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Background. Alzheimer's disease (AD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are two widespread chronic disorders characterized by shared risk factors and molecular pathways. Glucose metabolism, pivotal for cellular homeostasis and energy supply, plays a critical role in these diseases. Its disturbance has been linked to the pathogenesis of both AD and T2DM. However, a comprehensive investigation into the specific roles of glucometabolic genes in the onset and progression of AD and T2DM has yet to be conducted. Methods. By analyzing microarray datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) repository, we identified differentially expressed glucometabolic genes (DEGs) in AD and T2DM cohorts. A range of bioinformatics tools were employed for functional annotation, pathway enrichment, protein interaction network construction, module analysis, ROC curve assessment, correlation matrix construction, gene set enrichment analysis, and gene-drug interaction mapping of these DEGs. Key genes were further validated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in AD and T2DM murine models. Results. Our investigation identified 41 glucometabolic-related DEGs, with six prominent genes (G6PD, PKM, ENO3, PFKL, PGD, and TALDO1) being common in both AD and T2DM cohorts. These genes play crucial roles in metabolic pathways including glycolysis, pentose phosphate pathway, and amino sugar metabolism. Their diagnostic potential was highlighted by area under curve (AUC) values exceeding 0.6 for AD and 0.8 for T2DM. Further analysis explored the interactions, pathway enrichments, regulatory mechanisms, and potential drug interactions of these key genes. In the AD murine model, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis revealed significant upregulation of G6pd, Eno3, and Taldo1. Similarly, in the T2DM murine model, elevated expression levels of G6pd, Pfkl, Eno3, and Pgd were observed. Conclusion. Our rigorous research sheds light on the molecular interconnections between AD and T2DM from a glucometabolic perspective, revealing new opportunities for pharmacological innovation and therapeutic approaches. This study appears to be the first to extensively investigate glucometabolic-associated DEGs and key genes in both AD and T2DM, utilizing multiple datasets. These insights are set to enhance our understanding of the complex pathophysiology underlying these widespread chronic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aimed to investigate eHealth literacy about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) among older adults during the pandemic. Background: The COVID‐19 pandemic promoted the development of online health care. Higher demand for accessing information from the Internet was seen. Methods: This was a sequential explanatory mixed‐method study, involving a survey of older adults to explore the status and influencing factors of eHealth literacy regarding COVID‐19. Semi‐structured interviews were used to understand experiences and challenges regarding information retrieval, judgment and utilization. Results: A total of 337 older adults participated in the online questionnaire survey. Overall, older adults had slightly higher scores on eHealth literacy during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Participants' location in the past month and current health issues were associated with eHealth literacy. Qualitative data were collected from nine older adults and included that some older adults retrieved health‐related information during the pandemic. However, those who used non‐smartphones described difficulties in information retrieval. A glut of misinformation has resulted in an 'infodemic', which has not only increased the difficulty of judging information but also posed challenges in information utilization for older adults. Conclusion: Improving older adults' eHealth literacy is essential in promoting an improved response to major public health events and in providing better health care for this group in the future. It is essential that government health agencies and health care providers provide evidence‐based health information via social media platforms. Further efforts are needed to combine aspects of traditional and online health care services and provide reliable and updated online information and resources for older adults. Implications for Nursing Management: Providing evidence to eHealth literacy improvement and health management of older adults in the context of public health events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The one‐step leapfrog alternative‐direction‐implicit finite‐difference time‐domain (ADI‐FDTD), free from the Courant‐Friedrichs‐Lewy (CFL) stability condition and sub‐step computations, is efficient when dealing with fine grid problems. However, solution of the numerous tridiagonal systems still imposes a great computational burden and makes the method hard to execute in parallel. In this paper, we proposed an efficient graphic processing unit (GPU)‐based parallel implementation of the one‐step leapfrog ADI‐FDTD for the far‐field EM scattering simulation of objects, in which we present and analyze the manners of calculation area division and thread allocation and a data layout transformation of z components is proposed to achieve better memory access mode, which is a key factor affecting GPU execution efficiency. The simulation experiment is carried out to verify the accuracy and efficiency of the GPU‐based implementation. The simulation results show that there is a good agreement between the proposed one‐step leapfrog ADI‐FDTD method and Yee's FDTD in solving the far‐field scattering problem and huge benefits in performance were encountered when the method was accelerated using GPU technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are found in humans and a wide variety of wild and domestic animals, and of substantial impact on human and animal health. In poultry, the genetic diversity, evolution, distribution and taxonomy of CoVs dominant in birds other than chickens remain enigmatic. In our previous study, we proposed that the CoVs dominant (i.e. mainly circulating) in ducks (DdCoVs) should represent a novel species, which was different from the one represented by the CoVs dominant in chickens (CdCoVs). In this study, we conducted a large‐scale surveillance of CoVs in chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons and other birds (quails, sparrows and partridges) using a conserved RT‐PCR assay. The surveillance demonstrated that CdCoVs, DdCoVs and the CoVs dominant in pigeons (PdCoVs) belong to different lineages, and they are all prevalent in live poultry markets and the backyard flocks in some regions of China. We further sequenced seven Coronaviridae‐wide conserved domains in their replicase polyprotein pp1ab of seven PdCoVs and found that the genetic distances in these domains between PdCoVs and DdCoVs or CdCoVs are large enough to separate PdCoVs into a novel species, which were different from the ones represented by DdCoVs or CdCoVs within the genus Gammacoronavirus, per the species demarcation criterion of International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. This report shed novel insight into the genetic diversity, distribution, evolution and taxonomy of avian CoVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, multiple subtypes (i.e. H9N2, H5N1 and H7N9) of avian influenza virus (AIV) have become widespread in China, which has caused enormous economic losses and posed considerable threats to public health. In this review, with the aim to provide insights into and guidelines for the control of AIV spread in China and globally in the future, we analysed the reasons why AIV has persisted in China based on socio‐economic features, including poultry biosecurity, live bird markets, live bird transportation, wild birds, poultry waterfowl, poultry density, poultry population and infected birds. We also described the present status of the AIV subtypes H9, H5 and H7 in China to elucidate the effectiveness of the strategies currently employed in China (i.e. culling, mass vaccination and biosecurity improvement) to control the disease based on a literature review and our unpublished surveillance data collected over a 12‐year period from 2007 to 2018. We then summarized the lessons to be learned from the control experience in China, including whether culling of infected birds is of limited value for disease control and whether improved biosecurity is a better option than culling and vaccination for the long‐term control of AIV, and when the vaccine strain should be updated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The H3 influenza viruses are widespread in domestic poultry but have been ignored because their pathogenicity in poultry is low. Three human infections with H3N8 influenza viruses have been reported in China since 2022, raising public concern. Here, we comprehensively analyzed 30 H3 subtype avian influenza viruses isolated from live poultry markets in China between 2021 and 2022. Genetic and phylogenetic analyses showed that the H3 viruses have undergone frequent reassortment and have formed complex genotypes. Notably, the viruses that caused human infections in 2022–2023 were highly homologous to the H3N8 viruses circulating in poultry in 2022, with internal genes derived from the H9N2 viruses. The analysis of chicken infections indicated that the novel H3N8 viruses were more infectious in chickens than those that do not carry H9N2 genes, whereas the H3 viruses detected in China in 2021–2022 showed low pathogenicity in mice. Our findings suggest that the novel H3N8 viruses bearing internal H9N2 genes have adapted to and circulated in chickens and pose a threat to human health. These results highlight the need for continued surveillance of the H3 influenza viruses and their impact on the poultry industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surgical treatment of mitral valve diseases has become minimally invasive. This study analyzed the follow-up results of patients after mitral valve repairs (MVRep) using the da Vinci robot. The clinical data of patients who underwent minimally invasive MVRep using the da Vinci robot between January 2016 and June 2021 and completed follow-ups were prospectively collected. All operations were performed by the same surgeon and assistants. The data of a total of 120 patients were available for analysis, including 78 males (65%) and 42 females aged 49.9 ± 12.1 years (range, 19–73 years). Among them, there were 30 cases (25%) of mitral valve prolapse, 87 cases (72.5%) of mitral regurgitation, and 40 cases of combined tricuspid regurgitation. Edwards Physio II annuloplasty rings were implanted intraoperatively, followed by continuous sutures. The intraoperative cardiopulmonary bypass time was 152.32 ± 45.77 min, and the aortic occlusion time was 95.13 ± 5.64 min. After surgery, patients were followed up regularly with echocardiography with a follow-up period of 3–57 months postoperatively. One patient died in the early stage, and five patients required sternotomy due to postoperative bleeding. Follow-up transesophageal echocardiography showed that the end-systolic diameter, end-diastolic diameter, and ejection fraction of the left ventricular all improved after surgery. Among Chinese patients, MVRep using the da Vinci robot is a safe and effective surgical approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an on-demand mobility service, parking reservations can greatly alleviate the issue of parking challenges. There are currently three primary strategies for parking reservation: first-come-first-served, permit reservation, and auction. In contrast to the first-come-first-served and permit-reserved strategies, the auction strategy uses dynamic pricing to allocate parking supplies efficiently based on the auction, which attracts more scholars for the research. However, parking reservations based on the auction process may have an inequity issue because drivers' age, gender, income level, and location of residence fluctuate. This inequity may limit the growth of reserved parking by influencing parking drivers' acceptance of reserved parking. But currently, very few scholars focus on the issue of reserved parking equity, and even fewer measure this nebulous and personal issue. In consideration of this, the Lorenz curve of parking reservation and the vertical equity index of parking reservation are proposed in this paper along with the calculation method for the index, which enables the problem of reserved parking vertical equity to be visualized and made concrete. The numerical experimental method is used to analyze the vertical equity of drivers with varying income levels, utilizing the Vickrey–Clarke–Groves (VCG) auction process as an example. According to the research, loss-averse drivers are more than gain-neutral and gain-seeking drivers when the income levels of the drivers using reserved parking are the same. With the increasing number of high-income drivers involved in the parking reservation, medium to low-income drivers would lose their chances of successful reservations because of their uncompetitive bid price which leads to inequity issues when the number is less than the number of parking spaces. In contrast, the vertical equity index changes more for gain-seeking drivers while being generally steady when loss-averse and gain-neutral drivers participate. For instance, when the profit and loss coefficient is 3 and 15% of drivers with high-income levels use the parking reservation platform, the vertical equity index rises from 0.09128 to 0.45434. The reference price has a moderating influence on the vertical equity index when the number of driver participants at high-income levels remains constant. In general, within a reasonable range, the higher the reference price, the more equitable the parking reservation procedure and the lower the vertical equity index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Nurses' high workload can result in depressive symptoms. However, the research has underexplored the internal and external variables, such as organisational support, career identity, and burnout, which may predict depressive symptoms among Chinese nurses via machine learning (ML). Aim. To predict nurses' depressive symptoms and identify the relevant factors by machine learning (ML) algorithms. Methods. A self-administered smartphone questionnaire was delivered to nurses to evaluate their depressive symptoms; 1,431 questionnaires and 28 internal and external features were collected. In the training set, the use of maximum relevance minimum redundancy ranked the features' importance. Five ML algorithms were used to establish models to identify nurses' depressive symptoms using different feature subsets, and the area under the curve (AUC) determined the optimal feature subset. Demographic characteristics were added to the optimal feature subset to establish the combined models. Each model's performance was evaluated using the test set. Results. The prevalence rate of depressive symptoms among Chinese nurses was 31.86%. The optimal feature subset comprised of sleep disturbance, chronic fatigue, physical fatigue, exhaustion, and perceived organisation support. The five models based on the optimal feature subset had good prediction performance on the test set (AUC: 0.871–0.895 and accuracy: 0.798–0.815). After adding the significant demographic characteristics, the performance of the five combined models slightly improved; the AUC and accuracy increased to 0.904 and 0.826 on the test set, respectively. The logistic regression analysis results showed the best and most stable performance while the univariate analysis results showed that external and internal personal features (AUC: 0.739–0.841) were more effective than demographic characteristics (AUC: 0.572–0.588) for predicting nurses' depressive symptoms. Conclusions. ML could effectively predict nurses' depressive symptoms. Interventions to manage physical fatigue, sleep disorders, burnout, and organisational support may prevent depressive symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemotherapy is an important method for the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but it can lead to side effects and polyploid cancer cells. The polyploid cancer cells can live and generate daughter cancer cells via budding. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are pluripotent stem cells with repair and regeneration functions and can resist tissue damage caused by tumor therapy. This study is aimed at investigating the effects of MSCs and their derived exosomes on the biological characteristics of polyploid NSCLC cells and the potential mechanisms. We found that MSC conditioned medium (CM), MSCs, and MSC-exosomes had no effect on cell proliferation of the polyploid A549 and H1299 cells. Compared with the control group, MSCs and MSC-exosomes significantly promoted epithelial mesenchymal transformation, cell migration, antiapoptosis, and autophagy in the polyploid A549 and H1299 by activating AMPK signaling pathway, but no significant changes were observed in MSC-CM treatment. These results revealed that MSCs and MSC-exosomes promoted malignant phenotype of polyploid NSCLC cells through the AMPK signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The DNA damage repair (DDR) genes are increasingly gaining attention as potential therapeutic targets in cancers. In this study, we identified the DDR genes associated with the tumor mutation burden (TMB) and prognosis of cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CESC) based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Through LASSO Cox regression, the prognostic signature involving five DDR genes (ACTR2, TEX12, UBE2V1, HSF1, and FBXO6) was established, and the risk score was identified as an independent risk factor for CESC. The nomogram consisting of the five genes accurately predicted the overall survival (OS) and the immunotherapeutic response of CESC patients. Finally, the loss of the copies of the transcription factor (TF) SP140 in CESC patients may decrease the expression of FBXO6, improve DNA repair function, and reduce the diversity of neoantigens, thereby lowering the response to immunotherapies. Therefore, the DDR gene signature is a novel prognostic model and a biomarker for immunotherapies in CESC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving air quality in indoor environments where people live is of importance to protect human health. In this systematic review, we assessed the effectiveness of personal‐level use of air filtration units in reducing indoor particulate matters (PM) concentrations under real‐world situations following systematic review guidelines. A total of 54 articles were included in the review, in which 20 randomized controlled/crossover trials that reported the changes in indoor fine PM (PM2.5) concentrations were quantitatively assessed in meta‐analysis. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) were calculated for changes in indoor PM concentrations following air filtration interventions. Moderate‐to‐large reductions of 11%–82% in indoor PM2.5 concentrations were observed with SMD of −1.19 (95% CI: −1.50, −0.88). The reductions in indoor PM concentrations varied by geographical locations, filtration technology employed, indoor environmental characteristics, and air pollution sources. Most studies were graded with low‐to‐moderate risk of bias; however, the overall certainty of evidence for indoor PM concentration reductions was graded at very low level. Considering the effectiveness of indoor air filtration under practical uses, socio‐economic disparities across study populations, and costs of air filter replacement over time, our results highlight the importance of reducing air pollution exposure at the sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic apical periodontitis is characterized by alveolar bone absorption in the apical region and is the result of the participation of various inflammatory mediators. Studies have shown that the Bruton tyrosine kinase- (Btk-) phospholipase Cγ2 (PLCγ2) signaling pathway plays an important role in bone absorption, but it is unknown whether it plays a role in apical periodontitis bone destruction. Therefore, this study verified the role of Btk and PLCγ2 in bone resorption of apical periodontitis by in vivo and in vitro experiments. In the in vivo experiment, a mice model of apical periodontitis was established; apical bone resorption was confirmed by the numbers of osteoclasts and HE staining. Btk, PLCγ2, and nuclear factor of activated T-cells 1 (NFATc-1) were detected by immunohistochemical staining. In the in vitro experiment, lipopolysaccharides (LPS) were used to stimulate osteoclast precursor cell RAW264.7 to establish an inflammatory microenvironment and detect osteoclast differentiation. By silencing Btk, the expression of Btk, PLCγ2, and NFATc-1 was detected by real-time qPCR and Western blot, and osteoclastogenesis was detected by enzyme histochemical staining to further confirm the role of Btk in bone resorption. It was found that the expression of Btk, PLCγ2, and NFATc-1 changed significantly with the progression of inflammation and bone destruction, indicating that Btk and PLCγ2 may be involved in the progression of inflammation in apical periodontitis and bone absorption. In vitro experiments confirmed that the differentiation of osteoclasts and the expression of PLCγ2 and NFATc-1 were significantly inhibited after silencing Btk expression, but osteoclast precursor cells could be differentiated due to the proinflammatory factor lipopolysaccharide. This study demonstrates that Btk and PLCγ2 are key factors involved in the apical inflammatory response and bone destruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

H7N9 subtype avian influenza viruses (AIV) circulating in China over recent years have had an enormous impact on public health and economy. During the period between November 2016 and April 2017, an increase in human infections caused by these viruses was reported, with rapid emergence and spread of variants in China. Consequently, the government of China implemented a controversial vaccination strategy in September 2017. Here, we provide evidence of the prevalence of H7N9 AIVs in China based on systematic large‐scale surveillance in poultry during 2013–2018. Emerging variants were confirmed as highly pathogenic in chickens using the intravenous pathogenicity index (IVPI) test. The currently available vaccine provided complete protection against the H7N9 HPAIV challenge in chickens. The collective findings clearly indicate that the vaccination strategy implemented not only significantly decreases the prevalence of H7N9 AIVs in poultry but also effectively prevents human infection with H7N9 viruses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution is the main cause of respiratory diseases. Fine particulates with the diameter below 2.5 μm can get into the alveoli and then enter the blood circulation through the lung tissue ventilation function and cause multiple systemic diseases especially the respiratory diseases. This study investigated the pathological mechanism of the lungs injury in rats induced by PM2.5 and the effect and mechanism of the Chinese herbal medicine number 2 Feibi Recipe (number 2 FBR) on lungs injury. In this experiment, Wistar rats were used. Lungs injury was induced by PM2.5. Number 2 FBR was used to treat the rats. The result showed that number 2 FBR could improve the lung injury in the rats. Meanwhile, it significantly reduced pathological response and inflammatory mediators including interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-13 (IL-13), interleukin-17 (IL17), monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), and transforming growth factor-α (TNF-α) and upregulated glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in the PM2.5 induced lung injury in the rats. Collectively, number 2 FBR appears to attenuate the lungs injury in rats induced by PM2.5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]