Cancer is a serious global health problem and a major cause of human death. Conventional cancer treatments often run the risk of impairing vital organ functions. Anticancer peptides (ACPs) are considered to be one of the most promising therapeutic agents against common human cancers due to their small sizes, high specificity, and low toxicity. Since ACP recognition is highly limited to the laboratory, expensive, and time-consuming, we proposed pLM4ACP, a model for predicting ACPs based on machine learning and protein language models. In this model, the protein language model ProtT5 was used to extract the features of ACPs, and the extracted features were input into the support vector machine (SVM) classification algorithm for optimization and performance evaluation. The model showcased significantly higher accuracy than other methods, with the overall accuracy of 0.763, F1-score of 0.767, Matthews correlation coefficient of 0.527, and area under the curve of 0.827 on the independent test set. This study constructs an efficient anticancer peptide prediction model based on protein language models, further advancing the application of artificial intelligence in the biomedical field and promoting the development of precision medicine and computational biology.
Machine Learning ; Antineoplastic Agents/chemistry* ; Humans ; Peptides/chemistry* ; Support Vector Machine ; Algorithms ; Computational Biology/methods* ; Neoplasms/drug therapy*

Objective:To understand the current research status, hot issues, and development trends of Taohong Siwu Decoction.Methods:Research literature about Taohong Siwu Decoction was retrieved from Wanfang Data, CBM, CNKI, and Chongqing VIP from January 1, 2014, to August 13, 2024. Excel 2024 software was used to analyze the annual number of publications, the source journals, literature types and the distribution of diseases and syndromes. CiteSpace 6.3.R3 software was used for visualization analysis on the authors, research institutions and key words.Results:A total of 2 519 articles were included, and the annual publication volume showed a fluctuating growth trend. There were 396 source journals, of which Medicine and Health published the most (80 articles); 208 authors were involved, and the core authors included Peng Daiyin of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine, Zhu Fuping of the First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Sun Shaoqiu of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine and so on. The main research institutions in this field included Hunan University of Chinese Medicine and its affiliated hospitals. The high-frequency keywords included fracture, irregular menstruation, clinical efficacy, chloasma, Wuling Powder, experience of famous doctors, elderly, etc. Keywords could be clustered into 11 modules.Conclusions:The current research hotspots of Taohong Siwu Decoction mainly focus on the exploration of multi-system disease treatment, individualized syndrome differentiation and treatment, pharmacology and metabolic mechanism of Chinese materia medica, etc. Among them, the in-depth study of drug composition and metabolism, network pharmacology and mechanism is the research frontier in this field.

[Objective] To investigate the value of total cholesterol to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (THR), monocyte to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR), and neutrophil to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (NHR) in predicting patients’ coronary artery stenosis severity and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). [Methods] A total of 6 281 patients who underwent coronary angiography at our hospital between June 2021 and June 2023 were retrospectively included in this study. These patients were divided into two groups: PCI group and non-PCI group. The clinical data, laboratory findings, and interventional treatment data of all patients were collected and analyzed. Pearson correlation analysis was employed to evaluate the correlation of THR, MHR and NHR with the degree of coronary artery stenosis. Binary Logistic stepwise regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were utilized to assess the influencing factors and predictive value of THR, MHR and NHR single and combined indexes for coronary artery disease patients undergoing PCI. [Results] The PCI group was observed to be older, with a higher proportion of males, individuals with diabetes mellitus, and those who had undergone THR, MHR, NHR, and a Gensini score than the non-PCI group. Conversely, the proportion of previous stent implantation was less than that of the non-PCI group (P<0.05). The results of Pearson correlation analysis showed a significant and positive correlation of the Gensini score with THR (r=0.351, P<0.001), MHR (r=0.192, P<0.001), and NHR (r=0.236, P<0.001) levels, indicating that these variables had a significantly positive correlation with the degree of coronary artery stenosis. The results of multifactorial Logistic regression demonstrated that age >50 years, male sex, diabetes mellitus, THR, MHR, and NHR were independent risk factors for PCI in patients with coronary artery disease. Conversely, a history of previous stent implantation was identified as a protective factor for PCI in patients with coronary artery disease. Furthermore, the results of ROC curves indicated that the combined area under the curve (AUC) was the largest for THR, MHR, and NHR (AUC=0.809, 95%CI: 0.798-0.820). [Conclusion] THR, MHR and NHR correlate with the degree of coronary stenosis and have strong clinical applications in the assessment of coronary artery disease for PCI.

Drugs and physical stimulation,including light,electricity,and magnetic fields,can be used to influence how neurons operate,among which chemogenetic and optogenetic technologies are most widely used.In recent years,magnetogenetic technology has also been developed that can acti-vate neurons in magnetic fields through magnetic sensitive actuators,leading to non-invasive and instanta-neous activation of specific brain regions.This article reviews the evolution of and problems with chemoge-netic and optogenetic techniques commonly used in brain science research.It also outlines the latest progress in magnetogenetic technologies,which are not full-fledged yet,as well as the role of transcra-nial electrical stimulation,transcranial magnetic stimulation,deep brain stimulation and transcranial ultra-sound stimulation technology in the functional regulation of brain diseases.Constant adjustment and improvement can make it possible for these technologies to be used more widely for the study of brain sciences and the treatment of brain diseases.

Astrocytes are the largest glial population in the mammalian brain. However, we have a minimal understanding of astrocyte development, especially fate specification in different regions of the brain. Through lineage tracing of the progenitors of the third ventricle (3V) wall via in-utero electroporation in the embryonic mouse brain, we show the fate specification and migration pattern of astrocytes derived from radial glia along the 3V wall. Unexpectedly, radial glia located in different regions along the 3V wall of the diencephalon produce distinct cell types: radial glia in the upper region produce astrocytes and those in the lower region produce neurons in the diencephalon. With genetic fate mapping analysis, we reveal that the first population of astrocytes appears along the zona incerta in the diencephalon. Astrogenesis occurs at an early time point in the dorsal region relative to that in the ventral region of the developing diencephalon. With transcriptomic analysis of the region-specific 3V wall and lateral ventricle (LV) wall, we identified cohorts of differentially-expressed genes in the dorsal 3V wall compared to the ventral 3V wall and LV wall that may regulate astrogenesis in the dorsal diencephalon. Together, these results demonstrate that the generation of astrocytes shows a spatiotemporal pattern in the developing mouse diencephalon.
Mice ; Animals ; Astrocytes ; Neuroglia/physiology* ; Diencephalon ; Brain ; Neurons ; Mammals

Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of free superficial circumflex iliac artery flap combined with anterolateral thigh flap in repairing large skin defect of the hand.Methods:A retrospective case series study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 9 patients with large skin defect of the hand admitted to Ningbo No.6 Hospital from January 2016 to December 2019，including 7 males and 2 females，aged 31-63 years［（45.3±5.6）years］. The area of skin defect reanged from 20 cm×15 cm to 25 cm×20 cm. One side of the superficial circumflex iliac artery flap and the contralateral anterolateral thigh flap were used for repair. Both recipient and donor sites were sutured at the first stage. The ilioinguinal region and thigh donor region were sutured directly. The area of superficial circumflex iliac artery flap was from 19 cm×6 cm to 23 cm ×10 cm and that of anterolateral thigh flap was 19 cm×9 cm to 23 cm×8 cm. The flap survival，healing of donor and recipient area and complications were observed. At 1，6 and 12 months after operation，the function of the flap was evaluated by the late functional evaluation criteria of the flap，hand function by the upper limb functional evaluation criteria of the Chinese Medical Association，and scar condition of the donor site by Vancouver Scar Scale（VVS）. At the last follow-up，the color，elasticity，appearance and scar of the donor site were observed.Results:All patients were followed up for 6-18 months［（12.5±2.3）months］. All flaps survived successfully. All patients achieved donor-site healing at the first stage，except that one patient experienced incision dehiscence in the thigh donor site after operation and healed after the second stage suture. The texture and appearance of the flaps were good. The flap in 5 patients was obviously bloated. Therefore，the secondary skin flap repair was selected，and the appearance was significantly improved after operation. Scores for function of the flap and the hand were improved over time（ P<0.05）. At 12 months after operation，the function of the flap was excellent in 3 patients，good in 4 and fair in 2，with the excellent and good rate of 78%；the result of hand function was excellent in 3 patients，good in 3 and fair in 3，with the excellent and good rate of 67%. The VVS score of the donor site decreased from（9.7±1.3）points at postoperative 1 month to（5.7±0.9）points at postoperative 6 months and（3.4±0.8）points at postoperative 12 months（ P<0.05）. At the latest follow-up，the color and elasticity of the flap was similar to that of the surrounding skin tissue，only with slight bloating；the scar of the donor site was small. Conclusions:The free superficial circumflex iliac artery flap combined with anterolateral thigh flap can cover large skin defect of the hand at one time，with good appearance and texture of the flap. The appearance and function of the wounded hand are good after operation，leaving only linear scar in the donor site.

Obeticholic acid (OCA), the first FXR-targeting drug, has been claimed effective in the therapy of liver fibrosis. However, recent clinical trials indicated that OCA might not be effective against liver fibrosis, possibly due to the lower dosage to reduce the incidence of the side-effect of pruritus. Here we propose a combinatory therapeutic strategy of OCA and apoptosis inhibitor for combating against liver fibrosis. CCl-injured mice, d-galactosamine/LPS (GalN/LPS)-treated mice and cycloheximide/TNF (CHX/TNF)-treated HepG2 cells were employed to assess the effects of OCA, or together with IDN-6556, an apoptosis inhibitor. OCA treatment significantly inhibited hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation/proliferation and prevented fibrosis. Elevated bile acid (BA) levels and hepatocyte apoptosis triggered the activation and proliferation of HSCs. OCA treatment reduced BA levels but could not inhibit hepatocellular apoptosis. An enhanced anti-fibrotic effect was observed when OCA was co-administrated with IDN-6556. Our study demonstrated that OCA inhibits HSCs activation/proliferation partially by regulating BA homeostasis and thereby inhibiting activation of HSCs. The findings in this study suggest that combined use of apoptosis inhibitor and OCA at lower dosage represents a novel therapeutic strategy for liver fibrosis.

Two strains of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) were isolated in 2006 and 2016 and designated as FZ06A and FZ16A, respectively. Inoculation experiments showed that FZ06A caused 100% morbidity and 60% mortality, while FZ16A caused 100% morbidity without death. By using genomic sequence and phylogenetic analyses, close relationships between a Chinese highly pathogenic PRRSV strain and the FZ06A and FZ16A strains were observed. Based on the achieved results, multiple genomic variations in Nsp2, a unique N-glycosylation site (N³³→K³³), and a K151 amino acid (AA) substitution for virulence in the GP5 of FZ16A were detected; except the 30 AA deletion in the Nsp2-coding region. Inoculation experiments were conducted and weaker virulence of FZ16A than FZ06A was observed. Based on our results, a 30 AA deletion in the Nsp2-coding region is an unreliable genomic indicator of a high virulence PRRSV strain. The Nsp2 and GP5 differences, in addition to the virulence difference between these two highly pathogenic PRRSV strains, have the potential to be used to establish a basis for further study of PRRSV virulence determinants and to provide data useful in the development of vaccines against this economically devastating disease.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; China ; Genomics ; Humans ; Mortality ; Phylogeny ; Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome ; Porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus ; Vaccines ; Virulence

Objective To study the association between serum concentrations of total testosterone levels and coronary heart disease (CHD) in the postmenopausal women. Methods The study was designed as a case-control study.394 postmenopausal female patients were selected from Cardiology Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University.The case group included 183 women patients with CHD aged (62.7±8.0) years,the control group,211 women with normal coronary aged (60.0 ± 8.8) years. Blood samples were collected to determine total testosterone,fasting glucose and lipid profile. CHD severity was expressed as the numbers of coronary arteries that had a stenosis ≥50％.According to the level of testosteron,all cases were divided into 4 groups by interquartile range method:Q1＜3.5 nmol/L(n=190),3.5 nmol/L≤Q2 ＜10.4 nmol/L(n=64),10.4 nmol/L≤Q3 ＜26.0 nmol/L(n=120) and Q4≥26.0 nmol/L(n=20).The association between the serum total testosterone levels and severity of coronary atherosclerosis was analyzed. Results The average total testosterone was higher in case group than in control group[(10.4 ± 24.3 ) nmol/L vs. ( 6.9 ± 17.4 ) nmol/L,Z =0.79,P =0.555].In Quantitative adjusted models,higher levels of total testosterone had strong correlation with CHD,Q4 incidence of CHD (75.0％,15 cases) was significantly higher than Q1 (46.8％,89 cases),Q2 (40.6％,26 cases)and Q3 (44.2％,53 cases) (x2 =7.69,P=0.048).After adjustment for other risk factors,women in the top quartile of total testosterone levels had a more than 3-fold increase in odds of CHD(OR=3.47,95％CI:1.06-11.32,P＜0.05).In addition,the serum concentrations of total testosterone level were significantly associated with the severity of CHD (F=12.94,P＜0.05). Conclusions Higher levels of total testosterone may be associated with high prevalence and severity of CHD as an independent factor in postmenopausal women.