Effects of loose combined cutting seton surgery on wound healing and pain in patients with high anal fistula: A meta-analysis.

A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects of loose combined cutting seton surgery on wound healing and pain in patients with high anal fistula, aiming to provide evidence-based medical evidence for surgical method selection for these patients. A comprehensive computerized search of PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Wanfang and China National Knowledge Infrastructure databases was conducted to collect all relevant studies published up to November 2023, evaluating the effects of loose combined cutting seton surgery in treating patients with high anal fistulas. Two researchers independently screened, extracted data, and assessed the quality of the identified studies. RevMan 5.4 software was employed for data analysis. Overall, 16 articles were included, comprising 1124 patients, with 567 undergoing loose combined cutting seton surgery and 557 undergoing simple cutting seton surgery. The analysis revealed patients undergoing loose combined cutting seton surgery had a higher rate of postoperative wound healing (97.44% vs. 81.69%, odds ratio [OR]: 7.49, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.29-13.10, p < 0.00001), shorter wound healing time (standardized mean differences [SMD]: -1.48, 95% CI: -1.89 to -1.08, p < 0.00001), lower postoperative wound pain scores (SMD: -2.51, 95% CI: -3.51 to -1.51, p < 0.00001), and a lower rate of postoperative complications (3.43% vs. 20.83%, OR: 0.13, 95% CI: 0.05-0.31, p < 0.00001). The current evidence suggests that compared to simple cutting seton surgery, loose combined cutting seton surgery in treating high anal fistulas can promote postoperative wound healing, shorten wound healing time, alleviate pain, and reduce the incidence of postoperative complications, making it a worthy clinical practice for widespread application.

The Evolution of Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion: A Journey from Past to Present.

Lumbar interbody fusion procedures have seen a significant evolution over the years, with various approaches being developed to address spinal pathologies and instability, including posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF), transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF), anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF), and lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF). LLIF, a pivotal technique in the field, initially emerged as extreme/direct lateral interbody fusion (XLIF/DLIF) before the development of oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF). To ensure comprehensive circumferential stability, LLIF procedures are often combined with posterior stabilization (PS) using pedicle screws. However, achieving this required repositioning of the patient during the surgical procedure. The advent of single-position surgery (SPS) has revolutionized the procedure by eliminating the need for patient repositioning. With SPS, LLIF along with PS can be performed either in the lateral or prone position, resulting in significantly reduced operative time. Ongoing research endeavors are dedicated to further enhancing LLIF procedures making them even safer and easier. Notably, the integration of robotic technology into SPS has emerged as a game-changer, simplifying surgical processes and positioning itself as a vital asset for the future of spinal fusion surgery. This literature review aims to provide a succinct summary of the evolutionary trajectory of lumbar interbody fusion techniques, with a specific emphasis on its recent advancements.

LincRNA_XR209691.3 could promote Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus replication by interacting with BmHSP70.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), a class of transcripts exceeding 200 nucleotides and lacking protein coding potential, have been proven to play important roles in viral infection and host immunity. Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) is an important pathogen, which causes the silkworm disease and leads to a huge challenge to the sericultural industry. At present, research on the roles of insect lncRNAs in host-virus interaction are relatively few. In this study, we explored the function of lincRNA_XR209691.3 that was significantly up-regulated in the silkworm fat body upon BmNPV infection. Firstly, the subcellular localization experiment confirmed that lincRNA_XR209691.3 was present in both the nucleus and cytoplasm. Enhancing the expression of lincRNA_XR209691.3 in BmN cells could promote the proliferation of BmNPV, while inhibition of lincRNA_XR209691.3 by RNA interference suppresses the proliferation of BmNPV. Combining RNA pull-down and mass spectrometry, we identified the host and BmNPV proteins that could interact with lincRNA_XR209691.3. Next, by using truncation experiment and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay, it was found that lincRNA_XR209691.3 could bind to the Actin domain of BmHSP70. Subsequently, overexpression of lncRNA_XR209691.3 in BmN cells promoted the expression of BmHSP70, while knockdown of BmHsp70 suppressed the replication of BmNPV. Based on the above results, it is speculated that lincRNA_XR209691.3 could promote the proliferation of BmNPV through interaction with BmHSP70, possibly by improving the stability of BmHSP70 and thereby enhancing the expression of BmHSP70. Our results shed light on the lncRNA function in insect-pathogen interactions and provide a new clue to elucidate the molecular mechanism of BmNPV infection.

Percutaneous transluminal pulmonary angioplasty for Takayasu arteritis-associated pulmonary hypertension: A single-arm meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The efficacy and safety of percutaneous transluminal pulmonary angioplasty (PTPA) for Takayasu arteritis-associated pulmonary hypertension (TA-PH) remain unclear. OBJECTIVES: To examine the efficacy and safety of PTPA in TA-PH. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials Library were searched from inception to August 18, 2022, for articles investigating the efficacy and safety of PTPA for TA-PH. The primary efficacy outcomes were pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) changes from baseline to re-evaluation and 6-minute walking distance (6MWD). The safety outcome was procedure-related complications. RESULTS: Five articles comprising 104 patients with TA-PH who underwent PTPA were included. The scores of article quality, as assessed using the methodological index for nonrandomized studies tool, were high, ranging from 13 to 15 points. The pooled treatment effects of PVR (weighted mean difference [WMD]: -4.8 WU; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -6.0 to -3.5 WU; I2 = 0.0%), 6MWD (WMD: 101.9 m; 95% CI: 60.3-143.6 m; I2 = 70.4%) significantly improved. Procedure-related complications, which predominantly present as pulmonary artery injury and pulmonary injury, occurred in 32.0% of the included patients. Periprocedural death occurred in one patient (1.0%, 1/100). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with TA-PH could benefit from PTPA in terms of hemodynamics and exercise tolerance, at the expense of procedure-related complications. PTPA should be encouraged to enhance the treatment response in TA-PH. These findings need to be confirmed by further studies, ideally, randomized controlled trials. REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42022354087.

Astragaloside IV restrains pyroptosis and fibrotic development of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells to ameliorate pulmonary artery hypertension through the PHD2/HIF1α signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND: Astragaloside (AS)-IV, extracted from traditional Chinese medicine Astragalus mongholicus, has been widely used in the anti-inflammatory treatment for cardiovascular disease. However, the mechanism by which AS-IV affects pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) development remains largely unknown. METHODS: Monocrotaline (MCT)-induced PAH model rats were administered with AS-IV, and hematoxylin-eosin staining and Masson staining were performed to evaluate the histological change in pulmonary tissues of rats. Pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) were treated by hypoxia and AS-IV. Pyroptosis and fibrosis were assessed by immunofluorescence, western blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: AS-IV treatment alleviated pulmonary artery structural remodeling and pulmonary hypertension progression induced by MCT in rats. AS-IV suppressed the expression of pyroptosis-related markers, the release of pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-1ß and IL-18 and fibrosis development in pulmonary tissues of PAH rats and in hypoxic PAMSCs. Interestingly, the expression of prolyl-4-hydroxylase 2 (PHD2) was restored by AS-IV administration in PAH model in vivo and in vitro, while hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF1α) was restrained by AS-IV. Mechanistically, silencing PHD2 reversed the inhibitory effect of AS-IV on pyroptosis, fibrosis trend and pyroptotic necrosis in hypoxia-cultured PASMCs, while the HIF1α inhibitor could prevent these PAH-like phenomena. CONCLUSION: Collectively, AS-IV elevates PHD2 expression to alleviate pyroptosis and fibrosis development during PAH through downregulating HIF1α. These findings may provide a better understanding of AS-IV preventing PAH, and the PHD2/HIF1α axis may be a potential anti-pyroptosis target during PAH.

General learning ability in perceptual learning.

Developing expertise in any field usually requires acquisition of a wide range of skills. Most current studies on perceptual learning have focused on a single task and concluded that learning is quite specific to the trained task, and the ubiquitous individual differences reflect random fluctuations across subjects. Whether there exists a general learning ability that determines individual learning performance across multiple tasks remains largely unknown. In a large-scale perceptual learning study with a wide range of training tasks, we found that initial performance, task, and individual differences all contributed significantly to the learning rates across the tasks. Most importantly, we were able to extract both a task-specific but subject-invariant component of learning, that accounted for 38.6% of the variance, and a subject-specific but task-invariant perceptual learning ability, that accounted for 36.8% of the variance. The existence of a general perceptual learning ability across multiple tasks suggests that individual differences in perceptual learning are not "noise"; rather, they reflect the variability of learning ability across individuals. These results could have important implications for selecting potential trainees in occupations that require perceptual expertise and designing better training protocols to improve the efficiency of clinical rehabilitation.

Indications for Adjuvant Chemotherapy in Stage II Gastric Cancer After D2 Gastrectomy-A Chinese Multicenter Study.

BACKGROUND: The benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) for patients with stage II gastric cancer remains controversial. This study aimed to explore the indications for adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage II gastric cancer by constructing an individual prediction model. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this Chinese multicenter study, a total of 1012 patients with stage II gastric cancer after D2 radical gastrectomy were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were randomly assigned to a training cohort (n = 674) or a validation cohort (n = 338). A nomogram was constructed according to the training cohort. Concordance index (C-index), the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves (AUC), calibration curves, and decision curve analysis (DCA) were applied to evaluate the performance of the nomogram. ROC curves and stratified survival were used to determine the patients' cutoff score for a benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. An additional 338 patients were used as a validation cohort to validate the feasibility of using this nomogram to guide individualized therapy for patients with stage II gastric cancer. RESULTS: Univariate and multivariate analyses illustrated that age, sex, tumor location, size, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), hemoglobin (HB), and T stage were independent prognostic factors for overall survival (OS), and they were used to establish a nomogram. The cutoff value was determined by ROC curve analysis, and patients were divided into a high-risk group (< 239 points) and a low-risk group (≥ 239 points). There was no significant difference in the OS of low-risk patients in either the training cohort or the validation cohort. However, the OS of high-risk patients in the AC group was better than that of patients in the surgery-only group. CONCLUSIONS: This prediction model can be applied to guide treatment of patients with stage II gastric cancer. High-risk patients (< 239 points) are likely to benefit from AC after D2 radical gastrectomy.

Cellular Lnc_209997 suppresses Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus replication by targeting miR-275-5p in B. mori.

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is a type of non-coding RNA molecule, which exceeds 200 nucleotides in length and participates in the regulation of a variety of life activities. Recent studies showed that lncRNAs play important roles in viral infection and host immunity. At present, the researches on insect lncRNAs are relatively few. In this study, we found the expression of Lnc_209997 was significantly down-regulated in silkworm fat body infected with Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrosis virus (BmNPV). Inhibition of Lnc_209997 promoted BmNPV replication. Enhancing the expression of Lnc_209997 inhibited the proliferation of BmNPV. miR-275-5p was up-regulated in silkworm fat body infected with BmNPV. Dual luciferase reporter gene system confirmed the interaction between Lnc_209997 and miR-275-5p. Over-expression of Lnc_209997 inhibited the expression of miR-275-5p, while inhibition of Lnc_209997 enhanced the expression of miR-275-5p. Further, over-expression of miR-275-5p can facilitate the replication of BmNPV. These results suggested that BmNPV could increase the expression of miR-275-5p by inhibiting cellular Lnc_209997 expression to promote their own proliferation. Our results are helpful for better understanding the role of lncRNAs in BmNPV infection, and provide insights into elucidating the molecular mechanism of interaction between Bombyx mori and virus.

Identifying Long- and Short-Term Processes in Perceptual Learning.

Practice makes perfect in almost all perceptual tasks, but how perceptual improvements accumulate remains unknown. Here, we developed a multicomponent theoretical framework to model contributions of both long- and short-term processes in perceptual learning. Applications of the framework to the block-by-block learning curves of 49 adult participants in seven perceptual tasks identified ubiquitous long-term general learning and within-session relearning in most tasks. More importantly, we also found between-session forgetting in the vernier-offset discrimination, face-view discrimination, and auditory-frequency discrimination tasks; between-session off-line gain in the visual shape search task; and within-session adaptation and both between-session forgetting and off-line gain in the contrast detection task. The main results of the vernier-offset discrimination and visual shape search tasks were replicated in a new experiment. The multicomponent model provides a theoretical framework to identify component processes in perceptual learning and a potential tool to optimize learning in normal and clinical populations.

Compliance with Oral Nutritional Supplementation among Gastric Cancer Patients at Nutritional Risk: A Cross-Sectional Study.

AIMS: To explore compliance with oral nutritional supplementation (ONS) and to identify the risk factors for noncompliance among gastric cancer patients based on the health belief model (HBM). METHODS: This prospective, observational study included gastric cancer patients at nutritional risk who were prescribed ONS from July to September 2020. Demographic factors, clinical factors, ONS-related factors, social factors and variables derived from the HBM were collected. The outcome of interest was compliance with ONS, which was measured by self-reported intake of ONS. Uni- and multivariate analyses of potential risk factors for noncompliance were performed. RESULTS: A total of 162 gastric cancer patients in the preoperative and adjuvant chemotherapy periods were analyzed. The compliance rate with ONS was 24.7%. Univariate analysis identified thirteen variables as risk factors for decreased compliance. Multivariate logistic analysis indicated that ONS compliance was independently associated with the treatment period, perceived barriers to ONS, the motivation to take ONS, and the timing of taking ONS. CONCLUSION: This study showed that overall ONS compliance among gastric cancer patients was notably low. Patients in the chemotherapy treatment period who took ONS at random times each day perceived more barriers to taking ONS and had a lower level of motivation were associated with lower compliance with ONS.

Synthesis of Substituted Pyridines via Formal (3+3) Cycloaddition of Enamines with Unsaturated Aldehydes and Ketones.

An organocatalyzed, formal (3+3) cycloaddition reaction is described for the practical synthesis of substituted pyridines. Starting from readily available enamines and enal/ynal/enone substrates, the protocol affords tri- or tetrasubstituted pyridine scaffolds bearing various functional groups. This method was demonstrated on a 50 g scale, enabling the synthesis of 2-isopropyl-4-methylpyridin-3-amine, a raw material used for the manufacture of sotorasib. Mechanistic analysis using two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry revealed the transformation proceeds through the reversible formation of a stable reaction off-cycle species that precedes pyridine formation. In situ reaction progress kinetic analysis and control NMR studies were employed to better understand the role of FeCl3 and pyrrolidine hydrochloride in promoting the reaction.

Transcriptome of miRNA during inhibition of Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus by geldanamycin in BmN cells.

Bombyx mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus (BmNPV) is one of several viruses that cause great harm to the sericulture industry, and its pathogenic mechanism is still being explored. Geldanamycin (GA), a kind of HSP90 inhibitor, has been verified to suppress BmNPV proliferation. However, the molecular mechanism by which GA inhibits BmNPV is unclear. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been shown to play a key role in regulating virus proliferation and host-pathogen interactions. In this study, BmN cells infected with BmNPV were treated by GA and DMSO for 72 h, respectively, then transcriptome analysis of miRNA was performed from the GA group and the control group. As a result, a total of 29 miRNAs were differentially expressed (DE), with 13 upregulated and 16 downregulated. Using bioinformatics analysis, it was found that the target genes of DEmiRNAs were involved in ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis, phagosome, proteasome, endocytosis pathways, and so on. Six DEmiRNAs were verified by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. DElong noncoding RNA (DElncRNA)-DEmiRNA-messenger RNA (mRNA) regulatory networks involved in apoptosis and immune pathways were constructed in GA-treated BmN cells, which included 12 DEmiRNA, 132 DElncRNA, and 69 mRNAs. This regulatory network enriched the functional role of miRNA in the BmNPV-silkworm interactions and improved our understanding of the molecular mechanism of HSP90 inhibitors on BmNPV proliferation.

Enhanced oxidative stress mediates pathological autophagy and necroptosis in cardiac myocytes in pressure overload induced heart failure in rats.

In cardiac myocytes in vitro, hydrogen peroxide induces autophagic cell death and necroptosis. Oxidative stress, myocyte autophagy and necroptosis coexist in heart failure (HF). In this study, we tested the hypothesis that excessive oxidative stress mediates pathological autophagy and necroptosis in myocytes in pressure overload-induced HF. HF was produced by chronic pressure overload induced by abdominal aortic constriction (AAC) in rats. Rats with AAC or sham operation were randomised to orally receive an antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) or placebo for 4 weeks. Echocardiography was performed for the assessments of left ventricular (LV) structure and function. AAC rats exhibited decreased LV fractional shortening (FS) at 4 weeks after surgery. NAC treatment attenuated decreased LV FS in AAC rats. In AAC rats, myocardial level of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine assessed by immunohistochemical staining, indicative of oxidative stress, was increased, LC3 II protein, a marker of autophagy, Beclin1 protein and Atg4b, Atg5, Atg7 and Atg12 mRNA expression were markedly increased, RIP1, RIP3 and MLKL expression, indicative of necroptosis, was increased, and all of the alterations in AAC rats were prevented by the NAC treatment. NAC treatment also attenuated myocyte cross-sectional area and myocardial fibrosis in AAC rats. In conclusion, NAC treatment prevented the increases in oxidative stress, myocyte autophagy and necroptosis and the decrease in LV systolic function in pressure overload-induced HF. These findings suggest that enhanced oxidative stress mediates pathological autophagy and necroptosis in myocytes, leading to LV systolic dysfunction, and antioxidants may be of value to prevent HF through the inhibition of excessive autophagy and necroptosis.

The blood monocyte to high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR) is a possible marker of carotid artery plaque.

BACKGROUND: MHR is the ratio of monocyte to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). It has been reported that MHR changes are associated with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Carotid plaque is a common vascular lesion of the carotid artery and is a manifestation of atherogenesis. This study investigated the relationships between the MHR and the incidence of carotid plaques. METHODS: The data of 3848 physical examiners were analyzed for retrospective analysis, which included 1428 patients with noncarotid plaque, 1133 patients with single carotid plaque, and 1287 patients with bilateral or multiple carotid plaques. Statistical analysis was performed on SPSS 22.0 0 software and statistical software R and its GAM package. RESULTS: The difference was statistically significant in the levels of MHR, body mass index (BMI), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), blood lipids (HDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (Tg)), blood glucose (Glu), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), renal function (urea, creatinine (Crea)), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and uric acid (Ua) in the carotid plaque groups (P < 0.001, respectively). There was no significant difference between the sex (P = 0.635) and age (P = 0.063) in the different groups. MHR levels were positively correlated with BMI (r = 0.364, P < 0.001), hs-CRP (r = 0.320, P < 0.001), Tg (r = 0.417, P < 0.001), Crea (r = 0.323, P < 0.001), eGFR (r = - 0.248, P < 0.001), Ua (r = 0.383, P < 0.001) and HbA1c (r = 0.197, P < 0.001). Levels of TC, Glu, and urea were slightly correlated with the MHR level (r = - 0.150, P < 0.001; r = 0.187, P < 0.001; r = 0.137, P < 0.001, respectively). The MHR level increased with elevated severity of carotid plaque in subjects without hypertension or diabetes (P < 0.001). In adjusted models, with the rise of MHR level, the probability of occurrence of carotid plaque had a 1.871-fold (95% CI: 1.015-3.450, P = 0.045) increase; the probability of multiple occurrences of carotid plaques had a 2.896-fold (95% CI: 1.415-5.928, P < 0.001) increase. The GAM curve showed a nonlinear correlation between the normalized MHR and the probability of carotid plaque occurrence. CONCLUSIONS: MHR could be used as a possible marker for plaque formation and severity.

Comprehensive design analysis and verification of space-based short-wave infrared coded spectrometer via curved prism dispersion.

The spaceborne dispersive spectrometer is widely used in environmental, resource, and ocean observations. The coded spectrometer has higher energy advantages than the dispersion spectrometer, so it has great application prospects. In the current study, we developed an off-axis short-wave infrared coded optical system (SICOS) based on curved prism dispersion, and we further explored the design and optimization of the SICOS structure. Finite element analyses of a space-based short-wave infrared coded spectrometer based on curved prism dispersion (SSICS-CPD), including static simulation, modal analysis, sinusoidal vibration mechanical analysis, and random vibration mechanical analysis, were carried out. Simulation results showed that the SICOS support structure had excellent mechanical and thermal stability. As off-axis optical systems cannot meet the requirements of optical position accuracy through centering processing, a point source microscope and three-coordinate measuring machines were employed to complete the high-precision and rapid assembly of the SSICS-CPD. In addition, verification tests of surface shape error, stress relief, random vibration, and optical design parameters were carried out to validate the high stability and imaging performance of the SSICS-CPD. Results showed that the average modulation transfer function in the full field was 0.43 at 16.67 lp/mm, the spectral smile was <0.2 pixels, and the spectral keystone was <0.1 pixels. The design, analysis, assembly, and verification of the SSICS-CPD provide a useful reference for the development of other spaceborne prism dispersion spectrometers.

Carbonyl umpolung as an organometallic reagent surrogate.

Construction of new carbon-carbon bonds is the cornerstone of organic chemistry. Organometallic reagents are amongst the most robust and versatile nucleophiles for this purpose. Polarization of the metal-carbon bonds in these reagents facilitates their reactions with a vast array of electrophiles to achieve chemical diversification. The dependence on stoichiometric quantities of metals and often organic halides as feedstock precursors, which in turn produces copious amounts of metal halide waste, is the key limitation of the classical organometallic reactions. Inspired by the classical Wolff-Kishner reduction converting carbonyl groups in aldehydes or ketones into methylene derivatives, our group has recently developed strategies to couple various alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones with a broad range of both hard and soft carbon electrophiles in the presence of catalytic amounts of transition metals, via the hydrazone derivatives: i.e., as organometallic reagent surrogates. This Tutorial Review describes the chronological development of this concept in our research group, detailing its creation in the context of a deoxygenation reaction and evolution to a more general carbon-carbon bond-forming strategy. The latter is demonstrated by the employment of carbonyl-derived alkyl carbanions in various transition-metal catalyzed chemical transformations, including 1,2-carbonyl/imine addition, conjugate addition, carboxylation, olefination, cross-coupling, allylation, alkylation and hydroalkylation.

Cyclosporine A blocks autophagic flux in tubular epithelial cells by impairing TFEB-mediated lysosomal function.

Cyclosporine A (CsA) is an immunosuppressor widely used for the prevention of acute rejection during solid organ transplantation. However, severe nephrotoxicity has substantially limited its long-term usage. Recently, an impaired autophagy pathway was suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of chronic CsA nephrotoxicity. However, the underlying mechanisms of CsA-induced autophagy blockade in tubular cells remain unclear. In the present study, we observed that CsA suppressed the activation and expression of transcription factor EB (TFEB) by increasing the activation of mTOR, in turn promoting lysosomal dysfunction and autophagy flux blockade in tubular epithelial cells (TECs) in vivo and in vitro. Restoration of TFEB activation by Torin1-mediated mTOR inhibition significantly improved lysosomal function and rescued autophagy pathway activity, suppressing TEC injury. In summary, targeting TFEB-mediated autophagy flux represents a potential therapeutic strategy for CsA-induced nephrotoxicity.

Initiation of efficient C4 pathway in response to low ambient CO2 during the bloom period of a marine dinoflagellate.

Dinoflagellates are important primary producers and major causative agents of harmful algal blooms in the global ocean. Despite the great ecological significance, the photosynthetic carbon acquisition by dinoflagellates is still poorly understood. The pathways of photosynthetic carbon assimilation in a marine dinoflagellate Prorocentrum donghaiense under both in situ and laboratory-simulated bloom conditions were investigated using a combination of metaproteomics, qPCR, stable carbon isotope and targeted metabolomics approaches. A rapid consumption of dissolved CO2 to generate high biomass was observed as the bloom proceeded. The carbon assimilation genes and proteins including intracellular carbonic anhydrase 2, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and RubisCO as well as their enzyme activities were all highly expressed at the low CO2 level, indicating that C4 photosynthetic pathway functioned in the blooming P. donghaiense cells. Furthermore, δ13 C values and content of C4 compound (malate) significantly increased with the decreasing CO2 concentration. The transition from C3 to C4 pathway minimizes the internal CO2 leakage and guarantees efficient carbon fixation at the low CO2 level. This study demonstrates the existence of C4 photosynthetic pathway in a marine dinoflagellate and reveals its important complementary role to assist carbon assimilation for cell proliferation during the bloom period.

Optimal Nutrition Formulas for Patients Undergoing Surgery for Colorectal Cancer: A Bayesian Network Analysis.

Optimal nutrition formulas for colorectal cancer patients underwent surgery remains uncertainty. We constructed an indirect comparison study to assess comparative efficacy of different immunonutrition formulas and standard nutrition in colorectal cancer patients underwent surgery. PubMed, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, ClinicalTrials.gov and Web of Science databases were searched to identify RCTs that compared immunonutrition with standard nutrition or different immunonutrition formulas. Data on length of hospital stays (LOS), infectious complications (IC), noninfectious complications (NIC) and anastomotic leakage (AL) were extracted from the included RCTs for Bayesian network analysis using a random-effect model. Twelve articles that included 1032 individuals were incorporated into this study. The indirect comparison confirmed the potential improvement of arginine-based immunonutrition on IC (odds ratios [OR] = 0.43, 95%confidence interval [CI]: 0.17 to 0.95), glutamine on NIC (OR = 0.07 CI: 0.00 to 0.78) and LOS (MD=-3.91 CI: -6.33 to -1.69) and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on LOS (OR=-3.49 CI: -5.46 to -1.00). Results indicated that glutamine had the highest probability of reducing complications and hospital stays. As for colorectal cancer patients underwent surgery, this indirect comparison suggested some superiority of glutamine. Future more RCTs with larger scale are required to provide evidence for the optimal immunonutrition formulas.

Survival analysis of stage II gastric cancer patients after D2 gastrectomy: a Chinese people-based research.

OBJECTIVE: The benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy is still controversial for stage II gastric cancer patients. This study aims to identify prognostic factors to guide individualized treatment for stage II gastric cancer patients. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 1121 stage II gastric cancer patients who underwent D2 radical gastrectomy from 2007 to 2017 in the Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, FuJian Medical School Affiliated Union Hospital and Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center. Propensity score matching was used to ensure that the baseline data were balanced between the adjuvant chemotherapy group and surgery-only group. Kaplan-Meier survival and multivariate Cox regression analyses were carried out to identify independent prognostic factors. RESULTS: In univariate analysis, after propensity score matching, age, tumor location, tumor size, CEA, T stage and N stage were associated with overall survival (OS). Multivariate analysis illustrated that age ≥ 60 years old, linitis plastica and T4 were independent risk factors for OS, but lower location and adjuvant chemotherapy were protective factors. CONCLUSION: Stage II gastric cancer patients with adverse prognostic factors (age ≥ 60, linitis plastica and T4) have poor prognosis. Adjuvant chemotherapy may be more beneficial for these patients.