Search

At present, an increasing number of people pay more attention to selenium-enriched food, but the quality of the selenium-enriched food varies. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a new tool to assess the effects of selenium supplementation in foods by rapidly detecting the levels of the metabolite selenium selenocysteine (Sec). In this work, a fluorescent nanoprobe CS-Sec was designed, synthesized, and characterized for Sec detection and imaging in living biosystems, which exhibited the advantages of good biocompatibility, excellent water solubility, high sensitivity, high selectivity, and rapid response (2.5 min) for Sec detection and imaging in vitro and in vivo and evaluation of selenium supplementation in selenium-rich foods. Specifically, CS-Sec was constructed by grafting alkyne groups on organic small-molecule fluorescent probes with azide groups on azido chitosan by click chemistry. A 2,4-dinitrophenyl ether (DNB) with a strong intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) effect was selected as a response group and fluorescence-quenching group, which had excellent chemical specificity toward Sec. In addition, CS-Sec has high selectivity and sensitivity toward Sec over other analytes, and an excellent limit of detection (LOD) is as low as 15 nM. Impressively, CS-Sec has been successfully used to detect and image the concentration of Sec in living HepG2 cells and mouse models with exciting results, indicating that the newly constructed CS-Sec can provide a robust molecule tool for the rapid evaluation of the selenium supplementation effect and imaging in the future.

Background: The risk of cervical cancer progression in high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV)-positive women is associated with cervical lesion severity and molecular heterogeneity. Classification systems based on p16 and Ki67 expression cumulative scores (0-3 each)-p16/Ki67 collectively known as an immunoscore [IS]-are an accurate and reproducible method for grading cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) lesions. Meanwhile, DNA methylation is an early event in the development of cervical cancer. Hence, this study evaluated the relationship among CIN, p16/Ki-67 IS, and PAX1/ZNF582 methylation., Methods: In this study, 414 HPV-positive paraffin-embedded specimens were collected, and PAX1/ZNF582 methylation and the p16/ki67 IS were determined. A total of 43 invalid samples were excluded and 371 were included in the statistical analyses. There were 103 cervicitis, 95 CIN1, 71 CIN2, 89 CIN3, and 13 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cases. The association between PAX1/ZNF582 methylation and p16/Ki6 immunohistochemical staining scores was analyzed., Results: The ΔCp of PAX1 m (PAX1 methylation) and ZNF582 m (ZNF582 methylation) decreased with cervical lesion severity (Cuzick trend test, all P < 0.001). The severity of the cervical lesions and p16, Ki67, and p16/Ki67 IS showed an increasing trend (Multinomial Cochran-Armitage trend test, all P < 0.001). The prevalence of PAX1 m /ZNF582 m increased with an increase in the IS of p16, Ki67, and p16/Ki67 (Cochran-Armitage trend test, all P < 0.001). In cervical SCC, the IS was 5-6, and the PAX1 m /ZNF582 m was positive. Meanwhile, heterogeneity was observed in CIN lesions: 10 cases had an IS of 3-4 and were PAX1 m /ZNF582 m -positive in ≤ CIN1; 1 case had an IS of 0-2 and was PAX1 m /ZNF582 m -positive in CIN2/3., Conclusions: Significant heterogeneity was observed in CIN lesions for p16 and Ki67 immunohistochemical staining scores and PAX1/ZNF582 methylation. This may help clinicians personalize the management of CIN based on the predicted short-term risk of cancer progression, minimizing the rate of missed CIN1 diagnoses and incorrect treatment of CIN2/3., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Pulsed field ablation with irreversible electroporation for the treatment of atrial fibrillation involves tissue-specific and non-thermal energy-induced cell necrosis, which helps avoid complications, such as pulmonary vein stenosis, atrial collateral tissue damage, and extensive atrial structural damage, often encountered with traditional thermal ablation. In existing clinical trials, pulsed field ablation has shown excellent effects on pulmonary vein isolation in patients with paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation. Pulsed field ablation is easy, simple, and quick and can reduce iatrogenic injury. Therefore, the application of pulsed field ablation technology in the treatment of atrial fibrillation has a promising future. Notably, the adjustment of parameters in pulsed field ablation with different ablation catheter systems can strongly affect the area and depth of the necrotic myocardium, which greatly affects the likelihood of atrial fibrillation recurrence and incidence of adverse complications after ablation. In this paper, we review the mechanisms, advantages, and limitations of pulsed field ablation based on the results of a series of previous studies and provide ideas and directions for future research., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.)

With the increase in people's living standards, the number of patients suffering from liver injury keeps on increasing. Traditional diagnostic methods can no longer meet the needs of early and accurate diagnosis due to their limitations in application. However, fluorescent probes based on different fluorophores and nanomaterials have been gradually lighting up medical research due to their unique properties, such as high specificity and non-invasiveness. In addition, accurate identification of the different types of liver injury biomarkers can significantly improve the level of early diagnosis. Therefore, this review reviews the fluorescent probes used in the detection of biomarkers of liver injury over recent years and briefly summarizes the corresponding biomarkers of different types of liver injury. Impressively, this review also lists the structures and the response mechanisms of the different probes, and concludes with an outlook, suggesting directions in which improvements can be made. Finally, we hope that this review will contribute to the further development of fluorescent probes for the early diagnosis and assessment of liver injury.

GPIHBP1 is a protein found in the endothelial cells of capillaries that is anchored by glycosylphosphatidylinositol and binds to high-density lipoproteins. GPIHBP1 attaches to lipoprotein lipase (LPL), subsequently carrying the enzyme and anchoring it to the capillary lumen. Enabling lipid metabolism is essential for the marginalization of lipoproteins alongside capillaries. Studies underscore the significance of GPIHBP1 in transporting, stabilizing, and aiding in the marginalization of LPL. The intricate interplay between GPIHBP1 and LPL has provided novel insights into chylomicronemia in recent years. Mutations hindering the formation or reducing the efficiency of the GPIHBP1-LPL complex are central to the onset of chylomicronemia. This review delves into the structural nuances of the GPIHBP1-LPL interaction, the consequences of mutations in the complex leading to chylomicronemia, and cutting-edge advancements in chylomicronemia treatment., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)

Cross-validation (CV) is a widely adopted approach for selecting the optimal model. However, the computation of empirical cross-validation error (CVE) has high complexity due to multiple times of learner training. In this paper, we develop a novel approximation theory of CVE and present an approximate approach to CV based on the Bouligand influence function (BIF) for kernel-based algorithms. We first represent the BIF and higher order BIFs in Taylor expansions, and approximate CV via the Taylor expansions. We then derive an upper bound of the discrepancy between the original and approximate CV. Furthermore, we provide a novel computing method to calculate the BIF for general distribution, and evaluate BIF criterion for sample distribution to approximate CV. The proposed approximate CV requires training on the full data set only once and is suitable for a wide variety of kernel-based algorithms. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approximate CV is sound and effective.

Objective: To investigate the diagnostic value of different detection methods for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.
 Methods: BALF from100 patients in Changsha Central Hospital from January 2013 to December 2015 was collected. Among 100 patients, 65 cases were clinically diagnosed as tuberculosis, and 35 cases served as control. BALF smear method, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and membrane reverse dot blot (RDB) were used for synchronous detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
 Results: The positive rates by BALF smear method, PCR and RDB were 43.08%, 73.84% and 92.31%, respectively (P<0.05). Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and negative predictive value for BALF smear were 43.08%, 88.57%, 59.00%, and 45.59%, respectively; for PCR were 73.85%, 100%, 83.00%, and 67.31%, respectively; for RDB were 92.31%, 100.00%, 95.00%, and 87.50%, respectively.
 Conclusion: The technique of membrane RDB can not only accurately diagnose Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but also can rapidly and easily identify the resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to streptomycin (SM), rifampicin (RFP) and isoniazid (INH) genotypes. It possesses high clinical value.