Reduction of cardiovascular complications during delivery hospitalization in patients undergoing bariatric procedures.

BACKGROUND: The global surge in obesity presents a significant health challenge, leading to increased adoption of bariatric surgery as an intervention. However, the correlation between bariatric surgery and cardiovascular outcomes during subsequent pregnancies remains unclear. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of cardiovascular complications during delivery hospitalizations in patients with bariatric procedure. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis utilizing the National Inpatient Sample database to examine data from delivery admissions of pregnant women with obesity and a history of bariatric surgery. These admissions were identified using International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes from 2009 to 2019. In comparing pregnant individuals who had undergone bariatric surgery with those with obesity but had no such surgical history, we assessed the prevalence of cardiovascular complications. RESULTS: Our study included 3,027,987 pregnancies in individuals with obesity and an additional 117,350 pregnancies following bariatric surgery. Compared to patients without bariatric surgery, post-surgery patients were older (32.84 years vs 29.02 years), primarily White (59.0%), and mostly treated in large urban hospitals. Cardiovascular outcomes showcased reduced odds of congestive heart failure [Adjusted odds ratios (AOR) 0.11, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 0.01-0.74], gestational hypertensive complications (AOR 0.55, 95% CI 0.53-0.59), and cardiac arrhythmia (AOR 0.76, 95% CI 0.64-0.89) in the post-surgery group, with no significant difference in peripartum cardiomyopathy rates (AOR 0.72, 95% CI 0.29-1.76) and no instances of stroke or acute MI. Perinatally, the surgery cohort had higher odds of preterm birth (AOR 1.30, 95% CI 1.24-1.38) and fetal growth restriction (AOR 2.47, 95% CI 2.32-2.63) but fewer incidents of being large for gestational-age (AOR 0.35, 95% CI 0.32-0.38). As bariatric surgery became increasingly recognized as a significant factor in certain complications, its prevalence among the study population increased from 2009 to 2019. CONCLUSION: In summary, our research indicates that bariatric surgery is associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular complications during delivery. This study highlights how insights from bariatric surgery outcomes could shape clinical guidelines for managing obesity in pregnant women.

Decoding the biology and clinical implication of neutrophils in intracranial aneurysm.

OBJECTIVE: Abundant neutrophils have been identified in both ruptured and unruptured intracranial aneurysm (IA) domes, with their function and clinical implication being poorly characterized. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We employed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) datasets of both human and murine model, and external bulk mRNA sequencing datasets to thoroughly explore the features and functional heterogeneous of neutrophils infiltrating the IA dome. RESULTS: We found that both unruptured and ruptured IA dome contain a substantial population of neutrophils, characterized by FCGR3B, G0S2, CSF3R, and CXCR2. These cells exhibited heterogeneity in terms of function and differentiation. Despite similar transcriptional activation, neutrophils in IA dome expressed a repertoire of gene programs that mimicked transcriptomic alterations observed from bone marrow to peripheral blood, showing self-similarity. In addition, the recruitment of neutrophils in unruptured IA was primarily mediated by monocytes/macrophages, and once ruptured, both neutrophils, and a specific subset of inflammatory smooth muscle cells (SMCs) were involved in the process. The receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC) analysis indicated that distinct neutrophil subclusters were associated with IA formation and rupture, respectively. By reviewing current studies, we found that neutrophils play a detrimental role to IA wall integrity through secreting specific ligands, ferroptosis driven by ALOX5AP and PTGS2, and the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) mediated by PADI4. INTERPRETATION: This study delineated the biology and potential clinical implications of neutrophils in IA dome and provided a reliable basis for future researches.

Classification models for Tobacco Mosaic Virus and Potato Virus Y using hyperspectral and machine learning techniques.

Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) and Potato Virus Y (PVY) pose significant threats to crop production. Non-destructive and accurate surveillance is crucial to effective disease control. In this study, we propose the adoption of hyperspectral and machine learning technologies to discern the type and severity of tobacco leaves affected by PVY and TMV infection. Initially, we applied three preprocessing methods - Multivariate Scattering Correction (MSC), Standard Normal Variate (SNV), and Savitzky-Golay smoothing filter (SavGol) - to corrected the leaf full-length spectral sheet data (350-2500nm). Subsequently, we employed two classifiers, support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF), to establish supervised classification models, including binary classification models (healthy/diseased leaves or PVY/TMV infected leaves) and six-class classification models (healthy and various severity levels of diseased leaves). Based on the core evaluation index, our models achieved accuracies in the range of 91-100% in the binary classification. In general, SVM demonstrated superior performance compared to RF in distinguishing leaves infected with PVY and TMV. Different combinations of preprocessing methods and classifiers have distinct capabilities in the six-class classification. Notably, SavGol united with SVM gave an excellent performance in the identification of different PVY severity levels with 98.1% average precision, and also achieved a high recognition rate (96.2%) in the different TMV severity level classifications. The results further highlighted that the effective wavelengths captured by SVM, 700nm and 1800nm, would be valuable for estimating disease severity levels. Our study underscores the efficacy of integrating hyperspectral technology and machine learning, showcasing their potential for accurate and non-destructive monitoring of plant viral diseases.

Maternal and perinatal outcomes of pregnant patients with colorectal cancer: a population-based study.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the maternal and perinatal outcomes of pregnant patients with CRC using a large population-based database. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2009 to 2019. Pregnant patients with and without CRC were compared for demographic characteristics, comorbidities, maternal and perinatal outcomes, and hospital burden. RESULTS: The study included 306 pregnancies with CRC and 40,887,353 pregnancies without CRC. Pregnant patients with CRC were older and more likely to be White. A significant association was observed between CRC and a history of inflammatory bowel disease or a family history of gastrointestinal cancer. Pregnant patients with CRC had higher odds of maternal death (AOR 260.99, 95% CI 33.36-2041.64), cardiac arrhythmia (AOR 13.73, 95% CI 4.21-44.76), acute kidney injury (AOR 32.6, 95% CI 5.29-200.77), severe sepsis (AOR 163.98, 95% CI 22.05-1219.65), and respiratory failure (AOR 31.67, 95% CI 4.11-243.98). Furthermore, the CRC group experienced higher odds of cesarean section (AOR 1.78, 95% CI 1.05-3.03), preterm birth (AOR 4.16, 95% CI 2.05-8.47), and intrauterine death (AOR 13.18, 95% CI 3.33-52.16). Distinct differences in maternal and perinatal outcomes were observed based on the location of CRC. Pregnant patients with CRC faced higher hospital charges and had longer hospital stays during delivery hospitalization compared to those without CRC. CONCLUSION: Pregnant patients with CRC are at increased risk for adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes, emphasizing the importance of early detection, timely intervention, and comprehensive management during pregnancy.

Effects of transarterial chemoembolization on the immunological function of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) on the immune function of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A total of 114 patients with HCC were selected and their peripheral blood was collected before and 1 month after TACE treatment. Flow cytometry and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR were performed to analyze the changes in immune function in patients before and after treatment. Kaplan-Meier curves were plotted for survival analysis. The programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1) expression before TACE treatment were significantly higher in patients with poor TACE response compared with those patients with well response. Higher PD-L1 mRNA expression in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells after TACE predicted a superior prognosis. After TACE treatment, the proportion of CD4+/CD8+ cells were decreased while the expression levels of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1) were significantly increased. To conclude, TACE could reduce the proportion of CD4+/CD8+ cells and improve the mRNA expression levels of PD1 in patients with HCC. The expression levels of PD1 and PD-L1 were closely related to the therapeutic effect of TACE and the prognosis of patients with HCC. TACE combined with immunotherapy may have potential clinical value for patients with HCC.

Association Between eNOS, MMP-9, BAG-6 Gene Polymorphisms and Risk of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy in the Northern Chinese Population.

The objective of this study was to investigate the role of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-9, and Bcl2-associated oncogene 6 (BAG-6) gene polymorphisms, as well as the combined role of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) patients. This case-control study consisted of women with 326 HDP and 312 healthy pregnant controls. Multiplex PCR combined with next-generation sequencing method was used for determination of gene polymorphisms. Nine SNPs were analyzed, and we classified these case samples in depth by preeclampsia (PE) non-PE or blood pressure stages. We undertook allele and genotype haplotype association studies in all the cases and in the subgroups, as well as adjust age by binary logistic regression. Furthermore, the distribution of the haplotypes formed by the nine SNPs mentioned between the HDP patients and healthy pregnant controls were analyzed. There were no statistically significant differences in the nine SNPs of eNOS, MMP-9, and BAG-6 gene allele and genotype frequencies between HDP or subtypes and controls. However, for haplotype analyses, we found that the frequencies of AGACGCCGA (p = 3.67e-005), AGACGCGCA (p = 0.03127), and GAACACCGA (p = 0.02449) were significantly lower in the cases than in the controls. However, the haplotype of GGACGCCGA (p = 0.000686) was higher in the cases than in the controls. Our results suggested protective effect of the haplotypes AGACGCCGA, AGACGCGCA, and GAACACCGA against the development of HDP, and the haplotype GGACGCCGA was the risk factor of HDP.

Production of azimuthally polarized beam with helical phase by use of the axicons and annular glass cylinder.

In this paper, we proposed a method for producing the azimuthally polarized vector beam experimentally. The experimental setup includes two of the same axicons and one annular glass cylinder. The top angles of the two axicons were placed facing each other and the annular cylinder was set among the two axicons. One circular polarized beam was passed through the first axicon, the annular cylinder, and the second axicon in turn. When the beam incident on the inner surface of the annular cylindrical satisfied the Brewster angle, we obtained the azimuthally polarized beam for the reflected light from the annular cylindrical that only contains the $s$s-polarization component. We have derived that the azimuthally polarized vector beam has the helical phase factor with the helical phase factor of ${\exp}( - {\rm i}\varphi )$exp(-iφ) for the left circularly polarized beam incident and ${\exp}({\rm i}\varphi )$exp(iφ) for the right circularly polarized beam incident.

[Rule of acupoint combination in acupuncture treatment of hiccup: a study based on complex network analysis].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the rule of acupoint combination in acupuncture treatment of hiccups. METHODS: Original research articles on acupuncture treatment of hiccup were collected from databases of CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and Pubmed by using key words of "hiccup", "acupuncture" "diaphragmatic spasm" "body acupuncture" "filiform needle" and "electroacupuncture". According to our inclusive and exclusive criteria, the collected data were extracted to establish an acupuncture prescription database for hiccup. Then, the regularities of acupoint combinations for hiccup were analyzed by using Gephi complex network analysis software. RESULTS: ;A total of 606 articles containing 634 acupoint prescriptions for acupuncture treatment of hiccups were brought into analysis. There were 133 single-acupoint prescriptions (20.98%), which was significantly lower than the multi-acupoint prescription (501, accounting for 79.02%). There were mainly acupoints in multi-acupoint prescriptions, and distal-proximal acupoint combination method were often used as the basis of acupoint selection (326, accounting for 65.07%). A total of 163 acupoints were involved, with a total frequency of 2 969. Among them, Neiguan(PC6) was used most frequently (400 times, accounting for 13.47%), followed by Zusanli (ST36), Zhongwan (CV12), Danzhong (CV17), and Taichong (LR3). The acupoints of the Conceptional Vessel(666 times, accounting for 22.43%), and Stomach Meridian, Pericardium Meridian and Liver Meridian were chiefly used. There were 67 specific acupoints, the frequency of use was 2 555 times(accounting for 86.05% of the total frequency), among which the frequency of the five Shu-points was the highest (875 times, accounting for 29.47% of the total frequency), and followed by eight confluence points. CONCLUSION: ;The core acupoints are PC6, ST36, CV12, etc. and the distal-proximal acupoint combination method found in this study are often used as the basis of acupoint selection and acupoint prescription for acupuncture treatment of hiccup.

Generation of propagation-invariant vector beams with square array by use of 2D binary phase mask and pentagonal prism.

In this paper, we realize the generation of propagation-invariant vector beams with square array by use of a 2D binary phase mask and pentagonal prism in a typical Mach-Zehnder optical system. The binary phase mask set in the optical system is perpendicular to the optical axis, and its periodic orientation is 45° relative to the horizontal and vertical directions. One polarizer was used to produce the linearly polarized beam with the angle of 45° relative to the horizontal and vertical directions. One mirror in the Mach-Zehnder optical system was replaced by a pentagonal prism, as the light will be reflected twice inside the pentagonal prism. The intensity distribution of the two branches with the mirror and pentagonal prism have mirror symmetry, and the output optical field of the two branches has an orthogonal polarization state. By adjusting the position of the phase plate accordingly, the total optical field of the two branches can form a vector beam with a square array. The experimental results coincide with the simulation results very well and demonstrate the feasibility of this method.

Genome-wide identification of cancer-specific alternative splicing in circRNA.

Circular RNA (circRNA) is a group of RNA families generated by RNA circularization, which was discovered ubiquitously across different cancers. However, the internal structure of circRNA is difficult to determine due to alternative splicing that occurs in its exons and introns. Furthermore, cancer-specific alternative splicing of circRNA is less likely to be identified. Here, we proposed a de novo algorithm, CircSplice, that could identify internal alternative splicing in circRNA and compare differential circRNA splicing events between different conditions ( http://gb.whu.edu.cn/CircSplice or https://github.com/GeneFeng/CircSplice ). By applying CircSplice in clear cell renal cell carcinoma and bladder cancer, we detected 4498 and 2977 circRNA alternative splicing (circ-AS) events in the two datasets respectively and confirmed the expression of circ-AS events by RT-PCR. We further inspected the distributions and patterns of circ-AS in cancer and adjacent normal tissues. To further understand the potential functions of cancer-specific circ-AS, we classified those events into tumor suppressors and oncogenes and performed pathway enrichment analysis. This study is the first comprehensive view of cancer-specific circRNA alternative splicing, which could contribute significantly to regulation and functional research of circRNAs in cancers.

CVm6A: A Visualization and Exploration Database for m6As in Cell Lines.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) has been identified in various biological processes and plays important regulatory functions in diverse cells. However, there is still no visualization database for exploring global m6A patterns across cell lines. Here we collected all available MeRIP-Seq and m6A-CLIP-Seq datasets from public databases and identified 340,950 and 179,201 m6A peaks dependent on 23 human and eight mouse cell lines respectively. Those m6A peaks were further classified into mRNA and lncRNA groups. To better understand the potential function of m6A, we then mapped m6A peaks in different subcellular components and gene regions. Among those human m6A modification, 190,050 and 150,900 peaks were identified in cancer and non-cancer cells, respectively. Finally, all results were integrated and imported into a visualized cell-dependent m6A database CVm6A. We believe the specificity of CVm6A could significantly contribute to the research for the function and regulation of cell-dependent m6A modification in disease and development.

Antagonistic effects of selenium on lead-induced autophagy by influencing mitochondrial dynamics in the spleen of chickens.

Lead (Pb) may damage the immune function in human and animal. Selenium (Se) has antagonistic effects on Pb. In our study, brown layer chickens were randomly allocated to control group, Se group (1 mg/kg Se), Se+Pb group (1 mg/kg Se and 350 mg/kg Pb), and Pb group (350 mg/kg Pb). The chickens were sacrificed on the 90th day; spleen tissues were subjected to observation of ultrastructure and detection of spleen-related indexes. The results revealed that in the Pb group, expression levels of the cytokines IL-1 and TNF-α significantly increased, and expression levels of IL-2 and INF-γ significantly decreased; activities of antioxidant enzyme GPX, SOD and CAT significantly decreased, and expression level of malondialdehyde (MDA) significantly increased; expression levels of mitochondrial fission-related genes (Mff and Drp1) significantly increased, and expression levels of mitochondrial fusion-related genes (Opa1, Mfn1 and Mfn2) significantly decreased; expression of autophagy-related genes (Beclin 1, Dynein, Atg 5, LC3-I and LC-II) was upregulated, while expression of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) was downregulated. The results of transmission electron microscopy indicated that Pb induced mitochondrial fragmentation, and triggered autophagy in the spleen of chickens. The Se and Pb co-treatment remarkably alleviated these injuries induced by Pb in the spleen of chickens. In conclusion, Pb can induce the oxidative stress to influence the mitochondrial dynamics balance and lead to autophagy, which triggers the immune dysfunction in the spleen of chickens; the Se exhibits the antagonistic effects on lead-induced autophagy by influencing mitochondrial dynamics in the spleen of chickens.

Quasi-steady-state air plasma channel produced by a femtosecond laser pulse sequence.

A long air plasma channel can be formed by filamentation of intense femtosecond laser pulses. However, the lifetime of the plasma channel produced by a single femtosecond laser pulse is too short (only a few nanoseconds) for many potential applications based on the conductivity of the plasma channel. Therefore, prolonging the lifetime of the plasma channel is one of the key challenges in the research of femtosecond laser filamentation. In this study, a unique femtosecond laser source was developed to produce a high-quality femtosecond laser pulse sequence with an interval of 2.9 ns and a uniformly distributed single-pulse energy. The metre scale quasi-steady-state plasma channel with a 60-80 ns lifetime was formed by such pulse sequences in air. The simulation study for filamentation of dual femtosecond pulses indicated that the plasma channel left by the previous pulse was weakly affected the filamentation of the next pulse in sequence under our experimental conditions.

Tyrosine-protein phosphatase non-receptor type 12 expression is a good prognostic factor in resectable non-small cell lung cancer.

Tyrosine-protein phosphatase non-receptor type 12 (PTPN12) has been considered to be a tumor suppressor in human cancer, but its clinical and prognostic significance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been well elucidated.A retrospective analysis of 215 patients with surgically resected NSCLCs from Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center between April 2002 and March 2005 was performed using immunohistochemistry and Western Blot to analyze PTPN12 expression. The association between PTPN12 expression and patient survival was investigated.Western Blots showed that the expression level of PTPN12 were higher in normal paracancerous lung tissues than in NSCLC tissues. High PTPN12 expression was less common in the presence than in the absence of visceral pleural invasion (p=0.038). Patients with PTPN12-high tumors had a longer disease-free survival (DFS) (P<0.001) and overall survival (OS) (p<0.001), especially for those with non-squamous cell carcinoma (non-SCC) (DFS, p<0.001; OS, p<0.001). Multivariate analysis confirmed that PTPN12 positivity was associated with increased survival duration (DFS, p<0.001; OS, p<0.001), independent of prognostic indicator.High PTPN12 expressive levels are associated with favorable survival duration in patients with NSCLC, especially those with non-SCC. Our study suggests that PTPN12 expression is a valuable prognostic biomarker for NSCLC patients.

Expression of Cystatin SN significantly correlates with recurrence, metastasis, and survival duration in surgically resected non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Cystatin SN has been considered to be involved in human cancer, but its clinical significance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been elucidated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical value of Cystatin SN expression in patients with surgically resected NSCLCs. A retrospective analysis of 174 patients with surgically resected NSCLCs from April 2002 to March 2005 was performed with immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization to analyze the protein expression and amplification of Cystatin SN. The associations between Cystatin SN expression and recurrence, metastasis, and survival were investigated. In recurrence and metastasis analysis, compared with low-Cystatin SN expression NSCLCs, high expression tumors were more likely to recur and metastasize (P < 0.001). Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were significantly prolonged in the low-Cystatin SN expression subgroup compared with the high-Cystatin SN expression subgroup (DFS, P < 0.001; OS, P = 0.001). A multivariate analysis confirmed that high expression of Cystatin SN was associated with poor survival (DFS, P = 0.001; OS, P = 0.006) and was an independent prognostic indicator. The present study indicates that high expression of Cystatin SN is a significant prognostic indicator of a higher rate of recurrence, metastatic risk, and poor survival in patients with surgically resected NSCLCs.

Nanopore back titration analysis of dipicolinic acid.

Here, we report a novel label-free nanopore back titration method for the detection of dipicolinic acid, a marker molecule for bacterial spores. By competitive binding of the target analyte and a large ligand probe to metal ions, dipicolinic acid could be sensitively and selectively detected. This nanopore back titration approach should find useful applications in the detection of other species of medical, biological, or environmental importance if their direct detection is difficult to achieve.

Real-time label-free measurement of HIV-1 protease activity by nanopore analysis.

A label-free method for the measurement of the activity of HIV-1 protease is developed by real-time monitoring of the cleavage of a peptide substrate by HIV-1 protease in a nanopore. The method is rapid and sensitive: picomolar concentrations of HIV-1 protease could be detected in ~10 min. Simulated clinical samples are analyzed, and the activity of HIV-1 protease could be accurately detected. Our developed nanopore sensor design strategy should find useful applications in the development of stochastic sensors for other proteases of medical, pharmaceutical, and biological importance.

Nanopore biosensor for label-free and real-time detection of anthrax lethal factor.

We report a label-free real-time nanopore sensing method for the detection of anthrax lethal factor, a component of the anthrax toxin, by using a complementary single-stranded DNA as a molecular probe. The method is rapid and sensitive: sub-nanomolar concentrations of the target anthrax lethal factor DNA could be detected in ∼1 min. Further, our method is selective, which can differentiate the target DNA from other single-stranded DNA molecules at the single-base resolution. This sequence-specific detection approach should find useful application in the development of nanopore sensors for the detection of other pathogens.

Generation of arbitrary vector beams with cascaded liquid crystal spatial light modulators.

A flexible approach is presented to generate vector beams with arbitrary polarization and complex amplitude by means of two cascaded transmissive liquid crystal spatial light modulators (LCSLMs). The configuration of the cascaded LCSLM system and its modulation characteristic are introduced. Theoretical analysis and experimental demonstration prove that the system in combination with a double-pass computer-generated hologram and a black-and-white pattern can generate vector beams with arbitrary polarization and complex amplitude by respectively controlling the complex amplitudes of two orthogonal polarization components of the beams. Using this system, we successfully generate radially polarized vector beams with helical phase distributions and vector Bessel beams with inhomogeneous amplitude distributions in experiments.

Nanopore detection of copper ions using a polyhistidine probe.

We report a stochastic nanopore sensing method for the detection of Cu(2+) ions. By employing a polyhistidine molecule as a chelating agent, and based on the different signatures of the events produced by the translocation of the chelating agent through an α-hemolysin pore in the absence and presence of target analytes, trace amounts of copper ions could be detected with a detection limit of 40 nM. Importantly, although Co(2+), Ni(2+), and Zn(2+) also interacts with the polyhistidine molecule, since the event residence times and/or blockage amplitudes for these metal chelates are significantly different from those of copper chelates, these metal ions do not interfere with Cu(2+) detection. This chelating reaction approach should find useful application in the development of nanopore sensors for other metal ions.