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Abstract Objective The indocyanine green retention rate at 15 min (ICG-R15) is a useful tool to evaluate the functional liver reserve before hepatectomy for liver cancer. Taking ICG-R15 as criteria, we investigated the ability of a machine learning (ML)-based radiomics model produced by Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced hepatic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) image in evaluating functional liver reserve of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Methods A total of 190 HCC patients with CT, among whom 112 also with MR, were retrospectively enrolled and randomly classified into a training dataset (CT: n = 133, MR: n = 78) and a test dataset (CT: n = 57, MR: n = 34). Then, radiomics features from Gd-EOB-DTPA MRI and CT images were extracted. The features associated with the ICG-R15 classification were selected. Five ML classifiers were used for the ML-model investigation. The accuracy (ACC) and the area under curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were utilized for ML-model performance evaluation. Results A total of 107 different radiomics features were extracted from MRI and CT, respectively. The features related to ICG-R15 which was classified into 10%, 20% and 30% were selected. In MRI groups, classifier XGBoost performed best with its AUC = 0.917 and ACC = 0.882 when the threshold was set as ICG-R15 = 10%. When ICG-R15 = 20%, classifier Random Forest performed best with AUC = 0.979 and ACC = 0.882. When ICG-R15 = 30%, classifier XGBoost performed best with AUC = 0.961 and ACC = 0.941. For CT groups, the classifier XGBoost performed best when ICG-R15 = 10% with AUC = 0.822 and ACC = 0.842. When ICG-R15 = 20%, classifier SVM performed best with AUC = 0.860 and ACC = 0.842. When ICG-R15 = 30%, classifier XGBoost performed best with AUC = 0.938 and ACC = 0.965. Conclusions Both the MRI- and CT-based machine learning models are proved to be valuable noninvasive methods for functional liver reserve evaluation.

Abstract Background Weeds are not only economically important but also fascinating models for studying the adaptation of species in human-mediated environments. Aegilops tauschii is the D-genome donor species of common wheat but is also a weed that influences wheat production. How shading stress caused by adjacent wheat plants affects Ae. tauschii growth is a fundamental scientific question but is also important in agriculture, such as for weed control and wheat breeding. Result The present study indicated that shade avoidance is a strategy of Ae. tauschii in response to shading stress. Ae. tauschii plants exhibited growth increases in specific organs, such as stem and leaf elongation, to avoid shading. However, these changes were accompanied by sacrificing the growth of other parts of the plants, such as a reduction in tiller number. The two reverse phenotype responses seem to be formed by systemically regulating the expression of different genes. Fifty-six genes involved in the regulation of cell division and cell expansion were found to be downregulated, and one key upstream negative regulator (RPK2) of cell division was upregulated under shading stress. On the other hand, the upregulated genes under shading stress were mainly enriched in protein serine/threonine kinase activity and carbon metabolism, which are associated with cell enlargement, signal transduction and energy supply. The transcription factor WRKY72 may be important in regulating genes in response to shading stress, which can be used as a prior candidate gene for further study on the genetic regulation of shade avoidance. Conclusions This study sheds new light on the gene expression changes and molecular processes involved in the response and avoidance of Ae. tauschii to shading stress, which may aid more effective development of shading stress avoidance or cultivars in wheat and other crops in the future.

Abstract There are few studies focus on post-neoadjuvant treatment in hormone receptor-positive (HR+)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-)/lymph node-positive (LN+) breast cancer, a multi-center, open-label, randomized, controlled phase III trial was conducted to evaluate pathological response-guided non-cross-resistant adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with HR+/HER2-/LN+ breast cancer who were non-responsive to primary chemotherapy. Patients received four cycles of non-cross-resistant adjuvant chemotherapy plus endocrine therapy (ET), or ET alone. Forty patients responsive to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and with Miller and Payne G4 or G5 and LN- status were assigned to the observation group. Distant disease-free survival was the primary endpoint. The final intention-to-treat analysis comprised 379 patients. After a median follow-up period of 72.4 months, the 5-year distant disease-free survival was 92% and 90% in the chemotherapy plus ET and ET-alone groups, respectively. Comparatively, the observation group showed a trend towards better distant disease-free survival. For patients non-responsive to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, adjuvant non-cross-resistant chemotherapy did not significantly improve distant disease-free survival compared to ET alone.

A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with selected ion monitoring (SIM) method for the precise quantitative and qualitative analysis of 58 volatile components in grape fruits of different varieties using stable isotope labeled internal standard was developed based on the understanding of the mass spectrometric cleavage behavior of special volatile components. The difference in the volatile composition of the tested varieties was explored. After crushing and homogenization, grape samples were extracted by solid phase microextraction (SPME) and analyzed by GC-MS-SIM. The results indicated that this method had good linear relationships within the investigated concentration range with a correlation coefficient (R) greater than 0.995 0 for all analytes expect for isopropanol (equal to 0.967 1). The limits of detection (LODs) for most target compounds were lower than 1.56 μg/kg. The spiked recoveries of only a few volatile components were very low, while those of most volatile components ranged from 60.64% to 129.63% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) less than 19.56%. This method was suitable for qualitative and quantitative analysis of volatile components in grape and other fruits as well as vegetables, with high sensitivity and accuracy. Furthermore, the characteristic volatile components of 12 grape varieties were identified by analyzing the differences in their volatile composition.

Abstract The rapid development of healthcare big data has brought certain convenience to medical research and health management, but privacy protection of healthcare big data is an issue that must be considered in the process of data application. Access control is one of the methods for privacy protection, but traditional access control models cannot adapt to the dynamic, continuous, and real-time characteristics of healthcare big data scenarios. In this paper, we propose an access control model based on risk quantification and usage control (RQ-UCON). The model adds a risk quantification module to the traditional UCON model to achieve privacy protection of medical data. This module classifies risks into direct and indirect risks and quantifies them based on the physician's visit history. The model stores the quantified risk values as subject attributes. The RQ-UCON model uses an improved Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) and penalty factors to predict risk value and to update the risk values of the subject attributes in real-time. The RQ-UCON model uses agglomerative hierarchical clustering to cluster the risk values of physicians within the department, resulting in risk intervals for each physician's operational behavior. Each risk interval is stored as a condition in the RQ-UCON model. Finally, according to the model whether the subject attributes meet the model conditions to determine whether the subject has the corresponding access rights, and according to the risk interval to grant the subject the corresponding access rights. Through the final experiment, it can be seen that the access control model proposed in this paper has a certain control on the excessive access behavior of doctors and has a certain limitation on the privacy leakage of healthcare big data.

The Chinese wheat landrace Kaixianluohanmai (KL) expresses the ph-like phenotype. A major QTL, QPh.sicau-3A (syn. phKL), responsible for this effect has been mapped to chromosome arm 3AL. This study presents some characteristics of homoeologous pairing and recombination induced by phKL. In KL haploids, the level of homoeologous pairing was elevated relative to Ph1 Chinese Spring (CS) haploids. There was a clear preference for A–D pairing and less frequent for A–B and B–D, reflecting the higher levels of affinity between genomes A and D in wheat. The characteristics of pairing were affected by temperature and magnesium ion supplementation. The suitability of phKL for chromosome engineering was tested on three pairs of homoeologues: 2Sv-2B, 2Sv-2D, and 2RL-2BL. The recombination rates were 1.68%, 0.17%, and 0%, respectively. The phKL locus in KL induced a moderate level of homoeologous chromosome pairing and recombination when the Ph1 locus of wheat was present, both in wheat haploids and hexaploids. The Ph1-imposed criteria for chromosome pairing and crossing over were relaxed to some degree, permitting homoeologous crossing over but only between closely related chromosomes; there was no crossing over between more differentiated chromosomes. Therefore, the phKL system (QPh.sicau-3A) can be a useful tool in chromosome engineering of wheat to transfer genes from closely related species with the benefit of reduced genomic chaos generated by the ph1b mutation.

Abstract Background With the measles vaccine coverage rate gradually increasing, adult patients’ epidemiological and clinical characteristics have changed. Aims To analyze the clinical characteristics of adult measles patients in Beijing Youan Hospital. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the electronic medical records of 818 patients diagnosed with measles at Beijing Youan Hospital between June 2010 and October 2021. We divided all hospitalized patients into two demographics groups, using 14 years of age as the cut-off. Results Of the adult inpatients, 110 (74.83%) were aged 20–40. There was an overall peak incidence in 2014, and yearly peaks came in April. Fever, cough, erythema, and Koplik’s spots were present in 79.59%, 82.1%, 99.3%, and 59.8% of the adult group, respectively, compared to 75.26%, 92.0%, 99.9%, and 39.0% of the pediatric group. Decreased lymphocytes and hepatic impairment were common in adults. The adult group’s median level of C-reactive protein was higher than that of the pediatric group (p

Increasing the yield of maize F1 hybrid is one of the most important target for breeders. However, as a result of the genetic complexity and extremely low heritability, it is very difficult to directly dissect the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms of yield, and reports on genetic analysis of F1 hybrid yield are rare. Taking F1 hybrid as the research object and dividing the yield into different affect factors, this approach may be the best strategy for clarifying the genetic mechanism of yield. Therefore, in this study, a maize F1 population consisting of 300 hybrids with 17,652 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) markers was used for genome-wide association study (GWAS) to filtrate candidate genes associated with the four yield-related traits, i.e., kernel row number (KRN), kernel number per row (KNPR), ear tip-barrenness (ETB), and hundred kernel weight (HKW). Combined with the results of previous studies and functional annotation information of candidate genes, a total of six candidate genes were identified as being associated with the four traits, which were involved in plant growth and development, protein synthesis response, phytohormone biosynthesis and signal transduction. Our results improve the understanding of the genetic basis of the four yield-related traits and may be provide a new strategy for the genetic basis of maize yield.

BackgroundThis study aimed to assess the correlation between renal function-related indices and vascular damages among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and normal renal function.MethodsWe screened a cohort of eligible patients with T2DM, ultimately including 826 individuals. Utilizing multifactorial logistic regression, we conducted an in-depth analysis to explore the potential associations between renal function-related indices—specifically BUN, Cr, ALB, ACR, and eGFR—and the incidence of diabetic vascular damage. Additionally, to comprehensively understand the relationships, we employed Spearman correlation analysis to assess the connections between these indicators and the occurrence of vascular damage.ResultsIn this cross-sectional study of 532 patients with carotid atherosclerosis (CA), the prevalence of CA was positively correlated with Cr (53.1%, 72.3%, 68.0%, P

BackgroundThe anticipation of diabetes-related complications remains a challenge for numerous T2DM patients, as there is presently no effective method for early prediction of these complications. This study aims to investigate the association between renal function-related indicators and the occurrence of peripheral neuropathy and retinopathy in individuals diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who currently have normal renal function.MethodsPatients with T2DM who met the criteria were selected from the MMC database and divided into diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) groups, with a total of 859 and 487 patients included, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr), uric acid (UA), urine albumin(ALB), albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and diabetic peripheral neuropathy and retinopathy. Spearman correlation analysis was used to determine the correlation between these indicators and peripheral neuropathy and retinopathy in diabetes.ResultsIn a total of 221 patients diagnosed with DPN, we found positive correlation between the prevalence of DPN and eGFR (18.2, 23.3, 35.7%, p

Triticum boeoticum Boiss. (AbAb, 2n = 2x = 14) is a wheat-related species with the blue aleurone trait. In this study, 18 synthetic Triticum turgidum-Triticum boeoticum amphiploids were identified, which were derived from crosses between T. boeoticum and T. turgidum. Three probes (Oligo-pTa535, Oligo-pSc119.2, and Oligo-pTa713) for multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization (mc-FISH) were combined with genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) to identify chromosomal composition. Seven nutritional indices (anthocyanins, protein, total essential amino acids TEAA, Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu) were measured, and the nutritional components of 18 synthetic amphiploids were comprehensively ranked by principal component analysis (PCA). The results showed that all three synthetic amphiploids used for cytological identification contained 42 chromosomes, including 14 A, 14 B, and 14 Ab chromosomes. The average anthocyanin content was 82.830 μg/g to 207.606 μg/g in the whole meal of the 17 blue-grained lines (Syn-ABAb-1 to Syn-ABAb-17), which was obviously higher than that in the yellow-grained line Syn-ABAb-18 (6.346 μg/g). The crude protein content was between 154.406 and 180.517 g/kg, and the EAA content was 40.193-63.558 mg/g. The Fe, Zn, Mn and Cu levels in the 17 blue-grained lines were 60.55 to 97.41 mg/kg, 60.55-97.41 mg/kg, 35.11 to 65.20 mg/kg and 5.74 to 7.22 mg/kg, respectively, which were higher than those in the yellow-grained line. The contribution of the first three principal components reached 84%. The first principal component was mainly anthocyanins, Fe, Zn and Mn. The second principal component contained protein and amino acids, and the third component contained only Cu. The top 5 Triticum turgidum-Triticum boeoticum amphiploids were Syn-ABAb-11, Syn-ABAb-17, Syn-ABAb-5, Syn-ABAb-8 and Syn-ABAb-4. These amphidiploids exhibited the potential to serve as candidates for hybridization with common wheat, as indicated by comprehensive score rankings, toward enhancing the nutritional quality of wheat.

The intensive use of pesticides in the North China Plain (NCP) has resulted in widespread contamination of pesticides in the local atmosphere, posing risks to air quality and human health. However, the occurrence and distribution of atmospheric pesticides in the NCP as well as their risk assessment have not been well investigated. In this study, 300 monthly samples were collected using passive air samplers with polyurethane foam at ten rural sites with different crop systems in Quzhou county, the NCP, from June 2021 to May 2022. The pesticides were quantified using mass-spectrometric techniques. Our results revealed that chlorpyrifos, carbendazim, and atrazine were the most frequently found pesticides in the air samples, with detection frequencies of ≥ 87 % across the samples. The average concentrations of atmospheric pesticides during spring (7.47 pg m−3) and summer (16.05 pg m−3) were significantly higher than those during autumn (2.04 pg m−3) and winter (1.71 pg m−3), attributable to the intensified application of pesticides during the warmer seasons. Additionally, cash crop sites exhibited higher concentrations (10.26 pg m−3) of atmospheric pesticides compared to grain crop (5.59 pg m−3) and greenhouse sites (3.81 pg m−3), primarily due to more frequent pesticides spraying events in cash crop fields. These findings indicate a distinct spatial–temporal distribution pattern of atmospheric pesticides influenced by both seasons and crop systems. Furthermore, the model-based inhalation risk assessment indicates that inhalation exposure to atmospheric pesticides is unlikely to pose a significant public concern.

Zinc oxide nanowires were synthesized and impregnated with trace amounts of palladium ions by adsorption, which was then employed as a heterogeneous catalyst in the Suzuki reaction. To obtain an in-depth understanding of the structure and properties of the ZnO nanowires and the resultant catalyst, different analysis techniques were performed. The as-synthesized catalyst demonstrated exceptional efficiency in promoting the reaction between aryl halides and arylboronic acids, enabling the achievement of biphenyl derivatives in high yields ranging between 82% and 99%. The analysis conducted using transmission electron microscopy demonstrated the formation of palladium nanoparticles during the reaction, confirming their role as the active species driving the catalytic transformation. Further investigation was carried out to examine the effect of the support on the catalytic activity of the catalyst. The results indicated that the morphology and crystallographic structure of zinc oxide had a significant impact on the catalytic activity of the prepared catalyst. The catalytic performance of PdCl2/ZnONWs, where palladium chloride immobilized on ZnO nanowires, was found to be exceptional. The catalyst demonstrated the ability to be recovered and reused up to three times without a noticeable decline in its catalytic activity. Additionally, the loading of palladium species could be reduced to 7.6 mol part per million. Remarkably, the catalyst achieved a total turnover number of 130,000 and a turnover frequency of 0.75 s−1.

Background: Due to emerging issues such as global climate change and zoonotic disease pandemics, the One Health approach has gained more attention since the turn of the 21st century. Although One Health thinking has deep roots and early applications in Chinese history, significant gaps exist in China's real-world implementation at the complex interface of the human-animal-environment. Methods: We abstracted the data from the global One Health index study and analysed China's performance in selected fields based on Structure-Process-Outcome model. By comparing China to the Belt & Road and G20 countries, the advances and gaps in China's One Health performance were determined and analysed. Findings: For the selected scientific fields, China generally performs better in ensuring food security and controlling antimicrobial resistance and worse in addressing climate change. Based on the SPO model, the “structure” indicators have the highest proportion (80.00%) of high ranking and the “outcome” indicators have the highest proportion (20.00%) of low ranking. When compared with Belt and Road countries, China scores above the median in almost all indicators (16 out of 18) under the selected scientific fields. When compared with G20 countries, China ranks highest in food security (scores 72.56 and ranks 6th), and lowest in climate change (48.74, 11th). Conclusion: Our results indicate that while China has made significant efforts to enhance the application of the One Health approach in national policies, it still faces challenges in translating policies into practical measures. It is recommended that a holistic One Health action framework be established for China in accordance with diverse social and cultural contexts, with a particular emphasis on overcoming data barriers and mobilizing stakeholders both domestically and globally. Implementation mechanisms, with clarified stakeholder responsibilities and incentives, should be improved along with top-level design.

In the context of climate change and human factors, the drought problem is a particularly serious one, and environmental pollution caused by the abuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is increasingly serious. Endophytic fungi can be used as a protection option, which is ecologically friendly, to alleviate abiotic stresses on plants, promote plant growth, and promote the sustainable development of agriculture and forestry. Therefore, it is of great significance to screen and isolate endophytic fungi that are beneficial to crops from plants in special habitats. In this study, endophytic fungi were isolated from Cotoneaster multiflorus, and drought-tolerant endophytic fungi were screened by simulating drought stress with different concentrations of PEG-6000, and the growth-promoting effects of these drought-tolerant strains were evaluated. A total of 113 strains of endophytic fungi were isolated and purified from different tissues of C. multiflorus. After simulated drought stress, 25 endophytic fungi showed strong drought tolerance. After ITS sequence identification, they belonged to 7 genera and 12 species, including Aspergillus, Fusarium, Colletotrichum, Penicillium, Diaporthe, Geotrichum, and Metarhizium. According to the identification and drought stress results, 12 strains of endophytic fungi with better drought tolerance were selected to study their abilities of dissolving inorganic phosphorus and potassium feldspar powder and producing indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). It was found that the amount of dissolved phosphorus in 7 strains of endophytic fungi was significantly higher than that of CK, and the content of soluble phosphorus was 101.98–414.51 μg. ml−1; 6 endophytic fungi had significantly higher potassium solubilization than CK, and the content of water-soluble potassium ranged from 19.17 to 30.94 mg·l−1; 6 strains have the ability to produce IAA, and the yield of IAA ranged between 0.04 and 0.42 mg. ml−1. This study for the first time identified the existence of endophytic fungi with drought tolerance and growth-promoting function in C. multiflorus, which could provide new direction for plant drought tolerance and growth promotion fungi strain resources. It also provides a theoretical basis for the subsequent application of endophytic fungi of C. multiflorus in agricultural and forestry production to improve plant tolerance.

The Quercus variabilis, a deciduous broadleaved tree species, holds significant ecological and economical value. While a chromosome-level genome for this species has been made available, it remains riddled with unanchored sequences and gaps. In this study, we present a nearly complete comprehensive telomere-to-telomere (T2T) and haplotype-resolved reference genome for Q. variabilis. This was achieved through the integration of ONT ultra-long reads, PacBio HiFi long reads, and Hi-C data. The resultant two haplotype genomes measure 789 Mb and 768 Mb in length, with a contig N50 of 65 Mb and 56 Mb, and were anchored to 12 allelic chromosomes. Within this T2T haplotype-resolved assembly, we predicted 36,830 and 36,370 protein-coding genes, with 95.9% and 96.0% functional annotation for each haplotype genome. The availability of the T2T and haplotype-resolved reference genome lays a solid foundation, not only for illustrating genome structure and functional genomics studies but also to inform and facilitate genetic breeding and improvement of cultivated Quercus species.

This paper focuses on addressing the synchronization control problem of memristive chaos through the investigation of a single feedback controller strategy. Our objective is to deploy this strategy on field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) with the aim of bolstering the security and reliability of memristive chaotic synchronization control. Concurrently, we seek to enhance system performance and fulfill the diverse requirements of various applications. Initially, the study utilizes chaos synchronization theory and the Routh–Hurwitz stability criterion to devise a feedback controller with a single input. This controller plays a crucial role in establishing a synchronization system specifically designed for memristive chaos. Subsequently, the FPGA design approach utilizing DSP Builder is employed to create models for both the single-input feedback controller and the memristive chaotic synchronization control system. This approach facilitates the efficient translation of these theoretical concepts into practical digital circuit implementations. Finally, the paper concludes with an experimental analysis that verifies the feasibility and practical applicability of the FPGA circuit design for memristive chaotic synchronization control.

Blood retinal barrier (BRB) damage is an important pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy, and alleviating BRB damage has become a key target for DR treatment. We previously found that Lycopene seed polyphenols (LSP) maintained BRB integrity by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated inflammation. However, it is still unknown whether LSP inhibits retinal neovascularization with abnormal capillaries and its mechanism of action. Here, we employed db/db mice and hRECs to find that LSP increases the level of glycolipid metabolism, maintains the morphology of retinal endothelial cells and inhibits acellular capillary neogenesis. Mechanistic studies revealed that LSP inhibits the NLRP3 inflammasome, reduces cell apoptosis in retinal tissue, increases tight junction protein (TJ) expression, and reduces vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Ve-Cadherin in vivo and in vitro. Collectively, this study finds that LSP inhibits inflammation and angiogenesis to improve BRB function to ameliorate DR.

PurposeGiving birth is the most common reason for hospital admission, with Cesarean delivery being the most frequently performed inpatient surgery. Through a needs assessment and iterative design process involving patients and obstetric anesthesiologists, we previously developed a mobile application, C-Care, for patients undergoing Cesarean delivery. The focus of C-Care is perioperative education and self-monitoring of potential anesthetic complications. This study aimed to obtain feedback on patient engagement with C-Care.MethodWe conducted a prospective cohort study of patients ≥ 18 yr (n = 36) undergoing elective Cesarean delivery. Anonymous usage data were recorded for 30 days. On postoperative days 1-5, participants received daily self-monitoring questionnaires within C-Care. Fourteen days after surgery, participants received an online survey regarding satisfaction and use of C-Care.ResultsThirty-five out of 36 participants visited the application after orientation, with a median [interquartile range (IQR)] age of 32 [31-36] yr. Each participant visited the application a median of 15 [9-31] times over 30 days and completed a median of 3 [2-4] out of five self-monitoring questionnaires. Each participant viewed a median of 4 [2-7] out of eight education topics, with the most viewed patient education topics being "Controlling Pain" and "The First Few Days". Visits to the application were highest in the first week postpartum. Of the 18 respondents who completed the day 14 survey, 83% (n = 15) participants would recommend C-Care to other women, and the median participant satisfaction score was 7.5 out of 10 (range, 2-10).ConclusionMost participants used this mobile application for patient education and self-monitoring after elective Cesarean delivery. Insights into patient engagement with C-Care after Cesarean delivery could help design more effective perioperative mobile telehealth programs.Trial registrationwww.ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03746678); registered 5 November 2018.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease in which atheromatous plaque long-termly accumulates and obstructs the intima of medium and large arteries, causing first severe stenosis and blood flow disorders, and then ischemia and hypoxia in tissues and organs. Nanomedicines have received widespread attention for their unique advantages over conventional drugs in the treatment of atherosclerosis. This article detailedly reviews several nanoparticle- and exosome-based targeted drug delivery systems in anti-atherosclerosis research, briefly describes the synthesis of representative nanomaterials, analyses their targeting properties and outlines the benefits and inherent challenges of nanomedicines. Despite the challenges that need to be addressed and refined, nanoparticles and exosomes used as drug delivery vehiclesin treatments for atherosclerosis hold great promise and are expected to have wider clinical applications.

Abstract Wearable robots have been growing exponentially during the past years and it is crucial to quantify the performance effectiveness and to convert them into practical benchmarks. Although there exist some common metrics such as metabolic cost, many other characteristics still needs to be presented and demonstrated. In this study, we developed an integrated evaluation (IE) approach of wearable exoskeletons of lower limb focusing on human performance augmentation. We proposed a novel classification of trial tasks closely related to exoskeleton functions, which were divided into three categories, namely, basic trial at the preliminary phase, semi-reality trial at the intermediate phase, and reality trial at the advanced phase. In the present study, the IE approach has been exercised with a subject who wore an active power-assisted knee (APAK) exoskeleton with three types of trial tasks, including walking on a treadmill at a certain angle, walking up and down on three-step stairs, and ascending in 11-storey stairs. Three wearable conditions were carried out in each trial task, i.e. with unpowered exoskeleton, with powered exoskeleton, and without the exoskeleton. Nine performance indicators (PIs) for evaluating performance effectiveness were adopted basing on three aspects of goal-level, task-based kinematics, and human–robot interactions. Results indicated that compared with other conditions, the powered APAK exoskeleton make generally lesser heart rate (HR), Metabolic equivalent (METs), biceps femoris (BF) and rectus femoris (RF) muscles activation of the subject at the preliminary phase and intermediate phase, however, with minimal performance augmentation at advanced phase, suggesting that the APAK exoskeleton is not suitable for marketing and should be further improved. In the future, continuous iterative optimization for the IE approach may help the robot community to attain a comprehensive benchmarking methodology for robot-assisted locomotion more efficiently.

Abstract Background As one of the most devastating cancers, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has a short survival time and poor prognosis. Pescadillo ribosomal biogenesis factor 1 (PES1) plays a critical role in the progression of numerous cancers. However, its role and underlying mechanisms in HNSCC remain unclear. Methods A variety of bioinformatic approaches were used to identify the expressions, prognostic and diagnostic value of PES1 in HNSCC. qRT‐PCR, immunofluorescence (IF) assay, western blotting and immunohistochemical (IHC) were used to evaluate the expression of PES1 in HNSCC cell lines and clinical tissues. PES1 was knocked down in TU177 and FaDu cells which have high PES1 expression. The effects of PES1 on cell proliferation and tumour growth in HNSCC were elevated by colony formation, CCK8 assays and tumorigenicity assay in nude mice. The effects on cisplatin (CDDP) sensitivity upon silencing of PES1 were assessed using a patient‐derived xenograft (PDX) model. Results PES1 expression was an independent prognostic factor for HNSCC and negatively associated with the overall survival rate. Silencing of PES1 reduces HNSCC cell proliferation and tumour growth. Moreover, PES1 inhibition significantly sensitises HNSCC cells to cisplatin. Furthermore, we found a PES1 has a high correlation with c‐Myc and plays an essential role in the tumour immune microenvironment. Conclusion Our findings suggest that PES1 is associated with tumour growth and drug resistance and served as a potential cancer marker for diagnosis and a putative therapeutic target for HNSCC.

Abstract Objective Although the tumor mutation burden (TMB) was reported as a biomarker for immunotherapy of various cancers, whether it can effectively predict the survival prognosis in breast cancer patients remains unclear. In this study, the prognostic value of TMB and its correlation with immune infiltration were explored by using multigroup studies. Methods The somatic mutation data of 986 breast cancer patients were obtained from TCGA database. Breast cancer patients were divided into a low-TMB group and a high-TMB group according to the quartile of TMB scores. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified by the “limma” R program. The CIBERSORT algorithm was utilized to estimate the immune cell fraction of each sample. The TIMER database was utilized to evaluate the association between CNVs of immune genes and tumor immune cell infiltration and the prognostic value of the immune cells in breast cancer. Results In breast cancer, TP53, PIK3CA, TTN, CDH1 and other genes were the most important mutated genes. Higher survival rate of patients was found in the low-TMB group. Among the top 10 DEGs, three of them belong to the KRT gene family. GSEA enrichment analysis showed that MAPK, Hedgehog, mTOR, TGF-bate and GnRH signaling pathways were enriched in the low-TMB group. The infiltration levels of the most of immune cells were higher in the low-TMB group (P