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Dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) is a flavin-dependent metabolic enzyme that oxidizes dihydroorotate acid to orotic acid in the de novo synthesis pathway of pyrimidine metabolism. DHODH is located in mitochondria, closely related to cellular oxidative phosphorylation, and an important suppressor of the ferroptosis pathway. This study investigates the influence of DHODH on the progression of malignant tumors, including its important role in the de novo synthesis of pyrimidine, oxidative phosphorylation, and ferroptosis. The objective is to present evidence that DHODH is a potential target for the clinical treatment of tumors.

Space cameras play a pivotal role in various fields, such as astronomical exploration. When operating in orbit, these cameras encounter the relative motion between the target and the camera during the exposure, resulting in image motion, which affects the imaging quality. Therefore, it is necessary to compensate for this image motion. This paper investigates the in-orbit image motion compensation (IMC) method for space cameras with a long integration time based on a two-axis pointing platform. Firstly, the mechanical design of the camera is introduced. Secondly, the in-orbit IMC model for the camera is analyzed, and the angular motion needed for compensating for the image motion by the two-axis pointing platform are derived. Factors influencing the compensation accuracy are also analyzed. The effectiveness of the IMC model is verified through simulations. Finally, the in-orbit experimental results indicate that the energy concentration of the target star images obtained exceeded 70%, demonstrating excellent performance in space cameras and effectively enhancing imaging quality using IMC technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-driven recycling of sulfur-containing wastewater and hydrogen production is a novel concept that integrates environmental protection and new energy development. In this study, we designed for the first time a Zn-air battery self-driven coupling system for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), sulfur oxidation reaction (SOR) and developed a trifunctional catalyst suitable for this system capable of HER, SOR, and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). By synthesizing cobalt sulfide (Co 3 S 4) in situ on nickel foam (NF), we obtained Co 3 S 4 /NF monolithic catalyst. It only requires 0.312 V and 0.244 V in SOR and HER, respectively, at 100 mA cm−2. Based on this achievement, the SOR||HER coupled electrolysis system was assembled, which achieved 0.69 V at 100 mA cm−2. Furthermore, the Zn-air battery (using Co 3 S 4 as ORR catalyst) could spontaneously drive the SOR||HER system to achieve high-rate hydrogen production. These findings provide promising opportunities for zero-energy consumption H 2 production and recycling of sulfur-containing wastewater. [Display omitted] • The self-driven SOR||HER hybrid electrolysis system was successfully designed. • Co 3 S 4 electrocatalysts were grown on Ni foam as three-dimensional catalyst for HER, SOR and ORR. • The electrolysis can be realized without energy consumption. • The sulfur-containing waste water can be recycled and H 2 generation occurs spontaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The peak time delay was an independent predictor of good collaterals in AIS patients. • The peak time delay was an independent predictor of good outcomes in AIS patients. • Tissue fate were moderately positively correlated with peak density decrease. Collateral status is a pivotal determinant of clinical outcomes in acute ischemic stroke (AIS); however, its evaluation can be challenging. We investigated the predictive value of CT perfusion (CTP) derived time and density alterations versus CTP for collateral status prediction in AIS. Consecutive patients with anterior circulation occlusion within 24 h were retrospectively included. Time-density curves of the CTP specified ischemic core, penumbra, and the corresponding contralateral unaffected brain were obtained. The collateral status was dichotomised into robust (4–5 scores) and poor (0–3 scores) using multiphase collateral scoring, as described by Menon et al.. Receiver operating characteristic curves and multivariable regression analysis were performed to assess the predictive ability of CTP-designated tissue time and density alterations, CTP for robust collaterals, and favourable outcomes (mRS score of 0–2 at 90 days). One-hundred patients (median age, 68 years; interquartile range, 57–80 years; 61 men) were included. A smaller ischemic core, shorter peak time delay, lower peak density decrease, lower cerebral blood volume ratio, and cerebral blood flow ratio in the CTP specified ischemic core were significantly associated with robust collaterals (P FDR ≤ 0.004). The peak time delay demonstrated the highest diagnostic value (AUC, 0.74; P < 0.001) with 66.7 % sensitivity and 73.7 % specificity. Furthermore, the peak time delay of less than 8.5 s was an independent predictor of robust collaterals and favourable clinical outcomes. Robust collateral status was significantly associated with the peak time delay in the ischemic core. It is a promising image marker for predicting collateral status and functional outcomes in AIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around half of the world's population is infected with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), which is closely related to several ocular diseases. The study aims to evaluate the retinal and choroidal thickness changes in subjects with H. pylori infection by swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). The ophthalmic examination and 13 C-urea breath test ( 13 C-UBT) were performed on all subjects participating in the cross-sectional study. The participants were divided into H. pylori (+) and H. pylori (-) groups depending on the 13 C-UBT results. This study covered 2574 right eyes from 2574 subjects with H. pylori infection and 2574 right eyes from 2574 age- and sex-matched individuals without H. pylori infection. Out of the nine sectors of the early treatment diabetic retinopathy study (ETDRS) grid, the maximum retinal thickness was in the inner superior sector, while the minimum was in the center sector. The maximum choroidal thickness was in the inner superior sector, while the minimum was in the outer nasal sector. The choroid of each area of the ETDRS subfield in the H. pylori (+) group was significantly thicker than that in the H. pylori (-) group, but retinal thickness did not show any difference between the two groups. Increased choroidal thickness may be an early indicator of H. pylori-associated retinal or choroidal diseases.

Metamaterial absorption technology plays an increasingly important role in military and civilian sectors, serving crucial functions in communication, radar technology, and electromagnetic cloaking. However, traditional metamaterial absorbers are predominantly composed of periodic structures, thus limiting their absorption bandwidth, polarization, and angular flexibility. This study employs disordered structures, utilizing their randomness and diversity, to optimize and enhance the performance of periodic structure metamaterial absorbers. Building upon a well-designed periodic perfect absorption structure, a uniform distribution function is introduced to analyze the effects of positional and size disorder on the absorptive properties of the metamaterial. The mechanisms of the disorder are further investigated through simulation analysis. Subsequently, an innovative approach based on disorder engineering for broadband enhancement of metamaterial absorbers is proposed. Numerical simulation results and experimental validations demonstrate that absorbers constructed using this method significantly broaden the absorption bandwidth while maintaining excellent angular and polarization stability. This research not only offers a new method for the design and performance optimization of metamaterial absorbers but also provides a theoretical foundation for the development of metamaterial self-assembly techniques.

Aim: To evaluate the relationship of overweight and obesity with retinal and choroidal thickness in adults without ocular symptoms by swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT)., Methods: According to the body mass index (BMI) results, the adults enrolled in the cross-sectional study were divided into the normal group (18.50≤BMI<25.00 kg/m 2 ), the overweight group (25.00≤BMI<30.00 kg/m 2 ), and the obesity group (BMI≥30.00 kg/m 2 ). The one-way ANOVA and the Chi-square test were used for comparisons. Pearson's correlation analysis was used to evaluate the relationships between the measured variables., Results: This research covered the left eyes of 3 groups of 434 age- and sex-matched subjects each: normal, overweight, and obesity. The mean BMI was 22.20±1.67, 26.82±1.38, and 32.21±2.35 kg/m 2 in normal, overweight and obesity groups, respectively. The choroid was significantly thinner in both the overweight and obesity groups compared to the normal group ( P <0.05 for all), while the retinal thickness of the three groups did not differ significantly. Pearson's correlation analysis showed that BMI was significantly negatively correlated with choroidal thickness, but no significant correlation was observed between BMI and retinal thickness., Conclusion: Choroidal thickness is decreased in people with overweight or obesity. Research on changes in choroidal thickness contributes to the understanding of the mechanisms of certain ocular disorders in overweight and obese adults., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: Li QJ, None; Zhou SM, None; Zhang LY, None; Lin AN, None; Zhang Y, None; Jiang J, None; Che X, None; Qian YW, None; Liu Y, None; Wang ZL, None., (International Journal of Ophthalmology Press.)

Background: This study utilizes Hydrogen proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 1 H-MRS) to investigate metabolite concentrations in the bilateral hippocampus of general paresis (GP) patients., Methods: A total of 80 GP patients and 57 normal controls (NCs) were enrolled. Metabolite ratios in the bilateral hippocampus were measured using 1 H-MRS. Cognitive function was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Based on MMSE scores, participants were categorized into normal control, mild cognitive impairment, and moderate-severe dementia groups. Metabolite ratios (N-acetylaspartate (NAA)/creatine (Cr), choline (Cho)/creatine (Cr), N-acetylaspartate (NAA)/choline (Cho), myoinositol (MI)/creatine (Cr), choline (Cho)/N-acetylaspartate (NAA)) were compared between groups, and correlations between metabolite ratios and cognitive performance were examined., Results: MMSE scores progressively decreased in the normal, mild cognitive impairment, and moderate-severe dementia groups ( p < 0.001). The moderate-severe dementia group showed significantly lower NAA/Cr ratios in the left hippocampus region (L-NAA/Cr ratios) ( p < 0.001) and higher Cho/NAA ratios in the left hippocampus region (L-Cho/NAA ratios) ( p < 0.05) compared to the other groups. However, differences in L-NAA/Cr and L-Cho/NAA ratios between the mild cognitive impairment group and the NC group were not significant in the hippocampus region ( p > 0.05). NAA/Cho and NAA/Cr ratios in the right hippocampus region (R-NAA/Cho and R-NAA/Cr ratios) in the moderate-severe dementia group were lower than those in the control group ( p < 0.05). No correlation was found between metabolite ratios and MMSE scores in bilateral hippocampus regions., Conclusion: There are distinctive metabolic characteristics in the hippocampus of GP patients. GP patients exhibited lower NAA/Cr and NAA/Cho ratios in the bilateral hippocampus, indicating neuron loss in these areas, which may become more pronounced as the disease progresses., 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. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (Copyright © 2024 Che, Miao, Shi, Li and Ning.)

Background: Ferroptosis has recently been associated with multiple degenerative diseases. Ferroptosis induction in cancer cells is a feasible method for treating neoplastic diseases. However, the association of iron proliferation-related genes with prognosis in HER2+ breast cancer (BC) patients is unclear., Aim: To identify and evaluate fresh ferroptosis-related biomarkers for HER2+ BC., Methods: First, we obtained the mRNA expression profiles and clinical information of HER2+ BC patients from the TCGA and METABRIC public databases. A four-gene prediction model comprising PROM2 , SLC7A11 , FANCD2 , and FH was subsequently developed in the TCGA cohort and confirmed in the METABRIC cohort. Patients were stratified into high-risk and low-risk groups based on their median risk score, an independent predictor of overall survival (OS). Based on these findings, immune infiltration, mutations, and medication sensitivity were analyzed in various risk groupings. Additionally, we assessed patient prognosis by combining the tumor mutation burden (TMB) with risk score. Finally, we evaluated the expression of critical genes by analyzing single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data from malignant vs normal epithelial cells., Results: We found that the higher the risk score was, the worse the prognosis was ( P < 0.05). We also found that the immune cell infiltration, mutation, and drug sensitivity were different between the different risk groups. The high-risk subgroup was associated with lower immune scores and high TMB. Moreover, we found that the combination of the TMB and risk score could stratify patients into three groups with distinct prognoses. HRisk-HTMB patients had the worst prognosis, whereas LRisk-LTMB patients had the best prognosis ( P < 0.0001). Analysis of the scRNA-seq data showed that PROM2 , SLC7A11 , and FANCD2 were significantly differentially expressed, whereas FH was not, suggesting that these genes are expressed mainly in cancer epithelial cells ( P < 0.01)., Conclusion: Our model helps guide the prognosis of HER2+ breast cancer patients, and its combination with the TMB can aid in more accurate assessment of patient prognosis and provide new ideas for further diagnosis and treatment., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The study was conducted to analyze HIV dynamics across blood-retinal barrier (BRB) and the relevant risk factors for HIV-associated ocular complications., Methods: This study included a case series of 40 HIV-positive patients with ocular lesions, which were studied retrospectively. Clinical and laboratory examinations included plasma and intraocular viral load (VL)., Results: HIV VL on paired aqueous/plasma samples was available for 40 patients. Aqueous VL was negatively associated with antiretroviral treatment (ART) duration (p = 0.02 and p < 0.05), and plasma VL was independent of ART duration (p = 0.53). An aqueous/plasma discordance was found in 19/40 (47.5%) patients, eight of whom (20%) had detectable aqueous VL despite a suppressed plasma VL (escape). There were significant differences in CD4+ T-lymphocyte levels (p = 0.011 and p < 0.05) and ART duration (p = 0.007 and p < 0.05) between the patients with HIV-associated ocular complications and the patients without., Conclusion: This study provides a rationale for initiating ART early in the course of infection to reduce HIV VL in the aqueous humor, and raises the possibility of the ocular sanctuary where HIV replicates. Meanwhile, early and standard ART would be an optimal option to protect against ocular opportunistic infection., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)