MWFormer: Multi-Weather Image Restoration Using Degradation-Aware Transformers.

Restoring images captured under adverse weather conditions is a fundamental task for many computer vision applications. However, most existing weather restoration approaches are only capable of handling a specific type of degradation, which is often insufficient in real-world scenarios, such as rainy-snowy or rainy-hazy weather. Towards being able to address these situations, we propose a multi-weather Transformer, or MWFormer for short, which is a holistic vision Transformer that aims to solve multiple weather-induced degradations using a single, unified architecture.

Hydrogels empowered mesenchymal stem cells and the derived exosomes for regenerative medicine in age-related musculoskeletal diseases.

As the population ages, musculoskeletal diseases (MSK) have emerged as a significant burden for individuals, healthcare systems, and social care systems. Recently, regenerative medicine has exhibited vast potential in age-related MSK, with mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and their derived exosomes (Exos) therapies showing distinct advantages. However, these therapies face several limitations, including issues related to ensuring stability and effective distribution within the body.

Engineered Immunomodulatory Extracellular Vesicles from Epithelial Cells with the Capacity for Stimulation of Innate and Adaptive Immunity in Cancer and Autoimmunity.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are generated in all cells. Systemic administration of allogenic EVs derived from epithelial and mesenchymal cells has been shown to be safe, despite carrying an array of functional molecules, including thousands of proteins. To address whether epithelial cell-derived EVs can be modified to acquire the capacity to induce an immune response, we engineered 293T EVs to harbor the immunomodulatory molecules CD80, OX40L, and PD-L1.

Exosomal Galectin-3 promotes peritoneal metastases in gastric adenocarcinoma via microenvironment alterations.

Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) in gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC) is the most common metastatic site and leads to a short median survival. Exosomes have been shown to remodel the microenvironment, facilitating tumor metastases. However, the functional component in GAC cell-derived exosomes that remodel the landscape in the peritoneal cavity remains unclear.

HSP90 inhibitor AUY922 suppresses tumor growth and modulates immune response through YAP1-TEAD pathway inhibition in gastric cancer.

Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90), a vital chaperone involved in the folding and stabilization of various cellular proteins, regulates key functions in many tumor cells. In the context of gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC), where HSP90's role remains largely unexplored, we aimed to investigate the significance of HSP90 inhibitor, AUY922, in regulating the YAP1/TEAD pathway and its association with the tumor immune microenvironment (TME). Our results showed that AUY922 effectively inhibited GAC aggressiveness in both the invitro and invivo models, induced apoptosis, and cell-cycle arrest.

Robust Magnetic-Field-Free Perpendicular Magnetization Switching by Manipulating Spin Polarization Direction in RuO/[Pt/Co/Pt] Heterojunctions.

Perpendicular magnetization switching by a magnetic-field-free, energy-efficient electrical approach has remained a great challenge. Here, we demonstrate the realization of robust magnetic-field-free perpendicular magnetization switching in the (101)RuO/[Pt/Co/Pt] heterojunction by manipulating the spin polarization direction. We proposed that the relative strength of out-of-plane spin currents with out-of-plane spin polarization and in-plane spin polarization can be effectively manipulated by tuning the nominal thickness of [Pt/Co/Pt] multilayers and the direction of applied electric current with respect to the RuO crystal orientation.

CRISPR-Cas9-mediated construction of a cotton CDPK mutant library for identification of insect-resistance genes.

Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) act as key signal transduction enzymes in plants, especially in response to diverse stresses, including herbivory. In this study, a comprehensive analysis of the CDPK gene family in upland cotton revealed that GhCPKs are widely expressed in multiple cotton tissues and respond positively to various biotic and abiotic stresses. We developed a strategy for screening insect-resistance genes from a CRISPR-Cas9 mutant library of GhCPKs.

Three biomarkers (HER2, PD-L1, and microsatellite status) in a large cohort of metastatic gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas: The MD Anderson Cancer Center experience.

Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2), programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), and microsatellite (MS) status are well-established biomarkers in gastroesophageal adenocarcinomas (GEAs). However, it is unclear how the combination of these biomarkers is associated with clinicopathological factors and prognosis. This retrospective study included baseline metastatic GEA patients who were tested for all three biomarkers (HER2, PD-L1, and MS status) at the MD Anderson Cancer Center between 2012 and 2022.

Objective measure of binaural processing: Acoustic change complex in response to interaural phase differences.

Combining cochlear implants with binaural acoustic hearing via preserved hearing in the implanted ear(s) is commonly referred to as combined electric and acoustic stimulation (EAS). EAS fittings can provide patients with significant benefit for speech recognition in complex noise, perceived listening difficulty, and horizontal-plane localization as compared to traditional bimodal hearing conditions with contralateral and monaural acoustic hearing. However, EAS benefit varies across patients and the degree of benefit is not reliably related to the underlying audiogram.

SMARCA4 Mutations in Gastroesophageal Adenocarcinoma: An Observational Study via a Next-Generation Sequencing Panel.

Background: The clinical impact of SMARCA4 mutations (SMARCA4ms) in gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEA) remains underexplored. This study aimed to examine the association of SMARCA4ms with clinical outcomes and co-occurrence with other gene mutations identified through a next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel in GEA patients.

Methods: A total of 256 patients with metastatic or recurrent GEA who underwent NGS panel profiling at the MD Anderson Cancer Center between 2016 and 2022 were included.

PixRevive: Latent Feature Diffusion Model for Compressed Video Quality Enhancement.

In recent years, the rapid prevalence of high-definition video in Internet of Things (IoT) systems has been directly facilitated by advances in imaging sensor technology. To adapt to limited uplink bandwidth, most media platforms opt to compress videos to bitrate streams for transmission. However, this compression often leads to significant texture loss and artifacts, which severely degrade the Quality of Experience (QoE).

Comprehensive analysis of MAPK gene family in upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) and functional characterization of GhMPK31 in regulating defense response to insect infestation.

The transcriptomic, phenotypic and metabolomic analysis of transgenic plants overexpressing GhMPK31 in upland cotton revealed the regulation of HO burst and the synthesis of defensive metabolites by GhMPK31. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are a crucial class of protein kinases, which play an essential role in various biological processes in plants. Upland cotton (G.

Mesothelial cells with mesenchymal features enhance peritoneal dissemination by forming a protumorigenic microenvironment.

Malignant ascites accompanied by peritoneal dissemination contain various factors and cell populations as well as cancer cells; however, how the tumor microenvironment is shaped in ascites remains unclear. Single-cell proteomic profiling and a comprehensive proteomic analysis are conducted to comprehensively characterize malignant ascites. Here, we find defects in immune effectors along with immunosuppressive cell accumulation in ascites of patients with gastric cancer (GC) and identify five distinct subpopulations of CD45(-)/EpCAM(-) cells.

Engineered immunomodulatory extracellular vesicles derived from epithelial cells acquire capacity for positive and negative T cell co-stimulation in cancer and autoimmunity.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are generated by all cells and systemic administration of allogenic EVs derived from epithelial and mesenchymal cells have been shown to be safe, despite carrying an array of functional molecules, including thousands of proteins. To address whether epithelial cells derived EVs can be modified to acquire the capacity to induce immune response, we engineered 293T EVs to harbor the immunomodulatory CD80, OX40L and PD-L1 molecules. We demonstrated abundant levels of these proteins on the engineered cells and EVs.

Galectin-3 Cooperates with CD47 to Suppress Phagocytosis and T-cell Immunity in Gastric Cancer Peritoneal Metastases.

Unlabelled: The peritoneal cavity is a common site of gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC) metastasis. Peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) is resistant to current therapies and confers poor prognosis, highlighting the need to identify new therapeutic targets. CD47 conveys a "don't eat me" signal to myeloid cells upon binding its receptor signal regulatory protein alpha (SIRPα), which helps tumor cells circumvent macrophage phagocytosis and evade innate immune responses.

Evolution of immune and stromal cell states and ecotypes during gastric adenocarcinoma progression.

Understanding tumor microenvironment (TME) reprogramming in gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC) progression may uncover novel therapeutic targets. Here, we performed single-cell profiling of precancerous lesions, localized and metastatic GACs, identifying alterations in TME cell states and compositions as GAC progresses. Abundant IgA plasma cells exist in the premalignant microenvironment, whereas immunosuppressive myeloid and stromal subsets dominate late-stage GACs.

CDH1 loss promotes diffuse-type gastric cancer tumorigenesis via epigenetic reprogramming and immune evasion.

Diffuse-type gastric adenocarcinoma (DGAC) is a deadly cancer often diagnosed late and resistant to treatment. While hereditary DGAC is linked to gene mutations, causing E-Cadherin loss, its role in sporadic DGAC is unclear. We discovered CDH1 inactivation in a subset of DGAC patient tumors.

A new intronic quantitative PCR method led to the discovery of transformation from human ascites to murine malignancy in a mouse model.

Purpose: To establish a fast and accurate detection method for interspecies contaminations in the patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models and cell lines, and to elucidate possible mechanisms if interspecies oncogenic transformation is detected.

Methods: A fast and highly sensitive intronic qPCR method detecting Gapdh intronic genomic copies was developed to quantify if cells were human or murine or a mixture. By this method, we documented that murine stromal cells were abundant in the PDXs; we also authenticated our cell lines to be human or murine.

A novel fluorescent probe for the detection of formaldehyde in real food samples, animal serum samples and gaseous formaldehyde.

Formaldehyde (FA) is widely used as an adhesion promoter and dyeing aid in industrial production. Ingestion of a certain amount of formaldehyde may cause corrosive burns in the mouth, throat, and digestive tract. Therefore, it is very necessary to use simple and effective detection methods to ensure human health and food safety.

Epithelial SOX9 drives progression and metastases of gastric adenocarcinoma by promoting immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment.

Objective: Many cancers engage embryonic genes for rapid growth and evading the immune system. SOX9 has been upregulated in many tumours, yet the role of SOX9 in mediating immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment is unclear. Here, we aim to dissect the role of SOX9-mediated cancer stemness attributes and immunosuppressive microenvironment in advanced gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC) for novel therapeutic discoveries.

GRK3 is a poor prognosticator and serves as a therapeutic target in advanced gastric adenocarcinoma.

Background: G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) is the most targeted protein family by the FDA-approved drugs. GPCR-kinase 3 (GRK3) is critical for GPCR signaling. Our genomic analysis showed that GRK3 expression correlated with poor prognosis of gastric adenocarcinoma (GAC) patients.