Construction and validation of a risk prediction model for aromatase inhibitor-associated bone loss

PurposeTo establish a high-risk prediction model for aromatase inhibitor-associated bone loss (AIBL) in patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer.MethodsThe study included breast cancer patients who received aromatase inhibitor (AI) treatment. Univariate analysis was performed to identify risk factors associated with AIBL. The dataset was randomly divided into a training set (70%) and a test set (30%). The identified risk factors were used to construct a prediction model using the eXtreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) machine learning method. Logistic regression and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression methods were used for comparison. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the performance of the model in the test dataset.ResultsA total of 113 subjects were included in the study. Duration of breast cancer, duration of aromatase inhibitor therapy, hip fracture index, major osteoporotic fracture index, prolactin (PRL), and osteocalcin (OC) were found to be independent risk factors for AIBL (p < 0.05). The XGBoost model had a higher AUC compared to the logistic model and LASSO model (0.761 vs. 0.716, 0.691).ConclusionThe XGBoost model outperformed the logistic and LASSO models in predicting the occurrence of AIBL in patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer receiving aromatase inhibitors

Retinal microvasculature features in patients with migraine: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundMigraine is a central nervous system disorder involving neuronal and vascular factors. The brain has a close anatomical relationship with retinal vessels and similar regulatory processes, and the retinal vascular system is the only in vivo vessel that can be directly visualized, while optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) is an advanced retinal vascular imaging technique. In this study, OCTA was used to study the retinal vascular density (VD) and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) in migraine patients, which provided a theoretical basis for its use as a candidate for rapid and non-invasive diagnosis of migraine.MethodsPublished studies comparing retinal microvascular profiles between migraine patients and healthy controls were obtained by a comprehensive search of electronic databases. Nine studies were finally included, including 775 eyes (migraine group: 444 eyes, control group: 331 eyes). Pooled effect sizes were presented as standardized mean differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Statistical analysis was performed using Review Manager software (version 5.30).ResultsThe combined results revealed that the superficial and deep macular whole enface VD (MWEVD) (superficial VD: SMD = −0.30, P = 0.0001; deep VD: SMD = −0.61, P = 0.02), superficial foveal VD (FVD) (SMD = −0.42, P = 0.03), deep parafoveal VD (PFVD) (SMD = −0.31, P = 0.002), and peripapillary VD (PVD) (SMD = −0.49, P = 0.002) were significantly reduced in migraine patients compared with healthy people. However, there was a significant increase in the area of the FAZ in migraine patients (SMD = 0.56, P < 0.0001).ConclusionMigraine patients are prone to retinal microcirculation disorders, such as decreased blood vessel density and increased avascular area in the fovea. This provides a theoretical basis for OCTA as a candidate for rapid, non-invasive diagnosis of migraine

Laboratory-Scaled Investigation into Combined Impacts of Temporal Rainfall Patterns and Intensive Tillage on Soil and Water Loss

Many studies have focused on the impacts of rainfall duration and intensity, while overlooking the role of rainfall patterns on intensive tillage erosion in hilly agricultural landscapes. The objective of this study was to determine the combined effects of rainfall patterns and tillage erosion on surface runoff and soil loss on sloping farmland in the purple soil area of China. Five simulated rainfall patterns (constant, rising, falling, rising–falling, and falling–rising) with the same total precipitation were designed, and the intensive tillage treatment (IT) and no-tillage treatment (NT) were subjected to simulated rainfall using rectangular steel tanks (2 m × 5 m) with a slope of 15°. To analyse the differences in the hydrological characteristics induced by tillage erosion, we calculated the flow velocity (V), Reynolds number (Re), Froude number (Fr), and Darcy–Weisbach resistance coefficient (f). The results indicate that significant differences in surface runoff and sediment yield were found among different rainfall patterns and rainfall stages (p f varied from 0.30 to 9.05 for the IT and 0.48 to 11.57 for the NT and exhibited an approximately inverse trend to V and Fr over the course of the rainfall events. Compared with the NT, the mean sediment yield rates from the IT increased the dynamic range of 8.34–16.21% among the different rainfall patterns. The net contributions of the IT ranged from 2.77% to 46.39% in terms of surface runoff and 10.14–78.95% in terms of sediment yield on sloping farmland. The surface runoff and sediment yield were positively correlated with rainfall intensity, V, and Fr, but negatively correlated with f irrespective of tillage operation (p < 0.05). The results showed that the tillage erosion effects on soil and water loss were closely related to rainfall patterns in hilly agricultural landscapes. Our study not only sheds light on the mechanism of tillage erosion and rainfall erosion but also provides useful insights for developing tillage water erosion prediction models to evaluate soil and water loss on cultivated hillslopes

Mass loss and nutrient dynamics during litter decomposition under three mixing treatments in a typical steppe in Inner Mongolia

Author's manuscript made available in accordance with the publisher's policy.Background and aims Mixing effects during litter decomposition could occur between two or more different litter species because of the potential nutrient transfer. However, evidence of mixing effects is variable and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Using a three-year decomposition experiment, we aim to examine for the effects of litter mixing and position on decomposition rates and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) dynamics. Methods We studied litter decomposition of Stipa krylovii (Sk) and Astragalus galactites (Ag), two dominant species with contrasting litter quality, in a typical steppe of northern China in both single decomposition and three mixing treatments. The three mixing treatments included thorough mixing (Sk-Ag), Ag over Sk (Ag/Sk), and Sk over Ag (Sk/Ag). Results Both the Sk-Ag and the Sk/Ag mixture had negative mixing effects on the mass loss of the litter mixture, while the Ag/Sk mixture had a neutral mixing effect. The percent mass loss was higher when the litter species was placed at the top (25.0 and 51.9 % of mass remaining for Ag and Sk, respectively) than at the bottom (38.3 and 61.8 % of mass remaining for Ag and Sk, respectively). The Sk/Ag mixture had negative effects on the release of N while all three mixing treatments had positive effects on the release of P. Conclusions Our results indicate that: (1) mixing treatments can induce different mixing effects; (2) environmental factors likely play an important role in controlling the mixing effect; and (3) litter-mixtures have different non-additive effects on N and P, which may further increase the heterogeneity of N and P availability as the two litter species may fall differentially in terms of space and time

Novel and favorable QTL allele clusters for end-use quality revealed by introgression lines derived from synthetic wheat

Wheat quality is an important target trait. Previous studies mainly focus on storage protein, but their contribution to quality is partial, and most loci for quality are still undetected. Wild species of wheat are valuable resources for wheat improvement and introgression lines (ILs) are the ideal materials for detecting quantitative trait loci (QTL). In this study, a set of 82 BC5 F2-6 ILs, carrying a range of introgressed chromosome segments from a synthetic hexaploid wheat Am3 (Triticum carthlicum x Aegilops tauschii), was developed and genotyped with 170 microsatellite markers. QTL analysis was performed for 14 parameters, sodium dodecyl sulfate sedimentation volume, grain protein content (GPC), grain hardness and 11 mixograph parameters, associated with end-use quality of wheat, using the materials harvested in three environments. This led to the detection of 116 QTL, with c. 95% of the positive alleles contributed by Am3. Six important and novel genomic regions for bread-making quality were found on chromosomes 2D, 3A, 4A, 4B, 5A and 6A. These loci for bread-making quality showed pleiotropy and had large positive effects on several quality parameters with no or very weak negative effect on grain yield, thus demonstrating the value of synthetic wheat as a source of useful genetic variation for the improvement of bread wheat quality

Acupuncture for Functional Dyspepsia: A Single Blinded, Randomized, Controlled Trial

In order to investigate the therapeutic potential of acupuncture on patients with functional dyspepsia (FD), patients were randomized to receive acupuncture at classic acupoints with manipulations (treatment group) versus acupuncture at nonacupoints without manipulation (control group) once every other day, three times a week, for one month and were followed up for three months. The primary outcomes included dyspeptic symptoms, quality of life, and mental status. The secondary outcomes included the fasting serum gastrin concentration, and frequency and propagation velocity of gastric slow waves. Sixty patients with FD were included, among whom, four dropped out. After one month's treatment, patients with FD showed significant improvements in primary (in both groups) and secondary (in the eight patients of the treatment group) outcomes as compared with baseline (P=0.0078 to <0.0001); treatment group has better outcomes in all primary outcome measures (P<0.0001 except for SDS (P=0.0005)). Improvements on dyspeptic symptoms persist during follow-up (better in the treatment group). Acupuncture with manual manipulation had better effects on improving dyspeptic symptoms, mental status, and quality of life in patients with FD. These effects may be related to the increased frequency and propagation speed of gastric slow waves and serum gastrin secretion