Research Progress on Ti3C2Tx-Based Composite Materials in Antibacterial Field.

The integration of two-dimensional Ti3C2Tx nanosheets and other materials offers broader application options in the antibacterial field. Ti3C2Tx-based composites demonstrate synergistic physical, chemical, and photodynamic antibacterial activity. In this review, we aim to explore the potential of Ti3C2Tx-based composites in the fabrication of an antibiotic-free antibacterial agent with a focus on their systematic classification, manufacturing technology, and application potential. We investigate various components of Ti3C2Tx-based composites, such as metals, metal oxides, metal sulfides, organic frameworks, photosensitizers, etc. We also summarize the fabrication techniques used for preparing Ti3C2Tx-based composites, including solution mixing, chemical synthesis, layer-by-layer self-assembly, electrostatic assembly, and three-dimensional (3D) printing. The most recent developments in antibacterial application are also thoroughly discussed, with special attention to the medical, water treatment, food preservation, flexible textile, and industrial sectors. Ultimately, the future directions and opportunities are delineated, underscoring the focus of further research, such as elucidating microscopic mechanisms, achieving a balance between biocompatibility and antibacterial efficiency, and investigating effective, eco-friendly synthesis techniques combined with intelligent technology. A survey of the literature provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art developments in Ti3C2Tx-based composites and their potential applications in various fields. This comprehensive review covers the variety, preparation methods, and applications of Ti3C2Tx-based composites, drawing upon a total of 171 English-language references. Notably, 155 of these references are from the past five years, indicating significant recent progress and interest in this research area.

Fast-BEV: A Fast and Strong Bird's-Eye View Perception Baseline.

Recently, perception task based on Bird's-Eye View (BEV) representation has drawn more and more attention, and BEV representation is promising as the foundation for next-generation Autonomous Vehicle (AV) perception. However, most existing BEV solutions either require considerable resources to execute on-vehicle inference or suffer from modest performance. This paper proposes a simple yet effective framework, termed Fast-BEV, which is capable of performing faster BEV perception on the on-vehicle chips. Towards this goal, we first empirically find that the BEV representation can be sufficiently powerful without expensive transformer based transformation nor depth representation. Our Fast-BEV consists of five parts, We innovatively propose (1) a lightweight deploymentfriendly view transformation which fast transfers 2D image feature to 3D voxel space, (2) an multi-scale image encoder which leverages multi-scale information for better performance, (3) an efficient BEV encoder which is particularly designed to speed up on-vehicle inference. We further introduce (4) a strong data augmentation strategy for both image and BEV space to avoid over-fitting, (5) a multiframe feature fusion mechanism to leverage the temporal information. Among them, (1) and (3) enable Fast-BEV to be fast inference and deployment friendly on the on-vehicle chips, (2), (4) and (5) ensure that Fast-BEV has competitive performance. All these make Fast-BEV a solution with high performance, fast inference speed, and deployment-friendly on the on-vehicle chips of autonomous driving. Through experiments, on 2080Ti platform, our R50 model can run 52.6 FPS with 47.3% NDS on the nuScenes validation set, exceeding the 41.3 FPS and 47.5% NDS of the BEVDepth-R50 model [1] and 30.2 FPS and 45.7% NDS of the BEVDet4D-R50 model [2]. Our largest model (R101@900x1600) establishes a competitive 53.5% NDS on the nuScenes validation set. We further develop a benchmark with considerable accuracy and efficiency on current popular on-vehicle chips. The code is released at: https://github.com/Sense-GVT/FastBEV.

Association Between Gender and Salary Among Pediatric Hospital Medicine Physicians.

OBJECTIVES: Gender-based disparities in salary exist in multiple fields of medicine. However, there is limited data examining gender inequities in salary in pediatric hospital medicine (PHM). Our primary objective was to assess whether gender-based salary differences exist in PHM. The secondary objective was to assess if, among women, the differences in salary varied on the basis of leadership positions or self-identified race and ethnicity. METHODS: We conducted a survey-based, cross-sectional study of pediatric hospitalists in December 2021. Our primary outcomes were base and total salary, adjusted for the reported number of average weekly work hours. We performed subanalyses by presence of a leadership position, as well as race. We used a weighted t test using inverse probability weighting to compare the outcomes between genders. RESULTS: A total of 559 eligible people responded to our survey (51.0%). After propensity score weighting, women's mean base salary was 87.7% of men's base (95% confidence interval [CI] 79.8%-96.4%, P < .01), and women's total salary was 85.6% of men's total (95% CI 73.2%-100.0%, P = .05) salary. On subgroup analysis of respondents with a leadership position, women's total salary was 80.6% of men's total salary (95% CI 68.7%-94.4%, P < .01). Although women who identified as white had base salaries that were 86.6% of white men's base salary (95% CI 78.5%-95.5%, P < .01), there was no gender-based difference noted between respondents that identified as nonwhite (88.4% [69.9%-111.7%] for base salary, 80.3% [57.2% to 112.7%]). CONCLUSIONS: Gender-based discrepancies in salary exists in PHM, which were increased among those with leadership roles. Continued work and advocacy are required to achieve salary equity within PHM.

Dispersion Behavior of a Droplet Impacting a Single Fiber.

The high-gravity reactor, known for its excellent mass transfer capability, plays a crucial role in the carbon capture process. The wire mesh packing serves as the core structure for enhancing mass transfer performance. Understanding the underlying dispersion mechanism requires a thorough exploration of the dynamics of droplet impact on a single fiber. This work aimed to numerically study the process of a droplet impacting a single fiber by applying the volume of fluid method. The effects of initial velocity (u0), initial diameter (D0), impact eccentric distance (e), and impact angle (θ) on the deformation evolution and dispersion characteristics of a droplet impacting a single fiber were systematically studied. Central or vertical impacts can be categorized into four main stages: splitting, merging, stretching, and breaking. Meanwhile, asynchronous breaking, sliding splitting, and oblique stages were observed during eccentric and nonvertical impacts. Subsequently, dimensionless time (t*) and the rate of increase of the gas-liquid interfacial area (η) were introduced to quantitatively analyze the dispersion characteristics postimpact. Increasing the initial velocity, reducing the droplet diameter, minimizing the impact eccentric distance, and maximizing the impact angle all contribute to enhanced dispersion performance. A correlation for the maximum increase rate of the gas-liquid interfacial area of the droplet was proposed, with errors less than ±15%. Finally, the deformation mechanism of droplet impact on a fiber was summarized by analyzing the influences of differential pressure inside and outside the liquid film, as well as gas vortices.

Centennial Records of Microplastics in Lake Cores in Huguangyan Maar Lake, China.

Microplastic records from lake cores can reconstruct the plastic pollution history. However, the associations between anthropogenic activities and microplastic accumulation are not well understood. Huguangyan Maar Lake (HML) is a deep-enclosed lake without inlets and outlets, where the sedimentary environment is ideal for preserving a stable and historical microplastic record. Microplastic (size: 10-500 µm) characteristics in the HML core were identified using the Laser Direct Infrared Imaging system. The earliest detectable microplastics appeared unit in 1955 (1.1 items g-1). The microplastic abundance ranged from n.d. to 615.2 items g-1 in 1955-2019 with an average of 134.9 items g-1. The abundance declined slightly during the 1970s and then increased rapidly after China's Reform and Opening Up in 1978. Sixteen polymer types were detectable, with polyethylene and polypropylene dominating, accounting for 23.5 and 23.3% of the total abundance, and the size at 10-100 µm accounted for 80%. Socioeconomic factors dominated the microplastic accumulation based on the random forest modeling, and the contributions of GDP per capita, plastic-related industry yield, and total crop yield were, respectively, 13.9, 35.1, and 9.3% between 1955-2019. The total crop yield contribution further increased by 1.7% after 1978. Coarse sediment particles increased with soil erosion exacerbated microplastics discharging into the sediment.

Evaluation of diagnostic accuracy of urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin in patients with symptoms of urinary tract infections: a meta-analysis.

Introduction: Early and accurate diagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTI) can prevent serious sequelae including chronic kidney disease. Multiple individual studies have identified urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) as a promising biomarker for early diagnosis of UTI. We sought to understand the distribution and diagnostic accuracy of uNGAL values in patients presenting with UTI symptoms. Methods: Our systematic literature reviews in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Reviews up to March 2024, identified 25 studies reporting mean/median, standard deviation/quartiles, and detection limits of uNGAL in symptomatic patients with and without culture-confirmed UTI. Seventeen studies were in children. Meta-analyses were performed using the quantile estimation (QE) method estimating the distributions of uNGAL, which were then compared between the UTI and non-UTI groups for identifying the best cut-off points maximizing the Youden index. Sensitivity analyses were performed on all 25 studies including adult patients. Results: We found that uNGAL levels were significantly higher in samples with confirmed UTI compared to those without. In pediatric studies, median and 95% confidence interval (CI) of uNGAL values were 22.41 (95% CI of 9.94, 50.54) ng/mL in non-UTI group vs. 118.85 (95% CI of 43.07, 327.97) ng/mL in UTI group. We estimated the cut-off point of 48.43 ng/mL with highest sensitivity (96%) and specificity (97%) in children. Sensitivity analysis including both pediatric and adult studies yielded similar results. Discussion: The level of uNGAL in symptomatic patients with confirmed UTI is much higher than that reported in patients without UTI. It may be used as a diagnostic tool to identify UTI early among symptomatic patients. The range of uNGAL concentrations and cut-off points reported in subjects with UTI is much lower than that reported in patients with acute intrinsic kidney injury. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/, PROSPERO (CRD42023370451).

Recent design strategies for boosting chemodynamic therapy of bacterial infections.

The emergence of drug-resistant bacteria poses a significant threat to people's lives and health as bacterial infections continue to persist. Currently, antibiotic therapy remains the primary approach for tackling bacterial infections. However, the escalating rates of drug resistance coupled with the lag in the development of novel drugs have led to diminishing effectiveness of conventional treatments. Therefore, the development of nonantibiotic-dependent therapeutic strategies has become imperative to impede the rise of bacterial resistance. The emergence of chemodynamic therapy (CDT) has opened up a new possibility due to the CDT can convert H2O2 into •OH via Fenton/Fenton-like reaction for drug-resistant bacterial treatment. However, the efficacy of CDT is limited by a variety of practical factors. To overcome this limitation, the sterilization efficiency of CDT can be enhanced by introducing the therapeutics with inherent antimicrobial capability. In addition, researchers have explored CDT-based combined therapies to augment its antimicrobial effects and mitigate its potential toxic side effects toward normal tissues. This review examines the research progress of CDT in the antimicrobial field, explores various strategies to enhance CDT efficacy and presents the synergistic effects of CDT in combination with other modalities. And last, the current challenges faced by CDT and the future research directions are discussed.

The carrier function and inhibition effect on benign prostatic hyperplasia of a glucan from Epimedium brevicornu Maxim.

Epimedium, a traditional Chinese medicine commonly used as a dietary supplement, contains polysaccharides and flavonoids as its main bioactive ingredients. In this study, a neutral homogeneous polysaccharide (EPSN-1) was isolated from Epimedium brevicornu Maxim. EPSN-1 was identified as a glucan with a backbone of →4)-α-D-Glcp-(1→, branched units comprised α-D-Glcp-(1→6)-α-D-Glcp-(1→, ß-D-Glcp-(1→6)-ß-D-Glcp-(1→ and α-D-Glcp-(1→ connected to the C6 position of backbone. The conformation of EPSN-1 in aqueous solution indicated its potential to form nanoparticles. This paper aims to investigate the carrier and pharmacodynamic activity of EPSN-1. The findings demonstrated that, on the one hand, EPSN-1, as a functional ingredient, may load Icariin (ICA) through non-covalent interactions, improving its biopharmaceutical properties such as solubility and stability, thereby improving its intestinal absorption. Additionally, as an effective ingredient, EPSN-1 could help maintain the balance of the intestinal environment by increasing the abundance of Parabacteroides, Lachnospiraceae UGG-001, Anaeroplasma, and Eubacterium xylanophilum group, while decreasing the abundance of Allobaculum, Blautia, and Adlercreutzia. Overall, this dual action of EPSN-1 sheds light on the potential applications of natural polysaccharides, highlighting their dual role as carriers and contributors to biological activity.

A Redox-active Phenothiazine-based Pd2L4-type Coordination Cage and Its Isolable Crystalline Polyradical Cations.

Polyradical cages are of great interest because they show very fascinating physical and chemical properties, but many challenges remain, especially for their synthesis and characterization. Herein, we present the synthesis of a polyradical cation cage 14•+ through post-synthetic oxidation of a redox-active phenothiazine-based Pd2L4-type coordination cage 1. It's worth noting that 1 exhibits excellent reversible electrochemical and chemical redox activity due to the introduction of a bulky 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-methoxyphenyl substituent. The generation of 14•+ through reversible electrochemical oxidation is investigated by in situ UV-vis-NIR and EPR spectroelectrochemistry. Meanwhile, chemical oxidation of 1 can also produce 14•+ which can be reversibly reduced back to the original cage 1, and the process is monitored by EPR and NMR spectroscopies. Eventually, we succeed in the isolation and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of 14•+, whose electronic structure and conformation are distinct to original 1. The magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate the predominantly antiferromagnetic interactions between the four phenothiazine radical cations in 14•+. We believe that our study including the facile synthesis methodology and in situ spectroelectrochemistry will shed some light on the synthesis and characterization of novel polyradical systems, opening more perspectives for developing functional supramolecular cages.

Chenodeoxycholic Acid-Modified Polyethyleneimine Nano-Composites Deliver Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor Genes for Lipid-Lowering Therapy by Targeting the Liver.

Lipid-lowering drugs, especially statins, are extensively utilized in clinical settings for the prevention of hyperlipidemia. Nevertheless, prolonged usage of current lipid-lowering medications is associated with significant adverse reactions. Therefore, it is imperative to develop novel therapeutic agents for lipid-lowering therapy. In this study, a chenodeoxycholic acid and lactobionic acid double-modified polyethyleneimine (PDL) nanocomposite as a gene delivery vehicle for lipid-lowering therapy by targeting the liver, are synthesized. Results from the in vitro experiments demonstrate that PDL exhibits superior transfection efficiency compared to polyethyleneimine in alpha mouse liver 12 (AML12) cells and effectively carries plasmids. Moreover, PDL can be internalized by AML12 cells and rapidly escape lysosomal entrapment. Intravenous administration of cyanine5.5 (Cy5.5)-conjugated PDL nanocomposites reveals their preferential accumulation in the liver compared to polyethyleneimine counterparts. Systemic delivery of low-density lipoprotein receptor plasmid-loaded PDL nanocomposites into mice leads to reduced levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides (TC) in the bloodstream without any observed adverse effects on mouse health or well-being. Collectively, these findings suggest that low-density lipoprotein receptor plasmid-loaded PDL nanocomposites hold promise as potential therapeutics for lipid-lowering therapy.

Toxic mechanisms of the antiviral drug arbidol on microalgae in algal bloom water at transcriptomic level.

Increasing antivirals in surface water caused by their excessive consumption pose serious threats to aquatic organisms. Our recent research found that the input of antiviral drug arbidol to algal bloom water can induce acute toxicity to the growth and metabolism of Microcystis aeruginosa, resulting in growth inhibition, as well as decrease in chlorophyll and ATP contents. However, the toxic mechanisms involved remained obscure, which were further investigated through transcriptomic analysis in this study. The results indicated that 885-1248 genes in algae were differentially expressed after exposure to 0.01-10.0 mg/L of arbidol, with the majority being down-regulated. Analysis of commonly down-regulated genes found that the cellular response to oxidative stress and damaged DNA bonding were affected, implying that the stress defense system and DNA repair function of algae might be damaged. The down-regulation of genes in porphyrin metabolism, photosynthesis, carbon fixation, glycolysis, tricarboxylic acid cycle, and oxidative phosphorylation might inhibit chlorophyll synthesis, photosynthesis, and ATP supply, thereby hindering the growth and metabolism of algae. Moreover, the down-regulation of genes related to nucleotide metabolism and DNA replication might influence the reproduction of algae. These findings provided effective strategies to elucidate toxic mechanisms of contaminants on algae in algal bloom water.

Low shear stress-induced blockage of autophagic flux impairs endothelial barrier and facilitates atherosclerosis in mice.

Atherosclerosis preferentially occurs in areas with low shear stress (LSS) and oscillatory flow. LSS has been demonstrated to correlate with the development of atherosclerosis. The sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1PR1), involving intravascular blood flow sensing, regulates vascular development and vascular barrier function. However, whether LSS affects atherosclerosis via regulating S1PR1 remains incompletely clear. In this study, immunostaining results of F-actin, ß-catenin, and VE-cadherin indicated that LSS impaired endothelial barrier function in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Western blot analysis showed that LSS resulted in blockage of autophagic flux in HUVECs. In addition, autophagy agonist Rapamycin (Rapa) antagonized LSS-induced endothelial barrier dysfunction, whereas autophagic flux inhibitor Bafilomycin A1 (BafA1) exacerbated it, indicating that LSS promoted endothelial barrier dysfunction by triggering autophagic flux blockage. Notably, gene expression analysis revealed that LSS downregulated S1PR1 expression, which was antagonized by Rapa. Selective S1PR1 antagonist W146 impaired endothelial barrier function of HUVECs under high shear stress (HSS) conditions. Moreover, our data showed that expression of GAPARAPL2, a member of autophagy-related gene 8 (Atg8) proteins, was decreased in HUVECs under LSS conditions. Autophagic flux blockage induced by GAPARAPL2 knockdown inhibited S1PR1, aggravated endothelial barrier dysfunction of HUVECs in vitro, and promoted aortic atherosclerosis in ApoE-/- mice in vivo. Our study demonstrates that autophagic flux blockage induced by LSS downregulates S1PR1 expression and impairs endothelial barrier function. GABARAPL2 inhibition is involved in LSS-induced autophagic flux blockage, which impairs endothelial barrier function via downregulation of S1PR1.

Mechanical shear flow regulates the malignancy of colorectal cancer cells.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is notable for its high mortality and high metastatic characteristics. The shear force generated by bloodstream provides mechanical signals regulating multiple responses of cells, including metastatic cancer cells, dispersing in blood vessels. We, therefore, studied the effect of shear flow on circulating CRC cells in the present study. The CRC cell line SW620 was subjected to shear flow of 12.5 dynes/cm2 for 1 and 2 h separately. Resulting elevated caspase-9 and -3 indicated that shear flow initiated the apoptosis of SW620. Enlarged cell size associated with a higher level of cyclin D1 was coincident with the flow cytometric results indicating that the cell cycle was arrested at the G1 phase. An elevated phosphor-eNOSS1177 increased the production of nitric oxide and led to reactive oxygen species-mediated oxidative stress. Shear flow also regulated epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by increasing E-cadherin and ZO-1 while decreasing Snail and Twist1. The migration and invasion of sheared SW620 were also substantially decreased. Further investigations showed that mitochondrial membrane potential was significantly decreased, whereas mitochondrial mass and ATP production were not changed. In addition to the shear flow of 12.5 dynes/cm2, the expressions of EMT were compared at lower (6.25 dynes/cm2) and at higher (25 dynes/cm2) shear flow. The results showed that lower shear flow increased mesenchymal characteristics and higher shear flow increased epithelial characteristics. Shear flow reduces the malignancy of CRC in their metastatic dispersal that opens up new ways to improve cancer therapies by applying a mechanical shear flow device.

Rapid, on-site quantitative determination of mycotoxins in grains using a multiple time-resolved fluorescent microsphere immunochromatographic test strip.

The label probe plays a crucial role in enhancing the sensitivity of lateral flow immunoassays. However, conventional fluorescent microspheres (FMs) have limitations due to their short fluorescence lifetime, susceptibility to background fluorescence interference, and inability to facilitate multi-component detection. In this study, carboxylate-modified Eu(III)-chelate-doped polystyrene nanobeads were employed as label probes to construct a multiple time-resolved fluorescent microsphere-based immunochromatographic test strip (TRFM-ICTS). This novel TRFM-ICTS facilitated rapid on-site quantitative detection of three mycotoxins in grains: Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), Zearalenone (ZEN), and Deoxynivalenol (DON). The limit of detection (LOD) for AFB1, ZEN, and DON were found to be 0.03 ng/g, 0.11 ng/g, and 0.81 ng/g, respectively. Furthermore, the TRFM-ICTS demonstrated a wide detection range for AFB1 (0.05-8.1 ng/g), ZEN (0.125-25 ng/g), and DON (1.0-234 ng/g), while maintaining excellent selectivity. Notably, the test strip exhibited remarkable stability, retaining its detection capability even after storage at 4 °C for over one year. Importantly, the detection of these mycotoxins relied solely on simple manual operations, and with a portable reader, on-site detection could be accomplished within 20 min. This TRFM-ICTS presents a promising solution for sensitive on-site mycotoxin detection, suitable for practical application in various settings due to its sensitivity, accuracy, simplicity, and portability.

Emergence and ongoing outbreak of ST80 vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in Guangdong province, China from 2021 to 2023: a multicenter, time-series and genomic epidemiological study.

BACKGROUND: Surveillance systems revealed that the prevalence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) has increased. We aim to investigate the epidemiological and genomic characteristics of VREfm in China. METHODS: We collected 20,747 non-redundant E. faecium isolates from inpatients across 19 hospitals in six provinces between January 2018 and June 2023. VREfm was confirmed by antimicrobial susceptibility testing. The prevalence was analyzed using changepoint package in R. Genomic characteristics were explored by whole-genome sequencing. RESULTS: 5.59% (1159/20,747) of E. faecium isolates were resistant to vancomycin. The prevalence of VREfm increased in Guangdong province from 5% before 2021 to 20-50% in 2023 (p < 0.0001), but not in the other five provinces. Two predominant clones before 2021, ST17 and ST78, were substituted by an emerging clone, ST80, from 2021 to 2023 (88.63%, 195/220). All ST80 VREfm from Guangdong formed a single lineage (SC11) and were genetically distant from the ST80 VREfm from other countries, suggesting a regional outbreak. All ST80 VREfm in SC11 carried a new type of plasmid harbouring a vanA cassette, which was embedded in a Tn1546-like structure flanked by IS1678 and ISL3. However, no conjugation-related gene was detected and no transconjugant was obtained in conjugation experiment, indicating that the outbreak of ST80 VREfm could be attributed to clonal transmission. CONCLUSIONS: We revealed an ongoing outbreak of ST80 VREfm with a new vanA-harbouring plasmid in Guangdong, China. This clone has also been identified in other provinces and countries, foreboding a risk of wider spreading shortly. Continuous surveillance is needed to inform public health interventions.

A framework and process for community-engaged, mixed-methods cancer needs assessments.

PURPOSE: Community health needs assessments are required for most state and local public health agencies and non-profit hospitals. Typically based on community health improvement planning models, these assessments encompass overall community health and multiple diseases to inform program planning. National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Centers and community-based cancer-focused programs share the goal of reducing cancer burden in the catchment areas they serve. However, to date, no published models exist to guide cancer-specific needs assessments for a determined geographic area that can inform both public health and research initiatives. The purpose of this article is to outline a cancer needs assessment (CNA) framework and community-engaged, mixed-methods process, along with a case study of how we applied it in Kentucky. METHODS: We convened a steering committee of key organizational partners to provide input throughout the process. We developed a conceptual framework of multi-level determinants affecting cancer-related outcomes. We incorporated both quantitative and qualitative data gathered through a variety of means, including a novel application of group concept mapping to guide definition of priorities. RESULTS: The resulting CNA has helped guide strategic planning and priorities for Kentucky's Cancer Action Plan, Markey Cancer Center, state agencies, and community-based organizations. CONCLUSION: This framework and process can be used collaboratively by cancer center Community Outreach and Engagement offices, public health agencies, oncology programs, and community partners to plan impactful cancer control programs and research in their catchment areas. Universities can also use them to inform the planning of community engagement and health equity research efforts.

Subregions of the fusiform gyrus are differentially involved in the attentional mechanism supporting visual mental imagery in depression.

BACKGROUND: Impaired visual mental imagery is an important symptom of depression and has gradually become an intervention target for cognitive behavioral therapy. METHODS: Our study involved a total of 25 healthy controls (HC) and 23 individuals with moderate depressive symptoms (MD). This study explored the attentional mechanism supporting visual mental imagery impairments in depression using the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire (VVIQ), attentional network test (ANT), and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). The intrinsic activity of attention-related regions relative to those supporting visual mental imagery was identified in depression patients. In addition, a meta-analysis was used to describe the cognitive function related to this intrinsic activity. RESULTS: The global correlation (GCOR) of the right anterior fusiform gyrus (FG) was decreased in depression patients. Attention-related areas were concentrated in the right posterior FG; the anterior and posterior functional connectivity (FC) of the FG was decreased in depression patients. Graph theoretic analysis showed that the degree of the right anterior FG was decreased, the degree of the anterior insula was increased, and the negative connection between these two regions was strengthened in depression patients. In addition, the degree of the right anterior FG, the FC between the subregions of the right FG, and the FC between the right anterior FG and insula were correlated with VVIQ scores; however, this correlation was not significant in depression patients. The meta-analysis suggested that the changes in the anterior FG in depressed patients may stem from difficulties of semantic memory retrieval. CONCLUSION: The changed intrinsic activity of subregions of the FG relative to the semantic memory retrieval may be associated with visual mental imagery impairments in depression.

Identification of cell surface markers for acute myeloid leukemia prognosis based on multi-model analysis.

Given the extremely high inter-patient heterogeneity among acute myeloid leukemia (AML), identifying biomarkers for prognostic assessment and therapeutic guidance is crucial. Cell surface markers (CSMs) have been shown to play an important role in AML leukemogenesis and progression. In this study, we evaluate the prognostic potential of all human CSMs in AML patients based on differential gene expression analysis and univariate Cox regression analysis. Utilizing multi-model analysis, including Adaptive LASSO regression, LASSO regression, and Elastic Net, we construct a 9-CSMs prognostic model for risk stratification of AML patients. The predictive value of the 9-CSMs risk score is further confirmed in three independent datasets. Multivariate Cox regression analysis shows that the risk score is an independent prognostic factor for AML patients. AML patients with high 9-CSMs risk scores have shorter overall and event-free survival time than those with lower scores. Notably, our single-cell RNA-seq analysis indicates that patients with high 9-CSMs risk scores exhibit chemotherapy resistance. Further, PI3K inhibitors are identified as potential treatments for these high-risk patients. In conclusion, we construct a 9-CSMs prognostic model which is an independent prognostic factor for the survival of AML patients and has the potential to guide drug therapy.