Estrogen-Driven Maintenance of GLUT1/GLUT4/SGLT1 under glucose starvation drives energy homeostasis in bovine PMNs.

The negative energy balance (NEB) and fluctuations in estrogen (17β-estradiol, E2) during the perinatal period alter glucose metabolism in bovine polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) by affecting the activity of glucose transporters. In the peripheral blood, glucose uptake by PMNs is primarily dependent on the Glucose transporter type1 (GLUT1), Glucose transporter type4 (GLUT4), and Sodium-glucose cotransporter1 (SGLT1). However, the mechanisms through which E2 regulates energy metabolism in these cells, particularly through the modulation of glucose transporter activity, are currently unclear.

Quantitative ultrasound analysis for non-invasive assessment of hepatic steatosis in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of novel tissue attenuation imaging (TAI) and tissue scatter distribution imaging (TSI) tools in detecting and grading hepatic steatosis using controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) as reference standard.

Methods: A total of 185 participants with suspected metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) were prospectively enrolled, and all underwent CAP and quantitative ultrasound (QUS) testing. Correlations between CAP, biological data, TAI and TSI were assessed.

Molecular Effects of Zwitterionic Peptide on Monolayer Lipid Membranes upon Enzyme-Catalyzed Degradation.

Secretory phospholipase A (sPLA), an enzyme overexpressed in numerous diseases, has been used to trigger structural transformations in lipid-based drug delivery systems, enabling payload release at target sites. Zwitterionic peptides are known for their superior antifouling properties, often outperforming poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) surface modification by resisting protein adsorption. In this study, we examined lipid monolayers at the water-vapor interface on a Langmuir trough, incorporating varying molar fractions of zwitterionic peptide-conjugated lipids or PEG-conjugated lipids.

Liver stiffness: a novel imaging biomarker by ultrasound elastography for prediction of early allograft failure following liver transplantation.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of Liver Stiffness Measurement (LSM) and serum transaminase levels for predicting early allograft failure (EAF) after liver transplantation (LT).

Methods: A total of 189 patients who underwent LT were prospectively recruited in the study. Of these patients, 13 cases died or received re-transplantation within 90 days after surgery were classified as EAF group, while rest 176 patients were included in the non-EAF group.

Probiotics Bi-Enzymatic Cascade Repair System for Editing the Inflammatory Microenvironment to Boost Probiotic Therapy in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease presents significant treatment challenges owing to its complex pathology. Although probiotics have shown promise as a therapeutic option, their effectiveness is often limited by low concentrations at sites of inflammation, exacerbated by excessive reactive oxygen species and inflammatory triggers. To address this, an innovative cascade repair system is developed to enhance probiotic therapeutic impact by modulating the intestinal microenvironment.

Cross-institutional evaluation of deep learning and radiomics models in predicting microvascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma: validity, robustness, and ultrasound modality efficacy comparison.

Purpose: To conduct a head-to-head comparison between deep learning (DL) and radiomics models across institutions for predicting microvascular invasion (MVI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to investigate the model robustness and generalizability through rigorous internal and external validation.

Methods: This retrospective study included 2304 preoperative images of 576 HCC lesions from two centers, with MVI status determined by postoperative histopathology. We developed DL and radiomics models for predicting the presence of MVI using B-mode ultrasound, contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) at the arterial, portal, and delayed phases, and a combined modality (B + CEUS).

Unexpected asymmetric distribution of cholesterol and phospholipids in equilibrium model membranes.

Lipid compositional asymmetry across the leaflets of the plasma membrane is an ubiquitous feature in eukaryotic cells. How this asymmetry is maintained is thought to be primarily controlled by active transport of lipids between leaflets. This strategy is facilitated by the fact that long-tail phospholipids and sphingolipids diffuse through the lipid bilayer slowly-taking many hours or days.

GSDMD-Dependent Neutrophil Extracellular Traps Mediate Portal Vein Thrombosis and Associated Fibrosis in Cirrhosis.

Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is a challenging and controversial complication of cirrhosis. Experimental models that reproduce cirrhotic PVT and effective pharmacological therapies are limited. We aimed to investigate the nature course and mechanisms of PVT in cirrhosis.

Quantitative US fat fraction for noninvasive assessment of hepatic steatosis in suspected metabolic-associated fatty liver disease.

Objectives: To evaluate the agreement between quantitative ultrasound system fat fraction (USFF) and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) and the diagnostic value of USFF in assessing metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD).

Methods: The participants with or suspected of MAFLD were prospectively recruited and underwent H-MRS, USFF, and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) measurements. The correlation between USFF and H-MRS was assessed using Pearson correlation coefficients.

Photosynthetic Bacteria-Hitchhiking 2D iMXene-mRNA Vaccine to Enable Photo-Immunogene Cancer Therapy.

Therapeutic mRNA vaccines have become powerful therapeutic tools for severe diseases, including infectious diseases and malignant neoplasms. mRNA vaccines encoding tumor-associated antigens provide unprecedented hope for many immunotherapies that have hit the bottleneck. However, the application of mRNA vaccines is limited because of biological instability, innate immunogenicity, and ineffective delivery in vivo.

Validation of Baveno VII criteria for clinically significant portal hypertension by two-dimensional shear wave elastography.

Background: The Baveno VII consensus proposed criteria for the non-invasively diagnosis of clinically significant portal hypertension (CSPH) in patients with compensated advanced chronic liver disease (cACLD). The performance of Baveno VII criteria for assessing CSPH by two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) had not been well validated. We aimed to validate the performance of Baveno VII criteria for rule-in and rule-out CSPH by 2D-SWE.

Interoperator reproducibility of quantitative ultrasound analysis of hepatic steatosis in participants with suspected MASLD: A prospective study.

Objectives: To evaluate the reproducibility of tissue attenuation imaging (TAI) and tissue scatter distribution imaging (TSI) measurements in adults with suspected metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) between radiologists with varying experience.

Materials And Methods: Participants with suspected MASLD were prospectively recruited. TAI and TSI were performed for each participant by two radiologists with different levels of experience.

Genomic full-length sequence of the HLA-C*07:154 allele was identified by full-length group-specific sequencing.

Genomic full-length sequence of HLA-C*07:154 was identified by group-specific sequencing in a Chinese individual.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound features of hepatic sarcomatoid carcinoma different from hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: Hepatic sarcomatoid carcinoma (HSC) is a rare malignancy of the liver. The ultrasound and clinical features of HSC have not been determined.

Objective: To investigate and compare the ultrasound and clinical features of HSC and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to reveal the valuable features of HSC.

Implications of ultrasound-based deep learning model for preoperatively differentiating combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma from hepatocellular carcinoma and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

Objectives: The current study developed an ultrasound-based deep learning model to make preoperative differentiation among hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), and combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-ICC).

Methods: The B-mode ultrasound images of 465 patients with primary liver cancer were enrolled in model construction, comprising 264 HCCs, 105 ICCs, and 96 cHCC-ICCs, of which 50 cases were randomly selected to form an independent test cohort, and the rest of study population was assigned to a training and validation cohorts at the ratio of 4:1. Four deep learning models (Resnet18, MobileNet, DenseNet121, and Inception V3) were constructed, and the fivefold cross-validation was adopted to train and validate the performance of these models.

A prospective comparison of three ultrasound-based techniques in quantitative diagnosis of hepatic steatosis in NAFLD.

Purpose: To investigate the correlation between different ultrasound attenuation-based techniques and to compare their diagnostic performances using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-MRS) as a reference standard.

Methods: Participants who had clinical suspicion of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were prospectively recruited. Each subject had ultrasound with attenuation imaging (ATI) or quantitative ultrasound including tissue attenuation imaging (TAI) and tissue scatter-distribution imaging (TSI), and controlled-attenuation parameter (CAP) and H-MRS if available.

Toroidal-spiral particles as a CAR-T cell delivery device for solid tumor immunotherapy.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy has resulted in positive effects on patients with hematologic malignancy but shows limited efficacy in solid tumor treatments due to insufficient trafficking and tumor infiltration, intensive CAR-T-related toxicities, and antigen escape. In this work, we developed and investigated a biodegradable and biocompatible polymeric toroidal-spiral particle (TSP) as a in vivo cell incubator and delivery device that can be implanted near tumor through a minimally invasive procedure or injected near or into solid tumors by using a biopsy needle. The main matrix structure of the millimeter-sized TSP is made from crosslinking of gelatin methacrylamine (GelMA) and poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) with a tunable degradation rate from a few days to months, providing appropriate mechanical properties and sustained release of co-encapsulated drugs and/or stimulation compounds.

Pulmonary Cryoablation Outcomes in Octogenarians and Nonagenarians with Primary Lung Cancer.

Purpose: To characterize the effectiveness, safety, and length of stay (LOS) associated with pulmonary cryoablation for management of primary lung malignancies in patients aged ≥80 years.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective single-center database was compiled of all consecutive patients aged ≥80 years who underwent percutaneous computed tomography-guided cryoablation using modified triple-freeze protocol (1-3 ablation probes) for Stage IA-IIB primary lung malignancies between March 2017 and March 2020 (n = 19; 53% women; mean age, 85 years ± 3.5; range, 80-94 years).

Quantitative Diagnosis of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease with Ultrasound Attenuation Imaging in a Biopsy-Proven Cohort.

Rationale And Objectives: To evaluate the performance of attenuation imaging (ATI) based on ultrasound for detection of hepatic steatosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Materials And Methods: This prospective study was approved by our institutional review board (B2021-092R). Written informed consent was obtained from all patients.

Clinical application of preoperative shear wave dispersion for prediction of post liver failure in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy.

Objective: The aim in this study was to determine the efficacy of shear wave dispersion (SWD) technique for the prediction of post hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after hepatectomy and develop an SWD based risk prediction model.

Methods & Materials: We prospectively enrolled 205 consecutive patients who were scheduled to undergo hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), pre-operative SWD examination, laboratory data and some other clinicopathological tests were collected. The risk factors of PHLF were identified according to univariate and multivariate analysis, a predictive model was established based on logistic regression analyses.

Comparison of contrast-enhanced ultrasound, IOTA simple rules and O-RADS for assessing the malignant risk of sonographically appearing solid ovarian masses.

Purpose: To explore the diagnostic accuracy of ovarian solid tumors by 2D ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS).

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the CEUS characteristics of prospectively enrolled 16 benign and 19 malignant ovarian solid tumors. We performed International Ovarian Tumor Analysis (IOTA) simple rules and Ovarian-Adnexal Reporting and Data System (O-RADS) for all lesions, and evaluated their characteristics on CEUS.

A Comparative Study of Ultrasound Attenuation Imaging, Controlled Attenuation Parameters, and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy for the Detection of Hepatic Steatosis.

Objectives: To investigate the methodology and clinical application of ultrasound attenuation imaging (ATI) and comparative analyze the diagnostic performance of ATI and controlled attenuation parameters (CAP) for detecting and grading hepatic steatosis.

Methods: A total of 159 patients with NAFLD were prospectively enrolled. CAP and ATI examinations were performed within a week before proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( H-MRS).