The protective effects of aqueous extract of Schisandra sphenanthera against alcoholic liver disease partly through the PI3K-AKT-IKK signaling pathway.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigated the key chemical components and the effect of the aqueous extract of Schisandra sphenanthera (SSAE) on alcoholic liver disease (ALD) and the related molecular mechanism. Methods: This study employed UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS to identify the chemical compositions in SSAE. ALD rat model was established through oral administration of white spirit. Transcriptome sequencing, weighted gene co-expression network construction analysis (WGCNA), and network pharmacology were used to predict key compositions and pathways targeted by SSAE for the treatment of ALD. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), biochemical kits, hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, Western blotting (WB) analysis, and immunohistochemical analysis were used to validate the mechanism of action of SSAE in treating ALD. Results: Active ingredients such as schisandrin A, schisandrol A, and schisandrol B were found to regulate the PI3K/AKT/IKK signaling pathway. Compared to the model group, the SSAE group demonstrated significant improvements in cellular solidification and tissue inflammation in the liver tissues of ALD model rats. Additionally, SSAE regulated the levels of a spartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), and aldehyde Dehydrogenase (ALDH) in serum (P < 0.05); Western blotting and immunohistochemical analyses showed that the expression levels of phosphorylated PI3K, AKT, IKK, NFκB, and FOXO1 proteins were significantly reduced in liver tissues (P < 0.05), whereas the expression level of Bcl-2 proteins was significantly increased (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The active components of SSAE were schisandrin A, schisandrol A, and schisandrol B, which regulated the phosphorylation levels of PI3K, AKT, IKK, and NFκB and the expression of FOXO1 protein and upregulated the expression of Bcl-2 protein in the liver tissues of ALD rats. These findings indicate that SSAE acts against ALD partly through the PI3K-AKT-IKK signaling pathway. This study provided a reference for future research and treatment of ALD and the development of novel natural hepatoprotective drugs.

Myeloid sarcoma in JAK2-positive myelodysplastic neoplasms with fibrosis: a case report and literature review.

Myeloid sarcoma (MS) occurs in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In rare cases, MS can represent a form of blast transformation in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN), myelodysplastic neoplasms (MDS), or MDS/MPN. The most frequent chromosomal alterations in MS are t(8;21) or inv(16), with other alterations being reported. Cases of MS in Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)-positive MDS with fibrosis are exceedingly rare. Here, we describe such a case. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a JAK2 V617F mutation-positive MDS case occurring concurrently with MS involving the posterior aspect of the left seventh rib. No clear association has been previously demonstrated between the intramedullary AML cytogenetics and extramedullary disease occurrence. Interestingly, samples from the intramedullary MDS and extramedullary mass in this patient presented the same JAK2 V617F mutation. Following a treatment regimen of azacitidine and venetoclax, the patient achieved complete remission. The chest CT scan showed that the seventh posterior rib mass disappeared. This case provides valuable information for the potential future treatment of this disease.

Hypoxia activates macrophage-NLRP3 inflammasome promoting atherosclerosis via PFKFB3-driven glycolysis.

The onset and progression of atherosclerosis are closely linked to the involvement of macrophages. While the contribution of NLRP3 inflammasome activation to the creation of a local highly inflammatory microenvironment is well recognized, the precise triggers remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the regulatory mechanism of NLRP3 inflammasome activation in response to hypoxia-induced glycolysis involving PFKFB3 in the development of atherosclerosis. To develop an atherosclerosis model, we selected ApoE knockout mice treated with a high-fat western diet. We then quantified the expression of HIF-1α, PFKFB3, and NLRP3. In addition, we administered the PFKFB3 inhibitor PFK158 during atherosclerosis modeling. The glycolytic activity was subsequently determined through 18F-FDG micro-PET/CT, ex vivo glucose uptake, and ECAR analysis. Furthermore, we employed lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and TNF-α to induce the differentiation of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) into M1-like phenotypes under both hypoxic and normoxic conditions. Our histological analyses revealed the accumulation of PFKFB3 in human atherosclerotic plaques, demonstrating colocalization with NLRP3 expression and macrophages. Treatment with PFK158 reduced glycolytic activity and NLRP3 inflammasome activation, thereby mitigating the occurrence of atherosclerosis. Mechanistically, hypoxia promoted glycolytic reprogramming and NLRP3 inflammasome activation in BMDMs. Subsequent blocking of either HIF-1α or PFKFB3 downregulated the NLRP3/Caspase-1/IL-1ß pathway in hypoxic BMDMs. Our study demonstrated that the HIF-1α/PFKFB3/NLRP3 axis serves as a crucial mechanism for macrophage inflammation activation in the emergence of atherosclerosis. The therapeutic potential of PFKFB3 inhibition may represent a promising strategy for atheroprotection.

Frailty Status, Sedentary Behaviors, and Risk of Incident Bone Fractures.

BACKGROUND: The associations of physical pre-fraily and frailty with bone fractures and the modified effect of sedentary lifestyle remain uncertain. This study was performed to explore the association of physical pre-frailty and frailty with risk of incident bone fractures; and test the modification effects of sedentary lifestyle and other risk factors. METHODS: This cohort study included 413,630 participants without bone fractures at baseline in the UK Biobank study between 2006 and 2010 and followed up to 2021. The mean age of the participants was 56.5 years. A total of 224,351 (54.2%) enrolled participants were female and 376,053 (90.9%) included participants were white. Three Cox regression models were constructed to analyze the association of pre-frailty and frailty with total fractures, hip fractures, vertebrae fractures and other fractures. RESULTS: As compared with the physical non-frailty group, the multivariate adjusted Hazard Ratios (HRs) were 1.17 (95% CI: 1.14 to 1.21) and 1.63 (95% CI: 1.53 to 1.74) for the physical pre-frailty group and frailty group, respectively (P-trend<0.001). In addition, we found that sedentary behavior time significantly accentuated the associations of physical pre-frailty and frailty with total fractures (P-interaction<0.001), hip fractures (P-interaction=0.013) and other fractures (P-interaction<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that physical pre-frailty and frailty are related to higher risks of bone fractures; such association was more pronounced among those with longer sedentary behavior time.

Poly I: C Alleviated Duck Intestinal Injury Infected with Duck Viral Enteritis by Inhibiting Apoptosis.

Duck enteritis virus (DEV) may lead to vascular injury, gastrointestinal mucosal erosion, lymphoid organ injury, and Polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (Poly I:C) has an antiviral effect by inducing low levels of interferon. The purpose of this study was to explore the pathogenesis of DEV-induced intestinal injury in ducks and to verify the therapeutic effects of different concentrations of Poly I:C. In this study, duck enteritis model was established by infecting healthy Pekin ducks with DEV. Duck intestinal tissues were extracted from normal control group, model group, and treatment group with different doses of Poly I:C. In vivo, HE and TUNEL staining were used to observe the morphological changes and apoptosis. In vitro, the proliferation and apoptosis of duck intestinal epithelial cells were evaluated by MTT assay, TUNEL staining, and flow cytometry. The results showed that Poly I:C protected ducks from DEV toxicity by improving intestinal morphology and inhibiting apoptosis. In addition, the antiviral effect of Poly I:C on DEV was found in a dose-dependent manner, with a more relatively obvious effect at a high dose of Poly I:C. All in all, these results demonstrated that Poly I:C played a vital role in the apoptosis induced by DEV in ducks and modest dose of Poly I:C treatment worked well and may provide important reference for the development of new antiviral drugs in the future.

Model Attention Expansion for Few-Shot Class-Incremental Learning.

Few-Shot Class-Incremental Learning (FSCIL) aims at incrementally learning new knowledge from limited training examples without forgetting previous knowledge. However, we observe that existing methods face a challenge known as supervision collapse, where the model disproportionately emphasizes class-specific features of base classes at the detriment of novel class representations, leading to restricted cognitive capabilities. To alleviate this issue, we propose a new framework, Model aTtention Expansion for Few-Shot Class-Incremental Learning (MTE-FSCIL), aimed at expanding the model attention fields to improve transferability without compromising the discriminative capability for base classes. Specifically, the framework adopts a dual-stage training strategy, comprising pre-training and meta-training stages. In the pre-training stage, we present a new regularization technique, named the Reserver (RS) loss, to expand the global perception and reduce over-reliance on class-specific features by amplifying feature map activations. During the meta-training stage, we introduce the Repeller (RP) loss, a novel pair-based loss that promotes variation in representations and improves the model's recognition of sample uniqueness by scattering intra-class samples within the embedding space. Furthermore, we propose a Transformational Adaptation (TA) strategy to enable continuous incorporation of new knowledge from downstream tasks, thus facilitating cross-task knowledge transfer. Extensive experimental results on mini-ImageNet, CIFAR100, and CUB200 datasets demonstrate that our proposed framework consistently outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.

Substituent effects on spin-crossover Fe(II)N4O2 pyrenylhydrazone complexes.

Multifunctional magnetic materials have broad application prospects in molecular switches and information storage. In this study, four mononuclear Fe(II) complexes are synthesized using a series of pyrenylhydrazone ligands HL1-4. Two deprotonated ligands are coordinated to the iron(II) ions in an enolic form, leading to neutral complexes FeII(Lx)2·xsol with a FeIIN4O2 octahedral coordination environment. Magnetic measurements suggest that complex Fe(L1)2·2ACE (1·2ACE, ACE = acetone) is mainly low spin below 300 K and complex Fe(L3)2·ACE (3·ACE) is high spin, whereas complexes Fe(L2)2 (2) and Fe(L4)2·6H2O (4·6H2O) exhibit gradual spin crossover behavior. The spin states of complexes 1-4 are confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The substituent effect on the magnetic properties of the complexes is significant in this system. Temperature-dependent fluorescence emission spectra show the coexistence but no coupling effect of spin crossover and fluorescence for complexes 2 and 4·6H2O.

Effect of cuff inflation with lidocaine, saline, and air on tracheal tube cuff pressure during laparoscopic resection of colorectal neoplasms: a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Tracheal tube cuff pressure will increase after pneumoperitoneum when the cuff is inflated with air, high pressure can cause tracheal mucosal damage. This prospective trial aimed to assess if inflating with normal saline or lidocaine can prevent increase of tracheal tube cuff pressure and tracheal mucosal damage in laparoscopic surgeries with general anesthesia. Whether changes of tracheal tube cuff transverse diameter (CD) can predict changes of tracheal tube cuff pressure. METHODS: Ninety patients scheduled for laparoscopic resection of colorectal neoplasms under general anesthesia were randomly assigned to groups air (A), saline (S) or lidocaine (L). Endotracheal tube cuff was inflated with room-temperature air in group A (n = 30), normal saline in group S (n = 30), 2% lidocaine hydrochloride injection in group L (n = 30). After intubation, tracheal tube cuff pressure was monitored by a calibrated pressure transducers, cuff pressure was adjusted to 25 cmH2O (T0.5). Tracheal tube cuff pressure at 15 min after pneumoperitoneum (T1) and 15 min after exsufflation (T2) were accessed. CD were measured by ultrasound at T0.5 and T1, the ability of ΔCD (T1-0.5) to predict cuff pressure was accessed. Tracheal mucous injury at the end of surgery were also recorded. RESULTS: Tracheal tube cuff pressure had no significant difference among the three groups at T1 and T2. ΔCD had prediction value (AUC: 0.92 [95% CI: 0.81-1.02]; sensitivity: 0.99; specificity: 0.82) for cuff pressure. Tracheal mucous injury at the end of surgery were 0 (0, 1.0) in group A, 0 (0, 1.0) in group S, 0 (0, 0) in group L (p = 0.02, group L was lower than group A and S, p = 0.03 and p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Compared to inflation with air, normal saline and 2% lidocaine cannot ameliorate the increase of tracheal tube cuff pressure during the pneumoperitoneum period under general anesthesia, but lidocaine can decrease postoperative tracheal mucosa injury. ΔCD measured by ultrasound is a predictor for changes of tracheal tube cuff pressure. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, identifier: ChiCTR2100054089, Date: 08/12/2021.

Generation of sub-150†fs, 10†W-class, pedestal-free 2.07†µm ultrashort pulses using a cascade compression system.

We report high-power pedestal-free ultrashort pulses in a cascade compression system. In the self-compression stage, the 2 µm ultrashort pulses with 123 fs duration and up to 21.7 W output power were obtained in a 0.3 m 50 µm core diameter fiber. It is the highest self-compressing power ever obtained in a silica fiber with an all-fiber 2 µm laser amplifier as the pump source. To obtain purer pedestal-eliminated pulses, we further increase the fiber length to 1 m to trigger the soliton self-frequency shifting (SSFS) effect. By employing an enhanced SSFS technique based on third-order dispersion (TOD) and filtering out the unshifted signal light, we finally achieved sub-150 fs, 10 W-class, 1.2-MW peak-power, pedestal-free 2.07 µm ultrashort pulses. This is also the highest, to the best of our knowledge, power and energy of Raman soliton obtained by SSFS in an ordinary silica fiber.

Coverage-dependent activation of CO over Ni/Cu(100) single atom alloys (SAAs).

Single atom alloys (SAAs) often bring new chemistry in heterogeneous catalysis and well-defined structure for the study of structure-activity relationship (SAR). However, the existing pressure gap causes the reported SARs quite divergent. Herein, we have studied CO activation over Ni/Cu(100) SAAs in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) and millibar range. While the Ni SAAs formed on Cu(100) significantly enhance the CO adsorption strength under UHV conditions, the CO treatment at elevated pressure leads to notable surface carbon and oxygen deposition through surface reaction. Density functional theory calculations revealed that either dissociation or disproportionation is thermodynamically forbidden for the coverage of CO less than 5/16 ML. However, these two reaction pathways can be opened at higher CO coverages due to the elevated energy state involving repulsion between adsorbed CO. This work uncovers the initial activation process of CO and demonstrates one typical cause for the pressure gap in surface science study as well.

Anatomical Comparison of Endoscopic and Microscopic Exposure of the Petroclinal Core Area Through the Extended Middle Skull Base Approach.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the range of endoscopic and microscopic exposure of the petroclival core area through the middle skull base and to observe the corresponding anatomical structures. METHODS: Ten intact adult cadaveric head specimens fixed with formaldehyde were craniotomized through an expanded middle skull base epidural approach on 20 sides. The distance from the greater superficial petrosal nerve to the petrous ridge was measured. When different degrees (1-3 degrees) of the Kawase triangle bone were removed, the exposed anatomical structure was observed, and the exposed core area of the rock slope was measured under an endoscope and microscope. RESULTS: The average distance from the greater superficial petrosal nerve to the petrous ridge was 14.26 mm. During 1 to 2 degrees of bone removal, the petrous segment of the internal carotid artery (ICA) was not exposed, whereas during 3 degrees of bone removal, the petrous segment of the ICA was exposed. At 1 degree of bone removal, 400.62 ± 15.73 mm2 of the area was exposed by endoscopy and 170.87 ± 8.93 mm2 by microscopy, and the abducens nerve was not exposed. However, there was a significant difference between the two areas (P < 0.001). During 2 degrees of bone removal, 689.30 ± 32.06 mm2 of the abducens nerve was exposed by endoscopy, but 366.84 ± 30.30 mm2 of the abducens nerve could not be exposed by microscopy; moreover, there was a significant difference in the area of exposure between the two (P < 0.001). At 3 degrees of bone removal, the endoscopic exposure area was 875.92 ± 31.87 mm2, the microscopic exposure area was 699.26 ± 48.00 mm2, and the abducens nerves were exposed. There were significant differences between the two areas (P < 0.001). However, the difference between the 2-degree endoscopic exposure area and the 3-degree microscopic exposure area was studied by using paired t tests, and there was no difference (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: When the same degree of the Kawase triangle bone was removed, the extent of endoscopic exposure of the petroclival core area was significantly greater than the extent of microscopic exposure. At 2 degrees of bone removal, an endoscopic application can maximally expose the petroclival core area, thus reducing the probability of exposure damage to the ICA and abductor nerve.

Metagenomics reveals unique gut mycobiome biomarkers in psoriasis.

PURPOSE: In present, the diagnosis of psoriasis is mainly based on the patient's typical clinical manifestations, dermoscopy and skin biopsy, and unlike other immune diseases, psoriasis lacks specific indicators in the blood. Therefore, we are required to search novel biomarkers for the diagnosis of psoriasis. METHODS: In this study, we analyzed the composition and the differences of intestinal fungal communities composition between psoriasis patients and healthy individuals in order to find the intestinal fungal communities associated with the diagnosis of psoriasis. We built a machine learning model and identified potential microbial markers for the diagnosis of psoriasis. RESULTS: The results of AUROC (area under ROC) showed that Aspergillus puulaauensis (AUROC = 0.779), Kazachstania africana (AUROC = 0.750) and Torulaspora delbrueckii (AUROC = 0.745) had high predictive ability (AUROC > 0.7) for predicting psoriasis, While Fusarium keratoplasticum (AUROC = 0.670) was relatively lower (AUROC < 0.7). CONCLUSION: The strategy based on the prediction of intestinal fungal communities provides a new idea for the diagnosis of psoriasis and is expected to become an auxiliary diagnostic method for psoriasis.

Genomic investigation of 18,421 lines reveals the genetic architecture of rice.

Understanding how numerous quantitative trait loci (QTL) shape phenotypic variation is an important question in genetics. To address this, we established a permanent population of 18,421 (18K) rice lines with reduced population structure. We generated reference-level genome assemblies of the founders and genotyped all 18K-rice lines through whole-genome sequencing. Through high-resolution mapping, 96 high-quality candidate genes contributing to variation in 16 traits were identified, including OsMADS22 and OsFTL1 verified as causal genes for panicle number and heading date, respectively. We identified epistatic QTL pairs and constructed a genetic interaction network with 19 genes serving as hubs. Overall, 170 masking epistasis pairs were characterized, serving as an important factor contributing to genetic background effects across diverse varieties. The work provides a basis to guide grain yield and quality improvements in rice.

Curcumin Alleviates Osteoarthritis Through the p38MAPK Pathway: Network Pharmacological Prediction and Experimental Confirmation.

Objective: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative disease worldwide. While curcumin has shown therapeutic effects on OA, its mechanism remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the molecular mechanism of curcumin in treating OA through network pharmacology and both in vivo and in vitro experiments. Methods: Curcumin-related targets were obtained using the HERB and DrugBank databases. GeneCards and DisGeNET were used to build a target database for OA. The STRING database was employed to construct protein-protein interaction networks and analyze related protein interactions. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway and gene ontology enrichment analyses of core targets were performed using Metascape. In addition, Autodock software was utilized for molecular docking validation of curcumin and disease targets. Further validation of the main findings was conducted through in vitro and in vivo experiments. In the in vitro experiments, an inflammation model was constructed through nitric oxide donor (SNP) stimulation of chondrocytes. Subsequently, the regulatory effects of curcumin on core targets and signaling pathways were validated using Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining techniques. In the in vivo experiments, an OA model was established by performing medial meniscectomy on male Sprague-Dawley rats. The therapeutic effects were evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, histologic staining, and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) techniques. Results: Core targets of curcumin relevant to OA therapy included tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9), B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2), and caspase-3. The major biological processes involved oxidative stress and apoptotic processes, among others. The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38/MAPK) pathway was identified as the most likely pathway involved. In vitro experiments showed that curcumin significantly reduced oxidative stress levels, inhibited the expression of inflammatory factors IL-6 and Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and downregulated the expression of MMP-9 and MMP-1. In addition, curcumin was found to regulate the expression of BCL-2 and caspase-3 through the p38/MAPK pathway, inhibiting chondrocyte apoptosis. In vivo animal experiments demonstrated that curcumin significantly reduced the expression of OA-related factors (IL-1, IL-6, and TNF-α). Histological analysis and micro-CT results revealed that curcumin treatment significantly increased cartilage thickness, improved cartilage morphology, structure, and function, inhibited cartilage degradation, and enhanced the resorption of subchondral bone in the knee joints of rats with OA. Conclusion: Curcumin regulates oxidative stress and maintains mitochondrial function, thereby protecting chondrocyte guard. In addition, curcumin attenuates the inflammatory response of chondrocytes by inhibiting the phosphorylation of P38MAPK, slowing down the breakdown of the extrachondral matrix while preventing apoptosis of chondrocytes. Additionally curcumin attenuated cartilage degradation and bone damage while helping to boost bone density.

The magnitude and frequency of detected precipitation determine the accuracy performance of precipitation data sets in the high mountains of Asia.

The grid-based precipitation dataset is an important source for studying precipitation change in the high mountains of Asia due to where precipitation stations are sparse. It is essential to evaluate the accuracy of grid-based precipitation datasets in the high mountains of Asia before selecting an appropriate grid-based dataset. Therefore, this study comprehensively evaluated the precipitation errors of four commonly utilized precipitation datasets (multi-source weighted-ensemble precipitation (MSWEP), global precipitation climatology centre (GPCC), global precipitation measurement (GPM), and soil moisture to rain-advanced scatterometer (SM2RAIN-ASCAT)) in the high mountains of Asia from temporal and spatial perspectives. It then decomposed the precipitation errors to reveal their sources. The results showed that MSWEP, GPCC, GPM, and SM2RAIN-ASCAT overestimated precipitation amount and probability compared with station observations. Meanwhile, all precipitation data sets except MSWEP data underestimated precipitation in the dry season. In terms of the average values of the error metrics, GPCC performed the best. There was an evident annual periodicity in the error assessment metrics for the four precipitation data sets. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that four precipitation-related factors (false alarm precipitation, missed amount of precipitation, precipitation detected presented, and precipitation detected event) explained the root mean square error values for four precipitation data sets, with precipitation detected presented having the largest weight. The root mean square error of each product exhibits periodic fluctuations with changes in precipitation quantity, attributed to the occurrences of precipitation detected presented and precipitation detected events. These findings provide useful reference information for correcting biases in precipitation data sets for high mountains of Asia.

Dietary Crude Protein and Lysine Levels Affect Meat Quality and Myofiber Characteristic of Slow-Growing Chicken.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary crude protein (CP) and lysine levels on growth performance, slaughter performance, meat quality, and myofiber characteristics of slow-growing chicken. A 3 × 3 factorial experiment was arranged, and the chickens were fed with 3 levels of dietary CP (16.0%, 17.0%, 18.0%) and 3 levels of dietary lysine (0.69%, 0.84%, 0.99%). A total of 540 8-week-old Beijing-You Chicken (BYC) female growing chickens were randomly allocated to 9 groups, 5 replicates per group, and 12 chickens per replicate. The birds were randomly allocated to one of the 9 experimental diets. Growth performance, slaughter performance, meat quality, and myofiber characteristics were determined at 16 weeks of age. The results showed that dietary CP level and the interaction of dietary CP and lysine levels affected average feed intake (AFI) (p < 0.05). The AFI in the 16.0% CP and 17.0% CP groups was higher than in the 18.0% CP group (p < 0.05). Dietary CP levels significantly affected body weight gain (BWG) (p < 0.05) at 9 to 16 weeks. The 18.0% CP group had the highest BWG (93.99 g). Dietary CP levels affected the percentage of leg muscle yield, and the percentage of leg muscle yield of the 16.0% CP group was significantly lower than that in the other two groups (p < 0.05). Dietary CP and lysine levels alone and their interactions did not affect pH24h, drip loss, and cooking loss of breast muscle (p > 0.05). The shear force of the 18.0% CP group (29.55 N) was higher than that in the other two groups (p < 0.01). Dietary CP level affected myofiber characteristic (p < 0.01), with the lowest myofiber density (846.35 p·mm-2) and the largest myofiber diameter (30.92 µm) at 18.0% CP level. Dietary lysine level affected myofiber diameter, endomysium thickness, perimysium thickness (p < 0.01), with the largest myofiber diameter (29.29 µm) obtained at 0.84% lysine level, the largest endomysium thickness (4.58 µm) at 0.69% lysine level, and the largest perimysium thickness (9.26 µm) at 0.99% lysine level. Myofiber density was negatively correlated with myofiber diameter and endomysium thickness (R = -0.883, R = -0.523, p < 0.01); perimysium thickness had a significant negative correlation with shear force (R = -0.682, p < 0.05). Therefore, reducing dietary CP level and adding appropriate lysine can reduce myofiber diameter and increase perimysium thickness, reducing shear force and improving meat tenderness. A high lysine level (0.99%) in the low-CP (16.0%) diet can improve meat tenderness by regulating the myofiber characteristic without affecting production performance.

The Impact of Parental Autonomy Support on Family Adaptation in the Context of "Double Reduction": The Mediating Role of Parent-Child Communication and Cohesion.

The implementation of the "Double Reduction" policy indicates a significant change in the way households operate, such as through parental education conception and parenting form, in which family adaptation needs particular attention. Parental autonomy support has been evidenced to be related to family adaptation in prior studies. However, the mechanism underlying the relationship between parental autonomy support and family adaptation in the context of "Double Reduction" are not clear enough but remain fascinating. This study aims to explore the process through which parental autonomy support affects the whole family's adaptation in the context of "Double Reduction" from the perspectives of parent-child behavior and emotions (i.e., parent-child communication and parent-child cohesion). A cross-sectional design based on the questionnaire method was used to collect the characteristics of 4239 adolescent parents (1493 fathers and 3427 mothers; Mage = 43.20, SDage = 22.39) one year after the implementation of the "Double Reduction" policy. In addition, this study also used the retrospective method to obtain the characteristics of parental autonomy support before the "Double Reduction" policy. In the context of "Double Reduction", the research results found that parental autonomy support can predict family adaptation; parental autonomy support can also influence the whole family's adaptation through the quality of parent-child interaction. This study reveals the impact mechanism of parental autonomy support on family adaptation under the background of "Double Reduction" in China and provides insights on how to improve the adaptation of the entire family from the perspective of parent-child interaction.

Nonequilibrium Lattice Dynamics of Individual and Attached PbSe Quantum Dots under Photoexcitation.

Quantum dot (QD) solids are emerging materials for many optoelectronic applications. To enhance interdot coupling and charge transport, surface ligands can be removed, allowing individual QDs to be attached along specific crystal orientations (termed "oriented attachment"). Optimizing the electronic and optical properties of QD solids demands a comprehensive understanding of the nanoscale energy flow in individual and attached QDs under photoexcitation. In this work, we employed ultrafast electron diffraction to directly measure how oriented attachment along ⟨100⟩ directions affects the nonequilibrium lattice dynamics of lead selenide QDs. The oriented attachment anisotropically alters the ultrafast energy relaxation along specific crystal axes. Along the ⟨100⟩ directions, both the lattice deformation and atomistic random motions are suppressed in comparison with those of individual QDs. Conversely, the effects are enhanced along the unattached ⟨111⟩ directions due to ligand removal. The oriented attachment switches the major lattice thermalization pathways from ⟨100⟩ to ⟨111⟩ directions.

Chlorogenic acid alleviates renal fibrosis by reducing lipid accumulation in diabetic kidney disease through suppressing the Notch1 and Stat3 signaling pathway.

AIMS: Abnormal renal lipid metabolism causes renal lipid deposition, which leads to the development of renal fibrosis in diabetic kidney disease (DKD). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect and mechanism of chlorogenic acid (CA) on reducing renal lipid accumulation and improving DKD renal fibrosis. METHODS: This study evaluated the effects of CA on renal fibrosis, lipid deposition and lipid metabolism by constructing in vitro and in vivo models of DKD, and detected the improvement of Notch1 and Stat3 signaling pathways. Molecular docking was used to predict the binding between CA and the extracellular domain NRR1 of Notch1 protein. RESULTS: In vitro studies have shown that CA decreased the expression of Fibronectin, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), p-smad3/smad3, alleviated lipid deposition, promoted the expression of carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1 A (CPT1A), and inhibited the expression of cholesterol regulatory element binding protein 1c (SREBP1c). The expression of Notch1, Cleaved Notch1, Hes1, and p-stat3/stat3 were inhibited. These results suggested that CA might reduce intercellular lipid deposition in human kidney cells (HK2) by inhibiting Notch1 and stat3 signaling pathways, thereby improving fibrosis. Further, in vivo studies demonstrated that CA improved renal fibrosis and renal lipid deposition in DKD mice by inhibiting Notch1 and stat3 signaling pathways. Finally, molecular docking experiments showed that the binding energy of CA and NRR1 was -6.6 kcal/mol, which preliminarily predicted the possible action of CA on Notch1 extracellular domain NRR1. CONCLUSION: CA reduces renal lipid accumulation and improves DKD renal fibrosis by inhibiting Notch1 and stat3 signaling pathways.

Effectiveness of D-dimer in predicting distant metastasis in colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE: Patients with cancer often present with a hypercoagulable state, which is closely associated with tumor progression. The purpose of this study was to assess the diagnostic efficacy of D-dimer in predicting distant metastasis in colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS: This study included 529 patients diagnosed with CRC at our hospital between January 2020 and December 2022. Plasma coagulation indicators and tumor markers were collected prior to treatment and their diagnostic efficacy for predicting CRC metastasis was assessed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Independent risk factors for evaluating tumor metastasis were obtained by multivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: The level of D-dimer in the metastatic group was significantly higher than that in the non-metastatic group (P<0.001). The results of the multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that lower level of prealbumin and platelet, and higher level of glucose, CEA and D-dimer were independent risk factors for distant metastasis in patients with CRC (P<0.05, respectively). The combination of prealbumin, glucose, D-dimer, platelet and tumor markers (PRE2) was found to be significantly more effective in predicting metastasis of CRC when compared to the combination of tumor marker alone (PRE1, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Plasma D-dimer may be a novel tumor marker for screening metastases of CRC.