Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells attenuate ischemic brain injuries in rats by modulating miR-21-3p/MAT2B signaling transduction

Aim To explore the mechanism underlying the protective effect of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) against ischemic stroke by focusing on miR-21-3p/ MAT2B axis. Methods Ischemic brain injury was induced in 126 rats by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). The effect of ADMSC administration on blood-brain barrier (BBB) condition, apoptosis, inflammation, and the activity of miR-21- 3p/MAT2B axis was assessed. The role of miR-21-3p inhibition in the function of ADMSCs was further validated in in vitro neural cells. Results ADMSCs administration improved BBB condition, inhibited apoptosis, and suppressed inflammation. It also reduced the abnormally high level of miR-21-3p in MCAO rats. Dual luciferase assays showed that miR-21-3p directly inhibited the MAT2B expression in neural cells, and miR-21 -3p inhibition by inhibitor or ADMSC-derived exosomes in neurons attenuated hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced impairments similarly to that of ADMSCs in vivo. Conclusion This study confirmed the protective effect of ADMSCs against ischemic brain injury exerted by suppressing miR-21-3p level and up-regulating MAT2B level

Increasing Cytosine Base Editing Scope and Efficiency With Engineered Cas9-PmCDA1 Fusions and the Modified sgRNA in Rice

Base editors that do not require double-stranded DNA cleavage or homology-directed repair enable higher efficiency and cleaner substitution of targeted single nucleotides in genomic DNA than conventional approaches. However, their broad applications are limited within the editing window of several base pairs from the canonical NGG protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) sequence. In this study, we fused the D10A nickase of several Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (SpCas9) variants with Petromyzon marinus cytidine deaminase 1 (PmCDA1) and uracil DNA glycosylase inhibitor (UGI) and developed two new effective PmCDA1-based cytosine base editors (pBEs), SpCas9 nickase (SpCas9n)-pBE and VQR nickase (VQRn)-pBE, which expanded the scope of genome targeting for cytosine-to-thymine (C-to-T) substitutions in rice. Four of six and 12 of 18 target sites selected randomly in SpCas9n-pBE and VQRn-pBE, respectively were base edited with frequencies of 4–90% in T0 plants. The effective deaminase window typically spanned positions 1–7 within the protospacer and the single target C showed the maximum C-to-T frequency at or near position 3, counting the end distal to PAM as position 1. In addition, the modified single guide RNA (sgRNA) improved the base editing efficiencies of VQRn-pBE with 1.3- to 7.6-fold increases compared with the native sgRNA, and targets that could not be mutated using the native sgRNA were edited successfully using the modified sgRNA. These newly developed base editors can be used to realize C-to-T substitutions and may become powerful tools for both basic scientific research and crop breeding in rice

Growth characteristics of early-stage (IA) lung adenocarcinoma and its value in predicting lymph node metastasis

Abstract Background We aim to compare the differences in growth characteristics between part-solid and solid lung adenocarcinoma, and to investigate the value of volume doubling time (VDT) or mass doubling time (MDT) in predicting lymph node (LN) metastasis and preoperative evaluation in patients of early-stage (IA) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Method We reviewed 8,653 cases of surgically resected stage IA lung adenocarcinoma between 2018 and 2022, with two follow-up visits at least 3 months apart, comparing diameter, volume, and mass growth of pSN and SN. VDT and MDT calculations for nodules with a volume change of at least 25%. Univariable or multivariable analysis was used to identify the risk factors. The area under the curve (AUC) for the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves was used to evaluate the diagnostic value. Results A total of 144 patients were included 114 with solid nodules (SN) and 25 with part-solid nodules (pSN). During the follow-up period, the mean VDTt and MDTt of SN were shorter than those of pSN, 337 vs. 541 days (p = 0.005), 298 vs. 458 days (p = 0.018), respectively. Without considering the ground-glass component, the mean VDTc and MDTc of SN were shorter than the solid component of pSN, 337 vs. 498 days (p = 0.004) and 298 vs. 453 days (p = 0.003), respectively. 27 nodules were clinically and pathologically diagnosed as N1/N2. Logistic regression identified initial diameter (p < 0.001), consolidation increase (p = 0.019), volume increase (p = 0.020), mass increase (p = 0.021), VDTt (p = 0.002), and MDTt (p = 0.004) were independent factors for LN metastasis. The ROC curves showed that the AUC for VDTt was 0.860 (95% CI, 0.778–0.943; p < 0.001) and for MDTt was 0.848 (95% CI, 0.759–0.936; p < 0.001). Conclusions Our study showed significant differences in the growth characteristics of pSN and SN, and the application of VDT and MDT could be a valid predictor LN metastasis in patients with early-stage NSCLC

Comparison of different classification systems for pulmonary nodules: a multicenter retrospective study in China

Abstract Background To compare the diagnostic performance of Lung-RADS (lung imaging-reporting and data system) 2022 and PNI-GARS (pulmonary node imaging-grading and reporting system). Methods Pulmonary nodules (PNs) were selected at four centers, namely, CQ Center (January 1, 2018-December 31, 2021), HB Center (January 1, 2021–June 30, 2022), SC Center (September 1, 2021–December 31, 2021), and SX Center (January 1, 2021–December 31, 2021). PNs were divided into solid nodules (SNs), partial solid nodules (PSNs) and ground-glass nodules (GGNs), and they were then classified by the Lung-RADS and PNI-GARS. The sensitivity, specificity and agreement rate were compared between the two systems by the χ2 test. Results For SN and PSN, the sensitivity of PNI-GARS and Lung-RADS was close (SN 99.8% vs. 99.4%, P  35.1%, PSN 13.3% > 5.7%, all P  74.5%, P  92.7%, all P < 0.05) of PNI-GARS were superior to those of Lung-RADS. For GGN, the sensitivity (96.5%) and agreement rate (88.6%) of PNI-GARS were better than those of Lung-RADS (0, 18.5%, P < 0.001). For the whole sample, the sensitivity (98.5%) and agreement rate (87.0%) of PNI-GARS were better than Lung-RADS (57.5%, 56.5%, all P < 0.001), whereas the specificity was slightly lower (49.8% < 53.4%, P = 0.003). Conclusion PNI-GARS was superior to Lung-RADS in diagnostic performance, especially for GGN

A new effective image fusion algorithm based on NSCT and PCNN

NonSubsampled Contourlet Transform (NSCT) has the characteristics of multi-scale, multi-directional, multi-resolution and shift invariance. Because of down sampling, traditional contourlet transform will cause Gibbs phenomenon, NSCT can overcome the disadvantage, obtaining better fusion image. Due to Pulse Coupled Neural Networks (PCNN) excellent biological characteristics, it has already been widely applied to image processing. In this paper, we will combining NSCT and PCNN, making full use of their advantages and applying to image fusion. The original image is by NSCT transform, getting the decomposition coefficients and then calculating its spatial frequency, input them to PCNN. According to the firing times select fusion coefficients. Experiment result has shown that, compared with the typical wavelet transform and contourlet transform method, the method proposed in this paper whether in subjective or objective is better than other methods. 1548-7741/Copyright © 2015 Binary Information Pres

Hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization for High-Dimensional Latin Hypercube Design Problem

Latin Hypercube Design (LHD) is widely used in computer simulation to solve large-scale, complex, nonlinear problems. The high-dimensional LHD (HLHD) problem is one of the crucial issues and has been a large concern in the long run. This paper proposes an improved Hybrid Particle Swarm Optimization (IHPSO) algorithm to find the near-optimal HLHD by increasing the particle evolution speed and strengthening the local search. In the proposed algorithm, firstly, the diversity of the population is ensured through comprehensive learning. Secondly, the Minimum Point Distance (MPD) method is adopted to solve the oscillation problem of the PSO algorithm. Thirdly, the Ranked Ordered Value (ROV) rule is used to realize the discretization of the PSO algorithm. Finally, local and global searches are executed to find the near-optimal HLHD. The comparisons show the superiority of the proposed method compared with the existing algorithms in obtaining the near-optimal HLHD

Cobalt Hexacyanoferrate Nanoparticles as a High-Rate and Ultra-Stable Supercapacitor Electrode Material

Although great recent efforts have been invested to improve the performance of supercapacitors, these energy storage devices still fall short of meeting our expectations because of their limited working voltage, insufficient cycle life, and high manufacturing cost. Here, we report the facile preparation of cobalt hexacyanoferrate (CoHCFe) nanoparticles, which have an analogous structure to Prussian blue but with many vacant ferricyanide sites. In 0.5 M Na₂SO₄, CoHCFe exhibits specific capacitance of >250 F/g, excellent rate capability, and ultrahigh cycling stability with capacitance retention of 93.5% after 5000 cycles. Furthermore, CoHCFe was paired up with a carbon black modified graphene (mRGO) negative electrode to form asymmetric supercapacitors. They deliver a wide working voltage of ∼2.4 V in Na₂SO₄, large energy density and power density. Given its high electrochemical performance, chemical robustness, environmental benignity, ease of preparation and low cost, CoHCFe as well as other Prussian blue analogues clearly deserve more attention for future energy storage applications

Synthesis of 2‑Cyclopentenone Derivatives via Palladium-Catalyzed Intramolecular Carbonyl α‑Alkenylation

2-Cyclopentenone derivatives have been efficiently synthesized from 5-bromo-5-hexen-2-ones via palladium-catalyzed intramolecular carbonyl α-alkenylation followed by double-bond migration under mild reaction conditions