The role of infraclavicular and supraclavicular lymph nodes in breast cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy: implications for regional lymph node classification.

Background: Metastasis to the infraclavicular and supraclavicular lymph nodes (ISLNs) is an important factor that predicts poor survival in patients with breast cancer; however, pathological nodal staging does not traditionally include ISLNs because of their non-routine surgical dissection. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic impact of ISLN metastasis and propose a refined nodal staging system tailored for patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC).

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 1,072 patients with breast cancer with or without ISLN metastasis who received NAC at two institutions (Fujian cohort and Hebei cohort) from 2010 to 2022.

Research progress of norcantharidin nanodrugs for tumor treatment.

Globally, cancer remains a major cause of death, and although a range of therapeutic options are available, conventional approaches often encounter significant limitations. Norcantharidin (NCTD), a small molecule with a wide range of biological properties, holds great promise in the field of antitumor therapy, but its poor solubility and short half-life limit its clinical application. However, combining drug nanotechnology with the anti-tumor effect of NCTD can significantly improve its bioavailability as well as stability and targeting.

Rethinking bone marrow biopsy: is PET/CT enough for staging low-grade follicular lymphomas?

This study evaluates the diagnostic performance of staging 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) for detecting bone marrow involvement (BMI) in low-grade follicular lymphoma (FL) and its impact on the clinical necessity of bone marrow biopsy (BMB). We retrospectively analyzed patients newly diagnosed with low-grade (grade 1-2) FL who underwent both F-FDG PET/CT and BMB from 2010 to 2022 at two Chinese institutions. PET/CT's diagnostic accuracy for BMI was assessed using BMB as gold standard.

Tolerance of Megabruchidius dorsalis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) at different developmental stages to short-term high temperature stress and its physiological response.

The seed beetle, Megabruchidius dorsalis (Fåhraeus), is an oligophagous pest that damages Gleditsia seeds, thereby severely reducing their yield and quality. To explore the tolerance of M. dorsalis to short-term high temperature stress, the effect of short-term exposure to high temperatures (28, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60 °C treated for 1, 2, and 3 h) on different developmental stages of M.

Phase II Trial of Hypofractionated Radiotherapy and Immunochemotherapy in Primary Refractory Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Preliminary Results and Insights from Digital Spatial Profiling.

This open-label, single-arm phase II study assessed the safety and efficacy of sequential hypofractionated radiotherapy (RT) followed by zimberelimab and R-GemOx (rituximab, gemcitabine, oxaliplatin) in patients with primary refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Fourteen patients were enrolled between June 2022 and December 2023, with 13 included in the analysis. RT doses of 36 and 24 Gy were delivered to the gross and target volumes in 12 fractions, followed by zimberelimab and R-GemOx.

Protein Immobilization Inspired Lysosomal Disruption for Efficient Nuclear Drug Delivery.

The high metabolism and excessive growth of tumor cells result in the development of a tumor microenvironment (TME) and enhanced lysosomal activity within the cells, which can eliminate chemotherapeutics. Consequently, the design of nanocarriers that respond to TME and target tumor cell lysosomes represents an optimal strategy to enhance drug specificity and utilization efficiency. Herein, inspired by protein immobilization, a dual-responsive supramolecular nanomedicine FPA/DOX is developed for specifically targeting the TME and tumor cell lysosomes.

Stimuli-responsive peptide-based nanodrug delivery systems for tumor therapy.

Compared to free chemotherapeutic drugs, nano-sized drug delivery systems exhibit enhanced therapeutic effects and reduced toxicity. Peptide-based drug delivery systems have garnered significant attention due to the advantageous properties of peptides, including their excellent biocompatibility, diverse side-chain functionalities, and ability to form stable secondary structures. Incorporating stimuli-responsive amino acid residues or specific responsive moieties within their side chains endows these peptide-based drug delivery systems with unique stimuli-responsive characteristics.

Integration of HDS and HSFA1 Functions in MEcPP-Mediated Thermotolerance and Growth Regulation in Physcomitrium patens.

Land plants evolved mechanisms to cope with terrestrial challenges. The methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway intermediate 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 2,4-cyclodiphosphate (MEcPP) plays a central role in chloroplast retrograde signalling (CRS) and stress responses in Arabidopsis. However, its regulation in nonvascular plants remains underexplored.

A novel risk stratification system for primary small-cell carcinoma of the esophagus: indication for prognostication and staging.

Background: Primary small cell carcinoma of the oesophagus (PSCCE) is a gastrointestinal tumour of rare onset. The current study was to investigate the role of a novel risk stratification system (RSS) for PSCCE.

Methods: The study included patients with PSCCE attending any of five medical institutions in China in 2008-2021, four of which served as a training set (n = 422) for construction of the RSS while the other served as a separate cohort (n = 256) for validation of the model.

NCAPH promotes glucose metabolism reprogramming and cell stemness in ovarian cancer cells through the MEK/ERK/PD-L1 pathway.

Backgrounds: Ovarian cancer is a prevalent malignant tumor that affects the female reproductive system with the characteristic of high heterogeneity. Non-structural maintenance of chromosomes condensin I complex subunit H (NCAPH) has been implicated in a variety of cancers.

Methods: The expression of NCAPH before and after transfection were assessed using RT-qPCR and western blot analysis.

Physically engineered extracellular vesicles targeted delivering miR-21-5p to promote renoprotection after renal ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) resulting from ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a common challenge in various clinical practices, yet effective therapies remain elusive. Endothelial injury plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of renal IRI. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) hold promise as cell-free therapies for treating renal IRI; however, their efficacy is limited by low delivery efficiency.

Integrated bioinformatics analysis to explore potential therapeutic targets and drugs for small cell carcinoma of the esophagus.

Background: Small cell carcinoma of the esophagus (SCCE) is a rare form of esophageal cancer, which also belongs to the category of neuroendocrine malignant tumors, with a low incidence but high aggressiveness, and a very poor prognosis for patients. Currently, there is a lack of unique staging and treatment guidelines for SCCE. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the therapeutic targets and the mechanisms underlying its occurrence and development is of great importance for early diagnosis, identification of potential therapeutic agents and improvement of the prognosis for patients.

Targeting HLA-E in Lung Cancer: The Therapeutic Potential of IRF5-Engineered M1-Macrophage-Derived Exosomes.

Immunotherapy is a pivotal approach in the treatment of lung cancer. Although HLA-E is a potential target for tumor immunotherapy, its role in lung cancer remains unclear. Previous studies have identified the transcription factor IRF5 as a characteristic gene of M1-like macrophages, highlighting its crucial role in promoting antitumor immune responses.

Remodeling Highly Fluorinated Electrolyte via Shielding Agent Regulation toward Practical Lithium Metal Batteries.

Highly fluorinated electrolytes have proved effective in improving electrochemical stability of lithium metal batteries. However, excessive fluorination not only detrimentally impacts the electrolyte ionic conductivity, but also inevitably forms the over-fluorinated interphases with sluggish ion diffusivity. Herein, a strategy on remodeling Li solvation structure in highly fluorinated electrolyte aided is proposed by fluorinated amide (FDMA), which denoted as "shielding agent".

Identification of a novel gene, Bryophyte Co-retained Gene 1, that has a positive role in desiccation tolerance in the moss Physcomitrium patens.

The moss Physcomitrium patens is a model system for the evolutionary study of land plants, and as such, it may contain as yet unannotated genes with functions related to the adaptation to water deficiency that was required during the water-to-land transition. In this study, we identified a novel gene, Bryophyte Co-retained Gene 1 (BCG1), in P. patens that is responsive to dehydration and rehydration.

Woody plant species richness and productivity relationship in a subtropical forest: The predominant role of common species.

A long-standing key issue for examining the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF), such as forest productivity, is whether ecosystem functions are influenced by the total number of species or the properties of a few key species. Compared with controlled ecosystem experiments, the BEF relationships in secondary forest remain unclear, as do the effects of common species richness and rare species richness on the variation in ecosystem functions. To address this issue, we conducted field surveys at five sampling sites (1 ha each) with subtropical secondary evergreen broad-leaved forest vegetation.

Charge Storage Properties of Ferrimagnetic BaFeO and Polypyrrole-BaFeO Composites.

This investigation is motivated by an interest in multiferroic BaFeO (BFO), which combines advanced ferrimagnetic and ferroelectric properties at room temperature and exhibits interesting magnetoelectric phenomena. The ferroelectric charge storage properties of BFO are limited due to high coercivity, low dielectric constant, and high dielectric losses. We report the pseudocapacitive behavior of BFO, which allows superior charge storage compared to the ferroelectric charge storage mechanism.

Burdock miR8175 in diet improves insulin resistance induced by obesity in mice through food absorption.

The incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) induced by obesity is rapidly increasing. Although there are many synthetic drugs for treating T2DM, they have various side effects. Here, we report that miR8175, a plant miRNA from burdock root, has effective antidiabetic activity.

Prevalence and associated factors for depressive symptoms among the general population from 31 provinces in China: The utility of social determinants of health theory.

Background: Depression is one of the most common types of mental disorders. Guided by the theory of social determinants of health (SDH), the study aimed to assess the prevalence of depressive symptoms and to identify factors related to depressive symptoms in the general population of China.

Methods: A cross-sectional, online survey was conducted among 101,392 residents from 31 provinces of mainland China from January to March 2019, and 97,126 survey responses were included in the final analysis.

Analysis of the factors influencing the water-energy-food system stress in China.

Water, energy and food security are at the heart of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Maintaining water-energy-food (WEF) system security is critical to sustainable socio-economic development. To clarify the trends in China's WEF system stress, this paper analyses the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of WEF system stress using panel data for 30 Chinese provinces from 2002 to 2020.

Hyaluronic Acid-Based Nanocarriers for Anticancer Drug Delivery.

Hyaluronic acid (HA), a main component of the extracellular matrix, is widely utilized to deliver anticancer drugs due to its biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, non-immunogenicity and numerous modification sites, such as carboxyl and hydroxyl groups. Moreover, HA serves as a natural ligand for tumor-targeted drug delivery systems, as it contains the endocytic HA receptor, CD44, which is overexpressed in many cancer cells. Therefore, HA-based nanocarriers have been developed to improve drug delivery efficiency and distinguish between healthy and cancerous tissues, resulting in reduced residual toxicity and off-target accumulation.