Intestine versus liver? Uncovering the hidden major metabolic organs of silybin in rats.

Silybin, a milk thistle extract, is a flavonolignan compound with hepatoprotective effect. It is commonly used in dietary supplements, functional foods, and nutraceuticals. However, the metabolism of silybin has not been systematically characterized in organisms to date.

Construction of a tumor mutational burden-derived LncRNA prognostic computational framework associated with therapy sensitivity in skin cutaneous melanoma.

Background: Skin cutaneous melanoma (SKCM) poses a significant public health challenge due to its aggressive nature and limited treatment options. To address this, the study introduces the Tumor Mutational Burden-Derived Immune lncRNA Prognostic Index (TILPI) as a potential prognostic tool for SKCM.

Methods: TILPI was developed using a combination of gene set variation analysis, differential expression analysis, and COX regression analysis.

Identification of the main flavonoids of (L.) medik and their metabolites in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy.

Huangkui capsule (HKC) is made from the ethanol extract of (L.) Medik [Malvaceae; abelmoschi corolla] and received approval from the China Food and Drug Administration (Z19990040) in 1999. Currently, HKC is used for treatment of the patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN) in China.

Biomimetic Guided BiWO/BiO Vertical Heterojunction with Controllable Microstructure for Efficient Photocatalysis.

To bridge the technical gap of heterojunction induction control in conventional semiconductor photocatalysts, a method of regulating the growth of heterojunctions utilizing biomimetic structures was designed to prepare a series of BiWO/BiO vertical heterojunction nanocomposites for the disposal of environmentally hazardous tetracycline wastewater difficult to degrade by conventional microbial techniques. Porous BiO precursors with high-energy crystalline (110) dominant growth were produced using the sunflower straw bio-template technique (SSBT). BiWO with a (131) plane grew preferentially into 2.

The diagnostic efficacy of diffusion tensor imaging generated by gadolinium-based magnetic resonance imaging for patients with chronic kidney disease.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) can lead to systemic inflammatory responses and other cardiovascular disease. Diffusion tensor imaging findings generated by gadolinium-based MRI (DTI-GBMRI) is regarded as a standard method for assessing the pathology of CKD. To evaluate the diagnostic value of DTI-GBMRI for renal histopathology and renal efficiency, renal fibrosis and damage, noninvasive quantification of renal blood flow (RBF) were investigated in patients with CKD.

A wide-angle and TE/TM polarization-insensitive terahertz metamaterial near-perfect absorber based on a multi-layer plasmonic structure.

A kind of near-perfect metamaterial absorber, made of only Au and Si, has been presented in the terahertz band with extremely high absorptance. A flexible design method is proposed, which could create absorbers with four independent functions as follows. First, selective perfect absorption is achieved at a single frequency, which means the absorptance is more than 99.

Protonation-Induced Enhanced Optical-Light Photochromic Properties of an Inorganic-Organic Phosphomolybdic Acid/Polyaniline Hybrid Thin Film.

A phosphomolybdic acid/polyaniline (PMoA/PANI) optical-light photochromic inorganic/organic hybrid thin film was successfully synthesized by protonation between the the multiprotonic acid phosphomolybdic acid (HPO·12MoO) and the conductive polymer polyaniline. The stable Keggin-type structure of PMoA was maintained throughout the process. Protonation and proton transfer successfully transformed the quinone structure of eigenstate PANI into the benzene structure of single-polarized PANI in the PMoA/PANI hybridized thin film, and proton transfer transformed the benzene structure of single-polarized PANI back to the quinone structure of eigenstate PANI in the PMoA/PANI hybrid thin film, as verified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

Decreased Urine miR-199-3p may be a Potential Biomarker for Diabetic Nephropathy via Targeting Zinc Finger E-box-Binding Protein 1.

Background: The current study aims to evaluate the expression pattern changes of miR-199-3p in diabetic nephropathy (DN) patients and explore whether it could be used as a potential biomarker.

Methods: Real time PCR analysis was performed to examine the level of miR-199-3p in normoalbuminuria group (diabetes mellitus [DM]), microalbuminuria group (DNE), macroalbuminuria group (DNC), and healthy controls. ROC analysis was carried out to determine whether urine miR-199-3p could be used as a potential biomarker.

Ginsenoside improves papillary thyroid cancer cell malignancies partially through upregulating connexin 31.

Connexin 31 (Cx31) is considered a suppressor for many tumors. Ginsenoside (Rg1) is a traditional Chinese herb that is widely acknowledged due to its anti-tumor characteristics. However, limited studies have focused on the role of Rg1 in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) cells.

Investigating multiple dysregulated pathways in rheumatoid arthritis based on pathway interaction network.

The traditional methods of identifying biomarkers in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have focussed on the differentially expressed pathways or individual pathways, which however, neglect the interactions between pathways. To better understand the pathogenesis of RA, we aimed to identify dysregulated pathway sets using a pathway interaction network (PIN), which considered interactions among pathways. Firstly, RA-related gene expression profile data, protein-protein interactions (PPI) data and pathway data were taken up from the corresponding databases.

Upregulation of lncRNA CASC2 Suppresses Cell Proliferation and Metastasis of Breast Cancer via Inactivation of the TGF-β Signaling Pathway.

Breast cancer is one of the major malignancies with a mounting mortality rate in the world. Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) cancer susceptibility candidate 2 (CASC2) has been identified to regulate the initiation and progression of multiple tumorous diseases according to previous studies. However, its biological role has been rarely reported in breast cancer.

MiR-204 enhances the progression of osteoarthritis by suppressing the production of IL-1β.

Recent studies suggest that cytokines and microRNAs play a key role in the destruction of cartilage matrix in osteoarthritis (OA) tissues. In the current study, we focused on miR-204, which has never been explored in OA. We found that the level of miR-204 was markedly reduced in the OA cartilage tissues compared with that of normal control.

Early Predictors of Acute Kidney Injury: A Narrative Review.

Accompanied with the broad application of interventional therapy, the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) has been recently increasing in clinical renal medicine. The pathogenesis of AKI is diverse and complex. In the context of the requirements for the diagnosis and treatment of a renal disorder, a large number of studies have explored biological markers and their usefulness to the early diagnosis and treatment of AKI, including glomerular injury, renal tubular injury, and others.