Population genomics of the Viking world.

The maritime expansion of Scandinavian populations during the Viking Age (about AD 750-1050) was a far-flung transformation in world history1,2. Here we sequenced the genomes of 442 humans from archaeological sites across Europe and Greenland (to a median depth of about 1×) to understand the global influence of this expansion. We find the Viking period involved gene flow into Scandinavia from the south and east. We observe genetic structure within Scandinavia, with diversity hotspots in the south and restricted gene flow within Scandinavia. We find evidence for a major influx of Danish ancestry into England; a Swedish influx into the Baltic; and Norwegian influx into Ireland, Iceland and Greenland. Additionally, we see substantial ancestry from elsewhere in Europe entering Scandinavia during the Viking Age. Our ancient DNA analysis also revealed that a Viking expedition included close family members. By comparing with modern populations, we find that pigmentation-associated loci have undergone strong population differentiation during the past millennium, and trace positively selected loci-including the lactase-persistence allele of LCT and alleles of ANKA that are associated with the immune response-in detail. We conclude that the Viking diaspora was characterized by substantial transregional engagement: distinct populations influenced the genomic makeup of different regions of Europe, and Scandinavia experienced increased contact with the rest of the continent.

[Progress in research on mRNA therapeutics for the treatment of genetic diseases].

In recent years, mRNA drugs have shown a great potential for the treatment of genetic diseases and attracted the attention of many researchers. This article has reviewed the advance in the research of mRNA drugs for the treatment of genetic diseases over the past 30 years, including their mechanisms of action and structure design, with a focus on their advantages as alternative therapies such as high specificity, low dosage, and sustained expression. Meanwhile, challenges for the effective delivery and storage methods for the mRNA drugs are discussed, with an aim to provide guidance for subsequent researches.

Effects of Icaritin on the physiological activities of esophageal cancer stem cells.

Icaritin is a compound extracted from herb, recent study have found it is able to influence the activity of various types of cancer. Our aim was to investigate the effects of Icaritin on the physiological activities of esophageal cancer stem cells (CSCs). In this study, esophageal cancer cells were cultured and CD133 positive esophageal CSCs were sorted by flow cytometry. Changes in the physiological activity of esophageal CSCs following treatment with different concentrations of Icaritin (0, 12.5, 25, 50, and 100 µmol/L) were evaluated. The CCK-8 method and Transwell assay were used to determine the effects of Icaritin on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of esophageal CSCs. Flow cytometery was used to investigate its effect on the apoptosis of CSCs. The effect of Icaritin on the expression of proteins in Wnt and Hedgehog signaling pathways were determined using western blot test. Consequently, Icaritin inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion of esophageal CSCs in a dose-dependent manner. It promoted cell apoptosis, and influenced the levels of proteins in Wnt and Hedgehog signaling pathways. It may act as a promising drug in the therapy of esophageal cancer.

MicroRNA-182 promoted esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell growth and metastasis via targeting YWHAG.

PURPOSE: To study the functioning mode of miR-182 on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cell growth and metastasis and provide therapeutic targets for ESCC. METHODS: miR-182 expression level in ESCC cell lines was examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Using miR-182 inhibitor, we analyzed the effects of miR-182 down-expression on cell proliferation, invasion, cell apoptosis and cell cycle. Dual-luciferase activity assay was used to examine the potential target gene YWHAG which was predicted by several databases. Protein level was studied using western blotting. RESULTS: Decreased expression of miR-182 in ESCC cells was accompanied by decreased cell invasion and proliferation, promotion of cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase. Dual-luciferase and western blot confirmed YWHAG as a target gene of miR-182. Furthermore, silence of YWHAG counteracted the suppressive effect of miR-182 down-expression on cell growth and metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: miR-182 could suppress ESCC cell proliferation and metastasis via regulating YWHAG, which might provide a new target for ESCC diagnosis and therapy.

ZnO Film Bulk Acoustic Resonator for the Kinetics Study of Human Blood Coagulation.

Miniaturized and rapid blood coagulation assay technologies are critical in many clinical settings. In this paper, we present a ZnO film bulk acoustic resonator for the kinetic analysis of human blood coagulation. The resonator operated in thickness shear resonance mode at 1.4 GHz. When the resonator contacted the liquid environment, the viscous loading effect was considered as the additional resistance and inductance in the equivalent circuits, resulting in a linear relationship with a slope of approximately -217 kHz/cP between the liquid viscosity and the frequency of the resonator. The downshift of the resonant frequency and the viscosity change during the blood coagulation were correlated to monitor the coagulation process. The sigmoidal trend was observed in the frequency response for the blood samples activated by thromboplastin and calcium ions. The coagulation kinetics involving sequential phases of steady reaction, growth and saturation were revealed through the time-dependent frequency profiles. The enzymatic cascade time, the coagulation rate, the coagulation time and the clot degree were provided by fitting the time-frequency curves. The prothrombin times were compared with the results measured by a standard coagulometer and show a good correlation. Thanks to the excellent potential of integration, miniaturization and the availability of direct digital signals, the film bulk acoustic resonator has promising application for both clinical and personal use coagulation testing technologies.

Association between small nucleolar RNA host gene expression and survival outcome of colorectal cancer patients: A meta-analysis based on PRISMA and bioinformatics analysis.

Introduction: Growing evidence shows that long non-coding RNA small nucleolar RNA host genes (lncRNA SNHGs) enact an pivotal regulatory roles in the shorter survival outcome of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, no research has systematically evaluated the correlation among lncRNA SNHGs expression and survival outcome of CRC. This research indented to screen whether exist potential prognostic effect of lncRNA SNHGs in CRC patientss using comprehensive review and meta-analysis. Methods: Systematic searches were performed from the six relevant databases from inception to October 20, 2022. The quality of published papers was evaluated in details. We pooled the hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) through direct or indirect collection of effect sizes, and odds ratios (OR) with 95% CI by collecting effect sizes within articles. Detailed downstream signaling pathways of lncRNA SNHGs were summarized in detail. Results: 25 eligible publications including 2,342 patients were finally included to appraise the association of lncRNA SNHGs with prognosis of CRC. Elevated lncRNA SNHGs expression was revealed in colorectal tumor tissues. High lncSNHG expression means bad survival prognosis in CRC patients (HR=1.635, 95% CI: 1.405-1.864, P<0.001). Additionally, high lncRNA SNHGs expression was inclined to later TNM stage (OR=1.635, 95% CI: 1.405-1.864, P<0.001), distant lymph node invasion, distant organ metastasis, larger tumor diameter and poor pathological grade. Begg's funnel plot test using the Stata 12.0 software suggested that no significant heterogeneity was found. Conclusion: Elevated lncRNA SNHGs expression was revealed to be positively correlated to discontented CRC clinical outcome and lncRNA SNHG may act as a potential clinical prognostic index for CRC patients.

[Application of VSD in 6 Cases of Postoperative Infection
-A Clinical Experience Sharing].

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infection is one of the common postoperative complications of thoracic surgery, and its harm is related to infection degree and location. Light causes local pain, prolonged hospitalization and increased cost. Severe infection can lead to severe infection, even septic shock and life-threatening. Therefore, proper treatment of incision infection can help to promote recovery, reduce the burden of disease and lay a good foundation for further treatment. The traditional surgical treatment of wound infection includes thorough drainage, intensive dressing change and antibiotic use. There are many shortcomings such as long treatment process, ineffective treatment effect and so on. The experience of using vacuum sealing drainage (VSD) in 6 cases of postoperative infection patients in our department is summarized in order to improve the traditional treatment of postoperative infection in patients after thoracic surgery. METHODS: The clinical data of patients with postoperative incision infection or fistula after thoracic surgery in our department were reviewed and summarized. 6 patients treated with VSD material for postoperative infection. The process and final clinical results of them were summarized and discussed. RESULTS: In this study, fever and wound exudation disappeared within 6 h-10 h after VSD use, 5 cases of wound infection were obviously improved, the secretion disappeared and the granulation tissue grew well at the cutting edge of the operation, the second stage operation was performed to close the chest and skin. One patient was seriously infected, and the secretion was still more after VSD removal, reposition VSD device next time, the VSD device was removed 7 d later. The wound infection were obviously improved, the secretion disappeared and the granulation tissue grew well, close the chest and skin second stage. In all 6 patients, the symptoms were relieved, the symptoms improved and the surgical incision healed well. In 2 patients with esophageal cancer, the average operation time was 427.5 min, the average hospitalization time was 40 d, the average number of times of dressing change was 8.5, the average total cost during hospitalization was 111,893.47 yuan patients with chronic empyema, the average operation time was 192.5 min. The average hospital stay was 27.75 days, the average number of times of dressing change was 5.5, and the average total expenditure during hospitalization was 48,237.71 yuan. CONCLUSIONS: VSD has a good effect on the treatment of postoperative incision infection patients in thoracic surgery. It can reduce the pain and burden of patients and ensure the quality of life of postoperative infected patients.

Micro-electromechanical film bulk acoustic sensor for plasma and whole blood coagulation monitoring.

Monitoring blood coagulation is an important issue in the surgeries and the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. In this work, we reported a novel strategy for the blood coagulation monitoring based on a micro-electromechanical film bulk acoustic resonator. The resonator was excited by a lateral electric field and operated under the shear mode with a frequency of 1.9GHz. According to the apparent step-ladder curves of the frequency response to the change of blood viscoelasticity, the coagulation time (prothrombin time) and the coagulation kinetics were measured with the sample consumption of only 1µl. The procoagulant activity of thromboplastin and the anticoagulant effect of heparin on the blood coagulation process were illustrated exemplarily. The measured prothrombin times showed a good linear correlation with R2=0.99969 and a consistency with the coefficient of variation less than 5% compared with the commercial coagulometer. The proposed film bulk acoustic sensor, which has the advantages of small size, light weight, low cost, simple operation and little sample consumption, is a promising device for miniaturized, online and automated analytical system for routine diagnostics of hemostatic status and personal health monitoring.

Synthesis and nonlinear optical properties in the near-IR range of stilbazolium dyes.

A series of stilbazolium salts based on donor-π-acceptor (D-π-A) structure have been synthesized and fully characterized. Photophysical properties including linear absorption, one-photon excited fluorescence (OPEF), two-photon absorption (2PA) properties were systematically investigated. The results suggest that increasing electron-releasing character of the terminal group leads to a more pronounced donor-to-acceptor intramolecular charge transfer (ICT). In addition, the dyes possess the largest 2PA cross sections in the near infrared region (NIR) and display maximum two-photon absorption cross sections within the narrow wavelength range from 950 to 970nm and BL3 exhibits a large nonlinear refractive index coefficient and possesses very large values of the real part of the cubic hyperpolarizability χ((3)) at 960nm. Furthermore, the initial density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations provide reasonable explanations for their absorption spectra, meanwhile we used the Lippert-Mataga equation to evaluate the dipole moment changes of the dyes with photoexcitation, the results are corresponding with linear and nonlinear optical properties of the dyes.