Inhibiting the expression of spindle appendix cooled coil protein 1 can suppress tumor cell growth and metastasis and is associated with cancer immune cells in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Inhibiting the expression of spindle appendix cooled coil protein 1 (SPDL1) can slow down disease progression and is related to poor prognosis in patients with esophageal cancer. However, the specific roles and molecular mechanisms of SPDL1 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) have not been explored yet. The current study aimed to investigate the expression levels of SPDL1 in ESCC via transcriptome analysis using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Omnibus databases.

Optimizing the outcome of non-pre-stented flexible ureteroscopic lithotripsy regarding the quality of life, when to remove the stent?

Objectives: To investigate the safety of short-term stenting following flexible ureteroscopic lithotripsy (fURL) for patients without preoperative stents. Retaining double-J stent for 1-2 weeks after fURL is a common practice. At present, data on short-term stenting after non-pre-stented fURL is still lacking.

Coupling sensor to enzyme in the voltage sensing phosphatase.

Voltage-sensing phosphatases (VSPs) dephosphorylate phosphoinositide (PIP) signaling lipids in response to membrane depolarization. VSPs possess an S4-containing voltage sensor domain (VSD), resembling that of voltage-gated cation channels, and a lipid phosphatase domain (PD). The mechanism by which voltage turns on enzyme activity is unclear.

Influence of Interaction between Microcracks and Macrocracks on Crack Propagation of Asphalt Concrete.

This paper aims to reveal the interaction relationship between microcracks and macrocracks and the influence of the interaction on the crack propagation behavior. A theoretical model of asphalt concrete was established for the interaction between microcracks with different crack densities and a macrocrack. And a meso-structure model of AC-13 dense-graded asphalt concrete was established by combining the Talyor medium method and the DEM (discrete element method).

Enhancement Effect of Aggregates on the Low-Temperature Cracking Resistance of Asphalt Mixtures.

Aggregates' configurations result in different stress fields, which change the fracture mode and mechanical properties of an asphalt mixture. To reveal the enhancing effect of aggregates with different particle sizes on the low-temperature cracking resistance of an asphalt mixture, an indirect tensile (IDT) test was carried out to analyze the aggregates' influence on crack propagation and low-temperature cracking resistance from a macroscopic perspective. And combined with the test results, mesostructure models of an asphalt mixture with different aggregates' spatial distributions were established through the extended finite element method (XFEM) to analyze changes in the crack propagation path and crack tip configuration force from a mesoscopic perspective.

Chondroitin sulfate-modified tragacanth gum-gelatin composite nanocapsules loaded with curcumin nanocrystals for the treatment of arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease of yet undetermined etiology that is accompanied by significant oxidative stress, inflammatory responses,  and damage to joint tissues. In this study, we designed chondroitin sulfate (CS)-modified tragacanth gum-gelatin composite nanocapsules (CS-Cur-TGNCs) loaded with curcumin nanocrystals (Cur-NCs), which rely on the ability of CS to target CD44 to accumulate drugs in inflamed joints. Cur was encapsulated in the form of nanocrystals into tragacanth gum-gelatin composite nanocapsules (TGNCs) by using an inborn microcrystallization method, which produced CS-Cur-TGNCs with a particle size of approximately 80 ± 11.

RGDAN: A random graph diffusion attention network for traffic prediction.

Traffic Prediction based on graph structures is a challenging task given that road networks are typically complex structures and the data to be analyzed contains variable temporal features. Further, the quality of the spatial feature extraction is highly dependent on the weight settings of the graph structures. In the transportation field, the weights of these graph structures are currently calculated based on factors like the distance between roads.

Homo- and hetero-dimeric subunit interactions set affinity and efficacy in metabotropic glutamate receptors.

Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are dimeric class C G-protein-coupled receptors that operate in glia and neurons. Glutamate affinity and efficacy vary greatly between the eight mGluRs. The molecular basis of this diversity is not understood.

CD4LAG3T cells are decreased in SSc-ILD and affect fibroblast mesenchymal transition by TGF-β3.

Pulmonary fibrosis frequently occurs in rheumatic conditions, particularly systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). The pathology involves cell transformation into interstitial structures and collagen accumulation. CD4LAG3T cells, known for immune inhibition, are relevant in autoimmunity.

Size correction and deep image optimization in optical coherence tomography angiography with structural image-assisted common parts extraction method.

Tail artifact elimination is essential in optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) for the artifacts will prevent the reconstruction of the 3D vessel image. The tail artifacts of superficial vessels obscure the deep vascular signals and cause the signals at different depths to mix with each other. Most tail artifact elimination methods can shorten the tails but have difficulty in determining the lower boundary of the vessels.

Vacuum-assisted dedusting lithotripsy in the treatment of kidney and proximal ureteral stones less than 3 cm in size.

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the outcomes of vacuum-assisted dedusting lithotripsy (VADL) using flexible vacuum-assisted ureteral access sheath (FV-UAS) versus traditional flexible ureteroscopic lithotripsy (fURL) in patients with kidney or proximal ureteral calculi less than 3 cm in size.

Methods: A total of 371 patients who successfully underwent fURL treatment were enrolled. These patients were divided into traditional fURL group and VADL group.

Two-Dimensional Analysis Method for Highly Sensitive Detection of Dual MicroRNAs in Breast Cancer Cells.

Multiple biomarker detection is crucial for early clinical diagnosis, and it is significant to achieve the simultaneous detection of multiple biomarkers with the same nanomaterial. In this work, the hairpin DNA strands were selectively modified on the surface of gold nanorods (AuNRs) to construct two kinds of nanoprobes by rational design. When in the presence of dual microRNAs, AuNRs were assembled to form end-to-end (ETE) and side-by-side (SBS) dimers.

The Accurate Imaging of Collective Gold Nanorods with a Polarization-Dependent Dark-Field Light Scattering Microscope.

Anisotropic nanomaterials, such as gold nanorods (AuNRs), could be employed as an orientation platform due to their polarization-dependent surface plasmon resonance. However, a variety of factors would affect the dark-field light scattering imaging of anisotropic nanomaterials, resulting in an unstable signal, which is not advantageous to its further application. In this work, the localized surface plasmon resonance properties of a few AuNRs at different angles were excited by polarization with a conventional dark-field microscope, in which it was found that the ratio of AuNRs' light scattering intensity at different polarization angles () to that without a polarizer () reflected the orientation information of AuNRs.

Tail artifacts removal of three-dimensional optical coherence tomography angiography with common parts extraction method.

In optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), each blood vessel has a tail artifact. These tails of superficial vessels will shadow underlying the deep vascular images and make it difficult to reconstruct the three-dimensional (3D) image of the vessels. As 3D structure can provide much more information than two-dimensional (2D) images, it is important to develop a method to remove the artifacts.

An Improved MobileNet Network with Wavelet Energy and Global Average Pooling for Rotating Machinery Fault Diagnosis.

In recent years, neural networks have shown good performance in terms of accuracy and efficiency. However, along with the continuous improvement in diagnostic accuracy, the number of parameters in the network is increasing and the models can often only be run in servers with high computing power. Embedded devices are widely used in on-site monitoring and fault diagnosis.

Prevalence of psychological distress among people living with HIV/AIDS: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Although people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are known to be vulnerable to psychological distress (PD), little is known about the prevalence of PD among PLWHA. A systematic literature search of several databases was conducted from inception to August 2021 focusing on studies reporting on PD symptoms among PLWHA. The overall prevalence estimates were pooled using a random-effects meta-analysis.

The restructure of Au@Ag nanorods for cell imaging with dark-field microscope.

The facile and noninjurious image of cells with high resolution and low toxicity is essential since imaging can offer rich and direct information and insights into metabolic activities, clinical diagnosis, drug delivery and cancer therapy. In this contribution, a smart imaging probe was employed as a contrast agent for dark-field cell imaging. Au core/Ag shell nanorods (Au@Ag NRs) that characterized by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, formed Au@Ag@AgI NRs when exposed to iodine, which greatly enhanced the light scattering of nanorods.

"Hepatitis virus indicator"----the simultaneous detection of hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses based on the automatic particle enumeration.

As the common hepatitis viruses, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are important causes of liver diseases, which greatly threaten human health and public hygiene. Furthermore, due to the similar transmission routes of HBV and HCV, it is highly susceptible to suffer from the cross-infection of HBV and HCV when humans are infected by hepatitis viruses. So it is urgent to develop strategies with high sensitivity to distinguish HBV/HCV and detect their overlapping infection.

Low-density lipoprotein receptor and apolipoprotein A 5, myocardial infarction biomarkers in plasma-derived exosomes.

Objectives: Myocardial infarction (MI), a leading cause of death around the world, displays a complex pattern of inheritance. Previously, rare mutations in low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) genes and apolipoprotein A V (APOA5) have been shown to contribute to MI risk in individual families. Exosomes provide a potential source of biomarkers for MI.

Size-Dependent Plasmonic Resonance Scattering Characteristics of Gold Nanorods for Highly Sensitive Detection of microRNA-27a.

MicroRNAs, as one kind of significant biomarkers, play indispensable roles in the diagnosis and treatment of cancers. Yet, owing to low expression and high sequence homology, high sensitivity and specificity for microRNA detection are greatly challenging. Herein, a sensitive sensing platform with high specificity was developed for microRNA-27a (miRNA-27a) based on the miRNA-27a-triggered chemical etching of gold nanorods to a smaller size, which was accompanied by a significant blue shift and a large decrease of intensity in the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) scattering and remarkable color variability from red to green.

Plasmonic biosensor for the highly sensitive detection of microRNA-21 via the chemical etching of gold nanorods under a dark-field microscope.

MicroRNAs involved in tumor-related tissues at abnormal expression level present tremendous potential in the early diagnosis of cancers. However, their intrinsic shortcomings, for instance, low abundance and high sequence homology, make it challengeable to quantify them with high sensitivity and selectivity. Herein, a highly sensitive platform with great specificity was developed for microRNA-21 based on the produced-I triggered chemical etching of gold nanorods to a smaller size, resulting in a significant blue shift and a great intensity decrease in the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) scattering.

Selective Photoswitchable Allosteric Agonist of a G Protein-Coupled Receptor.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the most common targets of drug discovery. However, the similarity between related GPCRs combined with the complex spatiotemporal dynamics of receptor activation has hindered drug development. Photopharmacology offers the possibility of using light to control the location and timing of drug action by incorporating a photoisomerizable azobenzene into a GPCR ligand, enabling rapid and reversible switching between an inactive and active configuration.

Downregulation of circ_0037655 impedes glioma formation and metastasis via the regulation of miR-1229-3p/ITGB8 axis.

Background: Glioma is the most frequent, highly aggressive primary intracranial malignant tumor. Circular RNA (circRNA) circ_0037655 has been reported to be a vital regulator in glioma. The different functional mechanism behind circ_0037655 was investigated in the current study.

Does the new-type urbanization construction improve the efficiency of agricultural green water utilization in the Yangtze River Economic Belt?

It is very important to control agricultural water pollution and promote agricultural water saving, for high-quality development of Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB). The efficiency of agricultural green water utilization (EAGWU) needs financial and technical support from the new-type urbanization, which also change agricultural production mode and resource utilization level. This paper introduces non-point source water pollution into the output, adopts the super efficiency-slack model (SE-SBM) to measure the EAGWU, and uses difference generalized method of moments (DIF-GMM) to examine how new-type urbanization affects EAGWU from its four core characteristics.