Rapid identification of medicinal plants via visual feature-based deep learning.

BACKGROUND: Traditional Chinese Medicinal Plants (CMPs) hold a significant and core status for the healthcare system and cultural heritage in China. It has been practiced and refined with a history of exceeding thousands of years for health-protective affection and clinical treatment in China. It plays an indispensable role in the traditional health landscape and modern medical care. It is important to accurately identify CMPs for avoiding the affected clinical safety and medication efficacy by the different processed conditions and cultivation environment confusion. RESULTS: In this study, we utilize a self-developed device to obtain high-resolution data. Furthermore, we constructed a visual multi-varieties CMPs image dataset. Firstly, a random local data enhancement preprocessing method is proposed to enrich the feature representation for imbalanced data by random cropping and random shadowing. Then, a novel hybrid supervised pre-training network is proposed to expand the integration of global features within Masked Autoencoders (MAE) by incorporating a parallel classification branch. It can effectively enhance the feature capture capabilities by integrating global features and local details. Besides, the newly designed losses are proposed to strengthen the training efficiency and improve the learning capacity, based on reconstruction loss and classification loss. CONCLUSIONS: Extensive experiments are performed on our dataset as well as the public dataset. Experimental results demonstrate that our method achieves the best performance among the state-of-the-art methods, highlighting the advantages of efficient implementation of plant technology and having good prospects for real-world applications.

Extraction, characterization, antioxidation and anti-inflammatory activity of polysaccharides from Bupleurum chinense based on different molecular weights.

Bupleurum chinense polysaccharide has a wide range of biological activities. In this study, Bupleurum chinense polysaccharides (BPs), BPs-1 (30 kDa) and BPs-2 (2000 kDa) with different molecular weights were isolated and prepared by ultrafiltration interception method. The structures of BPs, BPs-1 and BPs-2 were characterised by monosaccharide composition, GC-MS, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance. The results showed that the monosaccharide composition of BPs with different molecular weights was the same, but the proportion was different. BPs, BPs-1 and BPs-2 were mainly connected by Glup-(1→,→2,4)-Araf-(1→,→6)-Glup-(1→). The anti-inflammatory activity screening experiment in vitro showed that BPs-1 had stronger anti-inflammatory effect. Antioxidant experiments showed that BPs-2 had high free radical scavenging activity. This study laid a foundation for elucidating the fine structure and structure-activity relationship of Bupleurum chinense polysaccharides and will promote the product development of Bupleurum chinense polysaccharides.

The impact of benzoic acid and lactic acid on the treatment efficiency and microbial community in the sulfur autotrophic denitrification process.

Nitrate poses a potential threat to aquatic ecosystems. This study focuses on the sulfur autotrophic denitrification mechanism in the process of water culture wastewater treatment, which has been successfully applied to the degradation of nitrogen in water culture farm effluents. However, the coexistence of organic acids in the treatment process is a common environmental challenge, significantly affecting the activity of denitrifying bacteria. This paper aims to explore the effects of adding benzoic acid and lactic acid on denitrification performance, organic acid removal rate, and microbial population abundance in sulfur autotrophic denitrification systems under optimal operating conditions, sulfur deficiency, and high hydraulic load. In experiments with 50 mg·L-1 of benzoic acid or lactic acid alone, the results show that benzoic acid and lactic acid have a stimulating effect on denitrification activity, with the stimulating effect significantly greater than the inhibitory effect. Under optimal operating conditions, the average denitrification rate of the system remained above 99%; under S/N = 1.5 conditions, the average denitrification rate increased from 88.34% to 91.93% and 85.91%; under HRT = 6 h conditions, the average denitrification rate increased from 75.25% to 97.79% and 96.58%. In addition, the addition of organic acids led to a decrease in microbial population abundance. At the phylum level, Proteobacteria has always been the dominant bacterial genus, and its relative abundance significantly increased after the addition of benzoic acid, from 40.2% to 61.5% and 62.4%. At the genus level, Thiobacillus, Sulfurimonas, Chryseobacterium, and Thermomonas maintained high population abundances under different conditions. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Employing autotrophic denitrification process for treating high-nitrate wastewater. Utilizing organic acids as external carbon sources. Denitrifying bacteria demonstrate high utilization efficiency towards organic acids. Organic acids promote denitrification more than they inhibit it. The promotion is manifested in the enhancement of activity and microbial abundance.

Identification and diagnostic potential of hsa_circ_101303 in colorectal cancer: unraveling a regulatory network.

BACKGROUND: The role of novel circular RNAs (circRNAs) in colorectal cancer (CRC) remains to be determined. This study aimed to identify a novel circRNA involved in CRC pathogenesis, assess its diagnostic value, and construct a regulatory network. METHODS: Differential expression analysis was conducted using circRNA datasets to screen for differentially expressed circRNAs. The expression of selected circRNAs was validated in external datasets and clinical samples. Diagnostic value of plasma circRNA levels in CRC was assessed. A competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network was constructed for the circRNA using TCGA dataset. RESULTS: Analysis of datasets revealed that hsa_circ_101303 was significantly overexpressed in CRC tissues compared to normal tissues. The upregulation of hsa_circ_101303 in CRC tissues was further confirmed through the GSE138589 dataset and clinical samples. High expression of hsa_circ_101303 was associated with advanced N stage, M stage, and tumor stage in CRC. Plasma levels of hsa_circ_101303 were markedly elevated in CRC patients and exhibited moderate diagnostic ability for CRC (AUC = 0.738). The host gene of hsa_circ_101303 was also found to be related to the TNM stage of CRC. Nine miRNAs were identified as target miRNAs for hsa_circ_101303, and 27 genes were identified as targets of these miRNAs. Subsequently, a ceRNA network for hsa_circ_101303 was constructed to illustrate the interactions between the nine miRNAs and 27 genes. CONCLUSIONS: The study identifies hsa_circ_101303 as a highly expressed circRNA in CRC, which is associated with the progression of the disease. Plasma levels of hsa_circ_101303 show promising diagnostic potential for CRC. The ceRNA network for hsa_circ_101303 provides valuable insights into the regulatory mechanisms underlying CRC.

Multiplication-free and hardware-efficient baud-rate timing error detector for Nyquist and faster than Nyquist optical IM/DD systems.

Clock recovery (CR) algorithms that support higher baud rates and advanced modulation formats are crucial for short-distance optical interconnections, and it is desirable to push CR to operate at baud rate with minimal computing resources and power. In this Letter, we proposed a hardware-efficient and multiplication operation-free baud-rate timing error detector (TED) as a solution to meet these demands. Our approach involves employing both the absolute value of samples and the nonlinear sign operation to emphasize the clock tone, which is deteriorated by severe bandwidth limitation in Nyquist and faster than Nyquist (FTN) systems. Through experimental investigations based on a transceiver system with a 3 dB bandwidth of 30 GHz, the proposed baud-rate TED exhibits excellent performance. The proposed scheme successfully achieves clock synchronization of the received signals with the transmitted signals, including 50 GBaud PAM4/8, 80 GBaud PAM4, and up to 120 GBaud PAM4 FTN signals. To the best of our knowledge, the CR based on the proposed baud-rate TED is the most optimal solution for ultrahigh-speed short-reach IM/DD transmission, comprehensively considering the timing jitter, bit error rate (BER), and implementation complexity.

Facile and rapid fabrication of a novel 3D-printable, visible light-crosslinkable and bioactive polythiourethane for large-to-massive rotator cuff tendon repair.

Facile and rapid 3D fabrication of strong, bioactive materials can address challenges that impede repair of large-to-massive rotator cuff tears including personalized grafts, limited mechanical support, and inadequate tissue regeneration. Herein, we developed a facile and rapid methodology that generates visible light-crosslinkable polythiourethane (PHT) pre-polymer resin (∼30 min at room temperature), yielding 3D-printable scaffolds with tendon-like mechanical attributes capable of delivering tenogenic bioactive factors. Ex vivo characterization confirmed successful fabrication, robust human supraspinatus tendon (SST)-like tensile properties (strength: 23 MPa, modulus: 459 MPa, at least 10,000 physiological loading cycles without failure), excellent suture retention (8.62-fold lower than acellular dermal matrix (ADM)-based clinical graft), slow degradation, and controlled release of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) and transforming growth factor-ß3 (TGF-ß3). In vitro studies showed cytocompatibility and growth factor-mediated tenogenic-like differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells. In vivo studies demonstrated biocompatibility (3-week mouse subcutaneous implantation) and ability of growth factor-containing scaffolds to notably regenerate at least 1-cm of tendon with native-like biomechanical attributes as uninjured shoulder (8-week, large-to-massive 1-cm gap rabbit rotator cuff injury). This study demonstrates use of a 3D-printable, strong, and bioactive material to provide mechanical support and pro-regenerative cues for challenging injuries such as large-to-massive rotator cuff tears.

An in-situ-tag-generation proximity labeling technology for recording cellular interactions.

Obtaining information about cellular interactions is fundamental to the elucidation of physiological and pathological processes. Proximity labeling technologies have been widely used to report cellular interactions in situ; however, the reliance on addition of tag molecules typically restricts their application to regions where tags can readily diffuse, while the application in, for example, solid tissues, is susceptible. Here, we propose an "in-situ-tag-generation mechanism" and develop the GalTag technology based on galactose oxidase (GAO) for recording cellular interactions within three-dimensional biological solid regions. GAO mounted on bait cells can in situ generate bio-orthogonal aldehyde tags as interaction reporters on prey cells. Using GalTag, we monitored the dynamics of cellular interactions and assessed the targeting ability of engineered cells. In particular, we recorded, for the first time, the footprints of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) invasion into the bladder tissue of living mice, providing a valuable perspective to elucidate the anti-tumor mechanism of BCG.

Design, Synthesis, Biological Evaluation, and Molecular Docking Studies of Pleuromutilin Derivatives Containing Thiazole.

In this study, we designed and synthesized a series of pleuromutilin derivatives containing thiazole. The in vitro antimicrobial efficacy of these synthesized compounds was examined by using four strains. Compared with tiamulin (MIC = 0.25 µg/mL), compound 14 exhibited potency in inhibiting MRSA growth (MIC = 0.0625 µg/mL) in these derivatives. Meanwhile, the time-killing kinetics further demonstrated that compound 14 could efficiently inhibit the MRSA growth. After exposure at 4 × MIC, the postantibiotic effect (PAE) of compound 14 was 1.29 h. Additionally, in thigh-infected mice, compound 14 exhibited a more potent antibacterial efficacy (-1.78 ± 0.28 log10 CFU/g) in reducing MRSA load compared to tiamulin (-1.21 ± 0.23 log10 CFU/g). Moreover, the MTT assay on RAW 264.7 cells demonstrated that compound 14 (8 µg/mL) had no significant cytotoxicity. Docking studies indicated the strong affinity of compound 14 toward the 50S ribosomal subunit, with a binding free energy of -9.63 kcal/mol. Taken together, it could be deduced that compound 14 was a promising candidate for treating MRSA infections.

Structural Characterization and Screening for Anti-inflammatory Activity of Polysaccharides with Different Molecular Weights from Astragali Radix.

Astragali Radix polysaccharides (APSs) exhibit a broad spectrum of biological activity, which is mainly related to immune regulation. At present, most available studies focus on total APSs or a certain component of APSs. However, structural structure study and screening for the anti-inflammatory activity of polysaccharides with different molecular weights (MW) have yet to be conducted. In this study, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced RAW264.7 macrophages were used as a model to investigate the anti-inflammatory activity of APSs and its fractions. The results revealed that fraction APS-I had better anti-inflammatory effects than APS-II. After APS-Ⅰ was hydrolyzed by trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), the resulting degradation products oligosaccharides were fully methylated. These derivatized oligosaccharides were further analyzed by MALDI-TOF-MS and UPLC-Q-Exactive-MS/MS. The results showed that APS-Ⅰ was a hetero-polysaccharide with a molecular weight of about 2.0 × 106 Da, mainly consisting of glucose (46.8%) and galactose (34.4%). The degree of polymerization of Astragali Radix oligosaccharides (APOS) was 2-16. APOS were identified as 1,4-glucooligosaccharides and 1,4-galactooligosaccharides. The findings of this study lay the foundation for further elucidation of structure-function relationships of APSs and provide guidance for the development of anti-inflammatory drugs.

Ultrafast Self-Healing Elastomer with Closed-Loop Recyclability.

The loss of function after prolonged periods of use is inevitable for all materials including plastics. Hence, self-healing capabilities are a key development to prolong the service lifetime of materials. One of such self-healing capabilities can be achieved by integrating dynamic bonds such as boronic ester linkages into polymeric materials, however the rate of self-healing in these materials is insufficient and current methods to accelerate it are limited. In this study, we report the rational design, synthesis and characterization of a fluorinated elastomer (FBE15) that utilizes enhanced interaction between polymer chains afforded by strong dipole-dipole interactions from -CF3, which showed a significant increase in binding energy to -7.71 Kcal/mol from -5.51 Kcal/mol, resulting in increased interaction between the boronic ester linkages and improving self-healing capabilities of boronic ester materials, drastically reducing the time required for stress relaxation by 900 %. The bulk elastomer is capable of ultrafast self-healing in a one-click fashion that can happen in mere seconds, which can then be stretched to 150 % of its original length. By utilising the dynamic cross-linking, FBE15 is also capable of both mechanical reprocessing into the same materials and chemical recycling into its starting materials, respectively, further allowing reconstruction of the elastomers that have comparable properties to the original ones at the end of its service lifespan.

Ophiocordyceps sinensis preparations combined with the renin-angiotensin system inhibitor for diabetic kidney disease treatment: an umbrella review of systematic reviews and network meta-analysis.

Aims: This study aimed to synthesize the evidence of the comparative effectiveness and safety of Ophiocordyceps sinensis (OS) preparations combined with renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RASi) for diabetic kidney disease (DKD). Methods: Eight databases were searched from their inception to May 2023. Systematic reviews (SRs) of OS preparations combined with RASi for DKD were identified. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from the included SRs and additional searching were performed for data pooling. Cochrane risk-of-bias 2 (RoB 2) tool and AMSTAR 2 were used to evaluate the methodological quality of RCTs and SRs, respectively. A Bayesian network meta-analysis was performed to compare the add-on effect and safety of OS preparations for DKD. The certainty of evidence was graded using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Results: Fourteen SRs were included, whose methodological quality was assessed as high (1/14) or critically low (13/14). After combining additional searching, 157 RCTs were included, involving 13,143 participants. The quality of the RCTs showed some concerns (155/157) or high risk (2/157). Jinshuibao capsules and tablets, Bailing capsules and tablets, and Zhiling capsules were evaluated. Compared to RASi, adding either of the OS capsular preparations resulted in a decreased 24-h urinary total protein levels. OS preparations ranked differently in each outcome. Jinshuibao capsules plus RASi were beneficial in reducing urinary protein, serum creatinine, serum urea nitrogen, and blood glucose levels, with moderate-certainty evidence. No serious adverse events were observed after adding OS to RASi. Conclusion: Combining OS capsular preparations with RASi appeared to be associated with decreased urinary total protein levels in DKD patients. Further high-quality studies are needed to confirm. Systematic Review Registration: INPASY202350066.

HDAC Inhibition Increases CXCL12 Secretion to Recruit Natural Killer Cells in Peripheral T Cell Lymphoma.

Peripheral T cell lymphoma (PTCL) is a heterogeneous and aggressive disease with a poor prognosis. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors have shown inhibitory effects on PTCL. A better understanding of the therapeutic mechanism underlying the effects of HDAC inhibitors could help improve treatment strategies. Here, we found that high expression of HDAC3 is associated with poor prognosis in PTCL. HDAC3 inhibition suppressed lymphoma growth in immunocompetent mice but not in immunodeficient mice. HDAC3 deletion delayed the progression of lymphoma, reduced the lymphoma burden in the thymus, spleen, and lymph nodes, and prolonged the survival of mice bearing MNU-induced lymphoma. Furthermore, inhibiting HDAC3 promoted the infiltration and enhanced the function of natural killer (NK) cells. Mechanistically, HDAC3 mediated ATF3 deacetylation, enhancing its transcriptional inhibitory activity. Targeting HDAC3 enhanced CXCL12 secretion through an ATF3-dependent pathway to stimulate NK cell recruitment and activation. Finally, HDAC3 suppression improved the response of PTCL to conventional chemotherapy. Collectively, this study provides insights into the mechanism by which HDAC3 regulates ATF3 activity and CXCL12 secretion, leading to immune infiltration and lymphoma suppression. Combining HDAC3 inhibitors with chemotherapy may be a promising strategy for treating PTCL. Key words: Histone deacetylases (HDACs), Natural killer (NK) cells, Peripheral T cell lymphoma (PTCL).

The effect of tDCS on inhibitory control and its transfer effect on sustained attention in children with autism spectrum disorder: An fNIRS study.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have inhibitory control deficits. The combination of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and inhibitory control training produces good transfer effects and improves neuroplasticity. However, no studies have explored whether applying tDCS over the dlPFC improves inhibitory control and produces transfer effects in children with ASD. OBJECTIVE: To explore whether multisession tDCS could enhance inhibitory control training (response inhibition), near-transfer (interference control) and far-transfer effects (sustained attention; stability of attention) in children with ASD and the generalizability of training effects in daily life and the class, as reflected by behavioral performance and neural activity measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). METHODS: Twenty-eight autistic children were randomly assigned to either the true or sham tDCS group. The experimental group received bifrontal tDCS stimulation at 1.5 mA, administered for 15 min daily across eight consecutive days. tDCS was delivered during a computerized Go/No-go training task. Behavioral performance in terms of inhibitory control (Dog/Monkey and Day/Night Stroop tasks), sustained attention (Continuous Performance and Cancellation tests), prefrontal cortex (PFC) neural activity and inhibitory control and sustained attention in the class and at home were evaluated. RESULTS: Training (response inhibition) and transfer effects (interference control; sustained attention) were significantly greater after receiving tDCS during the Go/No-go training task than after receiving sham tDCS. Changes in oxyhemoglobin (HbO) concentrations in the dlPFC and FPA associated with consistent conditions in the Day/Night Stroop and Continuous Performance test were observed after applying tDCS during the inhibitory control training task. Notably, transfer effects can be generalized to classroom environments. CONCLUSION: Inhibitory control training combined with tDCS may be a promising, safe, and effective method for improving inhibitory control and sustained attention in children with ASD.

Occurrence of Cassava (Manihot esculenta) Leaf Spot Disease Caused by Diaporthe ueckeri in China.

Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is a perennial crop of the family Euphorbiaceae, widely cultivated due to its phytopharmacological and economic values in China. In November 2022, a leaf spot disease on cassava was observed in Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China (21.17° N, 110.18° E), with 100% disease incidence. About 80 % of leaves were covered with spots on the infected plants. Typical symptoms initially appeared as irregular water-soaked lesions that became brown and whitish with the progress of the disease, lesions gradually expanded and coalesced, causing leaf withering, drying and final fall. Tissues (4 to 5 mm) were excised from the margin of lesions, sterilized in 3% H2O2 solution for 3 min, rinsed three times with sterile water, placed on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium (containing 50mg/L penicillin), and incubated at 25-28 °C. Ten single hypha isolates with similar morphology were obtained and further purified as single conidium subcultures. The colony was grey whitish with sparse aerial mycelium and colony diameter reached 70.4 mm after four days incubation at 25-28℃ in the dark. Black pycnidia occurring as clusters were spherical or irregular, erumpent at maturity, often with a creamy whitish, conidial cirrus extruding from ostiole after 30-days incubation. Conidiophores were hyaline, smooth, unbranched. Alpha conidia were bi-guttulate, hyaline, ellipsoidal, aseptate, with dimensions of 5.1~7.5×1.9~3.4µm (mean 6.2×2.8 µm, n>50). Beta conidia were abundant, filiform, hyaline, smooth, curved in a hooked shape, with a truncate base and dimensions of 18.5-26.4 × 0.6-1.2µm (mean 23.4 × 1.0 µm, n= 40) . Gamma conidia were not observed. The morphological characteristics were similar to those of Diaporthe ueckeri (Udayanga et al. 2015). The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, large subunit (LSU) rRNA sequence, actin (ACT), calmodulin (CAL), histone H3 (HIS), translation elongation factor 1-alpha (TEF1-α), and ß-tubulin (TUB) genes of a representative isolate CCAS-MS-6 (ACCC 35497) were amplified and sequenced using primer pairs: ITS5/ITS4, LR0R/LR5, ACT-512F/ACT-783R, CAL228F/CAL737R, CYLH3F/ H3-1b, EF1-728F/ EF1-986R and Bt2a/Bt2b (Gao et al 2017；Udayanga et al 2014). All sequences were deposited in GenBank (OR361671, OR361672, and OR365605-9). BLAST search showed high similarities with sequences of Diaporthe ueckeri (Tab 1). Maximum likelihood analyses of the concatenated data of CAL, HIS, ITS, TEF and TUB using Mega 11 placed CCAS-MS-6 in the D. ueckeri clade. Thus, the fungus was identified as D. ueckeri. Three one-year old healthy plants were used for pathogenicity tests in pots. Two 15-day old leaves of each plant were cleaned with 75% alcohol, three sites on each leaf were wounded, and sites on one of the leaf were covered with fungal plugs from 15-day-old cultures on PDA, and sites on the other leaf with PDA plugs as a control. All plants were kept at ambient temperature (about 28℃) and covered with plastic bags containing sterile wet cotton to maintain the humidity. Seven days after inoculation, all inoculated sites showed symptoms of necrosis, while control sites showed no symptoms. The same fungus identified on the basis of morphological and molecular criteria was reisolated from symptomatic inoculated leaves. In China, D. ueckeri had been reported to cause diseases on Eucalyptus citriodora, Camellia sinensis, and Michelia shiluensis (Gao et al 2016; Liao et al 2023; Yi et al 2018), this is the first report on M. esculenta. The definition of the disease etiology is a prerequisite to develop effective management strategies.

Synthesis and Properties of A Strained Triple Nanohoop.

A strained triple nanohoop with a shared central benzene unit is synthesized using a threefold intramolecular ring-closing approach. Among the five possible constitutional isomers, the isomer with the highest D3h symmetry is isolated, the structure of which contains three nanohoop blades and a central hexaphenylbenzene unit. The structure is elucidated using NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The optical and electrochemical properties are investigated, revealing a moderate fluorescence quantum yield of 40%. A water-soluble nanomaterial is prepared using a nanoparticle encapsulation method, and a fluorescence quantum yield of 10% is retained, which demonstrates the potential of the nanomaterial in biological systems.

Nomograms Predict PFS and OS for SCLC Patients After Standardized Treatment: A Real-World Study.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the process of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients from achieving optimal efficacy to experiencing disease progression until death. It examines the predictive value of the treatment response on progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of SCLC patients. Patients and Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis on 136 SCLC patients diagnosed from 1992 to 2018. Important prognostic factors were identified to construct nomogram models. The predictive performance of the models was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic curves and calibration curves. Survival differences between groups were compared using Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Subsequently, an independent cohort consisting of 106 SCLC patients diagnosed from 2014 to 2021 was used for validation. Results: We constructed two nomograms to predict first-line PFS (PFS1) and OS of SCLC. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves for the PFS1 nomogram predicting PFS at 3-, 6-, and 12-months were 0.919 (95% CI: 0.867-0.970), 0.908 (95% CI: 0.860-0.956) and 0.878 (95% CI: 0.798-0.958), and for the OS nomogram predicting OS at 6-, 12-, and 24-months were 0.814 (95% CI: 0.736-0.892), 0.819 (95% CI: 0.749-0.889) and 0.809 (95% CI: 0.678-0.941), indicating those two models with a high discriminative ability. The calibration curves demonstrated the models had a high degree of consistency between predicted and observed values. According to the risk scores, patients were divided into high-risk and low-risk groups, showing a significant difference in survival rate. And these findings were validated in another independent validation cohort. Conclusion: Based on the patients' treatment response after standardized treatment, we developed and validated two nomogram models to predict PFS1 and OS of SCLC. The models demonstrated good accuracy, reliability and clinical applicability by validating in an independent cohort.

Fetal agenesis of the corpus callosum: Clinical and genetic analysis in a series of 40 patients.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the genetic causes of agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC) and assess the utility of karyotype analysis, copy number variation sequencing (CNV-seq), and whole-exome sequencing (WES) to genetically diagnose fetal ACC. METHODS: We retrospectively examined 40 fetuses diagnosed with ACC who underwent prenatal ultrasonography or magnetic resonance imaging between January 2019 and October 2023. Genetic tests were conducted on the fetuses using karyotype analysis or CNV-seq as the first-line diagnosis. WES was performed if aneuploid and pathogenic CNVs were excluded. RESULTS: Among the 40 fetuses, 29 (72 %) had non-isolated ACC and 11 (28 %) had isolated ACC. Cerebellar dysplasia and hydrocephalus were the most common abnormal developments in the central nervous system. Twenty-eight patients underwent karyotype analysis, with a detection rate of 14 % (4/28). Twenty-six patients underwent CNV-seq; three patients were found to have pathogenic CNVs, with a detection rate of 12 % (3/26). Thirty-three fetuses with no findings of karyotype analysis or CNV-seq were subsequently tested using WES, with a detection rate of 36 % (12/33). Overall, the total diagnostic yield was 48 % (19/40), and monogenic etiology accounted for 30 % (12/40). The genetic detection rate of fetal non-isolated ACC (62 %, 18/29) was higher than that of isolated ACC (9 %, 1/11). CONCLUSION: Prenatal genetic analysis of fetuses with ACC is clinically significant, with monogenic disorders being the main cause. WES may enhance the detection rate of fetuses with ACC with negative karyotype analysis or CNV-seq results.

Polyhydroxy steroids isolated from starfish (Asterina pectinifera) and their embryotoxicity.

Many marine organisms possess an essential capacity to produce secondary metabolites that exhibit toxic characteristics. A new polyhydroxy steroid, 24-methyl-5α-cholestane-24(28)-ene-3ß, 4ß, 6α, 7α, 8, 15ß, 16ß, 26-octol-6-O-sodium sulphate (1) was isolated from starfish (Asterina pectinifera), along with five polar steroid compounds (2-6) that were previously identified. NMR (1H and 13C NMR, 1H-1H COSY, HSQC, HMBC, and NOESY) and HR-ESI-MS were employed for structure elucidations. The embryotoxicity and teratogenicity of the isolated compounds were assessed using embryos of marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma). Compound 5 exhibited moderate embryotoxicity (96h-LC50: 65 µM).

Do modic changes affect the fusion rate in spinal interbody fusion surgery? A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the fusion rates of spinal interbody fusion in patients with modic changes (MCs). METHODS: This meta-analysis was registered at PROSPERO, and the project number was CRD42024538023. This network meta-analysis was conducted according to the PRISMA 2020 statement. The PubMed, Embase, Web of Science Core Collection, ClinicalTrials.gov and Cochrane Library databases were searched from inception to March 28, 2024 for potential studies. STATA 13.0 and Review Manager 5.3 were used to perform the meta-analysis. RESULTS: Seven studies with a total of 1162 patients or segments assigned to four groups according to MCs grade were identified. The fusion rate in the non-modic changes (NMCs) was significantly greater than that in the MCs at the 3-month (p = 0.0001) and 6-month (p = 0.002) follow-ups. No significant difference was detected in the fusion rate at 12-month (p = 0.34) and final follow-ups (p = 0.41). No significant difference was found in cervical fusion (p = 0.88) or transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) (p = 0.51). The fusion rate of NMCs was significantly greater than that of MCs in posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) (p < 0.00001). No significant differences were identified among the four groups in the overall comparison, cervical fusion or TLIF subgroups. The fusion rate in the NMCs was significantly greater than that in the MCs-2 and MCs-3 in the PLIF. CONCLUSION: MCs decreased the fusion rate at the 3- and 6-month follow-ups. MCs-2 and MCs-3 decrease the fusion rate in PLIF.