Chemical dissection of selective myeloid leukemia-1 inhibitors: How they were found and evolved.

Myeloid cell leukemia-1 (MCL-1), a key anti-apoptotic protein within the BCL-2 family, is essential in regulating cell survival, particularly in cancer, where its overexpression is often linked to therapeutic resistance. This review begins with an overview of BCL-2-mediated apoptosis, highlighting the pivotal role of MCL-1 in cellular homeostasis. We then focus on the structure and function of MCL-1, elucidating how its unique structural features contribute to its function and interaction with pro-apoptotic proteins.

Causal association of inflammatory bowel disease with sarcoidosis and the mediating role of primary biliary cholangitis.

Objectives: Previous observational epidemiological studies have identified a potential association between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and sarcoidosis. Nonetheless, the precise biological mechanisms underlying this association remain unclear. Therefore, we adopted a Mendelian randomization (MR) approach to investigate the causal relationship between IBD with genetic susceptibility to sarcoidosis, as well as to explore the potential mediating role.

β-arrestin1 protects intestinal tight junction through promoting mitofusin 2 transcription to drive parkin-dependent mitophagy in colitis.

Background: Intestinal barrier defect is an essential inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) pathogenesis. Mitochondrial dysfunction results in energy deficiency and oxidative stress, which contribute to the pathogenesis of IBD. β-arrestin1 (ARRB1) is a negative regulator that promotes G protein-coupled receptors desensitization, endocytosis, and degradation.

Evaluation of Factors Influencing Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction in Patients After Cranial Tumor Surgery.

Background: The authors retrospectively analyzed the perioperative data of 81 patients who underwent cranial tumor surgery to explore the factors influencing POCD in patients after the surgery.

Methods: The authors evaluated preoperative cognitive dysfunction using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score measured. For patients whose cognitive function was normal, the authors retrieved the MMSE score on the seventh day after surgery and compared it to determine whether the patients had POCD.

Casual associations of thyroid function with inflammatory bowel disease and the mediating role of cytokines.

Background: Previous observational epidemiological studies have suggested a potential association between thyroid function and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, the findings remain inconclusive, and whether this association is causal remains uncertain. The objective of this study is to investigate the causal association between thyroid function and IBD.

Insight into the role of chitosan in rapid recovery and re-stabilization of disintegrated aerobic granular sludge.

The disintegration and instability of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) systems during long-term operation pose significant challenges to its practical implementation, and rapid recovery strategies for disintegrated AGS are gaining more attention. In this study, the recovery and re-stabilization of disintegrated AGS was investigated by adding chitosan to a sequencing batch reactor and simultaneously adjusting the pH to slightly acidic condition. Within 7 days, chitosan addition under slight acidity led to the re-aggregation of disintegrated granules, increasing the average particle size from 166.

Acute muscle wasting rate assessment and long-term mortality in critically ill trauma.

Background And Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between acute muscle wasting rate and long-term mortality in critically ill trauma.

Methods And Study Design: A single-center, retrospective study was conducted in critically ill trauma. Patients with Computed Tomography scans including the L3 vertebra within 24 hours and at 1 week after trauma were recruited.

Manipulation of Spin-Orbit Torque in Tungsten Oxide/Manganite Heterostructure by Ionic Liquid Gating and Orbit Engineering.

Spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is the interaction between electron's spin and orbital motion, which could realize a charge-to-spin current conversion and enable an innovative method to switch the magnetization by spin-orbit torque (SOT). Varied techniques have been developed to manipulate and improve the SOT, but the role of the orbit degree of freedom, which should have a crucial bearing on the SOC and SOT, is still confusing. Here, we find that the charge-to-spin current conversion and SOT in WO/(La, Sr)MnO could be produced or eliminated by ionic liquid gating.

Electrical Control of Spin Hall Efficiency and Field-Free Magnetization Switching in W/Pt/Co/Pt Heterostructures with Competing Spin Currents.

Reversal of magnetization via current-induced spin-orbit torque (SOT) is one of the core issues in spintronics. However, an in-plane assistant field is usually required for the deterministic switching of a perpendicularly magnetized system. Additionally, the efficiency of SOT is low, which is detrimental to device applications.

Berberine alleviates liver fibrosis through inducing ferrous redox to activate ROS-mediated hepatic stellate cells ferroptosis.

Berberine (BBR) has been explored as a potential anti-liver fibrosis agent, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the effect of BBR against liver fibrogenesis in thioacetamide (TAA) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl) induced mouse liver fibrosis. In addition to i.

Rapid start-up of an aerobic granular sludge system for nitrogen and phosphorus removal through seeding chitosan-based sludge aggregates.

This study presents a novel strategy to accelerate the start-up of aerobic granular sludge (AGS) system and ensure the nutrient removal during cultivation. This new method consists of preparing the chitosan-based sludge aggregates outside the reactor and then seeding the reactor with such sludge aggregates. To prepare chitosan-based sludge aggregates, chitosan was dissolved in acetic acid solution acting as a cationic flocculant to bind negatively charged sludge together, and then the dissolved chitosan was in situ precipitated by readjusting pH to form stable sludge aggregates.

Rapid control of activated sludge bulking and simultaneous acceleration of aerobic granulation by adding intact aerobic granular sludge.

The feasibility of rapidly controlling activated sludge bulking and accelerating aerobic sludge granulation was evaluated by adding intact aerobic granular sludge (AGS) to the bulking activated sludge (BAS) reactor. Two ratios of AGS to BAS (0.2 in the first reactor (R1), and 0.

Cultivating aerobic granular sludge in a developed continuous-flow reactor with two-zone sedimentation tank treating real and low-strength wastewater.

A continuous-flow reactor with two-zone sedimentation tank (CFR-TST) was developed to evaluate the formation of aerobic granular sludge (AGS). Micropowder made of excess sludge was added for a while in the CFR-TST, and selection pressure associated with settling time was created by the two-zone sedimentation tank. To avoid AGS disintegration, an airlift system for sludge return was used.

Optimization of methane-dependent oxygenic denitrification in sequencing batch reactors by insights into the microbial interactions.

Methane-dependent oxygenic denitrification (O2DN) is a promising technology used for reducing greenhouse gas emissions of nitrous oxide (NO) during wastewater treatment. Heterotrophic bacteria are associated with methane-dependent O2DN bacteria, and it has been proposed that metabolic cross-feeding occurs between the two populations above. In this study, a mathematical model was developed to describe the microbial processes and interactions between methane-dependent O2DN bacteria and associated heterotrophic bacteria in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR).

Synthesis of cationic branched tea polysaccharide derivatives for targeted delivery of siRNA to hepatocytes.

The cationic branched tea polysaccharide (CTPSA) derivative bearing N-acylurea and 3-(dimethylamino)-1-propylamine residues was synthesized and characterized using FTIR and H NMR spectroscopy. A nonspecific siRNA (NsiRNA) was used as a model molecule of functional siRNA that could downregulate over-expressed glycometabolism enzymes in the liver. The result from the agarose gel electrophoresis confirmed that the CTPSA and NsiRNA could form stable complexes when their weight ratio was larger than 18.

Nitrifying aerobic granular sludge fermentation for releases of carbon source and phosphorus: The role of fermentation pH.

The effect of fermentation pH (uncontrolled, 4 and 10) on the releases of carbon source and phosphorus from nitrifying aerobic granular sludge (N-AGS) was investigated. Meanwhile, metal ion concentration and microbial community characterization were explored during N-AGS fermentation. The results indicated that N-AGS fermentation at pH 10 significantly promoted the releases of soluble chemical oxygen demand (SCOD) and total volatile fatty acids (TVFAs).

Oxygenic denitrification for nitrogen removal with less greenhouse gas emissions: Microbiology and potential applications.

Nitrogen pollution is a worldwide problem and has been extensively treated by canonical denitrification (CDN) process. However, the CDN process generates several issues such as intensive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the past years, a novel biological nitrogen removal (BNR) process of oxygenic denitrification (O2DN) has been proposed as a promising alternative to the CDN process.

Folic acid-functionalized polyethylenimine superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as theranostic agents for magnetic resonance imaging and PD-L1 siRNA delivery for gastric cancer.

Programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1), which is highly expressed in gastric cancers, interacts with programmed death-1 (PD-1) on T cells and is involved in T-cell immune resistance. To increase the therapeutic safety and accuracy of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade, RNA interference through targeted gene delivery was performed in our study. We developed folic acid (FA)- and disulfide (SS)-polyethylene glycol (PEG)-conjugated polyethylenimine (PEI) complexed with superparamagnetic iron oxide FeO nanoparticles (SPIONs) as a siRNA-delivery system for PD-L1 knockdown.

Immunosuppressive Agents for the Treatment of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objectives: Currently, there are no effective therapeutic agents for patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficiency of immunosuppressive agents (IAs) for the treatment of PSC.

Methods: The literatures were searched using the following keywords singly or in combination: PSC, treatments, IAs.

Interactions between α-amylase and an acidic branched polysaccharide from green tea.

To understand the mechanism responsible for the α-amylase inhibitory activity of tea polysaccharides, the interaction between α-amylase and an acidic branched tea polysaccharide (TPSA) was investigated using fluorescence spectroscopy and resonance light scattering analysis. TPSA, exhibiting inhibitory activity towards α-amylase (the maximum inhibition percentage of 65%), was isolated from green tea (Camellia sinensis) and characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, and gas chromatography. Synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy revealed that the binding interaction between the tryptophan residues of α-amylase and TPSA was predominant.

Anaerobic biodegradation of soybean biodiesel and diesel blends under sulfate-reducing conditions.

Biotransformation of soybean biodiesel and its biodiesel/petrodiesel blends were investigated under sulfate-reducing conditions. Three blends of biodiesel, B100, B50, and B0, were treated using microbial cultures pre-acclimated to B100 (biodiesel only) and B80 (80% biodiesel and 20% petrodiesel). Results indicate that the biodiesel could be effectively biodegraded in the presence or absence of petrodiesel, whereas petrodiesel could not be biodegraded at all under sulfate-reducing conditions.

Anaerobic biodegradation of soybean biodiesel and diesel blends under methanogenic conditions.

Biotransformation of soybean biodiesel and the inhibitory effect of petrodiesel were studied under methanogenic conditions. Biodiesel removal efficiency of more than 95% was achieved in a chemostat with influent biodiesel concentrations up to 2.45 g/L.

Aerobic biodegradation kinetics and mineralization of six petrodiesel/soybean-biodiesel blends.

The aerobic biodegradation kinetics and mineralization of six petrodiesel/soybean-biodiesel blends (B0, B20, B40, B60, B80, and B100), where B100 is 100% biodiesel, were investigated by acclimated cultures. The fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) of biodiesel were found to undergo rapid abiotic transformation in all experiments. The C10-C21 n-alkanes of petrodiesel were metabolized at significantly higher microbial utilization rates in the presence of biodiesel.

Microtox aquatic toxicity of petrodiesel and biodiesel blends: the role of biodiesel's autoxidation products.

The acute Microtox toxicity of the water accommodated fraction (WAF) of six commercial soybean biodiesel/petrodiesel blends was investigated at different oil loads. We analyzed five fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), C10-C24 n-alkanes, four aromatics, methanol, and total organic carbon (TOC) content. At high oil loads, the WAFs' toxicity was significantly higher for blends containing biodiesel.