The multi-omics analysis in the hepatopancreas of Eriocheir sinensis provides novel insights into the response mechanism of heat stress.

Under global warming, heat stress can induce the excessive production of reactive oxygen species, causing irreversible damage to aquatic animals. It is essential to predict potentially harmful impacts on aquatic organisms under heat stress. Eriocheir sinensis, a typical crustacean crab, is widely distributed in China, American and Europe. Parent E. sinensis need migrate to the estuaries to reproduce in winter, and temperature is a key environmental factor. Herein, we performed a comprehensive transcriptomic and proteomic analysis in the hepatopancreas of E. sinensis under heat stress (20 °C and 30 °C), focusing on heat shock protein family, antioxidant system, energy metabolism and immune defense. The results revealed that parent E. sinensis generated adaptative responses to maintain physiological function under 20 °C stress via the transcriptional up-regulation of energy metabolism enzymes, mRNA synthesis and heat shock proteins. The transcriptional inhibition of key enzymes related to energy metabolism implied that 30 °C stress may lead to the dysfunction of energy metabolism in parent E. sinensis. Meanwhile, parent E. sinensis also enhanced the expression of ferritin and phospholipase D at translational level, and the glutathione s-transferase and heat shock protein 70 at both transcriptional and translational levels, speculating that parent E. sinensis can strengthen antioxidant and immune capacity to resist oxidative stress under 30 °C stress. This study elucidated the potential molecular mechanism in response to heat stress of parent E. sinensis hepatopancreas. The preliminary selection of heat tolerance genes or proteins in E. sinensis can provide a reference for the population prediction and the study of evolutionary mechanism under heat stress in crabs.

Effects of Antarctic Krill Meal in Diet on Reproductive Performance and Embryo Quality of Eriocheir sinensis.

A 60-day feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the impact of dietary Antarctic krill meal on the reproductive performance and embryo quality of the Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis. Three diets were formulated, incorporating varying levels of Antarctic krill meal at 0% (Diet K0), 10% (Diet K10), and 20% (Diet K20), with a control group fed razor clam Sinonovacula constricta. Each diet was randomly assigned to three replicate tanks, each stocked with 5 males and 10 females. Male and female weights were 145.38 ± 8.01 and 102.57 ± 9.73 g, respectively. The results revealed no significant differences in weight gain rate, specific growth rate, and survival rate. However, the hepatopancreatic weight and hepatopancreas index of female crabs in each group decreased, while gonadal weight and gonadosomatic index increased significantly after 60 days, with Diet K20 showing the highest values. Egg production and fecundity of female crabs reached their peak in Diet K20, with no significant differences in reproductive indices among all groups. The phospholipid content in Diet K20 was significantly higher than in the other groups (P < 0.05). Cholesterol contents in Diet K0 and the control group were significantly higher than in Diet K10 and K20 (P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed in egg diameter, egg weight, moisture, crude protein, and crude fat between the groups. The content of C20 : 2 and C20 : 4n6 was highest in Diet K0, with a significant difference compared to Diet K10 (P < 0.05). However, no significant differences were found in the total content of saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids, and polyunsaturated fatty acids among all groups. Based on the research findings, it is recommended that the optimal level of Antarctic krill meal in diets is 20%.

MYB transcription factors encoded by diversified tandem gene clusters cause varied Morella rubra fruit color.

Chinese bayberry (Morella rubra) is a fruit tree with a remarkable variation in fruit color, ranging from white to dark red as determined by anthocyanin content. In dark red "Biqi" (BQ), red "Dongkui" (DK), pink "Fenhong" (FH), and white "Shuijing" (SJ), we identified an anthocyanin-related MYB transcription factor-encoding gene cluster of four members, i.e. MrMYB1.1, MrMYB1.2, MrMYB1.3, and MrMYB2. Collinear analysis revealed that the MYB tandem cluster may have occurred in a highly conserved region of many eudicot genomes. Two alleles of MrMYB1.1 were observed; MrMYB1.1-1 (MrMYB1.1n) was a full-length allele and homozygous in "BQ", MrMYB1.1-2 (MrMYB1.1d) was a nonfunctional allele with a single base deletion and homozygous in "SJ", and MrMYB1.1n/MrMYB1.1d were heterozygous in "DK" and "FH". In these four cultivars, expression of MrMYB1.1, MrMYB1.2, and MrMYB2 was enhanced during ripening. Both alleles were equally expressed in MrMYB1.1n/MrMYB1.1d heterozygous cultivars as revealed by a cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence marker. Expression of MrMYB1.3 was restricted to some dark red cultivars only. Functional characterization revealed that MrMYB1.1n and MrMYB1.3 can induce anthocyanin accumulation while MrMYB1.1d, MrMYB1.2, and MrMYB2 cannot. DNA-protein interaction assays indicated that MrMYB1.1n and MrMYB1.3 can directly bind to and activate the promoters of anthocyanin-related genes via interaction with a MYC-like basic helix-loop-helix protein MrbHLH1. We concluded that the specific genotype of MrMYB1.1 alleles, as well as the exclusive expression of MrMYB1.3 in some dark red cultivars, contributes to fruit color variation. The study provides insights into the mechanisms for regulation of plant anthocyanin accumulation by MYB tandem clusters.

Association between prenatal exposure to alkylphenols and intelligence quotient among preschool children: sex-specific effects.

BACKGROUND: While prenatal exposure to alkylphenols (APs) has been demonstrated to be associated with neurodevelopmental impairments in animals, the evidence from epidemiological studies remains limited and inconclusive. This study aimed to explore the link between AP exposure during pregnancy and the intelligence quotient (IQ) of preschool children. METHODS: A total of 221 mother-child pairs from the Guangxi Zhuang Birth Cohort were recruited. Nonylphenol (NP), 4-tert-octylphenol (4-T-OP), 4-n-nonylphenol (4-N-NP), and 4-n-octylphenol were measured in maternal serum in early pregnancy. Childhood IQ was evaluated by the Fourth Edition of Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of the Intelligence at 3 to 6 years of age. The impact of APs on childhood IQ were evaluated by generalized linear models (GLMs), restricted cubic spline (RCS), and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR). RESULTS: In GLMs, prenatal exposure to NP and the second tertile of 4-T-OP exhibited an inverse association with full-scale IQ (FSIQ) (ß = -2.38; 95% CI: -4.59, -0.16) and working memory index (WMI) (ß = -5.24; 95% CI: -9.58, -0.89), respectively. Prenatal exposure to the third tertile of 4-N-NP showed a positive association with the fluid reasoning index (ß = 4.95; 95% CI: 1.14, 8.77) in total children, as well as in girls when stratified by sex. A U-shaped relationship between maternal 4-T-OP and WMI was noted in total children and girls by RCS (all P nonlinear < 0.05). The combined effect primarily driven by NP, of maternal AP mixtures at concentrations above the 50th percentile exhibited an inverse trend on FSIQ in total children and girls in BKMR. CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal exposure to various APs affects IQ in preschool children, and there may be nonmonotonic and sex-specific effects. Further investigation across the population is required to elucidate the potential neurotoxic effects of APs.

Serum total protein-to-albumin ratio predicts risk of death in septic acute kidney injury patients: A cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: Sepsis is the leading cause of acute kidney injury (AKI). Increasing evidence shows that serum total protein-to-albumin ratio (TAR) could serve as an inflammation- and nutrition-based prognostic marker in various diseases. The purpose of this study was to assess the prognostic value of TAR in predicting the clinical outcomes of septic AKI patients. METHODS: We retrospectively enrolled septic AKI patients between August 2015 and August 2022 at West China Hospital of Sichuan University. Patients admitted between August 2015 and August 2021 were defined as the original cohort. The primary outcomes were 30-day and 90-day all-cause mortality of septic AKI patients. The secondary outcomes were septic shock, transfer to the intensive care unit, mechanical ventilation, requirement for renal replacement therapy, and stage 3 AKI. The utility of TAR was further verified in a validation cohort of septic AKI patients admitted between September 2021 and August 2022. RESULTS: In the original cohort, a total of 309 eligible patients with a median age of 58 years were enrolled, of which 70.2 % were males. In multivariate Cox analysis, after adjustments for age, sex, and other confounding factors, higher TAR at admission was associated with an increased risk of 30-day and 90-day all-cause mortality in septic AKI patients (HR 1.91, 95 % CI 1.18-3.09, P = 0.008; HR 1.54, 95 % CI 1.01-2.34, P = 0.043, respectively). Subgroup analysis revealed no significant interactions in most strata. TAR at AKI diagnosis or discharge was not significantly related to 30-day (P = 0.120 and 0.153, respectively) or 90-day mortality (P = 0.147 and 0.124, respectively). We found no relationship between baseline TAR and septic shock, transfer to the intensive care unit, mechanical ventilation, requirement for renal replacement therapy, or stage 3 AKI (all P > 0.05). In the validation cohort of 81 septic AKI patients, TAR at admission remained a significant prognosticator for 30-day and 90-day mortality (HR 4.367, 95 % CI 1.20-15.87, P = 0.025; HR 4.237, 95 % CI 1.59-11.27, P = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: TAR at admission is an independent risk factor for 30-day and 90-day mortality in septic AKI patients and could be used as a convenient and economic septic AKI prognostic indicator.

Integration of Transcriptomics and Proteomics Analysis Reveals the Molecular Mechanism of Eriocheir sinensis Gills Exposed to Heat Stress.

Heat stress is an increasingly concerning topic under global warming. Heat stress can induce organisms to produce excess reactive oxygen species, which will lead to cell damage and destroy the antioxidant defense of aquatic animals. Chinese mitten crab, Eriocheir sinensis, is sensitive to the change in water temperature, and parent crabs are more vulnerable during the breeding stage. In the present study, the multi-omics responses of parent E. sinensis gills to heat stress (24 h) were determined via transcriptome and proteome. The integrative analysis revealed that heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and glutathione s-transferase (GST) were significantly up-regulated at gene and protein levels after heat stress, indicating that HSP70 and the antioxidant system participated in the regulatory mechanism of heat stress to resist oxidative damage. Moreover, the "Relaxin signaling pathway" was also activated at gene and protein levels under 30 °C stress, which implied that relaxin may be essential and responsible for reducing the oxidative damage of gills caused by extreme heat stress. These findings provided an understanding of the regulation mechanism in E. sinensis under heat stress at gene and protein levels. The mining of key functional genes, proteins, and pathways can also provide a basis for the cultivation of new varieties resistant to oxidative stress.

Factors associated with nurses' attitudes for providing oral care in geriatric care facilities: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The world's population is getting older. This issue is accompanied by a rise in the number of older people suffering from dementia and disability, for whom oral hygiene care is challenging. Nurses' attitudes toward providing oral care (POC) are critical for the elderly, while few studies have investigated the determinant factors of nurses' attitudes by identifying the current work pressure, resilience and self-efficacy in geriatric care facilities (GCFs). It is of great significance to explore the nurses' attitudes toward POC and associated influencing factors related to psychological aspects including resilience, self-efficacy, and stress from the workplace. METHODS: Attitudes for Providing Mouth Care (A-PMC) in Chinese version were used in this cross-sectional study with 160 nurses in 2 GCFs. Data were collected using online questionnaires and analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis. Statistically significant values were considered at p < 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 160 nurses participated in this study, with an average age of 32.86 ± 7.43. The mean score for the A-PMC was 2.81 ± 0.47. The score of A-PMC was negatively correlated with work pressure (r=-0.332, p < 0.01), and positively correlated with resilience (r = 0.735, p < 0.01) and self-efficacy (r = 0.425, p < 0.01) respectively. Multiple linear regression analyses identified that the potential influencing factors of A-PMC were education background, work hours every shift, self-efficacy, work pressure and resilience. CONCLUSIONS: The study results indicate nurses' attitudes regarding PMC were at a low level, which is influenced by many factors. To improve nurses' attitudes toward PMC and the oral hygiene (OH) of the elderly in GCFs, it is necessary to increase nurses' education and training, establish a reasonable and effective incentive mechanism to improve nurses' work motivation and other intervention measures to reduce work pressure.

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Lupus Nephritis: Potential Therapeutic Target.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a complex autoimmune disease. Approximately one-third to two-thirds of the patients with SLE progress to lupus nephritis (LN). The pathogenesis of SLE and LN has not yet been fully elucidated, and effective treatment for both conditions is lacking. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the largest intracellular organelle and is a site of protein synthesis, lipid metabolism, and calcium storage. Under stress, the function of ER is disrupted, and the accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins occurs in ER, resulting in an ER stress (ERS) response. ERS is involved in the dysfunction of B cells, macrophages, T cells, dendritic cells, neutrophils, and other immune cells, causing immune system disorders, such as SLE. In addition, ERS is also involved in renal resident cell injury and contributes to the progression of LN. The molecular chaperones, autophagy, and proteasome degradation pathways inhibit ERS and restore ER homeostasis to improve the dysfunction of immune cells and renal resident cell injury. This may be a therapeutic strategy for SLE and LN. In this review, we summarize advances in this field.

Iron chelation prevents nigrostriatal neurodegeneration in a chronic methamphetamine mice model.

Methamphetamine (METH) has been established to selectively target and impair dopaminergic neurons through multiple pathways. Ferroptosis is a unique form of non-apoptotic cell death driven by cellular iron accumulation-induced lipid peroxidation. Nonetheless, it remains unclear whether METH can induce ferroptosis. In the present study, we sought to assess alterations in iron levels after chronic METH exposure and reveal the modulatory role of iron on METH-induced pathologies. Importantly, we demonstrated that METH increased iron deposition in the nigrostriatal system, including the substantia nigra (SN) and caudate putamen (CPu). Moreover, decreases in GPx4 levels, increases in lipid peroxidation products, and pathological alterations were observed in the nigrostriatal system as a consequence of chronic METH exposure. The iron chelator deferiprone not only alleviated nigrostriatal iron deposition, dopaminergic cell death, and lipid peroxidation, but alsoattenuated the decreases in GPx4 induced by METH. These findings suggest an alleviation of ferroptosis in dopaminergic neurons. In addition, we found that the ferroptosis inhibitor liproxstatin-1 attenuated METH-induced dopaminergic degeneration in the nigrostriatal system. Our findings corroborated that METH might induce dopaminergic neurodegeneration through iron-dependent ferroptosis. Interestingly, reducing iron levels or inhibiting ferroptosis may alleviate METH-induced dopaminergic neurodegeneration.

Safety and efficacy of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in previously treated liver cancer patients: a survival analysis.

Background and Aim: The prognosis and medication response for liver malignancies are both dismal and highly heterogeneous. For this diverse malignancy, multimodality therapies such as drugs, surgical management, and/or l+iver transplantation are available. Biliary complications remain a major problem after liver cancer treatment especially in those patients who undergo liver transplantation for their end stage liver disease. Although, most biliary complications can be successfully managed with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. However, biliary complications still considered an important factor influencing long-term results in liver cancer treatment patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of biliary complications on the overall patient's survival rate after the endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data of consecutive patients who were treated for liver cancer at our tertiary care hospital from January 2015 to July 2020. We focused on the biliary complications and procedural data, including post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography complications, survival rate, and complementary or alternative treatments to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Results: We identified 967 cases (mean age 49; range 11-75), 84% men. During the mean follow up of 25 months (range 1 to 66 months), 102 patients developed biliary complications; 68/102 underwent 141 therapeutics endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography procedures. The rest 34/102 patients were managed with percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography, conservative management, and/or surgery. Post- endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography complications occurred in 79.4%, including anastomotic strictures in 25, non-anastomotic strictures in 5, stones in 5, cholangitis in 4, post-sphinctretomy bleeding in 3, pancreatitis in 2, and bile leakage in 1 patient. Seven (13.0%) patients died after ERCP due to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Although the survival rate of patients who underwent ERCP and those without ERCP was similar, patients with biliary complications fared significant worse. Conclusion: Although endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography is useful for the management of post liver cancer treatment biliary complications; the need for multiple rounds of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and even post endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography complications is relatively high, and often results in increased mortality. However, the survival following endoscopic or surgical therapy in liver cancer treatment patients is similar.

Antibiotic-Induced Dysbiosis of the Gut Microbiota Impairs Gene Expression in Gut-Liver Axis of Mice.

Antibiotics can be a double-edged sword. The application of broad-spectrum antibiotics leads to the suppression of microorganisms in the human body without selective targeting, including numerous non-pathogenic microorganisms within the gut. As a result, dysbiosis of the gut microbiota can occur. The gut microbiota is a vast and intricate ecosystem that has been connected with various illnesses. Significantly, the gut and liver function in a closely coupled anatomical and physiological relationship referred to as the "gut-liver axis". Consequently, metabolites stemming from the gut microbiota migrate via the portal vein to the liver, thereby influencing gene expression and proper physiological activity within the liver. This study aimed to investigate the dysbiosis of gut microbiota ecology and the disruption of gene expression resulting from oral antibiotics and their subsequent recovery. In the experiment, mice were tube-fed neomycin (0.5 mg/mL) and ampicillin (1 mg/mL) for 21 days (ABX group) to conduct 16s rRNA sequencing. By simultaneously analyzing public datasets PRJDB6615, which utilized the same antibiotics, it was found that nearly 50% of the total microbiota abundance was attributed to the f__Lactobacillaceae family. Additionally, datasets GSE154465 and GSE159761, using the same antibiotics, were used to screen for differentially expressed genes pre-and post-antibiotic treatment. Quantitative real-time PCR was employed to evaluate gene expression levels before and after antibiotic treatment. It was discovered that oral antibiotics significantly disrupted gene expression in the gut and liver, likely due to the dysregulation of the gut microbiota ecology. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) was found to be an effective method for restoring gut microbiota dysbiosis. To further enhance the restoration of gut microbiota and gene expression, an antioxidant, vitamin C, was added to the FMT process to counteract the oxidative effect of antibiotics on microorganisms. The results showed that FMTs with vitamin C were more effective in restoring gut microbiota and gene expression to the level of the fecal transplant donor.

Genomic epidemiology of dengue in Shantou, China, 2019.

Objectives: Dengue has been endemic in Southeast Asian countries for decades. There are few reports tracing the dynamics of dengue in real time. In this study, we generated hundreds of pathogen genomes to understand the genomic epidemiology of an outbreak in a hyper-endemic area of dengue. Methods: We leveraged whole-genome short-read sequencing (PE150) to generate genomes of the dengue virus and investigated the genomic epidemiology of a dengue virus transmission in a mesoscale outbreak in Shantou, China, in 2019. Results: The outbreak was sustained from July to December 2019. The total accumulated number of laboratory-confirmed cases was 944. No gender bias or fatalities were recorded. Cambodia and Singapore were the main sources of imported dengue cases (74.07%, n = 20). A total of 284 dengue virus strains were isolated, including 259 DENV-1, 24 DENV-2, and 1 DENV-3 isolates. We generated the entire genome of 252 DENV isolates (229 DENV-1, 22 DENV-2, and 1 DENV-3), which represented 26.7% of the total cases. Combined epidemiological and phylogenetic analyses indicated multiple independent introductions. The internal transmission evaluations and transmission network reconstruction supported the inference of phylodynamic analysis, with high Bayes factor support in BSSVS analysis. Two expansion founders and transmission chains were detected in CCH and LG of Shantou. Conclusions: We observed the instant effects of genomic epidemiology in monitoring the dynamics of DENV and highlighted its prospects for real-time tracing of outbreaks of other novel agents in the future.

Research progress on endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis in kidney diseases.

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) plays important roles in biosynthetic and metabolic processes, including protein and lipid synthesis, Ca2+ homeostasis regulation, and subcellular organelle crosstalk. Dysregulation of ER homeostasis can cause toxic protein accumulation, lipid accumulation, and Ca2+ homeostasis disturbance, leading to cell injury and even death. Accumulating evidence indicates that the dysregulation of ER homeostasis promotes the onset and progression of kidney diseases. However, maintaining ER homeostasis through unfolded protein response, ER-associated protein degradation, autophagy or ER-phagy, and crosstalk with other organelles may be potential therapeutic strategies for kidney disorders. In this review, we summarize the recent research progress on the relationship and molecular mechanisms of ER dysfunction in kidney pathologies. In addition, the endogenous protective strategies for ER homeostasis and their potential application for kidney diseases have been discussed.

The evidence framework of traditional Chinese medicine injection (Aidi injection) in controlling malignant pleural effusion: A clustered systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Aidi injection (Aidi), a traditional Chinese medicine injection, is often practiced to control malignant pleural effusion (MPE). OBJECTIVES: We performed a registered systematic review and meta-analysis (PROSPERO: CRD42022337611) to clarify the clinical role of Aidi in MPE, reveal optimal combinations of Aidi and chemical agents, their indications, therapeutic route and usage, and demonstrate their clinical effectiveness and safety. METHODOLOGY: All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about Aidi in controlling MPE were collected from Chinese and English databases (up to October 2022). We clustered them into multiple homogenous regimens, evaluated the risk-of-bias at outcome level using a RoB 2, extracted and pooled the data using meta-analysis or descriptive analysis, and finally summarized their evidence quality. RESULTS: All 56 studies were clustered into intrapleural administration with Aidi alone or plus chemical agents, and intravenous administration with Aidi for MPE. Intrapleural administration with Aidi alone displayed similar clinical responses on Cisplatin (DDP) alone. Only administration with Aidi plus DDP significantly improved complete response and quality of life, and displayed a low pleurodesis failure, disease progression, hematotoxicity, gastrointestinal and hepatorenal toxicity. For patients with moderate to massive effusion, Karnofsky Performance Status score ≥ 50 or anticipated survival time ≥3 months, Aidi (50 ml to 80 ml each time, one time each week and three to eight times) plus DDP (20 to 30 mg, 40 to 50 mg, or 60 to 80 mg each time) significantly improved clinical responses. Most results had moderate to low quality. CONCLUSIONS: Current evidences indicate that Aidi, a pleurodesis agent, plays an interesting clinical role in controlling MPE. Aidi plus DDP perfusion is a most commonly used regimen, which shows a significant improvement in clinical responses. These findings also provide an indication and possible optimal usage for rational drug use.

The effect of FMT and vitamin C on immunity-related genes in antibiotic-induced dysbiosis in mice.

Antibiotics are double-edged swords. Although antibiotics are used to inhibit pathogenic bacteria, they also run the risk of destroying some of the healthy bacteria in our bodies. We examined the effect of penicillin on the organism through a microarray dataset, after which 12 genes related to immuno-inflammatory pathways were selected by reading the literature and validated using neomycin and ampicillin. The expression of genes was measured using qRT-PCR. Several genes were significantly overexpressed in antibiotic-treated mice, including CD74 and SAA2 in intestinal tissues that remained extremely expressed after natural recovery. Moreover, transplantation of fecal microbiota from healthy mice to antibiotic-treated mice was made, where GZMB, CD3G, H2-AA, PSMB9, CD74, and SAA1 were greatly expressed; however, SAA2 was downregulated and normal expression was restored, and in liver tissue, SAA1, SAA2, SAA3 were extremely expressed. After the addition of vitamin C, which has positive effects in several aspects, to the fecal microbiota transplantation, in the intestinal tissues, the genes that were highly expressed after the fecal microbiota transplantation effectively reduced their expression, and the unaffected genes remained normally expressed, but the CD74 gene remained highly expressed. In liver tissues, normally expressed genes were not affected, but the expression of SAA1 was reduced and the expression of SAA3 was increased. In other words, fecal microbiota transplantation did not necessarily bring about a positive effect of gene expression restoration, but the addition of vitamin C effectively reduced the effects of fecal microbiota transplantation and regulated the balance of the immune system.

Predictive value of apparent diffusion coefficient for neoadjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced colorectal cancer patients.

Background: The efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy is closely related to the long-term prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) is an index in dynamic enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), reflecting the density of tumor cells. ADC has been shown to be related to the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in other malignant tumors, but there is still a lack of relevant research in CRC patients. Methods: A total of 128 patients with CRC treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in The First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University from January 2016 to January 2017 were retrospectively collected. According to the response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, the patients were divided into an objective response group (n=80) and a control group (n=48). The clinical characteristics and ADC levels of the two groups were compared, and the predictive value of ADC on the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy was analyzed. The patients were followed up for 5 years to observe the difference of survival rate between the two groups, and further analyzed the correlation between ADC and survival rate. Results: Compared with the control group, the tumor size in the objective response group was significantly reduced (3.32±1.60 vs. 5.07±2.19 cm, P=0.000); ADC significantly increased (1.23±0.18 vs. 0.98±0.18 ×10-3 mm2/s, P=0.000); albumin significantly increased (39.32±4.14 vs. 37.46±4.18 g/L, P=0.016); the proportion of patients with poorly differentiated or undifferentiated tumor cells was significantly lower (51.25% vs. 72.92%, P=0.016); and the 5-year mortality decreased significantly (40.00% vs. 58.33%, P=0.044). ADC had the highest predictive value of objective response for locally advanced CRC patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.834 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.765-0.903, P=0.000]; ADC had certain predictive value for the 5-year survival of locally advanced CRC patients, and the AUC was 0.778 (95% CI: 0.696-0.861, P=0.000). ADC >1.055×10-3 mm2/s, tumor size <4.1 cm, and moderately or well differentiated tumors were favorable factors for patients with locally advanced CRC to obtain objective response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (P<0.05). Conclusions: ADC could be used as a predictor of the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in locally advanced CRC patients.

Ethyl Vanillin Rapid Crystallization from Carboxymethyl Chitosan Ion-Switchable Hydrogels.

Polymer gels are usually used for crystal growth as the recovered crystals have better properties. Fast crystallization under nanoscale confinement holds great benefits, especially in polymer microgels as its tunable microstructures. This study demonstrated that ethyl vanillin can be quickly crystallized from carboxymethyl chitosan/ethyl vanillin co-mixture gels via classical swift cooling method and supersaturation. It found that EVA appeared with bulk filament crystals accelerated by a large quantity of nanoconfinement microregions resulted from space-formatted hydrogen network between EVA and CMCS when their concentration exceeds 1:1.4 and may occasionally arise when the concentration less than 1:0.8. It was observed that EVA crystal growth has two models involving hang-wall growth at the air-liquid interface at the contact line, as well as extrude-bubble growth at any sites on the liquid surface. Further investigations found that EVA crystals can be recovered from as-prepared ion-switchable CMCS gels by 0.1 M hydrochloric acid or acetic acid without defects. Consequently, the proposed method may offer an available scheme for a large-scale preparation of API analogs.

Short-term responses of nutrients and algal biomass in a eutrophic shallow lake to different scales of water transfer.

With the expansion of water transfer projects worldwide, the original hydrological and physicochemical states of the systems receiving the transferred water have experienced dynamic temporal and spatial changes, especially shallow lakes with that are more vulnerable to these changes. Understanding the short-term response of lakes to human-managed water transfer events can provide specific information on the seasonal regularity and long-term evolution pattern of lakes. The present study selected an annual water transfer event that is uniform and relatively independent. Then, field monitoring was conducted, and a hydrodynamic-eutrophication model was established to investigate the effects of the water transfer scales and regulation on TN, TP and algal biomass in Lake Nansi, a main regulating lake on the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project (SNWDP-ER), China. The results showed that the timing of the water transfer event had an important effect on the enrichment of algal biomass. When the water transfer occurred in the spring, algal growth increased, but the reverse occurred in the summer. Under a high P concentration and the current management regulations (TP 0.05 mg/L), an algal bloom resulted in 21 % and 22 % increases in Chl-a and TP in the receiving system. When the inflow rate increased to the maximum level (100 m3/s), the algal biomass in the first mixing zone was briefly diluted, but the subsequent deterioration in water quality in the first mixing zone was more significant. Sixty days after the water transfer event began, the proportion of middle eutrophication (26 ≤ Chl-a < 160 µg/L) increased from 84 % to 92 %. The results emphasize the importance of water transfer scales on water quality in shallow lakes and provide a reference for determining the long-term stability and maintenance of specific ecosystems and optimization of water transfer practices.

Vaccination against Varicella Zoster Virus Infection in Less Developed Regions of Guangdong, China: A Cross-Sectional Serosurveillance Study.

Vaccination is the key to prevent varicella zoster virus (VZV) infection in children. Voluntary and self-funded strategies have led to variable vaccination rates against VZV in China. For low-income populations, in particular, the effects of VZV vaccination have been insufficiently estimated. Community-based serosurveillance was conducted in two less developed regions, Zhanjiang and Heyuan, of Guangdong, China. Anti-VZV IgG antibodies in serum were detected by ELISA. The vaccination data were derived from the Guangdong Immune Planning Information System. A total of 4221 participants were involved, of which 3377 were from three counties of Zhanjiang and the other 844 were from one county of Heyuan, Guangdong, China. The total VZV IgG seropositivity rate in vaccinated individuals was 34.30% and 42.76%, while it was 89.61% and 91.62% in non-vaccinated populations of Zhanjiang and Heyuan, respectively. The seropositivity rate increased gradually with age, reaching ~90% in the >20- to 30-year-old group. The VarV vaccination rates of children aged 1-14 years were 60.47% for one dose and 6.20% for two doses in Zhanjiang, and 52.24% for one dose and 4.48% for two doses in Heyuan. Compared with the non-vaccinated group (31.19%) and one-dose group (35.47%), the positivity rate of anti-VZV IgG antibodies was significantly higher in the two-dose group (67.86%). Before the VarV policy was reformed, the anti-VZV IgG positivity rate was 27.85% in the one-dose-vaccinated participants, which increased to 30.43% after October 2017. The high seroprevalence in participants was due to infection of VZV in Zhanjiang and Heyuan, not vaccination against VZV. Children aged 0-5 years are still vulnerable to varicella, so a two-dose vaccination program should be implemented to prevent onward transmission of VZV.

Effect of oral pre-emptive analgesia on pain management after total knee arthroplasty: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is currently regarded as an effective treatment for knee osteoarthritis, relieving patients' pain and significantly enhancing their quality of life and activity levels, allowing them to return to work and daily life after surgery. However, some TKA patients suffer from varying degrees of postoperative residual pain and opioid abuse, which negatively impacts their recovery and quality of life. It has been reported that preoperative treatment with multimodal analgesics improves postoperative pain and reduces opioid consumption. However, there is no conclusive evidence that pre-emptive analgesia provides the same benefits in TKA. In order to inform future research, this protocol focuses on the efficacy and safety of oral analgesics used in TKA pre-emptive analgesia. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will search the literature on the involvement of pre-emptive analgesia in the management of pain in TKA from the PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, from their inception to 1 February 2023. Additionally, clinical registry platforms will be investigated to collect data for ongoing studies. Using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool, the quality assessment will be conducted. RevMan V.5.4 will be used for the meta-analysis. The statistic I 2 will be used to measure the percentage of total variability due to heterogeneity between studies. Where appropriate, subgroup and sensitivity analyses, assessment of evidence quality and publication bias will be conducted. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: No ethical approval and consent is required for this systematic review. Moreover, the results of this systematic review will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022380782.