Screening, Gene Cloning and Expression of Cellulase-Producing Strain Bacillus subtilis Xh-16.

Cellulase is a complex enzyme system composed of multiple hydrolytic enzymes. It can degrade cellulose into glucose and improve the utilization efficiency of cellulose resources. Cellulase produced by microorganisms is the main method used in industry, offering the advantages of convenience and being environmentally friendly.

Integrating Multi-Organ Imaging-Derived Phenotypes and Genomic Information for Predicting the Occurrence of Common Diseases.

As medical imaging technologies advance, these tools are playing a more and more important role in assisting clinical disease diagnosis. The fusion of biomedical imaging and multi-modal information is profound, as it significantly enhances diagnostic precision and comprehensiveness. Integrating multi-organ imaging with genomic information can significantly enhance the accuracy of disease prediction because many diseases involve both environmental and genetic determinants.

B-mode ultrasound-based CAD by learning using privileged information with dual-level missing modality completion.

Learning using privileged information (LUPI) has shown its effectiveness to improve the B-mode ultrasound (BUS) based computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) by transferring knowledge from the elasticity ultrasound (EUS). However, LUPI only performs transfer learning between the paired data with shared labels, and cannot handle the scenario of modality imbalance. In order to conduct the supervised transfer learning between the paired ultrasound data together with the additional single-modal BUS images, a novel multi-view LUPI algorithm with Dual-Level Modality Completion, named DLMC-LUPI, is proposed to improve the performance of BUS-based CAD.

Responses of Rice and Related Cadmium Transporter Genes to the Passivating Microbial Agent MBLHAP.

Alkali-producing microorganisms and hydroxyapatite (HAP), a chemical passivation agent, have a certain remediation effect on cadmium (Cd) -contaminated soil. They can decrease the available Cd content in the soil to a certain extent and reduce the overall Cd content of rice planted in the soil. The Cd-contaminated soil was treated with the passivating bacterial agent that had been developed.

Contrast-enhanced Ultrasound Combined With Elastography for the Evaluation of Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer in Rats.

Objectives: By comparing with the control group, we evaluated the usefulness of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) combined with elastography for the assessment of muscle invasion by bladder cancer (MIBC) in a Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat model.

Methods: In the experimental group, 40 SD rats developed in situ bladder cancer (BLCA) in response to N-methyl-N-nitrosourea treatment, whereas 40 SD rats were included in the control group for comparison. We compared PI, E , microvessel density (MVD), and collagen fiber content (CFC) between the two groups.

Exosome-transmitted circ Modulates Ovarian Cancer Metastasis via miR-378/ST5 Axis.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs)-derived exosomes have emerged as a key driver of ovarian cancer (OVCA) tumor progression. The mechanisms behind the specific circular RNA (circRNA) activity encapsulated by CAF-generated exosomes (CAF-exo) requires to be elucidated. Herein, this study selected specific circRNA (hsa_circ) molecules and aimed to clarify novel function of CAF-derived exosomal circ on growth, and metastasis of OVCA cells.

Noninvasive Assessment of Liver Fibrosis and Inflammation in Chronic Hepatitis B: A Dual-task Convolutional Neural Network (DtCNN) Model Based on Ultrasound Shear Wave Elastography.

Background And Aims: Liver stiffness (LS) measured by shear wave elastography (SWE) is often influenced by hepatic inflammation. The aim was to develop a dual-task convolutional neural network (DtCNN) model for the simultaneous staging of liver fibrosis and inflammation activity using 2D-SWE.

Methods: A total of 532 patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) were included to develop and validate the DtCNN model.

A new visual quantitative assessment of ultrasound attenuation parameters for the mild liver steatosis.

Background: Controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) without the guidance of the grey scale sonogram was a classic method in the quantitative evaluation of liver steatosis, it is recommended by international guidelines. Our study aimed to compare the diagnostic efficiency of a new real-time visual liver steatosis analysis (LiSA) versus CAP in chronic hepatitis B patients with liver steatosis.

Methods: Patients were enrolled who underwent liver biopsy and received both LiSA (Hepatus, Mindray, probe LFP5-1U/s, China) and CAP (FibroScan502, Echosens, probe M, France) measurement simultaneously in our hospital from November 2018 to December 2019.

Visit-to-visit office blood pressure variability combined with Framingham risk score to predict all-cause mortality: A post hoc analysis of the systolic blood pressure intervention trial.

We aim to determine if visit-to-visit blood pressure variability (BPV) adds prognostic value for all-cause mortality independently of the Framingham risk score (FRS) in the systolic blood pressure intervention trial (SPRINT). We defined BPV as variability independent of the mean (VIM) and the difference of maximum minus minimum (MMD) of the systolic blood pressure (SBP). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).

Diagnostic Performance of Shear Wave Elastography in the Noninvasive Evaluation of Liver Inflammation of Chronic Hepatitis B Patients.

In the current study, we sought to delineate the elastographic characteristics and further compare the diagnostic performance of various shear wave elastography modalities in hepatitis B virus patients whose liver fibrosis stage was less than F2 by liver biopsy. We retrospectively studied the clinical and imaging data of chronic hepatitis B virus patients who underwent liver biopsy at our hospital between January 2017 and October 2017. Totally, 102 patients were eligible for the study.

Usefulness of New Shear Wave Elastography Technique for Noninvasive Assessment of Liver Fibrosis in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B: A Prospective Multicenter Study.

Purpose:  To explore the usefulness of liver stiffness measurements (LSMs) by sound touch elastography (STE) and sound touch quantification (STQ) in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients for staging fibrosis.

Methods:  This prospective multicenter study recruited normal volunteers and CHB patients between May 2018 and October 2019. The volunteers underwent LSM by STE and supersonic shear imaging (SSI) or by STQ and acoustic radiation force impulse imaging (ARFI).

AP2-microRNA-26a overexpression reduces visceral fat mass and blood lipids.

Background: MicroRNA-26a (miR-26a) is a key player in tumor suppression and plays important roles in glucose and lipid metabolism. However, its function in adipose tissue is not well defined.

Objective: The study aimed to examine the effect on fat expansion and function of miR-26a in adipose tissue.

Analysis of liver steatosis analysis and controlled attenuation parameter for grading liver steatosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Background: Chronic hepatitis B is the most common chronic liver disease in China. For patients with chronic hepatitis B, steatosis increases the risk of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. This study aimed to analyze and compare the clinical value of a newly developed ultrasound attenuation parameter, liver steatosis analysis (LiSA), acquired by Hepatus (Mindray, China), and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP), a widely used ultrasound attenuation parameter acquired by FibroScan (Echosens, France), for grading liver steatosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection.

A New Visual Transient Elastography Technique for Grading Liver Fibrosis in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B.

Liver fibrosis is evaluated to assess the prognosis and guide the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). To compare the efficiency of 2 transient elastography techniques for grading liver fibrosis in CHB: visual transient elastography (ViTE) with real-time image guidance and FibroScan (FS) with no image guidance. All of the CHB patients in this study underwent both FS and ViTE examinations.

Pseudogene AKR1B10P1 enhances tumorigenicity and regulates epithelial-mesenchymal transition in hepatocellular carcinoma via stabilizing SOX4.

Pseudogenes exert potential functions in tumorigenicity and tumour process in human beings. In our previous research on oncogene AKR1B10 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), its pseudogene, AKR1B10P1, was preliminarily noticed being anomalistic transcribed, whereas whether AKR1B10P1 plays any specific function in HCC is poorly understood. By using shRNA transfection and lentiviral infection, we regulated the expression of ARK1B10P1 transcript and the relative targets in two ways.

A study of spleen shear-wave elastography in indirect prediction of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Purpose: To evaluate the value of spleen shear-wave elastography (sound touch elastography [STE], sound touch quantification [STQ]) in indirect prediction of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).

Methods: The Young's modulus (kPa) of spleen STE, STQ and liver FibroScan were measured in 112 patients with CHB. The final diagnosis was according to histological results from liver biopsy based on Scheure G/S scoring system and liver FibroScan was considered as a reference index of prediction efficiency.

A Noninvasive Method-Shear-Wave Elastography Compared With Transient Elastography in Evaluation of Liver Fibrosis in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B.

The aim of our study was to investigate the efficiency and feasibility of shear-wave elastography (sound touch elastography [STE], sound touch quantification [STQ]) compared with transient elastography (FibroScan) assessment in noninvasively and quantitatively identifying the degree of liver fibrosis. A total of 158 patients with chronic hepatitis B were included, and all accepted STE, STQ, and FibroScan assessments. Young's modulus (kPa) of STE, STQ, and FibroScan were evaluated, and the diagnostic performance of the 3 techniques on liver fibrosis stage was compared.

Analysis of three ultrasound elastography techniques for grading liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Background: Evaluation of liver fibrosis is important to assess prognosis and guide the treatment for chronic hepatitis B.

Objective: To analyze and compare transient, point, and two-dimensional (2D) shear wave elastography techniques in grading the liver fibrosis.

Methods: Based on the severity of liver inflammation and fibrosis (Scheuer criteria), 158 patients with chronic hepatitis B were assigned into group 1 (either G or S classification < 2) or group 2 (either G or S classification ≥ 2).

Thrombolytic therapy with rt-PA and transcranial color Doppler ultrasound (TCCS) combined with microbubbles for embolic thrombus.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of transcranial color Doppler ultrasound (TCCS) combined with microbubbles (MBs) and rt-PA (recombinant tissue plasminogen activator) for thrombolysis in vivo.

Methods: An arterial embolization model was established in Sprague-Dawley rats by retrograde placement of autologous thrombi into the common carotid artery followed by ligation of external carotid artery and temporary occlusion of the carotid artery and internal carotid artery by clamping. The animals were divided into 5 groups with 6 rats in each group: ① untreated control group, ② rt-PA group, ③ TCCS+MBs group, ④ TCCS+MBs+rt-PA group, ⑤ TCCS+MBs+1/2 rt-PA+group.

Safety of thrombolytic therapy with rt-PA and transcranial color Doppler ultrasound (TCCS) combined with microbubbles: a histopathologic study on rabbit brain tissues.

Objective: To evaluate effect of thrombolytic therapy with rt-PA (recombinant tissue plasminogen activator) and transcranial color Doppler ultrasound (TCCS) combined with microbubbles on histology of brain tissue.

Methods: New Zealand rabbits were subjected to TCCS based thrombolytic therapy, in 8 groups depending on dose of rt-PA, exposure duration of TCCS and presence of attenuation by skull bone window, 2 animals/group: (1) skull+1/2 rt-PA+TCCS+MBs, 10 min, (2) skull+rt-PA+TCCS+MBs, 10 min, (3) skull+1/2 rt-PA+TCCS+MBs, 20 min, (4) skull+rt-PA+TCCS+MBs, 20 min, (5) skull+1/2 rt-PA+TCCS+MBs, 30 min, (6) skull+rt-PA+TCCS+MBs, 30 min, (7) 1/2 rt-PA+TCCS+MBs, 10 min, (8) 1/2 rt-PA+TCCS+MBs, 20 min. The brain tissues were harvested after therapies and submitted for microscopic, electronic microscope and immunohistochemical examination.