Changes in expression of FSH and LH receptors in the ovine main immune organs during early pregnancy.

Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) are mainly involved in follicle development and ovulation, but FSH receptor (FSHR) and LH receptor (LHR) are also expressed in the immune system. Nevertheless, it is not clear if gestation affects the expression of the FSHR and LHR in the maternal main immune organs (thymus, lymph node, spleen, and liver). In this study, these organs were sampled from the ewes at the estrous cycle, and during early pregnancy, and mRNA and protein expression of FSHR and LHR were analyzed.

Development of a Nomogram Based on Transcriptional Signatures, IFN-γ Response and Neutrophils for Diagnosis of Tuberculosis.

Purpose: Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global health threat and its diagnosis remains challenging. This study aimed to develop a nomogram that incorporated peripheral blood transcriptional signatures and other blood tests for the diagnosis of tuberculosis.

Patients And Methods: Patients with TB, patients with other definite pulmonary diseases (OPD), individuals with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), and healthy controls (HC) were retrospectively enrolled between May 2017 and April 2018.

Influencing factors of posttraumatic stress disorder in Shidu parents who have lost their only child: a cross-sectional survey.

Background: In China, parents who have lost their only child are referred to as Shidu parents (SDPs). This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and investigate the influence of depressive and anxiety symptoms on the development of PTSD.

Method: Four hundred and thirty-six SDPs completed assessments of PTSD (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders, SCID-IV; The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale-IV, CAPS-IV), depression (Hamilton depression scale), and anxiety (Hamilton Anxiety Scale) via in-person interviews.

Disseminated tuberculosis is associated with impaired T cell immunity mediated by non-canonical NF-κB pathway.

Objectives: The mechanism that leads to disseminated tuberculosis in HIV-negative patients is still largely unknown. T cell subsets and signaling pathways that were associated with disseminated tuberculosis were investigated.

Methods: Single-cell profiling of whole T cells was performed to identify T cell subsets and enriched signaling pathways that were associated with disseminated tuberculosis.

Identification of ferroptosis-related gene signature for tuberculosis diagnosis and therapy efficacy.

Diagnosis of tuberculosis remains a challenge when microbiological tests are negative. Immune cell atlas of patients with tuberculosis and healthy controls were established by single-cell transcriptome. Through integrated analysis of scRNA-seq with microarray and bulk RNA sequencing data, a ferroptosis-related gene signature containing ACSL4, CTSB, and TLR4 genes that were associated with tuberculosis disease was identified.

Alterations in articular cartilage frictional properties in the setting of acute gouty arthritis.

The tribological behaviour of articular cartilage plays a key role in joint motion; however, there is a gap in research on the effect of hyperuricemic joint fluid on cartilage friction behaviour in acute gouty arthritis. In this study, we carried out a fixed-load scratch experiment to compare the friction and wear of articular cartilage under the lubrication of gouty arthritis arthritic fluid and normal human arthritic fluid, and the results showed that the cartilage friction coefficient of patients with acute gouty arthritis was significantly larger than that of normal human beings, and that the cartilage friction coefficient decreased with the elevation of normal load and sliding speed, and the change with the sliding speed varied more differently from that of normal human beings, and that the cartilage surface wear was more severe after prolonged friction. The wear and tear of the cartilage surface is more severe after prolonged friction.

Prognostic value of tumor deposits and positive lymph node ratio in stage III colorectal cancer: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: In colorectal cancer (CRC), tumor deposits (TD) have been used to guide the N staging only in node-negative patients. It remains unknown about the prognostic value of TD in combination with positive lymph node ratio (LNR) in stage III CRC.

Patients And Methods: The authors analyzed data from 31 139 eligible patients diagnosed with stage III CRC, including 30 230 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database as a training set and 909 from two Chinese hospitals as a validation set.

Relationship between SLC6A2 gene polymorphisms and brain volume in Han Chinese adults who lost their sole child.

Background: Norepinephrine transporter (NET) is encoded by the SLC6A2 gene and is a potential target for studying the pathogenesis of PTSD. To the best of our knowledge, no prior investigations have examined SLC6A2 polymorphism-related neuroimaging abnormalities in PTSD patients.

Methods: In 218 Han Chinese adults who had lost their sole child, we investigated the association between the T-182 C SLC6A2 genotype and gray matter volume (GMV).

Disorganized Functional Connectivity of Anterior Insular Subnetworks in Adults with Executive Dysfunction after Trauma Exposure.

There is increasing evidence that major trauma can adversely affect the brain and cognition. In some cases, trauma may lead to deficits in executive function (EF). The anterior insula may be a causal outflow hub acting to coordinate EF-related brain networks.

Persistence of post-traumatic stress disorder in Chinese Shidu parents is associated with combined gray and white matter abnormalities.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most common mental health disorders among Shidu parents. Identification of gray and white matter differences between persistence of PTSD (P-PTSD) and remission of PTSD (R-PTSD) is crucial to determine their prognosis. A total of 37 Shidu parents with PTSD were followed for five years.

Altered brain degree centrality and functional connectivity in adults with executive dysfunction after trauma exposure.

Losing an only child is undoubtedly a huge blow that can adversely affect the prefrontal lobe, a highly sensitive brain region. Neuropsychological evidence emphasizes that executive function (EF) is closely related to the optimal functioning of the frontal cortex. However, the characteristics and potential mechanisms underlying changes in executive function following the huge shock of losing an only child remain insufficiently studied and understood.

Longitudinal changes in brain structure and their relationship with subclinical psychiatric symptoms in parents who lost their only child in China.

Background: Losing an only child (Shidu) is a grievous traumatic event that may affect brain structure, even if it does not lead to psychiatric disorders. However, longitudinal changes in brain structure and their relationship to subclinical psychiatric symptoms (SPS) have not been well investigated in Shidu parents without any psychiatric disorders (SDNP).

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate cross-sectional and longitudinal changes in cortical thickness and surface area in SDNP, and to explore their relationship with SPS.

Single-cell profiling identifies T cell subsets associated with control of tuberculosis dissemination.

To identify T cell subsets associated with control of tuberculosis, single-cell transcriptome and T cell receptor sequencing were performed on total T cells from patients with tuberculosis and healthy controls. Fourteen distinct subsets of T cells were identified by unbiased UMAP clustering. A GZMK-expressing CD8 cytotoxic T cell cluster and a SOX4-expressing CD4 central memory T cell cluster were depleted, while a MKI67-expressing proliferating CD3 T cell cluster was expanded in patients with tuberculosis compared with healthy controls.

Evaluation of IFIT3 and ORM1 as Biomarkers for Discriminating Active Tuberculosis from Latent Infection.

Objective: Current commercially available immunological tests cannot be used for discriminating active tuberculosis (TB) from latent TB infection. To evaluate the value of biomarker candidates in the diagnosis of active TB, this study aimed to identify differentially expressed genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) between patients with active TB and individuals with latent TB infection by transcriptome sequencing.

Methods: The differentially expressed genes in unstimulated PBMCs and in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) antigen-stimulated PBMCs from patients with active TB and individuals with latent TB infection were identified by transcriptome sequencing.

Van der Waals-Interface-Dominated All-2D Electronics.

The interface is the device. As the feature size rapidly shrinks, silicon-based electronic devices are facing multiple challenges of material performance decrease and interface quality degradation. Ultrathin 2D materials are considered as potential candidates in future electronics by their atomically flat surfaces and excellent immunity to short-channel effects.

[Expression of CD160 in natural killer (NK) cells from patients with active tuberculosis and its relationship with cell functions].

Objective To investigate the relationship between the CD160 expression and anti-tuberculosis immunity. Methods Fluorescence quantitative real-time PCR was used to detect the expression of CD160 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Flow cytometry was used to analyze the expression of CD160 on main subtypes of PBMCs, such as T cells, B cells, NK cells and monocytes.

RORA rs8042149 polymorphism moderates the association between PTSD symptom severity and transverse temporal gyrus thickness in Han Chinese adults who lost their only child.

Background: The G allele in retinoid-related orphan receptor alpha (RORA, rs8042149) gene is associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis and more severe symptoms, reported in the first genome-wide association study of PTSD and subsequent replication studies. Although recent MRI studies identified brain structural deficits in RORA rs8042149 risk G allele carriers, the neural mechanism underlying RORA-related brain structural changes in PTSD remains poorly understood.

Methods: This study included 227 Han Chinese adults who lost their only child.

Tim-3 expression is induced by mycobacterial antigens and identifies tissue-resident subsets of MAIT cells from patients with tuberculosis.

Tissue-resident MAIT cells in tuberculous pleural effusions, the site of tuberculosis infection, were investigated in the study. Tim-3CD69CD103 and CD39CD69CD103 tissue-resident MAIT cell subsets were identified in tuberculous pleural effusions. Tim-3 expression in MAIT cells was greatly induced and CD39 expression was elevated following ex vivo stimulation with Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens.

UBR3 promotes inflammation and apoptosis via DUSP1/p38 pathway in the nucleus pulposus cells of patients with intervertebral disc degeneration.

Intervertebral disc disease (IDD) is a primary cause of low back pain, affecting 5% of individuals. Previous study have shown that dual-specificity (Thr/Tyr) phosphatase 1 (DUSP1) regulates p38 MAPK activity and DUSP1 level is regulated by ubiquitination. As an E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase, UBR3 has been shown to regulate a variety of biological processes through ubiquitination.

Mesenchymal-epithelial Transition Factor Regulates Monocyte Function during Mycobacterial Infection via Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase.

Objective: Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), causes an estimated 1.6 million human deaths annually, but the pathogenesis of TB remains unclear. Immunity plays a critical role in the onset and outcome of TB.

Use of bioinformatic database analysis and specimen verification to identify novel biomarkers predicting gastric cancer metastasis.

Gastric cancer (GC) is a common gastrointestinal tumor, and its metastasis has led to a significant increase in the death rate. The mechanisms of GC metastasis remain unclear. The differentially expressed genes (DmRs) and lncRNAs (DlncRs) of GC were selected from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database.

Diffusion tensor imaging revealed different pathological processes of white matter hyperintensities.

Background: Although increasing evidence showed the correlations between white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) and cognitive impairment, the relationship between them is still modest. Many researchers began to focus on the variation caused by the heterogeneity of WMH. We tried to explore the pathological heterogeneity in WMH by using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), so as to provide a new insight into the future research.