Synergistic engineering of heterostructure and oxygen vacancy in cobalt hydroxide/aluminum oxyhydroxide as bifunctional electrocatalysts for urea-assisted hydrogen production.

Designing inexpensive, high-efficiency and durable bifunctional catalysts for urea oxidation reaction (UOR) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is an encouraging tactic to produce hydrogen with reduced energy expenditure. Herein, oxygen vacancy-rich cobalt hydroxide/aluminum oxyhydroxide heterostructure on nickel foam (denoted as Co(OH)2/AlOOH/NF-100) has been fabricated using one step hydrothermal process. Theoretical calculation and experimental results indicate the electrons transfer from Co(OH)2 to highly active AlOOH results in the interfacial charge redistribution and optimization of electronic structure. Abundant oxygen vacancies in the heterostructure could improve the conductivity and simultaneously serve as the active sites for catalytic reaction. Consequently, the optimal Co(OH)2/AlOOH/NF-100 demonstrates excellent electrocatalytic performance for HER (62.9 mV@10 mA cm-2) and UOR (1.36 V@10 mA cm-2) due to the synergy between heterointerface and oxygen vacancies. Additionally, the in situ electrochemical impedance spectrum (EIS) for UOR suggests that the heterostructured catalyst exhibits rapid reaction kinetics, mass transfer and current response. Importantly, the urea-assisted electrolysis composed of the Co(OH)2/AlOOH/NF-100 manifests a low cell voltage (1.48 V @ 10 mA cm-2) in 1 M KOH containing 0.5 M urea. This work presents a promising avenue to the development of HER/UOR bifunctional electrocatalysts.

Rhizobium acaciae and R. anhuiense are the dominant rhizobial symbionts of Pisum sativum L. from Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to investigate the diversity and geographic distribution of pea-nodulating rhizobia in the subtropical region of Yunnan Province from Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. Methods and results: A total of 615 rhizobial isolates were obtained from root nodules of the trapping plants and characterized genetically and symbiotically. The isolates discriminated into 43 genotypes by PCR-RFLP of IGS DNA. Multiple locus sequence analysis based on 16S rRNA, recA, atpD, dnaK, and rpoB genes placed them into eight clusters corresponding to species R. acaciae, R. anhuiense, R. binae, R. bangladeshense, R. hidalgonense, and three suspected novel populations of Rhizobium genosp. I-III. R. acaciae was the dominant group (52.5%) followed by R. anhuiense (30.7%). The other species were minor groups. Based on nodC phylogeny, all of them were the symbiovar viciae. All the tested strains showed efficient symbiotic N2 fixation on pea plants, in which WLB27, WCB18, and WNY29 presented the best PGP effects. Some of the tested strains had better IAA production, with WCB18 as the best producer (64.556 mg/L). Their distribution was mainly affected by soil available phosphorus, available potassium, and effective nitrogen. According to the results of symbiotic effect and resistance tests, strains of WLB27, WCB18, and WNY29 were selected as candidates for creating inoculants. Discussion: This suggests that the pea-nodulating rhizobia in Yunnan Province form a unique community. The results gave some novel information about the diversity, diversification, and biogeography of pea-nodulating rhizobia.

A Self-Assembled Transdermal Nanomedicines Incorporating Pendant Disulfides for Non-Invasive, Synergistic Treatment of Melanoma.

Transdermal drug delivery system (TDDS) offers lower systemic toxicity and good patient compliance, making it a promising treatment option for skin-related cancers. However, physiological barriers in the skin frequently impede the therapeutic efficiency of TDDS. To address this, a unique self-assembled TDDS that incorporates disulfide pendant groups (termed Sup-TDDS) is presented. It is formulated with dithiolane-containing lipoic acid (LA), photosensitizers Ce6, and chemotherapeutic agents trametinib. Pendant disulfide moieties on Sup-TDDS facilitate thiol-disulfide exchange reactions with exofacial thiols on cell surfaces, thus enhancing stratum corneum penetration. In contrast to intravenous injection, topical administration of Sup-TDDS can penetrate deeper into the skin (> 500 µm) and promote drug accumulation in subcutaneous tumors. In a B16F10-bearing mouse model, Sup-TDDS treatment demonstrates significant anti-tumor effects in primary and recurrent melanoma, benefiting from the synergistic effects of Ce6 and trametinib. These results underscore that Sup-TDDS's transdermal properties allow non-invasive melanoma therapy, implying the potential of nanodrugs containing pendant disulfides for transdermal treatment of skin illnesses.

Self-Supervised Molecular Representation Learning With Topology and Geometry.

Molecular representation learning is of great importance for drug molecular analysis. The development in molecular representation learning has demonstrated great promise through self-supervised pre-training strategy to overcome the scarcity of labeled molecular property data. Recent studies concentrate on pre-training molecular representation encoders by integrating both 2D topological and 3D geometric structures. However, existing methods rely on molecule-level or atom-level alignment for different views, while overlooking hierarchical self-supervised learning to capture both inter-molecule and intra-molecule correlation. Additionally, most methods employ 2D or 3D encoders to individually extract molecular characteristics locally or globally for molecular property prediction. The potential for effectively fusing these two molecular representations remains to be explored. In this work, we propose a Multi-View Molecular Representation Learning method (MVMRL) for molecular property prediction. First, hierarchical pre-training pretext tasks are designed, including fine-grained atom-level tasks for 2D molecular graphs as well as coarse-grained molecule-level tasks for 3D molecular graphs to provide complementary information to each other. Subsequently, a motif-level fusion pattern of multi-view molecular representations is presented during fine-tuning to enhance the performance of molecular property prediction. We evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed MVMRL by comparing with state-of-the-art baselines on molecular property prediction tasks, and the experimental results demonstrate the superiority of MVMRL.

From mother to egg: Variability in maternal transfer of trace elements and steroid hormones in common eider (Somateria mollissima).

The Baltic Sea is among the most polluted seas worldwide with elevated concentrations of trace elements (TEs). TEs can induce negative effects on organisms and may be transferred to eggs causing endocrine-disrupting effects on embryos. The Baltic Sea population of common eider (Somateria mollissima) has declined over the last thirty years, but the potential contribution of TEs to this decline is understudied. The aim of this study was to assess maternal transfer of TEs during the incubation period. Associations between TEs and steroid hormone concentrations in eggs (androstenedione, testosterone, pregnenolone and progesterone) were also investigated. Ten nests from Bengtskär (Finland) were monitored, for which hens at the beginning and end of the egg-laying were blood-sampled and their clutches were collected. Red blood cells from females (n = 10) and homogenized eggs (n = 44) were analyzed for 10 TEs (As, Ca, Cd, Cu, Hg, Mg, Ni, Pb, Se and Zn). Maternal and egg concentrations were correlated for Cu, Hg and Se (R2 = 0.51, R2 = 0.51, R2 = 0.52, respectively and all p-values ≤0.01). Three eggs had the highest Pb concentrations (1.43-2.24 µg g-1 ww) ever reported for this species. Although maternal and egg Pb concentrations were not significantly correlated, those eggs were laid by the same female, also having the highest Pb concentration (3.4 µg g-1 ww). Most blood TE concentrations in females were below known toxicity limits, except for Pb where 20 % of 10 females (including one outlier) had concentrations above the toxicity limit reported for subclinical poisoning in Anatini (> 0.2 µg g-1 ww). Steroid hormones in eggs were interrelated, but not correlated to TEs. Overall, the results call for more urgent research into the origin and consequences of high Pb concentrations and continued monitoring of the common eider populations in the Baltic Sea.

Superconducting Boride Nb2IrB2 with Variable and Tunable Stacking Behaviors of Two-Dimensional [Nb-Ir-Nb] Triangular Lattices.

In structures with special geometry lattices, variations in stacking sequences are ubiquitous, yielding many novel structures and functionalities. Despite a wealth of intriguing properties and wide-ranging applications, there remains a considerable gap in understanding the correlation between special geometry lattices and functionalities in borides. Here, we design and synthesize a new superconducting boride Nb2IrB2, with a body-centered orthorhombic structure, consisting of alternating two-dimensional [Nb-Ir-Nb] triple-triangular-lattice-layers and B fragment layers. Advanced aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy observations show variable stacking configurations between [Nb-Ir-Nb] triple-triangular-lattice layers that can be tuned through synthesis conditions. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the coherent low-energy boundary interface plane of {101} between [11̅1] and [010] domains is responsible for the variable stacking behaviors. Energetically favorable structures are thereby reasonably proposed, based on nanoscale imperfect structure units. These findings provide valuable insights for designing and exploring new structures and functionalities within boride systems involving special geometry lattices.

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) do not accumulate with age or affect population survival in ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres).

Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may threaten wildlife due to their high environmental persistence, toxicity potential and potential to bioaccumulate. Bioaccumulation may be particularly profound in long-lived animals inhabiting higher trophic niches. To date, there is a paucity of data on PFAS bioaccumulation potential in individual wild birds over their lifetime. In this study, we analysed within-individual PFAS contamination in a declining long-distance migratory shorebird, the ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres), and the variation in PFAS contamination with age by repeatedly sampling 19 individuals throughout their lives between 2007 and 2022. We found blood-sampled turnstones on their non-breeding grounds in King Island, Tasmania, exhibited no variation of PFAS contamination with age, with low overall circulating PFAS concentrations (<0.015-25 ng/g, median: 0.78 ng/g). Moreover, irrespective of the increased PFAS usage along the East Asian Australasian Flyway over the past two decades, ruddy turnstone survival remained consistent throughout the 15-year sampling period, with no temporal trend in percentage of juveniles in the population. From a conservation perspective, low concentrations of PFAS found in this study are good news as they suggest PFAS alone do not seem to threaten turnstone survival. However, the unknown effects of exposure to mixtures of pollutants may yet threaten turnstones.

Screening and expression validation of key proteins for secondary hair follicle growth in cashmere goats based on iTRAQ quantitative proteomics technology.

Background: The growth of secondary hair follicles (SHFs) in cashmere goats has periodic changes, including telogen, anagen, and catagen, during which proteins play important roles as the executor of life activities. Results: In this study, the skin tissues of cashmere goats at three different growth stages of SHFs were collected for proteome sequencing and validation experiments. Through protein differential expression analysis and time series analysis, FKBP prolyl isomerase 10 (FKBP10) and fibrillin 2 (FBN2) were screened as the key proteins for SHF cycle growth of cashmere goats, and albumin (ALB), collagen type I alpha 1 chain (COL1A1) and elastin (ELN) were predicted to be their interacting proteins. The results of quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), western blot, and immunohistochemistry experiments showed that the mRNA and protein expression levels of FKBP10, FBN2, COL1A1, ELN and ALB were higher in anagen and lower in telogen. They were all highly expressed in the outer root sheath of SHFs in anagen. Conclusion: FKBP10, FBN2, COL1A1, ELN, and ALB can promote the growth of SHFs in cashmere goats. This study lays the foundation for analyzing the growth cycle regulatory mechanism of SHFs in cashmere goats, and provides new ideas for further improving cashmere yield and quality.

Drug-Coated Balloon Angioplasty of the Side Branch During Provisional Stenting: The Multicenter Randomized DCB-BIF Trial.

BACKGROUND: Side branch stenting is often required during provisional stenting, leading to suboptimal results. Drug-coated balloons (DCB) for the compromised side branch have emerged as an attractive strategy. However, the benefit of DCB for coronary bifurcations remains unclear. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate whether DCB, compared with a noncompliant balloon (NCB), for the pinched side branch improves the outcomes of provisional stenting in patients with simple, true coronary bifurcations. METHODS: In this multicenter, randomized controlled trial, patients with true coronary bifurcations who had side branch diameter stenosis of ≥70% after main vessel stenting at 22 centers in China, Indonesia, Italy, and Korea were randomly assigned to either DCB or NCB intervention. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac events, a composite of cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, or clinically driven target-lesion revascularization at the 1-year follow-up. RESULTS: Between September 8, 2020, and June 2, 2023, 784 patients with true coronary bifurcation lesions undergoing main vessel stenting and having a severely compromised side branch were randomly assigned to the DCB (n = 391) or NCB (n = 393) group. One-year follow-up was completed in all patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 28 patients in the DCB group and 49 patients in the NCB group (Kaplan-Meier rate: 7.2% vs 12.5%; HR: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.35-0.88; P = 0.013), driven by a reduction in myocardial infarction. There were no significant differences between groups in procedural success, crossover to a 2-stent approach, all-cause death, revascularization, or stent thrombosis. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with simple and true coronary bifurcation lesions undergoing provisional stenting, main vessel stenting with a DCB for the compromised side branch resulted in a lower 1-year rate of the composite outcome compared with an NCB intervention for the side branch. The high rates of periprocedural myocardial infarction, which occurred early and did not lead to revascularization, are of unclear clinical significance.

IVUS-Guided vs Angiography-Guided PCI in Patients With Diabetes With Acute Coronary Syndromes: The IVUS-ACS Trial.

BACKGROUND: Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) reduces the risk for clinical events in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), compared with angiographic guidance. However, the benefits of IVUS guidance in high-risk patients with diabetes with ACS is uncertain. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this prespecified stratified subgroup analysis from the IVUS-ACS randomized trial was to determine the effectiveness of IVUS-guided PCI vs angiography-guided PCI in patients with diabetes with ACS. METHODS: From August 20, 2019, to October 27, 2022, 1,105 patients with diabetes with ACS were randomized, including 554 patients in the IVUS-guided group and 551 in the angiography-guided group. The primary endpoint was the rate of target vessel failure (TVF) at 1 year, defined as the composite of cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, or clinically driven target vessel revascularization. RESULTS: At 1-year follow-up, TVF occurred in 20 patients in the IVUS guidance group and in 46 patients in the angiographic guidance group (Kaplan-Meier rates 3.6% vs 8.3%; HR: 0.46; 95% CI: 0.27-0.81; P = 0.007), driven by a reduction in clinically driven target vessel revascularization (0.9% vs 3.8%; P = 0.003). IVUS-guided PCI also reduced the risk for TVF without procedural myocardial infarction (2.0% vs 6.7%; HR: 0.29; 95% CI: 0.15-0.57; P < 0.001) and all-cause mortality (HR: 0.30; 95% CI: 0.10-0.93; P = 0.037). There were no significant differences in the rates of stent thrombosis or major bleeding between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: In the large-scale IVUS-ACS trial, IVUS-guided PCI improved 1-year clinical outcomes in high-risk patients with diabetes with ACS. (1-Month vs 12-Month DAPT for ACS Patients Who Underwent PCI Stratified by IVUS: IVUS-ACS and ULTIMATE-DAPT Trials; NCT03971500).

Predicting the prognosis of patients with renal cell carcinoma based on the systemic immune inflammation index and prognostic nutritional index.

The aim of the study was to analyze and discuss the value of preoperative systemic immune inflammation index (SII) and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) in predicting the prognosis of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) after operation, and to establish a nomogram prediction model for patients with RCC after operation based on SII and PNI. From January 2014 to December 2018, 210 patients with RCC who underwent surgical treatment at the Xuzhou Central Hospital were selected as the research object. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to determine the optimal cut-off value for preoperative SII, PNI, LMR, PLR, NLR and the patients were divided into groups according to the optimal cutoff values. The survival rate of patients was evaluated. The risk factors that affect the prognosis of patients with RCC were determined by LASSO and Cox regression analysis, and a prognostic nomogram was constructed based on this result. The bootstrap method was used for internal verification of the nomogram model. The prediction efficiency and discrimination of the nomogram model were evaluated by the calibration curve and index of concordance (C-index), respectively. The average overall survival (OS) of all patients was 75.385 months, and the 1-, 2-and 3-year survival rates were 95.5%, 86.6% and 77.2%, respectively. The survival curve showed that the 5-year OS rate of low SII group was significantly higher than that of high SII group (89.0% vs. 64.5%; P < 0.05), and low PNI group was significantly lower than those in high PNI group (43.4% vs. 87.9%; p < 0.05). There were significant differences between preoperative SII and CRP, NLR, PLR, LMR, postoperative recurrence, pathological type and AJCC stage (P < 0.05). There were significant differences between preoperative PNI and BMI, platelet, NLR, PLR, LMR, postoperative recurrence, surgical mode and Fuhrman grade (P < 0.05). The ROC curve analysis showed that the AUC of PNI (AUC = 0.736) was higher than that of other inflammatory indicators, followed by the AUC of SII (0.718), and the difference in AUC area between groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The results from multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that SII, PNI, tumor size, tumor necrosis, surgical mode, pathological type, CRP, AJCC stage and Fuhrman grade were independent risk factors for postoperative death of patients with RCC. According to the results of Cox regression analysis, a prediction model for the prognosis of RCC patients was established, and the C-index (0.918) showed that the model had good calibration and discrimination. The subject's operating characteristic curve indicates that the nomogram has good prediction efficiency (the AUC = 0.953). Preoperative SII and PNI, tumor size, tumor necrosis, surgical mode, pathological type, CRP, AJCC stage and Fuhrman grade are closely related to the postoperative prognosis of patients with renal cell carcinoma. The nomogram model based on SII, PNI, tumor size, tumor necrosis, surgical mode, pathological type, CRP, AJCC stage and Fuhrman grade has good accuracy, discrimination and clinical prediction efficiency.

Association between Life's Essential 8 and psoriasis in US adults: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Psoriasis is closely associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the current evidence on the correlation between Life's Essential 8 and Psoriasis is insufficient. Our aim was to investigate the relationship between Life's Essential 8 (LE8), a measure of cardiovascular health (CVH), and psoriasis. Objective: This study aimed to clarify the impact of Life's Essential 8 on Psoriasis and explore its implications. Methods: This population-based cross-sectional study included 9,876 US adults aged 20 to 59 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-2006 and 2009-2014 cycles. The LE8 score comprises 8 metrics and was categorized into low, moderate, and high CVH. Logistic regression and restricted cubic splines (RCS) were used to assess the association between LE8 score and psoriasis. Results: Among the 9,876 participants, those with moderate and high CVH had higher risks of psoriasis compared to low CVH. Additionally, every 10-point increase in the LE8 score was associated with a 10% reduced risk of psoriasis. Interaction was observed between gender, age, education level, race/ethnicity, marital status, and PIR. Conclusion: LE8 and its subscale scores were strongly negatively related to the risk of psoriasis. Encouraging optimal CVH levels may be advantageous in reducing the incidence of psoriasis.

STUB1-mediated ubiquitination and degradation of NSUN2 promotes hepatocyte ferroptosis by decreasing m5C methylation of Gpx4 mRNA.

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent cell death that occurs due to the peroxidation of phospholipids in the cell membrane. In this study, we find that the protein level of NSUN2 is significantly decreased in hepatocyte ferroptosis. This is attributed to STUB1-mediated ubiquitination of NSUN2 at lysines 457 and 654, promoting NSUN2 degradation in ferroptosis. Selenoprotein glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) is a prominent suppressor of ferroptosis. We find that downregulation of NSUN2 diminishes m5C methylation of Gpx4 mRNA 3' UTR. The reduction of NSUN2-mediated Gpx4 mRNA m5C methylation abrogates the interaction between SBP2 and the selenocysteine insertion sequence (SECIS) and leads to inhibition of GPX4 protein expression. Lower GPX4 expression promotes hepatocyte ferroptosis in vivo and in vitro, which is reversed by restoration of NSUN2. These findings shed light on the mechanism of NSUN2 degradation and also indicate that the STUB1-NSUN2-GPX4 axis plays a regulatory role in hepatocyte ferroptosis.

Inhibition of the long non-coding RNA MALAT1 downregulates MAP2K1 to suppress the progression of hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

This study aimed to explore the role of lncRNA MALAT1 (Long non-coding RNAs metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript), and its underlying mechanisms in Hypopharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HSCC). Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was employed to measure lncRNA MALAT1 expression in HSCC and adjacent non-cancerous tissues, along with the expression of the downstream target mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1 (MAP2K1). The independent prognostic significance of lncRNA MALAT1 was assessed using Cox regression analysis. Potential downstream targets of MALAT1 were identified through PRM analysis and validated using the TCGA-HNSC database, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry. CCK-8, flow cytometry, and Transwell assays were conducted to assess the effects of the lncRNA MALAT1/MAP2K1 axis on FaDu cells. Additionally, a nude mouse xenograft model was used to confirm the role of lncRNA MALAT1/MAP2K1 in tumor growth. LncRNA MALAT1 was significantly upregulated in HSCC tissues and closely associated with poor prognosis. Bioinformatics analysis, including parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) screening and TCGA-HNSC data, identified FERMT2, CSNK2A2, and MAP2K1 as potential downstream targets of MALAT1. Validation through qPCR, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry confirmed MAP2K1 as a downstream target. In vitro and in vivo experiments demonstrated that inhibiting lncRNA MALAT1 suppressed cell proliferation, migration, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by downregulating MAP2K1 expression. Additionally, it induced apoptosis, affected the cell cycle, and inhibited tumor growth. Our study uniquely demonstrates that targeting MALAT1 significantly impedes HSCC progression by downregulating its novel downstream target, MAP2K1, offering new insights into potential therapeutic strategies.

Unlocking high photosensitivity direct laser writing and observing atomic clustering in glass.

The direct laser writing (DLW) of photoluminescent metal clusters is inspiring intensive research in functional glasses. However, understanding the influence of the host structure on cluster formation and visualizing DLW-induced clusters at the atomic scale remains challenging. In this work, we develop a highly photosensitive fluorophosphate glass through fluorine incorporation. The addition of fluorine establishes a conducive environment for Ag+ ions before DLW and enhances the availability of reducing agents and diffusion pathways during DLW. These advantages facilitate the formation of Ag clusters under low-energy single-pulsed DLW. Increasing laser energy results in a combination of Ag clusters and glasses defect, forming a dot + ring photoluminescent pattern. Atom probe tomography (APT), a technique capable of mapping the elemental spatial distribution and identifying clustering, is employed to gain more information on laser-induced clusters. Comparison of APT results between samples without and with DLW reveals the formation of Ag clusters after laser writing. The design concept and characterization enrich the understanding of Ag cluster behavior in glasses. This knowledge opens the possibility of rational design of clusters confined in glasses and inspires their synthesis for various applications.

Characterization of the Bax Inhibitor-1 Family in Cauliflower and Functional Analysis of BobBIL4.

The Bax inhibitor-1 (BI-1) gene family, which is important for plant growth, development, and stress tolerance, remains largely unexplored in cauliflower. In this study, we identified and characterized cauliflower BI-1 family genes. Based on aligned homologous sequences and collinearity with Arabidopsis genes, we identified nine cauliflower BI-1 genes, which encode proteins that varied in length, molecular weight, isoelectric point, and predicted subcellular localization, including the Golgi apparatus, plasma membrane, and various compartments within the chloroplast. Phylogenetic analyses detected evolutionary conservation and divergence among these genes. Ten structural motifs were identified, with Motif 5 found to be crucial for inhibiting apoptosis. According to the cis-regulatory elements in their promoters, these genes likely influence hormone signaling and stress responses. Expression profiles among tissues highlighted the functional diversity of these genes, with particularly high expression levels observed in the silique and root. Focusing on BobBIL4, we investigated its role in brassinosteroid (BR)-mediated root development and salt stress tolerance. BobBIL4 expression levels increased in response to BR and salt treatments. The functional characterization of this gene in Arabidopsis revealed that it enhances root growth and salinity tolerance. These findings provide insights into BI-1 gene functions in cauliflower while also highlighting the potential utility of BobBIL4 for improving crop stress resistance.

Risk factor analysis and establishment of a predictive model for complications of elderly advanced gastric cancer with Clavien-Dindo classification ≥ II grade.

BACKGROUND: The occurrence of complications following radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer significantly impacts patients' quality of life. Elderly patients are susceptible to postoperative complications. This study seeks to investigate the risk factors associated with Clavien-Dindo ≥IIgrade complications following radical gastrectomy for advanced gastric cancer in elderly patients, develop a nomogram risk prediction model, and validate its accuracy. METHODS: Retrospective collection of clinical and pathological data was conducted on 442 elderly patients with advanced gastric cancer who underwent radical gastrectomy at Shaanxi Provincial People's Hospital from January 2015 to December 2020. They were randomly divided into a training set (n = 310) and a validation set (n = 132) in a 7:3 ratio. The severity of postoperative complications was graded using the Clavien-Dindo classification system, resulting in two complication groups: Clavien-Dindo

Revisiting Drug Recommendation From a Causal Perspective.

Drug recommendation that aims to provide a prescription for a patient is an essential task in healthcare. Drug molecular graphs provide valuable support for drug recommendation. Existing methods tend to overlook drugs' molecular graphs or use the core substructures of molecular graphs with a rule-based segmentation strategy. However, such methods have several limitations: (1) The rule-based segmentation strategy is inflexible and sub-optimal for extremely complex scenarios. (2) The core substructures derived only consider the drug's chemical characteristics and ignore the patient's health condition. (3) The spurious correlation brought by trivial substructures is disregarded. To address these limitations, we design a novel drug recommendation method from a causal perspective, where a conditional causal representation learner for drug recommendation is proposed. Specifically, we first separate the drug molecular representation into causal and spurious parts depending on various patients' health conditions. Then, we eliminate the spurious correlation caused by the spurious part with causal intervention. Extensive experiments on the MIMIC-III and MIMIC-IV datasets demonstrate that our approach achieves new state-of-the-art performance (e.g., 6.68% Jaccard improvements on MIMIC-III with p-value << 0.05). Source codes are available at https://github.com/junjzhang7/CRec.