Pathological roles of lncRNA HOTAIR in liver cancer: An updated review.

Liver cancer ranks as the sixth most prevalent form of cancer and stands as the fourth leading cause of cancer-related fatalities on a global scale. The two primary types of liver cancer are hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC). While ICC originates from the bile ducts, HCC develops from hepatocytes, which are the primary functional cells of the liver.

Plasticity in Hydraulic Architecture: Riparian Trees Respond to Increased Temperatures With Genotype-Specific Adjustments to Leaf Traits.

Climate means and variability are shifting rapidly, leading to mismatches between climate and locally adapted plant traits. Phenotypic plasticity, the ability of a plant to respond to environmental conditions within a lifetime, may provide a buffer for plants to persist under increasing temperature and water stress. We used two reciprocal common gardens across a steep temperature gradient to investigate plasticity in six populations of Fremont cottonwood, an important foundation tree species in arid riparian ecosystems.

Innovations in cancer immunotherapy: A comprehensive overview of recent breakthroughs and future directions.

A major advance in cancer treatment has been the development and refinement of cancer immunotherapy. The discovery of immunotherapies for a wide range of cancers has revolutionized cancer treatment paradigms. Despite relapse or refractory disease, immunotherapy approaches can prolong the life expectancy of metastatic cancer patients.

Chemical waves in reaction-diffusion networks of small organic molecules.

Chemical waves represent one of the fundamental behaviors that emerge in nonlinear, out-of-equilibrium chemical systems. They also play a central role in regulating behaviors and development of biological organisms. Nevertheless, understanding their properties and achieving their rational synthesis remains challenging.

Biotin Conjugated Fe(III)-Triscatecholate Complex as Tumour Targeting T1 MRI Contrast Agent via Second Sphere Water Relaxation.

The biotin-conjugated Fe(III) catecholate complex [Fe(BioL)3]3-, Fe(BioL)3 (BioLH2 = N-(3,4-dihydroxyphenethyl)-5-((3aS,4S,6aR)-2-oxohexahydro-1H-thieno[3,4-d]imidazol-4-yl)pentanamide) is reported as targeted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents (CAs) to increase the payload for early-stage imaging of tumours. The high spin state and octahedral coordination of the Fe(III) complex are confirmed by EPR spectra and DFT optimized structure, respectively. The formation constant (-log K) of Fe(BioL)3 is determined as 45, which is higher than the known, more stable complex [Fe(EDTA)].

Recent advances in polysaccharide-based drug delivery systems for cancer therapy: a comprehensive review.

Cancer has a high rate of incidence and mortality throughout the world. Although several conventional approaches have been developed for the treatment of cancer, such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and thermal therapy, they have remarkable disadvantages which result in inefficient treatment of cancer. For example, immunogenicity, prolonged treatment, non-specificity, metastasis and high cost of treatment, are considered as the major drawbacks of chemotherapy.

Distributed Acoustic Sensing for Future Planetary Applications: Initial Results From the San Francisco Volcanic Field, a Lunar Analogue.

Seismic imaging is one of the most powerful tools available for constraining the internal structure and composition of planetary bodies as well as enabling our understanding planetary evolution, geology, and distribution of natural resources. However, traditional seismic instrumentation can be heavy and voluminous, expensive, and/or difficult to rapidly deploy in large numbers. Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) provides a promising new alternative given the ease of deployment, light weight and simplicity of fiber optic cables.

Evolutionary Links Between Skull Shape and Body Size Suggest Allometric Forces and Selection at Work in a Generalist Group of Lizards.

The vertebrate skull is a complex structure, and studies of skull shape have yielded considerable insight into the evolutionary forces shaping specialized phenotypes in organisms as diverse as bats, frogs, and fossorial animals. Here, we used phylogenetic comparative analyses of CT scans of male skulls from 57 species of lizards to explore patterns of skull evolution in a group of generalist taxa. We found that most interspecific variation is in terms of skull elongation such that some species have long, narrow skulls, whereas others exhibit more compact and robust skulls.

Synthesis of a novel nanomagnetic N bis schiff base complex of copper(ii) as an efficient catalyst for click synthesis of tetrazoles.

In this study, we have prepared a novel bis-Schiff-base copper(ii) complex by modifying FeO with acetylacetone functionalities and subsequently forming a Schiff base with 2-picolylamine and CuCl through a template method. Immobilization of 2,4-pentanedione and its reaction with 2-picolylamine enabled the synthesis of 1,3-diketimines (HNacNac) as an anionic ligand. This unique design resulted in a tetradentate N coordination sphere for copper(ii) ion complexation.

A facile and green procedure in preparing dibenzo-chromeno-phenazine-diones using an effectual and recyclable Brønsted acidic ionic liquid.

First, a Brønsted acid ionic liquid (BAIL) in the role of a double acid-base called 1,3-n-propyl-bipyridinium bisulfonic acid-ditrifluoroacetate (PBPBSDT) was produced, and its skeleton was determined via TGA, mass, C NMR, F NMR, H NMR and FT-IR data. Further, it was successfully applied in the preparation of dibenzo-chromeno-phenazine-dione derivatives (1a-12a, 9-15 min, 90-98%) via one-pot multicomponent domino reaction among 2 mmol 2-hydroxynaphthalene-1,4-dione, 1 mmol benzene-1,2-diamine, and 1 mmol aldehydes under optimal conditions (5 mol% of PBPBSDT, solvent-free, 60 °C). The proper reproducibility of the PBPBSDT homogeneous catalyst (5 times), solvent-free medium, reasonable TON (Turnover Number) and TOF (Turnover Frequency) numbers, the non-metallic framework of the catalyst, and the formation of C-N, C = N, C-C, C = C, C-O bonds in a single operation are the distinct advantages of this protocol.

From bite to brain: Neuro-immune interactions in food allergy.

Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated food allergies are reported to affect around 3.5% of children and 2.4% of adults, with symptoms varying in range and severity.

Correlation between lncRNAs with human molecular chaperons in cancer immunopathogenesis and drug resistance.

The development of cancer immunology heavily relies on the interaction between long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and molecular chaperones. By participating in gene regulation, lncRNAs interact with molecular chaperones, which play a critical role in protein folding and stress responses, to influence oncogenic pathways. This interaction has an impact on both the immune cells within the tumor microenvironment and the tumor cells themselves.

The role of an intramolecular hydrogen bond in the redox properties of carboxylic acid naphthoquinones.

A bioinspired naphthoquinone model of the quinones in photosynthetic reaction centers but bearing an intramolecular hydrogen-bonded carboxylic acid has been synthesized and characterized electrochemically, spectroscopically, and computationally to provide mechanistic insight into the role of proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) of quinone reduction in photosynthesis. The reduction potential of this construct is 370 mV more positive than the unsubstituted naphthoquinone. In addition to the reversible cyclic voltammetry, infrared spectroelectrochemistry confirms that the naphthoquinone/naphthoquinone radical anion couple is fully reversible.

Gut instinct: harnessing the power of probiotics to tame pathogenic signaling pathways in ulcerative colitis.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) marked by persistent inflammation of the mucosal lining of the large intestine, leading to debilitating symptoms and reduced quality of life. Emerging evidence suggests that an imbalance of the gut microbiota plays a crucial role in UC pathogenesis, and various signaling pathways are implicated in the dysregulated immune response. Probiotics are live microorganisms that confer health benefits to the host, have attracted significant attention for their potential to restore gut microbial balance and ameliorate inflammation in UC.

MicroRNA-enriched exosome as dazzling dancer between cancer and immune cells.

Exosomes are widely recognized for their roles in numerous biological processes and as intercellular communication mediators. Human cancerous and normal cells can both produce massive amounts of exosomes. They are extensively dispersed in tumor-modeling animals' pleural effusions, ascites, and plasma from people with cancer.

Increased hydrophilicity of lignin-derivable bisphenol-based polysulfones for potential water filtration applications.

The functionality inherent in lignin-derivable aromatics (, polar methoxy groups) can provide a potential opportunity to improve the hydrophilicity of polysulfones (PSfs) without the need for the additional processing steps and harsh reagents/conditions that are typically used in conventional PSf modifications. As determined herein, lignin-derivable PSfs without any post-polymerization modification exhibited higher hydrophilicity than comparable petroleum-based PSfs (commercial/laboratory-synthesized) and also demonstrated similar hydrophilicity to functionalized BPA-PSfs reported in the literature. Importantly, the lignin-derivable PSfs displayed improved thermal properties relative to functionalized BPA-PSfs in the literature, and the thermal properties of these bio-derivable PSfs were close to those of common non-functionalized PSfs.

Thermodynamics of hybrid manganese formate perovskites.

Hybrid organic-inorganic materials, both dense and porous, have gained significant attention in recent years due to their extreme tunability in terms of compositions and functional properties. A deep understanding of their intrinsic stability is crucial to accelerate the discovery of new compositions that are not only functional but also thermodynamically stable. Here, we report the first systematic experimental study of the effect of A-site cations on the thermodynamic stability of a series of hybrid manganese formate perovskites [AH]Mn[HCOO] with AH = CHNH , (CH)NH , (CH)NH , CH(NH) , and C(NH) using acid solution calorimetry.

Therapeutic applications of RNA nanostructures.

RNA-based therapeutics have gained wide public interest in recent years. RNA is a versatile molecule that exists in many forms including mRNA, siRNA, miRNA, ribozymes, and other non-coding RNAs and is primarily applied for gene therapy. RNA is also used as a modular building block to construct RNA nanostructures.

Specific small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) for targeting the metastasis, immune responses, and drug resistance of colorectal cancer cells (CRC).

Colorectal cancer (CRC) involves various genetic alterations, with liver metastasis posing a significant clinical challenge. Furthermore, CRC cells mostly show an increase in resistance to traditional treatments like chemotherapy. It is essential to investigate more advanced and effective therapies to prevent medication resistance and metastases and extend patient life.

Berberine and berberine nanoformulations in cancer therapy: Focusing on lung cancer.

Lung cancer is the second most prevalent cancer and ranks first in cancer-related death worldwide. Due to the resistance development to conventional cancer therapy strategies, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy, various natural products and their extracts have been revealed as alternatives. Berberine (BBR), which is present in the stem, root, and bark of various trees, could exert anticancer activities by regulating tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, autophagy, metastasis, angiogenesis, and immune responses via modulating several signaling pathways within the tumor microenvironment.

Color aberration in malachite kingfishers: Insights from community science observations in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda.

Color aberrations in birds corresponds with important ecological functions, including thermoregulation and physiological impacts, camouflage and increased predation, and social interactions with conspecifics. Color aberrations in birds have been reported frequently in the scientific literature, but aberrations in many species remain undocumented or understudied. We investigated records of leucism in malachite kingfishers () from observations of community scientists on iNaturalist and eBird in Uganda.

Toward Culturally Responsive Mentoring of Muslim Research Mentees in the Sciences.

Research experiences are an integral part of training future scientists and fostering diversity in science. Providing culturally responsive research mentorship, defined as mentorship that incorporates cultural knowledge to improve learning experiences for a particular group, is a critical step in this endeavor. While culturally responsive mentoring is most commonly associated with mentoring students with underrepresented races and ethnicities in the sciences, it can also be helpful for mentees with a diversity of abilities, sexualities, economic backgrounds, and religions.

Interleukin-6 serves as a critical factor in various cancer progression and therapy.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, plays a crucial role in host immune defense and acute stress responses. Moreover, it modulates various cellular processes, including proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and differentiation. These effects are facilitated by various signaling pathways, particularly the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and Janus kinase 2 (JAK2).