Prevalence and plasma exosome-derive microRNA diagnostic biomarker screening of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in Yunnan Province, China.

Background: Idiopathic scoliosis significantly affects the physical and mental health of children and adolescents, with varying prevalence rates in different regions. The occurrence of idiopathic scoliosis is associated with genetic regulation and biochemical factors, but the changes in exosome-derived miRNA profiles among idiopathic scoliosis patients remain unclear. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of idiopathic scoliosis in Yunnan Province, China, and identify key exosome-derived miRNAs in idiopathic scoliosis through a cohort study. Methods: From January 2018 to December 2020, a cross-sectional study on idiopathic scoliosis in children and adolescents was conducted in Yunnan Province. A total of 84,460 students from 13 cities and counties in Yunnan Province participated in a scoliosis screening program, with ages ranging from 7 to 19 years. After confirmation through screening and imaging results, patients with severe idiopathic scoliosis and normal control individuals were selected using propensity matching. Subsequently, plasma exosome-derived miRNA sequencing and RT-qPCR validation were performed separately. Based on the validation results, diagnostic performance analysis and target gene prediction were conducted for differential plasma exosome-derived miRNAs. Results: The overall prevalence of idiopathic scoliosis in children and adolescents in Yunnan Province was 1.10%, with a prevalence of 0.87% in males and 1.32% in females. The peak prevalence was observed at age 13. Among patients diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis, approximately 12.8% had severe cases, and there were more cases of double curvature than of single curvature, with thoracolumbar curvature being the most common in the single-curvature group. Sequencing of plasma exosome-derived miRNAs associated with idiopathic scoliosis revealed 56 upregulated and 153 downregulated miRNAs. Further validation analysis confirmed that hsa-miR-27a-5p, hsa-miR-539-5p, and hsa-miR-1246 have potential diagnostic value. Conclusions: We gained insights into the epidemiological characteristics of idiopathic scoliosis in Yunnan Province and conducted further analysis of plasma exosome-derived miRNA changes in patients with severe idiopathic scoliosis. This study has provided new insights for the prevention and diagnosis of idiopathic scoliosis, paving the way for exploring clinical biomarkers and molecular regulatory mechanisms. However, further validation and elucidation of the detailed biological mechanisms underlying these findings will be required in the future.

Comprehensive Analysis on Prognostic Signature Based on T Cell-Mediated Tumor Killing Related Genes in Gastric Cancer.

Although immunotherapy is a valuable treatment for gastric cancer (GC), identifying the patients who would benefit most from this approach presents a challenge. In this study, GC patients were divided into two subtypes by consensus clustering according to T cell-mediated tumor killing related genes (TTKRGs), and there were significant differences in tumor-infiltrating immune cells, signaling pathways, and gene expression of immunomodulators and inhibitory immune checkpoints between the two subtypes. Then, we developed an individualized signature based on TTKRGs, and its clinical and predictive value in GC patients for chemotherapeutic and immunotherapeutic responses was assessed. We confirmed the expression levels of signature genes in GC tumor tissue using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Additionally, to improve the accuracy of GC prognosis predictions, we established a nomogram. We further identified some compounds as sensitive drugs targeting GC risk groups. The signature showed significant predictive ability across RNA-seq, microarray, and qRT-PCR cohorts, which could assist in predicting survival, immunotherapeutic and chemotherapeutic outcomes in GC patients.

Effect of Sasobit/Waste Cooking Oil Composite on the Physical, Rheological, and Aging Properties of Styrene-Butadiene Rubber (SBR)-Modified Bitumen Binders.

The modifying effects of polymer on bitumen low-temperature performance are substantially compromised by the thermal breakdown of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) polymer during bitumen mixture production operations. The efficacy of the utilization of Sasobit/waste cooking oil (Sasobit/WCO) as a warm-mix additive has been demonstrated in mitigating the adverse consequences of thermal aging on SBR-modified bitumen binder (SB) while preserving the binder's original performance characteristics. However, few studies have been conducted to further investigate the rheological properties and aging resistance of SB modified with Sasobit/WCO compounds. In this work, three additives-Sasobit, WCO, and Sasobit/WCO composite-were selected, and their effects on the physical and rheological characteristics of SB as well as the temperatures at which the mixtures were prepared were assessed. In addition, by using dynamic shear rheometers (DSR) and bending beam rheometers (BBR), the effects of this innovative warm-mix addition on the performance grade (PG) and aging resistances of SB were evaluated. According to the results, Sasobit/WCO composites outperform Sasobit and WCO in lowering the mixture preparation temperature. Sasobit/WCO also improves both the high- and low-temperature performance of SB simultaneously. Compared to hot-mix asphalt mixtures, the addition of Sasobit/WCO reduces the preparation temperature of the bitumen mixtures by 19 °C, which in turn helps to minimize the negative effects of temperature aging on the functioning of the SB. Additionally, the Sasobit/WCO composite addition can improve the SB mixture's resistance to thermal cracking. After the introduction of Sasobit/WCO, the high-temperature PG of SB was raised by two levels, regardless of whether the warm-mix impact was taken into account. With the addition of Sasobit/WCO, SB's resilience to short-term aging was enhanced.

Sulforaphane alleviates psoriasis by enhancing antioxidant defense through KEAP1-NRF2 Pathway activation and attenuating inflammatory signaling.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Sulforaphane (SFN) has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. In this study, we investigated the effects of SFN on a mouse model of psoriasis induced by imiquimod (IMQ) and its underlying molecular mechanism. Mice treated with SFN showed significant improvement in psoriatic symptoms, including reduced erythema, scales, and cutaneous thickness. Histopathological analysis and immunohistochemical staining revealed decreased expression of K16, K17, and Ki67 in SFN-treated mice, indicating reduced abnormal differentiation of keratinocytes and cutaneous inflammation. SFN treatment also reduced the activation of STAT3 and NF-κB pathways and downregulated pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1ß, IL-6, and CCL2. In vitro experiments using HaCaT cells demonstrated that SFN inhibited IL-22 and TNF-α-induced activation of inflammatory pathways and keratinocyte proliferation. Network pharmacology analysis suggested that the KEAP1-NRF2 pathway might be involved in the protective effects of SFN on psoriasis. We observed reduced NRF2 expression in human psoriatic lesions, and subsequent experiments showed that SFN activated KEAP1-NRF2 pathway in vivo and in vitro. Importantly, NRF2-deficient mice exhibited aggravated psoriasis-like symptoms and reduced response to SFN treatment. Our findings indicate that SFN ameliorates psoriasis symptoms and inflammation through the KEAP1-NRF2 pathway, suggesting a potential therapeutic role for SFN in the treatment of psoriasis.

SSAGCN: Social Soft Attention Graph Convolution Network for Pedestrian Trajectory Prediction.

Pedestrian trajectory prediction is an important technique of autonomous driving. In order to accurately predict the reasonable future trajectory of pedestrians, it is inevitable to consider social interactions among pedestrians and the influence of surrounding scene simultaneously, which can fully represent the complex behavior information and ensure the rationality of predicted trajectories obeyed realistic rules. In this article, we propose one new prediction model named social soft attention graph convolution network (SSAGCN), which aims to simultaneously handle social interactions among pedestrians and scene interactions between pedestrians and environments. In detail, when modeling social interaction, we propose a new social soft attention function, which fully considers various interaction factors among pedestrians. Also, it can distinguish the influence of pedestrians around the agent based on different factors under various situations. For the scene interaction, we propose one new sequential scene sharing mechanism. The influence of the scene on one agent at each moment can be shared with other neighbors through social soft attention; therefore, the influence of the scene is expanded both in spatial and temporal dimensions. With the help of these improvements, we successfully obtain socially and physically acceptable predicted trajectories. The experiments on public available datasets prove the effectiveness of SSAGCN and have achieved state-of-the-art results. The project code is available at.

The Synergistic Effect of Polyphosphates Acid and Different Compounds of Waste Cooking Oil on Conventional and Rheological Properties of Modified Bitumen.

In order to conserve non-renewable natural resources, waste cooking oil (WCO) in bitumen can help lower CO2 emissions and advance the environmental economy. In this study, three different components of WCO were isolated and then, together with polyphosphoric acid (PPA), used separately as bitumen modifiers to determine the suitability of various substances in WCO with PPA. Conventional tests, including penetration, softening point temperature, and ductility, and the dynamic shear rheology (DSR) test, including temperature sweep and frequency sweep, were used to evaluate the influence of WCO/PPA on the traditional performance and rheological properties at high and low temperatures. The results indicate that WCO reduced the ductility and penetration value, when the use of PPA increased the softening point temperature and high-temperature performance. Compared to reference bitumen, the rutting factor and viscous activation energy (Ea) of bitumen modified with 4% WCO and 2% PPA has the most significant increase by 18.6% and 31.5, respectively. All components of WCO have a significant impact on improving the low-temperature performance of PPA-modified bitumen. The performance of the composite-modified bitumen at low temperatures is negatively affected by some waxy compounds in WCO, such as methyl palmitate, which tends to undergo a solid-liquid phase change as the temperature decreases. In conclusion, the inclusion of WCO/PPA in bitumen offers a fresh approach to developing sustainable pavement materials.

The therapeutic role of Jingchuan tablet on ischaemic cerebral stroke via the HIF-1α/EPO/VEGFA signalling pathway.

CONTEXT: Jingchuan tablet (JCT) is a Chinese medicine prescription for treating ischaemic cerebral stroke (ICS). However, its relevant mechanisms remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: To unravel the intrinsic mechanisms of JCT anti-ICS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 'Hongjingtian', 'chuanxiong', 'yanhusuo', 'bingpian', 'cerebral infarction', 'cerebral ischemia' or 'stroke' were used as keywords, and then components, targets and underlying mechanisms of JCT anti-ICS were analysed in TCMSP, TTD, DrugBank, STRING and Metascape databases up to June 2020. Male Sprague-Dawley rats under permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (pMCAO) model, randomly assigned as: model, sham, nimodipine (0.012 g/kg/d) and JCT (0.78, 1.56 and 3.12 g/kg/d) groups, received oral gavage administration for a week. Therapeutic effects were evaluated by detecting the proportion of cerebral infarction, neuronal apoptosis and neurological deficits. Bioactive components were detected by HPLC-MS. Molecular biology and computational docking were used to verify the underlying mechanisms. RESULTS: Eighty-one components, 166 targets and HIF-1α/EPO/VEGFA pathway contributed to the anti-ICS effect of JCT. JCT treatment effectively reduced the proportion of cerebral infarction (33.13%), apoptosis rate (14.80%) and neurobehavioural score (2.00). JCT increased the protein levels of HIF-1α (0.84), EPO (0.64) and VEGFA (0.69), respectively (p < 0.05). Gallic acid, salidroside, chlorogenic acid, ethyl gallate, ferulic acid and tetrahydropalmatine detected by HPLC-MS showed good interaction and binding with HIF-1α/EPO/VEGFA. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated the mechanisms of JCT anti-ICS associated with the activation of the HIF-1α/EPO/VEGFA pathway, which provided a pharmacological basis for expanding the clinical application and some scientific ideas for further research into the material basis JCT anti-ICS.

Auto-CSC: A Transfer Learning Based Automatic Cell Segmentation and Count Framework.

Cell segmentation and counting play a very important role in the medical field. The diagnosis of many diseases relies heavily on the kind and number of cells in the blood. convolution neural network achieves encouraging results on image segmentation. However, this data-driven method requires a large number of annotations and can be a time-consuming and expensive process, prone to human error. In this paper, we present a novel frame to segment and count cells without too many manually annotated cell images. Before training, we generated the cell image labels on single-kind cell images using traditional algorithms. These images were then used to form the train set with the label. Different train sets composed of different kinds of cell images are presented to the segmentation model to update its parameters. Finally, the pretrained U-Net model is transferred to segment the mixed cell images using a small dataset of manually labeled mixed cell images. To better evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method, we design and train a new automatic cell segmentation and count framework. The test results and analyses show that the segmentation and count performance of the framework trained by the proposed method equal the model trained by large amounts of annotated mixed cell images.

Acupuncture Combined with Traditional Chinese Medicine and Drug Therapy for the Treatment of Cerebral Infarction (Phlegm-Blood Stasis Syndrome) and Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaque: A Preliminary Randomized Controlled Study.

Carotid atherosclerotic plaque (CAP) is one of the leading causes of cerebral infarction. Western medicine usually uses lipid-lowering drugs to stabilize plaques. Currently, studies reporting on drugs that can reduce plaques are lacking. Here, we performed a randomized controlled study to investigate the effectiveness of acupuncture combined with drug therapy (TCM and Western) to treat cerebral infarction (phlegm-blood stasis syndrome) and CAP. The control group was treated with atorvastatin calcium tablets (20 mg/d, po for 15 days). The treatment group received atorvastatin calcium tablets 20 mg, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) decoctions (two matured substance decoction plus peach kernel and Carthamus four substance decoction plus Chinese hawthorn fruit 20 g, gold theragran 20 g, and red yeast rice 3 g), and acupuncture therapy, once daily for 15 days as one treatment course. The patients' neurological deficit score, ultrasonic testing of the carotid artery, and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) were evaluated. Our findings showed no significant difference in the evaluated indices between the two groups before treatment (P > 0.05). However, compared with the control group after 15 days of treatment and within each group before and after treatment, the differences were significant (P < 0.05). In conclusion, acupuncture combined with drug therapy demonstrated promising effectiveness in treating cerebral infarction (phlegm-blood stasis syndrome) and CAP.

[The allozyme analysis of the genetic differentiation in self-inbred early generations of Lilium formolongi Hort].

The genetic diversity and differentiation of Lilium formolongi Hort. lines in self-inbred early generations were studied by allozyme electrophoresis. The results showed that mean allele number/locus, percentage of polymorphic loci, average observed heterozygosity and average expected heterozygosity were decreased with the increment of self-inbred generations. The purified loci, purified speed, fixed alleles and increment of genetic differentiation were different among lines because of selection and self-inbred. The mean genetic distances among F4 lines were larger than that of F3 lines, serving as another evidence to prove the differentiation among lines.