title: PeerJ description: Articles published in PeerJ link: https://peerj.com/articles/index.rss3?journal=peerj&page=187 creator: info@peerj.com PeerJ errorsTo: info@peerj.com PeerJ language: en title: Different prevalence and spectrum of malignancy between Chinese patients and American patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a comparative study link: https://peerj.com/articles/18650 last-modified: 2024-12-18 description: ObjectiveTo characterize the epidemiological characteristics of malignancy in Chinese patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) versus American patients and investigate their associated factors.MethodsData were collected from a real-world Chinese RA population and American patients with RA from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey. The prevalence and subtypes of malignancy and their potential associated factors were investigated in both populations.ResultsA total of 2,073 Chinese and 2,928 American patients with RA were included. There was a lower prevalence of malignancy in Chinese than in their American counterparts before (5.7% vs. 17.1%) and after matching (6.2% vs. 12.6%, both P < 0.001). Gender discrepancies in malignancy prevalence were observed, with a male predilection for RA with malignancy in China (8.2% vs. 5.5%), while it was the opposite in American patients (10.1% vs. 13.5%, both P < 0.05). The top type of malignancy among male patients with RA was lung cancer in Chinese (2.29%), but non-melanoma skin cancer (3.43%) in American; while among female patients was breast cancer both in Chinese (1.72%) and American (3.43%). Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that older age (odds ratio (OR) = 1.050) and positive anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody (OR = 2.752) were independently associated with malignancy in Chinese patients with RA, while female (OR = 1.395), older age (OR = 1.033), active smoking (OR = 1.580) and cardiovascular diseases (OR = 1.523) in American patients.ConclusionThe prevalence, subtypes and risk factors of malignancy were substantially different in Chinese patients with RA and their American counterparts, which implied the importance of individualized malignancy screening strategies for patients with RA. creator: Zhi-Ming Ouyang creator: Yao-Wei Zou creator: Jie Pan creator: Ye Lu creator: Ying Yang creator: Qian-Hua Li creator: Jian-Da Ma creator: Pei-Wen Jia creator: Tao Wu creator: Yu-Ting Fan creator: Jian-Zi Lin creator: Xiu-Ning Wei creator: Kui-Min Yang creator: Yun Su creator: Lie Dai uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18650 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Ouyang et al. title: Comparative analysis of Hymenasplenium (Aspleniaceae) chloroplast genomes from China link: https://peerj.com/articles/18667 last-modified: 2024-12-18 description: Hymenasplenium is one of the two genera in the large fern family Aspleniaceae. A previous study explored the molecular phylogeny of this genus using several chloroplast DNA fragments and identified three major clades, one of which is the monophyletic Old World clade with southwestern China as its diversity center. To date, there were only a few studies conducted on chloroplast genomes in Hymenasplenium or Aspleniaceae, limiting the understanding of the plastome features and its role in evolution of this group. Here, we studied the complete chloroplast genomes of 12 Hymenasplenium species covering all four subclades of the Old World clade distributed in China. The length of the Hymenasplenium plastomes ranged from 151,617 to 151,930 bp, and contained 129 genes in total, comprising 87 protein-coding, 34 tRNA, and eight rRNA genes. The GC content ranged from 41.8% to 42.1%. Comparative analyses of the Hymenasplenium chloroplast genomes displayed conserved genomic structure and identical gene arrangement. A total of 1,375 simple sequence repeats and 1,639 large repeats were detected. In addition, we detailed hypervariable regions that can be helpful for further phylogenetic research and species delimitation in Hymenasplenium. Furthermore, we supported phylogenetic relationships among major groups as well as possible cryptic speciation found in previous research in the genus. Our study provides new insights into evolutionary history and basic resources for phylogenetic and taxonomic studies of the genus Hymenasplenium. creator: Yanfen Chang creator: Zhixin Wang creator: Guocheng Zhang creator: Na Wang creator: Limin Cao uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18667 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Chang et al. title: The effect of varying thicknesses of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and Biodentine as apical plugs on the fracture resistance of teeth with simulated open apices: a comparative in vitro study link: https://peerj.com/articles/18691 last-modified: 2024-12-18 description: BackgroundThis study evaluates the fracture resistance of apical plugs created from Biodentine and mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) in thicknesses of 3 and 5 mm within simulated open apex tooth models.MethodsFifty human maxillary central incisors were obtained from a pool of freshly extracted teeth. In order to replicate open apices without cavity preparation, ten teeth in the control group received apical-to-coronal preparation with Peeso reamers. The remaining 40 teeth were randomly assigned to four experimental groups and received either 3 or 5 mm Biodentine or MTA apical plugs.ResultsThe mean fracture loads observed in this study were as follows: control group, 431.48 N (±34.55); 3 mm MTA, 774.88 N (±62.74); 5 mm MTA, 752.65 N (±73.79); 3 mm Biodentine, 918.25 N (±59.09); and 5 mm Biodentine, 903.42 N (±24.48). Specifically, teeth in the Biodentine group demonstrated considerably stronger fracture resistance compared to those in the MTA group (p < 0.001). However, no significant differences were observed between the 3 and 5 mm thicknesses (MTA: p = 0.98, Biodentine: p = 0.99), suggesting that plug thickness did not affect fracture resistance within both groups.ConclusionBiodentine apical plugs provided the highest fracture resistance among the materials, regardless of thickness. creator: Pankaj Panjwani creator: Kulvinder Banga creator: Jatin Atram creator: Dian Agustin Wahjuningrum creator: Alexander Maniangat Luke creator: Krishna Prasad Shetty creator: Ajinkya M. Pawar uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18691 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Panjwani et al. title: A comparative perception and impact of pictorial warnings on cigarette packaging among Malaysian smokers and non-smokers link: https://peerj.com/articles/18713 last-modified: 2024-12-18 description: IntroductionIn 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that pictorial warnings on tobacco products be used to educate consumers on the negative health impacts associated with tobacco use. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of pictorial warnings on cigarette packaging among smokers and non-smokers.MethodsA cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire was conducted in Kuala Lumpur. Four components assessed the respondents’ socio-demographics, smoking status, perceptions, and impact of pictorial warnings. Six standard cigarette pictorial warning images were included in the questionnaire. Data collected were analysed using SPSS version 29.0. Frequencies and percentages were used for categorical data, while means and standard deviations were used for continuous data. Statistically significant results were set at p-value < 0.05. Non-parametric tests, the Chi-square test and the One-Way ANOVA test were used to calculate the differences between the variables, as the data was not normally distributed.ResultsThree hundred seventy-eight respondents participated in this study, with smokers and non-smokers divided equally, 189. Most respondents were 20–29 years old (n = 223, 59.0%) and had tertiary education (n = 207, 54.8%). Most smokers were male (n = 172, 91.0%), and most non-smokers were female (n = 119, 63.0%). Most respondents (n = 364, 96.3%, p = 0.276) noticed the pictorial warnings on cigarette packs. Nevertheless, significantly (p < 0.001) more smokers (n = 73, 38.6%) seldomly read the content compared to non-smokers (n = 57, 30.2%). Most smokers (n = 48, 12.7%) sometimes consider quitting smoking upon exposure to pictorial warnings on cigarette packs. However, most non-smokers (n = 161, 42.6%) never had the urge to smoke upon looking at the pictorial warnings. The most impactful image on cigarette packs among smokers was ‘Lung cancer’ (n = 74, 39.2%), while for non-smokers was ‘Mouth cancer’ (n = 59, 31.2%) with p < 0.001.ConclusionWhile non-smokers demonstrated greater engagement with and emotional responses to the warnings, smokers showed less frequent interaction and a tendency toward desensitisation. Although pictorial warnings play a vital role in raising awareness of the health risks of smoking, particularly lung and mouth cancer, their effectiveness in encouraging smoking cessation among smokers remains limited. creator: Nurul Asyikin Yahya creator: Nur Aqilah Mohamed Kutty creator: Nurul Afira Saleh uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18713 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Yahya et al. title: Wound healing potential of mouth gel containing isopimarane diterpene from Kaempferia galanga rhizomes for treatment of oral stomatitis link: https://peerj.com/articles/18716 last-modified: 2024-12-18 description: BackgroundOral ulcers have an impact on 25% of the global population including patients who are suffering from chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments. Kaempferia galanga L. has been traditionally used for treatment of mouth sores and tongue blisters. However, the wound healing study of isopimarane diterpenes isolated from K. galanga is still limited.ObjectiveThis study aims to evaluate the wound healing potential of 6β-acetoxysandaracopimaradiene-1α,9α-diol (KG6), a compound isolated from Kaempferia galanga, by examining its biological activities. Additionally, we investigate the physicochemical and biological properties of (KG6) in formulated mouth gels.MethodsThe KG6 mouth gels at 0.10%, 0.25% and 0.50% w/w were formulated using sodium carboxymethylcellulose as a gelling agent, and their physicochemical and biological stabilities were assessed through a heating-cooling acceleration test. The quantification of KG6 contents in KG6 mouth gels was determined using gas chromatography. Both KG6 and KG6 mouth gels were evaluated for their wound healing properties including cell proliferation, cell migration, and antioxidant activity (H2O2-induced oxidative stress) in human gingival fibroblast (HGF-1-ATCC CRL-2014) (HGF-1). In addition, the anti-inflammatory activity against nitric oxide (NO) production was investigated in macrophage cells (RAW 264.7).ResultsAfter KG6 mouth gels were incubated under heating-cooling acceleration condition, the physicochemical properties of the KG6 mouth gels remain stable across various parameters, including appearance, color, smell, texture, pH, viscosity, separation, and KG6 content. The biological studies indicated that the KG6 compound possessed good wound healing potential. The 0.50% KG6 mouth gel exhibited marked anti-inflammatory effect by inhibiting NO production with an IC50 of 557.7 µg/ml, comparable to that of Khaolaor mouth gel, a positive control. The 0.25% KG6 mouth gel increased HGF-1 cell proliferation to 101.7–103.5%, whereas all formulations of KG6 mouth gel enhanced HGF-1 cell migration to 94.7–98.9%, higher than Khaolaor mouth gel (73.5%). Moreover, 0.50% KG6 mouth gel also showed a good antioxidant effect under H2O2-induced oxidative stress.ConclusionThis study substantiates the significant biological activities related to the wound healing property of 0.50% KG6 mouth gel for treatment of aphthous ulcers and oral stomatitis from chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments. creator: Anupon Iadnut creator: Tanawan Sae-lee creator: Supinya Tewtrakul uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18716 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Iadnut et al. title: First discovery of actinopterygian cutting-edged teeth from the middle Norian (Late Triassic) at the Tulong section, southern Tibet, China link: https://peerj.com/articles/18728 last-modified: 2024-12-18 description: Actinopterygians (ray-finned fishes) successfully passed through the Permian-Triassic Mass Extinction (PTME) and flourished in the Triassic with diverse feeding specializations and occupation of various trophic levels. Birgeria, one of the largest actinopterygian fish of the Triassic, was characterized by a strong, blunt rostrum and three rows of sharp cutting-edged teeth, making them the top predators in the Early Mesozoic oceanic ecosystem. These fishes rapidly radiated and diversified globally during the Early and Middle Triassic, but the fossil record is rare for the Neo-Tethys in the Late Triassic. Here, we report new actinopterygian teeth with cutting edges from Norian-age strata in the Tulong section, which was located on the northern margin of the Indian Plate at that time. The tooth features, such as the polished acrodin cap, the ratio of the acrodin cap in length, and the tiny vertical striae at the tooth base, suggest an affinity with Birgeria, which is reported in this region for the first time. Furthermore, we infer that the carnivorous Birgeria, which co-occurred with the enigmatic ichthyosaur Himalayasaurus tibetensis, played the role of predator in this part of the Neo-Tethys marine realm during the Late Triassic. These new findings increase the known diversity of actinopterygians during the Late Triassic and provide further insight into the marine fauna of this epoch. creator: Zichen Fang creator: Long Cheng creator: Haishui Jiang creator: Xianlang Wu creator: Xulong Lai creator: James G. Ogg uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18728 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Fang et al. title: Retention of indoxyl sulfate in different genotypes of ABCC2 may explain variation in tacrolimus pharmacokinetics link: https://peerj.com/articles/18729 last-modified: 2024-12-18 description: BackgroundMicrobiota-derived toxins indoxyl sulfate and hippuric acid were previously reported to be associated with altered pharmacokinetics of the immunosuppressant tacrolimus in liver transplant recipients, and ABC transporter proteins are likely to be involved in the transport of such substances, but the in vivo role has not been elucidated. The aim of this study was to assess the retention of indoxyl sulfate and hippuric acid in the plasma of liver transplantation subjects carrying different genotypes of ABCB1 and ABCC2 (changes in transporter activity due to genetic variation), and to explore whether genetic variation is involved in altering the relationship between microbe-derived toxins and tacrolimus pharmacokinetics.MethodsLiver transplantation subjects treated with the immunosuppressive regimen tacrolimus, corticosteroids, and mycophyolate mofetil were included and divided into normal renal function group and chronic kidney disease group. The plasma concentrations of indoxyl sulfate and hippuric acid in two groups of liver transplantation subjects carrying different genotypes of ABCB1 and ABCC2 were compared. For genotype carriers with significant differences, the Pearson Correlation Coefficient method was further used to investigate the correlation between plasma indoxyl sulfate level and tacrolimus dose-corrected trough concentration in patients with different renal function status.ResultsCarriers of the rs717620-24T variant exhibited high plasma indoxyl sulfate retention in patients with normal renal function, and furthermore, chronic kidney disease patients and patients with normal renal function exhibited indoxyl sulfate and tacrolimus in the ABCC2 normal function (β = −0.740, p = 0.020) and reduced function groups (β = −0.526, p = 0.005), respectively, showing a strong correlation with tacrolimus.ConclusionABCC2 may be one of the pathways by which tacrolimus pharmacokinetics is altered by indoxyl sulfate. creator: Jing Wang creator: Siqi Huang creator: Yuanchen Li creator: Qiu Fang creator: Min Wang creator: Huaijun Zhu uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18729 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Wang et al. title: Validation study on the assay method for anti-factor IIa potency of enoxaparin sodium link: https://peerj.com/articles/18732 last-modified: 2024-12-18 description: Enoxaparin sodium is a low molecular mass heparin essential for effective anticoagulation therapy. However, significant variations in testing methods across different manufacturers have led to poor reproducibility of results, increasing the risks associated with drug quality evaluation by manufacturers and regulatory oversight. This study integrates the strengths of various testing methods to establish a reproducible assay that has been thoroughly validated. The validation results demonstrate that the method exhibits excellent specificity, linearity, robustness, precision, and accuracy, with recovery rates ranging from 98.0% to 102.0%. The new method demonstrated high consistency and reproducibility, with an RSD value of less than 2.0%, and showed the potential to replace the European Pharmacopoeia method by reducing reagent usage, experimental costs, and equipment requirements. The reliable results of this method facilitate its adoption across different laboratories, enhance the quality control of enoxaparin sodium, and provide a reference for new manufacturers and drug regulatory authorities, thereby ensuring medication safety. creator: Xiaorong Yang creator: Hanyan Zou creator: Yixue Dong creator: Bing Liu creator: Ying Wang creator: Mengying Wang uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18732 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Yang et al. title: The role of circRNA in breast cancer drug resistance link: https://peerj.com/articles/18733 last-modified: 2024-12-18 description: Among women with cancer, breast cancer has surpassed lung cancer to become the most prevalent type of cancer globally. High-throughput sequencing of breast cancer tissues from many patients has revealed significant variations in circRNA expression across different types of breast cancer. Chemotherapy is currently a very important method for treating breast cancer; however, as the number of chemotherapy sessions increases and considering factors such as the patient’s immune response, drug resistance has become a challenging issue in treating breast cancer. It is well known that drug resistance is associated with multiple factors, and different resistance mechanisms involve different roles of circRNA. This review consolidates literature from the past 5 years and addresses the shortcomings in the broad description of circRNA’s role in breast cancer drug resistance. It categorizes and describes the drug resistance and its mechanisms in different types of breast cancer, as well as the roles of circRNA and signaling pathways in drug resistance. creator: Shaofeng Yang creator: Donghai Li uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18733 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Yang and Li title: Validation and modification of existing bleeding complications prediction models for percutaneous renal biopsy: a prospective study link: https://peerj.com/articles/18741 last-modified: 2024-12-18 description: BackgroundBleeding complications following percutaneous renal biopsy (PRB) are a significant clinical concern. This study aimed to validate and refine existing prediction models for post-biopsy bleeding to support more accurate clinical decision-making.MethodsClinical data from 471 PRB patients were examined in this prospective analysis. Ultrasounds were performed immediately and 6 h post-biopsy to identify perinephric hematomas. Patients exhibiting severe pain, a hemoglobin drop of >10 g/L, symptomatic hypotension, hematuria within 7 days post-procedure underwent repeat ultrasound to assess for bleeding complications. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with bleeding risk. The predictive performance of three kidney biopsy risk calculators (KBRC) was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve, net reclassification improvement (NRI), integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), and decision curve analysis (DCA) to determine clinical utility. Nomograms were developed for each model to facilitate clinical application.ResultsUnivariate analysis identified body mass index (BMI), hemoglobin, and ultrasound findings as significant predictors of bleeding complications. In multivariable analysis, BMI, immediate ultrasound, and 6-h ultrasound data remained significant (p < 0.05). The three models compared included: KBRC-5 (age, body mass index (BMI), platelet count, hemoglobin, kidney size), KBRC-5 with immediate ultrasound data (IKBRC), and KBRC-5 with 6-h hematoma size (SKBRC). The AUROC values for these models were 0.683, 0.786, and 0.867, respectively (p < 0.001). NRI and IDI analyses demonstrated that adding immediate or 6-h ultrasound data significantly improved the risk reclassification ability of the KBRC-5 model (p < 0.05). DCA indicated that IKBRC provided the highest net benefit for risk thresholds between 25% and 77%, while SKBRC was superior for thresholds between 10% and 95%. Nomograms were constructed for each model, allowing clinicians to estimate the probability of bleeding complications by summing scores for each predictor. Calibration curves showed good agreement between predicted and observed probabilities.ConclusionIncorporating real-time ultrasound data post-PRB significantly enhances the predictive accuracy and risk reclassification capability of bleeding risk models. These findings provide critical insights for guiding clinical management decisions in patients undergoing renal biopsy. creator: Xing Li creator: Min Liu creator: Di-fei Duan creator: Yu Yan creator: Dengyan Ma uri: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18741 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ rights: © 2024 Li et al.