Pyrite-driven denitrification by Paracoccus denitrificans: Promoted by enhanced electron transfer and extracellular polymeric substances.

Pyrite can be used in denitrification systems to improve efficiency. In this study, the role of pyrite and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) was investigated in biological denitrification. In cultures of Paracoccus denitrificans, pyrite effectively enhanced denitrification efficiency, primarily by increasing key components of electron transport system such as cytochrome c and NADH, and upregulating the expression levels of genes involved in the synthesis of riboflavin and cytochrome c, along with denitrification-critical genes such as nosZ and napG.

A latent profile analysis of post-traumatic growth in spouses of breast cancer patients.

Introduction: Post-traumatic growth is the positive psychological changes that an individual may undergo after coping with traumatic events. It can help individuals alleviate negative emotions, reduce physical and mental stress, and enhance self-efficacy. This study aims to characterize the latent profiles of spouses' post-traumatic growth and to explore the related factors for each subgroup based on the ABC-X model.

Enzyme-Responsive Peptide-Prodrug Integrated Biphasic Microneedle Patch for Enhanced Transdermal Delivery and Hypertension Therapy.

Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and needs effective blood pressure reduction. Current antihypertensive drugs, such as captopril, face challenges, including the enzymatic degradation and the liver first-pass effect. Here, we developed a dissolving microneedle (MN) loaded with a peptide-based enzyme-responsive prodrug peptide-captopril (PC) to enhance the stability of captopril and enable efficient transdermal delivery.

Comparative analysis of indwelling time and complications of mid-line catheters in different punctured veins of neonates.

Objective: We aims to evaluate the effects and complications associated with mid-line catheters inserted via different puncture veins in neonates, ultimately providing a foundation for selecting the most suitable puncture site for catheterization in clinical neonatal practice.

Methods: A retrospective data analysis was conducted, involving 244 neonates with indwelling mid-line catheters who were admitted to a Class III Grade A general hospital in Anhui Province between August 2020 and December 2023. The study compared catheter indwelling duration, the incidence of catheter-related complications, and the first puncture success among neonates with catheterization through various veins.

Post-traumatic growth experiences of breast cancer patients and spouses: a dyadic qualitative study.

Purpose: Breast cancer has become a stressful event that endangers the physical and mental health of women and their families. Post-traumatic growth refers to the positive psychological changes individuals experience as a result of coping with breast cancer. It can help individuals alleviate negative emotions, reduce physical and psychological stress, and increase self-confidence.

Retraction notice to "Effects of an explain-simulate-practice-communicate-support intervention on quality of life for patients with chronic heart failure: A randomized control trial" [Heliyon 10 (2024) e25313].

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.

Super-Resolution FLIM Imaging of Intracellular Lipid Microenvironments with a Dual-Responsive Polarity- and pH-Sensitive Fluorescent Probe.

The microenvironment is essential for the proper function of organelles and biological systems. In particular, its physical properties─such as polarity and pH profoundly influence both physiological and pathological processes. Therefore, directly visualizing and quantitatively measuring changes in the cellular microenvironment is crucial for advancing our understanding of these fundamental processes.

A Tailored Artificial Biocatalyst for Bacterial Endophthalmitis Therapy via Enhanced Ferroptosis-Like Death.

Bacterial endophthalmitis is an ophthalmological emergency that can lead to permanent blindness, and high-efficiency therapeutic strategies that can completely eradicate pathogens within a short timeframe are needed. However, intrinsic limitations of this disease, such as low administration frequency and dosage, render most currently available nano-antibacterial strategies inapplicable. To address this challenge, a bio-targeted catalytic strategy that is based on a bacteria-specific artificial biocatalyst (MoS/Fe@mercaptophenylboronic acid@hyaluronic acid, MFBH) and suitable for treating bacterial endophthalmitis is proposed.

4D-Printed Adaptive and Programmable Shape-Morphing Batteries.

Shape-morphing batteries that can reconfigure their shape to adapt to different tasks are highly desirable for emerging soft electronics in diverse fields. However, it is a challenging task to develop advanced shape-morphing batteries with on-demand programmability and adaptive responsiveness. Here, 4D-printed programmable shape-morphing batteries by sequentially direct-ink-writing of shape-programmable liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs) and in-situ covalent crosslinked flexible zinc-ion microbatteries, where tough covalent bonding is built at the interface, are reported.

Spatiotemporal Super-Resolution Imaging of Lipid Metabolism Dynamics in Physiological/Pathological Conditions.

Dysregulated lipid metabolism plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases. However, due to the lack of effective solutions, the dynamic monitoring and deep understanding of lipid metabolism in those disease progression has remained challenging. Herein, a polarity-sensitive, lipid droplets (LDs)-targeted probe was developed for spatiotemporal super-resolution imaging of lipid metabolism dynamics.

NuHTC: A hybrid task cascade for nuclei instance segmentation and classification.

Nuclei instance segmentation and classification of hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained digital pathology images are essential for further downstream cancer diagnosis and prognosis tasks. Previous works mainly focused on bottom-up methods using a single-level feature map for segmenting nuclei instances, while multilevel feature maps seemed to be more suitable for nuclei instances with various sizes and types. In this paper, we develop an effective top-down nuclei instance segmentation and classification framework (NuHTC) based on a hybrid task cascade (HTC).

Effect of buccal acupuncture therapy on the incidence of postoperative delirium in older adults undergoing orthopedic lower limb surgery: A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: This study evaluated the effect of perioperative buccal acupuncture therapy on the incidence of postoperative delirium in elderly patients who underwent orthopedic lower limb surgery.

Methods: This was a single-center, prospective, randomized controlled trial. A total of 120 elderly patients (aged ≥65 years) scheduled for elective orthopedic lower limb surgery were randomly assigned to the intervention group (n = 60, buccal acupuncture 30 min before anesthesia induction until the end of surgery and for 30 min each day for the first 2 postoperative days) or the control group (n = 60, no buccal acupuncture).

Structure and phase engineering afforded gradient manganese dioxide composites for impedance matching toward electromagnetic wave absorption.

Impedance mismatch severely limits the performance of electromagnetic (EM) microwave absorber materials. Aiming at addressing this issue, this study proposes a strategy combining structure and phase engineering to design gradient manganese dioxide (MnO) core@shell composites. The core of the composites comprises cadmium (Cd)-doped α-MnO nanowires, synthesized via a self-assembly process achieved using the hydrothermal method, which possess remarkable dielectric attenuation capability that can effectively consume EM energy.

Buccal Acupuncture Alleviates Postoperative Pain in Patients Undergoing Radical Resection of Gastrointestinal Cancers: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.

Objective: To preliminarily investigate the effect of buccal acupuncture therapy on ameliorating postoperative pain and enhancing recovery quality among patients undergoing radical resection of gastrointestinal cancers.

Methods: Fifty-two participants were randomized at a 1:1 ratio to either the buccal acupuncture or the control group. The acupuncture protocol entailed targeting 5 predetermined acupoints [CA-2 (Upper jiao), CA-3 (Middle jiao), CA-4 (Lower jiao), CA-6 (back), and CA-7 (waist) and two adjustable acupoints [CA-1 (head) and CA-8 (sacrum)] on each side of the face.

Enzyme-Activated Orthogonal Proteolysis Chimeras for Tumor Microenvironment-Responsive Immunomodulation.

Precise modulation of dynamic and complex tumor microenvironment (TME) to disrupt tumorigenesis and reshape intratumoral immune infiltration has emerged as promising approaches for enhanced cancer therapy. Among recent innovations, proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) represent a burgeoning chemical knockdown technology capable of degrading oncogenic protein homeostasis and inducing dynamic alternations within carcinoma settings, offering potential for antitumor manipulation. However, achieving selectivity in PROTACs that respond to disease environmental stimulation and precisely perturb on-target proteins remains challenging.

Kindergarten teachers' emotional intelligence and surface acting: the chain mediating effects of self-efficacy and work engagement.

Background: Emotional labor, distinct from physical and mental labor, has gained significant attention in contemporary organizational psychology research. As a strategy for performing emotional labor, surface acting refers to the process of faking emotions to meet the demands of organizations' norms. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and surface acting among Chinese kindergarten teachers, focusing on the mediating role of self-efficacy and work engagement.

NIR-II photo-accelerated polymer nanoparticles boost tumor immunotherapy via PD-L1 silencing and immunogenic cell death.

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy is a widely favored anti-tumor treatment, but it shows limited response to non-immunogenic "cold" tumors and suffers from drug resistance. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), as a powerful localized treatment approach, can convert a "cold tumor" into a "hot tumor" by inducing immunogenic cell death (ICD) in tumor cells, thereby enhancing tumor immunogenicity and promoting tumor immunotherapy. However, the effectiveness of PDT is largely hindered by the limited penetration depth into tumor tissues.

Quality and Safety in Asparagus Cultivation: A Three-Year Case Study Comparing Standardized Agricultural Bases and Small-Scale Farmers.

To investigate the quality and safety difference between agricultural standardization bases and small-scale farmers, we carried out a three-year investigation of asparagus from seven production sites of different sizes in Pinghu city, Zhejiang Province, China, from 2021 to 2023. We documented trace elements (Fe, Zn, Mn, and Cu), quality indicators (vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin C, total sugar, and proteins), and pesticide residues. The evaluation indicated that the quality of asparagus in standardization bases 1-4 was higher than that in small farmer sites 5-7.

The adsorption mechanism and optimal dosage of walnut shell biochar for chloramphenicol.

Biochar derived from biomass pyrolysis has proven to be an excellent material for pesticide adsorption and can be used as soil amendment for pesticide non-point pollution. However, the adsorption and desorption mechanisms for certain biochar and pesticide are still unclear. In this study, we investigated the properties of biochar derived from walnut (Juglans regia L.

Radiomic prediction for durable response to high-dose methotrexate-based chemotherapy in primary central nervous system lymphoma.

Background: The rarity of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) and treatment heterogeneity contributes to a lack of prognostic models for evaluating posttreatment remission. This study aimed to develop and validate radiomic-based models to predict the durable response (DR) to high-dose methotrexate (HD-MTX)-based chemotherapy in PCNSL patients.

Methods: A total of 159 patients pathologically diagnosed with PCNSL between 2011 and 2021 across two institutions were enrolled.

A Retrospective Study Establishing a Nomogram Predictive Model for Postoperative High-Activity Delirium After Non-Cardiac Surgery.

Background: Postoperative high-activity delirium (PDHA) manifests as a high alertness, restlessness, hallucinations, and delusions. Occurrence of PDHA represents an increased risk of poor prognosis for patients.

Objective: To establish and validate a nomogram prediction model for high-activity delirium after non-cardiac surgery in a post-anesthesia care unit (PACU).

Pharmacokinetics, Mass Balance, and Biotransformation of [C]tinengotinib, A Novel Multi-target Kinase Inhibitor, in Healthy Subjects.

Background And Objective: Tinengotinib, a novel multi-target small molecule kinase inhibitor, is currently undergoing phase II clinical trial in the USA and China. The purpose of this open-label study was to investigate the absorption, metabolism, and excretion of [C]tinengotinib following a single oral dose in healthy subjects.

Methods: Six healthy male subjects received a single oral dose of [C]tinengotinib capsules at 10 mg/100 µCi, and blood, urine, and feces samples were collected.

Enzymes in Synergy: Bacteria Specific Molecular Probe for Locoregional Imaging of Urinary Tract Infection in vivo.

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPECs) is a leading cause for urinary tract infections (UTI), accounting for 70-90 % of community or hospital-acquired bacterial infections owing to high recurrence, imprecision in diagnosis and management, and increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance. Current methods for clinical UPECs detection still rely on labor-intensive urine cultures that impede rapid and accurate diagnosis for timely UTI therapeutic management. Herein, we developed a first-in-class near-infrared (NIR) UPECs fluorescent probe (NO-AH) capable of specifically targeting UPECs through its collaborative response to bacterial enzymes, enabling locoregional imaging of UTIs both in vitro and in vivo.

The first selective VAP-1 inhibitor in China, TT-01025-CL: safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of single- and multiple-ascending doses.

TT-01025-CL is an oral, irreversible small molecule that potently inhibits vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1) for the treatment of inflammation associated with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The objectives of this study were to evaluate the safety/tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of TT-01025-CL, a VAP-1 inhibitor, in healthy Chinese volunteers. Double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation studies were conducted in subjects randomized to receive oral once-daily TT-01025-CL (ranges: 10-300 mg [single dose]; 20-100 mg for 7 days [multiple doses]) or placebo under fasting conditions.