Optimization and application of renal depth measurement method in the cadmium-zinc-telluride‑based SPECT/CT renal dynamic imaging.

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the accuracy of four kidney depth measurement methods-nuclear medicine tomography, nuclear medicine lateral scanning, ultrasound, and Tonnesen's formula-based estimation-using CT measurements as the reference standard. Additionally, it investigates the feasibility of utilizing nuclear medicine tomography and lateral scanning for measuring kidney depth in Tc-DTPA renal dynamic imaging.

Methods: Hollow kidney phantoms mimicking the shape and volume of adult kidneys were 3D printed and filled with TcO solution.

The association between per-/polyfluoroalkyl substances in serum and thyroid function parameters: A cross-sectional study on teenagers living near a Chinese fluorochemical industrial plant.

Thyroid hormones (THs) play an important role in a wide range of crucial biological functions related to growth and development, and thyroid antibodies (TAs) can influence the biosynthesis of THs. Epidemiological studies have indicated that per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) could induce thyroid disruption, but studies on teenagers living in areas with high PFAS exposure are limited. This cross-sectional study focused on 836 teenagers (11- 15 years) living near a Chinese fluorochemical industrial plant.

Identification of biomarkers co-associated with M1 macrophages, ferroptosis and cuproptosis in alcoholic hepatitis by bioinformatics and experimental verification.

Backgrounds: Alcoholic hepatitis (AH) is a major health problem worldwide. There is increasing evidence that immune cells, iron metabolism and copper metabolism play important roles in the development of AH. We aimed to explore biomarkers that are co-associated with M1 macrophages, ferroptosis and cuproptosis in AH patients.

Engineering a HEK-293T exosome-based delivery platform for efficient tumor-targeting chemotherapy/internal irradiation combination therapy.

Exosomes are nanoscale monolayer membrane vesicles that are actively endogenously secreted by mammalian cells. Currently, multifunctional exosomes with tumor-targeted imaging and therapeutic potential have aroused widespread interest in cancer research. Herein, we developed a multifunctional HEK-293T exosome-based targeted delivery platform by engineering HEK-293T cells to express a well-characterized exosomal membrane protein (Lamp2b) fused to the αv integrin-specific iRGD peptide and tyrosine fragments.

Serum concentrations of per-/polyfluoroalkyl substances and its association with renal function parameters among teenagers near a Chinese fluorochemical industrial plant: A cross-sectional study.

Currently, studies on the association between per-/polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) concentrations and the renal function of residents, especially teenagers, living near fluorochemical industrial plants, are relatively rare, and not all these studies suggested associations. In this cross-sectional study, 775 local teenagers (11-15 years old) were included, and serum concentrations of 18 PFAS were measured. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was found to be the dominant PFAS with a concentration of 22.

Downregulation of miR-146b-3p Inhibits Proliferation and Migration and Modulates the Expression and Location of Sodium/Iodide Symporter in Dedifferentiated Thyroid Cancer by Potentially Targeting MUC20.

The dedifferentiation of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is a challenging problem for radioactive iodine (I) treatment, also known as radioiodine refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (RAIR-DTC). The purpose of this study was to further explore the mechanism of the redifferentiation of dedifferentiated thyroid cancer. Ineffective and effective groups of I therapy were analyzed and compared in both our clinical and TCGA samples.

Alpinetin delays high-fat diet-aggravated lung carcinogenesis.

Alpinetin (ALP) has been reported to act as an anticancer agent. This study was carried out to elucidate the effect of ALP on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced aggressive cancer progression. C57BL/6 mice were fed with a control diet (CD) or HFD and administered with ALP.

Concentration, spatial distribution, and health risk assessment of PFASs in serum of teenagers, tap water and soil near a Chinese fluorochemical industrial plant.

Discharges released from fluorochemical industrial plants lead to severe contamination of the environment with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), which may pose risks to human health. In this study, 187 serum samples from teenagers (age = 14 years), 22 tap water samples and 40 soil samples were collected in areas within 0-11 km of a fluorochemical industrial plant in Huantai County, Shandong Province, and concentrations of 18 PFASs were quantified by UPLC-MS/MS. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was found to be predominant, concentrations of which ranged from 40.

Feasibility of Replacing the Range Doppler Equation of Spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar Considering Atmospheric Propagation Delay with a Rational Polynomial Coefficient Model.

Usually, the rational polynomial coefficient (RPC) model of spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is fitted by the original range Doppler (RD) model. However, the radar signal is affected by two-way atmospheric delay, which causes measurement error in the slant range term of the RD model. In this paper, two atmospheric delay correction methods are proposed for use in terrain-independent RPC fitting: single-scene SAR imaging with a unique atmospheric delay correction parameter (plan 1) and single-scene SAR imaging with spatially varying atmospheric delay correction parameters (plan 2).

Cardamonin attenuates chronic inflammation and tumorigenesis in colon.

Cardamonin (CAD) is a member of the aromatic ketones family that is closely related to anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects. Nevertheless, the physiological function of cardamonin in chronic colitis and colon cancer has not been well verified. We found that cardamonin treatment alleviates intestinal disease, including recurring colitis and colitis-associated tumorigenesis, along with the reduced secretion of IL-1β and TNF-α.

S100A4 promotes inflammation but suppresses lipid accumulation via the STAT3 pathway in chronic ethanol-induced fatty liver.

S100A4, a member of the S100 calcium-binding protein family, has been identified in a subpopulation of liver macrophages and promotes liver fibrosis via hepatic stellate cell activation. However, the specific role of S100A4 in alcoholic liver disease (ALD) has not been well investigated. Here, S100A4 knockout (S100A4) mice were used in a chronic-binge ethanol model for studying the role of S100A4 and its related molecular mechanism in ALD.

S100A4 promotes colon inflammation and colitis-associated colon tumorigenesis.

S100A4 plays important roles in tumor development and metastasis, but its role in regulating inflammation and colitis-associated tumorigenesis has not been well characterized. Here, we report that S100A4 expression was increased in azoxymethane (AOM) and dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) induced colorectal cancer (CRC) in mice. After AOM/DSS treatment, both S100A4-TK mice with the selective depletion of S100A4-expressing cells and S100A4-deficient (S100A4) mice developed fewer and smaller tumors than wild-type (WT) control littermates.

Combination of positron emission tomography/computed tomography and chest thin-layer high-resolution computed tomography for evaluation of pulmonary nodules: Correlation with imaging features, maximum standardized uptake value, and pathology.

This study aimed to analyze the imaging findings of F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-FDG PET/CT) and chest thin-layer high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), correlate the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), and the pathological type of benign or malignant pulmonary nodules (PNs), and assess the diagnostic accuracy in differentiating malignant from benign PNs.A retrospective review of F-FDG PET/CT scans from 88 patients with PNs confirmed by pathology or clinical follow-up were included. They both accepted PET/CT and HRCT scan conventional.

Computational Design of Antiangiogenic Peptibody by Fusing Human IgG1 Fc Fragment and HRH Peptide: Structural Modeling, Energetic Analysis, and Dynamics Simulation of Its Binding Potency to VEGF Receptor.

Peptibodies represent a new class of biological therapeutics with combination of peptide activity and antibody-like properties. Previously, we discovered a novel peptide HRH that exhibited a dose-dependent angiogenesis-suppressing effect by targeting vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFRs). Here, we computationally designed an antiangiogenic peptibody, termed as PbHRH, by fusing the HRH peptide to human IgG1 Fc fragment using the first approved peptibody drug Romiplostim as template.

S100A4 protects mice from high-fat diet-induced obesity and inflammation.

As a member from S100 calcium-binding protein family, S100A4 is ubiquitous and elevated in tumor progression and metastasis, but its role in regulating obesity has not been well characterized. In this study, we showed that S100A4 was mainly expressed by stromal cells in adipose tissue and the S100A4 level in adipose tissue was decreased after high-fat diet (HFD). S100A4 deficient mice exhibited aggravated symptoms of obesity and suppressed insulin signaling after 12 weeks of HFD.

Effect of alkylglycerone phosphate synthase on the expression profile of circRNAs in the human thyroid cancer cell line FRO.

Thyroid cancer is a common primary tumor in China. Therefore, it is important to investigate the underlying molecular mechanism of thyroid cancer in order to achieve effective individualized treatments. In our previous study, a positive correlation between the expression of alkylglycerone phosphate synthase (AGPS) and the malignant phenotype of thyroid cancer cell lines was identified.

S100A4 promotes lung tumor development through β-catenin pathway-mediated autophagy inhibition.

Autophagy has emerged as a critical pathway in tumor development. S100A4 plays important roles in tumor metastasis, but its role in regulating autophagy has not been well characterized. In this study, we found that S100A4 was significantly upregulated in lung adenocarcinoma tissues.

S100A4 contributes to colitis development by increasing the adherence of Citrobacter rodentium in intestinal epithelial cells.

S100A4 has been implicated in cancer and several inflammatory diseases, but its role in inflammatory bowel disease has not been well investigated. Here, upon infection with Citrobacter rodentium, a model for enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection in humans, induced the infiltration of a large number of S100A4 cells into the colon in wild type (WT) mice. Deficiency of S100A4 reduced weight loss, bacterial colonization and colonic pathology.

Disrupting the intramolecular interaction between proto-oncogene c-Src SH3 domain and its self-binding peptide PPII with rationally designed peptide ligands.

Proto-oncogene non-receptor tyrosine protein kinase c-Src has been involved in the development, progression and metastasis of a variety of human cancers. This protein contains two self-binding peptide (SBP) sites separately between the SH3 domain and polyproline-II (PPII) helix and between the SH2 domain and C-terminal phosphorylatable tail (CTPT), which are potential targets of anticancer drugs to regulate the kinase activity. Here, we described an integrated protocol to systematically investigate the structural basis, energetic property and dynamics behaviour of PPII binding to SH3, and to rationally design potent peptide ligands to target the SBP site of SH3-PPII interaction.

Case report: multiple systemic disseminated tuberculosis mimicking lymphoma on 18F-FDG PET/CT.

Rationale: F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (F-18 FDG PET/CT) has an important role in the diagnosis of various malignancies. However, F-18 FDG can also exhibit intense accumulation in tissues in inflammatory conditions such as active tuberculosis (TB) and sarcoidosis.

Patient Concerns: We report a case of a 52-year-old female with irritable cough.

Targeting Self-Binding Peptides as a Novel Strategy To Regulate Protein Activity and Function: A Case Study on the Proto-oncogene Tyrosine Protein Kinase c-Src.

Unlabelled: Previously, we have reported a new biomolecular phenomenon spanning between protein folding and binding, termed as self-binding peptides (SBPs), where a short peptide segment in monomeric protein functions as a molecular switch by dynamically binding to/unbinding from its cognate domain in the monomer (Yang et al. J. Chem.

A two-step binding mechanism for the self-binding peptide recognition of target domains.

Self-binding peptides (SBPs) represent a novel biomolecular phenomenon spanning between folding and binding, where a short peptide segment within a monomeric protein fulfills biological functions by dynamically binding to/unbinding from its target domain in the same monomer. Here, we were able to quantitatively reconstruct the complete structural dynamics picture of binding of free SBPs to their target domains for five representative SBP systems by carrying out the state-of-the-art molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. In the picture, a two-step binding mechanism for SBP-domain recognition and association was proposed, which includes a fast, nonspecific diffusive phase and a slow, specific organizational phase.

[Construction and application of plasmid pVAX-HBVE harboring hepatitis B surface antibody targeted interferon and interleukin 12 genes].

Objective: To construct a new gene therapy plasmid that can express both hepatitis B surface antibody(HBsAb) targeted interferon (dsFvα) and human interleukin 12 (hIL-12) genes for the immunotherapy of chronic hepatitis B.

Methods: The pEE14.1-dsFvα plasmid was digested to obtain dsFvα fragment, and then the fragment was cloned into the upstream of IRES sequence in vector pVAX-IRES-hIL-12 digested by the same enzyme to construct the recombinant expression plasmid pVAX-HBVE.

[Model of regularity of ammonia transformation along marine biological aerated filter].

This study investigates the biological aerated filter (BAF) of a marine recirculating aquaculture system, which is important to remove harmful ammonia and organics. A model, characterizing the ammonia transformation along the BAF, was established on the basis of the principle of adsorption and the first order reaction bio-film. Experiments were performed and verified the effectiveness of the proposed model.