IGSF8 is an innate immune checkpoint and cancer immunotherapy target.

Antigen presentation defects in tumors are prevalent mechanisms of adaptive immune evasion and resistance to cancer immunotherapy, whereas how tumors evade innate immunity is less clear. Using CRISPR screens, we discovered that IGSF8 expressed on tumors suppresses NK cell function by interacting with human KIR3DL2 and mouse Klra9 receptors on NK cells. IGSF8 is normally expressed in neuronal tissues and is not required for cell survival in vitro or in vivo. It is overexpressed and associated with low antigen presentation, low immune infiltration, and worse clinical outcomes in many tumors. An antibody that blocks IGSF8-NK receptor interaction enhances NK cell killing of malignant cells in vitro and upregulates antigen presentation, NK cell-mediated cytotoxicity, and T cell signaling in vivo. In syngeneic tumor models, anti-IGSF8 alone, or in combination with anti-PD1, inhibits tumor growth. Our results indicate that IGSF8 is an innate immune checkpoint that could be exploited as a therapeutic target.

Structural and functional abnormalities and cognitive profiles in older adults with early-onset and late-onset focal epilepsy.

This study aimed to determine the patterns of changes in structure, function, and cognitive ability in early-onset and late-onset older adults with focal epilepsy (OFE). This study first utilized the deformation-based morphometry analysis to identify structural abnormalities, which were used as the seed region to investigate the functional connectivity with the whole brain. Next, a correlation analysis was performed between the altered imaging findings and neuropsychiatry assessments. Finally, the potential role of structural-functional abnormalities in the diagnosis of epilepsy was further explored by using mediation analysis. Compared with healthy controls (n = 28), the area of reduced structural volume was concentrated in the bilateral cerebellum, right thalamus, and right middle cingulate cortex, with frontal, temporal, and occipital lobes also affected in early-onset focal epilepsy (n = 26), while late-onset patients (n = 31) displayed cerebellar, thalamic, and cingulate atrophy. Furthermore, correlation analyses suggest an association between structural abnormalities and cognitive assessments. Dysfunctional connectivity in the cerebellum, cingulate cortex, and frontal gyrus partially mediates the relationship between structural abnormalities and the diagnosis of early-onset focal epilepsy. This study identified structural and functional abnormalities in early-onset and late-onset focal epilepsy and explored characters in cognitive performance. Structural-functional coupling may play a potential role in the diagnosis of epilepsy.

A New Theranostic Platform Against Gram-Positive Bacteria Based on Near-Infrared-Emissive Aggregation-Induced Emission Nanoparticles.

Infections induced by Gram-positive bacteria pose a great threat to public health. Antibiotic therapy, as the first chosen strategy against Gram-positive bacteria, is inevitably associated with antibiotic resistance selection. Novel therapeutic strategies for the discrimination and inactivation of Gram-positive bacteria are thus needed. Here, a specific type of aggregation-induced emission luminogen (AIEgen) with near-infrared fluorescence emission as a novel antibiotic-free therapeutic strategy against Gram-positive bacteria is proposed. With the combination of a positively charged group into a highly twisted architecture, self-assembled AIEgens (AIE nanoparticles (NPs)) at a relatively low concentration (5 µm) exhibited specific binding and photothermal effect against living Gram-positive bacteria both in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, toxicity assays demonstrated excellent biocompatibility of AIE NPs at this concentration. All these properties make the AIE NPs as a novel generation of theranostic platform for combating Gram-positive bacteria and highlight their promising potential for in vivo tracing of such bacteria.

[18F]FDG PET for mapping the cerebral glucose metabolic characteristics of drug-sensitive and drug-resistant epilepsy in pediatric patients.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ([18F]FDG PET) mapping for cerebral glucose metabolism in drug-sensitive and drug-resistant pediatric epilepsy patients. METHODS: This retrospective study enrolled 40 patients and 25 controls. Patients were categorized into drug-sensitive epilepsy (n = 22) and drug-resistant epilepsy (n = 18) according to the seizure frequency at follow-up. All patients underwent two [18F]FDG PET scans separated by a minimum of one year. Absolute asymmetry index (|AI|) was calculated for assessing metabolic differences and changes in epileptic foci. Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) was utilized to reveal voxel-wise metabolic characteristics and alterations throughout the brain. Network analysis based on graph theory was used to investigate network-level differences between the two patient groups. RESULTS: The drug-sensitive group showed a lower |AI| at both baseline (P = 0.038) and follow-up (P = 0.003) PET scans than the drug-resistant group. |AI| decreased in the drug-sensitive group and increased in the drug-resistant group across scans, but these trends were not statistically significant (P = 0.240 and P = 0.450, respectively). Both groups exhibited hypometabolism at baseline. The drug-sensitive group showed less hypometabolic brain regions than the drug-resistant group. The drug-sensitive maintained stable level of hypometabolism between the two scans, whereas the drug-resistant group showed an increasing hypometabolism. Network analysis demonstrated that the drug-sensitive group had a higher global efficiency, average degree, and clustering, along with a shorter characteristic path length compared to the drug-resistant group. CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, this study revealed in vivo cerebral glucose metabolic pattern of nonsurgical pediatric epilepsy patients treated by antiepileptic drugs. Especially, drug-resistant epilepsy patients represented significantly extensive and progressive hypometabolism with inefficient brain network connectivity compared with drug-sensitive epilepsy. [18F]FDG PET imaging may be a potential visual approach for theranostics of epilepsy patients.

In vivo cerebral metabolic and dopaminergic characteristics in multiple system atrophy with orthostatic hypotension.

PURPOSE: Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a rare neurodegenerative disease, often presented with orthostatic hypotension (OH), which is a disabling symptom but has not been very explored. Here, we investigated MSA patients with OH by using positron emission tomography (PET) with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) and 11C-N-2-carbomethoxy-3-(4-fluorophenyl)-tropane (11C-CFT) for in vivo evaluation of the glucose metabolism and dopaminergic function of the brain. METHODS: Totally, 51 patients with MSA and 20 healthy controls (HC) who underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT were retrospectively enrolled, among which 24 patients also underwent 11C-CFT PET/CT. All patients were divided into MSA-OH(+) and MSA-OH(-) groups. Then, statistical parametric mapping (SPM) method was used to reveal the regional metabolic and dopaminergic characteristics of MSA-OH(+) compared with MSA-OH(-). Moreover, the metabolic networks of MSA-OH(+), MSA-OH(-) and HC groups were also constructed and analyzed based on graph theory to find possible network-level changes in MSA patients with OH. RESULTS: The SPM results showed significant hypometabolism in the pons and right cerebellar tonsil, as well as hypermetabolism in the left parahippocampal gyrus and left superior temporal gyrus in MSA-OH(+) compared with MSA-OH(-). A reduced 11C-CFT uptake in the left caudate was also shown in MSA-OH(+) compared with MSA-OH(-). In the network analysis, significantly reduced local efficiency and clustering coefficient were shown in MSA-OH(+) compared with HC, and decreased nodal centrality in the frontal gyrus was found in MSA-OH(+) compared with MSA-OH(-). CONCLUSION: In this study, the changes in glucose metabolism in the pons, right cerebellar tonsil, left parahippocampal gyrus and left superior temporal gyrus were found closely related to OH in MSA patients. And the decreased presynaptic dopaminergic function in the left caudate may contribute to OH in MSA. Taken together, this study provided in vivo pathophysiologic information on MSA with OH from neuroimaging approach, which is essential for a better understanding of MSA with OH.

[18F]FDG PET integrated with structural MRI for accurate brain age prediction.

PURPOSE: Brain aging is a complex and heterogeneous process characterized by both structural and functional decline. This study aimed to establish a novel deep learning (DL) method for predicting brain age by utilizing structural and metabolic imaging data. METHODS: The dataset comprised participants from both the Universal Medical Imaging Diagnostic Center (UMIDC) and the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). The former recruited 395 normal control (NC) subjects, while the latter included 438 NC subjects, 51 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects, and 56 Alzheimer's disease (AD) subjects. We developed a novel dual-pathway, 3D simple fully convolutional network (Dual-SFCNeXt) to estimate brain age using [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ([18F]FDG PET) and structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI) images of NC subjects as input. Several prevailing DL models were trained and tested using either MRI or PET data for comparison. Model accuracies were evaluated using mean absolute error (MAE) and Pearson's correlation coefficient (r). Brain age gap (BAG), deviations of brain age from chronologic age, was correlated with cognitive assessments in MCI and AD subjects. RESULTS: Both PET- and MRI-based models achieved high prediction accuracy. The leading model was the SFCNeXt (the single-pathway version) for PET (MAE = 2.92, r = 0.96) and MRI (MAE = 3.23, r = 0.95) on all samples. By integrating both PET and MRI images, the Dual-SFCNeXt demonstrated significantly improved accuracy (MAE = 2.37, r = 0.97) compared to all single-modality models. Significantly higher BAG was observed in both the AD (P < 0.0001) and MCI (P < 0.0001) groups compared to the NC group. BAG correlated significantly with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores (r=-0.390 for AD, r=-0.436 for MCI) and the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes (CDR-SB) scores (r = 0.333 for AD, r = 0.372 for MCI). CONCLUSION: The integration of [18F]FDG PET with structural MRI enhances the accuracy of brain age prediction, potentially introducing a new avenue for related multimodal brain age prediction studies.

PET imaging of synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2 subtype A for neurological recovery in ischemic stroke.

PURPOSE: [18F]SynVesT-1 is a novel radiopharmaceutical for assessing synaptic density in vivo. This study aims to investigate the potential of [18F]SynVesT-1 positron emission tomography (PET) in evaluating neurological recovery in the rat model of ischemic stroke, and to compare its performance with [18F]FDG PET. METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to photothrombotic cerebral infarction, and safinamide was administered intraperitoneally from day 3 to day 14 post-stroke to alleviate neurological deficits. Cylinder test and forelimb placing test were performed to assess the neurological function. MRI, [18F]SynVesT-1 PET/CT and [18F]FDG PET/CT imaging were used to evaluate infarct volume, synaptic density, and cerebral glucose metabolism pre- and post-treatment. [18F]SynVesT-1 and [18F]FDG PET images were compared using Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) and region of interest (ROI)-based analysis. Post-mortem histological analysis was performed to validate PET images. RESULTS: Safinamide treatment improved behavioral outcomes in stroke-damaged rats. Both [18F]SynVesT-1 and [18F]FDG PET detected stroke-induced injury, with the injured region being significantly larger in [18F]FDG PET than in [18F]SynVesT-1 PET. Compared with the saline group, radiotracer uptake in the injured area significantly increased in [18F]SynVesT-1 PET after safinamide treatment, whereas no notable change was observed in [18F]FDG PET. Additionally, [18F]SynVesT-1 PET imaging showed a better correlation with neurological function recovery than [18F]FDG PET. Post-mortem analysis revealed increased neuronal numbers, synaptic density, and synaptic neuroplasticity, as well as decreased glia activation in the stroke-injured area after treatment. CONCLUSION: [18F]SynVesT-1 PET effectively quantified spatiotemporal dynamics of synaptic density in the rat model of stroke, and showed different capabilities in detecting stroke injury and neurological recovery compared with [18F]FDG PET. The utilization of [18F]SynVesT-1 PET holds promise as a potential non-invasive biomarker for evaluating ischemic stroke in conjunction with [18F]FDG PET.

Identification of metabolic progression and subtypes in progressive supranuclear palsy by PET molecular imaging.

INTRODUCTION: Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a neurodegenerative disorder with diverse clinical presentations that are linked to tau pathology. Recently, Subtype and Stage Inference (SuStaIn) algorithm, an innovative data-driven method, has been developed to model both the spatial-temporal progression and subtypes of disease. This study explores PSP progression using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and the SuStaIn algorithm to identify PSP metabolic progression subtypes and understand disease mechanisms. METHODS: The study included 72 PSP patients and 70 controls, with an additional 24 PSP patients enrolled as a test set, undergoing FDG-PET, dopamine transporter (DAT) PET, and neuropsychological assessments. The SuStaIn algorithm was employed to analyze the FDG-PET data, identifying progression subtypes and sequences. RESULTS: Two PSP subtypes were identified: the cortical subtype with early prefrontal hypometabolism and the brainstem subtype with initial midbrain alterations. The cortical subtype displayed greater cognitive impairment and DAT reduction than the brainstem subtype. The test set demonstrates the robustness and reproducibility of the findings. Pathway analysis indicated that disruptions in dopaminergic cortico-basal ganglia pathways are crucial for elucidating the mechanisms of cognitive and behavioral impairment in PSP, leading to the two metabolic progression subtypes. CONCLUSION: This study identified two spatiotemporal progression subtypes of PSP based on FDG-PET imaging, revealing significant differences in metabolic patterns, striatal dopaminergic uptake, and clinical profiles, particularly cognitive impairments. The findings highlight the crucial role of dopaminergic cortico-basal ganglia pathways in PSP pathophysiology, especially in the cortical subtype, providing insights into PSP heterogeneity and potential avenues for personalized treatments.

Spatial-temporal dynamic evolution of lewy body dementia by metabolic PET imaging.

PURPOSE: Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a neurodegenerative disease with high heterogeneity and complex pathogenesis. Our study aimed to use disease progression modeling to uncover spatial-temporal dynamic evolution of LBD in vivo, and to explore differential profiles of clinical features, glucose metabolism, and dopaminergic function among different evolution-related subtypes. METHODS: A total of 123 participants (31 healthy controls and 92 LBD patients) who underwent 18F-FDG PET scans were retrospectively enrolled. 18F-FDG PET-based Subtype and Stage Inference (SuStaIn) model was established to illustrate spatial-temporal evolutionary patterns and categorize relevant subtypes. Then subtypes and stages were further related to clinical features, glucose metabolism, and dopaminergic function of LBD patients. RESULTS: This 18F-FDG PET imaging-based approach illustrated two distinct patterns of neurodegenerative evolution originating from the neocortex and basal ganglia in LBD and defined them as subtype 1 and subtype 2, respectively. There were obvious differences between subtypes. Compared with subtype 1, subtype 2 exhibited a greater proportion of male patients (P = 0.045) and positive symptoms such as visual hallucinations (P = 0.033) and fluctuating cognitions (P = 0.033). Cognitive impairment, metabolic abnormalities, dopaminergic dysfunction and progression were all more severe in subtype 2 (all P < 0.05). In addition, a strong association was observed between SuStaIn subtypes and two clinical phenotypes (Parkinson's disease dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies) (P = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings based on 18F-FDG PET and data-driven model illustrated spatial-temporal dynamic evolution of LBD and categorized novel subtypes with different evolutionary patterns, clinical and imaging features in vivo. The evolution-related subtypes are associated with LBD clinical phenotypes, which supports the perspective of existence of distinct entities in LBD spectrum.

International consensus on clinical use of presynaptic dopaminergic positron emission tomography imaging in parkinsonism.

PURPOSE: Presynaptic dopaminergic positron emission tomography (PET) imaging serves as an essential tool in diagnosing and differentiating patients with suspected parkinsonism, including idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) and other neurodegenerative and non-neurodegenerative diseases. The PET tracers most commonly used at the present time mainly target dopamine transporters (DAT), aromatic amino acid decarboxylase (AADC), and vesicular monoamine type 2 (VMAT2). However, established standards for the imaging procedure and interpretation of presynaptic dopaminergic PET imaging are still lacking. The goal of this international consensus is to help nuclear medicine practitioners procedurally perform presynaptic dopaminergic PET imaging. METHOD: A multidisciplinary task group formed by experts from various countries discussed and approved the consensus for presynaptic dopaminergic PET imaging in parkinsonism, focusing on standardized recommendations, procedures, interpretation, and reporting. CONCLUSION: This international consensus and practice guideline will help to promote the standardized use of presynaptic dopaminergic PET imaging in parkinsonism. It will become an international standard for this purpose in clinical practice.

Brain functional changes across mood states in bipolar disorder: from a large-scale network perspective.

BACKGROUND: Exploring the neural basis related to different mood states is a critical issue for understanding the pathophysiology underlying mood switching in bipolar disorder (BD), but research has been scarce and inconsistent. METHODS: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired from 162 patients with BD: 33 (hypo)manic, 64 euthymic, and 65 depressive, and 80 healthy controls (HCs). The differences of large-scale brain network functional connectivity (FC) between the four groups were compared and correlated with clinical characteristics. To validate the generalizability of our findings, we recruited a small longitudinal independent sample of BD patients (n = 11). In addition, we examined topological nodal properties across four groups as exploratory analysis. RESULTS: A specific strengthened pattern of network FC, predominantly involving the default mode network (DMN), was observed in (hypo)manic patients when compared with HCs and bipolar patients in other mood states. Longitudinal observation revealed an increase in several network FCs in patients during (hypo)manic episode. Both samples evidenced an increase in the FC between the DMN and ventral attention network, and between the DMN and limbic network (LN) related to (hypo)mania. The altered network connections were correlated with mania severity and positive affect. Bipolar depressive patients exhibited decreased FC within the LN compared with HCs. The exploratory analysis also revealed an increase in degree in (hypo)manic patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings identify a distributed pattern of large-scale network disturbances in the unique context of (hypo)mania and thus provide new evidence for our understanding of the neural mechanism of BD.

Effect of classroom-based physical activity on teaching quality of systemic lupus erythematosus for medical undergraduates.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the influence of classroom-based physical activity (CB-PA) on the teaching quality of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) for medical undergraduates. METHODS: Students from 8 classes participating in the clinical medicine program of the affiliated hospital of Zunyi Medical University were divided into two groups. Four classes received regular teaching on the SLE chapter as the control group, and the other four received CB-PA intervention as the experimental group. After class, the basic ability (diagnostics and pharmacology scores in sophomore year) and teaching quality scores were collected and compared using a questionnaire. The performance of the 2 groups to the SLE review questions was compared. RESULTS: The scores of learning interest, the degree of satisfaction with the courses, and the level of mastering the teaching contents in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group. The evaluation of the teacher's teaching level increased considerably. The experimental group's performance was also better than the control group's (the assessment performance was adjusted with the basic ability). CONCLUSION: CB-PA in teaching SLE improves students' interest in learning, teaching satisfaction, and mastery of knowledge and may ultimately enhance their assessment results.

Erythroblast transformation-specific-related gene promotes metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma by transcriptionally upregulating peroxiredoxin 1.

BACKGROUND: Some studies confirmed that erythroblast transformation-specific-related gene (ERG) may be a pathogenic factor of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, the undergoing molecular mechanism has not been elucidated yet. OBJECTIVE: In this study, the investigation will focus on how the transcription factor ERG modulates the biological behaviors of OSCC. METHODS: In this study, cancer tissue specimens and corresponding paracancer tissues were collected from 54 patients. Real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis and Western blots were employed to detect the expression of multiple genes. Cell proliferation assays, Transwell, and flow cytometry assay were utilized to detect the proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis of OSCC cell, respectively. Dual luciferase reporter gene and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were conducted to verify the regulation of ERG on PRDX1. RESULTS: ERG exhibits high expression levels in OSCC. Inhibition of ERG has been shown to effectively suppress the malignant growth of OSCC cells. Moreover, ERG has been found to transcriptionally upregulate the expression of PRDX1. The knockdown of PRDX1 has demonstrated its ability to inhibit the malignant growth of OSCC cells. Interestingly, when PRDX1 is overexpressed, it attenuates the inhibitory effect of si-ERG on the malignant growth of OSCC cells. This suggests that PRDX1 may play a crucial role in mediating the impact of ERG on malignancy in OSCC cells. CONCLUSION: The transcription factor ERG promotes the expression of PRDX1, which could enhance the proliferation and invasion while inhibiting the apoptosis of OSCC cells.

Two laser-assisted hatching methods of embryos in ART: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Laser-assisted hatching (LAH) stands as the predominant technique for removing the zona pellucida (ZP) in embryos, primarily consisting of two methods: drilling laser-assisted hatching (D-LAH) and thinning laser-assisted hatching (T-LAH). Presently, both methods have limitations, and their comparative efficacy for embryo implantation and clinical pregnancy remains uncertain. AIM: Evaluate the impact of D-LAH and T-LAH on clinical pregnancy rates within assisted reproductive technology (ART). METHODS: We systematically searched electronic databases including PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library until July 20, 2022. This study encompassed observational studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs). A 95% confidence interval (CI) was utilized for assessing the risk ratio (RR) of pregnancy outcomes. The level of heterogeneity was measured using I2 statistics, considering a value exceeding 50% as indicative of substantial heterogeneity. RESULTS: The meta-analysis scrutinized 9 studies involving 2405 clinical pregnancies from D-LAH and 2239 from T-LAH. Findings suggested no considerable variation in the clinical pregnancy rates between the two techniques (RR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.79-1.10, I2 = 71%, P = 0.41). Subgroup analyses also revealed no substantial differences. However, D-LAH exhibited a notably higher occurrence of singleton pregnancies compared to T-LAH (RR = 2.28, 95% CI: 1.08-4.82, I2 = 89%, P = 0.03). There were no noteworthy distinctions observed in other secondary outcomes encompassing implantation rate, multiple pregnancies, ongoing pregnancy, miscarriage, premature birth, and live birth. CONCLUSION: Both the primary findings and subgroup analyses showed no marked variance in clinical pregnancy rates between D-LAH and T-LAH. Therefore, patients with varying conditions should select their preferred LAH technique after assessing their individual situation. However, due to the restricted number of studies involved, accurately gauging the influence of these laser techniques on clinical outcomes is challenging, necessitating further RCTs and high-quality studies to enhance the success rate of ART. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO: CRD42022347066.

LncRNA LINC00261 associates with chemoresistance and clinical prognosis in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this experiment is to explore the role of long intergenic noncoding RNA 261 (LINC00261) gene in the chemoresistance and clinical prognosis of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). METHODS: We used matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry to detect the methylation levels of the LINC00261 promoter region in EOC patient specimens. The expression levels of LINC00261, miR-545-3p, and MT1M in EOC patients were evaluated by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-qPCR). Spearman's correlation analysis was used for relevance analyses and clinical prognosis was counted by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Stable overexpressed LINC00261 SKOV3 cells were established to test the influence of LINC00261 on proliferation, platinum sensitivity, migration, and invasion. RESULTS: The promoter region methylation level of the LINC00261 was hypermethylated and LINC00261 was significantly downregulated in platinum-resistant EOC tissues. The methylation level of LINC00261was significantly negative correlated with its RNA expression in EOC. Moreover, hypermethylation and lower expression of LINC00261 in EOC patients were related to shorter progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Furthermore, Spearman's correlation analysis showed that the expression of miR-545-3p had a negative relevance with LINC00261. According to the website prediction, MT1M might be the downstream target gene of LINC00261. Expression of MT1M was negatively correlated with miR-545-3p and positively with LINC00261 in EOC tissues. And lower MT1M mRNA expression was correlated with chemotherapy resistance and worse prognosis. In vitro, overexpression of LINC00261 could inhibit cisplatin resistance, proliferation, and suppression of migration and invasion in SKOV3 cells. CONCLUSIONS: This research indicates that the aberrant hypermethylation and low expression of LINC00261 were associated with platinum resistance and adverse outcomes in EOC patients.

The impact of mindfulness therapy combined with mentalization-based family therapy on suicidal ideation in adolescents with depressive disorder: randomized intervention study.

BACKGROUND: Adolescents with depression who engage in non-suicidal self harming behaviors are more likely to adopt negative coping strategies when faced with negative events. Therefore, these patients should be introduced to positive coping strategies. Evidences have showed that mindfulness-based interventions can positively impact the psychology of patients with mental disorders. This study was to explore the impact of a combination of mindfulness therapy and mentalization-based family therapy (MBFT) on suicidal ideation in adolescents with depressive disorder. METHODS: Eighty adolescent patients with depression and suicidal ideation admitted to our hospital from September 2021 to February 2022 were selected as subjects. They were divided into a control group and a study group using the random number table method, with each group comprising 40 subjects. The control group received MBFT, whereas the study group received both mindfulness therapy and MBFT. The psychological status and suicidal ideations of the two groups were compared before and after the intervention. RESULTS: The psychological health scores of both groups of patients were lower after the intervention, with the scores of the study group being lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05). The scores on the suicidal ideation scales for both groups were lower after intervention, and the study group scored lower than the control group (P < 0.05). The absolute values of the differences in psychological health scale scores and suicidal ideation scale scores before and after the intervention were higher in the study group than in the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The combination of mindfulness therapy and MBFT can improve the psychological condition of adolescents with depression, reduce their suicidal ideations, and help them develop a healthy and positive outlook toward life, making this method worthy of clinical recommendation.

Preparation and application of a pseudo-templated multi-monomer aflatoxins imprinted polymer.

A functional material was developed with specific recognition properties for aflatoxins for pre-processing enrichment and separation in the detection of aflatoxins in Chinese herbal medicines. In the experiment, ethyl coumarin-3-carboxylate, which has a highly similar structure to the oxonaphthalene o-ketone of aflatoxin, was selected as a pseudo-template, zinc acrylate, neutral red derivative, and methacrylic acid, which have complementary functions, were selected as co-monomers to prepare a pseudo-template multifunctional monomer molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP). The MIP obtained under the optimal preparation conditions has a maximum adsorption capacity of 0.036 mg/mg and an imprinting factor of 3.67. The physical property evaluation of the polymers by Fourier infrared spectrometer, scanning electron microscopy, pore size analyzer, thermogravimetric analyzer, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy showed that the MIP were successfully prepared and porous spherical-like particles were obtained. The synthesized polymer was used as a solid-phase extraction agent for the separation of aflatoxins from the extract of spina date seed. The linear range of the developed method was 10-1000 ng/mL, the limit of detection was 0.36 ng/mL, the limit of quantification was 1.19 ng/mL, and the recoveries of the extracts at the concentration level of 0.2 µg/mL were in the range 88.0-93.4%, with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 1.97% (n). The results showed that the preparation of MIPs using ethyl coumarin-3-carboxylate as a template was simple, economical, and convenient. It is expected to become a promising functional material for the enrichment and separation aflatoxins from complex matrices.

Application of System Nursing in the Prevention of Postoperative Nonstructural Scoliosis in Patients With Ear Reconstruction.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether early systematic nursing can reduce the occurrence of postoperative nonstructural scoliosis in patients undergoing ear reconstruction. METHODS: A total of 136 patients with congenital microtia who underwent ear reconstruction surgery at the Department of Plastic Surgery, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from, January 2022 to July 2022 were included as study subjects. They were randomly divided into a routine nursing group and a systematic nursing group. After preoperative and postoperative education, as well as continuous follow-up intervention after surgery, spinal CT three-dimensional imaging examination was performed 6 months later to measure the Cobb angle and observe the occurrence of spinal scoliosis. RESULTS: Compared with the routine nursing group, the incidence and severity of postoperative nonstructural scoliosis were significantly reduced in patients who received systematic nursing. CONCLUSIONS: Systematic nursing intervention for patients undergoing ear reconstruction can help prevent the occurrence of postoperative nonstructural scoliosis and has a positive effect on improving patient prognosis. It is worth promoting in clinical treatment.

What Factors Can Affect the Occurrence of Vertigo in Patients After Craniofacial Surgery in China?

Vertigo is a complication of craniomaxillofacial contour plastic surgery characterized by dizziness from hypovolemia in the cerebral hemispheres and brainstem. The authors analyzed the current status and influencing factors of postoperative vertigo in patients who undergo craniomaxillofacial contouring and discussed improvements in nursing strategies. The authors investigated 418 patients admitted to the authors' hospital who underwent craniomaxillofacial contouring between November 2020 and October 2023 and divided them into asymptomatic and symptomatic groups based on syncopal precursors or vertigo. The authors screened the current status of vertigo in patients after craniomaxillofacial contouring and the factors affecting vertigo and determined nursing improvement strategies. After craniomaxillofacial contouring, 125 patients had vertigo symptoms. Postcraniomaxillofacial contouring syncope or vertigo was associated with age, patient vertigo history, family history, depression, weight loss, blood pressure at admission, feeding before getting out of bed, and the level of intraoperative hemorrhage Multifactorial logistic regression analysis revealed the association between postcraniomaxillofacial contouring syncope or vertigo and vertigo history, depression, weight loss, feeding before getting out of bed, and intraoperative bleeding volume. Vertigo precursor incidence after craniomaxillofacial contouring surgery is 29.90%. Its influencing factors are complex, suggesting that nurses need to improve the perioperative health education of craniomaxillofacial contouring surgery and optimize the nursing care, encourage patients to have a reasonable diet or provide parenteral nutritional support preoperatively, help patients get out of bed early postoperatively, encourage them to have multiple meals in little quantity before getting out of bed, and control the intraoperative bleeding, to ensure patient safety postoperatively.

Identification of One O-Methyltransferase Gene Involved in Methylated Flavonoid Biosynthesis Related to the UV-B Irradiation Response in Euphorbia lathyris.

Flavonoids are ubiquitous polyphenolic compounds that play a vital role in plants' defense response and medicinal efficacy. UV-B radiation is a vital environmental regulator governing flavonoid biosynthesis in plants. Many plants rapidly biosynthesize flavonoids as a response to UV-B stress conditions. Here, we investigated the effects of flavonoid biosynthesis via UV-B irradiation in Euphorbia lathyris. We found that exposure of the E. lathyris callus to UV-B radiation sharply increased the level of one O-methyltransferase (ElOMT1) transcript and led to the biosynthesis of several methylated flavonoids. The methyltransferase ElOMT1 was expressed heterologously in E. coli, and we tested the catalytic activity of recombinant ElOMT1 with possible substrates, including caffeic acid, baicalin, and luteolin, in vitro. ElOMT1 could efficiently methylate when the hydroxyl groups were contained in the core nucleus of the flavonoid. This molecular characterization identifies a methyltransferase responsible for the chemical modification of the core flavonoid structure through methylation and helps reveal the mechanism of methylated flavonoid biosynthesis in Euphorbiaceae. This study identifies the O-methyltransferase that responds to UV-B irradiation and helps shed light on the mechanism of flavonoid biosynthesis in Euphorbia lathyris.