Application of emerging technologies in ischemic stroke: from clinical study to basic research.

Stroke is a primary cause of noncommunicable disease-related death and disability worldwide. The most common form, ischemic stroke, is increasing in incidence resulting in a significant burden on patients and society. Urgent action is thus needed to address preventable risk factors and improve treatment methods. This review examines emerging technologies used in the management of ischemic stroke, including neuroimaging, regenerative medicine, biology, and nanomedicine, highlighting their benefits, clinical applications, and limitations. Additionally, we suggest strategies for technological development for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of ischemic stroke.

Pollution characteristics, source apportionment, and health risk assessment of PM10 and PM2.5 in rooftop and kerbside environment of Lanzhou, NW China.

To investigate air pollution in the kerbside environment and its associated human health risks, a study was conducted in Lanzhou during December 2018, as well as in April, June, and September 2019. The research aimed to characterize the composition of PM10 and PM2.5, including elements, ions, and carbonaceous components, at both rooftop and kerbside locations. Additionally, source apportionment and health risk assessment were conducted. The results showed that the average mass concentrations of PM10 on the rooftop were 176.01 ± 83.23 µg/m3, and for PM2.5, it was 94.07 ± 64.89 µg/m3. The PM10 and PM2.5 levels at the kerbside are 2.21 times and 1.79 times, respectively, greater than those on the rooftop. Moreover, the concentrations of elements, ions, and carbonaceous components in kerbside PM were higher than those at the rooftop location. Chemical mass closure analysis identified various sources, including organic matter, mineral dust, secondary ions, other ions, elements, and other components. In comparison to rooftop particulate matter (PM), mineral dust makes a more substantial contribution to kerbside PM. Secondary ions show an opposite trend, making a greater contribution to rooftop PM. The contribution of organic components within PM of the same particle size remains relatively consistent. The outcome of the health risk assessment indicates that Co, Cd, and As in PM within the kerbside and rooftop environments do not pose a notable carcinogenic risk. However, Al and Mn do present specific non-carcinogenic risks, particularly in the kerbside environment. Furthermore, children experience elevated non-carcinogenic risk compared to adults. These findings can serve as a scientific foundation for formulating policies within the local health department.

Turning waste into treasure: A new direction for low-cost production of lipid chemicals from Thraustochytrids.

Thraustochytrids are marine microorganisms known for their fast growth and ability to store lipids, making them useful for producing polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), biodiesel, squalene, and carotenoids. However, the high cost of production, mainly due to expensive fermentation components, limits their wider use. A significant challenge in this context is the need to balance production costs with the value of the end products. This review focuses on integrating the efficient utilization of waste with Thraustochytrids fermentation, including the economic substitution of carbon sources, nitrogen sources, and fermentation water. This approach aligns with the 3Rs principles (reduction, recycling, and reuse). Furthermore, it emphasizes the role of Thraustochytrids in converting waste into lipid chemicals and promoting sustainable circular production models. The aim of this review is to emphasize the value of Thraustochytrids in converting waste into treasure, providing precise cost reduction strategies for future commercial production.

Rapid and Non-Invasive Assessment of Texture Profile Analysis of Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) Using Hyperspectral Imaging and Machine Learning.

Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) has been applied to assess the texture profile analysis (TPA) of processed meat. However, whether the texture profiles of live fish muscle could be assessed using HSI has not been determined. In this study, we evaluated the texture profile of four muscle regions of live common carp by scanning the corresponding skin regions using HSI. We collected skin hyperspectral information from four regions of 387 scaled and live common carp. Eight texture indicators of the muscle corresponding to each skin region were measured. With the skin HSI of live common carp, six machine learning (ML) models were used to predict the muscle texture indicators. Backpropagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN), partial least-square regression (PLSR), and least-square support vector machine (LS-SVM) were identified as the optimal models for predicting the texture parameters of the dorsal (coefficients of determination for prediction (rp) ranged from 0.9191 to 0.9847, and the root-mean-square error for prediction ranged from 0.1070 to 0.3165), pectoral (rp ranged from 0.9033 to 0.9574, and RMSEP ranged from 0.2285 to 0.3930), abdominal (rp ranged from 0.9070 to 0.9776, and RMSEP ranged from 0.1649 to 0.3601), and gluteal (rp ranged from 0.8726 to 0.9768, and RMSEP ranged from 0.1804 to 0.3938) regions. The optimal ML models and skin HSI data were employed to generate visual prediction maps of TPA values in common carp muscles. These results demonstrated that skin HSI and the optimal models can be used to rapidly and accurately determine the texture qualities of different muscle regions in common carp.

Cost-effective production of alginate oligosaccharides from Laminaria japonica roots by Pseudoalteromonas agarivorans A3.

BACKGROUND: Alginate oligosaccharides (AOs) are the degradation products of alginate, a natural polysaccharide abundant in brown algae. AOs generated by enzymatic hydrolysis have diverse bioactivities and show broad application potentials. AOs production via enzymolysis is now generally with sodium alginate as the raw material, which is chemically extracted from brown algae. In contrast, AOs production by direct degradation of brown algae is more advantageous on account of its cost reduction and is more eco-friendly. However, there have been only a few attempts reported in AOs production from direct degradation of brown algae. RESULTS: In this study, an efficient Laminaria japonica-decomposing strain Pseudoalteromonas agarivorans A3 was screened. Based on the secretome and mass spectrum analyses, strain A3 showed the potential as a cell factory for AOs production by secreting alginate lyases to directly degrade L. japonica. By using the L. japonica roots, which are normally discarded in the food industry, as the raw material for both fermentation and enzymatic hydrolysis, AOs were produced by the fermentation broth supernatant of strain A3 after optimization of the alginate lyase production and hydrolysis parameters. The generated AOs mainly ranged from dimers to tetramers, among which trimers and tetramers were predominant. The degradation efficiency of the roots reached 54.58%, the AOs production was 33.11%, and the AOs purity was 85.03%. CONCLUSION: An efficient, cost-effective and green process for AOs production directly from the underutilized L. japonica roots by using strain A3 was set up, which differed from the reported processes in terms of the substrate and strain used for fermentation and the AOs composition. This study provides a promising platform for scalable production of AOs, which may have application potentials in industry and agriculture.

Association between internal migration experience and depressive symptoms: analysis of PSID data.

BACKGROUND: Depression is on the rise globally. Additionally, the United States has a high level of population mobility. The main aim of this study was to provide a reference for improving the mental health of internal migrants by investigating the relationship between internal migration experience and depressive symptoms. METHODS: We analysed data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). We included PSID data from the 2005 to 2019 waves in which all respondents were asked about their internal migration experience and depressive symptoms. This study included 15,023 participants. T tests, chi-square tests, multiple logistic regression methods were performed and fixed effects model. RESULTS: In the sample, the prevalence of depressive symptoms was 4.42%. The risk of depression in internal migrants was 1.259 times (OR = 1.259, 95% CI = (1.025-1.547, p < 0.05) that of nonmigrants. Internal migration experience was significantly positively associated with female depressive episodes (OR = 1.312, 95% CI = 1.010-1.704, p < 0.05) and increased risk of becoming depressed at a young age (OR = 1.304, 95% CI = 1.010-1.684, p < 0.05). The association between internal migration experience and depressive symptoms was more significant for participants who might move (OR = 1.459, 95% CI = 1.094-1.947, p < 0.05). In addition, different internal migratory causes are associated with depressive symptoms to varying degrees. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight the need for greater policy attention to mental health inequalities between Internal migrants and those who never move away from their hometown in the United States. Our study provides a foundation for further research.

Preoperative Radiotherapy Decision-Tree for Rectal Cancer Patients: A Real-World Analysis Based on the Swedish Colorectal Cancer Registry.

BACKGROUND: There are 3 widely used preoperative radiotherapy (RT) procedures in rectal cancer treatment including long-course RT (LRT), short-course RT with delayed surgery (SRTW), and short-course RT with immediate surgery (SRT). However, further evidence is required to determine which treatment option results in more optimal patient survival. METHODS: This Swedish Colorectal Cancer Registry-based retrospective study of real-world data included 7766 stage I-III rectal cancer patients, of which 2982, 1089, 763, and 2932 patients received no RT (NRT), LRT, SRTW, and SRT, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve and Cox proportional hazard multivariate model were used to identify potential risk factors and to examine the independent association of RT with patient survival after adjusting for baseline confounding factors. RESULTS: RT effects on survival differed by age and clinical T stage (cT) subgroups. Subsequent survival analysis by age and cT subgroups confirmed that patients ≥70 years old with cT4 benefited from any RT (P < .001, NRT as reference) and equally from any RT (P > .05 pairwise between RTs). In contrast, for cT3 patients ≥70 years, SRT and LRT were associated with better survival than SRTW (P < .001). In patients <70 years, LRT and SRTW had superior survival benefits in cT4 patients but inferior to SRT (P < .001); SRT was the only effective treatment in the cT3N+ subgroup (P = .032); patients with cT3N0 and <70 years did not benefit from any RT. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that preoperative RT strategies may have varying effects on the survival of rectal cancer patients, depending on their age and clinical stage.

Economical downstream processing of microbial polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are important nutrients for humans and animals. Microorganisms, such as yeast, filamentous fungi, and microalgae, have successfully been modified to produce PUFAs. Apart from strain improvement and fermentation optimization, efficient and cost-effective downstream processing will determine whether production can advance from the laboratory to the factory.

[Reflections on supervision strategies of new Tibetan drug registration].

Tibetan medicine is an essential part of Chinese medicine and has unique theoretical experience and therapeutic advantages. According to the development principle of inheriting the essence, sticking to the truth, and keeping innovative, the supervision department should give clear and reasonable guidance considering the characteristics of Tibetan medicine, establish a standard system for quality control, clinical verification and evaluation, and accelerate the research and commercialization of new drugs. In view of the needs of drug supply-side reform and the current situation of Tibetan medicine and new pharmaceutical research, we ponder and provide suggestions on the confusion faced by the current supervision of Tibetan drug registration, hoping to contribute to the supervision strategy of Tibetan drug registration and the high-quality development of Tibetan medicine industry.

[Ecological Risk Assessment of Microplastics Occurring in Surface Water of Terrestrial Water Systems across China].

To assess the ecological risk of microplastics (MPs) occurring in the surface water of terrestrial water systems across China, this study obtained relevant literature and data by searching keywords including microplastics, urban, and river on websites such as Science Direct and Web of Science. We constructed an evaluation method of ecological risk characterization ratio (RCR) based on chemical hazard data, as well as data of MPs abundance and polymer proportion originating in studies from 2017 to 2021 that covered 33 water bodies in 15 provinces. The results showed that the average abundance of MPs in natural water bodies in China reached (3604.2±5926.4) n·m-3, and the average abundance of MPs in urban water bodies was (7722.6±9505.7) n·m-3. The corresponding average RCR of natural water bodies was 22.09±45.2, and the average RCR of urban water bodies was 15.67±34.8. Therefore, according to the value of RCR, the ecological risk could be rated as four levels. Of these, no significant risk (RCR ≤ 1) was found in 17 water bodies, accounting for 42.5%; low ecological risks (RCR 1-10) were found in 12 water bodies (30%); medium ecological risks (RCR 10-100) were found in 9 water bodies (22.5%); and high ecological risks (RCR>100) were found in 2 water bodies (5%). Data analysis showed a significant correlation between MPs abundance and RCR values in natural water bodies (R2=0.875, P<0.01), though not in urban water bodies. This suggested that the high abundance of MPs could not precisely indicate a high degree of ecological risk in the area. In addition, RCR values were observed to be positively correlated with the watershed area (R2=0.864, P<0.01), and MPs abundance was correlated with GDP (R2=0.679, P<0.05) and watershed resident population (R2=0.922, P<0.05). This study provides baseline data for evaluating the ecological risk of MPs and a feasible method for evaluating the ecological risk of MPs in surface water of terrestrial water systems.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the assessment of Crohn's disease activity: comparison with computed tomography enterography.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Continuous assessment of disease activity remains a huge challenge during the follow-ups of patients with Crohn's disease (CD). In this paper, we aimed to evaluate the performance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) by comparing with computed tomography enterography (CTE) in the assessment of disease activity in CD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-two patients diagnosed with CD were included in this study, using the CEUS and CTE as imaging methods for comparison. The selected parameters included the location and thickness of the thickest part of the intestinal wall, mesenteric fat proliferation, mesenteric vessels change, enhancement pattern and the presence of complications. Patients were clinically assessed using the Crohn's disease activity index (CDAI), C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Simple endoscopic score for Crohn's disease (SES-CD) was regarded as the reference standard. RESULTS: The location of the thickest part of the intestinal wall (κ = 0.653), bowel wall thickness (ICC = 0.795), mesenteric vessels change (κ = 0.692) and complications (κ = 0.796) displayed substantial agreement (0.61-0.80) between CEUS and CTE, while the detection of mesenteric fat proliferation (κ = 0.395) and enhancement pattern (κ = 0.288) showed fair consistency (0.21-0.40) for comparison. In CEUS, bowel wall thickness, mesenteric fat proliferation, enhancement pattern and mesenteric vessels change were statistically significant in assessing CD activity, while bowel wall thickness, mesenteric fat proliferation and mesenteric vessels change in CTE. Bowel wall thickness showed the best diagnostic performance in the assessment of CD activity at CEUS and CTE. CONCLUSION: CEUS provides a radiation-free and effective way to assess the CD activity in comparison with CTE, which also avoids frequent colonoscopy examinations, improves tolerance of patients, and reduces the cost of medical care, thereby serving as a useful tool for CD follow-up.

Assessment of meat quality distributions of breast fillets with woody breast condition in the raw and cooked state.

The objective of this study was to determine meat quality distributions and assess hardness distributions in raw and cooked breast fillets with the woody breast (WB) condition, in addition to evaluating the relationship between water properties and WB severity. A total of 90 breast fillets were collected and categorized as normal (NORM), mild (MILD) and severe (SEV). Breast weight, drip loss, compression measurements, cook loss, shear and texture profile analysis (TPA) values were measured for each sample by fillet location (cranial to caudal) and sampling depth (cranial-superficial, cranial-internal, middle-superficial, and middle-internal) in the raw and cooked meat state. Low-field NMR relaxation measurements were also collected for both the raw and cooked fillets. Results indicate that severe WB expressed increased hardness, a higher water content (bound water and free water) and reduced meat quality attributes in raw and cooked meat. Breast fillet hardness and meat quality distributions were unevenly distributed between fillets, compression measurements were higher mainly in the cranial region, and progressively decreased toward the caudal region for both raw and cooked fillets. Shear force and energy values were higher in the cranial region than in the middle region, and TPA values were higher in superficial regions rather than internal portions. Additionally, low-field NMR could be used to predict WB through variation in water properties as thermal processing reduces water distributing abilities in affected fillets.

The clinical efficiency of transcriptome-based endometrial receptivity assessment (Tb-ERA) in Chinese patients with recurrent implantation failure (RIF): A study protocol for a prospective randomized controlled trial.

Background: Today, approximately 10% of participants in assisted reproductive technology (ART) are defined as having recurrent implantation failure (RIF). Recent studies show that endometrial receptivity array can improve pregnancy and implantation rates by nearly 20% in women with RIF. However, these studies are limited, with little published data in the Chinese population. Recently, we have established a transcriptome-based endometrial receptivity assessment (Tb-ERA) method of predicting the endometrial window of implantation (WOI) using transcriptome-profiling data of different phases of the menstrual cycle from healthy fertile Chinese women by RNA-Seq. It is meaningful to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to assess the clinical efficiency of Tb-ERA in Chinese patients with RIF. Methods: In this RCT, a total of 200 RIF patients will be recruited and randomized into 2 groups. Patients in the Tb-ERA group will undergo a Tb-ERA test, after which embryo transfer time will be adjusted according to Tb-ERA results and embryo transfer will be performed again in the next cycle. Patients in the control group will not receive any interventions until the next transfer cycle. We will perform statistical analysis on both groups at the primary endpoint (clinical-pregnancy rate) and at secondary endpoints (rate of WOI displacement, embryo implantation, biochemical pregnancy, early abortion, and ectopic pregnancy). Implications: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of our Tb-ERA test in Chinese RIF patients and to determine that whether Tb-ERA could improve the clinical-pregnancy rate in these RIF patients. Trial registration: NCT04497558, registered August 4, 2020.

Personality Assessment Based on Multimodal Attention Network Learning With Category-Based Mean Square Error.

Personality analysis is widely used in occupational aptitude tests and entrance psychological tests. However, answering hundreds of questions at once seems to be a burden. Inspired by personality psychology, we propose a multimodal attention network with Category-based mean square error (CBMSE) for personality assessment. With this method, we can obtain information about one's behaviour from his or her daily videos, including his or her gaze distribution, speech features, and facial expression changes, to accurately determine personality traits. In particular, we propose a new approach to implementing an attention mechanism based on the facial Region of No Interest (RoNI), which can achieve higher accuracy and reduce the number of network parameters. Simultaneously, we use CBMSE, a loss function with a higher penalty for the fuzzy boundary in personality assessment, to help the network distinguish boundary data. After effective data fusion, this method achieves an average prediction accuracy of 92.07%, which is higher than any other state-of-the-art model on the dataset of the ChaLearn Looking at People challenge in association with ECCV 2016.

The prediction of fluctuation in the order-driven financial market.

Risk prediction is one of the important issues that draws much attention from academia and industry. And the fluctuation-absolute value of the change of price, is one of the indexes of risk. In this paper, we focus on the relationship between fluctuation and order volume. Based on the observation that the price would move when the volume of order changes, the prediction of price fluctuation can be converted into the prediction of order volume. Modelling the trader's behaviours-order placement and order cancellation, we propose an order-based fluctuation prediction model. And our model outperforms better than baseline in OKCoin and BTC-e datasets.

From Cellular Infiltration Assessment to a Functional Gene Set-Based Prognostic Model for Breast Cancer.

Background: Cancer heterogeneity is a major challenge in clinical practice, and to some extent, the varying combinations of different cell types and their cross-talk with tumor cells that modulate the tumor microenvironment (TME) are thought to be responsible. Despite recent methodological advances in cancer, a reliable and robust model that could effectively investigate heterogeneity with direct prognostic/diagnostic clinical application remained elusive. Results: To investigate cancer heterogeneity, we took advantage of single-cell transcriptome data and constructed the first indication- and cell type-specific reference gene expression profile (RGEP) for breast cancer (BC) that can accurately predict the cellular infiltration. By utilizing the BC-specific RGEP combined with a proven deconvolution model (LinDeconSeq), we were able to determine the intrinsic gene expression of 15 cell types in BC tissues. Besides identifying significant differences in cellular proportions between molecular subtypes, we also evaluated the varying degree of immune cell infiltration (basal-like subtype: highest; Her2 subtype: lowest) across all available TCGA-BRCA cohorts. By converting the cellular proportions into functional gene sets, we further developed a 24 functional gene set-based prognostic model that can effectively discriminate the overall survival (P = 5.9 × 10-33, n = 1091, TCGA-BRCA cohort) and therapeutic response (chemotherapy and immunotherapy) (P = 6.5 × 10-3, n = 348, IMvigor210 cohort) in the tumor patients. Conclusions: Herein, we have developed a highly reliable BC-RGEP that adequately annotates different cell types and estimates the cellular infiltration. Of importance, the functional gene set-based prognostic model that we have introduced here showed a great ability to screen patients based on their therapeutic response. On a broader perspective, we provide a perspective to generate similar models in other cancer types to identify shared factors that drives cancer heterogeneity.

Medical expenditure for lung cancer in China: a multicenter, hospital-based retrospective survey.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the most prevalent cancer, and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in China. The aim of this study was to estimate the direct medical expenditure incurred for lung cancer care and analyze the trend therein for the period 2002-2011 using nationally representative data in China METHODS: This study was based on 10-year, multicenter retrospective expenditure data collected from hospital records, covering 15,437 lung cancer patients from 13 provinces diagnosed during the period 2002-2011. All expenditure data were adjusted to 2011 to eliminate the effects of inflation using China's annual consumer price index. RESULTS: The direct medical expenditure for lung cancer care (in 2011) was 39,015 CNY (US$6,041) per case, with an annual growth rate of 7.55% from 2002 to 2011. Drug costs were the highest proportionally in the total medical expenditure (54.27%), followed by treatment expenditure (14.32%) and surgical expenditure (8.10%). Medical expenditures for the disease varied based on region, hospital level, type, and stage. CONCLUSION: The medical expenditure for lung cancer care is substantial in China. Drug costs and laboratory test are the main factors increasing medical costs.

Icaritin Attenuates Lipid Accumulation by Increasing Energy Expenditure and Autophagy Regulated by Phosphorylating AMPK.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Lipid accumulation is the major characteristic of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the prevalence of which continues to rise. We aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of icaritin on lipid accumulation. METHODS: Cells were treated with icaritin at 0.7, 2.2, 6.7, or 20 µM for 24 h. The effects on lipid accumulation in L02 and Huh-7 cells were detected by Bodipy and oil red O staining, respectively. Mitochondria biogenesis of L02 cells was detected by MitoTracker Orange staining. Glucose uptake and adenosine triphosphate content of 3T3-L1 adipocytes and C2C12 myotubes were detected. The expression levels of proteins in the adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling pathway, biomarkers of autophagy, and mitochondria biogenesis were measured by western blotting. LC3 puncta were detected by immunofluorescence. RESULTS: Icaritin significantly attenuated lipid accumulation in L02 and Huh-7 cells and boosted the mitochondria biogenesis of L02 cells. Icaritin enhanced glucose uptake, decreased adenosine triphosphate content, and activated the AMPK signaling pathway in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and C2C12 myotubes. Icaritin boosted autophagy and also enhanced the initiation of autophagic flux in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and C2C12 myoblasts. However, icaritin decreased autophagy and promoted mitochondria biogenesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and C2C12 myotubes. CONCLUSIONS: Icaritin attenuates lipid accumulation by increasing energy expenditure and regulating autophagy by activating the AMPK pathway.

Naringenin Attenuates Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease by Enhancing Energy Expenditure and Regulating Autophagy via AMPK.

Background: The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) keeps growing recently. Purpose: To investigate the effects and mechanisms of naringenin (NAR) on NAFLD. Methods: High-fat diet (HFD)-induced NAFLD rats were orally administered with NAR at 10, 30, and 90 mg/kg for 2 weeks. The serum level of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (AST), and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (ALT) was measured. The hepatic histology was detected by H&E and oil red O staining. L02 and Huh-7 cells were induced by sodium oleate to establish a NAFLD cell model. The effects of NAR on lipid accumulation were detected by oil red O staining. The glucose uptake and ATP content of 3T3-L1 adipocytes and C2C12 myotubes were measured. The expression of proteins of the AMPK signaling pathway in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and C2C12 myotubes was assessed by Western blotting. The mitochondrial biogenesis of 3T3-L1 adipocytes and C2C12 myotubes was measured by mitotracker orange staining and Western blotting. The biomarkers of autophagy were detected by Western blotting and immunofluorescence. The binding of NAR to AMPKγ1 was analyzed by molecular docking. Chloroquine and compound C were employed to block autophagic flux and AMPK, respectively. Results: NAR alleviated HFD-induced NAFLD in rats at 10, 30, and 90 mg/kg. NAR attenuated lipid accumulation in L02 and Huh-7 cells at 0.7, 2.2, 6.7, and 20 µM. NAR increased glucose uptake, decreased the ATP content, activated the CaMKKß/AMPK/ACC pathway, and enhanced the mitochondrial biogenesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and C2C12 myotubes. NAR increased autophagy and promoted the initiation of autophagic flux in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and C2C12 myoblasts, while it inhibited autophagy in NAFLD rats, 3T3-L1 adipocytes, and C2C12 myotubes. Molecular docking showed that NAR binds to AMPKγ1. Compound C blocked effects of NAR on lipid accumulation and autophagy in L02 cells. Conclusion: NAR alleviates NAFLD by increasing energy expenditure and regulating autophagy via activating AMPK directly and indirectly. The direct binding of NAR and AMPKγ1 needs further validation.

Intelligent prediction of RBC demand in trauma patients using decision tree methods.

BACKGROUND: The vital signs of trauma patients are complex and changeable, and the prediction of blood transfusion demand mainly depends on doctors' experience and trauma scoring system; therefore, it cannot be accurately predicted. In this study, a machine learning decision tree algorithm [classification and regression tree (CRT) and eXtreme gradient boosting (XGBoost)] was proposed for the demand prediction of traumatic blood transfusion to provide technical support for doctors. METHODS: A total of 1371 trauma patients who were diverted to the Emergency Department of the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from January 2014 to January 2018 were collected from an emergency trauma database. The vital signs, laboratory examination parameters and blood transfusion volume were used as variables, and the non-invasive parameters and all (non-invasive + invasive) parameters were used to construct an intelligent prediction model for red blood cell (RBC) demand by logistic regression (LR), CRT and XGBoost. The prediction accuracy of the model was compared with the area under the curve (AUC). RESULTS: For non-invasive parameters, the LR method was the best, with an AUC of 0.72 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.657-0.775], which was higher than the CRT (AUC 0.69, 95% CI 0.633-0.751) and the XGBoost (AUC 0.71, 95% CI 0.654-0.756, P < 0.05). The trauma location and shock index are important prediction parameters. For all the prediction parameters, XGBoost was the best, with an AUC of 0.94 (95% CI 0.893-0.981), which was higher than the LR (AUC 0.80, 95% CI 0.744-0.850) and the CRT (AUC 0.82, 95% CI 0.779-0.853, P < 0.05). Haematocrit (Hct) is an important prediction parameter. CONCLUSIONS: The classification performance of the intelligent prediction model of red blood cell transfusion in trauma patients constructed by the decision tree algorithm is not inferior to that of the traditional LR method. It can be used as a technical support to assist doctors to make rapid and accurate blood transfusion decisions in emergency rescue environment, so as to improve the success rate of patient treatment.