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Ning Rong,1 Zhi-Wei Li,1 Jian Yuan,2 Ze-Min Shao,2 Yun Deng,2 De-Sheng Zhu,2,3 Zhong-Wu Sun1 1Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Neurology, Baoshan Branch, Ren Ji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200444, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Neurology, Ren Ji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200127, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Zhong-Wu Sun, Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-13805515857, Email sunzhwu@126.com De-Sheng Zhu, Department of Neurology, Ren Ji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No. 160, Pujian Road, Shanghai, 200127, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-13564719779, Email deshengzhu2008@sina.comObjective: Fasting blood glucose (FBG) is a recognized risk factor for Ischemic Stroke, but little research has examined the interaction among FBG, Platelet Distribution Width (PDW) and the severity of neuronal damage. Thus, the present study constructs a moderated mediation model aimed to elucidate the relationships among FBG, PDW, and NIHSS scores in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS).Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study on 431 AIS patients. Upon hospital admission, we assessed the patients’ NIHSS scores and collected blood samples to measure FBG and PDW levels. The relationship between FBG and NIHSS scores moderated by PDW was analyzed by linear curve fitting analysis, multiple linear regression analysis, and moderated mediation analysis respectively.Results: In the tertile grouping based on FBG, both PDW and NIHSS scores of AIS patients demonstrated an increase corresponding with rising levels of FBG (p< 0.001 for both). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that, the β coefficients (95% CI) for the relationship between FBG and NIHSS scores were 1.49 (1.27– 1.71, p< 0.01) post-adjustment for potential confounders. The β coefficients (95% CI) for the relationship between FBG and PDW were 0.02 (0.01– 0.04, p< 0.01) post-adjustment. Likewise, for the relationship between PDW and NIHSS scores, the β coefficients (95% CI) were 4.33 (3.07– 5.59, p< 0.01) after adjustment. These positive association remained consistent in sensitivity analysis and hierarchical analysis. Smoothed plots suggested that there are linear relationships between FBG and PDW and NIHSS scores respectively. Further mediation analysis indicated that increased PDW significantly (p< 0.01) mediated 5.91% of FBG-associated increased NIHSS scores.Conclusion: This study suggested that FBG levels were associated with NIHSS scores, and the FBG-associated neurological impairment may be partially mediated by PDW. These findings underscore the importance of monitoring FBG and PDW levels in AIS patients, potentially guiding risk intervention strategies.Keywords: acute ischemic stroke, fasting blood glucose, platelet distribution width, multivariate analysis, mediation analysis

Jie-Yu Zhou,1 Cheng-Geng Pan,1 Yang Ye,1 Zhi-Wei Li,1 Wei-Da Fu,2 Bin-Hao Jiang3 1Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The Wenzhou Central Hospital, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, 315000, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Urinary Surgery, Yueqing People’s Hospital, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Bin-Hao Jiang, Department of Urinary Surgery, Yueqing People’s Hospital, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, 325000, People’s Republic of China, Tel/Fax +86-577-15157765226, Email jbh0370@126.comPurpose: We aimed to develop a nomogram to predict prognosis of HR+ HER2- breast cancer patients and guide the application of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy.Methods: We identified 310 eligible HR+ HER- breast cancer patients and randomly divided the database into a training group and a validation group. The endpoint was disease free survival (DFS). Concordance index (C-index), area under the curve (AUC) and calibration curves were used to evaluate predictive accuracy and discriminative ability of the nomogram. We also compared the predictive accuracy and discriminative ability of our nomogram with the eighth AJCC staging system using overall data.Results: According to the training group, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), tumor size, positive lymph nodes and Ki-67 index were used to construct the nomogram of DFS. The C-index of DFS was 0.708 (95% CI: 0.623– 0.793) in the training group and 0.67 (95% CI: 0.544– 0.796) in the validation group. The calibration curves revealed great consistencies in both groups.Conclusion: We have developed and validated a novel and practical nomogram that can provide individual prediction of DFS for patients with HR+ HER- breast cancer. This nomogram may help clinicians in risk consulting and guiding the application of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy.Keywords: nomograms, prognosis, prediction, HR+ HER- breast cancer, chemotherapy

Wang Tang1 &ast;, Zhen-Wei Li1 &ast;, Gui-Qiang Miao2 &ast;, Zhi-Peng Li,1 Tao Gui,1 Chong-Jie Wu,1 Zhen-Yan Li,1 Jie Yang,1 Xiao-Dong Zhao,2 Ning Liu,1 Zhen-Gang Zha,1 Lu-Tian Yao,3 Huan-Tian Zhang1 1Department of Bone and Joint Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510630, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Orthopedics, Foshan Fosun Chancheng Hospital, Foshan, 528010, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Orthopedics, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, 110001, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Lu-Tian Yao; Huan-Tian Zhang, Email ltyao@cmu.edu.cn; zhanghuantian@jnu.edu.cnPurpose: Subchondral insufficiency fracture of the knee (SIFK) is a common cause of knee joint pain that mainly afflicts the elderly. Until now, how a sudden insufficiency fracture of subchondral bone affects the transcriptomic profiles of cartilage in SIFK and OA patients are largely unknown.Methods: Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was used to identify various cell subsets and evaluate transcriptomic differences in cartilage of SIFK and OA patients. In addition, the above findings were confirmed by histological evaluation and immunohistochemical (IHC) staining.Results: We found that the transcriptomic profiles of cartilage in the SIFK patient was completely different from those of normal and OA patients. Accordingly, several novel cell clusters with activation of hypoxia and endochondral ossification signaling were identified in the SIFK cartilage. Chondrocyte trajectories analysis and IHC staining revealed that transcription factors including TCF4 were found to be highly up-regulated during the occurrence of SIFK, which might drive the reactive formation of cartilage and fibrous tissue and the activation of endochondral ossification.Conclusion: This is the first report to elucidate the transcriptomic alterations and distinct cell type subpopulations in the cartilage of SIFK and OA by the use of scRNA-seq, which provides a new insight in the understanding of the initiation and progression of SIFK.Keywords: SIFK, scRNA, TCF4, cartilage, hypoxia

Zhen-Hua Tu,1,&ast; Ping-Bo Jin,1,&ast; Di-Yu Chen,1 Zhi-Yun Chen,1 Zhi-Wei Li,1 Jie Wu,2 Bin Lou,3 Bao-Shan Zhang,4 Lin Zhang,1 Wei Zhang,1 Ting-Bo Liang1,5– 7 1Department of Surgery, Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310003, People’s Republic of China; 2State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Hangzhou, 310003, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Laboratory Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310003, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Nursing, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310003, People’s Republic of China; 5Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pancreatic Disease, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310003, People’s Republic of China; 6Zhejiang Province Innovation Center for the Study of Pancreatic Diseases, Hangzhou, 310003, People’s Republic of China; 7Zhejiang University Cancer Center, Hangzhou, 310003, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Ting-Bo Liang, Department of Surgery, Division of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310003, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 571 8723 6601, Fax +86 571 8707 2577, Email liangtingbo@zju.edu.cnPurpose: To evaluate the response and safety of an inactivated vaccine (Sinovac Life Sciences Co., Ltd., Beijing, China) for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in liver transplant (LTx) recipients from China.Patients and Methods: Thirty-five recipients post LTx from the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine who received inactivated vaccine from June to October 2021 were screened. Information regarding vaccine side effects and clinical data were collected.Results: Thirty-five LTx recipients were enrolled, with a mean age of 46 years, and most patients were male (30, 85.71%). All the participants had a negative history of COVID-19 infection. Predictors for negative response in the recipients were interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) induction during LTx, shorter time post LTx and application of a derivative from mycophenolate acid (MPA). No serious adverse events were observed during the progress of vaccination or after the vaccination.Conclusion: LTx recipients have a substantially partial immunological response to the inactivated vaccine for COVID-19. IL-2R induction during LTx, a shorter time post LTx and the application of a derivative from MPA seem to be predictors for a negative serological immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody response in recipients. The findings require booster vaccination in these LTx recipients.Keywords: liver transplantation, 2019-nCoV vaccination, SARS-CoV-2 infection, disease control, epidemiology, immune responses

The IkappaB kinase (IKK) complex is composed of three subunits, IKKalpha, IKKbeta, and IKKgamma (NEMO). While IKKalpha and IKKbeta are highly similar catalytic subunits, both capable of IkappaB phosphorylation in vitro, IKKgamma is a regulatory subunit. Previous biochemical and genetic analyses have indicated that despite their similar structures and in vitro kinase activities, IKKalpha and IKKbeta have distinct functions. Surprisingly, disruption of the Ikkalpha locus did not abolish activation of IKK by proinflammatory stimuli and resulted in only a small decrease in nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB activation. Now we describe the pathophysiological consequence of disruption of the Ikkbeta locus. IKKbeta-deficient mice die at mid-gestation from uncontrolled liver apoptosis, a phenotype that is remarkably similar to that of mice deficient in both the RelA (p65) and NF-kappaB1 (p50/p105) subunits of NF-kappaB. Accordingly, IKKbeta-deficient cells are defective in activation of IKK and NF-kappaB in response to either tumor necrosis factor alpha or interleukin 1. Thus IKKbeta, but not IKKalpha, plays the major role in IKK activation and induction of NF-kappaB activity. In the absence of IKKbeta, IKKalpha is unresponsive to IKK activators.

Chen-wen Li,1,* Qing Wang,2,* Jing Li,3 Min Hu,1 San-jun Shi,1 Zi-wei Li,1 Guo-lin Wu,1 Huan-huan Cui,1 Yuan-yuan Li,1 Qian Zhang,1 Xiu-heng Yu,2 Lai-chun Lu1 1Department of Pharmacy, Institute of Surgery Research, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, 2College of Pharmacy, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 3Department of Pharmacy, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Wound healing occupies a remarkable place in everyday pathology and remains a challenging clinical problem. In our previous study, we prepared a silver nanoparticle/chitosan oligosaccharide/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA/COS-AgNPs) nanofiber via electrospinning and revealed that it could promote wound healing; however, the healing mechanism remained unknown. Therefore, we aimed to clarify the mechanism underlying the accelerated healing effect of the PVA/COS-AgNPs nanofiber. The TGFβ1/Smad signaling pathway is actively involved in wound healing. Considering the key role of this signaling pathway in wound healing, our preliminary study showed that the TGFβ1 level was significantly increased during the early stage of wound healing. Thus, in this study, hematoxylin–eosin, Masson’s trichrome, immunofluorescent staining, hydroxyproline content, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot analyses were used to analyze the wound healing in a rat model treated with gauze, the PVA/COS-AgNPs nanofiber, and the nanofiber plus SB431542 (an inhibitor of TGFβ1 receptor kinase). The results showed that the PVA/COS-AgNPs nanofiber promoted wound healing and upregulated the expression levels of cytokines associated with the TGFβ1/Smad signaling pathway such as TGFβ1, TGFβRI, TGFβRII, collagen I, collagen III, pSmad2, and pSmad3. Inhibiting this pathway with SB431542 resulted in prevention of the PVA/COS-AgNPs nanofiber-associated salutary effects on the early stage of wound healing and relative cytokines expression. In conclusion, the wound healing effect of the PVA/COS-AgNPs nanofiber involves activation of the TGFβ1/Smad signaling pathway. Keywords: wound healing, electrospinning, nanofiber, silver nanoparticles, TGFβ1, Smad proteins

Ruiying Kang,1 Yan He,1 Yuxiang Yan,1 Zhiwu Li,2 Yeqing Wu,3 Xiaojuan Guo,4 Zhigang Liang,5 Jun Jiang2 1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatics, School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Fengtai Nanyuan Hospital of Beijing, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3Fengtai District Community Health Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Preventive Medicine, School of Environmental and Public Health, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, People’s Republic of China; 5Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China Background: Comorbid depression/anxiety in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients is highly prevalent, affecting both diabetes control and quality of life. However, the best treating method for depression/anxiety in type 2 DM patients is still unclear. This study was conducted to compare the efficacy of paroxetine and agomelatine on depression/anxiety and metabolic control of type 2 DM patients.Methods: A total of 116 depressed, type 2 DM patients were recruited for 12 weeks treatment. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either paroxetine or agomelatine. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale were used to assess depression and anxiety, respectively. Hemoglobin A1c, fasting plasma glucose, and body mass index were assessed at baseline and at the end of the trial.Results: At the end of the trial, there were 34 (60.7%) responders and 22 (39.3%) remissions in paroxetine group; and 38 (63.3%) responders and 26 (43.3%) remissions in agomelatine group. Compared to paroxetine group, lower depression scores were observed in agomelatine group. Fasting plasma glucose and body mass index were not significantly different after 12 weeks treatment between the two groups, but agomelatine group had a significantly lower final hemoglobin A1c level compared to paroxetine group. The two antidepressants had comparable acceptability.Conclusion: These results showed that compared to paroxetine, agomelatine might have some advantages in treating symptoms of depression/anxiety and glycemic control in depressed type 2 DM patients. The clinical applicability of agomelatine shows greater promise and should be explored further. Limited by the relatively small samples, future studies are needed to verify and support our findings. Keywords: paroxetine, agomelatine, depression, diabetes mellitus

Aim: To observe the changes in corneal subepithelial nerve fibers (CNFs) and Langerhans cells (LCs) in patients with type 2 diabetes using corneal laser confocal microscopy (CLCM)., Methods: A total of 60 patients (64 eyes), including 40 patients with type 2 diabetes (DM group) and 20 subjects without diabetes (control group) were included with CLCM. Neuron J plugin of Image J software were used for quantitative analysis of CNF length (CNFL), CNF density (CNFD), corneal nerve branch fiber density (CNBD), main branch length density, branch length density, corneal nerve fiber tortuosity (NT) score, and LCs density. An independent samples t -test to analyze the variability between the two groups was performed, and Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the relationships between CNF and multiple biochemical indicators in the DM group. The predictive power of CNF for type 2 diabetes was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve., Results: There were significant differences in the CNFL, CNFD, and main branch length density between two groups. The results of Pearson correlation analysis showed a significant negative correlation between CNFD and the duration of diabetes as well as triglyceride levels and total cholesterol, and a significant positive correlation between CNFD and serum albumin. In addition, the NT score showed a positive correlation and urea nitrogen, similar to the positive correlation observed between LC density and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels. CNFD showed the highest area under the curve (AUC of ROC) value, followed by main branch length density and CNFL. The AUC of the ROC curve under the logistic regression model also demonstrated good predictive values. The cut-off values of CNFD, CNFL, and main branch length density for diabetes showed 31.25, 18.85, and 12.56, respectively., Conclusion: In patients with type 2 diabetes, there is a notable reduction in both CNFL and CNFD. These measurements can be influenced by various blood biochemical factors. However, the compromised nerve fibers can serve as valuable indicators for predicting the onset of type 2 diabetes and also as biomarkers for detecting diabetic neuropathy and its related complications., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: Meng LR, None; Chen H, None; Chen WQ, None; Gao Y, None; Li ZW, None; Ye Z, None; Li ZH, None., (International Journal of Ophthalmology Press.)

Background: Both Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) manifest in cognitive impairment and gait disorders. The precise similarities and differences in gait characteristics and underlying neuroimaging mechanisms remain unclear., Methods: A total of 399 participants were enrolled: 132 with probable AD, including 98 with mild cognitive impairment due to AD (AD-MCI) and 34 with AD dementia, and 185 with CSVD and 82 healthy controls. CSVD patients with cognitive impairment, including subcortical vascular mild cognitive impairment (svMCI) and subcortical vascular dementia, were grouped as subcortical vascular cognitive impairment (SVCI). Voxel-based morphology analysis assessed grey matter volume (GMV), while cerebral blood flow (CBF) was derived from 3D-arterial spin labelling data. Gait metrics included the timed up and go (TUG) test, dual-task TUG (DTUG) test, Berg balance scale (BBS), dual-task cost (DTC), step length, gait speed, cadence and coefficient of variation of gait. The relationships among structural and perfusion variations, gait metrics and cognitive function were examined., Results: SVCI patients exhibited greater gait impairments and variability than those with AD, while AD patients experienced higher DTC (p < 0.05). These differences were most evident in the MCI stage. In AD, gait speed correlated with GMV in the left middle occipital gyrus (F = 6.149), middle temporal gyrus (F = 4.595), right precuneus (F = 5.174) and other regions (all p < 0.025). In SVCI, gait speed was linked to thalamic GMV (F = 6.004, p < 0.025). Altered CBF in the parietal lobe and precuneus was associated with DTUG (F = 5.672), gait speed (F = 4.347) and BBS (F = 4.153) in AD, while cerebellar CBF related to TUG (F = 6.042), DTUG (F = 4.857) and BBS (F = 7.097) in SVCI (all p < 0.025). In AD-MCI, memory mediated the effect of hippocampal volume on DTC (indirect effect: -2.432, 95% CI [-5.503, -0.438]), while executive function (indirect effect: -2.920, 95% CI [-7.227, -0.695]) and processing speed (indirect effect: -2.286, 95% CI [-5.174, -0.484]) mediated the effect on DTUG. In svMCI, executive function mediated the effect of thalamic volume on step length (indirect effect: 2.309, 95% CI [0.486, 4.685]) and gait speed (indirect effect: 2.029, 95% CI [0.142, 4.588]), while processing speed mediated the effect on step length (indirect effect: 1.777, 95% CI [0.311, 4.021])., Conclusions: Different gait disorder characteristics and mechanisms were observed in AD and CSVD patients. In AD, gait is associated with volume/perfusion in posterior brain regions, whereas in SVCI, it relates to thalamic volume and cerebellar perfusion. Cognitive impairment mediates the effect of hippocampal and thalamic volumes on gait in AD-MCI and svMCI, respectively., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background and Aims: Rhynchophylline (RHY) can alleviate some cognitive flexibility impairment and stereotyped behavior for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Tourette syndrome (TS) patients as one of a key extract and an active ingredient in Ningdong granule (NDG), which is a Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) preparation widely used in the treatment of ADHD and TS children in China; however, the underlying mechanism is not well understood. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate how RHY alleviates hyperactivity and cognitive flexibility impairment while inhibiting inflammatory responses in mice that partly lack dopamine transporter protein (DAT- mice)., Methods: Male DAT- mice were randomly divided into the RHY group (n = 8) and administered RHY (30 mg/kg) in the DAT- group (n = 8) and administered saline (i.p., 10 mL/kg) in wild-type (WT) mice as the WT control group (n = 8). Hyperactivity and cognitive flexibility impairment were evaluated by the open field test (OFT) and the Morris water maze (MWM) test. The levels of the inflammatory factors of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in cortical homogenates were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) after 8 weeks of treatment with RHY. In vitro, primary microglia and astrocytes extracted from the cortices of DAT- neonatal mice and WT neonatal mice were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (1 mg/mL) to induce neuroinflammatory responses and with RHY (20 mM) for 48 h. The levels of the inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-1β, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) in the culture medium were measured at 6 h, 24 h, and 48 h after treatment with LPS and RHY., Results: RHY ameliorated hyperactivity and cognitive flexibility impairment in DAT- mice and inhibited the expression of the inflammatory factors TNF-α, IL-1β, iNOS, and COX-2 in microglia and astrocytes in vitro, and also inhibited the expression of TNF-α and IL-1β in cortical homogenates after 8 weeks of treatment., Conclusion: RHY improved hyperactivity and cognitive flexibility impairment through inhibiting inflammatory responses in DAT- mice., (© 2024 The Author(s). Brain and Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: As a traditional Chinese medicine, Danshen shows potential efficacy for treating ulcerative colitis (UC). However, the bioactive components and mode of action were unclear., Aim of This Study: This paper uses a combination of network pharmacology, serum medicinal chemistry, and gene expression profiling to clarify its possible molecular mechanism of action and material basis., Methods: Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) was utilized to analyze the herbal components and metabolites from the serum of Danshen-treated mice. Gene expression profiles were applied to construct a database of Danshen action targets. Then, active ingredient-target-biological functional module networks were constructed to analyze the mechanism of action. Molecular docking has further confirmed the possibility of its components to the targets., Results: As a result, 193 common targets between 1684 Danshen-related DEGs and 1492 UC targets were determined as the potential targets for Danshen in treatment with UC. Serum pharmacochemistry and target prediction showed that 22 components in serum acted on 777 targets. Intersection with common targets yielded 46 core targets, and an active ingredienttarget- biological functional module network was constructed for analysis. Network prediction and molecular docking results showed that the main action modules were inflammatory response and cell apoptosis, which mainly acted on targets SRC, RELA, HSP90AA1, CTNNB1, STAT3, and CASP3. The main components of Danshen intervention in UC were predicted to include Catechol, 3,9-Dimethoxypterocarpan, 8-Prenylnaringenin, Isoferulic acid, Salvianolic acid C, and Danshensu., Conclusion: The present study provides a scientific foundation for further explicating the mechanisms of Danshen against UC., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

Chirality plays a pivotal role in both the origin of life and the self-assembly of materials. However, the governing principles behind chirality transfer in hierarchical self-assembly across multiple length scales remain elusive. Here, we propose a concise and versatile simulation strategy using the patchy particle chain model to investigate the self-assembly of rods interacting through chiral and aggregation interactions. We reveal that chiral interaction possessing an entropic nature, amplifies the fluctuations and twists in the alignment of rods, while aggregation interaction serves as a foundational platform for aggregation and assembly. When both interactions exhibit moderate absolute and relative values, their synergistic interplay facilitates the chirality transfer from rods to assemblies, resulting in the formation of chiral mesoscale ordered structures. Furthermore, we observe a two-step chirality transfer process by monitoring the formation kinetics of the twisted assemblies. This work not only provides a comprehensive insight into chirality transfer mechanisms, but also introduces a versatile mesoscale simulation framework for exploring the role of chirality in hierarchical self-assembly.

Eleven undescribed monoterpenoid bisindole alkaloids, alstomaphyines A-K (1-11), along with three known analogues were isolated from the leaves and stem bark of the Alstonia macrophylla. Compounds 1-3 were unprecedented dimerization alkaloids incorporating a macroline-type motif with an ajmaline-type motif via a C-C linkage. Their structures and absolute configurations were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculation, and CD exciton chirality method. Compounds 1-3 displayed potential inhibitory bioactivity against AChE with IC 50 values of 4.44 ± 0.35, 3.59 ± 0.18, and 3.71 ± 0.23 μM, respectively. Enzyme kinetic study revealed compounds 1-3 as mixed competitive AChE inhibitors. Besides, compounds 8 and 12-14 exhibited better cytotoxicity against human cancer cell line HT-29 than cisplatin. Flow cytometry data revealed that compounds 8, 13, and 14 significantly induced the HT-29 cells arrest in G0/G1 phase in a concentration-dependent manner., 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 Inc. All rights reserved.)

Tumor neoantigens possess specific immunogenicity and personalized therapeutic vaccines based on neoantigens which have shown promising results in some clinical trials, with broad application prospects. However, the field is developing rapidly and there are currently few relevant review articles. Summarizing and analyzing the status of global personalized neoantigen vaccine clinical trials will provide important data for all stakeholders in drug development. Based on the Trialtrove database, a retrospective analysis was conducted using trial quantity as a key indicator for neo-adjuvant and adjuvant therapy anti-PD-1/PD-L1 clinical trials initiated before the end of 2022. The time trend of newly initiated trials was investigated. The sponsor type, host country, treatment mode, combination strategy, tested drugs, and targeted cancer types of these trials were summarized. As of December 2022, a total of 199 trials were included in the analysis. Among these studies, Phase I studies were the most numerous (119, 59.8%), and Phase I studies have been the predominant study type since 2015. Peptide vaccines were the largest neoantigen vaccines type, accounting for 64.8% of all clinical trials. Based on peptide delivery platforms, the proportion of trials was highest for the DC system (32, 16.1%), followed by LNP (11, 5.5%), LPX (11, 5.5%), and viruses (7, 3.5%). Most vaccines were applied in trials as a monotherapy (133/199, 66.8%), meanwhile combining immunotherapeutic drugs was the most common form for combination therapy. In terms of indications, the largest number of trials involved three or more unspecified solid tumors (50/199, 25.1%), followed by non-small cell lung cancer (24/199, 12.1%) and pancreatic cancer (15/199, 7.5%). The clinical development of personalized neoantigen cancer vaccines is still in the early stage. A clear shift in delivery systems from peptides to DC and liposomal platforms, with the largest number of studies in Asia, collectively marks a new era in the field. The adjuvant or maintenance therapy, and the combination treatment with ICIs are becoming the important clinical development orientation. As research on tumor-immune interactions intensifies, the design, development, and application of neoantigen vaccines are bound to develop rapidly, which will bring a new revolution in the future cancer treatment., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The indolylfulgide systems have been extensively investigated due to their potential applications as photochromic materials. In this work, the photoinduced ring-closure/opening and isomerization reactions of a photochromic indolylfulgide in vacuum and acetonitrile solvent have been investigated by means of MS-CASPT2//CASSCF and QM(MS-CASPT2)//CASSCF/MM. The deactivation mechanisms of indolylfulgide have been proposed based on the optimized structures in the S 0 and S 1 states, S 1 /S 0 conical intersections, and the calculated minimum-energy paths. After excitation into the first singlet excited-state, which is spectroscopically bright in the Franck-Condon point of the E, the photoprocesses proceed toward a nearby S 1 minimum. Then, two possible nonadiabatic relaxation paths exist to repopulate the ground state. In the ring closure reaction, the S 1 E isomer evolves directly into one S 1 /S 0 conical intersection and decays to the ground state with bifurcation toward C or E. In the E → Z tautomerization pathway, the excited system can deactivate to the S 0 state via a distinct conical intersection. The minimum-energy paths of the indolylfulgide revealed that the ring closure reaction in the solvent is more facile to take place than the E → Z isomerization after irradiation of the same E. Furthermore, for the ring opening reaction from the C side, there exists an energy barrier (11.1 kcal/mol) in the S 1 state before arriving at the conical intersection. The computational results showed that the solvent has some influence on the system compared with that in the gas phase. The present work could contribute to comprehending the photoreactions of indolylfulgide and its derivatives in solution.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is an autosomal dominant cardiac disorder characterized by ventricular hypertrophy resulting from the disordered arrangement of myocardial cells, which leads to impaired cardiac function or death. Autophagy (AT) is a biochemical process through which lysosomes degrade and recycle damaged or discarded intracellular components to protect cells against external environmental conditions, such as hypoxia and oxidative stress. AT is closely related to HCM, and thus, serves an important role in myocardial hypertrophy. However, the precise mechanism underlying the regulation of AT in cardiac hypertrophy remains elusive. The present study aimed to examine the role and mechanisms of AT-related genes (ARGs) in HCM through bioinformatics analysis and experimental validation and to identify potential targeted drugs for HCM. In this study, cardiac samples were obtained from healthy individuals and patients with HCM from the GEO database, and screened for differentially expressed ARGs to further investigate their potential interactions and functional pathways. These genes were subjected to functional enrichment analysis to identify potential crosstalk and involved pathways. Based on a protein-protein interaction network, EIF4EBP1, MCL1, PIK3R1, CCND1 and PPARG were identified as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of HCM. Furthermore, 10 components with therapeutic potential for HCM were predicted based on the aforementioned hub genes. The results of bioinformatics analysis were validated using H9c2 cells stimulated with angiotensin II, which represented an in vitro model of cardiac hypertrophy. Overall, the present study demonstrated that the expression levels of ARGs were substantially altered in HCM. Therefore, these genes may be used as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for HCM., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright: © 2024 Qiu et al.)

Objective: To systematically summarize and comparatively analyze the development, establishment and usage of oncology drugs speedy review approaches in China and in the United States between 2012 and 2021. Methods: Based on National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) websites, the development and current status of the speedy review approaches were consulted and summarized. Approved oncology drugs in China and in the United States (87 in China, 118 in the United States) over the past decade were analyzed using chi-square test for group comparison. Results: Five speedy approaches have been established in China and in the United States, three of which are the same, priority review, conditional approval or accelerated approval and breakthrough therapy. The rest two are special review and approval, special examination and approval in China, and fast track and real-time oncology review in the United States. Compared to the United States, speedy review approaches in China set up late (1992 vs. 2005). The overall utilization rates of the oncology drugs speedy review approaches were similar between the China and United States (90.8% vs. 92.4%, P =0.800) in the previous 10 years, and priority review have highest utilization rates in both China and the United States without significant group difference (77.0% vs. 82.2%, P =0.381); relatively low utilization rates of conditional approval (31.0% vs. 44.9%, P =0.041) and breakthrough therapy (2.3% vs. 50.0%, P ＜0.001) were seen in China. 52.9% of new drugs applied for special examination and approval in China and 40.7% of new drugs applied for fast track in the United States. Overall, the priority review both in China and the United States are stable, with a similar average annual utilization rate (84.8% vs. 83.7%); accelerated approval and breakthrough therapies in the United States fluctuate wildly, but the situation is tending towards stability in the last 3 years. Conclusions: Both China and the United States have established a relatively complete accelerated review system, with an overall utilization rate over 90%; China's accelerated review started late, although the overall utilization rate is close to that of the United States. The utilization rates of conditional approval and breakthrough therapy are still relatively low. Flexible usage of speedy review approaches, gaining regulatory recognition to use alternative endpoints, achieving real-time review and guidance are keys to accelerate new drug development in China.

Circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) has numerous applications in optical data storage, quantum computing, bioresponsive imaging, liquid crystal displays, and backlights in three-dimensional (3D) displays. In addition to their competitive optical properties, carbon dots (CDs) benefit from simple and low-cost preparation, facile post-modification, and excellent resistance to photo- and chemical bleaching after carbonization. Combining the superior optical performance with polarization peculiarities through hierarchical structure engineering is imperative for the development of CDs. In this study, hydrophobic interactions of aromatic ligands, which participate in the surface-ligand post-modification process on the ground-state chiral carbon core, are employed to drive the oriented assembly. Furthermore, the residual chiral amides on CDs form multiple hydrogen bonds during gradual aggregation, causing the assembled materials to form an asymmetric bending structure. Superficial ligands interfere with the optical dynamics of the exciton radiation transition and stabilize the excited state of the assembled materials to achieve a circularly polarized signal. The linkage ligands overcome the frequent aggregation-induced quenching phenomenon that present difficulties in conventional CDs, facilitate the assembly of self-supporting films, and improve chiral optical expression. The full-color and white CPL are manipulated by simply adjusting the functional groups of the ligands, which also illustrates the versatility of the post-modification strategy. Finally, large chiral flexible films and multicolor chiral light-emitting diodes based on the stable chiral powder phosphors were constructed, thereby providing feasible materials and technical support for flexible 3D displays., (© 2024 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Hypobaric hypoxia causes altitude sickness and significantly affects human health. As of now, focusing on rats different proteomic and metabolic changes exposed to different hypoxic times at extreme altitude is blank. Our study integrated in vivo experiments with tandem mass tag (TMT)- and gas chromatography time-of-flight (GC-TOF)-based proteomic and metabolomic assessments, respectively. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to long-term constant hypoxia for 40 days or short-term constant hypoxia for three days, and their responses were compared with those of a normal control group. Post-hypoxia, serum marker assays related to lipid metabolism revealed significant increases in the levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides (TG), and total cholesterol (TC) in the liver. In contrast, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels were upregulated in the long-term constant hypoxia cohorts and were significantly reduced in the short-term constant hypoxia cohorts. Furthermore, metabolic pathway analysis indicated that glycerolipid and glycerophospholipid metabolisms were the most significantly affected pathways in long-term hypoxia group. Subsequently, RT-qPCR analyses were performed to corroborate the key regulatory elements, including macrophage galactose-type lectin ( MGL ) and Fatty Acid Desaturase 2 ( FADS2 ). The results of this study provide new information for understanding the effects of different hypobaric hypoxia exposure protocols on protein expression and metabolism in low-altitude animals., 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.)

With the global population continuously rising, efficient bioconversion of inedible agricultural by-products is crucial for human food and energy sustainability. We here propose solid-state fermentation approaches to efficiently convert biopolymers into oligomers/monomers by accelerating the natural degradation process of the versatile Streptomyces sp. strain SCUT-3. Using fish skin as a representative by-product, 54.3 g amino acids and 14.7 g peptides (91 % < 2500 Da) were recovered from 89.0 g protein in 100 g tilapia skin sample by collagenase-overexpressed SCUT-3 for seven days at a 1:4 substrate:liquid ratio. Fish skin collagen hydrolysates exhibited excellent anti-oxidation, anti-hypertension, scratch-repairing, anti-aging, anti-ultraviolet radiation, and anti-inflammation effects on human skin fibroblasts In vitro and zebrafish larvae in vivo, indicating their potential applications in healthcare/skincare and anti-atopic dermatitis. As Laozi said, the divine law follows nature. This study underscores the efficacy of genetically engineered SCUT-3 according to its natural biomass utilization laws in large-scale biopolymer conversion., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest There are no conflicts to declare., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) and decompensated cirrhosis (DC) are life-threatening syndromes that can develop at the end-stage of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Both ACLF and DC are complicated by hepatic and extrahepatic pathogeneses. To better understand the compartment-specific metabolic modulations related to their pathogenesis, HBV-DC, HBV-ACLF patients, and controls (30 each) were analyzed by metabolomics using portal (Port), hepatic vein (Hep), and peripheral (Peri) serum. Compartment ratios of metabolites (Ratio Hep/Port , Ratio Peri/Hep , and Ratio Port/Peri ) were calculated. The liver tissues (10 per group) were analyzed using transcriptomics and metabolomics. An additional 75 patients with ACLF, 20 with DC, and 20 with liver cirrhosis (LC) were used to confirm oxlipid dysregulation. Both multi-omics datasets suggest suppressed energy, amino acid, and pyrimidine metabolism in the ACLF/DC liver. The serum metabolomic variations were contributed primarily by disease rather than sampling compartments, as both HBV-ACLF and HBV-DC patients demonstrated abnormal profiles of amino acids and peptides, indoles, purines, steroids, and benzimidazoles. In ACLF/DC patients, impaired hepatic metabolism resulted in a highly correlated hepatic and portal vein serum metabolome and release of inflammatory lipids and heme metabolites from the liver. HBV-ACLF showed higher Ratio Peri/Hep of extrahepatic inflammatory oxlipids, while HBV-DC patients showed higher Ratio Port/Peri of gut microbial metabolites. An inflammatory oxlipid outburst was confirmed in the early stages of HBV-ACLF. The inflammatory effects of the selected oxlipids were confirmed in monocytes. These findings support a synergy between liver-specific mechanisms and systemic inflammation in ACLF/DC development, and that pro-inflammatory oxlipids are metabolic signatures of early HBV-ACLF.

Chitosan, as a kind of naturally occurring green and degradable material for the preservation of perishable foods, was investigated in this study with the objective of enhancing its preservation performances. Herein, lignin was modified using the solvent fractionation method (modified lignin, ML, including ML1-ML3), while natural clinoptilolite zeolite was modified using the alkali modification method (modified clinoptilolite zeolite, MCZ, including MCZ1-MCZ5). After optimizing the conditions, it was discovered that incorporating both ML3 and MCZ3 into pure chitosan-based membranes might be conducive to fabricate chitosan-based composite membranes for the preservation of perishable foods. As-prepared composite membranes possessed better visible light transmittance, antioxidant activity, and carbon dioxide/oxygen selectivity, resulting in improved preservation effects on the model perishable foods such as bananas, cherry tomatoes, and cheeses. These findings might indicate promising applications for chitosan-based composite membranes with modified lignin and zeolite in the field of eco-friendly degradable materials for the preservation of perishable foods., 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 Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a degenerative disease that caused mortality in people aged >65. Senescence plays a critical role in AAA pathogenesis. Advances in AAA repair techniques have occurred, but a remaining priority is therapies to limit AAA growth and rupture. Our Previous study found cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase 1C (PDE1C) exacerbate AAA through aggravate vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) senescence by downregulating Sirtuin1 (SIRT1) expression and activity. Vinpocetine as a selective inhibitor of PDE1 and a clinical medication for cerebral vasodilation, it is unclear whether vinpocetine can rely on SIRT1 to alleviate AAA. This study showed that pre-treatment with vinpocetine remarkably prevented aneurysmal dilation and reduced aortic rupture in elastase-induced AAA mice. In addition, the elastin degradation, MMP (matrix metalloproteinase) activity, macrophage infiltration, ROS production, collagen fibers remodeling, and VSMCs senescence were decreased in AAA treated with vinpocetine. While these effects were unable to exert in VSMCs-specific SIRT1 knockout AAA mice. Accordingly, we revealed that vinpocetine suppressed migration, proliferation, and senescence in VSMCs. Moreover, vinpocetine reduced SIRT1 degradation by inhibiting lysosome-mediated autophagy. In conclusion, this study indicated that vinpocetine may be as a potential drug for therapy AAA through alleviate VSMCs senescence via the SIRT1-dependent pathway., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Pharmacological Society.)

Guiding and dynamically modulating topological defects are critical challenges in defect engineering of liquid crystals. Here, we employ molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the transition dynamics and relative kinetic stability of defect patterns in two-dimensional nematic Gay-Berne liquid crystals confined within rectangular geometries. We observe the formation of various defect patterns including long-axis, diagonal, X-shaped, composite, and bend configurations under different confinement conditions. The competition between boundary effects and the uniformity of nematic orientation induces the continuous realignment of liquid crystal molecules, facilitating the spatially continuous transformation of defect patterns over time. This transition involves changes in both defect types and their locations, typically initiating from defect regions. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the relative stability of these defect patterns can be effectively controlled by adjusting confinement parameters and external field conditions. Our findings provide fundamental insights into the transition kinetics of defect patterns in confined nematic liquid crystals, thereby enhancing our ability to manipulate topological defects for advanced applications., (© 2024 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.)

Circular RNA (CircRNA)-microRNA (miRNA) interaction (CMI) is an important model for the regulation of biological processes by non-coding RNA (ncRNA), which provides a new perspective for the study of human complex diseases. However, the existing CMI prediction models mainly rely on the nearest neighbor structure in the biological network, ignoring the molecular network topology, so it is difficult to improve the prediction performance. In this paper, we proposed a new CMI prediction method, BEROLECMI, which uses molecular sequence attributes, molecular self-similarity, and biological network topology to define the specific role feature representation for molecules to infer the new CMI. BEROLECMI effectively makes up for the lack of network topology in the CMI prediction model and achieves the highest prediction performance in three commonly used data sets. In the case study, 14 of the 15 pairs of unknown CMIs were correctly predicted., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Recently, the oral oncobacterium Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum), has been linked with ulcerative colitis (UC). Here, we aim to investigate whether Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) can alleviate UC by restoring gut microbiota and eliminating oral-derived F. nucleatum and virulence factor fadA., Method: C57BL/6J mice were randomly divided into a healthy control group (HC), Dextran Sulfate Sodium group (DSS), oral inoculation group (OR), upper FMT group (UFMT), and lower FMT group (LFMT). Disease activity index, body weight, survival rate, and histopathological scores were used to measure the severity of colitis. The function of the intestinal mucosal barrier was evaluated by performing immunohistochemical staining of the tight junction protein Occludin. Real-time PCR was used to assess the relative abundance of the nusG gene and the virulence gene fadA. Cytokine levels were detected by ELISA. Full-length sequencing of 16S rRNA was used to analyze the changes and composition of gut microbiota., Findings: Oral incubation of F. nucleatum further exacerbated the severity of colitis and gut dysbiosis. Peptostreptococcaceae, Enterococcaceae, and Escherichia coli were significantly enriched in OR mice. However, LFMT mice showed an obvious decrease in disease activity and were more effective in restoring gut microbiota and eliminating F. nucleatum than UFMT mice. Bacteroidota, Lachnospiraceae, and Prevotellaceae were mainly enriched bacteria in LFMT mice. In addition, Genera such as Lactobacillus, Allobaculum, and Bacteroidales were found negative correlation with TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. Genera like Romboutsia, Escherichia Shigella, Enterococcus, and Clostridium were found positively correlated with TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6., Conclusions: Oral incubation of F. nucleatum further exacerbates the severity and dysbiosis in DSS-induced colitis mice. Besides, lower tract FMT can ameliorate colitis by restoring the gut microbiota diversity and eliminating F. nucleatum and virulence factor fadA., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Purpose: This current study attempted to investigate whether one-stitch method (OM) of temporary ileostomy influenced the stoma-related complications after laparoscopic low anterior resection (LLAR)., Methods: We searched for eligible studies in four databases including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and CNKI from inception to July 20, 2023. Both surgical outcomes and stoma-related complications were compared between the OM group and the traditional method (TM) group. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was adopted for quality assessment. RevMan 5.4 was conducted for data analyzing., Results: Totally 590 patients from six studies were enrolled in this study (272 patients in the OM group and 318 patients in the TM group). No significant difference was found in baseline information (P > 0.05). Patients in the OM group had shorter operative time in both the primary LLAR surgery (MD = - 17.73, 95%CI = - 25.65 to - 9.80, P < 0.01) and the stoma reversal surgery (MD = - 18.70, 95%CI = - 22.48 to -14.92, P < 0.01) than patients in the TM group. There was no significant difference in intraoperative blood loss of the primary LLAR surgery (MD = - 2.92, 95%CI = - 7.15 to 1.32, P = 0.18). Moreover, patients in the OM group had fewer stoma-related complications than patients in the TM group (OR = 0.55, 95%CI = 0.38 to 0.79, P < 0.01)., Conclusion: The OM group had shorter operation time in both the primary LLAR surgery and the stoma reversal surgery than the TM group. Moreover, the OM group had less stoma-related complications., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Bitterness, as one of the most important physiological sensations in animals, is primarily recognized through the mediation of bitter taste receptors. In recent years, it has been found that these receptors are not only expressed in taste bud cells on the tongue but also in the respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive, reproductive, and nervous systems. They are involved in regulating various fundamental physiological processes and are now considered important targets for the treatment of various diseases. This paper reviewed the structure, classification, distribution, and signaling pathways of bitter taste receptors, their relationship with different diseases, and the role of bitter taste receptors agonists, aiming to provide a basis for scientific research on bitter taste receptors.

The key pathogenesis of atherosclerosis(AS) in traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) lies in the combination of phlegm and stasis due to spleen deficiency. In Western medicine, it is believed that pyroptosis can lead to atherosclerosis, and endoplasmic reticulum stress has been shown to promote pyroptosis. According to the theories of &quot; spleen in correlation with endoplasmic reticulum&quot;,guided by spleen governing transportation and transformation, and endoplasmic reticulum processing proteins, it is believed that the syndrome of phlegm combined with stasis due to spleen deficiency has similarities with the mechanism of macrophage pyroptosis induced by endoplasmic reticulum stress in accelerating the progression of AS. This study explored the correlation between phlegm combined with stasis due to spleen deficiency and pyroptosis induced by endoplasmic reticulum stress, and then analyzed the modern medical mechanisms of phlegm combined with stasis due to spleen deficiency in mediating atherosclerosis. The discussion enriches the theory of spleen in correlation with endoplasmic reticulum, provides research ideas on the prevention and treatment of AS by invigorating spleen,eliminating phlegm, and resolving stasis, and lays a theoretical foundation for the clinical application of spleen-invigorating TCM in the treatment of AS.

The current study aimed to investigate whether previous abdominal surgery (PAS) could affect the outcomes of colorectal cancer (CRC) surgery. We conducted the search strategy in three databases (PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library) from inception to May 26, 2022. The short-term and long-term outcomes were compared between the PAS group and the non-PAS group. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled up. Stata (V.16.0) software was used for data analysis. We included 34,827 patients from 14 studies in the current study. After pooling up all the data, we found that there were higher proportions of overall complications (OR = 1.12, I 2  = 4.65%, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.23, P = 0.01), ileus (OR = 1.96, I 2  = 59.74%, 95% CI 1.12 to 3.44, P = 0.02) and mortality (OR = 1.26, I 2  = 0.00%, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.42, P = 0.00) in the PAS group than the non-PAS group. Patients with a history of PAS had higher risks of overall complications and death following CRC surgery. However, it did not appear to significantly affect the short-term outcomes apart from ileus. Surgeons should raise awareness of patients with a history of PAS, and take steps to reduce postoperative complications and mortality., (© 2024. Italian Society of Surgery (SIC).)

The aim of this study was to compare the clinic outcomes between new single-port laparoscopic appendectomy (NSLA) and conventional three-port laparoscopic appendectomy (CTLA) for patients with acute appendicitis. Patients who were diagnosed with acute appendicitis and underwent appendectomy were retrospectively collected from a single clinical center from September 2021 to June 2023. Baseline characteristics, surgical information, and postoperative information were compared between the NSLA group and the CTLA group. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to find out the predictors of overall complications. A total of 296 patients were enrolled from a single clinical medical center. There were 146 (49.3%) males and 150 (50.7%) females. There were 54 (18.2%) patients in the NSLA group and 242 (81.8%) patients in the CTLA group. After data analysis, we found the patients in the NSLA group had a shorter postoperative hospital stay (P < 0.01) than the CTLA group. The other outcomes including intraoperative blood loss (P = 0.167), operation time (P = 0.282), nature of the appendix (P = 0.971), and overall complications (P = 0.543) were not statistically different. After univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis, we found that age (P = 0.018, OR = 1.039, 95% CI = 1.007-1.072), neutrophil percentage (P = 0.018, OR = 1.070, 95% CI = 1.011-1.132), and fever (P = 0.019, OR = 6.112, 95% CI = 1.340-27.886) were the predictors of overall complications. However, the surgical procedure (NSLA versus CTLA) was not a predictor of overall complications (P = 0.376, OR = 1.964, 95% CI = 0.440-8.768). Compared with CTLA, there was no significant increase in postoperative overall complications with NSLA, making it a safe and feasible new surgical procedure. More studies are needed to evaluate the long-term results., (© 2024. Italian Society of Surgery (SIC).)

Gel permeation chromatography coupled with light scattering (GPC-LS) is among the most common methods for determining the molar masses of polymers. GPC-LS is widely used in polymer science research and has been adopted for many industrial applications owing to its high sensitivity, accuracy, and precision. The determination of polymer molar masses using GPC-LS is an important experimental component of the "Polymer Physics Experiments" course. However, the present GPC-LS experimental teaching content tends to be overly simplistic and lacking in depth. Herein, the original experimental content is expanded and multiple sets of experiments are redesigned: (1) Using commercial polystyrene as an experimental sample, the molar mass, molar mass distribution, radius of gyration, and other molecular structure parameters are determined using GPC-LS; (2) Using two polyacrylonitriles with similar molecular structure parameters, subtle differences in the molar mass distributions of the samples are explored using differential mass distribution curves; (3) By comparing the chromatograms of a series of polyethylene glycols with different molar masses, the effect of molar mass on chromatographic peaks is investigated; and (4) For three different polymers (polyacrylonitrile, poly(methyl methacrylate), and poly( β -cyclodextrin)), the polymer chain conformations are analyzed using conformation plots (i.e., radius of gyration vs. molar mass). In addition, the experimental teaching method is modified to convert passive learning into active learning, thereby improving the students' self-directed learning ability. This experimental teaching reform will help students obtain a more comprehensive understanding of GPC-LS principles and applications, stimulate their enthusiasm for learning, and improve the teaching quality of the experimental course.

Li-O 2 batteries (LOBs) possess the highest theoretical gravimetric energy density among all types of secondary batteries, but they are still far from practical applications. The poor rate performance resulting from the slow mass transfer is one of the primary obstacles in LOBs. To solve this issue, a rotating cathode with periodic changes in the electrolyte layer thickness is designed, decoupling the maximum transfer rate of Li + and O 2 . During rotation, the thinner electrolyte layer on the cathode facilitates the O 2 transfer, and the thicker electrolyte layer enhances the Li + transfer. As a result, the rotating cathode enables the LOBs to undergo 58 cycles at 2.5 mA cm -2 and discharge stably even at a high current density of 7.5 mA cm -2 . Besides, it also makes the batteries exhibit a large discharge capacity of 6.8 mAh cm -2 , and the capacity decay is much slower with increasing current density. Notably, this rotating electrode holds great promise for utilization in other electrochemical cells involving gas-liquid-solid triple-phase interfaces, suggesting a viable approach to enhance the mass transfer in such systems., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)