Study on clinical features and factors related to long-term outcomes of antibody-negative autoimmune encephalitis.

OBJECTIVE: To delineate the clinical characteristics of antibody-negative autoimmune encephalitis (AE) and to investigate factors associated with long-term outcomes among antibody-negative AE. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with antibody-negative AE were recruited from January 2016 to December 2022 at the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. The study assessed the long-term outcomes of antibody-negative AE using the modified Rankin scale (mRS) and the Clinical Assessment Scale in Autoimmune Encephalitis (CASE). Predictors influencing long-term outcomes were subsequently analyzed. External validation of RAPID scores (refractory status epilepticus [RSE], age of onset ≥60 years, ANPRA [antibody-negative probable autoimmune encephalitis], infratentorial involvement, and delay of immunotherapy ≥1 month) was performed. RESULTS: In total, 100 (47 females and 53 males) antibody-negative AE patients were enrolled in this study, with approximately 49 (49%) experiencing unfavorable long-term outcomes (mRS scores ≥3). Antibody-negative AE was subcategorized into ANPRA, autoimmune limbic encephalitis (LE), and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). Psychiatric symptoms were prevalent in LE and ANPRA subtypes, while weakness and gait instability/dystonia were predominant in the ADEM subtype. Higher peak CASE scores (odds ratio [OR] 1.846, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.163-2.930, p = 0.009) and initiating immunotherapy within 30 days (OR 0.210, 95% CI: 0.046-0.948, p = 0.042) were correlated with long-term outcomes. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis returned that the RAPID scores cutoff of 1.5 best discriminated the group with poor long-term outcomes (sensitivity 85.7%, specificity 56.9%). INTERPRETATION: The ANPRA subtype exhibited poorer long-term outcomes compared to LE and ADEM subtypes, and early immunotherapy was crucial for improving long-term outcomes in antibody-negative AE. The use of RAPID scoring could aid in guiding clinical decision making.

Alloying Pt into Ni partially amorphous for promoted alkaline hydrogen production.

Aiming at the sluggish water dissociation step in alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), the platinum-nickel alloy material (PtNi10/C) featuring unique crystalline/amorphous structure supported on carbon black is deliberately designed and fabricated via a reversely rapid co-precipitation and mild thermal reduction strategy. Electrochemical results show that only 66 mV of overpotential is needed for PtNi10/C to drive a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at a lower platinum loading (8.3 µgPt cm-2 geo), which is much lower than that of other catalysts with a single metal source(S-Ni/C and S-Pt/C) and even the commercial Pt/C catalyst (20 wt%). The target catalyst also exhibits smaller tafel slope value (16.73 mV dec-1) and electrochemical impedance value, enabling a fast kinetics rate for water dissociation. Partial crystallization facilitates moderate adsorption of intermediates, while the high-valence Ni(II) and Pt(II) species serve as pivotal driving force for the kinetic dissociation of water. The unique microstructure of PtNi10/C shows a remarkable advantage toward HER in alkaline but acidic medium. In addition, other transition metal-based catalysts following the similar protocol are also fabricated and present varying degrees of HER performance. Hence, the facile and rapid co-precipitation/thermal reduction strategy proposed in this study provides some guidelines for designing high-efficiency alkaline HER catalysts.

Highly Crystalline Graphene as the Atomic 2D Blanket of a Perovskite Absorber for Enhanced Photovoltaic Performance.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have demonstrated enormous potential for next-generation low-cost photovoltaics. However, due to the intrinsically low bond energy of the perovskite lattice, the long-term stability is normally undermined by ion migration initiated by the electric field and atmospheric conditions. Therefore, ideal ion migration inhibition is important to achieve an enhanced stability of PSCs. Herein, we first introduce a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) fabricated highly crystalline graphene as an atomic 2D blanket directly for the perovskite absorber of PSCs. Iodine and lithium ion migration is effectively inhibited for perovskite solar cells under a continuous static electric field. The water and oxygen corrosion of the unencapsulated device has been dramatically mitigated with atomic graphene blanketing on the perovskite film. With triphenylamine (TPA) molecule modification, the photoconversion efficiencies (PCEs) of the blanketed devices reach 21.54%. The sample with blanket graphene maintains 85% of the initial efficiency, in comparison to 52% of the control sample under voltage bias. After 600 h of aging at 25 °C and 55 RH%, 86% in comparison to <30% of the PCE for the control device is obtained for the sample with a graphene blanket. Thus, we propose that crystalline graphene has an excellent and effective ion-blocking blanket potential for highly stable perovskite devices.

Predictive value of a novel Asian lung cancer screening nomogram based on artificial intelligence and epidemiological characteristics.

BACKGROUND: To develop and validate a risk prediction nomogram based on a deep learning convolutional neural networks (CNN) model and epidemiological characteristics for lung cancer screening in patients with small pulmonary nodules (SPN). METHODS: This study included three data sets. First, a CNN model was developed and tested on data set 1. Then, a hybrid prediction model was developed on data set 2 by multivariable binary logistic regression analysis. We combined the CNN model score and the selected epidemiological risk factors, and a risk prediction nomogram was presented. An independent multicenter cohort was used for model external validation. The performance of the nomogram was assessed with respect to its calibration and discrimination. RESULTS: The final hybrid model included the CNN model score and the screened risk factors included age, gender, smoking status and family history of cancer. The nomogram showed good discrimination and calibration with an area under the curve (AUC) of 91.6% (95% CI: 89.4%-93.5%), compare with the CNN model, the improvement was significance. The performance of the nomogram still showed good discrimination and good calibration in the multicenter validation cohort, with an AUC of 88.3% (95% CI: 83.1%-92.3%). CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed that epidemiological characteristics should be considered in lung cancer screening, which can significantly improve the efficiency of the artificial intelligence (AI) model alone. We combined the CNN model score with Asian lung cancer epidemiological characteristics to develop a new nomogram to facilitate and accurately perform individualized lung cancer screening, especially for Asians.

Circ-ZKSCAN1 regulates FAM83A expression and inactivates MAPK signaling by targeting miR-330-5p to promote non-small cell lung cancer progression.

BACKGROUND: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) belong to a new type of endogenous non-coding RNA and plays a key role in carcinogenesis. Circ-ZKSCAN1 (hsa_circ_0001727) has been proven to be a tumor-dependent circRNA. However, its role in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been underreported. METHODS: The expression patterns of circ-ZKSCAN1 were determined using qRT-PCR in NSCLC samples and cell lines. Cell proliferation was examined utilizing the CCK-8 assay. Cell migration and invasion were evaluated using the Transwell assay. The combination of circ-ZKSCAN1 and miR-330-5p in NSCLC cells was analyzed by RNA pull-down and luciferase reporter assay. We used the bioinformatics software circbank, CircInteractome, TargetScan and Miranda to predict circRNA-miRNA and miRNA-mRNA interactions. RESULTS: Our results showed that circ-ZKSCAN1 was significantly up-regulated in NSCLC, closely related to malignant characteristics and poor prognosis, and clinically related to tumor size and clinical stage. Subsequent experiments showed that circ-ZKSCAN1 could inhibit the growth of NSCLC cells in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, circ-ZKSCAN1 can act as a sponge of carcinogenic miR-330-5p to increase the expression of FAM83A, resulting in the inhibition of MAPK signal transduction pathway, thus promoting the progress of NSCLC. Interestingly, the increase in FAM83A expression caused by circ-ZKSCAN1 overexpression could in turn promote the expression of circ-ZKSCAN1. CONCLUSIONS: Circ-ZKSCAN1 is a key positive regulator of NSCLC, and clarifies the potential molecular mechanism of the new circ-ZKSCAN1/miR-330-5p/FAM83A feedback loop in promoting the progress of NSCLC.

MiR-145 inhibits osteosarcoma cells proliferation and invasion by targeting ROCK1.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) contribute to the development and progression of various types of human cancers. The aim of this study was to study the role of miR-145 and to identify its functional target gene in osteosarcoma (OS) cells. We found that miR-145 was reduced in OS tissues and cell lines. Enforced expression of miR-145 inhibited cell proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities of MG-63 cells. Furthermore, we revealed that Rho-associated protein kinase 1 (ROCK1) was a target of miR-145 in OS. Finally, we found that silencing of ROCK1 performed similar effects with miR-145 in MG-63 cells, and ROCK1 was inversely correlated with miR-145 in OS tissues. Collectively, these data indicate that miR-145 may act as a tumor suppressor and contributes to the progression of OS through targeting ROCK1.

MiR-143 suppresses osteogenic differentiation by targeting Osterix.

Osterix (Osx) is an essential transcription factor for osteoblast differentiation and bone formation. However, the knowledge of the regulation of Osx expression is poor. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of small non-coding RNAs, play critical roles in numerous biological processes, including the proliferation, differentiation, and survival of cells and organisms. Herein, we aimed to explore the effect of miR-143 on Osx expression and osteogenic differentiation. miR-143, which was suppressor of the osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells, had decreased levels of expression during osteogenic differentiation. Moreover, Osx was identified to be a direct target of miR-143. Inhibition of Osx performed similar effect with miR-143 on osteogenic differentiation, while overexpression of Osx could partially reverse the suppressive effect of miR-143. Collectively, these data indicate that miR-143 is a novel regulator of Osx, and it might play an essential role in the regulation of osteogenic differentiation.