Correlations between nutritional indicators and cognitive function in patients with stable schizophrenia in a hospital setting.

Background And Objectives: Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia, and it is now clear that there is a link between nutritional indicators and cognitive functioning. This study aimed to investigate correlations between three nutritional indicators (prognostic nutritional index [PNI], geriatric nutritional risk index [GNRI], and controlling nutritional status score [CONUT]) and cognitive function in hospitalized patients with stable schizophrenia.

Methods: A total of 235 patients who were hospitalized with stable schizophrenia were included.

Low handgrip strength with asymmetry is associated with elevated all-cause mortality risk in older Chinese adults with abdominal obesity.

Background And Objectives: Low handgrip strength (HGS) and abdominal obesity (AO) have been reported to be linked to an increased all-cause mortality risk in older adults. However, the combined impact of AO with low HGS and/or HGS asymmetry on mortality risk remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the synergistic effects of AO and abnormal HGS on mortality risk among Chinese older adults.

O-GlcNAc Modification of α-Synuclein Can Alter Monomer Dynamics to Control Aggregation Kinetics.

The intrinsically disordered protein α-Synuclein is identified as a major toxic aggregate in Parkinson's as well as several other neurodegenerative diseases. Recent work on this protein has focused on the effects of posttranslational modifications on aggregation kinetics. Among them, O-GlcNAcylation of α-Synuclein has been observed to inhibit the aggregation propensity of the protein.

Post-translational Modification of α-Synuclein Modifies Monomer Dynamics and Aggregation Kinetics.

The intrinsically disordered protein α-Synuclein is identified as a major toxic aggregate in Parkinson's as well as several other neurodegenerative diseases. Recent work on this protein has focused on the effects of posttranslational modifications on aggregation kinetics. Among these, O-GlcNAcylation of α-Synuclein has been observed to inhibit the aggregation propensity of the protein.

Potential for targeting small heat shock protein modifications.

Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) play key roles in cellular stress and several human diseases. The direct effects of some post-translational modifications (PTMs) on certain sHSPs have been characterized, raising the possibility that small molecules could be used to modulate these modifications and indirectly up- or downregulate sHSP activity.

PGC-1α participates in regulating mitochondrial function in aged sarcopenia through effects on the Sestrin2-mediated mTORC1 pathway.

Background: Mitochondrial dysregulation in skeletal myocytes is considered a major factor in aged sarcopenia. In this study, we aimed to study the effects of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1 alpha (PGC-1α) on Sestrin2-mediated mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) in aged skeletal muscles.

Methods: C2C12 myoblasts were stimulated by 50 μM 7β-hydroxycholesterol (7β-OHC) to observe the changes of DNA damage, mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm), mitochondrial ROS and PGC-1α protein.

The accuracy of different calculation methods when identifying handgrip strength asymmetry among middle-aged and older Chinese adults.

At present, there is no uniform standard mean of identifying handgrip strength (HGS) asymmetry based on maximum or average HGS values. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the accuracy of different calculation methods in the evaluation of HGS asymmetry. Using the maximum reading of two trials from both hands (Method A) as the reference standard, the accuracy of the HGS asymmetry identified by the average value of two trials of both hands (Method B) was determined by using various indicators, including specificity, sensitivity, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), positive, and negative predictive values.

JAK2 inhibitors for the treatment of Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms: current status and future directions.

The overactivation of Janus kinases 2 (JAK2) by gain-of-function mutations in the JAK2, Myeloproliferative leukemia virus oncogene, or Calreticulin genes are the most important factor in the development of Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). The discovery of the JAK2V617F mutation is a significant breakthrough in understanding the pathogenesis of MPNs, and inhibition of JAK2 abnormal activation has become one of the most effective strategies against MPNs. Currently, three JAK2 inhibitors for treating MPNs have been approved, and several are being evaluated in clinical trials.

Risk factors associated with weak and asymmetric handgrip strength in older Chinese adults.

Objectives: This study sought to investigate the potential risk factors associated with weak and asymmetric handgrip strength (HGS) in older Chinese adults.

Methods: A total of 2702 participants aged ≥65 years from the two waves of data (2011 and 2013) from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study were analyzed. The highest recorded HGS values (Method A) or the average HGS values (Method B) for the dominant hand were used to compute the HGS asymmetry (nondominant HGS/dominant HGS out of 0.

Enhanced Vaccine Immunogenicity Enabled by Targeted Cytosolic Delivery of Tumor Antigens into Dendritic Cells.

Molecular vaccines comprising antigen peptides and inflammatory cues make up a class of therapeutics that promote immunity against cancer and pathogenic diseases but often exhibit limited efficacy. Here, we engineered an antigen peptide delivery system to enhance vaccine efficacy by targeting dendritic cells and mediating cytosolic delivery. The delivery system consists of the nontoxic anthrax protein, protective antigen (PA), and a single-chain variable fragment (scFv) that recognizes the XCR1 receptor on dendritic cells (DCs).

Prediction of the effects of small molecules on the gut microbiome using machine learning method integrating with optimal molecular features.

Background: The human gut microbiome (HGM), consisting of trillions of microorganisms, is crucial to human health. Adverse drug use is one of the most important causes of HGM disorder. Thus, it is necessary to identify drugs or compounds with anti-commensal effects on HGM in the early drug discovery stage.

O-GlcNAc Modification Alters the Chaperone Activity of HSP27 Charcot-Marie-Tooth Type 2 (CMT2) Variants in a Mutation-Selective Fashion.

Increased O-GlcNAc is a common feature of cellular stress, and the upregulation of this dynamic modification is associated with improved survival under these conditions. Likewise, the heat shock proteins are also increased under stress and prevent protein misfolding and aggregation. We previously linked these two phenomena by demonstrating that O-GlcNAc directly increases the chaperone of certain small heat shock proteins, including HSP27.

HSP27 Inhibitory Activity against Caspase-3 Cleavage and Activation by Caspase-9 Is Enhanced by Chaperone O-GlcNAc Modification .

One of the O-GlcNAc modifications is the protection of cells against a variety of stressors that result in cell death. Previous experiments have focused on the overall ability of O-GlcNAc to prevent protein aggregation under stress as well as its ability to affect stress-response signaling pathways. Less attention has been paid to the potential role for O-GlcNAc in the direct inhibition of a major cell-death pathway, apoptosis.

Prevalence and risk factors for dementia in the Tibetan region: A population-based cross-sectional study.

Background: As China's population ages, the nationwide prevalence of dementia is increasing. However, the epidemiology of dementia among the Tibetan population remains unclear.

Objective: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 9116 participants aged >50 years in the Tibetan population to investigate the risk factors and prevalence of dementia among this population.

The E3 ligase adapter cereblon targets the C-terminal cyclic imide degron.

The ubiquitin E3 ligase substrate adapter cereblon (CRBN) is a target of thalidomide and lenalidomide, therapeutic agents used in the treatment of haematopoietic malignancies and as ligands for targeted protein degradation. These agents are proposed to mimic a naturally occurring degron; however, the structural motif recognized by the thalidomide-binding domain of CRBN remains unknown. Here we report that C-terminal cyclic imides, post-translational modifications that arise from intramolecular cyclization of glutamine or asparagine residues, are physiological degrons on substrates for CRBN.

Drug-Induced Immune Thrombocytopenia Toxicity Prediction Based on Machine Learning.

Drug-induced immune thrombocytopenia (DITP) often occurs in patients receiving many drug treatments simultaneously. However, clinicians usually fail to accurately distinguish which drugs can be plausible culprits. Despite significant advances in laboratory-based DITP testing, in vitro experimental assays have been expensive and, in certain cases, cannot provide a timely diagnosis to patients.

Chemical characterization and DPP-IV inhibitory activity evaluation of tripeptides from Gynura divaricata (L.) DC.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Gynura divaricata (L.) DC. (GD), a herbal medicine, has been used for the prevention and treatment of hyperglycemia in China.

Multitask CapsNet: An Imbalanced Data Deep Learning Method for Predicting Toxicants.

Drug development has a high failure rate, with safety properties constituting a considerable challenge. To reduce risk, in silico tools, including various machine learning methods, have been applied for toxicity prediction. However, these approaches often confront a serious problem: the training data sets are usually biased (imbalanced positive and negative samples), which would result in model training difficulty and unsatisfactory prediction accuracy.

Mechanism Prediction of against Cisplatin-Induced Kidney Damage by Network Pharmacology and Molecular Docking.

Background: Cisplatin is a frequently used and effective chemotherapy drug in clinical practice, but severe side effects limit its use, among which nephrotoxicity is considered the most serious and prolonged damage to the body. (AM) is a well-known herbal medicine, and modern pharmacological studies have confirmed its antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and antiapoptotic effects. Clinical studies have shown that AM and its active components can attenuate cisplatin-induced kidney damage, but the molecular mechanism has not been fully expounded.

Automated Flow Synthesis of Tumor Neoantigen Peptides for Personalized Immunotherapy.

High-throughput genome sequencing and computation have enabled rapid identification of targets for personalized medicine, including cancer vaccines. Synthetic peptides are an established mode of cancer vaccine delivery, but generating the peptides for each patient in a rapid and affordable fashion remains difficult. High-throughput peptide synthesis technology is therefore urgently needed for patient-specific cancer vaccines to succeed in the clinic.

Association of Educational Level and Marital Status With Obesity: A Study of Chinese Twins.

The prevalence of overweight and obesity is growing rapidly in many countries. Socioeconomic inequalities might be important for this increase. The aim of this study was to determine associations of body mass index (BMI), overweight and obesity with educational level and marital status in Chinese twins.

[A co-twin control study on birth weight, overweight and obesity among children younger than 18 years old in China].

Objective: To analyze the associations between birth weight and overweight/obesity among children.

Methods: A total of 8 267 twin pairs younger than 18 years old from the Chinese National Twin Registry were included in the study. Associations between birth weight, childhood BMI and overweight/obesity were explored by this co-twin control study.

The association of cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking with body mass index: a cross-sectional, population-based study among Chinese adult male twins.

Background: Obesity is a multifactorial abnormality which has an underlying genetic control but requires environmental influences to trigger. Numerous epidemiological studies have examined the roles of physical inactivity and dietary factors in obesity development. Interactions between obesity-related genes and these lifestyles have also been confirmed.