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Malignant melanoma (MM) is an extremely aggressive and fatal form of skin cancer that primarily affects the bottom layer of the epidermis and is associated with poor clinical outcomes. Early-stage MM is typically treated through surgical removal, while chemotherapy and radiotherapy are common conventional treatment options that come with harmful side effects. Emerging therapies such as immunotherapy, photodynamic therapy, biologic therapy, and photothermal therapy present hopeful options for treatment due to their effective and secure drug delivery methods. To address the limitations of current treatment options, advanced methods of drug delivery for subcutaneous MM are being developed, with hydrogels emerging as a promising alternative. To date, significant advancements have been made in the treatment of MM through the use of hydrogels-based drug delivery systems through focal plastering, injection, implantation, and microneedles. Recent research on hydrogel-based drug delivery systems that integrate multiple therapies for the treatment of subcutaneous MM is discussed in this review.

Empagliflozin has been shown in clinical studies to lower the risk of adverse cardiovascular events. Using proteomics, the current study aims to determine whether empagliflozin reduces aortic alterations in obese mice and to investigate its molecular mechanism of action.

Abstract Intermetallic compounds (IMCs) with ordered atomic structure have gained great attention as nanocatalysts for its enhanced activity and stability. Although the reliance of IMC preparation on high-temperature annealing is well known, a comprehensive understanding of the formation mechanisms of IMCs in this process is currently lacking. Here, we employ aberration-corrected high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (AC-HAADF-STEM) to track the formation process of IMCs on carbon supports during in-situ annealing, by taking PtFe as a case study within an industry-relevant impregnation synthesis framework. We directly discern five different stages at the atomic level: initial atomic precursors; Pt cluster formation; Pt-Fe disordered alloying; structurally ordered Pt3Fe formation, and final Pt3Fe-PtFe IMC conversion. In particular, we find that the crucial role of high-temperature annealing resides in facilitating the diffusion of Fe towards Pt, enabling the creation of alloys with the targeted stoichiometric ratio, which in turn provides the thermodynamic driving force for the disorder-to-order transition.

Highlights A novel cascade strategy is proposed to construct Pd-NiCo2O4 electrocatalyst. First time discovery that Ni incorporation together with Pd loading is able to balance the competitive adsorption of OH– and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural. Pd–NiCo2O4 promotes both the indirect and direct synergistic oxidation process. Pd–NiCo2O4 catalyst exhibits extraordinary current density and excellent Faradaic Efficiency at a low potential.

Abstract Gait phase prediction is important in controlling assistive robotic devices such as exoskeletons, where the control unit must differentiate between gait phases to provide the necessary assistance when the user is wearing the exoskeleton. To achieve the objective of precisely identifying the gait phase of users for the accurate control of the exoskeleton, this study proposes Auto-Correlation and Channel Attention enhanced Deep Graph Convolutional Networks (ACCA-DGCN) for gait phase prediction, and a gait phase prediction model based on multiple inertial measurement units (IMUs) and skeleton graph was established, in order to fully utilize the dependency among joints, and enhance accuracy and reliability of gait phase prediction. First, a human lower limb gait data acquisition equipment was developed, and the gait data of human walking were collected. The skeleton graph of the human lower limb was constructed through the natural connection relationship of joints in the human skeleton. After that, the ACCA-DGCN-based gait phase prediction model was constructed by using the gait data of human walking. Auto-Correlation (AC) and Efficient Channel Attention (ECA) were introduced to effectively capture periodic features of gait data and focus on the channels with high contributions to gait phase prediction. Finally, the effect of the window size on the performance of the ACCA-DGCN model was explored, and the proposed algorithm was compared with the other five deep learning algorithms: CNN, RNN, TCN, LSTM, and DGCN. The experimental results show that the average accuracy of gait phase prediction model based on ACCA-DGCN reaches up to 92.26% and 97.21% in user-independent and user-dependent experiments, respectively, which is superior to the other five algorithms. This study provides a new method for gait phase prediction, which is useful for improving the control of exoskeleton robots.

Abstract Catalyst systems populated by high-density single atoms are crucial for improving catalytic activity and selectivity, which can potentially maximize the industrial prospects of heterogeneous single-atom catalysts (SACs). However, achieving high-loading SACs with metal contents above 10 wt% remains challenging. Here we describe a general negative pressure annealing strategy to fabricate ultrahigh-loading SACs with metal contents up to 27.3–44.8 wt% for 13 different metals on a typical carbon nitride matrix. Furthermore, our approach enables the synthesis of high-entropy single-atom catalysts (HESACs) that exhibit the coexistence of multiple metal single atoms with high metal contents. In-situ aberration-corrected HAADF-STEM (AC-STEM) combined with ex-situ X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) demonstrate that the negative pressure annealing treatment accelerates the removal of anionic ligand in metal precursors and boosts the bonding of metal species with N defective sites, enabling the formation of dense N-coordinated metal sites. Increasing metal loading on a platinum (Pt) SAC to 41.8 wt% significantly enhances the activity of propane oxidation towards liquid products, including acetone, methanol, and acetic acid et al. This work presents a straightforward and universal approach for achieving many low-cost and high-density SACs for efficient catalytic transformations.

Abstract Background To aim of this study is to assess the mechanism through which Desertliving Cistanche modulates the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in the treatment of hyperlipidemic osteoporosis in ovariectomized rats. Methods We randomly assigned specific-pathogen-free (SPF) rats into five groups (n = 10 per group). The normal control group received a standard diet, while the model group, atorvastatin group, diethylstilbestrol group, and treatment group were fed a high-fat diet. Four weeks later, bilateral ovariectomies were conducted, followed by drug interventions. After six weeks of treatment, relevant indicators were compared and analyzed. Results Compared to the normal control group, rats in the model group exhibited blurred trabecular morphology, disorganized osteocytes, significantly elevated levels of bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BALP), bone Gla-protein (BGP), total cholesterol (TC), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL). Also, the model group revealed significantly reduced levels of ultimate load, fracture load, estradiol (E2), bone mineral density (BMD), osteoprotegerin (OPG), and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (Akt) in femoral tissue. The atorvastatin group presented with higher TC and TNF-α levels compared to the normal control group. Conversely, the treatment group demonstrated enhanced trabecular morphology, denser structure, smaller bone marrow cavities, and reduced BALP, BGP, TC, TNF-α, and RANKL levels. Furthermore, the treatment group exhibited higher levels of E2, BMD, OPG, and PI3K and Akt in bone tissue compared to the model group. The treatment group also had lower TC and TNF-α levels than the atorvastatin group. Biomechanical analysis indicated that after administration of Desertliving Cistanche, the treatment group had reduced body mass, increased ultimate and fracture load of the femur, denser bone structure, smaller bone marrow cavities, and altered periosteal arrangement compared to the model group. Conclusion Our study revealed that Desertliving Cistanche demonstrated significant efficacy in preventing and treating postmenopausal hyperlipidemic osteoporosis in rats.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a complicated disease that causes irreversible visual impairment. Increasing evidences pointed retinal pigment epithelia (RPE) cells as the decisive cell involved in the progress of AMD, and the function of anti-oxidant capacity of PRE plays a fundamental physiological role. Nuclear factor erythroid 2 related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a significant transcription factor in the cellular anti-oxidant system as it regulates the expression of multiple anti-oxidative genes. Its functions of protecting RPE cells against oxidative stress (OS) and ensuing physiological changes, including inflammation, mitochondrial damage and autophagy dysregulation, have already been elucidated. Understanding the roles of upstream regulators of Nrf2 could provide further insight to the OS-mediated AMD pathogenesis. For the first time, this review summarized the reported upstream regulators of Nrf2 in AMD pathogenesis, including proteins and miRNAs, and their underlying molecular mechanisms, which may help to find potential targets via regulating the Nrf2 pathway in the future research and further discuss the existing Nrf2 regulators proved to be beneficial in preventing AMD.

Abstract This study explores a minimal renormalizable dark matter (DM) model, incorporating a sub-GeV Majorana DM and a singlet scalar particle ϕ. Using scalar and pseudo-scalar interactions (couplings c s and c p ), we investigate implications for DM detection, considering s-wave, p-wave, and combined (s+p wave) contributions in DM annihilation cross-section, as well as loop-correction contributions to DM-nucleon elastic scattering. Identifying a broad parameter space (10 MeV < m χ ≲ m ϕ ) within the 2σ allowed region, we explore scenarios (|c s | ≫ |c p |, |c s | ≪ |c p |, and |c s | ≈ |c p |). We find that (i) a non-zero pseudo-scalar coupling alleviates direct detection constraints as a comparison with the previous pure scalar coupling case; (ii) CMB observations set stringent limits on pseudo-scalar interaction dominant cases, making s-wave annihilation viable only for m χ > 1 GeV; (iii) the preferred ϕ-resonance region can be tested in the future indirect detection experiments, such as e-ASTROGAM.

Abstract Background The main purpose of this paper is to introduce a method that can accurately locate the posterior capsule of the lens to facilitate a relatively complete resection of the anterior vitreous body. Methods A total of 51 patients in the experimental group and control group were enrolled in this study. Phacoemulsification combined with vitrectomy was performed in all cases. After the cataract procedure was completed in the control group, the surgeon performed a conventional anterior vitrectomy with the operative eye. In the experimental group, anterior vitrectomy was performed according to the threadiness corrugation of the posterior capsule of the lens. During the operation, with the help of triamcinolone, two surgeons confirmed the resection of the anterior vitreous cortex; the best corrected visual acuity and intraocular pressure of all patients were recorded at 1 week, 1 month and 3 months after surgery. Results Fifty patients underwent phacoemulsification combined with vitrectomy, except one patient in the experimental group who was lost to follow-up. After surgery, no significant complications were observed in all patients except two patients in the control group with temporary increases in intraocular pressure. There was no significant difference in preoperative visual acuity between the two groups (t = 0.83, P = 0.25). Both groups had varying degrees of improvement in best corrected visual acuity at 1 week, 1 month and 3 months after surgery. Moreover, there was no significant difference in BCVA between the two groups at the three follow-up time points (t=-1.15, -1.65, -1.09, P = 0.53, 0.21, 0.23). After surgery, no significant complications were observed in all patients except two patients in the control group with temporary increases in intraocular pressure. Incomplete resection of the anterior vitreous cortex was observed in 2 patients in each group, but there was no significant difference (χ2 = 7.81, P > 0.05). Conclusion In the process of cataract surgery combined with vitrectomy, thready corrugation appears in the posterior capsule of the lens and is an important sign of its localization. Anterior vitrectomy can be accomplished safely and effectively with the help of thread-like corrugation, and the surgical effect is almost the same as that of traditional surgery. Especially suitable for beginners in vitreous surgery.

Abstract. Background:. Thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) is a fatal cardiovascular disease, the pathogenesis of which has not yet been clarified. This study aimed to identify and validate the diagnostic markers of TAA to provide a strong theoretical basis for developing new methods to prevent and treat this disease. Methods:. Gene expression profiles of the GSE9106, GSE26155, and GSE155468 datasets were acquired from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using the "limma" package in R. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), support vector machine-recursive feature elimination (SVM-RFE), random forest, and binary logistic regression analyses were used to screen the diagnostic marker genes. Single-sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) was used to estimate immune cell infiltration in TAA. Results:. A total of 16 DEGs were identified. The enrichment and functional correlation analyses showed that DEGs were mainly associated with inflammatory response pathways and collagen-related diseases. Collagen type I alpha 1 chain (COL1A1) and synaptotagmin like 2 (SYTL2) were identified as diagnostic marker genes with a high diagnostic value for TAA. The expression of COL1A1 and SYTL2 was considerably higher in TAA vascular wall tissues than in the corresponding normal tissues, and there were significant differences in the infiltration of immune cells between TAA and normal vascular wall tissues. Additionally, COL1A1 and SYTL2 expression were associated with the infiltration of immune cells in the vascular wall tissue. Single-cell analysis showed that COL1A1 in TAA was mainly derived from fibroblasts and SYTL2 mainly from cluster of differentiation (CD)8+ T cells. In addition, single-cell analysis indicated that fibroblasts and CD8+ T cells in TAA were significantly higher than those in normal arterial wall tissue. Conclusions:. COL1A1 and SYTL2 may serve as diagnostic marker genes for TAA. The upregulation of SYTL2 and COL1A1 may be involved in the inflammatory infiltration of the vessel wall and poor extracellular matrix remodeling, promoting the progression of TAA.

Abstract Data clustering has attracted the interest of scholars in many fields. In recent years, using heuristic algorithms to solve data clustering problems has gradually become a tendency. The black hole algorithm (BHA) is one of the popular heuristic algorithms among researchers because of its simplicity and effectiveness. In this paper, an improved self-adaptive logarithmic spiral path black hole algorithm (SLBHA) is proposed. SLBHA innovatively introduces a logarithmic spiral path and random vector path to BHA. At the same time, a parameter is used to control the randomness, which enhances the local exploitation ability of the algorithm. Besides, SLBHA designs a replacement mechanism to improve the global exploration ability. Finally, a self-adaptive parameter is introduced to control the replacement mechanism and maintain the balance between exploration and exploitation of the algorithm. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, comparison experiments are conducted on 13 datasets creatively using the evaluation criteria including the Jaccard coefficient as well as the Folkes and Mallows index. The proposed methods are compared with the selected algorithms such as the whale optimization algorithm (WOA), compound intensified exploration firefly algorithm (CIEFA), improved black hole algorithm (IBH), etc. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms the compared algorithms on both external criteria and quantization error of the clustering problem.

Abstract The key to designing photocatalysts is to orient the migration of photogenerated electrons to the target active sites rather than dissipate at inert sites. Herein, we demonstrate that the doping of phosphorus (P) significantly enriches photogenerated electrons at Ni active sites and enhances the performance for CO2 reduction into syngas. During photocatalytic CO2 reduction, Ni single‐atom‐anchored P‐modulated carbon nitride showed an impressive syngas yield rate of 85 μmol gcat−1 h−1 and continuously adjustable CO/H2 ratios ranging from 5:1 to 1:2, which exceeded those of most of the reported carbon nitride‐based single‐atom catalysts. Mechanistic studies reveal that P doping improves the conductivity of catalysts, which promotes photogenerated electron transfer to the Ni active sites rather than dissipate randomly at low‐activity nonmetallic sites, facilitating the CO2‐to‐syngas photoreduction process.

The incidence of diabetes is increasing annually, and the disease is uncurable due to its complex pathogenesis. Therefore, understanding diabetes pathogenesis and developing new treatments are crucial. This study showed that the NO donor SNP (8 µM) significantly alleviated high glucose-induced developmental toxicity in zebrafish larvae. High glucose levels caused hyperglycemia, leading to oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage from excessive ROS accumulation. This promoted mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis and lipid peroxidation (LPO)-induced ferroptosis, along with immune inflammatory reactions that decreased mitochondrial function and altered intracellular grid morphology, causing imbalanced kinetics and autophagy. After SNP treatment, zebrafish larvae showed improved developmental toxicity and glucose utilization, reduced ROS accumulation, and increased antioxidant activity. The NO-sGC-cGMP signaling pathway, inhibited by high glucose, was significantly activated by SNP, improving mitochondrial homeostasis, increasing mitochondrial count, and enhancing mitochondrial function. It's worth noting that apoptosis, ferroptosis and immune inflammation were effectively alleviated. In summary, SNP improved high glucose-induced developmental toxicity by activating the NO-sGC-cGMP signaling pathway to reduce toxic effects such as apoptosis, ferroptosis and inflammation resulting from mitochondrial homeostasis imbalance.

To investigate the genetic diversity of Triplophysa tenuis in the Shule River Basin of Gansu province, three populations were sequenced via RAD-seq technology. Twenty-nine microsatellite (SSR) markers with polymorphisms were finally screened to access the genetic diversity among the populations, of which 15 had high polymorphisms. The quantity of the alleles detected in the three populations of T. tenuis varied from 2 to 24. The locus with the most alleles was SSRC1, which had 24 alleles. Among the 29 SSRs, the range of effective allele number, observed heterozygosity, expected heterozygosity, and polymorphic information content were 1.246–16.615, 0.222–1, 0.198–0.940, and 0.178–0.937, respectively. Most of the identified loci were in the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. Analysis of the population structure revealed that the Yumen and Changma populations shared the same origin, while the Qiaowan population was different from them. The developed SSR markers discovered in this study will contribute to the conservation research on T. tenuis and the conservation of the fishery resources of the Shule River, providing scientific guidance for the development and utilization of T. tenuis resources and environmental protection.

Hyperglycemic stress can directly lead to neuronal damage. The mechanosensitive ion channel PIEZO1 can be activated in response to hyperglycemia, but its role in hyperglycemic neurotoxicity is unclear. The role of PIEZO1 in hyperglycemic neurotoxicity was explored by constructing a hyperglycemic mouse model and a high-glucose HT22 cell model. The results showed that PIEZO1 was significantly upregulated in response to high glucose stress. In vitro experiments have shown that high glucose stress induces changes in neuronal cell morphology and membrane tension, a key mechanism for PIEZO1 activation. In addition, high glucose stress upregulates serum/glucocorticoid-regulated kinase-1 (SGK1) and activates PIEZO1 through the Ca2+ pool and store-operated calcium entry (SOCE). PIEZO1-mediated Ca2+ influx further enhances SGK1 and SOCE, inducing intracellular Ca2+ peaks in neurons. PIEZO1 mediated intracellular Ca2+ elevation leads to calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase 2α (CaMK2α) overactivation, which promotes oxidative stress and apoptosis signalling through p-CaMK2α/ERK/CREB and ox-CaMK2α/MAPK p38/NFκB p65 pathways, subsequently inducing synaptic damage and cognitive impairment in mice. The intron miR-107 of pantothenic kinase 1 (PANK1) is highly expressed in the brain and has been found to target PIEZO1 and SGK1. The PANK1 receptor is activated by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα), an activator known to upregulate miR-107 levels in the brain. The clinically used lipid-lowering drug bezafibrate, a known PPARα activator, may upregulate miR-107 through the PPARɑ/PANK1 pathway, thereby inhibiting PIEZO1 and improving hyperglycemia-induced neuronal cell damage. This study provides a new idea for the pathogenesis and drug treatment of hyperglycemic neurotoxicity and diabetes-related cognitive dysfunction.

In backlighting systems for liquid crystal displays, conventional red, green, and blue (RGB) light sources that lack polarization properties can result in a significant optical loss of up to 50% when passing through a polarizer. To address this inefficiency and optimize energy utilization, this study presents a high-performance device designed for RGB polarized emissions. The device employs an array of semipolar blue µLEDs with inherent polarization capabilities, coupled with mechanically stretched films of green-emitting CsPbBr3 nanorods and red-emitting CsPbI3-Cs4PbI6 hybrid nanocrystals. The CsPbBr3 nanorods in the polymer film offer intrinsic polarization emission, while the aligned-wire structures formed by the stable CsPbI3-Cs4PbI6 hybrid nanocrystals contribute to substantial anisotropic emissions, due to their high dielectric constant. The resulting device achieved RGB polarization degrees of 0.26, 0.48, and 0.38, respectively, and exhibited a broad color gamut, reaching 137.2% of the NTSC standard and 102.5% of the Rec. 2020 standard. When compared to a device utilizing c-plane LEDs for excitation, the current approach increased the intensity of light transmitted through the polarizer by 73.6%. This novel fabrication approach for polarized devices containing RGB components holds considerable promise for advancing next-generation display technologies.

Purpose: To evaluate regional changes in the posterior corneal elevation after three laser refractive surgeries for correction of myopia of different degrees. Settings and Design: Retrospective, comparative, and non-randomized study. Methods: Two hundred patients (200 eyes) who underwent laser epithelial keratoplasty (LASEK), femtosecond-assisted laser in-situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK), and small-incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) were included in this study. According to preoperative spherical equivalent (SE), each surgical group was divided into two refractive subgroups: low-to-moderate myopia (LM group) and high myopia (H group). The posterior corneal elevation from Pentacam Scheimpflug tomography was analyzed preoperatively and at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months postoperatively. Three subregions of the posterior cornea were divided in this study as the central, paracentral, and peripheral regions. Statistical Analysis Used: Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE). Results: For all three surgical groups, similar changing trends were seen in the two refractive subgroups. H group presented a larger changing magnitude than the LM group in FS-LASIK over time (P < 0.05), whereas no significant difference was noted in the two refractive subgroups of LASEK or SMILE (P > 0.05). At 12 months postoperatively, the central posterior corneal elevation returned to the preoperative level in LASEK (P > 0.05) but shifted forward significantly in FS-LASIK and SMILE (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Different posterior corneal regions respond differently to corneal refractive surgeries. LASEK, FS-LASIK, and SMILE demonstrate different trends in the regional changes in posterior corneal elevation. The corneal shape seems more stable in LASEK than in FS-LASIK and SMILE.

Abstract Currently, the classification of bone mineral density (BMD) in many research studies remains rather broad, often neglecting localized changes in BMD. This study aims to explore the correlation between peri-implant BMD and primary implant stability using a new artificial intelligence (AI)-based BMD grading system. 49 patients who received dental implant treatment at the Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology of Fujian Medical University were included. Recorded the implant stability quotient (ISQ) after implantation and the insertion torque value (ITV). A new AI-based BMD grading system was used to obtain the distribution of BMD in implant site, and the bone mineral density coefficients (BMDC) of the coronal, middle, apical, and total of the 1 mm site outside the implant were calculated by model overlap and image overlap technology. Our objective was to investigate the relationship between primary implant stability and BMDC values obtained from the new AI-based BMD grading system. There was a significant positive correlation between BMDC and ISQ value in the coronal, middle, and total of the implant (P 0.05). Furthermore, BMDC was notably higher at implant sites with greater ITV (P

Flexible hafnia-based ferroelectric memories are arousing much interest with the ever-growing demands for nonvolatile data storage in wearable electronic devices. Here, high-quality flexible Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 membranes with robust ferroelectricity were fabricated on inorganic pliable mica substrates via an atomic layer deposition technique. The flexible Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 thin membranes with a thickness of ∼8 nm exhibit a high remanent polarization of ∼16 μC/cm2, which possess very robust polarization switching endurance (>1010 cycles, two orders of magnitude better than reported flexible HfO2-based films) and superior retention ability (expected >10 years). In particular, stable ferroelectric polarization as well as excellent endurance and retention performance show negligible degradations under 6 mm radius bending conditions or after 104 bending cycles with a 6 mm bending radius. These results mark a crucial step in the development of flexible hafnium oxide-based ferroelectric memories for wearable electronic devices.

Abstract Objective To evaluate the value of an integrated model incorporating deep learning (DL), hand-crafted radiomics and clinical and US imaging features for diagnosing central lymph node metastasis (CLNM) in patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). Methods This retrospective study reviewed 613 patients with clinicopathologically confirmed PTC from two institutions. The DL model and hand-crafted radiomics model were developed using primary lesion images and then integrated with clinical and US features selected by multivariate analysis to generate an integrated model. The performance was compared with junior and senior radiologists on the independent test set. SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) plot and Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM) were used for the visualized explanation of the model. Results The integrated model yielded the best performance with an AUC of 0.841. surpassing that of the hand-crafted radiomics model (0.706, p

Introduction: Leukocyte infiltration is an early event during cardiac remodeling frequently leading to heart failure (HF). Integrins mediate leukocyte infiltration during inflammation. However, the importance of specific integrins in hypertensive cardiac remodeling is still unclear. Objectives: To elucidate the significance of CD11b in hypertensive cardiac remodeling. Methods: Angiotensin (Ang II) or deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt was used to induce cardiac remodeling in mice of gene knockout (KO), bone marrow (BM) chimera, and the CD11b neutralizing antibody or agonist leukadherin-1 (LA1) treatment. Results: Our microarray data showed that integrin subunits Itgam (CD11b) and Itgb2 (CD18) were the most highly upregulated in Ang II-infused hearts. CD11b expression and CD11b/CD18+ myelomonocytes were also time-dependently increased. KO or pharmacological blockade of CD11b greatly attenuated cardiac remodeling and macrophage infiltration and M1 polarization induced by Ang II or DOCA-salt. This protection was verified in wild-type mice transplanted with CD11b-deficient BM cells. Conversely, administration of CD11b agonist LA1 showed the opposite effects. Further, CD11b KO reduced Ang II-induced macrophage adhesion and M1 polarization, leading to reduction of cardiomyocyte enlargement and fibroblast differentiation in vitro. The numbers of CD14+CD11b+CD18+ monocytes and CD15+CD11b+CD18+ granulocytes were obviously higher in HF patients than in normal controls. Conclusion: Our data demonstrate an important role of CD11b+ myeloid cells in hypertensive cardiac remodeling, and suggest that HF may benefit from targeting CD11b.

AIM: To investigate the impacts of angiotensin II (Ang II) on retinal artery changes in apolipoprotein E deficient (apoE -/-) mice. METHODS: ApoE -/- male mice were infused by minipumps with Ang II at 1000 ng/kg·min (Ang II group) or saline (control group) for 28d. They were underwent ophthalmic fundus examination on day 0, 14, and 28 of infusion. Histopathologic examination, ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequencing and local Ang II measurement of retinas were conducted. RESULTS: Ophthalmic fundus examination showed Ang II infusion promoted the formation of retinal arterial aneurysm-like lesions on day 28. Optical coherence tomography revealed the ganglion cell and inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) thickness in the control group was significantly thinner than that in Ang II group (P

Background Previous meta-analyses have investigated the efficacy of lipid-lowering therapies for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease; however, few have focused on patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). This meta-analysis aimed to compare the benefits of intensive lipid-lowering therapy with those of background statin therapy in patients with ACS.Methods Searches were performed on PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases for articles published until April 13, 2023. Randomized controlled trials that compared intensive lipid-lowering therapies and background statin therapies in patients with prior ACS and recorded the outcome of three-point major cardiovascular events (MACE) were included. The risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used as a measure of primary and secondary outcomes.Results Nine trials involving 38,640 patients with ACS were identified. Pooled results suggested that intensive lipid-lowering therapies are associated with a reduction in the risk of three-point MACE (RR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.83–0.94; p

Abstract Solution‐processed 2D materials hold promise for their scalable applications. However, the random, fragmented nature of the solution‐processed nanoflakes and the poor percolative conduction through their discrete networks limit the performance of the enabled devices. To overcome the problem, conduction modulation of the solution‐processed 2D materials is reported via Stark effect. Using liquid‐phase exfoliated molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) as an example, nonlinear conduction switching with a ratio of >105 is demonstrated by the local fields from the interfacial ferroelectric P(VDF‐TrFE). Through density‐functional theory calculations and in situ Raman scattering and photoluminescence spectroscopic analysis, the modulation is understood to arise from a charge redistribution in the solution‐processed MoS2. Beyond MoS2, the modulation may be shown effective for the other solution‐processed 2D materials and low‐dimensional materials. The modulation can open their electronic device applications, for instance, thin‐film nonlinear electronics and non‐volatile memories.

Using first-principles calculations, we have systematically studied thermodynamic stability, electronic structure and mechanical properties of Mo-Re binary alloys. The alloying element Re prefers to occupy the substitution position with a formation energy of 0.10 eV in Mo rather than the tetrahedron/octahedron interstitial position. The charge transfers are obviously present between Re and Mo atoms, which can be confirmed by the Bader charge analysis. The density of states (DOS) demonstrates that the d orbitals of Re and Mo atoms are hybridized, revealing that Re and its adjacent Mo atoms can form the directional bond containing covalent components. On the basis of above studies on the most stable occupancy structure, the mechanical quantities (the elastic constants Cij, bulk modulus B, Young’s modulus E, shear modulus G, Poisson’s ratio v, and B/G) have been analyzed for three Mo-Re alloys with the low Re content, which are Mo127Re1, Mo53Re1 and Mo15Re1, respectively. All these mechanical quantities of both Mo127Re1 and Mo53Re1 alloys are nearly the same as that of perfect Mo, while all these mechanical quantities of Mo15Re1 alloy are obviously larger or smaller than that of perfect Mo. This demonstrates that Mo15Re1 alloy has significantly different mechanical characteristics from Mo127Re1 and Mo53Re1 alloys as well as perfect Mo. These results can provide a significant reference for the application of Mo-Re alloys in future fusion fields.

N-glycosylation is a highly conserved glycan modification that plays crucial roles in various physiological processes, including protein folding, trafficking, and signal transduction. Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) poses a newly emerging threat to the global porcine industry. The spike protein of PDCoV exhibits a high level of N-glycosylation; however, its role in viral infection remains poorly understood. In this study, we applied a lentivirus-based entry reporter system to investigate the role of N-glycosylation on the viral spike protein during PDCoV entry stage. Our findings demonstrate that N-glycosylation at positions 652 and 661 of the viral spike protein significantly reduces the infectivity of PDCoV pseudotyped virus. Overall, our results unveil a novel function of N-glycosylation in PDCoV infection, highlighting its potential for facilitating the development of antiviral strategies.

BackgroundCoronary heart disease has a high incidence rate, a high mortality rate, a high recurrence rate, and a high medical cost. In addition, some patients need to undergo percutaneous coronary artery stent implantation (CASI), which is a kind of traumatic treatment. Patients can easily experience negative emotions such as anxiety and depression after surgery, which seriously affects quality of life.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an empowerment-based telephone follow-up intervention on resilience and quality of life in patients who underwent CASI.DesignThe design of the study is a randomized controlled trial.MethodsA total of 92 patients were recruited after CASI from the Internal Medicine Cardiovascular Department of a Grade A tertiary hospital in Xi’an, China. The patients were randomly divided into a control group and an intervention group. The control group performed routine care, whereas the intervention group developed a telephone follow-up program based on empowerment theory while carrying out routine care. Patients were investigated using the coronary heart disease-related knowledge questionnaire, the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) to compare the effects of the intervention before and after 1 month of intervention.ResultsAfter a 1-month telephone follow-up intervention based on the empowerment theory for patients after CASI, the variations in knowledge related to coronary heart disease and all of its subscale scores were greater in the intervention group than in the control group. Except for the three dimensions of risk factor, induction factor, and rehabilitation-related knowledge, the variations in knowledge related to coronary heart disease and the other subscale scores were significantly different between the two groups (p < 0.05). The variations in resilience and scores on the three subscales in the intervention group were greater than those in the control group, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The variations in the quality of life and overall health, emotional functions, and social functions were significantly greater in the intervention group than in the control group (p < 0.05).ConclusionsA telephone follow-up intervention based on the empowerment theory can effectively improve the resilience and quality of life of patients after CASI. This follow-up approach can provide a theoretical basis and practical reference for hospitals and communities to carry out targeted continuing nursing for patients after CASI. The long-term effects of the intervention and its underlying mechanisms require further study.Clinical trial registrationhttp://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=173682, identifier ChiCTR2200064950.