CTC-neutrophil interaction: A key driver and therapeutic target of cancer metastasis.

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are cancer cells that detach from the primary tumor and enter the bloodstream, where they can seed new metastatic lesions in distant organs. CTCs are often associated with white blood cells (WBCs), especially neutrophils, the most abundant and versatile immune cells in the blood. Neutrophils can interact with CTCs through various mechanisms, such as cell-cell adhesion, cytokine secretion, protease release, and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) formation.

Association between computed tomography-quantified respiratory muscles and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a retrospective study.

Background: This study examined the association between chest muscles and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the relationship between chest muscle areas and acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD).

Methods: There were 168 subjects in the non-COPD group and 101 patients in the COPD group. The respiratory and accessory respiratory muscle areas were obtained using 3D Slicer software to analysis the imaging of  computed tomography (CT).

Anti-inflammatory mechanisms of neutrophil membrane-coated nanoparticles without drug loading.

Neutrophil membrane-coated nanoparticles (NM-NPs) are nanomedicines with traits of mimicking the surface properties and functions of neutrophils, which are the most abundant type of white blood cells in the human body. NM-NPs have been widely used as targeted drug delivery systems for various inflammatory diseases, but their intrinsic effects on inflammation are not fully characterized yet. This study found that NM-NPs could modulate inflammation by multiple mechanisms without drug loading.

Neutrophil Nanodecoys Inhibit Tumor Metastasis by Blocking the Interaction between Tumor Cells and Neutrophils.

Cancer metastasis is the main cause of cancer-related deaths and involves the interaction between tumor cells and neutrophils. In this study, we developed activated neutrophil membrane-coated nanoparticles (aNEM NPs) as nanodecoys to block neutrophil-mediated cancer metastasis. The aNEM NPs were fabricated by cloaking poly(lactic acid) nanoparticles with membranes derived from activated neutrophils and inherited the functional proteins of activated neutrophils.

Characteristics of patients with SARS-COV-2 PCR re-positivity after recovering from COVID-19.

The purpose of this study was to analyse the clinical characteristics of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) PCR re-positivity after recovering from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Patients ( = 1391) from Guangzhou, China, who had recovered from COVID-19 were recruited between 7 September 2021 and 11 March 2022. Data on epidemiology, symptoms, laboratory test results and treatment were analysed.

Predictive Value of the Hepatic Immune Predictive Index for Patients with Primary Liver Cancer Treated with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have improved survival outcomes and resulted in long-term responses in primary liver cancer in some patients. Nevertheless, not all patients with PLC could benefit from immunotherapy. Therefore, it is necessary to identify patients suitable for such therapy.

PLK4 Is a Potential Biomarker for Abnormal Tumor Proliferation, Immune Infiltration, and Prognosis in ccRCC.

Background: PLK4 is highly expressed and associated with poor prognosis in various malignancies. However, the role of PLK4 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is still unclear. This study is aimed at analyzing the expression, the potential regulating mechanism, and the role of PLK4 in the ccRCC by bioinformatics.

Use of computed tomography-derived body composition to determine the prognosis of patients with primary liver cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been used to successfully treat primary liver cancer (PLC); however, identifying modifiable patient factors associated with therapeutic benefits is challenging. Obesity is known to be associated with increased survival after ICI treatment; however, the relationship between body composition (muscle, fat) and outcomes is unclear. This study aimed to evaluate the association between sarcopenia and CT-derived fat content and the prognosis of ICIs for the treatment of PLC.

Splenomegaly in predicting the survival of patients with advanced primary liver cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Background & Aims: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) play an increasingly important role in the treatment of primary liver cancer (PLC). Some patients with PLC experience symptoms of splenomegaly. Splenomegaly may affect the efficacy of ICIs due to an imbalance of the immune microenvironment.

Public Health Measures During the COVID-19 Pandemic Reduce the Spread of Other Respiratory Infectious Diseases.

Public health measures (such as wearing masks, physical distancing, and isolation) have significantly reduced the spread of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), but the impact of public health measures on other respiratory infectious diseases is unclear. To assess the correlation between public health measures and the incidence of respiratory infectious diseases in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected the data from the National Health and Construction Commission in China on the number of patients with six respiratory infectious diseases (measles, tuberculosis, pertussis, scarlet fever, influenza, and mumps) from 2017 to 2020 and assessed the correlation between public health measures and the incidence of respiratory infectious diseases.

Lung metastasis and lymph node metastasis are risk factors for hyperprogressive disease in primary liver cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Background: At present, some cancer patients experience hyperprogressive disease (HPD) after receiving immunotherapy. This study used the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors 1.1 to evaluate the incidence of HPD in patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for treating primary liver cancer (PLC) and to explore the risk factors for HPD.

Chemical Insights into Interfacial Effects in Inorganic Nanomaterials.

The interfaces between inorganic functional nanomaterials and their surface modifiers play important roles in determining their chemical and physical properties. In numerous situations, interfaces created by organic ligands or secondary inorganic components on inorganic nanomaterials induce significant effects to promote their performances. However, it still remains challenging to understand those interfacial effects at the molecular level.

Correlation Between Local Air Temperature and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Hubei, China.

To clarify the correlation between temperature and the COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei. We collected daily newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and daily temperature for six cities in Hubei Province, assessed their correlations, and established regression models. For temperatures ranging from -3.

[Effect of hypertension on outcomes of patients with COVID-19].

Objective: To determine the impact of hypertension on the outcomes of patients with COVID-19.

Methods: This matched cohort study was conducted among a total 442 patients with COVID-19 admitted in Honghu People's Hospital and First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University between January 1 to March 18, 2020, including 61 patients with hypertension and 381 normotensive patients. To minimize the effects of the confounding factors including age, gender and other comorbidities, we excluded patients with comorbidities other than hypertension, and matched the patients with and without hypertension for age and gender at a 1:1 ratio.

Self-Limiting Growth of Two-Dimensional Palladium between Graphene Oxide Layers.

The ability of different materials to display self-limiting growth has recently attracted an enormous amount of attention because of the importance of nanoscale materials in applications for catalysis, energy conversion, (opto)electronics, and so forth. Here, we show that the electrochemical deposition of palladium (Pd) between graphene oxide (GO) sheets result in the self-limiting growth of 5-nm-thick Pd nanosheets. The self-limiting growth is found to be a consequence of the strong interaction of Pd with the confining GO sheets, which results in the bulk growth of Pd being energetically unfavorable for larger thicknesses.

Co-crystallization of atomically precise metal nanoparticles driven by magic atomic and electronic shells.

This paper reports co-crystallization of two atomically precise, different-size ligand-stabilized nanoclusters, a spherical (AuAg)(SR) and a smaller trigonal-prismatic (AuAg)(SR)(PPh) in 1:1 ratio, characterized fully by X-ray crystallographic analysis (SR = 2,4-SPhMe). The larger cluster has a four concentric-shell icosahedral structure of Ag@M@M@M@Ag(SR) (M = Au or Ag) with the inner-core M icosahedron observed here for metal nanoparticles. The cluster has an open electron shell of 187 delocalized electrons, fully metallic, plasmonic behavior, and a zero HOMO-LUMO energy gap.

Ultrastable atomic copper nanosheets for selective electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide.

The electrochemical conversion of CO and HO into syngas using renewably generated electricity is an attractive approach to simultaneously achieve chemical fixation of CO and storage of renewable energy. Developing cost-effective catalysts for selective electroreduction of CO into CO is essential to the practical applications of the approach. We report a simple synthetic strategy for the preparation of ultrathin Cu/Ni(OH) nanosheets as an excellent cost-effective catalyst for the electrochemical conversion of CO and HO into tunable syngas under low overpotentials.

Self-Supported 3D PdCu Alloy Nanosheets as a Bifunctional Catalyst for Electrochemical Reforming of Ethanol.

3D PdCu alloy nanosheets exhibit enhanced electrocatalytic activity toward hydrogen evolution reaction and ethanol oxidation reaction in alkaline media. Simultaneous hydrogen and acetate production via a solar-powered cell for ethanol reforming has been fabricated using the nanosheets as bifunctional electrocatalysts. The device is promising for the production of both hydrogen and value-added chemicals using renewable energy.

Asymmetric Synthesis of Chiral Bimetallic [AgCu(SR)] Nanoclusters via Ion Pairing.

In this work, a facile ion-pairing strategy for asymmetric synthesis of optically active negatively charged chiral metal nanoparticles using chiral ammonium cations is demonstrated. A new thiolated chiral three-concentric-shell cluster, [AgCu(SR)], was first synthesized as a racemic mixture and characterized by single-crystal X-ray structure determination. Mass spectrometric measurements revealed relatively strong ion-pairing interactions between the anionic nanocluster and ammonium cations.

Electrochemical Partial Reforming of Ethanol into Ethyl Acetate Using Ultrathin Co3O4 Nanosheets as a Highly Selective Anode Catalyst.

Electrochemical partial reforming of organics provides an alternative strategy to produce valuable organic compounds while generating H2 under mild conditions. In this work, highly selective electrochemical reforming of ethanol into ethyl acetate is successfully achieved by using ultrathin Co3O4 nanosheets with exposed (111) facets as an anode catalyst. Those nanosheets were synthesized by a one-pot, templateless hydrothermal method with the use of ammonia.

Identifying the Molecular Structures of Intermediates for Optimizing the Fabrication of High-Quality Perovskite Films.

During the past two years, the introduction of DMSO has revolutionized the fabrication of high-quality pervoskite MAPbI3 (MA = CH3NH3) films for solar cell applications. In the developed DMSO process, the formation of (MA)2Pb3I8·2DMSO (shorted as Pb3I8) has well recognized as a critical factor to prepare high-quality pervoskite films and thus accomplish excellent performances in perovskite solar cells. However, Pb3I8 is an I-deficient intermediate and must further react with methylammonium iodide (MAI) to be fully converted into MAPbI3.