Objective:Osteosarcoma is a highly aggressive primary malignant bone tumor commonly seen in children and adolescents,with a poor prognosis.Anchorage-dependent cell death(anoikis)has been proven to be indispensable in tumor metastasis,regulating the migration and adhesion of tumor cells at the primary site.However,as a type of programmed cell death,anoikis is rarely studied in osteosarcoma,especially in the tumor immune microenvironment.This study aims to clarify prognostic value of anoikis and tumor immune microenvironment-related gene in the treatment of osteosarcoma. Methods:Anoikis-related genes(ANRGs)were obtained from GeneCards.Clinical information and ANRGs expression profiles of osteosarcoma patients were sourced from the therapeutically applicable research to generate effective therapies and Gene Expression Omnibus(GEO)databases.ANRGs highly associated with tumor immune microenvironment were identified by the estimate package and the weighted gene coexpression network analysis(WGCNA)algorithm.Machine learning algorithms were performed to construct long-term survival predictive strategy,each sample was divided into high-risk and low-risk subgroups,which was further verified in the GEO cohort.Finally,based on single-cell RNA-seq from the GEO database,analysis was done on the function of signature genes in the osteosarcoma tumor microenvironment. Results:A total of 51 hub ANRGs closely associated with the tumor microenvironment were identified,from which 3 genes(MERTK,BNIP3,S100A8)were selected to construct the prognostic model.Significant differences in immune cell activation and immune-related signaling pathways were observed between the high-risk and low-risk groups based on tumor microenvironment analysis(all P<0.05).Additionally,characteristic genes within the osteosarcoma microenvironment were identified in regulation of intercellular crosstalk through the GAS6-MERTK signaling pathway. Conclusion:The prognostic model based on ANRGs and tumor microenvironment demonstrate good predictive power and provide more personalized treatment options for patients with osteosarcoma.

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia-like primary pulmonary lymphoma (PPL) was commonly misdiagnosed as infectious pneumonia, leading to delayed treatment. The purpose of this study was to establish a computed tomography (CT)-based radiomics model to differentiate pneumonia-like PPL from infectious pneumonia. METHODS: In this retrospective study, 79 patients with pneumonia-like PPL and 176 patients with infectious pneumonia from 12 medical centers were enrolled. Patients from center 1 to center 7 were assigned to the training or validation cohort, and the remaining patients from other centers were used as the external test cohort. Radiomics features were extracted from CT images. A three-step procedure was applied for radiomics feature selection and radiomics signature building, including the inter- and intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs), a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO). Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify the significant clinicoradiological variables and construct a clinical factor model. Two radiologists reviewed the CT images for the external test set. Performance of the radiomics model, clinical factor model, and each radiologist were assessed by receiver operating characteristic, and area under the curve (AUC) was compared. RESULTS: A total of 144 patients (44 with pneumonia-like PPL and 100 infectious pneumonia) were in the training cohort, 38 patients (12 with pneumonia-like PPL and 26 infectious pneumonia) were in the validation cohort, and 73 patients (23 with pneumonia-like PPL and 50 infectious pneumonia) were in the external test cohort. Twenty-three radiomics features were selected to build the radiomics model, which yielded AUCs of 0.95 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.94-0.99), 0.93 (95% CI: 0.85-0.98), and 0.94 (95% CI: 0.87-0.99) in the training, validation, and external test cohort, respectively. The AUCs for the two readers and clinical factor model were 0.74 (95% CI: 0.63-0.83), 0.72 (95% CI: 0.62-0.82), and 0.73 (95% CI: 0.62-0.84) in the external test cohort, respectively. The radiomics model outperformed both the readers' interpretation and clinical factor model ( P <0.05). CONCLUSIONS The CT-based radiomics model may provide an effective and non-invasive tool to differentiate pneumonia-like PPL from infectious pneumonia, which might provide assistance for clinicians in tailoring precise therapy.
Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Pneumonia/diagnostic imaging* ; Analysis of Variance ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Lymphoma/diagnostic imaging*

Carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase (CCD) family is important for production of volatile aromatic compounds and synthesis of plant hormones. To explore the biological functions and gene expression patterns of CsCCD gene family in tea plant, genome-wide identification of CsCCD gene family was performed. The gene structures, conserved motifs, chromosome locations, protein physicochemical properties, evolutionary characteristics, interaction network and cis-acting regulatory elements were predicted and analyzed. Real time-quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to detect the relative expression level of CsCCD gene family members under different leaf positions and light treatments during processing. A total of 11 CsCCD gene family members, each containing exons ranging from 1 to 11 and introns ranging from 0 to 10, were identified. The average number of amino acids and molecular weight were 519 aa and 57 643.35 Da, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed the CsCCD gene family was clustered into 5 major groups (CCD1, CCD4, CCD7, CCD8 and NCED). The CsCCD gene family mainly contained stress response elements, hormone response elements, light response elements and multi-factor response elements, and light response elements was the most abundant (142 elements). Expression analysis showed that the expression levels of CsCCD1 and CsCCD4 in elder leaves were higher than those in younger leaves and stems. With the increase of turning over times, the expression levels of CsCCD1 and CsCCD4 decreased, while supplementary LED light strongly promoted their expression levels in the early stage. The expression level of NCED in younger leaves was higher than that in elder leaves and stems on average, and the expression trend varied in the process of turning over. NCED3 first increased and then decreased, with an expression level 15 times higher than that in fresh leaves. In the late stage of turning over, supplementary LED light significantly promoted its gene expression. In conclusion, CsCCD gene family member expressions were regulated by mechanical force and light. These understandings may help to optimize tea processing techniques and improve tea quality.
Camellia sinensis/genetics* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant ; Phylogeny ; Plant Leaves/genetics* ; Plant Proteins/metabolism* ; Tea

Human microbiome is comprised of symbiotic microorganisms in the human body, whose dynamic balance is closely related to human health, and is recognized as important "organs" that can regulate immunity, metabolism and other aspects in human body, and is associated with functions of many organs including lung, intestine, vagina and brain, becoming a potential target for the treatment of cancer, coronary heart disease, neurological diseases and other difficult diseases. In recent years, with the rapid development of microbiome sequencing and analysis technology, it has become an international focus and forefront to discover the relationship between human microorganisms and many diseases, as well as target for new treatment methods. Thus, we organized this special issue and publish reviews on study methodology, human disease and microbiome as well as therapeutic strategies, and provide important information to advance microbiome research in China.
China ; Humans ; Intestines ; Lung ; Microbiota ; Neoplasms

The Lianhua Qingwen (LHQW) capsule is a popular traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of viral respiratory diseases.In particular,it has been recently prescribed to treat infections caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).However,due to its complex composi-tion,little attention has been directed toward the analysis of chemical constituents present in the LHQW capsule.This study presents a reliable and comprehensive approach to characterizing the chemical constituents present in LHQW by high-performance liquid chromatography-Q Exactive-Orbitrap mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q Exactive-Orbitrap-MS) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS).An automated library alignment method with a high mass accuracy (within 5 ppm) was used for the rapid identification of compounds.A total of 104 compounds,consisting of alkaloids,flavonoids,phenols,phenolic acids,phenylpropanoids,quinones,terpenoids,and other phytochemicals,were suc-cessfully characterized.In addition,the fragmentation pathways and characteristic fragments of some representative compounds were elucidated.GC-MS analysis was conducted to characterize the volatile compounds present in LHQW.In total,17 compounds were putatively characterized by comparing the acquired data with that from the NIST library.The major constituent was menthol,and all the other compounds were terpenoids.This is the first comprehensive report on the identification of the major chemical constituents present in the LHQW capsule by HPLC-Q Exactive-Orbitrap-MS,coupled with GC-MS,and the results of this study can be used for the quality control and standardization of LHQW capsules.

Objective:To explore the influencing factors of uterine myometrial and parauterine venous plexus reflux during transvaginal four-dimensional contrast-enhanced hysterosalpingography, which will help reduce and avoid the occurrence of reflux and improve the accuracy of diagnosis.Methods:A total of 306 infertile patients who underwent transvaginal four-dimensional contrast-enhanced hysterosalpingograph from June 2016 to June 2017 in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University were retrospectively enrolled. The ultrasonographic characteristics were reviewed and the correlations between reflux and endometrial thickness, days after menstruation, intrauterine operation history and patency of fallopian tube were analyzed.Results:The incidence of countercurrent during four-dimensional contrast-enhanced hysterosalpingography was 14.71%. The chi-square test showed that the endometrial thickness and the days after menstruation had statistically significant effects on the incidence of reflux ( P=0.031 and <0.001, respectively). There were no statistically significant effects of intrauterine operation history and patency of the fallopian tube on the incidence of reflux ( P=0.610, 0.137). Logistic regression analysis showed that the incidence of reflux was associated with endometrial thickness ( B=-1.171, P<0.001) and the days after menstruation ( B=0.439, P=0.015). Conclusions:Transvaginal ultrasound measurement of endometrial thickness before angiography and selection of appropriate examination time according to the menstrual cycle can effectively reduce the incidence of reflux, and adverse reactions, and improve the accuracy of four-dimensional contrast-enhanced hysterosalpingography.

Objective:To investigate the drugs-sensitivity spectrum of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in China and provide a scientific evidence for the drug selection in clinical therapy and the control of MDR-TB.Methods:A total of 167 strains of MDR-TB were included in this study. Every strain was genotyped by lysX gene sequencing and their sensitivity to 13 different anti-TB drugs was tested by using MicroDST TM and BACTEC TM MGIT 960 TM liquid-culturing method. The association between drug resistance and genotypes as well as cross drug resistance was also analyzed. The results were analyzed by means of the comparison of enumeration data between two groups with χ2 test. Results:The overall resistance rate of 167 MDR-TB strains to 11 anti-TB drugs, except isoniazide and rifampicin, was 95.81%, the rates of pre-extensive drug-resistance (pre-XDR) and extensive drug-resistance were 31.14%(52/167) and 6.59% (11/167), respectively. The streptomycin resistance rate of Beijing genotypes was significantly higher than that of the non-Beijing genotypes ( χ2=30.682, P<0.05), while the pre-XDR proportion in Beijing genotypes was lower than that in non-Beijing genotypes ( χ2=5.332, P<0.05). The resistance rates of Ofloxacin and Pyrazinamide in the modern Beijing genotype were significantly higher than those in classical ones ( χ2=4.105 and χ2=3.912, P<0.05). In addition, the cross-resistance rate to rifampicin and rifabutin was 86.23%. A significant difference in drug-resistance rate to rifabutin was seen among groups with different levels of rifampicin resistance ( χ2=45.912, P<0.05). There was positive correlation not only between ofloxac resistance and moxifloxac resistance, but also between amikacin resistance and kanamycin resistance, with the coefficient of 0.87 and 0.91, respectively. Conclusions:In this study, we observed that there were high incidences of the resistance to 11 anti-TB drugs in 167 clinical MDR-TB strains and the cross resistance phenomena between drugs of the same type were quite serious. The majority of MDR-TB strains belonged to Beijing genotype, which was highly associated with streptomycin resistance.

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging provides accurate anatomic information and advanced soft contrast, making it the reference standard for assessing cardiac volumes and systolic function. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in CMR sequences. New technical development has widened the use of CMR imaging beyond the simple characterization of myocardial scars and assessment of contractility. These novel CMR sequences offer comprehensive assessments of coronary plaque characterization, myocardial fiber orientation, and even metabolic activity, and they can be readily applied in clinical settings. CMR imaging is able to provide new insights into understanding the pathophysiologic process of underlying cardiac disease, and it can help physicians choose the best treatment strategies. Although several limitations, including the high cost and time-consuming process, have limited the widespread clinical use of CMR imaging so far, recent advances in software and hardware technologies have made the future more promising.
Cardiac Volume ; Cardiology ; Cicatrix ; Heart Diseases ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases, a well-studied class of flavin-dependent enzymes, catalyze the conversion of ketones to lactones or esters and the oxygenation of heteroatoms, which possesses great practical prospect in synthetic chemistry and biocatalysis. In this review, we focus on Baeyer-Villiger oxidations involved in biosynthesis of microbial secondary metabolites and discuss the characteristics of these Baeyer-Villiger oxidations and Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases, to provide reference for the protein engineering of Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenases.
Biocatalysis ; Catalysis ; Mixed Function Oxygenases ; Oxidation-Reduction ; Protein Engineering

Isomalto-oligosaccharides (IMO) have good physiochemical properties and excellent physiological functions to make it widely used in food, medicine, feed, cosmetics and other industries. However, the procedures for industrial production of IMO are complicated. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an economical and easy-to-operate method. The genes encoding for β-amylase and α-transglucosidase were fused and co-displayed on the yeast cell surface of Yarrowia lipolytica which can convert liquefied starch to IMO in one step. The highest IMO purity of 75.3% was obtained using the displayed fusion-enzyme at 50 °C. This method showed potential application in IMO production.
Oligosaccharides ; Starch ; Yarrowia ; beta-Amylase