Genomic structures of insulin-like growth factor from golden pompano (Trachinotus ovatus) and their expression responses to the feed types.

Golden pompano is an important aquaculture product in the coastal regions of southern China, which is highly dependent on insulin-like growth factor (IGF) for various biological processes. The cDNAs of ToIGF1, ToIGF2, and ToIGF3 are 1718 bp, 1658 bp, and 2272 bp in length, respectively, with corresponding amino acid sequences of 185 aa, 215 aa, and 194 aa. These sequences consist of 5 parts, including the signal peptide, the B domain, the C domain, the A domain, the D domain, and the E domain, which are also found in other species. While ToIGF1 has no SSR polymorphism, ToIGF2 and ToIGF3 have 3 and 1 SSR polymorphism sites, respectively. In terms of tissue expression, ToIGF1 is predominantly expressed in the liver, ToIGF2 shows its highest expression in the gills, and ToIGF3 also shows its highest expression in the gills, but no expression in the liver and spleen. These tissue distribution results suggest that ToIGFs are not only present in growth-related tissues such as the brain, muscle, and liver, but also in reproductive tissues, tissues that regulate osmotic pressure, and tissues related to food intake. This observation is consistent with other bony fish species and highlights the extensive biological functions of ToIGFs that need to be further explored and exploited. In addition, the expression levels of ToIGFs were found to be different in the different dietary groups, including the pelleted food group, the frozen squid group, and the frozen fish group. In the pelleted diet group, ToIGF1 and ToIGF2 were highly expressed in the liver and intestinal tissues, followed by the frozen fish group. These results suggest that the type of diet can affect the body's energy metabolism by influencing tissue expression of growth-related genes, which in turn affects individual growth.

N6-methyladenosine-related lncRNAs identified as potential biomarkers for predicting the overall survival of Asian gastric cancer patients.

OBJECTIVE: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the most prevalent malignant tumors in Asian countries. Studies have proposed that lncRNAs can be used as diagnostic and prognostic indicators of GC due to the high specificity of lncRNAs expression involvement in GC. Recently, N6-methyladenosine (m6A) has also emerged as an important modulator of the expression of lncRNAs in GC. This study aimed at establishing a novel m6A-related lncRNAs prognostic signature that can be used to construct accurate models for predicting the prognosis of GC in the Asian population. METHODS: First, the levels of m6A modification and m6A methyltransferases expression in GC samples were determined using dot blot and western blot analyses. Next, we evaluated the lncRNAs expression profiles and the corresponding clinical data of 88 Asian GC patients retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Differential expression of m6A-related lncRNAs between GC and normal tissues was investigated. The relationship between these target lncRNAs and potential immunotherapeutic signatures was also analyzed. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was performed to identify the malignancy-associated pathways. Univariate Cox regression, LASSO regression, and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to establish a novel prognostic m6A-related lncRNAs prognostic signature. Moreover, we constructed a predictive nomogram and determined the expression levels of nine m6A-related lncRNAs in 12 pairs of clinical samples. RESULTS: We found that m6A methylation levels were significantly increased in GC tumor samples compared to adjacent normal tissues, and the increase was positively correlated with tumor stage. Patients were then divided into two clusters (cluster 1 and cluster 2) based on the differential expression of the m6A-related lncRNAs. Results showed that there was a significant difference in survival probability between the two clusters (p = 0.018). Notably, the low survival rate in cluster 2 may be associated with high expression of immune cells (resting memory CD4+ T cells, p = 0.027; regulatory T cells, p = 0.0018; monocytes, p = 0.00095; and resting dendritic cells, p = 0.015), and low expression of immune cells (resting NK cells, p = 0.033; and macrophages M1, p = 0.045). Enrichment analysis indicated that malignancy-associated biological processes were more common in the cluster 2 subgroup. Finally, the risk model comprising of six m6A-related lncRNAs was identified as an independent predictor of prognoses, which could divide patients into high- or low-risk groups. Time-dependent ROC analysis suggested that the risk score could accurately predict the prognosis of GC patients. Patients in the high-risk group had worse outcomes compared to patients in the low-risk group, and the risk score showed a positive correlation with immune cells (resting memory CD4+ T cells, R = 0.31, P = 0.038; regulatory T cells, R = 0.42, P = 0.0042; monocytes, R = 0.42, P = 0.0043). However, M1 macrophages (R = -0.37, P = 0.012) and resting NK cells (R = -0.31, P = 0.043) had a negative correlation with risk scores. Furthermore, analysis of clinical samples validated the weak positive correlation between the risk score and tumor stage. CONCLUSIONS: The risk model described here, based on the six m6A-related lncRNAs signature, and may predict the clinical prognoses and immunotherapeutic response in Asian GC patients.

Prognostic value of a novel glycolysis-related gene expression signature for gastrointestinal cancer in the Asian population.

BACKGROUND: Globally, gastrointestinal (GI) cancer is one of the most prevalent malignant tumors. However, studies have not established glycolysis-related gene signatures that can be used to construct accurate prognostic models for GI cancers in the Asian population. Herein, we aimed at establishing a novel glycolysis-related gene expression signature to predict the prognosis of GI cancers. METHODS: First, we evaluated the mRNA expression profiles and the corresponding clinical data of 296 Asian GI cancer patients in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database (TCGA-LIHC, TCGA-STAD, TCGA-ESCA, TCGA-PAAD, TCGA-COAD, TCGA-CHOL and TCGA-READ). Differentially expressed mRNAs between GI tumors and normal tissues were investigated. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was performed to identify glycolysis-related genes. Then, univariate, LASSO regression and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to establish a key prognostic glycolysis-related gene expression signature. The Kaplan-Meier and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the efficiency and accuracy of survival prediction. Finally, a risk score to predict the prognosis of GI cancers was calculated and validated using the TCGA data sets. Furthermore, this risk score was verified in two Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) data sets (GSE116174 and GSE84433) and in 28 pairs of tissue samples. RESULTS: Prognosis-related genes (NUP85, HAX1, GNPDA1, HDLBP and GPD1) among the differentially expressed glycolysis-related genes were screened and identified. The five-gene expression signature was used to assign patients into high- and low-risk groups (p < 0.05) and it showed a satisfactory prognostic value for overall survival (OS, p = 6.383 × 10-6). The ROC curve analysis revealed that this model has a high sensitivity and specificity (0.757 at 5 years). Besides, stratification analysis showed that the prognostic value of the five-gene signature was independent of other clinical characteristics, and it could markedly discriminate between GI tumor tissues and normal tissues. Finally, the expression levels of the five prognosis-related genes in the clinical tissue samples were consistent with the results from the TCGA data sets. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the five glycolysis-related genes (NUP85, HAX1, GNPDA1, HDLBP and GPD1), and in combination with clinical characteristics, this model can independently predict the OS of GI cancers in Asian patients.

Difenoconazole induces cardiovascular toxicity through oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis in early life stages of zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Difenoconazole (DIF), a common broad-spectrum triazole fungicide, is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Unfortunately, little attention has been paid to the mechanisms underlying this association. In this study, zebrafish embryos were exposed to DIF (0, 0.3, 0.6 and 1.2 mg/L) from 4 to 96 h post fertilization (hpf) and cardiovascular toxicity was evaluated. Our results showed that DIF decreased hatching rate, survival rate and heart rate, with increased malformation rate. Cardiovascular deformities are the most prominent, including pericardial edema, abnormal cardiac structure and disrupted vascular pattern in two transgenic zebrafish models (myl7:egfp and fli1:egfp). DIF exacerbated oxidative stress by via accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inhibition of antioxidant enzyme. Cardiovascular apoptosis was triggered through increased expression of p53, bcl-2, bax and caspase 9, while DIF suppressed the transcription of key genes involved in calcium signaling and cardiac muscle contraction. These adverse outcomes were restored by the antioxidant N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), indicating that oxidative stress played a crucial role in DIF-induced cardiovascular toxicity caused by apoptosis and inhibition of cardiac muscle contraction. Taken together, this study revealed the key role of oxidative stress in DIF-induced cardiovascular toxicity and provided novel insights into strategies to mitigate its toxicity.

Genomic structure and characterization of growth hormone receptors from golden pompano Trachinotus ovatus and their expression regulation by feed types.

In this study, sequence analysis showed that ToGHR1 and ToGHR2 encoded polypeptides of 577 and 588 amino acids, respectively. Bioinformatics analysis showed that both ToGHR1 and ToGHR2 contain FN3 domains and transmembrane domains, which have glycosylation and phosphorylation sites. The exons of ToGHR1 and exons 4-10 of ToGHR2 are homologous to exons 2 and 4-9 in Homo sapiens genes, respectively. Only 3 SSR sites in ToGHR1 have SSR polymorphisms, and ToGHR2 has no SSR polymorphisms. ToGHR1 and ToGHR2 have high homology with GHR1 and GHR2 of many fish by BLAST. qRT-PCR was used to examine the expression profile of ToGHR mRNA in 12 normal liver and intestine tissue samples from 3 feed-type groups. The results showed that ToGHR is expressed in all 12 tissues, especially liver and muscle tissues, which showed higher ToGHR expression than that in other tissues (p < 0.05). Experiments on feed-type groups may indicate that high levels of LC-PUFA in squid bait can promote ToGHR1 expression and simultaneously inhibit ToGHR2 expression in the liver tissue. In addition, the high levels of LC-PUFA in food could inhibit intestinal ToGHR1 expression, and the intermediate levels may promote intestinal ToGHR1 expression. However, the unsaturated fatty acid content in the food does not affect the expression of intestinal ToGHR2.

The Influence of Foreign Direct Investment on Physical Health of Rural-Urban Migrants-Empirical Evidence from China Migrants Dynamic Survey.

The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on rural-urban migrants' physical health and its influencing mechanism. A total of 134,920 rural-urban migrant samples are matched based on the China Migrants Dynamic Survey in 2017 and the China Urban Statistical Yearbook in 2016. On the basis of the samples, a Binary Probit Model is used to explore the relationship between the degree of FDI and rural-urban migrants' physical health. The results show that compared with migrants who lived in cities with a lower FDI level, rural-urban migrants who lived in cities with a higher FDI level are better in physical health. The results of the mediation effect model show that the degree of FDI has a significant positive impact on employment rights and benefits the protection of rural-urban migrants, improving rural-urban migrants' physical health, which means employment rights and benefits protection plays an intermediary role in the process of FDI affecting rural-urban migrants' physical health. Therefore, when formulating public policies such as plans to improve the physical health of rural-urban migrants, not only the availability of medical services for rural-urban migrants needs to be improved, but the positive spillover effect of FDI should be taken into account. By doing so, FDI can positively affect the physical health of rural-urban migrants.

Association between overtime and depressive symptoms among Chinese employees.

Objectives: This study examines the correlation between overtime and depressive symptoms, and analyzed the moderating effect of age, education level, and income level on their correlation by using a nationally representative sample from the Chinese Family Panel Studies (CFPS) in 2018. Methods: Participants are divided into three groups: 30-44 h/week, 44.1-61.9 h/week (defined as overtime group), and ≥ 62 h/week (heavy overtime group). The multiple ordered logistic regression models are conducted to estimate the association between overtime and depressive symptoms. The interaction term of overtime and moderators including age, education level, and income level are introduced into the models to test the moderating effect. Results: The overtime group have an increased probability of depressive symptoms (OR = 1.11, 95% CI 1.04-1.20) compared with those who reported working hours 30-44 h/week, after controlling for important confounders. What's more, the worsening of depressive symptoms is more pronounced in the heavy overtime group (OR = 1.32, 95% CI 1.22-1.44). The moderating effect results show that younger employees, employees with high education levels, and those with high income level are more likely to be affected by the negative effects of overtime. Conclusion: Working overtime increased the likelihood of depressive symptoms. Younger employees, high-educated employees and employees with high income level are more vulnerable to the negative effects of overtime on mental health.

Assessment of the reliability and quality of breast cancer related videos on TikTok and Bilibili: cross-sectional study in China.

Background: As the most common malignant tumor in the world, breast cancer also brings a huge disease burden to China. Ordinary people are increasingly inclined to use the Internet, especially video social platforms, as a source of health information. Educating the public to obtain correct information is important to reduce the incidence of breast cancer and improve the prognosis. However, the quality and reliability of breast cancer-related video content have not been fully studied. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the quality of the information of breast cancer-related videos on TikTok and Bilibili video sharing platforms and factors related to video quality. Methods: We collected the top 100 videos about breast cancer on TikTok and Bilibili, respectively. Categorize videos according to video source and video content. Video quality and reliability were assessed using Global Quality Score (GQS) and modified DISCERN (mDISCERN) tools. We also analyzed the correlation between video quality and video likes, comments, saves, and shares. Results: Although the quality and reliability of Bilibili's breast cancer videos were higher than TikTok (p = 0.002 and p = 0.001, respectively), the video quality of both video sharing platforms was not satisfactory, with a median GQS scores of 2.00 and 3.00 and mDISCERN scores of 1.00 and 2.00, respectively. In general, the quality and reliability of videos released by medical practitioners were higher than those of non-medical practitioners, and the quality and reliability of videos covering disease-related knowledge were higher than those of news reports (all p < 0.001). Among medical practitioners, the quality of videos uploaded by doctors in breast disease was significantly lower than that of doctors in other areas (p < 0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between video quality and duration (r = 0.240, p < 0.001), a weak negative correlation between video quality and likes (r = 0.191, p < 0.01), video quality and comments (r = 0.256, p < 0.001), video reliability and likes (r = 0.198, p < 0.001), video reliability and comments (r = 0.243, p < 0.01). Conclusion: Our study shows that the quality and reliability of breast cancer-related videos on TikTok and Bilibili are poor, and the overall quality is unsatisfactory. But videos uploaded by medical practitioners covering disease knowledge, prevention and treatment are of higher quality. Medical practitioners are encouraged to publish more high-quality videos, while video social platforms should formulate relevant policies to censor and supervise health education videos, so as to enable the public to obtain reliable health information.

Development of a breast cancer case management information platform (BC-CMIP) module based on patient-perceived value.

Objective: To construct a content module for a breast cancer case management information platform (BC-CMIP) based on patient-perceived value (PPV). Methods: A questionnaire was used to investigate the service needs of breast cancer patients and their families for the information platform. Based on the value dimensions of PPV, the module content of the BC-CMIP was initially constructed, and the Delphi method was used to justify and revise the module content. Excel 2019 and SPSS 26.0 were used for statistical analysis. Results: The information platform includes the patient side and the medical side. The index content includes four primary indicators: functional value, emotional value, efficiency value and social value; it can realize all patient case management needs, such as diagnosis and treatment services, health education, telemedicine, treatment tracking, psychological support, case assessment and positive warning. Conclusion: Based on the PPV, the module design of the BC-CMIP is reasonable and comprehensive, and it can scientifically and effectively meet the health needs of patients and provide a theoretical basis for subsequent platform development and application.

Highly efficient blackberry-like trimetallic PdAuCu nanoparticles with optimized Pd content for ethanol electrooxidation.

The rational design of highly efficient catalysts for ethanol electrooxidation is extremely challenging for developing direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs). Herein, a facile one-pot method has been developed to prepare blackberry-like PdAuCu nanoparticles (NPs) with tunable composition and surface structures. Among PdAuCu NPs with different Pd contents (1.6-22 mass%), PdAuCu NPs-0.5 (contained Pd at 2.5 mass%) delivered one of the highest catalytic activities of Pd-based catalysts towards ethanol electrooxidation, exhibiting a mass activity of 23.0 A mgPd-1. Kinetic analysis, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and CO stripping test results suggested that the excellent electrocatalytic activity may originate from the optimized balance between Pd content and surface structure of PdAuCu NPs-0.5. The optimization of the balance between composition and surface structure would contribute to the further design of multimetallic nanoparticles for fuel cells and other applications.

Bioaccumulation of BDE47 in testes by TiO2 nanoparticles aggravates the reproductive impairment of male zebrafish by disrupting intercellular junctions.

This study attempts to explore the potential impact of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (n-TiO2) on bioconcentration and reproductive impairments of male zebrafish in the presence of 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE47), the congener of PBDEs predominant in environment and most abundant in biosamples. n-TiO2 nanoparticles strongly adsorbed BDE47 to form BDE47/TiO2 complex, which was taken up into the testes of zebrafish, and increased the tissue burdens of both BDE47 and n-TiO2. Correspondingly, no observed toxic dose of n-TiO2 (100 µg/L) was found to aggravate the abnormal histological morphology of the testes and the decrease in egg production, gonadosomatic index, sexual hormone levels and related gene expression in zebrafish in the presence of BDE47 at 5 or 50 µg/L. In addition, n-TiO2 exacerbated the destruction resulting from the ultrastructural disassembly of intercellular connectivity of germ cells in zebrafish and the decrease in transepithelial electrical resistance in TM4 cells induced by BDE47. Furthermore, n-TiO2 enhanced BDE47 to initially activate p-JNK MAPK signaling pathway and subsequently triggered the downregulation of junction proteins (i.e., ZO-1, Connexin-43 and N-cadherin), leading to impaired cell-cell junctions in vivo and in vitro. Our results demonstrated that n-TiO2 should act as a carrier to facilitate the accumulation of BDE47 in zebrafish testes and result in a synergistic effect on BDE47-induced adverse reproductive outcomes via disruption of intercellular connectivity of zebrafish testes. This study is beneficial in providing a scientific basis for improving the health risk assessment of environmental pollutants, particularly those that coexist with nanoparticle contamination in realistic environments.

Expression of Four Autophagy-Related Genes Accurately Predicts the Prognosis of Gastrointestinal Cancer in Asian Patients.

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers are among the most fatal diseases in the world. Numerous studies have demonstrated the relationship between autophagy and development of gastrointestinal cancers. However, whether autophagy-related genes can predict prognosis of GI cancers in individuals of Asian ancestry has not been defined. This study, evaluated the prognostic value of autophagy-related genes in gastrointestinal cancer. Expression profile of autophagy-related genes for 296 gastrointestinal cancer patients of Asian ancestry was downloaded from the TCGA database (TCGA-LIHC, TCGA-STAD, TCGA-ESCA, TCGA-PAAD, TCGA-COAD, TCGA-CHOL, and TCGA-READ). The prognostic value of the autophagy-related genes was evaluated using univariate Cox, LASSO, and multivariate Cox regression analyses. The risk score of the autophagy-related gene signature was calculated to assess its predictive prognostic value for GI cancers. Forty-seven differentially expressed autophagy-related genes, in Asian patients with gastrointestinal cancers, were identified. Of the 47 genes, 4 were associated with prognosis of GI cancer (SQSTM1, BIRC5, NRG3, and CXCR4). A prognostic model for GI cancer, based on the expression of the above 4 genes in the training set, showed that cancer patients were stratified into high-risk and low-risk groups (P < 0.05). The utility of the model for overall survival (OS) of GI cancer patients was consistent across the entire set, training set, and test set (entire set: P = 4.568 × 10-4; train set: P = 5.718 × 10-3; test set: P = 3.516 × 10-2). The sensitivity and specificity of the ROC curve of the above prognostic model in predicting the 5-year prognosis of GI cancer was satisfactory (entire set: 0.728; train set: 0.727; test set: 0.733). Analysis of clinical samples validated the overexpression of the 4 genes (SQSTM1, BIRC5, NRG3, and CXCR4) in tumor tissues relative to paired normal tissues, consistent with bioinformatic findings. Expression of the 4 autophagy-related genes (SQSTM1, BIRC5, NRG3, and CXCR4) can accurately predict the prognosis of gastrointestinal tumors in Asian patients.

Sequencing and characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of Japanese Swellshark (Cephalloscyllium umbratile).

To further comprehend the genome features of Cephalloscyllium umbratile (Carcharhiniformes), an endangered species, the complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was firstly sequenced and annotated. The full-length mtDNA of C. umbratile was 16,697 bp and contained ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 23 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and a major non-coding control region. Each PCG was initiated by an authoritative ATN codon, except for COX1 initiated by a GTG codon. Seven of 13 PCGs had a typical TAA termination codon, while others terminated with a single T or TA. Moreover, the relative synonymous codon usage of the 13 PCGs was consistent with that of other published Carcharhiniformes. All tRNA genes had typical clover-leaf secondary structures, except for tRNA-Ser (GCT), which lacked the dihydrouridine 'DHU' arm. Furthermore, the analysis of the average Ka/Ks in the 13 PCGs of three Carcharhiniformes species indicated a strong purifying selection within this group. In addition, phylogenetic analysis revealed that C. umbratile was closely related to Glyphis glyphis and Glyphis garricki. Our data supply a useful resource for further studies on genetic diversity and population structure of C. umbratile.

Clinical efficacy of combined sodium dimercaptopropanesulfonate and zinc treatment in neurological Wilson's disease with D-penicillamine treatment failure.

OBJECTIVES: There are limited pharmacological treatments for patients with neurological Wilson's disease (WD) and a history of copper-chelating treatment failure. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated the clinical records of 38 patients with WD who were treated with sodium dimercaptopropanesulfonate (DMPS) and zinc (group 1) or zinc alone (group 2). All patients had a history of neurological deterioration during their previous treatment with D-penicillamine (DPA). RESULTS: Twenty-one patients were treated with intravenous DMPS for 4 weeks, followed by zinc gluconate for 6 months, and the treatment protocol was repeated twice. Relative to the baseline, repeated DMPS therapy and zinc maintenance therapy decreased neurological scores continuously (p < 0.01). Sixteen patients (76.2%) demonstrated neurological improvements after 1 year of therapy and four patients (19.0%) exhibited neurological deterioration at the follow-up session. In addition, 17 patients were treated with zinc monotherapy for 12 months. Two patients (11.8%) demonstrated neurological improvements and five patients (29.4%) exhibited neurological deterioration. Compared with the patients in group 2, a greater improvement ratio (p < 0.01) and lower deterioration ratio (p < 0.01) were observed in the patients in group 1 after 1 year of therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that the safety and efficacy of combined treatment of DMPS and zinc is superior to those of zinc monotherapy in patients with neurological WD with a history of DPA treatment failure.