Patient-reported Outcomes in Mothers with Chronic Hepatitis B Infection: A cross-sectional analysis.

Background & Aims: The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) during pregnancy has not been well-lidated in mothers with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). We aim to compare patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in CHB mothers with those of healthy mothers during pregnancy.

Methods: Between 4/16/2023 and 7/31/2023, we invited consecutive CHB and healthy mothers to complete the self-administered 36-item Short Form Survey (SF-36) and the Chronic Liver Disease Questionnaire (CLDQ) for PRO assessment.

Temporal Microenvironment Mapping (μMap) of Intracellular Trafficking Pathways of Cell-Penetrating Peptides Across the Blood-Brain Barrier.

Peptides play critical roles in cellular functions such as signaling and immune regulation, and peptide-based biotherapeutics show great promise for treating various diseases. Among these, cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are particularly valuable for drug delivery due to their ability to cross cell membranes. However, the mechanisms underlying CPP-mediated transport, especially across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), remain poorly understood.

Monitoring nap deprivation-induced fatigue using fNIRS and deep learning.

Fatigue-induced incidents in transportation, aerospace, military, and other areas have been on the rise, posing a threat to human life and safety. The determination of fatigue states holds significant importance, especially through reliable and conveniently available physiological indicators. Here, a portable custom-built fNIRS system was used to monitor the fatigue state caused by nap deprivation.

Chronic environmental exposure to polystyrene microplastics increases the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Microplastics (MPs), as the crucial environmental pollutants, can be easily transported into the human body and accumulate in the liver. However, current studies mainly focus on acute exposure to MPs, investigations on long-term interactions with MPs alone remain limited. Thereby, we examined noxious properties of MPs and selected the most common polystyrene (PS) MPs as the research object, including unmodified PS MPs (PS-MPs) and positive-charged PS MPs (PS-NH) at 10 mg/L employing oral drinking water methods in mice for six consecutive months in vivo.

Membrane drug transporters in cancer: From chemoresistance mechanism to therapeutic strategies.

Chemoresistance is a multifactorial phenomenon and the primary cause to the ineffectiveness of oncotherapy and cancer recurrence. Membrane drug transporters are crucial for drug delivery and disposition in cancer cells. Changes in the expression and functionality of these transporters lead to decreased intracellular accumulation and reduced toxicity of antineoplastic drugs.