Investigation of the photocatalytic activity of magnetically recoverable g-C3N4/CoFe2O4/Bi2MoO6 particles for purifying tetracycline antibiotics: synthesis, characterization, ecotoxicity analysis, and plant toxicity test.

To purify water polluted by tetracycline antibiotics, a new visible light-driven magnetically recoverable photocatalyst, g-C3N4/CoFe2O4/Bi2MoO6, was prepared in this study, and it effectively removed tetracycline antibiotics. Its rapid recycling was achieved by external magnets, which greatly increased material utilization. After four repeated uses, the degradation rate of tetracycline antibiotics by the g-C3N4/CoFe2O4/Bi2MoO6 composite photocatalyst remained at a high level, and the magnetic separation performance remained stable. Subsequently, it was further discovered that the degradation mechanism of this photocatalytic system was consistent with a double Z-type mechanism, which enabled two transport channels for photogenerated electrons, and was favorable for the separation of the photogenerated electron-hole pairs and prolonged the lifetime of the photogenerated carriers. The active substances playing an important role in the photocatalytic system were ˙O2- and h+. In addition, the possible intermediates in the photocatalytic process were detected by GC-MS analysis, and a degradation mechanism was proposed. The ecotoxicity of the degradation products and intermediates was evaluated using the Toxicity Estimation Software Tool (TEST), and the mung bean seed cultivation test was carried out to visually and efficiently illustrate that the g-C3N4/CoFe2O4/Bi2MoO6 photocatalyst can effectively degrade antibiotics, with low ecotoxicity of the degradation products. This provides a new idea for the removal of organic pollutants using light energy.

Pelvic bone tumor segmentation fusion algorithm based on fully convolutional neural network and conditional random field.

Background and objective: Pelvic bone tumors represent a harmful orthopedic condition, encompassing both benign and malignant forms. Addressing the issue of limited accuracy in current machine learning algorithms for bone tumor image segmentation, we have developed an enhanced bone tumor image segmentation algorithm. This algorithm is built upon an improved full convolutional neural network, incorporating both the fully convolutional neural network (FCNN-4s) and a conditional random field (CRF) to achieve more precise segmentation. Methodology: The enhanced fully convolutional neural network (FCNN-4s) was employed to conduct initial segmentation on preprocessed images. Following each convolutional layer, batch normalization layers were introduced to expedite network training convergence and enhance the accuracy of the trained model. Subsequently, a fully connected conditional random field (CRF) was integrated to fine-tune the segmentation results, refining the boundaries of pelvic bone tumors and achieving high-quality segmentation. Results: The experimental outcomes demonstrate a significant enhancement in segmentation accuracy and stability when compared to the conventional convolutional neural network bone tumor image segmentation algorithm. The algorithm achieves an average Dice coefficient of 93.31 %, indicating superior performance in real-time operations. Conclusion: In contrast to the conventional convolutional neural network segmentation algorithm, the algorithm presented in this paper boasts a more intricate structure, proficiently addressing issues of over-segmentation and under-segmentation in pelvic bone tumor segmentation. This segmentation model exhibits superior real-time performance, robust stability, and is capable of achieving heightened segmentation accuracy.

Ablation of histone methyltransferase Suv39h2 in hepatocytes attenuates NASH in mice.

AIMS: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is characterized by aberrant lipid metabolism in hepatocytes. We investigated the involvement of a histone H3K9 methyltransferase Suv39h2 in the pathogenesis of NASH. METHODS AND MATERIALS: NASH is induced by feeding the mice with a high-fat high-carbohydrate (HFHC) diet or a high-fat choline-deficient amino acid defined (HFD-CDAA) diet. The Suv39h2f/f mice were crossbred with the Alb-Cre mice to specifically delete Suv39h2 in hepatocytes. KEY FINDINGS: Ablation of Suv39h2 in hepatocytes improved insulin sensitivity of the mice fed either the HFHC diet or the CDAA-HFD diet. Importantly, Suv39h2 deletion significantly ameliorated NAFLD as evidenced by reduced lipid accumulation, inflammation, and fibrosis in the liver. RNA-seq uncovered Vanin-1 (Vnn1) as a novel transcriptional target for Suv39h2. Mechanistically, Suv39h2 repressed Vnn1 transcription in hepatocytes exposed to free fatty acids. Consistently, Vanin-1 knockdown normalized lipid accumulation in Suv39h2-null hepatocytes. Importantly, a significant correlation between Suv39h2, Vanin-1, and hepatic triglyceride levels was identified in NASH patients. SIGNIFICANCE: Our study uncovers a novel mechanism whereby Suv39h2 may contribute to NASH pathogenesis and suggests that targeting the Suv39h2-Vanin-1 axis may yield novel therapeutic solutions against NASH.

Synovia tissue-specific exosomes participate in the dual variation of the osteoarthritis microenvironment via miR-182.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common type of joint disease and the leading cause of chronic disability among older adults. As an important component of the joint, synovium influences the inflammatory and degenerative process of OA. This study found that miRNA 182 (miR-182) in synovium-specific exosomes can modulate inflammation and apoptotic signaling. It also regulated different biological functions to promote the progression of OA. Experiments based on rat OA model and synovium samples from OA patients, we found that synovium-derived miR-182 regulates inflammatory response in the early stage of OA by regulating the expression level of forkhead box O-3 (FOXO3). However, the expression of miR-182 was significantly increased in synovial tissue of advanced OA, which was involved in the apoptotic signal of severe OA. These findings suggest that miR-182 may directly regulate OA progression by modulating FOXO3 production inflammation, and apoptosis.

Characteristics and formation mechanism of Land use conflicts in northern Anhui: A Case study of Funan county.

The rapid development of global urbanization and industrialization not only promotes a significant improvement in the level of socio-economic development, but also exacerbates the complexity and vulnerability of regional land resource utilization, resulting in frequent land use conflicts and seriously constraining the sustainable development of regional socio-economic and ecological environment. Taking Funan County as an example, based on interpretation data of Landsat TM/ETM remote sensing image data from 1980 to 2020, this paper analyses the temporal and spatial evolution characteristics of land use conflict in Funan County from 1980 to 2020 using the ArcGIS spatial analysis method, land use conflict measurement model, geographically weighted regression and geographical detector and then deeply analyses the main factors affecting land use conflict in Funan County and its driving mechanisms. In descending order, land use types undergoing the most change include cultivated land, urban and rural construction land, grassland, forestland and water area. The results of land use change are mainly the occupation of cultivated land by construction land, water area and forestland. Overall land use conflict in Funan County is serious with approximately 80 % of land use in the county in conflict, the severe land use conflict is mostly concentrated in urban and township built-up areas, and there is an increase trend year by year. Land use conflict is the result of multiple factors. Policy, economic development, and the social population and natural environment are the key driving factors behind land use conflict, which have a significant impact on the direction, location, scale and rate of land use transfer.Accurately identifying regional land use changes and conflicts and exploring the driving mechanism behind land use conflicts are of great significance for achieving the sustainable development of regional social economies and ecological environments.

Dehydrocostus lactone (DHC) promotes osteoblastic differentiation and mineralization through p38/RUNX-2 signaling.

Dysregulation of osteoblastic differentiation is an important risk factor of osteoporosis, the therapy of which is challenging. Dehydrocostus lactone (DHC), a sesquiterpene isolated from medicinal plants, has displayed anti-inflammatory and antitumor properties. In this study, we investigated the effects of DHC on osteoblastic differentiation and mineralization of MC3T3-E1 cells. Interestingly, we found that DHC increased the expression of marker genes of osteoblastic differentiation, such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin (OCN), and osteopontin (OPN). Additionally, DHC increased the expressions of collagen type I alpha 1 (Col1a1) and collagen type I alpha 2 (Col1a2). We also demonstrate that DHC increased ALP activity. Importantly, the Alizarin Red S staining assay revealed that DHC enhanced osteoblastic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells. Mechanistically, it is shown that DHC increased the expression of Runx-2, a central regulator of osteoblastic differentiation. Treatment with DHC also increased the levels of phosphorylated p38, and its blockage using its specific inhibitor SB203580 abolished the effects of DHC on runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx-2) expression and osteoblastic differentiation, suggesting the involvement of p38. Based on these findings, we concluded that DHC might possess a capacity for the treatment of osteoporosis by promoting osteoblastic differentiation.

Bone tumor examination based on FCNN-4s and CRF fine segmentation fusion algorithm.

Background and objective: Bone tumor is a kind of harmful orthopedic disease, there are benign and malignant points. Aiming at the problem that the accuracy of the existing machine learning algorithm for bone tumor image segmentation is not high, a bone tumor image segmentation algorithm based on improved full convolutional neural network which consists fully convolutional neural network (FCNN-4s) and conditional random field (CRF). Methodology: The improved fully convolutional neural network (FCNN-4s) was used to perform coarse segmentation on preprocessed images. Batch normalization layers were added after each convolutional layer to accelerate the convergence speed of network training and improve the accuracy of the trained model. Then, a fully connected conditional random field (CRF) was fused to refine the bone tumor boundary in the coarse segmentation results, achieving the fine segmentation effect. Results: The experimental results show that compared with the traditional convolutional neural network bone tumor image segmentation algorithm, the algorithm has a great improvement in segmentation accuracy and stability, the average Dice can reach 91.56%, the real-time performance is better. Conclusion: Compared with the traditional convolutional neural network segmentation algorithm, the algorithm in this paper has a more refined structure, which can effectively solve the problem of over-segmentation and under-segmentation of bone tumors. The segmentation prediction has better real-time performance, strong stability, and can achieve higher segmentation accuracy.

Occurrence of microplastic pollution in rivers globally: Driving factors of distribution and ecological risk assessment.

Microplastics, as global emerging pollutants, have received significant attention worldwide due to their ubiquitous presence in the rivers. However, there is still a lack of clarity on the occurrence, driving factors, and ecological risks of microplastics in rivers worldwide. In this study, a global microplastic dataset based on 862 water samples and 445 sediment samples obtained from 63 articles was constructed, which revealed the temporal and spatial distribution of abundance and morphological characteristics of microplastics in rivers across the globe. In global rivers, the abundance of MPs in both water and sediment spans across 10 and 4 orders of magnitude, respectively. The MP comprehensive diversity index based on the physical morphological characteristics of MPs indicated a significant positive correlation between the pollution sources of MPs in different environmental media. Based on the data was aligned to the full-scale MPs, a novel framework was provided to evaluate the ecological risk of MPs and the interaction effects between the influencing factors driving the distribution characteristics of MPs in rivers around the world. The results obtained demonstrated a wide variation in the key driving factors affecting the distribution of microplastics in different environmental media (water and sediment) in rivers globally. The diversity indices of the morphological characteristics of MPs in densely populated areas of lower-middle income countries in Asia were significantly higher, implying that the sources of microplastics in these regions are more complex and extensive. More than half of the rivers are exposed to potential ecological risks of MPs; however, microplastics may pose only immediate risks to aquatic species in Burigang River, Bangladesh. This can provide valuable insights for formulating more effective scientific strategies for the management of MP pollution in rivers.

A Comparison of the Safety, Efficacy, and Accuracy of Frame-Based versus Remebot Robot-Assisted Stereotactic Systems for Biopsy of Brainstem Tumors.

BACKGROUND: Brainstem tumors are rare and extremely heterogeneous and present significant challenges in surgical treatment. Thus, biopsies often set the foundation for the diagnosis of brainstem tumors. Multimodal, image-guided, robot-assisted frameless stereotactic biopsies are increasingly popular in neurosurgery centers. This study aimed to compare the safety, efficacy, and duration of the Remebot robot-assisted (Remebot) frameless brainstem tumor biopsy versus those of frame-based stereotactic biopsy. METHOD: A retrospective analysis of 33 patients with brainstem tumors who underwent stereotactic brainstem biopsies in the department of neurosurgery from January 2016 to January 2021 was conducted. The patients were divided into two groups: the Remebot group (n = 22) and the frame-based group (n = 11). The clinical characteristics, trajectory strategy, duration of procedure, diagnostic yielding, histopathological diagnosis, and postoperative complications were retrospectively analyzed and compared between the groups. RESULTS: More pediatric patients performed Remebot frameless brainstem tumor biopsy than frame-based biopsy, with a mean age of 17.3 ± 18.7 vs. 32.8 ± 17.1 (p = 0.027). The diagnostic yield had no significant difference in the two groups, with the diagnostic yield of frame-based biopsy and Remebot frameless brain biopsy being 90.9% and 95.5%, respectively. The time of the total process was 124.5 min for the frame-based biopsy and 84.7 min for the Remebot frameless brain biopsy (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences with respect to the occurrence of complication or the duration of the operation between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Remebot frameless stereotactic brainstem biopsy is as safe and efficacious as frame-based stereotactic biopsy. However, Remebot frameless biopsy can reduce the total duration of the procedure and has better application in young pediatric patients. Remebot frameless stereotactic biopsies can be a better option towards the safe and efficient treatment of brainstem tumors.

Geographical pattern of minerals and its association with health disparities in the USA.

This study aimed to determine the common latent patterns of geographical distribution of health-related minerals across the USA and to evaluate the real-world cumulative effects of these patterns on overall population health. It was an ecological study using county-level data (3080 contiguous counties) on the concentrations of 14 minerals (i.e., aluminum, arsenic, calcium, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, mercury, phosphorus, selenium, sodium, titanium, zinc) in stream sediments (or surface soils), and the measurements of overall health including life expectancy at birth, age-specific mortality risks and cause-specific (summarized by 21 mutually exclusive groups) mortality rates. Latent class analysis (LCA) was employed to identify the common clusters of life expectancy-related minerals based on their concentration characteristics. Multivariate linear regression analyses were then conducted to examine the relationship between the LCA-derived clusters and the health measurements, with adjustment for potential confounding factors. Five minerals (i.e., arsenic, calcium, selenium, sodium and zinc) were associated with life expectancy and were analyzed in LCA. Three clusters were determined across the USA, the 'common' (n = 2056, 66.8%), 'infertile' (n = 739, 24.0%) and 'plentiful' (n = 285, 9.3%) clusters. Residents in counties with the 'infertile' profile were associated with the shortest life expectancy, highest mortality risks at all ages, and highest mortality rates for many reasons including the top five leading causes of death: cardiovascular diseases, neoplasms, neurological disorders, chronic respiratory conditions, and diabetes, urogenital, blood and endocrine diseases. Results remained statistically significant after confounding adjustment. Our study brings novel perspectives regarding environmental geochemistry to explain health disparities in the USA.

Pulses outweigh cumulative effects of water diversion from river to lake on lacustrine phytoplankton communities.

Due to the allochthonous input of nutrients and species, the cumulative effects of water diversion on water-receiving lakes deserve attention. Taking the water diversion project from the Yangtze River to Lake Taihu (WDYT) as an example, we explored the temporal effects of WDYT on the phytoplankton community and physicochemical habitat of Lake Taihu in autumn and winter from 2013 to 2018. Although the short-term diversion significantly increased the risk of importing nutrients, the relatively high quality of the diversion water compared with other inflow rivers had improved the water quality of the water-receiving lake region. The seasonal water diversion significantly increased phytoplankton diversity and community network complexity and reshaped the lacustrine community to be diatom-dominated with their relative proportions of 24.1-64.9% during water diversion periods. The contributions of physicochemical habitat changes induced by water diversion to variations in phytoplankton communities were 24.0-28.0%. The differences in phytoplankton diversity, community composition and physicochemical habitat in the water-receiving lake region between the diversion and non-diversion years were more evident than those between the non-diversion years in the same season, when comparing the multivariate dispersion indices among them. However, the lacustrine phytoplankton community during non-diversion periods still has not been essentially altered after several years of diversion, so the pulse effects of short-term water diversion were more obvious than the long-term cumulative impacts. Better control of allochthonous nutrients, appropriate increase in inflow water, adhering to the long-term operation, should be effective to enhance ecological benefits of such water diversion projects.

Activation of HDAC8 Can Suppress the Proliferation of Osteosarcoma Cells via TP53 and STAT3/ERK Signaling Pathways.

OBJECTIVE: Osteosarcoma is the most common malignant bone cancer and is typically associated with poor prognosis. Histone deacetylase 8 (HDAC8) presents as an effective target in anti-tumor treatment in various tumors. As the functions of HDAC8 in osteosarcoma have not been studied thoroughly, our study aims to explore the effects of HDAC8 in osteosarcoma proliferation. METHODS: HDAC8 expression was analyzed in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-pan-cancer dataset. The expression of HDAC8 in osteosarcoma cell lines was detected by western blot. TM-2-51, an activator of HDAC8, was taken to promote HDAC8 expression in osteosarcoma cells. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was applied to analyze cell viability changes and colony formation while 5-ethynyl-29-deoxyuridine (EdU) assays were used to evaluate cell proliferation. The migration and invasion abilities were analyzed by transwell assay, the distributions of cell cycle were analyzed by flow cytometry, and xenograft models were used to study the effect of HDAC8 activation in vivo. Furthermore, the mechanism underlying HDAC8's influence in osteosarcoma was analyzed by western blot assay. RESULTS: Our study demonstrated that activation of HDAC8 in osteosarcoma cells can suppress cell viability, proliferation, migration, invasion, and arrest cell cycle of the osteosarcoma cells via TP53 and STAT3/ERK signaling pathway. Xenograft models confirmed that HDAC8 activation can reduce tumor growth in vivo. CONCLUSION: The activation of HDCA8 could contribute negatively to osteosarcoma proliferation, and HDAC8 may represent a valuable therapeutic target in osteosarcoma therapy.

ECSS: High-Embedding-Capacity Audio Watermarking with Diversity Reception.

Digital audio watermarking is a promising technology for copyright protection, yet its low embedding capacity remains a challenge for widespread applications. In this paper, the spread-spectrum watermarking algorithm is viewed as a communication channel, and the embedding capacity is analyzed and modeled with information theory. Following this embedding capacity model, we propose the extended-codebook spread-spectrum (ECSS) watermarking algorithm to heighten the embedding capacity. In addition, the diversity reception (DR) mechanism is adopted to optimize the proposed algorithm to obtain both high embedding capacity and strong robustness while the imperceptibility is guaranteed. We experimentally verify the effectiveness of the ECSS algorithm and the DR mechanism, evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm against common signal processing attacks, and compare the performance with existing high-capacity algorithms. The experiments demonstrate that the proposed algorithm achieves a high embedding capacity with applicable imperceptibility and robustness.

The GBM Tumor Microenvironment as a Modulator of Therapy Response: ADAM8 Causes Tumor Infiltration of Tams through HB-EGF/EGFR-Mediated CCL2 Expression and Overcomes TMZ Chemosensitization in Glioblastoma.

Standard chemotherapy of Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) using temozolomide (TMZ) frequently fails due to acquired chemoresistance. Tumor-associated macrophages and microglia (TAMs) as major immune cell population in the tumor microenvironment are potential modulators of TMZ response. However; little is known about how TAMs participate in TMZ induced chemoresistance. Members of the metzincin superfamily such as Matrix Metalloproteases (MMPs) and A Disintegrin and Metalloprotease (ADAM) proteases are important mediators of cellular communication in the tumor microenvironment. A qPCR screening was performed to identify potential targets within the ADAM and MMP family members in GBM cells. In co-culture with macrophages ADAM8 was the only signature gene up-regulated in GBM cells induced by macrophages under TMZ treatment. The relationship between ADAM8 expression and TAM infiltration in GBM was determined in a patient cohort by qPCR; IF; and IHC staining and TCGA data analysis. Moreover; RNA-seq was carried out to identify the potential targets regulated by ADAM8. CCL2 expression levels were determined by qPCR; Western blot; IF; and ELISA. Utilizing qPCR; IF; and IHC staining; we observed a positive relationship between ADAM8 expression and TAMs infiltration level in GBM patient tissues. Furthermore; ADAM8 induced TAMs recruitment in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically; we revealed that ADAM8 activated HB-EGF/EGFR signaling and subsequently up-regulated production of CCL2 in GBM cells in the presence of TMZ treatment; promoting TAMs recruitment; which further induced ADAM8 expression in GBM cells to mediate TMZ chemoresistance. Thus; we revealed an ADAM8 dependent positive feedback loop between TAMs and GBM cells under TMZ treatment which involves CCL2 and EGFR signaling to cause TMZ resistance in GBM.

Recent advances in cell-based and cell-free therapeutic approaches for sarcopenia.

Sarcopenia is a progressive loss of muscle mass and function that is connected with increased hospital expenditures, falls, fractures, and mortality. Although muscle loss has been related to aging, injury, hormonal imbalances, and diseases such as malignancies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, and kidney failure, the underlying pathogenic mechanisms of sarcopenia are unclear. Exercise-based interventions and multimodal strategies are currently being considered as potential therapeutic approaches to prevent or treat these diseases. Although drug therapy research is ongoing, no drug has yet been proven to have a substantial safety and clinical value to be the first drug therapy to be licensed for sarcopenia. To better understand the molecular alterations underlying sarcopenia and effective treatments, we review leading research and available findings from the systemic change to the muscle-specific microenvironment. Furthermore, we explore possible mechanisms of sarcopenia and provide new knowledge for the development of novel cell-free and cell-based therapeutics. This review will assist researchers in developing better therapies to improve muscle health in the elderly.

Femoral image segmentation based on two-stage convolutional network using 3D-DMFNet and 3D-ResUnet.

OBJECTIVE: The femur is a typical human long bone with an irregular spatial structure. Femoral fractures are the most common occurrence in middle-aged and older adults. The structure of human bone tissue is very complex, and there are significant differences between individuals. Segmenting bone tissue is a challenging task and of great practical significance. METHODS: Our research is based on segmenting and the three-dimensional reconstruction of femoral images using X-ray imaging. The currently commonly used two-dimensional fully convolutional network Unet has the problem of ignoring spatial position information and losing too much feature information. The commonly used three-dimensional fully convolutional network 3D Unet has the problem of ignoring spatial position information and losing too much feature information. For the problem of many model parameters, we proposes a two-stage network segmentation model composed of 3D-DMFNet and 3D-ResUnet networks and trains the network in stages to segment the femur. One stage is used to detect the coarse segmentation of the femur range, and one stage is used for the fine segmentation of the femur so that the training speed is fast and the segmentation accuracy is moderate, which is suitable for detecting the femur range. RESULTS: The experimental dataset used in this paper is from The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, which consists of 30 sets of femur X-ray images. The experiment compares the accuracy and loss value of Unet and the two-stage convolutional network. The image shows that the two-stage convolutional network has higher accuracy. At the same time, this paper shows the effect of the two-stage coarse segmentation and fine segmentation of medical images. Subsequently, this paper applies the model to practice and obtains the model's Dice, Sensitivity, Specificity and Pixel Accuracy values. After comparative analysis, the experimental results show that the two-stage network segmentation model composed of 3D-DMFNet and 3D-ResUnet network designed in this paper has higher accuracy, intuitiveness, and more application value than traditional image segmentation algorithms. CONCLUSION: With the continuous application of X-ray images in clinical diagnosis using femoral images, the method in this paper is expected to become a diagnostic tool that can effectively improve the accuracy and loss of femoral image segmentation and the three-dimensional reconstruction.

Large scale application of pulse oximeter and auscultation in screening of neonatal congenital heart disease.

PURPOSE: To conduct a retrospective evaluation of a large clinical implementation of combined pulse oximeter (POX) and cardiac auscultation as a fast-screening device for congenital heart disease (CHD). METHODS: Every newborn in a large maternity healthcare center received auscultation and POX screening within 24 hours after delivery. When an abnormal heart murmur or SpO2 level was detected, an echocardiogram was ordered to confirm the diagnosis of CHD. RESULTS: From January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2019, there were 44,147 livebirths at the studied hospital where 498 suspected CHD were identified: 27 newborns by POX screening and 471 by cardiac auscultation. The diagnosis was further confirmed in 458 neonates through echocardiogram. This result put forth an overall diagnosis rate of 92.0%. Cardiac auscultation detected the majority of CHD cases 438 (95.6%) while POX only screened 20 (4.4%) cases. Interestingly, no CHD case was detected by both auscultation examination and POX screening. Auscultation detected most of the common types of CHD, but POX excelled in identifying rare and critical cases. POX screening alone had a very low accuracy of 74.07% in positive predict value (PPV). On the other hand, auscultation functioned well in terms of PPV and negative predict value (NPV) (92.99 and 99.95%, respectively), but the addition of POX improved the overall screening performance resulting in 100% NPV. We also validate the finding with the data 6 months after the study period. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that addition of pulse oximetry to routine cardiac auscultation could be used as an accurate and feasible screening for early screening of CHD in newborns in large-scale clinical practice.

Long non-coding RNA plasmacytoma variant translocation 1 and growth arrest specific 5 regulate each other in osteoarthritis to regulate the apoptosis of chondrocytes.

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) plasmacytoma variant translocation 1 (PVT1) and growth arrest specific 5 (GAS5) have opposite functions in the apoptosis of chondrocytes, which are involved in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). The opposite roles of PVT1 and GAS5 in OA may indicate the existence of crosstalk between them in OA. This study aimed to explore the possible interaction between PVT1 and GAS5 in OA. Accumulation of PVT1 and GAS5 in OA and control synovial fluid samples was measured by RT-qPCR. The interaction between PVT1 and GAS5 in chondrocytes was explored by overexpression experiments. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was performed to analyze the binding of PVT1 and GAS5 to each other's promoter regions. Regulatory roles of PVT1 and GAS5 in the apoptosis of chondrocytes were studied with cell apoptosis assay. PVT1 was upregulated in OA, and GAS5 was downregulated in OA. An inverse correlation between PVT1 and GAS5 was observed across OA samples. Under lipopolysaccharides (LPS) treatment, PVT1 was upregulated and GAS5 was downregulated. Interestingly, PVT1 and GAS5 overexpression downregulated each other in chondrocytes. Cell apoptosis analysis showed that PVT1 overexpression promoted cell apoptosis, while GAS5 overexpression suppressed cell apoptosis induced by LPS. Co-transfection of PVT1 and GAS5 failed to significantly affect cell apoptosis. PVT1 and GAS5 directly bound to each other's promoter regions. Our study characterized the interaction between PVT1 and GAS5 in OA. Their interaction regulated the apoptosis of chondrocytes, which play a critical role in OA. PVT1 and GAS5 may form a negative feedback loop in OA.

MicroRNA-455-3p regulates proliferation and osteoclast differentiation of RAW264.7 cells by targeting PTEN.

BACKGROUND: Macrophages are one of the important cells in immune system. In this article, we aim to explore the regulatory role of miR-455-3p on proliferation and osteoblast differentiation of RAW264.7 cells. METHODS: Expression levels of genes and proteins in cells were tested via qRT-PCR and western blot. The targeted correlation between miR-455-3p and PTEN was identified by luciferase analysis. MTT assay and flow cytometry were applied to detect the proliferation and apoptosis of cells. Osteoclastogenesis was completed by stimulating RAW 264.7 cells with RANKL. Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) activity in different groups of cells were assessed. RESULTS: Firstly, we determined that up-regulation of miR-455-3p promoted the proliferation and inhibited apoptosis of RAW 264.7 cells. MiR-455-3p deficiency played opposite effect in RAW 264.7 cells. Additionally, osteoclastogenesis-related factors (TRAP, CTSK and NFATc1) expression levels were remarkably up-regulated in miR-455-3p-mimic group of RAW264.7 cells treated with RANKL, but decreased in inhibitor group. Luciferase assay proved that miR-455-3p targeted PTEN. We took a further step and found overexpression of PTEN significantly inhibited the increased proliferation and osteoblast differentiation of RAW264.7 cells induced by miR-455-3p. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings supported basic to explore the molecular mechanism of proliferation and osteoblast differentiation of RAW264.7 cells.

Health Effects of Religion, Spirituality, and Supernatural Beliefs in Mainland China: A Systematic Review.

Effects of religion, spirituality and supernatural beliefs (RSS) upon health in mainland China remain poorly understood, despite strong RSS beliefs influencing Chinese society. We conducted a Chinese-English bilingual systematic review to summarize the state of RSS-health research in mainland China. Study quality was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program tool. We screened 1858 studies, 162 of which were included in the review. From 2000-2004 to 2015-2019, the number of RSS-health studies in China increased from five to 73. However, only 7% of studies were rated as higher quality. Cross-sectional and case-control studies represented the vast majority of study designs (94%) and religious affiliation was the only RSS measure for 58% of studies. Higher, moderate, and lower quality studies indicated that RSS has both beneficial and adverse health implications. RSS-health research in China has accelerated rapidly in the last 20 years, but fundamental gaps in knowledge remain. Longitudinal study designs and nuanced RSS measures are needed to advance understanding of RSS health effects in China.