Early alpha power in the frontal lobe area can predict delirium after cardiac surgery.

Background: Delirium is a common postoperative complication in patients undergoing cardiac surgery and is associated with prolonged hospitalization and persistent cognitive impairment. This study aimed to assess the predictive value of alpha power in various brain regions at different time points for postoperative delirium.

Methods: Patients scheduled for routine cardiac surgery were prospectively enrolled.

Two undescribed constituents from (Turcz.) Baill. and evaluation of their anti-oxidant activity.

Phytochemical investigation of (Turcz.) Baill. stems and leaves yielded two new descending triterpenes, pre-schisanyyqxin A () and pre-schisanyyqxin B (), along with six known congeners (-).

EGFR-TKIs Induced DPP4 Drives Metabolic Reprogramming of Persister Cells in Lung Cancer.

Mutations in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) are the key drivers of lung cancer initiation and recurrence. The cancer cells undergo transformation to a reversible drug-tolerant persister (DTP) state prior to the development of resistance against EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Two DTP lung cancer cells with different proliferative capacities are established and identified dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) as a potential therapeutic target.

DYRK1A-TGF-β signaling axis determines sensitivity to OXPHOS inhibition in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Intervening in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) has emerged as a potential therapeutic strategy for certain types of cancers. Employing kinome-based CRISPR screen, we find that knockout of dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A) synergizes with OXPHOS inhibitor IACS-010759 in liver cancer cells. Targeting DYRK1A combined with OXPHOS inhibitors activates TGF-β signaling, which is crucial for OXPHOS-inhibition-triggered cell death.

Targeting the immune privilege of tumor-initiating cells to enhance cancer immunotherapy.

Tumor-initiating cells (TICs) possess the ability to evade anti-tumor immunity, potentially explaining many failures of cancer immunotherapy. Here, we identify CD49f as a prominent marker for discerning TICs in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), outperforming other commonly used TIC markers. CD49f-high TICs specifically recruit tumor-promoting neutrophils via the CXCL2-CXCR2 axis and create an immunosuppressive milieu in the tumor microenvironment (TME).

Durable Organic Coating-Free Superhydrophobic Metal Surface by Paracrystalline State Formation.

The chemical instability of traditional organically-decorated superhydrophobic metal surfaces is a significant issue, severely limiting practical applications. This is due to the susceptibility of low surface energy coatings to ion permeation, decomposition, and exfoliation, especially in harsh environments. Here, organic coating-free, durable superhydrophobic surfaces on Al alloys by developing the paracrystalline state of a bionic anthill tribe structure is successfully achieved, using femtosecond laser element-doping microstructuring followed by repetitive annealing processes.

Optimized Design of Material Preparation for Cotton Linters-Based Carbon Black Dispersion Stabilizers Based on Response Surface Methodology.

Carbon black particles possess dimensions on the nanometer or sub-nanometer scale. When utilized, these particles have a tendency to aggregate, which compromises their stability under storage conditions. To address this issue, a dispersant was prepared using cotton short fibers as raw materials through etherification and graft polymerization with acrylamide (AM) and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid (AMPS) as raw materials.

One-dimensional GaO-AlO nanofibers with unsaturated coordination Ga: Catalytic dehydrogenation of propane under CO atmosphere with excellent stability.

The pressing demand for propylene has spurred intensive research on the catalytic dehydrogenation of propane to produce propylene. Gallium-based catalysts are regarded as highly promising due to their exceptional dehydrogenation activity in the presence of CO. However, the inherent coking issue associated with high temperature reactions poses a constraint on the stability development of this process.

Neutrophil profiling illuminates anti-tumor antigen-presenting potency.

Neutrophils, the most abundant and efficient defenders against pathogens, exert opposing functions across cancer types. However, given their short half-life, it remains challenging to explore how neutrophils adopt specific fates in cancer. Here, we generated and integrated single-cell neutrophil transcriptomes from 17 cancer types (225 samples from 143 patients).

Precision treatment in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

The past decade has witnessed significant advances in the systemic treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Nevertheless, the newly developed treatment strategies have not achieved universal success and HCC patients frequently exhibit therapeutic resistance to these therapies. Precision treatment represents a paradigm shift in cancer treatment in recent years.

Dual Inhibition of CDK4/6 and XPO1 Induces Senescence With Acquired Vulnerability to CRBN-Based PROTAC Drugs.

Background & Aims: Despite the increasing number of treatment options available for liver cancer, only a small proportion of patients achieve long-term clinical benefits. Here, we aim to develop new therapeutic approaches for liver cancer.

Methods: A compound screen was conducted to identify inhibitors that could synergistically induce senescence when combined with cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitor.

Berry curvature dipole generation and helicity-to-spin conversion at symmetry-mismatched heterointerfaces.

The Berry curvature dipole (BCD) is a key parameter that describes the geometric nature of energy bands in solids. It defines the dipole-like distribution of Berry curvature in the band structure and plays a key role in emergent nonlinear phenomena. The theoretical rationale is that the BCD can be generated at certain symmetry-mismatched van der Waals heterointerfaces even though each material has no BCD in its band structure.

Overcoming AZD9291 Resistance and Metastasis of NSCLC via Ferroptosis and Multitarget Interference by Nanocatalytic Sensitizer Plus AHP-DRI-12.

The acquired resistance to Osimertinib (AZD9291) greatly limits the clinical benefit of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), whereas AZD9291-resistant NSCLCs are prone to metastasis. It's challenging to overcome AZD9291 resistance and suppress metastasis of NSCLC simultaneously. Here, a nanocatalytic sensitizer (VF/S/A@CaP) is proposed to deliver Vitamin c (Vc)-Fe(II), si-OTUB2, ASO-MALAT1, resulting in efficient inhibition of tumor growth and metastasis of NSCLC by synergizing with AHP-DRI-12, an anti-hematogenous metastasis inhibitor by blocking the amyloid precursor protein (APP)/death receptor 6 (DR6) interaction designed by our lab.

Programmed prodrug breaking the feedback regulation of P-selectin in plaque inflammation for atherosclerotic therapy.

Inflammation is the main driver of the aggravation of arteriosclerosis, and the complex inflammatory response in plaque is usually the result of the interaction of various cells and cytokines. Therefore, it is difficult to comprehensively regulate the inflammatory process of arteriosclerosis by intervening a single target, resulting in the poor effect of existing treatment method. Based on our clinical findings that P-selectin stably and highly expressed in patients' plaque endothelial cells, the programmed prodrug, low molecular weight heparin-indomethacin nanoparticles (LI NPs), were established as anti-inflammatory agent to multiphase inhibit arteriosclerosis by cascade interference of P-selectin.

Nano-ultrasonic Contrast Agent for Chemoimmunotherapy of Breast Cancer by Immune Metabolism Reprogramming and Tumor Autophagy.

The functional status of innate immune cells is a considerable determinant of effective antitumor immune response. However, the triple-negative breast cancer tumor microenvironment with high lactic acid metabolism and high antioxidant levels limits immune cell survival, differentiation, and function. Here, we determine that the tumor microenvironment-responsive nano-ultrasonic contrast agent Pt(IV)/CQ/PFH NPs-PPA-1 boosts the ratio of mature dendritic cells (mDCs) and proinflammatory macrophages by reprogramming the metabolism of immature DCs (iDCs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs).

Immune/Hypoxic Tumor Microenvironment Regulation-Enhanced Photodynamic Treatment Realized by pH-Responsive Phase Transition-Targeting Nanobubbles.

Due to a special pathological type of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and the lack of expression of the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her 2), targeted therapies are not effective. The lack of effective treatment drugs and insensitivity to the current single-treatment methods are the biggest problems that we face with the TNBC treatment. Therefore, new strategies to achieve selective treatment and further visual efficacy evaluation will be powerful tools against TNBC.

Multi-Arm PEG/Peptidomimetic Conjugate Inhibitors of DR6/APP Interaction Block Hematogenous Tumor Cell Extravasation.

The binding of amyloid precursor protein (APP) expressed on tumor cells to death receptor 6 (DR6) could initiate the necroptosis pathway, which leads to necroptotic cell death of vascular endothelial cells (ECs) and results in tumor cells (TCs) extravasation and metastasis. This study reports the first inhibitor of DR6/APP interaction as a novel class of anti-hematogenous metastatic agent. By rationally utilizing three combined strategies including selection based on phage display library, d-retro-inverso modification, and multiple conjugation of screened peptidomimetic with 4-arm PEG, the polymer-peptidomimetic conjugate PEG-tAHP-DRI (tetra-(D-retro-inverso isomer of AHP-12) substitued 4-arm PEG ) is obtained as the most promising agent with the strongest binding potency (K  = 51.

Sequential Release of Pooled siRNAs and Paclitaxel by Aptamer-Functionalized Shell-Core Nanoparticles to Overcome Paclitaxel Resistance of Prostate Cancer.

Paclitaxel (PTX) is a first-line chemotherapeutic agent to treat prostate cancer (PCa), but a large number of patients acquired drug resistance after short-term treatment. To develop combinational therapeutics to overcome PTX-resistant PCa, we established PTX-resistant LNCaP (LNCaP/PTX) cells and found that the LNCaP/PTX cells exhibited epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and enhanced metastasis during the selection process. We revealed that β-tubulin III, androgen receptor, and CXCR4 expressions were significantly increased in LNCaP/PTX cells and directly contributed to PTX resistance and EMT.

Bi@Sn Core-Shell Structure with Compressive Strain Boosts the Electroreduction of CO into Formic Acid.

As a profitable product from CO electroreduction, HCOOH holds economic viability only when the selectivity is higher than 90% with current density () over -200.0 mA cm. Herein, Bi@Sn core-shell nanoparticles (Bi core and Sn shell, denoted as Bi@Sn NPs) are developed to boost the activity and selectivity of CO electroreduction into HCOOH.

Multifunctional tumor-targeted PLGA nanoparticles delivering Pt(IV)/siBIRC5 for US/MRI imaging and overcoming ovarian cancer resistance.

Cisplatin (Pt(II)) resistance is an important factor in the high mortality rates of ovarian cancer. Herein, we synthesized multifunctional tumor-targeted poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs-cRGD) for monitoring therapeutic effects by dual-mode imaging and overcoming cisplatin resistance. Uniformly sized NPs-cRGD demonstrated controlled and sustained release of drugs and genes, excellent gene loading and gene protection capacity, good storage stability and no serum-induced aggregation in vitro.

CDCP1-targeted nanoparticles encapsulating phase-shift perfluorohexan for molecular US imaging in vitro.

Background: Molecular targeted contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) imaging is a potential imaging strategy to improve the diagnostic accuracy of conventional ultrasound (US) imaging. US contrast agents are usually micrometer-sized and non-target gas bubbles while nano-sized and targeted agents containing phase-shift materials absorb more attractions for their size and the liquid core and excellent molecular imaging effect.

Methods: PLGA12k-mPEG2k-NH2, DSPE-mPEG2k and perfluorohexan (PFH) were used to construct a new targeted ultrasound contrast agent with CUB domain-containing protein 1 (CDCP1) receptor for the detection and diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Boost Selectivity of HCOO Using Anchored Bi Single Atoms towards CO Reduction.

Single atoms have been widely applied as efficient catalysts in various catalytic systems due to its high selectivity for certain products, which is induced by a uniform coordinate environment of active sites. Herein, it is demonstrated that Bi single atoms anchored on carbon black (Bi SAs/C) can serve as an efficient catalyst for CO electroreduction into formate (HCOO ). During CO electroreduction, Bi SAs/C achieved a faradaic efficiency for HCOO of 83.

Impact of coronary total occlusion on graft failure and outcomes of coronary artery bypass grafting.

Objective: The study objective was to assess the impact of chronic total occlusion on long-term graft failure and outcomes in patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting.

Methods: We conducted an observational study involving a single-center subgroup of the CORONARY trial. At 6 to 9 years after coronary artery bypass grafting, all alive patients were invited for coronary computed tomography angiography and clinical follow-up.

Up-Regulation of GABAergic Signal Events in Bone Marrow Lymphocytes in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is involved in the proliferation, differentiation, and migration of several cell types including cancer cells. Whether GABA may be involved with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is unclear. Therefore, the goal of this report was to examine if GABAergic signaling expression is altered in bone marrow lymphocytes of ALL children.