Exposure to leachates of plastic food containers disturbs glucose and lipid metabolism: Insights from models mimicking real-exposure scenarios.

The increasing use of plastic food containers, particularly for pre-cooked meals and takeout services, has raised concerns regarding the potential health risks associated with plastic leachates. This study investigated the impact of leachates from heat-treated polypropylene (PP) plastic food containers on glucose and lipid metabolism using both in vitro and in vivo models. AML12 hepatocytes exposed to leachates from three different PP plastic containers exhibited significant disruptions in the homeostasis of lipid and glucose metabolism, evidenced by increased intracellular lipid content and altered gene expression related to lipogenesis, lipid uptake, lipolysis, and fatty acid β-oxidation.

Development of hyaluronic acid/β-cyclodextrin semi-interpenetrating network hydrogels for prolonged delivery of water-soluble sunitinib malate.

Sunitinib malate (SUM), widely used in cancer treatment for its anti-VEGF properties, has also been explored for ocular neovascular diseases. For ocular applications, sustained drug release is essential to reduce dosing frequency. Hyaluronic acid (HA)-based hydrogels are commonly used for controlled drug delivery, but their hydrophilicity leads to rapid drug diffusion, especially for water-soluble drugs like SUM.

Gold nanoclusters AuAcCys normalize intracellular ROS without increasing cytoplasmic alarmin acHMGB1 abundance in human microglia and neurons.

This study focuses on the modulatory effects of gold nanoclusters with 25 gold atoms and 18 acetyl cysteines (AuAcCys) in human microglia, human iPSC-derived neurons and SH-SY5Y differentiated human neuronal cells. The combination of chemical, biological, and computational methods shows the well-retained viability of these human cells treated with AuAcCys, interactions between AuAcCys and transcription factor TFEB (computational approach), interactions between TFEB and HMGB1 (proximity ligation assay and molecular modeling using AlphaFold), modulation of the abundance and location of acHMGB1 by AuAcCys (immunocytochemistry), and the reduction of ROS in cells treated with AuAcCys (CellROX live imaging). These novel findings in human neural cells, particularly neurons, encourage further studies in experimental animal models of neurological disorders and/or human organoids to exploit the unique structural and photophysical properties of gold nanoclusters and to better understand their ability to modulate molecular mechanisms in human cells.

HiFi-Syn: Hierarchical granularity discrimination for high-fidelity synthesis of MR images with structure preservation.

Synthesizing medical images while preserving their structural information is crucial in medical research. In such scenarios, the preservation of anatomical content becomes especially important. Although recent advances have been made by incorporating instance-level information to guide translation, these methods overlook the spatial coherence of structural-level representation and the anatomical invariance of content during translation.

CQformer: Learning Dynamics Across Slices in Medical Image Segmentation.

Prevalent studies on deep learning-based 3D medical image segmentation capture the continuous variation across 2D slices mainly via convolution, Transformer, inter-slice interaction, and time series models. In this work, via modeling this variation by an ordinary differential equation (ODE), we propose a cross instance query-guided Transformer architecture (CQformer) that leverages features from preceding slices to improve the segmentation performance of subsequent slices. Its key components include a cross-attention mechanism in an ODE formulation, which bridges the features of contiguous 2D slices of the 3D volumetric data.

Voltage Gated Ion Channels and Sleep.

Ion channels are integral components of the nervous system, playing a pivotal role in shaping membrane potential, neuronal excitability, synaptic transmission and plasticity. Dysfunction in these channels, such as improper expression or localization, can lead to irregular neuronal excitability and synaptic communication, which may manifest as various behavioral abnormalities, including disrupted rest-activity cycles. Research has highlighted the significant impact of voltage gated ion channels on sleep parameters, influencing sleep latency, duration and waveforms.

Meiotic chromatin-associated HSF5 is indispensable for pachynema progression and male fertility.

Pachynema progression contributes to the completion of prophase I. Nevertheless, the regulation of this significant meiotic process remains poorly understood. In this study, we identified a novel testis-specific protein HSF5, which regulates pachynema progression during male meiosis in a manner dependent on chromatin-binding.

Determination of the effective swath of a plant protection UAV adapted to mist nozzles in mountain Nangguo pear orchards.

Plant protection unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become popular in mountain orchards, but due to the differences in planting structures, the chances of heavy spraying, missed spraying and pesticide drift are increasing. To mitigate the adverse effects of these phenomena, it is necessary to clarify the effective deposition range of aerial spray droplets. This study proposed an effective spray swath determination method for the effective spraying range of mountainous orchards with UAVs equipped with a mist nozzle (bilateral 1% coverage).

Palladium-catalyzed selective C-C bond cleavage of keto-vinylidenecyclopropanes: construction of structurally rich dihydrofurans and tetrahydrofurans.

Palladium-catalyzed selective cleavage of the distal C-C bond and proximal C-C bond of keto-vinylidenecyclopropanes by altering the sterically bulky phosphine ligands has been realized. The proximal C-C bond cleavage can be achieved by using dtbpf as a phosphine ligand, affording bicyclic products containing dihydrofuran skeletons in good yields along with broad substrate scope. In proximal C-C bond cleavage reactions, the eight-membered cyclic palladium intermediate plays a key role in the reaction.

Evaluating the relative importance of different blood pressure indices in screening for NAFLD: a survey report based on a health examination population.

Objective: While hypertension is a well-recognized risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the specific roles of various common blood pressure measurements [diastolic blood pressure (DBP), systolic blood pressure (SBP), pulse pressure (PP), mean arterial pressure (MAP)] in detecting NAFLD and evaluating the associated risk in adults remain unclear.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 14,251 adult participants undergoing health screenings in the NAfld in the Gifu Area, Longitudinal Analysis project (NAGALA). Following the Z-transformation of the independent variables, we evaluated the relationships between the four blood pressure indices and NAFLD through multivariable logistic regression models.

Robust acoustic directional sensing enabled by synergy between resonator-based sensor and deep learning.

We demonstrate enhanced acoustic sensing arising from the synergy between resonator-based acoustic sensor and deep learning. We numerically verify that both vibration amplitude and phase are enhanced and preserved at and off the resonance in our compact acoustic sensor housing three cavities. In addition, we experimentally measure the response of our sensor to single-frequency and siren signals, based on which we train convolutional neural networks (CNNs).

Application of a centrifugal disc fertilizer spreading system for UAVs in rice fields.

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) granular fertilizer spreading technology has been gradually applied in agricultural production. However, in the process of spreading operation, the actual influence effect of each factor in field operation is still unclear. Based on the self-developed UAV fertilizer spreading system, this paper explores the effects of three factors, the baffle retraction (B), spreading disc speed (D), and UAV flight altitude (H), on the granular fertilizer spreading effect in the actual field scenarios through the orthogonal test and taking the coefficient of variation (Cv) and relative error of fertilizer application rate (λ) as the evaluation indexes.

TEMPO-Grafted Polystyrene/Polymethacrylate Organosiloxane Janus Nanohybrids as Efficient Pickering Interfacial Catalyst for Selective Aerobic Oxidation of Cinnamyl Alcohol.

The novel 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) groups immobilized on functional polymers or nanoparticles emerged as potential Pickering interfacial catalysts (PICs) for effective catalysis in biphasic systems. In this study, a snowman-shaped Janus-structured polymer with TEMPO-anchored nanohybrid particles (SM-JPP-TEMPO) was prepared and employed as a potential PIC in the Anelli-Montanari system for the selective oxidation of alcohol. The amphiphilic character of SM-JPP-TEMPO particles plays a dual role as an emulsifier and catalyst in the Pickering emulsion.

Integrin αvβ3 Upregulation in Response to Nutrient Stress Promotes Lung Cancer Cell Metabolic Plasticity.

Unlabelled: Cancer stem/tumor-initiating cells display stress tolerance and metabolic flexibility to survive in a harsh environment with limited nutrient and oxygen availability. The molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon could provide targets to prevent metabolic adaptation and halt cancer progression. Here, we showed in cultured cells and live human surgical biopsies of non-small cell lung cancer that nutrient stress drives the expression of the epithelial cancer stem cell marker integrin αvβ3 via upregulation of the β3 subunit, resulting in a metabolic reprogramming cascade that allows tumor cells to thrive despite a nutrient-limiting environment.

Iron metabolism and ferroptosis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: what is our next step?

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease with increasing prevalence worldwide. NAFLD could develop from simple hepatic steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), NASH-related fibrosis, cirrhosis, and even hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the mechanism of NAFLD development has not yet been fully defined.

Mechanistic Studies on Rhodium-Catalyzed Chemoselective Cycloaddition of Ene-Vinylidenecyclopropanes: Water-Assisted Proton Transfer.

Rhodium-catalyzed cycloaddition reactions are a powerful tool for the construction of polycyclic compounds. Combined experimental and DFT studies were used to investigate the temperature-controlled chemoselectivity of cationic rhodium-catalyzed intramolecular cycloaddition reactions of ene-vinylidenecyclopropanes. After a series of mechanistic studies, it was found that trace amounts of water in the reaction system play an important role in generating the product with double bond located on a five-membered ring and revealed that trace amounts of water in the reaction system, including the rhodium catalyst, substrate and solvent, were sufficient to promote the formation of the product with double bond located on a five-membered ring, and additional water could not further accelerate the reaction.

USP19 deubiquitinase inactivation regulates α-synuclein ubiquitination and inhibits accumulation of Lewy body-like aggregates in mice.

The USP19 deubiquitinase is found in a locus associated with Parkinson's Disease (PD), interacts with chaperonins, and promotes secretion of α-synuclein (α-syn) through the misfolding-associated protein secretion (MAPS) pathway. Since these processes might modulate the processing of α-syn aggregates in PD, we inactivated USP19 (KO) in mice expressing the A53T mutation of α-syn and in whom α-syn preformed fibrils (PFF) had been injected in the striatum. Compared to WT, KO brains showed decreased accumulation of phospho-synuclein (pSyn) positive aggregates.

Targeting UBR5 inhibits postsurgical breast cancer lung metastases by inducing CDC73 and p53 mediated apoptosis.

UBR5 is a HECT domain E3 ubiquitin ligase that is frequently amplified in breast, ovarian and prostate cancers. Heightened UBR5 expression plays a profound role in tumor growth through immune-dependent mechanisms; however, its mode of action in driving tumor metastasis has not been definitively delineated. Herein, we used a tetracycline (Tet)-inducible RNAi-mediated expression silencing cell system to investigate how UBR5 enables postsurgical mammary tumor metastatic growth in mouse lungs without the continuous influence of the primary lesion.

A-GCL: Adversarial graph contrastive learning for fMRI analysis to diagnose neurodevelopmental disorders.

Accurate diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders is a challenging task due to the time-consuming cognitive tests and potential human bias in clinics. To address this challenge, we propose a novel adversarial self-supervised graph neural network (GNN) based on graph contrastive learning, named A-GCL, for diagnosing neurodevelopmental disorders using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. Taking advantage of the success of GNNs in psychiatric disease diagnosis using fMRI, our proposed A-GCL model is expected to improve the performance of diagnosis and provide more robust results.

The relationship between preschool teacher trait mindfulness and teacher-child relationship quality: the chain mediating role of emotional intelligence and empathy.

The teacher-child relationship plays an important role in children's future development. However, the existing research mainly focuses on the influence of preschool teachers' external conditions on the teacher-student relationship, while the research on the influence of teachers' internal psychological characteristics on the teacher-student relationship is relatively lacking. In this study, three hundred and seventeen preschool teachers were tested were tested with Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, Emotional Intelligence Scale, Chinese Interpersonal Response Index, and Teacher-student Relationship Scale.

EIF4a3-regulated circRABL2B regulates cell stemness and drug sensitivity of lung cancer via YBX1-dependent downregulation of MUC5AC expression.

Identification of mucin modulators is of remarkable significance to facilitate mucin-based antineoplastic therapy. However, little is known about circular RNAs (circRNAs) on regulating mucins. Dysregulated mucins and circRNAs were identified via high-throughput sequencing and their relationships with lung cancer survival were analyzed in tumor samples of 141 patients.

The gut microbiome: A line of defense against tuberculosis development.

The tuberculosis (TB) burden remains a significant global public health concern, especially in less developed countries. While pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is the most common form of the disease, extrapulmonary tuberculosis, particularly intestinal TB (ITB), which is mostly secondary to PTB, is also a significant issue. With the development of sequencing technologies, recent studies have investigated the potential role of the gut microbiome in TB development.