Applications of artificial intelligence-powered prenatal diagnosis for congenital heart disease.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has made significant progress in the medical field in the last decade. The AI-powered analysis methods of medical images and clinical records can now match the abilities of clinical physicians. Due to the challenges posed by the unique group of fetuses and the dynamic organ of the heart, research into the application of AI in the prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD) is particularly active. In this review, we discuss the clinical questions and research methods involved in using AI to address prenatal diagnosis of CHD, including imaging, genetic diagnosis, and risk prediction. Representative examples are provided for each method discussed. Finally, we discuss the current limitations of AI in prenatal diagnosis of CHD, namely Volatility, Insufficiency and Independence (VII), and propose possible solutions.

Influence of salinity gradients on the diffusion of water and ionic species in dual porosity clay samples.

Most of the available data on diffusion in natural clayey rocks consider tracer diffusion in the absence of a salinity gradient despite the fact that such gradients are frequently found in natural and engineered subsurface environments. To assess the role of such gradients on the diffusion properties of clayey materials, through-diffusion experiments were carried out in the presence and absence of a salinity gradient using salt-diffusion and radioisotope tracer techniques. The experiments were carried out with vermiculite samples that contained equal proportions of interparticle and interlayer porosities so as to assess also the role played by the two types of porosities on the diffusion of water and ions. Data were interpreted using both a classical Fickian diffusion model and with a reactive transport code, CrunchClay that can handle multi-porosity diffusion processes in the presence of charged surfaces. By combining experimental and simulated data, we demonstrated that (i) the flux of water diffusing through vermiculite interlayer porosity was minor compared to that diffusing through the interparticle porosity, and (ii) a model considering at least three types of porous volumes (interlayer, interparticle diffuse layer, and bulk interparticle) was necessary to reproduce consistently the variations of neutral and charged species diffusion as a function of salinity gradient conditions.

Thiocarbamide conversion-based nitrogen-rich covalent organic framework coatings for electro-enhanced solid-phase microextraction of bisphenols.

Design and preparation of fiber coatings with excellent electrochemical performance and high polarity is significant for efficient extraction of polar targets in electro-enhanced solid-phase microextraction (EE-SPME). In this work, a combination strategy for structure regulation of covalent organic framework (COF) was proposed to fabricate a nitrogen-rich thiocarbamide linked COF coating (Thiocarbamide-TZ-DHTP) via molecular design and post-synthetic thiocarbamide conversion. The prepared COF coating possesses a large number of O, N, and S functional groups, which not only endow the coating with higher polarity but also significantly enhance its electrochemical performance. The COF coating was used for EE-SPME of polar bisphenols (BPs), demonstrating excellent enrichment efficiency and durability. Subsequently, coupled with gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS), a sensitive method was developed for determination of trace BPs. The established method possess wide linear ranges (2.0-800.0 ng L-1), good correlation coefficients (0.9985-0.9994) and low detection limits (0.1-2.0 ng L-1). Moreover, the established method had been successfully applied to detection of trace BPs in tea beverage with satisfactory recoveries (81.6 % to 118.6 %). This research provides a feasible pathway for preparing COF coating with excellent electrochemical performance and high polarity for EE-SPME.

Deep learning assisted fluid volume calculation for assessing anti-vascular endothelial growth factor effect in diabetic macular edema.

Objective: To develop an algorithm using deep learning methods to calculate the volume of intraretinal and subretinal fluid in optical coherence tomography (OCT) images for assessing diabetic macular edema (DME) patients' condition changes. Design: Cross-sectional study. Participants: Treatment-naive patients diagnosed with DME recruited from April 2020 to November 2021. Methods: The deep learning network, which was built for autonomous segmentation utilizing an encoder-decoder network based on the U-Net architecture, was used to calculate the volume of intraretinal fluid (IRF) and subretinal fluid (SRF). The alterations of retinal vessel density and thickness, and the correlation between best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and OCT parameters were analyzed. Results: 2,955 OCT images of fourteen eyes from DME patients with IRF and SRF who received anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) agents were obtained. The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of the algorithm was 0.993 for IRF and 0.998 for SRF. The volumes of IRF and SRF were significantly decreased from 1.93 ± 0.58 /1.14 ± 0.25 mm3 (baseline) to 0.26 ± 0.13 /0.26 ± 0.18 mm3 (post-injection), respectively (p = 0.0170 for IRF, and p = 0.0004 for SRF). The Spearman correlation demonstrated that the reduction of IRF volume was negatively correlated with age (coefficient = -0.698, p = 0.006). Conclusion: We developed a deep learning assisted fluid volume calculation algorithm with high sensitivity and specificity for assessing the volume of IRF and SRF in DME patients. Key words: deep learning; diabetic macular edema; optical coherence tomography.

Flexible filament winding strategy to prepare COF@polyionic liquid-coated fibers for non-selective exclusion of macromolecules in electro-enhanced solid-phase microextraction.

BACKGROUND: Accurate quantitative analysis of small molecule metabolites in biological samples is of great significance. Hydroxypolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (OH-PAHs) are metabolic derivatives of emerging pollutants, reflecting exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Macromolecules such as proteins and enzymes in biological samples will interfere with the accurate quantification of OH-PAHs, making direct analysis impossible, requiring a series of complex treatments such as enzymatic hydrolysis. Therefore, the development of matrix-compatible fiber coatings that can exclude macromolecules is of great significance to improve the ability of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) technology to selectively quantify small molecules in complex matrices and achieve rapid and direct analysis. RESULTS: We have developed an innovative coating with a stable macromolecular barrier using electrospinning and flexible filament winding (FW) technologies. This coating, referred to as the hollow fibrous covalent organic framework@polyionic liquid (F-COF@polyILs), demonstrates outstanding conductivity and stability. It accelerates the adsorption equilibrium time (25 min) for polar OH-PAHs through electrically enhanced solid-phase microextraction (EE-SPME) technology. Compared to the powder form, F-COF@polyILs coating displays effective non-selective large-size molecular sieving. Combining gas chromatography-tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS), we have established a simple, efficient quantitative analysis method for OH-PAHs with a low detection limit (0.008-0.05 ng L-1), wide linear range (0.02-1000 ng L-1), and good repeatability (1.0%-7.3 %). Experimental results show that the coated fiber exhibits good resistance to matrix interference (2.5%-16.7 %) in complex biological matrices, and has been successfully used for OH-PAHs analysis in human urine and plasma. SIGNIFICANCE: FW technology realizes the transformation of the traditional powder form of COF in SPME coating to a uniform non-powder coating, giving its ability to exclude large molecules in complex biological matrices. A method for quantitatively detecting OH-PAHs in real biological samples was also developed. Therefore, the filament winding preparation method for F-COF@polyILs coated fibers, along with fibrous COFs' morphology control, has substantial implications for efficiently extracting target compounds from complex matrices.

Association between the triglyceride glucose index and obstructive sleep apnea and its symptoms: results from the NHANES.

BACKGROUND: Certain studies have indicated a link between obstructive sleep apnea and insulin resistance in specific populations. To gain more clarity, extensive research involving a broad sample of the overall population is essential. The primary objective of this study was to investigate this correlation by utilizing data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database. METHODS: The analysis incorporated data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database spanning the time periods from 2005 to 2008 and from 2015 to 2018, with a focus on American adults aged 18 years and older after applying weight adjustments. Key variables such as obstructive sleep apnea, triglyceride glucose index, and various confounding factors were considered. A generalized linear logistic regression model was used to investigate the association between obstructive sleep apnea and the triglyceride glucose index, with additional exploration of the consistency of the results through hierarchical analysis and other techniques. RESULTS: The study included participants aged between 18 and 90 years, with an average age of 46.75 years. Among the total sample, 50.76% were male. The triglyceride glucose index demonstrated a diagnostic capability for obstructive sleep apnea, with an AUC of 0.701 (95% CI: 0.6619-0.688). According to the fully adjusted model, individuals in the fourth quartile of the triglyceride glucose index showed an increased likelihood of having obstructive sleep apnea compared to those in the first quartile (OR: 1.45; 95% CI: 1.02-2.06; P < 0.05). Subgroup analysis indicated that male sex (OR: 2.09; 95% CI: 1.76-2.45; P < 0.05), younger age (OR: 2.83; 95% CI: 2.02-3.96; P < 0.05), white ethnicity (OR: 2.29; 95% CI: 1.93-2.73; P < 0.05), and obesity (OR: 1.54; 95% CI: 1.28-1.85; P < 0.05) were correlated with an elevated risk of OSA. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated a strong association between an elevated TG index and OSA. Additionally, the triglyceride glucose index could serve as an independent predictor of obstructive sleep apnea.

Glymphatic abnormality in systemic lupus erythematosus detected by diffusion tensor image analysis along the perivascular space.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the activity of the glymphatic system in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) by a diffusion-based method termed "Diffusion Tensor Image Analysis aLong the Perivascular Space (DTI-ALPS)", and examined its correlations with morphological changes in the brain. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, forty-five female patients with SLE and thirty healthy controls (HCs) were included. Voxel-based and surface-based morphometric analyses were performed to examine T1 weighted images, and diffusion tensor images were acquired to determine diffusivity along the x-, y-, and z-axes in the plane of the lateral ventricle body. The ALPS-index was calculated. The differences in values between SLE patients and HC group were compared using the independent samples t test or Mann-Whitney U test. For the correlations between the ALPS-index and brain morphological parameters, partial correlation analysis and Pearson's correlation analysis were conducted. RESULTS: SLE patients showed lower values for the ALPS-index in left (1.543 ± 0.141 vs 1.713 ± 0.175, p < 0.001), right (1.428 ± 0.142 vs 1.556 ± 0.139, p < 0.001) and whole (1.486 ± 0.121 vs 1.635 ± 0.139, p < 0.001) brain compared with the HC group. The reduced ALPS-index showed significant positive correlations with gray matter loss. CONCLUSION: The non-invasive ALPS-index could serve as a sensitive and effective neuroimaging biomarker for individually quantifying glymphatic activity in patients with SLE. Glymphatic system abnormality may be involved in the pathophysiologic mechanism underlying central nervous system damage in SLE patients.

JinLiDa granules alleviates cardiac hypertrophy and inflammation in diabetic cardiomyopathy by regulating TP53.

BACKGROUND: JinLiDa granules (JLD) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus with Qi and Yin deficiency. Clinical evidence has shown that JLD can alleviate diabetic cardiomyopathy, but the exact mechanism is not yet clear. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the potential role and mechanism of JLD in the treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy through network pharmacological analysis and basic experiments. METHODS: The targets of JLD associated with diabetic cardiomyopathy were examined by network pharmacology. Protein interaction analysis was performed on the targets, and the associated pathways were searched by Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis. Diabetic mice were treated with low or high doses of JLD by gavage, and AC16 and H9C2 cardiomyocytes exposed to high-glucose conditions were treated with JLD. The analysis results were verified by various experimental techniques to examine molecular mechanisms. RESULTS: Network pharmacological analysis revealed that JLD acted on the tumor suppressor p53 (TP53) during inflammation and fibrosis associated with diabetic cardiomyopathy. The results of basic experiments showed that after JLD treatment, ventricular wall thickening in diabetic mouse hearts was attenuated, cardiac hypertrophy and myocardial inflammation were alleviated, and the expression of cardiac hypertrophy- and inflammation-related factors in cardiomyocytes exposed to a high-glucose environment was decreased. Cardiomyocyte morphology also improved after JLD treatment. TP53 expression and the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGFß1) signaling pathways were significantly altered, and inhibiting TP53 expression effectively alleviated the activation of the TNF and TGFß1 signaling pathways under high glucose conditions. Overexpression of TP53 activated these signaling pathways. CONCLUSIONS: JLD acted on TP53 to regulate the TNF and TGFß1 signaling pathways, effectively alleviating cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and inflammation in high glucose and diabetic conditions. Our study provides a solid foundation for the future treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy with JLD.

Csn5 inhibits autophagy by regulating the ubiquitination of Atg6 and Tor to mediate the pathogenicity of Magnaporthe oryzae.

Csn5 is subunit 5 of the COP9 signalosome (CSN), but the mechanism by which it strictly controls the pathogenicity of pathogenic fungi through autophagy remains unclear. Here, we found that Csn5 deficiency attenuated pathogenicity and enhanced autophagy in Magnaporthe oryzae. MoCSN5 knockout led to overubiquitination and overdegradation of MoTor (the core protein of the TORC1 complex [target of rapamycin]) thereby promoted autophagy. In addition, we identified MoCsn5 as a new interactor of MoAtg6. Atg6 was found to be ubiquitinated through linkage with lysine 48 (K48) in cells, which is necessary for infection-associated autophagy in pathogenic fungi. K48-ubiquitination of Atg6 enhanced its degradation and thereby inhibited autophagic activity. Our experimental results indicated that MoCsn5 promoted K48-ubiquitination of MoAtg6, which reduced the MoAtg6 protein content and thus inhibited autophagy. Aberrant ubiquitination and autophagy in ΔMocsn5 led to pleiotropic defects in the growth, development, stress resistance, and pathogenicity of M. oryzae. In summary, our study revealed a novel mechanism by which Csn5 regulates autophagy and pathogenicity in rice blast fungus through ubiquitination.

Extracorporeal vs. conventional CPR for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) remains a significant cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) is a potential intervention for OHCA, but its effectiveness compared to conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CCPR) needs further evaluation. METHOD: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov for relevant studies from January 2010 to March 2023. Pooled meta-analysis was performed to investigate any potential association between ECPR and improved survival and neurological outcomes. RESULTS: This systematic review and meta-analysis included two randomized controlled trials enrolling 162 participants and 10 observational cohort studies enrolling 4507 participants. The pooled meta-analysis demonstrated that compared to CCRP, ECPR did not improve survival and neurological outcomes at 180 days following OHCA (RR: 3.39, 95% CI: 0.79 to 14.64; RR: 2.35, 95% CI: 0.97 to 5.67). While a beneficial effect of ECPR was obtained regarding 30-day survival and neurological outcomes. Furthermore, ECPR was associated with a higher risk of bleeding complications. Subgroup analysis showed that ECPR was prominently beneficial when exclusively initiated in the emergency department. Additional post-resuscitation treatments did not significantly impact the efficacy of ECPR on 180-day survival with favorable neurological outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: There is no high-quality evidence supporting the superiority of ECPR over CCPR in terms of survival and neurological outcomes in OHCA patients. However, due to the potential for bias, heterogeneity among studies, and inconsistency in practice, the non-significant results do not preclude the potential benefits of ECPR. Further high-quality research is warranted to optimize ECPR practice and provide more generalizable evidence. Clinical trial registration PROSPERO, https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, registry number: CRD42023402211.

Willed Attentional Selection of Visual Features: An EEG Study.

Visual selective attention studies generally tend to apply cuing paradigms to instructively direct observers' attention to certain locations, features or objects. However, in real situations, attention in humans often flows spontaneously without any specific instructions. Recently, a concept named "willed attention" was raised in visuospatial attention, in which participants are free to make volitional attention decisions. Several ERP components during willed attention were found, along with a perspective that ongoing alpha activity may bias the subsequent attentional choice. However, it remains unclear whether similar neural mechanisms exist in feature- or object-based willed attention. Here, we included choice cues and instruct cues in a feature-based selective attention paradigm, allowing participants to freely choose or to be instructed to attend a color for the subsequent target detection task. Pre-cue ongoing alpha oscillations, cue-evoked potentials and target-related steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) were simultaneously measured as markers of attentional processing. As expected, SSVEP responses were similarly modulated by attention between choice and instruct cue trials. Similar to the case of spatial attention, a willed-attention component (Willed Attention Component, WAC) was isolated during the cue-related choice period by comparing choice and instruct cues. However, pre-cue ongoing alpha oscillations did not predict the color choice (yellow vs blue), as indicated by the chance level decoding accuracy (50%). Overall, our results revealed both similarities and differences between spatial and feature-based willed attention, and thus extended the understanding toward the neural mechanisms of volitional attention.

Nanofiber Peptides for Bacterial Trapping: A Novel Approach to Antibiotic Alternatives in Wound Infections.

The pervasive employment of antibiotics has engendered the advent of drug-resistant bacteria, imperiling the well-being and health of both humans and animals. Infections precipitated by such multi-resistant bacteria, especially those induced by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), pervade hospital settings, constituting a grave menace to patient vitality. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have garnered considerable attention as a potent countermeasure against multidrug resistant bacteria. In preceding research endeavors, an insect-derived antimicrobial peptide is identified that, while possessing antimicrobial attributes, manifested suboptimal efficacy against drug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria. To ameliorate this issue, this work enhances the antimicrobial capabilities of the initial ß-hairpin AMPs by substituting the structural sequence of the original AMPs with variant lengths of hydrophobic amino acid-hydrophilic amino acid repeat units. Throughout this endeavor, this work has identified a number of peptides that possess highly effective antibacterial characteristics against a wide range of bacteria. Additionally, some of these peptides have the ability to self-assemble into nanofibers, which then build networks in a distinctive manner to capture bacteria. Consequently, they represent prospective antibiotic alternatives for addressing wound infections engendered by drug-resistant bacteria.

Molecular interaction mechanism for humic acids fouling resistance on charged, zwitterion-like and zwitterionic surfaces.

Humic acids (HA) are ubiquitous in surface waters, leading to significant fouling challenges. While zwitterion-like and zwitterionic surfaces have emerged as promising candidates for antifouling, a quantitative understanding of molecular interaction mechanism, particularly at the nanoscale, still remains elusive. In this work, the intermolecular forces between HA and charged, zwitterion-like or zwitterionic monolayers in aqueous environments were quantified using atomic force microscope. Compared to cationic MTAC ([2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]trimethylammonium chloride), which exhibited an adhesion energy of âˆ¼1.342 mJ/m2 with HA due to the synergistic effect of electrostatic attraction and possible cation-π interaction, anionic SPMA (3-sulfopropyl methacrylate) showed a weaker adhesion energy (∼0.258 mJ/m2) attributed to the electrostatic repulsion. Zwitterion-like MTAC/SPMA mixture, driven by electrostatic attraction between opposite charges, formed a hydration layer that prevented the interaction with HA, thereby considerably reducing adhesion energy to âˆ¼0.123 mJ/m2. In contrast, zwitterionic MPC (2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) and DMAPS ([2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl) ammonium hydroxide) displayed ultralow adhesion energy (0.06-0.07 mJ/m2) with HA, arising from their strong dipole moments which could induce a tight hydration layer that effectively inhibited HA fouling. The pH-mediated electrostatic interaction resulted in the increased adhesion energy for MTAC but decreased adhesion energy for SPMA with elevated pH, while the adhesion energy for zwitterion-like and zwitterionic surfaces was independent of environmental pH. Density functional theory (DFT) simulation confirmed the strong binding capability of MPC and DMAPS with water molecules (∼-12 kcal mol-1). This work provides valuable insights into the molecular interaction mechanisms underlying humic-substance-fouling resistance of charged, zwitterion-like and zwitterionic materials at the nanoscale, shedding light on developing more effective strategy for HA antifouling in water treatment.

High-Pressure-Field Induced Synthesis of Ultrafine-Sized High-Entropy Compounds with Excellent Sodium-Ion Storage.

Emerging high entropy compounds (HECs) have attracted huge attention in electrochemical energy-related applications. The features of ultrafine size and carbon incorporation show great potential to boost the ion-storage kinetics of HECs. However, they are rarely reported because high-temperature calcination tends to result in larger crystallites, phase separation, and carbon reduction. Herein, using the NaCl self-assembly template method, by introducing a high-pressure field in the calcination process, the atom diffusion and phase separation are inhibited for the general formation of HECs, and the HEC aggregation is inhibited for obtaining ultrafine size. The general preparation of ultrafine-sized (< 10 nm) HECs (nitrides, oxides, sulfides, and phosphates) anchored on porous carbon composites is realized. They are demonstrated by combining advanced characterization technologies with theoretical computations. Ultrafine-sized high entropy sulfides-MnFeCoCuSnMo/porous carbon (HES-MnFeCoCuSnMo/PC) as representative anodes exhibit excellent sodium-ion storage kinetics and capacities (a high rating capacity of 278 mAh g-1 at 10 A g-1 for full cell and a high cycling capacity of 281 mAh g-1 at 20 A g-1 after 6000 cycles for half cell) due to the combining advantages of high entropy effect, ultrafine size, and PC incorporation. Our work provides a new opportunity for designing and fabricating ultrafine-sized HECs.

Association between sleep quality and dry eye disease: a literature review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to systematically review the association between dry eye and sleep quality. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, Web of Science, and grey literature databases were searched for observational studies published before April 2023. Meta-analysis was performed using STAT15 software. RESULTS: A total of 21 studies with 419,218 participants were included. The results showed that the dry eye subjects had a worse sleep quality than the healthy population, with poorer subjective sleep quality, longer sleep latency, and a higher risk of unhealthy sleep duration such as insufficient sleep or excessive sleep. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores of the dry eye subjects were significantly higher than those of the control subjects (WMD = 1.78, 95%CI: 1.06, 2.50, P < 0.001). The dry eye subjects scored higher than the control subjects in sleep quality, sleep latency, and sleep disturbance in PSQI; there was no difference between the dry eye individuals and control subjects in sleep duration, sleep efficiency, daytime dysfunction, and sleep medication scores. The risk of sleep disorders in the dry eye subjects was significantly higher than that in the non-dry eye subjects (RR = 2.20, 95%CI: 1.78, 2.72, P < 0.001); the risk of insufficient sleep in the dry eye subjects was higher than that in the control subjects (RR = 3.76, 95%CI: 3.15, 4.48, P < 0.001), and the prevalence of excessive sleepiness in dry eye subjects was higher than that in the control subjects (RR = 5.53, 95%CI: 3.83, 7.18, P < 0.001). The ESS scores of the dry eye subjects were significantly higher than those of the control subjects (WMD = 3.02, 95%CI: 2.43, 3.60, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Our meta-analysis suggests that individuals with dry eye have a worse sleep quality than the healthy population, with poorer subjective sleep quality, longer sleep latency, and higher risk of unhealthy sleep duration such as insufficient sleep or excessive sleepiness.

Waiting for it: Anorexia Risk, Future Orientation, and Intertemporal Discounting.

Anorexia Nervosa is a severe eating disorder characterized by food restriction in service of a future goal: thinness and weight loss. Prior work suggests abnormal intertemporal decision-making in anorexia, with more farsighted decisions observed in patients with acute anorexia. Prospective future thinking in daily life, or temporal orientation, promotes more farsighted delay discounting. However, whether temporal orientation is altered in anorexia, and underlies reduced delay discounting in this population, remains unclear. Further, because changes in delay discounting could reflect cognitive effects of an acute clinical state, it is important to determine whether reduced delay discounting is observed in subclinical, at-risk samples. We measured delay discounting behavior and temporal orientation in a large sample of never-diagnosed individuals at risk of anorexia nervosa. We found that farsighted delay discounting was associated with elevated risk for anorexia nervosa. Anorexia nervosa risk was also associated with increased future-oriented cognition. Future-oriented cognition mediated the difference in delay-discounting behavior between high and low-risk groups. These results were unrelated to subjective time perception and were independent of mood and anxiety symptomatology. These findings establish future-oriented cognition as a cognitive mechanism underlying altered intertemporal decision-making in individuals at risk of developing anorexia nervosa.

SUCLG1 restricts POLRMT succinylation to enhance mitochondrial biogenesis and leukemia progression.

Mitochondria are cellular powerhouses that generate energy through the electron transport chain (ETC). The mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) encodes essential ETC proteins in a compartmentalized manner, however, the mechanism underlying metabolic regulation of mtDNA function remains unknown. Here, we report that expression of tricarboxylic acid cycle enzyme succinate-CoA ligase SUCLG1 strongly correlates with ETC genes across various TCGA cancer transcriptomes. Mechanistically, SUCLG1 restricts succinyl-CoA levels to suppress the succinylation of mitochondrial RNA polymerase (POLRMT). Lysine 622 succinylation disrupts the interaction of POLRMT with mtDNA and mitochondrial transcription factors. SUCLG1-mediated POLRMT hyposuccinylation maintains mtDNA transcription, mitochondrial biogenesis, and leukemia cell proliferation. Specifically, leukemia-promoting FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) mutations modulate nuclear transcription and upregulate SUCLG1 expression to reduce succinyl-CoA and POLRMT succinylation, resulting in enhanced mitobiogenesis. In line, genetic depletion of POLRMT or SUCLG1 significantly delays disease progression in mouse and humanized leukemia models. Importantly, succinyl-CoA level and POLRMT succinylation are downregulated in FLT3-mutated clinical leukemia samples, linking enhanced mitobiogenesis to cancer progression. Together, SUCLG1 connects succinyl-CoA with POLRMT succinylation to modulate mitochondrial function and cancer development.

Impacts of regional socioeconomic statuses and global events on solid waste research reflected in six waste-focused journals.

The research pertaining to solid waste is undergoing extensive advancement, thereby necessitating a consolidation and analysis of its research trajectories. The existing biblio-studies on solid waste research (SWR) lack thorough analyses of the factors influencing its trends. This article presents an innovative categorization framework that categorizes publications from six SWR journals utilizing Source Latent Dirichlet Allocation. First analyse changes in publication numbers across main categories, subcategories, journals, and regions, providing a macro-level study of SWR. Temporal analysis of keywords supplements a micro-level study of SWR, which highlights that emerging technologies with low Technology Readiness Level receive significant attention, while studies on widespread technologies are diminishing. Additionally, this study demonstrates the substantial influence of socioeconomic factors and previous SWR publications on current and future SWR trends. Finally, the article confirms the impact of global events on SWR trends by examining the structural breakpoints of SWR and their correlation with global events.

Enhanced detection of ligand-PPARγ binding based on surface plasmon resonance through complexation with SRC1- or NCOR2-related polypeptide.

A previous study reported the use of a biosensing technique based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for the ligand binding detection of peroxisome proliferator activator receptor gamma (PPARγ). This detection was designed based on the structural properties of PPARγ. Because of cross-linked protein inactivation and the low molecular weight of conventional ligands, direct ligand binding detection based on SPR has low stability and repeatability. In this study, we report an indirect response methodology based on SPR technology in which anti-His CM5 chip binds fresh PPARγ every cycle, resulting in more stable detection. We developed a remarkable improvement in ligand-protein binding detectability in vitro by introducing two coregulator-related polypeptides into this system. In parallel, a systematic indirect response methodology can reflect the interaction relationship between ligands and proteins to some extent by detecting the changes in SA-SRC1 and GST-NCOR2 binding to PPARγ. Rosiglitazone, a PPARγ agonist with strong affinity, is a potent insulin-sensitizing agent. Some ligands may be competitively exerted at the same sites of PPARγ (binding rosiglitazone). We demonstrated using indirect response methodology that selective PPARγ modulator (SPPARM) candidates of PPARγ can be found by competing for the binding of the rosiglitazone site on PPARγ, although they may have no effect on polypeptides and PPARγ binding.

An exploratory framework for mapping, mechanism, and management of urban soundscape quality: From quietness to naturalness.

BACKGROUND: Despite growing attention from researchers and governments, challenges persist in comprehensively assessing urban sound quality by integrating both quietness and naturalness aspects. GOALS: This study aimed to develop an innovative soundscape quality index that concurrently evaluates quietness and naturalness in urban soundscapes. Our objectives included conducting urban soundscape quality mapping, analyzing influential mechanisms, and identifying priority zones for sound environment management. APPROACHES: We collected sound pressure level (SPL) and raw audio data, from which we computed a normalized difference soundscape index (NDSI). With a dataset comprising 28 explanatory variables encompassing land use, built environment, vegetation characteristics, and temporal factors, we employed the random forest (RF) model to predict 10 indicators, including eight SPL-related indices, NDSI, and the QNS (quietness and naturalness soundscape) index. Crucially, we utilized SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) values to interpret the RF model. FINDINGS: Spatial variations in quietness and naturalness were evident, closely associated with road networks and vegetation, respectively, with discernible temporal variations. The top three variables influencing QNS were distance to major roads, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and proportion of tree coverage. Moreover, interaction effects highlighted dual negative or synergistic promoting effects on QNS from factors such as road width, human disturbance, vegetation configurations, and land cover. Notably, these mechanisms were successfully applied to six typical tourist attractions in Xiamen city, where five types of management zones were mapped based on priority considerations of population density and soundscape quality. Interestingly, natural soundscape reserves were highly correlated with city parks, high-risk zones predominantly overlapped with road networks, and potential zones comprised inner communities between streets. SIGNIFICANCE: The framework demonstrated effectiveness in mapping, exploring mechanisms, and guiding management strategies for the urban sound environment.