Oral Pathobionts Aggravate Myocardial Infarction Through Mobilization of B2 Cells.

Background: Myocardial infarction (MI) is a high-prevalence disease that threatens human survival and quality of life worldwide. Considerable evidence has suggested that periodontitis (PD) is detrimental to MI. However, the direct impact of PD on MI is unclear; which oral pathobionts contribute to and how microbial signals regulate the pathogenesis of MI remain obscure.

Nature-Inspired Meta-Heuristic Algorithms for Detecting Protein Complexes in Protein-Protein Interaction Networks: A Survey.

In cells, various proteins interact to form protein-protein interaction networks. Protein complexes serve as the fundamental units that enable essential functions in biological organisms. Directly detecting protein complexes in protein-protein interaction networks using biology-based methods is costly and time-consuming.

Expert Consensus on Subxiphoid and Subcostal Arch Thoracoscopic Resection for the Treatment of Thymoma.

Surgery is the primary treatment for thymoma. Although subxiphoid and subcostal arch thoracoscopic thymoma surgery is widely used, there is currently a lack of consensus regarding its use, nor have standards been established. Based on the surgical experience of many domestic thoracic surgery centers, the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Tangdu Hospital of Air Force Medical University has formulated this expert consensus regarding key clinical issues related to thoracoscopic thymoma surgery, including preoperative evaluation, surgical indications, preoperative preparation, surgical details, perioperative management, postoperative treatment, and follow-up.

Global, regional, and national burden of Visceral leishmaniasis, 1990-2021: findings from the global burden of disease study 2021.

Background: Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne parasitic disease caused by protozoa of the Leishmania genus; it is transmitted through the bites of infected phlebotomine sandflies. Clinically, it manifests in three primary forms: cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Among these, VL represents the most severe form, characterized by high morbidity and mortality, and poses a considerable public health burden, particularly in endemic regions.

ASPM mediates nuclear entrapment of FOXM1 via liquid-liquid phase separation to promote progression of hepatocarcinoma.

Background: Fork-head box protein M1 (FOXM1) plays critical roles in development and progression of multiple cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the exact regulatory hierarchy of FOXM1 remains unclear. Here, a genome-wide screen is performed to identify intranuclear proteins that promote FOXM1 transcription activity via liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS).

Epacadostat Overcomes Cetuximab Resistance in Colorectal Cancer by Targeting IDO-Mediated Tryptophan Metabolism.

Primary or acquired mutations in RAS/RAF genes resulting in cetuximab resistance have limited its clinical application in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. The mechanism of this resistance remains unclear. RNA sequencing from cetuximab-sensitive and -resistant specimens revealed an activation of the tryptophan pathway and elevation of IDO1 and IDO2 in cetuximab-resistant CRC patients.

Clinical outcomes and short-term survival of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy for resectable esophageal cancer: a multicenter retrospective cohort study.

Objective: The present retrospective cohort study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy for resectable esophageal cancer and report the preliminary short-term survival.

Methods: A multicenter, retrospective study was conducted concerning patients who received neoadjuvant PD-1 agents plus platinum-based chemotherapy between January 2019 and January 2022. The primary endpoint was the tumor pathologic complete response (pCR) rate.

Cisplatin Promotes Hepatotoxicity by cGAS-STING Mediated Innate Immune Response.

Although platinum-based chemotherapy represented by cisplatin has been widely approved for the management of diverse cancer types, its hepatotoxicity and other adverse effects impact patient prognosis, while currently, there are few effective strategies for prevention or treatment. RNA sequencing analysis indicated that the type I interferon (IFN-I) pathway was significantly upregulated in cisplatin-induced liver injury (CILI) mouse model. The cGAS-STING signaling was found to be significantly activated in vitro and CILI model in vivo.

The Gut Microbiota Mediates the Protective Effects of Spironolactone on Myocardial Infarction.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a type of cardiovascular disease that influences millions of human beings worldwide and has a great rate of mortality and morbidity. Spironolactone has been used as a critical drug for the treatment of cardiac failure and it ameliorates cardiac dysfunction post-MI. Despite these findings, whether there is a relationship between the therapeutic effects of spironolactone and the gut microorganism after MI has not been determined.

Single-cell profiling of response to neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy in surgically resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: The efficacy of neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy (NAT) in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is challenged by the intricate interplay within the tumor microenvironment (TME). Unveiling the immune landscape of ESCC in the context of NAT could shed light on heterogeneity and optimize therapeutic strategies for patients.

Methods: We analyzed single cells from 22 baseline and 24 post-NAT treatment samples of stage II/III ESCC patients to explore the association between the immune landscape and pathological response to neoadjuvant anti-PD-1 combination therapy, including pathological complete response (pCR), major pathological response (MPR), and incomplete pathological response (IPR).

Pan-Cancer Analysis of the LOX Family Reveals that LOX Affects Tumor Prognosis by Affecting Immune Infiltration.

The lysyl oxidase (LOX) gene family encodes for a group of copper-dependent enzymes that play a crucial role in the cross-linking of collagen and elastin fibers in the extracellular matrix (ECM). Dysregulation of LOX gene expression has been implicated in various pathological conditions, including cancer. Several studies have shown that the LOX gene family is involved in cancer progression and metastasis.

Neoadjuvant Camrelizumab Plus Platinum-Based Chemotherapy vs Chemotherapy Alone for Chinese Patients With Resectable Stage IIIA or IIIB (T3N2) Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: The TD-FOREKNOW Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The benefit of neoadjuvant camrelizumab plus chemotherapy for resectable stage IIIA or IIIB non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unknown.

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant camrelizumab plus chemotherapy vs chemotherapy alone for patients with resectable stage IIIA or IIIB NSCLC.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this randomized phase 2 clinical trial conducted at 2 hospitals in China, patients aged 18 to 70 years with resectable stage IIIA or IIIB (T3N2) NSCLC were enrolled between April 7, 2020, and January 12, 2022.

A multicenter, single-arm, open study of neoadjuvant or conversion atezolizumab in combination with chemotherapy in resectable small cell lung cancer (Cohort Study).

Background: This study aimed to investigate the prospects of using chemotherapy in combination with atezolizumab in the neoadjuvant or conversion treatment of small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Methods: Prior to surgery, untreated patients with limited-stage SCLC received three cycles of neoadjuvant or conversion atezolizumab combined with chemotherapy of etoposide and platinum. The primary endpoint of the trial was pathological complete response (pCR) in the per-protocol (PP) cohort.

Analysis of the 2p-manifold population distribution in a diode-pumped metastable Ar laser.

The complex excited energy levels in the diode-pumped metastable Ar laser may induce harmful effects in laser cycling. Significantly, the influence of the population distribution in 2p energy levels on the laser performance is unclear yet. In this work, the absolute populations in all the 2p states were measured online by the simultaneous applications of tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy and optical emission spectroscopy.

An IL-6/STAT3/MR/FGF21 axis mediates heart-liver cross-talk after myocardial infarction.

The liver plays a protective role in myocardial infarction (MI). However, very little is known about the mechanisms. Here, we identify mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) as a pivotal nexus that conveys communications between the liver and the heart during MI.

Improving Pareto Local Search Using Cooperative Parallelism Strategies for Multiobjective Combinatorial Optimization.

Pareto local search (PLS) is a natural extension of local search for multiobjective combinatorial optimization problems (MCOPs). In our previous work, we improved the anytime performance of PLS using parallel computing techniques and proposed a parallel PLS based on decomposition (PPLS/D). In PPLS/D, the solution space is searched by multiple independent parallel processes simultaneously.

Roles of oral microbiota and oral-gut microbial transmission in hypertension.

Introduction: Considerable evidence has linked periodontitis (PD) to hypertension (HTN), but the nature behind this connection is unclear. Dysbiosis of oral microbiota leading to PD is known to aggravate different systematic diseases, but the alteration of oral microbiota in HTN and their impacts on blood pressure (BP) remains to be discovered.

Objectives: To characterize the alterations of oral and gut microbiota and their roles in HTN.

Characteristics and Correlations of the Oral and Gut Fungal Microbiome with Hypertension.

The mycobiome is an essential constituent of the human microbiome and is associated with various diseases. However, the role of oral and gut fungi in hypertension (HTN) remains largely unexplored. In this study, saliva, subgingival plaques, and feces were collected from 36 participants with HTN and 24 healthy controls for metagenomic sequencing.

Mineralocorticoid receptor deficiency in Treg cells ameliorates DSS-induced colitis in a gut microbiota-dependent manner.

Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) is a classic nuclear receptor and an effective drug target in the cardiovascular system. The function of MR in immune cells such as macrophages and T cells has been increasingly appreciated. The aim of this study was to investigate the function of Treg MR in the process of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Polymorphisms of COX/PEG2 pathway-related genes are associated with the risk of lung cancer: A case-control study in China.

Background: The COX/PGE2 pathway is widely involved in the development of tumors and the regulation of tumor immune cells such as T cells, NK cells and DCs. However, little information is available on the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of COX/PGE2 pathway-related genes in patients with lung cancer.

Methods: Seven SNPs of the PTGS2, PTGER2 and PTGIS genes were genotyped in a case-control cohort including 600 lung cancer cases and 600 controls using the MassARRAY platform.

Osteoblast MR deficiency protects against adverse ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction.

Rationale: Mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonists have been clinically used to treat heart failure. However, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain incompletely understood.

Methods And Results: Using osteoblast MR knockout (MR) mouse in combination with myocardial infarction (MI) model, we demonstrated that MR deficiency in osteoblasts significantly improved cardiac function, promoted myocardial healing, as well as attenuated cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis and inflammatory response after MI.

Continuous Encoding for Overlapping Community Detection in Attributed Network.

Detecting overlapping communities of an attribute network is a ubiquitous yet very difficult task, which can be modeled as a discrete optimization problem. Besides the topological structure of the network, node attributes and node overlapping aggravate the difficulty of community detection significantly. In this article, we propose a novel continuous encoding method to convert the discrete-natured detection problem to a continuous one by associating each edge and node attribute in the network with a continuous variable.