The hsa_circ_0000276-ceRNA regulatory network and immune infiltration in cervical cancer.

BACKGROUND: Our previous studies have confirmed that miR-154-5p can regulate pRb expression, and thus, play a tumor suppressor role in HPV16 E7-induced cervical cancer. However, its upstream molecules have not been elucidated in the progression of cervical cancer. This study aimed to explore the role of the miR-154-5p upstream molecule, hsa_circ_0000276 in cervical cancer development and its possible mechanisms of action. METHODS: We detected differences in whole transcriptome expression profiles of cervical squamous carcinoma and tissues adjacent to cervical cancer tissues from patients using microarray technology to predict circular RNAs (circRNAs) with binding sites to miR-154-5p. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to detect the expression of hsa_circ_0000276 (which had the strongest binding capacity to miR-154 and was selected as the target molecule) in cervical cancer tissues, followed by in vitro functional assays. Downstream microRNAs (miRNAs) and mRNAs of hsa_circ_0000276 were identified using transcriptome microarray data and databases, while the protein-protein interaction networks were obtained using STRING. A competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network centered on hsa_circ_0000276 was constructed using Cytoscape and GO and KEGG databases. Abnormal expression and prognosis of critical downstream molecules were analyzed using gene databases and molecular experiments. qRT-PCR and western blot analysis was performed to verify the expression of candidate genes. RESULTS: We identified 4,001 differentially expressed circRNAs between HPV16-positive cervical squamous carcinoma and benign cervical tissues and 760 circRNAs targeting miR-154-5p, including hsa_circ_0000276. hsa_circ_0000276 and miR-154-5p directly bound, and hsa_circ_0000276 was upregulated, in cervical precancerous lesions and cervical cancer tissues and cells. Silencing hsa_circ_0000276 inhibited G1/S transition and cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis in SiHa and CaSki cells. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the hsa_circ_0000276 ceRNA network included 17 miRNAs and seven mRNAs, and downstream molecules of hsa_circ_0000276 were upregulated in cervical cancer tissues. These downstream molecules were associated with a poor prognosis and affected cervical cancer-associated immune infiltration. Of these, expression of CD47, LDHA, PDIA3, and SLC16A1 was downregulated in sh_hsa_circ_0000276 cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that hsa_circ_0000276 exerts cancer-promoting effects in cervical cancer and is an underlying biomarker for cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

Acupuncture on mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review of neuroimaging studies.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a multifactorial and complex central neurodegenerative disease. Acupuncture appears to be an effective method for cognitive function improvement in MCI patients. Neural plasticity remaining in the MCI brain implies that acupuncture-associated benefits may not be limited to the cognitive function. Instead, neurological alternations in the brain play a vital role in corresponding to the cognitive improvement. However, previous studies have mainly focused on the effects of cognitive function, leaving neurological findings relatively unclear. This systematic review summarized existing studies that used various brain imaging techniques to explore the neurological effect regarding acupuncture use for MCI treatment. Potential neuroimaging trials were searched, collected, and identified independently by two researchers. Four Chinese databases, four English databases, and additional sources were searched to identify studies reporting the use of acupuncture for MCI from the inception of databases until 1 June 2022. Methodological quality was appraised using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. In addition, general, methodological, and brain neuroimaging information was extracted and summarized to investigate the potential neural mechanisms by which acupuncture affects patients with MCI. In total, 22 studies involving 647 participants were included. The methodological quality of the included studies was moderate to high. The methods used included functional magnetic resonance imaging, diffusion tensor imaging, functional near-infrared spectroscopy, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Acupuncture-induced brain alterations observed in those patients with MCI tended to be observable in the cingulate cortex, prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus. The effect of acupuncture on MCI may play a role in regulating the default mode network, central executive network, and salience network. Based on these studies, researchers could extend the recent research focus from the cognitive domain to the neurological level. Future researches should develop additional relevant, well-designed, high-quality, and multimodal neuroimaging researches to detect the effects of acupuncture on the brains of MCI patients.

Bispecific GPC3/PD­1 CAR­T cells for the treatment of HCC.

Constantly stimulated by the tumor microenvironment (TME), programmed death 1 (PD­1) is elevated, and it interacts with PD ligand 1 (PD­L1), rendering chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)­T cells dysfunctional. Hence, CAR­T cells immune to PD­1­induced immunosuppression were constructed to improve the function of CAR­T cells in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Double­target CAR­T cells, targeting glypican­3 (GPC3) [a tumour-associated antigen (TAA)] and hindering PD­1­PD­L1 binding, were established. The expression of GPC3, PD­L1, and inhibitory receptors was measured using flow cytometry. The cytotoxicity, cytokine release, and differentiation level of CAR­T cells were determined using lactate dehydrogenase release assay, enzyme­linked immunosorbent assay, and flow cytometry, respectively. HCC cells were targeted and eliminated by double­target CAR­T cells. These double­target CAR­T cells limit PD­1­PD­L1 binding and sustain cytotoxicity to PD­L1+ HCC cells. The relatively low IR expression and differentiation level in double­target CAR­T cells in tumour tissues induced tumour­suppression and extended survival in PD­L1+ HCC TX models, as opposed to their single­target counterparts. The results of the present study suggested that the newly constructed double­target CAR­T cells exhibit stronger tumour­suppressing effects in HCC than their single­target counterparts, which are common, suggesting the potential of strengthening CAR­T cell activity in HCC treatment.

Psychological workplace violence and its influence on professional commitment among nursing interns in China: A multicenter cross-sectional study.

Background: Psychological workplace violence (WPV) is the primary form of workplace violence suffered by nursing interns. Psychological WPV not only damages the physical and mental health of nursing interns, but also has a negative impact on their work quality and career choice. Aim: To investigate the characteristics and types of psychological WPV suffered by nursing interns in China, analyze the influencing factors of psychological WPV among nursing interns, and explore the influence of psychological WPV on the professional commitment of nursing interns. Methods: The subjects were 1,095 nursing interns from 14 medical colleges in Shandong Province. The data were collected electronically using the psychological WPV against nursing interns questionnaire and the professional commitment scale of nursing. The frequency and component ratio were used to describe the incidence and characteristics of psychological WPV. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of psychological WPV, and linear regression investigated the influence of psychological WPV on the professional commitment of nursing interns. Results: In the study, 45.0% (n = 493) of nursing interns suffered at least one incidence of psychological WPV during clinical practice, mainly discrimination and verbal abuse. Patients and their relatives were the main perpetrators of psychological WPV. Discrimination and lack of trust were the two main reasons behind psychological WPV. Furthermore, 75.9% of psychological WPV incidents were not effectively reported. Logistic regression showed that clinical internship duration, place of family residence, and hospital level were the influencing factors of psychological WPV among nursing interns. Linear regression results showed that psychological WPV had a negative effect on nursing interns' professional commitment. Conclusion: Psychological WPV against nursing interns is highly prevalent in China, negatively impacting their professional commitment. It is suggested that colleges should introduce courses for nursing interns to understand and cope with psychological WPV before entering clinical practice, and hospitals should establish a mechanism to prevent, cope with, report, and deal with psychological WPV to effectively reduce the incidence of psychological WPV against nursing interns, improve their ability to cope with psychological WPV, and enhance their professional commitment.

Neuroimaging studies of acupuncture on Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture effectively improves cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Many neuroimaging studies have found significant brain alterations after acupuncture treatment of AD, but the underlying central modulation mechanism is unclear. OBJECTIVE: This review aims to provide neuroimaging evidence to understand the central mechanisms of acupuncture in patients with AD. METHODS: Relevant neuroimaging studies about acupuncture for AD were retrieved from eight English and Chinese medicine databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, SinoMed, CNKI, WF, VIP) and other resources from inception of databases until June 1, 2022, and their methodological quality was assessed using RoB 2.0 and ROBINS - I. Brain neuroimaging information was extracted to investigate the potential neural mechanism of acupuncture for AD. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. RESULTS: Thirteen neuroimaging studies involving 275 participants were included in this review, and the overall methodological quality of included studies was moderate. The approaches applied included task-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (ts-fMRI; n = 9 studies) and rest-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI; n = 4 studies). All studies focused on the instant effect of acupuncture on the brains of AD participants, including the cingulate gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and cerebellum, indicating that acupuncture may regulate the default mode, central executive, and frontoparietal networks. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence of the neural mechanisms underlying the effect of acupuncture on AD involving cognitive- and motor-associated networks. However, this evidence is still in the preliminary investigation stage. Large-scale, well-designed, multimodal neuroimaging trials are still required to provide comprehensive insight into the central mechanism underlying the effect of acupuncture on AD. (Systematic review registration at PROSPERO, No. CRD42022331527).

Separable Microneedles with Photosynthesis-Driven Oxygen Manufactory for Diabetic Wound Healing.

Oxygen plays an important role in diabetic chronic wound healing by regulating various life activities such as cell proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis. Therefore, oxygen-delivering systems have drawn much attention and evolved continuously. Here, we propose that an active Chlorella vulgaris (Cv)-loaded separable microneedle (MN) can be used to control oxygen delivery, which then promotes wound healing. The Cv-loaded microneedles (CvMN) consist of a polyvinyl acetate (PVA) substrate and gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) tips with encapsulated Cv. Once CvMN is applied to diabetic wound, the PVA basal layer is rapidly dissolved in a short time, while the noncytotoxic and biocompatible GelMA tips remain in the skin. By taking advantage of the photosynthesis of Cv, oxygen would be continuously produced in a green way and released from CvMN in a controlled manner. Both in vitro and in vivo results showed that CvMN could promote cell proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis and enhance wound healing in diabetic mice effectively. The remarkable therapeutic effect is mainly attributed to the continuous generation of dissolved oxygen in CvMN and the presence of antioxidant vitamins, γ-linolenic acid, and linoleic acid in Cv. Thus, CvMN provides a promising strategy for diabetic wound healing with more possibility of clinical transformations.

Characterization of RNA G-quadruplexes in porcine epidemic diarrhea virus genome and the antiviral activity of G-quadruplex ligands.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), an enteropathogenic coronavirus, has catastrophic impacts on the global pig industry. However, there are still no anti-PEDV drugs with accurate targets. G-quadruplexes (G4s) are non-canonical secondary structures formed within guanine-rich regions of DNA or RNA, and have attracted great attention as potential targets for antiviral strategy. In this study, we reported two putative G4-forming sequences (PQS) in S and Nsp5 genes of PEDV genome based on bioinformatic analysis, and identified that S-PQS and Nsp5-PQS were enabled to fold into G4 structure by using circular dichroism spectroscopy and fluorescence turn-on assay. Furthermore, we verified that both S-PQS and Nsp5-PQS PQS could form G4 structure in live cells by immunofluorescence microscopy. In addition, G4-specific compounds, such as TMPyP4 and PDS, could significantly inhibit transcription, translation and proliferation of PEDV in vitro. Importantly, these compounds exert antiviral activity at the post-entry step of PEDV infection cycle, by inhibiting viral genome replication and protein expression. Lastly, we demonstrated that TMPyP4 can inhibit reporter gene expression by targeting G4 structure in Nsp5. Taken together, these findings not only reinforce the presence of viral G-quadruplex sequences in PEDV genome but also provide new insights into developing novel antiviral drugs targeting PEDV RNA G-quadruplexes.

Identification of niclosamide as a novel antiviral agent against porcine epidemic diarrhea virus infection by targeting viral internalization.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), an enteropathogenic coronavirus, has catastrophic impacts on the global pig industry. However, there remain no effective drugs against PEDV infection. In this study, we utilized a recombinant PEDV expressing renilla luciferase (PEDV-Rluc) to screen potential anti-PEDV agents from an FDA-approved drug library in Vero cells. Four compounds were identified that significantly decreased luciferase activity of PEDV-Rluc. Among them, niclosamide was further characterized because it exhibited the most potent antiviral activity with the highest selectivity index. It can efficiently inhibit viral RNA synthesis, protein expression and viral progeny production of classical and variant PEDV strains in a dose-dependent manner. Time of addition assay showed that niclosamide exhibited potent anti-PEDV activity when added simultaneously with or after virus infection. Furthermore, niclosamide significantly inhibited the entry stage of PEDV infection by affecting viral internalization rather than viral attachment to cells. In addition, a combination with other small molecule inhibitors of endosomal acidification enhanced the anti-PEDV effect of niclosamide in vitro. Taken together, these findings suggested that niclosamide is a novel antiviral agent that might provide a basis for the development of novel drug therapies against PEDV and other related pathogenic coronavirus infections.

[Effects and significance of continuous hemoperfusion on patients with diquat poisoning].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of continuous hemoperfusion (HP) on the levels of soluble CD14 isoform (sCD14-st) and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) on patients with diquat (DQ) poisoning and its significance. METHODS: A total of 86 patients with acute DQ poisoning admitted to the department of emergency medicine, Harrison International Peace Hospital Affiliated to Hebei Medical University from May 2018 to August 2021 were enrolled and divided into the intermittent HP group (40 cases) and the continuous HP group (46 cases) according to the random number table method. All patients received basic treatment and continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (CVVH) within 24 hours after admission. On this basis, the intermittent HP group received HP treatment within 2 hours, lasting 2 hours each time for every 8 hours, 3 times in all; the continuous HP group received continued HP treatment until there was no DQ component in urine samples. Serum NGAL levels were detected in all patients before treatment and at 3 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 2 days, 3 days, 5 days, and 7 days after treatment. At the same time, serum sCD14-st, blood lactate (Lac), arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2), serum creatinine (SCr), MB isoenzyme of creatine kinase (CK-MB) and interleukin-18 (IL-18) levels were detected before treatment and at 24 hours, 3 days, and 7 days after treatment. Kaplan-Meier survival curve was drawn to analyze the 28-day survival of patients. RESULTS: Before treatment, there was no significant difference in serum NGAL, sCD14-st, Lac, PaO2, SCr, CK-MB and IL-18 levels between the two groups. With the prolongation of treatment, the serum levels of NGAL, sCD14-st, Lac, SCr, CK-MB and IL-18 in the intermittent HP group increased at first and then decreased. Serum levels of NGAL, sCD14-st, CK-MB and IL-18 reached their peaks at 24 hours after treatment, and the Lac and SCr levels reached their peaks at 3 days after treatment. In addition, the levels of the above indexes at each time point in the continuous HP group were all significantly lower than those in the intermittent HP group [after 24 hours of treatment: NGAL (µg/L) was 345.90±30.75 vs. 404.24±38.79, sCD14-st (ng/L) was 1 941.88±298.02 vs. 2 656.35±347.93, CK-MB (U/L) was 30.67±9.11 vs. 43.28±8.06, IL-18 (ng/L) was 139.49±16.29 vs. 177.98±27.85; 3 days of treatment: Lac (mmol/L) was 2.98±0.26 vs. 3.72±0.49, SCr (µmol/L) was 125.01±24.24 vs. 156.74±28.88; all P < 0.05]. However, there was no significant difference in PaO2 levels between the two groups at each time point after treatment. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve showed that the 28-day mortality of patients in the continuous HP group was significantly lower than that in the intermittent HP group [26.09% (12/46) vs. 52.50% (21/40); Log-Rank test: χ 2 = 7.288, P = 0.007]. CONCLUSIONS: Continuous HP could effectively reduce serum sCD14-st, NGAL levels and 28-day mortality in patients with DQ poisoning, with good curative effect.

Non-pharmacological interventions for behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia: A systematic review and network meta-analysis protocol.

Introduction: Dementia patients often experience behavioral and psychological symptoms (BPSD), which severely affect their quality of life and activities of daily living. Non-pharmacological interventions are effective in treating BPSD, according to multiple clinical trials and systematic reviews. However, the optimal non-pharmacological treatment remains controversial. Therefore, the study aims to evaluate and compare multiple non-pharmacological methods for treating BPSD in order to identify the optimal non-pharmacological intervention. Objective: This study aims to perform a systematic review and network meta-analysis of evidence on non-pharmacological interventions in the treatment of BPSD, which may potentially guide future research and clinical decisions. Methods: In order to select potentially relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 10 academic databases and 3 clinical trial registries will be systematically searched from inception until the 1 October 2022. Two researchers will independently extract information from eligible articles. The primary outcome is the severity of BPSD. Herein, Pairwise and Bayesian network meta-analyses will be conducted utilizing STATA 15.0 and ADDIS 1.16.8. Evidence quality will be assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE). Results: Results from this study will be published in peer-reviewed journals or conference reports. Discussion: In this study, we aim to comparatively assess the efficacy of various non-pharmacological treatments for BPSD. Findings from this review will help clinicians to make evidence-based treatment decisions. Systematic review registration: [https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/], identifier [CRD42022352095].

MIX-NET: Deep Learning-Based Point Cloud Processing Method for Segmentation and Occlusion Leaf Restoration of Seedlings.

In this paper, a novel point cloud segmentation and completion framework is proposed to achieve high-quality leaf area measurement of melon seedlings. In particular, the input of our algorithm is the point cloud data collected by an Azure Kinect camera from the top view of the seedlings, and our method can enhance measurement accuracy from two aspects based on the acquired data. On the one hand, we propose a neighborhood space-constrained method to effectively filter out the hover points and outlier noise of the point cloud, which can enhance the quality of the point cloud data significantly. On the other hand, by leveraging the purely linear mixer mechanism, a new network named MIX-Net is developed to achieve segmentation and completion of the point cloud simultaneously. Different from previous methods that separate these two tasks, the proposed network can better balance these two tasks in a more definite and effective way, leading to satisfactory performance on these two tasks. The experimental results prove that our methods can outperform other competitors and provide more accurate measurement results. Specifically, for the seedling segmentation task, our method can obtain a 3.1% and 1.7% performance gain compared with PointNet++ and DGCNN, respectively. Meanwhile, the R2 of leaf area measurement improved from 0.87 to 0.93 and MSE decreased from 2.64 to 2.26 after leaf shading completion.

Development and validation of a predictive model for the risk of developing trichomonas vaginitis in women.

Trichomonas vaginitis (TV) is the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infection (STI) worldwide. The high prevalence of TV combined with mild or asymptomatic early symptoms leads to clinical vulnerability from delayed diagnosis. Latent infection can increase the incidence of pelvic infections, infertility, and adverse pregnancy complications. Data from 898 women who underwent vaginal flora testing from June 2014 to December 2014 were used to create a nomogram to assess the risk of TV in women in order to guide TV prevention and clinical intervention. The prediction model was evaluated in terms of identification, calibration, and clinical utility using the C-index, calibration plots, decision curve analysis, and internal validation. Predictors in the TV nomogram included age, occupation, yearly income, tea drinking, bathing frequency, menopause, spontaneous abortion, use of contraceptives, history of gynecological surgery, and HPV infection. The C-index of the TV risk prediction model was 0.732 (95% confidence interval: 0.695-0.768). It showed good discriminatory and predictive power. Decision curve analysis indicated that the nomogram had a good net benefit when the threshold probability of TV in women was 2-80%. The established TV prediction model easily, accurately, and quickly predicts the risk of TV onset.

Anti-aging effect of ß-carotene through regulating the KAT7-P15 signaling axis, inflammation and oxidative stress process.

BACKGROUND: Research on aging is growing as the elderly make up a greater share of the population, focusing on reversing and inhibiting the aging process. The exhaustion and senescence of stem cells are the fundamental drivers behind aging. ß-Carotene has been depicted to have many biological functions, and we speculate that it may have an anti-aging effect. METHODS: Firstly, the anti-aging property of ß-carotene was investigated in vitro using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) induced by H2O2. The anti-aging effect was characterized using Western-bloting, confocal laser scanning microscopy, indirect immunofluorescence, and immunohistochemistry. The anti-aging property was also tested in vivo using aged mice. RESULTS: The in vitro experiment revealed that ß-carotene could relieve the aging of MSCs, as evidenced by a series of aging marker molecules such as p16 and p21. ß-Carotene appeared to inhibit aging by regulating the KAT7-P15 signaling axis. The in vivo experiment revealed that ß-carotene treatment has significantly down-regulated the aging level of tissues and organs. CONCLUSIONS: In this work, we explored the anti-aging effect of ß-carotene in vivo and in vitro. The experimental results indicate that ß-carotene may be an important potential anti-aging molecule, which can be used as a drug or in functional food to treat aging in the future.

Toward a Holistic Understanding and Models of Nonphotochemical Quenching Effects on In Vivo Fluorometry of Chlorophyll a in Coastal Waters.

Nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) is known to depress in vivo fluorescence (IVF) of chlorophyll a (Chla) in aquatic environments, which makes it difficult to interpret the hour-to-hour variations in Chla measured by in situ fluorometers. We hypothesized that ratios between quenched and unquenched IVF are a function of both NPQ and photochemical quenching. In this study, two diatom model species Thalassiosira pseudonana (CCMP1335) and Thalassiosira weissflogii (CCMP1047) incubated under a sinusoidal light:dark cycle were studied; IVF was recorded continuously, and Chla and photo-physiological variables were measured seven times a day. The maximal decline in Chla-specific IVF (IVFB ) attributable to quenching was 50% under the experimental settings. An NPQ and photochemical quenching-based modeling equation exhibited a better match to the measured IVFB than equations representing the sole NPQ effect. Photochemical quenching induced by measuring light beam varied substantially during the day, and the part of the model for this process is excitation intensity-dependent (which is differed between models of in situ fluorometers, implying no straightforward method to correct Chla for all instrument models, instrument-specific parameterization is required). The forms of the IVFB -light relationship are discussed as well. The findings foster a holistic understanding of NPQ effects on in vivo Chla fluorometry.

End-to-End Point Cloud Completion Network with Attention Mechanism.

We propose a conceptually simple, general framework and end-to-end approach to point cloud completion, entitled PCA-Net. This approach differs from the existing methods in that it does not require a "simple" network, such as multilayer perceptrons (MLPs), to generate a coarse point cloud and then a "complex" network, such as auto-encoders or transformers, to enhance local details. It can directly learn the mapping between missing and complete points, ensuring that the structure of the input missing point cloud remains unchanged while accurately predicting the complete points. This approach follows the minimalist design of U-Net. In the encoder, we encode the point clouds into point cloud blocks by iterative farthest point sampling (IFPS) and k-nearest neighbors and then extract the depth interaction features between the missing point cloud blocks by the attention mechanism. In the decoder, we introduce a new trilinear interpolation method to recover point cloud details, with the help of the coordinate space and feature space of low-resolution point clouds, and missing point cloud information. This paper also proposes a method to generate multi-view missing point cloud data using a 3D point cloud hidden point removal algorithm, so that each 3D point cloud model generates a missing point cloud through eight uniformly distributed camera poses. Experiments validate the effectiveness and superiority of PCA-Net in several challenging point cloud completion tasks, and PCA-Net also shows great versatility and robustness in real-world missing point cloud completion.

Severe Ureteral Endometriosis Complicated with Hydronephrosis: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND Endometriosis is a disease characterized by endometrial tissue appearing outside the uterus, mainly involving the peritoneum and pelvic organs. Ureteral endometriosis (UE) is rare, typified by deep infiltrating endometriosis involving the ureter and can result in ureteral obstruction, proximal hydroureter, hydronephrosis, and impairment of renal function. Symptoms may be insidious and nonspecific and may lead to a prolonged disease course. We describe a patient with UE complicated by hydronephrosis. CASE REPORT A 42-year-old woman was admitted to the Urology Department with the incidental discovery of right hydronephrosis. After a thorough examination, she underwent right ureteral mass resection and right ureteral stump anastomosis. The pathology report indicated endometriosis. The patient was given 6 doses of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist immediately after surgery, followed by an intrauterine levonorgestrel-releasing system. Postoperative follow-up showed that no recurrence was observed in this year. Here, we briefly summarize the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical presentation, imaging, treatment, and prognosis of the disease. CONCLUSIONS UE should be listed as one of the differential diagnoses of unexplained hydronephrosis in women of childbearing age, and those with dysmenorrhea should be cognizant of this disease. Active surgical treatment and long-term management should be carried out to obtain better prognosis.

Aluminum Induced Necroptosis of PC12 Cells via TNFR1-RIP1/RIP3 Signalling Pathway.

In addition to apoptosis, it has also been reported that aluminum (Al) causes necroptosis, a new form of programmed necrosis, which has recently been discovered, in nerve cells, but its molecular mechanism is not elucidated. In order to explore the answer, in this study, we apply for this method that after PC12 cells were exposed to maltol aluminum [200 µM Al(mal)3], siRNA were used as interference technique to explore the role of Tumour necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNFR1), receptor interaction proteins 1 (RIP1) and receptor interaction proteins 3 (RIP3) in necroptosis caused by Al(mal)3. After the end of this research, we demonstrated that, initially, Al(mal)3 could trigger apoptosis and necroptosis in PC12 cells and up-regulate both mRNA and protein expressions of TNFR1, RIP1 and RIP3, also, up-regulate the phosphorylated mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL) protein expression. Additionally, in PC12 cells treated with Al(mal)3, suppression of TNFR1 was found to enhance apoptosis and attenuate the expression of RIP1/RIP3 and phosphorylated MLKL. At last, deficiency of RIP1/RIP3 reduced the extent of necroptosis. Briefly, our results verify that the TNFR1-RIP1/RIP3 pathway could be involved in Al(mal)3 induced necroptosis.

Improving Image Super-Resolution Based on Multiscale Generative Adversarial Networks.

Convolutional neural networks have greatly improved the performance of image super-resolution. However, perceptual networks have problems such as blurred line structures and a lack of high-frequency information when reconstructing image textures. To mitigate these issues, a generative adversarial network based on multiscale asynchronous learning is proposed in this paper, whereby a pyramid structure is employed in the network model to integrate high-frequency information at different scales. Our scheme employs a U-net as a discriminator to focus on the consistency of adjacent pixels in the input image and uses the LPIPS loss for perceptual extreme super-resolution with stronger supervision. Experiments on benchmark datasets and independent datasets Set5, Set14, BSD100, and SunHays80 show that our approach is effective in restoring detailed texture information from low-resolution images.

FRET Visualization of Cyclic Stretch-Activated ERK via Calcium Channels Mechanosensation While Not Integrin ß1 in Airway Smooth Muscle Cells.

Mechanical stretch is one type of common physiological activities such as during heart beating, lung breathing, blood flow through the vessels, and physical exercise. The mechanical stimulations regulate cellular functions and maintain body homeostasis. It still remains to further characterize the mechanical-biomechanical coupling mechanism. Here we applied fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) technology to visualize ERK activity in airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells under cyclic stretch stimulation in airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells, and studied the mechanosensing pathway. FRET measurements showed apparent ERK activation by mechanical stretch, which was abolished by ERK inhibitor PD98059 pretreatment. Inhibition of extracellular Ca2+ influx reduced ERK activation, and selective inhibition of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) Ca2+ channel or SERCA Ca2+ pump on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) blocked the activation. Chemical inhibition of the L-type or store-operated Ca2+ channels on plasma membrane, or inhibition of integrin ß1 with siRNA had little effect on ERK activation. Disruption of actin cytoskeleton but not microtubule one inhibited the stretch-induced ERK activation. Furthermore, the ER IP3R-dependent ERK activation was not dependent on phospholipase C-IP3 signal, indicating possibly more mechanical mechanism for IP3R activation. It is concluded from our study that the mechanical stretch activated intracellular ERK signal in ASM cells through membrane Ca2+ channels mechanosensation but not integrin ß1, which was mediated by actin cytoskeleton.

Predictive biomarkers for response to omalizumab in patients with severe allergic asthma: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Predicting omalizumab treatment response has been a challenge and significant aspect for selecting suitable severe allergic asthma patients for omalizumab use. OBJECTIVE: To determine which domains of pretreatment baseline characteristics predict omalizumab treatment response among asthmatic patients. METHODS: Electronic bases were searched for eligible studies that reported potential biomarkers that could predict omalizumab responsiveness and efficacy. Patients who accepted omalizumab treatment were stratified into responders and non-responders. WMD, OR, and their 95%CI were used to access the differences between those omalizumab receivers. Sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis were conducted for potential heterogeneity. RESULTS: A total of 41 studies evaluating efficacy predictors of omalizumab were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled results showed that omalizumab responders had significantly younger age in the adult subgroup, higher pretreatment total serum IgE level, percent predicted FEV1 and FeNO than that non-responder. We further confirmed that higher blood eosinophil counts and total serum IgE levels are useful markers for selecting asthma patients who may benefit more from omalizumab. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-treatment blood eosinophil counts and total serum IgE level can be a useful efficacy predictor in selecting allergic asthma patients for omalizumab treatment.