Clinical prediction factors of nonchronic total occlusion lesion progression in patients with unstable angina receiving percutaneous coronary intervention for chronic total occlusion lesions.

Background: In this study, we investigated clinical prediction factors of nonchronic total occlusion lesion (NCTOL) progression in patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for chronic total occlusion (CTO) lesions. Methods: In total, 450 patients with unstable angina (mean age = 57.1 ± 9.2 years) who underwent PCI for CTO lesions between January 2016 and December 2018 at Beijing Anzhen Hospital were enrolled in this study. A clinical and angiographic follow-up examination was performed 12 months postoperatively. The patients were divided into NCTOL progression (145 cases) and control (305 cases) groups based on the outcome of the 12-month angiographic follow-up. The clinical and angiographic features of the participants were analyzed. Results: The adenosine diphosphate-induced platelet aggregation (ADP-IPA) rate and levels of lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) in the NCTOL progression group were significantly higher than those in the control group (51.89 ± 14.81 vs. 39.63 ± 17.12, P < 0.01; 0.22 ± 0.26 vs. 0.14 ± 0.18, P < 0.05, respectively). Logistic regression showed that the ADP-IPA rate (odds ratio = 1.047, 95 % confidence interval: 1.014-1.082, P = 0.005) and Lp(a) (odds ratio = 11.972, 95 % confidence interval: 1.230-116.570, P = 0.033) were independent predictors of NCTOL progression. Partial correlation analysis demonstrated that the ADP-IPA rate was positively correlated with NCTOL progression (r = 0. 351, P < 0.001). Receiver operating characteristic curve showed that the boundary point of the ADP-IPA rate to predict NCTOL progression was 30 % (sensitivity, 86.2 %; specificity, 68.9 %). Conclusions: NCTOL progression is an important cause of recurrent PCI in patients with coronary artery disease after PCI for CTO lesions. The ADP-IPA rate is a useful predictor for NCTOL progression in patients with unstable angina who undergo PCI for CTO lesions.

Dynamic Semi-Supervised Federated Learning Fault Diagnosis Method Based on an Attention Mechanism.

In cases where a client suffers from completely unlabeled data, unsupervised learning has difficulty achieving an accurate fault diagnosis. Semi-supervised federated learning with the ability for interaction between a labeled client and an unlabeled client has been developed to overcome this difficulty. However, the existing semi-supervised federated learning methods may lead to a negative transfer problem since they fail to filter out unreliable model information from the unlabeled client. Therefore, in this study, a dynamic semi-supervised federated learning fault diagnosis method with an attention mechanism (SSFL-ATT) is proposed to prevent the federation model from experiencing negative transfer. A federation strategy driven by an attention mechanism was designed to filter out the unreliable information hidden in the local model. SSFL-ATT can ensure the federation model's performance as well as render the unlabeled client capable of fault classification. In cases where there is an unlabeled client, compared to the existing semi-supervised federated learning methods, SSFL-ATT can achieve increments of 9.06% and 12.53% in fault diagnosis accuracy when datasets provided by Case Western Reserve University and Shanghai Maritime University, respectively, are used for verification.

Evaluation of Linear Programming and Optimal Contribution Selection Approaches for Long-Term Selection on Beef Cattle Breeding.

The optimized selection method can maximize the genetic gain in offspring under the premise of controlling the inbreeding level of the population. At present, genetic gain has been largely improved by using genomic selection in multiple farm animals. However, the design of the optimal selection method and assessment of its effects during long-term selection in beef cattle breeding are yet to be fully explored. In this study, a simulated beef cattle population was constructed, and 15 generations of simulated breeding were carried out using the linear programming breeding strategy (LP) and optimal contribution selection strategy (OCS), respectively. The truncation selection strategy (TS-I and TS-II) was used as the control. During the breeding process, genetic parameters including genetic gain, average kinship coefficient, QTL effect variance, and average observed heterozygosity were calculated and compared across generations. Our results showed that the LP method can significantly improve the genetic gain in the population, especially the genetic performance of the traits with high heritability and the traits with high weight in the breeding process, but the inbreeding level of the population is higher under LP strategy. Although the genetic gain in the population under the OCS strategy is lower than the TS-II strategy, this method can effectively control the inbreeding level of the population. Our findings also suggest that the LP and OCS method can be used as an effective means to improve genetic gain, while the OCS method is a more ideal method to obtain sustainable genetic gain during long-term selection.

A Multiscale Recursive Attention Gate Federation Method for Multiple Working Conditions Fault Diagnosis.

Federated learning (FL) is an effective method when a single client cannot provide enough samples for multiple condition fault diagnosis of bearings since it can combine the information provided by multiple clients. However, some of the client's working conditions are different; for example, different clients are in different stages of the whole life cycle, and different clients have different loads. At this point, the status of each client is not equal, and the traditional FL approach will lead to some clients' useful information being ignored. The purpose of this paper is to investigate a multiscale recursive FL framework that makes the server more focused on the useful information provided by the clients to ensure the effectiveness of FL. The proposed FL method can build reliable multiple working condition fault diagnosis models due to the increased focus on useful information in the FL process and the full utilization of server information through local multiscale feature fusion. The validity of the proposed method was verified with the Case Western Reserve University benchmark dataset. With less local client training data and complex fault types, the proposed method improves the accuracy of fault diagnosis by 23.21% over the existing FL fault diagnosis.

The clinical prediction factors for non-culprit lesion progression in patients with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction after primary percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: To investigate the relationship between the clinical features and progression of non-culprit lesions in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). METHODS: A total of 480 patients (57.1 ± 9.2 y) with STEMI who underwent PPCI between January 2016 and December 2017 in Beijing Anzhen Hospital were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent PPCI as a treatment for culprit lesions. Clinical and angiographic follow-up were performed for 12 months. All patients were divided into a non-culprit lesions (NCL) progression group (205 cases) and a control group (275 cases) based on angiographic follow-up outcomes at 12 months. The clinical and angiographic features were analyzed. RESULTS: Body mass index (BMI), serum creatinine (Scr), fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycated serum albumin, glycated hemoglobin and homocysteine levels in the NCL progression group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). A logistic regression analysis showed that FBG (odds ratio 1.274, 95% confidence interval 1.077-1.505, P = 0.005) and Scr (odds ratio 1.020, 95% confidence interval 1.002-1.038, P = 0.027) were independent predictors of NCL progression. A partial correlation analysis showed that FBG was positively correlated with NCL progression (r = 0.231, P = 0.001). A receiver operating characteristic curve showed that the boundary point of FBG to predict NCL progression was 5.715 mmol/L, and the sensitivity was 74.4% and the specificity was 46.4%. CONCLUSION: FBG is a valuable predictor for NCL progression in patients with STEMI after PPCI.

Cis-eQTL Analysis and Functional Validation of Candidate Genes for Carcass Yield Traits in Beef Cattle.

Carcass yield traits are of considerable economic importance for farm animals, which act as a major contributor to the world's food supply. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified many genetic variants associated with carcass yield traits in beef cattle. However, their functions are not effectively illustrated. In this study, we performed an integrative analysis of gene-based GWAS with expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis to detect candidate genes for carcass yield traits and validate their effects on bovine skeletal muscle satellite cells (BSCs). The gene-based GWAS and cis-eQTL analysis revealed 1780 GWAS and 1538 cis-expression genes. Among them, we identified 153 shared genes that may play important roles in carcass yield traits. Notably, the identified cis-eQTLs of PON3 and PRIM2 were significantly (p < 0.001) enriched in previous GWAS loci for carcass traits. Furthermore, overexpression of PON3 and PRIM2 promoted the BSCs' proliferation, increased the expression of MYOD and downregulated the expression of MYOG, which indicated that these genes may inhibit myogenic differentiation. In contrast, PON3 and PRIM2 were significantly downregulated during the differentiation of BSCs. These findings suggested that PON3 and PRIM2 may promote the proliferation of BSCs and inhibit them in the pre-differentiation stage. Our results further contribute to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of carcass yield traits in beef cattle.

Preventive Effect of Moderate Altitude on Non-Culprit Lesion Progression in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction.

Wang, Jian, Cheng-Ying Yan, Wu Wang, and Tian-Zhen Wang. Preventive effect of moderate altitude on non-culprit lesion (NCL) progression in patients with acute myocardial infarction. High Alt Med Biol. 23:345-351, 2022. Background: Ischemic postconditioning may prevent NCL progression in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Moderate altitude (1,500-2,500 m) resembles ischemic postconditioning; however, the preventive effect of moderate altitude on NCL progression is unknown. Methods: We investigated the preventive effect of moderate altitude on NCL progression in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). This study was an observational study. Two-hundred patients with STEMI living in Beijing, which is an average of 43.5 m above sea level (a low-altitude region), who underwent PPCI were enrolled (the control group). A further 200 patients with STEMI living in Xining, which is an average of 2,261 m above sea level (moderate-altitude region), who underwent PPCI were enrolled (the moderate-altitude group). NCL progression and related clinical factors were compared between the two groups. Results: The rate of NCL progression 12 months after PPCI in the moderate-altitude group was significantly lower compared with the control group (p < 0.01). There were 158 patients without NCL progression (group A) and 42 patients with NCL progression (group B) in the control group and 186 patients without NCL progression (group C) and 14 patients with NCL progression (group D) in the moderate-altitude group. Serum adrenaline and noradrenaline concentrations in group B were significantly higher compared with group A (p < 0.001), and serum adrenaline and noradrenaline concentrations in group D were significantly higher compared with group C (p < 0.001). Serum adrenaline, noradrenaline, and C-reactive protein concentrations in patients without NCL progression (n = 344) were significantly lower compared with patients with NCL progression (n = 56) (p < 0.01). Conclusions: Moderate altitude may prevent NCL progression. Moderate altitude may be useful for clinical rehabilitation in patients with STEMI after PPCI.

Elevated Expression of Growth Differentiation Factor-15 Is Associated With Acute Exacerbation of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Backgrounds: Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) is a highly divergent member of the TGF-ß superfamily and has been implicated in various biological functions. However, the expression of GDF-15 in patients with acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (AE-IPF) is unclear. Method: The study included 47 AE-IPF patients, 61 stable IPF (S-IPF) subjects, and 31 healthy controls (HCs). Serum GDF-15 levels and their expression in the lung were measured. The correlation between serum GDF-15 and other clinical parameters and the risk factors for AE occurrence and the survival of IPF patients were analyzed. Results: Serum GDF-15 levels were significantly elevated in AE-IPF patients (1279.22 ± 540.02 pg/ml) as compared with HCs (891.30 ± 479.90 pg/ml) or S-IPF subjects (107.82 ± 14.21 pg/ml) (both p < 0.001). The protein and mRNA expressions of GDF-15 in the lung of AE-IPF patients were significantly increased as compared with S-IPF cases (p = 0.007 and p = 0.026, respectively). The serum GDF-15 level was correlated with the clinical variables of inflammation, metabolism, and disease severity in IPF subjects (all p < 0.05). The GDF-15 serum concentration was significantly higher in decedents than in survivors (p = 0.005). A serum GDF-15 level above 989.3 pg/ml was a risk factor for AE occurrence (p = 0.04), and the level above 1,075.76 pg/ml was an independent predictor for survival in IPF cases (p = 0.007). Conclusions: The GDF-15 level was significantly elevated in subjects with AE-IPF. GDF-15 could be a promising biomarker for AE occurrence and survival in IPF patients.

Comparative transcriptomic analysis reveals region-specific expression patterns in different beef cuts.

BACKGROUND: Beef cuts in different regions of the carcass have different meat quality due to their distinct physiological function. The objective of this study was to characterize the region-specific expression differences using comparative transcriptomics analysis among five representative beef cuts (tenderloin, longissimus lumborum, rump, neck, chuck). RESULTS: We obtained 15,701 expressed genes in 30 muscle samples across five regions from carcass meat. We identified a total of 80 region-specific genes (RSGs), ranging from three (identified in the rump cut) to thirty (identified in the longissimus lumborum cut), and detected 25 transcription factors (TFs) for RSGs. Using a co-expression network analysis, we detected seven region-specific modules, including three positively correlated modules and four negatively correlated modules. We finally obtained 91 candidate genes related to meat quality, and the functional enrichment analyses showed that these genes were mainly involved in muscle fiber structure (e.g., TNNI1, TNNT1), fatty acids (e.g., SCD, LPL), amino acids (ALDH2, IVD, ACADS), ion channel binding (PHPT1, SNTA1, SUMO1, CNBP), protein processing (e.g., CDC37, GAPDH, NRBP1), as well as energy production and conversion (e.g., ATP8, COX8B, NDUFB6). Moreover, four candidate genes (ALDH2, CANX, IVD, PHPT1) were validated using RT-qPCR analyses which further supported our RNA-seq results. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide valuable insights into understanding the transcriptome regulation of meat quality in different beef cuts, and these findings may further help to improve the selection for health-beneficial meat in beef cattle.

Transcriptional atlas analysis from multiple tissues reveals the expression specificity patterns in beef cattle.

BACKGROUND: A comprehensive analysis of gene expression profiling across tissues can provide necessary information for an in-depth understanding of their biological functions. We performed a large-scale gene expression analysis and generated a high-resolution atlas of the transcriptome in beef cattle. RESULTS: Our transcriptome atlas was generated from 135 bovine tissues in adult beef cattle, covering 51 tissue types of major organ systems (e.g., muscular system, digestive system, immune system, reproductive system). Approximately 94.76% of sequencing reads were successfully mapped to the reference genome assembly ARS-UCD1.2. We detected a total of 60,488 transcripts, and 32% of them were not reported before. We identified 2654 housekeeping genes (HKGs) and 477 tissue-specific genes (TSGs) across tissues. Using weighted gene co-expression network analysis, we obtained 24 modules with 237 hub genes (HUBGs). Functional enrichment analysis showed that HKGs mainly maintain the basic biological activities of cells, while TSGs were involved in tissue differentiation and specific physiological processes. HKGs in bovine tissues were more conserved in terms of expression pattern as compared to TSGs and HUBGs among multiple species. Finally, we obtained a subset of tissue-specific differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between beef and dairy cattle and several functional pathways, which may be involved in production and health traits. CONCLUSIONS: We generated a large-scale gene expression atlas across the major tissues in beef cattle, providing valuable information for enhancing genome assembly and annotation. HKGs, TSGs, and HUBGs further contribute to better understanding the biology and evolution of multiple tissues in cattle. DEGs between beef and dairy cattle also fill in the knowledge gaps about differential transcriptome regulation of bovine tissues underlying economically important traits.

Ischemic postconditioning protects nonculprit coronary arteries against ischemia-reperfusion injury via downregulating miR-92a, miR-328 and miR-494.

BACKGROUND: Nonculprit lesions are closely related to the prognosis of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Our previous research found that ischemic postconditioning (IP) could inhibit the progression of nonculprit lesions. However, the mechanism by which IP regulates the occurrence and development of nonculprit lesions remains unclear. METHODS: Firstly, a rabbit ischemia-reperfusion (IR) model was constructed. Next, the morphological characteristics of the coronary arterial tissues and myocardial tissues of the rabbits were observed using hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining. Then, western blot was performed to detect the expressions of AT1, Cx43, ß-tubulin, Bax, Bcl-2 and cleaved caspase 3. Finally, to further confirm the effect of IP on nonculprit coronary arterial tissues, an in vitro model of oxygen and glucose deprivation/reperfusion (OGD/R) was established. RESULTS: IR notably induced the cells apoptosis in nonculprit coronary arterial tissues and in myocardial tissues, while IR-induced cell apoptosis was significantly inhibited by IP. In addition, IP protected nonculprit coronary arterial tissues against IR via downregulating miR-92a, miR-328 and miR-494 and mRNA AT1, Cx43 and ß-tubulin. Consistently, OGD/R-induced injury of Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) was reversed by IP. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, IP could protect nonculprit coronary arteries against IR injury via downregulating miR-92a, miR-328 and miR-494. Our findings may provide new directions for the treatment of nonculprit lesions.

ARID3A promotes the chemosensitivity of colon cancer by inhibiting AKR1C3.

ARID3A is upregulated in colorectal cancer and can promote the proliferation and metastasis of cancer cells. However, patients with higher level of ARID3A have a better prognosis. This study aimed to uncover the mechanism by which ARID3A benefits the prognosis of colon cancer. Our results indicated that ARID3A upregulation enhanced the chemosensitivity of colon cancer cells to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), whereas ARID3A downregulation inhibited the chemosensitivity of colon cancer cells to 5-FU. Through database analysis, we found that AKR1C3, a drug resistance-related gene, was the target of ARID3A. Moreover, AKR1C3 was downregulated in colon cancer tissues compared to normal tissues. Next, we assessed the interaction between AKR1C3 and ARID3A, and found that ARID3A inhibited the transcription of AKR1C3, leading to the downregulation of AKR1C3 in colon cancer cells. We also verified that AKR1C3 inhibited the chemosensitivity of colon cancer cells to 5-FU. Moreover, patients with higher ratio of ARID3A to AKR1C3 had a better prognosis. This study suggested that ARID3A promoted chemosensitivity of colon cancer cells by inhibiting AKR1C3 in colon cancer. The ratio of ARID3A to AKR1C3 is a good marker to predict the prognosis of colon cancer patients.

Elevated expression of the rhythm gene NFIL3 promotes the progression of TNBC by activating NF-κB signaling through suppression of NFKBIA transcription.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies have confirmed that abnormal circadian rhythms are associated with tumorigenesis in breast cancer. However, few studies have investigated the pathological roles of rhythm genes in breast cancer progression. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the aberrant expression of 32 rhythm genes in breast cancer and detect the pathological roles and molecular mechanisms of the altered rhythm gene in regulating the progression of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). METHODS: The aberrant expression of rhythm genes in breast cancer was screened by searching the GEPIA database and validated by using qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry staining. Bioinformatics analysis combined with luciferase reporter experiment and chromatinimmunopercitation (ChIP) were used to investigate the molecular mechanism about aberrant expression of identified rhythm gene in breast cancer. The pathological roles of identified rhythm gene in TNBC progression was evaluated by colony formation assay, wound healing experiment, transwell assay, subcutaneous tumor formation and the mouse tail vein injection model through gain-of-function and loss-of-function strategies respectively. mRNA array, bioinformatics analysis, luciferase reporter experiment, ChIP and immunoflurescence assay were employed to investigate the key molecules and signaling pathways by which the identified rhythm gene regulating TNBC progression. RESULTS: We identified that nuclear factor interleukin 3 regulated (NFIL3) expression is significantly altered in TNBC compared with both normal breast tissues and other subtypes of breast cancer. We found that NFIL3 inhibits its own transcription, and thus, downregulated NFIL3 mRNA indicates high expression of NFIL3 protein in breast cancer. We demonstrated that NFIL3 promotes the proliferation and metastasis of TNBC cells in vitro and in vivo, and higher expression of NFIL3 is associated with poor prognosis of patients with TNBC. We further demonstrated that NFIL3 enhances the activity of NF-κB signaling. Mechanistically, we revealed that NFIL3 directly suppresses the transcription of NFKBIA, which blocks the activation of NF-κB and inhibits the progression of TNBC cells in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, we showed that enhancing NF-κB activity by repressing NFKBIA largely mimics the oncogenic effect of NFIL3 in TNBC, and anti-inflammatory strategies targeting NF-κB activity block the oncogenic roles of NFIL3 in TNBC. CONCLUSION: NFIL3 promotes the progression of TNBC by suppressing NFKBIA transcription and then enhancing NF-κB signaling-mediated cancer-associated inflammation. This study may provide a new target for TNBC prevention and therapy.

Protective effects of physical activity in colon cancer and underlying mechanisms: A review of epidemiological and biological evidence.

Numerous epidemiological studies indicate that physical activity has a protective effect against colon cancer development and progression. Further, the relevant biological mechanisms where physical activity or exercise may improve survival have also been initially examined. In this review, we provide an overview of the epidemiological evidence to date which comprises 16 cohort studies of the effects of physical activity on colon cancer outcomes including cancer recurrence, cancer-specific and overall survival. Moreover, we present four potential mechanisms involving shear pressure, systemic milieu alteration, extracellular vesicles, and immune function by which physical activity and exercise may favorably impact colon cancer. Research currently in progress will provide definitive evidence of survival benefits resulting from exercise and future work will help clarify the role of targeted exercise and the relevant mechanisms involved.

Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Diverse Expression Pattern Underlying Fatty Acid Composition among Different Beef Cuts.

Beef is an important dietary source of quality animal proteins and amino acids in human nutrition. The fatty acid composition is one of the indispensable indicators affecting nutritional value of beef. However, a comprehensive understanding of the expression changes underlying fatty acid composition in representative beef cuts is needed in cattle. This study aimed to characterize the dynamics of fatty acid composition using comparative transcriptomic analysis in five different type of beef cuts. We identified 7545 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) among 10 pair-wise comparisons. Co-expression gene network analysis identified two modules, which were significantly correlated with 2 and 20 fatty acid composition, respectively. We also identified 38 candidate genes, and functional enrichment showed that these genes were involved in fatty acid biosynthetic process and degradation, PPAR, and AMPK signaling pathway. Moreover, we observed a cluster of DEGs (e.g., SCD, LPL, FABP3, and PPARD) which were involved in the regulation of lipid metabolism and adipocyte differentiation. Our results provide some valuable insights into understanding the transcriptome regulation of candidate genes on fatty acid composition of beef cuts, and our findings may facilitate the designs of genetic selection program for beneficial fatty acid composition in beef cattle.

An active disturbance rejection sensorless control strategy based on sliding mode observer for marine current turbine.

Marine current energy attracts much attention as a source of inexhaustible green energy. However, marine current turbines operate in a very harsh underwater environment, making it difficult to operate and maintain mechanical sensors. Therefore, the application of a sensorless control strategy is fully justified to improve the reliability of system electrical energy production. In this paper, an active disturbance rejection sensorless control strategy based on compensation sliding mode observer is proposed for the marine current turbine system. The proposed control method consists of two parts. The first part is to design an active disturbance rejection controller for the marine current turbine that will improve the system's anti-interference abilities. The second part proposes a time-delay compensation sliding mode observer based on the Smith predictor to conduct real-time delay compensation of the system. The entire system is ensured to be globally stable through the Lyapunov approach analysis. The proposed control strategy is verified by simulation, which can not only effectively suppress the lumped disturbance and eliminate the system time-delay, but also improve the power extraction capability of the system.

Quantified CIN Score From Cell-free DNA as a Novel Noninvasive Predictor of Survival in Patients With Spinal Metastasis.

Purpose: Most currently available scores for survival prediction of patients with bone metastasis lack accuracy. In this study, we present a novel quantified CIN (Chromosome Instability) score modeled from cfDNA copy number variation (CNV) for survival prediction. Experimental Design: Plasma samples collected from 67 patients with bone metastases from 11 different cancer types between November 2015 and May 2016 were sent through low-coverage whole genome sequencing followed by CIN computation to make a correlation analysis between the CIN score and survival prognosis. The results were validated in an independent cohort of 213 patients. Results: During the median follow-up period of 598 (95% CI 364-832) days until December 25, 2018, 124 (44.3%) of the total 280 patients died. Analysis of the discovery dataset showed that CIN score = 12 was the optimal CIN cutoff. Validation dataset showed that CIN was elevated (score ≥12) in 87 (40.8%) patients, including 5 (5.75%) with head and neck cancer, 11 (12.6%) with liver and gallbladder cancer, 11 (12.6%) with cancer from unidentified sites, 21 (24.1%) with lung cancer, 7 (8.05%) with breast cancer, 4 (4.60%) with thyroid cancer, 6 (6.90%) with colorectal cancer, 4 (4.60%) with kidney cancer, 2 (2.30%) with prostate cancer, and 16 (18.4%) with other types of cancer. Further analysis showed that patients with elevated CIN were associated with worse survival (p < 0.001). For patients with low Tokuhashi score (≤8) who had predictive survival of less than 6 months, the CIN score was able to distinguish patients with a median overall survival (OS) of 443 days (95% CI 301-585) from those with a median OS of 258 days (95% CI 184-332). Conclusion: CNV examination in bone metastatic cancer from cfDNA is superior to the traditional predictive model in that it provides a noninvasive and objective method of monitoring the survival of patients with spine metastasis.

Identification of Candidate Variants Associated With Bone Weight Using Whole Genome Sequence in Beef Cattle.

Bone weight is critical to affect body conformation and stature in cattle. In this study, we conducted a genome-wide association study for bone weight in Chinese Simmental beef cattle based on the imputed sequence variants. We identified 364 variants associated with bone weight, while 350 of them were not included in the Illumina BovineHD SNP array, and several candidate genes and GO terms were captured to be associated with bone weight. Remarkably, we identified four potential variants in a candidate region on BTA6 using Bayesian fine-mapping. Several important candidate genes were captured, including LAP3, MED28, NCAPG, LCORL, SLIT2, and IBSP, which have been previously reported to be associated with carcass traits, body measurements, and growth traits. Notably, we found that the transcription factors related to MED28 and LCORL showed high conservation across multiple species. Our findings provide some valuable information for understanding the genetic basis of body stature in beef cattle.

The RNA-Binding Motif Protein Family in Cancer: Friend or Foe?

The RNA-binding motif (RBM) proteins are a class of RNA-binding proteins named, containing RNA-recognition motifs (RRMs), RNA-binding domains, and ribonucleoprotein motifs. RBM proteins are involved in RNA metabolism, including splicing, transport, translation, and stability. Many studies have found that aberrant expression and dysregulated function of RBM proteins family members are closely related to the occurrence and development of cancers. This review summarizes the role of RBM proteins family genes in cancers, including their roles in cancer occurrence and cell proliferation, migration, and apoptosis. It is essential to understand the mechanisms of these proteins in tumorigenesis and development, and to identify new therapeutic targets and prognostic markers.