Androgen deprivation therapy plus abiraterone or docetaxel as neoadjuvant therapy for very-high-risk prostate cancer: a pooled analysis of two phase II trials.

The study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with abiraterone or docetaxel versus ADT alone as neoadjuvant therapy in patients with very-high-risk localized prostate cancer. This was a pooled analysis of two single-center, randomized, controlled, phase II clinical trials (: NCT04356430 and NCT04869371) conducted from December 2018 to March 2021. Eligible participants were randomly assigned to the intervention (ADT plus abiraterone or docetaxel) and control (ADT alone) groups at a 2:1 ratio.

Bromodomain-containing Protein 4 regulates innate inflammation via modulation of alternative splicing.

Introduction: Bromodomain-containing Protein 4 (BRD4) is a transcriptional regulator which coordinates gene expression programs controlling cancer biology, inflammation, and fibrosis. In the context of airway viral infection, BRD4-specific inhibitors (BRD4i) block the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines and prevent downstream epithelial plasticity. Although the chromatin modifying functions of BRD4 in inducible gene expression have been extensively investigated, its roles in post-transcriptional regulation are not well understood.

Asynchronous measurement-device-independent quantum key distribution with hybrid source.

The linear constraint of secret key rate capacity is overcome by the twin-field quantum key distribution (QKD). However, the complex phase-locking and phase-tracking technique requirements throttle the real-life applications of the twin-field protocol. The asynchronous measurement-device-independent (AMDI) QKD, also called the mode-pairing QKD, protocol can relax the technical requirements and keep the similar performance of the twin-field protocol.

Acetolysis of waste polyethylene terephthalate for upcycling and life-cycle assessment study.

To reduce environmental pollution and reliance on fossil resources, polyethylene terephthalate as the most consumed synthetic polyester needs to be recycled effectively. However, the existing recycling methods cannot process colored or blended polyethylene terephthalate materials for upcycling. Here we report a new efficient method for acetolysis of waste polyethylene terephthalate into terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol diacetate in acetic acid.

General Spatial Confinement Recrystallization Method for Rapid Preparation of Thickness-Controllable and Uniform Organic Semiconductor Single Crystals.

Organic semiconductor single crystals (OSSCs) are ideal materials for studying the intrinsic properties of organic semiconductors (OSCs) and constructing high-performance organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). However, there is no general method to rapidly prepare thickness-controllable and uniform single crystals for various OSCs. Here, inspired by the recrystallization (a spontaneous morphological instability phenomenon) of polycrystalline films, a spatial confinement recrystallization (SCR) method is developed to rapidly (even at several second timescales) grow thickness-controllable and uniform OSSCs in a well-controlled way by applying longitudinal pressure to tailor the growth direction of grains in OSCs polycrystalline films.

Cobalt-Catalyzed Facial-Selective Hydroalkylation of Cyclopropenes.

Cyclopropene hydrofunctionalization has been a promising strategy for accessing multi-substituted cyclopropanes; however, cyclopropene hydroalkylation remains underdeveloped. Herein, we report a low-valent CoH-catalyzed facial-selective cyclopropene hydroalkylation to access multi-substituted cyclopropanes. This reaction exhibits a broad substrate scope of alkyl halides and cyclopropenes and tolerates many functional groups.

Seasonality of the Meridional Overturning Circulation in the subpolar North Atlantic.

Understanding the variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation is essential for better predictions of our changing climate. Here we present an updated time series (August 2014 to June 2020) from the Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program. The 6-year time series allows us to observe the seasonality of the subpolar overturning and meridional heat and freshwater transports.

Mitochondrial energy metabolism is downregulated in repeated implantation failure patients related to alteration of PGC-1α acetylation level.

Herein we aimed at exploring mitochondrial energy metabolism status in patients with repeated implantation failure (RIF) and whether key regulatory factor PGC-1α of energy metabolism is involved in the decidualization of endometrial stromal cells. Mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation level and ATP synthesis were compared in primary endometrial stromal cells from RIF and control group. At the same time, as one of key transcription regulators of mitochondrial energy metabolism, the expression level and acetylation level of PGC-1α were compared with two groups.

Chemical-induced epigenome resetting for regeneration program activation in human cells.

Human somatic cells can be reprogrammed to pluripotent stem cells by small molecules through an intermediate stage with a regeneration signature, but how this regeneration state is induced remains largely unknown. Here, through integrated single-cell analysis of transcriptome, we demonstrate that the pathway of human chemical reprogramming with regeneration state is distinct from that of transcription-factor-mediated reprogramming. Time-course construction of chromatin landscapes unveils hierarchical histone modification remodeling underlying the regeneration program, which involved sequential enhancer recommissioning and mirrored the reversal process of regeneration potential lost in organisms as they mature.

Solvent-derived defects suppress adsorption in MOF-74.

Defects in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have great impact on their nano-scale structure and physiochemical properties. However, isolated defects are easily concealed when the frameworks are interrogated by typical characterization methods. In this work, we unveil the presence of solvent-derived formate defects in MOF-74, an important class of MOFs with open metal sites.

Experimental quantum secure network with digital signatures and encryption.

Cryptography promises four information security objectives, namely, confidentiality, integrity, authenticity and non-repudiation, to support trillions of transactions annually in the digital economy. Efficient digital signatures, ensuring integrity, authenticity and non-repudiation of data with information-theoretical security are highly urgent and intractable open problems in cryptography. Here, we propose a high-efficiency quantum digital signature (QDS) protocol using asymmetric quantum keys acquired via secret sharing, one-time universal hashing and a one-time pad.

Enhanced adipose-derived stem cells with IGF-1-modified mRNA promote wound healing following corneal injury.

The cornea serves as an important barrier structure to the eyeball and is vulnerable to injuries, which may lead to scarring and blindness if not treated promptly. To explore an effective treatment that could achieve multi-dimensional repair of the injured cornea, the study herein innovatively combined modified mRNA (modRNA) technologies with adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) therapy, and applied IGF-1 modRNA (modIGF1)-engineered ADSCs (ADSC) to alkali-burned corneas in mice. The therapeutic results showed that ADSC treatment could achieve the most extensive recovery of corneal morphology and function when compared not only with simple ADSCs but also IGF-1 protein eyedrops, which was reflected by the healing of corneal epithelium and limbus, the inhibition of corneal stromal fibrosis, angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis, and also the repair of corneal nerves.

Source-independent quantum random number generator against tailored detector blinding attacks.

Randomness, mainly in the form of random numbers, is the fundamental prerequisite for the security of many cryptographic tasks. Quantum randomness can be extracted even if adversaries are fully aware of the protocol and even control the randomness source. However, an adversary can further manipulate the randomness via tailored detector blinding attacks, which are hacking attacks suffered by protocols with trusted detectors.

Disruption of the tumor suppressor-like activity of aryl hydrocarbon receptor by arsenic in epithelial cells and human lung cancer.

As the most classic and extensively studied transcription factor in response to environmental toxic chemicals, the human aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) has been implicated in mediating some oncogenic responses also. Limited information is available, however, on whether arsenic, a widely presented environmental carcinogen, can regulate AHR to exert its carcinogenic activity. Through chromatin immunoprecipitation and sequencing (ChIP-seq), CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing, RNA-seq, and immunohistochemistry (IHC), in this report we provided evidence showing that arsenic enforces TGFβ and other oncogenic signaling pathways in bronchial epithelial cells through disrupting the tumor suppressor-like activity of AHR.

RNF125 attenuates hepatocellular carcinoma progression by downregulating SRSF1-ERK pathway.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most deadly malignant cancers worldwide. Research into the crucial genes responsible for maintaining the aggressive behaviour of cancer cells is important for the clinical treatment of HCC. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the E3 ubiquitin ligase Ring Finger Protein 125 (RNF125) plays a role in the proliferation and metastasis of HCC.

Nickel-Catalyzed Remote Asymmetric Hydroalkylation of Alkenyl Ethers to Access Ethers of Chiral Dialkyl Carbinols.

Site- and enantio-selective alkyl-alkyl bond formation is privileged in the retrosynthetic analysis due to the universality of sp-hybridized carbon atoms in organic molecules. Herein, we report a nickel-catalyzed remote asymmetric hydroalkylation of alkenyl ethers via synchronous implementation of alkene isomerization and enantioselective C(sp)-C(sp) bond formation. Regression analysis of catalyst structure-activity relationships accelerates the rational ligand modification through modular regulation.

Emerging trends of BCG immunotherapy for bladder cancer in last decade: a bibliometric and visualization analysis.

Background: One of the milestones in bacterial-mediated therapy for cancer, Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) has been used to treat bladder cancer (BC) for more than 30 years. BCG immunotherapy is now the standard of care for high-grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) following transurethral resection.

Methods: We searched the Web of Science core collection (WoSCC) database and used bibliometric methods through CiteSpace (version 5.

Effect of Albumin Corona Conformation on and Profiles of Intravenously Administered Nanoparticles.

Under physiological conditions, nanoparticles (NPs) inevitably interact with proteins, resulting in extensive protein adsorption and the formation of a protein corona. Recent studies have shown that the different surface properties of NPs lead to varying degrees of conformational changes of adsorbed proteins. However, the impact of corona protein conformation on the and profiles of NPs remain largely unexplored.

TLR4 Blockade Using Docosahexaenoic Acid Restores Vulnerability of Drug-Tolerant Tumor Cells and Prevents Breast Cancer Metastasis and Postsurgical Relapse.

Nonmutational mechanisms were recently discovered leading to reversible drug tolerance. Despite the rapid elimination of a majority of tumor cells, a small subpopulation of "'drug-tolerant"' cells remain viable with lethal drug exposure, which may further lead to resistance or tumor relapse. Several signaling pathways are involved in the local or systemic inflammatory responses contributing to drug-induced phenotypic switch.

Network Analysis of Sexual Sensation Seeking, Internalized Homophobia, and Social Norms Among Men Who Have Sex with Men with Different Sexual Partner Types.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are at disproportionate risk for developing sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as HIV. Understanding the relationships among factors related to risky sexual behaviors, such as internalized homophobia, sexual sensation seeking, and individual and community norms, among MSM with different sexual partner types may contribute to designing targeted interventions for reducing risky sexual behaviors and STI transmission. We conducted a cross-sectional study recruiting 781 MSM in Sichuan Province, China.

Investigating the AIE and water sensing properties of a concise naphthalimide fluorophore.

A simple naphthalimide fluorophore NAP-HO was designed and synthesized. Basic photophysical properties were investigated, especially found that the probe showed robust green fluorescence in water compared with that in various organic solvents, and the specific mechanism was conformed to be the aggregation induced emission (AIE) through dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis, solid-state luminescence and fluorescence imaging. Accordingly, the capability of NAP-HO for water sensing was examined, and good linear relationships between fluorescence intensities at the green emission band and the water content were obtained, enabling quantitative detection of water in organic solvents.

NNMT enriches for AQP5 cancer stem cells to drive malignant progression in early gastric cardia adenocarcinoma.

Objective: Early gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (EGCA) is a highly heterogeneous cancer, and the understanding of its classification and malignant progression is limited. This study explored the cellular and molecular heterogeneity in EGCA using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq).

Design: scRNA-seq was conducted on 95 551 cells from endoscopic biopsies of low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia, well/moderately/poorly differentiated EGCA and their paired adjacent nonmalignant biopsy samples.

Identification of GPI-anchored protein LYPD1 as an essential factor for odontoblast differentiation in tooth development.

Lipid rafts are membrane microdomains rich in cholesterol, sphingolipids, glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins (GPI-APs), and receptors. These lipid raft components are localized at the plasma membrane and are essential for signal transmission and organogenesis. However, few reports have been published on the specific effects of lipid rafts on tooth development.

Targeting WDxR motif reprograms immune microenvironment and inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma progression.

The WD-repeat (WDR) family affects carcinogenesis, but its role in the immune microenvironment is poorly characterized. Although functional loss or gain of WDR6 does not markedly change in vitro proliferative and invasive capacity of HCC cells, its deficiency in hepa1-6 cells drastically inhibits the growth and lung metastasis of orthotopically implanted tumors in immune-competent C57BL/6J mice. Mechanistically, WDR6 targets tumor suppressor UVRAG to the CUL4A-DDB1-ROC1 E3 ubiquitin ligase complex through a unique WDxR motif and promotes its degradation.