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Laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is a malignant tumor with a high probability of metastasis. The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays a critical role in cancer metastasis. To gain insights into the TME of LSCC, we conducted single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) on samples collected from LSCC patients with or without lymphatic metastasis. The stem and immune cell signatures in LSCC suggest their roles in tumor invasion and metastasis. Infiltration of a large number of regulatory T cells, dysplastic plasma cells, and macrophages that are at the early development stage in the cancerous tissue indicates an immunosuppressive state. Abundant neutrophils detected at the cancer margins reflect the inflammatory microenvironment. In addition to dynamic ligand-receptor interactions between the stromal and myeloid cells, the enhanced autophagy in endothelial cells and fibroblasts implies a role in nutrient supply. Taken together, the comprehensive atlas of LSCC obtained allowed us to identify a complex yet unique TME of LSCC, which may help identify potential diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for LSCC. A scRNA-seq study reveals a complex yet unique tumor microenvironment of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) with lymphatic metastasis, and the data may help identify potential diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for LSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three‐component 1,4‐addition variant of the Ugi reaction involving carboxylic acids, isocyanides, and cyclic α,β‐unsaturated imines is presented in this study. The cyclic α,β‐unsaturated imines were conveniently prepared through the oxidative dearomatization of N‐substituted anilines. The reaction proceeded successfully to produce a sole diastereomer, and the relative configuration was determined through 2D NMR and X‐ray diffraction analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high entropy alloy coating is considered as one of the most promising methods to improve the high-temperature oxidation resistance of titanium aluminum alloys due to its fine mechanical property and thermal stability. However, the high entropy alloy coating prepared so far has poor coating quality, and low coating forming efficiency and there are certain requirements for the substrate alloys. To this end, a NiCoCrAl high entropy alloy coating was developed using the double glow plasma alloying technique on the TiAl alloy. The morphology, phase structure, and high temperature oxidation resistance of the coating were comprehensively studied. The results indicate that a uniform and dense coating with a single solid solution of face-centered cube phase formed on the alloy surface. Furthermore, isothermal oxidation test was performed, and the oxidation failure process of the TiAl substrate and the NiCoCrAl-coated sample with different oxidation times was analyzed. It is found that the coating efficiently prevented the TiAl alloy from degeneration for up to 100 h at 900 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methyltransferase-like 21C (METTL21C) is a member of the non-histone methyltransferase superfamily, which mainly mediates the methylation of lysine (Lys) residues. The main types of modification are Lys dimethylation and trimethylation. However, at present, most of the studies on METTL21C are focused on humans and mice, and there are few reports on poultry. Therefore, chicken embryo fibroblasts (DF-1) were selected as the object of study. To explore the function of chicken METTL21C (chMETTL21C) in the proliferation of DF-1 cells, flow cytometry and qPCR were used to detect the function of chicken METTL21C in the proliferation of DF-1 cells. The results showed that overexpression of METTL21C blocked the cell cycle in the G1max S phase, thus inhibiting cell proliferation. In addition, based on proteomic analysis, stable overexpression of METTL21C may inhibit the proliferation of DF-1 cells by mediating lysine trimethylation of proliferation-related proteins phosphorylated adapter RNA export protein (PHAX), nucleoside diphosphate kinases (NDPKs), eukaryotic transcription extension factor (eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1A,e EF1A), and inversin (Invs). Through immunoprecipitation (co-IP) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis, METTL21C-mediated PHAX Lys-381 methylation was confirmed to be involved in the regulation of DF-1 cell proliferation. The results of this study provide a reference for analyzing the methylation function of METTL21C and the mechanism of regulating the growth and development of chicken cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), the third gasotransmitter, plays a critical role in protecting against heart failure. Sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) is a highly conserved histone deacetylase that has a protective role in the treatment of heart failure by regulating the deacetylation of some functional proteins. This study investigates the interaction between SIRT1 and H2S in heart failure and the underlying mechanisms. Using endogenous H2S-generating enzyme cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE) knockout mice, we found that CSE deficiency aggravated isoprenaline-induced cardiac injury. Treatment with H2S attenuated atrial natriuretic peptide level, brain natriuretic peptide level, improved cardiac function. Moreover, H2S treatment potentiated myocardial SIRT1 expression. Silencing CSE abolished intracellular SIRT1 expression. Furthermore, CSE/ H2S S-sulfhydrated SIRT1 at its zinc finger domains and augmented its zinc ion binding activity to stabilize the alpha-helix structure. In conclusion, these results uncover that a novel mechanism that CSE/H2S S-sulfhydrated SIRT1 to prevent heart dysfunction through modulating its activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain tumor accounts for about 1.6% of incidence and 2.5% of mortality of all tumors, and the median survival for brain tumor patients is only about 20 months. The treatment for brain tumor still faces many challenges, such as the blood-brain barrier (BBB), blood-brain tumor barrier (BBTB), the overexpressed efflux pumps, the infiltration, invasion, high heterogeneity of tumor cells, drug resistance and immune escape caused by tumor microenvironment (TME) and cancer stem cells (CSC). This review attempts to clarify the challenges for multi-functional nano drug delivery systems (NDDS) to cross the BBB and target the cancer cells or organelles, and also provides a brief description of the different types of targeted multi-functional NDDS that have shown potential for success in delivering drugs to the brain. Further, this review also summarizes the research progress of multi-functional NDDS in the combination therapy of brain tumors from the following sections, the combination of chemotherapy drugs, chemotherapy-chemodynamic combination therapy, chemotherapy-immunization combination therapy, and chemotherapy-gene combination therapy. We also provide an insight into the recent advances in designing multi-functional NDDS for combination therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: During the pupal stage, the midgut of Bombyx mori undergoes remarkable changes, condensing into the midgut lumen and, subsequently, undergoing decomposition. To comprehensively analyze this process of change, we utilized mass spectrometry to examine the midgut contents in the early and later stages of pupation. We detected a large number of enzymes involved in metabolism, proteases, inhibitors, chitin-binding proteins, chitinases, and storage proteins in the midgut contents during the pupal stage, indicating significant alterations within the pupal midgut lumen. Additionally, we have identified six proteases with potential gelatinolytic activity, which may be involved in the degradation of the midgut contents during the late stages of pupation. This research provides valuable insights into the mechanisms of tissue digestion and midgut remodeling in Bombyx mori pupae. The results serve as an important reference for comprehending the intricate processes taking place during this developmental stage in lepidopteran insects. The silkworm Bombyx mori, a lepidopteran insect, possesses an 8–10-day pupal stage, during which significant changes occur in the midgut, where it first condenses into the yellow body, and then undergoes decomposition. To gain insights into this transformation process, proteomics was performed on Bombyx mori midgut contents on day 2 and day 7 after pupation. The results revealed the identification of 771 proteins with more than one unique peptide. An analysis using AgriGO demonstrated that these proteins were predominantly associated with catalytic activity. Among the identified proteins, a considerable number were found to be involved in carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, lipid metabolism, nucleic acid degradation, and energy support. Additionally, variations in the levels of certain proteases were observed between the midgut contents on day 2 and day 7 after pupation. An in-depth analysis of the two-dimensional electrophoresis of the midgut contents on day 7 after pupation led to the identification of twelve protein spots with potential gelatinolytic activity. Among these, six proteases were identified through mass spectrometry, including the p37k protease, vitellin-degrading protease, chymotrypsin-2, etc. These proteases may be responsible for the digestion of the yellow body during the later stages of pupal development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the appropriate types of water rights systems for different regions with varying water resource conditions in China. The most appropriate water rights systems for various zones were determined by comparing the value of influencing factors with corresponding thresholds in China's second-class zones of water resources. It is shown that a riparian rights system under water withdrawals permission could be adopted in most regions of southern China. For most northern Chinese regions, the quantity proportional water rights systems should be adopted and further improved. In contrast to the implementation of a single quantity proportional water rights system, this paper innovatively proposes a zoning scheme for China's water rights system. The appropriate type of water rights system can be identified according to the region's specific water resource conditions. It can provide a scientific reference for the reform of water rights systems in China and other countries or regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil aggregate is important to soil quality. Straw return is beneficial for soil amendment, but the effects of straw and straw-derived biochar on aggregate formation and stability in paddy soil are unclear. This study carried out a field experiment for 2 years in Northeast China with four treatments: conventional fertilization (CF), straw (ST, 7.5 t ha−1 year−1), biochar (BC, 2.5 t ha−1 year−1), and biochar-based fertilizer (BCF, 0.75 t ha−1 year−1). Compared with the CF and BCF, BC and ST improved the macroaggregates and significantly increased soil total carbon and aggregate organic carbon, indicating a sustained positive role in promoting the formation and stability of aggregates. BC significantly improved aggregate stability. Correlation analysis showed that macroaggregates (2–0.25 mm) can be increased by increasing the heavy fraction organic carbon (HFOC), BC and ST significantly increased the HFOC, and BC had a greater effect. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the combination of biochar and soil particles can be captured with strong water scouring. BCF showed an increasing trend in the formation and stability of soil aggregates. In comparison, biochar had a greater effect on promoting the formation of macroaggregates and the stability of soil aggregates with a significant sustainable effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we focus on exploring the propagation characteristics of particle swarms in social networks and analyze the diffusion process of viruses among populations based on system dynamics. The article mainly discusses three propagation influence mechanisms, including individual attributes, group attributes, and particle swarm attributes, and delves into the modeling of diffusion processes based on network structures. Firstly, we adopt the main roads in the transportation network (hub nodes) as the initial network backbone. On this basis, by introducing branch networks with small-world characteristics and scale-free characteristics, we construct a transportation network that integrates multiple properties. Using this network, we conducted a detailed simulation and analysis of the COVID-19 transmission process and compared and verified it with the infection dynamic data of COVID-19 in Shanghai from March to September 2022. The verification results reveal that our proposed model can significantly improve prediction accuracy. Compared with other existing dynamic models, our model demonstrates excellent performance, possessing high practical application value. This study provides robust theoretical support for the propagation characteristics of particle swarms in social networks and lays the foundation for further research and application in related fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pathological cardiac hypertrophy (referred to as cardiac hypertrophy) is a maladaptive response of the heart to a variety of pathological stimuli, and cardiac hypertrophy is an independent risk factor for heart failure and sudden death. Currently, the treatments for cardiac hypertrophy are limited to improving symptoms and have little effect. Elucidation of the developmental process of cardiac hypertrophy at the molecular level and the identification of new targets for the treatment of cardiac hypertrophy are crucial. In this review, we summarize the research on multiple active substances related to the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy and the signaling pathways involved and focus on the role of transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling in the development of cardiac hypertrophy and the identification of potential targets for molecular intervention. We aim to identify important signaling molecules with clinical value and hope to help promote the precise treatment of cardiac hypertrophy and thus improve patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses a new asynchronous control scheme for continuous‐time Markov jump linear systems (MJLSs). Both controlled system and quantizer are asynchronous with the controller due to the process by which the controller can accurately observe and emit the switching signal being stochastic. The random variable satisfying Bernoulli distribution is introduced to describe this observation. On this basis, two methods are proposed to obtain sufficient conditions for exponential almost sure stability and almost surely asymptotically stability, respectively from the perspective of the linear matrix inequality (LMI). The results are independent of the asynchronous time interval. Finally, a numerical example demonstrates the validity and feasibility of developed theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the issues regarding the input-to-state stability (ISS) and integral input-to-state stability (iISS) of the stochastic delayed switching systems with Lévy noise and input control (SDSS-LN-IC) are proposed by employing the comparison theorem approach, mode-dependent average dwell time (MDADT) method, delay integral inequality (DII), and Lyapunov-Razumikhin (L-R) technique. Two switching situations, namely, synchronous switching and asynchronous switching, are considered. Applying integral inequalities, sufficient stability conditions in both cases are given. Moreover, the sequences of this paper allow for the coefficients for the upper-bound expectation estimation of the infinitesimal operator to be mode-dependent, regardless of the sign and time-varying function rather than a constant, as is the case in certain existing results, which manifests the condition of the Lyapunov-Razumikhin technique in this paper is looser and less conservative. Finally, the validity and correctness of the theoretical results are verified by two examples and some simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]