Prognostic models of immune-related cell death and stress unveil mechanisms driving macrophage phenotypic evolution in colorectal cancer.

Background: Tumor microenvironment (TME), particularly immune cell infiltration, programmed cell death (PCD) and stress, has increasingly become a focal point in colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment. Uncovering the intricate crosstalk between these factors can enhance our understanding of CRC, guide therapeutic strategies, and improve patient prognosis.

Methods: We constructed an immune-related cell death and stress (ICDS) prognostic model utilizing machine learning methodologies.

Combined systemic immune-inflammatory index and prognostic nutritional index predicts the efficacy and prognosis of ES-SCLC patients receiving PD-L1 inhibitors combined with first-line chemotherapy.

Background: There is a strong association between inflammation and the formation, progression, and metastasis of malignant tumors, according to earlier studies. Some composite inflammation-nutritional indicators, such as the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and the prognostic nutritional index (PNI), have a certain predictive effect on the prognosis of patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). However, the relationship between these indicators and the efficacy of immunotherapy in SCLC patients is still not well understood.

Drug resistance mechanism and reversal strategy in lung cancer immunotherapy.

Among all malignant tumors, lung cancer has the highest mortality and morbidity rates. The non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) are the most common histological subtypes. Although there are a number of internationally recognized lung cancer therapy regimens, their therapeutic effects remain inadequate.

Optical near fields for ablation of periodic structures.

The formation mechanism of laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) has been a key to high-resolution sub-diffraction lithography or high-efficiency large-area nanotexturing. We show the evolution of LIPSS formation from a nanohole seed structure to high-spatial-frequency LIPSS by using a tightly focused and rectangular-shaped laser beam with different shape-polarization orientations. Formation of LIPSS based on light intensity distribution without invoking any long-range electromagnetic modes achieved quantitative match between modeling and experiment.

Nanoscale control of non-reciprocal ripple writing.

Femtosecond laser-induced deep-subwavelength structures have attracted much attention as a nanoscale surface texturization technique. A better understanding of the formation conditions and period control is required. Herein, we report a method of non-reciprocal writing via a tailored optical far-field exposure, where the period of ripples varies along different scanning directions, and achieve a continuous manipulation of the period from 47 to 112 nm (±4 nm) for a 100-nm-thick indium tin oxide (ITO) on glass.

Nanoscale Printing of Indium-Tin-Oxide by Femtosecond Laser Pulses.

For constructing optical and electrical micro-devices, the deposition/printing of materials with sub-1 μm precision and size (cross-section) is required. Crystalline c-ITO (indium tin oxide) nanostructures were patterned on glass with sufficient precision to form 20-50 nm gaps between individual disks or lines of ∼250 nm diameter or width. The absorbed energy density [J/cm3] followed a second-order dependence on pulse energy.

Highly Deformable High-Performance Paper-Based Perovskite Photodetector with Improved Stability.

Paper-based photodetectors have attracted extensive research interest owing to their environmentally friendly and highly deformable properties. Although perovskite crystals with outstanding optoelectronic properties have proved to be one of the most promising candidates for photodetectors, the development of paper-based photodetectors is hindered by the moisture absorptivity of paper and the instability of perovskite crystals in a humid atmosphere. In this study, we demonstrate a highly deformable and high-performance paper-based perovskite photodetector.

Perovskite Single-Crystal Microwire-Array Photodetectors with Performance Stability beyond 1 Year.

Compared with thin-film morphology, 1D perovskite structures such as micro/nanowires with fewer grain boundaries and lower defect density are very suitable for high-performance photodetectors with higher stability. Although the stability of perovskite microwire-based photodetectors has been substantially enhanced in comparison with that of photodetectors based on thin-film morphology, practical applications require further improvements to the stability before implementation. In this study, a template-assisted method is developed to prepare methylammonium lead bromide (MAPbBr ) micro/nanowire structures, which are encapsulated in situ by a protective hydrophobic molecular layer.

Template-confined growth of Ruddlesden-Popper perovskite micro-wire arrays for stable polarized photodetectors.

The detection of the polarization states of light is of great significance for the analysis of biological tissue morphologies, image display systems and sensors. Although organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite crystals have excellent photoelectric properties, which make them very suitable for the preparation of photodetectors, their applications in polarized light detection are hindered by their isotropy and instability. Here, we solved this problem by fabricating a stable 2D layered Ruddlesden-Popper perovskite into anisotropic micro-wire arrays with a template-confined method.

Mechanism of Stiff Substrates up-Regulate Cultured Neuronal Network Activity.

Our previous work provided compelling evidence showing that substrate stiffness is crucial for regulating synaptic connectivity and excitatory synaptic transmission among neurons in the neuronal network. However, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. In our study, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates with different stiffness have been fabricated to investigate the mechanisms by which the substrate stiffness upregulates the formation and activity of the cultured neuronal network.

Cerebral cortical networking for mental workload assessment under various demands during dual-task walking.

While several studies have examined attentional reserve (via event-related potentials) and mental effort (via EEG spectral content) from various cortical regions during dual-task walking, none have assessed changes in the magnitude of interregional (cortico-cortical) communication as a measure of mental workload. Therefore, by deploying a traditional montage of electrode sites centered over the motor planning region as well as a more comprehensive graph theory-based approach encompassing the entire scalp, this study aimed to systematically examine changes in the magnitude of functional connectivity underlying cortico-cortical communication to assess changes in mental workload under various levels of challenge. Specifically, the Weighted Phase Lag Index (WPLI) was computed to assess the changes in magnitude of functional connectivity as participants performed a cognitive task under two demands (low and high) and two conditions (seated and walking).

The Saffold Virus-Penang 2B and 3C Proteins, but not the L Protein, Induce Apoptosis in HEp-2 and Vero Cells.

Our previous work has shown that Saffold virus (SAFV) induced several rodent and primate cell lines to undergo apoptosis (Xu et al. in Emerg Microb Infect 3:1-8, 2014), but the essential viral proteins of SAFV involved in apoptotic activity lack study. In this study, we individually transfected the viral proteins of SAFV into HEp-2 and Vero cells to assess their ability to induce apoptosis, and found that the 2B and 3C proteins are proapoptotic.

Gold nanoparticle densely packed micro/nanowire-based pressure sensors for human motion monitoring and physiological signal detection.

Flexible pressure sensors have gained ever-increasing attention because of their widespread applications in wearable devices. The sensor fabrication technologies reported so far are generally complicated, limiting their industrial applications. It is therefore of great importance to develop a simple method to fabricate high-performance flexible pressure sensors.

Intracellular localization of Saffold virus Leader (L) protein differs in Vero and HEp-2 cells.

The Saffold virus (SAFV) genome is translated as a single long polyprotein precursor and co-translationally cleaved to yield 12 separate viral proteins. Little is known about the activities of SAFV proteins although their homologs in other picornaviruses have already been described. To further support research on functions and activities of respective viral proteins, we investigated the spatio-temporal distribution of SAFV proteins in Vero and HEp-2 cells that had been either transfected with plasmids that express individual viral proteins or infected with live SAFV.

A clinically authentic mouse model of enterovirus 71 (EV-A71)-induced neurogenic pulmonary oedema.

Enterovirus 71 (EV-A71) is a neurotropic virus that sporadically causes fatal neurologic illness among infected children. Animal models of EV-A71 infection exist, but they do not recapitulate in animals the spectrum of disease and pathology observed in fatal human cases. Specifically, neurogenic pulmonary oedema (NPE)-the main cause of EV-A71 infection-related mortality-is not observed in any of these models.

Cooperative effect of the VP1 amino acids 98E, 145A and 169F in the productive infection of mouse cell lines by enterovirus 71 (BS strain).

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is a neurotrophic virus that causes hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) and occasional neurological infection among children. It infects primate cells but not rodent cells, primarily due to the incompatibility between the virus and the expressed form of its receptor, scavenger receptor class B member 2 (SCARB2) protein, on rodent cells (mSCARB2). We previously generated adapted strains (EV71:TLLm and EV71:TLLmv) that were shown to productively infect primate and rodent cell lines and whose genomes exhibited a multitude of non-synonymous mutations compared with the EV71:BS parental virus.

The Pathogenesis of Saffold Virus in AG129 Mice and the Effects of Its Truncated L Protein in the Central Nervous System.

Saffold Virus (SAFV) is a human cardiovirus that has been suggested to cause severe infection of the central nervous system (CNS). Compared to a similar virus, Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV), SAFV has a truncated Leader (L) protein, a protein essential in the establishment of persistent CNS infections. In this study, we generated a chimeric SAFV by replacing the L protein of SAFV with that of TMEV.

Phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of novel mouse cell line (NIH/3T3)-adapted human enterovirus 71 strains (EV71:TLLm and EV71:TLLmv).

Since its identification in 1969, Enterovirus 71 (EV71) has been causing periodic outbreaks of infection in children worldwide and most prominently in the Asia-Pacific Region. Understanding the pathogenesis of Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is hampered by the virus's inability to infect small animals and replicate in their derived in vitro cultured cells. This manuscript describes the phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of two selected EV71 strains (EV71:TLLm and EV71:TLLmv), which have been adapted to replicate in mouse-derived NIH/3T3 cells, in contrast to the original parental virus which is only able to replicate in primate cell lines.

Saffold virus is able to productively infect primate and rodent cell lines and induces apoptosis in these cells.

Saffold virus (SAFV), a newly discovered human cardiovirus of the Picornaviridae family, causes widespread infection among children, as shown by previous seroprevalence studies. To determine the host cell range of SAFV and its cytopathogenicity, eight mammalian cell lines that were available in the laboratory were screened for productive SAFV infection by a laboratory-adapted SAFV of genotype 3. Five of the cell lines (Neuro2A, CHO-K1, NIH/3T3, Vero and HEp-2) were found to be permissible.

Structure-function analysis of Rgs1 in Magnaporthe oryzae: role of DEP domains in subcellular targeting.

Background: Rgs1, a prototypical Regulator of G protein Signaling, negatively modulates the cyclic AMP pathway thereby influencing various aspects of asexual development and pathogenesis in the rice-blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. Rgs1 possesses tandem DEP motifs (termed DEP-A and DEP-B; for Dishevelled, Egl-10, Pleckstrin) at the N-terminus, and a Gα-GTP interacting RGS catalytic core domain at the C-terminus. In this study, we focused on gaining further insights into the mechanisms of Rgs1 regulation and subcellular localization by characterizing the role(s) of the individual domains and the full-length protein during asexual development and pathogenesis in Magnaporthe.

[Analysis of 61 cases undergoing sphincter-preserving procedure with intersphincteric resection by telescopic anastomosis for ultra-low rectal cancer].

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and safety of sphincter-preserving procedure with transabdominal intersphincteric resection for ultra-low rectal cancer.

Methods: Clinical data of 61 cases with ultra-low rectal cancer (distance from anal verge ranged from 4-5 cm) were analyzed retrospectively. The patients underwent sphincter-preserving procedure with intersphincteric resection and telescopic anastomosis.

[Clinical experience of 371 cases of sphincter-preservation with telescopic anastomosis after radical excision for low-middle rectal cancer].

Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy, feasibility and safety of sphincter-preservation with telescopic anastomosis of colon and rectal mucosa in low-middle rectal cancer.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was carried out in 371 patients with low-middle rectal cancer in whom telescopic anastomosis was used. There were 224 males and 147 females, with a mean age of 57.