The S-acylation cycle of transcription factor MtNAC80 influences cold stress responses in Medicago truncatula.

S-acylation is a reversible post-translational modification catalyzed by protein S-acyltransferases (PATs), and acyl protein thioesterases (APTs) mediate de-S-acylation. Although many proteins are S-acylated, how the S-acylation cycle modulates specific biological functions in plants is poorly understood. In this study, we report that the S-acylation cycle of transcription factor MtNAC80 is involved in the Medicago truncatula cold stress response. Under normal conditions, MtNAC80 localized to membranes through MtPAT9-induced S-acylation. In contrast, under cold stress conditions, MtNAC80 translocated to the nucleus through de-S-acylation mediated by thioesterases such as MtAPT1. MtNAC80 functions in the nucleus by directly binding the promoter of the glutathione S-transferase gene MtGSTU1 and promoting its expression, which enables plants to survive under cold stress by removing excess malondialdehyde and H2O2. Our findings reveal an important function of the S-acylation cycle in plants and provide insight into stress response and tolerance mechanisms.

Visit to visit transition in TXNIP gene methylation and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a nested case-control study.

Our study aimed to investigate the association between the transition of the TXNIP gene methylation level and the risk of incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study included 263 incident cases of T2DM and 263 matched non-T2DM participants. According to the methylation levels of five loci (CpG1-5; chr1:145441102-145442001) on the TXNIP gene, the participants were classified into four transition groups: maintained low, low to high, high to low, and maintained high methylation levels. Compared with individuals whose methylation level of CpG2-5 at the TXNIP gene was maintained low, individuals with maintained high methylation levels showed a 61-87% reduction in T2DM risk (66% for CpG2 [OR: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.14, 0.80]; 77% for CpG3 [OR: 0.23, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.78]; 87% for CpG4 [OR: 0.13, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.56]; and 61% for CpG5 [OR: 0.39, 95% CI: 0.16, 0.92]). Maintained high methylation levels of four loci of the TXNIP gene are associated with a reduction of T2DM incident risk in the current study. Our study suggests that preserving hypermethylation levels of the TXNIP gene may hold promise as a potential preventive measure against the onset of T2DM.

Ovarian Cancer Diagnosis and Prognosis Based on Cell-Free DNA Methylation.

Background: Ovarian cancer stands as the deadliest malignant tumor within the female reproductive tract. As a result of the absence of effective diagnostic and monitoring markers, 75% of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed at a late stage, leading to a mere 50% survival rate within five years. The advancement of molecular biology is essential for accurate diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer. Methods: A review of several randomized clinical trials, focusing on the ovarian cancer, was undertaken. The advancement of molecular biology and diagnostic methods related to accurate diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer were examined. Results: Liquid biopsy is an innovative method of detecting malignant tumors that has gained increasing attention over the past few years. Cell-free DNA assay-based liquid biopsies show potential in delineating tumor status heterogeneity and tracking tumor recurrence. DNA methylation influences a multitude of biological functions and diseases, especially during the initial phases of cancer. The cell-free DNA methylation profiling system has emerged as a sensitive and non-invasive technique for identifying and detecting the biological origins of cancer. It holds promise as a biomarker, enabling early screening, recurrence monitoring, and prognostic evaluation of cancer. Conclusions: This review evaluates recent advancements and challenges associated with cell-free DNA methylation analysis for the diagnosis, prognosis monitoring, and assessment of therapeutic responses in the management of ovarian cancers, aiming to offer guidance for precise diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

Ovarian cancer stands as the deadliest malignant tumor within the female reproductive tract. As a result of the absence of effective diagnostic and monitoring markers, 75% of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed at a late stage, leading to a mere 50% survival rate within five years. Nearly 80% of advanced stages have a poor prognosis or recurrence within five years. Ovarian cancer is linked to a grim long-term prognosis attributable to its elevated mortality and recurrence rates. The advancement of molecular biology and diagnostic methods is essential for accurate diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer. Liquid biopsy is an innovative method of detecting malignant tumors that has gained increasing attention over the past few years. Cell-free DNA assay-based liquid biopsies show potential in delineating tumor status heterogeneity and tracking tumor recurrence. DNA methylation represents a prevalent epigenetic modification. DNA methylation influences a multitude of biological functions and diseases, especially during the initial phases of cancer. The cell-free DNA methylation profiling system has emerged as a sensitive and non-invasive technique for identifying and detecting the biological origins of cancer. This review assesses recent progress and obstacles linked to cell-free DNA methylation analysis for diagnosing, prognostic monitoring, and evaluating therapeutic responses in managing ovarian cancers.

m6A modification of RNA in cervical cancer: role and clinical perspectives.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is widely recognized as the predominant form of RNA modification in higher organisms, with the capability to finely regulate RNA metabolism, thereby influencing a series of crucial physiological and pathological processes. These processes include regulation of gene expression, cell proliferation, invasion and metastasis, cell cycle control, programmed cell death, interactions within the tumour microenvironment, energy metabolism, and immune regulation. With advancing research into the mechanisms of RNA methylation, the pivotal role of m6A modification in the pathophysiology of reproductive system tumours, particularly cervical cancer, has been progressively unveiled. This discovery has opened new research avenues and presented significant potential for the diagnosis, prognostic evaluation, and treatment of diseases. This review delves deeply into the biological functions of m6A modification and its mechanisms of action in the onset and progression of cervical cancer. Furthermore, it explores the prospects of m6A modification in the precision diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer, aiming to provide new perspectives and a theoretical basis for innovative and advanced treatment strategies for cervical cancer.

Dose-response associations of triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and triglyceride-glucose index with arterial stiffness risk.

BACKGROUND: The triglyceride to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG/HDL-C) ratio and triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index are novel indexes for insulin resistance (IR). We aimed to evaluate associations of TG/HDL-C and TyG with arterial stiffness risk. METHODS: We enrolled 1979 participants from the Rural Chinese Cohort Study, examining arterial stiffness by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). Logistic and linear regression models were employed to calculate effect estimates. For meta-analysis, we searched relevant articles from PubMed, Embase and Web of Science up to August 26, 2023. The fixed-effects or random-effects models were used to calculate the pooled estimates. We evaluated dose-response associations using restricted cubic splines. RESULTS: For cross-sectional studies, the adjusted ORs (95%CIs) for arterial stiffness were 1.12 (1.01-1.23) and 1.78 (1.38-2.30) for per 1 unit increment in TG/HDL-C and TyG. In the meta-analysis, the pooled ORs (95% CIs) were 1.26 (1.14-1.39) and 1.57 (1.36-1.82) for per 1 unit increment of TG/HDL-C and TyG. Additionally, both TG/HDL-C and TyG were positively related to PWV, with ß of 0.09 (95% CI 0.04-0.14) and 0.57 (95% CI 0.35-0.78) m/s. We also found linear associations of TG/HDL-C and TyG with arterial stiffness risk. CONCLUSIONS: High TG/HDL-C and TyG were related to increased arterial stiffness risk, indicating TG/HDL-C and TyG may be convincing predictors of arterial stiffness.

Factors associated with risk analysis for asymptomatic left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in nondialysis patients with chronic kidney disease.

Heart failure (HF) constitutes a major determinant of outcome in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. The main pattern of HF in CKD patients is preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) is a frequent pathophysiological mechanism and specific preclinical manifestation of HFpEF. Therefore, exploring and intervention of the factors associated with risk for LVDD is of great importance in reducing the morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular disease (CVD) complications in CKD patients. We designed this retrospective cross-sectional study to collect clinical and echocardiographic data from 339 nondialysis CKD patients without obvious symptoms of HF to analyze the proportion of asymptomatic left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (ALVDD) and its related factors associated with risk by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Among the 339 nondialysis CKD patients, 92.04% had ALVDD. With the progression of CKD stage, the proportion of ALVDD gradually increased. The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that increased age (OR 1.237; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.108-1.381, per year), diabetic nephropathy (DN) and hypertensive nephropathy (HTN) (OR 25.000; 95% CI 1.355-48.645, DN and HTN vs chronic interstitial nephritis), progression of CKD stage (OR 2.785; 95% CI 1.228-6.315, per stage), increased mean arterial pressure (OR 1.154; 95% CI 1.051-1.268, per mmHg), increased urinary protein (OR 2.825; 95% CI 1.484-5.405, per g/24 h), and low blood calcium (OR 0.072; 95% CI 0.006-0.859, per mmol/L) were factors associated with risk for ALVDD in nondialysis CKD patients after adjusting for other confounding factors. Therefore, dynamic monitoring of these factors associated with risk, timely diagnosis and treatment of ALVDD can delay the progression to symptomatic HF, which is of great importance for reducing CVD mortality, and improving the prognosis and quality of life in CKD patients.

Obesity and risk of depressive disorder in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis of observational studies.

PURPOSE: This meta-analysis evaluated the relationship between overweight/obesity and depressive disorders in children and adolescents. METHODS: We examined the databases of PubMed, Embase and Web of Science for pertinent observational studies released up until 20 February 2022. The pooled relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of obesity and overweight with depressive disorder were calculated by means of random-effects models. The Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality scale were adopted to evaluate the study quality. RESULTS: Finally, for this meta-analysis, we evaluated 22 observational publications covering 175 135 participants (5 cohort study articles, 1 case-control study article and 16 cross-sectional study articles). A significant positive association was found between obesity and the risk of depression (RR 1.32, 95% CI 1.09-1.60, I2 = 79.90%, Pheterogeneity < 0.001) and in the association between obesity and depressive symptoms (RR 1.16, 95% CI: 1.00-1.35, I2 = 25.0%, Pheterogeneity = 0.247). On sensitivity analysis, the pooled RRs remained robust. Subgroup analysis indicated that obese children and teenagers in western countries were more prone to depression. CONCLUSION: Evidence from this meta-analysis, based on observational studies, supported the idea that obese children and adolescents are more likely to experience depression and depressive symptoms.

Long-Term Exposure to Traffic Noise and Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Diseases: a Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis.

While noise pollution from transportation has become an important public health problem, the relationships between different sources of traffic noise and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain inconclusive. A comprehensive meta-analysis was therefore conducted to quantitatively assess the effects of long-term exposure to road traffic, railway, and aircraft noise on CVDs and relevant subtypes. We systematically retrieved PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science for articles published before April 4, 2022. Summary relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by the fixed- or random-effects models. In total, 23 articles were included in our meta-analysis. The risk of CVDs increased by 2% (RR 1.020, 95% CI 1.006-1.035) and 1.6% (RR 1.016, 95% CI 1.000-1.032) for every 10 dB increment of road traffic and aircraft noise. For CVD subtypes, the risk increased by 3.4% (1.034, 1.026-1.043) for stroke and 5% (1.050, 1.006-1.096) for heart failure with each 10 dB increment of road traffic noise; the risk of atrial fibrillation increased by 1.1% (1.011, 1.002-1.021) with each 10 dB increment of railway noise; and the risk increased by 1% (1.010, 1.003-1.017) for myocardial infarction, 2.7% (1.027, 1.004-1.050) for atrial fibrillation, and 2.3% (1.023, 1.016-1.030) for heart failure with each 10 dB increment in aircraft noise. Further, effects from road traffic, railway, and aircraft noise all followed positive linear trends with CVDs. Long-term exposure to traffic noise is positively related to the incidence risk of cardiovascular events, especially road traffic noise which significantly increases the risk of CVDs, stroke, and heart failure.

Prevalence and risk factors for vascular calcification based on the ankle-brachial index in the general population: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the prevalence of vascular calcification based on the ankle-brachial index (ABI) value and analyse the risk factors for vascular calcification in the general population. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect clinical, laboratory, and lifestyle data in individuals aged 30-70 recruited from the physical examination centre. The automatic arteriosclerosis detector was used to measure the ABI. Difference tests, correlation analyses, and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify risk factors for vascular calcification. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of vascular calcification was 24.39% in 1033 subjects. The prevalence of vascular calcification in males was much higher than that in females (27.80% vs. 17.49%, P < 0.001). The differences in age, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), hypertension, and fatty liver disease were statistically significant in males (P < 0.05). The differences between serum uric acid (UA), total cholesterol (TC), TG, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), alcohol consumption, exercise, and postmenopausal status were statistically significant in females (P < 0.05). Increased age (odds ratio (OR) = 1.028, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.008-1.049, P = 0.007), increased BMI (OR = 1.238, 95% CI 1.147-1.337, P < 0.001) and elevated DBP (OR = 2.563, 95% CI 1.262-5.205, P = 0.009) were independent risk factors for vascular calcification in males after adjusting for confounding factors. Increased BMI (OR = 1.159, 95% CI 1.029-1.304, P = 0.015), elevated UA (OR = 1.545, 95% CI 1.077-2.216, P = 0.018), elevated LDL-C (OR = 1.044, 95% CI 1.060-1.027, P < 0.001), and a lack of exercise (OR = 2.402, 95% CI 1.073-5.373, P = 0.033) were independent risk factors for vascular calcification in females. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of vascular calcification based on the ABI value is also high in the general population of our centre. Increased age, BMI, and elevated DBP are independent risk factors for vascular calcification in males. Increased BMI, UA, LDL-C, and a lack of exercise are independent risk factors for vascular calcification in females. Attention should be given to strengthening the prevention and control of vascular calcification in the general population.

Evaluating the Dietary Intakes of Energy, Macronutrients, Sugar, Fiber, and Micronutrients in Children With Celiac Disease.

OBJECTIVES: Children with celiac disease (CD) follow a lifelong gluten-free diet. This restrictive diet may be associated with nutritional compromise. Our objectives were, therefore, to evaluate the dietary composition (energy, macronutrients and micronutrients, and fiber) in children with CD compared with healthy controls (HC) and relationship between dietary composition and socioeconomic status. METHODS: This cross-sectional, case-control study recruited children with CD ages 2 to 18 years and HC matched for age, sex, and socioeconomic status. Clinical, sociodemographic, and dietary information were collected. A false discovery rate correction was applied to the P-value for multiple comparisons (q-value). RESULTS: Sixty-five CD children were matched with 65 HC (mean [SD] age: 10.2 [3.6] vs 10.1 [3.7] years, P = 0.96). Compared with HC, CD children had higher intakes of energy (2413.2 [489.9] vs 2190.8 (593.5) kcal/day, P = 0.02), total fat (818.1 ±â€Š180.9 vs 714.3 ±â€Š212.2 kcal/day, q = 0.018), and subtypes of fat (saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated). There were no differences in other macronutrients, sugar, micronutrients, or fiber between CD and HC, and no difference in dietary intake among CD between socioeconomic disadvantage versus advantage. Children with CD had lower weight z-scores (-0.06 [1.05] vs 0.47 [0.96], P = 0.003) and body mass index (BMI) z-scores (-0.02 [0.88] vs 0.41 [1.09], P = 0.02) than HC. CONCLUSIONS: Children with CD had higher calorie and fat intake compared with HC. Despite this, CD children had lower weight and BMI z-scores compared with HC.

High risk of anxiety and depression in caregivers of adult patients with epilepsy and its negative impact on patients' quality of life.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the anxiety and depression of caregivers of adult patients with epilepsy (PWE) and evaluate its effect on patient quality of life (QOL). METHOD: One hundred sixty pairs of adult PWE and their caregivers were enrolled in our study. Quality of life in adult PWE was evaluated with the Quality of Life in Epilepsy Inventory-31 scale (QOLIE-31). Symptoms of anxiety and depression in caregivers were assessed with the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) respectively. Correlation and stepwise multiple liner regression analyses were used as statistical analysis. RESULTS: Of the caregivers, 41 (31.30%) had anxiety symptoms (HAM-A scores > 6) and 44 (33.59%) had depression symptoms (HAM-D scores > 6). Caregiver anxiety was significantly associated with poorer adult PWE QOL scores in four of the seven subscales and the QOLIE-31 total score. Caregiver depression was significantly associated with poorer adult PWE QOL in all seven subscales as well as the QOLIE-31 total score. Caregiver depression was an independent predictor of the QOLIE-31 total score and five subscales: seizure worry, emotional wellbeing, energy/fatigue, cognitive, and medication effects. CONCLUSION: Caregivers of adult PWE are at high risk of experiencing anxiety and depression. Caregiver psychological status, especially depression, was an independent predictor of poorer QOL for adult PWE.

Awareness, attitudes toward epilepsy, and first aid knowledge of seizures of hospital staff in Henan, China.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate awareness of, attitudes toward, and first aid knowledge of seizures of hospital staff in Henan, China. METHOD: Two hundred nineteen hospital staff, including doctors, nurses, medical technicians, logisticians, and executives working at tertiary hospitals in Henan, China, completed the survey from March to September in 2016. The data comprised the demographic data section, awareness of epilepsy section, attitude toward epilepsy section, and first aid knowledge of seizure attack section. RESULTS: The participants obtained a mean score of 7.48±1.705 on the awareness of epilepsy section, and a mean score of 5.32±1.165 on the first aid knowledge of seizure attacks section. There were significant correlations between educational level (r=0.187, P=0.006), occupation (r=-0.244, P=0.000), and attitudes toward patients with epilepsy (r=0.351, P=0.000) with the awareness of epilepsy. There were significant correlations between age (r=0.170, P=0.014), educational status (r=0.139, P=0.040), and professional titles (r=0.197, P=0.004) with the first aid knowledge of seizures. CONCLUSION: The study showed that hospital staff had a moderate level of knowledge regarding epilepsy, and they generally displayed a positive attitude. It was also determined that as the awareness of epilepsy increased, they displayed more positive attitudes toward patients with epilepsy. The study also suggests that specialists working on epilepsy should provide more lectures and educational sessions to improve the knowledge of and attitude toward epilepsy and first aid knowledge of seizures among hospital staff.

Bloodletting at Jing-well points decreases interstitial fluid flow in the thalamus of rats.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the changes in the neuronal microenvironment of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory induced by Jing-well points bloodletting acupuncture (WPBA) and to explore the neuroprotective mechanism of WPBA in stroke. METHODS: Adult male Sprague Dawley (n = 32) rats were randomly divided into four groups of eight animals each: WPBA-thalamus group (WT), WPBA-caudate nucleus group (WC), sham-control thalamus group (ST) and sham-control caudate nucleus group (SC). Animals in the WT and WC groups received 2 µL of the extracellular tracer gadolinium-diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA) injected into the thalamus or caudate nucleus, respectively, and 12 Jing-well points in the distal ends of the rats' digits were used for WPBA. Although 2 µL of Gd-DTPA was injected into the thalamus or caudate nucleus, respectively, for animals in the two sham groups (ST and SC), no acupuncture or bloodletting was performed. Brain extracellular space and interstitial fluid flow parameters were measured using Gd-DTPA-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS: The brain interstitial fluid flow speed was decreased in the thalamus after WPBA, with a significantly lower Gd-DTPA clearance rate and longer half-life of Gd-DTPA in the thalamus of treated rats than those in sham-control rats [WPBA-treated rats' clearance rate, (7.47 ± 3.15) x 10(-5)/s (P.= 0.009); half-life, (1.52 ± 0.13) h, P = 0.000]. By contrast, no significant changes in brain extracellular space and interstitial fluid flow parameters were detected in the caudate nucleus after WPBA (P = 0.649). In addition, no differences in the morphology of the brain extracellular space or the final distribution of the traced brain interstitial fluid were demonstrated between the WT and WC groups (P = 0.631, P = 0.970, respectively). CONCLUSION: The WPBA decreased the speed of the local thalamic ISF flow in rats, which is assumed to be a beneficial protection by down-modulated the metabolic rate of the attacked neurons under stroke.

PCNet: Prior Category Network for CT Universal Segmentation Model.

Accurate segmentation of anatomical structures in Computed Tomography (CT) images is crucial for clinical diagnosis, treatment planning, and disease monitoring. The present deep learning segmentation methods are hindered by factors such as data scale and model size. Inspired by how doctors identify tissues, we propose a novel approach, the Prior Category Network (PCNet), that boosts segmentation performance by leveraging prior knowledge between different categories of anatomical structures. Our PCNet comprises three key components: prior category prompt (PCP), hierarchy category system (HCS), and hierarchy category loss (HCL). PCP utilizes Contrastive Language-Image Pretraining (CLIP), along with attention modules, to systematically define the relationships between anatomical categories as identified by clinicians. HCS guides the segmentation model in distinguishing between specific organs, anatomical structures, and functional systems through hierarchical relationships. HCL serves as a consistency constraint, fortifying the directional guidance provided by HCS to enhance the segmentation model's accuracy and robustness. We conducted extensive experiments to validate the effectiveness of our approach, and the results indicate that PCNet can generate a high-performance, universal model for CT segmentation. The PCNet framework also demonstrates a significant transferability on multiple downstream tasks. The ablation experiments show that the methodology employed in constructing the HCS is of critical importance. The prompt and HCS can be accessed at https://github.com/PKU-MIPET/PCNet.

KISS-1 knockdown inhibits cell growth, migration, and invasion in HTR-8/SVneo cells by regulating the GRP54-mediated PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Recurrent spontaneous abortions (RSA) affect reproductive health and increase the risk of subsequent abortions. To investigate the role of KISS-1/GPR-54 signaling in RSA progression. Villus tissue was collected from RSA patients, and human trophoblastic HTR-8/SVneo cells were used. KISS-1 and GRP54 levels were detected using RT-qPCR and immunohistochemistry. Western blotting was performed to analyze ZO-1 and ZEB1 levels. Cell proliferation was determined via CCK-8 and cell clone formation assays. Transwell assays were performed to assess cell migration and invasion abilities. KISS-1 was down-regulated in the villus tissues of RSA patients. KISS-1 overexpression dramatically inhibited trophoblast proliferation, migration, and invasion. Mechanistically, ZEB1 expression was down-regulated, whereas ZO-1 expression was up-regulated, after KISS-1 overexpression. GPR54 silencing neutralized the effect of KISS-1 in HTR-8/SVneo cells. Additionally, KISS-1 overexpression inactivated the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway through GRP54. The KISS-1/GPR-54 signaling axis regulates RSA progression by regulating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Ecosystem carbon storage assessment and multi-scenario prediction in the Weihe River Basin based on PLUS-InVEST model.

Land use changes are the main cause for the changes of carbon storage, which is of great importance for maintaining regional carbon balance to make multi-scenario projections of future land use change and explore its impacts on carbon storage. In recent years, under the combination of natural factors and policies, with the land use changing significantly, carbon storage of the Weihe River Basin has also changed. Based on the PLUS-InVEST model, we assessed and predicted the spatial and temporal variations of ecosystem carbon storage in the Weihe River Basin and explored the impacts of land-use change. The results showed that land use distribution pattern of the Weihe River Basin did not change much from 2000 to 2020, which was characterized by the decreases of cropland area and the increases of the area of the remaining land use types. The main ways of land use type conversion were cropland to built-up land and inter-conversion of cropland, forest, grassland. Carbon storage in the Weihe River Basin showed an upward trend from 2000 to 2020, with a total increment of 15.31×106 t. The areas with high carbon storage presented the characteristics of "northeast patch-western scatter-central and southern belt", while low carbon storage distributed in the Guanzhong Plain urban agglomeration located in the lower basin. Compared to 2020, carbon storage in the Weihe River Basin in 2030 would increase under the four scenarios. Carbon storage would increase the least under the economic development scenario, and the most under the ecological protection scenario. The variation of carbon storage in spatial distribution would be embodied in the staggered zone of cropland, forest, and grassland in the upper basin. The results could provide data support for land use management decisions and carbon storage enhancement in the Weihe River Basin.

Multifunctional nano co-delivery system for efficiently eliminating neuroblastoma by overcoming cancer heterogeneity.

The high heterogeneity of neuroblastoma (NB) is currently the main challenge in clinical treatment, impeding the complete eradication of the tumor through monotherapy alone. In this study, we propose a combination strategy using a targeted nano co-delivery system (ADRF@Ag2Se) comprising phototheranostic agents, differentiation inducers and chemotherapy drugs for sequential therapy of NB. Upon intravenous injection, ADRF@Ag2Se demonstrates effective tumor targeting by the specific binding of AF7P to MMP14, which is overexpressed on the surface of NB cells. Subsequent implementation of local photothermal therapy (PTT) leverages the robust photothermal conversion capabilities of the amphiphilic photothermal reagent PF. This is followed by the temperature-triggered release of differentiation-inducing agent 13-cis-retinoic acid and chemo-drug doxorubicin to synergistically eliminate the residual lesions. This nanotherapeutic strategy facilitatesin vivotargeted delivery and PTT under the supervision of NIR-II fluorescence, and it also enhances the chemotherapeutic response through differentiation induction of poorly differentiated cancer cells. In the NB tumor model, this co-delivery strategy effectively inhibited tumor growth and significantly prolonged the survival of the mice.

Formaldehyde initiates memory and motor impairments under weightlessness condition.

During space flight, prolonged weightlessness stress exerts a range of detrimental impacts on the physiology and psychology of astronauts. These manifestations encompass depressive symptoms, anxiety, and impairments in both short-term memory and motor functions, albeit the precise underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Recent studies have revealed that hindlimb unloading (HU) animal models, which simulate space weightlessness, exhibited a disorder in memory and motor function associated with endogenous formaldehyde (FA) accumulation in the hippocampus and cerebellum, disruption of brain extracellular space (ECS), and blockage of interstitial fluid (ISF) drainage. Notably, the impairment of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) caused by space weightlessness elicits the infiltration of albumin and hemoglobin from the blood vessels into the brain ECS. However, excessive FA has the potential to form cross-links between these two proteins and amyloid-beta (Aß), thereby obstructing ECS and inducing neuron death. Moreover, FA can inhibit N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) currents by crosslinking NR1 and NR2B subunits, thus impairing memory. Additionally, FA has the ability to modulate the levels of certain microRNAs (miRNAs) such as miRNA-29b, which can affect the expression of aquaporin-4 (AQP4) so as to regulate ECS structure and ISF drainage. Especially, the accumulation of FA may inactivate the ataxia telangiectasia-mutated (ATM) protein kinase by forming cross-linking, a process that is associated with ataxia. Hence, this review presents that weightlessness stress-derived FA may potentially serve as a crucial catalyst in the deterioration of memory and motor abilities in the context of microgravity.

Dynamic changes in brain glymphatic function during preoperative chemotherapy in breast cancer patients.

OBJECTIVE: The current study aimed to investigate the dynamic changes in brain glymphatic function during chemotherapy in breast cancer patients (BCP) and their correlation with cognitive function. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 40 healthy female participants (control group) and 80 female BCP were included. Various cognitive assessment tools were used to evaluate cognitive function. Diffusion tensor imaging along the perivascular space was employed to measure brain glymphatic function. RESULTS: Following chemotherapy, BCP exhibited a significant decline in various cognitive scores. After chemotherapy, the along the perivascular space index, a parameter indicating brain glymphatic function, was slightly higher than that at baseline and the control group levels and was correlated with cognitive scores. CONCLUSION: This study unveiled a close relationship between the dynamic changes in brain glymphatic function after chemotherapy and cognitive function in BCP. Our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the brain mechanisms underlying chemotherapy-related cognitive impairment and provide a theoretical basis for future interventions and treatments. In addition, they offer a new perspective for exploring the relationship between brain function and cognitive states.