Intracellular Interleukin-1α in Peritumoral Monocytes Induces IL8 Production and Inhibits Mitophagy to Promote Stemness and Metastasis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

IL-1α is a potent inflammatory cytokine that is released by cell necrosis and activates IL-1R. More recently, IL-1α has been shown to have intracellular functions. In the current study, we investigated the expression and distinctive role of IL-1α in tumor progression.

Glutamsate Supplementation Regulates Tight Junction Protein Abundance and Amino Acid Transporters in the Jejunum of Low-Protein Diet-Fed Rats.

Background: Glutamate has been demonstrated to promote intestinal development and enhance barrier integrity, suggesting its potential in alleviating intestinal dysfunction in weaned rats. Moreover, low-protein diets (LCP + Ala) impair intestinal barrier function by reducing tight junction (TJ) integrity and amino acid transport, which may be mitigated through glutamate supplementation.

Objectives: This study investigated the impacts of glutamate supplementation on TJ protein and amino acid transporter expression in the jejunum of LCP + Ala-fed rats.

Six-month outcomes of layperson-delivered, telephone-based behavioural activation and mindfulness interventions on loneliness among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: The HEAL-HOA Dual Randomised Controlled Trial.

Background: Loneliness among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic constituted a global public health crisis. This study aimed to determine whether layperson- and telephone-delivered behavioural activation (Tele-BA) and mindfulness (Tele-MF) interventions, compared to telephone befriending/support calls (Tele-BF; attention control), could reduce loneliness among older adults who were living alone, socioeconomically deprived and digitally excluded.

Methods: As part of the 'Helping Alleviate Loneliness in Hong Kong Older Adults' dual randomised controlled trial (RCT), 1151 older adults (Mage = 76.

Momentary solitude and affective experiences: The moderating role of trait mindfulness.

Adults spend a significant amount of time alone every day, but mindfulness factors influencing the experience of solitude (time spent alone) are underexplored. Based on person-environment fit theory, we examined the moderating role of five facets of trait mindfulness (observing, describing, acting with awareness, nonjudging of inner experiences, and nonreactivity to inner experiences) on the relationship between solitude and affective experiences. In this experience sampling study, 188 adults (M = 51.

Acupuncture might enhance word recognition scores in a patient with hearing loss: a case report and literature review.

Background: Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a hearing disorder caused by damage to the inner ear, the auditory centers, or the auditory nerve in the brain. Sensorineural hearing loss not only causes an increase in the pure tone audiometry of patients, but also may lead to a decrease in word recognition scores. Although contemporary medical advancements like cochlear hearing devices and auditory aids provide some assistance to individuals with hearing loss, many patients still seek more natural and non-invasive treatment options.

Glutamate Supplementation Regulates Nitrogen Metabolism in the Colon and Liver of Weaned Rats Fed a Low-Protein Diet.

: Glutamate, a nutritionally non-essential amino acid, is a key intermediate in nitrogen metabolism. Despite more studies on its functional role in intestine health, it remains unknown how glutamate regulates nitrogen metabolism in animals fed a low-protein diet. : Herein, we investigated the effects of glutamate supplementation on colonic amino acid transport, barrier protein expression, microbiota alterations, fecal nitrogen emissions, hepatic amino acid transport, and protein synthesis in weaned rats.

First-line treatment of anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody cetuximab β plus FOLFIRI versus FOLFIRI alone in Chinese patients with RAS/BRAF wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer: a randomized, phase 3 trial.

Cetuximab plus irinotecan, fluorouracil, and leucovorin (FOLFIRI) represents a first-line therapeutic standard for RAS/BRAF wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients. Despite this established approach, cetuximab β (CMAB009), as a modified antibody of cetuximab, prospectively selected for dual RAS/BRAF wild-type patients, has not yet been validated in the Chinese mCRC patients through phase 3 trial. In this study (ClinicalTrials.

A three-arm randomized controlled trial protocol: Effects of telephone-based, layperson-delivered wisdom-enhancement narrative therapy and empathy-focused interventions on loneliness, social, and mental health in older adults.

Background: Loneliness is an increasingly widespread issue among older adults globally, with significant implications on physical, social, and mental health. While various interventions exist to address this challenge, their long-term effects remain unclear. Using a 3-arm randomized controlled trial, this study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a telephone-based and layperson-delivered wisdom-enhancement narrative therapy (Tele-NT) and empathy-focused program (Tele-EP) against an active control group (ACG) in reducing loneliness.

Peripheral-central correlation study of acupuncture for chronic tinnitus study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: (1) Exploring the evaluation and correlation of peripheral central auditory function in patients with chronic tinnitus. (2) Evaluation of the cumulative effect of acupuncture on peripheral central auditory function in patients with chronic tinnitus.

Method: Our research is structured as a regulated and randomized trial with assessor blinding.

Anti-PD-L1 envafolimab combined with anti-VEGF suvemcitug in pretreated solid tumors and hepatocellular carcinoma: an open-label phase II study with safety run-in stage.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) combined with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) have been the standard first-line treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the efficacy of this combination in post-line treatment is still unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination of anti-PD-L1 envafolimab and novel humanized anti-VEGF suvemcitug as second-line treatment for patients with HCC.

The effects of volunteering on loneliness among lonely older adults: the HEAL-HOA dual randomised controlled trial.

Background: Previous randomised controlled trials have largely relied on self-reported volunteer work to assess the effects of volunteering and have rarely provided structured volunteering activities during the intervention period. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of social volunteering work over 12 months on loneliness among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A dual randomised controlled trial was done in Hong Kong to investigate the long-term effects of telephone-delivered psychosocial interventions by older Chinese volunteers who were screened as lonely, for older adult recipients who had low income, lived alone, felt lonely, and were digitally excluded.

More Grateful Today, Less Depressive Tomorrow: The Day-to-Day Association Between Gratitude and Depressed Mood.

Objective: Previous research has documented a negative between-person association between gratitude and depressed mood. However, how gratitude relates to depressed mood at the within-person level remains less understood. The current study aimed to revisit the association between gratitude and depressed mood using a daily diary approach and examine the potential moderating effects of trait gratitude, neuroticism, and extraversion.

Transcriptomic Analysis of Larvae Under High Temperature Stress.

Objectives: Acute temperature stress was explored in through a comprehensive RNA-seq analysis.

Methods: RNA-seq was conducted on 20-day-old after 24 h of temperature stress. Four experimental conditions were established: a control group (18 °C) and three temperature treatment groups (21, 24, and 27 °C).

Targeting CD93 on monocytes revitalizes antitumor immunity by enhancing the function and infiltration of CD8 T cells.

Background: Limited activation and infiltration of CD8 T cells are major challenges facing T cell-based immunotherapy for most solid tumors, of which the mechanism is multilayered and not yet fully understood.

Methods: Levels of CD93 expression on monocytes from paired non-tumor, peritumor and tumor tissues of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were evaluated. The underlying mechanisms mediating effects of CD93 monocytes on the inhibition and tumor exclusion of CD8 T cells were studied through both in vitro and in vivo experiments.

Being Under-Benefited and Perceived Stress in the Relationship Between Aging Parents and Adult Children: The Moderating Role of Empathy.

Background And Objectives: Previous studies examining the relationship between being under-benefited and stress among aging parents and their adult children have yielded mixed findings. Few studies have examined whether this positive association can be alleviated by state-level or trait-level factors. Given the positive effects of empathy on interpersonal exchanges, we tested the moderating role of empathy on the relationship between being under-benefited and perceived stress among aging parents and adult children in this 14-day diary study.

Study protocol of a sequential, multiple assignment, randomised trial using an adaptive intervention to reduce loneliness among Chinese older adults in Hong Kong.

Background: Loneliness is a prevalent and alarming issue among older adults that requires effective interventions. While randomised controlled trials have been commonly undertaken to explore reduction in loneliness, there is a growing recognition that a comprehensive treatment strategy involving multiple interventions may yield better outcomes. Therefore, this study aims to develop and identify a two-stage adaptive intervention that combines telephone-delivered behavioural activation (Tele-BA) and mindfulness techniques (Tele-MF) to reduce loneliness in older adults in Hong Kong.

Misremembering Solitude: The Role of Personality and Cultural Self-Concepts in Shaping Discrepancies Between Recalled and Concurrent Affect in Solitude.

Background: Affect recall is key to psychological assessment and decision-making. However, self-concepts (self-beliefs) may bias retrospective affect reports such that they deviate from lived experiences. Does this experience-memory gap apply to solitude experiences? We hypothesized that individuals misremember how they feel overall and when in solitude, in line with self-concepts of introversion, self-determined/not-self-determined solitude motivations, and independent/interdependent self-construal.

Effects of Wisdom-Enhancement Narrative-Therapy and Empathy-Focused interventions on loneliness over 4 weeks among older adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: In this three-armed RCT, we tested the effects of a telephone-delivered wisdom enhancement narrative therapy-based intervention (Tele-NT) and a telephone-delivered empathy-focused intervention (Tele-EP) in reducing loneliness against an active control group that received regular call (ACG) at the 4-week follow-up assessment.

Design, Setting, Intervention, And Participants: To evaluate the effects of the interventions on loneliness, we randomized 287 older adults based in Hong Kong, ages 65 to 90, into Tele-NT (N = 97), Tele-EP (N = 95), or ACG (N = 95).

Measurement: The primary outcome was loneliness, calculated using the De Jong Gierveld Scale and the UCLA Loneliness Scale.

PTGR1-mediated immune evasion mechanisms in late-stage triple-negative breast cancer: mechanisms of M2 macrophage infiltration and CD8 T cell suppression.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous disease characterized by metabolic dysregulation. Tumor cell immune escape plays an indispensable role in the development of TNBC tumors. Furthermore, in the abstract, we explicitly mention the techniques used and enhance the clarity and impact of our findings.

Reducing discrepancies between actual and ideal affect across adulthood: the roles of activity flow conduciveness, pleasantness, and familiarity.

Previous findings demonstrate that people often do not feel how they want to feel, supporting the distinction between "actual affect" and "ideal affect." But are there certain activities that reduce the discrepancy between actual and ideal affect? Based on flow theory and socioemotional selectivity theory, we examined whether the discrepancy between people's actual and ideal positive affect would be smaller during activities that were more conducive to flow (a state of intense absorption and concentration), pleasant, and familiar. In Study 1, U.

Layperson-Delivered Telephone-Based Behavioral Activation Among Low-Income Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The HEAL-HOA Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Older adults are particularly vulnerable to loneliness and its physical and psychosocial sequelae, but scalable interventions are lacking, especially during disasters such as pandemics.

Objective: To compare the effects of layperson-delivered, telephone-based behavioral activation and mindfulness interventions vs telephone-based befriending on loneliness among at-risk older adults.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This assessor-blinded, 3-arm randomized clinical trial screened Chinese older adults through household visits and community referrals from April 1, 2021, to April 30, 2023, in Hong Kong.

Elucidating the modulatory role of dietary hydroxyproline on the integrity and functional performance of the intestinal barrier in early-weaned piglets: A comprehensive analysis of its interplay with the gut microbiota and metabolites.

Piglets receive far less hydroxyproline (Hyp) from a diet after weaning than they obtained from sow's milk prior to weaning, suggesting that Hyp may play a protective role in preserving intestinal mucosal homeostasis. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Hyp on intestinal barrier function and its associated gut microbiota and metabolites in early-weaned piglets. Eighty weaned piglets were divided into four groups and fed diets containing different Hyp levels (0 %, 0.

Negative interactions and marital satisfaction across adulthood: The moderating role of affect valuation.

Older adults report higher marital satisfaction than younger adults even after negative interactions. The current study examined affect valuation as a potential moderator to explain age-related differences in the relationship between negative interactions and marital satisfaction. We conducted a 14-day daily diary study among 66 heterosexual couples (132 participants) aged from 21 to 80 years.

Study protocol of the 'HEAL-HOA' dual randomized controlled trial: Testing the effects of volunteering on loneliness, social, and mental health in older adults.

Background: Interventions to reduce loneliness in older adults usually do not show sustained effects. One potential way to combat loneliness is to offer meaningful social activities. Volunteering has been suggested as one such activity - however, its effects on loneliness remain to be tested in randomized controlled trials (RCT).