Background: Cognitive function impairment (CFI) and the Composite Dietary Antioxidant Index (CDAI) were investigated in this study.
Methods: Participants from the 2011-2014 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were chosen to assess cognitive function using the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Word Learning Test, the Animal Fluency Test, and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test. Participants scored below the 25% percentile of any of the three tests were defined as having cognitive function impairment.
Background: Only a small percentage of patients with large hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can undergo surgical resection (SR) therapy while the prognosis of patients with large HCC is poor. However, innovations in surgical techniques have expanded the scope of surgical interventions accessible to patients with large HCC. Currently, most of the existing nomograms are focused on patients with large HCC, and research on patients who undergo surgery is limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Currently, there is a lack of effective indicators for predicting the efficacy of immunotherapy in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to investigate the expression and prognostic value of peripheral T lymphocyte subsets in advanced HCC.
Methods: Patients with advanced HCC who were treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) from December 2021 to December 2023 were included in the study.
Background: The relationship between plant-based diets and gallstone disease has been debated. This study aimed to shed light on the association between plant-based dietary index and the risk of developing gallstone disease.
Methods: Eligible participants were selected from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017-2020.
Background: Prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) become a policy priority in Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in China, while NCD management has never been comprehensively estimated at national and subnational levels. We aimed to assess NCD management in China nationally and in key subpopulations, investigate inequalities from multidimensions, and further examine its association with health financing and resources.
Methods: Data included were from China Chronic Disease and Risk Factors Surveillance (CCDRFS) and China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS).
NOx and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are two major pollutants commonly found in industrial flue gas emissions. They play a significant role as precursors in the formation of ozone and fine particulate matter (PM). The simultaneous removal of NOx and VOCs is crucial in addressing ozone and PM pollution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany free-swimming bacteria propel themselves through liquid using rotary flagella, and mounting evidence suggests that the inhibition of flagellar rotation initiates biofilm formation, a sessile lifestyle that is a nearly universal surface colonization paradigm in bacteria. In general, motility and biofilm formation are inversely regulated by the intracellular second messenger bis-(3´-5´)-cyclic dimeric guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP). Here, we identify a protein, PlzD, bearing a conserved c-di-GMP binding PilZ domain that localizes to the flagellar pole in a c-di-GMP-dependent manner and alters the foraging behavior, biofilm, and virulence characteristics of the opportunistic human pathogen, .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSeveral automated aesthetic assessment models were developed to assist artists in producing artwork with high aesthetic appeal. However, most of them focused on static visual art, such as photographs and paintings, and evaluations of dynamic art received less attention. Dynamic visual art, especially computer-based art, includes diverse forms of artistic expression and can enhance an audience's aesthetic experience.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIron (Fe) is an essential trace element for plants. When suffering from Fe deficiency, plants modulate the expression of Fe deficiency-responsive genes to promote Fe uptake. POPEYE (PYE) is a key bHLH (basic helix-loop-helix) transcription factor involved in Fe homeostasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntra-tumor heterogeneity poses a serious challenge in the treatment of cancer, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Recent developments in single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) make it possible to examine the heterogeneity of tumor cells. The Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database was retrieved to obtain scRNA-seq data of 13 HCC and 8 para cancer samples, and the cells were clustered using FindNeighbors and FindClusters functions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis research measured human neural responses to images of different visual complexity levels using the oddball paradigm to explore the neurocognitive responses of complexity perception in visual processing. In the task, 24 participants (12 females) were required to react to images with high complexity for all stimuli. We hypothesized that high-complexity stimuli would induce early visual and attentional processing effects and may elicit the visual mismatch negativity responses and the emergence of error-related negativity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough Streptococcus agalactiae periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is not as prevalent as staphylococcal PJI, invasive S. agalactiae infection is not uncommon. Here, RNA-seq was used to perform transcriptomic analysis of S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMyasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune neuromuscular disease. Nearly 10-30% of patients with MG are refractory to conventional therapy. Rituximab (RTX), a monoclonal antibody targeting CD20, is increasingly used in autoimmune disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
September 2021
IRON MAN (IMA) peptides, a family of small peptides, control iron (Fe) transport in plants, but their roles in Fe signaling remain unclear. BRUTUS (BTS) is a potential Fe sensor that negatively regulates Fe homeostasis by promoting the ubiquitin-mediated degradation of bHLH105 and bHLH115, two positive regulators of the Fe deficiency response. Here, we show that IMA peptides interact with BTS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterized primarily by motor and non-motor gastrointestinal (GI) deficits. GI symptoms' including compromised intestinal barrier function often accompanies altered gut microbiota composition and motor deficits in PD. Therefore, in this study, we set to investigate the role of gut microbiota and epithelial barrier dysfunction on motor symptom generation using a rotenone-induced mouse model of PD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent studies emphasize the role of microbial metabolites in regulating gastrointestinal (GI) physiology through activation of host receptors, highlighting the potential for inter-kingdom signaling in treating GI disorders. In this study, we show that tryptamine, a tryptophan-derived bacterial metabolite, stimulates mucus release from goblet cells via activation of G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) 5-HT4R. Germ-free mice colonized with engineered optimized to produce tryptamine (Trp D+) exhibit decreased weight loss and increased mucus release following dextran sodium sulfate treatment when compared with mice colonized with control (Trp D-).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe increasing incidence of primary and recurring Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI), which evade current treatment strategies, reflects the changing biology of C difficile. Here, we describe a putative plasmid-mediated mechanism potentially driving decreased sensitivity of C difficile to vancomycin treatment. We identified a broad host range transferable plasmid in a C difficile strain associated with lack of adequate response to vancomycin treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTranslationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) is a highly conserved protein that accumulated in the tumorigenesis of various malignancies. Despite the important role of TCTP protein in tumor progression, the precise function and underlying mechanistic regulation of TCTP mRNA in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear. In this study, we found that TCTP protein was overexpressed in HCC patients but TCTP mRNA expression levels were reversed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMotility is required for many bacterial pathogens to reach and colonize target sites. traverses a thick mucus barrier coating the small intestine to reach the underlying epithelium. We screened a transposon library in motility medium containing mucin to identify factors that influence mucus transit.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Current approaches in tracking Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) and individualizing patient management are incompletely defined.
Methods: We recruited 468 subjects with CDI at Mayo Clinic Rochester between May and December 2016 and performed whole-genome sequencing (WGS) on C. difficile isolates from 397.
All metazoans produce antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that have both broad antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activity. Cathelicidins are AMPs that preferentially kill Gram-negative bacteria , purportedly by assembling into higher-order structures that perforate the membrane. We utilized high-resolution, single-cell fluorescence microscopy to examine their mechanism of action in real time.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe opportunistic human pathogen Vibrio vulnificus inhabits warm coastal waters and asymptomatically colonizes seafood, most commonly oysters. We previously characterized an isolate that exhibited greater biofilm formation, aggregation and oyster colonization than its parent. This was due, in part, to the production of a Type IV Tad pilus (Iam).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurrent treatments of bacterial biofilms are limited by the poor penetration of antibiotics through their physical barrier as well as significant off-target toxicity of antibiotics and the induction of antibiotic resistance. Here we report a microneedle patch-mediated treatment for the effective elimination of biofilms by penetrating the biofilm and specifically delivering antibiotics to regions of active growth. We fabricated patches with self-dissolvable microneedles and needle tips loaded with chloramphenicol (CAM)-bearing and gelatinase-sensitive gelatin nanoparticles (CAM@GNPs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroRNA-200a (miR-200a) is frequently downregulated in most cancer types and plays an important role in carcinogenesis and cancer progression. In this study, we determined that miR-200a was downregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and cell lines, consistent with the results of our previous study. Because a previous study suggested that downregulation of miR-200a is correlated with HCC metastasis, we aimed to elucidate the mechanism underlying the role of miR-200a in metastasis in HCC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF