Diagnosis of lymph node metastasis in oral squamous cell carcinoma by an MRI-based deep learning model.

Background: Cervical lymph node metastasis (LNM) is a well-established poor prognosticator of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), in which occult metastasis is a subtype that makes prediction challenging. Here, we developed and validated a deep learning (DL) model using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the identification of LNM in OSCC patients.

Methods: This retrospective diagnostic study developed a three-stage DL model by 45,664 preoperative MRI images from 723 patients in 10 Chinese hospitals between January 2015 and October 2020.

The impact of the centralized volume-based procurement policy on Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturing firms' R&D investment: A difference-in-differences approach.

Centralized drug procurement is a common practice worldwide to relieve the healthcare burden and promote high-quality development in the pharmaceutical industry. However, scholars have not yet reached an agreement on whether centralized procurement can facilitate the innovation activities of pharmaceutical firms. China's centralized volume-based procurement (CVBP) implemented in 2018 provides an ideal quasi-natural experiment to evaluate the effect of centralized procurement on the R&D investment of the firms.

Transcriptome analysis reveals the genetic basis underlying the formation and seasonal changes of nuptial pads in Rana chensinensis.

Background: Nuptial pads, a typical sexually dimorphic trait in anurans, are located on the first digit of the male forelimb in Rana chensinensis and exhibit morphological changes synchronized with breeding cycles. However, the genetic mechanisms underlying its formation and seasonal changes remain poorly understood.

Results: To identify genes and biological processes associated with the development and seasonal variations of nuptial pads, we conducted a comprehensive transcriptome analysis on nuptial pads and hind toe skin across both sexes at different breeding periods in R.

Discovery of a Natural Ent-Kaurene Diterpenoid Oridonin as an E3 Ligase Recruiter for PROTACs.

PROTACs have emerged as a therapeutic modality for the targeted degradation of proteins of interest (POIs). Central to PROTAC technology are the E3 ligase recruiters, yet only a few of them have been identified due to the lack of ligandable pockets in ligases, especially among single-subunit ligases. We propose that binders of partner proteins of single-subunit ligases could be repurposed as new ligase recruiters.

Brd4 modulates metabolic endotoxemia-induced inflammation by regulating colonic macrophage infiltration in high-fat diet-fed mice.

High-fat diet (HFD) induces low-grade chronic inflammation, contributing to obesity and insulin resistance. However, the precise mechanisms triggering obesity-associated metabolic inflammation remain elusive. In this study, we identified epigenetic factor Brd4 as a key player in this process by regulating the expression of Ccr2/Ccr5 in colonic macrophage.