PhyImpute and UniFracImpute: two imputation approaches incorporating phylogeny information for microbial count data.

Sequencing-based microbial count data analysis is a challenging task due to the presence of numerous non-biological zeros, which can impede downstream analysis. To tackle this issue, we introduce two novel approaches, PhyImpute and UniFracImpute, which leverage similar microbial samples to identify and impute non-biological zeros in microbial count data. Our proposed methods utilize the probability of non-biological zeros and phylogenetic trees to estimate sample-to-sample similarity, thus addressing this challenge.

Combined immunotherapy with dendritic cells and cytokine-induced killer cells for solid tumors: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Immunotherapy utilizing dendritic cells (DCs) and cytokine-induced killer (CIK) cells is a promising treatment approach for solid tumors. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of DC-CIK immunotherapy by assessing overall survival, progression-free survival, overall response rate, disease control rate, and adverse events in relevant randomized controlled trials. The results of this analysis will contribute to optimizing treatment strategies and improving cancer immunotherapy outcomes.

Comparing the safety of a single balloon catheter to dinoprostone for inducing labor in pregnant women with group B Streptococcus vaginal colonization: An observational study.

Group B Streptococcus is a bacterium that colonizes in approximately 20% of pregnant women and can be vertically transmitted to newborns, leading to maternal-neonatal adverse outcomes, such as chorioamnionitis, neonatal sepsis, and pneumonia. However, there is currently no agreement on the optimal induction method for this specific population. This study aims to evaluate the safety of a single balloon catheter (BC) in comparison to dinoprostone for labor induction in term pregnant women with group B Streptococcus colonization.

The brassinosteroid signaling-related ILI-OsAIF-OsbHLH92 transcription factor module antagonistically controls leaf angle and grain size in rice.

Atypical basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors, which lack the basic region for DNA binding, are important elements of brassinosteroid (BR) signaling. Recently, our systematic characterization of the rice (Oryza sativa) INCREASED LEAF INCLINATION (ILI) subfamily of atypical bHLHs revealed their indispensable roles in BR-mediated growth and development. Here, we reported the isolation of two additional rice ILI-interacting atypical bHLHs, ATBS1-INTERACTING FACTOR 1 (OsAIF1)/OsbHLH176 and OsAIF2/OsbHLH178.

KLF2 controls the apoptosis of neutrophils and is associated with disease activity of systemic lupus erythematosus.

Background: Neutropenia is more common in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and is a major cause of life-threatening infections. The increased apoptosis of neutrophils is likely to be an essential cause of neutropenia in SLE. However, the detailed mechanisms of increased neutrophil apoptosis in SLE remain unknown.