Mechanical Properties Measured by Atomic Force Microscopy Help Evaluate Different Constructions of Re-engineered Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T Models.

Despite the success of chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) in hematological malignancies, challenges persist, including limited efficacy in solid tumors, on-off tumor toxicity, and CAR-T cell persistence. Cellular mechanics profoundly influence cell behavior and function, yet the biophysical aspects of CAR-T cells remain underexplored. Here, we investigate various CAR molecules incorporating CD19 or CD123 recognition domains.

Ultra-trace analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in heated tobacco products based on large volume thermal injection-column internal evaporation concentration.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), carcinogenic persistent organic compounds, require ultrasensitive detection for health risk assessment of tobacco products. While traditional cigarette smoke contains FDA-monitored PAHs (e.g.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors use in liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma: a global cohort study.

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a major contributor to global cancer mortality, with liver transplantation (LT) offering curative potential for patients in the early stages. While immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are effective in managing tumor progression, concerns about graft rejection persist. This study investigates how peri-LT ICIs administration affects rejection rates and survival outcomes in HCC patients.

The "sweet spot" in length for contorted conjugated ladders in ultrafast-charging Li and Mg batteries.

Here, we explore a conjugated, contorted polymer framework tailored for ultrafast-rate charging/discharging, leveraging a tunable synthetic strategy to control its molecular length. We systematically explore the helical perylene diimide (hPDI) ladder polymers across three length regimes, short, medium, and long, to determine the optimal electrochemical stability and performance. The intermediate-length polymer strikes a critical balance between electrode integrity, solubility, and rate capability.

An artificial intelligence cloud platform for OCT-based retinal anomalies screening system in real clinical environments.

Millions of individuals worldwide suffer from retinal anomalies, which can lead to irreversible vision loss. However, the number of ophthalmologists is highly mismatched with the population base in China, especially in many rural and underdeveloped towns. To tackle these challenges, this paper developed an Artificial Intelligence Cloud Platform for OCT-based Retinal Anomalies Screening (AI-PORAS), which is capable of detecting 15 retinal anomalies in OCT images to enhance remote diagnostic efficiency.

A Dual-Functional Intelligent Felt-like Label from Cationic Rice Straw Fibers Loaded with Alizarin Red S for Monitoring Al(III) and the Freshness of Fish.

To achieve dual functionality that can monitor both Al levels in food and the freshness of fish, rice straw fibers (RSFs) were treated in NaOH solutions and then cationized with 2,3-epoxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride, onto which alizarin red S molecules were immobilized through electrostatic interaction to develop a smart felt-like label. An optimized treatment in 5 wt% NaOH solution effectively removed lignin and hemicellulose, facilitating quaternary ammonium group grafting and stable ARS anchoring. The ARS@BRSF-5NaOH exhibited high pH sensitivity, showing visually discernible color changes (ΔE > 5, perceptible to the naked eye) under acidic (pH ≤ 6) and strongly alkaline (pH > 12) conditions.

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Based Cancer Immunotherapy: Strategies and Perspectives.

Cellular immunotherapy has emerged as a transformative approach in oncology, revolutionizing cancer treatment paradigms. Since the groundbreaking development of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by Yamanaka in 2008, significant progress has been made in generating various iPSCs-derived immunocytes, including T cells, dendritic cells, macrophages, natural killer (NK) cells, and B cells. These engineered immune cells offer unprecedented opportunities for personalized cancer therapy as they can be derived from patients' own cells to minimize immune rejection.

Targeting of the CD161 Inhibitory Receptor Enhances Bone-Marrow-Resident Memory CD8 T-Cell-Mediated Immunity against Multiple Myeloma.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have transformed the treatment of many solid tumors. Still, their effectiveness in multiple myeloma (MM) remains underwhelming, highlighting the need to explore alternative approaches beyond conventional ICIs. Here, CD161 is identified as a novel inhibitory receptor on bone marrow (BM) tissue resident memory CD8 T cells (CD8 TRM), known for their sustained presence and vital role in local immune surveillance in MM BM tumor microenvironments.

Molecular characterization and prognostic implications of KRAS mutations in pancreatic cancer patients: insights from multi-cohort analysis.

KRAS mutations drive pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) progression. This study investigates molecular heterogeneity among KRAS subtypes and their prognostic implications. This study explores KRAS mutations in PDAC, analyzing molecular heterogeneity and prognosis across our hospital cohort (SDFM, n = 113) with TCGA cohort (n = 183) and QCMG cohort (n = 383).

Predictors of early resistance to catheter-directed thrombolysis in patients with proximal deep vein thrombosis.

Purpose: To determine predictors of immediate thrombolysis resistance (iTR) in patients with proximal deep vein thrombosis (DVT), defined as thrombosis involving the femoral or more proximal veins, with or without concomitant popliteal vein involvement, and to investigate its impact on long-term post-thrombotic syndrome (PTS) outcomes.

Methods: This single-center retrospective study reviewed consecutive patients who underwent catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) as first-line therapy. Baseline demographics, clinical history, comorbidities and provoking risk factors for DVT, intraprocedural findings, periprocedural complications, and follow-up outcomes were compared between the iTR and immediate thrombolysis success (iTS) groups.

Error Analysis and Suppression of Rectangular-Pulse Binary Phase Modulation Technology in an Interferometric Fiber-Optic Sensor.

In the field of interferometric fiber-optic sensing, the phase-shifting technique is well known as a highly efficient method for retrieving the phase signal from the interference light intensity. The rectangular-pulse binary phase modulation (RPBPM) method is a typical phase-shifting method with the advantages of high efficiency, low complexity, and easy array multiplexing. Exploring the impact of the parameters on the performance is of great significance for guiding its application in practical systems.

A pair of dopaminergic neurons DAN-c1 mediate larval aversive olfactory learning through D2-like receptors.

The intricate relationship between the dopaminergic system and olfactory associative learning in has been an intense scientific inquiry. Leveraging the formidable genetic tools, we conducted a screening of 57 dopaminergic drivers, leading to the discovery of DAN-c1 driver, uniquely targeting a pair of dopaminergic neurons (DANs) in the larval brain. While the involvement of excitatory D1-like receptors is well established, the role of D2-like receptors (D2Rs) remains underexplored.

The Illness Experience of Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: A Qualitative Study.

Objective: This study employed descriptive qualitative research methods to explore the experiences of patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 patients diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis and scheduled for joint replacement at a tertiary hospital in Shanghai between January 2024 and June 2024. Thematic content analysis was utilised to analyse the interview data.

A new strategy to improve the virulence of Bacillus thuringiensis supernatant based on enhancing Vip3A secretion.

Vegetative insecticidal protein (Vip3), which has potent insecticidal activity against lepidopteran insect pests, is a non-classical secreted insecticidal protein produced by Bacillus thuringiensis during vegetative growth. Strains with high levels of Vip3A expression have been developed, but a large amount of Vip3A is retained inside the cell, failing to be secreted. In this study, we found that cell wall hydrolases (CWHs) acting on different sites of peptidoglycan cause differences in the level of Vip3A secretion.

Bright Long-Wavelength Multi-State TADF Emitters.

To achieve multi-state, visible-light-excited, long-wavelength thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) with high emission efficiency within a single molecular dye system remains a significant challenge. Herein, we developed a series of V-shaped emitters comprising electron-deficient benzothiadiazole and electron-rich triphenylamine (TPA) or carbazole (Cz) units, featuring small singlet-triplet energy gaps. These molecules exhibit long-wavelength TADF emission and bright luminescence in both single-molecule and aggregate states.

Mitochondrial Damage and Autophagy Dysregulation in Alzheimer's Disease: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Opportunities.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes progressive neurodegeneration and a variety of cognitive deficits. Of note, mitochondrial malfunctions occur early in the disease's development. Mitophagy impairment leads to the build-up of damaged mitochondria inside the cells, causing malfunction and eventual death of the cells.

Supervised contrastive loss helps uncover more robust features for photoacoustic prostate cancer identification.

Background: Photoacoustic spectral analysis has been demonstrated to be efficacious in the diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa). With the incorporation of deep learning, its discrimination accuracy is progressively enhancing. Nevertheless, individual heterogeneity persists as a significant factor that impacts discrimination performance.

Hierarchical Active Site Engineering in Multicore-Shell nTiO@SiO Nanoreactors with PtSA-PtAC Synergy for Enhanced Solar Hydrogen Evolution.

To address the persistent challenge of low solar-to-hydrogen (STH) conversion efficiency, it is presented a hierarchical active site engineering strategy via multiscale spatial confinement, implemented in multicore-shell nTiO@SiO nanoreactors. This architecture integrates structural confinement and atomic-level Pt speciation to form a unified, multiscale catalytic system. Unlike conventional single-core yolk-shell architectures, the interconnected multicore framework enhances light harvesting through internal multiple light-scattering and effectively suppresses nanocore aggregation.

Yin yang 1: a potential regulator of immune related diseases and cancer immunity.

Yin Yang (YY1) is a context-dependent bifunctional transcription factor, activating or repressing target gene transcription via transcriptional or post-translational way, participate in multiple physiological processes including development, cell proliferation, differentiation, DNA repair and cell apoptosis. Recent reports show that YY1 also functions as a key transcription factor in immune response. Immune system dysfunction is closely related to various disease such as autoimmunity and cancer progression, how YY1 modulates immune related disease progression has not been systematically discussed.

Real-time Monitoring Unveils Three Distinct Neuronal Response Patterns to SAW Ultrasound via L-type Calcium Channels.

Ultrasound neuromodulation shows promise for treating neurological disorders, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we developed an integrated surface acoustic wave (SAW) ultrasound chip enabling simultaneous electrophysiological recording and Ca imaging of cultured hippocampal neurons to investigate neuronal excitability and synaptic transmission during ultrasound stimulation. This study revealed, for the first time, three distinct neuronal response patterns induced by SAW ultrasound: an immediate response showing rapid activation, a delayed response exhibiting facilitation after several minutes, and a non-response maintaining baseline activity.

AXL in cardiovascular diseases: Pathophysiological insights and clinical perspectives.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of mortality worldwide, posing significant challenges to global health systems. Among the diverse molecular regulators implicated in CVD pathogenesis, AXL (AXL receptor tyrosine kinase)-a member of the receptor tyrosine kinase family that includes Tyrosine-protein kinase receptor TYRO3, AXL receptor tyrosine kinase, and MER proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase (collectively referred to as the TAM family)-emerges as a pivotal player with multifaceted roles. This review comprehensively explores the biological functions of AXL in cardiovascular systems, emphasizing its dualistic nature in regulating processes such as apoptosis, inflammation, oxidative stress, and vascular remodeling.

Schottky barrier in pea-like Au@BiS nanoreactor enabling efficient photodynamic therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a leading cause of tumor-related mortality globally, demands innovative therapeutic strategies to overcome limitations of conventional treatments. Photodynamic therapy (PDT), reliant on reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy for neoplastic diseases. But it is constrained by inefficient charge separation in traditional photosensitizers.

Fibromyalgia pain may have a gut solution.

In this issue of Neuron, Cai et al. demonstrated that transferring fecal microbiota from fibromyalgia patients to mice confers pain hypersensitivity and depression-like behavior, which is reversed by fecal microbiota transplant from healthy donors. Fibromyalgia patients experience significant symptom relief after fecal microbiota transplantation.

A novel molecularly imprinted sensors using chitosan on nitrogen-doped hollow carbon nanospheres for bisphenol A detection.

It is of great significance to establish highly sensitive and reliable detection methods for bisphenol A (BPA) due to its potential health and environmental risks. In this paper, a new type of molecularly imprinted composite sphere was synthesized using nitrogen-doped hollow carbon spheres (N-HCS) as the substrate and chitosan (CS) as the imprinting material. The selective binding ability of this material to BPA and its mechanism were systematically studied.

Clinical advances in racemic epinephrine for pediatric croup: a mini-review of evidence and practice.

This mini-review critically evaluates the contemporary evidence regarding racemic epinephrine's role in pediatric croup management. As the pharmacological mainstay for acute airway obstruction, racemic epinephrine demonstrates rapid efficacy through dual α₁-adrenergic vasoconstriction and β-mediated bronchodilation, achieving clinically significant Westley Croup Score reductions (2-3 points) within 30 min of administration. Current evidence establishes therapeutic equipoise between racemic and L-epinephrine formulations, though important disparities exist in global accessibility and cost-effectiveness.