Background: Primordial follicle activation is vital for the reproduction of women with advanced age and premature ovarian insufficiency (POI). But there is a lack of effective and safe therapeutic options to activate their primordial follicles in vivo. Berberine (BBR) possesses multiple pharmacological properties, but its impact on primordial follicle activation remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe structural characterization of new materials often poses immense challenges, especially when obtaining single-crystal structures is difficult, which is a common difficulty with covalent organic frameworks (COFs). Despite this, understanding the atomic structure is crucial as it provides insights into the arrangement and connectivity of organic building blocks, offering the opportunity to establish the correlation of structure-function relationships and unravel material properties. In this study, we present an approach for determining the structures of COFs, an integration of electron crystallography and computational intelligence (COF+).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLiver metastasis is the major cause of death in colorectal cancer (CRC) due to the lack of effective treatment. To explore novel drivers of CRC liver metastasis, the transcriptomes of primary paracancerous, colorectal tumors and metastases from human patients are profiled. It is found that SLIT- and NTRK-like family member 4 (SLITRK4) is the top upregulated gene in liver metastases and is associated with worse overall survival of CRC patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSugar beets account for 30% of global sugar production each year, and their byproducts are an important source of bioethanol and animal feed. Sugar beet is an important cash crop in Inner Mongolia, China. To achieve high yields and sugar content, it is essential to supply nitrogen fertilizer in accordance with the growth characteristics of sugar beet, thereby enhancing the efficiency of nitrogen fertilizer utilization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Pulmonary hypertension is a rare, progressive disorder that can lead to right ventricular hypertrophy, right heart failure, and even sudden death. N6-methyladenosine modification and the main methyltransferase that mediates it, methyltransferase-like (METTL) 3, exert important effects on many biological and pathophysiological processes. However, the role of METTL3 in pyroptosis remains unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn pursuit of environmental sustainability and energy efficiency, assorted macrocyclic compounds have recently emerged as crystalline adsorbents for the efficient molecular sieving of various chemical commodities. Herein, we delve into the conformational characteristics and solid-state packing modes of tiara[5]arenes (), a rim-differentiated pillar[5]arene derivative. By meticulously exploring the conformational space, we have successfully identified a multitude of distinct conformers within a relatively narrow energy range of 22 kJ/mol.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSequence-specific recognition of double-stranded nucleic acids is essential for molecular diagnostics and in situ imaging. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and Cas systems rely on protospacer-adjacent motif (PAM)-dependent double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) recognition, limiting the range of targetable sequences and leading to undesired off-target effects. Using single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer analysis, we discover the enzymatic activity of bacteriophage λ exonuclease (λExo).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The results of existing lower extremity robotics studies are conflicting, and few relevant clinical trials have examined short-term efficacy. In addition, most of the outcome indicators in existing studies are scales, which are not objective enough. We used the combination of objective instrument measurement and scale to explore the short-term efficacy of the lower limb A3 robot, to provide a clinical reference.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPerovskite nanocrystals (PCNs) exhibit a significant quantum confinement effect that enhances multiexciton generation, making them promising for photocatalytic CO reduction. However, their conversion efficiency is hindered by poor exciton dissociation. To address this, we synthesized ferrocene-methanol-functionalized CsPbBr (CPB/FcMeOH) using a ligand engineering approach.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Mutations in several translation initiation factors are closely associated with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), but the underlying pathogenesis remains largely unknown.
Methods And Results: We generated eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5 (Eif5) conditional knockout mice aiming to investigate the function of eIF5 during oocyte growth and follicle development. Here, we demonstrated that Eif5 deletion in mouse primordial and growing oocytes both resulted in the apoptosis of oocytes within the early-growing follicles.
Phenotypic transformation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) contributes to vascular remodeling in hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (PH). Recent studies have suggested that circular RNAs (circRNAs) may play important roles in the vascular remodeling of hypoxia-induced PH. However, whether circRNAs cause pulmonary vascular remodeling by regulating the phenotypic transformation in PH has not been investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFUltrasound (US) generates toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) by acting on sonosensitizers for cancer treatment, and the mechanical damage induced by cavitation effects under US is equally significant. Therefore, designing a novel sonosensitizer that simultaneously possesses efficient ROS generation and enhanced mechanical effects is promising. In this study, carbon-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles (C-ZnO) are constructed for mechano-sonodynamic cancer therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNanozyme-mediated chemodynamic therapy has emerged as a promising strategy due to its tumor specificity and controlled catalytic activity. However, the poor efficacy caused by low hydrogen peroxide (HO) levels in the tumor microenvironment (TME) poses challenges. Herein, an HO self-supplying nanozyme is constructed through loading peroxide-like active platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs) on zinc peroxide (ZnO) (denoted as ZnO@Pt).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDDB1-Cullin-4-associated factor-2 (DCAF2, also known as DTL or CDT2), a conserved substrate recognition protein of Cullin-RING E3 ligase 4 (CRL4), recognizes and degrades several substrate proteins during the S phase to maintain cell cycle progression and genome stability. Dcaf2 mainly expressed in germ cells of human and mouse. Our study found that Dcaf2 was expressed in mouse spermatogonia and spermatocyte.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntra-articular injection of drugs is an effective strategy for osteoarthritis (OA) treatment. However, the complex microenvironment and limited joint space result in rapid clearance of drugs. Herein, a nanogel-based strategy is proposed for prolonged drug delivery and microenvironment remodeling.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Clin Transl Hepatol
April 2024
Background And Aims: The global prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is 25%. This study aimed to explore differences in the gut microbial community and blood lipids between normal livers and those affected by NAFLD using 16S ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid sequencing.
Methods: Gut microbiome profiles of 40 NAFLD and 20 non-NAFLD controls were analyzed.
Frizzled receptors (FZDs) are key contributors intrinsic to the Wnt signaling pathway, activation of FZDs triggering the Wnt signaling cascade is frequently observed in human tumors and intimately associated with an aggressive carcinoma phenotype. It has been shown that the abnormal expression of FZD receptors contributes to the manifestation of malignant characteristics in human tumors such as enhanced cell proliferation, metastasis, chemotherapy resistance as well as the acquisition of cancer stemness. Given the essential roles of FZD receptors in the Wnt signaling in human tumors, this review aims to consolidate the prevailing knowledge on the specific status of FZD receptors (FZD1-10) and elucidate their respective functions in tumor progression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Appl Mater Interfaces
April 2024
Photodynamic therapy's antitumor efficacy is hindered by the inefficient generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to the photogenerated electron-hole pairs recombination of photosensitizers (PS). Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop efficient PSs with enhanced carrier dynamics. Herein, we designed Schottky junctions composed of cobalt tetroxide and palladium nanocubes (CoO@Pd) with a built-in electric field as effective PS.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Natl Acad Sci U S A
February 2024
Photo-catalytic CO reduction with perovskite quantum dots (QDs) shows potential for solar energy storage, but it encounters challenges due to the intricate multi-electron photoreduction processes and thermodynamic and kinetic obstacles associated with them. This study aimed to improve photo-catalytic performance by addressing surface barriers and utilizing multiple-exciton generation in perovskite QDs. A facile surface engineering method was employed, involving the grafting of ferrocene carboxylic acid (FCA) onto CsPbBr (CPB) QDs, to overcome limitations arising from restricted multiple-exciton dissociation and inefficient charge transfer dynamics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Freezing of gait (FOG) is one of the most disabling gait disturbances in Parkinson's disease (PD), affecting mobility and balance severely, thereby leading to an increased risk of falls.
Objectives: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation on FOG in PD.
Methods: Based on PRISMA guidelines, we searched the databases of MEDLINE (PubMed), Cochrane Library, PEDro, Embase, and Web of Science.
Brain-derived estrogen (BDE2) is gaining attention as an endogenous neurotransmitter. Recent research has revealed that selectively removing the aromatase gene, the pivotal enzyme responsible for BDE2 synthesis, in forebrain neurons or astrocytes can lead to synaptic loss and cognitive impairment. It is worth noting that remote ischemia post-conditioning (RIP), a non-invasive technique, has been shown to activate natural protective mechanisms against severe ischemic events.
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