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Background Recently, increasing evidence has indicated that platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase 1b catalytic subunit 3 (PAFAH1B3) plays an important role in several cancers. However, its role in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) has not been reported until now. Methods The expression of PAFAH1B3 in LUAD was determined by using the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database and real-time PCR (RT–PCR), western blot and immunohistochemical (IHC) analyses. A chi-square test was used to investigate the correlation between PAFAH1B3 expression and clinical parameters. Cox regression and Kaplan–Meier analysis were performed to analyze the prognostic value of PAFAH1B3. The CCK-8 assay, clone formation assay, transwell invasion assay and flow cytometry were conducted to detect cell proliferation, clone formation, invasion and the cell cycle. The xenograft tumor model was constructed to explore the function of PAFAH1B3 in vivo . Western blot and IHC analyses were performed to detect epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related markers. Immune Cell Abundance Identifier (ImmuneCellAI) and IHC analyses were used to analyze the effect of PAFAH1B3 on immune cell infiltration. Results Our study showed that the expression of PAFAH1B3 was upregulated in LUAD tissues and cells compared with noncancerous tissues and cells. Additionally, the results indicated that the expression of PAFAH1B3 was positively correlated with distant metastasis, TNM stage and poor clinical outcome and it was an independent prognostic risk factor for LUAD. In addition, silencing PAFAH1B3 suppressed cell proliferation, colony formation, and invasion and increased the cell population in the G0-G1 phases in vitro . Furthermore, our results showed that knockdown of PAFAH1B3 increased the epithelial marker E-cadherin level and decreased the mesenchymal marker N-cadherin level in vitro and in vivo . We also proved that PAFAH1B3 downregulation inhibited tumorigenesis and neutrophil infiltration in the xenograft tumor model. Conclusion Our studies indicate that PAFAH1B3, a prognostic risk factor, promotes proliferation, invasion and EMT and affects immune infiltrates in LUAD.

Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) is a promising tool for pathogen detection. However, its clinical utility in detecting opportunistic pulmonary infections of immunocompromised patients remains controversial. This multicenter retrospective study involving 162 immunocompromised patients with opportunistic pulmonary infections was conducted across four respiratory centers. The enrolled patients were divided into the conventional microbiological tests (CMT) group and the mNGS group based on whether mNGS of BALF was performed after admission. Propensity score-matching (PSM) was adopted to minimize selection bias, and sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness. The primary outcomes were >30% improvement in oxygenation index (OI) at 7 days post-admission and clinical improvement by day 14 as assessed with the WHO 7-category ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes included 21-day mortality, incidence of septic shock during hospitalization, and pathogen detection rate. Among the 110 patients who underwent mNGS, the results prompted modifications to the antibiotic therapy in 89 patients (80.9%), encompassing both escalation and de-escalation of therapy. The remaining 52 patients received only CMT. After the PSM, 41 matched pairs were further analyzed. Compared to the CMT group, OI improvement >30% on day 7 was more frequent in the mNGS group (41.5% vs. 9.8%, P = 0.001). Clinical improvement on day 14 in the mNGS group was higher than in the CMT group (36.6% vs. 9.8%, P = 0.004). Additionally, BALF mNGS was associated with decreased 21-day mortality (7.3% vs. 34.1%; P = 0.003) in patients with opportunistic pulmonary infections, while showing no significant association with reduced incidence of septic shock during hospitalization. Moreover, the causative pathogen detection rate was significantly higher in the mNGS group compared to the CMT group (97.6% vs. 22.0%, P<0.001), demonstrating the superior diagnostic yield of mNGS. Our study indicated that early BALF mNGS testing upon admission was associated with improved OI up to day 7, clinical improvement on day 14, and decreased 21-day mortality. These benefits are likely facilitated by the higher diagnostic yield of mNGS and its direct impact on guiding targeted antibiotic therapy.

Background Accurate spirometry reference equations are essential for diagnosing and managing respiratory conditions in children. Although the GLI Global Equations have been proposed for general use, there were few Asian populations available for inclusion. This study aims to develop and validate spirometric reference equations for healthy Chinese children. Methods From May 2018 to May 2021, a cross-sectional study involving healthy Chinese Han children aged 4 to 18 years was conducted by 33 research centers across 24 regions in China. Participants were recruited directly from schools, and physical growth indices (height, weight) were measured. Spirometry tests were performed and demographic and medical history data were collected through questionnaires. New prediction equations were developed using multiple linear regression models with age, height, and weight as predictors. And comparisons were made with existing Caucasian and Chinese pediatric reference equations. Results Lung function was assessed in 8929 healthy Chinese Han children. Age, weight, and height emerged as strong predictors of lung function ( p  < 0.001), and sex-specific reference equations incorporating these factors demonstrated high accuracy in internal validation, yielding mean z-scores within a narrow range of -0.004 to -0.069. In comparison, the Zapletal equations overestimated FEV 1 and FEV 1 /FVC while underestimating other lung function parameters. Additionally, the GLI equations underestimated lung function parameters, including FEV 1 , FVC, and FEV 1 /FVC, for both boys and girls. Compared to previous Chinese studies, the z-scores in this study ranged from − 0.97 to 0.93, with some cases showing significant deviations, highlighting the limitations of existing equations. Conclusion This study developed new spirometry reference equations tailored for healthy Chinese children, with differences noted compared to existing equations. These equations reflect contemporary growth patterns and regional diversity in China, providing an additional option for clinical use. Trial registration NO.: ChiCTR: 1,800,019,029. Registered 22 October 2018.

Objective To establish the predicted value of pulmonary function determined by impulse oscillometry (IOS) in children (4–17 years old) in China. Methods A total of 6270 healthy children aged 4–17 years in China were included. The Master Screen IOS pulmonary function device (Jaeger Co, Germany) was used to detect the respiratory impedance (Zrs), resonant frequency (Fres), respiratory system resistance (Rrs) and respiratory system reactance (Xrs) at various oscillation frequencies, and the indices above were analysed. Stepwise multivariate regression was used to establish the regression equation of related parameters of IOS in different sexes, ages, height, and weight. Results The differences in the main IOS parameters between different age stages were statistically significant regardless of sex ( P  < 0.05). The stepwise multivariate regression analysis showed that IOS parameters were related to height, age, and weight, and most IOS parameters were most closely related to height (the absolute value of the regression coefficient was the largest). With increasing age and height, the values of Z 5 , R 5 , R 20 , R 5 –R 20 , and Fres decreased, while the value of X 5 increased. Through height, age, and weight, we obtained the normal predicted values equation of children’s IOS parameters. Compared with the other reference equations, our reference equation is more suitable for Chinese children. Conclusions The study revealed the reference values of IOS parameters in healthy Chinese children. In the evaluation of results for lung function measurements, this predicted value equation is more consistent with the characteristics of Chinese children than other reference equations. Clinical Trial : ChiCTR: 1800019029.

Electronic probe microanalysis (EPMA) results of reservoir calcite cement from fourteen core samples in the Junggar Basin show that Mn-content varies largely between different samples from below the detect limitation to 4.14%, while it displays a generally good correlation with oil-gas shows. This, therefore, likely indicates that concentration of the Mn-content of the calcite cement has a close relation to the intensity of petroleum fluid charging during hydrocarbon secondary migration. In order to assess this hypothesis, oxygen and strontium isotopic measurements on sixteen calcite veins host in source sequences were carried out to investigate the feature of the oil-source petroleum fluid. Analytical results imply that during hydrocarbon generation and migration, deep hot fluid has dissolved volcanic minerals interlined between mudstone source rocks. As Mn is a kind of typical trace element enriched in volcanic rocks, it is reasonable to conclude that the petroleum fluid formed in the source sequences would be Mn-rich. Consequently, calcite cements precipitated from such Mn-rich petroleum fluid would be Mn-rich accordingly. Due to the geologic chromatographic effect during migration along reservoir rocks, the decreasing of the Mn-content of the reservoir calcite cements indicates the migration direction. Then, this novel geotracer was further successfully applied in the study of hydrocarbon migration in the Junggar Basin in combination with organic geochemical analyses during the hydrocarbon migration. The Mn content of the reservoir calcite cement appears promising as a novel inorganic geotracer for the petroleum migration. This paper represents a search for novel indicators of secondary petroleum migration in tectonically complex basins based on fundamentals of the reservoir fluid-rock interactions.

Coal mining faces critical challenges due to variable geological conditions that affect intelligent mining and safe production. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR), a high-resolution and non-destructive sensing technology, is essential for precise geological detection. However, underground electromagnetic interference, multiple reflections, and complex media significantly degrade the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), causing reflection signals to be obscured and geological interfaces to become blurred, thereby hindering accurate subsurface interpretation. Traditional denoising methods struggle to extract weak reflection signals under such complex noise conditions. To address these challenges, this study proposes a physics-guided conditional diffusion model that integrates physical constraints with deep learning to achieve intelligent denoising and weak-signal recovery for high-noise GPR data. Specifically, a dual-path GMM probabilistically models both feature signals and complex noise, while incorporating the wave equation ensures physical consistency with electromagnetic propagation. Experiments using a hybrid dataset combining field-measured noisy data and simulated features—evaluated using SSIM, PSNR, MAE, peak alignment, and structural continuity—demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms existing techniques in both noise suppression and signal reconstruction. Field tests in underground coal mines further confirm its practical applicability.

This study aimed to develop and evaluate [ 64 Cu]Cu-PSMA-Q as a novel positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agent for prostate cancer detection, assessing its diagnostic accuracy and clinical applicability in comparison to [ 18 F]FDG PET imaging. [ 64 Cu]Cu-PSMA-Q was synthesized, purified, and subjected to comprehensive quality control. Its binding affinity, cellular uptake, and internalization were assessed in vitro using prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-positive LNCaP C4-2B cells. In vivo toxicity studies were conducted in 12 mouse models (6 per group). Small-animal PET/CT (positron emission tomography/computed tomography) imaging and biodistribution studies were performed on tumor-bearing mice. Clinical evaluation involved PET/CT imaging with [ 64 Cu]Cu-PSMA-Q in 29 prostate cancer patients, with comparative analysis against [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT imaging. Radiation dosimetry was calculated using OLINDA/EXM software, and diagnostic performance metrics, including maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), mean standardized uptake value (SUVmean), and tumor-to-background ratio, were analyzed using SPSS v24.0, with P  < 0.05 considered statistically significant. Comparative analyses utilized t-tests or Mann–Whitney U tests as appropriate. [ 64 Cu]Cu-PSMA-Q achieved over 99% radiochemical purity and a specific activity of 20.5  ±  1 GBq/μmol. In vitro studies demonstrated a dissociation constant (Kd) of 4.083 nM, along with high cellular uptake and internalization in LNCaP C4-2B cells. No significant toxicity was observed in mouse models. Small -animal PET/CT imaging revealed peak tumor uptake at 4 h post-injection in LNCaP C4-2B tumor xenografts. In clinical evaluations, [ 64 Cu]Cu-PSMA-Q PET/CT detected more lesions than [ 18 F]FDG, with significantly higher SUVmax, SUVmean, and tumor-to-background ratios. The mean effective radiation dose was calculated as 4.48 ± 0.99 mSv. [ 64 Cu]Cu-PSMA-Q PET/CT demonstrated superior lesion detection and higher tumor-to-background ratios compared to [ 18 F]FDG PET/CT for prostate cancer visualization. Its advantageous properties, including a favorable half-life, excellent safety profile, and enhanced diagnostic accuracy, support its potential for broad clinical adoption. This study establishes a foundation for further validation of [ 64 Cu]Cu-PSMA-Q in prostate cancer management.

An acute inflammatory response needs to be properly regulated to promote the elimination of pathogens and prevent the risk of tumorigenesis, but the relevant regulatory mechanism has not been fully elucidated. Here, we report that Ras guanine nucleotide-releasing protein 1 (RasGRP1) is a bifunctional regulator that promotes acute inflammation and inhibits inflammation-associated cancer. At the mRNA level, Rasgrp1 activates the inflammatory response by functioning as a competing endogenous RNA to specifically promote IL-6 expression by sponging let-7a. In vivo overexpression of the Rasgrp1 3’ untranslated region enhances lipopolysaccharide-induced systemic inflammation and dextran sulphate sodium-induced colitis in Il6 +/+ mice but not in Il6 -/- mice. At the protein level, RasGRP1 overexpression significantly inhibits the tumour-promoting effect of IL-6 in hepatocellular carcinoma progenitor cell-like spheroids. Examination of the EGFR signalling pathway shows that RasGRP1 inhibits inflammation-associated cancer cell growth by disrupting the EGFR-SOS1-Ras-AKT signalling pathway. Tumour patients with high RasGRP1 expression have better clinical outcomes than those with low RasGRP1 expression. Considering that acute inflammation rarely leads to tumorigenesis, this study suggests that RasGRP1 may be an important bifunctional regulator of the acute inflammatory response and tumour growth. IL-6 and RasGRP1 have been shown to have important functions during inflammation and cancer. Here the authors propose the protein and mRNA of RasGRP1 have opposing functions by promoting IL-6 mediated acute inflammation and inhibiting inflammation-associated cancer through mRNA and protein mechanisms respectively.