Influencing inter-cellular junctions with nanomaterials.

Cell-cell junctions are essential for maintaining tissue integrity and regulating a wide range of physiological processes. While the disruption of intercellular junctions may lead to pathological conditions, it also presents an opportunity for therapeutic interventions. Nanomaterials have emerged as promising tools for modulating cell-cell junctions, offering new avenues for innovative treatments.

Differences between two maximal principal strain rate calculation schemes in traumatic brain analysis with in-vivo and in-silico datasets.

Brain deformation caused by a head impact leads to traumatic brain injury (TBI). The maximum principal strain (MPS) was used to measure the extent of brain deformation and predict injury, and the recent evidence has indicated that incorporating the maximum principal strain rate (MPSR) and the product of MPS and MPSR, denoted as MPS × SR, enhances the accuracy of TBI prediction. However, ambiguities have arisen about the calculation of MPSR.

LRMAHpan: a novel tool for multi-allelic HLA presentation prediction using Resnet-based and LSTM-based neural networks.

Introduction: The identification of peptides eluted from HLA complexes by mass spectrometry (MS) can provide critical data for deep learning models of antigen presentation prediction and promote neoantigen vaccine design. A major challenge remains in determining which HLA allele eluted peptides correspond to.

Methods: To address this, we present a tool for prediction of multiple allele (MA) presentation called LRMAHpan, which integrates LSTM network and ResNet_CA network for antigen processing and presentation prediction.

Human Brain Organoids Model Abnormal Prenatal Neural Development Induced by Thermal Stimulation.

The developing human foetal brain is sensitive to thermal stimulation during pregnancy. However, the mechanisms by which heat exposure affects human foetal brain development remain unclear, largely due to the lack of appropriate research models for studying thermal stimulation. To address this, we have developed a periodic heating model based on brain organoids derived from human pluripotent stem cells.

Epidural electrical stimulation combined with photobiomodulation restores hindlimb motor function in rats with thoracic spinal cord injury.

Epidural electrical stimulation (EES) could restore motor function of paralyzed limbs of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). However, its invasiveness limits its application in early stage of injury. Photobiomodulation (PBM) utilizes infrared light for percutaneous irradiation of the spinal cord to protect nerve tissue, delay muscle atrophy, and can be applied in early stage of SCI due to its non-invasiveness.

Preclinical toxicity evaluation of the novel anti-hypertensive compound KSD179019.

The Secretin receptor (SCTR) presents a promising path for hypertension management, with KSD179019 as identified as a Positive Allosteric Modulator (PAM) of SCTR, demonstrating anti-hypertensive effects in animal models. Our objective was to comprehensively evaluate the potential toxicity of KSD179019 through in vitro and in vivo investigations. Initial in vitro studies showed minimal toxicity in liver and kidney cells and non-mutagenicity in bacterial assays.

Untargeted metabolomics reveals the alteration of metabolites during the stewing process of Lueyang black-bone chicken meat.

Introduction: Black-bone chicken meat is rich in nutritional substances and bioactive compounds. Stewing is a traditional and healthy cooking style for black-bone chicken meat. However, the alteration of metabolites in chicken meat during stewing is still unknown.

Design and synthesis of N-(3-cyanothiophen-2-yl)-2-phenoxyacetamide-based α-glucosidase inhibitors.

This study investigates the design and synthesis of a series of novel selective α-glucosidase inhibitors based on N-(3-cyanothiophen-2-yl)-2-phenoxyacetamide framework, employing a bioisosterism strategy. Among the nineteen newly synthesized analogs, compound 4d9 demonstrated the highest α-glucosidase inhibitory potency (IC = 2.11 μM) when compared to the established inhibitors Acarbose (IC = 327.

The electroreduction-free stripping analysis of copper (II) ions and the voltammetric detection of nonylphenol and tetracycline based on graphdiyne/carbon nanotubes.

The heavy metal ions (HMI) and π-electronical pollutants are two main types of environmental water contaminants, thus designing a universal sensor for their detection is considerable important. Meanwhile, graphdiyne (GDY) as a star material exhibits many unique advantages, especially superior adsorption and self-reducing property to HMI as well as great affinity to π-electron targets. Herein, by low-cost utilizing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as the template dedicated to improve the conductivity and dispersibility of GDY, a multifunctional nanohybrid GDY/CNTs was prepared and then revealed successfully as a universal electrochemical sensing material for the HMI and π-electronical pollutants by adopting three models: (a) based on the in-situ adsorption and self-reduction capabilities of GDY towards HMI, an innovative electroreduction-free stripping voltammetry (FSV) sensing strategy was proposed for HMI detection via adopting Cu as a representative, which can effectively avoid the electroreduction process compared with the common anodic stripping voltammetry method; (b) by selecting nonylphenol (NP) and tetracycline (TC) as two representative targets, the sensing performances of GDY/CNTs for the π-electronical pollutants were also confirmed.

Metabolic Dysfunction in Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension: Current Theories and Updates.

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a disease characterized by increased intracranial pressure (ICP) without identifiable secondary causes. While the increased ICP is a critical diagnostic feature, the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms remain unclear. Previous theories have suggested cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) overproduction, impaired reabsorption, or circulatory obstruction as potential causes.

Strategies for genetic manipulation of the halotolerant black yeast : ectopic DNA integration and marker-free CRISPR/Cas9 transformation.

is a halotolerant black yeast commonly found in hypersaline environments. This yeast is also the causative agent of tinea nigra, a superficial mycosis of the palm of the hand and soles of the feet of humans. In addition to their remarkable halotolerance, this black yeast exhibits an unconventional cell division cycle, alternating between fission and budding cell division.

Spatially Quantitative Imaging of Enzyme Activity in a Living Cell.

Enzyme activity plays a key role in cell heterogeneity. Its spatially quantitative imaging in a living cell not only directly displays but also helps people to understand cell heterogeneity. Current methods are hard to achieve due to the short intracellular retention or lack of internal reference of the imaging probes.

Butyrate-producing suppresses natural killer/T-cell lymphoma by dampening the JAK-STAT pathway.

Background: Natural killer/T-cell lymphoma (NKTCL) is a highly aggressive malignancy with a dismal prognosis, and gaps remain in understanding the determinants influencing disease outcomes.

Objective: To characterise the gut microbiota feature and identify potential probiotics that could ameliorate the development of NKTCL.

Design: This cross-sectional study employed shotgun metagenomic sequencing to profile the gut microbiota in two Chinese NKTCL cohorts, with validation conducted in an independent Korean cohort.

"Turn-on" NIR-II fluorescence of a dually quenched probe for sensitive imaging of cathepsin B .

We designed a NIR-II fluorescence probe, Cys(StBu)-Gly-Phe-Leu-Gly-Lys(AF3)-CBT (AF3-CBT), which forms a dually quenched nanoparticle AF3-NP. Under CTSB cleavage, NIR-II fluorescence turns "On" for sensitive imaging of CTSB. AF3-NP showed 6.

A Donor Registry: Genomic Analyses of Seagrass Meadows Identifies Adaptive Genotypes for Future-Proofing.

Globally, anthropogenic climate change has caused declines of seagrass ecosystems necessitating proactive restoration approaches that would ideally anticipate future climate scenarios, such as marine warming. In eastern Australia, estuaries with meadows of the endangered seagrass s have warmed and acidified over the past decade, and seagrass communities have declined in some estuaries. Securing these valuable habitats will require proactive conservation and restoration efforts that could be augmented with restoration focussed on boosting resilience to future climate.

Temperate Intertidal Ecosystems are Functionally Richer but More Vulnerable to Loss Than Tropical Ecosystems.

Gastropods are major contributors to a range of key ecosystem services on intertidal rock platforms, supporting trophic structure in both terrestrial and marine contexts and manipulating habitat complexity. However, the functional structure of these assemblages is rarely examined across broad spatial scales. Here, we describe patterns in gastropod functional diversity, redundancy and vulnerability to functional loss across a latitudinal gradient following the west coast of Australia (18° S-34° S).

Frog tongue-inspired wettable microfibers for particles capture.

Fibers have been of great significance in our daily lives, especially in the industrial production of masks. Research in this area has been focused on developing microfibers with superior functions to enhance the filtration performances of the masks. Herein, inspired by the frog's predation mechanism using its tongues to swiftly grab flying insects, we propose novel porous wettable microfibers from microfluidics to efficiently capture particles in the air for filtration.

Different MHC class I cell surface expression levels in diverse chicken lines, associations with B blood group, and proposed relationship to antigen-binding repertoire.

The Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) is a cluster of genes with primarily immune-related functions. The MHC class I genes are responsible for self- versus non-self-recognition and viral antigen presentation to T lymphocytes. The chicken MHC class I protein binds its cognate antigen(s) over a repertoire spectrum ranging from promiscuous (generalist) to fastidious (specialist).

[Intestinal Polyp Segmentation Based on Histogram Equalization ResNet (PE-ResNet)].

Colonoscopy is an important technical means for screening early colorectal cancer lesions. Accurate segmentation of intestinal polyps helps improve the accuracy of screening. Early screening for lesions is of great significance for the prevention of colorectal cancer, and the segmentation of intestinal polyps is an important research direction.

A dual-locked cyclopeptide-siRNA conjugate for tumor-specific gene silencing.

Strategies allowing tumor-selective siRNA delivery while minimizing off-tumor gene silencing effects are highly demanded to advance cancer gene therapy, which however still remain challenging. We herein report a dual-locking bioconjugation approach to address this challenge. A dual-locked cyclopeptide-siRNA conjugate (DPRC) was designed to simultaneously endow siRNA with tumor-targeting properties and tumor-biomarker/visible-light dually controllable action.

ATG16L1 Depletion-Mediated Activation of the TRAF1 Signaling in Macrophages Aggravates Liver Fibrosis.

Hepatic macrophages play an indispensable role in liver pathophysiology, serving as key orchestrators of both liver injury and repair processes. ATG16L1 (autophagy-related 16 like 1) has emerged as a novel and critical autophagy marker. In macrophages, ATG16L1 assumes a particularly crucial role.

A Metal-Polyphenol-Based Antidepressant for Alleviating Colitis-Associated Mental Disorders.

Emerging evidence suggests that patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are predisposed to psychosocial disturbances, such as depression and anxiety. Regrettably, clinical antidepressants exhibit unsatisfactory therapeutic efficacy in IBD-associated psychosocial disturbances, primarily attributed to the inherent intestinal disorders and intricate bidirectional relationship between the gut and the brain. Herein, we report a metal-polyphenol-based antidepressant to alleviate mental disorders in dextran sulfate sodium-induced experimental acute colitis mice via modulating the microbiota-gut-brain axis.