Detection of genomic variants in BRCA1 and BRCA2 across gastric cancer patients using next generation sequencing.

Objectives: To explore the landscape of BRCA1/2 mutations in gastric cancer patients.

Methods: Next-generation sequencing (NGS), Sanger sequencing, reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), Immunohistochemistry, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), gnomAD, and DAVID.

Results: With 95% of bases boasting a phred score surpassing 30 and a minimum coverage depth of 500X, our NGS approach ensures high-quality data acquisition.

Speech Production of Mandarin Lexical Tones Among Canadian Elementary Students Enrolled in Mandarin-English Bilingual Schools.

Purpose: This study investigates how Mandarin-English bilingual students in Canada produce Mandarin tones and how this is influenced by factors such as tone complexity, cross-linguistic influences, and speech input.

Method: Participants were 82 students enrolled in a Chinese bilingual program in Western Canada. Students were recruited from Grades 1, 3, and 5 and divided into two groups based on their home language backgrounds: The heritage language group had early and strong input in Mandarin, and the second language (L2) group received mostly English input at home.

Polo-like kinase 2 ameliorates lipopolysaccharide-induced cardiac injury by blocking cardiomyocyte ferroptosis.

Background: Polo-like kinase 2 (PLK2) is associated with cardiac fibrosis in patients with atrial fibrillation. However, the role of PLK2 in sepsis-induced cardiac injury has not been fully elucidated. We hypothesize that PLK2 may participate in the progression of sepsis-induced cardiac injury.

The effect of preoperative topical magnesium sulfate spraying in the oropharyngeal region on postoperative sore throat following gynecological laparoscopic surgery: a randomized clinical trial.

Background: Postoperative sore throat is a common complication following general anesthesia. This study aimed to investigate the impact of preoperative topical magnesium sulfate spraying in the oropharyngeal region on postoperative sore throat following gynecological laparoscopic surgery.

Methods: The study included 58 patients scheduled for gynecologic laparoscopic surgery at Xuzhou Medical University Affiliated Hospital.

The combined effects of cardiometabolic index and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein on the risk of new onset stroke in a Chinese national prospective longitudinal cohort study.

Background: The Cardiometabolic Index (CMI) represents a novel anthropometric measurement, which combines characteristics of adiposity and lipids. Since obesity, lipid metabolism, and inflammation may collectively facilitate the occurrence of stroke, we hypothesize that a combination of elevated levels of the CMI and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) increases the risk of future stroke among middle-aged and older Chinese adults.

Methods: This study included 8,973 participants aged 45 years or older from the China Longitudinal Study on Health and Retirement (CHARLS), who were stroke-free and underwent baseline evaluations between 2011 and 2012, with followed-up at 2013, 2015 and 2018.

GDF15 promotes corneal neovascularization and RB cell progression via AKT/ERK signal pathway.

In this study, we aim to explore the involvement of growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) in both corneal neovascularization (CNV) and retinoblastoma (RB) progression. Cell migration and proliferation were assessed through Scratch assays and CCK-8 assays. Apoptosis was quantified using flow cytometry.

Correction: Li et al. Preliminary Evaluation of Protective Efficacy of Inactivated Senecavirus A on Pigs. 2021, , 157.

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A point mutation in the pepper veinal mottle virus 6K1 protein yields a stable attenuated strain for engineering virus resistance in pepper plants.

A total of 164 viruses have been identified in peppers worldwide. To combat viruses, pathogen-derived resistance (PDR) has been employed by expressing a viral genomic segment or a viral protein in host plants. Unfortunately, peppers are recalcitrant to genetic transformation and regeneration.

Viral RNA polymerase as a SUMOylation decoy inhibits RNA quality control to promote potyvirus infection.

Potyvirids are the largest group of plant RNA viruses. Pelota, a core component of RNA quality controls (RQC), promotes the degradation of potyvirids' genomic RNA by recognizing a specific GA motif. Here we demonstrate that the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, NIb, acts as a SUMOylation decoy to effectively reduce Pelota SUMOylation by competing with SCE1 to inhibit Pelota-mediated RQC.

Design, synthesis and evaluation of pyrimidine derivatives as sedative-hypnotic agents.

Insomnia is a mental disorder in which drugs only alleviate the symptoms but also produce adverse effects. Therefore, developing innovative sedative-hypnotic agents is urgent. In this work, twenty-five novel heteroatomic compounds were designed, synthesized, and screened for their sedative activities, structurally featuring the fusion of pyrimidine and carbazole or benzothiazole.

Compound FLZ attenuates neuroinflammation through inhibiting Src/PTEN/Akt signaling pathway.

Compound FLZ has neuroprotective effects on Parkinson's disease (PD), while the precise mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we found that FLZ decreased PTEN/Akt activity in LPS-challenged BV2 cells. Neuroinflammatory responses suppressed by FLZ were abolished when PTEN or Src was inhibited.

High prevalence of low bone mineral density in middle-aged adults in Shanghai: a cross-sectional study.

Purpose: To assess bone mineral density (BMD) in middle-aged individuals in Shanghai, in order to improve awareness of osteopenia and osteoporosis screening.

Methods: The clinical data of 1107 permanent residents of Shanghai aged 40-60 years were collected using a random cluster sampling method. Osteoporosis questionnaire survey and BMD test were conducted.

Metabolic profiling reveals altered amino acid and fatty acid metabolism in children with Williams Syndrome.

Williams Syndrome (WS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder with a prevalence of 1 in 7500 to 1 in 20,000 individuals, caused by a microdeletion in chromosome 7q11.23. Despite its distinctive clinical features, the underlying metabolic alterations remain largely unexplored.

RNA modifications in plant biotic interactions.

The chemical modification of DNA and proteins is an efficient way of regulating molecular and biological function and affects a plethora of signalling pathways in eukaryotes. Similarly, recent progress in epitranscriptomics shows that RNA modifications also play crucial roles in diverse biological processes. Since their discovery in the 1970s, scientists have attempted to decipher the identity and functions of these modifications in different biological systems.

Perfluorobutanoic acid: A short-chain perfluoroalkyl substance exhibiting estrogenic effects through the estrogen-related receptor γ pathways.

Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) is an emerging contaminant that was demonstrated to exhibit estrogen effects via action on classic estrogen receptors (ERs) in a low-activity manner. The purpose of the present study is to reveal the estrogen disruption effect and mechanism of PFBA via estrogen-related receptor γ (ERRγ) pathways. In vivo experiment indicated that PFBA accumulated in zebrafish ovary and caused ovarian injury, with disturbing sex hormone levels and interfering gene expression related to estrogen synthesis and follicle regulation.

Exosomal tRF-1003 induces angiogenesis via regulating the HIF1α/VEGF signaling in multiple myeloma.

Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) remains a therapeutically challenging hematologic malignancy characterized by frequent relapse and disease progression. Angiogenesis regulated by non-coding RNAs plays a vital role in MM pathogenesis. Despite the potential clinical applications of tsRNAs, the specific mechanisms by which they contribute to MM progression, particularly through angiogenesis within the bone marrow microenvironment, remain elusive.

Validation of the clinical assessment scale for autoimmune encephalitis in a severe autoimmune encephalitis cohort.

Objective: The Clinical Assessment Scale for Autoimmune Encephalitis (CASE) is a novel tool tailored specifically for evaluating the severity of autoimmune encephalitis (AE). However, its application in severe AE patients is limited. This study aimed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the CASE and explore its clinical significance in a severe AE cohort.

Macrophage P2Y12 regulates iron transport and its inhibition protects against atherosclerosis.

Introduction: Iron retention is commonly observed in atherosclerotic plaques and is believed to be detrimental to atherosclerosis. Platelet P2Y12 is a target of antiplatelet therapy in preventing thrombotic complications of atherosclerosis. The protective effect of P2Y12 on hematopoiesis reported by our previous work implies the involvement of P2Y12 in iron metabolism.

Unveiling ultraviolet photodissociation dynamics of SiO from a laser-ablated supersonic beam with time-sliced ion velocity imaging.

SiO is a widespread molecule found in interstellar space, and its dissociation requires a substantial input of energy due to its high bond energy of 8.34 eV. The present study initially demonstrated across a broad range of ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths (243-288 nm) the one-photon and two-photon dissociation of SiO molecules, which were generated from the laser ablation of a Si rod colliding with an oxygen molecular beam.

Generative named entity recognition framework for Chinese legal domain.

Named entity recognition (NER) is a crucial task in natural language processing, particularly challenging in the legal domain due to the intricate and lengthy nature of legal entities. Existing methods often struggle with accurately identifying entity boundaries and types in legal texts. To address these challenges, we propose a novel sequence-to-sequence framework designed specifically for the legal domain.

A viral protein activates the MAPK pathway to promote viral infection by downregulating callose deposition in plants.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are evolutionarily conserved in both plants and animals and play critical roles in activating innate immunity to defend against various pathogens. However, the role of MAPK cascades in positively regulating or enhancing viral infections in plants is unclear. In this study, we investigate the involvement of MAPK cascades in infection by the positive-strand RNA virus tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV).

Geminivirus βV1 protein activates bZIP17/28-mediated UPR signaling to facilitate viral pathogenicity but its activity is attenuated by autophagic degradation in plants.

The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a vital cellular pathway that maintains endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis under conditions of ER stress and is associated with the degradation of misfolded proteins. However, the role of ER-associated degradation in plant-microbe interactions has yet to be explored. In this study, we identified a novel viral protein, βV1, encoded by the tomato yellow leaf curl betasatellite (TYLCCNB), which is localized to the ER and triggers ER aggregation.

Exploring the Challenges of Learning and Teaching Chinese/Mandarin Language at Higher Education Institutes: Voices from Non-Chinese Speaker Teachers and Learners.

Chinese/Mandarin language teaching to undergraduate students from non-Chinese speaker countries has garnered significant attention due to China's pivotal role in global political and economic transformations. Mandarin, spoken by 70% of the Chinese population, is not only taught within China but also in several other countries. However, similar to teaching any second or foreign language, instructing Mandarin comes with its share of challenges, which, to the best of our knowledge, have not been thoroughly explored.

Soybean stay-green associated geminivirus: A serious threat to soybean production in China.

Soybean is one of the most valuable legume crops in the world. Soybean stay-green syndrome (SGS), which causes delayed leaf senescence (stay-green), flat pods, and abnormal seeds of soybean, has become one of the most serious diseases of soybean in the Huang-Huai-Hai Valley of China. However, the causal agent of SGS was controversial.

White matter lesions contribute to motor and non-motor disorders in Parkinson's disease: a critical review.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a prevalent neurodegenerative disease, characterized by movement disorders and non-motor symptoms like cognitive impairment and depression. Degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and Lewy bodies have long been considered as main neuropathological changes. However, recent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have shown that white matter lesions (WMLs) were present in PD patients.