Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder characterized by disturbances in glucose and lipid metabolism among women of reproductive age. In recent years, the active components of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have demonstrated significant potential in treating PCOS because of their unique pharmacological effects and fewer adverse reactions. Using keywords such as ‘polycystic ovary syndrome,’ ‘traditional Chinese medicine,’ and ‘blood-activating components,’ relevant content was searched across Chinese and English databases, including ‘CNKI, PubMed, VIP, and Web of Science.’ Published research papers on in vivo, in vitro, and clinical studies investigating the therapeutic effects of active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine on PCOS were included as part of the selection criteria. TCM often utilizes compounds such as flavonoids, alkaloids, polyphenols, polysaccharides, saponins, and terpenoids as active ingredients. These components exert therapeutic effects on PCOS by alleviating inflammatory responses, modulating the structure of the gut microbiota and so on. The multitarget and holistic regulatory advantages of TCM offer promising prospects and significant implications for the treatment of PCOS. It can serve as an important complementary and alternative therapy, working synergistically with Western medicine to provide PCOS patients with more comprehensive, personalized, and fundamental treatment options.

This study examined the role of miRNA-21-5p in a rat model of polycystic ovary syndrome with insulin resistance (PCOS-IR) and its potential involvement in ovarian granulosa cell apoptosis. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups, with the PCOS-IR model established using dehydroepiandrosterone combined with a high-sugar, high-fat diet. Lentiviral transduction was utilized to silence miRNA-21-5p. Serum hormone levels were assessed via ELISA, while the protein expression of PDCD4, Bcl-2, and Caspase-3 in ovarian tissues was analyzed through Western blotting. Granulosa cell apoptosis was evaluated using CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry, and TUNEL staining. The targeting relationship between miRNA-21-5p and PDCD4 was confirmed via dual-luciferase reporter assay and further supported by AlphaFold3 and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) prediction. Compared to the PCOS-IR and si-NC groups, the si-miRNA-21-5p group displayed improved ovarian morphology, partially restored hormone levels, moderately enhanced insulin sensitivity, and reduced granulosa cell apoptosis, alongside altered PDCD4 expression. These findings suggest that miRNA-21-5p may play a role in the pathogenesis of PCOS-IR by regulating PDCD4 and influencing granulosa cell apoptosis. Inhibition of miRNA-21-5p shows potential in alleviating certain pathological features within this experimental model; however, further validation in human studies is needed to assess its clinical relevance and therapeutic applicability.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a biologically heterogeneous whole-joint disorder characterized by cartilage damage, synovitis, subchondral bone remodeling, pain, and progressive functional decline. Although OA has long been viewed primarily as a mechanically driven disorder, clinical and experimental evidence indicates that lipid metabolic dysregulation contributes to OA susceptibility, symptom burden, and disease progression in at least a subset of patients. This review focuses on how lipid metabolic dysregulation shapes inflammatory, catabolic, and survival pathways in OA, with particular emphasis on cartilage-centered mechanisms and whole-joint metabolic interactions. We discuss cholesterol dysregulation, fatty-acid lipotoxicity, neutral lipid/lipid-droplet accumulation, phospholipid remodeling, and obesity-associated adipose-joint crosstalk as major components of metabolic OA. Key pathways linking lipid imbalance to OA pathology include the CH25H-CYP7B1-RORα axis, fatty-acid-induced lipotoxic stress, mitochondrial oxidative injury, and phospholipid peroxidation-driven ferroptosis. Under conditions of iron dyshomeostasis, lipid peroxidation can compromise chondrocyte membrane integrity and promote ferroptotic cell death, thereby amplifying matrix-destructive responses. HIF-1α signaling is context-dependent: basal or appropriately stabilized HIF-1α may support hypoxic adaptation and mitochondrial quality control, whereas lipid overload, lactate accumulation, and chronic inflammation can redirect HIF-1α toward proinflammatory metabolic amplification. We also evaluate the translational prospects and current limitations of lipid-targeted strategies, including statins, metabolic interventions, and nutritional approaches. Current evidence supports metabolic stratification in OA, but important gaps remain in linking circulating lipid alterations to tissue-specific mechanisms and in identifying patient subsets most likely to benefit from lipid-targeted intervention.

Organic film capacitors for modern electronic devices and electrical systems are greatly reliant on polymer-based composites with superior breakdown strength, preeminent dielectric properties, and remarkable permittivitytemperature stability. Herein, the barium titanate@polydopamine@carboxyl-functionalized poly(arylene ether nitrile) (BTOH@PDA@CPEN) with core@double-shell structure was successfully achieved through in-situ polymerization assisted with strong electrostatic interaction. The results of structural characterization demonstrated that the PDA and CPEN shells were completely wrapped on the surface of BTOH core to form core@double-shell structure. Furthermore, the dielectric composite films were prepared by using BTOH@PDA@CPEN as the filler and poly(arylene ether nitrile) (PEN) as the matrix. The synergistic effects of improved interfacial compatibility, multi-interfacial polarization induced by PDA, and insulating barrier of CPEN enhance dielectric constant and synchronously suppress dielectric loss of PEN-based composite films. The as-gained composite film with 20 wt% BTOH@PDA@CPEN loading reveals an preeminent dielectric properties with a constant of 12.258 @ 1 kHz and a loss of 0.023 @ 1 kHz, while the PEN matrix is just 3.750 @ 1 kHz and 0.015 @ 1 kHz, respectively. The dielectric constant-temperature coefficients of composite films are lower than 2 x 10-3 oC- 1 at 30-170 degrees C, indicating excellent permittivity-temperature stability. The maximal values of breakdown strength and energy density of the composite films achieve to 253.8 kV mm-1 and 1.537 J cm-3, respectively, higher than that of PEN, presenting enhanced energy storage capacity. Furthermore, the composite films also manifest surpassing flexibility and outstanding thermal stability. This work demonstrates the potential value of using core@double-shell structure fillers for the construction of polymer dielectrics to accommodate extreme harsh environment.

Background: JianPiTongLuo Recipe (JPTL Recipe) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula commonly used in the clinical treatment of colorectal cancer. Clinical studies have found that it can significantly improve the prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer. However, its mechanisms of action are not well understood, which has limited its further clinical application. Methods: We investigated the potential mechanisms of action of the JianPiTongLuo (JPTL) Recipe on colorectal cancer (CRC) using a multi-step approach. Initially, network pharmacology and bioinformatics analyses were conducted using databases such as TCMSP, HERB, BATMAN-TCM, and STRING to identify active components of JPTL Recipe and predict their therapeutic targets. Interaction networks and functional enrichment analyses were constructed to hypothesize relevant biological processes and pathways. In vitro studies involved treating human CRC cell lines HCT116, LoVo and SW480 with varying concentrations of JPTL Recipe extract, measuring cell viability with the CCK-8 assay, assessing apoptosis via flow cytometry, and analyzing signaling pathways through Western blotting. To corroborate these findings, in vivo experiments were performed on BALB/c nude mice implanted with HCT116 cells, divided into control, JPTL Recipe- treated, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-treated, and JPTL Recipe combined with 5-FU groups, with tumor growth and histological changes monitored. Mechanistic studies focused on the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, examining the phosphorylation status of key pathway proteins using immunofluorescence and Western blot analyses to elucidate JPTL Recipe 's interaction with pathway activity. Results: We demonstrated that JPTL Recipe effectively inhibits colorectal cancer cell proliferation, anti-apoptotic ability, and exerts synergistic therapeutic effects with fluorouracil. Further analysis revealed that JPTL Recipe affects the activity of colorectal cancer cells by inhibiting the phosphorylation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Conclusion: In summary, we have discovered and confirmed that the traditional Chinese medicine compound JPTL Recipe can serve as a novel adjuvant therapy for colorectal cancer, offering a new treatment approach for the integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine in the treatment of colorectal cancer.

Ceramic/polymer dielectrics with excellent thermal stability and high dielectric performance exhibit great potential in advanced capacitor applications. It is still a major challenge for ceramic/polymer dielectrics to obtain high dielectric constant at low content while maintaining excellent flexibility. To alleviate this issue, here, a flexible polymer dielectric composite consisting of poly(arylene ether nitrile) (PEN) matrix and barium titanate filler coated by Carbon and polypyrone (h-BT@C@PPy) was put forward in this work. The as-prepared composite films displayed high dielectric constant, comparable low loss and favorable interfacial binding due to the hydrogen-bonding interaction between –NH of h-BT@C@PPy and –CN of PEN, effectively promoting the interfacial polarization and remedying the internal interface defects between h-BT and PEN. Consequently, an addition of 8 wt

ABSTRACT Ascospores, forcibly released into the air from perithecia, are the primary inoculum for Fusarium head blight. In Fusarium graminearum , the biological functions of four RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRPs) ( Fgrdrp1–4 ) have been reported, but their regulatory mechanisms are poorly understood and the function of Fgrdrp5 is still unknown. In this study, we found that in addition to Fgrdrp1 and Fgrdrp2 , Fgrdrp5 also plays an important role in ascospore discharge, and they all participate in the generation of turgor pressure in a polyol-dependent manner. Moreover, these three genes all affect the maturation of ascospores. Deep sequencing and co-analysis of small RNA and mRNA certified that Fgrdrp1 , Fgrdrp2 , and Fgrdrp5 partly share their functions in the biogenesis and accumulation of exonic small interference RNA (ex-siRNA), and these three RdRPs negatively regulate the expression levels of ex-siRNA corresponding genes, including certain genes associated with ascospore development or discharge. Furthermore, the differentially expressed genes of deletion mutants, those involved in lipid and sugar metabolism or transport as well as sexual development-related transcription factors, may also contribute to the defects in ascospore maturation or ascospore discharge. In conclusion, our study suggested that the components of the dicer -dependent ex-siRNA-mediated RNA interference pathway include at least Fgrdrp1 , Fgrdrp2 , and Fgrdrp5 . IMPORTANCE We found that in addition to Fgrdrp1 and Fgrdrp2 , Fgrdrp5 also plays important roles in ascospore maturation and ascospore discharge of Fusarium graminearum . These three RNA-dependent RNA polymerases participate in the biogenesis and accumulation of exonic small interference RNA and then regulate ascospore discharge.

Objective: To observe the therapeutic effect of combined traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) therapy with acupoint injection and herbal patch application on patients with ovulatory dysfunction associated with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods: A total of 80 PCOS patients who received treatment at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine between October 2022 and March 2024 were enrolled in this study. They were randomly divided into a control group (n = 40) and an observation group (n = 40). The control group received conventional Western medical treatments, while the observation group was administered TCM combined with acupoint injection and herbal patch application. Pre- and post-treatment conditions were compared between the two groups. Results: After treatment, the overall effective rate was significantly higher in the observation group compared to the control group (P 0.05). Following treatment, both ovulation and pregnancy rates increased in both groups, but the increase was more evident in the observation group, showing a statistically significant difference (P < 0.01). Conclusion: For patients with oligoovulation or anovulation due to PCOS, the combined use of TCM, acupoint injection, and herbal patch application appears to be effective in improving systemic symptoms and achieving notable clinical outcomes.

Background Er-Miao-San (EMS) is a classic prescription in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC) and has shown promising therapeutic effects in clinical practice. However, the specific components and molecular mechanisms of EMS remain unclear. Purpose The aim of this study was to analyze the effective components and molecular mechanisms of EMS in treating CRC through network pharmacology techniques and experimental validation. Methods The Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology database was used to screen the main active chemical components and targets of the EMS formula. The compound structures were verified using the PubChem database, which is an organic small-molecule bioactivity database. GeneCards and OMIM databases were utilized to predict target genes related to CRC. The Cytoscape 3.8 software was used to construct a “Drug-Active Ingredient-Target-Disease” intersection network. The STRING database was employed to analyze the core target protein–protein interaction network shared by EMS and CRC. The core targets were further subjected to Gene Ontology enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis using the R language. Molecular docking between the core targets and the major active chemical components of EMS was performed using AutoDock software. The impact of the core targets on the prognosis of CRC patients was analyzed using the R language. Subsequently, we validated the potential mechanisms predicted by network pharmacology for the inhibition of CRC cell proliferation by the key proteins in the relevant pathways through CCK8 cell proliferation assays and Western blot experiments. Results Molecular docking results showed good docking affinity between the key active components, such as quercetin and baicalein, of EMS and the core targets. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis demonstrated a close correlation between the core targets and the survival prognosis of CRC patients. Cellular experiments showed that EMS significantly inhibited the proliferation of CRC cells and may promote apoptosis and autophagy of CRC cells by suppressing the expression of key proteins in the PI3K/AKT pathway. Conclusion The TCM formula EMS exerts anti-CRC effects through multiple pathways and targets, improving the prognosis and extending the survival period of CRC patients. This study provides preliminary insights into the effective components and molecular mechanisms of EMS in the treatment of CRC, which were preliminarily validated through molecular docking and experimental approaches.

Objective: To examine the long-term effectiveness of fluoroscopy-guided foam sclerotherapy for varicose veins in the legs. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included consecutive patients who underwent fluoroscopy-guided foam sclerotherapy for varicose veins in the legs at the authors' center during a period from August 1, 2011, to May 31, 2016. The last follow-up was conducted by a telephone/WeChat interactive interview in May 2022. Recurrence was defined as the presence of varicose veins regardless of symptoms. Results: The final analysis included 94 patients (58.3 6 7.8 years of age; 43 men; 119 legs). The median Clinical-EtiologyAnatomy-Pathophysiology (CEAP) clinical class was 3.0 (interquartile range [IQR]: 3.0, 4.0). C5 and C6 accounted for 5.0% (6/119) of the legs. The average total amount of the foam sclerosant used during the procedure was 35 6 12 mL (range: 10-75 mL). No patients developed stroke, deep vein thrombosis, or pulmonary embolism after the treatment. At the last follow-up, the median CEAP clinical class reduction was 3.0. All 119 legs except for class 5 achieved the CEAP clinical class reduction by at least one grade. The median venous clinical severity score was 2.0 (IQR: 1.0, 5.0) at the last follow-up vs 7.0 (IQR: 5.0, 8.0) at the baseline ( P <.001). The recurrence rate was 30.9% (29/94) in the overall analysis, 26.6% (25/94) for the great saphenous vein and 4.3% (4/94) for the small saphenous vein ( P <.001). Five patients received subsequent surgical treatment, and the remaining patients opted to receive conservative treatments. Among the two C5 legs at the baseline, ulcer recurred in one leg at 3 months after the treatment and healed after conservative treatments. In the four C6 legs at the baseline, ulcer healed within a month in all patients. The rate of hyperpigmentation was 11.8% (14/119). Conclusions: Long-term outcomes in patients undergoing fluoroscopy-guided foam sclerotherapy are satisfying, with minimal short-term safety concerns. (J Vasc Surg Venous Lymphat Disord 2023;11:688-91.)

Background:Colorectal cancer (CRC) is an insidious malignancy and the occurrence of chemotherapy resistance and toxicity seriously limits its clinical efficacy. Insect Compound Particle [Chong Yao Fu Fang (CYFF)] is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) compound based on the concepts of "invigorating spleen for strengthening vital qi" and "collateral disease theory". In long-term clinical application, it can reduce the toxicity of CRC chemotherapy and improve the anti-tumor effect. However, there is currently a lack of high-quality clinical evidence to prove the clinical efficacy and safety of CYFF in the treatment of CRC. Methods:We plan to include 262 patients with locally advanced stage III CRC who had undergone surgery and achieved R0 resection. These patients will be randomized into a CYFF group (treated with CYFF combined with chemotherapy) and a control group (treated with placebo plus chemotherapy) at a 1:1 ratio. The patients were routinely followed-up every 2 weeks within 2 months and every 4 weeks after 2 months after the treatment, every 3 months within 1 year, and every 6 months after 1 year. The primary endpoint is disease-free survival (DFS), defined as the time from random assignment to recurrence of primary CRC or death from any cause. The secondary endpoints include overall survival (OS) (defined as the time from randomization to death from any cause), safety [any adverse events (AEs)], and the Colorectal Cancer-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-CR38) score. Conclusions:Compared with previous studies, our current study applies CYFF plus basic adjuvant chemotherapy, which is expected to achieve better efficacy and longer survival than standard chemotherapy, and reduce the toxic and side effects of chemotherapy, improve the safety of clinical treatment. In addition, our present study is the first clinical study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of CYFF in combination with chemotherapy in the treatment of stage III CRC after R0 resection. Trial Registration:This clinical trial has been registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR) (registration No. ChiCTR2000037568; August 28, 2020).

The polymeric dielectric materials with flexibility, better thermal stability and high dielectric constant have drawn increasing attention due to the wide applications in electrical systems. Herein, the polymer-based dielectric composites were designed by the infiltration of polyaniline (PANI) coated barium titanate (BT) into poly(arylene ether nitrile) (PEN) matrix. It is demonstrated that the dielectric constant of composites could be as high as 15.3@1 kHz, which is approximately 4 times higher than that of pure PEN matrix (εr ≈ 3.8@1 kHz). Meanwhile, the maximum dielectric loss of composites (tanδ ≈ 0.0403@1 kHz) remains comparable to that of PEN (tanδ ≈ 0.0147@1 kHz). This phenomenon attributes to the large charge accumulation and interfacial polarization on the interfaces between PANI, BT and PEN. The better interconnectivity caused by the π–π conjugation and hydrogen bond interactions between PANI interlayer and PEN matrix also can facilitate the polarization transmission throughout PANI coating, substantially enhancing dielectric constant. Besides, the PANI-BT/PEN composite films present better thermal stability (T5% > 500 °C) and flexibility. This work provides an eco-friendly and easy-handling strategy as alternative way to fabricate high-performance PEN-based dielectric composites.

Abstract In the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, the receptor-binding domain (RBD) contains multiple dominant neutralizing epitopes and can be used as an antigen for developing COVID-19 vaccines and neutral antibodies. Affinity chromatography is one of the most extensively used methods for rapid one-step protein purification. However, there is a lack of commercially available affinity ligands for RBD purification. Here, we report the rapid isolation of a nanobody suitable for purifying RBD as an affinity ligand from immune phage display libraries. After bio-panning, the enriched clones were sequenced on next-generation sequencing (NGS) platforms and classified into four groups based on the CDRH3 amino acid sequence. The representative sequences with high nanomolar affinities to RBD were further categorized into two groups via epitope binning analysis. Finally, from the two epitope bins, we found that SS3 showed easy elution under a mild eluting condition and could be used as a functional affinity ligand to purify RBD. These results also indicate that categorizing the bio-panned sequences via high-throughput sequencing (HTS) techniques followed by epitope binning represents a fast workflow to select specific binders with desired properties.

BACKGROUND:The main features of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are abnormal follicular development and ovulatory dysfunction, which are caused by excessive apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells. Acupuncture has been shown to improve follicular development abnormalities in patients with PCOS, but its mechanism is unknown. This study hypothesized that the mechanism of acupuncture on follicular development abnormalities in PCOS patients is the inhibition of granulosa cell apoptosis through LncMEG3-mediated regulation of miR-21-3p.METHODS:A PCOS-like rat model was established using subcutaneous injection of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Acupuncture was performed on rats for 15 d (CV-4, RN-3, CV-6, SP-6 and EX-CA 1). Ovarian morphology was observed by HE staining, and sex hormone and AMH levels were detected by ELISA. Primary granulosa cells were isolated from each group of rats to assess the association of acupuncture treatment, LncMEG3, miR-21-3p, and granulosa cell apoptosis in rats with PCOS.RESULTS:LncMEG3 and miR-21-3p were highly expressed in the ovarian granulosa cells of rats with PCOS, and LncMEG3-mediated regulation of miR-21-3p was involved in the development of PCOS in rats. Silencing of MEG3 attenuated sex hormone dysregulation and ovarian histopathological changes in PCOS rats and promoted follicle cell development and maturation. In addition, silencing MEG3 increased the viability and number of granulosa cells. In addition, silencing MEG3 further inhibited early and late apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells in PCOS rats. Acupuncture improved polycystic ovarian morphology and sex hormone levels in PCOS rats. Acupuncture intervention increased the viability and number of granulosa cells. Acupuncture intervention inhibited early and late apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells in PCOS rats by targeting miR-21-3p via LncMEG3.CONCLUSION:These results suggest that acupuncture can downregulate LncMEG3, thereby targeting and regulating miR-21-3p to suppress early and late granulosa cell apoptosis and normalize their proliferation. These factors ultimately compensate for abnormal follicular development. These findings shed light on the clinical potential of acupuncture as a safe treatment for follicular developmental abnormalities in PCOS.

BACKGROUND:Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of RNA molecules that are longer than 200 nucleotides and were initially believed to lack encoding capability. However, recent research has found open reading frames (ORFs) within lncRNAs, suggesting that they may have coding capacity. Despite this discovery, the mechanisms by which lncRNA-encoded products are involved in cancer are not well understood. The current study aims to investigate whether lncRNA HCP5-encoded products promote triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) by regulating ferroptosis.METHODS:We used bioinformatics to predict the coding capacity of lncRNA HCP5 and conducted molecular biology experiments and a xenograft assay in nude mice to investigate the mechanism of its encoded products. We also evaluated the expression of the HCP5-encoded products in a breast cancer tissue microarray.RESULTS:Our analysis revealed that the ORF in lncRNA HCP5 can encode a protein with 132-amino acid (aa), which we named HCP5-132aa. Further experiments showed that HCP5-132aa promotes TNBC growth by regulating GPX4 expression and lipid ROS level through the ferroptosis pathway. Additionally, we found that the breast cancer patients with high levels of HCP5-132aa have poorer prognosis.CONCLUSIONS:Our study suggests that overexpression of lncRNA HCP5-encoded protein is a critical oncogenic event in TNBC, as it regulates ferroptosis. These findings could provide new therapeutic targets for the treatment of TNBC.

As the core component of proton exchange membrane fuel cells, proton exchange membranes (PEM) have attracted much attention of researchers. To trade-off the proton conductivity, dimensional stability and anti-oxidation ability of PEM, graphene oxide (GO) and acidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) using calcium ion as coordination bridge (GO-Ca2+-MWCNT) was synthesized, and then incorporated into sulfonated poly(arylene ether nitrile) (SPEN) to fabricate SPEN/GO-Ca2+-MWCNT organic–inorganic composite membranes by solution-casting method and explore the influence of varying loading on performances as PEM. It was found that the proton conductivity of the composite membranes was higher than that of SPEN, while maintaining better dimensional stability, excellent anti-oxidation ability and good mechanical properties. All of these were attributed to the formation of three-dimensional structure between GO and MWCNT bridged by Ca2+ and the interaction between the sulfonic acid group and calcium ions in SPEN/GO-Ca2+-MWCNT composites. Particularly, the SPEN/GO-Ca2+-MWCNT-1 composite membrane exhibited excellent tensile strength of 71.45 MPa, better thermal stability as well as high proton conductivity (0.054 S/cm at 30 °C, and 0.193 S/cm at 90 °C), above 10–2 S/cm, satisfying the requirement of PEM. All in all, the results indicate that the filler with three-dimensional network structure can effectively improve the performances of SPEN, and the prepared composite membranes show potential applications in many fields.

•Soy protein isolate (SPI) - quercetin composite nanoparticles were produced.•Aqueous solubility of quercetin increased after encapsulated by SPI.•Ultrasound pretreatment on SPI improved the encapsulation efficiency of quercetin.•Structural changes of SPI by ultrasound favored quercetin encapsulation.•Quercetin’s bioaccessibility largely improved when encapsulated by ultrasound treated SPI.

Background and Aims. Accurate prediction is essential for the survival of patients with nonmetastatic gastric signet ring cell carcinoma (GSRC) and medical decision-making. Current models rely on prespecified variables, limiting their performance and not being suitable for individual patients. Our study is aimed at developing a more precise model for predicting 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall survival (OS) in patients with nonmetastatic GSRC based on a machine learning approach. Methods. We selected 2127 GSRC patients diagnosed from 2004 to 2014 from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database and then randomly partitioned them into a training and validation cohort. We compared the performance of several machine learning-based models and finally chose the eXtreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) model as the optimal method to predict the OS in patients with nonmetastatic GSRC. The model was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). Results. In the training cohort, for predicting OS rates at 1-, 3-, and 5-year, the AUCs of the XGBoost model were 0.842, 0.831, and 0.838, respectively, while in the testing cohort, the AUCs of 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS rates were 0.749, 0.823, and 0.829, respectively. Besides, the XGBoost model also performed better when compared with the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage. The performance for this model was stably maintained when stratified by age and ethnicity. Conclusion. The XGBoost-based model accurately predicts the 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS in patients with nonmetastatic GSRC. Machine learning is a promising way to predict the survival outcomes of tumor patients.

The multi-scale evaluation of sustainable cities is an important initiative to identify differentiated urban issues and promote the implementation of high-quality development strategies.In the context of comprehensive improvement of the territorial spatial governance system and enhancement of modern governance capacity,problems such as lack of spatially differentiated urban management,loose nested relationships of urban systems,and difficulties in implementing multi-scale planning schemes need to be addressed.The multi-scale evaluation of sustainable cities is highly concerned with spatial heterogeneity and multi-scale spatial interaction processes,which are of great significance in the fine-grained analysis of complex urban systems.Based on a systematic review of the development of sustainable cities research,the paper identifies the similarities and differences between sustainable cities and sustainable communities,analyses the interaction between the two,summarises typical indicator sets,and proposes a demand-oriented research outlook.The results show that:（1） As urban issues evolve,the focus of sustainable cities has shifted in scale,from the sustainable development of urban subsystems to improving the quality of community habitats to shared governance of multi-scale spaces.（2） As sustainable development goals differ and interact at the city and community levels,the multi-scale evaluation framework adds a measure of city-community interaction to the single-scale spatial development effectiveness evaluation.（3） In the future,the multi-scale evaluation of sustainable cities should focus on the study of risk thresholds,interaction mechanisms,and control conduction of the coordinated relationship between citycommunity systems,which provides support for an integrated control system of urban space by type,scale,and cross-levels.

This article has been retracted. Please see the Retraction Notice for more detail: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13046-021-01973-z.