Engineering a photosensitizer nanoplatform for amplified photodynamic immunotherapy via tumor microenvironment modulation.

Photosensitizer-based photodynamic therapy (PDT) can not only kill tumor cells by the generated cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS), but also trigger immunogenic cell death (ICD) and activate an immune response for immunotherapy. However, such photodynamic immunotherapy suffers from major obstacles in the tumor microenvironment. The hypoxic microenvironment greatly weakens PDT, while the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment caused by aberrant tumor blood vessels and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) leads to a significant reduction in immunotherapy.

Interleukin-33 promotes proliferation and inhibits apoptosis of fibroblast-like synoviocytes in rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: The aim of our study was to determine the effect of interleukin (IL)-33 on the proliferation, apoptosis, and secretion of inflammatory cytokines by fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to investigate the underlying mechanisms.

Methods: Cultured RA FLSs and osteoarthritis (OA) FLSs were cocultured with different concentrations of IL-33. TUNEL assay and flow cytometry were used to detect apoptosis.

Genetic characterisation of sarcomatoid carcinomas reveals multiple novel actionable mutations and identifies mutation as a biomarker of poor prognosis.

Background: Sarcomatoid component occurs in various epithelial malignancies and is associated with an aggressive disease course and poor clinical outcome. As it is largely rare, the molecular events underlying sarcomatoid carcinomas (SCs) remain poorly characterised. Here, we performed targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) on patients with surgically resected SCs comprising distinct tissues of origin.

Laboratory markers associated with COVID-19 progression in patients with or without comorbidity: A retrospective study.

Objectives: To investigate laboratory markers for COVID-19 progression in patients with different medical conditions.

Methods: We performed a multicenter retrospective study of 836 cases in Hubei. To avoid the collinearity among the indicators, principal component analysis (PCA) followed by partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was performed to obtain an overview of laboratory assessments.

Influence of micro/nanobubbles on clogging in drip irrigation systems.

Drip emitter clogging is closely related to the presence of particulate matter, nutrients, organic matter and microorganisms in irrigation water and severely restricts the performance, service life and popularization of drip irrigation systems. Micro/nanobubbles can effectively remove suspended particles in water, limit microbial activity, and significantly increase the concentration of dissolved oxygen in water to promote crop growth. However, the effects of micro/nanobubbles on drip emitter clogging remain to be studied.

Disorders of sodium balance and its clinical implications in COVID-19 patients: a multicenter retrospective study.

Background: The worldwide spread of SARS-CoV-2 has infected millions of people leading to over 0.3 million mortalities. The disruption of sodium homeostasis, tends to be a common occurrence in patients with COVID-19.

Comprehensive characterization of functional eRNAs in lung adenocarcinoma reveals novel regulators and a prognosis-related molecular subtype.

As the transcriptional products of active enhancers, enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) are essential for the initiation of tumorigenesis. However, the landscape and functional characteristics of eRNAs in Chinese lung adenocarcinoma, and the clinical utility of eRNA-based molecular subtypes remain largely unknown. A genome-wide profiling of eRNAs was performed in 80 Chinese lung adenocarcinoma patients with RNA-seq data.

Study on the Fingerprints and Quality Evaluation of Angelica Sinensis Radix by HPLC Coupled With Chemometrics Based on Traditional Decoction Process of ACPTCM.

Objective: To establish a HPLC fingerprints evaluation method for Radix (ASR) based on traditional decoction process of Ancient Classical Prescriptions of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACPTCM).

Methods: The fingerprints of 10 batches of ASR were further evaluated by chemometrics methods. The similarity analyzed with "Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2004A," and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were performed by SPSS (version 22.

Genetic risk, incident gastric cancer, and healthy lifestyle: a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies and prospective cohort study.

Background: Genetic variants and lifestyle factors have been associated with gastric cancer risk, but the extent to which an increased genetic risk can be offset by a healthy lifestyle remains unknown. We aimed to establish a genetic risk model for gastric cancer and assess the benefits of adhering to a healthy lifestyle in individuals with a high genetic risk.

Methods: In this meta-analysis and prospective cohort study, we first did a fixed-effects meta-analysis of the association between genetic variants and gastric cancer in six independent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) with a case-control study design.

Detection of boson peak and fractal dynamics of disordered systems using terahertz spectroscopy.

The boson peak is a largely unexplained excitation found universally in the terahertz vibrational spectra of disordered systems; the so-called fracton is a vibrational excitation associated with the self-similar structure of monomers in polymeric glasses. We demonstrate that such excitations can be detected using terahertz spectroscopy. In the case of fractal structures, we determine the infrared light-vibration coupling coefficient for the fracton region and show that information concerning the fractal and fracton dimensions appears in the exponent of the absorption coefficient.

Long-Term Antibacterial Effect of Electrospun Polyvinyl Alcohol/Polyacrylate Sodium Nanofiber Containing Nisin-Loaded Nanoparticles.

Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to assess the optimal conditions for a Water/Oil/Water (W/O/W) emulsion for encapsulated nisin (EN). Nano-encapsulated nisin had high encapsulation efficiencies (EE) (86.66 ± 1.

Epidemiological, clinical, radiographic characterization of non-syndromic supernumerary teeth in Chinese children and adolescents.

Objective: This retrospective study was purposed to evaluate epidemiological, clinical, and 3D radiological features of supernumerary teeth (ST) in a non-syndromic Chinese children and adolescent dental population.

Materials And Methods: Original cone-beam CT (CBCT) data from 18,861 patients aged from 6 to 17 years with dental maxillofacial diseases treated in a Chinese dental hospital from June 2012 to December 2018 were utilized to screen patients with ST. Diagnosis and characterizations of ST were analyzed by CBCT coupled with 3D reconstruction.

Identification of Recurrent Variants in and across Multiple Cancers in the Chinese Population.

and as important DNA repair genes have been thoroughly investigated in abundant studies. The potential relationships of pathogenic variants between multicancers have been verified in Caucasians but few in Chinese. In this study, we performed a two-stage study to screen pathogenic variants or variants of uncertain significance (VUS) with 7580 cancer cases and 4874 cancer-free controls, consisting of a discovery stage with 70 familial breast cancer cases and a subsequent validation stage with 7510 cases (3217 breast cancer, 1133 cervical cancer, 2044 hepatocellular carcinoma, and 1116 colorectal cancer).

Clinical Adverse Events of High-Dose vs Low-Dose Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors in Type 2 Diabetes: A Meta-Analysis of 51 Randomized Clinical Trials.

Aims: The aims of this work are to assess the clinical adverse events (AEs) of high-dose vs low-dose sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2 inhibitors) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library from January 1, 2006 to March 10, 2020, for identifying eligible randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that reported AEs by high-dose and low-dose SGLT2 inhibitors in T2DM patients. Random-effects models was used to obtain summary relative risks (RRs) with associated 95% CIs.

[CLPB gene mutations analysis in a case of type 3-methylglutaconic aciduria].

Objective: To validate the diagnosis of an infant with elevated urine 3-methylglutaconic acid (3-MGA) through sequencing of the CLPB gene.

Methods: Genomic DNA of the infant was sequenced by next generation sequencing (NGS), and candidate pathogenic variants were verified by Sanger sequencing and bioinformatics analysis.

Results: NGS has revealed that the infant has carried a c.

Lamin A safeguards the m A methylase METTL14 nuclear speckle reservoir to prevent cellular senescence.

Mutations in LMNA gene are frequently identified in patients suffering from a genetic disorder known as Hutchison-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS), providing an ideal model for the understanding of the mechanisms of aging. Lamin A, encoded by LMNA, is an essential component of the subnuclear domain-nuclear speckles; however, the functional significance in aging is unclear. Here, we show that Lamin A interacts with the m A methyltransferases, METTL3 and METTL14 in nuclear speckles.

Leaching behavior and transformation of total mercury and methylmercury from raw and lime-conditioned sewage sludge under simulated rain.

Mercury (Hg) that leaches from municipal sewage sludge (MSS) landfill under natural rain is of increasing concern. The column leaching experiments were conducted to investigate the leaching characteristics of total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) as well as pH, total organic carbon (TOC), and total suspended solids (TSS) in the raw sludge (RS) and lime-conditioned sludge (LCS) under simulated rain with different acidities (pH 6.5 and 2.

Rational Design of a Robust Antibody-like Small-Molecule Inhibitor Nanoplatform for Enhanced Photoimmunotherapy.

Immune checkpoint blockade of the programmed cell death-ligand 1/programmed cell death-1 (PD-L1/PD-1) pathway an antibody is a potent strategy for T cell remodeling. Nevertheless, the potency of the antibody is partly compromised by its high price, instability, risk of autoimmune disease, and so forth. Small-molecule inhibitors are interesting alternatives to antibodies.

Efficacy and safety of high infusion rate IVIG in CIDP.

Background: We aimed to determine the safety and tolerance of higher rates of infusion of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP).

Methods: Patients began infusions with 10% IVIG at the standard rate of 0.08 mL/kg/min.

CircRNA8220 Sponges MiR-8516 to Regulate Cell Viability and Milk Synthesis via Ras/MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT/mTOR Pathways in Goat Mammary Epithelial Cells.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs), which are considered a large class of endogenous noncoding RNAs, function as regulators in various biological procedures. In this study, the function and molecular mechanisms of circRNA8220 in goat mammary epithelial cells (GMECs) were explored. CircRNA8220 could spong miR-8516 and block the function of miR-8516 by binding to the target site of miR-8516 a negative feedback relationship existed between circRNA8220 and miR-8516.

Claudin-7 Inhibits Proliferation and Metastasis in Salivary Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma Through Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling.

The aim of this study was to investigate claudin-7 (CLDN7) expression in salivary adenoid cystic carcinoma (SACC) and its function in SACC cells. We determined CLDN7 expression in SACC tumors via immunohistochemistry and western blotting and evaluated the association between CLDN7 expression and clinicopathologic variables. Besides this, we constructed a stably transfected CLDN7 knockdown SACC-LM cell line via RNAi and assessed its biological behavior changes (cell viability, migration, and invasion).

Long-read-based human genomic structural variation detection with cuteSV.

Long-read sequencing is promising for the comprehensive discovery of structural variations (SVs). However, it is still non-trivial to achieve high yields and performance simultaneously due to the complex SV signatures implied by noisy long reads. We propose cuteSV, a sensitive, fast, and scalable long-read-based SV detection approach.

Pou2F3 silencing enhanced the proliferation of mammary epithelial cells in dairy goat via PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

Pou2F3 (POU class 2 homeobox 3) is found to be ubiquitously expressed in multiple epidermal layer cells to mediating proliferation. Although some POU factors exert a crucial regulation in mammary epithelial cells (MECs), the biological function of Pou2F3 is unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the endogenous potential effects of Pou2F3 on the proliferation and the roles of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in MECs.

The Inhibition of miR-873 Provides Therapeutic Benefit in a Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Neuroinflammatory Model of Parkinson's Disease.

Alterations in cholesterol homeostasis have been reported in cell and animal models of Parkinson's disease (PD), although there are inconsistent data about the association between serum cholesterol levels and risk of PD. Here, we investigated the effects of miR-873 on lysosomal cholesterol homeostasis and progressive dopaminergic neuron damage in a lipopolysaccharide-(LPS) induced model of PD. .

Isolation and molecular characterization of NtMYB4a, a putative transcription activation factor involved in anthocyanin synthesis in tobacco.

The MYB transcription factors are involved in the regulation of plant secondary metabolism, cell development and morphogenesis, and stress response. Here, a full-length, 816-bp NtMYB4a cDNA, which encodes a protein comprising 271 amino acids, was isolated from tobacco leaves. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that NtMYB4a is most similar to Nicotiana.