Taxifolin (TAX) is a natural compound known for its liver protection effect, but the mechanism remains unknown. Phosphorylated proteomics analyses discovered that the phosphorylation level of NDRG1 at T328 was a key event of TAX-improved liver fibrosis. We established models with NDRG1 knockout (KO) in vivo and in vitro, demonstrating that NDRG1 KO attenuated the development of hepatocyte injury, and combining NDRG1 KO and TAX administration did not result in a reduction in protection against liver injury. Cellular thermal shift assay and surface plasma resonance analysis showed that TAX directly binds to NDRG1 rather than its upstream kinase, subsequently demonstrating that TAX regulated phosphorylation of NDRG1 at T328 through binding to its C289 site. NDRG1 T328A (phosphorylated mutation) and T328E (mimic phosphorylation) in vivo and in vitro confirmed that pNDRG1_T328 exacerbates hepatocyte injury along with DNA damage, inflammatory response, and apoptosis, thereby contributing to hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) activation. In contrast, TAX can inhibit the above pathological abnormalities and block hepatocyte injury-triggered HSCs activation and fibrosis. Overall, TAX is a potent liver protection drug primarily targeting NDRG1 and inhibiting pNDRG1_T328 in hepatocytes.

To explore the feasibility of using UAV-LiDAR for measuring the leaf area index (LAI) of crop canopies, we employed UAV-LiDAR to scan sugarcane canopies during the tillering and elongation stages, acquiring canopy point cloud data. Subsequently, features such as average row height, projected row area, point cloud density at different canopy layers, and the ratios between these parameters were extracted. Three feature selection methods-partial least squares regression (PLSR), XGBoost feature importance (XGBoost-FI), and random forest-recursive feature elimination (RF-RFE)-were adopted to evaluate and identify the optimal input variables for modeling. With these selected variables, LAI inversion models were developed based on random forest (RF) and adaptive boosting (AdaBoost) algorithms, and their performance was assessed. Among the extracted features, the projected row area S_p and the total row point count C_total exhibited strong correlations with LAI, with correlation coefficients of 0.73 and 0.72, respectively. The AdaBoost-based LAI inversion model, using the projected row area S_p, average height H_avg, mid-layer point cloud density C_m, and total row point count C_total as input variables, achieved the best performance, with a coefficient of determination (R_v²) of 0.713 and a root mean square error (RMSE_v) of 0.25 on the validation set. This study provides an effective method for high-throughput acquisition of LAI in field crops, offering valuable scientific support for sugarcane field management and breeding efforts.
Plant Leaves/growth & development* ; Saccharum/growth & development* ; Algorithms ; Unmanned Aerial Devices ; Remote Sensing Technology/methods* ; Crops, Agricultural/growth & development*

Accurately obtaining the crop quantity and density is not only crucial for the demand-based input of water and fertilizer in the field but also vital for ensuring the yield and quality of crops. Aerial photography by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can quickly acquire the distribution image information of crops over a large area. However, the accurate recognition of a single type of dense targets is a huge challenge for most recognition algorithms. Taking banana seedlings as an example in this study, we captured the images of banana plantations by UAVs from high altitudes to explore an efficient recognition method for dense targets. We proposed a strategy of "cut-recognition-stitch" and constructed a counting method based on the improved Faster R-CNN algorithm. First, the images containing highly dense targets were cropped into a large number of image tiles according to different sizes (simulating different flight altitudes), and the Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE) algorithm was adopted to improve the image quality. A banana seedling dataset containing 36 000 image tiles was constructed. Then, the Faster R-CNN network with optimized parameters was used to train the banana seedling recognition model. Finally, the recognition results were reversely stitched together, and a boundary deduplication algorithm was designed to correct the final counting results to reduce the repeated recognition caused by image cropping. The results show that the recognition accuracy of the Faster R-CNN with optimized parameters for banana image datasets of different sizes can reach up to 0.99 at most. The deduplication algorithm can reduce the average counting error for the original aerial images from 1.60% to 0.60%, and the average counting accuracy of banana seedlings reaches 99.4%. The proposed method effectively addresses the challenge of recognizing dense small objects in high-resolution aerial images, providing an efficient and reliable technical solution for intelligent crop density monitoring in precision agriculture.
Musa/growth & development* ; Crops, Agricultural/growth & development* ; Algorithms ; Neural Networks, Computer ; Unmanned Aerial Devices ; Seedlings/growth & development* ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods* ; Photography ; Agriculture/methods*

Objective To optimize the screening methods for antiallergic activity of two Chinese medicines in vitro and compare the antiallergic activity of five medicine pairs in vitro.Methods The degranulation assay of RBL-2H3 cells was optimized,and the activity of the five drugs on inhibiting mast cell degranulation was compared by toluidine blue staining and the release of β-HEX and histamine(HIS).The hyaluronidase inhibition test was optimized to compare the hyaluronidase inhibition effect of five Chinese medicine pairs.Results In the experiment of degranulation of RBL-2H3 cells,5 medicine pairs could inhibit β-HEX release from model cells to different degrees(P<0.05),including Schizonepetae Herba-Saposhnicovia divaricata,Ephedrae Herba-Asarum,Saposhnicovia divaricata-Radix Angelicae dahuricae,Rhizoma Chuanxiong-Asarum.The β-HEX release rate in the supernatant of degranulated model cells was significantly increased(P<0.05)after coculture with Flos Magnoliae-Fructus Xanthii.All the five medicine pairs could reduce HIS release in the supernatant of degranulated model cells.In the hyaluronase inhibition rate test,the hyaluronase inhibition rate of each medicine pair was Rhizoma Chuanxion-Asarum>Saposhnicovia divaricate-Radix Angelicae dahuricae>Schizonepetae Herba-Saposhnicovia divaricate>Ephedrae Herba-Asarum,among which Rhizoma Chuanxiong-Asarum had the strongest anti-allergic activity.Conclusion The trend of antiallergic activity of different drugs obtained by the two methods is consistent in vitro,indicating that the two methods can be used for screening antiallergic activity in vitro.

Objective: To investigate the mediating effects of resilience and emotion regulation on family cumulative risk and positive coping style among primary and middle school students, so as to provide insights into promoting psychological health among them. Methods: The primary and middle school students from three counties (districts) of Baise City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were selected through the stratified cluster random sampling method. Resilience, emotion regulation, family cumulative risk and positive coping style were investigated using the Resilience Scale for Chinese adolescent, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Chinese family Assessment Instrument, and Simple Coping Strategies Questionnaire, respectively. Mediating effects of resilience and emotion regulation on family cumulative risk and positive coping style were examined using Process macro program. Results: Totally 1 076 questionnaires were allocated, and 1 006 valid questionnaires were recovered, with an effective rate of 93.49%. There were 515 boys, accounting for 51.19%. The median age was 13 (interquartile range, 1) years. The mean scores of resilience, emotion regulation and positive coping style were (3.36±0.63), (2.26±0.56) and (1.85±0.39) points, respectively. The median family cumulative risk index was 0 (interquartile range, 0). The results of mediating effects showed that family cumulative risk had a direct negative effect on positive coping style (β=-0.037, 95%CI: -0.059 to -0.014, P=0.011), and also had an indirect negative effect on positive coping style through psychological resilience (β=-0.029, 95%CI: -0.041 to -0.017, P=0.006) as a mediator or through psychological resilience and emotion regulation (β=-0.002, 95%CI: -0.004 to -0.001, P=0.001) as a chain mediator. The mediating effect of resilience contributed 44% to the total effect, while the chain mediating effect of resilience and emotion regulation contributed 3%. Conclusion Resilience and emotional regulation serve as negative mediators between family cumulative risk and positive coping style among middle and primary school students.

ObjectiveTo explore the therapeutic effect and mechanism of the Danhe granules on hypercholesterolemia rats by observing the changes in the efficacy indicators and the levels of proteins related to the cholesterol metabolism pathway in the rats under the intervention of Danhe granules. MethodSD rats were randomly assigned to either the blank group or the model group based on their body weight. The blank group had normal chow diets， while the model group was fed high-fat diets for seven weeks. One week after the establishment of the model， the content of the serum total cholesterol （TC） in the model rats was detected. According to the TC value， the model group was further randomly divided into a control group， pravastatin sodium tablet group（4.02 mg·kg^-1）， Xuezhikang capsule group（0.12 g·kg^-1）， high-dose， middle-dose， and low-dose groups of Danhe granules（4.536， 2.268， 1.134 g·kg^-1）. After grouping the model groups， each treatment group received continuous oral gavage for six weeks， with weekly measurements of body weight and food intake （the difference between feed intake and feed surplus）. Six weeks later， the levels of serum TC， triglyceride （TG）， low-density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C）， and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C） were measured. The liver pathology and lipid droplet distribution were evaluated by hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining and oil red O staining， with scoring and calculation conducted. Rat liver tissue was collected， and western blot and immunohistochemistry （IHC） were used to detect the expression levels of cholesterol metabolism-related proteins namely phosphorylated adenosine 5'-monophosphate （AMP）-activated protein kinase （p-AMPK）， AMPK， 3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase （HMGCR）， low-density lipoprotein receptor （LDLR）， cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase （CYP7A1）， Acyl-coenzyme A： cholesterol acyltransferase 2 （ACAT2）， and apolipoprotein B （ApoB） in hypercholesterolemia rats. ResultCompared with the blank group， the model group showed a significantly higher level of serum TC （P<0.01）. The TG level had no significant change， and the HDL-C level was significantly decreased （P<0.05）. The liver index， steatosis score， total score of pathological state， and the positive area ratio of oil red O staining were significantly increased （P<0.01）， and the protein expression levels of p-AMPK， p-AMPK/AMPK， LDLR， and CYP7A1 were significantly decreased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， while the protein expression levels of AMPK， HMGCR， and ACAT2 were significantly increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the TC level in each dose group of Danhe granules was significantly decreased （P<0.05）， and the positive area ratio of oil red O staining in the pravastatin sodium tablet group and medium-dose group of Danhe granules was significantly decreased （P<0.05）. In each administration group， the protein expression levels of p-AMPK and p-AMPK/AMPK were significantly increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the levels of HMGCR and ACAT2 were significantly decreased （P<0.01）. The ApoB level showed a downward trend. The CYP7A1 level in the pravastatin sodium tablet group and each dose group of Danhe granules was significantly increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the LDLR level in the pravastatin sodium tablet group， Xuezhikang capsule group， and high-dose and medium-dose groups of Danhe granules was significantly increased （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionDanhe granules can reduce serum TC levels and improve hepatic steatosis. It may activate AMPK， down-regulate the expression of HMGCR， and inhibit cholesterol synthesis. It can also up-regulate the expression of LDLR and CYP7A1， promote cholesterol uptake and excretion， down-regulate the expression of ACAT2 and ApoB， reduce cholesterol absorption and assembly of LDL and other lipoproteins， and thus play a role in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia.

Objective To investigate the mechanism of morin-induced autophagy in non-small cell lung cancer A549 cells based on mTOR/STAT3 signaling axis.Methods A549 cells were divided into blank group and 30,60,90,120 and 150 μg·mL-1 of morin groups.After 24,48 and 72 hours of culture,the cell proliferation activity was detected by CCK-8 method,and the cell inhibition rate was calculated.A549 cells were divided into blank group and 30,90,150 μg·mL-1 morin groups.After 14 days of culture,the cell proliferation was detected by colony formation assay.After 24 hours of culture,the cell proliferation ability was detected by BeyoClickTM EdU-488.Apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry;acridine orange staining was used to detect cell autophagy;the formation of autophagosomes was observed by transmission electron microscopy.Western Blot was used to detect the expression levels of apoptosis,autophagy and mTOR/STAT3 signaling axis-related proteins in cells.A549 cells were divided into blank group,blank group + chloroquine(10 μg·mL-1)group,morin(30,150 μg·mL-1)group,morin(30,150 μg·mL-1)+ chloroquine(10 μg·mL-1)group.After 48 hours of intervention,the cell activity was detected by CCK-8 method,and the cell survival rate was calculated.Results Compared with the blank group,the inhibition rate of A549 cells in 60,90,120,150 μ g·mL-1 of morin group was significantly increased after 24 hours of intervention(P＜0.05,P＜0.001).The inhibition rates of A549 cells in 30,60,90,120 and 150 μg·mL-1 of morin groups were significantly increased after 48 and 72 hours of intervention(P＜0.001).The number of A549 cell colonies and the number of green fluorescent proliferation positive cells in the 30,90,150 μg·mL-1 of morin groups were significantly decreased(P＜0.01,P＜0.001),the apoptosis rate was significantly increased(P＜0.01,P＜0.001),and the protein expression level of cleaved-PARP was significantly increased(P＜0.001).The protein expression levels of p-P38/P38 MAPK in A549 cells of 90 and 150 μg·mL-1 of morin groups were significantly increased(P＜0.01,P＜0.001).Different degrees of orange fluorescence appeared in A549 cells of 30,90 and 150 μg·mL-1 of morin groups,and the orange fluorescence of 90 and 150 μg·mL-1 of morin groups was significant.Autophagosomes and autolysosomes appeared in the cytoplasm of A549 cells in 150 μg·mL-1 of morin group,respectively.The protein expression of LC3-Ⅱ in A549 cells of 150 μg·mL-1 of morin group was significantly up-regulated(P＜0.05).The protein expression of Atg16L1-Ⅱ in A549 cells of 90,150 μg·mL-1 of morin group was significantly up-regulated(P＜0.001),and the protein expressions of p-mTOR/mTOR and p-STAT3/STAT3 were significantly down-regulated(P＜0.001).Compared with the morin(150 μg·mL-1)group,the survival rate of A549 cells in the morin(150 μg·mL-1)+chloroquine(10 μg·mL-1)group was significantly increased(P＜0.05).Conclusion Morin can promote the apoptosis of A549 cells and induce autophagy in A549 cells,and the mechanism may be related to mTOR/STAT3 axis.

Objective To explore the risk factors for intracardiac thrombosis in dilated cardiomyopathy(DCM)pa-tients and to construct,validate,and evaluate a nomogram prediction model based on these factors.Methods 88 patients diagnosed with DCM and complicated with intracardiac thrombus,and 544 patients without intracardiac thrombus were included.The participants were randomly divided into training and validation sets at a ratio of 7∶3.Using both univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses,independent risk factors for intracardiac thrombosis in DCM patients were identified.A nomogram prediction model was constructed using R software.The model's validity and performance were assessed using the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve,the Hos-mer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test,calibration curve,and decision curve.Results The binary Logistic regression analysis showed that age,atrial fibrillation,left ventricular end-diastolic diameter(LVEDD),brain natriuretic peptide(BNP),and β-blockers were independently associated with intracardiac thrombosis in DCM patients.Based on these five factors,a nomogram was constructed and validated.The area under the ROC curve for the training set was 0.823(95%CI:0.760～0.887)and0.803(95%CI:0.705～0.901)for the validation set,in-dicating a good discriminative ability.The Hosmer-Lemeshow test results for the calibration curve were(χ2=6.679,P=0.572)for the training set and(χ2=2.588,P=0.958)for the validation set,indicating a good fit between predicted and observed outcomes.The decision curve showed a high net clinical benefit in the threshold range of 0.05～0.92.Conclusion Based on age,atrial fibrillation,LVEDD,BNP,and β-blockers,the nomo-gram prediction model exhibits good discriminative and calibration abilities,and high clinical benefit.It can effec-tively guide clinicians in early intervention of risk factors,reducing the risk of intracardiac thrombosis in DCM pa-tients.

Objective:To retrospectively analyze the treatment status of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) in newly diagnosed patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in China.Methods:Data of chronic phase (CP) and accelerated phase (AP) CML patients diagnosed from January 2006 to December 2022 from 77 centers, ≥18 years old, and receiving initial imatinib, nilotinib, dasatinib or flumatinib-therapy within 6 months after diagnosis in China with complete data were retrospectively interrogated. The choice of initial TKI, current TKI medications, treatment switch and reasons, treatment responses and outcomes as well as the variables associated with them were analyzed.Results:6 893 patients in CP ( n=6 453, 93.6%) or AP ( n=440, 6.4%) receiving initial imatinib ( n=4 906, 71.2%), nilotinib ( n=1 157, 16.8%), dasatinib ( n=298, 4.3%) or flumatinib ( n=532, 7.2%) -therapy. With the median follow-up of 43 ( IQR 22-75) months, 1 581 (22.9%) patients switched TKI due to resistance ( n=1 055, 15.3%), intolerance ( n=248, 3.6%), pursuit of better efficacy ( n=168, 2.4%), economic or other reasons ( n=110, 1.6%). The frequency of switching TKI in AP patients was significantly-higher than that in CP patients (44.1% vs 21.5%, P<0.001), and more AP patients switched TKI due to resistance than CP patients (75.3% vs 66.1%, P=0.011). Multi-variable analyses showed that male, lower HGB concentration and ELTS intermediate/high-risk cohort were associated with lower cytogenetic and molecular responses rate and poor outcomes in CP patients; higher WBC count and initial the second-generation TKI treatment, the higher response rates; Ph + ACA at diagnosis, poor PFS. However, Sokal intermediate/high-risk cohort was only significantly-associated with lower CCyR and MMR rates and the poor PFS. Lower HGB concentration and larger spleen size were significantly-associated with the lower cytogenetic and molecular response rates in AP patients; initial the second-generation TKI treatment, the higher treatment response rates; lower PLT count, higher blasts and Ph + ACA, poorer TFS; Ph + ACA, poorer OS. Conclusion:At present, the vast majority of newly-diagnosed CML-CP or AP patients could benefit from TKI treatment in the long term with the good treatment responses and survival outcomes.

Objective:To explore the mediating roles of family resilience and perceived social support between fear of progression and quality of life in patients with adult pulmonary hypertension, so as to provide guidance for grassroots medical staff to deeply understand and improve the long-term quality of life of adult pulmonary hypertension patients.Methods:Using a convenience sampling method, 219 adult pulmonary hypertension patients who attended Qilu Hospital, Shandong University from July 2021 to February 2022 were selected for a cross-sectional study using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire Abbreviated Version (WHOQOL-BREF), Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS), Shortened Chinese version of the Family Resilience Assessment Scale (FRAS-C) and Chinese version of Fear of Progression Questionnaire-Short Form (FoP-Q-SF) for investigation. A structural equation model was established to evaluate the mediating effect of family resilience and perceived social support on fear of progression and quality of life.Results:The scores of WHOQOL-BREF, PSSS, FRAS-C, and FoP-Q-SF were (45.85 ± 10.22), 66(56, 75), 94(89, 97) and 39(32, 46) points in adult pulmonary hypertension patients. The total scores of WHOQOL-BREF were negatively correlated with FoP-Q-SF ( r = -0.63, P<0.01), and positively correlated with FRAS-C and PSSS ( r=0.54, 0.46, both P<0.01). Family resilience played a partial mediating role between fear of progression and quality of life, accounting for 13.43% of the total effect. Family resilience and perceived social support played a chain mediating role between fear of progression and quality of life, accounting for 2.71% of the total effect. Conclusions:Family resilience-perceived social support play mediating roles between fear of progression and quality of life, healthcare workers can alleviate fear of progression and improve quality of life by promoting the levels of family resilience and perceived social support of adult pulmonary hypertension parents.