Small nucleolar RNA Snora73 promotes psoriasis progression by sponging miR-3074-5p and regulating PBX1 expression.

Chronic psoriasis is a kind of immune-mediated skin illness and the underlying molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis remain incompletely understood. Here, we used small RNA microarray assays to scan the differential expressed RNAs in psoriasis patient samples. The downstream miRNAs and its targets were predicted using bioinformatics analysis from online bases and confirmed using fluorescence in situ hybridization and dual­luciferase report gene assay. Cell ability of proliferation and migration were detected using CCK-8 and transwell assays. The results showed that a new snoRNA Snora73 was upregulated in psoriasis patient samples. Overexpression of Snora73 significantly increased psoriasis cells viability and migration, while knockdown of Snora73 got the opposite results. Mechanistically, our results showed that Snora73 acted as a sponge for miR-3074-5p and PBX1 is a direct target of miR-3074-5p in psoriasis cells. Furthermore, miR-3074-5p suppressed psoriasis cell proliferation and migration, while PBX1 promoted cell proliferation and migration in psoriasis. Collectively, these findings reveal a crucial role of Snora73 in progression of psoriasis through miR-3074-5p/PBX1 signaling pathway and suggest a potential therapeutic strategy.

Microbiota-derived acetate attenuates neuroinflammation in rostral ventrolateral medulla of spontaneously hypertensive rats.

BACKGROUND: Increased neuroinflammation in brain regions regulating sympathetic nerves is associated with hypertension. Emerging evidence from both human and animal studies suggests a link between hypertension and gut microbiota, as well as microbiota-derived metabolites short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). However, the precise mechanisms underlying this gut-brain axis remain unclear. METHODS: The levels of microbiota-derived SCFAs in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. To observe the effect of acetate on arterial blood pressure (ABP) in rats, sodium acetate was supplemented via drinking water for continuous 7 days. ABP was recorded by radio telemetry. The inflammatory factors, morphology of microglia and astrocytes in rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) were detected. In addition, blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability, composition and metabolomics of the gut microbiome, and intestinal pathological manifestations were also measured. RESULTS: The serum acetate levels in SHRs are lower than in normotensive control rats. Supplementation with acetate reduces ABP, inhibits sympathetic nerve activity in SHRs. Furthermore, acetate suppresses RVLM neuroinflammation in SHRs, increases microglia and astrocyte morphologic complexity, decreases BBB permeability, modulates intestinal flora, increases fecal flora metabolites, and inhibits intestinal fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS: Microbiota-derived acetate exerts antihypertensive effects by modulating microglia and astrocytes and inhibiting neuroinflammation and sympathetic output.

A new methodology to reveal potential nucleic acid modifications associated with the risk of endometrial cancer through dispersive solid-phase extraction coupled with UHPLC-QE-Orbitrap-MS/MS and HPLC-UV.

Nucleic acid modifications have attracted increasing attention in recent years since they have been found to be related to a number of diseases including cancer. Previous studies have shown that the early development of endometrial cancer (EC) is often accompanied by changes in methylation levels of related genes, and the expression of related proteins that regulate reactive oxygen species (ROS) shows significant differences in EC cells and tissues. However, it has not been reported whether nucleic acid modifications related to methylation or ROS can serve as biomarkers for EC. Accurate quantification of these nucleic acid modifications still has challenges because their amounts in urine are very low and the interferences in urine are complicated. In this study, a novel dispersive solid-phase extraction (DSPE) method based on chitosan-carbon nanotube-Al2O3 (CS-CNT-Al2O3) has been established for the analysis of 5-hydroxymethyluracil (5 mU), 5-methyl-2'-deoxycytidine (5-mdC), 5-hydroxymethyl-2'-deoxycytidine (5-hmdC), 5-formyl-2'-deoxycytidine (5-fdC), and 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in EC patient urine samples coupled with UHPLC-QE-Orbitrap-MS/MS and HPLC-UV. Firstly, the synthesis of the CS-CNT-Al2O3 nanocomposite was conducted by a sono-coprecipitation method and was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). Under the optimal extraction conditions of DSPE, we successfully quantified 5 mU, 5-mdC, 5-hmdC, 5-fdC, and 8-OHdG in urine samples from 37 EC patients and 39 healthy controls. The results showed that there were significant differences in the levels of 5-mdC, 5-hmdC, 5-fdC, and 8-OHdG in EC patients compared to the healthy control group. The receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was carried out to evaluate the potential of 5-mdC, 5-hmdC, 5-fdC, and 8-OHdG to distinguish EC patients from healthy volunteers. The area under the curve (AUC) for 5-mdC, 5-hmdC, 5-fdC, and 8-OHdG was 0.7412, 0.667, 0.8438, and 0.7981, respectively. It indicated that 5-mdC, 5-hmdC, 5-fdC, and 8-OHdG had certain potential in distinguishing between EC patients and healthy volunteers and they could act as potential non-invasive biomarkers for early diagnosis of EC. Moreover, the present study would stimulate investigations of the effects of nucleic acid modifications on the initiation and progression of EC.

Bioactive VS4-based sonosensitizer for robust chemodynamic, sonodynamic and osteogenic therapy of infected bone defects.

BACKGROUND: Most bone defects caused by bone disease or trauma are accompanied by infection, and there is a high risk of infection spread and defect expansion. Traditional clinical treatment plans often fail due to issues like antibiotic resistance and non-union of bones. Therefore, the treatment of infected bone defects requires a strategy that simultaneously achieves high antibacterial efficiency and promotes bone regeneration. RESULTS: In this study, an ultrasound responsive vanadium tetrasulfide-loaded MXene (VSM) Schottky junction is constructed for rapid methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clearance and bone regeneration. Due to the peroxidase (POD)-like activity of VS4 and the abundant Schottky junctions, VSM has high electron-hole separation efficiency and a decreased band gap, exhibiting a strong chemodynamic and sonodynamic antibacterial efficiency of 94.03%. Under the stimulation of medical dose ultrasound, the steady release of vanadium element promotes the osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs). The in vivo application of VSM in infected tibial plateau bone defects of rats also has a great therapeutic effect, eliminating MRSA infection, then inhibiting inflammation and improving bone regeneration. CONCLUSION: The present work successfully develops an ultrasound responsive VS4-based versatile sonosensitizer for robust effective antibacterial and osteogenic therapy of infected bone defects.

Biomimetic bone-periosteum scaffold for spatiotemporal regulated innervated bone regeneration and therapy of osteosarcoma.

The complexity of repairing large segment defects and eradicating residual tumor cell puts the osteosarcoma clinical management challenging. Current biomaterial design often overlooks the crucial role of precisely regulating innervation in bone regeneration. Here, we develop a Germanium Selenium (GeSe) co-doped polylactic acid (PLA) nanofiber membrane-coated tricalcium phosphate bioceramic scaffold (TCP-PLA/GeSe) that mimics the bone-periosteum structure. This biomimetic scaffold offers a dual functionality, combining piezoelectric and photothermal conversion capabilities while remaining biodegradable. When subjected to ultrasound irradiation, the US-electric stimulation of TCP-PLA/GeSe enables spatiotemporal control of neurogenic differentiation. This feature supports early innervation during bone formation, promoting early neurogenic differentiation of Schwann cells (SCs) by increasing intracellular Ca2+ and subsequently activating the PI3K-Akt and Ras signaling pathways. The biomimetic scaffold also demonstrates exceptional osteogenic differentiation potential under ultrasound irradiation. In rabbit model of large segment bone defects, the TCP-PLA/GeSe demonstrates promoted osteogenesis and nerve fibre ingrowth. The combined attributes of high photothermal conversion capacity and the sustained release of anti-tumor selenium from the TCP-PLA/GeSe enable the synergistic eradication of osteosarcoma both in vitro and in vivo. This strategy provides new insights on designing advanced biomaterials of repairing large segment bone defect and osteosarcoma.

Association of co-exposure to organophosphate esters and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and mixture with cardiovascular-kidney-liver-metabolic biomarkers among Chinese adults.

BACKGROUND: Organophosphate esters (OPEs) and Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants with common exposure sources, leading to their widespread presence in human body. However, evidence on co-exposure to OPEs and PFAS and its impact on cardiovascular-kidney-liver-metabolic biomarkers remains limited. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 467 adults were enrolled from January to May 2022 during physical visits in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province. Eleven types of OPEs and twelves types of PFAS were detected, among which eight OPEs and six PFAS contaminants were detected in more than 60% of plasma samples. Seventeen biomarkers were assessed to comprehensively evaluate the cardiovascular-kidney-liver-metabolic function. Multiple linear regression, multipollutant models with sparse partial least squares, and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) models were applied to examine the associations of individual OPEs and PFAS and their mixtures with organ function and metabolism, respectively. RESULTS: Of the over 400 exposure-outcome associations tested when modelling, we observed robust results across three models that perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxS) was significantly positively associated with alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin (TBIL), and indirect bilirubin (IBIL). Perfluorononanoic acid was significantly associated with decreased AST/ALT and increased very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Besides, perfluorodecanoic acid was correlated with increased high lipoprotein cholesterol and perfluoroundecanoic acid was consistently associated with lower glucose level. BKMR analysis showed that OPEs and PFAS mixtures were positively associated with IBIL and TBIL, among which PFHxS was the main toxic chemicals. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that exposure to OPEs and PFAS, especially PFHxS and PFNA, may disrupt organ function and metabolism in the general population, providing insight into the potential pathophysiological mechanisms of OPEs and PFAS co-exposure and chronic diseases.

Autoencoder assisted subcarrier optimization for nonlinear frequency division multiplexing.

Nonlinear frequency division multiplexing (NFDM) is a novel optical communication technique that can achieve nonlinear free transmission. However, current design of NFDM is analogous to orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), where sinc function is utilized as subcarriers, which may not be optimal for nonlinear spectrums. In this paper, we propose an auto-encoder (AE) assisted subcarrier optimization scheme for dual-polarized (DP) NFDM systems. Numerical verifications show that our scheme can improve the Q-factor by 1.54 dB and 0.62 dB compared to sinc subcarrier and linear minimum mean square error (LMMSE) equalization, respectively, in a 960 km transmission scenario. We also analyze the characteristics of the optimized subcarriers and discuss how they enhance the performance. Furthermore, we demonstrate the robustness of the optimized subcarriers to different modulation formats, transmission distances and bandwidth. Our work provides a new idea in subcarrier design for NFDM.

Physical layer encryption for coherent PDM system based on polarization perturbations using a digital optical polarization scrambler.

In this paper, a security enhanced physical layer encryption scheme is proposed for coherent optical polarization division multiplexing (PDM) systems. The concept of a digital optical polarization scrambler (DOPS) is introduced to apply high speed rotation of state of polarization (RSOP) to the transmitted signal, which enables encryption based on polarization perturbations and offers superior flexibility in polarization management. By utilizing different combinations of digital polarization device matrices and adjusting their key parameters, four encryption modes are designed. The proposed encryption scheme is successfully implemented in a PDM-QPSK system at the data rate of 32 Gbps. Experimental results demonstrate that authorized users can successfully decrypt the received signal, while the eavesdroppers cannot derive useful information with a bit error rate (BER) at approximately 0.5. To enhance system security, a 5-D chaotic system is introduced with superior properties of high sensitivity to initial values and improved uniform distribution, which guarantees the large entropy and further the system's security. This scheme can effectively prevent against brute attacks with the expanded key space of 1060.

Recognition elements based on the molecular biological techniques for detecting pesticides in food: A review.

Excessive use of pesticides can cause contamination of the environment and agricultural products that are directly threatening human life and health. Therefore, in the process of food safety supervision, it is crucial to conduct sensitive and rapid detection of pesticide residues. The recognition element is the vital component of sensors and methods for fast testing pesticide residues in food. Improper recognition elements may lead to defects of testing methods, such as poor stability, low sensitivity, high economic costs, and waste of time. We can use the molecular biological technique to address these challenges as a good strategy for recognition element production and modification. Herein, we review the molecular biological methods of five specific recognition elements, including aptamers, genetic engineering antibodies, DNAzymes, genetically engineered enzymes, and whole-cell-based biosensors. In addition, the application of these identification elements combined with biosensor and immunoassay methods in actual detection was also discussed. The purpose of this review was to provide a valuable reference for further development of rapid detection methods for pesticide residues.

Chronic atrophic gastritis in different ages in South China: a 10-year retrospective analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the prevalence, characteristics, age distribution and etiology changes of chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) in South China. METHODS: This study included all patients who underwent endoscopy examinations from 2011 to 2020 in our hospital. Patients were divided into groups 1 (2011-2015) and 2 (2016-2020). The prevalence, characteristics, age distribution and etiology changes of CAG were compared between groups. RESULTS: Overall CAG prevalence was 20.92% (24,084/115,110) from 2011 to 2020; prevalence significantly differed between groups (18.78%, 8468/45,087, in group 1 and 22.30%, 15,616/70,023, in group 2). Patients with CAG had significantly younger age (under 45) and more corpus atrophy and more autoimmune atrophic gastritis (AAG) in group 2 than in group 1. AAG prevalence in group 2 was 30.11% (4702/15,616) significantly higher than 13.57% (1149/8468) in group 1. 82 patients with AAG later exhibited gastric cancer without obvious clinical features over the decade. CONCLUSIONS: CAG is increasing and seems starting earlier among people during the study period. We need to focus on diagnosis and treatment of corpus related atrophy and AAG, especially for the young. Laboratory examination, endoscopic biopsy and surveillance are important for CAG.

Evaluating the One-Year Efficacy of Combined Anti-VEGF and Dexamethasone Implant Treatment for Macular Edema in Retinal Vein Occlusions.

BACKGROUND Retinal vein occlusion-induced macular edema (RVO-ME) is a significant global cause of vision loss, with the effectiveness of combined anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) drugs and dexamethasone implantation (DEX I) being a relevant, yet not thoroughly explored, area of interest.The aim of this study was to evaluate the 1-year clinical efficacy of combination therapy using anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs and dexamethasone implantation (DEX I) in the treatment of macular edema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (RVO-ME). MATERIAL AND METHODS This retrospective study analyzed data from 34 RVO-ME patients treated at the Inner Mongolia Chaoju Eye Hospital between January 2020 and December 2021. All patients underwent initial DEX I treatment, followed by the introduction of anti-VEGF drugs, and were observed for one year. Retinal structural and vascular changes were measured using spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA). The study also evaluated shifts in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) throughout the observation period. RESULTS Following the combined therapy, patients showed significant improvements in BCVA, intraocular pressure (IOP), central retinal thickness (CRT), and retinal vessel density (VD) (all P<0.05). Upon stratifying the results by RVO type, patients with branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO)-ME displayed more significant BCVA improvement and CRT reduction at various post-treatment intervals compared to those with central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO)-ME (all P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The combined use of anti-VEGF drugs and DEX I showed promising one-year efficacy in treating RVO-ME, with greater improvements noted in patients with BRVO-ME compared to those with CRVO-ME. Despite the positive results, close monitoring of IOP elevation, a notable side effect, remains crucial.

Association of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances with hepatic steatosis and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease among patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Etiology of hepatic steatosis and metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) among acute coronary syndrome (ACS) remains unclear. Existing studies suggested the potential role of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in comorbidity of hepatic steatosis among ACS patients. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study based on the ACS inpatients to assess the associations of plasma PFAS congeners and mixtures with hepatic steatosis and MAFLD. This study included 546 newly diagnosed ACS patients. Twelve PFAS were quantified using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Hepatic steatosis was defined by hepatic steatosis index (HSI). MAFLD was defined as the combination of hepatic steatosis based on the risk factor calculation with metabolic abnormalities. Generalized linear model was used to examine the associations of PFAS congeners with HSI and MAFLD. Adaptive elastic net (AENET) was further used for PFAS congeners selection. Mixture effects were also assessed with Bayesian kernel machine regression model (BKMR). Congeners analysis observed significant greater percent change of HSI for each doubling in PFOS (1.82%, 95% CI: 0.87%, 2.77%), PFHxS (1.17%, 95% CI: 0.46%, 1.89%) and total PFAS (1.84%, 95% CI: 0.56%, 3.14%). Moreover, each doubling in PFOS (OR=1.42, 95% CI: 1.13, 1.81), PFHxS (OR=1.31, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.59) and total PFAS (OR=1.43, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.94) was associated with increased risk of MAFLD. In AENET regression, only PFOS presented significant positive associations with HSI. Mixture analysis indicated significant positive associations between PFAS mixtures and HSI. This is the first study to demonstrate associations of PFAS congeners and mixtures with hepatic steatosis and MAFLD among ACS patients, which provides hypothesis into the mechanisms behind comorbidity of hepatic steatosis among ACS patients, as well as tertiary prevention of ACS.

First Report of Apple Brown Rot caused by Monilinia polystroma in Jilin Province in China.

Brown rot caused by Monilinia spp. is an important postharvest disease. It affects fruit quality and can cause serious economic losses. In October 2021, typical brown rot symptoms on fruit were observed at an apple orchard in Xiaobaishan Township, Jilin Province, China (E126°39'10″, N43°44'21″). Over 1200 plants were surveyed in the orchard, and nearly 25% of the plants were infected. In this research, samples from ten different trees showing typical symptoms were isolated and identified. Freshly diseased fruits were surface sterilized with 75% ethanol for 15s, then fungal colonies were isolated from 3 mm diameter diseased tissue samples. The purified colonies were placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA), oatmeal agar (OA) and water agar (WA + Sterilized apple pulp) and incubated at 25 ℃ in a 12 h/12 h light-dark photoperiod for 5 days. The colonies became light to dark brown; they grew faster on PDA with a growth rate of 5.53 mm/d, most densely on OA and slowest on SA + sterilized apple pulp with thin mycelia. After 20 days, some transparent, oval, smooth conidia were observed on the SA + sterile apple culture medium. Conidia sizes were 8.27-16.54 (avg. 11.97) x 2.92-7.09 (avg. 4.52) um (n=50) (Hilber-Bodmer et al. 2012). Pure cultures of eight samples were isolated from single spores, and DNA was extracted with a commercial nucleic acid extraction kit (Omega, cat#D3390-01). Then, fragments of the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS), translation elongation factor 1 alpha (EF1-alpha), beta-tubulin (Bt), and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase genes(G3pdh) were PCR amplified using primes ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990), EF1-728F/EF1-986R (Carbone and Kohn 1999), BT-2a/BT-2b (Glass and Donaldson 1995), and G3pdhF/G3pdhR (Hu et al. 2011) respectively. The amplicons were sequenced by Takara Bio Inc. Sequences of all isolates were identical, thus one set of sequences were run with BLASTn against the NCBI GenBank nr database. The homology analysis showed that ITS (OQ170786), Bt (OQ179019), EF (OQ834046) and G3pdh (OQ834047) gene fragments were 100% (0/540 nt) , 100% (0/462 nt), 99.01% (3/304nt) and 99.61% (3/767 nt) similar to M. polystroma （NR154198.1, MT038414.1, LT632542.1, MT038415.1）respectively. Based on morphological characteristics and sequence analysis, the fungal isolate was identified as M. polystroma. Koch's postulates were conducted using ten healthy apple fruits that were surface disinfected with 0.2% sodium hypochlorite and repeatedly rinsed with sterile water. The test apples were wounded with a sterile needle, inoculated with mycelial agar plugs (3 mm diameter) on the wounds, and incubated at 25℃, 50% room humidity. The equivalent sterile PDA plugs were used as control and the experiment was repeated three times. After 5 days, brown rot symptoms appeared on the inoculated apples. 10 days later, nearly 1/3 of the inoculated apple surface appeared rotted, but the controls were symptomless. Subsequently, the same strain was re-isolated from the inoculated apples by pure culture and molecular identification. Therefore, M. polystroma (named JL-1) was confirmed as the causal agent of brown rot in Jilin Provincen China. M. polystroma is a typical pathogen of brown rot in the north of China, and only reported on apples in Shandong, apricots in Heilongjiang and pears in Hebei in China (Zhu et al. 2016) but never in Jilin. In addition, it was reported that the contribution of M. polystroma species to brown rot disease on apple and pear in China is 20% out of all the Monilinia spp. species that cause the disease, but M. polystroma virulence is not significantly different from other Monilinia species more widely distributed (Zhu et al, 2016). This is the first report of M. polystroma causing apple brown rot in Jilin Province of China. This finding will provide useful information for future diagnosis and management.

Intelligent Fault Diagnosis of Liquid Rocket Engine via Interpretable LSTM with Multisensory Data.

Fault diagnosis is essential for high energy systems such as liquid rocket engines (LREs) due to harsh thermal and mechanical working environment. In this study, a novel method based on one-dimension Convolutional Neural Network (1D-CNN) and interpretable bidirectional Long Short-term Memory (LSTM) is proposed for intelligent fault diagnosis of LREs. 1D-CNN is responsible for extracting sequential signals collected from multi sensors. Then the interpretable LSTM is developed to model the extracted features, which contributes to modeling the temporal information. The proposed method was executed for fault diagnosis using the simulated measurement data of the LRE mathematical model. The results demonstrate the proposed algorithm outperforms other methods in terms of accuracy of fault diagnosis. Through experimental verification, the method proposed in this paper was compared with CNN, 1DCNN-SVM and CNN-LSTM in terms of LRE startup transient fault recognition performance. The model proposed in this paper had the highest fault recognition accuracy (97.39%).

Kalman filter polarization demultiplexing algorithm based on diagonalized matrix treatment.

When we implement the equalizations of polarization effects using a Kalman filter (KF) in a coherent optical fiber communication system, we will require to multiply many matrices. If the state vector describing the system has a dimension of n, the state error covariance matrix P will have the dimension of n × n, and other matrices used in the Kalman filter will also have the dimension of n × l (l is the dimension of the measurement vector). If n is very large, the KF-based algorithm will suffer from significant complexity, which results in an impractical KF-based polarization demultiplexing algorithm. In this paper, we propose a new structured KF-based polarization demultiplexing algorithm in which the state error covariance matrix P is diagonalized, which we call the diagonalized Kalman filter (DKF). We theoretically analyze the rationality of the DKF, and the validity of the DKF was verified in both 64 Gbaud polarization-division multiplexed (PDM) QPSK and 16QAM Nyquist coherent optical simulation systems. Compared with the conventional KF, simulation results proved that under a rotation of state of polarization from 1 to 10 Mrad/s for QPSK and 1 to 5 Mrad/s for 16QAM, a differential group delay from 15 to 75 ps, and a residual chromatic dispersion of 100 ps/nm, the OSNR penalties for the DKF are only within 0.5 dB for QPSK at the threshold BER = 3.8 × 10-3, and within 2 dB for 16-QAM at the threshold BER = 2 × 10-2, respectively, compare to the case of no impairment. In the meantime, for the proposed DKF, a computational complexity reduction of over 30% is achieved, compared with conventional KF, at the expense of about no more than 50 symbols convergence delay.

Improvement for a full-spectrum modulated nonlinear frequency division multiplexing transmission system.

Nonlinear frequency division multiplexing (NFDM), as a possible technique to overcome the limit imposed by Kerr nonlinearity in conventional coherent optical communication systems, has attracted widespread attention in the communication community in recent years. In order to fully utilize the available degrees of freedom in the nonlinear spectrum, this paper focuses on the full-spectrum (FS) modulated NFDM system. First, we maximize the data rate of discrete spectrum (DS) by optimizing the distribution of eigenvalues in DS part of FS. Then through introducing the probabilistic shaping (PS) into the FS system, and combined with linear minimum mean square (LMMSE) estimators, a 1120 km transmission with BER below the hard decision forward error correction (HD-FEC) threshold at 112 Gbps is achieved, where 128 subcarriers with PS-64QAM are used in the continuous spectrum (CS) and 13 eigenvalues with 64QAM are adopted in the discrete spectrum (DS). The achievable data rate is about 12% higher than that of pure CS modulation. Our work achieves the current FS NFDM system with the largest number of multiplexed eigenvalues, and provides a way to improve the performance of FS systems.

Prediction of high-risk esophageal varices in patients with chronic liver disease with point and 2D shear wave elastography: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the diagnostic performance of liver stiffness (LS) and spleen stiffness (SS) measured by point shear wave elastography (pSWE) and 2D shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) in the detection of high-risk esophageal varices (HREV) and to compare their diagnostic accuracy. METHODS: Through systematic search of PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases, we included 17 articles reporting the diagnostic performance of LS or SS measured by pSWE or 2D-SWE for HREV. We used a bivariate random-effects model to estimate pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), negative likelihood ratio (NLR), area under summary receiver operator characteristic curve (AUSROC), and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR). RESULTS: For LS, there was no significant difference between the pooled sensitivity, 0.89 (95% confidence interval CI, 0.81-0.94) vs. 0.8 (95% CI, 0.72-0.86) (p = 0.13), and specificity, 0.81 (95% CI, 0.73-0.87) vs. 0.73 (95% CI, 0.65-0.79) (p = 0.07) of pSWE and 2D-SWE. The AUSROC and DOR of pSWE were higher than those of 2D-SWE: 0.92 (95% CI, 0.89-0.94) vs. 0.84 (95% CI, 0.80-0.87), p = 0.03, 33 (95% CI, 25-61) vs. 11 (95% CI, 5-22), (p < 0.01). For SS, there was no significant difference between the pooled sensitivity 0.91 (95% CI, 0.78-0.96) vs. 0.89 (95% CI, 0.80-0.94) (p = 0.43); specificity, 0.79 (95% CI, 0.72-0.84) vs. 0.72 (95% CI, 0.63-0.79) (p = 0.06); and DOR, 35 (95% CI, 13-100) vs. 20 (95% CI, 8-50) (p = 0.16) of pSWE and 2D-SWE. CONCLUSION: LS and SS measured by pSWE and 2D-SWE have good accuracy in predicting HREV. KEY POINTS: • There is modest difference between the diagnostic performance of LS and SS measured by pSWE and 2D-SWE. • LS and SS measured by pSWE and 2D-SWE both have high sensitivity, specificity, and AUSROC for the evaluation of HREV in patients with CLD. • pSWE and 2D-SWE are promising tools for noninvasive monitoring risk of esophageal varices bleeding of CLD patients.

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis caused by traumatic brain injury complicating thyroid storm: a case report and discussion.

INTRODUCTION: Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is an uncommon cerebrovascular disease with diverse predisposing factors. We report a case of CVST caused by a thyroid storm induced by traumatic brain injury. CASE PRESENTATION: A 29-year-old male patient with a history of Graves' disease with hyperthyroidism presented to our hospital with head trauma of cerebral contusion and laceration in both frontal lobes confirmed by admission CT scan. He received mannitol to lower intracranial pressure, haemostatic therapy, and antiepileptic treatment. Eight days later, he presented with signs of thyroid storms, such as tachycardia, hyperthermia, sweating and irritation, and his thyroid function tests revealed high levels of TPO-Ab, TR-Ab, TG-Ab, FT3 and FT4. Then, he entered a deep coma. His brain CT showed a thrombosis of multiple venous sinuses, along with the opening of peripheral collateral vessels, congestive infarction with haemorrhage and brain swelling. He regained consciousness after treatment with antithyroid drugs, anticoagulants, respiratory support and a regimen of sedation/analgesia. After a half-year follow-up, most of the patient's blocked cerebral venous sinuses had been recanalized, but there were still some sequelae, such as an impaired fine motor performance of the right hand and verbal expression defects. CONCLUSIONS: CVST can be induced by thyroid storms, and trauma-related thyroid storms can develop on the basis of hyperthyroidism. The purpose of this case report is to raise clinicians' awareness and improve their ability to diagnose CVST early in patients with traumatic brain injury complicating thyroid storms to improve the neurological prognosis among similar patients.

Nomogram to predict 3-month unfavorable outcome after thrombectomy for stroke.

BACKGROUND: Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is an effective treatment for large-vessel occlusion in acute ischemic stroke, however, only some revascularized patients have a good prognosis. For stroke patients undergoing MT, predicting the risk of unfavorable outcomes and adjusting the treatment strategies accordingly can greatly improve prognosis. Therefore, we aimed to develop and validate a nomogram that can predict 3-month unfavorable outcomes for individual stroke patient treated with MT. METHODS: We analyzed 258 patients with acute ischemic stroke who underwent MT from January 2018 to February 2021. The primary outcome was a 3-month unfavorable outcome, assessed using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), 3-6. A nomogram was generated based on a multivariable logistic model. We used the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve to evaluate the discriminative performance and used the calibration curve and Spiegelhalter's Z-test to assess the calibration performance of the risk prediction model. RESULTS: In our visual nomogram, gender (odds ratio [OR], 3.40; 95%CI, 1.54-7.54), collateral circulation (OR, 0.46; 95%CI, 0.28-0.76), postoperative mTICI (OR, 0.06; 95%CI, 0.01-0.50), stroke-associated pneumonia (OR, 5.76; 95%CI, 2.79-11.87), preoperative Na (OR, 0.82; 95%CI, 0.72-0.92) and creatinine (OR, 1.02; 95%CI, 1.01-1.03) remained independent predictors of 3-month unfavorable outcomes in stroke patients treated with MT. The area under the nomogram curve was 0.8791 with good calibration performance (P = 0.873 for the Spiegelhalter's Z-test). CONCLUSIONS: A novel nomogram consisting of gender, collateral circulation, postoperative mTICI, stroke-associated pneumonia, preoperative Na and creatinine can predict the 3-month unfavorable outcomes in stroke patients treated with MT.

Analysis of hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae and classic Klebsiella pneumoniae infections in a Chinese hospital.

AIMS: To evaluate the clinical and genetic virulence characteristics of critically ill patients with hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKP) and classic KP (cKP) infection. METHODS AND RESULTS: The patients included in this retrospective study (n = 225) were grouped according to their hvKP (n = 114) or cKP (n = 111) status, and their clinical characteristics were analysed and compared. Cox multivariate analysis was conducted to determine the risk factors for hvKP infection. Length of hospital stay, length of intensive care unit stay, duration of mechanical ventilation and 28-day survival rate were similar between the groups. However, the incidence of septic shock was higher in the hvKP group (16.7%) than in the cKP group (8.1%). CONCLUSIONS: There was a high rate of hvKP infection in this population. Compared to patients with cKP infection, those with hvKP infection showed a higher probability of having septic shock; nevertheless, survival and length of hospital stay were similar between the groups. Risk factors for hvKP infection included hospital-acquired infection and renal insufficiency. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study presents relevant information on the characteristics of hvKP infection in a Chinese population, and this promotes early diagnosis and supports the view that the prevalence of hvKP is high in China.