Unraveling the immunogenic cell death pathways in gastric adenocarcinoma: A multi-omics study.

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer (GC) is a prevalent malignant tumor of the gastrointestinal (GI) system. However, the lack of reliable biomarkers has made its diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment challenging. Immunogenic cell death (ICD) is a type of programmed cell death that is strongly related to the immune system. However, its function in GC requires further investigation. METHOD: We used multi-omics and multi-angle approaches to comprehensively explore the prognostic features of ICD in patients with stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD). At the single-cell level, we screened genes associated with ICD at the transcriptome level, selected prognostic genes related to ICD using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and machine learning, and constructed a prognostic model. In addition, we constructed nomograms that incorporated pertinent clinical features and provided effective tools for prognostic prediction in clinical settings. We also investigated the sensitivity of the risk subgroups to both immunotherapy and drugs. Finally, in addition to quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, immunofluorescence was used to validate the expression of ICD-linked genes. RESULTS: Based on single-cell and transcriptome WGCNA analyses, we identified 34 ICD-related genes, of which 11 were related to prognosis. We established a prognostic model using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm and identified dissimilarities in overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in risk subgroups. The nomograms associated with the ICD-related signature (ICDRS) demonstrated a good predictive value for clinical applications. Moreover, we detected changes in the tumor microenvironment (TME), including biological functions, mutation landscapes, and immune cell infiltration, between the high- and low-risk groups. CONCLUSION: We constructed an ICD-related prognostic model that incorporated features related to cell death. This model can serve as a useful tool for predicting the prognosis of GC, targeted prevention, and personalized medicine.

Establishment and Application Prospect of Reverse Transcriptase Recombinase-Aided Amplification Assay for Subgroup C Avian Metapneumovirus.

Among broilers, the main pathogen that leads to swollen head syndrome (SHS) is the subgroup C avian metapneumovirus (aMPV-C). The aMPV-C infection can lead to an upsurge in the rate of soft-shell eggs, resulting in reduced egg production and seriously affecting the economy of the livestock industry. Therefore, a rapid method for aMPV-C detection needs to be invented. According to the N gene of aMPV-C, we designed the specific probe and primer and created a reverse transcription recombinase-aided amplification assay (RT-RAA) for the detection of aMPV-C. aMPV-C could be detected quickly and specifically by this method at 41 °C for 30 min. The sensitivity assay inferred that the minimum detection threshold of RT-RAA was 3.38 × 101 copies/µL. A specificity assay showed that the RT-RAA method did not cross-react with other subgroups (aMPV-A, aMPV-B, aMPV-D) or other viruses (H9N2, NDV, IBV, IBDV). Forty samples of known clinical background were tested by RT-RAA and RT-qPCR. The two approaches had a 100% correlation rate. In conclusion, this research successfully created an RT-RAA assay for aMPV-C.

Does vitamin D supplementation improve bone health, body composition and physical performance beyond endurance exercise in patients with type 2 diabetes: A secondary analysis of randomized controlled trial.

This study aimed to assess the effects of a 12-week vitamin D and endurance exercise intervention on bone health, body composition and physical performance among patients with type 2 diabetes. Totally, 61 patients were randomly assigned to vitamin D (VDG), exercise (EG), vitamin D and exercise intervention (VEG), and control (CG) groups. Bone health (bone mineral density, BMD; bone mineral content, BMC), body composition and physical performance were measured before and after the intervention. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to assess bone health and body composition. There were no additive effects of vitamin D beyond exercise were observed. Vitamin D supplementation had significant effects on maintaining bone health compared with their counterpart Total (BMC, EG + CG: 2,719.9 ± 70.0 vs. 2,670.1 ± 65.6; VDG + VEG: 2,610.9 ± 88.2 vs. 2,605.3 ± 84.8; trunk BMC, 870.2 ± 26.8 vs. 836.3 ± 23.7; 824.8 ± 29.5 vs. 822.1 ± 27.8; spine BMD, 1.15 ± 0.03 vs. 1.11 ± 0.02; 1.09 ± 0.03 vs. 1.09 ± 0.02) were observed. Exercise had a main effect on the reduction of total and trunk BF%. Patients in EG had a decreased BMC, while it was alleviated in VEG after intervention. Although no additive effect of vitamin D supplementation beyond exercise training, the supplementation had a potential effect on the prevention of bone loss induced by exercise only.

A Facile Method for Preparing UiO-66 Encapsulated Ru Catalyst and its Application in Plasma-Assisted CO2 Methanation.

With increasing applications of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in the field of gas separation and catalysis, the preparation and performance research of encapsulating metal nanoparticles (NPs) into MOFs (M@MOF) have attracted extensive attention recently. Herein, an Ru@UiO-66 catalyst is prepared by a one-step method. Ru NPs are encapsulated in situ in the UiO-66 skeleton structure during the synthesis of UiO-66 metal-organic framework via a solvothermal method, and its catalytic activity for CO2 methanation with the synergy of cold plasma is studied. The crystallinity and structural integrity of UiO-66 is maintained after encapsulating Ru NPs according to the X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). As illustrated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and mapping analysis, the Ru species of the hydration ruthenium trichloride precursor are reduced to metallic Ru NPs without additional reducing processes during the synthesis of Ru@UiO-66, and the Ru NPs are uniformly distributed inside the Ru@UiO-66. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and N2 sorption analysis show that the specific surface area and thermal stability of Ru@UiO-66 decrease slightly compared with that of UiO-66 and was ascribed to the encapsulation of Ru NPs in the UiO-66 skeleton. The results of plasma-assisted catalytic CO2 methanation indicate that Ru@UiO-66 exhibits excellent catalytic activity. CO2 conversion and CH4 selectivity over Ru@UiO-66 reached 72.2% and 95.4% under 13.0 W of discharge power and a 30 mL·min-1 gas flow rate ( V H 2 : V C O 2 = 4 : 1 ), respectively. Both values are significantly higher than pure UiO-66 with plasma and Ru/Al2O3 with plasma. The enhanced performance of Ru@UiO-66 is attributed to its unique framework structure and excellent dispersion of Ru NPs.