Predicting locus-specific DNA methylation levels in cancer and paracancer tissues.

Aim: To predict base-resolution DNA methylation in cancerous and paracancerous tissues. Material & methods: We collected six cancer DNA methylation datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas and five cancer datasets from Gene Expression Omnibus and established machine learning models using paired cancerous and paracancerous tissues. Tenfold cross-validation and independent validation were performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Results: The developed cross-tissue prediction models can substantially increase the accuracy at more than 68% of CpG sites and contribute to enhancing the statistical power of differential methylation analyses. An XGBoost model leveraging multiple correlating CpGs may elevate the prediction accuracy. Conclusion: This study provides a powerful tool for DNA methylation analysis and has the potential to gain new insights into cancer research from epigenetics.

Association between handgrip strength and depressive symptoms in patients undergoing hemodialysis: a cross-sectional study from a single Chinese center.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between handgrip strength (HGS) and depression in patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) was unknown. Therefore, we aimed to clarify this association in a cohort of patients. METHODS: HGS was used as a representative indicator of muscle strength and was measured with a handheld dynamometer. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the self-reported Patient Health Questionnaire-9. A multivariable logistic regression model and restricted cubic spline analysis were used to assess the relationship between HGS and depression. RESULTS: The prevalence of depression in our study was 34% in 568 Chinese patients undergoing HD. Compared with patients in the lowest tertiles of absolute and weighted HGS, patients in the highest tertiles of HGS had an approximately 59% lower [odds ratio (OR) = 0.41, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.24-0.68; OR = 0.41, 95%CI = (0.24-0.69)] prevalence of depressive symptoms after multivariate adjustments. Besides, the risk of depression in hemodialysis patients decreased by 33% (OR = 0.67, 95%CI = 0.53-0.85) and 32% (OR = 0.68, 95%CI = 0.54-0.85) for each standard deviation increase in absolute HGS and weighted HGS, respectively. The prevalence of depressive symptoms decreased with both increasing absolute HGS and weighted HGS after multivariate adjustments (p for trend < 0.05). Furthermore, a linear dose-response relationship was observed between absolute HGS and weighted HGS and the prevalence of depressive symptoms (pnonlinearity>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that lower handgrip strength, a simple and modifiable parameter, is associated with a higher prevalence of depression in Chinese patients undergoing HD. Considering that depression is often unrecognized or underdiagnosed in HD patients, lowered muscle strength should be an important indicator and incentive for medical staff to screen for depression.

EEG-FMCNN: A fusion multi-branch 1D convolutional neural network for EEG-based motor imagery classification.

Motor imagery (MI) electroencephalogram (EEG) signal is recognized as a promising paradigm for brain-computer interface (BCI) systems and has been extensively employed in various BCI applications, including assisting disabled individuals, controlling devices and environments, and enhancing human capabilities. The high-performance decoding capability of MI-EEG signals is a key issue that impacts the development of the industry. However, decoding MI-EEG signals is challenging due to the low signal-to-noise ratio and inter-subject variability. In response to the aforementioned core problems, this paper proposes a novel end-to-end network, a fusion multi-branch 1D convolutional neural network (EEG-FMCNN), to decode MI-EEG signals without pre-processing. The utilization of multi-branch 1D convolution not only exhibits a certain level of noise tolerance but also addresses the issue of inter-subject variability to some extent. This is attributed to the ability of multi-branch architectures to capture information from different frequency bands, enabling the establishment of optimal convolutional scales and depths. Furthermore, we incorporate 1D squeeze-and-excitation (SE) blocks and shortcut connections at appropriate locations to further enhance the generalization and robustness of the network. In the BCI Competition IV-2a dataset, our proposed model has obtained good experimental results, achieving accuracies of 78.82% and 68.41% for subject-dependent and subject-independent modes, respectively. In addition, extensive ablative experiments and fine-tuning experiments were conducted, resulting in a notable 7% improvement in the average performance of the network, which holds significant implications for the generalization and application of the network.

Unlocking the double-dividend: Evaluating the impact of SO2 emissions trading scheme on firm's environmental and economic performance.

The optimal design of environmental instruments demands a balance between environmental enhancement and economic growth. Utilizing microdata from the China Environmental Statistics Database and the China Industrial Firm Database, this study employs the difference-in-differences (DD) methodology to explore the dual effects of the SO2 Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) on the environmental and economic performance of micro-firms. The findings suggest that: (1) The SO2 ETS not only induces emission reduction effects among firms in pilot areas but also improves their industrial added value. (2) The SO2 ETS exhibits heterogeneous impacts across firms of diverse ownership, export status, and size. (3) While the SO2 ETS prompts firms to advance technologically, boosting desulfurization capacities and subsequently enhancing total factor productivity, it also inadvertently results in companies offsetting some environmental compliance costs by curtailing employee wages.

Key factors influencing arsenic phytotoxicity thresholds in south China acidic soils.

Arsenic (As) toxicity threshold values (TTVs) for plants are fundamental to both establishing regional As reference values in soil and performing risk assessment. However, TTVs vary with plant species and soil types. In this study, a hydroponic experiment with 16 plant species was conducted to screen the most As-sensitive plant species. The results showed that the EC20 (available As concentration at which shoot biomass or height is inhibited by 20%) values were 1.38-104.4 mg L-1 for shoot height and 0.24-42.87 mg L-1 for shoot fresh biomass. Rice was more sensitive to As toxicity than the other species. Therefore, it was chosen as the ecological receptor in the pot experiment on As phytotoxicity in nine types of soils collected from Fujian Province in South China. The EC10 and EC20 with respect to rice shoot height were 3.72-29.11 mg kg-1 and 7.12-45.60 mg kg-1, respectively. Stepwise regression analysis indicated that free iron oxide concentration is the major factor that affects As bioavailability in soil, and ECx (x = 10, 20, and 50) of soil available As for shoot height was positively related to free iron oxide concentration in soil. In addition, soil cation exchange capacity, clay (<0.002 mm) content, and exchangeable magnesium content are also important factors influencing As phytotoxicity in acidic soils. The regression models can be used to predict As phytotoxicity in acidic soils.

Exploring the Effect of Pain Sensitive Questionnaire on Guiding Intravenous Analgesia After Cesarean Section: A Randomised Double Blind Controlled Trial.

Objective: This study investigates the effect of the Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire (PSQ) in guiding patient controlled intravenous analgesia (PCIA) on postoperative analgesia in women undergoing cesarean section. Methods: A total of 160 women who were to undergo a cesarean section under combined spinal and epidural anaesthesia were included in this study. Women with a preoperative PSQ <4 were randomly divided into a low pain-sensitive control group (LC group), and a low pain-sensitive observation group (LO group), and women with preoperative PSQ >6 were randomly divided into a high pain-sensitive control group (HC group) and a high pain-sensitive observation group (HO group). After the surgery, patients received the pump butorphanol concentration was 3.5 µg·kg-1·h-1 in the LC and HC groups, 3.0 µg·kg-1·h-1 in the LO group and 4.0 µg·kg-1·h-1 in the HO group.To compare the analgesic effects of postoperative PCIA and postoperative recovery in women. Results: Wound pain and uterine contraction pain VAS scores at rest and activity were significantly lower in the LC group than in the LO group at 4 and 8 h postoperatively (P<0.05). Similarly, wound pain and uterine contraction pain VAS scores at rest and activity were significantly lower in the HO group than in the HC group at 8, 12, and 24 h postoperatively (P<0.05). The Ramsay scores were significantly higher in the LC than in the LO groups at 4, 8, 12, 24, and 48 h postoperatively (P<0.05), but there was no statistically significant difference between the Ramsay scores in the HC group and the HO group. There was no statistical difference in any of the post-operative recoveries (P>0.05). Conclusion: Compared to the weight-based postoperative PCIA, the PSQ-based postoperative PCIA has better analgesic effects and can improve maternal satisfaction with postoperative analgesia.

Prussian blue analogue-derived hollow metal oxide heterostructure for high-performance supercapacitors.

Supercapacitors (SCs) have been the subject of considerable interest because of their distinct advantages. The performance of SCs is directly affected by the electrode materials. Metal oxides derived from Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) are often used as electrode materials for SCs. Herein, we developed a multi-step strategy to fabricate ternary hollow metal oxide (CuO/NiO/Co3O4) heterostructures. The core-shell structured PBA (NiHCC@CuHCC) with Ni-based PBA (NiHCC) as the core and Cu-based PBA (CuHCC) as the shell was prepared by a crystal seed method. The ternary metal oxide (CuO/NiO/Co3O4) with a hollow structure was obtained by calcinating NiHCC@CuHCC. The prepared CuO/NiO/Co3O4 demonstrates an excellent specific capacitance of 262.5 F g-1 at 1 A g-1, which is 27.4% and 16.2% higher than those of CuO/Co3O4 and NiO/Co3O4, respectively. In addition, the material showed outstanding cycling stability with a capacitance retention of 107.9% after 3000 cycles. The two-electrode system constructed with CuO/NiO/Co3O4 and nitrogen-doped graphene hydrogel (NDGH) demonstrates a stable and high energy density of 27.1 W h kg-1 at a power density of 1037.5 W kg-1. The capacitance retention rate was 100.7% after 4000 cycles. The reason for the excellent electrochemical properties could be the synergistic effect of the introduced heterojunction of CuO/NiO, the hollow structure, and various metal oxides. This strategy can greatly inspire the construction of SC electrodes.

The transcriptional risk scores for kidney renal clear cell carcinoma using XGBoost and multiple omics data.

Most kidney cancers are kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) that is a main cause of cancer-related deaths. Polygenic risk score (PRS) is a weighted linear combination of phenotypic related alleles on the genome that can be used to assess KIRC risk. However, standalone SNP data as input to the PRS model may not provide satisfactory result. Therefore, Transcriptional risk scores (TRS) based on multi-omics data and machine learning models were proposed to assess the risk of KIRC. First, we collected four types of multi-omics data (DNA methylation, miRNA, mRNA and lncRNA) of KIRC patients from the TCGA database. Subsequently, a novel TRS method utilizing multiple omics data and XGBoost model was developed. Finally, we performed prevalence analysis and prognosis prediction to evaluate the utility of the TRS generated by our method. Our TRS methods exhibited better predictive performance than the linear models and other machine learning models. Furthermore, the prediction accuracy of combined TRS model was higher than that of single-omics TRS model. The KM curves showed that TRS was a valid prognostic indicator for cancer staging. Our proposed method extended the current definition of TRS from standalone SNP data to multi-omics data and was superior to the linear models and other machine learning models, which may provide a useful implement for diagnostic and prognostic prediction of KIRC.

Roxadustat alleviates the inflammatory status in patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis with erythropoiesis-stimulating agent resistance by increasing the short-chain fatty acids producing gut bacteria.

BACKGROUND: Hypoxia-inducible factor-prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors (HIF-PHIs) have improved the treatment of renal anemia, especially in patients resistant to erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs). HIF facilitates maintain gut microbiota homeostasis, which plays an important role in inflammation and iron metabolism, which are in turn key factors affecting ESA resistance. The current study aimed to investigate the effects of roxadustat on inflammation and iron metabolism and on the gut microbiota in patients with ESA resistance. METHODS: We conducted a self-controlled, single-center study including 30 patients with ESA resistance undergoing maintenance hemodialysis. All patients received roxadustat without iron agents for renal anemia. Hemoglobin and inflammatory factors were monitored. Fecal samples were collected before and after 3 months' administration and the gut microbiota were analyzed by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing. RESULTS: Hemoglobin levels increased after treatment with roxadustat for 3 months (P < 0.05). Gut microbiota diversity and abundance also changed, with increases in short-chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing bacteria (Acidaminococcaceae, Butyricicoccus, Ruminococcus bicirculans, Ruminococcus bromii, Bifidobacterium dentium, Eubacterium hallii) (P < 0.05). Serum SCFA levels also increased (P < 0.05). Inflammatory factors, including interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interferon-γ, and endotoxin gradually decreased (P < 0.05). Serum hepcidin, ferritin, and total and unsaturated iron-binding capacities decreased (P < 0.05), while soluble transferrin receptor levels increased at each time point (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in serum iron and transferrin saturation at each time point. The abundance of Alistipes shahii was significantly negatively correlated with IL-6 and TNF-α (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Roxadustat alleviated renal anemia in patients with ESA resistance by decreasing inflammatory factors and hepcidin levels and improving iron utilization. These effects were at least partly mediated by improved diversity and abundance of SCFA-producing gut bacteria, probably via activation of HIF.

Association between serum ß2-microglobulin levels and the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in chinese patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis.

BACKGROUND: The association between serum ß2-microglobulin (ß2M) levels and the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and the incidence of cardiovascular events (CVEs) in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) is inconclusive. Furthermore, no study has been performed in China on the significance of serum ß2M levels in MHD patients. Therefore, this study investigated the aforementioned association in MHD patients. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, 521 MHD patients were followed at Dalian Municipal Central Hospital affiliated with Dalian University of Technology from December 2019 to December 2021. The serum ß2M levels were categorized into three tertiles, and the lowest tertile served as the reference group. Survival curves were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using Cox proportional hazard models. Sensitivity analysis was performed by excluding patients with CVD at baseline. RESULTS: During the follow-up period of 21.4 ± 6.3 months, there were 106 all-cause deaths, of which 68 were caused by CVD. When excluding CVD patients at baseline, there were 66 incident CVEs. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the risk of all-cause and CVD mortality in the highest tertile of serum ß2M levels was significantly higher than that in the lowest tertile (P < 0.05), but not for the CVEs (P > 0.05). After adjusting for potential confounders, serum ß2M levels were positively associated with the risk of all-cause (HR = 2.24, 95% CI = 1.21-4.17) and CVD (HR = 2.54, 95% CI = 1.19-5.43) mortality, and a linear trend was evident (P < 0.05). Besides, the results of sensitivity analysis were consistent with the main findings. However, we didn't observed the significant association between serum ß2M levels and CVEs (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The serum ß2M level may be a significant predictor of the risk of all-cause and CVD mortality in MHD patients. Further studies are needed to confirm this finding.

Association between corrected serum calcium levels after dialysis and post-dialysis fatigue risk: a hospital-based case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: Post-dialysis fatigue (PDF) is an important problem in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD); however, evidence of the association between serum calcium after dialysis and the risk of PDF is limited and controversial. We explored this association among patients receiving MHD. METHODS: We carried out a case-control study of patients in the dialysis unit of Dalian Municipal Central Hospital between December 2019 and January 2020, including 340 patients with PDF and 270 patients without PDF. PDF was assessed by a \validated self-administered questionnaire. Clinical variables were tested for multicollinearity using variance inflation factor analysis. Corrected serum calcium levels were categorized into three groups, with the lowest tertile used as the reference category. The odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for PDF risk were estimated using an unconditional logistic regression model. RESULT: After adjusting for potential confounders, corrected serum calcium levels showed a significant positive association with the risk of PDF (ORT3vs.T1 = 1.61, 95% CI = 1.01-2.58). Notably, after stratification by age, corrected serum calcium was also positively associated with the risk of PDF in patients aged ≥ 65 years (ORT3vs.T1 = 4.25, 95% CI 1.66-11.46). Furthermore, a significant linear trend and interaction were also observed (P < 0.05). DISCUSSION: Higher corrected serum calcium levels after dialysis might increase the risk of PDF among MHD patients. However, further studies are warranted to confirm these findings.

Charting a high-resolution roadmap for regeneration of pancreatic ß cells by in vivo transdifferentiation from adult acinar cells.

Adult mammals have limited capacity to regenerate functional cells. Promisingly, in vivo transdifferentiation heralds the possibility of regeneration by lineage reprogramming from other fully differentiated cells. However, the process of regeneration by in vivo transdifferentiation in mammals is poorly understood. Using pancreatic ß cell regeneration as a paradigm, we performed a single-cell transcriptomic study of in vivo transdifferentiation from adult mouse acinar cells to induced ß cells. Using unsupervised clustering analysis and lineage trajectory construction, we uncovered that the cell fate remodeling trajectory was linear at the initial stage and the reprogrammed cells either evolved to induced ß cells or toward a "dead-end" state after day 4.Moreover, functional analyses identified both p53 and Dnmt3a that acted as reprogramming barriers during the process of in vivo transdifferentiation. Collectively, we decipher a high-resolution roadmap of regeneration by in vivo transdifferentiation and provide a detailed molecular blueprint to facilitate mammalian regeneration.

Polymeric Phthalocyanine-Based Nanosensitizers for Enhanced Photodynamic and Sonodynamic Therapies.

Photodynamic therapy and sonodynamic therapy are two highly promising modalities for cancer treatment. The latter holds an additional advantage in deep-tumor therapy owing to the deep penetration of the ultrasonic radiation. The therapeutic efficacy depends highly on the photo/ultrasound-responsive properties of the sensitizers as well as their tumor-localization property and pharmacokinetics. A novel nanosensitizer system based on a polymeric phthalocyanine (pPC-TK) is reported herein in which the phthalocyanine units are connected with cleavable thioketal linkers. Such polymer could self-assemble in water forming nanoparticles with a hydrodynamic diameter of 48 nm. The degradable and flexible thioketal linkers could effectively inhibit the π-π stacking of the phthalocyanine units, rendering the resulting nanoparticles an efficient generator of reactive oxygen species upon light or ultrasonic irradiation. The nanosensitizer could be internalized into cancer cells readily, inducing cell death by efficient photodynamic and sonodynamic effects. The potency is significantly higher than that of the monomeric phthalocyanine (PC-4COOH). The nanosensitizer could also effectively inhibit the growth of tumor in liver tumor-bearing mice by these two therapies without causing noticeable side effects. More importantly, it could also retard the growth of a deep-located orthotopic liver tumor in vivo by sonodynamic therapy.

BMP7 Attenuates Neuroinflammation after Spinal Cord Injury by Suppressing the Microglia Activation and Inducing Microglial Polarization Via the STAT3 Pathway.

Excessive activation of pro-inflammatory (M1) microglia phenotypes after spinal cord injury (SCI) disrupts tissue repair and increases the risk of secondary SCI. We previously reported that adeno-associated virus (AAV) mediated delivery of bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP7) promotes functional recovery after SCI by reducing oligodendrocyte loss and demyelination; however, little is known about the early effects of BMP7 in ameliorating neuroinflammation in the acute SCI phase. Herein, we demonstrate that treatment with recombinant human BMP7 (rhBMP7) suppresses the viability of LPS-induced HMC3 microglia cells and increases the proportion with the M2 phenotype. Consistently, in a rat SCI model, rhBMP7 decreases the activation of microglia and promotes M2 polarization. After rhBMP7 administration, the STAT3 signaling pathway was activated in LPS-induced HMC3 cells and microglia in spinal cord lesions. Furthermore, the levels of TNF-α and IL-1ß were significantly decreased in cell culture supernatants, lesion sites of injured spinal cords, and cerebrospinal fluid circulation after rhBMP7 administration, thus reducing neuron loss in the injured spinal cord and promoting functional recovery after SCI. These results provide insight into the immediate early mechanisms by which BMP7 may ameliorate the inflammation response to secondary SCI.

Association of dietary fiber with subjective sleep quality in hemodialysis patients: a cross-sectional study in China.

BACKGROUND: Poor sleep quality is a common problem among hemodialysis (HD) patients. Dietary fiber is a key component of a healthy diet and is beneficial for a variety of health outcomes; however, evidence of an association between dietary fiber consumption and subjective sleep quality has not been established among HD patients. Therefore, we determined the association between dietary fiber consumption and the subjective sleep quality in Chinese maintenance HD patients, taking into account fiber type and source. METHODS: Dietary intake was assessed with a validated food frequency questionnaire in a cross-sectional study including 741 maintenance HD patients between December 2021 and January 2022. The daily intake of dietary fiber was categorized into three groups. The lowest tertile was used as the reference category. Sleep quality of patients was accurately calculated using the Pittsburgh sleep quality index standard questionnaire. Multivariable logistic regression model and restricted cubic spline analysis were performed to assess the relationship between dietary fiber consumption and poor sleep quality. RESULTS: Compared with the lowest tertile group of dietary fiber intake, the highest tertile group had a lower prevalence of poor sleep quality. After adjustment for potential confounders, a higher intake of total dietary fiber (ORtertile 3 (T3) to tertile 1 (T1)= 0.51, 95% CI: 0.31-0.85), total insoluble dietary fiber (ORT3 to T1 =0.54, 95% CI: 0.33-0.89), and soluble dietary fiber in vegetables (ORT3 to T1 =0.61, 95% CI: 0.40-0.93) were associated with a lower prevalence of poor sleep quality. Furthermore, significant linear trends were also observed (p < 0.05). No significant interactions were observed in subgroup analyses. CONCLUSION: A higher intake of dietary fiber was inversely associated with the poor sleep quality. These findings support the current recommendations that dietary fiber is essential for health and well-being.Key messagesThis study was conducted because there was not prior evidence connecting sleep quality and dietary fiber consumption in hemodialysis patients.In the present study a cross-sectional design was used to assess the association between dietary fiber consumption and poor sleep quality.Intake of total dietary fiber, total insoluble dietary fiber, and soluble dietary fiber in vegetables were negatively associated with poor sleep quality among maintenance hemodialysis patients.

RBM4 regulates cellular senescence via miR1244/SERPINE1 axis.

Cellular senescence serves as a powerful tumor suppressing mechanism that inhibits the proliferation of cancer cells bearing oncogenic mutations at the initial stage of cancer development. RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) play important roles in cancer progression and treatment through distinct functions. However, functions and mechanisms of RNA binding proteins in regulating senescence remain elusive. Here we reported that the RNA binding protein RBM4 contributed to cellular senescence. Depletion of RBM4 induced senescence in different types of cells, including multiple cancer cells. Meanwhile, RBM4 ablation inhibited cancer cell progression both in vitro and in vivo. Specifically, knockdown of RBM4 significantly increased the level of SERPINE1, a known promoter of senescence, thereby inducing the senescence of lung cancer cells. Mechanistically, miR-1244 bound to the 3'-UTR of SERPINE1 to suppress its expression, whereas depletion of RBM4 reduced the level of miR-1244 by promoting the degradation of primary miR-1244 transcripts (pri-miR1244), thus increasing the expression of SERPINE1 and inducing subsequent senescence. Moreover, either SERPINE1 inhibitor or miR-1244 mimics attenuated the RBM4 depletion-induced senescence. Altogether, our study revealed a novel mechanism of RBM4 in the regulation of cancer progression through controlling senescence, providing a new avenue for targeting RBM4 in cancer therapeutics.

Dialysis adequacy and hemoglobin levels predict cerebral atrophy in maintenance-hemodialysis patients.

The pathogenesis of cerebral atrophy (CA) is not clear. Previous studies show a high incidence of preterm CA in hemodialysis patients. This study aims to investigate the factors influencing CA and to derive a CA prediction nomogram in maintenance-hemodialysis patients. First, brain volumes of hemodialysis patients (≤55 years) were compared against age- and sex-matched healthy controls, and differences were revealed in bilateral insular cisterns width, maximum cerebral sulci width, Evans index, ventricular-brain ratio, frontal atrophy index, and temporal lobe ratio. Then, the patients were divided equally into "no or mild" or "severe" CA groups. Potential factors influencing CA were screened. Kt/V (urea removal index) and hemoglobin levels negatively correlated with CA degree, and were used to establish a nomogram within randomly assigned training and validation patient groups. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC) for training and validation groups were 0.703 and 0.744, respectively. When potassium and calcium were added to the nomogram, the AUROC for training/validation group increased to 0.748/0.806. The nomogram had optimal AUROC for training (0.759) and validation (0.804) groups when albumin was also included. Hemodialysis patients showed reduced anterior brain volumes and the nomogram established herein may have predictive value for developing CA.

TFD-IIS-CRMCB: Telecom Fraud Detection for Incomplete Information Systems Based on Correlated Relation and Maximal Consistent Block.

Telecom fraud detection is of great significance in online social networks. Yet the massive, redundant, incomplete, and uncertain network information makes it a challenging task to handle. Hence, this paper mainly uses the correlation of attributes by entropy function to optimize the data quality and then solves the problem of telecommunication fraud detection with incomplete information. First, to filter out redundancy and noise, we propose an attribute reduction algorithm based on max-correlation and max-independence rate (MCIR) to improve data quality. Then, we design a rough-gain anomaly detection algorithm (MCIR-RGAD) using the idea of maximal consistent blocks to deal with missing incomplete data. Finally, the experimental results on authentic telecommunication fraud data and UCI data show that the MCIR-RGAD algorithm provides an effective solution for reducing the computation time, improving the data quality, and processing incomplete data.

Mining Mobile Network Fraudsters with Augmented Graph Neural Networks.

With the rapid evolution of mobile communication networks, the number of subscribers and their communication practices is increasing dramatically worldwide. However, fraudsters are also sniffing out the benefits. Detecting fraudsters from the massive volume of call detail records (CDR) in mobile communication networks has become an important yet challenging topic. Fortunately, Graph neural network (GNN) brings new possibilities for telecom fraud detection. However, the presence of the graph imbalance and GNN oversmoothing problems makes fraudster detection unsatisfactory. To address these problems, we propose a new fraud detector. First, we transform the user features with the help of a multilayer perceptron. Then, a reinforcement learning-based neighbor sampling strategy is designed to balance the number of neighbors of different classes of users. Next, we perform user feature aggregation using GNN. Finally, we innovatively treat the above augmented GNN as weak classifier and integrate multiple weak classifiers using the AdaBoost algorithm. A balanced focal loss function is also used to monitor the model training error. Extensive experiments are conducted on two open real-world telecom fraud datasets, and the results show that the proposed method is significantly effective for the graph imbalance problem and the oversmoothing problem in telecom fraud detection.

Infiltrating circulating monocytes provide an important source of BMP4 at the early stage of spinal cord injury.

Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)4 plays a critical role in regulating neuronal and glial activity in the course of spinal cord injury (SCI). The underlying cause and cellular source of BMP4 accumulation at the injured spinal cord remain unclear. Here, we observed that plasma BMP4 levels are statistically higher in SCI patients than in healthy donors. When comparing rats in the sham group (T9 laminectomy without SCI) with rats in the SCI group, we found a persistent decline in BBB scores, together with necrosis and mononuclear cell accumulation at the contusion site. Moreover, during 2 weeks after SCI both plasma and cerebrospinal fluid levels of BMP4 displayed notable elevation, and a positive correlation. Importantly, percentages of circulating BMP4-positive (BMP4+) monocytes and infiltrating MDMs were higher in the SCI group than in the sham group. Finally, in the SCI+clodronate liposome group, depletion of monocytes effectively attenuated the accumulation of both BMP4+ MDMs and BMP4 in the injured spinal cord. Our results indicated that, following SCI, infiltrating MDMs provide an important source of BMP4 in the injured spinal cord and, therefore, might serve as a potential therapeutic target.