ATF4 drives regulatory T cell functional specification in homeostasis and obesity.

Regulatory T cells (T) have diverse functional specification in homeostasis and disease. However, how liver T function and are transcriptionally regulated in obesity is not well understood. Here, we identified that effector T expressing activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) were enriched in the livers of obese mice.

Changes in thyroid function after thermal ablation of thyroid nodules.

Purpose: To evaluate changes in thyroid function post-thermal ablation (TA) of thyroid nodules and to identify risk factors associated with post-ablation thyroid function abnormalities.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective analysis of 2,264 cases treated with TA between June 2015 and July 2024 was conducted, including 1,169 benign thyroid nodules (BTNs) and 1,095 papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) cases. Thyrotropin (TSH), free triiodothyronine (FT3), and free thyroxine (FT4) levels were measured before treatment and at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months post-ablation.

Age-related abnormalities in brain functional and molecular neuroimaging signatures in first-episode depression.

Abnormalities in resting-state brain activity have been demonstrated in depression patients with different ages, yet the age-related changes in dynamics of brain activity in depression are still limited. Here, we investigated the impacts of age on dynamics of brain activity and the molecular architecture. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance images were obtained from 138 first-episode depression patients and 120 healthy volunteers.

The clinical significance of T-cell regulation in hypertension treatment.

Hypertension, a globally prevalent condition, is closely associated with T cell-mediated inflammatory responses. Studies have shown that T cells, by secreting pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), Interleukin-17 (IL-17), and Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), directly lead to vascular dysfunction and elevated blood pressure. The activation of Th1 and Th17 cell subsets, along with the dysfunction of regulatory T cells (Tregs), is a critical mechanism in the onset and progression of hypertension.

Tailored Noble Metal Nanoarrays via Nanoxerography.

Noble metal nanoarrays have become essential in fields such as bioanalysis, catalysis, and optoelectronics. Their unique properties, often tuned through precise control of the size, morphology, and metal composition, have driven significant advancements. This research introduces atomic force microscopy (AFM)-assisted nanoxerography as a versatile technique for fabricating customizable noble metal nanoarrays.

Higher sensitivity of microcystin-producing Microcystis to two algaecides compared to co-cultured non-microcystin producers.

Targeting and selectivity are essential for assessing the effectiveness of ecofriendly algaecides in controlling toxic cyanobacterial blooms. The dose- and time-dependent effects of hydrogen peroxide (HO), pyrogallol and their sustained-release microcapsules (HRM, PRM) on proportion of MC-producing cell numbers and genotypes of the co-existing MC- and non-MC-producing Microcystis, as well as microcystins (MCs) concentrations were investigated in the present study. Two MC-producing and two non-MC-producing Microcystis strains were used in mono- and co-culture test systems.

Review of Artificial Intelligence in Lung Nodule Risk Assessment.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancerrelated mortality worldwide. In addition to localizing and segmenting lung nodules, a non-invasive risk assessment system can also help clinicians tailor treatment decisions in a timely manner, ultimately improving patient outcomes. Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are increasingly being used in medical imaging to assess the risk of lung nodules, especially for malignancy classification.

Fault Root Cause Analysis Based on Liang-Kleeman Information Flow and Graphical Lasso.

Root cause analysis is used to find the specific fault location and cause of a fault during system fault diagnosis. It is an important step in fault diagnosis. The root cause analysis method based on causality starts from the origin of the causal connection between transactions and infers the location and cause of the mechanism failure by analyzing the causal impact of variables between systems, which has methodological advantages.

Steering the Electronic Microenvironment of Ruthenium Sites via Boron Buffering Enables Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution under a Universal pH Range.

Optimizing the microenvironment of active sites is crucial for enhancing the catalytic activity of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) across various pH conditions. Here, guided by theoretical predictions of boron (B)-doping's electronic buffering effect on ruthenium (Ru) at the atomic scale, a highly efficient and universal-pH Ru-based HER electrocatalyst (Ru-NBC) by introducing B and nitrogen (N) into a carbon (C) matrix was designed. The Ru-NBC catalyst demonstrated exceptional HER activity, requiring overpotentials of 27, 40, and 68 mV in 1 M KOH, 0.

Efficacy and Safety of Stellate Ganglion Block for Treating Angina Pectoris: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is aimed at assessing the clinical efficacy and safety of stellate ganglion block (SGB) for angina pectoris (AP). PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, China Science and Technology Journal Database, and Wanfang databases were comprehensively searched for RCTs investigating SGB treatment for AP. The retrieval time was from the establishment date of each database to October 10, 2024.

The preliminary multicenter retrospective study on the efficacy and safety of thermal ablation for follicular thyroid neoplasms ≤ 3 cm.

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of thermal ablation (TA) for follicular thyroid neoplasms (FTN) ≤ 3 cm.

Methods: This retrospective multicenter study enrolled 161 patients (131 females; mean age, 46 ± 15 years [range, 11-86]) who underwent TA for FTN ≤ 3 cm between January 2014 and October 2023 from eight centers in China. The median follow-up time was 12 months (IQR, 12-24 months).

Risk Factors for Disease Progression in Thermal Ablation of Papillary Thyroid Cancer-A Large-sample Analysis.

Rationale And Objectives: This study aimed to analyze risk factors influencing disease progression in patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) undergoing microwave ablation (MWA).

Materials And Methods: In this retrospective single-center study, 889 patients (647 women; median age, 40 years; age range, 14-80 years) who underwent MWA for PTC from June 2015 to December 2022 were enrolled. A least-absolute shrinkage and selection operator Cox regression model was employed to identify important factors for disease progression.

Comparison of US-guided thermal ablation and surgery for papillary thyroid cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: We conducted the systematic review and meta-analysis to comprehensively compare ablation and surgery in terms of effectiveness, safety and multiple factors affecting life quality of patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC).

Methods: PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science and EBSCO were searched for relevant studies published between January 1980 and September 2023. Two reviewers independently extracted data according to the PRISMA recommendations and assessed the quality of each study with the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool.

Clinical study on the relationship between the incidence of complications and tumour size after thermal ablation of benign thyroid nodules.

Objective: The present study aimed to analyze the relationship between the incidence of complications and tumor size following thermal ablation of benign thyroid nodules (BTNs).

Methods: In this retrospective study, 1198 patients who underwent thermal ablation for unifocal BTN were enrolled. Receiver Operating Characteristic analysis was performed to select the cutoff values of the maximum diameter (MD) for dividing patients into different groups or subgroups.

Experimental and theoretical investigation of synergistic effects in a binary ionic liquid system for the selective production of benzaldehyde from lignin model compound.

Lignin is an abundant and cost-effective aromatic polymer, which makes the production of high-value aromatic aldehydes from it highly significant. However, a challenge is that these aldehydes can easily over-oxidation into aromatic acids during aerobic oxidation. Therefore, preventing over-oxidation is crucial.

Contributions of Hepatic Insulin Resistance and Islet β-Cell Dysfunction to the Blood Glucose Spectrum in Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Background: Our previous studies have investigated the role of hepatic insulin resistance (hepatic IR) and islet β-cell function in the pathogenesis of diabetes. This study aimed to explore the contributions of hepatic IR and islet β-cell dysfunction to the blood glucose spectrum in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Methods: Hepatic IR was assessed by the hepatic insulin resistance index (HIRI).

Deep Learning-Assisted Discovery of Protein Entangling Motifs.

Natural topological proteins exhibit unique properties including enhanced stability, controlled quaternary structures, and dynamic switching properties, highlighting topology as a unique dimension in protein engineering. Although artificial design and synthesis of topological proteins have achieved certain success, their diversity and complexity remain rather limited due to the scarcity of available entangling motifs essential for the construction of nontrivial protein topologies. In this work, we developed a deep-learning model to predict the entanglement features of a homodimer based solely on its amino acid sequence via the Gauss linking number matrices.

A clinical study on microwave ablation of T1N0M0 papillary thyroid carcinoma locating in dangerous region.

To evaluate the feasibility, safety and efficiency of the microwave ablation (MWA) of T1N0M0 papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) locating in dangerous region. This is a clinical retrospective study, and the data of patients who underwent thermal ablation for T1N0M0 PTC from June 2016 to March 2021 were reviewed. After ablation, the rates of technical success, as well as the changes in tumor size and volume, tumor disappearance, disease progression, and complications, were assessed.

Disruption of Gut Microbiota and Associated Fecal Metabolites in Collagen-Induced Arthritis Mice During the Early Stage.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease and increasing evidence suggests that disturbances in the composition and function of gut microbiota are potentially implicated in the progression of RA. Further revealing the microbiota and related metabolic disorders in the preclinical stage of RA (pre-RA) is of great significance for exploration of disease mechanisms.

Methods: DBA/1 mice were injected with type II collagen on days 0 and 21 to establish collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model.

Gibberellic acid (GA) induces developmental toxicity in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos via oxidative stress.

Gibberellic acid (GA) is a plant growth regulator that stimulates the growth of leaves and increases yield in agricultural production. However, GA is also regarded as an environmental endocrine disruptor, and its effect on aquatic life remains unclear. In this study, the toxic effects of GA on the development of zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos were evaluated, and the mechanisms were revealed.

Ultrasound imaging of the perithyroid fascial space: a comparative analysis with anatomical correlations.

This study aims to examine the ultrasonic characteristics of perithyroid fascial spaces following in vivo hydrodissection, validating their visualization through a comparative analysis with anatomical references. A retrospective review was conducted on data from 2390 patients (631 males and 1759 females, median age 46 years, 25-75% interquartile range 26-69 years) who underwent microwave ablation for thyroid tumors, including 1436 benign nodules and 954 papillary thyroid carcinomas. Detailed descriptions of perithyroid fascial spaces and the hydrodissection strategy were provided.

Precision engineering of the probiotic Nissle 1917 with prime editing.

CRISPR-Cas systems are transforming precision medicine with engineered probiotics as next-generation diagnostics and therapeutics. To promote human health and treat disease, engineering probiotic bacteria demands maximal versatility to enable non-natural functionalities while minimizing undesired genomic interferences. Here, we present a streamlined prime editing approach tailored for probiotic Nissle 1917 utilizing only essential genetic modules, including Cas9 nickase from , a codon-optimized reverse transcriptase, and a prime editing guide RNA, and an optimized workflow with longer induction.

Multi-metal mixture exposure and cognitive function in urban older adults: The mediation effects of thyroid hormones.

The existing studies on the association between multi-metal mixture exposure and cognitive function in the older adults are limited and controversial, with no studies considering the mediating effect of thyroid hormones on the connection between them. This study of 441 urban older adults assessed 21 urinary metal levels and cognitive function using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Urinary metal levels were measured via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and thyroid hormones levels were obtained from medical records.

A preliminary study of microwave ablation (MWA) for Bethesda IV follicular neoplasms (≤3 cm).

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of microwave ablation (MWA) for the treatment of patients with Bethesda IV follicular neoplasms (FNs) (≤3 cm).

Methods: In the retrospective study, patients who underwent MWA for Bethesda IV follicular neoplasms (≤3 cm) were included. Technical success, volume reduction, disease progression, and adverse event (AE) rates were analyzed postablation.

Declines in HIV Incidence and Prevalence and Predictors Among Adolescents and Young Adults: An Observational Cohort Study, Rakai, Uganda, 2005-2020.

Background: HIV acquisition among adolescents and young adults (AYA, 15-24 years) is influenced by individual factors, community factors, and public policies and programs. We explored the association of HIV incidence and prevalence with these factors over time among AYA in Rakai, Uganda.

Methods: We examined trends over nine survey rounds (2005-2020) of the Rakai Community Cohort Study (RCCS), an open population-based surveillance cohort of individuals living in 30 continuously followed communities in south-central Uganda (n= 35,938 person rounds).