The protective effect and mechanism of glycosides of cistanche deserticola on rats in middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model.

Cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (CIRI) occurs frequently clinically as a complication following cardiovascular resuscitation resulting in neuronal damage specifically to the hippocampal CA1 region with consequent cognitive impairment. Apoptosis and oxidative stress were proposed as major risk factors associated with CIRI development. Previously, glycosides obtained from Cistanche deserticola (CGs) were shown to play a key role in counteracting CIRI; however, the underlying mechanisms remain to be determined. This study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effect of CGs on subsequent CIRI in rats. The model of CIRI was established for 2 hr and reperfusion for 24 hr by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model. The MCAO rats were used to measure the antioxidant and anti-apoptotic effects of CGs on CIRI. Neurological function was evaluated by the Longa neurological function score test. 2,3,5-Triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining was used to detect the area of cerebral infarction. Nissl staining was employed to observe neuronal morphology. TUNEL staining was used to detect neuronal apoptosis, while Western blot determined protein expression levels of factors for apoptosis-related and PI3K/AKT/Nrf2 signaling pathway. Data demonstrated that CGs treatment improved behavioral performance, brain injury, and enhanced antioxidant and anti-apoptosis in CIRI rats. In addition, CGs induced activation of PI3K/AKT/Nrf2 signaling pathway accompanied by inhibition of the expression of apoptosis-related factors. Evidence indicates that CGs amelioration of CIRI involves activation of the PI3K/AKT/Nrf2 signaling pathway associated with increased cellular viability suggesting these glycosides may be considered as an alternative compound for CIRI treatment.

Effect of total flavonoids of Dracocephalum moldavica L. On neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease model amyloid-ß (Aß1-42)-peptide-induced astrocyte activation.

One of the main pathological features noted in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the presence of plagues of aggregated ß-amyloid (Aß1-42)-peptides. Excess deposition of amyloid-ß oligomers (AßO) are known to promote neuroinflammation. Sequentially, following neuroinflammation astrocytes become activated with cellular characteristics to initiate activated astrocytes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether total flavonoids derived from Dracocephalum moldavica L. (TFDM) inhibited Aß1-42-induced damage attributed to activated C8-D1A astrocytes. Western blotting and ELISA were used to determine the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and complement C3 to establish the activation status of astrocytes following induction from exposure to Aß1-42. Data demonstrated that stimulation of C8-D1A astrocytes by treatment with 40 µM Aß1-42 for 24 hr produced significant elevation in protein expression and protein levels of acidic protein (GFAP) and complement C3 accompanied by increased expression and levels of inflammatory cytokines. Treatment with TFDM or the clinically employed drug donepezil in AD therapy reduced production of inflammatory cytokines, and toxicity initiated following activation of C8-D1A astrocytes following exposure to Aß1-42. Therefore, TFDM similar to donepezil inhibited inflammatory secretion in reactive astrocytes, suggesting that TFDM may be considered as a potential compound to be utilized in AD therapy.

Cannabidiol improves the cognitive function of SAMP8 AD model mice involving the microbiota-gut-brain axis.

Cannabidiol (CBD), a natural component extracted from Cannabis sativa L. exerts neuroprotective, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects in Alzheimer's disease (AD), a disease characterized by impaired cognition and accumulation of amyloid-B peptides (Aß). Interactions between the gut and central nervous system (microbiota-gut-brain axis) play a critical role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorder AD. At present investigations into the mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective action of CBD in AD are not conclusive. The aim of this study was thus to examine the influence of CBD on cognition and involvement of the microbiota-gut-brain axis using a senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) model. Data demonstrated that administration of CBD to SAMP8 mice improved cognitive function as evidenced from the Morris water maze test and increased hippocampal activated microglia shift from M1 to M2. In addition, CBD elevated levels of Bacteriodetes associated with a fall in Firmicutes providing morphologically a protective intestinal barrier which subsequently reduced leakage of intestinal toxic metabolites. Further, CBD was found to reduce the levels of hippocampal and colon epithelial cells lipopolysaccharide (LPS), known to be increased in AD leading to impaired gastrointestinal motility, thereby promoting neuroinflammation and subsequent neuronal death. Our findings demonstrated that CBD may be considered a beneficial therapeutic drug to counteract AD-mediated cognitive impairment and restore gut microbial functions associated with the observed neuroprotective mechanisms.

A Novel High-Throughput Detection Method for Plastic Debris in Organic-Rich Matrices Based on Image Fusion.

Plastic pollution pervades natural environments and wildlife. Consequently, high-throughput detection methods for plastic debris are urgently needed. A novel method was developed to detect plastic debris larger than 0.5 mm, which integrated an extraction method with low organic loss and plastic damage alongside a classification method for fused images. This extraction method broadened the size range of the remaining plastic debris, while the fusion solved the low spatial resolution of hyperspectral images and the absence of spectral information in red-green-blue (RGB) images. This method was validated for plastic debris in digestate, compost, and sludge, with extraction demonstrating 100% recovery rates for all samples. After fusion, the spatial resolution of hyperspectral images was improved about five times. Classification recall for the fused hyperspectral images achieved 97 ± 8%, surpassing 83 ± 29% of the raw images. Application of this method to solid digestate detected 1030 ± 212 items/kg of plastic debris, comparable with the conventional Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic result of 1100 ± 436 items/kg. This developed method can investigate plastic debris in complex matrices, simultaneously addressing a wide range of sizes and types. This capability helps acquire reliable data to predict secondary microplastic generation and conduct a risk assessment.

Functional roles of circular RNAs in lung injury.

Lung injury leads to respiratory dysfunction, low quality of life, and even life-threatening conditions. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are endogenous RNAs produced by selective RNA splicing. Studies have reported their involvement in the progression of lung injury. Understanding the roles of circRNAs in lung injury may aid in elucidating the underlying mechanisms and provide new therapeutic targets. Thus, in this review, we aimed to summarize and discuss the characteristics and biological functions of circRNAs, and their roles in lung injury from existing research, to provide a theoretical basis for the use of circRNAs as a diagnostic and therapeutic target for lung injury.

Synergistic improvement of humus formation in compost residue by fenton-like and effective microorganism composite agents.

Improving the humification of compost through a synergistic approach of biotic and abiotic methods is of great significance. This study employed a composite reagent, comprising Fenton-like agents and effective microorganisms (EM) to improve humification. This composite reagent increased humic-acid production by 37.44 %, reaching 39.82 g kg-1, surpassing the control group. The composite reagent synergistically promoted micromolecular fulvic acid and large humic acid production. Collaborative mechanism suggests that Fenton-like agents contributed to bulk residue decomposition and stimulated the evolution of microbial communities, whereas EMs promoted highly aromatic substance synthesis and adjusted the microbial community structure. Sequencing analysis indicates the Fenton-like agent initiated compost decomposition by Firmicutes, and EM reduced the abundance of Virgibacillus, Lentibacillus, and Alcanivorax. Applied as an organic fertilizer in Brassica chinensis L. plantations, the composite reagent considerably improved growth and photosynthetic pigment content. This composite reagent with biotic and abiotic components provides a learnable method for promoting humification.

Regulatory role of PDK1 via integrated gene analysis of mitochondria-immune response in periodontitis.

AIMS: To investigate the association between mitochondrial events and immune response in periodontitis and related regulatory genes. MAIN METHODS: Gene expression profiles in gingival tissues were retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus. Mitochondria-immune response-related differentially expressed genes (MIR-DEGs) between the healthy and periodontitis samples were determined. WGCNA, GO, and KEGG were used to investigate the function and the enriched pathways of MIR-DEGs. The correlation between MIR-DEGs expression and clinical probing pocket depth was analyzed. The MIR-DEGs were further identified and verified in animal samples. A periodontitis model was established in C57BL/6 mice with silk ligation. Micro-computed tomography was used to assess alveolar bone loss. Western blot, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and immunohistochemical analyses further validated the differential expression of the MIR-DEGs. KEY FINDINGS: A total of ten MIR-DEGs (CYP24A1, PRDX4, GLDC, PDK1, BCL2A1, CBR3, ARMCX3, BNIP3, IFI27, and UNG) were identified, the expression of which could effectively distinguish patients with periodontitis from the healthy controls. Enhanced immune response was detected in the periodontitis group with that in the healthy controls, especially in B cells. PDK1 was a critical MIR-DEG correlated with B cell immune response and clinical periodontal probing pocket depth. Both animal and clinical periodontal samples presented higher gene and protein expression of PDK1 than the control samples. Additionally, PDK1 colocalized with B cells in both animal and clinical periodontal tissues. SIGNIFICANCE: Mitochondria participate in the regulation of the immune response in periodontitis. PDK1 may be the key mitochondria-related gene regulating B-cell immune response in periodontitis.

Nucleic-acid-base photofunctional cocrystal for information security and antimicrobial applications.

Cocrystal engineering is an efficient and simple strategy to construct functional materials, especially for the exploitation of novel and multifunctional materials. Herein, we report two kinds of nucleic-acid-base cocrystal systems that imitate the strong hydrogen bond interactions constructed in the form of complementary base pairing. The two cocrystals studied exhibit different colors of phosphorescence from their monomeric counterparts and show the feature of rare high-temperature phosphorescence. Mechanistic studies reveal that the strong hydrogen bond network stabilizes the triplet state and suppresses non-radiative transitions, resulting in phosphorescence even at 425 K. Moreover, the isolation effects of the hydrogen bond network regulate the interactions between the phosphor groups, realizing the manipulation from aggregation to single-molecule phosphorescence. Benefiting from the long-lived triplet state with a high quantum yield, the generation of reactive oxygen species by energy transfer is also available to utilize for some applications such as in photodynamic therapy and broad-spectrum microbicidal effects. In vitro experiments show that the cocrystals efficiently kill bacteria on a tooth surface and significantly help prevent dental caries. This work not only provides deep insight into the relationship of the structure-properties of cocrystal systems, but also facilitates the design of multifunctional cocrystal materials and enriches their potential applications.

Risk factors for surgical site infection in patients undergoing obstetrics and gynecology surgeries: A meta-analysis of observational studies.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors for surgical site infection (SSI) in patients undergoing obstetrics and gynecology surgeries through meta-analysis. METHODS: Relevant original studies published from January 1945 to May 2023 were searched the CBM, PubMed, Embase, WOS, CNKI, Wanfang, vip, and Cochrane Library databases. Studies eligible were evaluated by two investigators following Newcastle-Ottawa Scale(NOS) criteria. Review Manager 5.3 software was used to analyse the combined effect sizes and test for heterogeneity, and Stata 14.0 software's Begg's Test and Egger's Test were used to test for bias. RESULTS: 13 case-control articles, including 860 cases in the case group and 13574 cases in the control group, met the inclusion criteria. Eventually, Our meta-analysis showed that SSI in patients undergoing obstetrics and gynecology surgeries was correlated with body mass index (BMI)≥24 (OR = 2.66; P < 0.0001), malignant lesions (OR = 4.65; P < 0.0001), operating time≥60min (OR = 2.58; P < 0.0001), intraoperative bleeding≥300ml (OR = 2.54; P < 0.0001), retained urinary catheter (OR = 4.45; P < 0.0001), and vaginal digital examination≥3times (OR = 2.52; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: In this study, BMI≥24, intraoperative bleeding≥300ml, malignant lesions, operating time≥60min, retained urinary catheter, and vaginal digital examination≥3times were considered as independent risk factors for SSI in obstetrics and gynecology surgery. It is recommended that scholars be rigorous in designing the experimental process when conducting case-control or experimental studies in order to improve the quality of the study. Controlling patients' weight before obstetrical and gynecological surgery, shortening the operation time intraoperatively, and strictly controlling the indications of vaginal digital examination and retained urinary catheter can effectively reduce the incidence of SSI.

Ecological and human health hazards of soil heavy metals after wildfire: A case study of Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture, China.

Soil samples were collected in at different depths from the conflagration area in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Region, China, to investigate the distribution characteristics and ecological and human health risks of heavy metals after a wildfire. The samples collected comprise wildfire ash (WA) above the soil surface, ash soil (AS) 0-5 cm, and plain soil (PS) 5-15 cm below the soil surface. Additionally, reference soil (RS) was collected from a nearby unburned area at the same latitude as the conflagration area. The results showed that the concentrations of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd) in the WA and AS were significantly higher than in reference soil (RS) (p < 0.05). Concentrations of Pb in the PS were 2.52 times higher than that in RS (17.9 mg kg-1) (p < 0.05). The AS and WA had the highest Index of potential ecological risks (RI > 600). In addition, The Cd in AS and WA contributed the most to the highest Improved nemerow index (INI) and RI with a contribution of more than 80%. The concentration of heavy metals was used to establish non-carcinogenic effects and cancer risks in humans via three exposure pathways: accident ingestion of soil, dermal contact with soil, and inhalation of soil particles. Hazard index (HI) values of each sample were all less than 1, indicating the non-carcinogenic risk was within the acceptable range and would not adversely affect the local population's health. The Cancer risk (CR) values of Cr, As, Cd, and Ni were all below 1 × 10-6, indicating that heavy metal pollution from this wildfire did not pose a cancer risk to residents.

Asymmetric Supervised Fusion-Oriented Hashing for Cross-Modal Retrieval.

Hashing technologies have been widely applied for large-scale multimodal retrieval tasks owing to their excellent performance in search and storage tasks. Although some effective hashing methods have been proposed, it is still difficult to handle the intrinsic linkages that exist among different heterogeneous modalities. Moreover, optimizing the discrete constraint problem through a relaxation-based strategy results in a large quantization error and leads to a suboptimal solution. In this article, we present a novel asymmetric supervised fusion-oriented hashing method, named (ASFOH), which investigates three novel schemes to remedy the above issues. Specifically, we first explicitly formulate the problem as matrix decomposition into a common latent representation and a transformation matrix, combined with an adaptive weight scheme and nuclear norm minimization to ensure the information completeness of multimodal data. Then, we associate the common latent representation with the semantic label matrix, thereby increasing the discriminative capability of the model by constructing an asymmetric hash learning framework, thus, making the generated hash codes more compact. Finally, an efficient discrete optimization iterative algorithm based on nuclear norm minimization is proposed to decompose the nonconvex multivariate optimization problem into several subproblems with analytical solutions. Comprehensive experiments on the MIRFlirck, NUS-WIDE, and IARP-TC12 datasets testify that ASFOH outperforms the compared state-of-the-art approaches.

Dynamic Ultra-long Room Temperature Phosphorescence Enabled by Amorphous Molecular "Triplet Exciton Pump" for Encryption with Temporospatial Resolution.

Organic ultra-long room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials in the amorphous state have attracted widespread attention due to their simple preparation and flexibility to adopt various forms in sensors, bioimaging, and encryption applications. However, the amorphous molecular host for the host-guest RTP systems is highly demanded but limited. Here, a universal molecular host (DPOBP-Br) has been designed by integration of an amorphous moiety of diphenylphosphine oxide (DPO) and an intersystem crossing (ISC) group of 4-bromo-benzophenone (BP-Br). Various commercial fluorescence dyes were doped into the tight and transparent DPOBP-Br film, respectively, resulting in amorphous host-guest systems with ultra-long RTP colors from green to red. It was found that DPOBP-Br acted as a universal "triplet exciton pump" for promoting the generation of triplet excitons in the guest, through energy transfer processes and external heavy-atom effect based on DPOBP-Br. Interestingly, dynamic RTP was achieved by controlling residual oxygen concentration in the amorphous matrix by UV irradiation. Therefore, multi-dimensional anti-counterfeiting coatings were realized even on curved surfaces, simultaneously exhibiting spatial and 2D-time dependence. This work provides a strategy to design new amorphous molecular hosts for RTP systems and demonstrates the advanced information encryption with tempo-spatial resolution based on the dynamic ultra-long RTP of an amorphous system.

Combined three dimensional locomotion and deformation of functional ferrofluidic robots.

Magnetic microrobots possess remarkable potential for targeted applications in the medical field, primarily due to their non-invasive, controllable properties. These unique qualities have garnered increased attention and fascination among researchers. However, these robotic systems do face challenges such as limited deformation capabilities and difficulties navigating confined spaces. Recently, researchers have turned their attention towards magnetic droplet robots, which are notable for their superior deformability, controllability, and potential for a range of applications such as automated virus detection and targeted drug delivery. Despite these advantages, the majority of current research is constrained to two-dimensional deformation and motion, thereby limiting their broader functionality. In response to these limitations, this study proposes innovative strategies for controlling deformation and achieving a three-dimensional (3D) trajectory in ferrofluidic robots. These strategies leverage a custom-designed eight-axis electromagnetic coil and a sliding mode controller. The implementation of these methods exhibits the potential of ferrofluidic robots in diverse applications, including microfluidic pump systems, 3D micromanipulation, and selective vascular occlusion. In essence, this study aims to broaden the capabilities of ferrofluidic robots, thereby enhancing their applicability across a multitude of fields such as medicine, micromanipulation, bioengineering, and more by maximizing the potential of these intricate robotic systems.

Pathogenicity of novel hantavirus isolate and antigenicity and immunogenicity of novel strain-based inactivated vaccine.

BACKGROUND: Hantaan virus (HTNV, Orthohantavirus hantanensae species, Hantaviridae family) is the main etiological agent responsible for hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). The novel HTNV may pose a potential danger to the control and prevention of HFRS in China, which highlights the importance of vaccine development in public health management. In previous studies, our laboratory discovered and successfully isolated a new HTNV strain, HV004 strain, from Apodemus agrarius captured in an epidemic area in Hubei, China. METHODS: An initial biological and pathogenicity characterization of HTNV 76-118 (standard train), HV114 strain (a clinical isolate from Hubei province in 1986), and the novel isolate HV004 strain from the epidemic areas of Hubei province were performed in susceptible cells and in vivo. An experimental HV004 strain inactivated vaccine was prepared, and its corresponding immunogenicity was analyzed in BALB/c mice. RESULTS: HV004 strain had a similar but higher pathogenicity than HTNV 76-118 and HV114 in suckling mice. A subcutaneous vaccination (s.c.) with the inactivated HTNV vaccine adjuvanted with aluminum, followed by a challenge intraperitoneally with 106 FFU/ml HTNV, afforded full protection against an HTNV challenge. All immunized mice in every group elicited serum neutralizing antibodies with increasing dosages, which may protect mice from HTNV infection. A dose-dependent stimulation index of splenocytes was also observed in immunized mice. The percentage of IFN-γ-producing CD3+CD8+ T cells was significantly higher in the spleens of immunized mice than in those of control mice. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the inactivated HTNV vaccine may stimulate mice to produce high levels of antibodies with neutralization activity and elicit specific anti-HTNV humoral and cellular immune responses in BALB/c mice against the prevalent strain of HTNV in south central China.

Using the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance risk index to determine risk factors associated with surgical site infections following gynecologic surgeries.

OBJECTIVES: We used the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) risk index to determine risk factors associated with surgical site infections (SSIs) following gynecologic surgeries. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted based on the medical records of 185 patients with SSIs, following gynecologic surgeries at a Grade A tertiary gynecologic and obstetric hospital in southwest China during September 2013-June 2021. RESULTS: Suspected risk factors associated with SSIs were: length of hospital stay, age, whether the patient had cancer, whether the patient had chemotherapy or high-dose antibiotic therapy before surgery, duration of surgery, amount of blood loss, and whether a blood transfusion was done. It was found that SSIs were more likely to occur in cancer patients with an NNIS risk index score of 1 and in patients with preoperative chemotherapy and an NNIS risk index score of 2. Among the patients with an NNIS risk index score of 2, the older the patient, the higher incidence of SSIs. CONCLUSIONS: Gynecologic surgery teams should pay more attention to the independent risk factors associated with SSIs determined by the NNIS risk index score to prevent SSIs following gynecologic surgeries, thus ensuring patient safety.

An assembled bacterial community associated with Artemisia annua L. causes plant protection against a pathogenic fungus.

The microorganisms associated with a plant influence its growth and fitness. These microorganisms accumulate on the aerial and root surfaces of plants, as well as within the plants, as endophytes, although how the interaction between microorganisms protects the plant from pathogens is still little understood. In the current study, the impact of assembled the bacterial communities against the pathogenic fungus to promote Artemisia annua L. growths was investigated. We established a model of bacterium-fungus-plant system. Eight bacterial strains and a fungal pathogen Globisporangium ultimum (Glo) were isolated from wild A. annua roots and leaves, respectively. We assembled the six-bacteria community (C6: Rhizobium pusense, Paracoccus sp., Flavobacterium sp., Brevundimonas sp., Stenotrophomonas sp., and Bacillus sp.) with inhibition, and eight-bacteria community (C8) composing of C6 plus another two bacteria (Brevibacillus nitrificans and Cupriavidus sp.) without inhibition against Glo in individually dual culture assays. Inoculation of seedlings with C8 significantly reduced impact of Glo. The growth and disease suppression of A. annua seedlings inoculated with C8 + Glo were significantly better than those of seedlings inoculated with only Glo. C8 had more inhibitory effects on Glo, and also enhanced the contents of four metabolites in seedling roots compared to Glo treatment only. Additionally, the inhibitory effects of root extracts from A. annua seedlings showed that Glo was most sensitive, the degree of eight bacteria sensitivity were various with different concentrations. Our findings suggested that the non-inhibitory bacteria played a vital role in the bacterial community composition and that some bacterial taxa were associated with disease suppression. The construction of a defined assembled bacterial community could be used as a biological fungicide, promoting biological disease control of plants.

CDK13 promotes lipid deposition and prostate cancer progression by stimulating NSUN5-mediated m5C modification of ACC1 mRNA.

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) regulate cell cycle progression and the transcription of a number of genes, including lipid metabolism-related genes, and aberrant lipid metabolism is involved in prostate carcinogenesis. Previous studies have shown that CDK13 expression is upregulated and fatty acid synthesis is increased in prostate cancer (PCa). However, the molecular mechanisms linking CDK13 upregulation and aberrant lipid metabolism in PCa cells remain largely unknown. Here, we showed that upregulation of CDK13 in PCa cells increases the fatty acyl chains and lipid classes, leading to lipid deposition in the cells, which is positively correlated with the expression of acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC1), the first rate-limiting enzyme in fatty acid synthesis. Gain- and loss-of-function studies showed that ACC1 mediates CDK13-induced lipid accumulation and PCa progression by enhancing lipid synthesis. Mechanistically, CDK13 interacts with RNA-methyltransferase NSUN5 to promote its phosphorylation at Ser327. In turn, phosphorylated NSUN5 catalyzes the m5C modification of ACC1 mRNA, and then the m5C-modified ACC1 mRNA binds to ALYREF to enhance its stability and nuclear export, thereby contributing to an increase in ACC1 expression and lipid deposition in PCa cells. Overall, our results disclose a novel function of CDK13 in regulating the ACC1 expression and identify a previously unrecognized CDK13/NSUN5/ACC1 pathway that mediates fatty acid synthesis and lipid accumulation in PCa cells, and targeting this newly identified pathway may be a novel therapeutic option for the treatment of PCa.

The change of Siglec-9 expression in peripheral blood NK cells of SFTS patients can affect the function of NK cells.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the changes and mechanism of Siglec-9 on NK cells in peripheral blood of patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS). METHODS: First, we used single-cell RNA sequencing to analyze the frequency of NK cells in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) of SFTS patients and healthy controls (HCs), as well as the differences in the genes on NK cells. Secondly, we analyzed the expression of Siglec-9 and other receptors on NK cells by flow cytometry. Thirdly, we analyzed the correlation between Siglec-9 on NK cells and DBV viral load in plasma. RESULTS: Compared with HCs, the frequency of NK cells in peripheral blood of SFTS patients was significantly decreased, and the activating receptors on NK cells were reduced. The expression of Siglec-9 on NK cells and the frequency of Siglec-9+NK cells decreased significantly in SFTS patients. The expression of Siglec-9 on CD16+CD56dim NK cells was negatively correlated with DBV viral load. In addition, Siglec-9+NK cells expressed higher levels of activating receptors and exhibited stronger effector functions than Siglec-9-NK cells. CONCLUSIONS: The decreased expression of Siglec-9 on NK cells predicts NK cell dysfunction in SFTS patients, suggesting that Siglec-9 may be a potential marker for functional NK cell subsets in SFTS patients.

Oblique supine position versus prone position for percutaneous nephrolithotomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: To compare the efficacy and safety of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) in the oblique supine position (OSP) and the prone position (PP). Aim: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of OSP versus PP for PCNL. Material and methods: A systematic literature search of PubMed, Ovid, SCOPUS, and citation lists was conducted to identify eligible comparative studies up to November 2022. All studies comparing OSP versus PP for PCNL were included. Statistical analysis was performed with the Collaboration's Review Manager (RevMan) 5.4 software. Results: Overall, eight studies were included involving 1185 patients (OSP = 634; PP = 551). There were no statistically significant differences between OSP and PP in age (WMD = -0.95 years; 95% CI: -2.12 to 0.21; p = 0.83) or proportion of male patients (OR = 0.02; 95% CI: -0.03 to 0.08; p = 0.43). We found that OSP was performed more frequently for smaller stone size and patients with higher BMI (WMD = -0.1 cm, 95% CI: -0.18 to -0.02; p = 0.01) and patients with higher BMI (WMD = 0.66 kg/m2; 95% CI: 0.29 to 1.03; p = 0.0005). The operation time was shorter in OSP than PP (WMD = -14 min; 95% CI: -27.00 to -1.00; p = 0.03). The reduction of hemoglobin was lower in OSP than PP (WMD = -0.39 g/dl; 95% CI: -0.60 to -0.13; p = 0.03). There was no significant difference in stone-free rate and hospitalization between the two groups (OR = 1.32; 95% CI: 0.98 to 1.78; p = 0.07; WMD = -5.99 h; 95% CI: -17.15 to 5.16; p = 0.29). The overall complications were fewer in OSP than in PP (OR = 0.59; 95% CI: 0.43 to 0.81; p = 0.001), but no difference was observed between the positions with regard to the major complications (Clavien-Dindo score ≥ 3) (OR = 0.76; 95% CI: 0.43 to 1.34; p = 0.35). Conclusions: OSP showed non-inferior stone-free rate, blood loss, and hospitalization compared with PP. OSP may be superior in terms of operative time and complications than PP.

The LMR-SSIGN-MAPS model predicts disease-free survival in patients with localized clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Introduction: Prediction models are increasingly being used to predict outcomes after surgery, and such a model would be a precious tool for patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) after surgery. Aim: To develop a comprehensive model for predicting disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with localized ccRCC. Material and methods: In a retrospective analysis of 612 patients, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression analysis was performed to identify significant predictors, and then risk factors were used to construct a prognostic model. Harrell's concordance index (C-index) was used to assess the accuracy of the model. Results: The lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), Mayo Clinic stage, size, grade, necrosis score (SSIGN), and Mayo adhesive probability score (MAPS) were the significant risk factors screened by LASSO Cox regression and reconfirmed by multivariate Cox regression analysis in 44 variables. Then a model was constructed by combining the LMR, SSIGN, and MAPS. The C-index of the LMR-SSIGN-MAPS model was greater than the SSIGN score alone. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated a significant association between higher LMR-SSIGN-MAPS score and poorer DFS. Conclusions: The LMR-SSIGN-MAPS model, which consists of preoperative inflammation biomarkers, a perinephric adipose tissue image-based scoring system, and pathological features, showed the strengths of easy-to-use and high predictability and might also be used as a promising prognosis model in predicting DFS for patients with localized ccRCC.