Elucidating the association of obstructive sleep apnea with brain structure and cognitive performance.

BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a pervasive, chronic sleep-related respiratory condition that causes brain structural alterations and cognitive impairments. However, the causal association of OSA with brain morphology and cognitive performance has not been determined. METHODS: We conducted a two-sample bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to investigate the causal relationship between OSA and a range of neurocognitive characteristics, including brain cortical structure, brain subcortical structure, brain structural change across the lifespan, and cognitive performance. Summary-level GWAS data for OSA from the FinnGen consortium was used to identify genetically predicted OSA. Data regarding neurocognitive characteristics were obtained from published meta-analysis studies. Linkage disequilibrium score regression analysis was employed to reveal genetic correlations between OSA and related traits. RESULTS: Our MR study provided evidence that OSA was found to significantly increase the volume of the hippocampus (IVW ß (95% CI) = 158.997 (76.768 to 241.227), P = 1.51e-04), with no heterogeneity and pleiotropy detected. Nominally causal effects of OSA on brain structures, such as the thickness of the temporal pole with or without global weighted, amygdala structure change, and cerebellum white matter change covering lifespan, were observed. Bidirectional causal links were also detected between brain cortical structure, brain subcortical, cognitive performance, and OSA risk. LDSC regression analysis showed no significant correlation between OSA and hippocampus volume. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, we observed a positive association between genetically predicted OSA and hippocampus volume. These findings may provide new insights into the bidirectional links between OSA and neurocognitive features, including brain morphology and cognitive performance.

Use of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) exhibit compositional changes in their gut microbiome, which represents a potential therapeutic target. Probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics are microbiome-targeted therapies that have been proposed as treatment for NAFLD. We aim to systematically review the effects of these therapies in liver-related outcomes of NAFLD patients. METHODS: We conducted a systematic search in Embase (Ovid), Medline (Ovid), Scopus, Cochrane, and EBSCOhost from inception to August 19, 2022. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that treated NAFLD patients with prebiotics and/or probiotics. We meta-analyzed the outcomes using standardized mean difference (SMD) and assessed study heterogeneity using Cochran's Q test and I2 statistics. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk-of-Bias 2 tool. RESULTS: A total of 41 (18 probiotics, 17 synbiotics, and 6 prebiotics) RCTs were included. Pooled data demonstrated that the intervention had significantly improved liver steatosis (measured by ultrasound grading) (SMD: 4.87; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.27, 7.25), fibrosis (SMD: -0.61 kPa; 95% CI: -1.12, -0.09 kPa), and liver enzymes including alanine transaminase (SMD: -0.86 U/L; 95% CI: -1.16, -0.56 U/L), aspartate transaminase (SMD: -0.87 U/L; 95% CI: -1.22, -0.52 U/L), and gamma-glutamyl transferase (SMD: -0.77 U/L; 95% CI: -1.26, -0.29 U/L). CONCLUSIONS: Microbiome-targeted therapies were associated with significant improvements in liver-related outcomes in NAFLD patients. Nevertheless, limitations in existing literature like heterogeneity in probiotic strains, dosage, and formulation undermine our findings. This study was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022354562) and supported by the Nanyang Technological University Start-up Grant and Wang Lee Wah Memorial Fund.

Nutritional status and its correlation to prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients in different ages in China: a multicenter cohort study.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients usually presented malnutrition under chemoradiotherapy (CRT)/radiotherapy (RT). Few studies stratified by age to investigate the association of nutritional status with overall survival (OS) in NPC patients. This study aimed to explore the nutritional parameters related prognosis of NPC patients in different age. The total 1365 NPC patients were classified into young (18~45), middle-aged (46~60), and old groups (> 60). PG-SGA scores, NRS-2002 scores, Karnofsky performance status scores, anthropometric, and blood indicators (albumin, prealbumin, transferrin, C-reactive protein, hemoglobin, and total lymphocyte) were assessed. Cox regression analysis was performed to evaluate the association between risk factors of nutritional status and the overall survival in different age group of NPC patients. Kaplan-Meier (KM) survival analysis was used to estimate the effect of nutritional indexes on prognosis. The abnormal rate of albumin, prealbumin, hemoglobin, hand grip strength, and calf circumference increased with age. The malnutrition occurred in all age group and low calf circumference (HR, 4.427, 1.167-16.791) was an independent death risk in young adults. Distant metastasis (HR, 4.754, 2.737-8.260), low albumin (HR, 3.530, 1.708-7.296), hand grip strength (HR, 1.901, 1.160-3.115), and the nutritional intervention requirement (NRS-2002 ≥ 3) (HR, 2.802, 1.211-6.483) was significantly correlated with poor OS in NPC patients with middled age adults. Distant metastasis (HR, 2.546, 1.497-4.330), low albumin (HR, 1.824, 0.949-3.507), low hemoglobin (HR, 1.757, 1.015-3.044), low hand grip strength (HR, 1.771, 1.112-2.818), and low calf circumference (HR, 1.951, 1.074-3.545) were associated with increased risk of death in the elderly. KM analysis indicated that over 60 years, distant metastasis, low albumin, low hand grip strength, low calf circumference, and malnutritional risk (NRS-2002 ≥ 3) were correlated to prognosis of NPC patients. Low calf circumference could be a prognosis not only in elderly but also in young adults of NPC patients, whereas low albumin and distant metastasis were the prognostic factors in middle-aged and elderly patients. Patients aged over 60 years exhibited poorer OS compared with young and middle-aged adults.

IMB-BZ as an Inhibitor Targeting ESX-1 Secretion System to Control Mycobacterial Infection.

BACKGROUND: Resistance to anti-tuberculosis (TB) drugs is a major issue in TB control, and demands the discovery of new drugs targeting the virulence factor ESX-1. METHODS: We first established a high-throughput screen (HTS) assay for the discovery of ESX-1 secretion inhibitors. The positive hits were then evaluated for the potency of diminishing the survival of virulent mycobacteria and reducing bacterial virulence. We further investigated the probability of inducing drug resistance and the underlying mechanism using mycobacterial protein fragment complementation. RESULTS: A robust HTS assay was developed to identify small molecules that inhibit ESX-1 secretion without impairing bacterial growth in vitro. A hit named IMB-BZ specifically inhibits the secretion of CFP-10 and reduces virulence in an ESX-1-dependent manner, therefore resulting in significant reduction in intracellular and in vivo survival of mycobacteria. Blocking the CFP-10-EccCb1 interaction directly or indirectly underlies the inhibitory effect of IMB-BZ on the secretion of CFP-10. Importantly, our finding shows that the ESX-1 inhibitors pose low risk of drug resistance development by mycobacteria in vitro as compared with traditional anti-TB drugs, and exhibit high potency against chronic mycobacterial infection. CONCLUSIONS: Targeting ESX-1 may lead to the development of novel therapeutics for tuberculosis. IMB-BZ holds the potential for future development into a new anti-TB drug.

[Effect of multi-glycosides of Tripterygium wilfordii on renal injury in diabetic kidney disease rats through NLRP3/caspase-1/GSDMD pyroptosis pathway].

This study investigated the effect of multi-glycosides of Tripterygium wilfordii(GTW) on renal injury in diabetic kidney disease(DKD) rats through Nod-like receptor protein 3(NLRP3)/cysteine-aspartic acid protease-1(caspase-1)/gsdermin D(GSDMD) pyroptosis pathway and the mechanism. To be specific, a total of 40 male SD rats were randomized into the normal group(n=8) and modeling group(n=34). In the modeling group, a high-sugar and high-fat diet and one-time intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin(STZ) were used to induce DKD in rats. After successful modeling, they were randomly classified into model group, valsartan(Diovan) group, and GTW group. Normal group and model group were given normal saline, and the valsartan group and GTW group received(ig) valsartan and GTW, respectively, for 6 weeks. Blood urea nitrogen(BUN), serum creatinine(Scr), alanine ami-notransferase(ALT), albumin(ALB), and 24 hours urinary total protein(24 h-UTP) were determined by biochemical tests. The pathological changes of renal tissue were observed based on hematoxylin and eosin(HE) staining. Serum levels of interleukin-1ß(IL-1ß) and interleukin-18(IL-18) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Western blot was used to detect the expression of pyroptosis pathway-related proteins in renal tissue, and RT-PCR to determine the expression of pyroptosis pathway-related genes in renal tissue. Compared with the normal group, the model group showed high levels of BUN, Scr, ALT, and 24 h-UTP and serum levels of IL-1ß and IL-18(P<0.01), low level of ALB(P<0.01), severe pathological damage to kidney, and high protein and mRNA levels of NLRP3, caspase-1, and GSDMD in renal tissue(P<0.01). Compared with the model group, valsartan group and GTW group had low levels of BUN, Scr, ALT, and 24 h-UTP and serum levels of IL-1ß and IL-18(P<0.01), high level of ALB(P<0.01), alleviation of the pathological damage to the kidney, and low protein and mRNA levels of NLRP3, caspase-1, and GSDMD in renal tissue(P<0.01 or P<0.05). GTW may inhibit pyroptosis by decreasing the expression of NLRP3/caspase-1/GSDMD in renal tissue, thereby relieving the inflammatory response of DKD rats and the pathological injury of kidney.

Human MLH1 suppresses the insertion of telomeric sequences at intra-chromosomal sites in telomerase-expressing cells.

Aberrant formation of interstitial telomeric sequences (ITSs) promotes genome instabilities. However, it is unclear how aberrant ITS formation is suppressed in human cells. Here, we report that MLH1, a key protein involved in mismatch repair (MMR), suppresses telomeric sequence insertion (TSI) at intra-chromosomal regions. The frequency of TSI can be elevated by double-strand break (DSB) inducer and abolished by ATM/ATR inhibition. Suppression of TSI requires MLH1 recruitment to DSBs, indicating that MLH1's role in DSB response/repair is important for suppressing TSI. Moreover, TSI requires telomerase activity but is independent of the functional status of p53 and Rb. Lastly, we show that TSI is associated with chromosome instabilities including chromosome loss, micronuclei formation and chromosome breakage that are further elevated by replication stress. Our studies uncover a novel link between MLH1, telomerase, telomere and genome stability.

[Real world study on characteristics of Maixuekang Capsules combined with traditional Chinese medicines in treating nephrotic syndrome].

To analyze the clinical characteristics of Maixuekang Capsules combined with traditional Chinese medicines in the treatment of patients with nephrotic syndrome,and provide references for improving rationality of clinical drug use. Based on the database of hospital information system(HIS) in 15 hospitals in China,the electrical medical records of the patients diagnosed as nephrotic syndrome and treated with Maixuekang Capsules were collected. Their diagnostic information and characteristics of combined traditional Chinese medicines were analyzed by using association rules. The results showed that 1 588 patients of nephrotic syndrome who used Maixuekang Capsules were often complicated with hypertension(863 cases,accounting for 7. 54%),anemia(551 cases,accounting for 4. 81%),and coronary heart disease(349 cases,accounting for 3. 05%). Maixuekang Capsules were mainly combined with Tabellae Rhei et Natrii Bicarbonatis,Baining Capsules,tanshinone,Ganmao Qingre Granule,Shuxuening Injection in treating nephrotic syndrome. The results indicated that in the real world,Maixuekang Capsules was mainly used in combination with traditional Chinese medicines such as blood-activating and stasis-removing agents,pathogens eliminating and supporting healthy Qi agents,digestants,anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory agents,wind-dispersing and antipyretic agents for patients with nephropathy. By the pharmacological effect,it was suitable for nephropathy patients based on combined diagnosis. The association rules of combination were specific,and can provide reference for subsequent studies and rational clinical medication of traditional Chinese medicines.

Low ketolytic enzyme levels in tumors predict ketogenic diet responses in cancer cell lines in vitro and in vivo.

The ketogenic diet (KD) is a high-fat, very-low-carbohydrate diet that triggers a fasting state by decreasing glucose and increasing ketone bodies, such as ß-hydroxybutyrate (ßHB). In experimental models and clinical trials, the KD has shown anti-tumor effects, possibly by reducing energy supplies to cells, which damage the tumor microenvironment and inhibit tumor growth. Here, we determined expression levels of genes encoding the ketolytic enzymes 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase 1 (BDH1) and succinyl-CoA: 3-oxoacid CoA transferase 1 (OXCT1) in 33 human cancer cell lines. We then selected two representative lines, HeLa and PANC-1, for in vivo examination of KD sensitivity in tumors with high or low expression, respectively, of these two enzymes. In mice with HeLa xenografts, the KD increased tumor growth and mouse survival decreased, possibly because these tumors actively consumed ketone bodies as an energy source. Conversely, the KD significantly inhibited growth of PANC-1 xenograft tumors. ßHB added to each cell culture significantly increased proliferation of HeLa cells, but not PANCI-1 cells. Downregulation of both BDH1 and OXCT1 rendered HeLa cells sensitive to the KD in vitro and in vivo. Tumors with low ketolytic enzyme expression may be unable to metabolize ketone bodies, thus predicting a better response to KD therapy.

Multiview fringe matching profilometry in a projector-camera system.

This Letter proposes a novel approach, called multiview fringe matching profilometry (MFMP), for three-dimensional (3D) measurement in a projector-camera system. An essential difference from the traditional optical profilometries in our MFMP test is that a projector will be regarded as a camera with the reverse lightpath and not just as a coding projection device. Therefore, profiting by a maximum utilization of a multiview matching relationship, the homonymy points can be directly found with the geometric constraint of the corresponding fringe images between the projector and cameras. Meanwhile, the 3D object reconstruction can be obtained quickly and accurately from a single fringe pattern without phase unwrapping, even if the discontinuous surface shape is also easily measurable in our MFMP. Experiment results are provided to verify the effectiveness of our approach.

The human CTC1/STN1/TEN1 complex regulates telomere maintenance in ALT cancer cells.

Maintaining functional telomeres is important for long-term proliferation of cells. About 15% of cancer cells are telomerase-negative and activate the alternative-lengthening of telomeres (ALT) pathway to maintain their telomeres. Recent studies have shown that the human CTC1/STN1/TEN1 complex (CST) plays a multi-faceted role in telomere maintenance in telomerase-expressing cancer cells. However, the role of CST in telomere maintenance in ALT cells is unclear. Here, we report that human CST forms a functional complex localizing in the ALT-associated PML bodies (APBs) in ALT cells throughout the cell cycle. Suppression of CST induces telomere instabilities including telomere fragility and elevates telomeric DNA recombination, leading to telomere dysfunction. In addition, CST deficiency significantly diminishes the abundance of extrachromosomal circular telomere DNA known as C-circles and t-circles. Suppression of CST also results in multinucleation in ALT cells and impairs cell proliferation. Our findings imply that the CST complex plays an important role in regulating telomere maintenance in ALT cells.

[Complex network analysis on Shenxiong glucose injection in combined use with Chinese and Western medicine for cerebral infarction in real world study].

In order to analyze Shenxiong glucose injection in combined use with other medicines for cerebral infarction in real world, the basic information, Chinese and western medicine diagnosis information, doctors'advice information, and laboratory checking information for the patients with Shenxiong glucose injection in treatment of cerebral infarction were extracted from the hospital information system (HIS) of sixteen 3A hospitals. Apriori Algorithm was used to establish models, and Clementine 12.0 was used for correlation analysis. Then complex network was established to analyze the combined drug use and visualize the results. A total of 635 patients were included in the study, among which 599 patients (94.33%) showed superior effect. Shenxiong glucose injection was often used with platelet suppressant drug, neuroprotective agent, lipid regulating agents, free radical scavenger, vitamins and Chinese medicine blood activating and stasis eliminating agent in the treatment of cerebral infarction. In the patients with superior effect, neuroprotective agent and free radical scavengers were also used based on the combined use with Aspirin, hypolipidemic drugs and blood activating and stasis removing agents, highlighting the rain protection strategies. Shenxiong glucose injection in combined use with Chinese and western medicines for cerebral infarction complied with the latest clinical practice guideline on the treatment of cerebral infarction, and the application of neuroprotective agent was propitious to improve the therapeutic effect.

[Real world analysis to explore clinical features of Shenxiong glucose injection combined with other medications].

To explore the real world clinical medication and combination characteristics of Shenxiong glucose injection. The basic information of patients with Shenxiong glucose injection, traditional Chinese and western medicine diagnosis information, doctor advice information and laboratory test information from the hospital information system(HIS) of 19 tertiary hospitals in China. Apriori algorithm was adopted to establish the models, and Clementine 12.0 was used for correlation analysis to analyze the real world clinical medication and combination characteristics of Shenxiong glucose injection. Among 8 316 patients in the study, 523 kinds of western medicine and 148 kinds of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) were used. In combined application, the single western medicine with highest use frequency was aspirin(1 908 cases, 22.94%), and single Chinese medicine with highest use frequency was Shuxuetong injection (771 cases, 9.27%); the most common TCM pair was Xianling Gubao capsule+Lugua Duotai injection(rules support degree was 2.55%), and the most common western medicine pair was aspirin+atorvastatin(degree of association rules was 10.15%). They were often used in combination with antibiotics, blood-activating and stasis-dissolving prescription, and adrenal cortical hormone drugs. Shenxiong glucose injection was often used in combination with antiplatelet drugs and blood-activating and stasis-dissolving prescription in clinical application to enhance the effects of anti-platelet aggregation and blood-activating and stasis-dissolving; it was often used in combination with antibiotics to treat cor pulmonale, and incompatibility shall be noticed to ensure efficacy enhancement under the premise of clinical medication safety.

[Drug combination characteristics of Shenxiong glucose injection in treating ischemic cerebrovascular disease in real world].

To analyze the clinical drug use characteristics of Shenxiong glucose injection in the treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular disease. From hospital information system (HIS) of 19 hospitals over China, the basic information of patients with Shenxiong glucose injection for ischemic cerebrovascular disease, traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine diagnosis information, order information, and laboratory examination information were extracted. Then Apriori algorithm was used to construct the model, and the association analysis was performed by using Clementine 12 to analyze the clinical drug use characteristics of Shenxiong glucose injection in the real world. A total of 411 kinds of Western medicines and 110 kinds of traditional Chinese medicines were included in 784 cases of drug combination. In the drug combination, aspirin had the highest frequency in Western medicine, which was used in 515 cases (65.69%); Ginkgo biloba extract had the highest frequency in Chinese medicine, which was used in 121 cases (15.43%). Atorvastatin+aspirin (association rules of 10.15%) was the most common Western medicine pairs; atorvastatin+clopidogrel+aspirin (association support 5.56%) was the most common triple Western medicine therapy, often combined with antibiotics and blood stasis drugs in use. Results showed that Shenxiong glucose injection was often combined with antiplatelet drugs and blood stasis drugs in the treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular disease clinically, contributing to the enhancement of platelet aggregation and blood stasis. The incompatibility of combined application of drugs shall be noted to ensure the clinical medication safety and efficacy of the combined drug use.

[Analysis of drug combination characteristics of Qingkailing injection for treating abnormal inflammatory factors in real world].

To analyze the drug combination characteristics of Qingkailing injection for treating abnormal inflammatory factors such as elevated white blood cells and C reactive protein in real world. The patients with Qingkailing injection for abnormal C reactive proteins and abnormal white blood cells were extracted from hospital information system (HIS) of 16 Class 3A hospitals. Then the basic information, traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine diagnostic information, doctor's advice information, and laboratory information were analyzed; Apriori algorithm was used to construct the models, and Clementine 12.0 was used for correlation analysis to analyze the clinical medication rules and drug combination characteristics in the patients with Qingkailing injection for treatment of elevated C reactive protein and white blood cells in the real world. The results of the study showed that when Qingkailing injection was combined with one kind of western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine in treatment of patients with abnormal C reactive protein, vitamin C (159 cases, 74.30%) and Tanreqing injection (71 cases, 33.18%) were most frequently used; when it was combined with 2 kinds of traditional Chinese medicines, Xueshuantong injection plus Tanreqing injection (support degree 10.75%) were most frequently used. When Qingkailing injection was combined with one kind of western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine in treatment of patients with abnormal white blood cells, vitamin C (596 cases, 56.02%) and Ganmao Qingre granules (247 cases, 23.21%) were most frequently used; when it was combined with 2 kinds of traditional Chinese medicines, Shuanghuanglian+Ganmao Qingre granules (support degree 5.26%) were most frequently used. In the patients with abnormal C-reactive protein and white blood cells, its combinations with antibiotics and nutritional support agents were most common from the pharmacological perspective, indicating that in the treatment of abnormal C-reactive protein, white blood cells and other increased inflammatory indicators, Qingkailing injection was most frequently combined with antibiotic drugs to achieve synergistic effect.

[Clinical features analysis of Qingkailing injection for adolescent patients based on real world HIS].

To explore the clinical application features of Qingkailing injection for adolescent patients. This study was based on the information from the hospitalized patients in 1998-2011 in HIS (hospital information system) of 16 tertiary hospitals in China. 615 adolescent patients with Qingkailing injection were used to investigate the clinical characteristics of Qingkailing injection. Apriori algorithm was adopted to establish the model, and Clementine 12.0 was used for correlation analysis. The results showed that male patients (355 cases) were more than female patients (243 cases); the age of the most patients was under 14 years old, with an average age of 9.40 years old; the hospital stay was most of 4-7 d; the patients were mostly concentrated in pediatrics, mainly including upper respiratory tract infection; outpatient admission to the majority (451 cases, accounting for 75.54%). The traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome mainly included phlegm-dampness internal resistance (38.46%), Qi and Yin Deficiency (11.54%), Liver qi stagnation (15.38%), and Yang deficiency syndrome (11.54%); the highest admission rate was during Slight Cold (13.01%). In combined application, the most common western medicine pair was Cephalosporin injection+vitamin C (with supporting rate of 24.6%) and the most common TCM pair was Shuanghuanglian+Ganmao Qingre granules (with supporting rate of 4.065%). The most common 3 western medicines in combined use were Potassium chloride injection+Cephalosporin injection+vitamin C (supporting rate of 15.93%); while the most common three Chinese medicines were Shuanghuanglian+Yunnan Baiyao+Ganmao Qingre granules (supporting rate of 1.138%). Qingkailing injection was also widely used in adolescent patients; the diagnosis and use were basically in line with the instructions; men were slightly more than women; age of onset, solar terms and TCM syndromes were highly consistent. Qingkailing injection was mainly combined with western medicines in combined drug use, and Chinese medicines were also available. Combined drug use was more reasonable. Based on the results of the real world HIS, Qingkailing injection could provide the idea and reference for regulating the medication in adolescent patients.

Identification of cachexia in lung cancer patients with an ensemble learning approach.

Objective: Nutritional intervention prior to the occurrence of cachexia will significantly improve the survival rate of lung cancer patients. This study aimed to establish an ensemble learning model based on anthropometry and blood indicators without information on body weight loss to identify the risk factors of cachexia for early administration of nutritional support and for preventing the occurrence of cachexia in lung cancer patients. Methods: This multicenter study included 4,712 lung cancer patients. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method was used to obtain the key indexes. The characteristics excluded weight loss information, and the study data were randomly divided into a training set (70%) and a test set (30%). The training set was used to select the optimal model among 18 models and verify the model performance. A total of 18 machine learning models were evaluated to predict the occurrence of cachexia, and their performance was determined using area under the curve (AUC), accuracy, precision, recall, F1 score, and Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC). Results: Among 4,712 patients, 1,392 (29.5%) patients were diagnosed with cachexia based on the framework of Fearon et al. A 17-variable gradient boosting classifier (GBC) model including body mass index (BMI), feeding situation, tumor stage, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and some gastrointestinal symptoms was selected among the 18 machine learning models. The GBC model showed good performance in predicting cachexia in the training set (AUC = 0.854, accuracy = 0.819, precision = 0.771, recall = 0.574, F1 score = 0.658, MCC = 0.549, and kappa = 0.538). The abovementioned indicator values were also confirmed in the test set (AUC = 0.859, accuracy = 0.818, precision = 0.801, recall = 0.550, F1 score = 0.652, and MCC = 0.552, and kappa = 0.535). The learning curve, decision boundary, precision recall (PR) curve, the receiver operating curve (ROC), the classification report, and the confusion matrix in the test sets demonstrated good performance. The feature importance diagram showed the contribution of each feature to the model. Conclusions: The GBC model established in this study could facilitate the identification of cancer cachexia in lung cancer patients without weight loss information, which would guide early implementation of nutritional interventions to decrease the occurrence of cachexia and improve the overall survival (OS).

Evaluation and validation of neutrophil to albumin ratio as a promising prognostic marker for all-cause mortality in patients with cancer: a multicenter cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: The practicality and effectiveness of using the prognostic value of the neutrophil-to-albumin ratio (NAR) in evaluating patients with cancer remain unclear, and research is needed to fully understand its potential application in the cancer population. METHODS: The Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis, and the log-rank test was employed for comparison. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine the prognostic biomarkers, and Logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between NAR and 90-day outcomes and cachexia. RESULTS: The study included 14 682 patients with cancer, divided into discovery (6592 patients), internal validation (2820 patients), and external validation groups (5270 patients). Patients with high NAR had higher all-cause mortality than those with low NAR in the discovery (50.15% versus 69.29%, P < 0.001), internal validation (54.18% versus 70.91%, P < 0.001), and external validation cohorts (40.60% versus 66.68%, P < 0.001). In the discovery cohort, high NAR was observed to be independently associated with all-cause mortality in patients (HR 1.16, 95% CI 1.12-1.19; P < 0.001). Moreover, we validated the promising prognostic value of NAR as a predictor of survival in patients with cancer through internal validation (HR 1.21, 95% CI 1.16-1.27, P < 0.001) and external validation cohorts (HR 1.27, 95% CI 1.21-1.34, P < 0.001). Additionally, in the subgroup analysis by tumor type, high NAR was identified as a risk factor for most cancers, except for breast cancer. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that NAR is a feasible and promising biomarker for predicting prognosis and cancer cachexia in cancer patients.

Association of cardiometabolic multimorbidity with all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality among Chinese hypertensive patients.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension usually clusters with multiple comorbidities. However, the association between cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM) and mortality in hypertensive patients is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association between CMM and all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in Chinese patients with hypertension. METHODS: The data used in this study were from the China National Survey for Determinants of Detection and Treatment Status of Hypertensive Patients with Multiple Risk Factors (CONSIDER), which comprised 5006 participants aged 19-91 years. CMM was defined as the presence of one or more of the following morbidities: diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, chronic kidney disease, coronary heart disease, and stroke. Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate the hazard ratios (HR) with 95% CI to determine the association between the number of CMMs and both all-cause and CVD mortality. RESULTS: Among 5006 participants [mean age: 58.6 ± 10.4 years, 50% women (2509 participants)], 76.4% of participants had at least one comorbidity. The mortality rate was 4.57, 4.76, 8.48, and 16.04 deaths per 1000 person-years in hypertensive patients without any comorbidity and with one, two, and three or more morbidities, respectively. In the fully adjusted model, hypertensive participants with two cardiometabolic diseases (HR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.09-2.13) and those with three or more cardiometabolic diseases (HR = 2.44, 95% CI: 1.71-3.48) had a significantly elevated risk of all-cause mortality. The findings were similar for CVD mortality but with a greater increase in risk magnitude. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, three-fourths of hypertensive patients had CMM. Clustering with two or more comorbidities was associated with a significant increase in the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality among hypertensive patients, suggesting more intensive treatment and control in this high-risk patient group.

Applications of artificial intelligence in dementia research.

More than 50 million older people worldwide are suffering from dementia, and this number is estimated to increase to 150 million by 2050. Greater caregiver burdens and financial impacts on the healthcare system are expected as we wait for an effective treatment for dementia. Researchers are constantly exploring new therapies and screening approaches for the early detection of dementia. Artificial intelligence (AI) is widely applied in dementia research, including machine learning and deep learning methods for dementia diagnosis and progression detection. Computerized apps are also convenient tools for patients and caregivers to monitor cognitive function changes. Furthermore, social robots can potentially provide daily life support or guidance for the elderly who live alone. This review aims to provide an overview of AI applications in dementia research. We divided the applications into three categories according to different stages of cognitive impairment: (1) cognitive screening and training, (2) diagnosis and prognosis for dementia, and (3) dementia care and interventions. There are numerous studies on AI applications for dementia research. However, one challenge that remains is comparing the effectiveness of different AI methods in real clinical settings.

In silico development and in vitro validation of a novel five-gene signature for prognostic prediction in colon cancer.

Colon cancer is one of the most common cancers in digestive system, and its prognosis remains unsatisfactory. Therefore, this study aimed to identify gene signatures that could effectively predict the prognosis of colon cancer patients by examining the data from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. LASSO-Cox regression analysis generated a five-gene signature (DCBLD2, RAB11FIP1, CTLA4, HOXC6 and KRT6A) that was associated with patient survival in the TCGA cohort. The prognostic value of this gene signature was further validated in two independent GEO datasets. GO enrichment revealed that the function of this gene signature was mainly associated with extracellular matrix organization, collagen-containing extracellular matrix, and extracellular matrix structural constituent. Moreover, a nomogram was established to facilitate the clinical application of this signature. The relationships among the gene signature, mutational landscape and immune infiltration cells were also investigated. Importantly, this gene signature also reliably predicted the overall survival in IMvigor210 anti-PD-L1 cohort. In addition to the bioinformatics study, we also conducted a series of in vitro experiments to demonstrate the effect of the signature genes on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of colon cancer cells. Collectively, our data demonstrated that this five-gene signature might serve as a promising prognostic biomarker and shed light on the development of personalized treatment in colon cancer patients.