Role and mechanism of glucagon-like peptide-1 in depression / 中国药理学通报

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is a major hormone of incretin hormone and gut-brain axis, which is related to the control of energy homeostasis and the occurrence of obesity. In addition to suppressing appetite, GLP-1 has neuroprotective effects by acting on areas of the brain involved in stress response and mood regulation. Depression is a common mental disease, and GLP-1 is closely related to depression. This article reviews the role and mechanism of GLP-1 in depression.

Comparison of prediction ability of two extended Cox models in nonlinear survival data analysis / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To compare the predictive ability of two extended Cox models in nonlinear survival data analysis.@*METHODS@#Through Monte Carlo simulation and empirical study and with the conventional Cox Proportional Hazards model and Random Survival Forests as the reference models, we compared restricted cubic spline Cox model (Cox_RCS) and DeepSurv neural network Cox model (Cox_DNN) for their prediction ability in nonlinear survival data analysis. Concordance index was used to evaluate the differentiation of the prediction results (a larger concordance index indicates a better prediction ability of the model). Integrated Brier Score was used to evaluate the calibration degree of the prediction (a smaller index indicates a better prediction ability).@*RESULTS@#For data that met requirement of the proportion risk, the Cox_RCS model had the best prediction ability regardless of the sample size or deletion rate. For data that failed to meet the proportion risk, the prediction ability of Cox_DNN was optimal for a large sample size (≥500) with a low deletion (< 40%); the prediction ability of Cox_RCS was superior to those of other models in all other scenarios. For example data, the Cox_RCS model showed the best performance.@*CONCLUSION@#In analysis of nonlinear low maintenance data, Cox_RCS and Cox_DNN have their respective advantages and disadvantages in prediction. The conventional survival analysis methods are not inferior to machine learning or deep learning methods under certain conditions.

Bibliometric analysis on the clinical researches of tumor treated with acupuncture-moxibustion on the base of PubMed database / 中国针灸

OBJECTIVE@#To analyze the literature characteristics of the clinical researches on tumor treatment with acupuncture-moxibustion in PubMed database so as to provide the references for the study of acupuncture-moxibusion in intervention of tumor.@*METHODS@#The articles on the clinical researches of acupuncture-moxibusion in treatment of tumor were retrieved from PubMed database listed till December 31, 2018. Using bibliometric methodology, the analysis was conducted on publication year, publication journal, author, country or region, research institution, disease spectrum and therapeutic regimen.@*RESULTS@#A total of 143 articles are included. The publications are increased steadily since 2004. The articles are published in 64 international journals, of which, @*CONCLUSION@#Acupuncture-moxibustion is quite extensively involved in the treatment of tumor in the field of nervous (mental) system and digestive system. But the regimen of acupuncture- moxibustion needs to be further optimized and promoted.

Application of base editors in the treatment of genetic disorders / 药学学报

To date, CRISPR/Cas systems represent the most widely used tool for genome editing; however, its application scope for gene therapy has been largely limited due to its limited efficiency in activating homology-directed repair for DNA and off-target effect. Base editing is a new CRISPR/Cas-based genome-editing strategy, which allows single nucleotide to be precisely corrected in a narrow window scope on the target DNA or RNA by taking advantage of different nucleobase deaminases. Base editors include cytosine base editors (CBEs) and adenine base editors (ABEs), which can induce the conversions from C·G to T·A and A·T to G·C, respectively. Base editors work independently of double-strand DNA breaks (DSBs) and DNA donor templates, and thus they are extensively adopted for a wide range of therapeutic applications for genetic diseases, largely owing to their high efficiency and great specificity. In this review, we summarize the development of base editors and their potentials as therapeutic drugs for treating genetic diseases, and future outlooks are also discussed.