Robotic manipulation of cardiomyocytes to identify gap junction modifiers for arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy.

Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is a leading cause of sudden cardiac death among young adults. Aberrant gap junction remodeling has been linked to disease-causative mutations in plakophilin-2 (). Although gap junctions are a key therapeutic target, measurement of gap junction function in preclinical disease models is technically challenging.

Association between personal attenuation rating with types of earplugs and noise exposure levels in a textile factory in China.

Objective: To investigate the effects of earplug type and noise exposure level on textile workers' personal attenuation rating (PAR).

Design: Initial and follow-up visits were conducted at a 17-month interval. At each visit, a baseline HPD fit test was performed using either a 3M foam or pre-molded earplug, as chosen by the workers.

Robotic Fast Dual-Arm Patch Clamp System for Mechanosensitive Excitability Research of Neurons.

Objective: A robotic fast dual-arm patch clamp system with controllable mechanical stimulation is proposed in this paper for mechanosensitive excitability research of neurons in brain slice.

Methods: First, a kinematic model of a dual-arm patch clamp system combined with Monte Carlo method is developed to calculate the workspaces of recording micropipette and stimulation micropipette, and optimize the length of end effector for reducing collision incidences during operation. Then, a quantitative stimulation method to cells using one micropipette is developed based on pressing depth control.

A new perspective on selenium's impact on renal function: European population-based analysis of plasma proteome-mediated Mendelian randomization study.

Background: The relationship between selenium and renal function has always attracted widespread attention. Increased selenium level has been found to cause impaired renal function in our previous study, but the mechanism is not clear. In this study, we evaluate the potential mediating effects of plasma proteome in the association of selenium level and renal function to understand the mechanisms of selenium's effect on renal function.

Inflammatory indexes and anemia in chronic kidney disease: correlation and survival analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005-2018.

Background: There is currently no research on the correlation between novel inflammatory indexes systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and the risk of anemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) population, as well as survival analysis in CKD with anemia.

Methods: This investigation encompassed 4444 adult subjects out of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2005 and 2018. The study utilized multi-variable logistic regression to assess the relationship between SII, NLR, PLR, and anemia risk occurrence in CKD population.

Effect of different food matrices on the bioaccessibility of vitamin D in beverage systems: Comparison between juice and liquid milk.

Vitamin D plays a crucial role in bone, immunology, and neurophysiological functions but has inadequate bioavailability in the human body. In this paper, six different liquid beverages were used for vitamin D fortification, investigating the effect of different food matrices on the bioaccessibility of vitamin D. Not from concentrate (NFC) apple juice (9.

Causal role of immune cells in aplastic anemia: Mendelian randomization (MR) study.

Prior research has identified associations between immune cells and aplastic anaemia (AA); however, the causal relationships between them have not been conclusively established. A two-sample Mendelian randomisation analysis was conducted to investigate the causal link between 731 immune cell signatures and AA risk using publicly available genetic data. Four types of immune signatures, including relative cell, absolute cell (AC), median fluorescence intensities and morphological parameters, were considered sensitivity analyses were also performed to verify the robustness of the results and assess potential issues such as heterogeneity and horizontal pleiotropy.

The pivotal role of glucose transporter 1 in diabetic kidney disease.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a significant public health problem. Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is the most common complication of DM, and its incidence has been increasing with the increasing prevalence of DM. Given the association between DKD and mortality in patients with DM, DKD is a significant burden on public health resources.

Cathepsin S (CTSS) in IgA nephropathy: an exploratory study on its role as a potential diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target.

Introduction: IgA nephropathy (IgAN), a prevalent form of glomerulonephritis globally, exhibits complex pathogenesis. Cathepsins, cysteine proteases within lysosomes, are implicated in various physiological and pathological processes, including renal conditions. Prior observational studies have suggested a potential link between cathepsins and IgAN, yet the precise causal relationship remains unclear.

Transcriptomic analysis reveals hub genes and pathways in response to acetic acid stress in Kluyveromyces marxianus during high-temperature ethanol fermentation.

The thermotolerant yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus is known for its potential in high-temperature ethanol fermentation, yet it suffers from excess acetic acid production at elevated temperatures, which hinders ethanol production. To better understand how the yeast responds to acetic acid stress during high-temperature ethanol fermentation, this study investigated its transcriptomic changes under this condition. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and enriched gene ontology (GO) terms and pathways under acetic acid stress.

Renal interferon-inducible protein 16 expression is associated with disease activity and prognosis in lupus nephritis.

Background: Lupus nephritis (LN) is one of the most severe complications of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, the current management of LN remains unsatisfactory due to sneaky symptoms during early stages and lack of reliable predictors of disease progression.

Methods: Bioinformatics and machine learning algorithms were initially used to explore the potential biomarkers for LN development.

Renal C4d is a potential biomarker of disease activity and severity in pediatric lupus nephritis patients.

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a multisystemic autoimmune disease, is very aggressive in pediatric-onset patients as they are prone to develop lupus nephritis (LN). Although renal C4d positivity is correlated with the activity of renal disease and SLE in adult-onset LN patients, available information for pediatric-onset patients is limited.

Methods: To evaluate the potential diagnostic significance of renal C4d staining in pediatric LN patients, we retrospectively detected C4d staining by immunohistochemistry on renal biopsy specimens from 58 pediatric LN patients.

Investigate the genetic mechanisms of diabetic kidney disease complicated with inflammatory bowel disease through data mining and bioinformatic analysis.

Background: Patients with diabetic kidney disease (DKD) often have gastrointestinal dysfunction such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study aims to investigate the genetic mechanism leading to IBD in DKD patients through data mining and bioinformatics analysis.

Methods: The disease-related genes of DKD and IBD were searched from the five databases of OMIM, GeneCards, PharmGkb, TTD, and DrugBank, and the intersection part of the two diseases were taken to obtain the risk genes of DKD complicated with IBD.

Effects of Selenium on Chronic Kidney Disease: A Mendelian Randomization Study.

Background: Previous observational studies have shown that there is a controversial association between selenium levels and chronic kidney disease (CKD). Our aim was to assess the causal relationship between selenium levels and CKD using Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.

Methods: We used the two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) method to analyze the causal role of selenium levels on CKD risk.

Great prognosis of concurrent anti-GBM disease and IgA nephropathy in a young woman: A case report.

Rationale: The causal relationship between anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) disease and immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy is still unclear and cases of concurrent anti-GBM disease and IgA nephropathy are very rare, especially with a good prognosis and long-term follow-up. Here, we report a case of concurrent anti-GBM disease and IgA nephropathy. By using corticosteroids and cyclophosphamide in combination with plasmapheresis, the patient achieved a very good prognosis with complete normalization of renal function and complete disappearance of hematuria and proteinuria at the subsequent follow-up.

Network pharmacology and molecular docking technology-based predictive study of the active ingredients and potential targets of rhubarb for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the most serious complications of diabetes and the main cause of end-stage renal failure. Rhubarb is a widely used traditional Chinese herb, and it has exhibited efficacy in reducing proteinuria, lowering blood sugar levels and improving kidney function in patients with DN. However, the exact pharmacological mechanism by rhubarb improves DN remain unclear due to the complexity of its ingredients.

The microbial diversity in industrial effluents makes high-throughput sequencing-based source tracking of the effluents possible.

In order to explore the microbial diversity in industrial effluents, and on this basis, to verify the feasibility of tracking industrial effluents in sewer networks based on sequencing data, we collected 28 sewage samples from the industrial effluents relative to four factories in Shenzhen, China, and sequenced the 16S rRNA genes to profile the microbial compositions. We identified 5413 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) in total, and found that microbial compositions were highly diverse among samples from different locations in the sewer system, with only 107 OTUs shared by 90% of the samples. These shared OTUs were enriched in the phylum of Proteobacteria, the families of Comamonadaceae and Pseudomonadaceae, as well as the genus of Pseudomonas, with both degradation related and pathogenic bacteria.

A noninvasive artificial neural network model to predict IgA nephropathy risk in Chinese population.

Renal biopsy is the gold standard for Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) but poses several problems. Thus, we aimed to establish a noninvasive model for predicting the risk probability of IgAN by analyzing routine and serological parameters. A total of 519 biopsy-diagnosed IgAN and 211 non-IgAN patients were recruited retrospectively.

Zinc-Ion Storage Mechanism of Polyaniline for Rechargeable Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries.

Aqueous multivalent ion batteries, especially aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs), have promising energy storage application due to their unique merits of safety, high ionic conductivity, and high gravimetric energy density. To improve their electrochemical performance, polyaniline (PANI) is often chosen to suppress cathode dissolution. Herein, this work focuses on the zinc ion storage behavior of a PANI cathode.

Association of abnormal-glucose tolerance during pregnancy with exposure to PM components and sources.

Maternal exposure to PM has been associated with abnormal glucose tolerance during pregnancy, but little is known about which constituents and sources are most relevant to glycemic effects. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 1148 pregnant women to investigate associations of PM chemical components with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and to identify the most harmful sources in Heshan, China from January 2015 to July 2016. We measured PM using filter-based method and analyzed them for 28 constituents, including carbonaceous species, water-soluble ions and metal elements.

Insights into the source-specific health risk of ambient particle-bound metals in the Pearl River Delta region, China.

Quantification of source-specific health risks of PM plays an essential role in health-oriented air pollution control. However, there is limited evidence supporting the source-based risk apportionment of particle-bound metals. In this study, source-specific cancer and non-cancer risk characterization of 12 particle-bound metals was performed in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, China.

Predictive Study of the Active Ingredients and Potential Targets of for the Treatment of Osteosarcoma via Network Pharmacology.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common type of primary bone tumor in children and adults. Dangshen () is a traditional Chinese medicine commonly used in the treatment of OS worldwide. However, the molecular mechanisms of Dangshen in OS remain unclear.

The Potential Significance of ABO Genotyping for Donor Selection in Kidney Transplantation.

Background: The ABO blood group system is clinically important in kidney transplantation, but ABO genotyping fails to attract sufficient attention in some countries and regions. We identified one case of early graft dysfunction due to an ABO genotype mismatch. Here, we performed ABO genotyping in blood samples, analyzed grouping discrepancies, and investigated the weak A subgroup frequency in kidney transplantation candidates.

Respiratory health effects of residential individual and cumulative risk factors in children living in two cities of the Pearl River Delta Region, China.

Background: Indoor environment is complex, with many factors potentially interacting with each other to affect health. However, previous studies have usually focused on effect of a single factor. Assessment of the combined effects of multiple factors can help with understanding the overall health risk.