The role of irregular eating behaviors in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: evidence from a multicenter cross-sectional study in China.

Background: Irregular eating patterns, such as skipping breakfast and late dinner consumption, have been linked to adverse metabolic profiles. However, the impact of these behaviors or their combined effect on metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) remains unclear.

Methods: In this multicenter cross-sectional study, we analyzed data from 1965 adults recruited from diabetes, obesity, and metabolic disease clinics in six municipalities/provinces in China.

Red cell distribution width to albumin ratio (RAR) as a prognostic marker for mortality in critical care patients: a large-scale retrospective cohort study.

Background: Prognosis of critically ill patients is strongly correlated with nutritional and inflammatory states. This study aimed to evaluate the potential of the red cell distribution width to albumin ratio (RAR) as a mortality predictor in ICU patients, focusing on its prognostic value in diverse patient subgroups.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, 24,568 adult ICU patients were analyzed.

Fatty acid binding proteins-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction in the development of age-related diseases: A review.

Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) act as lipid chaperones and play a role in the pathological processes of various lipid signaling pathways. Mitochondria are crucial for the regulation of lipid metabolism. As an aging marker, lipid-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction has been observed in the etiology of numerous diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, metabolic syndromes, cardiovascular diseases, and tumorigenesis.

Innate immune sensing of rotavirus by intestinal epithelial cells leads to diarrhea.

Diarrhea is the predominant symptom of acute gastroenteritis resulting from enteric infections and a leading cause of death in infants and young children. However, the role of the host response in diarrhea pathogenesis is unclear. Using rotavirus and neonatal mice as a model, we found that oral inoculation of UV-inactivated replication-defective rotavirus consistently induced watery diarrhea by robust activation of cytosolic double-stranded RNA sensing pathways and type III interferon (IFN-λ) secretion.

Neutrophil-derived PAD4 induces citrullination of CKMT1 exacerbates mucosal inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease.

Peptidyl arginine deiminase 4 (PAD4) plays a pivotal role in infection and inflammatory diseases by facilitating the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). However, the substrates of PAD4 and its exact role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remain unclear. In this study, we employed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and substrate citrullination mapping to decipher the role of PAD4 in intestinal inflammation associated with IBD.

DHX9 maintains epithelial homeostasis by restraining R-loop-mediated genomic instability in intestinal stem cells.

Epithelial barrier dysfunction and crypt destruction are hallmarks of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Intestinal stem cells (ISCs) residing in the crypts play a crucial role in the continuous self-renewal and rapid recovery of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs). However, how ISCs are dysregulated in IBD remains poorly understood.

Research progress of Ustekinumab in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, recurrent gastrointestinal disorder with elusive etiology. Interleukin-12 (IL-12) and IL-23 have emerged as key proinflammatory mediators/cytokines in IBD pathogenesis. Ustekinumab (UST), targeting IL-12 and IL-23, has demonstrated promising efficacy and safety in the treatment of IBD.

Ligustilide enhances pregnancy outcomes via improvement of endometrial receptivity and promotion of endometrial angiogenesis in rats.

Ligustilide (LIG) is the main active ingredient of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, which could promote focal angiogenesis to exert neuroprotection. However, there was no report that verified the exact effects of LIG on endometrial angiogenesis and the pregnancy outcomes.

β-Galactosidase-Activatable Fluorescent and Photoacoustic Imaging of Tumor Senescence.

β-Galactosidase (β-gal) is the gold standard marker of cellular senescence, which is linked with various age-related diseases. Therefore, it is essential to develop more excellent probes that can real-time monitor β-gal activity in cellular senescence . Fluorescent/photoacoustic (FL/PA) dual-modal imaging possesses excellent sensitivity and spatial resolution.

Nucleic DHX9 cooperates with STAT1 to transcribe interferon-stimulated genes.

RNA helicase DHX9 has been extensively characterized as a transcriptional regulator, which is consistent with its mostly nucleic localization. It is also involved in recognizing RNA viruses in the cytoplasm. However, there is no in vivo data to support the antiviral role of DHX9; meanwhile, as a nuclear protein, if and how nucleic DHX9 promotes antiviral immunity remains largely unknown.

Intracellular Formation of Hemicyanine Nanoparticle Enhances Tumor-Targeting Photoacoustic Imaging and Photothermal Therapy.

Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is a tumor marker for early diagnosis and treatment. Tumor targeting can recognize and fight tumor cells more accurately from healthy cells. Glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) is a targeting ligand of liver tumors.

High resolution intravital photoacoustic microscopy reveals VEGF-induced bone regeneration in mouse tibia.

Osteogenesis and angiogenesis are essential for bone homeostasis and repair. Newly formed vessels convey osteogenic progenitors during bone regeneration. However, the lack of continuous and label-free visualization of the bone microvasculature has resulted in little understanding of the neovascular dynamics.

Caspase-1-responsive fluorescence biosensors for monitoring endogenous inflammasome activation.

The activation of inflammasome leads to secretion of inflammatory factors and cell pyroptosis that are critical in the pathogenesis of various chronic and acute inflammatory diseases. Recruitment and activation of caspase-1 is a marker of inflammasome activation. However, there is still lack of real-time and efficient methods to detect the activation of inflammasome, especially in vivo.

Sequential self-assembly and disassembly of curcumin hydrogel effectively alleviates inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic and relapsing inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract with unclear etiology and insufficient therapeutic efficacy. The development of specific, effective and safe IBD treatment drugs is of great clinical significance. Curcumin (Cur) is a good candidate to prevent and manage inflammatory diseases (such as IBD) due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects with safety profile.

Establishment and Validation of a Predictive Model for Long-Term Severe Functional Tricuspid Regurgitation after Mitral Valve Replacement.

Background: The objective was to develop and validate an individualized nomogram to predict severe functional tricuspid regurgitation (S-FTR) after mitral valve replacement (MVR) via retrospective analysis of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) patients’ pre-clinical characteristics.

Methods: Between 2001-2015, 442 MVR patients of RHD were examined. Transthoracic echocardiography detected S-FTR, and logistic regression model analyzed its independent predictors.

Combined insertion of basic and non-basic amino acids at hemagglutinin cleavage site of highly pathogenic H7N9 virus promotes replication and pathogenicity in chickens and mice.

Since mid-2016, the low pathogenic H7N9 influenza virus has evolved into a highly pathogenic (HP) phenotype in China, raising many concerns about public health and poultry industry. The insertion of a "KRTA" motif at hemagglutinin cleavage site (HACS) occurred in the early stage of HP H7N9 variants. During the co-circulation, the HACS of HP-H7N9 variants were more polymorphic in birds and humans.

Effects of multi-factors on the spatiotemporal variations of deep confined groundwater in coal mining regions, North China.

Natural processes and anthropogenic activities simultaneously control the long-term spatial and temporal variations of groundwater hydrogeochemistry in coalfields. In this study, the spatiotemporal variations and primary controlling factors of deep groundwater hydrogeochemistry in the Carboniferous limestone aquifer of the Huaibei coalfield, North China were investigated using cluster analysis combined with geological conditions, water-rock interactions and mining activities. The analysis data of 176 groundwater samples collected over five years from 20 monitoring wells were subdivided into six clusters through hierarchical cluster analysis.

Tollip Orchestrates Macrophage Polarization to Alleviate Intestinal Mucosal Inflammation.

Background And Aims: Regulation of macrophage polarization is a promising strategy for treating inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]. Tollip is an important negative regulator of Toll-like receptor [TLR]-mediated innate immunity with downregulated expression in the colon tissues of patients with IBD. This study aimed to regulate the expression of Tollip to affect macrophage polarization.

m6A modifications regulate intestinal immunity and rotavirus infection.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is an abundant mRNA modification and affects many biological processes. However, how m6A levels are regulated during physiological or pathological processes such as virus infections, and the in vivo function of m6A in the intestinal immune defense against virus infections are largely unknown. Here, we uncover a novel antiviral function of m6A modification during rotavirus (RV) infection in small bowel intestinal epithelial cells (IECs).

Multi-isotopes and hydrochemistry combined to reveal the major factors affecting Carboniferous groundwater evolution in the Huaibei coalfield, North China.

Both natural processes and anthropogenic activities have significant effects on groundwater evolution in coal mining regions. In this study, the primary controlling mechanism of the groundwater chemistry evolution for the Carboniferous groundwater in the Huaibei coalfield, North China was proposed based on the hydrogeochemical indicators combining with multiple isotope tracers. The diversity of hydrochemical types indicates the complexity of the hydrogeochemical environment in the groundwater, which is recharged by precipitation infiltration with minimal evaporation according to the distributions of δD and δO.

Cathepsin B-Activated Fluorescent and Photoacoustic Imaging of Tumor.

Early diagnosis is crucial to the treatment of cancer. Cathepsin B (CTB) plays an important role in numerous cancers, which is a promising biomarker for early diagnosis of cancer. It is necessary to exploit new probes for visualization of CTB .

The PB2 co-adaptation of H10N8 avian influenza virus increases the pathogenicity to chickens and mice.

Avian influenza (AI) is an important zoonotic disease, which can be transmitted across species barriers to other hosts, especially humans, posing a serious threat to the poultry industry and public health. In recent years, human cases infected with the H10N8, H9N2, and H7N9 of avian influenza viruses (AIVs) have been identified frequently as have the internal genes of H7N9 and H10N8, which are derived from H9N2 viruses. The adaptive mutation of the PB2 gene is an important way for the H10N8, H9N2, and H7N9 AIVs to spread across species to adapt to new hosts.