Aspects of public health development in China's western region.

The public health level in a country is closely related to national development and quality of life. In order to appraise the level of health services in the western region of China, panel data of 124 prefecture-level units covering the period 2011 to 2021 was used together with a health evaluation index system based on four dimensions: quality of life, environmental situation, the level of health services and longevity. To assess this, we used entropy weights, standard deviation and coefficient of variation together with the geographical detector model that measures the stratified spatial heterogeneity. The results show that although public health services have improved overall, the various dimensions are still not balanced as longevity did not match up everywhere. While the developmental level of the various health dimensions presents a pattern of a relatively smooth increasing gradient in the west-central- east direction, the situation with respect to the north-centralsouth is more uneven with both ups and downs. However, a trend of continuous enhancement of all health dimensions was found with a significant positive correlation of spatial clustering, with hotspots and 'sub-hotspots' contracting from north to south, while coldspots and 'sub-coldspots' expanded from west to east. This can be seen as the result of multiple factors, with the level of urbanization and economic level as the dominant factors and government guidance, agglomeration capacity and industrial structure being auxiliary.

Novel Ag3PO4/ZnWO4-modified graphite felt electrode for photoelectrocatalytic removal of harmful algae: Performance and mechanism.

A novel Ag3PO4/ZnWO4-modified graphite felt electrode (AZW@GF) was prepared by drop coating method and applied to photoelectrocatalytic removal of harmful algae. Results showed that approximately 99.21% of chlorophyll a and 91.57% of Microcystin-LR (MCLR) were degraded by the AZW@GF-Pt photoelectrocatalytic system under the optimal operating conditions with a rate constant of 0.02617 min-1 and 0.01416 min-1, respectively. The calculated synergistic coefficient of photoelectrocatalytic algal removal and MC-LR degradation by the AZW@GF-Pt system was both larger than 1.9. In addition, the experiments of quenching experiments and electron spin resonance (ESR) revealed that the photoelectrocatalytic reaction mainly generated •OH and •O2- for algal removal and MC-LR degradation. Furthermore, the potential pathway for photoelectrocatalytic degradation of MC-LR was proposed. Finally, the photoelectrocatalytic cycle algae removal experiments were carried out on AZW@GF electrode, which was found to maintain the algae removal efficiency at about 91% after three cycles of use, indicating that the photoelectrocatalysis of AZW@GF electrode is an effective emergency algae removal technology.

Meta-learning-based Inductive logistic matrix completion for prediction of kinase inhibitors.

Protein kinases become an important source of potential drug targets. Developing new, efficient, and safe small-molecule kinase inhibitors has become an important topic in the field of drug research and development. In contrast with traditional wet experiments which are time-consuming and expensive, machine learning-based approaches for predicting small molecule inhibitors for protein kinases are time-saving and cost-effective, which are highly desired for us. However, the issue of sample scarcity (known active and inactive compounds are usually limited for most kinases) poses a challenge to the research and development of machine learning-based kinase inhibitors' active prediction methods. To alleviate the data scarcity problem in the prediction of kinase inhibitors, in this study, we present a novel Meta-learning-based inductive logistic matrix completion method for the Prediction of Kinase Inhibitors (MetaILMC). MetaILMC adopts a meta-learning framework to learn a well-generalized model from tasks with sufficient samples, which can fast adapt to new tasks with limited samples. As MetaILMC allows the effective transfer of the prior knowledge learned from kinases with sufficient samples to kinases with a small number of samples, the proposed model can produce accurate predictions for kinases with limited data. Experimental results show that MetaILMC has excellent performance for prediction tasks of kinases with few-shot samples and is significantly superior to the state-of-the-art multi-task learning in terms of AUC, AUPR, etc., various performance metrics. Case studies also provided for two drugs to predict Kinase Inhibitory scores, further validating the proposed method's effectiveness and feasibility. SCIENTIFIC CONTRIBUTION: Considering the potential correlation between activity prediction tasks for different kinases, we propose a novel meta learning algorithm MetaILMC, which learns a prior of strong generalization capacity during meta-training from the tasks with sufficient training samples, such that it can be easily and quickly adapted to the new tasks of the kinase with scarce data during meta-testing. Thus, MetaILMC can effectively alleviate the data scarcity problem in the prediction of kinase inhibitors.

Sulforaphane Ameliorates High-Fat-Diet-Induced Metabolic Abnormalities in Young and Middle-Aged Obese Male Mice.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is still a fast-growing health problem globally. It is evident that chronic insulin resistance (IR) and progressive loss of ß-cell mass and function are key features of T2D etiology. Obesity is a leading pathogenic factor for developing IR. The aim of the present study was to determine whether sulforaphane (SFN), a natural compound derived from cruciferous vegetables, can prevent (prevention approach) or treat (treatment approach) obesity and IR in mouse models. We show that dietary intake of SFN (0.5 g/kg of HFD) for 20 weeks suppressed high-fat diet (HFD)-induced fat accumulation by 6.04% and improved insulin sensitivity by 23.66% in young male mice. Similarly, dietary provision of SFN (0.25 g/kg) significantly improved blood lipid profile, glucose tolerance, and insulin sensitivity of the middle-aged male mice while it had little effects on body composition as compared with the HFD group. In the treatment study, oral administration of SFN (40 mg/kg) induced weight loss and improved insulin sensitivity and plasma lipid profile in the diet-induced-obesity (DIO) male mice. In all three studies, the metabolic effects of SFN administration were not associated with changes in food intake. In vitro, SFN increased glucose uptake in C2C12 myotubes and increased fatty acid and pyruvate oxidation in primary human skeletal muscle cells. Our results suggest that SFN may be a naturally occurring insulin-sensitizing agent that is capable of improving the metabolic processes in HFD-induced obesity and IR and thereby may be a promising compound for T2D prevention.

Clinical Performance of Immunonephelometric Assay and Chemiluminescent Immunoassay for Detection of IgG Subclasses in Chinese.

BACKGROUND: Detection of IgG subclasses (IgGSc) is vital for the diagnosis and management of disease, especially IgG4-related diseases (IgG4-RD). This study aimed to evaluate the performances of the chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) for detecting IgGSc and diagnosing IgG4-RD by IgGSc. METHODS: A total of 40 individuals with IgG4-RD, 40 with primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS), and 40 healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled. Serum samples were collected for the simultaneous detection of IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4 by the Siemens immunonephelometric assay and the CLIA. The correlation analysis was performed, and diagnostic value was analyzed by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: Patients with IgG4-RD had higher IgG4 (p < 0.001) and lower IgG1 (p < 0.001) than those with pSS, and HC. The results by the Siemens immunonephelometric assay and the CLIA showed a strong correlation in detecting IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4 (r = 0.937, r = 0.847, r = 0.871, r = 0.990, all p < 0.001, respectively). The sum of IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4 using two assays strongly correlated with total IgG by the IMMAGE 800 (r = 0.866, r = 0.811, both p < 0.001, respectively). For discriminating IgG4-RD from pSS and HC, no significant differences were observed in CLIA IgG4 and Siemens immunonephelometric assay IgG4 (z = 0.138, p = 0.891), which provided the area under the curves (AUCs) of 0.951 (p < 0.001) and 0.950 (p < 0.001), respectively. The AUCs of CLIA IgG1 and Siemens immunonephelometric assay IgG1 in distinguishing pSS from IgG4-RD and HC were 0.761 (p < 0.001) and 0.765 (p < 0.001), respectively, with no significant differences (z = 0.228, p = 0.820). CONCLUSIONS: The CLIA and the Siemens immunonephelometric assay appeared to have good consistency with comparable diagnostic value in detecting IgGSc, especially IgG4, and IgG1 that can accurately identify IgG4-RD or pSS in clinical practice.

Contributing factors and interventions for fear of falling in stroke survivors: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive overview of the prevalence, measurement tools, influencing factors, and interventions for fear of falling (FOF) in stroke survivors. METHODS: A PRISMA-guided systematic literature review was conducted. PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, and Web of Science were systematically searched. The search time was up to February 2023. All observational and experimental studies investigating FOF in stroke patients were included. The assessment tool of the Joanna Briggs Institute was used to assess the quality of the included studies and the risk of bias assessment. (PROSPERO: CRD42023412522). RESULT: A total of 25 observational studies and 10 experimental studies were included. The overall quality of the included studies was "low" to "good." The most common tool used to measure the FOF was the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I). The prevalence of FOF was 42%- 93.8%. Stroke survivors with physical impairments have the highest prevalence of FOF. The main risk factors for the development of FOF in stroke survivors were female gender, use of assistive devices, balance, limb dysfunction, and functional mobility. The combination of cognitive behavioral and exercise interventions is the most effective strategy. CONCLUSIONS: This review suggests that the prevalence of FOF in stroke survivors is high and that understanding the factors associated with FOF in stroke patients can help develop multifactorial prevention strategies to reduce FOF and improve quality of life. In addition, a uniform FOF measurement tool should be used to better assess the effectiveness of interventions for stroke survivors. ETHICS APPROVAL: PROSPERO registration (CRD42023412522).

Fabrication of polymeric microspheres for biomedical applications.

Polymeric microspheres (PMs) have attracted great attention in the field of biomedicine in the last several decades due to their small particle size, special functionalities shown on the surface and high surface-to-volume ratio. However, how to fabricate PMs which can meet the clinical needs and transform laboratory achievements to industrial scale-up still remains a challenge. Therefore, advanced fabrication technologies are pursued. In this review, we summarize the technologies used to fabricate PMs, including emulsion-based methods, microfluidics, spray drying, coacervation, supercritical fluid and superhydrophobic surface-mediated method and their advantages and disadvantages. We also review the different structures, properties and functions of the PMs and their applications in the fields of drug delivery, cell encapsulation and expansion, scaffolds in tissue engineering, transcatheter arterial embolization and artificial cells. Moreover, we discuss existing challenges and future perspectives for advancing fabrication technologies and biomedical applications of PMs.

Regulating the Topology of Covalent Organic Frameworks for Boosting Overall H2O2 Photogeneration.

Photocatalytic oxygen reduction reactions and water oxidation reactions are extremely promising green approaches for massive H2O2 production. Nonetheless, constructing effective photocatalysts for H2O2 generation is critical and still challenging. Since the network topology has significant impacts on the electronic properties of two dimensional (2D) polymers, herein, for the first time, we regulated the H2O2 photosynthetic activity of 2D covalent organic frameworks (COFs) by topology. Through designing the linking sites of the monomers, we synthesized a pair of novel COFs with similar chemical components on the backbones but distinct topologies. Without sacrificial agents, TBD-COF with cpt topology exhibited superior H2O2 photoproduction performance (6085 and 5448 µmol g-1 h-1 in O2 and air) than TBC-COF with hcb topology through the O2-O2•--H2O2, O2-O2•--O21-H2O2, and H2O-H2O2 three paths. Further experimental and theoretical investigations confirmed that during the H2O2 photosynthetic process, the charge carrier separation efficiency, O2•- generation and conversion, and the energy barrier of the rate determination steps in the three channels, related to the formation of *OOH, *O21, and *OH, can be well tuned by the topology of COFs. The current study enlightens the fabrication of high-performance photocatalysts for H2O2 production by topological structure modulation.

Diagnostic value of HPV E6/E7 mRNA in screening for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse: A systematic review and meta­analysis.

Histology is considered the gold standard for diagnosing the pathological progress of cervical cancer development, while cervical intraepithelial neoplasia of grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) is the cutoff for intervention in clinical practice. The diagnostic value of human papillomavirus (HPV) E6/E7 mRNA in screening for CIN2+ has not been systematically summarized. A meta-analysis was conducted as part of the present study conducted to explore the diagnostic value of HPV E6/E7 mRNA in screening for CIN2+, aiming to provide a new marker for earlier clinical diagnosis of cervical cancer. The PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library databases were searched from inception to May 2023. Studies reporting the true positive, false positive, true negative and false negative values in differentiating between CIN2+ and CIN2- were included, while duplicate publications, studies without full text, incomplete information or inability to conduct data extraction, animal experiments, reviews and systematic reviews were excluded. STATA software was used to analyze the data. A total of 2,224 patients were included of whom there were 1,274 patients with CIN2+ and 950 patients with CIN2-. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of the studies overall were 0.89 (95% CI, 0.84-0.92) and 0.59 (95% CI, 0.46-0.71), respectively; the positive likelihood ratio (LR) and the negative LR of the studies overall were 2.31 (95% CI, 1.61-3.32) and 0.21 (95% CI, 0.14-0.30), respectively. The pooled diagnostic odds ratio of the studies overall was 11.53 (95% CI, 6.85-19.36). Additionally, the area under the curve was 0.88. The analysis indicated that HPV E6/E7 mRNA has high diagnostic efficacy for CIN2+. HPV E6/E7 mRNA is highly sensitive in the diagnosis of CIN2+, which helps to reduce the rate of missed diagnoses. However, lower specificity may lead to a higher number of misdiagnoses in healthy patients.

Perovskite Oxides Toward Oxygen Evolution Reaction: Intellectual Design Strategies, Properties and Perspectives.

Developing electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices (e.g., water splitting, regenerative fuel cells and rechargeable metal-air batteries) driven by intermittent renewable energy sources holds a great potential to facilitate global energy transition and alleviate the associated environmental issues. However, the involved kinetically sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) severely limits the entire reaction efficiency, thus designing high-performance materials toward efficient OER is of prime significance to remove this obstacle. Among various materials, cost-effective perovskite oxides have drawn particular attention due to their desirable catalytic activity, excellent stability and large reserves. To date, substantial efforts have been dedicated with varying degrees of success to promoting OER on perovskite oxides, which have generated multiple reviews from various perspectives, e.g., electronic structure modulation and heteroatom doping and various applications. Nonetheless, the reviews that comprehensively and systematically focus on the latest intellectual design strategies of perovskite oxides toward efficient OER are quite limited. To bridge the gap, this review thus emphatically concentrates on this very topic with broader coverages, more comparative discussions and deeper insights into the synthetic modulation, doping, surface engineering, structure mutation and hybrids. More specifically, this review elucidates, in details, the underlying causality between the being-tuned physiochemical properties [e.g., electronic structure, metal-oxygen (M-O) bonding configuration, adsorption capacity of oxygenated species and electrical conductivity] of the intellectually designed perovskite oxides and the resulting OER performances, coupled with perspectives and potential challenges on future research. It is our sincere hope for this review to provide the scientific community with more insights for developing advanced perovskite oxides with high OER catalytic efficiency and further stimulate more exciting applications.

Inhibiting MMP13 Attenuates Deep Vein Thrombosis in a Mouse Model by Reducing the Expression of Pdpn.

OBJECTIVE: Matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP13) is an extracellular matrix protease that affects the progression of atherosclerotic plaques and arterial thrombi by degrading collagens, modifying protein structures and regulating inflammatory responses, but its role in deep vein thrombosis (DVT) has not been determined. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential effects of MMP13 and MMP13-related genes on the formation of DVT. METHODS: We altered the expression level of MMP13 in vivo and conducted a transcriptome study to examine the expression and relationship between MMP13 and MMP13-related genes in a mouse model of DVT. After screening genes possibly related to MMP13 in DVT mice, the expression levels of candidate genes in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and the venous wall were evaluated. The effect of MMP13 on platelet aggregation in HUVECs was investigated in vitro. RESULTS: Among the differentially expressed genes, interleukin 1 beta, podoplanin (Pdpn), and factor VIII von Willebrand factor (F8VWF) were selected for analysis in mice. When MMP13 was inhibited, the expression level of PDPN decreased significantly in vitro. In HUVECs, overexpression of MMP13 led to an increase in the expression level of PDPN and induced platelet aggregation, while transfection of PDPN-siRNA weakened the ability of MMP13 to increase platelet aggregation. CONCLUSIONS: Inhibiting the expression of MMP13 could reduce the burden of DVT in mice. The mechanism involves downregulating the expression of Pdpn through MMP13, which could provide a novel gene target for DVT diagnosis and treatment.

Potassium affects the association between dietary intake of vitamin C and NAFLD among adults in the United States.

INTRODUCTION: Although the association between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and vitamin C has been well studied, the effects of dietary potassium intake on this relationship are still unclear. Thus, this study aimed to determine the effects of dietary potassium intake on the association between vitamin C and NAFLD. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional learn about with 9443 contributors the usage of 2007-2018 NHANES data. Multiple logistic regression evaluation has been utilized to check out the affiliation of dietary vitamin C intake with NAFLD and advanced hepatic fibrosis (AHF). Subsequently, we plotted a smoothed match curve to visualize the association. Especially, the analysis of AHF was conducted among the NAFLD population. In addition, stratified evaluation used to be developed primarily based on demographic variables to verify the steadiness of the results. Effect amendment by way of dietary potassium intake used to be assessed via interplay checks between vitamin C and NAFLD in the multivariable linear regression. RESULTS: In this cross-sectional study, we found that vitamin C was negatively related to NAFLD and AHF. The relationship between vitamin C and NAFLD was different in the low, middle and high potassium intake groups. Furthermore, potassium intake significantly modified the negative relationship between vitamin C and NAFLD in most of the models. CONCLUSION: Our research showed that potassium and vitamin C have an interactive effect in reducing NAFLD, which may have great importance for clinical medication.

Identification of metabolism-related key genes as potential biomarkers for pathogenesis of immune thrombocytopenia.

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), an acquired autoimmune disease, is characterized by immune-mediated platelet destruction. A biomarker is a biological entity that contributes to disease pathogenesis and reflects disease activity. Metabolic alterations are reported to be associated with the occurrence of various diseases. As metabolic biomarkers for ITP have not been identified. This study aimed to identify metabolism-related differentially expressed genes as potential biomarkers for pathogenesis of ITP using bioinformatic analyses.The microarray expression data of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database (GSE112278 download link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE112278 ). Key module genes were intersected with metabolism-related genes to obtain the metabolism-related key candidate genes. The hub genes were screened based on the degree function in the coytoscape sofware. The key ITP-related genes were subjected to functional enrichment analysis. Immune infiltration analysis was performed using a single-sample gene set enrichment analysis algorithm to evaluate the differential infiltration levels of immune cell types between ITP patient and control. Molecular subtypes were identified based on the expression of hub genes. The expression of hub genes in the ITP patients was validated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis. This study identified five hub genes (ADH4, CYP7A1, CYP1A2, CYP8B1, and NR1H4), which were be associated with the pathogenesis of ITP, and two molecular subtypes of ITP. Among these hub genes, CYP7A1 and CYP8B1 involved in cholesterol metabolism,were further verified in clinical samples.

Machine learning and optical coherence tomography-derived radiomics analysis to predict persistent diabetic macular edema in patients undergoing anti-VEGF intravitreal therapy.

BACKGROUND: Diabetic macular edema (DME) is a leading cause of vision loss in patients with diabetes. This study aimed to develop and evaluate an OCT-omics prediction model for assessing anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment response in patients with DME. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 113 eyes from 82 patients with DME was conducted. Comprehensive feature engineering was applied to clinical and optical coherence tomography (OCT) data. Logistic regression, support vector machine (SVM), and backpropagation neural network (BPNN) classifiers were trained using a training set of 79 eyes, and evaluated on a test set of 34 eyes. Clinical implications of the OCT-omics prediction model were assessed by decision curve analysis. Performance metrics (sensitivity, specificity, F1 score, and AUC) were calculated. RESULTS: The logistic, SVM, and BPNN classifiers demonstrated robust discriminative abilities in both the training and test sets. In the training set, the logistic classifier achieved a sensitivity of 0.904, specificity of 0.741, F1 score of 0.887, and AUC of 0.910. The SVM classifier showed a sensitivity of 0.923, specificity of 0.667, F1 score of 0.881, and AUC of 0.897. The BPNN classifier exhibited a sensitivity of 0.962, specificity of 0.926, F1 score of 0.962, and AUC of 0.982. Similar discriminative capabilities were maintained in the test set. The OCT-omics scores were significantly higher in the non-persistent DME group than in the persistent DME group (p < 0.001). OCT-omics scores were also positively correlated with the rate of decline in central subfield thickness after treatment (Pearson's R = 0.44, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The developed OCT-omics model accurately assesses anti-VEGF treatment response in DME patients. The model's robust performance and clinical implications highlight its utility as a non-invasive tool for personalized treatment prediction and retinal pathology assessment.

The value of lung function assessment and Testin expression detection in clinicopathological features and prognosis of NSCLC patients.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical value and potential prognostic significance of lung function assessment and Testin expression in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. METHODS: The NSCLC patients were classified into three groups according to lung function: group of normal lung function, group of PRISm (preserved ratio impaired spirometry) (FEV1, forced expiratory volume during the first second < 80% predicted and FEV1/FVC (forced vital capacity) ≥ 70%) and group of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) (FEV1/FVC < 70%). The pre-operational clinicopathological characteristics of these patients were recorded and the markers of systemic inflammatory response, including neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and eosinophils (EOS), were compared between three groups. The expression of Testin in NSCLC samples was detected by IHC and we further explored the correlation between Testin expression and clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of NSCLC patients. Finally, Cox regression analysis was conducted to study the prognostic factors of NSCLC patients. RESULTS: Of the 158 NSCLC patients, percentages of normal lung function, PRISm and COPD were 41.4%, 22.8% and 36.1%, respectively. Patients with tumor in the left lung were more likely to have pulmonary dysfunction (PRISm and COPD) than the right lung. The markers of systemic inflammatory response showed differences to various degree in the three groups and NSCLC patients with PRISm or COPD presented more unfavorable prognosis than patients with normal function. The expression of Testin correlated with lymph node metastasis, TNM stage and tumor invasion of NSCLC patients. Moreover, patients with low Testin expression exhibited poorer disease-free survival and overall survival than those with high Testin expression. In Cox regression analysis, we found that PRISm, COPD and Testin expression served as prognostic factors in NSCLC patients. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of COPD or PRISm influenced systemic inflammatory response and prognosis of NSCLC patients. Testin expression correlated with clinicopathological features and could be potentially used as a prognostic marker in NSCLC.

Two novel angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) inhibiting peptides from tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) skin and their molecular docking mechanism.

In the study, papain was used to hydrolyze tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) skin to obtain a tilapia skin hydrolysate (TSH) with dual angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) inhibitory activities. The resulting TSH was sequentially fractionated by ultrafiltration, size exclusion separation chromatography, and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Its inhibitory effects on ACE and DPP-IV were determined by commercial reagent kits. Two peptides purified from TSH were identified as Gly-Pro-Leu-Gly-Ala-Leu (GPLGAL) and Lys-Pro-Ala-Gly-Asn (KPAGN) by the ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). Inhibitory concentration (IC50) of GPLGAL on ACE and DPP-IV were 117.20 ± 1.69 and 187.10 ± 2.75 µM, respectively. IC50 of KPAGN on ACE and DPP-IV were 137.40 ± 2.33 and 259.20 ± 2.85 µM, respectively. The molecular simulation demonstrated that the binding affinities of GPLGAL to ACE and DPP-IV proteins were -8.5 and -7.4 kcal/mol, respectively, whereas those of KPAGN to ACE and DPP-IV proteins were -7.9 and -6.7 kcal/mol, respectively. GPLGAL interacted with 21 amino acid residues of the ACE active site, whereas KPAGN engaged with 19 amino acid residues. Additionally, GPLGAL interacted with 10 amino acid residues of the DPP-IV active site, whereas KPAGN engaged with 13 amino acid residues. The two peptides predominantly occupied the active sites of ACE (His513, Tyr523, and Ala354) and DPP-IV (Tyr662 and Arg125) through hydrogen bonding. This leads to the deactivation of ACE and DPP-IV. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Accelerate tilapia skin development and high-value utilization; provide foundation for preparing the peptides with dual ACE and DPP-IV inhibiting activity.

The involvement of decomposition and composition processes in restructuring during problem solving.

Decomposition of chunks has been widely accepted as a critical proxy of restructuring, but the role of composition in forming new representations has been largely neglected. This study aims to investigate the roles of both decomposition and composition processes in chunk restructuring, as well as their relationships with "aha" experiences during problem-solving. Participants were asked to move a part of a character to another character to create two new characters. Across three experiments, the characters to be decomposed or composed were varied in terms of tight or loose chunks. The results showed that decomposition or composition of tight chunks led to lower success rates, longer response times, and significantly stronger "Aha!" emotional experiences (mainly in terms of surprise and suddenness). This study provides evidence for the contribution of both decomposition and composition processes to restructuring in creative insight.

Long term online desalting analysis of MS/LC-MS using thermal assisted recrystallization ionization.

Mass spectrometric analysis of non-volatile salts containing samples remains challenging due to salt-induced ion suppression and contamination. This challenge is even more pronounced for a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis, where the accumulation of salts in the transmission system poses an ongoing problem. In this study, a novel thermal assisted recrystallization ionization mass spectrometry (TARI-MS) device was developed to achieve efficient on-line desalting and prolonged analysis of saline samples. The core component of this device was a heated plate positioned between the electrospray unit and the MS inlet. The desalting mechanism was demonstrated as the spontaneous separation of target molecules from salts during the "crystallization" process. After optimization, the angle between the nebulizer and the heated plate was 45°; the distance between the front end of the heated plate and the MS inlet was 2 mm; the distance between the front edge of the heated plate and the center of the sample spray projected onto the heating plate was 3 mm; the distance between the emitter of nebulizer and the heated plate was 3 mm. TARI-MS realized direct analysis of eight drugs dissolved in eight commonly used non-volatile salts solutions (up to 0.5 mol/L). The high sensitivity, repeatability, linearity, accuracy, and intra- and inter-day precision of TARI-MS confirm its reliability as a robust tool for the analysis of saline samples. Furthermore, TARI-MS allowed continuous analysis of salty eluates of LC for up to nearly 1 h without maintenance and verified the feasibility of LC-MS analysis through detecting a five-drug mixture and a crude aripiprazole product. Finally, six impurities in the crude aripiprazole product were successfully detected by LC-TARI-MS. The established method holds promise for applications across academic and pharmaceutical domains.

Skin mottling score assesses peripheral tissue hypoperfusion in critically ill patients following cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND: Skin mottling is a common manifestation of peripheral tissue hypoperfusion, and its severity can be described using the skin mottling score (SMS). This study aims to evaluate the value of the SMS in detecting peripheral tissue hypoperfusion in critically ill patients following cardiac surgery. METHODS: Critically ill patients following cardiac surgery with risk factors for tissue hypoperfusion were enrolled (n = 373). Among these overall patients, we further defined a hypotension population (n = 178) and a shock population (n = 51). Hemodynamic and perfusion parameters were recorded. The primary outcome was peripheral hypoperfusion, defined as significant prolonged capillary refill time (CRT, > 3.0 s). The characteristics and hospital mortality of patients with and without skin mottling were compared. The area under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC) were used to assess the accuracy of SMS in detecting peripheral hypoperfusion. Besides, the relationships between SMS and conventional hemodynamic and perfusion parameters were investigated, and the factors most associated with the presence of skin mottling were identified. RESULTS: Of the 373-case overall population, 13 (3.5%) patients exhibited skin mottling, with SMS ranging from 1 to 5 (5, 1, 2, 2, and 3 cases, respectively). Patients with mottling had lower mean arterial pressure, higher vasopressor dose, less urine output (UO), higher CRT, lactate levels and hospital mortality (84.6% vs. 12.2%, p < 0.001). The occurrences of skin mottling were higher in hypotension population and shock population, reaching 5.6% and 15.7%, respectively. The AUROC for SMS to identify peripheral hypoperfusion was 0.64, 0.68, and 0.81 in the overall, hypotension, and shock populations, respectively. The optimal SMS threshold was 1, which corresponded to specificities of 98, 97 and 91 and sensitivities of 29, 38 and 67 in the three populations (overall, hypotension and shock). The correlation of UO, lactate, CRT and vasopressor dose with SMS was significant, among them, UO and CRT were identified as two major factors associated with the presence of skin mottling. CONCLUSION: In critically ill patients following cardiac surgery, SMS is a very specific yet less sensitive parameter for detecting peripheral tissue hypoperfusion.