Causes of Death Following Gastric Cancer Diagnosis: A Population-Based Analysis.

BACKGROUND Causes of death (CODs) in patients with gastric cancer (GC) need to be studied. We examined the cancer-specific and non-cancer deaths among patients diagnosed with GC from 1975 to 2019. MATERIAL AND METHODS We obtained medical records from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. We used SEER*Stat software to calculate standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for specific CODs and performed a competing risk analysis to evaluate the cumulative mortality of specific CODs. RESULTS The final study cohort included 42 813 patients with GC, with a mean age at diagnosis of 67.7 years. As the end of 2021, a total of 36 924 (86.2%) patients died. Of these deaths, 24 625 (66.7%) were from GC, 6513 (17.6%) were from other types of cancers, and 5786 (15.7%) were from non-cancer causes. The most prevalent non-cancer CODs were heart diseases (2104; 5.7%), cerebrovascular diseases (501; 1.4%), and pneumonia/influenza (335; 0.9%). Among patients who survived over 5 years, non-cancer causes surpassed GC as the main CODs. Patients with GC had a higher risk of dying from many non-cancer causes than expected in the general population, particularly from suicide (SMR, 3.03; 95% CI, 2.35-3.85) and septicemia (SMR, 2.93; 95% CI, 2.51-3.4). The competing risk analysis showed that the cumulative mortality of GC gradually declined with a more recent diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS Although GC was the leading COD among patients with GC, non-cancer CODs accounted for a substantial number of deaths. These findings provide useful guidance on potential death risks among patients with GC.

An outbreak of acute respiratory disease caused by HAdV-55 in Beijing, China, 2020.

Human adenoviruses (HAdVs) can cause acute respiratory diseases (ARDs) worldwide, and HAdV-55 is a reemergent pathogen in recent years. In the study, we investigated an outbreak of ARD at a school due to HAdV-55 in Beijing, China, during the early outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The epidemic prevention team was dispatched to the school to collect epidemiologic data and nasopharyngeal samples. Then, real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and multiplex PCR assays were used to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and other respiratory pathogens, respectively. One representative HAdV-55 isolate was selected and submitted for whole-genome sequencing using a MiSeq system and the whole-genome phylogenetic tree was conducted based on the maximum likelihood method. The outbreak lasted from January 27 to February 6, 2020, and 108 students developed fever, among whom 60 (55.56%) cases were diagnosed with HAdV-55 infection in the laboratory using real-time PCR and 56 cases were hospitalized. All the confirmed cases had a fever and 11 cases (18.33%) presented with a fever above 39°C. Other main clinical symptoms included sore throat (43.33%) and headache (43.33%). We obtained and assembled the full genome of one isolate, BJ-446, with 34 761 nucleotides in length. HAdV-55 isolate BJ-446 was 99.85% identical to strain QS-DLL, which was the first HAdV-55 strain in China isolated from an ARD outbreak in Shanxi in 2006. One and four amino acid mutations were observed in the hexon gene and the coding region of L2 pV 40.1 kDa protein, respectively. We identified the first HAdV-55 infection associated with the ARD outbreak in Beijing since the emergence of COVID-19. The study suggests that improved surveillance of HAdV is needed, although COVID-19 is still prevalent in the world.

Nondestructive detection of anthocyanin content in fresh leaves of purple maize using hyperspectral data.

Anthocyanins are widely used in the food industry as an additive, improving antioxidant capacity and strengthening the human immune system. However, rapid and nondestructive detection methods are lacking. This study aimed to develop a rapid and nondestructive method to detect anthocyanin content in fresh purple maize leaves using hyperspectral reflectance. Sensitivity bands were screened by analyzing the correlation between the spectrum and anthocyanin, chlorophyll, and moisture content in maize leaves with models constructed. Through a combination of the sensitivity bands of the three components, the interference of chlorophyll and moisture on the spectral detection of anthocyanin in fresh leaves was analyzed. The results showed that the anthocyanin sensitivity band was approximately 550 nm. The determination coefficient and root mean square error of the optimal hyperspectral model were 0.766 and 4.215 mg/g, respectively. After excluding chlorophyll and moisture interference, the anthocyanin content detection accuracy was improved by only 2% compared to that of the original. These results indicate that hyperspectral technology can be used to nondestructively detect anthocyanin content in fresh purple maize leaves with good accuracy. Chlorophyll and moisture in the leaves did not significantly influence anthocyanin content.

Preparative isolation of a cytotoxic principle of a forest mushroom Suillus luteus by sodium dodecyl sulfate based "salting-in" countercurrent chromatography.

In the course of screening new anticancer natural products, an edible forest mushroom Suillus luteus (L. Ex Franch). Gray was found to have potent cytotoxicity against several human cancer cells. However, the lipophilic sample made some countercurrent chromatography solvent systems emulsify, which caused difficulties in the separation of its cytotoxic components. Here, we found that the addition of an organic salt sodium dodecyl sulfate could efficiently shorten the settling time of the mushroom sample solutions by eliminating the emulsification of two-phase solvent systems. Moreover, we found that sodium dodecyl sulfate could play a new "salting-in" role and made the partition coefficients of the solutes decrease with the increased concentrations. Thus, a sodium dodecyl sulfate based salting-in countercurrent chromatography method has been successfully established for the first time for preparative isolation of a cytotoxic principle of the mushroom. The active component was identified as isosuillin. Whole results indicated that sodium dodecyl sulfate could be used as an efficient salting-in reagent for two-phase solvent system selection and targeted countercurrent chromatography isolation. It is very useful for current natural products isolation and drug discovery.

In vitro simulation of in vivo pharmacokinetic model with intravenous administration via flow rate modulation.

The aim of this paper was to propose a method of flow rate modulation for simulation of in vivo pharmacokinetic (PK) model with intravenous injection based on a basic in vitro PK model. According to the rule of same relative change rate of concentration per unit time in vivo and in vitro, the equations for flow rate modulation were derived using equation method. Four examples from literature were given to show the application of flow rate modulation in the simulation of PK model of antimicrobial agents in vitro. Then an experiment was performed to confirm the feasibility of flow rate modulation method using levo-ornidazole as an example. The accuracy and precision of PK simulations were evaluated using average relative deviation (ARD), mean error and root mean squared error. In vitro model with constant flow rate could mimic one-compartment model, while the in vitro model with decreasing flow rate could simulate the linear mammillary model with multiple compartments. Zero-order model could be simulated using the in vitro model with elevating flow rate. In vitro PK model with gradually decreasing flow rate reproduced the two-compartment kinetics of levo-ornidazole quite well. The ARD was 0.925 % between in vitro PK parameters and in vivo values. Results suggest that various types of PK model could be simulated using flow rate modulation method without modifying the structure. The method provides uniform settings for the simulation of linear mammillary model and zero-order model based on in vitro one-compartment model, and brings convenience to the pharmacodynamic study.

Gut microbiome and antibiotic resistance genes in plateau model animal (Ochotona curzoniae) exhibit a relative stability under cold stress.

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) carried by gut pathogens may pose a threat to the host and ecological environment. However, few studies focus on the effects of cold stress on intestinal bacteria and ARGs in plateau animals. Here, we used 16S rRNA gene sequencing and gene chip technique to explore the difference of gut microbes and ARGs in plateau pika under 4 °C and 25 °C. The results showed that tetracycline and aminoglycoside resistance genes were the dominant ARGs in pika intestine. Seven kinds of high-risk ARGs (aadA-01, aadA-02, ermB, floR, mphA-01, mphA-02, tetM-02) existed in pika's intestine, and cold had no significant effect on the composition and structure of pika's intestinal ARGs. The dominant phyla in pika intestine were Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. Cold influenced 0.47 % of pika intestinal bacteria in OTU level, while most other bacteria had no significant change. The diversity and community assembly of intestinal bacteria in pika remained relatively stable under cold conditions, while low temperature decreased gut microbial network complexity. In addition, low temperature led to the enrichment of glycine biosynthesis and metabolism-related pathways. Moreover, the correlation analysis showed that eight opportunistic pathogens (such as Clostridium, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, etc.) detected in pika intestine might be potential hosts of ARGs.

Radar vegetation indices for monitoring surface vegetation: Developments, challenges, and trends.

Monitoring surface vegetation is essential for environmental protection, disaster prevention, and carbon sequestration in forests. However, optical remote-sensing methods and their derivative technologies typically fail to fully meet this requirement due to constraints such as lighting and weather. Radar vegetation indices (RVIs), developed based on microwave remote-sensing data, describe the dielectric properties and morphological structure of vegetation and have been applied for vegetation monitoring at various scales. This technical review is the first to systematically summarize RVIs; it analyzes and discusses their principles, developments, categories and applications, and provides a comprehensive guide for their use. Additionally, the challenges faced by RVIs, as well as their applicability, were analyzed, and future improvements and development trends were carefully projected. The selection of RVIs must consider the type of data used, the terrain and location of the study area, and the major vegetation types. The effectiveness of RVIs applied to vegetation monitoring can be affected by various factors, including index performance, sensor type, study area, and data type and quality. These factors reduce the reliability and robustness of results, as well as guide the improvement direction of RVIs. The development of technologies, such as artificial intelligence, in remote sensing offers new possibilities for RVIs, enabling the removal of background scattering, improvement in interpretation accuracy, and reduction in application thresholds. Additionally, the development trends in high resolution, multi-polarization, multi-base, multi-dimensional, and networked synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and their satellite platforms offer data support for the next generation of RVIs. The rapid development of RVIs strongly supports the use of surface vegetation monitoring and terrestrial ecosystem research.

Gut diazotrophs in lagomorphs are associated with season but not altitude and host phylogeny.

Invertebrates such as termites feeding on nutrient-poor substrate receive essential nitrogen by biological nitrogen fixation of gut diazotrophs. However, the diversity and composition of gut diazotrophs of vertebrates such as Plateau pikas living in nutrient-poor Qinghai-Tibet Plateau remain unknown. To fill this knowledge gap, we studied gut diazotrophs of Plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae) and its related species, Daurian pikas (Ochotona daurica), Hares (Lepus europaeus) and Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) by high-throughput amplicon sequencing methods. We analyzed whether the gut diazotrophs of Plateau pikas are affected by season, altitude, and species, and explored the relationship between gut diazotrophs and whole gut microbiomes. Our study showed that Firmicutes, Spirochaetes, and Euryarchaeota were the dominant gut diazotrophs of Plateau pikas. The beta diversity of gut diazotrophs of Plateau pikas was significantly different from the other three lagomorphs, but the alpha diversity did not show a significant difference among the four lagomorphs. The gut diazotrophs of Plateau pikas were the most similarly to that of Rabbits, followed by Daurian pikas and Hares, which was inconsistent with gut microbiomes or animal phylogeny. The dominant gut diazotrophs of the four lagomorphs may reflect their living environment and dietary habits. Season significantly affected the alpha diversity and abundance of dominant gut diazotrophs. Altitude had no significant effect on the gut diazotrophs of Plateau pikas. In addition, the congruence between gut microbiomes and gut diazotrophs was low. Our results proved that the gut of Plateau pikas was rich in gut diazotrophs, which is of great significance for the study of ecology and evolution of lagomorphs.

The effect of microvascular decompression of the CN IX-X root entry/exit zone and the ventrolateral medulla in neurogenic hypertension involving the vertebral/basilar artery.

Introduction: Neurogenic hypertension (HTN) is a type of HTN characterized by increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system. Vascular compression is one of the pathogenic mechanisms of neurogenic HTN. Despite Jannetta's solid anatomical and physiological arguments in favor of neurogenic HTN in the 1970's, the treatment for essential HTN by microvascular decompression (MVD) still lacks established selection criteria. Therefore, the subjects selected for our center were limited to patients with primary trigeminal neuralgia (TN) and primary hemifacial spasm (HFS) of the vertebral/basilar artery (VA/BA) responsible vessel type coexisting with neurogenic HTN who underwent MVD of the brainstem to further explore possible indications for MVD in the treatment of neurogenic HTN. Methods: A retrospective analysis of 63 patients who were diagnosed with neurogenic HTN had symptoms of HFS and TN cranial nerve disease. Patients were treated at our neurosurgery department from January 2018 to January 2023. A preoperative magnetic resonance examination of the patients revealed the presence of abnormally located vascular compression in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) and the root entry zone (REZ) of the IX and X cranial nerves (CN IX- X). Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of gender, age, course of HFS, course of TN, course of HTN, degree of HTN, or preoperative blood pressure. Based on the postoperative blood pressure levels, nine out of 63 patients were cured (14.28%), eight cases (12.70%) showed a marked effect, 16 cases (25.40%) were effective, and 30 cases were invalid (47.62%). The overall efficacy was 52.38%. However, 39 cases of combined cranial nerve disease were on the left side of the efficacy rate (66.67%) and 24 cases of combined cranial nerve disease were on the right side of the efficacy rate (29.16%). Discussion: Over the last few decades, many scholars have made pioneering progress in the clinical retrospective study of MVD for neurogenic hypertension, and our study confirms the efficacy of MVD in treating vertebral/basilar artery-type neurogenic hypertension by relieving the vascular pressure of RVLM. In the future, with the development and deepening of pathological mechanisms and clinical observational studies, MVD may become an important treatment for neurogenic hypertension by strictly grasping the surgical indications. Conclusion: MVD is an effective treatment for neurogenic HTN. Indications may include the following: left-sided TN or HFS combined with neurogenic HTN; VA/BA compression in the left RVLM and REZ areas on MRI; and blood pressure in these patients cannot be effectively controlled by drugs.

Sensitized Triplet-Triplet Annihilation in Nanostructured Polymeric Scintillators Allows for Pulse Shape Discrimination.

Scintillating materials emit light when exposed to ionizing radiation or particles and are used for the detection of nuclear threats, medical imaging, high-energy physics, and other usages. For some of these applications, it is vital to distinguish neutrons and charged particles from γ-rays. This is achievable by pulse shape discrimination (PSD), a time-gated technique, which exploits that the scintillation kinetics can depend on the nature of the incident radiation. However, it proves difficult to realize efficient PSD with plastic scintillators, which have several advantages over liquid or crystalline scintillating materials, including mechanical robustness and shapeability. It is shown here that sensitive and rapid PSD is possible with nanostructured polymer scintillators that consist of a solid polymer matrix and liquid nanodomains in which an organic dye capable of triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA) is dissolved. The liquid nature of the nanodomains renders TTA highly efficient so that delayed fluorescence can occur at low energy density. The nanostructured polymer scintillators allow discriminating α particles, neutrons, and γ-rays with a time response that is better than that of commercial scintillators. Exploiting that the liquid nanodomains can facilitate energy transfer processes otherwise difficult to realize in solid polymers, an auxiliary triplet sensitizer is incorporated. This approach further increases the scintillator's sensitivity toward α particles and neutrons and other high-energy processes where localized interactions are involved.

ADAMTS1 induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition pathway in non-small cell lung cancer by regulating TGF-ß.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for approximately 80% of all lung cancers. Identifying key molecular targets related to the initiation, development, and metastasis of lung cancer is important for its diagnosis and target therapy. The ADAMTS families of multidomain extracellular protease enzymes have been reported to be involved in many physiological processes. In this study, we found that ADAMTS1 was highly expressed in NSCLC tissues, which promoted cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) of NSCLC cells. In the NSCLC tumor metastasis model involving nude mice, overexpression of ADAMTS1 promoted EMT and lung metastasis of tumor cells. Moreover, ADAMTS1 positively regulated TGF-ß expression, and TGF-ß was highly expressed in NSCLC tumor tissues. si-TGF-ß or inhibition of TGF-ß expression through the short peptide KTFR on ADAMTS1 protein could reverse the oncogenic effects of ADAMTS1 on lung cancer cells. Taken together, ADAMTS1 functioned as an oncogene in NSCLC cells by promoting TGF-ß expression, indicating that ADAMTS1 has important regulatory roles in the progression of NSCLC.

A comprehensive two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis of trigeminal neuralgia and modifiable risk factors.

Objective: To conduct a comprehensive search and causality study of potential modifiable risk factors for trigeminal neuralgia. To provide new ideas for subsequent treatment and management of patients with trigeminal neuralgia. Methods: Data were obtained from large GWAS databases and then analyzed by Mendelian randomization analysis. The causal relationship between 36 potentially modifiable risk factors and trigeminal neuralgia was explored based on the results of the inverse variance weighting method(IVW). p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Years of schooling [OR (95%CI), 0.59(0.42-0.84), p = 0.003] to be a significant protective factor. Anxiety disorders [OR (95%CI), 1.62(1.05-2.48), p = 0.028], Depression [OR (95%CI), 1.53(1.03-2.28), p = 0.035] and Autoimmune [OR (95%CI), 1.16(1.01-1.32), p = 0.033] were significant risk factors. Sleep duration [OR (95%CI), 0.43(0.18-1.01), p = 0.051] was a close protective factor. Body mass index [OR (95%CI), 1.24(0.98-1.57), p = 0.077] was a close risk factor. Conclusion: Mendelian randomization analysis shows Years of schooling and Sleep duration as protective factors. Anxiety disorders, Depression, Autoimmune, and Body mass index are risk factors. This will help in the research of diagnosis, treatment, and mechanism of trigeminal neuralgia. And reduce the prevalence of trigeminal neuralgia through positive psychological and lifestyle interventions.

Hollow fiber-solid phase microextraction of fatty acid methyl esters from wastewater coupled with micro sample collector assisted injection technique.

Hollow fiber-solid phase microextraction combined with micro sample collector assisted injection technique was developed for the detection of trace fatty acid methyl esters in biodiesel wastewater. Polypropylene hollow fiber was employed as extraction material to absorb fatty acid methyl esters in biodiesel wastewater. After the adsorption, hollow fiber was sleeved on the needle core of a micro sample collector and introduced directly into a GC injector for thermal desorption of the analytes. The selectivity of polypropylene hollow fiber on fatty acid methyl esters was investigated by extracting common pollutants in wastewater. Under the optimal conditions, the enrichment factors of polypropylene hollow fiber for methyl palmitate, methyl linoleate, methyl oleate, and methyl stearate were tested as high as 471, 287, 527, and 801, respectively. The quantitative method was validated and the linearity was satisfactory over a concentration range of 10-2000 µg/L with the correlation coefficients more than 0.9990 for 4 fatty acid methyl esters. The limits of detection and quantification were 0.04-0.40 µg/L and 10.0 µg/L, respectively. The recoveries were in the range of 92.0-116.7% by analyzing actual spiked samples. The results showed that the established method was suitable for the analysis of trace fatty acid methyl esters in water samples, with simple operation, low cost and environmental friendliness.

Trigeminal neuralgia associated with dural arteriovenous fistula: a case report and literature reviews.

Trigeminal neuralgia is a paroxysmal, intense electric shock-like, or knife-like, recurrent pain that affects one or more sense areas of the unilateral facial trigeminal nerve. It can be classified into two groups from an etiological standpoint: primary and secondary. The pain episodes brought on by such vascular compression are still categorized as primary trigeminal neuralgia, despite the fact that microvascular compression of the trigeminal nerve root has now been demonstrated to be the primary cause. A rare and complicated condition known as a dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) can irritate the Gasserian ganglion or compress the trigeminal nerve's root entry zone (REZ), leading to secondary trigeminal neuralgia (TN). At present, the treatment of DAVF-induced trigeminal neuralgia is not conclusive. This article reports a case of DAVF-induced trigeminal neuralgia cured by MVD and reviews the relevant literature.

Effects of lncRNA ANRIL-knockdown on the proliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle of gastric cancer cells.

Gastric cancer is one of the most common types of malignant tumor of the gastrointestinal tract worldwide. Cisplatin (DDP) is a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug in the clinic; however, the resistance of gastric cancer cells to DDP limits its efficacy. In the present study, drug-resistant gastric cancer cell lines were constructed using the stepwise continuous selection method, and the relative expression levels of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) CDKN2B antisense RNA 1 (ANRIL) and microRNA (miR)-181a-5p were detected using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. The knockdown of lncRNA ANRIL and miR-181a-5p expression was performed by transfection with shRNA-ANRIL and an miR-181a-5p inhibitor, respectively. Cellular proliferation and sensitivity to DDP were assessed using Cell Counting Kit-8 analysis. Cell apoptosis and cell cycle distribution were assessed using flow cytometry and western blotting. The binding relationships between ANRIL, miR-181a-5p and cyclin G1 (CCNG1) were verified using a dual luciferase reporter assay. The results revealed that the expression levels of miR-181a-5p were downregulated in all drug-resistant cell lines. ANRIL-knockdown inhibited cellular proliferation, and promoted apoptosis and cell cycle arrest; however, following the knockdown of miR-181a-5p, the inhibition of cell cycle arrest was alleviated. Notably, miR-181a-5p, ANRIL and CCNG1 were found to have targeting relationships. In conclusion, the findings of the present study suggested that knocking down the expression of ANRIL inhibited cellular proliferation, and promoted apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, its downstream target, miR-181a-5p, inhibited the proliferation of drug-resistant cells and enhanced their sensitivity to DDP.

Molecular background of the regional lymph node metastasis of gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the deadliest types of cancer in the world. Lymph node (LN) metastasis is a complex and malignant behavior of GC, involving a sequence of biological processes, including decreased adherence to adjacent cells, extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation and lymphatic channel permeation. LN metastasis is directly associated with the treatment response, local recurrence and long-term survival of patients with GC. Therefore, the molecular mechanisms of LN metastasis in GC development require further investigation. Recently, a large number of clinical studies have focused on the molecular mechanisms and biological markers of tumor invasion and metastasis. However, few articles have broadly summarized LN metastasis in GC, and the molecular mechanisms of LN metastasis are not yet fully understood. In the present review, the molecular mechanisms of LN metastasis in GC will be discussed, including the following aspects: Cell adhesion and movement, ECM degradation, new vessel formation, and molecular pattern differences between metastatic LNs and the primary tumor. This review may lead to a better understanding of LN metastasis in GC, and the identification of new diagnostic markers.