Urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio for predicting risk of all-cause mortality and specific-cause mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: evidence from NHANES 1999-2018.

Objective: To explore the relationship between urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR) and all-cause/specific-cause mortality among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: This study included 1354 RA patients in the National Health and Nutritional Examination Surveys (NHANESs) during 1999-2018. The mortality status was assessed by linkage to death certificate data reported in the National Death Index (NDI) until December 31, 2019.

Ti-co-Ce oxide decorated chitosan fiber oxidase mimic identified for portable monitoring of S, CrO and Fe assisted with a smartphone.

Environmental safety and protection is one of the most concerned topics nowadays. To conveniently monitor toxic S/CrO and to regulate bioactive Fe, Ti-co-Ce oxide decorated chitosan fiber (Ti-co-Ce ox@CC) was developed using microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. The integration of chitosan fiber and nano Ti-co-Ce oxide endowed Ti-co-Ce ox@CC with superior oxidase-like activity and improved water-dispersibility.

Artificial trimerization of β-glucosidase for enhanced thermostability and activity via computational redesign.

The improvement of enzyme thermostability is of great significance in the biotechnology industry. Herein, we modified the C-terminus of β-glucosidase via the computer-aided rational design and successfully obtained six variants that exhibit improved optimal temperatures and thermal inactivation half-lives at 65 °C. Among these variants, the thermal inactivation half-life and hydrolytic activity of TrCel1b-H13 at 65 °C were increased by 416 and 3223 folds, respectively, compared to those of the wild type.

Activity-Based Dicyanoisophorone Derivatives: Fluorogenic Toolbox Enables Direct Visualization and Monitoring of Esterase Activity in Tumor Models.

The visualization and spatiotemporal monitoring of endogenous esterase activity are crucial for clinical diagnostics and treatment of liver diseases. Our research adopts a novel substrate hydrolysis-enzymatic activity (SHEA) approach using dicyanoisophorone-based fluorogenic ester substrates ) to evaluate esterase preferences on diverse substrate libraries. Esterase-mediated hydrolysis yielded fluorescent with a nanomolar detection limit .

Exploring the J-shaped relationship between HALP score and mortality in cancer patients: A NHANES 1999-2018 cohort study.

Background: The recent hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet (HALP) scores, combined with various clinically available indicators, can comprehensively evaluate the nutritional and immune status of patients. Some observational studies have found a positive correlation between HALP score and cancer prognosis, but the clinical application of HALP score has raised concerns due to the presence of confounding factors. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between HALP score and long-term mortality in cancer patients.

Screening thrombin inhibitors from Yangxinshi tablets by online capillary electrophoresis-based immobilized enzyme microreactor and molecular docking.

Introduction: Yangxinshi tablet (YXST) is a effective traditional Chinese medicine in treating cardiovascular diseases such as heart failure and myocardial infarction.

Objectives: This study aims to develop a method for screening thrombin inhibitors from YXST using an online immobilized enzyme microreactor (IMER) based on capillary electrophoresis (CE).

Materials And Methods: Thrombin (THR) was immobilized on the capillary's inner wall using polydopamine (PDA).

Unveiling Generally-ignored Co-substrate Effect of Catalase-inherent Peroxidase Mimic for Self-verifiable Detection of High-concentration Hydrogen Peroxide.

One nanoparticle possessing both peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) activities is a prevalent co-substrate nanozyme system, distinct from the extensively researched cascade nanozyme system. During the sensing of hydrogen peroxide by POD, the impact of CAT is actually ignored in most studies. In this study, the CAT effect on hydrogen peroxide detection is thoroughly investigated based on POD catalysis by finely tuning the relative activity of POD and CAT.

Functional characterization, structural basis, and protein engineering of a rare flavonoid 2'--glycosyltransferase from .

Glycosylation is an important post-modification reaction in plant secondary metabolism, and contributes to structural diversity of bioactive natural products. In plants, glycosylation is usually catalyzed by UDP-glycosyltransferases. Flavonoid 2'--glycosides are rare glycosides.

A Comparison and Safety Evaluation of Micellar versus Standard Vitamin D Oral Supplementation in a Randomized, Double-Blind Human Pilot Study.

The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate and compare bioavailability and safety of two Vitamin D formulations (softgels) in healthy adults, at single daily doses of 1000 and 2500 IU, over a 60-day period. A total of 69 participants were initially screened for eligibility in a double-blind randomized study with a four-arm parallel design; 35 participants were randomized to treatment groups: (1) standard Vitamin D 1000 IU (STD1000), (2) micellar Vitamin D 1000 IU (LMD1000), (3) standard Vitamin D 2500 IU (STD2500), and (4) micellar Vitamin D 2500 IU (LMD2500). Serum Vitamin D concentrations were determined through calcifediol [25(OH)D] at baseline (=before treatment), at day 5, 10, and 15 (=during treatment), at day 30 (=end of treatment), and at day 45 and 60 (=during follow-up/post treatment).

Point-of-care ultrasonography spotlight: Could venous excess ultrasound serve as a shared language for internists and intensivists?

Point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS), particularly venous excess ultrasound (VExUS) is emerging as a valuable bedside tool to gain real-time hemodynamic insights. This modality, derived from hepatic vein, portal vein, and intrarenal vessel Doppler patterns, offers a scoring system for dynamic venous congestion assessment. Such an assessment can be crucial in effective management of patients with heart failure exacerbation.

Characterization of CsUGT73AC15 as a Multifunctional Glycosyltransferase Impacting Flavonol Triglycoside Biosynthesis in Tea Plants.

Flavonol glycosides, contributing to the health benefits and distinctive flavors of tea (), accumulate predominantly as diglycosides and triglycosides in tea leaves. However, the UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) mediating flavonol multiglycosylation remain largely uncharacterized. In this study, we employed an integrated proteomic and metabolomic strategy to identify and characterize key UGTs involved in flavonol triglycoside biosynthesis.

High-activity recombinant human carboxypeptidase B expression in Pichia pastoris through rational protein engineering and enhancing secretion from the Golgi apparatus to the plasma membrane.

Human carboxypeptidase B1 (hCPB1) is vital for recombinant insulin production, holding substantial value in the pharmaceutical industry. Current challenges include limited hCPB1 enzyme activity. In this study, recombinant hCPB1 efficient expression in Pichia pastoris was achieved.

Evaluation of the Metabolite Profile of Fish Oil Omega-3 Fatty Acids (n-3 FAs) in Micellar and Enteric-Coated Forms-A Randomized, Cross-Over Human Study.

This study evaluated the differences in the metabolite profile of three n-3 FA fish oil formulations in 12 healthy participants: (1) standard softgels (STD) providing 600 mg n-3 FA; (2) enteric-coated softgels (ENT) providing 600 mg n-3 FA; (3) a new micellar formulation (LMF) providing 374 mg n-3 FA. The pharmacokinetics (PKs), such as the area under the plot of plasma concentration (AUC), and the peak blood concentration (C) of the different FA metabolites including HDHAs, HETEs, HEPEs, RvD1, RvD5, RvE1, and RvE2, were determined over a total period of 24 h. Blood concentrations of EPA (26,920.

Preoperative Clinical and Ultrasonographic Predictors for Aggressive Behaviors in Sporadic Medullary Thyroid Carcinomas.

To explore the clinical and ultrasonographic predictors for aggressive behaviors preoperatively in sporadic medullary thyroid carcinomas (MTCs). The preoperative clinical and ultrasonographic characteristics of patients diagnosed with MTCs between January 2009 and May 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. MTCs were described and categorized according to the American College of Radiology (ACR) thyroid imaging reporting and data system classification by 2 radiologists.

Characterization, Semirational Design for pH Robustness, and the Application in Bioactive Peptide Production of a X-Prolyl Dipeptidyl Aminopeptidase from MY-3.

PepXLcMY-3, an X-prolyl dipeptidyl aminopeptidase derived from MY-3, was screened and recombinantly expressed in . The enzyme could exhibit about 40% activity within the pH range of 6.0-10.

A thermostable xylanase hydrolyzes several polysaccharides from Bacillus altitudinis JYY-02 showing promise for industrial applications.

Polysaccharides have attracted immense attention as the largest source of bioactive compounds. Its bioavailability and bioactivity can be improved by utilizing degradation enzymes to reduce their molecular weight and viscosity. In this study, a 654 bp gene encoding xylanase was screened from the genome of Bacillus altitudinis JYY-02 and overexpressed in Escherichia coli Rosetta (DE3).

Extended stop codon context predicts nonsense codon readthrough efficiency in human cells.

Protein synthesis terminates when a stop codon enters the ribosome's A-site. Although termination is efficient, stop codon readthrough can occur when a near-cognate tRNA outcompetes release factors during decoding. Seeking to understand readthrough regulation we used a machine learning approach to analyze readthrough efficiency data from published HEK293T ribosome profiling experiments and compared it to comparable yeast experiments.

Reshaping Phosphatase Substrate Preference for Controlled Biosynthesis Using a "Design-Build-Test-Learn" Framework.

Biosynthesis is the application of enzymes in microbial cell factories and has emerged as a promising alternative to chemical synthesis. However, natural enzymes with limited catalytic performance often need to be engineered to meet specific needs through a time-consuming trial-and-error process. This study presents a quantum mechanics (QM)-incorporated design-build-test-learn (DBTL) framework to rationally design phosphatase BT4131, an enzyme with an ambiguous substrate spectrum involved in N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) biosynthesis.

Effects of surgical management for gastrointestinal stromal tumor patients with liver metastasis on survival outcomes.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of surgical resection on survival in gastrointestinal stromal tumors synchronous liver metastasis (GIST-SLM) and to develop clinically usable predictive models for overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients.

Methods: We identified patients in the SEER database diagnosed with GISTs from 2010 to 2019. We used propensity score matching (PSM) to balance the bias between the Surgery and No surgery groups.

Relationship between baseline bicarbonate and 30-day mortality in patients with non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the relationship between baseline bicarbonate levels and 30-day mortality in individuals with non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

Methods: Patients with non-traumatic SAH were chosen from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC)-IV database. The relationship between baseline bicarbonate and 30-day mortality was examined using Cox regression models.

Upregulation of TTK expression is associated with poor prognosis and immune infiltration in endometrial cancer patients.

Background: Threonine and tyrosine kinase (TTK) is associated with invasion and metastasis in various tumors. However, the prognostic importance of TTK and its correlation with immune infiltration in endometrial cancer (EC) remain unclear.

Methods: The expression profile of TTK was analyzed using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Clinical Proteome Cancer Analysis Consortium (CPTAC).