Association Between Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) and Cognitive Function in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Purpose: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterised by intermittent hypoxia and sleep fragmentation, both of which can impair cognition. This study aimed to investigate the association between fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), a non-invasive marker of airway inflammation, and memory performance in patients with OSA.

Methods: A total of 102 participants were enrolled: 62 with moderate or severe OSA (apnea-hypopnea index, AHI≥15) and 40 with snoring or mild OSA (AHI <15).

[Relationship Between Different Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome Types and Gut Microbiota in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus].

Objective: To observe the characteristics of gut microbiota in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with different traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome types, and to further explore the key microbial communities and functional differences affecting syndrome differentiation.

Methods: A total of 45 patients who visited the Department of Geriatrics, Hunan Provincial Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine in 2023 were enrolled. These included 15 T2DM patients with qi-yin deficiency and blood stasis syndrome (Group A), 15 T2DM patients with qi-yin deficiency syndrome (Group B), and 15 non-diabetic patients from the same period (Group C).

Comparative study of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation and high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy in the treatment of patients with COPD and community-acquired pneumonia.

This study aims to provide a reference for clinical treatment selection by comparing noninvasive ventilation (NIV) and high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) oxygen therapy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) complicated by community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). From January 2022 to December 2023, 63 patients with COPD and CAP treated at our hospital were enrolled. Patients were allocated to either the NIV group (33 patients) or the HFNC group (30 patients), in addition to receiving conventional treatments.

Systematic identification of secondary bile acid production genes in global microbiome.

Unlabelled: Microbial metabolism of bile acids (BAs) is crucial for maintaining homeostasis in vertebrate hosts and environments. Although certain organisms involved in bile acid metabolism have been identified, a global, comprehensive elucidation of the microbes, metabolic enzymes, and bile acid remains incomplete. To bridge this gap, we employed hidden Markov models to systematically search in a large-scale and high-quality search library comprising 28,813 RefSeq multi-kingdom microbial complete genomes, enabling us to construct a secondary bile acid production gene catalog.

The mechanisms of exosomes in diabetic foot ulcers healing: a detailed review.

As time goes by, the morbidity of diabetes mellitus continues to rise, and the economic burden of diabetic foot ulcers as a common and serious complication of diabetes is increasing. However, currently there is no unified clinical treatment strategy for this complication, and the therapeutic efficacy is unsatisfactory. Recent studies have revealed that biological effects of exosomes involved in multiple stages of the process of wound closure are similar to source cells.

Bioorthogonal Peptide Macrocyclization Using Oxime Ligation.

The biocompatible synthesis of constrained peptides is challenging. Oxime ligation is a bioorthogonal technique frequently used for protein bioconjugation. We report a straightforward method to install N-terminal ketones and aminooxy side chains during standard solid-phase peptide synthesis.

Readiness for Hospital Discharge and Its Correlation with the Quality of Discharge Teaching among the Parents of Premature Infants in NICU.

Objectives: To assess the extent of the readiness for hospital discharge and the correlation with discharge teaching quality among parents of premature infants' in the NICU.

Background: Low readiness for discharge from the hospital can lead to negative outcomes in healthcare for infants born prematurely and their parents. Discharge guidelines are a basic approach to ensure the readiness of the parents for discharge from the hospital.

Pyroptosis inhibition improves the symptom of acute myocardial infarction.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI), the leading cause of mortality worldwide, is a rapidly developing and irreversible disease. Therefore, proper prompt intervention at the early stage of AMI is crucial for its treatment. However, the molecular features in the early stage have not been clarified.

Challenges of short substrate analogues as SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors.

Specific anti-coronaviral drugs complementing available vaccines are urgently needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Given its high conservation across the betacoronavirus genus and dissimilarity to human proteases, the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (M) is an attractive drug target. SARS-CoV-2 M inhibitors have been developed at unprecedented speed, most of them being substrate-derived peptidomimetics with cysteine-modifying warheads.

Optimization of CRISPR/Cas System for Improving Genome Editing Efficiency in .

Studies of molecular mechanisms and related gene functions have long been restricted by limited genome editing technologies in malaria parasites. Recently, a simple and effective genome editing technology, the CRISPR/Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated) system, has greatly facilitated these studies in many organisms, including malaria parasites. However, due to the special genome feature of malaria parasites, the manipulation and gene editing efficacy of the CRISPR/Cas system in this pathogen need to be improved, particularly in the human malaria parasite, .

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 671 COVID-19 patients in Henan Province, China.

Background: Despite many reports on the characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China, relatively little is known about the transmission features of COVID-19 outside Wuhan, especially at the provincial level.

Methods: We collected epidemiological, demographic, clinical, laboratory, radiological and occupation information, along with contact history, of 671 patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 reported from January 23 to February 5, 2020, in Henan province, China. We described characteristics of these cases, compared the diagnostic accuracy and features of blood testing, computed tomography (CT) scans and X-rays, and analysed SARS-CoV-2 transmission sources and patients' occupations in Henan province.

Increase in DNA Damage by MYCN Knockdown Through Regulating Nucleosome Organization and Chromatin State in Neuroblastoma.

As a transcription factor, MYCN regulates myriad target genes including the histone chaperone FACT. Moreover, FACT and MYCN expression form a forward feedback loop in neuroblastoma. It is unclear whether MYCN is involved in chromatin remodeling in neuroblastoma through regulation of its target genes.

H3K27me3 Signal in the Cis Regulatory Elements Reveals the Differentiation Potential of Progenitors During Drosophila Neuroglial Development.

Drosophila neural development undergoes extensive chromatin remodeling and precise epigenetic regulation. However, the roles of chromatin remodeling in establishment and maintenance of cell identity during cell fate transition remain enigmatic. Here, we compared the changes in gene expression, as well as the dynamics of nucleosome positioning and key histone modifications between the four major neural cell types during Drosophila neural development.

Ferroptosis is governed by differential regulation of transcription in liver cancer.

Ferroptosis is an outcome of metabolic disorders and closely linked to liver cancer. However, the mechanism underlying the fine regulation of ferroptosis in liver cancer remains unclear. Here, we have identified two categories of genes: ferroptosis up-regulated factors (FUF) and ferroptosis down-regulated factors (FDF), which stimulate and suppress ferroptosis by affecting the synthesis of GSH.

Dynamic placement of the linker histone H1 associated with nucleosome arrangement and gene transcription in early Drosophila embryonic development.

The linker histone H1 is critical to maintenance of higher-order chromatin structures and to gene expression regulation. However, H1 dynamics and its functions in embryonic development remain unresolved. Here, we profiled gene expression, nucleosome positions, and H1 locations in early Drosophila embryos.

Periplaneta Americana Extract May Attenuate Renal Fibrosis through Inhibiting Janus Tyrosine Kinase 2/Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 Pathway.

Background: Periplaneta americana is one of the ancient insect groups with the strongest vitality. Periplaneta americana extract (PAE) has been explored as an alternative remedy for many diseases. Although much progress has been made in the study about PAE, the role of the drug in renal disease is rarely reported, especially in renal fibrosis.

Reduced Self-Diploidization and Improved Survival of Semi-cloned Mice Produced from Androgenetic Haploid Embryonic Stem Cells through Overexpression of Dnmt3b.

Androgenetic haploid embryonic stem cells (AG-haESCs) hold great promise for exploring gene functions and generating gene-edited semi-cloned (SC) mice. However, the high incidence of self-diploidization and low efficiency of SC mouse production are major obstacles preventing widespread use of these cells. Moreover, although SC mice generation could be greatly improved by knocking out the differentially methylated regions of two imprinted genes, 50% of the SC mice did not survive into adulthood.

Role of Stat3 Signaling in Control of EMT of Tubular Epithelial Cells During Renal Fibrosis.

Background/aims: Transforming growth factor β 1 (TGFβ1) plays a critical role in the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of renal tubular epithelial cells (TECs) during renal injury, a major cause of acute renal failure, renal fibrosis and obstructive nephropathy. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain ill-defined. Here, we addressed this question.

Smad5 acts as an intracellular pH messenger and maintains bioenergetic homeostasis.

Both environmental cues and intracellular bioenergetic states profoundly affect intracellular pH (pHi). How a cell responds to pHi changes to maintain bioenergetic homeostasis remains elusive. Here we show that Smad5, a well-characterized downstream component of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling responds to pHi changes.

Nucleosome eviction along with H3K9ac deposition enhances Sox2 binding during human neuroectodermal commitment.

Neuroectoderm is an important neural precursor. However, chromatin remodeling and its epigenetic regulatory roles during the differentiation of human neuroectodermal cells (hNECs) from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) remain largely unexplored. Here, we obtained hNECs through directed differentiation from hESCs, and determined chromatin states in the two cell types.

Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 +49A/G polymorphisms contribute to the risk of type 1 diabetes in children: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a heritable disease associated with multiple genetic variants. This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the correlation between cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4(CTLA-4) +49A/G polymorphisms and the risk of T1D in children. The random effects model was used to estimate the related odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

Chromatin remodeling during in vivo neural stem cells differentiating to neurons in early Drosophila embryos.

Neurons are a key component of the nervous system and differentiate from multipotent neural stem cells (NSCs). Chromatin remodeling has a critical role in the differentiation process. However, its in vivo epigenetic regulatory role remains unknown.

Comparison of HLA-A, -B and -DRB1 Loci Polymorphism between Kidney Transplants of Uremia Patients and Healthy Individuals in Central China.

Chronic kidney disease is becoming a global public health problem, which will usually cause uremia at the end stage of chronic kidney failure. So far, kidney transplant is the most effective and proper therapy for uremia, however, the short supply of matched donor kidney has been a persistent bottleneck for transplantation. HLA matching of HLA-A, -B and -DRB1 loci is very important for the allocation of kidney transplants.

Chromatin remodeling during the in vivo glial differentiation in early Drosophila embryos.

Chromatin remodeling plays a critical role in gene regulation and impacts many biological processes. However, little is known about the relationship between chromatin remodeling dynamics and in vivo cell lineage commitment. Here, we reveal the patterns of histone modification change and nucleosome positioning dynamics and their epigenetic regulatory roles during the in vivo glial differentiation in early Drosophila embryos.