Clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 patients with hepatitis B virus super-infection.

COVID-19 and hepatitis B disease are significant global pandemics, both of which can lead to liver damage. This study aims to report the clinical course of liver function and disease prognosis of COVID-19 patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) super-infections. A total of 249 outpatients with COVID-19 were enrolled in this study from December 1, 2023 to February 28, 2024.

The role of manganese in CoMnO catalysts for selective long-chain hydrocarbon production via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.

Cobalt is an efficient catalyst for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) of hydrocarbons from syngas (CO + H) with enhanced selectivity for long-chain hydrocarbons when promoted by Manganese. However, the molecular scale origin of the enhancement remains unclear. Here we present an experimental and theoretical study using model catalysts consisting of crystalline CoMnO nanoparticles and thin films, where Co and Mn are mixed at the sub-nm scale.

HFIP-driven Schmidt-type reaction enables chromone-3-carbonitriles and its applications.

Chromone-3-carbonitrile has been extensively studied in a panel of high-value transformations. However, existing protocols for the synthesis of this scaffold are often constrained by the structure of the starting materials and harsh conditions. To address these issues, we present a novel strategy that HFIP (hexafluoroisopropanol)-driven strategy, enables chromone-3-carbonitriles synthesis without undesirable side reactions.

Mapping of the T Cell Landscape of Biliary Tract Cancer Unravels Anatomical Subtype-Specific Heterogeneity.

Biliary tract cancer (BTC), encompassing diseases such as intrahepatic (ICC), extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ECC), and gallbladder cancer (GBC), is not only on the rise but also poses a significant and urgent health threat due to its high malignancy. Genomic differences point to the possibility that these subtypes represent distinct diseases. Elucidation of the specific distribution of T cell subsets, critical to cancer immunity, across these diseases could provide better insights into the unique biology of BTC subtypes and help identify potential precision medicine strategies.

Balancing the Charge Separation and Surface Reaction Dynamics in Twin-Interface Photocatalysts for Solar-to-Hydrogen Production.

Solar-driven photocatalytic green hydrogen (H) evolution reaction presents a promising route toward solar-to-chemical fuel conversion. However, its efficiency has been hindered by the desynchronization of fast photogenerated charge carriers and slow surface reaction kinetics. This work introduces a paradigm shift in photocatalyst design by focusing on the synchronization of charge transport and surface reactions through the use of twin structures as a unique platform.

Cadmium uptake and transport in vegetables near a zinc-lead mine: Novel insights from Cd isotope fractionation.

In this study, Cd isotope analysis was conducted on drought-tolerant (cowpea and sesame) and less drought-tolerant vegetables (water spinach, green pepper, and mung bean) to elucidate the mechanisms underlying Cd uptake and transport. Cd isotopes in plants were identical to or lighter than those in the available pool and exhibited negative fractionation from roots to straws (ΔCd = -0.22 ‰ to -0.

VEGF loading heparinized hyaluronic acid macroporous hydrogels for enhanced 3D endothelial cell migration and vascularization.

The formation of robust vascular systems within voluminous scaffolds remains a formidable barrier in the realm of tissue engineering. There is a growing interest in the integration of biomaterial scaffolds with multiple physical and chemical stimuli to augment the process of vascularization. This study aims to investigate the combined impact of macroporous structures and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on cell migration and vascularization.

Microprotein-encoding RNA regulation in cells treated with pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic stimuli.

Background: Recent analysis of the human proteome via proteogenomics and ribosome profiling of the transcriptome revealed the existence of thousands of previously unannotated microprotein-coding small open reading frames (smORFs). Most functional microproteins were chosen for characterization because of their evolutionary conservation. However, one example of a non-conserved immunomodulatory microprotein in mice suggests that strict sequence conservation misses some intriguing microproteins.

Injectable hydrogel microsphere-bomb for MRSA-infected chronic osteomyelitis.

Biofilm and bone tissue defect induced by the bacterial infection severely impede chronic osteomyelitis treatment. It is critical to break though the densely and obstinate biofilm so that the target drugs can deliver to the infected bone more effectively. Herein, an acoustically responsive multifunctional hydrogel microsphere-bomb (EMgel) was designed and prepared by microfluidic technology, which could be injected to the focus of bone infection, and blasted into the nidus deeply to destroy the bacterial biofilm matrix barrier under penetrating ultrasound, so the encapsulated natural polyphenolic EGCG and bioactive MoS released to repair the damaged bone.

Identified a novel prognostic model of HCC basing on virus signature for guiding immunotherapy.

Oncolytic viral immunotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses native or genetically modified viruses that selectively replicate and destroy tumor cells. In this study, we aimed to construct a virus-based prognostic model for risk assessment and prognosis prediction in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and determine the most appropriate virus as a candidate vector for oncolytic virus immunotherapy. Microbiome and RNA sequencing data and clinical information were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas, and viruses with prognostic value were identified (Deltabaculovirus, Sicinivirus, and Cytomegalovirus) to construct the prognostic model.

Nonparametric Regression for 3D Point Cloud Learning.

In recent years, there has been an exponentially increased amount of point clouds collected with irregular shapes in various areas. Motivated by the importance of solid modeling for point clouds, we develop a novel and efficient smoothing tool based on multivariate splines over the triangulation to extract the underlying signal and build up a 3D solid model from the point cloud. The proposed method can denoise or deblur the point cloud effectively, provide a multi-resolution reconstruction of the actual signal, and handle sparse and irregularly distributed point clouds to recover the underlying trajectory.

Characterization of exopolysaccharide / starch composite film incorporated with TiO nanoparticles and its application in chilled meat preservation.

Multifunctional food packaging composite films were prepared using Pediococcus acidilactici J1 exopolysaccharide (EPS), potato starch (PS) and TiO nanoparticles by casting method. The microstructure, physicochemical properties and antibacterial activity of EPS/PS composite films with different weight ratio of TiO nanoparticles were characterized. Transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed the uniform distribution of TiO nanoparticles in the EPS/PS matrix.

Neighborhood-Level Nitrogen Dioxide Inequalities Contribute to Surface Ozone Variability in Houston, Texas.

In Houston, Texas, nitrogen dioxide (NO) air pollution disproportionately affects Black, Latinx, and Asian communities, and high ozone (O) days are frequent. There is limited knowledge of how NO inequalities vary in urban air quality contexts, in part from the lack of time-varying neighborhood-level NO measurements. First, we demonstrate that daily TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) NO tropospheric vertical column densities (TVCDs) resolve a major portion of census tract-scale NO inequalities in Houston, comparing NO inequalities based on TROPOMI TVCDs and spatiotemporally coincident airborne remote sensing (250 m × 560 m) from the NASA TRacking Aerosol Convection ExpeRiment-Air Quality (TRACER-AQ).

Asymmetric Dirhodium-Catalyzed Modification of Immunomodulatory Imide Drugs and Their Biological Assessment.

Cereblon (CRBN) has been successfully co-opted to affect the targeted degradation of "undruggable" proteins with immunomodulatory imide drugs (IMiDs). IMiDs act as molecule glues that facilitate ternary complex formation between CRBN and a target protein, leading to ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Subtle structural modifications often cause profound and sometimes unpredictable changes in the degradation selectivity.

Subpopulation dynamics of T and B lymphocytes in Sjögren's syndrome: implications for disease activity and treatment.

Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disorder primarily affecting the body's exocrine glands, particularly the salivary and lacrimal glands, which lead to severe symptoms of dry eyes and mouth. The pathogenesis of SS involves the production of autoantibodies by activated immune cells, and secretion of multiple cytokines, which collectively lead to tissue damage and functional impairment. In SS, the Immune interaction among T and B cells is particularly significant.

Disrupted Human-Dog Interbrain Neural Coupling in Autism-Associated Shank3 Mutant Dogs.

Dogs interact with humans effectively and intimately. However, the neural underpinnings for such interspecies social communication are not understood. It is known that interbrain activity coupling, i.

Natural killer cells: a future star for immunotherapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

The interplay between immune components and the epithelium plays a crucial role in the development and progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Natural killer (NK) cells, one of the main tumor-killing immune cell populations, have received increasing attention in HNSCC immunotherapy. In this review, we explore the mechanism underlying the interplay between NK cells and HNSCC.