Nanotechnology for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Liver Cancer.

Liver cancer has become a major global health challenge due to its high incidence, high rate of late diagnosis and limited treatment options. Although there are many clinical treatments available for liver cancer, the cure rate is still very low, and now researchers have begun to explore new aspects of liver cancer treatment, and nanotechnology has shown great potential for improving diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic efficacy and is therefore a promising treatment option. In diagnosis, nanomaterials such as gold nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles, and silver nanoparticles can realize highly sensitive and specific detection of liver cancer biomarkers, supporting diagnosis and real-time monitoring of the disease process.

The cardiovascular outcomes between liraglutide and dulaglutide among different chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of two glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), liraglutide and dulaglutide, in patients with T2DM at various stages of CKD. In addition to analyzing MACE as the primary outcome, kidney function deterioration, renal disease, and other drug-related safety events, such as urinary tract infections, pancreatitis, amputations, and cancers were measured.

Research Design And Methods: This retrospective analysis included 362,842 T2DM patients from the Chang Gung Research Database (CGRD) between 2011 and 2019, identifying 2,830 GLP-1 RA users.

Exploration of the Dual Role of Dectin-1 in Tumor Development and Its Therapeutic Potential.

Immunotherapy, particularly immune checkpoint inhibitors like PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA-4, has revolutionized cancer treatment. However, the role of the innate immune system, especially pattern recognition receptors, in cancer development and immunity is gaining more and more attention. Dectin-1, a C-type lectin receptor primarily involved in antifungal immunity, has emerged as a significant player in cancer biology, exhibiting both pro-tumor and anti-tumor roles.

DNA repair and anti-cancer mechanisms in the long-lived bowhead whale.

At over 200 years, the maximum lifespan of the bowhead whale exceeds that of all other mammals. The bowhead is also the second-largest animal on Earth, reaching over 80,000 kg. Despite its very large number of cells and long lifespan, the bowhead is not highly cancer-prone, an incongruity termed Peto's Paradox.

Predictive analysis and risk assessment of potentially toxic elements in Beijing gas station soils using machine learning and two-dimensional Monte Carlo simulations.

Gas stations not only serve as sites for oil storage and refueling but also as locations where vehicles frequently brake, significantly enriching the surrounding soil with potentially toxic elements (PTEs). Herein, 117 topsoil samples from gas stations were collected in Beijing to explore the impact of gas stations on PTE accumulation. The analysis revealed that the average Pollution Index (PI) values for Cd, Hg, Pb, Cu, and Zn in the soil samples all exceeded 1.

Empathy and redemption: Exploring the narrative transformation of online support for mental health across communities before and after Covid-19.

This study examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals' mental health and their online interactions, particularly within Reddit's mental health communities. By analyzing data from 15 subreddits categorized into mental health and control groups from 2018 to 2022, we observed that forums dedicated to mental health exhibited higher levels of user engagement and received more supportive responses than those in other categories. However, as the pandemic evolved, a significant decrease in online support was noted, especially within these mental health groups.

New insights into assembly processes and driving factors of urban soil microbial community under environmental stress in Beijing.

Rapid urbanization leads to drastic environmental changes, directly or indirectly affecting the structure and function of soil microbial communities. However, the ecological response of soil microbes to environmental stresses has not yet been fully explored. In this study, we used high-throughput sequencing to analyze the assembly mechanism and driving factors of soil microbial community under environmental stresses.

A New Strategy for the Treatment of Old Corrugated Container Pulping Wastewater by the Ozone-Catalyzed Polyurethane Sponge Biodegradation Process.

Old Corrugated Container (OCC) pulping wastewater has a complex organic composition and high levels of biotoxicity. The presence of dissolved and colloidal substances (DCSs) is a major limiting factor for pulp and paper companies to achieve closed-water recycling. In order to solve this problem, the coupled ozone-catalyzed oxidation and biodegradation (OCB) method was used to treat OCC pulping wastewater in this study.

Fumarate Hydratase Enhances the Therapeutic Effect of PD-1 Antibody in Colorectal Cancer by Regulating PCSK9.

Despite the notable achievements of programmed death 1 (PD-1) antibodies in treating various cancers, the overall efficacy remains limited in the majority of colorectal cancer (CRC) cases. Metabolism reprogramming of tumors inhibits the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, leading to down-regulation of fumarate hydratase (FH), which is related to poor prognosis in CRC patients. By establishing a tumor-bearing mouse model of CRC with Fh1 expression deficiency, we confirmed that the therapeutic effect of PD-1 antibodies alone was suboptimal in mice with low Fh1 expression, which was improved by combination with a protein invertase subtilisin/kexin 9 (PCSK9) inhibitor.

Application of Nanomedicine in Tumor Targeting Inflammatory Pathway.

Given the threat of ever-growing cancer morbidity, it is a cutting-edge frontier for multiple disciplines to apply nanotechnology in cancer therapy. Nanomedicine is now perpetually influencing the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Meanwhile, tumorigenesis and cancer progression are intimately associated with inflammation.

Nonsymbolic Numerosity Maps at the Occipitotemporal Cortex Respond to Symbolic Numbers.

Numerosity, the set size of a group of items, helps guide human and animals' behavior and decisions. Numerosity perception is thought to be a precursor of symbolic numerical cognition. Previously, we uncovered neural populations selectively tuned to numerosities organized in a network of topographic maps in human association cortex.

Attention drives human numerosity-selective responses.

Numerosity, the set size of a group of items, helps guide behavior and decisions. Previous studies have shown that neural populations respond selectively to numerosities. How numerosity is extracted from the visual scene is a longstanding debate, often contrasting low-level visual with high-level cognitive processes.

Comparing BOLD and VASO-CBV population receptive field estimates in human visual cortex.

Vascular Space Occupancy (VASO) is an alternative fMRI approach based on changes in Cerebral Blood Volume (CBV). VASO-CBV fMRI can provide higher spatial specificity than the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) method because the CBV response is thought to be limited to smaller vessels. To investigate how this technique compares to BOLD fMRI for cognitive neuroscience applications, we compared population receptive field (pRF) mapping estimates between BOLD and VASO-CBV.

High positively charged FeO nanocomposites for efficient and recyclable demulsification of hexadecane-water micro-emulsion.

Oily wastewater not only causes major environmental issues, but also threatens human health. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are an attractively alternative commercial demulsifiers for their recyclability and high surface area. The wettability and surface charge of magnetic materials are significant factors in oily wastewater treatment.

The role of neural tuning in quantity perception.

Perception of quantities, such as numerosity, timing, and size, is essential for behavior and cognition. Accumulating evidence demonstrates neurons processing quantities are tuned, that is, have a preferred quantity amount, not only for numerosity, but also other quantity dimensions and sensory modalities. We argue that quantity-tuned neurons are fundamental to understanding quantity perception.

Alkaloids Exhibit a Meaningful Function as Anticancer Agents by Restraining Cellular Signaling Pathways.

Alkaloids are nitrogen-containing organic compounds widely found in natural products, which play an essential role in clinical treatment. Cellular signaling pathways in tumors are a series of enzymatic reaction pathways that convert extracellular signals into intracellular signals to produce biological effects. The ordered function of cell signaling pathways is essential for tumor cell proliferation, differentiation, and programmed death.

The Regulatory Role of Both MBNL1 and MBNL1-AS1 in Several Common Cancers.

Background: Muscle blind-like-proteins (MBNL) are a class of tissue-specific RNA metabolism regulators that control pre-messenger RNA-splicing. Inactivation of MBNL can lead to myotonic dystrophy in adults. MBNL is mainly expressed in skeletal muscle, neuron tissue, thymus, liver, and kidney and plays an important role in the ultimate differentiation of muscle cells and neurons.

The Therapeutic Value and Molecular Mechanisms of lncRNA FENDRR in Human Cancer.

Background: Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) fetal-lethal non-coding developmental regulatory RNA (FENDRR), a newly known lncRNA, has been reported to be abnormally expressed in diverse tumors. This review is focused on clarifying the mechanism of FENDRR to regulate the biological process of tumors, affirming its value as a target for tumor therapy.

Methods: The pathophysiological mechanism of FENDRR acting on tumors has been analyzed and summarized by reviewing PubMed.

DUXAP8: A Promising lncRNA with Carcinogenic Potential in Cancer.

Background: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) have influenced numerous biology processes, which has provoked great interest. Not only that, LncRNA DUXAP8 mediates tumorigenesis by affecting the activity of miRNAs, signaling pathways, and oncogene.

Methods: The functions of DUXAP8 have been summarized by reading relevant articles on PubMed.

Endometrial Cancer: Genetic, Metabolic Characteristics, Therapeutic Strategies and Nanomedicine.

Background: Endometrial cancer is the fourth most common malignancy in female population worldwide. It was estimated that 65,620 new cases and 12.590 subsequent deaths occurred in 2020 in the United States.

Topographic numerosity maps cover subitizing and estimation ranges.

Numerosity, the set size of a group of items, helps guide behaviour and decisions. Non-symbolic numerosities are represented by the approximate number system. However, distinct behavioural performance suggests that small numerosities, i.

The Functional Role of Oncogenic LncRNA BCAR4 for Cancer Outcome.

Background: Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) breast cancer anti-estrogen resistance 4 (BCAR4) is a characterized oncogenic lncRNA in different cancers. This review is dedicated to summarize various molecular mechanisms of BCAR4 and demonstrate that the biological functions exerted by BCAR4 are good entry points for therapy.

Methods: The molecular mechanism of BCAR4 acting on tumors is summarized by reviewing PubMed.

Molecular Mechanism of the Canonical Oncogenic lncRNA MALAT1 in Gastric Cancer.

Background: Experimental evidence has shown that lncRNA MALAT1 is related to proliferation ability, invasion and migration ability, autophagy ability, and chemoresistance in gastric cancer. Moreover, MALAT1 is related to metastasis and patient prognosis in gastric cancer. This review aims to reveal the biological functions and specific mechanisms of MALAT1 in gastric cancer.

Individualized cognitive neuroscience needs 7T: Comparing numerosity maps at 3T and 7T MRI.

The field of cognitive neuroscience is weighing evidence about whether to move from the current standard field strength of 3 Tesla (3T) to ultra-high field (UHF) of 7T and above. The present study contributes to the evidence by comparing a computational cognitive neuroscience paradigm at 3T and 7T. The goal was to evaluate the practical effects, i.