A Solvatochromic and Photosensitized Lipid Droplet Probe Detects Local Polarity Heterogeneity and Labels Interacting Proteins in Human Liver Disease Tissue.

The intricate morphology, physicochemical properties, and interacting proteins of lipid droplets (LDs) are associated with cell metabolism and related diseases. To uncover these layers of information, a solvatochromic and photosensitized LDs-targeted probe based on the furan-based D-D-π-A scaffold is developed to offer the following integrated functions. First, the turn-on fluorescence of the probe upon selectively binding to LDs allows for direct visualization of their location and morphology.

Nanoparticles modified with glucose analogs to enhance the permeability of the blood-brain barrier and their accumulation in the epileptic brain.

Drug delivery for epilepsy treatment faces enormous challenges, where the sole focus on enhancing the ability of drugs to penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB) through ligand modification is insufficient because of the absence of seizure-specific drug accumulation. In this study, an amphipathic drug carrier with a glucose transporter (GLUT)-targeting capability was synthesised by conjugating 2-deoxy-2-amino-D-glucose (2-DG) to the model carrier DSPE-PEG. A 2-DG-modified nano drug delivery system (NDDS) possessing robust stability and favourable biocompatibility was then fabricated using the nanoprecipitation method.

Telomeres, telomerase, and cancer: mechanisms, biomarkers, and therapeutics.

Telomeres and telomerase play crucial roles in the initiation and progression of cancer. As biomarkers, they aid in distinguishing benign from malignant tissues. Despite the promising therapeutic potential of targeting telomeres and telomerase for therapy, translating this concept from the laboratory to the clinic remains challenging.

Differential responses of root and leaf-associated microbiota to continuous monocultures.

Continuous monocultures alter the composition and function of root-associated microbiota, and thus compromise crop health and productivity. In comparison, little is known about how leaf-associated microbiota respond to continuous monocultures. Here, we profiled root and leaf-associated microbiota of peanut plants under monocropping and rotation conditions.

Single-cell analyses of intestinal epithelium reveal the dysregulation of gut immune microenvironment in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Background: The small intestine harbors a rich array of intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) that interact with structural cells to collectively sustain gut immune homeostasis. Dysregulation of gut immune homeostasis was implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple autoimmune diseases, however, whether this homeostasis is disrupted in a lupus autoimmune background remains unclear.

Methods: We performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) analyses to elucidate immune and structural milieu in the intestinal epithelium of MRL/Lpr lupus mice (Lpr mice) and MRL/Mpj control mice (Mpj mice).

S100A13-driven interaction between pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts promotes tumor progression through calcium signaling.

Background: Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are key components of the pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAAD) tumor microenvironment (TME), where they promote tumor progression and metastasis through immunosuppressive functions. Although significant progress has been made in understanding the crosstalk between cancer cells and CAFs, many underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of calcium signaling in enhancing interactions between tumor cells and the surrounding stroma, with the S100 family of proteins serving as important regulators.

Impact of family socio-economic status on the prognosis of heart transplantation in children.

Background: Low family socio-economic status is a known factor that can contribute to increased mortality for patients with cardiovascular disease. However, in developing countries, the prognostic impact of socio-economic level on pediatric HTx is unclear.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of children younger than 18 years who underwent heart transplantation (HTx) at our center from October 1, 2005, to May 31, 2023.

Artificial intelligence-assisted platform performs high detection ability of hepatocellular carcinoma in CT images: an external clinical validation study.

Background: Accurate detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in multiphasic contrast CT is essential for effective treatment and surgical planning. However, the variety of CT images, the misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis, and the inconsistent diagnosis among different radiologists pose challenges to accurate detection which demands sufficient clinical experience and can be time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Purpose: To evaluate the detection performance of an artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted platform for HCC by the external validation dataset.

Synergistic effects of GmLFYa and GmLFYb on Compound Leaf Development in Soybean.

Legume leaves exhibit diverse compound forms, with various regulatory mechanisms underlying the development. The transcription factor-encoding KNOXI genes are required to promote leaflet initiation in most compound-leafed angiosperms. In non-IRLC (inverted repeat-lacking clade) legumes, KNOXI are expressed in compound leaf primordia but not in others (IRLC).

TIM-1 attenuates airway mucus hypersecretion and inflammation induced by cigarette smoke via the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-induced airway mucus hypersecretion and inflammation are prominent features of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). As a factor associated with inflammation regulation, T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain-1 (TIM-1) is found to be involved in various inflammatory disorders such as asthma and COPD. In this study, the GEO database provides two human COPD gene expression datasets (GSE67472, n = 62) along with the relevant controls (n = 43) for differentially expressed gene (DEG) analyses.

hUC-MSCs Prevent Acute High-Altitude Injury through Apoe/Pdgf-b/p-Erk1/2 Axis in Mice.

Background: The hypobaric hypoxic atmosphere can cause adverse reactions or sickness. The purpose of this study was to explore the preventive effect and mechanism of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (hUC-MSCs) on acute pathological injury in mice exposed to high-altitude.

Methods: We pretreated C57BL/6 mice with hUC-MSCs via the tail vein injection, and then the mice were subjected to hypobaric hypoxic conditions for five days.

Deep learning-based Monte Carlo dose prediction for heavy-ion online adaptive radiotherapy and fast quality assurance: A feasibility study.

Background: Online adaptive radiotherapy (OART) and rapid quality assurance (QA) are essential for effective heavy ion therapy (HIT). However, there is a shortage of deep learning (DL) models and workflows for predicting Monte Carlo (MC) doses in such treatments.

Purpose: This study seeks to address this gap by developing a DL model for independent MC dose (MCDose) prediction, aiming to facilitate OART and rapid QA implementation for HIT.

Draft Genome of Naganishia uzbekistanensis from a Clinical Pulmonary Infection.

This study presents the first high-quality assembled genome of Naganishia uzbekistanensis, derived from a clinical isolate CY11558 obtained from a patient with a postoperative pulmonary infection. This work provides an improved reference assembly for downstream research and diagnosis of infections caused by this species.

Risk and protective factors of disease flare during pregnancy in systemic lupus erythematosus: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

To synthesize available evidence on predictive factors associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) flares during pregnancy, we systematically searched MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library through January 2024 for observational studies on risk and protective factors of SLE flares during pregnancy. Odds ratios (OR) and mean differences (MD), as well as their 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to quantify effect sizes. We employed fixed-effect or random-effect models based on heterogeneity assessments (I statistics).

Effect of Acupuncture on Anxiety, Depression, and Quality of Life in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Meta-Analysis.

Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) has been effectively treated with acupuncture, but the significance of quality of life, depression, and anxiety in the assessment of IBS patients has received little consideration. This study examined the impact of acupuncture on depression, anxiety, and quality of life in IBS patients.

Method: PubMed, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), EMBASE, China Science and Technology Journal Database (VIP), Chinese Biological Medical (CBM, SinoMed) Database, and the Wan Fang Database were among the electronic databases from which relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were systematically retrieved between their inception and July 2023.

Multimodal machine learning enables AI chatbot to diagnose ophthalmic diseases and provide high-quality medical responses.

Chatbot-based multimodal AI holds promise for collecting medical histories and diagnosing ophthalmic diseases using textual and imaging data. This study developed and evaluated the ChatGPT-powered Intelligent Ophthalmic Multimodal Interactive Diagnostic System (IOMIDS) to enable patient self-diagnosis and self-triage. IOMIDS included a text model and three multimodal models (text + slit-lamp, text + smartphone, text + slit-lamp + smartphone).

Description of current status of implementation and management of cardiac arrest in China.

Variation in the incidence, survival rate and factors associated with survival after cardiac arrest in China is reported. Some studies have tried to fill the knowledge gap regarding the epidemiology of cardiac arrest in China but were unable to identify reasons for the reported differences. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to describe Chinese management of cardiac arrest, particularly from the perspective of compression, ventilation, monitoring, treatment, and extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Crosstalk between GLTSCR1-deficient endothelial cells and tumour cells promotes colorectal cancer development by activating the Notch pathway.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) typically reside in perivascular niches, but whether endothelial cells of blood vessels influence the stemness of cancer cells remains poorly understood. This study revealed that endothelial cell-specific GLTSCR1 deletion promotes colorectal cancer (CRC) tumorigenesis and metastasis by increasing cancer cell stemness. Mechanistically, knocking down GLTSCR1 induces the transformation of endothelial cells into tip cells by regulating the expression of Neuropilin-1 (NRP1), thereby increasing the direct contact and interaction between endothelial cells and tumour cells.

Stromal architecture and fibroblast subpopulations with opposing effects on outcomes in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Dissecting the spatial heterogeneity of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) is vital for understanding tumor biology and therapeutic design. By combining pathological image analysis with spatial proteomics, we revealed two stromal archetypes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with different biological functions and extracellular matrix compositions. Using paired single-cell RNA and epigenomic sequencing with Stereo-seq, we revealed two fibroblast subsets CAF-FAP and CAF-C7, whose spatial enrichment strongly correlated with the two stromal archetypes and opposing patient prognosis.

The History of Studies on Oxetane Ring Formation in Paclitaxel Biosynthesis.

There is no doubt that breakthroughs in the enzyme-mediated formation of the oxetane ring in paclitaxel biosynthesis constitute significant milestones in the biosynthesis of complex natural products. In this review, we summarize the understanding of the biosynthesis of the oxetane ring of paclitaxel from different viewpoints. Generally, it covers five aspects, (1) a different understanding of the mechanistic formation of the oxetane ring on the basis of sound chemical reasoning, (2) a reasonable speculation of the biosynthetic pathways and suitable surrogate substrates for oxetane ring formation based on the natural and chemical logical analysis, (3) Taxus genome-enabled enzymes identification, (4) the discovery of different enzymes that mediate oxetane ring formation, and (5) a mechanistic investigation involving the use of isotopic labelling experiments and quantum chemical calculations.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Mandarin Chinese Version of the Vocal Performance Questionnaire.

Objective: The Mandarin Chinese version of the Vocal Performance Questionnaire (VPQ-CM) for evaluating vocal performance.

Methods: A total of 120 participants with vocal disorders and 120 healthy participants completed this study. Investigators translated the original VPQ into the VPQ-CM, and participants completed the questionnaire fill it.

Aptazyme-directed A-to-I RNA editing.

As a promising therapeutic approach, the RNA editing process can correct pathogenic mutations and is reversible and tunable, without permanently altering the genome. RNA editing mediated by human ADAR proteins offers unique advantages, including high specificity and low immunogenicity. Compared to CRISPR-based gene editing techniques, RNA editing events are temporary, which can reduce the risk of long-term unintended side effects, making off-target edits less concerning than DNA-targeting methods.