Highly Activated Neuronal Firings Monitored by Implantable Microelectrode Array in the Paraventricular Thalamus of Insomnia Rats.

Insomnia is a common sleep disorder around the world, which is harmful to people's health, daily life, and work. The paraventricular thalamus (PVT) plays an essential role in the sleep-wake transition. However, high temporal-spatial resolution microdevice technology is lacking for accurate detection and regulation of deep brain nuclei. The means for analyzing sleep-wake mechanisms and treating sleep disorders are limited. To detect the relationship between the PVT and insomnia, we designed and fabricated a special microelectrode array (MEA) to record electrophysiological signals of the PVT for insomnia and control rats. Platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) were modified onto an MEA, which caused the impedance to decrease and improved the signal-to-noise ratio. We established the model of insomnia in rats and analyzed and compared the neural signals in detail before and after insomnia. In insomnia, the spike firing rate was increased from 5.48 ± 0.28 spike/s to 7.39 ± 0.65 spike/s, and the power of local field potential (LFP) decreased in the delta frequency band and increased in the beta frequency band. Furthermore, the synchronicity between PVT neurons declined, and burst-like firing was observed. Our study found neurons of the PVT were more activated in the insomnia state than in the control state. It also provided an effective MEA to detect the deep brain signals at the cellular level, which conformed with macroscopical LFP and insomnia symptoms. These results laid the foundation for studying PVT and the sleep-wake mechanism and were also helpful for treating sleep disorders.

Clinical characteristics and prognostic value of EGFR mutation in stage I lung adenocarcinoma with spread through air spaces after surgical resection.

The clinical data of stage I invasive lung adenocarcinoma patients with spread through air spaces (STAS) who underwent lobectomy from January 1, 2013 to January 1, 2016 at the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Hebei Medical University were analyzed retrospectively, and statistical analysis was carried out to explore their clinical features and prognostic value of EGFR mutation. A total of 280 patients were included in the study cohort, and EGFR mutations were detected in 154 patients. EGFR mutations were more common in non-smokers (p=0.045), females (p<0.001), without vascular tumor thrombus (p=0.037), and histological subtype LPA/APA/PPA (p=0.001). Multivariate analysis of the Cox risk regression model showed that EGFR gene mutation (p=0.807) was not an independent influencing factor of recurrence-free survival (RFS), but EGFR mutation was an independent influencing factor of overall survival (OS) (p=0.012), and OS of patients with EGFR mutation was better. The EGFR mutation also significantly increased the progression-free survival (PFS) of relapsed patients (p<0.001), but the PFS of relapsed EGFR mutation patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy after the operation was worse than that of patients who did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy (p=0.029). EGFR gene mutation is not a risk factor for postoperative recurrence in patients with stage I lung adenocarcinoma with STAS but the 5-year survival rate of patients with EGFR gene mutation is better than that of wild-type. Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with EGFR mutation should be carefully considered.

Partial Transfer Ensemble Learning Framework: A Method for Intelligent Diagnosis of Rotating Machinery Based on an Incomplete Source Domain.

Most cross-domain intelligent diagnosis approaches presume that the health states in training datasets are consistent with those in testing. However, it is usually difficult and expensive to collect samples under all failure states during the training stage in actual engineering; this causes the training dataset to be incomplete. These existing methods may not be favorably implemented with an incomplete training dataset. To address this problem, a novel deep-learning-based model called partial transfer ensemble learning framework (PT-ELF) is proposed in this paper. The major procedures of this study consist of three steps. First, the missing health states in the training dataset are supplemented by another dataset. Second, since the training dataset is drawn from two different distributions, a partial transfer mechanism is explored to train a weak global classifier and two partial domain adaptation classifiers. Third, a particular ensemble strategy combines these classifiers with different classification ranges and capabilities to obtain the final diagnosis result. Two case studies are used to validate our method. Results indicate that our method can provide robust diagnosis results based on an incomplete source domain under variable working conditions.

Fusion Domain-Adaptation CNN Driven by Images and Vibration Signals for Fault Diagnosis of Gearbox Cross-Working Conditions.

The vibration signal of gearboxes contains abundant fault information, which can be used for condition monitoring. However, vibration signal is ineffective for some non-structural failures. In order to resolve this dilemma, infrared thermal images are introduced to combine with vibration signals via fusion domain-adaptation convolutional neural network (FDACNN), which can diagnose both structural and non-structural failures under various working conditions. First, the measured raw signals are converted into frequency and squared envelope spectrum to characterize the health states of the gearbox. Second, the sequences of the frequency and squared envelope spectrum are arranged into two-dimensional format, which are combined with infrared thermal images to form fusion data. Finally, the adversarial network is introduced to realize the state recognition of structural and non-structural faults in the unlabeled target domain. An experiment of gearbox test rigs was used for effectiveness validation by measuring both vibration and infrared thermal images. The results suggest that the proposed FDACNN method performs best in cross-domain fault diagnosis of gearboxes via multi-source heterogeneous data compared with the other four methods.

Bcl2L12 Contributes to Th2-Biased Inflammation in the Intestinal Mucosa by Regulating CD4+ T Cell Activities.

The Th2-biased inflammation and immune deregulation play a critical role in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis (UC). Recent studies indicate that the Bcl2-like protein 12 (Bcl2L12) is associated with immune deregulation of UC. This study aims to investigate the role of Bcl2L12 in the induction of aberrant Th2-biased inflammation. In this study, peripheral blood samples were collected from patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The Th2 cell activities were analyzed by flow cytometry, real-time quantitative RT-PCR, and Western blotting. Mice with Bcl2L12-knockout CD4+ T cells were used in the experiments. The results showed that the expression of Bcl2L12 was detected in peripheral CD4+ T cells, which was significantly higher in UC patients than in healthy subjects. A positive correlation between the expression of Bcl2L12 and Th2 cytokines was detected in CD4+ T cells from UC patients. Naive CD4+ T cells with Bcl2L12 overexpression were prone to differentiate into Th2 cells. Mice with Bcl2L12 deficiency failed to induce the Th2-biased inflammation in the intestine. Bcl2L12 bound GATA3 to form a complex to enhance the binding between GATA3 and the Il4 promoter to enhance the expression of IL-4 in CD4+ T cells. CD4+ T cells with Bcl2L12 overexpression were resistant to apoptosis. In conclusion, the Bcl2L12 is a critical factor in the induction of aberrant Th2 polarization by upregulating Th2 responses and downregulating Th2 cell apoptosis. Bcl2L12 may be a novel therapeutic target in the management of the disorders with Th2-biased inflammation.

Tumor necrosis factor suppresses interleukin 10 in peripheral B cells via upregulating Bcl2-like protein 12 in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

The pathogenesis of the immune regulation dysfunction is unclear. Bcl2-like protein 12 (Bcl2L12) has immune suppression function. This study tests a hypothesis that tumor necrosis factor (TNF) increases Bcl2L12 to suppress the expression of interleukin (IL) 10 in peripheral B cells of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). In this study, peripheral blood samples were collected from IBD patients and healthy controls. B cells were isolated from the blood samples. The expression of IL-10 and Bcl2L12 in B cells was analyzed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. We observed that the expression of Bcl2L12 in the peripheral B cells was higher in IBD patients than that in healthy controls. The IL-10 levels in B cells were negatively correlated with the expression of Bcl2L12. Exposure of B cells to TNF in the culture enhanced the expression of Bcl2L12. The Bcl2L12 mediated the effects of TNF on suppression of IL-10 in B cells. In conclusion, Bcl2L12 mediates the effects of TNF to suppress the expression of IL-10 in B cells. The data suggest that Bcl2L12 may be a therapeutic target for the treatment of IBD.

STAM-binding Protein-like 1 Promotes Growth and Migration of Colorectal Cancer by NF-κB Pathway.

BACKGROUND: STAM-binding protein-like 1 (STAMBPL1) functions as a deubiquitinase to cleave Lys63 ubiquitin linkage, and is associated with cancer dissemination and progression. The role of STAMBPL1 in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains unclear. METHODS: STAMBPL1 expression was determined by western blot and qRT-PCR. Cell proliferation was detected by colony formation and MTT assays, and apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry. The metastasis was evaluated by transwell and wound healing assays. An animal xenograft experiment was used to investigate the effect of STAMBPL1 on tumor growth. RESULTS: The expression of STAMBPL1 was elevated in CRC cells. Knockdown of STAMBPL1 reduced cell viability of CRC and suppressed the proliferation, invasion, and migration. Apoptosis of CRC was induced by silence of STAMBPL1. Tumor growth of CRC was also suppressed by the silence of STAMBPL1. Knockdown of STAMBPL1 increased IκB and decreased phosphorylation of IκB to reduce p65 phosphorylation. CONCLUSION: Knockdown of STAMBPL1 inhibited cell growth and metastasis of CRC through inactivation of the NF-κB pathway.

A Novel Molecular PCM Wall with Inorganic Composite: Dynamic Thermal Analysis and Optimization in Charge-Discharge Cycles.

The combination of electric heating and thermal energy storage (TES) with phase change material (PCM) can achieve load shifting for air conditioning energy saving in building sectors. Their non-flammability, relatively good mechanical properties, and low cost make inorganic PCMs attractive in construction engineering. However, PCMs often show poor thermal conductivity, low heat transfer efficiency, leakage risk, etc., in applications. Moreover, the practical thermal performance of PCM-TES sometimes fails to meet demand variations during charge and discharge cycles. Therefore, in this study, a novel integrated electric PCM wall panel module is proposed with quick dynamic thermal response in space heating suitable for both retrofitting of existing buildings and new construction. Sodium-urea PCM composites are chosen as PCM wall components for energy storage. Based on the enthalpy-porosity method, a mathematical heat transfer model is established, and numerical simulation studies on the charge-discharge characteristics of the module are conducted using ANSYS software. Preliminary results show that the melting temperature decreases from 50 °C to approximately 30 °C with a 30% urea mixing ratio, approaching the desired indoor thermal comfort zone for space heating. With declining PCM layer thickness, the melting time drops, and released heat capacity rises during the charge process. For a 20 mm thick PCM layer, 150 W/m2 can maintain the average surface temperature within a comfort range for 12.1 h, about half the time of a 24 h charge-discharge cycling periodicity. Furthermore, placing the heating film in the unit center is preferable for improving overall heat efficiency and shortening the time to reach the thermal comfort temperature range. This work can provide guidance for practical thermal design optimization of building envelopes integrated with PCM for thermal insulation and energy storage.

Paxlovid-tacrolimus drug-drug interaction caused severe diarrhea that induced combined diabetic ketoacidosis and a hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state in a kidney transplant patient: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Transplant recipients are at high risk of coronavirus disease 2019, and a timely supply of antivirals should be prioritized for those patients. Complicated drug‒drug interactions limit the use of Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) coadministered with tacrolimus. Here, we report a patient with a kidney transplant who received Paxlovid and reduced-dose tacrolimus at the same time and suffered a severe tacrolimus toxicity. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a 56-year-old man of Han ethnicity with a kidney transplant who suffered from coronavirus disease 2019 twice. For the first infection, the immunosuppressants were substituted by dexamethasone when the patient used Paxlovid, and everything went well. For the second time, tacrolimus at a reduced dose concomitant with Paxlovid caused severe diarrhea, inducing combined diabetic ketoacidosis and a hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state. CONCLUSION: This case challenges the dose-adjustment strategy of managing drug‒drug interactions. We suggest that tacrolimus should be stopped when Paxlovid is applied and that corticosteroids could be a good substitution.

MYB proto-oncogene like 2 promotes hepatocellular carcinoma growth and glycolysis via binding to the Optic atrophy 3 promoter and activating its expression.

Optic atrophy 3 (OPA3) is an integral protein of the mitochondrial outer membrane. The current study explored the expression of OPA3 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), its association with the prognosis and its involvement in HCC cell proliferation and aerobic glycolysis. In addition, the transcription factors that activate its expression were screened and validated. Gene expression data in normal liver and liver cancer were acquired from the Genotype-Tissue Expression Project (GTEx) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA)-Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma (TCGA-LIHC). Chromatin immunoprecipitation-seq data (GSM1010876) in Cistrome Data Browser was used for searching transcriptional factors binding to the OPA3 promoter. HCC cell lines HLF and JHH2 were used for in-vitro and in-vivo studies. Results showed that OPA3 is significantly upregulated in HCC and associated with unfavorable prognosis. OPA3 knockdown impaired HCC cell growth in vitro and in vivo. Besides, it decreased glucose uptake, lactate production, intracellular ATP levels, and extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) of HLF and JHH2 cells. MYB Proto-Oncogene Like 2 (MYBL2) can bind to the promoter of OPA3 and enhance its transcription. MYBL2 knockdown decreased aerobic glycolysis in HCC cells. OPA3 overexpression reversed these alterations. In conclusion, this study revealed a novel MYBL2-OPA3 axis that enhances HCC cell proliferation and aerobic glycolysis.

Exploration on the Effect of Nonselective ß-Receptor Blockers (NSBBs) on Hemodynamic Parameters in Complicated Liver Cirrhosis.

Esophageal-gastric variceal bleeding occurs in 5-15% of patients with liver cirrhosis annually, and the mortality rate is as high as 20% within 6 weeks of the first bleed. The more compromised the liver function, the higher the mortality. Effective control of bleeding is pivotal for reducing mortality in patients with liver cirrhosis. To explore the effect of nonselective ß-receptor blockers (NSBBs) on hemodynamic parameters in liver cirrhosis complicated with esophageal-gastric variceal bleeding and the association with hepatorenal syndrome (HRS), this retrospective study assessed the clinical data of 248 patients with liver cirrhosis and esophageal-gastric variceal hemorrhage admitted to our hospital for research. 112 patients are treated with somatostatin (control group) and 136 with somatostatin+propranolol (study group). The success rate of hemostasis, changes of hemodynamic parameters before and after treatment, and incidence of HRS are compared between the groups. Logistic regression analysis is used to explore the use of propranolol when HRS occurred. NSBBs combined with somatostatin are more effective than somatostatin alone in the treatment of liver cirrhosis complicated with esophageal-gastric variceal bleeding; NSBBs may be associated with the occurrence of HRS.

Multifunctional self-driven origami paper-based integrated microfluidic chip to detect CRP and PAB in whole blood.

Gastrointestinal fistula, a complication of gastrointestinal cancer surgery, has a high mortality rate. Detection of both C-reactive protein (CRP) and prealbumin (PAB) is advantageous in the auxiliary diagnosis of postoperative complications. However, traditional detection methods are not capable of on-site rapid detection. In an attempt to overcome these challenges, a multifunctional origami-paper-based device (ePADs) was developed to simultaneously detect CRP and PAB in whole blood. After integration, functionalization, and modification, the electrochemical dual-parameter device was capable of separating blood cells and detecting target analytes. The plasma separation performance revealed a sample diffusion time of 75 s for a whole blood sample volume of 73.3 µL. The efficiency of the device in separating blood cells was 99.91%. Electrochemical results showed that the multifunctional device exhibited linearity between 5 pg mL-1 and 1 µg mL-1 for CRP (R2 = 0.990), and between 10 pg mL-1 and 1 µg mL-1 for PAB (R2 = 0.998). The limits of detection for CRP and PAB were 5 and 10 pg mL-1, respectively (S/N = 3). We also successfully evaluated the accuracy of the dual-parameter device with clinical whole blood samples. Based on these results, the multifunctional device can facilitate clinical detection and provide a new platform for domestic point-of-care testing.

Ginsenoside Rg3 induces apoptosis and inhibits proliferation by down-regulating TIGAR in rats with gastric precancerous lesions.

BACKGROUND: Ginsenoside Rg3 (GRg3) is one of the main active ingredients in Chinese ginseng extract and has various biological effects, such as immune-enhancing, antitumour, antiangiogenic, immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effect of GRg3 on gastric precancerous lesion (GPL) induced by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) and the potential mechanism of action. METHODS: The MNNG-ammonia composite modelling method was used to establish a rat model of GPL. Histopathological changes in the rat gastric mucosa were observed by pathological analysis using haematoxylin-eosin staining to assess the success rate of the composite modelling method. Alcian blue-periodic acid Schiff staining was used to observe intestinal metaplasia in the rat gastric mucosa. Apoptosis was detected in rat gastric mucosal cells by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labelling staining. The production level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was determined by the dihydroethidium fluorescent probe method, and that of TP53-induced glycolysis and apoptosis regulator (TIGAR) protein was determined by immunohistochemical staining and western blotting. The production levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) were determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and that of glutathione (GSH) was determined by microanalysis. RESULTS: GRg3 significantly alleviated the structural disorganization and cellular heteromorphism in the form of epithelial glands in the gastric mucosa of rats with GPL and retarded the progression of the disease. Overexpression of TIGAR and overproduction of NADP, GSH and G6PDH occurred in the gastric mucosal epithelium of rats with GPL, which in turn led to an increase in the ROS concentration. After treatment with GRg3, the expression of TIGAR and production of NADP, GSH G6PDH decreased, causing a further increase in the concentration of ROS in the gastric mucosal epithelium, which in turn induced apoptosis and played a role in inhibiting the abnormal proliferation and differentiation of gastric mucosal epithelial cells. CONCLUSION: Grg3 can induce apoptosis and inhibit cell proliferation in MNNG-induced GPL rats. The mechanism may be related to down-regulating the expression levels of TIGAR and production levels of GSH, NADP and G6PD, and up-regulating the concentration of ROS.

[Plasma homocysteine levels in ischemic stroke patients with obstructive sleep apnea].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association of plasma homocysteine and OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) syndrome in ischemic stroke (IS). METHODS: A total of 92 male IS patients were classified by apnea hypopnea index (AHI) into 2 groups: non-OSA group (AHI < 5/h) and OSA group (AHI > or = 5). All patients were tested for plasma homocysteine when polysomnography was finished at (14 +/- 2) d after the onset of IS. RESULTS: The mean level of homocysteine was significantly higher in the OSA group than that in the non-OSA group (17 +/- 5 vs 11 +/- 3 micromol/L, P < 0.01). Pearson correlation analysis revealed a positive correlation between the homocysteine level and the severity of AHI (r = 0.482, P < 0.01). Further multiple linear regression analysis showed that AHI and folate were independent predictors of homocysteine level (R2 = 0.553, P < 0.01, beta for AHI = 0.671, beta for folate = -0.256). CONCLUSION: The severity of OSA is significantly associated with an elevated level of homocysteine in IS patients. And this association is independent of other causative factors of an elevated level of homocysteine.

Electrochemical Microfluidic Paper-Based Aptasensor Platform Based on a Biotin-Streptavidin System for Label-Free Detection of Biomarkers.

Timely and rapid detection of biomarkers is extremely important for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. However, going to the hospital to test biomarkers is the most common way. People need to spend a lot of money and time on various tests for potential disease detection. To make the detection more convenient and affordable, we propose a paper-based aptasensor platform in this work. This device is based on a cellulose paper, on which a three-electrode system and microfluidic channels are fabricated. Meanwhile, novel nanomaterials consisting of amino redox graphene/thionine/streptavidin-modified gold nanoparticles/chitosan are synthesized and modified on the working electrode of the device. Through the biotin-streptavidin system, the aptamer whose 5'end is modified with biotin can be firmly immobilized on the electrode. The detection principle is that the current generated by the nanomaterials decreases proportionally to the concentration of targets owing to the combination of the biomarker and its aptamer. 17ß-Estradiol (17ß-E2), as one of the widely used diagnostic biomarkers of various clinical conditions, is adopted for verifying the performance of the platform. The experimental results demonstrated that this device enables the determination of 17ß-E2 in a wide linear range of concentrations of 10 pg mL-1 to 100 ng mL-1 and the limit of detection is 10 pg mL-1 (S/N = 3). Moreover, it enables the detection of targets in clinical serum samples, demonstrating its potential to be a disposable and convenient integrated platform for detecting various biomarkers.

MiR-675 is frequently overexpressed in gastric cancer and enhances cell proliferation and invasion via targeting a potent anti-tumor gene PITX1.

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer (GC) is a common malignancy around the world. Irregular expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) contributes to the progression of malignancies. Our study illustrated that miR-675 facilitates GC proliferation and invasion via targeting paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 1 (PITX1) and promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) as well as Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway. METHODS: We collected the RNA-seq data of GC and normal stomach tissues from TCGA database to analyze the expression of miR-675 and PITX1. Kaplan-Meier plotter on line tool was used to analyze the association between miR-675 or PITX1 expression and the overall survival of GC patients. The biological function of miR-675 in GC cells was evaluated via altering its expression using miR-675 agomiR or antamiR. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was applied for verifying whether miR-675 could direct bind to 3'UTR of PITX1. Rescue assays were applied for characterizing the effects of miR-675/PITX1 axis on GC growth and invasion. Western blot was performed to evaluate the protein expression levels of PITX1, EMT-related and Wnt signaling-related proteins. RESULTS: Our results showed that miR-675 is up-regulated and predictive of worse prognosis in GC patients. Overexpression of miR-675 in AGS cells notably promoted cell proliferation, migration and invasion, whilst down-regulation of miR-675 in SGC-7901 cells gained the opposite results. PITX1 is down-regulated in GC and identified as a direct target of miR-675. Overexpression of PITX1 in AGS cells reverses cell viability and invasion that enhanced by miR-675 up-regulation. Conversely, depletion of PITX1 in SGC-7901 cells rescues cell viability and invasion that inhibited by miR-675 down-regulation. Western bolt results revealed that miR-675 positively regulated EMT and Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway in GC cells via targeting PITX1. CONCLUSIONS: Our study emphasized the functional mechanism of miR-675 in GC and intimated that miR-675/PITX1 axis possibly affects proliferative and invasive properties of GC cells via regulating EMT and Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway. Furthermore, miR-675 and PITX1 may be served as early diagnostic markers as well as therapeutic targets for GC.

Histone deacetylase 11 inhibits interleukin 10 in B cells of subjects with allergic rhinitis.

BACKGROUND: The interleukin (IL)-10 expression in B cells plays an important role in immune tolerance. The regulation of IL-10 expression in B cells is not fully understood yet. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is increased in allergic rhinitis (AR) patients. This study tests a hypothesis that TNF enhances histone deacetylase (HDAC)11 expression to inhibit the expression of IL-10 in B cells of AR patients. METHODS: Peripheral B cells were collected from healthy persons and patients with AR. The B cells were analyzed by immune assay and molecular biological approaches for the expression of IL-10. RESULTS: The expression of HDAC11 was higher in B cells of patients with AR than that in healthy persons. The expression of IL-10 in B cells was lower in AR patients than that in healthy subjects. The levels of HDAC11 in B cells were negatively correlated with the levels of IL-10. Exposure of B cells to TNF in the culture inhibited the expression of IL-10, in which HDAC11 played a critical role in the interference with the Il10 gene transcription. Inhibition of HDAC11 restored the IL-10 expression in B cells from AR patients and attenuated the experimental AR. CONCLUSION: TNF can suppress the expression of IL-10 in B cells via enhancing the expression of HDAC11. Inhibition of HDAC11 restores the IL-10 expression in B cells of AR subjects. HDAC11 may be a novel target for the treatment of AR.