Directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into pancreatobiliary co-progenitor-like population.

Progress in uncovering the causes of extrahepatic biliary diseases and developing new therapies has been constrained by the inaccessibility of donor tissue and a lack of experimental models. Although hepatic, intrahepatic biliary, and pancreatic 2D/3D models have been successfully established from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), in vitro generation of extrahepatic biliary cells remains a major challenge, due to the absence of developmental cues. Here we report a de novo method for directed differentiation of human PSCs (both embryonic and induced) into pancreato-biliary progenitors-like cells (PBPLCs).

Mobile phone dependency and adolescent exercise participation: a CB-SEM and fsQCA study on the roles of self-control, time management, and health awareness.

Objective: The study examined how mobile phone dependency (MPD) is linked to adolescents' engagement in structured exercise and whether this association operates through three theoretically derived mechanisms-self-control (SC), time management (TM), and health awareness (HA). A complementary configurational analysis explored alternative combinations of these factors that lead to high or low exercise participation.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was administered to 1,404 Chinese students in Grades 5-9 (49.

Therapeutic potential of Desmodium styracifolium polysaccharide in attenuating nano-calcium oxalate induced renal injury and fibrosis.

Calcium salt deposition in the kidney induces epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in renal tubular epithelial cells, which is the pathological basis for the progression to renal fibrosis in patients with renal stones; however, effective drugs to prevent and treat this disease have not been adequately investigated. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of fibrosis-related core genes by utilizing bioinformatics on RNA-seq data, along with web database information. Additionally, we designed both in vivo and in vitro experiments to elucidate the mechanisms and signaling pathways through which Desmodium styracifolium polysaccharides (Ds) mitigate renal fibrosis induced by nephrolithiasis.

Clinical and epidemiological analysis of 893 patients with spinal tuberculosis: an 11-Year investigation of a general hospital in East China.

Background: The burden of spinal tuberculosis (STB) in China remains substantial, with the country ranking third in the number of tuberculosis cases globally in 2022, among the 30 countries with a high tuberculosis burden. In East China, few large-scale studies have been conducted on STB.

Methods: This retrospective study analyzed 893 confirmed STB cases (2010-2020).

Helicobacter hepaticus promotes hepatic steatosis through CdtB-induced mitochondrial stress and lipid metabolism reprogramming.

Host-pathogen interaction influences many non-infectious diseases, including metabolic diseases. Helicobacter hepaticus (H. hepaticus) has been found in some metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) patients, however, the causal link and underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

Placido Sub-Pixel Edge Detection Algorithm Based on Enhanced Mexican Hat Wavelet Transform and Improved Zernike Moments.

In order to meet the high-precision location requirements of the corneal Placido ring edge in corneal topographic reconstruction, this paper proposes a sub-pixel edge detection algorithm based on multi-scale and multi-position enhanced Mexican Hat Wavelet Transform and improved Zernike moment. Firstly, the image undergoes preliminary processing using a multi-scale and multi-position enhanced Mexican Hat Wavelet Transform function. Subsequently, the preliminary edge information extracted is relocated based on the Zernike moments of a 9 × 9 template.

Rhus chinensis Mill Derived Anti-Allergic Ingredients Screening Using MAS-Related G Protein-Coupled Receptor X2 Cell Membrane Chromatography.

Mas-related G-protein coupled receptor member X2 (MrgprX2) serves as a potential therapeutic target for pseudoallergic reactions. Cell membrane chromatography (CMC) is an efficient and reliable technique for screening active components from complex systems, which can be used to search for MrgprX2 antagonists in herbs. Therefore, we used a previously constructed MrgprX2-HALO-tag/CMC-HPLC-MS system specifically for identifying natural antagonists.

Thrombus length predicts outcome of middle cerebral artery occlusion: a high-resolution MRI study.

BackgroundHigh-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a feasible method for identifying and measuring luminal thrombosis in the occluded middle cerebral artery (MCA) of stroke patients.PurposeTo evaluate the relationship between thrombus length in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) and clinical prognosis in stroke patients using high-resolution MRI (T1-weighted [T1W]-CUBE).Material and MethodsIn this retrospective study, patients with MCA thrombi were identified via high-resolution MRI.

Subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation for cranial-cervical dystonia: optimal stimulation sites and networks.

Background And Objectives: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an effective treatment for medically refractory cranial-cervical dystonia (CCD or Meige syndrome). However, clinical responses vary substantially across individuals, likely due to differences in electrode placement and modulation of target neural circuits.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 51 patients with CCD treated with STN-DBS at a single center.

Artificial farnesol epoxidase enables a concise synthesis of meroterpenoids.

Efficient asymmetric epoxidation reactions have been developed for both the head end and tail end double bonds of farnesol, greatly facilitating the synthesis of terpenoid natural products. However, the lack of methods for direct asymmetric epoxidation of the relatively inert internal alkene of farnesol has posed major challenges in the synthesis of many terpenoids. In this study, we describe the engineering of an epoxidase capable of selectively epoxidizing the internal alkene of farnesol with high regioselectivity and enantioselectivity.

Stacking Order-Dependent Electronic and Optical Properties of h-BP/Borophosphene Van Der Waals Heterostructures.

Van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures, typically composed of two-dimensional (2D) atomic layers, have attracted significant attention over the past few decades. Their performance is closely dependent on their composition and interlayer interactions. In this study, we constructed four types of 2D hexagonal BP monolayer (h-BP)/borophosphene vdW heterostructures with different stacking orders: (i) B-B stacking, (ii) P-P stacking, (iii) moire-I, and (iv) moire-II.

Dynamic Beat-to-Beat Measurements of Blood Pressure Using Multimodal Physiological Signals and a Hybrid CNN-LSTM Model.

Wearable cuffless blood pressure (BP) technology is emerging as a critical tool for monitoring hypertension, the leading risk factor of most cardiovascular diseases. However, current cuffless BP methods are not accurate enough for clinical use, because they mainly use single or dual modalities/features as inputs for estimation. To address this challenge, we propose multimodal McBP-Net, built with hybrid CNN-LSTM architecture combing two-layer convolution operations with four-layer LSTMs to capture both local signal features and temporal dependencies for continuous dynamic beat-to-beat BP estimation.

METTL3-mediated m6A modification of ZIC2 promotes osteosarcoma development.

Background: Zic family member 2 (ZIC2) is closely associated with cancer development, however, its role in the progression of osteosarcoma (OS) remains unknown. This study aims to reveal the function of ZIC2 in OS cell tumor progression and the underlying mechanism.

Methods: This work performed quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction to detect mRNAlevels of ZIC2, retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA) and methyltransferase 3,N6-adenosine-methyltransferase complex catalytic subunit (METTL3),whereas protein level was detected by western blotting assay and immunohistochemistry assay.

Notch activation downregulates EZH2 to thereby attenuate endothelial cell proliferation and angiogenesis via MYC destabilization.

Aims: Angiogenesis, a tightly regulated process involving dynamic endothelial cell (EC) proliferation, is critical in both physiological and pathological contexts such as ocular neovascular disorders. While Notch signaling is known to regulate angiogenesis, its downstream molecular mechanisms remain incompletely understood.

Main Methods: Gene-modified mice with a Cdh5-Cre transgene were generated to block Notch signaling in ECs.

Sea buckthorn flavonoids and their derivatives: potential natural compounds for the treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is one of the most common complications of diabetes, characterized by high morbidity and disability rates, and can lead to heart failure. However, specific therapeutic agents for DCM are currently lacking. Natural compounds derived from traditional Chinese medicine have demonstrated potential in alleviating DCM through multiple mechanisms.

Physiological Reconstruction for Moderate-Severe Pelvic Organ Prolapse: A Multicenter Retrospective Self-Controlled Study.

Objective: This is a self-controlled multicenter retrospective study based on the clinical efficacy and complications of physiological reconstruction in the treatment of moderate and severe pelvic organ prolapse.

Methods: From December 2014 to August 2021, 517 women were included and registered for physiological reconstruction at four Chinese urogynecology institutions. We enrolled 364 women with POP-Q stage ≥ 3.

Risk Factors for Peripartum Cardiomyopathy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) refers to heart failure following the last month of gestation or within 5 months postpartum, which is a major cause of pregnancy-related death. However, the risk factors for PPCM remain unclear. Therefore, this meta-analysis aimed to identify the risk factors for PPCM.

SARS-CoV-2 ORF7a activates the endothelium to release von Willebrand factor that promotes thrombosis.

Background: Patients with severe and critical COVID-19 frequently exhibit thromboembolic complications, a significant cause of mortality and morbidity. Increased plasma levels of von Willebrand factor (VWF) following SARS-CoV-2 infection have been extensively reported, which links to thrombosis and increased mortality. However, the mechanism underlying SARS-CoV-2-associated thrombotic complications is not fully understood.

Recent advances in heteroatom-doped RuO electrocatalysts for efficient acidic oxygen evolution reaction.

Highly active and durable acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalyst is a vital component of cost-effective proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer. Rutile-phase RuO has inspired extensive attention as an acidic OER electrocatalyst due to its lower cost and similar activity compared to IrO. However, RuO often suffers from severe dissolution and even structural collapse at high potentials due to the irreversible overoxidation of Ru into soluble RuO species, resulting in a dramatic degradation of performance.

Prognostic Value of C-Reactive Protein-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Combined Immunotherapy and Chemotherapy for Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose: Inflammatory indexes are emerging as sensible prognostic factors for small cell lung cancer (SCLC). However, the prognostic value of dynamic C-reactive protein-to-lymphocyte ratio (CLR) in SCLC patients treated with chemoimmunotherapy remains unclear.

Patients And Methods: This retrospective study investigated 88 SCLC patients who underwent chemoimmunotherapy between January 1, 2020 and December 12 2022.

A Novel Injectable Composite Hydrogel HAp-GelMA Co-Doped Magnesium/Zinc Promotes Bone Generation and Angiogenesis Synergistically.

Bone is a crucial organ in the human body; however, conventional bone repair materials, such as autologous and allogeneic bone, are associated with challenges like limited availability and infection risks. Therefore, the development of novel biomaterials for bone repair is essential. This study employed a hydrothermal method to synthesize hydroxyapatite (HAp) doped with various elements and characterized its physicochemical properties.

Enrofloxacin drives the ultra-selective enrichment of Ca. Kuenenia stuttgartiensis under microaerobic conditions.

The acquisition of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria with a high relative abundance can serve as the basis for exploring their ecophysiological characteristics. Antibiotics are widely used in the selective enrichment of microorganisms, however, their feasibility for anammox bacteria and their metabolic response mechanisms in anammox bacteria remain to be elucidated. In this study, the anammox consortia (UB) was exposed to gradient concentrations (0.

Polarity-Tuned Lipid Droplet-Specific Probe for Heart Failure Imaging.

Heart failure (HF) is the ultimate development trend of most cardiovascular diseases, and a poor prognosis would result in serious consequences. Lately, the involvement of lipid droplets (LDs) in cardiovascular pathogenesis has garnered growing scientific recognition. Aberrant polarity alterations of LDs may destroy the balance of lipid metabolism, which is mechanistically linked to the occurrence and development of HF.

Population-specific brain charts reveal Chinese-Western differences in neurodevelopmental trajectories.

Human brain charts provide unprecedented opportunities for decoding neurodevelopmental milestones and establishing clinical benchmarks for precision brain medicine . However, current lifespan brain charts are primarily derived from European and North American cohorts, with Asian populations severely underrepresented. Here, we present the first population-specific brain charts for China, developed through the Chinese Lifespan Brain Mapping Consortium (Phase I) using neuroimaging data from 43,037 participants (aged 0-100 years) across 384 sites nationwide.

Theta-frequency subthalamic stimulation enhances conflict resolution in Parkinson's disease patients with freezing of gait through frontal cortex modulation.

Freezing of gait (FOG) in Parkinson's disease (PD) is a debilitating motor symptom linked to executive dysfunction, particularly impaired conflict resolution. However, the underlying neural mechanisms and optimal treatment remain unclear. We assessed conflict resolution using a modified Flanker task in 90 PD patients (52 with FOG) and 37 healthy controls.