Healthcare providers' perceived barriers to providing breastfeeding support in Northwest rural China.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare providers play important roles in supporting breastfeeding. Although there has been insufficient actual breastfeeding support from healthcare providers in China, little research has been conducted to understand Chinese healthcare providers' perceived barriers to providing breastfeeding support, especially in rural China. This study aims to identify these perceived barriers to providing breastfeeding support in Northwestern rural China. METHODS: This study was conducted during the period from March 2018 to December 2018. Forty-one healthcare providers were recruited through purposive sampling in two rural counties in Northwest China that are in close proximity to each other and share similar demographic features. Participants included obstetrician-gynecologists, midwives, nurses, "village doctors", and township and village maternal and child health workers. Qualitative data were collected through one-on-one in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. Transcripts were thematically analyzed. RESULTS: Analysis of interview data resulted in four themes that the participants perceived as barriers to supporting breastfeeding: (1) lack of medical resources, within which inadequate staffing, and lack of financial incentives were discussed, (2) lack of clear and specific responsibility assignment, within which no one takes the lead, and mutual buck-passing were discussed, (3) healthcare providers' lack of relevant expertise, within which lack of knowledge and skills, and low prestige of village healthcare providers were discussed, (4) difficulties in accessing mothers, within which medical equipment shortages reduce services utilization, mothers' housing situation, mothers' mobility, and cultural barriers were discussed. CONCLUSIONS: The study identified HCPs perceived barriers to providing breastfeeding support. Unique to China's Tri-Level Healthcare System, challenges like staffing and financial incentives are hard to swiftly tackle. Recommendations include mHealth enhancement and clarified responsibilities with incentives and tailored training. Further research is crucial to evaluate these strategies in rural Northwestern China and comparable underdeveloped areas nationwide.

Tracheal computed tomography radiomics model for prediction of the Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

OBJECTIVES: The Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is highly contagious, fast-spreading, and insidious. Most patients present with normal findings on lung computed tomography (CT). The current study aimed to develop and validate a tracheal CT radiomics model to predict Omicron variant infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, a radiomics model was developed based on a training set consisting of 157 patients with an Omicron variant infection and 239 healthy controls between 1 January and 30 April 2022. A set of morphological expansions, with dilations of 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 voxels, was applied to the trachea, and radiomic features were extracted from different dilation voxels of the trachea. Logistic regression (LR), support vector machines (SVM), and random forests (RF) were developed and evaluated; the models were validated on 67 patients with the Omicron variant and on 103 healthy controls between 1 May and 30 July 2022. RESULTS: Logistic regression with 12 radiomic features extracted from the tracheal wall with dilation of 5 voxels achieved the highest classification performance compared with the other models. The LR model achieved an area under the curve of 0.993 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.987-0.998) in the training set and 0.989 (95% CI: 0.979-0.999) in the validation set. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the model for the training set were 0.994, 0.946, and 0.965, respectively, whereas those for the validation set were 0.970, 0.952, and 0.959, respectively. CONCLUSION: The tracheal CT radiomics model reliably identified the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV­2, and may help in clinical decision-making in future, especially in cases of normal lung CT findings.

Quantitative Analysis of Multimodal MRI Markers and Clinical Risk Factors for Cerebral Small Vessel Disease Based on Deep Learning.

Background: Cerebral small vessel disease lacks specific clinical manifestations, and extraction of valuable features from multimodal images is expected to improve its diagnostic accuracy. In this study, we used deep learning techniques to segment cerebral small vessel disease imaging markers in multimodal magnetic resonance images and analyze them with clinical risk factors. Methods and results: We recruited 211 lacunar stroke patients and 83 control patients. The patients' cerebral small vessel disease markers were automatically segmented using a V-shaped bottleneck network, and the number and volume were calculated after manual correction. The segmentation results of the V-shaped bottleneck network for white matter hyperintensity and recent small subcortical infarction were in high agreement with the ground truth (DSC>0.90). In small lesion segmentation, cerebral microbleed (average recall=0.778; average precision=0.758) and perivascular spaces (average recall=0.953; average precision=0.923) were superior to lacunar infarct (average recall=0.339; average precision=0.432) in recall and precision. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that age, systolic blood pressure, and total cerebral small vessel disease load score were independent risk factors for lacunar stroke (P<0.05). Ordered logistic regression analysis showed age was positively correlated with cerebral small vessel disease load score and total cholesterol was negatively correlated with cerebral small vessel disease score (P<0.05). Conclusion: Lacunar stroke patients exhibited higher cerebral small vessel disease imaging markers, and age, systolic blood pressure, and total cerebral small vessel disease score were independent risk factors for lacunar stroke patients. V-shaped bottleneck network segmentation network based on multimodal deep learning can segment and quantify various cerebral small vessel disease lesions to some extent.

Effects of Five Lipid Sources on Growth, Hematological Parameters, Immunity and Muscle Quality in Juvenile Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides).

This study investigated the effects of fish oil (FO), soybean oil (SO), rapeseed oil (RO), peanut oil (PO) and lard oil (LO) on growth, immunity and muscle quality in juvenile largemouth bass. After 8 weeks, the results showed that FO and RO could increase weight gain and serum alkaline phosphatase and apelin values compared with LO (p < 0.05). Except lower crude lipid contents, higher amounts of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (15.83% and 14.64%) were present in the dorsal muscle of the FO and RO groups. Meanwhile, FO and RO could heighten mRNA levels of immune defense molecules (lysozyme, hepcidin, and transforming growth factor ß1) compared with PO (p < 0.05). While SO could increase potential inflammatory risk via rising counts of white blood cells, platelets, neutrophils and monocytes, and mRNA levels of interleukins (IL-1ß, IL-8, IL-12 and IL-15), FO and RO could improve hardness, chewiness and springiness through increasing amounts of hydroxyproline, collagen and lysyl oxidase, and mRNA levels of collagen 1α2 and prolyl hydroxylase in the fish dorsal muscle. Moreover, FO and RO could improve firmness through increasing glycogen and glycogen synthase 1 levels when compared with LO (p < 0.05). Therefore, these results could provide dietary lipid source references during the feeding process of adult largemouth bass.

Hotspot Analysis and Frontier Exploration of Stem Cell Research in Intervertebral Disc Regeneration and Repair: A Bibliometric and Visualization Study.

BACKGROUND: Stem cells have shown tremendous potential and vast prospects in the research of intervertebral disc (IVD) regeneration and repair, attracting considerable attention in recent years. In this study, a bibliometric analysis and visualization techniques were employed to probe and analyze the hotspots and frontiers of stem cell research in IVD regeneration and repair, aiming to provide valuable references and insights for further investigations. METHODS: This study utilized the Science Citation Index Expanded from the Web of Science Core Collection database to retrieve and extract relevant literature records as research samples. Visual analysis tools such as VOSviewer 1.6.19, CiteSpace 6.2.R4, and bibliometric online analysis platforms were employed to construct scientific knowledge maps, providing a comprehensive and systematic exposition from various perspectives including collaboration networks, cocitation networks, and co-occurrence networks. RESULTS: A total of 1075 relevant studies have been published in 303 journals by 4181 authors from 1198 institutions across 54 countries/regions. Over the past 20 years, the field of research has witnessed a significant growth in annual publications and citations. China and the United States have emerged as the primary participants and contributors, with the AO Research Institute Davos, Zhejiang University, and Tokai University being the top 3 leading research institutions. The most productive and highly cited author is Sakai D, who is regarded as a key leader in this research field. The journals with the highest number of publications and citations are Spine and Biomaterials, which are considered to be high-quality and authoritative core journals in this field. The current research focuses primarily on the sources and selection of stem cells, optimization of transplantation strategies, mechanisms of IVD regeneration, and the combined application of stem cells and biomaterials. However, there are still some challenges that need to be addressed, including posttransplantation stability, assessment of regenerative effects, and translation into clinical applications. Future research will concentrate on the diversity of stem cell sources, the application of novel biomaterials, personalized treatments, and the development of gene editing technologies, among other cutting-edge directions. CONCLUSIONS: This study utilized bibliometric analysis and visualization techniques to unveil the hotspots and frontiers in the research on stem cells for IVD regeneration and repair. These research findings provide essential guidance and references for further experimental design and clinical applications. However, additional experiments and clinical studies are still needed to address the challenges and difficulties faced in the field of IVD regeneration and repair, thus offering novel strategies and approaches for the treatment of IVD diseases.

Arresting the G2/M phase empowers synergy in magnetic nanomanipulator-based cancer mechanotherapy and chemotherapy.

Using mechanical cues for cancer cells can realize precise control and efficient therapeutic effects. However, the cell cycle-specific response for dynamic mechanical manipulation is barely investigated. Here, RGD-modified iron oxide nanomanipulators were utilized as the intracellular magneto-mechanical transducers to investigate the mechanical impacts on the cell cycle under a dynamic magnetic field for cancer treatment. The G2/M phase was identified to be sensitive to the intracellular magneto-mechanical modulation with a synergistic treatment effect between the pretreatment of cell cycle-specific drugs and the magneto-mechanical destruction, and thus could be an important mechanical-targeted phase for regulation of cancer cell death. Finally, combining the cell cycle-specific drugs with magneto-mechanical manipulation could significantly inhibit glioma and breast cancer growth in vivo. This intracellular mechanical stimulus showed cell cycle-dependent cytotoxicity and could be developed as a spatiotemporal therapeutic modality in combination with chemotherapy drugs for treating deep-seated tumors.

Survival analysis of patients with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma: a nomogram for clinical and MRI features.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to establish a predictive model to estimate the postoperative prognosis of patients with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ECC) based on preoperative clinical and MRI features. METHODS: A total of 104 patients with ECC confirmed by surgery and pathology were enrolled from January 2013 to July 2021, whose preoperative clinical, laboratory, and MRI data were retrospectively collected and examined, and the effects of clinical and imaging characteristics on overall survival (OS) were analyzed by constructing Cox proportional hazard regression models. A nomogram was constructed to predict OS, and calibration curves and time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were employed to assess OS accuracy. RESULTS: Multivariate regression analyses revealed that gender, DBIL, ALT, GGT, tumor size, lesion's position, the signal intensity ratio of liver to paraspinal muscle (SIRLiver/Muscle), and the signal intensity ratio of spleen to paraspinal muscle (SIRSpleen/Muscle) on T2WI sequences were significantly associated with OS, and these variables were included in a nomogram. The concordance index of nomogram for predicting OS was 0.766, and the AUC values of the nomogram predicting 1-year and 2-year OS rates were 0.838 and 0.863, respectively. The calibration curve demonstrated good agreement between predicted and observed OS. 5-fold and 10-fold cross-validation show good stability of nomogram predictions. CONCLUSIONS: Our nomogram based on clinical, laboratory, and MRI features well predicted OS of ECC patients, and could be considered as a convenient and personalized prediction tool for clinicians to make decisions.

Il1r2 and Tnfrsf12a in transcranial magnetic stimulation effect of ischemic stroke via bioinformatics analysis.

Ischemic stroke refers to ischemic necrosis or softening of localized brain tissue. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a painless, noninvasive and green treatment method, which acts on the central nervous system through a pulsed magnetic field to assist in the treatment of central nervous system injury diseases. However, the role of Il1r2 and Tnfrsf12a in this is unknown. The ischemic stroke datasets GSE81302 and TMS datasets GSE230148 were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was performed. The construction and analysis of protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and functional enrichment analysis were performed. Draw heat map gene expression. Through the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD) to find the most relevant and core gene diseases. TargetScan was used to screen miRNAs regulating DEGs. A total of 39 DEGs were identified. According to gene ontology (GO) analysis results, in biological process (BP) analysis, they were mainly enriched in the positive regulation of apoptosis process, inflammatory response, positive regulation of p38MAPK cascade, and regulation of cell cycle. In cellular component (CC) analysis, they were mainly enriched in the cell surface, cytoplasm, and extracellular space. In Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis, they were mainly enriched in nf-κB signaling pathway, fluid shear stress and atherosclerosis, P53 signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, and apoptosis. Among the enrichment items of metascape, negative regulation of T cell activation, hematopoietic cell lineage, positive regulation of apoptotic process, fluid shear stress and atherosclerosis were observed in GO enrichment items. Five core genes (Socs3, Irf1, Il1r2, Ccr1, and Tnfrsf12a) were obtained, which were highly expressed in ischemic stroke samples. Il1r2 and Tnfrsf12a were lowly expressed in TMS samples. CTD analysis found that the core gene (Socs3, Irf1 and Il1r2, Ccr1, Tnfrsf12a) and ischemic stroke, atherosclerosis, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, thrombosis, stroke, myocardial ischemia, myocardial infarction, and inflammation. Il1r2 and Tnfrsf12a are highly expressed in ischemic stroke, but lowly expressed in TMS samples.

Enhancing the Features of DNA Mimic Foldamers for Structural Investigations.

DNA mimic foldamers based on aromatic oligoamide helices bearing anionic phosphonate side chains have been shown to bind to DNA-binding proteins sometimes orders of magnitude better than DNA itself. Here, we introduce new features in the DNA mimic foldamers to facilitate structural investigations of their interactions with proteins. Thirteen new foldamer sequences have been synthesized and characterized using NMR, circular dichroism, molecular modeling, and X-ray crystallography. The results show that foldamer helix handedness can be quantitatively biased by means of a single stereogenic center, that the foldamer structure can be made C2-symmetrical as in palindromic B-DNA sequences, and that associations between foldamer helices can be promoted utilizing dedicated C-terminal residues that act as sticky ends in B-DNA structures.

Risk Factors and Outcomes for Isolation with Polymyxin B-Resistant Enterobacterales from 2018-2022: A Case-Control Study.

Purpose: To analyze the risk factors and clinical outcomes of patients isolated with polymyxin B-resistant (PR) Enterobacterales from various clinical specimens to prevent and control the spread of these strains. Methods: This retrospective case-control study included 72 PR Enterobacterales-positive cases and 144 polymyxin B-susceptible (PS) Enterobacterales controls from 2018 to 2022. Patients with PR Enterobacterales isolated in various clinical cultures were defined as cases. Patients with PS Enterobacterales cultures at similar anatomic sites during the same period were randomly selected as controls. Data were collected from clinical and laboratory test records. Bivariable logistic regression and Pearson's chi-square tests were used to assess risk factors. Results: PR strains were predominantly Klebsiella pneumoniae (72.2%) and Salmonella enteritidis (8.3%). Of the patients, 66.04% were admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). Risk factors for isolation with PR strains included chronic heart disease (P = 0.012; odds ratio [OR] 1.15; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03-1.28), immunosuppressant use (P = 0.016; OR 1.04 [1.0-1.07), drainage tube [head] (P = 0.006; OR 1.1 [1.0-1.1]), and polymyxin B exposure (P = 0.007; OR 1.03 [1.0-1.06]. With respect to outcomes, admission to an ICU (P = 0.003; OR 7.1 [1.9-25.4]), hypertension (P = 0.035; OR 1.4 [1.02-1.83]), and drainage tube [head] (P = 0.044; OR 1.1 [1.0-1.15]) were associated with treatment failure. Additionally, treatment failure was more frequent in patients (45.83%) than in controls (14.58%). Conclusion: The major risk factors for isolation with PR strains were chronic heart disease, exposure to immunosuppressants, use of drainage tubes, and polymyxin B exposure. The isolation of PR strains in patients was a predictor of unfavorable outcomes. These findings provide a basis for monitoring the spread of PR Enterobacterales.

Lithium impacts the function of hematopoietic stem cells via disturbing the endoplasmic reticulum stress and Hsp90 signaling.

Lithium (Li) has been widely used in clinical therapy and new Li-ion battery industry. To date, the impact of Li on the development of immune cells is largely unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of Li on hematopoiesis. C57BL/6 (B6) mice were treated with 50 ppm LiCl, 200 ppm LiCl, or the control via drinking water for 3 months, and thereafter the hematopoiesis was evaluated. Treatment with Li increased the number of mature lymphoid cells while suppressing the number of mature myeloid cells in mice. In addition, a direct action of Li on hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) suppressed endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress to reduce the proliferation of HSC in the bone marrow (BM), thus leading to fewer HSC in mice. On the other hand, the suppression of ER stress by Li exposure increased the expression of Hsp90, which promoted the potential of lymphopoiesis but did not impact that for myelopoiesis in HSC in the BM of mice. Moreover, in vitro treatment with Li also likely disturbed the ER stress-Hsp90 signaling, suppressed the proliferation, and increased the potential for lymphopoiesis in human HSC. Our study reveals a previously unrecognized toxicity of Li on HSC and may advance our understanding for the immunotoxicology of Li.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Proteolysis-Targeting Chimeras as Highly Selective and Efficient Degraders of Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase 5.

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5 (ERK5) is recognized as a key member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase family and is involved in tumor growth, migration, and angiogenesis. However, the results of ERK5 inhibition in multiple studies are controversial, and a highly specific ERK5-targeting agent is required to confirm physiological functions. Using proteolysis-targeting chimera technology, we designed the selective ERK5 degrader PPM-3 and examined its biological effect on cancer cells. Interestingly, the selective degradation of ERK5 with PPM-3 did not influence tumor cell growth directly. Based on proteomics analysis, the ERK5 deletion may be associated with tumor immunity. PPM-3 influences tumor development by affecting the differentiation of macrophages. Therefore, PPM-3 is an effective small-molecule tool for studying ERK5 and a promising immunotherapy drug candidate.

Recent advancements in artificial intelligence for breast cancer: Image augmentation, segmentation, diagnosis, and prognosis approaches.

Breast cancer is a significant global health burden, with increasing morbidity and mortality worldwide. Early screening and accurate diagnosis are crucial for improving prognosis. Radiographic imaging modalities such as digital mammography (DM), digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound (US), and nuclear medicine techniques, are commonly used for breast cancer assessment. And histopathology (HP) serves as the gold standard for confirming malignancy. Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies show great potential for quantitative representation of medical images to effectively assist in segmentation, diagnosis, and prognosis of breast cancer. In this review, we overview the recent advancements of AI technologies for breast cancer, including 1) improving image quality by data augmentation, 2) fast detection and segmentation of breast lesions and diagnosis of malignancy, 3) biological characterization of the cancer such as staging and subtyping by AI-based classification technologies, 4) prediction of clinical outcomes such as metastasis, treatment response, and survival by integrating multi-omics data. Then, we then summarize large-scale databases available to help train robust, generalizable, and reproducible deep learning models. Furthermore, we conclude the challenges faced by AI in real-world applications, including data curating, model interpretability, and practice regulations. Besides, we expect that clinical implementation of AI will provide important guidance for the patient-tailored management.

Mercury chloride activates the IFNγ-IRF1 signaling in myeloid progenitors and promotes monopoiesis in mice.

Inorganic mercury (Hg2+) is a highly toxic heavy metal in the environment. To date, the impacts of Hg2+ on the development of monocytes, or monopoiesis, have not been fully addressed. The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of Hg2+ on monopoiesis. In this study, we treated B10.S mice and DBA/2 mice with 10 µM or 50 µM HgCl2 via drinking water for 4 wk, and we then evaluated the development of monocytes. Treatment with 50 µM HgCl2, but not 10 µM HgCl2, increased the number of monocytes in the blood, spleen and bone marrow (BM) of B10.S mice. Accordingly, treatment with 50 µM HgCl2, but not 10 µM HgCl2, increased the number of common myeloid progenitors (CMP) and granulocyte-macrophage progenitors (GMP) in the BM. Functional analyses indicated that treatment with 50 µM HgCl2 promoted the differentiation of CMP and GMP to monocytes in the BM of B10.S mice. Mechanistically, treatment with 50 µM HgCl2 induced the production of IFNγ, which activated the Jak1/3-STAT1/3-IRF1 signaling in CMP and GMP and enhanced their differentiation potential for monocytes in the BM, thus likely leading to increased number of mature monocytes in B10.S mice. Moreover, the increased monopoiesis by Hg2+ was associated with the increased inflammatory status in B10.S mice. In contrast, treatment with 50 µM HgCl2 did not impact the monopoiesis in DBA/2 mice. Our study reveals the impact of Hg on the development of monocytes.

Fast and low-dose medical imaging generation empowered by hybrid deep-learning and iterative reconstruction.

Fast and low-dose reconstructions of medical images are highly desired in clinical routines. We propose a hybrid deep-learning and iterative reconstruction (hybrid DL-IR) framework and apply it for fast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), fast positron emission tomography (PET), and low-dose computed tomography (CT) image generation tasks. First, in a retrospective MRI study (6,066 cases), we demonstrate its capability of handling 3- to 10-fold under-sampled MR data, enabling organ-level coverage with only 10- to 100-s scan time; second, a low-dose CT study (142 cases) shows that our framework can successfully alleviate the noise and streak artifacts in scans performed with only 10% radiation dose (0.61 mGy); and last, a fast whole-body PET study (131 cases) allows us to faithfully reconstruct tumor-induced lesions, including small ones (<4 mm), from 2- to 4-fold-accelerated PET acquisition (30-60 s/bp). This study offers a promising avenue for accurate and high-quality image reconstruction with broad clinical value.

Ethylene-induced improvement in photosynthetic performance of Zanthoxylum armatum under reoxygenation conditions.

In this study, we evaluated the photosynthetic performance of Zanthoxylum armatum seedlings to test the tolerance to reoxygenation after waterlogging. The experiment included a control group without waterlogging (NW) and three reoxygenation groups with reoxygenation after 1day (WR1), 2days (WR2) and 3days (WR3). Seedlings were pretreated with concentrations of 0, 200 and 400µmolL-1 of ethylene. The results showed that reoxygenation after waterlogging for 1-3days decreased photosynthetic pigments content, enzymes activity, stomatal conductance (G s ), net photosynthetic rate (P n ), transpiration rate (T r ) and water-use efficiency (WUE). However, pretreatment with ethylene increased photosynthetic pigments content, enzymes activity and gas exchange parameters under both NW and WR3 treatments. The chlorophyll fluorescence results showed that the maximum quantum yield of PSII (F v /F m ) and actual photochemical efficiency of PSII (Φ PSII ) remained no significant changes under the NW and WR1 treatments, while they were significantly reduced with an increase in waterlogging days followed by reoxygenation under WR2 and WR3 treatments. Exogenous ethylene inhibited F v /F m and the non-photochemical quenching coefficient (NPQ), while enhanced Φ PSII and electron transfer efficiency (ETR) under WR2 treatments. Moreover, the accumulation of exogenous ethylene reduced photosynthetic ability. These findings provide insights into the role of ethylene in enhancing the tolerance of Z. armatum to reoxygenation stress, which could help mitigate the impact of continued climate change.

uRP: An integrated research platform for one-stop analysis of medical images.

Introduction: Medical image analysis is of tremendous importance in serving clinical diagnosis, treatment planning, as well as prognosis assessment. However, the image analysis process usually involves multiple modality-specific software and relies on rigorous manual operations, which is time-consuming and potentially low reproducible. Methods: We present an integrated platform - uAI Research Portal (uRP), to achieve one-stop analyses of multimodal images such as CT, MRI, and PET for clinical research applications. The proposed uRP adopts a modularized architecture to be multifunctional, extensible, and customizable. Results and Discussion: The uRP shows 3 advantages, as it 1) spans a wealth of algorithms for image processing including semi-automatic delineation, automatic segmentation, registration, classification, quantitative analysis, and image visualization, to realize a one-stop analytic pipeline, 2) integrates a variety of functional modules, which can be directly applied, combined, or customized for specific application domains, such as brain, pneumonia, and knee joint analyses, 3) enables full-stack analysis of one disease, including diagnosis, treatment planning, and prognosis assessment, as well as full-spectrum coverage for multiple disease applications. With the continuous development and inclusion of advanced algorithms, we expect this platform to largely simplify the clinical scientific research process and promote more and better discoveries.

Lead exposure suppresses the Wnt3a/ß-catenin signaling to increase the quiescence of hematopoietic stem cells via reducing the expression of CD70 on bone marrow-resident macrophages.

Lead (Pb) is a heavy metal highly toxic to human health in the environment. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of Pb impact on the quiescence of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). WT C57BL/6 (B6) mice treated with 1250 ppm Pb via drinking water for 8 weeks had increased the quiescence of HSC in the bone marrow (BM), which was caused by the suppressed activation of the Wnt3a/ß-catenin signaling. Mechanically, a synergistic action of Pb and IFNγ on BM-resident macrophages (BM-Mφ) reduced their surface expression of CD70, which thereby dampened the Wnt3a/ß-catenin signaling to suppress the proliferation of HSC in mice. In addition, a joint action of Pb and IFNγ also suppressed the expression of CD70 on human Mφ to impair the Wnt3a/ß-catenin signaling and reduce the proliferation of human HSC purified from umbilical cord blood of healthy donors. Moreover, correlation analyses showed that the blood Pb concentration was or tended to be positively associated with the quiescence of HSC, and was or tended to be negatively associated with the activation of the Wnt3a/ß-catenin signaling in HSC in human subjects occupationally exposed to Pb. Collectively, these data indicate that an occupationally relevant level of Pb exposure suppresses the Wnt3a/ß-catenin signaling to increase the quiescence of HSC via reducing the expression of CD70 on BM-Mφ in both mice and humans.

Application of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation with Electroencephalography in the Evaluation of Brain Function Changes after Stroke.

Objective: Based on transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with electroencephalography technology, this study analyzed the rehabilitation mechanism of patients' motor function reconstruction and nerve remodeling after stroke. It revealed the function of the cerebral cortex network at a deeper level and established a set of prognostic marker evaluation indicators for the reconstruction of motor function after stroke. Methods: Twenty-one patients treated at the Beijing Rehabilitation Hospital of Capital Medical University because of ischemic stroke in the territory supplied by the middle cerebral artery were selected as the experimental group. Neurophysiological evaluation, motor function evaluation, and clinical evaluation were performed 30 and 180 d after the onset of ischemic stroke. In the control group, neurophysiological evaluation was also performed as a reference index to evaluate the changes in cortical patterns after stroke. Results: The brain topographic map showed the changes in energy or power spectral density (PSD) at 1,000 ms after stimulation as compared with before stimulation, but no difference was detected in these patients. The time-frequency analysis showed that when the left primary motor cortex (M1) area was stimulated using TMS, the PSD values of the left and right M1 and posterior occipital cortex areas produced an 8-40 Hz wave band in patients S1-S11. There was no significant energy change in patients S12-S16. Conclusions: For patients with different injury types, degrees of injury, and different onset periods, individualized intervention methods should be adopted. The evaluation methods should be as diverse as possible, and the rehabilitation effects of patients should be assessed from multiple perspectives to avoid the limitations of single factors. Possible mechanism: After brain injury, the nervous system can change its structure and function through different ways and maintain it for a certain period of time. This plasticity change will change with the course of the disease.