HC-HA/PTX3 from amniotic membrane reverts senescent limbal niche cells to Pax6+ neural crest progenitors to support limbal epithelial progenitors.

Quiescence and self-renewal of human corneal epithelial progenitor/stem cells (LEPC) are regulated by the limbal niche, presumably through close interaction with limbal (stromal) niche cells (LNC). Paired box homeotic gene 6 (Pax6), a conserved transcription factor essential for eye development, is essential for proper differentiation of limbal and corneal epithelial stem cells. Pax6 haploinsufficiency causes limbal stem cell deficiency, which leads to subsequent corneal blindness.

The complete chloroplast genome of (Araliaceae): a wild edible plant in the coastal region of South China.

(L.) S. Y.

Surfactant Protein A, a Novel Regulator for Smooth Muscle Phenotypic Modulation and Vascular Remodeling-Brief Report.

Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the role of SPA (surfactant protein A) in vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) phenotypic modulation and vascular remodeling. Approach and Results: PDGF-BB (Platelet-derived growth factor-BB) and serum induced SPA expression while downregulating SMC marker gene expression in SMCs. SPA deficiency increased the contractile protein expression.

Somatic Mutations in Aldosterone-Producing Adenoma Are Associated With a Worse Baseline Status and Better Recovery of Left Ventricular Remodeling and Diastolic Function.

Primary aldosteronism is the most common secondary endocrine form of hypertension and causes many cardiovascular injuries. somatic mutations have recently been identified in aldosterone-producing adenoma. However, their impacts on left ventricular remodeling precluding the interference of age, sex, and blood pressure are still uncertain.

Tau and other proteins found in Alzheimer's disease spinal fluid are linked to retromer-mediated endosomal traffic in mice and humans.

Endosomal trafficking has emerged as a defective biological pathway in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and the pathway is a source of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein accumulation. Nevertheless, the identity of the CSF proteins that accumulate in the setting of defects in AD's endosomal trafficking pathway remains unknown. Here, we performed a CSF proteomic screen in mice with a neuronal-selective knockout of the core of the retromer complex VPS35, a master conductor of endosomal traffic that has been implicated in AD.

LncRNA DLEU1 accelerates the malignant progression of clear cell renal cell carcinoma via regulating miRNA-194-5p.

The article "LncRNA DLEU1 accelerates the malignant progression of clear cell renal cell carcinoma via regulating miRNA-194-5p, by G.-Z. He, S.

Monoallelic Mutations in Suggest a Novel Role in Human Heterotaxy and Ciliary Dysfunction.

Background: Human heterotaxy is a group of congenital disorders characterized by misplacement of one or more organs according to the left-right axis. The genetic causes of human heterotaxy are highly heterogeneous.

Methods: We performed exome sequencing in a cohort of 26 probands with heterotaxy followed by gene burden analysis for the enrichment of novel rare damaging mutations.

General Synthesis of Sulfonate-Based Metal-Organic Framework Derived Composite of M S @N/S-Doped Carbon for High-Performance Lithium/Sodium Ion Batteries.

A general and simple strategy is realized for the first time for the preparation of metal sulfide (M S ) nanoparticles immobilized into N/S co-doped carbon (NSC) through a one-step pyrolysis method. The organic ligand 1,5-naphthalenedisulfonic acid in the metal-organic framework (MOF) precursor is used as a sulfur source, and metal ions are sulfurized in situ to form M S nanoparticles, resulting in the formation of M S /NSC (M=Fe, Co, Cu, Ni, Mn, Zn) composites. Benefiting from the M S nanoparticles and conductive carbon, a synergistic effect of the composite is achieved.

Prevalence and Bayesian Phylogenetics of Enteroviruses Derived From Environmental Surveillance Around Polio Vaccine Switch Period in Shandong Province, China.

We present the results of environmental surveillance for poliovirus (PV) and non-poliovirus (NPEV) around the switch from trivalent to bivalent oral polio-vaccine (OPV) which occurred in China in May 2016. Sewage samples were collected in Jinan and Linyi city from 2015 to 2017. Enterovirus (EV) isolation, VP1 amplification, Sanger sequencing, and phylogenetic analyses were performed.

Joint prediction and time estimation of COVID-19 developing severe symptoms using chest CT scan.

With the rapidly worldwide spread of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), it is of great importance to conduct early diagnosis of COVID-19 and predict the conversion time that patients possibly convert to the severe stage, for designing effective treatment plans and reducing the clinicians' workloads. In this study, we propose a joint classification and regression method to determine whether the patient would develop severe symptoms in the later time formulated as a classification task, and if yes, the conversion time will be predicted formulated as a classification task. To do this, the proposed method takes into account 1) the weight for each sample to reduce the outliers' influence and explore the problem of imbalance classification, and 2) the weight for each feature via a sparsity regularization term to remove the redundant features of the high-dimensional data and learn the shared information across two tasks, i.

A universal method for depositing patterned materials in situ.

Current techniques of patterned material deposition require separate steps for patterning and material deposition. The complexity and harsh working conditions post serious limitations for fabrication. Here, we introduce a single-step and easy-to-adapt method that can deposit materials in-situ.

Development and Analytical Validation of a 29 Gene Clinical Pharmacogenetic Genotyping Panel: Multi-Ethnic Allele and Copy Number Variant Detection.

To develop a novel pharmacogenetic genotyping panel, a multidisciplinary team evaluated available evidence and selected 29 genes implicated in interindividual drug response variability, including 130 sequence variants and additional copy number variants (CNVs). Of the 29 genes, 11 had guidelines published by the Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium. Targeted genotyping and CNV interrogation were accomplished by multiplex single-base extension using the MassARRAY platform (Agena Biosciences) and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MRC Holland), respectively.

CD4 T-Cell Endogenous Cystathionine γ Lyase-Hydrogen Sulfide Attenuates Hypertension by Sulfhydrating Liver Kinase B1 to Promote T Regulatory Cell Differentiation and Proliferation.

Background: Hydrogen sulfide (HS) has antihypertension and anti-inflammatory effects, and its endogenous-generation key enzyme cystathionine γ lyase (CSE) is expressed in CD4 T cells. However, the role of CD4 T-cell endogenous CSE/HS in the development of hypertension is unclear.

Methods: Peripheral blood lymphocytes were isolated from hypertensive patients or spontaneously hypertensive rats, then HS production and expression of its generation enzymes, cystathionine β synthase and CSE, were measured to determine the major HS generation system changes in hypertension.

Contact Settings and Risk for Transmission in 3410 Close Contacts of Patients With COVID-19 in Guangzhou, China : A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Risk for transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to close contacts of infected persons has not been well estimated.

Objective: To evaluate the risk for transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to close contacts in different settings.

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Effect of Times to Blood Processing on the Stability of Blood Proteins Associated with Dementia.

Background: The stability of proteins in the collecting tubes after blood draw is critical to the measured concentrations of the proteins. Although the guidelines issued by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) suggest centrifugation should take place within 2 h of drawing blood, it is very difficult to follow these guidelines in hospitals or clinics. It is necessary to study the effect of times to blood processing on the stability of the proteins of interest.

Association of WNT7B and RSPO1 with Axial Length in School Children.

Purpose: To evaluate the association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the ZC3H11B, RSPO1, C3orf26, GJD2, ZNRF3, and WNT7B genes and myopia endophenotypes in children.

Methods: Seven SNPs identified in previous genome-wide association studies of axial length (AL) were genotyped in 2883 Southern Han Chinese children. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the genotype association with AL, spherical equivalent (SE), corneal curvature (CC), and central corneal thickness (CCT).

Periostin: A Potential Therapeutic Target For Pulmonary Hypertension?

Rationale: POSTN (Periostin) is an ECM (extracellular matrix) protein involved in tissue remodeling in response to injury and a contributing factor in tumorigenesis, suggesting that POSTN plays a role in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension (PH).

Objective: We aimed to gain insight into the mechanistic contribution of POSTN in experimental mouse models of PH and correlate these findings with PH in humans.

Methods And Results: We used genetic epistasis approaches in human pulmonary artery endothelial cells (hPAECs), human pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells, and experimental mouse models of PH (Sugen 5416/hypoxia or chronic hypoxia) to discern the role of POSTN and its relationship to HIF (hypoxia-inducible factor)-1α signaling.

Non-invasive early detection of cancer four years before conventional diagnosis using a blood test.

Early detection has the potential to reduce cancer mortality, but an effective screening test must demonstrate asymptomatic cancer detection years before conventional diagnosis in a longitudinal study. In the Taizhou Longitudinal Study (TZL), 123,115 healthy subjects provided plasma samples for long-term storage and were then monitored for cancer occurrence. Here we report the preliminary results of PanSeer, a noninvasive blood test based on circulating tumor DNA methylation, on TZL plasma samples from 605 asymptomatic individuals, 191 of whom were later diagnosed with stomach, esophageal, colorectal, lung or liver cancer within four years of blood draw.

plantarum GKM3 and Lactobacillus paracasei GKS6 Supplementation Ameliorates Bone Loss in Ovariectomized Mice by Promoting Osteoblast Differentiation and Inhibiting Osteoclast Formation.

Osteoporosis, an imbalance in the bone-forming process mediated by osteoblasts and the bone-resorbing function mediated by osteoclasts, is a bone degenerative disease prevalent among the aged population. Due to deleterious side effects of currently available medications, probiotics as a potential treatment of osteoporosis is an appealing approach. Hence, this study aims to evaluate the beneficial effects of two novel Lacobacilli strain probiotics on bone health in ovariectomized (OVX) induced osteoporotic mice model and its underlying mechanisms.

Intravenous Fibrinolysis for Central Retinal Artery Occlusion: A Cohort Study and Updated Patient-Level Meta-Analysis.

Background And Purpose: Central retinal artery occlusion results in sudden, painless, usually permanent loss of vision in the affected eye. There is no proven, effective treatment to salvage visual acuity and a clear, unmet need for an effective therapy. In this work, we evaluated the efficacy of intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator (IV alteplase) in a prospective cohort study and an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

Thrombolysis Outcomes in Acute Ischemic Stroke by Fluid-Attenuated Inversion Recovery Hyperintense Arteries.

Background And Purpose: To determine factors associated with fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) hyperintense arteries (FLAIR-HAs) on magnetic resonance imaging and their prognostic significance in thrombolysis-treated patients with acute ischemic stroke from the ENCHANTED (Enhanced Control of Hypertension and Thrombolysis Stroke Study) trial alteplase-dose arm.

Methods: Patients with acute ischemic stroke (N=293) with brain magnetic resonance imaging (FLAIR and diffusion-weighted imaging sequences) scanned <4.5 hours of symptom onset were assessed for location and extent (score) of FLAIR-HAs, infarct volume, large vessel occlusion (LVO), and other ischemic signs.

Epigenomes of Human Hearts Reveal New Genetic Variants Relevant for Cardiac Disease and Phenotype.

Rationale: Identifying genetic markers for heterogeneous complex diseases such as heart failure is challenging and requires prohibitively large cohort sizes in genome-wide association studies to meet the stringent threshold of genome-wide statistical significance. On the other hand, chromatin quantitative trait loci, elucidated by direct epigenetic profiling of specific human tissues, may contribute toward prioritizing subthreshold variants for disease association.

Objective: Here, we captured noncoding genetic variants by performing epigenetic profiling for enhancer H3K27ac chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing in 70 human control and end-stage failing hearts.

Spermine promotes pulmonary vascular remodelling and its synthase is a therapeutic target for pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Pathological mechanisms of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) remain largely unexplored. Effective treatment of PAH remains a challenge. The aim of this study was to discover the underlying mechanism of PAH through functional metabolomics and to help develop new strategies for prevention and treatment of PAH.