Three types of enzymes complete the furanocoumarins core skeleton biosynthesis in Angelica sinensis.

Furanocoumarins (FCs) are widely distributed secondary metabolites found in higher plants, including Apiaceae, Rutaceae, Moraceae, and Fabaceae. They play a crucial role in the physiological functions of plants and are well-known for their diverse pharmacological activities. As a representative plant of the Apiaceae family, Angelica sinensis is highly valued for its medicinal properties and FCs are one of the main ingredients of A. sinensis. However, the biosynthetic mechanism of FCs in A. sinensis remains poorly understood. In this study, we successfully cloned and verified three types of enzymes using genome analysis and in vitro functional verification, which complete the biosynthesis of the FCs core skeleton in A. sinensis. It includes a p-coumaroyl CoA 2'-hydroxylase (AsC2'H) responsible for umbelliferone formation, two UbiA prenyltransferases (AsPT1 and AsPT2) that convert umbelliferone to demethylsuberosin (DMS) and osthenol, respectively, and two CYP736 subfamily cyclases (AsDC and AsOD) that catalyze the formation of FCs core skeleton. Interestingly, AsOD was demonstrated to be a bifunctional cyclase and could catalyze both DMS and osthenol, but had a higher affinity to osthenol. The characterization of these enzymes elucidates the molecular mechanism of FCs biosynthesis, providing new insights and technologies for understanding the diverse origins of FCs biosynthesis.

Radar nonlinear multi-target tracking method with parallel PHD filter.

Since probability hypothesis density (PHD) filters do not need explicit data association, they have recently been widely used in radar multi-target tracking (MTT). However, in existing PHD filters, sampling times are generally considered the same for all targets. Due to the limitation of antenna beam width in radar applications, the same sampling time for all targets will lead to a mismatch between the predicted data and measurement data, reducing the accuracy of radar MTT. In order to eliminate the estimation error with less computational cost, a radar nonlinear multi-target tracking method with a parallel PHD filter is proposed in this article. The measurement area is divided into several subspaces according to the beam width of the radar antenna, and the PHD of all subspaces is calculated in parallel. Then, multi-feature information in radar echo assists tracking and improves real-time performance. Experimental results in various scenarios illustrate that the proposed method can eliminate the estimation errors introduced by sampling time diversity at the cost of less computation cost, especially in cluttered environments.

Complication Rates and Survival of Nonagenarians after Hip Hemiarthroplasty versus Proximal Femoral Nail Antirotation for Intertrochanteric Fractures: A 15-Year Retrospective Cohort Study of 113 Cases.

OBJECTIVE: Intertrochanteric fracture is a very common but serious type of hip fracture in nonagenarians. The surgical treatment remains a significant challenge for orthopedists. The objective of this study was to investigate postoperative complications and survival outcomes compared between bipolar hemiarthroplasty (HA) and proximal femoral nail anti-rotation (PFNA) in nonagenarians with intertrochanteric fractures, and to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the two surgical procedures in this patient population. METHODS: A total of 113 consecutive nonagenarians who underwent bipolar HA or PFNA for the treatment of intertrochanteric fractures from January 2006 to August 2021 were retrospectively studied in the current paper. There were 34 males and 79 females, with a mean age of 92.2 years (range 90-101 years) at the time of operation. The average duration of follow-up was 29.7 months (range 1-120 months). The full cohort was divided into bipolar HA (77 cases) and PFNA (36 cases) groups. Damage control orthopedics was used to determine the optimal surgery time and assist in perioperative management. A restrictive blood transfusion strategy was employed, along with appropriate adjustments under multidisciplinary assessment, throughout the perioperative period. Perioperative clinical information and prognostic data were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used for survival analysis, and landmark analysis divided the entire follow-up period into 1-12 months (short-term), 13-42 months (medium-term) and 43-120 months (long-term) according to the configurations of Kaplan-Meier survival curves. RESULTS: Both groups had similar general variables except for the proportion of high adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (aCCI) (≥6 points) (6.5% in bipolar HA group and 22.2% in PFNA group, p = 0.024). Intraoperative blood loss and transfusion requirements were greater, and the intraoperative transfusion rates were higher in the bipolar HA group compared to the PFNA group (all p < 0.05). The complications rates, 1- to 60-month cumulative all-cause mortality, postoperative optimal Harris hip score (HHS), and Barthel index (BI) presented no significant difference between the two groups (all p > 0.05). Both groups had similar overall survival curves (p = 0.37). However, landmark analysis revealed that bipolar HA group exhibited higher survival rates in medium-term (p = 0.01), while similar survival rates were observed in the short- and long-term post-operation periods (both p > 0.05). Cox regression with survival-time-dependent covariate calculated the hazard ratio (HR) of bipolar HA was 0.41 in medium-term (p = 0.039). CONCLUSION: Bipolar HA is equally effective and reliable as PFNA for treating intertrochanteric fractures in nonagenarians. Despite resulting in more intraoperative blood loss and transfusions, bipolar HA therapy is associated with a higher medium-term survival rate compared to PFNA treatment. The application of damage control orthopedics and precise perioperative patient blood management could contribute to the positive clinical outcomes observed in this patient population.

Association Between Low Serum Albumin and Preoperative Deep Vein Thrombosis in Patients Undergoing Total Joint Arthroplasty: A Retrospective Study.

To investigate the association between albumin and preoperative deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty (TJA). This study enrolled 2133 patients. We created the receiver operator characteristic curve to determine the cut-off values for preoperative albumin (bromocresol green method) and DVT in TJA patients. We divided the patients into groups based on the albumin cut-off value and then assessed the risk factors in a multivariate logistic regression analysis. DVT occurred in 110 cases. The cut-off value for albumin was 37.2 g/L and the area under the curve was 0.611. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the risk for DVT before TJA in patients with albumin <37.2 g/L was increased by 1.99 times (P = .001, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.34-2.97]); albumin of 30 to 37.2 g/L group and the albumin < 30 g/L group increased by 1.9 times (P = .002, 95% CI [1.28-2.88]) and 3.25 times (P = .015, 95% CI [1.26-8.4]), respectively. The patients in the albumin of 30 to 37.2 g/L and the albumin < 30 g/L group had 1.6 times (P < .001, 95% CI [1.3-1.99] and 6.1 times (P < .001, 95% CI [3.46-10.75]), respectively, higher risk of perioperative transfusion. Patients older than 69.5 years had a 3.8-fold increased risk of preoperative DVT (P = .005, 95% CI [2.47-5.78]). Corticosteroid use had a 3 times higher risk of preoperative DVT (P = .013, 95% CI [1.26-7.2]). We found that albumin < 37.2 g/L, patients older than 69.5 years, and corticosteroid use were independent risk factors for preoperative DVT in TJA patients. Additionally, the lower the preoperative albumin level, the greater the odds of preoperative DVT formation, and the higher the risk of perioperative transfusion.

Structurally diverse glycosides with α-glucosidase inhibitory properties from water extract of the leaves of Cyclocarya paliurus.

In this work we investigated the chemical constituents of water extract of the leaves of Cyclocarya paliurus. Two new megastigmane glycosides (3 and 8), three aliphatic alcohol glycosides (9-11), and two aromatic glycosides (12 and 13), along with fourteen known compounds were isolated, and their in vitro inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase was evaluated. Compounds 13 and 15-18 displayed inhibitory activity with IC50 values varying from 27.05 to 96.58 µM, and the structure-activity relationship among isolated compounds was discussed.

A New Nomogram Model for Predicting 1-Year All-Cause Mortality After Hip Arthroplasty in Nonagenarians With Hip Fractures: A 20-Year Period Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: China has become an ageing society and as it continues to age, it will face an increasing number of hip fractures in nonagenarians. However, few preoperative assessment tools to determine the postoperative mortality risk in nonagenarians with hip fracture were available. The aim of this study was to identify all-cause mortality risk factors after hip arthroplasty in nonagenarians with hip fractures and to establish a new nomogram model to optimize the individualized hip arthroplasty in nonagenarians with hip fractures. Methods: We retrospectively studied 246 consecutive nonagenarians diagnosed with hip fracture from August 2002 to February 2021 at our center. During the follow-up, 203 nonagenarians with a median age of 91.9 years treated with hip arthroplasty were included, of which 136 were females and 67 were males, and 43 nonagenarians were excluded (40 underwent internal fixation and 3 were lost to follow-up). The full cohort was randomly divided into training (50%) and validation (50%) sets. The potential predictive factors for 1-year all-cause mortality after hip arthroplasty were assessed by univariate and multivariate COX proportional hazards regression on the training set, and then, a new nomogram model was established and evaluated by concordance index (C-index) and calibration curves. Results: After analyzing 44 perioperative variables including demographic characteristics, vital signs, surgical data, laboratory tests, we identified that age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index (aCCI) (p = 0.042), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification (p = 0.007), Urea (p = 0.028), serum Ca2+ (p = 0.011), postoperative hemoglobin (p = 0.024) were significant predictors for 1-year all-cause mortality after hip arthroplasty in the training set. The nomogram showed a robust discrimination, with a C-index of 0.71 (95%CIs, 0.68-0.78). The calibration curves for 1-year all-cause mortality showed optimal agreement between the probability as predicted by the nomogram and the actual probability in training and validation sets. Conclusion: A novel nomogram model integrating 5 independent predictive variables were established and validated. It can effectively predict 1-year all-cause mortality after hip arthroplasty in nonagenarians with hip fracture and lead to a more optimized and rational therapeutic choice.

miRNA-7062-5p Promoting Bone Resorption After Bone Metastasis of Colorectal Cancer Through Inhibiting GPR65.

Bone metastasis is positively associated with a poor prognosis in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). CRC always leads to osteolytic change, which is regulated by aberrant activation of osteoclasts. MicroRNAs are remarkedly involved in metastasis of CRC; however, their role in bone metastasis of CRC is still unclear. The aim of this study is to find key microRNAs that are critical to bone resorption in bone metastasis of CRC. In this study, bone metastasis model was established through intratibially injecting CT-26 cells or MC-38 cells. Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining was performed to explore the osteoclastogenesis of primary early osteoclast precursors (OCPs) after stimulation by CT-26 conditioned medium (CM). Then, microarray assay was performed to find differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs. The target gene of miRNA was confirmed by dual-luciferase analysis. The effect of miRNA, its target gene on osteoclastogenesis, and involved pathways were explored by Western blot, immunofluorescence analysis, and TRAP staining. Finally, the effect of miRNA on bone resorption in vivo was observed. miRNA-7062-5p was upregulated in early OCPs cultured in CT-26 CM or MC-38 CM. GPR65 was proven to be the target gene of miRNA-7062-5p. Overexpression of GPR65 can rescue the osteoclastogenesis caused by miRNA-7062-5p through activation of AMPK pathway. Local injection of miRNA-7062-5p inhibitors efficiently improved the bone resorption. Our study found the role of miRNA-7062-5p in regulating osteoclast formation, and our findings provided a potential therapeutic target in treatment of bone metastasis of CRC.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Peripolus nepalensis Uvarov, 1942 (Orthoptera: Acridoidea: Catantopidae).

The complete mitochondrial genome of Peripolus nepalensis, which was collected from the Tibetan Plateau, is reported here. It is 15,858 bp in length and contains 74.3% AT. All P. nepalensis protein-coding sequences start with a typical ATN codon. The usual termination codons (TAA or TAG) and incomplete stop codons (T or TA) were found from 13 protein-coding genes. All tRNA genes could be folded into the typical clover-leaf secondary structure, excluding trnS(AGN) which forms another structure. The sizes of the large and small ribosomal RNA genes were 1324 and 862 bp, respectively. The AT content of the A + T-rich region was 83.8%.