Identification of a key peptide cyclase for novel cyclic peptide discovery in Pseudostellaria heterophylla.

Orbitides, also known as Caryophyllaceae-type cyclic peptides, from Traditional Chinese Medicine plant Pseudostellaria heterophylla (Mil.) Pax have great potential for improving memory and treating diabetes. Orbitides are ribosomally encoded and post-translationally modified peptides, but this key biosynthesis enzyme is still unknown in P.

Increased HA/CD44/TGFβ signaling implicates in renal fibrosis of a Col4a5 mutant Alport mice.

X-linked Alport syndrome (XLAS) caused by X-linked COL4A5 gene mutation is a hereditary disease that affects mainly the kidney. XLAS patients, especially males whose single copy of the COL4A5 gene is disrupted, suffer from a life-threatening renal disease, the mechanism of which remains unclear. Renal fibrosis is a characteristic pathology observed in XLAS kidney tissue.

PTH-Net: Dynamic Facial Expression Recognition without Face Detection and Alignment.

Pyramid Temporal Hierarchy Network (PTH-Net) is a new paradigm for dynamic facial expression recognition, applied directly to raw videos, without face detection and alignment. Unlike the traditional paradigm, which focus only on facial areas and often overlooks valuable information like body movements, PTH-Net preserves more critical information. It does this by distinguishing between backgrounds and human bodies at the feature level, offering greater flexibility as an end-to-end network.

Lysine vitcylation is a vitamin C-derived protein modification that enhances STAT1-mediated immune response.

Vitamin C (vitC) is essential for health and shows promise in treating diseases like cancer, yet its mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we report that vitC directly modifies lysine residues to form "vitcyl-lysine"-a process termed vitcylation. Vitcylation occurs in a dose-, pH-, and sequence-dependent manner in both cell-free systems and living cells.

Contact patterns between index patients and their close contacts and assessing risk for COVID-19 transmission during different exposure time windows: a large retrospective observational study of 450 770 close contacts in Shanghai.

Introduction: To characterise age-mixing patterns among index cases and contacts of COVID-19, and explore when patients are most infectious during the disease process.

Methods: This study examined all initial 90 885 confirmed index cases in Shanghai and their 450 770 close contacts. A generalised additive mixed model was used to analyse the associations of the number of close contacts with different demographic and clinical characteristics.

Plant-Derived Nanovesicles as Novel Nanotherapeutics for Alleviating Endothelial Cell Senescence-Associated Vascular Remodeling Induced by Hypertension.

Endothelial cell senescence contributes to vascular remodeling in hypertension, a condition that lacks specific clinical treatments. While plant-derived nanovesicles have shown anti-inflammatory properties that reduce endothelial inflammation, their role in endothelial cell senescence is less understood. Here, we isolated and purified nanovesicles from Semen Sinapis Albae (SDNVs), a traditional Chinese medicine with antihypertensive properties, and evaluated their therapeutic effects on vascular remodeling in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) compared to nifedipine, a standard antihypertensive drug.

Variations in Prevalence and Characteristics of Rotavirus Diarrhea Among Outpatients - Shanghai Municipality, China, 2017-2023.

Introduction: This study investigated temporal changes in rotavirus group A (RVA) prevalence, epidemiological characteristics, and genotype distribution patterns among diarrhea outpatients in Shanghai Municipality, China.

Methods: We conducted prospective active surveillance of diarrheal disease in pediatric and adult outpatients in Shanghai. Stool specimens were analyzed for five viral and twelve bacterial pathogens.

Novel PKD1 Mutation (c.G10086T) Drives High Intracranial Aneurysm Risk in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease.

Background: Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is frequently complicated by intracranial aneurysms (IAs). However, the genetic factors driving the elevated IA risk in ADPKD remain poorly understood. In this study, we identified a novel PKD1 mutation associated with a remarkably high IA incidence in a large Chinese ADPKD family.

Structures of two lyssavirus glycoproteins trapped in pre- and post-fusion states and the implications on the spatial-temporal conformational transition along with pH-decrease.

Lyssavirus glycoprotein plays a crucial role in mediating virus entry and serves as the major target for neutralizing antibodies. During membrane fusion, the lyssavirus glycoprotein undergoes a series of low-pH-induced conformational transitions. Here, we report the structures of Ikoma lyssavirus and Mokola lyssavirus glycoproteins, with which we believe that we have trapped the proteins in pre-fusion and post-fusion states respectively.

Early report on abbreviated brachytherapy schema for cervical cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose: This study evaluated the efficacy and safety of a high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy regimen with an abbreviated schema for patients with cervical cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Material And Methods: Patients underwent external beam radiation therapy combined with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Subsequently, brachytherapy (7 × 4 Gy) was administered for 10 days using an abbreviated schema.

Synthesis of the -Amino Acid Labionin through a Contrasteric Aziridination and Ring-Opening Sequence.

The non-proteinogenic -amino acid labionin was discovered in 2010 and since has been described in many natural products, defining an entire family of lanthipeptides. The unusual amino acid is biosynthetically produced by the sequential condensation of a cysteine onto two dehydroalanines. An attempt in 2011 to synthesize the amino acid monomeric unit was unsuccessful yet served as a valuable foundation and guide to the present work.

Integrative Bioinformatics Analysis of Pyroptosis-Related Genes and Analysis of Immune Cell Infiltration in Infantile Hemangioma Regression.

Background: Infantile hemangiomas (IHs) are characterized by spontaneous regression, and their pathogenesis involves immune cell infiltration and programmed cell death. The molecular pathways and mechanisms involved in pyroptosis in IHs are still unclear. This study aimed to identify genes related to pyroptosis in IH regression by bioinformatics methods and to explore the effects of these pyroptosis-related genes (PRGs) on disease pathology and immune cell infiltration.

Highly Reversible Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries via Multifunctional Hydrogen-Bond-Rich Dulcitol at Lower Temperature.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) are considered one of the most promising next-generation energy storage devices due to cost-effectiveness and high safety. However, the uncontrolled dendrite growth and the intolerance against low temperatures hinder the application of AZIBs. Herein, hydrogen-bonding-rich dulcitol (DOL) is introduced into the ZnSO, which reshaped the hydrogen-bond network in the electrolyte and optimized the solvation sheath structure, effectively reducing the amount of active water molecules and inhibiting hydrogen evolution and the parasitic reaction at the zinc anode.

RMRP variants inhibit the cell cycle checkpoints pathway in cartilage‑hair hypoplasia.

Cartilage‑hair hypoplasia (CHH) is an autosomal recessive form of metaphyseal chondrodysplasia caused by RNA component of mitochondrial RNA processing endoribonuclease (RMRP) gene variants; however, its molecular etiology remains unclear. Whole‑exome sequencing was performed to detect possible pathogenic variants in a patient with a typical short stature and sparse hair. A co‑segregation analysis was also conducted and variants in the family members of the patient were confirmed by Sanger sequencing.

A Microfluidic Biosensor for Quantitative Detection of in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Microbial contamination is an important factor threatening the safety of Chinese medicine preparations, and microfluidic detection methods have demonstrated excellent advantages in the application of rapid bacterial detection. In our study, a novel optical biosensor was developed for the rapid and sensitive detection of in traditional Chinese medicine on a microfluidic chip. Immune gold@platinum nanocatalysts (Au@PtNCs) were utilized for specific bacterial labeling, while magnetic nano-beads (MNBs) with a novel high-gradient magnetic field were employed for the specific capture of bacteria.

Rotavirus vaccine effectiveness and coverage among children younger than 5 years old in Shanghai, China: A test-negative case control study.

Objectives: The number of post-marketing studies assessing the vaccine effectiveness (VE) of the Lanzhou lamb rotavirus vaccine (LLR, licensed in 2000 exclusively in China) and the oral human attenuated pentavalent rotavirus vaccine (RotaTeq, licensed in China in 2018) in China is limited.

Methods: A test-negative case-control study based on prospective surveillance was conducted among diarrhea patients aged 5 years and younger at five hospitals in Shanghai, China. Cases and controls were defined based on the results of real-time fluorescent quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) of fecal samples for rotavirus.

Integrative analysis disclosing UQCRC1 as a potential prognostic and immunological biomarker of lung adenocarcinoma.

Lung cancer is one of the most malignant cancers in the world. Approximately 40 % of lung cancer cases are lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Exploring new biomarkers was an urgent need for treatments of LUAD.

[Two new α-carbonylamides from Corydalis Rhizoma].

Corydalis Rhizoma is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) for regulating Qi and relieving pain in clinical practice, with remarkable efficacy. However, its pharmacodynamic substances are not yet fully understood and require further research. In this study, 24 compounds were isolated and identified from the aqueous extracts of vinegar-processed Corydalis Rhizoma using techniques such as macroporous adsorption resin column chromatography, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, and semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography.

A randomized controlled trial investigating the impact of early goal-directed sedation dominated by dexmedetomidine on cerebral oxygen metabolism and inflammatory mediators in patients with severe brain injury.

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the neuroprotective efficacy of early goal-directed sedation (EGDS) primarily governed by dexmedetomidine in patients experiencing severe traumatic brain injury, and to elucidate its potential underlying mechanisms.

Data And Methods: All participants were randomly allocated into two groups: the experimental group-dexmedetomidine-dominated EGDS group (group D, n = 30) and the control group-the standard propofol sedation group (group P, n = 30). Patients in the experimental group received sedation primarily with dexmedetomidine, while those in the control group received propofol sedation.

Salvianolic acid B alleviated myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury via modulating SIRT3-mediated crosstalk between mitochondrial ROS and NLRP3.

Background: Mitochondrial ROS (mtROS) accumulation and NLRP3 inflammasome activation are critical in the pathogenesis of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI). However, their upstream regulatory mechanisms and interaction remain inadequately understood.

Purpose: The study aims to investigate the therapeutic effect of Salvianolic acid B (Sal B) on MIRI and elucidate its potential molecular mechanism, mainly focusing on the role of SIRT3.

LncRNA AP001007 protects human renal tubular epithelial HK-2 cells and kidney organoids from LPS-induced injury.

The regulation of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of sepsis-induced acute kidney injury (SI-AKI). Nevertheless, the specific roles of individual lncRNAs in this process remain unclear. This study investigated the expression of lncRNA AP001007 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced HK-2 cells and in the peripheral blood of sepsis patients.

Pathogen spectrum and microbiome in lower respiratory tract of patients with different pulmonary diseases based on metagenomic next-generation sequencing.

Introduction: The homeostasis of the microbiome in lower respiratory tract is crucial in sustaining normal physiological functions of the lung. Different pulmonary diseases display varying degrees of microbiome imbalance; however, the specific variability and clinical significance of their microbiomes remain largely unexplored.

Methods: In this study, we delineated the pathogen spectrum and commensal microorganisms in the lower respiratory tract of various pulmonary diseases using metagenomic sequencing.