Advancing the Understanding of Microplastic Weathering: Insights from a Novel Polarized Light Scattering Approach.

Weathering is a significant process that alters the properties of microplastics (MPs) and consequently affects their environmental behaviors. In this study, we introduced a novel approach based on polarized light scattering technique, which offers advantages in terms of rapid, high-throughput, and submicron-sized detection. This technique was successfully applied to characterize the weathered MPs after a 180-day laboratory simulation of coastal environments.

On approximate equality of Z-values of the statistical tests for win statistics (win ratio, win odds, and net benefit).

Dong et al. (2023) showed that the win statistics (win ratio, win odds, and net benefit) can complement each another to demonstrate the strength of treatment effects in randomized trials with prioritized multiple outcomes. This result was built on the connections among the point and variance estimates of the three statistics, and the approximate equality of Z-values in their statistical tests.

An electrochemical sensor based on porous heterojunction hollow NiCo-LDH/TiCT MXenes composites for the detection of quercetin in natural plants.

Cubic hollow-structured NiCo-LDH was synthesized using a solvothermal method. Subsequently, clay-like TiCT MXenes were electrostatically self-assembled with NiCo layered double hydroxides (NiCo-LDH) to form composites featuring three-dimensional porous heterostructures. The composites were characterized using SEM, TEM, XRD, XPS, and FT-IR spectroscopy.

Long non-coding RNA SNHG7 serves as a diagnostic biomarker for acute coronary syndrome and its predictive value for the clinical outcome after percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is one of the common causes of cardiovascular death. The related lncRNAs were novel approaches for early diagnosis and intervention. This paper focused on the clinical function of SNHG7 for patients after PCI.

Clinical Significance and Potential Mechanism of Circ_00008842 in Acute Myocardial Infarction.

This study aimed to evaluate the clinical value of circ_0008842 in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and explore the potential mechanisms.GSE149051 and GSE160717 datasets analyze common differentially expressed circRNAs (coDEcircRNA) in AMI. RT-qPCR analysis of circ_0008842 mRNA levels in patients with AMI.

Diagnostic and prognostic significance of miR-320a-3p in patients with chronic heart failure.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic and prognostic value of miR-320a-3p in chronic heart failure (CHF).

Methods: A total of 103 patients with CHF and 95 healthy controls were included in the study population. The expression level of serum miR-320a-3p was detected by qRT-PCR.

Pulse Feature-Enhanced Classification of Microalgae and Cyanobacteria Using Polarized Light Scattering and Fluorescence Signals.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) pose a global threat to the biodiversity and stability of local aquatic ecosystems. Rapid and accurate classification of microalgae and cyanobacteria in water is increasingly desired for monitoring complex water environments. In this paper, we propose a pulse feature-enhanced classification (PFEC) method as a potential solution.

Biofilm Microenvironment-Sensitive Piezoelectric Nanomotors for Enhanced Penetration and ROS/NO Synergistic Bacterial Elimination.

Sonodynamic therapy offers a highly accurate treatment for bacterial infections; however, its antibacterial efficacy is hindered by bacterial biofilms that limit the penetration of sonosensitizers. Herein, a nitric oxide (NO)-driven mushroom-like Janus nanomotor (BT@PDA-La) based on the unilateral coating of polydopamine (PDA) on piezoelectric tetragonal barium titanate (BT) and further modified with l-arginine (l-Arg) on the PDA side is fabricated. In the infected microenvironment with high levels of HO, NO is produced unilaterally from BT@PDA-La, thus leading to its self-propelled movement and facilitating its permeability in the biofilm.

Continued Treatment With Tirzepatide for Maintenance of Weight Reduction in Adults With Obesity: The SURMOUNT-4 Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: The effect of continued treatment with tirzepatide on maintaining initial weight reduction is unknown.

Objective: To assess the effect of tirzepatide, with diet and physical activity, on the maintenance of weight reduction.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This phase 3, randomized withdrawal clinical trial conducted at 70 sites in 4 countries with a 36-week, open-label tirzepatide lead-in period followed by a 52-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled period included adults with a body mass index greater than or equal to 30 or greater than or equal to 27 and a weight-related complication, excluding diabetes.

Anticancer effect of hUC-MSC-derived exosome-mediated delivery of PMO-miR-146b-5p in colorectal cancer.

Antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) is a novel therapeutic platform for targeted cancer therapy. Previously, we have demonstrated that miR-146b-5p plays an important role in colorectal cancer progression. However, a safe and effective strategy for delivery of an ASO to its targeted RNA remains as a major hurdle in translational advances.

Platform trials to evaluate the benefit-risk of COVID-19 therapeutics: Successes, learnings, and recommendations for future pandemics.

Background: In response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, multiple platform trials were initiated to accelerate evidence generation of potential therapeutic interventions. Given a rapidly evolving and dynamic pandemic, platform trials have a key advantage over traditional randomized trials: multiple interventions can be investigated under a master protocol sharing a common infrastructure.

Methods: This paper focuses on nine platform trials that were instrumental in advancing care in COVID-19 in the hospital and community setting.

Creep Monitoring of Submersible Observation Windows Using Mueller Matrix Imaging.

Safety of the observation window is one of the core concerns for manned submersibles. When subjected to underwater static pressure, extrusion and creep deformation always occur in the observation window, which can pose a threat to both safety and optical performance. To assess the deformation, real-time and non-contact monitoring methods are necessary.

Baricitinib in juvenile idiopathic arthritis: an international, phase 3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, withdrawal, efficacy, and safety trial.

Background: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis can be refractory to some or all treatment regimens, therefore new medications are needed to treat this population. This trial assessed the efficacy and safety of baricitinib, an oral Janus kinase 1/2-selective inhibitor, versus placebo in patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Methods: This phase 3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, withdrawal, efficacy, and safety trial was conducted in 75 centres in 20 countries.

Recognition of microplastics suspended in seawater via refractive index by Mueller matrix polarimetry.

Microplastics have become the marine pollution posing a human health risk, but they are difficult to be detected and recognized for different materials, irregular shapes, and broad size distributions. Microplastics' refractive index (RI) is related to the materials and can be characterized by the Mueller matrix. In this work, the particles are suspended in water and their Mueller matrices are measured by a particulate Mueller matrix polarimetry setup.

Atmospheric microplastics at a southern China metropolis: Occurrence, deposition flux, exposure risk and washout effect of rainfall.

Atmospheric microplastics (AMPs) have raised much concern for public health due to their potential for exposure. In this study, temporal distribution, characteristics and exposure risk of AMPs were studied in the urban area of Guangzhou, a metropolis in Southern China, and the washout effect of rainfall on AMPs was investigated. It was found that AMP abundances in Guangzhou were in a range of 0.

Uncovering the disposable face masks as vectors of metal ions (Pb(Ⅱ), Cd(Ⅱ), Sr(Ⅱ)) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The demand for disposable face masks (DFMs) increased sharply in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, information regarding the underlying roles of the largely discarded DFMs in the environment is extremely lacking. This study focused on the pristine and UV-aged DFMs as vectors of metal ions (Pb(Ⅱ), Cd(Ⅱ), and Sr(Ⅱ)).

Biomimetic photosensitizer nanocrystals trigger enhanced ferroptosis for improving cancer treatment.

As a novel non-apoptotic cell death pathway, ferroptosis can effectively enhance the antitumor effects of photodynamic therapy (PDT) by disrupting intracellular redox homeostasis. However, the reported nanocomposites that combined the PDT and ferroptosis are cumbersome to prepare, and the unfavorable tumor microenvironment also severely interferes with their tumor suppressive effects. To address this inherent barrier, this study attempted to explore photosensitizers that could activate ferroptosis pathway and found that the photosensitizer aloe-emodin (AE) could induce cellular ferroptosis based on its specific inhibiting activity to Glutathione S-transferase P1(GSTP1), a key protein for ferroptosis.

Serum exosomal and serum glypican-1 are associated with early recurrence of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Background: The diagnostic performance and prognostic value of serum exosomal glypican 1 (GPC-1) in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remain controversial. In this study, we detected serum exosomal GPC-1 using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and determined whether it serves as a predictor of diagnosis and recurrence for early-stage PDAC.

Methods: Serum samples were obtained from patients with 50 PDAC, 6 benign pancreatic tumor (BPT), or 9 chronic pancreatitis (CP) and 50 healthy controls (HCs).

Mueller matrix imaging with a spatially modulated polarization light source.

In this paper, we present a Mueller matrix imaging system consisting of a spatially modulated polarization light source (SMPL) and a dual division-of-focal-plane (DoFP) polarimeters as the PSA and 2D detector. The system does not contain moving parts such as a rotating stage, which leads to more robust and reliable operations for applications in hostile settings. By taking Muller matrix images at variable distances between the SMPL and the target, we examine in details errors due to different spatial distributions in angle and intensity of different polarized lights.

MicroRNA-375 is a therapeutic target for castration-resistant prostate cancer through the PTPN4/STAT3 axis.

The functional role of microRNA-375 (miR-375) in the development of prostate cancer (PCa) remains controversial. Previously, we found that plasma exosomal miR-375 is significantly elevated in castration-resistant PCa (CRPC) patients compared with castration-sensitive PCa patients. Here, we aimed to determine how miR-375 modulates CRPC progression and thereafter to evaluate the therapeutic potential of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (hucMSC)-derived exosomes loaded with miR-375 antisense oligonucleotides (e-375i).

Dual division of focal plane polarimeters-based collinear reflection Mueller matrix fast imaging microscope.

Significance: Reflection Mueller matrix imaging is suitable for characterizing the microstructure of bulk specimens and probing dynamic processes in living animals, there are always demands for speed and accuracy for such applications to avoid possible artifacts and reveal a sample's intrinsic properties.

Aim: To demonstrate a design of collinear reflection Mueller matrix fast imaging microscope based on dual division of focal plane (DoFP) polarimeters (DoFPs-CRMMM) which has high measurement speed and accuracy.

Approach: In DoFPs-CRMMM, to improve the measurement speed, we applied the dual DoFP polarimeters design on the collinear reflection system for the first time to achieve fast imaging in about 2 s.

Win ratio approach for analyzing composite time-to-event endpoint with opposite treatment effects in its components.

There is an increasing interest in the use of win ratio with composite time-to-event due to its flexibility in combining component endpoints. Exploring this flexibility further, one interesting question is in assessing the impact when there is a difference in treatment effect in the component endpoints. For example, the active treatment may prolong the time to occurrence of the negative event such as death or ventilation; meanwhile, the treatment effect may also shorten the time to achieving positive events, such as recovery or improvement.