Serologic diagnosis of Entamoeba histolytica infection based on the gradient-based digital immunoassay.

Background: Entamoeba histolytica is a parasite that could cause severe amebiasis, an extremely contagious parasitic disease with critical clinical symptoms. Timely diagnosis and treatment of E. histolytica are crucial for preventing complications and fatalities.

Liquid nitrogen quenching for efficient Bifunctional electrocatalysts in water Splitting: Achieving four key objectives in one step.

Herein, a novel liquid nitrogen quenching treatment is proposed to achieve multifaceted modulation involving morphological modulation, lattice tensile strain modulation, metal active centre coordination reconstruction and grain boundary construction within a series of intermetallic compounds modified on a carbon substrate (CoFe-550/C, CoNi-550/C and FeNi-550/C, where 550 refers to liquid nitrogen quenching temperature and C refers to the carbon substrate). Noteworthily, the optimising intermediate absorption/desorption process is achieved by multifaceted modulation. Consequently, CoFe-550/C, CoNi-550/C and FeNi-550/C demonstrate considerable overpotential for hydrogen evolution reaction (59.

β-caryophyllene sensitizes hepatocellular carcinoma cells to chemotherapeutics and inhibits cell malignancy through targeting MAPK signaling pathway.

Background: β-caryophyllene (BCP) is a naturally occurring bicyclic sesquiterpene extracted from various plants, and widely used as a medicinal agent for various diseases. During hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) development, cancer cells generally exhibit increased cell proliferation due to mutations or aberrant expression of key regulatory genes. The current study determines the cytotoxic effects of BCP alone or in combination with doxorubicin (DOX) and cisplatin (DDP) on HCC cells, and elucidates the underlying mechanism of BCP to exert its anticancer activities.

Genome-wide association study reveals the advantaged genes regulating rice grain shape traits in northern China.

Background: Rice, a staple food for over half of the global population, exhibits significant diversity in grain shape characteristics, which impact not only appearance and milling quality but also grain weight and yield. Identifying genes and loci underlying these traits is crucial for improving rice breeding programs. Previous studies have identified multiple quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and genes regulating grain length, width, and length-width ratio; however, further investigation is necessary to elucidate their regulatory pathways and their practical application in crop improvement.

CRISPR-Cas12a2-based rapid and sensitive detection system for target nucleic acid.

Infectious diseases are extremely important public health issues, where the design of effective, rapid, and convenient detection platforms is critical. In this study, we coupled SuCas12a2, a novel Cas12 family RNA-targeting nuclease, with conventional PCR and recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA), respectively, to develop novel detection approaches, named PCR-SuCas12a2 and RPA-SuCas12a2. SuCas12a2 possesses collateral cleavage activity and cuts the additional single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) added to the reaction system once the ternary complex RNA-SuCas12a2-CRISPR RNA (crRNA) is formed.

A digestive system microphysiological platform for assessment of internal-exposure risks and metabolic disease mechanisms induced by multi-size nano-plastics.

Nano-plastics (NPs) are emerging hazardous environmental contaminants that pose health risks with size-dependent toxic effects and are potential risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and lipid metabolism disorders including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, their underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. To shed more light on the causes of these risks, we developed a digestive system microphysiological platform (DS-MPP) for simulating dynamic internal-exposure of multi-size NPs in the gastrointestinal tract and liver.

Gardenoside attenuates -induced mastitis by inhibiting inflammation and ferroptosis through Nrf2/SLC7A11/GPX4 signaling pathway.

Unlabelled: The occurrence of mastitis is mainly due to the infection of mammary tissue by pathogens, which causes the inflammation of mammary tissue. Gardenoside (GAD), an iridoid active ingredient extracted from , has been revealed to exhibit anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative roles. However, the therapeutic effect of GAD on mastitis remains unclear.

Blockade of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 ameliorates metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and fibrosis.

11β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) is a key enzyme involved in the conversion of cortisone to active cortisol in the liver. Elevated cortisol levels can trigger oxidative stress, inflammation, and hepatocyte damage, highlighting the importance of 11β-HSD1 inhibition as a potential therapeutic approach. This study aimed to explore the effects of INU-101, an inhibitor of 11β-HSD1, on the development of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and fibrosis.

Association of depression with longitudinal changes in brain structure across the lifespan: A mendelian randomization study.

Understanding the impact of depression on brain aging benefits the prognosis of this disease and of the risk that other age-related brain disorders will develop in the same population. The aim of the present study was to explore the genetic effect of depression on longitudinal changes in brain structure throughout the lifespan using a Mendelian randomization approach. Summary data from a genome-wide association study of 195,321 to 377,277 participants in the FinnGen consortium were used to predict depression, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and antidepressant use genetically.

Jolkinolide B Ameliorates Liver Inflammation and Lipogenesis by Regulating JAK/STAT3 Pathway.

Hepatic dysregulation of lipid metabolism exacerbates inflammation and enhances the progression of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). STAT3 has been linked to lipid metabolism and inflammation. Jolkinolide B (JB), derived from , is known for its pharmacological anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties.

Pathological Involvement of Protein Phase Separation and Aggregation in Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases are the leading cause of human disability and immensely reduce patients' life span and quality. The diseases are characterized by the functional loss of neuronal cells and share several common pathogenic mechanisms involving the malfunction, structural distortion, or aggregation of multiple key regulatory proteins. Cellular phase separation is the formation of biomolecular condensates that regulate numerous biological processes, including neuronal development and synaptic signaling transduction.

CHAMP: A Centrifugal Microfluidics-Based CRISPR/Cas12b-Combined Real-Time LAMP One-Pot Method for Infection Diagnosis.

The outbreak poses health risks to community residents. However, it still has limitations for current clinical diagnostic methods (qPCR nucleic acid assay or IgM immunoassay), including specialized handling, expensive equipment, prolonged turnaround time, and false positives and negatives, highlighting the need to improve clinical diagnostic methods. Herein, we present a novel centrifugal microfluidics-based method for rapidly diagnosing infections (CHAMP system).

Quantitative and qualitative analysis of contrast-enhanced ultrasound for differentiating benign and malignant superficial enlarged lymph nodes.

Background: In many clinical situations, it is critical to exclude or identify abnormally lymph nodes (LNs). The nature of superficial abnormally LNs is closely related to the stage, treatment, and prognosis of the disease. Ultrasound (US) is an important method for examining superficial LNs due to its cheap and safe characteristics.

Oxygen Vacancy Engineering and Constructing Built-In Electric Field in Fe-g-CN/BiMoO Z-Scheme Heterojunction for Boosting Photo-Fenton Catalytic Degradation Performance of Tetracycline.

A novel Fe-g-CN/BiMoO (FCNB) Z-scheme heterojunction enriched with oxygen vacancy is constructed and employed for the photo-Fenton degradation of tetracycline (TC). The 2% FCNB demonstrates prominent catalytic performance and mineralization efficiency for TC wastewater, showing activity of 8.20 times greater than that of pure photocatalytic technology.

Association between daily circulatory emergency ambulance dispatches and short-term PM exposure in a heavily polluted area.

Emergency ambulance dispatches (EAD) have been proven to be associated with ambient particulate matter with diameter < 2.5 μm (PM) concentration, but the associations of circulatory EAD remained inconclusive, especially in heavily polluted areas. In this time series conducted in Shenyang City, Northeastern China, we explored the associations between circulatory EAD and ambient PM and its constituents.

Korean Red Ginseng Improves Oxidative Stress-Induced Hepatic Insulin Resistance via Enhancing Mitophagy.

This study explored the potential of saponins from Korean Red Ginseng to target the PINK1/Parkin mitophagy pathway, aiming to enhance insulin sensitivity in hepatocytes-a key factor in metabolic disorders like metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and type 2 diabetes. Results from both in vitro and in vivo experiments showed increased expression of PINK1 and Parkin, activating mitophagy and reducing oxidative stress through reduction in mitochondrial and total reactive oxygen species. Additionally, improvements in insulin signaling were observed, including the upregulation of phosphorylated IRS and AKT, and downregulation of gluconeogenic enzymes, underscoring the saponins' efficacy in boosting insulin sensitivity.

SP1 undergoes phase separation and activates RGS20 expression through super-enhancers to promote lung adenocarcinoma progression.

Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain largely unclear. The transcription factor (TF) specificity protein 1 (SP1) plays a crucial role in the development of various cancers, including LUAD. Recent studies have indicated that master TFs may form phase-separated macromolecular condensates to promote super-enhancer (SE) assembly and oncogene expression.

Cobalt nanoparticles intercalation coupled with tellurium-doping MXene for efficient electrocatalytic water splitting.

Nowadays, the inherent re-stacking nature and weak d-p hybridization orbital interactions within MXene remains significant challenges in the field of electrocatalytic water splitting, leading to unsatisfactory electrocatalytic activity and cycling stability. Herein, this work aims to address these challenges and improve electrocatalytic performance by utilizing cobalt nanoparticles intercalation coupled with enhanced π-donation effect. Specifically, cobalt nanoparticles are integrated into VC MXene nanosheets to mitigate the re-stacking issue.

A phosphorylated guanidine chitosan and UiO-66-NH modified magnetic nanoparticle platform for enrichment and detection of multiple bacteria.

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a powerful tool for early warning of infectious disease outbreaks. Hence, a rapid and portable pathogen monitoring system is urgent needed for on-site detection. In this work, we first reported synthesis of an artificial modulated wide-spectrum bacteria capture nanoparticle (Arg-CSP@UiO@FeO).

Liquid metal nanoparticles as photo-initiators for preparation of transparent hydrogel with adjustable mechanical properties.

To achieve rapid preparation of hydrogels without using conventional chemical initiators, a stable suspension of eutectic gallium indium (EGaIn) liquid metal nanoparticles is explored by probe-sonicating the metal in an aqueous solution. Liquid metal suspension was sonicated to serve as a photo-initiator for acrylamide polymerization and produce hydrogels. The initiation effect comes from the fact that liquid metal suspension after sonication can produce a large number of free radicals when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, leading to initiation.

Iron Active Center Coordination Reconstruction in Iron Carbide Modified on Porous Carbon for Superior Overall Water Splitting.

In this work, a novel liquid nitrogen quenching strategy is engineered to fulfill iron active center coordination reconstruction within iron carbide (FeC) modified on biomass-derived nitrogen-doped porous carbon (NC) for initiating rapid hydrogen and oxygen evolution, where the chrysanthemum tea (elm seeds, corn leaves, and shaddock peel, etc.) is treated as biomass carbon source within FeC and NC. Moreover, the original thermodynamic stability is changed through the corresponding force generated by liquid nitrogen quenching and the phase transformation is induced with rich carbon vacancies with the increasing instantaneous temperature drop amplitude.