An Integrating Microfluidic System for Concentration Gradient Generation of Exosomes and Exosome-Assisted Single-Cell-Derived Tumor-Sphere Formation.

To enhance exploration on tumor stem-like cells (TSCs) without altering their cellular biological characteristics, researchers advocate for application of single-cell-derived tumor-spheres (STSs). TSCs are regulated by their surrounding microenvironment, making it crucial to simulate a tumor microenvironment to facilitate STS formation. Recently, exosomes that originated from the tumor microenvironment have emerged as a promising approach for mimicking the tumor microenvironment.

Atmospheric oxygen mediated oxidation coupling of primary and secondary alcohols: synthesis of pyrazolo[1,5-]pyrimidines.

An atmospheric oxygen-mediated oxidative coupling of primary and secondary alcohols for the synthesis of nitrogen-containing heterocycles has been developed. This method utilizes atmospheric oxygen as the sole, environmentally friendly oxidant to convert a variety of alkyl and aromatic primary alcohols into aldehyde equivalents, avoiding over-oxidation to carboxylic acids. Notably, these mild oxidation conditions are compatible with both primary and secondary alkyl alcohols as substrates.

Evolution Driven Microscale Combinatorial Chemistry in Intracellular Mimicking Droplets to Engineer Thermostable RNA for Cellular Imaging.

Fluorescent light-up aptamer/fluorogen pairs are powerful tools for tracking RNA in the cell, however limitations in thermostability and fluorescence intensity exist. Current in vitro selection techniques struggle to mimic complex intracellular environments, limiting in vivo biomolecule functionality. Taking inspiration from microenvironment-dependent RNA folding observed in cells and organelle-mimicking droplets, an efficient system is created that uses microscale heated water droplets to simulate intracellular conditions, effectively replicating the intracellular RNA folding landscape.

Allatostatin-C signaling in the crab, Carcinus maenas is implicated in the ecdysis programme.

The allatostatin (AST) family of neuropeptides are widespread in arthropods. The multitude of structures and pleiotropic actions reflect the tremendous morphological, physiological and behavioral diversity of the phylum. Regarding the AST-C (with C-terminal PISCF motif) peptides, crustaceans commonly express three (AST-C, -CC, -CCC) that have likely arisen by gene duplication.

Antiseizure Medications: Advancements, Challenges, and Prospects in Drug Development.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder affecting millions of people worldwide. Antiseizure medications (ASM) remain a critical therapeutic intervention for treating epilepsy, notwithstanding the rapid development of other therapies. There have been substantial advances in epilepsy medications over the past three decades, with over 20 ASMs now available commercially.

Comprehensive care of ulcerative colitis: new treatment strategies.

Introduction: Ulcerative colitis is a chronic inflammatory condition of the colon driven by aberrant immune activation. Although advanced medical therapies form the cornerstone of ulcerative colitis management, unmet needs include failure to induce and sustain remission in a substantial proportion of patients and in managing acute severe ulcerative colitis. We review new treatment strategies that might improve patient outcomes in the management of moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis.

A OHCs-Targeted Strategy for PEDF Delivery in Noise-Induced Hearing Loss.

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) results from prolonged exposure to intense noise, causing damage to sensory outer hair cells (OHCs) and spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs). The blood labyrinth barrier (BLB) hinders systemic drug delivery to the inner ear. This study applied a retro-auricular round window membrane (RWM) method to bypass the BLB, enabling the transport of macromolecular proteins into the inner ear.

Effect of one-week New Zealand blackcurrant extract on rowing performance and cognitive function in National team male rowers.

This research investigated the impact of New Zealand blackcurrant (NZBC) on 2000-meter rowing ergometer performance and cognitive abilities. Nine trained male rowers from Iran's national team participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study, undergoing three sessions with NZBC (600 mg∙day-1), placebo (PL), and control (CL) treatments over seven days, followed by a 14-day washout period. Participants completed a 2000-meter ergometer test provided self-reported ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and completed a cognitive function assessment five minutes following the rowing exercise.

Technical considerations and review of urinary microRNAs as biomarkers for chronic kidney disease in dogs and cats.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are small, non-coding RNAs that play a crucial role in gene regulation, making them potential biomarkers for various diseases. In the field of veterinary medicine, there is a growing interest in exploring the diagnostic and therapeutic potential of miRNAs in kidney diseases affecting dogs and cats. This review focuses on the use of urinary miRNAs as biomarkers for chronic kidney disease (CKD) in these companion animals.

Responsible Use of Population Neuroscience Data in the ABCD: Towards Standards of Accountability and Integrity.

This editorial focuses on the issue of data misuse that is increasingly evidenced in social media as well as some premiere scientific journals. This issue is of critical importance to open science projects in general, and ABCD in particular, given the broad array of biological, behavioural and environmental information collected on this American sample of 12,000 youth and parents. ABCD data are already widely used with over 1,200 publications and twice as many citations per year as expected (relative citation index based on year, field and journal).

Massive gene loss in the fungus Sporothrix epigloea accompanied a shift to life in a glucuronoxylomannan-based gel matrix.

Fungi are well known for their ability to both produce and catabolize complex carbohydrates to acquire carbon, often in the most extreme of environments. Glucuronoxylomannan (GXM)-based gel matrices are widely produced by fungi in nature and though they are of key interest in medicine and pharmaceuticals, their biodegradation is poorly understood. Though some organisms, including other fungi, are adapted to life in and on GXM-like matrices in nature, they are almost entirely unstudied, and it is unknown if they are involved in matrix degradation.

POLE mutations in endometrial carcinoma: Clinical and genomic landscape from a large prospective single-center cohort.

Background: To date, 11 DNA polymerase epsilon (POLE) pathogenic variants have been declared "hotspot" mutations. Patients with endometrial cancer (EC) characterized by POLE hotspot mutations (POLEmut) have exceptional survival outcomes. Whereas international guidelines encourage deescalation of adjuvant treatment in early-stage POLEmut EC, data regarding safety in POLEmut patients with unfavorable characteristics are still under investigation.

Bioactive Functionalized Chitosan Thermo-Responsive Hydrogels as Promising Platforms for Therapeutic, Regenerative Oral, and Maxillofacial Applications.

Due to their superior physicochemical features, chitosan thermosensitive hydrogels are multipurpose platforms that are frequently used in the biomedical industry. Many investigations have been conducted recently to modify their pore dimensions, expansion, biodegradability, stimulus-reaction characteristics, and other characteristics in order to better tailor them to the complex craniofacial tissues. They have been the focus of various studies that have attempted to load biological cargos for therapeutic and regenerative uses in the oro-facial tissues.

Deployment and transcriptional evaluation of nitisinone, an FDA-approved drug, to control bed bugs.

Background: Bed bugs are blood-feeders that rapidly proliferate into large indoor infestations. Their bites can cause allergies, secondary infections and psychological stress, among other problems. Although several tactics for their management have been used, bed bugs continue to spread worldwide wherever humans reside.

Regulation of Rhizobial Nodulation Genes by Flavonoid-Independent NodD Supports Nitrogen-Fixing Symbioses With Legumes.

Rhizobia and legumes form a symbiotic relationship resulting in the formation of root structures known as nodules, where bacteria fix nitrogen. Legumes release flavonoids that are detected by the rhizobial nodulation (Nod) protein NodD, initiating the transcriptional activation of nod genes and subsequent synthesis of Nod Factors (NFs). NFs then induce various legume responses essential for this symbiosis.

Knockout of Pro-Apoptotic BAX and BAK1 Genes in HEK293T Cells Enhances Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) Production: AAV2 and AAV9.

Increasing demand for adeno-associated virus (AAV) used in gene therapy highlights the need to enhance AAV production. When intracellular AAV2 and extracellular AAV9 were produced in HEK293T cells using the triple transfection method, apoptosis occurred during the AAV production. To mitigate apoptosis induced by AAV production, the pro-apoptotic BAX/BAK1 genes were knocked out in HEK293T cells.

Precision in Liver Diagnosis: Varied Accuracy Across Subgroups and the Need for Variable Thresholds in Diagnosis of MASLD.

Background And Aims: The performance of non-invasive liver tests (NITs) is known to vary across settings and subgroups. We systematically evaluated whether the performance of three NITs in detecting advanced fibrosis in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) varies with age, sex, body mass index (BMI), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) status or liver enzymes.

Methods: Data from 586 adult LITMUS Metacohort participants with histologically characterised MASLD were included.

Can fundus features tell us something about 3D eye shape?

Purpose: To determine whether imaging features derived from fundus photographs contain 3D eye shape information beyond that available from spherical equivalent refraction (SER).

Methods: We analysed 99 eyes of 68 normal adults in the UK Biobank. An ellipsoid was fitted to the entire volume of each posterior eye (vitreous chamber without the lens)-segmented from magnetic resonance imaging of the brain.

Super-resolution imaging of proteins inside live mammalian cells with mLIVE-PAINT.

Super-resolution microscopy has revolutionized biological imaging, enabling the visualization of structures at the nanometer length scale. Its application in live cells, however, has remained challenging. To address this, we adapted LIVE-PAINT, an approach we established in yeast, for application in live mammalian cells.

Evaluating H2BC9 as a potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Histone H2B is highly expressed in many types of cancers and is involved in cancer development. H2B clustered histone 9 (H2BC9), a member of the H2B family, plays critical roles in gene expression regulation, chromosome structure, DNA repair stability, and cell cycle regulation. However, the diagnostic and prognostic value of H2BC9 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains unclear.

Carbon monoxide-oxidising Pseudomonadota on volcanic deposits.

Carbon monoxide (CO) oxidising microorganisms are present in volcanic deposits throughout succession, with levels of vegetation and soil influencing the communities present. Carboxydovores are a subset of CO oxidisers that use CO as an energy source, which raises questions about the physiological and metabolic features that make them more competitive in harsh volcanic ecosystems. To address these questions, samples were taken from volcanic strata formed by eruptions from Calbuco Volcano (Chile) in 2015 (tephra) and 1917 (soil).

Elevated LIF and JAK-STAT activation drive severe COVID-19 in myeloma patients receiving the BCMA-CD3 bispecific antibody Elranatamab.

Background: Immunotherapy is a significant risk factor for severe COVID-19 in multiple myeloma (MM) patients. Understanding how immunotherapies lead to severe COVID-19 is crucial for improving patient outcomes.

Methods: Human protein microarrays were used to examine the expression of 440 protein molecules in MM patients treated with bispecific T-cell engagers (BiTe) (n = 9), anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) (n = 10), and proteasome inhibitor (PI)-based regimens (n = 10).

Novel transcripts of EMT driving the malignant transformation of oral submucous fibrosis.

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is a chronic, progressive, and fibrotic condition of the oral mucosa that carries an elevated risk of malignant transformation. We aimed to identify and validate novel genes associated with the regulation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in OSF. Genes regulating EMT were identified through differential gene expression analysis, using a LogFC threshold of -1 and + 1 and a padj value < 0.

Maternal weight during pregnancy and risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in offspring.

In addition to biological factors, maternal exposures during pregnancy can contribute to leukemogenesis in offspring. We conducted a population-based cohort study in Sweden to investigate the association between risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in offspring and maternal anthropometrics during pregnancy. A total of 2,961,435 live-born singletons during 1983-2018 were followed from birth to ALL diagnosis, end of age 18, or end of 2018.