Artificial intelligence (AI) has been widely used in all walks of life, including healthcare, and has shown great application value in the auxiliary diagnosis of pulmonary nodules in the medical field. In the face of a large amount of lung imaging data, clinicians use AI tools to identify lesions more quickly and accurately, improving work efficiency, but there are still many problems in this field, such as the high false positive rate of recognition, and the difficulty in identifying special types of nodules. Researchers and clinicians are actively developing and using AI tools to promote their continuous evolution and make them better serve human health. This article reviews the clinical application and research progress of AI-assisted diagnosis of pulmonary nodules.

The high content of sucrose and raffinose reduces the prebiotic value of soybean oligosaccharides. Fructan sucrases can catalyze the conversion of sucrose and raffinose to high-value products such as fructooligosaccharides and melibiose. To obtain a fructan sucrase that can efficiently convert soybean oligosaccharides, we first mined the fructan sucrase gene from microorganisms in the coastal areas of Xisha Islands and Bohai Bay and then characterized the enzymatic and catalytic properties of the enzyme. Finally, recombinant extracellular expression of this gene was carried out in Bacillus subtilis. The results showed that a novel fructan sucrase, BhLS 39, was mined from Bacillus halotolerans. With sucrose and raffinose as substrates, BhLS 39 showed the optimal temperatures of 50 ℃ and 55 ℃, optimal pH 5.5 for both, and K_cat/K_m ratio of 3.4 and 6.6 L/(mmol·s), respectively. When 400 g/L raffinose was used as the substrate, the melibiose conversion rate was 84.6% after 30 min treatment with 5 U BhLS 39. Furthermore, BhLS 39 catalyzed the conversion of sucrose to produce levan-type-fructooligosaccharide and levan. Then, the recombinant extracellular expression of BhLS 39 in B. subtilis was achieved. The co-expression of the intracellular chaperone DnaK and the extracellular chaperone PrsA increased the extracellular activity of the recombinant BhLS 39 by 5.2 folds to 17 U/mL compared with that of the control strain. BhLS 39 obtained in this study is conducive to improving the quality and economic benefits of soybean oligosaccharides. At the same time, the strategy used here to enhance the extracellular expression of BhLS 39 will also promote the efficient recombinant expression of other proteins in B. subtilis.
Oligosaccharides/metabolism* ; Glycine max/metabolism* ; Bacillus subtilis/metabolism* ; Sucrase/biosynthesis* ; Raffinose/metabolism* ; Fructans/metabolism* ; Sucrose/metabolism* ; Bacillus/genetics* ; Recombinant Proteins/biosynthesis* ; Bacterial Proteins/biosynthesis*

Coronary restenosis is an important cause of poor long-term prognosis in patients with coronary heart disease. Here, we show that lysine methyltransferase SMYD2 expression in the nucleus is significantly elevated in serum- and PDGF-BB-induced vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), and in tissues of carotid artery injury-induced neointimal hyperplasia. Smyd2 overexpression in VSMCs (Smyd2-vTg) facilitates, but treatment with its specific inhibitor LLY-507 or SMYD2 knockdown significantly inhibits VSMC phenotypic switching and carotid artery injury-induced neointima formation in mice. Transcriptome sequencing revealed that SMYD2 knockdown represses the expression of serum response factor (SRF) target genes and that SRF overexpression largely reverses the inhibitory effect of SMYD2 knockdown on VSMC proliferation. HDAC3 directly interacts with and deacetylates SRF, which enhances SRF transcriptional activity in VSMCs. Moreover, SMYD2 promotes HDAC3 expression via tri-methylation of H3K36 at its promoter. RGFP966, a specific inhibitor of HDAC3, not only counteracts the pro-proliferation effect of SMYD2 overexpression on VSMCs, but also inhibits carotid artery injury-induced neointima formation in mice. HDAC3 partially abolishes the inhibitory effect of SMYD2 knockdown on VSMC proliferation in a deacetylase activity-dependent manner. Our results reveal that the SMYD2-HDAC3-SRF axis constitutes a novel and critical epigenetic mechanism that regulates VSMC phenotypic switching and neointimal hyperplasia.

Objective: To investigate the epidemiological and etiological characteristics of viral diarrhea among children under 5 years of age in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, so as to provide insights into management of viral diarrhea. Methods: The surveillance data on viral diarrhea among children under 5 years of age in Shaoxing City from 2019 to 2022 were collected, including demographics and stool testing results. The epidemiological and etiological characteristics of viral diarrhea were analyzed using a descriptive epidemiological method. Results: A total of 763 diarrheal children under 5 years of age were reported in Shaoxing City from 2019 to 2022, and 236 children were tested positive for virus (30.93%). The detection of virus was 49.01%, 31.61%, 20.43% and 21.89% from 2019 to 2022, which appeared an overall tendency towards a decline (P<0.05). The incidence of viral diarrhea peaked from November to March of the next year and from May to July, and the detection of virus was lower among children with diarrhea living in urban areas (Yuecheng District, Keqiao District and Shangyu District) than among those in suburb areas (Zhuji City, Shengzhou City and Xinchang County) (30.22% vs. 52.00%, P<0.05). There were 206 children tested positive for a single virus, and the detection rates of rotavirus (RV), enteric adenovirus (EAdV), norovirus (NoV), and sapovirus (SaV) were 9.57%, 8.91%, 8.39%, and 0.13%, respectively. There were 25 children with virus co-infections, and the positive rates of EAdV and NoV, RV and EAdV and RV and NoV co-infections were 1.31%, 1.18% and 0.79%, respectively. There were 5 children with triple infections of RV, EAdV and NoV (0.66%). The highest detection of EAdV was seen in April, the highest detection of RV and NoV was seen in January, while SaV was only detected in April. Conclusion The incidence of viral diarrhea among children under 5 years of age peaked in winter and spring in Shaoxing City from 2019 to 2022, and the cases predominantly occurred in urban areas. The detection of virus appeared an overall tendency towards a decline, with high detection of RV, EAdV and NoV.

A novel β-glucosidase BglD2 with glucose and ethanol tolerant properties was screened and cloned from the deep-sea bacterium Bacillus sp. D1. The application potential of BglD2 toward polydatin-hydrolyzing was also evaluated. BglD2 exhibited the maximal β-glucosidase activity at 45 °C and pH 6.5. BglD2 maintained approximately 50% of its origin activity after incubation at 30 °C and pH 6.5 for 20 h. BglD2 could hydrolyze a variety of substrates containing β (1→3), β (1→4), and β (1→6) bonds. The activity of β-glucosidase was enhanced to 2.0 fold and 2.3 fold by 100 mmol/L glucose and 150 mmol/L xylose, respectively. BglD2 possessed ethanol-stimulated and -tolerant properties. At 30 °C, the activity of BglD2 enhanced to 1.2 fold in the presence of 10% ethanol and even remained 60% in 25% ethanol. BglD2 could hydrolyze polydatin to produce resveratrol. At 35 °C, BglD2 hydrolyzed 86% polydatin after incubation for 2 h. Thus, BglD2 possessed glucose and ethanol tolerant properties and can be used as the potential candidate of catalyst for the production of resveratrol from polydatin.
Enzyme Stability ; Glucose ; Glucosides/pharmacology* ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Stilbenes/pharmacology* ; Substrate Specificity ; Temperature ; Xylose ; beta-Glucosidase/genetics*

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy in the treatment of primary lung cancer in elderly patients.Methods Clinical data of 50 elderly patients with primary non-small cell lung cancer undergoing lobectomy at our hospital from July 2016 to July 2017 were retrospectively analyzed.The patients were divided into video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery(VATS) group(n =30) and conventional thoracotomy group (n =20).General data of surgery including operating time,intraoperative bleeding volume,the total volume of intraoperative drainage,the group number of lymph node dissection and the number of dissected lymph nodes,and postoperative data including duration of chest tube drainage,the first 24 h post-operative pain numeric rating scale(NRS)score,postoperative hospitalization time and 30-day postoperative complication were analyzed and compared between the two groups.Results All operations were successfully completed in all patients of both groups,and no patient died during the perioperative period.The differences were statistically significant between VATS and traditional thoracotomy groups in operating time[(96.8 ± 10.2)min vs.(126.3±16.1)min,t =6.211,P=0.036],in transoperative bleeding[(101.3±12.7)ml vs.(128.3±14.6)ml,t =4.310,P =0.027]and in total volume of intraoperative draining[(231.7±31.6)ml vs.(295.6 ± 39.8) ml,t =5.610,P =0.018].VATS showed superiority over traditional thoracotomy.In VATS groups vs.the traditional thoracotomy group,the duration of chest tube drainage was[(3.0±0.6)d vs.(3.9±0.8)d,t =5.317,P=0.022],postoperative pain NRS score was [(3.61± 1.09)vs.(5.3 ± 1.3) score,t =6.290,P =0.016]and postoperative hospitalization time was [(5.9 ±1.6) d vs.(8.9 ± 1.9) d,t =3.069,P =0.031].In addition,the incidences of postoperative complications were lower in the VATS group than in the traditional thoracotomy group(1/30 or 3.3 ％ vs.5/20 or 25.0％,x2 =5.335,P=0.021).Conclusions Video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy is safe and effective in treating primary lung cancer in elderly patients and can promote postoperative recovery,which is more suitable for elderly patients with primary lung cancer.

Objective: To assess the effect of miR-137 on the proliferation and apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) induced by high glucose and its mechanism. Methods: HUVECs cells were divided into low-glucose group (5.5 mmol/L glucose-treated cells), high-glucose group (33.36 mmol/L glucose-treated cells), anti-NC group (cells treated with 33.36 mmol/L glucose after anti-NC transfection) and anti-miR-137 group (cells treated with 33.36 mmol/L glucose after anti-miR-137 transfection). After 48 hours, qRT-PCR was used to determine the expression of miR-137. CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry were used to detect cell proliferation and apoptosis rate, respectively. The targeting relationship between miR-137 and AKT2 was validated by dual fluorescence reporter gene detection system and AKT2 protein expression after overexpression or inhibition of miR-137. Results: High glucose could significantly up-regulate the expression of miR-137 in HUVECs cells, and the expression of miR-137 in HUVECs cells transfected with miR-137 inhibitor was significantly decreased (P<0.05). High glucose can significantly inhibit HUVECs cell proliferation and induce apoptosis, while inhibition of miR-137 expression can weaken the effect of high glucose on HUVECs cell proliferation inhibition and apoptosis promotion (P<0.05). Inhibiting AKT2 expression could weaken the inhibitory effect of miR-137 inhibitor on HUVECs cell proliferation and apoptosis (P<0.05). Conclusion Inhibiting the expression of miR-137 gene can attenuate the proliferation inhibition and apoptosis promotion of HUVECs induced by high glucose, and the mechanism is related to activating the expression of AKT2.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of miR-137 on the proliferation and apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) induced by high glucose and its mechanism. METHODS: HUVECs cells were divided into low-glucose group (5.5 mmol/L glucose-treated cells), high-glucose group (33.36 mmol/L glucose-treated cells), anti-NC group (cells treated with 33.36 mmol/L glucose after anti-NC transfection) and anti-miR-137 group (cells treated with 33.36 mmol/L glucose after anti-miR-137 transfection). After 48 hours, qRT-PCR was used to determine the expression of miR-137. CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry were used to detect cell proliferation and apoptosis rate, respectively. The targeting relationship between miR-137 and AKT2 was validated by dual fluorescence reporter gene detection system and AKT2 protein expression after overexpression or inhibition of miR-137. RESULTS: High glucose could significantly up-regulate the expression of miR-137 in HUVECs cells, and the expression of miR-137 in HUVECs cells transfected with miR-137 inhibitor was significantly decreased (P<0.05). High glucose can significantly inhibit HUVECs cell proliferation and induce apoptosis, while inhibition of miR-137 expression can weaken the effect of high glucose on HUVECs cell proliferation inhibition and apoptosis promotion (P<0.05). Inhibiting AKT2 expression could weaken the inhibitory effect of miR-137 inhibitor on HUVECs cell proliferation and apoptosis (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Inhibiting the expression of miR-137 gene can attenuate the proliferation inhibition and apoptosis promotion of HUVECs induced by high glucose, and the mechanism is related to activating the expression of AKT2.
Apoptosis ; Cell Proliferation ; Cells, Cultured ; Glucose ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; Humans ; MicroRNAs ; genetics ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt ; genetics

In producing recombinant β-glucosidase in Escherichia coli by high-cell density cultivation (HCDC), insufficient soluble oxygen is always a problem. To address it, Vitreoscilla hemoglobin (VHb) was introduced into Escherichia coli by the bicistron and T₇ promoter expression systems, to improve soluble oxygen by bacterial cells and thereby to enhance the biomass and recombinant β-glucosidase production. In the case of bicistron expression system, cell density in shaking flask reached OD₆₀₀=(4.24±0.29), 35.03% higher than that of the control without VHb. Correspondingly, the maximum activity of β-glucosidase co-expressed with VHb was (9.78±0.55) U/mL, 25.38% higher than that of the control. In a 3-L fermentor, the maximum activity of β-glucosidase was 141.23 U/mL, 35.57% higher than that of the control. In contrast, the activity of β-glucosidase co-expressed with VHb under T₇ promoter was lower than that of the control, either in flask or in fermentor. Co-expressing β-glucosidase with VHb using the bicistron expression system may improve the tolerance of E. coli to insufficient soluble oxygen and thus promote the bacterial biomass and the enzyme yield.

Laccase is a widely-used environment-friendly copper-containing oxidase found in many plants, insects and fungi. Recently, more and more laccases are also found in bacteria. Myxobacteria are an important bacteria resource. However, myxobacteria are much more difficult to isolate and purify than other bacteria. We used bioinformatic approach to screen myxobacteria proteomes available in NCBI. Based on conserved sequences of four copper binding sites in multicopper oxidase, 30 potential laccase sequences were obtained. Among them, nine genes were synthesized and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). Seven proteins showed laccase activity when tested with traditional laccase substrates. One protein, named rSC-2, was chosen for further research because it exhibited the highest activity towards 2,6-dimethyl phenol (DMP). The molecular weight of rSC-2 was 57 kDa. Its specific activity to DMP was 0.27 U/mg. The optimal temperature and the optimal pH were 60 ℃ and 7.0, respectively. About 50% of the original activity was retained after incubation at 60 ℃ and pH 7.0-8.0 for 1 h. Metals showed different effects on rSC-2. rSC-2 activity was enhanced by several metalsat concentration of 1 mmol/L, such as Ca²⁺ and Mn²⁺. With a higher concentration of 5 mmol/L, the activity of rSC-2 was apparently inhibited. This is the first report of bioinformatics screening myxobacteria laccases in combination with expression in E. coli.