Untrained neural network enabling fast and universal structured-illumination microscopy.

Structured-illumination microscopy (SIM) offers a twofold resolution enhancement beyond the optical diffraction limit. At present, SIM requires several raw structured-illumination (SI) frames to reconstruct a super-resolution (SR) image, especially the time-consuming reconstruction of speckle SIM, which requires hundreds of SI frames. Considering this, we herein propose an untrained structured-illumination reconstruction neural network (USRNN) with known illumination patterns to reduce the amount of raw data that is required for speckle SIM reconstruction by 20 times and thus improve its temporal resolution.

Gentisic acid prevents colorectal cancer metastasis via blocking GPR81-mediated DEPDC5 degradation.

Background: Metastasis driven by epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) remains a significant contributor to the poor prognosis of colorectal cancer (CRC), and requires more effective interventions. GPR81 signaling has been linked to tumor metastasis, while lacks an efficient specific inhibitor.

Purpose: Our study aimed to investigate the effect and mechanism of Gentisic acid on colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis.

Vanillic acid restores homeostasis of intestinal epithelium in colitis through inhibiting CA9/STIM1-mediated ferroptosis.

The damage of integrated epithelial epithelium is a key pathogenic factor and closely associated with the recurrence of ulcerative colitis (UC). Here, we reported that vanillic acid (VA) exerted potent therapeutic effects on DSS-induced colitis by restoring intestinal epithelium homeostasis via the inhibition of ferroptosis. By the CETSA assay and DARTS assay, we identified carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX, CA9) as the direct target of VA.

High-throughput multiplexed fluorescence lifetime microscopy.

Fluorescence lifetime microscopy has been widely used in quantifying cellular interaction or histopathological identification of different stained tissues. A novel, to the best of our knowledge, approach for high-throughput multiplexed fluorescence lifetime imaging is presented. To establish a high-throughput fluorescence lifetime acquisition system, a uniformed illumination optical focus array was generated by a novel computer-generated hologram algorithm based on matrix triple product.

Modification and verification of the PMV model to improve thermal comfort prediction at low pressure.

The human body's thermal physiology changes due to atmospheric pressure, which significantly impacts the perception of thermal comfort. To quantify this effect, an improved version of the Predicted Mean Vote model (PMVp), was developed in this study to predict human thermal sensation under low atmospheric pressure conditions. The study employed environmental conditions of 0km/26°C, 3km/26°C, 4km/26°C, and 4km/21°C.

Matrine suppresses NLRP3 inflammasome activation via regulating PTPN2/JNK/SREBP2 pathway in sepsis.

Background: Sepsis is defined as life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Abnormal activation of NOD-like receptor thermal protein domain associated protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of sepsis. Matrine is proved to show good anti-inflammatory properties, whereas its effect and the underlying molecular machinery on sepsis remains unclear.

IL-37 improves mice myocardial infarction via inhibiting YAP-NLRP3 signaling mediated macrophage programming.

Objective: Myocardial infarction is the highest cause of cardiovascular death. Previous studies found that patients with myocardial infarction have elevated serum IL-37 and IL-37 treatment significantly alleviates adverse remodeling in myocardial infarction mice. However, the underlying mechanism of IL-37 in myocardial infarction is still unknown.

Paeoniflorin prevents aberrant proliferation and differentiation of intestinal stem cells by controlling C1q release from macrophages in chronic colitis.

The pathological features of inflammatory bowel disease necessitate therapeutic strategies aimed at restoring intestinal mucosal barrier function in addition to controlling inflammation. Paeoniflorin, a bioactive herbal constituent isolated from the root of Paeonia albiflora Pall, has been reported to protect against acute colitis in mice. However, the direct molecular target of paeoniflorin in preventing colitis remains elusive.

Modulated pattern scanning microscopy.

In confocal microscopy, the effective optical transfer function (OTF) with Gaussian plane wave illumination covers very few high-frequency components, which prohibits further improvement of the resolution. We propose modulated pattern scanning microscopy (MPSM) to achieve super-resolution imaging. In MPSM, the phase of the illumination beam is modulated to reassign the OTF in the Fourier domain.

Identification and comparison of umami-peptides in commercially available dry-cured Spanish mackerels (Scomberomorus niphonius).

Dry-cured Spanish mackerel (DSM; Scomberomorus niphonius) is a popularity worldwide dry-cured marine fish product due to its salty and umami flavor. Umami peptides from eight commercial DSMs were identified and compared, and their molecular mechanisms were evaluated via molecular simulation. The results showed that the sequence of peptides varied in different DSMs, wherein only ten sequences were repeated across multiple samples and the remaining 19 were detected in only one sample.

The application of L-glutaminase for the synthesis of the immunomodulatory -D-glutamyl-L-tryptophan and the kokumi-imparting -D-glutamyl peptides.

Glutaminase of has been used to synthesize the immunomodulatory -D-glutamyl-L-tryptophan (-D-Glu-L-Trp) and the kokumi-active -D-glutamyl peptides. The optimum yield of -D-Glu-L-Trp was 55.76 mM in corresponding to a minimum yield of by-product (-D-Glu--D-Glu-L-Trp) in the presence of 75 mM D-Gln and 100 mM L-Trp.

Umami-enhancing effect of typical kokumi-active γ-glutamyl peptides evaluated via sensory analysis and molecular modeling approaches.

The umami-enhancing effect of typical kokumi-active γ-glutamyl peptides was verified by sensory evaluation. To investigate the umami-enhancing molecular mechanism of the peptide on monosodium glutamate (MSG) taste, a novel hypothetical receptor, taste type 1 receptor 3 (T1R3)-MSG complex, was constructed. These peptides demonstrated strong interactions with T1R3-MSG.

Impact of meteorological and geographical factors on the distribution of leishmaniasis's vector in mainland China.

Background: Phlebotomine sandfly (Diptera: Psychodidae) is best known for its role as the vector of the leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis is a global disease, currently known to be affecting 88 countries and 12 million people worldwide.

Results: This study explored the impacts of climate factors and landscape on the local abundance of Phlebotomine sandfly in mainland China.

Gadolinium Doping Enhances the Photoacoustic Signal of Synthetic Melanin Nanoparticles: A Dual Modality Contrast Agent for Stem Cell Imaging.

In this paper, we show that gadolinium-loaded synthetic melanin nanoparticles (Gd(III)-SMNPs) exhibit up to a 40-fold enhanced photoacoustic signal intensity relative to synthetic melanin alone and higher than other metal-chelated SMNPs. This property makes these materials useful as dual labeling agents because Gd(III)-SMNPs also behave as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents. As a proof-of-concept, we used these nanoparticles to label human mesenchymal stem cells.

Multi-Scale Responses of Liquid Crystals Triggered by Interfacial Assemblies of Cleavable Homopolymers.

Liquid crystals (LCs) offer the basis of stimuli-responsive materials that can amplify targeted molecular events into macroscopic outputs. However, general and versatile design principles are needed to realize the full potential of these materials. To this end, we report the synthesis of two homopolymers with mesogenic side chains that can be cleaved upon exposure to either H O (polymer P1) or UV light (polymer P2).

High Relaxivity Gadolinium-Polydopamine Nanoparticles.

This study reports the preparation of a series of gadolinium-polydopamine nanoparticles (GdPD-NPs) with tunable metal loadings. GdPD-NPs are analyzed by nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion and with a 7-tesla (T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. A relaxivity of 75 and 10.

Mimicking Melanosomes: Polydopamine Nanoparticles as Artificial Microparasols.

A primary role of melanin in skin is the prevention of UV-induced nuclear DNA damage to human skin cells, where it serves to screen out harmful UV radiation. Melanin is delivered to keratinocytes in the skin after being excreted as melanosomes from melanocytes. Defects in melanin production in humans can cause diseases, many of which currently lack effective treatments due to their genetic origins (e.

Simultaneous Enhancement of Photoluminescence, MRI Relaxivity, and CT Contrast by Tuning the Interfacial Layer of Lanthanide Heteroepitaxial Nanoparticles.

Nanoparticle (NP) based exogenous contrast agents assist biomedical imaging by enhancing the target visibility against the background. However, it is challenging to design a single type of contrast agents that are simultaneously suitable for various imaging modalities. The simple integration of different components into a single NP contrast agent does not guarantee the optimized properties of each individual components.

Polymer-Stabilized Perfluorobutane Nanodroplets for Ultrasound Imaging Agents.

In this paper, we describe a method for the stabilization of low-boiling point (low-bp) perfluorocarbons (PFCs) at physiological temperatures by an amphiphilic triblock copolymer which can emulsify PFCs and be cross-linked. After UV-induced thiol-ene cross-linking, the core of the PFC emulsion remains in liquid form even at temperatures exceeding their boiling points. Critically, the formulation permits vaporization at rarefactional pressures relevant for clinical ultrasound.

Structure and Function of Iron-Loaded Synthetic Melanin.

We describe a synthetic method for increasing and controlling the iron loading of synthetic melanin nanoparticles and use the resulting materials to perform a systematic quantitative investigation on their structure-property relationship. A comprehensive analysis by magnetometry, electron paramagnetic resonance, and nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion reveals the complexities of their magnetic behavior and how these intraparticle magnetic interactions manifest in useful material properties such as their performance as MRI contrast agents. This analysis allows predictions of the optimal iron loading through a quantitative modeling of antiferromagnetic coupling that arises from proximal iron ions.

Polycatechol Nanoparticle MRI Contrast Agents.

Amphiphilic triblock copolymers containing Fe(III) -catecholate complexes formulated as spherical- or cylindrical-shaped micellar nanoparticles (SMN and CMN, respectively) are described as new T1-weighted agents with high relaxivity, low cytotoxicity, and long-term stability in biological fluids. Relaxivities of both SMN and CMN exceed those of established gadolinium chelates across a wide range of magnetic field strengths. Interestingly, shape-dependent behavior is observed in terms of the particles' interactions with HeLa cells, with CMN exhibiting enhanced uptake and contrast via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) compared with SMN.

Enzyme-regulated topology of a cyclic peptide brush polymer for tuning assembly.

Norbornenyl cyclic elastin-like peptides were polymerized via ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) to generate thermally responsive brush polymers. The thermally-responsive nature of the materials could be attenuated by the addition of a proteolytic enzyme that causes the cyclic peptide side chains to be linearized.

Multifunctional metal rattle-type nanocarriers for MRI-guided photothermal cancer therapy.

In the past decade, numerous species of nanomaterials have been developed for biomedical application, especially cancer therapy. Realizing visualized therapy is highly promising now because of the potential of accurate, localized treatment. In this work, we first synthesized metal nanorattles (MNRs), which utilized porous gold shells to carry multiple MR imaging contrast agents, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), inside.

Imaging intracellular anticancer drug delivery by self-assembly micelles with aggregation-induced emission (AIE micelles).

Nanoformulations show many therapeutic advantages over conventional formulations. We seek to develop traceable nanoformulations in order to closely monitor delivery. Herein, we developed a new drug delivery system (DDS) using tetraphenylethene (TPE) to fabricate a self-assembly micelle with aggregation-induced emission (AIE micelle).