TRIM4 enhances small-molecule-induced neddylated-degradation of CORO1A for triple negative breast cancer therapy.

As a critical member of the Coronin family, Coronin 1A (CORO1A) plays a crucial role in the progression of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). However, CORO1A is typically considered "undruggable" due to its smooth surface and complex protein-protein interactions (PPIs). Molecular glues have emerged as one of the most effective strategies to rapidly degrade such "undruggable" targets.

Changes in Staging and Management of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Patients Following the Implementation of Low-Dose Chest Computed Tomography (LDCT) Screening at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital.

Background: Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) has been widely adopted for lung cancer screening due to its proven ability to reduce lung cancer mortality, especially among high-risk populations.

Methods: This retrospective study aims to evaluate the impact of LDCT screening on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) staging at Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital (KMUH) from 2011 to 2020, following the introduction of LDCT in 2013. The study examines the correlation between LDCT screening volume and changes in the distribution of NSCLC stages, particularly early-stage (stages 0 and I) and late-stage (stage IV) diagnoses.

Isolation and evaluation of the pathogenicity of a hybrid shiga toxin-producing and Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli in pigs.

Background: Porcine pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli), the globally recognized important pathogen, causes significant economic loss in the field. Enterotoxigenic E.

Fabrication of sulfur-based functionalized activated carbon as solid phase extraction adsorbent for selective analysis of selenite in water.

Based on the important feature of sulfur with excellent selectivity toward selenite in the presence of selenate, a simple and low-cost adsorbent of solid phase extraction known as sulfur loading activated carbon (SAC-6) was successfully prepared and applied for selenite (Se(IV)) analysis in water. Microstructure and morphological characteristics of SAC-6 had been identified by XRD, TEM, BET and FT-IR. In the static adsorption experiments, Se(IV) could be separated in a wide range of pH values (pH=3-11).

Biomarkers Screening and Mechanisms Analysis of the Restraint Stress-Induced Myocardial Injury in Hyperlipidemia ApoE Mice.

Objectives: To explore the biomarkers and potential mechanisms of chronic restraint stress-induced myocardial injury in hyperlipidemia ApoE mice.

Methods: The hyperlipidemia combined with the chronic stress model was established by restraining the ApoE mice. Proteomics and bioinformatics techniques were used to describe the characteristic molecular changes and related regulatory mechanisms of chronic stress-induced myocardial injury in hyperlipidemia mice and to explore potential diagnostic biomarkers.

Pyroptosis inhibitors MCC950 and VX-765 mitigate myocardial injury by alleviating oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis in acute myocardial hypoxia.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a prevalent cardiovascular disease with high morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. Pyroptosis is an inflammatory form of programmed cell death that has been linked to various pathological conditions. However, its exact contribution to the onset and progression of heart injury in AMI has not yet fully elucidated.

Integrating predictive coding and a user-centric interface for enhanced auditing and quality in cancer registry data.

Data curation for a hospital-based cancer registry heavily relies on the labor-intensive manual abstraction process by cancer registrars to identify cancer-related information from free-text electronic health records. To streamline this process, a natural language processing system incorporating a hybrid of deep learning-based and rule-based approaches for identifying lung cancer registry-related concepts, along with a symbolic expert system that generates registry coding based on weighted rules, was developed. The system is integrated with the hospital information system at a medical center to provide cancer registrars with a patient journey visualization platform.

Anaphylactic deaths: A retrospective study of forensic autopsy cases from 2009 to 2019 in Shanghai, China.

Anaphylaxis is a rare but well-known cause of sudden unexpected death, although data from forensic autopsies in anaphylactic deaths are limited. Herein, a retrospective study of a series of allergic deaths from 2009 through 2019 in Shanghai, China, was conducted to investigate the demographic, medical, and forensic pathological characteristics of fatal anaphylaxis to improve medicolegal understanding on anaphylactic death. Sixty-two autopsy cases of anaphylactic death were registered in this study.

Insight study of rare earth elements in PM during five years in a Chinese inland city: Composition variations, sources, and exposure assessment.

The booming development of rare earth industry and the extensive utilization of its products accompanied by urban development have led to the accelerated accumulation of rare earth elements (REEs) as emerging pollutants in atmospheric environment. In this study, the variation of REEs in PM with urban (a non-mining city) transformation was investigated through five consecutive years of sample collection. The compositional variability and provenance contribution of REEs in PM were characterized, and the REEs exposure risks of children and adults via inhalation, ingestion and dermal absorption were also evaluated.

Decryption analysis of antimony pollution sources in PM through a multi-source isotope mixing model based on lead isotopes.

Antimony (Sb) in PM has attracted close attention as a new air pollutant due to its extensive use in daily life. The identification of antimony sources in PM by scientific methods is important to control its pollution. In this study, the Sb and other elements concentrations and Pb isotopic compositions in PM and possible pollution sources (soil, road dust, traffic emission, coal-fired fly ash, local factory emission dust and cement dust) were analyzed.

Facile fabrication of Fe/Zr binary MOFs for arsenic removal in water: High capacity, fast kinetics and good reusability.

A water-stable bimetallic Fe/Zr metal-organic framework [UiO-66(Fe/Zr)] for exceptional decontamination of arsenic in water was fabricated through a facile one-step strategy. The batch adsorption experiments revealed the excellent performances with ultrafast adsorption kinetics due to the synergistic effects of two functional centers and large surface area (498.33 m/g).

CD47: Beyond an immune checkpoint in cancer treatment.

The transmembrane protein, CD47, is recognized as an important innate immune checkpoint, and CD47-targeted drugs have been in development with the aim of inhibiting the interaction between CD47 and the regulatory glycoprotein SIRPα, for antitumor immunotherapy. Further, CD47 mediates other essential functions such as cell proliferation, caspase-independent cell death (CICD), angiogenesis and other integrin-activation-dependent cell phenotypic responses when bound to thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) or other ligands. Mounting strategies that target CD47 have been developed in pre-clinical and clinical trials, including antibodies, small molecules, siRNAs, and peptides, and some of them have shown great promise in cancer treatment.

The multifaceted involvement of exosomes in tumor progression: Induction and inhibition.

As key performers in intercellular communication, exosomes released by tumor cells play an important role in cancer development, including angiogenesis, cancer-associated fibroblasts activation, epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT), immune escape, and pre-metastatic niche formation. Meanwhile, other cells in tumor microenvironment (TME) can secrete exosomes and facilitate tumor progression. Elucidating mechanisms regarding these processes may offer perspectives for exosome-based antitumor strategies.

Enhanced anti-tumor efficacy by inhibiting HIF-1α to reprogram TAMs core-satellite upconverting nanoparticles with curcumin mediated photodynamic therapy.

Tumor hypoxic stress after photodynamic therapy (PDT) will be inevitably exacerbated by the vascular blocking effects and oxygen consumption in the tumor microenvironment (TME) which usually leads to compromised efficacy and clinical performance. Increasing evidence links the hypoxia induced up-regulation of hypoxia inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) with immunosuppressive TME, including the polarization of M2 phenotype tumor associated macrophages (TAMs), which promote the recurrence and metastasis. Here, we reported NIR-triggered core-satellite upconverting nanoparticles (CSNPs) with curcumin (Cur) embedded as a difunctional photosensitizer, which could realize PDT in deep tumors with long excitation wavelength (980 nm) and reverse the immunosuppressive TME induced by up-regulated HIF-1α at the same time.

Application of omics- and multi-omics-based techniques for natural product target discovery.

Natural products continue to be an unparalleled source of pharmacologically active lead compounds because of their unprecedented structures and unique biological activities. Natural product target discovery is a vital component of natural product-based medicine translation and development and is required to understand and potentially reduce mechanisms that may be associated with off-target side effects and toxicity. Omics-based techniques, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and bioinformatics, have become recognized as effective tools needed to construct innovative strategies to discover natural product targets.

Targeting Endothelial Cell-Specific Molecule 1 Protein in Cancer: A Promising Therapeutic Approach.

Despite the dramatic advances in cancer research in the past few years, effective therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. Endothelial cell-specific molecule 1 (ESM-1), a soluble dermatan sulfate proteoglycan, also known as endocan, serves as a diagnostic and prognostic indicator due to its aberrant expression under pathological conditions, including cancer, sepsis, kidney diseases, and cardiovascular disease. Significantly, ESM-1 can promote cancer progression and metastasis through the regulation of tumor cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and drug resistant.

Severe, but not mild to moderate, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease associated with increased risk of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis.

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with high risk of cardiovascular disease. The prevalence is increasing to 45-65% in the general population with routine health check-up, and most subjects have the mild degree NAFLD in recent years. Moreover, there are no studies on the association between NAFLD severity and coronary atherosclerosis in the real-world setting by ultrasonography.

Targeting CTGF in Cancer: An Emerging Therapeutic Opportunity.

Despite the dramatic advances in cancer research over the decades, effective therapeutic strategies are still urgently needed. Increasing evidence indicates that connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), a multifunctional signaling modulator, promotes cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis by regulating cell proliferation, migration, invasion, drug resistance, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). CTGF is also involved in the tumor microenvironment in most of the nodes, including angiogenesis, inflammation, and cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF) activation.

Blocking CTGF-Mediated Tumor-Stroma Interplay in Pancreatic Cancer.

As the major feature of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), desmoplastic stroma poses a significant obstacle for treatment. Recent studies revealed that connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) aggravates the fibrotic environment and drives cancer initiation and progression, thus suggesting CTGF as a novel target for PDAC treatment.

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles: facile surface functionalization and versatile biomedical applications in oncology.

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have received increasing interest due to their tunable particle size, large surface area, stable framework, and easy surface modification. They are increasingly being used in varying applications as delivery vehicles including bio-imaging, drug delivery, biosensors and tissue engineering etc. Precise structure control and the ability to modify surface properties of MSNs are important for their applications.

Cytotoxic and antitumor peptides as novel chemotherapeutics.

Covering: up to 2020Treatment resistance and drug-induced refractory malignancies pose significant challenges for current chemotherapy drugs. There have been increasing research efforts aimed at developing novel chemotherapeutics, especially from natural products and related derivatives. Natural cytotoxic peptides, an emerging source of chemotherapeutics, have exhibited the advantage of overcoming drug resistance and displayed broad-spectrum antitumor activities in the clinic.

Natural course of coronary artery calcium progression in Asian population with an initial score of zero.

Background: We aimed to investigate the natural course of coronary artery calcium progression in an Asian population with a baseline coronary artery calcium (CAC) score of zero, and to determine subclinical coronary atherosclerosis.

Methods: Four hundred fifty-nine subjects with at least two CAC scans with an initial score of zero were included. CAC progression (+) was defined by the development of any CAC (i.

Effects of genetic polymorphisms on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of proton pump inhibitors.

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are used widely for the treatment of acid-related disorders. Despite their excellent efficacy and tolerance, the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of PPIs are affected by each patient's CYP2C19 and gastric H,K-ATPase genotype. The aim of this review was to analyze the effect of genetic polymorphisms on the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties of PPIs.

Fraction distribution of arsenic in different-sized atmospheric particulate matters.

The sequential extraction method was used to determine the fraction of arsenic (As) in different-sized particulate matters (PMs) (i.e., PM, PM, and total suspended particles (TSP)).