Traditional Chinese medicine in synergy with conventional therapy improves renal outcomes and provides survival benefit in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: a cohort study from the largest health care system in Taiwan.

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multifaceted autoimmune disorder that significantly impacts renal function. Despite conventional treatments, morbidity and mortality remain high, necessitating the exploration of safer and more effective therapies, including the potential benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for improving kidney health and survival rates.

Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed with SLE with catastrophic illness certificate were retrospectively enrolled from CGRD between 2005 and 2020.

Cancer-Associated Venous Thromboembolism Among Hospitalized Patients with Solid and Hematological Malignancies: A Comprehensive National Study.

Introduction: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major cause of non-cancer-related mortality in cancer patients. Understanding how demographic factors and cancer types influence VTE risk is critical for developing prevention strategies. This study investigates the incidence of VTE in a large cancer patient population, focusing on gender, race, and differences between solid and hematological malignancies.

Perception of viral infections and initiation of antiviral defence in rice.

Crop production faces persistent threats from insect-vector-borne viral diseases. Recent advancements have revealed the intricate immune mechanisms that plants deploy against viral pathogens. However, the molecular mechanisms through which plant hosts recognize viral infections and initiate antiviral defence at disease onset have not been elucidated.

Microenvironment Tailoring for Electrocatalytic CO Reduction: Effects of Interfacial Structure on Controlling Activity and Selectivity.

The performance of the electrocatalytic CO reduction reaction (CORR) is highly dependent on the microenvironment around the cathode. Despite efforts to optimize the microenvironment by modifying nanostructured catalysts or microporous gas diffusion electrodes, their inherent disorder presents a significant challenge to understanding how interfacial structure arrangement within the electrode governs the microenvironment for CORR. This knowledge gap limits fundamental understanding of CORR while also hindering efforts to enhance CORR selectivity and activity.

A Unified Approach to Lactonization/Lactamization by Leveraging Tether-Tunable Distonic Radical Anions.

We report using visible-light-induced generation of tether-tunable distonic radical anions for the general catalytic lactonization/lactamization of aromatic carboxylic acids and benzamides. Its success relies on the specific cyclic diacyl peroxide and catalytic amount of CsI, enabling the generation of electrophilic heteroatom-centered radicals via a philicity regulation strategy. Key features include operational simplicity, excellent functional group tolerance, broad substrate scope, high chemo- and regioselectivity, gram-scale scalability, and application to synthesis of urolithin derivatives and 3--butylphthalide.