Diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and its response to seasonal variation in alpine grassland of the eastern Tibetan Plateau.

Introduction: Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi play a crucial role in maintaining diversity and ensuring the proper functioning of grassland ecosystems. A comprehensive understanding of the diversity, distribution patterns, and drivers of AM fungi in different habitats is essential for exploring the ecological roles in grassland ecosystems.

Methods: In this study, we utilized high-throughput sequencing technology to explore the diversity of AM fungi and their distribution at an altitude of approximately 3,500 m in the alpine grassland of the eastern Tibetan Plateau.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Trichoderma longibrachiatum alter the transcriptome of Vicia villosa in response to infection by the fungal pathogen Stemphylium vesicarium.

Background: Leaf spot caused by Stemphylium vesicarium is a severe disease of Vicia villosa and first reported in 2019. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Trichoderma are common beneficial microorganisms in soil that enhance plant resistance to pathogens. This study established a greenhouse experiment to examine the physiological and transcriptomic changes of V.

Nomogram prediction model for overall survival of late-stage lung cancer patients undergoing iodine-125 particle implantation brachytherapy.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the overall survival (OS) rate of late-stage lung cancer patients after receiving iodine-125 (I) particle implantation brachytherapy.

Material And Methods: 436 late-stage lung cancer patients who underwent I radioactive particle brachytherapy in the Department of Nuclear Medicine of the General Hospital of Northern Theater Command from December 2013 to June 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were randomly divided into training set and validation set in a 7 : 3 ratio.

Discrepancies in PD-L1 expression, lymphocyte infiltration, and tumor mutational burden in non-small cell lung cancer and matched brain metastases.

Background: Differences in the immune microenvironment and responses to immunotherapy may exist between primary non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and brain metastases (BMs). This study aimed to investigate discrepancies in programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression, tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS), and tumor mutational burden (TMB) between matched BMs and primary tumors (PTs) in NSCLC.

Methods: Twenty-six pairs of surgically resected BMs and corresponding PTs from NSCLC patients were collected.

Novel Gene Variants in Chinese Children with Non-Syndromic Tooth Agenesis: A Clinical and Genetic Analysis.

Background: Tooth agenesis is the most frequently occurring genetic developmental anomaly in clinical dentistry. The gene, essential for tooth development, has been associated with non-syndromic tooth agenesis. This study aims to identify novel variants associated with this condition and to understand their impact on tooth development.

Piezoelectric stimulation enhances bone regeneration in alveolar bone defects through metabolic reprogramming of macrophages.

Immunomodulation has emerged as a promising strategy for promoting bone regeneration. However, designing osteoimmunomodulatory biomaterial that can respond to mechanical stress in the unique microenvironment of alveolar bone under continuous occlusal stress remains a significant challenge. Herein, a wireless piezoelectric stimulation system, namely, piezoelectric hydrogel incorporating BaTiO nanoparticles (BTO NPs), is successfully developed to generate piezoelectric potentials for modulating macrophage reprogramming.

Development and Road Performance Verification of Aggregate Gradation for Large Stone Asphalt Mixture.

The pavement base and subbase are the main load-bearing structures of asphalt pavement, and their materials need to have sufficient bearing capacity. Therefore, in the development of LSAM-50 mixtures with higher bearing capacity, after significant research and engineering practice, conventional particle size asphalt mixtures have formed their own excellent mineral gradation and have been incorporated into relevant specifications, while LSAM-50 mixtures, including mineral gradation, have not been involved in related research and engineering applications. According to the strength composition mechanism of asphalt mixtures, under the same circumstances of asphalt, due to the large nominal maximum particle size of LSAM-50 and the small amount of asphalt used, the strength of mineral grading is more important than that of asphalt, which is one of the key issues to be solved in the research of LSAM-50 mixtures.

Dapagliflozin has protective effects on palmitate-induced renal tubular epithelial cells by enhancing mitochondrial function and reducing oxidative stress.

Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors, commonly utilized for diabetic nephropathy, have demonstrated benefits beyond glucose control, including organ protection. This study investigated the protective effects of the SGLT2 inhibitor, dapagliflozin (DAPA), on palmitate-induced renal tubular epithelial cell (HK-2) injury, particularly concentrating on mitochondrial function and oxidative stress. HK-2 cells were treated with 150 μmol/L palmitate to induce mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress, and they were co-treated with 2 μmol/L DAPA for 24 h.

PD-L1 expression and immune infiltration across molecular subtypes of endometrial cancer: An integrative-analysis of molecular classification and immune subtypes.

The immune subtypes of the tumor microenvironment in endometrial cancer (EC), associated with different molecular classifications, warrant further investigation to guide EC immunotherapy strategies. This study focused on programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression (Clone SP263) and immune cell (IC) markers (CD3, CD8, CD68, CD20, CD21) in 110 EC cases. In this cohort, the molecular subtype distribution was: POLE mutation (POLEmut) 7.

Multiomics reveals tumor microenvironment remodeling in locally advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer following neoadjuvant immunotherapy and chemotherapy.

Background: Perioperative chemotherapy is the standard of care for patients with locally advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer. Recent evidence demonstrated the addition of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitors enhanced therapeutic efficacy. However, the mechanisms of response and resistance remain largely undefined.

Prediction of toxicity and identification of key components for complex mixtures containing hormetic components.

Mixtures containing hormetic components are likely to induce hormesis. However, due to the presence of stimulatory effects, predicting the toxicity of such mixtures and identifying their key components face challenges. This study investigated the complex relationship between the stimulatory effects of individual components and their mixtures, focusing on predicting mixture toxicity and identifying key components influencing this toxicity.

Heavy metals in sediments of the river-lake system in the Dianchi basin, China: Their pollution, sources, and risks.

The accumulation of heavy metals in river and lake sediments in basins seriously threatens ecological safety and human health. To manage the basin effectively, it is crucial to understand pollution levels and identify and quantify the sources and risks of heavy metals in rivers and lakes separately for targeted control. In this study, 34 sediment samples were collected from the Dianchi Basin, China, and the pollution, sources, and risks in the river-lake system sediments were systematically analysed for cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), arsenic (As), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and nickel (Ni).

Curcumol ameliorates alcohol and high-fat diet-induced fatty liver disease via modulation of the Ceruloplasmin/iron overload/mtDNA signaling pathway.

Fatty liver disease (FLD), a chronic liver disease characterized by excessive lipid deposition, is affecting more and more people worldwide owing to the increasing global incidence of obesity and heavy alcohol consumption. However, there is still no effective strategy for prevention or treatment of alcohol and high-fat diet (HFD)-induced FLD. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of curcumol on alcohol and HFD-induced FLD and the underlying molecular mechanisms.

Development of a nomogram for predicting radiation‑induced pneumonia in patients with lung cancer undergoing close‑range radiotherapy with radioactive I particles.

The most common and potentially fatal side effect of postoperative radiotherapy using radioactive I particles in the chest is radiation-induced pneumonia (RP). The present study aimed to develop a nomogram to accurately predict RP in patients with lung cancer following this type of radiotherapy. A retrospective analysis was conducted on data from 436 patients with advanced lung cancer who underwent close-range radiotherapy using radioactive I particles at the General Hospital of Northern Theater Command from January 2016 to December 2023 (Shenyang, China).

Analysis of risk factors for pneumothorax after particle implantation in the treatment of advanced lung cancer after surgery and establishment of a nomogram prediction model.

Objective: To analyze the risk factors for pneumothorax after particle implantation in the treatment of advanced lung cancer and to construct and validate a nomogram prediction model.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 148 patients who underwent I particle implantation for advanced lung cancer at the *** from December 2022 to December 2023. Potential risk factors were identified using univariate logistic regression analysis, followed by a multivariate logistic regression analysis to evaluate the predictive factors for pneumothorax.

From bioinformatics to clinical applications: a novel prognostic model of cuproptosis-related genes based on single-cell RNA sequencing data in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective And Methods: To ascertain the connection between cuproptosis-related genes (CRGs) and the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) via single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) data, relevant data were downloaded from the GEO and TCGA databases. The differentially expressed CRGs (DE-CRGs) were filtered by the overlaps in differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between HCC patients and normal controls (NCs) in the scRNA-seq database, DE-CRGs between high- and low-CRG-activity cells, and DEGs between HCC patients and NCs in the TCGA database.

Results: Thirty-three DE-CRGs in HCC were identified.

Ecological risk of synthetic phenolic antioxidants: A study based on their spatial distribution in water, sediment, and soil from the Yangtze River Delta, China.

Environmental occurrence and risks of novel synthetic phenolic antioxidants (SPAs) remain largely unclear. By using a typical algae (Chlorella pyrenoidosa) as model organism, we evaluated the ecological risks of both traditional and novel SPAs, based on their concentrations in water, sediment, and soil collected from the Yangtze River Delta, China. Detection frequencies (DFs) of 10 novel SPAs were 25-100% in water, 3-100% in sediment, and 0-100% in soil, with geometric means (GMs) of 2700 ng/L, 1270 ng/g, and 2440 ng/g, respectively.

An innovative mixture sampling strategy with uniform design: Application to global sensitivity analysis of mixture toxicity.

Global sensitivity analysis combined with quantitative high-throughput screening (GSA-qHTS) uses random starting points of the trajectories in mixture design, which may lead to potential contingency and a lack of representativeness. Moreover, a scenario in which all factor levels were at stimulatory effects was not considered, thereby hindering a comprehensive understanding of GSA-qHTS. Accordingly, this study innovatively introduced an optimised experimental design, uniform design (UD), to generate non-random and representative sample points with smaller uniformity deviation as starting points of multiple trajectories.

MDH2 regulates the sensitivity of clear cell renal cell carcinoma to ferroptosis through its interaction with FSP1.

Malate dehydrogenase 2 is a pivotal enzyme in the tricarboxylic acid cycle. Recent studies have highlighted the significant involvement of MDH2 in the pathogenesis and progression of diverse types of tumors, yet its precise mechanistic underpinnings remain elusive. This study revealed a significant decrease in MDH2 expression in renal cancer tissues.

I seed implantation for lymph node metastasis from radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid carcinoma: a study on short-term efficacy and dosimetry.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility and evaluate the safety and effectiveness of Computed Tomography (CT) guidedI radioactive particle implantation for treating lymph node metastases in radioiodine-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (RAIR-DTC). To verify the accuracy of the computerized three-dimensional treatment planning system (TPS) in treating lymph node metastasis usingI particle implantation at the dosimetric level.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 42 patients with RAIR-DTC and lymph node metastases who were admitted to the General Hospital of the Northern Theater Command between December 2016 and January 2019.

MYB2 and MYB108 regulate lateral root development by interacting with LBD29 in Arabidopsis thaliana.

AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR 7 (ARF7)-mediated auxin signaling plays a key role in lateral root (LR) development by regulating downstream LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES DOMAIN (LBD) transcription factor genes, including LBD16, LBD18, and LBD29. LBD proteins are believed to regulate the transcription of downstream genes as homodimers or heterodimers. However, whether LBD29 forms dimers with other proteins to regulate LR development remains unknown.