Deep learning analyses of splicing variants identify the link of PCP4 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a severe motor neuron disease, with most sporadic cases lacking clear genetic causes. Abnormal pre-mRNA splicing is a fundamental mechanism in neurodegenerative diseases. For example, TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) loss-of-function (LOF) causes widespread RNA mis-splicing events in ALS.

Bioactive Steroids with Structural Diversity from the South China Sea Soft Coral sp. and Sponge sp.

A chemical investigation of the soft coral sp. and the sponge sp. from the South China Sea led to the isolation of five steroids, including two new compounds ( and ) and one known natural product ().

Recent Advances in Natural Products Derived from Marine Echinoderms and Endophytic Microbes: Chemical Insights and Therapeutic Potential.

Echinoderms, a diverse group of marine invertebrates including starfish, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers, have been recognized as prolific sources of structurally diverse natural products. In the past five years, remarkable progress has been made in the isolation, structural elucidation, and pharmacological assessment of these bioactive compounds. These metabolites, including polysaccharides, triterpenoids, steroids, and peptides, demonstrate potent bioactivities such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antimicrobial effects, providing valuable insights and scaffolds for drug discovery.

Osteopenia Metabolomic Biomarkers for Early Warning of Osteoporosis.

: This study aimed to capture the early metabolic changes before osteoporosis occurs and identify metabolomic biomarkers at the osteopenia stage for the early prevention of osteoporosis. : Metabolomic data were generated from normal, osteopenia, and osteoporosis groups with 320 participants recruited from the Nicheng community in Shanghai. We conducted individual edge network analysis (iENA) combined with a random forest to detect metabolomic biomarkers for the early warning of osteoporosis.

High FGF18 expression levels predict poor prognosis in endometrial carcinoma patients and promote tumor growth and metastasis.

Objective: To investigate if fibroblast growth factor 18 (FGF18) expression plays an important role in endometrial carcinoma (EC).

Methods: The clinicopathological associations and prognostic value of FGF18 expression were retrospectively analyzed in 190 patients with EC. FGF18 expression was stably knocked down in EC cell lines.

Notoginsenoside R1 Attenuates H/R Injury in H9c2 Cells by Maintaining Mitochondrial Homeostasis.

Mitochondrial homeostasis is crucial for maintaining cellular energy production and preventing oxidative stress, which is essential for overall cellular function and longevity. Mitochondrial damage and dysfunction often occur concomitantly in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI). Notoginsenoside R1 (NGR1), a unique saponin from the traditional Chinese medicine Panax notoginseng, has been shown to alleviate MIRI in previous studies, though its precise mechanism remains unclear.

Synergistic Approach of High-Precision 3D Printing and Low Cell Adhesion for Enhanced Self-Assembled Spheroid Formation.

Spheroids, as three-dimensional (3D) cell aggregates, can be prepared using various methods, including hanging drops, microwells, microfluidics, magnetic manipulation, and bioreactors. However, current spheroid manufacturing techniques face challenges such as complex workflows, the need for specialized personnel, and poor batch reproducibility. In this study, we designed a support-free, 3D-printed microwell chip and developed a compatible low-cell-adhesion process.

Three-Dimensional Printable Magnetic Hydrogels with Adjustable Stiffness and Adhesion for Magnetic Actuation and Magnetic Hyperthermia Applications.

Stimuli-responsive hydrogels hold immense promise for biomedical applications, but conventional gelation processes often struggle to achieve the precision and complexity required for advanced functionalities such as soft robotics, targeted drug delivery, and tissue engineering. This study introduces a class of 3D-printable magnetic hydrogels with tunable stiffness, adhesion, and magnetic responsiveness, prepared through a simple and efficient "one-pot" method. This approach enables precise control over the hydrogel's mechanical properties, with an elastic modulus ranging from 43 kPa to 277 kPa, tensile strength from 93 kPa to 421 kPa, and toughness from 243 kJ/m to 1400 kJ/m, achieved by modulating the concentrations of acrylamide (AM) and FeO nanoparticles.

Risk Factors for Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting After TACE: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) was one of the common complications in patients with HCC who had undergone TACE. This study was a prospective analysis of patient data to investigate risk factors for PONV in patients after TACE. Data were collected from 212 patients undergoing TACE in the interventional department between August 2022 and August 2023.

Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals Macrophage Dynamics During MASH in -Deficient Rats.

Macrophages play important roles in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), an advanced and inflammatory stage of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). In humans and mice, the cellular heterogeneity and diverse function of hepatic macrophages in MASH have been investigated by single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). However, little is known about their roles in rats.

ViT-Based Face Diagnosis Images Analysis for Schizophrenia Detection.

Objectives: Computer-aided schizophrenia (SZ) detection methods mainly depend on electroencephalogram and brain magnetic resonance images, which both capture physical signals from patients' brains. These inspection techniques take too much time and affect patients' compliance and cooperation, while difficult for clinicians to comprehend the principle of detection decisions. This study proposes a novel method using face diagnosis images based on traditional Chinese medicine principles, providing a non-invasive, efficient, and interpretable alternative for SZ detection.

The Therapeutic Potential of Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound in Enhancing Gallbladder Function and Reducing Inflammation in Cholesterol Gallstone Disease.

Background: Cholesterol gallstone disease (CGS) is often accompanied by gallbladder contraction dysfunction and chronic inflammation, but effective therapeutic options remain limited. This study investigates whether a low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) treatment can improve gallbladder motility and alleviate chronic inflammation while exploring the underlying mechanisms.

Methods: Gallbladder motility was assessed through in vitro and in vivo contraction tests, while bile condition was evaluated by observing bile crystal clearance.

Neoplasms in the Nasal Cavity Identified and Tracked with an Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Nasal Endoscopic Diagnostic System.

Objective: We aim to construct an artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted nasal endoscopy diagnostic system capable of preliminary differentiation and identification of nasal neoplasia properties, as well as intraoperative tracking, providing an important basis for nasal endoscopic surgery.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 1050 video data of nasal endoscopic surgeries involving four types of nasal neoplasms. Using Deep Snake, U-Net, and Att-Res2-UNet, we developed a nasal neoplastic detection network based on endoscopic images.

determination of protective antibody thresholds for SARS-CoV-2 variants using mouse models.

Neutralizing antibody titers have been shown to correlate with immune protection against COVID-19 and can be used to estimate vaccine effectiveness. Numerous studies have explored the relationship between neutralizing antibodies and protection. However, there remains a lack of quantitative data directly assessing the minimum effective protective neutralizing antibody titer in .

Development and Validation of a Predictive Model Based on Serum Silent Information Regulator 6 Levels in Chinese Older Adult Patients: Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study.

Background: Serum levels of silent information regulator 6 (SIRT6), a key biomarker of aging, were identified as a predictor of coronary artery disease (CAD), but whether SIRT6 can distinguish severity of coronary artery lesions in older adult patients is unknown.

Objectives: This study developed a nomogram to demonstrate the functionality of SIRT6 in assessing severity of coronary artery atherosclerosis.

Methods: Patients aged 60 years and older with angina pectoris were screened for this single-center clinical study between October 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023.

Oridonin Suppresses the Malignant Progression of Lung Cancer by Targeting S100A11.

Background: Lung cancer (LC) is the second most lethal cancer and efficient treatments are missing. Our understanding of the underlying pathogenic mechanisms remains limited. Oridonin is a compound extracted from the Chinese herb Rabdosia rubescens with anticancer properties.

3D-Printed PCL Scaffolds Loaded with bFGF and BMSCs Enhance Tendon-Bone Healing in Rat Rotator Cuff Tears by Immunomodulation and Osteogenesis Promotion.

Rotator cuff tears are the most common conditions in sports medicine and attract increasing attention. Scar tissue healing at the tendon-bone interface results in a high rate of retears, making it a major challenge to enhance the healing of the rotator cuff tendon-bone interface. Biomaterials currently employed for tendon-bone healing in rotator cuff tears still exhibit limited efficacy.

Characterization of saffron from different origins by HS-GC-IMS and authenticity identification combined with deep learning.

With the rising demand of saffron, it is essential to standardize the confirmation of its origin and identify any adulteration to maintain a good quality led market product. However, a rapid and reliable strategy for identifying the adulteration saffron is still lacks. Herein, a combination of headspace-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS) and convolutional neural network (CNN) was developed.

Bibliometric analysis on the top one hundred cited studies on gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Background: Gastrointestinal endoscopy has been widely used in the diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. A great many of studies on gastrointestinal endoscopy have been done.

Aim: To analyze the characteristics of top 100 cited articles on gastrointestinal endoscopy.

CAR-T cell therapy: developments, challenges and expanded applications from cancer to autoimmunity.

Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-T cell therapy has rapidly emerged as a groundbreaking approach in cancer treatment, particularly for hematologic malignancies. However, the application of CAR-T cell therapy in solid tumors remains challenging. This review summarized the development of CAR-T technologies, emphasized the challenges and solutions in CAR-T cell therapy for solid tumors.

Extracellular matrix shapes cancer stem cell behavior in breast cancer: a mini review.

Today, cancer has become one of the leading global tragedies. It occurs when a small number of cells in the body mutate, causing some of them to evade the body's immune system and proliferate uncontrollably. Even more irritating is the fact that patients with cancers frequently relapse after conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy, leading to additional suffering.

Spatial distribution-based progression of spinal cord injury pathology: a key role for neuroimmune cells.

An external trauma, illness, or other pathological cause can harm the structure and function of the spinal cord, resulting in a significant neurological disorder known as spinal cord injury (SCI). In addition to impairing movement and sensory functions, spinal cord injury (SCI) triggers complex pathophysiological responses, with the spatial dynamics of immune cells playing a key role. The inflammatory response and subsequent healing processes following SCI are profoundly influenced by the spatial distribution and movement of immune cells.

Immunotherapy combined with chemotherapy without locoregional radiotherapy in metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma: two case reports and a literature review.

Background: There is no consensus regarding the optimal regimen for metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (dmNPC). Locoregional intensity modulated radiotherapy (LRRT) following palliative chemotherapy (PCT) has been shown to prolong the overall survival (OS) and improve the progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with dmNPC, compared with PCT alone. However, patients with a high tumor burden do not benefit from additional LRRT, which inevitably results in toxicity.

Transcription factor specificity protein (SP) family in renal physiology and diseases.

Dysregulated specificity proteins (SPs), members of the C2H2 zinc-finger family, are crucial transcription factors (TFs) with implications for renal physiology and diseases. This comprehensive review focuses on the role of SP family members, particularly SP1 and SP3, in renal physiology and pathology. A detailed analysis of their expression and cellular localization in the healthy human kidney is presented, highlighting their involvement in fatty acid metabolism, electrolyte regulation, and the synthesis of important molecules.