This study explored the effect of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb)PE/PPE family protein PE_PGRS37 on the growth of Mycobacterium smegmatis(Ms)and macrophage autophagy during Mtb infection.The pe_pgrs37 gene was amplified from Mtb genome through PCR,and the recombinant vector pAIN-PE_PGRS37 was successfully constructed through homologous recombi-nation.pAIN-PE_PGRS37 and pAIN were integrated into Ms through electroshock to construct pAIN-PGRS37/Ms and pAIN/Ms re-combinant bacteria.Western blotting indicated that the PE_PGRS37 protein was correctly expressed in pAIN-PE_PGRS37/Ms.The re-combinant bacteria were inoculated in 7H9/7H10 medium,and their colony morphology and growth curves were observed.No signifi-cant difference in colony morphology was observed between pAIN-PE_PGRS37/Ms and pAIN/Ms.The growth rate significantly in-creased between 10 and 16 h,and a plateau was reached at 26 h.After infection of U937 cells with pAIN-PE_PGRS37/Ms and pAIN/Ms,macrophage autophagy flow was detected with western blotting and immunofluorescence.In the pAIN-PE_PGRS37/Ms-infected group,compared with the pAIN/Ms-infected group,macrophage LC3-II and p62 protein expression was significantly up-regulated(P<0.001)and inhibited autophagosome and lysosome fusion.The intracellular survival of the recombinant bacteria was detected through colony counting,and pAIN-PE_PGRS37/Ms showed significantly greater survival in macrophages at 12 h,24 h,and 48 h than pAIN/Ms(P<0.05).Our results suggested that PE_PGRS37 protein promotes Mycobacterium survival in macrophages by blocking macro-phage autophagy flow,thus inhibiting macrophage autophagy.

This study explored the effect of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb)PE/PPE family protein PE_PGRS37 on the growth of Mycobacterium smegmatis(Ms)and macrophage autophagy during Mtb infection.The pe_pgrs37 gene was amplified from Mtb genome through PCR,and the recombinant vector pAIN-PE_PGRS37 was successfully constructed through homologous recombi-nation.pAIN-PE_PGRS37 and pAIN were integrated into Ms through electroshock to construct pAIN-PGRS37/Ms and pAIN/Ms re-combinant bacteria.Western blotting indicated that the PE_PGRS37 protein was correctly expressed in pAIN-PE_PGRS37/Ms.The re-combinant bacteria were inoculated in 7H9/7H10 medium,and their colony morphology and growth curves were observed.No signifi-cant difference in colony morphology was observed between pAIN-PE_PGRS37/Ms and pAIN/Ms.The growth rate significantly in-creased between 10 and 16 h,and a plateau was reached at 26 h.After infection of U937 cells with pAIN-PE_PGRS37/Ms and pAIN/Ms,macrophage autophagy flow was detected with western blotting and immunofluorescence.In the pAIN-PE_PGRS37/Ms-infected group,compared with the pAIN/Ms-infected group,macrophage LC3-II and p62 protein expression was significantly up-regulated(P<0.001)and inhibited autophagosome and lysosome fusion.The intracellular survival of the recombinant bacteria was detected through colony counting,and pAIN-PE_PGRS37/Ms showed significantly greater survival in macrophages at 12 h,24 h,and 48 h than pAIN/Ms(P<0.05).Our results suggested that PE_PGRS37 protein promotes Mycobacterium survival in macrophages by blocking macro-phage autophagy flow,thus inhibiting macrophage autophagy.

Objective: This study examined the gut bacterial communities of dogs from different breeds, all kept under identical domestication conditions. Methods: Noninvasive sampling and 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing were used to compare the composition and function of the gut microbiota of three dog breeds: the Chinese Kunming dog (CKD), German Shepherd dog (GSD), and Belgian Malinois dog (BMD). Results: The gut microbiota of the three dog breeds consisted of 257 species across 146 genera, 60 families, 35 orders, 15 classes, and 10 phyla. The dominant bacterial phyla across the three breeds were Firmicutes (57.44%), Fusobacteriota (28.86%), and Bacteroidota (7.63%), while the dominant bacterial genera across the three breeds were Peptostreptococcus (21.08%), Fusobacterium (18.50%), Lactobacillus (12.37%), and Cetobacter (10.29%). Further analysis revealed significant differences in the intestinal flora of the three breeds at the phylum and genus levels. The intestinal flora of BMD was significantly richer than that of CKD and GSD. The functional prediction and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis showed that the primary functions of the gut microbiota in these breeds were similar, with significant enrichment in various metabolic pathways, including carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, and microbial metabolism in different environments. The intestinal flora of these breeds also played a crucial role in genetic information processing, including transcription, translation, replication, and material transport. Conclusions and Relevance: These results provide novel insights into the intestinal flora of intervention dogs and suggest novel methods to improve their health status, which help increase microbial diversity and normalize metabolite production in diseased dogs.

Objective: This study examined the gut bacterial communities of dogs from different breeds, all kept under identical domestication conditions. Methods: Noninvasive sampling and 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing were used to compare the composition and function of the gut microbiota of three dog breeds: the Chinese Kunming dog (CKD), German Shepherd dog (GSD), and Belgian Malinois dog (BMD). Results: The gut microbiota of the three dog breeds consisted of 257 species across 146 genera, 60 families, 35 orders, 15 classes, and 10 phyla. The dominant bacterial phyla across the three breeds were Firmicutes (57.44%), Fusobacteriota (28.86%), and Bacteroidota (7.63%), while the dominant bacterial genera across the three breeds were Peptostreptococcus (21.08%), Fusobacterium (18.50%), Lactobacillus (12.37%), and Cetobacter (10.29%). Further analysis revealed significant differences in the intestinal flora of the three breeds at the phylum and genus levels. The intestinal flora of BMD was significantly richer than that of CKD and GSD. The functional prediction and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis showed that the primary functions of the gut microbiota in these breeds were similar, with significant enrichment in various metabolic pathways, including carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, and microbial metabolism in different environments. The intestinal flora of these breeds also played a crucial role in genetic information processing, including transcription, translation, replication, and material transport. Conclusions and Relevance: These results provide novel insights into the intestinal flora of intervention dogs and suggest novel methods to improve their health status, which help increase microbial diversity and normalize metabolite production in diseased dogs.

Objective: This study examined the gut bacterial communities of dogs from different breeds, all kept under identical domestication conditions. Methods: Noninvasive sampling and 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing were used to compare the composition and function of the gut microbiota of three dog breeds: the Chinese Kunming dog (CKD), German Shepherd dog (GSD), and Belgian Malinois dog (BMD). Results: The gut microbiota of the three dog breeds consisted of 257 species across 146 genera, 60 families, 35 orders, 15 classes, and 10 phyla. The dominant bacterial phyla across the three breeds were Firmicutes (57.44%), Fusobacteriota (28.86%), and Bacteroidota (7.63%), while the dominant bacterial genera across the three breeds were Peptostreptococcus (21.08%), Fusobacterium (18.50%), Lactobacillus (12.37%), and Cetobacter (10.29%). Further analysis revealed significant differences in the intestinal flora of the three breeds at the phylum and genus levels. The intestinal flora of BMD was significantly richer than that of CKD and GSD. The functional prediction and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis showed that the primary functions of the gut microbiota in these breeds were similar, with significant enrichment in various metabolic pathways, including carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, and microbial metabolism in different environments. The intestinal flora of these breeds also played a crucial role in genetic information processing, including transcription, translation, replication, and material transport. Conclusions and Relevance: These results provide novel insights into the intestinal flora of intervention dogs and suggest novel methods to improve their health status, which help increase microbial diversity and normalize metabolite production in diseased dogs.

Objective: This study examined the gut bacterial communities of dogs from different breeds, all kept under identical domestication conditions. Methods: Noninvasive sampling and 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing were used to compare the composition and function of the gut microbiota of three dog breeds: the Chinese Kunming dog (CKD), German Shepherd dog (GSD), and Belgian Malinois dog (BMD). Results: The gut microbiota of the three dog breeds consisted of 257 species across 146 genera, 60 families, 35 orders, 15 classes, and 10 phyla. The dominant bacterial phyla across the three breeds were Firmicutes (57.44%), Fusobacteriota (28.86%), and Bacteroidota (7.63%), while the dominant bacterial genera across the three breeds were Peptostreptococcus (21.08%), Fusobacterium (18.50%), Lactobacillus (12.37%), and Cetobacter (10.29%). Further analysis revealed significant differences in the intestinal flora of the three breeds at the phylum and genus levels. The intestinal flora of BMD was significantly richer than that of CKD and GSD. The functional prediction and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis showed that the primary functions of the gut microbiota in these breeds were similar, with significant enrichment in various metabolic pathways, including carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, and microbial metabolism in different environments. The intestinal flora of these breeds also played a crucial role in genetic information processing, including transcription, translation, replication, and material transport. Conclusions and Relevance: These results provide novel insights into the intestinal flora of intervention dogs and suggest novel methods to improve their health status, which help increase microbial diversity and normalize metabolite production in diseased dogs.

OBJECTIVES: Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging has been successfully applied to assess the status of cartilage biochemical components. This study aimed to investigate the performance of 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging T mapping combined with texture analysis for evaluating the early degeneration of lumbar facet joints. METHODS: A total of 38 patients (20 in the asymptomatic group and 18 in the symptomatic group) were enrolled. All patients underwent 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging conventional sequences, water excitation three-dimensional spoiled gradient echo sequence (3D-WATSc), and T mapping scans. The bilateral L and L/S lumbar facet joints were morphological graded using the Weishaupt criteria, T values, and texture parameters derived from T mapping of cartilage. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the differences of parameters among different groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to obtain the independent predictive factors for evaluating the early degeneration of lumbar facet joints. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed and the area under curve (AUC) was calculated. Spearman correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation of the independent predictors of cartilage T value and texture parameters with the subjects' Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score or Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score. RESULTS: A total of 148 facet joints were selected, including 70 in Weishaupt 0 (normal) group, 58 in Weishaupt 1 group, and 20 in Weishaupt 2-3 group. T value, entropy, and contrast increased significantly as the exacerbation of facet joint degeneration (all <0.05), while the inverse difference moment, energy, and correlation decreased (all <0.05). Entropy among different groups was significantly different (all <0.05), and the differences of T value, contrast, inverse difference moment, and energy between Weishaupt 0 and Weishaupt 1 groups, or Weishaupt 0 and Weishaupt 2-3 groups were statistically significant (all <0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis suggested that T value and inverse difference moment were the independent predictors for evaluating early degeneration of facet joints. The combination of T value with inverse difference moment achieved the best performance in distinguishing Weishaupt 0 from Weishaupt 1 (AUC=0.85), with sensitivity and specificity at 92.7% and 76.5%, respectively. In the symptom group, the cartilage T value combined inverse difference moment was positively correlated with JOA score (=0.475, <0.05) and VAS score (=0.452, <0.05). CONCLUSIONS 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging T mapping combined with texture analysis is helpful to quantitatively evaluate the early degeneration of lumbar facet joints, in which the T value and inverse difference moment show an indicative significance．.
Algorithms ; Humans ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Spondylosis ; Zygapophyseal Joint

Objective:To study a classifier used to classify arrhythmia electrocardiogram (ECG) signals under the inter-patient paradigm to improve the accuracy of automatic classification and solve the limitations of manual diagnosis of arrhythmia.Methods:A SVM+XGBoost ensemble classifier with four modules including preprocessing, feature extraction, support vector machine (SVM) training and ensemble classification was constructed. ECG signal was preprocessed, and R-R interval, high-order statistics, local binary patterns and wavelet components were used as features to train independent SVM classifiers. Then, XGboost algorithm was used to integrate independent SVM classifiers and output arrhythmia classification results. The integrated classifiers were trained and tested on MIT-BIH database.Results:The overall classification accuracy of the ensemble classifier for arrhythmia was 0.867 and the average sensitivity was 0.782.Conclusions:The proposed ensemble classifier can realize automatic and accurate classification of arrhythmia ECG signals under the inter-patient paradigm, and can be used for clinical auxiliary diagnosis.

To explore the value of prostate imaging reporting and data system version 2 (PI-RADS V2) combined with quantitative parameters derived from apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map in the diagnosis of peripheral zone prostate cancer.
 Methods: A total of 50 patients who underwent prostate multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) with suspicious peripheral nodules were retrospectively enrolled, and all patients were biopsy-proven histologically. Two radiologists analyzed the position and category of peripheral zone lesions based on PI-RADS V2. Then 12 ADC quantitative parameters were calculated regarding each lesion on the ADC map by post-processing software. The lesions were divided into malignant group and benign group according to histopathological findings. The ADC quantitative parameters between groups were compared, and stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to build a discriminative model. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and decision curve analysis (DCA) were performed to evaluate the diagnostic power and clinical benefit.
 Results: Twenty-eight peripheral zone prostate malignant lesions and 25 benign lesions were obtained finally. The area under the ROC curve, sensitivity and specificity to differentiate peripheral zone prostate malignant from benign lesions were as follows: 0.803, 60.71%, 92.00% (PI-RADS V2 score), 0.857, 89.29%, 76.00% (ADC model), and 0.891, 71.43%, 92.00% (combined model), respectively. The discriminative power of the combined model was significantly improved compared with PI-RADS V2 score (P=0.012). The combined model had relatively optimal overall net benefit, which outperformed the PI-RADS V2 score when threshold probability varied in the range of 0.05-0.27 and 0.46-0.81.
 Conclusion: PI-RADS V2 combined with quantitative analysis of ADC map improve the power in discriminating peripheral zone prostate cancer from benign lesions, and the clinical benefit as well.
Data Systems ; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; Retrospective Studies

Objective To analyze the clinical efficacy,toxicity and survival prognosis of patients diagnosed with Siewert type Ⅱ and Ⅲ locally advanced adenocarcinoma of esophagogastric junction (AEG) undergoing preoperative involved-field irradiation with concurrent chemotherapy. Methods A total of 45 cases were recruited in this prospective clinical trial. Prior to surgery, patients received 2 cycles of chemotherapy with XELOX and concurrent radiotherapy ( a total of 45 Gy in 25 fractions,5 times weekly). After 6-8 weeks,they underwent surgical resection. After the surgery,patients received 6 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy. The completion of preoperative neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, postoperative pathological status,TNM down-staging effect and adverse reactions were observed. Kaplan-Meier method was applied to estimate survival analysis. Results All 45 patients completed preoperative neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Among them, 39 patients completed 2 cycles of chemotherapy, and 6 patients completed 1 cycle of chemotherapy. The median time of surgical interval was 6 weeks. The R0resection rate was 96%.The pathological complete response (pCR) rate was 22%. The TNM down-staging rate was 69%.The incidence of acute radiation-induced esophagitis or gastritis was 44% and the incidence of radiation-induced pneumonitis was 7%. The incidence of grade 1-3 leukocytopenia,thrombocytopenia and neutropenia was 78%,47% and 44%,respectively. In terms of gastrointestinal reactions,the incidence of nausea,vomiting and loss of appetite was 62%,24% and 71%,respectively. No hematologic or nonhematologic adverse effects was observed at grade 4 or 5.The median follow-up time was 30 months. 11 patients died of cancer,1 patient was treatment-related death in the perioperative period and 1 patient died of pneumonia. The 1-,2-and 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 90%,70% and 67%,respectively. The 1-,2-and 3-year overall survival rates were 95%,80% and 75%,respectively. The 1-,2-and 3-year local control rates were 95%,84% and 84%, respectively. The 1-, 2-and 3-year distant metastasis rates were 7%, 25% and 25%, respectively. Conclusions Preoperative involved-field irradiation with concurrent chemotherapy yields relatively high clinical efficacy and is well tolerated by patients with Siewert typeⅡandⅢlocally advanced AEG.Patients are recommended to receive 4 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy following neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery.