A nomogram model for predicting advanced liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis B: A multicenter study.

Background: Biopsy is the gold standard method for diagnosing liver fibrosis. FibroScan is a non-invasive method of diagnosing liver fibrosis, but it still faces some limitations. This study aimed to establish a nomogram model and identify patients at high risk of advanced liver fibrosis associated with hepatitis B infection.

Autologous DNA mobilization and multiplication expedite natural products discovery from bacteria.

The transmission of antibiotic-resistance genes, comprising mobilization and relocation events, orchestrates the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance. Inspired by this evolutionarily successful paradigm, we developed ACTIMOT, a CRISPR-Cas9-based approach to unlock the vast chemical diversity concealed within bacterial genomes. ACTIMOT enables the efficient mobilization and relocation of large DNA fragments from the chromosome to replicative plasmids within the same bacterial cell.

Resting-state EEG microstate features for Alzheimer's disease classification.

Resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG) microstate analysis resolves EEG signals into topographical maps representing discrete, sequential network activations. These maps can be used to identify patterns in EEGs that may be indicative of underlying neurological conditions. One such pattern is observed in EEGs of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), where a global microstate disorganization is evident.

Selection and optimization of biofilm carriers as high-effective microbial separator in microbial fuel cells.

Four biofilm carriers including pyrite, manganese ore, ceramsite, and polyurethane sponge were used to construct microbial separators (MSs), while their performance in dual-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs) was evaluated. Polyurethane sponge and pyrite were superior biofilm carriers for MSs. The dense biofilm on the polyurethane sponge provides MS with optimal barrier capacity against dissolved oxygen and chemical oxygen demand.

Appendectomy, acute appendicitis, and gastrointestinal diseases: A Mendelian randomization study.

Background: Appendectomy is the standard treatment for acute appendicitis. However, the effects of appendectomy and acute appendicitis on gastrointestinal diseases are not fully understood.

Methods: Genetic variants associated with appendectomy and acute appendicitis at a genome-wide significance level (P ​< ​5.

Osmotic demyelination syndrome in cancer patients: Risk even without rapid sodium correction - a scoping review.

Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics, therapeutic approaches, and prognostic outcomes of osmotic demyelination syndrome (ODS) in cancer patients.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search (January 1950-March 2024) using PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. Keywords included "osmotic demyelination and cancer", "central pontine myelinolysis and cancer", and "extrapontine myelinolysis and cancer", "Osmotic demyelination and malignancy," "Central pontine myelinolysis and malignancy," and "Extrapontine myelinolysis and malignancy.

Controlling Alzheimer's disease by deep brain stimulation based on a data-driven cortical network model.

This work aims to explore the control effect of DBS on Alzheimer's disease (AD) from a neurocomputational perspective. Firstly, a data-driven cortical network model is constructed using the Diffusion Tensor Imaging data. Then, a typical electrophysiological feature of EEG slowing in AD is reproduced by reducing the synaptic connectivity parameters.

Deciphering the role of NcRNAs in Pancreatic Cancer immune evasion and drug resistance: a new perspective for targeted therapy.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a very aggressive digestive system tumor, known for its high mortality rate, low cure rate, low survival rate and poor prognosis. In particular, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PADC), which accounts for more than 90% of PC cases, has an overall 5-year survival rate of only 5%, which is an extremely critical situation. Early detection and effective treatment of PC is extremely difficult, which leads many patients to despair.

Naked cuticle homolog 2 controls the differentiation of osteoblasts and osteoclasts and ameliorates bone loss in ovariectomized mice.

Naked cuticle homolog 2 (NKD2) has been recognized as an antagonist of Wnt/β-catenin signaling and a tumor suppressor. The role of NKD2 in osteoblast and osteoclast differentiation and the mechanism are not fully understood. In this study, we identified the up-regulation of NKD2 during osteoblast and adipocyte differentiation.

A single-cell perspective on immunotherapy for pancreatic cancer: from microenvironment analysis to therapeutic strategy innovation.

Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most lethal malignancies, with conventional treatment options providing limited efficacy. Recent advancements in immunotherapy have offered new hope, yet the unique tumor microenvironment (TME) of pancreatic cancer poses significant challenges to its successful application. This review explores the transformative impact of single-cell technology on the understanding and treatment of pancreatic cancer.

The efficacy of neuroendoscopic surgery treating patients with thalamic hemorrhage accompanied by intraventricular hematoma.

Objective: Neuroendoscopic surgery (NES) has been proven to be safe and effective in hematoma evacuation for cerebral hemorrhage. However, its efficacy for thalamic hemorrhage accompanied by intraventricular hematoma (THAVH) remains unclear. The aim of this study is to determine the efficacy of NES in treating THAVH.

FGL2 peptides improve the antitumor effect of HCMV-IE1mut vaccine against glioblastoma by modulating immunosuppressive cells in the tumor microenvironment.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a highly aggressive primary brain tumor characterized by poor prognosis and lack of effective treatments. In recent years, peptide vaccines that use sequences based on tumor-specific or tumor-associated antigens to activate immune responses against tumor cells have emerged as a new therapeutic strategy. In this study, we developed a novel therapeutic polypeptide vaccine targeting the tumor-associated antigen Fibrinogen-Like Protein 2 (FGL2), whose dominant epitope peptide was tandemly linked to the C-terminus of HCMV-IE1mut via a linker.

A Metaanalysis of the relationship between growth mindset and mental health in Chinese samples.

Innovations in mental health are desperately needed in Healthy China with increasing benefits of a growth mindset on mental health among Chinese. Currently, empirical research in China reveals significant discrepancies in the correlation between growth mindset and mental health. To elucidate this discrepancy, we conducted a meta-analysis on 59 studies utilizing a random-effects model, with 68 effect sizes and 54,302 participants included.

Research and Evaluation of a Nanometer Plugging Agent for Shale Gas Horizontal Wells.

Due to the low permeability of shales, drilling fluid filtrate is very likely to intrude into the formation along the nanomicron pore joints of shale, leading to microfracture expansion and causing a well wall destabilization phenomenon. Based on the characteristics of the formation shale, a new nano plugging agent, styrene (St)/2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS)/ethyl acrylate (EA), was synthesized by emulsion polymerization using St, EA, and AMPS as reaction monomers. The analysis results using infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed that the product met the expected design.

Alterations in the axon initial segment plasticity is involved in early pathogenesis in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by the early presence of amyloid-β (Aβ) and hyperphosphorylated tau. Identifying the neuropathological changes preceding cognitive decline is crucial for early intervention. Axon initial segment (AIS) maintains the orderly structure of the axon and is responsible for initiating action potentials (APs).

Association between serum branched chain amino acids, mammalian target of rapamycin levels and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: a 1:1 matched case control study.

Background: To investigate the association between serum branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) levels and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in pregnant women.

Methods: 1:1 matched case-control study was conducted including 66 GDM patients and 66 matched healthy pregnant women (± 3 years) in 2019, in China. Fasting bloods of pregnant women were collected in pregnancy at 24 ~ 28 weeks gestation.

Ultra-low-cost and high-fidelity NIR-II confocal laser scanning microscope with Bessel beam excitation and SiPM detection.

Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) is one of the most important imaging tools in the biomedical field, and near-infrared-II (NIR-II, 900-1700nm) fluorescence imaging technology has also made fruitful research progress in deep imaging in recent years. The NIR-II based CLSM has problems such as an expensive detector and reduced image resolution caused by long wavelength excitation. Here, by simultaneously using a low-cost silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) as a detector and a Bessel beam as an excitation, we developed an ultra-low-cost and high-fidelity NIR-II confocal laser scanning microscope.

Conductive, sensitivity, flexibility, anti-freezing and anti-drying silica/carbon nanotubes/sodium ions modified sodium alginate hydrogels for wearable strain sensing applications.

The biocompatibility and salient gelling feature of alginate via forming the interpenetrating network structure has received extensive interests for different applications. Traditional alginate hydrogels freeze at low temperature and evaporate easily at room temperature, leading to reduced performance. Consequently, it is crucial to develop methods to prevent alginate hydrogel from freezing at subzero temperature and dehydration at normal temperature to maintain the performance stability.

Downregulated Expression and Hypermethylation of SIRT1 in Patients with Kashin-Beck Disease-Mediated Chondrocyte Apoptosis May Potentially Be Ameliorated by Selenium Supplement.

This study aims to elucidate the role of silent information regulator 2 homologue 1 (SIRT1) in cartilage damage in Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) by exploring the correlation between SIRT1 and KBD and the potential effect of SIRT1 expression and methylation on chondrocyte apoptosis. SIRT1 protein expression was detected using IHC, and the mRNA levels of SIRT1, DNMTs, and apoptosis-related genes were measured by RT-qPCR. Methylation levels of SxIRT1 were detected by MALDI-TOF-MS, MSP, and qMSP.

On-demand green/red light-responsive self-doped SnO nanoparticles for single/multi-color transitioning fabrics.

Semiconductor/redox-based dual light-induced color switching systems (LCSs) with a visible light response at different wavelengths are highly sought after for efficient redox reactions. In this work, Sn self-doped SnO has been designed as nanophotocatalysts for preparing visible light-responsive inks/fabrics with single/multi-color abilities. The self-doping of SnO nanoparticles results in the formation of oxygen vacancies due to charge compensation effects leading to electron-driven photoreduction and photooxidation of LSC inks.

Angiotensin II type-1 receptor autoantibody positively correlates with the rate of metaphase I oocytes in infertility with ovulatory disorder.

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays an important role in reproductive function. Our previous study identified that angiotensin II type-1 receptor autoantibody (AT1-AA), an autoantibody that activates RAS, was closely associated with infertility. However, its distribution in different types of infertility remained unclear.

Effect of ferric citrate on hippocampal iron accumulation and widespread molecular alterations associated with cognitive disorder in an ovariectomized mice model.

Objective: Nowadays, the prevalence of cognitive impairment in women has gradually increased, especially in postmenopausal women. There were few studies on the mechanistic effects of iron exposure on neurotoxicity in postmenopausal women. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of iron accumulation on cognitive ability in ovariectomized mice and its possible mechanism and to provide a scientific basis for the prevention of cognitive dysfunction in postmenopausal women.

A pH-Responsive Drug-Delivery System Based on Apatinib-Loaded Metal-Organic Frameworks for Ferroptosis-Targeted Synergistic Anti-Tumor Therapy.

Purpose: The efficacy of systemic therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is limited mainly by the complex tumor defense mechanism and the severe toxic side-effects of drugs. The efficacy of apatinib (Apa), a key liver cancer treatment, is unsatisfactory due to inadequate targeting and is accompanied by notable side-effects. Leveraging nanomaterials to enhance its targeting represents a crucial strategy for improving the effectiveness of liver cancer therapy.