Inhibition of MAN2A1 Enhances the Immune Response to Anti-PD-L1 in Human Tumors.

Purpose: Immune checkpoint blockade has shown remarkable efficacy, but in only a minority of patients with cancer, suggesting the need to develop additional treatment strategies. Aberrant glycosylation in tumors, resulting from the dysregulated expression of key enzymes in glycan biosynthesis, modulates the immune response. However, the role of glycan biosynthesis enzymes in antitumor immunity is poorly understood.

Facile and Modular Pipeline for Protein-Specific Antibody Customization.

Antibodies are fundamental tools for basic science; however, high-quality antibodies suitable for multiple experimental applications are often inaccessible to research laboratories. To this end, a modular and low-cost pipeline for small-scale antibody customization is developed. First, soluble antigens are designed according to the secondary structure of a desired protein.

Crystal face dependent intrinsic wettability of metal oxide surfaces.

Knowledge of intrinsic wettability at solid/liquid interfaces at the molecular level perspective is significant in understanding crucial progress in some fields, such as electrochemistry, molecular biology and earth science. It is generally believed that surface wettability is determined by the surface chemical component and surface topography. However, when taking molecular structures and interactions into consideration, many intriguing phenomena would enrich or even redress our understanding of surface wettability.

Integration of PEGylated Polyaniline Nanocoatings with Multiple Plastic Substrates Generates Comparable Antifouling Performance.

Conducting polymer nanocoatings render plastics to possess interesting optical, chemical, and electrical properties. It nevertheless remains technically challenging to deposit uniform conducting polymer nanocoatings on ambient plastic substrates ascribed to the inert and varied chemical properties of plastics and the notorious processability of conducting polymers. Previous studies have made progress in delivering various conducting polymer thin films oxidative chemical vapor deposition.

The Effects of Intraoperative Electrical Stimulation on Regeneration and Recovery After Nerve Isograft Repair in a Rat Model.

Therapeutic electrical stimulation (ES) applied to repaired nerve is a promising treatment option to improve regeneration. However, few studies address the impact of ES following nerve graft reconstruction. The purpose of this study was to determine if ES applied to a nerve repair using nerve isograft in a rodent model could improve nerve regeneration and functional recovery.

Spermine synthase and MYC cooperate to maintain colorectal cancer cell survival by repressing Bim expression.

Dysregulation of polyamine metabolism has been linked to the development of colorectal cancer (CRC), but the underlying mechanism is incompletely characterized. Here, we report that spermine synthase (SMS), a polyamine biosynthetic enzyme, is overexpressed in CRC. Targeted disruption of SMS in CRC cells results in spermidine accumulation, which inhibits FOXO3a acetylation and allows subsequent translocation to the nucleus to transcriptionally induce expression of the proapoptotic protein Bim.

Selectively Depopulating Valley-Polarized Excitons in Monolayer MoS by Local Chirality in Single Plasmonic Nanocavity.

Transition metal dichalcogenides, whose valley degrees of freedom are characterized by the degree of circular polarization (DCP) of the photoluminescence, draw broad interests due to their potential applications in information storage and processing. However, this DCP is usually low at room temperature due to the phonon-assisted intervalley scattering, severely degrading the fidelity of the valley-stored signals. Therefore, achieving high DCP at room temperature is vital for valley-encoded nanophotonic devices.

Chiral Assemblies of Laser-Printed Micropillars Directed by Asymmetrical Capillary Force.

Artificial microstructures composed of chiral building blocks are of great significance in the fields of optics and mechanics. Here, it is shown that highly ordered chiral structures can be spontaneously assembled by a meniscus-directed capillary force arising in an evaporating liquid. The chirality is facilitated by rationally breaking the intrinsic symmetry in the unit cells through cooperative control of the geometry and spatial topology of the micropillars.

Ammonium Removal by a Newly Isolated Heterotrophic Nitrification-Aerobic Denitrification Bacteria Pseudomonas Stutzeri SDU10 and Its Potential in Treatment of Piggery Wastewater.

A strain SDU10 was isolated from swine manure compost and identified as Pseudomonas stutzeri SDU10. It demonstrated excellent capability in NH-N removal. Optimal conditions of NH-N removal were determined, which were sodium acetate as the optimal carbon source, carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio of 10, temperature of 30 °C, pH of 7.

Facile Preparation of WO Dots with Remarkably Low Toxicity and Uncompromised Activity as Co-reactants for Clinical Diagnosis by Electrochemiluminescence.

The exceptional nature of WO dots has inspired widespread interest, but it is still a significant challenge to synthesize high-quality WO dots without using unstable reactants, expensive equipment, and complex synthetic processes. Herein, the synthesis of ligand-free WO dots is reported that are highly dispersible and rich in oxygen vacancies by a simple but straightforward exfoliation of bulk WS and a mild follow-up chemical conversion. Surprisingly, the WO dots emerged as co-reactants for the electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of Ru(bpy) with a comparable ECL efficiency to the well-known Ru(bpy) /tripropylamine (TPrA) system.

Anodal and cathodal tDCS modulate neural activity and selectively affect GABA and glutamate syntheses in the visual cortex of cats.

Key Points: The present study showed that anodal and cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can respectively increase and decrease the amplitude of visually evoked field potentials in the stimulated visual cortex of cats, with the effect lasting for ∼60-70 min. We directly measured tDCS-induced changes in the concentration of inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitters in the visual cortex using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method and showed that anodal and cathodal tDCS can selectively decrease the concentration of GABA and glutamate in the stimulated cortical area. Anodal and cathodal tDCS can selectively inhibit the synthesis of GABA and glutamate by suppressing the expression of GABA- and glutamate-synthesizing enzymes, respectively.

The CCL2/CCR2 axis is critical to recruiting macrophages into acellular nerve allograft bridging a nerve gap to promote angiogenesis and regeneration.

Acellular nerve allografts (ANAs) are increasingly used to repair nerve gaps following injuries. However, these nerve scaffolds have yet to surpass the regenerative capabilities of cellular nerve autografts; improved understanding of their regenerative mechanisms could improve design. Due to their acellular nature, both angiogenesis and diverse cell recruitment is necessary to repopulate these scaffolds to promote functional regeneration.

T cells modulate IL-4 expression by eosinophil recruitment within decellularized scaffolds to repair nerve defects.

Decellularized nerve, or acellular nerve allografts (ANAs), are an increasingly used alternative to nerve autografts to repair nerve gaps to facilitate regeneration. The adaptive immune system, specifically T cells, plays a role in promoting regeneration upon these ANA scaffolds. However, how T cells promote regeneration across ANAs is not clear.

Amplitude-phase optimized long depth of focus femtosecond axilens beam for single-exposure fabrication of high-aspect-ratio microstructures.

Fabrication of high-aspect-ratio (HAR) micro/nanostructures by two-photon polymerization (TPP) has become a hot topic because of the advantages of ultra-high resolution and true 3D printing ability. However, the low efficiency caused by point-by-point scanning strategy limits its application. In this Letter, we propose a strategy for the rapid fabrication of HAR microstructures by combining TPP with an amplitude-phase optimized long depth of focus laser beam (LDFB).

Effects of amylin on food intake and body weight via sympathetic innervation of the interscapular brown adipose tissue.

Amylin acts on the lateral dorsal tegmental nucleus (LDT), resulting in anorexic and weight-loss effects and activates thermogenesis in the interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT). In addition, it induces neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-mediated feeding. However, the influence of the intact sympathetic nervous system (SNS) in mediating amylin's effects has not been fully characterised.

Special Staining of the Liquid-Based Cytopathology Test in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid for Diagnosis of Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis with Nonneutropenic Patients.

In recent years, various biomarkers have been gradually applied on bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid for the diagnosis of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA). The objective of this study is to assess the value of the liquid-based cytopathology test (LCT) for improving the identification of IPA in BAL fluid from possible IPA patients, following special staining with periodic acid-Schiff staining (PAS) or Grocott's methenamine silver (GMS). A total of 47 consecutive possible IPA patients who underwent bronchoscopy with BAL fluid from January 2017 to December 2018 were included.

Fabrication of large scale uniform copper-island thin film for ultrasensitive surface enhanced Raman scattering.

Nanostructured metals with designable and controllable structures have received increasing attention in surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) due to the single molecular detection limit. Great challenges still remain in creating large scale substrates with high-density 'hotspots' to provide a uniform and stable enhancement of Raman signals. Here, we fabricated a copper island thin film over an 80 cm scale substrate with tunable particle sizes by combining sputtering with dealloying processes.

Response of the expression of oxytocin neurons to ghrelin in female mice.

Ghrelin is an orexigenic agonist that acts directly on neurons in the hypothalamus, controlling appetite and energy balance. Although its role in appetite-associated neurons has been described, the relationship between peripheral ghrelin stimulation and oxytocin expression in the paraventricular nucleus is not fully understood. We evaluated the suppressive function of ghrelin in oxytocin-positive paraventricular nucleus neurons in ovariectomized C57BL/6 mice 2 h after ghrelin injection.

Inhibition of MICA and MICB Shedding Elicits NK-Cell-Mediated Immunity against Tumors Resistant to Cytotoxic T Cells.

Resistance to cytotoxic T cells is frequently mediated by loss of MHC class I expression or IFNγ signaling in tumor cells, such as mutations of or genes. Natural killer (NK) cells could potentially target such resistant tumors, but suitable NK-cell-based strategies remain to be developed. We hypothesized that such tumors could be targeted by NK cells if sufficient activating signals were provided.

Stimuli-Responsive Actuator Fabricated by Dynamic Asymmetric Femtosecond Bessel Beam for Particle and Cell Manipulation.

Microscale intelligent actuators capable of sensitive and accurate manipulation under external stimuli hold great promise in various fields including precision sensors and biomedical devices. Current microactuators, however, are often limited to a multiple-step fabrication process and multimaterials. Here, a pH-triggered soft microactuator (<100 μm) with simple structure, one-step fabrication process, and single material is proposed, which is composed of deformable hydrogel microstructures fabricated by an asymmetric femtosecond Bessel beam.

The Clinical Efficacy of Two Endoscopic Surgical Approaches for Intractable Plantar Fasciitis.

In this randomized retrospective study, 2 different endoscopic approaches were used to treat intractable plantar fasciitis with the aim to reduce complications and improve therapeutic effects. The lateral double incisions group included 23 feet in 22 patients, and the medial and lateral incisions group included 21 feet in 19 patients. Both groups were treated with endoscopy through the suprafascial approach.

Hybrid femtosecond laser fabrication of a size-tunable microtrap chip with a high-trapping retention rate.

In this Letter, we propose a new (to the best of our knowledge), promising concept of a hybrid femtosecond (fs) laser processing method composed of single-point scanning and holographic light modulation fabrication for manufacturing a tunable-size microtrap chip. The hybrid method not only ensures key microfluidic device precision but also greatly improves the fabrication speed. By using a new asymmetry-bracket-shaped microtrap design with a mechanical strain stretching method, real-time size-tunable trapping is obtained, and a 100% particle trapping retention is realized, ignoring the flow fluctuation.

Prebiotic inulin consumption reduces dioxin-like PCB 126-mediated hepatotoxicity and gut dysbiosis in hyperlipidemic Ldlr deficient mice.

Exposure to some environmental pollutants increases the risk of developing inflammatory disorders such as steatosis and cardiometabolic diseases. Diets high in fermentable fibers such as inulin can modulate the gut microbiota and lessen the severity of pro-inflammatory diseases, especially in individuals with elevated circulating cholesterol. Thus, we aimed to test the hypothesis that hyperlipidemic mice fed a diet enriched with 8% inulin would be protected from the pro-inflammatory toxic effects of PCB 126.

Design-Based stereology and binary image histomorphometry in nerve assessment.

Background: Stereology and histomorphometry are widely used by investigators to quantify nerve characteristics in normal and pathological states, including nerve injury and regeneration. While these methods of analysis are complementary, no study to date has systematically compared both approaches in peripheral nerve. This study investigated the reliability of design-based stereology versus semi-automated binary imaging histomorphometry for assessing healthy peripheral nerve characteristics.