCC. Moreover, we found that GPR39 regulated YAP through a Gαq/11-RhoA-dependent signaling pathway. Importantly, inhibition of GPR39 resulted in YAP-sustained OSCC growth inhibition. Our findings suggest that GPR39 is a potential therapeutic target for OSCC treatment with itself as a biomarker.

WITHDRAWN: LncRNA-LINC00261 suppresses the progression of NSCLC cells through upregulating miR-19a-mediated Kruppel-like factor 2 (KLF2)

Ahead of Print article withdrawn by publisher.

Arsenic stabilization performance of a novel starch-modified Fe-Mn binary oxide colloid

Arsenic (As) is an environmentally hazardous contaminant and can be a serious threat to human health. In China, the remediation needs for a large number of As-contaminated sites renders a strong demand for efficient remedial reagents and cost-effective approaches. In this study, a novel starch-modified FeMn binary oxide (SFM), an amorphous colloidal material, has been synthesized as a remedial reagent and its As stabilization performance has been evaluated. A set of laboratory batch experiments were carried out with SFM of different dosages directly added into three contaminated soils to immobilize As. Results demonstrated that SFM could transform As in soil from non-specifically and specifically sorbed fractions to the more stable form bounded to amorphous iron hydrous oxides, thus reducing the As concentration in TCLP leachates by up to 93.2%. Results from adsorption tests and microscopic analysis indicated that the interactions between SFM and As are mainly controlled by adsorption, oxidation, and precipitation processes. SFM has abundant surface hydroxyl groups, with excellent adsorption properties for both As(V) and As(III), with the maximum adsorption capacities of 160.63 and 284.64 mg/g respectively at pH 7.0. The adsorption process closely fitted pseudo second-order kinetics and Freundlich isotherm model. SFM could increase soil Eh and oxidize As(III) to As(V), which facilitated the As stabilization in soil. Colloidal iron-based material directly used for stabilization in As contaminated soils is reported here for the first time. Starch modification improves both the reactivity and mobility of the stabilization agent in soil. Our findings propose an efficient and convenient reagent for As remediation in soil.

Is Laguncularia racemosa more invasive than Sonneratia apetala in northern Fujian, China in terms of leaf energetic cost?

Laguncularia racemosa and Sonneratia apetala are fast-growing exotic mangrove species in Southern China and widely used for afforestation. However, the invasiveness of the two exotic species is still unclear. We compared structural and physiological traits and energy-use related traits between L. racemosa and S. apetala, and with two natives (Kandelia obovata and Aegiceras corniculatum) in northern Fujian. Results showed that leaf construction cost based on mass (CCM) and caloric values of L. racemosa were significantly lower than S. apetala, and the two natives had highest CCM. Because lower CCM, L. racemosa grew faster with a taller height (4.83 m) and wider ground diameter circumference (40.03 cm) than S. apetala (4.43 m tall and 35.63 cm wide) and the two natives (2.42 m tall and 26.78 cm wide). These findings indicated that L. racemosa could be more invasive than S. apetala in mangrove forests in northern Fujian, China where it still grew well, which deserves more attention.

Research Note: Effects of the rearing method and stocking density on carcass traits and proximate composition of meat in small-sized meat ducks

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different rearing methods and stocking densities on carcass yield and proximate composition of meat in small-sized meat ducks. A total of 555 one-day-old birds were randomly allocated to six treatment groups (three replicates per treatment, sex ratio 1/1) with a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement of two rearing methods (reared in cage or net) and three stocking densities (5 [low], 7 [medium], or 9 [high] birds/m²) until day 70. Five male and five female birds from each replicate were randomly selected and processed to determine the carcass yield. Proximate composition was determined by proximate analysis using the breast and thigh muscles. There was no interaction effect between the rearing method and stocking density on carcass yield. The rearing method affected the thigh muscle rate, which was higher in the cage groups (P < 0.05). The final BW and abdominal fat rate decreased with increasing density (P < 0.05), whereas the thigh muscle rate increased (P < 0.05). There were significant interaction effects (P < 0.05) between the rearing method and stocking density on the content of protein, fat, and collagen. The content of fat and moisture was greater and lower, respectively, in the cage groups (P < 0.05). The content of moisture, fat, and collagen with a medium density was higher (P < 0.05). In addition, the content of protein and fat was lower in the ducks fed in nets at low and high densities (P < 0.05), respectively; the collagen content of breast and thigh muscle was lower in the ducks fed in cages and nets, respectively, at a low density (P < 0.05). Our findings provide valuable insights into the single and interactive effects of the rearing method and stocking density on duck slaughter performance and proximate composition of meat. The results indicate that a rearing system with a cage pattern and a medium density is better than other arrangements for small-sized meat ducks.