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Abstract Background Mounting evidence shows that tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) are critical constituents in the tumor microenvironment. The composition and function of EVs often change during cancer progression. However, it remains less clear how cancer cells modulate their own EV biogenesis to promote tumor development. The release of EVs is closely linked to the endolysosome system residing within the cell. The current study aims to decipher the role of endosomal protein DENND10 in cancer development. Results Bioinformatics data mining showed that DENND10 expression is significantly associated with poor prognosis in multiple cancer types and up-regulated in metastatic breast cancer cell lines. DENND10 knockout (DENND10-KO) in breast cancer cells led to defective EV biogenesis due to impaired endolysosomal trafficking. Intriguingly, DENND10-KO cells exhibited reductions in cell spreading, migration, invasion, and metastatic potential in vivo. These deficiencies in cell motility were associated with compromised cytoskeleton organization. Importantly, wild-type conditioned medium or EVs restored the migratory ability and cytoskeletal organization of DENND10-KO cells. Global proteomic profiling revealed that DENND10 depletion led to a distinct EV compositional landscape with remodeled profiles of extracellular matrix (ECM) and adhesion molecules. Consistently, exogenous application of ECM molecules rescued the spreading and migration of DENND10-KO cells. Conclusions In summary, our study unveiled DENND10 as an intrinsic regulator of cell migration that modifies the tumor microenvironment through autocrine EV release, which could be exploited for developing targeted therapies for tumor metastasis.

Citri Grandis Exocarpium (Huajuhong, CGE) is the peel of the unripe fruits of Citrus grandis ‘Tomentosa’ and Citrus grandis (L.) Osbeck, which is commonly used in the clinic for the treatment of cough and indigestion. The pharmacological mechanism of CGE is unclear. In this study, the pharmacological effect of CGE was predicted by System Traditional Chinese Medicine (SYSTCM), which integrated the pharmacological effect prediction approach by artificial intelligence into the systemic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) platform. The main pharmacological effect of CGE was antiallergy, promoting bile, blood lipid regulation, cardiotonics, diuresis, and antiarrhythmia by prediction of SYSTCM. In vitro cell experiments were carried out to identify the antiallergic effect of CGE. Extracts of Citri Grandis Exocarpium (ECGE) inhibited lipopolysaccharide-induced cell injury and nitric oxide release in RAW264.7 cells. ECGE and naringin-inhibited immunoglobulin E-induced cell degranulation in RBL-2H3 cells. Target profiling, protein interaction network, and molecular docking of compounds from CGE indicated that mitogen-activated protein kinase 14 (MAPK14) and matrix metalloprotease 9 (MMP9) were key potential targets of CGE with antiallergic activity. This study identified and validated the antiallergic effect of CGE by combining SYSTCM, cell experiments, and virtual screening, which provided a new paradigm and approach for studying the pharmacological effect and mechanism of TCM.

Ancestral halls in Canton region are an important part of culture and architectural art in Canton region. Currently, research mostly analyzes from the perspective of clan culture and architectural crafts, and rarely explores architectural characteristics and inheritance from the perspective of cultural gene and constructs the gene map of architectural culture. Taking the theory of cultural gene as the starting point, this paper extensively studies the cultural background and inheritance process of cultural genes of ancestral halls in Canton region through literature research and field research. Based on the thinking method of gene reverse transcription in biology and the cultural three-level hierarchy, the main cultural factors were extracted and classified to establish the cultural gene library, gene hierarchical diagram and gene maps of Cantonese ancestral halls. The Analytic Hierarchy Process method (AHP) was used to screen and rank the cultural factors analyzing their importance in all levels in the cultural gene hierarchical diagram. To summarize, this paper discussed the development and evolution of cultural factors of Cantonese ancestral halls and their contemporary inheritance requires more attention on the innovative translation design of core cultural factors with higher importance, based on the principle of authentic and integral preservation of original, providing new perspective and decision-making references for the inheritance of ancestral halls in Canton region.

Abstract Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a high incidence and mortality rate despite various treatment options, including 125I seed implantation. However, recurrence and radiation resistance remain challenging issues. Hsa_circ_0007895 (circEYA3)—derived from exons 2–6 of EYA3–facilitates the proliferation and progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. However, the role of circEYA3 in HCC 125I radiation resistance remains unclear. Thus, we aimed to investigate the functions and underlying molecular mechanisms of circEYA3 in HCC under 125I and X-ray irradiation conditions. Methods CircEYA3 was identified by RNA-seq in patients with HCC before and after 125I seed implantation treatment, followed by fluorescence in situ hybridization and RNase R assays. The radiosensitivity of HCC cell lines irradiated with 125I seeds or external irradiation were evaluated using the Cell Counting Kit 8, flow cytometry, γH2A.X immunofluorescence and comet assays. RNA pull-down and RNA immunoprecipitation assays were performed to explore the interactions between circEYA3 and IGF2BP2. DTX3L mRNA was identified by RNA-seq in PLC/PRF/5 cells with overexpressed circEYA3. The corresponding in vitro results were verified using a mouse xenograft model. Results CircEYA3 decreased the radiosensitivity of HCC cells both in vitro and in vivo. Notably, using a circRNA pulldown assay and RNA-binding protein immunoprecipitation, we identified IGF2BP2 as a novel and robust interacting protein of circEYA3. Mechanistically, circEYA3 binds to IGF2BP2 and enhances its ability to stabilize DTX3L mRNA, thereby specifically alleviating radiation-induced DNA damage in HCC cells. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate that circEYA3 increases the radioresistance of HCC to 125I seeds and external irradiation via the IGF2BP2/DTX3L axis. Thus, circEYA3 might be a predictive indicator and intervention option for 125I brachytherapy or external radiotherapy in HCC.

Understanding the response of microbial communities and their potential functions is essential for sustainability of agroecosystems under long-term continuous cropping. However, limited research has focused on investigating the interaction between soil physicochemical factors and microbial community dynamics in agroecosystems under long-term continuous cropping. This study probed into the physicochemical properties, metabolites, and microbial diversity of tobacco rhizosphere soils cropped continuously for 0, 5, and 20 years. The relative abundance of bacterial genera associated with nutrient cycling (e.g., Sphingomonas) increased while potential plant pathogenic fungi and beneficial microorganisms showed synergistic increases with the duration of continuous cropping. Variations in soil pH, alkeline nitrogen (AN) content, and soil organic carbon (SOC) content drove the shifts in soil microbial composition. Metabolites such as palmitic acid, 3-hydroxypropionic acid, stearic acid, and hippuric acid may play a key role in soil acidification. Those results enhance our ability to predict shifts in soil microbial community structure associated with anthropogenic continuous cropping, which can have long-term implications for crop production.

Metallized pellets serve as a significant recycling product derived from the iron and steel production, comprising dust and sludge. However, the substantial presence of residual zinc within these pellets poses challenges such as vaporization, condensation, and accumulation, ultimately leading to severe clogging in off-gas pipes and potential erosion of refractory materials. To address this, a novel approach is proposed to efficiently harness the potential of metallized pellets within the converter process, focusing on investigating the behavior and mechanism of zinc oxides. Results reveal that metallized pellets introduce Zn elements with a distribution ratio of approximately 1:1 in the steel-gas phase and only around 3% in the slag. The Zn element can remain stable in the over-oxidized molten steel, and an inverse proportional relationship between [C] and [Zn] contents in the molten steel has been derived from industrial and laboratory experiments as follows.[%C]0.84·[%Zn]=0.0055Furthermore, the end-point Zn content in the molten steel is closely related to the C content in the molten steel before the addition of the metallized pellets. The ZnO contained within the metallized pellets must undergo reduction by the [C] present in the molten steel, as well as by the [C] to facilitate vaporization and escape. Consequently, a critical carbon content (approximately 0.3%) emerges, wherein the addition of metallized pellets enables the maximum and enduring presence of Zn elements within the molten steel while minimizing vaporization and escape of Zn into the off-gas pipeline.

Malignant tumors are major causes of morbidity and mortality in China. Despite advances in surgical, radiological, chemotherapeutic, molecular targeting, and immunotherapeutic treatments, patients with malignant tumors still have poor prognoses. Low-dose-rate brachytherapy, specifically 125I seed implantation, is beneficial because of its high local delivery dose and minimal damage to surrounding tissues. Consequently, it has gained increasing acceptance as a treatment modality for various malignant tumors. In this study, we explored the fundamental principles, clinical applications, and new technologies associated with 125I radioactive seed implantation.

Previous studies have demonstrated that tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) exhibiting an M2 phenotype contribute significantly to the pathogenesis of various cancer types, including lung cancer. Therapeutic approaches targeting TAMs have the potential to complement and synergize with conventional chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Through database analysis, it has become evident that the expression of CTNNB1 (β-catenin) is predominantly localized in macrophages, and its presence is associated with unfavorable outcomes in the absence of CD8+ cells. Jin-Fu-An decoction (JFAD) has been utilized as an adjunct to augment current clinical interventions. By conducting a network pharmacological analysis, we discovered that CTNNB1 is a significant target of JFAD. Experiments were conducted to examine the impact of JFAD on macrophage polarization both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the study investigated the combined effect of JFAD and cisplatin (CDDP) on mitigating adverse reactions and prolonging survival in subcutaneously transplanted tumor models and orthotopic lung cancer models. The percentage of M1 and M2 macrophages in the tumor and spleen were measured using flow cytometry. Additionally, the levels of β-catenin, M1, and M2 macrophage markers were measured by Western blotting and qPCR, while CD8 and iNOS protein expression was analyzed via immunohistochemistry. Our research findings indicate that JFAD has the ability to modulate the transformation of M2 macrophages into M1 macrophages, augment the anticancer efficacy of CDDP, and diminish the expression of cell-related markers in M2 cells. This regulatory effect may potentially be associated with the downregulation of β-catenin expression.

As precursors of disinfection by-products (DBPs), sediment hydrophobic organic compounds (HPOCs) derived from six reservoirs along the Dongjiang River were chlorinated (Cl-WS) and then fractionated into two polar components (hydrophobic organic compounds (Cl-HOCs) and hydrophilic organic compounds (Cl-HICs)) by solid phase extraction. Based on Caco-2 cell exposure study, the genotoxicity of Cl-WS, Cl-HOCs and Cl-HICs was analyzed by reactive oxygen species (ROS) analysis, comet assay and ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase assay. Protective effects of antioxidants (catalase, vitamin C and epigallocatechin 3-gallate (EGCG)) on genotoxicity of the chlorinated samples were investigated. The results showed that Cl-WS and its two fractions (Cl-HOCs and Cl-HICs) induced ROS, DNA damage and dioxin-like toxicity (TEQbio), and Cl-HICs were a major contributor to oxidative damage and TEQbio compared with Cl-HOCs. Antioxidants significantly reduced Cl-HOCs- and Cl-HICs-induced ROS, but had insignificant effect on DNA oxidative damage and TEQbio. In addition, EGCG showed higher efficacy in reducing DNA damage induced by Cl-HICs than by Cl-HOCs. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the genotoxicity of Cl-WS and its two polar components in Caco-2 cells, as well as the protective effects of antioxidants on Cl-HOCs and Cl-HICs-induced ROS, DNA damage, and TEQbio. This study provides important toxicity information for water treatment industries in differentiating DBPs of different polarity.

The Ti/SiC gradient material with Mg2Si additive was designed and fabricated by reaction sintering. The structure, microstructure and properties were investigated systematically. The result indicated that the Ti/SiC gradient material contained six layers with Ti-rich and Si-rich regions. The relative density decreased from 98.32% to 88.73%, and it increased to 97.28%. Besides, the harness increased from 532.97 HV to 571.32 HV and reduced to 228.14 HV with the increase of Ti content. The fracture toughness of the SiC layer was 6.74 MPa m1/2, and it decreased to 4.91–5.39 MPa m1/2 at the layers containing Ti. The shrinkage rates increased during heating, and it slowed down at the holding stage. The densification primarily occurred at the heating and holding stages. The densification mechanism is the pore displacement controlled by lattice diffusion. Ti5Si3 synthesized by the reaction between Ti and SiC shows the incoherent interface to the Ti grain.

Small peptides in plants are typically characterized as being shorter than 120 amino acids, with their biologically active variants comprising fewer than 20 amino acids. These peptides are instrumental in regulating plant growth, development, and physiological processes, even at minimal concentrations. They play a critical role in long-distance signal transduction within plants and act as primary responders to a range of stress conditions, including salinity, alkalinity, drought, high temperatures, and cold. This review highlights the crucial roles of various small peptides in plant growth and development, plant resistance to abiotic stress, and their involvement in long-distance transport. Furthermore, it elaborates their roles in the regulation of plant hormone biosynthesis. Special emphasis is given to the functions and mechanisms of small peptides in plants responding to abiotic stress conditions, aiming to provide valuable insights for researchers working on the comprehensive study and practical application of small peptides.

The basic oxygen steelmaking process is based on the CaO-FeO-SiO2 ternary slag system, characterized by a high melting point and low lime dissolution rate, often becoming one of the key factors limiting the efficiency of the converter. The bulk solid waste red mud, produced by the Bayer alumina process and rich in Fe2O3/Al2O3/Na2O, significantly reduces the melting point of the steelmaking slag system and enhances the efficiency of lime dissolution. This study utilized red mud as the main raw material to prepare a fluoride-free flux. An in situ online observation system was used to measure the melting point of the flux and the dissolution rate of lime in the flux. The results indicate that the melting point of the red mud-based flux is below 1200 °C, and under the same conditions, the lime dissolution rate is 10 to 15 times higher than when this flux is not used. Experiments in a 10 kg induction furnace show that using this flux, the dephosphorization rate under conditions without oxygen blowing is close to 40%, far higher than the rate achieved using CaF2. Under oxygen-blowing conditions, the dephosphorization rate using the red mud-based flux is comparable to that of CaF2, and significantly higher than without any flux, especially under high [C] content conditions. The data show that the red mud-based flux has the potential to be widely used as a fluoride-free flux in the steelmaking process.

To enhance the slagging efficiency of the lime-based slag system during the pre-treatment stage of hot metal, a composite calcium ferrite flux based on aluminum industry solid waste was developed in this study. The melting characteristics of the flux and its application in the pre-treatment of hot metal were investigated. The results indicated that the main phases of the composite calcium ferrite were CaFe2O4, Ca2Fe2O5, and Ca2(Fe,Al)2O4. It exhibited high oxidation, high alkalinity, and a low melting point, thereby achieving excellent melting performance. Simulations of various dephosphorization fluxes in the pre-treatment of high-phosphorus hot metal, ordinary hot metal, and kilogram-scale dephosphorization experiment processes were conducted. Under the same experimental conditions, the composite calcium ferrite flux was able to achieve a dephosphorization rate of over 90% and a final phosphorus content of less than 0.02 wt% under high carbon content ([%C] = 3.2 wt%). In the application of hot metal pre-dephosphorization, this flux was able to achieve efficient melting and rapid slagging of lime at a lower temperature, and its slagging time was 50% faster than that of calcium ferrite flux. In addition, this flux enhanced the utilization efficiency of lime during the steelmaking process, effectively prevented the agglomeration of slag, and achieved efficient slag–metal separation. These characteristics were significantly better than the application effect of calcium ferrite flux. This flux has significant implications for the industrial application of deep dephosphorization in the pre-treatment stage of hot metal or the early stage of converter steelmaking.

Objective: To explore the relationship between bitter taste and bitter flavor (efficacy), their characteristics were analyzed at the target and pharmacodynamic points. Methods: Compounds with bitter receptor activity were obtained by high-throughput screening models of the human bitter taste receptors (hTAS2Rs), which were used to analyze bitter taste. The efficacy of anti-asthma medications was used as an example to research bitter flavor (efficacy). The pharmacological effects of bitter taste and bitter flavor (efficacy) were classified according to the functional modules. The coverage for the same targets or pharmacological effects in the overall protein interaction network (PIN) of bitter taste and bitter flavor (efficacy) was analyzed to reveal their relationship. The effect of the compound polydatin with anti-asthma activation on hTAS2R14 was studied to verify the reliability of the aforementioned idea. Results: A total of 121 Chinese materia medica (CMM) compounds that activate hTAS2R10, hTAS2R14, and hTAS2R49 were obtained. The analysis results indicated that 108 same targets for bitter taste and bitter flavor (efficacy) were obtained, accounting for 13.9% in the PIN of bitter taste and 72.5% in the PIN of bitter flavor (efficacy). The pharmacological effects shared by bitter taste and bitter flavor (efficacy) accounted for 79% of the PIN of bitter taste and 81% of the PIN of bitter flavor (efficacy). The activating effect of the anti-asthma compound polydatin on hTAS2R14 was dose-dependent with EC50 of 4.3 μM. Conclusion: In this study, the relationship between bitter taste and bitter flavor (efficacy) has been demonstrated from the target and pharmacodynamic points, which are based on hTAS2Rs and anti-asthma effect. Bitter taste and bitter flavor (efficacy) exhibited a high correlation. This study provides a theoretical and scientific basis for the hypothesis that “the property theory of CMM is the clinical pharmacodynamics of CMM.”

The underground structure in coral sand is threatened by earthquake. The special dynamic characteristics of coral sand were realized by finite difference program. Specifically, the stress–strain loops, shear modulus attenuation and hysteresis behaviour of coral sand were simulated using hysteresis damping. On this basis, numerical models were established to study the seismic response of the rectangular underground structure in coral sand, and the fluid–solid coupling and soil-structure interaction were considered. The results illustrate that the increasing relative density of coral sand foundation reduces the excess pore water pressure (EPWP), but amplifies the horizontal dynamic soil pressure of the coral sand-underground structure system. The increase in the permeability coefficient of coral sand reduces the EPWP accumulation, which leads to an increase of the stiffness and a decrease of the acceleration amplification of coral sand sites.

The meat yield, and chemical and nutrients composition of the pond, rice-field and wild-caught crayfish meat were investigated. The results showed that the meat yield of pond crayfish (10.52%) was significantly higher than that of rice-field (10.05%) and wild-caught (10.32%) crayfish. The rice-field crayfish meat had the highest moisture contents (81.43%) and the lowest protein content (15.50%). The higher lipid contents were found in the rice-field and pond crayfish meat (1.10% and 1.19%, respectively). While, the pond crayfish meat had the highest essential amino acids (6.09 g/100 g) and total amino acids (16.21 g/100 g) content, and the Σn-3/Σn-6 PUFA ratio (1.78). The essential amino acid index in the pond and rice-field crayfish meat was higher than 70 which indicated that they were high-quality protein. The pond crayfish meat contained more macro-minerals, but less micro-minerals. While, the trace minerals were rich in the rice-field crayfish meat. The heavy metals contents in the crayfish meat were under limit. Overall, the pond, rice-field and wild-caught crayfish meat all exhibited good nutritional quality, and the pond crayfish meat showed better in terms of amino acids and fatty acids composition. For the rice-field crayfish, most of its nutritional quality were similar with the wild-caught crayfish.

The effect of steaming (100 ℃), boiling (100 ℃), frying (160 ℃) and high-pressure steam (121 ℃) on crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) quality was compared. The results showed that all four treatments have sterilization effect. The color, taste and texture of crayfish treated by steaming and boiling were better than by frying and high-pressure steam. Among the four cooking methods, the frying group has the highest cooking loss (32%) and thiobarbituric acid value (0.71 mg/kg). The effects of four thermal treatment on the content of astaxanthin of crayfish meat were significantly different. By comparing the content of volatile flavor compounds (VOCs), it was found that the crayfish treated by steaming and frying containing more species VOCs than the other two methods. For cooking crayfish, steaming could be beneficial for maintaining good edible quality. These results would be helpful for crayfish processing and new products development.

The lack of irrigation water in agricultural soils poses a significant constraint on global crop production. In-depth investigation into microRNAs (miRNAs) has been widely used to achieve a comprehensive understanding of plant defense mechanisms. However, there is limited knowledge on the association of miRNAs with drought tolerance in cigar tobacco. In this study, a hydroponic experiment was carried out to identify changes in plant physiological characteristics, miRNA expression and metabolite profile under drought stress, and examine the mitigating effects of selenium (Se) application. The shoot dry weight of drought-stressed plants was approximately half (50.3%) of that in non-stressed (control) conditions. However, plants supplied with Se attained 38.8% greater shoot dry weight as compared to plants with no Se supply under drought stress. Thirteen miRNAs were identified to be associated with drought tolerance. These included 7 known (such as nta-miR156b and nta-miR166a) and 6 novel miRNAs (such as novel-nta-miR156-5p and novel-nta-miR209-5p) with the target genes of squamosa promoter-binding-like protein 4 (SPL4), serine/threonine protein phosphatase 2A (PPP2A), cation/calcium exchanger 4-like (CCX4), extensin-1-like (EXT1) and reduced wall acetylation 2 (RWA2). Further investigation revealed that the expression levels of Ext1 and RWA2 were significantly decreased under drought stress but increased with Se addition. Moreover, key metabolites such as catechin and N-acetylneuraminic acid were identified, which may play a role in the regulation of drought tolerance. The integrated analysis of miRNA sequencing and metabolome highlighted the significance of the novel-nta-miR97-5p- LRR-RLK- catechin pathway in regulating drought tolerance. Our findings provide valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying drought tolerance and Se-induced stress alleviation in cigar tobacco.

Soil bacterial communities are intricately linked to ecosystem functioning, and understanding how communities assemble in response to environmental change is ecologically significant. Little is known about the assembly processes of bacteria communities across agro-ecosystems, particularly with regard to their environmental adaptation. To gain further insights into the microbial community characteristics of agro-ecosystems soil in the Panxi area of Sichuan Province and explore the key environmental factors driving the assembly process of the microbial community, this study conducted field sampling in major farmland areas of Panxi area and used Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology to conduct bacterial sequencing. Soil organic matter (SOM), alkali-hydrolyzed nitrogen (AN), available phosphorus (AP), available potassium (AK) and other environmental factors were determined. The membership function method and principal component analysis method were used to evaluate the fertility of the soil. The results revealed minimal differences in alpha diversity index among samples with different comprehensive fertility indices, while NMDS analysis showed that community differences between species were mainly reflected in high fertility and low fertility (R: 0.068, p: 0.011). Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria were the main types of microbial communities, accounting for more than 60% of the relative abundance. Proteobacteria accounted for a higher proportion in the high fertility samples, while Acidobacteria and Actinobacteria accounted for a higher proportion in the middle and low fertility samples. Both the neutral theoretical model and zero model analysis showed that the microbial communities in tobacco-planting soil with different comprehensive fertility indices presented a random assembly process. With the increase in environmental distance difference, the diversity of the microbial community in medium and low-fertility soil also increased, but there was no significant change in high-fertility soil. Redundancy analysis showed that pH and SOM were the key factors affecting microbial community composition. The results of this study can provide a theoretical reference for the study of environmental factors and microbial communities in tobacco-growing soil.

In recent years, China has paid more and more attention to ecological and environmental protection, and the treatment of solid waste during industrial production has become more important. For example, stainless steel production industry, electroplating industry, chromium salt production industry, etc., will produce a large amount of chromium-containing solid waste. Long-term accumulation will not only occupy land resources but also cause serious harm to the environment. Therefore, it is particularly important to develop more effective methods for recycling and processing chromium-containing solid waste. This article summarizes the current situation of chromium ore resources in China, predicts the demand for chromium ore in the next few years, expounds the current situation and hazards of chromium-containing solid waste, and summarizes the new domestic and foreign chromium-containing solid waste treatment technologies in recent years. Research and progress in the recycling of chromium-containing solid waste, introducing the advantages and disadvantages of different treatment methods, in order to find a better way to recover and treat chromium-containing solid waste in the future.

Objective: To identify the relationship between the active compounds in turmeric (Curcuma Longa L., C. Longa) and their medicinal properties, and clarify the chemical material basis of the medicinal properties in C. Longa. Methods: High throughput screening models of the thermo-transient receptor potentials (thermo-TRPs) and human taste type 2 receptors (hTAS2Rs) were established to evaluate the activity of the active compounds in C. Longa. The biological processes and distributions of the related targets of the active compounds were acquired by data mining. The above results were then used as basic data to comprehensively analyze the material basis of the medicinal properties of turmeric. Results: Curcumin inhibited TRPV1, TRPV2, TRPV3, and TRPA1, while demethoxycurcumin (DMC) inhibited TRPV3, TRPA1, and TRPM8. In terms of the 21 hTAS2Rs, the response values of hTAS2R38, hTAS2R16, and hTAS2R44 intervened by curcumin were ranked top three; the response values of hTAS2R3, hTAS2R1, and hTAS2R9 by DMC were in top three; the response values of hTAS2R47, hTAS2R39, and hTAS2R43 by bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC) were in top three. The biological processes related to active compounds primarily involved blood circulation, ossification, and regulation of the inflammatory response. Conclusion: Curcumin, DMC, and BDMC were identified as the material basis of the property of Chinese materia medica of C. Longa. Among these, curcumin and DMC may contribute to its warming effect in the four qi. Curcumin, DMC, and BDMC may lead to its bitter flavor, and the three active compounds were consistent with the meridian entry of C. Longa. Although different compounds play diverse roles in the four qi, five flavors, and meridian entry, they all were relevant to the efficacy of C. Longa. It is helpful to further understand the important role of the property of Chinese materia medica for the clinical application of traditional Chinese medicine.

Objectives: The aim of this research was to establish standard norms for posterior smile-related characteristics including posterior smile line (PSL), the most posterior teeth displayed, buccal corridor ratio (BCR), and buccal corridor symmetry (BCS) and investigate its aesthetic contributions to smile attractiveness in a Chinese population. Materials and methods: From digitally recorded dynamic smile videos of young Chinese participants, 188 standardised full-smile images were captured and then aesthetically evaluated by 22 laypersons using a visual analog scale (VAS). Four smile-related variables in the posterior region were analysed. VAS data were compared between subgroups to test the influence of these variables on smile aesthetics with significance level of P < .05. Results: The VAS scores of participants with high PSL were significantly lower than those with average or low PSL (P < .01), especially when they display average or low anterior smile line (P < .05). Smiles with the second premolar displayed obtained the highest VAS amongst the 3 subgroups (P < .05). No significant differences were found between the VAS scores of BCR and BCS (P > .05). Conclusions: Maxillary posterior gingiva and teeth displayed influence smile attractiveness evaluated by laypersons, which should be given attention when treating patients with compromised aesthetics, especially those displaying average or low anterior smile lines.

Objective: The application of Chinese materia medica (CMM) in clinical diseases is the embodiment and continuation of the property theory of CMM (PTCMM). However, due to a lack of precise quantitative description methods, it is difficult to systematically analyze the property of CMM (PCMM) and clinical effect features at the micro molecular level. Methods: The therapeutic drugs and targets were obtained from the Drugbank database. The molecular descriptors of these drugs were calculated based on Dragon software. Drug–effect relationships that integrated the molecular descriptors and effect descriptors were plotted as grayscale images. These images were used to train the LeNet-5 model and the AlexNet model. The best-performing model was used to predict the effect features of the CMM compounds. Finally, the effect features of the PCMM combinations were calculated based on the support vector machine recursive feature elimination algorithm. Results: The AlexNet model showed a superior prediction performance. The results showed that its accuracy, precision, sensitivity, F-measure, and Matthews correlation coefficient on the training set were 0.940, 0.936, 0.945, 0.940, and 0.880, respectively, and those of the test set were 0.909, 0.901, 0.920, 0.910, and 0.819, respectively. A total of 399 compounds in the 42 CMMs for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis were predicted by this model. The key effect features of the Han-Ku-Gan combination were anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-atherosclerosis, anti-Parkinson, hypoglycemic, and anti-coagulant properties, as well as excitation of uterine smooth muscle. The key effect features of the Wen-Xin-Gan combination were anti-inflammatory, anti-atherosclerosis, anti-hypertensive, anti-coagulant, anti-tumor, and anti-cardiac insufficiency effects, as well as enhanced immunity, sedation and hypnosis, and analgesia. Conclusion: This study provides a new method for the further exploration of the relationship between the PCMM and clinical effect features.

Abstract Plants, as a large and complex system, are rich in a variety of natural bioactive constituents. It is crucial to enrich, isolate, purify and detect these natural products. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are a class of polymers prepared by molecularly imprinted technology (MIT) that have specific recognition sites and are complementary to templates in shape, size, and binding groups. The synthesis and polymerization mechanism of MIPs are introduced. A variety of preparation methods for MIPs have been developed. MIPs can be classified into three types: non‐covalent molecularly imprinted, covalent molecularly imprinted, and semi‐covalent molecularly imprinted. MIPs usually consists of five parts: template, functional monomer, cross‐linker, initiator, and solvent/reagent. With the advantages of high‐specificity binding ability, MIPs have shown excellent efficacy in the separation, enrichment, and purification of plant active products, such as flavonoids, polyphenols, terpenoids, and other components, especially as specific adsorbent materials. Due to the high selectivity to target the analytes, MIPs have also been used as sensors to detect the bioactive constituents in plants. Undeniably, MIPs still face undeniable limitations in the application of plant natural products. The development of MIPs with high selectivity, strong affinity, cost‐effectiveness, sensitivity, and environmental friendliness are valuable and promising.

IntroductionThe expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) is a major form of anaerobic digestion system during wastewater treatment. Yet, the dynamics of microbial and viral communities and members functioning in nitrogen cycling along with monthly changing physicochemical properties have not been well elucidated.MethodsHere, by collecting the anaerobic activated sludge samples from a continuously operating industrial-scale EGSB reactor, we conducted 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and metagenome sequencing to reveal the microbial community structure and variation with the ever-changing physicochemical properties along within a year.ResultsWe observed a clear monthly variation of microbial community structures, while COD, the ratio of volatile suspended solids (VSS) to total suspended solids (TSS) (VSS/TSS ratio), and temperature were predominant factors in shaping community dissimilarities examined by generalized boosted regression modeling (GBM) analysis. Meanwhile, a significant correlation was found between the changing physicochemical properties and microbial communities (p

Abstract Background Anticipatory grief has been shown to be highly prevalent among family caregivers of patients with advanced illness. Qualitative study suggests that illness uncertainty may be one of the core characteristics of anticipatory grief, but it has not been confirmed in quantitative studies. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between anticipatory grief and illness uncertainty among Chinese family caregivers of patients with advanced lung cancer and to determine the factors influencing anticipatory grief. Methods This descriptive cross-sectional study used a convenience sampling method and recruited 254 inpatient family caregivers from the thoracic medicine ward of Liaoning Cancer Hospital & Institute in Shenyang, mainland China. Anticipatory grief (Anticipatory Grief Scale (AGS), illness uncertainty (Uncertainty in Illness Scale Family Caregiver Version) and sociodemographic information (Self-compiled general information questionnaire) were measured using validated self-report measures. Results Chinese family caregivers of patients with advanced lung cancer had high levels of anticipatory grief (73.5 ± 16.1). The results of the correlation analysis showed a positive association between anticipatory grief and illness uncertainty (r = 0.580, P

Abstract Introduction Hyalinizing clear cell carcinomas (HCCCs) are rare, low-grade, malignant tumors. They most commonly involve the minor salivary glands of the head and neck. HCCC that occurs in uncommon locations and examining samples from small biopsy pose a diagnostic challenge for most pathologists. Case presentation We herein report a primary pulmonary HCCC diagnosed by small biopsy and summarize its histologic, immunophenotypic, and molecular features along with a review of 11 previously reported cases to emphasize the potential diagnostic pitfalls. Conclusions Small biopsy diagnosis of primary pulmonary HCCC is challenging. A collection of mimics needed to be ruled out. Awareness of the key morphologic features of pulmonary HCCC combined with essential immunohistochemistry and molecular tests contributes to the correct diagnosis.

To further reveal the cracking mechanism and the bending-torsional failure mode caused by the bending-torsional behaviors of the steel-concrete composite beam with corrugated steel webs,model experiments were conducted on five test beams under the combined bending-torsional load.Combined with ANSYS finite element analysis,reduction factors for both the cracking bending moment and torsional moment were proposed,and the bending-torsional correlation formula between the ultimate bending moment and torsional moment was suggested.The results show that,with the increase of the ratio of bending moment,the cracking torsional moment increases,while the cracking bending moment and the angle between the inclined crack and the longitudinal axis decrease gradually;the failure mode is changed from bending failure of normal section to torsional failure which is characterized by a main inclined crack and the inclined compressed concrete column reaching to the ultimate strain.When the torsional bending ratio k≤[BF]0.15[BFQ],the torsional moment has little influence on the ultimate bending moment;when k≥[BF]0.6[BFQ],the bending moment has little influence on the ultimate torsional moment;when [BF]0.15[BFQ]

There are significant incentives/pressures on decreasing the use of plastics and their related products in the packaging industry, correspondingly, strong demands are emerging for clean, renewable, recyclable/ biodegradable packaging products. In this context, molded fiber/pulp products have attracted increasing attention, due to their green/sustainable advantages, simply because the raw materials used are plant-based and/or recycled fibers. Many companies have switched their packing practices from plastics to more environmentally friendly products, such as molded fiber products, which already have had and will continue to have obvious effect on packaging industries. This paper initially provides an overview on the general concept of molded pulp products, and further summarizes the different types of molded fiber products in terms of natural fiber sources, manufacturing processes, current and emerging applications as well as the environmental sustainability of molded products.

Abstract Background To explore the feasibility of corrected slack angle acquired from two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) for quantitating the spasticity of medial gastrocnemius (MG) in stroke patients. Methods Consecutive stroke patients with spastic MG and matched healthy controls were recruited. Intra- and interobserver reliability of 2D-SWE measurement were evaluated, and the correlation between corrected slack angle and modified Ashworth scale (MAS) score was examined. The corrected slack angle before and after botulinum toxin A (BoNT-A) injection was compared and its diagnostic performance in classifying the severity of spasticity were assessed with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results The intra- (0.791 95% CI 0.432–0.932) and interobserver (0.751 95% CI 0.382–0.916) reliability of slack angle acquired with 2D-SWE were good. Significant correlation was found between corrected slack angle and MAS score (R = − 0.849, p

Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a highly malignant tumor with extremely poor prognosis. Previous studies have suggested that the carcinogenesis and progression of GBC is a multi-stage and multi-step process, but most of them focused on the genome changes. And a few studies just compared the transcriptome differences between tumor tissues and adjacent noncancerous tissues. The transcriptome changes, relating to every stage of GBC evolution, have rarely been studied. We selected three cases of normal gallbladder, four cases of gallbladder with chronic inflammation induced by gallstones, five cases of early GBC, and five cases of advanced GBC, using next-generation RNA sequencing to reveal the changes in mRNAs and lncRNAs expression during the evolution of GBC. In-depth analysis of the sequencing data indicated that transcriptome changes from normal gallbladder to gallbladder with chronic inflammation were distinctly related to inflammation, lipid metabolism, and sex hormone metabolism; transcriptome changes from gallbladder with chronic inflammation to early GBC were distinctly related to immune activities and connection between cells; and the transcriptome changes from early GBC to advanced GBC were distinctly related to transmembrane transport of substances and migration of cells. Expression profiles of mRNAs and lncRNAs change significantly during the evolution of GBC, in which lipid-based metabolic abnormalities play an important promotive role, inflammation and immune activities play a key role, and membrane proteins are very highlighted molecular changes.

BackgroundPrevious studies have revealed alteration of functional connectivity (FC) in Parkinson’s disease patients with anxiety (PD-A), but local brain activities associated with anxiety in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients remain to be elucidated. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) analysis was employed to investigate alterations of regional brain activities in PD-A patients.MethodsResting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data were acquired from 42 PD-A patients, 41 PD patients without anxiety (PD-NA), and 40 age-and gender-matched healthy control (HC) subjects. ReHo analysis was used to investigate the synchronization of neuronal activities in brain regions in the three groups. The relationship between ReHo value and anxiety score in the PD-A group was also investigated.ResultsParkinson’s disease patients with anxiety showed increased ReHo values in the bilateral frontal lobes, caudate nucleus, and anterior cingulate gyrus [Gaussian random field (GRF) correction, voxel size p

The geo-hazards comprehensive evaluation index system was established in the early stage of the team, and the number, the number density, the volume and the volume density, which reflect the spatial dimension, are used to evaluate the development degree of geo-hazards, excluding the evaluation factors reflecting the time dimension. In this paper, disaster years reflecting the time dimension are introduced to enrich the development degree evaluation system of geo-hazards. The median logarithmic method and probability density distribution are respectively used to processing data of disaster years and volume, and the entropy weight is used to determine the weight of evaluation factors. The evaluation models are established and the evaluation results are divided into four levels by the slope method, reflecting the development status of disasters. The geo-hazards occurred in 31provinces in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) from 2011 to 2020 are taken as examples, the development degree of geo-hazards (landslide, collapse and debris flow) is evaluated and divided according to this method. The results show that the geo-hazards high development areas cover 323 counties in total, involving 19 provinces, mainly occurring in Southeast China, Southwest China and Northwest China. The sub-high development areas cover 566 counties in total, involving 25 provinces, mainly occurring in Southwest China, South Central China and Southeast China. The moderately development areascover 623 counties in total, involving 30 provinces, mainly occurring in Northwest China and North China. The low development areas cover 1336 counties in total, involving 30 provinces, mainly occurring in North China, Northeast China and East China. When compared with the national disaster prevention deployment situation or the geo-hazards distribution, the evaluation results are in good agreement with the reality. In addition, through field investigation, the evaluation results are more consistent with the actual situation.

The property theory of Chinese materia medica is one of the foundations of traditional Chinese medicine. The property of Chinese materia medica (PCMM) is a multi-dimensional expression of the effect of Chinese materia medica (CMM), and it is related to the clinical prescription that fully reflects the clinical effect evaluation of CMM in a holistic, systematic, and scientific way. This paper discusses the source, development, and application of the PCMM by considering not only the five dimensions that constitute the PCMM but also the recognition of the human body and disease as given in traditional Chinese medicine. This paper aims to provide theoretical guidance for the rational use and development of CMM.

A sedimentary basin is classified as a super basin when its cumulative production exceeds 5 billion barrels of oil equivalent (6.82×108 t of oil or 7931.66×108 m3 of gas) and its remaining recoverable resources are at least 5 billion barrels of oil equivalent. By the end of 2019, the total output of oil and gas in Sichuan Basin had been 6569×108 m3 with the gas-oil ratio of 80:1, and the total remaining recoverable resources reached 136 404×108 m3, which makes it as a second-tier super basin. Because the output is mainly gas, it is a super gas basin. The reason why the Sichuan Basin is a super gas basin is that it has four advantages: (1) The advantage of gas source rocks: it has the most gas source rocks (9 sets) among all the basins in China. (2) The advantage of resource quantity: it has the most total remaining recoverable resources among all the basins in China (136404×108 m3). (3) The advantage of large gas fields: it has the most large gas fields (27) among all the basins in China. (4) The advantage of total production: by the end of 2019, the total gas production had been 6 487.8×108 m3, which ranked the first among all the basins in China. There are four major breakthroughs in natural gas exploration in Sichuan Basin: (1) A breakthrough in shale gas: shale gas was firstly found in the Ordovician Wufeng-Silurian Longmaxi formations in China. (2) A breakthrough in tight sandstone gas: the Triassic Xu2 Member gas reservoir in Zhongba gas field is the first high recovery tight sandstone gas reservoir in China. (3) A breakthrough in giant carbonate gas fields. (4) A breakthrough in ultra-deep gas reservoir. These breakthroughs have led to important progress in different basins across the country. Super basins are classified according to three criteria: cumulative production and remaining recoverable resources of oil and gas, tectonic attributes of the basin, and the proportions of oil and gas in cumulative oil and gas production.

Ionizing radiation (IR) is an important treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) that mainly kills tumor cells by producing large amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Intracellular ROS levels affect the sensitivity of tumor cells to IR. Recently, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) have been found to affect the intracellular levels of ROS. Therefore, we performed a health informatics assessment of ACE in the TCGA database. We explored the effect of ACE in NPC cells. We found that either knockdown of ACE or inhibition of ACE by enalaprilat could decrease ROS levels in NPC cells. Furthermore, knockdown of ACE or inhibition of ACE by enalaprilat could reduce IR-induced ROS levels. ACE knockdown or inhibition reduced IR-induced DNA damage and apoptosis. ACE overexpression increased the level of ROS in NPC cells and further increased sensitivity to IR. These findings indicate that ACE influences the effect of IR by regulating the level of ROS in NPC cells.

Abstract Background The non-invasive quantitative evaluation of left ventricle (LV) function plays a critical role in clinical cardiology. This study proposes a novel ultrasonic biomechanics method by integrating both LV vortex and wall motion to fully assess and understand the LV structure and function. The purpose of this study was to validate the ultrasonic biomechanics method as a quantifiable approach to evaluate LV function. Methods Firstly, B-mode ultrasound images were acquired and processed, which were utilized to implement parameters for quantifying the LV vortex and wall motion respectively. Next, the parameters were compared in polyvinyl alcohol cryogen (PVA) phantoms with different degree of stiffness corresponding to different freezing and thawing cycles in vitro. Finally, the parameters were computed in vivo during one cardiac cycle to assess the LV function in normal and abnormal subjects in vivo. Results In vitro study, the velocity field of PVA phantom differed with stiffness (varied elasticity modulus). The peak of strain for wall motion decreases with the increase of elasticity modulus, and periodically changed values. Statistical analysis for parameters of vortex dynamics (energy dissipation index, DI; kinetic energy fluctuations, KEF; relative strength, RS; and vorticity, W) based on different elasticity (E) of phantom depicted the good viability of this algorithm. In vivo study, the results confirmed that subjects with LV dysfunction had lower vorticity and strain (S) compared to the normal group. Conclusion Ultrasonic biomechanics method can obtain the vortex and wall motion of left ventricle. The method may have potential clinical value in evaluation of LV dysfunction.

This paper provides an exploratory study about data quality evaluation index system of geological hazard. To serve geological hazard research and national geological hazard prevention, select five dimensions of completeness, timeliness, accuracy, consistency, and standardization as first-level indicators, which contains 10 secondary indicators and 28 tertiary indicators. Take the geological hazard database of a province in central China as an example, conduct data quality evaluation with Delphi method, the results show that is good the overall situation of the province's geological hazard database quality. This quality evaluation of geological hazard data is an exploratory research that integrates science and practicability, it is of great significance for improving the data quality to support geological hazard research and national geological hazard prevention.

Among the world's 10 major gas producing countries, only the United States (USA), Russia and Iran have annual gas production of 250 × 109 m3 or more. China is expected to have gas output of 250 × 109 m3 in 2025. There are three advantages for the great development of natural gas industry in China. Firstly, the natural gas resources are rich and the proved rate is low and only 8.6%, so it has the resource advantage for faster development; Secondly, over the past 35 years, natural gas production continues to grow, with the growth advantage for faster development; Finally, since 2006, the remaining recoverable reserves of natural gas have been increasing year by year, showing the reserve advantage for faster development. In recent 10 years, China's annual natural gas production growth rate, remaining recoverable reserves and reserve-production ratio of natural gas support that China's annual gas production in 2025 will reach 250 × 109 m3. Suggestions for accelerating natural gas exploration and development during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period: (1) Opening new exploration and development fields of Carboniferous-Permian shale gas in the Ordos Basin; (2) Exploring three potential large gas districts with hidden coal measures in the northern Tianshan Piedown Depression, Qaidam Depression, and Xihu Sag; (3) Accelerating the development of seven large gas fields with proved reserves over 100 × 109 m3, such as Lingshui 17–2 Gas Field; (4) Increasing the drilling of gas wells and ultra-deep exploration wells.

Abstract High shear wet granulation (HSWG) has been wildly used in manufacturing of oral solid dosage (OSD) forms, and process modeling is vital to understanding and controlling this complex process. In this paper, data fusion and multivariate modeling technique were applied to develop a formulation-process-quality model for HSWG process. The HSWG experimental data from both literature and the authors’ laboratory were fused into a single and formatted representation. A material database and material matching method were used to compensate the incomplete physical characterization of literature formulation materials, and dimensionless parameters were utilized to reconstruct process variables at different granulator scales. The exploratory study on input materials properties by principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that the formulation data collected from different articles generated a formulation library which was full of diversity. In prediction of the median granule size, the partial least squares (PLS) regression models derived from literature data only and a combination of literature data and laboratory data were compared. The results demonstrated that incorporating a small number of laboratory data into the multivariate calibration model could help significantly reduce the prediction error, especially at low level of liquid to solid ratio. The proposed data fusion methodology was beneficial to scientific development of HSWG formulation and process, with potential advantages of saving both experimental time and cost.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A), the most prevalent form of internal mRNA modification, is extensively involved in Treg cells differentiation and function. However, the involvement of m6A in functional Treg cells for transplantation tolerance remains to be elucidated. By using an experimental transplantation mouse model, we found that m6A levels in Treg cells were altered during the induction of transplant tolerance by performing a dot blotting assay. Subsequently, we used the heterogenic Treg-specific Mettl14 knockout mice (Foxp3-Mettl14f/+ cKO) to reduce METTL14 expression and performed islets allograft transplantation. Our result revealed that reduced expression of METTL14 prevented Treg cells expansion and promoted the infiltration of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells around the allograft, which led to rapid allograft rejection in Foxp3-Mettl14f/+ cKO mice. The expression of regulatory cytokines including IL-10 and TGF-β was significantly decreased in Foxp3-Mettl14f/+ cKO mice, and the suppressive function of Treg cells was also abrogated. In addition, an analysis of RNA-seq data revealed that the SOCS family (SOCS1, SOCS2 and SOCS3) is the subsequent signaling pathway affected by the METTL14 mediated m6A modification in Treg cells to modulate the suppressive function after transplantation. Taken together, our study showed for the first time that the METTL14-mediated m6A modification is essential for the suppressive function of Treg cells in transplantation and may serve as a regulatory element of Treg cell-based therapy in transplant medicine.

Abstract The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) genome project aims to reveal the genetic information and regulatory network of herbal medicines, and to clarify their molecular mechanisms in the prevention and treatment of human diseases. Moreover, the TCM genome could provide the basis for the discovery of the functional genes of active ingredients in TCM, and for the breeding and improvement of TCM. The traditional Chinese Medicine Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (TCM-Blast) is a web interface for TCM protein and DNA sequence similarity searches. It contains approximately 40G of genome data on TCMs, including protein and DNA sequence for 36 TCMs with high medical value.The development of a publicly accessible TCM genome alignment database hosted on the TCM-Blast website ( http://viroblast.pungentdb.org.cn/TCM-Blast/viroblast.php ) has expanded to query multiple sequence databases to obtain TCM genome data, and provide user-friendly output for easy analysis and browsing of BLAST results. The genome sequencing of TCMs helps to elucidate the biosynthetic pathways of important secondary metabolites and provides an essential resource for gene discovery studies and molecular breeding. The TCMs genome provides a valuable resource for the investigation of novel bioactive compounds and drugs from these TCMs under the guidance of TCM clinical practice. Our database could be expanded to other TCMs after the determination of their genome data.

Abstract Background Unresponsive thin endometrium caused by Asherman syndrome (AS) is the major cause of uterine infertility. However, current therapies are ineffective. This study is to evaluate the effect of transplantation with collagen scaffold/umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (CS/UC-MSCs) on this refractory disease. Methods Eighteen infertile women with unresponsive thin endometrium, whose frozen–thawed embryo transfers (FETs) were cancelled due to reduced endometrial thickness (ET ≤ 5.5 mm), were enrolled in this before and after self-control prospective study. Hysteroscopic examination was performed to confirm no intrauterine adhesions, then twenty million UC-MSCs loaded onto a CS were transplanted into the uterine cavity in two consecutive menstrual cycles. Then uterine cavity was assessed through hysteroscopy after two transplants. FETs were performed in the following cycle. Pregnancy outcomes were followed up. Endometrial thickness, uterine receptivity and endometrial angiogenesis, proliferation and hormone response were compared before and after treatment. Results Sixteen patients completed the study. No treatment-related serious adverse events occurred. Three months after transplantation, the average ET increased from 4.08 ± 0.26 mm to 5.87 ± 0.77 mm (P < 0.001). Three of 15 patients after FET got pregnant, of whom 2 gave birth successfully and 1 had a miscarriage at 25 weeks’ gestation. One of 2 patients without FET had a natural pregnancy and gave birth normally after transplantation. Immunohistochemical analysis showed increased micro-vessel density, upregulated expression of Ki67, estrogen receptor alpha, and progesterone receptor, indicating an improvement in endometrial angiogenesis, proliferation, and response to hormones. Conclusion CS/UC-MSCs is a promising and potential approach for treating women with unresponsive thin endometrium caused by AS. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03724617 . Registered on 26 October 2018—prospectively registered, https://register.clinicaltrials.gov/

Background and PurposeUnruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) are increasingly being detected in clinical practice. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been increasingly used to assist diagnostic techniques and shows encouraging prospects. In this study, we reported the protocol and preliminary results of the establishment of an intracranial aneurysm database for AI application based on computed tomography angiography (CTA) images.MethodsThrough a review of picture archiving and communication systems, we collected CTA images of patients with aneurysms between January 2010 and March 2021. The radiologists performed manual segmentation of all diagnosed aneurysms on subtraction CTA as the basis for automatic aneurysm segmentation. Then, AI will be applied to two stages of aneurysm treatment, namely, automatic aneurysm detection and segmentation model based on the CTA image and the aneurysm risk prediction model.ResultsThree medical centers have been included in this study so far. A total of 3,190 cases of CTA examinations with 4,124 aneurysms were included in the database. All identified aneurysms from CTA images that enrolled in this study were manually segmented on subtraction CTA by six readers. We developed a structure of 3D-Unet for aneurysm detection and segmentation in CTA images. The algorithm was developed and tested using a total of 2,272 head CTAs with 2,938 intracranial aneurysms. The recall and false positives per case (FP/case) of this model for detecting aneurysms were 0.964 and 2.01, and the Dice values for aneurysm segmentation were 0.783.ConclusionThis study introduces the protocol and preliminary results of the establishment of the intracranial aneurysm database for AI applications based on CTA images. The establishment of a multicenter database based on CTA images of intracranial aneurysms is the basis for the application of AI in the diagnosis and treatment of aneurysms. In addition to segmentation, AI should have great potential for aneurysm treatment and management in the future.

BackgroundCerebral blood flow (CBF) alterations are involved in the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and can be a potential biomarker. However, CBF measured by single-delay arterial spin labeling (ASL) for discrimination of mild cognitive impairment (MCI, an early stage of AD) was lack of accuracy. Multi-delay ASL can not only provide CBF quantification but also provide arterial transit time (ATT). Unfortunately, the technique was scarcely applied to the diagnosis of AD. Here, we detected the utility of ASL with 1-delay and 7-delay in ten regions of interest (ROIs) to identify MCI and AD.Materials and MethodsPseudocontinuous ASL (pCASL) MRI was acquired on a 3T GE scanner in adults from the Chinese Imaging, Biomarkers, and Lifestyle (CIBL) Study of AD cohort, including 26 normal cognition (NC), 37 MCI, and 39 AD. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses with 1-delay and 7-delay ASL were performed for the identification of MCI and AD. The DeLong test was used to compare ROC curves.ResultsFor CBF of 1-delay or 7-delay the AUCs showed moderate-high performance for the AD/NC and AD/MCI comparisons (AUC = 0.83∼0.96) (p < 0.001). CBF of 1-delay performed poorly in MCI/NC comparison (AUC = 0.69) (p < 0.001), but CBF of 7-delay fared well with an AUC of 0.79 (p < 0.001). The combination of CBF and ATT of 7-delay showed higher performance for AD/NC, AD/MCI, and MCI/NC comparisons with AUCs of 0.96, 0.89, and 0.89, respectively (p < 0.001). Furthermore, combination of CBF, ATT, sex, age, APOE ε4, and education improved further the accuracy (p < 0.001). In subgroups analyses, there were no significant differences in CBF of 7-delay ASL for identification of AD or MCI between age subgroups (p > 0.05).ConclusionThe combination of CBF and ATT with 7-delay ASL showed higher performance for identification of MCI than CBF of 1-delay, when adding to sex, age, APOE ε4 carrier status, and education years, the diagnostic performance was further increased, presenting a potential imaging biomarker in early AD.