Aloperine Alleviates Atherosclerosis by Inhibiting NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation in Macrophages and ApoE Mice.

Background And Aims: Atherosclerosis is a chronic cardiovascular disease which is regarded as one of the most common causes of death in the elderly. Recent evidence has shown that atherosclerotic patients can benefit by targeting interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β). Aloperine (ALO) is an alkaloid which is mainly isolated from L.

Palladium-Catalyzed Tandem Reactions via Allene Intermediates for the Rapid Synthesis of a Fused Indenone-Indole Scaffold.

A palladium-catalyzed tandem reaction of 1-(2-iodophenyl)-3-arylprop-2-yn-1-ones and 1-(2-azidophenyl)propargyl ethers is developed to provide the rapid construction of a fused polycyclic indenone-indole scaffold under mild conditions. The reaction proceeds via a highly ordered process involving Sonogashira coupling, propargyl-allenyl isomerization, allene-azide cycloaddition, denitrogenation, and diradical coupling. The proposed reaction mechanism is supported by experimental and computational studies.

Informing Risk Hotspots and Critical Mitigations for Rainstorms Using Machine Learning: Evidence from 268 Chinese Cities.

Climate change is exacerbating rainstorms, increasing the risk of flooding and threatening urban sustainability, which could undermine climate action. Here, we propose a machine learning-based framework to assess heterogeneous risks and identify critical mitigation measures for rainstorms across 268 Chinese cities. Nighttime light serves as a proxy for urban functionality, and meteorological, socio-economic, and infrastructural factors are incorporated to uncover underlying impact mechanisms.

NIRFluor: A Deep Learning Platform for Rapid Screening of Small Molecule Near-Infrared Fluorophores with Desired Optical Properties.

Small molecule near-infrared (NIR) fluorophores play a critical role in disease diagnosis and early detection of various markers in living organisms. To accelerate their development and design, a deep learning platform, NIRFluor, was established to rapidly screen small molecule NIR fluorophores with the desired optical properties. The core component of NIRFluor is a state-of-the-art deep learning model trained on 5179 experimental big data.

Hybrid Membrane Biomimetic Photothermal Nanorobots for Enhanced Chemodynamic-Chemotherapy-Immunotherapy.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly invasive and fatal brain tumor with a grim prognosis, where current treatment modalities, including postoperative radiotherapy and temozolomide chemotherapy, yield a median survival of only 15 months. The challenges of tumor heterogeneity, drug resistance, and the blood-brain barrier necessitate innovative therapeutic approaches. This study introduces a strategy employing biomimetic magnetic nanorobots encapsulated with hybrid membranes derived from platelets and M1 macrophages to enhance blood-brain barrier penetration and target GBM.

Chitosan oligosaccharides ameliorates maternal diabetes-induced embryonic neural tube defects via inhibitting excessive pyroptosis of neuroepithelial cells.

Maternal diabetes significantly induces embryonic neural tube defects (NTDs). Thus, it is urgent need to further investigate the regulatory mechanism and therapeutic strategy for maternal diabetes-induced embryonic NTDs. Pyroptosis is a novel mode of programmed cell death.

Can ecosystem services supply match local residents' perception: Linking macro-ESs and micro-individual perceptions in the Yellow River Basin.

Residents' satisfaction perceptions of ecosystem services (ESs) are essential for the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin (YRB). Existing studies lacks large-scale survey of local residents' satisfaction perception at urban scale within river basins, and has not effectively explored the matching relationship between the ESs supply and the perceptions of local residents. To address this gap, this study develops a database on nine ESs supply and individual perceptions of the YRB, constructs a comprehensive framework to quantify the matching of ESs supply and local residents' satisfaction perceptions, and proposes targeted strategy.

Improvement of the accuracy of breeding value prediction for egg production traits in Muscovy duck using low-coverage whole-genome sequence data.

Low-coverage whole genome sequencing (lcWGS) is an effective low-cost genotyping technology when combined with genotype imputation approaches. It facilitates cost-effective genomic selection (GS) programs in agricultural animal populations. GS based on lcWGS data has been successfully applied to livestock such as pigs and donkeys.

Design and Synthesis of Hederagenin Derivatives for the Treatment of Sepsis by Targeting TAK1 and Regulating the TAK1-NF-κB/MAPK Signaling.

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response caused by infection and is a leading cause of death worldwide. We designed and synthesized a series of hederagenin analogues with anti-inflammatory activity. The most effective compound, , reduced the release of TNF-α and IL-6 in RAW264.

Comparison of data augmentation and classification algorithms based on plastic spectroscopy.

Plastic waste management is one of the key issues in global environmental protection. Integrating spectroscopy acquisition devices with deep learning algorithms has emerged as an effective method for rapid plastic classification. However, the challenges in collecting plastic samples and spectroscopy data have resulted in a limited number of data samples and an incomplete comparison of relevant classification algorithms.

Increased Plasma Pyruvate Kinase M2 (PK-M2) in Heart Failure: A Novel Biomarker Related to Cardiac Function and its Clinical Implications.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether circulating pyruvate kinase M2 (PK-M2) levels are elevated in the peripheral blood and to assess their association with diagnosis and prognosis in patients with heart failure (HF).

Methods And Results: We conducted a prospective investigation involving 222 patients with HF and 103 control subjects, measuring PK-M2 concentrations using ELISA. The primary outcome, assessed over a median follow-up of 2 years (interquartile range: 776 to 926 days), was the time to the first occurrence of either rehospitalization for worsening HF or cardiovascular death.

Ambient-pressure selective hydrogenation of unsaturated aldehydes and ketones into unsaturated alcohols in the water phase.

A universal and green catalytic system for the hydrogenation of unsaturated aldehydes and ketones into the corresponding alcohols with the CC bonds retained under atmospheric hydrogen pressure in the water phase was realized by -functionalized amino ligand-stabilized ruthenium complexes (-PPhCHNHMe)[(CHNHR)]RuCl (R = H, Me, Et) and (-PPhCHNMe)[(CHNHEt)]RuCl with wide substrate compatibility and excellent functionality tolerance. The structural synergism between -PPhCHNHMe and (CHNHEt) achieves the enhanced performance, with a positive correlation with the electron density of the amino ligand.

Explore Alteration of Lung and Gut Microbiota in a Murine Model of OVA-Induced Asthma Treated by CpG Oligodeoxynucleotides.

Aim: We sought to investigate the impact of CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODN) administration on the lung and gut microbiota in asthmatic mice, specifically focusing on changes in composition, diversity, and abundance, and to elucidate the microbial mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of CpG-ODN and identify potential beneficial bacteria indicative of its efficacy.

Methods: HE staining were used to analyze inflammation in lung, colon and small intestine tissues. High-throughput sequencing technology targeting 16S rRNA was employed to analyze the composition, diversity, and correlation of microbiome in the lung, colon and small intestine of control, model and CpG-ODN administration groups.

Optimized circular RNA vaccines for superior cancer immunotherapy.

Circular RNA (circRNA) has gained attention as a promising platform for mRNA vaccines due to its stability, sustained protein expression, and intrinsic immunostimulatory properties. This study aimed to design and optimize a circRNA cancer vaccine platform by screening for efficient internal ribosome entry sites (IRES) and enhancing circRNA translation efficiency for improved cancer immunotherapy. We screened 29 IRES elements to identify the most efficient one for immune cell translation, ultimately discovering the A (EV-A) IRES.

Macrophage-based pathogenesis and theranostics of vulnerable plaques.

Vulnerable plaques, which are high-risk features of atherosclerosis, constitute critical elements in the disease's progression due to their formation and rupture. Macrophages and macrophage-derived foam cells are pivotal in inducing vulnerability within atherosclerotic plaques. Thus, understanding macrophage contributions to vulnerable plaques is essential for advancing the comprehension of atherosclerosis and devising novel therapeutic and diagnostic strategies.

Cancer-targeted pro-theranostic bi-metallic organo-coordination nanoparticles.

Cancer remains a leading cause of mortality, with aggressive, treatment-resistant tumors posing significant challenges. Current combination therapies and imaging approaches often fail due to disparate pharmacokinetics and difficulties correlating drug delivery with therapeutic response. In this study, we developed radionuclide-activatable theranostic nanoparticles (NPs) comprising folate receptor-targeted bimetallic organo-nanoparticles (Gd-Ti-FA-TA NPs).

Expression, purification and immunogenicity analyses of receptor binding domain protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 from delta variant.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The receptor binding domain (RBD), located at the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, contains most of the neutralizing epitopes during viral infection and is an ideal antigen for vaccine development. In this study, bioinformatic analysis of the amino acid sequence data of SARS-CoV-2 RBD protein for the better understanding of molecular characteristics was performed.

Neurofibromatosis with diffuse intestinal ganglioneuromatosis: a case report.

Background: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1), a rare autosomal dominant disorder, arises from gene mutations affecting neurofibromin, a Ras GTPase regulator. These mutations activate Ras proteins, triggering clinical symptoms such as skin spots, epilepsy, pain, and tumors. Although gastrointestinal stromal tumors are well-known in NF-1, diffuse intestinal ganglioneuromatosis remains an extremely rare complication.

Effectiveness of the addition of visual aids to conversational preoperative education in glaucoma filtering surgery: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of preoperative visual aids on anxiety and pain management in patients with low educational backgrounds undergoing glaucoma filtering surgery.

Methods: A randomized, single-blinded, single-center clinical trial was conducted at a tertiary eye hospital in Shantou, China. Patients scheduled for glaucoma filtering surgery were randomly assigned to either a conventional oral education group or a visual aids group.

Leptin increases chemosensitivity by inhibiting in colorectal cancer cells.

Background: Chemoresistance is a major cause of treatment failure in advanced colorectal cancer (CRC), severely impacting patient survival and quality of life. While conventional chemotherapy regimens can somewhat control tumor progression, their effectiveness is frequently compromised by the development of drug resistance in cancer cells. The aim of this study is to verify and elucidate the specific mechanisms by which leptin enhances chemosensitivity in CRC, providing valuable insights for the development of new combination chemotherapy options.

WRKY transcription factors: Hubs for regulating plant growth and stress responses.

As sessile organisms, plants must directly face various stressors. Therefore, plants have evolved a powerful stress resistance system and can adjust their growth and development strategies appropriately in different stressful environments to adapt to complex and ever-changing conditions. Nevertheless, prioritizing defensive responses can hinder growth; this is a crucial factor for plant survival but is detrimental to crop production.

Metabolic Engineering of BL21(DE3) for 2'-Fucosyllactose Synthesis in a Higher Productivity.

2'-Fucosyllactose (2'-FL) is the most abundant human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs). 2'-FL exhibits great benefits for infant health, such as preventing infantile diarrhea and promoting the growth of intestinal probiotics. The microbial cell factory technique has shown promise for the massive production of 2'-FL.

Flaxseed gum nano-microcapsules loaded with secoisolariciresinol diglucoside: Preparation and characterization.

Flaxseed gum (FSG) has promising applications in the field of nano/microencapsulation for its biocompatibility and excellent physicochemical properties. In this study, FSG-based nano-microcapsules (FSG NPs) were prepared using high-speed shear homogenization combined with ultrasound for efficient encapsulation of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG). The particle size of FSG stands for nano-microcapsules (NP) was determined to be 336.