Radiation-induced aberrant structural covariance networks in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma: a source-based morphometry study.

Background: Radiation-induced brain injury (RBI) is a common complication in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) who have undergone radiotherapy (RT), which is characterized by significant cognitive and psychological impairments. Although radiation-induced regional structural abnormalities have been well-reported, the effects of RT on the whole brain structural covariance networks are mostly unknown. Here, we performed a source-based morphometry (SBM) study to solve this issue.

Neuropeptide Y in first-episode schizophrenia: is there any sex differences in the pathogeneses of schizophrenia?

Objective: This study investigated relationships between Neuropeptide Y levels and severity of psychiatric symptoms in first-episode schizophrenia patients, and explore the sexual heterogeneity in them.

Methods: We recruited 115 first-episode schizophrenia patients and 58 matched healthy controls, and measured serum Neuropeptide Y levels of them at baseline and again after 10 weeks of risperidone treatment in patient group. Patients were also evaluated with the Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale (PANSS) to reveal the severity of symptoms.

Evaluation value of ultrasound on gastrointestinal function in patients with acute heart failure.

Objective: To study the changes in gastrointestinal wall thickness, blood flow, motility, and symptoms in patients with acute heart failure, and to assess gastrointestinal function by ultrasound.

Methods: In this study, patients diagnosed with acute heart failure were selected as the study group, and healthy individuals were selected as the control group. Both groups collected general data and completed the Chinese version of the gastrointestinal symptom rating scale.

pLM33 provides tolerance of persistent Listeria monocytogenes ST5 to various stress conditions and also enhances its virulence.

Listeria monocytogenes is a major foodborne pathogen. In our previous study, we found that L. monocytogenes ST5 and ST121 strains were dominant in two food plants of Shanghai.

Integrated Metabolomic and Transcriptomic Analysis of Berries Indicate the Role of Flavonoids in Adaptation to High Altitude.

Plants of , belonging to the Zygophyllaceae family, are not only widely distributed at an altitude of about 1000 m but also at an altitude of about 3000 m, which is a rare phenomenon. However, little is known about the effect of altitude on the accumulation of metabolites in plants of . Furthermore, the mechanism of the high-altitude adaptation of has yet to be fully elucidated.

Mechanisms of METTL14-Mediated m6A Modification in Promoting Iron Overload-Induced Lipid Peroxidative Damage in Vascular Endothelial Cells to Aggravate Atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic multifactorial disease with damage to vascular endothelial cells (VECs). This study sought to delve into the mechanism of methyltransferase-like 14 (METTL14) in iron overload-induced lipid peroxidative damage in AS. AS mouse model and cell model were established.

Metabolomics combined with network pharmacology revealed a paradigm for determining the mechanism underlying the metabolic action of Gegen Qinlian Decoction amelioration of ulcerative colitis in mice.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a common disease of the digestive system that is challenging to treat. Gegen Qinlian Decoction (GQD), which is an ancient classic formula in Chinese medicine, is effective at alleviating the symptoms of UC, but comprehensive research on its mechanism of action has not been performed. Here, we explored the material basis and potential molecular mechanism underlying GQD-mediated protection against UC by integrated metabolomics and network pharmacology.

Efficacy of Vitamin-D supplementation in improving the prognosis of H-type hypertension in elderly patients.

Objective: To investigate the correlation between 25-hydroxyvitamin D and H-type hypertension in elderly patients, and to observe the clinical efficacy of vitamin D supplementation in those patients.

Methods: This was a retrospective study. One hundred and twenty elderly hypertensive patients treated at The Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University from June 2022 to June 2023 were randomly divided into Group-A (n=60) with hypertension and elevated homocysteine (Hcy) levels (H-type hypertension), and Group-B(n=60) with hypertension and normal Hcy levels.

The influence of epicardial adipose tissue on the prognosis of atrial fibrillation patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation combined with left atrial appendage occlusion.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in adults. The interplay between epicardial adipose tissue and atrial fibrillation has garnered significant scientific interest. Recently, the combined approach of radiofrequency ablation and left atrial appendage occlusion has become a widely adopted strategy for managing non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients at high risk of thrombus formation.

Targeting resident astrocytes attenuates neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury.

Astrocytes derive from different lineages and play a critical role in neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury (SCI). Whether selectively eliminating these main origins of astrocytes in lumbar enlargement could attenuate SCI-induced neuropathic pain remains unclear. Through transgenic mice injected with an adeno-associated virus vector and diphtheria toxin, astrocytes in lumbar enlargement were lineage traced, targeted, and selectively eliminated.

Immunomodulatory role of Xenopus tropicalis immature Sertoli cells in tadpole muscle regeneration via macrophage response modulation.

Background: Regenerative medicine and transplantation science continuously seek methods to circumvent immune-mediated rejection and promote tissue regeneration. Sertoli cells, with their inherent immunoprotective properties, emerge as pivotal players in this quest. However, whether Sertoli cells can play immunomodulatory role in tadpole tail regeneration and can thus benefit the regeneration process are needed to be discovered.

Feedback regulation of VISTA and Treg by TNF-α controls T cell responses in drug allergy.

Background: Severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs) mediated by cytotoxic T lymphocytes are a series of life-threatening conditions with a mortality of 4%-20%. The clinical application of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) antagonist improves the outcome of some SCARs patients; however, this is complicated by the elusive and varied immunopathogenesis.

Aim: To investigate whether IgE antibody responses to HEMAs are associated with AD, its severity, and response to dupilumab.

Causal relationships between the gut microbiota, inflammatory cytokines, and alcoholic liver disease: a Mendelian randomization analysis.

Objective: Previous studies have suggested a potential association between gut microbiota and the development of alcohol-related liver disease (ALD). However, the causal relationship between gut microbiota and ALD, as well as the role of inflammatory cytokines as mediators, remains unclear. This study aims to explore the causal relationship between gut microbiota and ALD using Mendelian randomization (MR) methods, and to analyze the mediating role of inflammatory cytokines.

Optimizing β-Lactoglobulin antigenicity through single enzyme hydrolysis: Exploring structural changes and effects on linear epitopes.

β-lactoglobulin (β-LG) is the major allergen in dairy products, but research on the optimal conditions for antigen reduction in β-LG using different enzymes remains limited. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the antigenicity, structural characteristics, and peptide distribution of advantageous protease hydrolysates capable of eliminating the allergenic epitopes of β-LG selected via bioinformatics tools. The results showed that under optimal enzymatic hydrolysis conditions, the antigen reduction rates for the four advantageous proteases acting on β-LG were 47.

TFEB agonist clomiphene citrate activates the autophagy-lysosomal pathway and ameliorates Alzheimer's disease symptoms in mice.

Autophagy is a conserved eukaryotic cellular clearance and recycling process through the lysosome-mediated degradation of damaged organelles and protein aggregates to maintain homeostasis. Impairment of the autophagy-lysosomal pathway is implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Transcription factor EB (TFEB) is a master regulator of autophagy and lysosomal biogenesis.