The Cys2-His2 zinc finger transcription factor NsdC regulates hyphal branching, conidiation and mycelial pellet morphology in Aspergillus oryzae.

Hyper-branching morphology boosts protein production in filamentous fungi as protein secretion occurs predominantly at the actively growing apical hyphal tip. However, mechanisms regulating hyphal morphology in fungi remain poorly characterized. In this paper, we report that the Cys2-His2 Zinc finger transcription factor NsdC negatively regulates both conidiation and hyphal branching in Aspergillus oryzae.

Biodegradable Covalent Beta-Cyclodextrin Nanocages for Acidic and Reductive-Responsive Drug Delivery in Enhanced Tumor Therapy.

Traditional beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) in biomedical applications faces challenges due to its inherent physical and biochemical limitations. One of the most effective strategies to enhance the properties of beta-CD for drug delivery is the synthesis of supramolecular polycyclodextrins. In this study, we designed a novel beta-CD nanocage-like structure for drug delivery, incorporating imine and disulfide bonds through Schiff base reactions.

Exploration of the relationship between the height of the popliteal artery injury plane and the risk of amputation.

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to explore the impact of different planes of popliteal artery injury (PAI) on the risk of amputation in affected limbs.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on ninety-four patients who underwent PAI; these patients were divided into an amputation group (n = 26) and a nonamputation group (n = 68) on the basis of whether limb preservation was successful. The data were reconstructed from computed tomography angiography (CTA) of the patients' lower limbs and measured via AW Volume Share 5 software.

Comparison of long-term ankle joint function after one-stage and staged microsurgical repair of open achilles tendon defects.

Purpose: To explore the differences in long-term ankle joint function between one-stage and staged microsurgical repair of open Achilles tendon defects.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of the surgical treatment and follow-up data of 147 patients with open Achilles tendon defects from January 2007 to September 2023 was conducted. Patients were divided into a one-stage reconstruction group (n = 81) and a staged reconstruction group (n = 66) on the basis of whether one-stage microsurgical repair was used.

Urban skies safeguarded: innovative drone detection with programmable metasurface periscope.

Programmable metasurfaces (PMSs) exhibit great potentials in target detection techniques, because they can take actions to change channel propagation characteristics which introduces further degrees of freedom for system optimizations. However, responses of most traditional PMSs are sensitive to incident angles of impinging electromagnetic waves, resulting in a failure of angular estimation to dynamic targets coming from different directions. Herein, by proposing a fully resonant structure and introducing a mode-alignment technology, we report an isotropic angle-insensitive PMS whose phase response is stable with respect to different incident angles in both elevation- and azimuth-planes.

Molecular basis of the phosphorothioation-sensing antiphage defense system IscS-DndBCDE-DndI.

Phosphorothioation serves as a DNA backbone modification mechanism, wherein a sulfur atom substitutes the nonbridging oxygen atom within the phosphodiester, facilitated by the gene products of dndABCDE or sspABCD. The combination of dndABCDE with dndFGH forms a bona fide defense system, where the DndFGH protein complex exhibits DNA nickase and DNA translocase activities to prevent phage invasion. In this study, we identified that dndI, co-transcribed with dndFGH, can independently couple with iscS-dndBCDE as an anti-phage defense system.

Phytochemical fingerprint revealing antibacterial and antioxidant activities of endemic banana cultivars in Southeast Asia.

This study explores the bioactive secondary metabolite profiles of the peels of three major cultivars of bananas ( and ). These cultivars are primarily grown in Southeast Asia and are widely consumed due to their rich nutritional and fiber content. The research utilizes advanced analytical techniques, specifically HPLC-DAD-q-TOF-MS/MS, in conjunction with both univariate and multivariate statistical analyses, to analyze the ethanolic extracts of the banana peels.

Tailored design of NHS-SS-NHS cross-linked chitosan nano-hydrogels for enhanced anti-tumor efficacy by GSH-responsive drug release.

The traditional chemotherapeutic agents' disadvantages such as high toxicity, untargeting and poor water solubility lead to disappointing chemotherapy effects, which restricts its clinical application. In this work, novel size-appropriate and glutathione (GSH)-responsive nano-hydrogels were successfully prepared via the active ester method between chitosan (containing -NH) and cross-linker (containing NHS). Especially, the cross-linker was elaborately designed to possess a disulfide linkage (SS) as well as two terminal NHS groups, namely NHS-SS-NHS.

Soil fungal communities varied across aspects of restored grassland in former mining areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

To determine whether different aspects lead to a heterogeneous distribution of soil fungi, we investigated artificially established alpine grasslands in the Muli mining area in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Employing high-throughput sequencing techniques, we analyzed the composition, diversity, and function of soil fungal communities across various aspects (flat, East-facing, South-facing, West-facing, North-facing). We also examined their relationships with environmental factors.

Research trends and frontier hotspots of TRPV1 based on bibliometric and visualization analyses.

Background: Transient receptor potential vanilloid type1 (TRPV1) is a non-selective cation channel with multiple activation mechanisms, which has received increasing attention since it was first cloned in 1997.

Methods: We used bibliometric and visualization analyses to evaluate the theme trends and knowledge structure of TRPV1 research-papers on TRPV1 from 2002 to 2022 obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection. VOSviewer and CiteSpace were used to analyze authors, institutions, countries, co-cited references, and keywords.

Research on the pathway of digital technology to drive China's energy sector to achieve its carbon neutrality goal.

With global climate change looming large, there is an urgent need for China's energy sector to take steps towards carbon neutrality. This study aims to explore how digital technologies can contribute to the pathway for China's energy sector to achieve carbon neutrality. By analyzing carbon neutrality policies and digital technology applications, we propose a systematic pathway framework to guide China's energy sector in integrating digital technology to accelerate the pace of achieving carbon neutrality in the energy sector.

Research status and hotspots in the surgical treatment of tremor in Parkinson's disease from 2002 to 2022: a bibliometric and visualization analysis.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the research status and hotspots of surgical treatment for tremor in Parkinson's disease (PD) from 2002 to 2022, utilizing bibliometric and visual analysis. Additionally, it aims to offer insights into future research trends in this field.

Methods: This study collected publications on the surgical treatment of tremor in PD from 2002 to 2022 using the Web of Science (WOS) database.

Glycated Casein by TGase-Type Exerts Protection Potential against DSS-Induced Colitis via Inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB Signaling Pathways in C57BL/6J Mice.

Glycation by transglutaminase (TGase)-type could effectively improve the structure and functional properties of proteins. However, the influence on intestinal inflammation or the underlying mechanisms has not been investigated. The goal of this research was to compare the bioactivities between glycated casein generated from the TGase-catalyzed reaction and oligochitosan as well as casein using a mouse model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced intestinal inflammation to examine the protective effects and the underlying mechanism of glycated casein on intestinal inflammation.

Controlled growth of titanium dioxide nanotubes for doxorubicin loading and studies of antitumor activity.

Titanium dioxide (TiO) materials are suitable for use as drug carriers due to their natural biocompatibility and nontoxicity. The aim of the study presented in this paper was to investigate the controlled growth of TiO nanotubes (TiO NTs) of different sizes via an anodization method, in order to delineate whether the size of NTs governs their drug loading and release profile as well as their antitumor efficiency. TiO NTs were tailored to sizes ranging from 25 nm to 200 nm according to the anodization voltage employed.

A generalizable strategy for crosslinkable albumin-based hydrogels and application as potential anti-tumor nanoplatform.

Albumin-based hydrogels have emerged as promising nanoparticle systems for the effective delivery of hydrophobic anticancer drugs. Anti-cancer drugs often cause some adverse effects, such as toxicity and rapid clearance by mononuclear phagocytic systems. Herein, a new strategy of synthesizing N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS)-activated linker to form crosslinkable albumin-based hydrogels (CABH) is reported.

Predicting immunoglobulin resistance in Kawasaki disease: an assessment of neutrophil to lymphocyte platelet ratio.

Background: Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute febrile illness of unknown etiology and predictors for intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) resistance have been widely explored in recent decades. Neutrophil to lymphocyte platelet ratio (NLPR) was reported to be associated with the outcomes in many diseases. However, its relationship with IVIG resistance has not be explored.

An Empirical Analysis of Corporate Financial Management Risk Prediction Based on Associative Memory Neural Network.

As a human brain-like computational model that can reflect the cognitive function of the brain, the problem of dynamic analysis of associative memory neural networks has attracted the attention of scholars. This paper combines associative memory neural networks with enterprise financial management risks, studies the synchronization control and stability analysis problems of unidirectional associative memory-like human brain amnestic neural networks with perturbation and mixed time-varying time lags, proposes a bidirectional associative memory-like brain stochastic amnestic neural network model with mixed time-varying time lags, designs a discrete-time sampling control strategy based on the model, and studies various types of recent financial risks. Based on the early warning research, based on the associative memory neural network method, we propose to reconstruct the risk categories, including improving the enterprise risk management system, enhancing the awareness of financial risk management from top to bottom, and strengthening the core competitiveness of the enterprise itself and control measures for financing, investment, operation, and cash flow risks.

Anticancer effects of Daidzein against the human melanoma cell lines involves cell cycle arrest, autophagy and deactivation of PI3K/AKT signalling pathways.

Retraction of: 'Anticancer effects of Daidzein against the human melanoma cell lines involves cell cycle arrest, autophagy and deactivation of PI3K/AKT signalling pathways', by Hui Chu, Junzhi Li, Ting Liu, Na Miao, Wei Zhang, JBUON 2020;25(1):485-490; PMID:32277673. Following the publication of the above article, readers drew to our attention that part of the data was unreliable. The authors were requested to provide the raw data to prove the originality, but were unable to do so.

Chitinase involved in immune regulation by mediated the toll pathway of crustacea Procambarus clarkii.

Chitinase can degrade chitin and play an essential role in animal immunity and plant defense. The immune functions of Chitinase in Procambarus clarkii (P. clarkii) remain to elucidate.

B7-H4 Inhibits the Development of Primary Sjögren's Syndrome by Regulating Treg Differentiation in NOD/Ltj Mice.

Background: This study is aimed at exploring the role of B7-H4 in the pathogenesis of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) in NOD/Ltj mouse.

Methods: B7-H4 expression in salivary glands was examined by IHC, and lymphocyte infiltration was showed by H&E. Next, anti-B7-H4 mAb or immunoglobulin isotype was injected into NOD/Ltj mice.

Liver damage at admission is an independent prognostic factor for COVID-19.

Objective: Abnormal liver function is a common form of extra-pulmonary organ damage in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Patients with severe COVID-19 have a higher probability and progression of liver injury than those without severe disease. We aimed to evaluate the prognosis of liver injury in patients with COVID-19.

Anticancer effects of Daidzein against the human melanoma cell lines involves cell cycle arrest, autophagy and deactivation of PI3K/AKT signalling pathways.

Purpose: Melanoma is one of the fatal human malignancies. Its incidence in humans is increasing constantly and therefore there is urgent need to develop effective therapies for its management. This study was therefore undertaken to investigate the anticancer effects of Daidzein on human melanoma cells and also an attempt was made to decipher the underlying mechanisms.

Effect of delay in diagnosis on transmission of COVID-19.

The outbreak of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan and other cities of China is a growing global concern. Delay in diagnosis and limited hospital resources lead to a rapid spread of COVID-19. In this study, we investigate the effect of delay in diagnosis on the disease transmission with a new formulated dynamic model.