CLCuMuV subverts the processing of hydroxyproline-rich systemin to suppress tobacco defenses against insect vectors.

The interactions of insect vector-virus-plant have important ecological and evolutionary implications. The constant struggle of plants against viruses and insect vectors has driven the evolution of multiple defense strategies in the host as well as counter-defense strategies in the viruses and insect vectors. Cotton leaf curl Multan virus (CLCuMuV) is a major causal agent of cotton leaf curl disease in Asia and is exclusively transmitted by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci. Here, we report that plants infected with CLCuMuV and its betasatellite, cotton leaf curl Multan betasatellite (CLCuMuB) enhance the performance of B. tabaci vector, and ßC1 encoded by CLCuMuB plays an important role in begomovirus-whitefly-tobacco tripartite interactions. We showed that CLCuMuB ßC1 suppresses the jasmonic acid signaling pathway by interacting with the subtilisin-like protease 1.7 (NtSBT1.7) protein, thereby enhancing whitefly performance on tobacco plants. Further studies revealed that in the wild type plants, NtSBT1.7 could process tobacco preprohydroxyproline-rich systemin B (NtpreproHypSysB). After CLCuMuB infection, CLCuMuB ßC1 could interfere with the processing of NtpreproHypSysB by NtSBT1.7, thereby impairing plant defenses against whitefly. These results contribute to our understanding of the tripartite interactions among virus, plant, and whitefly, thus offering ecological insights into the spread of vector insect populations and the prevalence of viral diseases.

Performance of P16INK4a immunocytochemical stain in facilitating cytology interpretation of HSIL for HPV-positive women aged 50 and above.

Background: Few articles have focused on the cytological misinterpretation of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL). Due to estrogen deficiency, cervical epithelial cells in postmenopausal women tend to show atrophic change that looks like HSIL on Papanicolaou-stained cytology slides, resulting in a higher rate of cytological misinterpretation. P16INK4a immunocytochemical staining (P16 cytology) can effectively differentiate diseased cells from normal atrophic ones with less dependence on cell morphology. Objective: To evaluate the role of P16 cytology in differentiating cytology HSIL from benign atrophy in women aged 50 years and above. Methods: Included in this analysis were women in a cervical cancer screening project conducted in central China who tested positive for high-risk human papillomavirus (hr-HPV) and returned back for triage with complete data of primary HPV testing, liquid-based cytology (LBC) analysis, P16 immuno-stained cytology interpretation, and pathology diagnosis. The included patients were grouped by age: ≥50 (1,127 cases) and <50 years (1,430 cases). The accuracy of LBC and P16 cytology in the detection of pathology ≥HSIL was compared between the two groups, and the role of P16 immuno-stain in differentiating benign cervical lesions from cytology ≥HSIL was further analyzed. Results: One hundred sixty-seven women (14.8%; 167/1,127) in the ≥50 group and 255 (17.8%, 255/1,430) in the <50 group were pathologically diagnosed as HSIL (Path-HSIL). LBC [≥Atypical Squamous Cell Of Undetermined Significance (ASCUS)] and P16 cytology (positive) respectively detected 63.9% (163/255) and 90.2% (230/255) of the Path-≥HSIL cases in the <50 group and 74.3% (124/167) and 93.4% (124/167) of the Path-≥HSIL cases in the ≥50 group. LBC matched with pathology in 105 (41.2%) of the 255 Path-≥HSIL cases in the <50 group and 93 (55.7%) of the 167 Path-≥HSIL cases in the ≥50 group. There were five in the <50 group and 14 in the ≥50 group that were Path-≤LSIL cases, which were interpreted by LBC as HSIL, but negative in P16 cytology. Conclusion: P16 cytology facilitates differentiation of Path-≤LSIL from LBC-≥HSIL for women 50 years of age and above. It can be used in the lower-resource areas, where qualified cytologists are insufficient, as the secondary screening test for women aged ≥50 to avoid unnecessary biopsies and misinterpretation of LBC primary or secondary screening.

Analysis of radiologic parameters and clinical outcomes in supramalleolar osteotomy for varus ankle osteoarthritis: A novel method for evaluating ankle alignment.

BACKGROUND: Solely relying on the tibial ankle surface (TAS) angle for determining the mechanical ankle axis might be insufficient. We introduce a novel method to determine the distance from the center of the talus to the tibial axis (TTD). This study aimed to investigate the association between clinical outcomes and radiological changes before and after supramalleolar osteotomy (SMO), including TAS angle, talar tilt (TT) angle, tibiotalar surface (TTS) angle and TTD. METHODS: Seventy patients who received SMO were enrolled. Radiological changes were measured using weight-bearing anteroposterior imaging. The percentage of talar center displacement (TTDP) was calculated as the difference between postoperative and preoperative TTD, divided by talar width (TW). Clinical assessments were performed using the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society ankle-hindfoot (AOFAS) scale. Differences in the aforementioned indicators before and after the operation were analyzed. We defined ΔAOFAS, ΔTAS, ΔTT and ΔTTS as the difference between postoperative and preoperative values. RESULTS: ΔTTS correlated with ΔAOFAS (r = 0.40, p = 0.008), as did TTDP (r = 0.32, p = 0.035). No correlation was observed between ΔAOFAS and ΔTAS. In the comparison between groups, patients with a TTDP greater than 26.19 exhibited a significantly greater ΔAOFAS. The high intraclass correlation coefficient indicated good reliability of the novel method. CONCLUSION: Solely relying on the TAS angle for tibial correction was insufficient. We found TTD as a novel method to evaluate mechanical ankle joint axis. TTDP and ΔTTS both positively correlated with ΔAOFAS, indicating the usefulness of these radiologic parameters.

Ligand-Induced Atomically Segregation-Tunable Alloy Nanoprobes for Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Bimetallic iron-noble metal alloy nanoparticles have emerged as promising contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) due to their biocompatibility and facile control over the element distribution. However, the inherent surface energy discrepancy between iron and noble metal often leads to Fe atom segregation within the nanoparticle, resulting in limited iron-water molecule interactions and, consequently, diminished relaxometric performance. In this study, we present the development of a class of ligand-induced atomically segregation-tunable alloy nanoprobes (STAN) composed of bimetallic iron-gold nanoparticles. By manipulating the oxidation state of Fe on the particle surface through varying molar ratios of oleic acid and oleylamine ligands, we successfully achieve surface Fe enrichment. Under the application of a 9 T MRI system, the optimized STAN formulation, characterized by a surface Fe content of 60.1 at %, exhibits an impressive r1 value of 2.28 mM-1·s-1, along with a low r2/r1 ratio of 6.2. This exceptional performance allows for the clear visualization of hepatic tumors as small as 0.7 mm in diameter in vivo, highlighting the immense potential of STAN as a next-generation contrast agent for highly sensitive MR imaging.

[Study on mechanism of inhibiting proliferation of head and neck cancer cells by citral, active ingredient of lemon essential oil].

To explore the active substances exerting anti-tumour effect in lemon essential oil and the molecular mechanism inhibiting the proliferation of head and neck cancer cells SCC15 and CAL33, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay(MTT) was utilized to identify the active component inhibiting the proliferation of head and neck cancer cells, namely citral. The IC_(50) of citral inhibiting the proliferation of head and neck cancer cells and normal cells were also determined. In addition, a 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine(EdU) staining assay was used to detect the effect of citral on the proliferation rate of head and neck cancer cells, and a colony formation assay was used to detect the effect of citral on tumor sphere formation of head and neck cancer cells in vitro. The cell cycle arrest and apoptosis induction of head and neck cancer cells by citral were evaluated by flow cytometry, and Western blot was used to detect the effect of citral on the expression levels of cell cycle-and apoptosis-related proteins in head and neck cancer cells. The findings indicated that citral could effectively inhibit the proliferation and growth of head and neck cancer cells, with anti-tumor activity, and its half inhibitory concentrations for CAL33 and SCC15 were 54.78 and 25.23 µg·mL~(-1), respectively. Furthermore, citral arrested cell cycle at G_2/M phase by down-regulating cell cycle-related proteins such as S-phase kinase associated protein 2(SKP2), C-MYC, cyclin dependent kinase 1(CDK1), and cyclin B. Moreover, citral increased the cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase-3(caspase-3), cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase-9(caspase-9), and cleaved poly ADP-ribose polymerase(PARP). It up-regulated the level of autophagy-related proteins including microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3B(LC3B), sequestosome 1(P62/SQSTM1), autophagy effector protein Beclin1(Beclin1), and lysosome-associate membrane protein 1(LAMP1), suggesting that citral could effectively trigger cell apoptosis and cell autophagy in head and neck cancer cells. Furthermore, the dual-tagged plasmid system mCherry-GFP-LC3 was used, and it was found that citral impeded the fusion of autophagosomes and lysosomes, leading to autophagic flux blockage. Collectively, our findings reveal that the main active anti-proliferation component of lemon essential oil is citral, and this component has a significant inhibitory effect on head and neck cancer cells. Its underlying molecular mechanism is that citral induces apoptosis and autophagy by cell cycle arrest and ultimately inhibits cell proliferation.

[Effect of Shoutai Pills on expression of key glycolytic proteins and apoptosis related factors at maternal fetal interface in mouse model of threatened abortion with syndrome of kidney deficiency].

This study aims to explore the mechanism of Shoutai Pills in treating threatened abortion. According to the random number table method, ICR female mice were randomized into a normal group, a model group, a dydrogesterone group, and a Shoutai Pills group, with 15 mice in each group. Mice were administrated with normal saline(normal and model groups) or the suspension of Shoutai Pills or dydrogesterone by gavage at 9:00 am every day. At 16:00 every day, mice in the normal group were administrated with an equal volume of distilled water, while those in the model, Shoutai Pills, and dydrogesterone groups were administrated with hydrocortisone solution by gavage for 4 consecutive days. ICR female and male mice were caged in a ratio of 2∶1 during the pre-estrous or estrous period. From the first day of pregnancy, drug administration was continued for 5 consecutive days. On day 6, mice were administrated with mifepristone by gavage to establish the model of kidney deficiency-induced abortion. On day 6 of pregnancy, 10 female ICR mice were randomly selected from each group, and the uterus was collected for observation of the pathological changes of trophoblasts at the maternal-fetal interface by hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining. The protein levels of key enzymes of glycolysis, hexokinase 2(HK2), enolase 1(ENO1), pyruvate kinase M2(PKM2), and lactate dehydrogenase A(LDHA), were determined by Western blot and immunofluorescence. The expression of apoptosis-related proteins including B cell lymphoma-2(Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated protein X(Bax), and cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase-3(caspase-3) was determined by Western blot and real-time PCR. Terminal-deoxynucleoitidyl transferase-mediated nick-end labeling was employed to examine apoptosis. The embryo loss rate of the remaining five female mice was calculated by trypan blue staining method on day 14 of pregnancy. On day 14 of pregnancy, the embryo loss rate of the normal group was 5.00%, which was lower than that(27.78%) in the model group(P<0.05). Dydrogesterone and Shoutai Pills groups showed reduced embryo loss rates(10.26% and 7.50%, respectively) compared with the model group. On day 6 of pregnancy, compared with the normal group, the model group showed down-regulated expression of HK2, ENO1, PKM2, LDHA, and Bcl-2 and up-regulated expression of Bax and caspase-3(P<0.05). Compared with the model group, dydrogesterone and Shoutai Pills up-regulated the expression of HK2, ENO1, PKM2, LDHA, and Bcl-2 and down-regulated the expression of Bax and caspase-3(P<0.05). Compared with that in the normal group, the apoptosis rate in the model group increased(P<0.05). Compared with the model group, dydrogesterone and Shoutai Pills reduced the apoptosis rate(P<0.05). In conclusion, Shoutai Pills can reduce the embryo loss rate and protect embryos by promoting aerobic glycolysis at the maternal-fetal interface and inhibiting the apoptosis of trophoblasts in mice.

DNA-Mediated Magnetic-Dimer Assembly for Fault-Free Ultra-High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Tumors.

Ultra-high-field (UHF) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) stands as a pivotal cornerstone in biomedical imaging, yet the challenge of false imaging persists, constraining its full potential. Despite the development of dual-mode contrast agents improving conventional MRI, their effectiveness in UHF remains suboptimal due to the high magnetic moment, resulting in diminished T1 relaxivity and excessively enhanced T2 relaxivity. Herein, we report a DNA-mediated magnetic-dimer assembly (DMA) of iron oxide nanoparticles that harnesses UHF-tailored nanomagnetism for fault-free UHF-MRI. DMA exhibits a dually enhanced longitudinal relaxivity of 4.42 mM-1·s-1 and transverse relaxivity of 26.23 mM-1·s-1 at 9 T, demonstrating a typical T1-T2 dual-mode UHF-MRI contrast agent. Importantly, DMA leverages T1-T2 dual-modality image fusion to achieve artifact-free breast cancer visualization, effectively filtering interference from hundred-micrometer-level false-positive signals with unprecedented precision. The UHF-tailored T1-T2 dual-mode DMA contrast agents hold promise for elevating the accuracy of MR imaging in disease diagnosis.

Mismatch repair deficiency and abnormal p53 expression has significant predictive value for progesterone resistance and endometrial tumorigenesis in patients with endometrial atypical hyperplasia receiving fertility-preserving treatment.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic ability of mismatch repair deficiency (MMR-d) and abnormal p53 expression (p53abn) in patients with endometrial atypical hyperplasia (EAH) who underwent fertility-preserving treatment. METHODS: This retrospective study evaluated 51 patients with EAH who underwent fertility-sparing treatment. Endometrial biopsy specimens obtained before hormone therapy were collected and used for immunohistochemical staining for MMR and p53 proteins. Response, relapse, and progression rates were assessed based on age, body mass index, diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, reproductive history, MMR status, and p53 status. RESULTS: Overall, 11/51 (21.6%) patients had loss of MMR proteins and 6/51 (11.8%) had p53abn. Patients with MMR-d had lower complete response (CR) rates than those with normal staining patients at 12 months after initial treatment (p = 0.049). Patients with MMR-d had significantly higher relapse rates than those with MMR-p at the 1-year follow-ups after achieving CR (p = 0.035). Moreover, patients with MMR-d had a higher incidence of disease progression at 2, 3, and 4 years after fertility-sparing treatment (p = 0.001, p = 0.01 and p = 0.035, respectively). Patients with p53abn had higher relapse rates than those with p53wt at the 1- and 2-year follow-ups after achieving CR (p = 0.047 and p = 0.036, respectively). Moreover, patients with p53abn had a higher incidence of disease progression at 3 and 4 years after fertility-sparing treatment (p = 0.02 and p = 0.049, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: EAH patients with MMR-d and p53abn have a significantly higher risk of disease relapse and progression. Thus, MMR-d and p53abn may be used as predictive biomarkers of progestin resistance and endometrial tumorigenesis in EAH.

Ni-based catalysts supported on Hbeta zeolite for the hydrocracking of waste polyolefins.

Polyolefin plastics are the most popular polymer materials worldwide, and the catalytic degradation of post-consumer polyolefins has attracted increased attention as a viable process. In this study, two types of Ni-based catalysts supported on Hbeta zeolite, Ni-Hbeta and NiS2-Hbeta, have been successfully synthesized for the hydrocracking of waste polyolefin. The experimental results indicated that the synergistic effect between Ni or NiS2 and the acidic sites of Hbeta zeolites can significantly enhance the tandem cracking and hydrogenation of polyolefin plastics, which suppresses the formation of gas products and coke. Ni-Hbeta employed as a catalyst can effectively degrade HDPE into high value liquid and gas products with high yield of 94% under 523 K and 3 MPa H2, while also exhibiting excellent cycle stability. In particular, Ni-Hbeta shows better catalytic performance than NiS2-Hbeta during the hydrocracking of HDPE at a relatively low temperature of 523 K. Furthermore, Ni-Hbeta catalyst also exhibits a remarkable capability for efficient depolymerization of unsorted post-consumer polyolefin plastics (HDPE, LDPE, PP) containing various additives and pollutants. These findings underscore the application potential of employing noble metal-free and recyclable catalysts for hydrocracking plastic waste, thereby facilitating the realization of a circular economy for plastics.

Structural Defect-Enabled Magnetic Neutrality Nanoprobes for Ultra-High-Field Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Isolated Tumor Cells in Vivo.

The identification of metastasis "seeds," isolated tumor cells (ITCs), is of paramount importance for the prognosis and tailored treatment of metastatic diseases. The conventional approach to clinical ITCs diagnosis through invasive biopsies is encumbered by the inherent risks of overdiagnosis and overtreatment. This underscores the pressing need for noninvasive ITCs detection methods that provide histopathological-level insights. Recent advancements in ultra-high-field (UHF) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have ignited hope for the revelation of minute lesions, including the elusive ITCs. Nevertheless, currently available MRI contrast agents are susceptible to magnetization-induced strong T2-decaying effects under UHF conditions, which compromises T1 MRI capability and further impedes the precise imaging of small lesions. Herein, this study reports a structural defect-enabled magnetic neutrality nanoprobe (MNN) distinguished by its paramagnetic properties featuring an exceptionally low magnetic susceptibility through atomic modulation, rendering it almost nonmagnetic. This unique characteristic effectively mitigates T2-decaying effect while concurrently enhancing UHF T1 contrast. Under 9 T MRI, the MNN demonstrates an unprecedentedly low r2/r1 value (≈1.06), enabling noninvasive visualization of ITCs with an exceptional detection threshold of ≈0.16 mm. These high-performance MNNs unveil the domain of hitherto undetectable minute lesions, representing a significant advancement in UHF-MRI for diagnostic purposes and fostering comprehensive metastasis research.

Overexpression of GmPAP4 Enhances Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation and Seed Yield in Soybean under Phosphorus-Deficient Condition.

Legume crops establish symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing rhizobia for biological nitrogen fixation (BNF), a process that provides a prominent natural nitrogen source in agroecosystems; and efficient nodulation and nitrogen fixation processes require a large amount of phosphorus (P). Here, a role of GmPAP4, a nodule-localized purple acid phosphatase, in BNF and seed yield was functionally characterized in whole transgenic soybean (Glycine max) plants under a P-limited condition. GmPAP4 was specifically expressed in the infection zones of soybean nodules and its expression was greatly induced in low P stress. Altered expression of GmPAP4 significantly affected soybean nodulation, BNF, and yield under the P-deficient condition. Nodule number, nodule fresh weight, nodule nitrogenase, APase activities, and nodule total P content were significantly increased in GmPAP4 overexpression (OE) lines. Structural characteristics revealed by toluidine blue staining showed that overexpression of GmPAP4 resulted in a larger infection area than wild-type (WT) control. Moreover, the plant biomass and N and P content of shoot and root in GmPAP4 OE lines were also greatly improved, resulting in increased soybean yield in the P-deficient condition. Taken together, our results demonstrated that GmPAP4, a purple acid phosphatase, increased P utilization efficiency in nodules under a P-deficient condition and, subsequently, enhanced symbiotic BNF and seed yield of soybean.

[Tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis for end-stage ankle and hindfoot arthropathy: Short- and mid-term clinical outcomes].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical data of patients with end-stage ankle and hindfoot arthropathy who underwent tibiotalocalcaneal (TTC) arthrodesis by the same surgeon, explore the short- and mid-term clinical results, complications and functional improvement, and discuss the clinical prognosis and precautions of TTC arthrodesis. METHODS: Retrospective analysis was made on the clinical data of 40 patients who underwent TTC arthrodesis by the same surgeon from March 2011 to December 2020. In this study, 23 males and 17 females were included, with an average age of (49.1±16.0) years. All the patients underwent unilateral surgery. The clinical characteristics, imaging manifestations, main diagnosis and specific surgical techniques of the patients were recorded. The clinical outcomes were evaluated by comparison of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot score and visual analogue scale (VAS) between pre-operation and at the last follow-up. The fusion healing time, symptom improvement (significant improvement, certain improvement, no improvement or deterioration) and postoperative complications were also recorded. RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 38.0 (26.3, 58.8) months. The preoperative VAS score was 6.0 (4.0, 7.0), and the AOFAS score was 33.0 (25.3, 47.3). At the last follow-up, the median VAS score was 0 (0, 3.0), and the AOFAS score was 80.0 (59.0, 84.0). All the significantly improved compared with their preoperative corresponding values (P < 0.05). There was no wound necrosis or infection in the patients. One patient suffered from subtalar joint nonunion, which was syphilitic Charcot arthropathy. The median bony healing time of other patients was 15.0 (12.0, 20.0) weeks. Among the included patients, there were 25 cases with significant improvement in symptom compared with that preoperative, 8 cases with certain improvement, 4 cases with no improvement, and 3 cases with worse symptoms than that before operation. CONCLUSION: TTC arthrodesis is a reliable method for the treatment of the end-stage ankle and hindfoot arthropathy. The function of most patients was improved postoperatively, with little impact on daily life. The causes of poor prognosis included toe stiffness, stress concentration in adjacent knee joints, nonunion and pain of unknown causes.

Feasibility and applicability of self-sampling based online cervical cancer screening: findings from the China online cervical cancer screening trial.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and applicability of an online cervical cancer screening program using a website as the public platform and self-collected HPV testing as the primary screening method. METHODS: A website (mcareu.com) was developed to facilitate the online cervical cancer screening program by Peking University Shenzhen Hospital (PUSH). Women in Shenzhen could register for participation on the website by providing essential demographic data. Sampling kits and specimens were delivered through regular logistics. Eligible women collected vaginal samples by themselves using the provided kits and in referring of the graphic guidance. The specimens were tested for HPV at PUSH or a reference lab, and the results were accessible on the website through participants' personal accounts. Participants who tested positive for high-risk HPV were scheduled for colposcopy and biopsies. The demographic and social background data of the eligible participants were analyzed to evaluate the feasibility and applicability of the online screening approach. RESULTS: A total of 1712 applicants registered for participation, with 99.9% (1710/1712) completing registration with full data. The analysis included 1560 applicants aged 30-59, with an average age of 41.1 (± 7.6) years. Among them, 83.3% (1299/1560) provided self-collected samples for testing. Age-group analysis revealed an overall sample provision rate (SPR) exceeded 80% in all age groups. A significant difference in SPR was observed only between the 30-34 and 45-49 age groups (p < 0.05), while no significant differences were found among other age groups. 99.7% of the samples were tested qualified, and there was no significant difference in sampling failure rate among age groups. Analysis of demographic and social elements showed no significant impact on the rates of sample provision among groups in most of the social elements but the medical insurance and the monthly family-incomes. CONCLUSION: The findings demonstrate that online cervical cancer screening is reliable for self-registration, self-sampling, and self-ordering for specimen transportation. It is suitable for women of all ages needing to be screened, irrespective of social elements, and effectively facilitates screening for women with limited access to medical resources. Therefore, online screening holds promise as an effective approach to increase screening coverage.

Speech-driven Personalized Gesture Synthetics: Harnessing Automatic Fuzzy Feature Inference.

Speech-driven gesture generation is an emerging field within virtual human creation. However, a significant challenge lies in accurately determining and processing the multitude of input features (such as acoustic, semantic, emotional, personality, and even subtle unknown features). Traditional approaches, reliant on various explicit feature inputs and complex multimodal processing, constrain the expressiveness of resulting gestures and limit their applicability. To address these challenges, we present Persona-Gestor, a novel end-to-end generative model designed to generate highly personalized 3D full-body gestures solely relying on raw speech audio. The model combines a fuzzy feature extractor and a non-autoregressive Adaptive Layer Normalization (AdaLN) transformer diffusion architecture (DiTs-based). The fuzzy feature extractor harnesses a fuzzy inference strategy that automatically infers implicit, continuous fuzzy features. These fuzzy features, represented as a unified latent feature, are fed into the AdaLN transformer. The AdaLN transformer introduces a conditional mechanism that applies a uniform function across all tokens, thereby effectively modeling the correlation between the fuzzy features and the gesture sequence. This module ensures a high level of gesture-speech synchronization while preserving naturalness. Finally, we employ the diffusion model to train and infer various gestures. Extensive subjective and objective evaluations on the Trinity, ZEGGS, and BEAT datasets confirm our model's superior performance to the current state-of-the-art approaches. Persona-Gestor improves the system's usability and generalization capabilities, setting a new benchmark in speech-driven gesture synthesis and broadening the horizon for virtual human technology. Supplementary videos and code can be accessed at https://zf223669.github.io/Diffmotion-v2-website/.

The protective effects of ruscogenin against lipopolysaccharide-induced myocardial injury in septic mice.

ABSTRACT: Sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction (SIMD) commonly occurs in individuals with sepsis and is a severe complication with high morbidity and mortality rates. The current study aimed to investigate the effects and potential mechanisms of the natural steroidal sapogenin ruscogenin (RUS) against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced myocardial injury in septic mice. We found that RUS effectively alleviated myocardial pathological damage, normalized cardiac function, and increased survival in septic mice. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) demonstrated that RUS administration significantly inhibited the activation of the NOD-like receptor signaling pathway in the myocardial tissues of septic mice. Subsequent experiments further confirmed that RUS suppressed myocardial inflammation and pyroptosis during sepsis. Additionally, cultured HL-1 cardiomyocytes were challenged with LPS, and we observed that RUS could protect these cells against LPS-induced cytotoxicity by suppressing inflammation and pyroptosis. Notably, both the in vivo and in vitro findings indicated that RUS inhibited NLRP3 upregulation in cardiomyocytes stimulated with LPS. As expected, knockdown of NLRP3 blocked the LPS-induced activation of inflammation and pyroptosis in HL-1 cells. Furthermore, the cardioprotective effects of RUS on HL-1 cells under LPS stimulation were abolished by the novel NLRP3 agonist BMS-986299. Taken together, our results suggest that RUS can alleviate myocardial injury during sepsis, at least in part by suppressing NLRP3-mediated inflammation and pyroptosis, highlighting the potential of this molecule as a promising candidate for SIMD therapy.

Respiratory Viruses and Mycoplasma Pneumoniae Surveillance Among Hospitalized Children with Acute Respiratory Infections - Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, September-November 2023.

What is already known about this topic?: Acute respiratory infections (ARIs) are a significant contributor to illness and death in children. There has been a notable rise in the occurrence of ARIs and the associated pathogens in China, which has garnered worldwide attention. What is added by this report?: This study conducted a retrospective analysis of the clinical characteristics of children with ARIs in Wuhan City from September to November 2023. The study evaluated the epidemiological patterns of common respiratory viruses and Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP), revealing a continued prevalence of MP and a growing trend of influenza. Our findings emphasize that the circulation of respiratory viruses and MP has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, underscoring the importance of enhancing surveillance for respiratory pathogens. What are the implications for public health practice?: The epidemiology of ARIs and the pathogens involved need to be emphasized. This highlights the importance of developing policies to protect children from respiratory pathogens such as MP, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus.

Metabolic profiles outperform the microbiota in assessing the response of vaginal microenvironments to the changed state of HPV infection.

There is a deficiency in population-based studies investigating the impact of HPV infection on vaginal microenvironment, which influences the risk of persistent HPV infection. This prospective study aimed to unravel the dynamics of vaginal microbiota (VM) and vaginal metabolome in reaction to the changed state of HPV infection. Our results propose that the vaginal metabolome may be a superior indicator to VM when assessing the impact of altered HPV state on the vaginal microenvironment.

Study of Sintering Behavior of Methane Hydrate Particles on the Wall Surface.

The sintering of hydrate aggregates on the pipe wall is a major form of hydrate deposition. Understanding the sintering behavior of hydrates on the wall is crucial for promoting hydrate safety management and preventing pipeline blockage. However, limited research currently exists on this topic. In this study, the cohesive force strength of hydrate particles on the wall surface under different conditions was directly measured using a high-pressure micromechanical force device (HP-MMF). Subsequently, the effects of subcooling and glycine on the cohesive force were investigated. The results indicate that the cohesive force is influenced by different growth states during the process of free water on the wall surface gradually growing into hydrate. Three states with larger measured values during the growth process were selected for research. Observation showed that increased subcooling strengthened sintering by accelerating the growth rate of the hydrate film, resulting in a significant increase in cohesive force. The role of glycine in the methane hydrate system was then evaluated. Glycine was found to reduce the degree of sintering by reducing the growth rate of the hydrate film, thereby decreasing the cohesive force. The optimal concentration in the system was determined to be 0.25 wt %. Moreover, compared with low subcooling (1 °C), glycine had a better effect at high subcooling (5 °C). At 5 °C subcooling and the optimal concentration, the cohesive force in the wall droplet state decreases from 677.38 to 489.02 mN/m, the cohesive force at the low-saturation state decreases from 951.79 to 543.32 mN/m, and the cohesive force at the high-saturation state decreases from 1194.95 to 641.76 mN/m. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the cohesive force behavior of gas hydrate on the inner wall of the pipeline and provide basic data for reducing the risk of hydrate blockage.