Insulin resistance in school-age children: comparison surrogate diagnostic markers.

Background: This study aimed to identify surrogate markers suitable for evaluating insulin resistance in children and adolescents with overweight and obesity.

Methods: Forty-nine reported surrogate markers of insulin resistance were selected, including 14 insulin-based markers and 35 non-insulin-based markers. The markers were analyzed in 800 children aged 7-12 years.

Nitro-oleic acid activation of endothelial PPARγ signaling pathway alleviates neurovascular injury and improves functional outcomes in ischemic stroke.

Nitro-oleic acid (OA-NO) is an endogenous peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) ligand and can activate this receptor under both physiological and pathological conditions. In this study, we explore the role and molecular mechanisms of OA-NO in maintaining blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity and enhancing neurovascular function during ischemic stroke, with a particular emphasis on the activation of endothelial PPARγ signaling pathways. Endothelial cell-selective PPARγ conditional knockout (EC-PPARγ cKO) and wild-type (WT) mice underwent 1 h middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) with 1-7 days of reperfusion.

Genetic deletion of microRNA-15a/16-1 in pericytes stimulates cerebral angiogenesis and promotes functional recovery after ischemic stroke.

Stroke is a leading cause of mortality and disability globally. Despite advancements in acute stroke therapies, patient outcomes with ischemic stroke remain suboptimal. Understanding its molecular mechanisms is crucial for developing effective treatments.

Sex and Age-Dependent Effects of miR-15a/16-1 Antagomir on Ischemic Stroke Outcomes.

Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of disability and mortality worldwide. Recently, increasing evidence implicates microRNAs (miRs) in the pathophysiology of ischemic stroke. Studies have shown that miR-15a/16-1 is abnormally expressed in brains after ischemic stroke, and its upregulation may increase ischemic damage.

Loss of microRNA-15a/16-1 function promotes neuropathological and functional recovery in experimental traumatic brain injury.

The diffuse axonal damage in white matter and neuronal loss, along with excessive neuroinflammation, hinder long-term functional recovery after traumatic brain injury (TBI). MicroRNAs (miRs) are small noncoding RNAs that negatively regulate protein-coding target genes in a posttranscriptional manner. Recent studies have shown that loss of function of the miR-15a/16-1 cluster reduced neurovascular damage and improved functional recovery in ischemic stroke and vascular dementia.

La-doped Porous FeO Nanorods as Advanced Anodes for Lithium/Sodium Ion Batteries and Sulfur Host for Li-Sulfur Batteries.

Transition metal oxides are investigated as electrochemically active anodes for several years due to the merits of high specific capacity, low cost, abundant resources and controllable synthesis. But the poor cycle performances have hindered their further wide application. Herein, porous La-doped FeOOH nanorods have been synthesized through a facile hydrothermal method, which could be transformed into porous La-doped FeO (FeO-La) via a simple heating process.

Role of regulatory non-coding RNAs in traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a potentially fatal health event that cannot be predicted in advance. After TBI occurs, it can have enduring consequences within both familial and social spheres. Yet, despite extensive efforts to improve medical interventions and tailor healthcare services, TBI still remains a major contributor to global disability and mortality rates.

CD8 T cell-mediated depletion of HBV surface-antigen-expressing, bilineal-differentiated liver carcinoma cells generates highly aggressive escape variants.

The expression of viral antigens in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection drives continuous liver inflammation, one of the main risk factors to develop liver cancer. HBV developed immune-suppressive functions to escape from the host immune system, but their link to liver tumor development is not well understood. Here, we analyzed if and how HBV surface antigen (HBs) expression in combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC/iCCA) cells influences their antigenicity for CD8 T cells.

Novel Carbazole-Based Porous Organic Polymer for Efficient Iodine Capture and Rhodamine B Adsorption.

A new porous organic polymer (CTF-CAR), which takes carbazole as the electron-rich center unit and thiophenes as the auxiliary group, has been synthesized through catalyst-free Schiff-base polymerization. At the same time, the structure, thermal stability, morphology, and other basic properties of the polymer were analyzed by IR, NMR, TGA, and SEM. Then, CTF-CAR was applied to iodine capture and rhodamine B adsorption.

Influences of Separator Thickness and Surface Coating on Lithium Dendrite Growth: A Phase-Field Study.

Li dendrite growth, which causes potential internal short circuit and reduces battery cycle life, is the main hazard to lithium metal batteries. Separators have the potential to suppress dendrite growth by regulating Li distribution without increasing battery weight significantly. However, the underlying mechanism is still not fully understood.

Insulin resistance in school-aged girls with overweight and obesity is strongly associated with elevated white blood cell count and absolute neutrophil count.

Background: The primary objective of the study was to discuss the sex differences in insulin resistance-induced changes in metabolic and inflammatory markers in school-aged children with overweight and obesity.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of 800 children aged seven and twelve years was performed. Questionnaires, anthropometric data and fasting blood samples were collected.

Structural insights into ligand recognition and selectivity of somatostatin receptors.

Somatostatin receptors (SSTRs) play versatile roles in inhibiting the secretion of multiple hormones such as growth hormone and thyroid-stimulating hormone, and thus are considered as targets for treating multiple tumors. Despite great progress made in therapeutic development against this diverse receptor family, drugs that target SSTRs still show limited efficacy with preferential binding affinity and conspicuous side-effects. Here, we report five structures of SSTR2 and SSTR4 in different states, including two crystal structures of SSTR2 in complex with a selective peptide antagonist and a non-peptide agonist, respectively, a cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of G-bound SSTR2 in the presence of the endogenous ligand SST-14, as well as two cryo-EM structures of G-bound SSTR4 in complex with SST-14 and a small-molecule agonist J-2156, respectively.

Structural basis of tethered agonism of the adhesion GPCRs ADGRD1 and ADGRF1.

Adhesion G protein-coupled receptors (aGPCRs) are essential for a variety of physiological processes such as immune responses, organ development, cellular communication, proliferation and homeostasis. An intrinsic manner of activation that involves a tethered agonist in the N-terminal region of the receptor has been proposed for the aGPCRs, but its molecular mechanism remains elusive. Here we report the G protein-bound structures of ADGRD1 and ADGRF1, which exhibit many unique features with regard to the tethered agonism.

A molybdenum oxide-based degradable nanosheet for combined chemo-photothermal therapy to improve tumor immunosuppression and suppress distant tumors and lung metastases.

Molybdenum oxide (MoOx) nanosheets have drawn increasing attention for minimally invasive cancer treatments but still face great challenges, including complex modifications and the lack of efficient accumulation in tumor. In this work, a novel multifunctional degradable FA-BSA-PEG/MoOx nanosheet was fabricated (LA-PEG and FA-BSA dual modified MoOx): the synergistic effect of PEG and BSA endows the nanosheet with excellent stability and compatibility; the FA, a targeting ligand, facilitates the accumulation of nanosheets in the tumor. In addition, DTX, a model drug for breast cancer treatment, was loaded (76.

Sex-Specific Differences in Related Indicators of Blood Pressure in School-Age Children With Overweight and Obesity: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The objective of this study is to further explore the difference between elevated blood pressure (EBP), elevated pulse pressure (EPP), and elevated mean arterial pressure (EMAP) and obesity in Chinese school-age children by sex. We performed a cross-sectional study of 935 children between 7 and 12 years old. Overweight and obesity were defined by body mass index and body composition.

RVG-functionalized reduction sensitive micelles for the effective accumulation of doxorubicin in brain.

Background: Glioblastoma is a lethal neoplasm with few effective therapy options. As a mainstay in the current treatment of glioma at present, chemotherapeutic agents usually show inadequate therapeutic efficiency due to their low blood brain barrier traversal and brain targeting, together with tumor multidrug resistance. Novel treatment strategies are thus urgently needed to improve chemotherapy outcomes.

Nanotechnology for Boosting Cancer Immunotherapy and Remodeling Tumor Microenvironment: The Horizons in Cancer Treatment.

Immunotherapy that harnesses the human immune system to fight cancer has received widespread attention and become a mainstream strategy for cancer treatment. Cancer immunotherapy not only eliminates primary tumors but also treats metastasis and recurrence, representing a major advantage over traditional cancer treatments. Recently with the development of nanotechnology, there exists much work applying nanomaterials to cancer immunotherapy on the basis of their excellent physiochemical properties, such as efficient tissue-specific delivery function, huge specific surface area, and controllable surface chemistry.

Sex differences in changes in BMI and blood pressure in Chinese school-aged children during the COVID-19 quarantine.

There may be sex differences in BMI and blood pressure levels in school-age children, especially in the face of lifestyle changes. This study aimed to explore sex differences in changes in BMI and blood pressure in Chinese school-aged children during the COVID-19 quarantine. The cohort study of 445 school-aged children examined the change of BMI and blood pressure during the five-month quarantine.

A review of stimuli-responsive polymeric micelles for tumor-targeted delivery of curcumin.

Despite a potential drug with multiple pharmacological activities, curcumin has disadvantages of the poor water solubility, rapid metabolism, low bioavailability, which considerably limit its clinical application. Currently, polymeric micelles (PMs) have gained widespread concern due to their advantageous physical and chemical properties, easy preparation, and biocompatibility. They can be used to improve drug solubility, prolong blood circulation time, and allow passive targeted drug delivery to tumor through enhanced penetration and retention effect.

Oxygen-carrying nanoparticle-based chemo-sonodynamic therapy for tumor suppression and autoimmunity activation.

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) is a promising non-invasive approach for cancer therapy. However, tumor hypoxia, a pathological characteristic of most solid tumor types, poses a major challenge in the application of SDT. In this study, a novel CD44 receptor-targeted and redox/ultrasound-responsive oxygen-carrying nanoplatform was constructed using chondroitin sulfate (CS), reactive oxygen species (ROS)-generating sonosensitizer Rhein (Rh), and perfluorocarbon (PFC).

Chondroitin sulfate-based nanoparticles for enhanced chemo-photodynamic therapy overcoming multidrug resistance and lung metastasis of breast cancer.

As a major therapeutic approach for cancer treatment, the effectiveness of chemotherapy is challenged by multidrug resistance (MDR). Herein, we fabricated novel redox-responsive, chondroitin sulfate-based nanoparticles that could simultaneously deliver quercetin (chemosensitizer), chlorin e6 (photosensitizer) and paclitaxel (chemotherapeutic agent) to exert enhanced chemo-photodynamic therapy for overcoming MDR and lung metastasis of breast cancer. In vitro cell study showed that nanoparticles down-regulated the expression of P-glycolprotein (P-gp) on MCF-7/ADR cells and thereby improved the anticancer efficacy of PTX against MCF-7/ADR cells.

Research Progress in Bioinspired Drug Delivery Systems.

Introduction: To tackle challenges associated with traditional drug carriers, investigators have explored cells, cellular membrane, and macromolecular components including proteins and exosomes for the fabrication of delivery vehicles, owing to their excellent biocompatibility, lower toxicity, lower immunogenicity and similarities with the host. Biomacromolecule- and biomimetic nanoparticle (NP)-based drug/gene carriers are drawing immense attention, and biomimetic drug delivery systems (BDDSs) have been conceived and constructed.

Areas Covered: This review focuses on BDDS based on mammalian cells, including blood cells, cancer cells, adult stem cells, endogenous proteins, pathogens and extracellular vesicles (EVs).

Electrodeposition-Assisted Rapid Preparation of Pt Nanocluster/3D Graphene Hybrid Nanozymes with Outstanding Multiple Oxidase-Like Activity for Distinguishing Colorimetric Determination of Dihydroxybenzene Isomers.

Here, we demonstrate a facile bottom-up strategy to fabricate Pt nanoclusters (Pt NCs) grafted onto three-dimensional graphene foam (3D GF) assisted by cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) using the electrodeposition method. The homogeneous grafting of Pt NC onto 3D GF is due to the formation of hemimicelles above some CTAB concentration. With the unique nanocluster structure and the high content of Pt, the Pt NC/3D GF nanohybrid exhibits extremely high activity and shows higher reusability and stability.

Circumferential Shaving of the Cavity in Breast-Conserving Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: This randomized controlled trial aimed to investigate the effects of circumferential shaving on reducing the intraoperative margin positivity rate (MPR) during breast-conserving surgery (BCS).

Methods: Eligible breast cancer patients were randomly assigned into no-shave and shave groups. In the no-shave group, the cavity margins were collected for assessment after the tumor resection, whereas in the shave group, a circumferential shaving was performed before collecting the cavity margins.

Enteromorpha prolifera-derived FeC/C composite as advanced catalyst for hydroxyl radical generation and efficient removal for organic dye and antibiotic.

Enteromorpha prolifera-derived FeC/C composite has been fabricated through a facile one-step calcination method. As an advanced Fenton-like catalyst, the obtained FeC/C composite displayed high catalytic reactivity to generate hydroxyl radicals. It is worth to note that the removal rate of methylene blue (MB) could effectively reach 100% in a wide pH range (pH = 2˜12) and the maximum degradation capacity of the composite is 660 mg/g.