Assessment of serum vitamin D levels in children aged 0-17 years old in a Chinese population: a comprehensive study.

Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency pose global public health challenges, yet research on serum vitamin D levels in the 0-17-year-old age group in southeastern China remains limited. This study aimed to fill this gap by investigating serum 25(OH)D levels in children in the region aged 0-17 years, contributing crucial data for understanding vitamin D nutritional status. Liquid chromatography‒mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC‒MS/MS) technology was used. Vitamin D testing was integrated into routine diagnostic procedures for 11,116 children in Wujiang District, Suzhou City. Among the 0-17-year age group, comprising 6348 boys and 4768 girls, the prevalence of serum 25(OH)D deficiency and insufficiency was 21.4% and 31.0%, respectively. The median serum 25(OH)D concentration was 29.72 ng/mL (21.84-39.84 ng/mL) in boys compared to 28.48 ng/mL (20.65-39.23 ng/mL) in girls. Seasonal variations were observed, with median serum 25(OH)D concentrations of 29.02 ng/mL (20.73-39.72 ng/mL) in spring, 28.79 ng/mL (21.53-39.37 ng/mL) in summer, 30.12 ng/mL (22.00-39.70 ng/mL) in autumn, and 28.58 ng/mL (19.97-39.46 ng/mL) in winter. Statistically significant differences were noted in the serum 25(OH)D levels during autumn and winter. In conclusion, the rate of adequate vitamin D levels in local children was 47.5%, revealing a relatively high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (21.4%) and insufficiency (31.0%), especially during the post-preschool period. Advocating for vitamin D supplementation in children is crucial for ensuring adequate vitamin D support.

Lysosome-related genes predict acute myeloid leukemia prognosis and response to immunotherapy.

Background: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a highly aggressive and pathogenic hematologic malignancy with consistently high mortality. Lysosomes are organelles involved in cell growth and metabolism that fuse to form specialized Auer rods in AML, and their role in AML has not been elucidated. This study aimed to identify AML subtypes centered on lysosome-related genes and to construct a prognostic model to guide individualized treatment of AML. Methods: Gene expression data and clinical data from AML patients were downloaded from two high-throughput sequencing platforms. The 191 lysosomal signature genes were obtained from the database MsigDB. Lysosomal clusters were identified by unsupervised consensus clustering. The differences in molecular expression, biological processes, and the immune microenvironment among lysosomal clusters were subsequently analyzed. Based on the molecular expression differences between lysosomal clusters, lysosomal-related genes affecting AML prognosis were screened by univariate cox regression and multivariate cox regression analyses. Algorithms for LASSO regression analyses were employed to construct prognostic models. The risk factor distribution, KM survival curve, was applied to evaluate the survival distribution of the model. Time-dependent ROC curves, nomograms and calibration curves were used to evaluate the predictive performance of the prognostic models. TIDE scores and drug sensitivity analyses were used to explore the implication of the model for AML treatment. Results: Our study identified two lysosomal clusters, cluster1 has longer survival time and stronger immune infiltration compared to cluster2. The differences in biological processes between the two lysosomal clusters are mainly manifested in the lysosomes, vesicles, immune cell function, and apoptosis. The prognostic model consisting of six prognosis-related genes was constructed. The prognostic model showed good predictive performance in all three data sets. Patients in the low-risk group survived significantly longer than those in the high-risk group and had higher immune infiltration and stronger response to immunotherapy. Patients in the high-risk group showed greater sensitivity to cytarabine, imatinib, and bortezomib, but lower sensitivity to ATRA compared to low -risk patients. Conclusion: Our prognostic model based on lysosome-related genes can effectively predict the prognosis of AML patients and provide reference evidence for individualized immunotherapy and pharmacological chemotherapy for AML.

Multi-medium residues and ecological risk of herbicides in a typical agricultural watershed of the Mollisols region, Northeast China.

The widespread use of herbicides impacts non-target organisms, promotes weed resistance, posing a serious threat to the global goal of green production in agriculture. Although the herbicide residues have been widely reported in individual environmental medium, their presence across different media has received scant attention, particularly in Mollisols regions with intensive agricultural application of herbicides. A systematic investigation was conducted in this study to clarify the occurrence of herbicide residues in soil, surface water, sediments, and grains from a typical agricultural watershed in the Mollisols region of Northeast China. Concentrations of studied herbicides ranged from 0.30 to 463.49 µg/kg in soil, 0.31-29.73 µg/kg in sediments, 0.006-1.157 µg/L in water, and 0.32-2.83 µg/kg in grains. Among these, Clomazone was the most priority herbicide detected in soil, sediments, and water, and Pendimethalin in grains. Crop types significantly affected the residue levels of herbicides in grains. Clomazone posed high ecological risks in soil and water, with 86.4 % of water samples showing high risks from herbicide mixtures (RQ > 1). These findings aid in enhancing our comprehension of the pervasive occurrence and potential ecological risks of herbicides in different media within typical agricultural watersheds, providing detailed data to inform the development of targeted mitigation strategies.

The investigation of the interaction between fluorescent carbon dots labeling silk fibroin using a fluorescence microscope-surface plasmon resonance system.

The use of fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) as highly precise biolabeling probes has been widespread in the fields of live cell imaging and protein labeling due to their small size and excellent photoluminescence ability to accurately target specific molecules with surface chemical properties. However, there was a lack of research on the interaction between CDs and labeled molecules. In this work, we presented a novel investigation strategy, the fluorescence microscopy-surface plasmon resonance (FM-SPR) system, which combined the use of fluorescence microscopy and wavelength modulation surface plasmon resonance to study the interaction between CDs and labeled molecules in real-time. Using this system, simultaneously recorded the SPR signals and the fluorescence images on the surface of the FM-SPR sensor chip. We observed the dynamic curve and fluorescence images of the interaction between green emissive nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) and silk fibroin (SF) in real-time. The kinetic parameters, the quantitative analysis, and the investigation of the binding could be achieved. The results showed a strong linear relationship between the change in SPR signals and the concentration of N-CDs, with a linear coefficient of 0.99913. The linear detection range was 2.5 µg/mL-100 µg/mL, and the real lowest detection limit reached 0.5 µg/mL. Additionally, the green fluorescence points in the imaging region on the FM-SPR sensor chip increased with the concentration of N-CDs, which was consistent with the change in SPR signals. Using this system we also acquired the association rate and dissociation rate of N-CDs to SF which were 2.65 × 10-5/s and 1.52 × 10-5/s, respectively. This demonstrated the effectiveness of our method in quantitatively analyzing SF labeled with N-CDs.

Causal inference between pernicious anemia and cancers: a bidirectional two-sample mendelian randomization analysis.

BACKGROUND: Observational study investigated the association between pernicious anemia (PA) and cancers. However, with the exception of gastric cancer, the results are mostly contradictory. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential causal relationship between PA and cancers through bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomized (MR) analysis. METHODS: The European sample FinnGen project provided the genetic summary data for PA and 20 site-specific cancers. This bidirectional two-sample MR design mainly used the inverse variance weighting (IVW) method to evaluate the causal relationship between PA and cancer risk. Benjamini-Hochberg correction was performed to reduce the bias caused by multiple tests. RESULTS: Our study shows that there was a causal relationship between PA and gastric cancer, prostate cancer, testicular cancer and malignant melanoma of skin, and there was a reverse causal relationship between prostate cancer or gastric cancer and PA (P < 0.05). After Benjamini-Hochberg correction test, there was still a causal correlation between PA and gastric or prostate cancer (P' < 0.05), while there was only an implied causal association between PA and testicular cancer and malignant melanoma of skin (P'> 0.05). There was still a reverse causal relationship between gastric cancer and PA (P'< 0.05), while prostate cancer shows an implied reverse causal relationship(P'> 0.05). In addition, MR-Egger and MR-PRESSO tests showed no significant horizontal pleiotropy. CONCLUSIONS: PA may be genetically associated with testicular cancer, prostate cancer, gastric cancer, and malignant melanoma of skin.

Erratum: A Novel Pak1/ATF2/miR-132 Signaling Axis Is Involved in the Hematogenous Metastasis of Gastric Cancer Cells.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2017.07.005.].

Transcription factor ASCL1 targets SLC6A13 to inhibit the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma via the glycine-inflammasome signaling.

The purpose of this research was to clarify the function of achaete-scute family bHLH transcription factor 1 (ASCL1) and solute carrier family 6 member 13 (SLC6A13) in influencing tumor cell behavior, inflammatory responses, and the regulation of inflammasomes. We analyzed the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the Cancer Genome Atlas-Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma (TCGA-LIHC) database, as well as in the GSE14520 and GSE67764 datasets, to identify the expression changes of SLC6A13 in liver cancer. The prognostic significance of SLC6A13 in LIHC was assessed through Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis. Transcriptional regulation of SLC6A13 by ASCL1 was explored using the Joint Annotation of the Human Genome and other species by the Systematic Pipeline for the Annotation of Regulatory Regions (JASPAR) database and dual-luciferase assays. In vitro experiments investigated the impact of ASCL1 and SLC6A13 overexpression on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell growth. Additionally, the effects of ethanol treatment and glycine modulation on the inflammatory response in HCC cell lines were evaluated. HCC samples showed reduced levels of SLC6A13, which correlates with a better prognosis for liver metastases. Elevated SLC6A13 expression correlated with improved overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and disease-specific survival (DSS). ASCL1 upregulated SLC6A13 and inhibited proliferation, migration, and invasion of HCC cells. Ethanol induced the production of inflammatory cytokines, which was enhanced by overexpression of SLC6A13 but counteracted by glycine. This study highlighted elevated expression of SLC6A13 in LIHC which has been correlated with improved OS, PFS, RFS, and DSS. Overexpression of SLC6A13 and ASCL1 in HCC cells enhanced inflammasome activation, which was exacerbated by ethanol and attenuated by glycine.

p200CUX1-regulated BMP8B inhibits the progression of acute myeloid leukemia via the MAPK signaling pathway.

The full-length p200CUX1 protein encoded by the homology frame CUT-like protein (CUX1) plays an important role in tumors as a pro-oncogene or oncogene. However, its role and mechanism in acute myeloid leukemia remain unknown. p200CUX1 regulates several pathways, including the MAPK signaling pathway. Our data showed that p200CUX1 is lowly expressed in THP1 and U937 AML cell lines. Lentiviral overexpression of p200CUX1 reduced proliferation and promoted apoptosis and G0/G1 phase blockade, correlating with MAPK pathway suppression. Additionally, p200CUX1 regulated the expression of bone morphogenetic protein 8B (BMP8B), which is overexpressed in AML. Overexpression of p200CUX1 downregulated BMP8B expression and inhibited the MAPK pathway. Furthermore, BMP8B knockdown inhibited AML cell proliferation, enhanced apoptosis and the sensitivity of ATRA-induced cell differentiation, and blocked G0/G1 transition. Our findings demonstrate the pivotal function of the p200CUX1-BMP8B-MAPK axis in maintaining the viability of AML cells. Consequently, targeting p200CUX1 could represent a viable strategy in AML therapy.

Prevalence and influencing factors of patient delay in stroke patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Determine the prevalence and influencing factors of patient delay in stroke patients and explore variation in prevalence by country and delayed time. METHODS: PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM), Weipu database, and Wanfang database were comprehensively searched for observational studies from inception to April, 2023. The pooled prevalence, odds ratio (OR), and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated with Stata 16.0 software. RESULTS: In total, 2721 articles were screened and data from 70 studies involving 85,468 subjects were used in meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of patient delay in stroke patients was 59% (95% CI, 0.54-0.64). The estimates of pooled prevalence calculated for African, Asian, and European patient delay in stroke patients were 55% (0.29-0.81), 61% (0.56-0.66), and 49% (0.34-0.64).According to the patient delay time, the prevalence of 6 h, 5 h, 4.5 h, 3.5 h, 3 h and 2 h were 54% (0.47-0.61), 73% (0.61-0.86), 60% (0.49-0.71), 81% (0.68-0.93), 52% (0.42-0.62), 63% (0.19-1.07). Distance from the place of onset to the hospital > 10 km [OR=2.49, 95%CI (1.92, 3.24)], having medical insurance [OR = 0.45, 95%CI (0.26,0.80)], lack of stroke-related knowledge [OR = 1.56, 95%CI (1.08,2.26)], education level below junior high school [OR = 1.69, 95%CI (1.22,2.36)], non-emergency medical services (Non-EMS) [OR = 2.10, 95%CI (1.49,2.97)], living in rural areas [OR = 1.54, 95%CI (1.15,2.07)], disturbance of consciousness [OR = 0.60, 95%CI (0.39,0.93)], history of atrial fibrillation [OR = 0.53, 95%CI (0.47,0.59)], age ≥ 65 years [OR = 1.18, 95%CI (1.02,1.37)], National institutes of health stroke scale (NIHSS) ≤ 4 points [OR= 2.26, 95%CI (1.06,4.79)]were factors for patient delay in stroke patients. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of patient delay in stroke patients is high, we should pay attention to the influencing factors of patient delay in stroke patients and provide a theoretical basis for shortening the treatment time of stroke patients.

Predicting the potential mechanism of radix chimonanthi pracecocis in treating osteoarthritis by network pharmacology analysis combined with experimental validation.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Radix Chimonanthi Pracecocis (RCP), also known as Tiekuaizi, widely used by the Miao community in Guizhou, exhibits diverse biological activities and holds promise for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA). However, there is a lack of contemporary pharmacological research in this area. AIMS OF THE STUDY: This study aims to explore the potential of targets and mechanisms of RCP in the treatment of OA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The chemical components of RCP were identified using UPLC-MS/MS, and active components were determined based on the Lipinski rule. RCP and OA-related targets were retrieved from public databases such as TCMSP and GeneCards. Network pharmacology approaches were employed to identify key genes. The limma package (version 3.40.2) in R 4.3.2 was used to screen for differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between OA and healthy individuals in GSE82107. DEGs were analyzed using an independent sample t-test and receiver operating characteristic analysis in GraphPad Prism 9.5.1. Additionally, molecular docking (SYBYL2.1.1) was used to analyze the binding interactions between the active components and target proteins. Finally, we established a papain-induced osteoarthritis (OA) rat model and treated it with RCP aqueous extract by gavage. We validated relevant indicators using real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, immunohistochemistry, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. RESULTS: Seven active components and 53 targets were identified. The results of GO and KEGG enrichment analyses confirmed the significant role of RCP in the regulation of pyroptosis. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) was identified as a key gene involved in the main biological functions. Molecular docking analysis revealed that Praecoxin, Isofraxidin, Esculin, and Naringenin can bind to the nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich repeat, and pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) (T-Score >5). Additionally, Praecoxin can bind to HIF-1α (T-Score >5). In vivo experiments demonstrated that RCP significantly affects the NLRP3 inflammasome, which is regulated by the HIF-1α pathway. RCP inhibited pyroptosis and reduced synovial inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed the efficacy of RCP aqueous extract in the treatment of OA and identified seven active components (esculin, dihydrokaempferol, naringenin, praecoxin, carnosol, hydroxyvalerenic acid, isofraxidin) that may play an anti-pyroptosis role in the treatment of OA by downregulating the expression of HIF-1α and NLRP3 inflammasome.

Fixed-point algorithms for solving the critical value and upper tail quantile of Kuiper's statistics.

Kuiper's statistic is a good measure for the difference of ideal distribution and empirical distribution in the goodness-of-fit test. However, it is a challenging problem to solve the critical value and upper tail quantile, or simply Kuiper pair, of Kuiper's statistics due to the difficulties of solving the nonlinear equation and reasonable approximation of infinite series. In this work, the contributions lie in three perspectives: firstly, the second order approximation for the infinite series of the cumulative distribution of the critical value is used to achieve higher precision; secondly, the principles and fixed-point algorithms for solving the Kuiper pair are presented with details; finally, finally, a mistake about the critical value cnα for (α,n)=(0.01,30) in Kuiper's distribution table has been labeled and corrected where n is the sample capacity and α is the upper tail quantile. The algorithms are verified and validated by comparing with the table provided by Kuiper. The methods and algorithms proposed are enlightening and worth of introducing to the college students, computer programmers, engineers, experimental psychologists and so on.

CARM30: China annual rapeseed maps at 30 m spatial resolution from 2000 to 2022 using multi-source data.

Rapeseed is a critical cash crop globally, and understanding its distribution can assist in refined agricultural management, ensuring a sustainable vegetable oil supply, and informing government decisions. China is the leading consumer and third-largest producer of rapeseed. However, there is a lack of widely available, long-term, and large-scale remotely sensed maps on rapeseed cultivation in China. Here this study utilizes multi-source data such as satellite images, GLDAS environmental variables, land cover maps, and terrain data to create the China annual rapeseed maps at 30 m spatial resolution from 2000 to 2022 (CARM30). Our product was validated using independent samples and showed average F1 scores of 0.869 and 0.971 for winter and spring rapeseed. The CARM30 has high spatial consistency with existing 10 m and 20 m rapeseed maps. Additionally, the CARM30-derived rapeseed planted area was significantly correlated with agricultural statistics (R2 = 0.65-0.86; p < 0.001). The obtained rapeseed distribution information can serve as a reference for stakeholders such as farmers, scientific communities, and decision-makers.

Rapid Cooling Delays the Occurring of Core Browning in Postharvest 'Yali' Pear at Advanced Maturity by Inhibiting Ethylene Metabolism.

During the storage and transportation processes, the occurrence of core browning in 'Yali' pear fruit due to adversity injury can be easily mitigated by implementing different cooling methods, especially in advanced maturity fruits. In this study, 'Yali' pears at an advanced maturity stage were subjected to slow cooling and rapid cooling treatment. The quality-related physiological percentage and severity, and the rate of good fruits were determined, and RNA-seq was used to explore the effects of different cooling methods on pathways related to core browning in advanced-maturity pears at the transcriptional level. The results indicated that, compared with slow cooling treatment, rapid cooling significantly inhibited core browning in advanced-maturity 'Yali' pears. Measurements of quality-related physiological indexes suggested that rapid cooling treatment led to higher SSC content, firmness, L* value, and b* value, indicating better brightness, coloration, and higher soluble solid content, which are desirable for commercial sale. Rapid cooling effectively suppressed the physiological metabolism of 'Yali' pears, delaying fruit senescence compared with slow-cooling treatment. Furthermore, the RNA-Seq sequencing results revealed that pathways related to browning are involved in hormone signal transduction pathways, which are associated with resistance and aging processes of pear fruit. In summary, rapid cooling treatment delayed the core browning of advanced maturity of 'Yali' pears, indicating that the core browning of 'Yali' pears is related to the cooling method, and the mechanism of rapid cooling in reducing the core browning of advanced maturity of 'Yali' pears was by delaying the aging process of the fruit. This provides a new perspective for alleviating the core browning of advanced-maturity 'Yali' pears during storage and transportation, and provides a theoretical reference for studying the mechanism of core browning of 'Yali' pears.

Considering microplastic characteristics in ecological risk assessment: A case study for China.

Microplastics (MPs) pose a significant global concern, requiring a multifaceted approach to their risk assessment procedures, especially concerning their characteristics in the environment. The Horqin Left Middle Banner in Northeast China was chosen for the research region to investigate the abundance, composition, distribution, and ecological impact of MPs in surface agricultural soils. The concentrations of MPs ranged from 300 to 12800 items/kg, with a median concentration of 1550 items/kg (average = 1994 items/kg). The normal-sized MPs (500-5000 µm) had a higher relative abundance than small MPs (<500 µm). MPs were mainly derived from textiles and packaging and were affected by atmospheric transportation. Rayon and PET fibers were the main polymers identified. Furthermore, the potential environmental risks posed by the fundamental characteristics (abundance, chemical composition, and size) of MPs were quantified using multiple risk assessment models. The conditional fragmentation model indicated a propensity for MPs to degrade into smaller particles. Ecological risk assessments using pollution load index, pollution hazard index, and potential ecological risk index models revealed varying levels of risk. This study conducted a comprehensive assessment of the ecological risks of MPs based on their environmental characteristics, emphasizing the importance of considering multiple factors in the risk assessment process. ENVIRONMENT IMPLICATION: This study investigates the occurrence, distribution, and ecological risk of microplastics (MPs) in agricultural soils of the Northeast Plain of China, a major food production area. MPs are persistent organic pollutants that can pose threats to soil health, crop quality, and food security. By analyzing the composition, size, and source of MPs, as well as their fragmentation and stability in soil, this study provides valuable data for assessing the environmental risk of MPs in agricultural regions. The study also suggests strategies for mitigating MPs pollution and protecting soil ecosystems.

The cost-effectiveness of syphilis screening in pregnant women: a systematic literature review.

Introduction: The cost-effectiveness study of syphilis screening in pregnant women has not been synthesized. This study aimed to synthesize the economic evidence on the cost-effectiveness of syphilis screening in pregnant women that might contribute to making recommendations on the future direction of syphilis screening approaches. Methods: We systematically searched MEDLINE, PubMed, and Web of Science databases for relevant studies published before 19 January 2023 and identified the cost-effectiveness analyses for syphilis screening in pregnant women. The methodological design quality was appraised by the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards (CHEERS) 2022 checklist. Results: In total, 17 literature met the eligibility criteria for a full review. Of the 17 studies, four evaluated interventions using different screening methods, seven assessed a combination of syphilis testing and treatment interventions, three focused on repeat screening intervention, and four evaluated the interventions that integrated syphilis and HIV testing. The most cost-effective strategy appeared to be rapid syphilis testing with high treatment rates in pregnant women who were positive. Discussion: The cost-effectiveness of syphilis screening for pregnancy has been widely demonstrated. It is very essential to improve the compliance with maternal screening and the treatment rates for positive pregnant women while implementing screening.

Association between gut microbiota and onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study.

Aim: Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis has been used in the exploration of the role of gut microbiota (GM) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM); however, it was limited to the genus level. This study herein aims to investigate the relationship of GM, especially at the species level, with T2DM in order to provide some evidence for further exploration of more specific GM taxa and pathway abundance in T2DM. Methods: This two-sample MR study was based on the summary statistics of GM from the available genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis conducted by the MiBioGen consortium as well as the Dutch Microbiome Project (DMP), whereas the summary statistics of T2DM were obtained from the FinnGen consortium released data. Inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger, strength test (F), and weighted median methods were used to examine the causal association between GM and the onset of T2DM. Cochran's Q statistics was employed to quantify the heterogeneity of instrumental variables. Bonferroni's correction was conducted to correct the bias of multiple testing. We also performed reverse causality analysis. Results: The corrected IVW estimates suggested the increased relative abundance of family Oxalobacteraceae (OR = 1.0704) and genus Oxalobacter (OR = 1.0874), respectively, were associated with higher odds of T2DM, while that of species faecis (OR = 0.9460) had a negative relationship with T2DM. The relationships of class Betaproteobacteria, family Lactobacillaceae, species finegoldii, and species longum with T2DM were also significant according to the IVW results (all P < 0.05). Conclusions: GM had a potential causal association with T2DM, especially species faecis, finegoldii, and longum. Further studies are still needed to clarify certain results that are contradictory with previous findings.

A retrospective study on iRoot BP Plus full pulpotomy for primary molars with partial irreversible pulpitis.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to observe the outcomes of iRoot BP Plus full pulpotomy in primary molars with partial irreversible pulpitis retrospectively. METHODS: Collect 102 cases of primary molars with partial irreversible pulpitis undergoing iRoot BP Plus full pulpotomy from January 2019 to August 2023, with a follow-up period of 24-47 months. Based on the presence of irreversible pulpitis symptoms before surgery, the included cases will be divided into asymptomatic group (n=53) and symptomatic group (n=49). Observe the clinical and imaging success rates of both groups. RESULTS: Clinical success rates were 96.2% and 97.9% in asymptomatic and symptomatic groups, and radiographic success rates were 96.2% and 93.9% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: iRoot BP Plus full pulpotomy can be used for the treatment of primary molars with partial irreversible pulpitis under an enhanced pulpotomy protocol.

Genetic links between atopy, allergy, and alopecia areata: insights from a Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: Alopecia areata (AA), a prevalent form of autoimmune hair loss, has a not well-defined relationship with atopic and allergic disorders, including eczema, hay fever, and asthma. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to elucidate the genetic relationship between atopy, allergies, and alopecia areata (AA) using Mendelian randomization. We hypothesize that atopic and allergic conditions contribute to the genetic predisposition of AA. METHODS: We analyzed extensive genetic data from Genome-wide Association Studies (GWAS) involving over one million individuals. This analysis focused on assessing the genetic correlation between AA and various allergic conditions, including hay fever, eczema, asthma, and allergies to pollen, dust, and cats. The inverse variance weighted method served as our primary analytical tool, complemented by sensitivity analyses to verify the robustness of our results. RESULTS: Our findings reveal a significant genetic correlation between atopy/allergies and an increased risk of AA. Notably, strong associations were observed for hay fever, eczema, asthma, and specific allergies (pollen, dust, and cats). The sensitivity analyses corroborated these associations, reinforcing the reliability of our primary results. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides compelling genetic evidence of an association between atopic and allergic conditions and the development of AA. These findings suggest that individuals with such conditions may benefit from enhanced surveillance for early signs of AA.

DRANetSplicer: A Splice Site Prediction Model Based on Deep Residual Attention Networks.

The precise identification of splice sites is essential for unraveling the structure and function of genes, constituting a pivotal step in the gene annotation process. In this study, we developed a novel deep learning model, DRANetSplicer, that integrates residual learning and attention mechanisms for enhanced accuracy in capturing the intricate features of splice sites. We constructed multiple datasets using the most recent versions of genomic data from three different organisms, Oryza sativa japonica, Arabidopsis thaliana and Homo sapiens. This approach allows us to train models with a richer set of high-quality data. DRANetSplicer outperformed benchmark methods on donor and acceptor splice site datasets, achieving an average accuracy of (96.57%, 95.82%) across the three organisms. Comparative analyses with benchmark methods, including SpliceFinder, Splice2Deep, Deep Splicer, EnsembleSplice, and DNABERT, revealed DRANetSplicer's superior predictive performance, resulting in at least a (4.2%, 11.6%) relative reduction in average error rate. We utilized the DRANetSplicer model trained on O. sativa japonica data to predict splice sites in A. thaliana, achieving accuracies for donor and acceptor sites of (94.89%, 94.25%). These results indicate that DRANetSplicer possesses excellent cross-organism predictive capabilities, with its performance in cross-organism predictions even surpassing that of benchmark methods in non-cross-organism predictions. Cross-organism validation showcased DRANetSplicer's excellence in predicting splice sites across similar organisms, supporting its applicability in gene annotation for understudied organisms. We employed multiple methods to visualize the decision-making process of the model. The visualization results indicate that DRANetSplicer can learn and interpret well-known biological features, further validating its overall performance. Our study systematically examined and confirmed the predictive ability of DRANetSplicer from various levels and perspectives, indicating that its practical application in gene annotation is justified.

A Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Unveils the Mechanisms of Response in Feather Degradation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa Gxun-7.

Microbial degradation of feathers offers potential for bioremediation, yet the microbial response mechanisms warrant additional investigation. In prior work, Pseudomonas aeruginosa Gxun-7, which demonstrated robust degradation of feathers at elevated concentrations, was isolated. However, the molecular mechanism of this degradation remains only partially understood. To investigate this, we used RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to examine the genes that were expressed differentially in P. aeruginosa Gxun-7 when exposed to 25 g/L of feather substrate. The RNA-seq analysis identified 5571 differentially expressed genes; of these, 795 were upregulated and 603 were downregulated. Upregulated genes primarily participated in proteolysis, amino acid, and pyruvate metabolism. Genes encoding proteases, as well as those involved in sulfur metabolism, phenazine synthesis, and type VI secretion systems, were notably elevated, highlighting their crucial function in feather decomposition. Integration of Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) taxonomies, combined with a review of the literature, led us to propose that metabolic feather degradation involves environmental activation, reducing agent secretion, protease release, peptide/amino acid uptake, and metabolic processes. Sulfite has emerged as a critical activator of keratinase catalysis, while cysteine serves as a regulatory mediator. qRT-PCR assay results for 11 selected gene subset corroborated the RNA-seq findings. This study enhances our understanding of the transcriptomic responses of P. aeruginosa Gxun-7 to feather degradation and offers insights into potential degradation mechanisms, thereby aiding in the formulation of effective feather waste management strategies in poultry farming.