Protein structure determines function, and structural information is critical for predicting protein thermostability. This study proposes a novel method for protein thermostability prediction by integrating graph embedding features and network topological features. By constructing residue interaction networks (RINs) to characterize protein structures, we calculated network topological features and utilize deep neural networks (DNN) to mine inherent characteristics. Using DeepWalk and Node2vec algorithms, we obtained node embeddings and extracted graph embedding features through a TopN strategy combined with bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) networks. Additionally, we introduced the Doc2vec algorithm to replace the Word2vec module in graph embedding algorithms, generating graph embedding feature vector encodings. By employing an attention mechanism to fuse graph embedding features with network topological features, we constructed a high-precision prediction model, achieving 87.85% prediction accuracy on a bacterial protein dataset. Furthermore, we analyzed the differences in the contributions of network topological features in the model and the differences among various graph embedding methods, and found that the combination of DeepWalk features with Doc2vec and all topological features was crucial for the identification of thermostable proteins. This study provides a practical and effective new method for protein thermostability prediction, and at the same time offers theoretical guidance for exploring protein diversity, discovering new thermostable proteins, and the intelligent modification of mesophilic proteins.
Neural Networks, Computer ; Algorithms ; Protein Stability ; Proteins/chemistry* ; Protein Conformation ; Temperature

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics and medication options of patients with elderly-onset epilepsy and influencing factors for medication efficacy.Methods:A total of 213 patients with elderly-onset epilepsy (age of onset≥65 years) were selected from Epilepsy Outpatient, Department of Neurology, First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from February 1999 to March 2023. General data, imaging findings and follow-up results of these patients were collected. Seizure frequencies and types, medication types, and medication efficacy were analyzed retrospectively. According to medication efficacy, these patients were divided into effective anti-seizure medications (ASMs) group and ineffective ASMs group (effective ASMs was defined as having no seizures or seizure reduction>50% at 6 months after medication, and ineffective ASMs as having seizure reduction≤50% or seizure increase. Univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were used to identify the influencing factor for ASMs efficacy.Results:In these 213 patients with elderly-onset epilepsy, 143 (67.1%) were males and 70 (32.9%) were females. Onset age was 70.0 (67.0, 74.5) years, with duration of 12 (4, 32) months. Time from first onset to treatment was 2.0 (1.0, 10.5) months, with that<2 months enjoying the largest proportion ( n=101). MRI/CT in 102 patients indicated potential epileptogenic abnormal structures, such as post-stroke gliosis/encephalomalacia ( n=67) and post-traumatic gliosis/encephalomalacia ( n=13). MRI/CT in 78 patients indicated non-epileptogenic abnormal structures, such as ischemic changes of small and medium vessels ( n=51) and brain atrophy ( n=15). Structural change was the most common cause ( n=160). Sixty-nine patients (32.4%) did not take medicine and 144 (67.6%) took medicine at the visiting; sodium valproate was mostly used ( n=74), followed by levetiracetam ( n=35) and carbamazepine ( n=24). Five patients had sodium valproate combined with levetiracetam, and 4 patients had sodium valproate combined with carbamazepine. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that disease duration and medication combination were independent influencing factors for ASMs efficacy. Conclusion:Structural change is the main cause for elderly-onset epilepsy; medication efficacy is worse in patients with longer disease course and medication combination therapy.

BACKGROUND: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is a chronic disease with carcinogenic tendency that poses a non-negligible threat to human health. Exosomes derived from human adipose mesenchymal stem cells (ADSC-Exo) reduces visceral and cutaneous fibroses, but their role in OSF has received little attention. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ADSC-Exo on OSF and elucidate the mechanism. METHODS: In brief, ADSCs were extracted from adipose tissues and subjected to flow cytometry and induction culture. Fibroblasts were isolated from human buccal mucosa and subjected to immunofluorescence. Myofibroblasts were obtained from fibroblasts induced by arecoline and identified. Immunofluorescence assay confirmed that myofibroblasts could take up ADSC-Exo. The effects of ADSC-Exo on the proliferative and migratory capacities of myofibroblasts were examined using the Cell Counting Kit-8 and scratch assay. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was performed to evaluate mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 2 (Smad2), Smad3, Smad7, collagen type 1 (Col1), Col3, alpha smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), fibronectin, and vimentin. Western blotting was performed to detect phospho (p)-Smad2, Smad2, p-Smad2/3, Smad2/3, Smad7, Col1, Col3, α-SMA, fibronectin, and vimentin. Furthermore, the dual-luciferase reporter assay was performed to prove that miR-181a-5p in ADSC-Exo directly inhibited the expression of Smad2 mRNA to regulate the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) pathway. We also performed qPCR and western blotting to verify the results. RESULTS: ADSC-Exo could promote the proliferation and migration of myofibroblasts, reduce the expressions of p-smad2, Smad2, p-smad2/3, Smad2/3, Col1, αSMA, fibronectin, and vimentin and elevated the levels of Smad7 and Col3. In addition, miR-181a-5p was highly expressed in ADSC-Exo and bound to the 3'-untranslated region of Smad2. ADSC-Exo enriched with miR-181a-5p reduced collagen production in myofibroblasts and modulated the TGF-β pathway. CONCLUSIONS ADSC-Exo promoted the proliferative and migratory capacities of myofibroblasts and inhibited collagen deposition and trans-differentiation of myofibroblasts in vitro. miR-181a-5p in exosomes targets Smad2 to regulate the TGF-β pathway in myofibroblasts. ADSC-Exo perform antifibrotic actions through the miR-181a-5p/Smad2 axis and may be a promising clinical treatment for OSF.

This study aimed to explore key quality control factors that affected the prognosis of intensive care unit (ICU) patients in Chinese mainland over six years (2015-2020). The data for this study were from 31 provincial and municipal hospitals (3425 hospital ICUs) and included 2 110 685 ICU patients, for a total of 27 607 376 ICU hospitalization days. We found that 15 initially established quality control indicators were good predictors of patient prognosis, including percentage of ICU patients out of all inpatients (%), percentage of ICU bed occupancy of total inpatient bed occupancy (%), percentage of all ICU inpatients with an APACHE II score ⩾15 (%), three-hour (surviving sepsis campaign) SSC bundle compliance (%), six-hour SSC bundle compliance (%), rate of microbe detection before antibiotics (%), percentage of drug deep venous thrombosis (DVT) prophylaxis (%), percentage of unplanned endotracheal extubations (%), percentage of patients reintubated within 48 hours (%), unplanned transfers to the ICU (%), 48-h ICU readmission rate (%), ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) (per 1000 ventilator days), catheter related blood stream infection (CRBSI) (per 1000 catheter days), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) (per 1000 catheter days), in-hospital mortality (%). When exploratory factor analysis was applied, the 15 indicators were divided into 6 core elements that varied in weight regarding quality evaluation: nosocomial infection management (21.35%), compliance with the Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines (17.97%), ICU resources (17.46%), airway management (15.53%), prevention of deep-vein thrombosis (14.07%), and severity of patient condition (13.61%). Based on the different weights of the core elements associated with the 15 indicators, we developed an integrated quality scoring system defined as F score=21.35%xnosocomial infection management + 17.97%xcompliance with SSC guidelines + 17.46%×ICU resources + 15.53%×airway management + 14.07%×DVT prevention + 13.61%×severity of patient condition. This evidence-based quality scoring system will help in assessing the key elements of quality management and establish a foundation for further optimization of the quality control indicator system.
Humans ; China/epidemiology* ; Cross Infection/epidemiology* ; Intensive Care Units/statistics & numerical data* ; Quality Control ; Quality Indicators, Health Care/statistics & numerical data* ; Sepsis/therapy* ; East Asian People/statistics & numerical data*

Liddle syndrome and Gordon syndrome are two rare single-gene inherited hypertension diseases. In patients≤40 years, the prevalence of Liddle syndrome is about 1% and Gordon syndrome is uncertain all over the word, for which is often misdiagnosed and mistreated. The therapies of those diseases are targeted at gene mutation sites, as well as combined with modified lifestyle, and can achieve satisfactory diseases control. This paper reports a patient who is diagnosed with Liddle syndrome and Gordon syndrome at the same time. We aimed to consolidate and improve the diagnosis and accurate treatment of those two diseases by sharing, studying and discussing together with clinical doctors.

This study was designed to evaluate the role of short-chain fatty acid butyrate acid on intestinal morphology and function, and atherosclerotic plaque formation in apolipoprotein E-knockout (ApoE
Animals ; Apolipoproteins E/genetics* ; Atherosclerosis/prevention & control* ; Butyrates/pharmacology* ; Caco-2 Cells ; Diet, High-Fat/adverse effects* ; Fatty Acids, Volatile ; Humans ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice, Knockout ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic

Objective: To explore the feasibility of free circumflex scapular artery perforator flap for repairing the wounds of the limbs in children. Methods: From April, 2010 to October, 2017. 39 cases of pediatric patients who suffered from skin and soft defects in the limbs with exposure of bone, joint or tendon were repaired by the circumflex scapular artery perforator flap.The flap size ranged from 6.0 cm×3.5 cm to 16 cm×14 cm. Doppler detection was used to determine the distribution of the descending, ascending and transverse branches of the circumflex scapular artery. The proper perforator flap type was selected according to the shape and the size of the wound. Results: Thirty-seven flaps survived smoothly. Venous crisis occurred in one case and arterial crisis occurred in another case at the second postoperative day. Both flaps survived completely after exploration. All flaps were healed at the recipient sites. Delayed healing of the donor site wound occurred in two cases. All cases were followed up for 3 to 36 months (average 12 months), and the appearance and function of the recipient sites were satisfactory. Only linear scars remained in the donor sites. Conclusions The free circumflex scapular artery perforator flap is an ideal method to resurface the soft-tissue defects of extremities in children.

Objective To evaluate effects of camptothecin on the autophagy of HaCaT cells.Methods Some cultured HaCaT cells were divided into several groups to be treated with camptothecin at concentrations of 5,10,25,50,100 and 200 nmol/L,and 0.1％ dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) (control group),respectively.Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was conducted to estimate the proliferative activity of HaCaT cells after 24-and 48-hour treatment,flow cytometry to evaluate cell apoptosis after 24-hour treatment,and Western blot analysis to measure the expression of autophagy-related proteins microtubuleassociated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) and p62.Some HaCaT cells were divided into 2 groups to be treated with 10 nmol/L camptothecin and 0.1％ DMSO for 24 hours,respectively.Then,indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) was performed to determine the LC3 expression.Results Camptothecin at low concentrations of 5 and 10 nmol/L had no significant effects on the proliferation and apoptosis of HaCaT cells.Compared with the control group,the cellular proliferative rates were significantly inhibited by (31.23 ± 1.00)％,(54.21 ± 8.10)％ and (66.75 ± 10.70)％ in the 50-,100-and 200-nmol/L camptothecin groups after 24-hour treatment respectively,and by (25.81 ± 5.99)％,(44.35 ± 5.32)％,(65.81 ± 8.28)％ and (73.23 ± 9.59)％ in the 25-,50-,100-and 200-nmol/L camptothecin groups after 48-hour treatment respectively (all P ＜ 0.001).After 24-hour treatment,the apoptosis rates were significantly higher in the 50-,100-and 200-nnol/L camptothecin groups (14.46％ ± 2.38％,19.15％ ± 1.59％,29.88％ ± 1.37％,respectively) than in the control group (3.80％ ± 0.13％,all P ＜ 0.001).After 24-hour treatment with 5 and 10 nmol/L camptothecin,the protein expression of LC3 Ⅱ was significantly up-regulated,while p62 protein expression was significantly down-regulated:IFA showed that the percentage of autophagosome-positive cells was significantly higher in the 10-nmol/L camptothecin group than in the control group after 24-hour treatment (36.67％ ± 4.55％ vs.6.23％ ± 0.92％,t =6.546,P =0.003).Conclusions Camptothecin at low concentrations of 5 and 10 nmol/L can induce autophagy of HaCaT cells,but has no obvious effects on cell proliferation and apoptosis.Camptothecin at concentrations of 50,100 and 200 nmol/L can inhibit cell proliferation,promote cell apoptosis,and decrease autophagy levels.

Objective To estimate the effects of camptothecin (CPT) on the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) in HaCaT cells under hypoxic conditions (2％ O2),and to explore the potential therapeutic mechanism of topical CPT for psoriasis.Methods Some HaCaT cells were classified into 6 groups:5 test groups cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) with the presence of CPT at 12.5,25,50,100 and 200 nmol/L respectively,and 1 control group cultured in DMEM with the presence of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO).All the 6 groups of cells were cultured under normoxic conditions for 12,24,48 or 72 hours or under hypoxic conditions for 12 hours.Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was conducted to estimate the proliferation of HaCaT cells after the normoxic culture,and Western blot to quantify the protein expression of HIF-1α after the hypoxic culture.Some HaCaT cells were classified into a normoxia group (21％ O2) and a hypoxia group (2％ O2),and each group was divided into a CPT (100 nmol/L)-treated subgroup and a non-intervention subgroup (treated with the vehicle).After 12-hour culture,real-time fluorescencebased quantitative PCR was performed to measure the mRNA expression of HIF-1α.Statistical analysis was carried out by using Levene'.s test,one-way analysis of variance,Dunnett-t test and factorial analysis with the SPSS16.0 software.Results After treatment with CPT at 12.5-200 nmol/L for 12-72 hours,the proliferation of HaCaT cells was inhibited in a concentration-and time-dependent manner.More concretely,the cell proliferation rates were inhibited by 17.66％ ± 6.46％,33.11％ ± 4.63％ and 56.31％ ± 1.69％ respectively in HaCaT cells after 12-hour treatment with 200 nmol/L CPT as well as 24-hour treatment with 100 and 200 nmol/L CPT compared with the control group at the corresponding time points (all P ＜ 0.05).The protein expression level of HIF-1 α was significantly decreased in HaCaT cells after 12-hour treatment with CPT at 12.5,25,50,100 and 200 nmol/L under hypoxic conditions compared with the control group (0.348 ± 0.065,0.261 ± 0.112,0.115 ± 0.043,0.045 ± 0.024 vs.1.445 ± 0.329,all P＜ 0.05).The mRNA expression level of HIF-1α (expressed as △Ct) in the CPT-treated subgroup and non-intervention subgroup was-5.575 ± 0.29 and -5.451 ± 0.21 respectively in the normoxia group,significantly higher than that in the hypoxia group (-6.543 ± 0.57 and -6.203 ± 0.31 respectively,F =29.856,P ＜ 0.05),while there was no significant difference between the CPT-treated and non-intervention subgroups (F =1.667,P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions CPT at 100 nmol/L could inhibit the expression of HIF-1α protein,but had no obvious effect on that of HIF-1α mRNA.

Objective To investigate the application values of B-mode ultrasonography , IVU and spiral CT urography (CTU) in duplication of kidney and ureter. Methods Data of the results from B-mode ultrasonography , IVU and spiral CTU on 85 cases with duplication of renal pelvis and ureter were retrospectively analyzed. Results The diagnostic accordance rates of B-mode ultrasonography , IVU and spiral CTU for duplication of kidney and ureter were 44.7%, 60.0% and 100%, respectively. CTU examination and image post-processing could clearly display the locations and degrees of dilatation or obstruction in duplication of kidney and ureter, and could also display the ectopic location and assess renal function. Conclusion The diagnostic accuracy rate of CTU examination and image post-processing for duplication of kidney and ureter is higher than those of B-mode ultrasonography and IVU.