Predicting prognosis of locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma through early changes in neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio following neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy.

Background: The effectiveness of neoadjuvant immunochemotherapy (NAIC) in locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remains unclear. This study aims to validate the relation between early alterations in neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and clinical outcomes among individuals diagnosed with locally advanced ESCC undergoing NAIC.

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled a cohort of ESCC patients who underwent NAIC at least 1 cycle between May 2020 and October 2021 at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital.

The zinc-finger protein POGZ associates with Polycomb repressive complex 1 to regulate bone morphogenetic protein signaling during neuronal differentiation.

Polycomb Repressive Complex 1 (PRC1) is a family of epigenetic regulators critical for mammalian development. Elucidating PRC1 composition and function across cell types and developmental stages is key to understanding the epigenetic regulation of cell fate determination. In this study, we discovered POGZ, a prominent Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) risk factor, as a novel component of PRC1.

Functional characterisation of WRKY transcription factor CrWRKY48 involved in regulating seed abortion of Ponkan (Citrus reticulata).

Citrus fruits are one of the most important fruits in the world, and their seedless character is favored by consumers. WRKY is a plant-specific transcription factor family involved in all aspects of plant growth and development. However, the molecular mechanism of seedless fruit formation in citrus and the role of the WRKY gene family in seed abortion are still poorly understood.

Built-in electric field in the Mn/C heterojunction promotes electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction to ammonia.

The electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) has been regarded as a green and promising alternative to the traditional Haber-Bosch process. However, the high bond energy (940.95 kJ mol) of the NN triple bond hinders the adsorption and activation of N molecules, which is a critical factor restricting the catalytic performance of catalysts and their large-scale applications.

Efficacy of sodium hypochlorite and peracetic acid in reducing cross-contamination during washing of baby spinach at different water quality levels.

We evaluated the antimicrobial performance of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and peracetic acid (PAA) during washing of baby spinach in water of varying levels of organic load, as measured by its chemical oxygen demand (COD). Escherichia coli TVS353 was spot inoculated onto one unwashed leaf. Sanitizers were added into water with preadjusted COD (300 or 2500 ppm) to achieve concentrations from 20 to 80 ppm.