Influence and role of polygenic risk score in the development of 32 complex diseases.

Background: The polygenic risk score (PRS) has been perceived as advantageous in predicting the risk of complex diseases compared to other measures. We aimed to systematically evaluate the influence of PRS on disease outcome and to explore its predictive value.

Methods: We comprehensively assessed the relationship between PRS and 32 complex diseases in the UK Biobank.

Longitudinal patterns of cognitive function and depression: insights from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study.

Background: With the acceleration of population aging, cognitive impairment and depression have become serious public health challenges in countries around the world. The influencing factors of cognitive trajectory, depression trajectory, and dual trajectories in middle-aged and elderly adults have not been fully studied.

Methods: This study used data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study database spanning from 2011-2018.

Beyond the Vibrational Stark Effect: Unraveling the Large Redshifts of Alkyne C-H Bond in Solvation Environments.

C-H···O hydrogen bonds are formed in systems ranging from biomolecular complexes to small-molecule structures. Previous work has focused on the blueshifts in the C-H stretching frequency () induced by these hydrogen bonds and their chemical and biological roles. Here, we show that, in contrast, terminal alkyne C-H hydrogen bonds exhibit large redshifts (50-100 cm) upon hydrogen bonding with oxygen-containing solvents.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in morphine-addicted rodents under different exercise protocols: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: Exercise might restore morphine-induced behavioural and molecular changes, but related evidence is inconsistent. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of animal studies to elucidate the contribution of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) to exercise effects on morphine addiction.

Methods: We searched papers published until May 25, 2024, in databases, manually searched related references, screened eligible studies, and extracted relevant data.

Establishing a robust triangulation framework to explore the relationship between hearing loss and Parkinson's disease.

The relationship between hearing loss (HL) and Parkinson's disease (PD) remains unclear. Using individual-level and summary-level data from the UK Biobank and the largest genome-wide association studies, we examined this link through observational, Mendelian randomization and genetic pleiotropy analyses. Among 158,229 participants, PD risk rose with HL severity especially in elder and males, and hearing aids significantly reduced PD risk in males.

The protective role of employment in depression: insights from 2005 to 2018 NHANES information.

Background: Depression is closely associated with employment status, which serves as a complex social determinant. This study explores the relationship between employment status and depression.

Methods: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) spanning 2005 to 2018 were analyzed.

Mendelian randomization and genetic pleiotropy analysis for the connection between inflammatory bowel disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Background: The gut-microbiome-brain axis (GMBA) implies the connection between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). We aimed to comprehensively explore the relation between IBD (and its subtypes) and AD, early-onset AD (EOAD) and late-onset AD (LOAD) from a genetic pleiotropy perspective.

Methods: Relying on summary statistics (N = 472,868 for AD, 185,204 for EOAD, 191,061 for LOAD, 59,957 for IBD, 45,975 for CD, and 40,266 for UC), we first performed Mendelian Randomization to examine the causal association between IBD and AD by leveraging vertical pleiotropy.

The causal relationship between CSF metabolites and GBM: a two-sample mendelian randomization analysis.

Background: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly aggressive primary malignant brain tumor characterized by rapid progression, poor prognosis, and high mortality rates. Understanding the relationship between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) metabolites and GBM is crucial for identifying potential biomarkers and pathways involved in the pathogenesis of this devastating disease.

Methods: In this study, Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was employed to investigate the causal relationship between 338 CSF metabolites and GBM.

Isorhapontigenin inhibition of basal muscle-invasive bladder cancer attributed to its downregulation of SNHG1 and DNMT3b.

Background: Bladder cancer (BC) is among the most prevalent malignant urothelial tumors globally, yet the prognosis for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) remains dismal, with a very poor 5-year survival rate. Consequently, identifying more effective and less toxic chemotherapeutic alternatives is critical for enhancing clinical outcomes for BC patients. Isorhapontigenin (ISO), a novel stilbene isolated from a Gnetum found in certain provinces of China, has shown potential as an anticancer agent due to its diverse anticancer activities.

Unveiling the molecular mechanisms of size-dependent effect of polystyrene micro/nano-plastics on Chlamydomonas reinhardtii through proteomic profiling.

Microplastics have become a prevalent environmental pollutant due to widespread release and production. Algae, as primary producers, play a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balance of freshwater environments. Despite reports on the inhibition of microalgae by microplastics, the size-dependent effects on microalgae and associated molecular mechanism remain poorly understood.

STEP: profiling cellular-specific targets and pathways of bioactive small molecules in tissues integrating single-cell transcriptomics and chemoproteomics.

Identifying the cellular targets of bioactive small molecules within tissues has been a major concern in drug discovery and chemical biology research. Compared to cell line models, tissues consist of multiple cell types and complicated microenvironments. Therefore, elucidating the distribution and heterogeneity of targets across various cells in tissues would enhance the mechanistic understanding of drug or toxin action in real-life scenarios.

Joint Exposure to Multiple Air Pollutants, Genetic Susceptibility, and Incident Dementia: A Prospective Analysis in the UK Biobank Cohort.

This study aimed to evaluate the joint effects of multiple air pollutants including PM, PM, NO, and NO with dementia and examined the modifying effects of genetic susceptibility. This study included 220,963 UK Biobank participants without dementia at baseline. Weighted air pollution score reflecting the joint exposure to multiple air pollutants were constructed by cross-validation analyses, and inverse-variance weighted meta-analyses were performed to create a pooled effect.

Assessing the stress-relief impact of an art-based intervention inspired by the broaden-and-build theory in college students.

Background And Objectives: This study's primary objective is to investigate the impact of art-making on the mental well-being of college students, who often experience heightened stress during their initial university years.

Methods: Employing a comprehensive methodology, combining interviews and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the research aimed to assess whether a four-week art-making intervention can effectively alleviate stress levels among college students. In the experimental group, participants engaged in a variety of art-making activities, including freehand drawing, clay modeling, and crafting.

Variety ACEs and risk of developing anxiety, depression, or anxiety-depression co-morbidity: the 2006-2022 UK Biobank data.

Objectives: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and anxiety-depression co-morbidity are attracting widespread attention. Previous studies have shown the relationship between individual psychiatric disorders and ACEs. This study will analyze the correlation between anxiety-depression co-morbidity and different levels of ACEs.

Long-term adverse influence of smoking during pregnancy on height and body size of offspring at ten years old in the UK Biobank cohort.

Background: To explore the long-term relationship between maternal smoking during pregnancy and early childhood growth in the UK Biobank cohort.

Methods: To estimate the effect of maternal smoking during pregnancy on offspring height and body size at ten years old, we performed binary logistic analyses and reported odds ratios (OR) as well as 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs). We also implemented the cross-contextual comparison study to examine whether such influence could be repeatedly observed among three different ethnicities in the UK Biobank cohort ( = 22,140 for White,  = 7094 for South Asian, and  = 5000 for Black).

Enhanced active-site electric field accelerates enzyme catalysis.

The design and improvement of enzymes based on physical principles remain challenging. Here we demonstrate that the principle of electrostatic catalysis can be leveraged to substantially improve a natural enzyme's activity. We enhanced the active-site electric field in horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase by replacing the serine hydrogen-bond donor with threonine and replacing the catalytic Zn with Co.

Weighted Sum Secrecy Rate Maximization for Joint ITS- and IRS-Empowered System.

In this work, we investigate a novel intelligent surface-assisted multiuser multiple-input single-output multiple-eavesdropper (MU-MISOME) secure communication network where an intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) is deployed to enhance the secrecy performance and an intelligent transmission surface (ITS)-based transmitter is utilized to perform energy-efficient beamforming. A weighted sum secrecy rate (WSSR) maximization problem is developed by jointly optimizing transmit power allocation, ITS beamforming, and IRS phase shift. To solve this problem, we transform the objective function into an approximated concave form by using the successive convex approximation (SCA) technique.

How eluents define proteomic fingerprinting of protein corona on nanoparticles.

Nanoparticles (NPs) have broad application prospects in the field of biomedicine due to their excellent physicochemical properties. When entering biological fluids, NPs inevitably encountered proteins and were subsequently surrounded by them, forming the termed protein corona (PC). As PC has been evidenced to have critical roles in deciding the biological fates of NPs, how to precisely characterize PC is vital to promote the clinical translation of nanomedicine by understanding and harnessing NPs' behaviors.

Effects of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and adeno-associated viral vector on morphine-induced condition through target concentration changes in the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens.

Morphine remains the standard analgesic for severe pain. However, the clinical use of morphine is limited by the innate tendency of opiates to become addictive. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a growth factor that is protective against many mental disorders.

Fluctuation-based outlier detection.

Outlier detection is an important topic in machine learning and has been used in a wide range of applications. Outliers are objects that are few in number and deviate from the majority of objects. As a result of these two properties, we show that outliers are susceptible to a mechanism called fluctuation.

Oridonin acts as a novel senolytic by targeting glutathione -transferases to activate the ROS-p38 signaling axis in senescent cells.

Most of the known senolytics are anti-cancer drugs or their derivative molecules. However, senolytics derived from the active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are rarely reported. Here, we identified oridonin as a novel senolytic and further revealed that it might target a class of glutathione -transferases to activate ROS-p38 signaling and induce apoptosis in senescent cells.

Joint elasticity produces energy efficiency in underwater locomotion: Verification with deep reinforcement learning.

Underwater snake robots have received attention because of their unique mechanics and locomotion patterns. Given their highly redundant degrees of freedom, designing an energy-efficient gait has been a main challenge for the long-term autonomy of underwater snake robots. We propose a gait design method for an underwater snake robot based on deep reinforcement learning and curriculum learning.