Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin Participates in the Host Response to Intra-Amniotic Inflammation Leading to Preterm Labor and Birth

Objective: To determine if bacteria (Ureaplasma parvum and Sneathia spp.) associated with intra-amniotic infection can trigger the induction of cytokine Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) in human amnion epithelial cells (hAECs) in vitro. Material or subjects: Amniotic fluid and chorioamniotic membrane (CAM) were collected from women with sPTL who delivered at term (n=30) or preterm without intra-amniotic inflammation (n=34), with sterile intra-amniotic inflammation (SIAI, n=27), or with intra-amniotic infection (IAI, n=17). Amnion epithelial cells (AECs), Ureaplasma parvum, and Sneathia spp. were also utilized. Methods: The expression of TSLP, TSLPR, and IL-7Rα was evaluated in amniotic fluid or CAM by RT-qPCR and/or immunoassays. AECs co-cultured with Ureaplasma parvum or Sneathia spp. were evaluated for TSLP expression by immunofluorescence and/or RT-qPCR. Results: TSLP was elevated in amniotic fluid of women with SIAI or IAI and expressed by the CAM. TSLPR and IL-7Rα had detectable gene and protein expression in the CAM; yet, CRLF2 was specifically elevated with IAI. While TSLP localized to all layers of the CAM and increased with SIAI or IAI, TSLPR and IL-7Rα were minimal and became most apparent with IAI. Co-culture experiments indicated that Ureaplasma parvum and Sneathia amnii upregulated TSLP expression in AECs. Conclusions: Ureaplasma parvum and Sneathia spp. triggers induction of TSLP, a central component of the intra-amniotic host response during sPTL

Research on the Weighting Values of Community Aging-Friendly Construction Indexes With Different Expert Groups

The construction of weight values for the indicators of community aging-friendly construction is helpful to guide the formulation of strategies for allocating elderly resources in community aging-friendly constructions, and to reflect the shortcomings of community aging-friendly constructions and propose improvement strategies when evaluating the effectiveness of the existing community aging-friendly constructions. The paper uses the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) to calculate the weighting values of each indicator, consulting the government, industry, and academic experts. The research results show that the weighting-value order is “public environment ( W = 0.364),” “health care ( W = 0.342),” “humanistic care ( W = 0.204)” and “social economy ( W = 0.090).” Accordingly, the article proposes specific suggestions to improve the effectiveness of community aging-friendly constructions, including the need to find consensus among all parties involved in the aging industry, the need to focus on improving the public environment of the community, and the need to improve the socio-economic policies as soon as possible

Licochalcone A Induces Ferroptosis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma via Reactive Oxygen Species Activated by the SLC7A11/GPX4 Pathway

Liver cancer is a common malignant tumor, and its incidence is increasing yearly. Millions of people suffer from liver cancer annually, which has a serious impact on global public health security. Licochalcone A (Lico A), an important component of the traditional Chinese herb licorice, is a natural small molecule drug with multiple pharmacological activities. In this study, we evaluated the inhibitory effects of Lico A on hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines (HepG2 and Huh-7), and explored the inhibitory mechanism of Lico A on hepatocellular carcinoma. First, we evaluated the inhibitory effects of Lico A on hepatocellular carcinoma, and showed that Lico A significantly inhibited and killed HepG2 and Huh-7 cells in vivo and in vitro. Transcriptomic analysis showed that Lico A inhibited the expression of solute carrier family 7 member 11 (SLC7A11), which induced ferroptosis. We confirmed through in vivo and in vitro experiments that Lico A promoted ferroptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells by downregulating SLC7A11 expression, thereby inhibiting the glutathione (GSH)-glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) pathway and inducing activation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, we suggest that Lico A is a potential SLC7A11 inhibitor that induces ferroptotic death in hepatocellular carcinoma cells, thereby providing a theoretical basis for the development of natural small molecule drugs against hepatocellular carcinoma

Rapid and Sensitive Identification of Bacterial Infection and Bacteria Gram Types in Pleural Fluid of Children

Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) techniques have been increasingly used to detect microbial DNA in clinic for the diagnosis of bacterial infection. This study aims to developing an RT-PCR method to detect bacteria in pleural fluid (PF). We performed a method to simultaneously detect and classify the clinically relevant bacterial pathogens in hydrothorax with Gram probe RT-PCR (GRT-PCR), which targets the conserved region of the 16S rRNA gene. Our results showed this method could specifically and correctly identify 14 clinically important bacterial strains in hydrothorax including 7 gram-positive and 7 gram-negative bacteria. And the sensitivity of this GRT-PCR method in serial dilution can reach 10 CFU/mL. In clinical trial, 180 PF samples from children who were clinically suspected to suffer from bacterial pneumonia and empyema were collected. These samples were detected by GRT-PCR, standard culture, and biochemical routine analysis. The positive rate of the GRT-PCR array was 17.78% (32/180), significantly higher than that of PF culture (11.67%; 21/180; P = .003). When PF culture was used as control, the sensitivity of GRT-PCR was 95.24% (95% confidence interval = 74.13-99.75), and the specificity was 92.45% (95% confidence interval = 86.89-95.86). Our study showed that GRT-PCR is a more effective method for rapid, sensitive, and specific diagnosis of bacterial infection in hydrothorax compared with other traditional methods

A fractional motion diffusion model for grading pediatric brain tumors

Objectives: To demonstrate the feasibility of a novel fractional motion (FM) diffusion model for distinguishing low- versus high-grade pediatric brain tumors; and to investigate its possible advantage over apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and/or a previously reported continuous-time random-walk (CTRW) diffusion model. Materials and methods: With approval from the institutional review board and written informed consents from the legal guardians of all participating patients, this study involved 70 children with histopathologically-proven brain tumors (30 low-grade and 40 high-grade). Multi-b-value diffusion images were acquired and analyzed using the FM, CTRW, and mono-exponential diffusion models. The FM parameters, Dfm, φ, ψ (non-Gaussian diffusion statistical measures), and the CTRW parameters, Dm, α, β (non-Gaussian temporal and spatial diffusion heterogeneity measures) were compared between the low- and high-grade tumor groups by using a Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon U test. The performance of the FM model for differentiating between low- and high-grade tumors was evaluated and compared with that of the CTRW and the mono-exponential models using a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results: The FM parameters were significantly lower (p < 0.0001) in the high-grade (Dfm: 0.81 ± 0.26, φ: 1.40 ± 0.10, ψ: 0.42 ± 0.11) than in the low-grade (Dfm: 1.52 ± 0.52, φ: 1.64 ± 0.13, ψ: 0.67 ± 0.13) tumor groups. The ROC analysis showed that the FM parameters offered better specificity (88% versus 73%), sensitivity (90% versus 82%), accuracy (88% versus 78%), and area under the curve (AUC, 93% versus 80%) in discriminating tumor malignancy compared to the conventional ADC. The performance of the FM model was similar to that of the CTRW model. Conclusions: Similar to the CTRW model, the FM model can improve differentiation between low- and high-grade pediatric brain tumors over ADC

Evaluation of Radiotherapy Efficacy and Prognostic Analysis for Solid and Cystic Brain Metastases

Objectives Brain metastases (BMs) are commonly categorized into cystic and solid. However, the difference in the prognosis of patients with either cystic or solid BMs following radiotherapy remains poorly understood. We used a retrospective design to elucidate the disparities in survival between these two patient groups undergoing radiotherapy and to identify factors influencing the overall survival (OS) of patients with BMs. Methods This retrospective study encompasses 212 patients diagnosed with BMs. We meticulously analyzed the clinical characteristics, radiation therapy modalities, and risk factors influencing the OS among these patients, categorized by BMs type, post-brain radiation therapy. Results A statistically significant difference in mOS was observed between the two cohorts (Solid vs Cystic: 23.1 vs 14.6 months). Subgroup analysis unveiled distinctions in mOS, particularly in patients with EGFR-mutant lung adenocarcinoma (Solid vs Cystic: 23.1 vs 6.43 months). The volume of BMs and the biological effective dose (BED) emerged as significantly prognostic factors for patients with cystic BMs. For patients with solid BMs, fraction dose, BED, and the number of BMs were identified as independent prognostic factors for survival. Conclusion Brain radiotherapy shows superior survival benefits for lung cancer patients with solid BMs compared to those with cystic BMs, particularly in EGFR-mutant lung cancer. In particular, patients receiving BED ≥60 Gy have a more favorable prognosis than those receiving BED <60 Gy, regardless of the type of BM (solid or cystic) in lung cancer

ORIGINAL RESEARCH Transient Modeling in Simulation of Hospital Operations for Emergency Response

regression; severity type; simulation

Potential Applications of Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) in the Study of Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the most common subtype of dementia. As the prevalence of dementia is projected to increase, the burden of the disease on society is expected to become increasingly significant. The link between eye pathology and neurodegenerative diseases has been established in multiple studies. In particular, optic nerve parameters associated with neuronal loss in AD include retinal ganglion cells (RGC). Retinal ganglion cells are similar to neurons in the cerebral cortex, and have been correlated to neurodegeneration in AD. Ocular imaging techniques such as optical coherence tomography (OCT) have provided a rapid and non-invasive method for quantifying optic nerve parameters in vivo . Spectral domain (SD)-OCT has shown good potential in the study of the optic nerve in AD as it enables more comprehensive assessment of RGCs. Earlier generation OCT techniques only assess the retinal nerve fibre layer, which consists of RGC axons. Spectral domain-OCT offers ultra-high scan speed and image resolution, enabling improved sampling of retinal layers. Retinal layers such as the ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GC-IPL), which contain the dendrites and nuclei of RGCs, can be assessed with SD-OCT. This article presents a review of literature associating eye pathology with AD, and explores the potential of SD-OCT in future AD studies. Spectral domain-OCT has the potential to draw more links between optic nerve pathology and neurodegeneration

Ambient air pollution in relation to diabetes and glucose-homoeostasis markers in China: a cross-sectional study with findings from the 33 Communities Chinese Health Study

Summary: Background: Health effects of air pollution on diabetes have been scarcely studied in developing countries. We aimed to explore the associations of long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM) and gaseous pollutants with diabetes prevalence and glucose-homoeostasis markers in China. Methods: Between April 1 and Dec 31, 2009, we recruited a total of 15 477 participants aged 18–74 years using a random number generator and a four-staged, stratified and cluster sampling strategy from a large cross-sectional study (the 33 Communities Chinese Health Study) from three cities in Liaoning province, northeastern China. Fasting and 2 h insulin and glucose concentrations and the homoeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index and β-cell function were used as glucose-homoeostasis markers. Diabetes was defined according to the American Diabetes Association's recommendations. We calculated exposure to air pollutants using data from monitoring stations (PM with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm or less [PM10], sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone) and a spatial statistical model (PM with an aerodynamic diameter of 1 μm or less [PM1] and 2·5 μm or less [PM2·5]). We used two-level logistic regression and linear regression analyses to assess associations between exposure and outcomes, controlling for confounders. Findings: All the studied pollutants were significantly associated with increased diabetes prevalence (eg, the adjusted odds ratios associated with an increase in IQR for PM1, PM2·5, and PM10 were 1·13, 95% CI 1·04–1·22; 1·14, 1·03–1·25; and 1·20, 1·12–1·28, respectively). These air pollutants were also associated with higher concentrations of fasting glucose (0·04–0·09 mmol/L), 2 h glucose (0·10–0·19 mmol/L), and 2 h insulin (0·70–2·74 μU/L). No association was observed for the remaining biomarkers. Stratified analyses indicated greater effects on the individuals who were younger (<50 years) or overweight or obese. Interpretation: Long-term exposure to air pollution was associated with increased risk of diabetes in a Chinese population, particularly in individuals who were younger or overweight or obese. Funding: The National Key Research and Development Program of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, the Guangdong Province Natural Science Foundation, the Career Development Fellowship of Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, and the Early Career Fellowship of Australian National Health and Medical Research Council