Lineage Diversification and Population Dynamics of the Qinghai Toad-Headed Agama () on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with Particular Attention to the Northern Slope of the Kunlun-Arjin Mountains.

The Kunlun, Arjin, and Qilian mountain ranges mark the northern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), where rapid uplift and Quaternary glacial cycles have shaped a unique cold desert ecosystem and species distribution. Despite sampling challenges, phylogeographic studies are crucial for understanding reptile populations such as the Qinghai toad-headed agama (), a viviparous lizard with limited dispersal and multiple subspecies in the northeastern QTP. Our fieldwork identified populations of on the northern slope of the Kunlun-Arjin Mountains, similar to the controversial subspecies .

Phase-separating Pt(IV)-graft-glycopeptides sequentially sensing pH and redox for deep tumor penetration and targeting chemotherapy.

Active-targeting nanomedicines have been widely employed in cancer treatment for increasing therapeutic index. However, the limited permeability caused by the binding site barrier (BSB) and size hindrances compromises their clinical antitumor efficacy in patients. Herein, learning from the liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of bio-macromolecules, we report phase-separating glycopeptides (HEP) from polyhistidine (PHis) grafted hyaluronic acid (HA), which can sense the tumor extracellular pH and concomitantly overcome size and BSB dilemmas for enhanced tumor penetration.

Unraveling molecular mechanistic disparities in pathogenic visceral Leishmania resistance between reptiles and mammals through comparative transcriptomic analyses.

Leishmaniasis is one of the most important neglected tropical parasitic diseases, manifesting various clinical forms depending on the parasite species and the genetic background of the host. In order to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of reptilian defense against pathogenic Leishmania species and to delineate the global gene expression profile alterations during host-pathogen interaction, we established experimental animal and cell models using both heterothermic lizards (Phrynocephalus przewalskii) and homothermic mammals (BALB/c mice) infected with pathogenic Leishmania infantum (high virulence HCZ strain) and Leishmania donovani (low virulence 801 strain). Overall, the lizards didn't show any obvious clinical symptoms or immune responses in vivo.

Transformer with difference convolutional network for lightweight universal boundary detection.

Although deep-learning methods can achieve human-level performance in boundary detection, their improvements mostly rely on larger models and specific datasets, leading to significant computational power consumption. As a fundamental low-level vision task, a single model with fewer parameters to achieve cross-dataset boundary detection merits further investigation. In this study, a lightweight universal boundary detection method was developed based on convolution and a transformer.

Transcriptomic profiling revealed immune-related signaling pathways in response to experimental infection of Leishmania donovani in two desert lizards from Northwest China.

Little is known about the immune response of lizards to Leishmania parasties. In this study, we conducted the first liver transcriptome analysis of two lizards (Phrynocephalus przewalskii and Eremias multiocellata) challenged with L. donovani, endemic to the steppe desert region of northwestern China.

Placental volume as a novel sign for identifying placenta accreta spectrum in pregnancies with complete placenta previa.

Background: Placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) carries an increased risk of maternal-fetal mortality and morbidity, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features for PAS have been used for preoperative identification. This study aims to investigate the role of placental volume evaluated by MRI in identifying PAS in pregnant women with complete placenta previa.

Methods: Totally 163 cases of complete placenta previa pregnant women with a history of cesarean section underwent MRI for suspected PAS were included.

LdCyPA attenuates MAPK pathway to assist Leishmania donovani immune escape in host cells.

Background: Visceral leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease affecting millions of people worldwide. Macrophages serve as the primary host cells for L. donovani, the immune response capability of these host cells is crucial for parasites' intracellular survival.

Upregulation of PD-1/PD-L1 and downregulation of immune signaling pathways lead to more severe visceral leishmaniasis in undernutrition mice.

Background: Leishmaniasis is mainly prevalent in tropical and subtropical developing countries, where chronic undernutrition often co-exists. Undernutrition is reported to promote the progression of leishmaniasis, but its immune mechanisms have not been fully elucidated.

Methods: To simulate chronic undernutrition of patients in epidemic areas and explore the immune mechanism of undernutrition promoting leishmaniasis, BALB/c mouse models with different nutritional imbalances were established, including undernutrition 75%, undernutrition 65% and obesity mouse models.

Phylogeography and Ecological Niche Modeling of the Alashan Pit Viper (; Reptilia, Viperidae) in Northwest China and Adjacent Areas.

The joint impacts of historical geological events and Quaternary climatic oscillations in Northwest China on species evolution have been examined extensively in plant under a phylogeographic perspective. However, animal phylogeographic analyses in this region are still limited. The Alashan pit viper, , occurs primarily in arid Northwest China and adjacent areas.

Prognostic value of circulating tumor DNA in operable non-small cell lung cancer: a systematic review and reconstructed individual patient-data based meta-analysis.

Background: This reconstructed individual patient data (IPD)-based meta-analysis is aimed to summarize the current findings and comprehensively investigate the predictive value of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: PubMed, Cochrane and Embase were searched to include potentially eligible studies. The primary outcomes included progression-free survival (DFS) by ctDNA status at baseline, postoperative, and longitudinal timepoints.

Shade Increased Seed Yield and Quality of var. .

var. has attracted great attention because of the anticancer value of its alkaloids and the potential use of the species for ecological restoration. However, the scarcity of high-quality seeds has significantly hindered the cultivation and efficient utilization of this species.

TLR-2 agonist Pam3CSK4 has no therapeutic effect on visceral leishmaniasis in BALB/c mice and may enhance the pathogenesis of the disease.

Most of the existing Leishmania-related research about TLR-2 agonists was focusing on their role as adjuvants in the vaccine, few studied its therapeutic effect. This paper aims to explore the therapeutic effect of TLR-2 agonist Pam3CSK4 on Leishmania-infected mice and the underlying immune molecular mechanisms. In L.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Radiomics Nomogram to Predict Intraoperative Hemorrhage of Placenta Previa.

Objective: Placenta previa (PP) is associated with intraoperative and postpartum hemorrhage, increased maternal morbidity and mortality. We aimed to develop a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based nomogram to preoperative prediction of intraoperative hemorrhage (IPH) for PP.

Study Design: A total of 125 PP pregnant women were divided into a training set ( = 80) and a validation set ( = 45).

Hydrotime Model Parameters Estimate Seed Vigor and Predict Seedling Emergence Performance of under Various Environmental Conditions.

Seed vigor is an important aspect of seed quality. High-vigor seeds show rapid and uniform germination and emerge well, especially under adverse environmental conditions. Here, we determined hydrotime model parameters by incubating seeds at different water potentials (0.

Mixed Rare-Earth Chalcogenide Borate EuREMgSBO (RE = Sm, Gd) Featuring a 3D {[BO]} Framework Connected by [BO(O)] and [BO(O)] Clusters.

Rare-earth (RE) chalcogenide borates are very rarely discovered in view of the difficulties in synthesis though they have demonstrated attractive physical performances. Here, the first mixed RE chalcogenide borates EuSmMgSBO () and EuGdMgSBO () are synthesized by combining RE, sulfur, and borate ions into one structure. They crystallize in the centrosymmetric hexagonal space group 6/, and their 3D honeycomb-like {[BO]} open frameworks are built by [BO(O)] and [BO(O)] polyanionic clusters and consolidated by Mg ions; both of which are formed by BO tetrahedra and BO planar triangles.

Geography and past climate changes have shaped the evolution of a widespread lizard in arid Central Asia.

The complex orogenic history and structure of Central Asia, coupled with Pleistocene glacial cycles have generated its stepwise aridification. Such events would have significantly influenced the evolution of many mid-latitude species in arid Central Asia (ACA). In this study, we employed two mitochondrial genes (CO1 and ND2) and genome-wide SNPs, coupled with ecological niche modeling, to investigate the lineage diversification and historical demography within a widespread lizard Phrynocephalus helioscopus, and their associations with geography and past climate change.

TLR9 agonist CpG ODN 2395 promotes the immune response against Leishmania donovani in obesity and undernutrition mice.

As important immunomodulators, CpG ODNs have broad application prospects in the treatment and prevention of leishmaniasis. In order to explore the immunomodulatory effect of CpG ODNs on mice infected with Leishmania parasites in different nutritional status, TLR9 agonist CpG ODN 2395 or TLR9 antagonist CpG ODN 2088 was injected into normal, obesity and undernutrition BALB/c mice infected with Leishmania donovani, respectively. Subsequently, spleen and liver parasite loads, spleen and liver immune gene expression, spleen T cell subsets proportion and PD-1 expression, serum lipids, serum cytokines, and anti-Leishmania antibodies were measured to assess the immune response of mice with different nutritional status.

Effect of temperature and water potential on the germination of seeds from three different populations of Bidens pilosa as a potential Cd hyperaccumulator.

Background: Bidens pilosa L., an annual herb, has recently been shown to be a potential Cd-hyperaccumulating plant. The germination characteristics of B.

Hyaluronic acid-guided assembly of ceria nanozymes as plaque-targeting ROS scavengers for anti-atherosclerotic therapy.

Oxidative stress is a distinguishing feature in atherosclerosis disease. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can increase the oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) and oxidative damage to macrophages in the plaque. Although antioxidant agents such as N-acetylcysteine are used to treat atherosclerosis, but provide a poor clinical benefit to the majority of patients with atherosclerosis.

Sequentially sustained release of anticarcinogens for postsurgical chemoimmunotherapy.

Postsurgical treatment is of great importance to combat tumor recurrence and metastasis. Anti-CD47 antibodies (aCD47) can block the CD47-signal regulatory protein-alpha (CD47-SIRPα) pathway to restore immunity. Here, an in-situ gel implantation was engineered by crosslinking chitosan (CS) and pullulan (Pul) for postsurgical treatment.

Distributionally robust mean-absolute deviation portfolio optimization using wasserstein metric.

Data uncertainty has a great impact on portfolio selection. Based on the popular mean-absolute deviation (MAD) model, we investigate how to make robust portfolio decisions. In this paper, a novel Wasserstein metric-based data-driven distributionally robust mean-absolute deviation (DR-MAD) model is proposed.

Base water potential but not hydrotime predicts seedling emergence of under water stress conditions.

We determined the hydrotime model parameters of 10 alfalfa seed lots by incubating seeds at various water potentials in the laboratory. Meanwhile, seedling emergence under drought and salinity conditions in a greenhouse pot experiment, and seedling establishment in the field were determined. Correlation analysis was utilized to detect the relationship between hydrotime model parameters and seedling emergence under water stress conditions.

A bio-responsive, cargo-catchable gel for postsurgical tumor treatment via ICD-based immunotherapy.

Tumor recurrence and metastasis after surgery remain challenges for tumor treatment. Strategy that can promote the immunogenicity, activate adaptative immune response and eliminate post-operative immunosuppression would be a promising way to achieve a desired clinical benefit. In this study, immunogenic cell death (ICD) priming anti-tumor adaptive immune response was executed to potentiate immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy through the PD1/PDL1 pathway for postsurgical treatment.

Seed Germination and Seed Bank Dynamics of (Brassicaceae): A Weed on the Northeastern Edge of Tibetan Plateau.

As a versatile cruciferous species, is widely cultivated, but in some areas, it has become an invasive weed. There are few studies on its seed dormancy and soil seed bank. This research examined seed dormancy, germination, and dynamics of the soil seed bank of , with a view to provide support for its prevention and control.