Heterogeneous fusion of biometric and deep physiological features for accurate porcine cough recognition

by Buyu Wang, Jingwei Qi, Xiaoping An, Yuan Wang

Accurate identification of porcine cough plays a vital role in comprehensive respiratory health monitoring and diagnosis of pigs. It serves as a fundamental prerequisite for stress-free animal health management, reducing pig mortality rates, and improving the economic efficiency of the farming industry. Creating a representative multi-source signal signature for porcine cough is a crucial step toward automating its identification. To this end, a feature fusion method that combines the biological features extracted from the acoustic source segment with the deep physiological features derived from thermal source images is proposed in the paper. First, acoustic features from various domains are extracted from the sound source signals. To determine the most effective combination of sound source features, an SVM-based recursive feature elimination cross-validation algorithm (SVM-RFECV) is employed. Second, a shallow convolutional neural network (named ThermographicNet) is constructed to extract deep physiological features from the thermal source images. Finally, the two heterogeneous features are integrated at an early stage and input into a support vector machine (SVM) for porcine cough recognition. Through rigorous experimentation, the performance of the proposed fusion approach is evaluated, achieving an impressive accuracy of 98.79% in recognizing porcine cough. These results further underscore the effectiveness of combining acoustic source features with heterogeneous deep thermal source features, thereby establishing a robust feature representation for porcine cough recognition.

Interactions of plumbagin with five common antibiotics against <i>Staphylococcus aureus in vitro</i>

by Songtao Bie, Qiuyue Mo, Chen Shi, Hui Yuan, Chunshuang Li, Tong Wu, Wenlong Li, Heshui Yu

Staphylococcus aureus is the main culprit, causing a variety of severe clinical infections. At the same time, clinics are also facing the severe situation of antibiotic resistance. Therefore, effective strategies to address this problem may include expanding the antimicrobial spectrum by exploring alternative sources of drugs or delaying the development of antibiotic resistance through combination therapy so that existing antibiotics can continue to be used. Plumbagin (PLU) is a phytochemical that exhibits antibacterial activity. In the present study, we investigated the in vitro antibacterial activity of PLU. We selected five antibiotics with different mechanisms and inhibitory activities against S. aureus to explore their interaction with the combination of PLU. The interaction of combinations was evaluated by the Bliss independent model and visualized through response surface analysis. PLU exhibited potent antibacterial activity, with half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values against S. aureus of 1.73 μg/mL and 4 μg/mL, respectively. Synergism was observed when PLU was combined with nitrofurantoin (NIT), ciprofloxacin (CPR), mecillinam (MEC), and chloramphenicol (CHL). The indifference of the trimethoprim (TMP)-PLU pairing was demonstrated across the entire dose-response matrix, but significant synergy was observed within a specific dose region. In addition, no antagonistic interactions were indicated. Overall, PLU is not only a promising antimicrobial agent but also has the potential to enhance the growth-inhibitory activity of some antibiotics against S. aureus, and the use of the interaction landscape, along with the dose-response matrix, for analyzing and quantifying combination results represents an improved approach to comprehending antibacterial combinations.

Risk factors of ectopic pregnancy after in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer in Chinese population: A meta-analysis

by Yanbo Wang, Li Chen, Yuan Tao, Mengqian Luo

Background

The prevalence of ectopic pregnancy after assisted reproduction is notably high, posing a significant threat to the life safety of pregnant women. Discrepancies in published results and the lack of a comprehensive description of all risk factors have led to ongoing uncertainties concerning ectopic pregnancy after assisted reproduction.

Objective

This study aimed to understand the risk factors for ectopic pregnancy after in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer in the Chinese population and provide a reference for targeted prevention and treatment.

Methods

A comprehensive search of the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wang fang Database, China Science Technology Journal Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase was conducted to identify relevant literature on the risk factors for ectopic pregnancy in Chinese women after assisted reproductive technology in Chinese women. A meta-analysis of the included studies was performed using Stata17.

Results

Overall, 34 articles were included in the analysis. The risk factors for ectopic pregnancy after in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer in the Chinese population included a thin endometrium on the day of HCG administration and embryo transplantation, a history of ectopic pregnancy, secondary infertility, a history of induced abortion, polycystic ovary syndrome, decreased ovarian reserve, tubal factor infertility, cleavage stage embryo transfer, fresh embryo transfer, artificial cycle protocols, elevated estradiol levels on the day of human chorionic gonadotropin administration, a history of tubal surgery, two or more number of embryo transfers, previous pregnancy history, and a history of pelvic surgery.

Conclusion

This study clarified the factors influencing ectopic pregnancy after in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer in the Chinese population, focusing on high-risk groups. Targeted and personalized intervention measures should be adopted to prevent and detect the disease early to reduce its incidence and harm.

Trial registration

The protocol for this view was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023414710).

Number and ratio of metastatic lymph nodes impacts the prognosis of submandibular gland cancer

by Qigen Fang, Liyuan Dai, Xu Zhang, Ruihua Luo, Junhui Yuan

This study aimed to assess the impact of the number and ratio of metastatic lymph nodes (LNs) on prognosis in submandibular gland cancer. To this end, patients were selected from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database retrospectively. The effect of the number and ratio of metastatic LNs and the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) N stage on disease-specific survival (DSS) and overall survival (OS) was analyzed. In addition, prognostic models based on LN evaluation methods were developed to predict the OS and DSS. A total of 914 patients were included. Binary recursive partitioning analysis determined the optimal cut-off number of metastatic LNs (0 vs. 1–2. vs. 3+). The presence of 3+ metastatic LNs carried the greatest impact on prognosis, followed by 1–2 positive LNs occurrences. The ratio of metastatic LNs was an independent factor for DSS and OS. The model had a higher likelihood ratio and C-index than those in the Cox model based on the AJCC N stage. Quantitative LN burden and ratio of metastatic LNs provides better survival stratification than the AJCC N stage.

The mediation and interaction of the obesity index between moderate-vigorous recreational physical activity and hypertension

by Bingqian Du, Yuting Li, Yun Xia, Shan Wu, Yuan Wei, Zhihao Wang, Shupei Wang, Jiao Guo, Qing Zhu, Tianran Shen, Qingsong Chen

Previous studies showed that physical activity (PA) is concerned with hypertension (HTN). However, the mediation and interaction role of the obesity index: body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR), body fat rate (BFR) and visceral fat index (VFI) between PA and HTN has never been studied. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the mediation and interaction of the obesity index between moderate-vigorous recreational physical activity (MVRPA) and HTN. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 4710 individuals aged 41 or older in Torch Development Zone, Zhongshan City. The mediation and interaction of the obesity index were evaluated by a four-way decomposition. 48.07% of participants had HTN among these groups. In the adjusted linear regression model, MVRPA was significantly correlated with WHR (β±SE = -0.005±0.002; POR) = 1.35), 95% (confidence interval (CI) = 1.17–1.56), insufficient MVRPA increased the risk of developing HTN. Furthermore, there were associations between BMI, WHR, BFR, VFI and HTN where the adjusted ORs and 95% CIs were 1.11 (1.09–1.13), 6.23 (2.61–14.90), 1.04 (1.03–1.06), 1.07 (1.06–1.09), respectively. The mediation analyses suggested that the impact of MVRPA on HTN risk may partly be explained by changes in obesity index, with a pure indirect mediation of WHR between MVRPA and HTN (P

The association between serum prolactin levels and live birth rates in non-PCOS patients: A retrospective cohort study

by Xiaoyuan Xu, Aimin Yang, Yan Han, Wei Wang, Guimin Hao, Na Cui

Background and objectives

This paper aimed to analyze the relationship between baseline prolactin (PRL) levels and live birth rates (LBRs) in patients undergoing embryo transfer who did not have polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) using a retrospective design. Patient(s): A total of 20,877 patients who had undergone IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) between December 2014 and December 2019.

Materials and methods

We examined the association between PRL concentrations and LBRs using multivariate regression analysis. In addition, a model for nonlinear relationships based on a two-part linear regression was developed.

Results

Following adjustment for confounding factors, multivariate regression analysis confirmed a statistically significant correlation between serum PRL and LBR. Particularly, when blood PRL content was less than 14.8 ng/mL, there exists a positive relation between serum PRL and LBRs. In contrast, once PRL concentrations surpassed the inflection point at 14.8 ng/mL, a meaningful relationship could no longer be inferred between serum PRL and LBR.

Conclusions

Basal serum PRL levels were segmentally connected with LBRs.

Vitamin K2 (MK-7) attenuates LPS-induced acute lung injury via inhibiting inflammation, apoptosis, and ferroptosis

by Yulian Wang, Weidong Yang, Lulu Liu, Lihong Liu, Jiepeng Chen, Lili Duan, Yuyuan Li, Shuzhuang Li

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a life-threatening disease that has received considerable critical attention in the field of intensive care. This study aimed to explore the role and mechanism of vitamin K2 (VK2) in ALI. Intraperitoneal injection of 7 mg/kg LPS was used to induce ALI in mice, and VK2 injection was intragastrically administered with the dose of 0.2 and 15 mg/kg. We found that VK2 improved the pulmonary pathology, reduced myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and levels of TNF-α and IL-6, and boosted the level of IL-10 of mice with ALI. Moreover, VK2 played a significant part in apoptosis by downregulating and upregulating Caspase-3 and Bcl-2 expressions, respectively. As for further mechanism exploration, we found that VK2 inhibited P38 MAPK signaling. Our results also showed that VK2 inhibited ferroptosis, which manifested by reducing malondialdehyde (MDA) and iron levels, increasing glutathione (GSH) level, and upregulated and downregulated glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expressions, respectively. In addition, VK2 also inhibited elastin degradation by reducing levels of uncarboxylated matrix Gla protein (uc-MGP) and desmosine (DES). Overall, VK2 robustly alleviated ALI by inhibiting LPS-induced inflammation, apoptosis, ferroptosis, and elastin degradation, making it a potential novel therapeutic candidate for ALI.

Long non-coding RNA SNHG17 may function as a competitive endogenous RNA in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma progression by sponging miR-34a-5p

by Shengjuan Lu, Lin Zeng, Guojun Mo, Danqing Lei, Yuanhong Li, Guodi Ou, Hailian Wu, Jie Sun, Chao Rong, Sha He, Dani Zhong, Qing Ke, Qingmei Zhang, Xiaohong Tan, Hong Cen, Xiaoxun Xie, Chengcheng Liao

We investigated the functional mechanism of long non-coding small nucleolar host gene 17 (SNHG17) in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). lncRNAs related to the prognosis of patients with DLBCL were screened to analyze long non-coding small nucleolar host gene 17 (SNHG17) expression in DLBCL and normal tissues, and a nomogram established for predicting DLBCL prognosis. SNHG17 expression in B-cell lymphoma cells was detected using qPCR. The effects of SNHG17 with/without doxorubicin on the proliferation and apoptosis of DoHH2 and Daudi were detected. The effects of combined SNHG17 and doxorubicin were analyzed. The regulatory function of SNHG17 in DLBCL was investigated using a mouse tumor xenotransplantation model. RNA sequencing was used to analyze the signaling pathways involved in SNHG17 knockdown in B-cell lymphoma cell lines. The target relationships among SNHG17, microRNA, and downstream mRNA biomolecules were detected. A higher SNHG17 level predicted a lower survival rate. SNHG17 was highly expressed in DLBCL patient tissues and cell lines. We established a prognostic model containing SNHG17 expression, which could effectively predict the overall survival rate of DLBCL patients. SNHG17 knockdown inhibited the proliferation and induced the apoptosis of B-cell lymphoma cells, and the combination of SNHG17 and doxorubicin had a synergistic effect. SNHG17, miR-34a-5p, and ZESTE gene enhancer homolog 2 (EZH2) had common hypothetical binding sites, and the luciferase reporter assay verified that miR-34a-5p was the direct target of SNHG17, and EZH2 was the direct target of miR-34a-5p. The carcinogenic function of SNHG17 in the proliferation and apoptosis of DLBCL cells was partially reversed by a miR-34a-5p inhibitor. SNHG17 increases EZH2 levels by inhibiting miR-34a-5p. Our findings indicate SNHG17 as critical for promoting DLBCL progression by regulating the EZH2 signaling pathway and sponging miR-34a-5p. These findings provide a new prognostic marker and therapeutic target for the prognosis and treatment of DLBCL.

Network meta-analysis of treatments for perineal extramammary paget’s disease: Focusing on performance of recurrence prevention

by Xiaobin Yuan, Ruizhi Xue, Xiaoming Cao

Introduction

Perineal extramammary paget’s disease (EMPD) is characterized with high recurrence rate. Although numerous therapeutic measures for this disease have been reported so far, it is unknown whether there is significant difference in their recurrence-preventing efficiency. This study aims to compare the recurrence outcomes of reported perineal EMPD treatments.

Methods

We searched public databases of for published studies concerning perineal EMPD treatments. After screening by inclusion and exclusion criteria, we extracted the data relevant to recurrence rate, and conducted network meta-analysis (NMA) by using Bayesian random-effects approach.

Results

Our analysis included 29 previous studies (involving both male and female patients) and 11 treatment designs which are wide local excision (WLE), local excision (LE), Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS), radiotherapy (RT), radical vulvectomy (RV), photodynamic therapy (PDT), lasers (LS), imiquimod, and WLE+RT, WLE+PDT, WLE+LS. Comparing with WLE, the MMS showed significant advantage in reducing recurrence [OR: 0.18 (0.03–0.87)], while none of the rest treatments has statistically significant results. After removing outlier studies, MMS still has the significant advantages [OR: 0.35 (0.11–0.82)], and LE turned to be the treatment with worst performance [OR: 13 (2.50–110)]. Covariance analysis of follow-up length, gender differences, and lesion locations indicated only short follow-up time could affect the recurrence statistics, which tend to conceal the real differences. Funnel plot demonstrated there is no significant small study effect.

Conclusion

MMS has the best performance on reducing perineal EMPD recurrence, while LE exhibits the worst capability in such regard. Recurrence-preventing abilities of other treatments have no significant difference between each other.

Identification and validation of aging-related genes in atrial fibrillation

by Yong Zhou, Chao Sun, Yingxu Ma, Yunyin Huang, Keke Wu, Shengyuan Huang, Qiuzhen Lin, Jiayi Zhu, Zuodong Ning, Ningyuan Liu, Tao Tu, Qiming Liu

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia in the clinic. Aging plays an essential role in the occurrence and development of AF. Herein, we aimed to identify the aging-related genes associated with AF using bioinformatics analysis. Transcriptome profiles of AF were obtained from the GEO database. Differential expression analysis was performed to identify AF-specific aging-related genes. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed. Subsequently, the LASSO, SVM-RFE, and MCC algorithms were applied to screen aging-related genes. The mRNA expression of the screened genes was validated in the left atrial samples of aged rapid atrial pacing-induced AF canine models and their counterparts. The ROC curves of them were drawn to evaluate their diagnostic potential. Moreover, CIBERSORT was used to estimate immune infiltration. A correlation analysis between screened aging-related genes and infiltrating immune cells was performed. A total of 24 aging-related genes were identified, which were found to be mainly involved in the FoxO signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, longevity regulating pathway, and peroxisome according to functional enrichment analysis. LASSO, SVM-RFE, and MCC algorithms identified three genes (HSPA9, SOD2, TXN). Furthermore, the expression levels of HSPA9 and SOD2 were validated in aged rapid atrial pacing-induced AF canine models. HSPA9 and SOD2 could be potential diagnostic biomarkers for AF, as evidenced by the ROC curves. Immune infiltration and correlation analysis revealed that HSPA9 and SOD2 were related to immune cell infiltrates. Collectively, these findings provide novel insights into the potential aging-related genes associated with AF. HSPA9 and SOD2 may play a significant role in the occurrence and development of AF.

Isolation and identification of bioactive compounds from <i>Antrodia camphorata</i> against ESKAPE pathogens

by Ya-Dong Zhang, Liang-Yan Liu, Dong Wang, Xiao-Long Yuan, Yuan Zheng, Yi Wang

Antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to human health globally. Antrodia camphorata was grown in a malt/yeast extract broth liquid medium for 15 days. Then, 4-L fermentation broth was harvested, yielding 7.13 g of the ethyl acetate extract. By tracing the antimicrobial activity, 12.22 mg of the antimicrobial compound was isolated. The structure of 5-methyl-benzo [1,3]-dioxole-4,7-diol (MBBD) was elucidated using NMR and MS data analyses. The antibacterial activity of MBBD was detected through the microbroth dilution method. MBBD exhibited broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) range of MBBD for drug-resistant pathogenic bacteria was 64–256 μg/mL, with the lowest MIC observed for Acinetobacter baumannii (64 μg/mL), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC = 128 μg/mL). Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, and Escherichia coli were also sensitive, with an MIC of 256 μg/mL. The MIC range of MBBD against 10 foodborne pathogens was 12.5–100 μg/mL. Based on the results of this study, MBBD exhibits broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, particularly demonstrating excellent inhibitory effects against A. baumannii. MBBD will be good candidates for new antimicrobial drugs.