Search

Qianjia Sun,1,2,* Tingjing Zhang,3,* Laeeqa Manji,4 Yashu Liu,1,2 Qing Chang,1,2 Yuhong Zhao,1,2 Yang Ding,5,6 Yang Xia1,2 1Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, China Medical University, Shenyang, People’s Republic of China; 2Key Laboratory of Precision Medical Research on Major Chronic Disease, Shenyang, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Public Health, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, People’s Republic of China; 4International Educational School, China Medical University, Shenyang, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Infectious Diseases, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, China Medical University, Shenyang, People’s Republic of China; 6Diagnosis and Treatment Centre for Liver Diseases of Liaoning Province, Shenyang, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yang Xia, Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, No. 36, San Hao Street, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110004, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 24-96615-13650, Email xytmu507@126.com; yxia@cmu.edu.cn Yang Ding, Department of Infectious Diseases, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, No. 36, San Hao Street, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110004, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 24-96615-62211, Email yding0903@sina.comObjective: Recent epidemiological evidence shows that there is an association between serum uric acid (SUA) levels and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The purpose of this meta-analysis is to summarize all available evidence and assess the associations between SUA levels and NAFLD.Methods: Using two databases, Web of Science and PubMed, observational studies were applied from the establishment of the databases to June 2022. We used a random effect model to construct the pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) to appraise the association between SUA levels and NAFLD. The Begg’s test was conducted to appraise publication bias.Results: A total of 50 studies were included, involving 2,079,710 participants (719,013 NAFLD patients). The prevalence and incidence rates (95% CIs) of NAFLD in the patients with hyperuricemia were 65% (57– 73%) and 31% (20– 41%), respectively. Compared to participants with lower levels of SUA, the pooled OR (95% CI) of NAFLD in those with higher levels of SUA was 1.88 (95% CI: 1.76– 2.00). In the subgroup analyses, we found that SUA levels were positively associated with NAFLD in all subgroups, according to study design, study quality, sample size, sex, comparison, age, or country.Conclusion: This meta-analysis shows that increased SUA levels are positively associated with NAFLD. The results suggested that reducing SUA levels can be a potential strategy for the prevention of NAFLD.Registration Number: PROSPERO-CRD42022358431.Keywords: serum uric acid, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, meta-analysis, updated

Zhangsong Peng,1,* Qiang Chang,1,2,* Malcolm Xing,2 Feng Lu1 1Department of Plastic and Reconstruction Surgery, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Manitoba, Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Canada*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Malcolm Xing, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Manitoba, Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Canada, Email malcolm.xing@umanitoba.ca Feng Lu, Department of Plastic and Reconstruction Surgery, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510515, People’s Republic of China, Email doctorlufeng@hotmail.comPurpose: Graphene oxide (GO) and its derivatives have recently been identified as promising candidates for early disease diagnosis and therapy. However, the physiological stability and precise launch requirements present limitations on further clinical practices. Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) were employed as an unobstructed biological vehicle to address the validate this ADSC-based tumor-targeting system for highly efficient GO delivery combined with two-stage NIR radiation for superior tumor ablation.Methods: GO was modified with poly-ethylene glycol (PEG) and folic acid (FA). Afterward, the GO nanocomposite was internalized into ADSCs. The GO-PEG-FA-laden ADSCs were injected into the tail veins of the tumor-bearing mice. Subsequently, first-stage NIR radiation was utilized to disrupt the ADSCs for GO-PEG-FA release. After this, the heat generated by secondary-stage NIR radiation destroy the malignant cells and shrink the tumor, and the cascade process could be recycled until complete tumor ablation if necessary.Results: The GO-PEG-FA nanocomposite exhibited negligible cytotoxicity and could be internalized into ADSCs to target specific tumor sites after 32 days of intravenous injection. The nanocomposite was released from the ADSCs and taken up into cancer cells again with the assistance of FA after the first dose of near-infrared radiation. Then, the second radiation dose could directly strike the cancer cell for cancer ablation.Conclusion: In summary, we reported a stem cell-based anticancer system that used GO-PEG-FA-laden ADSCs for breast cancer therapy through NIR treatment in mice potentially opens a new avenue not only to address precise drug targeting in tumor therapy, but also future clinical practice in diverse areas.Keywords: graphene oxide, adipose-derived stem cells, nanocomposite, photothermal therapy, breast cancer

Interactive deformation via control handles is essential in computer graphics for the modeling of 3D geometry. Deformation control structures include lattices for free‐form deformation and skeletons for character articulation, but this report focuses on cage‐based deformation. Cages for deformation control are coarse polygonal meshes that encase the to‐be‐deformed geometry, enabling high‐resolution deformation. Cage‐based deformation enables users to quickly manipulate 3D geometry by deforming the cage. Due to their utility, cage‐based deformation techniques increasingly appear in many geometry modeling applications. For this reason, the computer graphics community has invested a great deal of effort in the past decade and beyond into improving automatic cage generation and cage‐based deformation. Recent advances have significantly extended the practical capabilities of cage‐based deformation methods. As a result, there is a large body of research on cage‐based deformation. In this report, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of the art in cage‐based deformation of 3D geometry. We discuss current methods in terms of deformation quality, practicality, and precomputation demands. In addition, we highlight potential future research directions that overcome current issues and extend the set of practical applications. In conjunction with this survey, we publish an application to unify the most relevant deformation methods. Our report is intended for computer graphics researchers, developers of interactive geometry modeling applications, and 3D modeling and character animation artists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aixia Song,1 Yuying Yang,2 Hongmei He,1 Jian Sun,1 Qing Chang,1 Qian Xue1 1Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University, Zhangjiakou, Hebei, 075000, People’s Republic of China; 2Stroke Office, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University, Zhangjiakou, Hebei, 075000, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Qian XueDepartment of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University, No. 12 Changqing Road, Qiaoxi District, Zhangjiakou, Hebei, 075000, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail qianyanxin7@163.comBackground: Neuroinflammation and neuronal apoptosis are considered as the critical factors in the pathogenesis of multiple neurological diseases. Recent studies have shown that long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) plays a crucial part in neuroinflammation and neuronal apoptosis.Methods: The expression levels of lncRNA KCNQ1OT1, miR-30e-3p and NLRP3 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced HMC3 cells were analyzed using RT-qPCR. MTT assay, LDH release assay and ELISA were used to assess the effect of KCNQ1OT1 and miR-30e-3p on neuroinflammation and neuronal apoptosis. The targeted regulatory relationships among KCNQ1OT1, miR-30e-3p and NLRP3 were evaluated by bioinformatics analysis, dual-luciferase reporter gene assay, RT-qPCR and Western blot.Results: In LPS-induced HMC3 cells, the expression levels of KCNQ1OT1 and NLRP3 were increased, while the expression level of miR-30e-3p was reduced. Knockdown of KCNQ1OT1 alleviated LPS-induced apoptosis and neuroinflammation of HMC3 cells, accompanied by increased cell viability, low LDH release and reduced cell apoptosis rate, and reduced levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6. Overexpression of miR-30e-3p had a similar effect. Additionally, KCNQ1OT1 could bind with miR-30e-3p and repress its expression in HMC3 cells, and KCNQ1OT1 overexpression counteracted miR-30e-3p’s inhibitory effect on LPS-induced neuronal damage and inflammatory response in HMC3 cells. Furthermore, KCNQ1OT1 could positively regulate the expression of NLRP3 via repressing miR-30e-3p.Conclusion: Inhibition of KCNQ1OT1 could reduce neuroinflammation and neuronal apoptosis induced by LPS in HMC3 cells by regulating miR-30e-3p/NLRP3 pathway, suggesting that KCNQ1OT1 and miR-30e-3p could serve as promising therapeutic targets for treating neurological diseases.Keywords: NLRP3, KCNQ1OT1, miR-30e-3p, neuroinflammation

Yang Zhang,1 Fang Yao,1 Xiaohong Kuang,1 Lijuan Li,1 Lihua Huang,1 Qi Zhou,1 Jiazhu Peng,1 Qingyu Chang2 1Department of Nursing, Zhangjiagang TCM Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Suzhou 215600, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Surgery, Zhangjiagang TCM Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Suzhou 215600, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xiaohong Kuang Email zjgszyyykxh@aliyun.comPurpose: To evaluate the quality of systematic reviews/meta-analyses (SR/MAs) on alternative exercise traditions in cancer care.Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Ovid, EBSCOhost, WanFang Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and VIP Database were searched from their inception to June 30, 2020. The search used a combination of subject words and free words. The search terms included “Tai Chi,” “Qigong,” “Baduanjin,” “Yoga,” “Pilates,” “Cancer,” “Meta-analysis,” and “Systematic review.” Two researchers independently performed literature screening and data extraction and used AMSTAR scale and PRISMA statement to evaluate the methodology and the quality of the evidence.Results: A total of 26 SR/MAs were included. The AMSTAR scale score was 5– 10 points, with an average of 7.46± 1.33 points. Overall, the methodological quality was considered to be moderate. The PRISMA list score was 13– 24 points, with an average of 19.19± 2.86 points. Among the papers evaluated, eight reports were relatively complete. A total of 15 papers indicated certain defects. A total of three papers showed relatively serious information defects.Conclusion: Relative to the control group, alternative exercise traditions may be effective in improving the quality of life, anxiety, depression, distress, and fatigue of cancer patients. However, they may not necessarily improve patients’ sleep outcome, body mass index, and pain. During convalescence, cancer patients can be encouraged to start engaging in physical exercise, and professionals can develop appropriate exercise alternatives to ensure the expected effect of exercise while ensuring the safety of patients. The methodological quality of the systematic evaluations of the intervention effects of alternative exercise traditions on cancer patients is not satisfactory. Hence, focus should be directed to the improvement of the preliminary design scheme, publication status, literature retrieval, conflict of interest, and other aspects.Keywgords: alternative exercise traditions, cancer care, COVID-19, overview

Yuzhen Wang,1 Hong Li,2 Fakun Dong,3 Fang Yan,3 Min Cheng,4 Wanzhong Li,3 Qi Chang,3 Tianzi Song,3 Aoying Liu,3 Bo Song3 1Medical Imaging Specialty, Weifang Medical University, Weifang, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 2Basic Medical School, Weifang Medical University, Weifang, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Pharmacy, Weifang Medical University, Weifang, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 4Clinical Medical College, Weifang Medical University, Weifang, Shandong, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Bo SongWeifang Medical University, Baotong Street, No. 7166, Weifang, Shandong 261053, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86-536-8462490Email songsbob@163.comPurpose: Many exopolysaccharides (EPS) have significant emulsifying activity. Some EPS produced by the marine bacterial strain FYS have stronger emulsifying activity in the form of nanoparticles, suggesting that they could potentially form Pickering emulsions. We prepared novel EPS/CT Pickering nanoemulsions (ECPN) with EPS as emulsifiers and assessed their ability to ameliorate the poor permeability of calcipotriol (CT) in skin affected by psoriasis vulgaris.Methods: A strain of marine bacterium FYS was identified. Molecular weight, monosaccharide composition and microstructure of EPS were determined by gel permeation chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography and scanning electron microscopy. EPS nanoparticles were prepared by adjusting the pH, and the emulsifying activity was studied at different pH. ECPN were prepared by ultrasound and optimized by the response surface method. The size distribution, microstructure, stability and in vitro drug release of ECPN were studied. The therapeutic effect of ECPN on psoriasis vulgaris was explored by animal experiments and characterizing histomorphology in vivo.Results: A phylogenetic tree revealed that FYS was a Bacillus halodurans strain. EPS produced by the strain were heteropolysaccharides with a three-dimensional network composed of glucose, galactose, glucuronic acid, rhamnose, galacturonic acid and mannose (32.0:34.3:9.7:7.4:10.3:6.3). The EPS can form nanoparticles at pH = 4– 6 with enhanced emulsifying ability. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that EPS nanoparticles adhered to the surface of oil droplets to stabilize the emulsions via a Pickering emulsification mechanism. The prepared ECPN have high stability with a sustained-release effect. Finally, animal experiments showed that ECPN effectively shortened the treatment course of psoriasis vulgaris.Conclusion: EPS is highly possible to have the potential Pickering emulsification mechanism. The stability of the nanoemulsion was high. ECPN also showed potential for use in the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris. This study provides new insight into the medical applications of EPS and the treatment of psoriasis.Keywords: Bacillus halotolerans, exopolysaccharides, response surface method, psoriasis

Background Live attenuated vaccines alter immune functions and are associated with beneficial outcomes. We previously demonstrated that live attenuated yellow fever virus (YFV) vaccine (LA-YF-Vax) dampens T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling in vitro via an RNA-based mechanism. We examined study participants before and after LA-YF-Vax to assess TCR-mediated functions in vivo. Methods Serum samples and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were obtained before and after LA-YF-Vax (with or without additional vaccines) or quadrivalent influenza vaccine. TCR-mediated activation was determined by interleukin 2 release or phosphorylation of the lymphocyte-specific Src kinase. TCR-regulating phosphatase (protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type E [PTPRE]) expression was also measured. Results Compared with prevaccination findings, LA-YF-Vax recipient PBMCs demonstrated transient reduction in interleukin 2 release after TCR stimulation and PTPRE levels, unlike in control participants who received quadrivalent influenza vaccine. YFV was detected in 8 of 14 participants after LA-YF-Vax. After incubation of healthy donor PBMCs in serum-derived extracellular vesicles prepared from LA-YF-Vax recipients, TCR signaling and PTPRE levels were reduced after vaccination, even in participants without detectable YFV RNA. Conclusions LA-YF-Vax reduces TCR functions and PTPRE levels after vaccination. Extracellular vesicles from serum recapitulated this effect in healthy cells. This likely contributes to the reduced immunogenicity for heterologous vaccines after LA-YF-Vax administration. Identification of specific immune mechanisms related to vaccines should contribute to understanding of the "off-target," beneficial effects of live vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The long-standing performance-stability contradiction issue of high energy density materials (HEDMs) is of extremely complex and multi-parameter nature. Herein, machine learning was employed to handle 28 feature descriptors and 5 properties of detonation and stability of 153 HEDMs, wherein all 21,648 data used were obtained through high-throughput crystal-level quantum mechanics calculations on supercomputers. Among five models, namely, extreme gradient boosting regression tree (XGBoost), adaptive boosting, random forest, multi-layer perceptron, and kernel ridge regression, were respectively trained and evaluated by stratified sampling and 5-fold cross-validation method. Among them, XGBoost model produced the best scoring metrics in predicting the detonation velocity, detonation pressure, heat of explosion, decomposition temperature, and lattice energy of HEDMs, and XGBoost predictions agreed best with the 1,383 experimental data collected from massive literatures. Feature importance analysis was conducted to obtain data-driven insight into the causality of the performance-stability contradiction and delivered the optimal range of key features for more efficient rational design of advanced HEDMs.

Chunli Liu,1,2 Lie Wang,3 Ruiqun Qi,4,5 Weiqiu Wang,1 Shanshan Jia,6 Deshu Shang,7,8 Yangguang Shao,9,10 Min Yu,9,10 Xinwang Zhu,11 Shengnan Yan,12 Qing Chang,1 Yuhong Zhao1 1Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China; 2Department of Library and Medical Information, China Medical University, Shenyang, China; 3Department of Social Medicine, School of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang, China; 4Key Laboratory of Immunodermatology, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education, China Medical University, Shenyang, China; 5Department of Dermatology, First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China; 6Key Laboratory of Health Ministry for Congenital Malformation, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China; 7Department of Developmental Cell Biology, Key Laboratory of Medical Cell Biology, Ministry of Education, China Medical University, Shenyang, China; 8Department of Developmental Cell Biology, Cell Biology Division, Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, Ministry of Health, China Medical University, Shenyang, China; 9Department of Cell Biology, Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, National Health Commission of the PRC, China Medical University, Shenyang, China; 10Department of Cell Biology, Key Laboratory of Medical Cell Biology, Ministry of Education, China Medical University, Shenyang, China; 11Department of Nephrology, First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China; 12Graduate Division, School of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang, China Purpose: Although the mental health status of doctoral students deserves attention, few scholars have paid attention to factors related to their mental health problems. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of depression and anxiety in doctoral students and examine possible associated factors. We further aimed to assess whether mentoring relationships mediate the association between research self-efficacy and depression/anxiety. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 325 doctoral students in a medical university. The Patient Health Questionnaire 9 and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 scale were used to assess depression and anxiety. The Research Self-Efficacy Scale was used to measure perceived ability to fulfill various research-related activities. The Advisory Working Alliance Inventory-student version was used to assess mentoring relationships. Linear hierarchical regression analyses were performed to determine if any factors were significantly associated with depression and anxiety. Asymptotic and resampling methods were used to examine whether mentoring played a mediating role. Results: Approximately 23.7% of participants showed signs of depression, and 20.0% showed signs of anxiety. Grade in school was associated with the degree of depression. The frequency of meeting with a mentor, difficulty in doctoral article publication, and difficulty in balancing work–family–doctoral program was associated with both the level of depression and anxiety. Moreover, research self-efficacy and mentoring relationships had negative relationships with levels of depression and anxiety. We also found that mentoring relationships mediated the correlation between research self-efficacy and depression/anxiety. Conclusion: The findings suggest that educational experts should pay close attention to the mental health of doctoral students. Active strategies and interventions that promote research self-efficacy and mentoring relationships might be beneficial in preventing or reducing depression and anxiety. Keywords: mental health, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, Advisory Working Alliance, research self-efficacy, doctoral students

Liang Shen,1 Haochen Yu,2 Ming Liu,1 Deying Wei,1 Wei Liu,1 Changzhong Li,1 Qin Chang2 1Department of Gynecology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250021, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Applied Mathematics, College of Science, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, Shandong 266580, People’s Republic of China Purpose: The aim of the present study was to construct a novel long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) signature to predict the prognosis of patients with cervical cancer (CC). Materials and methods: We downloaded lncRNA expression profiles and clinical characteristics from The Cancer Genome Atlas database and randomly divided them into a training dataset (n=200) and a testing dataset (n=87). Using a Cox-based iterative sure independence screening procedure combined with a resampling technique, a lncRNA signature was calculated from prognostic lncRNAs in the training dataset and was independently verified in the testing and the entire datasets. In addition, multivariate Cox regression and further stratified analyses were performed, taking into consideration the lncRNA signature as well as other clinical characteristics. Finally, we predicted the underlying functional effects of the prognostic lncRNAs by using Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses. Results: We constructed a promising ten-lncRNA signature that was significantly associated with the prognosis of CC on the basis of a risk score formula. The risk score was used to classify patients into high-risk and low-risk groups with different overall survival in the training dataset, and was confirmed in the testing and entire datasets. Compared with the clinical factors, the ten-lncRNA signature was found to be an independent prognostic indicator and displayed robust prognostic performance. A functional analysis indicated that these ten lncRNAs were enriched in immune response, cell adhesion molecules and nuclear factor kappa B signaling. Conclusion: Our results demonstrated that this ten-lncRNA signature may serve as a prognostic biomarker for patients with CC. Keywords: cervical cancer, long non-coding RNAs, survival, prognosis signature