Slow sand filters with variable filtration rates for rainwater purification: Microecological differences between biofilm and water phases.

Slow sand filters (SSFs) have been increasingly applied to rainwater purification in recent years, but the response of SSFs to fluctuating rainfall, as well as the biofilm- and water-phase microecology in SSFs are still poorly understood. This study systematically evaluated the rainwater purification performance of SSFs and compared the bacterial community structure, assembly processes and molecular ecological interactions between the biofilm and water phases. The activated carbon and activated alumina filters exhibited the best performance for NH-N (18.

Contributions of individual qSOFA elements to assessment of severity and for prediction of mortality.

Background: The quick sequential [sepsis-related] organ failure assessment (qSOFA) acts as a prompt to consider possible sepsis. The contributions of individual qSOFA elements to assessment of severity and for prediction of mortality remain unknown.

Methods: A total of 3974 patients with community-acquired pneumonia were recruited to an observational prospective cohort study.

Associations of cold-inducible RNA-binding protein with bacterial load, proinflammatory cytokines and mortality from pneumonia.

Cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRP) is a damage-associated molecular pattern that plays a critical role in triggering inflammatory responses. It remains unknown whether CIRP is strongly associated with bacterial load, inflammatory response, and mortality in sepsis model. Pneumonia was induced in specific pathogen-free 8-9-week old male rats by injecting bacteria via puncture of the tracheal cartilage.

Lipid-assisted PEG--PLA nanoparticles with ultrahigh SN38 loading capability for efficient cancer therapy.

The topoisomerase I inhibitor, 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN38), has demonstrated potent anticancer activity. However, its clinical application is hindered by its low solubility and high crystallization propensity, which further complicates its encapsulation into nanoparticles for systemic delivery. Herein, we explore the utilization of lipid-assisted poly(ethylene glycol)--poly(D,L-lactide) (PEG--PLA) nanoparticles to achieve ultrahigh loading capability for SN38.

Short-term outcome of artificial intelligence-assisted preoperative three-dimensional planning of total hip arthroplasty for developmental dysplasia of the hip compared to traditional surgery.

Objectives: This study aims to assess the short-term outcome of total hip arthroplasty for treating developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) using artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted three-dimensional (3D) preoperative planning technology.

Patients And Methods: Between January 2020 and July 2022, a total of 61 patients with DDH (31 males, 30 females, mean age: 59.2±10.

Accuracy analysis of artificial intelligence-assisted three-dimensional preoperative planning in total hip replacement.

Objectives: This study aims to assess the outcome of total hip arthroplasty (THA) using artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted three-dimensional (3D) preoperative planning technology in terms of predicting prosthesis size, acetabular cup positioning, and lowerlimb length restoration.

Patients And Methods: Between January 2020 and July 2022, a total of 161 patients (101 males, 60 females; mean age: 57.6±10.

Updating cut-off values of severity scoring systems for community-acquired pneumonia to orchestrate more predictive accuracy.

The assessment of severity is crucial in the management of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). It remains unknown whether updating cut-off values of severity scoring systems orchestrate improvement in predictive accuracy. 3,212 patients with CAP were recruited to two observational prospective cohort studies.

Engineering tumor-specific gene nanomedicine to recruit and activate T cells for enhanced immunotherapy.

PD-1/PD-L1 blockade therapy that eliminates T-cell inhibition signals is successful, but poor benefits are often observed. Increasing T-cell infiltration and quantity of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in tumor can improve efficacy but remains challenging. Here, we devise tumor-specific gene nanomedicines to mobilize tumor cells to secrete CXCL9 (T-cell chemokine) and anti-PD-L1 scFv (αPD-L1, PD-L1 blocking agent) for enhanced immunotherapy.

Optimized Cationic Lipid-assisted Nanoparticle for Delivering CpG Oligodeoxynucleotides to Treat Hepatitis B Virus Infection.

Purpose: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is such a global health problem that hundreds of millions of people are HBV carriers. Current anti-viral agents can inhibit HBV replication, but can hardly eradicate HBV. Cytosine-phosphate-guanosine (CpG) oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) are an adjuvant that can activate plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) and conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) to induce therapeutic immunity for HBV eradication.

Delivery of mRNA for regulating functions of immune cells.

Abnormal immune cell functions are commonly related to various diseases, including cancer, autoimmune diseases, and infectious diseases. Messenger RNA (mRNA)-based therapy can regulate the functions of immune cells or assign new functions to immune cells, thereby generating therapeutic immune responses to treat these diseases. However, mRNA is unstable in physiological environments and can hardly enter the cytoplasm of target cells; thus, effective mRNA delivery systems are critical for developing mRNA therapy.

qSOFA predicted pneumonia mortality better than minor criteria and worse than CURB-65 with robust elements and higher convergence.

Background: Limited data are available on the discriminatory capacity of quick sequential [sepsis-related] organ failure assessment (qSOFA) versus IDSA/ATS minor criteria for predicting mortality in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Methods: An observational prospective cohort study of 2116 patients with CAP was performed. Construct validity was determined using Cronbach α.

Co-delivery of Phagocytosis Checkpoint Silencer and Stimulator of Interferon Genes Agonist for Synergetic Cancer Immunotherapy.

Efficient capture and presentation of tumor antigens by antigen-presenting cells (APCs), especially dendritic cells (DCs), are crucial for activating the anti-tumor immunity. However, APCs are immunosuppressed in the tumor microenvironment, which hinders the tumor elimination. To reprogram APCs for inducing strong anti-tumor immunity, we report here a co-delivery immunotherapeutic strategy targeting the phagocytosis checkpoint (signal regulatory protein α, SIRPα) and stimulator of interferon genes (STING) of APCs to jointly enhance their ability of capturing and presenting tumor antigens.

Sodium hydrosulfide alleviates dexamethasone-induced cell senescence and dysfunction through targeting the miR-22/sirt1 pathway in osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells.

Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis is characterized by osteoblastic cell and microarchitecture dysfunction, as well as a loss of bone mass. Cell senescence contributes to the pathological process of osteoporosis and sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) regulates the potent protective effects through delaying cell senescence. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether senescence could contribute to dexamethasone (Dex)-induced osteoblast impairment and to examine the effect of NaHS on Dex-induced cell senescence and damage.

Dually regulating the proliferation and the immune microenvironment of melanoma via nanoparticle-delivered siRNA targeting onco-immunologic CD155.

Studies have shown that the simultaneous regulation of tumor cell proliferation and the suppressive tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) could achieve better therapeutic effects. However, the targets of the proliferation and the TIME are different, which greatly limits the development of cancer therapy. A recent study found CD155, a highly expressed poliovirus receptor in melanoma cells and melanoma-infiltrating macrophages, functions as both an oncogene and immune checkpoint.

An All-in-One Nanomedicine Consisting of CRISPR-Cas9 and an Autoantigen Peptide for Restoring Specific Immune Tolerance.

Nanotechnology has shown great promise in treating diverse diseases. However, developing nanomedicines that can cure autoimmune diseases without causing systemic immunosuppression is still quite challenging. Herein, we propose an all-in-one nanomedicine comprising an autoantigen peptide and CRISPR-Cas9 to restore specific immune tolerance by engineering dendritic cells (DCs) into a tolerogenic phenotype, which can expand autoantigen-specific regulatory T (Treg) cells.

Peracetic acid-based advanced oxidation processes for decontamination and disinfection of water: A review.

Peracetic acid (PAA) has attracted growing attention as an alternative oxidant and disinfectant in wastewater treatment due to the increased demand to reduce chlorine usage and control disinfection byproducts (DBPs). These applications have stimulated new investigations on PAA-based advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), which can enhance water disinfection and remove micropollutants. The purpose of this review is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of scientific information and experimental data reported in recent years on the applications of PAA-based AOPs for the removal of chemical and microbiological micropollutants from water and wastewater.

ZNF295-AS1 inhibits autophagy via the ZNF295-AS1/miR-508-5p/ATG7 axis in AS.

Objective: As a result of gene-environment interactions, the incidence of atherosclerosis (AS) is rapidly increasing worldwide. Autophagy in endothelial cells is a key process of AS and is difficult to control when it becomes excessive in the end stage of AS.

Materials And Methods: In this study, we found increased expression levels of ZNF295-AS1 in the serum of AS patients, as well as in ox-LDL-treated HUVECs.

Weighted Epworth sleepiness scale predicted the apnea-hypopnea index better.

Background: The relationship between the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) and the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) is uncertain and even poor. The major problem associated with the ESS might be a lack of consideration of weight in prediction in clinical practice. Would awarding different item-scores to the four scales of ESS items to develop a weighted ESS scoring system improve the accuracy of the AHI prediction? It is warranted to explore the intriguing hypotheses.

[Effects of Prrx2 gene silencing on the proliferation of breast cancer and its molecular mechanisms].

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of silencing Paired related homoeobox 2 (Prrx2) expression on the proliferation of breast cancer and its molecular mechanisms. Short hairpin RNA knockdown of Prrx2 was used to examine cellular effects of Prrx2. The level of Prrx2 was verified by Western blot.

Rational designs of in vivo CRISPR-Cas delivery systems.

The CRISPR-Cas system initiated a revolution in genome editing when it was, for the first time, demonstrated success in the mammalian cells. Today, scientists are able to readily edit genomes, regulate gene transcription, engineer posttranscriptional events, and image nucleic acids using CRISPR-Cas-based tools. However, to efficiently transport CRISPR-Cas into target tissues/cells remains challenging due to many extra- and intra-cellular barriers, therefore largely limiting the applications of CRISPR-based therapeutics in vivo.

[The influence factors of pathologic complete response of the ipsilateral supraclavicular lymph node of breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy].

To investigate the factors affecting the pathologic complete response (PCR) of the ipsilateral supraclavicular lymph node (ISLN) of breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). A total of 178 patients with breast cancer who had primary ipsilateral supraclavicular lymph node metastasis (ISLNM), receiving NAC and subsequent ISLN dissection, were retrospectively reviewed. The single factor and multi factor analysis were carried out by the chi square test and the Logistic regression model.