Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (NLR), Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (PLR) and Monocyte-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (MLR) as Biomarkers in Diagnosis Evaluation of Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Retrospective, Observational Study.

Purpose: Hierarchical management is advocated in China to effectively manage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and reduce the incidence and mortality of acute exacerbation of COPD (AE-COPD). However, primary and community hospitals often have limited access to advanced equipment and technology. Complete blood count (CBC), which is commonly used in these hospitals, offers the advantages of being cost-effective and easily accessible. This study aims to evaluate the significance of routine blood indicators in aiding of diagnosing AE-COPD. Patients and Methods: In this research, we enrolled a total of 112 patients diagnosed with AE-COPD, 92 patients with stable COPD, and a control group comprising 60 healthy individuals. Clinical characteristics, CBC parameters, and serum CRP levels were collected within two hours. To assess the associations between NLR/PLR/MLR and CRP by Spearman correlation test. The diagnostic accuracy of NLR, PLR and MLR in AE-COPD was assessed using Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC) and the area under the curve (AUC). Binary Logistic Regression analysis was conducted for the indicators of NLR, PLR and MLR. Results: We found that patients with AE-COPD had significantly higher levels of NLR, PLR and MLR in contrast to patients with stable COPD. Additionally, the study revealed a noteworthy correlation between CRP and NLR (rs=0.5319, P<0.001), PLR (rs=0.4424, P<0.001), and MLR (rs=0.4628, P<0.001). By utilizing specific cut-off values, the amalgamation of NLR, PLR and MLR augmented diagnostic sensitivity. Binary logistic regression analysis demonstrated that heightened NLR and MLR act as risk factors for the progression of AE-COPD. Conclusion: The increasing levels of NLR, PLR and MLR could function as biomarkers, akin to CRP, for diagnosis and assessment of acute exacerbations among COPD patients. Further research is required to validate this concept.

Michael Addition Inducing Self-Assembly to Construct Mechanochromic BP Film.

Liquid crystalline blue phase (BP) with 3D cubic nanostructure has attracted much interest in the fields of photonic crystals due to their unique optical properties and the ability to control the flow of light. However, there remains a challenge for simultaneously achieving self-assembly and mechanochromic response of soft 3D cubic nanostructures. Herein, a scalable strategy for the preparation of soft 3D cubic nanostructured films using oligomerization of the Michael addition reaction, which can induce the assembly of double-twisted cylinders for collective replication, remodeling, recombination, and growth, with a phase transition from BPII to BPI, and to chiral nematic phase, is presented. The prepared BP patterns can be obtained by Michael addition oligomerization reaction and composite mask photopolymerization, which present distinct mechanochromic sensitive due to patterns derived from different BP state, and the pattern can be reversibly erased and recurred by mechanical force and temperature. The average domain size of BPII prepared using this strategy can achieve 96 µm, which is 2.5 times larger than that obtained using the conventional cooling approach. This work provides new insights into the self-assembly and selective chemochromism of functional materials and devices.

A comparative 18F-FDG and an anti-PD-L1 probe PET/CT imaging of implant-associated Staphylococcus aureus osteomyelitis.

Background: Early and accurate diagnosis of infection-induced osteomyelitis, which often involves increased PD-L1 expression, is crucial for better treatment outcomes. Radiolabeled anti-PD-L1 nuclear imaging allows for sensitive and non-invasive whole-body assessments of PD-L1 expression. This study aimed to compare the efficacy of 18F-FDG and an 18F-labeled PD-L1-binding peptide probe (18F-PD-L1P) in PET imaging of implant-associated Staphylococcus aureus osteomyelitis (IAOM). Methods: In this study, we synthesized an anti-PD-L1 probe and compared its efficacy with 18F-FDG and 18F-PD-L1P in PET imaging of implant-associated Staphylococcus aureus osteomyelitis (IAOM). The %ID/g ratios (i.e., radioactivity ratios between the infected and non-infected sides) of both probes were evaluated for sensitivity and accuracy in post-infected 7-day tibias and post-infected 21 days, and the intensity of 18F-PD-L1P uptake was compared with pathological changes measured by PD-L1 immunohistochemistry (IHC). Results: Compared with 18F-FDG, 18F-PDL1P demonstrated higher %ID/g ratios for both post-infected 7-day tibias (P=0.001) and post-infected 21 days (P=0.028). The intensity of 18F-PD-L1P uptake reflected the pathological changes of osteomyelitic bones. In comparison to 18F-FDG, 18F-PDL1P provides earlier and more sensitive detection of osteomyelitis caused by S. aureus. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the 18F-PDL1P probe is a promising tool for the early and accurate detection of osteomyelitis caused by S. aureus.

[Primary study on recognition of vascular stiffness based on wavelet scattering neural network].

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for 48.0% of all deaths in Europe and 34.3% in the United States. Studies have shown that arterial stiffness takes precedence over vascular structural changes and is therefore considered to be an independent predictor of many cardiovascular diseases. At the same time, the characteristics of Korotkoff signal is related to vascular compliance. The purpose of this study is to explore the feasibility of detecting vascular stiffness based on the characteristics of Korotkoff signal. First, the Korotkoff signals of normal and stiff vessels were collected and preprocessed. Then the scattering features of Korotkoff signal were extracted by wavelet scattering network. Next, the long short-term memory (LSTM) network was established as a classification model to classify the normal and stiff vessels according to the scattering features. Finally, the performance of the classification model was evaluated by some parameters, such as accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity. In this study, 97 cases of Korotkoff signal were collected, including 47 cases from normal vessels and 50 cases from stiff vessels, which were divided into training set and test set according to the ratio of 8 : 2. The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of the final classification model was 86.4%, 92.3% and 77.8%, respectively. At present, non-invasive screening method for vascular stiffness is very limited. The results of this study show that the characteristics of Korotkoff signal are affected by vascular compliance, and it is feasible to use the characteristics of Korotkoff signal to detect vascular stiffness. This study might be providing a new idea for non-invasive detection of vascular stiffness.

Hemodynamic evaluation of endarterectomy and stenting treatments for carotid web.

Background and purpose: A carotid web is a thin, shelf-like luminal protrusion in the internal carotid artery that might cause carotid stenosis and stroke by inducing disturbed flow patterns, thrombosis, and abnormal biomechanical stimulus to the endothelial cells. This study simulated and evaluated how the two main treatments (endarterectomy and stenting) influence hemodynamic environments in the carotid artery and distal carotid siphon arteries, aiming to provide more references for the selection of clinical treatment. Materials and methods: The carotid web, endarterectomy, and stenting models were reconstructed based on CT images. The blood flow simulations were conducted, and critical parameters related to thrombosis formation and artery remodeling, including swirling strength, wall shear stress (WSS), vortex Q-criterion, and oscillating shear index (OSI), were analyzed. Results: In the model of the carotid web, obvious recirculation formed distal to the web, accompanied by lower velocity, lower WSS, higher relative resident time (RRT), and higher Q value. While in both two treatment models, the velocity increased and the Q value and RRT decreased at the carotid bifurcation. In addition, both treatments provide more kinetic energy to the distal carotid siphon artery, especially the stenting model. Conclusion: The carotid web can significantly influence the flow environments in the carotid artery. Both endarterectomy and stenting treatments could significantly diminish the side effects of the web and are feasible choices for web patients in terms of hemodynamics. Besides, the treatments for the carotid web would also influence the flow patterns at the distal carotid siphon, especially for the stenting treatment. But more innovational designs are needed to make the minimally invasive stenting treatment more beneficial.

Narrative Review of Risk Assessment of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Rupture Based on Biomechanics-Related Morphology.

CLINICAL IMPACT: Studies have shown that the biomechanical indicators based on multi-scale models are more effective in accurately assessing the rupture risk of AAA. To meet the need for clinical monitoring and rapid decision making, the typical morphological parameters associated with AAA rupture and their relationships with the mechanical environment have been summarized, which provide a reference for clinical preoperative risk assessment of AAA.

A description of the current status of chronic fatigue syndrome and associated factors among university students in Wuhan, China.

Introduction: Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a group of chronic conscious fatigue that is not easily relieved by rest and is accompanied by corresponding physiological dysfunction and psychological symptoms. However, due to the insufficient understanding of the pathogenesis of ME/CFS, there is currently a lack of effective treatment methods. In addition, there are few surveys on the current status of ME/CFS in the central region of China, and the data on ME/CFS among university students in the central region are lacking. This group conducted a survey on university students in Wuhan, Hubei Province in 2022 to collect and analyze the current status of ME/CFS among university students in central China for the first time, aiming to understand the current development of ME/CFS among university students, investigate the influencing factors of its prevalence, fill the data gaps, and provide a reliable basis for developing interventions for chronic fatigue syndrome among university students. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among university students in a university in Hubei province. Data were collected via online questionnaire surveys. The contents included demographic characteristics, lifestyles, disease history, depression, anxiety, sleep, ME/CFS and other associated factors. SAS 9.4 statistical software was used to analyze and estimate the effect of associated factors on ME/CFS. Results: A total of 1826 subjects were included in the final analysis. The results showed that the prevalence of ME/CFS in university students was 6.25%. Univariate analysis showed that exercise, alcohol consumption, study, overnights, diet, anxiety, depression, and sleep quality were associated with ME/CFS (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that overnights, overeating, anxiety, and sleep quality were independent risk factors, while learning was a protective factor. Conclusion: College students should pay enough attention to ME/CFS, improve their understanding of ME/CFS, and improve people's ability to understand ME/CFS.

Contribution of nitrification and denitrification to nitrous oxide turnovers in membrane-aerated biofilm reactors (MABR): A model-based evaluation.

As a novel and sustainable technology, membrane-aerated biofilm reactors (MABR) performing simultaneous nitrification and denitrification face the challenge of undesirable nitrous oxide (N2O) emission. Thereby, a comprehensive analysis of N2O turnover pathways and the affecting parameters in MABR are demanded for N2O mitigation strategies. In this work, a mathematical model describing three N2O turnovers pathways was studied to uncover the underlying mechanisms and the impacts of operational conditions on N2O turnovers in MABR system performing simultaneous nitrification and denitrification. The modeling results demonstrate that higher oxygen surface loading, longer hydraulic retention time (HRT) and lower influent chemical oxygen demand (COD) significantly induce higher N2O production factor (0.18%-3.3%). N2O turnovers are mainly regulated by the hydroxylamine (NH2OH) pathway and heterotrophic bacteria (HB) denitrification, accounting for 76%-87% and 10%-21%, respectively. In contrast, the thicker biofilm (i.e., 400-600 µm) causes lower N2O production factor (<0.13%), due to the shift of N2O turnover pathways to the ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB) denitrification pathway (7.1%-9.3%) and HB denitrification (90.7%-92.9%). Meanwhile, the result of in-biofilm N2O conversion rates shows that the NH2OH pathway and HB denitrification become the predominant N2O production pathway at the inner zone (0-160 µm) and the outer zone (290-350 µm) of the biofilm in MABR, respectively. The biofilm thickness at 160-280 µm can thus be regarded as an optimal zone to reduce N2O production in MABR, due to more electrons preferentially used for N2O reduction. The relatively low N2O production factor (<0.5%) together with >80% total nitrogen (TN) removal in MABR can be achieved by controlling the oxygen surface loading (1.821-3.641 g/m2/d) and influent COD concentrations (285-500 mg/L) within a certain range.

Can Physical Exercise Improve the Residents' Health?

With the rapid development of China's economy and society, the quality of life of residents has continued to improve, and the concept of health has gradually taken root in the hearts of the people. This paper uses the 2018 data of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) to analyze the internal mechanism and influencing factors of participating in physical exercise on the health level of residents. The results show that participating in physical exercise can significantly improve the subjective and objective health level of residents, and the result passed two important robustness tests. Heterogeneous test shows that the degree of influence of participation in physical exercise on the health level of residents varies according to the different regional and individual characteristics; the effect of urban residents' physical exercise to improve their health level is better than that of rural residents; and the effect of physical exercise on the improvement of health level is more obvious in the eastern and western areas, those who have not completed compulsory education, and those with high incomes. This study will have strong guiding significance for the improvement of the overall level of national health in China and will provide a theoretical basis and guiding opinions for the construction of healthy China.

Effect of Loss-of-function of the Herpes Simplex Virus-1 microRNA H6-5p on Virus Replication.

To date, 29 distinct microRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to be expressed during herpes simplex virus infections. Sequence analysis of mature herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) miRNAs revealed five sets of miRNAs that are complementary to each other: miR-H6-5p/H1-3p, miR-H6-3p/H1-5p, H2-5p/H14-3p, miR-H2-3p/H14-5p, and miR-H7/H27. However, the roles of individual miRNAs and consequences of this complementarity remain unclear. Here, we focus on two of these complementary miRNAs, miR-H6-5p and miR-H1-3p, using loss-of-function experiments in vitro and in a mouse model of infection using an miRNA sponge approach, including tandem multiplex artificial miRNA-binding sequences that do not match perfectly to the target miRNA inserted downstream of a green fluorescent protein reporter gene. Infection with recombinant virus expressing the miR-H6-5p sponge reduced viral protein levels and virus yield. Decreased accumulation of viral proteins was also observed at early stages of infection in the presence of both an miR-H6-5p inhibitor and plasmid-expressed miR-H1-3p. Moreover, establishment of latency and reactivation did not differ between the recombinant virus expressing the miR-H6-5p sponge and wild-type HSV-1. Taken together, these data suggest that miR-H6-5p has an as-yet-unidentified role in the early stages of viral infection, and its complement miR-H1-3p suppresses this role in later stages of infection. This report extends understanding of the roles of miRNAs in infection by herpes simplex viruses, supporting a model of infection in which the production of virus and its virulent effects are tightly controlled to maximize persistence in the host and population.

SOCS4 expressed by recombinant HSV protects against cytokine storm in a mouse model.

Oncolytic viruses are genetically engineered viruses designed for the treatment of solid tumors, and are often coupled with the antitumor immunity of the host. The challenge of using oncolytic herpes simplex virus (oHSV) as an efficacious oncolytic agent is the potential host tissue damage caused by the production of a range of cytokines following intratumoral oHSV injection. An HSV­suppressor of cytokine signaling 4 (SOCS4) recombinant virus was created to investigate whether it inhibits cytokine storm. Recombinant HSV­SOCS4 and HSV­1(F) were used to infect mice, and levels of several representative cytokines, including monocyte chemoattractant protein­1, interleukin (IL)­1ß, tumor necrosis factor­α, IL­6 and interferon γ, in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of infected mice were determined, and immune cells in BALF and spleen were enumerated. Lung damage, virus titers in the lung, body weight and survival rates of infected mice were also determined and compared between the two groups. The cytokine concentration of HSV­SOCS4­infected mice was significantly decreased compared with that of HSV­1(F)­infected mice in BALF and serum, and a smaller number of cluster of differentiation (CD)11b+ cells of BALF, and CD8+CD62L+ T cells and CD4+CD62L+ T cells of the spleen were also identified in HSV­SOCS4­infected mice. HSV­SOCS4­infected mice exhibited slight lung damage, a decrease in body weight loss and a 100% survival rate. The results of the present study indicated that SOCS4 protein may be a useful regulator to inhibit cytokine overproduction, and that HSV­SOCS4 may provide a possible solution to control cytokine storm and its consequences following induction by oncolytic virus treatment.