ObjectiveTo construct a risk prediction model for carotid artery plaques in high-risk populations of stroke based on five machine learning methods. MethodsThe clinical information of the high-risk population of stroke was collected. Factor analysis and statistical analysis of syndrome elements were conducted on their traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） symptoms and tongue and pulse manifestations. On the basis of the results of factor analysis and variable screening， five machine learning methods-classification and regression tree （CART） decision tree， support vector machine （SVM）， back propagation（BP） neural network， logistic regression， and random forest-were used to construct the risk prediction model for carotid artery plaques. ResultsThe most common TCM syndrome elements in the high-risk population of stroke was Qi deficiency. The scores of Qi deficiency， Yin deficiency， and Yang deficiency in the population with carotid artery plaques were higher than those without carotid artery plaques （P<0.05）. The CART decision tree， SVM， logistic regression， BP neural network， and random forest models showed the areas under the receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curves of 0.71， 0.75， 0.76， 0.76， and 0.75， the accuracy rates of 68.94%， 69.27%， 69.44%， 70.10%， and 69.60%， the precision rates of 68.56%， 68.53%， 68.75%， 69.74%， and 69.42%， the recall rates of 68.91%， 67.93%， 67.92%， 68.10%， and 67.31%， and the F₁ values of 0.69， 0.68， 0.68， 0.68， and 0.68， respectively. ConclusionAmong the high-risk population of stroke， the most frequently distributed TCM syndrome element is Qi deficiency， with the rest mainly being fire heat， Yin deficiency， Yang deficiency， phlegm dampness， blood stasis， and Qi stagnation. Deficiency syndrome may be a major factor leading to carotid artery plaques in the high-risk population of stroke. The BP neural network model demonstrates better performance in predicting the risk of carotid artery plaques in the high-risk population of stroke. People with carotid artery plaques are more likely to present with symptoms such as a heavy head， dizziness， headache， and thready pulse. The primary community benefits more widely when the BP neural network model is adopted to predict the risk of carotid artery plaques in the high-risk population of stroke over 40 years old.

ObjectiveTo construct a risk prediction model for carotid artery plaques in high-risk populations of stroke based on five machine learning methods. MethodsThe clinical information of the high-risk population of stroke was collected. Factor analysis and statistical analysis of syndrome elements were conducted on their traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） symptoms and tongue and pulse manifestations. On the basis of the results of factor analysis and variable screening， five machine learning methods-classification and regression tree （CART） decision tree， support vector machine （SVM）， back propagation（BP） neural network， logistic regression， and random forest-were used to construct the risk prediction model for carotid artery plaques. ResultsThe most common TCM syndrome elements in the high-risk population of stroke was Qi deficiency. The scores of Qi deficiency， Yin deficiency， and Yang deficiency in the population with carotid artery plaques were higher than those without carotid artery plaques （P<0.05）. The CART decision tree， SVM， logistic regression， BP neural network， and random forest models showed the areas under the receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curves of 0.71， 0.75， 0.76， 0.76， and 0.75， the accuracy rates of 68.94%， 69.27%， 69.44%， 70.10%， and 69.60%， the precision rates of 68.56%， 68.53%， 68.75%， 69.74%， and 69.42%， the recall rates of 68.91%， 67.93%， 67.92%， 68.10%， and 67.31%， and the F₁ values of 0.69， 0.68， 0.68， 0.68， and 0.68， respectively. ConclusionAmong the high-risk population of stroke， the most frequently distributed TCM syndrome element is Qi deficiency， with the rest mainly being fire heat， Yin deficiency， Yang deficiency， phlegm dampness， blood stasis， and Qi stagnation. Deficiency syndrome may be a major factor leading to carotid artery plaques in the high-risk population of stroke. The BP neural network model demonstrates better performance in predicting the risk of carotid artery plaques in the high-risk population of stroke. People with carotid artery plaques are more likely to present with symptoms such as a heavy head， dizziness， headache， and thready pulse. The primary community benefits more widely when the BP neural network model is adopted to predict the risk of carotid artery plaques in the high-risk population of stroke over 40 years old.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects and underlying mechanisms of Yiqi Huoxue Decoction(YQHX)on mitochon-drial midzone division and peripheral fission in myocardial tissue after myocardial infarction(MI).METHODS A total of 48 male SPF-grade C57BL/6N mice were randomly divided into a sham-operated group(Sham,n=12)and a left anterior descending coronary ar-tery ligation MI model(n=36).After MI surgery,mice deemed to have successfully developed the model were randomly divided into a model group(MI,n=12),a YQHX group(n=12),and an empagliflozin group(EMPA,n=12)based on echocardiographic results.Four weeks after infarction,cardiac function and structural changes were comprehensively evaluated using echocardiography imaging,serum myocardial injury biomarkers,and hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining.Transmission electron microscopy(TEM)was employed to observe mitochondrial ultrastructural,morphological,and quantitative changes at the peri-infarct zone.Myocardial mitochondria and cytoplas-mic fractions were isolated from myocardial tissue using a mitochondrial extraction kit,and the spatial expression changes of mitochon-drial fission-related proteins in both mitochondria and cytoplasm of the peri-infarct myocardium were analyzed by Western blot.These proteins included dynamin-related protein 1(Drp1),its phosphorylated form at serine 616(P-Drp1-Ser616),mitochondrial fission fac-tor(MFF),and mitochondrial fission protein 1(Fis1).RESULTS Compared with the MI group,mice in the YQHX group exhibited sig-nificantly increased left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF)and left ventricular fractional shortening(LVFS)(P<0.000 1),as well as decreased left ventricular internal dimension-diastole(LVIDd)and left ventricular end-systolic diameter(LVIDs)(P<0.05,P<0.01),suggesting improved cardiac function.Additionally,serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)and creatine kinase-MB(CK-MB)were significantly reduced in the YQHX group(P<0.05,P<0.001),indicating cardio-protective effects of YQHX against ischemic in-jury.HE staining showed that YQHX improved cellular morphology,suggesting structural improvement.TEM showed that YQHX sig-nificantly improved mitochondrial swelling and reduced mitochondrial fragmentation in the marginal zone of myocardial infarction,thereby preserving mitochondrial ultrastructure.Furthermore,Western blot showed that YQHX treatment significantly downregulated P-Drp1-Ser616 expression(P<0.05)in the cytoplasm.Interestingly,YQHX treatment significantly downregulated mitochondrial Fis1 expression(P<0.05),thereby inhibiting peripheral mitochondrial fission.Meanwhile,YQHX treatment significantly increased MFF ex-pression in mitochondria(P<0.01),which may promote mitochondrial midzone fission.CONCLUSION YQHX improves cardiac structure and function after MI,potentially by promoting myocardial mitochondrial midzone fission and inhibiting mitochondrial periph-eral fission in ischemic cardiomyocytes.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects and underlying mechanisms of Yiqi Huoxue Decoction(YQHX)on mitochon-drial midzone division and peripheral fission in myocardial tissue after myocardial infarction(MI).METHODS A total of 48 male SPF-grade C57BL/6N mice were randomly divided into a sham-operated group(Sham,n=12)and a left anterior descending coronary ar-tery ligation MI model(n=36).After MI surgery,mice deemed to have successfully developed the model were randomly divided into a model group(MI,n=12),a YQHX group(n=12),and an empagliflozin group(EMPA,n=12)based on echocardiographic results.Four weeks after infarction,cardiac function and structural changes were comprehensively evaluated using echocardiography imaging,serum myocardial injury biomarkers,and hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining.Transmission electron microscopy(TEM)was employed to observe mitochondrial ultrastructural,morphological,and quantitative changes at the peri-infarct zone.Myocardial mitochondria and cytoplas-mic fractions were isolated from myocardial tissue using a mitochondrial extraction kit,and the spatial expression changes of mitochon-drial fission-related proteins in both mitochondria and cytoplasm of the peri-infarct myocardium were analyzed by Western blot.These proteins included dynamin-related protein 1(Drp1),its phosphorylated form at serine 616(P-Drp1-Ser616),mitochondrial fission fac-tor(MFF),and mitochondrial fission protein 1(Fis1).RESULTS Compared with the MI group,mice in the YQHX group exhibited sig-nificantly increased left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF)and left ventricular fractional shortening(LVFS)(P<0.000 1),as well as decreased left ventricular internal dimension-diastole(LVIDd)and left ventricular end-systolic diameter(LVIDs)(P<0.05,P<0.01),suggesting improved cardiac function.Additionally,serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)and creatine kinase-MB(CK-MB)were significantly reduced in the YQHX group(P<0.05,P<0.001),indicating cardio-protective effects of YQHX against ischemic in-jury.HE staining showed that YQHX improved cellular morphology,suggesting structural improvement.TEM showed that YQHX sig-nificantly improved mitochondrial swelling and reduced mitochondrial fragmentation in the marginal zone of myocardial infarction,thereby preserving mitochondrial ultrastructure.Furthermore,Western blot showed that YQHX treatment significantly downregulated P-Drp1-Ser616 expression(P<0.05)in the cytoplasm.Interestingly,YQHX treatment significantly downregulated mitochondrial Fis1 expression(P<0.05),thereby inhibiting peripheral mitochondrial fission.Meanwhile,YQHX treatment significantly increased MFF ex-pression in mitochondria(P<0.01),which may promote mitochondrial midzone fission.CONCLUSION YQHX improves cardiac structure and function after MI,potentially by promoting myocardial mitochondrial midzone fission and inhibiting mitochondrial periph-eral fission in ischemic cardiomyocytes.

ObjectiveTo analyse the clinical characteristics of different traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndromes in patients with heart failure based on information from electronic medical record. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted to collect clinical data of all inpatients with heart failure in the Department of Cardiology， Affiliated Hospital of Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 1， 2019 to December 31， 2020. A database of clinical TCM data was established to explore the characteristics of clinical data of basic information， syndromes and syndrome element types， and biochemical indexes. The distribution of TCM syndromes and syndrome elements in heart failure patients were also analysed， and the basic information and biochemical indexes of the patients with top 7 different TCM syndrome types were compared. ResultsA total of 1676 inpatients with heart fai-lure were included. The top 7 TCM syndromes of heart failure were syndrome of phlegm turbidity and blood stasis （477 cases， 28.46%）， syndrome of qi deficiency and blood stasis （439 cases， 26.19%）， syndrome of qi deficiency and blood stasis with water retention （274 cases， 16.35%）， syndrome of yang deficiency with water retention （145 cases， 8.65%）， syndrome of qi and yin deficiency （104 cases， 6.21%）， syndrome of qi and yin deficiency with blood stasis （80 cases， 4.77%）， syndrome of heart yang deficiency （59 cases， 3.52%）. Among the 1676 patients， 6 syndrome elements accounted for more than 5%. Blood stasis accounted for the highest proportion of TCM syndrome element type （1292 cases， 77.09%）， followed by qi deficiency （919 cases， 54.83%）， phlegm （498 cases， 29.71%）， water retention （434 cases， 25.89%）， yang deficiency （215 cases， 12.82%） and yin deficiency （191 cases， 11.40%）. Among the 1676 patients， 1308 cases of acute heart failure mainly showed syndrome of phlegm turbidity and blood stasis （386 cases， 29.51%）， and 368 of chronic heart fai-lure mainly showed syndrome of qi deficiency and blood stasis （118 cases， 32.07%）. Patients with syndrome of phlegm turbidity and blood stasis had the shortest disease duration of 0.3 months， while those with syndrome of heart yang deficiency had the longest disease duration of 15 months. The proportion of syndrome of phlegm turbidity and blood stasis was the highest in patients with heart failure combined with coronary artery disease， the proportion of syndrome of qi deficiency and blood stasis with water retention was the highest in patients with heart failure combined with atrial fibrillation， and the proportion of patients with syndrome of qi deficiency and blood stasis with water retention and syndrome of yang deficiency with water retention in those applying diuretics during the hospital stay was the highest with more than 86%. The different 7 TCM syndromes showed statistically difference in patients with complications including coronary artery disease， old myocardial infarction， atrial fibrillation， pre and post-admission medication usage including intravenous vasodilators， cardiac stimulants， diuretics， and level of blood chloride， blood urea， blood creatinine， blood bicarbonate， blood albumin， and blood total bilirubin （P＜0.05）. ConclusionThe most common TCM syndromes in patients with heart failure are syndrome of phlegm turbidity and blood stasis and syndrome of qi deficiency and blood stasis. Different TCM syndromes have different characteristics in gender， disease complications， medication before and after admission， and blood indexes.

Objective:To analyze the hard tissue thickness in the crown of primary teeth by CBCT.Methods:The CBCT imaging data of 47 children were included,and the hard tissue thickness of primary teeth was measured by MIMICS software.SPSS 22.0 was used for data analysis.Results:The average thickness in the mesial surfaces was the smallest(P＜0.01),except for the libial surface of maxillary central incisor and the distal surface of mandibular first primary molar.In primary anteriors,the thickness in the same sur-face of maxillary teeth was greater than that of mandibular teeth significantly(P＜0.01)except for the libial surface of primary canine.In primary molars,the thickness of hard tissue in the same part of the distal and lingual side of the maxillary teeth was greater than that of the mandibular teeth(P＜0.01),and the thickness in the buccal side of maxillary teeth was lower than that of the mandibular teeth(P＜0.01).Conclusion:The distribution of hard tissue thickness of primary teeth in different position is different.

Via an insufficient coat protein complex I (COPI) retrieval signal, the majority of SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) is resident in host early secretory organelles and a tiny amount is leaked out in cell surface. Only surface-exposed S can be recognized by B cell receptor (BCR) or anti-S therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that is the trigger step for B cell activation after S mRNA vaccination or infected cell clearance by S mAbs. Now, a drug strategy to promote S host surface exposure is absent. Here, we first combined structural and biochemical analysis to characterize S COPI sorting signals. A potent S COPI sorting inhibitor was then invented, evidently capable of promoting S surface exposure and facilitating infected cell clearance by S antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Importantly, with the inhibitor as a probe, we revealed Omicron BA.1 S is less cell surface exposed than prototypes because of a constellation of S folding mutations, possibly corresponding to its ER chaperone association. Our findings not only suggest COPI is a druggable target against COVID-19, but also highlight SARS-CoV-2 evolution mechanism driven by S folding and trafficking mutations.

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, is a destructive pest native to America and has recently become an invasive insect pest in China. Because of its rapid spread and great risks in China, understanding of FAW genetic background and pesticide resistance is urgent and essential to develop effective management strategies. Here, we assembled a chromosome-level genome of a male FAW (SFynMstLFR) and compared re-sequencing results of the populations from America, Africa, and China. Strain identification of 163 individuals collected from America, Africa and China showed that both C and R strains were found in the American populations, while only C strain was found in the Chinese and African populations. Moreover, population genomics analysis showed that populations from Africa and China have close relationship with significantly genetic differentiation from American populations. Taken together, FAWs invaded into China were most likely originated from Africa. Comparative genomics analysis displayed that the cytochrome p450 gene family is extremely expanded to 425 members in FAW, of which 283 genes are specific to FAW. Treatments of Chinese populations with twenty-three pesticides showed the variant patterns of transcriptome profiles, and several detoxification genes such as AOX, UGT and GST specially responded to the pesticides. These findings will be useful in developing effective strategies for management of FAW in China and other invaded areas.
Animals ; China ; Genomics ; Humans ; Male ; Pesticides ; Spodoptera/genetics* ; Transcriptome

Due to abundant availability of shale gas and biogas, methane has been considered as one of the most potential carbon sources for industrial biotechnology. Methanotrophs carrying the native methane monooxygenase are capable of using methane as a sole energy and carbon source, which provides a novel strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emission and substituting edible substrates used in bioconversion processes. With the rapid development of genetic engineering tools and biosynthesis techniques, various strategies for improving the efficiency of methane bioconversion have been achieved to produce a variety of commodity bio-based products. Herein, we summarize several important aspects related with methane utilization and metabolic engineering of methanotrophs, including the modification of methane oxidation pathways, the construction of efficient cell factories, and biosynthesis of chemicals and fuels. Finally, the prospects and challenges of the future development of methane bioconversion are also discussed.
Biofuels ; Biotechnology ; Metabolic Engineering ; Methane ; Oxidation-Reduction

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the efficacy and safety of transumbilical single-site laparoscopic surgery for congenital duodenal obstruction (CDO) in neonates.

METHODSA retrospective analysis of clinical data of 15 patients with CDO undergoing transumbilical single-site laparoscopic treatment during November 2017 and January 2018 (single-site group), and 20 patients with CDO undergoing conventional three-hole laparoscopic treatment during August 2017 and October 2017 (three-hole group) was performed. All patients were from the Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine. The operation time, time of initial feeding, time of adequate feeding, length of hospital stay after operation and postoperative complications were compared between two groups.

RESULTSThe operations were completed in all patients. No patient converted to laparotomy, and no massive hemorrhage was observed during operation. The operation time of single-site group was (90±10) min for patients with duodenal diamond-shaped anastomosis and (81±15) min for patients with Ladd operation, while those of three-hole group were (85±9) min and (72±11) min, respectively. Postoperative initial feeding time of single-site group was (5.0±1.0) d, and that of the three-hole group was (4.8±0.8) d. The adequate feeding time was (9.0±1.2) d in the single-site group, and (9.3±0.8) d in the three-hole group. The length of hospital stay after operation was (11.2±2.5) d in the single-site group, and (11.5±2.8) d in the three-hole group. There was no significant difference in operation time, postoperative initial feeding time, adequate feeding time and length of hospital stay after operation between two groups (all >0.05).

CONCLUSIONSTransumbilical single-site laparoscopic surgery for CDO in neonates is safe and effective, and the postoperative abdominal scar is more hidden.