FoxC1 activates Notch3 signaling to promote the inflammatory phenotype of keloid fibroblasts and aggravates keloid.

Keloids are disfiguring proliferative scars, and their pathological mechanisms are still unclear. We have previously established that FoxC1 plays a significant role in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, but its molecular mechanisms in pathological scar formation remain elusive. In this study, we analyzed keloid tissue characteristics using HE staining and immunohistochemistry, revealing abnormal expression of FoxC1 and Notch3 in keloids.

Enhancement of soy protein functionality by conjugation or complexation with polysaccharides or polyphenols: A review.

Soy proteins have good nutritional quality and exhibit a range of useful functional attributes, making them a viable option for replacing animal proteins in the development of more sustainable and eco-friendly plant-based food products. Nevertheless, soy proteins are prone to denaturation and/or aggregation under conditions they encounter in some food and beverage products (including certain pH, ionic, and thermal conditions), which adversely impact their functional performance. This problem can often be overcome by covalently (conjugation) or noncovalently (complexation) linking the soy proteins to polysaccharides or polyphenols, thereby expanding their application scope.

Recent progress in the source, extraction, activity mechanism and encapsulation of bioactive essential oils.

There is growing concern about the potential risks posed by synthetic additives in industrial products, such as foods, cosmetics, agrochemicals, and personal care products. Many plant-derived essential oils (EOs) have been shown to exhibit excellent antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and antioxidant activities, and may therefore be used as natural preservatives in these applications. However, most EOs have relatively low water solubility and are prone to chemical degradation during storage.

Impact of electro-acupuncture on EAAT2 and NMDAR-2B expression in goats with visceral hypersensitivity.

Objective: This study evaluates the effect of electro-acupuncture (EA) on visceral hypersensitivity (VH) and the expression of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor-2B (NMDAR-2B) and glutamate transporter EAAT2 in goats.

Methods: Twenty-four goats were divided into four groups: saline, 2, 4, 6-Trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS), TNBS + EA, and sham EA. EA was administered at Zusanli (ST36) with 60 Hz and 1-3 mA on specified days.

LPSGM: A Unified Flexible Large PSG Model for Sleep Staging and Mental Disorder Diagnosis.

We present the Large PSG Model (LPSGM), a unified and flexible framework for sleep staging and disease diagnosis using polysomnography (PSG) data. LPSGM is designed to address the challenges of cross-center generalization in sleep staging and to enable fine-tuning for downstream disease diagnosis tasks. LPSGM introduces a unified training framework for heterogeneous datasets and allows flexible channel input adjustments during inference.

Bioactivity Profiling of Chemical Mixtures for Hazard Characterization.

The assessment and regulation of chemical toxicity to protect human health and the environment are done one chemical at a time and seldom at environmentally relevant concentrations. However, chemicals are found in the environment as mixtures, and their toxicity is largely unknown. Understanding the hazard posed by chemicals within the mixture is critical to enforce protective measures.

Clinical, aetiological, and epidemiological studies of outpatient cases of hand, foot, and mouth disease in Chengdu, China, from 2019 to 2022: a retrospective study.

Background: The introduction of the Enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) vaccine in China in 2016 has led to a considerable decline in severe hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) cases, with mild outpatient instances now representing the majority of HFMD cases in the country. Nevertheless, epidemiological investigations concerning mild outpatient cases remain scarce, resulting in inadequate descriptions of their clinical, etiological, and epidemiological characteristics. Our study aimed to analyze the clinical, etiological, and epidemiological characteristics of HFMD outpatients in Chengdu from 2019 to 2022 while identifying potential risk factors associated with the progression of outpatients requiring hospitalization.

Enhanced pollution control using sediment microbial fuel cells for ecological remediation.

Sediment Microbial Fuel Cell (SMFC) technology is an innovative approach to facilitate the degradation of sedimentary organic matter by electroactive microorganisms, transforming chemical energy into electrical energy and modulating the redox potential at the sediment-water interface, consequently controlling the release of endogenous pollutants. The synergistic effects of various environmental factors and intrinsic conditions can significantly impact SMFC performance. This review provides a comprehensive overview of SMFC development in research and application for water environment treatment and ecological remediation, a perspective rarely explored in previous reviews.

Thermal tuning behavior and robust control of a single-soliton microcomb with a modulated sideband.

A chip-scaled single-soliton microcomb source promises wide applications in various fields. We demonstrate the deterministic single-soliton generation from both pump forward and backward tunings via sideband thermal compensation. The total soliton existing range (SER) is effectively expanded due to the thermal-lock effect and remains nearly the same regardless of the soliton states.

Development of QuEChERS based on the Z-Sep+and DLLME method for analysis of PBDEs in chicken eggs by GC-MS/MS.

A sensitive, straightforward, and environmentally sustainable method was developed and validated for the quantification of 13 PBDEs in chicken eggs using gas chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). The QuEChERS approach, combined with dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME), was applied for sample preparation. Egg samples were extracted with acetonitrile and purified using Z-Sep + adsorbent.

The therapeutic effect of ofatumumab in pediatric anti-NMDAR encephalitis: A case series.

Ofatumumab (OFA) is an anti-CD20 antibody. We assessed the therapeutic potential of OFA in five pediatric anti-NMDAR encephalitis patients who showed poor responses to the first-line immunotherapy. OFA treatment showed clinical improvement including alleviation of clinical symptoms and mRS decrease accompanied by anti-NMDAR antibody turning negative in 3 patients and decline in 2 patients.

Preparation of protein-based aerogels and regulation and application of their absorption properties: a review.

Challenges still persist in the preparation of healthy foods through the structuring of liquid oils, and the encapsulation and delivery of functional components. However, protein-based aerogels (PAs) with unique nutritional and health properties as well as various kinds of tunable absorption properties hold promise for solving these problems. In this review, the methods and characteristics of aerogels prepared from various animal and plant proteins were reviewed.

Effect of Self-efficacy, Disease Perception, Social Support, Anxiety, and Depression on Self-management in Young Patients With Stroke.

BACKGROUND: Better self-management of chronic diseases may benefit patient functional status, medication effectiveness, lifestyle, and psychosocial health. Self-efficacy, disease perception, social support, anxiety, and depression are determinants of self-management behaviors in individuals with chronic illnesses. There remains a gap in the empirical exploration of the influence of these factors on self-management behaviors in young Chinese stroke survivors.

The Predictive Value of Absolute Lymphocyte Count and T Cell Subpopulations for Sepsis Prognosis.

Background: Sepsis causes substantial morbidity and mortality and constitutes a major public health problem. In patients with sepsis, immunosuppression is associated with poor prognosis, and immune monitoring during the early stages has prognostic value. This study aims to explore immunologic parameters associated with sepsis prognosis, potentially identifying patients who may benefit from immunotherapy, improving intensive care survival.

Identification of hsa_circ_0076957 and miR-4512-targeted COL19A1 as regulators in clopidogrel resistance among stable coronary heart disease patients through comprehensive circRNA and miRNA analysis.

Background: Clopidogrel resistance (CR) increases the risk of atherothrombotic events. Emerging evidence suggests that circRNAs may influence pharmacodynamic responses to clopidogrel.

Methods: A total of 25 CR and 25 non-clopidogrel resistance (NCR) patients were enrolled.

Impact of pH and protein/polysaccharide ratio on phycocyanin-okra polysaccharides complex.

Phycocyanin is a natural blue pigment that tends to denature and lose its color in acidic solutions. In response to this problem, the complexes of phycocyanin (PC) with okra polysaccharides (OP) were prepared by ultrasonic processing at different pH conditions, and the molecular interactions of the complexes were characterized. The results showed that there were significant differences in the color, functional groups, and surface morphology of the complexes formed at different pH conditions.

Transcription factors PuNAC37/PuWRKY74 and E3 ubiquitin ligase PuRDUF2 inhibit volatile ester synthesis in 'Nanguo' pear.

As major contributors to flavor in many fruit species, volatile esters are useful for investigating the regulation of the biosynthesis pathways of volatile aroma compounds in plants. Ethylene promotes the biosynthesis of volatile esters during fruit storage while accelerating fruit ripening; thus, the ethylene perception inhibitor 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) is employed to prolong the shelf life of fruits. However, the mechanisms by which 1-MCP regulates volatiles synthesis remain unclear.

Anchoring and Catalytic Performance of Co@CN Monolayer for Rechargeable Li-SeS Batteries: A First-Principles Calculations.

SeS composite cathode materials, which offer superior theoretical capacity compared to pure selenium and improved electrochemical properties relative to pure sulfur, have aroused considerable interest in recent decades on account of their applications in electric vehicles and energy storage grids. In the current work, the feasibility of a Co@CN monolayer as a promising host candidate for the cathode material of Li-SeS batteries has been evaluated using first-principles calculations, and particular efforts have been devoted to underscoring the anchoring mechanism and catalytic performance of the Co@CN monolayer. The pronounced synergistic effects of Co-S and Li-N bonds lead to increased anchoring performance for LiSeS/SeS clusters on the surface of Co@CN monolayer, which effectively inhibit the shuttle effect.

ATF3 regulates CDC42 transcription and influences cytoskeleton remodeling, thus inhibiting the proliferation, migration and invasion of malignant skin melanoma cells.

Cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) is one of the most aggressive and lethal types of skin cancer. Cytoskeletal remodeling is a key factor in the progression of CMM. Previous research has shown that activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) inhibits metastasis in bladder cancer by regulating actin cytoskeleton remodeling through gelsolin.

Cerebrospinal fluid neurofilament light chain levels in children with acquired demyelinating syndrome.

Objective: To study the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) neurofilament light chain (NfL) in pediatric acquired demyelinating syndrome (ADS) and its association with factors of laboratory and imaging results.

Methods: We analyzed clinical data from children with ADS collected from May 2020 to January 2021 at the Department of Neurology of Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to detect the CSF NfL of patients.

Interpretable prediction of 30-day mortality in patients with acute pancreatitis based on machine learning and SHAP.

Background: Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) can be fatal if left unrecognized and untreated. The purpose was to develop a machine learning (ML) model for predicting the 30-day all-cause mortality risk in SAP patients and to explain the most important predictors.

Methods: This research utilized six ML methods, including logistic regression (LR), k-nearest neighbors(KNN), support vector machines (SVM), naive Bayes (NB), random forests(RF), and extreme gradient boosting(XGBoost), to construct six predictive models for SAP.

Syntheses, structures and properties of two new members of the pentaborate family: NaKBO(OH)·HO and KBO·2HO.

Two new members of the pentaborate family, NaKBO(OH)·HO (I) and KBO·2HO (II), were successfully synthesized, which crystallize in the space groups of 1̄ and , respectively. In compound I, [BO(OH)] fundamental building blocks (FBBs) form a two-dimensional (2D) [BO(OH)] layer through corner-sharing, whereas in compound II, [BO] FBBs form two independent interpenetrating 3D [BO] networks by sharing common O atoms. The UV-vis-NIR diffuse reflectance spectrum and first-principles calculations suggest that the two compounds possess deep-ultraviolet (DUV) transparency windows.

Viral community and antibiotic resistance genes carried by virus in soil microbial fuel cells.

Soil microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can control the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) by reducing the abundance of mobile genetic elements. However, little is known about the effect of soil MFCs on the horizontal transfer pathway of ARGs transduced by viruses. In this study, the average abundance of ARGs in soil MFCs was 11 % lower than that in the open-circuit control.