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The effect on acetabular management in developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) patients aged 7 or older with modified low Dega osteotomy procedure was evaluated. Patients between 7 and 14 years old were managed with modified low Dega osteotomy and open reduction and concomitant procedures to evaluate whether low level osteotomy improved the clinical and radiologic outcomes after treatment. Clinical status was assessed using the modified McKay's criteria; radiologic evaluations were assessed for the modified Severin classification, the mean acetabular index (AI), Sharp angle and center-edge (CE) angle. And occurrence of triradiate cartilage injury and complications was recorded. Forty-two DDH patients (57 hips) between 7 and 14 years old were managed with modified low Dega osteotomy. The results demonstrated the latest follow-up 43 hips (75.4%) were rated excellent and 10 hips (17.5%) rated good according to the modified McKay criteria and 41 hips (71.9%) were rated excellent and 11 hips (19.3%) rated good according to Modified Severin classification, respectively. The mean Hip Score improved from 69.53 ± 7.14 before the operation to 93.17 ± 8.43 at the final follow-up. The mean AI changed from 31.9° to 20.2°, mean Sharp angle decreased from 59.3° to 38.8° and mean CE angle increased from -10.9° to 35.2°, preoperatively and at latest follow-up, respectively. The modified low Dega osteotomy combined with open reduction and concomitant procedures were found to be adequate in improving instant and sustained clinical and radiographic outcomes for the late detected pediatric walking DDH patients., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Background: Saliva has emerged as a promising diagnostic resource due to its accessibility, noninvasiveness, and repeatability, enabling early disease detection and timely intervention. However, current studies often overlook the distinction between whole saliva (WS) and cell-free saliva (CFS). Objective This study aims to compare the proteomic profiles of WS and CFS., Method and Result: The saliva was detected with and without low-abundance protein enrichment using nanoparticles, employing DIA-MS technology. Our findings reveal a substantial enhancement in the detectability of low-abundance proteins in saliva with utilization of nanoparticles, enabling identification of 12%-15% low-abundance proteins previously undetectable in WS or CFS. In total, 3817 saliva proteins were identified, with 3413 found in WS and 2340 in CFS. More interestingly, we found that it was not the similarity of the samples that did the clustering, but rather it depended more on the different detection methods and sample types. And the predominant functions of the identified proteins in WS were related to oxidative phosphorylation and neurodegenerations, whereas those in CFS were primarily associated with nitrogen and glycosaminoglycan metabolism. And both exhibited functions in immune response and proteasome., Conclusion: This study represents the first comparison of WS and CFS, providing valuable experimental evidence for guiding the selection of research subjects in future saliva omics studies., (© 2024 The Author(s). PROTEOMICS ‐ Clinical Applications published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Objective: This study aimed to assess the diagnostic value of the airway post-processing technique of multi-slice spiral CT(MSCT) in Accessory cardiac bronchus(ACB)and to improve the understanding of this disease. Methods: The original MSCT axial images and various post-processing reconstructed images of 9 ACB cases were retrospectively analyzed.Airway post-processing techniques, including multi-planar reformation(MPR), minimum intensity projection (MinIP), volume rendering technique(VRT), CT virtual endoscopy(CTVE) and tissue transition projection (TTP), were employed. Three-dimensional recombination images of bronchial trees were obtained and classified according to the Mangiulea classification. Results: Among the 9 cases with ACB, there were 6 cases of accessory-lobed type, 3 cases of long diverticular type, and no cases of short diverticular type. The lateral axial images, MPR, MinIP, VRT, CTVE, and TTP all clearly displayed ACB. Among the 6 cases of accessory-lobed type, there were 5 cases with accessory lobe dysplasia and one case with pneumonia in an accessory lobe;One case was complicated with accessory lobe emphysema. Among the 3 cases with long diverticular type ACB, one had pneumonia. Among the 9 cases, there was 1 case with old tuberculous focus, 1 case with pulmonary fibrous focus, 1 case with pleural thickening and adhesion, and 1 case with tracheal diverticulum. Conclusion: The airway post-processing technique of MSCT can not only clarify the diagnosis, origin and classification of ACB, but also measure the opening diameter, length and distance to the tracheal carina of ACB.It guides clinical treatment and tracheoscopy, etc, and can be used as the preferred examination method for ACB.

Neutrophil proteinase 3 (PR3), cathepsin G, elastase, and neutrophil serine protease 4 constitute the neutrophil serine protease family. These four members share varying sequence homology and functional similarities with each other. However, PR3 stands out as a unique autoantigen, serving as a primary autoantigen in anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis. Numerous studies have documented or reviewed the molecular pathogenesis or diagnostic utility of PR3 in ANCA-associated vasculitis. Nevertheless, the role of PR3 in other areas, particularly within the hematopoietic system, appears to have been overlooked. Indeed, beyond its involvement in vasculitis, PR3 contributes to cell apoptosis, hematopoietic abnormalities, diabetic ketoacidosis, and various other inflammatory diseases. In this study, we aim to summarize the research on the function of neutrophil PR3 in hematopoiesis and to elucidate its potential role in neutrophil aging and inflammatory diseases., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethical approval: Not applicable. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Objective: To investigate the clinical features and prognosis of prolonged cytopenia (PC) in patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) undergoing anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy. Methods: A retrospective case series study was conducted on LBCL patients who received CAR-T cell therapy with a survival time of over one month at the Hematology Department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital from March 2019 to December 2023. Statistical analyses were performed on hematologic changes at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post-CAR-T infusion, as well as on the progression-free survival (PFS) and post-treatment adverse events, including infections. Patients were categorized into the PC and non-PC groups based on the occurrence of cytopenia at 90 days post-infusion. Differences between groups were compared, and univariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors. Results: The median age of 27 LBCL patients receiving CAR-T cell therapy was 58 years (range 27-69 years), with 18 males. Among the 27 LBCL patients who received CAR-T cell therapy, PC was observed in 19 patients (70.4%), with instances of neutropenia (48.1%, 13 cases), anemia (37.0%, 10 cases), and thrombocytopenia (22.2%, 6 cases). Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that prior chemotherapy sensitivity ( OR =18.00, 95% CI 1.56-207.45, P =0.020) and bone marrow suppression ( OR =18.00, 95% CI 1.38-235.69, P =0.028) were associated with PC. The median follow-up time was 13.5 months. The PC group exhibited a higher risk of infection within 3 months (9/19 vs. 1/8) and a shorter mean PFS (19.3 months vs. 24.4 months), although the difference was not statistically significant (both P >0.05). Conclusions: PC is common following CAR-T cell therapy and is associated with an increased risk of infection and poorer prognosis. Prior treatment sensitivity and bone marrow suppression may serve as indicators of PC.

Background: Previous studies have extensively investigated traditional predictors of cardiovascular disease (CVD) development, progression, and prognosis. However, the influence of novel indicators such as Klotho, on CVD prevalence and prognosis in the general population remains unclear., Method: This was an observational study that utilized cross-sectional and longitudinal methods to examine the general population in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2016. The participants were divided into four groups according to the Klotho quartiles. Primary outcome was CVD [coronary artery disease (CAD), congestive heart failure, and stroke], secondary outcomes were all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality. Survey-weighted binary logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the association between Klotho and the prevalence of primary outcome, and the restricted cubic spline (RCS) curve was used to further analyze the nonlinear relationship. Subgroup analyses were conducted to investigate the association between Klotho values and CVD prevalence using survey-weighted binary logistic regression. The incidence of the secondary outcomes among four groups was assessed through Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Additionally, the relationship between Klotho values and secondary endpoints was explored using survey-weighted Cox proportional hazards regression across various patient subpopulations., Results: A total of 12,146 participants (56.8 ± 10.7 years, 48.5% male) were included in our study. The total incidence of CVD was 9.9% ( n = 1201), of which 4.7% ( n = 574) were CAD, 3.7% ( n = 454) were congestive heart failure, and 4.1% ( n = 497) were stroke. Binary logistics regression analysis showed that higher Klotho quartiles were associated with the decreased prevalence of CVD [Quartile 4 vs . Quartile 1: odds ratio (OR) (95% CI): 0.77 (0.64-0.93), P = 0.006] and congestive heart failure [Quartile 4 vs . Quartile 1: 0.75 (0.56-0.99), P = 0.048], However, no significant associations were found between Klotho levels and the outcomes of CAD or stroke. RCS curve illustrated a high Klotho value was negatively correlated with the prevalence of CVD (nonlinear P = 0.838), congestive heart failure (nonlinear P = 0.110) and stroke (nonlinear P = 0.972). No significant interactions were observed in any subgroups regarding the associations between Klotho and prevalence of CVD. After a median follow-up period of 93 months (range: from 1 to 160 months), there were 1228 cases (10.1%) of all-cause mortality in the general population, including 296 cases (2.4%) of cardiovascular mortality. The Kaplan-Meier curves indicated that lower Klotho levels were associated with a significant increase in all-cause mortality across the general population, CVD population, and non-CVD population. As Klotho levels decreased, there was also a notable rise in cardiovascular mortality in both the general population and the CVD population. In the overall population, Cox regression analyses demonstrated that higher Klotho values were associated with a decreased risk of both all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. And no significant interaction was observed in the CVD subgroup regarding the association between Klotho and mortality., Conclusion: High Klotho level was associated with low prevalence of CVD and low risk of mortality in general population., (© 2024 JGC All rights reserved; www.jgc301.com.)

Background: The primary adverse effect of chemotherapy drugs is the induction of spermatogenic disorders. Schisandra chinensis (Turcz) Baill. have been preliminarily shown to have a significant ameliorative in spermatogenic disorders. Nevertheless, there are relatively few studies on non-medicinal parts such as stems of S. chinensis, which have good therapeutic potential for side effects caused by cisplatin. Up to now, a total of 238 compounds have been isolated and identified from the vine stem of S. chinensi. The main components are lignans, polysaccharides, volatile oils, and organic acids. Therefore, the development of S. chinensis stem as a source of a novel chemotherapy drug protector is of great significance., Methods: In the present study, we explored the protective effect of the stem extract of S. chinensis (SCE) against cisplatin-induced spermatogenic disorders and its possible molecular mechanisms in vitro and in vivo. The network pharmacology was used to predict the targets that may act on spermatogenic disorders. Mice were injected intraperitoneally with cisplatin at 2 mg/kg for 7 days to induce spermatogenic disorders. SCE (75, 150, and 300 mg/kg) was administered to mice by gavage for 21 days. TM3 cells were treated with Schisandrol B (Sol B) (0.5, 1, and 2 µM) in the presence or absence of cisplatin (40 µM), and then cell viability, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and mitochondrial function were evaluated., Results: 16 constituents and target proteins were predicted to have possible effects on spermatogenic disorders by network pharmacology. Both in vivo and in vitro experiments showed a favorable protective effect of SCE against cisplatin-induced spermatogenic disorders. Sol B might as the major chemical component is responsibility for the protective effect. The mechanism may involve the regulation of Nrf2\HO-1 protein, PI3K\Akt, apoptosis, and MAPK signaling pathway to modulate 17βHSD, cycp450, Star and other crucial proteins in the testosterone synthesis pathway. Ultimately, this regulatory process aims to ameliorate the disruption of sex hormone secretion by cisplatin., Conclusion: These results indicated that the lignans in SCE could effectively improve the spermatogenesis barrier caused by cisplatin. These findings provided a theoretical basis for the development of non-medicinal parts of S. chinensis, and laid a foundation for improving spermatogenesis disorders caused by chemotherapy drugs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Background: Patients with sub-acute cerebral venous sinus thrombosis experience (SA.CVST) severe symptoms compared to two other venous sinus-related diseases, including chronic cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (C.CVST) and idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH)., Objective: This study aimed to determine whether the different immune reactions in different venous sinuses are related., Methods: Stagnant blood in the cerebral venous sinuses was extracted by passing a microcatheter and CD14 -positive cells were sorted by magnetic beads and subjected to RNA-seq sequencing., Results: Compared to patients with IIH, 128 genes were significantly down-regulated and 373 genes were significantly up-regulated in the sub-acute CVST samples. The functions of these genes were mainly focused on "immune response", "T cell activation" and "plasma membrane". Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) showed T cell survival and activation-related function significantly unregulated in sub-acute CVST. On the other hand, there were 366 genes down-regulated in chronic CVST and 75 genes up-regulated in chronic CVST. In functional annotation, these differently expressed genes were enriched in the "extracellular region", "chemokine-mediated signaling pathway" and "immune response". GSEA analysis confirmed that chemokine-related functions were all up-regulated in sub-acute CVST and monocyte-macrophage adhesion functions were also significantly up-regulated., Conclusion: This study suggested the CD14 -positive created an activated immune response in sub-acute CVST., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Chang, Song, Zhu, Zhang, Fu, Wang, Dong, Jiang, Mo and Zhang.)

In the survey of yeast diversity in high-temperature Daqu, which is a fermentation starter for Chinese sauce-flavoured Baijiu, six yeast strains representing one novel species of the genus Starmerella were isolated from samples of Daqu and surrounding environments collected in Zunyi city, Guizhou Province, China. Phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and the D1/D2 domains of the large subunit rRNA gene indicate that these six strains are conspecific with three other strains isolated from flowers and duckweed collected in Samoa, India and Thailand. The representative strain QFC-8 of the new species differs from the closet species Starmerella caucasica resolved by the D1/D2 sequence analysis by 13 (3.1 %, 12 substitutions and 1 gap) and 40 (10.3 %, 9 substitutions and 31 gaps) mismatches in the D1/D2 domain and ITS region, respectively. The results suggest that the novel group represents an undescribed species in the genus Starmerella , for which the name Starmerella fangiana sp. nov. is proposed. The holotype strain is CGMCC 2.7773.

Baicalin (BA), a natural component found in many traditional Chinese medicines, exerts protective effects against several viruses. Although our previous studies have revealed that the anti-hepatitis B virus (anti-HBV) activity of BA depends on hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF) signaling, the specific mechanisms remain unclear. The present study explored the potential signaling mechanisms involved in BA-mediated HBV suppression. Transcriptomic analysis suggested that BA significantly modulates the estrogen receptor (ER) and AMPK signaling pathways in HepG2 cells. The ER alpha (ERα) binding affinity of BA and its estrogen-like agonist activity were subsequently verified through molecular docking assays, BA-ERα affinity detection experiments, ERα luciferase reporter gene assays, and qRT-PCR. ERα knockdown (shRNA) and AMPK inhibition (Compound C and doxorubicin [Dox]) experiments revealed that the sequential activation of the ERα-LKB1-AMPK-HNF signaling axis is essential for the anti-HBV effects of BA. This study indicates that BA may trigger the ERα-AMPKα-HNF pathway to inhibit HBV replication, providing insights into its potential protective mechanisms against other viruses., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Objective: To investigate the vaccination status, characteristics and prognosis of patients suffering from a combination of COVID-19 and chronic lymphocytic anemia (CLL) in China. Methods: Clinical data of 328 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who were first diagnosed with COVID-19 and treated in the Department of Hematology of Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital between November 2022 and February 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analysis of data of patients with severe/critical COVID-19 were conducted by applying the binary logistic regression model. Results: The median age of the CLL patients was 60 (24-87) years. 23.5% (77/328) of these patients suffered from severe/critical COVID-19 infection. Univariate analysis of the data demonstrated that a combination of factors including age >67 years ( OR =2.15, 95% CI 1.24- 3.73, P =0.006), diabetes ( OR =2.09, 95% CI 1.05-4.20, P =0.037), chronic hepatitis B ( OR =2.91, 95% CI 1.30-6.51, P =0.010), CLL progressive ( OR =3.79, 95% CI 1.57-9.15, P =0.003) and CD20 antibody-based treatments within three months prior to the COVID-19 infection ( OR =2.79, 95% CI 1.35-5.77, P =0.006) were the risk factors for severe/critical COVID-19. According to the multivariate analysis, CLL progressive ( OR =2.98, 95% CI 1.10-8.10, P =0.033) was an independent risk factor for severe/critical COVID-19 and administration of the BTK (Bruton tyrosine kinase) inhibitor monotherapy might exert a protective effect and influence a positive outcome of the COVID-19 infection ( OR =0.38, 95% CI 0.16-0.90, P =0.028). Among the 242 patients who were followed up until October 2023, 9.1% (22/242) had multiple subsequent COVID-19 infections (≥3), and 2.1% (5/242) had persistent COVID-19 infections (patients with persistent positive test for the SARS-CoV-2 antigen testing until missing follow-up for any reason). The peak value of the anti-SARS-CoV-2-IgG titres was observed between three and four months post symptom onset (median: 3.511 S/CO vs 1.047 S/CO, P <0.05). The levels of immunoglobulin A gradually decreased following infection with COVID-19, and its trough levels were attained between two to four weeks post infection (median: 0.30 g/L vs 0.74 g/L, P <0.05). According to this study the mortality of patients suffering from a combination of COVID-19 infection and CLL was 2.7% (9/328), and the main reason for their death was respiratory failure and heart failure. Conclusions: A low rate of COVID-19 vaccination and a high rate of severe/critical COVID-19 infection was observed in the CLL patients. CLL progressive was associated with severe/critical COVID-19. Anti-CD20-based treatments received within the past three months might be a risk factor for exacerbation of COVID-19 infection, whereas a monotherapy with BTK inhibitors exert a protective effect and improve outcome of COVID-19 infection.

Medium-temperature Daqu (MT-Daqu) serves as a crucial saccharifying and fermentation agent in the production of strong-flavor Baijiu. Due to the spatial heterogeneity of solid fermentation, significant differences occurred in the fermentation state and appearance features in different parts of Daqu during fermentation. Currently, the understanding of the underlying mechanism behind this phenomenon remains limited. Here, we analyzed the microbial succession and assembly models and driving factors in different parts of MT-Daqu at the species level based on the PacBio single-molecule real-time sequencing technology. The results showed significantly different bacterial and fungal community compositions, successions, and interaction patterns in different parts of MT-Daqu. The bacterial community composition and succession model in the middle layer were similar to those in the core layer, whereas the fungal community composition and succession model in the surface layer were similar to those in the middle layer. The co-occurrence network analysis showed that microbial interaction is stronger in the middle and core layers than in the surface layer. Analyses based on both niche theory and neutral theory models indicated that deterministic processes predominantly governed the microbial community assembly and these processes played an increasingly important role from the surface to the core layer. Random forest analysis revealed that temperature was the primary endogenous factor driving the bacterial and fungal community assembly. The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the microbial community in MT-Daqu and are helpful for the quality control of MT-Daqu fermentation., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

The surveillance data of new cases of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2021, in Tengzhou City, Shandong Province, were used to analyze the incidence rate of AMI and its change trend among residents. The age and gender standardized incidence rate was calculated based on the 7th National Population Census 2020. The Cochran-Armitage trend test was used to analyze the trend of onset time and age. From 2013 to 2021, the crude and standardized incidence rate of total AMI in Tengzhou City declined from 130.07/100 000 and 161.12/100 000 to 76.15/100 000 and 72.77/100 000 ( Z =-13.785 and -20.822, both P <0.001). The crude and standardized incidence rates of males were higher than those of females. In 2016, males aged 45-54 years old and females aged 35-64 years old increased by 33.33%, 103.65%, 106.30%, and 95.75% compared to 2015, and the differences were statistically significant ( χ 2 =6.512, 4.965, 25.115, and 46.004, all P <0.05). The incidence rate of AMI in men aged<35 and 35-44 years old had an upward trend. From 2013 to 2021, the incidence rate of AMI decreased by 55.15% in urban areas and 36.59% in rural areas ( Z =-8.529 and -11.235, both P <0.001).

Human polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) has been recognized as an attractive therapeutic target against nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The kinase contains a conserved polo-box domain (PBD) that exhibits a wide specificity across various substrates. Previously, we explored natural amino acid preference in PLK1 PBD-binding phosphopeptides. However, limited to the short sequence only natural amino acids cannot guarantee the sufficient exploitation of chemical and structural diversity of the phosphopeptides. Here, we described a genetic optimization (GO) strategy to systematically optimize a 10 4 -sized 6-mer phosphopeptide array towards increasing affinity to PLK1 PBD domain by using 20 natural plus 34 unnatural amino acids as basic building blocks. A QSAR predictor was created to guide the GO optimization and then evaluated rigorously at molecular and cellular levels. Three unnatural phosphopeptides uPP8, uPP15 and uPP20 were designed as potent binders with K d = 0.18, 0.42 and 0.08 μM, respectively, in which the uPP20 also possessed a good anti-tumor activity against human NPC cells when fused with cell permeation sequence. In addition, we defined a relaxed 6-mer motif for the preferential PLK1 PBD-binding phosphosites, namely [Φ/П]-3-[ζ]-2-[ζ]-1-[pT/pS]0-[Φ/П]+1-[Φ]+2, where the symbols Φ, ζ and П represent hydrophobic, polar and aromatic amino acid types, respectively.  .

Background: Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury stands as a primary contributor to ischemic heart disease. Sevoflurane (SEVO), a commonly used inhalation anesthetic, has been shown to exert a direct protective effect on ischemic heart injury. However, the specific mechanism by which it exerts the protective effect remains unclear. This study was designed to investigate the role of SEVO in myocardial I/R injury and its potential molecular mechanisms., Methods: Blood samples were collected from patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (n = 20) and healthy volunteers (n = 20). The human cardiomyocytes AC16 models of I/R injury were induced by hypoxia/reoxygenation. The mRNA expression levels of growth differentiation factor 11 ( GDF11 ) in the cells and blood were determined by reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). The cell proliferation was detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8). Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) was utilized to detect the levels of inflammatory factors interleukin (IL)-8, IL-1β and IL-6 in the cells. And biochemical assay kits were applied for the measurement of the activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) as well as the malondialdehyde (MDA) level in the cells. Moreover, western blot was employed to evaluate the levels of the p-serine-threonine protein kinase (AKT), AKT, and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), protein expression in the cells., Results: The GDF11 expression was decreased in the blood of AMI patients and cardiomyocytes induced by I/R ( p < 0.01). Besides, 1% SEVO was presented to promote cardiomyocyte proliferation, inhibit apoptosis, oxidative stress and inflammation, and activate the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway through up-regulation of GDF11 expression ( p < 0.01)., Conclusion: SEVO promotes proliferation and inhibits inflammatory response, apoptosis, and oxidative stress of I/R-treated cardiomyocytes by elevating GDF11 expression, thereby reducing myocardial I/R injury. Notably, the mechanism underlying the alleviation of the I/R injury may involve the activation of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor technology is a novel optical analysis method for studying intermolecular interactions. Owing to in-depth research on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in recent years, comprehensive and specific identification of components and target interactions has become key yet difficult tasks. SPR has gradually been used to analyze the active components of TCM owing to its high sensitivity, strong exclusivity, large flux, and real-time monitoring capabilities. This review sought to briefly introduce the active components of TCM and the principle of SPR, and provide historical and new insights into the application of SPR in the analysis of the active components of TCM., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Daqu is used as the fermentation starter of Baijiu and contributes diversified functional microbes for saccharifying grains and converting sugars into ethanol and aroma components in Baijiu products. Daqu is mainly classified into three types, namely low (LTD), medium (MTD) and high (HTD) temperature Daqu, according to the highest temperatures reached in their fermentation processes. In this study, we used the PacBio small-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology to determine the full-length 16 S rRNA gene sequences from the metagenomes of 296 samples of different types of Daqu collected from ten provinces in China, and revealed the bacterial diversity at the species level in the Daqu samples. We totally identified 310 bacteria species, including 78 highly abundant species (with a relative abundance >0.1% each) which accounted for 91.90% of the reads from all the Daqu samples. We also recognized the differentially enriched bacterial species in different types of Daqu, and in the Daqu samples with the same type but from different provinces. Specifically, Lactobacillales, Enterobacterales and Bacillaceae were significantly enriched in the LTD, MTD and HTD groups, respectively. The potential co-existence and exclusion relationships among the bacteria species involved in all the Daqu samples and in the LTD, MTD and HTD samples from a specific region were also identified. These results provide a better understanding of the bacterial diversity in different types of Daqu at the species level., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

In the pursuit of efficient singlet oxygen generation in Fenton-like catalysis, the utilization of single-atom catalysts (SACs) emerges as a highly desired strategy. Here, a discovery is reported that the single-atom Fe coordinated with five N-atoms on N-doped porous carbon, denoted as Fe-N 5 /NC, outperform its counterparts, those coordinated with four (Fe-N 4 /NC) or six N-atoms (Fe-N 6 /NC), as well as state-of-the-art SACs comprising other transition metals. Thus, Fe-N 5 /NC exhibits exceptional efficacy in activating peroxymonosulfate for the degradation of organic pollutants. The coordination number of N-atoms can be readily adjusted by pyrolysis of pre-assembly structures consisting of Fe 3+ and various isomers of phenylenediamine. Fe-N 5 /NC displayed outstanding tolerance to environmental disturbances and minimal iron leaching when incorporated into a membrane reactor. A mechanistic study reveals that the axial ligand N reduces the contribution of Fe-3d orbitals in LUMO and increases the LUMO energy of Fe-N 5 /NC. This, in turn, reduces the oxophilicity of the Fe center, promoting the reactivity of *OO intermediate-a pivotal step for yielding singlet oxygen and the rate-determining step. These findings unveil the significance of manipulating the oxophilicity of metal atoms in single-atom catalysis and highlight the potential to augment Fenton-like catalysis performance using Fe-SACs., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Rationale : CD39, a key ectonucleotidase that drives adenosine production, acts as a critical immunosuppressive checkpoint in cancer. Although it has shown promise as a therapeutic target, clinical trials are demonstrating the need for more potent targeting approaches. This need is driving innovation towards the development of novel antibodies and the exploration of strategic combinations with a range of immunotherapies. Methods : An anti-CD39 nanobody was screened and tested for its affinity and binding ability using biolayer interferometry, ELISA and flow cytometry. Blocking ability against soluble and membrane-bound CD39 was measured after CD39 blockade. Internalization was detected using immunofluorescence. The reversal of T-cell function by the anti-CD39 antibody was assessed by CFSE-based T-cell proliferation, CD25 expression and IFN-γ secretion. The in vivo function of tumor growth inhibition was further tested in a mouse model and we also tested the phenotype of immune cells after CD39 antibody administration from tumor tissue, draining lymph nodes and peripheral blood. We inserted the antibody sequence into the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) construct to induce MSLN CAR-T cells to secret the CD39 antibody, and the efficacy was measured in xenograft models of ovarian cancer. Results : We screened human CD39 antibodies using a VHH library and developed a single-epitope anti-CD39 nanobody, named huCD39 mAb, with high affinity and potent binding and blocking ability. The huCD39 mAb was internalized in a time-dependent manner. The in vitro study revealed that the huCD39 mAb was highly effective in enhancing T-cell proliferation and functionality. In vivo , the huCD39 mAb showed significant anti-tumor efficacy in an immunocompetent mouse model. Flow cytometry analysis demonstrated downregulated CD39 expression in immune cells after antibody administration. We also observed increased CD39 expression in ovarian cancer tissue and in activated CAR T cells. Subsequently, we developed a type of MSLN CAR-T cells secreting huCD39 mAb which showed effective eradication or inhibition in ovarian tumor xenografts. Conclusions : A novel huCD39 mAb with strong blocking ability against human CD39 and potent inhibition of tumor growth has been developed. Furthermore, a modified huCD39 mAb-secreting CAR-T cell has been generated, exhibiting superior efficacy against ovarian cancer. This provides a promising strategy for optimizing immunotherapies in ovarian cancer and potentially other malignancies., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: Yu-Chen Zhang, Xian-Yang Li, Qi Deng, Yan-Jun Ge, Rui-Rong Yi, Hua-Jing Wang, Jian-Tao Wang, Hui Zhou, Xue-Feng Kong, Rong-Jiao Liu, Xiao-Pei Li, Xiao-Wen He are employed by OriCell Therapeutics Co. Ltd., and Xiao-Pei Li, Xiao-Wen He, Qi Deng, Xian-Yang Li, Hua-Jing Wang, Yu-Chen Zhang are inventors of a patent application (CN2023106525341) related to anti-CD39 antibody. Other authors declare no competing interests., (© The author(s).)

Glucose is a major energy substrate for cellular life activities, and its metabolic pathways include glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway, and the polyol pathway. Here, we review the glucose uptake pathways, metabolic characteristics, glucose transport, glucose metabolism-related enzymes, and biological importance in mammalian oocyte maturation, early embryo development, and embryonic stem cell proliferation and differentiation. Moreover, the interrelationships among glucose metabolism, female reproduction-related diseases and assisted reproductive technologies are focused. In addition, we review a number of analytical methodologies with the intention to integrate a multi-tiered strategy that encompasses cutting-edge metabolomics, artificial intelligence, epigenetics, and morphological assessments, setting the stage for a pivotal approach to cultivating high-caliber embryos in the future., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Background: Primary liver cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies in the world. Traditional treatment methods have limitations in terms of efficacy and safety. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) guided by B-ultrasound, as a minimally invasive treatment, has attracted increasing attention in the treatment of primary liver cancer in recent years., Aim: To study the efficacy and safety of RFA were compared with those of traditional surgery (TS) for treating small liver cancer., Methods: At least 2 people were required to search domestic and foreign public databases, including foreign databases such as EMBASE, PubMed and the Cochrane Library, and Chinese databases such as the China National Knowledge Infrastructure database, China Biomedical Literature database, Wanfang database and VIP database. Controlled trials of RFA vs conventional surgery for small liver cancer were retrieved from January 2008 to January 2023. They were screened and evaluated according to the quality evaluation criteria in the Cochrane Handbook of Systematic Reviews. The meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software., Results: A total of 10 studies were included in this study, including 1503 patients in the RFA group and 1657 patients in the surgery group. The results of the meta-analysis showed that there was no significant difference in 1-year overall survival between the two groups ( P > 0.05), while the 3-year and 5-year overall survival rates and 1-year, 3-year and 5-year tumor-free survival rates in the surgery group were greater than those in the RFA group ( P < 0.05). In terms of complications, the incidence of complications in the RFA group was lower than that in the surgery group ( P < 0.05)., Conclusion: In terms of long-term survival, TS is better than RFA for small liver cancer patients. However, RFA has fewer complications and is safer., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

In this work, a highly efficient rongalite/iodine-mediated oxime formation reaction for the preparation of thiohydroximic acids from methyl ketones by employing copper nitrate as the [NO] reagent has been developed. Notably, copper nitrate participated as both a catalyst and the mild oximation reagent in the transformation. This reaction is highly efficient and facile, with a broad substrate scope, especially for fused ring skeleton substrates, heterocyclic skeleton substrates, and acetyl-substituted natural products. Mechanistic studies revealed that copper nitrate might be converted into a NO 2 radical or the NO 2 radical dimeric forms as an ion-pair equivalent to participate in the transformation.

This study aims to explore the inhibitory effect of daidzein on macrophage inflammation induced by high glucose via regulating the NOD-like receptor protein 3(NLRP3) inflammasome signaling pathway. The cell counting kit-8(CCK-8) assay was employed to detect the effects of daidzein at different concentrations on the viability of RAW264.7 cells. Western blot was employed to determine the protein level of tumor necrosis factor(TNF)-α in macrophages exposed to different concentrations of glucose for different time periods as well as the expression levels of proteins involved in the polarization and Toll-like receptor 4(TLR4)-myeloid differentiation factor(MyD88)-NLRP3 inflammasome pathway of the macrophages exposed to high glucose. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was employed to measure the levels of TNF-α, interleukin(IL)-18, and IL-1β secreted by macrophages. The expression level of nuclear factor-kappa B(NF-κB) p65 in macrophages exposed to high glucose was detected by immunofluorescence, and the level of intracellular reactive oxygen species(ROS) was detected by the DCFH-DA fluorescent probe. The mRNA levels of NLRP3, TNF-α, and IL-18 in macrophages were determined by qRT-PCR. The results showed that treatment with 30 mmol·L~(-1) glucose for 48 h was the best condition for the modeling of macrophage injury. Compared with the blank group, the model group showed improved polarization of macrophages, increased secretion of TNF-α, IL-18, and IL-1β, elevated ROS level, and up-regulated expression of NF-κB p65. In addition, the modeling up-regulated the mRNA levels of NLRP3, TNF-α, and IL-18 and the protein levels of TLR4, MyD88, NLRP3, NF-κB p65, p-NF-κB p65, I-κB, p-I-κB, ASC, pro-caspase-1, pro-IL-1β, cleaved IL-1β, and pro-IL-18. Compared with the model group, daidzein(10, 20, and 40 μmol·L~(-1)) lowered the levels of inflammatory cytokines and down-regulated the mRNA levels of NLRP3, TNF-α, and IL-18 as well as the protein levels of TLR4, MyD88, NLRP3, NF-κB p65, p-NF-κB p65, I-κB, p-I-κB, ASC, pro-caspase-1, pro-IL-1β, cleaved IL-1β, and pro-IL-18. In addition, daidzein reduced intracellular ROS. According to the available reports and the experimental results, high glucose can induce the polarization of macrophages and promote the secretion of inflammatory cytokines. Daidzein can inhibit the expression of ROS in macrophages by regulating the NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway, thereby reducing the inflammation of macrophages exposed to high glucose.

Background and Aims: Some plants germinate their seeds enclosed by a pericarp, whereas others lack the outer packaging. As a maternal tissue, the pericarp might impart seeds with different germination strategies. Plants in a community with different flowering times might separately disperse and germinate their seeds; therefore, flowering time can be considered as one manifestation of maternal effects on the offspring. The mass of the seed is another important factor influencing germination and represents the intrinsic resource of the seed that supports germination. Using seeds from a species-rich alpine meadow located in the Hengduan Mountains of China, a global biodiversity hotspot, we aimed to illustrate whether and how the type of seed (with or without a pericarp) modulates the interaction of flowering time and seed mass with germination., Methods: Seeds were germinated in generally favourable conditions, and the speed of germination [estimated by mean germination time (MGT)] was calculated. We quantified the maternal conditions by separation of flowering time for 67 species in the meadow, of which 31 produced seeds with pericarps and 36 yielded seeds without pericarps. We also weighed 100 seeds of each species to assess their mass., Key Results: The MGT varied between the two types of seeds. For seeds with pericarps, MGT was associated with flowering time but not with seed mass. Plants with earlier flowering times in the meadow exhibited more rapid seed germination. For seeds without a pericarp, the MGT depended on seed mass, with smaller seeds germinating more rapidly than larger seeds., Conclusions: The distinct responses of germination to flowering time and seed mass observed in seeds with and without a pericarp suggest that germination strategies might be mother-reliant for seeds protected by pericarps but self-reliant for those without such protection. This new finding improves our understanding of seed germination by integrating ecologically mediated maternal conditions and inherent genetic properties., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Pituitary stalk interruption syndrome (PSIS) is a rare anatomical defect of the pituitary gland falling under the spectrum of holoprosencephaly phenotypes. It is characterized by a deficiency in anterior pituitary hormones, such as growth hormone, gonadotropins, and thyroid hormones. Due to the syndrome's rarity and nonspecific manifestations, there is a lack of standardized treatment strategies. Consequently, early diagnosis through imaging and on-time intervention are crucial for improving patients' outcomes., Case Summary: A 30-year-old man presented with absent secondary sexual characteristics and azoospermia. Laboratory evaluation revealed a deficiency in gonadotropins, while thyroid function was mostly within normal ranges. Magnetic resonance imaging of the pituitary gland showed pituitary stalk agenesis, hypoplasia of the anterior pituitary, and ectopic posterior pituitary, leading to the diagnosis of PSIS. Initially, the patient underwent 6 mo of gonadotropin therapy without significant changes in hormone levels and secondary sexual characteristics. Pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone therapy was then administered, resulting in the detection of sperm in the semen analysis within 3 mo. After 6 mo, routine semen tests showed normal semen quality. The couple faced challenges in conceiving due to abstinence and underwent three cycles of artificial insemination, which was unsuccessful. They also attempted in vitro fertilization, but unfortunately, the woman experienced a miscarriage 10 wk after the embryo transfer., Conclusion: Early detection, accurate diagnosis, and timely treatment are crucial in improving the quality of life and fertility of PSIS patients., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Airline pilots are members of a unique occupational group that is often confronted with sleep routine disruptions, yet relatively few studies have examined their mental health status. This study assessed the prevalence and network structure of internet addiction, depression and sleep quality problems in commercial airline pilots., Method: A total of 7055 airline pilots were included in analyses. Internet addiction and depression were measured with the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), respectively. Sleep quality was evaluated using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The network model was constructed based on an Ising model and its association with sleep quality was evaluated using a flow procedure., Results: Internet addiction, depression and sleep quality were common among airline pilots. The prevalence of internet addiction was 8.0 % (95 % CI: 7.3-8.6 %), while the rates of depression and poor sleep quality were 23.3 % (95 % CI: 22.3-24.2 %) and 33.0 % (95 % CI: 31.9-34.1 %), respectively. In the depression and internet addiction network model, "Fatigue" (PHQ4; Expected Influence (EI): 2.04) and "Depressed/moody/nervous only while being offline" (IAT20; EI: 1.76) were most central symptoms while "Fatigue" (PHQ4; Bridge EI: 1.30) was also the most important bridge symptom. The flow network model of sleep quality with internet addiction and depression showed that "Appetite" (PHQ5) had the strongest positive association with poor sleep quality., Conclusion: Internet addiction, depression and sleep quality were common among airline pilots and warrant regular screening and timely treatment. Strategies to improve sleep hygiene may be useful in preventing onsets or exacerbations in depression and internet addiction among airline pilots., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. Financial disclosure This project is funded by (1) the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.: 71804110), (2) Shanghai Science and Technology Development Funds (No.: 21QA1405300) and (3) Science Foundation of Ministry of Education of China (No.: 22YJAZH116) and the University of Macau (MYRG2019-00066-FHS; MYRG2022-00187-FHS)., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Water pollution is one of serious environmental issues due to the rapid development of industrial and agricultural sectors, and clean water resources have been receiving increasing attention. Recently, more and more studies have witnessed significant development of catalysts (metal oxides, metal sulfides, metal-organic frameworks, zero-valent metal, etc.) for wastewater treatment and water purification. Sustainable and clean catalysts immobilized into chitosan-based materials (Cat@CSbMs) are considered one of the most appealing subclasses of functional materials due to their high catalytic activity, high adsorption capacities, non-toxicity and relative stability. This review provides a summary of various upgrading renewable Cat@CSbMs (such as cocatalyst, photocatalyst, and Fenton-like reagent, etc.). As for engineering applications, further researches of Cat@CSbMs should focus on treating complex wastewater containing both heavy metals and organic pollutants, as well as developing continuous flow treatment methods for industrial wastewater using Cat@CSbMs. In conclusion, this review abridges the gap between different approaches for upgrading renewable and clean Cat@CSbMs and their future applications. This will contribute to the development of cleaner and sustainable Cat@CSbMs for wastewater treatment and water purification., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study aims to evaluate the in vivo function of Fusarium oxysporum in Glycyrrhiza uralensis by salt tolerance,indoleacetic acid(IAA) production capacity, phosphate-dissolving capacity, and iron carrier production capacity. The stable genetic transformation system of the F. oxysporum was established by Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated genetic transformation( ATMT)technology, and the stability and staining efficiency of transformants were detected by the cloning of the marker gene green fluorescent protein(GFP) and the efficiency of β-glucuronidase staining(GUS). Efficient and stable transformants were selected for restaining G. uralensis and evaluating its influence on the growth of the G. uralensis seedlings. The results show that F. oxysporum has good salt tolerance and could still grow on potato glucose agar(PDA) medium containing 7% sodium chloride, but the growth rate slows down with the increase in sodium chloride content in PDA medium. F. oxysporum has the function of producing indoleacetic acid, and the concentration of IAA in its fermentation broth is about 3. 32 mg · m L~(-1). In this study, the genetic transformation system of F. oxysporum is successfully constructed, and the ATMT system is efficient and stable. One transformant with both high staining efficiency and genetic stability is selected, and the restaining rate of the transformant in G. uralensis is 76. 92%, which could significantly improve the main root length of one-month-old G. uralensis seedlings and promote the growth and development of G. uralensis seedlings. The results of this study can lay the foundation for the development of biological bacterial fertilizer and the growth regulation of high-quality G. uralensis.

WOX11/12 is a homeobox gene of WOX11 and WOX12 in Arabidopsis that plays important roles in crown root development and growth. It has been reported that WOX11/12 participates in adventitious root (AR) formation and different abiotic stress responses, but the downstream regulatory network of WOX11/12 in poplar remains to be further investigated. In this study, we found that PagWOX11/12a is strongly induced by PEG-simulated drought stress. PagWOX11/12a-overexpressing poplar plantlets showed lower oxidative damage levels, greater antioxidant enzyme activities and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging capacity than non-transgenic poplar plants, whereas PagWOX11/12a dominant repression weakened root biomass accumulation and drought tolerance in poplar. RNA-seq analysis revealed that several differentially expressed genes (DEGs) regulated by PagWOX11/12a are involved in redox metabolism and drought stress response. We used RT-qPCR and yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) assays to validate the downstream target genes of PagWOX11/12a. These results provide new insights into the biological function and molecular regulatory mechanism of WOX11/12 in the abiotic resistance processes of poplar., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Rhizoctonia solani Kühn is a pathogen causing rice sheath blight (ShB). Ammonium transporter 1 (AMT1) promotes resistance of rice to ShB by activating ethylene signaling. However, how AMT1 activates ethylene signaling remains unclear., Objective: In this study, the indeterminate domain 10 (IDD10)-NAC079 interaction model was used to investigate whether ethylene signaling is modulated downstream of ammonium signaling and modulates ammonium-mediated ShB resistance., Methods: RT-qPCR assay was used to identify the relative expression levels of nitrogen and ethylene related genes. Yeast two-hybrid assays, Bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) and Co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) assay were conducted to verify the IDD10-NAC079-calcineurin B-like interacting protein kinase 31 (CIPK31) transcriptional complex. Yeast one-hybrid assay, Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay, and Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) were used to verify whether ETR2 was activated by IDD10 and NAC079. Ethylene quantification assay was used to verify ethylene content in IDD10 transgenic plants. Genetic analysis is used to detect the response of IDD10, NAC079 and CIPK31 to ShB infestation., Results: IDD10-NAC079 forms a transcription complex that activates ETR2 to inhibit the ethylene signaling pathway to negatively regulating ShB resistance. CIPK31 interacts and phosphorylates NAC079 to enhance its transcriptional activation activity. In addition, AMT1-mediated ammonium absorption and subsequent N assimilation inhibit the expression of IDD10 and CIPK31 to activate the ethylene signaling pathway, which positively regulates ShB resistance., Conclusion: The study identified the link between ammonium and ethylene signaling and improved the understanding of the rice resistance mechanism., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V.)

The toxin-antitoxin (TA) system plays a key role in bacteria escaping antibiotic stress with persistence, however, the mechanisms by which persistence is controlled remain poorly understood. Weissella cibaria , a novel probiotic, can enters a persistent state upon encountering ciprofloxacin stress. Conversely, it resumes from the persistence when ciprofloxacin stress is relieved or removed. Here, it was found that PemIK TA system played a role in transitioning between these two states. And the PemIK was consisted of PemK, an endonuclease toxic to mRNA, and antitoxin PemI which neutralized its toxicity. The PemK specifically cleaved the U↓AUU in mRNA encoding enzymes involved in glycolysis, TCA cycle and respiratory chain pathways. This cleavage event subsequently disrupted the crucial cellular processes such as hydrogen transfer, electron transfer, NADH and FADH 2 synthesis, ultimately leading to a decrease in ATP levels and an increase in membrane depolarization and persister frequency. Notably, Arg 24 was a critical active residue for PemK, its mutation significantly reduced the mRNA cleavage activity and the adverse effects on metabolism. These insights provided a clue to comprehensively understand the mechanism by which PemIK induced the persistence of W. cibaria to escape ciprofloxacin stress, thereby highlighting another novel aspect PemIK respond for antibiotic stress., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Zhu, Xiang, Cai, Zhang and Wang.)

The current study aimed to assess the effectiveness of pharmacological intervention with Platycodin D (PD), a critically active compound isolated from the roots of Platycodon grandiflorum , in mitigating cardiotoxicity in a murine model of type 2 diabetes-induced cardiac injury and in H9c2 cells in vitro. Following oral administration for 4 weeks, PD (2.5 mg/kg) significantly suppressed the elevation of fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels, improved dyslipidemia, and effectively inhibited the rise of the cardiac injury markers creatine kinase isoenzyme MB (CK-MB) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT). PD treatment could ameliorate energy metabolism disorders induced by impaired glucose uptake by activating AMPK protein expression in the DCM mouse model, thereby promoting the GLUT4 transporter and further activating autophagy-related proteins. Furthermore, in vitro experiments demonstrated that PD exerted a concentration-dependent increase in cell viability while also inhibiting palmitic acid and glucose (HG-PA)-stimulated H9c2 cytotoxicity and activating AMPK protein expression. Notably, the AMPK activator AICAR (1 mM) was observed to upregulate the expression of AMPK in H9c2 cells after high-glucose and -fat exposure. Meanwhile, we used AMPK inhibitor Compound C (20 μM) to investigate the effect of PD activation of AMPK on cells. In addition, the molecular docking approach was employed to dock PD with AMPK, revealing a binding energy of -8.2 kcal/mol and indicating a tight interaction between the components and the target. PD could reduce the expression of autophagy-related protein p62, reduce the accumulation of autophagy products, promote the flow of autophagy, and improve myocardial cell injury. In conclusion, it has been demonstrated that PD effectively inhibits cardiac injury-induced type 2 diabetes in mice and enhances energy metabolism in HG-PA-stimulated H9c2 cells by activating the AMPK signaling pathway. These findings collectively unveil the potential cardioprotective effects of PD via modulation of the AMPK signaling pathway.

The clinical data of five patients [one male and four female; median age: 31 (21-65) years] with cytomegalovirus (CMV)-induced hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) diagnosed and treated in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University were retrospectively analyzed from January 2011 to December 2020. None of the patients had any underlying disease, and all were immunocompetent. The main clinical presentations were fever in all five patients, splenomegaly in four, enlarged lymph nodes in two, liver enlargement in one, and rash in three. Pulmonary infection was found in three patients, two of whom developed respiratory failure. Two patients had jaundice. Central nervous system symptoms and gastrointestinal bleeding were observed in one case. All patients received glucocorticoids and antiviral therapy. One patient was treated with the COP (cyclophosphamide+vincristine+prednisone) chemotherapy regimen after antiviral therapy failed and he developed central nervous system symptoms. After treatment, four patients achieved remission, but the fifth pregnant patient eventually died of disease progression after delivery. CMV-associated HLH in an immunocompetent individual without underlying diseases is extremely rare, and most patients have favorable prognosis. Antiviral therapy is the cornerstone of CMV-HLH treatment.

Actinoplanes utahensis deacylase (AAC)-catalyzed deacylation of echinocandin B (ECB) is a promising method for the synthesis of anidulafungin, the newest of the echinocandin antifungal agents. However, the low activity of AAC significantly limits its practical application. In this work, we have devised a multi-dimensional rational design strategy for AAC, conducting separate analyses on the substrate-binding pocket's volume, curvature, and length. Furthermore, we quantitatively analyzed substrate properties, particularly on hydrophilic and hydrophobic. Accordingly, we tailored the linoleic acid-binding pocket of AAC to accommodate the extended long lipid chain of ECB. By fine-tuning the key residues, the resulting AAC mutants can accommodate the ECB lipid chain with a lower curvature binding pocket. The D53A/I55F/G57M/F154L/Q661L mutant (MT) displayed 331 % higher catalytic efficiency than the wild-type (WT) enzyme. The MT product conversion was 94.6 %, reaching the highest reported level. Utilizing a multi-dimensional rational design for a customized mutation strategy of the substrate-binding pocket is an effective approach to enhance the catalytic efficiency of enzymes in handling complicated substrates., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare on conflicts of interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Purpose of Review: Controversy remains about the difference in mental health status among children and adolescents between one-child and multichild families in China. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis of studies comparing mental health status between both groups and explored their potential moderating factors., Recent Findings: Totally, 113 eligible studies encompassing 237 899 participants (one-child families: 83 125; multichild families: 154 774) were included. The pooled SMD of SCL-90 total score was -0.115 [95% confidence interval (95% CI): -0.152; -0.078; I2  = 86.9%]. Specifically, children and adolescents from one-child families exhibited lower scores in terms of somatization (SMD = -0.056; 95% CI: -0.087; -0.026), obsessive-compulsive symptoms (SMD = -0.116; 95% CI: -0.154; -0.079), interpersonal sensitivity (SMD = -0.140; 95% CI: -0.171; -0.109), depression (SMD = -0.123; 95% CI: -0.159; -0.088); anxiety (SMD = -0.121; 95% CI: -0.151; -0.092); phobic anxiety (SMD = -0.124; 95% CI: -0.166; -0.081); paranoid ideation (SMD = -0.040; 95% CI: -0.070; -0.009); and psychoticism (SMD = -0.119; 95% CI: -0.148; -0.089). Study publication year was significantly associated with differences in mental health status between both groups ( P  = 0.015)., Summary: Children and adolescents from one-child families had better mental health status compared to those from multichild families in China. Future studies should investigate the underlying factors contributing to such mental health differences, and the potential interventions that could address these mental health problems., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Stress is a prevalent bodily response universally experienced and significantly affects a person's mental and cognitive state. The P300 response is a commonly observed brain behaviour that provides insight into a person's cognitive state. Previous works have documented the effects of stress on the P300 behaviour; however, only a few have explored the performance in a mobile and naturalistic experimental setup. Our study examined the effects of stress on the human brain's P300 behaviour through a height exposure experiment that incorporates complex visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive stimuli. A more complex sensory environment could produce translatable findings toward real-world behaviour and benefit emerging technologies such as brain-computer interfaces. Seventeen participants experienced our experiment that elicited the stress response through physical and virtual height exposure. We found two unique groups within our participants that exhibited contrasting behavioural performance and P300 target reaction response when exposed to stressors (from walking at heights). One group performed worse when exposed to heights and exhibited a significant decrease in parietal P300 peak amplitude and increased beta and gamma power. On the other hand, the group less affected by stress exhibited a change in their N170 peak amplitude and alpha/mu rhythm desynchronisation. The findings of our study suggest that a more individualised approach to assessing a person's behaviour performance under stress can aid in understanding P300 performance when experiencing stress., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Zhu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Background: Gastric cancer is a common malignant tumor of the digestive tract, and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is the preferred treatment for early-stage gastric cancer. The analysis of the epidemiological characteristics of gastric mucosal tumors with different differentiation degrees and the influencing factors of long-term ESD efficacy may have certain significance for revealing the development of gastric cancer and ESD., Aim: To analyze the features of gastric mucosal tumors at different differentiation levels, and to explore the prognostic factors of ESD., Methods: We retrospectively studied 301 lesions in 285 patients at The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from 2014 to 2021, according to the latest Japanese guidelines (sixth edition), and divided them into low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGIN), high-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (HGIN), and differentiated and undifferentiated early carcinoma. They are followed up by endoscopy, chest and abdominal computed tomography at 3, 6 and 12 months after ESD. We compared clinicopathologic characteristics, ESD efficacy, and complications with different degrees of differentiation, and analyzed the related factors associated with ESD., Results: HGIN and differentiated carcinoma patients were significantly older compared with LGIN patients ( P < 0.001) and accounted for more 0-IIc ( P < 0.001), atrophic gastritis was common ( P < 0.001), and irregular microvascular patterns (IMVPs) and demarcation lines (DLs) were more obvious ( P < 0.001). There was more infiltration in the undifferentiated carcinoma tissue ( P < 0.001), more abnormal folds and poorer mucosal peristalsis ( P < 0.001), and more obvious IMVPs, irregular microsurface patterns and DLs ( P < 0.05) than in the LGIN and HGIN tissues. The disease-free survival rates at 2, 5, and 8 years after ESD were 95.0%, 90.1%, and 86.9%, respectively. Undifferentiated lesions (HR 5.066), white moss (HR 7.187), incomplete resection (HR 3.658), and multiple primary cancers (HR 2.462) were significantly associated with poor prognosis., Conclusion: Differentiations of gastric mucosal tumors have different epidemiological and endoscopic characteristics, which are closely related to the safety and efficacy of ESD., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) remains a major issue that worsens the prognosis of elderly surgery patients. This article reviews the current research on the effect of different anesthesia methods and commonly utilized anesthetics on the incidence of POCD in elderly patients, aiming to provide an understanding of the underlying mechanisms contributing to this condition and facilitate the development of more reasonable anesthesia protocols, ultimately reducing the incidence of POCD in elderly surgery patients., (© 2024. Huazhong University of Science and Technology.)

Current research efforts on neurodegenerative diseases are focused on identifying novel and reliable biomarkers for early diagnosis and insight into disease progression. Salivary analysis is gaining increasing interest as a promising source of biomarkers and matrices for measuring neurodegenerative diseases. Saliva collection offers multiple advantages over the currently detected biofluids as it is easily accessible, non-invasive, and repeatable, allowing early diagnosis and timely treatment of the diseases. Here, we review the existing findings on salivary biomarkers and address the potential value in diagnosing neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Based on the available research, β-amyloid, tau protein, α-synuclein, DJ-1, Huntington protein in saliva profiles display reliability and validity as the biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest There is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: To investigate the effect of the interval between bilateral cochlear implantation on the development of bilateral peripheral auditory pathways as revealed by the electrically evoked auditory brainstem response (EABR)., Methods: Fifty-eight children with profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss were recruited. Among them, 33 children received sequential bilateral cochlear implants (CIs), and 25 children received simultaneous bilateral CIs. The bilateral EABRs evoked by electrical stimulation from the CI electrode were recorded on the day of second-side CI activation., Results: The latencies of wave III (eIII) and wave V (eV) were significantly shorter on the first CI side than on the second CI side in children with sequential bilateral CIs but were similar between the two sides in children with simultaneous bilateral CIs. Furthermore, the latencies were prolonged from apical to basal channels along the cochlea in the two groups. In children with sequential CIs, the inter-implant interval was negatively correlated with the eV latency on the first CI side and was positively correlated with bilateral differences in the eIII and eV latencies., Conclusions: Unilateral CI use promotes the maturation of ipsilateral auditory conduction function. However, a longer inter-implant interval results in more unbalanced development of bilateral auditory brainstem pathways. Bilateral cochlear implantation with no or a short interval is recommended., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death globally, posing a serious threat to human health. However, the current treatment approaches available for CHD fall short of the ideal results. Tongxinluo (TXL) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that has been employed in the clinical treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (such as angina pectoris, stroke, etc.) in China for many years and holds great potential as a prospective treatment. TXL either as a standalone treatment or in combination with interventions recommended in CHD guidelines has been shown to be effective and well tolerated in clinical trials for CHD. Drawing on the evidence from clinical trials and experimental studies, this review will focus on the cardiovascular protective properties and related mechanisms of TXL. By searching 8 Chinese and English databases, more than 4000 articles were retrieved. These articles were categorized, then read, and finally written into this review. In this review, the pharmacological properties of TXL include regulation of blood lipids, improvement of endothelial function, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, inhibition of apoptosis and regulation of autophagy, anti-fibrosis, promotion of angiogenesis, and modulation of exosome communication. The information provided in this review will help the reader to comprehend better the insights that TCM has developed over time in practice and provide new perspectives for the treatment of CHD., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Abstract: Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory estrogen-dependent benign disease. It is defined as the endometrium growing outside the uterine cavity and the myometrium. It usually has low FDG uptake but rarely occurs in the ureters. We reported a case of a 47-year-old woman's left ureteral nodule originally misdiagnosed as a ureteral malignant tumor by PET/CT and finally pathologically confirmed as endometriosis., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest and sources of funding: none declared., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)