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Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are a heterogeneous cell population that plays a crucial role in remodeling the tumor microenvironment (TME). Here, through the integrated analysis of spatial and single-cell transcriptomics data across six common cancer types, we identified four distinct functional subgroups of CAFs and described their spatial distribution characteristics. Additionally, the analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) data from three additional common cancer types and two newly generated scRNA-seq datasets of rare cancer types, namely epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma (EMC) and mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC), expanded our understanding of CAF heterogeneity. Cell–cell interaction analysis conducted within the spatial context highlighted the pivotal roles of matrix CAFs (mCAFs) in tumor angiogenesis and inflammatory CAFs (iCAFs) in shaping the immunosuppressive microenvironment. In patients with breast cancer (BRCA) undergoing anti-PD-1 immunotherapy, iCAFs demonstrated heightened capacity in facilitating cancer cell proliferation, promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and contributing to the establishment of an immunosuppressive microenvironment. Furthermore, a scoring system based on iCAFs showed a significant correlation with immune therapy response in melanoma patients. Lastly, we provided a web interface ( https://chenxisd.shinyapps.io/pancaf/ ) for the research community to investigate CAFs in the context of pan-cancer.

Brain endothelial cells (BECs) are important conduits that deliver oxygen and nutrients, protect parenchyma cells from toxins, and drain wastes to maintain brain homeostasis. Impairment of BECs has been implicated in diverse neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Therefore, molecular analysis of BECs is important for understanding the molecular pathogenesis of these neurological diseases. Even though many transcriptome analyses for BECs have been developed, mRNA levels do not necessarily correlate with the levels of actively translated proteins. Translatome analysis using RiboTag mice, in which Rpl22, a ribosomal component, is tagged by the hemagglutinin epitope under Cre recombinase activation, could serve as an excellent tool that overcomes these caveats. However, implementation of this technique is limited by high noise-to-signal ratios as well as the low yield of mRNAs from BECs, which limits bulk gene expression analysis. In this study, we established a protocol to isolate highly pure mRNAs from BECs in the cortex of eight- to twelve-week-old male Tie2-Cre; Rpl22 HA/HA mice by using a cell strainer to trap blood vessels prior to immunoprecipitation. According to the results of RT–PCR, the specificity of the mRNA pools isolated by our protocol was much higher than that of the pools isolated by the standard protocol. We were also able to generate a high-quality cDNA library for RNA-seq with the small amount of mRNA isolated with our protocol. Thus, this optimized method will be useful for future studies of BECs at the molecular level.

Land-cover plays an important role in the Earth’s energy balance, the hydrological cycle, and the carbon cycle. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the current global land-cover (GLC) products and to understand the differences between these products so that they can be used effectively in different applications. In this study, three 30-m GLC products, namely GlobeLand30-2010, GLC_FCS30-2015, and FROM_GLC30-2015, were evaluated in terms of areal consistency and spatial consistency using the Land Use/Cover Area frame statistical Survey (LUCAS) reference dataset over the European Union (EU). Given the limitations of the traditional confusion matrix used in accuracy assessment, we adjusted the confusion matrices from sample counts by accounting for the class proportions of the map and reported the standard errors of the descriptive accuracy measures in the accuracy assessment. The results revealed the following. (1) The overall accuracy of the GlobeLand30-2010 product was the highest at 88.90 ± 0.68%; this was followed by GLC_FCS30-2015 (84.33 ± 0.80%) and FROM_GLC2015 (65.31 ± 1.0%). (2) The consistency between the GLC_FCS30-2015 and GlobeLand30-2010 is higher than the consistency between other products, with an area correlation coefficient of 0.930 and a proportion of consistent pixels of 52.41%, respectively. (3) Across the area of the EU, the dominant land-cover types such as forest and cropland are the most consistent across the three products, whereas the spatial consistency for bare land, grassland, shrubland, and wetland is relatively low. (4) The proportion of pixels for which the consistency is low accounts for less than 16.17% of pixels, whereas the proportion of pixels for which the consistency is high accounts for about 39.12%. The disagreement between these products primarily occurs in transitional zones with mixed land cover types or in mountain areas. Overall, the GlobeLand30 and GLC-FCS30 products were found to be the most consistent and to have good classification accuracy in the EU, with the disagreement between the three 30-m GLC products mainly occurring in heterogeneous regions.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a complex and progressive disease characterized by elevated pulmonary artery pressure and vascular remodeling. Recent studies have underscored the pivotal role of metabolic dysregulation and epigenetic modifications in the pathogenesis of PAH. Lactate, a byproduct of glycolysis, is now recognized as a key molecule that links cellular metabolism with activity regulation. Recent findings indicate that, in addition to altered glycolytic activity and dysregulated. Lactate homeostasis and lactylation—a novel epigenetic modification—also play a significant role in the development of PAH. This review synthesizes current knowledge regarding the relationship between altered glycolytic activity and PAH, with a particular focus on the cumulative effects of lactate in pulmonary vascular cells. Furthermore, lactylation, an emerging epigenetic modification, is discussed in the context of PAH. By elucidating the complex interplay between lactate metabolism and lactylation in PAH, this review aims to provide insights into potential therapeutic targets. Understanding these metabolic pathways may lead to innovative strategies for managing PAH and improving patient outcomes. Future research should focus on the underlying mechanisms through which lactylation influences the pathophysiology of PAH, thereby aiding in the development of targeted interventions.

Land-cover mapping is one of the foundations of Earth science. As a result of the combined efforts of many scientists, numerous global land-cover (GLC) products with a resolution of 30 m have so far been generated. However, the increasing number of fine-resolution GLC datasets is imposing additional workloads as it is necessary to confirm the quality of these datasets and check their suitability for user applications. To provide guidelines for users, in this study, the recent developments in currently available 30 m GLC products (including three GLC products and thematic products for four different land-cover types, i.e., impervious surface, forest, cropland, and inland water) were first reviewed. Despite the great efforts toward improving mapping accuracy that there have been in recent decades, the current 30 m GLC products still suffer from having relatively low accuracies of between 46.0% and 88.9% for GlobeLand30-2010, 57.71% and 80.36% for FROM_GLC-2015, and 65.59% and 84.33% for GLC_FCS30-2015. The reported accuracies for the global 30 m thematic maps vary from 67.86% to 95.1% for the eight impervious surface products that were reviewed, 56.72% to 97.36% for the seven forest products, 32.73% to 98.3% for the six cropland products, and 15.67% to 99.7% for the six inland water products. The consistency between the current GLC products was then examined. The GLC maps showed a good overall agreement in terms of spatial patterns but a limited agreement for some vegetation classes (such as shrub, tree, and grassland) in specific areas such as transition zones. Finally, the prospects for fine-resolution GLC mapping were also considered. With the rapid development of cloud computing platforms and big data, the Google Earth Engine (GEE) greatly facilitates the production of global fine-resolution land-cover maps by integrating multisource remote sensing datasets with advanced image processing and classification algorithms and powerful computing capability. The synergy between the spectral, spatial, and temporal features derived from multisource satellite datasets and stored in cloud computing platforms will definitely improve the classification accuracy and spatiotemporal resolution of fine-resolution GLC products. In general, up to now, most land-cover maps have not been able to achieve the maximum (per class or overall) error of 5%–15% required by many applications. Therefore, more efforts are needed toward improving the accuracy of these GLC products, especially for classes for which the accuracy has so far been low (such as shrub, wetland, tundra, and grassland) and in terms of the overall quality of the maps.

The prevalence of abdominal obesity is increasing dramatically worldwide. This study aimed to estimate the current prevalence of abdominal obesity from the 2011 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) and compare the data with other countries. Waist circumference (WC) of 12,326 Chinese adults (aged 20 years or older) from the 2011 CHNS were analyzed by age group and region. Abdominal obesity was defined as a WC ≥90 cm for men and WC ≥80 cm for women based on World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for Asians. In 2011, the age-adjusted mean WC was 85.9 cm (95% confidence interval [CI], 85.6–86.2 cm) for men and 80.7 cm (95% CI, 80.4–80.9 cm) for women. Based on the WHO recommendations, the age-adjusted prevalence of abdominal obesity was 44.0% (95% CI, 43.1%–44.8%) overall, 35.3% (95% CI, 34.1%–36.6%) in men, and 51.7% (95% CI, 50.5%–52.9%) in women. Moreover, the age-adjusted prevalence was 44.0% (95% CI, 42.7%–45.2%) in rural populations, 42.5% (95% CI, 40.7%–44.2%) in urban populations, and 45.2% (95% CI, 43.5%–46.9%) in megacity populations. The prevalence in China (35.3% for men and 51.7% for women) was lower than in Japan (50.8% for men) and the United States (43.5% for men and 64.7% for women). Similar results were observed when applying the criteria suggested by the Working Group on Obesity in China. In 2011, the age-adjusted prevalence of abdominal obesity in China was 35.3% in men and 51.7% in women. •In 2011, the mean waist circumference in China was 85.9 cm (men) and 80.7 cm (women).•In 2011, the prevalence of abdominal obesity was 35.3% in men and 51.7% in women.•The prevalence in China was lower than in Japan and the United States.

Background: The diagnosis of hypertension should be based on the mean of two or more properly measured BP readings on each of two visits for clinical practice, but a one-visit strategy was applied in most epidemiological surveys. The impact of hypertension definition based on two visits on estimates of hypertension burden is unknown. This study aims to assess the impact of hypertension diagnosis based on a two-visit strategy for estimating hypertension burden in China. Methods: The one-visit and two-visit strategies were applied to investigate the incidence of hypertension in a cohort study based on the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) 1989–2011. Additionally the prevalence of hypertension was investigated in a cross-sectional study based on the CHNS 2006–2009/2011 and the hypertension burden in China was estimated with data from the 2012–2015 China hypertension survey. Results: Overall, the age-adjusted incidence of hypertension based on the two-visit strategy (1.82%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.74–1.90%) was 62.1% lower than estimation based on the one-visit strategy (4.80%; 95% CI, 4.68–4.93%). Similar results were found in the prevalence of hypertension (one-visit: 18.13% [95% CI, 17.34–18.92%]; two-visit: 9.47% [95% CI, 8.87–10.07%]). When the two-visit strategy was applied to the 2012–2015 China hypertension survey, the hypertension burden was predicted to be overestimated by 25.5–47.8% (based on JNC 7) and 23.5–48.2% (based on the 2017 ACC/AHA). Conclusion: The hypertension burden would decrease from 244.5 million persons to 127.5–182.3 million persons in China if the two-visit strategy was applied.

Background: This cross-sectional study investigated the factors influencing oral care in patients in intensive care units (ICUs) by identifying the current oral care practice status, perceptions, and attitudes of ICU nurses in Korea. Methods: This study surveyed 240 nurses with work experience in the ICU using a self-report questionnaire consisting of 22 items on the status, perception, and attitude towards oral care in the ICU. Results: A total of 227 questionnaires were analyzed. The average age of the participants was 29.79 ± 5.92 years, and the medical ICU was the most type of ICU. The factors affecting the attitude towards oral care and its importance in ICU patients were the experience of working as a nurse (r = 0.336, p < 0.01), ICU work experience (r = 0.218, p < 0.01), and oral care practice frequency (r = 0.167 p < 0.05); these were found to be statistically significant. Conclusions: In this study, the interest of the nurses in oral care practice and education was high, but professional education and the regular implementation of oral care practices were insufficient. To address these problems, it will be necessary to improve oral care practices through dental intervention and education about oral care methods focused on ICU patients.

Despite recent advances in the therapy of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the chemotherapy efficacy against NSCLC is still unsatisfactory. Previous studies show the herbal antimalarial drug dihydroartemisinin (DHA) displays cytotoxic to multiple human tumors. Here, we showed that DHA decreased cell viability and colony formation, induced apoptosis in A549 and PC-9 cells. Additionally, we first revealed DHA inhibited glucose uptake in NSCLC cells. Moreover, glycolytic metabolism was attenuated by DHA, including inhibition of ATP and lactate production. Consequently, we demonstrated that the phosphorylated forms of both S6 ribosomal protein and mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), and GLUT1 levels were abrogated by DHA treatment in NSCLC cells. Furthermore, the upregulation of mTOR activation by high expressed Rheb increased the level of glycolytic metabolism and cell viability inhibited by DHA. These results suggested that DHA-suppressed glycolytic metabolism might be associated with mTOR activation and GLUT1 expression. Besides, we showed GLUT1 overexpression significantly attenuated DHA-triggered NSCLC cells apoptosis. Notably, DHA synergized with 2-Deoxy-D-glucose (2DG, a glycolysis inhibitor) to reduce cell viability and increase cell apoptosis in A549 and PC-9 cells. However, the combination of the two compounds displayed minimal toxicity to WI-38 cells, a normal lung fibroblast cell line. More importantly, 2DG synergistically potentiated DHA-induced activation of caspase-9, -8 and -3, as well as the levels of both cytochrome c and AIF of cytoplasm. However, 2DG failed to increase the reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels elicited by DHA. Overall, the data shown above indicated DHA plus 2DG induced apoptosis was involved in both extrinsic and intrinsic apoptosis pathways in NSCLC cells.

Axon guidance molecules are critical for neuronal pathfinding because they regulate directionality and growth pace during nervous system development. However, the molecular mechanisms coordinating proper axonal extension and turning are poorly understood. Here, metastasis suppressor 1 (Mtss1), a membrane protrusion protein, ensured axonal extension while sensitizing axons to the Semaphorin 3E (Sema3E)-Plexin-D1 repulsive cue. Sema3E-Plexin-D1 signaling enhanced Mtss1 expression in projecting striatonigral neurons. Mtss1 localized to the neurite axonal side and regulated neurite outgrowth in cultured neurons. Mtss1 also aided Plexin-D1 trafficking to the growth cone, where it signaled a repulsive cue to Sema3E. Mtss1 ablation reduced neurite extension and growth cone collapse in cultured neurons. Mtss1 -knockout mice exhibited fewer striatonigral projections and irregular axonal routes, and these defects were recapitulated in Plxnd1 - or Sema3e -knockout mice. These findings demonstrate that repulsive axon guidance activates an exquisite autoregulatory program coordinating both axonal extension and steering during neuronal pathfinding.