Horizontally Arranged Zn Platelet Deposition Regulated by Bi2O3/Bi toward High-Rate and Dendrite-Free 3D Zn Composite Anode.

Aqueous Zn-metal battery is considered as a promising energy-storage system. However, uncontrolled zinc dendrite growth is the main cause of short-circuit failure in aqueous Zn-based batteries. One of the most efficient and convenient strategies to alleviate this issue is to introduce appropriate zincophilic nucleation sites to guide zinc metal deposition and regulate crystal growth. Herein, this work proposes Bi2O3/Bi nanosheets anchored on the cell wall surface of the 3D porous conductive host as the Zn deposition sites to modulate Zn deposition behavior and hence inhibit the zinc dendrite growth. Density functional theory and experimental results demonstrate that Bi2O3 has a super zinc binding energy and strong adsorption energy with zinc (002) plane, as a super-zincophilic nucleation site, which results in the deposition of zinc preferentially along the horizontal direction of (002) crystal plane, fundamentally avoids the formation of Zn dendrites. Benefiting from the synergistic effect Bi2O3/Bi zincophilic sites and 3D porous structure in the B-BOGC host, the electrochemical performance of the constructed Zn-based battery is significantly improved. As a result, the Zn anode cycles for 1500 cycles at 50 mA cm-2 and 1.0 mAh cm-2. Meanwhile, the Zn@B-BOGC//MnO2 full cell can operate stably for 2000 cycles at 2.0 A g-1.

Extralong hot-spots sensor for SERS sensitive detection of phthalate plasticizers in biological tear and serum fluids.

Phthalate plasticizers (PAEs) illegally used in food pose a great threat to human health. A new and efficient sensing platform for the sensitive detection of the PAE residues in biological fluids needs to be designed and developed. Here, we report a simple and reliable surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) active platform with extralong hot spots of Au nanobipyramids@Ag nanorods (Au NBPs@Ag NRs) for the rapid and sensitive detection of PAEs in biological fluids. To achieve high activity, Au NBPs@Ag NRs with different shell lengths were fabricated by controlling the synthesis conditions, and the corresponding SERS properties were investigated by using crystal violet (CryV) and butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP). The experimental results showed that a longer shell length correlated to greater Raman activity, which was confirmed by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) electromagnetic simulation. More importantly, the extralong hot spots of the Au NBPs@Ag NR SERS-active substrate showed excellent homogeneity and reproducibility for the CryV probe molecules (6.21%), and the detection limit was 10-9 M for both BBP and diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP). Furthermore, through the standard addition method, an extralong hot spots SERS substrate could achieve highly sensitive detection of BBP and DEHP in serum and tears fluids, and the detection limit was as low as 3.52 × 10-8 M and 2.82 × 10-8 M. Therefore, the Au NBPs@Ag NR substrate with an extraordinarily long surface is efficient and versatile, and can potentially be used for high-efficiency sensing analysis in complex biological fluids.

Effects of potassium-mediated electrical communication inhibition on nitrogen removal in microbial fuel cells.

Potassium ion signaling mediates microbial communication in electroactive biofilms within microbial fuel cells (MFCs), but its role in nitrogen removal remains unclear. This study investigated the impact of inhibiting potassium signaling on nitrogen removal in MFCs using tetraethylammonium chloride (TEA) as an inhibitor. Results demonstrated that 5 mM and 10 mM TEA reduced the maximum power generation of MFCs from 77.95 mW/cm2 to 57.18 mW/cm2 and 48.23 mW/cm2, respectively. Correspondingly, total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency was decreased from 46.57 ± 1.01% to 35.93 ± 0.63% and 38.97 ± 0.74%, respectively. This decline was attributed to inhibited potassium ion signaling, which compromised the electrochemical performance of the MFC and hindered the nitrogen removal process. The relative abundance of exoelectrogen Geobactor decreased from 15.37% to 5.17% and 8.05%, while the relative abundance of cathodic nitrifying bacteria Nitrosomonas decreased from 17.87% to 4.92% and 3.63% under 5 mM and 10 mM TEA. These findings underscore the crucial role of potassium ion signaling in enhancing the bioelectrochemical nitrogen removal process in MFCs.

Association between vitamin D level and cataract: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: The association between serum vitamin D level and cataract remains controversial. This study aims to evaluate the association between vitamin D level and cataract. METHODS: In this study, articles in the PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases were searched up to 30 August 2023 and 626 articles were screened. Four studies involving a total of 10,928 subjects with cataract and 10,117 control subjects met the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: Decreased serum vitamin D level was associated with higher incidence of cataract (P = 0.047; MD: -4.87; 95%CI: [-9.67, -0.07]). In the subgroup analysis by sex, a significant association was found between serum vitamin D level and cataract in both male (P = 0.01, MD: -2.15,95%CI: [-3.83, -0.46]) and female (P < 0.01; MD: -6.67,95%CI: [-8.20, -5.14]).In the subgroup analysis by the types of cataract, significant association was found between serum vitamin D level and nuclear (P < 0.01; MD: -10.48; 95%CI: [-12.72, -8.24]) and posterior subcapsular cataract (P = 0.02; MD: -6.05; 95%CI: [-11.30, -0.80]) but not in cortical cataract (P = 0.14; MD: -6.74; 95%CI: [-15.70, 2.22]). CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis revealed potential association between serum vitamin D level and cataract, more significant in female, and the subtypes of nuclear and posterior subcapsular cataract.

Discovery of the Natural Bibenzyl Compound Erianin in Dendrobium Inhibiting the Growth and EMT of Gastric Cancer through Downregulating the LKB1-SIK2/3-PARD3 Pathway.

Erianin, a bibenzyl compound found in dendrobium extract, has demonstrated broad anticancer activity. However, its mechanism of action in gastric cancer (GC) remains poorly understood. LKB1 is a tumor-suppressor gene, and its mutation is an important driver of various cancers. Yet some studies have reported contradictory findings. In this study, we combined bioinformatics and in vitro and in vivo experiments to investigate the effect and potential mechanism of Erianin in the treatment of GC. The results show that LKB1 was highly expressed in patients' tumor tissues and GC cells, and it was associated with poor patient prognosis. Erianin could promote GC cell apoptosis and inhibit the scratch repair, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) characteristics. Erianin dose-dependently inhibited the expression of LKB1, SIK2, SIK3, and PARD3 but had no significant effect on SIK1. Erianin also inhibited tumor growth in CDX mice model. Unexpectedly, 5-FU also exhibited a certain inhibitory effect on LKB1. The combination of Erianin and 5-FU significantly improved the anti-tumor efficacy of 5-FU in the growth of GC cells and xenograft mouse models. In summary, Erianin is a potential anti-GC compound that can inhibit GC growth and EMT properties by targeting the LKB1-SIK2/3-PARD3-signaling axis. The synergistic effect of Erianin and 5-FU suggests a promising therapeutic strategy for GC treatment.

Comparison of Disease Severity, Anxiety and Depression in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Patients with Different Insight.

BACKGROUND: Significant individual differences exist in the insight of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and the clinical characteristics of OCD patients with varying levels of insight are not entirely uniform. This study aims to investigate disparities in disease severity, anxiety, and depression status among OCD patients with differing levels of insight, with the goal of generating novel treatment strategies for OCD. METHODS: A total of 114 patients diagnosed with OCD were recruited from the Department of Psychology at Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital to participate in this research. Based on their Total Insight and Treatment Attitude Questionnaire (ITAQ) scores, the patients were divided into two groups: Group OCD with high insight (referred to as Group OCD-HI, ITAQ score ≥20 points, n = 80) and Group OCD with low insight (referred to as Group OCD-LI, ITAQ score <20 points, n = 34). Subsequently, the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) scores were compared between the two groups. All questionnaires for this study were completed by experienced psychiatrists. RESULTS: The Y-BOCS scores for YB1, YB2, YB4, YB5, YB6, YB9, and the total Y-BOCS scores in Group OCD-HI were significantly higher than those in Group OCD-LI (p < 0.05). Conversely, Group OCD-HI exhibited significantly lower HAMA and HAMD scores compared to Group OCD-LI (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the total ITAQ score displayed a significant negative correlation with the total Y-BOCS, HAMA, and HAMD scores (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that certain OCD patients exhibit incomplete insight, and this lack of insight is strongly associated with increased disease severity and heightened levels of anxiety and depression. It is hoped that by enhancing the insight of OCD patients, the goal of ameliorating disease symptoms and alleviating negative emotions can be attained.

Anchoring Polar Organic Molecules in Defective Ammonium Vanadate for High-Performance Flexible Aqueous Zinc-Ion Battery.

Ammonium vanadate (NVO) often has unsatisfactory electrochemical performance due to the irreversible removal of NH4 + during the reaction. Herein, layered DMF-NVO nanoflake arrays (NFAs) grown on highly conductive carbon cloth (CC) are employed as the binder-free cathode (DMF-NVO NFAs/CC), which produces an enlarged interlayer spacing of 12.6 Å (against 9.5 Å for NH4 V4 O10 ) by effective N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) intercalation. Furthermore, the strong attraction of highly polar carbonyl and ammonium ions in DMF can stabilize the lattice structure, and low-polar alkyl groups can interact with the weak electrostatic generated by Zn2+ , which allows Zn2+ to be freely intercalated. The DMF-NVO NFAs/CC//Zn battery exhibits an impressive high capacity of 536 mAh g-1 at 0.5 A g-1 , excellent rate capability, and cycling performance. The results of density functional theory simulation demonstrate that the intercalation of DMF can significantly reduce the band gap and the diffusion barrier of Zn2+ , and can also accommodate more Zn2+ . The assembled flexible aqueous rechargeable zinc ion batteries (FARZIBs) exhibit outstanding energy density and power density, up to 436 Wh kg-1 at 400 W kg-1 , and still remains 180 Wh kg-1 at 4000 W kg-1 . This work can provide a reference for the design of cathode materials for high-performance FARZIBs.

Automatic prediction of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy response in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with deep learning radiomic nomogram.

OBJECTIVES: Hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) using the FOLFOX regimen (oxaliplatin plus fluorouracil and leucovorin) is a promising option for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (Ad-HCC). As identifying patients with Ad-HCC who would obtain objective response (OR) to HAIC preoperatively remains a challenge, we aimed to develop an automatic and non-invasive model for predicting HAIC response. METHODS: A total of 458 patients with Ad-HCC who underwent HAIC were retrospectively included from three hospitals (310 for training, 77 for internal validation, and 71 for external validation). The deep learning and radiomic features were extracted from the automatically segmented liver region on contrast-enhanced computed tomography images. Then, a deep learning radiomic nomogram (DLRN) was constructed by integrating deep learning scores, radiomic scores, and significant clinical variables with multivariate logistic regression. Model performance was assessed by AUC and Kaplan-Meier estimator. RESULTS: After automatic segmentation, only a few modifications were needed (less than 30 min for 458 patients). The DLRN achieved an AUC of 0.988 in the training cohort, 0.915 in the internal validation cohort, and 0.896 in the external validation cohort, respectively, outperforming other models in HAIC response prediction. Moreover, survival risk stratification was also successfully performed by the DLRN. The overall survival (OS) of the predictive OR group was significantly longer than that of the predictive non-OR group (median OS: 26.0 vs. 12.3 months, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The DLRN provided a satisfactory performance for predicting HAIC response, which is essential to identify Ad-HCC patients for HAIC and may potentially benefit personalized pre-treatment decision-making. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: This study presents an accurate and automatic method for predicting response to hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, and therefore help in defining the best candidates for this treatment. KEY POINTS: • Deep learning radiomic nomogram (DLRN) based on automatic segmentation of CECT can accurately predict hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) response of advanced HCC patients. • The proposed prediction model can perform survival risk stratification and is an easy-to-use tool for personalized pre-treatment decision-making for advanced HCC patients.

Fads2b Plays a Dominant Role in ∆6/∆5 Desaturation Activities Compared with Fads2a in Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio).

Highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs) are essential for mammalian health, development and growth. However, most mammals, including humans, are incapable of synthesizing n-6 and n-3 HUFAs. Fish can convert C18 unsaturated fatty acids into n-6 and n-3 HUFAs via fatty acid desaturase (Fads), in which Fads2 is a key enzyme in HUFA biosynthesis. The allo-tetraploid common carp theoretically encode two duplicated fads2 genes. The expression patterns and desaturase functions of these two homologous genes are still unknown. In this study, the full length of the fads2a and fads2b were identified in common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Expression analyses indicate that both genes were mainly expressed in the liver and the expression of fads2b is higher than fads2a at different developmental stages in carp embryos. Heterogenous expression and 3D docking analyses suggested that Fads2b demonstrated stronger ∆6 and ∆5 desaturase activities than Fads2a. The core promotor regions of fads2a and fads2b were characterized and found to have different potential transcriptional binding sites. These results revealed the same desaturase functions, but different activities of two homologues of fasd2 genes in common carp. The data showed that fads2b played a more important role in HUFA synthesis through both expression and functional analyses.

[Cross subject personality assessment based on electroencephalogram functional connectivity and domain adaptation].

The research shows that personality assessment can be achieved by regression model based on electroencephalogram (EEG). Most of existing researches use event-related potential or power spectral density for personality assessment, which can only represent the brain information of a single region. But some research shows that human cognition is more dependent on the interaction of brain regions. In addition, due to the distribution difference of EEG features among subjects, the trained regression model can not get accurate results of cross subject personality assessment. In order to solve the problem, this research proposes a personality assessment method based on EEG functional connectivity and domain adaption. This research collected EEG data from 45 normal people under different emotional pictures (positive, negative and neutral). Firstly, the coherence of 59 channels in 5 frequency bands was taken as the original feature set. Then the feature-based domain adaptation was used to map the feature to a new feature space. It can reduce the distribution difference between training and test set in the new feature space, so as to reduce the distribution difference between subjects. Finally, the support vector regression model was trained and tested based on the transformed feature set by leave-one-out cross-validation. What's more, this paper compared the methods used in previous researches. The results showed that the method proposed in this paper improved the performance of regression model and obtained better personality assessment results. This research provides a new method for personality assessment.

Thyroid Disease Is Associated with Higher Age-Related Macular Degeneration Risk: Results from a Meta-Analysis of Epidemiologic Studies.

BACKGROUND: Although epidemiologic studies have suggested that thyroid disease may be a risk factor for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), this finding is still controversial. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this meta-analysis was to investigate whether an association exists between thyroid disease and medication and AMD in epidemiologic studies. METHODS: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Google Scholar from their inception to March 2020 for cross-sectional, case-control, and cohort studies that assessed thyroid function and AMD risk. Data from selected studies were extracted, and a meta-analysis was performed using fixed-effects or random-effects models. The statistical heterogeneity (I2) among studies and the possibility of publication bias were evaluated. If I2 >50%, a significant heterogeneity existed among studies, and a random-effects model was used to calculate the pooled RR. Otherwise, a fixed-effects model was performed. RESULTS: A total of 13 epidemiologic studies that consisted of 7 thyroid disease and 7 thyroid medication studies were included. Statistically significant heterogeneity was observed in the study results (I2thyroid disease = 80.1%; I2thyroid medication = 69.0%). A significant positive association was found between thyroid disease and AMD, with an overall relative risk (RR) of 1.25 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.54). However, there was no statistical association between thyroid medication and AMD risk (pooled RR 1.26 [95% CI: 0.92-1.72]). Egger's test indicated that there was no significant publication bias for thyroid disease (p = 0.889) or thyroid medication (p = 0.226). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that thyroid disease is associated with higher AMD risk. Thyroid disease prevention strategies may have a significant effect on the prevention of AMD and warrant further evaluation.

Interpreting the Mechanism of Active Ingredients in Polygonati Rhizoma in Treating Depression by Combining Systemic Pharmacology and In Vitro Experiments.

Polygonati Rhizoma (PR) has certain neuroprotective effects as a homology of medicine and food. In this study, systematic pharmacology, molecular docking, and in vitro experiments were integrated to verify the antidepressant active ingredients in PR and their mechanisms. A total of seven compounds in PR were found to be associated with 45 targets of depression. Preliminarily, DFV docking with cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) showed good affinity. In vitro, DFV inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation of BV-2 cells, reversed amoeba-like morphological changes, and increased mitochondrial membrane potential. DFV reversed the malondialdehyde (MDA) overexpression and superoxide dismutase (SOD) expression inhibition in LPS-induced BV-2 cells and decreased interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and IL-6 mRNA expression levels in a dose-dependent manner. DFV inhibited both mRNA and protein expression levels of COX2 induced by LPS, and the activation of NACHT, LRR, and PYD domains-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) and caspase1 was suppressed, thus exerting an antidepressant effect. This study proves that DFV may be an important component basis for PR to play an antidepressant role.

"Magnet" Based on Activated Silver Nanoparticles Adsorbed Bacteria to Predict Refractory Apical Periodontitis Via Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering.

Refractory apical periodontitis (RAP) is an endodontic apical inflammatory disease caused by Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis). Bacterial detection using surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technology is a hot research topic, but the specific and direct detection of oral bacteria is a challenge, especially in real clinical samples. In this paper, we develop a novel SERS-based green platform for label-free detection of oral bacteria. The platform was built on silver nanoparticles with a two-step enhancement way using NaBH4 and sodium (Na+) to form "hot spots," which resulted in an enhanced SERS fingerprint of E. faecalis with fast, quantitative, lower-limit, reproducibility, and stability. In combination with machine learning, four different oral bacteria (E. faecalis, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Streptococcus mutans, and Escherichia coli) could be intelligently distinguished. The unlabeled detection method emphasized the specificity of E. faecalis in simulated saliva, serum, and even real samples from patients with clinical root periapical disease. In addition, the assay has been shown to be environmentally friendly and without secondary contamination through antimicrobial assays. The proposed label-free, rapid, safe, and green SERS detection strategy for oral bacteria provided an innovative solution for the early diagnosis and prevention of RAP and other perioral diseases.

Research progress on the pharmacological mechanism, in vivo metabolism and structural modification of Erianin.

Erianin is an important bibenzyl compound in dendrobium and has a wide spectrum of pharmacological properties. Since Erianin was discovered, abundant results have been achieved in the in vitro synthesis, structural modification, and pharmacological mechanism research. Researchers have developed a series of simple and efficient in vitro synthesis methods to improve the shortcomings of poor water solubility by replacing the chemical structure or coating it in nanomaterials. Erianin has a broad anti-tumor spectrum and significant anti-tumor effects. In addition, Erianin also has pharmacological actions like immune regulation, anti-inflammatory, and anti-angiogenesis. A comprehensive understanding of the synthesis, metabolism, structural modification, and pharmacological action pathways of Erianin is of great value for the utilization of Erianin. Therefore, this review conducts a relatively systematic look back at Erianin from the above four aspects, to give a reference for the evolvement and further appliance of Erianin.

Novel 3D morphological characteristics for congenital biliary dilatation diagnosis: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Congenital biliary dilatation (CBD) necessitates the timely removal of dilated bile ducts. Accurate differentiation between CBD and secondary biliary dilatation (SBD) is crucial for treatment decisions, and identification of CBD with intrahepatic involvement is vital for surgical planning and supportive care. This study aimed to develop quantitative models based on bile duct morphology to distinguish CBD from SBD and further identify CBD with intrahepatic involvement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The retrospective study included 131 CBD and 209 SBD patients between December 2014 and December 2021 for model development, internal validation, and testing. A separate cohort of 15 CBD and 34 SBD patients between January 2022 and December 2022 was recruited for temporally-independent validation. Quantitative shape-based (Shape) and diameter-based (Diam) morphological characteristics of bile ducts were extracted to build a CBD diagnosis model to distinguish CBD from SBD and an intrahepatic involvement identification model to classify CBD with/without intrahepatic involvement. The diagnostic performance of the models was compared with that of experienced hepatobiliary surgeons. RESULTS: The CBD diagnosis model using clinical, Shape, and Diam characteristics showed good performance with an AUROC of 0.942 (95% CI: 0.890-0.994), AUPRC of 0.917 (0.855-0.979), accuracy of 0.891, sensitivity of 0.950, and F1-score of 0.864. The model outperformed two experienced surgeons in accuracy, sensitivity, and F1-score. The intrahepatic involvement identification model using clinical, Shape, and Diam characteristics yielded outstanding performance with an AUROC of 0.944 (0.879-1.000), AUPRC of 0.982 (0.947-1.000), accuracy of 0.932, sensitivity of 0.971, and F1-score of 0.957. The models demonstrated generalizable performance on the temporally-independent validation cohort. CONCLUSIONS: This study developed two robust quantitative models for distinguishing CBD from SBD and identifying CBD with intrahepatic involvement, respectively, based on morphological characteristics of the bile ducts, showing great potential in risk stratification and surgical planning of CBD.

Immune-like sandwich multiple hotspots SERS biosensor for ultrasensitive detection of NDKA biomarker in serum.

Developing the rapid, specific, and sensitive tumor marker NDKA biosensor has become an urgent need in the field of early diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) with the advantages of high sensitivity, high resolution as well as providing sample fingerprint, enables rapid and sensitive detection of tumor markers. However, many SERS biosensors rely on boosting the quantity of Raman reporter molecules on individual nanoparticle surfaces, which can result in nanoparticle agglomeration, diminishing the stability and sensitivity of NDKA detection. Here, we proposed an immune-like sandwich multiple hotspots SERS biosensor for highly sensitive and stable analysis of NDKA in serum based on molecularly imprinted polymers and NDKA antibody. The SERS biosensor employs an array of gold nanoparticles, which are coated with a biocompatible polydopamine molecularly imprinted polymer as a substrate to specifically capture NDKA. Then the biosensor detects NDKA through Raman signals as a result of the specific binding of NDKA to the SERS nanotag affixed to the capture substrate along with the formation of multiple hotspots. This SERS biosensor not only avoids the aggregation of nanoparticles but also presents a solution to the obstacles encountered in immune strategies for certain proteins lacking multiple antibody or aptamer binding sites. Furthermore, the practical application of the SERS biosensor is validated by the detection of NDKA in serum with the lower limit of detection (LOD) of 0.25 pg/mL, meanwhile can detect NDKA of 10 ng/mL in mixed proteins solution, illustrating high sensitivity and specificity. This immune-like sandwich multiple hotspots biosensor makes it quite useful for the early detection of CRC and also provides new ideas for cancer biomarker sensing strategy in the future.

Cisplatin resistance-related transcriptome and methylome integration identifies PCDHB4 as a novel prognostic biomarker in small cell lung cancer.

Platinum-based chemo-resistance is the major issue for the treatment of small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The integrative analysis of multi-omics data is a reliable approach for discovering novel biomarkers associated with chemo-resistance. Here, multi-omics integrative analysis and Cox regression found that higher expression of PCDHB4 was associated with poorer survival of SCLC patients who received chemotherapy. PCDHB4 gene was hypomethylated and upregulated in SCLC, which was validated in the levels of promoter methylation, mRNA, and protein expression. Mechanistically, using bulk RNA-seq data, functional enrichment analysis indicated that higher PCDHB4 expression was associated with lower immune infiltration. The analysis of single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) found that SCLC cells with PCDHB4 expression exhibited the characteristics of stemness and EMT. In addition, the high expression and hypomethylation of PCDHB4 were also significantly associated with poor survival in lung squamous cell carcinoma. In summary, PCDHB4 is a potential prognostic biomarker of platinum-based chemotherapy in SCLC.

Effect of Adverse Childhood Experiences, Parenting Styles, and Family Accommodation on Patients Diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental illness that has multiple biological, psychological, and sociological factors. The aim of this study was to investigate childhood traumatic experiences, parenting style, and family adaptive behaviors in patients with OCD, to explore the psychosocial factors that affect its occurrence, and to analyze the correlation between these psychosocial factors and OCD symptoms to better understand its etiology. Methods: We recruited 109 patients diagnosed with OCD (patient group) and 144 healthy controls (control group) into this study. The Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised (OCI-R), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF), Egna Minnen Betraffande Uppfostran (EMBU), and Family Accommodation Scale-Patient Version (FAS-PV) questionnaires were administered to all participants. Results: Patient OCI-R scores for checking, hoarding, obsessing, ordering, washing, neutralizing, and total OCI-R scores were significantly higher when compared with the control group (all P < .05). Patient CTQ scores for emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect, physical neglect, and total CTQ scores were significantly higher when compared with the control group (all P < .05). Patients' EMBU scores for F1, F2, F3, F5, F6, M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, and total EMBU scores were significantly higher when compared with the control group (all P < .05). There was no significant difference in the F4 scores between the 2 groups (P = .622). Patient FAS-PV scores for the direct participation and facilitation of OCD symptoms, avoidance of OCD triggers, taking on patient responsibilities, modification of personal responsibilities, and total FAS-PV scores were significantly higher when compared with the control group (all P < .05). The total OCI-R score showed a significant positive correlation with emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, and total CTQ score (r = 0.564; r = 0.518; r = 0.542; r = 0.586; r = 0.603, all P < .05). The total OCI-R score showed a significant positive correlation with the scores for F1, F2, F3, F5, F6, M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, and the total EMBU score (r = 0.504; r = 0.531; r = 0.611; r = 0.466; r = 0.519; r = 0.665; r = 0.351; r = 0.597; r = 0.667; r = 0.484; r = 0.586; r = 0.662, all P < .05). The total OCI-R score showed a significant positive correlation with scores for direct participation and facilitation, avoidance of OCD triggers, taking on patient responsibilities, modification of personal responsibilities, and total FAS-PV score (r = 0.571; r = 0.624; r = 0.670; r = 0.592; r = 0.684, all P < .05). Conclusion: Our findings highlight the importance of adverse childhood experiences, parenting styles, and family accommodation on OCD patients. Importantly, these adverse experiences are closely related to the severity of symptoms in these patients. We suggest that psychological, and not only physiological, changes play a crucial role in the occurrence and development of OCD. This study confirmed that family and childhood experiences play an important role in the occurrence of OCD, and family education in childhood greatly affects the occurrence of OCD. Therefore, it can be inferred that good family psychological education in childhood has a positive effect on reducing the risk of OCD. If family psychological education can be included in community medical services, this will help to mitigate the development of mental health situations.

TCAD Simulation Studies on Ultra-Low-Power Non-Volatile Memory.

Ultra-Low-Power Non-Volatile Memory (UltraRAM), as a promising storage device, has attracted wide research attention from the scientific community. Non-volatile data retention in combination with switching at ≤2.6 V is achieved through the use of the extraordinary 2.1 eV conduction band offsets of InAs/AlSb and a triple-barrier resonant tunnelling structure. Along these lines, in this work, the structure, storage mechanism, and improvement strategies of UltraRAM were systematically investigated to enhance storage window clarity and speed performance. First, the basic structure and working principle of UltraRAM were introduced, and its comparative advantages over traditional memory devices were highlighted. Furthermore, through the validation of the band structure and storage mechanism, the superior performance of UltraRAM, including its low operating voltage and excellent non-volatility, was further demonstrated. To address the issue of the small storage window, an improvement strategy was proposed by reducing the thickness of the channel layer to increase the storage window. The feasibility of this strategy was validated by performing a series of simulation-based experiments. From our analysis, a significant 80% increase in the storage window after thinning the channel layer was demonstrated, providing an important foundation for enhancing the performance of UltraRAM. Additionally, the data storage capability of this strategy was examined under the application of short pulse widths, and a data storage operation with a 10 ns pulse width was successfully achieved. In conclusion, valuable insights into the application of UltraRAM in the field of non-volatile storage were provided. Our work paves the way for further optimizing the memory performance and expanding the functionalities of UltraRAM.

The Promoter SNPs Were Associated with Both the Contents of Poly-Unsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) and the Expressions of PUFA-Related Genes in Common Carp.

The allo-tetraploid common carp encodes two duplicated fads2 genes (fads2a and fads2b) and two duplicated elovl5 genes (elovl5a and elovl5b). The coding SNPs (cSNPs) of these genes were reported to be significantly associated with the PUFA contents. Whether the promoter SNPs (pSNPs) were associated with the PUFA contents has not been reported yet. In this study, after sequencing the promoters of these four genes, we identified six pSNPs associated with the contents of PUFAs in common carp, including one elovl5a pSNP, one elovl5b pSNP, and four fads2b pSNPs. The pSNPs were predicted in the locations of transcriptional factor binding sites. Together with previously identified cSNPs in fads2b and elovl5b, the pSNPs and cSNPs of these two genes had the joint effects on the PUFA contents with higher explained percentage of phenotypic variation of the PUFA contents than single gene. The expression levels of both fads2a and fads2b were significantly positively correlated with the contents of six PUFAs. The fads2b pSNPs corresponding to higher fads2b expression levels were associated with higher PUFA contents. The pSNPs and cSNPs will be useful for the future selection breeding of common carp with higher PUFA contents.