Impact of Various Ration Energy Levels on the Slaughtering Performance, Carcass Characteristics, and Meat Qualities of Honghe Yellow Cattle.

Consumers are increasing their daily demand for beef and are becoming more discerning about its nutritional quality and flavor. The present objective was to evaluate how the ration energy content (combined net energy, Nemf) impacts the slaughter performance, carcass characteristics, and meat qualities of Honghe yellow cattle raised in confinement. Fifteen male Honghe yellow cattle were divided into three groups based on a one-way design: a low-energy group (LEG, 3.72 MJ/kg), a medium-energy group (MEG, 4.52 MJ/kg), and a high-energy group (HEG, 5.32 MJ/kg). After a period of 70 days on these treatments, the animals were slaughtered and their slaughter performance was determined, and the longissimus dorsi muscle (LD) and biceps femoris (BF) muscles were gathered to evaluate meat quality and composition. Increasing the dietary energy concentration led to marked improvements (p < 0.05) in the live weight before slaughter (LWBS), weight of carcass, backfat thickness, and loin muscle area. HEG also improved the yield of high-grade commercial cuts (13.47% vs. 10.39%) (p < 0.05). However, meat quality traits were not affected by treatment except for shear force, which was affected by dietary energy. A significant improvement (p < 0.05) in the intramuscular fat (IMF) content was observed in the HEG. Little effect on the amino acid profile was observed (p > 0.05), except for a tendency (p = 0.06) to increase the histidine concentration in the BF muscle. Increasing dietary energy also reduced C22:6n-3 and saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and enhanced C18:1 cis-9 and monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs, p < 0.05). Those results revealed that increasing energy levels of diets could enhance slaughter traits and affect the meat quality and fatty acid composition of different muscle tissues of Honghe yellow cattle. These results contribute to the theoretical foundation to formulate nutritional standards and design feed formulas for the Honghe yellow cattle.

Lanthanide Inorganic Nanoparticles Enhance Semiconducting Polymer Nanoparticles Afterglow Luminescence for In Vivo Afterglow/Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Dual/multimodal imaging strategies are increasingly recognized for their potential to provide comprehensive diagnostic insights in cancer imaging by harnessing complementary data. This study presents an innovative probe that capitalizes on the synergistic benefits of afterglow luminescence and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), effectively eliminating autofluorescence interference and delivering a superior signal-to-noise ratio. Additionally, it facilitates deep tissue penetration and enables noninvasive imaging. Despite the advantages, only a limited number of probes have demonstrated the capability to simultaneously enhance afterglow luminescence and achieve high-resolution MRI and afterglow imaging. Herein, we introduce a cutting-edge imaging platform based on semiconducting polymer nanoparticles (PFODBT) integrated with NaYF4@NaGdF4 (Y@Gd@PFO-SPNs), which can directly amplify afterglow luminescence and generate MRI and afterglow signals in tumor tissues. The proposed mechanism involves lanthanide nanoparticles producing singlet oxygen (1O2) upon white light irradiation, which subsequently oxidizes PFODBT, thereby intensifying afterglow luminescence. This innovative platform paves the way for the development of high signal-to-background ratio imaging modalities, promising noninvasive diagnostics for cancer.

Microfluidic Biochips for Single-Cell Isolation and Single-Cell Analysis of Multiomics and Exosomes.

Single-cell multiomic and exosome analyses are potent tools in various fields, such as cancer research, immunology, neuroscience, microbiology, and drug development. They facilitate the in-depth exploration of biological systems, providing insights into disease mechanisms and aiding in treatment. Single-cell isolation, which is crucial for single-cell analysis, ensures reliable cell isolation and quality control for further downstream analyses. Microfluidic chips are small lightweight systems that facilitate efficient and high-throughput single-cell isolation and real-time single-cell analysis on- or off-chip. Therefore, most current single-cell isolation and analysis technologies are based on the single-cell microfluidic technology. This review offers comprehensive guidance to researchers across different fields on the selection of appropriate microfluidic chip technologies for single-cell isolation and analysis. This review describes the design principles, separation mechanisms, chip characteristics, and cellular effects of various microfluidic chips available for single-cell isolation. Moreover, this review highlights the implications of using this technology for subsequent analyses, including single-cell multiomic and exosome analyses. Finally, the current challenges and future prospects of microfluidic chip technology are outlined for multiplex single-cell isolation and multiomic and exosome analyses.

Molecular and immunological characteristics of postoperative relapse in lymph node-positive esophageal squamous cell cancer.

BACKGROUND: The molecular and immunological characteristics of primary tumors and positive lymph nodes in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) are unknown and the relationship with recurrence is unclear, which this study attempted to explore. METHODS: A total of 30 ESCC patients with lymph node positive (IIB-IVA) were enrolled. Among them, primary tumor and lymph node specimens were collected from each patient, and subjected to 551-tumor-targeted DNA sequencing and 289-immuno-oncology RNA panel sequencing to identify the different molecular basis and immunological features, respectively. RESULTS: The primary tumors exhibited a higher mutation burden than lymph nodes (p < 0.001). One-year recurrent ESCC exhibited a higher Mucin16 (MUC16) mutation rate (p = 0.038), as well as univariate and multivariate analysis revealed that MUC16 mutation is independent genetic factor associated with reduced relapse-free survival (univariate, HR: 5.39, 95% CI: 1.67-17.4, p = 0.005; multivariate, HR: 7.36, 95% CI: 1.79-30.23, p = 0.006). Transcriptomic results showed non-relapse group had higher cytolytic activity (CYT) score (p = 0.025), and was enriched in the IFN-α pathway (p = 0.036), while those in the relapsed group were enriched in the TNF-α/NF-κB (p = 0.001) and PI3K/Akt pathway (p = 0.014). CONCLUSION: The difference in molecular characteristics between primary lesions and lymph nodes may be the cause of the inconsistent clinical outcomes. Mutations of MUC16 and poor immune infiltration are associated with rapid relapse of nodes-positive ESCC.

Deficiency of leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 aggravates thioacetamide-induced acute liver failure and hepatic encephalopathy in mice.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is closely associated with inflammatory responses. However, as a crucial regulator of the immune and inflammatory responses, the role of leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) in the pathogenesis of HE remains unraveled. Herein, we investigated this issue in thioacetamide (TAA)-induced HE following acute liver failure (ALF). METHODS: TAA-induced HE mouse models of LRRK2 wild type (WT), LRRK2 G2019S mutation (Lrrk2G2019S) and LRRK2 knockout (Lrrk2-/-) were established. A battery of neurobehavioral experiments was conducted. The biochemical indexes and pro-inflammatory cytokines were detected. The prefrontal cortex (PFC), striatum (STR), hippocampus (HIP), and liver were examined by pathology and electron microscopy. The changes of autophagy-lysosomal pathway and activity of critical Rab GTPases were analyzed. RESULTS: The Lrrk2-/--HE model reported a significantly lower survival rate than the other two models (24% vs. 48%, respectively, p < 0.05), with no difference found between the WT-HE and Lrrk2G2019S-HE groups. Compared with the other groups, after the TAA injection, the Lrrk2-/- group displayed a significant increase in ammonium and pro-inflammatory cytokines, aggravated hepatic inflammation/necrosis, decreased autophagy, and abnormal phosphorylation of lysosomal Rab10. All three models reported microglial activation, neuronal loss, disordered vesicle transmission, and damaged myelin structure. The Lrrk2-/--HE mice presented no severer neuronal injury than the other genotypes. CONCLUSIONS: LRRK2 deficiency may exacerbate TAA-induced ALF and HE in mice, in which inflammatory response is evident in the brain and aggravated in the liver. These novel findings indicate a need of sufficient clinical awareness of the adverse effects of LRRK2 inhibitors on the liver.

Metabolomic analysis, extraction, purification and stability of the anthocyanins from colored potatoes.

Colored potatoes have many health benefits because they are rich in anthocyanins. However, the constituent and property of anthocyanins in colored potatoes have not been systematically studied yet. Herein, metabolomic analysis was carried out to investigate the chemical composition of anthocyanins in the four different colored potatoes. After that, the extract and purification conditions, and the stability of the anthocyanins were further studied. The results indicated that the four colored potatoes contained abundant of polyphenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins. Cyanidin, delphinidin, and malvidin were identified as the major anthocyanidins in purple potatoes, whereas red potatoes were mainly consisted of pelargonidin and its derivatives. 84.47 mg C3GE/100 g DW of anthocyanins was obtained at the optimal conditions, which could be effectively purified macroporous resin of D101. Moreover, the anthocyanins were sensitive to pH, temperature, light, redox agents, and divalent or trivalent metal ions, but stable to sugars and univalent metal ions.

The effect of body mass index on stroke prognosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 32 cohort studies with 330353 patients.

BACKGROUND: Many studies have explored the impact of body mass index (BMI) on stroke prognosis, yet findings remain inconsistent. AIMS: The aims of this study were to conduct a systematic review and meta-analyses to summarize the existing evidence on BMI and stroke outcomes. METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, CBM, Wanfang Database and VIP Database were systematically searched from inception to Jan.1st, 2023. Cohort studies were included if they reported on a population of patients with stroke, evaluated BMI on stroke outcomes (mortality/recurrence/score of mRs) and reported original data. Data extraction and quality assessment were independently undertaken by two reviewers. Stata 16.0 software was used for meta-analysis. RESULTS: 32 studies involving 330,353 patients (5 Chinese language articles) were included in the analysis. The proportion of underweight, overweight, and obese patients was 1.85%, 18.2%, and 15.6%, respectively. Compared with normal weight, being underweight was associated with an increased risk of mortality (RR 1.78, 95% CI 1.60-1.96), poor functional outcomes defined as modified Rankin scale ≥3 (RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.22-1.45), and stroke recurrence (RR 1.19, 95% CI 1.04-1.37). Being overweight but not obese was associated with reduced mortality (RR 0.81, 95% CI 0.74-0.89) and better functional outcomes (RR 0.92, 95% CI 0.89-0.96), but did not alter the risk of stroke recurrence (RR 1.03, 95% CI 0.90-1.17). Obesity was associated with lower risk of mortality (RR 0.76, 95% CI 0.72-0.81), and better functional outcomes (RR 0.89, 95% CI 0.84-0.94). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that in patients with stroke, being underweight is associated with an increased risk of mortality, poor functional outcomes, and stroke recurrence. In contrast, being overweight but not obese, or being obese, was associated with a decreased risk of mortality and better functional outcomes. This are consistent with the obesity paradox in stroke, whereby obesity increases stroke risk in the general population but is associated with improved outcome in patients suffering stroke.Key Words body mass index; stroke; prognosis; meta-analysis.

Prevalence and influencing factors of patient delay in stroke patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Determine the prevalence and influencing factors of patient delay in stroke patients and explore variation in prevalence by country and delayed time. METHODS: PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM), Weipu database, and Wanfang database were comprehensively searched for observational studies from inception to April, 2023. The pooled prevalence, odds ratio (OR), and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated with Stata 16.0 software. RESULTS: In total, 2721 articles were screened and data from 70 studies involving 85,468 subjects were used in meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of patient delay in stroke patients was 59% (95% CI, 0.54-0.64). The estimates of pooled prevalence calculated for African, Asian, and European patient delay in stroke patients were 55% (0.29-0.81), 61% (0.56-0.66), and 49% (0.34-0.64).According to the patient delay time, the prevalence of 6 h, 5 h, 4.5 h, 3.5 h, 3 h and 2 h were 54% (0.47-0.61), 73% (0.61-0.86), 60% (0.49-0.71), 81% (0.68-0.93), 52% (0.42-0.62), 63% (0.19-1.07). Distance from the place of onset to the hospital > 10 km [OR=2.49, 95%CI (1.92, 3.24)], having medical insurance [OR = 0.45, 95%CI (0.26,0.80)], lack of stroke-related knowledge [OR = 1.56, 95%CI (1.08,2.26)], education level below junior high school [OR = 1.69, 95%CI (1.22,2.36)], non-emergency medical services (Non-EMS) [OR = 2.10, 95%CI (1.49,2.97)], living in rural areas [OR = 1.54, 95%CI (1.15,2.07)], disturbance of consciousness [OR = 0.60, 95%CI (0.39,0.93)], history of atrial fibrillation [OR = 0.53, 95%CI (0.47,0.59)], age ≥ 65 years [OR = 1.18, 95%CI (1.02,1.37)], National institutes of health stroke scale (NIHSS) ≤ 4 points [OR= 2.26, 95%CI (1.06,4.79)]were factors for patient delay in stroke patients. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of patient delay in stroke patients is high, we should pay attention to the influencing factors of patient delay in stroke patients and provide a theoretical basis for shortening the treatment time of stroke patients.

Strain rate-dependent failure mechanics of the intervertebral disc under tension/compression and constitutive analysis.

BACKGROUND: The intervertebral disc exhibits not only strain rate dependence (viscoelasticity), but also significant asymmetry under tensile and compressive loads, which is of great significance for understanding the mechanism of lumbar disc injury under physiological loads. OBJECTIVE: In this study, the strain rate sensitive and tension-compression asymmetry of the intervertebral disc were analyzed by experiments and constitutive equation. METHOD: The Sheep intervertebral disc samples were divided into three groups, in order to test the strain rate sensitive mechanical behavior, and the internal displacement as well as pressure distribution. RESULTS: The tensile stiffness is one order of magnitude smaller than the compression stiffness, and the logarithm of the elastic modulus is approximately linear with the logarithm of the strain rate, showing obvious tension-compression asymmetry and rate-related characteristics. In addition, the sensitivity to the strain rate is the same under these two loading conditions. The stress-strain curves of unloading and loading usually do not coincide, and form a Mullins effect hysteresis loop. The radial displacement distribution is opposite between the anterior and posterior region, which is consistent with the stress distribution. By introducing the damage factor into ZWT constitutive equation, the rate-dependent viscoelastic and weakening behavior of the intervertebral disc can be well described.

Simulated lunar microgravity transiently arrests growth and induces osteocyte-chondrocyte lineage differentiation in human Wharton's jelly stem cells.

Human Wharton's jelly stem cells (hWJSCs) are multipotent stem cells that are extensively employed in biotechnology applications. However, the impact of simulated lunar microgravity (sµG) on the growth, differentiation, and viability of this cell population is incompletely characterized. We aimed to determine whether acute (72 h) exposure to sµG elicited changes in growth and lineage differentiation in hWJSCs and if putative changes were maintained once exposure to terrestrial gravity (1.0 G) was restored. hWJSCs were cultured under standard 1.0 G conditions prior to being passaged and cultured under sµG (0.16 G) using a random positioning machine. Relative to control, hWJSCs cultured under sµG exhibited marked reductions in growth but not viability. Cell population expression of characteristic stemness markers (CD 73, 90, 105) was significantly reduced under sµG conditions. hWJSCs had 308 significantly upregulated and 328 significantly downregulated genes when compared to 1.0 G culture conditions. Key markers of cell replication, including MKI67, were inhibited. Significant upregulation of osteocyte-chondrocyte lineage markers, including SERPINI1, MSX2, TFPI2, BMP6, COMP, TMEM119, LUM, HGF, CHI3L1 and SPP1, and downregulation of cell fate regulators, including DNMT1 and EZH2, were detected in sµG-exposed hWJSCs. When returned to 1.0 G for 3 days, sµG-exposed hWJSCs had accelerated growth, and expression of stemness markers increased, approaching normal (i.e. 95%) levels. Our data support earlier findings that acute sµG significantly reduces the cell division potential of hWJSCs and suggest that acute sµG-exposure induces reversible changes in cell growth accompanied by osteocyte-chondrocyte changes in lineage differentiation.

Predictors of Inadequate Serum Urate Response to Low-Dose Febuxostat in Male Patients with Gout.

Objective: This study aimed to understand predictors of inadequate response (IR) to low-dose febuxostat treatment based on clinical variables. Methods: We pooled data from 340 patients of an observational cohort and two clinical trials who received febuxostat 20 mg/day for at least 3 months. IR was defined as failure to reach the target serum urate level (sUA<6 mg/dL) at any time point during 3 months treatment. The potential predictors associated with short- or mid-term febuxostat IR after pooling the three cohorts were explored using mixed-effect logistic analysis. Machine learning models were performed to evaluate the predictors for IR using the pooled data as the discovery set and validated in an external test set. Results: Of the 340 patients, 68.9% and 51.8% were non-responders to low-dose febuxostat during short- and mid-term follow-up, respectively. Serum urate and triglyceride (TG) levels were significantly associated with febuxostat IR, but were also selected as significant features by LASSO analysis combined with age, BMI, and C-reactive protein (CRP). These five features in combination, using the best-performing stochastic gradient descent classifier, achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.873 (95% CI [0.763, 0.942]) and 0.706 (95% CI [0.636, 0.727]) in the internal and external test sets, respectively, to predict febuxostat IR. Conclusion: Response to low-dose febuxostat is associated with early sUA improvement in individual patients, as well as patient age, BMI, and levels of TG and CRP.

Study on curve optimization and structural safety effect of south roof of solar greenhouse in China.

To maximize the use of solar energy and increase the building area of solar greenhouses in China, a light radiation model for solar greenhouses is established. This model integrates previous research results with the solar motion principle, meteorological data and the optical properties of materials. The results indicate that optimizing the structural curve of the south roof of the greenhouse improves both internal land utilization and solar capture. After optimization, the internal land utilization rate of the solar greenhouse increased by 42 m2, with a respective 15.2 and 0.78% increase in lighting on the southern roof and ground. The light interception by the back wall of the greenhouse was reduced by 0.67%, while the total light interception increased by 2.22%. The research results identify the optimal shoulder height (0.7 m) and overall height (2 m) for the second-generation solar greenhouse in Liaoshen. The optimal curve functions Y 1 and Y 2 for the south roofs of greenhouses are calculated according to the actual construction requirements. This article verifies the structural safety of the solar greenhouse after renovation and shows that optimizing the shoulder height increases the structural stability and safety of the greenhouse.

Regulation of TMEM100 expression by epigenetic modification, effects on proliferation and invasion of esophageal squamous carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a prevalent malignancy with a high morbidity and mortality rate. TMEM100 has been shown to be suppressor gene in a variety of tumors, but there are no reports on the role of TMEM100 in esophageal cancer (EC). AIM: To investigate epigenetic regulation of TMEM100 expression in ESCC and the effect of TMEM100 on ESCC proliferation and invasion. METHODS: Firstly, we found the expression of TMEM100 in EC through The Cancer Genome Atlas database. The correlation between TMEM100 gene expression and the survival of patients with EC was further confirmed through Kaplan-Meier analysis. We then added the demethylating agent 5-AZA to ESCC cell lines to explore the regulation of TMEM100 expression by epigenetic modification. To observe the effect of TMEM100 expression on tumor proliferation and invasion by overexpressing TMEM100. Finally, we performed gene set enrichment analysis using the Kyoto Encyclopaedia of Genes and Genomes Orthology-Based Annotation System database to look for pathways that might be affected by TMEM100 and verified the effect of TMEM100 expression on the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathway. RESULTS: In the present study, by bioinformatic analysis we found that TMEM100 was lowly expressed in EC patients compared to normal subjects. Kaplan-meier survival analysis showed that low expression of TMEM100 was associated with poor prognosis in patients with EC. Then, we found that the demethylating agent 5-AZA resulted in increased expression of TMEM100 in ESCC cells [quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and western blotting]. Subsequently, we confirmed that overexpression of TMEM100 leads to its increased expression in ESCC cells (qRT-PCR and western blotting). Overexpression of TMEM100 also inhibited proliferation, invasion and migration of ESCC cells (cell counting kit-8 and clone formation assays). Next, by enrichment analysis, we found that the gene set was significantly enriched in the MAPK signaling pathway. The involvement of TMEM100 in the regulation of MAPK signaling pathway in ESCC cell was subsequently verified by western blotting. CONCLUSION: TMEM100 is a suppressor gene in ESCC, and its low expression may lead to aberrant activation of the MAPK pathway. Promoter methylation may play a key role in regulating TMEM100 expression.

Chemoproteomic profiling of substrate specificity in gut microbiota-associated bile salt hydrolases.

The gut microbiome possesses numerous biochemical enzymes that biosynthesize metabolites that impact human health. Bile acids comprise a diverse collection of metabolites that have important roles in metabolism and immunity. The gut microbiota-associated enzyme that is responsible for the gateway reaction in bile acid metabolism is bile salt hydrolase (BSH), which controls the host's overall bile acid pool. Despite the critical role of these enzymes, the ability to profile their activities and substrate preferences remains challenging due to the complexity of the gut microbiota, whose metaproteome includes an immense diversity of protein classes. Using a systems biochemistry approach employing activity-based probes, we have identified gut microbiota-associated BSHs that exhibit distinct substrate preferences, revealing that different microbes contribute to the diversity of the host bile acid pool. We envision that this chemoproteomic approach will reveal how secondary bile acid metabolism controlled by BSHs contributes to the etiology of various inflammatory diseases.

Efficient EVs separation and detection by an alumina-nanochannel-array-membrane integrated microfluidic chip and an antibody barcode biochip.

BACKGROUND: Small endosome-derived lipid nanovesicles (30-200 nm) are actively secreted by living cells and serve as pivotal biomarkers for early cancer diagnosis. However, the study of extracellular vesicles (EVs) requires isolation and purification from various body fluids. Although traditional EVs isolation and detection technologies are mature, they usually require large amount of sample, consumes long-time, and have relatively low-throughput. How to efficiently isolate, purify and detect these structurally specific EVs from body fluids with high-throughput remains a great challenge in in vitro diagnostics and clinical research. RESULTS: Herein, we suggest a nanosized microfluidic device for efficient and economical EVs filtration based on an alumina nanochannel array membrane. We evaluated the filtration device performance of alumina membranes with different diameters and found that an optimized chamber array with a hydrophilic-treated channel diameter of 90 nm could realize a filtration efficiency of up to 82% without any assistance from chemical or physical separation methods. Importantly, by integrating meticulously designed multichannel microfluidic biochips, EVs can be captured in-situ and monitored by antibody barcode biochip. The proposed filtration chip together with the high-throughput detection chip were capable of filtration of a few tens of µL samples and recognition of different phonotypes. The practical filtration and detection of EVs from clinical samples demonstrated the high performance of the device. SIGNIFICANT: Overall, this work provides a cost-effective, highly efficient and automated EVs filtration chip and detection dual-function integrated chip platform, which can directly separate EVs from serum or cerebrospinal fluid with an efficiency of 82% and conduct in-situ detection. This small fluidic device can provide a powerful tool for highly efficient identifying and analyzing EVs, presenting great application potential in clinical detection.

Gallbladder cancer: surgical treatment, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy.

Gallbladder cancer is a common type of biliary tract tumor. Optimal management for early stage cases typically involves radical excision as the primary treatment modality. Various surgical techniques, including laparoscopic, robotic, and navigational surgery, have demonstrated favorable clinical outcomes in radical gallbladder excision. Unfortunately, most patients are ineligible for surgical intervention because of the advanced stage of the disease upon diagnosis. Consequently, non-surgical interventions, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy, have become the mainstay of treatment for patients in advanced stages. This review focuses on elucidating various surgical techniques as well as advancements in immunotherapy and targeted therapy in the context of recent advancements in gallbladder cancer research.

Bile Salt Hydrolase Activity-Based Probes for Monitoring Gut Microbial Bile Acid Metabolism.

Bile acids are bioactive metabolites that are biotransformed into secondary bile acids by the gut microbiota, a vast consortium of microbes that inhabit the intestines. The first step in intestinal secondary bile acid metabolism is carried out by a critical enzyme, bile salt hydrolase (BSH), that catalyzes the gateway reaction that precedes all subsequent microbial metabolism of these important metabolites. As gut microbial metabolic activity is difficult to probe due to the complex nature of the gut microbiome, approaches are needed to profile gut microbiota-associated enzymes such as BSH. Here, we develop a panel of BSH activity-based probes (ABPs) to determine how changes in diurnal rhythmicity of gut microbiota-associated metabolism affects BSH activity and substrate preference. This panel of covalent probes enables determination of BSH activity and substrate specificity from multiple gut anerobic bacteria derived from the human and mouse gut microbiome. We found that both gut microbiota-associated BSH activity and substrate preference is rhythmic, likely due to feeding patterns of the mice. These results indicate that this ABP-based approach can be used to profile changes in BSH activity in physiological and disease states that are regulated by circadian rhythms.

Optimal surgical population for cervical lymph node dissection in PTC.

Objective: There is still controversy about whether cervical lymph node dissection should be performed in surgical treatment of PTC. Based on the data of thyroid cancer patients from Liaocheng People's Hospital from 2015 to 2018, this study focused on appropriate indications for cervical lymph node dissection surgery. Methods: The clinical and pathological data of patients with initial treatment of PTC in thyroid surgery department from 2015 to 2018 were collected. In all cases, 1001 patients underwent total thyroidectomy + central lymph node dissection, and 1107 patients underwent total thyroidectomy + central + cervical lymph node dissection. Results: The average metastasis rate of all cases was 57.23%, and even the metastasis rate of PTMC was as high as 48.97%. The total metastasis rate of central and lateral cervical lymph nodes was 74.44%, and the cervical lymph nodes were present in 49.32% of the metastatic cases. In 55.56% of the cases, the tumor diameter was more than 1 cm, and the metastasis rate of cervical lateral area was 56%. With the increase of tumor diameter, the cervical metastasis rate increased from 22.54% to 73.33%. Conclusion: The metastasis rate of PTC is more than 50%, and nearly half of them have cervical metastasis, especially in patients with high risk factors. We observed that PTC 1 cm or greater has significant rates of metastasis.

The prevalence and characteristics of alexithymia in stroke patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have indicated the potential occurrence of alexithymia among stroke patients, yet the prevalence of alexithymia in this population remains disparate across different investigations without a synthesized overview. AIM: To systematically evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of alexithymia in stroke patients. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, CINAHL, China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database (CNKI), Wanfang Database, Chinese Biomedical Database, and Weipu Database (VIP) were searched from inception to December 31,2022, two independent researchers extracted data and evaluated article quality. RESULTS: Seventeen studies were included, reporting on the prevalence of alexithymia or Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20) scores among stroke patients. The pooled prevalence was found to be 35.0% (95%CI= 23.0-47.0%; I2 =97.5%), and the total scores (TS) of TAS-20 was 59.90 (95% CI=56.34-63.47; I2 =100.0%). Subgroup analysis revealed significant variation in TAS-20 scores across different geographical regions. Specifically, the total TAS-20 score in Chinese stroke patients (62.95, 95%CI=58.75-67.14; I2=100%) was higher compared to non-Chinese stroke patients (52.58, 95%CI=49.12-56.04; I2 = 99.0%). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of alexithymia is high among stroke patients, with TAS-20 scores surpassing those observed in patients with certain other medical conditions. This underscores the importance of addressing alexithymia in stroke patients promptly through assessment and intervention to mitigate negative emotional consequences and enhance overall quality of life. Future research could explore the influence of demographic factors such as age and sex on alexithymia in stroke patients, enabling a more comprehensive understanding of alexithymia.