Extracellular vesicles from Lactobacillus fermentum enhance intestinal barrier integrity and restore gut microbial homeostasis in experimental murine colitis.

Background: Lactobacillus fermentum (L. fermentum) has been shown to improve intestinal health and treat colitis; however, its precise efficacy and mechanisms in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remain unclear.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate whether L.

Peptides-functionalized gold nanostars enhanced degradation of PD-L1 for improved prostate cancer immunotherapy.

Blockage of the interaction between programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) and programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) can restore T-cell activity and enhance antitumor immunity. PD-1/PD-L1 pathway inhibitors have promising applications in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer (PCa). We successfully developed a peptides-functionalized gold nanoconstruct (P-AuNS) consisted of PD-L1-binding peptide (PD-L1pep, P) and gold nanostar (AuNS), which could bind to cell-surface PD-L1 specifically and deliver PD-L1 into PCa cells with high efficiency.

Individualized tumor-reactive T cells exhibit a potent anti-tumor response in prostate cancer.

Background: Cellular immunotherapy exhibits promise in treating blood tumors. However, its application for solid tumors is impeded by their heterogeneity and complex microenvironments. The development of individualized multitarget therapy may be the key to overcoming the challenge of tumor heterogeneity.

Sensitive and Anisotropic Room-Temperature Terahertz Photodetection in Quasi-1D Nodal-Line Semimetal NbNiTe.

Low-dimensional topological materials merge the benefits of reduced dimensionality with the nontrivial topological phases, garnering significant attention as promising candidates for next-generation optoelectronic devices. The quasi-1D nodal-line semimetal NbNiTe showcases distinct in-plane anisotropy alongside robust Dirac nodal-line points, rendering it a fascinating platform for exploring the intricate interplay between novel quantum states of matter and low-energy radiation. Here, sensitive and anisotropic terahertz photodetection driven by Dirac fermions and the intrinsic anisotropic properties of NbNiTe are presented.

Radical prostatectomy without prostate biopsy based on a noninvasive diagnostic strategy: a prospective single-center study.

Background: Prostate biopsy is the most common approach for diagnosing prostate cancer (PCa); however, it has inherent limitations, such as the invasive procedure, postoperative complications, and false negative results. We aimed to provide a noninvasive diagnostic strategy for patients with highly suspected PCa and to evaluate the feasibility of performing biopsy-spared radical prostatectomy.

Methods: This prospective study included a total of 57 patients between November 10, 2022, and December 1, 2023.

Atypical carcinoid of the primary kidney with retroperitoneal metastasis 15 years later: A case report and literature review.

Primary renal neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are extremely rare among renal malignancies. According to pathological manifestations, carcinoid can be divided into four types: typical carcinoid, atypical carcinoid, large cell and small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. Primary or secondary retroperitoneal carcinoid is even rarer than renal carcinoid.

Dual-Action Calcium Monoaluminate Enabled Room-Temperature Curing of Inorganic Phosphate-Based High-Temperature Adhesive.

High-temperature adhesives find extensive application in diverse domains, encompassing repairs, production processes, and material joining. However, achieving their curing at ambient temperatures remains a formidable challenge due to the inherent requirement of elevated temperatures, typically exceeding 500 °C, for the curing reaction. To overcome this limitation, in this study, we developed a distinctive inorganic phosphate-based composite adhesive by incorporating dual-functional calcium monoaluminate (CA) into a traditional adhesive blend comprising Al(HPO) and MgO.

Surface Crystallization Enhancement and Defect Passivation for Efficiency and Stability Enhancement of Inverted Wide-Bandgap Perovskite Solar Cells.

Wide-bandgap (WBG) inverted perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are used as the top cell for tandem solar cells, which is an effective way to outperform the Shockley-Queisser limit. However, the low efficiency and poor phase stability still seriously restrict the application of WBG inverted PSCs. Here, the surface of the WBG perovskite film was passivated by the synthesized 1,2,4-tris(3-thienyl)benzene (THB).

High-Quality TiO Electron Transport Film Prepared via Vacuum Ultraviolet Illumination for MAPbI Perovskite Solar Cells.

The electron transport layer (ETL) plays an important role in determining the conversion efficiency and stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, TiO thin film was prepared by irradiating diisopropoxy diacetylacetone titanium precursor thin film with 172 nm vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) at a low temperature. The prepared TiO thin film has higher electron mobility and conductivity.

PHDtools: A platform for pathogen detection and multi-dimensional genetic signatures decoding to realize pathogen genomics data analyses online.

Objectives: Facing the emerging diseases, rapid identification of the pathogen and multi-dimensional characterization of the genomic features at both isolate-level and population-level through high-throughput sequencing data can provide invaluable information to guide the development of antiviral agents and strategies. However, a user-friendly program is in urgent need for clinical laboratories without bioinformatics background to decode the complex big genomics data.

Methods: In this study, we developed an interactive online platform named PHDtools with a total of 15 functions to analyze metagenomics data to identify the potential pathogen and decode multi-dimensional genetic signatures including intra-/inter-host variations and lineage-level variations.

Comparison of the One-Step Prone Split-Leg Position to the Traditional Prone Position for Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy: A Single-Center Retrospective Study.

Purpose: To evaluate the one-step prone split-leg position compared to the traditional prone position for percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL).

Materials And Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed the clinical data for 102 patients with upper urinary tract calculi who underwent PCNL at our hospital from April 2019 to December 2022. All PCNL procedures were performed by the same senior urologist.

M6A-mediated-upregulation of lncRNA BLACAT3 promotes bladder cancer angiogenesis and hematogenous metastasis through YBX3 nuclear shuttling and enhancing NCF2 transcription.

Lymphatic metastasis is recognized as the leading manner of metastasis in bladder cancer (BLCa), but hematogenous metastasis accounts for a majority of cancer-associated deaths. The past two decades have witnessed tremendous attention in long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are a new hope for the development of targeted drug therapy for metastatic cancers; however, the underlying mechanism of lncRNAs involved in BLCa hematogenous metastasis remains to be elucidated. Here, we identified BLCa-associated transcript 3 (BLACAT3), a lncRNA, which was aberrantly upregulated in BLCa and corelated with poor prognosis of patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Clinical significance of prognostic nutritional index (PNI)-monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR)-platelet (PLT) score on postoperative outcomes in non-metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Background: Prognositic nutritional index (PNI), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and platelet (PLT) are associated with tumor survival in many human malignancies. Whereas, no study combined PNI-MLR-PLT score and indicated its predictive significance on the prognosis of patients with non-metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).

Methods: In this study, we retrospectively collected the clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic data from 164 cases of non-metastatic ccRCC and aimed to determine the clinical significance of PNI-MLR-PLT score on patients' outcomes after surgery.

Growth of single-crystal black phosphorus and its alloy films through sustained feedstock release.

Black phosphorus (BP), a fascinating semiconductor with high mobility and a tunable direct bandgap, has emerged as a candidate beyond traditional silicon-based devices for next-generation electronics and optoelectronics. The ability to grow large-scale, high-quality BP films is a prerequisite for scalable integrated applications but has thus far remained a challenge due to unmanageable nucleation events. Here we develop a sustained feedstock release strategy to achieve subcentimetre-size single-crystal BP films by facilitating the lateral growth mode under a low nucleation rate.

Room-Temperature Intrinsic Ferromagnetic Chromium Tellurium Compounds with Thickness-Tunable Magnetic Texture.

2D ferromagnetic chromium tellurides exhibit intriguing spin configurations and high-temperature intrinsic ferromagnetism, providing unprecedented opportunities to explore the fundamental spin physics and build spintronic devices. Here, a generic van der Waals epitaxial approach is developed to synthesize the 2D ternary chromium tellurium compounds with thicknesses down to mono-, bi-, tri-, and few-unit cells (UC). The Mn Cr Te evolves from intrinsic ferromagnetic behavior in bi-UC, tri-UC, and few-UC to temperature-induced ferrimagnetic behavior as the thickness increases, resulting in a sign reversal of the anomalous Hall resistance.

Development and validation of a predictive model for diagnosing prostate cancer after transperineal prostate biopsy.

Objective: This study aimed to develop and validate a nomogram to predict the probability of prostate cancer (PCa) after transperineal prostate biopsy by combining patient clinical information and biomarkers.

Methods: First, we retrospectively collected the clinicopathologic data from 475 patients who underwent prostate biopsy at our hospital between January 2019 to August 2021. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to select risk factors.

Comprehensive analysis of MFN2 as a prognostic biomarker associated with immune cell infiltration in renal clear cell carcinoma.

Background: Treatment of advanced kidney renal clear cell carcinoma (KIRC) remains challenging in clinic. The functional role and prognostic significance of MFN2 in KIRC are still unclear.

Methods: In this study, we first performed a bioinformatic analysis to determine the expression level and prognostic value of MFN2 in KIRC using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) dataset, and then validated the MFN2 mRNA expression in our cohort of clinical tissue samples and cell lines of KIRC via RT-qPCR.

Wafer-Scale Synthesis of 2D Dirac Heterostructures for Self-Driven, Fast, Broadband Photodetectors.

Type-II Dirac semimetal platinum ditelluride (PtTe) is a promising functional material for photodetectors because of its specially tilted Dirac cones, strong light absorption, and high carrier mobilities. The stack of two-dimensional (2D) Dirac heterostructures consisting of PtTe and graphene could overcome the limit of detection range and response time occurring in the heterostructures of graphene and other low-mobility and large-gap transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs). Here, we report an approach for achieving highly controllable, wafer-scale production of 2D Dirac heterostructures of PtTe/graphene with tunable thickness, variable size, and CMOS compatibility.

Flexible Ureteroscopic Lithotripsy Based on the Concept of Enhanced Recovery after Surgery: A Single-Centered Retrospective Study.

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of flexible ureteroscopic lithotripsy (FURSL) based on the concept of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS).

Materials And Methods: This study retrospectively analyzed 435 patients diagnosed with upper urinary calculi between 2017-2020 and categorized them into ERAS (ERAS management) and control groups (traditional management). The operative time, postoperative ambulation time, postoperative hospital stay, the total cost of hospitalization, postoperative complications, and stone removal rate between the two groups were subsequently compared.