Mouse model of Graves' orbitopathy induced by the immunization with TSHR A and IGF-1R α subunit gene

PURPOSE

The study aimed to establish a mouse model of Graves' disease (GD) with Graves' orbitopathy (GO; GD + GO) that can represent the clinical disease characteristics.

METHODS

A eukaryotic expression plasmid of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) α subunit (pcDNA3.1/IGF-1Rα) and a thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) A subunit plasmid (pcDNA3.1/TSHR-289) were injected in female BALB/c mice followed by immediate electroporation to induce a GD + GO model. Grouping was performed according to the frequency of injection (2- to 4-week intervals) and type of injected plasmids: T: pcDNA3.1/TSHR-289( +), I: pcDNA3.1/IGF-1Rα( +), or co-injection T + I: pcDNA3.1/TSHR-289( +) and pcDNA3.1/IGF-1Rα( +). Serum TSH, T4, TSAb, TSBAb, body weight, and blood glucose levels were evaluated. Thyroid 99mTcO4- imaging and retrobulbar magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were performed, and bilateral eye muscle volumes were measured. Immunohistochemistry and hematoxylin-eosin staining were performed on the relevant tissues, and semi-quantitative analysis was performed.

RESULTS

A total of 60% of mice (3/5, one mouse died) in the T group developed GD + GO. In the T + I group, 83.3% of mice (5/6) developed GD + GO. Mice in the I group did not develop GD. Compared with the control group, serum T4, TSAb, and TSBAb of the mice in the GD + GO model groups were increased to varying degrees (P < 0.05), and serum TSH and body weight were significantly lower compared to the control group (P < 0.05). The thyroid uptake capacity of 99mTcO4- and the volume of eye muscle of mice in the GD + GO group were significantly higher compared to the control group (P < 0.05). The thyroid and retrobulbar muscles of these mice showed varying inflammatory infiltration and interstitial muscle edema. The severity of GD + GO in the co-injection group was not related to injection frequency; however, GD and ocular signs in co-injection mice were more severe compared to the T group.

CONCLUSIONS

We successfully induced a GD + GO mouse model by a repeated co-injection of pcDNA3.1/IGF-1Rα and pcDNA3.1/TSHR-289 plasmids. Injection of pcDNA3.1/IGF-1Rα alone failed to induce GD. Co-injection of two plasmids induced more severe GD + GO than pcDNA3.1/TSHR-289( +) alone.

POLQ inhibition attenuates the stemness and ferroptosis resistance in gastric cancer cells via downregulation of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase

Gastric cancer (GC) contains subpopulations of cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are described as the main contributors in tumor initiation and metastasis. It is necessary to clarify the molecular mechanism underlying CSCs phenotype and develop novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for gastric cancer. Here, we show that POLQ positively regulates stem cell-like characteristics of gastric cancer cells, knockdown of POLQ suppressed the stemness of GC cells in vitro and in vivo. Further mechanistic studies revealed that POLQ knockdown could downregulate the expression of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH). DHODH overexpression rescued the reduced stemness resulted by POLQ knockdown. Furthermore, we found that POLQ expression correlated with resistance to ferroptosis, and POLQ inhibition renders gastric cancer cells more vulnerable to ferroptosis. Further investigation revealed that POLQ regulated DHODH expression via the transcription factors E2F4, thereby regulating ferroptosis resistance and stemness of gastric cancer cells. Given the importance of POLQ in stemness and ferroptosis resistance of GC, we further evaluated the therapeutic potential of POLQ inhibitor novobiocin, the results show that novobiocin attenuates the stemness of GC cells and increased ferroptosis sensitivity. Moreover, the combination of POLQ inhibitor and ferroptosis inducer synergistically suppressed MGC-803 xenograft tumor growth and diminished metastasis. Our results identify a POLQ-mediated stemness and ferroptosis defense mechanism and provide a new therapeutic strategy for gastric cancer.

Knowledge-Embedded Mutual Guidance for Visual Reasoning

Visual reasoning between visual images and natural language is a long-standing challenge in computer vision. Most of the methods aim to look for answers to questions only on the basis of the analysis of the offered questions and images. Other approaches treat knowledge graphs as flattened tables to search for the answer. However, there are two major problems with these works: 1) the model disregards the fact that the world we surrounding us interlinks our hearing and speaking of natural language and 2) the model largely ignores the structure of the acrlong KG. To overcome these challenging deficiencies, a model should jointly consider two modalities of vision and language, as well as the rich structural and logical information embedded in knowledge graphs. To this end, we propose a general joint representation learning framework for visual reasoning, namely, knowledge-embedded mutual guidance. It realizes mutual guidance not only between visual data and natural language descriptions but also between knowledge graphs and reasoning models. In addition, it exploits the knowledge derived from the reasoning model to boost knowledge graphs when applying the visual relation detection task. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach performs dramatically better than state-of-the-art methods on two benchmarks for visual reasoning.

[Application value of laparoscopic double stapler firings and double stapling technique combined with rectal eversion and total extra-abdominal resection in the sphincter-preserving resection of low rectal cancer]

Objectives: To investigate the application value of laparoscopic double stapler firings and double stapling technique combined with rectal eversion and total extra-abdominal resection (LDER) in the anal preservation treatment of low rectal cancer. Methods: Inclusion criteria: (1) age was 18-70; (2) the distance of the lower tumor edge from the anal verge was 4-5 cm; (3) primary tumor with a diameter ≤3 cm; (4) preoperative staging of T1~2N1~2M0; (5) "difficult pelvis", defined as ischial tuberosity diameter<10 cm or body mass index>25 kg/m2; (6) patients with strong intention for sphincter preservation; (7) no preoperative treatment (e.g., chemotherapy, radiotherapy, molecular targeted therapy, or immunotherapy); (8) no lateral lymph node enlargement; (9) no previous anorectal surgery; (10) patients with good basic condition who could tolerate surgery. Exclusion criteria: (1) previously suffered from malignant tumors of the digestive tract or currently suffering from malignant tumors out of the digestive tract; (2) patients with preoperative anal dysfunction (Wexner score ≥ 10), or fecal incontinence. The specific surgical steps are as follows: the distal end of the rectum was dissected to the level of the interspace between internal and external sphincters of anal canal. Five centimeters proximal to the tumor, the mesorectum was ligated, and a liner stapler was used to transect the rectum. The distal rectum with the tumor were then everted and extracted through the anus. The rectum was transected 0.5-1.0 cm distal to the tumor with a linear stapler. Full thickness suture was used to reinforce the stump of the rectum, which was then brought back into the pelvic cavity. Finally, an end-to-end anastomosis between the colon and the rectum was performed. A retrospective descriptive study was performed of the clinical and pathological data of 12 patients with T1-T2 stage low rectal cancer treated with LDER at Henan Provincial People's Hospital from January 2020 to December 2022. Results: All 12 patients successfully completed LDER with sphincter preservation, without conversion to open surgery or changes in surgical approach. The median surgical time was 272 (155-320) minutes, with a median bleeding volume of 100 (50-200) mL. No protective stoma was performed, and all patients received R0 resection. The average hospital stay was 9 (7-15) days. There were no postoperative anastomotic leakage or perioperative deaths. All 12 patients received postoperative follow-up, with a median follow-up of 12 months (6-36 months) and a Wexner score of 8 (5-14) at 6 months postoperatively. There was no tumor recurrence or metastasis during the follow-up period. Conclusions: LDER is safe and effective for the treatment of low rectal cancer.

Identification and validation of a novel cuproptosis signature for stratifying different prognostic, immune, metabolic, and therapeutic landscapes in pancreatic adenocarcinoma

OBJECTIVE

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) is a highly malignant cancer that urgently needs more effective therapeutic strategies. The discovery of cuproptosis brings great inspiration for the treatment and clinical assessment of cancers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A novel cuproptosis-related (CR) risk signature was constructed using the Lasso regression analysis. Its prognostic value was assessed via a series of survival analyses and validated in four GEO cohorts. The effects of CR risk signature on tumor immune microenvironment (TIM) were explored through CIBERSORT, ESTIMATE, and ssGSEA algorithms. Using GESA, we investigated its associations with various patterns of programmed cell death (PCD) and the metabolism process. The somatic mutation features of each CR-risk group were also probed using 'maftools' R package and cBioPortal database. The potential linkages between CR risk score and the efficacy of multiple therapeutic approaches were elucidated using tumor mutation burden, the expressions of immune checkpoints, the TIDE score, and the GDSC database. Finally, we ascertained the biofunctions of LIPT1 (Lipoyltransferase 1) in pancreatic cancer (PC) cells through immunohistochemistry, qPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction), colony formation, and Transwell assays.

RESULTS

LIPT1, LIAS (lipoyl synthase), PDP1 (Pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase1), and GCSH (Glycine cleavage system H protein) constituted the CR risk signature. The CR risk signature possessed a high prognostic value and could improve the traditional prognostic model. Moreover, the CR risk score was indicative of the changes in infiltration levels of CD8+T cells and macrophages, whereas it was not associated with the enrichment of various PCD patterns and multiple metabolic processes. As for therapeutic correlation, CR risk score was a potential biomarker for predicting the efficacy of ICBs but failed in targeted drugs and chemotherapeutic agents. Through qPCR and immunohistochemistry detection in clinical samples, we confirmed that LIPT1 was significantly downregulated in pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) samples. Experiments in vitro revealed that silencing LIPT1 promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of PANC-1 and SW1990 cells.

CONCLUSIONS

The novel CR risk signature contributed to the risk stratification of PAAD patients. Cuproptosis regulatory genes, well represented by LIPT1, provided new insights into PAAD treatment and assessment.

Coupled thermo-mechanical interaction on a multi-layered skin tissue with temperature-dependent physical properties irradiated by a pulse laser

A detailed understanding of the coupled thermo-mechanical interaction on the biological tissue irradiated by a pulse laser is essential for the existed therapeutic methods constructed on the photo-thermal effect, which will contribute to the design, characterization and optimization of strategies for delivering better treatment. The aim of present work is to explore the coupled thermo-mechanical behavior of a multi-layered skin tissue with temperature-dependent physical properties under the pulsed laser irradiation. A layered theoretical model involved variable physical parameters with temperature has been proposed firstly according to the generalized theory of thermo-elasticity with dual-phase lag mechanism. The numerical method based on an explicit finite difference scheme is then employed to predict the temporal and spatial distributions of the temperature, thermal deformation and stresses experienced to a short-pulse laser irradiation. On this basis, the effect of variable thermal and mechanical physical parameters of skin tissue on the coupled thermo-mechanical behavior and relative thermal damage has been evaluated.

Tumor-targeting hydroxyapatite nanoparticles for remodeling tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) by activating mitoDNA-pyroptosis pathway in cancer

In recent years, immunotherapy has emerged as a promising strategy for treating solid tumors, although its efficacy remains limited to a subset of patients. Transforming non-responsive "cold" tumor types into immuno-responsive "hot" ones is critical to enhance the efficacy of immune-based cancer treatments. Pyroptosis, a programmed cell death mechanism, not only effectively eliminates tumor cells but also triggers a potent inflammatory response to initiate anti-tumor immune activities. This sheds light on the potential of pyroptosis to sensitize tumors to immune therapy. Hence, it is urgent to explore and develop novel treatments (e.g., nanomedicines) which are capable of inducing pyroptosis. In this study, we constructed tumor-targeting nanoparticles (CS-HAP@ATO NPs) by loading atorvastatin (ATO) onto chondroitin sulfate (CS) modified hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanoparticles (CS-HAP). CS was strategically employed to target tumor cells, while HAP exhibited the capacity to release calcium ions (Ca2+) in response to the tumor microenvironment. Moreover, ATO disrupted the mitochondrial function, leading to intracellular energy depletion and consequential changes in mitochondrial membrane permeability, followed by the influx of Ca2+ into the cytoplasm and mitochondria. CS and HAP synergetically augmented mitochondrial calcium overload, inciting the production of substantial amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the subsequent liberation of oxidized mitochondrial DNA (OX-mitoDNA). This intricate activation process promoted the assembly of inflammasomes, most notably the NLRP3 inflammasome, followed by triggering caspase-1 activation. The activated caspase-1 was able to induce gasderminD (GSDMD) protein cleavage and present the GSDM-N domain, which interacted with phospholipids in the cell membrane. Then, the cell membrane permeability was raised, cellular swelling was observed, and abundant cell contents and inflammatory mediators were released. Ultimately, this orchestrated sequence of events served to enhance the anti-tumor immunoresponse within the organism.

A high sensitivity cross-capacitive sensor for water droplets and bubble detection in hydraulic oil

The presence of moisture and air in hydraulic oil will seriously affect the reliability of machines. This paper proposes a new cross-capacitive oil pollution detection sensor, which is based on the Thompson and Lampard theorem. The sensing unit consists of four identical copper electrodes with infinitesimally small gaps. The sensor can effectively distinguish water droplets and air bubble pollutants mixed in the oil through the pulse direction of the signal. Compared with traditional capacitive sensors, the sensor has a significant improvement in detection accuracy and detection throughput. In this paper, the relationship between the cross-capacitance value with the dielectric constant and the frequency in an alternating electric field was deduced, and the best excitation frequency was chosen as 1.9 MHz. Experiments show that the sensor can effectively detect water droplets of 140-160 µm and bubbles of 170-190 µm and has good linearity for detecting water droplets and air bubbles of different sizes. The sensor provides a new method for machine condition monitoring of hydraulic systems.

Defining metabolic flexibility in hair follicle stem cell induced squamous cell carcinoma

Among the numerous changes associated with the transformation to cancer, cellular metabolism is one of the first discovered and most prominent[1, 2]. However, despite the knowledge that nearly every cancer is associated with the strong upregulation of various metabolic pathways, there has yet to be much clinical progress on the treatment of cancer by targeting a single metabolic enzyme directly[3-6]. We previously showed that inhibition of glycolysis through lactate dehydrogenase (LDHA) deletion in cancer cells of origin had no effect on the initiation or progression of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma[7], suggesting that these cancers are metabolically flexible enough to produce the necessary metabolites required for sustained growth in the absence of glycolysis. Here we focused on glutaminolysis, another metabolic pathway frequently implicated as important for tumorigenesis in correlative studies. We genetically blocked glutaminolysis through glutaminase (GLS) deletion in cancer cells of origin, and found that this had little effect on tumorigenesis, similar to what we previously showed for blocking glycolysis. Tumors with genetic deletion of glutaminolysis instead upregulated lactate consumption and utilization for the TCA cycle, providing further evidence of metabolic flexibility. We also found that the metabolic flexibility observed upon inhibition of glycolysis or glutaminolysis is due to post-transcriptional changes in the levels of plasma membrane lactate and glutamine transporters. To define the limits of metabolic flexibility in cancer initiating hair follicle stem cells, we genetically blocked both glycolysis and glutaminolysis simultaneously and found that frank carcinoma was not compatible with abrogation of both of these carbon utilization pathways. These data point towards metabolic flexibility mediated by regulation of nutrient consumption, and suggest that treatment of cancer through metabolic manipulation will require multiple interventions on distinct pathways.

m6A Reader YTHDC1 Inhibits Ferroptosis and Radiosensitivity by Promoting SREBF1 mRNA Nuclear Export in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S)

Radioresistance is the main reason for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) recurrence leading to treatment failure, and inducing ferroptosis has gradually been a new way to enhance radiosensitivity. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is involved in regulation of numerous biological processes. However, whether m6A affects ferroptosis in NPC is still unclear. In this study, we conducted a siRNA library screening to identify m6A reader YTHDC1 as an essential oncogene that suppressed ferroptosis and radiosensitivity by promoting SREBF1 mRNA nuclear export in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

MATERIALS/METHODS

The expression and function of YTHDC1 were assessed via CCK8 cell viability assay, immunostaining, real-time PCR, western blot, radiation clonogenic assay and fluorescence in situ hybridization assay. Ferroptosis was determined by detecting cell viability, lipid peroxidation, abnormal mitochondrial and cell death rate. The in vivo effects of YTHDC1 were examined with RSL3 treatment or lentivirus modification of YTHDC1 expression in radiated mouse models.

RESULTS

Based on RSL3-induced ferroptotic cell death model and a siRNA library about m6A modification associated gene screening, we identified m6A reader YTHDC1 could inhibit ferroptosis as well as radiosensitivity of NPC, both in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, YTHDC1 protein could recognize m6A sites in the CDS region and 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of SREBF1 mRNA and promote SREBF1 mRNA nuclear export, which finally resulted in transcriptional upregulation of genes key to ferroptosis such as SCD and FASN. Furthermore, the high expression of YTHDC1 was negatively regulated by ZNF598 via ubiquitination and associated with unfavorable survival in NPC patients due to radioresistance.

CONCLUSION

Our findings reveal the critical role of YTHDC1 specifically in inhibiting ferroptosis and radiosensitivity via m6A-dependent mechanism and provide an exploitable target and therapeutic strategy for overcoming radioresistance in NPC.

Influence of off-hours admission on outcomes of ischemic stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis of contemporary studies

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to document pooled evidence on the association between admission during off-hours and/or weekends and the risk of mortality and poor functional outcome in patients with ischemic stroke, as compared to admission during regular working hours and/or weekdays.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We conducted a systematic search using PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus databases. Observational studies published between 2013 and 2023 that investigated the association between weekend/off-hours admission and outcomes (mortality and functional outcomes) of ischemic stroke were considered for inclusion. A random effects model was used to conduct the analysis, and effect sizes were reported as pooled odds ratio (OR) or hazards ratio (HR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals.

RESULTS

The analysis consisted of 31 studies and found that patients admitted during weekend/off-hours had a higher risk of in-hospital (OR 1.12, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.18), and 1-month post-admittance mortality (OR 1.13, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.20). However, the risk of mortality after 3, 6, and 12 months was not statistically different between the two patient groups. Patients admitted during weekends/off-hours had a slightly higher risk of poor functional outcomes (modified Rankin Scale score of ≥3) at 1-month post-admittance (OR 1.06, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.11). However, after 3, 6, and 12 months, the risk of poor functional outcomes was similar in both patient groups. Egger's test did not suggest the presence of publication bias for any of the outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Individuals who suffer from ischemic stroke and present outside of regular working hours or on weekends have a higher likelihood of experiencing short-term mortality and unfavorable functional outcomes.

[The effects of high risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome and duration of embryo cryopreservation on perinatal outcomes of single live births in the first frozen embryo transfer cycle after whole embryo cryopreservation]

Objective: To investigate the effects of high risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) and duration of embryo cryopreservation on perinatal outcomes of the first frozen-thawed cycle after whole embryo cryopreservation. Methods: The clinical data of 1 804 patients who underwent the first frozen-thawed cycle after whole embryo cryopreservation and achieved singleton live births in the Reproductive Center of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2016 to June 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. According to whether there was high risk of OHSS in the oocyte retrieval cycle, the patients were divided into high-risk group (n=790) and non-high-risk group (n=1 014). The baseline data and perinatal outcomes were compared between the two groups. Multivariate linear regression was applied to analyze the relative factors affecting neonatal weight. And the high-risk group was divided into three subgroups according to different cryopreservation time: the embryos of 96 cycles with a cryopreservation time less than 60 days were defined as group A; the embryos of 587 cycles with a cryopreservation time around 60 to 120 days were defined as group B; the embryos of 107 cycles with a cryopreservation time more than 120 days were defined as group C. The perinatal outcomes were compared among the three groups. The measurement data in this study were represented by［M（Q₁，Q₃）］. Results: The female age in the high-risk group was 30.0 (27.0, 32.0) years old, which was lower than that in the non-high-risk group 31.0 (29.0, 34.0) (P<0.001). The male age in high-risk group was 30.0 (28.0, 33.0), lower than that in non-high-risk group 32.0 (29.0, 35.0) (P<0.001). The birth weight of high-risk group [3 500.0 (3 200.0,3 800.0) g] was higher than that of control group [3 400.0 (3 150.0,3 800.0) g](P=0.045). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that female BMI was correlated with neonatal weight, β (95%CI) was 15.37(8.33, 22.41) (P<0.001), and the high risk of OHSS was not correlated with neonatal weight, β (95%CI) was 19.40 (-38.07, 76.87) (P=0.508). There was significant difference in the incidence of low birth weight and very low birth weight among groups A, B and C (all P values<0.05), and the incidence of low birth weight and very low birth weight in group C was higher than that in group B (all P values<0.017). Conclusions: The risk of adverse perinatal outcomes in high-risk OHSS patients who underwent the first frozen-thawed cycle after whole embryo cryopreservation was not increased. However, prolonged cryopreservation of embryos may lead to increased risk of low birth weight and very low birth weight.

[The relationship between genetic polymorphism of CYP2C19 and the efficacy of Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy in children]

Objective: To investigate the relationship between genetic polymorphisms of cytochrome P450 2C19 (CYP2C19) and the efficacy of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) eradication therapy in children. Methods: The retrospective cohort study was conducted on 125 children with gastroscopy and positive rapid urease test (RUT) from September 2016 to December 2018 who presented to the Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine due to gastrointestinal symptoms including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, bloating, acid reflux, heartburn, chest pain, vomiting blood and melena. Hp culture and drug susceptibility test were carried out with gastric antrum mucosa before treatment. All the patients completed 2 weeks of standardized Hp eradication therapy and had ¹³C urea breath test 1 month after that, which was used to evaluate the curative effect. The DNA of gastric mucosa after RUT was analyzed and CYP2C19 gene polymorphism was detected. Children were grouped according to metabolic type. Combined with the results of Hp culture and drug susceptibility, the relationship between CYP2C19 gene polymorphism and the efficacy of Hp eradicative treatment was analyzed in children. Chi square test was used for row and column variables, and Fisher exact test was used for comparison between groups. Results: One hundred and twenty five children were enrolled in the study, of whom 76 were males and 49 females. The genetic polymorphism of CYP2C19 in these children found poor metabolizer (PM) of 30.4% (38/125), intermediate metabolizer (IM) of 20.8% (26/125), normal metabolizer (NM) of 47.2% (59/125), rapid metabolizer (RM) of 1.6% (2/125), and ultrarapid metabolizer (UM) of 0. There were statistically significant in positive rate of Hp culture among these groups (χ²=124.00, P<0.001). In addition, the successful rates of Hp eradication in PM, IM, NM and RM genotypes were 84.2% (32/38), 53.8% (14/26), 67.8% (40/59), and 0, respectively, with significant differences (χ²=11.35, P=0.010); those in IM genotype was significantly lower than that in PM genotype (P=0.011). With the same standard triple Hp eradicative regimen, the successful rate of Hp eradication for IM type was 8/19, which was lower than that of PM (80.0%, 24/30) and NM type (77.3%, 34/44) (P=0.007 and 0.007, respectively). There was a significant difference in the efficacy of Hp eradication treatment among different genotypes (χ²=9.72, P=0.008). According to the clarithromycin susceptibility result, the successful rate of Hp eradication treatment for IM genotype was 4/15 in the sensitive group and 4/4 in the drug-resistant group (χ²=6.97, P=0.018). Conclusions: The genetic polymorphism of CYP2C19 in children is closely related to the efficacy of Hp eradication treatment. PM has a higher successful rate of eradication treatment than the other genotypes.

[Enhance the management of cardiac arrest and improve the prognosis of the patients]

Cardiac arrest is one of the major public health problems with sudden onset, high mortality and high disability rate. The prevalence of cardiovascular disease continues to rise and the burden of cardiac arrest is increasing in China. It is of great significance to explore more effective prevention and treatment measures to improve the prognosis of patients with cardiac arrest. This article discusses the relevant progress on the treatment ability of emergency and critical cardiovascular diseases, medicines and technologies for cardiac arrest care, and registry studies of cardiac arrest, to further promote the effective improvement of key capacities at various stages of the prevention and treatment of cardiac arrest in China.

Integration of miRNA and mRNA analysis reveals the role of ribosome in to anti-artificial aging in sweetcorn

Sweetcorn is a kind of maize with high sugar content and has poor seed aging tolerance, which seriously limits its production. However, few studies have explored the artificial aging (AA) tolerance by miRNA-mRNA integration analysis in sweetcorn. Here, we characterized the physiological, biochemical and transcriptomic changes of two contrasting lines K62 and K107 treated with AA during time series. Both the germination indexes and antioxidant enzymes showed significant difference between two lines. The MDA content of AA-tolerant genotype K62 was significantly lower than that of K107 on the fourth and sixth day. Subsequently, 157 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMIs) and 8878 differentially expressed mRNAs (DEMs) were identified by RNA-seq analysis under aging stress. The "ribosome" and "peroxisome" pathways were enriched to respond to aging stress, genes for both large units and small ribosomal subunits were significantly upregulated expressed and higher translation efficiency might exist in K62. Thirteen pairs of miRNA-target genes were obtained, and 8 miRNA-mRNA pairs might involve in ribosome protein and translation process. Our results elucidate the mechanism of sweetcorn response to AA at miRNA-mRNA level, and provide a new insight into sweetcorn AA response to stress.

[Drug resistance and genomic characteristics of Salmonella enterica serovar London from clinical and food sources in Hangzhou City from 2017 to 2021]

Objective: To analyze the drug resistance and genomic characteristics of Salmonella enterica serovar London isolated from clinical and food sources in Hangzhou City from 2017 to 2021. Methods: A total of 91 Salmonella enterica serovar London strains isolated from Hangzhou City from 2017 to 2021 were analyzed for drug susceptibility, pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing and whole genome sequencing. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST), core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) and detection of drug resistance genes were performed by using the sequencing data. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted to compare the 91 genomes from Hangzhou City with 347 genomes from public databases. Results: No significant difference in the drug resistance rate was observed between clinical strains and food strains to 18 drugs in Hangzhou City(all P>0.05), and the multidrug resistance (MDR) rate was 75.8% (69/91). Most strains were resistant to 7 drug classes simultaneously. One strain was resistant to Polymyxin E as well as positive for mcr-1.1, and 50.5% (46/91) of the strains were resistant to Azithromycin and were positive for mph(A). All 91 Salmonella enterica serovar London strains were ST155, which were subdivided into 44 molecular types by PFGE and 82 types by cgMLST. Phylogenetic analysis showed that most strains from Hangzhou City (83/91) were clustered together, and a small number of human isolates from Europe, North America and pork isolates from Hubei and Shenzhen were mixed in the cluster. Other strains from Hangzhou City (8/91) were closely related to strains from Europe, America and Southeast Asia. Strains isolated from pork were the most closely related to clinical strains. Conclusion: The epidemic of Salmonella enterica serovar London in Hangzhou City is mainly caused by the spread of ST155 strains, which is mainly transmitted locally. At the same time, cross-region transmission to Europe, North America, Southeast Asia, and other provinces and cities in China may also occur. There is no significant difference in the drug resistance rate between clinical strains and food strains, and a high level of MDR is found in the strains. Clinical infection of Salmonella enterica serovar London may be closely related to pork consumption in Hangzhou City.

Patient satisfaction after nipple-sparing mastectomy with intraoperative radiotherapy and breast reconstruction for breast cancer

INTRODUCTION

The use of nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) combined with breast reconstruction is increasing in breast cancer surgeries despite its controversial safety profile. To reduce the recurrence rate of tumors in the nipple-areola complex (NAC), we used intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT). The purpose of this study was to explore patients' feedback on this novel treatment strategy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

From January 2014 to May 2018, eligible patients with breast cancer were enrolled in this study and separated into 2 groups. Patients in the NSM group underwent IORT to the NAC flap, and patients in the skin-sparing mastectomy (SSM) group underwent SSM and breast reconstruction. The postoperative satisfaction was collected and assessed using the Breast-Q reconstruction questionnaire and a standardized questionnaire; this was compared between the 2 groups.

RESULTS

There were 46 patients (52 NSMs) in the NSM group and 20 patients (22 SSMs) in the SSM group. The breast-Q scores were higher in the NSM group than the SSM group, with trends for a 'higher satisfaction with breasts' (67.39 ± 20.59 vs. 55.00 ± 19.33; p = 0.026) and 'higher sexual well-being' (61.74 ± 22.24 vs. 49.50 ± 20.12; p = 0.039). All the patients recognized the importance of nipple preservation. Thirty-seven women (80.40%) were satisfied or very satisfied with the appearance and shape of the NAC in the NSM group, while 38/46 women (82.60%) were very unsatisfied or unsatisfied with the sensitivity of the nipples.

CONCLUSIONS

The Breast-Q scores showed great satisfaction with breasts and sexual well-being in the NSM group. However, more effort should be made in improving postoperative NAC sensitivity.

Bio-thermal response and thermal damage in biological tissues with non-equilibrium effect and temperature-dependent properties induced by pulse-laser irradiation

Comprehension of thermal behavior underlying the living biological tissues helps successful applications of current heat therapies. The present work is to explore the heat transport properties of irradiated tissue during tis thermal treatment, in which the local thermal non-equilibrium effect as well as temperature-dependent properties arose from complicated anatomical structure, is considered. Based on the generalized dual-phase lag (GDPL) model, a non-linear governing equation of tissue temperature with variable thermal physical properties is proposed. The effective procedure constructed on an explicit finite difference scheme is then developed to predict numerically the thermal response and thermal damage irradiated by a pulse laser as a therapeutic heat source. The parametric study on variable thermal physical parameters including the phase lag times, heat conductivity, specific heat capacity and blood perfusion rate has been performed to evaluate their influence on temperature distribution in time and space. On this basis, the thermal damage with different laser variables such as laser intensity and exposure time are further analyzed.

Webly Supervised Knowledge-Embedded Model for Visual Reasoning

Visual reasoning between visual images and natural language remains a long-standing challenge in computer vision. Conventional deep supervision methods target at finding answers to the questions relying on the datasets containing only a limited amount of images with textual ground-truth descriptions. Facing learning with limited labels, it is natural to expect to constitute a larger scale dataset consisting of several million visual data annotated with texts, but this approach is extremely time-intensive and laborious. Knowledge-based works usually treat knowledge graphs (KGs) as static flattened tables for searching the answer, but fail to take advantage of the dynamic update of KGs. To overcome these deficiencies, we propose a Webly supervised knowledge-embedded model for the task of visual reasoning. On the one hand, vitalized by the overwhelming successful Webly supervised learning, we make much use readily available images from the Web with their weakly annotated texts for an effective representation. On the other hand, we design a knowledge-embedded model, including the dynamically updated interaction mechanism between semantic representation models and KGs. Experimental results on two benchmark datasets demonstrate that our proposed model significantly achieves the most outstanding performance compared with other state-of-the-art approaches for the task of visual reasoning.

Analysis of SOD1 Variants in Chinese Patients with Familial Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

BACKGROUND

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease, and genetic contributors exert a significant role in the complicated pathogenesis. Identification of the genetic causes in ALS families could be valuable for early diagnosis and management. The development of potential drugs for patients with genetic defects will shed new light on ALS therapy.

AIM

To identify causative variants in three Chinese families with familial ALS (FALS), reveal the pathogenic mechanism, and look for the targeted drug for ALS.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Whole-exome sequencing and bioinformatics were used to perform genetic analysis of the ALS families. Functional analysis was performed to study the variants' function and search for potential drug targets.

RESULTS

Three heterozygous missense variants of the SOD1 gene were identified in families with FALS. The clinical manifestations of these patients include spinal onset, predominant lower motor neurons presentation, and absence of cognitive involvement. Functional analysis showed that all three SOD1 variants led to increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, reduced cell viability, and formation of cytoplasmic aggregates. Remarkably, the decreased cell viability induced by variants was rescued after treatment with the ROS inhibitor N-acetylcysteine.

CONCLUSIONS

This study identified three SOD1 variants in three families with FALS. The variant SOD1 toxicity was associated with oxidative damage and aggregation, and N-acetylcysteine could rescue the decreased cell viability induced by these variants. Our findings support a pathogenic role for ROS in SOD1 deficiencies, and provide a potential drug N-acetylcysteine for ALS therapy, especially in SOD1-patients with limb onset.

[The effect of Helicobacter pylori infection on duodenal bulbar microbiota in children with duodenal ulcer]

Objective: To investigate the characteristics of duodenal bulbar microbiota in children with duodenal ulcer and Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection. Methods: This prospective cohort study enrolled 23 children with duodenal ulcers diagnosed by gastroscopy who were admitted to the Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine due to abdominal pain, abdominal distension, and vomiting from January 2018 to August 2018. They were divided into Hp-positive and Hp-negative groups according to the presence or absence of Hp infection. Duodenal bulbar mucosa was sampled to detect the bacterial DNA by high-throughput sequencing. The statistical difference in α diversity and β diversity, and the relative abundance in taxonomic level between the two groups were compared. Microbial functions were predicted using the software PICRUSt. T-test, Rank sum test or χ² test were used for comparison between the two groups. Results: A total of 23 children diagnosed with duodenal ulcer were enrolled in this study, including 15 cases with Hp infection ((11.2±3.3) years of age, 11 males and 4 females) and 8 cases without Hp infection ((10.1±4.4) years of age, 6 males and 2 females). Compared with Hp-negative group, the Hp-positive group had higher Helicobacter abundance (0.551% (0.258%, 5.368%) vs. 0.143% (0.039%, 0.762%), Z=2.00, P=0.045) and lower abundance of Fusobacterium, Streptococcus and unclassified- Comamonadaceae (0.010% (0.001%, 0.031%) vs. 0.049% (0.011%, 0.310%), Z=-2.24, P=0.025; 0.031% (0.015%, 0.092%) vs. 0.118% (0.046%, 0.410%), Z=-2.10, P=0.036; 0.046% (0.036%, 0.062%) vs. 0.110% (0.045%, 0.176%), Z=-2.01, P=0.045). Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect sized showed that at the genus level, only Helicobacter was significantly enriched in Hp-positive group (LDA=4.89, P=0.045), while Streptococcus and Fusobacterium significantly enriched in Hp-negative group (LDA=3.28, 3.11;P=0.036,0.025, respectively). PICRUSt microbial function prediction showed that the expression of oxidative phosphorylation and disease-related pathways (pathways in cancer, renal cell carcinoma, amoebiasis, type 1 diabetes mellitus) in Hp-positive group were significantly higher than that in Hp-negative group (all P<0.05), while the expression of pathways such as energy metabolism and phosphotransferase system pathways were significantly lower than that in Hp-negative group (all P<0.05). Conclusion: In children with Hp-infected duodenal ulcers, the mucosal microbiota of the duodenal bulb is altered, characterized by an increased abundance of Helicobacter and a decreased abundance of Clostridium and Streptococcus, and possibly alters the biological function of the commensal microbiota through specific metabolic pathways.

Carbonation Resistance and Pore Structure of Mixed-Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Containing Fine Aggregates of Iron Ore Tailings

The disposal of industrial by-product tailings has become an important issue in solving environmental pollution. In this study, 15%, 30%, 50%, and 70% iron tailings were used to replace the natural sand in concrete, and 1.5% steel fiber and 0-0.75% PVA fibers were added to the iron tailings concrete. The effects of the iron tailings replacement rate and the fiber content on the mechanical properties, carbonization depth, and concrete porosity were studied in a carbonization environment. The results demonstrated that the compressive and splitting tensile strengths of concrete first increased and subsequently decreased with an increase in the iron tailings replacement rate, while the carbonation depth and porosity initially decreased and subsequently increased. When the replacement rate of iron tailings was 30%, the compressive strength and split tensile strength were increased by 7.6% and 17.7%, respectively, and the porosity was reduced by 8.9%. The compressive strength, carbonation depth and porosity of single-doped steel-fiber concrete were superior to those of ordinary iron tailings concrete. However, compared with single-doped steel fiber, the performance of steel-PVA fiber was further improved. Based on the mechanical properties, the carbonation depth test results of the three aforementioned types of concrete, the mathematical expression of the uniaxial compression stress-strain curve of iron tailings concrete, and the prediction equation of the carbonation depth of mixed-fiber iron tailings concrete were proposed. This study provides a reference for the application and popularization of fiber-reinforced iron tailings concrete in carbonization environments.

An ACP-Based Parallel Approach for Color Image Encryption Using Redundant Blocks

Public concerns on image encryption grow significantly as the development and application of edge computing and the Internet of Things intensified recently. However, most existing image cryptosystems are not sophisticated enough to resist the two major attack strategies available currently, that is: 1) differential attacks and 2) chosen-plaintext attacks, which are famous for their destructive power, especially their capability of exploiting cryptosystems' features to recover the secret key. In this article, we propose an artificial image, computational experiment, and parallel execution (ACP)-based color image encryption approach using redundant blocks. First, a redundant blocks strategy with redundant spaces is proposed to prevent differential attacks and accelerate operating speed while guaranteeing the security of image cryptosystems. Second, real-world chaotic data (e.g., stock data) are obtained to generate artificial images and conduct computational experiments. Furthermore, artificial images are encrypted via real-world chaos, while the original images are encrypted via simulated chaos (such as Chen's hyperchaos). Finally, we design the process of parallel execution for image encryption and use DNA XOR to merge two groups of encrypted subimages to fuse the effect of the chaotic characteristics in both the real world and the simulation. The final encrypted image is realized through the recovery of redundant blocks. The ACP mechanism of color image encryption achieves the goal of improving the sophistication of chaos-based cryptosystems and resists both the differential and chosen-plaintext attacks. Experimental results and security analysis show that our approach provides not only excellent encryption but also security sufficient to prevent known attacks.

Safety, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of a novel γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor potentiator, HSK3486, in Chinese patients with hepatic impairment

BACKGROUND

The primary objective of this study was to investigate if hepatic impairment alters the safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of HSK3486.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

This was a clinical trial of HSK3486 in subjects with normal hepatic function (n = 8), and mild (Child-Pugh A; n = 8), or moderate (Child-Pugh B; n = 8) hepatic impairment. Each subject received an IV bolus dose of 0.4 mg/kg HSK3486 for 1 min, immediately followed by a maintenance infusion of 0.4 mg/kg/h HSK3486 for 30 min.

RESULTS

In total, 24 subjects were enrolled and completed the study. HSK3486 was generally well tolerated by all subjects. There were no serious AEs and no deaths reported during the study. The incidence of AEs was numerically highest in subjects with moderate hepatic impairment. The exposure (AUC) of HSK3486 increased gradually with the decrease in hepatic function; however, degree of hepatic impairment had little effect on HSK3486 PD (MOAA/S and BIS).

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, there were no clinically relevant differences in HSK3486 exposure or PD in subjects with mild or moderate hepatic impairment compared to normal control. These data imply that HSK3486 dose adjustment is not warranted in subjects with mild or moderate hepatic impairment.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (CT.gov identifier: NCT04145596).Key MessageHSK3486 at an IV bolus dose of 0.4 mg/kg and a maintenance infusion of 0.4 mg/kg/h was safe and well tolerated by all mild or moderate hepatic impairment subjects and normal hepatic function subjects.There were no clinically relevant differences in HSK3486 exposure or PD in subjects with mild or moderate hepatic impairment compared to subjects with normal hepatic function.HSK3486 dose adjustment is not required in subjects with mild or moderate hepatic impairment.

Slight flow volume rises increase nitrogen loading to nitrogen-rich river, while dramatic flow volume rises promote nitrogen consumption

Concentrated rainfall and water transfer projects result in slight and dramatic increases in flow volume over short periods of time, causing nitrogen recontamination in the water-receiving areas of nitrogen-rich rivers. This study coupled hydrodynamic and biochemical reaction models to construct a model for quantifying diffusive transport and transformation fluxes of nitrogen across the water-sediment interface and analysed possible changes in the relative abundance of microbial functional genes using high-throughput sequencing techniques. In this study, the processes of ammonium (NH₄⁺-N) and nitrate (NO₃^--N) nitrogen release and sedimentation with resuspended particles, as well as mineralisation, nitrification, and denitrification processes were investigated at the water-sediment interface in the Fu River during slight and dramatic increases in flow volume caused by concentrated rainfall and water diversion projects. Specifically, a slight flow volume rise increased the release of NH₄⁺-N from the sediment, inhibited sedimentation of NO₃^--N, decreased the mineralisation rate, increased the nitrification rate, and had little effect on the denitrification process, ultimately increasing the nitrogen load to the river water. A dramatic increase in flow volume simultaneously increased NH₄⁺-N and NO₃^--N exchange fluxes, inhibited the mineralisation process, promoted nitrification-denitrification processes, and increased inorganic nitrogen consumption in the river. This study provides a solution for the re-pollution of rivers that occurs during the implementation of reservoir management and water diversion projects. Furthermore, these results indicate a potential global nitrogen sink that may have been overlooked.

[The value of CMR high-risk attributes in predicting ventricular remodeling in ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction patients with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction]

Objective: To evaluate the predictive value of a multiparametric cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) approach for ventricular remodeling in ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients with mildly reduced or preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Methods: This study is a prospective cohort study. STEMI patients with acute LVEF>40% after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in Beijing Anzhen Hospital from October 2019 to September 2021 were enrolled. All patients received acute (3-7 days) and follow-up (3 months) CMR post-PCI. According to absence or presence of ventricular remodeling, patients were divided into ventricular remodeling group and non-ventricular remodeling group. Basic clinical characteristics and CMR indicators were analyzed and compared between the two groups. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to explore the predictive performance of CMR high-risk attributes for ventricular remodeling in STEMI patients with mildly reduced or preserved LVEF. The predictive value of combining multiple high-risk characteristics of CMR for ventricular remodeling was analyzed and compared with the traditional clinical risk factor model. Results: A total of 123 STEMI patients were enrolled (aged (57.1±11.1) years, 102 (82.9%) males). There were 97 cases (78.9%) patients in the non-ventricular remodeling group and 26 cases (21.1%) in the ventricular remodeling group. After adjustment for clinical risk factors, stroke volume<51.6 ml, global circumferential strain>-13.7%, infarct size>39.2%, microvascular obstruction>0.5%, and myocardial salvage index<43.9 were independently associated with ventricular remodeling in STEMI patients with mildly reduced or preserved LVEF. The incidence of ventricular remodeling increased with the increasing number of CMR high-risk attributes (P<0.01). The number of CMR high-risk attributes ≥3 was an independent predictor of adverse remodeling (adjusted OR=5.95, 95 CI%: 2.25-15.72, P<0.01) in STEMI patients with mildly reduced or preserved LVEF. Furthermore, the number of CMR high-risk attributes had incremental predictive value over baseline clinical risk factors (area under curve: 0.843 vs. 0.696, P<0.01). Conclusions: In STEMI patients with mild reduced or preserved LVEF, 5 CMR characteristics are associated with ventricular remodeling. The combination of ≥3 CMR high-risk characteristics is an independent predictor of ventricular remodeling, which has incremental predictive value beyond traditional risk factors in this patient cohort.

INVESTIGATION OF THE NONLINEAR DYNAMIC STIFFNESS OF ROLLING-LOBE AIR SPRINGS CONSIDERING RUBBER PAYNE EFFECT

A nonlinear dynamic stiffness model of rolling-lobe air spring considering the Payne effect of the rubber diaphragm and the thermodynamic equivalent damping is proposed, with an aim to provide a theoretical basis for air spring structure design. A physical explanation and mathematical expression of each decoupled contribution term are given from the two dimensions of amplitude and frequency. An indicator test was designed to identify related parameters of the real and imaginary parts of dynamic stiffness. The results showed that the dynamic stiffness increases under a small excitation amplitude, verifying the correctness of the model considering the Payne effect. The influence of rubber diaphragm and gas terms is decoupled to separately illustrate the amplitude and frequency dependency of the real and imaginary parts of dynamic stiffness. A new evaluation index reflecting the contribution percentage of the rubber diaphragm is given, indicating that the stiffness of the rubber diaphragm at low amplitude cannot be ignored. In the end, the parameter influence and dynamic characteristics are provided so that the dynamic behavior of the rolling-lobe air spring can be predicted at the design stage. The proposed rolling-lobe air spring dynamic model considering the Payne effect of the rubber diaphragm provides guidance for the forward development and theoretical modeling of the air spring.

[Bilateral anterior lenticonus: a case report]

A patient complained of ophthalmology with poor vision in both eyes for more than 30 years and aggravation for more than 2 years. The central anterior lens capsule was found to have a conical protrusion under a slit-lamp microscope after pupil dilation in both eyes. The diagnosis was bilateral cataract and congenital anterior lenticonus. Phacoemulsification cataract extraction combined with intraocular lens implantation was performed. The visual acuity in both eyes was significantly better after surgery.

P-447 Enhancing oxygen availability in the dynamic culture of bovine ovarian cortical tissue improves the yield of secondary follicles

Study question

Does enhancing oxygen availability during dynamic in vitro culture of bovine ovarian cortical tissue (BOCT) improve follicle growth and health?

Summary answer

Enhancing oxygen availability during dynamic in vitro culture of BOCT in perifusion bioreactors (PB) does improve follicle health and yield to secondary follicles

What is known already

Oxygen availability has been demonstrated to represent a key factor in follicle health and growth during in vitro culture of bovine and human ovarian cortical tissue (HOCT) under static culture conditions. Disruption of solutes gradients and application of physiological fluid mechanical stress, through in vitro dynamic culture of HOCT in a newly designed perifusion bioreactor have been shown to further enhance follicle growth and health. As it shows striking similarities with human, bovine folliculogenesis is considered a valuable model to study follicle growth in vitro

Study design, size, duration

Bovine ovaries from animals aged 8-24 months were collected at slaughterhouse. In each experiment (n = 3), BOCT strips from the same ovary were cultured for 6 days in perifusion bioreactors (PB, dynamic culture) and conventional dishes (CD, static culture). Culture outcome in static culture was analysed and compared to two bioreactor configurations in which medium oxygenation was kept low by using a standard tube reservoir (StPB) or was enhanced by using a gas-permeable dish reservoir (PB+O2).

Participants/materials, setting, methods

Slices of BOCT 0.5mm thick were cut with a tissue slicer and chopped into 1x1mm strips. In each experiment, fresh (D0) and cultured tissue (groups of ten strips) were analyzed. Follicle stages and health were assessed by histology (hematoxylin-eosin staining). Follicle viability was estimated by labelling with live-dead far-red and propidium iodide followed by clearing before analysis at the confocal laser scanning microscope.

Main results and the role of chance

Overall, 2417 follicles were analyzed (histology, 1476; viability, 941). At day 0 most follicles were primordial (primordial, 88.7%; primary, 10.6%; secondary, 0.7%), and had good quality (grade 1-2, 92.2%; grade 3, 7.8%), and high viability (91.8%). At day 6, follicle growth and health in StPB was superior than in CD (StPB vs CD - staging: primordial, 6.8 vs 16.3, P &lt; 0.01; primary, 70.7 vs 74.1, NS; secondary, 22.5 vs 9.6%, P &lt; 0.01; grading: grade 1 + 2, 71.4 vs 44.8, P &lt; 0.01; grade 3, 28.6 vs 55.2%, P &lt; 0.01). Dynamic culture in StPB better-preserved follicle viability compared to static culture in CD (StPB vs CD: 77.75 vs 64.9%, P &lt; 0.01). Enhancing oxygen availability during dynamic culture increased follicle progression and viability (PB+O2 vs StPB - staging: primordial, 5.1 vs 6.8, NS; primary, 65.4 vs 70.7, NS; secondary, 29.5 vs 22.5%, P &lt; 0.05; viability - 92 vs 77.75, P &lt; 0.01). Overall, the obtained results demonstrate that i) disruption of stagnant layers of medium and application of shear stress to BOCT through dynamic culture improves follicle activation, growth and health; ii) enhancing oxygen availability by means of a gas-permeable medium reservoir further increases follicle progression and viability.

Limitations, reasons for caution

Although the bovine is considered a reliable model for human folliculogenesis, the study should be validated on human ovarian tissue.

Wider implications of the findings

A limiting step in the in vitro production of mature oocytes starting from primordial follicles is the low yield of secondary follicles after organ culture. The adoption of a newly designed dynamic bioreactor and modulation of oxygen availability could represent a valuable tool for multistep in vitro folliculogenesis.

Trial registration number

none

Unnecessary caesarean section delivery in rural China: exploration of relationships with full-term gestational age and early childhood development

INTRODUCTION

Gestational age at delivery is reportedly associated with cognitive and non-cognitive development in early childhood. Delivery at an earlier full-term gestational age has been associated with an increased rate of caesarean section (C-section) delivery; the high rate of C-section delivery in China implies that the rate of medically unnecessary C-section delivery is also high. This study investigated the relationships of medically unnecessary C-section delivery with full-term gestational age and early childhood development in rural China.

METHODS

We conducted a survey of 2765 children (aged 5-24 months) who resided in 22 national designated poverty counties. Primary caregivers were interviewed to collect information regarding child and household characteristics (including the child's gestational age), each child's delivery method, and reasons for C-section delivery (if applicable). The children were assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Developmental outcomes were compared among gestational age-groups; regression analyses were used to assess relationships among medically unnecessary C-section delivery, gestational age, and developmental outcomes.

RESULTS

Overall, 56.2% of children were born at ≤39 weeks of gestation. Among C-section deliveries, 13.1% were medically necessary and >40% could clearly be classified as medically unnecessary. Repeat C-section was the most common reason given for medically unnecessary C-section delivery. For each 1-week increase in full-term gestational age, cognition scale scores increased by 0.62 points (P<0.01), language scale scores increased by 0.84 points (P<0.01), and motor scale scores increased by 0.55 points (P<0.05). Medically unnecessary Csection delivery was significantly associated with lower full-term gestational age.

CONCLUSION

Higher full-term gestational age was significantly associated with better childhood developmental outcomes, indicating that medically unnecessary C-section delivery may negatively influence early childhood development.

POS0218 DECREASED miR-122-5p IN NEUTROPHIL-DERIVED EXOSOMES ATTENUATED IMMUNOREGULATORY FUNCTION ON MACROPHAGES BY TARGETING IRF5 EXPRESSION IN BEHCET’S DISEASE

Background

Behçet’s disease (BD) is a chronic systemic vasculitis characterized by the overactivation of neutrophils and macrophages. Exosomes are membrane-derived vesicles that mediate intercellular communications and neutrophil-derived exosomes account for the major portion of serum exosomes in BD. However, the role of neutrophil-derived exosomes in BD remains unknown.

Objectives

1) To investigate the production of exosomes by BD neutrophils; 2) To elucidate the regulation of macrophage by BD neutrophil-derived exosomes; 3) To explore the mechanism of immunoregulatory functions of BD neutrophil-derived exosomes.

Methods

BD and healthy control (HC) neutrophil-derived exosomes were extracted and quantified. Human monocyte-derived macrophages (HMDM) were stimulated with BD and HC neutrophil-derived exosomes, and TNF-α and IL-6 production were examined. Differently expressed miRNAs in BD neutrophil-derived exosomes were analyzed using miRNA sequencing. LPS-induced HMDM were treated with miRNA mimics or inhibitors, and TNF-α and IL-6 production were detected. miRNA was overexpressed in macrophages, and RNA sequencing was performed to analyze regulating pathways. Dual-luciferase assays were performed to confirm miRNA-mRNA interaction.

Results

BD neutrophils produced a significantly lower level of exosomes than HC ones. Both BD and HC neutrophil-derived exosomes suppressed TNF-α and IL-6 production by macrophages, but to a lesser extent by BD neutrophil-derived exosomes. Six downregulated miRNAs were presented in BD neutrophil-derived exosomes, including miR-122-5p. miR-122-5p mimics inhibited IL-6 and TNF-α production while miR-122-5p inhibitor promoted IL-6 and TNF-α production by HMDMs. Overexpression of miR-122-5p attenuated TLR4 and IFN-β signaling. miR-122-5p directly targeted 3’UTR of IRF5, the TF regulating TLR4 pathway and autocrine of IFN-β, and downregulated IRF5 expression confirmed by dual luciferase assay. Knocking down IRF5 dampened IL-6 and TNF-α production in HMDMs.

Figure 1.

(A) Decreased production of BD neutrophil-derived exosomes. (B) Reduced suppression of macrophage activation by BD neutrophil-derived exosomes. (C) Differentially expressed miRNAs (downregulated) in BD neutrophil-derived exosomes. (D) miR-122-5p suppressed TLR4 and JAK-STAT signaling in HMDM. (E) miR-122-5p inhibited activation of HMDM. (F) miR-122-5p inhibited IRF5 expression in HMDM.

Conclusion

Our findings suggested the reduced production and immunoregulatory function of BD neutrophil-derived exosomes, mediated by lower levels of miR-122-5p in neutrophil-derived exosomes. Impaired BD neutrophil-derived exosomes might be implicated in the overactivation of macrophages in BD.

References

[1]Kolonics, Ferenc et al. Cells vol. 9,12 2718. 18 Dec. 2020,

Disclosure of Interests

None declared

A 10-miRNA risk score-based prediction model for pathological complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in hormone receptor-positive breast cancer

Patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive tumors breast cancer usually experience a relatively low pathological complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Here, we derived a 10-microRNA risk score (10-miRNA RS)-based model with better performance in the prediction of pCR and validated its relation with the disease-free survival (DFS) in 755 HR-positive breast cancer patients (273, 265, and 217 in the training, internal, and external validation sets, respectively). This model, presented as a nomogram, included four parameters: the 10-miRNA RS found in our previous study, progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status, and volume transfer constant (K^trans). Favorable calibration and discrimination of 10-miRNA RS-based model with areas under the curve (AUC) of 0.865, 0.811, and 0.804 were shown in the training, internal, and external validation sets, respectively. Patients who have higher nomogram score (>92.2) with NAC treatment would have longer DFS (hazard ratio=0.57; 95%CI: 0.39-0.83; P=0.004). In summary, our data showed the 10-miRNA RS-based model could precisely identify more patients who can attain pCR to NAC, which may help clinicians formulate the personalized initial treatment strategy and consequently achieves better clinical prognosis for patients with HR-positive breast cancer.

Lattice dynamics of BaFe2Se3

This paper presents a study of the lattice dynamics in BaFe₂Se₃. We combined first-principle calculations, infrared measurements and a thorough symmetry analysis. Our study confirms thatPnmacannot be the space group of BaFe₂Se₃, even at room temperature. The phonons assignment requiresPmto be the BaFe₂Se₃space group, not only in the magnetic phase, but also in the paramagnetic phase at room temperature. This is due to a strong coupling between a short-range spin-order along the ladders, and the lattice degrees of freedom associated with the Fe-Fe bond length. This coupling induces a change in the bond-length pattern from an alternated trapezoidal one (as inPnma) to an alternated small/large rectangular one. Out of the two patterns, only the latter is fully compatible with the observed block-type magnetic structure. Finally, we propose a complete symmetry analysis of the BaFe₂Se₃phase diagram in the 0-600 K range.

A WC/WO star exploding within an expanding carbon-oxygen-neon nebula

The final fate of massive stars, and the nature of the compact remnants they leave behind (black holes and neutron stars), are open questions in astrophysics. Many massive stars are stripped of their outer hydrogen envelopes as they evolve. Such Wolf-Rayet stars¹ emit strong and rapidly expanding winds with speeds greater than 1,000 kilometres per second. A fraction of this population is also helium-depleted, with spectra dominated by highly ionized emission lines of carbon and oxygen (types WC/WO). Evidence indicates that the most commonly observed supernova explosions that lack hydrogen and helium (types Ib/Ic) cannot result from massive WC/WO stars^2,3, leading some to suggest that most such stars collapse directly into black holes without a visible supernova explosion⁴. Here we report observations of SN 2019hgp, beginning about a day after the explosion. Its short rise time and rapid decline place it among an emerging population of rapidly evolving transients^5-8. Spectroscopy reveals a rich set of emission lines indicating that the explosion occurred within a nebula composed of carbon, oxygen and neon. Narrow absorption features show that this material is expanding at high velocities (greater than 1,500 kilometres per second), requiring a compact progenitor. Our observations are consistent with an explosion of a massive WC/WO star, and suggest that massive Wolf-Rayet stars may be the progenitors of some rapidly evolving transients.

Parallel cognition: hybrid intelligence for human-machine interaction and management

As an interdisciplinary research approach, traditional cognitive science adopts mainly the experiment, induction, modeling, and validation paradigm. Such models are sometimes not applicable in cyber-physical-social-systems (CPSSs), where the large number of human users involves severe heterogeneity and dynamics. To reduce the decision-making conflicts between people and machines in human-centered systems, we propose a new research paradigm called parallel cognition that uses the system of intelligent techniques to investigate cognitive activities and functionals in three stages: descriptive cognition based on artificial cognitive systems (ACSs), predictive cognition with computational deliberation experiments, and prescriptive cognition via parallel behavioral prescription. To make iteration of these stages constantly on-line, a hybrid learning method based on both a psychological model and user behavioral data is further proposed to adaptively learn an individual’s cognitive knowledge. Preliminary experiments on two representative scenarios, urban travel behavioral prescription and cognitive visual reasoning, indicate that our parallel cognition learning is effective and feasible for human behavioral prescription, and can thus facilitate human-machine cooperation in both complex engineering and social systems.