Qiqihar Medical University

This study investigates the effects of exogenous abscisic acid in improving cold resistance in two medicinal Astragalus species, A. membranaceus and A. mongholicus, respectively. ABA was applied via foliar spraying at six concentrations (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 mg/L), after which plants were subjected to 4°C for 72 h. A series of physiological parameters were measured, including relative electrolyte leakage, MDA content, osmotic regulators (soluble sugars, soluble proteins, proline), antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase), and total chlorophyll content. The results indicate that 15 mg/L ABA most effectively alleviated membrane damage and oxidative stress, while also enhancing osmotic adjustment and antioxidant enzyme activities. Both principal component analysis and membership function evaluation consistently identified 15 mg/L as the optimal ABA concentration, with significantly higher comprehensive scores and average membership values compared to other treatments. Interspecific differences were observed between the two species. A. membranaceus exhibited a stronger response in membrane protection and antioxidant enzyme activation, whereas A. mongholicus relied more on osmotic regulation for cold tolerance. These findings demonstrate that 15 mg/L ABA significantly enhances cold resistance in both species and provides a practical and effective strategy for mitigating cold stress in Astragalus cultivation.

Abstract Objective: To explore the impact of a multidisciplinary intervention model guided by the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) concept on the prognosis of frail elderly patients undergoing gastrectomy and to provide clinical evidence for optimizing perioperative management strategies. Methods: A prospective cohort study design was adopted. A total of 186 frail elderly patients who underwent elective gastrectomy in our hospital from January 2023 to June 2025 were selected and divided into a control group (94 cases) and a conventional group (92 cases) based on the intervention method. The conventional group received the traditional perioperative management model, while the control group was subjected to a multidisciplinary collaborative ERAS intervention plan involving the surgical department, anesthesiology, nutrition, rehabilitation, geriatrics, and the nursing team. The postoperative complication rate, hospital stay, ICU stay, postoperative functional recovery, and 30-day readmission rate were compared between the two groups, and the clinical value of the multidisciplinary ERAS intervention was analyzed. Results: The total postoperative complication rate (χ² = 7.523, P = 0.006), postoperative hospital stay, and ICU stay of the control group were significantly shorter than those of the conventional group (P < 0.001). At 7 days postoperatively, the 6-minute walk test distance and the Mini-Mental State Examination scores of the control group were significantly better than those of the conventional group (all P < 0.001). The 30-day readmission rate of the control group was lower than that of the conventional group (χ² = 4.572, P = 0.032). Conclusion: Implementing a multidisciplinary intervention based on the ERAS concept for frail elderly patients undergoing gastrectomy can significantly reduce the postoperative complication rate, shorten hospital stay, promote physical and cognitive function recovery, and improve clinical prognosis, which has important clinical promotion value.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents a major global health burden with complex genetic etiology. While observational studies have identified numerous potential risk factors, establishing causal relationships remains challenging due to confounding and reverse causation. We conducted a comprehensive Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to investigate causal relationships between circulating biomarkers, lung tissue gene expression levels, and NSCLC risk. The analysis employed three complementary MR methods: inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR Egger, and weighted median approaches. Genetic instruments were selected from 10 to 26 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with exposure variables. We validated key findings through quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis in A549 and H1299 NSCLC cell lines. We examined multiple biomarkers including inflammatory mediators, immune-related proteins, and particularly focused on the HLA region within the major histocompatibility complex. Among circulating biomarkers, thymic stromal lymphopoietin demonstrated a statistically significant positive association with increased NSCLC risk (OR: 1.240, 95% CI: 1.073–1.433, p = 0.003). Gene expression analysis identified 18 genes with significant causal associations (FDR < 0.05), revealing a complex pattern of protective and risk-associated effects. qRT-PCR validation in A549 and H1299 cell lines confirmed differential expression patterns, with protective genes (HLA-DQB2, GMPPA) showing lower expression and risk-associated genes (VDR, P4HTM) showing higher expression in cancer cells compared to normal bronchial epithelial cells. Notable protective genes included HLA-DQB2 (OR: 0.917), HLA-DRB9 (OR: 0.875), and GMPPA (OR: 0.697), while risk-associated genes included VDR (OR: 1.825), P4HTM (OR: 1.520), and multiple HLA variants. Regional association analysis of the HLA-DQB2 locus revealed extremely high significance levels (p-values > 10^-135) within the MHC region on chromosome 6. This MR analysis provides robust genetic evidence for causal relationships between immune system regulation, inflammatory pathways, and NSCLC development, with experimental validation supporting the functional relevance of identified genetic associations.

PurposeSchizophrenia is a burden on patients’ health and finances and long-term antipsychotic treatment is required; treatment response differs among patients. This study aims to leverage data from Chinese hospitals to develop a machine learning (ML) model that predicts antipsychotic treatment efficacy in patients with schizophrenia and to conduct a payer-perspective cost-effectiveness analysis to inform clinical practice.Patients and MethodsThis single-center, real-world retrospective cohort study included 834 patients with schizophrenia from a Chinese hospital. Eight models were constructed using ML and performance was assessed. The model with highest accuracy was determined based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). We used the Shapley Additive Explanations (SHAP) values to determine the relative importance of each factor. Cost-effectiveness and incremental cost-effectiveness analyses were performed to assess cost-effectiveness of various treatments. A univariate sensitivity analysis was also conducted to validate the results.ResultsThe top 10 strongly correlated variables, identified through the Boruta algorithm, were selected for in-depth analysis to construct the model. GBM demonstrates the highest performance following a comprehensive evaluation. On the independent test set, our model achieved an AUC of 0.879 (95% CI: 0.833–0.924), an accuracy of 0.836, and a recall of 0.823. Based on this model, we developed and made publicly available an online prediction calculator to assist in clinical decision-making. Among all the treatment regimens, risperidone was the most cost-effective.ConclusionThe GBM model and its online calculator predict the treatment efficacy for hospitalized schizophrenia patients, aiding doctors in tailoring personalised treatment strategies. Risperidone tablets exhibit the highest cost-effectiveness in treatment, guiding the optimization of treatment plans and cost reduction.

The GPD1L gene is located on 3p22.3. It encodes the glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase 1-like protein with homology to glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD1L), but the function of this enzyme is unclear. Mutations in GPD1L have been associated with BrS (Brugada syndrome) and SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) and reduce Na+ inward current through an unknown mechanism in human cardiomyocytes. Here, a GPD1L knockout human embryonic stem cell line was generated using CRISPR/Cas9 system. The GPD1L knockout human embryonic stem cell maintains the pluripotency, differentiation into three germ layers, forming normal EBs.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technology has emerged as a powerful analytical tool for trace-level environmental pollutant detection, with its performance critically dependent on the physicochemical properties of substrate materials. While noble metal substrates (e.g., Au/Ag) demonstrate superior SERS enhancement through surface plasmon resonance (SPR), their practical deployment is hampered by inherent limitations including high material costs and susceptibility to oxidation-induced degradation. Herein, we report the rational design of Ag2O/TiO2 composite substrates via a facile wet-chemical precipitation method, wherein Ag2O nanoparticles are uniformly decorated onto pre-synthesized TiO2 nanospheres. Upon application in crystal violet (CV) detection, the optimized Ag2O/TiO2 composite substrate exhibits remarkable SERS performance with an enhancement factor (EF) of 6.7 × 106 and an ultra-low detection limit (LOD) of 1.0 nM (1.0 × 10⁻9 M). Systematic investigations reveal that the Ag2O modification induces photogenerated electron accumulation on the TiO2 surface, promoting photoinduced charge transfer (PICT) between the substrate and adsorbed CV molecules. This work not only presents a cost-effective and stable SERS platform for environmental contaminant monitoring but also provides mechanistic insights into the rational engineering of semiconductor-based SERS substrates with enhanced sensitivity and durability.

This paper studies a bushing explosion accident in a 500kV substation dead-tank circuit breaker. Through protection operation sequence inversion, disassembly trace analysis, and assembly process verification, it reveals the chain fault mechanism caused by incorrect bushing bolt assembly. The main cause of the accident was the use of hex socket bolts for the bushing grounding shield, which did not comply with the design standard. This induced long-term mechanical stress, leading to radial cracks originating from 12 bolt holes at the lower end of the bushing. During the initial fault, the bushing exploded, causing the conductive rod to pull upward and triggering a "triple discharge path" involving the conductive rod–inner shield–outer shield. After SF6 gas leakage, insulation degradation caused a secondary ground discharge. This case provides new insights for the prevention and control of hidden structural defects in dead-tank circuit breakers.

This study focused on clarifying whether methyltransferase3 (METTL3) participates in the polarization and activation of microglia in Alzheimer's disease (AD) by mediating the N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification level of TP53-induced glycolysis and apoptosis regulator (TIGAR). Human microglia HMC3 cells were transfected with overexpression or knockdown lentivirus of METTL3, TIGAR, or TIGAR before being induced by Aβ treatment to establish an in-vitro AD cell model. The expression of TIGAR and METTL3 was measured by real-time quantitative PCR and western blot. Microglial polarization was assessed by detecting the expression of M1 microglia marker CD86 and M2 marker CD206 using immunofluorescence and measuring the protein expression of M1-associated iNOS and IL-1β, and M2-associated Arg-1 and IL-10 using western blot. PAR-CLIP was employed to examine the binding of METTL3 to TIGAR mRNA, and MeRIP was used to measure the m6A level of TIGAR mRNA. The stability of TIGAR mRNA was evaluated by an actinomycin D assay. In Aβ-induced HMC3 cells, both METTL3 and TIGAR expressions were reduced. Aβ treatment in HMC3 cells increased M1 polarization and decreased M2 polarization. But this effect was partially reversed by overexpression of either METTL3 or TIGAR. METTL3 binds to TIGAR mRNA and increases its m6A level, thereby promoting TIGAR mRNA stability. METTL3 modulates the balance of Aβ-induced polarization and microglia activation in HMC3 cells by upregulating TIGAR, promoting polarization toward an anti-inflammatory profile.

A novel electrochemical method for synthesizing phosphorylated pyrido-[4,3,2-gh]-phenanthridine derivatives has been developed via a cascade phosphorylation/cyclization reaction. This approach employs a Cp2Fe-assisted electrochemical cycle to induce phosphonyl radical addition/cyanide insertion/intramolecular cyclization, achieving target products in yields of up to 91%. The reaction features mild conditions and a broad functional group tolerance. Notably, preliminary pharmacological screening indicates that some synthesized compounds show promising inhibitory effects against selected cancer cell lines in vitro.