A novel SpaSA based hyper-parameter optimized FCEDN with adaptive CNN classification for skin cancer detection.

Skin cancer is the most prevalent kind of cancer in people. It is estimated that more than 1 million people get skin cancer every year in the world. The effectiveness of the disease's therapy is significantly impacted by early identification of this illness. Preprocessing is the initial detecting stage in enhancing the quality of skin images by removing undesired background noise and objects. This study aims is to compile preprocessing techniques for skin cancer imaging that are currently accessible. Researchers looking into automated skin cancer diagnosis might use this article as an excellent place to start. The fully convolutional encoder-decoder network and Sparrow search algorithm (FCEDN-SpaSA) are proposed in this study for the segmentation of dermoscopic images. The individual wolf method and the ensemble ghosting technique are integrated to generate a neighbour-based search strategy in SpaSA for stressing the correct balance between navigation and exploitation. The classification procedure is accomplished by using an adaptive CNN technique to discriminate between normal skin and malignant skin lesions suggestive of disease. Our method provides classification accuracies comparable to commonly used incremental learning techniques while using less energy, storage space, memory access, and training time (only network updates with new training samples, no network sharing). In a simulation, the segmentation performance of the proposed technique on the ISBI 2017, ISIC 2018, and PH2 datasets reached accuracies of 95.28%, 95.89%, 92.70%, and 98.78%, respectively, on the same dataset and assessed the classification performance. It is accurate 91.67% of the time. The efficiency of the suggested strategy is demonstrated through comparisons with cutting-edge methodologies.

Hypoxia macrophage-derived exosomal miR-26b-5p targeting PTEN promotes the development of keloids.

Background: Hypoxia is the typical characteristic of keloids. The development of keloids is closely related to the abnormal phenotypic transition of macrophages. However, the role of exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs) derived from hypoxic macrophages in keloids remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the role of hypoxic macrophage-derived exosomes (HMDE) in the occurrence and development of keloids and identify the critical miRNA. Methods: The expression of CD206+ M2 macrophage in keloids and normal skin tissues was examined through immunofluorescence. The polarization of macrophages under a hypoxia environment was detected through flow cytometry. The internalization of macrophage-derived exosomes in human keloid fibroblasts (HKFs) was detected using a confocal microscope. miRNA sequencing was used to explore the differentially expressed miRNAs in exosomes derived from the normoxic and hypoxic macrophage. Subsequently, the dual-luciferase reporter assay verified that phosphatase and tension homolog (PTEN) was miR-26b-5p's target. The biological function of macrophage-derived exosomes, miR-26b-5p and PTEN were detected using the CCK-8, wound-healing and Transwell assays. Western blot assay was used to confirm the miR-26b-5p's underlying mechanisms and PTEN-PI3K/AKT pathway. Results: We demonstrated that M2-type macrophages were enriched in keloids and that hypoxia treatment could polarize macrophages toward M2-type. Compared with normoxic macrophages-derived exosomes (NMDE), HMDE promote the proliferation, migration and invasion of HKFs. A total of 38 differential miRNAs (18 upregulated and 20 downregulated) were found between the NMDE and HMDE. miR-26b-5p was enriched in HMDE, which could be transmitted to HKFs. According to the results of the functional assay, exosomal miR-26b-5p produced by macrophages facilitated HKFs' migration, invasion and proliferation via the PTEN-PI3K/AKT pathway. Conclusions: The highly expressed miR-26b-5p in HMDE promotes the development of keloids via the PTEN-PI3K/AKT pathway.

Effects of Maillard reaction of different monosaccharide-modified on some functional properties of fish gelatin.

In this work, the effects of Maillard reaction of different monosaccharide-modified fish gelatin were studied. The changes of gel properties, rheology and structure of fish gelatin before and after modification were compared and analyzed, and oil-in-woter emulsions were prepared. The results showed that the five-carbon monosaccharide had stronger modification ability than the six-carbon monosaccharide, which was mainly due to the different steric hindrance of the amino acids in the nuclear layer and the outer layer to the glycosylation reaction. With the progress of the Maillard reaction, the color of fish gelatin gradually became darker. The attachment of sugar chains inhibited the gelation process of fish gelatin, decreased the gelation rate, changed the secondary structure, increased the content of ß-turn or α-helix, increased the degree of fluorescence quenching, and enhanced the emulsifying properties and emulsion stability. This study provides useful information for the preparation of different types of monosaccharide-modified proteins and emulsions.

Integrated DNA methylation analysis reveals a potential role for PTPRN2 in Marfan syndrome scoliosis.

Background: Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a rare genetic disorder caused by mutations in the Fibrillin-1 gene (FBN1) with significant clinical features in the skeletal, cardiopulmonary, and ocular systems. To gain deeper insights into the contribution of epigenetics in the variability of phenotypes observed in MFS, we undertook the first analysis of integrating DNA methylation and gene expression profiles in whole blood from MFS and healthy controls (HCs). Methods: The Illumina 850K (EPIC) DNA methylation array was used to detect DNA methylation changes on peripheral blood samples of seven patients with MFS and five HCs. Associations between methylation levels and clinical features of MFS were analyzed. Subsequently, we conducted an integrated analysis of the outcomes of the transcriptome data to analyze the correlation between differentially methylated positions (DMPs) and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and explore the potential role of methylation-regulated DEGs (MeDEGs) in MFS scoliosis. The weighted gene co-expression network analysis was used to find gene modules with the highest correlation coefficient with target MeDEGs to annotate their functions in MFS. Results: Our study identified 1253 DMPs annotated to 236 genes that were primarily associated with scoliosis, cardiomyopathy, and vital capacity. These conditions are typically associated with reduced lifespan in untreated MFS. We calculated correlations between DMPs and clinical features, such as cobb angle to evaluate scoliosis and FEV1% to assess pulmonary function. Notably, cg20223687 (PTPRN2) exhibited a positive correlation with cobb angle of scoliosis, potentially playing a role in ERKs inactivation. Conclusions: Taken together, our systems-level approach sheds light on the contribution of epigenetics to MFS and offers a plausible explanation for the complex phenotypes that are linked to reduced lifespan in untreated MFS patients.

LINC00662 promotes melanoma progression by competitively binding miR-107 and activating the ß-catenin signaling pathway.

Melanoma is a highly malignant tumor in the body. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been reported to be involved in the development of various tumors. Emerging evidence demonstrates the critical role of lncRNAs in melanoma development. In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression, biological function and regulatory mechanism of LINC00662 in melanomas. First, we found that LINC00662 was up-regulated in melanoma tissues and cell lines. High expression of LINC00662 in melanomas was associated with a poor patient prognosis. Silencing of LINC00662 suppressed the proliferation, migration, and invasion of melanoma cells in vitro and in vivo, while overexpression of LINC00662 promoted melanoma cell proliferation in vitro. Bioinformatics analysis, dual-luciferase assay, and RIP assay confirmed that LINC00662 competitively regulated miR-107. Silencing of LINC00662 upregulated miR-107 expression in a melanoma cell line. Inhibition of miR-107 significantly reversed the inhibitory effect of LINC00662 silencing on cell proliferation and migration. Furthermore, POU3F2 was validated as a downstream target of LINC00662/miR107 and was downregulated when LINC00662 was silenced. Overexpressing POU3F2 attenuated the effect of si-LINC00662 on cellular functions. In addition, the results also showed that the ß-catenin pathway was involved in a si-LINC00662-induced function in melanoma. Overall, our results confirmed that LINC00662 promoted melanoma progression by sponging miR107 and inducing POU3F2, highlighting the mechanism of the LINC00662/miR-107/POU3F2 axis in melanoma cell proliferation and invasion.

The Development of Multisensory Integration at the Neuronal Level.

Multisensory integration is a fundamental function of the brain. In the typical adult, multisensory neurons' response to paired multisensory (e.g., audiovisual) cues is significantly more robust than the corresponding best unisensory response in many brain regions. Synthesizing sensory signals from multiple modalities can speed up sensory processing and improve the salience of outside events or objects. Despite its significance, multisensory integration is testified to be not a neonatal feature of the brain. Neurons' ability to effectively combine multisensory information does not occur rapidly but develops gradually during early postnatal life (for cats, 4-12 weeks required). Multisensory experience is critical for this developing process. If animals were restricted from sensing normal visual scenes or sounds (deprived of the relevant multisensory experience), the development of the corresponding integrative ability could be blocked until the appropriate multisensory experience is obtained. This section summarizes the extant literature on the development of multisensory integration (mainly using cat superior colliculus as a model), sensory-deprivation-induced cross-modal plasticity, and how sensory experience (sensory exposure and perceptual learning) leads to the plastic change and modification of neural circuits in cortical and subcortical areas.

Structured postoperative handover protocol improves efficiency and quality of interdisciplinary communication and nursing care in surgical intensive care unit: a randomized controlled trial.

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured postoperative handover protocol for postoperative transfer to the SICU. This study was a randomized controlled trial conducted in a comprehensive teaching hospital in China. Patients who were transferred to the SICU after surgery were randomly divided into two groups. The intervention group underwent postoperative structured handover protocol, and the control group still applied conventional oral handover. A total of 101 postoperative patients and 50 clinicians were enrolled. Although the intervention group did not shorten the handover duration (6.18 ± 1.66 vs 5.94 ± 1.91; P = 0.505), the handover integrity was significantly improved, mainly reflected in fewer information omissions (1.44 ± 0.97 vs 0.67 ± 0.62; P < 0.001), fewer additional questions raised by ICU physicians (1.06 ± 1.04 vs 0.24 ± 0.43; P < 0.001) and fewer additional handovers via phone call (16% vs 3.9%; P = 0.042). The total score of satisfaction of the intervention group was significantly higher than that of the control group (76.44 ± 7.32 vs 81.24 ± 6.95; P = 0.001). With respect to critical care, the incidence of stage I pressure sore within 24 h was lower in the intervention group than in the control group (20% vs 3.9%, P = 0.029). Structured postoperative handover protocol improves the efficiency and quality of interdisciplinary communication and clinical care in SICU.Trial registration This study was registered in China on January 8th, 2022 at Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR2200055400).

Exploring the determinants of users' co-creation behavior on music streaming platforms in China.

Music streaming platforms have recently become one of the latest innovative music devices used to replace traditional music sets. In order to examine users' behavior on music streaming platforms, this study proposes an extended research model based on flow theory and investigates the relationship between flow experience and co-creation behavior. A partial least square methodology was employed to test the proposed model and corresponding hypotheses on data collected from 390 survey samples. The results showed that flow experience has a significant influence on users' co-creation behavior. Among the three antecedents, only perceived skill and perceived interactivity have the strongest effects on flow experience, while perceived control has little effect on flow experience. This study discusses some valuable theoretical implications and offers insights useful for both researchers and practitioners.

OsWRKY97, an Abiotic Stress-Induced Gene of Rice, Plays a Key Role in Drought Tolerance.

Drought stress is one of the major causes of crop losses. The WRKY families play important roles in the regulation of many plant processes, including drought stress response. However, the function of individual WRKY genes in plants is still under investigation. Here, we identified a new member of the WRKY families, OsWRKY97, and analyzed its role in stress resistance by using a series of transgenic plant lines. OsWRKY97 positively regulates drought tolerance in rice. OsWRKY97 was expressed in all examined tissues and could be induced by various abiotic stresses and abscisic acid (ABA). OsWRKY97-GFP was localized to the nucleus. Various abiotic stress-related cis-acting elements were observed in the promoters of OsWRKY97. The results of OsWRKY97-overexpressing plant analyses revealed that OsWRKY97 plays a positive role in drought stress tolerance. In addition, physiological analyses revealed that OsWRKY97 improves drought stress tolerance by improving the osmotic adjustment ability, oxidative stress tolerance, and water retention capacity of the plant. Furthermore, OsWRKY97-overexpressing plants also showed higher sensitivity to exogenous ABA compared with that of wild-type rice (WT). Overexpression of OsWRKY97 also affected the transcript levels of ABA-responsive genes and the accumulation of ABA. These results indicate that OsWRKY97 plays a crucial role in the response to drought stress and may possess high potential value in improving drought tolerance in rice.

The BCL-2 family protein BCL-RAMBO interacts and cooperates with GRP75 to promote its apoptosis signaling pathway.

The BCL-2 family protein BCL-RAMBO, also known as BCL2-like 13, anchors at the outer mitochondrial membrane and regulates apoptosis, mitochondrial fragmentation, and mitophagy. However, the mechanisms underlying the proapoptotic role of BCL-RAMBO remain unclear. In the present study, we demonstrated that BCL-RAMBO interacted with glucose-regulated protein 75 (GRP75), also known as heat shock protein family A member 9, and mortalin using co-immunoprecipitation and glutathione S-transferase-based pull-down assays. BCL-RAMBO interacted with GRP75 via its No BCL-2 homology domain. The interaction between BCL-RAMBO and GRP75 was confirmed by genetic interactions in Drosophila because a rough eye phenotype caused by the ectopic expression of BCL-RAMBO was partially suppressed by mutations in Hsc70-5, a mammalian GRP75 ortholog. In human embryonic kidney 293T cells, the co-expression of BCL-RAMBO and GRP75 facilitated an elevation in executioner caspase activity and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1) cleavage. In contrast, the knockdown of GRP75 suppressed elevated executioner caspase activity and PARP-1 cleavage in BCL-RAMBO-transfected cells. The mitochondrial release of cytochrome c induced by BCL-RAMBO was also attenuated by the knockdown of GRP75. These results indicate that GRP75 interacts with BCL-RAMBO and plays a crucial role in the BCL-RAMBO-dependent apoptosis signaling pathway.

miR-656-3p inhibits melanomas in vitro and in vivo by inducing senescence via inhibiting LMNB2.

BACKGROUND: Ultra-Violet Radiation (UVR) is the most significant exogenous contributor to skin aging. UVB causes the senescence of melanocytes, which results in a permanent arrest in the proliferative process. Senescence is also regarded as a physiological tumor-suppressing mechanism of normal cells. However, the mechanism of the relationship between melanocyte senescence and melanoma was not sufficiently clarified. METHODS: Melanocytes and melanoma cells were irradiated with UVB for the indicated time. The miRNA expression profile of melanocytes were obtained by miRNA sequencing and confirmed by real-time PCR. Cell count kit-8 assays, cell cycle assays were also employed to explore the effect of miR-656-3p and LMNB2 on senescence. Dual-luciferase reporter assays were applied to determine the miRNA targets. Finally, a xenograft model and a photoaging model of mice were conducted to verified the function of miR-656-3p in vivo. RESULTS: Melanoma cells did not alter into a senescence stage and the expressions of miR-656-3p had no significant changes under the same intensity of UVB radiation. miR-656-3p appeared to be upregulated in melanocytes rather than melanoma cells after UVB radiation. miR-656-3p could promote the photoaging of human primary melanocytes by targeting LMNB2. Finally, overexpression of miR-656-3p significantly induced senescence and inhibited the growth of melanomas in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSION: Our work not only demonstrated the mechanism by which miR-656-3p induced the senescence of melanocytes but also proposed a treatment strategy for melanomas by using miR-656-3p to induce senescence.

Excitatory somatostatin interneurons in the dentate gyrus drive a widespread seizure network in cortical dysplasia.

Seizures due to cortical dysplasia are notorious for their poor prognosis even with medications and surgery, likely due to the widespread seizure network. Previous studies have primarily focused on the disruption of dysplastic lesions, rather than remote regions such as the hippocampus. Here, we first quantified the epileptogenicity of the hippocampus in patients with late-stage cortical dysplasia. We further investigated the cellular substrates leading to the epileptic hippocampus, using multiscale tools including calcium imaging, optogenetics, immunohistochemistry and electrophysiology. For the first time, we revealed the role of hippocampal somatostatin-positive interneurons in cortical dysplasia-related seizures. Somatostatin-positive were recruited during cortical dysplasia-related seizures. Interestingly, optogenetic studies suggested that somatostatin-positive interneurons paradoxically facilitated seizure generalization. By contrast, parvalbumin-positive interneurons retained an inhibitory role as in controls. Electrophysiological recordings and immunohistochemical studies revealed glutamate-mediated excitatory transmission from somatostatin-positive interneurons in the dentate gyrus. Taken together, our study reveals a novel role of excitatory somatostatin-positive neurons in the seizure network and brings new insights into the cellular basis of cortical dysplasia.

Circulating miR-107 as a diagnostic biomarker of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture increases bone formation in vitro and in vivo.

AIMS: This study aimed to examine the key circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) in the plasma of patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture and assess their potential role as diagnostic biomarkers and explore their function in vitro and in vivo. METHODS: Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was applied to identify hub miRNAs for subsequent analysis. The candidate miRNAs were tested using plasma from 144 patients and the results were applied to construct receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to assess their diagnostic value. In addition, the function of the target miRNA was validated in MC3T3-E1 cells, human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BMSCs), and an ovariectomized (OVX) mouse model. KEY FINDINGS: Seven modules were obtained by WGCNA analysis. The expression levels of circulating miR-107 in the red module were significantly lower in osteoporotic patients than in healthy controls. In addition, miR-107 provided discrimination with an AUC > 85 % by ROC analyses to differentiate women osteoporosis patients from healthy controls and differentiate women osteoporotic patients with vertebral compression fractures from osteoporotic patients without vertebral compression fractures. In vitro experiments revealed that miR-107 levels were increased in osteogenically induced MC3T3-E1 cells and BMSCs and transfection with synthetic miR-107 could promote bone formation. Lastly, the bone parameters were improved by miR-107 upregulation in OVX mice. SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings show that circulating miR-107 plays an essential role in facilitating osteogenesis and may be a useful diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target in osteoporosis.

Metabolomics Differences of the Donor Livers Between In Situ and Ex Situ Conditions During Ischemia-free Liver Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Ischemia-free liver transplantation (IFLT) has been innovated to avoid graft ischemia during organ procurement, preservation, and implantation. However, the metabolism activity of the donor livers between in the in situ and ex situ normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) conditions, and between standard criteria donor and extend criteria donor remains unknown. METHODS: During IFLT, plasma samples were collected both at the portal vein and hepatic vein of the donor livers in situ during procurement and ex situ during NMP. An ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was conducted to investigate the common and distinct intraliver metabolite exchange. RESULTS: Profound cysteine and methionine metabolism, and aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis were found in both in situ and ex situ conditions. However, obvious D-arginine and D-ornithine metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism were only found in the in situ condition. The suppressed activities of the urea cycle pathway during ex situ condition were confirmed in an RNA expression level. In addition, compared with extend criteria donor group, standard criteria donor group had more active intraliver metabolite exchange in metabonomics level. Furthermore, we found that the relative concentration of p-cresol, allocystathionine, L-prolyl-L-proline in the ex situ group was strongly correlated with peak alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase at postoperative days 1-7. CONCLUSIONS: In the current study, we show the common and distinct metabolism activities during IFLT. These findings might provide insights on how to modify the design of NMP device, improve the perfusate components, and redefine the criteria of graft viability.

SUMOylation mediates the disassembly of the Smad4 nuclear export complex via RanGAP1 in KELOIDS.

Sentrin/small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) has emerged as a powerful mediator regulating biological processes and participating in pathophysiological processes that cause human diseases, such as cancer, myocardial fibrosis and neurological disorders. Sumoylation has been shown to play a positive regulatory role in keloids. However, the sumoylation mechanism in keloids remains understudied. We proposed that sumoylation regulates keloids via a complex. RanGAP1 acted as a synergistic, functional partner of SUMOs in keloids. Nuclear accumulation of Smad4, a TGF-ß/Smad pathway member, was associated with RanGAP1 after SUMO1 inhibition. RanGAP1*SUMO1 mediated the nuclear accumulation of Smad4 due to its impact on nuclear export and reduction in the dissociation of Smad4 and CRM1. We clarified a novel mechanism of positive regulation of sumoylation in keloids and demonstrated the function of sumoylation in Smad4 nuclear export. The NPC-associated RanGAP1*SUMO1 complex functions as a disassembly machine for the export receptor CRM1 and Smad4. Our research provides new perspectives for the mechanisms of keloids and nucleocytoplasmic transport.

Developing an Interpretable Machine Learning Model to Predict in-Hospital Mortality in Sepsis Patients: A Retrospective Temporal Validation Study.

BACKGROUND: Risk stratification plays an essential role in the decision making for sepsis management, as existing approaches can hardly satisfy the need to assess this heterogeneous population. We aimed to develop and validate a machine learning model to predict in-hospital mortality in critically ill patients with sepsis. METHODS: Adult patients fulfilling the definition of Sepsis-3 were included at a large tertiary medical center. Relevant clinical features were extracted within the first 24 h in ICU, re-classified into different genres, and utilized for model development under three strategies: "Basic + Lab", "Basic + Intervention", and "Whole" feature sets. Extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) was compared with logistic regression (LR) and established severity scores. Temporal validation was conducted using admissions from 2017 to 2019. RESULTS: The final cohort included 24,272 patients, of which 4013 patients formed the test cohort for temporal validation. The trained and fine-tuned XGBoost model with the whole feature set showed the best discriminatory ability in the test cohort with AUROC as 0.85, significantly higher than the XGBoost "Basic + Lab" model (0.83), the LR "Whole" model (0.82), SOFA (0.63), SAPS-II (0.73), and LODS score (0.74). The performance in varying subgroups remained robust, and predictors, such as increased urine output and supplemental oxygen therapy, were crucially correlated with improved survival when interpretability was explored. CONCLUSIONS: We developed and validated a novel XGBoost-based model and demonstrated significantly improved performance to LR and other scores in predicting the mortality risks of sepsis patients in the hospital using features in the first 24 h.

Clinical, Morphological, and Molecular Study on Grade 2 and 3 Pleomorphic Xanthoastrocytoma.

PURPOSE: Pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA) is an uncommon astrocytoma that tends to occur in children and young adults and has a relatively favorable prognosis. The 2021 WHO classification of tumors of the central nervous system (CNS WHO), 5th edition, rates PXAs as grade 2 and grade 3. The histological grading was based on mitotic activity (≥2.5 mitoses/mm2). This study specifically evaluates the clinical, morphological, and, especially, the molecular characteristics of grade 2 and 3 PXAs. METHODS: Between 2003 and 2021, we characterized 53 tumors with histologically defined grade 2 PXA (n = 36, 68%) and grade 3 PXA (n = 17, 32%). RESULTS: Compared with grade 2 PXA, grade 3 PXA has a deeper location and no superiority in the temporal lobe and is more likely to be accompanied by peritumoral edema. In histomorphology, epithelioid cells and necrosis were more likely to occur in grade 3 PXA. Molecular analysis found that the TERT promoter mutation was more prevalent in grade 3 PXA than in grade 2 PXA (35% vs. 3%; p = 0.0005) and all mutation sites were C228T. The cases without BRAF V600E mutation or with necrosis in grade 3 PXA had a poor prognosis (p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: These data define PXA as a heterogeneous astrocytoma. Grade 2 and grade 3 PXAs have different clinical and histological characteristics as well as distinct molecular profiles. TERT promoter mutations may be a significant genetic event associated with anaplastic progression. Necrosis and BRAF V600E mutation play an important role in the prognosis of grade 3 PXA.