ADAR1p150 prevents MDA5 and PKR activation via distinct mechanisms to avert fatal autoinflammation.

Effective immunity requires the innate immune system to distinguish foreign nucleic acids from cellular ones. Cellular double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) are edited by the RNA-editing enzyme ADAR1 to evade being recognized as viral dsRNA by cytoplasmic dsRNA sensors, including MDA5 and PKR. The loss of ADAR1-mediated RNA editing of cellular dsRNA activates MDA5. Additional RNA-editing-independent functions of ADAR1 have been proposed, but a specific mechanism has not been delineated. We now demonstrate that the loss of ADAR1-mediated RNA editing specifically activates MDA5, whereas loss of the cytoplasmic ADAR1p150 isoform or its dsRNA-binding activity enabled PKR activation. Deleting both MDA5 and PKR resulted in complete rescue of the embryonic lethality of Adar1p150-/- mice to adulthood, contrasting with the limited or no rescue by removing MDA5 or PKR alone. Our findings demonstrate that MDA5 and PKR are the primary in vivo effectors of fatal autoinflammation following the loss of ADAR1p150.

State-Dependent tACS Effects Reveal the Potential Causal Role of Prestimulus Alpha Traveling Waves in Visual Contrast Detection.

The intricate relationship between prestimulus alpha oscillations and visual contrast detection variability has been the focus of numerous studies. However, the causal impact of prestimulus alpha traveling waves on visual contrast detection remains largely unexplored. In our research, we sought to discern the causal link between prestimulus alpha traveling waves and visual contrast detection across different levels of mental fatigue. Using electroencephalography alongside a visual detection task with 30 healthy adults (13 females; 17 males), we identified a robust negative correlation between prestimulus alpha forward traveling waves (FTWs) and visual contrast threshold (VCT). Inspired by this correlation, we utilized 45/-45° phase-shifted transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) in a sham-controlled, double-blind, within-subject experiment with 33 healthy adults (23 females; 10 males) to directly modulate these alpha traveling waves. After the application of 45° phase-shifted tACS, we observed a substantial decrease in FTW and an increase in backward traveling waves, along with a concurrent increase in VCT, compared with the sham condition. These changes were particularly pronounced under a low fatigue state. The findings of state-dependent tACS effects reveal the potential causal role of prestimulus alpha traveling waves in visual contrast detection. Moreover, our study highlights the potential of 45/-45° phase-shifted tACS in cognitive modulation and therapeutic applications.

Histone FRET reports the spatial heterogeneity in nanoscale chromatin architecture that is imparted by the epigenetic landscape at the level of single foci in an intact cell nucleus.

Genome sequencing has identified hundreds of histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) that define an open or compact chromatin nanostructure at the level of nucleosome proximity, and therefore serve as activators or repressors of gene expression. Direct observation of this epigenetic mode of transcriptional regulation in an intact single nucleus, is however, a complex task. This is because despite the development of fluorescent probes that enable observation of specific histone PTMs and chromatin density, the changes in nucleosome proximity regulating gene expression occur on a spatial scale well below the diffraction limit of optical microscopy. In recent work, to address this research gap, we demonstrated that the phasor approach to fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between fluorescently labelled histones core to the nucleosome, is a readout of chromatin nanostructure that can be multiplexed with immunofluorescence (IF) against specific histone PTMs. Here from application of this methodology to gold standard gene activators (H3K4Me3 and H3K9Ac) versus repressors (e.g., H3K9Me3 and H3K27Me), we find that while on average these histone marks do impart an open versus compact chromatin nanostructure, at the level of single chromatin foci, there is significant spatial heterogeneity. Collectively this study illustrates the importance of studying the epigenetic landscape as a function of space within intact nuclear architecture and opens the door for the study of chromatin foci sub-populations defined by combinations of histone marks, as is seen in the context of bivalent chromatin.

Generation of a new Adar1p150 -/- mouse demonstrates isoform-specific roles in embryonic development and adult homeostasis.

The RNA editing enzyme adenosine deaminase acting on RNA 1 (ADAR1) is an essential regulator of the innate immune response to both cellular and viral double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) editing by ADAR1 modifies the sequence and structure of endogenous dsRNA and masks it from the cytoplasmic dsRNA sensor melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5), preventing innate immune activation. Loss-of-function mutations in ADAR are associated with rare autoinflammatory disorders including Aicardi-Goutières syndrome (AGS), defined by a constitutive systemic up-regulation of type I interferon (IFN). The murine Adar gene encodes two protein isoforms with distinct functions: ADAR1p110 is constitutively expressed and localizes to the nucleus, whereas ADAR1p150 is primarily cytoplasmic and is inducible by IFN. Recent studies have demonstrated the critical requirement for ADAR1p150 to suppress innate immune activation by self dsRNAs. However, detailed in vivo characterization of the role of ADAR1p150 during development and in adult mice is lacking. We identified a new ADAR1p150-specific knockout mouse mutant based on a single nucleotide deletion that resulted in the loss of the ADAR1p150 protein without affecting ADAR1p110 expression. The Adar1p150 -/- died embryonically at E11.5-E12.5 accompanied by cell death in the fetal liver and an activated IFN response. Somatic loss of ADAR1p150 in adults was lethal and caused rapid hematopoietic failure, demonstrating an ongoing requirement for ADAR1p150 in vivo. The generation and characterization of this mouse model demonstrates the essential role of ADAR1p150 in vivo and provides a new tool for dissecting the functional differences between ADAR1 isoforms and their physiological contributions.

The phenotype of the most common human ADAR1p150 Zα mutation P193A in mice is partially penetrant.

ADAR1 -mediated A-to-I RNA editing is a self-/non-self-discrimination mechanism for cellular double-stranded RNAs. ADAR mutations are one cause of Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome, an inherited paediatric encephalopathy, classed as a "Type I interferonopathy." The most common ADAR1 mutation is a proline 193 alanine (p.P193A) mutation, mapping to the ADAR1p150 isoform-specific Zα domain. Here, we report the development of an independent murine P195A knock-in mouse, homologous to human P193A. The Adar1P195A/P195A mice are largely normal and the mutation is well tolerated. When the P195A mutation is compounded with an Adar1 null allele (Adar1P195A/- ), approximately half the animals are runted with a shortened lifespan while the remaining Adar1P195A/- animals are normal, contrasting with previous reports. The phenotype of the Adar1P195A/- animals is both associated with the parental genotype and partly non-genetic/environmental. Complementation with an editing-deficient ADAR1 (Adar1P195A/E861A ), or the loss of MDA5, rescues phenotypes in the Adar1P195A/- mice.

Asymmetric Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Platensilin, Platensimycin, Platencin, and Their Analogs via a Bioinspired Skeletal Reconstruction Approach.

Platensilin, platensimycin, and platencin are potent inhibitors of ß-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein synthase (FabF) in the bacterial and mammalian fatty acid synthesis system, presenting promising drug leads for both antibacterial and antidiabetic therapies. Herein, a bioinspired skeleton reconstruction approach is reported, which enables the unified synthesis of these three natural FabF inhibitors and their skeletally diverse analogs, all stemming from a common ent-pimarane core. The synthesis features a diastereoselective biocatalytic reduction and an intermolecular Diels-Alder reaction to prepare the common ent-pimarane core. From this intermediate, stereoselective Mn-catalyzed hydrogen atom-transfer hydrogenation and subsequent Cu-catalyzed carbenoid C-H insertion afford platensilin. Furthermore, the intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction succeeded by regioselective ring opening of the newly formed cyclopropane enables the construction of the bicyclo[3.2.1]-octane and bicyclo[2.2.2]-octane ring systems of platensimycin and platencin, respectively. This skeletal reconstruction approach of the ent-pimarane core facilitates the preparation of analogs bearing different polycyclic scaffolds. Among these analogs, the previously unexplored cyclopropyl analog 47 exhibits improved antibacterial activity (MIC80 = 0.0625 µg/mL) against S. aureus compared to platensimycin.

Enantiomerization of five-membered-heterocycle-embedded helicenes: A DFT study.

In this work, DFT theoretical calculations were employed to investigate the enantiomerization of helicenes embedded with five-membered heterocycles. The original benzene rings in the helicene backbone were replaced by heterocycles such as furan, thiophene, pyrrole, or phosphole to create [n]helicenes with n ranging from 4 to 7. The impact of the type, position, and number of heterocycles on the enantiomerization barrier was systematically evaluated. Notably, the enantiomerization barrier was found to be significantly dependent on the rotatory angle and the position of the heterocycles, particularly for [4, 5]helicenes. With less rotatory angle of heterocycle, the enantiomerization barrier of helicenes was revealed to be lower, while when the heterocycle was close to the central part of the helicene chain, the barrier was also lower. Furthermore, the number of thiophene rings also had a marked effect on enantiomerization, showing a decrease of the barrier with more thiophene rings placed on the helicenes backbone. We expect this work would deliver new perspective on the relative studies for the helicene conformational conversion.

Genome-wide identification of the MED25 BINDING RING-H2 PROTEIN gene family in foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.) and the role of SiMBR2 in resistance to abiotic stress in Arabidopsis.

MAIN CONCLUSION: The SiMBR genes in foxtail millet were identified and studied. Heterologous expression of SiMBR2 in Arabidopsis can improve plant tolerance to drought stress by decreasing the level of reactive oxygen species. Foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.), a C4 crop recognized for its exceptional resistance to drought stress, presents an opportunity to improve the genetic resilience of other crops by examining its unique stress response genes and understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms of drought tolerance. In our previous study, we identified several genes linked to drought stress by transcriptome analysis, including SiMBR2 (Seita.7G226600), a member of the MED25 BINDING RING-H2 PROTEIN (MBR) gene family, which is related to protein ubiquitination. Here, we have identified ten SiMBR genes in foxtail millet and conducted analyses of their structural characteristics, chromosomal locations, cis-acting regulatory elements within their promoters, and predicted transcription patterns specific to various tissues or developmental stages using bioinformatic approaches. Further investigation of the stress response of SiMBR2 revealed that its transcription is induced by treatments with salicylic acid and gibberellic acid, as well as by salt and osmotic stresses, while exposure to high or low temperatures led to a decrease in its transcription levels. Heterologous expression of SiMBR2 in Arabidopsis thaliana enhanced the plant's tolerance to water deficit by reducing the accumulation of reactive oxygen species under drought stress. In summary, this study provides support for exploring the molecular mechanisms associated with drought resistance of SiMBR genes in foxtail millet and contributing to genetic improvement and molecular breeding in other crops.

SpotLink enables sensitive and precise identification of site nonspecific cross-links at the proteome scale.

Nonspecific cross-linker can provide distance restraints between surface residues of any type, which could be used to investigate protein structure construction and protein-protein interaction (PPI). However, the vast number of potential combinations of cross-linked residues or sites obtained with such a cross-linker makes the data challenging to analyze, especially for the proteome-wide applications. Here, we developed SpotLink software for identifying site nonspecific cross-links at the proteome scale. Contributed by the dual pointer dynamic pruning algorithm and the quality control of cross-linking sites, SpotLink identified > 3000 cross-links from human cell samples within a short period of days. We demonstrated that SpotLink outperformed other approaches in terms of sensitivity and precision on the datasets of the simulated succinimidyl 4,4'-azipentanoate dataset and the condensin complexes with known structures. In addition, some valuable PPI were discovered in the datasets of the condensin complexes and the HeLa dataset, indicating the unique identification advantages of site nonspecific cross-linking. These findings reinforce the importance of SpotLink as a fundamental characteristic of site nonspecific cross-linking technologies.

ComMap: a software to perform large-scale structure-based mapping for cross-linking mass spectrometry.

MOTIVATION: Chemical cross-linking combined with mass spectrometry (CXMS) is now a well-established method for profiling existing protein-protein interactions (PPIs) with partially known structures. It is expected to map the results of CXMS with existing structure databases to study the protein dynamic profile in the structure analysis. However, currently available structure-based analysis software suffers from the difficulty of achieving large-scale analysis. Besides, it is infeasible for structure analysis and data mining on a large scale, since of lacking global measurement of dynamic structure mapping results. RESULTS: ComMap (protein complex structure mapping) is a software designed to perform large-scale structure-based mapping by integrating CXMS data with existing structures. It allows complete the distance calculation of PPIs with existing structures in batch within minutes and provides scores for different PPI-structure pairs of testable hypothetical structural dynamism via a global view. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

KLF10 promotes nonalcoholic steatohepatitis progression through transcriptional activation of zDHHC7.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), characterized by hepatic steatosis, inflammation, and liver injury, has become a leading cause of end-stage liver diseases and liver transplantation. Krüppel-like factors 10 (KLF10) is a Cys2/His2 zinc finger transcription factor that regulates cell growth, apoptosis, and differentiation. However, whether it plays a role in the development and progression of NASH remains poorly understood. In the present study, we found that KLF10 expression was selectively upregulated in the mouse models and human patients with NASH, compared with simple steatosis (NAFL). Gain- and loss-of function studies demonstrated that hepatocyte-specific overexpression of KLF10 aggravated, whereas its depletion alleviated diet-induced NASH pathogenesis in mice. Mechanistically, transcriptomic analysis and subsequent functional experiments showed that KLF10 promotes hepatic lipid accumulation and inflammation through the palmitoylation and plasma membrane localization of fatty acid translocase CD36 via transcriptionally activation of zDHHC7. Indeed, both expression of zDHHC7 and palmitoylation of CD36 are required for the pathogenic roles of KLF10 in NASH development. Thus, our results identify an important role for KLF10 in NAFL-to-NASH progression through zDHHC7-mediated CD36 palmitoylation.

Liver transcriptome analysis reveal the metabolic and apoptotic responses of Trachinotus ovatus under acute cold stress.

Trachinotus ovatus is an economically important fish and has been recommended as a high-quality aquaculture fish breed for the high-quality development of sea ranches in the South China Sea. However, T. ovatus shows intolerance to low temperature, greatly limiting the extension of farming scale, reducing production efficiency in winter, and increasing farming risks. In this study, liver transcriptome analysis was investigated in T. ovatus under acute low temperature conditions (20 and 15 °C) using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) technology. Inter-groups differential expression analysis and trend analysis screened 1219 DEGs and four significant profiles (profiles 0, 3, 4, and 7), respectively. GO enrichment analysis showed that these DEGs were mainly related to metabolic process and cell growth and death process. KEGG enrichment analysis found that DEGs were mainly associated with lipid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, and cell growth and death, such as gluconeogenesis, glycolysis, fatty acid oxidation, cholesterol biosynthesis, p53 signaling pathway, cell cycle arrest, and apoptotic cell death. Moreover, protein-protein interaction networks identified two hub genes (FOS and JUNB) and some important genes related to metabolic process and cell growth and death process, that corresponding to enrichment analysis. Overall, gluconeogenesis, lipid mobilization, and fatty acid oxidation in metabolic process and cell cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death in cell growth and death process were enhanced, while glycolysis, liver glycogen synthesis and cholesterol biosynthesis in metabolic process were inhibited. The enhancement or attenuatment of metabolic process and cell growth and death process is conducive to maintain energy balance, normal fluidity of cell membrane, normal physiological functions of liver cell, enhancing the tolerance of T. ovatus to cold stress. These results suggested that metabolic process and cell growth and death process play important roles in response to acute cold stress in the liver of T. ovatus. Gene expreesion level analysis showed that acute cold stress at 15 °C was identified as a critical temperature point for T. ovatus in term of cellular metabolism alteration and apoptosis inducement, and rewarming intervention should be timely implemented above 15 °C. Our study can provide theoretical support for breeding cold-tolerant cultivars of T. ovatus, which is contributed to high-quality productions fish production.

EEG-Meta-Microstates: Towards a More Objective Use of Resting-State EEG Microstate Findings Across Studies.

Over the last decade, EEG resting-state microstate analysis has evolved from a niche existence to a widely used and well-accepted methodology. The rapidly increasing body of empirical findings started to yield overarching patterns of associations of biological and psychological states and traits with specific microstate classes. However, currently, this cross-referencing among apparently similar microstate classes of different studies is typically done by "eyeballing" of printed template maps by the individual authors, lacking a systematic procedure. To improve the reliability and validity of future findings, we present a tool to systematically collect the actual data of template maps from as many published studies as possible and present them in their entirety as a matrix of spatial similarity. The tool also allows importing novel template maps and systematically extracting the findings associated with specific microstate maps from ongoing or published studies. The tool also allows importing novel template maps and systematically extracting the findings associated with specific microstate maps in the literature. The analysis of 40 included sets of template maps indicated that: (i) there is a high degree of similarity of template maps across studies, (ii) similar template maps were associated with converging empirical findings, and (iii) representative meta-microstates can be extracted from the individual studies. We hope that this tool will be useful in coming to a more comprehensive, objective, and overarching representation of microstate findings.

Corydecusines A-H, new phthalideisoquinoline hemicetal alkaloids from the bulbs of Corydalis decumbens inhibit Tau pathology by activating autophagy mediated by AMPK-ULK1 pathway.

Twelve phthalideisoquinoline hemiacetal alkaloids including eight new ones (1-8) and one natural alkaloid characterized by an aziridine moiety with unassigned NMR data (9), were isolated and identified from the bulbs of Corydalis decumbens. Their structures were established by comprehensive analyses of HRESIMS, NMR, X-ray crystallography, and ECD analyses. The unambiguously established structures of the phthalideisoquinoline hemiacetal alkaloids indicated that the absolute configurations of C-1, C-9, and C-7' were confusable only relied on coupling constants. A summary of their ECD spectra was concluded and provided an insight for C-1, C-9, and C-7' absolute configuration assignment. These new compounds were evaluated to induce autophagy flux through flow cytometry analysis. Moreover, compounds 2 and 6 could significantly induce autophagy and inhibit Tau pathology by AMPK-ULK1 pathway activation, which provided an avenue for anti-AD lead compounds discovery.

EEG microstate correlates of emotion dynamics and stimulation content during video watching.

INTRODUCTION: EEG microstates have been widely adopted to understand the complex and dynamic-changing process in dynamic brain systems, but how microstates are temporally modulated by emotion dynamics is still unclear. An investigation of EEG microstates under video-evoking emotion dynamics modulation would provide a novel insight into the understanding of temporal dynamics of functional brain networks. METHODS: In the present study, we postulate that emotional states dynamically modulate the microstate patterns, and perform an in-depth investigation between EEG microstates and emotion dynamics under a video-watching task. By mapping from subjective-experienced emotion states and objective-presented stimulation content to EEG microstates, we gauge the comprehensive associations among microstates, emotions, and multimedia stimulation. RESULTS: The results show that emotion dynamics could be well revealed by four EEG microstates (MS1, MS2, MS3, and MS4), where MS3 and MS4 are found to be highly correlated to different emotion states (emotion task effect and level effect) and the affective information involved in the multimedia content (visual and audio). CONCLUSION: In this work, we reveal the microstate patterns related to emotion dynamics from sensory and stimulation dimensions, which deepens the understanding of the neural representation under emotion dynamics modulation and will be beneficial for the future study of brain dynamic systems.

A brain-wide genome-wide association study of candidate quantitative trait loci associated with structural and functional phenotypes of pain sensitivity.

Individual pain sensitivity is modulated by the brain's structural and functional features, but its heritability remains unclear. This paper conducted a brain-wide genome-wide association study (GWAS) to explore the genetic bases of neuroimage phenotypes of pain sensitivity. In total, 432 normal participants were divided into high and low pain sensitivity groups according to the laser quantitative test threshold. Then, the brain's gray matter density (GMD) features correlated with pain sensitivity were identified. Next, GWAS was performed on each GMD phenotype using quality-controlled genotypes. Based on the heatmap and hierarchical clustering results, the right insula was identified for further refined analysis in terms of subregions GMD and resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) phenotypes. The results indicate that the right insula GMD in the high sensitivity group is significantly lower than that in the low sensitivity group. Also, the TT/TC group at locus rs187974 has lower right insula GMD than the CC group. Further, loci at gene CYP2D6 may lead to a variation of rs-FC between the right insula and left putamen. In conclusion, our study suggests that the right insula and multiple candidate loci may be importantly involved in pain sensitivity modulation, which may guide the future development of precision pain therapeutics.

Implementation and impact of the World Health Organization integrated care for older people (ICOPE) program in China: a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Fragmentation of services increases health and social care burden as people live longer with higher prevalence of diseases, frailty and dependency. Local evidence for implementing person-centred integrated care is urgently needed to advance practice and policies to achieve healthy ageing. OBJECTIVE: To test the feasibility and impact of World Health Organization's (WHO) Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) approach in China. DESIGN: A randomised controlled trial examining the feasibility of implementing ICOPE approach, evaluating its impact on health outcomes and health resource utilisation. SETTING: Primary care setting in urban and suburban communities of Chaoyang District, Beijing, China. SUBJECTS: Community-dwelling older adults screened as at-risk of functional declines and randomised into intervention (537) and control (1611) groups between September 2020 and February 2021. METHODS: A 6-month intervention program following WHO's ICOPE care pathways implemented by integrated care managers compared to standard available care. RESULTS: After 1 to 1 propensity score matching, participants in intervention and control groups (totally 938) had comparable baseline characteristics, demonstrated feasibility of implementing ICOPE with satisfaction by participants (97-99%) and providers (92-93%). All outcomes showed improvements after a 6-month intervention, while statistically significant least-squares mean differences (control-intervention) in vitality (Mini-Nutritional Assessment Short Form to measure vitality, -0.21, 95% CI, -0.40-0.02), mobility (Short Physical Performance Battery to measure mobility, -0.29, 95% CI, -0.44-0.14) and psychological health (Geriatric Depression Scale five items to measure psychological health, 0.09, 95% CI, 0.03-0.14) were observed (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible to localise and implement WHO's ICOPE approach in regions with fragmented resources such as China. Preliminary evidence supports its acceptance among key stakeholders and impact on health outcomes.

Comparison of knee joint and temporomandibular joint development in pig embryos.

Although the knee joint (KNJ) and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) all belong to the synovial joint, there are many differences in developmental origin, joint structure and articular cartilage type. Studies of joint development in embryos have been performed, mainly using poultry and rodents. However, KNJ and TMJ in poultry and rodents differ from those in humans in several ways. Very little work has been done on the embryonic development of KNJ and TMJ in large mammals. Several studies have shown that pigs are ideal animals for embryonic development research. Embryonic day 30 (E30), E35, E45, E55, E75, E90, Postnatal day 0 (P0) and Postnatal day 30 (P30) embryos/fetuses from the pigs were used for this study. The results showed that KNJ develops earlier than TMJ. Only one mesenchymal condensate of KNJ is formed on E30, while two mesenchymal condensates of TMJ are present on E35. All structures of KNJ and TMJ were formed on E45. The growth plate of KNJ begins to develop on E45 and becomes more pronounced from E55 to P30. From E75 to E90, more and more vascular-rich cartilage canals form in the cartilage regions of both joints. The cartilaginous canal of the TMJ divides the condyle into sections along the longitudinal axis of the condyle. This arrangement of cartilaginous canal was not found in the KNJ. The chondrification of KNJ precedes that of TMJ. Ossification of the knee condyle occurs gradually from the middle to the periphery, while that of the TMJ occurs gradually from the base of the mandibular condyle. In the KNJ, the ossification of the articular condyle is evident from P0 to P30, and the growth plate is completely formed on P30. In the TMJ, the cartilage layer of condyle becomes thinner from P0 to P30. There is no growth plate formation in TMJ during its entire development. There is no growth plate formation in the TMJ throughout its development. The condyle may be the developmental center of the TMJ. The chondrocytes and hypertrophic chondrocytes of the growth plate are densely arranged. The condylar chondrocytes of TMJ are scattered, while the hypertrophic chondrocytes are arranged. Embryonic development of KNJ and TMJ in pigs is an important bridge for translating the results of rodent studies to medical applications.

Multimodal Sensing for Depression Risk Detection: Integrating Audio, Video, and Text Data.

Depression is a major psychological disorder with a growing impact worldwide. Traditional methods for detecting the risk of depression, predominantly reliant on psychiatric evaluations and self-assessment questionnaires, are often criticized for their inefficiency and lack of objectivity. Advancements in deep learning have paved the way for innovations in depression risk detection methods that fuse multimodal data. This paper introduces a novel framework, the Audio, Video, and Text Fusion-Three Branch Network (AVTF-TBN), designed to amalgamate auditory, visual, and textual cues for a comprehensive analysis of depression risk. Our approach encompasses three dedicated branches-Audio Branch, Video Branch, and Text Branch-each responsible for extracting salient features from the corresponding modality. These features are subsequently fused through a multimodal fusion (MMF) module, yielding a robust feature vector that feeds into a predictive modeling layer. To further our research, we devised an emotion elicitation paradigm based on two distinct tasks-reading and interviewing-implemented to gather a rich, sensor-based depression risk detection dataset. The sensory equipment, such as cameras, captures subtle facial expressions and vocal characteristics essential for our analysis. The research thoroughly investigates the data generated by varying emotional stimuli and evaluates the contribution of different tasks to emotion evocation. During the experiment, the AVTF-TBN model has the best performance when the data from the two tasks are simultaneously used for detection, where the F1 Score is 0.78, Precision is 0.76, and Recall is 0.81. Our experimental results confirm the validity of the paradigm and demonstrate the efficacy of the AVTF-TBN model in detecting depression risk, showcasing the crucial role of sensor-based data in mental health detection.

Core competencies among nurses engaged in pallative care: A scoping review.

AIM: To synthesize available evidence about core competencies for nurses engaged in palliative care. DESIGN: A scoping review conducted according to the framework from Joanna Briggs Institute. METHODS: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews checklist was adopted to report this scoping review. The PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, ScienceDriect, CNKI, WangFang, VIP and Sinomed databases were used to systematically search for published studies from their inception to December 2023. Two researchers independently screened and selected relevant studies and performed the data charting. RESULTS: Twenty-six studies were included in this scoping review. Among these, 14 studies identified core competency assessment instruments among nurses engaged in palliative care, with the Palliative Care Core Competence Questionnaire was used most frequently; 13 studies investigated the status of core competencies of nurses engaged in palliative care, the majority of included studies indicated that nurse's core competencies were at moderate levels; 11 studies explored the factors influencing the core competencies of the nurses engaged in palliative care, which were classified as sociodemographic-related factors, palliative care education-related factors, death attitude, palliative care practice-related experience and others. CONCLUSION: This scoping review offers a comprehensive overview of the current landscape of core competencies among nurses in palliative care. Findings suggested that the clinical nursing leaders need to develop tailored strategies and interventions to address specific factors and promote the continuous development of nurses' competencies in palliative care. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Core competency assessment instruments equip nurses and healthcare organizations with a range of validated tools for evaluating their proficiency in palliative care. Targeted core competency enhancement programmes need to be developed to foster a nursing workforce better equipped to improve the quality of life of end-of-life patients and their families. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution.