Detecting the distribution patterns of histone lactylation in the mouse testis at different developmental stages.

Lactate is a key glycolytic metabolite that serves as an energy substance and signaling molecule. Lactylation, a recently characterized posttranslational modification (PTM), has been identified in histone and nonhistone proteins. Compelling evidence suggests that this lactate-related epigenetic modification potently regulates gene expression under physiological and pathological conditions.

Immune dysregulation of decidual NK cells mediated by GRIM19 downregulation contributes to the occurrence of recurrent pregnancy loss.

In patients with recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL), excessive activation of decidual natural killer (dNK) cells has been widely observed, yet the precise underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. We collected decidual specimens from RPL patients and controls to assess GRIM19 expression, activation phenotype, cytotoxic function, inflammatory cytokine secretion, and mitochondrial homeostasis in dNK cells. Furthermore, we established a GRIM19-knockout NK-92MI cell line and a GRIM19 ± C57BL/6J mouse model to investigate the relationship between GRIM19 downregulation and dNK immune dysregulation, ultimately contributing to pregnancy loss.

Gut microbiota combined with metabolome dissects Fluorene-9-bisphenol exposure-induced male reproductive toxicity.

A major alternative to bisphenol A (BPA), fluorene-9-bisphenol (BHPF) has been shown to cause multiorgan toxicity. However, its reproductive toxicity and the underlying biological mechanism remain largely unknown. Recently, changes in the gut microbiota and metablome caused by environmental contaminant exposure and their potential impact on male reproductive health have been of great concern.

[Characterization and expression optimization of a highly thermostable hexokinase in ].

Hexokinase is a crucial diagnostic reagent in blood glucose testing, which has high requirements for the enzyme activity and thermal stability. The hexokinases in China mainly rely on imports and are primarily sourced from yeast, with high costs and poor thermal stability, which limit the development of blood glucose diagnostic reagents. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the efficient expression of highly active and thermally stable hexokinases.

Fluorene-9-bisphenol impaired male fertility through disrupting the testicular function and local microenvironment.

Past studies have observed that BHPF induces multi-organ toxicity, however, whether it induces damage to male reproductive system and the specific mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, male mice were given 0, 2, 10 or 50 mg/kg/day of BHPF by gavage for 35 days to observe its effect on reproductive organ and sperm quality. The results indicated that BHPF decreased sperm count and sperm motility in a dose-dependent manner.

Cresyl Diphenyl Phosphate exposure induces reproductive functional defects in men and male mice.

Cresyl Diphenyl Phosphate (CDP), as a novel organophosphate esters (OPEs), achieves widely used and exposed in multiple industries. However, its male reproductive toxicity and underlying mechanism remains unclear. In vivo, male mice were gavaged with CDP (0, 4, 20, or 100 mg/kg/d) for 8 weeks.

Identification and validation of senescence-related genes in polycystic ovary syndrome.

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is an exceedingly intractable issue affecting female endocrine and reproductive health. However, the etiology and intricate pathological mechanisms of PCOS remain unclear. Nowadays, aging was found to share multiple common pathological mechanisms with PCOS, which causes probing into the pathogenesis of PCOS from senescence.

Terahertz-driven positron acceleration assisted by ultra-intense lasers.

Generation and acceleration of energetic positrons based on laser plasma have attracted intense attention due to their potential applications in medical physics, high energy physics, astrophysics and nuclear physics. However, such compact positron sources face a series of challenges including the beam dispersion, dephasing and unstability. Here, we propose a scheme that couples the all-optical generation of electron-positron pairs and rapid acceleration of copious positrons in the terahertz (THz) field.

Tuning the water-splitting mechanism on titanium dioxide surfaces through hydroxylation.

Experimental research demonstrates that surface hydroxyl groups can boost TiO's ability to split water but the water splitting mechanism and roles of hydroxyl groups are still not clear. The hydroxyl groups formed by HO or H cracking on pure TiO surfaces are represented by types I (OH1) and II (OH2), respectively. Six types of hydroxylated TiO surfaces of anatase (101), rutile (110), and brookite (210) with OH1 and OH2 hydroxyl groups were constructed.

KRAS mutation predict response and outcome in advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma without driver alterations receiving PD-1 blockade immunotherapy combined with platinum-based chemotherapy: a retrospective cohort study from China.

Background: The selection of patients for immunotherapy remains challenging given the lack of highly specific and highly sensitive biomarkers. Kirsten rat sarcoma () mutation is the most frequent molecular alteration found in advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). We explored whether mutation status predicted the effects of first-line immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment and platinum-based chemotherapy in Chinese patients with advanced NSCLC.

Ultra-intense vortex laser generation from a seed laser illuminated axial line-focused spiral zone plate.

Relativistic vortex laser has drawn increasing attention in the laser-plasma community owing to its potential applications in various domains, e.g., generation of energetic charged particles with orbital angular momentum (OAM), high OAM X/γ-ray emission, high harmonics generation, and strong axial magnetic-field production.

Generation of single circularly polarized attosecond pulses from near-critical density plasma irradiated by a two-color co-rotating circularly polarized laser.

In this paper, a new method is proposed to efficiently generate a single intense attosecond pulse with circular polarization (CP) through the interaction of an intense driving laser with a near-critical density plasma target. The driving laser is composed of two co-rotating CP lasers with similar frequencies but different pulse widths. When the matching condition is satisfied, the combined field is modulated to a short intense pulse followed by a weak tail.

Electronic structures of hydroxylated low index surfaces of rutile and anatase-type titanium dioxide.

Different surface planes of various types of titanium dioxide (TiO) crystals have diverse catalysis effects on the splitting of HO and H and the electronic structures of the formed hydroxylated TiO vary significantly. A series of sixteen types of hydroxylated TiO surfaces containing two types of hydroxyls (OH1 and OH2) on four kinds of low index surfaces [(001), (100), (101), and (110)] of two types of crystals [anatase (A) and rutile (R)] are studied using first-principles density functional theory calculations. The catalyzed splitting of HO and H on the eight low index surfaces is compared using Gibbs free energy.

Efficient high-order harmonics generation from overdense plasma irradiated by a two-color co-rotating circularly polarized laser pulse.

High-order harmonics generated from the interaction between a two-color circularly polarized laser and overdense plasma is proposed analytically and investigated numerically. By mixing two circularly polarized lasers rotating in the same direction with different frequencies (ω, 2ω), the laser envelope is modulated to oscillate at the laser fundamental frequency while the peak intensity of each cycle becomes greater than that of the monochromatic light. This feature makes the plasma oscillate more violently and frequently under the striking of the two-color laser than the monochromatic one, thereby generating stronger harmonics and attosecond pulses.

KIF15 Promotes Progression of Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer by Activating EGFR Signaling Pathway.

Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) continues to be a major clinical problem and its underlying mechanisms are still not fully understood. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activation is an important event that regulates mitogenic signaling. EGFR signaling plays an important role in the transition from androgen dependence to castration-resistant state in prostate cancer (PCa).

Titanium Vacancies in TiO Nanofibers Enable Highly Efficient Photodriven Seawater Splitting.

Invited for the cover of this issue are Xiao-Yu Yang and co-workers at Wuhan University of Technology, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, University of the Witwatersrand, and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The image depicts Ti vacancies in TiO as powerful drivers of photo- and photo-electrocatalytic seawater splitting for hydrogen production. Read the full text of the article at 10.

Titanium Vacancies in TiO Nanofibers Enable Highly Efficient Photodriven Seawater Splitting.

Photodriven seawater splitting is considered to be one of the most promising techniques for sustainable hydrogen production. However, the high salinity of seawater would deactivate catalysts and consume the photogenerated carriers. Metal vacancies in metal oxide semiconductors are critical to directed electron transfer and high salinity resistance; they are thus desirable but remain a challenge.

Ultra-brilliant GeV betatronlike radiation from energetic electrons oscillating in frequency-downshifted laser pulses.

Electrons can be accelerated to GeV energies with high collimation via laser wakefield acceleration in the bubble regime and emit bright betatron radiation in a table-top size. However, the radiation brightness is usually limited to the third-generation synchrotron radiation facilities operating at similar photon energies. Using a two-stage plasma configuration, we propose a novel scheme for generating betatronlike radiation with an extremely high brilliance.