Description of Flavimaribacter sediminis gen. nov., sp. nov., a New Member of the Family Rhizobiaceae Isolated from Marine Sediment.

A novel Gram-staining-negative, aerobic and rod-shaped bacterium, designated WL0058T, was isolated from coastal sediment sample collected in Nantong city, Jiangsu province of China (120° 51' 13″ E, 32° 6' 26″ N) in October 2020. Strain WL0058T was found to grow at 4-37 °C (optimum, 28 °C) with 1.5-4.0% NaCl (optimum, 4.0%) and displayed alkaliphilic growth with the pH range of pH 6.0-10.0 (optimum, pH 6.0). Phylogenetic trees constructed based on 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that strain WL0058T is a member of the family Rhizobiaceae, shared the highest similarity with "Hoeflea prorocentri" CCTCC AB 2016294T (97.7%) and constituted a sub-cluster within the family with it, while the similarity with others in the family Rhizobiaceae was lower than 97.0%. The G + C content of genomic DNA was 59.5 mol%. Polar lipids profile of strain WL0058T included phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), and glycolipid (GL), phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine (PME) and two unidentified polar lipids (L). The major isoprenoid quinone was determined to be Q-10 and the major fatty acids were C16:0, C18:0, summed features 4 (iso-C17:1 and/or anteiso-C17:1), and summed features 8 (C18:1ω6c and/or C18:1ω7c). As inferred from the morphology, physiology, and biochemical analysis, genotypic characteristics, and the phylogenetic trees, strain WL0058T ought to be recognized as a novel genus in the family Rhizobiaceae, for which the name Flavimaribacter sediminis gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain of Flavimaribacter sediminis gen. nov., sp. nov. is WL0058T (= MCCC 1K06063T = JCM 34659T = GDMCC 1.2448T).

Characteristics of ocular findings of patients with neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore the ocular characteristics of neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID), caused by GGC repeat expansion in the NOTCH2NLC gene, combined with the systemic clinical manifestations, and propose early diagnostic features of NIID. METHODS: Six patients (12 eyes) were enrolled in this study. In vivo corneal confocal microscopy (IVCCM), fundus photography, fundus autofluorescence (FAF) imaging, optical coherence tomography (OCT), full-field electroretinography (ERG), and electromyography were performed. RESULTS: The average corneal nerve fiber density (CNFD) was 6.83 ± 4.96 number/mm2, and the corneal nerve fiber length (CNFL) was 6.76 ± 1.96 mm/mm2. The nerves were looser and more curved in affected individuals. Dendritic cells were observed in patients with NIID. Chorioretinal atrophy, hyper-AF spots, and outer retinal abnormalities were observed during FAF imaging and OCT examinations. In full-field ERGs, the amplitudes of the a-wave and b-wave reduced or extinguished over time. The compound muscle action potential and motor nerve conduction velocity of the left common peroneal nerve decreased substantially. CONCLUSION: The findings of IVCCM and retinal changes should be included in the diagnostic criteria for NIID. Corneal confocal characteristics may precede the systemic neurological manifestations and provide a clinical basis for the early treatment and staging of the disease. ClincalTrials.gov. Identifier: ChiCTR21000500227.

Optical coherence tomography angiography for the detection and evaluation of ptic disc neovascularization: a retrospective, observational study.

BACKGROUND: To assess and characterize neovascularization of the optic disc (NVD) using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) and different OCTA-based methods. METHODS: This retrospective, observational study included patients who were suspected of having early PDR with no presence of clinically apparent neovascularization (NV) bur were clinically diagnosed with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), or severe NPDR. Patients underwent standard clinical examinations and OCTA imaging using a 6 × 6 montage scan. Two trained graders identified NVD using different imaging systems (ultra-widefield-colour fundus photography (UWF-CFP), OCT, OCTA and fluorescein angiography (FA)). Moreover, morphological classification of NVD was performed. The detection and morphological classification of NVD by different OCTA-based methods (B-scan OCTA, En-face OCTA, VRI Angio and VRI Structure) were compared. RESULTS: A total of 169 eyes (126 eyes with PDR and 43 eyes with severe NPDR) of 123 participants were included in this study. The detection rate of NVD was 34.91% by UWF-CFP compared with 59.76% by OCT, 59.76% by OCTA, and 62.72% by FA. After excluding 2 cases with epiretinal membranes, the NVD diagnosis detected by OCT was used as the standard. Among 99 eyes diagnosed with NVD by OCT, B-scan OCTA detected NVD with a sensitivity of 97.98%, which was higher than that by en face OCTA (80.81%), VRI Angio (65.66%), and VRI Structure (61.62%) (all P < 0.05). According to its characteristics on OCTA, NVD was divided into four types (12 cases of type I, 6 cases of type II, 39 cases of type III, and 42 cases of type IV). For type I, B-scan OCTA exhibited a higher diagnostic sensitivity than other methods (P < 0.05). For types II and IV, there were no statistically significant differences in the sensitivity of various methods between the two groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: OCTA and different OCTA-based methods are significant to the diagnosis of NVD, and the diagnostic accuracy of different detection methods may be related to different types of NVD.

Wide-field swept-source OCTA in the assessment of retinal microvasculature in early-stage diabetic retinopathy.

BACKGROUND: To perform a quantitative analysis of retinal microvasculature in patients with early-stage diabetic retinopathy (DR) using wide-field swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA).  METHODS: One hundred nineteen eyes of 119 patents (67 eyes with no DR and 52 eyes with mild-moderate nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR)) were enrolled in this observational and cross-sectional cohort study, and an age-matched group consisting of 39 eyes of 39 non-diabetic subjects were set as the control. Each participant underwent a full ophthalmic examination, including wide-field SS-OCTA imaging. On OCTA scans (12 mm * 12 mm), the mean perfusion area (PA) and vessel density (VD) were independently measured in all 16 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) sectors. Linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the influences of PA. RESULTS: In the central ring, there were no significant differences in the average PA and VD among the groups. In the 3 mm radius, the PA and VD of the no DR and mild-moderate NPDR were significantly decreased compared with the control group in superior and inferior quadrants. In the wide-field scans (9 and 12 mm radius), there was no significant difference in average PA and VD between the groups in each sectors (p > 0.05). Regression analysis found that the effect of VD on PA was statistically different (b = 1.311, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Wide-field OCTA imaging is useful for evaluating peripheral capillary perfusion in eyes with early-stage DR. Decrease in PA and VD was greater in the S3 and I3 sectors, and reductions in PA and VD were uneven in wide-filed sectors (9 and 12 mm radius).

Actirhodobacter atriluteus gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from the surface water of the Yellow Sea.

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, orange-pigmented bacterial strain, designated HHU K3-1 T, was isolated from the surface water of the Yellow Sea. The strain was observed to grow on 2216E agar medium, and growth occurred at pH 6.0-8.0 (optimum 7.0), 28-37 °C (optimum 28 °C), and in the presence of 0.5-5% (w/v) NaCl (optimum 1-3%). The major fatty acids (> 10%) were summed feature 3 (C16:1ω6c/C16:1ω7c), C17:1ω6c and summed feature 8 (C18:1ω6c/C18:1ω7c). Strain HHU K3-1 T was found to contain ubiquinone-10 as the predominant quinone and the major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylglycerol (PG) and sphingoglycolipid (SGL). The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strain HHU K3-1 T shared highest similarities with Pelagerythrobacter marensis KCTC 22370 T (97.7%) and Qipengyuania oceanensis MCCC 1A09965T (96.9%). However, a phylogenetic tree based on 288 orthologous clusters (OCs) indicated that HHU K3-1 T was close related to Parapontixanthobacter aurantiacus MCCC 1A09962T. The pairwise AAI and evolutionary distance between HHU K3-1 T and Parapontixanthobacter aurantiacus MCCC 1A09962T are 67.1% and 0.43, respectively, which meet the recently proposed standard to differentiate genera in the family Erythrobacteraceae. On the basis of the result obtained by the polyphasic taxonomic study, strain HHU K3-1 T can be considered to represent a novel genus in the family Erythrobacteraceae, for which the name Actirhodobacter atriluteus gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is HHU K3-1 T (= MCCC 1K04225T = KCTC 72834 T = CGMCC 1.17395 T).

Natural course of myopic traction maculopathy and factors influencing progression and visual acuity.

BACKGROUND: To describe the natural course of myopic traction maculopathy (MTM) and determine predictive factors for its progression and visual prognosis. METHODS: This retrospective observational study included 113 MTM patients (113 eyes). Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) measurements and optical coherence tomography findings were recorded. RESULTS: Over a mean follow-up of 38.2 ± 11.1 months, 49 of 113 eyes (43.4 %) progressed. The progression rate of outer schisis prominently located in the fovea or posterior staphyloma was significantly higher than that of outer schisis prominently located in paravascular areas (P = 0.0011). MTM with partial posterior vitreous detachment during the follow-up progressed more rapidly than MTM without (P = 0.0447). Patients with older age (> 65 years), without domed-shaped macula and with defects in the ellipsoid zone (EZ) had worse BCVA at the last visit (P = 0.0416, P = 0.0494and P = 0.0130). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that BCVA and defects in the EZ at baseline were significantly associated with the final BCVA (P < 0.0001 and P = < 0.0001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: MTM has a high possibility for progression. Outer schisis located predominantly in the fovea or posterior staphyloma or with partial posterior vitreous detachment exhibits rapid progression. The integrity of the EZ is related to visual prognosis.

Subfoveal choroidal thickness changes after intravitreal ranibizumab injections in different patterns of diabetic macular edema using a deep learning-based auto-segmentation.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of intravitreal injection of ranibizumab (IVR) on subfoveal choroidal thickness (SFCT) and its relationship with central macular thickness (CMT) and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) changes in eyes with center-involving DME (CI-DME) using a deep learning-based auto-segmentation. METHODS: This prospective interventional case series included 68 eyes of 68 patients with CI-DME naive to treatment. Morphological optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings of DME were classified into three patterns of structural change: (i) diffuse retinal thickening (DRT), (ii) cystoid macular edema (CME), and (iii) serous retinal detachment (SRD). All patients underwent 3+prorenata IVR. The treated eyes underwent BCVA evaluation and OCT scanning at baseline and months 1, 3, and 6 after the first injection. Then, the choroid layer was measured using a deep learning-based auto-segmentation. RESULTS: At baseline, the mean SFCT and CMT for SRD, DRT, and CME groups were 324.68 ± 65.58 µm and 624.37 ± 77.92 µm, 348.91 ± 45.81 µm and 443.5 ± 78.33 µm, 361.4 ± 64.62 µm, and 536.5 ± 66.02 µm, respectively. After anti-VEGF treatment, the SFCT and CMT have decreased by varying degrees. At 3 and 6 months of treatment, there were no significant changes among these groups. There was no correlation between baseline SFCT and the resulting BCVA (P = 0.670, P = 0.584). There was also no correlation between changes in SFCT and BCVA, CMT (P = 0.344, P = 0.336). CONCLUSION: After treating CI-DME with IVR, SFCT and CMT significantly decreased. However, there were no significant changes among the SRD, DRT, and CME groups. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Trial registration: ChiCTR, ChiCTR-ROC-17013360. Registered 13 November 2017, http://www.chictr.org.cn/ChiCTR-ROC-17013360 .

Clinical application of multicolour scanning laser imaging in diabetic retinopathy.

To compare the visualization of the lesions of diabetic retinopathy (DR) using multicolour scanning laser imaging (MSLI) and conventional colour fundus photography (CFP). The paired images of diabetic patients who underwent same-day MSLI and CFP examinations were reviewed. Combined multicolour (MC) images were acquired simultaneously using three laser wavelengths: blue reflectance (BR, λ = 488 nm), green reflectance (GR, λ = 518 nm) and infrared reflectance (IR, λ = 820 nm). The number of positive DR lesions was calculated using fundus fluorescein angiography as the reference standard. The visibility of the microaneurysms (Mas) was graded using a scale, and the number of Mas for each method was counted by two masked readers. Eighty eyes of 42 diabetic patients were included. The average grading score for Mas visualization was significantly higher with MC (1.50 ± 0.71) and GR (1.55 ± 0.69) than with CFP (0.95 ± 0.81). The average number of Mas was also significantly higher with MC (11.41 ± 14.02) and GR (11.93 ± 13.43) than with CFP (6.43 ± 9.39). The number of positive Mas, diabetic macular edema (DME) and epiretinal membranes (ERM) were significantly higher with MC than CFP (P < 0.05), while the numbers of cotton wool spots, haemorrhages, hard exudates, venous beading and abnormal new vessels were not significantly different (P > 0.05). Mas and ERM were most effectively detected on GR images, and an elevated greenish shift was clearly visualized in patients with DME on the MC images. MSLI can effectively visualize Mas and other pathological lesions of DR compared with CFP. MSLI with superior resolution may be a useful complement for DME and ERM detection.

Adipose-Derived exosome from Diet-Induced-Obese mouse attenuates LPS-Induced acute lung injury by inhibiting inflammation and Apoptosis: In vivo and in silico insight.

BACKGROUND: Acute lung injury (ALI) is a severe clinical condition in the intensive care units, and obesity is a high risk of ALI. Paradoxically, obese ALI patients had better prognosis than non-obese patients, and the mechanism remains largely unknown. METHODS: Mouse models of ALI and diet-induced-obesity (DIO) were used to investigate the effect of exosomes derived from adipose tissue. The adipose-derived exosomes (ADEs) were isolated by ultracentrifugation, and the role of exosomal miRNAs in the ALI was studied. RESULTS: Compared with ADEs of control mice (C-Exo), ADEs of DIO mice (D-Exo) increased survival rate and mitigated pulmonary lesions of ALI mice. GO and KEGG analyses showed that the target genes of 40 differentially expressed miRNAs between D-Exo and C-Exo were mainly involved with inflammation, apoptosis and cell cycle. Furthermore, the D-Exo treatment significantly decreased Ly6G+ cell infiltration, down-regulated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-12, TNF-α, MCP-1) and chemokines (IL-8 and MIP-2), reduced pulmonary apoptosis and arrest at G0G1 phase (P < 0.01). And the protective effects of D-Exo were better than those of C-Exo (P < 0.05). Compared with the C-Exo mice, the levels of miR-16-5p and miR-335-3p in the D-Exo mice were significantly up-regulated (P < 0.05), and the expressions of IKBKB and TNFSF10, respective target of miR-16-5p and miR-335-3p by bioinformatic analysis, were significantly down-regulated in the D-Exo mice (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Exosomes derived from adipose tissue of DIO mice are potent to attenuate LPS-induced ALI, which could be contributed by exosome-carried miRNAs. Our data shed light on the interaction between obesity and ALI.

Imaging Artifacts and Quality Evaluation with Ultrawide-Field Swept-Source OCTA in Diabetic Retinopathy.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the prevalence and types of artifacts in ultrawide-field swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) scans of diabetic retinopathy (DR) patients. METHODS: This study was a prospective, observational study conducted from May 2022 to October 2022. Participants comprised individuals with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), no diabetic retinopathy, and healthy controls. SS-OCTA imaging was performed, and a 5-scan composite with a larger field of view (23.5 mm × 17.5 mm) was captured using built-in software. Two experienced ophthalmologists analyzed the images independently, and the image quality and artifact prevalence were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: The study included 70 eyes (16 with PDR, 24 with NPDR, 12 eyes of diabetic patients without DR, and 18 healthy eyes) in 70 subjects. Imaging artifacts were observed in a high percentage of eyes, with 98.57% of eyes presenting at least one type of artifact. A significant proportion of eyes (58.57%) exhibited a severe degree of artifacts. The most prevalent artifacts were loss of signal in 63 eyes (90%) and displacement artifact and masking artifact in 43 eyes (61.4%). Patients with more severe stages of DR had higher artifact scores (p < 0.05). Multivariate regression analysis indicated that DR severity was the most important factor influencing artifact scores (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In OCTA photos, various artifacts arise at different frequencies. It is crucial to qualitatively evaluate the images to ensure their quality. The results demonstrate that DR severity has a significant correlation with artifact scores.

DRAC 2022: A public benchmark for diabetic retinopathy analysis on ultra-wide optical coherence tomography angiography images.

We described a challenge named "DRAC - Diabetic Retinopathy Analysis Challenge" in conjunction with the 25th International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI 2022). Within this challenge, we provided the DRAC datset, an ultra-wide optical coherence tomography angiography (UW-OCTA) dataset (1,103 images), addressing three primary clinical tasks: diabetic retinopathy (DR) lesion segmentation, image quality assessment, and DR grading. The scientific community responded positively to the challenge, with 11, 12, and 13 teams submitting different solutions for these three tasks, respectively. This paper presents a concise summary and analysis of the top-performing solutions and results across all challenge tasks. These solutions could provide practical guidance for developing accurate classification and segmentation models for image quality assessment and DR diagnosis using UW-OCTA images, potentially improving the diagnostic capabilities of healthcare professionals. The dataset has been released to support the development of computer-aided diagnostic systems for DR evaluation.

Integrated image-based deep learning and language models for primary diabetes care.

Primary diabetes care and diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening persist as major public health challenges due to a shortage of trained primary care physicians (PCPs), particularly in low-resource settings. Here, to bridge the gaps, we developed an integrated image-language system (DeepDR-LLM), combining a large language model (LLM module) and image-based deep learning (DeepDR-Transformer), to provide individualized diabetes management recommendations to PCPs. In a retrospective evaluation, the LLM module demonstrated comparable performance to PCPs and endocrinology residents when tested in English and outperformed PCPs and had comparable performance to endocrinology residents in Chinese. For identifying referable DR, the average PCP's accuracy was 81.0% unassisted and 92.3% assisted by DeepDR-Transformer. Furthermore, we performed a single-center real-world prospective study, deploying DeepDR-LLM. We compared diabetes management adherence of patients under the unassisted PCP arm (n = 397) with those under the PCP+DeepDR-LLM arm (n = 372). Patients with newly diagnosed diabetes in the PCP+DeepDR-LLM arm showed better self-management behaviors throughout follow-up (P < 0.05). For patients with referral DR, those in the PCP+DeepDR-LLM arm were more likely to adhere to DR referrals (P < 0.01). Additionally, DeepDR-LLM deployment improved the quality and empathy level of management recommendations. Given its multifaceted performance, DeepDR-LLM holds promise as a digital solution for enhancing primary diabetes care and DR screening.

A deep learning system for predicting time to progression of diabetic retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of preventable blindness worldwide. The risk of DR progression is highly variable among different individuals, making it difficult to predict risk and personalize screening intervals. We developed and validated a deep learning system (DeepDR Plus) to predict time to DR progression within 5 years solely from fundus images. First, we used 717,308 fundus images from 179,327 participants with diabetes to pretrain the system. Subsequently, we trained and validated the system with a multiethnic dataset comprising 118,868 images from 29,868 participants with diabetes. For predicting time to DR progression, the system achieved concordance indexes of 0.754-0.846 and integrated Brier scores of 0.153-0.241 for all times up to 5 years. Furthermore, we validated the system in real-world cohorts of participants with diabetes. The integration with clinical workflow could potentially extend the mean screening interval from 12 months to 31.97 months, and the percentage of participants recommended to be screened at 1-5 years was 30.62%, 20.00%, 19.63%, 11.85% and 17.89%, respectively, while delayed detection of progression to vision-threatening DR was 0.18%. Altogether, the DeepDR Plus system could predict individualized risk and time to DR progression over 5 years, potentially allowing personalized screening intervals.

Malignant transformation of orbital solitary fibrous tumor.

Orbital solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare tumor and may recur or undergo malignant transformation without complete excision. We present a case of orbital SFT which recurred twice and underwent malignant transformation. The patient was treated with en bloc excision via a lateral orbitotomy. The postoperative histopathologic diagnosis of this case was an adult fibrosarcoma. Postoperative adjuvant radiation therapy was given. In 18 months of further follow-up, there has been no evidence of recurrence, both clinically and in regular imaging studies.

[Tear film and lacrimal excretion changes after lacrimal gland tumor removal].

OBJECTIVE: To study the change of tear film and lacrimal secretion after lacrimal gland tumor removal operation. METHODS: It was a retrospective case series study. Nineteen cases (19 eyes) with pleomorphic adenoma of the lacrimal gland from January, 2010 to July, 2011 in Eye and ENT Hospital of Fudan University were elected. The evaluation included subjective complaints of dry eye, tear break up time (BUT), reflex lacrimal secretion, corneal fluorescein staining, and size of lacrimal lake were analyzed before surgery and 3 days, 1 month and 6 months postoperatively. Simultaneously, the opposite eye was set as control. RESULTS: Subjective complaints of dry eye increased and the mean tear break up time, reflex lacrimal secretion, and size of lacrimal lake were significantly reduced (t = 23.91, 16.90, 11.47; t = 19.31, 20.81, 11.95, P < 0.05) on day 3 and 1 month after operation which were (4.9 ± 2.0) s (3 d), (5.2 ± 1.6) s (1 moth); (4.05 ± 2.07) mm (3 d), (3.58 ± 1.98) mm (1 moth); (0.009 ± 0.004) mm(2) (3 d), (0.008 ± 0.003) mm(2)(1 moth) respectively. However, only reflex secretion test (3.53 ± 1.50 mm) was significantly reduced (t = 21.57, P < 0.05), other values (BUT: 17.4 ± 4.9 s, size of lake: 0.032 ± 0.005 mm(2)) recovered to preoperative levels by the time of the sixth month follow up visit. Corneal fluorescein staining score increased greatly when measured at day 3 and 1 month visit (t = 0.23, 1.69, P < 0.05), but had returned to preoperative values at the sixth month visit. The result of the opposite eye control is the same as preoperative control. CONCLUSIONS: During the early stage after lacrimal gland tumor removal, tear film present abnormal changes, mainly in tear stability and reduction of reflex lacrimal secretion.

Heterologous Expression of Platycodon grandiflorus PgF3'5'H Modifies Flower Color Pigmentation in Tobacco.

Flavonoid-3',5'-hydroxylase (F3'5'H) is the key enzyme for the biosynthesis of delphinidin-based anthocyanins, which are generally required for purple or blue flowers. Previously, we isolated a full-length cDNA of PgF3'5'H from Platycodon grandiflorus, which shared the highest homology with Campanula medium F3'5'H. In this study, PgF3'5'H was subcloned into a plant over-expression vector and transformed into tobacco via Agrobacterium tumefaciens to investigate its catalytic function. Positive transgenic tobacco T0 plants were obtained by hygromycin resistance screening and PCR detection. PgF3'5'H showed a higher expression level in all PgF3'5'H transgenic tobacco plants than in control plants. Under the drive of the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter, the over-expressed PgF3'5'H produced dihydromyricetin (DHM) and some new anthocyanin pigments (including delphinidin, petunidin, peonidin, and malvidin derivatives), and increased dihydrokaempferol (DHK), taxifolin, tridactyl, cyanidin derivatives, and pelargonidin derivatives in PgF3'5'H transgenic tobacco plants by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) analysis, resulting in a dramatic color alteration from light pink to magenta. These results indicate that PgF3'5'H products have F3'5'H enzyme activity. In addition, PgF3'5'H transfer alters flavonoid pigment synthesis and accumulation in tobacco. Thus, PgF3'5'H may be considered a candidate gene for gene engineering to enhance anthocyanin accumulation and the molecular breeding project for blue flowers.

Serum cholinesterase is associated with incident diabetic retinopathy: the Shanghai Nicheng cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Serum cholinesterase (ChE) is positively associated with incident diabetes and dyslipidemia. We aimed to investigate the relationship between ChE and the incidence of diabetic retinopathy (DR). METHODS: Based on a community-based cohort study followed for 4.6 years, 1133 participants aged 55-70 years with diabetes were analyzed. Fundus photographs were taken for each eye at both baseline and follow-up investigations. The presence and severity of DR were categorized into no DR, mild non-proliferative DR (NPDR), and referable DR (moderate NPDR or worse). Binary and multinomial logistic regression models were used to estimate the risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) between ChE and DR. RESULTS: Among the 1133 participants, 72 (6.4%) cases of DR occurred. The multivariable binary logistic regression showed that the highest tertile of ChE (≥ 422 U/L) was associated with a 2.01-fold higher risk of incident DR (RR 2.01, 95%CI 1.01-4.00; P for trend < 0.05) than the lowest tertile (< 354 U/L). The multivariable binary and multinomial logistic regression showed that the risk of DR increased by 41% (RR 1.41, 95%CI 1.05-1.90), and the risk of incident referable DR was almost 2-fold higher than no DR (RR 1.99, 95%CI 1.24-3.18) with per 1-SD increase of loge-transformed ChE. Furthermore, multiplicative interactions were found between ChE and elderly participants (aged 60 and older; P for interaction = 0.003) and men (P for interaction = 0.044) on the risk of DR. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, ChE was associated with the incidence of DR, especially referable DR. ChE was a potential biomarker for predicting the incident DR.

Cytokine status and significant increase of IL-6 and sIL-6R in the aqueous humor of diabetic cataract patients revealed by quantitative multiplexed assays.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate inflammatory cytokine expression profiles in the aqueous humor (AH) of diabetic cataract (DC) patients. METHODS: A quantitative multiplexed antibody assay was performed to measure the expression levels of 40 inflammatory cytokines in AH samples from DC and age-related cataract (ARC) patients. Bioinformatics analysis was used to examine the functions of the cytokines. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and western blots were performed to verify the data. RESULTS: The multiplexed antibody assay revealed that the expression levels of IL-6, sIL-6R, IL-17A, IL-8, MCP-1, TNF-ß, RANTES, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 were higher in the AH of DC patients compared with ARC patients. However, IL-1ra and IL-1a expression levels were lower in the DC patient AH samples. Pathway analysis indicated that IL-6 and sIL-6R belong to the class I helical cytokine family, which is associated with many biological functions. ELISA and western blot results confirmed that IL-6R and IL-6 expression levels were significantly higher in DC patients compared with ARC patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our results revealed the status of 40 inflammatory cytokines in the AH by quantitative multiplexed assays. Additionally, IL-6 and sIL-6R were expressed markedly higher in DC compared with ARC, which may play critical roles in DC pathophysiology.

Transcriptome Analysis of Key Genes Involved in Color Variation between Blue and White Flowers of Iris bulleyana.

Iris bulleyana Dykes (Southwest iris) is an extensively distributed Iridaceae species with blue or white flowers. Hereby, we performed a systematic study, employing metabolomics and transcriptomics to uncover the subtle color differentiation from blue to white in Southwest iris. Fresh flower buds from both cultivars were subjected to flavonoid/anthocyanin and carotenoid-targeted metabolomics along with transcriptomic sequencing. Among 297 flavonoids, 24 anthocyanins were identified, and 13 showed a strong down-accumulation pattern in the white flowers compared to the blue flowers. Significant downregulation of 3GT and 5GT genes involved in the glycosylation of anthocyanins was predicted to hinder the accumulation of anthocyanins, resulting in white coloration. Besides, no significant altered accumulation of carotenoids and expression of their biosynthetic genes was observed between the two cultivars. Our study systematically addressed the color differentiation in I. bulleyana flowers, which can aid future breeding programs.

Artificial intelligence in diabetes management: Advancements, opportunities, and challenges.

The increasing prevalence of diabetes, high avoidable morbidity and mortality due to diabetes and diabetic complications, and related substantial economic burden make diabetes a significant health challenge worldwide. A shortage of diabetes specialists, uneven distribution of medical resources, low adherence to medications, and improper self-management contribute to poor glycemic control in patients with diabetes. Recent advancements in digital health technologies, especially artificial intelligence (AI), provide a significant opportunity to achieve better efficiency in diabetes care, which may diminish the increase in diabetes-related health-care expenditures. Here, we review the recent progress in the application of AI in the management of diabetes and then discuss the opportunities and challenges of AI application in clinical practice. Furthermore, we explore the possibility of combining and expanding upon existing digital health technologies to develop an AI-assisted digital health-care ecosystem that includes the prevention and management of diabetes.