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BackgroundThe Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) is a straightforward and objective tool for nutritional screening in older patients and has been demonstrated to possess prognostic predictive value in several diseases. Nonetheless, there is a lack of research on the nutritional risk associated with brain abscess in the older. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of nutritional risk among these patients by GNRI and to investigate its potential prognostic value for clinical outcomes.Materials and methodsFrom August 2019 to April 2023, 100 older patients diagnosed with brain abscess were enrolled in this single-center prospective cohort study, which evaluated the prognostic value of the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) in elderly brain abscess patients. Data collected included demographic, and clinical characteristics at admission and calculated the GNRI, and the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) score 6 months post-discharge. A GOS score of 5 was considered indicative of a good recovery, whereas scores ranging from 1 to 4 were classified as poor recovery.ResultsThe results revealed that 48% of older brain abscess patients were at risk of malnutrition according to the GNRI. These patients had significantly higher post-admission C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (p = 0.017), more comorbidities (p

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a chronic zoonotic disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis. A large number of cattle are infected with bTB every year, resulting in huge economic losses. How to control bTB is an important issue in the current global livestock economy. In this study, the original transcriptome sequences related to this study were obtained from the dataset GSE192537 by searching the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Our differential gene analysis showed that there were obvious biological activities related to immune activation and immune regulation in the early stage of bTB. Immune-related biological processes were more active in the early stage of bTB than in the late. There were obvious immune activation and immune cell recruitment in the early stage of bTB. Regulations in immune receptors are associated with pathophysiological processes of the early stage of bTB. A gene module consisting of 236 genes significantly related to the early stage of bTB was obtained by weighted gene co-expression network analysis, and 18 hub genes were further identified as potential biomarkers or therapeutic targets. Finally, by random forest algorithm and logistic regression modeling, FCRL1 was identified as a representative mRNA marker in early bTB blood. FCRL1 has the potential to be a diagnostic biomarker in early bTB.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) has caused substantial damage to the pig industry. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) were found to play crucial roles in modulating the pathogenesis of PRRS virus (PRRSV). In the present study, we revealed that PRRSV induced let-7f-5p to influence lipid metabolism to regulate PRRSV pathogenesis. A transcriptome analysis of PRRSV-infected PK15CD163 cells transfected with let-7f-5p mimics or negative control (NC) generated 1718 differentially expressed genes, which were primarily associated with lipid metabolism processes. Furthermore, the master regulator of lipogenesis SREBP2 was found to be directly targeted by let-7f-5p using a dual-luciferase reporter system and Western blotting. The findings demonstrate that let-7f-5p modulates lipogenesis by targeting SREBP2, providing novel insights into miRNA-mediated PRRSV pathogenesis and offering a potential antiviral therapeutic target.

Abstract An insufficient energy supply to intestinal epithelial cells decreases production performance in weaned piglets. Triglycerides are the main energy source for intestinal epithelial cells in piglets. The present study aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of valine supplementation on triglyceride synthesis in porcine intestinal epithelial (IPEC-J2) cells. Valine supplementation in the medium significantly increased the content of triglycerides, fat droplets, and long-chain fatty acids (C17:0, C18:0, C20:0, C18:1, C20:1, and C22:1) (P

Precisely describing the formation and evolution rules of coal-rock fracturing crack have great value on reservoir fracturing improvement and highly efficient mining of coal bed methane well. In this paper, a non-linear dynamic method is used to study crack damage evolution behavior of coal-rock fracturing. Considering distribution characteristics of natural cracks in coal-rock, and based on damage mechanics, a mathematical model on stress around the tip of coal-rock fracturing crack and crack evolution is developed. Micro-crack amounts, circumferential stress, and axial stress at the crack tip of coal-rock fracturing crack evolution process are used as characteristic indicators to describe crack evolutionary. C-C method is chosen to reconstruct the phase space of coal-rock fracturing crack evolution. Correlation dimension, Lyapunov index, and Kolmogorov entropy are introduced as chaos characteristic quantities of crack evolution system, and the process of coal-rock fracturing crack damage evolution could be calculated and described. Coal-rock mass of Zhangchen mining area in Heilongjiang, China was used as a research object, and the results show that as the radial stress increases, the Kolmogorov entropy and the degree of chaos decrease; also, as the circumferential stress increases, the Kolmogorov entropy increases, and a higher degree of chaos is obtained; increasing the number of micro-cracks evolution raises Kolmogorov entropy up to a critical value, and then the Kolmogorov entropy drops, which means the chaotic degree decreases. The results calculated show that crack formation is a damage evolution process which has chaos characteristics. Finally, we provided a new way for further research on coal-rock fracturing crack evolution regularities.

The evolution of coal-rock fracturing system has complex nonlinear and dynamic features. The deformation feature of coal-rock fracturing and evolution rules of coal-rock crack are accurately represented, which have great value on conducting the research of coal-rock permeability feature and solving the problem of coal bed gas production. In this paper, mathematical model of crack evolution was established. Phase space was restructured by C-C method. Micro-crack amount, axial stress and circumferential stress of crack tip were used as study parameters. Correlation dimension, maximum Lyapunov index and Kolmogorov entropy were used as chaos characteristic quantities of crack evolution system. By calculating and analyzing characteristic quantities, results show that crack evolution behaviour has chaos characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TwHF) is a Chinese herbal medicine with immunosuppressive effects and an established history of use in the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. We have carried out a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCTs which assessed the effectiveness of TwHF in the treatment for idiopathic refractory nephrotic syndrome (IRNS). After reading the full text, only three RCTs or quasi-RCTs meeting our inclusion criteria were selected. Our meta-analysis indicated that TwHF has beneficial effects on the remission of IRNS. There was no significant publication bias in the meta-analysis studies. However, studies with a larger sample size and including patients with both a mild and severe histopathological change involvement separately are needed to assess the effects of TwHF in IRNS patients before exact conclusions can be drawn. Copyright © 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]