Analysis of the association between urinary glyphosate exposure and fatty liver index: a study for US adults.

BACKGROUND: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a prevalent condition that often goes unrecognized in the population, and many risk factors for this disease are not well understood. Glyphosate (GLY) is one of the most commonly used herbicides worldwide, and exposure to this chemical in the environment is significant. However, studies exploring the association between GLY exposure and NAFLD remain limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the association between urinary glyphosate (uGLY) level and fatty liver index (FLI) using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which includes uGLY measurements. METHODS: The log function of uGLY was converted and expressed as Loge(uGLY) with the constant "e" as the base and used for subsequent analysis. The association between Loge(uGLY) (the independent variable) level and FLI (the dependent variable) was assessed by multiple linear regression analysis. Smoothing curve fitting and a generalized additive model were used to assess if there was a nonlinear association between the independent and the dependent variables. A subgroup analysis was used to find susceptible individuals of the association between the independent variable and the dependent variable. RESULTS: A final total of 2238 participants were included in this study. Participants were categorized into two groups (< -1.011 and ≥ -1.011 ng/ml) based on the median value of Loge(uGLY). A total of 1125 participants had Loge(uGLY) levels ≥ -1.011 ng/ml and higher FLI. The result of multiple linear regression analysis showed a positive association between Loge(uGLY) and FLI (Beta coefficient = 2.16, 95% CI: 0.71, 3.61). Smoothing curve fitting and threshold effect analysis indicated a linear association between Loge(uGLY) and FLI [likelihood ratio(LLR) = 0.364]. Subgroup analyses showed that the positive association between Loge(uGLY) and FLI was more pronounced in participants who were female, aged between 40 and 60 years, had borderline diabetes history, and without hypertension history. In addition, participants of races/ethnicities other than (Mexican American, White and Black) were particularly sensitive to the positive association between Loge(uGLY) and FLI. CONCLUSIONS: A positive linear association was found between Loge(uGLY) level and FLI. Participants who were female, 40 to 60 years old, and of ethnic backgrounds other than Mexican American, White, and Black, deserve more attention.

Hydrophilicity and Pore Structure Enhancement in Polyurethane/Silk Protein-Bismuth Halide Oxide Composite Films for Photocatalytic Degradation of Dye.

Polyurethane/silk protein-bismuth halide oxide composite films were fabricated using a blending-wet phase transformationin situsynthesis method. The crystal structure, micromorphology, and optical properties were conducted using XRD, SEM, and UV-Vis DRS characterize techniques. The results indicated that loaded silk protein enhanced the hydrophilicity and pore structure of the polyurethane composite films. The active species BiOX were observed to grow as nanosheets with high dispersion on the internal skeleton and silk protein surface of the polyurethane-silk protein film. The photocatalytic efficiency of BiOX/PU-SF composite films was assessed through the degradation of Rhodamine B under visible light irradiation. Among the tested films, the BiOBr/PU-SF composite exhibited the highest removal rate of RhB at 98.9%, surpassing the removal rates of 93.7% for the BiOCl/PU-SF composite and 85.6% for the BiOI/PU-SF composite. Furthermore, an active species capture test indicated that superoxide radical (•O2-) and hole (h+) species played a predominant role in the photodegradation process.

Silencing of OGDHL promotes liver cancer metastasis by enhancing hypoxia inducible factor 1 α protein stability.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant diseases associated with a high rate of mortality. Frequent intrahepatic spread, extrahepatic metastasis, and tumor invasiveness are the main factors responsible for the poor prognosis of patients with HCC. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) has been verified to play a critical role in the metastasis of HCC. HIFs are also known to be modulated by small molecular metabolites, thus highlighting the need to understand the complexity of their cellular regulation in tumor metastasis. In this study, lower expression levels of oxoglutarate dehydrogenase-like (OGDHL) were strongly correlated with aggressive clinicopathologic characteristics, such as metastasis and invasion in three independent cohorts featuring a total of 281 postoperative HCC patients. The aberrant expression of OGDHL reduced cell invasiveness and migration in vitro and HCC metastasis in vivo, whereas the silencing of OGDHL promoted these processes in HCC cells. The pro-metastatic role of OGDHL downregulation is most likely attributed to its upregulation of HIF-1α transactivation activity and the protein stabilization by promoting the accumulation of L-2-HG to prevent the activity of HIF-1α prolyl hydroxylases, which subsequently causes an epithelial-mesenchymal transition process in HCC cells. These results demonstrate that OGDHL is a dominant factor that modulates the metastasis of HCC.

Oral microbiota disorder in GC patients revealed by 2b-RAD-M.

BACKGROUND: Microbiota alterations are linked with gastric cancer (GC). However, the relationship between the oral microbiota (especially oral fungi) and GC is not known. In this study, we aimed to apply 2b-RAD sequencing for Microbiome (2b-RAD-M) to characterize the oral microbiota in patients with GC. METHODS: We performed 2b-RAD-M analysis on the saliva and tongue coating of GC patients and healthy controls. We carried out diversity, relative abundance, and composition analyses of saliva and tongue coating bacteria and fungi in the two groups. In addition, indicator analysis, the Gini index, and the mean decrease accuracy were used to identify oral fungal indicators of GC. RESULTS: In this study, fungal imbalance in the saliva and tongue coating was observed in the GC group. At the species level, enriched Malassezia globosa (M. globosa) and decreased Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae) were observed in saliva and tongue coating samples of the GC group. Random forest analysis indicated that M. globosa in saliva and tongue coating samples could serve as biomarkers to diagnose GC. The Gini index and mean decreases in accuracy for M. globosa in saliva and tongue coating samples were the largest. In addition, M. globosa in saliva and tongue coating samples classified GC from the control with areas under the receiver operating curve (AUCs) of 0.976 and 0.846, respectively. Further ecological analysis revealed correlations between oral bacteria and fungi. CONCLUSION: For the first time, our data suggested that changes in oral fungi between GC patients and controls may help deepen our understanding of the complex spectrum of the different microbiotas involved in GC development. Although the cohort size was small, this study is the first to use 2b-RAD-M to reveal that oral M. globosa can be a fungal biomarker for detecting GC.

FBXO11 amplifies type I interferon signaling to exert antiviral effects by facilitating the assemble of TRAF3-TBK1-IRF3 complex.

As the key component of host innate antiviral immunity, type I interferons (IFN-Is) exert multiple antiviral effects by inducing hundreds of IFN-stimulated genes. However, the precise mechanism involved in host sensing of IFN-I signaling priming is particularly complex and remains incompletely resolved. This research identified F-box protein 11 (FBXO11), a component of the E3-ubiquitin ligase SKP/Cullin/F-box complex, acted as an important regulator of IFN-I signaling priming and antiviral process against several RNA/DNA viruses. FBXO11 functioned as an essential enhancer of IFN-I signaling by promoting the phosphorylation of TBK1 and IRF3. Mechanistically, FBXO11 facilitated the assembly of TRAF3-TBK1-IRF3 complex by mediating the K63 ubiquitination of TRAF3 in a NEDD8-dependent manner to amplify the activation of IFN-I signaling. Consistently, the NEDD8-activating enzyme inhibitor MLN4921 could act as a blocker for FBXO11-TRAF3-IFN-I axis of signaling. More significantly, examination of clinical samples of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and public transcriptome database of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2-, HBV-, and hepatitis C virus-infected human samples revealed that FBXO11 expression was positively correlated with the stage of disease course. Taken together, these findings suggest that FBXO11 is an amplifier of antiviral immune responses and might serve as a potential therapeutic target for a number of different viral diseases.

Accuracy of newer generation intraocular lens power calculation formulas in pediatric cataract patients.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the accuracy of newer generation intraocular lens (IOL) power calculation formulas (EVO 2.0 and Kane) with established formulas (Barrett Universal II, Haigis and SRK/T) in pediatric cataract patients. METHODS: Retrospective study. We enrolled 110 eyes (110 patients) in Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. All patients underwent uneventful cataract surgery and implanted with posterior chamber IOL in the bag. We calculate the mean prediction errors (PE) and percentage within 1 diopter (D) at 1 month to assess the accuracy, and percentage > 2D was defined as prediction accident. Then, we performed subgroup analysis according to age and axial length (AL). RESULTS: The mean age and AL were 37.45 ± 23.28 months and 21.16 ± 1.29 mm. The mean PE for all patients was as follows: Barrett (- 0.30), EVO (0.18), Haigis (- 0.74), Kane (- 0.36), and SRK/T (0.58), p < 0.001. In addition, EVO and SRK/T formulas were relatively accurate in patients younger than 24 months and with AL ≤ 21 mm, while EVO got lower prediction accident rate than SRK/T (3/41 vs 8/41, 4/52 vs 5/52). Moreover, Barrett, EVO, and Kane formulas achieved better accuracy and lower prediction accident rate in patients older than 24 months and with AL > 21 mm (both > 51/69 and 43/58, and < 3/69 and 3/58). CONCLUSIONS: In patients older than 24 months and with AL > 21 mm, Barrett, EVO, and Kane formulas were relatively accurate, while in patients younger than 24 months and with AL ≤ 21 mm, EVO was more accurate, followed by SRK/T formula.

Safety of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in patients with allergic diseases.

BACKGROUND: Considering the considerable prevalence of allergic disease in the general population, an urgent need exists for inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines that can be safely administered to those subjects. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study including 1926 participants who received inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, compared their local and systemic reactions in 7 days after each dose of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, and anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG after vaccination in all participants. RESULTS: Pain at the injection site within seven days after the first injection was the most commonly reported local reaction, occurring in 31.0% of the patients with allergic disease and 18.9% in the control group, respectively (P < 0.001). After the first dose, systemic events were more frequently reported in patients with allergic disease than control group (30.2% vs. 22.9%, P < 0.001). After the second dose, systemic events occurred less often, affecting 17.1% of the patients with allergic disease and 11.1% of the control group (P < 0.002). The occurrence of fatigue, vertigo, diarrhea, skin rash, sore throat were the most frequent systemic reactions. Overall, a lower incidence of local and systemic reactive events was observed after the second dose than the first dose in patients with allergic disease and control group. Nearly all participants had positive IgG antibodies, and participants with allergic disease had higher frequencies compared with control group (100.0 vs.99.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Although local and systemic reactions were more frequently reported in patients with allergic disease than control group, administration of the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine was safe and well tolerated by all participants; no participants experienced a serious adverse event, and none were hospitalized. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR2100048549. Registered Jul 10, 2021.

A prospective cohort study of the relationship between the withdrawal time and the detection rate of colorectal adenoma.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The effect of colonoscopy withdrawal time (WT) beyond 6 min on colorectal adenoma detection rate (ADR) is unclear. We focused on the relationship between WT and ADR. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a prospective observational study involving 437 patients who underwent colonoscopy at Tongren Hospital in Shanghai from 1 July 2020 to 31 August 2020. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether the WT was >6 min. Age, sex, body mass index (BMI), defoaming rate score, Boston bowel preparation scale (BBPS), primary colonoscopy, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dietary preparation 1 day before the examination, and abdominal surgery history factors were analysed by univariate and multivariable logistic regression to explore the odds ratios (ORs) of ADR in two WT groups. Restricted cubic spline regression was used to further analyze the relationship between WT and the ORs of adenoma detection. RESULTS: The ADR among 437 patients was 17.16% (75/437). Multivariable regression analysis showed that in the group with WT >6 min, patients aged ≥50 years old and male could have an increased risk of adenoma detection (OR 5.80, 95% CI 2.32-14.47; p < .001; OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.19-4.43; p = .013). The cubic spline curve showed that the ADR increased with time for WT of 6-8 min, and the highest ADR was achieved when the WT was controlled at 8 min (WT = 5.997, OR = 0.997; WT = 8.240 min, OR = 3.092). CONCLUSION: The highest ADR was achieved when the WT of colonoscopy was controlled at 8 min.

A hypothyroid mother after subtotal thyroidectomy delivered a newborn with hyperthyroidism from fetal stage: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Neonatal hyperthyroidism is an extension of fetal disease. Most cases of neonatal hyperthyroidism are transient but may excessively harm multiple organ functions through the actions of maternal thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor antibodies on the neonatal thyroid gland. CASE PRESENTATION: The hyperthyroid mother underwent subtotal thyroidectomy before pregnancy and regularly took levothyroxine to avoid hypothyroidism, but still had a high-level thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor antibody (TRAb). The neonate suffered from hyperthyroidism due to the transplacental TRAb. After a regular medication schedule of an antithyroid drug, combined with a ß-blocker to control the ventricular rate, the infant gradually recovered, allowing normal motor and intellectual development. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal subtotal thyroidectomy cannot prevent the secretion of thyroid receptor antibodies, which may cause either hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. The balance between antithyroid drugs and levothyroxine is critical in clinical practice.

Performance of the Colloidal Gold Immunochromatography of Cryptococcal Antigen on Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid for the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Cryptococcosis.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of the colloidal gold immunochromatography method in the detection of Cryptococcus antigen in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) for pulmonary cryptococcosis (PC) diagnosis. Methods: A total of 111 patients with clinically suspected PC who were finally diagnosed with nonhuman immunodeficiency virus infection and hospitalized in the Ningbo First Hospital from March 2017 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. All the confirmed cases were divided into two groups as follows: the PC group (33 cases) and the non-PC group (78 cases). All the patients were subjected to serum and BALF cryptococcal capsular polysaccharide antigen-lateral flow immunochromatographic assay (CrAg-LFA) and etiological culturing. Results: In the PC group, serum CrAg-LFA was positive for 24 and negative for 9 cases, serum Cryptococcus culture was positive for 1 and negative for 32 cases, BALF CrAg-LFA was positive for 31 and negative for 2 cases, and BALF Cryptococcus culture was positive for 9 and negative for 24 cases. In the non-PC group, serum CrAg-LFA was positive for 1 and negative for 77 cases, serum culture was negative in all the cases, and both BALF CrAg-LFA and culture were negative in all the cases. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of BALF CrAg-LFA for PC diagnosis were 93.9%, 100%, and 98.2%, respectively, whereas those of BALF culture were 27.3%, 100%, and 78.4%, respectively. The sensitivity and accuracy of BALF CrAg-LFA were higher than that of serum CrAg-LFA and BALF etiological culture with statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The diagnostic value of BALF CrAg-LFA for PC is superior to that of serum CrAg-LFA and BALF etiological culture.

A Fast Neighbor Discovery Algorithm in WSNs.

With the quick development of Internet of Things (IoT), one of its important supporting technologies, i.e., wireless sensor networks (WSNs), gets much more attention. Neighbor discovery is an indispensable procedure in WSNs. The existing deterministic neighbor discovery algorithms in WSNs ensure that successful discovery can be obtained within a given period of time, but the average discovery delay is long. It is difficult to meet the need for rapid discovery in mobile low duty cycle environments. In addition, with the rapid development of IoT, the node densities of many WSNs greatly increase. In such scenarios, existing neighbor discovery methods fail to satisfy the requirement in terms of discovery latency under the condition of the same energy consumption. This paper proposes a group-based fast neighbor discovery algorithm (GBFA) to address the issues. By carrying neighbor information in beacon packet, the node knows in advance some potential neighbors. It selects more energy efficient potential neighbors and proactively makes nodes wake up to verify whether these potential neighbors are true neighbors, thereby speeding up neighbor discovery, improving energy utilization efficiency and decreasing network communication load. The evaluation results indicate that, compared with other methods, GBFA decreases the average discovery latency up to 10 . 58 % at the same energy budget.

Numerical and experimental study of radiation induced conductivity change of carbon nanotube filled polymers.

Measuring the conductivity changes of sensing materials to detect a wide range of radiation energy and dosage is one of the major sensing mechanisms of radiation sensors. Carbon nanotube (CNT) filled composites are suitable for sensing radiation because of the extraordinary electrical properties of CNTs and the CNT-network formed inside the polymer matrix. Although the use of CNT-based nanocomposites as potential radiation sensing materials has been widely studied, there is still a lack of theoretical models to analyze the relationship between electrical conductivity and radiation dosages. In this article, we propose a 3D model to describe the electrical conductivity of CNT-based nanocomposites when being irradiated by ionizing radiation. The Monte Carlo method has been employed to calculate radiation intensity, CNT concentration and alignment's influence on the electrical conductivity. Our simulation shows a better agreement when CNT loading is between the percolation threshold and 3% volume fraction. Radiation experiments have been performed to verify the reliability of our model to illustrate a power function relationship between the electrical conductivity of a CNT-filled polymer and radiation intensity. In addition, the predicted alignment to obtain the best sensitivity for radiation sensing has been discussed to help with CNT-network building in the fabrication process.

Internal Model-Based Robust Tracking Control Design for the MEMS Electromagnetic Micromirror.

The micromirror based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology is widely employed in different areas, such as scanning, imaging and optical switching. This paper studies the MEMS electromagnetic micromirror for scanning or imaging application. In these application scenarios, the micromirror is required to track the command sinusoidal signal, which can be converted to an output regulation problem theoretically. In this paper, based on the internal model principle, the output regulation problem is solved by designing a robust controller that is able to force the micromirror to track the command signal accurately. The proposed controller relies little on the accuracy of the model. Further, the proposed controller is implemented, and its effectiveness is examined by experiments. The experimental results demonstrate that the performance of the proposed controller is satisfying.

[Establishment of reference ranges for thyroid-related indicators in normal pregnant women].

OBJECTIVE: To establish the gestational age-specific reference ranges for thyroid-related indicators of pregnant women in our hospital, especially for serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in the first trimester. METHODS: A total of 548 pregnant women in the first trimester were collected in Peking University First Hospital from June 2013 to April 2014. Among them, 254 pregnant women with single fetus who conformed to the National Academy of Clinical Biochemistry criteria, without adverse pregnancy outcomes and obstetric complications, were enrolled in the current study. To establish their own self-sequential longitudinal reference intervals, serum TSH, total thyroxine (TT4) and free thyroxine (FT4) levels were measured using Siemens detection kits during three different trimesters. Urine iodine (UI) was measured using digestion instrument in some of the pregnant women. RESULTS: The gestational age-specific reference ranges for thyroid-related indicators of pregnant women in our hospital were as follows: in the first trimester: TSH 0.23-4.08 mU/L, TT4 92.59-186.25 nmol/L, FT4 13.36-20.81 pmol/L; in the second trimester: TSH 0.78-4.25 mU/L, TT4 103.20-180.95 nmol/L, FT4 11.57-16.62 pmol/L; in the third trimester: TSH 0.65-4.52 mU/L, TT4 78.20-174.70 nmol/L, FT4 10.01-20.57 pmol/L. The median level of TSH during 7 to 12 weeks of gestational age was lower than that of 4 to 6 weeks, but with no significant statistical difference (P=0.063). The medians of UI during three trimesters of pregnancy were 211.60 µg/L, 195.55 µg/L and 198.65 µg/L, respectively, which were all classified as adequate iodine status. CONCLUSIONS: The gestational age-specific reference ranges for thyroid-related indicators are different from the kits' reference ranges, which are also different among the three trimesters. It may be more reasonable to establish different reference ranges for thyroid-related indicators at 4 to 6 weeks and 7 to 12 weeks in the first trimester separately.

[Characteristics of oral glucose tolerance test in 9803 pregnant women of different pre-pregnancy body mass index and its relationship with the incidence of gestational diabetes mellitus].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the values and characteristics of 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in women with different pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI) and to evaluate the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). METHODS: Medical records of 9803 pregnant women attending the Peking University First Hospital and delivered between July 1, 2011 and December 31, 2013 were retrospectively analyzed. The frequency of adverse pregnancy outcomes across different degrees pre-pregnancy BMI was calculated. We divided participants into 4 groups based on pre-pregnancy BMI, underweight: BMI<18.5 kg/m(2) (1221 cases), normal weight: 18.5-23.9 kg/m(2) (6594 cases), overweight: 24-27.9 kg/m(2) (1549 cases), obesity: ≥28.0 kg/m(2) (439 cases). The diagnosis of GDM was made when any one of the values was met or exceeded in 75 g OGTT. The characteristics of 75 g OGTT and the incidence of GDM were analyzed. RESULTS: (1) The average age, pre-pregnancy weight, height and pre-pregnancy BMI of the participants was (30.5±3.7) years, (57.7±9.0) kg, (162.8±4.9) cm and (21.8±3.2) kg/m(2), respectively. All the values of 75 g OGTT were presented normal distribution. (2) There was statistical difference in the glucose levels among women with different pre-pregnancy BMI. The fasting, 1-hour, 2-hour glucose were (4.55±0.34), (7.31±1.54), (6.38±1.23) mmol/L in underweight women, (4.65±0.38), (7.70±1.59), (6.70±1.27) mmol/L in normal weight women, (4.82±0.47), (8.29±1.67), (7.04±1.29) mmol/L in overweight women and (4.94±0.48), (8.56±1.64), (7.10±1.35) mmol/L in obesity women (P<0.01). (3) The incidence of GDM was 21.76% (2133/9803) in our study. There were 1374 cases (64.42%, 1374/2133) with only one abnormal OGTT value while 759 cases (35.58%, 759/2133) with two or more abnormal values. The incidence of GDM in women with underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity was 12.53% (153/1221), 19.71% (1300/6594), 32.73% (507/1549) and 39.41% (173/439), respectively (P<0.05). Meanwhile, the incidence of women with two and more abnormal OGTT value in GDM was increased as the pre-pregnancy increasing. CONCLUSION: The risk of GDM is increased as pre-pregnancy BMI increasing, and the risk of GDM increases significantly in women with pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity.

Morphology modulating the wettability of a diamond film.

Control of the wetting property of diamond surface has been a challenge because of its maximal hardness and good chemical inertness. In this work, the micro/nanoarray structures etched into diamond film surfaces by a maskless plasma method are shown to fix a surface's wettability characteristics, and this means that the change in morphology is able to modulate the wettability of a diamond film from weakly hydrophilic to either superhydrophilic or superhydrophobic. It can be seen that the etched diamond surface with a mushroom-shaped array is superhydrophobic following the Cassie mode, whereas the etched surface with nanocone arrays is superhydrophilic in accordance with the hemiwicking mechnism. In addition, the difference in cone densities of superhydrophilic nanocone surfaces has a significant effect on water spreading, which is mainly derived from different driving forces. This low-cost and convenient means of altering the wetting properties of diamond surfaces can be further applied to underlying wetting phenomena and expand the applications of diamond in various fields.

A systematic review and meta-analysis assessing the efficacy of Tuina for nocturnal enuresis in children.

Background: Desmopressin acetate (DDAVP) and behavioral interventions (BI) are cornerstone treatments for nocturnal enuresis (NE), a common pediatric urinary disorder. Despite the growing body of clinical studies on massage therapy for NE, comprehensive evaluations comparing the effectiveness of Tuina with DDAVP or BI are scarce. This study aims to explore the efficacy of Tuina in the management of NE. Methods: A systematic search of international databases was conducted using keywords pertinent to Tuina and NE. The inclusion criteria were limited to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that evaluated NE treatments utilizing Tuina against DDAVP or BI. This meta-analysis included nine RCTs, comprising a total of 685 children, to assess both complete and partial response rates. Results: Tuina, used as a combination therapy, showed enhanced clinical efficacy and improved long-term outcomes relative to the control group. The therapeutic efficacy of Tuina was not directly associated with the number of acupoints used. Instead, employing between 11 and 20 acupoints appeared to have the most significant effect. Conclusion: The findings of this meta-analysis support the potential of Tuina as an adjunct therapy to enhance the sustained clinical efficacy of traditional treatments for NE. However, Tuina cannot completely replace DDAVP or BI in the management of NE. While this study illuminates some aspects of the effective acupoint combinations, further research is crucial to fully understand how Tuina acupoints contribute to the treatment of NE in children. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=442644, identifier CRD42023442644.

Enhancing cartilage regeneration and repair through bioactive and biomechanical modification of 3D acellular dermal matrix.

Acellular dermal matrix (ADM) shows promise for cartilage regeneration and repair. However, an effective decellularization technique that removes cellular components while preserving the extracellular matrix, the transformation of 2D-ADM into a suitable 3D scaffold with porosity and the enhancement of bioactive and biomechanical properties in the 3D-ADM scaffold are yet to be fully addressed. In this study, we present an innovative decellularization method involving 0.125% trypsin and 0.5% SDS and a 1% Triton X-100 solution for preparing ADM and converting 2D-ADM into 3D-ADM scaffolds. These scaffolds exhibit favorable physicochemical properties, exceptional biocompatibility and significant potential for driving cartilage regeneration in vitro and in vivo. To further enhance the cartilage regeneration potential of 3D-ADM scaffolds, we incorporated porcine-derived small intestinal submucosa (SIS) for bioactivity and calcium sulfate hemihydrate (CSH) for biomechanical reinforcement. The resulting 3D-ADM+SIS scaffolds displayed heightened biological activity, while the 3D-ADM+CSH scaffolds notably bolstered biomechanical strength. Both scaffold types showed promise for cartilage regeneration and repair in vitro and in vivo, with considerable improvements observed in repairing cartilage defects within a rabbit articular cartilage model. In summary, this research introduces a versatile 3D-ADM scaffold with customizable bioactive and biomechanical properties, poised to revolutionize the field of cartilage regeneration.

Development and validation of machine learning algorithms based on electrocardiograms for cardiovascular diagnoses at the population level.

Artificial intelligence-enabled electrocardiogram (ECG) algorithms are gaining prominence for the early detection of cardiovascular (CV) conditions, including those not traditionally associated with conventional ECG measures or expert interpretation. This study develops and validates such models for simultaneous prediction of 15 different common CV diagnoses at the population level. We conducted a retrospective study that included 1,605,268 ECGs of 244,077 adult patients presenting to 84 emergency departments or hospitals, who underwent at least one 12-lead ECG from February 2007 to April 2020 in Alberta, Canada, and considered 15 CV diagnoses, as identified by International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10) codes: atrial fibrillation (AF), supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), ventricular tachycardia (VT), cardiac arrest (CA), atrioventricular block (AVB), unstable angina (UA), ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), non-STEMI (NSTEMI), pulmonary embolism (PE), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), aortic stenosis (AS), mitral valve prolapse (MVP), mitral valve stenosis (MS), pulmonary hypertension (PHTN), and heart failure (HF). We employed ResNet-based deep learning (DL) using ECG tracings and extreme gradient boosting (XGB) using ECG measurements. When evaluated on the first ECGs per episode of 97,631 holdout patients, the DL models had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of <80% for 3 CV conditions (PTE, SVT, UA), 80-90% for 8 CV conditions (CA, NSTEMI, VT, MVP, PHTN, AS, AF, HF) and an AUROC > 90% for 4 diagnoses (AVB, HCM, MS, STEMI). DL models outperformed XGB models with about 5% higher AUROC on average. Overall, ECG-based prediction models demonstrated good-to-excellent prediction performance in diagnosing common CV conditions.

A human-specific insertion promotes cell proliferation and migration by enhancing TBC1D8B expression.

Human-specific insertions play important roles in human phenotypes and diseases. Here we reported a 446-bp insertion (Insert-446) in intron 11 of the TBC1D8B gene, located on chromosome X, and traced its origin to a portion of intron 6 of the EBF1 gene on chromosome 5. Interestingly, Insert-446 was present in the human Neanderthal and Denisovans genomes, and was fixed in humans after human-chimpanzee divergence. We have demonstrated that Insert-446 acts as an enhancer through binding transcript factors that promotes a higher expression of human TBC1D8B gene as compared with orthologs in macaques. In addition, over-expression TBC1D8B promoted cell proliferation and migration through "a dual finger" catalytic mechanism (Arg538 and Gln573) in the TBC domain in vitro and knockdown of TBC1D8B attenuated tumorigenesis in vivo. Knockout of Insert-446 prevented cell proliferation and migration in cancer and normal cells. Our results reveal that the human-specific Insert-446 promotes cell proliferation and migration by upregulating the expression of TBC1D8B gene. These findings provide a significant insight into the effects of human-specific insertions on evolution.