Synergistic ferrate(VI) and chlorine for reclaimed water disinfection: Microbial control and chlorine decay mitigation.

Chlorination is the most widely used disinfection technology due to its simplicity and continuous disinfection ability. However, the drawbacks of disinfection by-products and chlorine-resistant bacteria have gained increasing attention. Nowadays, ferrate (Fe(VI)) is a multifunctional and environmentally friendly agent which has great potential in wastewater reclamation and reuse. This study investigated synergistic Fe(VI) and chlorine technology for reclaimed water disinfection in terms of microbial control and chlorine decay mitigation. Specifically, synergistic disinfection significantly improved the inactivation efficiency on total coliform, Escherichia coli and heterotrophic bacteria compared to sole chlorination. Synergistic disinfection also exhibited superior performance on controlling the relative abundance of chlorine-resistant bacteria and pathogenic bacteria. In addition, the decay rate of residual chlorine was relatively lower after Fe(VI) pretreatment, which was beneficial for microbial control during the reclaimed water distribution process. Technical and economic analyses revealed that synergistic Fe(VI) and chlorine disinfection was suitable and feasible. Results of this study are believed to provide useful information and alternative options on the optimization of reclaimed water disinfection.

Understanding the Role of Low-Dose Polystyrene Microplastic in Copper Toxicity to Rice Seed (Oryza sativa L.).

There is still much to learn with respect to the potential for microplastics (MPs) to interact with environmental toxins and biota. In the present study, we investigated the effect of MPs on the toxicity of copper (Cu) to rice seeds (Oryza sativa L.). The 7-day median effective concentration (EC50) value of MPs on rice seed germination was 864 mg/L (95% confidence interval [CI] 839 to 897 mg/L). We found that MPs slightly reduced Cu toxicity to rice seeds. The 7-day EC50 of Cu on rice seed germination increased from 7.29 mg/L (95% CI 7.10-7.52 mg/L) to 7.93 mg/L (95% CI 7.58-8.08 mg/L) in the presence of 20 mg/L MPs. We examined this toxicity reduction phenomenon by investigating the role of MPs in the process of Cu transport, Cu accumulation, and metabolic responses. Further investigation found that the MPs used in the present study hardly adsorbed Cu, but these MPs accumulated on the coats of rice seeds and significantly reduced Cu accumulation in rice seedlings. When Cu concentration was 10 mg/L, the presence of MPs reduced the accumulation of Cu in rice seedlings by 34%. We also found that, compared with only Cu present, the addition of MPs resulted in lower reactive oxygen species accumulation and higher catalase activity and glutathione levels in rice seedlings, which also contributed to Cu toxicity reduction. Collectively, the present study shows that polystyrene MPs have the potential to form associations with plant structures which can ultimately impact heavy metal bioaccessibility and therefore toxicity. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;00:1-10. © 2024 SETAC.

Comparative population genomics reveals convergent and divergent selection in the apricot-peach-plum-mei complex.

The economically significant genus Prunus includes fruit and nut crops that have been domesticated for shared and specific agronomic traits; however, the genomic signals of convergent and divergent selection have not been elucidated. In this study, we aimed to detect genomic signatures of convergent and divergent selection by conducting comparative population genomic analyses of the apricot-peach-plum-mei (APPM) complex, utilizing a haplotype-resolved telomere-to-telomere (T2T) genome assembly and population resequencing data. The haplotype-resolved T2T reference genome for the plum cultivar was assembled through HiFi and Hi-C reads, resulting in two haplotypes 251.25 and 251.29 Mb in size, respectively. Comparative genomics reveals a chromosomal translocation of ~1.17 Mb in the apricot genomes compared with peach, plum, and mei. Notably, the translocation involves the D locus, significantly impacting titratable acidity (TA), pH, and sugar content. Population genetic analysis detected substantial gene flow between plum and apricot, with introgression regions enriched in post-embryonic development and pollen germination processes. Comparative population genetic analyses revealed convergent selection for stress tolerance, flower development, and fruit ripening, along with divergent selection shaping specific crop, such as somatic embryogenesis in plum, pollen germination in mei, and hormone regulation in peach. Notably, selective sweeps on chromosome 7 coincide with a chromosomal collinearity from the comparative genomics, impacting key fruit-softening genes such as PG, regulated by ERF and RMA1H1. Overall, this study provides insights into the genetic diversity, evolutionary history, and domestication of the APPM complex, offering valuable implications for genetic studies and breeding programs of Prunus crops.

Defective mesenchymal Bmpr1a-mediated BMP signaling causes congenital pulmonary cysts.

Abnormal lung development can cause congenital pulmonary cysts, the mechanisms of which remain largely unknown. Although the cystic lesions are believed to result directly from disrupted airway epithelial cell growth, the extent to which developmental defects in lung mesenchymal cells contribute to abnormal airway epithelial cell growth and subsequent cystic lesions has not been thoroughly examined. In the present study using genetic mouse models, we dissected the roles of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) receptor 1a (Bmpr1a)-mediated BMP signaling in lung mesenchyme during prenatal lung development and discovered that abrogation of mesenchymal Bmpr1a disrupted normal lung branching morphogenesis, leading to the formation of prenatal pulmonary cystic lesions. Severe deficiency of airway smooth muscle cells and subepithelial elastin fibers were found in the cystic airways of the mesenchymal Bmpr1a knockout lungs. In addition, ectopic mesenchymal expression of BMP ligands and airway epithelial perturbation of the Sox2-Sox9 proximal-distal axis were detected in the mesenchymal Bmpr1a knockout lungs. However, deletion of Smad1/5, two major BMP signaling downstream effectors, from the lung mesenchyme did not phenocopy the cystic abnormalities observed in the mesenchymal Bmpr1a knockout lungs, suggesting that a Smad-independent mechanism contributes to prenatal pulmonary cystic lesions. These findings reveal for the first time the role of mesenchymal BMP signaling in lung development and a potential pathogenic mechanism underlying congenital pulmonary cysts.

Congenital disorders are medical conditions that are present from birth. Although many congenital disorders are rare, they can have a severe impact on the quality of life of those affected. For example, congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM) is a rare congenital disorder that occurs in around 1 out of every 25,000 pregnancies. In CPAM, abnormal, fluid-filled sac-like pockets of tissue, known as cysts, form within the lungs of unborn babies. After birth, these cysts become air-filled and do not behave like normal lung tissue and stop a baby's lungs from working properly. In severe cases, babies with CPAM need surgery immediately after birth. We still do not understand exactly what the underlying causes of CPAM might be. CPAM is not considered to be hereditary ­ that is, it does not appear to be passed down in families ­ nor is it obviously linked to any environmental factors. CPAM is also very difficult to study, because researchers cannot access tissue samples during the critical early stages of the disease. To overcome these difficulties, Luo et al. wanted to find a way to study CPAM in the laboratory. First, they developed a non-human animal 'model' that naturally forms CPAM-like lung cysts, using genetically modified mice where the gene for the signaling molecule Bmpr1a had been deleted in lung cells. Normally, Bmpr1a is part of a set of the molecular instructions, collectively termed BMP signaling, which guide healthy lung development early in life. However, mouse embryos lacking Bmpr1a developed abnormal lung cysts that were similar to those found in CPAM patients, suggesting that problems with BMP signalling might also trigger CPAM in humans. Luo et al. also identified several other genes in the Bmpr1a-deficient mouse lungs that had abnormal patterns of activity. All these genes were known to be controlled by BMP signaling, and to play a role in the development and organisation of lung tissue. This suggests that when these genes are not controlled properly, they could drive formation of CPAM cysts when BMP signaling is compromised. This work is a significant advance in the tools available to study CPAM. Luo et al.'s results also shed new light on the molecular mechanisms underpinning this rare disorder. In the future, Luo et al. hope this knowledge will help us develop better treatments for CPAM, or even help to prevent it altogether.

Identifying disulfidptosis subtypes in hepatocellular carcinoma through machine learning and preliminary exploration of its connection with immunotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a highly prevalent and deadly cancer, with limited treatment options for advanced-stage patients. Disulfidptosis is a recently identified mechanism of programmed cell death that occurs in SLC7A11 high-expressing cells due to glucose starvation-induced disintegration of the cellular disulfide skeleton. We aimed to explore the potential of disulfidptosis, as a prognostic and therapeutic marker in HCC. METHODS: We classified HCC patients into two disulfidptosis subtypes (C1 and C2) based on the transcriptional profiles of 31 disulfrgs using a non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) algorithm. Further, five genes (NEIL3, MMP1, STC2, ADH4 and CFHR3) were screened by Cox regression analysis and machine learning algorithm to construct a disulfidptosis scoring system (disulfS). Cell proliferation assay, F-actin staining and PBMC co-culture model were used to validate that disulfidptosis occurs in HCC and correlates with immunotherapy response. RESULTS: Our results suggests that the low disulfidptosis subtype (C2) demonstrated better overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) prognosis, along with lower levels of immunosuppressive cell infiltration and activation of the glycine/serine/threonine metabolic pathway. Additionally, the low disulfidptosis group showed better responses to immunotherapy and potential antagonism with sorafenib treatment. As a total survival risk factor, disulfS demonstrated high predictive efficacy in multiple validation cohorts. We demonstrated the presence of disulfidptosis in HCC cells and its possible relevance to immunotherapeutic sensitization. CONCLUSION: The present study indicates that novel biomarkers related to disulfidptosis may serve as useful clinical diagnostic indicators for liver cancer, enabling the prediction of prognosis and identification of potential treatment targets.

Interacted Ternary Component Ensuring High-Security Eutectic Electrolyte for High Performance Sodium-Metal Batteries.

Due to the intrinsic flame-retardant, eutectic electrolytes are considered a promising candidate for sodium-metal batteries (SMBs). However, the high viscosity and ruinous side reaction with Na metal anode greatly hinder their further development. Herein, based on the Lewis acid-base theory, a new eutectic electrolyte (EE) composed of sodium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (NaTFSI), succinonitrile (SN), and fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC) is reported. As a strong Lewis base, the ─C≡N group of SN can effectively weaken the interaction between Na+ and TFSI-, achieving the dynamic equilibrium and reducing the viscosity of EE. Moreover, the FEC additive shows a low energy level to construct thicker and denser solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on the Na metal surface, which can effectively eliminate the side reaction between EE and Na metal anode. Therefore, EE-1:6 + 5% FEC shows high ionic conductivity (2.62 mS cm-1) and ultra-high transference number of Na+ (0.96). The Na||Na symmetric cell achieves stable Na plating/stripping for 1100 h and Na||Na3V2(PO4)3/C cell shows superior long-term cycling stability over 2000 cycles (99.1% retention) at 5 C. More importantly, the Na||NVP/C pouch cell demonstrates good cycling performance of 102.1 mAh g-1 after 135 cycles at 0.5 C with an average coulombic efficiency of 99.63%.

Influence of anionic species on the low temperature pyrolysis performance of heated tobacco sheets catalyzed by sodium salts.

Development of low temperature catalytic pyrolysis technology for heated tobacco sheets is expected to increase the aroma of heated tobacco products and improve their overall smoking quality. In this study, the low temperature pyrolysis performances of heated tobacco sheets catalyzed by various anionic sodium salts were investigated using TG-DTG, Py-GC-MS technology and smoke routine chemical composition analysis. The results showed that the total weight loss between 100°C and 300°C increased by 7.8%-13.15% after adding various anionic sodium salts, among which, sodium acetate and sodium tartrate showed a relatively higher weight loss. The relative content of free hydroxyacetone, furfuryl alcohol, butyrolactone and megastigmatrienone in the pyrolysis gas increased, while the relative content of free nicotine decreased. With the change of anionic species, the catalytic decomposition ability of cellulose, lignin, and other substances may change, resulting in the distribution alteration of compounds in the pyrolysis gas. After adding sodium acetate and sodium citrate, the release of total particulate matter (TPM), glycerol, and nicotine in flue gas increased. Overall, the addition of sodium acetate and sodium citrate showed a higher low temperature pyrolysis performance of heated tobacco sheets. The research results in this paper provide data support for changing the low temperature catalytic pyrolysis performance of heated tobacco sheets by adjusting the type of anions in sodium salts.

A combination of a TLR7/8 agonist and an epigenetic inhibitor suppresses triple-negative breast cancer through triggering anti-tumor immune.

BACKGROUND: Combination therapy involving immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) and other drugs is a potential strategy for converting immune-cold tumors into immune-hot tumors to benefit from immunotherapy. To achieve drug synergy, we developed a homologous cancer cell membrane vesicle (CM)-coated metal-organic framework (MOF) nanodelivery platform for the codelivery of a TLR7/8 agonist with an epigenetic inhibitor. METHODS: A novel biomimetic codelivery system (MCM@UN) was constructed by MOF nanoparticles UiO-66 loading with a bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) inhibitor and then coated with the membrane vesicles of homologous cancer cells that embedding the 18 C lipid tail of 3M-052 (M). The antitumor immune ability and tumor suppressive effect of MCM@UN were evaluated in a mouse model of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and in vitro. The tumor immune microenvironment was analyzed by multicolor immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS: In vitro and in vivo data showed that MCM@UN specifically targeted to TNBC cells and was superior to the free drug in terms of tumor growth inhibition and antitumor immune activity. In terms of mechanism, MCM@UN blocked BRD4 and PD-L1 to prompt dying tumor cells to disintegrate and expose tumor antigens. The disintegrated tumor cells released damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), recruited dendritic cells (DCs) to efficiently activate CD8+ T cells to mediate effective and long-lasting antitumor immunity. In addition, TLR7/8 agonist on MCM@UN enhanced lymphocytes infiltration and immunogenic cell death and decreased regulatory T-cells (Tregs). On clinical specimens, we found that mature DCs infiltrating tumor tissues of TNBC patients were negatively correlated with the expression of BRD4, which was consistent with the result in animal model. CONCLUSION: MCM@UN specifically targeted to TNBC cells and remodeled tumor immune microenvironment to inhibit malignant behaviors of TNBC.

Ginsenoside Rh4 prevents endothelial dysfunction as a novel AMPK activator.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signalling pathway is a desirable target for various cardiovascular diseases (CVD), while the involvement of AMPK-mediated specific downstream pathways and effective interventions in hyperlipidaemia-induced endothelial dysfunction remain largely unknown. Herein, we aim to identify an effective AMPK activator and to explore its efficacy and mechanism against endothelial dysfunction. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Molecular docking technique was adopted to screen for the potent AMPK activator among 11 most common rare ginsenosides. In vivo, poloxamer 407 (P407) was used to induce acute hyperlipidaemia in C57BL/6J mice. In vitro, palmitic acid (PA) was used to induce lipid toxicity in HAEC cells. KEY RESULTS: We discovered the strongest binding of ginsenoside Rh4 to AMPKα1 and confirmed the action of Rh4 on AMPK activation. Rh4 effectively attenuated hyperlipidaemia-related endothelial injury and oxidative stress both in vivo and in vitro and restored cell viability, mitochondrial membrane potential and mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate in HAEC cells. Mechanistically, Rh4 bound to AMPKα1 and simultaneously up-regulated AKT/eNOS-mediated NO release, promoted PGC-1α-mediated mitochondrial biogenesis and inhibited P38 MAPK/NFκB-mediated inflammatory responses in both P407-treated mice and PA-treated HAEC cells. The AMPK inhibitor Compound C treatment completely abrogated the regulation of Rh4 on the above pathways and weakened the lowering effect of Rh4 on endothelial impairment markers, suggesting that the beneficial effects of Rh4 are AMPK dependent. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Rh4 may serve as a novel AMPK activator to protect against hyperlipidaemia-induced endothelial dysfunction, providing new insights into the prevention and treatment of endothelial injury-associated CVD.

Using a new artificial intelligence-aided method to assess body composition CT segmentation in colorectal cancer patients.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of our own artificial intelligence (AI)-generated model to assess automated segmentation and quantification of body composition-derived computed tomography (CT) slices from the lumber (L3) region in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. METHODS: A total of 541 axial CT slices at the L3 vertebra were retrospectively collected from 319 patients with CRC diagnosed during 2012-2019 at a single Australian tertiary institution, Western Health in Melbourne. A two-dimensional U-Net convolutional network was trained on 338 slices to segment muscle, visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT). Manual reading of these same slices of muscle, VAT and SAT was created to serve as ground truth data. The Dice similarity coefficient was used to assess the U-Net-based segmentation performance on both a validation dataset (68 slices) and a test dataset (203 slices). The measurement of cross-sectional area and Hounsfield unit (HU) density of muscle, VAT and SAT were compared between two methods. RESULTS: The segmentation for muscle, VAT and SAT demonstrated excellent performance for both the validation (Dice similarity coefficients >0.98, respectively) and test (Dice similarity coefficients >0.97, respectively) datasets. There was a strong positive correlation between manual and AI segmentation measurements of body composition for both datasets (Spearman's correlation coefficients: 0.944-0.999, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Compared to the gold standard, this fully automated segmentation system exhibited a high accuracy for assessing segmentation and quantification of abdominal muscle and adipose tissues of CT slices at the L3 in CRC patients.

Symplasmic and transmembrane zinc transport is modulated by cadmium in the Cd/Zn hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii.

This study investigated the influence of Cd (25 µM) on Zn accumulation in a hyperaccumulating (HE) and a non-hyperaccumulating (NHE) ecotype of Sedum alfredii Hance at short-term supply of replete (Zn5, 5 µM) and excess (Zn400, 400 µM) Zn. Cd inhibited Zn accumulation in both ecotypes, especially under Zn400, in organs with active metal sequestration, i.e. roots of NHE and shoots of HE. Direct biochemical Cd/Zn competition at the metal-protein interaction and changes in transporter gene expression contributed to the observed accumulation patterns in the roots. Specifically, in HE, Cd stimulated SaZIP4 and SaPCR2 under Zn5, but downregulated SaIRT1 and SaZIP4 under Zn400. However, Cd downregulated related transporter genes, except for SaNRAMP1, in NHE, irrespective of Zn. Cadmium stimulated casparian strip (CSs) development in NHE, as part of the defense response, while it had a subtle effect on the (CS) in HE. Moreover, Cd delayed the initiation of the suberin lamellae (SL) in HE, but stimulated SL deposition in NHE under both Zn5 or Zn400. Changes in suberization were mainly ascribed to suberin-biosynthesis-related genes and hormonal signaling. Altogether, Cd regulated Zn accumulation mainly via symplasmic and transmembrane transport in HE, while Cd inhibited both symplasmic and apoplasmic Zn transport in NHE.

Body composition assessment by artificial intelligence can be a predictive tool for short-term postoperative complications in Hartmann's reversals.

BACKGROUND: Hartmann's reversal, a complex elective surgery, reverses and closes the colostomy in individuals who previously underwent a Hartmann's procedure due to colonic pathology like cancer or diverticulitis. It demands careful planning and patient optimisation to help reduce postoperative complications. Preoperative evaluation of body composition has been useful in identifying patients at high risk of short-term postoperative outcomes following colorectal cancer surgery. We sought to explore the use of our in-house derived Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm to measure body composition within patients undergoing Hartmann's reversal procedure in the prediction of short-term postoperative complications. METHODS: A retrospective study of all patients who underwent Hartmann's reversal within a single tertiary referral centre (Western) in Melbourne, Australia and who had a preoperative Computerised Tomography (CT) scan performed. Body composition was measured using our previously validated AI algorithm for body segmentation developed by the Department of Surgery, Western Precinct, University of Melbourne. Sarcopenia in our study was defined as a skeletal muscle index (SMI), calculated as Skeletal Muscle Area (SMA) /height2 < 38.5 cm2/m2 in women and < 52.4 cm2/m2 in men. RESULTS: Between 2010 and 2020, 47 patients (mean age 63.1 ± 12.3 years; male, n = 28 (59.6%) underwent body composition analysis. Twenty-one patients (44.7%) were sarcopenic, and 12 (25.5%) had evidence of sarcopenic obesity. The most common postoperative complication was surgical site infection (SSI) (n = 8, 17%). Sarcopenia (n = 7, 87.5%, p = 0.02) and sarcopenic obesity (n = 5, 62.5%, p = 0.02) were significantly associated with SSIs. The risks of developing an SSI were 8.7 times greater when sarcopenia was present. CONCLUSION: Sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity were related to postoperative complications following Hartmann's reversal. Body composition measured by a validated AI algorithm may be a beneficial tool for predicting short-term surgical outcomes for these patients.

Investigation of clinical medicine undergraduates' recognition of narrative medicine.

BACKGROUND: Narrative Medicine (NM), a contemporary medical concept proposed in the 21st century, emphasizes the use of narrative as a literary form in medicine. This study aims to explore the understanding about NM and willingness to learn NM among medical students in our hospital. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted among 130 students at Xiangya Medical College of Central South University. RESULTS: The findings revealed that a small percentage of students (3.1%) were familiar with narrative medicine and its training methods. Knowledge about the treatment skills (77.7%) and core content (55.4%) of narrative medicine was limited among the students. Despite this, a majority (63.1%) expressed a lack of interest in further understanding and learning about narrative medicine. Surprisingly, the survey indicated that students possessed a high level of narrative literacy, even without formal training in narrative medicine. Additionally, over half of the surveyed students (61.5%) believed that narrative medicine could benefit their clinical practice. CONCLUSIONS: This study serves as a preliminary basis for the future development of narrative medicine education in China. It highlights the need to prioritize medical humanities education and provide medical students with more opportunities to access information on narrative medicine. By doing so, we can strive to enhance the visibility and promote the integration of narrative medicine into medical humanities education in China.

Artificial intelligence measured 3D body composition to predict pathological response in rectal cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: The treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) is moving towards total neoadjuvant therapy and potential organ preservation. Of particular interest are predictors of pathological complete response (pCR) that can guide personalized treatment. There are currently no clinical biomarkers which can accurately predict neoadjuvant therapy (NAT) response but body composition (BC) measures present as an emerging contender. The primary aim of the study was to determine if artificial intelligence (AI) derived body composition variables can predict pCR in patients with LARC. METHODS: LARC patients who underwent NAT followed by surgery from 2012 to 2023 were identified from the Australian Comprehensive Cancer Outcomes and Research Database registry (ACCORD). A validated in-house pre-trained 3D AI model was used to measure body composition via computed tomography images of the entire Lumbar-3 vertebral level to produce a volumetric measurement of visceral fat (VF), subcutaneous fat (SCF) and skeletal muscle (SM). Multivariate analysis between patient body composition and histological outcomes was performed. RESULTS: Of 214 LARC patients treated with NAT, 22.4% of patients achieved pCR. SM volume (P = 0.015) and age (P = 0.03) were positively associated with pCR in both male and female patients. SCF volume was associated with decreased likelihood of pCR (P = 0.059). CONCLUSION: This is the first study in the literature utilizing AI-measured 3D Body composition in LARC patients to assess their impact on pathological response. SM volume and age were positive predictors of pCR disease in both male and female patients following NAT for LARC. Future studies investigating the impact of body composition on clinical outcomes and patients on other neoadjuvant regimens such as TNT are potential avenues for further research.

A Potential Role of CD82/KAI1 during Uterine Decidualization in Mice.

The tumor metastasis suppressor gene CD82/KAI1 has been demonstrated to impact human trophoblast invasion and migration. Communication between trophoblasts and decidual stromal cells plays a crucial role in controlling the normal invasiveness of trophoblasts. However, whether CD82/KAI1 is involved in decidualization and what role it plays remain unclear. CD82/KAI1 demonstrates specific spatiotemporal expression patterns in stromal cells undergoing decidualization during pregnancy. This is observed in both naturally pregnant females post-implantation and pseudopregnant mice undergoing induced decidualization, as detected through in situ hybridization and immunofluorescence. CD82/KAI1 expression showed a significant time-dependent increase in cultured stromal cells after 24 and 48 h of progesterone (P4) and estrogen (E2) treatment. This was accompanied by a notable upregulation of decidualization markers, including cyclin D3 and PR. After transducing stromal cells with the adenovirus-overexpressing CD82/KAI1 for 48 h, the expression of cyclin D3 protein increased. Meanwhile, there was an attenuated expression of CD82/KAI1 due to an adenovirus siRNA knockdown, whereas cyclin D3 and PR expressions were not affected. Our findings suggest a potential role of CD82/KAI1 in regulating the process of decidualization, providing insights into stromal cell differentiation.

Microbulbifer magnicolonia sp. nov., isolated from sediment of tidal flat located in Zhoushan, China.

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, motile with flagella and rod- or ovoid-shaped bacterium, designated GG15T, was isolated from tidal flat sediment sampled in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province. Strain GG15T grew at 20-40 °C (optimum, 30 °C), at pH 5.5-9.5 (optimum, pH 7.0-8.0) and with 1.0-10.0 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 1.5 %). Colony diameters ranged from 1 to 3 mm within the first week, reaching a maximum of 6-7 mm after 15 days of cultivation. Strain GG15T exhibited highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Microbulbifer taiwanensis CCM 7856T (98.1 %), with similarity to other species within the genus Microbulbifer ranging from 97.8 to 93.8 %. Similarity values to other genera were below 93.8 %. Strain GG15T exhibited positive activity for ß-glucosidase, trypsin and chymotrypsin, whereas the reference strain showed negative activity. Chemotaxonomic analyses indicated that strain GG15T contained Q-8 as the sole respiratory quinone, C16 : 0 (9.1 %), iso-C15 : 0 (30.9 %) and iso-C11 : 0 3-OH (7.2 %) as the predominant fatty acids, and phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, three unidentified lipids, four unidentified glycolipids, one unidentified phospholipid, two unidentified aminolipids and two unidentified aminophospholipids as the main polar lipids. The genome of strain GG15T was 4 307 641 bp long, comprising 3861 protein-coding genes. The G+C content of strain GG15T was 61.5 mol% based on its genomic sequence. Strain GG15T showed low digital DNA-DNA hybridization (<70 %) and average nucleotide identity values (<95 %) with other Microbulbifer species. As a result, a novel species within the genus Microbulbifer, named Microbulbifer magnicolonia sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is GG15T (MCCC 1K08802T=KCTC 8210T).

Correction: Liu et al. RANBP2 Activates O-GlcNAcylation through Inducing CEBPα-Dependent OGA Downregulation to Promote Hepatocellular Carcinoma Malignant Phenotypes. Cancers 2021, 13, 3475.

In the original publication [...].

Advances of machine learning-assisted small extracellular vesicles detection strategy.

Detection of extracellular vesicles (EVs), particularly small EVs (sEVs), is of great significance in exploring their physiological characteristics and clinical applications. The heterogeneity of sEVs plays a crucial role in distinguishing different types of cells and diseases. Machine learning, with its exceptional data processing capabilities, offers a solution to overcome the limitations of conventional detection methods for accurately classifying sEV subtypes and sources. Principal component analysis, linear discriminant analysis, partial least squares discriminant analysis, XGBoost, support vector machine, k-nearest neighbor, and deep learning, along with some combined methods such as principal component-linear discriminant analysis, have been successfully applied in the detection and identification of sEVs. This review focuses on machine learning-assisted detection strategies for cell identification and disease prediction via sEVs, and summarizes the integration of these strategies with surface-enhanced Raman scattering, electrochemistry, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and fluorescence. The performance of different machine learning-based detection strategies is compared, and the advantages and limitations of various machine learning models are also evaluated. Finally, we discuss the merits and limitations of the current approaches and briefly outline the perspective of potential research directions in the field of sEV analysis based on machine learning.

Genome variation and LTR-RT analyses of an ancient peach landrace reveal mechanism of blood-flesh fruit color formation and fruit maturity date advancement.

Peach (Prunus persica) landrace has typical regional characteristics, strong environmental adaptability, and contains many valuable genes that provide the foundation for breeding excellent varieties. Therefore, it is necessary to assemble the genomes of specific landraces to facilitate the localization and utilization of these genes. Here, we de novo assembled a high-quality genome from an ancient blood-fleshed Chinese landrace Tianjin ShuiMi (TJSM) that originated from the China North Plain. The assembled genome size was 243.5 Mb with a contig N50 of 23.7 Mb and a scaffold N50 of 28.6 Mb. Compared with the reported peach genomes, our assembled TJSM genome had the largest number of specific structural variants (SVs) and long terminal repeat-retrotransposons (LTR-RTs). Among the LTR-RTs with the potential to regulate their host genes, we identified a 6688 bp LTR-RT (named it blood TE) in the promoter of NAC transcription factor-encoding PpBL, a gene regulating peach blood-flesh formation. The blood TE was not only co-separated with the blood-flesh phenotype but also associated with fruit maturity date advancement and different intensities of blood-flesh color formation. Our findings provide new insights into the mechanism underlying the development of the blood-flesh color and determination of fruit maturity date and highlight the potential of the TJSM genome to mine more variations related to agronomic traits in peach fruit.

Efficacy and safety of Yangxue Qingnao Granules in treatment of migraine: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Yangxue Qingnao Granules (YXQN) is a Chinese patent medicine that has been commonly used in the clinical treatment of migraine. AIM: To assess the efficacy and safety of YXQN alone for the treatment of migraine. METHODS: We searched 10 databases to identify relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published before September 2022. Two review authors independently searched and screened the literature, extracted the data, and assessed the methodological quality of the studies using criteria from ROB 2.0, and analyzed the data using Review Manager 5.4 software. RESULTS: A total of 12 RCTs including 767 participants with migraine met the selection criteria. We divided these studies into comparisons of YXQN with placebo, routine treatment drugs, and other Chinese patent medicines. The meta-analysis showed the following: (1) Efficacy: The YXQN group outperformed the placebo group [relative risk (RR) = 0.29, 95% confidence interval (95%CI): 0.15-0.43, P < 0.00001], routine treatment group (RR = 0.18, 95%CI: 0.09-0.27, P < 0.0001), and Chinese patent medicine group (RR = 0.27, 95%CI: 0.13-0.41, P < 0.001); (2) frequency of headache: There was a significant difference between YXQN vs placebo [mean difference (MD) = -1.25, 95%CI: -1.60 to -0.90, P < 0.00001], routine treatment drugs (MD = -0.85, 95%CI: -1.15 to -0.56, P < 0.00001), and Chinese patent medicine (MD = -0.91, 95%CI: -1.35 to -0.46, P < 0.0001); (3) headache duration: We found great heterogeneity between studies, with no differences between YXQN and placebo (MD = -0.61, 95%CI: -1.53 to -0.31, P = 0.19) and routine treatment drugs (MD = -0.22, 95%CI: -0.89 to 0.46, P < 0.53). YXQN was more effective than other Chinese patent medicines in reducing headache duration (MD = -1.24, 95%CI: -1.70 to -0.77, P < 0.00001); and (4) headache severity: There was no significant difference between YXQN vs placebo (MD = -1.67, 95%CI: -3.52 to 0.19, P = 0.08), routine treatment drugs (MD = -0.53, 95%CI: -2.02 to 0.96, P = 0.68), and other Chinese patent medicines (MD = -0.49, 95%CI: -2.83 to 1.85, P = 0.68). Mild gastrointestinal adverse reactions were reported in three cases. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that YXQN is effective and safe for treatment of migraine.