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Background: Orchidaceae is one of the largest groups of angiosperms, and most species have high economic value and scientific research value due to their ornamental and medicinal properties. In China, Chinese Cymbidium is a popular ornamental orchid with high economic value and a long history. However, to date, no detailed information on the mitochondrial genome of any species of Chinese Cymbidium has been published. Results: Here, we present the complete assembly and annotation of the mitochondrial genome of Cymbidium ensifolium (L.) Sw. The mitogenome of C. ensifolium was 560,647 bp in length and consisted of 19 circular subgenomes ranging in size from 21,995 bp to 48,212 bp. The genome encoded 35 protein-coding genes, 36 tRNAs, 3 rRNAs, and 3405 ORFs. Repeat sequence analysis and prediction of RNA editing sites revealed a total of 915 dispersed repeats, 162 simple repeats, 45 tandem repeats, and 530 RNA editing sites. Analysis of codon usage showed a preference for codons ending in A/T. Interorganellar DNA transfer was identified in 13 of the 19 chromosomes, with plastid-derived DNA fragments representing 6.81% of the C. ensifolium mitochondrial genome. The homologous fragments of the mitochondrial genome and nuclear genome were also analysed. Comparative analysis showed that the GC content was conserved, but the size, structure, and gene content of the mitogenomes varied greatly among plants with multichromosomal mitogenome structure. Phylogenetic analysis based on the mitogenomes reflected the evolutionary and taxonomic statuses of C. ensifolium. Interestingly, compared with the mitogenomes of Cymbidium lancifolium Hook. and Cymbidium macrorhizon Lindl., the mitogenome of C. ensifolium lost 8 ribosomal protein-coding genes. Conclusion: In this study, we assembled and annotated the mitogenome of C. ensifolium and compared it with the mitogenomes of other Liliidae and plants with multichromosomal mitogenome structures. Our findings enrich the mitochondrial genome database of orchid plants and reveal the rapid structural evolution of Cymbidium mitochondrial genomes, highlighting the potential for mitochondrial genes to help decipher plant evolutionary history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the correlation between fear of COVID‐19 and mental health of nurses and the effects of psychological capital and burnout in this relation. Design: A cross‐sectional study. Methods: The online surveys were conducted among mainland Chinese nurses. Participants (n = 445; average age 32.89 ± 6.76 years) completed an online‐questionnaire based on the Fear of COVID‐19 Scale, the Psychological Capital Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey for Medical Professionals Scale and the 12‐Item Short Form Health Survey. Data analysis was conducted by Pearson's correlation analysis, Harman single‐factor test and the bootstrap method for mediating effect testing. Results: (1) The study demonstrated a significant direct effect of fear of COVID‐19 on nurses' mental health, as well as on mediating factors such as burnout and psychological capital. (2) Regression analyses confirmed that while psychological capital bolstered mental health, burnout undermined it, with fear of COVID‐19 further imposing a negative influence. (3) Fear of COVID‐19 exerted an effect on the mental health of nurses by the independent and chain intermediary functions of psychological capital and burnout, resulting in a total mediating effect of −0.233. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years, breast cancer has become the most common cancer in the world, increasing women's health risks. Approximately 60% of breast cancers are categorized as human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-low tumors. Recently, antibody-drug conjugates have been found to have positive anticancer efficacy in patients with HER2-low breast cancer, but more studies are required to comprehend their clinical and molecular characteristics. Methods: In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the data of 165 early breast cancer patients with pT1-2N1M0 who had undergone the RecurIndex testing. To better understand HER2-low tumors, we investigated the RecurIndex genomic profiles, clinicopathologic features, and survival outcomes of breast cancers according to HER2 status. Results: First, there were significantly more hormone receptor (HR)-positive tumors, luminal-type tumors, and low Ki67 levels in the HER2-low than in the HER2-zero. Second, RI-LR (P =.0294) and RI-DR (P =.001) scores for HER2-low and HER2-zero were statistically significant. Third, within HER2-negative disease, HR-positive/HER2-low tumors showed highest ESR1, NFATC2IP, PTI1, ERBB2, and OBSL1 expressions. Fourth, results of the survival analysis showed that lower expression of HER2 was associated with improved relapse-free survival for HR-positive tumors, but not for HR-negative tumors. Conclusions: The present study highlights the unique features of HER2-low tumors in terms of their clinical characteristics as well as their gene expression profiles. HR status may influence the prognosis of patients with HER2-low expression, and patients with HR-positive/HER2-low expression may have a favorable outcome. In this study, the data of patients with early stage breast cancer who had undergone RecurIndex testing was analyzed. To better understand HER2-low tumors, genomic profiles, clinicopathologic features, and survival outcomes of breast cancers according to HER2 status were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fried centipede, a popular food in southern China and Vietnam, is well known for its notable health benefits owing to its unique chemical composition. This study focused on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor screening, bioactivity evaluation, and the extraction of bioactive compounds derived from fried centipedes. To determine the accuracy of in vitro AChE inhibitor screening, receptor-ligand affinity ultrafiltration and enzymatic reaction kinetics technologies were employed for the rapid screening and structural identification of bioactive compounds and to verify the enzyme inhibition activity and mechanism of the compounds. Moreover, molecular docking and dynamic simulations were utilized to assess the effectiveness of the target, and the integration of experimental and computational approaches facilitated a comprehensive analysis of the active compounds and their activities at four levels. To address the issues of low content and low extraction and separation efficiencies of bioactive compounds derived from centipedes, an activity-oriented complex preparation method (consecutive ultrasonic-assisted centrifugal extraction coupled online with UNIFAC countercurrent chromatography and semi-high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was developed for efficient extraction, online concentration, and complex separation of the identified AChE ligands. As a result, six active compounds, including cytidine, guanine, uracil, hypoxanthine, xanthine, and β-thymidine demonstrated significant binding affinity to the AChE active sites within 3 h. This study provided valuable insights into the active compounds of fried centipedes and their potential anti-Alzheimer's disease properties. These findings contribute to the advancement of animal food preparation methodologies by combining cutting-edge extraction techniques, biological activity screening, and the development of AChE inhibitors from fried centipedes. Our method serves as a valuable reference for exploring and developing functional animal materials from diverse medicinal resources. • A strategy to enhance the efficiency of preparing medicine was established. • Molecular docking and dynamics simulations supported the results. • Six high-quality AChEIs were rapidly screened and isolated. • Consecutive extraction and online isolation technique were established. • The parameters for semi-HPLC were optimized by a UNIFAC mathematical model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most prevalent congenital malformation worldwide, and the association between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) exposure and CHD in population has only received limited study. Therefore, we conducted a multicenter case-control study to explore the associations between prenatal exposure to individual PFASs, and also a PFAS mixture, and CHD risk, including 185 CHDs and 247 controls in China from 2016 to 2021. Thirteen PFASs in maternal plasma were quantified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Logistic regression and two multipollutant models (Bayesian kernel machine regression [BKMR] and quantile g-computation [qgcomp]) were used to assess the potential associations between any individual PFAS, and also a PFAS mixture, and CHD risk. After adjusting for potential confounders, logistic regression indicated significant associations between elevated levels of perfluorononanoic acid (odds ratio [OR]= 1.30, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.07–1.58), perfluorodecanoic acid (OR=2.07, 95%CI: 1.32–3.26), and perfluoroundecanoic acid (OR=2.86, 95%CI:1.45–5.65) and CHD risk. The BKMR model and qgcomp approach identified that a significant positive association between the PFAS mixture and risk for CHD. These findings provide essential evidence that there is indeed a health crisis associated with PFASs and that it is linked to CHD. [Display omitted] • Prenatal exposure to individual PFASs and a PFAS mixture was associated with increased risk for CHD. • 6:2 chlorinated polyfluorinated ether sulfonic acid was significantly linked to an elevated risk for complex CHD. • PFAS exposure had a stronger association with CHD in males than in females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Salivary fistula is a relatively common complication in patients who have undergone a parotidectomy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of bipolar coagulation forceps use on salivary fistulas. Methods: From March 2015 to June 2020, 177 patients who underwent a parotidectomy in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University were recruited. The patients were divided into an experimental group and a control group based on whether bipolar coagulation forceps or sutures were used, respectively. Results: The drainage output of the experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group (p = 0.04). The duration of dressing pressure applied in the experimental group was significantly shorter than that in the control group (p = 0.0003). Moreover, the incidence of salivary fistula in the experimental group (9.8%, 8/82) was notably lower than that in the control group (34.7%, 33/95) (p < 0.0001). In the logistic regression model for salivary fistula development, both the use of bipolar coagulation forceps (p = 0.0021) and drainage output (p = 0.0237) were associated with the presence of salivary fistulas. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the use of bipolar coagulation forceps decreases the incidence of salivary fistula in patients who have undergone a parotidectomy. The use of bipolar coagulation forceps is a safe, effective, and convenient method to prevent salivary fistulas in patients who undergo a parotidectomy. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ChiCTR2100044722, Date: 26/03/2021, Retrospectively registered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landslides are a common natural disaster, having severe socio-economic effects and posing immense threat to safety, such as loss of life at a global scale. Modeling and predicting the possibility of landslides are important in order to monitor and prevent their negative consequences. In this study, landslides are the primary research object. Further, the frequency ratio (FR) method was applied to the random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), and decision tree (DT) regression algorithms for landslide sensitivity assessment. It was also applied to landslide risk assessment mapping in the Longmen Mountain area. Therefore, taking into account the positive and negative sample balance, 7774 historical landslide points and 7774 non-landslide points were selected and divided them into training sets and test sets. The influence factors were selected and analyzed through multicollinearity analysis and the FR method. To improve the performance of the model and the accuracy of the findings, the individual environmental factors are normalized. Subsequently, the LSI (landslide susceptibility index), was obtained by calculating the frequency ratio. Following this, the RF, SVM, and DT were used to construct the model. The trained model calculates the landslide probability of each cell in the study area and generates the resultant susceptibility map. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and R 2 of this region were calculated to evaluate the model's performance. The results indicate that RF obtained the highest predictive performance (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.82) in landslide risk prediction, followed by SVM (AUC = 0.8) and DT (AUC = 0.69). The results of this study serve as a predictive map for landslide susceptibility areas and provide critical support for the security of lives and property for the human and socio-economic development in the Longmen Mountain region. In addition, the experiment results reveal that the machine learning model based on the FR method can improve the accuracy and performance of methods in studies related to landslide susceptibility. The method is equally applicable to research in other fields., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Introduction: Radix Astragali, the dried root of Astragalus membranaceus (Fish.) Bge. (family Fabaceae), which is known as Huangqi in China, has been proven to be an immunostimulant, diuretic, antidiabetic, analgesic, and it has also been used as a health food supplement in some Asian populations and also serves as a lead herb in many traditional Chinese medicine formulations as well as in Chinese ethnic tonifying soups., Objective: Screening and purification of bioactive compounds from natural products is challenging work due to their complexity. We present the first report on the use of pressurised liquid extraction and on-line two-dimensional counter current chromatography as an efficient medium for scaled-up extraction and separation of six bioactive compounds from Astragalus membranaceus., Method: We applied the established method with ultrafiltration-liquid chromatography to screen acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, which were then evaluated and confirmed for anti-Alzheimer activity using PC12 cell model., Results: Six major compounds, namely, calycosin-7-O-β-d-glucoside, pratensein-7-O-β-d-glucoside, formononetin-7-O-β-d-glucoside, calycosin, genistein, and formononetin, with acetylcholinesterase binding affinities were identified and isolated from the raw plant materials via two sets of n-hexane/ethyl acetate/0.2% acetic acid (first-stage counter current chromatography) and n-hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (second-stage counter current chromatography) solvent systems: 1.87:1.0:1.33 and 5.62:1.0:2.42:5.25, v/v/v/v, which were optimised by a mathematical model., Conclusion: Therefore, a useful platform for the large-scale production of bioactive and nutraceutical ingredients was developed herein. With the on-line system developed here, we present a feasible, selective, and effective strategy for rapid screening and identification of enzyme inhibitors from complex mixtures., (© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Objectives: This study aimed to explore associations of lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs) in early pregnancy with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and whether LPCs mediated the associations of bile acids with GDM risk or had interactive effects with bile acids on GDM risk., Design: We conducted a 1:1 nested case-control study (n = 486) from a large prospective pregnant women cohort in urban Tianjin, China. Blood samples were collected at their first antenatal care visit (median at 10th gestational week). LPCs were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Conditional binary logistic regression and restricted cubic spline analysis were used to identify cutoff points of these metabolites for GDM risk., Results: Of the 6 detectable LPCs, LPC14:0 less than 0.24 nmol/mL, LPC15:0 at 0.45 nmol/mL or greater, and LPC18:0 at 18.00 nmol/mL or greater were independently associated with GDM risk. Adjustment for LPC18:0 slightly attenuated odds ratios (ORs) of deoxycholic acid (DCA, ≤ 0.36 nmol/mL) and glycoursodeoxycholic acid (GUDCA, ≤ 0.07 nmol/mL) for GDM, and the correlations of DCA and GUDCA with LPC18:0 were weak. However, the presence of DCA at 0.36 nmol/mL or less greatly amplified the adjusted OR of LPC18:0 at 18.00 nmol/mL or greater alone for GDM from 8.18 (2.51-26.7) up to 17.7 (6.64-47.1), with significant additive interaction. Similarly, the presence of GUDCA at 0.07 nmol/mL or less also greatly amplified the adjusted OR of LPC18:0 at 18.00 nmol/mL or greater alone for GDM from 17.2 (1.77-168) up to 73.8 (12.7-429), with significant additive interaction., Conclusions: LPCs in early pregnancy were associated with GDM risk. Low DCA or GUDCA greatly amplified the effect of high LPC18:0 on GDM, and its molecular mechanism is worth further investigations., (© Endocrine Society 2020. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)