Clinicopathologic and endoscopic features of sessile serrated lesions and conventional adenomas: a large inpatient population-based study in China.

Objectives: Sessile serrated lesions (SSLs) are precursors of sporadic colorectal cancer (CRC) and have distinct characteristics compared with conventional adenomas (CAs). Several lifestyle and environmental factors may play critical roles in the development of advanced lesions. Our aim is to describe the features of SSLs and CAs and further explore risk factors for advanced lesions. Methods: This is an observational study that collected demographic, endoscopic, and histological data from the China-Japan Friendship Hospital among the inpatient population with pathologically reported as SSL or CA between 2015 and 2022. We analyzed the clinicopathology and endoscopic differences between SSL alone, CA alone, and synchronous SSL+CA groups, and identified risk factors using multiple regression analysis. Results: A total of 9236 polyps from 6598 patients were included in the cohort. Patients with SSL+CA were more likely to be older (p=0.008), while individuals with SSL alone had a higher proportion of early-onset polyps (p<0.001), and SSLs were more common in advanced polyps than CAs (p<0.001). A greater proportion of advanced polyps in the SSL and CA groups were diagnosed as Yamada III, Yamada IV, and laterally spreading tumor (p=0.002, p<0.001, respectively), and multiple SSLs and CAs were more represented in nonadvanced polyps than in advanced polyps. In multiple regression analysis, older patients were more likely to develop advanced SSLs (aOR 1.05, 95% CI 1.02-1.09, p=0.005). Conclusion: SSLs and CAs have diverse demographic, endoscopic, and histological characteristics, and their advanced lesions share different risk factors, which advances the understanding of the etiology and progression of SSLs.

STING inhibitors sensitize platinum chemotherapy in ovarian cancer by inhibiting the CGAS-STING pathway in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs).

Chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer hampers cure rates, with cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) playing a pivotal role. Despite their known impact on cancer progression and chemotherapy resistance, the specific mechanism by which CAFs regulate the tumor inflammatory environment remains unclear. This study reveals that cisplatin facilitates DNA transfer from ovarian cancer cells to CAFs, activating the CGAS-STING-IFNB1 pathway in CAFs and promoting IFNB1 release. Consequently, this reinforces cancer cell resistance to platinum drugs. High STING expression in the tumor stroma was associated with a poor prognosis, while inhibiting STING expression enhanced ovarian cancer sensitivity. Understanding the relevance of the CGAS-STING pathway in CAFs for platinum resistance suggests targeting STING as a promising combination therapy for ovarian cancer, providing potential avenues for improved treatment outcomes.

Phosphoglycerate kinase 1 acts as a cargo adaptor to promote EGFR transport to the lysosome.

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays important roles in multiple cellular events, including growth, differentiation, and motility. A major mechanism of downregulating EGFR function involves its endocytic transport to the lysosome. Sorting of proteins into intracellular pathways involves cargo adaptors recognizing sorting signals on cargo proteins. A dileucine-based sorting signal has been identified previously for the sorting of endosomal EGFR to the lysosome, but a cargo adaptor that recognizes this signal remains unknown. Here, we find that phosphoglycerate kinase 1 (PGK1) is recruited to endosomal membrane upon its phosphorylation, where it binds to the dileucine sorting signal in EGFR to promote the lysosomal transport of this receptor. We also elucidate two mechanisms that act in concert to promote PGK1 recruitment to endosomal membrane, a lipid-based mechanism that involves phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2] and a protein-based mechanism that involves hepatocyte growth factor receptor substrate (Hrs). These findings reveal an unexpected function for a metabolic enzyme and advance the mechanistic understanding of how EGFR is transported to the lysosome.

Electron scale coherent structure as micro accelerator in the Earth's magnetosheath.

Turbulent energy dissipation is a fundamental process in plasma physics that has not been settled. It is generally believed that the turbulent energy is dissipated at electron scales leading to electron energization in magnetized plasmas. Here, we propose a micro accelerator which could transform electrons from isotropic distribution to trapped, and then to stream (Strahl) distribution. From the MMS observations of an electron-scale coherent structure in the dayside magnetosheath, we identify an electron flux enhancement region in this structure collocated with an increase of magnetic field strength, which is also closely associated with a non-zero parallel electric field. We propose a trapping model considering a field-aligned electric potential together with the mirror force. The results are consistent with the observed electron fluxes from ~50 eV to ~200 eV. It further demonstrates that bidirectional electron jets can be formed by the hourglass-like magnetic configuration of the structure.

The RING-Type Domain-Containing Protein GNL44 Is Essential for Grain Size and Quality in Rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Grain size in rice (Oryza sativa L.) shapes yield and quality, but the underlying molecular mechanism is not fully understood. We functionally characterized GRAIN NUMBER AND LARGE GRAIN SIZE 44 (GNL44), encoding a RING-type protein that localizes to the cytoplasm. The gnl44 mutant has fewer but enlarged grains compared to the wild type. GNL44 is mainly expressed in panicles and developing grains. Grain chalkiness was higher in the gnl44 mutant than in the wild type, short-chain amylopectin content was lower, middle-chain amylopectin content was higher, and appearance quality was worse. The amylose content and gel consistency of gnl44 were lower, and protein content was higher compared to the wild type. Rapid Visco Analyzer results showed that the texture of cooked gnl44 rice changed, and that the taste value of gnl44 was lower, making the eating and cooking quality of gnl44 worse than that of the wild type. We used gnl44, qgl3, and gs3 monogenic and two-gene near-isogenic lines to study the effects of different combinations of genes affecting grain size on rice quality-related traits. Our results revealed additive effects for these three genes on grain quality. These findings enrich the genetic resources available for rice breeders.

Noninvasive Diagnostic Technique for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Based on Features of Tongue Images.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate a new noninvasive diagnostic model for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) based on features of tongue images. METHODS: Healthy controls and volunteers confirmed to have NAFLD by liver ultrasound were recruited from China-Japan Friendship Hospital between September 2018 and May 2019, then the anthropometric indexes and sampled tongue images were measured. The tongue images were labeled by features, based on a brief protocol, without knowing any other clinical data, after a series of corrections and data cleaning. The algorithm was trained on images using labels and several anthropometric indexes for inputs, utilizing machine learning technology. Finally, a logistic regression algorithm and a decision tree model were constructed as 2 diagnostic models for NAFLD. RESULTS: A total of 720 subjects were enrolled in this study, including 432 patients with NAFLD and 288 healthy volunteers. Of them, 482 were randomly allocated into the training set and 238 into the validation set. The diagnostic model based on logistic regression exhibited excellent performance: in validation set, it achieved an accuracy of 86.98%, sensitivity of 91.43%, and specificity of 80.61%; with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.93 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.68-0.98]. The decision tree model achieved an accuracy of 81.09%, sensitivity of 91.43%, and specificity of 66.33%; with an AUC of 0.89 (95% CI 0.66-0.92) in validation set. CONCLUSIONS: The features of tongue images were associated with NAFLD. Both the 2 diagnostic models, which would be convenient, noninvasive, lightweight, rapid, and inexpensive technical references for early screening, can accurately distinguish NAFLD and are worth further study.

Weekly phototherapy is an effective therapy for patients with vitiligo.

The current strategies for the treatment of vitiligo using phototherapy usually involve treatment for two-three times per week; however, in practice, the number of patient sessions does not meet this standard. The present study found that phototherapy once a week was also effective. The present study was designed to examine the efficacy of weekly light therapy. For this purpose, 296 patients with vitiligo were included and divided into five sub-samples of the neck, face, trunk, extremities and scalp according to the site of phototherapy, and were treated once or twice weekly with phototherapy. The difference in efficacy between phototherapy performed once and twice weekly was observed using a Chi-squared test. It was concluded that there was a minimal difference between phototherapy performed twice weekly compared to once weekly for the treatment of vitiligo on the face, neck, torso, limbs and scalp. Thus, phototherapy once a week is valid for the treatment of vitiligo, although weekly light therapy takes longer to restore color for the first time.

The complete chloroplast genome of Chloranthus nervosus Collett ex Hemsl. 1890 (Chloranthaceae).

In this study, we sequenced and assembled the complete chloroplast genome of Chloranthus nervosus Collett ex Hemsl. 1890. The total length of the complete chloroplast sequence was found to be 158,002 bp. It consisted of a large single-copy (LSC) region of 87,127 bp, a small single-copy (SSC) region of 18,541 bp, and a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions, each with a length of 26,167 bp. The overall GC content of the complete chloroplast genome was 38.9%, with the LSC region, SSC region, and IR regions exhibiting GC contents of 37.4%, 34.1%, and 43.1%, respectively. The annotation of the chloroplast genome revealed a total of 131 genes, comprising 86 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the seven sampled species of Chloranthus were divided into two clades. Within the clade characterized by long filamentous anther connectives, C. nervosus showed the closest relation to C. japonicus. These findings validated the previous preliminary results on the phylogenetic relationships of the seven species of Chloranthus with strong support.

Leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor B2 overexpression as a promising therapeutic target and noninvasive screening biomarker for colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) has become the second most deadly malignancy in the world, and the exploration of screening markers and precise therapeutic targets is urgent. Our previous research identified leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor B2 (LILRB2) protein as a characteristic protein of CRC, but the association between LILRB2 expression and clinicopathological features, the internal mechanism related to CRC progression, and screening diagnostic efficacy are not clear. Therefore, we hypothesized that LILRB2 is significantly highly expressed in CRC tissues, correlated with advanced stage and a poor prognosis, and could be used as a therapeutic target and potential screening biomarker for CRC. AIM: To explore whether LILRB2 can be used as a potential therapeutic target and noninvasive screening biomarker for CRC. METHODS: Patients who underwent radical surgery for CRC at China-Japan Friendship Hospital between February 2021 and October 2022 were included. Cancer and paracancerous tissues were collected to verify LILRB2 expression, and the association between LILRB2 expression and clinicopathological features was analysed. Serum was collected from CRC patients, adenoma patients and healthy controls during the same period to assess the diagnostic value of LILRB2 as a noninvasive screening biomarker, and its diagnostic value was further compared with that of the traditional markers carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9). RESULTS: A total of 58 CRC patients were included, and LILRB2 protein was significantly overexpressed in cancer tissues compared with paracancerous tissues (P < 0.001). Angiopoietin-like protein 2 (ANGPTL2) protein, as the ligand of LILRB2, was synergistically overexpressed in CRC tissues (P < 0.001), and overexpression of LILRB2 and ANGPTL2 protein was significantly correlated with poor to moderate differentiation, vascular involvement, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, advanced tumor-node-metastasis stage and a poor prognosis (P < 0.05), which suggested that LILRB2 and ANGPTL2 are closely associated with CRC progression. In addition, serum LILRB2 concentrations increased stepwise in healthy individuals, adenoma patients and CRC patients with statistically significant differences. The sensitivity of serum LILRB2 for the diagnosis of CRC was 89.74%, the specificity was 88.89%, the area under the curve was 0.95, and the diagnostic efficacy was better than that of conventional CEA and CA19-9. CONCLUSION: LILRB2 protein can be used as a potential novel therapeutic target and noninvasive screening biomarker for CRC, which is beneficial for early screening and precise treatment.

Proteomics-based identification of proteins in tumor-derived exosomes as candidate biomarkers for colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death, with high morbidity worldwide. There is an urgent need to find reliable diagnostic biomarkers of CRC and explore the underlying molecular mechanisms. Exosomes are involved in intercellular communication and participate in multiple pathological processes, serving as an important part of the tumor microenvironment. AIM: To investigate the proteomic characteristics of CRC tumor-derived exosomes and to identify candidate exosomal protein markers for CRC. METHODS: In this study, 10 patients over 50 years old who were diagnosed with moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma were recruited. We paired CRC tissues and adjacent normal intestinal tissues (> 5 cm) to form the experimental and control groups. Purified exosomes were extracted separately from each tissue sample. Data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry was implemented in 8 matched samples of exosomes to explore the proteomic expression profiles, and differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were screened by bioinformatics analysis. Promising exosomal proteins were verified using parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) analysis in 10 matched exosome samples. RESULTS: A total of 1393 proteins were identified in the CRC tissue group, 1304 proteins were identified in the adjacent tissue group, and 283 proteins were significantly differentially expressed between them. Enrichment analysis revealed that DEPs were involved in multiple biological processes related to cytoskeleton construction, cell movement and migration, immune response, tumor growth and telomere metabolism, as well as ECM-receptor interaction, focal adhesion and mTOR signaling pathways. Six differentially expressed exosomal proteins (NHP2, OLFM4, TOP1, SAMP, TAGL and TRIM28) were validated by PRM analysis and evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis. The area under the ROC curve was 0.93, 0.96, 0.97, 0.78, 0.75, and 0.88 (P < 0.05) for NHP2, OLFM4, TOP1, SAMP, TAGL, and TRIM28, respectively, indicating their good ability to distinguish CRC tissues from adjacent intestinal tissues. CONCLUSION: In our study, comprehensive proteomic profiles were obtained for CRC tissue exosomes. Six exosomal proteins, NHP2, OLFM4, TOP1, SAMP, TAGL and TRIM28, may be promising diagnostic markers and effective therapeutic targets for CRC, but further experimental investigation is needed.

Autoimmune regulator (Aire) deficiency results in reduced memory CD8+ T cells after Listeria monocytogenes infection in a murine model.

Homozygous mutations in the autoimmune regulator (AIRE) gene that cripple thymic negative selection of autoreactive T cells result in autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy (APECED). However, how AIRE regulates the T-cell response against foreign pathogens is not well understood. Here, we observed comparable primary CD8+ T cells but a markedly reduced memory T-cell population and protective function in Aire-/- mice compared with wild-type after infection with a strain of recombinant Listeria monocytogenes. In adoptive transfer models, exogenous congenic CD8+ T cells transferred into Aire-/- mice also showed a reduction in the memory T-cell population, indicating an important role for extrathymic Aire-expressing cells in shaping or sustaining memory T cells. Moreover, using a bone marrow chimeric model, we found that Aire expressed in radioresistant cells plays an important role in maintaining the memory phenotype. These results provide important insights into the role of extrathymic Aire in the T-cell response to infection.

Iva xanthiifolia leaf extract reduced the diversity of indigenous plant rhizosphere bacteria.

BACKGROUND: Iva xanthiifolia, native to North America, is now widely distributed in northeastern China and has become a vicious invasive plant. This article aims to probe the role of leaf extract in the invasion of I. xanthiifolia. METHODS: We collected the rhizosphere soil of Amaranthus tricolor and Setaria viridis in the invasive zone, the noninvasive zone and the noninvasive zone treated with extract from I. xanthiifolia leaf, and obtained I. xanthiifolia rhizosphere soil in the invasive zone. All wild plants were identified by Xu Yongqing. I. xanthiifolia (collection number: RQSB04100), A. tricolor (collection number: 831,030) and S. viridis (collection number: CF-0002-034) are all included in Chinese Virtual Herbarium ( https://www.cvh.ac.cn/index.php ). The soil bacterial diversity was analyzed based on the Illumina HiSeq sequencing platform. Subsequently, taxonomic analysis and Faprotax functional prediction were performed. RESULTS: The results showed that the leaf extract significantly reduced the diversity of indigenous plant rhizosphere bacteria. A. tricolor and S. viridis rhizobacterial phylum and genus abundances were significantly reduced under the influence of I. xanthiifolia or its leaf extract. The results of functional prediction showed that bacterial abundance changes induced by leaf extracts could potentially hinder nutrient cycling in native plants and increased bacterial abundance in the A. tricolor rhizosphere related to aromatic compound degradation. In addition, the greatest number of sensitive Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) appeared in the rhizosphere when S. viridis was in response to the invasion of I. xanthiifolia. It can be seen that A. tricolor and S. viridis have different mechanisms in response to the invasion of I. xanthiifolia. CONCLUSION: I. xanthiifolia leaves material has potential role in invasion by altering indigenous plant rhizosphere bacteria.

Hyperuricemia as an independent risk factor for metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease in nonobese patients without type 2 diabetes mellitus.

According to the latest consensus statement, fatty liver complicated by specific metabolic abnormalities can be diagnosed as metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) in nonobese patients without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, hyperuricemia (HUA), a manifestation of metabolic disorders, is excluded from diagnostic criteria. This study explored the association between HUA and MAFLD in nonobese patients without T2DM. A total of 28,187 participants were recruited from the Examination Center of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital from 2018 to 2022 and divided into four subgroups: nonobese patients without T2DM, obese patients without T2DM, nonobese patients with T2DM, and obese patients with T2DM. MAFLD was diagnosed by ultrasound combined with laboratory examinations. The association of HUA with MAFLD subgroups was performed by logistical regression analysis. The predictive ability of UA for MAFLD subgroups was assessed by receiver operating characteristics (ROC). HUA was positively associated with MAFLD in nonobese patients without T2DM in both males and females, even after adjusting for sex, BMI, dyslipidemia, and abnormal liver function. The association increased gradually with aging, especially in those over 40 yr old. HUA was an independent risk factor for MAFLD in nonobese patients without T2DM. We suggest that UA abnormalities might be considered in the diagnosis of MAFLD in nonobese patients without T2DM.NEW & NOTEWORTHY HUA is an independent risk factor for MAFLD in nonobese patients without T2DM. The association of HUA with MAFLD in nonobese patients without T2DM increased gradually with aging, especially in those over 40 yr old. In nonobese patients without T2DM, univariate analysis showed that females with HUA had a higher risk of MAFLD than males. However, the difference was narrowed after adjustment for confounders.

Plantar Pressure Distribution and Posture Balance During Walking in Individuals with Unilateral Chronic Ankle Instability: An Observational Study.

BACKGROUND Patients with chronic ankle instability (CAI) can present with abnormal gait. The purpose of this study was to evaluate plantar pressure distributions and posture balance during walking in unilateral CAI patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS We recruited 24 unilateral CAI patients and 24 healthy individuals; plantar pressure analysis was conducted using the Footscan® 3D pressure system. The following parameters were assessed and recorded: peak force/weight (PF/W), time to peak force (TPF), time to boundary (TTB), and COP velocity. The differences between the affected and unaffected side of the CAI group and control group were determined. Pearson correlation analysis and univariate analysis was used to investigate the correlation between plantar pressure parameters and related factors. RESULTS The comparison of PF/W showed that the plantar pressure of both sides in the CAI group were laterally distributed. The comparison of TPF, TTB, and COP velocity in different groups showed that the posture balance on the affected side of CAI patient was more impaired than the unaffected side and the control group. Male patients with CAI tend to have better posture balance than females, and a low CAIT score is correlated with poor posture balance. CONCLUSIONS The plantar pressure on both sides in unilateral CAI patients was laterally distributed and their balance function was impaired. It is necessary for CAI patients to receive functional training of both sides during rehabilitation, and plantar pressure analysis is promising for diagnosis and evaluation of CAI.

Dual-response fluorescence sensing of H2PO4- and CO32- using AJP filter paper based on a pH-stable CdII-based luminescent metal-organic framework.

A new CdII-based luminescent metal-organic framework (LMOF) with the formula {[Cd(BIBT)(NDC)]·solvents}n (JXUST-32, BIBT = 4,7-bi(1H-imidazol-1-yl)benzo-[2,1,3]thiadiazole and H2NDC = 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid) was successfully synthesized by a solvothermal method. JXUST-32 shows a two-dimensional (4,4)-connected network and exhibits significant fluorescence red shift and slight enhancement for H2PO4- and CO32- sensing with detection limits of 0.11 and 0.12 µM, respectively. In addition, JXUST-32 has good thermal stability, chemical stability and recyclability. Significantly, JXUST-32 represents a fluorescence red-shift dual response MOF sensor for H2PO4- and CO32- detection and the analytes can be identified by the naked eye, aerosol jet printing filter paper, light-emitting diode beads and luminescent films.

High Thermal Stability of Copper-Based Perovskite Scintillators for High-Temperature X-ray Detection.

High-temperature scintillation detectors play a significant role in oil exploration. However, traditional scintillators have limited ability to meet the requirements of practical applications owing to their low thermal stability. In this study, we designed and developed a one-dimensional (1D) Cs5Cu3Cl6I2 scintillator with high thermal stability. In addition, by preparing Cs5Cu3Cl7I, we proved that the Cs5Cu3Cl6I2 scintillator exhibits high thermal stability because the bridges linking the structural units in the 1D chain structure are only formed by I- ions, which improve their structural rigidity. The scintillator has a high steady-state light yield (59,700 photons MeV-1) and exhibits the highest spatial resolution for powder-based scintillation screens (18 lp mm-1) after cyclic treatment within the temperature range of 298-423 K. The Cs5Cu3Cl6I2 scintillator allows the visualization of alloy melting, indicating that it has significant potential for application in high-temperature environments. This study provides a new perspective toward the design of scintillators with high thermal stability.

Elevated Interleukin-37 Associated with Dengue Viral Load in Patients with Dengue Fever.

Dengue remains a public health issue worldwide. Similar to chronic infectious diseases, stimulation of cytokine production is not enough to drive immune effector cells for effective virus clearance. One possible mechanism is the virus induces a large number of negative stimulatory cytokines inhibiting immune response. Interleukin 37 (IL-37) plays a crucial regulatory role in infection and immunity, inhibits innate and adaptive immunity as an anti-inflammatory cytokine by inhibiting proinflammatory mediators and pathways. To date, there are few studies reporting correlations between dengue fever (DF) and IL-37. In this study we found that the serum IL-37b and IL-37b-producing monocytes in patients were significantly increased in DF patients. A majority of the IL-37b produced by DF patients was produced by monocytes, not lymphocytes. Increased levels of IL-6, IL-10, and IFN-α were also found in DF patients. However, we failed to detect IL-1ß, IL-17A and TNF-α in plasma, because of off-target. In our study, there was no relation between IL-6, IL-10, and IFN-α expressions and IL-37b in serum (P > 0.05). The IL-37b-producing monocytes were negatively correlated with the level of IFN-α in serum and platelet count, and positively correlated with lymphocytes percentage (P < 0.05, respectively). Additionally, serum DENV nonstructural protein 1 levels were positively correlated with monocytes percentages (P < 0.05). Our data represents findings for IL-37b expression and its potential mechanisms in DF patients' immune response.

Development and validation of machine learning models for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

BACKGROUND: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) had become the most prevalent liver disease worldwide. Early diagnosis could effectively reduce NAFLD-related morbidity and mortality. This study aimed to combine the risk factors to develop and validate a novel model for predicting NAFLD. METHODS: We enrolled 578 participants completing abdominal ultrasound into the training set. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression combined with random forest (RF) was conducted to screen significant predictors for NAFLD risk. Five machine learning models including logistic regression (LR), RF, extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), gradient boosting machine (GBM), and support vector machine (SVM) were developed. To further improve model performance, we conducted hyperparameter tuning with train function in Python package 'sklearn'. We included 131 participants completing magnetic resonance imaging into the testing set for external validation. RESULTS: There were 329 participants with NAFLD and 249 without in the training set, while 96 with NAFLD and 35 without were in the testing set. Visceral adiposity index, abdominal circumference, body mass index, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), ALT/AST (aspartate aminotransferase), age, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and elevated triglyceride (TG) were important predictors for NAFLD risk. The area under curve (AUC) of LR, RF, XGBoost, GBM, SVM were 0.915 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.886-0.937], 0.907 (95% CI: 0.856-0.938), 0.928 (95% CI: 0.873-0.944), 0.924 (95% CI: 0.875-0.939), and 0.900 (95% CI: 0.883-0.913), respectively. XGBoost model presented the best predictive performance, and its AUC was enhanced to 0.938 (95% CI: 0.870-0.950) with further parameter tuning. CONCLUSIONS: This study developed and validated five novel machine learning models for NAFLD prediction, among which XGBoost presented the best performance and was considered a reliable reference for early identification of high-risk patients with NAFLD in clinical practice.

Low incidence of hepatitis B virus reactivation in patients with hematological malignancies receiving novel anticancer drugs: A report from a high epidemic area and literature review.

BACKGROUND: More and more novel anticancer drugs have been approved for patients with hematological malignancies in recent years, but HBV reactivation (HBV-R) data in this population is very scarce. This study aimed to evaluated HBV-R risk in patients with hematological malignancies receiving novel anticancer drugs. METHODS: HBV markers and serum HBV DNA levels of patients with hematological malignancies receiving novel anticancer drugs in a tertiary cancer hospital were retrospectively collected. HBV-R risk in the whole cohort and subgroups was described. The relevant literature was reviewed to make a pooled analysis. RESULTS: Of 845 patients receiving novel anticancer drugs, 258 (30.5%) were considered at risk for HBV-R. The median duration of exposure to novel drugs was 5.6 (0.1-67.6) months. The incidence of HBV-R was 2.1% in patients with past HBV infection without prophylactic antiviral treatment (PAT) and 1.2% in all patients at risk of HBV-R. In a pooled analysis of 11 studies with 464 patients, the incidence of HBV-R was 2.4% (95% CI: 1.3-4.2) in all at-risk patients receiving novel anticancer drugs and 0.6% (95% CI: 0.03-3.5) in patients with anticancer drugs plus PAT. The incidence of death due to HBV-R was 0.4% (95% CI: 0.1-1.6) in all at-risk patients and 18.2% (95% CI: 3.2-47.7) in patients with HBV-R. CONCLUSION: Most episodes of HBV-R are preventable, and most cases with HBV-R are manageable. We recommend that novel anticancer drugs should not be intentionally avoided when treating cancer patients with HBV infection.

microRNA-627-5p inhibits colorectal cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion by targeting Wnt2.

BACKGROUND: microRNA-627-5p (miR-627-5p) dysregulation has been observed in several cancer types, such as hepatocellular carcinoma, oral squamous cell carcinoma, glioblastoma multiforme, and gastric cancer. The biological function of miR-627-5p in colorectal cancer (CRC) growth and metastasis is yet unclear. AIM: To investigate the effects of miR-627-5p on the malignant biological properties of colorectal malignant tumour cells by targeting Wnt2. METHODS: The levels of miR-627-5p in colorectal tumour tissues were assessed in Gene Expression Omnibus datasets. In order to identify Wnt2 transcript expression in CRC tissues, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analysis was used. Luciferase reporter tests were used to explore whether miR-627-5p might potentially target Wnt2. Wnt2 transcript and protein levels were detected in CRC cells with high miR-627-5p expression. To learn more about how miR-627-5p affects CRC development, migration, apoptosis, and invasion, functional experiments were conducted. Cotransfection with the overexpression vector of Wnt2 and miR-627-5p mimics was utilized to verify whether overexpression of Wnt2 could cancel the impact of miR-627-5p in CRC. Western blot and qRT-PCR were conducted to investigate the effects of miR-627-5p on the Wnt/ß-catenin signalling pathway. RESULTS: miR-627-5p was notably decreased in colorectal tumour tissues, while the gene level of Wnt2 was notably upregulated. A dual luciferase reporter assay revealed that miR-627-5p specifically targets the 3'-untranslated regions of Wnt2 and miR-627-5p upregulation markedly reduced the protein and gene expression of Wnt2 in CRC cells. In vitro gain-of-function assays displayed that miR-627-5p overexpression decreased CRC cells' capabilities to invade, move, and remain viable while increasing apoptosis. Wnt2 overexpression could reverse the suppressive functions of miR-627-5p. Moreover, upregulation of miR-627-5p suppressed the transcript and protein levels of the downstream target factors in the canonical Wnt/ß-catenin signalling, such as c-myc, CD44, ß-catenin, and cyclinD1. CONCLUSION: miR-627-5p acts as a critical inhibitory factor in CRC, possibly by directly targeting Wnt2 and negatively modulating the Wnt/ß-catenin signalling, revealing that miR-627-5p could be a possible treatment target for CRC.