Under the tradeoff, the Hanning window, which was used in previous studies, is not always appropriate for the local measurement of the velocity, which sometimes exceeds 100 mm [Formula see text] depending on the subject, direction of the ultrasound beam to the heart wall, and cardiac periods. In the in vivo measurement with the short window, the Tukey window with a large flat part that has a high-frequency resolution and ameliorates the discontinuity at both edges of the windowed signal was appropriate to measure the maximum velocity. This study offers the potential for local measurements of each myocardial layer using the multifrequency velocity estimator with the appropriate window function and window length.

The aim of this study is to determine the role of serum exosomal miRNAs as potential non-invasive biomarkers for distinguishing no-or-mild fibrosis from significant fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).

Next-generation sequencing was used to identify fibrosis-related serum exosomal miRNAs in 9 CHB patients. The candidate exosomal miRNAs were further validated by qRT-PCR in 282 CHB patients. Receiver operating characteristic curves were generated to assess the diagnostic performance of exosomal miRNAs and other non-invasive models.

Seventy-two miRNAs were differentially expressed in serum exosomes between patients with no-or-mild fibrosis and significant fibrosis. The expression of serum exosomal miR-92a-3p and miR-146a-5p progressively increased with the aggravation of liver fibrosis in the validation cohort. Multivariate analysis identified miR-92a-3p (P<0.001), miR-146a-5p (P<0.001), and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) (P=0.012) as independent predictors for significant fibrosis. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of exosomal miR-92a-3p (AUROC=0.88) was significantly higher than that of APRI (aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index) (AUROC=0.72, P<0.001), FIB-4 (AUROC=0.71, P<0.001), and LSM (AUROC=0.80, P=0.022) for identifying significant fibrosis. Similarly, the AUROC of exosomal miR-146a-5p (AUROC=0.82) was also significantly better than that of APRI (AUROC=0.72, P=0.009), FIB-4 (AUROC=0.71, P=0.002), and comparable to LSM (AUROC=0.80, P=0.551) for discriminating significant fibrosis.

Serum exosomal miR-92a-3p and miR-146a-5p are superior to APRI, FIB-4, and LSM for diagnosing significant fibrosis in CHB patients and offer a promising non-invasive alternative to liver biopsy.

Serum exosomal miR-92a-3p and miR-146a-5p are superior to APRI, FIB-4, and LSM for diagnosing significant fibrosis in CHB patients and offer a promising non-invasive alternative to liver biopsy.A large number of studies on the metabolism of immune cells in anti-tumor response have been carried out in recent years. It is proved that metabolic reprogramming can determine the differentiation and functions of immune cells. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a heterogeneous population of immunosuppressive cells in the tumor microenvironment (TME). They can significantly inhibit the anti-tumor response of T cells and play an important role in promoting tumor growth, metastasis, and invasion. This review summarizes the energy metabolic pathways of MDSCs in the TME, such as fatty acid oxidation (FAO), glycolysis, and amino acids (AAs) metabolism, and highlights the importance of metabolic reprogramming of MDSCs for its immunosuppressive functions.mTOR (the mammalian target of rapamycin) is a serine/threonine kinase that can regulate a variety of signaling pathways, including cell growth, proliferation, and apoptosis. mTOR can regulate the proliferation and migration of endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells during the occurrence and progression of atherosclerosis. By inhibiting or activating mTOR at different time points, atherosclerotic vulnerable plaques can be stabilized and the occurrence and progression of atherosclerosis can be impeded. The mTOR signaling pathway plays a multifaceted role in the progression of atherosclerosis. mTOR and its interactions with molecular targets in the mechanisms of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases are reviewed in this article, taking into consideration their potential of opening up novel therapeutic avenues.

Few studies reported the risk factors of fatal outcome of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We aimed to identify the independent risk factors associated with fatal outcome of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

The clinical data of 109 consecutive COVID-19 patients including 40 (36.7%) common cases and 69 (63.3%) severe cases were included and analyzed.

Multivariate regression analysis indicated that platelets (PLT, OR, 0.988; 95% CI, 0.978-0.998; P=0.017) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (OR, 1.047; 95% CI, 1.026-1.068; P<0.001) levels were the independent risk factors of fatal outcome in COVID-19 patients. The optimal cut-off value of PLT counts for predicting fatal outcome was 161×109/L with the area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.824 (95% CI, 0.739-0.890). The optimal cut-off value of CRP for the prediction of fatal outcome was 46.2 mg/L with the AUROC of 0.954 (95% CI, 0.896-0.985). The CRP levels had higher predictive values for fatal outcome than PLT (P=0.016). The cumulative survival rate was significantly higher in patients with PLT>161×109/L compared with patients with PLT≤161×109/L (89.4% vs. 12.5%, log-rank test X2=72.17; P<0.001). Survival rate of COVID-19 patients was prominently higher in CRP≤46.2 mg/L patients compared with patients with CRP>46.2 mg/L (95.9% vs. 22.9%, log-rank test X2=77.85; P<0.001).

PLT counts and CRP levels could predict fatal outcome of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with relatively high accuracy.

PLT counts and CRP levels could predict fatal outcome of hospitalized COVID-19 patients with relatively high accuracy.

Uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC) is the second most common malignancy of female reproductive system. Though most UCEC are diagnosed at an early age, the mortality has increased. It is important to develop new targets for prognosis evaluation and treatment.

Expression profiles of 19 m6A regulators and UCEC samples’ epidemiologic information were obtained from GTEx and TCGA datasets. Nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) was used to cluster UCEC samples into three groups and overall survival (OS) was compared among them. Multivariate cox proportional hazard model was used to select targets for the construction of m6A-related prognosis prediction signature. A nomogram consisting of m6A-related signature, stage, and histology was provided for clinical application.

Eighteen m6A regulators were found to be differentially expressed between normal sample and UCEC samples. There was a significant difference in the OS probability among three clusters with different expression levels of m6A. VIRMA, YTHDF3, and IGF2BP1 were picked as UCEC prognosis prediction signatures and the prognostic value was confirmed. Risk score estimated by this signature was demonstrated to be the independent prognostic factor for UCEC.

Aberrant expression of m6A RNA methylation regulators was significantly associated with the development and prognosis of UCEC. A three-gene signature consisting of VIRMA, YTHDF3, and IGF2BP1 may effectively predict the prognosis of UCEC patients.

Aberrant expression of m6A RNA methylation regulators was significantly associated with the development and prognosis of UCEC. A three-gene signature consisting of VIRMA, YTHDF3, and IGF2BP1 may effectively predict the prognosis of UCEC patients.Two new marine actinobacteria, designated as J2-1T and J2-2T, were isolated from a coral, Favites pentagona, collected from Rayong Province, Thailand. The taxonomic positions of the two strains were identified based on polyphasic taxonomy. Based on morphological characteristics and chemotaxonomy, strains J2-1T and J2-2T were identified as members of the genus Streptomyces and Kineosporia, respectively. Strains J2-1T and J2-2T showed the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Streptomyces broussonetiae T44T (98.62 %) and Kineosporia babensis VN05A0415T (98.08 %), respectively. Strain J2-1T had chemotaxonomic properties resembling members of the genus Streptomyces. ll-Diaminopimelic acid, glucose and ribose were detected in the whole-cell hydrolysate. Diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylinositolmannoside, unidentified aminolipid and five unidentified phospholipids were detected as the polar lipids. The major cellular fatty acids were C1rallincola sp. nov. (J2-1T=TBRC 13503T=NBRC 115066T) and Kineosporia corallincola sp. nov. (J2-2T=TBRC 13504T=NBRC 114885T).Some species of the genus Clostridium are efficient acetate producers and have been deemed useful for upgrading industrial biogas. An acetogenic, strictly anaerobic, Gram-stain-positive, subterminal endospore-forming bacterium designated strain PL3T was isolated from peatland soil enrichments with H2 and CO2. Cells of strain PL3T were 0.8-1.0×4.0-10.0 µm in size and rod-shaped. Growth of strain PL3T occurred at pH 6.0-7.5 (optimum, pH 7.0), at 20-40 °C (optimum, 30 °C) and with 0-1.5 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 0.5%). Biochemical analyses revealed that strain PL3T metabolized lactose, maltose, raffinose, rhamnose, lactic acid, sorbitol, arabinose and glycerol. Acetic acid was the predominant metabolite under anaerobic respiration with H2/CO2. The major cellular fatty acids were C16  0, C16  1 cis 9 and C17  0 cyc. The main polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, aminolipid and aminophospholipid. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain PL3T belongs to the genus Clostridium with the highest sequence similarity to Clostridium aciditolerans DSM 17425T (98.6 %) followed by Clostridium nitrophenolicum (97.8 %). The genomic DNA G+C content of strain PL3T was 31.1 mol%.The genomic in silico DNA-DNA hybridization value between strain PL3T and C. aciditolerans DSM 17425T was 25.1 %, with an average nucleotide identity of 80.2 %. Based on phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic differences, strain PL3T was suggested to represent a novel species of the genus Clostridium, for which the name Clostridium thailandense sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is PL3T (=DSM 111812T=TISTR 2984T).Objective The Relational Depth Frequency Scale (RDFS) is a 6-item measure to assess the impact of relational depth experiences on psychotherapeutic outcomes. To date, the RDFS has only been validated in online samples of clinical and non-clinical individuals. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the RDFS in clinical dyads of clients and psychotherapists.Method A total of 86 psychotherapy dyads-86 psychotherapists (18 male, 68 female, mean age = 44.34) and 86 clients (17 male, 69 female, mean age = 34.22)-completed the RDFS, and the Scale to Assess the Psychotherapeutic Relationship (STAR), mid-psychotherapy.Results CFA showed acceptable fit statistics for a one-factor model. The partial measurement invariance across both partners of the psychotherapeutic dyad was positively verified. The RDFS had good internal consistency for psychotherapists and clients (α = .90 and .81, respectively). Actor-partner interdependence model confirmed moderate to high levels of convergent validity against the STAR.