Clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential and risk of microvascular complications among individuals with type 2 diabetes: a cohort study.

Clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) is associated with macrovascular diseases, including coronary artery disease and stroke. However, the effects of CHIP on microvascular complication have not been evaluated in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D). This study included 20,712 T2D participants without prevalent diabetic microvascular complication (DMCs) and hematologic malignancy at baseline.

The hidden impact: social isolation and inflammation's role in pancreatic cancer risk among those with diabetes.

Background: Pancreatic cancer poses a significant challenge in individuals with diabetes, prompting a reevaluation of established risk factors beyond conventional glycemic control measures.

Objectives: To explore the complex interplay of metabolic and psychosocial determinants in pancreatic cancer risk among individuals with diabetes, challenging prevailing perspectives and advocating for a comprehensive approach.

Methods: A total of 21,945 UK Biobank participants with baseline diabetes diagnosis were analyzed.

Liver-specific gene PGRMC1 blocks c-Myc-induced hepatocarcinogenesis through ER stress-independent PERK activation.

Roles of liver-specific genes (LSGs) in tumor initiation and progression are rarely explored in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here we show that LSGs are generally downregulated in HCC tumor tissues compared to non-HCC liver tissues, and low-LSG HCCs show poor prognosis and the activated c-Myc pathway. Among the c-Myc- and patient prognosis-associated LSGs, PGRMC1 significantly blocks c-Myc-induced orthotopic HCC formation.

[Advances in molecular networking technology for discovering emerging contaminants and transformation products].

Emerging contaminants and their transformation products are widely distributed in the environment. These pollutants carry unknown risks owing to their persistence, migration, and toxicity. The wide variety and complex structures of these substances render them difficult to identify using only target analysis.

The long-run and intergenerational impact of early exposure to the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-61 on mental health.

We study the effects of early exposure to the Great Chinese Famine on the mental health and subjective well-being of survivors as well as their offspring using data from the 2010 and 2014 waves of the China Family Panel Studies. Our analysis focuses on K6 scores, severe mental illness, and life dissatisfaction. We find that early exposure to the famine has impaired the mental health outcomes of women, but not men (i.

METTL4-Mediated Mitochondrial DNA N6-Methyldeoxyadenosine Promoting Macrophage Inflammation and Atherosclerosis.

Background: Mitochondrial dysfunction is a key factor in the development of atherogenesis. METTL4 (methyltransferase-like protein 4) mediates N6- methyldeoxyadenosine (6mA) of mammalian mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). However, the role of METTL4-mediated mitoepigenetic regulation in atherosclerosis is still unknown.

Assessing the kinetics of oxygen-unloading from red cells using FlowScore, a flow-cytometric proxy of the functional quality of blood.

Background: Metrics evaluating the functional quality of red blood cells (RBCs) must consider their role in oxygen delivery. Whereas oxygen-carrying capacity is routinely reported using haemoglobin assays, the rate of oxygen exchange is not measured, yet also important for tissue oxygenation. Since oxygen-unloading depends on the diffusion pathlength inside RBCs, cell geometry offers a plausible surrogate.

An active shrinkage and antioxidative hydrogel with biomimetic mechanics functions modulates inflammation and fibrosis to promote skin regeneration.

Achieving scar-free skin regeneration in clinical settings presents significant challenges. Key issues such as the imbalance in macrophage phenotype transition, delayed re-epithelialization, and excessive proliferation and differentiation of fibroblasts hinder wound healing and lead to fibrotic repair. To these, we developed an active shrinkage and antioxidative hydrogel with biomimetic mechanical functions (P&G@LMs) to reshape the healing microenvironment and effectively promote skin regeneration.

Co-creation and community engagement in implementation research with vulnerable populations: a co-creation process in China.

Background Top-down implementation strategies led by researchers often generate limited or tokenistic community engagement. Co-creation, a community engagement methodology, aims to create a shared leadership role of program beneficiaries in the development and implementation of programs, and encourages early and deep involvement of community members. We describe our experience using a four-stage co-creation approach to adapt and implement a sexually transmitted diseases (STD) testing intervention among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China.

Astrocytic proteins involved in regulation of the extracellular environment are increased in the Alzheimer's disease middle temporal gyrus.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) has complex pathophysiology involving numerous cell types and brain processes. Astrocyte involvement in AD is gaining increased attention, however a complete characterisation of astrocytic changes in the AD human brain is warranted. Astrocytes perform important homeostatic functions including regulation of the extracellular microenvironment, critical for the health of all brain cells.

Targeting bacterial efflux pump effectively enhances the efficacy of Ru-based antibacterial agents against Gram-negative pathogen.

The rise of antibiotic resistance has posed a great threat to human's life, thus develop novel antibacterial agents is urgently needed. It worthies to noted that Ru-based antibacterial agents often showed robust potency against Gram-positive pathogens, disrupted bacterial membrane and avoided bacterial resistance, making they promising antibiotic candidates. However, they are generally less active when applied to negative pathogens.

Adequate sleep duration accentuates the effect of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor variant on HbA1c: A gene-environment interaction study.

Background: Both glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP1R) agonists and lifestyle modifications are widely adopted in managing glycemia. However, the joint effects of GLP1R agonists with lifestyle on glycemic traits have not been evaluated.

Methods: This gene-environment study tested the interaction between GLP1R-rs10305492 variant, consistent with the effect of GLP1R agonist therapies, and four lifestyle factors (diet, physical activity, sleep duration, and chronotype) for glucose and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels among 263,846 UK Biobank participants.

Ep 15-A3 Precision-Based Verification of Original and Novel Commercial Kits of CRP on Beckman Coulter Au5800.

Background: CRP is a hepatic acute-phase reactant protein, which is primarily induced by the interleukin-6 action due to an inflammatory/infectious process. Precision is closeness of agreement between indications or measured quantity values obtained by replicate measurements on the same or similar objects under specified conditions. Precision goals should be stated as the maximum allowable imprecision, SD, and/or CV expressed as a percentage (% CV) at each analyte´s concentration to be tested.

Implementation of Artificial Intelligence in Retinopathy of Prematurity Care: Challenges and Opportunities.

The diagnosis of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is primarily image-based and suitable for implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Increasing incidence of ROP, especially in low and middle-income countries, has also put tremendous stress on health care systems. Barriers to the implementation of AI include infrastructure, regulatory, legal, cost, sustainability, and scalability.

Posterior Basolateral Amygdala is a Critical Amygdaloid Area for Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.

The amygdaloid complex consists of multiple nuclei and is a key node in controlling temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in both human and animal model studies. However, the specific nucleus in the amygdaloid complex and the neural circuitry governing seizures remain unknown. Here, it is discovered that activation of glutamatergic neurons in the posterior basolateral amygdala (pBLA) induces severe seizures and even mortality.

Otolaryngology Diagnoses at a Student-Run Community Clinic.

Purpose Compared to insured individuals who have established pathways for primary and specialist care, uninsured patients often delay seeking medical attention and are more likely to rely on emergency departments or community clinics for low-cost services. This study aims to identify the most prevalent otolaryngology (ENT) diagnoses at a free, student-run community clinic for uninsured patients. Additionally, it seeks to elucidate their management needs in order to inform strategies for enhancing support and care for this vulnerable population.

A Metalgel with Liquid Metal Continuum Immobilized in Polymer Network.

Gels are formed by fluids that expand throughout the whole volume of 3D polymer networks. To unlock unprecedented properties, exploring new fluids immobilized in polymer networks is crucial. Here, a new liquid metal-polymer gel material termed "metalgel" is introduced via fluid replacement strategy, featuring 92.

Run-up velocity and jumping ground reaction force of Chinese female gymnasts.

The run-up velocity and jumping ground reaction force directly influence gymnasts' ability to perform more difficult manoeuvres and win competitions on vault. However, the variables influencing them among elite female gymnasts remain inadequately understood and warrant detailed investigation. This study aimed to analyse critical variables including run-up velocity and jumping ground reaction force, and to compare these factors across different vault types while further exploring the correlations among them.

Absence of Langerhans cells resulted in over-influx of neutrophils and increased bacterial burden in skin wounds.

Langerhans cells (LCs) are resident dendritic cells in the epidermis and their roles in presenting antigens derived from microorganisms present in the skin has been well appreciated. However, it is generally thought that incoming neutrophils are mainly responsible for eradicating invading pathogens in the early stage of wounds and a role of LCs in innate immunity is elusive. In the current study, we showed that wounds absent of LCs had a delayed closure.

A growth-coupling strategy for improving the stability of terpenoid bioproduction in Escherichia coli.

Background: Achieving cost-competitiveness remains challenging for industrial biomanufacturing. With whole-cell biocatalysis, inefficiency presents when individual cells vary in their production levels. The problem exacerbates when the basis for such production heterogeneity is heritable.

The Selectively Nontargeted Analysis of Halogenated Disinfection Byproducts in Tap Water by Micro-LC QTOFMS.

With the rapid development of society, more and more unknown halogenated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) enter into drinking water and pose potential risks to humans. To explore the unknown halogenated DBPs in tap water, a selectively nontargeted analysis (SNTA) method was developed by conducting micro-liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (micro-LC-QTOFMS). In this method, two runs were employed: in the first run, the modes of and (the fragments were set as Cl/Cl, Br/Br, and I) were performed, and the molecular ions or precursor ions of the halogenated organics could be obtained; in the second run, the mode was conducted by setting the molecular ion screened above, and the MS/MS spectrums could be acquired to speculate concerning the structure.

Allostatic load, genetic susceptibility, incidence risk, and all-cause mortality of colorectal cancer.

Background: Allostatic load (AL) reflects the cumulative burden of chronic stress throughout life, potentially influencing the onset and prognosis of cancer. However, the associations between AL, colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, and all-cause mortality in patients with CRC remain unclear.

Methods: We analyzed the associations between AL and CRC risk in 304 959 adults and all-cause mortality in 1794 patients with CRC from the UK Biobank, using Cox proportional hazards regression models.

Metagenomic insights into the mechanistic differences of plant polyphenols and nitrocompounds in reducing methane emissions using the rumen simulation technique.

Methane (CH) emissions from ruminants contribute significantly to greenhouse gas levels and also result in considerable feed energy losses. Plant polyphenols and nitrocompounds are two typical types of methane inhibitors. The study investigates the mechanistic differences between 2-nitroethanol (NE) and proanthocyanidins (PAC) in reducing methane emissions from ruminant livestock using the rumen simulation technique (RUSITEC) combined with metagenomic analyses.