siRNA-AGO2 complex inhibits bacterial gene translation: A promising therapeutic strategy for superbug infection.

Silencing resistance genes of pathogenic bacteria by RNA interference (RNAi) is a potential strategy to fight antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Currently, RNAi cannot be achieved in bacteria due to the lack of RNA-induced silencing complex machinery and the difficulty of small interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery. Here, we show that exosomal siRNAs can be efficiently delivered into bacterial cells and can silence target genes primarily through translational repression without mRNA degradation.

Global spatio-temporal distribution of coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine hesitancy between 2020 and 2022: A meta-analysis.

Objective: Vaccine hesitancy is a major barrier to high coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine coverage. To synthesize global research on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, a meta-analysis was conducted to provide scientific evidence for understanding its spatial and temporal variations and influencing factors.

Methods: We searched the PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases for studies published in English between January 2020 and December 2023 and included cross-sectional and cohort studies with study populations that included the general adult population aged ≥18 years and provided quantitative data on COVID-19 vaccine acceptance or hesitancy.

Effect of transcranial direct current stimulation on paroxysmal sympathetic hyperexcitability with acquired brain injury and cortical excitability: a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled pilot study.

Paroxysmal sympathetic hyperexcitation (PSH) refers to a clinical syndrome characterized by a sudden increase in sympathetic excitability caused by severe brain injury. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness and practicality of combining transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) with medication to treat PSH and employ non-linear electroencephalography (EEG) to assess changes in cortical activation post-intervention. 40 PSH patients were randomly assigned to receive either active tDCS or sham tDCS treatment over an 8-week period.

Synthetic Nanopillars for Stimulating Osteoblast Activity and Osteointegration in Bone-Related Disorders.

Osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and fractures are bone-related disorders that have a huge impact on the quality of life and healthcare systems worldwide. Traditional treatments, including bone grafts, have their limitations, with bone grafts often being rejected by the immune system and infected, making new treatments necessary. Nanopillars based on synthetic polymers have been demonstrated to be promising tools for bone regeneration and repair, showing to emulate the extracellular matrix composition, stimulate osteoblast activity and induce osteointegration.

pH-Responsive DNA-Functionalized Liquid Metal-Organic Frameworks (L-MOFs) as Molecular Sponges for Ultrasensitive and Label-Free SERS Detection of Folic Acid.

Although "hotspots" have been utilized to enhance Raman signals for detecting various biomolecules, precisely regulating "hotspot" dimensions within enhancement substrates remains a significant challenge. This study introduces a novel, easily fabricated surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy sensor, T(OH⁻)/Ag@CC. This platform employs single-stranded DNA of adjustable lengths to mediate the self-assembly of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), resulting in a uniformly enhanced substrate with a spatially organized metal-organic frameworks architecture.

Prognostic and predictive effects of new steatotic liver disease nomenclatures: a large population-based study.

We aimed to compare the association of metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), alcohol-related liver disease (ALD), metabolic dysfunction and ALD (MetALD), and MASLD with viral hepatitis (MASLD-Viral) with risks of cirrhosis, liver cancer, and mortality. The data of 464,556 adults from the UK Biobank (UKB), 13,526 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), and 2554 adults from BeijngFH Health Cohort Study (FHCS) were included. Adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) and odds ratios were calculated using Cox and Logistic regression models, respectively.

Laboratory observation of ion drift acceleration via reflection off laser-produced magnetized collisionless shocks.

Fermi acceleration is believed to be the primary mechanism to produce high-energy charged particles in the Universe, where charged particles gain energy successively from multiple reflections. Here, we present the direct laboratory experimental evidence of ion energization from single reflection off a supercritical collisionless shock, an essential component of Fermi acceleration, in a laser-produced magnetized plasma. A quasi-monoenergetic ion beam with two to four times the shock velocity was observed, which is consistent with the fast ion component observed in the Earth's bow shock.

Bio-plausible reconfigurable spiking neuron for neuromorphic computing.

Biological neurons use diverse temporal expressions of spikes to achieve efficient communication and modulation of neural activities. Nonetheless, existing neuromorphic computing systems mainly use simplified neuron models with limited spiking behaviors due to high cost of emulating these biological spike patterns. Here, we propose a compact reconfigurable neuron design using the intrinsic dynamics of a NbO-based spiking unit and excellent tunability in an electrochemical memory (ECRAM) to emulate the fast-slow dynamics in a bio-plausible neuron.

Current status of nano-embedded growth factors and stem cells delivery to bone for targeted repair and regeneration.

Unlabelled: Bone-related diseases like osteoarthritis and osteoporosis impact millions globally, affecting quality of life. Osteoporosis considerably enhances the probability of bone fractures of the wrist, hip, and spine. Enhancement and acceleration of functional bone development can be achieved through the sustained delivery of growth factors (GFs) and cells in biomaterial carriers.

Single-cell RNA sequencing of neonatal cortical astrocytes reveals versatile cell clusters during astrocyte-neuron conversion.

Background: Astrocytes are extensively utilized as starting cells for neuronal conversion. Our previous study discovered that a portion of primary cultured mouse neonatal cortical astrocytes can be directly converted into neurons after exposure to a neurogenic induction condition. Recent in vivo studies have demonstrated astrocyte heterogeneity in terms of their developmental origin, molecular profile, physiology, and functional outputs.

Depthwise cortical iron relates to functional connectivity and fluid cognition in healthy aging.

Age-related differences in fluid cognition have been associated with both the merging of functional brain networks, defined from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI), and with elevated cortical iron, assessed by quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM). Limited information is available, however, regarding the depthwise profile of cortical iron and its potential relation to functional connectivity. Here, using an adult lifespan sample (n = 138; 18-80 years), we assessed relations among graph theoretical measures of functional connectivity, column-based depthwise measures of cortical iron, and fluid cognition (i.

Dual release scaffolds as a promising strategy for enhancing bone regeneration: an updated review.

Advancements in tissue regeneration, particularly bone regeneration is key area of research due to potential of novel therapeutic approaches. Efforts to reduce reliance on autologous and allogeneic bone grafts have led to the development of biomaterials that promote synchronized and controlled bone healing. However, the use of growth factors is limited by their short half-life, slow tissue penetration, large molecular size and potential toxicity.

Cu-Mn nanocomposite for enhanced tumor cuproptosis achieved by remodeling the tumor microenvironment and activating the antitumor immunogenic responses.

Cuproptosis is a newly discovered mode of cell death, which is caused by excess copper and results in cell death via the mitochondrial pathway. However, the complex tumor microenvironment (TME) is characterized by many factors, including high levels of glutathione and lack O, limit the application of traditional cuproptosis agents in antitumor therapy. Herein, we report a hyaluronic acid modified copper-manganese composite nanomedicine (CMCNs@HA) to remodel the TME and facilitate efficient cuproptosis in tumor.

The droplet dynamics of asymmetrical impingement on moving ridged surface.

Hypothesis: The depth of research into the mechanism of droplet impacting structured surfaces dictates the efficacy of their applications. The impact stress generated when a droplet impacts a surface is a pivotal factor influencing the efficiency of surface applications, ultimately determining the extent of surface wear. Despite the systematic examination of impact force, there remains a scarcity of research on impact stress and its mitigation strategies.

Catalytic asymmetric C-N cross-coupling towards boron-stereogenic 3-amino-BODIPYs.

3-Amino boron dipyrromethenes (BODIPYs) are a versatile class of fluorophores widely utilized in live cell imaging, photodynamic therapy, and fluorescent materials science. Despite the growing demand for optically active BODIPYs, the synthesis of chiral 3-amino-BODIPYs, particularly the catalytic asymmetric version, remains a challenge. Herein, we report the synthesis of boron-stereogenic 3-amino-BODIPYs via a palladium-catalyzed desymmetric C-N cross-coupling of prochiral 3,5-dihalogen-BODIPYs.

Isolation, identification, and evaluation of lactic acid bacteria with probiotic potential from traditional fermented sour meat.

Sour meat is a popular traditional fermented product and is a rich source of novel strains with probiotic potential. In this study, we aimed to assess the probiotic potential of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains isolated from fermented sour meat. Firstly, the microbial diversity of sour meat from four different areas in China was analyzed.

Genetic variation in Arabidopsis thaliana reveals the existence of natural heat resilience factors for meiosis.

Heat interferes with multiple meiotic processes, leading to genome instability and sterility in flowering plants, including many crops. Despite its importance for food security, the mechanisms underlying heat tolerance of meiosis are poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed different meiotic processes in the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) accessions Col and Ler, their F1 hybrids, and the F2 offspring under heat stress (37 °C).

Catalysts for sulfur: understanding the intricacies of enzymes orchestrating plant sulfur anabolism.

This review highlights the sulfur transporters, key enzymes and their encoding genes involved in plant sulfur anabolism, focusing on their occurrence, chemistry, location, function, and regulation within sulfur assimilation pathways. Sulfur, a vital element for plant life, plays diverse roles in metabolism and stress response. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the sulfur assimilation pathway in plants, highlighting the intricate network of enzymes and their regulatory mechanisms.

Intelligent Pyroptosis Inducer for Precise and Augmented Tumor Therapy Through Specific Activation Pyroptosis in Tumor.

Pyroptosis inducer, a powerful anti-tumor agent that causes obvious programmed cell death and immune stimulation, has been challenged to trigger specific pyroptotic tumor cell death while keeping pyroptosis silence in normal cells. Here, an intelligent inducer is reported that acts as a reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger in normal cells to keep pyroptosis silence, while serving as ROS generator to induce obvious pyroptotic tumor cells death dependent on high hydrogen peroxide levels and near-infrared laser irradiation. This switchable activity ensures this inducer to precisely kill the tumor cells with augmented immunogenicity while causing minimal damage to normal cells.

Signal-off based dual-mode sensing platform for ultrasensitive detection of antibiotics in food samples.

Development of efficient and accurate detection methods for antibiotics is crucial for ensuring food safety and safeguarding human health. In this study, a dual-mode sensing platform was constructed by integrating photoelectrochemical (PEC) and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) techniques for the sensitive detection of kanamycin using an aptamer signal conversion strategy which was based on the CN/MXene-gold nanoparticles heterojunction. The sensitive dual-mode sensing platform enabled detection of kanamycin, with linear response ranges of 10 to 10 nM for PEC with a detection limit (LOD) of 0.

Switchable ROS generator and scavenger to prevent the cisplatin induced acute kidney injury and improve efficacy via synergistic chemodynamic/immune therapy.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) induced by cisplatin (DDP), which is accompanied with the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), is a severe side effect during treatment and restricts the application of DDP. In this study, we develop ultrasmall MnO nanozyme (UMON) with tumor microenvironment (TME) responsive ROS scavenging and generating as adjuvant to alleviate DDP induced AKI with improved efficacy. In kidney, UMON with superoxide dismutase and catalase activity acts as ROS scavenger to eliminate ROS generated by DDP, successfully protecting the renal cells/tissue and alleviating AKI during DDP treatment.

Critical and differential roles of eIF4A1 and eIF4A2 in B-cell development and function.

Eukaryotic initiation factor 4 A (eIF4A) plays critical roles during translation initiation of cellular mRNAs by forming the cap-binding eIF4F complex, recruiting the 40S small ribosome subunit, and scanning the 5' untranslated region (5' UTR) for the start codon. eIF4A1 and eIF4A2, two isoforms of eIF4A, are highly conserved and exchange freely within eIF4F complexes. The understanding of their biological and molecular functions remains incomplete if not fragmentary.

[Colon polyp detection based on multi-scale and multi-level feature fusion and lightweight convolutional neural network].

Early diagnosis and treatment of colorectal polyps are crucial for preventing colorectal cancer. This paper proposes a lightweight convolutional neural network for the automatic detection and auxiliary diagnosis of colorectal polyps. Initially, a 53-layer convolutional backbone network is used, incorporating a spatial pyramid pooling module to achieve feature extraction with different receptive field sizes.

Metagenomics unravel distinct taxonomic and functional diversities between terrestrial and aquatic biomes.

Microbes in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems play crucial roles in driving ecosystem functions, but currently, there is a lack of comparison regarding their taxonomic and functional diversities. Here, we conducted a global analysis to investigate the disparities in microbial taxonomy and microbial-mediated biogeochemical cycles between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Results showed a higher relative abundance of bacteria, especially Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria, in soil than water metagenomes, leading to a greater proportion of genes related to membrane transport, regulatory, and cellular signaling.