Effects of FAP+ fibroblasts on cell proliferation migration and immunoregulation of esophageal squamous carcinoma cells through the CXCL12/CXCR4 axis.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) secrete and synthesize fibroblast activation protein (FAP), which could promote proliferation and immunosuppression of multiple cancers including esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling could be revitalized by CAFs in cancer cells. Nevertheless, the significance of this interaction in ESCC has yet to be elucidated.

Efficacy and safety of visepegenatide as an add-on therapy to metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomised, double-blind, parallel, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study.

Background: Visepegenatide, a once-weekly glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist injection, demonstrated effective glycaemic control and good tolerability without the requirement of dose titration in the two completed phase 2 studies. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of visepegenatide in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) inadequately controlled by metformin monotherapy in this phase 3 clinical study.

Methods: This multicentre phase 3 clinical study included a 24-week, randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind period followed by a 28-week open-label extended treatment period.

The progress of tumor vaccines clinical trials in non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains a significant global health challenge, with high mortality rates and limited treatment options. Tumor vaccines have emerged as a potential therapeutic approach, aiming to stimulate the immune system to specifically target tumor cells.

Methods: This study screened 283 clinical trials registered on ClinicalTrials.

GABA Analogue HSK16149 in Chinese Patients With Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathic Pain: A Phase 3 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Many patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain (DPNP) experience inadequate relief, despite best available medical treatments. There are no approved and effective therapies for patients with DPNP in China.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of capsules containing γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) analogue HSK16149 in the treatment of Chinese patients with DPNP.

Efficacy and safety of oral semaglutide monotherapy vs placebo in a predominantly Chinese population with type 2 diabetes (PIONEER 11): a double-blind, Phase IIIa, randomised trial.

Aims/hypothesis: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of oral semaglutide monotherapy vs placebo in a predominantly Chinese population with type 2 diabetes insufficiently controlled with diet and exercise alone.

Methods: The Peptide Innovation for Early Diabetes Treatment (PIONEER) 11 trial was a double-blind, randomised, Phase IIIa trial conducted across 52 sites in the China region (mainland China and Taiwan), Hungary, Serbia and Ukraine. Eligible participants were ≥18 years (≥20 years in Taiwan), had a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes with HbA 53-86 mmol/mol (7.

Glycyrrhizic acid inhibits DNA damage repair and enhances cisplatin-induced apoptosis of melanoma cells.

This research was designed to prospect the mechanism and impact of glycyrrhizic acid (GA) on DNA damage repair and cisplatin (CP)-induced apoptosis of melanoma cells. First, human melanoma cell SK-MEL-28 was stimulated using GA for 24, 48, and 72 h. Then, the optimal treatment time and dosage were selected.

Ectoine protects corneal epithelial survival and barrier from hyperosmotic stress by promoting anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-37.

Purpose: To explore novel role and molecular mechanism of a natural osmoprotectant ectoine in protecting corneal epithelial cell survival and barrier from hyperosmotic stress.

Methods: Primary human corneal epithelial cells (HCECs) were established from donor limbus. The confluent cultures in isosmolar medium were switched to hyperosmotic media (400-500 mOsM), with or without ectoine or rhIL-37 for different time periods.

Ectoine, from a Natural Bacteria Protectant to a New Treatment of Dry Eye Disease.

Ectoine, a novel natural osmoprotectant, protects bacteria living in extreme environments. This study aimed to explore the therapeutic effect of ectoine for dry eye disease. An experimental dry eye model was created in C57BL/6 mice exposed to desiccating stress (DS) with untreated mice as controls (UT).

Efficacy of noiiglutide injection on body weight in obese Chinese adults without diabetes: A multicentre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial.

Aim: To evaluate the effect of noiiglutide as an adjunct to lifestyle intervention on the reduction in body weight and tolerability in obese Chinese adults without diabetes.

Materials And Methods: In this 24-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial, 254 obese adults with a body mass index of 28.0-40.

The role and mechanism of NLRP3 in wasp venom-induced acute kidney injury.

Background: Inflammation and pyroptosis have crucial impacts on the development of acute kidney injury (AKI) and have been validated in a variety of existing AKI animal models. However, the mechanisms underlying wasp venom-induced AKI are still unclear. The involvement of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) in some mouse models of AKI has been extensively documented, and its crucial function in controlling inflammation and pyroptosis has been highlighted.

Diagnosis of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma by High-Performance Serum Metabolic Fingerprints: A Retrospective Study.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a highly prevalent and aggressive malignancy, and timely diagnosis of ESCC contributes to an increased cancer survival rate. However, current detection methods for ESCC mainly rely on endoscopic examination, limited by a relatively low participation rate. Herein, ferric-particle-enhanced laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (FPELDI MS) is utilized to record the serum metabolic fingerprints (SMFs) from a retrospective cohort (523 non-ESCC participants and 462 ESCC patients) to build diagnostic models toward ESCC.

Quantitative Evaluation of the Carrier Separation Performance of Heterojunction Photocatalysts: The Case of g-CN/SrTiO.

Heterojunction photocatalysts are of great interest in the energy and environmental fields, because of their potential to significantly increase the efficiency of harvesting solar energy. Advances in design have been hampered by the continued use of only qualitative analyses. Quantitative evaluation of the carrier separation performance is urgently needed for the design and application of heterojunction photocatalysts.

Efficacy and safety of janagliflozin monotherapy in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus inadequately controlled on diet and exercise: A multicentre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase 3 trial.

Aims: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of janagliflozin, a selective renal sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor, as monotherapy in drug-naive Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Materials And Methods: This Phase 3 trial included a 24-week, multicentre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled period, followed by a 28-week extension period. A total of 432 patients with glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels ≥7.

Microstructure Evolution and Its Correlation with Performance in Nitrogen-Containing Porous Carbon Prepared by Polypyrrole Carbonization: Insights from Hybrid Calculations.

The preparation of nitrogen-containing porous carbon (NCPC) materials by controlled carbonization is an exciting topic due to their high surface area and good conductivity for use in the fields of electrochemical energy storage and conversion. However, the poor controllability of amorphous porous carbon prepared by carbonization has always been a tough problem due to the unclear carbonation mechanism, which thus makes it hard to reveal the microstructure-performance relationship. To address this, here, we comprehensively employed reactive molecular dynamics (ReaxFF-MD) simulations and first-principles calculations, together with machine learning technologies, to clarify the carbonation process of polypyrrole, including the deprotonation and formation of pore structures with temperature, as well as the relationship between microstructure, conductance, and pore size.

Comparison of diagnostic validity of two autism rating scales for suspected autism in a large Chinese sample.

Background: Autism is the most common clinical developmental disorder in children. The childhood autism rating scale (CARS) and autistic autism behavior checklist (ABC) are the most commonly used assessment scales for diagnosing autism. However, the diagnostic validations and the corresponding cutoffs for CARS and ABC in individuals with suspected autism spectrum disorder (ASD) remain unclear.

Current progress of fluoroquinolones-increased risk of aortic aneurysm and dissection.

Aortic aneurysm (AA) and aortic dissection (AD) are major life-threatening diseases around the world. AA is a localized or diffuse dilation of the aorta, while AD is the separation of the layers creating a false lumen within the aortic wall. Fluoroquinolones (FQ) remain one of the most important kind of antibiotics and have a wider clinical use and broad antibacterial spectrum.

Semi-supervised generative adversarial networks for closed-angle detection on anterior segment optical coherence tomography images: an empirical study with a small training dataset.

Background: Semi-supervised learning algorithms can leverage an unlabeled dataset when labeling is limited or expensive to obtain. In the current study, we developed and evaluated a semi-supervised generative adversarial networks (GANs) model that detects closed-angle on anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) images using a small labeled dataset.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a semi-supervised GANs model was developed for automatic closed-angle detection training on a small labeled and large unsupervised training dataset collected from the Joint Shantou International Eye Center of Shantou University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (JSIEC).

Single-Cell Transcriptomics Identifies a Unique Entity and Signature Markers of Transit-Amplifying Cells in Human Corneal Limbus.

Purpose: Differentiated from adult stem cells (ASCs), transit-amplifying cells (TACs) play an important role in tissue homeostasis, development, and regeneration. This study aimed to characterize the gene expression profile of a candidate TAC population in limbal basal epithelial cells using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq).

Methods: Single cells isolated from the basal corneal limbus were subjected to scRNA-seq using the 10x Genomics platform.

HS alleviates aortic aneurysm and dissection: Crosstalk between transforming growth factor 1 signaling and NLRP3 inflammasome.

Background: Vascular remodeling and inflammation are involved in aortic aneurysm (AA) and aortic dissection (AD). TGF-β1 signaling is involved in tissue fibrosis, extracellular matrix remodeling and inflammation, which are linked with AA and AD. The inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome suppresses AA and AD.

Long noncoding RNA ZFPM2-AS1 promotes the proliferation, migration, and invasion of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by regulating the miR-576-3p/HIF-1α axis.

Long noncoding RNA (LncRNA) zinc finger protein multitype 2 antisense RNA 1 (ZFPM2-AS1) is highly expressed in a variety of tumors and is involved in promoting the malignant biological behaviors of cancer cells. However, the mechanism of ZFPM2-AS1 in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains to be explored. The ZFPM2-AS1 expression in HCC was measured by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR); cell counting kit-8, 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU), and transwell assays were used to confirm the biological functions of ZFPM2-AS1 in regulating the malignant biological behaviors of HCC cells; the luciferase reporter gene assay was employed to detect whether ZFPM2-AS1 could bind to microRNA (miR)-576-3p; the regulatory relationship between ZFPM2-AS1 and miR-576-3p was probed by qRT-PCR; the effects of ZFPM2-AS1 and miR-576-3p on the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) were detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot.

Assessment of Generative Adversarial Networks for Synthetic Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography Images in Closed-Angle Detection.

Purpose: To develop generative adversarial networks (GANs) that synthesize realistic anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) images and evaluate deep learning (DL) models that are trained on real and synthetic datasets for detecting angle closure.

Methods: The GAN architecture was adopted and trained on the dataset with AS-OCT images collected from the Joint Shantou International Eye Center of Shantou University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, synthesizing open- and closed-angle AS-OCT images. A visual Turing test with two glaucoma specialists was performed to assess the image quality of real and synthetic images.