Functional CRISPR screens in T cells reveal new opportunities for cancer immunotherapies.

T cells are fundamental components in tumour immunity and cancer immunotherapies, which have made immense strides and revolutionized cancer treatment paradigm. However, recent studies delineate the predicament of T cell dysregulation in tumour microenvironment and the compromised efficacy of cancer immunotherapies. CRISPR screens enable unbiased interrogation of gene function in T cells and have revealed functional determinators, genetic regulatory networks, and intercellular interactions in T cell life cycle, thereby providing opportunities to revamp cancer immunotherapies.

Extracellular vesicle-derived non-coding RNAs in remodeling melanoma.

Melanoma is one of the most lethal cutaneous malignancies. Despite great advances in radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, the survival rate and prognosis of patients with melanoma remain poor. The abundant and sophisticated reciprocal communication network between melanoma cells and non-tumor cells contributes to the high heterogeneity of the melanoma microenvironment and is intimately related to varying treatment responses and clinical courses.

NcRNA: key and potential in hearing loss.

Hearing loss has an extremely high prevalence worldwide and brings incredible economic and social burdens. Mechanisms such as epigenetics are profoundly involved in the initiation and progression of hearing loss and potentially yield definite strategies for hearing loss treatment. Non-coding genes occupy 97% of the human genome, and their transcripts, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), are widely participated in regulating various physiological and pathological situations.

The Distribution Characteristics and Potential Risk Assessment of Lead in the Soil of Tieguanyin Tea Plantations in Anxi County, China.

Assessing the distribution and risks associated with the soil lead content in the Tieguanyin tea plantations of Anxi County is critical, given the county's significance as the primary Tieguanyin tea production area in Fujian Province. This study examined the distribution characteristics of soil lead in Anxi County's tea plantations according to the Kriging spatial interpolation of the parameters of the semivariance function of the exponential model. Moreover, the sources of lead content were analyzed, considering geological backgrounds and anthropogenic influences.

Contribution of Insulin Resistance and β Cell Dysfunction to Gestational Diabetes Stratified for Pre-pregnant Body Mass Index.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the contribution of insulin resistance and β cell dysfunction to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in Chinese women stratified by pre-pregnant body mass index (BMI). A total of 847 pregnant women were enrolled. They were divided into low BMI and high BMI groups according to the median of pre-pregnancy BMI.

Predicting pediatric Crohn's disease based on six mRNA-constructed risk signature using comprehensive bioinformatic approaches.

Crohn's disease (CD) is a recurrent, chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract which is a clinical subtype of inflammatory bowel disease for which timely and non-invasive diagnosis in children remains a challenge. A novel predictive risk signature for pediatric CD diagnosis was constructed from bioinformatics analysis of six mRNAs, adenomatosis polyposis downregulated 1 (APCDD1), complement component 1r, mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase kinase 5 (MAP3K5), lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase 1, sphingomyelin synthase 1 and transmembrane protein 184B, and validated using samples. Statistical evaluation was performed by support vector machine learning, weighted gene co-expression network analysis, differentially expressed genes and pathological assessment.

A cold-responsive liquid crystal elastomer provides visual signals for monitoring a critical temperature decrease.

Critical temperature indicators have been extensively utilized in various fields, ranging from healthcare to food safety. However, the majority of the temperature indicators are designed for upper critical temperature monitoring, indicating when the temperature rises and exceeds a predefined limit, whereas stringently demanded low critical temperature indicators are scarcely developed. Herein, we develop a new material and system that monitor temperature decrease, , from ambient temperature to the freezing point, or even to an ultra-low temperature of -20 °C.

Reversible Perspiring Artificial "Fingertips".

Fingertip perspiration is a vital process within human predation, to which the species owes its survival and its biological success. In this paper, the unique human ability of extensive perspiration and controlled friction in self-assembled cholesteric liquid crystals is recreated, mimicking the natural processes that occur in the dermis and epidermis of human skin. This is achieved by inducing porosity in responsive, liquid-bearing material through the controlled-polymerization phase-separation process.

Perspiring Soft Robotics Skin Constituted by Dynamic Polarity-Switching Porous Liquid Crystal Membrane.

Secretion of functional fluids is essential for affecting surface properties in ecosystems. The existing polymer membranes that mimic human skin functions are limited to secreting, either apolar or polar, liquid. However, the development of membranes that grant exchange liquid with different polarities remains a grand challenge.

A combined aging and immune prognostic signature predict prognosis and responsiveness to immunotherapy in melanoma.

Melanoma is the most lethal, and one of the most aggressive forms of cutaneous malignancies, which poor response to treatment has always puzzled clinicians. As is known to all, aging and immune microenvironment are two crucial factors impacting melanoma biological progress through the tumor microenvironment (TME). However, reliable biomarkers for predicting melanoma prognosis based on aging and immune microenvironment and therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoints remain to be determined.

Socioeconomic Disparities in Disability-Free Life Expectancy and Life Expectancy Among Older Chinese Adults From a 7-Year Prospective Cohort Study.

We examined the magnitude and determinants of socioeconomic disparities in disability-free life expectancy and life expectancy at age 65 (DFLE and LE) in China. Data from Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey collected during 2011-2018 (8,184 participants aged ≥65) were used. Socioeconomic status (SES) was measured by economic status (ES), and education, respectively.

Light- and Field-Controlled Diffusion, Ejection, Flow and Collection of Liquid at a Nanoporous Liquid Crystal Membrane.

Liquid manipulation at solid surfaces has attracted plenty of interest yet most of them are limited to one or two direction(s), while transport in three dimensions is largely unexplored. Here, we demonstrate three-dimensionally steered dynamic liquid mobility at nanoporous liquid crystal polymer coatings. To this end, we orchestrate liquid motion via sequential triggers of light and/or electric field.

Improvement in Mung Bean Peptide on High-Fat Diet-Induced Insulin Resistance Mice Using Untargeted Serum Metabolomics.

This study aimed to elucidate the potential regulatory mechanism of mung bean peptides (MBPs) on glucolipid metabolism in insulin-resistant mice induced by high-fat diet (HFD) using untargeted serum metabolomics, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), intraperitoneal injection glucose tolerance test (IPGTT), insulin tolerance test (IPITT), and hematoxylin-eosin staining (H&E). The regulatory effect of MBPs for alleviating insulin resistance was studied by measuring body weight, fasting blood glucose (FBG) and serum insulin levels, C-Peptide levels, inflammatory and antioxidant factors, and histopathological observation of C57BL/6 mice. The experimental results showed that dietary intervention with MBPs (245 mg/kg/d) for 5 weeks significantly relieved insulin resistance in HFD mice.

Active Surfaces Formed in Liquid Crystal Polymer Networks.

There is an increasing interest in animating materials to develop dynamic surfaces. These dynamic surfaces can be utilized for advanced applications, including switchable wetting, friction, and lubrication. Dynamic surfaces can also improve existing technologies, for example, by integrating self-cleaning surfaces on solar cells.

Artificial Organic Skin Wets Its Surface by Field-Induced Liquid Secretion.

Living organisms enhance their survival rate by excreting fluids at their surface, but man-made materials can also benefit from liquid secretion from a solid surface. Known approaches to secrete a liquid from solids are limited to passive release driven by diffusion, surface tension, or pressure. Remotely triggered release would give active control over surface properties but is still exceptional.

Liquid crystal polymers with motile surfaces.

In analogy with developments in soft robotics it is anticipated that soft robotic functions at surfaces of objects may have a large impact on human life with respect to comfort, health, medical care and energy. In this review, we demonstrate the possibilities and versatilities of liquid crystal networks and elastomers being explored for soft robotics, with an emphasis on motile surface properties, such as topographical dynamics. Typically the surfaces reversibly transfer from a flat state to a pre-designed corrugated state under various stimuli.

Dual-responsive deformation of a crosslinked liquid crystal polymer film with complex molecular alignment.

Crosslinked liquid crystal polymers (CLCPs) containing azobenzene mesogens have been developed as stimuli-responsive materials, which can undergo photodeformation and thus convert light energy into mechanical force. The deformation behavior of CLCPs is strongly influenced by the alignment of the mesogens; however, a precise control of the alignment domain at micro-scale is still a challenge. Here we report complex molecular alignment in the CLCP film by using photoalignment technology.

Protective effects of seed melon extract on CCl-induced hepatic fibrosis in mice.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Citrullus lanatus ssp. vulgaris var. megalaspermus Lin et Chao, was also known as watermelon belongs to family Cucurbitaceae, variously used as healthy food and in the treatment of liver and lungs problems.

Biomimetic Submicroarrayed Cross-Linked Liquid Crystal Polymer Films with Different Wettability via Colloidal Lithography.

Photoresponsive cross-linked liquid crystal polymer (CLCP) films with different surface topographies, submicropillar arrays, and submicrocone arrays were fabricated through colloidal lithography technique by modulating different types of etching masks. The prepared submicropillar arrays were uniform with an average pillar diameter of 250 nm and the cone bottom diameter of the submicrocone arrays was about 400 nm, which are much smaller than previously reported CLCP micropillars. More interestingly, these two species of films with the same chemical structure represented completely different wetting behavior of water adhesion and mimicked rose petal and lotus leaf, respectively.