The association between blood metals and cardiovascular diseases: findings from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2020.

Objectives: Previous studies have examined the relationship between cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and blood metal levels. However, fewer studies have investigated the role of the combinations of blood metals on CVDs. In the current study, our aim is to explore the roles of specific blood metals and further develop a model to differentiate between healthy participants and CVD patients using database from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Do budget deficits cause current account deficits? a re-evaluation utilizing military expenditures as an instrumental variable.

The twin deficit hypothesis suggests that budget deficits are crucial factors leading to current account deficits, and substantial empirical evidence documents a significant positive statistical correlation between budget and current account deficits. However, such evidence generally suffers from endogeneity problems due to reverse causality, thereby making it difficult to provide solid evidence to support policy implementation. We use extensive cross-national panel data from developed and developing countries and military expenditure as an instrumental variable to reexamine the impact of budget deficits on the current account and test the validity of the twin deficit hypothesis.

Loss of Lateral suppressor gene is associated with evolution of root nodule symbiosis in Leguminosae.

Background: Root nodule symbiosis (RNS) is a fascinating evolutionary event. Given that limited genes conferring the evolution of RNS in Leguminosae have been functionally validated, the genetic basis of the evolution of RNS remains largely unknown. Identifying the genes involved in the evolution of RNS will help to reveal the mystery.

Analyzing the heterogenous effects of factors on high-range speeding likelihood of taxi speeders: Does explainable deep learning provides more insights than random parameter approach?

The random parameters Generalized Linear Model (GLM) is frequently used to model speeding characteristics and capture the heterogenous effects of factors. However, this statistical approach is seldom employed for prediction and generalization due to the challenge of transferring its predefined errors. Recently, the emergence of explainable AI techniques has illuminated a new path for analyzing factors associated with risky driving behaviors.

Dietary inflammation influences the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in prediabetes and diabetes patients: findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2001-2018).

Prediabetes is an early phase before diabetes. Diabetes and dietary inflammation are two crucial factors that are strongly associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Dietary interventions slowed the progression of diabetes and CVD.

The gut microbiota-brain axis in neurological disorders.

Previous studies have shown a bidirectional communication between human gut microbiota and the brain, known as the microbiota-gut-brain axis (MGBA). The MGBA influences the host's nervous system development, emotional regulation, and cognitive function through neurotransmitters, immune modulation, and metabolic pathways. Factors like diet, lifestyle, genetics, and environment shape the gut microbiota composition together.

The nasal microbiota is a potential diagnostic biomarker for sepsis in critical care units.

This study aimed to characterize the composition of intestinal and nasal microbiota in septic patients and identify potential microbial biomarkers for diagnosis. A total of 157 subjects, including 89 with sepsis, were enrolled from the affiliated hospital. Nasal swabs and fecal specimens were collected from septic and non-septic patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) and Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

SLAM-Drop-seq reveals mRNA kinetic rates throughout the cell cycle.

RNA abundance is tightly regulated in eukaryotic cells by modulating the kinetic rates of RNA production, processing, and degradation. To date, little is known about time‐dependent kinetic rates during dynamic processes. Here, we present SLAM‐Drop‐seq, a method that combines RNA metabolic labeling and alkylation of modified nucleotides in methanol‐fixed cells with droplet‐based sequencing to detect newly synthesized and preexisting mRNAs in single cells.

Comparison of the upper and lower airway microbiome in early postoperative lung transplant recipients.

Unlabelled: The upper and lower respiratory tract may share microbiome because they are directly continuous, and the nasal microbiome contributes partially to the composition of the lung microbiome. But little is known about the upper and lower airway microbiome of early postoperative lung transplant recipients (LTRs). Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we compared paired nasal swab (NS) and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) microbiome from 17 early postoperative LTRs.

Research development on gut microbiota and vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque.

The relationship between gut microbiota and its metabolites with cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been proven. In this review, we aim to conclude the potential mechanism of gut microbiota and its metabolites on inducing the formation of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaque, and to discuss the effect of intestinal metabolites, including trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), phenylacetylglutamine (PAG), short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) on plaque stability. Finally, we include the impact of gut microbiota and its metabolites on plaque stability, to propose a new therapeutic direction for coronary heart disease.

Who might encounter hard-braking while speeding? Analysis for regular speeders using low-frequency taxi trajectories on arterial roads and explainable AI.

Regular speeders are those who commit speeding recidivism during a period. Among their speeding behaviors, some occurring in specific scenarios may cause more hazards to road users. Therefore, there is a need to evaluate the driving risks if the regular speeders have different speeding propensities.

Urinary peptidome analysis in CKD and IgA nephropathy.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has emerged as a significant challenge to human health and economic stability in aging societies worldwide. Current clinical practice strategies remain insufficient for the early identification of kidney dysfunction, and the differential diagnosis of immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) predominantly relies on invasive kidney biopsy procedures.

Methods: First, we assessed a case-control cohort to obtain urine samples from healthy controls and biopsy-confirmed CKD patients.

Cellular and molecular basis of symbiotic nodule development.

Root nodule development plays a vital role in establishing the mutualistic relationship between legumes and nitrogen-fixing rhizobia. Two primary processes are involved in nodule development: formative cell divisions in the root cortex and the subsequent differentiation of nodule cells. The first process involves the mitotic reactivation of differentiated root cortex cells to form nodule primordium after perceiving symbiotic signals.

Evaluation of a two-test strategy for HIV screening in a low-prevalence setting and the indications for optimizing clinical management.

Objectives: To evaluate a two-test strategy for HIV screening in the low-prevalence population and to assess the feasibility of utilizing the optimal signal-to-cutoff (S/CO) threshold on the chemiluminescence immunoassay(CMIA) and an additional rapid test on the gold immune-chromatography assay (GICA) for screening positive patients and optimization of clinical management.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of samples analyzed by the fourth-generation Architect HIV Ag/Ab combo assay (CMIA) in a large medical center between June 2017 and August 2020. Reactive samples underwent a second screening test using the rapid test GICA, followed by Western blot (WB) as the confirmatory test.

Detection of Pilot's Mental Workload Using a Wireless EEG Headset in Airfield Traffic Pattern Tasks.

Elevated mental workload (MWL) experienced by pilots can result in increased reaction times or incorrect actions, potentially compromising flight safety. This study aims to develop a functional system to assist administrators in identifying and detecting pilots' real-time MWL and evaluate its effectiveness using designed airfield traffic pattern tasks within a realistic flight simulator. The perceived MWL in various situations was assessed and labeled using NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) scores.

The airway microbiome mediates the interaction between environmental exposure and respiratory health in humans.

Exposure to environmental pollution influences respiratory health. The role of the airway microbial ecosystem underlying the interaction of exposure and respiratory health remains unclear. Here, through a province-wide chronic obstructive pulmonary disease surveillance program, we conducted a population-based survey of bacterial (n = 1,651) and fungal (n = 719) taxa and metagenomes (n = 1,128) from induced sputum of 1,651 household members in Guangdong, China.

Bidirectional effects of oral anticoagulants on gut microbiota in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Background: The imbalance of gut microbiota (GM) is associated with a higher risk of thrombosis in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Oral anticoagulants (OACs) have been found to significantly reduce the risk of thromboembolism and increase the risk of bleeding. However, the OAC-induced alterations in gut microbiota in patients with AF remain elusive.

Exploring the role of uterine fibroids in promotion of cardiovascular diseases by diabetes exposure: Findings from national health and nutrition examination survey 1999-2006.

Objective: The relationship between uterine fibroids (UF) and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in the diabetes population seemed to remain undetermined in previous studies. This study aims to explore the association between UF and CVDs by using the database from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). To further evaluate the connection between UF and CVDs we also tested the potential differences due to diabetes exposure.

Multi-omics analyses of airway host-microbe interactions in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease identify potential therapeutic interventions.

The mechanistic role of the airway microbiome in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remains largely unexplored. We present a landscape of airway microbe-host interactions in COPD through an in-depth profiling of the sputum metagenome, metabolome, host transcriptome and proteome from 99 patients with COPD and 36 healthy individuals in China. Multi-omics data were integrated using sequential mediation analysis, to assess in silico associations of the microbiome with two primary COPD inflammatory endotypes, neutrophilic or eosinophilic inflammation, mediated through microbial metabolic interaction with host gene expression.

Constitutive activation of a nuclear-localized calcium channel complex in .

Nuclear Ca oscillations allow symbiosis signaling, facilitating plant recognition of beneficial microsymbionts, nitrogen-fixing rhizobia, and nutrient-capturing arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Two classes of channels, DMI1 and CNGC15, in a complex on the nuclear membrane, coordinate symbiotic Ca oscillations. However, the mechanism of Ca signature generation is unknown.

Bayesian spatial correlation, heterogeneity and spillover effect modeling for speed mean and variance on urban road networks.

Analyzing speed mean and variance is vital to safety management in urban roadway networks. However, modeling speed mean and variance on structured roads could be influenced by the spatial effects, which are rarely addressed in the existing studies. The inadequacy may lead to biased conclusions when considering vehicle speed as a surrogate safety measure.

TB-Net: A Tailored, Self-Attention Deep Convolutional Neural Network Design for Detection of Tuberculosis Cases From Chest X-Ray Images.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health problem, and is the leading cause of death from an infectious disease. A crucial step in the treatment of tuberculosis is screening high risk populations and the early detection of the disease, with chest x-ray (CXR) imaging being the most widely-used imaging modality. As such, there has been significant recent interest in artificial intelligence-based TB screening solutions for use in resource-limited scenarios where there is a lack of trained healthcare workers with expertise in CXR interpretation.

The Airway Microbiota Signatures of Infection and Rejection in Lung Transplant Recipients.

Infection and rejection are the two most common complications after lung transplantation (LT) and are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. We aimed to examine the association between the airway microbiota and infection and rejection in lung transplant recipients (LTRs). Here, we collected 181 sputum samples (event-free,  = 47; infection,  = 103; rejection,  = 31) from 59 LTRs, and performed 16S rRNA gene sequencing to analyze the airway microbiota.

How Does Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investment Respond to Host Country Cultural Tolerance and Trust?

Based on 2010 to 2019 Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) panel data from 39 host countries, this paper studies the relationships between host country cultural characteristics and Chinese OFDI. The OLS regression results show that the cultural tolerance and trust in the host countries are significantly positively correlated with Chinese OFDI, which are robust according to the system GMM tests. Further analysis reveals that cultural tolerance is more positively related to Chinese OFDI in host countries with higher legislation and economic freedom, while cultural trust is positively associated with Chinese OFDI in host countries with lower legislation and economic freedom.