Unveiling the mechanism of action of a novel natural dual inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 Mpro and PLpro with molecular dynamics simulations.

In the twenty-first century, we have witnessed multiple coronavirus pandemics. Despite declining SARS-CoV-2 cases, continued research remains vital. We report the discovery of sydowiol B, a natural product, as a dual inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) and papain-like protease (PLpro).

Increased acute-phase reaction after the transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach (TOEVA) compared with minimally invasive video-assisted thyroidectomy (MIVAT) for unilateral thyroidectomy.

Purposes: We analyzed the acute-phase response in unilateral thyroidectomy by comparing the transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach (TOEVA) with the minimally invasive video-assisted thyroidectomy (MIVAT).

Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to undergo either TOEVA or MIVAT, after we obtained their written informed consent to participate in this study. Blood count, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-) were measured before surgery and then 4, 24, and 48 h after surgery.

From signal-off to signal-on: polyT linker alters signal response mode and enhances signal change of aptamer beacon probe.

A molecular beacon is an oligonucleotide hybridization probe that can report the presence of specific nucleic acids in homogeneous solutions. Using an aptamer has allowed an aptamer-based molecular beacon-aptamer beacon to be developed, which has shown advantages of simplicity, rapidity, and sensitivity in imaging and sensing non-nucleic acid substances. However, due to requirement for a deliberate DNA hairpin structure for the preparation of a molecular beacon, not any given aptamer is suitable for designing an aptamer beacon probe.

Frailty and neurocognitive impairments in Chinese survivors of childhood cancer.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and predictors of frailty and the association between frailty and neurocognitive impairments among Chinese survivors of childhood cancer.

Methods: A total of 185 survivors of childhood cancer were recruited from a long-term follow-up clinic in Hong Kong (response rate: 94.4%; 48.

The effect of fecal bile acids on the incidence and risk-stratification of colorectal cancer: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

Recent studies suggest the role of gut microbes in bile acid metabolism in the development and progression of colorectal cancer. However, the surveys of the association between fecal bile acid concentrations and colorectal cancer (CRC) have been inconsistent. We searched online to identify relevant cross-sectional and case-control studies published online in the major English language databases (Medline, Embase, Web of Science, AMED, and CINAHL) up to January 1, 2024.

A colorimetric nano-enzyme assay with Ni@Pt nanoparticles as signal labels for rapid and sensitive detection of exosomal Aβ42 in plasma.

A nano-enzyme sandwich assay (SWzyme assay), a colorimetric system based on a biochip and inorganic nano-enzyme for rapid and simple determination of exosomal Aβ42 in plasma is proposed. Anti-CD63 antibody-modified biochips were prepared for plasma exosome capture and synthesized highly catalytic Ni@Pt nanozymes for detecting exosomal Aβ42. The method was able to detect exosomal Aβ42 with a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 4.

Integrated Mendelian Randomization and Single-Cell Transcriptomics Analysis Identifies Critical Blood Biomarkers and Potential Mechanisms in Epilepsy.

Background: Epilepsy has a genetic predisposition, yet causal factors and the dynamics of the immune environment in epilepsy are not fully understood.

Methods: We analyzed peripheral blood samples from epilepsy patients, identifying key genes associated with epilepsy risk through Mendelian randomization, using eQTLGen and genome-wide association studies. The peripheral immune environment's composition in epilepsy was explored using CIBERSORT.

Viral nucleic acid load in the milk of lactating mothers with COVID-19 and the prognosis of infants.

The global spread of the novel coronavirus disease 2019, caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus, impacts individuals of all age groups, including lactating women and children. Concerns have been raised regarding the potential transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from mother to child, following the discovery of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in human milk. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether the Omicron novel coronavirus variants are transmitted through human milk.

The prognostic impact of 1q21 gain/amplification in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma: a retrospective study based on a single center in China.

1q21gain/amp is the most common in patients with multiple myeloma. However, there is limited research on the prognostic heterogeneity of 1q21+, and the prognostic of the 1q21 copy remains controversial. In this study, we primarily conducted a retrospective analysis of the prognostic significance of 1q21 gain/amp in 375 newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients.

A Faster Privacy-Preserving Medical Image Diagnosis Scheme with Machine Learning.

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have become indispensable to medical image diagnosis research, enabling the automated differentiation of diseased images from extensive medical image datasets. Due to their efficacy, these methods raise significant privacy concerns regarding patient images and diagnostic models. To address these issues, some researchers have explored privacy-preserving medical image diagnosis schemes using fully homomorphic encryption (FHE).

Identification of important genes related to ferroptosis in early missed abortion based on WGCNA.

Early missed abortion is defined as a pregnancy of ≤ 12 weeks in which there is a cessation of life in the developing embryo or fetus, leading to its retention within the uterine cavity without being spontaneously expelled promptly. This condition is commonly observed and significantly impacts human reproductive health. This study aimed to identify key genes related to ferroptosis that could serve as novel biomarkers for early missed abortion.

Construction of a troublemaking risk assessment tool for patients with severe mental disorders in community of China.

Objective: Construction a troublemaking risk assessment tool to predict the risk of troublemaking for patients with severe mental disorders in the community of China.

Methods: 28,000 cases registered in the Jiangsu Provincial Severe Mental Disorder Management System from January 2017 to December 2019 were collected. The risk factors of troublemaking among patients with severe mental disorders in the community were analyzed through Logistic regression analysis, then the troublemaking risk assessment tool was established and verified.

Interfacial water confers transcription factors with dinucleotide specificity.

Transcription factors (TFs) recognize specific bases within their DNA-binding motifs, with each base contributing nearly independently to total binding energy. However, the energetic contributions of particular dinucleotides can deviate strongly from the additive approximation, indicating that some TFs can specifically recognize DNA dinucleotides. Here we solved high-resolution (<1 Å) structures of MYF5 and BARHL2 bound to DNAs containing sets of dinucleotides that have different affinities to the proteins.

Refining breast cancer genetic risk and biology through multi-ancestry fine-mapping analyses of 192 risk regions.

Genome-wide association studies have identified approximately 200 genetic risk loci for breast cancer, but the causal variants and target genes are mostly unknown. We sought to fine-map all known breast cancer risk loci using genome-wide association study data from 172,737 female breast cancer cases and 242,009 controls of African, Asian and European ancestry. We identified 332 independent association signals for breast cancer risk, including 131 signals not reported previously, and for 50 of them, we narrowed the credible causal variants down to a single variant.

Analysis of the risk factors for loss of cervical lordosis after surgical removal of cervical spinal cord tumor.

Loss of cervical lordosis (LOCL) is the most common postoperative cervical deformity. This study aimed to identify the predictors of LOCL by investigating the relationship between various factors and LOCL development after surgery for cervical spinal cord tumors. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 51 patients who underwent cervical spinal tumor resection at a single center.

Agricultural subsoil microbiomes and functions exhibit lower resistance to global change than topsoils in Chinese agroecosystems.

Soils play a critical role in supporting agricultural production. Subsoils, below 20 cm, underpin fundamental agroecosystem sustainability traits including soil carbon storage, climate regulation and water provision. However, little is known about the ecological stability of subsoils in response to global change.

Future food prices will become less sensitive to agricultural market prices and mitigation costs.

Agricultural production costs represent less than half of total food prices for higher-income countries and will likely further decrease globally. Added-value components such as transport, processing, marketing and catering show increasing importance in food value chains, especially as countries undergo a nutrition transition towards more complex and industrial food systems. Here, using a combined statistical and process-based modelling framework, we derive and project the value-added component of food prices for 136 countries and 11 different food groups, for food-at-home and food-away-from-home.

Thermal sensitivity and niche plasticity of generalist and specialist leaf-endophytic bacteria in Mangrove Kandelia obovata.

Leaf endospheres harbor diverse bacterial communities, comprising generalists and specialists, that profoundly affect ecosystem functions. However, the ecological dynamics of generalist and specialist leaf-endophytic bacteria and their responses to climate change remain poorly understood. We investigated the diversity and environmental responses of generalist and specialist bacteria within the leaf endosphere of mangroves across China.

Efficient sex hormone biosensors in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells to evaluate human aromatase activity and inhibition.

Yeast sex-hormone whole-cell biosensors are analytical tools characterized by long-time storage and low production cost. We engineered compact β-estradiol biosensors in S. cerevisiae cells by leveraging short (20-nt long) operators bound by the fusion protein LexA-ER-VP64-where ER is the human estrogen receptor and VP64 a strong viral activation domain.

Gene-level analysis reveals the genetic aetiology and therapeutic targets of schizophrenia.

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have reported multiple risk loci for schizophrenia (SCZ). However, the majority of the associations were from populations of European ancestry. Here we conducted a large-scale GWAS in Eastern Asian populations (29,519 cases and 44,392 controls) and identified ten Eastern Asian-specific risk loci, two of which have not been previously reported.

Association between alcohol consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes in Japan: a population-base longitudinal cohort study.

Heavy alcohol consumption is a known risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D), However, the moderating effect of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) levels remains unclear. This study explores the relationship between alcohol intake and T2D risk across FPG strata in a Japanese cohort. Data from 15,453 participants in the NAGALA cohort were analyzed over 5.

Multiomic characterization, immunological and prognostic potential of SMAD3 in pan-cancer and validation in LIHC.

SMAD3, a protein-coding gene, assumes a pivotal role within the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) signaling pathway. Notably, aberrant SMAD3 expression has been linked to various malignancies. Nevertheless, an extensive examination of the comprehensive pan-cancer impact on SMAD3's diagnostic, prognostic, and immunological predictive utility has yet to be undertaken.

Efficacy of methylprednisolone pulse therapy in Chinese children with IgA vasculitis-associated nephritis (IgAVN).

Background: One of the most common secondary glomerular diseases in children is IgA vasculitis-associated nephritis (IgAVN). Determining the best treatment for IgAVN based on current guidelines is controversial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of methylprednisolone pulse therapy in Chinese children with moderate and severe IgAVN.

Decoupled peak property learning for efficient and interpretable electronic circular dichroism spectrum prediction.

Electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra contain key information about molecular chirality by discriminating the absolute configurations of chiral molecules, which is crucial in asymmetric organic synthesis and the drug industry. However, existing predictive approaches lack the consideration of ECD spectra owing to the data scarcity and the limited interpretability to achieve trustworthy prediction. Here we establish a large-scale dataset for chiral molecular ECD spectra and propose ECDFormer for accurate and interpretable ECD spectrum prediction.

The effect of regional integration on the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation.

Based on a micro-entity perspective, this paper empirically examines the effect of regional integration on the efficiency of enterprise resource allocation. Firstly, regional integration can significantly reduce the degree of resource mismatch of enterprises and improve the efficiency of resource allocation of enterprises overall. Secondly, regional integration can improve the efficiency of resource allocation of enterprises mainly through three channels, which are alleviating the financing constraints of enterprises, improving the degree of talent agglomeration, and reducing the operating costs of enterprises.