In situ high-resolution cryo-EM reconstructions from CEMOVIS.

Cryo-electron microscopy can be used to image cells and tissue at high resolution. To ensure electron transparency, the sample thickness must not exceed 500 nm. Focused-ion-beam (FIB) milling has become the standard method for preparing thin samples (lamellae); however, the material removed by the milling process is lost, the imageable area is usually limited to a few square micrometres and the surface layers sustain damage from the ion beam.

Comparative Efficacy of Various Acupuncture-Related Therapies for Post-Stroke Sleep Disorders: A Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background: Post-stroke sleep disorders (PSSD) are among the most prevalent complications of stroke, significantly impeding neurological recovery and increasing the risk of recurrence. While Western medicine primarily relies on pharmacological treatments, these often come with side effects and inconsistent outcomes. Recent evidence supports the effectiveness of various acupuncture therapies for PSSD, but the optimal treatment strategy remains unclear.

Flexible Photothermal Phase Change Material with High Photothermal Properties Achieved by Promoted Dispersion of Hydrophobically Modified Eumelanin and its Photovoltaic Applications.

Photothermal phase change materials (PPCMs) are prevalent in energy harvesting and thermal management, owing to their dual functionality of solar-to-heat conversion and latent heat storage capacity. However, conventional PPCMs are still face challenges, including reliance on non-renewable photothermal agents, low photothermal conversion efficiency, leakage issues, and inflexibility, which collectively hinder their widespread application. Here, a flexible PPCMs with high photothermal properties is prepared by modifying eumelanin with oleoyl chloride to improved interfacial compatibility with Styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), followed by uniform incorporation of paraffin wax (PW) into the matrix via physical mixing.

The relationship between physical appearance perfectionism on subthreshold depression in college students: the role of gender and fear of negative evaluation.

Introduction: Over the past decades, subthreshold depression has emerged as a significant mental health concern among college students, with prevalence rates reaching 40.8%. Despite its substantial impact on psychological well-being, subthreshold depression often remains overlooked due to its failure to meet clinical diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder.

Emerging treatment strategies in dry eye disease: Potential of blood-derived approaches and natural plant-based products.

Dry eye disease (DED) is a common ocular condition characterized by chronic inflammation and tear film disruption. It affects millions of people worldwide, causing significant eye discomfort and vision disturbances. Despite its prevalence, DED remains a complex condition that is not yet fully understood.

CTFFIND5 provides improved insight into quality, tilt, and thickness of TEM samples.

Images taken by transmission electron microscopes are usually affected by lens aberrations and image defocus, among other factors. These distortions can be modeled in reciprocal space using the contrast transfer function (CTF). Accurate estimation and correction of the CTF is essential for restoring the high-resolution signal in cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoEM).

Neuron-Inspired Flexible Phase Change Materials for Ambient Energy Harvesting and Respiration Monitoring.

The global energy crisis and climate change pose unprecedented challenges. Wearable devices with personal thermoregulation and energy harvesting hold great promise for achieving energy savings and human thermal comfort. Here, inspired by neurons, a novel phase change material (PCM) is reported for efficient energy harvesting and respiratory monitoring via a self-assembly strategy.

Facile hermetic TEM grid preparation for molecular imaging of hydrated biological samples at room temperature.

Although structures of vitrified supramolecular complexes have been determined at near-atomic resolution, elucidating in situ molecular structure in living cells remains a challenge. Here, we report a straightforward liquid cell technique, originally developed for real-time visualization of dynamics at a liquid-gas interface using transmission electron microscopy, to image wet biological samples. Due to the scattering effects from the liquid phase, the micrographs display an amplitude contrast comparable to that observed in negatively stained samples.

Treg cell: Critical role of regulatory T-cells in depression.

Depression is a highly prevalent disorder of the central nervous system. The neuropsychiatric symptoms of clinical depression are persistent and include fatigue, anorexia, weight loss, altered sleep patterns, hyperalgesia, melancholia, anxiety, and impaired social behaviours. Mounting evidences suggest that neuroinflammation triggers dysregulated cellular immunity and increases susceptibility to psychiatric diseases.

Biobased epoxidized natural rubber/sodium carboxymethyl cellulose composites with enhanced strength and healing ability.

Conventional vulcanized rubbers cause a non-negligible waste of resources due to the formation of 3D irreversible covalently cross-linked networks. The introduction of reversible covalent bonds, such as reversible disulfide bonds, into the rubber network, is an available solution to the above problem. However, the mechanical properties of rubber with only reversible disulfide bonds cannot meet most practical applications.

Serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor as diagnosis clue for Alzheimer's disease: A cross-sectional observational study in the elderly.

Objective: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has not been validated as a diagnostic marker for Alzheimer's disease (AD). To provide a different perspective, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between serum levels of mature BDNF (mBDNF) and precursor BDNF (proBDNF) in AD and to investigate whether serum BDNF levels or the ratio of mBDNF levels to proBDNF levels (M/P) could be a valuable biomarker for determining the risk of AD in elderly individuals.

Method: A total of 126 subjects who met the inclusion criteria were assigned to either the AD group ( = 62) or the healthy control group (HC, = 64) in this cross-sectional observationl study.

The ubiquitin E3 ligase TRIM10 promotes STING aggregation and activation in the Golgi apparatus.

STING is an endoplasmic reticulum-resident protein regulating innate immunity. After binding with cyclic guanosine monophosphate-AMP (cGAMP), STING translocates from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the Golgi apparatus to stimulate TBK1 and IRF3 activation, leading to expression of type I interferon. However, the exact mechanism concerning STING activation remains largely enigmatic.

Facile hermetic TEM grid preparation for molecular imaging of hydrated biological samples at room temperature.

Although structures of vitrified supramolecular complexes have been determined at near-atomic resolution, elucidating molecular structure in living cells remains a major challenge. Here, we apply a novel but simple liquid-cell technique, developed previously for real-time imaging of the dynamics at a liquid-gas interface, to image wet biological samples. With extra scattering from the liquid phase, the transmission electron micrographs show amplitude contrast comparable to that in negatively stained samples.

Electron energy loss spectroscopy database synthesis and automation of core-loss edge recognition by deep-learning neural networks.

The ionization edges encoded in the electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) spectra enable advanced material analysis including composition analyses and elemental quantifications. The development of the parallel EELS instrument and fast, sensitive detectors have greatly improved the acquisition speed of EELS spectra. However, the traditional way of core-loss edge recognition is experience based and human labor dependent, which limits the processing speed.

Design of epoxidized natural rubber/poly(lipoic acid) elastomer with fast and efficient self-healing under a mild temperature.

Most of the dynamic covalent bonds (DCBs) for self-healing rubber must be activated at relatively high temperatures due to the requirement of high energy during the exchange of dynamic bonds, which may lead to unexpected degradation or excessive crosslinking of rubber. Herein, we designed and fabricated a highly stretchable, self-healable and reprocessable rubber by introducing dynamic disulfide bonds into the crosslink network of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR). Lipoic acid (LA) was firstly uniformly dispersed into ENR via a latex film formation technique, and then underwent a dynamic covalent ring-opening self-polymerization during hot pressing process, during which the carboxyl group of poly(LA) attacked the epoxy group of ENR to form β-hydroxyl ester bond crosslinks.

Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Colistin Combined With Isopropoxy Benzene Guanidine Against -Positive in an Intestinal Infection Model.

Plasmid-borne colistin resistance mediated by is a growing problem, which poses a serious challenge to the clinical application of colistin for Gram-negative bacterial infections. Drug combination is one of the effective strategies to treat colistin-resistant bacteria. Here, we found a guanidine compound, namely, isopropoxy benzene guanidine (IBG), which boosted the efficacy of colistin against -positive .

TRIM31 facilitates K27-linked polyubiquitination of SYK to regulate antifungal immunity.

Spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase, which plays an essential role in both innate and adaptive immunity. However, the key molecular mechanisms that regulate SYK activity are poorly understood. Here we identified the E3 ligase TRIM31 as a crucial regulator of SYK activation.

[Analysis of ACAT1 gene variants in a patient with β-ketothiolase deficiency].

Objective: To explore the genetic etiology of a child suspected for β-ketothiolase deficiency by neonatal screening.

Methods: All coding exons and flanking sequences of the ACAT1 gene were subjected to targeted capture and high-throughput sequencing. Suspected variants were verified by Sanger sequencing and bioinformatic analysis.

Circ_0000396 inhibits rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblast growth and inflammatory response via miR-203/HBP1 axis.

Background: Circ_0000396 was found to be down-regulated in the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and had a high diagnostic value. However, the function and mechanisms underlying circ_0000396 in RA progression remain unclear.

Methods: The expression of circ_0000396, microRNA (miR)-203 and HMG-box transcription factor 1 (HBP1) was detected using qRT-PCR and western blot.

OTUD5 promotes innate antiviral and antitumor immunity through deubiquitinating and stabilizing STING.

Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is an adaptor protein that is critical for effective innate antiviral and antitumor immunity. The activity of STING is heavily regulated by protein ubiquitination, which is fine-tuned by both E3 ubiquitin ligases and deubiquitinases. Here, we report that the deubiquitinase OTUD5 interacts with STING, cleaves its K48-linked polyubiquitin chains, and promotes its stability.

Rhodojaponin II inhibits TNF-α-induced inflammatory cytokine secretion in MH7A human rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes.

Rhodojaponin II (R-II) has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory activity. Herein, we aimed to explore the effect of R-II on tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-induced inflammation in MH7A rheumatoid arthritis (RA) fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs). We found that R-II treatment at high concentration suppressed the viability of MH7A cells.

Protocatechuic acid inhibits proliferation, migration and inflammatory response in rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic joint inflammatory disease that is closely associated with dysregulation of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs). Protocatechuic acid (PCA), a phenolic compound of anthocyanins, has been proven to possess anti-inflammatory activity. However, the role of PCA in RA has not been investigated.

Cutting Edge: USP27X Deubiquitinates and Stabilizes the DNA Sensor cGAS to Regulate Cytosolic DNA-Mediated Signaling.

Cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS), a cytosolic DNA sensor, catalyzes the formation of the second messenger 2'3'-cGAMP that binds to STING and triggers the type I IFN signaling. Activation of cGAS can be modulated by several protein posttranslational modifications, including ubiquitination. However, the cGAS activation regulated by protein deubiquitination remains poorly understood.