Glutathione S-transferase-Pi 1 protects cells from irradiation-induced death by inhibiting ferroptosis in pancreatic cancer.

Glutathione S-transferase-Pi 1 (GSTP1) is an isozyme that plays a key role in detoxification and antioxidative damage. It also confers resistance to tumor therapy. However, the specific role of GSTP1 in radiotherapy resistance in pancreatic cancer (PC) is not known. In this study, we investigated how GSTP1 imparts radioresistance in PC. The findings of previous studies and this study revealed that ionizing radiation (IR) induces ferroptosis in pancreatic cancer cells, primarily by upregulating the expression of ACSL4. Our results showed that after IR, GSTP1 prolonged the survival of pancreatic cancer cells by inhibiting ferroptosis but did not affect apoptosis. The expression of GSTP1 reduced cellular ferroptosis by decreasing the levels of ACSL4 and increasing the GSH content. These changes increase the resistance of pancreatic cancer cells and xenograft tumors to IR. Our findings indicate that ferroptosis participates in irradiation-induced cell death and that GSTP1 prevents IR-induced death of pancreatic cancer cells by inhibiting ferroptosis.

Associations of dinitroaniline herbicide exposure, genetic susceptibility, and lifestyle with glucose dysregulation: A gene-environment interaction study from the Wuhan-Zhuhai cohort.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of dinitroaniline herbicides as well as their interactions with genetic susceptibility and lifestyle with glucose dysregulation. METHODS: A total of 4310 Chinese urban adults from the baseline of the Wuhan-Zhuhai Cohort were included in the cross-sectional study. A follow-up panel from the cohort was included in the longitudinal study, including 158 participants with 432 observations. Glucose dysregulation, including fasting plasma glucose (FPG), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and impaired fasting glucose (IFG) were assessed. Serum dinitroaniline herbicides including benfluralin, trifluralin, and pendimethalin were measured. T2DM-related polygenic risk score (PRS) and healthy life scores were constructed. RESULTS: Cross-sectionally, each 2-fold increase in serum benfluralin was associated with a 1.12%, 2.03%, and 9% increase in FPG, HOMA-IR, and IFG risk, respectively. Each 2-fold increase in serum trifluralin was associated with a 0.70% increase in FPG. Each 2-fold increase in serum pendimethalin was associated with a 2.53% and 24% increase in FPG and IFG risk, respectively (all P < 0.05). Positive associations were found between the dinitroaniline herbicide mixture and glucose dysregulation. Longitudinally, serum benfluralin and pendimethalin were associated with the annual increases in FPG and HOMA-IR (P < 0.05). Joint and interaction effect analysis showed that compared with participants with high benfluralin/trifluralin/pendimethalin, high PRS, and unhealthy lifestyle, those with low benfluralin/trifluralin/pendimethalin, low PRS, and healthy lifestyle showed the greatest declines in FPG, i.e., -15.46%, -13.58%, and -10.51% changes, respectively; and the greatest reductions in IFG risks, i.e., 75%, 61%, and 73% reductions, respectively (all P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study highlighted the importance of controlling dinitroaniline herbicide exposure and following healthy lifestyles in glucose dysregulation prevention, especially among individuals with high genetic risk of T2DM.

Ammonia-induced lysosomal and mitochondrial damage causes cell death of effector CD8+ T cells.

Ammonia is thought to be a cytotoxin and its increase in the blood impairs cell function. However, whether and how this toxin triggers cell death under pathophysiological conditions remains unclear. Here we show that ammonia induces a distinct form of cell death in effector T cells. We found that rapidly proliferating T cells use glutaminolysis to release ammonia in the mitochondria, which is then translocated to and stored in the lysosomes. Excessive ammonia accumulation increases lysosomal pH and results in the termination of lysosomal ammonia storage and ammonia reflux into mitochondria, leading to mitochondrial damage and cell death, which is characterized by lysosomal alkalization, mitochondrial swelling and impaired autophagic flux. Inhibition of glutaminolysis or blocking lysosomal alkalization prevents ammonia-induced T cell death and improves T cell-based antitumour immunotherapy. These findings identify a distinct form of cell death that differs from previously known mechanisms.

Dispersion-Selective Band Engineering in an Artificial Kagome Superlattice.

The relentless pursuit of band structure engineering continues to be a fundamental aspect in solid-state research. Here, we meticulously construct an artificial kagome potential to generate and control multiple Dirac bands of graphene. This unique high-order potential harbors natural multiperiodic components, enabling the reconstruction of band structures through different potential contributions. As a result, the band components, each characterized by distinct dispersions, shift in energy at different velocities in response to the variation of artificial potential. Thereby, we observe a significant spectral weight redistribution of the multiple Dirac peaks. Furthermore, the magnetic field can effectively weaken the superlattice effect and reactivate the intrinsic Dirac band. Overall, we achieve actively dispersion-selective band engineering, a functionality that would substantially increase the freedom in band design.

[Evaluation of nutritional value of common cooked food in Hubei Province by nutrient profiling].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the nutritional components of common cooked foods in Hubei Province. METHODS: Forty-nine common cooked foods consumed by residents in Hubei Province were collected, and their edible parts were homogenized and tested for various nutrient contents according to the national standard method. The nutrient-rich foods index(NRF)model was used to calculate the NRF index(NRF 9.3) of various cooked foods, and the nutritional value of common cooked foods in Hubei Province was evaluated. RESULTS: The result of the nutrient-rich food index model showed that the NRF 9.3 index of all cooked dishes ranged from-176.9 to 224.4, the NRF 9.3 index ranking of all types of cooked food was mainly related to cooking method. The NRF 9.3 index of cold mixed vegetable dishes was generally higher than the 75th percentile value(66.9) of the monitoring result, indicating higher nutritional value. The mean NRF 9.3 index of fish and shrimp cooked foods(72.4)monitored in this study was higher than that of meat cooked foods(21.5). The sodium content of pickled vegetables and some pre-packaged cooked foods was relatively high, RESULTS: ing in negative NRF 9.3 index and lower nutritional value. The NRF 9.3 index of Xiangyang beef noodles(33.1)and tofu noodles(37.1)was higher than that of beef offal noodles(5.1). CONCLUSION: Vegetables and fish and shrimp are better sources of nutrition, and "cold and dressed with sauce" are a better way to cook. Pickled vegetables contain too many restricted nutrients, and their consumption frequency and amount should be reduced.

The establishment of a novel upper cervical complex fracture classification system.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Upper cervical complex fractures are associated with high rates of neurological damage and mortality. The Dickman's classification is widely used in the diagnosis of upper cervical complex fractures. However, it falls short of covering the full spectrum of complex fractures. This limitation hinders effective diagnosis and treatment of these injuries. PURPOSE: To address the diagnostic gap in upper cervical complex fractures, the study introduces a novel classification system for these injuries, assessing its reliability and usability. STUDY DESIGN: Proposal of a new classification system for upper cervical complex fractures. PATIENT SAMPLE: The study comprised the clinical data of 242 patients with upper cervical complex fractures, including 32 patients treated at our hospital, along with an additional 210 cases from the literature. OUTCOME MEASURES: The inter-observer and intra-observer reliability (kappa coefficient, κ) of this classification system were investigated by 3 spine surgeons. The 3 researchers independently re-evaluated the upper cervical complex fracture classification system 3 months later. METHODS: The proposed classification categorizes upper cervical complex fractures into 3 main types: Type I combines odontoid and Hangman's fractures into 2 subtypes; Type II merges C1 with odontoid/Hangman's fractures into 3 subtypes; and Type III encompasses a combination of C1, odontoid, and Hangman's fractures, divided into 2 subtypes. Meanwhile, a questionnaire was administered in 15 assessors to evaluate the system's ease of use and clinical applicability. RESULTS: A total of 45 cases (18.6%) unclassifiable by Dickman's classification were successfully categorized using our system. The mean κ value of inter-observer reliability was 0.783, indicating substantial reliability. The mean κ value of intra-observer reliability was 0.862, indicating almost perfect reliability. Meanwhile, thirteen assessors (87.7%) stated that the classification system is easy to remember, easy to apply, and they expressed intentions to apply it in clinical practice in the future. CONCLUSIONS: This system not only offers high confidence and reproducibility but also serves as a precise guide for clinicians in formulating treatment plans. Future prospective applications are warranted to further evaluate this classification system.

A method for extracting buildings from remote sensing images based on 3DJA-UNet3.

Building extraction aims to extract building pixels from remote sensing imagery, which plays a significant role in urban planning, dynamic urban monitoring, and many other applications. UNet3+ is widely applied in building extraction from remote sensing images. However, it still faces issues such as low segmentation accuracy, imprecise boundary delineation, and the complexity of network models. Therefore, based on the UNet3+ model, this paper proposes a 3D Joint Attention (3DJA) module that effectively enhances the correlation between local and global features, obtaining more accurate object semantic information and enhancing feature representation. The 3DJA module models semantic interdependence in the vertical and horizontal dimensions to obtain feature map spatial encoding information, as well as in the channel dimensions to increase the correlation between dependent channel graphs. In addition, a bottleneck module is constructed to reduce the number of network parameters and improve model training efficiency. Many experiments are conducted on publicly accessible WHU,INRIA and Massachusetts building dataset, and the benchmarks, BOMSC-Net, CVNet, SCA-Net, SPCL-Net, ACMFNet, MFCF-Net models are selected for comparison with the 3DJA-UNet3+ model proposed in this paper. The experimental results show that 3DJA-UNet3+ achieves competitive results in three evaluation indicators: overall accuracy, mean intersection over union, and F1-score. The code will be available at https://github.com/EnjiLi/3DJA-UNet3Plus .

Adaptive Disturbance Suppression Method for Servo Systems Based on State Equalizer.

Disturbances in the aviation environment can compromise the stability of the aviation optoelectronic stabilization platform. Traditional methods, such as the proportional integral adaptive robust (PI + ARC) control algorithm, face a challenge: once high-frequency disturbances are introduced, their effectiveness is constrained by the control system's bandwidth, preventing further stability enhancement. A state equalizer speed closed-loop control algorithm is proposed, which combines proportional integral adaptive robustness with state equalizer (PI + ARC + State equalizer) control algorithm. This new control structure can suppress high-frequency disturbances caused by mechanical resonance, improve the bandwidth of the control system, and further achieve fast convergence and stability of the PI + ARC algorithm. Experimental results indicate that, in comparison to the control algorithm of PI + ARC, the inclusion of a state equalizer speed closed-loop compensation in the model significantly increases the closed-loop bandwidth by 47.6%, significantly enhances the control system's resistance to disturbances, and exhibits robustness in the face of variations in the model parameters and feedback sensors of the control object. In summary, integrating a state equalizer speed closed-loop with PI + ARC significantly enhances the suppression of high-frequency disturbances and the performance of control systems.

A real-world study of foreign body aspiration in children with 4227 cases in Western China.

The early diagnosis and treatment of foreign body aspiration (FBA) can significantly improve the overall prognosis of children. There are significant differences in the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of FBA in different regions. Therefore, we conducted a real-world study in the western region of China with over 4000 patients. The aim of this study was to improve the understanding of FBA in terms of its types, the specific months of its occurrence, and the distribution of primary caregiver characteristics in western China. We collected the clinical and epidemiological data of children who were diagnosed with FBA in our hospital over the past 20 years through a big data centre. We matched the data of healthy children who underwent routine physical examinations at the paediatric health clinic during the same period to analyse the differences in the data of actual guardians. A total of 4227 patients from five provinces were included in this study. Foreign bodies were removed by rigid bronchoscopy in 99.4% (4202/4227) of patients, with a median age of 19 months and a median surgical duration 16 min. January was the most common month of onset for 1725 patients, followed by February, with 1027 patients. The most common types of foreign objects were melon peanuts, seeds and walnuts, accounting for 47.2%, 15.3%, and 10.2%, respectively. In the FBA group, the proportion of grandparents who were primary caregivers was 70.33% (2973/4227), which was significantly greater than the 63.05% in the healthy group (2665/4227) (P < 0.01). FBA most commonly occurs in January and February. More than 60% of FBAs occur between the ages of 1 and 2 years, and the incidence of FBA may be greater in children who are cared for by grandparents. A rigid bronchoscope can be used to remove most aspirated foreign bodies in a median of 16 min.

An unusual cause of cardiac arrest in a young infant.

BACKGROUND: Anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery from the inappropriate sinus of Valsalva (AAOCA) is a rare congenital heart lesion. It is uncommon for patients with AAOCA to present with severe symptoms at a very young age. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe a very rare but critical presentation in a young infant with AAOCA that requires surgical repair and pacemaker placement. A three-month-old infant was referred because of syncope. Cardiac arrest occurred shortly after admission. The electrocardiogram indicated a complete atrioventricular block and a transvenous temporary pacemaker was implanted. A further coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA) showed the anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the left sinus of Valsalva. Coronary artery unroofing was performed due to an interarterial course with the intramural component, and a permanent epicardial pacemaker was implanted. The postoperative recovery was uneventful, and this patient was thriving and asymptomatic at the nine-month follow-up. However, the electrocardiogram still indicated a complete pacing rhythm. CONCLUSIONS: By timely diagnosis and treatment, this patient is successfully rescued. Although rare, AAOCA may be fatal even in infants.

Split_ Composite: A Radar Target Recognition Method on FFT Convolution Acceleration.

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is renowned for its all-weather and all-time imaging capabilities, making it invaluable for ship target recognition. Despite the advancements in deep learning models, the efficiency of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) in the frequency domain is often constrained by memory limitations and the stringent real-time requirements of embedded systems. To surmount these obstacles, we introduce the Split_ Composite method, an innovative convolution acceleration technique grounded in Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). This method employs input block decomposition and a composite zero-padding approach to streamline memory bandwidth and computational complexity via optimized frequency-domain convolution and image reconstruction. By capitalizing on FFT's inherent periodicity to augment frequency resolution, Split_ Composite facilitates weight sharing, curtailing both memory access and computational demands. Our experiments, conducted using the OpenSARShip-4 dataset, confirm that the Split_ Composite method upholds high recognition precision while markedly enhancing inference velocity, especially in the realm of large-scale data processing, thereby exhibiting exceptional scalability and efficiency. When juxtaposed with state-of-the-art convolution optimization technologies such as Winograd and TensorRT, Split_ Composite has demonstrated a significant lead in inference speed without compromising the precision of recognition.

Learning a neural network-based soft sensor with double-errors parallel optimization towards effluent variable prediction in wastewater treatment plants.

With the development of machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML/AI) models, data-driven soft sensors, especially the neural network-based, have widespread utilization for the prediction of key water quality indicators in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). However, recent research indicates that the prediction performance and computational efficiency are greatly compromised due to the time-varying, nonlinear and high-dimensional nature of the wastewater treatment process. This paper proposes a neural network-based soft sensor with double-errors parallel optimization to achieve more accurate prediction for effluent variables timely. Firstly, relying on the Activity Based Classification (ABC) principle, an ensemble variable selection method that combines Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) and mutual information (MI) is introduced to select the optimal process variables as auxiliary variables, thereby reducing the data dimensionality and simplifying the model complexity. Subsequently, a double-errors parallel optimization methodology with minimizing both point prediction error and distribution error simultaneously is proposed, aiming to enhancing the training efficiency and the fitting quality of neural networks. Finally, the effectiveness is quantitatively assessed in two datasets collected from the Benchmark Simulation Model no. 1 (BMS1) and an actual oxidation ditch WWTP. The experimental results illustrate that the proposed soft sensor achieves precise effluent variable prediction, with RMSE, MAE and R2 values being 0.0606, 0.0486, 0.99930, and 0.06939, 0.05381, 0.98040, respectively. Consequently, this soft sensor can expedite the convergence speed in the neural network training process and enhance the prediction performance, thereby contributing to the effective optimization management of WWTPs.

Radiomics analysis combining gray-scale ultrasound and mammography for differentiating breast adenosis from invasive ductal carcinoma.

Objectives: To explore the utility of gray-scale ultrasound (GSUS) and mammography (MG) for radiomic analysis in distinguishing between breast adenosis and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). Methods: Data from 147 female patients with pathologically confirmed breast lesions (breast adenosis: 61 patients; IDC: 86 patients) between January 2018 and December 2022 were retrospectively collected. A training cohort of 113 patients (breast adenosis: 50 patients; IDC: 63 patients) diagnosed from January 2018 to December 2021 and a time-independent test cohort of 34 patients (breast adenosis: 11 patients; IDC: 23 patients) diagnosed from January 2022 to December 2022 were included. Radiomic features of lesions were extracted from MG and GSUS images. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was applied to select the most discriminant features, followed by logistic regression (LR) to construct clinical and radiomic models, as well as a combined model merging radiomic and clinical features. Model performance was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results: In the training cohort, the area under the curve (AUC) for radiomic models based on MG features, GSUS features, and their combination were 0.974, 0.936, and 0.991, respectively. In the test cohort, the AUCs were 0.885, 0.876, and 0.949, respectively. The combined model, incorporating clinical and all radiomic features, and the MG plus GSUS radiomics model were found to exhibit significantly higher AUCs than the clinical model in both the training cohort and test cohort (p<0.05). No significant differences were observed between the combined model and the MG plus GSUS radiomics model in the training cohort and test cohort (p>0.05). Conclusion: The effectiveness of radiomic features derived from GSUS and MG in distinguishing between breast adenosis and IDC is demonstrated. Superior discriminatory efficacy is shown by the combined model, integrating both modalities.

Percutaneous Kyphoplasty via Transverse Process-Rib-Pedicle Approach for Upper and Middle Thoracic Osteoporosis Fracture with Pedicle Stenosis.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the clinical effect of percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) via process-rib-pedicle approach for upper and middle thoracic osteoporosis fractures with pedicle stenosis. METHODS: This study is a retrospective observational study. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the data of 62 patients with upper thoracic vertebral bone loss compression fracture treated via the process-rib-pedicle pathway PKP at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from January 2020 to December 2022. The patients were divided into group A (unilateral PKP, 38 cases) and group B (bilateral PKP, 24 cases). The aspects of surgical safety, clinical efficacy, and radiological outcome were investigated. RESULTS: All 62 patients successfully completed the surgery without any spinal cord, nerve, or vascular injury, and there were no complications such as infection and vascular embolism. The differences in visual analog scale scores（P < 0.05）, Oswestry disability index functional index（P < 0.05）, and Cobb angle（P < 0.05） were significant when comparing preoperative and postoperative periods, and the differences were not significant when comparing the postoperative periods (P > 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in days of hospital stay (P = 0.653) and the rate of bone cement leakage (P = 0.537) between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: For upper middle osteoporotic thoracic vertebral fractures with pedicle stenosis, puncture via the process-rib-pedicle path is a safe and reliable puncture route, and more than 2.5 ml of cement can achieve good clinical outcomes, regardless of bilateral or unilateral PKP.

Associations of life's essential 8 with MAFLD and liver fibrosis among US adults: a nationwide cross-section study.

Background: Life's essential' 8 (LE8) is a newly updated cardiovascular health (CVH) metrics from the American Heart Association, with close relevance to metabolism. Our objective is to explore the association between LE8 scores and incidence of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and advanced liver fibrosis in American adults. Methods: This population-based cross-sectional study utilized data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted between 2005 and 2018, encompassing adults aged 20 years or older. Validated non-invasive scoring systems were employed to define liver steatosis and advanced liver fibrosis. Multivariable logistic regression and smooth curve fitting techniques were applied to evaluate the associations. All analyses were adjusted for the survey' complex design parameters and accounted for sample weights. Results: A total of 11,820 participants were included. A higher LE8 score was found to be inversely associated with the incidence of MAFLD and advanced liver fibrosis, with odds ratios (OR) of 0.64 (95% CI: 0.57-0.71) for MAFLD and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.61-0.92) for advanced liver fibrosis per 1 standard deviation (SD) increase in LE8 score. Similar patterns were found in the relationship between health behaviors/factors score and incidence of MAFLD and advanced liver fibrosis. In subgroup analyses, the interaction test showed that age, education level, marital status, CVD, hypertension and diabetes had a significant impact on the association between LE8 score and MAFLD (all P for interaction < 0.05). Among male, elderly, wealthy, other race, CVD, diabetes and depression participants, the correlation between LE8 score and advanced liver fibrosis was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Younger participants exhibited a more pronounced negative association between the CVH metric and both MAFLD and advanced life fibrosis. Conclusion: LE8 and its subscales score were inversely associated with the presence of MAFLD and advanced liver fibrosis in non-linear patterns. Optimal LE8 score may significantly reduce the risk of liver steatosis and fibrosis.

Abnormal brain spontaneous neural activity in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder with neuropathic pain.

Background: Neuropathic pain is one of the most common symptoms in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD). Notwithstanding, its underlying mechanism remains obscure. Methods: The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) metric was employed to investigate spontaneous neural activity alterations via resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-MRI) data from a 3.0 T MRI scanner, in a sample of 26 patients diagnosed with NMOSD with neuropathic pain (NMOSD-WNP), 20 patients with NMOSD but without neuropathic pain (NMOSD-WoNP), and 38 healthy control (HC) subjects matched for age and sex without the comorbidity of depressive or anxious symptoms. Results: It was observed that patients with NMOSD-WNP displayed a significant ALFF decrease in the left amygdala and right anterior insula, relative to both patients with NMOSD-WoNP and HC subjects. Furthermore, ALFF values in the left amygdala were negatively correlated with the scores of the Douleur Neuropathique en 4 Questions and McGill Pain Questionnaire (both sensory and affective descriptors) in patients with NMOSD-WNP. Additionally, there were negative correlations between the ALFF values in the right anterior insula and the duration of pain and the number of relapses in patients with NMOSD-WNP. Conclusion: The present study characterizes spontaneous neural activity changes in brain regions associated with sensory and affective processing of pain and its modulation, which underscore the central aspects in patients with NMOSD-WNP. These findings might contribute to a better understanding of the pathophysiologic basis of neuropathic pain in NMOSD.

Identification, characteristics and fungicides efficacy of seed-associated fungi of Saposhnicovia divaricata in northeast China.

Saposhnicovia divaricata (Trucz.) Schischk. is one of the traditional medicinal herbs in northeast China, and its roots are used for medicinal purposes. In 2020, a fungus isolated from S. divaricata seeds was observed to cause root rot of seedlings, leaf spot and stem spot of adult plants in Shuangyashan, Heilongjiang, China. Based on morphological and molecular data, isolates of all fungi were identified as Alternaria alternata. To our knowledge, this is the first report of A. alternata isolated from S. divaricata seeds in China. The carrying rate of S. divaricata seeds from 20 different collection sites reached 100% in 70% of the sites in Hulunbeier area, Inner Mongolia, China. The A. alternata isolate could infect the roots of cucumber, sorghum, mung bean and maize seedlings and cause root rot. Considering the control of seed-associated fungal diseases, prochloraz 45% EW had the best control effect of 92.6%, followed by flusilazole 400 g L-1 EC (88.9%) and azoxystrobin·propiconazole 18.7% SE (70.7%) of 15 fungicides. Further field control efficacy showed that 45% prochloraz EW had an 80% control efficacy on the disease at a dose of 0.225 g L-1. It is recommended that soaking seeds and spraying are the best treatments for controlling seed-associated fungi and leaf spot on S. divaricata caused by A. alternata. Therefore, above methods can effectively prevent the occurrence of fungal diseases of S. divaricata and provide a method to reduce reinfestation in the field.

Neural Progenitor Cell-Mediated Magnetic Nanoparticles for Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Photothermal Therapy of Glioma.

Glioma is the most common primary malignant tumor in the brain. The diagnostic accuracy and treatment efficiency of glioma are facing great challenges due to the presence of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the high infiltration of glioma. There is an urgent need to explore the combination of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to achieve a more accurate diagnosis, as well as guidance before and after surgery. In this work, we induced human induction of pluripotent stem cell into neural progenitor cells (NPCs) and synthesized nanoprobes labeled with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP, abbreviated as MFe3O4-labeled EGFP-NPCs) for photothermal therapy. Nanoprobes carried by NPCs can effectively penetrate the BBB and target glioma for the purpose of magnetic resonance imaging and guiding surgery. More importantly, MFe3O4-labeled EGFP-NPCs can effectively induce local photothermal therapy, conduct preoperative tumor therapy, and inhibit the recurrence of postoperative glioma. This work shows that MFe3O4-labeled EGFP-NPCs is a promising nanoplatform for glioma diagnosis, accurate imaging-guided surgery, and effective photothermal therapy.

Altered dynamic functional connectivity of insular subdivisions among male cigarette smokers.

Background: Insular subdivisions show distinct patterns of resting state functional connectivity with specific brain regions, each with different functional significance in chronic cigarette smokers. This study aimed to explore the altered dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) of distinct insular subdivisions in smokers. Methods: Resting-state BOLD data of 31 smokers with nicotine dependence and 27 age-matched non-smokers were collected. Three bilateral insular regions of interest (dorsal, ventral, and posterior) were set as seeds for analyses. Sliding windows method was used to acquire the dFC metrics of different insular seeds. Support vector machine based on abnormal insular dFC was applied to classify smokers from non-smokers. Results: We found that smokers showed lower dFC variance between the left ventral anterior insula and both the right superior parietal cortex and the left inferior parietal cortex, as well as greater dFC variance the right ventral anterior insula with the right middle cingulum cortex relative to non-smokers. Moreover, compared to non-smokers, it is found that smokers demonstrated altered dFC variance of the right dorsal insula and the right middle temporal gyrus. Correlation analysis showed the higher dFC between the right dorsal insula and the right middle temporal gyrus was associated with longer years of smoking. The altered insular subdivision dFC can classify smokers from non-smokers with an accuracy of 89.66%, a sensitivity of 96.30% and a specify of 83.87%. Conclusions: Our findings highlighted the abnormal patterns of fluctuating connectivity of insular subdivision circuits in smokers and suggested that these abnormalities may play a significant role in the mechanisms underlying nicotine addiction and could potentially serve as a neural biomarker for addiction treatment.