Generation of self-organized neuromusculoskeletal tri-tissue organoids from human pluripotent stem cells.

The human body function requires crosstalk between different tissues. An essential crosstalk is in the neuromusculoskeletal (NMS) axis involving neural, muscular, and skeletal tissues, which is challenging to model using human cells. Here, we describe the generation of three-dimensional, NMS tri-tissue organoids (hNMSOs) from human pluripotent stem cells through a co-development strategy.

Restoration of submerged vegetation modulates microbial communities to decrease nitrogen and phosphorus loads in sediment-water systems.

The release of nitrogen and phosphorus from sediments, known as internal nutrient loading, plays a crucial role in determining the eutrophic state of lakes and the timeframe for their ecological recovery. The restoration of submerged macrophytes is considered an effective measure to improve lake eutrophication. However, the impact of submerged macrophytes restoration on the storage and transformation mechanisms of nitrogen and phosphorus in lake sediment-water systems has not yet been systematically studied.

Comparison of visual outcomes in patients with cataracts and high myopia after implantation of a zonal refractive multifocal or diffractive bifocal intraocular lens.

This study compares the optical quality of zonal refractive multifocal and diffractive bifocal intraocular lenses (IOLs) and visual outcomes after implantation in 93 patients(93 eyes) with cataracts and high myopia. A retrospective analysis was conducted to measure visual acuity at far, intermediate, and near distances, defocus curves, wavefront aberrations, modulation transfer function (MTF), a Quality of Vision questionnaire (QoV) and visual quality self-evaluation were examined at 3 months. The results demonstrated the ZMB group showed better uncorrected near visual acuity (P < 0.

The formation pattern, causes, and governance of network public opinion on university emergencies.

Background: University emergencies, garnering significant public attention and shaping network opinions, pose a crucial challenge to universities' management and societal stability. Hence, network public opinion on university emergencies is a vital issue. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism has not been fully explored and cannot be efficiently controlled.

Association of Helicobacter pylori infection with complications of diabetes: a single-center retrospective study.

Background: Previous studies examined the association of Helicobacter pylori infection (H. pylori) with complications of diabetes, but the results have been inconsistent. The aim of this study of patients with type-2 diabetes (T2D) was to determine the association of H.

[Integrin and N-cadherin Co-Regulate the Polarity of Mesenchymal Stem Cells via Mechanobiological Mechanisms].

Objective: To investigate the synergistic regulation of the polarization of mesenchymal stem cells by integrin and N-cadherin-mediated mechanical adhesion and the underlying mechanobiological mechanisms.

Methods: Bilayer polyethylene glyeol (PEG) hydrogels were formulated and modified with RGD and HAVDI peptides, respectively, to achieve mechanical adhesion to integrin and N-cadherin and to replicate the integrin-mediated mechanical interaction between cells and the extracellular matrix and the N-cadherin-mediated cell-cell mechanical interaction. The polar proteins, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and phosphorylated myosin light chain (pMLC), were characterized through immunofluorescence staining in individual cells with or without contact with HAVDI peptides under integrin-mediated adhesion, N-cadherin-mediated adhesion, and different intracellular forces.

Comparison of cataract patients with regular corneal astigmatism after implantation of extended range-of-vision and bifocal toric intraocular lenses.

Purpose: To compare the postoperative visual acuity and visual quality between extended range-of-vision and multifocal toric intraocular lens (IOLs) after implantation in cataract patients with regular corneal astigmatism.

Setting: Department of Ophthalmology, the Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin Province, China.

Design: Retrospective and single-center study.

NRF1-mediated mitochondrial biogenesis antagonizes innate antiviral immunity.

Mitochondrial biogenesis is the process of generating new mitochondria to maintain cellular homeostasis. Here, we report that viruses exploit mitochondrial biogenesis to antagonize innate antiviral immunity. We found that nuclear respiratory factor-1 (NRF1), a vital transcriptional factor involved in nuclear-mitochondrial interactions, is essential for RNA (VSV) or DNA (HSV-1) virus-induced mitochondrial biogenesis.

Assessment of an exhaled breath test using ultraviolet photoionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry for the monitoring of kidney transplant recipients.

Continuous monitoring for immunosuppressive status, infection and complications are a must for kidney transplantation (KTx) recipients. Traditional monitoring including blood sampling and kidney biopsy, which caused tremendous medical cost and trauma. Therefore, a cheaper and less invasive approach was urgently needed.

Research progress in human biological monitoring of aromatic hydrocarbon with emphasis on the analytical technology of biomarkers.

Aromatic hydrocarbons are unsaturated compounds containing carbon and hydrogen that form single aromatic ring, or double, triple, or multiple fused rings. This review focuses on the research progress of aromatic hydrocarbons represented by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (including halogenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), benzene and its derivatives including toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes (o-, m- and p-), styrene, nitrobenzene, and aniline. Due to the toxicity, widespread coexistence, and persistence of aromatic hydrocarbons in the environment, accurate assessment of exposure to aromatic hydrocarbons is essential to protect human health.

Antitumor effect of CAR-T cells targeting transmembrane tumor necrosis factor alpha combined with PD-1 mAb on breast cancers.

Background: Our previous study showed that transmembrane tumor necrosis factor alpha (tmTNF-α) is overexpressed in primary breast cancers including triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs). Chimeric antigen receptor engineered-T (CAR-T) cells have been successfully used mainly in B-cell malignancies.

Methods: We generated CAR-T cells targeting tmTNF-α but not secreted tumor necrosis factor alpha and assessed the antitumor effect of the CAR-T cells on tmTNF-α-expressing breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

Establishment and application of a screening method for 354 organic toxicants in blood and urine with high-performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution orbitrap mass spectrometry.

A rapid and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography-high-resolution orbitrap mass spectrometry method was developed for the simultaneous screening of 354 organic poisons and metabolites in blood and urine, including drugs, medications, pesticides, rodenticides, veterinary drugs, alkaloids, and mycotoxins with a multi-toxicant chromatography-mass spectrometry information library. The method and library showed good prospects in clinical poisoning screening and forensic toxicological identification. Blood and urine samples were extracted successively with ethyl acetate in acidic and alkaline conditions; then, the extract was blown to nearly dry by nitrogen gas and redissolved with methanol-aqueous solution (v:v, 50:50), and the dissolved solution was analyzed by LC-MS/MS after filtering.

Editing of a Specific Strain of Escherichia coli in the Mouse Gut Using Native Phages.

There is a lack of methodological investigation of the functions of bacterial species in microecosystems. Here, we used native phages as a microbial editing tool for eliminating Escherichia coli strain MG1655 labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the mouse gut. The virulent phages (W1 and W3) possessed host specificity at both the genus and species levels, resulting in an 8.

Identification of Prognostic Fatty Acid Metabolism lncRNAs and Potential Molecular Targeting Drugs in Uveal Melanoma.

Background: The aim of this study was to identify prognostic fatty acid metabolism lncRNAs and potential molecular targeting drugs in uveal melanoma through integrated bioinformatics analysis.

Methods: In the present study, we obtained the expression matrix of 309 FAM-mRNAs and identified 225 FAM-lncRNAs by coexpression network analysis. We then performed univariate Cox analysis, LASSO regression analysis, and cross-validation and finally obtained an optimized UVM prognosis prediction model composed of four PFAM-lncRNAs (AC104129.

Hub Gene Screening Associated with Early Glaucoma: An Integrated Bioinformatics Analysis.

Background: Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is the most common type of glaucoma. The potential influence of some DEGs on the progression of POAG was still incomplete. In this study, we integrated transcriptome data with clinical data to investigate the relationship between them in POAG patients.

A phosphite-based screening platform for identification of enzymes favoring nonnatural cofactors.

Enzymes with dedicated cofactor preference are essential for advanced biocatalysis and biomanufacturing, especially when employing nonnatural nicotinamide cofactors in redox reactions. However, directed evolution of an enzyme to switch its cofactor preference is often hindered by the lack of efficient and affordable method for screening as the cofactor per se or the substrate can be prohibitively expensive. Here, we developed a growth-based selection platform to identify nonnatural cofactor-dependent oxidoreductase mutants.

Combined use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation with interventional surgery for acute pancreatitis with pulmonary embolism: A case report.

Background: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an acute inflammatory process of the pancreas characterized by self-digestion of pancreatic tissue, which can trigger a systemic inflammatory response. Venous thrombosis, resulting from a hypercoagulable state, is a vascular complication of AP. AP complicated by pulmonary embolism (PE) is very rare, and the combined use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) with a vascular interventional procedure for AP complicated by PE is even rarer.

Whole-cell biosynthesis of cytarabine by an unnecessary protein-reduced Escherichia coli that coexpresses purine and uracil phosphorylase.

Currently, whole-cell catalysts face challenges due to the complexity of reaction systems, although they have a cost advantage over pure enzymes. In this study, cytarabine was synthesized by purified purine phosphorylase 1 (PNP1) and uracil phosphorylase (UP), and the conversion of cytarabine from adenine arabinoside reached 72.3 ± 4.

Suppression of Transmembrane Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Processing by a Specific Antibody Protects Against Colitis-Associated Cancer.

Soluble tumor necrosis factor-α (sTNF-α) plays an important role in colitis-associated cancer (CAC); however, little is known about transmembrane TNF-α (tmTNF-α). Here, we observed an increase in sTNF-α mainly in colitis tissues from an azoxymethane/dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced CAC mouse model whereas tmTNF-α levels were chiefly increased on epithelial cells at the tumor stage. The ratio of intracolonic tmTNF-α/sTNF-α was negatively correlated with the levels of pro-inflammatory mediators (IL-1β, IL-6, and NO) and M1 macrophages but positively correlated with the infiltration of myeloid-derived suppressor cells, regulatory T cells, and the level of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, suggesting an anti-inflammatory effect of tmTNF-α.

The Road of Solid Tumor Survival: From Drug-Induced Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress to Drug Resistance.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS), which refers to a series of adaptive responses to the disruption of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis, occurs when cells are treated by drugs or undergo microenvironmental changes that cause the accumulation of unfolded/misfolded proteins. ERS is one of the key responses during the drug treatment of solid tumors. Drugs induce ERS by reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and Ca overload.

Transmembrane tumor necrosis factor alpha attenuates pressure-overload cardiac hypertrophy via tumor necrosis factor receptor 2.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) plays an important pathogenic role in cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure (HF); however, anti-TNF is paradoxically negative in clinical trials and even worsens HF, indicating a possible protective role of TNF-α in HF. TNF-α exists in transmembrane (tmTNF-α) and soluble (sTNF-α) forms. Herein, we found that TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) knockout (KO) or knockdown (KD) by short hairpin RNA or small interfering RNA (siRNA) significantly alleviated cardiac hypertrophy, heart dysfunction, fibrosis, and inflammation with increased tmTNF-α expression, whereas TNFR2 KO or KD exacerbated the pathological phenomena with increased sTNF-α secretion in transverse aortic constriction (TAC)- and isoproterenol (ISO)-induced cardiac hypertrophy in vivo and in vitro, respectively, indicating the beneficial effects of TNFR2 associated with tmTNF-α.

Codonopis bulleynana Forest ex Diels (cbFeD) effectively attenuates hepatic fibrosis in CCl-induced fibrotic mice model.

The root of Codonopis bulleynana Forest ex Diels (cbFeD), a tonic food widely used in Yunnan Province of China, was found to have a wide range of pharmacological effects. The present study was designed to investigate the anti-fibrotic effect of water extracts of cbFeD in chronic liver injury mice model induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl) and to explore its underlying mechanisms. Phytochemical analysis revealed multiple components were present in the water extract of cbFeD and the compounds were mostly enriched in organic acid and its derivatives, flavone, amino acid derivatives, nucleotide and its derivatives, carbohydrates etc.

Effects of aspirin on the gastrointestinal tract: Pros vs. cons.

Acetylsalicylic acid, also known as aspirin, is often used in clinical antipyretic, analgesic and antiplatelet therapy. Aspirin can cause numerous side effects in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, ranging from unpleasant GI symptoms without gastric mucosal lesions to ulcer bleeding and even death. However, recent studies have found that aspirin can significantly prevent GI tumors.

Zenker's diverticulum treated with submucosal tunneling endoscopic septum division surgery: Two case reports.

Introduction: Zenker's diverticulum (ZD) refers to a pouch-like structure similar to the esophageal lumen formed from the herniation of the esophageal mucosa; this structure makes it difficult for food to pass through the esophagus to the stomach. The development of endoscopic technology has made minimally invasive surgical treatments for ZD possible.

Patient Concerns: A female 72-year-old patient was admitted to our hospital due to recurrent dysphagia for more than 5 years.