Evaluation of a tumor marker gastrin-releasing peptide precursor in the patients with kidney injuries.

Gastrin-releasing peptide precursor (ProGRP) is a bioactive precursor of GRP and might play an important role as an emerging tumor marker in early cancer diagnosis. It might also be abnormal in the nonmalignant disease and renal function abnormalities. The present study was undertaken to investigate the changes of ProGRP levels in patients with kidney injuries, especially with chronic kidney disease (CKD), determine the upper reference intervals and clinical diagnostic value of ProGRP in CKD, and thus help oncologists in interpreting ProGRP levels and making clinical judgments of malignances.

Comparison of Effects of Iron and Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation on Hematological and Growth Indicators among Older Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Context: Middle childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood are characterized by high nutritional demands and vulnerability to anemia. Limited efforts have been made to synthesize the evidence comparing the effects of iron and multiple micronutrient (MMN) supplementation in these populations.

Objective: In this study we sought to examine the effects of iron and MMN on anemia and anthropometric variables among people aged 5 to 24 years in low- and middle-income countries.

A multicenter cohort study of thyroidectomy-related decision regret in patients with low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma.

The level of thyroidectomy-related regret in patients with clinically low-risk papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) and the determinants of decision regret are largely unknown. Here, we show that 319 (24.2%) of those who undergo thyroidectomy and 4 (3.

Graphene quantum dot-induced photo redox ATRP synthesis of lignin-based copolymers for the fabrication of silver-bearing and camptothecin-loaded micelles.

Photo redox atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) represents an excellent technique for forming multifunctional polymers. However, there was little report on photo redox ATRP of graphene quantum dots (GQDs). Herein, we reported that introduced GQDs to ATRP in DMF solvent for the first time, significantly reducing the amount of copper catalyst (<500 ppm) required for the synthesis of alkali lignin-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-poly(N, N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate)-poly(poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) (AL-(PNIPAM-PDMAEMA-PPEGMA)).

Characterization of a postbiotic exopolysaccharide produced by Lacticaseibacillus paracasei ET-22 with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory efficacy.

Exopolysaccharides (EPSs) produced by lactic acid bacteria have been extensively studied, but the EPSs as postbiotics are much less investigated. In this study, the EPS, designated as ET22-EPS, was extracted and purified from the culture broth of Lacticaseibacillus paracasei ET-22 previously characterized with strong postbiotic activities. ET22-EPS was determined with a molecular weight of 5.

BossNAS Family: Block-wisely Self-supervised Neural Architecture Search.

Recent advances in hand-crafted neural architectures for visual recognition underscore the pressing need to explore architecture designs comprising diverse building blocks. Concurrently, neural architecture search (NAS) methods have gained traction as a means to alleviate human efforts. Nevertheless, the question of whether NAS methods can efficiently and effectively manage diversified search spaces featuring disparate candidates, such as Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and transformers, remains an open question.

Metal-organic framework-based smart stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems for cancer therapy: advances, challenges, and future perspectives.

Cancer treatment is currently one of the most critical healthcare issues globally. A well-designed drug delivery system can precisely target tumor tissues, improve efficacy, and reduce damage to normal tissues. Stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems (SRDDSs) have shown promising application prospects.

Progress in the study of the effects of electromagnetic radiation on the mood and rhythm.

The ever-expanding use of a large number of electrical appliances and mobile communication systems, which outnumber the global population, emit electromagnetic radiation through mobile telephones, power stations, transmission lines, radar, microwave ovens, televisions, refrigerators, therapeutic and other electronic devices. Electromagnetic radiation has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B). A large number of research results show that short-term and long-term exposure to electromagnetic radiation can lead to anxiety, depression, decreased learning ability, memory loss, sleep rhythm disorders and other adverse effects.

Careful attention to the eco-toxicity and secondary water pollution of the degradation by-products.

Most of studies have mainly paid attention to the removal efficiency of a water treatment technology, while often overlooking the environmental and ecological toxicity. However, are water treatment technologies really environmental-/eco-friendly? If the as-generated chemicals are more toxic, it may lead to more severe secondary pollution. In this work, two novel integrated systems of Vis/CuO/HO (visible light-excited HO activation) and Vis/CuO/PS (visible light-excited persulfate (PS, NaSO activation) were designed and investigated fully, in which rhodamine B (RhB) was selected as the representative organic wastewater pollutant to assure the technology feasibility, although it has been studied widely.

Caffeine intake associated with a lower risk of liver fibrosis in different glucose status.

Background And Aims: To investigate the prevalence of liver fibrosis, and the association between caffeine intake and fibrosis in populations with different glucose metabolism status.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005-March 2020). Of the 39,221 adult individuals with no necessary laboratory results missing, a total of 23,711 eligible individuals were included in the study.

Prediction of Gadolinium Polynitrides at High Pressures as High-Energy-Density Materials.

Pressure-induced nitrogen-rich compounds hold significant application prospects in high-energy-density materials. Utilizing first-principles calculations and swarm-intelligence structure search methods, we have identified ten new types of Gd-N compounds with different configurations, such as one-dimensional N-chains composed of N rings or N rings, and two-dimensional N-layers constructed of N rings, N rings, or N + N rings. Moreover, the predicted Gd-N compounds exhibit different magnetic properties, and a magnetic phase diagram is constructed in the pressure range of 0 to 200 GPa.

Environmental DNA integrity index is sensitive for species biomass estimation in freshwater.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) derived from aquatic vertebrates has recently been employed to estimate species presence. However, the accuracy of these estimations is contingent upon the degradation rate of eDNA. In this study, we introduced the eDNA Integrity Index (eDI) to adjust eDNA concentration for the purpose of estimating carp biomass.

Socioeconomic status and delayed surgery: impact on non-metastatic papillary thyroid carcinoma outcomes.

Introduction: The growing popularity of active surveillance for papillary thyroid cancer and the COVID-19 pandemic have increased surgery delay, further necessitating a reassessment of the link between surgery delay and survival outcomes for papillary thyroid cancer. In this study, we aim to investigate the interplay among various oncological factors, socioeconomic status, and surgical timing with respect to survival outcomes of papillary thyroid cancer.

Methods: A total of 58,378 non-metastatic papillary thyroid cancer patients from 2000 to 2018 were screened from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database.

Targeting CXCL8 signaling sensitizes HNSCC to anlotinib by reducing tumor-associated macrophage-derived CLU.

Background: Although nutrition-starvation therapy for malignancies such as HNSCC is highly desirable, the clinical outcomes remain disappointing. Understanding the spatial heterogeneity of glucose deficiency can reveal the molecular mechanisms regulating cancer metabolism and identify therapeutic targets to improve effective nutrient-starvation therapies.

Methods: Multiple omics data from RNA-seq, proteomics and spatial transcriptome analyses of HNSCC samples were integrated to analyze the spatial heterogeneity of glucose deficiency.

Effects of Shenmai Injection on the Pharmacokinetics of Dasatinib: An In-Depth In vivo Analysis Utilizing UPLC-MS/MS Technique.

Background: Dasatinib has been widely used in the treatment of a variety of cancers, such as lung cancer and acute myeloid leukemia. Shenmai injection is a traditional Chinese medicine injection that is often used in antitumor adjuvant therapy. In recent years, dasatinib combined with Shenmai injection has been increasingly used to treat tumors clinically.

Stratified Impact of Therapies on Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer Outcomes in the Pre-Gene-Targeted Therapy Era.

Background: Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is a highly lethal disease, often diagnosed with advanced locoregional and distant metastases, resulting in a median survival of just 3-5 months. This study determines the stratified effectiveness of baseline treatments in all combinations, enabling precise prognoses prediction and establishing benchmarks for advanced therapeutic options.

Methods: The study extracted a cohort of pathologically confirmed ATC patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program.

Effect of different cold acclimation methods on the exercise capacity of mice in low-temperature environments.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of different cold acclimation strategies on exercise performance in male mice exposed to low-temperature environments.

Methods: Male mice were subjected to five distinct acclimation regimens over 8 weeks: immersion at 10 °C (10 °CI) or 20 °C (20 °CI), swimming at 10 °C (10 °CS), 20 °C (20 °CS), or 34 °C (34 °CS). During the first 2 weeks, the acclimation time progressively decreased from 30 min to 3 min per day, and the water temperatures were lowered from 34 °C to the target levels, followed by 6 weeks of consistent exposure.

Characterization and Analysis of 2-(2-Phenylethyl)chromone Derivatives and Sesquiterpenoids from Agarwood of Four "Qi-Nan" Clones () with Different Induction Times.

In recent years, some new "Qi-Nan" clones of with the characteristics of easy induction and high-quality agarwood have been obtained, through the cultivation and propagation of grafted seedlings. These clones are used for the intensive production of high-quality agarwood. The speed of resin formation and yield are crucial for the development of the agarwood industry.

Targeting the glymphatic system to promote α-synuclein clearance: a novel therapeutic strategy for Parkinson's disease.

The excessive buildup of neurotoxic α-synuclein plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease, highlighting the urgent need for innovative therapeutic strategies to promote α-synuclein clearance, particularly given the current lack of disease-modifying treatments. The glymphatic system, a recently identified perivascular fluid transport network, is crucial for clearing neurotoxic proteins. This review aims to synthesize current knowledge on the role of the glymphatic system in α-synuclein clearance and its implications for the pathology of Parkinson's disease while emphasizing potential therapeutic strategies and areas for future research.

Genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the BBX gene family in Lagerstroemia indica grown under light stress.

B-box proteins (BBX) play pivotal roles in the regulation of numerous growth and developmental processes in plants, particularly the light-mediated biosynthesis of pigments. To elucidate the role of BBX transcription factors in the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway of Lagerstroemia indica leaves, this study identified 41 BBX genes in the L. indica genome.

The Circle Pure Rolling Method for Point Cloud Boundary Extraction.

We introduce a circle rolling method (CRM) for boundary extraction from 2D point clouds. The core idea is to create a circle that performs pure rolling on the perimeter of the point cloud to obtain the boundary. For a 3D point cloud, a plane adsorbs points on both sides to create a 2D point cloud, and the CRM is used to extract the boundary points and map them back into space to obtain 3D boundary points.

The Health Effects of Dietary Nitrate on Sarcopenia Development: Prospective Evidence from the UK Biobank.

Nitrate is abundant in natural foods, especially plant-based foods, having the potential to enhance muscle function. However, its relationship with sarcopenia in the context of daily diet remains unexplored. This cohort study investigated the associations between dietary nitrate intake and sarcopenia, as well as related symptoms, using data including 28,229 participants with a mean follow-up of 9.

Screening model in for radioprotective natural products.

Purpose: Ionizing radiation (IR) could induce damage such as DNA damage and oxidative stress. Natural products, like tea, have been demonstrated potential in mitigating these damages. However, the lack of efficient and rapid screening methods for natural products hinders their widespread application.