TMEM16A channel upregulation in arterial smooth muscle cells produces vasoconstriction during diabetes.

The pathological involvement of anion channels in vascular dysfunction that occurs during type 2 diabetes (T2D) is unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that TMEM16A, a calcium-activated chloride (Cl) channel, contributes to modifications in arterial contractility during T2D. Our data indicate that T2D increased TMEM16A mRNA in arterial smooth muscle cells and total and surface TMEM16A protein in resistance-size cerebral and hindlimb arteries of mice.

Three Immune-Associated Subtypes of Diffuse Glioma Differ in Immune Infiltration, Immune Checkpoint Molecules, and Prognosis.

Diffuse glioma is one of the most prevalent malignancies of the brain, with high heterogeneity of tumor-infiltrating immune cells. However, immune-associated subtypes of diffuse glioma have not been determined, nor has the effect of different immune-associated subtypes on disease prognosis and immune infiltration of diffuse glioma patients. We retrieved the expression profiles of immune-related genes from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) (n = 672) and GSE16011 (n = 268) cohorts and used them to identify subtypes of diffuse glioma via Consensus Cluster Plus analysis.

Ways to control harmful biofilms: prevention, inhibition, and eradication.

Biofilms are complex microbial architectures that encase microbial cells in a matrix comprising self-produced extracellular polymeric substances. Microorganisms living in biofilms are much more resistant to hostile environments than their planktonic counterparts and exhibit enhanced resistance against the microbicides. From the human perspective, biofilms can be classified into beneficial, neutral, and harmful.

Selective antitumor activity of drug-free TPGS nanomicelles with ROS-induced mitochondrial cell death.

D-a-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS) as a FDA-approved safe adjuvant has shown an excellent application in the targeting delivery of antitumor drugs and overcoming multidrug resistance. Beside, TPGS can result in apoptogenic activity toward many tumor types because it can induce mitochondrial dysfunction. Therefore, TPGS can serve as an antineoplastic agent.

Strip width ratio expansion with lowered N fertilizer rate enhances N complementary use between intercropped pea and maize.

Maize (Zea mays L.)/pea (Pisum sativum L.) strip intercropping is considered a promising cropping system to boost crop productivity.

Mitophagy promotes the stemness of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells.

Previous studies demonstrated that mitochondrial fission arguments the stemness of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). Because mitophagy is critical in removing damaged or surplus mitochondrial fragments and maintaining mitochondrial integrity, the present study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that mitophagy is involved in mitochondrial fission-enhanced stemness of BMSCs. Primary cultures of rat BMSCs were treated with tyrphostin A9 (TA9, a potent inducer of mitochondrial fission) to increase mitochondrial fission, which was accompanied by enhanced mitophagy as defined by increased co-staining of MitoTracker Green for mitochondria and LysoTracker Deep Red for lysosomes, as well as the increased co-localization of autophagy markers (LC3B, P62) and mitochondrial marker (Tom20).

Effects of Monovacancy and Divacancies on Hydrogen Solubility, Trapping and Diffusion Behaviors in fcc-Pd by First Principles.

The hydrogen blistering phenomenon is one of the key issues for the target station of the accelerator-based neutron source. In the present study, the effect of monovacancies and divacancies defects on the solution, clustering and diffusion behaviors of H impurity in fcc-Pd were studied through first principles calculations. Our calculations prove that vacancies behave as an effective sink for H impurities.

XENON1T Excess from Anomaly-Free Axionlike Dark Matter and Its Implications for Stellar Cooling Anomaly.

Recently, an anomalous excess was found in the electronic recoil data collected at the XENON1T experiment. The excess may be explained by an axionlike particle (ALP) with a mass of a few keV and a coupling to electron of g_{ae}∼10^{-13}, if the ALP constitutes all or some fraction of local dark matter (DM). In order to satisfy the x-ray constraint, the ALP coupling to photons must be significantly suppressed compared to that to electrons.

The efficacy and safety of irinotecan combined with nedaplatin in the treatment of small cell lung cancer.

Purpose: To investigate the efficacy and safety of irinotecan combined with nedaplatin in the treatment of small cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Methods: 64 patients diagnosed with SCLC in our hospital from April 2013 to June 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. Thirty-two patients in group A were treated with irinotecan combined with nedaplatin, while 32 patients in group B were treated with irinotecan combined with cisplatin.

Development and Validation of a Tumor Mutation Burden-Related Immune Prognostic Model for Lower-Grade Glioma.

Tumor mutation burden (TMB) is a useful biomarker to predict prognosis and the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). In this study, we aimed to explore the prognostic value of TMB and the potential association between TMB and immune infiltration in lower-grade gliomas (LGGs). Somatic mutation and RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data were downloaded from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database.

Hematopoietic Progenitor Kinase1 (HPK1) Mediates T Cell Dysfunction and Is a Druggable Target for T Cell-Based Immunotherapies.

Ameliorating T cell exhaustion and enhancing effector function are promising strategies for the improvement of immunotherapies. Here, we show that the HPK1-NFκB-Blimp1 axis mediates T cell dysfunction. High expression of MAP4K1 (which encodes HPK1) correlates with increased T cell exhaustion and with worse patient survival in several cancer types.

PVDF-Modified TiO Nanowires Membrane with Underliquid Dual Superlyophobic Property for Switchable Separation of Oil-Water Emulsions.

Separation membranes with underliquid dual superlyophobicity have recently caused widespread concern due to their switchable separation of oil-water mixtures and emulsions. However, the fabrication of the reported underliquid dual superlyophobic membranes is difficult, and the design of the underliquid dual superlyophobic surface of these membranes is challenging because of their complex surface composition. Theoretically, underliquid dual superlyophobicity is an underliquid Cassie state attainable by the synergy of the underliquid dual lyophobic surface and the construction of a high-roughness surface.

Association between recipient survival and blood donor age after blood transfusion in a surgery intensive care unit: a multicenter randomized controlled trial study protocol.

Background: Blood from younger individuals has been shown to improve physiological function in recipients in laboratory research, and many proteins from human peripheral blood show antisenescence capabilities. Thus, researchers have questioned whether blood from young donors is superior to blood from older donors. Blood transfusion is a key supportive therapy for trauma patients, and recent studies have reported the influence of blood donor age on recipient patient prognosis.

Global convergence in the balance between leaf water supply and demand across vascular land plants.

Coordination between the density of veins (water supply) and stomata (demand for water) has been found in the leaves of modern angiosperms and also in ferns. This suggests that this coordinated development is not a unique adaptation of derived angiosperms that enables their high productivity. To test this, we compiled leaf vein and stomatal density data from 520 land vascular plant species including derived angiosperms, basal angiosperms, gymnosperms and ferns.

[Start-up of an Integrated Process of Denitrifying Phosphorus Removal Coupled with Partial Nitritation and Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidation].

An integrated process uses an anaerobic baffled reactor combined with a fully mixed reactor (ABR-CSTR) as a test carrier for low-carbon, high-ammonia nitrogen (NH-N ≥ 200 mg·L) wastewater under continuous flow operating conditions; the normal anaerobic sludge in different compartments is subjected to domestication and cultivation to realize denitrifying phosphorus removal, partial nitritation, and anaerobic ammonium oxidation, thereby achieving the coupling effect of the three. Partial nitritation was successfully achieved in the A4 (CSTR) section by the strategy of limited oxygen (dissolved oxygen DO=0.8 mg·L) and intermittent aeration (exposure ratio=30 min:30 min) after 30 days.

Predictive factors of severe coronavirus disease 2019 in previously healthy young adults: a single-center, retrospective study.

Background: Several previously healthy young adults have developed Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), and a few of them progressed to the severe stage. However, the factors are not yet determined.

Method: We retrospectively analyzed 123 previously healthy young adults diagnosed with COVID-19 from January to March 2020 in a tertiary hospital in Wuhan.

MicroRNA-10a promotes epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and stemness maintenance of pancreatic cancer stem cells via upregulating the Hippo signaling pathway through WWC2 inhibition.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs)-mediated cancer stem cells (CSCs) have drawn wide attention. This study aimed to probe the role of miR-10a in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and stemness maintenance of pancreatic CSCs (PCSCs). Differentially expressed miRs and genes in pancreatic cancer (PC) were predicted via an online database, and the miR-10a and WW and C2 domain containing 2 (WWC2) expression were identified via a comparative study in PC and pancreatitis tissues.

Minimally Invasive Surgery Is Feasible in Patients with Liver and Kidney Transplantation.

BACKGROUND Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has rapidly advanced, but its use in transplant patients has lagged. We share our experience of MIS for patients after kidney and liver transplantation and compare our results with similar studies in the literature. MATERIAL AND METHODS This study included 14 MIS (12 laparoscopic, 2 transvaginal) procedures for 13 transplant cases (6 liver and 7 kidney) done from May 2006 to May 2018.

[Ecosystem service function of green manure and its application in dryland agriculture of China].

Dryland agriculture, with wide distribution and high yield potential, plays an important role in ensuring food security in China. It is currently limited by water scarcity, soil depletion, water and soil loss, and low non-renewable resource-use efficiency. Green manure has the potential to improve growth environment of crops and promote sustainable high-yield crops by increasing soil quality, balancing soil nutrients, and enhancing soil water-storage capacity.

Effects of Corticosteroid Treatment for Non-Severe COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Propensity Score-Based Analysis.

Background And Objective: The effects of corticosteroid treatment on non-severe COVID-19 pneumonia patients are unknown. To determine the impacts of adjuvant corticosteroid administrated to patients with non-severe COVID-19 pneumonia.

Method: A retrospective cohort study based on propensity score analysis was designed to explore the effects of corticosteroid on several clinical outcomes.

A decade of research on the second messenger c-di-AMP.

Cyclic dimeric adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (c-di-AMP) is an emerging second messenger in bacteria and archaea that is synthesized from two molecules of ATP by diadenylate cyclases and degraded to pApA or two AMP molecules by c-di-AMP-specific phosphodiesterases. Through binding to specific protein- and riboswitch-type receptors, c-di-AMP regulates a wide variety of prokaryotic physiological functions, including maintaining the osmotic pressure, balancing central metabolism, monitoring DNA damage and controlling biofilm formation and sporulation. It mediates bacterial adaptation to a variety of environmental parameters and can also induce an immune response in host animal cells.

Remdesivir in adults with severe COVID-19: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial.

Background: No specific antiviral drug has been proven effective for treatment of patients with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Remdesivir (GS-5734), a nucleoside analogue prodrug, has inhibitory effects on pathogenic animal and human coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in vitro, and inhibits Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, SARS-CoV-1, and SARS-CoV-2 replication in animal models.

Methods: We did a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial at ten hospitals in Hubei, China.

Chimeric antigen receptor therapy in hematological malignancies: antigenic targets and their clinical research progress.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-based immunotherapy has achieved dramatic success in the treatment of B cell malignancies, based on the summary of current research data, and has shown good potential in early phase cancer clinical trials. Modified constructs are being optimized to recognize and destroy tumor cells more effectively. By targeting the proper B-lineage-specific antigens such as CD19 and CD20, adoptive immunotherapy has demonstrated promising clinical results and already plays a role in the treatment of several lymphoid malignancies, which highlights the importance of target selection for other CAR therapies.

New insights on biological nutrient removal by coupling biofilm-based CANON and denitrifying phosphorus removal (CANDPR) process: Long-term stability assessment and microbial community evolution.

It was difficult to obtain a stable and efficient biological nutrient removal for high-strength wastewater treatment, the possibility of exploiting innovative CANDPR process, integrating biofilm-based completely autotrophic nitrogen removal over nitrite (CANON) with denitrifying phosphorus removal (DPR) was evaluated to resolve the difficulty. Results revealed that the excellent NH-N, PO-P and COD removal efficiencies of 96%, 96% and 91%, were achieved respectively under a high nitrogen loading rate (0.79 kg·m·d) without adding organic matters during 320 days operation.